#and i think it was then that cori really understood just how much he understands what its like to be them...the champion of a nation that

[scionshtola]

9. The Warrior of Light has been through quite a lot, but what is a moment, big or small, that bolstered and renewed their spirit? Was it a cup of hot cocoa or a lovingly crafted sandwich? Did someone give them a few words or a gesture at just the right time that meant the world to them? (Of course, this can be a canon event or headcanon!) (x)

Corisande struggled after Haurchefant's death and though she tried to hide it from her companions, Estinien easily saw through the facade. He mostly did left her alone in that regard, but would sometimes sit quietly with her so she was not completely alone in her grief. And even though they hardly spoke, Corisande knew he understood her pain and appreciated his presence at her side. It was enough to keep her going in one of the hardest times of her life, and was the beginning of the deep friendship and respect they have for each other in the present.

[jiliansky-blog]

The Nigtmare and the Dreamer. Chapter 11. I will return

Pairing: Morpheus x FemaleReader

Rating: PG

Words: 1759

The first thing you saw was the ceiling. It was your room, you understand. Better than a hospital. And then you heard someone.

“Y\N, you woke up!” was dad’s voice.

“Dad!” you said, looking at him. He looked so tired and cried happy tears. “I am alright; don’t cry”.

“I didn’t know what to think," he grubbed you and hugged. “What to do? Doctors said that you are okay and are just sleeping. And what about that dream with a monster”.

“He is not… a monster," you said immediately.

“What?” he asked, surprised.

“He is not the monster," you repeated. “He is actually kind, smart, and gentle. And so lonely. I wasn’t a prisoner; I was treated like a guest”.

“Are you sure we are talking about the same creature?” he asked, confused.

“Yes, he made me so many gifts," you said. “He took me to Prague, made a cabin and I could read any book in the book I wanted.”.

Then he coughed, and you noticed that he was pale. He was probably ill. How fortunate that you have returned home now!

“You are ill," you said. “Why didn't Stella take care of you?”

“She did," he sighed. “And it’s nothing”.

“It can be more than nothing," she said. “I need to take care of it”.

When you leave your room, you are almost crushed with your sister. She was surprised to see you again. But smiled.

“You are back," she said.

“Yes, and did you know that father is ill?” you asked. “Why you didn’t care of him?”

“I did what I could, but he refused to leave you". This was said with a little irritation. “He was telling something about the castle and the monster. And that you stayed here instead of him. It sounds so crazy”.

“He is not crazy," you replied. “I was in the castle”.

“What?” she asked. “Are you both ill? By the way, this guy in glasses was looking for you. Even brought you flowers”.

“And what did you tell him?” you asked.

"Nothing," she shrugged. “And I didn’t know anything. But father could tell him something. They were talking about you”.

“Really?” you asked, surprised.

"Yes," she nodded. “And he asked father about the castle and the monster”.

It seemed strange to you. Why has Cori asked about Morpheus’s castle? You hoped he didn’t believe you, father. What if he is a doctor and thinks that his father needs to be put in the hospital? Anyway, you need to buy medicines.

“I am going to buy medicine, and can you cook something to eat for my father?” you said.

And the time passed quickly while you were taking care of your father. He was curious enough to ask about your life in the castle.

“It was wonderful," she smiled. “I…”

”You what?” Dad looked concerned. “Don’t tell me you are going to return there”.

“I promised him to return," you said. “He was too sad, when I told him that I needed to visit you”.

“You don’t need to come back to him," he almost begged me. “You don’t own him anything. He trapped you”.

“No, he wasn't," you replied. “He was nothing but kind to me. And I want to return. He is under the spell and I want to break it”.

“You fell for him," he whispered.

And then you understood. He was right. Of course, you fell for Morpheus. That’s why you care for him so much. And you understood that you missed him. You didn’t feel yourself in the right place.

“He is not a monster," you said. “He is a very lonely god of dreams who made a mistake, and now he is paying for it. And I can save him”.

“If this is true, then I wish you happiness," dad sighed.

It was the end of the second day, and you decided to go to your room and use the ring to return to him. But you didn’t expect the guest.

“So you woke up," said Cori. What was he doing in your home?

“How did you get here?” you asked. Something inside you tells you to run away.

“I’m glad to see you okay," he said, stepping forward to you. “I know, you met Morpheus”.

“What?” You tried to find an escape.

“How sweet of you that you think you can save him”, he continued to corner you. “But it’s better if everything won’t change”.

“Who are you?” you asked.

“I’m a real nightmare he created”, he smiled.

You tried to escape, but he caught you and saw the ring Morpheus gave you. And then he smirked. There was something vicious about that.

“I took that”, he said. “What a surprise for him”.

“No!” you said.” It’s mine! And you dare touch him”.

“Or what are you going to do to me?” he asked. “You are a mortal. You can’t hurt me. And I doubt that he can”.

And he pushed you into your room and locked the door. No! He is going to hurt Morpheus. He is going to use your ring to return to the Dreaming. And how can you find the way there again?

“Y\N, are you okay?” You heard your father’s voice.

“I’m here!” you replied. “Please, open the door!”

“Just one second”, he said.

And in a minute, he let you out. His face was worried.

“What happened?” he asked. “I heard you were talking to someone”.

“To Cori”, you replied. “Dad, why do you tell him about the castle? Now he took my ring and he is going to harm Morpheus”.

“I…just need to talk to someone”, he looked guilty. “And he was so kind”.

“I need to go to Morpheus”, you sighed. “But I don’t know how. He took my ring, and I’m too nervous to fall asleep”.

“I can give you sleeping pills”, he said suddenly.

“What?” You looked at him.

“I was taking them, when I wanted to find you there”, father sighed. “Or when I got too anxious”.

“Oh father”, you sighed.

“You can take them”, he said, going to his room and returning with the pills. “Will I see you again?”

“Of course”, you hugged him and kissed his cheek. “I am not a prisoner. Goodbye”.

You went to your bed, took a few pills at once, and lied. You were drifting asleep, while thinking and worrying about Morpheus.

In the next moment, you appeared in his castle. It seemed darker than when you left him. You could see the snowfall outside.

“Morpheus?” you asked. “Lucienne?”

“Y\N”, you heard Matthew’s voice. “You’re back. I believe that you will return. You are just in time! The Dreaming is frozen, and now Corinthian is here!”

“I know, I need to find them”, you said, and you hurried outside the castle.

On your way, you find Morpheus��s ruby, and your heart aches. Something terrible is happening. And then you saw them. Cori or Corinthian with a knife and dark Morpheus’s figure.

“Did you think she would return?” Cori asked. “She gave me this ring. You were so naïve to think that someone could love a monster”.

Morpheus was on the ground, and you felt like your heart was bleeding. You need to stop them.

“No!” you said loudly. “Morpheus!”

The figure looked in your direction, and you saw starry eyes. He was alive. He looked at you, hopeful and gentle.

“You’re back”, he whispered, and he stood.

He wanted to come to me, but Corinthian stopped him and hit him with a knife. Morpheus gawked with surprise.

“No!” you screamed. “Leave him alone!”

“You should give up," he said. “You will never break the curse”.

“Silence!” Morpheus said, and then Corinthian fell.

But when Morpheus approached you, Corinthian stroked him again and hurt him with a knife. Morpheus roared like a beast.

“He became weaker with each day”, said Corinthian.

“I need a weapon”, you thought, and you felt something in your hands. You have a sword now. Perhaps the ruby helped you.

So you took your chance and pierced Corinthian’s shoulder. He screamed, dropped the knife, and then turned around to look at you.

“I am not human”, he said. “You can’t kill me with that”.

“The sword, probably not”, you said. “But the ruby can”.

His expression faltered. Finally, he saw the ruby on your neck and understood that you could use it.

“You know, Belle in the fairy tale waited till karma hit the bad guy”, you said. “But I am not that patient. Return to the darkness, Corinthian, from which you came”.

“No!” he screamed when you took the ruby, and it shines. “Please”.

“And disappear from our lives for good”, you finished, and with a scream, he started to solve until he disappeared forever.

“Morpheus!” You ran to him.

He was bleeding. He can’t bleed. Furthermore, he is the god of dreams. He isn’t even a human.

“You come back”, he whispered.

“Of course, I came back”, you said, gently touching his cheek. “I promised you. But Corinthian took my ring”.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t protect you”, he said. “And now I’m too weak”.

“No”, you said, when his eyes closed. “No, no, no! Don’t you dare leave me! I… I love you!”

You understood that it was true. It was true when you returned home and even earlier. And you couldn’t lose your love the moment you found him. And then you kissed him. At that moment, everything changed.

The snowfall stopped, and everything became greener. The castle doesn’t seem dark anymore. Instead, it was colorful and beautiful. And Morpheus… He doesn’t look like a nightmare anymore. Instead, you saw the most handsome man you’ve ever met. He has pale skin, messy dark hair, and plump rose-colored lips. And, of course, starry eyes that turned blue. The man from the portrait. And his wound was gone.

“Morpheus?” you asked.

“Yes”, he smiled. “That’s me. You saved me”.

And then he kissed you with all the love and passion he’s got. His lips were warm and soft, and you almost dissolved into the feeling.

“You did it!” you heard Matthew say, breaking the kiss.

Now you can see him as well. The black raven was on the woman’s shoulder. That woman was in a purple suit, and she has pointed ears.

“Lucienne?” you asked, smiling.

“Yes, my lady”, she smiled back. “I am happy for both of you”.

“And for all of us”, said Matthew.

“You didn’t answer my question, though," Morpheus said, looking at me again.

“What question?” you smiled.

“Will you marry me?” he asked very seriously.

“Yes”, you whispered.

And he kissed you again. The world around them disappeared.

@shadowqueen1318 @mypsychoticlove @justathirstyhoe​ @ladymoztaza @sapphireonline @deniixlovezelda

[itslunarwritesstuff]

A Special Place

Character: Shawn Hunter ( Boy Meets World)

Word count: 1,606

Summary: Sitting in Shawn’s lap is one of your favorite things. At a party, while you study, legs wrapped around his waist your head resting in the crook of his neck while he writes something in that little notebook of his. And while you’re curious as to what it is inside, you know that it is his own personal property and if he wanted you to know its hidden treasures then he would tell and show you on his own accord. 

A/N: The long awaited imagine is now out. I know this one is a lot shorter than my other ones but there will be more out soon just you wait. 

___________________________________________________________

10:32 pm Jenny pass’s house, Truth or Dare

Grabbing a drink from across the room you turn back and make eye contact with your boyfriend who currently resides on the couch. Both of you smile to let the other know that you acknowledge each other, lifting up your can of soda you gesture as if saying “You want one” he shakes his head. Running a hand through his brown hair and shaking it a little, ‘His Signature move’ you thought to yourself.

Looking back up at you he beckons you over with the pull of his hand, you oblige and weave through the standing bodies that crowd the living room. 

When you get to where Shawn and a few others are circled around the couch chatting Shawn asks “We are about to start a game of truth or dare, are you in?”

“When am I not in” You laugh out a reply. 

Still standing there in front of him you look to see there is not enough space between Shawn and Cory on the couch but honestly, you don’t mind one bit. Setting your drink down on a coaster that’s on the coffee table you then make yourself comfortable in your favorite spot; Shawn’s lap.

The only looks of surprise were from envious onlooking girls who could only dream to be in your position. The others barely bat an eye this was a common thing you did, having no shame in the fact that you enjoyed being sat and snuggled into your boyfriend. 

But Shawns face had the same giddy expression as every other time you have done this, his smile so big that his teeth couldn’t help but be the center of attention and his dimples were on full display. 

Wasting absolutely no time he wrapped his arms around your waist under your arms forcing you to lean back into his chest, his nose scraping the tops of your shoulder just sniffing the remnants of your perfume you put on hours before.

9:24 pm Shawn’s apartment, Studying 

Tomorrow Shawn and you had a midterm in Feeny’s class and somehow you had coerced him to study. You had made some practice questions for the two of you but when you got halfway done you felt the deep need to be closer to Shawn but also knew you had to finish your work.

So what ended up happening is you rested your notebook and paper on the back of the couch while you sat in Shawn’s lap legs wrapped around his waist and chins resting on the others’ shoulder as they did their respective school work. After finishing the sheet you let your body go limp on Shawn’s frame arms strewn over his neck and shoulders and head dangling there as well, your body finally relaxing for the first time that day. 

Shawn’s signature scent of warm vanilla and wood shavings lulled you to sleep as he continued to work. 

He didn’t even realize you were asleep until he was on the second to last question and he felt the vibration of a soft snore through his neck. Hurriedly he finished the remaining questions and figured you guys could pick up and put away the school work in the morning. 

Placing his a hand under your leg that was wrapped around him and another hand on the small of your back he gently lifted you up from the couch, making sure not to wake you as he brought you to his bedroom to sleep for the night. 

As he carefully carried you up the few small steps he caught Eric coming out of his room and whispered a soft “Shh” before he could say a word. 

Eric understood so he whispered, “Everything okay”? 

“Yeah, she just fell asleep. Could you call Y/N’s Mom and tell her that she fell asleep while studying and I thought it wasn’t the best idea for her to drive tired that she is just going to spend the night here, also that I will see her tomorrow when I drop Y/N off after school”.

“ ‘Course man,” Eric said with complete certainty understanding that it was important that your mom knew you were safe but not being able to make it home.

Shawn nodded his head in thanks and continued to walk you into his room, mentally thanking himself for two reasons. One was that he left his bedroom door open so at least he didn’t have to struggle with that and two being that he cleaned his room for once and he had nothing to be embarrassed about.

Caressing the back of your neck in his hand he very gently laid you down on the bed pull the covers out from under your body and then over you. He was grateful you had changed into a pair of his sweatpants when you got there earlier in the day, so at least you wouldn’t have had to sleep in jeans and be uncomfortable.

Brushing some loose hair out of your face he slid into the other side of the bed, lifting his chin up to leave a sweet kiss on your forehead. In your sleep you made a soft squeak and moved closer until you found Shawn’s body and snuggled up to him an unconscious smile on your sleeping face. 

It was moments like these that Shawn really realized that you were his greatest gift of all. A lot of things may not have panned out for him but you have always been this ever-shining light that he feels so lucky to have and to hold as well as love. And he reminds himself at that moment as he has your sleeping figure embraced in his arms to never take any part of loving you for granted.

12:15 pm Shawn’s Apartment (Again), Lazy Day

It was the end of the week and both you and Shawn were absolutely knackered; Midterms went off without a hitch and the entire group passed which meant that the upcoming break was going to be nothing but relaxation. 

As per usual you were sat in Shawn’s lap, reading a book with your back resting against the arm of the couch. And him using your lap as a table while he wrote in that little notebook of his; you wonder a lot about what he is writing about but you never let your curiosity get the best of you. 

Whatever lies between the pages of that journal is obviously very important to him, and until he decides to share and show you that it is none of your business. 

Shawn absent-mindedly rubs your legs with his free hand, you peer at him over the top of your book. A grin tugging its way onto your lips. 

You couldn’t ever get enough of this boy who is growing into such a great man, he treats you as if you deserve a throne and tiara just for waking up in the morning. Loving him was such a gift and you waste no time or effort, showing and telling him that every day.  

You must have zoned out for a moment because your book was now in your lap and Shawn’s eyes were locked on your features his face twisted with a bit of worry and confusion. 

“Babe is everything alright,” he asked ever so softly then his hand came up and cupped your cheek. 

You nodded in response then gave him an audible answer, “Yeah, yeah was just thinking”.

A hand rested on your face his thumb rubbed the skin in an up and down motion, that if you were standing you were fairly certain your knees would have given out from underneath you from the flurry of emotions that evoked you. 

A smirk made itself apparent on his sweet face and when his eyebrows lifted up he said in a bit of a cocky attitude as if to suggest something. 

“Yeah about what,” he said, his eyes danced from your eyes then down to your lips and back up again. 

Gosh did this boy know how to press your buttons, but in the very best way. 

Your hand reached out to his arm that hung there next to your head and you answered truthfully. 

“About how much I love you” this definitely caught him off guard, you could tell by the way his mouth hung open and how his eyes glassed over in ecstasy. 

Letting your hand travel up to his chin, you refocused his gaze back to your eyes instead of the space that was currently between the two of you. 

He gulped but not out of fear but out of overwhelming emotion. 

Not letting himself even finish his own breath he leaned over, slicing through the previously said space; and he kissed you with absolutely no caution. 

His hands pulled you the rest of the way onto his lap and then grabbed your face yet again to make sure he had you, just as much as you had him. 

You let yourself kiss him back, a giggle being suppressed in your throat from the joy and surprise you felt. Letting your hands take control of the situation you delve into his pretty brown locks in the hopes of grasping onto anything that will stabilize you in this moment. 

Running out of breath the two of you separated to get some air but that was before Shawn said “I love you too” that knocked the wind out of you yet again. 

Excited, you fiercely wrap your arms around his neck and tug him down to lay down with you. 

Both of you giggling over the playful manner that suddenly hit you.

Taglist (dm me to be tagged in future imagines): @in-constant-fear

[raziroo]

Chapter Four | I Take A Liking To Lilac All Of A Sudden

Pairing: Lotor x Reader (There you go)

Genre: Angst? I don't knowww

Warnings: Mentions of cancer, mild swearing

Word Count: 1,676

Author’s Note: This is kind of a filler? I can't write long shit in one sitting, so. It's important to reader and lotor's relationship, tho.

‘Good luck. Come back alive, all of you, alright?’ I asked, my eyes roving over the three people standing before me – Matt, Pidge, and Shiro. ‘It’s, like, one of the simplest things you could do. You give Lotor, you get Mr. Holt. Simple. Very simple and easily doable. Right?’ My gaze dragged over all of them once more as I picked at my nails nervously. As much as I was aware of the fact that this trade wasn’t simple and easily doable, I knew that I would legitimately have a nervous breakdown if I didn’t spew lies through my teeth.

Shiro smiled at me lightly. ‘Of course. I’ll make sure nothing goes wrong. You guys take care too.’

‘If, however, anything happens,’ Allura chided, ‘the other lions will arrive as soon as possible.’

‘Yeah,’ Pidge said with a wry smirk, ‘so try not to pass out.’

‘Okay,’ I nodded my head rapidly, ‘yeah, okay, I – I can do that.’

‘Good. Well, we’ll get going then,’ Shiro announced, and turned around, the others following him.

Hopefully, all would go well.

. . . . .

You know what? Everything actually went relatively well. Yes, my hunch turned out to be correct and Zarkon chose to go through with the ‘I was lying all along! Bwahahaha!’ route and ended up getting himself killed at the hands of his son, but overall, I’d say it was a win-win, seeing that we got Pidge’s father back (thank God, who knows what havoc she’d wreak if we ended up not getting Sam back) and the evil maniacal tyrant who’d been ruling over the universe for ten thousand years died.

The one downside was that now there needed to be a new Emperor, because following Zarkon’s death, not only the Galra empire, but simultaneously the entire universe had gone into a state of chaos too. There was no doubt that underlings and generals would try to take over smaller parts of the empire, and once that happened, Voltron being able to do anything would be a stretch.

And, according to Lotor, a ceremony to crown the new emperor, the Kral Zera, would now be taking place. Once he said that, he really didn’t need to say more – it was obvious what his implications were. A new emperor was to be crowned, and if Voltron was to achieve peace, Lotor would have to go and secure the throne. It was a sensible thought to be had, no problem. The thing was, to reach the Kral Zera, which was taking place in two days, in itself was a decision to be taken with utmost thought. The Paladins just didn’t have enough time to decide.

On the one hand, Shiro and Lotor were adamant that the latter be crowned emperor; the other Paladins, however, were justifiably hesitant. I had been standing there listening to them going back and forth, not saying a word myself, like always.

To be honest, I just wanted to go sleep. For some reason, I’d been feeling overly anxious these past few days. White was still not responding to me, I was having regular dreams about the day I woke up here. It was always that one day, that first conversation I had with Shiro. It was as if my subconsciousness too wanted me to reach out to Shiro because there was clearly something weird going on with him.

My suspicions only solidified when I heard Shiro’s voice boom through the room. My head snapped up. Lance with a look of shock and the slightest bit of fear on his face, Shiro’s visage twisted with uncharacteristic anger.

‘Shiro. I think you should just relax a little.’ The man turned to me, brows pinched.

‘I am relaxed -’

‘No, I really think you aren’t… so, like… take it easy, yeah?’ I asked, jumping my eyebrows, arms still folded in front of me, maintaining a calm yet defensive posture. I could feel the entire room’s gazes on me. After all, I almost never spoke in such discussions, or any discussions, really, and indirectly opposing Shiro, of all people, was way too brave a thing for me to do.

Shiro looked at me with slight disbelief, a glint in his eye challenging me to speak up. ‘You want me to take it easy? Take it easy? The fate of the universe depends on this, taking it easy is really not an option right now. I’ve put my foot down – as the Leader of Voltron, I’ve taken this decision. You aren’t someone befitted to oppose me.’

Ok, wow. Everyone shared the same opinion apparently, as now the silence seemed piercing. Clicking my tongue, I tilted my head. ‘Well, maybe not as a Paladin, which I’m not, or a member of the coalition. But as a friend, Shiro, you’ve been acting strange. Everyone realises this. You realise this. … Maybe, I don’t know… maybe all this reflecting on you’ve been doing, maybe the role of leader is taking a toll on you? I, heh,’ I chuckle, ‘I really am not sure. But you’re not relaxed, and you’re not acting yourself.’

‘Could you please not tell me how to be a Paladin?’

‘While you all waste time squabbling, sinister forces are conspiring to fill the Galra power void. If I don’t return to claim the throne, there’s no telling who will.’

Does being royalty instantly make you a hundred times more dramatic? Sinister forces? Deadass?

I walked out.

. . . . .

Shiro went behind our back.

Yeah.

Acting like a complete bitch, he took Lotor to the Kral Zera, where, for your information, he could’ve been blown up. By Keith.

I wanted to deck Shiro. Instead, I visited White. I had hopes she’d respond to me, since I’d been brave and spoken my mind. I prayed on all the Gods and Deities above that my expectations became reality.

Yeah, they didn’t. She didn’t budge. The whole entire two goddamned hours I sat in front of White, she ignored me. Frustrated, I ended up punching her, resulting in bleeding knuckles. Lotor saw that, by the way. He seemed to always be keeping an eye on White, regardless of me being there or not, which I admit is a little strange, but I wasn’t judging. These aliens seemed to worship the Lions.

Lotor also invited us to the Galra headquarters, and lord oh my lord, was it fancy. Allura had gone off to do research with Lotor (I’d been about to make a joke about what “research” those two were really about to do, if you catch my drift, but then I saw Lance looking at the pair glumly, and thought better of it. I’d lightly punched Lance on the shoulder, and raised my eyebrows so as to say ‘They’re gorgeous aliens who could give Bella Hadid and Harry Styles a run for their money, it can’t be helped.’ He laughed.) I accompanied Hunk, Lance and Pidge in their shenanigans for a while, but ended up wandering around the place.

Space was beautiful. Even through a window, I wanted to just stare at it for as long as I could, enjoying a show more realistic than ever before. It was really similar to all the Marvel movies I’d watched; I felt a weird sense of pride at that realization. I remembered how I’d cried at the end of Infinity War, my friends clinging to me and bawling as well; how loud I’d squealed at an absolutely steamy piece of Kakashi fanart Cory had drawn; how happy I’d been when Sasha, my neighbour and childhood friend, had come out victorious after battling cancer for years.

I hadn’t realized when the tears had started slipping down my cheeks. I wiped at them, but they wouldn’t go. Sniffling and wiping so furiously my skin would get burned when I heard footsteps, I turned to see Lotor approaching me.

‘Hey -’ shit, my voice was so thick. Clearing my throat obnoxiously loud, I greeted him again. ‘Hey, uh… what… how’s yours and Allura’s research going?’

‘The research has been going quite smoothly.’

‘Hmm. Nice.’

Lotor was staring – no, correction - scrutinising me. I could feel it, his intense as hell eyes burning into the side of my face. I wasn’t going to give up, though. I stared at the window with as much concentration as he me.

He was the first to speak up. Ha.

‘You’re not of the Paladins.’

‘Really? I didn’t know, thanks,’ I still wasn’t looking at him.

‘Deepest apologies if I offended you -’

‘You didn’t, it’s okay.’

‘…’

‘…’

‘…If you wish to answer, why do you appear… distant, compared to the other Paladins? You say they are your friends, but there’s such scarce interaction… you seem acquaintances at best.’

‘… They are my friends. I like to think so, because, well… because I don’t have anyone to go back home to.’

‘Oh. My apologies, I didn’t mean to pry.’

‘You didn’t pry, chill. It’s not that my family’s dead or anything, it’s just that… no, well, my family is dead, but… like, they’ve been dead for around three hundred or so years…?’ I turned to Lotor, brows furrowed. He looked less confused than me.

‘Sorry, no, that’s – that’s shit explanation, um… you could say… I… I’ve lived past my time. I’m alive when I’m not supposed to be.’

I didn’t explicitly mention, as you can see, that I was a time traveller, because I wasn’t really one with that fact yet. I’d accepted it, yes, but that didn’t mean I was comfortable with it. It was still a foreign truth, something I didn’t take great joy in talking or thinking about.

When I turned to Lotor, I felt like he’d understood what he needed to already.

It was bizarre. A lilac alien was the last person I would expect to understand me so easily, but it was what it was.

[lilyharvord]

ever since you mentioned coriane and ptolemus and wren’s son dating i’ve never been the same... IMAGINE THE ANGST, YEARNING AND THE SECRET DATING

Listen.... I had to ((: 

Me? Writing a fic about Coriane Barrow Calore and my Samos baby OC? Me finally putting my Post Broken Throne headcanons on paper?! And taking canon into my own hands? Not ME! WRONG BITCH?! I MADE A HEADER AND EVERYTHING which means I am too invested now 😭

           For the longest time Coriane had wondered why people always looked at her and Nik when they were together, and why as they got older people started to whisper. She couldn’t help that her mother had taken her to same park that Nik’s aunts took him when she was little. It wasn’t her fault that they had met one day and played a very intense game of tag before deciding to be friends. It wasn’t her fault that he happened to be in her classes through all the years she had been in school. It certainly wasn’t her fault that she lived on the path he always took when walking to and from school either.

           Those were all a bunch of coincidences! Which was why she hated when people used to make kissing noises when they were on the playground together. Nik was too nice to punch people, but Coriane learned early how to ball her hand into a fist and hit the soft part of someone’s stomach. She’d seen the mistress of the school plenty of times because of that and every time her mom or dad had to pull her out of school, she got the same lecture on the way home.

           Stop losing your temper. People will say nasty things your whole life. Learn to let those things roll off your back.

           Between her and her brother, Shade was better at that. But he wasn’t afraid to swing his fist either. He had a nastier right hook than her anyway. Florence Dephiam might disagree, but her nose had stuck itself so far into Coriane’s business and she had been tired of it being there.

            Now she understood why people whispered though. It started about a few years ago, when she and Nik went swimming in the icy creek behind the park. She had seen Nik without his shirt plenty of times when they were younger and they used to run around his backyard, when it was sweltering during the height of summer. But for some reason that day her stomach had fluttered, and her heart had pounded while she flushed. He’d teased her mercilessly about being afraid of getting a little cold. She’d showered him in a wave of water while jumping in to shut him up. At least, that’s what she told herself she did it for. Not to hide how flustered she was by that fluttering in her stomach.

           She kept that flutter to herself, shoved it deep, deep, deep down where sometimes she forgot it existed. But Nik always did something that pulled it back to the surface. Yesterday, he’d grabbed her arm to pull her out of the way of an obstacle during training. He’d grabbed her arm plenty of times growing up, and held her hand often enough that it shouldn’t have bothered her. But for some reason, her entire body had heated up to the point that she’d started to turn the rain on her skin to vapor. She really, really didn’t want to think about what that meant.

           That fluttering was going to ruin everything.

           Nik was her friend. Her best friend if she really thought about it. He was one of the only people outside of her immediate family to see her cry. Her knew her deepest, darkest fears. He knew all the details about her life. He could probably guess her breakfast down to how much milk she poured on her cereal.

           She would not let some stupid feelings ruin that.

           “Are you just going to keep glaring at my ceiling like it offends you?” Nik’s chest rose and fell under her head with his laugh. She’d brought the new record she got for her birthday to his house so he could listen to it with her. She liked listening to music in his room. His player was better than hers anyway. Or maybe it was the fact, that laying on his floor with him made the music sound better. Again, she shoved that thought down.

           “It’s ugly just like you.” She teased before letting her head roll to the side. He was looking up at the ceiling too, which meant she could see him swallow before he replied. She could hear and feel his heart beating as he breathed under her too. It sent a thrill through her that she was allowed this close to Nikolas Samos.

He wasn’t a very touchy-feely person. He said it was because most of his family wasn’t either. His mom and his aunt Elane were the warmest people in his family, but they could only hold him so much as a child. Coriane on the other hand was very used to expressing her feelings that way. From a young age, she learned the importance of hugs. Her grandma Ruth gives the best ones after all. She used to think they were magic when she was little.

           “Because you’re so much better looking Cori.” He lifted his head off the carpet to look at her. Those iron colored eyes were very nice in the lightning, Coriane thought to herself. Only to quickly shove that thought into the same box she kept the fluttering and any other thoughts of Nik that weren’t in regrades to his general well-being.  

           “Still better looking than you.” She huffed before facing the ceiling again and closing her eyes. Anything to avoid looking at him. How was she going to keep hanging out with him like this if she couldn’t even control her thoughts around him? She was bound to blurt something out at some point. Her family always said that she inherited her mom’s mouth. She knew it was true though. She was not afraid to say what she thought. It sometimes drove her mom insane though, and they used to butt heads more when she was younger because of it.

           She decided to focus on the music to avoid thinking about Nik. It was a newly recovered Old Era song. Her uncle Kilorn had gifted it to her this year. She didn’t tell anyone, but his gifts were her favorites. He always knew exactly what she liked.

           “We should walk and get dinner soon. It’s getting late.”

           “After the song.” Coriane murmured, letting herself get lulled by the cords and the feeling of Nik’s breathing. She had no problem with staying late at Nik’s house, even when it used to make her mom nervous that she spent so much time around Nik. As the years went by though, she stopped getting warnings before leaving, and instead started being told to mind her mouth and say thank you to his parents. And when Nik came over, her mom didn’t walk on egg shells around him. Maybe she was just used to his presence now. It probably helped that Nik took after his mom a little more than his dad. If it were the other way, Coriane knew her mom might have put her foot down about them being friends a long time ago.

“Did you think about what I told you… about Addie a few days ago?” Nik asked quietly, but Coriane heard it anyway. Addie was another girl in their year who had been flirting with Nik for weeks. He’d asked Cori what she thought about her a few days ago. Coriane had changed the subject very fast as soon as he asked.  

The thought of her long chocolate colored hair and pretty almond eyes sent a bolt of panic through Coriane. It was probably what Shade felt every time he channeled a bolt of electricity during training, something she would never really understand.

It was selfish, but she didn’t want Addie around Nik. It wasn’t that Addie was bad or anything. She was actually really nice. But if he started hanging out with her or… dating her, that meant Cori couldn’t do things like this anymore. She told herself that was the problem, instead of what really was chewing at her mind.

           “Why do you care what I think?”

           “Because you’re my friend, and I trust your judgement.”

           Coriane expelled a sigh through her nose before rolling to sit up. There was no avoiding this stupid conversation anymore. Besides, she didn’t know what she was so afraid of. If Nik started seeing Addie, maybe the fluttering would finally die, and she could stop feeling so weird around him.

She could feel Nik’s eyes on her as she fixed her shirt that had fallen off her shoulder. Better to take this slow and steady, even though ripping off the bandage might be easier. “She’s pretty, and she obviously likes you.”

           “But do you like her?”

           “Why does that matter Nik? It should just matter if you like her.”

           “I don’t.”

           Coriane glared at him over her shoulder, before shoving her fingers into her curls to push them out of her face. “Then why are you even bothering to ask me?”

           “I don’t know. I’m just trying to figure out what you’re thinking.”

           “You always know what I’m thinking.” Coriane argued back before getting up to pad across the room and turn the record off. It wasn’t an exaggeration. Nik knew her inside and out, just like she knew him in the same way. He was just being stupid. If he didn’t like Addie why was he bothering to ask about her?

           “Actually I don’t.” With a little flick of his hand, he moved the needle off the record. It was such a subtle move that it made Coriane’s hand pause mid-reach. Sometimes she forgot how powerful Nik was. And sometimes he forgot how powerful she was. They had learned the hard way about each other in that capacity while sparring. He may be a very strong Magnetron with the training and the pedigree to back it up, but she was something else. She was a mix of Silver and Ardent that had made her deadly from the moment she created her first little candle sized flame.

           The floor creaked as Nik propped himself on his elbows, and with a sigh he said, “I don’t like Addie because… I like someone else.”

           “You should tell her that before she gets more invested.” Coriane tried to ignore the bitter sting of jealousy that went through her. So not only was Addie a problem, there was another person. Great. Grimacing, at that thought and the burn in her cheeks, she tried to shove that feeling in the box and lock it. If tonight kept going like this, she was going to run out of space in there.

           She lifted the record off the player before dragging her backpack towards her to put it away. When she tried to pull the zipper though, it refused to budge.

“Stop Nik,” she grumbled as she pulled on it again, but it stayed in place. The metal began to heat up between her forefinger and thumb as the silence continued and the metal tab refused to move under her urging.

           “Usually you’re the one trying to get me to talk.” He teased, making her look over her shoulder at him with a frown. He quirked a brow at her expression before reaching up to scratch at his dark hair. With the lights dimmed in his room like this, he looked like one of the paintings her aunt made, complete with slightly blurred edges that made it seem like a dream. She was grateful for that blissful darkness though. It saved her from having to explain the blush in her cheeks.

           Now she wished she left the record playing. The silence was starting to make the whole thing worse. Looking back down at her hands she said, “I’m hungry. I get moody when I’m hungry.”

           “Don’t I know that.” Nik poked at her heel with his toes. Pushing his leg away with one hand, Coriane glowered at him.

           “I mean it, don’t make me beat your ass like I did yesterday.” She warned, but the threat lost most of its influence with her smile. Nik was the only one besides her brother and parents who could really pull her out of a bad mood. They knew all the ways to push that darkness back.

           ���I was winning for almost the whole fight. You cheated.” Nik reasoned with a little shrug before releasing his hold on her zipper.

           Smirking at getting her way, Coriane pulled out the case and put her record away. It gave her something to think about other than the way the muscles underneath Nik’s thin shirt moved when he shrugged. Had he always looked like that? No definitely not. He’d only started putting on muscle a year or two ago. Or maybe it was three? He had always been thin as a pole from what she could remember. His mom always bemoaned that if he turned sideways and stuck his tongue out he could be a zipper. It used to make Coriane giggle.

           He certainly didn’t look like that anymore. Just like Coriane knew she didn’t look like the girl with a bow in her hair anymore. They stopped looking like kids a long time ago.

           “Have you—are you still talking to Xander?” Nik asked her back, his voice strangely quiet.

           “No. He wanted one thing and one thing only… plus his nose was crooked.” Coriane added the last part with a smile in Nik’s direction, hoping it would soothe the strange hurt he had just shown her. But his brow stayed furrowed, and his eyes remained dark. “My dad hated him anyways.” She added when the shadow that crossed his expression refused to leave.

           “Your dad hates every guy that talks to you.” She didn’t have to look at him to know he rolled his eyes.

           “He doesn’t hate you.” Coriane said with shrugged before pushing her backpack away and sitting to face Nik again. He looked down at his legs, his expression loosening a bit. It wasn’t much but it was something. The last thing she wanted was for her earlier mood to rub off on him.

           “I guess.” He murmured, obviously uncertain still.

           They were quiet for a long time. Coriane couldn’t remember the last time they were this uncomfortable around each other. Actually, it might have been after the really bad fight they had years ago. Nik had said something to her—she couldn’t remember what it was anymore—just that it had hurt more than anything. She had left his house immediately, telling him she hated him and didn’t want to see him ever again. When she got home, she stayed curled up with her head in mom’s lap for hours crying about it that night. They didn’t talk for a week after, and when he finally came around and apologized, they had a hard time figuring out their new boundaries.  

           Coriane glanced down at her hands, tracing the lines with her eyes to avoid looking up and breaking the silence. It would have to get broken eventually. That bitter thought from earlier reared its ugly head again, and Coriane squeezed her eyes shut in preparation before asking, “if you don’t like Addie, who do you like?”

           “It doesn’t matter. She doesn’t like me like that.”

           “How do you know?”

           Nik was quiet again, and Coriane opened her eyes to look at her hands again. In her eighteen years, she’s collected a couple little scares on her forehands. One or two from sparring, and a few from helping her dad in their garage. But they were easier to think about right now than Nik, and the little flare of hope in her chest that came with his confession.

           “Do you really not like Xander because his nose is crooked?”

           Well, if they were going down that road, she might as well just tell the truth. There was no point in hiding it from Nik anymore. “No, but… I like some other guy.”

           “Oh.” Nik’s exclamation floated into the darkness, a strange cord of hope to it that made Coriane glance up through her lashes. He was sitting up now too, his legs crossed under him while he watched her. They stared at each other like that for a moment before Nik scooted a little closer and their knees almost bumped. He kept a special inch of space between them to prevent that from happening though.

“Can I ask you something?” He was so close when he spoke, she could smell the shaving cream he started using a few weeks ago. It smelled like mint. She decided she liked it. Especially when it mixed with the perfume she wore. “Is it… weird that I think about you a lot?”

           “We’re friends Nik, I think about you too.” Coriane tried to keep her voice from going into the breathy octave that Clara called the flirty octave. She usually punctuated that title with a wink when Coriane balked at it. The last thing she wanted in this moment was for Nik to get the wrong idea. Or get any idea really. This was so confusing. She couldn’t decide if she wanted him to know what she was feeing or not. Admitting her feelings to him felt like covering her eyes and stepping off a cliff. It made her nauseous just thinking about it. But continuing to sit on them like a chicken would an egg made her hate herself. Which was the worse evil? She tossed back and forth between the two minds like a boat in a storm.

           “Can I put the record back on?” Nik asked quickly. His voice cracked halfway through though and made him pull back with wide eyes. The tension shattered like a glass bowl and Coriane blinked in surprise before laughing at the pure horror on his face. He joined in a moment later, rubbing the back of his neck and looking away from her while his dark skin flushed pale.

           She fished the record out and gave it to him, trying to stifle her laugh the whole time. His voice hadn’t cracked in a long time, but it had provided such a needed relief that she couldn’t help but be grateful for it.

Still blushing, Nik srambled to his feet to put it on, letting the music fill the silence of his room. When he sat down again, his knee brushed hers. Coriane’s entire focus zeroed to that point of contact, and her heart began to beat staccato in her chest. It was stupid. She and Nik had brushed knees all the time as kids. They had even made a game of trying to bruise the other’s when they were younger. Nik’s mom probably spent too much time healing aching knees when they were kids, but no one stopped them. Her own mother always grumbled about letting them pummel each other, that a little rough housing was good for them.

           “Does the guy know that you like him?”

           “I don’t think so.” Coriane watched his face for his reaction, but he gave nothing away with the slight tilt of his head. He was so close she could see the splash of charcoal grey in his irises.

           “Are you going to tell him?”

           “I don’t know. Are you going to tell whoever it is that you like?”

           “I want to.”

           “Why don’t you?” She forced herself to keep watching him, to try and put the observation skills her mom had taught her to use. Nik had always been such a closed book though. He was the only person she could never figure out. It had taken her forever to figure out all his little ticks, and even then, he always made new ones like his emotions were a code he was trying to keep safe.

           In the end, he ignored her question with a shrug. But as he rested his forearms on his knees, his fingers brushed her shin, and sent bolts of electricity up to her brain. Finally, she saw the skin between his brows crinkle as he tried to keep from making a face at whatever thought crossed his mind.

           “Do you remember a few weeks ago after training when you went over to get your ribs looked at?”

           “Yeah. You helped them cut my jacket off.”

           He blushed again, and his eyes darted down to his hands and his fingers curled into fists to avoid touching her. “I’ve… been thinking about that a lot.”

           Nothing had happened. It wasn’t even his fault that she had fallen. They had been racing to the top of the obstacle, her foot had gotten tangled in the netting, and she had lost her grip on the platform above her head trying to get loose. She’d fallen ten feet to the ground and landed on her back. The crack had one hundred percent been ribs, and while the trainer had rushed to her, Nik had been the first one down to check on her. He’d helped the trainer lift her to her feet and had practically carried her to the healer off to the side.

           A quick inspection had confirmed broken ribs, and rather than make the pain worse by taking her training jacket off normally, Nik had helped the healer by cutting it open at the back to give the woman access to her skin. She hadn’t been thinking about him at all though in that moment, just that her right side felt like it was on fire, and her lungs felt like they were filling with water.

           Thinking back on it now, she had felt his hands lingering on her lower back and side a little longer than was probably necessary. It could have been that he was just supporting her so that she didn’t have to hold her own weight while the healer snapped bones back into place and healed her torn lung. But they’re trailed off her skin as the healer shooed him out of her way. And he had coddled her a stupid amount afterward, taking her home and dropping her off and making her explain to her parents what happened and why she needed a new training jacket. It had just been Nik being Nik though. He may not be the most sentimental person, but when he cared about someone he was willing to step in front of a firing squad for them.

           “I keep thinking about you. And not just the ribs incident. Whenever you’re around, I can’t stop thinking about how your arms look when you pull your hair up before training, and how you always put your right boot on before your left even if that’s the stupidest superstition I’ve ever heard.” He inhaled sharply, and tilted his head back to look at the ceiling, his throat bobbing rapidly. “I keep thinking about how happy it makes me when you pick me first for things, and how you always smile while I talk about whatever I’m doing, even if I know you think it’s boring.”

           Coriane opened her mouth to speak, but he dropped his chin and grabbed her wrist to keep her quiet. “I’m always thinking about how you can pick up any instrument and play it like you’ve know how forever. And when I think about the guys who try to flirt with you, I hate them. I hate them so much I want to punch their teeth in so they stop talking to you.”

           “Nik,” Coriane tried not to pull her wrist away. This was a lot, too much to unload when she wasn’t expecting it.

           “I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want to make it awkward. I didn’t want to ruin this,” he gestured between them, his voice breaking as he shook his head.

           “Nikolas,” She insisted a little more forcefully. But he wasn’t listening. He kept shaking his head and rambling. This was infuriating. He wasn’t going to let her say a word, was he? That meant she was going to have to take a desperate measure, damn him.

           Grabbing his face, she pressed her lips against his. Her dad always did this when her mom wouldn’t stop talking. She’d seen him do it plenty of times to know it was effective. When she was little it used to gross her out, but as she got older, she realized it was a very reliable way to make someone she loved shut up. This kiss wasn’t exactly like that kiss though. That kiss always left her mom breathless and standing there dumbfound, no matter how many times it happened. This was a little more hesitant, a little more like a curiosity she was exploring.

It certainly wasn’t her first either, she’d had that kiss two years ago when her friend Willow had kissed her in the changing room before training. It had sent a thrill through her and she had kissed back before the two of them had pulled back in surprise at the other’s ferocity. Willow had moved to a smaller Montfort city a week later though, and taken that fling with her. They’d only kissed once, but it had confirmed a few things for Coriane. One, that she was perfectly happy kissing girls, the other being that she wanted to kiss everyone like that.

This kiss wasn’t like that one either though. While that one had sent a bolt of lightning coursing through her so that her hands were shaking, this one was like a slow burning fire in her chest. It started there and slowly began to spread to every one of her fingers and toes. She wondered if Nik could feel that heat, and knew what it meant.

It certainly shut him up though. When they pulled away from it, they stared at each other for a long second. During that eternal second Coriane registered that her heart was beating so hard it hurt, and her stomach was hanging out somewhere in her pelvis, and that it was a very weird feeling. When the silence got to be too long, and she felt a little uncomfortable staring into his eyes, she said, “You wouldn’t let me say that I’ve been feeling the same things.”

Nik didn’t say anything when he grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her close to smash his lips against hers again. She gasped a little at the feeling, only to slowly unfurl from her seated position. Crawling to close the distance between them, she draped one arm and then the other over his shoulders, letting her hands dangled behind his back and brush against the track of his spine. She wanted to dig her nails into his skin though, and press her fingers into the muscles of his back to feel how they moved when he did. It seemed a tad much in the moment though, so she settled for dragging her fingers up through the hair on the back of his head.

           Craning his neck to prolong the kiss, he grabbed her waist with both hands, and squeezed. She made a sound in the back of her throat that surprised even her. But her skin felt like it was on fire, and she couldn’t stop thinking about how embarrassing it would be if she burned him right now.

Her body had a mind of its own though, and she slipped one knee around his waist and then the other before trailing her fingers down to cup his jaw and keep his head tilted up. He tasted like mint, she hadn’t been expecting that. She wasn’t sure what she expected though. Maybe that he would taste like iron, or like every memory she had of him.

His fingers grabbed fistfuls of her shirt, untucking it from her pants as he shifted and rolled to the side to lower her onto his carpet. Crossing her ankles behind his hips in response, Coriane arched her back to keep the kiss from breaking. He pulled away to breathe though, and left her breathless as he did so.

They watched each other until Coriane realized that most of her hair was in her mouth and she was panting like she just ran five miles. Clearing her throat and reaching up with a shaking hand, she pushed the loose strands behind her shoulder. “I guess that clears that up.”

Nik laughed lightly, and that sound was probably the most wonderful thing Coriane had ever heard him make.

[filmmakerdreamst]

‘Boy Meets World’ Re-watch (as an Adult)

‘Girl Meets World’ doesn’t count as a sequel. Not because of the writing/tonal choices but because in the original show - despite continuity issues - the characters felt like real people e.g. the way they spoke/acted/dressed was the way people behaved in the 90s where as in the spin off, they were Disney characters e.g. hyper versions of themselves especially Cory and Eric. And the transition between both shows didn’t come naturally. It’s not an objectivity badly written show but it was pretty much a re-do of the old show with the same storylines/tropes without continuing the story. (I say the same thing about ‘The Incredibles’. vs ‘Incredibles 2’.) Also there were too many cooks in the kitchen pushing one way or another. You could see Micheal Jacobs style, all the aspects were there, but he was also creating a ‘DISNEY’ show at the same time. I don’t know about you but the one message I took from the original show was ‘finding out that life cannot be packenged into a lovely little present ’ which kind of contradicts everything that the new show is. If anything GMW is an AU universe (and it really felt like that, rewatching it right after BMW e.g. it felt flipped) almost like Disney’s version of ‘what happened next?’ The primal difference between both shows is BMW is portraying what is real and GMW is based on what is real.

Going off my point, I will however be always thankful that it exists because I probably wouldn’t of found out about ‘Boy Meets World’ otherwise. Although saying that, I never thought that the original show needed a continuation of any kind (a lot of things make sense about the spin off if you acknowledge that Disney requested it - I think it would of been much better off on its original platform) ‘Boy Meets World’ was very much a product of its time i.e. when tv shows were still relevetivley new and had no rules - like there is stuff in there that not even adult shows today have. Plus there was something about it that felt very personal (such as the characters and setting) as if the creator based it on his own childhood growing up and I think that was part of its charm and why it had such a big effect on pop culture - I’m not so sure you can repeat that.

BMW is big on meta I’ll tell you that. I love how it’s so aware of itself. The amount of depth that it has never ceases to amaze me. It’s whole universe is so dense and huge. Every quote/storyline is so unique it sticks in your brain forever. (I swear the humour got more and more deranged every season). The show was also incredibly queer and progressive.  It didn’t give a crap about sexuality. Much more than I remember. Proof to never use ‘but it was made in the 90s’ excuse.        

I loved how the show kept reinventing itself every season as Cory grew up so you really felt you were growing up with him and all the characters. The Character Development on this show was so natural/authentic. Every single character got a chance to shine. No one changed their look in one episode and no one had an intervention every time someone had an identity crisis (GMW) My favourite development was Shawn Hunter. He went from a cool kid to a ladies man to a poetic soul. It was so satisfying to watch.

I realised that Cory Matthews is actually my favourite character (before it was Eric or Shawn) I already have a special soft spot for ‘annoying’ characters because they tend to be the most memorable/real. For example, Karma Ashcroft from ‘Faking it’ was my babe while everyone was hating on her. I really related to his anxiety/self hatred about being average and I loved that he constantly made mistakes. It was very refreshing. He’s also incredibly queer-coded. I found that alot of his mannerisms make sense if you see him with extreme compulsory heterosexuality (because identity’s such as bisexual or gay couldn’t exist normally in the 90s) There are moments in the show where he literally mimics his best friend’s behaviour around girls e.g. when the class pretty much gets brainwashed by the sex ed video in ‘Boy Meets Girl’ Shawn gets asked out by a girl, making Cory jealous - which pushes him to ask out Topanga.

It’s funny how a few years of life experience can change perspectives completely because when I was sixteen (aka the same age as Cory and Topanga) watching BMW for the first time, I was mad at Amy for ‘not understanding that they were in love’ (in ‘A Walk to Pittsburg’) but now that I’m older I’m actually agreeing with her. Yeah, what do they know about love? Because all season long they were acting quite superficially.

Cory and Topanga became somewhat of a toxic couple in seasons 5 -7. Reminded me of my parents relationship because my mum gave up her chosen university to be closer to my dad and they aren’t together any more. Topanga’s love for Cory was very conditional and Cory cheated on her multiple times/openly begged for sex  (Again like my parents) And you should never be in a relationship with someone who makes you say “You make me think not so very much of myself” There are arguably much more signs of emotional abuse than love in their relationship especially from Topanga’s side. Plus their story was altered so many times to give it more basis (they retconned Shawn and Cory’s friendship to do this) I could write an essay on how Kevin and Winnie’s love story on ‘The Wonder Years’ is much more believable because it actually addresses how toxic it was and they grow apart in the end. If GMW was a realistic continuation, they would be divorced with a little girl - leave them in the 90s where they belong.

Alan and Amy were couple goals! Cory and Topanga wish that they could have what they have. Literally the definition of ‘a healthy relationship on tv that keeps thriving and over coming obstacles without big drama’. Best TV parents ever.

I loved the Matthews family; how they all had individual arcs and developments of their own. One of my favourite arcs was in season 5, when Eric and Cory were both jealous of what they ‘didn’t have’ with their dad, so Alan made an effort to give them both that they needed. Honestly, I had never seen so much healthy communication on TV before. Alan is the best father around. His whole personal arc of giving up managing a supermarket because he wasn’t passsionate about it anymore and buying a mountain store was so inspired. I found it funny that the family had more of a relationship with Shawn than Topanga.

Shawn Hunter never caught a break. It got a bit tiring. He was never allowed to be happy for five minutes. Every time he laughed or smiled, 5 years were added onto my lifespan. Why didn’t Johnathan Turner adopt him? I loved their dynamic. Why did he let him go back to his abusive father who just dumped him anyway?

Jack and Shawn’s complicated dynamic was possibly the most unique/interesting arc of the entire show and no one talks about it. I don’t care what y’all say - despite them being very different, Jack was the only one who fully took care of Shawn without second thoughts (Turner and the Matthews family had doubts)

I liked Shawn and Angela. I thought they were much better suited than Cory and Topanga. I honestly wouldn’t of minded if they ended up together even though I always had a feeling they wouldn’t. (Like I’m glad she went with her dad in the end) And considering how important they were as a interracial couple in the 90s, GMW handled that very poorly.

Shawn and Cory should of ended up together. And before you come at me with ‘it’s important to have m/m friendships without toxic masculinity’ (which is an important arguement to have) - yeah no shit there’s an entire Industry based around that/pitting women against each other. While it is important to have those friendships between men that are close and even intimate (take Chandler and Joey, Schmidt and Nick, Isak and Jonas and Jake and Charles for example) there was also another layer to their relationship which the narrative played off sometimes as them “going out” or “in love”.  I actually recently found out that a writer - who came into the show in season 3 - confirmed that she wrote gay undertones into their relationship on purpose ‘In my opinion as a writer, they thought they were “straight”, they both didn’t realise or understand their feelings for eachother’ but couldn’t deliever because the producers wanted to keep the show “kid friendly”. Kind of like Xena and Gabby. I know people prefer Jack & Eric (I love them as well) but everything got ruined for me as soon as they introduced the ‘love triangle’ and I always tend to prefer emotional tension over sexual. They were just so unconditional with each other/ their friendship was so good and healthy and now I’m so bitter that it never happened.

I never understood why Shawn and Cory had to stop being best friends after he got married. He’s not Topanga’s property. I always hated how Topanga tried to interrupt/interfere with their dynamic — although now I realise it was because the two of them purposely left her out. Looking back at it, If it really was just a intimate friendship then why would she get so easily jealous if she didn’t sense there was something else deeper going on? You should never marry someone who puts you second.

I didn’t like Topanga when she was with Cory (or vice versa) Especially after they got married. She was a great character on her own. Feminist before her time. Hermione Granger before her time. I always felt she deserved a lot better than him in a way e.g. if someone I considered a friend speard a rumour around high school that we slept together - I would never speak to that person again. SHE SHOULD OF GONE TO YALE GOD DAMN IT. And as someone pointed out the other day, if the roles were reversed some of the stuff she does or says to Cory would be considered domestic violence. ‘She’s always blaming Cory on shit that isn't even his fault or makes him feel bad or shuts down his emotions and turns it around so he's comforting her instead.’ There was even a moment in GMW (not that I consider that show a continuation) where she locks him out the house for a few days after he insulted her chicken, and his son Auggie had to bring him spaghetti. If Cory was a woman, that would not be played off as a joke - that would be considered abuse. They were however a better couple in GMW ironically.

Angela Moore is now one of my favourite characters on BMW. She was beautiful. Her friendship with Rachel (and Topanga) was the best. And I frickin’ loved her and Cory’s friendship development - when they could of easily not played into that. I hate that she got villiaized in GMW.

My favourite seasons are 4, 5 & 1. My least favourites are 3 & 2 & 7. And even then the show was still pretty darn good.

The back and fourth clash between Turner and Mr Feeny in season 2 was very entertaining.

Mr Feeny and Eric are my favourite relationship on ‘Boy Meets World’. I love how Eric was the only person that Feeny directly told that he loved him. Also, why didn’t Eric become the new Mr Feeny? He showed more traits of becoming a teacher in the show than Cory did.

Eric and Tommy was probably the most heartbreaking plot line in season 6. (That season was an emotional train wreck) I cried for a fourth time. The world doesn’t deserve him.

I loved the development of Shawn and Topanga’s friendship. Even though there was a silent competition over Cory, they eventually became good friends. I found out that the song ‘She will be loved’ was inspired by them which is awesome but it’s also proof that people ship for less if it’s an m/f dynamic - just sayin’. I however see a more convincing potiental romance with the two of them than Cory and Topanga sometimes.

On Cory and Topanga again - they weren’t a bad couple overall. I liked them in s1 - 3. They had some great moments. But upon my rewatch (getting out of that 90s idealised headspace) I found them to be too similar at times - chafing as another person put it - to the point where they cancel each other out. A lot of people pointed out that Riley and Maya paralleled them and I was thinking “That’s not nesserily a good thing.”

‘Dream. Try. Do good.’ is on my mantelpiece.

[arecomicsevengood]

“Follow Your Own Star”

Lately I’ve found it hard to shake the feeling that everything of value is being destroyed, but we are being given simulacra in exchange, while we wait, to soften the blow. The relationship between the U.S. economy and what actually has value is basically nil, obviously, and COVID has only highlighted that, but beyond that, being in isolation has brought to light how much of what I consider “real” because it exists outside the bounds of money is nonetheless vulnerable. We’ve been given podcasts to fill our working hours with parasocial relationships where once we may’ve had genuine camaraderie with our coworkers. We’re given desultory political candidates to vote for in the absence of those who would govern in accordance with our actual beliefs. It feels like an elaborate art heist is taking place, where the masterpieces are exchanged for forgeries, and the endgame of those seeking to enrich themselves is to set a bonfire of all that’s made us human, all we’ve invested our true selves into. All this can occur only because our relationships have been made increasingly transactional already. I wondered at the start of quarantine how many couples, with the ability to see one another in the flesh compromised, had switched to having “sex” over Skype, how many intimate relationships were compromised by distance into resembling cam shows. Partly this curiosity was a way of comforting myself, as I came to the understanding that I would not be entering into anything approaching a real romantic relationship for the foreseeable future.

In the context of all of this, reading a book that feels reminiscent of the work of another artist feels like a minor thing, but it slips easily enough into the larger pattern. After reading Roaming Foliage by Patrick Kyle, I thought “Huh, this is very much a CF/Brian Chippendale thing.” Then, after reading Eight-Lane Runaways by Henry McCausland, I thought, “Oh, this is even more like a CF thing.” Both are, I think, appropriate for kids, which Powr Mastrs isn’t, but I also never read Powr Mastrs and felt like the thing that made it good was its BDSM pornography elements. People have been biting CF’s style for years — enough for him to address it with a little note in the third Powr Mastrs book, instructing them to “follow your own star.” Simon Hanselmann admits the similarities between the character design for Owl and a character in CF’s story in Kramers Ergot 5, Hanselmann’s subsequent popularity seems to suggest a moment where something becomes less of a direct influence and more just something that exists generally in the world. It’s art: Inspiration, influence, and appropriation are all part of the game. Reading Hanselmann, I’ve wondered what his work would’ve been like before exposure to his most obvious influences; reading these, I wondered instead if they would still have been made had Powr Mastrs 4 ever come out, to finish out the story and close the system; it feels like, in a transactional relationship between artist and audience, the fact of a work remaining unfinished makes it more socially acceptable to steal from. For instance, think of the debt Alejandro Jodorowsky’s The Holy Mountain owes to Rene Daumal’s Mount Analogue. It feels like an attempt to create something with an ending, to satisfy a desire for the logic to reach its conclusion. The comics fulfill a certain set of expectations, I found them a pleasant enough experience, satisfying on a certain level. However, on a deeper level, I found them completely unsatisfying, because they speak so directly to a sense of unfulfilled potential. They lack the thrill that CF’s comics provide, of totally transcending any expectations placed on them.

Measuring the impact made by CF, Paper Rad, and the Fort Thunder contingent is difficult to calculate, because there were so many radical gestures inside that work, and while some have been metabolized, others have not. The “reclamation of genre material in an art-school context” is maybe the most readily understood. Johnny Ryan’s Prison Pit probably wouldn’t exist were it not for these comics, but that’s such a “who cares” for me, such a dumbed-down and simplistic understanding of what makes these comics good. The silkscreening of covers is close behind, in terms of something that people really ran with. That’s fine, no one owns silkscreening, it looks great. What hasn’t really been reckoned with are the gestures against commodity fetishism. Paper Rodeo is progenitor of the free comics newspaper format, but the work that ran there is so much wilder than what you see in what followed, and most of it was anonymous. I understand why that was a gauntlet that wasn’t picked up, but is still one of the things that made an impact on its initial readership. Similarly, I haven’t seen anyone steal the CF format of the single-sheet xerox, with comics on the front and back. I guess that’s not surprising! But honestly? Sick format.

I’ve just been talking about comics, but Lightning Bolt playing on the floor is its own radical gesture, albeit one with an obvious precedent in the form of Crash Worship. The Forcefield oeuvre is its own thing. Those videos are great! The animation made out of photographing the cutting layers of multicolored clay… I wonder how much of this stuff hasn’t been picked up on because it’s the last stand of working with real world physical materials, before the coming of digital as the default medium for art students to work in. Obviously, the silkscreening has similar roots in physical media, and playing on floors relates directly to how you communicate with people when you’re in the same physical space as them. Real world community has distinct advantages, but many that came after took the trade for the benefits working digitally provides. Anyway. I could write a 33 1/3 book proposal for Lightning Bolt’s Ride The Skies that addresses all this stuff, but I also believe I would not be the best person to write such a book; I suspect those better suited would not be interested.

There is something so exciting about artists whose work feels overflowing with ideas, not just on a level of concept or drawing but also in terms of how the work is presented. That whole Providence/Picturebox crew was so abundant with this creative ferment that when I see others picking up on individual threads it makes sense on a certain level — you want more of a certain thing — but if it’s not backed up by something distinctly unique, as a reader I’m hyper-aware of what’s absent.

These artists also made books, and records, and it was their doing so that brought their work to a larger audience, including me. Not everything has to be a gesture against making money. But at the same time, radical gestures suggest the benefits made in fostering community work out better in the long term than leveraging oneself to be consumed as a commodity does. This is not to suggest that McCausland or Kyle are doing something wrong that will sabotage some sort of grand plan for utopia: I’m really just riffing here. If I buy electronic music mp3s online, I’m not necessarily going to lament the death of live music performance the same way I do when buying the mp3s of a jazz act. Looking at a contemporary superhero comic that feels dire and ugly will make me nostalgic for the Mike Parobeck comics of my youth, but a contemporary black and white zine exists in a completely different universe and might not remind me of anything. Certain things make you miss the world that was more than others.

It’s also worth noting that by all accounts Patrick Kyle has a bunch of people online ripping off his style but I have successfully been able to avoid such people. While Roaming Foliage is consciously modeled after the sort of weird adventure comics of not just Powr Mastrs, but also Brian Chippendale’s If N Oof,  What I am most often seeing and thinking “that’s a ripoff” is the presence of these geometrical patterns which are also similar to design choices made throughout his oeuvre. There’s a chaotic, obfuscatory energy approach to comics that he works with frequently, but so much of his other comics feel dark, melancholy, or paranoid whereas this feels much lighter in its tone. At the same time, compared to the claustrophobia of Don’t Come In Here, having his characters move about makes for an adventure narrative. Watching them wander, interact, and be given quests and goals belongs to this tradition that’s not unique to the Picturebox artists — but the feeling that this fantasy material was arrived at through adventure games like Zelda moreso than Tolkien makes for this sort of… generational level of familiarity, rather than seeming to occupy some sort of Campbellian myth-space, if that makes sense. The strangeness of Kyle’s art, where backgrounds overtake figures, suggests a sort of PC glitching, almost like the Cory Arcangel/Paper Rad collaboration Super Mario Movie, but achieved through photocopier technology of blowing up and distorting images. It is the sensation of a feeling being chased after that makes the book feel less exciting and more melancholy, though subsequently, that darker feeling might make the book slot into Kyle’s oeuvre so much that bigger fans of his might not even notice the resemblance I’m seeing.

McCausland has a list of acknowledgments in his book which includes CF alongside Herge and Otomo. I can sort of see them all, but Herge especially is an influence that’s been so widely absorbed by comics as a whole that I really only feel particularly aware of it in the case of Joost Swarte or something. McCausland’s resemblance to CF is reinforced by things as molecular as a resemblance in the lettering, which is really odd. The figures all have this youthful smallness to them, and I can’t tell if the characters are meant to be young specifically or if it’s just the way he’s learned to draw. I can see Otomo, but it’s definitely approached through the CF filter. Other trademarks, like the rendering of geometric shapes, the patterns of parallel lines, seems integrated, highlighted, by the “racetrack” premise that gives the book its name. However, he distinguishes himself because his work is more constantly busy, with the same general level of detail. There’s also these trees in the background, which seem like they’re rendered as these painted soft grey daubs, a type of texture you don’t see in CF’s darkened pencil work.

His storytelling is different, prone to large spreads, or showing the same character multiple times in a panel as they move across the landscape. (The dimensions of Eight-Lane Runaways are considerably larger than those of Powr Mastrs.) There are nonetheless panels that seem exactly like CF drawings, but with a less cryptic sense of humor. It feels more populist, like it’s based around what a person liked, and in the act of working it out, subtracted the mystery. What would’ve been a detailed “money shot” in a CF sequence is here the baseline level of drawing detail that never gets subtracted from. It’s really fascinating to me how this makes it less good, I think many people would prefer it.

I wrote most of this before learning that Anthology is releasing a new CF book next week. You can order it and see preview images at the Floating World site. You can draw your own conclusions. CF’s on his own path such that you might not even note a resemblance between his new images and McCausland’s. We’re all living on the same planet, orbiting the same sun in an expanding universe, subject to the will of an accelerating time.

[migleefulmoments]

Debunking The ccResponse to my Proof post

CC Nonsense is so easy to debunk.  

This is their response to me calling them out for using manips as “proof” that cc was and is real.  

A group of grown adult women thought THIS was irrefutable and such good evidence that it was a perfect response to shut me down. In fact, they comment about the fun they are having several times.  I’m dumbfounded honestly by the ridiculous things they hold up as proof.   It’s so stupid.

ajw720

gifs found here (x)

flowersintheattic254

And it’s D who is the one looking blissfully happy. He mirrors C’s movements so much here and his expression is someone who is

BESOTTED

C is the focus of that. This exists and can’t be explained away.

Let’s start with my debunk post from yesterday. If you haven’t read it you can read it (X). Essentially, what we learned is that this photo 

which is one of their most treasured “proof” pics is a manip. 

It is super long so under a cut

I have no idea why Abby came back at me with the specific gif set above and this photo because they still prove nothing. Both men are known for being funny in interviews and that is exactly what is happening here but slow it down, clip out a 1-2 second piece, loop it in a gif and suddenly the moment because so much more than it ever was. Watch the entire video and the moment isn’t special at all. Chris always answers to get a laugh-hence “oh God” and “I was scared shitless”. I don’t know why being scared shitless during his first sex scene is proof of cc. Cory spoke about being terrified as well. Darren’s response is very serious-100% theater major. He gives a long answer, thoughtful answer and then turns on the charm at the end, going for a laugh to break the tension.  He leans forward Chris for less than a second as you can see from my screen grabs all taken at 3:17

and says “what do you think Chris?” The intimacy- and Flower’s “BESOTTED” moment- that the cc fandom has long romanticized in this interview is simply not there when you watch the video played at regular speed and in real time.  

Darren isn’t mirroring Chris’s movements- in fact he is quite serious when answering the question and he doesn’t seem to be all that aware of Chris beside him until he gets to the end of the question. As you can see in my screen grabs above, he doesn’t  look blissfully happy or besotted until the last two screen grab when he purposefully makes a cheesy smile at Chris and says “what you think Chris?”.  That was 1/2 a second in real time. The cc fandom and @flowersintheattic254 have spent 4 years purposefully NOT watching the video, instead realying   entirely on a manip and a handful of gifs along with their fabricated  version of what is going on on stage. They are literally gaslighting themselves.  

leka-1998

Hahahaha

They want to believe this is darren - I can’t help them. But if THIS is your proof, you are in sad shape.  Especially when you are putting that against 

You have a headless photo taken 6 years ago as your only non-Glee proof. That is pretty sad. Can you imagine a prosecutor taking that to court. “Yes, your honor, this photo of a tiny part of a man’s chin, his head cut out of frame and most of his body obscured by a cat is my proof that Chris and Darren are in a relationship”. Abby should know that this is proof of absolutely nothing. In fact, if you would listen to Chris with your ears instead of your eyes- you would know this is Will: Chris has confirmed Will is his boyfriend in several interviews.  Holding this photographed chin portion up to Will’s chin, it is easy to see that it could be him. That along with Chris acknowledging Will is his boyfriend and the many photos we have of them going about their lives as a couple, his outright denial of any romantic relationship with Darren and the fact that Darren identifies as straight, the evidence adds up to it being Will in the photo.  

I know you want it to be Darren, but assessing evidence isn’t about what you want to find, it is about looking objectively at the evidence and putting it all together in context.  You can’t take an isolated moment, slowed down and gif’d to within an inch of it’s life and call that proof.  

Evidence that supports Will as Chris’s boyfriend-  Will attended Hannah’s graduation and was with Chris for his mom’s funeral whereas Darren was seen eating lunch with friends in LA.  

Photos where they do boyfriend things. 

All of the credible evidence leads to the photo is Will. You claiming it is Darren simply because you desperately want it to be isn’t “credible evidence”, it’s simply the foolish, baseless claims of a few strangers who believe their fantasy is more important than the reality of the people involved.  In order to believe it is Darren, you have to dismiss all the overwhelming credible evidence that says it is Will.

Also real 

I have NO idea why these are considered “also real”. They are both gifs cut from videos produced for Glee Promotion. These were filmed as part of Chris and Darren’s job responsibilities. Chris actually refused to do The Wedding interview and had to be forced to do it. 

I have no idea how you can listen to The Wedding interview. and come away feeling like it was cc positive. It is an indication of how deluded you are and how bad you are at HEARING with your ears. In fact, you once again are “listening with your eyes” by screen capping it to turn it into a gif so you can fixate on 1/2 a second of content and pretend it represents the entire interview. When I first saw the interview, I was stunned at how anti-cc the it was. The entire interview is about how bad overzealous Kragen fans are-”the crazies” and how neither man wants to get your attention so they just stay off social media. 

This is a gif of Darren cracking up is when Chris suggests future-Kurt should be played by Marcia Gay Harden. It’s really funny and Darren laughs-so what? The video is supposed to fun- he’s doing his job. 

Here we have Chris’s closed off- his arms wrapped tightly around himself to protect himself. Darren might be boisterly laughing but Chris isn’t.  He’s barely giving anything. But regardless of what is really being shown here- - these videos were filmed 5 or 6 years ago as part of Chris and Darren’s work...what the hell do they prove related to cc? Absolutely nothing. They prove that both men did the job they were paid to do. They also prove you guys insist on using gifs to prove your fantasy because they are the best way to manipulate reality into showing what you want to see.   

Look at Naya cracking up at Darren, does this prove she loves him? NO, of course not- just like Darren laughing in a PR video he was paid to make doesn't’ prove he loves Chris. 

Watch the unaltered video for a real perspective. 

ajw720

@leka-1998 Apparently she is CONVINCED too much love, and all of the other headless images on C’s IG are just the PA.  Apparently C just likes to cut off his head for shits and giggles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am having way too much fun with this.(Me too, it’s fun explaining “credible evidence” to a lawyer who doesn’t understand it. When are you going to provide evidence that isn’t simple to discredit? I keep waiting for this to get harder but so far it’s utter nonsense.) 

Umm...”all the other headless images” aren’t there like 2 other headless images? No, I don’t think Chris cuts them off for “shits and giggles”, I think he cuts them off because cc assholes come on his social media and terrorize him when he posts Will’s face- especially back during Glee days- so he tamed it down so you hags would not bother him.  This isn’t rocket science here, it’s pretty simple. If you listen to Chris- of course you don’t-but if you did, you would see that your “proof” doesn’t align with what Chris says. Instead you “listen with your eyes” and disregard his pleas to stop shipping him with Darren. 

All of your evidence is in the form of a screen grab or a gif, have you ever wondered why that is? Has it ever occurred to you that none of your evidence comes from Chris or Darren’s mouth? In fact, you go to great lengths to prove what they say is not what they mean. It’s a sick game you play, but I suppose you know that which is why the “#1 rule of fandom is DO NOT involve the players”   

cc-still-going-strong

I will admit it is all history if they can give me ONE photo he looks at her like

THIS

Again, so weird that you used more Klaine screen caps as your evidence. It’s like you don’t understand that Klaine is different from Chris and Darren. 

I have no clue why you think these are excellent examples of anything but get ready to admit it is all history, my friend. Your photos are literally screen grabs from PR videos, smh.  I posted a bunch of responses to this challenge- you can see them: besotted (X), kisses (X), Wedding (X), Reception (X), Random (X), Video 1 (X), 2 (X), 3 (X) 4(X) Romantic 1 (X), 2

Some of the photos I included: 

THIS is a photo of a BESOTTED Couple!!!!!

This is also a photo of Darren BESOTTED.

flowersintheattic254 I want to play some more!!!!!! (OH Me Too, THIS IS TOO EASY) Can Michy rewrite D adding C to his lines on C’s birthday. Was that dubbed Michy and created by us.

I’ve never understood why you believe this joke is proof of cc? It’s a hilarious joke, but it’s really benign and certainly not indicative that they are lovers. They are former coworkers and this was right after Glee ended, so the joke is funny and timely. Today the joke would probably fall flat except within the fandom. Here you are again LiSTENING WITH YOUR EYES as you refuse to acknowledge both that Chris had named Will as his boyfriend and Darren had named Mia by the time this joke was told.  Now, 4 years later Darren is married to Mia so IDK why this is still so exciting for you guys.  Please explain to me why you believe this joke is proof of riot material...why is it something to get excited about other than it’s clever and funny? Again you have to take it out of context of all other evidence about their personal lives, ignore their outright denials they are couple, ignore Darren’s claims he is straight, believe he is lying every time he speaks about his sexuality, fabricate an entire backstory to the joke and believe it is as wink wink nod nod to fandom that they are a couple. It’s just a joke- the whole show was full of them.   To me, your delight with this has always reeked of desperation...and don’t kid yourself, after Darren told this joke every night, he went home with Mia. 

Or maybe some more glee panel. Look at D here.

Or shock horror, which bastard manipulated their legs to look like they were together?!!😮

I love BTS pics that show how close and relaxed they are with each other Michy.

He’s laughing at a joke here...I don’t get your delight. Again- believing this is special requires you to disregard everything Darren and Chris have said about their lives and to belief this one old gif supercedes the thousands of photos we have seen that disprove cc is viable. But even if you weren’t sure back when this gif was new, now we know that Darren is married to Mia and Chris has published Will’s face on his social media many times. In light of new information, your original theories about what these gifs show have been proven wrong and you need to amend your theories. Or at least that is what a reasonable, intelligent person who cares about the truth would do. History would indicate that you are incapable of amending your theories when new information comes to light and that you only care about your fantasy- the truth is inconsequential to you. History also indicates your “proof” is always taken as an isolated event because each time you are forced to ignore the mountain of evidence that disproves your theory. 

Yes, they are absolutely standing right next to one another but so what? This pic doesn’t prove they are in a relationship. If being next to some proves a relationship then Abby get married every time she rides the subway. They are coworkers on set- getting ready to film a scene together. This is a shot of their legs taken when they were standing around Zac getting directions when they first arrived. Once again, you manipulated a photo to make it look like something it isn’t.  But that is always how you “prove” cc is real- you lie and manipulate.  Darren hasn’t even been in hair and make-up yet, this very early in the day. 

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@flowersintheattic254 the h/edwig joke has been caught on video, but ofc, obviously we fucked with the audio. 

Nobody thinks you fucked with the audio you twit. Reasonable adults simply don’t think a benign joke told on stage is scandalous or indicates they are lovers. 

Just adding a few more special, genuine moments of D absolutely adoring his man, i mean co-worker he hates  

I have never said they hate each other so you need to get someone else to debunk that. In fact, I don’t think I have ever heard anyone except the cc fandom claim they hate one another.  It’s part of only seeing “always” and “never”. 

According to the cc lexicon- Chris and Darren are married or at least live together and have for several years and Darren is under an onerous contract that forbids him from letting the world know he is gay AND that he is in love with Chris Colfer. In fact they are forbidden from interacting in public and their characters were broken up in season 4 in order to break them up in real life.  So you are suggesting that Darren is sooooooo in love that he just cannot stop staring at the man he lives with for the 4 minutes he is on stage with all eyes on them even though he could lose everything under the contract? Cuz that seems like a shitload of risk for simply looking at Chris in a crowded room. According to your logic, Jenna is staring at Darren. I have no clue what he is looking at. He is certainly looking in Chris’s direction but given all the information we have- Darren was dating Mia-now he is married to her, Chris was living with Will-still is, Chris and Darren haven’t spoken in 4 years at least cubically  and they both denied they were a couple many times, I can say that the evidence does not support your claim that he is looking lovingly at Chris because they are passionate lovers and he just can’t help himself. I just posted a bunch of pics of Darren looking very lovingly at Mia while also holding her close and smiling- your 2-second gif vs all the evidence proving he is in a real relationship- married- with Mia- it doesn’t come close to comparing.  Google “Darren Criss and Mia Swier” and scroll for an hour- you see thousands of photos of them looking very much like a loving couple. Your handful of 4-9 year old gifs are pitiful and don’t prove anything except Chris and Darren were coworkers on a TV show where they played boyfriends.     

I’m not going to waste my time debunking these. They are literally the same as the above gifs- ALL onset Glee-in fact the top two are from more Glee promo videos in the same vein as the ones above. Still -they prove nothing.  

And of course the time C looked at D look he was the entire world

Again a slowed down gif from set. Do you see the patten of manipulation here? I wouldn’t say he looked at him like he was the entire world, It looks ot me like Chris looks up at him as Darren speaks to him and then he looks down. You slowed it down to make it more dramatic. It’s a very effective technique to change the mood- TV shows and movies do it all the time.  

But yep all we have is a few IG likes, that is correct Michy, that is all we got. 

I honestly have NO clue what you are insinuating here.  

Aw remember all those behind the scenes of them having fun together too. Guess these never happened either Michy.

Oh we are back to your favorite Bryant Park. They are coworkers killing time on. set. I don’t know why you believe this is so interesting. Yes, they are really cute but Newsflash: coworkers can have fun and joke around together and not be lovers. They had to kill hours before filming started. In fact they had to kill a lot of hours that day. They were on set for 11 hours and filmed a tiny fraction of that time. Once again, you have to take this out of context of all the other CREDIBLE evidence of Miarren and Chill, as well as both men denying a relationship and Darren is straight in order to believe this is something exciting.  

You showed me 1 pic that wasn’t on set. That should tell you everything. Honestly, I know you fully believe your own nonsense and you can’t understand how everyone else isn’t buying into it. But really, I should just respond to this with LOLOLOLOLOL because your evidence is so pathetic and absurd it is laughable. How a grown women can believe that a handful of 4-9 year old gifs representing 1 or 2 second taken from promo videos made for Glee-all slowed down for dramatic effect- can add up to solid proof of a secret relationship is mind boggling.  But it’s even worse because you are a lawyer -you know that evidence isn’t something taken out of context. You know that evidence is looked in its entirety and that includes what Darren and Chris testify about their own relationships.    

ajw720

remember that time D called C the life of the party on National TV?  

Remember the time Darren was asked “Do you take Mia to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love, honor and cherish til death do you part” and he said “I Do” ? That trumps your “life of the party” comment. Why do you think calling a coworker “the life of the party” is indicates love? He also said “I’m straight” and that he wasn’t in a relationships with Chris- but you discount that because you don’t want to hear it -even though he has repeated those comments many times. Nope this is about you latching on to anything you can. It’s really embarrassing       

Chris may be the life of the party but he said this about Mia on TV- to a much bigger audience :  

I know you do not understand symbolism and you insist on taking this beautiful sentiment literally-and tying it back to Cunanan- so it makes no sense to you, but it is incredibly romantic. It’s a very beautiful, loving  sentiment for one’s life partner.

@ajw720, @flowersintheattic254, @leka-1998

[ilovemybarricadebabies]

My incredibly personal story of how I fell in love with Les Mis, and by extension, Enjoltaire.

I was first introduced to Les Mis through singing “Castle on a Cloud” when I was an 8th grader in my junior/high school choir. At this time, the film of the musical had just been released. After hearing my choir director talk about it, I had an interest in seeing it in the movie theatre, but was never able too. However, that summer, on either July 12th or 13th, 2013 (I only remember the date because I distinctly remember watching it, and then learning about Cory Monteith’s death (despite never watching Glee), my mother came home with the DVD of the film, and we watched it. At first, I didn’t really understand what was going on, but I ended up falling in love with “Do You Hear The People Sing?” and I listened to that song on repeat for days following. Apart from “Castle on a Cloud”, “DYHTPS?” was the first song that I truly knew from the musical.

Then, my freshmen year of high school, we sang “Bring Him Home” at our Fall Festival concert, and then, in the weeks following leading up to Christmas/holiday break, we watched the film in choir class. But that still wasn’t what made me fall in love. I enjoyed the music, but at this point, I wasn’t big on musical theatre. But that all changed that holiday break.

When holiday break came around, I sat down with my laptop, and pulled up The Phantom of the Opera from my iTunes account (now, I know this my LM story, but we need to go through my POTO phase first), and I absolutely fell in love with POTO. It was like a switch flipped and my whole world had came into focus. POTO was my segue into the world of musical theatre. Everything revolved around POTO for weeks. As I went through my POTO phase, I introduced myself to more musicals. I started first with the more mainstream (POTO, Wicked, Les Mis, and so many more that are considered mainstream) and then, I found the musicals that weren’t as popular. And I went through a time were I felt that my love for theatre needed to remain a secret because there was another girl in my school who was obsessed with musical theatre and I felt somewhat intimidated by her, so I kept it secret from everyone except my family. There wasn’t a day that went by that I wasn’t checking the Playbill website or reading about musicals on Google. I followed all the musical accounts on social media that I could. During this time, I had listened to the entirety of Les Mis and I had also understood the story better thanks to Google. Les Mis quickly became my second favorite musical, but nothing was going to take POTO from this spot.

But as I entered my sophomore year, my POTO phase had pretty much ended, and my Once Upon a Time phase began, but that only lasted for about six months. I was still obsessed with musicals, but my main focus was know OUaT. Then, I was in between phases for a while. Finally, that spring, after begging my parents for months and months, they gifted me with a trip to New York City in May 2015 (my second time going to that city, my first was in June 2013 with my mother on a mother/daughter bonding trip, where we saw the musical, and my first Broadway musical, Once), and I was able to see POTO on Broadway.

However, nearing the end of my sophomore year, my entire world turned upside down when my parent’s divorced and everything that I knew had changed.

But then, on Saturday, June 6th, 2015, I found my way to FanFiction.net (I had been reading Wicked fanfiction, but I was getting tired of it), and I found my way into the Les Mis category on FFN.net, and I found my way to reading Enjoltaire fanfiction. Granted, I soon learned that most of the fanfiction on there was Enjolras/Éponine, and that wasn’t at all what I wanted.

Now, when I first watched Les Mis way back in June 2013, I didn’t really care for the characters, yet. I watched it for the entertainment reasons. However, once I entered the world of musical theatre, and I watched Les Mis again (this time it was the 25th anniversary concert), my eye caught on to the dynamic that Enjolras and Grantaire had and what Hadley Fraser and Ramin Karimloo did with said dynamic in the 25th anniversary. That was when I started shipping it, and it became my Les Mis OTP.

After making my way through the Enjoltaire category on FFN.net, I made my way over to Ao3, and that was where the rabbit hole began. Every spare moment of my time was spent either reading Enjoltaire fanfiction on Ao3 or in the Enjoltaire tag on Tumblr. If my phone was in my hand and my eyes were to my phone chances it was Enjoltaire fanfiction that I was reading. I went to the lake with my mom’s side of the family at the end of June 2015, and while I did chat with my family, most of the time my phone was in my hand while I continued to read Enjoltaire fanfiction. I had also shown my cousin the 25th, someone who had never seen it, and even she started to low key ship it. Also, at this time, I had watched the movie more times than I could count, and I had also gone down the rabbit hole that is loving Aaron Kyle Tveit. I had learned everything that I could and I had watched everything that I could get my hands on that had him in it. I also discovered that while the dynamic that Hadley and Ramin had in the 25th was nothing compared to what the movie portrayed, or I should say what George Blagden portrayed, in the movie. My Tumblr account was covered in all things Enjoltaire, it was wonderful. My life revolved around Enjoltaire. I started writing and gaining many, many, many ideas for Enjoltaire fanfiction (I have 8 stories on Ao3. One in the process of being published, seven are complete and available for reading). I loved both Enjolras and Grantaire, separately (Enjolras I loved just a little bit more because he was my favorite character, still is and will always be my favorite character of the musical and of all-time, but nevertheless I loved them both) and I loved them as a couple. They were, and still are, my babies and OTP of OTP’s. They are the couple that I have stayed with the longest. When I’ve entered my fandom phases in the past, I usually lasted with the couple that I shipped for about six months. I still loved them after that, but not to the extent of what I had. My love for Enjoltaire has stayed for over four years and is still going strong. These two will probably stay with me forever.

Now, by this point, I still hadn’t seen it live. It had been revived on Broadway in March 2014, with Ramin as Valjean. At this point, the show in London didn’t hold any of my attention because I had had no hope of ever seeing it there. I did my best to keep up to date with it, but I failed miserably at that. Most of what I knew about the London production came from Tumblr or Google. I did follow the London actors and the Les Mis London account on Twitter. I was also aware that it was the original production in London, but like I said, I had no hope whatsoever that I would be able to see it there. I would have loved to see it, but living in the U.S., I doubted that I would ever see it. The only version that I wanted to see and could afford to see at the time was the one on Broadway, and I wanted to see that version BECAUSE of the fact that Ramin was Valjean, and I had already loved and adored him because of POTO and the 25th anniversary. I followed this production as much as I could. I was rooting for it during the 2014 Tony Awards and was absolutely pissed when it didn’t win. I had had the opportunity to see Ramin as Valjean at the same time that I saw POTO in May 2015, but instead, I decided that the other show that we would see during that NYC trip would be Wicked because Matt Shingledecker (the Fiyero (who is my favorite Fiyero) at the time was someone that had caught my attention through Kara Lindsay’s Broadway.com Wicked vlog, “Think Pink”) and I just wanted and was desperate to see and meet him, so I chose Wicked, a decision to this day that I still don’t regret. And overall, to me, I didn’t care that it wasn’t the original version, to me it was a story that I loved and adored.

Now, we are getting into the personal part of the story. My junior year of high school, my parent’s divorce had grown to the point where I think the best word to describe it would be bitter. My dad was butting in to my mom’s business, and my mom wanted nothing to do with my dad unless it had to do with me and my two siblings or my two nephews. My dad would drag me into the middle of all of it because I was the only one of my siblings still at home. My parent’s divorce was a mess. Some of my teachers knew about the divorce, but they didn’t know that I felt like I was drowning. I had kept up with my schoolwork and still had good grades, but I didn’t talk about the divorce because I didn’t want to drag people in to something that they had no reason to be part of. I was clearly in pain and I felt so alone, but I was good at hiding it, that no one knew. The one thing that I clutched to, the thing that was my absolute fucking lifeline was Les Mis/Enjoltaire.

Whenever I needed it, Les Mis was the thing that was there for me. To be honest, it felt like it was the only thing that was there for me. The story, the music, and of course, boatloads of Enjoltaire fanfiction. The only thing that got me through the day was repeating the line: “Even the darkest night will end, and the sun will rise”, every minute of every day. If I was having a bad day or cheering up, the only thing that would pull me out of it was either Les Mis or Enjoltaire.

It was because of this that Les Mis became my absolutely favorite musical of all-time because it was the reason that I was still living. The story and music gave me hope and it was because of those two things that I knew that everything was going to be okay.

All while I was feeling like I was drowning, it was announced on December 2nd, 2015, that the Broadway revival was closing (by this time, Ramin bad left the production, Alfie Boe was Valjean, and John-Owen Jones has been announced as the replacement for Alfie once he left and would continue with the production until it closed) on September 4th, 2016. After this was announced, I told my father that he had nine months to take me to see the show, and he did because on May 14, 2016 at the Imperial Theatre, I was witnessing for the first time ever the story and hearing the music that I loved so much live. I was absolutely in awe of what I was seeing. To me, it didn’t matter that it wasn’t the original production, all that mattered was that I was seeing the story and the characters that I loved so much play out 100 feet in front of me. I was sobbing and my breath was taken away. My eyes didn’t leave the stage, once. I loved and adored every moment of it. On the day, the revival closed, I was working, and I was taking my lunch break when they live streamed the curtain call for the final performance on Facebook. I was sobbing as I watched it.

Then, I started my senior year of high school, and unlike my junior year, it was so much better. My junior year was my worst year of high school. Part of what helped me make it through my senior year was that my sister (who hadn’t been talking to my family for over 12 years) came back to the family. I now had someone to talk to about what had happened, and it made me feel so much better.

Now for the last year or so, I knew that my father had been planning to gift me with a trip to anywhere in Europe that I wanted to go for my graduation present. It was originally that I wanted to go to Italy, but then I changed my mind and decided on Paris and London. I chose Paris mostly because it’s one of my favorite cities in the world and it’s the settling of my favorite time period in Les Mis. Then, I chose London because I had always wanted to go there too, plus like Paris and NYC, it’s one of my favorite cities in the world. While we were planning the trip, my dad asked me what shows I wanted to see. The only shows that I knew for sure were Les Mis, POTO, and Wicked. Now, like I said earlier, I knew that Les Mis was the original production, but while that was part of the reason why I wanted to see it. The other reason, the much, much, much bigger reason, was because I knew that I would be once again witnessing the story and characters that I loved so much come alive 100 feet in front of me. And I got those three shows, as well as seven more, on the trip itinerary.

On June 5th, 2017 at the Queen’s Theatre, I was able to witness, my favorite show and characters that meant so much come alive, once again, 100 feet in front of me. While I was amazed with the revolving stage and how the original production was put together, it wasn’t what made the story special for me. Like the Broadway revival and every version of the story that I have listened to/watched, I was sobbing by the end and my breath was taken away. At the end of it, I didn’t care that what I was seeing was the the original production. All that mattered to me was that it just my favorite musical. On the plane ride home from London, I needed to experience it again, that I watched the movie on my iPad through Amazon Prime. Like with Broadway, I had been in a Les Mis slump, that all I wanted was too watch/listen to anything regarding my favorite show.

As the next year went on, I started college and I had to deal with people asking me why such a mainstream musical was my favorite, I didn’t know what to say. They had no business in knowing why it meant so much to me. Before I started college, the announcement of the U.S. tour cast was announced, and while I had already been hoping to see it if it came anywhere near me, once I discovered that Matt Shingledecker would be playing Enjolras, I was more determined than ever to see the tour.

When it was announced that the tour would be coming at the Orpheum Theatre in December 2018 in Minnesota which was the closest that it’s come to me, it took quite a lot of convincing from me for my father to get me tickets to see it for my birthday in December. He was reluctant because I had already seen it twice already, but all I needed to say was that it was my favorite musical and he got me the tickets.

And on December 29th, 2018, I saw my favorite musical for the third time, and once again, not caring what production it was, I was seeing my favorite characters and story come alive in front of me. I was sobbing and breath was taken away. After the curtain call and the lights came up, I cried for like another five minutes. And once again was in a Les Mis slump for days afterward.

Now, not to bring up a bad subject, but with the change that is occurring in London, while I am heartbroken over it, I also don’t really care. The staging of the show doesn’t hold any sentimental value for me, not like I know it does for some people. What part of Les Mis that holds the sentimental value for me is the story, the characters, the music, and of course, Enjoltaire. Without the story, without Enjoltaire, I wouldn’t be on this Earth anymore. This story had already meant so much to me that when I saw it live, it was just the cherry on top of a beautiful, wonderful, delicious ice cream sundae. I have/will watch/listen to the musical no matter what staging it’s given, or even lack of.

Now, while I am slowly, like snail’s pace slow, making my way through the book. I am determined to finish it one day. All of my knowledge that I know from the book is from the people that I follow on Tumblr, who have read it. While I’m slowly making my way through the book, I have read other passages in it, and from just those I know that I will love the book, and it will give me even more reason to love it more than I already do.

This musical has meant to so much to me that when I finally get the money for my first tattoo, it will be “Even the darkest night will end, and the sun will rise” on my upper arm between my shoulder and elbow, written in the logo’s font. That quote is my favorite in the musical and it’s the quote that has meant the most to me. It was my mantra my junior year. And after that tattoo, I want to get another Les Mis related one, but I want that one centered on Enjoltaire, but I’m not sure. Either way, I know that I will get the first one for sure.

And I think that pretty much covers why this musical means so much to me. And this story is obviously incredibly personal, just like I’m sure everyone else’s story regarding this musical is. But this one is unique to me because it’s my story.

[intellectualambassador]

Girl Meets Lucas

An idea I’ve had floating around in my head from time. Hope y’all enjoy.

“Mr. Friar, please, take a seat.” Mr. Matthews instructed as Lucas entered the classroom. Sitting down in one of the seats at the front of the class, Lucas dropped his book bag next to the desk while patiently looking at Mr. Matthews.

Taking a deep breath, Mr. Matthews looked at Lucas with a sympathetic smile, which only worried him more. 

“Uh... Mr. Matthews, am I in trouble?” Lucas nervously asked. 

Laughing softly, Mr. Matthews just shook his head. “No Mr. Friar, not necessarily. There are some things that we need to discuss, and I’m going to need your full attention. This lesson will be a little different than usual. Understood?”

“Understood.” 

“Good.” Mr. Matthews smiled back. 

“As your teacher, I’ve had the privilege of watching you all grow and develop into the wonderful teenagers you are now. However, somewhere along the way, it seems you guys forgot who you were.”

“I don’t understand, sir.” Lucas responded in a confused manner. 

“Let me explain. Ever since we went to the Mt. Sun Lodge, you guys have been acting totally different. I even told Riley that the ski lodge was almost the end of my wife and I, and I knew that something would happen to her there.”

Smiling sadly, Lucas had remembered everything that had happened at the Ski Lodge, and the events that had transpired after. The resolution of the “triangle”. Maya pushing Lucas towards Riley and herself away from him (He’s slow, not an idiot). Riley and Lucas dating for about 6 months before realizing that they weren’t meant to be. Farkle and Smackle breaking up slowly after. And their group... 

“Lucas!” Cory gently called, seeing as he was deep in thought. 

“Sorry sir. You just reminded me of a few things...” Lucas pondered. 

“Good. Because I’m not even close to being done yet. So, as I was saying, since then, I’ve noticed that you guys haven’t really been yourselves. You all still interact with one another. Maybe out of obligation, or because that��s what you feel you should do, but the enjoyment and passion that comes with deep and meaningful relationships with friends... and lovers... isn’t there.” 

I wonder why he said lovers... Does he know? Lucas thought to himself. Almost as if he was a mind-reader, Mr. Matthews locked eyes with Lucas and paused for a moment too long, almost as if he was examining his every thought. 

To say Lucas felt tiny under Mr. Matthews’ gaze was an understatement. Physically speaking, Lucas wasn’t afraid of Mr. Matthews, but he knew that his teacher always paid more attention than they gave him credit for. 

“Anyways, Mr. Friar, everything that I’m about to say will stay between us, deal?”

“Deal, Mr. Matthews.”

“Mr. Friar, if there’s one thing about you that I’ve always been happy about, it’s the way you stuck up for your friends. However, if there’s one thing that I wish you would do more of, it would be speak your mind. I still remember how the kids voted you ‘Most Likely To Be Okay With Whatever Happens’ and it concerns me today just as much as it concerned me back then.”

Lucas thought back to that time, when his friends were so concerned with what other people had thought about them that he had to remind them who they were... However, somewhere in the mix, he forgot to remind himself that it was okay to be who he was, and everything that came with it. 

“Nevertheless, Mr. Friar, looking at all of you now, it’s clear that there are still some unresolved issues. Such as... your unresolved feelings for a certain blonde student of mine.” 

If he thought his words before were getting a reaction out of Lucas, the utter shock, amusement, and shame that had crossed Lucas’ face in all of three seconds had been enough to keep Mr. Matthews amused for quite some time. 

Almost a small victory in itself. 

If there was one thing that Lucas never fully understood, it was his relationship with Maya. They started out making fun of each other... ruthlessly. Maya always said that it bugged her that she could never get to him, and Lucas enjoyed the teasing. 

But secretly, he enjoyed being around her. He liked how much she cared for her friends, how she fully understood that there was more to him than met the eye - and that didn’t stop her from being his friend. 

Maya was... different. And he realized that when she was about to lose her art class, on New Years, when the girls went Upstate, and when him and Riley had broken up. But, unfortunately for him, he never got a chance to tell Maya how he felt. And now, he’s not sure if it would even make a difference... She’s probably over him and she might think that she’s not special. 

But, she is. To him, at least. 

“Mr. Friar, may I continue?”

“Uh... I’m not sure if I-I mean... how did you know?” Lucas sputtered, genuinely confused about Mr. Matthews’ seemingly psychic intuition.

“Lucas. When you came to us after you had sat in the Bay Window for a few hours and told us who you chose... I knew that your decision was correct. My brother, who may be a bit of an oddball, had some very important insights when we thought that we were going to London... And they just weren’t for Mrs. Matthews. Listen to your heart. Find your quiet place... Sound familiar?”

Immediately, Lucas was thrusted back to the day he made his decision... the first time. He had been sitting on the Bay Window for some time, thinking, deliberating, pondering all the ways that he liked Maya and Riley, but when it came down to it, he knew that he liked both of them equally, but not in the same way. 

Lucas and Riley always seemed to function better when they were just friends. He cared about Riley just as much as anyone in the friend group, but when it came down to it, Lucas knew that his heart wasn’t with her. 

It was with Maya. 

It always was. And he had chosen Maya, and it seemed like the right decision, which he let the adults know about, but when she came back from Upstate with Riley... she was different. She didn’t want to hear who he had chose, and if he’s being honest with himself, that broke him a little bit - but he wanted her to be happy, so he let her go and ‘find herself’ even though he didn’t think she was lost - and now here he is, just as confused as he was before. 

Shaking his head, Mr. Matthews pauses for a second, really letting Lucas take everything in before continuing his lesson. 

“Lucas. I’ve given you a lot to think about, I know. But, you need to understand that your feelings are valid. Farkle had told all of you that if you aren’t honest with each other, everyone gets hurt. You may not be the ‘main player’ in this story, but you better believe that you are important.

Don’t lie to yourself or your friends any longer. You guys are strong, but you’ll be stronger if you start to truly trust one another. Lucas, you’ve been running away from who you are and what you want for too long. Own your feelings. Express your truth. Trust that the people who care about you, will still be there, even if they may not want to hear what you have to say.”

Finally understanding what Mr. Matthews was trying to tell him, Lucas thanks him for his time before heading to the art room to see a certain blonde and deal with everything that has been running through his mind for the past few months. 

As he approaches the art room, Lucas starts to feel nervous. Palms sweating. Heart racing. But nonetheless, he keeps on putting one foot in front of another, managing to make it towards the door. 

Opening the door gently, he sees Maya walking towards him as she’s about to leave. 

“Maya.”

“Lucas! You surprised me. What’s up?”

“We need to talk. Let’s walk.”

“Okay.”

- I.A

[stormbornbastard]

Seven Minute First Kisses (Lucadora One-Shot)

Kissing Lucas Friar was probably one of the most unexpectedly incredible things Smackle has ever done.

It was the end of junior year, Riley and Farkle had officially cemented their status as best friends turned lovers. They were annoyingly happy together, which is truly what they deserved. Still, Smackle couldn't help but think, really? Right in front of her salad whenever they did their cute couple things.

Josh was in town and he and Maya were still playing the long game.You know, the stupid game they made up to wait until they're in similar places in their lives before actually doing something about their relationship. At least that's what Smackle figured, but the longing glances and the casualty of their touching made it seem like they were already together. Even if they didn't know it yet.

Zay and Sage, a fairly new couple to the group, were also there. Still deep in the honeymoon phase but for the time being it was endurable. Smackle knew it would fade once they settled into the relationship. Riley and Farkle however, were always gonna be like that.

Surprisingly, Missy and Charlie were there. As a couple? Somehow, after Missy came back from private school, she had become tolerable and even an aquaintance of sorts. Charlie got over Riley and was now completely infatuated with Missy, who was just as smitten. Unexpected but not completely deplorable. And with Riley's magical powers of forgiveness and friendship, they had become friends with the clique. Not completely in it but they were surely on their way to it.

It was game night and Topanga and Cory were out, chaperoning the first official date between Auggie and Ava. It was probably more like a double date between two married couples at this point if they were all being honest.

Anyway, the game of life got boring fast and being the reckless hormonal teenagers they were, a bottle arrived and now Lucas was spinning it.

Smackle didn't even really know what she was doing here. She and Farkle had broken up, mutually of course, when they were Sophomorse. She didn't think they'd all end up still friends but Riley and Maya however, were not letting her get away that easily.

She'd be lying if she said she wasn't uncomfortable in this situation. Everyone was coupled up and she was pretty much the only single person there. It felt like an invasion of some kind, like she was the only alien on Earth. Well there was Lucas, but he rarely counted.

In Smackle's mind, Lucas was invincible. The only human emotions she'd ever really observed of his were joy and anger. If she was being fair she didn't know him very well. They both just never had the opportunity to really get to know one another.

Lost in thought and logic, Smackle forgot about the game completely. Until Maya nudged her. She blinked, looking at the blonde who motioned toward the bottle, which of course, was pointed in her direction.

Smackle looked over at Lucas who seemed a bit surprised himself.

It did seem like the only appropriate pairing if you thought about it, even if it was by chance. It wouldn't spark jealousy or uncomfortability in anyone else. It definitely wouldn't make the two question their relationships because, what relationships were there for them to question.

"You guys don't have to do this."

"Riley's room is the first door on the left."

Both Maya and Riley said at the same time , earning some laughs from the group. Smackle sat there for a moment, pondering her options.

Her mind flashed to the first time they met and the countless of other times she attempted to flirt with him in a failed manor. Even when she was with Farkle she flirted with Lucas. Sure it was because she was insecure in her relationship but also because his face never failed to amuse her when she did so.

She looked at the tanned brunette before coming to the conclusion that it couldn't hurt.

Naturally Smackle made the first move in standing and walking towards Riley's room. She didn't even look back to see if he followed, he was too nice to leave her hanging.

Maya and Zay whistled and let out a few whoops as the pair disappeared into the hallway and Smackle ignored the light churning in her stomach because of it. Lucas closed the door behind them and with the familiar click of the door handle, Smackle's nerves hit her like a truck. What was she thinking? Did she really want her first kiss to be because of a game and not with someone who actually liked her for her?

"We don't have to do anything. We can just sit here for seven minutes and talk. Or not, just be in silence or something." Lucas said, sitting down on Riley's bed.

His voice was off and when she looked over, he wouldn't meet her gaze. Strange.

Lucas is always so confident in himself, it's a bit annoying if she's honest. Now he just looked like a scared teenager suffering at the hands of peer pressure.

"Sounds sufficient." She said, but for some reason she moved to sit beside him in the dark of Riley's room.

They sat there, thoughts racing before Smackle interrupted the silence.

"Do you not want to kiss me? I know I lack in experience but that doesn't mean I couldn't get the job done."

To say Lucas was surprised was an understatement. He had never really thought about kissing Smackle, or really seen her in that way.

"I-I never said that. I just, I know its your first kiss and I think if it happened like this, you'd regret it."

His explanation made sense but for some reason, it didn't sit well with her. She and Farkle, they never had much of a physical relationship. They didn't get past hugging before they broke up, not because she didn't want it. Mainly because Farkle was hesitant to, because of Riley.

She broke up with him because of it. She knew his feelings before he did and now a year later, Farkle and Riley had been together for six months and they kissed, a lot.

Smackle wasn't bitter, she was happy for them. Sometimes though, she wondered what it would be like to have something like that.

"You didn't answer the question."

It was true, he had just given reasoning as to why they shouldn't. Or rather, why she shouldn't. Still, the prospect didn't revolt her.

Lucas was conventionally attractive, he always has been and Smackle would be lying if she said she hadn't thought about kissing him before. She may have been younger but still, at one time she did.

"I don't know. It's never really seemed like an option until now."

For the first time since they entered that room, he looked directly at her.

Smackle observed his eyes, green? She had forgotten the color of his eyes, just naturally assumed they were blue. To be fair,they hadn't been this close since the first time they met and now Smackle was now incredibly aware of that.

She forgot that his eyes could be so beautiful, so captivating.

"What if, what if I wanted my first kiss to be exactly like this?"

Her words were softer than she anticipated. Lucas stared at her, not saying a word.

His gaze flickered to her lips and she, she did the same.

He made a move that neither he nor Smackle were prepared for, he cupped her cheek. She didn't think he could be so gentle, he didn't think her skin would be this soft.

It felt nice.

He didn't move.

She did.

She closed the distance, and it was...she understood the feeling in those romantic comedies that Riley made her watch. How they released the fireworks in the background and it..made sense. Kissing Lucas made sense, it felt good and right and wow.

The emotion that bubbled in her chest was hard to explain, hard to understand but she didn't want it to go away.

Both his hands held her face and her's made their way to his waist.

It was soft and slow and more than Smackle expected her first kiss to be.

Lucas's mind was hazy and he didn't, he didn't really know what he was doing in the first place when he made the first move. Maybe some part of him was curious, maybe it was the tension or maybe the mutual attraction he didn't even knew existed until she looked at him like that.

With her big brown eyes, accentuated by her glasses.

He was a sucker for brown eyes.

She was just so beautiful and he doesn't really know what made him do it.

He didn't think it would amount to this, Lucas had kissed girls before but it never felt like this.

He didn't register Smackle moving, her hands slipped from his waist and she stood. Not once did she break the kiss as she moved to sit on his lap.

Both legs on either side of his. Lucas's fingers slipped into her hair and his right hand rested on the back of her back. He held her there, close to him as the kiss reached new heights.

His tongue slipped past her lips and he guided her through the new sensation. One hand on her waist, the other on her hair. Smackle sighed against him, her left hand moved to hold his neck and the other rested on his shoulder.

For the first time, Smackle wasn't  thinking. Just acting, on whatever emotion coursed through her at the moment.

It was amazing.

And it ended way too soon.

"Time's U-oh my god!"

Smackle jumped off Lucas before he stood up himself. Her glasses were crooked and her hair a mess. Not to mention the tingling sensation in her lips and the adrenaline that coursed through her body.

Lucas wasn't much better and Maya pretended not to notice the slight adjustment he made with his jeans.

"I-I-"

"Wow Ranger Rick, I'm impressed. Anda Smackle, I knew you had it in you but you've really succeeded all my expectations." Maya stated, the amusement in her voice incredibly evident, as Riley lost her words and continued to stare dumbfounded at the two.

Maya smirked at them and Lucas's felt his cheeks burn. Smackle's gaze traveled to her shoes, as she tried to regain her ability to breathe properly.

"What's going on?" Zay said, emerging from the living room along with the others.

"Yeah, Maya has a smug on her face and she only smugs when something amusing has happened." Josh said and Maya's eyes widened, she didn't know he knew that about her.

The surprise left her face as soon as it came. "Nothing to worry your pretty little head about Boing,  who's in the mood for Uno? Seven minutes in Heaven seems a bit..messy" Maya stated, disappearing back into the hall followed by Josh.

"Tell me about it" Riley said, still slightly shocked from what she had just witnessed.

They all made their way back into the living room and Lucas released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

Smackle felt a sense of relief wash over her once the others left.

She looked over at Lucas, a small smile crept on her lips before she could register it happening.

"I-uh-maybe we should hang out sometime. W-without the others." Lucas asked and Smackle was a little taken back.

He cursed himself, definitely not his smoothest moment.

Smackle however, was still reeling from the initial shock that he would even ask that. She knew better than to assume that the kiss meant anything to him. As far as she knew, all first kisses felt like that?

But something nagged at the back of her mind that made her question that thought. It made her think the exact opposite of it really.

A small bit of that feeling, that emotion she had when kissing him, ran through her at the thought of actually going on a date with him. With Lucas Frair.

She wanted to hold onto that emotion for as long as humanly possible. For forever if she could.

"I would like that very much Lucas."

[thatmixedguyadam]

An adoptee’s story

I wanna share a story with the world. My story, as an adoptee.

My name is Adam Cory Ballard. I grew up in Ruth, a very small town in southwest Mississippi. Growing up in my house, it was just me and my mom. You’re probably thinking, “No dad? No siblings”? No dad, but I did have siblings. They were just grown and already had families and houses by the time I came along. My brothers, Toby and Heath, were 21 and 23, both were married and Toby had a 2 year old daughter. My sister, Dana, was 25, married and had two daughters ages 6 and 7. My mom? She’s 45 when she adopts me. For this story she’ll be Mom A. Get it? A for adoptive.? You’ll get it in a minute. So to summarize, I’m the adoptee of a single mom whose kids are grown and is already a grandmother three times over. Oh, almost forgot to mention, I’m half black and half white adopted into an all white family. Makes for an interesting story don’t you think?

Anyways, when people hear my family’s ages there’s always a reaction like, “well you were a surprise weren’t you?” I just kind of chuckle on the inside. After they find out I’m adopted I get the usual adoptee question, “do you know your real parents?” Lemme break it down for you a little bit.

I know my Dad. His name is Ben. I know where he lives (not even 30 minutes away in Mccomb, MS), we’re friends on Facebook, I even have his number. Could call him up anytime. When I was a baby and as I grew up over a few years, he would come visit me. Birthdays, holidays and some days in between. As I got older, the visits got farther apart, but I would go visit him some. I remember one time he took me to get my haircut at an actual barber shop (my mom usually cut my hair). He worked on vehicles so when I started driving and I ever needed some work done on my car, I would see if he could help me out. Of course he always did. I even know some of my family on his side. I’ve ran into relatives that worked at Walmart, my cousin was starting school at Mississippi State so I met his family, I’ll get added on Facebook by one of my aunts, uncles, cousins or even one of my sisters and every single time, it blows my mind. It’s like when you hear stories of people meeting their long lost uncle or something, but my dad’s family isn’t lost. Most of them live in the town closest to Ruth. I don’t know why I don’t go visit him and that side of my family more. It’s complicated to even think about why I don’t, but I know I should.

My biological Mom is a different story entirely. For this story she’ll be Mom B. B for biological. Get it now? Ha haaa. Anyways, I never knew who she was growing up. Had no clue who she might be and never asked either. As I got older I would think about it from time to time. I mean, in my head she could’ve been anyone, someone famous even. Of course there were the thoughts of her being somewhere that I would never find her. For all I knew, she could’ve already been dead. I did want to know, but I didn’t at the same time. Well, I didn’t ask until March of 2014. When Mom A told me who Mom B was, it threw me for a loop. Let me explain.

Now I can’t go into details about where because I respect Mom B’s privacy, but for about 3 years I was within shouting distance of her almost everyday. I was even face to face with her once. Mom A sent me to Mom B with a picture of them both back in the day playing softball or something. The whole time she knows who I am, but I have no idea who she REALLY is. Here I am thinking this is just one of Mom A’s old friends, but turns out the person I was talking to was my own biological mother! The woman I had thought and fantasized about!

Now I know what you’re thinking, “have you met her since you found out who she was?!” Yes, once. We met in Brookhaven, MS where we sat in her car and talked for around 45 minutes. Come to find out, she lived in a town about 10-15 minutes away from McComb which meant she lived less than an hour away from Ruth. Also found out I have an older brother. It’s funny because we went to Southwest Mississippi Community College and Mississippi State University together. Crazy huh? One of the last things she asked me was, “do you hate me?” There’s no way I could hate her though. I mean, think about this from my perspective everyone. Mom B could’ve not said anything to anyone about me. I could’ve been born and left at the hospital, dropped off at an orphanage, fire station or police station or place in foster care. People, I could’ve been aborted. Mom B loved me enough to make sure I had someone who was going to love me unconditionally, and boy she did succeed. So as much as people may think I should be upset with her in some way, shape or form, I’m not. Not in the least.

Since then, I haven’t heard from or tried to contact her. It’s not because I don’t want to, don’t get me wrong. I’d love to get to know Mom B. Her mannerisms, her vernacular, hobbies, favorite foods, etc. I guess it’s like, I don’t want her to have to do anything she doesn’t want to, but if she ever wants to reach out to me, I’ll welcome her with open arms and an open heart.

Another question that always comes with this story, “do you know why you were given up for adoption?” Yes. When Mom B found out she was pregnant, she didn’t want her family to know. Why, you might ask? Well, let’s just say her parents weren’t exactly down with the swirl if you catch my drift. Since Mom A and B were friends and Mom A is the kind hearted woman she is, she agreed to adopt me once I was born. As far as I know, no one in Mom B’s family, even knows I exist.

So, on August 4th, 1991, I was born in Jackson, MS. That night, I was brought down to the small, backwoods town of Ruth, to my new family and my new home. Trying to describe how much I love and cherish my family is like trying to count how many tears it would take to fill an ocean. I mean, we’re just like any other family. We bicker, we poke fun at one another and give each other a hard time, but I love each and every one of them with all of my heart. Since day one they’ve accepted me and not treated me any different than if Mom A had me herself. That’s all any adoptee wants really. To have a family that will love them as one of their own. I was fortunate and blessed enough to be brought into this one and I’m thankful for it every single day.

Some of you may be wondering why I wanted to share my story with you. I want others to put themselves in an adoptee’s shoes. Can you fathom not being with your biological family? Can you imagine seeing a man around you growing up then come to find out, he’s your own father? Can you conceptualize the idea of being born to a woman in secret with the rest of her family not knowing anything about you? It can be even more complicated than that sometimes. Makes you think doesn’t it?

Another reason I wanted to share my story is maybe it will encourage other adoptees to tell their story. Maybe if other adoptees tell their story, they too will feel more, understood. Us adoptees will always be different. Looked at like we are aliens with our families. We as adoptees bring something very different to the table. A perspective that most people will never be able to truly understand. Listening to their stories is one way of trying to do just that.

Thank you for reading my story. I want to leave you with this. Something adoptees and children waiting to be adopted can all agree with. No child deserves to go through this life without someone to love them.

Much love everyone.

[kotitko-blog]

24K in Prague 2018, my experience

So it’s more than a week since 24K came to Prague and I thought that I’ll be able to write a nice post with my experience and memories from the concert.. but I still don’t have my thoughts organized and I don’t think I will ever have... But I want to write something, so that I can read it later and remember how amazing that day was.

The whole event started with fansign. We lined up in front of the venue and went to the boys one by one. That’s when I started to feel kinda nervous, but still ok. They were sitting behind the table and I saw first fans getting their albums signed by the members. When it was my turn, I got the 24K’s album from the staff and a little post-it. At that moment I wasn’t only feeling nervous but I also started panicking inside and I remember how I hurriedly stuck the post-it on the album and wrote my name on it and then I suddenly stood in front of the first member... aaaand it was Cory. Cory is not only my bias in 24K, but overall a guy I really REALLY like, admire and adore, so you can imagine how nervous I was :D He’s fluent in English so I initially thought that I’ll try to talk with him a little bit, but in the end it never happened. I smiled, handed him my album and said “Hello”. He greeted me and asked whether my name is pronounced like [i:va] or [’eva], I answered and he started to sign the album. I quickly looked to the left and saw other fans with the members signing their albums when I heard Cory was talking to me. So I turned my head and saw him looking at me, waiting for my answer... but I was totally lost, I didn’t know what he asked me and I suddenly forgot every English word I know. I think I looked like I can’t count to 5, ‘cause I only said: “..eh.. w-what?”, so he asked again: “How you doin’?”. “A-ah..Goo-good”, I stuttered my well thought out answer and he just smiled, nodded his head like he understood and said “Alright, alright. It’s nice to meet you”, and handed my album to next member.

Next member was Jeonguk, he smiled at me and said “Eva?”, I only nodded and remembered to myself that I have to smile at him back, not only stupidly stare and then he surprised me when he lifted his hand. I thought he wants to do hi5 with me, so I gently touched his hand, but he interlocked his fingers with mine and held my hand for a second, smiled at me and said “Nice to meet you”. I was totally surprised and just said “Thank you” :D I was dying inside.

I don’t remember who exactly was next, I think it was Jinhong. He looked a little bit tired, but he was still very nice and asked me how am I doing. I was able to answered without stuttering this time, so it was all good :D He held my hand for a second too and then handed my album to Changsun.

Now let me tell you, I liked Changsun before... but when he said my name and looked at me with his bright smile... I fell in a trap. He totally got me. This boy is the actual Sun when he smiles. And he smiled at me like that again when he interlocked his fingers with mine, I almost didn’t want to go to the next member :D

After the Sunshine was the youngest member, Kiyong. another cute boy.. I started to feel weak thanks to those guys. I just wanted to patted his head and tell him how cute he is, but I couldn’t say anything. I only stood there, I don’t even remember anymore whether I smiled at him or not.. I just interlocked fingers with him too and went to the last member.....

And it was Hongseob. In that moment I just wanted to cry, he smiled at me, said my name. I was taken aback a little bit, cause I couldn’t believe how handsome he is in person. He wanted to shake a hand with me... that moment was little awkward, ‘cause I have a little handicap, I can’t shake with my right hand so I handed him left hand, he said “It’s nice to meet you” with smile on his handsome face.. I only said “Thank you”, quickly grabbed my album and left.

I was incredibly happy but also mad at myself, that I wasn’t able to tell them anything, not even thank them for coming to Prague. I was just a dumb and awkward potato :(

We waited in line after the fansign again, this time for hi5. Unfortunately, I don’t remember that much from it, but I remember Cory was trying to be funny and moving his hand to all sides, so fans had to “catch their hi5″ :D But he was nice to me and just gave me a proper hi5 <3 This included also a group photo. We still don’t have the actual photo, but I found this. Here I am kneeling down, the potato on the very left. (photo by Asianstar.cz)

After this we went outside and waited for the selfie event. Yes, I was one of many fans who bought a selfie ticket with a member... and you can guess it right - I took a selfie with Cory. I thought about it whether I should upload the selfie here or not, because I’m always so ugly on photos, but whatever... you can just look on the right side only, at this incredibly talented and handsome guy. This is Koti & Cory for y’all :D (please, excuse my lazy eye... it’s even worse ‘cause I was tired from the waiting and the hot weather :( )

After that we waited for the actual concert. The whole event was delayed because of some technical issues, but it was worth all the waiting. During the concert I stood on the side but in a first row and the venue was small, so I was just two or three steps in front of the dancing members. I was so excited! I never scream, but this time I just had to! They were perfect and when some of the boys greeted us in Czech “Ahoj!” all the fans went even more crazy! They were so surprised to hear such a noise from relatively small crowd of people. I’m proud of us, we welcomed them so warmly and we made them happy.

Their performances was real fire. The ones I remeber the most are Super Fly, Still 24K, Bonnie N Clyde, Bingo, or performance of the Dance Unit was really fun (part 1, part 2). I also remember lots of other moments.. for example the always brightly smiling Sunshine Changsun, he was smiling at us even while he was dancing hard. The legendary “Ladieeeees aaand Gentlemennn!” by the new MC Hongseob. How we cheered loudly for the new cute and shy youngest member Kiyong. The silly banana Jinhong. How Cory was killing me with his perfect voice in Vocal Unit and then with his rap in Hip Hop Unit. Jeonguk killing us with his dancing, rap and abs :D Or how we sang together with 24K and sometimes were louder then the music.

You can find more videos from the show in Prague on youtube. I’d like to thank to all the fans who recorded performances and talking parts <3 Thank you so so much <3

This concert was so meaningful for us, Czech fans. They are the first kpop group to include Prague on their tour and I’m so happy that it was 24K. Now we have beautiful memories together and I really wish they will come here again <3

Well, that’s probably all I’m able to write :D I apologize for my English, I’m sure there are some serious gramatical mistakes.. this post is long and my English is bad. But hopefully it was at least understandable :)

[skateofministry]

Tony Hawk Talks About Debut of Skateboarding at Tokyo Olympics – NBC 7 San Diego

Skateboarding icon Tony Hawk is carefully seeing the launching of his sport at the Tokyo Olympics – close enough to see every Olympian’s skating sesh, impressive techniques and devotion – and he genuinely can’t think his eyes.

“I can’t believe it; it’s been a long time coming,” Hawk informed NBC 7 anchor Steven Luke at the Tokyo Olympics, describing the launching of skateboarding on the world’s most significant sporting phase.

“I mean, if you’d told me when I first started skating over 40 years ago that it would one day be in the Olympics, I would not have believed you because we were mostly made fun of for doing it,” he included.

I suggest, if you’d informed me when I initially began skating over 40 years ago that it would one day remain in the Olympics, I would not have actually thought you since we were mainly teased for doing it.

Tony Hawk, Skateboarding Icon and NBC Olympics reporter at the Tokyo Olympics

The skateboarding legend – who lives and skates in San Diego’s North County – is presently at the Olympics, functioning as an NBC Olympics reporter for the Games.

Hawk, 53, signs up with other popular faces on the Olympics reporters group like figure skating besties Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir.

Pro skateboarder Tony Hawk remains in Tokyo for skateboarding’s launching at the Tokyo Olympics and shared what audiences must search for when seeing the sport’s occasions on TELEVISION. “The artistry what people should be looking for,” Hawk stated. “Skating is as much about style as it is about technique.”

For Hawk, a 12-time world champ in skateboarding, the experience has actually been cool.

“I’m excited; it’s all happening very quickly,” he described.

And, while the Olympics gig is amazing for him, he stated the most significant adventure in Tokyo will be seeing his sport – the important things he’s made a profession out of for years – get its minute in the worldwide spotlight.

He informed NBC 7 the accomplishments of athleticism from Team U.S.A. skateboarding are amazing.

The Tokyo Olympics team consists of a half-dozen professional athletes from San Diego County: Tokyo bronze medal winner Jagger Eaton; Cory Juneau; Heimana Reynolds; Bryce Wettstein; Brighton Zeuner; Jordyn Barratt.

And when they get on those ramps, Hawk understands the concept of skateboarding as a sport will acquire regard.

“That perception will change when they see the level of skill and the determination and the passion from these skaters,” Hawk stated. “Obviously, skating has a lot of stigmas and misperceptions of, ‘it’s all just outlaws or misfits or slackers’ or whatnot, but if you get to the heart of it, it’s really about the determination and the perseverance of these skaters and how they thrive.”

That understanding will alter when they see the level of ability and the decision and the enthusiasm from these skaters,

Tony Hawk, Skateboarding Icon and NBC Olympics reporter at the Tokyo Olympics

“And also, just in the style,” Hawk included. “And so, when you see that all lit up on this stage, I think people are going to change their minds dramatically, just from seeing the action.”

Hawk – understood for skating vert and ending up being the very first vert skateboarder to land a 900 in 1999 – still skates daily at a high level.

“I mean, I just do it because I enjoy it. I have never quit,” he stated.

But could he have completed in Tokyo?

The skateboarding master informed NBC 7 he’s simply unsure about that.

“I don’t know, I’m more on the vert discipline, which is the bigger ramps – the ramps that are a size 13 to 14 feet – park style is a little small for me,” Hawk described. “I know that might sound crazy, but I’m used to the big ramps and that timing of them. You get a lot more airtime on those ramps, so there’s more freedom to do tricks in the air.”

Bryce Wettstein will represent the U.S. in the Tokyo Olympics, reports NBC 7’s Lauren Coronado

He stated the Team U.S.A. professional athletes skating park at the Tokyo Olympics are exceptionally focused and detailed.

“This one (the park ramp) requires much more precision and there’s not a lot of room for error in terms of your landing zone,” he described. “And I like my big, smooth landing zone.”

But that doesn’t suggest he didn’t offer the park course a try.

After all, he’s Tony Hawk.

“I was the first one on the park course,” he stated, smiling.

He had an opportunity to heat up the course prior to the Olympians shown up in Tokyo.

Hawk is utilized to skating with both the veterans and increasing stars of his sport.

Back house in San Diego’s North County, he frequently welcomes skateboarders to utilize his ramps.

“If they want to come skate my ramp, they’re welcome to. They can find me,” he stated. “I enjoy giving them the opportunity and helping them with whatever guidance they might ask for – and not just tricks but sort of, ‘How do you navigate this as a career?’ I’ve been doing this a really long time and I’ve seen it ebb and flow and it’s hard to maintain.”

San Diego Local and Team U.S.A. skateboarder Jagger Eaton won bronze in the first-ever Olympic skateboarding occasion Saturday. NBC 7’s Steven Luke spoke with Eaton about his efficiency.

Since skateboarding has deep ties to Southern California and San Diego County, Hawk stated being at the Tokyo Olympics throughout the sport’s launching seems like house. Everywhere he turns, he understands somebody connected to the market structure ramps, collaborating and arranging the occasions.

“I see all these people here and I’m like, ‘Wait, are we just at the local skate park now?’” he informed NBC 7.

And that’s precisely what Hawk likes about skateboarding.

The individuals make it so unique.

On a huge phase or a little phase, on a vert or park ramp, at the regional skate park or at the Olympics, skateboarding, he stated, is for everybody, all over.

“I always say, ‘Skateboarding is the great equalizer.’ It doesn’t matter your age, your race, your background, your gender – everyone’s welcome,” Hawk stated. “And you’re just judged on how you skate.”

Skateboarding is amongst numerous sports making their Olympic debuts in Tokyo. Surfing – another timeless SoCal staple has actually currently made waves – along with softball, 3×3 basketball, sport climbing and karate.

I constantly state, ‘Skateboarding is the great equalizer.’ It doesn’t matter your age, your race, your background, your gender – everybody’s welcome. And you’re simply evaluated on how you skate.

Tony Hawk, Skateboarding Icon and NBC Olympics reporter at the Tokyo Olympics

Skateboarding is amongst numerous sports making their Olympic debuts in Tokyo. Surfing – another timeless SoCal staple has actually currently made waves – along with softball, 3×3 basketball, sport climbing and karate.

Skateboarding, sport climbing, browsing, karate will make their launching at the Tokyo Olympics with baseball and softball making a one-time return.

How to Watch Skateboarding at the Tokyo Olympics

Here’s a complete guide on how to view skateboarding at the Tokyo Olympics.

The highlights: Wettstein, Zeuner, and Barratt will complete in the certifying round on Tuesday at 5 p.m. PT (San Diego time). The leading 8 rivals from that round will advance to the finals at 8:30 p.m. PT.

You can view on NBC prime-time television or with the streaming link listed below:

The guys’s park group, consisting of Reynolds and Juneau, will complete at the very same times on Wednesday: 5 p.m. PT for the qualifiers and 8:30 p.m. PT (San Diego time) for the finals.

You can view those occasions on NBC prime-time television or with the streaming link listed below:

Bryce Wettstein,15, of Encinitas, is currently on the Team U.S.A. shortlist for a chance at history. She has her eye on the Tokyo Games. NBC 7’s Steven Luke talks to the teenager about how she’s pursuing her objective; much of her practicing takes place in her very own yard skatepark.

And for whatever you require to understand about skateboarding at the Tokyo Olympics (consisting of how skaters are scored) and more information on the San Diego professional athletes completing, have a look at this guide.

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from Skate World. Skateboard News, skateboard shop https://ift.tt/2UqHVkS

[lilyharvord]

The Secret Correspondence of the Dancing War  - Part 5

A/N And we have arrived as the end children. While it saddens us to wrap this up, I think Regina (@elane-in-the-shadows) and I are super happy with it. Here is the final letter to wrap up the epilogue that we decided we knew how to write better than Victoria.

v. Kilorn

[Editors note, Gabriel Jacos: While this letter was written ten years ago, Coriane and Shade Barrow Calore have agreed to share it to preserve it. For context, this letter was written some three weeks after the fourth attempt to kidnap them failed in the year they announced their abdication from their father’s birthright. For more information on the topic of Calore abdication, see section: treaties N/M ii to v v. GJA/. Both were moved to a remote location with their parents known only to very close family. For this reason, there are no omissions in the letter and there is little more to be said other than the few words they asked to be shared: it is their favorite letter that their uncle wrote to them, and he was right about their mother cheating at cards. For further reading on the topic of the Dancing War, see section: letters EITS i to LV v. GJA/]

                                               November 30 345

Cori and Shade, 

I hope this letter finds you safe, and while I applaud both of you on your ability to drive your dad up a wall (a pass time that I really enjoyed too when I was younger), I do ask that you try to refrain from making your parents decide that the front lines are easier to handle than you two. For starters, the cabin roof is not a spring board for you two to practice jumping off of, and the woods out back are not a place for you to practice creating infernos Cori. I know how boring it can be to sit around under protective custody, but just know that we all miss you both very much. My office isn’t the same without you two running around playing your games, and distracting me with your laughter. Hopefully all of this blows over soon and you two can be back in time to celebrate the holidays, or at least your birthday, Cori. Your grandmother is already preparing, and she’s counting you and your parents in for dinner. And yes, Shade, I did remember to remind to your grandmother that you hate vegetables. She has promised to include something different for you (although I can’t make any promises on whether or not your mom forces you to eat some). 

I’m sure your parents will want a break from you trouble makers when you get back, so I assume I’ll have to shoulder the burden of keeping you little demons under control. While I’ll be pretty busy handling the treaty with the Prairie fiefdoms and reviewing or implementing whatever crazy battle plans your parents come up with, I’m sure we’ll still have plenty of time to wander the gardens on the grounds. Carmadon has been tending to the patch of lavender your planted with him, Cori, and you’ll be pleased to know that it’s doing very well given the storms we’ve had lately. I plan to restock the pond once it thaws too, so hopefully we can spend some time feeding the fish and the ducks in the spring if you two promise not to terrorize them again. I doubt that will happen though. You two know how to terrorize things more than your parents do. 

Speaking of your parents, I heard you two have been asking more and more about your namesakes… and about the past. Cori, I heard that you snooped around in your dad’s office and found a stack of letters addressed to his brother who you’ve never met, and only got caught because you put a paperweight back in the wrong place (which is a very small error for someone your age and you should be prepared for a recruitment letter from Elane Haven… I may have mentioned the story to her). 

While it’s not my business to share with you the entire story, I can say that much of what occurred left very profound impacts on your parents and the rest of the people you know. Many of us were not always close or willing to share a room with each other. In fact, only recently has your mother been able to speak with Ptolemus Samos for longer than ten seconds.  And while your parents probably celebrated the day both of you displayed your abilities, there is still a deep fear about what occurred in the past to people like you. Norta was not always the States, and people like us did not always enjoy the freedoms we do now. I’ve heard your mom tell you both numerous times to count your blessings, and I have also heard your dad tell you not to joke about wanting to kill each other, and they’re right to say those things. While you might not have understood why they both get so nervous when you joke like that, you have to know that they are still healing all these years later. I didn’t want to be morbid in this letter, given what happened a month ago, but as you two get older and grow up, I feel as if you need to be reminded of what we all fought for. Your mother and father both lost brothers to the war, as you now know, but the extent of that loss probably has not been shared with you two.  I encourage you to ask them about those people, but be prepared to hear things you might not like. We all did bad things to survive and hurt a lot of people to get to where we are today. You two are certainly a blessing with everything that has happened in our lives, but one that could never have occurred twenty years ago. 

The world is still changing, and people are still growing (even me and your parents). I know you both have gotten angry with them for returning to the front numerous times once you were older, but you have to understand that they are still desperately trying to make the world a safer, better place for you two to grow up in. We all are. We want you and your cousins to have better lives than we did. We want you to have the chance to be kinder and more naïve than we were. We don’t want you to have to fight wars that don’t belong to you, or to have enemies because their parents were our enemies. We want you to be able to walk down the street without having to look over your shoulders like we did and still do at times. We want you to be happier than we were. 

I know this is a lot to digest, and I’m sure you’re more than little uncomfortable. But that is okay. As your Uncle Julian has told you numerous times: the past and the truth must make us uncomfortable if we are to change the future. There’s a reason that quote was in my first official address. My hope, and your parents’ hope, is that the wars end before you’re both adults. That way you don’t have to think about entering the military, although I have been told not to discourage either of you from wanting to do that, you’re supposed to be completely free to make that choice. But once again, we want you to be able to make a choice. 

Now that I got all of that mushy gushy stuff out of the way that I know you’re both making faces at while you read, I do have some advice for you as your favorite uncle.

1. If you do plan to jump off the cabin roof, make sure you have enough snow to fall into (4-5 feet should do the trick), don’t pack it though, keep it loose and try to avoid any icy patches. 

2. Your father is terrible at protecting his left side, so if you want to get him (and kick his butt) during a snow ball fight, I recommend sneaking up on his left. 

3. If you really want your mother to not be mad at you for jumping off the cabin roof, give her a kiss on the cheek and remind her that she used to jump off your grandparents’ porch with me when we were your age.

4. If you’re going to play wrestle, no biting, or scratching. Shade, don’t pull on your sister’s hair, and Cori try to refrain from pummeling your brother into the ground.

5. No abilities in the house. Wait for your parents to supervise you please. (Shade I heard you and your mother had a good time making thunder snow the other week, don’t try it on your own unless you want a beating from her that will keep you from sitting down for a month)

6. If you two do decide to ignore #5 go someplace where you parents won’t see you and have a really, really good lie planned for when they find you. 

7. When your dad says he’s busy, he’s secretly crying for help and distraction. I recommend dragging him outside to play or putting on your best begging faces. Maximum amount of bothering should get him to move. 

8. Ask your dad to play “the game”. It involves all the lights being off and being as quiet as possible. You two normally struggle with that but I’d like to hear how it goes.  

9. Your mother cheats at card games.  Always cheek her sleeves before and during playing. 

10. Don’t tell them I told you to do any of this. 

I’m going to keep missing you two the entire time you’re away. I can’t wait to see you again. Don’t grow more than a few inches while you’re gone (this is directed mostly at you, Shade.)

Give each other a hug for me (squeeze twice just like I do). I love you both.  

@elliemarchetti @inopinion @scxrletguardsdawn @freaky-freiday @petergrantkavinsky @mareshmallow @farleydiana @king-maven-calore @whatsup-gorls @delilahlbard  @evangeline-of-montfort​ @redqueenetwork​

[scorpio-karma]

Your top 10 favourite WoCs in TV shows?

Sorry I’m getting to this late, but I was at work when I got it and I work long hours also I’m usually tired after, especially for this ask. I always knew peripherally that there aren’t that many WOC are on TV, but this ask kinda made realize exactly how few.

Now it’s been a hot minute since I’ve watched TV in general, except for a few select shows here and there it’s been about 3 years since I’ve watched a new show and that includes Netflix because I don’t have Netflix so this was a particularly hard question because I had to a) remember what I used to watch in TV when I watched TV and b) were there WOC on that show? The answer to that question was often no (Charmed, Supernaural,) and then if they did have WOC I had to think did I like that character and the answer to that was also no (Dreama from Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Emily from Life With Derrick).

So in no particular order just the order I thought of them in, here’s my top 10 WOC in TV:

1. Bonnie Bennett from Vampire Diaries 

I kind of put her on here begrudgingly because though I absolutely love her character she’s a character you have to love in spite of the writing. You can find many a meta from me and many others on how badly she was treated, so I’m not going to get into that and focus on the reasons I like her. For one she’s a witch which as a quality in general doesn’t count for much unless you’re me and absolutely love witches and have watched a lot of things specifically because there’s a witch in it. It’s literally the only reason I watched Charmed and Sabrina the Teenage Witch as a kid. So due to that fact she was always going to be my favorite character. Two she’s the most practical which again is not trait that means that much unless you’re me. It’s a quality I’ve always valued in characters and is probably the biggest reason why I hate Elena and characters like her. And lastly she was a character who was just teeming with potential which is why I spend so much time talking about her. 

2. Qetsiyah from Vampire Diaries

I also put her on this list begrudgingly and love her for the same exact reasons as I love Bonnie except for one add addendum, she’s played by Janina Gavankar, my girl crush. She to me is one of the most beautiful women on the planet, so pretty much anything she’s in I am biased, but I do love what she adds to anything she’s in. She has this presence that I don’t quite know how to describe, but she always has my attention. She’s is such a force of nature and I guess I love this role specifically because she is a force of nature–the entire show’s lore is ingrained in this character. When I think about season 5 and how shit it was I realize that what I remember the most and in the greatest detail is her–she for me was the only good thing about that season. 

3. Rachel Pirzad from Alphas

Most of my followers probably have no idea who she is as this was a short lived show on Syfy and I honestly only watched it because I had a crush on Ryan Cartwright at the time. If I’m ever into some obscure show that’s usually the reason. Anyway from that show my favorite characters were Gary (Ryan Cartwright’s character) and Rachel the girl with the ability to enhance her senses. Not only was she beautiful but I identified with her character a lot in being introverted, and her issues with people touching her, plus I loved how they incorporated her family and how that effected how she approached the world. She was often scared with legitimate reason to especially as a Iranian woman in the U.S, but was brave as well.

4. Tia and Tamera from Sister Sister

Now this is really bringing y’all way back, but when I think about shows that shaped my childhood this one sticks out in a big way. I don’t know if this phenomenon has ended but I remember as a kid Twins being a big deal in the entertainment world. Mary-Kate and Ashley, Zach and Cody, that basketball twin movie on Disney channel, that other model twin movie on Disney Channel, The Parent Trap, the list could go on. I don’t see this as much any more but I also don’t watch children’s TV anymore. And of that era my favorite set of twins was Tia and Tamera, and not necessarily because they were black and the only ones I could identify with, but because they were the only ones I found consistently entertaining. The draw from them wasn’t that they were twins, sure that was the premise of the show, but that wasn’t what the entire show was about past the first season. The majority of their shenanigans didn’t revolve around “we look exactly the same” it actually spent a lot more time on their differences and individuality. 

5. Mona Thorne from Half & Half

Another one that’s from way back. A character from a show on a channel that doesn’t exist anymore. This is a character I liked for two reasons. One, she was then underdog which for me in general is kinda an automatic like from me, and two I identified with her on many levels. If you don’t know the premise of the show it’s about two half sisters who reconnect later in life. Their related through their father who’s very rich and had very different childhoods due to this. I identified with Mona because that was essentially kind of my childhood. While my dad isn’t rich but definitely lives in a income bracket higher than me and my mom I understood what is was like watching my half-siblings live a more privileged life than me. I was a lot less bitter because I understood living in a higher bracket meant living with my dad which I didn’t want, but she was one of those characters that spoke to me.

6. Bessie Lovin from Damnation

A recent one, finally. I quite love how her character and story was handled. She’s a whore, but her value is in her intelligence. She has her own story arc and unlike a lot of shows, for a secondary character you learn a lot about her. Plus her relationship with Creeley was just the sweetest thing. I even made an edit about it. She was hands down my favorite character of the short-lived series.

7. Astrid Finch from The Tomorrow People

Another one I put on here kind of begrudgingly because the show she comes from isn’t that great, but when I think about her impact years later I realize she and John (my ship) were the best part of the show and the only two I actually wonder about since the show was cancelled. 

8. Geena Fabiano from Unfabulous

I’m putting her on here tentatively because while the actress is a WOC the character is not, or at least had no indications of being anything other than Italian. I’m one of the few people who really liked Anna on TVD and she is the entire reason why. Honestly the only reason I ever watch TVD in the first place was because I recognized Nina from Degrassi and the only real reason I stayed for the rest of the season (let’s be honest S1 is really cheesy) was because I recognized other actors from shows/movies I used to watch like Jasmine Guy from A Different World, Kelly Hu from X2, and Malese Jow from Unfabulous. I guess what I loved about her is how confident and outspoken and how completely fearless she was to be herself. She made for a great best friend for Addie, but in a weird twist of events because I usually root for the underdog, I wanted a show about her instead of Addie. I mean she just did a whole lot more than Addie.

9. Skye/Daisey Johnson from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

She’s a character I didn’t like that much at first and that’s because in the beginning she’s set up like a literal Mary-Sue. I’m not talking about the loose term used, I’m talking about the origin of Mary Sue. In the pilot she’s set up like those fanfics where an person is dropped in some universe and gets to live out their dream of seeing Superman, or something to that effect, and those are just not my cup of tea, I didn’t even finish the season, I didn’t actually pick up the show again until the show was well into season 4, but she grew on me. In a weird way I do kinda miss her season 1 self, but I understand why she’s not–she’s had quite a bit of development over the years, she’s no longer the naive optimist anymore which is more my speed as a character because I like pragmatism in characters. She does annoy me from time to time when she doesn’t do the practical thing, but I realize emotions rule people’s decisions a lot more than logic.   

10. Rosa Diaz from Brooklyn Nine Nine

She is literally the epitome of qualities I like in characters. She’s for one badass, very pragmatic, but I love about her most is that even with all of that she’s not a robot. There’s a balance to her character you don’t get to see often with characters like this which is what I identify with because I’m quite apathetic but at the same time empathetic which is a weird contradiction but I’m full of them. She’s kinda a contradiction but it seems to go together seamlessly.

Honorable mentions:

1. Lana Lang from Smallville

Weirdly I don’t hate her, and I say that because she has a lot of qualities of a character like Elena Gilbert, constantly the Damsel in Distress, but anyone who watched Smallville would know that if you’re not Clark Kent every character is essentially a damsel in distress, so that’s not really a quality that can be annoying in that context. Another thing that annoys me with Elena is that her actions rarely meet what’s said about her. There’s a lot of over hyping when it comes to Lana’s character as well, but for the most part she met those expectations or clarified that she wasn’t. I found little contradiction with this character. The reason she didn’t make the list for me is that she’s just a little too bland for my liking. 

2. Angela Moore from Boy Meets World

As far as token characters go she’s not a bad representation. Her story lines didn’t revolve around furthering other’s (white) characters development. She wasn’t known as the best friend, or the ugly one. There is an immediate attraction from Shawn to her and even Cory to a degree because he too recognizes her beauty. BMW was a very white show so I’m very sure she was added to meet their diversity quota, but what I liked about that is that she wasn’t added begrudgingly–the was some real effort put into adding her as a character. Plus I like that they didn’t do what shows normally do which is cast the lightest black girl they can find when they’re told they need diversity. They committed to it and then at the same time kinda of not when I think about her break up with Shawn. The only reason she didn’t make it in the top for me is because I don’t really remember much about her. I watched a lot of BMW but I’m very sure I missed a lot of episodes and I can’t quite remember her introduction. Her identifier for me was Shawn’s girlfriend, and I guess I kinda wanted more.

3. Shirley Bennett from Community

Community is one of my favorite shows of all time and I do love Shirley in all her Evangelist glory, but she’s not my favorite. When it comes to community there’s not a single character I hate–they’re all great–but Shirley doesn’t really rank high for me. She’s definitely not a bad representation or even a token character because out of all of them she seemed the most real to me who was the only character who had anything important going on outside of the group. In fact that’s kinda the running gag of the paintball episodes–the show makes the situation so epic and series but the reality is that the real world has things going on and it’s usually shown through her who has children and a husband that takes presidence over them but that never stops her from giving to her all. She’s actually really bad ass. The reason why she didn’t meet the ranking is just that she’s not a character I overly identify with, but she rather represents more someone I know.