#uk trains my worst enemy

[jakeperalta]

trying to catch a busy train from london euston feels like an sas who dares wins challenge

#this is a post for my british followers xx #the station was super busy and the moment the platform became available (under 10 minutes before it leaves) #it was as though every single person there started running in one huge mass to get to my train (which doesn't have the option to book seats) #i am now on said packed train and they just announced 'there are no working toilets on here. hope this is not an inconvenience :)' HELLO?? #how are you making us pay so much for this????? #uk trains my worst enemy #talking

[user-needs-new-hyperfixation]

Some of this is copy-pasted from my response to a comment on one of my fics several months back, so sorry to anyone who read that and will now have deja vu.

These thoughts are based on my perception/headcanon of Sherlock and Liam as an allosexual couple. I’m totally supportive of people who like to ship pairs as ace/queerplatonic/etc, but with these two I do find it a liiiiiitle bit of a stretch...have y’all seen the train scene? They have the horniest of energy, good golly. But that’s in my opinion, and anyone who sees it differently is absolutely valid; we’re here to have fun, so have fun with it!

Okay, disclaimers out of the way: the more canon Sherliam gets, the more I love that they don’t meet typical BL seme/uke cliches. I do catch myself borderline feminizing Liam on occasion, primarily because I want him to be held, and engulfed in too-big sweaters that smell like Sherlock, and tucked into comfy armchairs with blankets and books: and alas, gender stereotype nonsense makes that feel like feminization even though it really isn’t. And that’s totally separate from the way I perceive their potential sexual dynamic, which is basically: switchy as hell, but Liam is more prone to being a bit dommy.

But like...They're the same age and height and even weight to start with. There are no particular inequalities in their education or unbalanced power dynamics. Sure, the Lord of Crime is puppeting Sherlock around, but Sherlock knows that, and though he doesn’t feel he’s truly on equal footing with Liam until right before the fall, it doesn’t feel...skeezy. Liam never actually lies to him (*glares at English manga translation*). There might not be outright spoken honesty between them, but there’s a mutual understanding of the game they’re playing, and overall their energy is incredibly nontoxic for an “enemies to lovers” dynamic (not that they ever really managed “enemies” to begin with).

(Another disclaimer: I don’t have a problem with shipping toxic pairs, Hannigram is one of my all time fave ships. But the older I get the more I’m drawn to happy stories and healthy representation and boy oh boy has Yuumori been delivering.)

Anyway, back to avoiding BL standards: Liam is pretty and fashionable and a scholar but sometimes exudes such dom vibes. Sherlock is an athletic borderline himbo, vaguely wrong-side-of-the-tracks, but gets blushy and flustered easily. Liam is the damsel in distress saved by his dashing hero: but he is also the criminal mastermind taunting his rival. Liam is rich to Sherlock's working-class, except nope, Liam is an adopted East End kid and Sherlock's family is running the country.

So many gay stories, with BL being probably the worst offender but far from the only one, blatantly signal top/bottom, feminine/masculine. They practically put a giant flashing arrow over one guy’s head that says “HE’S THE GIRL IN THE RELATIONSHIP.” And as someone who is neither a gay man nor prone to entering relationships at all, I can’t really speak for the realism of these things; I know there are people who strongly align themselves with presentations like twink, bear, etc. And I’m sure many people have a strong preference for a particular role in the bedroom, especially in a dating scene dominated by hookup culture: but it also feels so disingenuous to me that anyone, particularly in a long-term partnership, would be like, “This is the only one thing I ever do.” Even in a straight relationship that sounds hella boring.

And Sherlock and Liam sidestep those assumptions so neatly, which up until chapter 67 I would have said is simply because...it’s not BL. But now we’ve got chapter 75 and they’re practically married. Mix together the almost undeniable sexual charge of their early interactions with their more recent LITERALLY VOWING TO SPEND THEIR LIVES TOGETHER and it seems reasonable to assume that sex is on the table. Yet nothing about the way they look or act demands the reader assign them certain sexual roles. They don't feel like a collection of stereotypes signalling top and bottom, they feel like an actual human couple who probably have preferences in bed but also like to switch things up and try new things.

I appreciate that.

#yuukoku no moriarty #moriarty the patriot #sherliam

[white-cat-of-doom]

Oh, yes, I'm here to hear about Freya! If you would be so nice:

✨ How did you come up with the name?

🌂What genre do they belong in?

🍩 Who is Freya's arch-nemesis or rival?

✂️ What are her worst memories?

Hello!

I have not said a word about Freya since making that initial post (which may need some updating), so these questions are fun in the way that I have not thought about most of these things before.

✨

I named her after the Norse goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, and gold, who rides a chariot pulled by two cats.

I also chose the name Freya because I am a big fan of Freya Rowley who was in CATS (2019) as Jellylorum, Tantomile in the UK Tour 2014, and a Swing in the UK Tour 2013.

The name may be seen as better suited for a OC that is a Norwegian Forest Cat or similar breed, but I think it fits well with the character I created.

🌂

I know this is probably more angled towards written works, but I want to take a different approach instead and talk about musical genres.

Since I made her more closely related to Griddlebone is the sense of vocal abilities, and that one of her three words is operatic, it would be fairly obvious that Freya could be a classically trained opera singer. I would not want to tie her down to one specific (and perhaps stereotypical) genre, and I think she would enjoy anything that allows her to flex her vocal prowess. Most importantly though, it should carry emotional weight! Vocal talents are not necessarily about who can be the most extreme.

What I have in mind is an artist such as Kennedy Ashlyn whose musical projects SRSQ (who released my album of the year in 2022 with Ever Crashing) or Them Are Us Too match (in my opinion) what I have in mind for less traditional classical format vocals.

🍩

I do not think Freya would really have a rival or arch-nemesis, and would be widely appreciated by everyone in the Tribe. She does have a tinge of competitiveness, but not enough to make her view anyone as a rival. There is the obvious wariness towards Macavity and his henchcats, but that is shared throughout the Tribe.

With her drive for perfection, I think her biggest enemy would be herself. She wants everything to be perfect and tries as hard as possible to achieve it, but that is not always possible and that can bother her. She also wants to try and please everyone as best as she can, which feeds into the perfectionism she strives for. It can all lead to never feeling quite happy with her efforts and make her unhappy. Trying to spread happiness can be a draining affair if no one reciprocates it.

✂️

Her worst memories are definitely realizing that she would not be around to see her Kittens grow up. She tries to plan ahead and make sure they are in the best care (and who better than with Jellylorum), but there is only so much that she can do. There are not many Cats that she would confide in to share her struggles, as she is one to internalize her emotions.

At one point towards her end, she would reach the conclusion that while she was not always perfect, she did as best as she could with everything, and find a fleeting comfort in that.

#CATS Musical #CATS the Musical #Jellicle OC #Freya #Thank you for the ask! #There is probably more to add in all honesty but I do not want to be long here #The White Cat Speaks

[sandythereadingcafe]

Check out this HOT cover!

CONTROL ME, an all-new standalone in the Corrupted Royals series by @MHeardAuthor is coming February 6th!

Make sure to preorder this all-new enemies to lovers mafia romance TODAY!

PREORDER IS AVAILABLE!!!

Pre-Order for $2.99 on Amazon!

US: https://amzn.to/3J9Pu6K

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BRQQKRX3

AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0BRQQKRX3

CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0BRQQKRX3

Add to Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62399595

Photographer: Wander Photography

Cover Designer: Cormar Covers

BLURB:

I wanted to be a painter. But that's just a dream because a mafia princess doesn't get to choose her future.

Still, I never let it get me down. I always try to make the best of everything.

Until I'm forced to go for brutal training, and I meet Nikolai Vetrov.

Forbidden and way too attractive, the man turns out to be my worst nightmare incarnated.

He's cold and ruthless, and I'm pretty sure there's no heart to be found in his chest, unlike mine that won't stop beating overtime at the mere sight of him.

Just because I flirted with him, he's dead set on making my life as miserable as possible.

And as if the hell I've been thrown into isn't enough, the worst thing possible happens to me. It strips me of my light and drops me into a darkness so suffocating there's no way for me to escape

There's a lot I can endure and overcome, but the trauma and Nikolai Vetrov are two things I can't handle. One of them is bound to be the end of me.

Unless a miracle happens, and let's face it, I'm well past the point of believing in miracles.

#books #cover reveals #Control Me #Corrupted Royals #M. Heard #Michelle Heard #Candi Kane

[sitp-recs]

Do you have any fave break up/make up stories? That’s one of my favorite tropes

Hi nonnie, I love this trope as well! Hope you like these as much as I do :)

Light Years Away by lettersbyelise (M, 2.5k)

No one told Harry about the training courses young Aurors and Curse Breakers have in common, just like Harry never told anyone about his one-night encounter with Draco Malfoy two months prior.

Maybe Just A Midnight Rendezvous by @writcraft (E, 4k)

Harry's back in London and he's determined to show Draco how things have changed.

Be Still by @writcraft (E, 5k)

Harry’s back in England and Draco tries to fix things before he disappears again.

Packing the Flat by marguerite_26 (E, 6k)

Months after their explosive break-up, Draco insists Harry return to their flat to remove his belongings.

Vintage by momatu (T, 7k)

Of all of the vineyards, in all of the regions, in all of France, Draco's blasted editor sends him to Potter's....

Can’t Fight this Feeling by @writcraft (E, 11k)

A year may have passed, but Harry Potter definitely isn't over Draco Malfoy.

A Song, Incomplete by RurouniHime (E, 11k)

Draco’s photograph took up the entire top half of the Prophet’s front page. Below the photo: DRACO MALFOY DEFENDS SON OF FORMER LOVER. As if that were breaking news.

After Hours at the Ministry of Magic by birdsofshore (E, 11k)

It isn't precisely how Harry planned to spend Christmas Eve: trapped in a lift with his ex-boyfriend, somewhere between the third and the fourth floors of the Ministry of Magic.

Let’s Dance to Joy Division by @femmequixotic (E, 12k)

Let the love tear us apart, I've found a cure for a broken heart...

Petrichor by @lazywonderlvnd (E, 12k)

Breakups hurt, especially when you're still in love.

Polar Night by hereticalvision (E, 13k)

Still in recovery from their break-up, Harry and Draco must travel through the arctic conditions of Svalbard to catch the last Death Eater still at large.

And Back Again (Where You Belong) by eidheann (E, 16k)

He thought back on their previous handshakes, and smiled faintly at the fact they always seemed to mean so much more to him than they did to Potter.

this will be my beacon by huldrejenta (M, 16k)

Draco and Harry spend one night together after the war, and when one of them sees it as the beginning of a relationship and the other one sees it as a one night stand, things do get awkward. 

Thickets by @wolfpants (E, 17k)

When Draco returns to the UK after two decades of building his career as an internationally-renowned artist to look after his ailing, estranged father, he crosses paths with his former flame, Harry Potter, in the most unexpected way.

if you've changed your mind by warmfoothills (E, 20k)

The first Draco knows of the whole thing is Harry Potter standing in his broom shed.

My Own Worst Enemy by dysonrules (M, 22k)

After a night of heavy drinking, Draco wakes up fully-clothed to find that his flat is a wreck and several things are missing. Things only get worse from there.

Blueprints for a Dream by Frayach (E, 24k)

Harry breaks Draco’s heart, but that doesn’t mean Draco’s going to let him go without a fight.

If We Were Honest by daisymondays (E, 26k)

Two years ago, Draco and Harry had a whirlwind secret romance that ended in heart-break. Since then Draco's written a best-selling novel based on their relationship, but with one key difference—the characters get a happily ever after.

Make Me a Headline (I Want to be That Bold) by @dictacontrion (E, 31k)

Draco never expected to see Harry doing that again. Especially with someone else, in a grainy photograph that's landed on his desk one Monday morning.

Sæglópur by @femmequixotic (E, 34k)

After a difficult breakup, Draco finds himself dragged to the land of magic, law, and natural wonders where, of course, nothing goes as planned.

Blood and Fire by @lqtraintracks (E, 45k)

Harry has spent the last twelve years in Romania, not returning to England as often as he knows he should. It's complicated. But when Ginny asks him to be her best man and help her plan her wedding, he can't say no. 

Paper Rings by @lettersbyelise (E, 50k)

When Harry’s in need of a divorce lawyer, he has no choice but to turn to the best in the trade. Draco Malfoy’s reputation for discretion is flawless, and his track record for winning cases is close to perfect. But he’s also ruthless, passionate, and as infuriating as ever, and the brief relationship he and Harry had in Eighth Year still feels painfully fresh despite two decades spent apart.

Of Roses and Dragonfire by xErised (E, 53k)

Years after That Kiss, Potter (and his new pet snake) appears again, this time as Hogwarts's Quidditch and Muggle Games instructor (what are Muggle Games anyway? Is this why Potter is swimming in the Great Lake wearing such a tiny pair of pants?), disrupting Draco's peaceful life as Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. 

A Private Reason for This by Femme (E, 92k)

When the wife of a star politician in the Scottish Ministry turns up dead just outside Hogsmeade, Draco Malfoy and his murder investigation team are called in from the Edinburgh Auror force to find her killer. What DCI Malfoy doesn't expect, however, is to have an ex from two decades past end up in his murder room, endangering not only his case, but also his heart.

A Case of You by @epitomereally (E, 97k)

Draco was doing just fine working as an Unspeakable in Paris, hanging out with his living and ghostly pals, inventing new spells, and definitely not thinking about Potter. Then, Lucius just had to break out of prison and turn his world upside down. Now, Draco has to return to England, where he is forced to confront how family ties bind us—and one infuriatingly fit Harry Potter.

Dwelling on Dreams by @the-sinking-ship (E, 135k)

Draco thought he could avoid Potter for the duration of his brief return to England. He’d stick to his schedule and be back home in Paris, where he belonged, in a few short months. No trouble at all. He had plenty to occupy him, what with the opening of the London branch of his successful apothecary, his innovative research, drinks with Pansy, a backlog of unread potions periodicals.

A Secondary Education by Thunderbird587 (E, 234k)

Fleeing the aftermath of his recent divorce, Draco Malfoy takes up a post as the new Potions Master at Hogwarts. At first he believes his hopes for a fresh start are dashed when he sees that a certain boyhood rival is on staff there as well. 

#asks #anon #drarry reclist #break up make up #reconciliation

[bjpb8]

I have avoided this post like the plague. I cannot wait any longer after seeing the news. Posted below. Do not say that is the Uk, it can be us quickly I have had a couple days off, which is a blessing as well as a curse...I think too much. How this year has been so very tough on so many people. I think also how at times we have risen to the occasion and at times we have been our own worst enemy. Some not recognizing or accepting there is an enemy at our doors. The enemy, out there, that can be contained if we all do our part. I work in the midst of that enemy.

I am so, so tired in so many ways I don't know where to begin. I am also afraid once I start I won't stop. Covid numbers are climbing another unit turned into Covid to handle the influx. The ICU bursting at the seams and only death is making room. Unfortunately I was on a 4 day - 12 hour stretch, that stretches my patience. Because not only do I have to deal with short staffing, an excess of emotions surrounding those dying because of Covid, but also those who have trama inflicted upon them and loose half their family unit in a senseless situation.

I fear people think it is easy, easy peazy, just open another Covid ICU or unit, just add more staff. The architecture/real-estate, we have lots of it. However, staff do not grow on trees nor are they stored under my desk till needed. They are tired, burnt out, frustrated and angry, can't blame them. I am feeling like I am back in April. We push staff until they break...and we are made of sturdy stock. You have to be, this career choice is not for the faint of heart. Do I regret my choice of careers? Absolutely NOT. I would not be around as long as I have.. I am really trying not to preach, just share the experience. I don't want sympathy, tears, a pat on the back. (Ok hear it goes, sorry, not sorry). While this is not my style...ask anyone here...

-PEOPLE WEAR YOUR F**KING MASKS.

-STAY SIX F**KING FEET AWAY.

-WASH YOUR F**KING HANDS.

-better yet STAY THE F**K HOME.

Did the message get through? Does it truly take this kind of sentiment, language to get the point across. Please, please, please help me to stop cursing, my stress levels are high enough...not in my nature. If you have a job...fine... follow the rules. Is your life really worth risking or better yet your loved one(s) for an in person holiday feast, toast at New Years, a holiday party?

Just in case you missed the headline not to long ago7 people died from a wedding they didn't attend. 17 who did attend tested positive. In case you are not getting this... CDC, state, counties track back to the source to understand, document, educate all on what is happening, as well as perhaps save someone's life. It is happening because people cannot follow four simple rules. Better yet I'll stay home and you can do my job. I trained for 6 years. Yes, I have a masters degree, I know of what I speak...are you willing to give your time and energy to accomplish said goals? I don't step on your toes to accomplish my life's mission, practice, goals... please do not step on mine.

Power, control, some think that is what this is about. If I hear one more person say that I am going to rip their F**KING tonsils (I know Patrick Swayze did it better) out of their throat. You think it is easy to spout a different repatoir, sing a different tune, huuummm a different melody because you are going flat. Try to dictate your harmony so it doesn't screech, because it is hurting my ears. I love music, it is my solice...I need a different tune...please.

Let me make this perfectly clear... stop scape goating. Because this is in no way shape or form about any one person. This is about those who think this about another person. Far from it. There is only one way this happens...it is sanctioned or condoned by people who do not care as it is the agenda that must be accomplished...I count more than the whole. EVERYONE wears the blame that thinks/believes they are above it all. It takes just one to say let's not go against the rules, they are important to me as part of the human race, the brotherhood, sisterhood. Too much? I'll bite do what is necessary and you will not see me spew again after Christmas...New Years. I will be able to see people smile again when I pass them by, acknowledge them, comfort them with expressions, show my anger when necessary. This is one time I will not give in, back down or negotiate because I want to live my best life again, without a mask. Waiting for the cure...the vaccine to get to the masses. What is clear, before the cure/vaccines many lives will be lost for foolish gains.

These are not whims of a governmental politician for power and control. It is recommendations by one of the most respected agency of our government, the CDC. So get over yourself and be an advocate for doing right. It might just save your life. Tired, angry is not the half of it... suffering losses that are unneeded, useless, gratuitous, superfluous and quite frankly avoidable is breaking me physically, my heart, as well as my spirit. I am begging for relief. It is the only way this ends, beginning with each and every one of us. Please...follow CDC's four simple guidelines;

-wash hands

-wear the right mask

-stay 6 feet apart, social distancing

-stay home...that means unless/also you have been tested and quarantined yourself for 14 days, as well as every one else at your Holiday party, you are living on borrowed time.

PLEASE! And Thank You!

[thanksjro]

Last Stand of the Wreckers, Issue #4: This Series is Awash With Lippy Sons of Guns

Issue #4 starts off with an uncomfortably handsome Prowl. I mean honestly, look at this asshole, he’s simply too pretty.

I don’t think Roche has ever drawn the guy ugly, but this is on another level.

We’re in a flashback sequence here, as we start to gain an understanding of just why exactly Ironfist got put on the Wreckers in the first place. Back when he was working at Kimia, Ironfist got a call from Prowl. Seems Prowl’s read his work, and is impressed by the sheer amount of effort he’s put into it. They chat a bit about it, but no call with Prowl is ever casual, and he asks Ironfist if he’s ever been interested in actually being a Wrecker. Which, of course he has, but he’d never exactly been cut out for that kind of work, especially after his Accident™. Prowl has a little push in that area, because he’s Prowl, and makes a deal; Ironfist joins the Wreckers as a weapon expert, and in exchange he does something for Prowl.

We won’t find out what exactly Ironfist’s agreed to do until later, as we jump back to the present, where the Guzzle and Kup are about to lay the smackdown on some unsuspecting Decepticons.

With how many cameras are currently trained on you guys, I can’t say you really have the time for wisecracks, old-timer.

That big vault door behind them leads to the cell of one of the most notorious Autobots ever to grace the galaxy- Grimlock. This is the “help” Springer requested they find, meaning that he’s a sort of last resort, which tells you just how much of a powerhouse the guy is. Volatile, sure, but a powerhouse regardless.

Too bad the cell’s empty.

Snare steps in to explain just why that is, having snuck up on our Big Gulp duo.

Well I’m sure that won’t be a plot point later on.

Of course, Guzzle doesn’t really feel inclined to believe a word of what this Getaway kitbash says, and starts threatening to shoot him. Snare however, has even more secrets to tell.

Perceptor and pals have finally discovered just what the hell it is that they’ve been looking for all this time. Aequitas is a supercomputer, and a massive one at that. They’re here to download its memory files. Topspin is less than pleased with this whole thing.

Ironfist agrees- there’s no way they’re going to be able to get all the data in Aequitas downloaded before the Decepticons get through to them and tear them to pieces. Verity, however, is more concerned about the size of the computer itself.

A large part of Aequitas is made up of something called a culpability drive, which breaks down factors like motivation and accountability into a streamlined equation so it can do something completely ridiculous: calculate guilt. Yes, someone had the bright idea to break down guilt into a binary system, without any “human” element involved. Because that couldn’t possibly backfire.

Then the narrative catches up to Topspin, and Ironfist and Verity get put on babysitting duty while he deals with his phantom pain. Pyro’s made to help Perceptor with booting up the computer.

Over with Springer, he and Impactor have a little heart-to-heart, while Twin Twist is passed out with a shadow over his face, probably waiting for the horrific reveal of what the dentist’s done to him. Springer feels really bad about Impactor having been sent to Garrus-9; he’d figured that after the trial, Impactor had been sent to rehab, or at least a prison that wasn’t quite as torturey.

Impactor points out that Springer’s testimony at Aequitas was pretty damning, and I’m starting to wonder why Springer didn’t see this coming. Unless they somehow managed to move that massive friggin’ supercomputer in the last few years, Impactor’s trial happened on Garrus-9. Kind of seems like a foregone conclusion that anyone who got put through the Aequitas wringer would end up staying if found guilty.

Impactor still doesn’t think that what he did was wrong, and the only reason they stop verbally duking it out is because Twin Twist does his dramatic face reveal and the dentist comes back in to finish off those fillings.

Funny, they had a similar setup at my old orthodontist’s.

As the dentist prepares to turn what’s left of Twin Twist’s face into the “Lust” scene from Se7en, we get back to the real point of this whole miniseries: fanwanking. Ironfist is telling Verity about the Decepticon’s answer to the Wreckers- Squadron X.

This group is made up entirely of characters who only existed in the Marvel UK comics, and even then only barely. This is convenient on multiple levels; it allows the Wreckers to have an antithesis to their own group that won’t disrupt any of the ongoing storylines outside of Last Stand of the Wreckers. Nobody’s really vying to use the guy who beat up a piano and then got thrown out of a bar, now are they?

It also allows you to use an already-established character that still has plenty of wiggle room for story application. No point in trying to make a new set of characters when we’ve got a bin full of nobodies off in the corner. Especially when we’re only going to have these guys around for a few minutes.

But we’ll get to that later.

Back to Ironfist’s story…

Oh hey Whirl.

Springer’s in a bit of a pickle- his lower half is trapped under a busted barricade, and Squadron X is closing in. Impactor has no intention of leaving Springer behind, so it’s time to get crazy. Springer tells Impactor to blast a hole through his TORSO so he can surprise-attack the approaching enemy. Impactor does so, reluctantly.

Please note that the emphasis is not mine, but the narrative’s.

That’s just a cool panel.

Once all that’s over and done with, Squadron X are all put into inhibitor harnesses to keep them from trying anything funny while in custody. But oh ho, what’s this? They’ve escaped! And they’ve ripped Sandstorm’s arm off! Surely, this must be dealt with, and who better suited for the job than the dude who’s been obsessed with taking these guys out for years now? Impactor gets to work.

And thus the day is saved, thanks to the Wreckers! Yaaay!

With Ironfist’s story concluded, Perceptor takes the time to mention that they’ve got a problem. Turns out Aequitas has some state-of-the-art security measures going on- in order to even turn the thing on, someone’s got to feed the thing their spark. You know, a robot soul. This thing runs on souls, and the donator has to be a willing participant otherwise it won’t work.

Well that’s awful convenient for you, now ain’t it, Percy?

I’m assuming they just never turned the thing off during the trials, otherwise they would have run out of juice very quickly.

So it’s slim pickings in terms of sparks. Perceptor’s playing IT, Topspin’s whole spark situation is a consent minefield, and Verity’s soul is the normal, human, intangible kind. And now we get to the part of our story that’s a little sad.

Pyro and Ironfist aren’t popular. They’ve never been in the spotlight. They aren’t important. They were brought on the Wreckers to die, plain and simple, because it’s a game of numbers, and their numbers are miles below the likes of Springer and Kup.

Pyro isn’t on-board with this at all, saying that this isn’t how it’s supposed to go down for him.

Say what you will about his delusions of grandeur, but this is a guy who knows what he wants.

While Pyro’s dreaming big, Topspin’s having a really bad time in the background. That vicarious perception’s hitting real hard right now.

Ironfist plays the child in a bitter divorce between Pyro and Verity as they argue over who the hell should die so the plot can keep moving. Ironfist has a lot to say, a lot that he really should say, but he doesn’t. He’s not proud of himself, or the things he’s done as a weapons’ expert. After reflecting on his life- a life that hasn’t been profoundly wondrous or meaningful- he concedes to being the one to die.

But that doesn’t happen, because Topspin takes matters into his own hands and puts the goddamn dog to sleep. The dog in this case being himself and Twin Twist. Aequitas thanks him for his donation, sucks out his spark, and over in the torture chamber Twin Twist explodes.

With the twins(?) dead, Aequitas is online, and not a moment too soon, because those Decepticons are starting to bring the door down. Perceptor hands a headphone jack to Ironfist, tells him to plug it into his brain, and to get ready for the hurt, because they’re about to download the entirety of this supercomputer into his head.

Back with Impactor, he’s about to get his cornea scratched, when Guzzle and Kup come to save the day, following Snare’s guidance.

I just want to say, Guzzle wins the Worst Crotch award. It’s simply awful.

So Kup and Guzzle free Springer and Impactor, just in time for Springer to revenge-stab the dentist with the torture stick. Too bad he’s already shot Snare.

Play… makes you free... in the prison that’s been turned into basically a death camp. Is… are we really doing the Holocaust parallels again? God, I hope I’m reading too much into that, I really do.

We finally find out what the prize for winning the Pit fights is: you can either fight Overlord, or kill yourself. Not much of a prize, if you ask me.

Speaking of the Blue Terror, he’s on his way over. Snare asks that Impactor just kill him, because there’s no way he’s going to risk being found out by Overlord that he was being sneaky. Impactor obliges, crushing his brain module between his fingers.

Then Overlord quite literally explodes into the room.

Back over in the Aequitas chamber, Ironfist’s just finished with his upload, and he’s shaken by what he now knows. The Decepticons have nearly broken down the door at this point, and there’s only one way to save themselves- they have to detonate the prisoners’ deterrence chips. This, of course, includes Impactor. Perceptor’s all for it, but Pyro’s wholly against the idea. Verity tries to put in her vote, but humans don’t have rights in the eyes of Wrecker law, so it all comes down to Ironfist.

You heard the man, let’s kill the purple guy.

#transformers #jro #last stand of the wreckers #issue 4 #maccadam #Hannzreads #text post #long post #comic script writing #wreckers trilogy

[theshinsun]

1. as far as im concerned Kagami never left at the end of last game, that was an extended dream sequence... 2. i also totally agree with you that Kagami is prolly vers, if anything, and it was also MY PET PEEVE when people pinholed him into being a forever bottom at the peak of knb hype. 3. you keep teasing your long list of ships for Aomine PLEASE do him for the character thing lol. So far all your opinions are sending me into a realm of GOOD VALID VIBES

Omg thank you!! (I agree end of Last Game is not canon… or if it is he came right back the next year or smth I refuse to accept he just left forever. And I’m really glad to see the problem of Uke™ Kagami seems to be in decline these days… fewer people are writing for knb in general, but those that are seem to have an idea what a real gay relationship is or at least make him a fucking person and not a walking stereotype, and that’s encouraging to see). 

Also thanks so much for sending Aomine! …Strap in for this character essay tho I’ve been known to never shut up about this boy once you get me started.

How I feel about this character

I honestly… can’t even explain it anymore or even try to justify it but Aomine has had a bigger impact on me than, I think, any other character I’ve seen to date. I don’t even know what it is, I do relate to him (and project on him *cough*) but like, there are other characters out there that I have more in common with, and I like his whole arc and aesthetic but it’s nothing revolutionary, so… your guess is as good as mine. 

Whatever it is, I’ve been obsessed with this guy for over half a decade, and lately even as the KNB fandom falls into decline, my feelings are not they’re just getting stronger. His development over the course of the series is one of the most satisfying things I’ve ever seen, (that one bit at the end of the Touou/Seirin game with “I want to practice” and his later conversation with Kuroko hit me in the fucking chest every time), and I love how even though he’s portrayed as cold, uncaring and rude, it’s still understood (at least by anyone with some nuance) that that’s not what he’s supposed to be like, and underneath the distant, kind of dickish front, he’s hurting a lot. I’ve talked about the degree to which he cares about people before too, but I still have to give a mention to the ferocious level of protectiveness this guy has for his friends. I could go on about him for ages, tbh, and maybe someday I will write a for-real structured essay to try to get it out there, but the bottom line is I love this character, I have for a long time, and likely will continue to do so long into the future.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Okay here we go… I ship this guy extremely liberally, even with people he’s never interacted with (hell you could mention any random character and I could probably see my way clear to shipping them with him somehow, I’ll still try to explain my logic if I can). Prepare yourself.

Kagami (of course, AoKaga is the OTP and definitely the one I’ve devoted the most time to, they’re just the best together I’ll never get tired of seeing them figure their shit out over and over)

Kuroko (I may be AoKaga on main, but I’m still such a sucker for the tragic romance between these two, and sometimes it just hits me over the head like a sledgehammer how much I love their relationship. I’ve also got a lot of feelings for AoKagaKuro, they’re such a perfect trio and I need to invest more of my time in the OT3)

Kise (I was a bit late to the game on AoKise, but I definitely see it now. I love their dynamic and how imperfect their relationship would probably be, the complexity of it. sign me up)

Momoi (I don’t see a lot of AoMomo love anymore, but I’ve still got a soft spot for it, childhood friends are my weakness okay)

Midorima (they’re so different but that’s what makes it interesting, and I love the idea of neither of them knowing how to show/tell the other their feelings and being awkward stubborn shits together)

Murasakibara (they almost never interact but I just think they’d have such a soft cuddly relationship and be really chill together… lazy Sunday mornings sleeping in and hanging all over each other that kinda thing)

Akashi (kinda same as Akashi/Kagami, I think the difference between polished upper-class Akashi and scrappy city boy Aomine would be hella interesting… though I’ve also got some angst ideas for them as a couple, after how things went down at Teiko… abandonment and whatnot)

Imayoshi (I got pulled into this ship HARD by Lysapadin’s A Firm Hand series and now it’s no longer a guilty pleasure ship and is actually something I’ll talk about in the open, just… the power dynamic fuck me up)

Sakurai (I fuckin love the idea of an anxious Sakurai crushing hard on Aomine and not knowing how to tell him but when he finally plucks up the courage and prepares himself for imminent death Aomine’s actually pretty chill about it… plus they’d be adorable together tbh)

Wakamastu (you know it’s gotta be enemies to lovers. not just bc I’m intrigued by the love/hate relationship itself but if you look past the attitude issues these two would actually probably have a lot in common. also I’m really interested in how their dynamic might change with Wakamatsu being captain and all)

Susa (idk but there’s one throwaway line in season 3 where Imayoshi says about Aomine “actually maybe he likes you” and that’s enough for me. bring me the rarest rarepair my body is ready)

Kasamatsu (it wasn’t supposed to be SERIOUS but they got me. That moment in the Touou/Kaijo game where Aomine helps him up and “you’ve really done it now, senpai” is legit, plus these two would be such a good-looking couple, honestly.)

Mibuchi (give me the pretty boys. I have no excuse for this except maybe their interactions in my own damn fic again)

Nebuya (sometimes shipping can be as simple as hey I want them to bang right. also they’re both humongous dorks under their respective rough exteriors and I love them)

Moriyama (they bond over liking girls at first and then they’re simultaneously like wait a minute… more Touou/Kaijo ships pls)

Nijimura (I have this idea of them reuniting late into/after high school and Aomine still calls him captain out of habit and Nijimura’s like relieved and impressed to see how he’s developed since the mess at Teiko)

Himuro (they Never interact but they’d be so Petty and Snarky sign me up)

Haizaki (twisted, but I’m interested it’d be so unhealthy and awful bring it)

Hanamiya (even more twisted tbh but there is that moment where Aomine confronts him… and I’m here for hate sex just as much as your typical romance)

Inoue (who, you ask? I know he’s such a side character and no one remembers him, but he’s a big reason for Aomine’s downfall at Teiko and they seemed to be buddies before that, I’d be interested in some kind of reconciliation between them, or a romance, ya know whatever works)

And then we get into crossover territory… MOST of these are not my fault they’re just things I’ve seen and adopted for myself

Kuroo Tetsurou (someone made a moodboard for them, and now I can’t stop thinking about them in a relationship, like damn… it’d be such a beautiful mess I wanna see more of it)

Oikawa Tooru (I’ve seen art, and also the light. These two damaged angsty prodigies, one sharp as a whip the other dumb as bricks, but both of them sassy and nerdy as hell. I could see myself getting addicted to this ship if I took the time to write it out, and I just might)

Yamazaki Sousuke (can’t lie, they look good together. I’ve seen more than one art piece of them interacting and I have a Mighty Need.)

Matsuoka Rin (angry lonely talented boys finding solace in each other’s company? you know that’s my shit. also shark teeth and cop AUs hells yeah.) 

Tanaka Ryuunosuke (I don’t know where the fuck this idea came from but I thought of Tanaka trying to pick a fight with “shitty boi” Aomine while in Tokyo and then losing his shit and here we are)

Terushima Yuuji (this one is purely physical… they pretty, I have no other reason, but also this absolute fuckboy, these two would be such a train wreck and I’m here for it tbh)

Yachi Hitoka (okay picture this Giant Terrifying basketball player trying to be less giant and terrifying to tiny shy Yachi and tell me you don’t just want to see that happen. I get Legosi/Haru vibes.)

I’ll spare you the rest of the ideas I’ve tossed around, because past this point it becomes pure crack (if it hasn’t already) but you get the idea. Throw a character my way and I can probably talk myself into it that’s the power this guy has over me. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

My non-romantic OTP for this character

K considering the List… it shouldn’t be surprising that I also consider this person a romantic candidate, but you know when it comes to non-romantic OTP it’s gotta be Momoi. Platonic or romantic, the way she’s stuck with him all those years and his obvious protectiveness and love for her and how (even though he claims to like big tits) he never even once starts to objectify her in any way, it’s so important to me. Momoi is Aomine’s redeeming factor when he’s at his worst, and she goes to bat for him even while he’s actively trying to shake her off and still tries to protect and help him when he refuses to accept it, even when it means they fight. (Also Kuroko saying “Aomine’s probably looking for you” after their argument puts to mind Aomine running through the rain calling Momoi’s name and that is just… pure). These two have the kind of unshakable long-standing friendship that’ll probably last them the rest of their lives, and no matter what context or form it takes, I can’t get enough of it. 

My unpopular opinion about this character

I’ve harped on enough about the fandom’s portrayal of Aomine as a one-note asshole who doesn’t care before, so let’s see if I can change gears a little bit here. 

I honestly don’t agree with… the persistent idea people seem to have of Aomine being a narcissist or obsessed with himself? Like yeah, he’s self-absorbed and egotistical, no question, this is not to say he hasn’t got those flaws and others besides… but that’s not the same as being like, physically attracted to yourself. Part of me suspects it was a “the only one who can fuck me is me” joke taken too far, so that now the idea of Aomine being in love with himself is just ingrained into the fanon culture, but if you look at the show itself, personally I don’t see it. If anything, I would think he’d have some self-loathing issues to work through (and that’s part of the reason he gave for skipping practice, he doesn’t want to be the way he is, and specifically says he doesn’t want to increase the difference between him and everyone else). But hey, that’s just my opinion. I’ll get off my soapbox now.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

I mean he says he and Kagami are postponing their match, after their brief one-on-one when he gives him the shoes, and then we never get to see it… Tbh just more street ball with this guy would be great, since it’s what his whole style is based around. Even if he’s just playing by himself… or hell, maybe since he thinks no one at the high school level can beat him, we could get a scene of him trying to go up against adults. Maybe he still beats them and his despair worsens after that, but then it’d have more meaning, and at least we’ll have seen that he’s tried and is not just giving up before he’s seen all of what he could be up against in the future. Plus, picturing Aomine going five-on-one like Haizaki did against grown-ups and still slaughtering them is something I’d pay money to see. 

#Answered #shin speaks #jesus h christ that turned out long #i warned you #thanks so much for sending my boy tho i was lowkey fidgeting waiting to talk about him #i cant help it #aomine daiki #knb #my son #long post

[howieabel]

Poetry in the time of isolation

For the first time in the globalised age, everyone is reacting to and in some way affected by a single story - a virus making its way around the earth; and this is the first time in history that we can speak about our experiences to people all over the globe as it happens.

I've recently been reading about other plagues and epidemics in history. A century ago, as the first world war was raging and coming to an end for some, the Spanish Flu took more lives in a shorter time than the war took in its four years, a sum which could have been many times more than 50 million people. Nobody really knows exactly where that flu came from, although anyone who knows what life was like in the trenches wouldn't be too surprised of its potential to spread. However, the first cases of the flu were in military forts in the USA, and may have spread to Europe from there. It was only called the 'Spanish' Flu because Spain was neutral in the first world war, and therefore its press was more free - Spanish newspapers reported on the flu accurately, unlike every other combating power who didn't want to demoralise their troops with the mass death that was occurring, not at the hands of enemy soldiers, but a common enemy to all combatants - the appalling conditions that they were fighting in, the ideal way for a virus to wreak havoc.

This time around, calling the virus the Coronavirus, or Covid-19, is more sensible, as much as demagogues like Trump may want to call it the 'Chinese virus'. It seems to have been past from bats (like Ebola) to pangolins, which were sold in wet markets in Wuhan in China, to humans, but as is always the case, these origins remain murky, and often disgusting. These markets are unregulated by the government, as animals from all over the world can be imported there, where they languish in the most awful conditions - not to feed the poor, but as a sort of trophy food for the rich; and that's why many countries are in on the game, letting their merchants illegally export rare, often endangered, often hunted animals to the wet markets.

The Chinese government had tried to crack down on this after previous outbreaks of SARS, including in 2002, but it has proved difficult to rein in the peculiar tastes of the new rich, and of trophy hunters around the globe. Hopefully they learn from the crisis and regulate or eliminate the trading practices of their wet markets. In the mean time, it seems they have controlled the outbreak very well once it happened, and now they are sending doctors to Italy, alongside more recent help from Russia and Cuba, to help with the Italian government's much less successful attempts to control the spread. Unfortunately, as we saw with Ebola, these viruses can pop up every few years just about anywhere, especially, it seems, where there are bats. But I don't know enough about the transmissions from animal to human to write more about this. What i'm most interested in are past examples of how human communities and their governments have tried to shield their vulnerable from plagues and pandemics.

The most interesting example I found was from when the plague came to Italy almost 400 years ago, in the autumn of 1629. This of course is especially relevant as, from the day of this post, Italy is the worst affected of all countries by the virus, which poses a number of questions - Why Italy? Because they have one of the oldest populations? Because there is more inter-generational living than in many other countries? Because of just simple bad luck, for example a virus spreading through catholic mass, hour upon hour upon hour, so that by time it was realised to be a problem, it was already too late?

The reason the reaction to the 1629 plague interests me, is because it shows the importance of government and community reaction to a pandemic - it can make all the difference. Italy had a number of different city states, so we can compare their reaction, and although such comparisons are never perfect, they are some of the best we have. For example, in Verona 61% of people died - in Milan, 46%, in Venice - 33%, and in Florence? 12%. So what did the Sanità, the city of Florence's health board, and government, do so well that they greatly lessened the death toll in comparison to other cities in Italy? One reason this is an especially interesting question is because 12% seems to be around the average mortality figure for the coronavirus (especially among countries with an ageing population and/or a fractured health care system).

What did the Sanità in Florence do then, in the plague year of 1629? They arranged the delivery of food, wine and firewood to the homes of the quarantined (30,452 of them). Each quarantined person received a daily allowance of two loaves of bread and half a boccale (around a pint) of wine. On Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays, they were given meat. On Tuesdays, they got a sausage seasoned with pepper, fennel and rosemary. On Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, rice and cheese were delivered; on Friday, a salad of sweet and bitter herbs. Every morning, hundreds of people in the lazaretti were prescribed theriac concoctions, liquors mixed with ground pearls or crushed scorpions, and bitter lemon cordials. The Sanità also devolved some tasks to the city’s confraternities. The brothers of San Michele Arcangelo conducted a housing survey to identify possible sources of contagion; the members of the Archconfraternity of the Misericordia transported the sick in perfumed willow biers from their homes to the lazaretti. But mostly, the city government footed the bill, and making use of its own police force, court and prison – also punished those who broke quarantine. Its court heard 566 cases between September 1630 and July 1631, with the majority of offenders – 60 per cent – arrested, imprisoned, and later released without a fine. A further 11 per cent were imprisoned and fined, rich and poor alike.

Some of this account would even sound impressive now (especially the pint of wine a day!). It must have been like a revelation to the poor for them to realise that something like this was possible - that the people around them who were thirsty or hungry didn't have to be. It shows how a crisis can destroy the previous idea of normalcy and replace it with a totally new normal. In Britain, for example, the Conservative Party for years laughed at the spending plans proposed by the Labour opposition, ridiculed them as the mad schemes of communists, and every day ad infinitum posed the question on television - but how will you pay for it? Doesn't it all seem very unrealistic?

And now look where we are - our governments are spending more money to cope with this crisis than anyone had ever suggested, millions and millions of people's wages are being payed as a sort of Universal Basic Income, and it suddenly turns out that it would have been a very good thing if everyone had free and fast public broadband after all, now that it is apparent that everyone needs and deserves good communication during this pandemic, not only for them to communicate with their loved ones, but also so they can access the right information. Homeless people in London have been given hotel rooms at no cost. People are coordinating in their communities to help the elderly and the vulnerable, to bring them their groceries so they never have to leave the house. Many countries have nationalised their entire private hospital network, to give their beds to the infected. Look at how Korea and Taiwan have reacted to this crisis, for example, and then compare it to European countries. Many government's have not yet gone far enough, and will need to go further over the coming months to cope with the crisis as it unfolds, and as usual the British and the American governments are some of the most reluctant, not just to foot the bill, but to make what was previously thought impossible, possible after all. If they show, in direct counterbalance to the last decade of austerity, that they had the money to do this all along, it might cause them some problems afterwards. But they have no choice - we are living now in a new normal, and all the old economic orthodoxy has been thrown out the window.

In a time of crisis like this, it suddenly becomes apparent that doctors, cleaners, supermarket staff, food and public sector workers, and in this case also postmen and delivery workers, are the lynchpins of society. It's a shame we haven't spent the less 10 years looking after them a bit better, and perhaps because of this, many more people will lose their lives than should have done if we had started looking after them earlier. There's still a very high possibility that the NHS in Britain could break under the pressure. Unfortunately, we don't have as many doctors are we could have had. There isn't much of an incentive for the young to train to become doctors or nurses, with such pitiful pay and long hours. But there are still many selfless souls who take it upon themselves to make the sacrifice - nevertheless, most of my friends who studied medicine and care had to leave the UK to continue their studies after school, countries where they are now helping in this crisis as junior doctors. They simply couldn't afford the university and accommodation costs in the UK.

As we all begin to adjust to this new normal, and as it becomes clearer that the old world can never be brought back again, perhaps from now on we can fix some of our mistakes and prepare better, so that when the next crisis comes along, we don't find that the people who keep our society going were kicked out of it by the rest of us a long time ago. And as we come out of the crisis, with millions, even billions, of unemployed all over the world, remember then how it was possible to pay people's wages even when they weren't working. If we are against all visionary thinking, then we are also against the NHS, the 8 hour working day, and public parks and free museums. They were utopian ideas once, and in many countries, they still are. What will be normal afterwards? Our reaction now will define the future we can create. Our breadth of vision will determine whether or not we demand its creation.

“The assumption that what currently exists must necessarily exist is the acid that corrodes all visionary thinking.” - Murray Bookchin

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#Coronavirus #UK #Britain #Conservatives #Boris Johnson #England #Virus #Covid-19 #Wash your hands #Wuhan #Italy

[ingek73]

Meghan seems to mix with all the ‘wrong’ people. So unlike the other royals ...

Catherine Bennett

Surely the outrage over the duchess’s Vogue cover had nothing to do with race, did it?

Published: 07:29 Sunday, 04 August 2019

Follow Catherine Bennett

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, pictured in the workroom of the charity Smart Works.

Since it’s a good few weeks since Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, has worn jeans to Wimbledon, carried her baby the wrong way or used a shawl made by impoverished workers, her mentors have been on the alert for further evidence that their continual inspection of this member of the royal family is not racist bullying but a series of pedagogic opportunities. They wish only to help her improve.

But her worst enemies, with which the UK press is strangely well supplied, could not have anticipated that Meghan’s next gift to them would be something so lavish, so rich in opportunities for point-by-point demolition, as an entire edition of Vogue, guest-edited while she was on maternity leave. That’s around the same time, Piers Morgan has pointed out, as she was not meeting his racist and sexist friend Donald Trump. A learning moment, then: see how the other royals dressed up for Trump and what a boon that has proved for Anglo-US relations?

The 'Forces for Change' cover of September's Vogue

Too BAME, too famous, not famous enough, too political, too unpolitical – the offending Vogue cover. Photograph: Peter Lindbergh/PA

Even her supporters may wonder if there is something marginally more inspirational a famous gifted person might choose to do than help shift copies of Condé Nast’s September money-spinner, notwithstanding Vogue’s tradition of cover princesses. If it’s quite refreshing to discover a Q&A with Michelle Obama, a charity project and – least royal of all – a poem, this is still Vogue and in the business of urging women to (a) subscribe to its culture of eating-disordered ageism and (b) buy more useless shit.

If anything, a socially responsible, duchess-edited September issue fulfils, as never before, Vogue’s editorial challenge: to temper conspicuous consumption with occasional glints of awareness without frightening the advertisers.

Right now, for instance, as well as being super-excited about featuring the non-models Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Greta Thunberg and Jacinda Ardern among Markle’s “Forces For Change” cover women, the magazine is thrilled to report, in forces for obsolescence news, that Victoria Beckham, one of its favourite heads on a stick, has been posing, all sciency, in a lab coat: a chance for it to help generate, with some verbatim marketing copy, interest in her new range of women-focused detritus: “VB Beauty as a digital-native brand”.

If she can’t eradicate these blots on her vision, Meghan does address them in an obligatory “you may say I’m a dreamer” section of her introduction: “There will be advertising sections that are requisite for every issue, so while I feel confident that you’ll feel my thumbprint on most pages, please know that there are elements that just come with the territory.” Moreover, she might have added, her father-in-law has twice guest-edited Country Life, regardless of the incompatibility between its property porn and princely jeremiads about unfettered materialism.

She could study how Prince Charles’s reputation survived devoted friendships with three paedophiles

But the collision of Meghan’s “great fear of shallow living” with Vogue’s incitement to insatiable acquisition (“anklets are back to make bare legs the centre of attention”!) is not, it emerges, what troubles prominent critics. Rather, the UK’s finest Meghan-assassins have alighted on her most striking advance on the Vogue norm: the cover women. They are variously too BAME, too famous, not famous enough, too political, too unpolitical and not, it’s generally agreed, the Queen.

Morgan, the UK’s Meghanfinder general, complains that only five of the women were British and none was male. “So it’s not actually inclusive at all.” Jameela Jamil particularly distresses this loyal Trumpian, on account of her incivility. Elsewhere, Sarah Vine draws on personal experience of state-funded decor and the careful choice of friends to counsel “dear Meghan”, as she calls this outsider, on “proper royalty”. “Ask the Queen.”

It’s not a bad idea. The Queen’s success in protecting her reputation from less impressive friendships, such as with the troubled ruler of Dubai, does contrast favourably with the damage to Meghan’s of fashionable allies whose names have never, unlike the sheikh’s, featured in UK courts in connection with feared abduction and forced marriage.

Meghan might further benefit, at this wobbly stage on her learning curve, from instruction by another fully inducted royal, Prince Andrew, formerly a close friend and house-guest of Jeffrey Epstein, the US sex offender currently jailed and accused of trafficking and sexually assaulting young girls. In 2015, one alleged that she had been coerced into sex with Andrew, an allegation he denied. While massed commenters expose the threat to the royal reputation posed by Meghan’s lamentable female associates, Andrew’s name has featured only occasionally in connection with the latest revelations about Epstein, which include the latter’s plans to populate the world with his own gene pool and have his head and penis frozen for perpetuity.

Proper royalness, in such situations, possibly explains why HRH, as an unapologetic pervert’s companion, is still deputising for his mother, if not the Foreign Office, and largely untroubled by the same press moralists who argue that Meghan doesn’t understand the traditional role of the monarchy. On the other hand, given the comparative expressions of disquiet, perhaps Meghan’s recent offences really do exceed Fergie’s, in 2011, when she welcomed a £15,000 loan (organised by Prince Andrew’s office) from the recently released Epstein. Was it ever repaid?

Next, as part of the supplementary training now widely proposed for our clumsy royal apprentice, she could study how Prince Charles’s reputation survived devoted friendships with – to date – three paedophiles: Laurens van der Post, Jimmy Savile and an already cautioned offender, Peter Ball. Meghan’s Instagram account alone has generated more hostile press than the recent conclusion of the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse that the prince’s support for Ball was “misguided”.

How have the above royals avoided relentless Meghan-style bollockings on account of, variously, execrable judgment, bad taste, susceptibility to wealth and/or flattery? There must, surely, be something more to it than having white skin.

• Catherine Bennett is an Observer columnist

#duchess of sussex #meghan markle #british vogue #racism #brf #the guardian #observer #september issue

[freshginandtonic]

State of Play (and the state of Australia’s press freedom)

This week I got to thinking (insert Carrie Bradshaw voice here) about one of my favourite television shows, ‘State of Play’. I try to rewatch it every three to six months, scheduling it in like a dental check-up. There is in fact a big screen adaptation of the same story, starring a then-hot Ben Affleck and Eternal Queen of the World Rachel McAdams that came out in 2009, but I’m here to talk about the BBC originale.

I’ll skimp on the plot bc it twists and turns more than my stomach after I’ve had full dairy milk, but here’s the main thrust: a young kid gets shot on the streets of London the same morning as a young political researcher falls (or gets pushed hmmm) under a train. They’re connected by a single phone call. The researcher is discovered to be having an affair with her boss, who happens to be an MP. A conspiracy is introduced that may involve all of them, the British govt and a shady oil company. Enter stage left the scruffy maverick journalist and his team trying to find the truth. Have I whetted your appetite yet?

Now here’s the reason this particular series was floating around in my subconscious. On Monday multiple Australian newspapers ran redacted articles and documents on their covers, as part of a campaign called Your Right To Know. They were all heavily edited and asking the same question: ’When government keeps the truth from you, what are they covering up?’, as well as my personal favourite ‘News restrictions. Secrecy. Jail terms for journalists and whistleblowers. It couldn’t happen in Australia? It’s happening now.’ This exact same thing happens in State of Play. Now this isn’t by any means a political website (lol, blog) and I’m not here to make it one, but hopefully we can all agree that press suppression is Bad, and holding the govt to account, plus questioning their decision-making and actions is Good. We all know the govt (and practically all govts around the world) do some Questionable Things. Things that we don’t, and probably won’t know about for a number of years, if ever. Despite whatever political beliefs you subscribe to, when it comes to govt cover ups I dare u to try watching the masterpiece of cinema ‘Enemy of the State’ and come out of it not being slightly paranoid and mad about the unknown powers our or any political authority may have.

But getting back to the current issue. Since 2002, there have been 75 pieces of federal legislation have been introduced, intending to protect the public from national security threats but their purpose is essentially to stop the public from knowing what the Federal Government is doing. Journalists are being targeted, raided and silenced. We all know press suppression always starts before the really bad shit hits the fan.

To cap off the dystopian nightmare our country is falling into, new research has revealed  87 per cent of Australians value a free and transparent democracy only 37 per cent believe this is happening in Australia today. Love!! this!! for!! us!!

The issue of press freedom is constantly raised in State of Play, over 15 years ago. Fortunately British reporters are more protected than they are here in Australia where they have no constitutional safeguards, while in the UK journos are protected under the Human Rights Act. They're not perfect but it’s a more than our own country has done. 

A scene plays out in State of Play which is what I’m sure (I mean, hopefully) went down in the newsrooms of the Sydney Morning Herald, Daily Telegraph and countless others earlier this week - an editor runs a redacted front page calling attention to a huge issue - in this case Bill Nighy’s superb Cameron Foster is targeting the UK govt over their dealings w an oil company. He runs the headline ‘The story we can’t show you. Because Westminster have gagged us. Ask U-Ex Oil why. Ask your MP why.’ It’s a deafening threat to their foes in Westminster and basically a declaration: whether you try to bury the story or not, there’s no way it’s not getting out. Later we see the final story being printed and delivered, uncensored to readers - a victory for the fourth estate’s triumph over government might.

The show was written by Paul Abbott, who has his own fascinating and tragic backstory and directed by the man who helmed the last four Harry Potter films (and two spin-offs), David Yates. 

Beyond the plot, the series tackles issues of class, race (a black kid is killed in the opening scene and subsequently profiled as a drug user despite there being no evidence to support the theory), and adultery, (don’t get me goddamn started on this sub-plot) while examining the personal repercussions that come with reporters - or anyone finding a story and sticking to their guns on it. That’s not to mention characters becoming completely desensitised to the death and destruction that follow them. One of the most fascinating exchanges in the series is between a police officer and a reporter. One refers to the events around them as a case, with real lives and people involved, the other a story that has a deadline, damn the consequences. It’s clear then the price for exposing the worst of humanity is to lose some of your own. 

John Simm is our leading man, the aforementioned scruffy journalist Cal McAffrey. Boardwalk Empire’s - or Nanny McPhee and Trainspotting depending on your vintage - Kelly McDonald is his fellow lead reporter Della, seemingly the everywoman among the occasional madness, and she has a special place in my heart due to her large number of denim jackets. 

I’d like to also acknowledge to the excellent supporting characters beginning w James McAvoy who gives a spectacularly smarmy yet hot - despite a terrible wardrobe - performance as a journo working for a rival paper who then joins the team. Amelia Bullmore and Benedict Wong round out the main gang of reporters as Westminster correspondents Helen Prager and Pete Cheng. David Morrissey plays the perpetually sad and wounded politician Stephen Collins who is an absolute puzzle. Special mention to Bill Nighy as their editor-in-chief who says things like ‘I’m the sceptical one, so don’t push it Tonto’ and ‘bring us a bottle of red and four glasses’ when confronted with a piece of incriminating evidence. Another shining star is Liz the newsroom intern who is too good to describe here but is possibly the best part of the entire series and gets away with the best lines (excluding ‘ole Bill).

I kept an article that talked about State of Play and other smilier films and series on my cork board for about seven years, till the paper got yellowed and fragile. It described the tactics the journos in State of Play use as ’..Like a road map of the horrors of modern British journalism: phone-tapping, withholding evidence, more lies than the News of the World. And these are done by the good guys; the people they go after are murderers.’

In short: I’m never going to be able to describe all the ways I love this show, but for now I say: watch it. Watch it for six hours of absolutely cracking television, the character arcs, the terrible 2003 fashion choices, for Bill Nighy, for young James McAvoy. But most of all watch it bc you’ll see what’s going on right now reflected in every action and every scene. When characters are arrested in their newsroom, intimidated by both politician and policemen alike think of what’s going on rn in our dang country. When Cal protects his anonymous sources remember that Australia’s shield laws  are still quite limited the it comes to preventing journalists from being charged over naming confidential informants. And most of all when the team are pressured into dropping the story by the higher-ups, think of the blacked out papers we all picked up on Monday morning when our press agencies decided to ask ‘what are they covering up?’

As Cameron says ‘Big day. Big story. Big hitters.’

[thiswreckageivebecome]

The Winter Soldier is Still Here (Part 26 - “The Newcomer”) (Bucky/Winter Soldier x Fem!reader)

Word Count: 2410

Warnings: None

Author's Note: You may want/need to use Google Translate for this chapter... Also, I do not own the artwork.

Masterlist

BUCKY POV

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

I didn't have time to warn Natasha. (Y/N) was already attacking her. I punched Charscovsky three times, once to cause unconsciousness, another time for everything he'd done to her, and a third time to ensure he'd remain out for a while. (Y/n) once made me watch a strange movie named Zombieland and if I learned nothing else from it, I learned to double-tap.

As he slid to the floor, I quickly tried to figure out how to handle the situation. I sprung towards (Y/n), knocking her so that we rolled across the ground but she no longer had Natasha pinned. I pinned her but it wasn't for long. She kneed me in the gut and when I scrunched in pain she was able to kick me off and against the wall. The strength was undeniable. Natasha distracted her as she began to charge me, shocking her with one of those taser discs she always had on hand. It stopped (Y/n) just long enough for me to step away from where she was headed. I attempted to pin her hands behind her back but she bounced back from the tasering quicker than expected. He had taken her from me in the worst way imaginable.

"Bucky, " I just barely heard Natasha say. "We've got to get her unconscious. She's manic, " she said in between blocking hits. "Barnes!" she continued, at a higher volume this time in hopes of knocking me from my thoughts. "I know you don't want to but you HAVE to. You have to do it! Do it for (Y/n)." Natasha was able to grab her just in time for me to push her so hard into the concrete wall that she fell down immediately unconscious.

I stumbled down beside her to hold her in my arms. Tears came to my eyes. "Natasha, all I ever wanted was to not harm her, yet here we are again. I've thrown her into another wall and now worst of all, she's a winter soldier."

NATASHA POV

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

Out of nowhere, someone was on my back and attempting to take me to the floor. Given that they had the element of surprise, they almost succeeded. I grabbed them just right, throwing them backward off of me but they simply skimmed across the floor, landing on all fours. When she looked up I recognized the face but not the eyes. It was (Y/n) but it was obvious that she was no longer (Y/n). They had turned her and this was about to be a horrendous situation. She ran at me again but luckily I was prepared so I began blocking every punch and kick she sent my way amidst trying to speak with James. "He is not going to handle this well, " I thought as she hit me in the neck with her leg, attempting to take me down. I had to convince him to knock her out. He was the only one of us strong enough to do it. She was too strong in her maddened state. I didn't want to watch the heartbreak on his face as my words registered and he came to the terms that he would indeed have to knock her out. Luckily, I was too distracted attempting to retain my life than to have to watch this but after she was unconscious on the floor, I had to see it and it was 70 times worse than I thought it would be. Despite my heart breaking for James, a shadow caught my attention more than the cracking inside my chest. I readied myself for another attack.

Out of the shadows came a figure completely clothed in black, in a...was that a catsuit? The figure held up their hands as in surrender as another figure appeared to their left, an African woman dressed in warrior garb. The face of the suit disappeared and the face of an African man appeared in its stead.

"Hello, I am King T'Challa of Wakanda. This is Okoye. We have been tracking Hydra for two years now and we came to confiscate the leader but it seems you've almost beat us to it." He attempted a smile, yet it was obvious they both remained on guard and prepared for a fight if there would be one. I stood slowly. I knew the name but only as a dignitary. Wakandans tended to keep to themselves despite that wars around their nation broke out consistently; they always remained neutral and out of the fight. I rose slowly. I didn't believe them to mean any harm, especially if they had been indeed hunting Hydra superiors.

"I'm Natasha," I introduced myself but kept my distance. "This is-"

"Mr. Barnes, yes; and this must be (Y/n)," he finished the introductions. Bucky and I both exchanged looks before viewing him quizzically.

"She has been infected, just as he was, " Okoye stated, emotionless, referring to (Y/n) and then James. She then began to approach the Hydra leader, Charscovsky and injected him with something. "A sleeping antidote that should keep him under for the next 72 hours," she explained sensing our confusion.

"We wish to bring Charscovsky back to Wakanda with us," T'Challa stated simply. "Will that-"

"No," Bucky growled. "He is going to pay for what he has done." T'Challa had a glimmer of worry walk across his features. Okoye seemed more annoyed than anything.

"This is what we intend for him, yet he has additional crimes against our country and people that we intend to question and incriminate him for."

"No. He will pay for it and I will bring the punishment. He has taken everything from me, absolu-"

"You are not the only one he has taken things from Mr. Barnes," T'Challa's voice rose and had a bite in it. It only brought more tension into the air.

"Look, I understand we all have dogs in this fight, but we do not know each other. How are any of us to trust each other?" I attempted to bring some peace even if it was questionable peace.

"We do know you. We know the-" Okoye began but she was visibly silenced with a look from T'Challa.

"We know who you are, Ms. Romanoff. We are aware of the Avengers and the missions that they have taken on. We are aware of the Accords, the tensions that have arisen, and the pasts of each individual that are part of the team...or not," he finished off, motioning towards James with the last bit.

"And how do you know all of this? Wakanda is a closed-off, neutral, and underdeveloped country, is it not?"

"Ahh, Ms. Romanoff, that is where you are wrong. Things are not always the way they appear," he paused before looking to James and continuing, "are they, Mr. Barnes?"

BUCKY POV

———————-

I didn't know why I trusted these strangers, but a part of me did without question. All of my training pointed to a different thought process, yet I couldn't help but believe what they said and I felt that they didn't believe me to be the threat most did.

"No," I answered plainly.

"You see, Mrs. Romanoff when your team discovered Mr. Barnes was alive, he was seen as a threat and not to be trusted. He was seen as an enemy of the states because of his past. What your team failed to understand, however, what even Mr. Barnes I suspect fails to understand, is that he is and has always been a victim of Hydra. He is not the one to be blamed for the actions of the past 70 years." His words shocked me, absolutely shocked me and I was unable to respond. He believed I wasn't at fault. He continued when neither Natasha or myself responded. "You see, Wakanda has its own secrets. We do keep things from the world. We have kept our secrets hidden from the world for many years. My father, as his before him, and his before him, and so on, they all believed that by opening ourselves up to the world that they would attempt to overtake us, to plunder us, and to leave us desolate. However, as our country has thrived, and now...as I have been forced to take on the throne, I see that by keeping ourselves in hiding, our prosperity in hiding, we are only looking out for ourselves instead of looking out for our fellow humankind. We want this to be our first act in stepping out of the shadows and in doing something for mankind, by taking Charscovsky back with us, and in turn ensuring he never hurts anyone else. He is the tip of the top and by taking him down, a multitude of Hydra is taken with him." As if in attempts to protect Hydra, (Y/n) began to shake, tremble, and bolt about on the floor, still unconscious, but attempting to make her way out into the world again. I knelt down to attempt to calm her, knowing it was useless.

"(Y/n), it's okay. I'm here. I'm here and I'm not going to let them hurt you anymore." I could feel my eyes welling up and a tear escaped down my cheek. I noticed Okoye approach gently.

"Mr. Barnes, I can administer her a sedative that will help." I could only nod, knowing that if I attempted to speak at that moment, it would come out a scream, a scream of fury and sorrow. She worked quickly, injecting (Y/n), and then backing slowly away again, giving us space. I decided to sit down against the wall and pull her into my arms so that she could lay all of her weight into me, not that she was even aware of it. It was silent for a moment as everyone waited for me to regain control of my emotions. After that moment passed, T'Challa and Okoye exchanged words quietly and in their own language.

"Ngaba sineendawo ezaneleyo kuzo zonke i-eVTOL?"

"Wam kumkani," Okoye answered, "Ngokuqinisekileyo awuthandi ukuwabuyisela bonke eKakanda kunye nathi."

"Okoye, sinokubanceda. Sinokubanceda bobabini."

"Kodwa ngantoni na, ukumkani wam? Ngokuqinisekileyo awukholelwa ukuba sinokuzithemba! Ube yintsebenziswano ephindwe kabini ebomini bakhe kwaye uqeqeshwe ngokuqeqeshwe kakhulu, ingaba uyisiphoso sakhe okanye akunjalo."

"Ungakhathazeki, Okoye. Ndiyakholwa kulo mzuzwana, ukuba banokuthenjwa. Khangela oko bayenzele le ntombazana. Khangela oko bakubeka engozini," T'Challa replied.

Okoye removed her attention from the conversation to take us into view. Neither Natasha or I recognized this language. Hydra must not have ever seen Wakanda as a threat otherwise I surely would understand the secret conversation in its entirety.

"Would you like to share with the class," Natasha broached.

"Eyona ... Ndicinga ukuba babeya kubakho ukusivumela ukuba sithathe uCharscovsky ngaphandle kokulwa xa sasinceda le ntombazana," Okoye said, blatantly ignoring Natasha.

"Ewe ... kwaye sinokumnceda," T'Challa grinned slightly with a teasing tone. He then continued in English so that we could understand. "If you will come with us, we can help her. We can help both of you, actually. It will take time, but it can be done...or should I say, undone. However, you must let us bring Charscovsky with us. We will not leave him here."

Natasha looked at me. I could see the indecision in her eyes, the fear that she didn't want anyone to see. She didn't trust them. Hell, I didn't fully trust them, but just the paltry iridescence of saving grace that they may offer (Y/n) and hopefully erase what had been done to her...I would take that offer, no matter the cost.

"We'll go. (Y/n) and I will go. Natasha, you should go back to the compound. They'll be worried by now."

"But Buc-," she attempted to object.

"Natasha, it's fine. We'll be okay. Well, as okay as we can be. Someone has to go back and let them know something, but please make something up. Don't tell them what has happened. Steve will blow a gasket. Well, that plus, he'll be right on our heels." She approached me so that she could attempt a quieter conversation.

"Barnes, we don't know them. This could all be another setup." I looked at this stranger, T'Challa. I examined him for a moment. "It's not. They mean to help," I responded matter-of-factly. She could sense there was no changing my mind. I held (Y/n) more tightly to my chest. "I have to do this for her. She didn't deserve this, Nat. I have to do anything I can to take it away." Her face dropped before she dropped her head in defeat. She stood and turned to the two strangers.

"Is there any way that we could keep in contact so that we can be assured this isn't a setup?" T'Challa eyed her mindfully.

"We will contact you as soon as we reach Wakanda. From there, after we have them all settled, we can send you the coordinates so that you and your team can come to see the true Wakanda and your friends for yourselves." I could tell she only liked this plan a minuscule amount, but she also knew it was the best offer she'd get so she nodded curtly. I stood and went to pick (Y/n) up. To my surprise, T'Challa approached and assisted in retrieving her from the ground. He placed her in my arms so that I could walk and she would be more comfortable despite that she didn't know the difference. He then pressed a beaded bracelet on his arm.

"Shuri, get the miscreant," he said, and out of thin air appeared a board-like holographic that went underneath Charscovsky and lifted him in the air ahead of us. We followed Okoye and the limp body of the Hydra leader outside to see an aircraft appear out of thin air. I could practically feel Natasha's eyes grow in synchronous time with my own. Clearly, these people were much more advanced than we ever thought. Little did I know I had absolutely no idea the technological advancements that were in store for my eyes. I bid Natasha goodbye.

"Thank you, Nat. You will never know how much I appreciate your help today. (Y/n) will too when she's better." She nodded in response and something materialized in her eyes that I did not understand but I did not question it. I turned and followed T'Challa onto the ship and we lift off for Wakanda.

#the winter soldier is still here #bucky barnes #winter soldier #fanfiction #bucky fic #writing #masterlist

[paris-willow-grey-blog]

OC Profile!

So, this being my first post, i reckon I should introduce my character. This will probably be reblogged further down the line and updated a bit as I go along; but here is the profile of Paris Grey!

BASICS :

Name: Paris Willow Grey

Age: 19

Race: White (Caucasoid)

Gender: Female

Height: 5'2

Weight: 118lbs

Eye Color: Blue-green

Hair: Long, usually braided, and dark brown.

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APPEARANCE EXTENDED:

General Appearance: Braided hair, and a red jumper. She wears denim shorts, knee high socks and smaller, black boots. Sometimes she wears a flower in her hair, but only if her hair is down.

Facial appearance: Freckled. Very freckled. They become much more visible in the sun; though. She doesn't wear makeup, and has dimples.

Skin color and appearance: Her skin is pale. It isn't quite tanned enough to be considered tan, but it is more tanned than quite a few people she talks to.

General body build/type/figure: Petite/small, and skinny. Not a model body type, mind you.

Characteristic Gestures: When confident in herself or in what she's saying, she stands straight with her shoulders back, or sits with her fingertips touching. When nervous, she locks her ankles, and plays with her hair. Her usual stance is one hand on her hip while standing straight, or resting her chin on her hand if sitting down.

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RELATIONS:

Family Background/Lineage: Her father was a respected journalist before he had her, and her mother died during childbirth. She was put up for adoption at 3 years old, and taken in by another foster family.

General relationships, past or present: Her foster mother was kind and caring, and would knowingly take her own life if it meant her children could keep theirs. Her foster father was almost never around; and in hindsight, was very obviously a cheater. Her foster sister was sassy and a little bit bossy, but cared about her family. Even if they weren't blood related. She can't remember anything about her relationship with her real father.

Involvement with any associations, guilds, or militias: She was put into a training association at the age of 13, and stayed there until she was moving out. After moving out, she needed money, and found a job at an assassin organization which she was practically forced into.

Any enemies, villains, or rivals, and how did this come to be: The owner of the assassin organization, who wants her back. He goes by the name of Joan Balmer. This came to be when she was taken into questioning by the Avengers, and was recruited to work for them eventually. He found out that she ratted them out, and moved the organization to another location, to plan their revenge on her. She can hardly go outside without feeling extreme anxiety about that place.

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PERSONALITY:

General happiness, 1-10: 7/10. It gets ruined pretty easily.

Social level 1-10: 9/10. She doesn't trust people too easily.

Distinctive personality traits: She's outgoing and a little over-the-top. She's dramatic, too.

Defining flaws/quirks: She is a little egotistical, and not the brightest. She's smart when it comes to some subjects though.

Likes: Dogs, cats, animals in general. She also loves anything theatre related, hence her overly dramatic personality.

Dislikes: She hates not having the upper-hand in any situation. It's not like she'll hold a grudge or anything after it, she just doesn't like it in general. She also hates being told what to do; which comes as a problem when something is important. Just don't act bossy around her; she won't listen to you at all.

General Personality Type: Entertainer, always cheerful and will happily take an audience anytime.

Introvert/Extrovert: Extrovert, 100%.

Method of Handling Anger or Rage (Repress, throw things, etc): They try to vent, or write it out on paper. When something really pisses her off, though, she sometimes cries.

Admirable Traits: Confident, and kind to almost everybody. She's able to stand up for herself easily; and forgives people who deserve a second chance. She's great at telling if people deserve a second chance or not, too.

Negative Traits: Her ego is a little high. She also becomes judgmental easily. If a person judges her, or gives her a nasty look, she'll return the behaviour anyday.

Things That Make Uncomfortable or Embarrassed: If people are in her personal space, she becomes very uncomfortable. She becomes embarrassed easily. If something embarrasses you, it'll probably embarrass her.

Hobbies: Writing, and even performing sometimes. She also likes fantasising about anything at all. Anything.

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HISTORY:

History (Paragraph, chart, timeline, etc): Was born in the UK, Winchester into a family of medium income. Her mother died during childbirth, due to issues with her pre-existing conditions which she never found out about. She can't remember much about her real father, other than that he was a respected journalist, but was forced to quit due to his wife being pregnant. He was struggling with finances, and eventually had to put her into a foster home when she was 3 to keep her safe. Her foster mother was the best person she'd ever known. She was the most uplifting part of her entire life; and kept supporting her for the longest time. Her foster father was never around. He said that he was at "work". Her foster sister was a little cautious around her at first, but eventually settled into a new life with her. When she turned 18, she moved into an apartment of her own in another country. She needed money to keep up with her rent charges, and got offered a job at the previously mentioned assassin association. She worked there for almost a year, and regrets every moment of it. She was found by the Avengers and taken into questioning when she had a breakdown during one of her missions. They decided she'd be useful, and took her in, to work for them.

Most Painful Things To Witness in One's Life: The innocent people who just happened to not have enough money to stop the organization from putting them on the target list, and how their life met their untimely end.

Traumas/Psychological Scars from the Past: She's now a little uneasy at the sight of extreme bleeding, but other than that, just can't bring herself to use a gun anymore. She also has a few phobias from working there.

-Atychiphobia (fear of failure)

-Claustrophobia (fear of small or confined spaces)

-Pyrophobia (fear of fire)

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TICKLING INFO

Ler: She's a big fan of teasing the Lee, since it makes the tickling worse sometimes. Her favorite kind are anticipation teases. She just wiggles her fingers over the skin before digging in. This is why safe words are a thing. If you say the safe word (you may have to say it about 3 times), then she'll stop and get you water, or whatever you want for about 5 minutes until you've recovered. She takes time into aftercare, too. It's important to her that the Lee fully recovers.

Lee: She isn't one to admit that she's ticklish. At all. She'll lie, but if you start making threats to tickle her, it becomes more obvious than ever. She hates being teased. It's torture. She squirms around, and if that doesn't work out, curls up into a ball, and is unable to do anything else after that. She doesn't say stop until she means it, though.

Worst spots: Belly or navel, underarms and feet.

Any tools: She uses feathers sometimes, but other than that, hairbrushes. She'd die if you use any of those on her, though.

And that's it! Hopefully this covered everything that needs to be talked about. Ill take any constructive criticism on her; and I'll fix/add anything that needs to be fixed or added.

[s0uk3y3]

Vampire AU backstories

these are still a little thought where dates are concerned and stuff but here’s the general backstories of each of the gang in my vampire AU

Noodle - born in Japan in 1938, father was a part of the army so was always away from home and her mother was forced to raise her daughter herself. Once Japan entered the war in 1941 Noodles mother was forced to put her into an orphanage as she couldn’t afford to care for her anymore. She disappeared soon after this and was never seen again. It was at the orphanage Noodle was chosen to be a part of a secret government super solider programme. Along with hundreds of other children she would be trained to be Japan’s last line of defence against the enemy should all else fail. She remained in the programme until 1947 when it was disbanded due to concerns at the results of the older children being negatively affected by their experiences. However Noodle was kept on and trained to be a part of the Japanese secret service. She offered herself to the programme as she still wanted to be useful to her country and being a solider was all she knew at the point. She eventually grew up to be one of their most valued operatives and incredibly valued in her field. She was considering retirement at age 30 when she was sent on what was to be her final mission. They encountered a rouge ancient vampire that overpowered her and her fellow agents, killing most of them but never finished the job on Noodle due to re-enforcements arriving. She was assumed dead and placed in a body bag and sent off to a morgue. She remained there for two days before waking up and realising what had happened to her. After the initial shock wore off she realised this was the new start she was looking for, according to the government she was dead. She took the chance, sneaking into shipment crate on a plane bound for the UK and never looked back. It was soon after arriving in the UK she met the newly reformed Murdoc and he took her in as his second in command.

Murdoc - a young troubled man in Victorian England, Murdoc had lots of baggage. He was forced to work as a chimney sweep as a young boy to feed his fathers alcoholism and was treated incredibly badly by him. His mother had abandoned him on his fathers doorstep years before. Once he turned 18 he left home and his father and fell in with a group of street hooligans living out of an abandoned townhouse. They begged, borrowed and stole and made a decent living for themselves despite their situation. It wasn’t long until Murdoc eventually fell into the same addiction habits as his father, becoming addicted to opium and spending almost all of his time at opium houses. It was there a young vampire woman, Mathilda, became infatuated with him and spent a long time admiring him from afar. One unfortunate night Murdoc found himself in the middle of a rough street brawl in the back alley of one of the opium houses. He was severely wounded with a knife and left to die after the assailants realised what they had done. Mathilda found him bleeding out, dying and decided turning him was the only way to save him. She managed to find a safe place for him with other vampires to take care of him once he woke up. Unfortunately she herself was later killed by a vampire hunter before Murdoc could ever meet her properly. Once he adjusted to vampire life he again fell into his hooligan ways, becoming a rogue youngling. He wreaked havoc on the vampire world with his gang of fellow rogues until he was finally caught and charged for his crimes against the vampire council and laws. He was given the choice of being imprisoned and eventually executed for what he’d done or he could become a force against what he had become and help the vampire council capture young rouges and rehabilitate them. After a short prison stay and long nights of consideration he chose to live and serve the council despite not being too thrilled about it. He eventually met Noodle and Russel, creating his own little gang to help with his debt and give him a sense of family he hadn’t ever truly had.

Russel - Russel was a young vampire hunter in the early 1920’s. He and his closest companion Del were very well known in the American vampire hunting scene as an unstoppable duo who’d never failed a mission thus far in their careers. The Hobbs family was a long line of incredibly talented and skilled hunters who took great pride in their bloodline. Del was like a brother to Russel, being raised by his family next door to Russel’s. It was during the yearly hunters gala in 1924 that Russel was turned. The party was sabotaged by a gang of rouges that killed many of those in attendance. Russel and Del chased the rouges to the woods close to the party venue and faced off against them. There they encountered their centuries old leader and both of them were attacked and wounded grievously. The vampire left Russel alive to turn, the worst possible thing that could happen to a hunter. In a rare case Russels vampire powers manifested almost immediately and absorbed the spirit of his now dead comrade Del. This turned his eyes completely white. He woke up the following morning knowing completely what happened and terrified of what he had become. With the knowledge that the hunters circle would no longer accept him as a vampire he fled to the UK with fears of being hunted or even charged for the murder of his fellow hunters. It was in the UK he found solace with Noodle and Murdoc and honed his powers. He eventually became one of the most powerful vampires currently in existence. He is incredibly sought after due to this and Murdoc and Noodle act as his protectors as well as his family.

2D - Compared to the others, 2Ds backstory is as simple as it gets. Stuart Pot lived a relatively mundane normal life as an employee at Uncle Norms Organ Emporium during the weekdays and overseer of carnival rides with his father at the weekends. He had the usual vices of any guy his age, he partied and drank excessively when he had the time and surrounded himself with friends he adored. On a standard walk home from his friend Richards house one night he took an alleyway shortcut and was attacked by two rouge vampire in the process of being intercepted by Murdoc, Noodle and Russel. He was badly injured and left to die and it was up to Murdoc, the only vampire of age, to turn him in order to save his life and not have another death on his head. 2D wakes up in their home three days after his attack.

The fanfic will continue from where Stus backstory leaves off but that’s the general jist of what their backstories are. Forgive me if there’s stuff I need to fix, I’ll go back and make corrections later 😊

#gorillaz #gorillaz au #vampire au #long post

[kiradurbin]

Super Short Reviews: Spring TV part one:

Russian Doll (Netflix) – Groundhog Day for NY druggies?  Or Mrs. Maisel on special K?  Or is she stuck in a loop in her own video game?  Or is she having the worst mid-life crisis ever?  Or maybe she just really misses her cat?  If you feel too wrapped up in WHY her day keeps repeating you’ve missed the point.... the characters (led by Natasha Lyonne) and the humour are terrific, and don’t even get me started on that wig.  (It IS a wig right???)

American Soul (BET) – Why yes that is Kelly Rowland playing Gladys Kinght!! Soul Train was an iconic American show and its story deserved to be told.  I didn’t care for the soap opera style behind the scenes drama... but what I really liked was the dialogue that did not shy away from the reality of those days... which sadly for the most part have not passed.  

Romance Is a Bonus Book (Netflix) – Korea.   Ohhhhhh this is so adorable and Im so happy I finally like a Korean show.  I love love love Lee Na-Young.   She gives me hope for a better world.   Romantic comedy lovers this is your next binge watch.  

Fast Layne (Disney) – This is the first Disney show I’ve seen that was filmed on location. Automatically it feels better because of that.  The sixth grade girls actually made me giggle and for a second I thought oh I hope my kids want to watch this... but then the car started talking.  Why Why WHY does that voice have to be so ANNOYING?!?!?!?

Umbrella Academy (Netflix) – Wes Anderson meets the Marvel universe. Yay!!!  Two thumbs up from me.  (And big props for humourous song selections.)

Boomerang (BET) – I never saw the movie (don’t yell at me) so I don’t know how it relates to that, but the tv series is fun and funny and sort of like a really upbeat cousin of ATLANTA.

 Whiskey Cavalier (ABC) – Sure fire hit with the 45 and up crowd.  Ana Ortiz (Ugly Betty) and Tyler James Williams (Everybody Loves Chris) made me laugh more in the first episode than any comedy pilot ive seen recently.  By the way if you havent seen the music video for John Newman “Love Me Again” I highly recommend it.  Make sure you watch the full version – the ending is the best.

Riviera (Ovation) – Originally aired in UK 2017.  Can Julia Stiles act?  I cant figure out her appeal.  Her face never moves.  What shines here are the GORGEOUS on location settings and shots.  Good for a summer binge.  

Proven Innocent (Fox) –  Kelsey Grammer as the powerful bad guy and some SUPER annoying girl as a completely unbelievable lead lawyer.   Kelsey Grammer deserves an actual sparring partner and a way better show. Ugh.

Flack (Pop) – UK.  Lascivious fun with Anna Paquin and British playmates.  Beautiful score too.

The Enemy Within (NBC) –   Blindspot... the Blacklist... the Enemy Within.  I guess they couldnt find a way to make the title start with a B.  All the same show to me.  Should be another hit for the 50+ crowd.

Gone (WGN) – originally aired in Canada in 2017.  Chris Noth revives his law enforcement scowl as an FBI agent who recruits a child abductee survivor to help him find missing kids.  Not the first or best show about missing people but you can do a lot worse than Chris Noth at the end of the day when you’re nodding off to sleep on the couch.  

#natasha lyonne #russiandollwig kellyrowland kelly rowland leenayoung johnnewman chrisnoth

[patiencekindnesscourage]

Interview with the Tiny Paladin

1. What is your name?

"Most call me Cherry.”

2. What is your real name?

"Chereisie Crawford.”

3. Do you know why you were called that?

“I was named after my Great Grandmother on my mothers side. She was a priestess if I remember correctly.”

4. Are you single or taken?

"I’m engaged to a wonderful man.”

5. Have any abilities or powers?

“The Light. I have been able to call on it since I was very young. Since then I’ve grown stronger with it, through it, and can heal as well as use it offensively and defensively. Beyond that, I’m told I also have a gift for languages. I love them, learning them, about them. They are truly fascinating.”

6. Stop being a Mary Sue.

”A what?” 7. What’s your eye color?

“Dark green.”

8. How about your hair color?

“Pale blond.”

9. Have you any family members?

“My soon to be husband, Grant, and his son William. There is also Bardock, and Sif.”

10. Oh? What about pets?

"Cain. He’s a Gilnean Mastiff a friend close to my heart gave to me. He’s a bit of a handful and could fill a tub with drool, but I wouldn’t have him any other way. While I don’t see Bardock as a pet, most would consider him one. He’s an Elwynn Grizzly Bear. I found him as a cub when I was younger after my father died. His mother had been killed by hunters, so we had something in common. We’ve been inseparable ever since.”

11. That’s cool I guess, now tell me about something you don’t like.

“Demons. After what happened on the Broken Shores... I cannot find anything redeemable or useful about them.”

12. Do you have any hobbies/activities you like doing?

“I love to tinker and engineer. Create! Making something from nothing but bits and pieces, or simply seeing how far I can take a project, test the limits of what I can build and see if it works. It’s like solving a puzzle that has a use. Machines just seem to make sense to me. I also love to sing, though I’m not very good.”

13. Ever hurt anyone before?

“I’m a soldier, and an ordained Knight. Unfortunately, combat involves hurting others. But It’s not something I enjoy doing, simply a necessity. When combat has ended, an injury is an injury to me, I don’t care what side of the battle you were on, I will do what I can to heal who I can. It’s caused issues in the past for me, and is likely to continue to be an issue in the future. I may  not be granted the same if enemy soldiers found me wounded. But that is for their consciences to hold, not my own.”

14. Ever… killed anyone before?

“Far too many to count...”

15. What kind of animal are you?

"I’m... not sure? I’ve been called a ‘Little Bear’ before... does that count? I’ve never seen myself as anything but what I am.”

16. Name your worst habits.

“I’ve been told countless times I’m too stubborn for my own good.”

17. Do you look up to anyone at all?

“Sir Marcus Hornigald.”

18. Gay, straight, or bisexual?

"Does it matter, really? I like who I like.”

19. Do you go to school?

“I was squired and schooled throughout that time, as well as basic training. Now? I’m self taught.”

20. Do you ever want to marry and have kids one day?

“I’m engaged, so I would say that is a yes for marriage. As for kids? I love William as if he were mine, but I would like my own one day as well.”

21. Do you have any fanboys/fangirls?

"Not that I’m aware of?”

22. What are you most afraid of?

"Losing Grant or William... losing my Light.”

23. What do you usually wear?

”Plate armor for the most part, though lately I’ve adopted a set of heavy leather and chain mail. When not in armor, I prefer a comfortable cotton shirt and a pair of cotton or leather pants with my belt.”

24. Do you love someone?

“I love everyone.”

25. When was the last time you wet yourself?

"I’m sorry?”

26. Well, it’s not over yet!

"Oh... You are a very curious individual.”

27. What class are you? (High class, middle class, low class)

"I’m considered low class if there truly needs to be a name for such a thing. We lived in Saltside along the Stormwind harbor. Aptly named. Folk around there used to say the only thing holding the buildings together were bird droppings and brine.”

28. How many friends do you have?

"I am always happy to have new friends.”

29. What are your thoughts on pie?

"I love pie! though admittedly I’m more of a cake person... okay perhaps I’m more of an all sweets person.”

30. Favorite drink?

"Those blue shaved ice drinks the gnomes sell during summer. Next to that I’m a large fan of bourbon.”

31. What’s your favorite place?

“A pond in the hills of Elwynn. I found my heart there.”

32. Are you interested in someone?

“I did say I was engaged, yes? I would say I’m more than interested in a certain someone.”

33. What’s your bra cup size and/or how big is your willy?

Cherry blinks and covers her chest with her arms. “I beg your pardon?”

34. Would you rather swim in the lake or the ocean?

“Uhm... neither, honestly. I can’t really swim.”

35. What’s your type?

“I’ve been told by several friends that I tend to lean toward the ‘scruffy bad boys’. Though to be honest, I’m not sure what my type is. Is it copping out if I say that Grant is my type?”

36. Any fetishes?

“Uhm...” She coughs and flushes scarlet. “I don’t think that’s a very appropriate question.”

37. Seme or uke? Top or Bottom? Dominant or Submissive?

The paladin gives a confused look. “What?”

38. Camping or indoors?

"I have always loved camping beneath the stars, smelling the sweetness of the wildflowers as they cool after the heat of the day. But ultimately, I prefer a bed.”

39. Are you wanting the interview to end?

"I am very sorry, but I really should be returning to my work. Thank you though. I  hope I was able to help in some way.”

40. Now it’s over! Tag 3 people I will tag as many as I want.

Tagged by: @redeemed-gunslinger @leora-strauss @northrendremembers @roses-and-arrows @kat-lockhart @daphne-pink

Taggin: @duelsanddancing @wildname @zack-leingod @myrstarsong @anierous-sunblade @nym-wildseeker @halforc-mercenary @stonestridernerd (both girls!) And anyone else who hasn’t done this yet! I’m a bit behind as usual lol.

#Interview #tagged