#I think with enough time and the right resources Dunn could give it a good run for its money. but it's still a pretty daunting undertaking

[ahc-au]

If Darius broke out of prison because there are possible connections with the higher ups of the facility he made during his position of CEO at O'Neil tech and DEFINITELY cause an upstart war with his underground business partners and destroying the whole NNYC .

Or possibly putting bounty on both Cody and President Bishop and eventually the O'Neil Tech doesn't even exist anymore because of his socipath tendencies on ep 20 . That's how I imagined him how monstrous he can become

"If i can't have it , no one will ."

Dunn is definitely vindictive enough to be in that "if I can't have it, no one can" mindset, for sure. But I also think he's more intelligent than he gets credit for, so I don't think an outright war would be his M.O. yknow? He's a man who knows how to cover his tracks and play his cards right. No matter how many connections he has, he's never going to have the cards to beat the entire galactic union of the PGA head-on. Targeting President Bishop is a VERY dangerous game.

He'd definitely want to kill all six, for sure, Cody, Bishop, and the Dark Turtles. Since he's practially lost everything else, I can see revenge being a high priority for him. But he'd have to lay low and play clever about it, if he wanted to pull anything off. Which is considerably harder to do when you're a prison escapee being actively hunted down haha!

--Adelram

[rabbit-exe]

I wrote a short thing about my dbd bastards (that like, three human beings know about) specifically set in the most recent chapter of @ziracona‘s fic. sorry in advance, I don’t really like this one. also tw for canon-typical violence and stuff

Ivory Memento

Jason Dunn is running, because of course he is. That’s just the way of things. Jason, he runs and fights and throws himself in and out of danger, because someone has to so it might as well be him.

But this time is special.

Jason Dunn is not running away. Jason Dunn is running towards.

There’s a hole in the fake-world he’s been stranded in for so long, and God help anybody who gets in his way. He’s getting everyone out of here. He’s gonna save fucking everyone who deserves saving, and maybe then some, because  - because. 

(Because you couldn’t save her, says something bitter and nasty in his brain. Because you let her die and you let her do it.)

“Piss off,” says Jason to the thing in his brain, and catches sight of movement in his periphery - David? - injured and running towards him. David’s a rugby player, and he fuckin’ moves like one - like he’s unstoppable, like a battering ram.

Now his steps are athletic, but not like before - he doesn’t dig his heels in and force himself to barrel through the place. He’s agile, still striding with force but his footsteps don’t make any sound and he sprints like he’s about to pounce instead of ram -

Shit.

He watches his sister running at him, wearing the face of his friend, and as he takes the big fuck-off spear from where it’s slung over his back he figures it’s about fucking time.

He bolts.

As far as he knows, there aren’t any palettes here - but that doesn’t matter, because there’s shrapnel and broken car parts and he’s fucking resourceful, ok, he’s got this.

The satisfaction he feels when he slams a warped car-door into Morag’s shoulder (catching her jacket in the process - nice) is immediately overshadowed by awe when he instinctively doubles back and kicks the hunk of scrap metal, hard, hard enough Morag is sent staggering back with a muffled grunt of pain.

She’ll have some trouble finding him - he’s never been great at hiding in plain sight, but he’s a creative little bastard and finding somewhere to fuck off to that the killer won’t find is a talent of his. He darts off while Morag re-orients herself (taking longer than she should - he glimpses a pulse of blood through the cracks in her mask as she grabs at her face, and fuck, she’s actually hurt?) and runs to a little alcove of crushed car parts where there would usually be a locker, except.

The thing is, right, he’s not so great at the whole planning thing. He knows, logically, that right now is different. That there aren’t palettes, that this isn’t a trial ground, that there won’t be lockers either.

But he, like an idiot, forgot that.

And then she’s rounding the corner after a brief hunt for him, looking - well - pissed. Her grip around her mirror is white-knuckled, which leads him to realise that the glass is not bloody. But that doesn’t make sense, she has to hurt someone to mimic them.

But David takes hits for fuckin’ everyone, all the time. So… so maybe, right now, she doesn’t. Maybe she just needs them to have bled at all.

Fuck - he glances down at his scraped knee, barely bleeding anymore but still sticky with blood.

Morag makes a sound - like a sigh, some sort of weird exhale-growl, and Jason feels briefly nauseous as her form… it… cracks, like glass shattering, black nothing skittering along her skin and rearranging the shards into something… familiar.

It’s a little girl, limbs stretched grotesquely with too much material to fit properly into the shape. Dirt coating her, smearing her face, short curls of ginger hair matted down in thick clumps. Blood coming out of her nose, her mouth, her ears, the hole in her head -

“Millie?” He whispers, suddenly sheet-white and sweating. “But you’re,”

Jason looks at her and wants to throw up.

“How - you,” his brain is lagging and so is his body - it feels like he’s dreaming, like being drunk.

And then it hits him.

Her blood.

Jason’s stomach gives out and he vomits, coughing and spluttering and fucking crying because of course she could do this, she could the whole fucking time, Millie’s blood was the first she ever got on her fucking murderer hands and she’s his sister and he loves her and he doesn’t want to fucking kill her but fuck this is, this isn’t -

“No. No, fuck you. Fuck this!” He shouts, unable to care about how terrible an idea that is right now. “You were saving her, weren’t you? To show me when you finally - when you finally put me in the fucking ground for good. Well fuck you, Morag. Fuck you for killing our sister. Fuck you for killing our parents. Fuck you for not killing me! ‘Cause you’re never gettin’ the chance again!”

A lazy trickle of blood from the mirror and it’s Morag again, shoulders squared, still staring from behind that stupid mask that he gave her, the mask that got him dragged back here.

Something inside him breaks.

He punches her square in the jaw.

She’s not expecting it - yeah, she’s taller than him by a good fucking margin, but he’s pissed and she thinks she can’t be hurt.

Newsflash, arsehole, he thinks, watching as she slowly turns back to face him, a fresh pulse of red beading at the cracks in her mask.

“Jason,” she says, voice quiet and cracked like she hasn’t spoken in years. Because she fucking hasn’t, he realises, and that must have driven her even more off the deep end than she already was. “Ja-son.” She’s testing the sound, feeling out the shape of it in her mouth. Her fingers twitch.

And then she’s on him - in a flash, like a cat pouncing on a mouse.

Her mirror catches against the bridge of his nose and fuck it hurts but he takes it and kicks up at her, wrestling her hands away from his face and trying to knock her off-balance. He manages to get her off him, grabbing one of the shards embedded in her neck and ripping it out - not quite, it stays lodged in her flesh but it gives and tears and she makes a choked sound - and she reels back, grabbing her mirror tightly as she crouches above him about to bring it down into his face -

The spear is lying next to him, and he grabs it, shoving it with all his strength right into her shoulder, and her cracked, ruined voice gives out halfway through her pained growl. And he’s got her now, he can tell, she doesn’t know what to do, she can’t remove the spear without risking him escaping or getting hurt worse.

Then Morag grabs it firmly and rams the blunt end against his own shoulder, and there’s a weird popping noise and a sensation like when you squeeze bubble wrap tight enough to burst and the noise that comes out of him is fucking inhuman.

His vision whites out for just a moment, and comes back just in him for him to watch as she raises her mirror above his face, the spear gone, about to carve him up like he did hers so many years ago now and this is it, isn’t it. He was never going to win this fight.

She’s taking it slow, observing him like she wants to replay this moment over and over in her head, and she leans over just enough to shove her mirror into his face.

And also, coincidentally, just enough for him to do this.

She sees the kick coming a second too late and it doesn’t break her jaw like he’d intended (though a part of him is relieved because he’s seen that happen to someone before and it looks like it hurts in a unique, secret way you’re not supposed to be able to feel) but her mask comes flying off, and his boot takes off a strip of what remains of her face skin and she makes this noise he’s never heard her make.

It’s a punched, wrenching noise. Like something rusted and caught inside the workings of her chest and she can’t get it to move like it should, so instead it just jolts and hurts and… her face never healed.

His dislocated shoulder is still screaming at him, but that doesn’t seem to matter anymore, because his scary murder sister is dripping blood and ragged flesh down onto him and he doesn’t know what to do.

Before she even sees him looking at her, she covers her head, and makes another ragged sound as her dirty hands press against her ruined face.

He knew, logically, that whatever the Entity did to her won’t let her face heal. Her mask has been knocked off before, in trials, and it slowed her down but then she went right back to killing, so… wow, she’s really bleeding a lot, huh. It never really occurred to him how badly that must hurt. He’s never been close enough and calm enough to see her twisted body - there’s cracks in her flesh, spider-webbing up her arms, like broken porcelain. He can see her teeth through a gash in her cheek.

After a bit, he kind of stopped believing that she could be hurt, much less die - that she would just keep going. Like he did. But now his twin is moving slowly, pawing at the ground for her mask while keeping one hand pressed against her face, and he kind of hates that he feels bad for her.

He can’t kill her now. He just… can’t.

God fucking damnit, Morag, he thinks, staring down at what remains of his sister. Jason makes a decision.

“Your mask is somewhere around here. There’s a gate open. Go, or don’t.” He hesitates. “I won’t ever forgive you,” she doesn’t look up, but she’s listening, as she slowly gets to her feet. “But you’re my sister, and I love you, and even you don’t deserve to be stuck here forever. Go fuck yourself.”

He turns and runs.

She watches him go, head tilted in that curious way of hers, and he somehow doesn’t regret it.

[itsevidentvery]

Assassin Jared falling in love with his assignment (Richard obvs) PLEASE

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA THANK YOU TO YOU (AND TO @byocryptid) FOR INDULGING ME!

Okay, this is - as usual - Too Long For Tumblr, and Extra As Hell, so behold: Chemical Warfare Kingpin Richard Hendricks and Assassin Jared. Content warning for some nasty but pretty stylised and offscreen violence. p>

Intellectually, Richard realises this was on the cards.

You don’t make a move on Gavin Belson’s territory without …

Well, tied up in a chair with a light directly in his eyesis somewhere close to ‘best-case scenario’, frankly. Even with the poundingheadache and the taste of copper in his mouth.

The headache does make it a little harder to concentrate onGavin’s whole ‘I’m you, but stronger’ pitch.

It’s a good pitch, to be fair. Gavin has the size, he hasthe network, he has the clout, he has the resources to take Pied Piper from thatlittle capsicin-based picoparticle that’s done so much promising damage in local Zambian conflicts, to … well, the possibilitiesare endless. Gavin has suits. He owns entire buildings on K Street and rightsto families (dynasties (entire genetic codes)) of politicians and Beltwayinsiders. He has fat government contracts to operate in Afghanistan and Iraqand Pakistan. He could buy Halliburton ten times over with what he makes in aday.

All this he has. What he doesn’t have? Is Pied Piper.

‘No,’ says Richard.

He hears Gavin sigh. Regretful, disappointed, but willing totolerate the tantrums of an excitable but gifted child. ‘Richard, use yourhead.’

‘I am,’ says Richard. ‘That’s – that’s why I’m here, yeah?My head. What’s in it, I mean.’

‘Richard, Pied Piper is an idea. A germ – and isn’t thatappropriate?’

‘No,’ says Richard, ‘it’s a chemical weapon.’

His pedantry has its uses. Gavin’s momentarily derailed, andRichard goes on: ‘A germ would be more like that Zika hybrid that Hooli triedout in, where was it, Nicaragua? Basically inoculated the population?’

There’s a silence – a long silence. Then Gavin speaks. ‘Wewere testing,’ he says, his voice quivering, ‘a vaccine.’

‘That’s what your PR said,’ says Richard, ‘proceeds go tothe Belson Foundation, it’s a great story, yeah? Shave you a couple million intaxes? I mean, you’ll never work for the Opositor again and how much did youhave to beg for the CIA to even give you the, the fucking time of day after,but - ’

‘But they did,’ says Gavin, and he’s suddenly a lot closer, ‘whichis more than they’ll ever do for you. And,’ he says, ‘it’s not like you’ve gota better solution, you little pissant.’

‘I do,’ says Richard.

There’s another silence. Then ‘what?’

‘I do,’ says Richard, ‘it’s, there’s a procedure, I’mworking on it, the first blots are, it’s not much, but they’re, they’repromising, the impact, the rate of transmission, it’s only simulations but - ’

The silence this time is different. Different enough – long enough– for Richard to go from congratulating himself to a complete, full-body Oh fuck.

‘You know,’ says Gavin, ‘I was wrong about you, Richard.’

Richard – too late, his brain’s cursing him – says nothing.

‘I thought that I could make you,’ says Gavin, ‘I thoughtthat we could make the world a better place.’

He sighs – a long, theatrically sad sound. ‘But I listen toyou – your hubris, Richard, your, your sociopathic disregard for the sanctityof life, of institutions, of humanity– and I know there’s only one way you can make the world a better place.’

Another sigh and then ‘By leaving it.’

And there it is. Richard’s almost too distracted by thehistrionics to protest, but he’s gearing his faculties for it when Gavin says –offhand, clearly on his way out – ‘Take care of it, Jared.’

And then Richard hears another voice: calm, pitched deferentiallylow to go with the stooping silhouette Richard can barely make out against theglare of the lamp. ‘It’s Donald, actually.’

‘What?’ says Gavin.

‘It’s Donald,’ says the voice, ‘you called me Jared because –well, I’m not sure why, Mr. Belson – and I never corrected you, but it’sactually Donald.’

‘Fine,’ says Gavin, irritation vibrating in his voice, ‘Donald,then.’

‘Jared’s fine,’ says – Donald? Jared? – ‘I like it better,actually.’ A pause. ‘So thank you.’

And then there’s a snapping sound, and Gavin falls intoRichard’s lap.

Richard yelps, staring into Gavin’s open eyes and a face permanentlyset into a fucking theatrical mask of outrage.

Gavin is very clearly dead. Human necks do not bend thatway.

He starts as he feels hands undoing his wrists.

‘What – who - ’

‘You should go,’ says Jared, stepping away, ‘you don’t havelong.’

‘I – like, there’s others who - ’

‘No,’ and there’s a gentle clickof the tongue in reproof, ‘I’ll take care of them. I mean, I’ll set fire to the place before I leave.’

‘Three commas,’ says Dinesh.

Richard looks at the images on the table. Russ Hanneman, hispersonal bodyguard and the rest of his security detail, laid out in gracefularches, curving toward and away from each other.

He nods.

Dinesh clears his throat. ‘So that leaves us, uh,’ he raiseshis eyebrows, ‘I’ll call Bream Hall and say we’re on, yeah?’

Richard nods again, and turns to Gilfoyle.

‘I don’t know how they knew,’ says Gilfoyle, before Richard cansay anything. ‘It might be a coincidence.’

‘Coincidence?,’ says Richard, ‘coincidence?’

‘Oh, here we fucking go,’ says Dinesh.

‘This is the third time – the third time,’ says Richard, ‘thatsomeone who was, was trying to take us over, or, or kill us, or was just beinga, a douchebag, has been - ’ he gestures to the photo, ‘and you’re still goingwith coincidence?’

‘That,’ says Dinesh, ‘or we’re not looking a gift horse inthe fucking mouth, Richard.’

Gilfoyle shrugs. ‘He comes after security, we’ve got aproblem.’

‘So you agree it’s him!’

‘Until he, or she, or they, do,’ says Gilfoyle, ‘you have aguardian angel.’

‘Some Satanist,’ mutters Richard as they leave.

He opens a folder on his laptop that night.

Three commas. A starburst of the heads of Yakuza Councilmembers. The intestines of a recalcitrant Senator, glistening oily and dark,twisted in the shape of a paperclip.

The poses are – intricate. Thoughtful. A delicate hand haslingered here, shifted there. Carefully. Tenderly. Lovingly.

It’s him. Richard knows it’s him. He knows that Richardknows it’s him. He must. He has to.

‘Jared,’ he says to Gilfoyle. ‘Also Donald, maybe. He, uh,’Richard coughs, ‘He prefers Jared.’

Gilfoyle’s expression – completely unchanging – conveys thathe has never in all their association been less impressed with Richard than atthis moment.

‘Just,’ Richard flaps his hand, ‘Find him.’

Gilfoyle puts enquiries in motion. People are sent afterJared (or Donald). One or two have gotten close, because Gilfoyle knows hisshit. Both of them come back alive, but very disinclined for a repeatperformance.

‘He didn’t kill them,’ Gilfoyle says, ‘so Dick can stoppulling the petals off that flower in his office.’

‘Yeah,’ says Dinesh, ‘your guy told Tracey who told Staceywho told Britney that he like-likesyou.’

Richard doesn’t say anything. Hedoesn’t even ask Gilfoyle’s operatives if Jared (or Donald), like, saidanything about him.

This is honestly dumb. Richard shouldn’t even be here,really, Dinesh could have handled this, but Duncan was being a little bitchabout territory disputes so they thought that it would be a nice gesture for Richardto show his face.

Duncan thinks he’s got an in through the Ukrainian market.He’s been tickling the balls of Richard’s chemical engineers (maybe evenliterally) for two weeks. He thinks he has a staff. He thinks he has anadvantage. He thinks he has a fucking clue.

‘Richard!’ he says, grin splitting open his stupid giantface, ‘so honoured you could join us!’

Richard hunches a shoulder. ‘Look,’ he says, ‘Can we just –we can send you bulk orders for whatever shitty aspirin-piss cocktail you’retrying to pass off as Napalm nowadays, you won’t know which orders are real andwhich are fake, we’ve set up nested shell companies and fake Kremlin procurement- ’

‘- Or is it real,’ says Gilfoyle.

‘Guess you’ll never know,’ says Richard.

‘You’ll never be able to turn them around, you’ll runyourself into the ground trying - ’

‘And all those treacherous fuckwads who ran to you,’ says Dinesh,‘will be shivering in their chaddisin the cold when we’re done.’

‘That means underwear,’ says Gilfoyle.

Duncan’s smile wavers for a moment before switching itselfback on. ‘Yeah?’ he says, and slides a cellphone over to Richard.

Richard picks it up and looks at the image.

A slender male body, tied to a chair. The chest’s bare, withcigarette burns on it. Teeth show over a gag. There’s rope tied to his wrists,ankles and neck.

Richard passes the phone to Gilfoyle, who looks at Duncan. ‘Youshowing us your porn now?’

Duncan’s smile widens. ‘Donald Dunn.’

Richard can feel his vision going grey. Dinesh’s handclutches his shoulder, his voice in his ear hisses ‘Richard? Stay calm.’

‘Or,’ says Duncan, showing his teeth, ‘is it Jared?’

‘Stay calm, Richard.’

Richard gets up. Tosses the cellphone onto Duncan’s desk. ‘We’redone here,’ he says, and zips up his hoodie.

‘Are you - ?’ Duncan seems, like, outraged. ‘You’ve beenhunting high and low for this guy – for months! You telling me you don’t - ’

‘We don’t know who this is,’ says Gilfoyle, ‘we don’t knowwho you’ve got in your little snuff chamber, so - ’

‘One word from me,’ says Duncan, ‘and your little friend startslosing parts.’

‘Your littlefriend,’ says Dinesh. His hand’s still on Richard’s arm; Richard can feel his eyeson his face. ‘We don’t know who the fuck you’ve got there.’

‘Which part you wanna see first?’ says Duncan. ‘Toe? Thumb? Cock?Which one of you takes it, Hendricks? You wanna - ’

There’s a sharp, soft report, and Duncan goes over.

It’s Bedlam for a while, with Duncan’s people lurching intoconfused action and Gilfoyle sweeping Richard and Dinesh behind him as he returnsfire and calls in reinforcements.

When the room stops ringing, Richard looks up at the tall,thin figure standing in front of him. He doesn’t look happy.

‘Jared,’ he says, and he can feel the smile everywhere in hisbody. ‘Jared Dunn.’

‘That was irresponsible,’ says Jared. His voice is stillsoft, but Richard feels his eyelids flutter at its careful calm.

‘I had backup,’ says Richard.

‘You let them get the drop on you,’ says Jared, and his eyesare blazing – Jesus Christ, he’s beautiful – ‘it wasn’t just him, or the detailin the building, he’s got it surrounded - ’

‘He had,’ saysGilfoyle.

Jared gives him a brief nod of acknowledgement beforeturning back to Richard. ‘You let them takeyou.’

‘You let them take you,’says Richard. Jared’s eyes are like frostbite, like ice and the sun and alaser-honed blade of steel.

Jared makes an impatient gesture. ‘What if I hadn’t?’

‘But you did,’ says Richard.

Jared’s eyes snap at him, like actually. ‘You reckless child.’

‘Got you here,’ says Richard – croons Richard. ‘Made youlook.’

‘Frees up budget from looking for you,’ offers Gilfoyle.

‘Frees up Richard from obsessing,’ says Dinesh.

Richard looks into that pale face and thinks No, not that.

He says ‘Want a job?’

[an-ephemeral-blog]

What’s standing in the way of women’s soccer?

When chants of ‘equal pay!’ ring through soccer stadiums, men jump on Twitter to explain why, despite performing better internationally than the men’s team, women soccer players don’t deserve equal pay because they don’t earn as much revenue.

Over the past two months I’ve become a big NWSL fan.  It’s very different from being an MLB fan, my only previous experience of passionate sports fandom.  There are a lot of things I take for granted that a professional sports team has, which NWSL teams do not have.  These things absolutely affect revenue, either directly, or by lowering the quality of play or the experience of watching games.  Here’s a list.

1.  NWSL stadiums are less accessible than MLS and other stadiums.

My local team, the Washington Spirit, plays at the Maryland SoccerPlex.  To get to the Plex, if you don’t have a car, requires an hour-plus train ride to the end of the metro and then either a 25+ minute car ride or a 45+ bus ride.  I have multiple friends who’ve expressed interested in going to a game but balked when they found out how long it would take to get there.  Another friend had to cancel because she was working late and couldn’t finish by 5:30pm, which was the time she’d have to leave to make it to a 7:30pm game.

As a trial run, the Spirit are playing a game tomorrow at Audi Field, home field of the MLS team DC United.  Audi Field is about 30 minutes away from downtown and is easily accessible via Metro.  Correspondingly, the Spirit is on track to more than triple their season record at the Plex.  They may even sell out Audi Field.  Surely if they can sell out Audi Field, they deserve to play in it?

Which brings me to the next item on the list...

2.  NWSL stadiums are smaller than MLS stadiums.

The Spirit’s plex sells out at around 5,500 tickets.  For tomorrow’s Audi Field game, they’ve currently sold over 16,000 tickets.

Sky Blue’s regular park also holds about 5,000 fans.  When they played a game last weekend at Red Bull Arena, aka the stadium of their local MLS team, they nearly doubled attendance at 9,000+ tickets sold.

I don’t know the breakdown for every team in the league.  I do know that Orlando Pride, despite having access to a great stadium, tends to draw fewer fans do to their lower quality of play.  (They’re second to last in the league.)  On the other hand, the Portland Thorns already share a stadium with their MLS neighbor team, the Timbers, and also boast the biggest and loudest fanbase in the NWSL.  Portland recently set a league record with 25,000+ tickets sold to a game.

Items #1 and #2 combine to make clear that to grow as a league, NWSL teams need to play in larger stadiums that are easier to access.  (This doesn’t even take into account how stadium facilities might impact quality of play.  Some NWSL teams don’t even have showers in their locker rooms!)  Owners and league managers need to invest in securing these spaces for teams, even if they might not be profitable at first. The experience of Sky Blue and Spirit suggests that managers won’t have to wait to reap the benefits.  

3.  NWSL games are often scheduled simultaneously, decreasing viewership.

With only nine teams in the NWSL, there are four to six NWSL games each week.  Given this small number, you’d think they’d all be on at different times, right?

Nope.  Every week, there’s at least one pair of games scheduled against each other.  Often there’s two.  If you don’t have the ability to tape games, you’re forced to miss at least one game every week.  As I have taken to tweeting despairingly at the NWSL each time this happens: whyyyyyyyy.

Schedule creation is complicated, and there are more factors that go into it than I know of.  But one key element is when teams even have their field available.  Most teams don’t own their own fields, and have to work within a restricted subset of dates and times.  To the extent that this contributed to overlapping games, it’s yet another way that issues securing good stadiums get in the way of fans supporting their teams.

4.  NWSL teams have a lower quality of commentating.

Complaining about the announcers/commentators on NWSL matches is a sport of its own.  Announcers regularly mispronounce players’ names and sometimes misidentify them.  They repeat facts and stories, and use the same turns of phrase over and over until you can’t help but twitch every time you hear them say “she sprays the ball out wide” or “the ball found it’s way to...” The last Spirit game I attended, I sat in front of a woman who, after Elise Kellond-Knight left with a pulled hamstring, briefly explained to her friends why women were more likely than men to have hamstring injuries.  (It has something to do with women having more developed quad muscles, which puts the opposing muscles, the hamstrings, at greater risk.  This also leads to increased ACL injuries among women.)  This random stranger had more interesting commentary than any of the people I’d heard on TV. But why are these announcers so bad?  The answer’s easy: NWSL announcers are barely paid.  They make $300-$400 a game, with no travel or lodging expenses paid, which means unless you live in Fort Lauderdale where the announcing is recorded, you have to pay to announce.   I don’t know how much MLS announcers make, but I bet it’s better than that.

5.  NWSL teams have a lower quality of refereeing.

Oh boy.  Okay.  There have been some issues with NWSL refereeing lately.  As national team star Ali Krieger put it:

We’re putting a good product out on the field and every year we’re getting better and the referees seem like they are not.  So, I beg the NWSL — just the standard needs to be higher. It’s just unfortunate that you feel like the referee is ruining the game. They are taking the fun out of the game because they are not good enough.

How could we raise the standards of referees?  Well, they could stop treating the NWSL like a training ground for MLS:

There are five tiers in the U.S. Soccer refereeing program. The top-level, called “FIFA,” is the highest tier. These referees can officiate in FIFA-sanctioned matches. 

”The second tier is “P.R.O.” These referees can officiate MLS matches and are selected by the Professional Referee Organization.

The next tier down is called “National,” and these officials are certified by U.S. Soccer. These referees can officiate USL Championship and NWSL matches. And therein lies the problem.

The NWSL will never have officiating as good as the MLS as long as this remains US Soccer’s official policy.  It doesn’t get any clearer than that.

6.  NWSL games are not marketed as well as they could be.

I won’t pretend to understand marketing, but I know that it’s hard for people to go to games they don’t even know about: 

[Portland Thorns defender Meghan Klingenberg ] couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed when she saw Fox discuss the U.S. Men’s National Team’s run at the CONCACAF Gold Cup during halftime of the Women’s World Cup final Sunday, rather than preview the upcoming games in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).

“I love Fox. I think they did a great job. They gave the Women’s World Cup the attention that it deserves, but I wish we mentioned the NWSL more. [...] We need that to be put into the consciousness of the general public. We need ESPN to talk about the NWSL year-round. We need beat reporters in every single city that has an NWSL team. We need investment in advertising and marketing, in ground support, in make sure that people know that there’s a freaking team in their area.”  [source]

It seems that marketing is another area in which US Soccer is underinvesting in women:

[Soccer United Marketing, the commercial arm of Major League Soccer] handles deals for MLS and the U.S. Soccer Federation but not the NWSL, even though U.S. Soccer runs the NWSL. This fact has long been lamented by the women’s soccer community.

The NWSL marketing team needs the resources to at least let people know that their teams exist and their games are happening.  But beyond that... the NWSL is full of charismatic stars, both current and potential.  Let’s give them the spotlight.

7.  NWSL salaries are, for all but the biggest stars, below average income.

No one goes into women’s soccer for the money, even if a few of the game’s biggest stars have managed to get some lucrative sponsorships.  The league guarantees a minimum salary of $16,538, barely above the poverty line, and caps max salary at $46,200, a bit belong the mean American income.

Talented young women who are making decisions about where to go to college and what to do after college need to take this into account.  If they have dependents, family members with health issues, or significant debt, they simply may not be able to afford to play soccer professionally.  

This impacts the number of women available to play professionally as well as their ability to nurture their own talent by investing in themselves via special camps and training.  For every Megan Rapinoe or Alex Morgan or Crystal Dunn who has made it to the NWSL there’s someone equally talented who stopped playing in high school or college because law school or medical school or learning to code seemed like a more financially viable career path.  

In other words, for all the strides women’s soccer has made over the last twenty to thirty years, the NWSL still selecting from only a fraction of the potential talent pool.

*

I’ve been an NWSL fan for less than two months, so I’m surely missing other ways that women’s soccer has been under-invested in.  But the seven issues outlined above should be enough to convince you there’s a problem.  

Saying that people just don’t want to watch women’s soccer isn’t merely an oversimplification - it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.  The whole point of investment is you take a risk now to reap a payoff later.  The NWSL needs US Soccer and the wider sports community to invest in them, and given time, everyone will benefit.

You know what keeps ringing in my ears?  Research that shows that men are judged on their potential, while women are only judged on their performance.  The NWSL has the potential to be a thriving league with the revenues and fan enthusiasm of the MLS.  The question is whether women’s soccer will be given the support they need to deliver on that potential.

[selisekinsolving]

Deals and Deadlines

Jazimina, Sky, and Selise had been conversing for some time about their current dilemma when the chimes on the door sounded. The three looked up and were greeted by a view of a very smug and very blonde Cherysa.

“Chery?” Jazi gave her sister a confused look.

Cherysa opened her mouth to respond then caught sight of Sky and her expression fell.

“By all means...pull up a chair, make yourself comfortable.” Selise offered with a glare meant for the man that she was now sure was inhabiting Cherysa’s body.

Chery, now Fox, smiled. “No thank you. I’m more than happy to stand with my back to the door.”

Jazi gritted her teeth, eyes narrowing, but she stepped back to an area wide enough where she could draw her bow if needed.

“No hug for your sister?” Fox offered to Jazi. “I must say, it’s been a long time since anyone cooked me a meal as good as the one at your home.”

Jazi immediately shook her head, standing in an ‘at rest’ position. “I’m good.”

“And your husband...what an interesting fellow,” Fox continued to smile at Jazi for a moment before addressing the three of them. “I recommend none of you make a move if you’d like to see Cherysa again...even more so if you’d like to see her back in this body.”

Selise had moved her hand under cover of her desk to rest over top of her communicator. She shot Jazi a look at the mention of her husband before focusing on Fox. “Back in her own body? You’re putting that option on the table...what do you want?”

“I want a cure,” he replied. “I want to be able to use this magic to change bodies and stay in the host for more than a few weeks.”

Jazi’s stance tightening was the only indication she had heard Fox’s words. Her gaze flickered to Selise and Sky.

Sky took a small step forward, her hands open passively, clearly not about to cast a spell. “Look, if there was a cure, you’re smart, you would’ve found one already. Maybe you should come to understand that death happens.”

A look of disgust made its way onto Selise’s face, despite her best efforts. “She’s right. What makes you think a cure is possible? You’re talking about rapid cellular degradation. You’re asking for someone to stop death-”

“Yes, that is exactly what I’m asking.” He cut her off, then turned to Sky. “Come now, you used to be after the same thing. Aren’t you at least curious if it could be done? Not should, but could. I’m not getting into moral bullshit with you all.”

Sky shook her head. “Not after that, Fox…”

“Where is Chery?” Jazi finally asked.

Fox simply regarded Jazi in silence, then looked to Selise. “Take my blood sample. Give me the notes you have on file from my case. If anyone of you knocks me out, I won’t give you anything.”

Selise had gone silent as they spoke, leaning back in her chair with a curious look in her eyes. “Hear me out a moment. Let’s say I’m curious enough to agree to research a cure as opposed to just handing over my notes and you trying to figure it out yourself. I’m willing to work with you, but not without some assurance that Chery is still alive and well. I want to see her, talk to her, know it’s her. A public place, full view of the guards. If either of us attacks the other or tries something hostile, the guards are sure to intervene. We’re both protected and we both get what we want.”

“A trade,” Fox offered.

“I suppose...though if you want all of my resources in the matter, then I want Cherysa back in her own body. Do that and I’m willing to work with you.”

Fox paused in thought a moment. “I won’t send her back in her own body, but I will send her back to you. Then you, her, and my old lover here can work on something more concrete in terms of a cure while I keep the body as collateral for a week.”

Selise scoffed. “What are you expecting in terms of results after a week? As Sky said, if a cure was that simple, you would’ve found it already. This leaves us no assurance that you won’t body hop anyway.”

“I am a man...well...woman of magic, not science and my time is limited due to the stress and strain of the hops. Progress and your notes is all I am going to ask for. Unless you think Cherysa would rather stay in her current body. I did pick one that would last a while…”

“Just so we’re clear, you’re going to accept any form of progress after a week in exchange for letting Cherysa get back to normal?” Selise didn’t seem convinced.

“Provided it’s real progress and you provide a new body for me to swap into afterwards. Not Sky and not Dunn, who is brilliant. You should all be ashamed, how are you not reading his works? Oh, and blonde if you can manage it.”

Selise’s patience was wearing dangerously thin and it was starting to show. She said nothing and looked to Jazi instead for some sort of opinion or approval. Afterall, it was her family they were talking about.

“Will she last a week?” Jazi’s question was directed at Selise and Sky. Not giving them a chance to answer though, she turned and gave Fox a steely look. “Take me to see her. No tricks from either side. I want to know she’s safe, alive, and herself, even if she’s not in her own body. I want to hear her say it’s okay to wait a week and then I’ll come back and they can get to work.”

“Alright. So lovely she has family…” he looked at Sky. “Is that what you think you’re building here? Do they know who you are?” The smirk he gave her was horrid. “Doc, draw a blood sample and you and Sky can get to work. As for you, big sis…” he set down the packages he had been carrying, took off the coat, and rolled up a sleeve. “Go wait at the inn nearby. She’ll come.”

Sky hadn’t responded nor moved from her spot, but her hand had become engulfed in fel flame.

Fox laughed at the display and held out his arm towards Selise. “Tick tock, you have a week and two days. You better stop your friend here. If she touches me with a hint of that magic, I’m gone for good.”

“Sit down.” Selise stated bluntly to Fox as she got to her feet. “It’s not worth it, Sky,” she added quietly as she passed and went into the back for her supplies.

It took Selise longer than normal to come back into the front room. Her sleeves were rolled up and she set down a small tray on her desk by Fox before pulling on a pair of gloves. She said nothing as she worked.

“Your hands are cold.” He smiled.

"You didn't seem to mind before." She stated and had the needle and vial in place within a minute. She kept her eyes on the level of the sample.

"Maybe I like it? Come now, Doctor, you can’t say that this research doesn’t at least interest you."

Selise glanced up briefly as she switched out a fresh vial. "And why did it interest you originally? Or did you simply need a solution once you realized your experiment was backfiring?"

"Well, in a way, this is all Sky’s fault. You see she was looking for a way to prolong her life.."

The doctor laughed and shook her head. It wasn't the first time she had heard such a pathetic excuse, but it did explain Sky's professions of guilt over their last encounter. "How convenient for you. And rather weak."

"How is that weak, for one researcher to inspire another! " he laughed a bit.

"I was referring to you implying that anyone besides yourself is responsible for the things you've chosen to do."

Fox stiffened at that.

Sky folded her arms across her chest. "Doc, how much longer to take the samples?"

"This should be fine for now." She secured the samples and removed the items from Chery's arm, placing a bandage over the area.

He stood and bowed. "Now, I am going to go and I want you all to stay put. If you do, I'll bring Chery to the inn. If I find out anyone has followed me, I'll hop bodies and skip out." He backed out to the doorway, picking up his packages along the way, before blowing a kiss, of all things, and then departing.

((Written with @skystoneseat and @jazi-stratford , edited for flow. @drahs @laivindur @cherysaamberstill @latildarommel))

[nebris]

Gun Violence Isn’t a Problem—it’s actually 5 Problems, with Different Solutions

Thom Dunn Nov 8, 2018 

Naming something gives you power over it.

That’s the basic idea behind all the magic in every folktale dating back for centuries, from “Rumpelstiltskin” to the Rolling Stones’ “Hope you guessed my name.” Ancient shamans didn’t practice “magic”; they just had knowledge, and names for things like “eye of newt” that no one else could understand. To name something is to know it, and knowledge is power. Think about the relationship between “spelling” and “spells” and you won’t be so surprised that Harry Potter has been all over the gun violence conversations lately, on both the Left and the Right—which makes sense, considering that they have a word you memorize and practice reciting in order to kill people.

But when we talk about gun violence—or gun control, or gun reform, et cetera et cetera ad nauseam—we’re all too busy tripping over words to see the problems that we’re trying to address. And no, I’m not talking about “gunsplaining,” or even about the eye-roll-inducing “assault weapon” terminology (which is a distinction that I have come to understand and appreciate, and also a debate that is nothing but distracting on every single side of it). It’s hard to deny that gun violence is a problem in the United States of America, but it’s in our attempts to name that problem where we start to lose our footing, and thus, our focus (and I know a thing or two about focus). Perhaps if we learned to name the individual issues of gun violence that need to change, then we can start to identify specific solutions — one at a time, without infringing on civil rights or liberties. Then maybe then we could have some real conversations about how to make our society safer.

Instead of seeing at gun violence at One Big All-Encompassing Monolithic Problem, let’s look at the isolated areas where gun violence needs to be addressed: Domestic Violence, Suicides, Mass Shootings, Gang Violence, and State Violence.

1. Domestic Violence

An existing history of violence against family or loved ones is the greatest indicator of a person’s penchant for gun violence. An American woman is shot and killed by her partner every 16 hours, according to the Trace, and more male shooters attack their own families than schools or public places. In terms of the sheer number of deaths, the money we spend on terrorism would be better focused on the threat of husbands.

Perhaps none of this is surprising—but for some reason, we still don’t do anything about it. While the NRA loves to whinge on about self-defense, they ignore the fact that abused women are five times more likely to be killed by partners who own firearms, and 90% of women imprisoned for killing men had previously been abused by those same men.

That’s what I mean when I say “We have a problem.”

Felony offenses for domestic violence are supposed to mean that an American loses their right to gun ownership. But this requires the person to willingly turn their private property over to the government, or for the ATF to actively pursue civil asset forfeiture on those guns—neither of which is a very practical solution.

So what can we do? Legally, it’s complicated. But states like Rhode Island, California, Washington, and New York have recently enacted laws to prevent guns from even failing into the hands of misdemeanor* domestic abusers, and quite frankly, I don’t see a reason why that can’t be enacted everywhere. It’ll save lives, and it won’t infringe on the rights and freedoms of law-abiding gun-owners, or people at greater risk of being victims of violence. We can also improve the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (which even the NRA has mockingly acknowledged to be flawed) by standardizing the information that states and military are required to submit, under threat of financial penalty.

(*The one caveat I will acknowledge: this requires people to actually press charges. And that’s easier said than done, for a number of social reasons that are difficult to legislate.)

2. Suicides

According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, nearly two-thirds of all gun deaths are suicides, and almost half of all suicides are gun deaths. The majority of those victims are men, often with military backgrounds, and mostly over the age of 45.

This is the one place where mental health really enters the gun reform debate, and it has nothing to do with a risk of physical harm to others.

Suicides of all kinds are unfortunately difficult to prevent. But most attempts are impulsive, and 70% of people who survive an attempt won’t try again. Unfortunately, only about 10% of people survive a suicide attempt by gun — which means the trick is in screening those deadly impulse buys.

Some gun sellers in America have already started taking the initiative to spot suicide warning signs in customers, using grassroots activism to empower more community intervention. And in fact, when Australia enacted its gun ban, the country saw a drastic drop in suicides as well. If we want to focus our energies on saving lives, that might be a place to start. (Of course, this will also require investing more money in community resources and social work, too — but I think the return on investment is worth it, ya know?)

3. Mass Shootings

Mass shootings get the most attention, because they’re massive and tragic. More often than not, the circumstances around them are almost too absurd to wrap out heads around, so we search for scapegoats such as “mental illness.” But mass shootings account for less than 1% of firearm deaths—which unfortunately makes them kind of hard to plan for and around to base legislation upon.

Now, to be fair: mental illnesses do figure out one-quarter to one-half of mass shootings. But anyone who knows anything about data will tell you 1/2 of 1% is not really a good indicator of anything, especially when about 20% of the population has a mental disorder, and those people are still significantly more likely to be victims rather than perpetrators of violence. It’s also important to point out that, while gun violence in general is on the decline, mass shootings are becoming deadly—but not necessarily more frequent.

Now that all that data is out of the way, we still need to talk about the fact that mass shootings—especially in schools—are a problem. Given that small statistical sample, however, it’s harder to find solutions that will be applicable in enough situations to make a difference. This is about more than “walking up” and bullying initiatives. Because the most bullied people are LGBTQ+, or Muslim, or poor, or physically unattractive, while most school shooters are white men. But you know where we can start? Increase funding and training for social work, especially at schools, and give people the tools they need to express their frustrations.

See that? None of it will infringe on civil rights and civil liberties. It will infringe upon the people who don’t want to pay taxes and/or want to harm social services and public education. Poverty, opportunity, and violence go hand-in-hand, and they all require some financial investment to upend.

4. So-called “Gang-Related” Violence

This one is particularly frustrating, because it’s often racially charged — and thus, often used as a racist deflection (STOP👏BRINGING👏UP👏CHICAGO👏 ). Even without the racialized aspect, it’s still quite complicated.

Unfortunately, it’s also true that 80 percent of gun homicides (but not all gun deaths) are gang-related killings, which affect mostly young men. And while there is a racial element, it has more to do with the survival tactics that people are forced to go through in order to survive in a racist society.

If you ask me, much of this connects back to the same problems of toxic masculinity that lead to domestic violence. Even financial struggles or other markers of “manliness” can drive men to violence, lashing out at the world for their own perceived failures. Simply put, violence is a byproduct of anger, not of general mental health. That alone is not a legislative solution, but perhaps it can serve as a guide for the ways in which we cultivate our culture with compassion, empathy, and understanding—oh, and not automatically treating teens who misbehave like they’re already criminals, damned for life, as often happens in our racist education and justice systems.

Luckily, there are already educators and social workers trying to address these problems. Perhaps we should consider increasing their support and resources; after all, it’s better to address a problem before it starts than to spend all your money trying to clean-up the mess after the fact. But it has to start within the communities first. They know what’s best for them more than any government or police interference could help—they just need allies and support to make it happen.

[My one comment here: the vast majority of this violence can also be laid at the door of the failed War on Drugs. End that and much of this particular form of gun violence will abate. Nebris]

5. State Violence

Neither the military nor the police should be excused from unnecessary acts of violence. History has shown time and time again that the use of violence as a tool of persuasion only engenders more fear and anger among the general public, and that in turn leads to more violence every time. The state should not have a monopoly on violence, and violence committed at the hands of the government is just as bad or worse than violence between civilians. This harkens back to the original intentions of the 2nd Amendment, too—to defend against a tyrannical government, a.k.a., state-sponsored violence.

Militarized policing, for example, is known to harm both police reputations, and community stability, without actually make anyone safer. The FBI has been watching and warning of an increase in violent white supremacists infiltrating police departments for years, and nothing’s happened to stop it.

Or consider the fact that 40% of police officer families experience domestic violence, according to the National Center for Women and Policing. And yet, the Blue Fraternity all but ensures that charges are never brought against the officers involved, even though it’s been established that patterns of violent behavior almost always lead to more violent behavior. The same goes for the rising problem of police brutality (or as the passive-voiced PR prefers, “officer-involved shootings,” a phrasing that’s intentionally designed to absolve the officers of any responsibility). Thanks to police union laws, officers who do commit excessive and unnecessary acts of violence are often transferred to or hired by another nearby department, with little to no consequences for their actions—despite the fact that they are likely to repeat them.

We should not excuse these acts of violence simply because they are committed by police officers. By doing so, we just enable more violence—which empowers more cops to act with extreme prejudice, which leads to more violence, which is met by more violence.

Much of this goes back to mental health as well, and the way we treat our veterans after subjecting them to the horrors of war. If a history of violence is the best indicator of future acts of violence, then training our soldiers to commit acts of violence—with little support for the PTSD they endure when they come home—is simply setting them up for more violence. That’s why veterans tend to be more susceptible to joining the ranks of white supremacists, or committing acts of domestic violence: it’s an outlet for the violence that we inflicted upon them by sending them to war in the first place.

(This especially true of men who receive other than honorable or bad conduct discharges. The military has their reasoning for their categories, which don’t impact a discharged veterans ability to purchase a gun in the future, even if the reason for their discharge had to do with violence. An improved FBI background check system would find a way to address this loophole, too.)

Unfortunately, this makes it easier for those same veterans to seek out the camaraderie and power of the military by joining extremist militias, or to seek solace in suicide, as mentioned above. Our society (rightly) likes to talk big of honoring our veterans, but there’s nothing honorable about subjecting them to these horrible fates.

We can’t find common ground unless we can actually identify the problem to solve—and we can’t see the problem if we don’t share the same words to describe it. That’s the source of our gun debate.

Regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum, I hope that we can all agree that reducing death and violence is a good thing for everyone. But we can’t just throw our arms and shrug after every awful shooting tragedy; nor can we throw our arms up and scream about every single death like they’re all the same.

Sometimes, the best way to tackle a larger problem is to break it down into smaller ones, and to make sure that everyone’s using the same words to refer to all the same things. If we’re ever going to deal with our gun violence epidemic, then I think this could be a good place to start.

I’ve written extensively on gun violence, spoken on international TV and radio on the subject, and even pursued a gun license in the strictest city of one of the strictest states in the country. Despite my first-hand experience, the most ardent defenders of the Second Amendment will still tell me things like, “We don’t need more laws! We need to enforce the laws on the books!” or “We can’t stop every shooting because that’s just the price of freedom.” However, those #2A Avengers will still acknowledge that yeah, okay, maybe NICS has some problems, or maybe those Parkland cops should have done something earlier — that is, until they swiftly retreat back into the same tribalistic mindsets that always prevent human progress. But I wrote this, because I truly think that maybe—just maybe—we can find more common ground.

https://medium.com/@thomdunn/gun-violence-isnt-a-problem-it-s-actually-five-problems-with-different-solutions-63f58e93da08

[gwynbleiddyn]

ZERO HOUR || ZERO DAY

[AU VERSE; Shepard wakes up on the Hyperion after his death in the Normandy SR1′s destruction. The reasons are unclear, and there’s past matters of the heart and mind to contend with, let alone an entire new galaxy where being Commander Shepard isn’t good enough anymore.]

The first thing Shepard feels is the cold. It’s the feeling of having sleep ripped from your grasp, skin exposed to the bitter air, goosefleshing as icy teeth find purchase. He sucks in a gasp of breath, teeth clashing as the movement jars his body from the final throes of sleep -- god, the deepest sleep he can remember--

Cold hands, fingers too numb to feel, curl around the edge of the metal cot he’s lying on. He doesn’t register the feeling, only that he knows he has something solid to cling onto, because whatever ground he thought he had under his feet has just shattered with seismic force as his realisations slowly, slowly sink in.

The realization that he’s alive.

His eyes still see the burning Normandy, broken into pieces, a mirror for the way Shepard had felt, drifting in dead space without a lifeline. He remembers how his lungs were on fire, the pressure caving in on his hardsuit, but his eyes were fixed on the ruins of his ship from afar, and they never once strayed until he let them close. They didn’t open again. Not until now.

And now was... far away. Beyond his understanding, his comprehension sluggish as he wakes, slowly, piece by broken piece. He doesn’t know where he is, or how he’s here. He knows he should be dead.

And Shepard knows that dead men don’t dream.

A few days is nothing in the scheme of things, but it seems like an age to wait when humanity is about to start all over again. Alec Ryder is a patient man, but time is a fickle thing when you cross dark space with twenty thousand human lives on your shoulders. He scowls at the faint readings beeping through the console in front of him, Captain Dunn throwing orders to the skeleton crew of the Hyperion from somewhere behind him. Alec swipes the console, ignoring the sudden commotion, and hones in on the data display. They had limited power, no communication from the Nexus, and one hell of a responsibility to all those sleepers on board. It becomes stifling when he dwells on the thought longer than he should, so he murmurs for SAM to close the display as he turns and steps away, eyes roving over the quiet bridge of the Hyperion.

They were nearing their golden world, Habitat Seven, and Alec had eyes set on the ground. They needed a foothold, resources, information. They needed stability. Foundations to build on. Pathfinder is more than just a title in that moment; it’s a promise.

And for all the hell he endured to get to Andromeda, Alec intends to deliver.

“Pathfinder, we’ve got a situation in the cryo bay!” someone manages to direct a sentence his way, and he catches it with no small measure of concern. A cold pang of fear settles after he thinks of Scott and Sara, about to be woken in a world where he couldn't give them a home. He’d never forgive himself if something happened to them before they’d even made it. Stowing the thought away, he grits his teeth as he acknowledges the young officer and makes his way to the tram.

The tram whirs with a gentle familiarity in a broken network of things left half-finished, functionality being diverted in attempts to conserve power, to protect their people. Alec can taste the steel of desperation on his teeth, and he wishes for something sweeter. A better beginning. His stomach lurches as the tram grinds to a stop outside the cryo bay, and he steps out through the doors, eyes fixed dead ahead as he approaches the so-called situation.

The commotion grows louder as he nears the final set of doors, and Alec strains to hear exactly what was being said. He can catch snippets of words, the sounds of a disagreement, voices rising and falling as the conversation is pulled in two directions. Alec swipes the lock on the door, strolling through with his usual steely demeanor, dark eyes falling on the situation in front of him, and a familiar, golden pair of eyes stare right back.

“Ryder.” the man growls, perched on the edge of his cot as Dr. Carlyle scans him with his omni-tool, brow knitted in total confusion. This man had a name that slipped the briefings, alerts flashing up with every scan: he’d missed every basic prerequisite for the journey to Andromeda, and carried a worrying title that almost everyone on that ship knew. Dr. Carlyle doesn’t look up, but Alec can feel the man’s eyes burning a hole right into his head where an unspoken question follows.

Who is he?

Alec Ryder knows full well who this man is. He knows that he carries a dead name with dangerous associations, heroic achievements and a story that too many people knew. His throat is dry as a bone, so he refrains from speaking for a moment, simply bringing up his omni-tool for a scan to aid SAM’s understanding of the situation.

“Pathfinder, I believe this is the condition of the deal you made with our benefactors.” SAM hums over their private channel, and Alec rolls the artificial words around his mouth, eyes hovering over the man’s tense body language, eyeing up every escape route he had out of this bay.

Approximately zero.

“His records state his name as--”

“I know who he is, SAM.” Alec interrupts, the AI growing quiet as he lowers his arm, omnitool flickering off. The silence grows heavy, almost uncomfortable as Alec waits for Harry to finish his initial scans, and a shared glance told Harry he needed to be elsewhere. The doctor clears his things and leaves, turning his attention onto the matters he could fix.

The man shifts off the cot so that his feet touch the ground, but his grip remains steadfast, and Alec can see the shakiness to his limbs that give away the fact he’s only just woken. Better this way, Alec supposes.

“That’ll wear off.” he says easily, voice level as he watches the man who only turns to glare at him. The anger is palpable, filling in the cracks appearing across their silence.

“Good. In the meantime, maybe you can start by telling me where the fuck I am!”

Alec doesn’t miss the venom in his voice, and for a moment longer than he’d like, he considers whether he’d made the right decision, agreeing to this benefactor’s condition. The Initiative had spent too long hanging by a thread, that when the certainty of solid ground finally showed up, Alec found himself desperately trying to reach it -- by any means necessary. Backing down was not option, and it still isn’t. He’s here, with twenty thousand lives behind him, waiting for a home.

Alec simply hadn’t accounted for this particular life. He knew about the conditions all along, he knew this name would be waiting when they reached Andromeda, but the reality had failed to hit him until now.

The ground he’d fought for now seems so unsteady below his feet in the face of that name, and Alec doesn’t want to think about the retaliation when this man learns the truth of his place on the Hyperion. Swallowing his doubt, Alec simply squares his shoulders and stands straight, finally regarding the man as a shadow of the N7 he used to be, of the N7 that man used to know. There’s a glimmer of recognition in those eyes, and Alec almost grimaces, his words tasting fouler than his thoughts.

“We’re in Andromeda, Shepard.”

[ggdbonlineoutlet-blog]

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[curtisthompsonie]

Motley can always rely jason reaping

Visit our FAQ page for more information. I have to put personal agenda aside. Golston’s roster spot was replaced by defensive end, the team’s fifth-round pick the 2016 NFL Draft. All the quarterbacks SEC username seat. And I was there for it. Well, just two years later, the former Texas Longhorn is headed to his first-ever Super Bowl appearance. But the resources – as far as we can tell right now, at least – could’ve been better spent elsewhere. Trying to shoehorn him into a different slotand next to another puck-mover could set him back, harming another pairing while failing to remedy the second group.

If I do what I have to do, eventually I’ll get the money.

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The post Motley can always rely jason reaping appeared first on LocalVideoPros.com.

Motley can always rely jason reaping posted first on http://www.localvideopros.com/ Motley can always rely jason reaping published first on http://localvideopros.blogspot.com

[alivurun]

Welcome To Steve Dunn s Kidney Cancer Page

A Guide For Kidney Cancer Patients

This is a intensive guide to the best and the latest for kidney cancer patients compiled by a fellow patient, and long term survivor of widely metastatic kidney cancer, Steve Dunn. My intent is to give you insight into therapies and strategies which will help you to maximize your odds of survival. This kidney cancer section is a special section of CancerGuide, my general guide to researching your options in cancer treatment.

Are You in the Right Place? (Types of Kidney Cancer)

There are several different kinds of kidney cancer, but by far the most common is Renal Cell Cancer (RCC), which is also known as Renal Cell Carcinoma. You might occasionally come across the term "Hypernephroma" which is an outdated name for RCC. Anyway, this page is about Renal Cell Cancer. If you have a different kind of kidney cancer, such as Wilm's Tumor (a childhood cancer) or Transitional Cell Carcinoma of the Renal Pelvis (A rare type of kidney cancer which resembles bladder cancer in some ways) then the information in this page doesn't apply to you. Many patients are told simply that they have "kidney cancer," and while usually it is renal cell, you should check with your doctor to be sure before assuming this information applies to you.

Disclaimer

Hints on Using this Guide

This is Challenging Stuff!: Although many of my articles are simple and should be easy to understand, in many others, I examine and present data directly from the technical medical literature in detail. I try to make it as understandable as I can, but things can only be simplified so far. You will have a much easier time if you spend some time learning about clinical trials and medical statistics on the rest of CancerGuide. I do present summaries of my conclusions which should make sense without too much effort. Still, it may pay to come back to some of the articles as you get more of the "lay of the land." WARNING Statistics Included: When I was ill I really did not want to see the statistics and deliberately avoided asking specific questions. But when I had to make my own decisions I found that, like it or not, it was necessary to confront the statistics head on. Frankly, it was hell. But it's just not possible to present the evidence in detail without getting into the statistics. Much more often than I'd like, they are grim, although there are also spots of real hope. I delight in finding good news and pointing it out whenever I can. It is helpful to have some understanding of statistics before you dig in. You should at least read The Median Isn't the Message on CancerGuide before going any further. I do try to present conclusions first and the details later in each article. You may want to consider having a friend read it for you. Check It Out With Your Doctors: While I encourage independent thinking, you don't want to risk errors due to misunderstandings - either yours or mine - and there may be specific reasons for modifying my general advice. So be sure to review your thinking with open minded doctors while recognizing that in the end it's up to you. How to Start: First see my "Must Read" articles to get a general understanding of your situation, including the Guide to Staging and Grading, and my article about the Sub-Types of Kidney Cancer. Reading these articles may prompt you to ask your doctor some key questions and to get copies of some of your important medical records. The article on Resources will point you in the right directions for additional information and support. The main CancerGuide site (which this is part of) also has a wealth of general information on how cancer is treated and how to find and interpret information. Some understanding of cancer and the medical literature will be very helpful in understanding kidney cancer. Next determine whether you have localized disease (stage I-III) or recurrent or metastatic disease (stage IV) and spend some time with the appropriate section. References to the Literature: I have references to the original papers in many of my articles. In my "new style" each article contains reference lists (there may be several) which resemble those in journal articles but which are enhanced in several ways. First, each reference includes a link to the abstract (or rarely the full-text paper if it is available for free on the web). Second for many of the references I have included commentary along with the reference. My commentary often summarizes important data from the paper not available from the abstract. Also citations to the reference in the main text are clickable links which will take you to the appropriate place in the reference list.My older style reference pages are annotated literature searches which stand by themselves and include abstracts and usually my commentary on each paper. Usually I have a related article which references the annotated search. I have also occasionally included data from papers in some of my articles, especially response duration data and survival curves. These are always referenced to the original paper with a clickable link. Remember that abstracts I include or link to (excepting meeting abstracts) are only summaries of the full paper. If a paper is particularly important to your decision, I urge you to get the full paper yourself and also to share it with your doctors. Coverage of Rare Situations: I spent quite a bit of time researching unusual situations and techniques that will apply to very few patients. I did so because this information isn't easily available elsewhere and will make a tremendous difference to those who need it. Understand though, that the space I allocate to something is no reflection of its overall importance to most patients.

Where I Get My Information

My Experience: I've survived widely metastatic RCC since 1989. My experience included nephrectomy, high dose IL-2 with Interferon, and all the hope and pain which comes with an experience like this. See "Who I Am" just below for more. The Technical Medical Literature: I've been reading medical journal articles since just after my diagnosis. You can be sure I've read virtually every paper I reference - not just the abstract and carefully! The KIDNEY-ONC mailing list: I learn a great deal from the over 1400 members of the KIDNEY-ONC mailing list which I've had the honor of co-leading since it was founded in 1996. Much of what I have learned started with a list member's discovery of something important I didn't know about. Conferences: I've attended conferences where I've been able to see the latest data and talk to researchers and doctors. Occasional Interviews With Doctors: Once in a while I get the chance to learn about the latest developments from some of the best respected doctors in kidney cancer - in person, by phone, or by e-mail.

Who I Am

I was diagnosed with kidney cancer in late 1989, at age 32. I had my kidney out, and then a month later was horrified to learn that the cancer has spread to both lungs and to multiple bones in my spine. After several weeks of frantically searching for options and stumbling awkwardly through the system, I found a clinical trial of High Dose Interleukin-2, a powerful immune stimulant, combined with Interferon Alpha, another immune stimulating drug. I traveled across the country to get the treatment that I thought was best, and was very fortunate in that I have gained a long term remission from my disease. I have been well enough to return to work, get married, father a child and climb the high peaks of the Colorado Rockies. Cancer is a strange and terrifying land but nonetheless my motto has become, "Anything can happen in this country." If you'd like to read about my experience in more detail, see my story in CancerGuide's patient stories section. Following my recovery, I realized that I had been fortunate to be able to figure out how to negotiate the system, and that actually I had hardly done a good job, but I also realized that many people with cancer never find out about promising new options for their cancers, and that many doctors offer only what is available locally, so I did some more homework, and started to teach a class on clinical trials for other patients. I absolutely believe that "Knowledge is Power", and have become an information pack rat on my own behalf, as well as providing information to other patients in any way I can.

Addendum

Steve Dunn died on August 19, 2005, not from cancer but from complications of bacterial meningitis. CancerGuide volunteers maintain this site so that his story will continue to inspire others.

Acknowledgments

The present version of my kidney cancer page is far beyond my previous versions. What you are now reading could not have been created without the funding from the Fischer Family Trust which has allowed me to spend several months researching kidney cancer and expanding this page. I also want to thank the hundreds of members of the KIDNEY-ONC mailing list from whom I have learned so much and especially those who have contributed directly to this effort. Read the full article

[choppedwhisperscollectionbl-blog]

On The Players' Request For TV Cash.

A while back, I discussed some of my most-prized low-cost grooming items - those that did the job however didn't cost the planet. Researchers have approximated that if only 11 biosimilars came to market in the next 10 years, health care payers, people, and/or insurance companies, could possibly understand financial savings up from $250 billion dollars," mentioned Hausfeld. Many people I recognize and also possess reviewed don't operate extremely challenging, however they perform make money - adequate funds to cash flow their lives and also way of lives. Researches shows that a lot of managers carry out not reduce employees' salary when they give cash earnings sharing. Her initiative and also SPECIAL-INTEREST GROUP are actually not the a single to have money with personal penitentiary hookups. They may rearrange loan making the customer shopping adventure much faster and even more effective. Which results in me thinking, what is actually the profit scope after that if they are actually retailing for 200$ at the store??! In short, your abhorrence of all of them is actually just as rewarding (otherwise ) compared to any individual's fanatical passion of all of them. Better acknowledgment regulations could remove darker funds as well as offer the voters additional electrical power to keep our forerunners answerable. Things is actually when you acquire Hard Mudder, they get 10000 runners who paid 120 plus car parking; take a look at the money they are actually making they do not must demand spectating to earn an earnings. At times good advertising arises from giving amount of money or goods away also, like when a writer provides a Kindle or Nook to market his most up-to-date book. Plant fts, prize hunting, and also continuous experience mark the Swiss Household's 10-year run.

Her title is actually Elizabeth Goodness Saunders and also she is actually the author of guide How to Spend Your Time Like Money Today on the podcast Elizabeth and I go over exactly how time personal debt" creates you believe tired out and also what you can do to start budgeting your time better, which will certainly permit you more time in the future to perform traits that are actually essential to you. If you have a costly money clip, you might regularly use that as your last bargaining chip once you lose cash money. Earnings sharing was prevalent in the 1st half from the 20th century, yet many many years of tough post-World Battle II growth convinced several United States managers that frequent wage and also perk rises can effectively share the wide range with the labor forces. Home Surveillance Assistant Jeh Johnson is actually purchasing an evaluation of the firm's plan of using exclusive contractors to operate immigrant detention centers, according to a claim given out Monday. The moment right into this area from work, thinking about ways to earn money as an adolescent will not be actually a thought to cross your thoughts that usually. Instead of training youngsters to work hard and perform good work for the sake of striving as well as performing great, you instruct them that you must merely bring in an attempt if there's money vulnerable. The outcome from these changes has been cost decline but rate boost along with subsequential increase in year on year earnings bodies. To the degree that cash allows you to offer your standard necessities plus a little shake room, it does create you happier, once you removal into the middle-class, its effect wanes. They must make audited economic statements 4 times per year, they have to observe standards of discussing internal company information, and shareholders reach elect a Board of Supervisors to operate the firm. Burton, currently referred to as Superstar, has been going to the sentenced cult innovator behind bars considering that she was 19. She supposedly runs a website regarding Manson that uploaded a claim claiming the wedding event did certainly not take place as a result of an unanticipated disruption in coordinations." The blog post declares the pair planning to marry in the coming months. Therefore while the income frame per product might seem higher, in truth, the profit from one M tee is actually dealing with the losses from mention 3 XXL tees that are actually unsold as well as could have to be given or even cost a loss. Money regulates people's thoughts, set motives, as well as eliminates one thoughts and also the selfness from an individual. Remembering via 145 years of history in the US stock exchange, there have actually been situations from personal providers and personal stock market stock funds dropping every little thing, yet the efficiency from the overall U.S. market, as gauged due to the S&P FIVE HUNDRED, appears much various. Selected representatives should figure out a means to provide every entrepreneur a tough need to seriously take into consideration implementing earnings sharing. Exactly what makes me hedge on the idea they are actually certainly not successful is actually that Andy Dunn was actually sited in 2014 mentioning that they were actually not successful, plus the inside resource from my buddy presumably to confirm this. Last week, discussing a comparison in between some ₤ 200 boots as well as a ₤ 1000 set on this web site, a good friend commented that 'the second is perhaps mainly profit in any case'. Having a marathon purpose declaration appointment are going to do that, especially if the little ones are actually more youthful. I will suggest that loan would certainly be actually a lot better invested making certain prescribed medicines are actually being recommended effectively. As a matter of fact, their purpose in business and also life is actually to perform specifically that, not to make amount of money for enhancing their wide range and status - as a statement of effectiveness. While some men fill in order to market a concept or even a book, lots of just do it to coordinate their ideas, create links, handle complications, or even calm stress and anxiety. Our major objective with allotment is to instruct Gus money management and persistence along with sparing for long-lasting objectives. They mentioned, We presume folks are heading to make dumb choices today, so our company are actually just heading to lock up your money." Effectively, maybe that's effectively meaning, yet it's likewise not what their capitalists registered for. I intend to purchase a vehicle." That'll be excellent for you to say I wish to buy a house or even get a cars and truck," yet if you do not after that alloted funds every month to have that downpayment or even to set down funds for your cars and truck, you are actually certainly not heading to have this when the moment happens, so the very same point holds true. http://schonam-morgen.info/maxisize-creme-fuer-penis-erweiterung-es-wirklich-funktioniert/ consist of making use of the cash to pay for informative costs and also health plan superiors or even to buy your first home. I've performed enough projects to recognize that you do not regularly spare cash by doing it your own self.

[nikolina84]

  Seize Today (Forget Tomorrow #3)

by Pintip Dunn

Publication Date:  October 3, 2017

Publisher:  Entangled Teen

  Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old Olivia Dresden is a precognitive. Since different versions of people’s futures flicker before her eyes, she doesn’t have to believe in human decency. She can see the way for everyone to be their best self-if only they would make the right decisions. No one is more conflicted than her mother, and Olivia can only watch as Chairwoman Dresden chooses the dark, destructive course every time. Yet Olivia remains fiercely loyal to the woman her mother could be.

But when the chairwoman captures Ryder Russell, the striking and strong-willed boy from the rebel Underground, Olivia sees a vision of her own imminent death…at Ryder’s hand. Despite her bleak fate, she rescues Ryder and flees with him, drawing her mother’s fury and sparking a romance as doomed as Olivia herself. As the full extent of Chairwoman Dresden’s gruesome plan is revealed, Olivia must find the courage to live in the present-and stop her mother before she destroys the world.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Purchase Links:

Amazon | Amazon.com.au | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.ca | B&N | iBooks | Kobo | Entangled

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excerpt 

Eleven years earlier…

I pull the lever of the cage, switching the tunnel onto a different track, trying to confuse the mice.

I know exactly how the future will play out, of course. I know which mice will fall down the trap and which ones will smack into the see-through glass wall. I know which mice will get hopelessly lost. I even know which ones will run the maze correctly on the very first try.

I like watching them anyway. They wriggle over one another like worms, and their whiskers twitch when they’re at a corner between two paths. But what I like most is how they come to me when I call.

Picking up a mouse, I run my fingers over its soft fur and warm body. It looks at me with unblinking pink eyes, and I think it could be my friend.

Of course, I can see which mice will come, so I know which ones to call. Rodents are predictable like that. Humans, not so much. They have too many wants, too many feelings. I don’t see any one future for people. Rather, I see them all—every single pathway their futures might take, flickering before my eyes.

So I have to guess which of my human classmates will want to play with me. Most of the time, I guess wrong.

“Are you bothering my mice again?” a little boy’s voice says. “Fates, Livvy. How many times do I have to tell you? Leave them alone!”

Startled, I let go of the mouse and look up at Tanner Callahan, the other six-year-old who hangs around the scientists’ labs. I’m here because my mom’s the head of the Future Memory Agency, or FuMA, and he’s here…I guess ’cause he has nowhere else to be.

He’s got black hair that pokes up in the back, and his skin sticks too closely to his bones. I thought this meant he wasn’t eating enough, but MK, our child-minder, said that grief over his parents’ deaths had burrowed holes through his resources.

This makes me think of the mice digging through the straw, and my chest aches. I flash forward to his futures. He still has hundreds of branches remaining, but in most of them, one thing is the same: he will be sad and lonely until he kisses our classmate Jessa ten years in the future.

I don’t know why kissing should change anything. But I do know how it feels to be lonely and sad.

We don’t have to be like this. I could be his friend. I just have to figure out the right thing to say.

“Jessa and I are going to rule the world one day.” It can’t hurt to bring up the girl he smushes lips with. Maybe if he thinks she and I are friends, he’ll like me, too. “You know Jessa, right? The girl with the teardrop eyes? She’s my best friend.” Not true. I think Jessa only talks to me because she’s nice. But he doesn’t have to know that.

“Oh yeah? Well someday, I’m going to be the inventor of future memory,” he shoots back. “And then we’ll see who’s more important.”

I bite my lip. That wasn’t what I meant. I wasn’t trying to brag or compare or compete. The futures containing our friendship begin to fall away, one by one. I guessed wrong once again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Guest post

Pintip Dunn Interviews Ryder Russell, the Hero of Her Latest Release, SEIZE TODAY Pintip: Hi everyone! I have a special treat for you today! I’ve pried Ryder from the figments of my imagination, and he’s sitting before me now for an interview. Say hi to everyone, Ryder!

Ryder: Hi to everyone, Ryder! Pintip: Cute. Very cute. But then, you’ve been giving me trouble since the moment you sprang into my consciousness. Now, I can see you, but our readers can’t, so could you start by describing your physical appearance?

Ryder: Uh… I have dark brown skin and eyes and closely shaven hair. I’m really tall — 6’3” — and I do a lot of manual labor living out in the woods, so I have a lot of muscles.

Pintip: Oooohhh, tell us more about those muscles.

Ryder: *narrows eyes* Are you hitting on me?

Pintip: *sputters* Fates no! Why would you say that? You’re, like, half my age! Less than half!

Ryder: Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because when you wrote me, you were inspired by Lincoln from The 100, and you have a total crush on him.

Pintip: *blushing furiously* I do not! Don’t forget, I can see all of your thoughts, not the other way around!

Ryder: Yeah, but you kept rewinding that scene at the beginning of Season 3, when —

Pintip: Moving on! *lowers voice to whisper* I’m the author here. I can make your life a living limbo. So behave. *in normal tone* Where do you call home?

Ryder: Right now? The wilderness. I lived in Eden City, the capitol of North Amerie, until I was six. I came back when I was twelve, for about four years, before I was forced to go on the run with my family again. *pauses* Was that suitably on topic?

Pintip: Very. Do you have a special skill?

Ryder: Oh, sure. Lots. I’ve never met a machine I couldn’t take apart and put back together, and my skills on the hover board make pretty boys like Tanner Callahan weep.

Pintip: Hey, don’t make fun of Tanner!

Ryder: *jumps out of seat* I knew it! I knew Tanner was your favorite hero!

Pintip: *tugs him back down* Oh, relax. You’re all my favorite, and you know it. I tell you so all that time.

Ryder: Does that line actually work on your children?

Pintip: It totally does. Because it’s TRUE. What is your biggest dream/wish/desire?

Ryder: To make it to tomorrow and see the sun rise.

Pintip: Geez, Ryder, don’t be so morbid. You’re going to scare everyone away!

Ryder: I guess living in the wilderness has a way of boiling down your desires to the basics. There are so many things that could go wrong out here — we could run out of food or succumb to infection or get mauled by a wild animal.

Pintip: *softens* Tell them what you really want.

Ryder: You promised you wouldn’t ask me that question.

Pintip: *gives him hard stare* I’m the author. I make you do things you don’t want all the time.

Ryder: I . . . I’d like to be first in someone’s life. To have someone love me the most, to place me highest on their list of priorities. You see, I’ve never had that before. My biological parents…well, I don’t like to talk about them unless it’s absolutely necessary

You know, I’ve never admitted this to anyone but Olivia before. She feels the same way, too, and sometimes, when I catch that same yearning on her face, my heart gives this unsteady bump and I have this completely wild thought that maybe . . . just maybe . . . we could fulfill that role for each other.

Pintip: You could be right.

Ryder: *looks up with hope in his eyes* Really? You’re not just saying that?

Pintip: Maybe. Keep answering my questions, and I’ll see what I can do. Let’s talk about your parents.

Ryder: NO!

Pintip: *chants* Olivia! Olivia! Olivia!

Ryder: Okay, FINE. When I was six, I came to Harmony, the community in the wilderness where psychics and their families went to escape persecution. Everyone thought I was there because my parents had been arrested. They were wrong.

You see, my brother Damien has the ability to read minds with a single touch. Back then, ComA was locking up psychics like lab rats, in order to study them, and my parents were terrified they were going to find out about Damien.

So, they decided to change their identities and hide out in a small town, far away from the nation’s capitol. They knew ComA would be looking for a family with two boys, so the best way to throw them off track was to turn into a family of three. Two parents. One boy. The older, favored one in particular.

They abandoned me. Without a second thought, they left me, even though I begged and pleaded to go with them. That’s how I knew that they didn’t love me – and maybe they never did.

Pintip: *gently* It’s okay, Ryder. Other people love you now. Mikey, Angela. Jessa. In time, Olivia. And me. I love you.

Ryder: Ha! I knew you were hitting on me!

Pintip: Oh, for Fates’ sake. I think it’s time we bring this interview to a close. Say good-bye to our friends, Ryder!

Ryder: Good-bye to our friends, Ryder!

Pintip: *rolls eyes* There you have it, everyone. Ryder Russell, in the flesh. Never a dull moment with him, that’s for sure!

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES

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AUTHOR INFO:

Pintip Dunn is a New York Times bestselling author of YA fiction. She graduated from Harvard University, magna cum laude, with an A.B. in English Literature and Language. She received her J.D. at Yale Law School, where she was an editor of the YALE LAW JOURNAL. Pintip’s debut novel, FORGET TOMORROW, won the RWA RITA® for Best First Book. In addition, it is a finalist for the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire, the Japanese Sakura Medal, and the MASL Truman Award. THE DARKEST LIE was nominated for a Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award. Her other books include REMEMBER YESTERDAY, the novella BEFORE TOMORROW, and GIRL ON THE VERGE. She lives with her husband and children in Maryland. You can learn more about Pintip and her books at http://www.pintipdunn.com

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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  Book tour & giveaway – Seize Today by Pintip Dunn Seize Today (Forget Tomorrow #3) by Pintip Dunn Publication Date:  October 3, 2017 Publisher:  Entangled Teen…

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Top rookies, surprises, disappointments in 2017 NBA Summer time League

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Top rookies, surprises, disappointments in 2017 NBA Summer time League

Who stood out the most at NBA summer time league this year? What are the biggest takeaways?

Our crew critiques the summer time league scene.

1. Who was the ideal rookie you observed at summer time league?

Tim MacMahon, ESPN.com: Lonzo Ball, at minimum after he started off putting on footwear from legitimate makes. Guaranteed, his inconsistent, funky jumper induced me to make negative Lonzo Carter-Williams jokes, in particular in the wake of his 2-for-15 summer time debut.

But, guy, what a magical distributor. Valuable couple gamers possess the eyesight that Ball has, and he continuously provides pinpoint passes, even from 70 toes away.

Honorable point out: Dallas Mavericks highlight machine Dennis Smith Jr.

Chris Herring, FiveThirtyEight/ESPN.com: It is really tricky to contextualize “ideal” mainly because these video games really don’t genuinely matter, and so many men and women obtained hurt or were forced to relaxation at moments. But I liked seeing Smith the most. His athleticism is definitely off the charts, but further than that, his match is clean, he has superior eyesight, and he is a superior finisher around the basket with both equally hands.

Austin Tedesco, ESPN.com: Smith’s choose-and-roll work was masterful — distributing out of the Bulls’ many traps with just 1 turnover in his first match, then carving up the Suns’ switches in the following — and the ideal issue about his athleticism is how selectively he unleashes it. You can previously see how many aspects of Smith’s match will translate to serious NBA competitors. It is really much too negative he can’t engage in in the triangle.

Kevin Pelton, ESPN Insider: I suppose there are two techniques to respond to it. I nonetheless think Ball is the ideal rookie in phrases of prolonged-phrase outlook, with Markelle Fultz driving him. But Smith was the most successful rookie in summer time league and solidified himself as No. three driving his fellow PGs as a prospect.

2. Who was the ideal veteran you observed at summer time league?

MacMahon: Brandon Ingram seemed like a No. 2 general choose getting into his second year is supposed to search against summer time league competitors, but he played only 1 match.

As a final result, I am going to go with Troy Williams, who lit it up for the Houston Rockets immediately after splitting his rookie year in between Houston and the Memphis Grizzlies. Williams is a wing with NBA athleticism, and he showed scoring ability (22. ppg) that was a little bit stunning.

Herring: Golden State’s Patrick McCaw. We get so applied to gamers like McCaw simply fitting in and retaining points rolling when he arrives in for or plays alongside a roster comprehensive of All-Stars. But it really is rather eye-opening to see him dominate rookies and other young fellas when given the possibility to lead instead.

Tedesco: Brandon Ingram’s 31 minutes. Ingram acquired the yearly “he is much too superior for summer time league” title in about two quarters, which is massive for the Lakers immediately after he was rather meh as a rookie. The way he forcefully applied his size with assurance genuinely stood out. Really don’t fail to remember that Ingram is young than Josh Jackson and Lauri Markkanen and rarely older than Lonzo Ball, De’Aaron Fox and Jonathan Isaac. He nonetheless has star likely.

Pelton: It is really outstanding that the Lakers gained the NBA Summer time League title with the ideal participant on their roster taking part in only the first match. Ingram came out, showed advancement from his rookie year in phrases of strength and the ability to make makeable shot makes an attempt, and then was shut down for the length immediately after he cramped up at the close of regulation.

three. Who was the biggest surprise at summer time league?

MacMahon: Ball was not the only Lakers rookie who lit it up in Las Vegas. Kyle Kuzma, the twenty seventh general choose, was breathtaking throughout the summer time league. He’s a expert six-foot-nine man who absolutely benefited from taking part in with Ball, which could be the scenario for many years.

Herring: Kyle Kuzma, who completed summer time league with a 30-point, ten-rebound general performance and championship match MVP honors, seemed significantly more like a lottery choose than a late-first-round 1. He has outstanding range for a major, runs the ground in transition (crucial for a teammate of Lonzo Ball’s) and can shift his toes on protection.

Tedesco: John Collins previously appears to be like he’ll turn out to be a rather superior extend-4 — and possibly even extend-5 — immediately after hiding most of all those expertise at Wake Forest. (Much more than 50 % of his college or university shot makes an attempt were at the rim, and he attempted only 1 three!) He didn’t genuinely examination any deep range at summer time league, but he manufactured some awesome plays out to the elbows, and I think he can increase even further. At No. 19, which is a steal for Atlanta.

Pelton: I didn’t take into consideration Kuzma a first-round talent mainly because he was a late bloomer, and his box-rating stats didn’t genuinely mirror an ability to utilize his apparent athleticism. In Las Vegas, he showed that he can make the NBA three-pointer (though his 48. p.c capturing on a sturdy fifty makes an attempt surely is not sustainable), and his pace up the court docket was a great match for Ball’s prolonged outlet passes in transition.

4. Who was the biggest disappointment at summer time league?

MacMahon: The Phoenix Suns’ sophomore lottery picks. Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss both equally shot worse than 40 p.c from the ground and didn’t specifically dominate the glass (every single averaged six. rebounds for each match) as Phoenix went 2-4. That is not specifically motive to believe that that the Suns’ rebuilding job can be quickly-tracked.

Herring: The Chicago Bulls. Give the crew credit history for ultimately determining not to straddle the line of mediocrity any longer. But if summer time league is any sign, this coming year could be downright painful. Cameron Payne, Kris Dunn, Denzel Valentine and first-round choose Lauri Markkanen, who figure to see sizeable time this year, all shot 35 p.c or worse in Vegas. Valentine and Markkanen merged for a brutal 2-for-25 displaying in 1 match.

Tedesco: Buddy Hield turns 24 in December, and he played … good? I didn’t like Jayson Tatum, but at minimum he is only 19 and strike a bunch of his challenging shots. Hield shot 35.six p.c on 15 makes an attempt for each match. Oof.

The New Orleans Pelicans really should really feel blessed that they swapped Hield for DeMarcus Cousins. Even if Cousins walks as a totally free agent, they’ll mainly close up off the hook for passing on Jamal Murray.

Pelton: The Bulls’ point guards are my choose. Denzel Valentine did more than enough, immediately after I picked the Bulls’ veterans as a team for my biggest disappointments at the halfway mark, to escape this checklist, which leaves Kris Dunn and Cameron Payne.

The two young point guards, both equally obtained in trades inside the earlier five months, shot a merged 12-of-38 (31.six p.c) and three-of-12 from three-point range. They also experienced more turnovers (nine) than helps (8).

5. What’s 1 major takeaway from summer time league engage in?

MacMahon: Summer time league engage in tends to be tricky on the eyes, but the substantial crowds in Vegas obtained a good deal of enjoyment bang for the buck this year. It was a bummer that No. 1 general choose Markelle Fultz obtained hurt all through the Sixers’ first match in Vegas, but the megahyped lottery class lived up to its billing for the most aspect.

Herring: The Jayson Tatum match in Boston will be intriguing. He’s exceptionally gifted and hits shots couple other gamers can. But can he realistically pound the rock and depend on that significantly 1-on-1 offense after he is taking part in following to 3 All-Star-amount teammates, in particular if his performance dips against serious competitors?

It is really a unusual scenario. Top-five picks typically really don’t have to issue by themselves with match, given that they nearly never ever get started their occupations with contending groups.

Tedesco: The league is in a superior put. Guaranteed, a pessimist would request who cares about any of these prospective clients or small signings right now, when the Golden Point out Warriors have a business grasp on the following couple Larry O’Brien trophies. But 1 constant in the NBA is that points improve. Men and women were freaking out about missed dunks in mid-July. That’s interesting. Basketball is exciting. Let us get to Oct.

Pelton: Lonzomania exhibits no indication of fading. Irrespective of whether they like him or want him to fall short, enthusiasts just can’t get more than enough of Lonzo Ball, in no modest aspect mainly because he is so exciting to look at engage in.

Ball will be 1 of the defining tales of following year, notably if the Golden Point out Warriors are jogging away with the Western Meeting and the query of who will earn the championship is not a key subject of dialogue.

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[char27martin]

How to Overcome Rejection by 200 Literary Agents (& Still Land a Book Deal)

Rejection is difficult, frustrating, and discouraging. It can be every negative adjective you might find in the thesaurus. But it can also help build persistence, even in the face of rejection by some two hundred literary agents.

This was the kind of test I faced after completing my first adult novel.

I never intended to write a book like this. I love writing for young readers and find it very fulfilling—not just because of the wonderful letters I receive telling me how much my books mean to them, but also because the kidlit community is so generous and supportive, and they make me feel that what I do is important.

But my latest manuscript took its own course, perhaps because of its location and time period, or because it was inspired by my own parents. Either way, I found that I had historical fiction on my hands. When I decided to send out my manuscript, I already had agent, but she only represented work for younger readers. I also needed an agent who would represent my adult work. I hoped that having four published young adult novels would help catch the attention of literary agents, but it proved to be irrelevant.

Loretta Ellsworth grew up in Iowa and lives in Minnesota. She’s a former teacher and a graduate of Hamline University with a Master’s Degree in Writing for Children. She’s the author of four young adult novels. Her adult novel STARS OVER CLEAR LAKE, will be published in May by Thomas Dunne Books. The novel is about a farmer’s daughter who meets a German POW working on her father’s Iowa farm. At the same time, her brother is off fighting Germany in WWII. The characters meet again years later at the iconic Surf Ballroom.

I developed a system of sending out ten queries every couple of weeks. I kept fastidious notes on when I sent a query, the agent I queried, and the response (if there was one). I started with agents who I most wanted to work with, ones who represented books that I thought were similar to mine in some ways, and agents who I’d heard were very good.

While some agents do represent only adult work, I found that many of the agents I queried would only read my novel if they could represent all of my work. That limited the number of agents who asked to read partial chapters, or the whole manuscript. I received many form letters, you know the kind: Unfortunately, your project is not one that we think would be right for our agency at this time.

And I received some that were a bit more personal: I think you are a good writer and you have a good idea. However, I wasn’t enthusiastic enough to move forward with representation.

[Answers to 14 Questions You’re Too Afraid to Ask Literary Agents]

A few said they were unable to connect with the emotions of the narrator. And, since my book is set in both 2007 and the 1940s, a few agents loved the historical sections, but didn’t relate to the modern ones. I think that having four novels already published and having worked with different editors helped me dissect the various criticisms I received, and also helped me when I was discouraged, because who doesn’t get discouraged when you receive so many rejections?

I sought help, too. After receiving one hundred rejections on queries, I decided to seek the help of independent editor Alexandra Shelley, who has worked with such clients as Kathryn Stockett (The Help). She helped me find the focus of my story, the source of suspense and mystery in each chapter, and develop better characters. And she provided grueling line edits that included cutting dead wood, marking awkwardness in my prose, and cutting interior scenes that didn’t advance the plot.

I continued to send out queries, too, even as my manuscript was in a constant state of flux. (Agents usually ask for the beginning chapters of a manuscript, and mine never changed that much. With each edit, my book became more focused, and I found that more agents were providing individual feedback, with a few even phoning to chat. But still, I had no offers of representation, even as I approached two hundred queries.

I wondered if some agents were worried about whether I’d be torn between my adult novels and my YA novels, although no one specifically stated such. It felt like the elephant in the room. I wondered if agents feared I’d write one adult novel and then return to YA.

So, I finally took the risk and parted ways with my children’s agent to pursue representation for all my work. I queried Irene Goodman first. She had been at the top of my list two years earlier when I’d started the process, but she would only consider my manuscript if she could represent all my work. Irene asked for the first three chapters and a few months later asked for the entire manuscript. Needless to say, my manuscript was in much better shape by this time, but Irene still wanted to see revisions to the ending and more emotional resonance in certain spots. After several more revisions, she sent it out to editors. We received an offer from Thomas Dunne Books, a division of St. Martin’s Press.

[Want to land an agent? Here are 4 things to consider when researching literary agents.]

I’ve learned a lot about revising throughout this process, and am grateful to have landed the agent of my dreams. Irene gives thoughtful criticism and is a top agent in the field of historical fiction.

Alexandra Shelley once told me, “It takes persistence, flexibility, and creativity to revise.” I think persistence is the key. No matter how many rejections I received—no matter how down I felt about those two hundred rejections—I still held a deep belief in my story. I made the necessary revisions that ultimately sold my novel because of that belief, because I persisted.

Kathryn Stockett received more than sixty rejections from agents before being published. Kate DiCamillo received more than four-hundred sixty rejections before anyone agreed to publish her.

Hope begets hope. My hope for you is that my writing journey will inspire you as you navigate your own dream of publication.

And if you receive two hundred rejections? Don’t worry about it.

BEST RESOURCE FOR WRITERS: GET A LITERARY AGENT contains advice from more than 110 literary agents who share advice on querying, craft, the submission process, researching agents, and much more. Click here to order now!

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