#MY STREAK MY 113 YEAR OLD STREAK

[hlbrick]

NO PLEASE LET ME IN LET ME BACK IN

[olenvasynyt]

Parallels between Gwyn and Az

People don’t often realize this, but Gwyn and Az have a lot of things in common.  And imo, it points to Gwynriel.  So let’s talk about it!

Dynamics with Nesta

They have similar dynamic with Nesta.  It’s not identical but neither of them shy away from her bluntness like others do.  They both seem to admire it and at some points, it gets Gwyn and Az to open up.

Page 251 of ACOSF: “Nesta watched the shadowsinger with a frankness that most people shied from. Azriel returned the look with the stillness that most people ran from.”

Page 114 of ACOSF: “ I don’t need to be coddled.  Only spoken to like a person.”  “I doubt you’ll enjoy the way I speak to most people.” Nesta said. “Gwyn snorted.  “Try me.”  Nesta looked at her from under lowered brows again.  “Get out of my sight.” Gwyn grinned, a broad, bright thing that showed up most of her teeth and made her eyes sparkle in a way Nesta knew her own never had. “Oh, you’re good.” Gwyn turned back to the stacks.  “Really good.”

Page 101 of ACOSF: “I hope you’re not giving my brother a hard time.”“Is that a threat, Shadowinger?” Azriel said coolly, “I don’t need to resort to threats.” Nesta gave him a smile, holding his stare.  “Neither do I.”

Page 348 of ACOSF: “Nesta scowled, and Az offered her a slight smile.  They could be allies, that smile seemed to say.  Against Cassian’s utter insanity.  She found herself answering Azriel with a slight smile of her own.”

Competitiveness

 They’re both competitive.  Cassian says that Az gets really competitive, and you can see the competitiveness in the bonus chapter where he has his plot to win the snowball fight.  

Page 254 of ACOSF: “Azriel had a vicious competitive streak.  Wasn’t boastful or arrogant… or possessive and terrifying…No, it was quiet and cruel and utterly lethal.”

Gwyn is super competitive with cutting the ribbon and when the Valkyries are doing the obstacle courses.  

Page 624 of ACOSF: “Roslin, Ananke, and Deirdre were close on their heels, propelling Gwyn to push her group harder.  She wanted to be the first.  Wanted Nesta and Emerie and her to be the ones who wiped the smirks from Azriel’s and Cassian’s faces.  Especially Azriel.”

Knowledge

They both get pretty fascinated by things, they both like to learn stuff. Cassian said that Az was really fascinated by the solar system and other-worldly stuff Rhys likes to research.  

Page 37 of ACOSF: “At the far end of the room, a little dias led into a broad raised alcove…and in its center, a massive, working model of their world, the stars and planets around it…Az, of course, had been fascinated.”

Trauma / light and darkness

Quote page 113 of ACOSF: “If marks of trauma lingered, any evidence was hidden by her robe.  But Nesta knew how invisible wounds could be how they could scars deeply and badly as any physical breaking.” 

This is a really big one: Gwyn’s healing seems like the kind of healing Az had.  Az was hidden in darkness and he was brought to the Illyrian camps which might have been the first time he saw true light in a while.  He found Cassian and Rhys who took him in and they trained together. And Gwyn hid herself in the library for years and saw true light for the first time in a while and trained with Nesta and Emerie and found true healing and confidence in herself.

This quote really got me:

Quote page 272 of ACOSF: “Gwyn’s hands were shaking as she took another step into the ring and peered into the open bowl of the sky.  The first time she’d been outside—truly outside—in years.  She met Nesta’s gaze and smiled.  "I forgot how it feels to have the full sun upon my head.  Forgive me if I spend some time gawking at the sky.”

I can just imagine Az having a similar reaction when he’s at the Illyrian camps for the first time.  A little 11 year old unsure of how to hold his wings up right just…looking up at the sky.  And he’s hiding his hands.

The main difference with this is Az was locked up in the darkness and Gwyn chose to be in the darkness, but I think the fact that light and darkness are key parts of their healing process is important to note.

Fear of making mistakes, and their loyalty to loved ones

Another super significant thing about them is their sense of loyalty to the people who took them in, and their fear of making mistakes and failing.

This quote from Gwyn really got me because it just screams Azriel to me.

Quote page 148 of ACOSF: “because I don’t like to fail I can’t…” Gwyn shook her head.  “I don’t want to make any more mistakes.” “These females took me in. Give me shelter and healing and family.” Again, her large eyes darkened.  “I cannot stand to fail them in anything.”

That just seems so much like Az.  Rhys and Cassian took him in, gave him shelter and healing and family, so he’s super loyal and he hates when he fails them.  Az seems to often feel guilty when one of the plans goes wrong; he thinks he didn’t do as much as he could have.

Page 346 of ACOWAR: ”Hybern had made its grand move at last.  And we had not anticipated it.  I knew Azriel would take the blame upon himself.  One look at the shadowsinger…told me he already did.”

Unworthiness 

Another thing is they feel unworthy.  You can see this with Gwyn and her invoking stone she says she doesn’t deserve to wear it, she is ashamed of her history and is afraid of people finding out things that she hates about herself.

Quote page 173 of ACOSF: “Why don’t you wear that stone on your head like the others?”  Gwyn pocketed the gem.  “Because I don’t deserve to.”

Page 521 of ACOSF: “I understand,” Gwyn repeated, “what it is to fail the people who mean the most.  To live in fear of people finding out.  I dread you and Emerie learning my history.  I know that once you do, you’ll never look at me the same again.”

Page 696 of ACOSF: “But even training these months hasn’t erased the fact that I let my sister die.  You asked me once why I don’t wear the hood of the Invoking Stone.  That stone is a sign of holiness.  How can someone like me wear it?”

That’s just so similar to Az I feel like, specifically this quote in the bonus chapter where he feels like his hands are tainted and that he’s unworthy of touching her.

ACOSF bonus chapter: “She looked up at him, her face so trusting and hopeful and open that he knew she had no idea that he had done unspeakable things that sullied his hands far beyond their scars.  Such terrible things that it was a sacrilege for his fingers to skin, tainting her with his presence. 

He also feels guilty for not doing enough, to fail the people around him.  You see this with Mor a lot.

Page 429 of ACOWAR:  ”As Azriel turned his face toward me—The frozen rage rooted me to the spot.  But beneath it, I could almost see the images that haunted him: the hand Mor had yanked away, her weeping, distraught face as she had screamed at Rhys.”

Now kind of diverting from the topic: I see people make debates about why Gwyn thinks she’s unworthy.  There are theories that she’s actually an inside spy for Koschei and maybe she feels guilty for that but there’s literally a quote that says she thinks she let her sister die and that she’s guilty that she lived and her sister didn’t.  I dislike the evil Gwyn theories, I think they’re gross.  I also kind of think her SA made her felt tainted, that’s a very common thing among SA survivors.  

Coping skills / being unbreakable 

And this is kind of a looser connection than the others I mentioned but we see moments from both where they tell themselves that they are unbreakable or hard to break.  When Gwyn cut the ribbon, she quoted the Valkyrie mindstilling technique:

Page 621 of ACOSF: “I am the rock against which the surf crashes.  Nothing can break me.”

"Nothing can break me" is something that Gwyn added, it was not part of the original Valkyrie passage.  And it reminded me of something that Az says to Feyre when they are doing their flying lessons in ACOWAR.  

Azriel tells Feyre Page 305 ACOWAR: “You’re immortal.  You’re very hard to break.  That’s what I told myself.”

The Blood Rite, friendships, and healing journey

And this similarty pertains to the Valkyries and the batboys in general, not solely Az and Gwyn, but the Valkyries during the blood rite is a reflection of the batboys during their blood rite.  It was the beginning of their journey when it came to healing and finding their strength and proving people wrong.  It was a pivotal point in their friendships, both groups fought like hell to reach each other.  

Page 693 of ACOSF: “I don’t want to take the safe road.  I want to take that road.  To prove to them, to everyone, that something new and different might triumph over their rules and regulations.”

And this is the start of Gwyn’s journey, this is the start of her friendship with Nesta and Emerie, who have become very important to her. She’s still struggling with her fears, she tells Nesta that she might come out of the library to go to her mating ceremony.  

And Az is kind of similar.  He has had centuries to heal and be with his brothers.  But he is absolutely still healing, he’s got tons of issues to sort out still.  You can say they’re aloof and they lock themselves up in a similar way: he doesn’t seem to want to go out to bars and parties unless his friends go.  

Page 377 of ACOMAF: “And when I pointed out that he did go to Rita’s with her whenever she asked, Mor simply informed me that it had taken her four centuries to get him to do that.”

He seems content to brood but he opens up because of his friends.

Differences

There are obviously tons of differences, I think the main ones being Gwyn is significantly more joyful than Az, she smiles and laughs a lot while it’s very rare to see Az smile or laugh.  He’s super broody and aloof.  Gwyn seems to open up a lot more easily.  She has a lot of hope.  She doesn’t seem to want to suppress herself.  Even though she struggles she is trying to break free.  

Page 524 of ACOSF: “ Nesta had never heard a voice like Gwyn’s—by turns trained and wild, as if there was so much sound fighting to break free of Gwyn, but she couldn’t quite contain it all. As if the sound needed to be loose in the world.”

And with Az: literally impossible to get him to confess anything.  There are a lot of things that Cassian doesn’t know about his brother.  He is content to brood.  He shuts his feelings down until they build up to a point where they almost explode sometimes.  There are some points where he suppresses his shadows on purpose, I feel like.  I don’t know how his shadows work but he can control them at some points.

I feel like whether or not you believe these parallels point to Gwynriel, you can’t deny that they are very similar and can be very good friends and heal together because of that. 

But also, Gwynriel is endgame 🤷‍♀️

[bongaboi]

Minnesota: 2025 Duke's Mayo Bowl Champions

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- — Moments before being doused with a five-gallon tub of mayonnaise, Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck shouted “make it a double!"

Then the 44-year-old coach strapped on a Duke's Mayo Bowl necktie and — with his players watching and chanting “Mayo! Mayo!" — was drenched on a chilly 40-degree night, a celebration that has become part of the game tradition.

“I told our players if they had 15 tubs of those, I would have done all 15," Fleck said. "It's worth it to be a champion at the end of the year.”

Max Brosmer threw for 211 yards and a touchdown, Darius Taylor ran for 113 yards a TD and also threw for a score and the Golden Gophers extended their bowl winning streak to eight with a 24-10 victory over Virginia Tech on Friday night.

Elijah Spencer had six catches for 81 yards and two TDs for Minnesota (8-5) and was selected the game's MVP after returning to Charlotte, where he played two seasons for the 49ers.

“It was big time because I didn't think I would have another opportunity to play in front of all of my friends and family,” Spencer said. "A lot of friends and family haven't seen me play since I went to Minnesota, so being able to play in my backyard, hey, why not?'

Said Fleck: "It's a little ironic. And it's a fitting end to his career. He had two really great years with us."

For Fleck it was another victorious bowl victory — his sixth in a row at Minnesota.

“In the era 2024-25 is it really difficult to build a team and connect a team, but it is way easier when you have a group of men like these guys," Fleck said.

Backup quarterback Collins Schlee ran for a touchdown and Ayden Greene had six catches for 115 yards for the Hokies (6-7). They’ve lost five of their last six bowl games.

The Golden Gophers outgained the Hokies 403-223.

Schlee and William Watson split time at quarterback for Virginia Tech, with neither eclipsing 100 yards passing.

The Hokies failed to pick up a first down in three series under Watson, so coach Brent Pry switched to Schlee on the and he provided instance offense with a 67-yard strike to Greene to set up his own 3-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead.

But the Hokies couldn't sustain the momentum.

Minnesota rattled of 21 consecutive points in the second quarter behind Spencer, who hauled in a 10-yard halfback option pass from Taylor and a 12-yard TD toss from Brosmer over the middle on back-to-back possessions. Taylor then made it 21-7 when he raced around left end on a 28-yard run.

With Minnesota up 24-10, Dante Lovett intercepted Brosmer’s to give the Hokies the ball at the Minnesota 15 and a last chance at a comeback midway through the fourth quarter. But the Hokies couldn’t convert as Za’Quan Bryan intercepted Watson’s pass in the end zone, essentially sealing the game with 4:24 remaining.

“Offensively, we got in the red zone and we couldn't score," Pry said. “We get down there and we have to score.”

Takeaways

Minnesota: It took a while for the Golden Gophers to get going, but three touchdowns in the second quarter proved to be the difference. “It’s one of the great traditions of bowl games and I hope we never ever go away from bowl games," Fleck said of the mayo bath. ""I think it is what makes college bowl games special.”

Virginia Tech: The Hokies came in with 14 new starters — seven on each side of the ball — after several players either opted out or entered the transfer portal leading up to the game. “I'm hopeful and encouraged about where we are at,” Pry said.

Bowl-record boot

Virginia Tech's John Love made a bowl-record 60-yard field goal at the end of the first half.

Celebrity mascot

Word leaked out during the game that there was a celebrity serving as “Tubby,” the bowl game's mascot which resembles a large yellow-and-white mayonnaise jar. It turns out to be hip-hop artist Flavor Flav, with his identity being revealed shortly after the game. He also helped with the mayo pour.

Stay in the box

Pry received a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct in the second quarter when he raced down the sideline to about the 15 — well outside of the coach's box — to argue a call with the officials. "We are going to fight for every inch and I thought there were couple of calls I thought were missed," Pry said.

[marsarliya]

Standout rookies bump heads as Heat face Warriors

One of the league’s best road teams will encounter a hot home squad when the Miami Heat open a five-game trip with a matchup against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night in San Francisco.

The Heat have won three in a row overall and three straight on the road to improve their record away from Miami to 9-6. At the start of play Wednesday, only the Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks had more road wins, each with 10.

Miami, however, ruled out forwards Jimmy Butler (calf) and Caleb Martin (ankle) as well as guard Kyle Lowry (soreness) for Thursday’s game. Guard Josh Richardson (back) remains doubtful for the contest.

Miami is coming off a 119-113 home win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Christmas. Impressive rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. contributed career highs in points (31) and rebounds (10) to the victory.

Making just his seventh start, Jaquez became the first rookie in 38 years to post a 30-point/10-rebound double-double in a Christmas Day game. Only four rookies — Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Walt Bellamy and Patrick Ewing — previously had accomplished the feat.

“Great to get a win, career night, Christmas,” Jaquez said after the performance. “I grew up watching these games, and to be able to play and have a career night, I just go back to all the hard work, late nights in the gym, preparing for moments like this.”

Most of those moments took place in Southern California, where Jaquez was born (Irvine), went to high school (Camarillo) and played 134 games for UCLA the past four seasons.

The 22-year-old will be returning to California for the first time in his NBA career at the start of the Heat’s trip. He will head to his old stomping grounds for matchups against the Los Angeles Clippers on New Year’s Day and the Lakers next Wednesday.

Jaquez has started the past three games in place of Butler, who has been bothered by a strained right calf. Butler made the trip to California but won’t play in the Golden State game.

The Warriors lost their Christmas Day showcase 120-114 to the Denver Nuggets on the road. The Miami meeting begins a run of seven in a row at home for a team that’s won its past eight games inside its own building.

Jaquez wasn’t the only rookie with a historic performance on Christmas. Golden State’s Brandin Podziemski had 13 points, nine rebounds, six assists and five steals in the defeat.

No rookie had posted that combination of stats in any game since Ben Simmons did it in 2017. The last Warriors rookie to do it was Purvis Short in 1978.

Also, his season-best steals total made him one of just three Warriors rookies in the past 20 years to swipe five in a game, joining Stephen Curry (twice) in 2010 and Eric Paschall in 2020.

Podziemski has teamed with fellow rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis to ignite a Warriors turnaround in recent games with Draymond Green on suspension. Golden State had a five-game winning streak snapped in Denver.

Curry noted neither he nor his teammates are surprised by the improved play of late, which has followed much national scrutiny over the team’s slow start.

“It’s been like that for years now, even before we won the ’22 championship,” Curry said of media negativity. “They always find something to nitpick, and that’s because there’s expectations for us to win. So you kind of take that in stride.

“For me, my approach is to dumb it down to just … win a game at a time, give ourselves some momentum, some confidence, some energy.”

[cavendishbutterfly]

I posted 302 times in 2022

That's 113 more posts than 2021!

73 posts created (24%)

229 posts reblogged (76%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@sorrybutblog

@softlystarstruck

@ihopeyoubothstaysafefromharm

@corvuscrowned

@moonstruckwytch

I tagged 297 of my posts in 2022

Only 2% of my posts had no tags

#drarry - 178 posts

#my writing - 40 posts

#harry potter x draco malfoy - 39 posts

#hpdm - 38 posts

#hp fanfic - 22 posts

#queue - 15 posts

#drarrymicrofic - 12 posts

#inertia - 10 posts

#bday stuff - 8 posts

#asks - 8 posts

Longest Tag: 109 characters

#i’ll be honest windy city was an exercise in how do i live up to fwooshy’s gorgeous writing even a little bit

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Hi, I’m looking for fics where Harry has to come to terms with his sexuality (internalized homophobia angst is welcome) after realizing he likes Draco with the support of Hermione (and maybe Ron). Know any?

Hi there! It looks like @lettersbyelise and @sitp-recs have posted lovely answers to this here and here.

I'll add an additional sprinkling of my favorite Harry-explores-his-sexuality fics (can't guarantee Hermione's involvement though!):

Harry Potter and the Bisexual Awakening by @writcraft (23k)

This fic scratches all the parts of my brain and is so delightful to read and reread again. Driving lessons, Snitch the dog (the bestest girl), Harry grappling with identifying as bisexual in the midst of some harrowing biphobia, and the beginnings of my personal obsession with Seven Minutes In Heaven in any fic whatsoever.

Welcome to the Broom Closet by incapricious (23k)

Liv has written such a gorgeous review of this fic that I'll leave here--it's the reason I read this fic and I'm so grateful I did. It starts off with such a strong concept and then follows through perfectly, with secrecy and faint memory and hot smut that truly kept me hooked from the very beginning.

Buds, Blooms, and Beards by @corvuscrowned (27k)

I am a long-term fanboy of crow for many reasons but this is one of them. A fantastic Harry and Ginny friendship, and their plant shop(!!!) which is full of storerooms for one Draco Malfoy to pull Harry into and ah, Help Him Do Some Research. Harry and Ginny explore their sexualities in gorgeous parallel, including how and when they feel ready to come out to themselves and their friends.

I'll also add in a fic of my own!

Bridges by cavendishbutterfly (16k)

This is a fic I wrote to shower lots of love on Budapest as a city, but also to tell the story of a Harry just beginning to test out his bisexuality. It's a fic that's close to my heart, and I wanted to play with the ways that exploring one's sexuality can feel complex and muddy and confusing. Hopefully it succeeds in that :)

107 notes - Posted June 12, 2022

#4

how they save each other

rated M | 50 words | for the @drarrymicrofic prompt “kind”

it's a different kind of love. they fuck in the mornings. soft light through old windows. new sheets. scrambling for purchase as Draco presses into him. they used to be loud. now whispers: there, darling. just like that. why did it take so long after the war to know peace.

193 notes - Posted September 27, 2022

#3

For Worse, For Better

A joyous fanniversary to @sitp-recs, a beautiful person to whom I and my fandom experience are indebted. Just over a year ago I’d started to drift away from drarry after reading a few fics, until I discovered Liv’s incredible blog and so many more fics to love and reasons to dig deeper. I wouldn’t have found my way into this community without her, and am so grateful for her kindness and presence here. Liv, I hope this lil story gives you even a fraction of the joy you and your blog have given me over the past year.

Of course, it’s the one eventuality he hasn’t planned for.

“It’s raining,” Draco says, clutching Pansy’s arm and watching the windows streak.

“It sure is,” they say. Their lipstick is sharp and red—any overt warmth from Pansy is rare, but a corner of their mouth tugs upward, not even in a sneer. They tuck a piece of Draco’s hair behind his ear and smooth out his robes.

“It’s a Muggle venue,” Draco says, realising. “No Weather Charms. We can’t even cast an Impervius.”

“No, we certainly can’t.”

“Don’t laugh at me, Pans.” Draco clutches their arm harder. “Oh Merlin, all the guests are going to be wet, they’ll hate me.”

Pansy shakes their head, tugging Draco gently toward the door. “It’s just a bit of rain, Draco.”

The quartet starts playing outside and Draco thinks, Salazar, all those wooden instruments out in the wet, and there’s nothing to do but push open the doors to the outside. Draco sees the aisle first, a thin carpet lined with flowers and splotched with raindrops. A couple guests have thought to bring umbrellas, which unfurl over small pockets of the crowd. The attendees are dressed in a smattering of Wizarding robes and Muggle dress clothes, all dark with water. The rain hammers on the roof behind them, and on the platform at the end of the aisle.

And there, on the platform in the midst of everything, is Harry. His hair clings to the back of his neck, waterlogged and uncharacteristically flat. His glasses are spotted with droplets, and for a moment Draco thinks, Is he cross? He must be cross. But as Pansy guides him down the aisle, he sees Harry’s smile, impossibly wide.

Draco steps up to the small stage.

Harry grins at him. “Look at you,” he says.

“Yes, well,” says Draco haughtily, smoothing out his hair. “Imagine how you look at the moment, you’ve been out here longer.”

Harry laughs, one of those big belly laughs Draco hadn’t known was possible until Harry came into his life. He reaches for Draco’s hands. “I meant that you look quite handsome,” he says, squeezing Draco’s fingers. “I love those robes on you.”

“You look handsome too,” Draco says quietly, because even with his hair plastered to the sides of his face Harry still looks stunning. “I just—“ Draco glances at the quartet, finishing their song, and knows he only has a few more moments. “It feels like a bad omen, all the rain. It’s grey and horrible out, I just feel like it must mean—“

Harry pulls Draco’s hands to his lips, kisses his knuckles once, twice. “Bad omens are usually good ones for me,” he says. “Black dogs, prophecies, curses. I’d be more worried if our wedding went off without a hitch.”

Draco laughs, despite himself. “I planned for everything. I thought I had it covered.”

“You didn’t plan for me, though.” Harry wiggles his eyebrows nonsensically. “I always make things go sideways.”

It’s not so far from the truth. From the beginning, Draco had never planned on Harry. Harry is a force of nature, something impossible and glorious that has happened to Draco, and somehow keeps happening. He seems to defy all logic.

“I didn’t plan for you,” Draco agrees. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Somewhere behind them, the music stops. The rain continues. And Draco and Harry, hand in hand, begin.

An enormous thank you to the wonderful @lqtraintracks for betaing, and for the prompt “rain on their wedding day” <3

203 notes - Posted May 5, 2022

#2

If you decide to start writing fic

you’ll post something on Aug 22. Nothing major. It will go out to your fresh-faced AO3 and your followers on tumblr, fewer than ten, including your friend the gymnast who is also very good at reccing. You’ll write more microfics, wait to see whether anyone notices, loiter in your office bathroom to scroll through the precious tags of a reblog. A tiger will offer you an invite to a discord server, a first gateway, a beginning. You’ll talk about transness with a chameleon. You’ll talk steadily more to a black cat who lets you onto a whole sea of servers and that will make all the difference in the world. And then the cat will make all the difference in the world, a hundred times over, a thousand. You’ll meet a small community: cacti, witches, rocks, birds, cat owners, apricots. A local of the city you love. You’ll meet fellow hufflepuffs and acespecs and writers you’ve quietly followed for months and months; stars and sweets and quills, readers, healers and academics and degree-holders, and people who take your breath away in fifty words. You’ll remember why language is beautiful. You’ll remember why you write, or maybe learn it for the first time. Four thousand words will feel impossible but you’ll build the first story brick by brick, rewriting and rewriting. People will take the time to read it over for you. They’ll volunteer, even. Sometimes they’ll even thank you for asking them, and it will blow your mind; you’ve forgotten how giving people can be, or perhaps you’re still learning. You’ll meet a chemist by passing your phone to your partner, and by some stroke of luck she’ll anchor you in all her brilliance and warmth. When you post your first longer fics, they will receive love beyond your comprehension. People will leave you long, gracious comments. They’ll write recommendations that floor you. They will say, we saw your heart in Eastern Europe. In the scene with the hair, on the shoreline, in the small cramped flat, in the cabin. You will create things you did not think were possible for you. Strangers and friends will choose to keep you company online, small strange boxes of text made infinitely precious on lonely days and bright ones. You will write a horrifying (wonderful) story with someone halfway across the world and cackle far past your bedtime. You’ll trade paragraphs about eighth year fics, recipes, disco cowboy memes, gifts and prompts galore. A bee, a white cat, milk, honey, geese, a chickpea, an octopus, an artful mouse. These people will teach you queer joy. It is not a small thing to learn. There are so many intricacies captured—here, this is a new way to love your body. Here, this is a new way to stoke your soul. And all the while you will have been becoming yourself, surrounded by art and artists, and you will remember what a beautiful way this is to grow. Fostered by the generosity of strangers, and strangers become friends.

251 notes - Posted August 22, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

he finally finds out

Rated T | 50 words | for the @drarrymicrofic prompt, “evidence”

Harry frowns. “There’s no evidence he fancies me.”

“He took your quill,” says Pansy.

“Insulted you three weeks straight,” Greg adds.

“Trust us, we know,” says Blaise.

“He’s just a ponce!” Harry says. “He’s always been like that to me. Always.”

A pause.

“…You’re not saying—”

“—Oh, we certainly are.”

402 notes - Posted October 9, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[brokehorrorfan]

Blu-ray Review: House of Wax (2005)

The year is 2005. Yet another horror remake - a trend that's dominating Hollywood - hits theaters with a music video/commercial director making his first feature at the helm. Not only does it share little in common with the original film, but it more closely resembles an unrelated horror movie. The nail in the coffin is the casting of a notorious socialite in a prominent role. It's not difficult to see why horror fans were prepared to hate House of Wax upon its initial release. And many did indeed dislike it, but the passage of time has allowed for reassessment. I'm pleased to tell you that it's better than you remember.

House of Wax was Dark Castle Entertainment's fifth production, returning them to their remake roots that launched them with House on Haunted Hill and Thirteen Ghosts (before branching into original horrors with Ghost Ship and Gothika). The script, written by Chad & Carey Hayes (The Conjuring, The Reaping), maintains only a kernel of the 1953 original’s concept - itself a remake of 1933's Mystery of the Wax Museum - and, in fact, plays more like a Tourist Trap redux. At 113 minutes, it's also far longer than it needs to be with a first act that seems to last an eternity. Yet, for all its perceived faults, director Jaume Collet-Serra (Orphan, Non-Stop) delivers an enjoyable slasher flick that makes good on the wax motif.

The plot follows a group of friends - heroine Carly (Elisha Cuthbert, 24), her rebellious brother Nick (Chad Michael Murray, One Tree Hill), her boyfriend Wade (Jared Padalecki, Supernatural), her best friend Paige (Paris Hilton, The Simple Life), Paige's jock boyfriend Blake (Robert Ri'chard, Coach Carter), and Nick's goofy lackey Dalton (Jon Abrahams, Scary Movie) - on a road trip to Baton Rouge for a big college football game. A camp-out in the woods ends in a spat with a local and one of their cars being sabotaged. Stranded in a virtual ghost town stopped in time - were the main attraction was once a wax museum - they meet a mechanic, Bo (Brian Van Holt, Cougar Town), who offers to fix their car. One by one, the friends soon fall victim to Bo's murderous twin brother, Vincent (Van Holt in a dual role), who wears a wax mask to hide his disfigured face.

Cuthbert is strong yet vulnerable as the final girl. Van Holt is impressive in both parts; sinister as Bo and channeling Leatherface's brute intimidation as Vincent. Murray's character arc is obvious from the start, but he embodies it well enough. Hilton was obvious stunt casting - one character carries around a camcorder, seemingly for the sole purpose of alluding to the actresses' real-life sex tape - and she lacks charisma on screen. Despite their best efforts, the other co-stars are all one-note. Not only is the cast populated by hot, young stars from hit TV shows, but the soundtrack is also a time capsule of 2005; it kicks off with Deftones and concludes with My Chemical Romance over the end credits.

Arriving in the era of Saw, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Hills Have Eyes, Wolf Creek, and Hostel, it's no surprise that House of Wax has a mean-spirited streak. Despite several gnarly set pieces, however, it's not as "gritty" as many of its contemporaries; perhaps it's the embracing of the slasher formula, but there's a knowing wink of fun to the proceedings. This is best exemplified by the memorable finale set in the titular locale as it melts to the ground. Collet-Serra and cinematographer Stephen F. Windon's (Furious 7, Star Trek Beyond) sleek visuals certainly don’t hurt.

The aesthetic can be fully appreciated via the new 2K scan of the interpositive and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio for Scream Factory's Collector's Edition Blu-ray. The special features aren't particularly substantial, as there is no new input from Collet-Serra, the Hayes brothers, or the producers, but the disc boasts four fresh interviews. The main draw is hearing from Hilton, who takes pride in her death scene, from the lifecast of her head to the cruel "See Paris Die" marketing angle. Ri’chard recalls working with Hilton at the height of her fame, including the paparazzi that followed her. Makeup effects artist Jason Baird reminisces about his work on the film, earning him the unique "wax body supervisor" credit. Composer John Ottman (The Usual Suspects, X-Men: Days of Future Past) discusses recording the score with an orchestra in an old church and finding the musical themes.

Archival extras are also included, the highlight of which is 26 minutes of B-roll and bloopers with split-screen video commentary by Cuthbert, Hilton, Murray, and Padalecki. Filmed shortly before the movie's release, the cast members display a lively rapport while watching along together. Two featurettes - Wax On, about creating the town in the middle of Australia, and The House Built on Wax, focusing on the visual and special effects - feature input from Collet-Serra, producer Joel Silver (Die Hard, The Matrix) of Dark Castle Entertainment, and other crew members. Additional special features include a brief promotional video from Silver; an alternate cold open in which a young woman's (Emma Lung) car breaks down and she is killed; EPK interviews with Cuthbert, Murray, Van Holt, Hilton, Padalecki, Abrahams, Collet-Serra, Silver, and producer Susan Downey (Iron Man 2, Sherlock Holmes); a gag reel; and the theatrical trailer.

House of Wax is available now on Blu-ray via Scream Factory.

[hawkvalley]

Divisional week

Hawk Valley

Quick Review

The Broncos won their last game of year 16-15. In typical Bronco fashion they won the first half 10-3, but lost the second half 12-6. The Raiders failed to score on a two point conversion at the end of the game.

The Game Stats

Denver

Time of Possession

27:00

Passing Attempts

28

Passing Yards

177

Rushes

27

Yards

70

Oakland

Time of Possession

33:00

Passing Attempts

46

Passing Yards

391

Rushes

22

Yards

97

The Running Game

*AYPC is average yards per carry

PlayerCarriesAYPCLongTD(s) Fumble(s) Lindsay183800 Lock651202 Freeman2-2-200 Spencer1-8-800

The Passing Attack

* He was targeted once. PlayerReceptions%LongTD(s)Fumble(s) Hamilton583%1700 Sutton450%1901 Booker2100%900 Beck2100%710 Fumagalli150%900 Patrick150%1400 Freeman1100%800 Fant150%400 Lindsay*00%000

The Quarterbacks

Lock

Passing

compypaTD(s)INT(s)LongRating 61%6101991

Rushing

AttYardsLongTD(s) 629120

Sacked

TimesYards LostFumble(s) 292

Carr

Passing

compypaTD(s)INT(s)LongRating 63%9107597

Rushing

AttYardsLongTD(s) 1000

Sacked

Time(s)Yard(s) LostFumble(s) 2111

The 2019 Bronco quarterbacks

PlayerWinning PercentagePPGPPAGames Played Flacco25%16198 Allen33%17223 Lock80%21205

The quarterbacks records vs the competition Player% Vs Div% Vs Conference% vs NFC Flacco33%33%0% AllenDNP50%0% Lock67%100%100%

During the offseason

The football season is over and the football guys have turned the operation over to the business side. On the first day of the offseason, the trust led by CEO Joe Ellis, essentially said the team is for sale. If you have $3 billion dollars, the team is yours.

Why would they start the offseason with that news? In order for the Bowlens to keep the team, everyone in the Bowlen family would have to vote for Brittany to take over. Ellis has said that when the family formally rejects Brittany, the trust will put the team up for sale because there’s little chance of any minds being changed at that time. For example, Pat’s brother Bill tried suing Ellis in an attempt to dissolve the trust before the season started. That lawsuit was dismissed. Beth Bowlen Wallace also wants to own the team. Bowlen has seven kids which apparently have no interest in football or business, so they’re ready to cash out.

Lock’s performance over the last five weeks has changed the outlook for this offseason. They are no longer looking to the draft for a quarterback. Some people think they’ll draft linemen. Hopefully they’ll draft speed, that’s what they need on offense.

My big fear is that John Elway loves old quarterbacks and there will be several of those to choose from this summer.

The Final Ranking for 2019

Broncos (7-9)

Points: 28th

Yards: 28th

Passing yards: 28th

Rushing yards: 20th

Passing TDs: 16

Rushing TDs: 11

Field Goals: 29

Interception return(s) for TD: 0

Safety(ties): 0

Punt Return(s) for TD(s): 0

Kickoff Return(s) for TD(s): 0

Fumble Return(s) for TD(s): 1

Net Turnovers: +1

Streak: Won 2

Final AFC West Standings in Division

TeamWinning %Net Kansas City100%+110 Oakland50%-33 Denver50%-41 Los Angeles0%-36

Final AFC West Standings vs AFC

TeamWinning %Net Los Angeles50%+44 Denver50%+14 Kansas City50%+10 Oakland33%-45

Final AFC West Standings vs NFC

TeamWinning %Net Kansas City75%+23 Los Angeles50%-16 Oakland50%-28 Denver25%-7

Here's a final look at the worst NFL teams of 2019

TeamWinning PercentageNet Points Dallas Cowboys50%+113 Chicago Bears50%-18 Tampa Bay Buccaneers44%+9 Indianapolis Colts44%-13 Atlanta Falcons44%-18 Denver Broncos44%-34 New York Jets44%-83 Oakland Raiders44%-106 Los Angeles Chargers31%-8 Cleveland Browns31%-58 Carolina Panthers31%-130 Miami Dolphins31%-188 Arizona Cardinals25%-81 Jacksonville Jaguars25%-97 New York Giants19%-110 Washington Redskins19%-169 Detroit Lions13%-82 Cincinnati Bengals13%-141

Making sense of winning percentage and net points

Pointing out teams that have a winning percentage of less than or equal to 50 percent is great and all but how does that rank in the NFL overall? Good question, so I've decided to include the top three teams in each conference for comparison.

The National Football Conference

TeamWinning PercentageNet Points San Francisco 49ers81%+169 Green Bay Packers81%+63 New Orleans Saints75%+88

The American Football Conference

TeamWinning PercentageNet Points Baltimore Ravens88%+249 New England Patriots75%+195 Kansas City Chiefs75%+143

Wild Card week

Texans beat the Bills 22-19.

Titans defeated the Patriots 20-13.

Vikings beat the Saints 26-20.

Seahawks beat the Eagles 17-9.

Divisional Championships

Saturday, January 11

Vikings vs 49ers @2:35 MT on NBC

Titans vs Ravens @6:15 MT on CBS

Sunday, January 12

Texans vs Chiefs @1:05 MT on CBS

Seahawks vs Packers @4:40 MT on Fox

Last words for this season

My super bowl matchup prediction is the 49ers vs the Chiefs.

This season I redesigned the site and I think it's more useful this way. I'm sure mistakes were made that I didn't catch, but I hope they were minor. Have a great winter and enjoy the offseason!

[venus-says]

Aikatsu! Episodes 112-118 & Movie

Wait, did we just traveled back on time? I thought this was Akari’s gen. 👀

I'm back for more Aikatsu! and I'VE FAILED MYSELF. ToT The streak was broken and I failed to deliver the daily post. I did watch almost everything I had to watch yesterday, but I was SO EXHAUSTED by the end of the journey I could barely put two words together to form a sentence.

But I'm here now so let's do this. Since it's a bunch of stuff I have to go through, and I still have another marathon to run today with Precure, Prichan, Friends and NINE MORE episodes of OG if I want to catch up, I'll try to hold myself to make very short and simple comments.

In any case, 112 is an episode that leads to the movie, which was something very cool since most anime movies are completely disconnected from the show's continuity and we rarely see events from the movie taking place on the anime itself. In fact, the movie even uses some scenes of episode 112 on it which was kinda cheap but at the same time pretty interesting to see.

At first, I thought I was gonna make a separate post for the movie, but it ended up that I didn't have a lot to comment on. The movie was like a huge episode of the show which I liked because I barely saw the time passing as I was watching. I feel like the plot tries too hard to be dramatic and emotional to give the movies some sort of conflict to work on, but I ended up liking it a lot. If I have a criticism to make would be the mix and match of stock footage of old performances we've seen during the Ichigo show, I think we could've gotten by without that and give some extra time to look more at Mizuki and to have a full performance of Kagayaki no Etude. I also don't like the new PRs they made for the movie, I think out of the three only Akari's one is decent. But overall I had a blast, and I also quite liked the movie-only character they introduced so, I consider it a victory.

Back to the show, Episode 113 we see Hinaki trying to get her first PR, and it was a very good episode. I think she's the first character we see that got rejected by the brand designer and it adds more to her evolution and growth as a character. I also like that we got to see her creativity when the clothes got ruined by the juice and they made that super-quick makeover right there, that was also very cool. Though, I don't like that they reused the same performance of Good morning my dream in that same horrible coord of always when I know that by this time the game had already released a new coord from ViVid Kiss that she could've used and that would have impressed more.

114 follows up as our regular Christmas episode. This was a good episode, but probably the weakest from all the OG series, you know? Aside from changing the music they performed, they didn't bring anything new to the table so I was quite bored with it. Hello, Winter Love isn't my favorite music, but compared to We wish you a merry Christmas it was quite refreshing to watch. I don't like Hinaki's PR, it's probably the worst out of everything ViVid Kiss has put out, but I'm willing to give it a pass since I don't really care as much for this episode.

The show progresses with a New Year episode that was pretty fun, I wasn't expecting much since I didn't have a good experience with Juri in her first couple of appearances, but this episode worked and I was very pleased with it. Akari's dad is the star of the episode without a doubt, he was so funny and he showed that is possible to geek out about anything in this world and I just love it. I feel like they tried to make something to comment on the relationship between children and their parents but they don't explore this at all so I don't know if this was really what they were going for.

Episodes 116 and 117 are like a mini-arc for Akari and Sumire where they try to find/polish new specialties, things that can help them to stand out in the crowd. I like Akari's choice to try to be a weather forecaster because it's something so out there and not idol related, it's a very fun idea and I loved everything about it.

But in terms of episode, I think I liked 117 better, I think Sumire's conflict between what she wants to do and what the industry tells her it's the best use of her skills and her beauty is a far more interesting plot point to follow and the episode does it very beautifully. I think they could do more if they made her lose there and put her down a little so that later on, we get a more strong emotional climax for her, but the episode as it is remains pretty good and I can't complain about it.

118 is the episode that introduces Miyabi, and like I've mentioned before this is the only episode of season 3 that I've seen before.

And as far as introductory episodes go, 118 is pretty good. I like the idea of the exchange program as a way to bring new characters to the cast, which is a far better option than a transfer student or just someone that was already at the school and that apparently is a big deal, but for some reason, we've never seen before. Though this scares me because it means said characters can be easily forgotten once their exchange period ends and I like Miyabi a lot, I don't wanna see this happening.

Miyabi's conflict in trying to find her true potential is a good one, and I like that the answer they come up to ease her heart and push her forward is that she's one-of-a-kind idol and she shouldn't let be hold back just because she can't find other idols who are like her. Also, Usubeni Day Tripper is the best song ever and this performance makes the value of the episode rise even more and this is definitely my favorite out of the seven included on this post.

And that's it for now, if everything goes right there's more Aikatsu later today. See ya~

[jennasims]

I saw the Get to Know Me Tag floating around and I wanted to try it out. It’s also been a while since I’ve made my simself! I’m not always mad but I do have a quick temper thus my face up above. Under the cut is the rest of the questions.

I was not tagged but I tag anyone that wants to do it!

RULES: Post a pic of your simself with your traits and answer the questions!

Traits: Bookworm, Hot-headed, Foodie

1. WHAT IS YOUR FULL NAME? Jenna

2. WHAT IS YOUR NICKNAME? most of my nicknames in life are based off of my last name sooooo....

3. BIRTHDAY? February 5

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BOOK SERIES? I read a lot of books, mostly stand alones. I guess Hunger Games?

5. DO YOU BELIEVE IN ALIENS OR GHOSTS? yes and yes

6. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE AUTHOR? Courtney Summers

7. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE RADIO STATION? Alt Nation on xm radio, or my spotify

8. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLAVOR OF ANYTHING? blue raspberry!!

9. WHAT WORD WOULD YOU USE OFTEN TO DESCRIBE SOMETHING GREAT OR WONDERFUL? amazing

10. WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT FAVORITE SONG? &Run by Sir Sly

11. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE WORD? I don’t think I have a favorite word! maybe zesty

12. WHAT WAS THE LAST SONG YOU LISTENED TO? something off the new 21P album, can’t remember the name

13. WHAT TV SHOW WOULD YOU RECOMMEND FOR EVERYBODY TO WATCH? Gilmore Girls, Brooklyn 99, Parks & Rec, Chef’s Table, Parts Unknown w/ Anthony Bourdain (RIP)

14. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE TO WATCH WHEN YOU’RE FEELING DOWN? I like to watch RuPaul’s Drag Race when I’m feeling terrible, I don’t have the attention span for movies.

15. DO YOU PLAY VIDEO GAMES? mostly Sims, but I like Animal Crossing and Pokemon

16. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR? dying alone

17. WHAT IS YOUR BEST QUALITY, IN YOUR OPINION? I’m really passionate about things when I want to be

18. WHAT IS YOUR WORST QUALITY, IN YOUR OPINION? sometimes I can be distant to close family and friends

19. DO YOU LIKE CATS OR DOGS BETTER? I love both but my kitty is the best boy

20. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON? Fall, but summer in Maine is always great

21. ARE YOU IN A RELATIONSHIP? yeah with myself thank u next

22. WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU MISS FROM YOUR CHILDHOOD? No responsibilities NO BILLS

23. WHO IS YOUR BEST FRIEND? Kat + Jess

24. WHAT IS YOUR EYE COLOR? blue

25. WHAT IS YOUR HAIR COLOR? brown with blonde streaks

26. WHO IS SOMEONE YOU LOVE? My family and my friends and my cat

27. WHO IS SOMEONE YOU TRUST? Kat

28. WHO IS SOMEONE YOU THINK ABOUT OFTEN? my friends from school who I haven’t seen in ages

29. ARE YOU CURRENTLY EXCITED ABOUT/FOR SOMETHING? Christmas? trying to plan a trip for next year too so maybe that if it comes through!!

30. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST OBSESSION? Coffeeeeee

31. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW AS A CHILD? Spongebob + Rugrats

32. WHO OF THE OPPOSITE GENDER CAN YOU TELL ANYTHING TO, IF ANYONE? I don’t think I could tell any man ANYTHING right now but there are some I’ll tell a lot to.

33. ARE YOU SUPERSTITIOUS? a little bit!

34. DO YOU HAVE ANY UNUSUAL PHOBIAS? I hate rodents!!!

35. DO YOU PREFER TO BE IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA OR BEHIND IT? a little bit of both but it’s usually me behind the camera

36. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE HOBBY? reading, writing, cooking, Sims

37. WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? Where She Went by Gayle Forman

38. WHAT WAS THE LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? some christmas movie on netflix I already forget what it was called

39. WHAT MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS DO YOU PLAY, IF ANY? I played the flute for about two weeks in the 5th grade

40. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ANIMAL? Cats & dogs but I also love bears

41. WHAT ARE YOUR TOP 5 FAVORITE TUMBLR BLOGS THAT YOU FOLLOW? uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

42. WHAT SUPERPOWER DO YOU WISH YOU HAD? to stop time

43. WHEN AND WHERE DO YOU FEEL MOST AT PEACE? On the couch or out in the woods with a bowl

44. WHAT MAKES YOU SMILE? nature! good music

45. WHAT SPORTS DO YOU PLAY, IF ANY? lol sports. sometimes I do yoga

46. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DRINK? fountain sprite or Dunks coffee

47. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WROTE A HAND-WRITTEN LETTER OR NOTE TO SOMEBODY? today! I sent my friend a gift in the mail

48. ARE YOU AFRAID OF HEIGHTS? a little bit

49. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST PET PEEVE? impolite and closeminded people

50. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO A CONCERT? [pasdfiosjfkjlasdk yeah I’ve been to a TON because I’m a concert junkie

51. ARE YOU VEGAN/VEGETARIAN? nah

52. WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE, WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GREW UP? A teacher/a journalist/an actress

53. WHAT FICTIONAL WORLD WOULD YOU LIKE TO LIVE IN? maybe Hogwarts?

54. WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU WORRY ABOUT? losing someone very important to me, being unable to pay my bills

55. ARE YOU SCARED OF THE DARK? only like, PITCH BLACK dark

56. DO YOU LIKE TO SING? I love singing along but I think I’m terrible

57. HAVE YOU EVER SKIPPED SCHOOL? not in HS but lots in college to smoke weed on the beach

58. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE ON THE PLANET? the beach!!! I love love love the water

59. WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO LIVE? I like where I am now a lot

60. DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS? a kitty cat named Poe

61. ARE YOU MORE OF AN EARLY BIRD OR A NIGHT OWL? a night owl, I’m up way too late for my own good

62. DO YOU LIKE SUNRISES OR SUNSETS BETTER? Sunsets

63. DO YOU KNOW HOW TO DRIVE? yes

64. DO YOU PREFER EARBUDS OR HEADPHONES? headphones 

65. HAVE YOU EVER HAD BRACES? yes

66. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE GENRE OF MUSIC? I like pretty much everything but rap/country

67. WHO IS YOUR HERO? my mom

68. DO YOU READ COMIC BOOKS? not really

69. WHAT MAKES YOU THE MOST ANGRY? lol my road rage is real

70. DO YOU PREFER TO READ ON AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE OR WITH A REAL BOOK? mostly real books but don’t mind electronic devices

71. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL? History & English

72. DO YOU HAVE ANY SIBLINGS? older brother + older sister

73. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU BOUGHT? coffee

74. HOW TALL ARE YOU? 5′3″

75. CAN YOU COOK? yes I love to cook

76. WHAT ARE THREE THINGS THAT YOU LOVE? laughing, listening to others, adventures

77. WHAT ARE THREE THINGS THAT YOU HATE? confrontation when it doesn’t involve me, emotions, stupid heads

78. DO YOU HAVE MORE FEMALE FRIENDS OR MORE MALE FRIENDS? even mix I’d say

79. WHAT IS YOUR SEXUAL ORIENTATION? straight

80. WHERE DO YOU CURRENTLY LIVE? Maine

81. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TEXTED? my friend

82. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? on Monday lol

83. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE YOUTUBER? like a lot of Youtubers tbh

84. DO YOU LIKE TO TAKE SELFIES? every once in a while

85. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE APP? Instagram

86. WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR PARENT(S) LIKE? I love them both and they love me! sometimes my mom and I butt heads but we’re just both really headstrong lol

87. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FOREIGN ACCENT? British & New Zealand

88. WHAT IS A PLACE THAT YOU’VE NEVER BEEN TO, BUT YOU WANT TO VISIT? Sweden 

89. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE NUMBER? 5

90. CAN YOU JUGGLE? nope

91. ARE YOU RELIGIOUS? not really

92. DO YOU FIND OUTER SPACE OF THE DEEP OCEAN TO BE MORE INTERESTING? deep ocean!! 

93. DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF TO BE A DAREDEVIL? sometimes

94. ARE YOU ALLERGIC TO ANYTHING? nope

95. CAN YOU CURL YOUR TONGUE? yes

96. CAN YOU WIGGLE YOUR EARS? nope

97. HOW OFTEN DO YOU ADMIT THAT YOU WERE WRONG ABOUT SOMETHING? ahahahaha every once in a while I guess

98. DO YOU PREFER THE FOREST OR THE BEACH? beach!!

99. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PIECE OF ADVICE THAT ANYONE HAS EVER GIVEN YOU? control what you can // confront what you can’t // always remember how lucky you are to have yourself

100. ARE YOU A GOOD LIAR? yes with small lies

101. WHAT IS YOUR HOGWARTS HOUSE? Ravenclaw

102. DO YOU TALK TO YOURSELF? all the timeeee

103. ARE YOU AN INTROVERT OR AN EXTROVERT? depends on the day

104. DO YOU KEEP A JOURNAL/DIARY? I try to keep one but it never works

105. DO YOU BELIEVE IN SECOND CHANCES? depends on the circumstance

106. IF YOU FOUND A WALLET FULL OF MONEY ON THE GROUND, WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Return it to the owner (if I can find the address & it isn’t too far) otherwise bring it to the police station

107. DO YOU BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE ARE CAPABLE OF CHANGE? Yes, but not always.

108. ARE YOU TICKLISH? verrrry

109. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON A PLANE? yes I love to fly I wish I did it more

110. DO YOU HAVE ANY PIERCINGS? just my ears

111. WHAT FICTIONAL CHARACTER DO YOU WISH WAS REAL? meh

112. DO YOU HAVE ANY TATTOOS? yes “(un)lost” on my wrist

113. WHAT IS THE BEST DECISION THAT YOU’VE MADE IN YOUR LIFE SO FAR? move to Maine by myself

114. DO YOU BELIEVE IN KARMA? yes she’s a bitch

115. DO YOU WEAR GLASSES OR CONTACTS? nope

116. DO YOU WANT CHILDREN? maybe someday! too early in my life to tell

117. WHO IS THE SMARTEST PERSON YOU KNOW? my older brother

118. WHAT IS YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING MEMORY? god why ask

119. HAVE YOU EVER PULLED AN ALL-NIGHTER? yes many times

120. WHAT COLOR ARE MOST OF YOU CLOTHES? Dark blue/gray/black

121. DO YOU LIKE ADVENTURES? YES!!

122. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON TV? yeah! I was on the Today Show when I was 10 

123. HOW OLD ARE YOU? 23

124. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE? always be your own sunshine

125. DO YOU PREFER SWEET OR SAVORY FOODS? i’ve got a lethal sweet tooth

[thecircusofyourmind]

Ya know what -- since you did it to me, imma do it to you ALL 170

UGH I deserved this

1: How tall or short do you wish you were? I’m fine with my height tbh2: What’s your dream pet? (Real or not) PENGUIN3: Do you have a favorite clothing style? I literally wear nothing but musical T-Shirts4: What was your favorite video game growing up? oh god. that’s a tough one. Prolly Kingdom Hearts or the Pokemon games5: What three things/people do you think of most each day: uhhh... the girl I like, my snapchat streaks bc i suck at them, and sleep6: If you had a warning label, what would yours say? Warning: forever alone7: What is your opinion on [insert person/thing here]? no8: What is your Greek personality type? [Sanguine, Phlegmatic, Choleric, or Melancholic] I have no idea9: Are you ticklish? I think? no one has tried in a while so idk10: Are you allergic to anything? nope!11: What’s your sexuality? straight af12: Do you prefer tea, coffee, or cocoa? Hot Cocoa 13: Are you a cat or dog person? DOGS14: Would you rather be a vampire, elf, or merperson? Vampire15: Do you have a favorite Youtuber? nope16: How tall are you? tf if I know. Maybe like 5′8″ I think?17: If you had to change your name, what would you change it to? I wouldn’t18: How much do you weigh? [Only ask this if you know the user doesn’t mind!] like 130ish I think19: Do you believe in ghosts/spirits? YES THEY ARE TERRIFYING20: Do you like space or the ocean more? Space!21: Are you religious? not really22: Pet peeves? people leaving me on read and ignoring me and avoiding me. 23: Would you rather be nocturnal or diurnal [opposite of nocturnal]? I already am nocturnal so24: Favorite constellation? I have no idea25: Favorite star? Also have no idea26: Do you like ball-jointed dolls? wat27: Any phobias or fears? SPIDERS. 28: Do you think global warming is real? I mean, it’s January 9th and we’ve yet to have actual snowfall so29: Do you believe in reincarnation? I don’t know30: Favorite movie? no clue31: Do you get scared easily? HAHA YEP32: How many pets have you own in your lifetime? a few fish, 2 dogs, a hamster33: Blog rate? [You’ll rate the blog of the one who’s asking.] ∞/10 obviously34: What is a color that calms you? uh. purple maybe bc it’s my favorite35: Where would you like to travel and/or live? I would LOVE to travel to London and Paris36: Where were you born? Holyoke, MA37: What is your eye color? Brown38: Introvert or extrovert? kinda both39: Do you believe in horoscopes and zodiacs? idk40: Hugs or kisses? never been kissed so... hugs41: Who is someone you would like to see/visit right now? The girl i like obviously42: Who is someone you love deeply? no43: Any piercings you want? no44: Do you like tattoos and piercings? I don’t mind them45: Do you smoke or have you eiver done so? never have, never will46: Talk about your crush, if you have one! even if she’s been a pain lately and stuff has been rough... she’s wonderful and makes me happy and i adore her and talking to her and the fact that I get to work with her makes my awful job a little tolerable knowing there’s one good thing there I get to look forward to seeing at work when the job sucks. 47: What is a sound you really hate? tf if I know48: A sound you really love? quiet49: Can you do a backflip? nope50: Can you do the splits? LOL nope51: Favorite actor and/or actress? jfc uh I don’t know there are so many to pick from! I never really pick favorites52: Favorite movie? why is this asked a second time?53: How are you feeling right now? awful lmfao54: What color would you like your hair to be right now? I like it the way it is55: When did you feel happiest? 2 years 3 months ago even tho that shouldn’t be my answer.56: Something that calms you down? sleep57: Have any mental disorders? [Only ask this if you know the user doesn’t mind!] not that I know of?58: What does your URL mean? It’s a song from Finding Neverland!59: What three words describe you the most? useless, uglyaf, yeah60: Do you believe in evolution? I mean, we had to get here somehow?61: What makes you unfollow a blog? I don’t ever usually62: What makes you follow a blog? no idea, just kinda do63: Favorite kind of person: nice people64: Favorite animal(s): dog, penguin65: Name three of your favorite blogs. @thewomaninlilywhite @putawaythefairytales @thoughtsofabasketcase66: Favorite emoticon: 😂 this is my most used one67: Favorite meme: NO68: What is your MBTI personality type? i have no idea69: What is your star sign? Scorpio70: Can your dog roll over on command, if you have a dog? LOL NOPE71: What outfit out of all your clothes do you like to wear the most? literally any musical related thing72: Post a selfie or two? NO73: Do you have platform shoes? why would i74: What is one random but interesting fact about yourself? I’m not interesting75: Can you do a front flip? no76: Do you like birds? penguins77: Do you like to swim? I never really go swimming78: Is swimming or ice skating more fun to you? prolly swimming bc I’d prolly die ice skating79: Something you wish didn’t exist: me lol jk... but spiders80: Some thing you wish did exist: my happiness ahaha81: Piercings you have? none82: Something you really enjoy doing: sleep, sing, perform83: Favorite person to talk to: the girl i like..?84: What was your first impression of Tumblr? this is stupid lmao85: How many followers do you have? 101 bc i don’t do anything on here86: Can you run a mile within ten minutes? prolly87: Do your socks always match? yes88: Can you touch your toes and keep your legs straight completely? nope89: What are your birthstones? Tourmaline and Opal90: If you were an animal, which one would you be? a penguin91: If a flower could aesthetically represent you, what kind would it be? i have no idea92: A store you hate? MY JOB93: How many cups of coffee can you drink in one day? 094: Would you rather be able to fly or read minds? read minds95: Do you like to wear camo? nah96: Winter or summer? summer97: How long can you hold your breath for? never counted98: Least favorite person? lol99: Someone you look up to: every talented person100: A store you love? idk101: Favorite type of shoes what102: Where do you live? Massachussets 103: Are you a vegetarian or vegan? If so, why? nope104: What is your favorite mineral or gem? no idea105: Do you drink milk? yeah106: Do you like bugs? eh107: Do you like spiders? HAHA NO108: Something you get paranoid about? literally everything in my life109: Can you draw: nope110: Nosiest question you have ever been asked? uhhh idk111: A question you hate being asked? “omg you’ve never been with a girl are you gay???” jfc people it gets old and annoying112: Ever been bitten by a spider? who hasn’t...?113: Do you like the sound of waves at the beach? suree114: Do you prefer cloudy or sunny days? depends on if it’s nice or not even with clouds115: Someone you’d like to kiss or cuddle right now: -_- obviously the girl i like116: Favorite cloud type: the ones that don’t produce snow117: What color do you wish the sky was? it’s fine the way it is118: Do you have freckles? a few119: Favorite thing about a person: honesty.120: Fruits or vegetables? veggies prolly?121: Something you want to do right now: die I mean sleep122: Is the ocean or sky prettier? ocean123: Sweet or sour foods? sweet124: Bright or dim lights? dim125: Do you believe in a certain magical creature? dragons are obviously real126: Something you hate about Tumblr: idk127: Something you love about Tumblr: also idk128: What do you think about the least? *shrugs*129: What would you want written on your tombstone? idk130: Who would you like to punch in the face right now? A LOT OF PEOPLE131: What is something you love but also hate about yourself? I don’t 132: Do you smile with your teeth showing for pictures? no133: Computer or TV? computer134: Do you like roller coasters? yesss135: Do you get motion sickness or seasickness? nope136: Are your ears lobed or attached? lobed 137: Do you believe in karma? YEP138: On a scale of 1-10, how attractive would you say you are? -10000000000139: What nicknames do you have/have had? Joey lol140: Did you have any pretend or imaginary friends? I have friends?141: Have you ever seen a therapist/shrink? no142: Would you say you are a good or bad influence to others? I try to be a good one143: Do you prefer giving or receiving gifts/help? giving144: What makes you angry people145: How many languages do you speak fluently? one146: Do you prefer boys, girls, and/or non-binaries? girls147: Are you androgynous? what?148: Favorite physical thing about yourself: nothing149: Favorite thing about your personality: also nothing150: Name three people you would like to talk to right now in person. no151: If you could go back into time and live in one era, which would you choose? uhhhh152: Do you like BuzzFeed? eh i don’t hate it153: How did you meet your spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend/partner? [If you have one.] FOREVER ALONE154: Do you like to kiss others’ foreheads or hands for platonic reasons? never kissed155: Do you like to play with others’ hair? forever. alone. 156: What embarrasses you? my face157: Something that makes you nervous/anxious: idk158: Biggest lie you have ever told: I try not to159: How many people are you following? 64160: How many posts do you have on your blog(s)? 647161: How many drafts do you have on your blog(s)? 0162: How many likes do you have on your blog(s)? 460163: Last time you cried and why: Last day of Little Mermaid I literally SOBBED when I said bye to my Jetsam and Ursula bc they were literally my rocks over the previous 3 weeks to that because my life was just downright horrible and they were the only good part about it at the time164: Do you have long or short hair? short165: Longest your hair has ever been: not too long166: Why do you like, dislike, or have neutral feelings about religon? just don’t care lol167: Do you really care how the universe and world was created? eh168: Do you like to wear makeup? no169: Can you stand on your hands or head for more than thirty seconds? prolly not170: Did you answer the questions you were asked truthfully? yes

[guytheporn]

SexeModel

Provocative models? That escorts are called now? No issue assuming that is the situation, simply that it will be presently challenging to be aware assuming the models we every now and again see sashaying down catwalks have side positions that include their getting skewered on the fat chickens of vacationers and such!

    All things considered, here's my Sexemodel.com survey. We should go check whether this French escort site is satisfactory and in the event that its young ladies need our chickens gave to them with a royal flair!

There's The Cash!

    Streak sufficient cash in front of them and most ladies will do themselves a physical issue removing their dress and pushing their undies far removed! However at that point you all know that as of now.

    Presently, we should discuss escort rates on this French escort site. Measuring the typical rates charged here is somewhat hard, basically in light of the fact that most escorts don't list their costs. And negative, that doesn't mean they will allow you to place it into them as a trade-off for a foot focus on paradise!

    I went over a couple of escorts France profiles on Sexemodel with recorded rates. One of these was of a 22-year old French resident of oriental nationality called Mayssa. This chick lives in Grenoble and there's an air pocket butt on her that I would contract my home just to pet and shuffle! She's available to butt-centric and oral sex and charges 80, 100, and 200 Euros for 20 minutes, 30 minutes, and an hour of her time individually. That is $90, $113, and $226 individually.

    One more profile was of a blonde, new confronted, and thrilling 22-year old Portuguese by the name of Joanna. She's tight and meaty however conditioned and there's only something about her face, body, and way that constrains you to contemplate transforming her into the future mother of your children! On Sexemodel, Joanna is available to getting screwed in anything opening you wish and you can even cum on her sweet tits.

    She charges 150, 200 and 400 Euros for 30 minutes, one hour and 2 hours of her time separately. That is $169, $226, and $452 individually at the ongoing pace of trade.

    I would agree that that accompanies France need and get more cash than the vast majority of their partners in America try to request. The typical rate each hour on Sexemodel is around $200-$250 and that is practically twofold the going rate in the states.

Better believe it, very much like French champagne, escort pussy is costly in France. Better remember that on your next excursion to Paris!

Sweet Chicks And Their Sweet Ass!

    Is a Miss Bum rivalry hanging on Sexemodel? On the off chance that not, then why the back of practically all escorts on this escort site look charming and enthusiastic enough to be licked and sucked with all conceivable zest and devotion for a year at any rate?

    Presently, the site is loaded with accompanies, and looking to the lower part of the landing page is a great difficult situation since escort profiles are continually and unendingly invigorating. At the highest point of the landing page is a number and banner that demonstrates that Sexemodel has practically 20K French escorts, as well as far less escorts of different ethnicities. That sure is a ton of pussies ready to be leased.

    Looking for accompanies here is simple because of the presence of different hunt bars, as well as an Inquiry tab with cutting edge search functionalities. Different tabs empower looking for selective escorts, online escorts, and that's only the tip of the iceberg and there are city connects that empower a single tick search of escorts by city or division.

    Escort picture profile thumbnails have a celebrity or Checked tag and most have both. Picture profile thumbnails are additional huge and highlight the age and name of the escort, as well as her area. Drifting your cursor on these profile thumbnails plays a slideshow of the pictures held inside and that is valued.

    Profiles accompany heaps of detail, including greetings res photographs as well as recordings. Beneath the detail segment of each escort profile are remarks made by different people about that specific escort. You can add your own remark in the event that you wish.

    Accompanies on Sexemodel.com are fashionable and quality. They completely merit the celebrity label that is adhered to the majority of them.

Models of the Attractive Kind

    Sexemodel has a web composition that can be characterized as detached. For the wellbeing of Christ, this is an escort France site that should house great many celebrity escorts and it very well may be such a ton better than it is.

    I'm not saying the site configuration isn't great since it is. In any case, a ton actually still needs to be finished to make it cutthroat with other celebrity escort destinations I have seen.

    In any case, the Sexemodel site configuration seems to be that of 6annonce. It gets a similar site includes as well, and in the event that you have seen one of these destinations, you have seen both without a doubt.

    Presently, the top piece of the Sexemodel landing page is loaded up with tabs and connections. In the event that you are a local English speaker like me who can't string together a lucid sentence in French, then, at that point, you could select to look at the upper right of the landing page and snap the English banner you see there. That changes the default site language from French to English, however there's a ton that will not be interpreted.

    The tabs I was discussing give admittance to photographs, recordings, trans accompanies, couples, top 50 escorts, and substantially more. A little further down are choices that let you search for accompanies in unambiguous urban communities or divisions and there's a choice at the right that when clicked shows a guide of France and the quantity of escorts accessible in every particular district.

    I would survey site highlights as very great, however convenience is to some degree restricted and there's an expectation to learn and adapt to figure out which tab and button do what. Promotions are missing and there's no spam, which is a help comparable to getting sucked tidy soon after getting up with morning wood!

My Thought process of Sexemodel

     There's a ton to cherish about Sexemodel and little to loathe. Of course, the site configuration isn't the lushest or most brilliant, yet the underpinnings are strong and a decent encounter is guaranteed.

    Better believe it, I would suggest this escorts France site and its provocative models with fab bottoms and costly pussies!

[andrewuttaro]

New Look Sabres: GM 13 - OTT - Pommer 1000

This game was Jason Pominville’s 1000th game in the NHL. It was pure happenstance that it occurred in Ottawa who just so happen to be the recipients of what is, by his own admission, Pominville’s favorite goal. It was the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs and the Buffalo Sabres, reborn after the lockout by way of a bevy of great players, matched up against the heavily favored Ottawa Senators in the second round. In the same Canadian Tire Centre the two teams faced off in tonight, (then called the Coral Centre) in a tight game five overtime Jason Pominville streaked in along the boards and scored the series-clinching goal. Pommer was 23 then. That Sabres team eliminated the Senators before losing in the Eastern Conference Final to the Carolina Hurricanes. The following year, after the Sabres put together their best season in franchise history (Yes, the 1975 team went the Final after another 113 point season but let’s not pretend the year doesn’t matter here) and won the President’s Trophy they made it all the way to an Eastern Conference Final matchup against a reinforced Sens team that, coupled with a few other variables, beat the Sabres in the same number of games they were beaten in the playoffs prior. This is all to say that not only was this a significant game because of Jason Pominville or even where the Sabres are in the standings at the moment, this is a significant game because it’s the Ottawa Senators and fuck the Sens! Yea, the Sens went onto lose in that Stanley Cup Final to the Anaheim Ducks but the damage was done and although it wasn’t the end of that Sabres golden age it was the last time Buffalo looked poised to win a championship.

This kind of history is what makes up real rivalries. This is arguably the only rivalry in recent history that means anything to Sabres fans. I for one always get into these Sens matchups, perhaps more than I get into the Leafs matchups. So without further ado, I give you the Burn Book, why to hate division rival Ottawa Senators: 2007 and its fights, the way it ended and the aftermath: that is the reason to hate the Ottawa Senators. You guys are the Buffalo of Canada in so many ways but that just means one of us needs to do it better. Beating you is routine and expected. Those third jerseys with the O gives anyone who can see color a migraine, I can’t imagine wearing it. Going into the shite management you have now seems like overkill but I think I speak for many hockey fans when I say I hope you get a new arena if it means staying in Ottawa. All kind feelings aside: Buffalo doesn’t import Canadian tires, you are actually the city that eats Toronto’s trash and nowadays your serving up your trash team roasted over a hot tire fire that is only getting stronger. Oh, you got Thachuk on your team now? I can’t wait to see how he ends his ELC asking for a fair amount of money and gets shipped out of town. Fuck the Sens! Now, onto the matchup tonight.

Having watched the game… or even read the boxscore you can tell all this talk was for nothing. Almost seven minutes into this game Ryan Dzingel cut through the Sabres defense like hot butter and threaded one past Carter Hutton. There were a few token chances for the Sabres in the opening frame but they played sloppy and got penalized twice to the Senators once. Dzingel scored on that powerplay, the Sabres didn’t on either of theirs. Defenseman on the Senators are producing better than any other D-Core in the league right now which, barring their four game losing streak going into this game, maybe why the Sens are starting hot: secondary scoring. Remember three games ago when we were talking about our defenseman doing that? Ok, so a one goal deficit going into the second isn’t all that bad. One minute into the second Dylan DeMelo, part of your return for Erik Karlsson… sigh… scored a wild bouncer that went off the bar then bounced off Hutton’s back and in. OH GOD, THE SABS ARE BACK! You know I was so frustrated at this point I had to hold back swearing at the TV. Not only were the Sabres getting buzzed like a cloud of bees was attacking them but every bounce that could have gone wrong went wrong. Then Kyle Okposo got penalized for DELAY OF GAME (puck over the glass) and I said you know: FUCK IT. My wife wanted to watch Coco (2017) today on the Day of the Dead so I said why not! Turns out that was a fantastic choice: not only because Coco is watershed film for both representation in children’s cinema and a tour de force in the animation department enough to win an Oscar, but BECAUSE THE SABRES WERE GIVING US NOTHING!

Colin White scored after I left to put the Sens up 3-0 through forty minutes. It was only 59 seconds into the final frame however when the man of the hour Jason Pominville sauced in a Jack Eichel shot to get Buffalo on the board. I respect the hell out of Pommer but I was deep in Coco at this point. The Land of the Dead is really an animation marvel: even for Pixar. Well three or so minutes later Jeff Skinner similarly guided in a shot from the line by Ristolainen and the Sabres were within one. Again, I was deep into unraveling the complicated family drama of Coco at this point, getting into third act but I won’t spoil any of it for you. I will spoil this game if it hasn’t already been for you: the Sabres didn’t complete the comeback. With twenty seconds left in regulation Bobby Ryan sunk an empty netter to wrap this game at 4-2 Ottawa. I talked a lot of trash to start this game because I sincerely hate the Ottawa Senators but damn, the way Sens fans honored Pominville, the guy who ruined their 2006, that’s pretty awesome.

You would hope the Sabs had moved into the Land of the Dead. Unfortunately the one bad period against Columbus and the bad 30 minutes in the Calgary game were omens that on the third game the Sabs would return and consume a whole game! All awesome Pixar imagery aside, the Senators rocked the Sabres harder than Pommer’s 2001 Draft haircut. Look it up, he looks like he was a dancer for the Backstreet Boys. Rasmus Dahlin looked good in this game but Marco Scandella fucked him up at every turn. Rasmus Ristolainen didn’t do Buffalo any favors in their own zone. Even Jake McCabe, the man driving the defense this season, looked poor, at one point just about taking his own goaltender out of a play. Since the d-men didn’t go through where was the secondary scoring to come? Insert It’s Nothing gif here. No secondary scoring and the sad part is that supposedly that’s what Jason Botterill (one of Pominville’s teammates in Rochester back in the day) got with all his offseason moves! I don’t even know what to do with these Sabs after this game: this club was 8-1-3 in their last twelve games against the Sens; that last regulation loss was the last matchup they had in the garbage pile that was last season! I just don’t know what to say outside of congratulations Pominville about this game… I guess… I recommend Coco; it’s a fantastic movie pretty much all the way around.

The show goes on for a Saturday matinee back in Buffalo against the Sens. I’ll be seeing a movie with family but lord knows if I come out of that theater and the Sabres don’t have a W there will be hell to pay. I shouldn’t have to repeat the absolute necessity of winning these next four games before the schedule gets harder. I hope this helped you cope. Writing these isn’t always fun, especially when the Sabs show up, but if Coco taught me anything it’s all about not being forgotten. Don’t forget about New Look Sabres! Share it, comment and hit that little heart for remembrance. Congratulations Jason, you’re the only player on this team who knows what golden age Sabres hockey looks like: hopefully we all see some more of that soon.  

Thanks for reading.

P.S. Fun fact: Jason Pominville has worn the most different Sabres uniforms in his career. On top of the current ones and the old red butter knives in the post image here, he wore all of the goat-heads, Buffaslug, 40th anniversary, retro jersey and Winter Classic jersey last season. I’m sure I missed a few but this is already my longest P.S. yet.  

[frontproofmedia]

Joe Smith Jr. Edges Maxim Vlasov To Win WBO Light Heavyweight Title

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

Follow @Frontproofmedia!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');

Published: April 11, 2021

TULSA, OK — Joe Smith Jr., the common man with the common name, finally reached boxing's apex. Smith used a furious late rally to edge Maxim Vlasov by majority decision and win the vacant WBO light heavyweight world title Saturday evening at Osage Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The scorecards — 114-114, 115-113 and 115-112 — represented the nip-and-tuck nature of the bout. Smith (27-3, 21 KOs), from Long Island, New York, swept the last two rounds on the cards to pull out the victory and joins promotional stablemate Jamel Herring as a Long Island-born world champion. He now sets his sights on the division's other champions, including WBC/IBF king Artur Beterbiev. Vlasov (45-4, 26 KOs), from Samara Russia, saw his three-bout winning streak come to an end. Smith said, “It’s a great feeling. It was definitely a close, tough fight. I give it to Vlasov. Great fighter. He really put on a great show tonight and toughed it out. I believe that round where I hurt him there… I believe he had his head down, and I should’ve got the knockout. I think I would’ve got the stoppage in {the 11th} round, but he pulled it off and made it out on his feet. I believe I got the victory tonight because they saw I landed the harder shots. He landed a lot of punches. It was a great fight. “I want the other belts. I want the big fights out there. Now I gotta get back in the gym and keep working on my technique and stuff. I believe I’m going to start unifying belts.” Vlasov disagrees with Smith's assessment of the fight and believes the world title should be going home to Russia. “This was a very hard-fought, competitive fight," Vlasov said. "I thought I was winning rounds and was well ahead. Against the aggressive style of Joe Smith, I came forward the entire fight. I felt confident I was winning and was securing rounds in the bank with the judges. I never felt that I was behind at any stage of the fight. This was my opportunity to show the world I was a world champion, and I did that, and Joe Smith knows I did that.” Ajagba Obliterates Howard Efe Ajagba (15-0, 12 KOs) just crashed the heavyweight contender parade. The 2016 Nigerian Olympian sent Brian Howard into another orbit with a crunching right hand. Howard twisted, fell face first, and the bout was immediately stopped. Ajagba had not fought since last September's decision win over Jonathan Rice, but he re-established his place among the world's top young heavyweights. At 26 years old, time is on his side. Ajagba said, “I felt good. I tried to pick the punches, use the jab. This guy is very slick sometimes. I tried to do the job. He was shaky, so when I went back to the corner after the first round, my coach told me to take my time, start with the body, leave the head. “I trained for this fight, took my time, started with my boxing foundation, and came back strong. This camp was the best one for me, the best camp ever in my boxing career. “It’s my time to shine, so I’m coming for the heavyweights.” In undercard bouts: Heavyweight: Jared Anderson (9-0, 9 KOs) KO 2 Jeremiah Karpency (16-3-1, 6 KOs), :34. Anderson, the 21-year-old prodigy from Toledo, added another speedy knockout to his highlight reel, this time using a body attack to end things early. He knocked down Karpency with a body blow at the end of the first round, then ended things with another right hand to the body early in the second round. Anderson said, “I knew he was going to find a spot to fall. I respect him for getting in there and showing up today. It’s a man’s sport. I’m just grateful to be here, thankful for the opportunity. “I {saw} the shot. His hands kept going up. I kept throwing my jab, looking for openings, feinting, moving around the ring, and it just came. It was a good shot, and he didn’t want to get back up. “Everybody who says they’re the biggest and the baddest, come see ‘Big ‘Baby’ then. “I want to thank Toledo, my city. A lot of them came out to Oklahoma, and I wanted to put on a show for them. I can’t wait for what is next. Junior Lightweight: Albert Bell (18-0, 5 KOs) UD 8 Manuel Rey Rojas (20-5, 6 KOs). Scores: 78-74 3x. Toledo's Bell used his length and reach to keep the shorter Rojas at bay and ultimately cruised to a one-sided decision. Bell, who outlanded Rojas 114-94, is ranked in the top 15 by two of the major sanctioning organizations. Junior Lightweight: Robson Conceicao (16-0, 8 KOs) TKO 7 Jesus Antonio Ahumada (17-4 11 KOs), 1:20. 2016 Olympic gold medalist Conceicao, from Bahia, Brazil, put forth a workmanlike performance and beat down Mexican veteran Ahumada. After a knockdown in the seventh, referee Gary Ritter saw enough and saved Ahumada from further carnage. Heavyweight: Trey Lippe Morrison (17-0, 17 KOs) TKO 3 Jason Bergman (2-3, 2 KOs), 1:27. Lippe Morrison, son of the late heavyweight Tommy Morrison, returned from a nearly two-year layoff and stopped veteran Bergman in a crowd-pleasing slugfest. Bergman appeared to knock down Morrison in the first, but the referee missed the knockdown call. In the third, Bergman rolled his ankle and could continue, and Morrison was awarded the TKO victory. Featherweight: Duke Ragan (4-0, 1 KO) UD 6 Charles Clark (3-7,-1 1 KO). Scores: 60-54 3x. In his first fight away from the confines of the MGM Grand Las Vegas Bubble, Cincinnati's Ragan outboxed Clark and won every round on all three judges' scorecards. Through four pro bouts, Ragan has yet to lose a round. Heavyweight: Jeremiah Milton (3-0, 3 KOs) TKO 1 Jayvone Dafney (2-3, 2 KOs), 1:19. Tulsa native Milton had a successful homecoming, icing Dafney in the opening round with a right hand as Daffney was backed up against the ropes. A dazed Dafney could not respond, and the referee called the bout off. Heavyweight: Sonny Conto (7-0, 6 KOs) KO 1 Waldo Cortes (6-4, 3 KO), 1:41. Welcome back, Sonny! In his first fight in 15 months, South Philadelphia native Conto put Cortes down for the 10-count with a sweeping right hand. Conto has now won three straight by first-round stoppage.

(Featured Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank via Getty Images)

[freenewstoday]

New Post has been published on https://freenews.today/2021/01/10/ball-makes-nba-triple-double-history/

Ball makes NBA triple-double history

LaMelo Ball was third overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft

LaMelo Ball became the youngest player in NBA history to score a triple-double as Charlotte Hornets beat the Atlanta Hawks 113-105.

At 19 years and 140 days old, Ball surpassed Markelle Fultz (19 years and 317 days) to claim the record with his 22 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists.

Ball is only the fifth rookie in NBA history to record a triple-double.

“A 19-year-old rookie does not look like this,” said Hornets head coach James Borrego.

“This is rare what you’re seeing.”

Ball is the first player to come off the bench to score a triple-double for the Hornets, who recorded their third straight win.

The third overall pick in the 2020 draft, he had narrowly missed out on his first triple-double just two nights previously with his 12 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in his side’s win over his brother Lonzo’s New Orleans Pelicans.

“I live my life and I know what I’m capable of, so stuff like this doesn’t move me like that,” Ball said. “I know that’s supposed to happen.”

Elsewhere, Eastern Conference leaders the Philadelphia 76ers fell to a 115-103 defeat by the Denver Nuggets, ending their 20-game winning streak at home.

The Sixers had only seven players available, due to both injury and the NBA’s health and safety guidelines, leading head coach Doc Rivers to say before the game that it should be postponed.

But play pressed on, with Gary Harris top-scoring with 21 points for the Nuggets and Nikola Jokic adding 15 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds.

Last season’s finalists Miami Heat ran out 128-124 winners at the Washington Wizards as Tyler Herro scored a season and game-high 31 points.

There was a season-high too for DeMar DeRozan as his 38 helped the San Antonio Spurs to a narrow three-point victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

In what was the Spurs’ third straight win on the road, they outlasted the Timberwolves in overtime to edge the game 125-122.

Tim Hardaway Jr. and Trey Burke also scored season bests of 36 and 29 respectively as the Dallas Mavericks overcame Orlando Magic 112-98 for their third straight win.

The Milwaukee Bucks were without two-time NBA most valuable player (MVP) Giannis Antetokounmpo due to back spasms for their home game against the Cleveland Cavaliers but still wrapped up a 100-90 win.

The Sacramento Kings lost for the second consecutive night with a 125-99 defeat by the Portland Trail Blazers, while the Phoenix Suns avenged their loss at the hands of the Detroit Pistons the previous night by beating the Indiana Pacers 125-117.

Source

[junker-town]

The 10 best games of the NBA season, ranked by science

Jayson Tatum and Kawhi Leonard staged the NBA’s best game this season.

With help from Thuuz Sports, these are the best games of the NBA season determined by pace, historical context, novelty, parity, and momentum shifts. 

On Feb. 13, the Boston Celtics beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 141-133. Jayson Tatum finished with 39 points and nine rebounds, out dueling last year’s Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, who tallied 28 points on 27 shots.

What began as an anticipated regular season matchup between two hopeful title contenders ended as a nationally televised coming out party for Tatum, who not only cemented himself as Boston’s best player, but also someone who could lead his team through a feverish high-wire walk that required two overtimes.

During crunchtime, it was the only game being played, and the last one before All-Star Weekend. Seemingly everyone who cares about the NBA was watching, and when it finally ended TD Garden felt more like a stage than a basketball court.

Four days prior, the Utah Jazz stunned the Houston Rockets, 114-113, when Bojan Bogdanovic erased what should’ve been PJ Tucker’s game-winning three by drilling his own well-contested 28-footer moments later. There were nine lead changes in that fourth quarter, including four in the final 28 seconds. It doesn’t take a genius to see how exhilarating it was.

But according to Thuuz Sports (as in: enthusiasm) — a 10-year-old company based in Palo Alto that boasts “the most powerful automated video highlights production platform for worldwide sports” — those games were not only worth the audience’s time, but also, objectively, the two most exciting NBA games of the 2019-20 season.

Thuuz was initially founded to essentially let fans know which sporting events are worth watching before they happen, how compelling they are in real time, and then, after they’re done, applying an “excitement rating” that measures each game on a 0-100 scale. In non-global pandemic times these are available on the NBC Score app, and can help guide Tivo and Dish Network subscribers.

But with zero games being played anywhere in the world, Thuuz took a look back at the NBA season to measure which games were the most exciting. Using metadata and a customized algorithm that factors in several relevant elements, they’ve shared their list of the top 10 most exciting games from this season (along with the worst of the season) with SB Nation.

Before we get there, here’s a quick overview of how Thuuz calculates their evaluations:

The key components are pace (the more points, the better), historical context (everything else being equal, a game between the Celtics and Lakers is slightly more attractive to a casual fan than one between the Hornets and Timberwolves — there’s also a “big game bonus” to help separate Game 7 of the Finals from a mid-January clash between the Magic and Cavaliers), novelty (it isn’t every day that Devin Booker will score 70 points), parity (how close the game is expected to be), and momentum shifts (everyone loves a good comeback).

“We ingest play-by-play data from a source and process it as the game goes along,” said Trevor Goldstein, a Thuuz product manager who works on the excitement ratings.

Social buzz is another factor that determines how exciting any one game is, which might lead to one game finishing with a higher rating than another simply because they have more fans and are able to spark a more expansive conversation.

“The best teams and the best players have a very slight advantage when it comes to the social buzz,” Goldstein said. “But that’s also partially because we’re trying to find the most exciting things to tune in and if we’re being frank, people are more likely to tune into a Lakers game than a Phoenix Suns game.”

Thuuz also utilizes a small input that factors in how much of a following every organization has that’s slightly outside the Twitter conversation, but it’s very small relative to the other elements already mentioned.

Scores that fall between 0-39 are “Dull.” Between 40-64 is an “OK game.” 65-84 is a “Good game.” And 85-100 equals a “Great game. You’ve got to watch this!” All 10 games listed below finished with a 100 rating, but in reality some scores climb above that mark, which allows Thuuz to separate them.

“It goes higher [in the app], but just for simplicity sake we limit it,” said John McGuire, Thuuz’s head of product. “I think the highest one I’ve seen is 105 or 106.”

There are many fans who enjoy the NBA but don’t believe regular-season competition can consistently rise to a level of appointment viewing that justifies almost three straight hours on a couch, seated in front of a screen. Those feelings are normal because the stakes are lower; whether in a win or a loss, individual outcomes rarely dent any one team’s bigger picture.

But that doesn’t mean a random game in February or January or even before Thanksgiving should be ignored. This list exists to shine a spotlight on why we watch.

1) Los Angeles Clippers 133, Boston Celtics 141: Feb. 13, 2020

Tatum smash:

2) Utah Jazz 114, Houston Rockets 113: Feb. 9, 2020

Bojan smash:

3) Philadelphia 76ers 129, Portland Trail Blazers 128: Nov. 2, 2019

The Furkan Korkmaz game! Philly’s best shooter decapitated Portland with 0.4 seconds on the clock, right after Blazers guard Anfernee Simons hit his own go-ahead three with 2.2 seconds remaining. This was way back when the Sixers could feel good about themselves, which now feels like 12 million years ago.

The end was amazing, but don’t overlook the fourth-quarter build up:

4) Houston Rockets 133, San Antonio Spurs 135: Dec. 3, 2019

The protest game! Houston led by 13 with eight minutes left when James Harden’s dunk was, for reasons that make little sense to this day, said to have not gone through the rim. The Spurs won in overtime, despite Harden going 24-for-24 from the free-throw line and finishing with a 50 ball. (Also, Lonnie Walker’s hair was on fire that night.)

5) Boston Celtics 112, Los Angeles Lakers 114: Feb. 23, 2020

It’s official: According to science, Tatum’s best performances are guaranteed to make you sit up straight. Here he finished with 41 points despite drawing constant double teams from one of the NBA’s best defenses. Not too shabby.

In the end, LeBron James had the last laugh when he turned Jaylen Brown into his little brother with a chef’s kiss fadeaway. The whole game was a gem.

6) Houston Rockets 119, Los Angeles Clippers 122: Nov. 22, 2019

This game inspired this article about how Harden was forcing defenses around the NBA to venture into uncharted waters. If you enjoy watching all-time great scorers bend all-time great defenders, this fourth quarter has your name written all over it.

7) Dallas Mavericks 120, Milwaukee Bucks 116: Dec. 16, 2019

It’s weird but understandable for the Bucks to not appear on this list until now, with a loss that ended their 18-game winning streak. This game featured a 48-point, 14-rebound powerbomb by Giannis Antetokounmpo, but Milwaukee still took the L even though Luka Doncic did not play. Kristaps Porzingis was everywhere and Jalen Brunson showed why he could be a long-term starter in Dallas.

8) Philadelphia 76ers 97, Denver Nuggets 100: Nov. 8, 2019

For 45 of this game’s 48 minutes, Philly had more points than Denver. Early in the fourth quarter they led by 21. But with 15 seconds left and their lead down to one, Al Horford (poor Al Horford) missed a three. Nikola Jokic came down to the other end and hit a totally unreasonable game-winner. Wild ending.

9) Orlando Magic 119, Los Angeles Lakers 118: Jan. 15, 2020

Markelle Fultz had a triple-double and scored more points than James. Quinn Cook also scored more points than James. Instant classic.

10) Dallas Mavericks 107, Toronto Raptors 110: Dec. 22, 2019

I personally refuse to acknowledge this game because after the third quarter I changed the channel and am still not over it. If for whatever reason you’re still wondering why people think Nick Nurse is a great coach let this game bless you with all the answers you’ll ever need.

And now, the worst game of the NBA season

Miami Heat 86, Philadelphia 76ers 113: Nov. 23, 2019

Every other game mentioned in this article received a score of 100 (or slightly above). This was awarded a 1. Jimmy Butler’s first game in Philadelphia since they traded him to Miami was a monumental let down. The Sixers went up 28-8 in the first quarter and never looked back. I remember trying to get through it on my DVR but giving up early in the third quarter, when Philly took a 73-38 lead.

Check back next week for the NBA’s 10 best games of the 2010s.