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princessanneftw · 2 years ago

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The Princess Royal interview: ‘I’m not sure that rewilding at scale is necessarily a good idea’

With conservation close to her heart, HRH explains what’s needed to save animals under threat and how the monarchy plays its part

By Jessamy Calkin for The Telegraph

Inside St James’s Palace there is a bit of a flutter about the weather. Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal has several engagements today, and things are not looking good; due to wind, the helicopter might not be able to land at the designated sites, which will make travelling times to and from events longer.

The staff are waiting to be informed by the police, who are in touch with the helicopter pilot. HRH, as everyone seems to call her, has not yet been told.

She has a lot to fit in: directly after our interview, she is off to a meeting about Gordonstoun school, in London, by car, then by helicopter to give a speech at an English Rural Housing Association conference in Bedfordshire, followed by a visit to the Aircraft Research Association, where she will unveil a plaque, then back to St James’s Palace to change for evensong at The King’s Chapel of the Savoy, where she will be reading the lesson for the Royal Victorian Order.

Her day will finish at about nine, when she will be able to eat. Quite often she has a dinner engagement as well. Next week she is going to Mumbai for four days.

Not for nothing is she known as the hardest-working royal. She is involved with more than 300 charities, organisations and military regiments, and last year carried out 200-plus engagements – more than any other member of the Royal family.

Her first official engagement was at the age of 18; shortly afterwards, in 1970, she became president of Save the Children – a position that led to her being nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize – and her work with that charity continues to this day.

Early on, her father, the Duke of Edinburgh, advised her to pick the charities she was interested in – and her interests have multiplied.

But one charity that is particularly close to her heart is the Whitley Fund for Nature, which is why I’m here. Started by Edward Whitley OBE as the Whitley Awards, WFN is now celebrating its 30th anniversary, and the Princess has been a patron for 24 years.

The annual ceremony takes place at the Royal Geographical Society in London and is colloquially known as the Green Oscars; WFN distributes grants totalling around £500,000 to worthy international winners.

So far, £20 million has been awarded to 200 conservationists across 80 countries. And the Princess has never missed a single ceremony, presenting the awards and delivering heartfelt speeches.

HRH is quite probably the most respected member of the Royal family. Her lack of pomp and ceremony and the low-key dedication with which she carries out her duties is much admired. There is no whingeing. She refused titles for her children, Peter and Zara.

She is well known for her dry sense of humour. She is an exceptionally accomplished horsewoman and in 1976 became the first member of the Royal family to compete in the Olympics; she had won Sports Personality of the Year five years earlier. She famously resisted an attempted kidnap in 1974.

She has also become an inadvertent style icon, often rewearing outfits she first wore decades ago, which is both charmingly thrifty and impressive in that she can still fit into them, and she seldom buys anything that is not made in the UK.

She recently made a good-natured appearance on her son-in-law Mike Tindall’s podcast The Good, the Bad & the Rugby and she seems like an all-round good egg.

She has both gravitas and spirit – there was some very moving footage of her accompanying her mother’s coffin on the long journey from Balmoral to Westminster Abbey.

Back in St James’s Palace, Charles, her private secretary, is arranging the chairs, anticipating where she might like to sit. HRH arrives in a striking bright-green suit over a striped silky shirt and heads smartly for a different chair than the one offered.

How did she first get involved with Whitley? ‘That’s entirely Edward’s fault,’ she says in her crisp voice. ‘But the common denominator is Gerald Durrell.’

The Princess grew up reading Durrell’s books and became patron of his zoo in Jersey, part of what is now the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, in 1972. ‘He very kindly asked me to become involved in the zoo – as it was then – in Jersey, and Edward [later became] one of Durrell’s trustees.

‘He and I had similar beliefs in what Gerald was doing. Apart from the fact that Gerald wrote very good books, during his travels he seemed to understand better than most the impact on the populations in which animals lived and the relationship between them and their animals.

‘Being told you have to save this, that and the other is all very well but have you been there? Have you ever tried living in that environment to find out what that means to them? Because the fundamental point is that unless the conservation comes from the local area, it won’t be sustained.’

No one is going to save an animal just because they’re told to. ‘You’ve got to work out how the animals are going to survive with the people who live there, who will be the ones who make sure that it works.’

What was Durrell like? ‘Every bit as entertaining as you would think. His humour but also his understanding of the relative importance of things in other people’s lives was absolutely fascinating – and he was spot on.’

Durrell said he felt ‘sympathy for the small and ugly; since I’m big and ugly I try to preserve the little ones’. He was an expert on captive breeding, with a view to releasing into the wild, and he tended to select animals that were close to extinction, or those that could best be helped, or just ones that were not very charismatic.

‘Yes, not the sexy ones,’ says the Princess. ‘Or the obvious ones. His approach was very holistic. He understood the impact of habitat – not just on one species but how all of the things that lived in that habitat related to each other and that you couldn’t replicate that instantly somewhere else – it was very specific to an area.’

Gerald Durrell died in January 1995, of septicaemia. He was an alcoholic and had successfully received a liver transplant but died of complications it gave rise to. ‘He told me that there was no point doing a transplant because his old liver had got used to being fed all the things he’d been given to eat and drink in order to make deals as he went round the world,’ the Princess says, smiling.

Durrell’s legacy is long. One of his innovations was to establish training for conservationists from around the world. The first trainee went on to become the first director of the National Parks and Conservation Service in Mauritius, and thousands of students from 151 countries have since attended the centre, whose graduates became known as Gerald Durrell’s Army.

This became the title of a book by Edward Whitley, who travelled round the world to assess the progress of some of the trainees and the animals they were conserving – such as the largest eagle in the world in the Philippines and Alaotran gentle lemurs in Madagascar.

To launch the book in 1992, Whitley was invited to give a talk at the Royal Geographical Society, and he asked the Princess to come along. It was at the book launch that he decided to set up the charity.

‘I sat down with Nigel Winser, who was the deputy director of the RGS and a long-time friend, and we designed what became the Whitley Awards on the back of a napkin,’ he tells me. In 1999, Whitley asked the Princess to become a patron. By then, ‘Attenborough was already on board, which encouraged her to think it wasn’t a fly-by-night organisation which would crash and burn’.

The awards focus on community-based conservation projects around the world. In order to qualify, each project has to be up and running – it cannot be a pipe dream. Initially there was only one award; this year there were six – of £40,000 each in project funding – plus a Gold Award of £100,000, given each year to a past winner in recognition of their outstanding contribution to conservation.

‘The reason WFN is so effective,’ says Alastair Fothergill, whose company Silverback made the acclaimed TV nature series Wild Isles, and who like Attenborough is a WFN ambassador, ‘is because its grants are awarded at the very cutting edge of conservation, where relatively modest funds can go a long way. Over the years, the fund has kickstarted the careers of many pioneers who have become leading lights in conservation.’

This year’s projects included safeguarding seabird nesting sites in Mexico; establishing ‘lion guards’ promoting coexistence in Cameroon; and protecting pangolins in Nepal, lemurs in Madagascar, freshwater fish in Lake Victoria and saiga antelope in west Kazakhstan. Each one heavily involves local communities.

In addition, WFN provides continuation funding for award-winners. To mark the 25th anniversary of Whitley, Kate Humble, also an ambassador, and Attenborough hosted an event at the Natural History Museum to help raise £1 million for continuation funding.

‘It was the first really big fundraiser we had,’ says Humble. ‘And one of the donors underwrote the entire cost of the event – so everything raised went into the continuation fund.’

The RGS ceremonies are joyous events. In addition to being presented with their award by the Princess Royal, each winner has a short film made of their work, narrated by Attenborough, screened at the event. ‘I’ve been going for 20 years,’ says Humble, ‘and every year I’m blown away by the winners – what they’ve overcome, what they’ve achieved.

‘You hear so much bad news, and you think, you know what? The world can be OK because people out there are doing this stuff – it’s demonstrable, it’s scientifically rigorous and it’s working. [It’s] an incredibly uplifting and inspiring evening.

‘And every year I watch Princess Anne speak and she never sounds like she’s reading someone else’s words. She cares deeply about what this charity does and what these people who win the awards have achieved – she is not a figurehead just trotting out nice words and providing a photo op. She could run the charity, she knows it so well and cares about it so deeply.

‘I’m not anti-royal,’ says Humble, ‘but neither am I someone who would go and wave a Union Jack. But when I see her I think, frankly you’re worth whatever it is we pay.’

HRH talks with fluency and knowledge on every subject. ‘She’s like a sponge – it’s unbelievable the information that’s stored in her brain,’ said her daughter Zara in an interview for ITV’s Anne: The Princess Royal at 70. ‘It’s quite annoying as well.’

She needs to know a lot because she works with a diverse range of charities, taking in early years, healthcare, microfinance and animal welfare. Promoting collaboration between charities is key. ‘I do a lot of that,’ she says now. ‘I have meetings bringing them together which they all seem to enjoy, though sometimes it’s a bit illogical.

‘Knitting together all the international NGOs is important, but we need to look slightly outside the box – can we do this better, are there ways of helping people to be more sustainable?’

The Princess does occasionally discuss conservation with the King, she says, but she won’t say if they always agree. And her grandchildren? How does she teach them about conservation? (She has five, four girls and a boy.)

‘I don’t see so much of them but making the point that they live in an area which they shouldn’t take for granted is important I think; both my children are aware of that.’

Gatcombe Park in Gloucestershire, where the Princess and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, live in an 18th-century manor with 730 acres of parkland, has some beautiful trees – ‘the ones that survive – quite a lot don’t, we live on Cotswold brash which is not popular with plants; but having said that we have beeches.

‘You’ve just got to live with what’s there and make sure it doesn’t get overwhelmed. I’m not sure that rewilding at scale is necessarily a good idea – it probably is in corners, but if you’re not careful you rewild all the wrong things because they are just the things that are more successful at growing.

‘My biggest row at home is ragwort. Lots of people think that ragwort is absolutely brilliant because butterflies love it, but it’s not good for the horses [it is toxic]. I would say don’t take all the ragwort out, just where the horses are – but it’s quite a delicate balance.’

There are, she says, ‘quite a lot of horses at home, but they’re other people’s as well’. She rides whenever she can. ‘It’s a very good place to observe nature from.’

The Princess supports several horse-related charities, and became patron of Riding for the Disabled in 1971, and president in 1985. ‘It was just becoming a national body when I was invited to become a patron – at that stage I knew nothing about disability but the concept that ponies or horses could make a difference was obviously interesting and I knew about them. No matter what the disability was, the answer was, if they’d like to ride, we’ll give it a go. The commonality of the experience was important.’

Essential things for running a charity, she says, are evaluation and thinking of the long term. She cites the influence of Eglantyne Jebb, founder of Save the Children, ‘who constantly evaluated programmes to see if they were making a difference, whether they were doing the right things and whether people were invested’.

And it’s important to keep projects focused and manageable. ‘I’ve come to the conclusion that scale is the thing that defeats any good idea, because it can get to a size where people can’t cope.’

She has spoken in the past about the huge value of long-term commitment, in terms of the constitutional monarchy as well as in charity work. ‘Seeing things in the long term is a challenge,’ she says now, ‘but maybe part of our [value] – as a family – is long-term continuity, because the long-term view is quite hard to come by. And I think we can do that.’

May I ask what she might have done as a profession in another life? HRH laughs and looks vaguely impatient. ‘You can ask but I’ve no idea.’ Does she ever think about that?

‘Not really, and it’s way too late to have those concerns – in a way the fortunate part of my life has been the broad spectrum, to see so much. Not having a very specific interest has been a bonus, I suppose. We all have ways of doing things and with Whitley it is the practical aspects of what they do, and how to support them [that has been my focus].’

Edward Whitley, a member of the wealthy Greenall Whitley brewing family, set up Whitley Asset Management in 2002, alongside its finance director Louise Rettie, to serve a small number of clients. But there had always been animals in his life – his great-grandfather founded a small charity called the Whitley Animal Protection Trust; his great-great-uncle Herbert was an eccentric animal breeder who started Paignton Zoo.

In Edward’s office is a stuffed cockatoo that belonged to Herbert and a photograph of Mary, his favourite chimpanzee. Mary was famous for riding around on her tricycle and walking the dogs, or taking visitors by the hand and leading them round the zoo.

Edward studied English at Oxford then went into banking, joining NM Rothschild & Sons in 1983. He left in 1990 to write: Gerald Durrell’s Army came out in 1992 and he also co-wrote Rogue Trader, the autobiography of disgraced banker Nick Leeson, and worked with Richard Branson on his memoir.

Whitley is a tall, gentle man who doesn’t like talking about himself but is full of unbridled enthusiasm for WFN, and in particular its royal patron. ‘She transformed the charity – we never would have had the success we’ve had without her involvement. She saw what was possible and really helped us to achieve it, and she inspires the winners to do more. The winners are always pretty amazed at how she cross-examines them and cuts to the chase so quickly when she meets them.

‘She has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the world, and a phenomenal memory, and she is also very funny… And think of her father and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award – she’s seen what a lifetime of work can achieve.’

In her speech at the Whitley Awards earlier this year, the Princess Royal cited her father, Gerald Durrell and Edward Whitley as the inspirations for her work with WFN. Among winners and their communities, she said, ‘it’s the global ambition to truly make a difference that has been astonishing’.

The awards, she continued, are for ‘the people on the ground, they’re the sharp end… It’s all very well to be here and understand what we think are the challenges, and want to make a difference, but when you meet the people who are actually out front and can turn that into a reality, it’s a real inspiration.’

Over the years, she has visited some of the winners’ projects, when her charity work takes her to those countries, ‘but not as many as I would like’, she says. In Uganda, for example, she met Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, who was working on improving hygiene in local communities after viruses had spread to gorillas she was managing in Bwindi national park. And in 1997, before she became a WFN patron, she travelled in a boat up the Amazon to see pink dolphins.

‘She was in Colombia for Save the Children and she asked the British embassy to include a visit to the Amazon in her trip – she was very interested in the dolphins,’ says Dr Fernando Trujillo, who went on to win an award in 2007.

‘The British embassy contacted me as an expert on rivers and dolphins. I was a little bit intimidated, and it was raining and I was worried we wouldn’t see any dolphins, but in the end we counted 32 – and she was so excited, every time she saw one she would jump up and down with excitement, and then rein herself in as if she suddenly remembered she was a princess. I could see her love for the environment was very genuine. From that day she was my favourite royal person.’

Another winner, Pablo Bordino, whose picture with HRH had been in the paper in Buenos Aires was flying back to Argentina. One of the flight attendants recognised him and when he arrived at the airport there was a television crew waiting to meet him. It raised the profile of his NGO - which protected marine life and habitats in Argentina - enormously and enabled him to generate further funding. ‘That’s the effect HRH has,’ says Whitley. ‘You can’t quantify it.’

Several award-winners went to the Princess’s 60th-birthday celebrations, including Claudio Padua, a successful businessman from Rio who gave it all up to pursue conservation, training at Durrell in Jersey and moving to a forest in Brazil with his wife, Suzana, and three children.

HRH had been to see them at their headquarters outside São Paulo and had taken an interest in their efforts to conserve the black lion tamarin, a monkey. They had no idea her visit would be such an ordeal, with all the security arrangements. ‘We had a call to ask what kind of security we had,’ says Claudio. ‘I said, “I have an old dog, that’s all.”’

‘She turned up with a security detail and entourage,’ Suzana adds. ‘They wanted to go into the forest to see the monkeys in our Land Rover and her security team asked, “Has this car been checked?” I said it hadn’t and they became very nervous but she ignored them and just got in anyway.’

Years later, the Paduas were invited to Buckingham Palace for her 60th. ‘It was a beautiful opportunity for us,’ says Suzana, ‘and as she came down the stairs she spotted us and said, “Oh how nice to see you. How are the monkeys?”’

The Whitley Fund for Nature is hosting a #PeopleforPlanet biodiversity summit on 6 and 7 November at London’s Royal Institution, where members of the public can hear live from Whitley Gold Award-winning conservationists from Africa, Central and South America, and Asia

#a new anneterview!#I love that she seems to remember everything and everyone #the part about her jumping up and down when she saw the dolphins #what a mood #princess anne #princess royal #british royal family #brf #newspapers #anned i quote

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charlotte-of-wales · 9 months ago

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NEWS: Commander Rob Dixon will be returning to the Royal Navy after four years working as equerry to the Prince of Wales. He will be replaced by Squadron Leader Mike Reynolds, who’s a helicopter pilot at the Royal Air Force.

#rob dixon #equerries #news

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deke-rivers-1957 · 1 year ago

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It Happened at the World's Fair Review

It Happened at the World's Fair expands on what was introduced in Girls! Girls! Girls! (which came out after World's Fair filming started). Taking inspiration from Blue Hawaii, this set of movies are music heavy, have colorful scenery and involve Elvis having to work with child actors. The scenery in this case is the real life world's fair. The 1962 World's Fair in Seattle opened in April and closed in October. With a very limited timeline, it was very important that the movie comes out before the novelty of the fair is gone.

Because this is an actively operating fair, there were many issues involving crowd control. It's a major reason why filming didn't even start in September when most children started school. Naturally, this posed a problem because this meant despite making the movie as fast as possible, it still came out in April 1963 (6 months after the fair closed). Despite the logistical issues, does this movie capture the beauty of the World's Fair while balancing its plot, or does it take a complete nose dive because of the rushed production? Let's find out.

To start with, I'm not a big fan of the title. I get you need to highlight the World's Fair but it's a bit clunky. Might I suggest "World's Fair Wonders"? This opening song is forgettable. "Beyond the Bend" sounds like a rejected version of "Ridin' the Rainbow" from Kid Galahad. Since those two songs have the same songwriters, I get the idea that they repeat melodies to make up for the extra songs. After all Kid Galahad (at the time the last movie the songwriters worked on) only had 6 songs while this movie now has 10.

Elvis singing while flying a crop duster feels dangerous since it's obvious he's distracted. He looks goofy wearing those goggles and just seems out of place. We immediately get jokes with Elvis being a pilot claiming he can't see the barn. It's a joke as old as the Three Stooges. Elvis is so irresponsible that he flies the plane practically next to the road just to flirt with some girls. They almost crash into some telephone wires and I wonder if Paradise, Hawaiian Style was inspired by this scene when they did the helicopter scene with the dogs.

Surprisingly for a cliche womanizer, Mike is financially responsible. It isn't much but it does give him some depth. Given how he almost crashed the plane because he was distracted by women, it's impressive that he that it's not his entire character. As to why he doesn't take the money with him, I have no idea. I guess you have to assume that Mike doesn't know Danny had access to his hiding place.

So he goes to meet one of his girlfriends, Dorothy, who we never see again. They're making out on the couch while Dorothy wants to push away to get some iced tea. But Mike insists on keeping the action going. I know out of context "Relax" is a steamy song, but I wonder if it was intentional to make Mike so pushy. Because he's always touching Dorothy while she pushes him away and does everything she can to get away from him. He pulls stuff out of her hands and it's just creepy.

Her parents come back and I'm very confused on why Dorothy's dad is so upset. Unless we're assuming that they have never met Mike in their entire lives, it's very strange to react like that. At least seeing Mike run for the hills gives us a little chuckle as if to say "yeah he had it coming". The whole scene is just random as we didn't need to emphasize that Mike's a womanizer. The opening scene already tells us that he's a flirt. Since Dorothy doesn't even come back, it just feels like a scene where you go "ok that happened" as it came and went without adding anything.

Mike somehow catches up with a now broke Danny. After multiple bad hands, Danny can't pay his losses to some guys including a Red West cameo. A fight breaks out in the office and I don't think I've ever seen such an ugly scene. That gives it a bit more realism. You don't expect regular guys to have the punch of death. It's supposed to be ugly and brutal and it's not completely unrealistic that Mike and Danny win long enough to get away in their plane, Bessie.

The duo lands in Sherrington where they find out that because of the many debts they have, the sheriff "boots" their plane. He takes away their keys and gives them the ultimatum: pay the $1200 debt in 2 weeks or their plane goes up for auction to recoup the money. That's a pretty good set up for a conflict. It doesn't involve Elvis having bad luck, but instead relies on his friend having a realistic character flaw in the form of a gambling addiction.

Penniless and stranded, the duo tries to get a free ride into town. For how expensive his suits were, I'm amazed they had Elvis walking down the road in it. At first a car with a couple women stop but they only wanted Mike's lighter. I'm not sure if it was meant to be a joke or a narrative device meant to make the audience feel bad for them. Personally I don't think it does any of that. I didn't think it was funny and the "pain" they endure from the bad luck doesn't last long as they immediately get a ride. It makes me wonder why it was even added since there was no indication that a long period of time passed.

We get introduced Mr. Walter Ling and his niece Sue-Lin. I love this family. It's obvious that this is an Asian immigrant family which is very realistic for this part of the country and the time period. Despite Mr. Ling's actor being Chinese and Sue-Lin's actress being born in Manila (which is in the Philippines), it's actually not that bizarre. The Philippines does have a Chinese population so you can easily assume that Sue-Lin has some Chinese ancestry. For the time period, I'm so glad that this family is depicted as real people as opposed to stereotypes.

They drive to the World's Fair and I love the real backgrounds we get because of it. Mr. Ling being a delivery driver makes perfect sense since there are plenty of farms around the Seattle area. He can make extra money to be able to afford going to the fair. Sue-Lin has Mike try to explain what she might see and we get a decent song as "Take Me to the Fair" is a whimsical tune. I love Sue-Lin as a character. She isn't a generic cutesy girl character. We get genuine depth by showing that she's able to understand Chinese when her uncle is talking on the phone. When she finds out that uncle Walter has an important job and can't take her to the fair, she's naturally upset. It's not done in an over the top way where she has a complete tantrum. She understands that uncle Walter needs to take the job, but she's of course disappointed. Her realistic reaction only makes you appreciate Mike when he at first begrudgingly agrees to take her.

Mike's distracted by woman and we get it he's a womanizer. They could've just had him be absentminded because he's worried about finding a way to get money. But I do love how we see Mike and Sue-Lin interact with the real exhibitions such as the monorail. It gives you a special perspective that goes beyond a soundstage and shows just how big this fair is.

We get a Joe cameo as the man who gives Sue-Lin her red dog. I love the montage of them going around the fair. It's a wonderful showcase of what was there in case the viewer never had a chance to go and for younger generations who might not even know about the fair. Plus we get to see Mike warm up to Sue-Lin like he's taking his own daughter or niece to the fair. I can believe a change like that can happen in a short period of time. Unlike a romantic relationship, you don't need to have a lot happen to get along with a child. And it's not like Mike hated Sue-Lin as they got along on the truck ride.

It's really incredible to see just how much you can do at the fair for what doesn't seem like a lot of money. If only this was made earlier as it would've been a great way to promote the movie. After one too many treats, Mike takes Sue-Lin to the fair's nurse station. While Sue-Lin's being treated, Mike starts talking to himself and looks distractingly tan. When the nurse comes in and sees this he naturally can't help but flirt with her.

He pretends to have something in his eye and it's shocking how unapologetically pushy he is. I love how Nurse Warren rightfully calls him out on this. You really feel uncomfortable for her since it's relatable to have a man flirt unwarranted. Sue-Lin feels better so the two of them leave. Mike looks smitten and I have no idea what's meant to be so special about Nurse Warren. Because unless he thinks she's just playing hard to get, they have literally no chemistry.

I love this song. "They Remind Me Too Much of You" is such a beautiful ballad that if it wasn't for the fact that his first interaction with Nurse Warren went horribly, it would be the perfect ballad. We never see a quiet moment like this in any Elvis movie. In fact this is the first time outside of the opening song where Elvis isn't even singing out loud. He's only thinking about it as Sue-Lin sleeps. Not a single word is spoken as we take in this moment of Mike reflecting about his feelings. It's easily the best scene in the movie as it shows that Mike is so much more than a womanizer.

Mr. Ling returns to pick up Sue-Lin and you really get the idea that Mike loved "chaperoning" her. Sure he does say out loud to Danny that he was more happy about meeting Nurse Warren, but I honestly think the movie should've skipped the romance altogether. Mike had more chemistry with Sue-Lin in that one montage than he ever had with any other woman. The scenes with Dorothy and Nurse Warren only shows how shallow he is with women. With Sue-Lin we see a different side of Mike where he grows to care for Sue-Lin like she's his own family member.

Danny manages to swing the duo a temporary home that was set up for people attending the fair. We get introduced to Barney "yoo hoo" Thatcher who Danny uses as his pigeon to get money. Mike talks about how to get with Nurse Warren and again all I can think of is just how shallow he is. Even if he does succeed, it doesn't feel satisfying here because it doesn't feel like he'll change.

"One Broken Heart for Sale" is such an unnecessary song. We don't need to be bashed over the head with the obvious fact that Mike is horny for the nurse. Mike doesn't even deserve to say his heart is broken. You can't say your heart is broken just because someone you just met didn't reciprocate your pushy behavior. It doesn't add anything and just feels so out of place since you also have the other old men magically know what he's singing. Just shows how even the best songwriters can have duds if they're not in the right context. It's a shame because Otis Blackwell and Winfield Scott have had great successes with Elvis.

We cut to the next day as Mike has a ploy to get Nurse Warren's attention. He pays a boy, played by an uncredited Kurt Russell, a quarter to kick him in the shin. I love how as Elvis screams in pain, you can see people in the background turn to see what happened. That's a sign that this was a genuine crowd and only makes the setting feel real. Given the extent of the actual injury I'm more amazed that the nurses didn't immediately call for an ambulance. If Mike supposedly can't walk properly that could possibly be a sign of a broken leg. Mike says he blacked out which if you're a nurse is a red flag. The head nurse even has him walk on it and you just have to wonder why they're doing this. They don't know Mike is exaggerating so they're doing a horrible job of insuring his safety when the head nurse suggests Nurse Warren escorts him home.

As Nurse Warren shows no sense of urgency we get pretty obvious rear screen projections as the two talk. Why are we doing this? Nurse Warren doesn't know that Mike's faking so why is she taking her sweet time getting him home? In fact, when Mike again lies about blacking out, instead of calling for an ambulance she instead helps him up to the real rotating restaurant. Why? A professional would've immediately called for an ambulance. You would never risk moving someone who feels that dizzy as you would risk causing them further injury.

His ploy seems to work though since Nurse Warren is in no rush to leave the restaurant. In fact based on the passage of time they've been in that restaurant for hours. Mike even sings a ballad about how he's in love with Nurse Warren. "I'm Falling in Love Tonight" is such a generic ballad that I have no idea why I'm supposed to support this budding romance. Nurse Warren falling for Mike is something I don't buy at all. If anything it's showing that so long as you get the girl, you can be as pushy and manipulative as you want. That's a terrible moral to have for what's supposed to be a family film. It'd make more sense if she's just going along with this until it all blows up in his face, but that isn't at all how it's presented

I do love how the extras have their own charm to the movie. These were legit patrons that had no idea of what's happening. Them clapping after Mike's song was real and I love it because it shows just how weird it is to have someone burst into song in a restaurant. Mike's ploy immediately falls apart as the boy from earlier comes back. He kicks Mike in the shin and I love the old man who's just like "oh my God what's happening". He looks realistically concerned.

As Mike tries to apologize to Nurse Warren, Sue-Lin rushes up to him. She tearfully tells him that her uncle didn't come back from a job. Given how she waited from 9 am to 3 pm for Mr. Ling to return, I'd say Sue-Lin handled the situation very well for a child. You always allow for some delay if someone's traveling because you never know what would happen. When it became obvious that something had to have happened, it's natural for her to be very concerned.

This is the most realistic acting from a child I've ever seen. A 7 year old girl possibly losing her only guardian is terrifying situation to be in. It really says a lot that she didn't go one of her neighbors since they were living in one of those temporary homes as well. In fact, I'm amazed that not a single adult noticed her wandering the fair alone and most likely in distress. It's like the movie wants us to believe Mike's the only adult in this movie who Sue-Lin can even trust.

He takes Sue-Lin home and the movie immediately got better again. Mike explains that he took every measure to make sure people know he has Sue-Lin. I love this as he could've easily been the buffoon that has no idea how to tell anyone that he's watching a child who would otherwise have no one. It seems like it's relatively late at night, so while you can question if Mike's doing the right thing, it's at least better to have Sue-Lin be in a safe space than drive around trying to find the authorities.

We get a sweet scene where Sue-Lin dresses in her traditionally Chinese pajamas. Mike even sings "Cotton Candy Land" as a lullaby. In the context that it's in, I know the lullaby is meant to be sweet, but I only get a creepy vibe to it. I'm not sure why but to me Mike singing it in a quiet voice and the music just makes me feel more scared than soothed. The sandman doesn't feel like this whimsical creature but more like a monster. I'm sure that was unintentional as I don't think it's a common opinion to feel that way.

After pretending to be sick so Mike can make up with Nurse Warren, she arrives to check out Sue-Lin. It's a bit distracting how the studio light casts a big shadow. You know that little night lamp isn't doing that. Sue-Lin tells Nurse Warren the truth and I'm amazed Nurse Warren didn't immediately raise an eyebrow. Then again this is the same woman who took what she believed to be an injured Mike up to a rotating restaurant when he said he was about to blackout. I can't take any expertise or authority a character like her should have seriously.

The movie clearly has no idea on how to handle their relationship as Nurse Warren starts to fall for Mike again when he serenades her. "A World of Our Own" is so unnecessary. Mike being nice to Sue-Lin and taking care of her doesn't eliminate the fact that he was pushy and manipulated her. The whole relationship just feels forced as I don't think this couple has any chemistry. Again there's nothing about Nurse Warren that makes her different since there's a clear difference between playing hard to get and having no interest. While the movie wants to tell you that she's the former, you really know that it's the latter.

Danny comes back from his card games completely drunk. You would think this would tell Nurse Warren that Sue-Lin living with Mike is a bad idea. But no. It's not even a thought that was uttered as she just drives home. How? She has the authority to report this to the authorities since Danny being drunk can lead to terrible consequences. Especially when you have a child in the home.

Danny meanwhile meets up with a guy named Vince who offers Danny a deal to fly up to Canada. Oh yeah they had a debt to repay. I almost forgot about that since that plot took a back seat to the conflict of Mike caring for Sue-Lin and the conflict of Mike getting with Nurse Warren. Vince outright agrees to pay them the whole amount that would allow the duo to get their plane back. So naturally you assume he's going to be the villain which can't possibly be a good thing since he's been introduced way too late in the movie to really do anything important.

Mike comes back from asking about Sue-Lin's uncle. We get a sweet moment where he watches her color before playing "How Would You Like to Be?" with the windup clowns. I love the song as it does serve a purpose. Mike is trying to cheer up Sue-Lin and it of course makes sense that Sue-Lin only sings along once she feels better. These aren't complicated lyrics to try to have a young girl learn so it feels realistic for her to join in. Her dancing along with Mike is sweet but the smirk he has does feel out of place. I would've used a different shot as out of context you don't think he's looking at a 7 year old girl.

A woman from Child Services arrive to take Sue-Lin away. Because after a couple days, now it's a problem for Sue-Lin to be here. The woman says "an abandoned child is automatically a ward of the state" which is a lie. Sue-Lin wasn't immediately taken by the police who had to have known she was with Mike. This whole plot point is terrible as it doesn't properly set up why now all of a sudden is it a problem. The woman claims that it was Nurse Warren who made the complaint which you immediately know isn't true. If Nurse Warren genuinely believed that Sue-Lin wasn't safe, that would've been conveyed in the previous scene. This is just terrible drama meant to turn Mike off of her. Also there's no way that woman from Child Services would straight up tell Mike who made the complaint. That would put the person who made the complaint at risk of retaliation.

This whole situation is gets even worse as for someone who's supposed to be in Child Services, she can't even keep track of one child. I understand that Child Services has a very legitimate job, but this movie doesn't paint them in a good light at all. Instead of taking this seriously, I just see Child Services as a joke in this movie. They're only now making a stink about custody of a child when not even the police mentioned it. Instead of making it a forced situation from the start, it was only "suggested" so I have no reason to buy this organization as legitimate. I can only think of the much later film Lilo & Stitch as it does a better job of setting up why Lilo could be taken out of the home.

So we have Mike now desperately trying to find Sue-Lin as he's the only one who would know where she could be. As irrational as it is that he wouldn't tell authorities where she would be, I 100% get it in this situation. The authorities have done nothing to prove that they are reliable. In fact, if Mike didn't find her, you already know Sue-Lin would just runaway again. It's really sad that a child feels more safe with Mike than the authorities meant to protect abandoned children. It's also frustrating that because of the situation, Mike's now being painted as if he's abducting her.

Mike and Sue-Lin manage to make it to the airport just as Nurse Warren arrives trying to find them. She tries to explain what happened but he naturally doesn't want to hear it. Mike is just so done with everyone as he immediately finds out about the smuggling scheme. I know that Vince being a criminal was going to be this twist but wow they really just dropped that fur smuggling scheme that quickly. It doesn't even give that much importance or tension as Sue-Lin actually does something by biting Vince's finger when he's holding them at gunpoint. A fight breaks out and again it's ugly. Just like a real fight between non-professionals. Mike at this point is running on pure adrenaline so it makes perfect sense for him to win. But it's just so anti-climatic because really? This is what you've been building Danny's subplot up to? This plot element of Danny being involved in a fur smuggling scheme is introduced and resolved so quickly that there's no point in it even existing.

They get caught by the police and it turns out Danny was the one who contacted Child Services. This is a stupid twist as there's no way he could've fooled the woman from Child Services into thinking he's a woman. Also why's he now deciding that Sue-Lin was a problem when he didn't want her being there in the first place? It's not like he cared about Mike's feelings for her.We then find out that Mr Ling was only 20 miles south of the town and was in an emergency hospital. 20 miles is not that far so I have no idea why it took them all these days to figure this out. If Sue-Lin knew where he was going that she knew he should be back by certain point, what's the mystery here? It isn't like uncle Walter got kidnapped and no one knows where he could've been taken. Again a very anti-climatic ending for something that took up a big chunk of the movie.

We time skip to Mike applying to NASA as he walks with Nurse Warren through the fairgrounds. He sings about how this is a happy ending with a very fitting title "Happy Ending". Danny and Sue-Lin with her uncle Walter are nowhere to be seen to share this moment and absolutely nothing was earned. Maybe I'm missing something, but I just don't think this couple is likable and Mike was better off forgetting about her. It isn't unrealistic to realize "hey my priorities have changed. Getting the girl doesn't matter to me anymore. All that matters is that Sue-Lin is safe." That's character growth.

But no this is an Elvis movie and regardless of whether it makes sense for them to be together, he has to get the girl. It just makes you wonder why we spent all this time on something only for it to be completely hand waved like it was nothing. Almost like they completely ran out of time with writing the script and just had to say "everything is magically resolved no matter how ridiculous it is".

This movie clearly tried to do too much and it shows. You have the conflict of Mike and Danny being broke and needing to get the money for their plane; Mike wanting to get with Nurse Warren and having to deal with her being mad at him because he lied; Sue-Lin's uncle going missing and people thinking she needs to go to Child Services; and a last minute fur smuggling scheme. None of these plots were resolved in a way that feels like thought was put into it. They were only resolved because it's an Elvis movie that has to have a happy ending as opposed to naturally fixing them. As a result, the whole film is messy and is a case of wasted potential. It seriously needs a rewrite to smooth out everything that doesn't connect together well.

That being said, I give this film a 7/10. I can respect the attempt at giving an Elvis character depth, but I still think more work needed to be done. I do recommend watching it simply because the fairground scenes act as a time capsule of what life was like back then. It's just unfortunate that the movie was rushed because it was a great concept. No matter how you look at it, you wouldn't have been able to get this movie out in time to promote the fair. You can't film before the fair opens because then you have nothing to serve as a background since it's being built. You definitely can't film it in April because then you have to worry about the massive crowds since it's a total novelty and you can't do what the directors chose to do and film near the fair's ending because then you won't be able to get it out in time to promote it. It's a lose-lose situation which is a horrible shame but I at least respect the fact that they tried doing something like this.

AN: Thank you to my discord bestie snaileyinsheff for suggesting this movie and providing input. Also shout out to @hooked-on-elvis for providing the link that I used to watch the movie.

Tagging: @eapep, @i-r-i-n-a-a, @atleastpleasetelephone, @huhhhhsthings, @jhoneybees,

@eptodaytommorowforever, @thetaoofzoe, @smokeymountainboy, @dragonkingsdaughter, @myradiaz,

@dnnenenens, @wildhorseinkansas, @lett-them-eatt-cake, @vintagepresley, @mercsandmonsters,

@velvetelvis, @arrolyn1114, @alienelvisobsession, @xanatenshi, @peskybedtime,

@peaceloveelvis, and @tacozebra051.

#elvis film #it happened at the world's fair #mike edwards #elvis film review #sue-lin #1963 #1962 world's fair

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ncisfranchise-source · 1 month ago

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CBS‘ NCIS — the show that launched a 1,040-plus episode franchise after being spun off of JAG (of course) — will mark another milestone midway through Season 23, when it airs its 500th episode.

What’s the early plan to commemorate the occasion? (Besides another cake shaped like a number, that is.)

To recap, NCIS‘ 200th episode saw Gibbs experiencing Mike Franks flashbacks in the midst of a diner standoff with an unknown gunman; No. 250 featured an appearance by Robert Wagner as DiNozzo Sr.; Episode 300 boasted a very special guest star turn by Taye Diggs, as the “gunny” survivor of a firefight, plus some flashbacks for Gibbs; Episode 400 told the story of When a Circa-1980 Gibbs Met Ducky. Oh, and the franchise’s 1,000th total episode was chockablock with callbacks to the series’ pilot, and featured one of its biggest guest stars ever.

TVLine checked in with NCIS showrunner Steven D. Binder on the very early thinking about 5-0-0.

“The only early thought is the same thought that we had for 250, 300, 400, 1,000th, which is to do something really special and worthy of that number, and what does that look like?” he said. “At various times, it’s been about going back to the pilot. At one time, it was going back to when Gibbs and Ducky first met, or having the case span the entire history of the show.”

Binder (politely) asked if I had any ideas, and it was all I could do to not pitch, again, the secret office romance between Special Agents Key and Knight, also featuring a high-octane helicopter chase.

“It’s not that we don’t have ideas,” he quickly made clear. “It’s just, which one’s worthy of this [milestone]?”

#ncis #interview #500

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space-for-brains · 4 months ago

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UPDATE ON FLIGHT 5342/UH-60L BLACK HAWK & Additional Context

Total fatality count is now officially 60 passengers and 4 crew from Flight 5342, and 3 crew from the Black Hawk. Total 67 dead, with no known survivors. It is now the deadliest crash in the US since November 2001.

The black boxes from Flight 5342 have been recovered. The black box and cockpit voice recorder for the Black Hawk have yet to be recovered. The NTSB, FAA, U.S. Dept of Defense, U.S. Army, FBI, and TSB of Canada have all announced they will take part in investigation procedures.

Air Traffic Control (ATC) was in contact with the Black Hawk within 30 seconds of the collision, providing approval to maintain visual separation from the jet. There were multiple jets of the same make/model flying in the area at the time. Despite the airport being known as a difficult place to fly in (with the Pentagon and Potomac river both restricting available airspace/emergency landing areas and the large amount of both military and commercial traffic) the ATC facility was understaffed.

According to a report from the NYT, this is not uncommon for most of the country's ATC towers. The job is stressful, requires a lot of training, and does not pay well. At the time of the collision, the position for helicopter control should have been covered by two controllers, but only had one.

The CEO of American Airlines (AA), Robert Isom, stated in a video on Jan 30th that a hotline has been launched for the families and loved ones of the victims: 1-800-679-8215 . The pilots were Captain Jonathan Campos, with six years experience at AA, and First Officer Samuel Lilley, with two years experience at AA.

The US Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, stated that the crew of the Black Hawk was participating in a routine annual retraining and we're all fairly experienced. The crew included the pilot Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves, the crew chief Staff Sergeant Ryan O'Hara, and a yet unnamed crewmember of the rank Captain.

The investigation is still ongoing.

The following is additional context I believe is relevant to aviation as a whole, though not directly about Flight 5342.

As I'm sure many have heard, Trump has stated that the true fault of the accident is the fault of DEI. Of course there have been numerous public statements and backlash against this, plenty of Trump admin people are echoing the same sentiment but under the flavor of "needed the best of the best for safety". It is worth noting that during Trump's previous term, DEI initiatives remained unchallenged and his own admin even had a program to train 20 people with "targeted disabilities" to train for careers in air traffic operation. I don't believe I have to tell anyone that BIPOC and disabled people are not the cause of a horrific air collision.

Additionally, the FAA Administrator position is currently vacant. Former admin Mike Whitaker resigned on January 20th. Elon Musk had publicly called for Whitaker to resign on X in September 2024, as well as stating: "The fundamental problem is that humanity will forever be confined to Earth unless there is radical reform of the FAA!"

This sentiment likely stemmed from fines levied against SpaceX in 2023 for an unapproved launch control room that had been constructed, failure to conduct routine safety poll of flight controllers, and using non FAA approved rocket fuel. While Whitaker was not the admin at the time of these fines, Musk still eagerly announced on X that SpaceX would be filing suit against FAA for regulatory overreach. Later, Whitaker did make the following statement to the House of Reps during his testimony: "[SpaceX has] been around for 20 years, and I think they need to operate at the highest level of safety... [Fines are] the one tool we have to get compliance on safety matters." The total amount of fines levied against SpaceX was $633,009.

As Musk is now head of the Dept of Government Efficiency, it's my opinion that this context greatly matters for this accident, and any accidents that may occur moving forward. There is a president who is eager to blame problems on minorities and an oligarch eager to ignore safety protocols in order to further his business ventures.

I fear Flight 5342 may not be the last.

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even-better-john-walker · 27 days ago

Note

didn’t realize you even had a brother

do you… wanna talk about him?

Yeah, sure.

// Warning: Mentions of Suicide //

I had an older brother named Mike. He joined the military before me, and of course I wanted to be like him, so I joined up too. He was a helicopter pilot, and he was incredible at what he did. He was a true American hero. I looked up to him a lot. Still do.

He got injured and discharged from the military. After moving back home, he eventually took his own life. I can't help but blame myself. I know I'm not supposed to, but I do. I think all the time about how I might have done something different to prevent it.

I think a lot about mental health lately, especially after joining the Thunderbolts*. I don't know if I'm all that knowledgeable yet about any of it, but I'm learning.

#betterjohnwalker

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atenea14 · 10 months ago

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In the Wake of Heroes: Prologue

Soulmates AU

Masterlist

Pairing: Katsuki x Eijiro x Shoto x Izuku x OC (not physically described though)

Warnings: Season 7 spoilers, events of the anime not represented accurately, soulmates AU, slow burn, not beta read, nothing else for now.

A/N: Hi! I’m updated with the anime, not with the manga so possible spoilers for season 7. I don’t really know where this fic will go but I wanted to write something with Katsuki x Eijiro x Shoto x Izuku x Reader and couldn’t decide between abo or soulmates AU and between school setting or professional setting, I also couldn’t decide which character should I pick but why not all?. I’ve decided to do a soulmates AU with an original character and start in the school setting.

The plot starts at season 7, there will be spoilers but I’m making up most of the events to be able to fit my character.

Word count: 1,6k

- We will arrive in 30 minutes at the air coffin. Are you sure you want to do this? - She looks at one of the special agents that are accompanying her.

- What else am I supposed to do? Do I need to remind you of all the pressure you’ve put me in? - Turning back her shoulders she puts on headphones. The rest of the adults look at her with worrying glaces but no one else says anything yet the music seems to calm her.

I can do this, my singularities have been cause of discordance in all my life but today they will be useful. I can do it, I need to. I’ve been explained how my power can counter attack the disintegration of Shigaraki. I don’t need to be this sca… I’m totally freaking out. HOW THE FUCK I’M I GOING TO DO THIS? I wish I was like Star. I wished she was here to fight with me.

- Minus 20 minutes. - The same agent as before, Mike, puts a hand on her shoulder, taking her out of her thoughts.- I’m… I want to say I’m sorry but I don’t think I have the right to do so. I know you’ve never wanted to be a hero, just anonymously work in intelligence but you have a good base training and your quirk gives you a chance… and we are desperate. - He puts his head between his legs and covers it up with his arms. The girl stares at him and after some long seconds starts to slowly caress his back.

- Actually… I want to do this, it’s my country too you know?- The agent raises an eyebrow while looking at her.

- I thought you didn’t want to set foot again in Japan- The girl just sighs.

- There’s a difference between not wanting to come back and wanting it destroyed.- The agent stares at her trying to decipher her but failing. - Anyway the plan is easy, I intercept Shigaraki and give that hero guy the chance to go fight the no face evil man I give my all and pray for my soul. - Some chuckles are heard in the helicopter while the captain approaches her.

- No Saya, you give your all and if it gets too much you call for extraction.- Saya snorts.

- And then what? I let that zombie looking guy kill the heroes there?-

- You are not a hero Saya, nor have you been training to be.- She frowns and suddenly gets up.

- No, I’ve always wanted to be a detective, old style but that doesn’t make me any less than the rest of the people fighting.-

- That’s not what I meant…-

- It is exactly what you meant. Plus how am I going to enter the interpol if I coward in the middle of a fight?-

- It is not any fight Saya, it wouldn’t affect your future.-

- No, but today’s public exposition surely will.- Some agents sigh in desperation.

- It won’t be as bad as you think, but you’re too stubborn to believe it.-

- Enough.- Mike stops it before it gets more heated. - It’s not time for this, we are arriving and we need to have our heads cool.- Easy for you to say, you're not the one who’s entering a place called coffin with a psycho.

- Opening the jumpgate. Prepare.- The pilot’s voice surprises everybody, Saya takes a deep breath before putting on a determined face.

- I’ll proceed as planned, try and not to die without me guys. -

- You’re not the one that should be saying it.- Mike pets her and gives her shoulders a reassuring squeeze. Saya smiles at him and nods to the captain, who nods back. Then she just gives a really bright smile to everybody and let's herself fall backwards through the gate.

- See you!-

- That kid is going to provoke me a heart attack someday. -

Saya’s POV

Should have not jumped like that. Well… who cares. I see the hole in the barrier, that’s it, I’m entering. Once I take in everything that’s inside this floating enclosure I get breathless. It should have been caused by all the chaos, because of the destruction and all the fallen heroes… but no. I get breathless because of a couple of green eyes that look at me as if they had seen a ghost… Not surprising given the fact that my arrival hasn’t been notified.

- YOU NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE - How intense, my heart beats a hundred miles a minute, he has scared me.

- Chill, you’ve scared me!-

- YOU’VE SCARED ME!- Oh my, I got so anxious at the helicopter that now I’m numb, I should focus more.

- There’s no time to explain but I’m here to fig - A chain of hands appears out of nowhere and tries to smash me as if I were a fly. Luckily I’m able to dodge it but since the green eyed guy tried to save me we collapse mid air and get destabilized.

- MORE EXTRAS, I hate you. - Everybody is shouting in here, is this normal in group fights?

- You have good reflexes. - His voice brings my attention again to him and realise that he’s holding me princess style. He grabbed me when we collided, my heart warms and I cannot understand why. While he is busy dodging Shigaraki’s attacks I use the opportunity to speak.

- You need to go fight All for One, I’ll stay here and end Shigaraki. - He looks at me in astonishment.

- That was not the plan!-

- Things have changed, I’ll make an opening for you to run, use the opportunity.-

- What? But I have been purposefully brought here I…- Luckily the heroes outside intervene, with communications open again It’ll be easier for everybody to catch up. - Okay, are you sure you’ll be able to fight him?- I mischievously smirk at him.

- Don’t you know? I have good reflexes. - He chuckles and I jump out of his arms ignoring how his presence affects me. Shigaraki has been throwing a tantrum all the time we’ve been speaking.

- One for All, what are you doing? It’s my time to kill you.- I activate my quirk and get in between the two of them. Suddenly his attacks get interrupted, the chain of hands stops proliferating.

- Hello! I’ll be the one playing with you know. -

- You’ll need to hang on for 5 seconds

- Ah??? Damned extra. ONE FOR ALL. - Shigaraki launches himself at Deku while tries to smash me again, but fails. I use the fact that he isn’t paying attention to me and concentrate my quirk at my punch, I teleport myself in Shigaraki’s face and punch him. Surprising nobody he avoids my attack, yet his attention is now focused on me and I start playing a game of attack and dodge with him. These are the 5 longest seconds of my life, but Deku needs them to be teleported.

I momentarily focus on an unconscious guy in the ground, he looks my age… is he dead? What a great moment for my numbness to subside. Seeing the results of the destruction makes my anxiety turn back tenfold.

- YOU!… IS YOUR FAULT HE LEFT- Shigaraki’s rage is now completely focused on me makes him focus all his attacks, his speed seems to increase by the second, or I’m getting slower. A leg suddenly kicks him and gives me a little bit of breath, I look at my side and realise it’s Mirko.

The next few minutes pass by in a blurr, I need to communicate with the rest of the present heroes but I don’t have the chance. At least not until a blasting explosion shakes the whole place up. I’m not going to miss the chance. Pressing my ear intercommunicator I speak.

- I need to pass a message to the rest of the present heroes. -

- Proceed. - A female voice replies to me.

- Due to my quirk Shigaraki won’t be able to regenerate if I fight hand-to-hand combat with him. I need your help, I can’t overpower him alone but if you create openings for me we will make it. - The female hero that stands watch outside passes my message to all the presents.

- OI! You sure of what you’re saying?- It’s the guy from before, the one I thought was dead. I speak to him while the game of dodge restarts.

- Positive!- He gives me a side glance but doesn’t hesitate.

- Let 's go then! -

The coordination and tenacity of the heroes here surprises me. It also surprises me their ability to trust me, a stranger. Without a doubt they all make their biggest efforts to allow me to approach him enough to attack him, and for once it pays off. I don’t know how much time has passed but Shigaraki finally gets weakened. Everything is a chaos and I’ve started merely reacting, the combat is extenuating but I won’t give up. The explosive guy is amazing, he’s the one who’s been making me possible to punch the devil and although it is the first time I’ve seen him we fall into rhythm easily, if it wasn't a fight to the death, I'd even enjoy it.

Time pass by in a blurr, I don’t know what’s happening outside and I don’t know why Deku is here again completely bruised up. He doesn’t give me a chance to ask anything, upon arriving kicks Shigaraki in the face and due to all the damage we’ve inflicted him it really affects him.

- Kacchan! Let’s do what we agreed! You! Punch him with everything you’ve got when I give you the signal!- The latter is addressed to me and I won’t be the one messing up. I concentrate my quirk at my maximum and once it is needed I attack him with all I have while Deku and the explosive guy also kick his ass. I don’t know what’s happened but suddenly everything hurts, more than it was already and I seem to be unable to keep my focus. Inevitably, the fall to the ground cuts off my breathing completely and I lose consciousness.

Final note: Sorry for the inaccuracy of the fight, I haven’t read the manga and don’t know how it really develops further than chapter 12 of season 7. I’ll completely make up the plot in the following chapters :)

Next chapter

#boku no hero #boku no hero oc #my hero academia #my hero academy fanfiction #shoto todoroki #shoto x reader #bakugou katsuki #katsuki bakugo x reader #bakugo x reader #izuku midoriya #izuku x reader #deku x reader #kirishima eijirou #kirishima eijiro x reader #red riot #lord explosion murder god dynamight #mha dynamight #boku no hero x reader #boku no hero academia

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