#and im looking forward to the 60th

[sandymybeloved]

fan service and nostalgia is amazing television when it caters to me and what i want to see come back. its boring and annoying when its stuff i dont care about, hope this clears things up

[brilliantfantasticgeronimo]

🤪

[ozzieinspacetime]

Do I thoroughly dislike Chibnall?? Yes. do I also thoroughly dislike RTD??? Yes!

I've seen a lot of posts where chibnall and rtd critics can't agree without brining up the writer they like more and its REALLY getting on my nerves. Both of them are awful. The setup for the 60th is. Awful. Chibnalls treatment of his characters is awful. So was Davies!!! Old white men should not be trusted to write Doctor who anymore and that's just how it is

[ahalliance]

tbh im glad she regened into david tennant first 🙏 as much as i wanted to see ncuti gatwa it’s probs best he comes after david’s stuff is done, else he would have for sure overshadowed him. this way he (14? 15?) can start out fresh and on his own bat

[vanillaxbiscuit]

Twinflower

I know this march will be their 60th anniversary. Let me hype their early birthday a bit. he he he. Got a little bit excited.

Please looking forward for my first collab ScarletWitch60th at here, twitter and devianart~ Lili will post first on 1st March 2024 at her twitter. Im so happy to be able to participate with all amazing artists that love the character I do.

[orpheuslookingback]

(okay caveat here is idk if theres actually something planned for the christmas special that i dont know about that solves the problem im having with this but:)

aaaahhh okay i just finished the final doctor who 60th anniversary episode, and like I love the Tennant Doctor, I love Donna, and as much as part of me likes seeing them happy it just...it just did not work for me as a ending. Like it feels honestly like it's doing a huge disservice to the new Doctor? To be like "actually there's another one still around who is ostensibly still a full Time Lord, with a TARDIS and everything"? Like okay- I will buy the Toymaker and his weirdo reality warping abilities causing regeneration to act abnormally, fine. But what I honestly think would have been better and feel less like a convoluted mess and also be less of a disservice to the new version of the character would be if, after we get that moment of closure between 14 and 15 on top of the tower (which was very sweet and I did like), now that the Toymaker is gone his reality-altering powers also fade and the regeneration has to happen properly, and 14 fades away, having received some closure, to become part of 15 again.

But even if it had been more like the Metacrisis Doctor- 14 doesn't get to keep the TARDIS (the TARDIS duplication thing was probably my least favorite part of the whole sequence tbh), he definitively loses the ability to regenerate (idk if thats implied at all? but it definitely wasn't outright stated), something like that- he's still closer to being the proper "Doctor" than the Metacrisis one but it's still a more closed ending that wouldn't feel like it was somehow kind of undermining the idea that 15 is the new "real" Doctor.

I did still like the special on the whole and I do still look forward to the new episodes (and I thought Ncuti Gatwa left a really good first impression in terms of his performance and characterization! I really really look forward to seeing more of 15!!) but this one part just felt so off to me.

[uswntxfootball]

subtle hints (jackie groenen x muwfc!reader)

surprisingly, an injury might just be the turning point you needed.

(ft. preath as team moms)

word count: 2697 ish

rated T for this is feeding into my massive jackie crush but oh well and F for fluffy babies

——

christen shook her head as she watched you and jackie from across the field.

you were laughing at something jackie said, completely missing the loving stare the midfielder gave you.

“she’s so oblivious isn’t she?”

christen nods at tobin, who then wraps her arms around her.

“if i were pinoe i would intervene, but i’m not, so i guess we’ll just have to see who does it first,” christen sighs.

“i’ll-“

“tobin no we’re not going to bet on people’s lives!”

“shh i wasn’t done talking. i’ll bet you a coffee date that it’s y/n.”

christen thought about it for a minute.

“are you kidding? it’s totally going to be jackie. you’re on.”

tobin and christen glanced back at the two of you, jackie letting out a squeal when you pick her up over your shoulder and run around.

the two watch in silence until tobin says:

“wait isn’t jackie a judo champion?”

~~

“yeah i’m just really grateful for this team, casey’s done a really good job bringing us-“

your interview is interrupted when jackie jumps onto your back.

you grunt at the impact and stumble a bit before maintaining your balance again.

“jacks im in an interview,” you mutter quietly.

jackie only gives the interviewer a charming smile before laying her chin on your head, mumbling back:

“so what? i can still scare you whenever i want.”

the way she said it made you just a little bit nervous.

it sounded almost, flirty.

your heart skipped a little at the prospect of that but you shook it off and gave the interviewer a smile.

“sorry what was the question again?”

you finished the interview a few minutes later with jackie still on your back.

“you gave me a heart attack earlier you know?”

jackie just giggled and said:

“oh i know, that was the point.”

you rolled your eyes and pretended to drop her, the midfielder letting out a yelp when you do so, but when you catch her again she slaps the back of your head.

“don’t do that you-“

“oh sorry did i give you a heart attack?”

jackie huffs in annoyance but still wraps her arms around your neck.

the two of you walked- well more like you walked back to the locker room, manchester united having just won their game against west ham.

the locker room was met with cheers, especially aimed at tobin and christen, who both got their first goals this game (and russo who had a brace).

all through casey’s locker room speech, jackie was next to you on the bench with her head on your shoulder.

your eyes met christen’s, who gave you a knowing smile but you just responded by tilting your head in confusion.

to add to your confusion, when tobin turned to christen, she saw the two of you gave you a teasing wink, with you just furrowing your eyebrows in response.

however, the second half of casey’s briefing was barely heard by you, because in jackie’s boredom she decided to start running her fingers up and down you leg.

yeah there’s no way you could focus on what casey was saying.

across the room tobin almost bursts out laughing.

“y/n looks like she’s about to combust.”

christen looks at you after tobin’s whisper and has to bite back a smile upon seeing your state.

luckily for you the second half of the briefing was fairly short, and when casey dismissed everyone, you shot up out of your seat, a blush crawling up your neck.

“are you okay?” a concerned jackie asked from beside you.

“no i’m fine just- just had to stretch my legs that’s all. they were falling asleep.”

jackie furrows her eyebrows a little but nods, accepting that response.

on your way back to the bus, jackie grabbed your hand and intertwined her fingers with yours, pulling you with her.

your cheeks flushed red at the act, but you followed her nonetheless.

she held your hand through the remainder of the trip all the way back to the apartment you shared with her, christen, and tobin, who gave you very pointed looks through it all.

tobin whispers to christen when she sees jackie give you a kiss on the cheek.

“y/n is so oblivious that i agree with you it’s going to be jackie. is it too late us to call off the bet?”

~~

you jumped up and down, nerves eating up at you in the locker room.

you were the last one left in the room, everyone else having walked out and began warming up.

it was the game against arsenal, one of the most hyped games of the FAWSL, one that would determine who would sit atop the league table.

and you were in your head.

you often had prematch nerves, but they got especially bad in big games.

you were worried.

what if you messed up?

what if you had the one chance and you blew it and then-

“you know everyone is outside right?”

a soft voice took you out of your thoughts and you spun around to see jackie, with an even softer smile plastered on her face.

your nerves were clearly visible, jackie let out a knowing sigh before adding:

“you’ll do great y/n. you’re one of the best forwards i know and you’ll kill it today okay?”

you gulp and nod, still jumping up and down, trying to shake off your nerves.

jackie watches you for a little bit before pulling you into a hug.

your jumping stops and your body softens immediately at the contact, releasing all the tension and stress you had up to that point.

the two of you stood silent for a while, your body sagging into hers, the midfielder’s hand tracing patterns onto your back.

when jackie pulls away a few moments later and looks at you with so much admiration in her eyes, it makes your heart stop in your chest for just a bit.

the two of you forget your surroundings, your hands falling to her waist while hers sat around your neck.

unbeknownst to you, you were glancing at jackie’s lips, and she noticed, a faint blush present on her cheeks.

then before anything could happen,

“hey what are you guys-oh.”

jackie turned and shot away from you so fast it was a wonder that she didn’t get whiplash from it.

tobin stood frozen in the doorway.

you were confused.

you stood there glancing back and forth between tobin and jackie, one frozen in the doorway (still) and the other sporting a bright red blush.

“what’s happening?”

no one answered your question, and the three of you stood in silence until tobin snapped out of her phase and muttered:

“fuck chris is going to kill me.”

and now you were even more confused.

“what? can someone tell me what’s happening?”

jackie cleared her throat before saying:

“nothing! let’s all get back to warmups now!”

with that said, jackie rushed out onto the pitch, leaving you and a very bothered tobin in the room.

you glanced at tobin in confusion once more, and followed jackie out of the room.

~~

it was tough, no doubt about it.

the game was deadlocked at 0-0 for the entirety of the first half, and everyone was getting a little frustrated at it.

after a brief halftime talk, the second half began and everything was fine until the 60th minute.

you get the ball via a short pass from jackie, and you were making a good run up the pitch before you saw her.

daan was chasing you and slid in, tackling you and knocking the ball away.

her tackle was unfortunately a little late.

you fell at an awkward angle, your ankle twisting slightly in the process as you go down with a pained cry.

jackie’s at your side in a flash, face full of worry.

seconds later christen and tobin run over, the former cradling your head as tobin calls for the medical team to take a look at you.

“it hurts,” you mutter quietly.

“oh i know i know everything will be fine okay?” christen said soothingly, gently stroking your head.

as the medical team arrive, they take one look at your ankle before giving you a diagnosis.

you would have to sit out.

for the next few weeks.

it was sprained.

fuck.

suddenly you hear a loud scream in dutch, looking up to see jackie face to face with daan.

the normally happy and smiley girl was livid now, screaming at the other dutch midfielder.

you saw christen nudge tobin to get up to try to console jackie, and viv and jill hopped in as well to calm the two dutch midfielders.

jackie still didn’t relent, screaming at the three of them now in addition to daan, mostly in dutch so tobin was left in a very confused state.

you had enough.

“help me up.”

christen furrowed her eyebrows.

“no, y/n you need to lie still you’ll hurt-“

“i said help me up.”

“y/n no.”

“if you don’t help me up i will figure out a way to get up by myself.”

christen sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose before relenting.

by now beth came to console daan, who seemed to calm down a little bit with the forward beside her.

you fight your way out of christen’s grasp and hobble over towards jackie, who at this point is still screaming, and place a hand on her shoulder.

she stops immediately and turns around to look at you.

“why are you up?! your ankle- you need to-“

“jack. calm down i’m okay.”

“no you’re not! you shouldn’t be up- you need to lie down you’ll hurt your ankle if you keep standing and-“

“jack. seriously. i’m okay.”

jackie nodded with a little bit of uncertainty, worry written all over her face.

“promise me something?”

“depends on what it is,” jackie said, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

“promise me you won’t kill daan?”

“she went for your ankle! how can i-“

“promise me.”

“i promise i will try not to-“

“jack.”

“fine fine i promise.”

“okay good. i’m fine okay?”

jackie nodded, giving you a hug before trying to help you off the pitch.

“jack you still have a game to play,” you laugh.

“i don’t care i just want to help you-“

“i will call casey if you don’t let go of me.”

jackie gasps.

“you wouldn’t.”

“watch me.”

“i-“

“casey! one of your midfielders is running away!”

“you’re an asshole you know that?” jackie mutters.

you give her a cheeky grin before she whispers again:

“i’d punch you if you weren’t injured.”

“groenen!”

jackie’s head whips around when she gets called by casey, and she relents, letting you make your way off the pitch with the medics.

~~

christen gets subbed out in the 75th minute.

she comes in to check on you immediately.

“how’s the ankle?”

you let out a defeated sigh before saying:

“sprain. i’ll be out for the next month.”

christen wraps her arms around you to comfort you.

“did jackie kill daan?” you mumble, face covered by christen’s arm.

“no your girlfriend didn’t kill anyone.”

you blush a little at her words.

“she’s not my girlfriend,” you pout.

christen pulls back to look at you.

“yet.”

“chris!”

“i’m just saying!”

“jackie’s not my girlfriend. plus hypothetically speaking, even if i did like her she doesn’t even like me back.”

“you don’t know that!”

“yes i do i-“

“you won’t know if you don’t ask her.”

“i said hypothetically! i don’t like her! she’s just my best friend!”

“sure y/n, i mean tobin and i were best friends once.”

“that’s different.”

“is it though?”

upon seeing your silence, christen pulled back a little bit and gave you another hug.

both of you jump when you hear screaming and cheers outside, most likely from someone finally scoring a goal.

“i think we scored.”

“how do you know?”

christen blushed before saying, “i’m pretty sure i just heard tobin cheer.”

you fake a gag and christen gives you a little shove.

the two of you talk a bit about how you’re adjusting to manchester and about the us team.

the clicking of cleats on the ground is what makes the both of you look up.

“what’s-“

“hi jack.”

christen shot up out of her seat.

“i’m going to go look for tobin.”

the forward hurriedly rushed out of the room and now it was just the two of you in the room.

the midfielder walked a bit more until she was right in front of you.

“how’s the ankle?”

“oh just a sprain, don’t worry jack.”

“how long are you going to be out?”

“about a month.”

jackie lets out frustrated sigh and runs her hands through her ponytail.

“i should’ve broken her ankles-“

“jack!”

you try to stand up, before jackie shoves you back down.

“no. you’re going to hurt yourself. stop.”

you sigh and pout, looking up at the midfielder.

fuck she’s pretty.

“pouting won’t work y/n, even if it is cute.”

your cheeks flush hard at her words.

maybe christen was right?

maybe you did like her?

“hey.”

jackie’s voice snaps you out of your thoughts.

“what’s on your mind?”

you shake your head, whispering a quick “nothing” before glancing down at your bandaged ankle.

you let in a sharp intake of breath when jackie tilted your head up with her hand propped under your chin.

“no what’s the matter?”

you gulp, trying your best not to get lost in the midfielder’s strikingly blue eyes.

“i- i like you,” you blurt out suddenly, cheeks flushing red at your sudden confession.

jackie’s eyes widen a little in surprise but her grip under your chin never falters.

“i-“

jackie’s response gets cut off when tobin walks in.

“hey! how’s my favorite forward do-“

the older forward stops suddenly upon seeing the position the two of you are in, and backs away slowly.

both of you laugh at her reaction, before you turn to one another.

at this point jackie still hadn’t replied and you were getting a little nervous.

“i get it if you don’t want to be friends with me or something- i didn’t mean to make it weird and-“

you’re cut off by jackie’s laugh.

you furrow your eyebrows.

“and now you’re laughing? did i do something?”

jackie looked at you, eyes bright before saying:

“i’m just relieved. i’ve been flirting with you ever since you joined united dummy.”

“oh. oh.”

your cheeks are a little red, and you start to say:

“oh um i’m a little oblivious i guess? i’m-“

jackie cuts you off when she kisses you.

you gasp a little in surprise but kiss her back softly, pulling her down into your lap.

your hands fell to her waist, one of jackie’s arms draped over your shoulder.

tobin’s wolf whistle is what makes the two of you break away.

the two of you hear a slap and a “tobin!” and a “sorry!” before you turn to the doorway.

you blush when you see casey and the majority of the team (and some of the arsenal players) who came to check on you.

jackie suddenly realized the position she was in and shot up out of your lap, face painted scarlet.

thank god for you, casey didn’t comment on it, only briefing you a bit over your ankle.

however, your teammates weren’t as kind.

as soon as casey left the room cheers and whistles broke out.

“damn jackie!”

“that’s why you were trying to kill daan!”

“aw your girlfriend got injured!”

you and jackie stood blushing, but all and all you were met with lots of supportive teasing.

“hey who said it first?”

you blushed before muttering, “i did.”

“YES YOU OWE ME A COFFEE DATE CHRIS!”

christen lets out a sigh before mumbling:

“i shouldn’t have helped you y/n.”

[handdrawnfantasma]

misc ‘mnnnr/hmmmm’-ing abt space hobo show news under the cut

otoh part of me wants to be jazzed abt the news of 10 and donna comin back for the 60th anniversary of dw next year bc they were my fave rtd tardis team and i am always gonna love ‘em

but like otoh a much larger part of me is just pullin big ol :/ :/ :/ :/ faces over this bc like... crossing my fingers AND my toes here and hoping that ncuti gatwa gets, like, a decent amount of episodes next year before the 60th airs bc if his debut is a multi-doc episode that also features rtd trying to ride the coattails of his decade-plus-old successes i’m gonna be Pressed. like what utterly undeserving and disrespectful circumstances those would be for ur first outing as the doctor being basically made to compete with the fan favourite nuwho dr lmf. also like honestly they could have announced this like........ next year??? you know????? closer to the actual special?????? honestly the more i think abt this the more peeved i am lmf. REALLY REALLY REALLY hope we get a season or at least half of a season of 14 before this like............ gatwa deserves better for his first outing than bein forcibly overshadowed by rtd (and dt lbr) wanking over his glory days. hopefully this is NOT what is gonna happen but like, u kno, One Fear

(this is a lie i currently have Two Fears re: this show and that is the fear that 13′s regen ep won’t stick the landing for the era. the sole thing holding back this second fear is knowing that Mandip Gill has said in an interview that she was satisfied with Yaz’s ending LMF and also. current showrunner's way of wrapping up arcs vis a vis predecessors has left me more cautiously hopeful)

(but in any case another reason for all my :/ :/ :/ :/ is also bc as much as i will always hold abiding affection in my heart for 10 and donna. gotta say. really do not jive with the subset of dw fans who run their mouths abt how they could only look forward to dw again if rtd/dt/etc were involved. im just vividly remembering that one article in what might have been the fckin guardian (i can’t remember) where it was like ‘how to make dw good again’ and ‘bring david tennant back’ was on the list. and now these people are going to be INSUFFERABLE bc they're gonna feel like they have been vindicated for all the nonsense they have been putting out for years. like even more insufferable than they already are considerin these are usually also the people who refuse to stop banging on with the ice cold takes and bad faith reads re: 13′s era)

(OHHHH WAIT I GOT IT I HIT ON WHY I’M ANNOYED its for the same reason live action disney remakes annoy me. feels like tryna capitalise on the nostalgia factor to draw ppl back rather than letting the new doc shine on their own merits. like yes yes the long-running show continuity is part of the charm and also multi-doc episodes are the thing you Do for an anniversary special and i get that they gotta generate the dreaded Hype by announcin it early but like. c’mon pls pls pls pls pls dont do this for 14′s debut ep)

the moral of this story is basically i need to just avoid all news abt this show and also go back to avoiding most of the fans of this show,, also

[doctorwhommm]

not that anyone wants to hear my hot takes about rtd coming back but:

-more gays??? Yes pls

-more rtd dalek stories?? YES PLEASE

-he wrote my favourite style of finale so im looking forward to that

-he was so good at writing relatable companions and their families without making everything about them and getting stuck on modern day earth,,, like he was just ,,, rly good at writing interpersonal relationships

-BUT that being said he better not write another companion/doctor romance plot bc the rose romance and how he treated martha and mickey,,, UH OH NO THANKS pls treat ur poc and female characters better this time bestie

-hes gonna write such a good 60th omg

-more spin offs?? which might actually be good???? count me in

-he was rly good at doing classic who references and fan service shit without the show becoming a self referential nightmare that it sometimes became under moffat

-so like… bring another classic companion back prehaps sir,,,, ace is right there.,,,,,,,, <33333 or even bring martha back for a bit <<3333 OR WILF <<<33333333

-but pls dont make any of the original rtd era companions return for good as a permanent fixture omg

-anyway doctor who renaissance here we come

-the only conceivable way this could be better would be if murray gold came back too

-all this being said, the chibnall era didnt mean the show was “dead” and i actually rly liked s12, and i hope s13 will be great too. ppl who claim the fanbase died clearly r fucking stupid bc the dw fanbase NEVER dies it literally transcends death even when the show itself isnt broadcasted for over a decade lmao

-in a similar vain this isnt some “bringing back the tumblr 2012 era” stfu just bc u didnt continue being a fan doesnt mean everyone did, it was like this when the d*stiel shit happened last november and i wanted to scream ,,, dw trancends s*perwhol*ck and 2012 tumblr

-anyway, jodie deserves rights but OMG RTD MY BELOVED

[nextsevxn]

my honorable mentions on youth with you (part two).

this post is my part two of my honorable mentions on youth with you. this list consists of girls who i wanted in the top 9 (or not but i really liked them) but were unfortunately eliminated. i wish these girls all the best in the future whether they stand on stage or not.

these girls listed were eliminated on episode 16 with the exception of one girl who was eliminated on episode 9 and 10.

so continuing from my list:

Qi Sui. (NaHo)

the only japanese trainee in the competition so her mandarin is not as great as the rest of the girls but her rock arrangement of the cute concept the original song portrayed was really awesome and it made me notice her. she may not be in my top 9 picks but i want to mention her because her vocals are really nice and i really want to see what’s in store for her.

Duan Xiaowei.

her hand dance during the first evaluation really surprised me and i was impressed with the emotions she displays in her performance. i was shocked that she was placed 60th in the first elimination because she deserved better. her vocals are not the best but i love her dance performance and i wish her the best.

Feng Ruohang.

i noticed her when she did “the eve” and her dance performance is magnificent. the way her body moves and the way she presents herself makes her stand out on stage. i was upset that she was eliminated but that doesn’t mean it was the end for her. can’t wait to see her on stage again.

Huang Xinyuan. (Yennis)

aka dancing queen as she calls herself. honestly she’s one of the best dancers in the show - among many other talented dancers. her performance in “play” was so good she didn’t deserve last place and she was awesome on “why am i so good looking”. i’m excited to see what she’s doing in the future.

Wang Qing. (Yvonne)

a beautiful vocal that was sadly overshadowed by her humour. don’t get me wrong i love humorous people but it lowkey makes me sad when the only reason why some people like her on the show because she’s funny. the way she sings makes me wanna fly to the moon and back because it’s that beautiful.

Xia Yan.

amazing vocalist and a great dancer. hopefully after this show, she would be signed with a music company or making music independently. i love her performance in “mama” and “r&b all night” and i wish her the best.

Ma Shujun.

another magnificent vocal and talented performer that was sadly eliminated a little too early for my liking. her performance on “mama” and “real” was so freaking awesome i wanted to drop everything for her. although her time on the show was cut short, she was definitely one intimidating contestant.

Wei Chen. (Vicky)

one hell of a performer. sweetheart offstage, monster onstage. although she only did two performances, she was on freaking fire every time. she truly shined during “mama” and i was disappointed when that stage couldn’t save her from elimination. im excited to see her in the yg new girl group.

Wang Siyu. (Jane)

the only contestant on this list that had a short time span on the show. jane has beautiful vocals and her dance skills are amazing. she was robbed in the show, i still can’t believe she was eliminated in the first round. homegirl didn’t deserve that. im looking forward to seeing jane in the new girl group since we didn’t get to see much on the show.

-

i wish not only these girls but all the eliminated trainees the best in the future. whether they stand on stage or not, i know they will work hard to achieve their dreams. that concludes my honorable mentions list, i wonder who you rooted for and did your top 9 list change like mine did? let me know!

(all photos obtained on youth with you’s twitter page)

[sporesgalaxy]

Oh god Sylvie's story is so wild. I need to know how that battle ends! Is he ok afterwards? Does he die?! GAAH! THE SUSPENSE IS KILLING ME!

He’s ok!!

FUCK IT, full play-by-play!!!!!!!! Direct quotes!!!!!!! Deal with my weak improvised connectors!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAA

The party defeats his monster form but it’s just Dream Big beefed up by shadow realm magic and unchecked rage, so Sylvie is fine. He’s launched out of the room they’re in by the final blow, though, and the party But Especially Rick goes running after him.

He’s lying on the ground, beaten up but alive. He laughs harshly. “I lost again. Of course! I don’t know why I expected anything else.” He sighs. “Finish me off.”

Rick steps forward first, and says very earnestly “Sylvie…it…it must have been…SO hard for you. I’m really sorry.”

Mera sort of steps forward, looks over at Rick, and awkwardly asks, “Should I– should I, like, do a thing?” Rick nods enthusiastically. Mera kneels down next to Sylvie.

“I. I’m. Not going to kill you,” She says, as reassuringly as possible.

Rick does the universal mime for “GO ON,” so Mera tries very hard to continue smoothly, “Um…………Hey.”

Sylvie stares at her from the ground.

“Sorry,” Mera continues, “I’m…bad at this. Look–” She takes a deep breath, “–you were right. You were right about…a out all that stuff I did. Those are indeed. Things I did. I’m–” she suddenly takes on a truly earnest tone. She’s really trying. “I’m genuinely sorry. About the tournament [the event she and Sylvie met at in AC]…and the scar. Especially the scar. I still don’t remember you from the tournament, to be totally honest, but it seems like what I did…REALLY affected you. So. I’m sorry.”

She looks back at the party, wondering if she just did that right. Rick is nodding again!

She turns back to Sylvie, and leans a little closer to him, lowering her voice. “Look, Sylvie–” she winces, not 100% sure that was actually his name, but when he doesn’t react negatively, she keeps going, “They told me you used to study Epithets. That you wanted to know all about them, and you thought I’d be a good mentor for that. Well, um, sorry, but…I kind of suck. At that. The mentoring…and the epithets.” [She then explains how her epithet affects her, which you’ll be familiar with if you watched the cartoon.] “…and I thought, maybe if I put on airs like I was this big, tough, smart, scary lady, maybe it would actually happen.”

[MINOR MERA CHARACTER ARC SPOILERS AFTER THIS POINT. No specifics as to WHY she’s Character Developing, but still, just in case!]

“And, it did! Finally, today, but now I don’t have Indus, and….I don’t have anything. So, none of it was even really worth it. So, i guess I kinda get what you’re feeling right now?” She chuckles nervously, “We’re both at the bottom!”

AWKWARD BEAT.

“Y-Y'know, Indus used to tell me that honorable warriors share their Epithets when they fight, and I always thought he was an idiot for that, but I feel like it’ll help? So, uh–”

She glances at the party, who are all very much in earshot, and decides to lean down and whisper her epithet into Sylvie’s ear.

EDIT: Oh Sylvie apologizes back too Im just very tired. It’s sweet he admits he’s been way too intense. About the whole murder thing.

THIS gives Sylvie the 60TH PROFICIENCY POINT HE NEEDS TO BECOME CLASS 2: DREAMWEAVER!!! His wounds magically heal and he gets a cool outfit upgrade a special final move called an Outclass! He uses it to help the party so they can get to the FINAL final boss of this episode!!! yay!!!!!!

[brilliantfantasticgeronimo]

[ "Barcelona" by Stephen Sondheim ]

[noble-pro]

4hrs Pacing the Chicago Marathon

On the 13th October 2019 I took part in the Chicago Marathon, and as always this is my review of the experience. I was the sub 4 pacer, and this was my second time pacing Chicago Marathon after pacing 3:55 in 2018 (take a look at last years wet run HERE). This was my 51st official marathon and 60th for the 100 marathon club. It was also the 80th event I have been an official pacer, 24th for a marathon. I started the weekend with the Chicago 5k, and wrote a separate review HERE.

Last year I came for a family holiday to Chicago, and we all had a fantastic time. With our trip to New York at the end of the month we could not afford to do both, so decided I would do a short trip alone. I flew out Friday afternoon, with a return trip on Sunday evening. I was hosted by the wonderful Julian Gordan, we lives in Lake Bluff, and I’m very grateful for him looking after me. On the Saturday I took part in the Chicago 5k and it was one hell of a cold event. Fortunately it warmed up slightly, so marathon race day was not as cold. After the 5k, I made my way to the expo early, after a lovely breakfast at Yolk. I had a 12:00 shift at the expo, but I knew Gary Dixon was talking on the main stage, so I wanted to show a friendly face, and offer support. Gary was on the stage with some really knowledgeable people, and he was a pleasure to listen to. After listening to his talk I had to leave for my slot at the expo, talking as a Nike Pacer, to lots of marathon runners. I then met Suman and we made our way to Julian’s in Lake Bluff for a pasta meal. It wasn’t a long sleep because we had to leave at 04:30 to make it to the start line on time. I didn’t have much sleep anyway owing to the time difference, so was awake for most of the night, so it didn’t really matter to me. In the morning we had an hour drive, and needed to be at the Pacers tent before 06:00. I said it last year, but the organisation of the Pacers for Chicago Marathon is slick. We have a nice place to rest and leave our things, with snacks and the organiser, Paul, gives such a motivational speech which is inspiring. There are a lot of Pacers for Chicago, and after our group photo we go to the start line in waves. I was in F which was in wave 2, so we left at 07:15 to get in our corral in time for an 08:00 start. We made our way to the back of the corral, and it soon filled up ready for the sub 4 #funbus. Although it was cold, it was relatively mild compared to Saturday morning. As we made our way to the start more and more people joined us. We had a group of 4 pacers, and I was joined by Matt, Charles and Melissa. I gave a talk to everyone at the start as I always do to explain race strategy, and what was great was Matt (who is a coach in Chicago) chipped in with his own tips, an between us we covered it all. At 08:00 we started to make our way forward, and within 5 minutes we crossed the start, we were off, we had started Chicago Marathon. Chicago is an amazing place to run. To put things in perspective, the roads at London just do not compare, it makes London feel small in comparison. The roads are wider than Berlin, and although it is very busy, it does not have the same congested feel that you have in Berlin (take a look at my review from Berlin marathon 2019 HERE). Unfortunately the roads were full of potholes.

A key bit of advice for anyone running Chicago marathon is to ignore your watch for the first 5 miles. This is what the Pacers are for. I don’t know if it’s the tall buildings or something else, but the GPS goes wild. So my desired pace for a sub 4 marathon is 9:09 per mile. I know from experience that I need to be hitting around 9 – 9:05. On my current watch (Garmin 945) at the first mile marker it recorded 0.90, it also had me running an 11 minute mile. My older watch, on my other wrist (Garmin 235) recorded 2 miles at the 1 mile marker, it also had a 6 minute mile. Clearly both were very wrong, but we ran through mile 1 after 9 minutes, mile 2 in 09:02 and mile 3 in 09:05, keeping the pace nice and steady, despite having no GPS. We had a fantastic time as such a close group of runners, and after about 5 miles the GPS starts working again. But I wasn’t questioned once about the pace. There were 4 pacers, but I mostly ran with Matt and between the two of us there was no need for anyone to ask us any questions. We bounced off each other so well, and every mile we were letting people know how we were getting on. We kept on track from start to finish, and despite some slight delays and poor GPS response, we maintained pace between bang on time, and 30 seconds ahead of schedule. There was no point throughout the course we were not on target. We lost Melissa at around 15 miles, and Charles dropped behind us fo much of the race, catching us up towards the final miles. This would have helped spread our group out, and im so pleased with how we all worked together. We were crowded with runners aiming for sub 4, and the group was so engaged. Often the group starts off enthusiastic but this soon fades. In Chicago the enthusiasm stayed and this just encouraged me more. I enjoyed shouting out to the spectators “let’s hear some noise for the sub 4 runners” and it got a great response every time.

Matt was a superstar and it was a pleasure to run with him. He is local so he had a few points with spectators waiting to give us a cheer. Chicago is the only marathon I’ve ran so far that can rival Lodon Marathon for support. The roads aren't as deep with runners, so there certainly feels like London has more spectator support, but this comes close. There were supporters pretty much the whole route, and the city and suburbs embrace the event, coming out to show support. There were some great sections and even better signs. I dont know where it was, but there is one neighbourhood which is clearly like a Soho equivalent. There were transvestite’s on stage cheering, and as we passed one said “come get some water, don’t worry, I don't think you’re a little butch because you want water”. Then there is Chinatown, and so many more sections that wee just so full of support and culture, it was fantastic. Towards the end Charles joined Matt and I, and we brought everyone home with the final few miles. The atmosphere in the last couple of miles is amazing, and the crowds were out on force. We were on target, but it’s nice to have courses that countdown from 1 mile, which makes it easier to measure pace on the final stages. I’m so happy to have finished in an Official time of 3:59:42, but most of all to deliver with consistent splits. We had a good group with us, many of who that stayed with us from start to finish. There were others we were able to get to pick up the pace towards the end and join us for sub 4. At the finish we made our way to the Pacer Tent for some food. On the way there I picked up a couple of cans of Goose Island. I then went to the bio freeze after party and had another 4 pints of Goose Island, and soaked up the atmosphere. After a lovely day, I ended it with same friendly faces. It was great to catch up with the guys, before heading to the airport.   Read the full article