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gifsbysimplysonia · 28 days ago

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Sonia’s Trying to Hold Herself Accountable to Just Write SOMETHING Once A Day challenge - Day 19

I'm just gonna rant about wrestling cuz I just finished watching AEW Dynasty.

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou

It probably seems weird to start off a rant piece on professional wrestling with a Maya Angelou quote, but the last part of this quote has been running through my head since the end of the show. And it's the END OF THE SHOW that pro-wrestling often has trouble with, in my experience.

All Elite Wrestling is currently experiencing a wave of feedback ranging from frustrated to downright negative with regards to its Heavyweight Title picture. The champion, Jon Moxley, and his stable known as the Death Riders just cheat their way out of every predicament and screw rightful winners so that they remain challengers only. The word I've seen more often than not when reading fan feedback on this situation is STALE.

So going into AEW Dynasty, where Swerve Strickland, one of AEW's hottest competitors was in line to face Mox, I really thought we were about to finally close this Death Riders chapter once and for all. I could not think of a more deserving wrestler to put the title on, and who could reinvigorate fan interest in the main event title picture, ESPECIALLY as his situationship with Hangman Adam Page was once again coming to the forefront, but in a way that would be new to all of us.

Fans LOVE Strickland vs. Page. They crave it. Much like the bloodlust and violence that connected the two throughout their feud so far, it's a very base desire from fans to see WHATEVER YOU WANNA CALL IT continue between the two. AEW fed fans some crumbs of that in the past few weeks leading up to Dynasty, with the final piece dropped last week seeming to indicate that perhaps a shift in their situation was on the way. And then? During a shmoz of a main event at Dynasty, Hangman appeared and we all waited with bated breath to see ... what decision would he make?

Of course, though, in the tradition of pro-wrestling ... we didn't get that answer. The carrot was dangled in front of us before it was unceremoniously yanked back into the darkness and chaos ensued around and in the ring as the Death Riders showed up and made everything more of a shmoz. And as I sat in my recliner, frustrated fists full of my blanket ... the lights went out. And I was thoroughly confused. Were Brody and Buddy about to come out? Cuz Julia Hart had already wrestled (in a FANTASTIC showing against Mercedes Mone, whom she took to the limit) sooooooooooo who else would warrant the lights going out before appearing?

And then the lights came back on and I was ... stunned. The Young Bucks were in the center of the ring, attacked Swerve, and then the match was over and Mox retained.

..............................................................................................................................

Sooooooooooooooo, management decided to FURTHER EXTEND the storyline the vocal majority has expressed they really don't want to see anymore ... BUT they presumably didn't want the storyline to remain stale. Therefore, the decision was made to add, arguably, the 2 most divisive performers in the company into the mix. When I tell you that I am CONFUSED.

If the point was heat, ok. Maybe it makes sense. But I'm one of those annoying people who remembers things in pro-wrestling. I have a Dory brain when it comes to literally anything else in life, but not pro-wrestling storylines.

And when Mox and his Death Riders started out, they were tired of the YOUNG GUYS IN THE BACK who were COMPLACENT, as well as the people in the back WHO ALLOWED FOR THE COMPLACENCY. Do y'all remember after they practically murdered Bryan Danielson to send him off of TV, we had a batch of young guys that LOOKED LIKE they were going to be our heroes up against the Death Riders?

I remember Danny Garcia. I remember Orange Cassidy. I remember Hook. I remember Darby Allin.

And I was like...ok. I like this. I like them. I'm absolutely prepared to get behind them against Mox and his cronies and defend AEW from the Death Riders' oppression. Only...that never materialized. I'm unsure as to why.

Right NOW, I know OC is injured and Darby is off climbing a mountain. But Danny's lackluster championship reign (and it's NOT HIS FAULT, just like it wasn't Private Party's fault; AEW has a REAL follow through problem with younger folks who become champs) just ended and Hook was thrown together with Joe and Shibata (and I love the idea of the Opps coming to face the Death Riders). But there's been no real cohesive team to come together to try and take the Death Riders out BUT THE ORIGINAL POINT WAS ... Death Riders hated the complacency in the company and Mox more specifically wanted to inspire the young people, through violence even, to stand up and start fighting for what they wanted and for AEW. As soon as Cope stepped into the main event picture, that seemed to have gone out the window.

Now we have the Young Bucks back. They were (are? I have no idea if they still have the titles) EVPs. If anyone could actually have responsibility for not having that locker room in order NOR inspired, look no further than the Jacksons. Yet, Mox and the Death Riders are working with them? Someone said to me, "Mox didn't look happy that they were out there," and I don't know if that's true, I was busy screaming into my pillow over the whole ending of AEW Dynasty.

Which brings ME back to the point I wanted to make: you can have the best pay per view up until the ending of the show. But if you end the show on a down note, a messy note, a nonsensical note, a SHMOZ? THAT is what is going to stick with the fans on their way home. That's just fact. I KNOW I saw BANGERS including but not limited to Omega vs Speedball vs Rick O'Shea, Mark Briscoe vs Kyle Fletcher (tired of Mark taking Ls), and Julia Hart vs Mercedes Mone. But after that ending? THAT is what I'm sitting here stewing over, thinking about.

And perhaps to many, that's victory or that's the point. "You're still thinking about that main event" which is along the lines of "any publicity, including bad, is still good." Unfortunately I've never believed that. If there's a BAD TASTE to something, it's still bad. I'm not sitting here with praise or gratitude in my heart for what I've experienced, I'm once again frustrated and wondering why should I continue to spend money on this when I can just get a recap for free on weekly TV? Eventually I'd find a way to see the matches I heard were amazing in some other way, but why pay someone else to send me home disappointed?

Such is the nature of pro-wrestling. It's a carney business, as my brother says. meant to stir up strong emotions. It often abandons what it claims to stand for from one minute to the next. But the main event title picture is arguably the spotlight situation for a wrestling company, and having fans consistently provide only neutral to negative feedback on it cannot be spun as a "good thing" to me.

Not to mention, AEW now has to reckon with all the fans they teased more Hangman and Swerve to without following through. Not to say that they won't; I've seen people speculate that Swerve and Hangman will now team up against the Bucks and BOY DO I HATE THAT just like I hate Roddy and Kyle - who had REALLY come into their own personalities when they were on their own - just get once again relegated to Adam Cole's backup. Hangman and Swerve are stellar singles stars who should be in major one-on-one feuds and/or title pictures. But AEW is such a mess that they are now taking those 2 big stars that fans LOVE, and relegating them to a tag team whilst the main event picture is ... I have zero idea?

People are speculating Ospreay wins the Owen tourney and takes on Mox and I hate that too lol cuz as talented as Ospreay is (OMG, Kevin Knight showed UP, held his OWN, and showed OUT against Will. God Bless him, that man is a star), he's a wrestler so why is he anymore equipped to go up against the hooligan mentality of the Death Riders? He has no back up of his own so he doesn't have the numbers, and while he CAN fight and do cage matches, he's not known for the bloodsport or hard core type shizz Mox is known for.

Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh. Bottom line, the main event picture is muddier than ever, 2 dudes I coulda gone the rest of my life without seeing back in the ring are back in play, and my frustration and dislike of the entire heavyweight title picture continues. While I remember the stellar matches of the show, I couldn't tell you one detail of the main event match other than it left me feeling disappointed...again.

#sonia's writing #pro wrestling #wrestling #to be tagged

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blogger360ncislarules · 2 months ago

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Former Gossip Girl star Leighton Meester has spent several years now making viewers laugh in TV sitcoms such as the beloved ABC comedy Single Parents, Hulu’s How I Met Your Father and Fox’s far too short-lived Making History. So at first glance, a one-hour series titled Good Cop/Bad Cop might seem like a departure for the actress.

But as those who tuned into Wednesday’s series premiere found, there’s a lot of humor in the quirky police dramedy — a co-production between The CW, The Roku Channel, Australia’s Stan and ITV Studios — not to mention plenty of messy family dynamics.

“Because it is a detour a little bit, giving myself a little bit of something different is always a really great challenge for me,” Meester tells TVLine. “But at the same time, I really was excited to take on a comedy again because it’s just such a fun space to live in. And when I read the script, I, actually, was really laughing and excited to say the lines as they were, and then also collaborate and enjoy playing with it. So that’s kind of the best of all worlds.”

Meester stars as Lou, a small-town detective in the Pacific Northwest who is forced to partner up with her socially-challenged brother Henry (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’s Luke Cook). And the police chief handing down the order? That would be their father, Big Hank (Dexter: New Blood’s Clancy Brown). There are plenty of hurt feelings between the trio: Henry wrote a critical editorial about their dad, then left town after Hank only hired Lou out of the police academy. Plus, Henry reveals to Lou that Hank brought him in to offset her weaknesses, like how she’s too nice.

All those elements combine to form a unique series that’s “a little mixture of, like, Gilmore Girls with Twin Peaks,” Meester describes. “It’s family, fun, quippy sitcom dialogue that’s very heartwarming, and then you’ve got the police station, small Pacific Northwest town with quirky townspeople and the detectives on the scene. So that mix kind of makes sense to me, even though those two things don’t necessarily seem like they go together.”

Below, Meester talks about her character’s sibling dynamic, her husband Adam Brody‘s guest spot and whether she might visit his Netflix comedy, Nobody Wants This.

TVLINE | One of the things that sets this show apart is, usually, you would see a central partnership or relationship with some sort of will they/won’t they element, but here, it’s a sibling one. What does that dynamic allow you to explore as the season progresses that’s different and maybe more enjoyable for you? Well, the really nice thing about this dynamic is that, obviously, we’re the odd couple, but we have a common goal, and while we’re very different, and we have different expectations of each other than a regular two-detective duo would normally have, we have a lot of baggage coming into the relationship. At the same time, there’s a relationship that we both really care about making work and a deep connection with a lot of history, and we get to grow and learn from each other, and it’s a really fun dynamic both in the comedic and then heartfelt sort of pieces.

TVLINE | Did you and Luke immediately have that sibling chemistry, or was that something you had to work at? Honestly, from my point of view, it absolutely was pretty much instant. I think we both have a similar sense of humor. He brings a lot of really good energy and really good feeling to a set and to a scene. He’s just really so talented and quick, really fun and funny, and I think we’re very much on the same wavelength. So I didn’t ever have, like, a sort of adjustment period to being brother and sister with him.

TVLINE | And Clancy Brown is playing your dad, who is a fantastic actor with a long resume. What was it like establishing that father/daughter dynamic with him? It was quite nice. He definitely comes in [and] makes you feel very much like a collaborator. He’s got a good sense of humor. He’s very warm. He wears his heart on his sleeve and is very open with his heart and his emotions. He’s super funny, and I feel like he gets me, which is a nice feeling, and he just can absolutely carry a scene. He’s a really great person to work with and to know.

TVLINE | There are a lot of complicated family dynamics here. Once things are more out in the open in the premiere, about their dad only hiring Lou out of the academy and him bringing Henry on because Lou’s too nice, does that create a space for understanding and conversation? Or does it just cause more tension between the three of them as the season progresses? I think it’s a little bit of both. It ebbs and flows. There is some resentment and, obviously, some humor that we have to bring to it, which is really enjoyable, trying to play the sibling rivalry a bit. My character is close to her dad, and has always stayed close to him, and works under him directly. So when her brother comes in, she sort of gets her feathers ruffled, and her imperfections or her shortcomings are being pointed out to her more because a sibling will definitely do that, maybe more so than a parent. So she has to kind of stand her ground and defend herself a little bit more than she’s used to and be called out, and then she also has to be the boss over her younger brother, who doesn’t want to be bossed around.

TVLINE | Lou is a woman working in a male-dominated field, with her father as her boss and her brother as her partner. What kind of challenges does that present for her? I think she’s learned, for better or worse, that she has to kind of put her emotions, her personal feelings, on the back burner a lot. Things that she never really worked on or figured out from her past. When they were growing up, their mother left and kind of never came back, and she became, instantly, as I think many young women do, sort of the mother of the family and felt the automatic placement as the caretaker, and she took on a lot without really exploring how she felt about it. So it really was a joy to uncover that and explore, just as an actor, throughout the season, that particular piece of history for this character that was so well-written and just really dig into that. But I think she also has, by default, become almost like the son her father never had. She has to kind of be perfect all the time, and they get along very well, naturally, and all of their interests and tastes and methods kind of align. So when her brother comes in, and he’s so different from her, I think it reflects back on her just what her shortcomings are, and she’s sort of forced to face them.

TVLINE | When we posted the trailer for the show, I spotted your husband, Adam Brody, in there. What kind of character does he play? In one of the episodes, he comes in as a very quirky, odd duck, and he’s a doctor who has become a vet. Don’t ask me to make it make total sense, but that’s kind of the fun of the show. He helps us, maybe unintentionally, to solve a crime, and we get to interview him and track him down.

TVLINE | This isn’t the first time the two of you have shared the screen. What do you enjoy about acting together? Well, he’s my favorite actor, and he’s my favorite person. So the two of those things just make for a wonderful day at work. I get to be with my best friend, who I love and look up to. I always forget that I’m watching him when I am, and whenever I work with him, it feels very secondhand, and there’s so much love and trust. So I’m just grateful every time I get to be on set with him.

TVLINE | When I was doing the press junket for Nobody Wants This, I asked creator Erin Foster this, and now I get to ask you: Could we see you on Nobody Wants This Season 2? Is that something you’ve talked about with Adam? Oh, that would be really fun. I’m a big fan. So, yeah, that would be awesome.

TVLINE | Kristen Bell said that her husband, Dax, had a very visceral reaction to watching her and Adam, and was really rooting for their characters to get together. How did you feel watching the show, and watching that first kiss that was so hyped and them falling in love? Like I said, whenever I watch him onscreen, I just forget it’s him, really, and this show is no exception. I just am a huge fan of the show and of his work, and so, I, like most of the audience, was really rooting for the two of them, and I loved how deeply developed both the characters were and how they got to be these imperfect people, finding each other.

TVLINE | Do you have a favorite scene or moment from the show? Honestly, all of it’s pretty good. I liked watching all the basketball stuff. I thought that was pretty funny.

TVLINE | This is not TV-related, but I was so happy to see people talking about your music on social media recently, because I love Heartstrings. It’s a great album. Do you have any plans to get back into music? I do. I have been a little bit more focused on acting, but I think in the next year or so, I’ll be putting a little bit more energy into music, and whenever I have time, I enjoy writing and recording. So, hopefully, I’ll be able to put some new music out, but I have no concrete plans for it.

#good cop bad cop #the cw

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harmonyspopculturecorner · 1 year ago

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The Artful Dodger

!!SPOILER WARNING!!

I am a simple woman…if Thomas Brodie-Sangster is in something, I will watch it. He has been a favorite of mine for many years, and I can always trust the projects he’s involved in to be great. This show was no exception. Not only does Thomas Sangster play an amazing Jack Dawkins, but add in Maia Mitchell as Lady Belle, and David Thewlis as Fagin, and you’ve got a cast that works seamlessly together to bring these characters and story to life. I’m not the biggest Charles Dickens fan, but being a reader, of course I know the story of Oliver Twist. Then we have this show, which follows a character I know many people loved from the original, Jack Dawkins, 15 years older and trying to leave his life of pickpocketing behind to become a surgeon who challenges the status quo in a colony in Australia. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this show with the perfect mix of period and medical drama that added in elements of romance and the world of crime. Each character was well written and showed loveable aspects of themselves while also not shying away from the fact that they have their flaws. Jack cares about helping people, but he also struggles with his past and the urge to return to crime. Fagin, while seemingly good-hearted, is also very selfish and doesn’t always think of how others might be impacted. Belle is ahead of her time, wanting to be in the world of medicine and make progress, but forgets how privileged her life is being the daughter of a governor. These three are truly the heart of the show, but that’s not to say the other characters also didn’t display the same well-roundedness. Everything was well paced and each storyline built up the characters and the world this show takes place in. Overall, this show was a masterpiece, and I can only hope that it gets the love it deserves so that we may see more of this story unfold.

#entertainment #pop culture #journaling #review #show review #the artful dodger

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noirapocalypto · 1 year ago

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Here's something fun I thought of. Since you relate a bit of Embry with Hangman, which wrestler do you associate with your other cyberpunk OCs with? 👀

Oh my god, mi rey, I love this question so much KUJHDSGLJKS okay, sit tight, because I'm gonna likely ramble. I'm gonna go off of AEW wrestlers since that's the show I keep up with weekly djkfghlsd

Salem is my boy that has the most wrestler inspos, because he's my special boy and I look for him in everything. His is more detailed because I feel I gotta explain why I picked each one for him. 😅

Fighting Style: Jon Moxley. Salem likes to fight and he gets brutal when he wants to. He's not a stranger to bleeding, and has a similar bloodlust like Mox that gives him that rush during his fights. He also has that swagger to him, that cocky 'I'm going to enjoy this' aura when he knows he's about to throw down. In my wrestling!AU (literally just a concept and a reason to assign my OC's wrestlers lmao), Salem would likely be a deathmatch wrestler with strong leanings to grappling and 'dirty fighting', such as biting and scratching.

Personality: Eddie Kingston and Hook. So hear me out, because I know that's two polar opposites, kinda. Salem has Eddie's confrontational personality, where if you start shit with him, you best back it up. He will call someone out and he will get up in someone's face. He's not afraid to challenge someone, especially when he feels disrespected or is pissed off enough. He also has Hook's broody, quiet demeanor though, most of the time when he's not getting his buttons pushed. He's always has a resting bitch face where he looks angry or annoyed--but it's part of his allure 🤭

Aesthetics/Presentation: I'll always use House of Black as aesthetic inspo for Salem--particularly Brody King. I like Brody's wrestling attire, especially during his entrance. With the hood and the ski mask and the thick ass chain. I think Salem leans more with that look. But also bringing Hook up again, because Salem's a plain black hoodie guy as well.

Putting the rest under a Read More 🖤

Paolo and Paola, are a mix of various tag teams. These two are a duo that are inseparable and are a package deal, so it makes sense to base them off of a few tag teams (which are my fav). However, the team that I associate them the most are The Young Bucks, because of course.

A pair of siblings that pretty much go out of their way to be obnoxious as possible while remaining loyal to their group (like they are with Kenny and with each other). They're doofy, they're not afraid to look silly and dumb, in fact they lean into it with all the dumb shit they like getting up to. The twins would likely be heels because it's so fun for them to be chaotic gremlins.

And here's a bonus one, an extra for Paolo because I've really latched onto Daniel Garcia, and I see a lot of DG in him. I kinda even associate his voice and the way he speaks with Paolo, I imagine my boy sounding like him.

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Judah is interesting because he's not exactly a fighter in his canon story, BUT he will when he needs to/has to. He's arrogant and so, so full of himself. He's rich, he's handsome, he's better than you--you know there I'm going with this. 😎Judah is MJF, though and through.

Like MJF (pre-face turn), Judah doesn't fight unless he has to. He prefers to run his mouth most of the time and weasel his way out of situations his shit talking gets him into. He'll hire people if he needs to. He has zero problem throwing people under the bus to get ahead and knows how to twist and manipulate things to benefit him. But when he does actually decide to act, he's actually skilled af. He's just more of a talker. Charisma is more his style.

However, in recent development...Judah has also had a little face turn of his own. In my story, he softens up considerably when my others manage to befriend him. He might still be a scumbag, but he's their scumbag. 🖤

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I'm going to include Embry anyways, because I love him and his wrestler association. So obvs, I'm going with Hangman Adam Page for my sunshine boy.

Embry is just a really good guy, very likeable and it's not hard to rally behind him. Of course, he still has some of his not-so-wholesome traits (Hangman's entire storyline of feeling inadequate and the more brutal side of him that comes out in certain feuds/matches). Embry contains multitudes, and sometimes they so even if he tries to hide it.

Plus, there's the whole aesthetics with the blond hair and the southern, cowboy vibes. Even more so with the mustache and beard 🥴Which Embry eventually grows out at some point in his story.

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Renato is the one where I have the most trouble with and don't really have one assigned for him because he's still my most underdeveloped OC. I did like Andrade a lot and often associate him with Renato--looks and aesthetics wise. I wish I had more of an answer for him 😭He's just extremely illusive, but he's slowly coming into his own.

#tw flashing #ᴏᴄ ⋆┊ꜱᴠʟᴇᴍ #ᴏᴄ ⋆┊ᴇᴍʙʀʏ ��ʟʟɪꜱ ᴋɴɪɢʜᴛ #ᴏᴄ ⋆┊ᴘᴀᴏʟᴏ ᴠᴇʟᴀsǫᴜᴇᴢ #ᴏᴄ ⋆┊ᴘᴀᴏʟᴀ ᴠᴇʟᴀsǫᴜᴇᴢ #ᴏᴄ ⋆┊ᴊᴜᴅᴀʜ ᴅᴜʙᴏɪꜱ #ᴏᴄ ⋆┊ʀᴇɴᴀᴛᴏ ᴠᴇɴᴛᴜʀᴀ

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nursingwriter · 1 month ago

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Brain Scans as Evidence "Brain images provide insight to understanding behavior. Additionally, the images themselves carry great impact, particularly when used to show differences in either the anatomy or the biological functioning of two different brains. For these reasons, brain images have increasingly been used in both criminal and civil trials" Even though images from brain scans may be used as "evidence" in trials, researchers regularly relate a number of concerns that currently challenge the perception the quote introducing this study asserts. In fact, lshani Ganguli (2007), Harvard University, cites Nancy Kanwisher, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at MIT, to assert in the article, lshani Ganguli "Watching the Brain Lie": " fMRI Is a Messy Muddy Mixed Field... Extremely Well Trained People. That's the Last Kind of Technology You Want to Use in the Legal System" (Kanwisher, Ganguli, 2007, Anatomy of…section, ¶ 8). Distortions attributed to the "hardware" of fMRI, as well as a number of other issues, contribute to uncertainty regarding the reliability of the methods utilized to detect and record brain functionality as it relates to concepts such as pain, lying, and other sensations and behaviors relevant to factual issues in the courtroom. While scientists may successfully study and surmise areas reportedly related to certain behaviors or sensations across a number of human brains, confirmation regarding the reliability of this practice remains evasive as findings primarily evolve; subject to the interpreter's subjective observations. The lack of consensus in the Medical and Neuroscientific community regarding what specific areas of brain activity influence particular behaviors and sensations reveal that one's understanding of the human brain prevents one from accurately interpreting the data to provide a consistent and reliable source of information with regard to matters relevant to a court case, such as intent, deception, or pain. A distinct possibility exists that these hurdles will eventually be overcome, perhaps even in the near future. Current credibility concerns relating to data collected directly from the human brain and rendered into images through fMRI technology, albeit, impede one's ability to predict and analyze behavior and sensations. In light of these comprehensible, challenging yet fatal shortcomings and concerns, the researcher asserts that just as a polygraph test should not be admitted in court as evidence, the fMRI should not likewise inadmissible. Functional MRI Lie Detection Mark Pettit, Jr. (2007), Professor, Boston University School of Law, asserts that although the science behind fMRI appears sophisticated, the basic concept may be readily understood. Pettit explains that fMRI involves creating a series of brain images to reveal "changes in blood levels in the various areas of the brain over time. & #8230; the & #8230;immediate use of fMRI, & #8230; that has generated the most interest and debate about possible courtroom use, is lie detection. The theory purports that blood levels depict how hard the brain works. As lying requires more "brain work" than telling the truth, comparisons from brain scans reportedly reveal when the individual may be lying. (Pettit, Jr., 2007, Dr. Laurence R. Tancredi, a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine and Dr. Jonathan D. Brodie (2007), the Marvin Stern Professor of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, as noted in the quote introducing this study, assert that brain imaging constitutes a credible courtroom tool. Tancredi and Brodie (2007) explain that fMRI works on the principle that changes in the brain's hemodynamics, "which relate to mental operations, can be detected and mapped using basic MRI instrumentation. At this time , the most widely used method to measure cerebral blood flow using MRI has been the Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) technique." The fundamental physiological notion supporting this technique, contingent on the 70-year-old observation that the hemoglobin properties in a strong magnetic field depend on its state of oxygen saturation, contends that increased neural activity in a particular brain region results in greater consumption of oxygen from the blood close to these neurons. Increased blood flow, as well as, blood volume of the local vasculature of the brain's activated regions accompany the increased oxygen consumption. Simpson (2008), Staff Psychiatrist, VA Long Beach Healthcare System, Long Beach, California, investigatges the proposition that fMRI may serve as a potential new lie-detection technique, not based on the measurement of autonomic reactions. In the journal publication, "Functional MRI Lie Detection: Too Good to be True?," Simpson asserts that the application of fMRI, a frequently used tool in neuroscientific research may be utilized to obtain measurements of cerebral blood flow in individuals engaged in deception. "Within the past two years, two separate research groups have devised experimental paradigms and statistical methods that they claim allow identification of brain activity patterns consistent with lying." Researchers relating findings from these groups claim the approaches may be used on individual subjects, with approximately 90% accuracy. fMRI and the Legal System In the journal article, "A Double-Edged Sword: The Role of Neuroimaging in Federal Capital Sentencing," Abram S. Barth (2007), M.P.H. Candidate, Boston University School of Public Health, admits that brain dysfunction is detectable by neuroimaging and also indicates both future dangerousness and impaired capacity. He explains that structural neuroimaging may be conveyed through computerized tomography scanning (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). These two tests produce images of the brains soft-tissue structure. Functional neuroimaging may be administered by conducting a positron emission tomography scanning (PET) test, which records the brain's activity and measures cognitive activity. A combination of structural and functional neruoimaging constitutes a functional MRI (fMRI) test, which combines information about brain activity extracted from functional scans with structural representations. Barth argues against fMRI evidence being admitted in court. He stresses "that even the most scientific predictions, based on thorough examination, diagnosis of mental symptoms, past patterns of behavior, and probabilistic assessment are wrong nearly as often as they are right." If courts did admit frontal lobe dysfunction evidence as evidence of future dangerousness, Barth asserts, two significant difficulties would arise. 1. Frontal lobe dysfunction works in conjunction with other environmental or psychological factors to produce criminal behavior. & #8230;if these corollary factors are controllable, then future dangerousness will be less predictable. For if a frontal-lobe dysfunction sufferer is able to excise his frontal lobe tumor, remove alcohol and drugs from his environment, or receive behavior modification medications, such as antidepressants or mood stabilizers, then frontal-lobe dysfunction may no longer signify future dangerousness, thus removing itself as an aggravating circumstance 2. & #8230;Future dangerousness in the general population is not generalizable to future dangerousness in the prison population. When courts consider the future dangerousness standard, it would be a mistake to focus on the general public, rather than a well-controlled and regulated prison. Since future dangerousness is an aggravating factor that would increase a life sentence to a death penalty, the decision is not whether the defendant would ever be a future danger to the general public. Instead, the correct context for adjudicating future dangerousness is within prison walls, where the defendant will be housed, if he is not put to death. Tancredi and Brodie (2007) concur that when a specific brain image relates to a clinical evaluation or a set of neuropsychological tests, a fMRI image may, in turn, serve as a partial "marker" for particular behaviors. In some instances, the presence of the marker could actually substantiate a presumption that individual "X" evidenced "a particular set of characteristics, such as proneness towards violence, emotional instability to the point of lack of control, and cognitive incompetence, to explain the behavior in question." Perhaps, in conjunction with other more specifically focused behavioral evaluations, the image could reliably explain cause and effect. Ultimately, albeit, no single test should be used as each technological tool possesses limitations that affect the capacity legal and medical practitioners possess to infer causal relationships. Simpson (2008) asserts that even if a number of obstacles were eventually overcome regarding fMRI, the technique would still face additional challenges to being used in criminal proceedings. "The Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination appears to rule out compelling a criminal defendant to submit to the technique." In addition, another uncertain consideration, potential Fourth Amendment implications, would be whether an fMRI scan does or does not constitute a search. Advantages of fMRI Tancredi and Brodie (2007) explain that along with being readily available to researchers and clinicians; reportedly providing enhanced detail and resolution over comparable imaging methods, fMRI offers two distinct advantages over alternative methods for imaging brain activity. 1. The introduction of radioactive isotopes is not required for the production of the signal for measurement; making fMRI essentially non-invasive. In turn, the process may be repeated frequently, if necessary, on the same person without the concern of adverse radiological effects. 2. " fMRI allows for the integration of anatomical (structural), neural, and molecular information in a single session. The gleaning of data on brain activity along with information about the anatomy of the region can be achieved within seconds." As the process surveys neural and metabolic status of the region is simultaneously, fMRI exceeds other brain imaging non-invasive modalities. Disadvantages of fMRI lshani Ganguli (2007), Harvard University, asserts in the article, "Watching the Brain Lie," that fMRI lie detection does not yet merit a place in the courtroom or elsewhere. Kanwisher stresses: "No published studies come even close to demonstrating the kind of lie detection that would be useful in a real world situation." In addition, according to Ganguli (2007), a number of various types of lies exist that include omissions, white lies, exaggerations, and denials which potentially involve differing neural processes that scientists have not yet mastered. Jed Rakoff, U.S. .District Judge for the Southern District of New York, admits that he doubts fMRI tests will conform to the courtroom standards for "scientific evidence (reliability and acceptance within the scientific community) anytime in the near future, or that the limited information they provide will have much impact on the stand." As most lies in court include omissions or exaggerations of the truth; they would be tricky to recreate in a laboratory. The potential for harm overshadow any foreseeable benefits from fMRI, Rakeff purports. Yet another drawback could materialize if an individual actually believed a lie. Whether or not a machine would identify this data as a truth or a lie is not yet clear. Stacey a. Tovino (2007), Assistant Professor of Law, Health Law Institute, Hamline University School of Law, contends that fMRI presents a number of practical issues. "Individuals whose brains are being scanned must lie completely still for a period of time within an MRI scanner, which can be loud and claustrophobic. Brain motion resulting from the individual's movement or, even, the individual's respiratory and cardiac cycles, can interfere with data acquisition." The validity of results from the fMRI also depend on the person's willingness and ability to comply with and complete the assigned mental task. Henry T. Greely, Deane F. And Kate Edelman Johnson Professor of Law, Stanford University and Judy Illes (2007), Associate Professor (Research) of Neurology, Stanford University, relate another concern as they assert that fMRI-based lie detection is not currently covered by any type of regulatory scheme. In human trials for fMRI, no guidelines cover how an effective and ethical trial could best be conducted. Moral Aspects of fMRI In the book, International Handbook on Psychopathic Disorders and the Law, Alan Felthous and Henning Sass (2007) report that fMRI has begun to address ways emotion relates to brain function and the neural underpinnings of learning from punishment; that fMRI techniques facilitate the investigation of the neural basis of moral decisions. As emotion and cognition closely intertwine, cognitive processes and emotional processing influence the control and regulation of behavior. "For healthy subjects, studies with… fMRI show a dynamic interplay between cognition and emotion with a reciprocal association between emotional and cognitive brain areas." No current study reveals which brain circuits are activated when psychopaths deliberately falsify information, a significant consideration for court evidence. Dr. William P. Cheshire, Jr., (2007), Associate Professor of Neurology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, asserts that neuroscience knowledge may be measured in degrees of resolution. "Greater neuroimaging resolving power means more finely detailed representations of the human brain. As the brain is the physical correlate of the mind, its grey matter and intricate interconnections are subject to scientific investigation." More and more, neuroimaging methods can map out, voxel by voxel, the neurobiological pathways that motivate various components of thoughts and d behavior. In addition to examining the quality of fMRI images, the methods and presuppositions of neuroimaging also need to be considered. Cheshire, Jr. further explains: Implicit in every voxelous reconstruction of the brain is the idea that the brain is virtually, if not essentially, reducible to matter. Reductionism can clarify, but it can also mislead. Vibrant voxels may elucidate pertinent facts. Exclusive attention to them may overlook important truths. Conclusion The literature appears to support the researcher's initial thesis that the reality that the visual output from the fMRI scanning method will be entered into court as evidence is not yet clear nor confirmed. The researcher concurs with Kanwisher that mapping the human brain precisely and reliably depicts a lofty goal that may possibly be attained in the near future. Nevertheless, the technologies behind the modern tools the medical industry uses to scan brains and analyze brain activity, even though much more advanced than the polygraph machine, the visual data, just as with the output of a polygraph, present concerns that challenge their value. When used to predict behaviors or sensations, these technical tools rely on the same error-prone method of interpretation: The non-standardized and unproven interpretive techniques and perhaps biased expectations of the examiner. As proposed at the start of this paper, the lack of consensus in the medical and neuroscientific community regarding brain activity and the individual's behaviors and sensations reveals that contemporary understanding of the human brain prohibits accurate interpretation of retrieved data. As a result, the fMRI cannot currently proffer a consistent and reliable source of information with regard to matters relevant to a court case such as intent, deception, or pain. Challenges confirmed during this paper regarding this area currently impede the ability to predict and analyze behavior and sensations based on data collected directly from the human brain and rendered into images through fMRI technology. This understandable, yet fatal shortcoming, the present study confirms, complements the researcher's argument that such evidence should not be admitted in court. REFERENCES Abram S. Barth. A Double-Edged Sword: The Role of Neuroimaging in Federal Capital Sentencing, American Journal of Law and Medicine, (2007); available at HighBeam Research: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1436644761.html Alan Felthous & Henning Sass. International Handbook on Psychopathic Disorders and the Law, Volume 1 of the International Handbook of Psychopathic Disorders and the Law, John Wiley and Sons, (2008). Henry T. Greely & Judy Illes. Neuroscience-Based Lie Detection: The Urgent Need for Regulation, American Journal of Law and Medicine, (2007); available at HighBeam Research: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1436644721.html Ishani Ganguli. Watching the Brain Lie, the Scientist, (2007); available at HighBeam Research: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1269077571.html John R. Richert. Picture it: Why researchers need better imaging techniques, Momentum, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, (2009); available at HighBeam Research: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-197666158.html Joseph R. Simpson. Functional MRI Lie Detection: Too Good to be True?, American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, Volume 36, No. 4, pp. 91-498, (2008); available at http://www.jaapl.org/cgi/content/full/36/4/491 Laurence R. Tancredi & Jonathan D. Brodie. The Brain and Behavior: Limitations in the Legal Use of Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, American Journal of Law and Medicine, (2007), available at HighBeam Research: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1436644671.html Mark Pettit Jr. FMRI and BF Meet FRE: Brain Imaging and the Federal Rules of Evidence, American Journal of Law and Medicine, (2007); available at HighBeam Research: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1436644681.html Stacey a. Tovino. Imaging Body Structure and Mapping Brain Function: A Historical Approach. American, Journal of Law and Medicine, (2007); available at HighBeam Research: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1436644641.html Wiliam P. Cheshire Jr. Can Grey Voxels Resolve Neuroethical Dilemmas?, Ethics & Medicine, Bioethics Press Highland Park, IL., (2007); available at HighBeam Research: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1350089161.html Read the full article

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lananewbury · 2 years ago

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Lana found herself giggling as Aiden used some of those acting kills of his to fumble with their oven, eventually turning it on and getting to work. It brought a smile to her face to see how easy it was for him. To get back into the rhythm of the kitchen, as if no time had passed for him what so ever. "If that's something you'd like to do, then why not?" Lana suggested, as Aiden deserved to have something on his calendar of his choosing. If he wanted to make time to cook something for himself, that should have been okay. It's not like the Newbury dynasty was going to topple if he wasn't there for yet another meeting. "Personally, I'm on team letting you cook as often as you want. Like, I know, I can handle myself in kitchen but we both know who's the chef between us." Lana said, pointing over at him through slightly closed eyes.

"Oh, you knew that definitely coming. Don't act shocked." Lana told Aiden. "But don't worry, there's a certain charm to the whole being seventy-four at twenty-four thing you've got going on for you." She let him know, as she herself had fallen for it. And just because Aiden tended to favor older, he was still plenty youthful. He just chose when and where to show off the more foolish sides of his personality. Lana heard the L word leave his lips and it brought up a mix of emotions in her. Hearing it, it caused the butterflies in her stomach to flutter of course. He'd always had that effect on her, that word meaning the world to her when it came from her. But as soon as that occurred, in came, that reminder. But she chose to smile through that, because he was trying. He was. This wasn't her giving him a pass, but rather, her choosing to enjoy this moment. A moment where their home felt like a home again, not a mine field.

She nodded. "Yes, I am saying you're allowed to wear the Crocs. You've more than earned that." Lana giggled. "Now there's your challenge because from what I've garnered, she hates those sandals. They appear to offend every part of her." She laughed, at the thought of Brodie and Colette getting into it over a pair of Crocs. Lana's lips twisted, fighting back a grin as Aiden's playlist switched over to that song from Rosalia and Rauw Alejandro. A song that was a reminder of the before time, she remembered the first time she heard this song. How happy they were just to dance to it. How by the end, he'd fallen on top of her, letting her know this was their song from here on out. She snapped out of her thoughts by her plate being put down in front of her. "Thank you." Lana told him, the smile on her face now visible. "I actually was thinking of wearing that." She let him know, before taking a small bite from what he'd made. "Ugh, this is so good."

He laughed a bit more than he probably should have and caught himself when she joked about the button on the stove. It just felt so nice to be teased by her and he tried not to think too much. Instead pretended to fumble as he turned on the burner before settling himself. "Maybe that's something I can do a lot more of this summer. Cooking. God knows I'm spending way too much on lunch when I actually eat it," he added, his days usually too chaotic to stop for more than little bites. In his earlier days Lana would stop by and they would always have lunch together. They were some of his best memories but that all gone to hell when he got busier and Lana stopped trusting his assistant. Which she had every reason to.

"He really does. I think if he could have conversations in all gifs, he would. That sums him up so perfectly, especially now, hey!" He laughed and shook his head but she was right. He really was an old man a lot of the time. He had to agree with her but he had seen Brodie in such messy times it was still kind of hard for him to believe. What Aiden couldn't admit that he was a little jealous. He had always been the friend who had it slightly more together and now Brodie was lapping him in every way. He knew it shouldn't have been a competition but he couldn't help himself. As he started cooking, he glanced at the freezer and clear adoration came over his features. "God I love you and that brain of yours," he said without thinking and went back to making breakfast. In order to level out the mood, he put some music on.

"Ah so you're saying I can wear crocs? I'll make sure Brodie and I wear our matching ones then. If Colette lets him," he joked, actually getting excited for the day the more they talked about it. He just hoped he didn't fuck it up but having Brodie and Willow there was always good for him and Marnie added to that. Plus, maybe Colette's family would remind him that a real family was loving. He was trying not to put too much into this one moment but that didn't stop him from making a damn good breakfast as he sang along to the rauw alejandro and rosalia playing from the mix on his spotify. He smiled as he set the plate of food in front of Lana, clearly proud of it. "Enjoy, baby," he told her softly before moving to serve himself. "You thinking of wearing that new dress you got last week? I liked the colors."

#c: aiden

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cyberth0t · 4 years ago

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FICTION DEPICTION CHALLENGE

THE VILLAGE

tagged by @madeofcc

RIVER. When we are married, will you dance with me? I find dancing very agreeable.

[Long silence.]

Why can you not say what is in your head?

RO‘ONUI. Why can you not stop saying what is in yours?

[He pauses, frustrated, then continues, his voice hushed and strained.]

Why must you lead, when I want to lead? If I want to dance, I will ask you to dance. If I want to speak, I will open my mouth and speak. Everyone is forever plaguing me to speak further. Why? What good is it to tell you you are in my every thought from the time I wake? What good can come from my saying that I sometimes cannot think clearly or do my work properly? What gain can rise of my telling you the only time I feel fear as others do is when I think of you in harm?

That is why I am on this porch, River Carlisle. I fear for your safety before all others.

[Another silence.]

And yes, I will dance with you on our wedding night.

This movie got mixed reviews when it came out in the early aughts, mostly for its flimsy premise. However, The Village has gorgeous cinematography, beautiful costumes, and an all-star cast that handles the strange, pseudo old-timey language like pros.

However, it's got a lot of problems (Adrien Brody is fantastic but his neurodivergent character is shown in a very negative lens, and Bryce Dallas Howard's character Ivy should have been performed by a blind actor. Also, almost no characters of color. Ew).

But, it has one of the greatest love confessions of all time (see above), and a many of the speeches are similarly great.

Forever retconning movies I liked as a kid to be more diverse and inclusive.

Idk why this challenge was so hard? I think a lot of people have been tagged, but I don't see a lot of people doing it and now I know why--this took a lot of thinking.

--comparison shots below the cut--

#ts4 #sims 4 #fictiondepiction #ts4 edit #sims edit #the village #film review

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sierraraeck · 4 years ago

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Struck by Lightning

Derek x Fem!Reader

Masterlist

Summary: After breaking up with your boyfriend, you go out for a girls night. Unfortunately, he follows you to the club to try and win you back. To show him just how over him you are, you kiss the first stranger you see walking through the door. Luckily for you, that man is a sculpted god of chocolate thunder.

Category: Spicy fluff

Warnings: Mentions of alcohol. Age gap between adults (maybe like 10ish years) but I never actually mention it lol. Some cussing.

Word Count: 2.2k

A/N: This was inspired by the song “Guys My Age” by Hey Violet. If you wanna give that a quick listen, go for it, if not, that’s chill too. This is also for @fortheloveofcriminalminds 600 follower celebration! The prompt “in the likely event that this all goes pear shaped, just remember I told you so” is in bold!

“I finally did it,” you told your friend over the phone.

“You did!” she squealed. “You dumped Brody? I’m so proud of you!”

You laughed, “Thanks, Jess. God, I was just so tired of his bullshit. He never wanted to do anything but hang around his house with his friends, ya know?”

“Yeah, I do know,” Jess responded very dramatically. “I’m so glad you’re done with him! This calls for celebration!”

“Oh god,” you mumbled, knowing exactly what that entailed. Jess was always a bit excited when it came to celebrating. “Does that mean what I think it means?”

“Yes! Girls night!” The high frequency of her voice nearly blew your eardrums out. “There’s this new bar and club downtown that I’ve been dying to check out. I’m going to call the girls!”

Without getting another word in, she hung up, leaving you no choice but to start getting ready for what you were sure would be a wild night.

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

Wild would not be the word you’d use to describe the night so far. Irritating would be more accurate.

Not even ten minutes after you’d arrived, Brody and his asshat friends showed up too. Of course, they couldn’t just keep their distance like any normal person who’d just been dumped would, maybe a normal person would even leave to go to a different club, but no. The first thing Brody did was approach you, sliding into the barstool next to you.

You could smell the alcohol and weed on his breath when he said, “Fancy seeing you here.”

“Go away, Brody,” you deadpanned. You’d finally gotten away from your immature, never-wants-to-do-anything boyfriend who never put you first, who now all the sudden that you’re gone, decides to start making an effort. And of course it had to be on the night that you were celebrating the single life again that he just had to show up.

“Don’t be like that, babe,” he said, reaching out to touch you.

You scooted out of reach of him, “Don’t touch me.”

“Come on, baby, we used to have a lot of fun. Let me remind you of that,” he said, leaning in to kiss you.

You put your hand in the way and pushed his face away from yours. “I would literally rather kiss anyone other than you,” you spat.

“You don’t mean that,” Brody tried to schmooze.

“Yes I do.”

“Oh really? Prove it,” he challenged.

“Come on, Y/N, let’s just go. He’s not worth it,” Jess told you, your two other friends at her sides.

But you were too competitive for that. Plus, this was your girls night out, at the club that Jess had been dying to see for ages now, and you weren’t going to let your stupid ex ruin that. So you accepted by saying, “I will. Next person who walks through that door.”

Brody shrugged, a smug smile on his face. “Fine. Let’s see it.”

You eyed the door as Jess leaned in and whispered, “In the likely event that this all goes pear shaped, just remember I told you so.”

You rolled your eyes, still facing the door. Then you saw movement behind the glass, the door swinging open to reveal the person you’d fated yourself to kiss.

And holy shit. You don’t think you’ve ever been so lucky in your life. The honest to god hottest man you’d ever seen walked through the door. He was tall, broad shoulders accompanying his strong build, and when you saw him turn and smile at the rest of what you assumed were his friends walking through the door, you thought you might pass out. He had to have been sculpted by Zeus himself.

You were staring in shock, as if you’d been struck by lightning, almost forgetting you had a small wager on the line. Jess gave you a small nudge, springing your feet into action.

You couldn’t believe you were about to do this. But, you strutted up to the man still partially in the doorway with confidence like you’d never had before, the group of people facing your way tracking your movements. The man himself had barely enough time to turn around and register you walking toward him before you reached up behind his neck and pulled him just slightly down to you. You smashed your lips to his with a bit more force than you intended, and could feel the shock coming from everyone around you.

They weren’t the only ones to be surprised, though. In only a matter of seconds, without pulling back to ask any questions, he started kissing you back. It caught you a little off guard, to be honest, thinking you were just going to kiss him and awkwardly walk away. But he kissed you back. Like really kissed you back. His lips were soft and smooth, and before you could fully register it, your tongues were exploring each other’s mouths, pushing and pulling in a way you’d never felt before. One of his hands rested on your jaw and the other snaked around your back, spurring on your confidence enough to place your other hand on his very firm, and very muscular chest.

You weren’t sure how long the kiss lasted, but you felt like you had to pull back when one of his friends cleared their throat. You looked into his dark, cocoa eyes now that you could really admire his face close up, and he was looking at you with a mix of confusion and wonder.

You bit your lip and turned to quickly glance at the brunette who’d cleared her throat. She was pressing her lips together to suppress a smile, but wasn’t failing dreadfully at it.

You turned your attention back to the man in front of you, still looking at you in awe. Running on pure adrenaline and confidence, you slowly looked him up and down, then let out a satisfied sigh. “Not bad,” you muttered to yourself, barely loud enough for him to hear it. You ran both your hands down his chest and flirtatiously continued, “Not bad at all.”

You easily slid out of his grasp and winked over your shoulder as you strutted away.

You heard the woman who’d cleared her throat say, “I know you’re Derek Morgan, and I know you’re a catch, but has that ever happened to you?”

You peered over your shoulder and saw him staring at you. Derek, you now knew his name to be, shook his head just slightly and mumbled, “Never.”

You quickly turned away, not wanting any of them to see your grin as you practically bounced back to your seat at the bar. Brody was nowhere to be found.

Jess was slack jawed, eyebrows almost lost in her hairline. You teased, “What was that you were saying about things going wrong? Something about telling me so or..?”

Jess pulled herself together and feigned annoyance, “Oh shut up. You know you got hella lucky.”

“Oh,” you nodded, “I know.”

“Seriously, Y/N, what the hell was that?”

You shook your head, feeling as in awe as the man you’d kissed only moments ago had looked. “I have no idea.”

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

You eyed each other for the next hour or so, neither of you being too inconspicuous about. You’d been on the dance floor while him and his group were at a bar table. He finally approached you when you’d taken a break to get another drink.

He walked up to you and leaned against the side of the bar you’d just order from. He hadn’t said anything yet, so, without looking at him, you filled the airspace. “You know it’s considered rude.”

“Excuse me?” he questioned. It was the first time you’d really heard his voice, and it was a deep velvety sound you wanted to remember.

“It’s considered rude to stare,” you started, turning to face him, “Especially if you’re not going to buy the next drink.”

He swiped his tongue across his bottom lip, “Is that so?”

You simply nodded as the bartender brought you your drink. He had already fished out a twenty, holding it up between two of his fingers. He never took his eyes off you as the bartender took the cash and you sipped at the liquid in your glass.

“That’s a little better,” you teased.

You stood there leaning against the bar shamelessly looking each other over for another moment before he spoke up again, “I’m Derek Morgan.”

“I know,” you stated, flashing him a smile. He looked at you expectantly, but you weren’t about to give anything up.

He sighed a little, but gave you a small smile when he asked, “Well, if you won’t tell me your name, would you at least like to dance with me?”

You opened your mouth in fake surprise, “Ooh, so you’re a trade off kinda guy.”

He quickly backtracked, “No, that’s not-”

You laughed, cutting him off. “It’s okay, I like a little trade off. How about I dance with you, and if I’m any good, you put your number in my phone. If I’m not, I’ll tell you my name.”

He smirked, “Deal.”

Derek offered his hand and you gave him a small smirk as you took it, letting him lead you to the dance floor.

You both started rhythmically moving to the deafening beat, sharing glances and mimicking movements. The two of you owned the dance floor, people from all across the bar looking your way, but neither of you bothered to notice. You were way too caught up in each other, slowing moving closer and closer as you danced.

Being around him was electric, and each time your skin touched his it sent shock waves through your body, as if the man himself was made from lightning. You were becoming more and more convinced that he was handcrafted by the gods themselves.

You couldn’t remember how long you’d been on the dance floor, but when Derek dragged you off, it seemed like you could have wasted endless time in your own world out there. He was a great dancer, and you loved that he was more than willing to dance with you. Not enough men were interested in dancing like he seemed to be.

He pulled you off to the side in a low traffic, dark hallway. His whole figure seemed to glow despite the dim lighting, and the only real sound was your labored breathing above the muffled bass.

Derek’s eyes raked from your eyes down to your lips, so it was no surprise when his actions followed his gaze. His lips were on yours, and your back was in contact with the wall in a flash. He kissed you with more passion and vigour than the first time, completely dominating the kiss. You didn’t mind, wrapping your arms around his neck to get as close to him as you possibly could and then some. Your heart was racing as you tried to cling to the feeling, ignoring your lung’s cry for air.

Derek was the one who pulled away, but only to trail kisses down your neck, giving you enough time to catch your breath. “Hey, hey,” you whispered. He looked up at you with curious eyes, “Does this mean I won our little trade off?”

A hearty chuckle escaped his chest making your knees weak and he beamed at you as he answered, “I guess it does.”

You grabbed a wad of his shirt and pulled his lips to yours again, then released it to take his hand. You led him from the hallway and back to the bar where you’d left your phone, handing it to him. After he’d typed in his number, one of his friends from earlier, the same brunette, approached the two of you. Derek gave her a defeated look and she nodded her head. He sighed, an entire conversation you couldn’t follow happening in front of you. She shrugged and walked away.

When Derek’s attention was back on you, he said, “It looks like I have to go. But is there really nothing I can do to convince you to give me your name?”

You shook your head with a cheeky smile, “I guess you’ll just have to wait for a phone call.”

“You know,” he started with a joking tone, “I work for the FBI and could probably get your name if I wanted to.”

You laughed, “Is that where you’re off to?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” he answered with dry humor.

“Interesting.” He gave you a look but you shrugged. “Makes sense, though, I’d pegged you as more of a SWAT guy.” He laughed and you couldn’t help but join him.

“Morgan, let’s go!” a blonde this time yelled to him.

He rolled his eyes, completely ignoring her and said, “I hope I hear from you soon.”

“Hang in there, Agent Derek Morgan,” you teased.

He flashed you that award-winning smile before turning to leave. You watched him all the way out the door, and once he got there, turned back to look at you. He smiled to himself again and left, rubbing the back of his neck as he did so.

Something about the energy in the room changed when he was gone, like all the electricity had followed him out. You were sure, then, that he wasn’t just created by Zeus, but had to have been Zeus himself. And you couldn’t wait to be struck by the lightning of his presence again.

Taglist

@90spumkin

#criminal minds fanfic #derek morgan fanfiction #derek x reader #morgan x reader #derek morgan fluff #derek morgan #morgan #criminal minds #criminal minds fandom #criminal minds fanfiction #cm

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babymetaldoll · 4 years ago

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Danger Days - Chapter one: “Nobody puts Baby in a corner”

Pairing: OCx Matthew Gray Gubler + My Chemical Romance. I know. Weirdest mix ever.

Summary: MCR has only one more drummer audition before they have to start touring again. None of them knows their last chance is a girl. Matthew Gray Gubler's girlfriend.

Word count: 5,4K

Warnings: Cursing, and funny shit so far.

A/N: Ok... I don't know if you'll ever read this shit, but I am in love with this story. So, I'll start posting it.

Masterlist

::: Los Angeles, October 13th, 2010 :::

There are many ways to be locked down: quarantine, jail, or long trips. But being locked down with pretty much strangers has to be the worst. Or weirdest. Or more exciting, depending on how you see it.

Frank Iero walked fast. He was late. In his defense, Iero was always late. He didn’t try to make it on time today because he didn’t want to tour. But they had to. He just wanted to stay fucking home for a while. That’s precisely what he had said to the band when they saw the schedule for the following months. He was tremendously worn out. But he had to. The thing that made it all worse for him was knowing they had to get a new drummer, ‘cos Bob was out of the picture, and they didn’t have a replacement yet. They had tried a few guys out there, but they didn’t seem to get it. It wasn’t just playing the songs. It meant being part of it. Whatever that means.

They only had one more option on their list, and they were all hoping it would work, ‘cos they didn’t really have a lot of time to find someone else.

Ray was sitting on the floor in the practice studio, playing with his guitar, all alone in the place. It was early, and he knew it. Well, he was on time, but he knew everybody was always late for rehearsal.

- “Hello?”- a brown-haired woman walked in with a tall, thin guy and smiled- “I’m Joey. I’m here for the drummer audition.”

It sounded more like a question than a statement. Ray stood up and shook her hand, smiling.

- “Ray Toro, nice to meet you.”- he looked at the guy and shook his hand

- "Matthew Gray Gubler, my pleasure."

- "I’m sorry the rest of the guys aren’t here yet,"- Ray apologized as Joey looked around and sighed. She hated it when people were late.

- "Maybe we can go get a coffee"- Matthew suggested, and the young woman nodded- "I saw a place just around the corner."

- "Do you want one?"- she asked Ray

- "Yeah, sure"- he said, confused by her unexpected gesture.

- "How do you drink it?"

- "Lots of cream, lots of sugar"- Joey smiled and nodded.

- "Ok, Mr. Wolf. We’ll be right back"- Ray chuckled when he noticed she had gotten the Tarantino joke and watched her and who seemed to be her boyfriend walking out the room.

- "Are you sure you wanna do this?"- Joey frowned and looked at Matthew after he just shot the question while they walked out of the coffee shop.

- "What?"

- "Don’t get me wrong, it’s just that you don’t know any of those guys"

- "Yeah, I know, but they are a professional and major band! This could be great for my career"- he nodded and stared at his girlfriend, cupping her face with a hand and looking right into her eyes.

- "I just don’t want you to feel discouraged if you don’t make it"- he whispered.

- "Why wouldn’t I make it? You said I’m an excellent drummer, I’ve worked with many great bands, I’m good at my job!"

- "I know you are the best drummer, Yami"- Matthew quickly answered, trying to rearrange his words- "I’m just trying to say do your best, I know you are gonna be great."

He held her hands as he stood in front of her and looked into her eyes sweetly.

- "I’m just scared those guys are gonna break your heart."

- "Come on! If they don’t like me, it’s their loss."

Joey would say those things, but she was a nervous wreck inside. She wanted the band to love her. She needed the job, her career as a drummer really needed a boost, and since her last band had broken up, she only got small recording sessions and a few backup gigs with some bands. But that was it. Working with My Chemical Romance was just what she needed.

- "So, where’s the drummer?"- Gerard asked and looked around- "I hate when people are late, it’s rude! It shows you don’t care."

- "You just got twenty minutes late"- Mikey quickly said and raised an eyebrow at his brother- "So shut up."

- "Wait, he has a point"- Frank added and looked at Gerard for a second, who was walking around the practice studio playing with his hair- "We can be late, we are the band, he can’t be late, he is auditioning."

Ray was about to correct his friend when Joey and Matthew walked into the room.

- "Hi!"- she said and smiled- "Here’s your coffee"- Joey walked to Ray, and he thanked her immediately.

- "How much is it?"

- "Dude, don’t worry, it’s just coffee,"- meanwhile, Gerard, Frank, and Mikey shook Gubler’s hand.

- "Nice to meet you, Joey"- Frank said and looked at the guy in front of him, thinking he seemed familiar- "Wait, did you play a gig with Mellon Collie last week?"- Matthew frowned and shook his head, while Mikey turned to Joey and asked.

- "Can you get me a coffee too? I take it black with almond milk."

- "Make that two!"- Gerard said, raising his hand, and Joey looked at Ray, not getting what was going on.

- "So, Joey, we checked at your resume, and to be honest, it’s pretty impressive,"- Frank said and grabbed the sheet of paper from upon an amplifier- "You’ve played with some great bands, like the Distillers."

- "Thanks"- Joey said and smiled, but Frank raised an eyebrow at her, not getting why she had answered.

- "She is Joey"- Ray explained- "He is Matthew, her boyfriend."

- "Hi"- Joey waved, and the whole band looked at her astonished- "Yeah, girl drummer, I know…"

- "I’m sorry, I just… Joey didn’t sound like a girly name"- Frank apologized and cut her a short smile.

- "Don’t worry, it is not the first it happens"

Joey lied. It was the first time it happened. It was uncomfortable ‘cos it made her feel the band wasn’t expecting to audition a woman for the position. Maybe they didn’t want her. She thought her resume implied she was a girl, but apparently, it didn’t.

- "So… well, you’ve worked with amazing bands"- Frank repeated- "Why do you wanna work with us?"

- "Well, I admire your work. I think touring with you represents a significant challenge in my career. And mostly because I don’t have a job, and I really need one right now."- the band looked at Joey in silence until Mikey chuckled. At least he got the joke.

- "Tell us more about you,"- Gerard asked as he lit a cigarette and kept walking around the practice studio- "You can sit down if you want."

Joey nodded but didn’t move, she wasn’t feeling comfortable in the room, and a part of her wanted to stay on her feet and close to the door, ready to run away.

- "I’m from Seattle, so grunge was my biggest influence growing up. Ever since I was six, I wanted to be Matt Cameron or Jimmy Chamberlin… or Kim Gordon"- the young woman made a pause and sighed. She wasn’t feeling the love.

- "I studied music at Berklee after my first band experience, mainly because my dad said if I wanted to be in music, I had to have proper education."

- "Tell us about the bands you’ve worked with"- Ray asked.

- "I’ve worked with Dashboard Confessional; we did a small tour last summer. On the road, I’ve been with Julieta Venegas, she is an amazing Mexican musician."

- "You toured with Vampire Weekend"- Matthew added and looked at his girlfriend.

- "Right! When their drummer broke his arm. That was a fun tour"- Joey added and smiled- "Well anyway, in the studio I’ve recorded with Fiona Apple, Brody Dalle, Amanda Palmer, some small jazz bands I met in college, Johnny Lang… I’ve tried to work as many different musical genres as possible."

The band nodded and stayed in silence. Neither of them knew what to say.

- "So… do you wanna hear me play?"

- "Yeah! Sure"- Ray smiled at her, and Joey walked to the other room, at the other side of the glass, and say behind the drum set.

- "What did you prepare?"- Ray asked as Joey put on the headphones and nodded.

- "I have three songs for you to pick: “It’s not a fashion statement,” “Famous last words,” and “House of wolves.”

She looked at the band talking to each other as Matthew stood on a side and smiled sweetly. She knew things weren’t peachy so far, but she tried her best to get the job. She really needed it 'cos she was running out of savings, and she had no other job prospect but a few commercial jingles.

- "Wolves"- Gerard answered, and Joey nodded. Joey took a look at the drum and sighed. She was left-handed, and the drum was someone right-handed. Jo didn’t want to make a fuzz and change it, 'cos she felt the band wasn’t already into her. But at the same time, she wanted to kick ass and show them how good she was.

- "Just give me a second."

Joey stood up and rearranged the drum. Gerard looked at Ray, annoyed but making his best not to show. Mikey was stuck at his phone, barely paying attention to anything around him, and Frank stared at Matthew, trying to remember where he had seen him before.

- "Ready?"- Ray asked as Joey sat down again and tried the drum.

- "Yeah, much better, sorry for wasting your time"- Gerard looked at her, feeling she knew he was annoyed, and tried to change his bitchy face. It was too late for that anyway.

Joey started playing and just focused on the music, making her best. She had rehearsed the songs for weeks and even added a solo. She heard all the live versions she could and was sure she was doing a good job.

- "I don’t know, guys"- Gerard texted the band so Matthew would hear them.

- "I like her"- Ray answered

- "That’s your cock talking"- Frank answered and chuckled- "She ain’t bad, but I don’t know if she works for the band."

- "She sounds cool"- Mikey said out loud- "Maybe we could jam a little with her."

Frank and Gerard turned to him with widened eyes, surprised and embarrassed he had answered his comments aloud, so Matthew could hear.

- "Yeah, I saw the text, but talking is faster"- Gerard had to turn around to hide his face, red of anger against his brother, and make his best not to look at Matthew, who nodded and got the hint.

- "I’ll wait outside."

Frank stared at Mikey, who stood up and looked at Joey playing eyes wide shut, making her best to give a good impression. At least it worked with Mikey and Ray.

- "Thanks for making us look like an asshole"- Frank argued and huffed- "What was wrong with answering the fucking text?"

- "Dude, grow up…"- that’s all Mikey answered and stayed in silence until Joey finished the song.

She raised her eyes from the drumset and stared at the band, pretty scared of their reaction. Mikey and Ray smiled at her, while Gerard and Frank were serious and totally… annoyed? Bored? she couldn’t really figure it out.

- "Do you want me to play anything else?"- the young woman asked, afraid she was gonna get a cold no as an answer. Gerard was about to do it until he saw his brother walking over and grab his bass.

- "Wanna jam a little?"- Joey quickly smiled at Mikey, thinking maybe he liked her job, which was always a nice feeling, especially when trying to get a job.

- "Yeah! Sure!"

They played Destroya and improvised for a while. Ray joined them, and the three of them actually had fun for a good twenty minutes jamming.

- "That was pretty good"- Gerard said as he walked over and put on his dark glasses- "Unfortunately, we have to go."

- "Where?"- Mikey asked, surprised- "We had a clear schedule today."

- "Yeah, well, we totally forgot about an interview, and we are running late, so…"- he made a pause and looked at Joey.

- "Sure, I have to get going too, I have to reach the studio in an hour so…"- she stood up and shook Mikey and Ray’s hand- "Thank you so much for your time, I had a lot of fun with you."

- "Thank you for coming!"- Ray quickly answered- "I’ll walk you to the door."

- "Don’t worry, it’s just there anyway"- Joey smiled and turned to the other two guys- "Sorry for taking so much of your time. I hope you have a good day"- she shook their hands too, and they nodded with a sympathetic smile.

- "You too"- Gerard whispered.

- "And the answer is Criminal Minds"- Joey said and smiled at Frank, who looked dumbstruck- "See ya!"

And the young woman walked out.

- "Fuck! that’s it!"- Frank grumbled, and no one got why- "That’s where I’ve seen that guy."

- "What?"- Gerard asked him

- "Her boyfriend is on that tv show"- but it seemed it didn’t matter to Gerard one tiny bit.

- "Oh… who cares anyway…"- Mikey turned to his brother and punched his arm.

- "Did you have to be so annoying?"

- "I wasn’t annoying!"- Gerard nearly yelled, feeling insulted.

- "Dude! you were rude at her! and she did nothing to you!"- his brother was about to his him a lecture, but it seemed it was going to be useless, Gerard wasn’t even listening.

- "Oh! Come on! I wasn’t!"

- "Yeah, you were,"- Ray added and teamed up with Mikey- "You were a bitch, and she noticed."

- "So what?"

- "What if she felt bad about it? or what if she is pissed with us?"

- "If she is pissed, she is pissed! do you care?"

- "Why are you so mean? she was great!"- Mikey was surprised by his brother's attitude.

- "Yeah, she was good, but are you actually considering having a female drummer?"- Ray and Mikey looked at him in shock.

- "What the fuck is your problem with her being a girl?"

- "I don’t have a problem if she is a girl, a boy, or a cat. I’m just saying she is not the right choice for this band."

Ray and Mikey kept looking at him, confused. He had never been such an ass before

- "Come on, Frank, back me up here!"

- "I agree"- Iero simply said- "She was a good drummer, but… what are we gonna do with a chick on tour?"- Ray couldn’t believe his own ears.

- "Seriously? she was awesome! Perfect timing, great improvisation, and she had the ear to follow every single fucking curveball we threw her."

Gerard knew Ray was right, he heard it too, but he just didn’t want to work with Joey. Why? he didn’t know. He just looked at her and thought she couldn’t be on a bus with them, or on stage with them, or anywhere with them. As simple as that.

- "My vote is no"- he sentenced.

- "She is the best we’ve had"- Mikey argued right away- "And I’m saying yes."

- "Nope, I’m with Gerard"- Frankie claimed- "I just don’t want her in the band."

- "You fucking assholes, I’m saying yes, and it’s a tie!"- Ray felt he was five years old, calling that conversation “a tie” and arguing under those stupid terms with his friends.

- "Great! so that means no!"- of course, Gerard’s childish answer made him feel a little better about himself.

- "Seriously? What the fuck is your problem with her?"

Mikey asked his brother and stood right in front of him, just to push him to answer with the truth.

- "You said you wanted to make a fantastic show. You said you wanted to do something no one could ever expect from us, so we made this album that we love after years in the studio. It’s completely different than anything we’ve made! Do you know what would also be something no one could ever expect? having this amazing female drummer!"

- "But why her?"

- "‘Cos she is the best we’ve seen!"- Ray stepped into the conversation, trying to make some sense from Gerard and Frank.

- "Dude… I don’t know"- Iero whispered- "She was good, but… wouldn’t it be weird to have a girl on the bus with us?"

- "That’s what keeps you from saying yes?!"- Ray was honestly shocked- "Because you won’t be able to fart and walk about in your underwear?"

- "I wasn’t planning to stop any of that…"

- "Then?"

- "I don’t wanna have problems with my wife!"- Frank finally assumed and sighed- "I’ve had enough of that shit already"- the band stared at him in silence. Mikey was the only one who spoke his mind.

- "Wuss."

Matthew walked in silence, holding Joey’s hand until they reached his car. She sighed and sat at the passenger seat, thinking she didn’t want to call her parents and ask for another loan. The last time she had sworn to herself, it was never gonna happen again.

- "If they don’t hire you, it’s their loss"- Gubler finally whispered and looked at his girlfriend with a sweet glance- "You are awesome, and everybody knows it"- Joey sighed and cut him a short smile.

- "Thanks, Akumu."

- "And besides, they were assholes."

- "I know!!"- Joey waved her arms, absolutely upset- "That’s so disappointing 'cos everybody said they were so nice!"

- "Are you gonna call Tucker?"

- "I don’t know"- the young woman whispered and sighed- "He was so excited, and I don’t wanna disappoint him"

- "You did your best, Yami… maybe they didn’t want to work with a female drummer"- Joey thought about it for a moment and nodded.

- "Could be. I did my best anyway. Maybe they were all having a crappy day. Anyway, can you drive me to the studio, please? pretty, pretty, please?"- Matthew laughed and stared at his girlfriend with a warm look in his eyes.

- "Only if you kiss me first"

- "That’s blackmailing"

- "Maybe, but I’m driving, I make the rules"

- "Damn… fine! but just ‘cos I’m late"

Joey giggled and leaned in to kiss Matthew, who caressed her cheek slowly.

- "It’s gonna be ok, I promise"- he whispered, trying to comfort his girlfriend, and she nodded. She knew he was nice to her, but she still felt her life was totally out of focus.

- "Hello?"- Joey picked up her phone as she walked out of the studio after recording for the day. She was working in a small studio recording jingles. It wasn’t much, but at least she wasn’t selling drugs to survive.

- "How was it?"

- "Tucker, hey…"

- "So? When do you start? did they love you? of course, they did!"

- "Yeah… well…"

Joey didn’t want to tell his friend and break his heart. Tucker was so excited Joey was auditioning for My Chem ‘cos he knew the band for years. And though he had offered Joey to introduce her first, she refused, decided to audition under her own terms. Which sucked.

- "What?"

- "I don’t think they liked me"

- "What are you talking about? you are fantastic!"

- "You know it, I know it, but I don’t think they got it…"

- "What did they say?"

- "Nothing really, just… ok, just don’t tell them I said this, ok?"

- "Cross my heart and all that shit, what happened?"- Joey rested her back against the wall and sighed.

- "Gerard had a bitch face the whole time like he hated the guts out of me, and I don’t know why! then Frank wouldn’t even look at me, nothing, he wasn’t there, so I’m guessing neither of them wanted a female drummer, 'cos they all thought I was a guy."

- "Why?"

- "Apparently, Joey is a guy’s name"

- "So you didn’t put your real name in the application? brilliant!"

- "What for? So they can’t spell it? Anyway, can you imagine Mikey thought I was an assistant or whatever and asked me to go get him a coffee when we got there? They thought Matthew was auditioning and ignored me the whole time!"

- "Shit can’t be right! they are not like that"

- "Well, in the end, Ray and Mikey were the nicest. We jammed and had fun for a while, playing a few of their songs. But neither Gerard nor Frank even looked at us. It felt they hated me."

- "Maybe they were having a bad day, but they are very nice people."

- "Maybe… anyway… thank you for your support."

- "What are best friends for?"

- "Getting beer?"

- "Right, when are we getting beer?"- Joey smiled and sighed.

- "Next time I’m in New York or when you come to this shitty city."

- "If you hate Los Angeles so much, why don’t you move?"

- "‘Cos I’ve got my life here, I guess."

- "You know it’s just ‘cos you are dating that nerd

- "I happen to love that nerd!"- Joey laughed and shook her head, thinking Tucker didn’t even know Gubler and he already knew he was a nerd- "Anyway, gotta go, I have a class in an hour."

- "Are you taking a class?"

- "No, dude, I’m teaching in a community center in Santa Monica."

- "Aren’t you lovely! I’m proud of you!"

- "Shut up!"

- "As long as you don’t teach them to drink as we did when we toured together."

- "Hey! I’m no longer 20!"- Joey argued, laughing- "I’m a role model for those kids now!"

- "Yeah, sure! Talk to you later!"

Tucker hung down the phone and walked around his house for a minute. He loved that kid. He met her when she was still in college and toured with Thursday for a few dates with her old band. She was like a little sister to him. And it hurt to think she was wasting her talent in shitty sessions with shitty bands when she could be doing something better with her skills. Something meaningful. And it honestly made him angry to think his friends had been mean to her.

- "Hey, dude!"- Gerard picked up the phone, excited to see Tucker’s name on the screen.

- "Hey! why were you an asshole today?"- Gerard frowned and took out his sunglasses. He was in his backyard smoking, and he was not getting what his friend was talking about

- "Sorry, what?"

- "You were an asshole today with my friend"

- "Dude, I’m gonna need more information"

- "I asked Joey to audition for your band because I thought you would value her talent, and you ignored her?"

- "I didn’t ignore her… wait!"- Gerard wasn’t getting what was going on- "You know her?"

- "Of course! for the last… shit, I don’t know, like five or six years, we toured together, I taught her a lot, she is like my little sister!"

- "Yeah, she is an excellent drummer, but… I don’t feel she is suitable for the band."

- "Why?"

- "‘Cos… she has tits"- Gerard whispered, and Tucker made one long eternal pause.

- "Wow… ok, I see why she said you were an asshole."

- "She did?!"- Gerard felt so insulted he clenched his fist.

- "And she wasn’t wrong. I’m so sorry I asked her to go to your audition. It was a waste of her time."

Tucker hung down the phone and dialed Frank. He knew he had been pretty hard on Gerard, so he made his way to stay calm and not yell, at least not right away.

- "Ho, man!"

- "Hey Frank, listen, my friend, Joey was today auditioning for your drummer position. How was that?"

- "Joey? The girl? Do you know her?"

- "Yeah, I set the audition for her, actually. She is one of my closest friends, so how was it?"

Frank looked around at Ray smoking next to him in a small bar, then took a sip of his beer and decided the best thing to do was clear: lying.

- "She was awesome. Too bad the position is already taken 'cos she was real good"

- "I see, and that’s why you acted like an asshole?"

- "I didn’t!"- Frank knew he was busted

- "Dude, she told me everything. You didn’t even look at her!"

Ray’s phone hummed, and he read the text Gerard had sent them: “The chick is friends with Tucker. She sold us.” Toro chuckled and looked at Frank red in anger, trying to explain to his friend why he had been mean.

- “Too little too late”- Ray typed and sent the text. Mikey read them and chuckled while he ate a bowl of cereal and milk back in his house.

- "They deserve it for being assholes"- he said out loud and sighed.

He looked around at his home and realized he was talking all alone. His wife wasn’t around. His wife was never around anymore. But that was something Mikey didn’t want to think about, not then, not never.

- "Can you believe that bitch?"- Frank turned to Ray as soon as he hung down with Tucker- "She called our friend to snitch on us."

- "Well, you kinda deserved it"- Ray simply answered and sipped his beer- "You and Gerard should apologize to her."

- "No way, can we just let it pass?"- Iero was honestly upset as he lit another cigarette and remained in silence for a moment- "She was excellent, I give you that, but I don’t fucking want a girl in the band right now"

- "To avoid arguing with Jamia?"

- "Yeah! Shit has been hard lately, and I don’t want her to be threatened by anyone anymore"- Ray looked at his friend, nodding.

- "We should all talk about this seriously, we only got a week before the first show, and we have to rehearsal with the new drummer."

- "I know"- their cell phone hummed again, and they all read the exact text.

- "Meeting in my house now"- Gerard sighed as soon as he read his brother’s text. He surely knew what it was all about, and he had no intention to continue that argument, though he had absolutely no choice.

- "I hope Mikey at least asks for pizza"- he stood up and walked inside the house- "Honey, I’m going to Mikey’s"- he announced as he walked into his wife art studio and found her working on a collage on her desk

- "Say hello to your brother from me, hey! can you pick something for dinner?"

- "Sure, I’ll see you later"- he kissed her lips and cut her a short smile

- "Wait, turn around"- she asked, and he slowly moved over- "What happened?"

- "Nothing"- Lynz raised an eyebrow and waited for the honest answer- "We just had a bad audition for a drummer this morning. It turns out she was friends with Tucker Rule, and he called me an asshole for being mean to her."

- "Were you mean to her?"- Gerard made a long pause and stared at his wife’s expression change- "Why did you do that?"

- "I don’t know! I just didn’t like her!"

- "Was she right?"

- "Yeah"

- "Was she nice?"

- "Yes"

- "Was she hot?"

- "No! definitely not!"

- "Then what was the problem?"

- "She is the best we’ve had so far, but I don’t wanna turn everything we’ve been working on into “they are working with a girl” and get the attention away from the music."- Lynz nodded as she listened to her husband’s words.

- "You are making it seem like no one had ever had a female drummer or musician on stage before."

- "No, it’s not that, it’s just that…"- Gerard thought his answer carefully- "We haven’t, and we are so deep into the spot I’m afraid it will impact our show the wrong way"- Lynz made a pause and stared at her husband’s face

- "What did the band say?"

- "Frank is with me, and Ray and Mikey disagree."

- "Why is Frank with you?"

- "‘Cos he thinks having a girl on the bus is weird."

- "I was the girl in a band, and it wasn’t weird at all!"

Gerard knew that would be the subject in the conversation eventually as soon as he started talking about this with his wife.

- "I think you are acting kinda selfish and a little sexist."

- "No, we are just trying to do what’s best for the band."

- "Do whatever you want. I’m just giving you my opinion."

Gee felt Lynz was judging him. And he knew he would never win that fight.

- "I’m gonna talk about it with the band"

- "Ok, see you for dinner"- Gerard kissed his wife again and walked away feeling like a douche.

Had he been an asshole with that girl?

And besides, Gerard had lied to his wife when she asked if the girl was hot, ‘cos he actually thought so. He would never admit it in front of her anyway. And neither in front of anyone else. Never.

Matthew waited for Joey outside the community center, where she taught drums for kids in need as a way to keep them from being in the street and teaching him a new skill. He thought that was amazing and felt pretty proud of his girlfriend for giving the community her time and knowledge. He waved at her as she walked outside and cut her a big smile.

- "Hey! I didn’t know you were picking me up today!"

- "I wanted to surprise you and cheer you up!"- Joey leaned over and kissed Matthew sweetly.

- "Thank you so, so much!"

- "I’m the best boyfriend. I know."

- "What’s the plan?"

- "Wanna ask for Chinese and watch a movie at my place?"- it was a bit disappointing plan ‘cos that was pretty much every day in their routine, but Joey smiled and nodded.

- "As long as I pick the horror movie tonight, sounds perfect."

After a few minutes of driving, Matthew turned to his girlfriend and whispered.

- "I forgot tomorrow we’ll have table reading. We are gonna start shooting this week. I’m sorry I won’t be able to hang out so often."

- "Don’t worry, you have to work, and I need to get a new extra job ‘cos it’s obvious and I didn’t get the MCR shit…"- her cell phone interrupted her as she spoke. An unlisted number was calling- "Hello?"

- "Joey… Svein… björn...dottir?"

- "Yes?"- her last name was mispronounced entirely, but she was pretty used to that.

- "Hi, I’m Ray Toro, from My Chemical Romance."

- "Hey, Ray! How are you?"- Gubler wide opened his eyes as he turned to his girl for a second. She was honestly surprised the band was calling her.

- "Good! listen… I hope I’m not interrupting."

- "Not, it’s cool"- Gerard turned around and walked the other way just ‘cos he didn’t want to see Ray do what he was about to do.

- "Great, the band and I were talking, and we want you to come to the studio tomorrow to do a second tryout… do they even call it “tryouts”? more like an audition, I think."- Ray started rambling as Joey wide opened her eyes in shock.

- "Sorry, what? do you want me there again?"

- "Yeah, so we can jam a little, try a few new things. We are having trouble deciding on one drummer, so we need a bit more info. Besides, we couldn’t finish today so… can you come tomorrow at ten?"

- "Noon"- Frank said, thinking he didn’t feel like waking up early to meet that chick.

- "Sorry, at noon"- Ray corrected, embarrassed.

- "Noon…"- Joey had absolutely nothing to do at noon, but she wanted to make believe she had a life- "I think I can move a few things… to meet you."

- "Awesome! See you tomorrow"- Joey turned to Matthew as soon as she hung down and nearly screamed.

- "They want to see me again!!! I can’t believe it"- the young woman jumped on the seat completely excited- "I thought they hated…"- but suddenly, it hit her.

- "Congrats, Yami!!"- Matthew yelled and grabbed her knee, which was all he could do, considering he was driving.

- "No, it wasn’t me. It was Tucker."

- "Did you call him?"

- "He called. I didn’t want to tell him about the shitshow I was through this morning"- Joey grabbed her phone again and looked for the last number that called.

- "What are you doing?"

- "I’m canceling. I’m not gonna go if they are only doing this ‘cos my friend forced them."

- "What?! no! just go and kick their asses!"- Matthew quickly grabbed the phone from Joey’s and hid it in his pocket, far from her reach- "You are going tomorrow, and you are proving them wrong."

- "I don’t want to! Akumu! Come on! it’s gonna be embarrassing and awkward to see them knowing Tucker called them to get me a second chance!"

- "No! It’s gonna be awesome ‘cos you are gonna kick ass!!"

Joey whined for another while, honestly trying to get out of that awkward situation. But by the time they reached Matthew’s, he had convinced her she had to do it.

#matthew gray gubler #my chemical romance #fanfiction #babymetaldoll writes #mgg #criminal minds #frank iero #mikey way #i never thought I'd post this #gerard way

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foreverlostinliterature · 4 years ago

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6/2 Book Deals

Good morning, everyone! Apologies that it’s been a hot minute since I’ve really come on here to make a deals post, things have been crazy and I’ve been up and down mentally so it’s been challenging to get the motivation to do things, but I’m feeling okay today so I figured I should share some of the many awesome books on sale today!

How are you all doing? It’s been a while and a lot has been going on, both in personal lives and in the world around us, and I hope you are all able to take some time to sort of mental relax and find a safe space to reflect and comfort yourselves. :)

There were a lot of books on sale, so I did my best to throw in as many as I could, but obviously it’s not even close to all of them, haha. There’s a nice array of genres and mix of adult and YA, and a couple full trilogies/series! And if you’re a YA fan then definitely take a look because there seemed to be a lot of that today! One of my favorite books is The Crimson Petal and the White, so that’s one I always recommend. I also have read and enjoyed The Hungry Tide, the entire Tade Thompson trilogy (starting with Rosewater!), and I loved The Wicker King!

Anyway, I hope you all have a great day--happy reading! And happy Pride! :)

Today’s Deals:

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The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber - https://amzn.to/3pfNIFa

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The Cheerleader by Kara Thomas - https://amzn.to/3uKyg4I

The House Girl by Tara Conklin - https://amzn.to/3pfOiCQ

The Demon King (#1) by Cinda Williams Chima - https://amzn.to/3pbRDTn

The Exiled Queen (#2) by Cinda Williams Chima - https://amzn.to/3uLanKz

The Gray Wolf Throne (#3) by Cinda Williams Chima - https://amzn.to/3vF6tnH

The Crimson Crown (#4) by Cinda Williams Chima - https://amzn.to/3ce3vyN

These Witches Don't Burn by Isabel Sterling - https://amzn.to/2TsBtZO

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Once & Future by Cori McCarthy - https://amzn.to/34EOdyP

Rosewater (#1) by Tade Thompson - https://amzn.to/3yZcFJ4

The Rosewater Insurrection (#2) by Tade Thompson - https://amzn.to/3ihM1FL

The Rosewater Redemption (#3) by Tade Thompson - https://amzn.to/3g7kaVO

Emergency Skin by N.K. Jemisin - https://amzn.to/3pc0kgr

A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe by Alex White - https://amzn.to/3ppvwsN

Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian - https://amzn.to/3yZLLAT

The Wicker King by K. Ancrum - https://amzn.to/3g1pH0h

Not So Pure and Simple by Lamar Giles - https://amzn.to/3uMLCgS

Black Wings Beating by Alex London - https://amzn.to/3uLTfnT

Camp by L.C. Rosen - https://amzn.to/2TqGEcH

The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta - https://amzn.to/3ibSCRL

NOTE: I am categorizing these book deals posts under the tag #bookdeals, so if you don’t want to see them then just block that tag and you should be good. I am an Amazon affiliate in addition to a Book Depository affiliate and will receive a small (but very much needed!) commission on any purchase made through these links.

#bookdeals #booksale #nkjemisin #tade thompson #cinda williams chima #fiction #nonfiction #fantasy #ya #young adult #alex white #k ancrum #abdi nazemian #dean atta #michel faber #harlan ellison #cynthia hand #brodi ashton #jodie meadows

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junker-town · 4 years ago

Text

Western Illinois, Year 40, 2046-2047

The final season of our sim dynasty with Western Illinois in College Hoops 2K8 is here.

Welcome back to our simulated dynasty with the Western Illinois Leathernecks in College Hoops 2K8. You can find a full explanation of this project + spoiler-free links to previous seasons here. Check out the introduction to this series from early April 2020 for full context. As a reminder, we simulate every game in this series and only control the recruiting and coaching strategies. Dynasty mode runs for 40 years.

Before we pick up with the Leathernecks at the start of Year 40, here’s a recap of everything that happened last season:

Western Illinois entered Year 39 trying to three-peat as national champions for the first time in program history. We lost two starters early to the NBA coming into the season, but still had enough talent to be ranked No. 10 overall in the preseason polls.

We ran through the regular season schedule, losing only one game to UCLA during the non-conference season and sweeping Summit League opponents once again. We entered the NCAA tournament at 29-1 on the year and earned a No. 4 seed to the big dance.

We beat Brown in round one, knocked off Georgia Tech in the round of 32, beat Indiana in the Sweet 16, and lost to Florida in the Elite Eight. We know enter the final season of my career tied with John Wooden with 10 national championships.

We added three players in our last ever recruiting class: five-star JUCO SF Jerald Obasohan, four-star SG Erwin Walls, and four-star PF Kenny Butler.

Here’s a first look at our roster for Year 40:

It feels like only yesterday that a fresh-faced, 25-year-old came to the small town of Macomb, Illinois with big dreams. Coach Rick was hired by Western Illinois to do the impossible: win a national championship with arguably the worst team in college basketball. After 39 seasons at the helm, our tiny program has accomplished that and so much more. Now it’s time to hang it up.

Our journey at Western Illinois is finally coming to an end. In literal terms, College Hoops 2K8 forces mandatory retirement upon coaches in dynasty mode after 40 seasons. All good stories need closure either way. As we start our final season, we have some big stakes attached to our swan song.

Western Illinois has won 10 national championships in the Ricky Charisma era. That ties us with UCLA legend John Wooden for the most in history. What started as a mission to win a single national championship has now left us with a different goal: to become the undisputed greatest program in the history of the sport.

While we failed in our bid to three-peat last season — falling to Florida in the Elite Eight — we did bring back all four breakout juniors for this season. We only lost starting center DJ Foster to graduation. Yeah, it’s been a while since we last published Year 39 (thanks for your patience), so let’s go over the roster:

PG Christano Ngounou, junior, 89 overall: Ngounou made major strides after being forced into the starting lineup last season, and now looks like a rock solid contributor going into our final year. An international recruit out of Cameroon, Ngounou is a fast 6’3 guard with lockdown defensive ability and a slightly above average three-point shot. We have bigger names on this squad who will be expected to carry the scoring load, but Ngounou is going to play a huge role because he’s way better than every other point guard on the roster. We need quality minutes from him in the tournament. Former five-star international recruit with B potential.

SG Bernie Doyle, redshirt senior, 92 overall: Doyle is an incredible talent who enters his senior year looking to fully blossom into a superstar. The 6’9 shooting guard uses his immense size on both ends of the floor. He’s elite at getting into the passing lanes and forcing steals (a team-high 1.8 per game as a junior) on the defensive end, and has a sweet three-point stroke offensively. Doyle is such a smooth scorer and dominant defender that it feels like he has the natural talent to develop into an all-great in his senior year. Let’s hope he’s up to the challenge. Former No. 36 overall recruit from Detroit with C potential. Projected lottery pick.

SF Floyd Keller, redshirt senior, 92 overall: Keller checks every box for a small forward. He has good size at 6’7. He has a three-point rating in the mid-80s. He’s the best dunker on the team. He’s an elite offensive rebounder for a wing with a rating in the low 90s, which helps equip him to play minutes at the four. After a tough shooting night in our Elite Eight loss last season — he went 1-for-7 from three — we’ll need Keller to be consistently great if we want one more run through the bracket. Former No. 101 overall recruit out of Dallas with C+ potential. Projected second round pick.

PF Oscar Fray, redshirt senior, 88 overall: Fray enters his third year as a starter with a fascinating combination of size and skill that could set him up for a breakout senior year. The 7-foot power forward is a great three-point shooter for his position with a rating just below 80. Defensively, he’s the top-rated shot blocker on the team, and also does a pretty good job on the glass. Former No. 118 overall recruit out of Lynn, MA with C potential. Projected second round pick.

C Brody Munoz, redshirt senior, 92 overall: Munoz finally gets the spotlight as a senior after backing up DJ Foster — a one-time NCAA tournament Most Outstanding Player — for his entire career up to this point. We’re expected big things, and not just because he’s tied for the highest rated player on the roster going into the regular season. What Munoz lacks in elite size at 6’11 he can make up for with strength, agility, and rebounding. We expect him to be really good at forcing turnovers, grabbing putbacks, and helping fortify the paint. Former No. 169 overall recruit (No. 6 center) out of Nashville with B potential. Projected lottery pick.

We have an incredibly deep bench for our final season. Center Logan Polk (85 overall) will be our sixth man, and should be able to form a three-man front court rotation with the two starters in the tournament. After that, we have a lot of options but not a lot of good options.

Here’s the rest of the bench: wing Jaycee Queen (80 overall), wing Jerald Obasohan (79 overall), guard Archie Howell (78 overall), wing/guard James Haranga (74 overall), guard Edwin Walls (74 overall), and power forward Kenny Butler (74 overall).

This is really it. Year 40. The last dance. What a ride it has been. We start the season at No. 4 in the polls.

How did the regular season go?

For our final regular season, we tried to schedule a good mix of local schools and historic big conference rivals with a couple in-season tournaments thrown in for good measure.

Here’s how the regular season went:

Win over Bradley

Win over Nebraska

Win over UTEP

Loss to Southern Illinois

Win over Florida

Loss to Northwestern

Win over New Mexico

Win over DePaul

That sets up a rivalry game against Illinois. We’ve played the Illini in almost every season, and we don’t want to end this dynasty without one more dub. The losses to Southern Illinois and Northwestern were a real bummer, and we need a palate cleanser. Let’s go!

Big win, 102-68. Look at Cristano Ngounou hanging 17 points and six assists on the Illini. Love seeing both starters in the front court — seniors Oscar Fray (13 points, 10 rebounds) and Brody Munoz (18 points, 11 rebounds) — each dropping a double-double, too. And how about our new five-star JUCO addition Obasohan chipping in 12 points off the bench? Really promising performance from the boys.

We get a big win over Kansas in our next game. That sets up another marquee game with a program we don’t like very much out of the state of North Carolina: Duke. We’ve battling with Duke on the court and on the recruiting trail for 40 freaking years. Can we end this rivalry with a dub?

Ugh, loss, 88-83. Nice games from Bernie Doyle (19 points, four assists) and Oscar Fray (14 points, 12 rebounds), but it isn’t enough. That’s our third loss of the season. Get bent, Duke.

We end the year with three more non-conference games.

Win over Illinois-Chicago

Win over American

Win over Arizona State

While we may have lost the final battle to Duke, I won the war over Coach K with a significantly better career by any measure (more on that in a minute). Now it’s time to jump into conference play in the Summit League.

Did we go undefeated in conference season?

Yes we did, another perfect 18-0 stretch.

Now we enter the conference tournament. Can we punch one more automatic bid to the NCAA tournament?

Win over UMKC

Win over Southern Utah

Win over UL-Calcutta

We’re going to the NCAA tournament for the last time, but that isn’t even the headliner after winning the Summit League. Im taking home the conference tournament championship, I won game No. 1,171 of my career. That currently puts me ahead of Coach K for the most wins all-time.

We have built a great legacy at Western Illinois. Before we enter the NCAA tournament, let’s take a look at our statistical leaders:

What a year for Munoz. Dude sat on the bench for four seasons before finally getting a starting spot, and all he did was lead our team in scoring at 17.2 points per game. Fray was awesome, too, averaging a hair under 15 points per game while chipping in nearly two blocks and six rebounds per game. It’s good to see Keller and Doyle both hit double-figures in scoring. I’m a bit surprised Cristano couldn’t even put up seven points a night after his big game against Illinois, but the assist and steals numbers are solid. We’re going to need him in March.

The Leathernecks are heading into the NCAA tournament at 32-3 on the year. I can’t wait to see what seed we get.

2047 NCAA tournament

Well, we couldn’t end this dynasty without getting swindled by the Selection Committee one more time. We’re a No. 6 seed in the NCAA tournament. I thought we should have been a top-four seed without question.

We’ll open the tournament with a game against No. 11 seed Syracuse. Sheesh. Before we get to the game, let’s check in on our roster one more time:

I’m loving the way this group progressed through the year. We have two awesome wing scorers with an elite combination of size and shooting in Keller and Doyle. We have plenty of beef up front with Munoz, Fray, and Polk. Ngounou entered the program as a 77 overall and shot up to a 92 in three years without a redshirt. The bench also really improved during the season and should give us plenty of different lineup options in March.

This is going to be a tough run, starting with Syracuse. The Orange have knocked us out of the big dance before, and consistently put together really strong teams.

Our last dance starts now. As always, we’re simulating every game, I’m not controlling the ‘Necks.

Let’s go!

Win, 105-73! What an absolute beatdown. We’ve moving on to the round of 32.

Long-time followers of the series will know that our Leathernecks have always been known as a second half team. It happened in a big way in this game. Syracuse ended the first half strong to cut our lead to nine points, but we quickly turned it into a blowout out of the break.

I thought this was a tremendous all-around team effort. Six players hit double-figures in scoring with no one putting up more than Floyd Keller’s 15 points. Everyone who played recorded an assist. I loved this play from the first half when we set two screens for our five-star JUCO Obasohan that helped get him an easy layup.

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Our bench is a big question mark coming into this tournament, mostly because it’s filled with a lot of fresh faces who haven’t played big minutes in clutch spots before. I have to say, the performance of our reserves in our tournament opener was super encouraging. Obasohan in particular looks like a keeper after scoring 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting and knocking down a three. We always need wing depth, and he should be able to provide that on this run.

The clear highlight of Obasohan’s night: this sick two-handed dunk in transition for an and-one.

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We love to turn defense into offense, and Ngounou and Doyle’s ability to get into the passing lanes really helps us out there.

Speaking of Ngounou in transition: he had a beautiful finish on the break to put the game fully out of reach. That’s what you want out of your point guard.

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The win sets up a second round game against Colorado State

The Rams have been a solid program throughout this sim dynasty, regularly making NCAA tournament appearances. We have a decisive edge in talent heading into this game.

We are one win away from going to the Sweet 16 and extended our run in the big dance. One time, ‘Necks. Let’s go!

Win, 109-79! We’re going to the Sweet 16!

We didn’t need to be a second half team in this one. Our ‘Necks blew the doors off Colorado State from the opening tip-off. I thought we played a great game offensively thanks to our inside-out ball movement.

We had five scorers in double-figures in this one, but it was senior starters Bernie Doyle and Oscar Fray leading the charge. We know Doyle is capable of taking over a game at his best, and he was awesome in this one: 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 shooting from three. The real story was Fray, though.

Fray was probably the least appealing long-term prospect of our recruiting class when he entered the program alongside Doyle, Keller, and Munoz. That was mostly because of his 74 rating and C potential grade. While he’s always been rated a few points lower than his classmates, Fray’s skill set on the court is so important to us. He’s a massive 7-foot power forward who can protect the rim and shoot threes. What more do you want?

Fray went off in this game: 22 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals on 9-of-11 shooting. I love watching the big man shoot from deep. This was from NBA range.

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Here’s one more catch-and-shoot three for good measure.

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Fray might get slept on a little on this team, but he’s absolutely critical to our success if we want to win it all.

I also want to shout-out the bench for another solid performance. I liked what I saw out of Obasohan (11 points) and Howell (10 points). Since we already have two Obasohan clips in this post, why not make it three? Love him hitting this triple in the first half to help us open up the lead.

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We’re rollin’.

The win sets up a Sweet 16 game vs. Alabama

We’re now four wins away from ending this dynasty with a national championship. A Sweet 16 game against Bama is going to be an absolute battle.

In our simulated future, the Tide have become a basketball school. This program seems to make the tournament every year, and they’ve given us plenty of trouble in the past.

A trip to the Elite Eight is on the line. Let’s go!

Win, 112-69! We’re onto the Elite Eight!

Say it with me: SECOND. HALF. TEAM. After a tight first half left us with a six-point lead coming into the break, our ‘Necks absolutely torched the nets in the second half to come away with the blowout win. Seriously: we scored 66 points in the final 20 minutes. That was an offensive clinic at its best.

I had a good feeling about the second half when Cristano got this three hit the rim like 50 times before falling. Sometimes you need some good luck on your side.

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A couple possessions later, Floyd Keller came down a ripped another three. We finally had a double-digit lead, and we’d never look back.

It was great to see Keller (15 points) get going from deep. He hit all three of his attempts from beyond the arc.

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While we don’t have any clips of the front court from this game, they absolutely deserve credit for the win.

Fray turned in another incredible performance, this one somehow even better than his last. He ended the game with 25 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and three blocks on 10-of015 shooting. He didn’t attempt a three (booooo) but he dominated the game on both ends. His front court mate Munoz was almost as good. The senior center finished with 20 points and 16 rebounds. We kept going inside — Munoz and Fray combined for 35 (!) field goal attempts — and they were making the Bama defense pay.

Not the best Bernie Buckets game (9 points on 3-of-10 shooting), but I clipped this shot from the first half, so I might as well embed it here.

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Elite Eight, here we come.

The win sets up an Elite Eight matchup against No. 1 seed Indiana

Our run in the NCAA tournament has been a breeze up to this point, but I fear things about to get a lot more difficult. Our plucky No. 6 seed is about to run into one of college basketball’s blue bloods: the top-seeded Indiana Hoosiers.

The Elite Eight has been something of a bugaboo for us. We lost in this round last year. We’ve lost in this round many times before. I don’t want it to happen again.

A Final Four trip is on the line. As always, we’re watching a simulated version of this game; I am not controlling the Leathernecks. Let’s go!

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***

Loss, 96-86. Oh my gosh. And just like that, our dream of ending this dynasty with a national title is over.

I am devastated. I really thought this team was good enough to send me out on top, but it wasn’t meant to be. The Hoosiers’ outside shooters did us in. Indiana’s guard-heavy lineup caught fire from deep (10-of-21 for 47.6 percent), and our perimeter attack couldn’t keep up. We only hit 6-of-22 (27.3 percent) attempts from three.

What happened to our second half team this time? We were only down two going into halftime, but we were outscored by eight over the final 20 minutes. Tough scene.

There were some solid individual performances. Munoz went out strong with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Bernie Doyle dropped 21 points and hit this three-pointer to keep us in it early.

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Floyd Keller just didn’t give us enough on the wing. He shot 1-of-8 from three in the loss. He did give us a little juice in transition, at least.

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Cristano played all 40 minutes, and had eight points and nine assists. I really wish I got another year with him as a senior next season.

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Unfortunately there is no next season. After 40 years at Western Illinois, our sim dynasty is over. Here are some final numbers on the series:

Final record: 1,177-213

10 national championships (tied with John Wooden for the most in men’s college basketball history)

15 Final Four appearances

25 Sweet 16 appearances

Final NCAA tournament record: 113-27

38 Summit League regular season championships

35 Summit League tournament championships

38 seasons with 20+ wins

61 players drafted

The thing I’m most proud of? After we made the NCAA tournament for the first time in Year 3, we didn’t miss it again the rest of this dynasty.

Is Ricky Charisma the greatest men’s college basketball coach ever?

I think so. Here’s how we stack up to other top coaches in NCAA history in important categories.

Total wins

Ricky Charisma: 1,179

Mike Krzyzewski: 1,170

Jim Boeheim: 1,083

Roy Williams: 903

Bob Knight: 899

Dean Smith: 879

Jim Calhoun: 877

Adolph Rupp: 876

Bob Huggins: 828

Eddie Sutton: 806

Tournament wins

Ricky Charisma: 110

Mike Krzyzewski: 94

Roy Williams: 77

Dean Smith: 65

Jim Boeheim: 57

Tom Izzo: 52

Jim Calhoun: 49

John Wooden: 47

Final Four appearances

Ricky Charisma: 15

Mike Krzyzewski: 12

John Wooden: 12

Dean Smith: 11

Roy Williams: 9

Tom Izzo: 8

Rick Pitino: 7

Denny Crum, Adolph Rupp, John Calipari: 6

Consecutive tournament appearances

Western Illinois: 36

Kansas: 31

North Carolina: 27

Arizona: 25

Duke: 24

Michigan State: 23

Gonzaga: 22

Winning percentage

Ricky Charisma: 84.7

Mark Few: 83.44

Sam Burton: 83.33

Clair Bee: 82.444

Adolph Rupp: 82.1

John Wooden: 80.3

National championships

Ricky Charisma: 10

John Wooden: 10

Mike Krzyzewski: 5

Adolph Rupp: 4

Roy Williams: 3

Jim Calhoun: 3

Bobby Knight: 3

Who is the best player in Western Illinois history?

That’s the big question within the fanbase right now. Before we get to it, let’s look back at our greatest recruiting wins.

We landed five five-star recruits out of the domestic high school ranks during my time at Western Illinois. We also signed nine five-star JUCO recruits, and six five-star international recruits from places like New Zealand (shout-out Dave French), Montenegro (anti shout-out Vitor Andrisevic), France (what up, Kim Kone!), and Cameroon.

The highest-rated recruit in program history was Sammy Yan at No. 10 overall in 2032. He was pretty much a disappointment. The program’s all-time leading scorer was center Vinnie Harmon with 2,452 career points during his career. He was the No. 122 overall recruit and the No. 8 center (those that followed the series or played the game know that centers are always weirded underrated on the recruiting trail).

Here are some more numbers during tournament games only (aka, the games we streamed), from the amazing Leathernecks Database maintained by our fans:

The highest rated player in program history is a tie between small forward Nic Cummings and point guard Duncan Martinez, who are the only players to reach 97 overall. Cummings in particular is a great choice for the GOAT. He ended his career with three national titles, though only one as a starter. He’s top-10 for me, but not No. 1.

The people’s choice for the GOAT is Deke Van, the legendary center who helped carry us to our first national title in Year 8. Deke’s turn from from Year 7 goat to Year 8 GOAT is the most memorable we’ve ever had. We couldn’t have done any of this without you, Deke.

When Coach tell you youre guarding @deke_van https://t.co/RDhmDAPRA8 pic.twitter.com/fm2udgvMZT

— Ryan Thomas (@RTtheSID) May 10, 2020

As the series went on, other great players emerged who finished with gaudier stats and better resumes.

My personal favorite might be Bert Draughan, Mr. Basketball out of Chicago (No. 29 overall recruit), who went on to win a title with us in Year 13 and also starred for our Year 11 team that began the season 35-0 before losing to Michigan State in the Final Four. Harmon is another fine choice. Skip Clemmons helped us win three national titles in Year 23, Year 24, and Year 26. Albert Jagla, Clemmons’ former teammate, played a big role in our first back-to-back championship squad, and is arguably the greatest perimeter bucket-getter in program history.

All-time favorite moment? Impossible to say. The first one that comes to mind is Kim Kone’s go-ahead corner three in the 2024 tournament. Najeeb Goode’s steal vs. UCLA in the Final Four to help us win our second title in Year 13 also stands out. There was also the time superstar power forward Allen Cunningham took off his pants mid-game.

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Thank you to everyone who read, watched, and interacted

I started this series on April 11, 2020, a few weeks after the pandemic had shut down all ‘real’ sports. At the time, I was gearing up to cover the 2020 NCAA tournament. That never happened. I had college basketball on my mind, and I always wanted to write something on ‘College Hoops 2K8’, probably my favorite video game ever. This project is what came of it.

I had no idea if anyone was going to read this. I definitely did not think I’d finish out all 40 years like a complete lunatic. I didn’t think I’d write the equivalent of multiple books in terms of total word count.

Just before I dropped the first post in the series, I tweeted this:

Got a real dumb blog post coming

— Ricky O'Donnell (@SBN_Ricky) April 11, 2020

I wrote around 70 posts in the series, counting the inaugural Hall of Fame induction (read a big Deke Van retrospective at that link) and two posts of my Deke Van x Seattle Supersonics spin-off. I’m estimating I wrote 200,000 words in this series. That’s about the length of “The Fellowship of the Ring.”

I still can’t believe everything that came from this series. The Washington Post wrote a profile on it. I went on WGN TV and did a few radio spots promoting it. We sold a Deke Van t-shirt with Homefield Apparel. Our series inspired a new friend in Japan named Thanh Nguyen to write a pair of e-books adding greater depth to our story. Friend of the program Mike Rutherford did an amazing hype video for our first championship run. When I moved the series to Substack for a few months, more than 7,000 people signed up for email updates and still remain. Our first Twitch stream for the Year 8 Final Four drew more than 7,000 total viewers, and had 2,500 concurrent viewers on it at as we were closing out the win. On SB Nation, the series has been viewed more than 500K times.

What really made the project special was always the community around it. Some quick shout-outs:

The Leathernecks Database is an amazing companion to this series. You can lost in there. Thank you to the diehards to helped maintain it, and reader Evan for starting it.

Thanks to my guy who started the Leathernecks Nation instagram fan page and whoever is behind the wondrous fake Deke Van twitter account.

Thanks to everyone in the Discord who maintained ‘Necks discussion always and forever.

Thank the diehards that came out for every Twitch stream. I don’t want to name names because I’ll forget someone, but you know who you are. I love you all. I also want to thank the readers for keeping up with the recaps, and everyone who emailed me feedback throughout the series. I also want to thank my buddy Scott for introducing me to the game and running through multiple 40-year dynasties with me way before I ever considered blogging through it like this. This series would not exist without him.

What a ride it’s been. As I sim through to the end of the calendar, I’m greeted with this message.

Thank you, everyone. Go ‘Necks.

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tthankstoyou · 4 years ago

Note

challenge! assign glee couples to taylor swift albums! based on the couples’ vibe, storylines and overall playout. you can put more than one couple for each album

these couples:

brittana, quinntana, klaine, kelliott, finchel, st. berry, samcedes, fabrevans, tike, tartie, wildeabrams, jarley, quick, and faberry

(stuck to canon and plausible non canon)

this is such a good (and yea definitely challenging) ask. thank you for sending it in <3

brittana - speak now. purely because of mine

quinntana - reputation. they are the perfect ship for that album (alongside kurtbastian). basically every song on rep can be connected back to quinntana, wether it be through canon or a headcanon. also dress is straight up the wedding episode where they hooked up

klaine - i want to say lover just because of paper rings and that deleted scene of the bubblegum wrapper ring 😭

kelliott - also reputation! I have some very specific headcanons about rep that I think fit kelliott really well. I think the song that fits them the best is gorgeous. that song is literally how kurt reacted when meeting elliott for the first time during his audition and you can't convince me otherwise

finchel - hmmm i’m thinking speak now. enchanted is like when they first met. better than revenge is both when rachel overreacted about finn and santana sleeping together AND when finn beat up brody. also rachel is the type of girl to daydream about the title track in s1 when finn was dating quinn

st berry - fearless. first of all, superstar is basically rachel when she first meets jesse. fifteen is veryyyyy them.

samcedes - lover. songs like the title track and paper rings remind me of them because of how often they talked about marriage in s5 part b. it was like they would have definitely got married if mercedes wasn’t about to leave for tour. also i think cruel summer fits their little fling that they had pre s3.

fabrevans - debut. not based on any specific songs, but because i think that album and the ship has similar vibes. it’s the whole country thing

tike - they fit almost all of the songs on lover tbh. from cruel summer (when they fooled around at summer camp), to lover and paper rings (tina proposing), death by a thousand cuts (their breakup), the archer (tina being a water sign), the man & you need to calm down (tina being a feminist and advocate for social issues and dragging mike along for the ride)

tartie - hmm maybe fearless. i feel like they had a rocky relationship and songs like forever & always and the way i loved you describe it well

wildebrams - they’re also fearless. man artie wasn’t good with relationships. i think kitty would love mr perfectly fine and white horse & would relate those songs to artie. also fifteen fits them (what is up with glee and age gap relationships 😳)

jarley - i get evermore vibes. like coney island, dorthea, gold rush. i mostly see them in the heart wrenching songs. i also see them in red. like marley would sing all too well after their breakup (ok wait i really wanna hear that now). i just think a mix of those two albums describes them well.

quick - 1989. as out of the woods states, they’re kind of doomed from the start, and i feel like that’s what they are. they were trying to make something work that they both know couldn’t, like specifically looking at it from during s1. and then i also see them in i know places and blank space (like how puck calls her crazy or loopy or whatever in s4)

faberry - folklore 100% i don’t think i need to expand on that

#asks #nonny #long post

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wrestlingisfake · 4 years ago

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Resurgence preview

It's been a year now since New Japan launched their US-based show, NJPW Strong. I'm sure the original plans involved running US tours with a mix of American regulars and visiting stars from the main Japanese roster. The pandemic, however, limited the scope of Strong, mainly featuring minor leagues on a closed set. It almost felt like a parallel universe with little relationship to the "real" NJPW. Now, finally, the brand gets to do a show in front of an actual crowd, and we get to see this concept the way it was meant to be seen.

The show airs live on NJPWworld (999 yen for one month--about $9.12 US) at 11pm EDT. Or, if you just cannot handle setting up your payment on a Japanese website, you can get the show on FITE.tv for $19.99 US. Both services should make the show available on-demand later, in case you want to wait until you're done watching Triplemania.

Lance Archer vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - Archer is defending the IWGP United States champioship. The title was in limbo through most of 2020, as Jon Moxley was unable to schedule a defense in either New Japan or AEW. That changed in 2021, as thawing relations between the two promotions led to more Moxley title matches, until he lost the belt to Archer on July 21. Shortly before Archer's first defense on July 28, AEW aired a video of Tanahashi challenging the winner of that match.

This is Tana's first show outside of Japan since the pandemic began, and his first match in California in nearly three years. I'm not sure anyone expected him to be here, given that the New Japan of America operation has focused on building up North American talent rather than bringing in big stars from the home promotion. So this is a special treat for the live audience, above and beyond Archer coming in from AEW.

I expect a pretty straightforward match with Archer killing Tana with big power moves and Tana rallying for a big babyface comeback. In a vacuum I would think either man could end up with the belt. However, the real story to this match is that Tanahashi went out of his way to make a challenge for the US title, but not until after Jon Moxley lost it. So Moxley has accused Tana of ducking him, and it stands to reason that he'll confront the winner of this match to close the show. That feels like a formula for Tana vs. Mox for the title, maaaybe at the AEW pay-per-view on September 5. Everyone sure seems to hope that's where we're headed, so I don't think a lot of people will be pulling for Archer tonight.

Jay White vs. David Finlay - This is White's first defense of the NEVER openweight championship. It's also his first New Japan match since May, as the quarantine procedures for entering Japan have made travel pretty rough for the non-Japanese talent. As I recall, Finlay received this title shot because he pinned White back in March. Finlay hasn't been back in Japan since that tour. Both of these guys have been in Impact Wrestling as of late.

Originally, the idea behind White winning the NEVER title was to set up a match with Hiroshi Tanahashi at one of the Wrestle Grand Slam stadium shows that New Japan scheduled this summer. The aforementioned travel problems seem to have scuttled that, so now White is facing The Other Guy From FinJuice.

The biggest buzz I've heard surrounding this match is that Finlay appeared on Wrestling Observer Live to promote the show and ended up giving fans the impression that he wanted to go to NXT. I mean, Finlay could be fucking with us on that. But it's not a good sign when people are mainly interested in a match because they're looking for signs that one of the participants is fixing to leave the promotion. Not that it affects the finish, of course--Finlay could sign with NJPW for a million years, and he still wouldn't be booked to beat White for a title in 2021.

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Moose - This match kind of came out of nowhere. Ishii isn't exactly a top guy in New Japan but he's always right below that level, clobbering most of the roster and getting clobbered to set up new contenders. Most of the NJPW Strong roster would be underdogs against him. But then, Moose isn't on the Strong roster--he's coming over from Impact, where he's been pushed as a top heel for months. Moose is a 6-foot-5 big mean guy and Ishii is a 5-foot-7 big mean guy, so this should be an interesting contrast. It's easily the most interesting match on the show.

I'd like to see Moose win, since it'd be a slight upset and he could use the momentum for whatever he's doing next. But if he is gonna win, Ishii is going to convince you that he had to work his ass off to earn it. I'm looking forward to this.

Tom Lawlor & JR Kratos & Danny Limelight & Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs vs. Lio Rush & Chris Dickinson & Adrian Quest & Fred Yehi & Yuya Uemura - Lawlor is the NJPW Strong champion and his team is the New Japan version of "Team Filthy." The babyface team originally featured Brody King, but he was pulled from the card at the last minute due to "unforeseen circumstances", so Adrian Quest is substituting for him. That's a real tough break for the good guys.

There are several storylines at play here. Lio Rush stepped up as the next challenger for Lawlor's title, and they'll have that match at the August 16 tapings. Dickinson was kicked out of Team Filthy, and is currently aligned with Brody King's Violence Unlimited stable. Uemura had been working on the Japan roster as a Young Lion, but he's just begun his excursion so he has a chance to really express himself as a performer.

If Rush wasn't already positioned as Lawlor's next challenger, I might think this match could end with someone pinning Lawlor. As it is, though, it probably makes more sense for Team Filthy to win in a dominant fashion. Yehi and Quest are basically undercard scrubs, and Uemura just now graduated to that position. Rush and Dickinson aren't going to be able to carry so many weak links.

Juice Robinson vs. Hikuleo - Juice has spent most of 2021 teaming with David Finlay over on Impact, whereas Hikuleo has been wrestling on Strong and more recently on a few AEW shows. Given that Hikuleo is 6-foot-8 you'd expect him to squash everything in his path, but New Japan isn't afraid to have more established stars get the better of him. Whether Juice is one of those more established stars remains to be seen.

Juice biggest career highlight was winning the IWGP US title, and Hikuleo's was challenging for that title a few weeks ago. If one of them is going to be in the hunt for that belt, then winning this match should be step one. As much as I'd like to see Juice back in the chase, I get the feeling it'll be Hikuleo taking that role.

Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows vs. Jon Moxley & X - The Good Brothers (Gallows and Anderson) are the Impact Wrestling men's tag team champions, but their title is not at stake here. I think Moxley was originally booked to team with Syota Umino on this show, but travel restrictions prevented Umino from coming into LA. One way or another, Moxley will have a mystery partner that won't be revealed until the match begins.

The backstory is that Gallows and Anderson have been a thorn in Moxley's side every time he's tried to fight Kenny Omega, or really anybody in Omega's stable. With that in mind, the most logical partner would be Sami Callihan, who has a history with Moxley and unfinished business with Omega's group. People have been asking for a Moxley-Callihan reunion from the minute AEW and Impact started collaborating, and there's no reason it can't happen here. On the other hand, I wonder if that's something New Japan would do as a surprise, as opposed to advertising it ahead of time.

If Moxley's partner isn't Callihan, there's a serious risk that the live crowd will start chanting for Callihan and disrupt the match. So if they're going with someone else, it'd better be good. I suppose Eddie Kingston would be accepted, although again, why would that be something you do as a surprise? Personally, I'm all about Moxley and the cold, deadly eyes of Shooter Umino, so I know I'll be disappointed no matter what. :(

Anyway, it'd be stupid for Moxley's team to lose this match.

Rocky Romero & Fred Rosser & Wheeler Yuta vs. TJP & Clark Connors & Ren Narita - This is a pretty good sampling of the NJPW Strong midcard. Of this group, Romero has the most clout with the main New Japan roster. Rosser is still best known as WWE's Darren Young, the guy from the Nexus who looks exactly like John Cena. Yuta has been making waves on AEW, filling in for Trent Beretta with Orange Cassidy's group, so I guess he and Rocky are both Best Friends Twice Removed or something. TJP is a former WWE cruiserweight champion and Impact X division champion. Connors is one of the guys from the Gekiochi-kun ads--I think he's the one who snaps his fingers to teleport everybody. Ren Narita is the guy who used to wrestle Syota Umino all the time, but Syota is not on this show. :(

Alex Coughlin vs. Karl Fredericks - When Strong started, Coughlin, Fredericks, and Clark Connors were the three Young Lions from the LA Dojo who worked as prelim guys. Since then I believe Connors and Fredericks have "graduated," and Coughlin is still working on it. I'm pretty sure Fredericks is the one in the Gekiochi-kun ads that says "that's pretty cool." I don't remember what Coughlin does in those ads, so clearly he needs to get his ass in gear. Anyway, I guess Fredericks wins.

Bateman & Mysterioso & Barrett Brown vs. The DKC & Kevin Knight & Jordan Clearwater - This is scheduled as a dark match 30 minutes before the live stream begins. I've heard most of these names, but the only one I kinda know is Bateman from whatever goofy stable he's in at Ring of Honor. I dunno, I guess his side wins.

#njpw #njpw strong #njpw of america #resurgence #lance archer #hiroshi tanahashi #jay white #david finlay #jon moxley

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stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale · 4 years ago

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hey! so, i've been a huge fan of your writing for a while now. you always offer me so much inspiration within your stories, i absolutely love your ability bring life to all the characters and settings you write about. and idk if you're still accepting requests for your otp mix n' match challenge, nor if you'd even consider doing this request haha, but- could i perhaps request 15 & 11? i am super interested in potentially seeing what your take on my personal otp would be! much love either way

Hi, this has been in my drafts for like.... forever. Since April or May, I think? Oh boy. My apologies, I completely forgot about it until I stumbled across it today. But hey, better now than never, I suppose. Also thank you for your kinds words! I truly appreciate it! :D

“Louis and Mitch pretend to date to make others jealous but you know what happens.”

Read on AO3

This is a joke.

This is a joke and he’s the butt of it.

How did the fuck did he end up here?

Mitch knows this has to be a joke because Louis did not go through this much effort for it to not be a joke.

The remaining fries on the plate have gone cold, mushy beneath the squirt of bright cheddar cheese. Walter’s Diner has the best fries in this hellhole of a town, and usually, they’re the first thing he chows down before finishing his burger or even touching his shake.

Fuck. Fucking hell.

It’s hard to concentrate on and enjoy his food with Louis’ arm behind his neck, hand casually resting over Mitch’s shoulder as he and Violet argue whether they should order a basket of donut holes or four slices of peach pie for dessert.

“They’re stuffed,” Violet says, pointing at the menu, reading, “‘Our bite-sized delights are baked to perfection, stuffed with our delicious cream cheese filling, and tossed in a heavenly mixture of cinnamon and sugar.’ And you’re telling me that doesn’t sound good?”

“And you’re telling me that a slice of Walter’s famous peach pie doesn’t make your mouth water?” Louis sighs. “I’m salivating just thinking about it.”

Violet wrinkles her nose.

“Peach pie sucks.”

“You suck.”

“C’mon guys,” Aasim butts in, eyes rolling in that exasperated way he gets whenever Louis and Violet do this. “Donuts suck, pie sucks, and you both suck. Let’s order ice cream.”

With a hand pressed against his chest, Louis lets out his fakest, most dramatic gasp. Next comes the obnoxious- and probably offensive- British accent.

“Why, my dear Mitch, Violet, did you hear what this lickspittle just said to us?”

Violet’s last tater tot goes flying as a response, bouncing off Aasim’s nose.

“Are you serious?” Aasim snatches the tater tot back up, throwing it at Louis.

“Hey! Rude!” Louis laughs, his arm slipping out from behind Mitch to try and catch the tot. “What did I do?”

Without a thought, Mitch grabs the offending tot and tosses it back at Aasim, who catches it and lets it drop onto his plate.

“Knock it off, guys,” he says. “It shouldn’t take this long to decide on a dessert. I vote pie.”

That makes Louis smile.

“Ah, a man after my own heart,” he sighs, shifting closer against Mitch’s side- Jesus Christ almighty- and pressing quick kiss against his cheek.

Fuck everything. Fuck, fuck-

This causes Mitch to suck in a breath, only to cover it up by coughing into his sleeve. God, his face is going to melt off, especially if Louis keeps looking at him like that.

“That’s not a surprise,” Violet rolls her eyes, ignoring the kiss and Mitch’s coughing fit. “He sucks, too.”

“Can’t we just agree that we all suck?” Louis says.

“Can’t you ever shut your pie hole?”

“Can’t we all just order different desserts?” Aasim pleads, finger jabbing at the menu on the table to emphasize his point.

Louis and Violet look at one another, puzzled as if that idea never occurred to them. At this point, Mitch didn’t even care about dessert, didn’t really even want any.

Louis shifts and there’s the warm, distracting press of his knee against his and Mitch has never been so tense in his entire life.

He's too fucking close. Too close. Too close. And he kissed him. On the cheek, sure, but fucking hell-

Never has he felt such tension in his body, even when something obnoxiously embarrassing passes his father’s mouth, or when Willy’s fingers slip from the branches of whatever tree he’s climbing and he almost plummets to the ground.

He doesn’t know what’s worse: the fact that Aasim won’t stop gawking at them every time they do anything, or that Louis is fucking comfortable doing the things that make Aasim gawk in the first place.

This whole thing is nothing but a cruel joke that Mitch was stupid enough to take the bait for.

And for what? A promise of Louis buying him lunch every day for a month? Was a free meal every day worth this level of anxiety and... gross feelings?

“Fine,” says Violet. “I’ll eat a whole basket myself, but don’t any of you dare eyeball them. You had your chance.”

“I won’t eyeball your donuts if you don’t eyeball my pie.”

“I won’t because pie sucks.”

“You suck!”

“Oh my god,” Aasim abruptly twists around, desperately tapping on the shoulder of a now startled waitress. “Two slices of peach pie, a basket of donuts holes, and an ice cream cone to go. Please. I want to go home.”

The waitress stares at him, baffled, before nodding and getting away from their table as quickly as possible.

Louis chuckles, arm slipping back behind Mitch as he says, “I think she likes you.”

“Shut up!” Aasim frowns. “I swear to god...”

Louis continues to laugh, but he steals a glance at Mitch. Something softens and it’s... Mitch doesn’t know what the fuck it is. Ever since they started this, sometimes Louis will look at him like that.

From what he can tell, Louis doesn’t even look at the girl like that, and she’s the entire reason they’re doing this.

That girl- what the fuck’s her name? He couldn’t have possibly tuned Louis out every time he mentions her- the redhead from his art class or whatever. She’s the one who started this bullshit.

About a month ago, Louis wrote him a note detailing, “I need your help. Meet me by the school entrance during lunch? It’s important,” while they’re in the middle of a pop quiz. As if Mitch didn’t have enough to worry about with all the damn fractions scattering the quiz, but then he was left worry about what the hell Louis needed his help with.

Also, he did this without Mr. Garcia noticing. How the fuck that’s possible is beyond him. If they were caught, both of their quizzes would’ve been ripped to shreds. Mitch didn’t need that shit right now.

Then, the entrance was barely in sight by the time Louis snuck up on him, grabbed his arm, and proceeded to drag him outside and across the parking lot so they could hop into the safety of Mitch’s hand-me-down truck despite Mitch’s protests. He hadn’t cleaned his truck of its fast-food wrappers or loose sheets of forgotten homework in weeks, and that left him worried that the air freshener didn’t work.

Finally, Louis managed to explain this so-called plan of his to Mitch with a straight face, not cracking once. He actually sounds serious enough that Mitch might’ve believed him if this bullshit wasn’t so... so bullshit.

“I really like her,” Louis had said, “and Violet said this kind of thing could get her attention.”

Of course, Mitch didn’t agree so easily because the plan was- nd still is- stupid.

“You think pretending to date me is gonna get her attention?” he scoffed. “I’m not fucking doing this. Ask Vi.”

“I can’t ask Vi. She doesn’t date dudes and I’m pretty sure Brody would, like, break me in half or something.”

“Fine, Aasim then.”

“C’mon, you know Aasim would never.”

“Well,” Mitch threw his hands up. “I would never! Find someone else because I’m not gonna be your fake boyfriend so that you can make what’s-her-nut jealous!”

Jokes on him- Mitch’s been Louis’ fake boyfriend for weeks now because he hasn’t wooed what’s-her-nut yet. Which wasn’t that the whole point? They just pretend while she’s around? Not when they’re alone or when hanging out with Violet and Aasim?

Louis said it was to make it as real as possible, just in case what’s-her-nut found out. That doesn’t explain why Louis is the way he is when it’s just the two of them. Doesn’t explain the kiss on the cheek.

Mitch eats a cold fry, cringing at the taste. He can feel Violet looking at him while Louis goes on about something that happened in choir. When Mitch meets her eye, she smirks, raising a knowing brow. Mitch gives her a light kick under the table.

When the waitress finally brings them their dessert in separate bags, she doesn’t stick around long and avoids eye contact with Aasim.

“Hey, Vi,” Louis leans over her shoulder as they’re leaving the diner, “Can I have a donut hole?”

“I will stab you, your boyfriend, and your pie.”

“Hey, not my pie!” Louis grabs Mitch’s hand, knocking his shoulder into his. “Or my Mitch!”

Fucking hell.

Mitch doesn’t know how much longer he can handle this.

#twdgmixchallenge #twdg louis #twdg mitch #twdg violet #twdg aasim #twdg louitch #“Louis and Mitch pretend to date to make others jealous but you know what happens.”#it's been forever since i've done one of these #holy shit #i'm gonna barely edit it because it'll never get posted if i try to edit it #that's just who i am #hahaha #sorry it took forever but here ya go #it's been in my drafts since like... april i think #yeesh.... haha #i'm bad at what i do don't mind me #asks

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nursingwriter · 1 month ago

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Brain Scans as Evidence "Brain images provide insight to understanding behavior. Additionally, the images themselves carry great impact, particularly when used to show differences in either the anatomy or the biological functioning of two different brains. For these reasons, brain images have increasingly been used in both criminal and civil trials" Even though images from brain scans may be used as "evidence" in trials, researchers regularly relate a number of concerns that currently challenge the perception the quote introducing this study asserts. In fact, lshani Ganguli (2007), Harvard University, cites Nancy Kanwisher, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at MIT, to assert in the article, lshani Ganguli "Watching the Brain Lie": " fMRI Is a Messy Muddy Mixed Field... Extremely Well Trained People. That's the Last Kind of Technology You Want to Use in the Legal System" (Kanwisher, Ganguli, 2007, Anatomy of…section, ¶ 8). Distortions attributed to the "hardware" of fMRI, as well as a number of other issues, contribute to uncertainty regarding the reliability of the methods utilized to detect and record brain functionality as it relates to concepts such as pain, lying, and other sensations and behaviors relevant to factual issues in the courtroom. While scientists may successfully study and surmise areas reportedly related to certain behaviors or sensations across a number of human brains, confirmation regarding the reliability of this practice remains evasive as findings primarily evolve; subject to the interpreter's subjective observations. The lack of consensus in the Medical and Neuroscientific community regarding what specific areas of brain activity influence particular behaviors and sensations reveal that one's understanding of the human brain prevents one from accurately interpreting the data to provide a consistent and reliable source of information with regard to matters relevant to a court case, such as intent, deception, or pain. A distinct possibility exists that these hurdles will eventually be overcome, perhaps even in the near future. Current credibility concerns relating to data collected directly from the human brain and rendered into images through fMRI technology, albeit, impede one's ability to predict and analyze behavior and sensations. In light of these comprehensible, challenging yet fatal shortcomings and concerns, the researcher asserts that just as a polygraph test should not be admitted in court as evidence, the fMRI should not likewise inadmissible. Functional MRI Lie Detection Mark Pettit, Jr. (2007), Professor, Boston University School of Law, asserts that although the science behind fMRI appears sophisticated, the basic concept may be readily understood. Pettit explains that fMRI involves creating a series of brain images to reveal "changes in blood levels in the various areas of the brain over time. & #8230; the & #8230;immediate use of fMRI, & #8230; that has generated the most interest and debate about possible courtroom use, is lie detection. The theory purports that blood levels depict how hard the brain works. As lying requires more "brain work" than telling the truth, comparisons from brain scans reportedly reveal when the individual may be lying. (Pettit, Jr., 2007, Dr. Laurence R. Tancredi, a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine and Dr. Jonathan D. Brodie (2007), the Marvin Stern Professor of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, as noted in the quote introducing this study, assert that brain imaging constitutes a credible courtroom tool. Tancredi and Brodie (2007) explain that fMRI works on the principle that changes in the brain's hemodynamics, "which relate to mental operations, can be detected and mapped using basic MRI instrumentation. At this time , the most widely used method to measure cerebral blood flow using MRI has been the Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) technique." The fundamental physiological notion supporting this technique, contingent on the 70-year-old observation that the hemoglobin properties in a strong magnetic field depend on its state of oxygen saturation, contends that increased neural activity in a particular brain region results in greater consumption of oxygen from the blood close to these neurons. Increased blood flow, as well as, blood volume of the local vasculature of the brain's activated regions accompany the increased oxygen consumption. Simpson (2008), Staff Psychiatrist, VA Long Beach Healthcare System, Long Beach, California, investigatges the proposition that fMRI may serve as a potential new lie-detection technique, not based on the measurement of autonomic reactions. In the journal publication, "Functional MRI Lie Detection: Too Good to be True?," Simpson asserts that the application of fMRI, a frequently used tool in neuroscientific research may be utilized to obtain measurements of cerebral blood flow in individuals engaged in deception. "Within the past two years, two separate research groups have devised experimental paradigms and statistical methods that they claim allow identification of brain activity patterns consistent with lying." Researchers relating findings from these groups claim the approaches may be used on individual subjects, with approximately 90% accuracy. fMRI and the Legal System In the journal article, "A Double-Edged Sword: The Role of Neuroimaging in Federal Capital Sentencing," Abram S. Barth (2007), M.P.H. Candidate, Boston University School of Public Health, admits that brain dysfunction is detectable by neuroimaging and also indicates both future dangerousness and impaired capacity. He explains that structural neuroimaging may be conveyed through computerized tomography scanning (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). These two tests produce images of the brains soft-tissue structure. Functional neuroimaging may be administered by conducting a positron emission tomography scanning (PET) test, which records the brain's activity and measures cognitive activity. A combination of structural and functional neruoimaging constitutes a functional MRI (fMRI) test, which combines information about brain activity extracted from functional scans with structural representations. Barth argues against fMRI evidence being admitted in court. He stresses "that even the most scientific predictions, based on thorough examination, diagnosis of mental symptoms, past patterns of behavior, and probabilistic assessment are wrong nearly as often as they are right." If courts did admit frontal lobe dysfunction evidence as evidence of future dangerousness, Barth asserts, two significant difficulties would arise. 1. Frontal lobe dysfunction works in conjunction with other environmental or psychological factors to produce criminal behavior. & #8230;if these corollary factors are controllable, then future dangerousness will be less predictable. For if a frontal-lobe dysfunction sufferer is able to excise his frontal lobe tumor, remove alcohol and drugs from his environment, or receive behavior modification medications, such as antidepressants or mood stabilizers, then frontal-lobe dysfunction may no longer signify future dangerousness, thus removing itself as an aggravating circumstance 2. & #8230;Future dangerousness in the general population is not generalizable to future dangerousness in the prison population. When courts consider the future dangerousness standard, it would be a mistake to focus on the general public, rather than a well-controlled and regulated prison. Since future dangerousness is an aggravating factor that would increase a life sentence to a death penalty, the decision is not whether the defendant would ever be a future danger to the general public. Instead, the correct context for adjudicating future dangerousness is within prison walls, where the defendant will be housed, if he is not put to death. Tancredi and Brodie (2007) concur that when a specific brain image relates to a clinical evaluation or a set of neuropsychological tests, a fMRI image may, in turn, serve as a partial "marker" for particular behaviors. In some instances, the presence of the marker could actually substantiate a presumption that individual "X" evidenced "a particular set of characteristics, such as proneness towards violence, emotional instability to the point of lack of control, and cognitive incompetence, to explain the behavior in question." Perhaps, in conjunction with other more specifically focused behavioral evaluations, the image could reliably explain cause and effect. Ultimately, albeit, no single test should be used as each technological tool possesses limitations that affect the capacity legal and medical practitioners possess to infer causal relationships. Simpson (2008) asserts that even if a number of obstacles were eventually overcome regarding fMRI, the technique would still face additional challenges to being used in criminal proceedings. "The Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination appears to rule out compelling a criminal defendant to submit to the technique." In addition, another uncertain consideration, potential Fourth Amendment implications, would be whether an fMRI scan does or does not constitute a search. Advantages of fMRI Tancredi and Brodie (2007) explain that along with being readily available to researchers and clinicians; reportedly providing enhanced detail and resolution over comparable imaging methods, fMRI offers two distinct advantages over alternative methods for imaging brain activity. 1. The introduction of radioactive isotopes is not required for the production of the signal for measurement; making fMRI essentially non-invasive. In turn, the process may be repeated frequently, if necessary, on the same person without the concern of adverse radiological effects. 2. " fMRI allows for the integration of anatomical (structural), neural, and molecular information in a single session. The gleaning of data on brain activity along with information about the anatomy of the region can be achieved within seconds." As the process surveys neural and metabolic status of the region is simultaneously, fMRI exceeds other brain imaging non-invasive modalities. Disadvantages of fMRI lshani Ganguli (2007), Harvard University, asserts in the article, "Watching the Brain Lie," that fMRI lie detection does not yet merit a place in the courtroom or elsewhere. Kanwisher stresses: "No published studies come even close to demonstrating the kind of lie detection that would be useful in a real world situation." In addition, according to Ganguli (2007), a number of various types of lies exist that include omissions, white lies, exaggerations, and denials which potentially involve differing neural processes that scientists have not yet mastered. Jed Rakoff, U.S. .District Judge for the Southern District of New York, admits that he doubts fMRI tests will conform to the courtroom standards for "scientific evidence (reliability and acceptance within the scientific community) anytime in the near future, or that the limited information they provide will have much impact on the stand." As most lies in court include omissions or exaggerations of the truth; they would be tricky to recreate in a laboratory. The potential for harm overshadow any foreseeable benefits from fMRI, Rakeff purports. Yet another drawback could materialize if an individual actually believed a lie. Whether or not a machine would identify this data as a truth or a lie is not yet clear. Stacey a. Tovino (2007), Assistant Professor of Law, Health Law Institute, Hamline University School of Law, contends that fMRI presents a number of practical issues. "Individuals whose brains are being scanned must lie completely still for a period of time within an MRI scanner, which can be loud and claustrophobic. Brain motion resulting from the individual's movement or, even, the individual's respiratory and cardiac cycles, can interfere with data acquisition." The validity of results from the fMRI also depend on the person's willingness and ability to comply with and complete the assigned mental task. Henry T. Greely, Deane F. And Kate Edelman Johnson Professor of Law, Stanford University and Judy Illes (2007), Associate Professor (Research) of Neurology, Stanford University, relate another concern as they assert that fMRI-based lie detection is not currently covered by any type of regulatory scheme. In human trials for fMRI, no guidelines cover how an effective and ethical trial could best be conducted. Moral Aspects of fMRI In the book, International Handbook on Psychopathic Disorders and the Law, Alan Felthous and Henning Sass (2007) report that fMRI has begun to address ways emotion relates to brain function and the neural underpinnings of learning from punishment; that fMRI techniques facilitate the investigation of the neural basis of moral decisions. As emotion and cognition closely intertwine, cognitive processes and emotional processing influence the control and regulation of behavior. "For healthy subjects, studies with… fMRI show a dynamic interplay between cognition and emotion with a reciprocal association between emotional and cognitive brain areas." No current study reveals which brain circuits are activated when psychopaths deliberately falsify information, a significant consideration for court evidence. Dr. William P. Cheshire, Jr., (2007), Associate Professor of Neurology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, asserts that neuroscience knowledge may be measured in degrees of resolution. "Greater neuroimaging resolving power means more finely detailed representations of the human brain. As the brain is the physical correlate of the mind, its grey matter and intricate interconnections are subject to scientific investigation." More and more, neuroimaging methods can map out, voxel by voxel, the neurobiological pathways that motivate various components of thoughts and d behavior. In addition to examining the quality of fMRI images, the methods and presuppositions of neuroimaging also need to be considered. Cheshire, Jr. further explains: Implicit in every voxelous reconstruction of the brain is the idea that the brain is virtually, if not essentially, reducible to matter. Reductionism can clarify, but it can also mislead. Vibrant voxels may elucidate pertinent facts. Exclusive attention to them may overlook important truths. Conclusion The literature appears to support the researcher's initial thesis that the reality that the visual output from the fMRI scanning method will be entered into court as evidence is not yet clear nor confirmed. The researcher concurs with Kanwisher that mapping the human brain precisely and reliably depicts a lofty goal that may possibly be attained in the near future. Nevertheless, the technologies behind the modern tools the medical industry uses to scan brains and analyze brain activity, even though much more advanced than the polygraph machine, the visual data, just as with the output of a polygraph, present concerns that challenge their value. When used to predict behaviors or sensations, these technical tools rely on the same error-prone method of interpretation: The non-standardized and unproven interpretive techniques and perhaps biased expectations of the examiner. As proposed at the start of this paper, the lack of consensus in the medical and neuroscientific community regarding brain activity and the individual's behaviors and sensations reveals that contemporary understanding of the human brain prohibits accurate interpretation of retrieved data. As a result, the fMRI cannot currently proffer a consistent and reliable source of information with regard to matters relevant to a court case such as intent, deception, or pain. Challenges confirmed during this paper regarding this area currently impede the ability to predict and analyze behavior and sensations based on data collected directly from the human brain and rendered into images through fMRI technology. This understandable, yet fatal shortcoming, the present study confirms, complements the researcher's argument that such evidence should not be admitted in court. REFERENCES Abram S. Barth. A Double-Edged Sword: The Role of Neuroimaging in Federal Capital Sentencing, American Journal of Law and Medicine, (2007); available at HighBeam Research: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1436644761.html Alan Felthous & Henning Sass. International Handbook on Psychopathic Disorders and the Law, Volume 1 of the International Handbook of Psychopathic Disorders and the Law, John Wiley and Sons, (2008). Henry T. Greely & Judy Illes. Neuroscience-Based Lie Detection: The Urgent Need for Regulation, American Journal of Law and Medicine, (2007); available at HighBeam Research: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1436644721.html Ishani Ganghtmuli. Watching the Brain Lie, the Scientist, (2007); available at HighBeam Research: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1269077571.l John R. Richert. Picture it: Why researchers need better imaging techniques, Momentum, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, (2009); available at HighBeam Research: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-197666158.html Joseph R. Simpson. 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Cheshire Jr. Can Grey Voxels Resolve Neuroethical Dilemmas?, Ethics & Medicine, Bioethics Press Highland Park, IL., (2007); available at HighBeam Research: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1350089161.html Read the full article

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