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miracleonice87 · 4 years

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Say You Won’t Let Go

a Sidney Crosby wedding series

Part Two

a/n: here’s part deux! read part one here. this will have at least one more part, probably 2! worth noting that I know next to no French and am relying heavilyyyy on our pal Google Translate in this story.

summary: a little more background throughout, as Juliette and Sidney meet up with their families and hockey star-studded bridal party for a rehearsal at their iconic wedding venue. if you’re not familiar with the location (it’s honestly incredible), click here for a look!

warnings: mention of deceased father. otherwise, so damn fluffy it’s practically cotton candy.

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Sidney and I arrived at the church exactly on time, much to Lauren’s satisfaction, with two cars carrying Mario’s crew pulling in at the next moment. I closed the passenger door of Sidney’s steel grey Range Rover and turned to take in the sight of our wedding venue, Heinz Chapel on Pitt’s campus, reaching a hand up to shield my face from the early evening sun as I gazed. Sidney did the same, coming to stand next to me and snaking an arm around my torso.

“Not a bad place to get married, eh?” he teased, kissing the crown of my head. I smiled and shook my head. “I’ve dreamed of this since the moment I first saw this place,” I told him. “It’s perfect.”

He took a step forward, offered his hand to me and grinned, quite pleased that we had been able to reserve the coveted location last summer despite it typically being booked three or more years in advance. I didn’t often request many special favors in the name of my uncle or fiancé, but this was one that seemed a necessity. Taking Sidney’s hand and walking toward the cathedral-style landmark, I said a silent prayer of thanks that I’d gotten even more than what I always dreamed of, in so many ways.

My family and Sidney walked into the chapel to find his parents and our bridal party already mingling near the pews, excitement palpably buzzing beneath the magnificent arches and towering stained-glass windows that decorated the exquisite interior. As we stepped through the doors, they turned our way, and I let out an echoing, very French-Canadian-sounding, “Allooo!” making them all laugh.

I first greeted Troy, Trina, and Taylor with hugs and warm hellos. Sidney’s parents were staying at his former townhome on Mt. Washington, which previously served as his bachelor pad and now housed Taylor in light of her recent move to Pittsburgh. We had spent much quality time with the elder Crosbys since their arrival from Nova Scotia a few days ago, helping us with final preparations and enjoying each other’s company ahead of my official entrance into their family.

Both Trina and Nathalie had accompanied me earlier in the week to my final dress fitting and pickup appointment at the bridal boutique where I had selected my gown. Though my mother did plan to attend the wedding ceremony as a guest, she was uninterested in playing the traditional mother of the bride role and joining me for such commitments, which hadn’t surprised me but still stung sharply, especially when I was fastened into the gown and presented by the salon attendant to a waiting Trina and Nathalie.

Bitter tears pricked my eyes as I allowed myself to feel robbed of sharing that moment with my own mom. My sadness was quickly overcome, however, when the women, sensing my sadness, warmly embraced me and fawned over me, admiring the perfect fit of the gown, both becoming emotional when Nathalie tucked my headpiece and veil tenderly into my hair.

The three of us stared at my reflection in the mirror for a few moments as we let tears of many complicated emotions fall, with joy prevailing above them all. I couldn’t keep the enormous smile from my cheeks when Trina squeezed my shoulder and whispered, “Oh, sweetheart, just wait until Sidney sees you.”

Now, we were less than 24 hours away from that moment, with our bridal party and family bustling around us in the chapel.

As our officiant, Father Antonio, announced that we would be lining up for the rehearsal momentarily, Lauren approached me with a grin, extending a bouquet she had made of the countless ribbons and bows from my bridal shower gifts acquired a couple of months ago. I giggled at how cheesy yet adorable the arrangement looked, thanking her as we huddled at the back of the aisle with my bridesmaids and Sidney’s groomsmen.

“This place is a little beat up,” Nate MacKinnon, our best man, ribbed Sidney from between the two of us. “I don’t know why you guys picked this dump,” he added, pulling me to his side. Sidney shoved lightly at his chest before the two of them laughed and embraced.

“Yeah, the old barn in Cole Harbour was booked this weekend, so we kinda had to settle for the next best thing,” Sidney played into Nate’s teasing, as his longtime best friend Mike, also a Cole Harbour native, approached us.

“Kind of a shithole,” Nate whispered, earning a warning glance from me as Austin tried to hold in hysterical laughter. “You can’t say shit in church!” Austin forced out from under his breath. “Oh, we’re going straight to hell,” Mike commented softly. Sidney gave me an apologetic look and I smiled up at him.

“It’s fine. These are our people!” I said to him, flicking Nate’s elbow as I passed him. “Besides, we’ve already been living in sin,” I added, winking at Sidney. He gave me a look of mock disbelief and insisted, “No. I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m a nice Catholic boy.” I giggled and pushed onto my tiptoes to kiss his cheek, which smelled of his fresh aftershave.

In addition to Nate, Mike, and Austin, we greeted Sidney’s other groomsmen as we prepared for the rehearsal — his current teammates Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin and former Penguin Marc-Andre Fleury. They had all graciously accepted the invitation by Sidney to play this special role in our day, with Geno flying in from Russia and Kris and Marc-Andre from Quebec.

Marc-Andre had brought a few other important components to our day along with him — not the least of which was his wife and my best friend, Veronique. She and I had first met when Sidney and I were only casually seeing each other, and she had predicted this wedding long, long ago. She had been one of our biggest cheerleaders since the day we met, and despite her and Marc’s eventual move to Las Vegas, the four of us remained the closest of friends, visiting each other when the men’s respective teams played and whenever else possible.

With Lauren as my maid of honor and Stephanie, Alexa, and Taylor as three of my other bridesmaids, my friend Jacqueline, a Pittsburgh transplant with Canadian roots whom I met while studying at Duquesne, rounded out my crew of six ladies who would stand by my side on this long-awaited day.

To up the cuteness factor, Sidney and I had selected Marc-Andre and Veronique’s daughters, Estelle and Scarlet, as our flower girls, with Geno’s son Nikita and Kris’s son Alex as our ringbearers. Nikita was still a bit young to understand his role, but grinned broadly when Sidney told him when they arrived just how important he was to our day. On the other hand, Kris told us that Alex had cried after his parents had asked him to be in our wedding, because, as much as he adored and was attached to Sid, Alex had been under the impression that I was his girlfriend, not Uncle Sidney’s.

Eventually, after Sidney and I made the rounds to greet them all, the entire bridal party was grouped together to begin the walk-through. The venue’s wedding planner wrangled the children as the priest noted that Sidney needed to leave my side to approach the front of the church alone, in preparation for his emergence from one of the side doors at the front of the sanctuary tomorrow.

Playful “oooh”’s erupted from our groomsmen, who teased Sid about having to pry himself away from my hip. Sidney rolled his eyes, nodding and smirking, before turning his full attention to me. He tucked some hair behind both of my ears before caressing my cheeks with his thumbs.

“You gonna be okay, Jules?” Sidney asked, eyes wider than normal as he searched mine carefully.

I knew he wasn’t asking if I would be alright once he left my side to stand twenty yards away for the next five minutes, but rather if I would be able to contain my emotions as Mario walked me down the aisle, even during a practice run, in place of my father.

We had talked about this specific part of our day a number of times, with Sidney even pondering aloud whether he should walk me down the aisle himself because walking with anyone except my dad felt impossible to me. His sweet dad had even offered to do so, should I desire. After each conversation, Sidney and I both kept arriving at the same conclusion — that the best and most appropriate plan of action was for Mario to give me away and also to join me for the traditional father-daughter dance at the reception.

I nodded, holding onto Sidney’s wrists. “Yeah,” I whispered. “I’ll be okay,” I promised. He nodded solemnly in return and kissed my forehead before pulling back with a wink.

“You can do this,” he encouraged. “I’ll see you up there.” I gave him my best smile as he turned and walked to the front of the chapel.

As our wedding party lined up in front of me to take their positions, Nate stopped me for one of his signature bear hugs, resting his chin on top of my head just for a moment before releasing me. The rest of our group squeezed my hands and rubbed my arms lovingly as I walked to the back door of the sanctuary where Mario waited, hands folded in front of his hips and a tentative smile on his features. He, too, gave me a sweet kiss on the forehead before holding my shoulders at arm’s length.

“Listen, princesse, it was one of the greatest honors of my life when you asked me to walk you down the aisle,” Mario said, soft enough that only I could hear. “But if you’ve changed your mind and would rather do this some other way, please, just say the word.” I shook my head and wrapped my arms around his waist just as the piano music began.

“No, you are exactly the person my dad would want doing this if he couldn’t,” I told him confidently. Mario let out a small exhale, and I could tell he was trying to remain composed. As we parted, he said, “Then let’s go make him proud.” He offered his arm to me and I wrapped my hands around it firmly, leaning my head into his shoulder briefly.

We watched pairs of our party head down the aisle toward Sidney and the priest at a relaxed pace: Jacqueline and Geno led off, followed by Veronique and Marc-Andre, Taylor and Kris, Alexa and Austin, Stephanie and Mike, and finally, Lauren and Nate. Alex walked down the aisle in a near-skip, holding a fake pillow very carefully just as his mother, our beautiful friend Catherine, had instructed him, with Nikita by his side mimicking his every move. Their fathers gave them thumbs up and everyone clapped lightly when they reached the end of the aisle.

Next, after a bit of prompting from both their parents at the front, Estelle and Scarlett followed the boys’ path, scattering fake rose petals in place of the real ones they would have tomorrow, earning their own quiet round of applause. As the children were seated at the ends of the front pews on either side, the music shifted, and our wedding planner turned and gave Mario and me the nod.

“Ready, Juliette?” he asked softly. My eyes traveled down the long red carpet in front of us to the steps where the love of my life stood centered in between our closest friends and family, waiting for me. He gave me a warm, adoring smile and at that moment, I felt my unease melt away, just as it always did when Sidney was near.

“I’m so ready,” I whispered.

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purplebass · 4 years

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Nothing Makes Sense Anymore

Yesterday I was listening to this song which gives the title to this one shot and I was inspired to write this story. It is about the feeling of loss you feel when someone dies or disappears, the anxiety about not being able to see them anymore, to talk to them anymore. It made me think about Will and Jem and how they deal with each other’s loss, and also how Tessa is the only constant in both of their lives, in different times of their lives. I hope this isn’t too depressive but I was in the mood to write something like this.

Relationship/Characters: Will Herondale, Jem Carstairs, Tessa Gray, Herongraystairs, Wessa, Jessa POVs: Will and Jem’s Rating: T TW: death, depression Background Music/Inspiration: Nothing Makes Sense by Mike Shinoda

Will 1878: 21 Long Days Later

Nothing makes sense anymore.

It takes 21 days to form a habit, but Will Herondale still hadn’t got used to Jem Carstairs being gone. He hadn’t died, but he was still gone from the places they shared together, from the table they shared to eat their dinner, from the sofa they shared to laugh about this or that, from the bed where he used to lie when he was ill and Will was tending to him. Gone was the pale color of his mane, the faint but vivid hue of his irises, the joy of his smile that he always gifted him despite his body was collapsing. Jem had words of reassurance for him even if he did make no sense sometimes.

Nothing makes sense anymore.

Still, even if his whole life up until that moment had been a whirlwind of strong emotions that he kept hidden and of people he tried to push away, the only constant in his existence had been Jem. His greatest sin. The only person who made his world make sense, the true north, the flame that couldn’t be put out. The light which guided him home whenever he was lost, but also the comfort he sought when he felt emotionally drained because he had to pretend to hate others.

He had put up walls, but Jem had destroyed them.

He had hated himself for what he did, but Jem had loved him more.

As Will stared at the small waves of the Thames in front of him at midnight, he wished he would just have the strength to saunter to the river bank and drown in his sorrows. He was already drowning, after all. Nothing made sense in his life, he had lost his compass. He was lost, it wouldn’t have been bizarre if he had…

No.

He glanced at his right side, where he would be if he didn’t have to leave.

It was empty.

Vacant, just like his heart. If he had to be honest, his heart was not vacant, it was full of bottled emotions ready to explode, to wound him, to cut him, to break him. Twenty-one days ago, a part of his soul was carved out of his heart. It still scorched, but scars are also a remainder experiences, of people. He would not forget Jem, nor Jem would forget him. They would still be linked for eternity, until they would both leave this world and meet in the afterlife, where they could be together. If there was an afterlife, but he decided that it existed.

He touched his chest, right where the rune of his never-ending friendship with Jem was. His love for Jem wouldn’t fade, despite their parabatai rune was white as a scar on his heart. He opened his shirt to check that he hadn’t dreamed about this, that Jem had been real and that he wasn’t his imagination who was playing tricks on him.

“It’s still here,” he murmured to the river, assuring himself that it was indeed reality. And then he broke down in tears, desperate because he couldn’t be with him. He was there but also not there. It comforted him, but it also made him desperate because he couldn’t spend his days and nights with him by his side.

Nobody would take Jem’s side.

“Will.”

He froze but he didn’t stop weeping, but now it was tears mixing with laughter. “I think I’m imagining voices,” he said directed to the river. “I lost the light of reason.” But then the only person who always went where he and Jem went, where he now went alone, filled the void by his side, and made him see things from a different perspective.

Jem’s place would stay vacant, but the other side wouldn’t.

The only person who understood what it meant to lose him would fill his other side, and she would be bound to him by drawing the marriage rune on the same place where the faint parabatai one once was. The person who Jem also loved, and in which his affection also reflected.

He gazed at her with eyes devoid of life, but full of emotion. “Tess, I… I want to be alone.”

“Well, I don’t,” she replied, her eyes as glassy as his, hurrying by his left side. “Want to tell me about the time you met Jem? You’ve never told me about it.”

Will’s heart would shatter with feelings of loss and love but he would comply, and they would laugh or cry at what he had just said.

That was how they tried to cope with the fact that Jem had to become a Silent Brother in order to save his life. That is how Will and Tessa coped with loss, knowing that what mattered the most was that Jem couldn’t be with them, but he was still alive. That, despite he couldn’t be all the time with them as they wished, he was still breathing. They could still see him, he would still be there when their children would grace this world, until it would be Will’s time to leave them. His time, however, would be final.

21 grams was also the weight of a soul. Jem and Tessa felt the loss of balance when Will left them, and their worlds would never be the same.

Jem 2007: 70 Long Springs Later

Seventy years. Almost the age he had when he left them, Jem thought as he stared at London from Blackfriars Bridge. He had been there at least once a year, for his annual meeting with Tessa, and things didn’t seem different except they had changed drastically. At least from his perspective. He could still fell the imbalance and void in his existence, the idle spot where he used to be whenever they fought together in battle. He could still see the mark that linked them on his shoulder, but to an onlooker, the area was bare, the scar barely visible. But still there, still present.

People’s life span isn’t long. In the 150 years he had been alive, he had seen things change, people getting old and leaving this world, places decay, turning into the ghosts of what they once were.

Ghosts.

He couldn’t see ghosts, but he knew that they existed. And they were around them, protecting them like an invisible mantle, a coat of tenderness, of everlasting devotion. Anyone would think he was mad to think ghosts were part of their world too, but Tessa would not. She would believe that his ghost had crossed the bridge to the afterlife but he was still very present in their essence. In their memories, in their love, in their journey.

It was the crack of dawn, too early for pedestrians to walk on the bridge and maybe even for ghosts to appear, had he been able to see them. It was the time he preferred because the city was quieter and he could go undisturbed to remind himself of his first life, of his life before the one he had just left, of the life before he became a Silent Brother.

The first life where the third missing piece of his current life had been with him. The one who had made his first life feel more valuable, gave it more meaning than what he would have had if their paths hadn’t crossed. If he had kept his feelings to himself and drowned in depression. The one who would go out in the middle of the night whenever he had a withdrawal and he was out of his poison, which was also his cure. The one who would stay by his bed to keep his hand warm and his forehead covered by a cool cloth to make his temperature go down, or would risk his life to save his frail one without batting an eye when he was too weak to wield a sword.

Will had been part of Jem’s second life as a Silent Brother. He had made it colorful, fiery, vibrant. As a Brother, the light, the joy, the emotions were denied to him, but through Will and through Tessa, he had experienced a chromatic life, which helped him endure his new reality dressed in anonymous parchment colored gear.

Will had also had children who had been equally important to Jem, who had reminded him who he was and… He passed a hand through his now black hair remembering when Will informed him that his first son would be named after him. “I can have a piece of you even when you’re not here,” he had told him with pride, and James had turned out to be a great person who loved profoundly just like his parents. Lucie, their second daughter who had Tessa’s lovely features, had also lighted his life. Jem never told them what Lucie did when she was sixteen, and when they found out they were worried sick, but they never blamed him for not telling them what their daughter was risking. He just wanted the people he loved the most to be safe. He would guarantee them that he would continue doing that for the following generations.

His view of the river few feet below blurred. He hadn’t realized that he was crying until he wiped his face with the back of his hand. Seventy years had passed since his parabatai had left this world, but he was a mess after every visit to London, still longing for Will’s presence. He knew that he had to be there, somewhere close. He felt his shoulder warm, as if someone had an arm around him to wrap him in a comfortable feeling of homeliness. Shadowhunters believed in ghosts, Will could see ghosts himself, and even if Jem wasn’t able to do it, he was sure he wasn’t alone.

“It’s okay to cry.”

It was Tessa. She was by his side, looking at the same view he was contemplating. In the years following Will’s death he had only met Tessa in sparse occasions. She had decided to leave that city because she couldn’t bear his loss and then the war broke, and they couldn’t properly meet the way they wanted to. After all, they still had each other.

This year, seventy years after their world broke apart, he had been cured, and there wasn’t anything stopping them to be together every day like they had wished to do when Jem was still 17. When he was dying. He knew that he had survived because of Will’s and Tessa’s love for him even when he became a Silent Brother. He wasn’t a Silent Brother anymore now, he was just Jem, and by his side there was still Tessa, the only constant in his life who was also a reminder of Will, the only person who had loved his parabatai the same way he also loved him, and the same way they both loved him right now, after seventy long years.

“Seeing London every year still moves me,” Jem commented as the sun was about to rise higher in the sky before them. “But this time is different, because I’m seeing London as myself. As Jem. It reminds me of when me and Will used to sit on the ledges of bridges around town when we were patrolling the streets at night.”

“Tell me more about it,” said Tessa with a smile.

He nodded and managed a grin and he would indulge in her request. He could still feel the warmth around them as he recalled hilarious experiences with his parabatai. He decided to recollect only the happy memories on this anniversary, because Will wouldn’t want them to be sad, even if he wasn’t physically with them.

Even when he exhaled his last breath, he had told them that he wanted them to hold onto each other, just like Jem had done when he became a Silent Brother. His disappearance from this world just meant that he was going somewhere incorporeal, but they would still live, their hearts would still beat. They couldn’t lose sight of each other or they would lose their minds, even if he couldn’t be with them anymore.

The soft spring breeze was blowing and it embraced their huddled figures next to the bridge. They would still have time before crossing that bridge to go to Will, whose presence was still resounding around them, a ghostly presence, especially there in London where he had lived most of his life.

When the morning sun was glowing far above the clear skies and he had told her about the past, Jem felt the need of asking something to her.

“If we ever have a daughter, can we call her Wilhelmina?”

Tessa turned to him and watched him with a pensive expression, still lost in the stories they had just shared on the bridge. She smiled fondly and she nodded. “You don’t even have to ask.”

In that moment, Jem realized that even if Will was not there, they would still remember him every day, he and Tessa. She was, after all, the thread that had made their bound stronger, the only constant in both of their lives. This made life worth living, despite their lives wouldn’t be the same until they would be able to finally reach the place where Will was.

Until then.

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singledarkshade · 4 years

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Dream Movie Creator

For the Dream Movie challenge, we are given 6 actors from our favorite TV shows (or movies), a wildcard actor, and an object that should be incorporated into the plot.

@theadrogna and assistant gave me my list which was:

Leverage Beth Jean Riesgraf Community Donald Glover SeaQuest Roy Scheider Psych Maggie Lawson Doctor Who Arthur Darvill Warehouse 13 Allison Scagliotti Wild Card Harrison Ford Item Car

RESET

Synopsis: Ally Walker’s and Scott Masterton’s lives are good until the day they wake up to find their lives have changed dramatically because the past three years have been altered.

Ally and Scott have one thing in common, they’re both sorcerers as one of their parents is from the Edios realm, a magical world ruled by a Queen who wants them both to take their assigned place under her rule.

Both refused many years ago and must now fight to get their lives back.

Starring:

Beth Risegraf as Ally Walker

Ally has been happily married for two years, having met her husband when she quit her job in telesales to start her own company using the gifts inherited from her father. A ‘finder’ she can locate lost items or people as well as choose the best people for jobs. Eight and a half months pregnant she’s happy and content until she wakes up to find she’d never quit her job, and never met her husband.

Determined to get her life back Ally knows she has no other choice but to face her past.

Arthur Darvill as Scott Masterton.

A former police officer, he has powers of a ‘thief’ able to get in and out of locked rooms as well as open any lock. Raised by his grandfather who died when he was eighteen. Scott was in a car accident two years before which left him unable to return to his former job, so he started a security company the year before. He’s also just met someone he’s growing close to.

Discovering everything has changed, he knows his only choice now is to go the one place his grandfather warned him never to go to.

Donald Glover as Max

Max is the custodian of the Book Store, the doorway between the two realms. Seemingly laid back, he refuses to give any name other than Max because “Names have power” and he is a lot more powerful than he appears to be. He isn’t happy about helping Ally and Scott but knows that whatever has been changed must be returned otherwise there could be unknown and terrifying consequences.

Roy Scheider as Kane Masterton

Scott’s grandfather who raised and taught him how to use his gifts. A teacher in the other world who trained sorcerers, Kane always told Scott that Edios was not a good place for him to be. Kane died when Scott was eighteen. Scott has recording of his grandfather’s teachings that he keeps with him and listens to it whenever he doesn’t know what to do.

Maggie Lawson as Celeste Windsor otherwise known as The Queen.

A powerful sorceress, she took control of the realm by killing her own father. She rules with an iron fist ensuring all those with magical abilities are trained to serve her but also those who have the power that could remove her are killed.

She knows Ally and Scott are the only other people who have the power to possibly remove her from her position. She changed their past to force them to return to Edios to take their place under her rule or die.

Alison Scagliotti as Tori Windsor.

The younger sister of the Queen, Tori was once her greatest supporter but is now the leader of the small resistance fighting against the Queen’s rule. Once in awe of her sister, Tori realised what her sister was doing when her girlfriend was killed by Celeste because when she was tested, it was discovered she could possibly be powerful enough to take on Celeste.

Plot:

As light shines through the window Ally Walker wakes up in a large bed, she stretches and sighs before realising something is wrong. She screams in horror and we flashback to the night before where she went to bed in a different bedroom, with her husband and eight months pregnant.

Frantic she tries to work out what happened and is even more confused when her work calls her demanding why she hadn’t shown up that morning. She heads to her storage locker where she keeps all her father’s things and tries to work out what happened.

Scott Masterton has woken in the centre of his living room disorientated, flashback shows him with his girlfriend as the spell surrounds him and changes everything. Staggering to cupboard he pulls out the small recorder that has his grandfather’s words of wisdom and tries to find something to help.

About the same time, both realise their only hope is a place called the Book Store.

Ally and Scott reach the Book Store at the same time, they’re attacked by masked men proficient in weapons and magic. Ally and Scott manage to keep them at bay until Max appears and sends them all away using a portal.

Max explains he’s the Guardian of the main route between Earth and Edios. There are a few other rifts that some may manage to move through, but these are not easy to get through.

Although reluctant to help Max agrees to send them through to Edios but before they go Ally cries out in pain. They discover, although the past few years were changed, she is still connected to her baby. If they don’t fix things, she will lose the child and may die as well.

Max takes them out back to a wrecked car.

It is the entrance to Edios, and Max can control where in the other realm it opens. Once he sends them through, Max picks up a phone and simply says, ‘They’re on their way.’

Ally and Scott find themselves in a forest where they meet Tori, she explains that the Queen came after them because they’re both powerful and not under her rule. She offers them both the chance to stay with her and her small band of resistance fighters, but they refuse. Not only do they want to get back to their lives, Ally is now scared she will lose her baby.

Tori agrees to help them get into the palace.

After a fight to get them inside Ally and Scott are met by the Queen who easily brushes them both away with her own magic. She promises that if they both agree to serve her, then she will return things to the way they were, and Ally’s child will be safe.

Tori appears and tells them not to trust Celeste, that she killed their father and anyone else who got in her way. Celeste won’t keep her promise.

Ally and Scott realise the only way they can defeat Celeste is to combine their powers. They manage to defeat her, stripping her of all her powers as they do.

Ready to undo the spell and return their lives back, Max appears and tells them that yes, they can do this, but only one of them can return home.

Celeste’s power kept the veil between the worlds intact, and only Ally or Scott have the power to do this.

Scott volunteers because Ally has people to go back to while he can build a life here. They reverse the spell and Ally is suddenly pregnant again. After they say goodbye Max opens a portal to Ally’s house where she’s reunited with her husband Mike.

Max leaves but gives her a business card – just in case.

After Credits Scene

Ally is singing to her baby boy before gently resting him in the cot. Turning she is stunned to find her father standing there. He’s there to warn her, Celeste has found a way to get her magic back. Edios is in danger as is Ally and her son.

The Wild Card:

Harrison Ford as Julius Carlton

Ally’s long-lost father.

With a cameo by

Aldis Hodge as Mike Walker – Ally’s husband.

#rbacl qcc #Dream Movie Creator #so glad I finished this

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commander-hanji-zoe · 4 years

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☀ Silken threads ☀

I wrote this for @lioru92 it’s a Hange Zoe one shot, but honestly I don’t really know what this is or how to describe it? It’s a collection of thoughts about Hange’s day really, reflecting on the things they think about, memories from the past with the other vets and the things that keep them going. A few things - there’s references to a kiss and someone telling Hange they love them - I don’t imply who this is, it is, in my mind one of the vets but it’s up to your interpretation to decide who it was. Secondly - it is a little sad/dark and poetic in places. I enjoy writing in a slightly off beat way occasionally and I feel this shows here. Thirdly - In this Hange is written as gender fluid and therefore use the pronouns they/them. I do a lot of research and am constantly learning but please let me know if I say anything problematic (or with any fics) ❤

Word count - 1,795

Hange wakes at 6am almost everyday, unless they have been drinking with the other vets the night before. That used to be a frequent occurrence, it’s not so much anymore. None of them notice. At least none of them speak aloud, but the void that’s left doesn’t go unacknowledged. In Winter Hange wakes a little later, fond of the season, but hating the cold, dark mornings, Hange learnt that they couldn’t always have their cake and eat it. They like to watch the sun rise and know that they’re up before almost everyone else, apart from those they are connected to. It’s unspoken but there’s invisible threads that tie them with Moblit, Erwin, Mike, Nanaba and now Levi.

It seems strange to Hange that once they had felt so alone and confused about their place in the world. When the others came along slowly these threads begun to appear and the path in front had never been clearer. When Hange vocalised this to Erwin he seemed sad, no, he had told them, you were already great and already had a place, you didn’t need us for that. But we love and appreciate you…all the same. There’s this crack, like a crack in a tooth and Hange knows what that means, knows over time it’ll get worse and shatter. Because underneath Erwin’s tough and determined exterior, Hange knows how much he cares, knows that he is just as vulnerable as the rest of them. Sometimes they curse how astute they can be, wondering whether ignorance really is bliss but knowing they’ll never know.

Happiness was as much a dream as it was a reality, perhaps more so. Research gave Hange purpose, the combination of purpose and keeping busy meant Hange had little to no time to think on what could have been or the dreams they had when younger. Childish dreams, delicate like a spider’s silk spinning through the air. Any gust of wind to disrupt it’s course and there had been far too many hurricanes since birth.

They think on their siblings, one alive, one dead. Hange misses them, blames themselves for the death of a brother, knows it wasn’t their fault but still the guilt sits in the put of their stomach. Hange pushes it to the back of their mind and focuses on their new family, like most of the cadets, this was found when Hange joined the scouts.

They thumb through pages of diaries, once so determined to keep a proper diary and to record not only military or Titan related information, but to keep a record of feelings and also the mundane. The small things like when Levi teases or makes cups of tea, when Mike knows they’ve washed their hair and detects and scent then compliments. The small things like the jokes Moblit tells or the time Nanaba and they had a pamper night just for the sake of it.

The feel of the sun in summer on skin as Gelgar splashed water in the other’s direction and Ness arguing with Charrete, Levi just watching from afar tutting and sighing. The sound of bird song before the sun rose and the stars that moved across the sky. The feeling of getting into bed after a long day, or late night chats with Erwin over a glass of wine, Erwin who Hange trusts more than anything and knows they would die for. But rarely does their diary reflect these little moments so consumed with their research it has become them now, it defines them.

Hange thinks of Bean and Sonny, it makes them cry. They don’t think about about them anymore.

There’s a book full of fairy tales, Erwin bought it for their 21st birthday, he believed Hange deserved to escape just as much as anyone. There’s a sketch pinned to the wall next to the bed, it’s a vase of peonies, something simple but beautiful. Mike did that for them one day when they were feeling blue. This was the side of the older scouts the younger ones would never see, it worked better that way.

Hange takes pride in their appearance, it’s one of the small things they do for themselves and a part of their morning ritual. After waking and watching the sun rise, they go over their schedule twice just to be sure. They drink a glass of water then a tea, brush their hair and tie it up, a quick splash of water on their face wakes them up and brings them from the world of sleep into the world of the living. Some days they bind their chest, some days they don’t, none of the vets ask questions but they’re always there if their dear friend needs someone to talk to, no judgement, just love.

Hange would argue their hair is their best feature, they like how it swings from side to side when they walk or run, they like how when the sun shines on it there’s little strands that appear almost golden. When younger, Hange had wished they had blue or green eyes, older now and wiser than their years they had come to love the deep earthy brown instead.

Hange sometimes misses being a cadet and green. They miss laying on grass listening to Mike name all the flowers he could smell. Or napping under trees and not feeling afraid. They miss the excitement, the real excitement that bubbled under the skin, rather than the obsessions that caused that excitement now. The fool’s gold of excitement Hange would call it.

The ghosts that haunt used to be frequent, they’re not so much anymore. Tragedy after tragedy and endless heartache it starts to become normal, it doesn’t surprise them anymore. The first death of a friend nearly broke Hange but they had to continue, had to keep beating on to fight the good fight and ensure their friends deaths were not in vain.

The greatest gift they have been given is purpose, driven by the need to help humanity and know what is beyond, that is what keeps Hange going and getting out of bed each day.

Though they miss the silly parties, miss how naive Erwin could still be, how he would tell jokes and his laughter which once was so infectious. They’ve almost forgotten what it sounds like now, it’s just an echo that fights against time and cries, ‘I was here’.

There’s the taste of wine on another’s lips, how many times had they kissed?

Only Erwin, Levi, Moblit and Hange remain of their little group and it hurts. When Mike and Nanaba didn’t come back a part of Hange never recovered, there were tears behind closed doors and staring at Mike’s drawing for hours. When Levi would tease about their smell, an affectionate tease of course, Mike would retort commenting that no one had time to wash that frequently and anyway Hange’s corporeal scent was earthy like rain on moss in November. Nanaba would agree and kiss Hange’s cheek for reassurance. Levi would pout but his lips would always curl into a smile, there had been so many in jokes and play fighting and love, more love than tea in Levi or Erwin’s quarters. Wish honestly, Hange would write in their diary, is really saying something.

Maybe those dreams Hange had weren’t exactly dreams at all, maybe it’s an alternative life they’re able to see glimpses of, another alternative reality. And maybe they’re all just spiders flying through the air on strands of silk, waiting to see what destiny has in store for them.

Hange shuffles their paperwork as Moblit enters the office, he looks concerned, he always looks concerned these days. Shuffling paperwork is a trick learnt early on in the days of being a section commander, you do it to look busy when your mind is distracted and elsewhere.

Just one more kiss.

Do you love me like I love you?

Love has no place within these walls.

If love has no place why are you so determined to save…

You.

The word ‘Others’ doesn’t leave Hange’s lips, it can’t, the other has spoken.

The other is all but a ghost now but still with you alway, a voice inside Hanji’s head speaks but the sound is almost drowned by suffering and blinding lights.

“Maybe we’re all just spiders flying through the air on strands of silk,” Hange says as they catch a glimpse of themselves in the mirror before they leave.

“Section Commander,” Moblit says, in a tone slightly confused if not a little concerned.

Hange shakes their head, “Nothing, let’s go see what Erwin has planned for us now.”

There’s a bright smile on Hange’s face and a spring in their step because that is what is expected and even they cannot deny that their mind is still curious and perhaps with the deaths of their comrades they are more determined than ever.

Mid summer, the date always stuck in Hange’s mind as there had been a year not so long ago where they took Mid summer off. Hange and Levi organised a picnic which was attended by Erwin, Mike, Nanaba, Moblit, Gelgar, Ness, Oluo, Petra, Rashad, Lauda, Nifa, Keiji…There was enough of them to make it a party, Hange never forgot Erwin’s smile or the taste of the strawberry cheesecake Levi had made with Petra and Oluo, who had insisted on joining in. It was one of the happiest memories Hange had.

It was the one Hange knew if they were about to die their mind would reach out to as their hands stretched forward to be welcomed into the arms of Erwin and the others. There had been too many nightmares in the early days, woken drenched in sweat somewhere beyond the walls someone was screaming, no howling in terror. It sounded like Mike and it always sent shivers up Hange’s spine. Mike, Nanaba & Gelgar didn’t die for nothing, Hange would make sure of that, they weren’t hurting anymore. They were free.

Hange tries to go to sleep early, though always waits for the sun to set even in summer, the sunset reflecting in the clouds or water or shining through windows casting a soft orange glow on the wooden floors. All these are some of those small things which are the big things, it was Mike that told them that, Mike who taught Hange to close their eyes and just listen, smell, feel the grass under their finger tips. Nanaba would lay with them, fingertips touching so the three were joined and knew they were not alone. Erwin, Levi and Moblit found them once and joined in silently so they were all laid in a circle, with fingertips and toes stretched outwards, Hange imagined they must look like the sun. Their limbs radiating truth and love and hope and…. There were so many ands, so many possibilities.

#Hange Zoe #Hanji Zoe #Snk vets #aot vets #Erwin Smith #Mike Zacharias #Nanaba #levi ackerman #Ness #Gelgar #aot #snk #writing #oneshot

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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The Best Comics of 2020

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It has been a year, hasn’t it?

The year started with such tenuous promise, and is ending the same way: slivers of hope among rivers of misery. But even with all the chaos, all the changes forced by the pandemic and that were coming anyway, we still got some incredible comics in 2020.

Let us be abundantly clear: every work of art made in the last year is a small miracle. Every comic creator who put irons in the fire in a year that certainly didn’t lack fires deserves gratitude and commendation. Picking 20 comics doesn’t do justice to the herculean work and dedication that everyone who works in comics demonstrated – from the creators, to the back office folks who kept the trains running on time and let us know they were coming, to the people who actually put the books in our hands, we should be immensely grateful to all of them.

To those creators we say: Thank you for giving us a few minutes on Wednesdays (or Tuesdays) to escape…all this.

With that said, there really were some excellent books, and we’re very excited to talk about the best comics of 2020.

20. Loneliness of the Long Distance Cartoonist

Adrian Tomine (Writer/Artist)

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Adrian Tomine is here to share his sadness with readers and inspire it in anyone who has ever tried to make art and present it to the world. In what might be his greatest work so far, the cartoonist collects his own diary comics about being an artist and trying to release a book.

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Cartoonist is painfully raw, uncomfortably authentic, and impressively hilarious. It takes guts to make yourself the butt of the joke and to do it so well, but there is such heart and humor here that it’ll speak to any reader whether or not you’ve ever had the (mis)fortune to make your own comics or not.

19. Witch Hat Atelier

Kamome Shirahama (Writer/Artist)

Speaking of wonderful manga, this series is one of the best books on shelves in any genre, format, or language. It’s hard to overstate how inventive and imaginative Witch Hat Atelier is but for the sake of this list we’ll try.

Kamome Shirahama paints a wonderful world where magic is real but only a select few can use it. Coco is our heroine and when she accidentally learns the secret behind using magic she’s inducted into a witch’s coven and is thrown into a vibrant world of sorcery, spells, and uneasy friendship with her fellow students.

18. Daredevil

Chip Zdarsky (Writer); Marco Checchetto, Mike Hawthorne, Francesco Mobili, Jorge Fornes (Artists); Marcio Menyz, Mattia Iacono, Nolan Woodard (Colorists); Clayton Cowles (Letterer)

Chip Zdarsky’s Matt Murdock is terrific. His Wilson Fisk is Hall of Fame.

Fisk is attempting to go legit after discovering as Mayor of New York City that there is a much larger pond he could be swimming in. But the big fish in that pond (the Stromwyns – think Marvel’s Koch Brothers) don’t much get along with someone as insignificant as Fisk. What they do to him, and what Fisk does back, is incredible.

The art on this run has been the real deal. Jorge Fornes and Marco Checchetto have handled the bulk of the pencils this year, and their dramatically divergent styles do a great job of showing the two sides of Murdock’s world – Fornes excels at the quiet investigatory work that Daredevil does, while Checchetto blows the doors off of some monster action set pieces. No lie, Stilt Man has never looked this good. This run is shaping up to be one of the best Daredevil stories of all time, a very high bar to clear.

17. The Department of Truth

James Tynion IV (Writer), Martin Simmonds (Artist)

What happens in a world where all conspiracy theories are actually true? Or that reality actually warps to accommodate new “truths” as they come into being? Such is the premise of The Department of Truth, which delivers on all the unsettling promise of its premise. The fact that it tells its story in a way that aesthetically calls to mind Alan Moore and Bill Sienkiewicz’s 1988 collaboration Shadowplay: The Secret Team, which told some unsavory details about how the CIA conducted some real world foreign policy only adds to the eerie feel.

With more and more people getting internet brain poisoning thanks to wilder and wilder conspiracy theories somehow becoming mainstream every day, The Department of Truth feels like one of the more timely comics of 2020. We only wish it could be a little less timely in some ways, though.

16. The Green Lantern Season Two

Grant Morrison (Writer), Liam Sharp (Artist), Steve Oliff (Colorist), Steve Wands (Letterer)

Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp have been quietly making one of the best superhero comics in decades over at DC, and although we can’t quite believe we’re saying this, it’s about Hal Jordan. The most boring Green Lantern of all has come to life in this trippy, experimental, and beautiful series which transcends space and time, showcasing the best of what Morrrison and Sharp do.

If you think that superhero comics are all the same, The Green Lantern will change your mind (and likely expand it) as Hal adventures through Sharp’s sprawling and stunning cosmos.

15. Immortal Hulk

Al Ewing (Writer); Joe Bennett, Mike Hawthorne, Butch Guice, Nick Pitarra, Javier Rodriguez (Pencilers); Ruy Jose, Belardino Brabo, Mark Morales, Tom Palmer, Marc Deering (Inkers); Paul Mounts, Matt Milla (Colorists); Cory Petit (Letterer)

Over at Marvel, Al Ewing and Joe Bennett have been equally delighting and horrifying readers with this reinvention of Bruce Banner and the hulking hero he becomes. This is about as close to a horror comic as a mainline superhero title can get as the team delve into the multiple manifestations of Hulk and the man behind them.

Just like The Green Lantern, The Immortal Hulk both reconsiders and revisits the lore that has made the character so iconic, and also features an impressive collection of Hulk-centric characters from throughout history.

14. Shadow of the Batgirl

Sarah Kuhn (Writer), Nicole Goux (Artist)

DC Comics has been doing a great job bringing new visions of some of their best loved characters to the spotlight and Cass Cain got that treatment this year in this gorgeous graphic novel. Taking the one-time Batgirl and teaming her up with Barbara Gordon’s Oracle was a genius move, but the real magic here comes from the sweet natured take on the hero that Sarah Kuhn and Nicole Goux offer up.

Shadow of the Batgirl is a superhero comic with real heart and a look that feels far more like an indie comic than anything coming out of the big two. Just lovely!

13. Hedra

Jesse Lonergan (Writer/Artist)

Hedra is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before, and probably the same goes for you. It’s a completely silent comic, but it’s a massively dense, intricate storytelling experience. It’s light and cartoony, but it’s got panels that would look at home in an old Wally Wood comic. It’s got so many panels, and yet it’s full of moments that will take your breath away.

Lonergan manages the pace and flow of the storytelling so well that you have to experience it yourself to fully appreciate it. Hedra is a beautiful, smart, fascinating comic.

12. John Constantine: Hellblazer

Si Spurrier (Writer); Aaron Campbell, Matias Bergara (Artists); Jordie Bellaire (Colorist); Adita Bidakyar (Letterer)

Si Spurrier doesn’t seem like the type who gets mad often, but his John Constantine was fucking pissed, and goddamn if it wasn’t the best Hellblazer comic in decades. This too-brief run of comics starring everyone’s favorite dirtbag street mage was as much about England being a dumpster fire as it was about Constantine being a dumpster fire, and that low-key seethe gave this book an edge that many of Constantine’s more recent exploits have been missing.

Campbell and Bergara are gifted at depicting grimy fantasy, and Bellaire continues to be one of the greatest colorists who ever lived. In a sane, just world, a second volume of John Constantine: Hellblazer is being planned as we speak. Let’s hope.

11. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin

Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird (Writers); Esau & Isaac Escorza (Artists); Luis Antonio Delgado (Colorist), Shaun Lee (Letterer)

When we saw a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic called The Last Ronin, we had no idea they meant Frank Miller Ronin. The art on this comic is astounding.

The story is almost irrelevant, in part because it’s only just getting going (only one oversized issue has been released at the time of this writing). But it’s excellent set up – the last living Ninja Turtle assaults a city controlled by the Foot Clan to try and end their long battle once and for all. It’s set in the future, and heavily influenced by the cyberpunk ninja aesthetic so common to the genre, but filtered through a strong Miller lens that makes it a joy to discover.

10. Captain America: The End

Erik Larsen (Writer/Artist), Dono Sánchez-Almara (Colorist), Joe Caramagna (Letterer)

The superhero comic one shot is an underrated – even lost – art form these days. Annuals are often fill-in stories, and unless Marvel or DC are putting out an oversized issue to herald a line wide relaunch or a similar event, it’s rare that you get a nice thick single issue telling a self contained story of any real “importance.” Fortunately, there’s Captain America: The End.

Marvel’s The End line is exactly what it sounds like: an excuse for creators to tell not-really-in-continuity “final” stories for the biggest Marvel heroes. And while Captain America: The End ostensibly presents itself as the “final” Captain America story, it’s way more fun than that. Erik Larsen uses this opportunity to pay tribute to Cap’s greatest creative periods: specifically Jack Kirby’s two-fisted, acrobatic stint on the character in the 1960s, and his socially conscious and psychedelic late ’70s return to the book.

Wall to wall action, with Kirby-esque idea factory energy and dynamism at the forefront, Captain America: The End is one of the most purely fun superhero issues in years. But don’t mistake this for an exercise in nostalgia, as Larsen blends timely (and timeless) messages that help sum up what made Captain America great in the first place, and why we’ll never truly see the “last” Cap story.

9. Maison Ikkoku

Rumiko Takahashi (Writer/Artist)

We can’t make enough noise about how great Viz has been doing recently at making some of the harder to find manga classics available to bigger audiences. This lovely reprint of Rumiko Takahashi’s joyful slice of life comic technically came out decades ago, but most Western comics fans likely only came to it via this new printing.

Maison Ikkoku follows the misadventures of a young apartment building manager and the tenants that she has to keep in check. In turns sweet, silly, and saucy, this is truly a masterwork of manga that you must read.

8. Billionaire Island

Mark Russell (Writer), Steve Pugh (Artist), Chris Chuckry (Colorist), Rob Steen (Letterer)

This is not Mark Russell, Steve Pugh, and Chris Chuckry’s first time on our lists, but it’s definitely the angriest they’ve been since showing up on here. If we’re really being fair, it’s entirely deserved.

Billionaire Island is a wild fantasy story definitely based on nothing in reality about the world’s uber wealthy, who control the world, building their own island to ride out climate change while the poors all die off and suffer on the mainland. It follows a reporter with the Miami Herald, and an ex-mercenary who lost his family to Aggrocorp’s sterility experiments in Angola, as they try and bring down the aforementioned billionaires, are trapped on the island, and work to escape.

It is every bit as hilarious as you would expect from the team who brought us The Flintstones, but there’s an edge to it that wasn’t there in Russell, Pugh and Chuckry’s earlier work. That’s probably because of the villains – The Flintstones skewered society, while Billionaire Island takes aim at the shittiest people in the world. Several of them by name.

Despite the undercurrent of anger, Billionaire Island is still packed with genuinely hilarious moments. Pugh’s sight gags remain incredible, and the comedic timing on display is outstanding. I had high expectations for Billionaire Island coming into it, and it exceeded all of them.

7. The Magic Fish

Trung Le Nguyen (Writer/Artist)

Feel like crying a lot? Because The Magic Fish got almost everyone we’ve seen read it. It’s an incredibly powerful yet quiet comic about a 13 year old coming to terms with who he is and how to talk with his parents about it.

Tien, the aforementioned 13 year old, is a first generation Vietnamese-American with a crush on a friend and a mother who is still processing her move to the States and the family she left behind. Much of the story is about Tien trying to figure out how to broach the subject with his mother.

What stands out about The Magic Fish is how Nguyen tells the story. Much of it is is told by retellings of fairy tales – two modifications of the Cinderella story, and one of The Little Mermaid. The colors are especially effective in setting up the mood and tone of the sections of story, elegantly communicating so much about Tien’s emotional and intellectual state. And the fashion and hair are magnificent. Nguyen draws Alan Davis-good hairstyles.

Nguyen’s The Magic Fish is accessible, deeply moving, and beautiful, a book that should be shared with friends.

6. Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen

Matt Fracion (Writer), Steve Lieber (Artist), Nathan Fairbairn (Colorist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer)

It’s probably good that the prank war issue, where Timmy Olsen stole the wheel off the Batmobile for Youtube clout, was published last December, because otherwise this entire entry would be the Den of Geek reciting bits to each other like this was comics Anchorman. And all that time we’d spend telling each other we sure have created some…content…would distract from the fact that Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen is one of the nicest, most thoughtful, best put-together comics in years.

Beneath all of the gags – and there are a ton – Fraction, Lieber, Fairbairn, and Cowles put together a deceptively complex character study of Jimmy, Superman and Metropolis. This is a book that is as much about what Jimmy Olsen means to the people of Metropolis as it is about Dex-Starr puking blood on the remnants of Jimmy’s Gorilla City wedding, or the army of Kevins attacking him.

Lieber and Fairbairn were the perfect choices for art on this story: Lieber’s facial expressions and Fairbairn’s bright color palette sell every joke and set every mood that the story requires, and the way the creators play with time and information release is masterful. Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen is essential reading, both because of its importance to the Superman universe as a whole, and because it’s just that damn funny.

5. Once and Future (READER’S CHOICE!)

Kieron Gillen (Writer), Dan Mora (Artist), Tamra Bonvillain (Colorist), Ed Dukeshire (Letterer)

Turns out letting Dan Mora draw his way through an English lit degree is a really good idea.

Joking aside, our readers have excellent taste, naming Once and Future their top pick for comic of the year.

Kieron Gillen takes the “story about a story” formula, smashes several more stories into the first one, and then lets Dan Mora and Tamra Bonvillain go ham on the whole thing, and the resulting comic is breathlessly exciting, and gorgeous to look at. It remixes Arthurian legend and this year added a sprinkle of Beowulf and developed the magic a little more, while juxtaposing that rich fantasy world with the mundanity of things like a senior living facility.

Mora draws monsters exceptionally well, and Bonvillain gives several scenes an ominous glow that sets a hell of a tone. Once and Future is a great pick by our readers, and is comfortably one of the best books of the year.

4. Dracula, Motherf**ker!

Alex de Campi (Writer/Letterer), Erica Henderson (Artist)

You may not realize that you need a grindhouse ‘70s story about Dracula’s brides being extremely done with his shit, but trust us, you need Dracula, Motherf**ker! in your life.

This book isn’t especially long, nor is it terribly complex. We get a lot of echoes of the original Dracula story updated to a dingy 1970s Los Angeles, and a lot of what you’d expect from a grindhouse horror comic, but it’s done exceptionally well by two incredibly talented storytellers.

In retrospect, it’s hard to believe this is the first time de Campi and Henderson have ever worked together. Dracula, Motherf**ker! felt a lot like someone discovering peanut butter cups for the first time – there’s that dawning realization as you’re reading that it really works well, and then a secondary shock that nobody had ever done it before.

De Campi is a pro’s pro and a veritable cluster bomb of ideas. Henderson is a gifted sequential artist who gets to show off her mastery of color art as a storytelling device in these pages. The final package is outstanding.

3. Far Sector

N.K. Jemisin (Writer), Jamal Campbell (Artist), Deron Bennett (Letterer)

The quality level of Far Sector is almost impossible to believe. Jamal Campbell doesn’t have an enormous comics resume, and this is N.K. Jemisin’s debut comic story. And yet the skill evident in every panel screams that this was made by a team of master craftsmen.

Far Sector is the story of Jo Mullein, a new Green Lantern with an experimental, self-charging ring, dispatched to a floating megacity run jointly by three alien races; the Nah, a group of spacefaring fishtailed/winged bipeds; the keh-Topli, a group of carnivorous plants; and the @at, a race of sentient ethereal memelords. Jo is there at the request of the ruling council to investigate the City Enduring’s first murder in centuries.

Her investigation is our way into Jemisin and Campbell’s vibrant imaginations.

This is a stunning book to look at – at least once an issue, Campbell draws something completely mind-bending. And Jemisin writes with the easy confidence and command of the form that people who have been writing comics for 50 years can’t match: there isn’t a wasted word on a single page of this entire series. It’s elegantly topical, stunning to look at, and a ton of fun to read. Far Sector is handily one of the greatest Green Lantern stories of all time.

X of Swords

Jonathan Hickman, Tini Howard, Leah Williams, Benjamin Percy, Vita Ayala, Zeb Wells, Ed Brisson, Gerry Duggan (Writers); Pepe Larraz, Carlos Gomez, Viktor Bogdanovic, Matteo Lolli, Carmen Carnero, Rod Reis, Phil Noto, R.B. Silva, Mahmud Asrar, Leinil Francis Yu, Stefano Casselli, Joshua Cassara (Artists); Marte Gracia, Israel Silva, Matt Wilson, Edgar Delgado, David Curiel, Nolan Woodard, Sunny Gho, Guru-eFX, Rachelle Rosenberg (Colorists); Clayton Cowles, Joe Caramagna, Cory Petit, Ariana Maher, Travis Lanham, Joe Sabino (Letterers)

X-Men fans are not commonly known for our penchant for consensus. We can and will argue over everything, from who’s a better partner for Cyclops to which story arc in the ‘90s was actually rock bottom. So when you get near unanimity that X of Swords is the best X-Men crossover since Inferno, you can pretty much take that to the bank.

The culmination of the first phase of the X-universe’s post House of X/Powers of X plan, X of Swords tied all the mutant comics back together to take on a couple of the biggest ideas dropped in and immediately after HoXPoX. It did something that was nearly impossible: it paid off a year’s worth of stories from ten different series, with satisfying climaxes for more than a handful of storylines.

It did this in part because several creators are making the jump to superstardom. Larraz somehow managed to do even better work than on House of X, delivering massive beat after massive beat in the final issue of the crossover. Tini Howard spent a year making Excalibur the best book in the line, and wove her plot threads through the crossover she co-shepherded (with Boss X or whatever they’re calling Hickman) to give us a foundational Otherworld and Captain Britain story. All the while, Howard also made sure that this Excalibur-centric crossover paid homage to the first Excalibur series – packing it full of magical silliness and genuine heart. Vita Ayala only got one issue in the crossover, but that issue will go down as one of Storm’s best stories of all time. And Joshua Cassara drew two issues of fights and competitions, and dropped multiple staggering spreads.

The X-Men line as a whole is the best it’s been in decades, and there’s no better proof of that than in X of Swords.

Blue in Green

Ram V (writer), Anand RK (Artist), Aditya Bidikar (Letterer)

Fiction is especially tough when the storyteller isn’t up to the subjects. If someone is writing a book about the smartest person in the world, the writer has to be smart enough to believably put brilliance in that character’s mouth. If someone is making a comic about a drug that makes everyone indescribably beautiful, then the art has to be angelic, or the book falls apart.

But when a creative team IS up to the task, the end result can be sublime. That’s what Ram V, Anand RK and Aditya Bidikar gave us with Blue in Green. A comic about jazz that so perfectly evokes the form of its subject matter that I’m willing to bet this comic is taught in years to come. Blue in Green is incredible comics.

Blue in Green’s story is broadly familiar: it’s the crossroads tale, where the Devil meets a gifted musician and trades the musician’s life for magnificent talent. Erik is a talented saxophonist with a rough family history who’s pissing away his talents half-heartedly teaching kids how to play. He goes home for his mother’s funeral, makes his deal, and wakes up days later, after a fugue state that included him blowing the doors off of a jazz club with his sax. Eventually, the bill comes due.

The presentation has a uniquely loose flow to it, moving from rigid grids to collage with prose attached, with surreal, disorienting colors that match the mood of the section of story marvelously. The way the storytelling shifts from section to section, the way the form changes so that it can tell the story as much as the words or art can, is one of the most skillful feats of comics creation I’ve read in years. It’s like its own kind of visual jazz. Blue in Green is an astounding piece of comics storytelling, and I can’t wait to read what’s next from everyone involved.

The post The Best Comics of 2020 appeared first on Den of Geek.

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fatechica · 5 years

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dance with me (make me sway) - A 2-Year Celebration

It occurred to me a few weeks ago that I was coming up on my two year anniversary in the Mileven fandom - two years to the day since I posted the first chapter of “love you like a love song” - and, when I realized it, I wanted to commemorate it.

The last two years have been an amazing, wild ride. I’ve become a part of a fandom in ways I never have before, I’ve made friends who I know will be with me the rest of my life, and I’ve been happier than I think I may have ever been before, my life fulfilled and enriched in ways I never imagined.

To say that becoming part of the Stranger Things fandom was one of the best things that I’ve ever done would be the biggest understatement ever. You all make my life better and I’m glad to be part of one of the most wonderful groups of people I’ve ever had the privilege of being part of.

To thank you all for letting me be part of this crazy ride, this is for you. This is to all the people who’ve become my friends over the past couple of years, those who have come and gone, those who are still here, and those who are yet to come.

To that end, there are a relative handful of people I wanted to tag: @formerlyjannafaye @milevens @el-borealis @milesfairchild @dustinhendrsn @stevehharrington @elshopper @elhoppers @martygalwrites @dustinsteves @mikewheeler @summer-in-hawkins @serendipitousrambles @milevenhearteyes @elizabthturner @girls-are-weird @thief-and-dragonfly @maplestreet @lovelysheree

I know I’m missing someone, but you all are people I call amongst my closest friends, people I’m proud to say I know and love. Thank you for making all of this something I could never, ever regret.

To that end, I’ve written something I’ve been wanting to write for a while, something that encapsulates so many of my feelings.

(and, for the gc ladies, i’ve written my mileven dancing fic. you check me off the list, now, and you’re welcome.)

Every day feels like he’s living a dream, one he never wants to wake up from. He knows it’s not a dream, though. It took too much hard work to get here – too much blood and sweat and tears, too much back and forth, coming together before being pulled apart, repeating this what felt like over and over again.

But they’re here now – they made it – and he never has to dream ever again. Because, every day, he wakes up to his dream. Because, every day, he wakes up and goes about his day and comes home to his wife.

Because every day, Mike comes home to El.

It’s not perfect. Nothing is, after all. Both Mike and El are headstrong, passionate individuals and sometimes things get heated, intense in the wrong way. But the love they feel for each other smooths out all those speed bumps and, more often than not, helps them channel their stronger impulses into something positive. It helps them love each other just that much more, helps them love each other each and every day.

There’s nothing special about today except that every day Mike spends with El is special, each one better than the last. Each time, he thinks this is it, I can’t be any more in love with her than I am right now. And every. single. day. he falls just that much more in love with El, falls in love with her all over again.

It’s almost never something big that makes him realize this – the way she smiles at him when he greets her after he gets home, the way she laces her fingers through his as they head up to bed at the end of the evening, the way she laughs and talks and just exists with him.

Tonight, it’s the way she’s standing at the sink while she does the dishes. He cooked tonight, so by the agreement they came to when they moved in together several years ago, it’s her turn to do the dishes.

El’s standing at the sink, weight mostly resting on one leg, hair up in a loose bun with wisps falling to frame her face and neck. She’s wearing a loose sweater, neckline slipping down to expose the smooth curve of one shoulder, and a pair of leggings that skim tight to the lines of her legs. One bare foot is firmly planted on the ground, while the other is propped against it, heel resting on her ankle, foot arched almost sensually.

But, the thing that Mike notices most of all as he walks into the kitchen, the last of the dinner dishes in hand, is the way El is swaying to the music that’s playing.

El always has the music playing while she does the dishes and today is no exception. Today’s selection is from the local Oldies radio station, airwaves filling the kitchen with the sounds of Big Band and jazz and the Rat Pack.

The rich sounds of Frank Sinatra are starting to fade out, Mike recognizing the final notes of “Fly Me To The Moon”, as he sets the last couple plates on the counter next to El. Her proximity calls to him with its sweet, siren’s song and Mike’s barely able to set the dishes down before his arms are reaching for her, sliding around her waist as he pulls her to him, body molding to hers. He buries his face against her neck and breathes in the sweet scent of her. The feel of her skin against his is the one of the greatest rushes known to man and he’s like a drug addict, forever chasing the high that he can only get from her.

El leans back against him, back curving to mirror the lean of his body. “Hi,” she breathes just loud enough to be heard over the running water.

The feel of El in his arms is the cure for pretty much everything, even if nothing is wrong, and Mike finds himself burrowing deeper into her, holding her tight. He never wants to let her go. “Hi,” he murmurs against El’s neck, head rotating so he can press a lingering kiss on the skin right beneath her jaw.

El shivers at the press of his lips and Mike tries to hold back the grin that threatens to creep onto his face. She’s so responsive – always has been – and it makes him a little eager, impatient, to eventually move upstairs to their bedroom. All things in due time, he thinks as El breathes in deeply. “I’m trying to do the dishes,” she says in weak admonishment.

“I can see that,” Mike says, losing the battle against keeping the grin off his face. “Don’t let me interrupt.”

El’s breath leaves her in a huffed sigh. “You’re gonna, anyway,” she mumbles.

That pulls a laugh from him, low and husky, and Mike starts to sway with the music that surrounds them, emanating from the old radio perched on the windowsill above the sink. “You know me too well,” Mike says, still barely above a murmur.

“Well, it’s only been 11 years,” El says with a barely contained snort.

“Hmm, good point,” Mike says as he nuzzles into her neck, breathing her in deep, lungs filling with the lingering scent of her perfume, mixing potently with the remaining hints of her shampoo and something that is just so fundamentally El, soft and addicting. He’s been trying for years to figure out what it is and he knows he’s going to spend the rest of his life trying to crack that particular mystery (it doesn’t matter if he succeeds – not at all. All that matters is that she’s here for him to try and solve it.).

The song on the radio changes, starting with a simple piano intro, and Mike’s heart skips a beat as he recognizes the song. His arms untangle from around El’s waist, hands sliding to her hips to pull her away from the sink, soft need filling every inch of him.

El lets him pull her away from the sink, but not without a soft whine in the process. “Mike, the dishes.”

“They’re not going anywhere,” Mike rasps, a chuckle in his voice. “Dance with me.”

El sighs, but he knows he has her as she takes his hand, the other sliding up to curve over his shoulder. “Mike,” she admonishes, but it lacks true strength. This isn’t the first time Mike’s done this and it certainly won’t be the last.

El’s hand in his is warm and wet from the water still trickling into the sink, a little slippery from the dish soap, but Mike thinks it’s perfect as Elvis’ voice begins to croon from the radio. “Wise men say only fools rush in, but I can’t help falling in love with you….”

The look in El’s eyes is warm and rich, amber-flecked irises darting back and forth as her gaze dances across his face. Her cheeks are gently flushed, suffusing the light tan of her skin with the prettiest pink Mike’s ever seen, and her perfect, richly full lips are curved in an enticing smile. God, Mike doesn’t know how he got so lucky. He wonders this every day and he’s never been able to figure it out. The only thing he can chalk it up to is the only streak of luck he’s ever had in his entire life.

(he doesn’t know this, not really, but it’s not luck. el knows it’s because he was the first person who never judged her, the first person who gave her a home and a name and a place to belong, the only person who’s ever really understood her. it’s a gift she can never, ever repay and she will spend the rest of her life making sure he knows how much she loves him for the simple, yet overwhelming kindness he’s given her.)

But, for the moment, there’s just them, the warm light of their kitchen, and the dulcet, crooning tones of Elvis’ “Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” as they sway back and forth in the middle of their kitchen. El’s warm in his arms, smiling up at him like he’s all she’ll ever need, and Mike’s heart resumes its daily attempt to beat its way out of his chest. The feel of her in his arms is everything, more than he could have ever imagined, more than he ever could have hoped for, and he will forever be grateful to have her in his life, to have her with him.

“Take my hand, take my whole life too,” comes the voice from the radio and Mike can’t help but be hyper aware of El’s hand in his, the smooth metal of her wedding band digging into where their fingers are interlaced, a poignant reminder of the promise they made to each other, ‘til death do they part, as long as they both shall live – the way it’s been since he first found her in the rain, even if he didn’t know it at the time.

He’s leaning towards her before he’s even fully aware that he’s doing it, drawn to her like a moth to a flame, unable to care that he’s permanently and irreversibly caught in her gravity well with no exit velocity. But it’s ok because El’s leaning up towards him, their lips meeting in a gentle kiss that sets his whole soul aflame. Her lips are soft against his, soft and lush and full, like heaven against his. Her kiss is the only one Mike’s ever known and he never wants to know any other for the rest of his life.

The sound of El’s whimpering gasp as he kisses her sends a warm shiver down his spine, heat pooling low in his belly, and Mike kisses El that much harder, the eternal love and desire he feels for her needing an outlet, one his mouth is more than eager to provide. She kisses him back, lips soft yet firm against his, and Mike’s soul just soars. Every time he kisses her is a little like the first time, pulse racing and skin thrumming, and Mike realizes, as he has every day of his life, that El is the only person for him, the only one he wants for as long as he lives.

And he’ll never, ever regret it.

They stand there, kissing in the kitchen as they sway to the radio, bodies pressed against each other like they were meant to fit together. Soon, El will shut off the water and take both of Mike’s hands in hers before guiding him towards the stairs, dishes forgotten as they get swept up in each other.

But, right now, there’s just them, the gentle music that surrounds them, and the overwhelming love they share for each other.

For the moment, in this endless moment full of nothing but the love they share for each other, it’s enough.

And it always, always will be.

#stranger things #mileven #my fic #i love you all #so very very much #this is the smallest token of my affection #i will never feel worthy of being a part of such a wonderful group of people #maybe someday i will be

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blackkudos · 4 years

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Sugar Ray Leonard

Ray Charles Leonard (born May 17, 1956), best known as "Sugar" Ray Leonard, is an American former professional boxer, motivational speaker, and occasional actor. Often regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time, he competed from 1977 to 1997, winning world titles in five weight divisions; the lineal championship in three weight divisions; as well as the undisputed welterweight title. Leonard was part of "The Fabulous Four", a group of boxers who all fought each other throughout the 1980s, consisting of Leonard, Roberto Durán, Thomas Hearns, and Marvin Hagler.

"The Fabulous Four" created a wave of popularity in the lower weight classes that kept boxing relevant in the post-Muhammad Ali era, during which Leonard defeated future fellow International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees Hearns, Durán, Hagler, and Wilfred Benítez. Leonard was also the first boxer to earn more than $100 million in purses, and was named "Boxer of the Decade" in the 1980s. The Ring magazine named him Fighter of the Year in 1979 and 1981, while the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) named him Fighter of the Year in 1976, 1979, and 1981. In 2002, Leonard was voted by The Ring as the ninth greatest fighter of the last 80 years; BoxRec ranks him as the 14th greatest boxer of all time, pound for pound.

Early life

Leonard, the fifth of seven children of Cicero and Getha Leonard, was born in Wilmington, North Carolina. He was named after Ray Charles, his mother's favorite singer. The family moved to Washington, D.C., when he was three, and they settled permanently in Palmer Park, Maryland when he was ten. His father worked as a supermarket night manager and his mother was a nurse. He attended Parkdale High School, Leonard was a shy child, and aside from the time he nearly drowned in a creek during a flood in Seat Pleasant, Maryland, his childhood was uneventful. He stayed home a lot, reading comic books and playing with his dog. His mother said: "He never did talk too much. We never could tell what he was thinking. But I never had any problems with him. I never had to go to school once because of him."

Amateur career

Leonard started boxing at the Palmer Park Recreation Center in 1969. His older brother, Roger, started boxing first. Roger helped start the boxing program, urging the center's director, Ollie Dunlap, to form a team. Dave Jacobs, a former boxer, and Janks Morton volunteered as boxing coaches. Roger won some trophies and showed them off in front of Ray, goading him to start boxing.

In 1972, Leonard boxed in the featherweight quarterfinals of the National AAU Tournament, losing by decision to Jerome Artis. It was his first defeat. Later that year, he boxed in the Eastern Olympic Trials. The rules stated that a boxer had to be seventeen to box in international competition, so Leonard, only sixteen, lied about his age. He made it to the lightweight semifinals, losing a disputed decision to Greg Whaley, who took such a beating that he wasn't allowed to continue in the trials and never boxed again.

Sarge Johnson, assistant coach of the US Olympic Boxing Team, said to Dave Jacobs, "That kid you got is sweet as sugar". The nickname stuck. However, given his style and first name, it was probably only a matter of time before people started calling him Sugar Ray, after the man many consider to be the best boxer of all time, Sugar Ray Robinson.

In 1973, Leonard won the National Golden Gloves Lightweight Championship, but lost to Randy Shields in the lightweight final of the National AAU Tournament. The following year, Leonard won the National Golden Gloves and National AAU Lightweight Championships. Leonard suffered his last two losses as an amateur in 1974. He lost a disputed decision to Anatoli Kamnev in Moscow, after which, Kamnev gave the winner's trophy to Leonard. In Poland, Kazimierz Szczerba was given a decision victory over Leonard, even though he was dominated in the first two rounds and dropped three times in the third.

Leonard won the National Golden Gloves and National AAU Light Welterweight Championships in 1974. The following year, he again won the National AAU Light Welterweight Championship, as well as the Light Welterweight Championship at the Pan American Games.

In 1976, Leonard made the U.S. Olympic Team as the light welterweight representative. The team also included Leon and Michael Spinks, Howard Davis Jr., Leo Randolph, Charles Mooney, and John Tate. Many consider the 1976 U.S. team to be the greatest boxing team in the history of the Olympics. Leonard won his first four Olympic bouts by 5–0 decisions. He faced Kazimierz Szczerba in the semifinals and won by a 5–0 decision, avenging his last amateur loss.

In the final, Leonard boxed the great Cuban knockout artist Andrés Aldama, who scored five straight knockouts to reach the final. Leonard landed several good left hooks in the first round. In the second, he dropped Aldama with a left to the chin. Late in the final round, he again hurt Aldama, which brought a standing eight count from the referee.

With only a few seconds left in the fight, a Leonard combination forced another standing eight count. Leonard was awarded a 5–0 decision and the Olympic Gold Medal. Afterward, Leonard announced, "I'm finished...I've fought my last fight. My journey has ended, my dream is fulfilled. Now I want to go to school." He was given a scholarship to the University of Maryland, a gift from the citizens of Glenarden, Maryland. He planned to study business administration and communications. He finished his amateur career with a record of 165–5 and 75 KOs.

Achievements

1973 National Golden Gloves Lightweight Champion, defeating Hilmer Kenty

1973 National AAU Light Welterweight Championship runner-up, losing to Randy Shields

1974 National Golden Gloves Light Welterweight Champion, defeating Jeff Lemeir

1974 National AAU Light Welterweight Champion, defeating Paul Sherry

1974 North American Championships Gold Medalist, defeating Robert Proulx

1975 National AAU Light Welterweight Champion, defeating Milton Seward

1975 North American Championships Gold Medalist, defeating Michel Briere

1975 Pan American Games Light Welterweight Gold Medalist, defeating Victor Corona

1976 Olympic Light Welterweight Gold Medalist, defeating Andrés Aldama

Olympic Results

1/32: Defeated Ulf Carlsson (Sweden) by unanimous decision, 5–0

1/16: Defeated Valery Limasov (Soviet Union) by unanimous decision, 5–0

1/8: Defeated Clinton McKenzie (Great Britain) by unanimous decision, 5–0

1/4: Defeated Ulrich Beyer (East Germany) by unanimous decision, 5–0

1/2: Defeated Kazimierz Szczerba (Poland) by unanimous decision, 5–0

Finals: Defeated Andrés Aldama (Cuba) by unanimous decision, 5–0

Change in plans

Juanita Wilkinson, Leonard's high school girlfriend, told him she was pregnant in the summer of 1973. They decided to have the baby but marriage would be put off until after the Olympics in 1976. Leonard would continue to pursue his Olympic dream while she and the baby, Ray Charles Leonard Jr., lived with her parents. When Leonard boxed in the Olympics, he had a picture of Wilkinson taped to his sock.

Shortly before the Olympics, Wilkinson had filed an application to receive $156 a month in child support payments from Prince George's County, Maryland. She named Leonard as the father and the county's state attorney's office filed a civil suit against Leonard to establish paternity and get support payments for the child. Leonard learned of the suit several days after returning home from the Olympics. The headline in the Washington Star read, "Sugar Ray Leonard Named in Welfare Dept. Paternity Suit".

Wilkinson went to the Olympics to watch Leonard box, but she did not tell him about the suit and never asked him for any money. "I didn't feel like being bothered by all those complications by asking him for any money for support", she said. Leonard pledged he would support his son, even if he had to scrap plans to attend college.

Leonard had hoped to get lucrative endorsements following his gold medal win, but the negative publicity from the paternity suit chased off any big commercial possibilities. To make matters worse, his father was hospitalized with meningitis and his mother suffered a heart attack. With neither parent able to work, with his child and the mother of his child to support, and without any endorsement opportunities, Leonard decided to become a professional boxer.

Professional career

Early professional career

When Leonard decided to turn professional, Janks Morton introduced him to Mike Trainer, a friend of his who was an attorney. Trainer talked 24 of his friends and clients into underwriting Leonard's career with an investment of $21,000 to be repaid within four years at 8% interest. Trainer then made Leonard the sole stockholder in Sugar Ray Leonard, Inc. Angelo Dundee, Muhammad Ali's trainer, was brought in to be Leonard's trainer and manager. Many of the people being considered wanted absolute control and a cut somewhere near the manager's traditional 33%. Dundee had a different proposition. Although he would prescribe the training procedures, he would leave the day-to-day work to Dave Jacobs and Janks Morton. He would also choose Leonard's opponents. For his services, Dundee would get 15% of Leonard's purse.

Leonard made his professional debut on February 5, 1977 before a crowd of 10,270 at the Civic Center in Baltimore. He was paid $40,044 for the fight. His opponent was Luis "The Bull" Vega, whom he defeated by a six-round unanimous decision. After the fight, Leonard paid back his $21,000 loan to the investors.

In his fourteenth professional fight, Leonard fought his first world-ranked opponent, Floyd Mayweather, who was ranked seventeenth. The fight took place on September 9, 1978. Leonard won by a tenth-round knockout. A month later, Leonard defeated his old amateur nemesis Randy Shields by a ten-round unanimous decision.

On August 12, 1979, Leonard knocked out Pete Ranzany in four rounds to win the NABF Welterweight Championship. The following month, he made his first title defense against Andy Price. Price, an up-and-coming contender who was sponsored by Marvin Gaye, had a reputation for prolonged bouts in earlier fights and was believed by sports reporters to defeat or give a long fight to Leonard. Although Price landed multiple good blows, Leonard knocked him out in the first round, advancing his record to 25–0 with 16 knockouts.

First world titleLeonard vs. Benitez

Leonard fought Wilfred Benítez for the WBC Welterweight Championship on November 30, 1979, at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. There was a capacity crowd of about 4,600. Leonard received $1 million and Benitez, a two-division champion with a record of 38–0–1, received $1.2 million.

It was a highly competitive and tactical battle. In the first round, Leonard rocked Benitez with a left hook that came off a jab and right cross. Late in the third, Leonard dropped Benitez on the seat of his pants with a stiff left jab. More embarrassed than hurt, Benitez got up quickly. Benitez started improving in the fourth, slipping numerous punches and finding the range with his right hand. "I wasn't aware I was in a championship early because I hit him so easy", Leonard said. "But then he adjusted to my style. It was like looking in a mirror".

In the sixth, there was an accidental clash of heads, which opened a cut on the forehead of Benitez. Blood flowed down his forehead and the bridge of his nose but stayed out of his eyes.

Leonard landed the harder punches and had Benitez hurt several times late in the fight, but Leonard couldn't put him away. Benitez was very slick. "No one, I mean no one, can make me miss punches like that", Leonard said.

Going into the final round, Leonard led by scores of 137–130, 137–133, and 136–134. The two went toe-to-toe in the fifteenth. Late in the round, Leonard dropped Benitez with a left. He got up, but after a few more punches, the referee stopped the fight. The time was 2:54 of round fifteen.

The Boxing Writers Association of America and The Ring named Leonard "Fighter of the Year" for 1979.

Leonard vs. Green

Leonard made his first title defense in Landover, Maryland, on March 31, 1980. His opponent was Dave "Boy" Green. The British challenger had a record of 33–2. In the fourth round, Leonard knocked Green out with a devastating left hook. Leonard called it "the hardest single punch I ever threw."

The Brawl in Montreal

On June 20, 1980, Leonard returned to the Olympic Stadium in Montreal to defend his title against Roberto Durán before a crowd of 46,317. Durán, the former Undisputed World Lightweight Champion for 6 1/2 years, had a record of 71–1 and was the #1 welterweight contender and considered the best "Pound for Pound" fighter in the world. Durán received $1.5 million and Leonard, working for a percentage of the closed-circuit gate as well as a guarantee, received over $9 million.

Angelo Dundee counseled Leonard to box, to move side to side and not to get caught on the ropes. However, Leonard decided to fight Durán's way. "Flat-footed", he said. "I will not run."

Durán forced the issue and took the fight to Leonard, cutting off the ring and denying Leonard space to fight his fight. Durán attacked at almost every turn. Leonard battled back again and again, but he had to work just to find room to breathe and swing, at times simply to survive. In the second, Durán rocked Leonard with a left hook, sending him into the ropes. Leonard started to do better by the fifth round, finding some punching room and throwing numerous multi-punch combinations. The two fought with great intensity throughout the fight. According to Bill Nack:

It was, from almost the opening salvo, a fight that belonged to Durán. The Panamanian seized the evening and gave it what shape and momentum it had. He took control, attacking and driving Leonard against the ropes, bulling him back, hitting him with lefts and rights to the body as he maneuvered the champion against the ropes from corner to corner. Always moving forward, he mauled and wrestled Leonard, scoring inside with hooks and rights. For three rounds Durán drove at Sugar Ray with a fury, and there were moments when it seemed the fight could not last five. Unable to get away, unable to counter and unable to slide away to open up the ring, Leonard seemed almost helpless under the assault. Now and then he got loose and countered—left-right-left to Durán's bobbing head—but he missed punches and could not work inside, could not jab, could not mount an offense to keep Durán at bay.

Durán was awarded a unanimous decision, although it was mistakenly read as a majority decision in the ring. The scorecard of judge Angelo Poletti was incorrectly added and announced as 147–147. He actually scored it 148–147. In rounds, he had it three for Durán, two for Leonard, and ten even. Sports Illustrated called his scorecard "a monument to indecision." Judges Raymond Baldeyrou and Harry Gibbs scored the fight 146–144 and 145–144, respectively. Associated Press had it 144–141 for Durán, while The New York Times had Leonard ahead 144–142.

"I did the best I could", Leonard said. "I think I pretty much fought from the heart." Asked if Leonard was the best he ever fought, Durán thought for a moment and then answered, "Si, si." Durán said. "He does have a heart. That's why he's living."

"No Más"

in New Orleans

The rematch, billed as "Stone vs. Sugar.. Once Again", took place November 25, 1980 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans in front of 25,038 fans. Leonard received $7 million and Durán received $8 million.

Dave Jacobs disagreed with the decision to have an immediate rematch with Durán and terminated his relationship with Leonard when the rematch was made. "My idea is that he should have a tuneup fight before he fights with Roberto again", Jacobs said. "I think he won the fight with Durán, but I don't think it is healthy for him to be fighting Durán right away".

After the Montreal fight Durán went on a partying binge and ballooned in weight. Leonard was aware of this, and in an interview for Beyond the Glory he said: "My intention was to fight Durán ASAP because I knew Durán's habits. I knew he would indulge himself, he'd gain 40–50 lbs and then sweat it off to make 147." Unlike the fight in Montreal, Leonard used his superior speed and movement to outbox and befuddle Durán. "The whole fight, I was moving, I was moving", Leonard said. "And Voom! I snapped his head back with a jab. Voom! I snapped it back again. He tried to get me against the ropes, I'd pivot, spin off and Pow! Come under with a punch."

In round seven, Leonard started to taunt Durán. Leonard's most memorable punch came late in the round. Winding up his right hand, as if to throw a bolo punch, Leonard snapped out a left jab and caught Durán flush in the face. "It made his eyes water", Leonard said. He continued to taunt Durán mercilessly. He stuck out his chin, inviting Durán to hit it. Durán hesitated. Leonard kept it up, continuing to move, stop, and mug.

In the closing seconds of the eighth round, Durán turned his back to Leonard and quit, saying to referee Octavio Meyran, "No Más" (English: "No more"). Leonard was the winner by a technical knockout at 2:44 of round eight, regaining the WBC Welterweight Championship. Leonard led by scores of 68–66, 68–66 and 67–66.

Durán said he quit because of stomach cramps, caused by overeating after the weigh-in. "At the end of the fifth round, I got cramps in my stomach and it kept getting worse and worse", Duran later said. "I felt weaker and weaker in my body and arms." He then announced, "I am retiring from boxing right now." During the night Durán was admitted to a hospital with stomach pains, and discharged the following day.

Everyone was surprised by Durán's actions, none more so than his veteran trainers, Freddie Brown and Ray Arcel. "I was shocked", Brown said. "There was no indication that he was in pain or getting weak." Arcel was angry. "That's it", he said. "I've had it. This is terrible. I've handled thousands of fighters and never had anyone quit on me. I think he needs a psychiatrist more than he needs anything else." Durán's manager, Carlos Eleta, said, "Durán didn't quit because of stomach cramps. He quit because he was embarrassed. I know this." According to Randy Gordon, who witnessed Durán's antics beforehand and was in his dressing room immediately afterwards, Durán quit because of his huge eating binge prior to the fight.

"I made him quit", Leonard said. "To make a man quit, to make Roberto Durán quit, was better than knocking him out."

Second world titleLeonard vs. Bonds

On March 28, 1981, Leonard defended his title against Larry Bonds, the WBC sixth-ranked contender, at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York. Bonds was a southpaw, which made him a good opponent for Leonard, given that his next opponent was scheduled to be the WBA Light Middleweight Champion Ayub Kalule, a southpaw.

Leonard was the aggressor throughout, with Bonds circling the ring. He staggered Bonds with a right in the fourth round and dropped him with a follow-up combination. Bonds got up and continued to move, with Leonard in pursuit. Leonard dropped him again in the tenth. Bonds rose but Leonard didn't let him off the hook. The referee stopped the fight with Bonds taking punishment in a corner.

Leonard vs. Kalule

Leonard moved up to the junior middleweight division and faced Kalule on June 25, 1981 at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. Kalule, who was 36–0, had been the WBA Light Middleweight Champion for two years.

Kalule and his handlers had expected Leonard to use lateral movement against him, but Leonard chose to fight inside instead. After eight tough rounds, Leonard was ahead although Kalule appeared to be coming on strong in the eight and ninth. Leonard finally hurt him with a right to the head. Shortly afterward, Leonard dropped him with a flurry of punches. Kalule got up but the referee waved it off. Leonard celebrated his victory with a full 360-degree, no-hands flip. Despite an official stoppage time of 2.59, the fight was actually stopped at 3.06 into the round, meaning Kalule should have been saved by the bell.

The Showdown

Promoted as "The Showdown", Leonard fought Thomas Hearns on September 16, 1981 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas to unify the World Welterweight Championship in a scheduled fifteen-rounder. They fought before a live crowd of 23,618. Hearns was paid $5.1 million, and Leonard made over $11 million. The fight grossed over $35 million. The live gate was $5.9 million, and the revenue from pay-per-view was $7.5 million.

Hearns, 32–0 with 30 knockouts, won the WBA Welterweight Championship in 1980, scoring a second-round knockout of José "Pipino" Cuevas in Detroit, Michigan. He made three successful title defenses, stopping Luis Primera, Randy Shields, and Pablo Baez.

The fight began as expected, Leonard boxing from a distance and Hearns stalking. Leonard had difficulty with Hearns' long reach and sharp jab. By the end of round five, Leonard had a growing swelling under his left eye, and Hearns had built a considerable lead on the scorecards. Leonard, becoming more aggressive, hurt Hearns in the sixth with a left hook to the chin. Leonard battered Hearns in rounds six and seven, but Hearns regrouped. Hearns started to stick and move, and he started to pile up points again. The roles reversed: Leonard became the stalker and Hearns became the boxer. The fight billed as a classic showdown between a powerful knockout artist and the best boxer/puncher the welterweight division had seen in decades devolved into a tactical and boring fight.

Hearns won rounds nine through twelve on all three scorecards. Between rounds twelve and thirteen, Angelo Dundee told Leonard, "You're blowing it, son! You're blowing it!".

Leonard, with a badly swollen left eye, came out roaring for the thirteenth round. After hurting Hearns with a right, Leonard exploded with a combination of punches. Hearns' legs were clearly gone and after more pressure from Leonard he was bundled through the ropes, no knockdown was given as it wasn't a punch that sent him there. Hearns managed to rise, but was dropped by a flurry of hard punches near the end of the round.

In round fourteen, after staggering Hearns with an overhand right, Leonard pinned Hearns against the ropes, where he unleashed another furious combination, prompting referee Davey Pearl to stop the contest and award Sugar Ray Leonard the Unified World Welterweight Championship. Hearns was leading by scores of 124–122, 125–122, and 125–121.

After the fight, there was controversy due to the scoring of rounds six and seven. Even though Leonard dominated, hurting Hearns and battering him, all three judges gave both rounds to Leonard by a 10–9 margin. Many felt that the ten-point must scoring system was not properly used and those rounds should have been scored 10–8. Some also considered the stoppage premature. Veteran ringside commentator Don Dunphy said "They're stopping the fight. I don't believe it. Hearns was ahead on points." However, Emanuel Steward, Hearns' manager and trainer, said, "I felt that the referee was justified in stopping the fight ... Tommy did not have enough energy to make it through the fight."

The fight was named "Fight of the Year" by The Ring. Leonard was named "Fighter of the Year" by The Ring and The Boxing Writers Association of America. He was also named "Athlete of the Year" by ABC's Wide World of Sports and "Sportsman of the Year" by Sports Illustrated.

Retirement and return

On February 15, 1982, Leonard defended the unified title against Bruce Finch, the WBC fourth-ranked contender, in a bout at Reno, NV. Leonard knocked him out in the third round. Leonard's next fight was scheduled to be against Roger Stafford on May 14, 1982, in Buffalo, New York. While training, Leonard started to see floaters. He went to a doctor and discovered that he had a detached retina. The fight was cancelled, and Leonard had surgery to repair the retina on May 9, 1982.

On November 9, 1982, Leonard invited Marvin Hagler and other boxing dignitaries to a charity event in Baltimore, Maryland to hear him announce whether he would continue his career. Standing in a boxing ring with Howard Cosell, the master of ceremonies, Leonard announced his retirement, saying a bout with Hagler would unfortunately never happen. Leonard maintained his eye was fully healed, but that he just didn't want to box anymore.

Missing the limelight and the competition, Leonard announced in December 1983 that he was returning to the ring. Leonard boasted that he would have a couple of ten-round bouts and then take on Milton McCrory, Donald Curry, Durán, Hearns and finally Hagler. This decision was met with a torrent of criticism from fans and the media, who felt Leonard was taking unnecessary risks with his surgically repaired eye.

A bout with Philadelphia's Kevin Howard, who was 20–4–1, was scheduled for February 25, 1984. The fight was postponed when Leonard had minor surgery on his right eye to fix a loose retina. This latest eye problem further fueled the flames of those who opposed Leonard's comeback.

Before the fight with Howard, Dave Jacobs rejoined Leonard's team in a limited role. Jacobs had quit in 1980, disagreeing with Leonard's decision to have an immediate rematch with Durán.

Leonard and Howard fought on May 11, 1984, in Worcester, Massachusetts. Howard knocked Leonard flat on his back in the fourth round. It was the first knockdown of Leonard's professional career. Leonard came back to stop Howard in the ninth round, but the stoppage was disputed, with some feeling that the referee stopped the fight prematurely. Leonard was ahead on all three scorecards at the time of the stoppage. At the post-fight press conference, Leonard surprised everyone by announcing his retirement again, saying he just didn't have it anymore.

Leonard vs. Hagler

On March 10, 1986, Marvin Hagler knocked out John Mugabi in eleven rounds to retain the Undisputed World Middleweight Championship for the twelfth time and advance his record to 62–2–2. "I was ringside", Leonard said. "I'm watching John 'The Beast' Mugabi outbox Hagler. Of all people, John 'The Beast' Mugabi." It was then that Leonard decided to come back and fight Hagler. He called Mike Trainer and said, "I can beat Hagler".

On May 1, 1986, Leonard announced on a Washington, D.C. talk show that he would return to the ring to fight Hagler. The announcement generated a lot of controversy because of Leonard's inactivity and eye injuries, yet it also excited many sports fans who had hoped to see them fight years earlier. Hagler took a few months to decide, then agreed to the match.

The fight, promoted as "The Super Fight" and "The King of the Ring", was scheduled for April 6, 1987, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Leonard was guaranteed $11 million, and Hagler was guaranteed $12 million. Hagler was a heavy favorite. The odds started at 4–1, then settled at 3–1. A paying crowd 12,379 generated a live gate of $6.2 million. According to Bob Arum, the fight grossed $78 million (which equates to $170 million in 2016).

The original fight plan for Leonard was to go toe-to-toe with Hagler and try to cut him, but the plan changed about five days before the fight. Leonard got hit by sparring partner Quincy Taylor and was badly buckled. "He almost knocked me out", Leonard said. After that, Leonard decided to box Hagler.

Many were surprised that Hagler, a natural southpaw, opened the fight boxing out of an orthodox stance. After the quick and slick Leonard won the first two rounds on all three scorecards, Hagler started the third round as a southpaw. Hagler did better, but Leonard's superior speed and boxing skill still allowed him to control the fight. Hagler looked stiff and mechanical and missed the speedy Leonard time and again prompting CBS ringside commentator Gil Clancy to remark "...and is he ever missing...Leonard isn't doing anything to make him miss, he's just missing!"

By the fifth, Leonard, who was moving a lot, began to tire and Hagler started to get closer. Hagler buckled Leonard's knees with a right uppercut near the end of the round, which finished with Leonard on the ropes. Hagler continued to score somewhat effectively in round six. Leonard, having slowed down, was obliged to fight more and move less. However, he was able to outpunch Hagler along the ropes and got the better of several bristling exchanges. Hagler never seized total control of the fight as he had against Thomas Hearns two years earlier, when he brutalized Hearns and scored a third-round knockout. Hagler's punches lacked snap and, although he was scoring solidly to the body, he looked nothing like the powerful fighter who had dominated the middleweight division for the previous five years. Leonard's observation that the Hagler who beat John Mugabi was older and slower proved to be spot on. In rounds seven and eight, Hagler's southpaw jab was landing solidly and Leonard's counter flurries were less frequent.

Round nine was the most exciting round of the fight. Hagler hurt Leonard with a left cross and pinned him in a corner. Leonard looked to be in trouble, but he furiously fought his way out of the corner. The action see-sawed back and forth for the rest of the round, with each man having his moments. However, Hagler's moments were more spectacular and one of Hagler's cornermen: Roger Perron (in an interview that took place on an episode of HBO's Legendary Nights episode segments in 2003) later stated that: "the ninth round was probably Marvin (Hagler)'s, best round".

Round ten was tame by comparison, as the pace slowed after the furious action of the previous round but with Hagler having more spectacular moments. Despite Leonard's obvious fatigue, he boxed well in the eleventh. Every time Hagler scored, Leonard came back with something flashier and more eye-catching, if not as effective. But at that point in the fight, Hagler appeared to be slightly more ring-general and clearly more aggressive. Between rounds eleven and twelve, Leonard's trainer: Angelo Dundee, implored Sugar Ray to get up off his stool yelling "We got three minutes...new champ...new champ!" Leonard yelled "Yeah!" and played to the screaming crowd. Hagler's corner was much more reserved prompting Clancy to comment: "They're talking to him like it's an IBM meeting or something...no emotion." In the final round, Hagler continued to chase Leonard. He hit Leonard with a big left hand and backed him into a corner. Leonard responded with a furious flurry, landing few punches but whipping the upset-hoping crowd into a frenzy. Hagler backed off, and Leonard danced away with Hagler in pursuit. The fight ended with Hagler and Leonard exchanging along the ropes. At the final bell, even uniformed ringside security rushed into the ring applauding and lauding Leonard's effort.

Leonard threw 629 punches and landed 306, while Hagler threw 792 and landed 291.

Leonard was awarded a controversial split-decision. Judge Dave Moretti scored it 115–113 for Leonard, while judge Lou Filippo had it 115–113 for Hagler. Judge José Guerra scored the fight 118–110 for Leonard. Many felt that Hagler deserved the decision because he was the aggressor and landed the harder punches. Scottish boxing journalist Hugh McIlvanney wrote that Leonard's plan was to "steal rounds with a few flashy and carefully timed flurries...he was happy to exaggerate hand speed at the expense of power, and neither he nor two of the scorers seemed bothered by the fact that many of the punches landed on the champion's gloves and arms."

Many others felt that Leonard deservedly got the decision, arguing that Leonard landed more punches and showed better defense and ring generalship. Jim Murray, long-time sports columnist for the Los Angeles Times, wrote, "It wasn't even close...He didn't just outpoint Hagler, he exposed him. He made him look like a guy chasing a bus. In snowshoes...Leonard repeatedly beat Hagler to the punch. When he did, he hit harder. He hit more often...He made Hagler into what he perceived him to be throughout his career—a brawler, a swarmer, a man who could club you to death only if you stood there and let him. If you moved, he was lost."

The scorecards from the ringside press and broadcast media attest to the polarizing views and opinions of the fight:

The fight was named "Fight of the Year" and "Upset of the Year" by The Ring.

Despite requests from the Hagler camp, Leonard was uninterested in a rematch and retired on May 27, 1987. "I'll try, I'll give it a shot", Leonard said of his latest retirement. "But you guys know me." A month after Hagler's formal retirement in June 1988, Leonard would announce another comeback.

Another comebackLeonard vs. Lalonde

On November 7, 1988, Leonard made another comeback, facing Donny Lalonde at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. They fought for Lalonde's WBC Light Heavyweight Championship and the newly created WBC Super Middleweight Championship, which meant that Lalonde had to make 168 lbs. Many were critical of the fact that Lalonde's light heavyweight title was on the line when the weight limit of the fight with Leonard was at 168 pounds, and critical of Leonard for stipulating that his opponent—a natural 175 pounder—should weigh less than his usual fighting weight, which could possibly weaken him. However, Lalonde later told HBO's Larry Merchant that he didn't have any trouble making weight.

Lalonde, 31–2 with 26 knockouts, was guaranteed at least $6 million and Leonard was guaranteed over $10 million.

This would be Leonard's first professional fight without Angelo Dundee. For Leonard's fight with Hagler, Dundee worked without a contract and received $175,000, which was less than 2% of Leonard's purse. Dundee was unhappy with that amount. He requested a contract for the Lalonde fight and Leonard refused. "I don't have contracts. My word is my bond", Leonard said. Janks Morton and Dave Jacobs trained Leonard for the Lalonde fight.

Lalonde's size and awkwardness troubled Leonard. In the fourth round, a right hand to the top of Leonard's head dropped him for just the second time in his career. Early in the ninth, Lalonde hurt Leonard with a right to the chin. Leonard fired back and hurt Lalonde with a right. He drove him to the ropes and unleashed a furious assault. Lalonde tried to tie up Leonard, but got dropped with a powerful left hook. He rose but was soon down again, and the fight was stopped. Judges Chuck Giampa and Franz Marti had Leonard ahead by scores of 77–74 and 77–75, respectively. Judge Stuart Kirshenbaum had Lalonde ahead 76–75.

After the fight, Leonard vacated the light heavyweight title, but kept the super middleweight title. Also, Leonard and Janks Morton split because of personal differences. Morton was replaced as co-trainer by Pepe Correa, who had worked with Leonard for most of the previous fifteen years.

Leonard vs. Hearns

On June 12, 1989, Leonard defended the WBC Super Middleweight Championship in a rematch with Thomas Hearns at Caesar's Palace. It was promoted as "The War." Hearns was guaranteed $11 million and Leonard was guaranteed $14 million.

Hearns dropped Leonard with a right cross in the third round, but Leonard came back and battered Hearns around the ring in the fifth. Early in the seventh round, Hearns hurt Leonard but punched himself out going for the knockout. With Hearns fatigued, Leonard came back and had a strong finish to the round. Rounds nine and ten were good rounds for Leonard, but he ran into trouble in the eleventh round. Three booming rights from Hearns sent Leonard down for the second time in the fight. Knowing he needed a big finish, Leonard fought furiously and had a big final round.

The judges scored the fight a draw and Leonard retained the title. Judge Jerry Roth scored the fight 113–112 for Hearns, Judge Tom Kazmarek scored it 113–112 for Leonard, and Judge Dalby Shirley scored it 112–112. Shirley was the only judge to give Leonard a 10–8 margin in the twelfth. If he had scored it 10–9, as his two colleagues did, Hearns would have won by a split decision. Eventually, Leonard admitted that Hearns deserved the decision.

Leonard vs. Durán III – Uno Más

On December 7, 1989, Leonard defended the title against Roberto Durán, who was the reigning WBC Middleweight Champion. Durán was guaranteed $7.6 million and Leonard's arrangement guaranteed him over $13 million.

For the Durán fight, Leonard cut his entourage from twenty-one to six. Dave Jacobs was one of the people let go, leaving Correa as the sole trainer. Correa was instructed not to spare the whip. "For the first time in a long time, I allowed someone to push me", Leonard said.

The fight took place at the new Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas. Leonard used constant lateral movement and won by a lopsided twelve-round unanimous decision over a listless Durán. The scores were 120–110, 119–109, and 116–111. In a fight that many considered to be very boring, both fighters were booed often by the fans and many left the arena before the decision was announced. Pat Putnam of Sports Illustrated wrote, "Leonard gave them artistic perfection when they wanted heated battle, and they booed lustily. Most fight fans would not spend a dime to watch Van Gogh paint Sunflowers, but they would fill Yankee Stadium to see him cut off his ear." Although Leonard dominated the fight, he suffered several cuts. His lower lip was cut from a headbutt in the fourth round, his left eye was cut in the eleventh round, and his right eye was cut in the twelfth round. The cuts required a total of 60 stitches.

In January 1990, Leonard relinquished the WBC Super Middleweight Championship, saying that he was unsure whether he would fight again. When Leonard decided to continue his career, he offered Hagler a rematch, but Hagler decided to stay retired. He then offered Hearns a third fight, but Hearns said he could no longer make the weight and moved up to the light heavyweight division.

Leonard vs. Norris

On February 9, 1991, Leonard went down to 154 lbs and fought WBC Light Middleweight Champion Terry Norris at Madison Square Garden. Leonard entered the bout as a 3-1 favorite but Norris dominated the fight, giving Leonard a heavy beating. He knocked Leonard down with a left hook in the second round, and in the seventh, he dropped Leonard again with a short right. Leonard had no answer for the skillful, younger, faster man. Leonard went the distance but lost by a lopsided decision. The scores were 120–104, 119–103, and 116–110. After the verdict was announced, Leonard announced his retirement. "It took this fight to show me it is no longer my time", Leonard said. "Tonight was my last fight. I know how Hagler felt now."

Final comeback

In October 1996, the 40-year-old Leonard announced that he was coming out of retirement to fight 34-year-old Héctor Camacho for the lightly regarded International Boxing Council (IBC) Middleweight Championship. Camacho, a light-hitting southpaw, was a three-time world champion with a record of 62–3–1. However, Camacho was also considered to be past his prime. Leonard decided to fight Camacho after commentating on Camacho's fight with the 45-year-old Roberto Durán the previous year, describing the disputed unanimous decision as "an early Christmas gift".

Leonard blamed his poor performance against Norris on lack of motivation, a rib injury, moving down in weight, and divorce, which was being litigated while he was in training. "It was stupid for me to fight Norris at 154 lbs", Leonard said. "This is different. I'm in the best shape possible."

For the Camacho fight, Leonard had a new trainer, Adrian Davis. "He's a great trainer, a throwback", Leonard said. "He has really helped me get ready."

In January 1997, it was announced that Leonard had been voted into the International Boxing Hall Of Fame in Canastota, New York. The rules state that a boxer must be retired for five years before being eligible for induction. When the vote took place, Leonard had been retired for more than five years, therefore, he was eligible, even though he had a fight scheduled. The induction ceremony was on June 15, 1997.

The fight with Camacho took place on March 1, 1997, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Camacho applied pressure from the opening bell and started to score well in the third. He continued to score well in the fourth and opened a cut above Leonard's right eye. In the fifth, Camacho dropped Leonard with a right followed by two left uppercuts. Leonard got up, but was unable to ward off Camacho. The referee stopped the fight with Camacho teeing off on a defenseless Leonard on the ropes. It was the only time in Leonard's career that he was knocked out.

Afterward, Leonard retired again, saying, "For sure, my career is definitely over for me in the ring." However, less than a week after the fight, Leonard said he planned to fight again. He blamed his loss on a torn right calf muscle. His doctor suggested that he cancel the fight, but Leonard wanted to go through with it. Before the fight, he was given a shot of novocaine.

Leonard said he planned to have a series of tuneup fights before fighting a champion. He was scheduled to fight Tony Menefee on February 15, 1998, in Australia, but he pulled out of the fight, saying that he didn't have the motivation. The Camacho fight was Leonard's last. He finished his career with a record of 36–3–1 with 25 knockouts.

Media appearances

Leonard has worked as a boxing analyst for ABC, CBS, NBC, ESPN, HBO and EPIX. His relationship with HBO lasted for more than a decade. It ended in 1990, after HBO was not offered an opportunity to bid on the telecast rights to Leonard's fight with Terry Norris. HBO believed it would be inappropriate for Leonard to continue with them if they couldn't bid on his fights. Leonard's attorney, Mike Trainer, said, "There never has been a linkage between his broadcasting and his fighting."

Leonard has provided commercial endorsements for companies including Coca-Cola, EA Sports, Ford, Nabisco, Revlon and 7 Up. His most famous commercial was a 7 Up ad he did with his son, Ray Jr., Roberto Durán and Durán's son Roberto Jr. in the early 1980s. Leonard is among the most sought-after motivational/inspirational speakers in the world today. His speech, entitled "Power" (Prepare, Overcome and Win Every Round), is consistently booked with major Fortune 500 companies throughout the United States and abroad.

Leonard has also worked as an actor. He has appeared in numerous television shows, including Half & Half, L.A. Heat, Married... with Children, Renegade and Tales From The Crypt. He has also appeared in several movies, including I Spy and most recently The Fighter (2010), starring Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg. This movie brought back memories of his fight with Dicky Eklund. He also worked as an adviser in the 2011 robot boxing film Real Steel. Leonard served as host and mentor to the aspiring fighters on The Contender. Sylvester Stallone, who co-hosted during the first season, was one of the executive producers, along with Mark Burnett. When Leonard left the show, he was replaced as host by Tony Danza for the final season.

In 2001, Leonard launched Sugar Ray Leonard Boxing Inc., a boxing promotional company, and announced the company's strategic partnership with ESPN. Together, Leonard and ESPN would produce and promote "Sugar Ray Leonard and ESPN II Presents Friday Night Fights", which would air the first Friday of every month for twelve months. Leonard's boxing promotional company was dissolved in 2004. He had a falling out with partner Bjorn Rebney, whom he called "a cancer in my company." Speaking of his promotional company, Leonard said, "We did some great shows with evenly matched fights. I took great pride in it. But the TV show came about and made my decision a lot easier. I already had it in the back of my mind to dissolve the company. The working environment was not healthy."

Leonard competed on season 12 of Dancing with the Stars, which premiered on Monday, March 21, 2011, on ABC. His partner was Anna Trebunskaya. He was voted off in Week 4 of the show. During his appearance on The Colbert Report in 2011, Leonard was defeated by host Stephen Colbert in a thumb wrestling contest. He appeared as a guest at the chef's table, along with Tito Ortiz, during the tenth season of Hell's Kitchen. He is the celebrity spokesperson for the Atlanta law firm John Foy and Associates, PC.

Leonard was also the subject of a Seinfeld episode (season 6, episode 21) where George tries to flatter his boss by saying he looks like Sugar Ray Leonard. The real Leonard (a Seinfeld fan) mentioned that he was told about the episode by friends and family, but had never seen it for himself until a friend gave him the DVD set for a gift.

Personal life

Family

Leonard married his high school sweetheart, Juanita Wilkinson, in January 1980. Their six-year-old son, Ray Jr., served as the ring bearer. In 1984, they had another son, Jarrell. They were divorced in 1990. During divorce proceedings, Juanita Leonard testified that her husband physically abused her while under the influence of alcohol. She also said he was an occasional cocaine user. In his testimony, Leonard confirmed his wife's claims and went on to reveal that the problems of their marriage were not due to drug and alcohol use.

After the Los Angeles Times broke the story, Leonard held a press conference and publicly acknowledged that the accusations were true. He said he started using after he retired in 1982, following surgery to repair a detached retina. "I wanted more", Leonard said. "I wanted that arena. I didn't want anyone to tell me my career had to end." "I decided to search for a substitute...I resorted to cocaine. I used when I felt bad, I used when I missed competing at that level", he said. "It was a crutch, something that enabled me to forget." He said he quit using drugs in early 1986, when he woke up one morning and "what I saw in the mirror was scary." "I can never erase the pain or the scars I have made through my stupidity, my selfishness", Leonard said. "All I can do is say I'm sorry, but that is not enough." In 2011, Leonard revealed in an NPR interview that he had been free of alcohol since July 2006.

In 1989, Leonard was introduced to Bernadette Robi by Kenny G at a Luther Vandross concert. Robi is the daughter of Paul Robi, one of the original Platters, and she is the ex-wife of Lynn Swann. Leonard and Robi were married at Leonard's $8.7 million estate in Pacific Palisades, California in August 1993. At the wedding ceremony, the grounds were converted into a garden with 10,000 roses and blossoms of other flowers flown in from the Netherlands.

Leonard is also the godfather of Khloé Kardashian and has appeared on many episodes of Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

Charity work

For many years, Leonard has been the International Chairman of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's Walk for a Cure and is actively involved in raising both awareness and funds.

Leonard testified before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs in 2009. The Senate hearing was titled "Type 1 Diabetes Research: Real Progress and Real Hope for a Cure". He testified about the burden of diabetes and the need for continued research funding to find a cure.

Leonard and his wife, Bernadette, founded the Sugar Ray Leonard Foundation to support the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and its annual Walk for a Cure. In 2009, the foundation expanded to support programs that help people rebuild their communities in ten cities across the United States. It supports accessible housing, healthcare services, and educational services and job training.

In 2007 he was awarded The Ambassador Award of Excellence by the LA Sports & Entertainment Commission at the Riviera Country Club for his continued community involvement.

Advocacy against child molestation

In his autobiography The Big Fight: My Life in and out of the Ring, published in June 2011, Leonard reveals that as a young boxer he was the victim of sexual abuse from an Olympic trainer as well as another man, a benefactor. He has since made public appearances to bring attention to the issue of child sex abuse, declaring himself a "poster child" for the cause and encouraging victims to report their abuse.

#05/17

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lakersworld · 5 years

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‘My beloved Kobe’: Lower Merion coach Gregg Downer pens essay on Kobe Bryant’s passing.⁣

⁣

My favorite sports moments came during the 20 years of soaking up every second of my idol’s — my hero’s — Lakers career. My beloved Kobe Bryant.⁣

⁣For two decades, I kept West Coast time as Kobe ascended to greatness and perfected what he’d started at Lower Merion. I learned to get by on five hours of sleep while Kobe became the greatest champion and most feared competitor of his generation.⁣

⁣I saw Kobe’s air balls in Utah, his buzzer-beaters, his 81-point game, the rings and near misses. I witnessed his absolute greatness as a player. And I did so with immense pride, recalling the journey we took together to win a state title in Lower Merion, a journey in which he taught me how to win and pushed me to be the best coach I could be.⁣

⁣When asked by some stray reporter for the 50th time if I would ever have another Kobe Bryant, the answer was simple, and it will always be the same: absolutely no way.⁣

The moments we spent together were even more special. I shot free throws with him at the old Forum before practices. I swam and ate a few meals with him at his house overlooking the Pacific. I traveled to games all over the country, including the Finals series against Indiana, Orlando, Boston, and, of course, Philly. We exchanged e-mails about strategy. I worked his basketball camps. I introduced him annually to current Aces players.⁣

⁣And in a private moment, deep in the halls of Lower Merion High School, he became one of the first to know a dream of mine was about to come true. My beautiful wife, Colleen, was pregnant. We stopped in front of Room 225 for an embrace I will never forget. He was so happy for me. And I was so happy he was there.⁣

My father died, at 89, last fall. He also watched 20 years of Kobe’s play — 24, if you include high school — and it helped strengthen the bond between us. Dad would tape the late games and watch them in the morning. If we felt Kobe had an off night, we simply erased the DVR.⁣

Every morning, when I called my dad, most conversations would start with "Did you see what Kobe did last night?” I can’t imagine Dad’s shock when Kobe entered heaven on Jan. 26. I hope they are buddies and watching old game tapes together.⁣

The memorial at Staples was a Mount Rushmore of basketball experiences. If the premise had been different, if the celebration had been for lives present instead of lives past, it would have been the pinnacle of my career.⁣

⁣I’d been looking forward to that moment at next summer’s Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame induction. It would have been a joyous reunion and the moment of a basketball lifetime for a scrawny kid from Media, Pa., who never could have imagined he’d one day coach the NBA’s biggest and brightest star.⁣

⁣At the memorial ceremony, I hugged Kobe’s sisters and parents tight, and the tears never stopped. Vanessa’s speech was one of courage, resilience, and leadership. Although I don’t know her, I was so proud of her. Kobe would have loved her toughness and resolve and would have demanded she fight on for their three other daughters.⁣

With the world hanging on her every word, Vanessa gave a beautiful, intimate remembrance of Kobe and Gianna. Diana Taurasi and Sabrina Ionescu symbolized Kobe’s immense pride and passion in being a #girldad and made it clear that Gianna was developing into another Mamba. They thought that she would one day be in the WNBA. This was not idle speculation. Gianna could have been whatever she wanted to be and had the perfect father to guide her dreams.⁣

⁣I knew before many that Kobe’s real dream was to be the next Michael Jordan. We talked about it often as he developed from age 13 to 17, and you could clearly see it in his mannerisms, his imitations. Michael was a huge part of his identity.⁣

Jordan’s speech was iconic, just like the man himself. With tears pouring down his face, the ever-so-stoic and prideful Jordan — he of the six championship rings Kobe so relentlessly chased — acknowledged that Kobe was his little brother and that Kobe was an amazing player. Kobe had to have been smiling ear to ear from the heavens as his hero validated his greatness and gave him his due. I hope Kobe and Gianna shared that incredible moment.⁣

Most have no idea the work that went into Kobe’s chase of Michael’s acceptance and full respect. And I’m sure Kobe still wants M.J. one-on-one when he eventually joins him in heaven. Michael had better remember to bring his sneakers.⁣

The speeches have ended, but for me the essential question still remains: How do I move forward from this horrific tragedy? I am a teacher, coach, father, and husband. I, like many, am not sure I have the answers right now.⁣

Memories and flashbacks are everywhere at Lower Merion. Ten months each year, six days a week, I coach in the gym Kobe built. He can pop into my head at any moment. One morning, I spontaneously dropped and did 24 push ups for no apparent reason.⁣

Kobe needs his high school coach to be strong. My current players need it. My students need it. I need to continue to affect players and students in a positive way, as I’ve been trying my best to do for 30 years. Kobe needs me to stand tall and sharpen my resolve. The ceremony helped, but I miss my hero immensely.⁣

⁣I have a beautiful 7-year old daughter named Brynn Riley. She is my pride and joy. Every time Kobe saw her, he picked her up and hugged her tight. We smiled ear to ear, as did Brynn. He held her like his own.⁣

The “girl dad” movement Kobe ignited is something that now feels tangible to me. Maybe that’s the lasting connection to Kobe I need. Brynn comes to my games. She alternates between cheerleading and actually helping coach the team. She brings a clipboard. She comes to the film studies and all the pep talks. Her favorite activity after big wins is soaking her dad with water during locker-room parties. She recently made her first basket on a 10-foot hoop and completed two weeks of my summer basketball camp without complaint.⁣

We swim together, have sleepovers by the fireplace, do gymnastics, soccer, and baseball together. And recently, our favorite activity is our own version of backyard NFL football: Eagles vs. Patriots. Much to our delight, the Eagles always win, even if her extra points are a little low off the back fence. We laugh together and cry together through all aspects of life.⁣

⁣Like any parent, I want Brynn to have a great, successful, healthy life. She can be whatever she wants to be, and I want more than anything else to be the girl dad who helps and guides her through the good and bad. Kobe’s love for his girls, his legacy as a father, strengthens me. The bond we shared in raising our daughters is the greatest gift of our relationship. It’s what inspires me most.⁣

My players know I like to choose short phrases and collections of words to motivate and guide us during the season. I am going to focus on three words for my own motivation and peace of mind: courage, resilience, and love. Coaches need a game plan. For the first time since Jan. 26, I feel I have one.⁣

⁣

Gregg Downer as told to Mike Sielski | via Inquirer ⁣

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#lakers #losangeleslakers #lakernation #lakeshow #kobe #purpleandgold #blackmamba #kobebryant #nba #lakersworld16

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broadwaycantdie · 5 years

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The Boy

( jojo’s diary ) + ( jojo x tb ) + ( fluff )

a/n: i often hurt jojo so i wanted to do him some good // also jojo and tommy boy is a completely underrated ship that i stan v hard // p.s. jojo talks to his diary like it’s a person cause that’s just who he is

warnings: language, mentions of intimacy

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December 5th, 2008

Today I saw the prettiest boy I think I’ve ever seen.

I guess he got put into my Spanish class? I think he’s new? I walked in and there he was. I’ve never seen him before. That beautiful motherfucker. Who is he? I wish I knew.

Decemeber 6th, 2008

I almost talked to the pretty boy today. I was going to but once I finally built up the courage, it was too late. There’s always tomorrow!

December 7th, 2008

The boy was absent today.

December 8th, 2008

I talked to him! I found out he’s called Tommy Boy. That can’t be his real name. Maybe it’s Tommy? I don’t know but that’s what he introduced himself as so that’s what I’ll call him.

I was going to have a full conversation but I ran out of time. I told him his outfit looked nice cause it did. He dresses really good. He seems so sweet and so kind.

My heart pounded really hard after.

December 9th, 2008

The boy is really bad at spanish. He’s trying though, he’s just not good.

I also know I could write his name but incase anyone finds this I’m gonna keep calling him “the boy”.

Call me paranoid, I guess.

December 11th, 2008

I went to the mall and guess who was there? THE BOY! I can’t tell if he was looking at me or not but my friends told me he definitely was checking me out. I don’t believe them. I don’t like him or anything, he’s just super pretty and makes me heart all fluttery. But I don’t like him. I don’t.

December 12th, 2008

Okay I like the boy.

December 15th, 2008

The boy really needs help in Spanish. He keeps failing the tests. Maybe I could tutor him. Maybe it’ll turn into something more? No. But he does need help.

December 16th, 2008

Winter break starts tomorrow and I want to hang out with the boy. But I don’t know the boy. And the boy doesn’t know me. I could say it’s tutoring, but who wants to do schoolwork over break?

Maybe I could just tell him I want to be with him. Nah, that’s too straight-forward.

December 17th, 2008

I’m so stupid oh my gosh I can’t believe I did that.

I asked him if he needed help. AND HE SAID YES.

HE ASKED ME IF WE COULD GET TOGETHER OVER BREAK TO WORK ON HIS SPANISH SO HE COULD COME BACK DOING BETTER NEXT SEMESTER!

AND NOW WE’RE GOING TO A COFFEE SHOP AFTER THE HOLIDAYS.

I’ll just be having a panic attack until then. Don’t mind me.

December 27th, 2008

Tomorrow is the day. I haven’t stopped shaking since he asked me. I got all my books together and I can’t figure out what to wear.

Why am I so nervous? It’s not like I’ve never hung out with anyone before?

Maybe I should sleep to get my mind off it.

December 29th, 2008

I’m pretty sure yesterday was the greatest day of my life. The boy is absolutely perfect and I can’t wait to see him again.

He was so sweet and kind to me.

He kept messing up on his pronunciations so I would say it correctly and have him repeat it and he told me he liked my accent and we both blushed really hard. At least I felt myself blush. And I saw his face. He’s really cute when he gets shy.

We sat in the shop for a long time until he said he couldn’t take anymore learning for one day. I also didn’t want to keep going but I didn’t want to leave him.

BUT THEN

He asked if I wanted to go get something to eat and I said yes. Then he asked where my car was parked and I told him I just walked and he said he would drive me to get food with him. SO I DID!

We went to a cute little 50’s themed diner and talked a lot about ourselves and our lives and everything.

I had my arms on the table waiting for our food and he reached over and grabbed my hand and rubbed his thumb against the side of it. And then he looked at me and told me he was really thankful for my help and that we should do it more often and that we should get together more.

AAAAAAHHHHHH!

Then when we finished eating he payed for me before I could even get my wallet out. What a gentleman.

After that he asked me what time I had to be home and I told him that it didn’t matter cause it doesn’t.

AND THIS BOY

ASKS ME IF I WANT TO GO BACK TO HIS PLACE

and I said yes, of course

So we went back to his house and he told me he was home alone for the week cause his parents were on a cruise or something that he didn’t want to go on.

We sat on the couch and watched a movie. I don’t remember a lot cause I started to get really tired but I really didn’t want to leave. I did remember that.

I fell asleep laying on his chest on the couch then I woke up next to him in a bed this morning.

When I woke up and before I actually opened my eyes I could feel him rubbing his fingers in my hair real soft. He’s honestly so sweet and cute. AH!

He gave me a kiss on my forehead and let me tell you, diary, I don’t think I’ve ever blushed that hard, EVER.

Everything just felt so so good.

After a while I figured I had to go home so he dropped me off at my house and walked me up to the door. He asked if he was allowed to kiss me, which was absolutely precious, and I obviously said yes, I mean, why wouldn’t I? And we kissed and everything in the world just felt okay. It was weird. Not the kiss. But like how I felt. Like my whole body lit up and I felt like I was in a dream.

If he’s my dream then I never want to wake up.

December 31st, 2008

Happy New Year’s Eve, diary!

It’s been a few days since I wrote but they haven’t been that eventful.

The boy has been calling me every day which is cute. I like him a whole lot.

But the reason I started writing was because a few minutes ago he asked me to go to a New Years party with him tonight!

He’s picking me up at 9.

I’ve never been to Brooklyn, so let’s see how it goes.

January 2, 2009

Diary, I can’t even begin to tell you everything that happened at that party, but I will try (in a list cause it’s too much to actually write out and once I start I’ll never stop).

When he picked me up, he kissed my cheek

He held my hand for most of the time cause I guess I didn’t know how Brooklyn is like

I finally got to meet Race and Mike’s boyfriends in person! They seem nice :)

Before drinking, the boy asked if I minded if he drank and if I wanted to as well, which I thought was really sweet cause no one has ever asked me that before

We drank a lot, actually (I’m suprised I still remember everything)

SHOTS! SHOTS! SHOTS! SHOTS! SHOTS!

We also danced a lot, like a LOT a lot. He’s a really good dancer

When the ball dropped he kissed me on the mouth for a real long time and when he pulled away he gave me this look, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to describe it but it basically said “let’s go somewhere private”

After that he took my hand and lead me to a bedroom, I don’t know whose bedroom it was but I didn’t really care

He asked me if I was comfortable with him and I told him yes cause I am, and he asked if I wanted to make out with him and I said cause cause of course I wanted to

Then we made out for who knows how long but it felt like forever and I was completely happy with that

He didn’t try anything, he didn’t reach down my pants or try to start anything but he did take off a lot of my clothes and I returned the favor (let me tell you diary, this boy has the body of a greek god, I almost couldn’t comprehend how good he looked)

We slept in that room and then when I woke up he was laying on his stomach and I started to run my fingers along his back muscles (which were gorgeous by the way!)

I can’t believe what I did, I wasn’t really thinking, I just let go and did what I felt. But while rubbing his back I ran my hands lower like around his hips and butt. Not like me at all but it felt so good. And then he woke up and lifted his head and looked at me and so I moved my hand real fast cause I was kinda embarrassed and then hE PUT MY HAND BACK ON HIS BACK AND TOLD ME HE LIKED IT AND SAID HE ESPECIALLY LIKED WHEN I WENT LOWER!!

Something came over me (but I wasn’t mad, honestly) and I started getting really flirty like maybe it’s being around him but woah

So I looked at him and said “oh, I can do better than that” and he smiled and was like “oh you can? like what?” but like it wasn’t mean he was also flirty and then I said “roll over and I’ll show you” and so he did and I sat myself right on his chest like near the bottom and started kissing him

I’m not gonna give details of everything that happened cause that’s weird and I don’t want anyone to find this and read that (again, call me paranoid) but let’s just say that was the first time I ever did that and it felt a lot better to do it with another person

After that he dropped me off at my house cause I didn’t want my parents to worry and he kissed me again at the door and woah diary no matter how many times we kiss I still feel butterflies in my stomach

January 16, 2009

Diary! It’s been a while since I wrote. The last thing you heard was the New Year’s party, but so much has happened since then. I’ve been so busy with the boy.

We went back to school a few days ago and everyone kept asking if we were together. I found out some people saw us together at the party and it spread from there. I’m not mad, it’s kinda fun having a lot of people talk to me for once.

But the rumors are true.

The boy and I are together! <3

He makes my heart flip around itself and I don’t know what I’d do without him.

He’s my light and he’s my love.

My baby.

That feels so good to say.

I have a good feeling about this one. He could be it. I really hope he is. I couldn’t imagine being without him at this point. Though it’s only been a short time, I can just feel it. You know? That feeling in your heart and soul that this is the one person you can spend the rest of your life with. He‘s that person. The one.

July 28, 2016

Wow.

Hi Diary. Been a while? I forgot about you.

Today is the day of my wedding and as a gift, my mother gave this to me, confessing that she read it and thought it’d be good for me to reread.

I cried remembering all the memories this little book stored and how much trust I put in it to keep my secrets when no one else would.

I’m writing in this one last time to close a chapter and to keep this in the house my about-to-be husband and I are building. Maybe to one day reread it again and feel these emotions all over.

This book reminded me how much everything felt as a teenager, how much we took everything to heart and how every emotion was so overwhelming. I was reminded of those times of complete panic waiting for a first date and then completely letting myself go and facing new challenges on New Year’s.

I’ll never forget those times, as they shaped me into who I am today. Without those memories, I wouldn’t have built confidence, grown to love intimacy, or found a husband.

I always knew he was the one, and now I have proof.

Sincerely and most fondly yours, diary, I’ll continue to reread you when I can.

Thank you.

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