#brett would absolutely smash this

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

July 1, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

JUL 02, 2024

Today the United States Supreme Court overthrew the central premise of American democracy: that no one is above the law. 

It decided that the president of the United States, possibly the most powerful person on earth, has “absolute immunity” from criminal prosecution for crimes committed as part of the official acts at the core of presidential powers. The court also said it should be presumed that the president also has immunity for other official acts as well, unless that prosecution would not intrude on the authority of the executive branch.

This is a profound change to our fundamental law—an amendment to the Constitution, as historian David Blight noted. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said that a president needs such immunity to make sure the president is willing to take “bold and unhesitating action” and make unpopular decisions, although no previous president has ever asserted that he is above the law or that he needed such immunity to fulfill his role. Roberts’s decision didn’t focus at all on the interest of the American people in guaranteeing that presidents carry out their duties within the guardrails of the law. 

But this extraordinary power grab does not mean President Joe Biden can do as he wishes. As legal commentator Asha Rangappa pointed out, the court gave itself the power to determine which actions can be prosecuted and which cannot by making itself the final arbiter of what is “official” and what is not. Thus any action a president takes is subject to review by the Supreme Court, and it is reasonable to assume that this particular court would not give a Democrat the same leeway it would give Trump. 

There is no historical or legal precedent for this decision. The Declaration of Independence was a litany of complaints against King George III designed to explain why the colonists were declaring themselves free of kings; the Constitution did not provide immunity for the president, although it did for members of Congress in certain conditions, and it provided for the removal of the president for “high crimes and misdemeanors”—what would those be if a president is immune from prosecution for his official acts? The framers worried about politicians’ overreach and carefully provided for oversight of leaders; the Supreme Court today smashed through that key guardrail. 

Presidential immunity is a brand new doctrine. In February 2021, explaining away his vote to acquit Trump for inciting an insurrection, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who had also protected Trump in his first impeachment trial in 2019, said: “Trump is still liable for everything he did while he was in office…. We have a criminal justice system in this country. We have civil litigation, and former presidents are not immune from being held accountable by either one.”

But it was not just McConnell who thought that way. At his confirmation hearing in 2005, now–Chief Justice John Roberts said: “I believe that no one is above the law under our system and that includes the president. The president is fully bound by the law, the Constitution, and statutes.” 

In his 2006 confirmation hearings, Samuel Alito said: “There is nothing that is more important for our republic than the rule of law. No person in this country, no matter how high or powerful, is above the law.” 

And in 2018, Brett Kavanaugh told the Senate: “No one’s above the law in the United States, that’s a foundational principle…. We’re all equal before the law…. The foundation of our Constitution was that…the presidency would not be a monarchy…. [T]he president is not above the law, no one is above the law.”

Now they have changed that foundational principle for a man who, according to White House officials during his term, called for the execution of people who upset him and who has vowed to exact vengeance on those he now thinks have wronged him. Over the past weekend, Trump shared an image on social media saying that former Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY), who sat on the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol, was guilty of treason and calling for “televised military tribunals” to try her. 

Today, observers illustrated what Trump’s newly declared immunity could mean. Political scientist Norm Ornstein pointed out that Trump could “order his handpicked FBI Director to arrest and jail his political opponents. He can order the IRS to put liens on the property of media companies who criticize him and jail reporters and editors.” Legal analyst Joyce White Vance noted that a president with such broad immunity could order the assassination of Supreme Court justices, and retired military leader Mark Hertling wrote that he was “trying to figure out how a commander can refuse an illegal order from someone who is issuing it as an official act.” 

Asha Rangappa wrote: “According to the Court, a President could literally provide the leader of a hostile adversary with intelligence needed to win a conflict in which we are involved, or even attack or invade the U.S., and not be prosecuted for treason, because negotiating with heads of state is an exclusive Art. II function. In case you were wondering.” Trump is currently under indictment for retaining classified documents. “The Court has handed Trump, if he wins this November, carte blanche to be a ‘dictator on day one,’ and the ability to use every lever of official power at his disposal for his personal ends without any recourse,” Rangappa wrote. “This election is now a clear-cut decision between democracy and autocracy. Vote accordingly.”

Trump’s lawyers are already challenging Trump’s conviction in the election interference case in which a jury found him guilty on 34 counts. Over Trump’s name on social media, a post said the decision was “BRILLIANTLY WRITTEN AND WISE, AND CLEARS THE STENCH FROM THE BIDEN TRIALS AND HOAXES, ALL OF THEM, THAT HAVE BEEN USED AS AN UNFAIR ATTACK ON CROOKED JOE BIDEN’S POLITICAL OPPONENT, ME. MANY OF THESE FAKE CASES WILL NOW DISAPPEAR, OR WITHER INTO OBSCURITY. GOD BLESS AMERICA!”

In a concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas, whose wife was deeply involved in the effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election, also took a shot at the appointment of special counsels to investigate such events. Thomas was not the only Justice whose participation in this decision was likely covered by a requirement that he recuse himself: Alito has publicly expressed support for the attempt to keep Trump in office against the will of voters. Trump appointed three of the other justices granting him immunity—Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett—to the court.

In a dissent in which Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson concurred, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that because of the majority’s decision, "[t]he relationship between the President and the people he serves has shifted irrevocably. In every use of official power, the President is now a king above the law."

“Never in the history of our Republic has a President had reason to believe that he would be immune from criminal prosecution if he used the trappings of his office to violate the criminal law. Moving forward, however, all former Presidents will be cloaked in such immunity. If the occupant of that office misuses official power for personal gain, the criminal law that the rest of us must abide will not provide a backstop. With fear for our democracy,” she wrote, “I dissent.” 

Today’s decision destroyed the principle on which this nation was founded, that all people in the United States of America should be equal before the law.

The name of the case is “Donald J. Trump v. United States.” 

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[thewritingofamadwoman]

Hate To Watch You Go, But Love To Watch You Leave

A/N: Brett Dalton has my heart and watching him be all flirty and give heart eyes to the stunning Gabi Mosley in NBC’s show Found has me giggling like a school girl. Thought I’d toss in my two cents with an OC included in the fun of Episode 4.

Let me know what you think! 🤗

Pairing: Mark Trent x reader (no descriptions used but feminine pronouns are used by other characters when describing the reader).

Warnings: fluff! And a bit of harmless flirting.

I stepped out of my house and turned back to lock the front door. As I was done securing it, the car waiting for me by the curb honked loudly. I offered a middle finger behind me before walking down towards the car and smiling at the driver. Dhan smirked at me and rolled his eyes as I opened the passenger door and sat myself down.

“Was the beeping necessary?” I asked, buckling myself in as Dhan took off.

“Absolutely, annoying is my favorite past time. Was flipping me off necessary?” he said with a deadpan expression, his voice mocking mine. I scoffed at him but smiled nonetheless. Dhan and I were always like this, teasing and annoying each other to the point where people naturally assumed we were siblings. Truth is, Dhan was my best friend. Ever since we started working at Mosley & Associates, Dhan and I were inseparable. I turned back to look at him as we drove to our destination.

“Thank you for picking me up, the mechanic swears that my car should be ready by Monday at the lastest,” I smiled sweetly at Dhan as he rolled his eyes playfully once more.

“You sure it isn’t because you want a guaranteed designated driver so you can get smashed?”

I laughed, shrugging.

“I mean, I was being genuine but be careful cause I might just take you up on that. You ready for another rousing team bonding night?” I teased, knowing that he would rather be doing anything else than playing silly board games at Zeke’s house.

The whole team bonding experience was curated by Lacey, who truly was a sweetheart, and wanted everyone to come together and celebrate a night without any cases to solve. A night where we could let loose and just enjoy each others company. I thought it was a genius idea; things often got too dark in our line of work and a night of inebriated fun sounded like heaven. Every 3rd Friday night of the month, we would all meet up at Zeke’s house for booze, food, board games, charades and even karaoke.

Dhan huffed out a laugh, turning onto Zeke’s block.

“Whatever you say, Short Stop.”

I gave him another middle finger while we searched for parking. We finally found a great spot down the block and walked up to Zeke’s side door. It seemed that the door already ajar with laughter and music seeping through. Lacey was the first to spot us and ran over to me with two beers in hand.

“Yessss the team is all here! Just one more person to go and then we can get this shit started. I’ve only had one drink and I need to rectify that ASAP.”

I laughed while Dhan took his first swig, thanking Lacey for the drink. I went around giving everyone while asking Lacey what she meant.

“One more person? Who else is coming?”

I plopped down on the couch as Lacey answered, wiggling her eyebrows at me.

“Oh you know, just Trent.”

The look she was giving me screamed “the cat caught the canary” and I could only smile. Lacey has been doing her absolute BEST to try and get Mark Trent and I together for the majority of this past year. Little did she know, he and I were already in a secret little situation-ship of our own. We had been keeping it quiet, not wanting to let anyone into our own bubble for as long as we could help it.

I kept a neutral face and smiled back at Lacey, ignoring her suggestive glances.

“Oh is he? That’s great, it’ll be an amazing ego boost for me when I kick ALL of your asses at Catan.”

Lacey gave an annoyed huff and I took a generous swig of my beer. Dhan groaned out loud and I looked back at him.

“Why the fuck does the cop have to be here? He’s pompous as shit.”

I laughed loudly and Gabi chuckled from across the room. Dhan hasn’t been Trent’s biggest fan for quite some time now, but his dislike only seemed to intensify over the past few months when Trent and I got together. Of course he didn’t know we had gotten together, but it just seemed that Dhan’s brotherly figure senses kicked in magically and he felt the need to always make a snarky comment about Trent.

“Remind me again why you don’t like him?” Margaret asked from her spot by the fridge.

“He’s annoying as fuck and I don’t know if anyone else can see it, but he just eye fucks Short Stop over here any chance he gets. It’s kind of disgusting.”

I almost spit my drink out and snorted out a laugh while Lacey rebutted before I could speak.

“Disgusting? I think it’s hot, he clearly has a crush on our girl here. And he’s such a nice guy, always helping us out,” she smiled at me again, winking as if that was the selling point that would make me finally jump into Trent’s arms.

“I can’t help it if he stares, have you seen me? Fucking gorgeous!” I teased, standing up and giving a little shimmy while I walked to the kitchen to grab the bowl full of chips.

The sound of Zeke’s door opening caught my attention and I looked up, crunching on a chip as I did so. Mark Trent popped his head in and smiled, holding up a two cases of beer as he walked in.

“Hey guys,” he smiled in greeting, nodding at everyone. He hugged Gabi on the way to the kitchen counter to place beer cases down. I smiled at him, and he walked around the counter to say hello with a hug. I took in a breath after wrapping my arms around him, inhaling his cologne and smiling to myself. He gave me a gentle squeeze before pulling back.

“Hi,” I said sweetly as he smiled back.

“Hey you,” he said before addressing the rest of the team.

“I caught the tale end of whatever conversation was going on here before I walked in. Who’s gorgeous?”

Before I could reply, Lacey spoke up. I could see Dhan rolling his eyes and turning around to tune out the conversation.

“Our girl! I mean look at her, isn’t she just stunning, Trent?”

I blushed and threw a chip at Lacey as she pointed at me, and Zeke’s chuckled loudly at her ridiculous attempt at playing matchmaker. Trent looked back at me, a twinkle in his eye as he smirked and gave me a quick once over.

“Yeah, she’s alright.”

I let out a incredulous laugh and slapped Trent’s shoulder. “Dick,” I laughed again and moved away from him. He grabbed my hand and pulled me back, laughing as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and squeezed me in close.

“I’m just kidding, you’re beautiful.”

I beamed under his praise, his voice melting my heart. I stared up at him, loving how his brown eyes shined with mirth as he stared right into my own. We smiled at each other, forgetting where we were for a split second before a loud cough from Dhan’s brought us back to reality.

“Anyyyyy way, who’s ready to play! Guys verse girls, let’s go ladies!”

Lacey dragged me and Gabi towards the couches to get settled. I was laughing before my eyes connected with Gabi, who had a smirk on her lips. She quirked her eyebrow at me as if she knew something. I gave her an innocent smile and ignored her stare as we began to play.

Hours went by and we were having the best night. We were all slightly buzzed and finally relaxed. I had gotten up at some point to use the bathroom and retuned back to find that the only seat free was by Trent. The rest of the gang was busy watching Zeke and Margaret battle each other in Mario Kart on one of the giant flat screens. I plopped down next to Trent and smiled at him. The feeling of his thigh pressed against mine and his arm tossed nonchalantly over the couch behind me warmed my heart again. I suppressed a shivered, loving the idea of being close to him physically while everyone else was none the wiser. Almost as if he had read my thoughts, Trent leaned down to speak to me.

“Hey,” he whispered, eyes full of happiness.

“Hi,” I whispered back. “Having fun?”

Trent shrugged and nodded, looking back at the team as they all cheered Margaret on.

“Yeah, it’s fun. Everyone’s nice, even Dhan mellowed out after giving me dirty looks all night. What the hell is that about?”

I giggled and looked back to see Dhan place his hands on Zeke’s shoulders, shouting at him to speed up.

“Yeah, apparently he doesn’t like the way you “eye fuck” me,” I said nonchalantly but gave him a teasing look. I leaned in a little closer, the alcohol in my system making me braver in this current setting. “Is that what you do, Trent? You like eye fucking me?” I said sultrily, looking at him with a small smile on my face.

Trent’s eyes tracked from my lips back to my eyes and he gave me a playful smirk, leaning closer to me as well. The arm that was behind me on the couch moved closer, Trent’s fingers playing gently with the bottom of my ponytail.

“Okay, so what if I do like eye fucking you. You have a problem with that?” He said, licking his lips and giving me a smile that made my knees weak. I giggled and looked back behind me to make sure everyone else was still preoccupied with Mario Kart before speaking.

“I don’t have a problem with it. Gonna demonstrate how you do it?” I teased and reached up to fix the collar of his checkered button down. Trent adjusted his position on the couch to face me even more and leaned closer, making my smile wider.

“I could…or I could get you alone and demonstrate a different type of fuc-“ He was cut off by the loud sound of Margaret, Gabi and Lacey cheering while Dhan and Zeke groaned. Trent and I straightened out, both of us with stupid smiles on our faces. I got up to go join the girls, but before I did, I leaned back to whisper in Trent’s ear.

“Maybe you can show me that demonstration you were talking about later at your place…” I winked at him and walked away, swaying my hips just as tad more than usual before leaning my chin on Lacey’s shoulder. In that moment, I knew that Trent probably hated to see me go, but I know damn well that he loved to watch me leave.

*gif not mine*

[queenfriday17]

Source

Today the United States Supreme Court overthrew the central premise of American democracy: that no one is above the law.

It decided that the president of the United States, possibly the most powerful person on earth, has “absolute immunity” from criminal prosecution for crimes committed as part of the official acts at the core of presidential powers. The court also said it should be presumed that the president also has immunity for other official acts as well, unless that prosecution would not intrude on the authority of the executive branch.

This is a profound change to our fundamental law—an amendment to the Constitution, as historian David Blight noted. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said that a president needs such immunity to make sure the president is willing to take “bold and unhesitating action” and make unpopular decisions, although no previous president has ever asserted that he is above the law or that he needed such immunity to fulfill his role. Roberts’s decision didn’t focus at all on the interest of the American people in guaranteeing that presidents carry out their duties within the guardrails of the law.

But this extraordinary power grab does not mean President Joe Biden can do as he wishes. As legal commentator Asha Rangappa pointed out, the court gave itself the power to determine which actions can be prosecuted and which cannot by making itself the final arbiter of what is “official” and what is not. Thus any action a president takes is subject to review by the Supreme Court, and it is reasonable to assume that this particular court would not give a Democrat the same leeway it would give Trump.

There is no historical or legal precedent for this decision. The Declaration of Independence was a litany of complaints against King George III designed to explain why the colonists were declaring themselves free of kings; the Constitution did not provide immunity for the president, although it did for members of Congress in certain conditions, and it provided for the removal of the president for “high crimes and misdemeanors”—what would those be if a president is immune from prosecution for his official acts? The framers worried about politicians’ overreach and carefully provided for oversight of leaders; the Supreme Court today smashed through that key guardrail.

Presidential immunity is a brand new doctrine. In February 2021, explaining away his vote to acquit Trump for inciting an insurrection, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who had also protected Trump in his first impeachment trial in 2019, said: “Trump is still liable for everything he did while he was in office…. We have a criminal justice system in this country. We have civil litigation, and former presidents are not immune from being held accountable by either one.”

But it was not just McConnell who thought that way. At his confirmation hearing in 2005, now–Chief Justice John Roberts said: “I believe that no one is above the law under our system and that includes the president. The president is fully bound by the law, the Constitution, and statutes.”

In his 2006 confirmation hearings, Samuel Alito said: “There is nothing that is more important for our republic than the rule of law. No person in this country, no matter how high or powerful, is above the law.”

And in 2018, Brett Kavanaugh told the Senate: “No one’s above the law in the United States, that’s a foundational principle…. We’re all equal before the law…. The foundation of our Constitution was that…the presidency would not be a monarchy…. [T]he president is not above the law, no one is above the law.”

Now they have changed that foundational principle for a man who, according to White House officials during his term, called for the execution of people who upset him and who has vowed to exact vengeance on those he now thinks have wronged him. Over the past weekend, Trump shared an image on social media saying that former Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY), who sat on the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol, was guilty of treason and calling for “televised military tribunals” to try her.

Today, observers illustrated what Trump’s newly declared immunity could mean. Political scientist Norm Ornstein pointed out that Trump could “order his handpicked FBI Director to arrest and jail his political opponents. He can order the IRS to put liens on the property of media companies who criticize him and jail reporters and editors.” Legal analyst Joyce White Vance noted that a president with such broad immunity could order the assassination of Supreme Court justices, and retired military leader Mark Hertling wrote that he was “trying to figure out how a commander can refuse an illegal order from someone who is issuing it as an official act.”

Asha Rangappa wrote: “According to the Court, a President could literally provide the leader of a hostile adversary with intelligence needed to win a conflict in which we are involved, or even attack or invade the U.S., and not be prosecuted for treason, because negotiating with heads of state is an exclusive Art. II function. In case you were wondering.” Trump is currently under indictment for retaining classified documents. “The Court has handed Trump, if he wins this November, carte blanche to be a ‘dictator on day one,’ and the ability to use every lever of official power at his disposal for his personal ends without any recourse,” Rangappa wrote. “This election is now a clear-cut decision between democracy and autocracy. Vote accordingly.”

Trump’s lawyers are already challenging Trump’s conviction in the election interference case in which a jury found him guilty on 34 counts. Over Trump’s name on social media, a post said the decision was “BRILLIANTLY WRITTEN AND WISE, AND CLEARS THE STENCH FROM THE BIDEN TRIALS AND HOAXES, ALL OF THEM, THAT HAVE BEEN USED AS AN UNFAIR ATTACK ON CROOKED JOE BIDEN’S POLITICAL OPPONENT, ME. MANY OF THESE FAKE CASES WILL NOW DISAPPEAR, OR WITHER INTO OBSCURITY. GOD BLESS AMERICA!”

In a concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas, whose wife was deeply involved in the effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election, also took a shot at the appointment of special counsels to investigate such events. Thomas was not the only Justice whose participation in this decision was likely covered by a requirement that he recuse himself: Alito has publicly expressed support for the attempt to keep Trump in office against the will of voters. Trump appointed three of the other justices granting him immunity—Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett—to the court.

In a dissent in which Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson concurred, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that because of the majority’s decision, "[t]he relationship between the President and the people he serves has shifted irrevocably. In every use of official power, the President is now a king above the law."

“Never in the history of our Republic has a President had reason to believe that he would be immune from criminal prosecution if he used the trappings of his office to violate the criminal law. Moving forward, however, all former Presidents will be cloaked in such immunity. If the occupant of that office misuses official power for personal gain, the criminal law that the rest of us must abide will not provide a backstop. With fear for our democracy,” she wrote, “I dissent.”

Today’s decision destroyed the principle on which this nation was founded, that all people in the United States of America should be equal before the law.

The name of the case is “Donald J. Trump v. United States.”

Heather Cox Richardson

Notes:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/documents/b135ae03-8c5a-467e-96b8-7fd371855fa3.pdf

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/liz-cheney-trump-military-tribunals-b2572220.html

https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/01/politics/trump-challenge-hush-money-verdict-immunity-supreme-court/index.html

X:

JoyceWhiteVance/status/1807833078427201845

AshaRangappa_/status/1807828062509191607

NormOrnstein/status/1807807811801448920

AccountableGOP/status/1807855254006124944

DrEricDing/status/1807973035112083460

highbrow_nobrow/status/1807950188071284971

RpsAgainstTrump/status/1807823684175839622

AccountableGOP/status/1807835389865951253

AccountableGOP/status/1807882444663587082

tribelaw/status/1807936604624826608

https://x.com/davidwblight1/status/1807929332083405056

RonFilipkowski/status/1807884210050326670

JoyceWhiteVance/status/1807903145957409252

joshtpm/status/1807822033239396803

MarkHertling/status/1807909716175057003

AshaRangappa_/status/1807788604833308949

AshaRangappa_/status/1807837356936122433

Threads:

@gtconway3dg/post/C85O7oQpAWK

[misfitwashere]

July 1, 2024

Heather Cox Richardson

Jul 02, 2024

Today the United States Supreme Court overthrew the central premise of American democracy: that no one is above the law. 

It decided that the president of the United States, possibly the most powerful person on earth, has “absolute immunity” from criminal prosecution for crimes committed as part of the official acts at the core of presidential powers. The court also said it should be presumed that the president also has immunity for other official acts as well, unless that prosecution would not intrude on the authority of the executive branch.

This is a profound change to our fundamental law—an amendment to the Constitution, as historian David Blight noted. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said that a president needs such immunity to make sure the president is willing to take “bold and unhesitating action” and make unpopular decisions, although no previous president has ever asserted that he is above the law or that he needed such immunity to fulfill his role. Roberts’s decision didn’t focus at all on the interest of the American people in guaranteeing that presidents carry out their duties within the guardrails of the law. 

But this extraordinary power grab does not mean President Joe Biden can do as he wishes. As legal commentator Asha Rangappa pointed out, the court gave itself the power to determine which actions can be prosecuted and which cannot by making itself the final arbiter of what is “official” and what is not. Thus any action a president takes is subject to review by the Supreme Court, and it is reasonable to assume that this particular court would not give a Democrat the same leeway it would give Trump. 

There is no historical or legal precedent for this decision. The Declaration of Independence was a litany of complaints against King George III designed to explain why the colonists were declaring themselves free of kings; the Constitution did not provide immunity for the president, although it did for members of Congress in certain conditions, and it provided for the removal of the president for “high crimes and misdemeanors”—what would those be if a president is immune from prosecution for his official acts? The framers worried about politicians’ overreach and carefully provided for oversight of leaders; the Supreme Court today smashed through that key guardrail. 

Presidential immunity is a brand new doctrine. In February 2021, explaining away his vote to acquit Trump for inciting an insurrection, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who had also protected Trump in his first impeachment trial in 2019, said: “Trump is still liable for everything he did while he was in office…. We have a criminal justice system in this country. We have civil litigation, and former presidents are not immune from being held accountable by either one.”

But it was not just McConnell who thought that way. At his confirmation hearing in 2005, now–Chief Justice John Roberts said: “I believe that no one is above the law under our system and that includes the president. The president is fully bound by the law, the Constitution, and statutes.” 

In his 2006 confirmation hearings, Samuel Alito said: “There is nothing that is more important for our republic than the rule of law. No person in this country, no matter how high or powerful, is above the law.” 

And in 2018, Brett Kavanaugh told the Senate: “No one’s above the law in the United States, that’s a foundational principle…. We’re all equal before the law…. The foundation of our Constitution was that…the presidency would not be a monarchy…. [T]he president is not above the law, no one is above the law.”

Now they have changed that foundational principle for a man who, according to White House officials during his term, called for the execution of people who upset him and who has vowed to exact vengeance on those he now thinks have wronged him. Over the past weekend, Trump shared an image on social media saying that former Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY), who sat on the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol, was guilty of treason and calling for “televised military tribunals” to try her. 

Today, observers illustrated what Trump’s newly declared immunity could mean. Political scientist Norm Ornstein pointed out that Trump could “order his handpicked FBI Director to arrest and jail his political opponents. He can order the IRS to put liens on the property of media companies who criticize him and jail reporters and editors.” Legal analyst Joyce White Vance noted that a president with such broad immunity could order the assassination of Supreme Court justices, and retired military leader Mark Hertling wrote that he was “trying to figure out how a commander can refuse an illegal order from someone who is issuing it as an official act.” 

Asha Rangappa wrote: “According to the Court, a President could literally provide the leader of a hostile adversary with intelligence needed to win a conflict in which we are involved, or even attack or invade the U.S., and not be prosecuted for treason, because negotiating with heads of state is an exclusive Art. II function. In case you were wondering.” Trump is currently under indictment for retaining classified documents. “The Court has handed Trump, if he wins this November, carte blanche to be a ‘dictator on day one,’ and the ability to use every lever of official power at his disposal for his personal ends without any recourse,” Rangappa wrote. “This election is now a clear-cut decision between democracy and autocracy. Vote accordingly.”

Trump’s lawyers are already challenging Trump’s conviction in the election interference case in which a jury found him guilty on 34 counts. Over Trump’s name on social media, a post said the decision was “BRILLIANTLY WRITTEN AND WISE, AND CLEARS THE STENCH FROM THE BIDEN TRIALS AND HOAXES, ALL OF THEM, THAT HAVE BEEN USED AS AN UNFAIR ATTACK ON CROOKED JOE BIDEN’S POLITICAL OPPONENT, ME. MANY OF THESE FAKE CASES WILL NOW DISAPPEAR, OR WITHER INTO OBSCURITY. GOD BLESS AMERICA!”

In a concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas, whose wife was deeply involved in the effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election, also took a shot at the appointment of special counsels to investigate such events. Thomas was not the only Justice whose participation in this decision was likely covered by a requirement that he recuse himself: Alito has publicly expressed support for the attempt to keep Trump in office against the will of voters. Trump appointed three of the other justices granting him immunity—Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett—to the court.

In a dissent in which Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson concurred, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that because of the majority’s decision, "[t]he relationship between the President and the people he serves has shifted irrevocably. In every use of official power, the President is now a king above the law."

“Never in the history of our Republic has a President had reason to believe that he would be immune from criminal prosecution if he used the trappings of his office to violate the criminal law. Moving forward, however, all former Presidents will be cloaked in such immunity. If the occupant of that office misuses official power for personal gain, the criminal law that the rest of us must abide will not provide a backstop. With fear for our democracy,” she wrote, “I dissent.” 

Today’s decision destroyed the principle on which this nation was founded, that all people in the United States of America should be equal before the law.

The name of the case is “Donald J. Trump v. United States.” 

[sapphireginger]

Sweet Drink of Water

AO3 Link

Brett was standing in the kitchen of their apartment, making drinks to practice for his new job as a bartender and Stiles, as every good boyfriend should, was trying each and every single drink. He had taken a seat at the island and dutifully tasted the first two drinks. He hadn’t been a huge fan but they were good for what they were.

When he tried the third one though, Stiles went completely silent and slowly drank the whole thing, absolutely loving it.

However, Brett who was unused to Stiles being so quiet was certain Stiles must hate the drink.

“Stiles, you don’t have to drink that.”

Stiles in reality was writing ballads and sonnets, haikus and limericks, blogs and tweets about the drink in his head. He even said as much when he had completely finished the drink. Stiles even went so far as to lick the straw to get every last drop possible, his clever tongue wrapping around the straw in such a provocative way that Brett had to swallow hard and take a drink of water to soothe his now desert dry throat.

Stiles probably would have stuck his fingers in the glass too, but Brett had snagged it from him before he could. Stiles wasn’t pleased but perked up when Brett leaned over and kissed the pout the action had elicited off the amber eyed man’s face.

“So, it was good?” Brett asked, his voice soft and his expression holding an uncharacteristic amount of insecurity.

Stiles’s heart broke a little as he cupped his boyfriend’s face and smiled. “It was amazing.”

“Yeah?”

“Yep!” Stiles said, popping the p. He grabbed a mug and raised it up as though prepared to smash it in the floor like Thor. “Another!”

Brett’s eyes widened. “Stiles! No! Don’t you dare!”

[blondrichclosetwitch]

Today the United States Supreme Court overthrew the central premise of American democracy: that no one is above the law.

It decided that the president of the United States, possibly the most powerful person on earth, has “absolute immunity” from criminal prosecution for crimes committed as part of the official acts at the core of presidential powers. The court also said it should be presumed that the president also has immunity for other official acts as well, unless that prosecution would not intrude on the authority of the executive branch.

This is a profound change to our fundamental law—an amendment to the Constitution, as historian David Blight noted. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said that a president needs such immunity to make sure the president is willing to take “bold and unhesitating action” and make unpopular decisions, although no previous president has ever asserted that he is above the law or that he needed such immunity to fulfill his role. Roberts’s decision didn’t focus at all on the interest of the American people in guaranteeing that presidents carry out their duties within the guardrails of the law.

But this extraordinary power grab does not mean President Joe Biden can do as he wishes. As legal commentator Asha Rangappa pointed out, the court gave itself the power to determine which actions can be prosecuted and which cannot by making itself the final arbiter of what is “official” and what is not. Thus any action a president takes is subject to review by the Supreme Court, and it is reasonable to assume that this particular court would not give a Democrat the same leeway it would give Trump.

There is no historical or legal precedent for this decision. The Declaration of Independence was a litany of complaints against King George III designed to explain why the colonists were declaring themselves free of kings; the Constitution did not provide immunity for the president, although it did for members of Congress in certain conditions, and it provided for the removal of the president for “high crimes and misdemeanors”—what would those be if a president is immune from prosecution for his official acts? The framers worried about politicians’ overreach and carefully provided for oversight of leaders; the Supreme Court today smashed through that key guardrail.

Presidential immunity is a brand new doctrine. In February 2021, explaining away his vote to acquit Trump for inciting an insurrection, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who had also protected Trump in his first impeachment trial in 2019, said: “Trump is still liable for everything he did while he was in office…. We have a criminal justice system in this country. We have civil litigation, and former presidents are not immune from being held accountable by either one.”

But it was not just McConnell who thought that way. At his confirmation hearing in 2005, now–Chief Justice John Roberts said: “I believe that no one is above the law under our system and that includes the president. The president is fully bound by the law, the Constitution, and statutes.”

In his 2006 confirmation hearings, Samuel Alito said: “There is nothing that is more important for our republic than the rule of law. No person in this country, no matter how high or powerful, is above the law.”

And in 2018, Brett Kavanaugh told the Senate: “No one’s above the law in the United States, that’s a foundational principle…. We’re all equal before the law…. The foundation of our Constitution was that…the presidency would not be a monarchy…. [T]he president is not above the law, no one is above the law.”

Now they have changed that foundational principle for a man who, according to White House officials during his term, called for the execution of people who upset him and who has vowed to exact vengeance on those he now thinks have wronged him. Over the past weekend, Trump shared an image on social media saying that former Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY), who sat on the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol, was guilty of treason and calling for “televised military tribunals” to try her.

Today, observers illustrated what Trump’s newly declared immunity could mean. Political scientist Norm Ornstein pointed out that Trump could “order his handpicked FBI Director to arrest and jail his political opponents. He can order the IRS to put liens on the property of media companies who criticize him and jail reporters and editors.” Legal analyst Joyce White Vance noted that a president with such broad immunity could order the assassination of Supreme Court justices, and retired military leader Mark Hertling wrote that he was “trying to figure out how a commander can refuse an illegal order from someone who is issuing it as an official act.”

Asha Rangappa wrote: “According to the Court, a President could literally provide the leader of a hostile adversary with intelligence needed to win a conflict in which we are involved, or even attack or invade the U.S., and not be prosecuted for treason, because negotiating with heads of state is an exclusive Art. II function. In case you were wondering.” Trump is currently under indictment for retaining classified documents. “The Court has handed Trump, if he wins this November, carte blanche to be a ‘dictator on day one,’ and the ability to use every lever of official power at his disposal for his personal ends without any recourse,” Rangappa wrote. “This election is now a clear-cut decision between democracy and autocracy. Vote accordingly.”

Trump’s lawyers are already challenging Trump’s conviction in the election interference case in which a jury found him guilty on 34 counts. Over Trump’s name on social media, a post said the decision was “BRILLIANTLY WRITTEN AND WISE, AND CLEARS THE STENCH FROM THE BIDEN TRIALS AND HOAXES, ALL OF THEM, THAT HAVE BEEN USED AS AN UNFAIR ATTACK ON CROOKED JOE BIDEN’S POLITICAL OPPONENT, ME. MANY OF THESE FAKE CASES WILL NOW DISAPPEAR, OR WITHER INTO OBSCURITY. GOD BLESS AMERICA!”

In a concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas, whose wife was deeply involved in the effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election, also took a shot at the appointment of special counsels to investigate such events. Thomas was not the only Justice whose participation in this decision was likely covered by a requirement that he recuse himself: Alito has publicly expressed support for the attempt to keep Trump in office against the will of voters. Trump appointed three of the other justices granting him immunity—Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett—to the court.

In a dissent in which Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson concurred, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that because of the majority’s decision, "[t]he relationship between the President and the people he serves has shifted irrevocably. In every use of official power, the President is now a king above the law."

“Never in the history of our Republic has a President had reason to believe that he would be immune from criminal prosecution if he used the trappings of his office to violate the criminal law. Moving forward, however, all former Presidents will be cloaked in such immunity. If the occupant of that office misuses official power for personal gain, the criminal law that the rest of us must abide will not provide a backstop. With fear for our democracy,” she wrote, “I dissent.”

Today’s decision destroyed the principle on which this nation was founded, that all people in the United States of America should be equal before the law.

The name of the case is “Donald J. Trump v. United States.”

[scott-mccall-the-hot-girl]

okay okay so i’ve been thinking about theo and liams wedding ,,

they definitely pick a venue that is like one of the abandoned warehouse venues and it’s like super rustic & they have fairy lights and shit

neither of them decorated ,, this was all lydia & mason

theo 110% wrote a really beautiful set of vows

liam did too but was trying to hard to actually read them and threaten to punch theo for making him cry

half of the guest are in the actual wedding so that is just a shit show

they try and convince malia, in coyote form to be ring bearer

this is a battle they eventually win & it’s very iconic !!

scott walks with liam down the isle

jenna walks theo down

jenna supremacy ,, this isn’t related but it’s important

the actually post reception party is tHE MOST ICONIC

i propose that once theo was less homocidal and more domesticated he worked on the most random thing, from odd jobs to helping deaton with all things supernatural

including wolfsbane

including learning how to make wolfsbane! supernatural friendly alcohol

therefore, after the whole pack sCARFS DOWN THEIR FOOD AS THEY DO

i’m gonna guess the second they cut the cake they are all doing shots.

i’m gonna bet at least and hour later they arE ABSOLUTELY WASTED

EVERYONE !! aNd I MEAN EVERYONE

therefore insues: the worst dancing ever, a series of speeches (mostly by stiles), body shots, doing the cupid shuffle 4 times to many & probable stripping (*cough* brett *cough*)

theo had a feeling that the party would get this out of control ,, so they hired a photographer and videographer

EVERYTHING IS CAPTURED ON CAMERA

so almost every supernatural ,, is so drUnk they are absolutely blacked out

this is half of the packs firsts time drinking this bad

stiles, lydia, mason & nolan definitely almost get alcohol poising

it might be the best party they have ever gone to

half of the sheriffs department is outside because ,, #1 - we can’t let the pack get attacked while vulnerable ,, #2 - we can’t let the pack leave the premise bc they will burn down beacon hills

liam 120% sings an abundance of karaoke ,, including a disgusting take on it’s getting hot in here

he dedicates the whole performance to elevators & theos ass.

they are all barefoot and doing parkour by the end of the night

they get all the adults absolutely smashed ,, the video evidence is the greatest thing they ever get their hands on

this mostly includes peter hale, being peter hale and everyone enjoying it

and proof that chris argent does in fact smile

hayden is at this wedding ,, and like most things in his life ,, liam is very embrassed to tell her it’s in fact his wedding. so he never actually tells her

she knows ofc bc she’s not dumb

but she antagonizes liam the whole time because he definitely freaked out and instead said it was a funeral or a reunion party where he casually gets married

liam is a disaster even in marriage

this also goes for the fact that he threatens to fist fight theo mid party

they both consider it but are much to drink to function

# romantic face punching

the whole night is theo saying ,, “oH GOD NOW IM STUCK WITH HIM”

[wolfieslae]

"liam saved theo from his never ending nightmare so theo saved liam from himself"

it’s no surprise to anyone, i’m a tiny bit obsessed with thiam.

when theo first arrived to the show i liked him already, i felt like he was an interesting character with an interesting backstory, i wanted to learn more. the more i did the worst it got but i kept thinking he was interesting and i liked seeing how he was able to plan his take on the pack. he managed to insert himself in the life of the characters and turned it around, when his plan failed, he still got his pack but ended up killing them all, i admit, kinda real bad, and then he got drag down to hell.

during the fifth season we found out that when he was ten he was manipulated into thinking his older sister – tara – wanted him to have her heart, because his had a genetic disorder. he believed the dread doctors when they told him they could make him better and he killed his own sister – taking her heart. he then left with them and was raised by them, raised believing that power was all that mattered and that he would be nothing and no one without it.

in season six episode six liam and hayden decided to bring him back because they needed his help with a supernatural creature in town, while hayden was more resistant, liam did not hesitate to smash kira’s sword into the ground and free theo, saving him from his never ending nightmare at the same time.

very rapidly we understood that whatever power theo might have stolen from his chimera pack – more specifically josh – he wasn’t in possession of them anymore, he was back to "classic theo" part coyote and part wolf. after he helped with the ghost rider, liam and hayden locked theo in the holding cell at the sheriff station. theo wanted out and liam wanted answer, they made a deal and liam broke the sword and with it any chance of theo going back to hell, his never ending nightmare.

when they needed him more, liam and stilinski broke theo out of jail but unfortunately the sheriff was taken and only theo and liam were left, leaving them no choice but to work together to flee the ghost riders. they – liam – had one goal, lure them away from scott, lydia and malia who were trying to get stiles back.

the both of them ended up at the hospital where, and i quote, liam said "when the ghost riders find us, i’m not gonna do anything for you, i’m not gonna help you, i’m not gonna save you, i’m gonna do exactly what you’d do to me, i’m gonna use you as bait". we all know he did not keep that promise, in fact, while fighting with a ghost rider, he pointed a gun at the one theo was fighting and shot, saving his life in the process. to "pay him back" and maybe prove that he wasn’t as bad as liam made him out to be, theo offered himself as bait.

while we all thought he had been taken in the hunt, we found out he hadn’t when out of nowhere he came back and saved liam from one of the ghost riders at the school, leaving liam able to get on with his god awful – but working – plan to get into the hunt.

while theo later on fought at the side of scott, malia and peter, he was forgotten and left alone. obligated to live in his car.

we found that out on season six episode twelve, where i noticed that the deputies coming to wake him up seemed to always wear a different uniform, did theo move around? or is the beacon county just, that big?

he was shot and didn’t come back until three episodes later (not gonna lie, these were the three most stressful weeks of my life).

when in episode twelve we found out he was living in his car, we also found out that he might have been the first target for the anuk-ite. thankfully, theo caught the spider early and got rid of it before it took his body and with it, his life.

when he came back in episode fifteen, he was hang up and tied to an electric fence in gerard and monroe’s headquarters. along with two other werewolves. when he thought he was free, he ended not being and was taken into custody.

during episode fifteen, when nolan was caught trying to sneak into the sheriff station liam automatically recognized him as the one who tried to make him shift in front of the whole school by beating him up. by scott’s reaction we understand that he might not have told him. but some of the shots during this scene were interesting, showing liam on the first plan with a close-shot accompanied by a blurry theo in the back. we understand why in the next scene that they share, in the bathroom.

theo confronts liam about what is happening, saying he will not risk his freedom. while liam first manages to stay calm during the discussion, he looses control when talking about brett and lori’s death. he punches theo before heading out and saying "i’m still working on my anger".

while we don’t know what happens between episode fifteen and episode sixteen, we understand that something might have clicked in liam’s brain, because, while he reacted poorly, theo seemed to be the only one noticing that something was wrong with liam. could this be why he brought him with him at the zoo? maybe.

it could also be because theo seems to be able to handle liam. theo has a past and liam knows it, theo doesn’t shy away in front of danger and maybe this is what liam needs at the moment? someone who will not hesitate to get in the way to stop him from doing something stupid?

there is also a line in this episode where theo says "i’m not dying out here because you want pay back against a kid who kicked your ass" and while i have no recollection of anyone explaining to theo what happened in the prior episodes with nolan and liam, maybe someone did between episode fifteen and sixteen, liam perhaps?

the car conversation is also interesting because now theo knows how bad liam has it with his anger, and the fear the anuk-ite brings is not helping "people only feel one emotion at a time liam". he also knows liam needs help "you brought me here because that thing that came out of the wild hunt is affecting you too" at this moment theo has already made up his mind, whether liam wants his help or not, he is going to get it.

and funny enough, liam doesn’t seem that resilient – oh he is yes – but not so much because deep down he knows he needs it, he also knows that whatever technique theo uses, it seems to be working because in episode seventeen, during the locker-room scene, liam calms down a bit too quickly for my liking (wrong i absolutely loved that).

theo uses reversed psychology and makes it to seem like liam would turn into a murderer, into someone like him "i’m the one with experience here", theo even uses "we" so that liam can feel more of a "bad person" because of what he might do. but in the end, it works and liam calms down.

now here is my favorite part, right after that liam asks theo "why do you keep trying to save me" and while theo answers something so dumb i don’t even want to mention it, i know it’s because liam saved him first and now theo feels obligated to return the favor (well, he does seem to enjoy it anyways).

theo can be seen in the next episode, number eighteen, right at the beginning, in the animal clinic with scott, liam and mason.

mason agrees with theo and liam doesn’t seem to like it, everything he says to or about theo seems to come out as an insult, but why? they seemed to be getting along well in the prior episode? finishing each other sentences when showing the dead bodies gabe brought them to to scott and malia? maybe because he’s starting to realize he might need theo more than he thought? and he doesn’t want to acknowledge it?

either way, theo and mason are sent to the tunnels to find aaron. they are both clearly uncomfortable being with each other but theo even more because the tunnels are where everything started and he surely does not want to stay or be here at all.

mason ends up hurt, and theo decides to try and take his pain away. first of all, great decision, it shows that he is trying to change, that he at least knows he can do it at some point and wants to. unfortunately he isn’t able "you can’t take pain if you don’t care". theo still decides to stay with mason while waiting for help.

the next time we see theo, it’s at the beginning of episode twenty, the finale. he is in his car, driving to somewhere on the phone with scott.

here are some details that don’t sit right with me. their phone call lasted twenty six seconds. there is no way theo answered the phone, got in his car, and drove to what seems to be the highway in twenty six seconds, so where was he going? was he leaving town because of what had happened with mason in the tunnels or liam’s sneaky comments at the clinic? because even after all his efforts, he is still not being accepted and knows he probably never will? probably. but i’m glad scott called and asked for his help.

he got to the hospital and saved liam’s ass – again might i add.

then, there is what is for me, their most important scene, for their relationship but also for their own character’s arc.

the elevator scene.

where they promise each other they weren’t gonna die for each other. where they lie their ass off.

i have a theory about this scene. remember the look? yes that one, the famous look down. based on my calculations, it is way too low to be directed to liam’s lips as people believe it to be, no, i think it’s directed to his chest, most importantly, his heart. because liam lied, and theo heard it. now of course theo lied too but he’s a professional he knows how to keep his heart steady.

and of course liam knows that theo knows because the look gives it away, which is why he accepts to fight with him (and damn, they make a pretty good team! i mean, that back roll? come on!) and i think in that moment they understood that no matter what, they can’t hide from this anymore, whatever this is (my money’s on anchor with a touch of love).

but in that moment i knew. i knew that because liam allowed himself to get help from theo, allowed himself to be anchored by theo, he anchored theo too. he gave him a reason and the opportunity to stay on the right path, on the path to redemption. and in that moment theo realized that he mattered, that he had a purpose.

can we also quickly talk about the small shot of theo flinching at the sound of the gun going off? when has he ever done that? he was literally raised by the dread doctors, he’s not afraid of anything, but not knowing if liam was on the other end of that gun shot scared him.

now we all know that part of why theo was able to take gabe’s pain was because he saw himself in him, the kid who trusted the wrong people and suffered the consequences, just like he did. but part of why he was able to care was because liam cared. liam gave theo a reason to care.

and this is why i love them so much. because their relationship, again, whatever it is, is special. it’s unlike any we’ve ever seen in the show. it’s important because it takes into consideration who they are on their own. it doesn’t exist just to add a relationship or a story-line to the show, it exists to fit on their own story-line, to make them better people.

as the title says, liam saved theo from his never ending nightmare so theo saved liam from himself (and fell in love with him in the process).

they are so important to me because i like when relationships have meaning, and theirs seems to be just that, meaningful.

[thran-duils]

Use All of Me (P.12)

Title: Use All Of Me (Part Twelve) Summary: Fem!Reader x Dark Mob!Steve Rogers. The Avengers are heroes saving the world but in this AU, they are also permitted by the powers in charge to have less than favorable business underneath their guise of mere superheroes. Steve and Tony are at the helm, keeping their empire’s wealth in check, both devious and perilous if crossed. Steve takes a liking to the reader at a party and it may be her undoing to her autonomy choosing to go home with him. Words: 3,008 Warnings: Dark AF, angst, emotional/mental abuse, smut, breeding, death Author’s Note: ♫ Steve is getting desperate ♫

Part Eleven || Part Thirteen || Masterpost (mobile) || Fanfic masterpost

Tony was pacing in front of the cameras he had up on the large wall when Steve entered the room. Bucky, Sam, Clint, and Rhodey were already down there with Tony, sitting or standing. The general feeling in the room was tension and it was permeating the air.

“Get anything from him?” Tony asked as soon as he caught sight of Steve.

“He didn’t know shit,” Steve said gruffly. “Not that I gave him much time to say anything past admitting he had known she wanted to escape. If he was going to help her, he would have driven her off the property himself and disappeared with her. He would not have stuck around afterward if he had assisted her in any way. He was not that daft.”

“I would beg to differ on that,” Natasha commented, coming to stop in front of the cameras, her eyes searching the screens. “Are you only focusing on New York?”

“Larger cities in the north east for now mainly,” Tony answered, coming to stand beside her. He pointed at the lower right corner of the screens. “I have it set up to follow the main tracks of the Amtrak across the country the longer time passes.”

Bucky came up to Steve and asked, “Her family?”

Steve shrugged, “Her parents aren’t alive. Didn’t mention anyone else really. She was an only child.”

“What about her friends? They could have family in other states.”

“I could look into that,” Clint said. “Facebook isn’t that hard to look through and people are always oversharing on that stupid app.”

“Speaking of her friends… if she says anything she’s heard from you, Steve, about the business, that’s not going to be good,” Rhodey said, looking grim.

Uncomfortably, eyes swept to Steve quickly and he shook his head. “I don’t think she’s concerned about that,” Steve said tightly. “She just… wanted space. And instead of asking, she does some impulsive, unsafe bullshit.” He was working himself up again, his hands resting on his hips tensely. “Absolute horseshit.”

Tony turned from the screens, taking a few steps towards him. Trying to reason with Steve and calm him down, he told him, “Look, Pepper did too when we first got together. It takes a while for them to adjust from the hustle and bustle they were used to, but they do eventually. Unfortunately, Y/N had persistent friends. Stupid, persistent friends at that. But we are going to find her. You’re gonna get your kids back and her.” Tony held up his hand as an idea came, “And on that note, you need to register with the putative father registry.” Steve’s brow stitched in confusion. Tony laughed and said, “Trust me. I did it when I was younger because I was a little loose and needed to know if any of the women I was with – and I was for sure the father – were going to do anything with the kid that would blow back on me. There’s a notice to claim paternity form for a child born out of wedlock. With that, you’ll be notified of any court proceedings, such as adoption or guardianship changes.”

Steve’s jaw clenched at this and Tony said, “I don’t think that’s out of left field that might happen.”

“I’d love to see her try,” Steve said darkly, a deep scowl on his face.

Tony had to smirk at that ferociousness. “Hmm, me too. And good thing about this is that she won’t be notified that you registered. You know, not that she would get a notification anyway because she is AWOL, and it would go to her old address. It also doesn’t need to get notarized.”

He clapped his hands and turned to look at everyone else. “So, we’ll keep these on here. Like I said, the Amtrak cameras are going to go down the three main tracks. If it happens she’s gone for longer, we will start scanning outwards of the northeast on the other cameras. Barton, you got the familial ties. Man, big notes if the family is in a bordering state. Oh, I did get access to Natalie and Yua’s phones, but they are unfortunately turned off. Smart cookies. But if they turn them on again, it’ll light up on this laptop—”

“I’ll watch it,” Natasha volunteered.

Tony nodded in acknowledgment. “Unfortunately, we can’t put out a look out on the license plate because well… it’s Natalie’s car and it’s not stolen if she’s driving it.” He sighed and shrugged, “The rest of us… just on standby I suppose until we get something.”

“Do you want me to handle the meeting tonight with the union?” Rhodey asked.

“I forgot about that. Thank you for remembering,” Tony said appreciatively. “So, yes. And don’t let them try to bully you into giving them a bigger cut. Our deal is set, they just need to give us the money from the trade.”

“Do you have the surveillance video? Of Y/N leaving?” Steve asked him suddenly.

“You sure you wanna watch that?” Tony asked, skepticism lacing his tone. “I don’t need you punching a hole through these screens or anything.”

“No, I want to see it,” Steve said. “I want to see what she left with. Make sure she just didn’t hop in a car without anything.”

“Alright,” Tony said, still sounding uncertain. He walked towards another laptop and opened it, working to pull up the video.

Steve was there behind him, looming. He sat in the chair in front of the laptop, watching Tony rewind to the part he wanted to see. It stopped as the women started coming out of the house. Steve leaned forward, his eyes zeroed in on where Y/N was standing saying goodbye to everyone. He watched until it was just Yua with her and then Natalie came out of the house, a duffel bag over her shoulder and a hoodie and hat in hand. She threw it into her car and they moved quickly to put the coat on Y/N and get her into the backseat of the car. She was adjusting the hat and pulling the hood up as Natalie pulled away.

Tony was right. All Steve wanted to do was grab the laptop and smash it repeatedly on the table to try to quell some of the white-hot rage exploding inside, thinking if Bryce’s dumbass had just been outside, they would have never been able to even get her into the car in the first place. And how Natalie had managed to not be stopped in the house by him made him even angrier if possible. The giant oaf had been watching a movie Wanda told him.

He held it together though, keeping his hand steady as he reached up and closed the laptop with a slight snap but not too hard.

“Well, at least she’s got some clothes I guess,” he said to no one in particular. He pushed the chair back with a loud squeak. “I need to go on a run.”

<><><>

“And what? Go back to the city and wait for Steve to find me and beat the crap out of me until I give him information?” Yua asked seriously.

Your mouth fell open slightly at her bluntness. You had asked Yua what she was planning on doing past this as the three of you sat on the back porch of the cabin in the moonlight. When you had suggested going home, she had rose her brows in surprise before saying what she had.

She noticed the look on your face and apologized, “Sorry. That’s just… what’s going through my mind. Filter is a little gone by now.” She held up her fourth beer can sheepishly.

“I don’t think it’s far from the truth,” you said quietly. “So, you’re smart for worrying about it.” You shifted in your seat and admitted, “Steve doesn’t exactly sleep much either. So he’s got more time in the world than most.”

“Insomnia?” Natalie asked.

“No. He doesn’t need to. He would fake it a lot of the time… you know, just to lay in bed with me during the night.”

“That’s kind of romantic,” Yua said and Natalie shot her a piqued look. “What? It is!”

“Or creepy because he wanted to be next to her all the time,” Natalie retorted.

“I think it was a little bit of both. It’s not like he wouldn’t hear me get out of bed even if he was in his study or somewhere else in the house, so it’s not like being right next to me would have made much of a difference in the long run,” you muttered, picking at the blanket. “But, he enjoyed it I think. Lying in bed with me. Snuggling me while I slept. He’d watch TV quietly too.” You chewed on your bottom lip, thinking of how you had enjoyed those moments too, waking up with him there, warm in his embrace. Admitting that out loud though was too hard; like it was fake that you had asked for help.

“Good thing light doesn’t bother you when you sleep. Honestly, I’m jealous of your ability to just fall asleep wherever,” Natalie said, trying to lighten the mood.

“Soaking it up while I can,” you said, giving a halfhearted smile.

“Where are we going to go though? Seriously? We can’t exactly go back to our apartments for our things. I’m afraid someone would be watching,” Yua said and you admired her ability to think ahead like that.

“We could order a moving service. Have them store our things in a storage unit outside NYC. Then after a substantial amount of time, have it shipped to wherever we move to,” Natalie suggested before she sighed heavily. “How am I going to get a good recommendation for a job by just quitting?”

“You could call and tell Brett the truth. Well, not who we are running from, don’t want to get anyone else involved, plus you know… they are already going to be mad about Y/N leaving with secrets. So no need to incriminate them when they’re already expecting it. On the off chance they do find us, not having gotten them in trouble with the law will probably bode well for us. But anyway, you know… tell Brett that you’re helping a friend escape an abusive partner.” Yua suggested. The two of you were staring at her in astonishment and she shrugged. “What? That’s what I was going to do with my boss. I can work from home completely. I already do it half time. He just needs to mail me a laptop and we already have WiFi here. Thank god, I would die without Netflix.”

“You astound me sometimes,” you told her, a wide smile on your lips. And it was quickly replaced by tears of gratitude and she reached for your hand, grasping it tightly. “No, it’s fine. I’m just… overwhelmed. I didn’t want you guys to have to uproot your lives for me.”

“We’ve been friends for a decade. Plus, it’s not like I have anything going for me back there anyway except a high paycheck and a string of hard dicks following behind me like dogs and I can get that somewhere else,” Yua responded, taking a swig of her beer as you and Natalie laughed. She gave your hand one more squeeze before pulling away.

“Plus, New York was getting a little tired anyway,” Natalie chimed in. “I’ve wanted to move. Not ideally like this but… I think we can make the best of it.”

Nodding, you said, “We can try.”

You suddenly stilled, your fingers digging slightly into your abdomen.

Yua sat up quickly, “What? What’s wrong?”

“I… I think one of them just kicked,” you said, a slow smile spreading across your face. The two of them immediately relaxed. You shot Yua a look and asked, “Is that too early?”

‘No, that sounds right on time,” Yua said. “Especially for your first one.”

Looking down at your abdomen, you smiled again softly this time. You tried to will them to move again, imagining them sleeping there. You wondered what they were dreaming about.

<><><>

Steve thanked Tony for bringing him the sandwich he had placed in front of him, taking a large bite. He was and had been planted in front of the surveillance screens for a long while, only getting the minimal amount of sleep he required and only when someone else was there to watch while he was out. Rhodey had just been watching with him and got up to stretch his legs, also thanking Tony for bringing the sandwiches.

A ring cut into the silence and Steve swallowed before picking up his phone. He saw the number on the phone, recognizing it as Dr. Kamal’s office.

“Hello?”

“Mr. Rogers?” A voice said on the other end of the phone.

“Yes?”

“I am calling from Dr. Kamal’s office. It looks like Y/N has an appointment right now and we were wondering if you were on your way…?”

“Shit,” Steve swore under his breath and said, “No, no we are not on the way. I’m sorry. It completely slipped my mind to call and cancel.”

“Would you like to reschedule? There’s an opening later in the day, there was another cancellation. Or we can look—”

“Look, I’m going to be honest,” Steve cut in. “I don’t know where she is.”

“O-oh,” the assistant said on the phone, stammering a bit at that information. “Like today or…?”

“I haven’t seen her for days,” Steve clipped. “She ran off with her friends. I’m not sure to where. I have not had contact with her. So, I can’t make an appointment because I don’t know when I’ll find her or if she’s coming back.”

The assistant said slowly, “Um, well, I suppose then give us a call when you do know.”

“Will do,” Steve muttered before hanging up the phone.

Steve let out a frustrated sigh, slamming his phone down on the counter. His mind was racing thinking about Y/N missing a check up and something being wrong with the babies, with her, or both. He hated not having control of the situation and not being confident she was being kept safe by him.

He looked to Rhodey and Tony. “It’s time to report her missing.”

“Steve, she’s not missing. The cops won’t—” Rhodey started to say.

“I don’t need the cops. If we get her face out there, someone might call.”

“And if that someone is a cartel or something? Saw her face, kidnaps her or all three of them and then demands ransom?”

Steve shouted, “Then I’ll fucking pay it, Rhodey!”

Rhodey closed his mouth and shot a look at Tony, who merely shrugged in return. Rhodey sighed, knowing that Tony would be acting the same way if it was Pepper who had run off on him and would not be garnering any support to dissuade Steve from it from him.

<><><>

Yua came into the cabin quickly, tossing her bags down, startling you and Natalie watching a movie. She stood in front of the TV, blocking the view. “We got a problem.”

“What?” the two of you demanded in unison.

“Your face is all over the place on one of the news channels. I saw it at the mini mart behind the counter.”

Natalie scoffed, “How? Are they saying she’s missing?” Yua nodded and Natalie let out a frustrated noise. “Aren’t those supposed to drop if no foul play is expected? Like… they can easily draw conclusions that you ran off on your own accord. It’s clear in the tapes I’m sure!”

“Money,” Yua said darkly. “They’ll be able to keep up advertisements about it forever probably with all the money they have. Probably banking on everyone wanting to do a favor for Captain America. Who wouldn’t want to be in his debt for a favor? Plus, they’re also playing the ‘she’s not mentally competent’ card.”

“What?” you asked shocked, feeling like you had gotten socked in the stomach.

“You can’t be serious. Just because she’s pregnant?” Natalie demanded.

Yua said nothing which was answer enough.

“How will I go to a hospital?” you asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

Natalie assured you quickly, “You can use an alias when they admit you. And when we bring you in, we will have a hood on and a hat, just like when you left. Hopefully there won’t be a lot of people in the ER. Upon discharge, your real name would be attached to the records but under HIPAA you’ll be protected.”

Yet, HIPAA could not protect you from someone who desperately needed money really.

“But… won’t someone turn me in to Steve?” You could not keep the worry out of your voice.

“We don’t know that for sure,” Yua said gently. “And I don’t think it’s something you should worry about.”

Squeezing your hands together, you focused on your breathing, trying to remain calm and push the thought from your mind. Your birth was still far enough off that hopefully it would die down a little.

“Have you thought more about adoption?” Natalie asked you gently.

You nodded, “Yeah. Can I though if I am not a resident of the state?”

“You can surrender a child – or children, in your case – up to the hospital within 72 hours in most states. I checked,” Yua said.

“Good,” you said, nodding. It hit you suddenly and you asked panicked, “You turned your phone on?”

Yua shook her head and said, “I asked the guy at the station to check it out for me. Slid him an extra five dollars while I went to call my mum on the pay phone, let her know I’m okay. He was confused but he did it.” You relaxed hearing that, as did Natalie. Yua ventured, “Are you sure that’s what you want to do? Adoption?”

You swallowed thickly, avoiding eye contact. The two of them were quiet, waiting for you to figure out how to answer. “I’m not sure,” you whispered, breaking the silence.

~~~

Tags: @imsonick , @alexakeyloveloki, @kvzctam, @ironlady1993​, @taintedgenre, @inlovewiththefictionalcharacters @roxyfan14-blog

[thesewordsareallihavetogive]

Secret Weapon - Brett Talbot x Reader

(gif source)

Summary: y/n is on the sidelines cheering for Brett during the championship lacrosse game. (Requested by anon:  Hello, I read your recent Brett Talbot imagine and I really enjoy it! Can I request another imagine with him? Maybe something sweet and "spicy" at the same time? Thanks)

Word Count: 1286

Warnings: a minor injury (it’s not graphic or anything), lots o’ fluff, and probably some totally incorrect stuff about lacrosse. go sports! (i know nothing)

a/n: hello! it’s been a hot minute (whoops), school has been kinda crazy for ya girl. to the anon who sent in this request: sorry it took so long! i didn’t totally deliver on the “spicy” part of the request but i hope you like it anyway. 

master list

The night of the championship game was uncharacteristically chilly, but that didn’t stop half of Devenford Prep from filling the stands, all dressed in green and white head to toe. Some of the more enthusiastic girls brought elaborately decorated signs with Brett’s jersey number written in bold print, but y/n didn’t let it bother her. Freshmen.

Tonight Devenford Prep was playing against their biggest rival. Though y/n had plenty of faith in her boyfriend’s lacrosse skills, she also knew that this game wouldn’t be an easy win. The rival school had been undefeated this season with the exception of tonight, y/n hoped. Devenford Prep was currently a point behind their opponent, despite their home field advantage. The clock was slowly but surely winding down and the students sitting in the home section were getting antsy. 

y/n didn’t consider herself to be much of a sports geek, but when she and Brett started hanging out, she began to research the ins and outs of lacrosse. A lot. Her hours upon hours of research seemed to have paid off, as she’d often find herself calling out fouls and muttering points under her breath before the referee could blow his whistle. The school’s lacrosse coach liked to joke that she was their “secret weapon” and was better than some of their more experienced players despite the fact that she’d never even picked up a lacrosse stick. After half a season of hearing y/n grumble from the front of the bleachers about the ref’s “incompetence” and muttering surprisingly insightful things about plays and strategies from both teams, Devenford’s coach asked her to sit near him and the rest of the players during games. The coach reasoned that it never hurt to have an extra pair of eyes on the game and y/n was just happy to be getting a better view of the field.

The red numbers on the scoreboard continued to count down and now there were only two minutes left in the final quarter. y/n briefly took her eyes off of the ball to study the scoreboard and run some calculations in her head. A hard thump, yelling, and whistles blowing brought her attention back to the players. Brett was sitting on the ground, carefully stretching out the ankle he had twisted while the opposing team’s player who had deliberately tripped him was being forcibly pushed away. y/n’s face instantly turned red and her fists clenched by her sides. Sure, Brett was more than capable of handling himself and a twisted ankle was a minor inconvenience at the very worst for him, but that didn’t mean y/n liked watching him get hurt. After rolling his ankle around a few more times and willing the pain away, something his teammates still didn’t understand at all, Devenford’s coach called for a timeout. Brett casually jogged over the bleachers where the coach and y/n sat, as if his foot hadn’t been pointing in the wrong direction just a minute ago. He followed y/n’s fiery glare to the player who would be serving a penalty for the rest of the game and chuckled. The six foot tall player who was pushing 200 pounds looked absolutely frightened just from the look on y/n’s face.

The clinking of lacrosse sticks and the encroachment of teenage boy BO brought her attention to the circle the team had formed. She normally hung onto every last word the coach spoke during timeouts, but the way that her boyfriend was looking her up and down every other moment with a devious glint in his eye had her distracted (read: hot and bothered). Before the ref called time for the players to head back to the field, y/n grabbed Brett’s wrist gently. He smirked at her sinfully and she responded with a dramatic eye roll. Focus! She began rattling off the mental notes she had taken during the game, particularly the rival team’s strongest player and his weaknesses. y/n’s eyes drifted away from Brett’s as she was explaining her observations to Brett, giving subtle nods toward certain players and different places on the field. Just as she finished speaking, the ref blew his whistle and summoned the players back to the field. 

Before he headed back out, Brett leaned down, gently cupping y/n’s cheeks while pressing a kiss to her lips. A handful of dissatisfied whines came from his personal cheering squad, causing Brett to chuckle as he leaned up to place a soft kiss on y/n’s forehead. y/n smiled warmly as he pulled away and before he was out of reach she playfully swatted his butt.

“Go get ‘em, wolf man,” she grinned cheekily as he rolled his eyes, jogging back out the center of the field.

The final minutes passed in what seemed like an instant. During that time Brett was able to score two points for the team, taking advantage of the weak spots y/n had pointed out to him. By the time the clock hit zero, Brett pulled the team into the lead and scored the winning shot. y/n jumped out of her seat and cheered louder than the entire section of freshmen behind her, earning her a few sideways glances, not that she cared. Brett was lifted above the shoulders of his teammates while the team captain took hold of the championship trophy. Celebrations ensued and green fireworks went up in the sky, a nice touch that was orchestrated by Lorie. By the time most of the bleachers had been vacated and the opposing team left, the field was practically deserted with the exception of the team, the coach, and y/n.

Brett jogged towards y/n with a grin that could split his face in two before he grabbed her around the waist and smashed his lips against hers. He spun her around, holding her tightly against his chest and watched as her eyes twinkled under the bright lights after he’d pulled away. y/n gently pecked his lips before leaning down and resting her head against his warm chest.

“I couldn’t have done it without you, babe,” Brett whispered into her ear. y/n involuntarily snorted - something that she hated but Brett thought was ridiculously cute - and shook her head. 

“Oh, please. You would’ve done amazing with or without me,” she lightly giggled towards the end. The playful look left Brett’s face and he hooked a finger under y/n’s chin, gently pulling her face up so her eyes met his.

“I’m serious. That team was good. As far as I’m concerned, your name belongs on the trophy too,” he said. His expression was serious but his eyes were soft, just the way y/n loved them. She hummed quietly as she took in his words.

“Maybe,” she gave in before a wicked grin spread across her face, “but you’re much better than them.” Brett chuckled at her antics before he pulled her close to him again, pressing a messy kiss to her neck. After a moment she pushed him away and wrinkled her nose.

“You stink. You can hug me more after you take a shower,” y/n delivered her ultimatum, untangling herself from his arms and turning to pick up his helmet. Brett walked up behind her, grabbing her hips and pulling her back to him. He leaned down to whisper in her ear, his breath tickling her neck as he did so.

“Will you join me?” he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, gently poking her side. y/n rolled her eyes with a grin as she turned around in his arms.

“Perv,” she jabbed with a light smack to his chest.

join my tag list!

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[theseaeaglelives]

Round 11

THE SEA EAGLE

MAKING RUGBY LEAGUE TRULY GREAT AGAIN!!!

Round 11

Manly Sea Eagles      28

Defeated 

Parramatta Eels        6

This was a display of muscle, power and solid defence tinged also with sadness following news of the unfortunate passing of immortal and Manly legend Bob Fulton who for obvious reasons will be the focus of this week’s report (see below). Bozo’s passing no doubt cast a shroud of sadness over the Manly camp, but not surprisingly showing due respect to the great man, Manly smashed the hapless Eels into submission in this away fixture at Bankwest.

Manly now have staked their claim as a genuine top eight side and possible top four contender (as long as Tommy Turbo plays).

Manly were up for a big game and they delivered. Manly have now gone from wooden spoon contenders to top 8 contenders in the space of 6 weeks. In fact as it stands today, only the high rolling Panthers and to a lesser extent, the Filthy Wrestlers are playing in better form.

The impact of the Manly forwards in taking the game to their allegedly more fancied Eels rivals cannot be underestimated in this one. Manly gave it to the Eels forward pack and came up convincing winners. When the Manly forwards dominate in a side that contains the likes of Tommy Turbo (and also the second Turbo known simply as Saab Turbo - ie Jason Saab), backed up with the skill and class of Cherry Baby and Turbo's brother Jake, rising star Josh Schuster and quality goal kicking from Ruben Garrick, it will take a very good side to defeat Manly.  

In this fixture that side was certainly not Parramatta.

Special mention must also go to young Reuben Garrick who is sharp shooter with the kicking boot , and is now showing a lot of class on the wing. Young Garrick, a Gerringong junior formerly mentored by Eel legend Mick Cronin, could well have drifted away this season, but he has held strong, no doubt under the coaching of master coach Des Hasler. Manly are the better for it.

The Sea Eagle would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the performance of ever improving centre Brad Parker. The Sea Eagle now officially retracts all prior criticism of the attributes of Brad Parker in questioning his ability as a genuine first grader. The time has come to announce that Brad Parker certainly is now of first grade quality and the Sea Eagle publicly apologises for all prior criticism in not recognising what obviously the Manly football management and coaching staff clearly did, and that was to persevere with young Parker.

Wallabies now sponsored by Cadbury

Cadbury now sponsor the Wannabees.

How did Darrel Lea let this one slip by, who wouldn’t want to see the brand “Soft Centres” on the back of each Wallaby player???

Still, we still have the prospect of a Wallaby renaming to the Caramello Bears to look forward to.

 Or perhaps:

   And, as a sponsor incentive, if they start winning some big games (to wit a Bledisloe Cup or a World Cup):

  At least we won’t have to put up with QANTAS as a Wannabee sponsor and their Woke view on the world. The handling of the Israel Folau debacle surely must be placed at the feet of this shameful airline (personal opinion).

Woke Soft Co8!ck Award of the Week

Absolute stand out this week. The organisation known as PETA. These clowns go by the name People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Their motto “ANIMALS ARE NOT OURS TO EXPERIMENT ON, EAT, WEAR, USE FOR ENTERTAINMENT, OR ABUSE IN ANY OTHER WAY”

This week these geniuses disputed the traditional methods used  to eradicate the potential life threatening consequences of the western NSW mouse plague (life threatening terms of destruction of food for livestock and for humans to eat). Those methods being poison and associated other nasties to send said rodents to Manyana for ever.

As per the 3AW website on 19 May 2021

Animal rights organisation PETA is advocating for mice, as a mouse plague wreaks havoc in NSW, Queensland and some parts of regional Victoria.

Crops are being destroyed, farmhouses are being invaded, and there are reports some farmers are being forced to spend up to six hours cleaning up mouse droppings.

….

In a radio interview ****, PETA spokesperson XXXX , …

“Our common advice to rodent overpopulation is, of course, to avoid poison which subjects these animals to unbearably painful deaths but also pose the risk of spreading bacteria, and there are alternatives which exist,” she said.

XXXXX blamed governments for the mouse plague.

“It is so unfair that these mice are going to suffer these horrible deaths,” she said.

“It’s the fault of the government because they really should have taken control of this situation earlier .. through humane methods like humane trapping, birth control.

“Their inaction months ago has led to this situation.

“The situation has gotten so bad that not only farmers are suffering, but mice are suffering.””

Sea Eagle Comment:

Whilst cruelty to animals can never be condoned, and live exports fits nicely into that basket, the simple fact remains that humans like beef, chicken, pork, fish, kangaroo, veal and a range of other animals to eat. As well, there is no doubt a wild fish (eg Shark) or mammal (eg bear, dog, lion, tiger etc etc) will not hesitate to take out a human or anything else within its range, in order to eat, or defend themselves, at will, and with impunity. So too will a plague of mice if given half a chance.

Have these clowns never heard of the famous fairy tale the Pied Piper of Hamelin. Perhaps one of them could go through their school things, pull out the old recorder, and take a trip to the Western NSW and see if they can play a nice little ditty to persuade these rodents to follow them into to the Murray Darling basin (PETA members going in first), in order to avoid mice extermination by poison (or attempted extermination by poison by humans). Death under this scenario of course, still being inevitable to said mouse.

The Sea Eagle recognises here that the mice have the upper hand. Firstly though they be small, they be many, and they reproduce at exponential rates. It is probably already too late to stop them.

The Sea Eagle would personally like to see a few card carrying members of PETA, as part of the 2021 Origin series pre game entertainment, to be forced to run successive sets of six against the respective NSW Under 18’s and Queensland Under 18’s forward packs, the task being to see if PETA can break the defensive line. Who wouldn’t want to see that.

And, in the interest of gender equality, perhaps a pre match parade around the ground (if for no other reason than to see how a rugby league crowd might react to a bit of gender equality morphed into animal rights activism) – ie. something along these lines:

  VALE BOB FULTON

Manly Sea Eagles legend and rugby league Immortal Bob Fulton has died at age 74 after a long battle with cancer. The news was announced on 2GB by one of Bob Fulton’s closest friends, Ray Hadley.

The legendary Manly, NSW and Australian representative is survived by his wife Anne, sons Scott, and Brett, and daughter Kristie.

Bob Fulton joined Manly in 1966 aged 18. He never played reserve grade. He  won premierships with the club in 1972 and 1973 before captaining the Sea Eagles to a third title in 1976, in his last game for the club. He also played in two other grand finals for Manly in 1968 and 1970 where Mainly were unsuccessful against the then mighty South Sydney Rabbitohs.

He joined Easts in 1977. He took over as captain-coach of Easts in 1979 but his playing career came to an end midway through the season after succumbing to a knee injury. With Bob Fulton as full time coach, Easts qualified for the 1980 grand final and were minor premiers that season. Unfortunately, Easts lost the 1980 grand final losing to the then very strong Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs (the Entertainers).

At this point, mention needs to be made of the well known phenomenon known simply as “they never go better when they leave the Nest”.

In the case of Bob Fulton, he is an obvious exception to the rule. Whilst it's true he did not win a Premiership for Easts after having left Manly in the late 70’s, it could hardly be said that he went worse, particularly when he was coming off an exceptionally high benchmark. He still played for Australia and captained Australia through to the end of his career. That he  made a GF in his first full year of first grade coaching, proves that he certainly did not go too much worse, in fact he was only just beginning his meteoric rise as a coach.

Bob Fulton of course returned to Manly in 1983, where he stayed for the rest of his rugby league career. After losing the 1983 grand final to the then mighty Parramatta Eels, he steered  Manly to premierships in 1987 and 1996, and coached Australia from 1989 to 1998. During this period he coached Manly to 5 grand finals for two Premiership wins.

This coaching record alone proves that it is well and truly possible for a former Manly player to maintain the same high standards when they return to the Nest, and there's no doubt that Bob Fulton maintained the same high levels of winning success upon his return to Manly as coach and the absolute head of football during that time.

As an Australian Test coach he led the Kangaroos to two World Cup victories and numerous test successes.

Bob Fulton was part of the first four players to be granted status as ‘Immortal’ in 1981, alongside Clive Churchill, Reg Gasnier, and Johnny Raper. To be named in the Immortals is the highest honour in Australian rugby league and there can be no doubt that Bob Fulton deserved that accolade.

 Manly have had some very good players over the history. Players like Roy Bull, Rex Mossop, John O'Neill, Malcolm Reilly, Fred Jones, Max Krillich, Graham Eadie, Terry Randall, Paul Vautin, Des Hasler, Cliff Lyons, Michael O'Connor, Geoff Toovey, Steve Menzies, Glenn and Brett Stewart, to name a few. No doubt there are plenty more, who cannot be named in the interests of brevity. And then there is the current crop of Cherry Baby, Jake Trbojevic and of course his brother Tommy Turbo.

With that said, and in such illustrious company, there is still no doubt that the best Manly player ever was Bob Fulton.

As a Coach, whilst it might be considered a close thing when one considers the top line coaching abilities of the likes of Ron Willey, Frank Stanton and current coach Des Hasler, in the Sea Eagle’s opinion, Bob Fulton was the best Manly coach of all time.

The Sea Eagle had the privilege of watching Bob Fulton play live on many occasions as a young lad growing up. Simply put there was nothing quite like him. He was remarkably strong defensively, had blinding acceleration, he could draw and pass, he could offload, he could chip over the top regather and score, and he was not injury prone. Above all else, he was always the difference between Manly winning and not losing, when it really mattered.

The Sea Eagle recalls seeing on one occasion in the 70’s, at a church at Manly, a sign displayed that asked the simple question “What would you do if Jesus returned tomorrow?”. In a time when Graffiti was unheard of, someone had written their well-researched answer underneath said sign, which was “put him at 5/8 and move Bobby Fulton to centre”.

There is not much more that needs or can be said.

May he rest in peace.

 THE SEA EAGLE

[930club]

GET FAMILIAR: Weeks of August 5 and August 12, 2019

COMING SOON: half●alive

Release Title: Now, Not Yet (LP)

Release Date: Friday, August 9, 2019

What To Expect: Using their uplifting, quirky electronic music and a must-watch viral video for their song “still feel.”, Los Angeles-based trio half●alive have suddenly found themselves on the brink of superstardom in only a year’s time. Josh Taylor, the former frontman of Long Beach band The Moderates, left his old outfit to form half●alive along with drummer Brett Kramer in 2017, later adding bassist J Tyler Johnson to round out the group. Since the release of “still feel.” in August 2018, the band has experienced a whirlwind of success, racking up millions upon millions of views on Youtube and nearly selling out a 12-date US tour in early 2019. The band has already put out a few EPs and singles, but they are preparing to release their first full-length studio project this Friday with Now, Not Yet. 

The album’s tracklist features a few songs that fans will already be familiar with in “arrow” and “RUNAWAY�� as well as their aforementioned viral hit, but the band has previously shown the ability to incorporate funk, pop, and rock elements into all of their records so there’s no telling what the rest of Now, Not Yet will sound like. The latest offering from the band before the album’s drop is “ok ok?” which sees the group slowing things down a bit while adding in a couple of psychedelic harmonies and some good ol’ fashioned electric guitar riffs for good measure. The group has been excitingly innovative when it comes to how they present themselves and their music, and with Taylor at the helm, it seems like almost anything is possible for these three dreamers.

Don’t miss half●alive at 9:30 Club on September 27th - bring your dance shoes and grab your tickets here!

WEBSITE ● TWITTER ● FACEBOOK ● MUSIC

LOCAL LEGENDS: IDK

Release Title: ISHEREAL (LP)

Release Date: TBD (August)

What To Expect: PG County’s own IDK has masterminded quite the album release campaign for his upcoming project ISHEREAL, scheduled to drop sometime this month. Starting at the end of 2018, the rapper began posting percentages to his Instagram stories, Twitter feed, and in Facebook posts and claiming that they were in relation to the status of ISHEREAL. Each time the number seemed to inch closer and closer to 100%, but there was no discernable pattern for months and months. Finally on May 19, he tweeted, “HELLO FOLKS. FIRST SONG FROM ISHEREAL DROPS ON MY BIRTHDAY. TELL A FRIEND,” and, just like that, the real fun began. 

Just a few days later, IDK unleashed “Digital,” a biting, abrasive track, unto the world. “Digital” sees the young spitter reflectively delivering bars about his past and how it led him to this point in his career. IDK has always had a penchant for storytelling, and the song doesn’t shy away from getting into the gritty details of his upbringing and the environments he grew up in. Fans, who were already excited by the single, were even more pleasantly surprised when he took to social media again on June 18 to hint at even more big news. The next day, Forbes published the exclusive premier of his new venture, an independent label associated with Warner Music that he would be heading up called CLUE. It was a massive announcement for an artist who has lived in relative obscurity outside the DMV to this point, but IDK wasn’t done making waves just yet. 

On July 8, he filled his fans in on a digital scavenger hunt that would reveal a secret message about the project. Within hours, there were hordes  of fans attempting to crack the code, which ended up reading “ALBUM NEXT MONTH, SINGLE THIS MONTH.” The final step in the rollout was the release of the single “24,” which premiered on Zane Lowe’s Beats1Radio station. “24” follows the short and sweet model of “Digital,” and sees IDK using a boom bap flow and ominous production to create a captivating and slightly disturbing listening experience. ISHEREAL is due this month with many speculating that it will drop sometime over the next two weeks. All I know is that if IDK put this much thought into the rollout, I absolutely cannot wait to see what he has in store for us with this album. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for what could easily be the project of the year.

WEBSITE ● TWITTER ● FACEBOOK ● MUSIC

WILD CARD: AUGUST 08

Release Title: Happy Endings EP (EP)

Release Date: Thursday, August 8, 2019

What To Expect: 88RISING is the mass media company at the forefront of bridging Asian culture with hip-hop and modern music. It’s the brainchild of industry vet Sean Miyashiro, who described it as a “hybrid management, record label, video production and marketing company” to Highsnobiety just last week. Featuring a roster full of heavy-hitters such as Rich Brian, Joji and the Higher Brothers, 88RISING has established itself as a group that will turn heads for years to come with their combination of talented artists and business minds. They’ve even curated their own music festival called “Head In The Clouds,” which will have its second run this fall, and while it’s easy to point to Miyashiro’s steady leadership as the driving force behind their commercial success, it’s a little harder to pinpoint why their music resonates with so many fans across the globe. Enter AUGUST 08, the group’s most elusive and seemingly out-of-place member; that is until you hear him sing.

“AUGUST 08 is the pillar of the creative family that is 88RISING. As a songwriter, he’s 88RISING’s secret weapon when it comes to creating hits for Joji, Rich Brian, NIKI, and many more,” said Ones To Watch in mid-2018, going on to say that, “[h]e is the glue to this family that represents music’s ascendant globalism.” The LA-native started out his career under his birth name August Grant according to his Apple Music profile, landing a feature on DJ Khaled’s summer smash “I’m The One” before landing on Rich Brian’s 2018 track “Amen” and subsequently releasing his debut single “Funeral” as AUGUST 08 through 88RISING. Joining the 88RISING team helped kickstart his career, and he’s been steadily racking up co-signs from some of the industry’s biggest names ever since. 

Earlier this year he released the club-rap banger “Simple Pleasures,” which recently scored a remix from DC’s GoldLink in July. It’s a funky, afro-futuristic track that shows an exciting new direction for the young R&B singer. He announced that he would be releasing a project titled Happy Endings EP that is appropriately set to drop this Thursday, August 8. If the EP follows the precedent of “Simple Pleasures,” then we’re in for a high-energy, electro-influenced project that is sure to be the perfect backdrop for a night on the town. That said, things are never how they appear on the surface with the 88RISING crew, so it seems like we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out exactly what AUGUST 08 has up his sleeve. Check him out, and make sure to follow the rest of the 88RISING crew as they continue to work their way to the top of the music charts.

WEBSITE ● TWITTER ● FACEBOOK ● MUSIC

- Matt Singer

[mothermaidenclone-blog]

Rampage or Rock, Ape, Lizard...and a Really Big Wolf

Well, Rampage was the most fun I’ve had at the cinema in a long time. This could be thanks, in part, to having absolutely zero expectations, but I have to give credit where credit’s due, Rampage was just a really good laugh. It was unashamedly a stupid film, but didn’t - for the most part - fall prey to the many sexist tropes that unfortunately seem to come with B-movies.

*Rampage Spoilers Follow*

Although Rampage is basically about big animals smashing stuff, with a sub-plot of Davis Okoye (Dwayne Johnson) and a massive gorilla being bros, there was a female lead. Dr. Kate Caldwell (Naomie Harris) features as a capable scientist and relentless investigator, used as a scapegoat in a vast corporate conspiracy, who is determined to uncover the truth, right the wrongs that her research has been used for and clear her name. It is always wonderful to see a talented black actress take the lead in anything, especially in the genre of monster movies, which is usually dominated by swooning blonds. In alarming and spectacular news, at no point did her shirt become tactically torn - despite Kate surviving a helicopter crash - and she doesn’t snog the male lead at the end! Woohoo! Kate is introduced in a way that I feel is usually reserved for male characters; she is someone who’s fallen on hard times and is struggling to get her life back together. So, when we meet her, she is woken up late by a phone call, stumbles out of bed, throws some clothes over the underwear she was sleeping in and drinks something out of a cup that was just lying around. Whilst this is obviously not a positive portrayal of a woman, it could be a realistic one, and it’s always interesting to see female characters being given the opportunity to display stereotypically male behaviours. People aren’t straightforward and we don’t all react the same way to problems. At least it makes a difference from women being shown watching sad romance movies and eating ice cream out of the tub as their coping mechanism. Also, Kate is given plenty of time to showcase her many talents and positive attributes as the film progresses.

One of her great traits is that she continually calls Davis out on his shit. Firstly, when he and government agent Harvey Russell (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) square up for a round of macho intimidation, she interjects, “Let’s all take a breath…Or we can all get in each other’s faces and see who’s the toughest.” In addition, when Davis describes his ludicrous plan to fly a helicopter down a collapsing building as, “We just need to get enough lift to stay on top of the building as it falls, you know, just like riding an avalanche,” Kate replies with the only sane response, which is, “No, I don’t know!” There’s no implicit, doe-eyed trust in Davis’ machismo methods and madcap schemes, all of that has to be earned.

As well as an abundance of common sense, Kate also displays a number of practical skills, such as using her brain - not just brute strength - to smash a window without hurting anyone and pulling off some impressive hacking, even if it is very Hollywood silly. Therefore, Kate acts as a good counterpoint to Davis’ brawn and emotional behaviour as far as animals are concerned; she is an intelligent and rational scientist, as well as an exceedingly sensible and pragmatic human being.

Whilst Kate has to share the limelight with Davis as the hero, the antagonist of Rampage was undoubtedly a woman. Claire Wyden (Malin Åkerman) was a superb B-movie villain and mastermind. Whilst culpability was technically divided with her brother Brett (Jake Lacy), he was portrayed as an almost Shakespearian fool; comically sweating and stress eating pop tarts - another example of supposedly traditional coping mechanisms being gender swapped. Claire was two-dimensionally evil - the first thing we hear her say is, “Either you come home with my research, or you don’t come home at all,” to an astronaut on an exploding space station. Usually, this would be a bone of contention for me, but this is a B-movie, baddies aren’t supposed to be complex. I think it’s enough of a victory that she is the vastly more competent sibling by a million miles, the Brain to her brother’s Pinky if you will. Claire remains cool, collected and in control while Brett falls apart. Naturally, she doesn’t survive this - Rampage is a monster movie after all, of course she is gobbled up by a giant gorilla, what else did you expect? The factor to consider when weighing up sexism is if it’s something that only affects one gender, and in this case, the answer is no. Brett is also subjected to a gruesome comedy death; his is in fact much more visceral, he is squashed flat in a bloody mess by falling debris. So, in the eyes of Rampage at least, characters seem to be judged by their deeds, not their gender.

Two minor named female characters remain; the first is the aforementioned astronaut, Dr. Kerry Atkins (Marley Shelton). Whilst we only briefly see her before her escape pod explodes in the vacuum of space, she shows great courage and willingness to endanger herself for a greater cause. For someone who’s just a device to get some canisters to land on a bunch of animals, she is shown to be very strong in her short time on screen, it’s a shame she was killed for such an arbitrary plot point.

The second background female character is Amy (Breanne Hill), a colleague or possibly student of Davis. Amy is a bit more of a dilemma, as she is portrayed as much more capable and calm in the face of danger than her male counterpart, Connor (Jack Quaid). However, she does flirt in a really gross way with Davis, pretty much throwing herself at him and saying that she wants to learn about “submission techniques.” On the other hand, Connor is also portrayed as a bit of a reprehensible idiot, making up adventure stories to impress Amy and coming out with some fairly offensive white saviour bullshit. It could be that both of these characters simply serve to make Davis look like an all-round wonderfully good person, but a woman offering herself up to him sexually is always going to come off as creepy and seems unnecessary.

Overall, most of the women in this dumb movie are surprisingly confident and capable. They may play up to stereotypes here and there, but they’re character based ones - such as pragmatic scientist and megalomaniacal villain - rather than ones involving gender. Mostly, it was just really fun to have a guilt free laugh at a silly B-movie without having to bludgeon the bit of my brain that thinks about the representation of women into silence.

And now for some asides:

When Dwayne Johnson choked that guy out he says, “That’s a big arm, don’t fight it, sleepy time.” I really hope he talks about his body like that in real life.

Also he has like five had signals that communicate the whole of the English language? Amazing.

I really related to that guy saying, “I’ve started using vegan deodorant, I smell like guacamole.” I just had to put some vegan shampoo in the bin because it made me retch, please make things that smell nice and aren’t evil!

[aion-rsa]

Thomas Jane on That Expanse Season 5 Cliffhanger

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Warning: This The Expanse article contains MAJOR spoilers for Season 5, Episode 3.

While most of The Expanse Season 5 will be dropped on a weekly basis, we got the first three episodes of the all new season all in one go—and what a three episodes they are. The last of the three installments, “Mother,” ends with one of the stealth asteroids Marco Inaros launched at Earth at the end of Season 4 finally hitting the planet. We talked to the director of the episode—none other than Thomas Jane (aka Miller) himself—about how the climactic scene came together, as well as, generally, what it was like to step behind the camera for an episode of The Expanse.

Den of Geek: I am curious how this all came about? What made you want to direct an episode of The Expanse? This feels like the sort of thing that maybe you talked about for a while and it’s finally happening?

Thomas Jane: I started a production company called Renegade with my producing partner, Courtney Lauren Penn, and we hit the ground running. We have already got three films in the can, and we’re working on a television show that I’m going to shoot in Australia with a huge streamer attached. This has always been part of my master plan, which was to move into producing and directing. Of course, I love acting and will continue to do it. But after 25 years in the business, I’ve got something to offer. I’ve got something to offer actors and the storytellers. For me, this was a great way to pop my cherry in television, because I’ve been with this crew as a family for five years. I was the first actor they brought on board and because they got me on board, they were able to kick the show off.

It’s always been close to my heart. Science fiction is something that I have grown up with and loved my entire life. The show is unique and showed essentially, if you remember the movie Alien and you remember Parker and Brett, they were the coal miners, they were just work-a-day mechanics. That sensibility where space becomes so internalized into Earth’s society, and it’s literally like being a coal miner or an electrician. It’s a job. I loved that world and I’ve always wanted to move into directing.

I directed a film about 10 years ago called Dark Country. Of course, I learned so much on that film, but it also solidified the fact that I am a director and I’m good at it. If you’re good at it, you got something to offer, well, it’s my duty to do it. Go ahead. I’m sure you have another question. I could just ramble on for days.

I think every episode of The Expanse is an ambitious one, but there’s so many storylines for you to work with in this episode. Did you have one that ended up being your favorite to shoot?

Well, we’ve been talking about meeting Naomi’s kid forever. That was a big deal. When the writers sat me down, producers sat me down and said, “Listen, this episode’s about one thing. People have been waiting for this moment for a long time.” So that was the focus creatively. I knew that everything had to revolve around that.

The other storyline that I found fascinating was with Drummer, because she gets to expose herself in ways that you would not expect. Coming from such a hard-ass bitch. I love the character of Drummer. I have a soft spot for her. We worked hard to bring everything we could. It was such a great opportunity. The writers did such a fantastic job with those scenes, I just wanted to honor them and honor the actors who I’ve known for years.

The transition was actually surprisingly easy. They took to accepting me as a director right away. I speak their language, and as an actor, the most important thing is that you’ve got a director who watches you, knows when it’s good, sees your best stuff, uses it, and knows when it’s bad and knows that you’re going to get another take because it wasn’t there. When an actor feels that, they feel like somebody’s got their back. Man, that creates a freedom to mess it up. Actors, they live with the fear of doing a terrible performance and having some director use it in the show. To tell you the truth, I had something to offer. I knew that I was going to get the best that I could out of these actors and use it. And I did. I’m very proud of the work that they all did. It was exceptional, if I do say so.

You get a few of these scenes in this episode where the actors are asked to do a lot. I think of the Philip, Naomi scene, I think of a few of the Drummer scenes, and also you have the Chrisjen scene where she’s calling her husband.

Oh my, that was fun.

In terms of which episode you would direct, was it more of a scheduling thing or were there elements like that where they thought that that would be a good fit for you?

They absolutely are strategic in who they assign. Breck Eisner, who I shadowed for a month, is our director. He’s our star director. He directs the first and the last episodes, and he has for a long time. Because he really brings it to the party. He’s great with actors, he’s great with directing, he’s great with getting it done, and people love him. I got to shadow him. He’s our star director. They assigned me 503 specifically because of the dramatic challenges that we were asking the actors to do. They chose right. That was my strong suit and we got an episode where I really got to shine with all the actors, the actors got to really shine and that’s really what I wanted.

When I would go into Alcon and sit down with everybody, that was my pitch. I was like, “I can take these actors and get the best out of them and really have some fun doing it.” I think they were maybe a little more nervous about the action stuff or the special effects type stuff. Those were the challenges for me, so I storyboarded everything and worked closely with our stunt coordinators and our camera crew. I’m proud of everything we did.

You have these very important, dramatic scenes with characters we’ve known for a long time, but this episode also ends with that big moment with the first asteroid hitting earth. Which is a huge cliffhanger. These first three episodes are dropping all together. It’s going to be the end of this three-hour premiere. Can you talk about what you wanted to do with that scene and if it came out the way you imagined?

Well, originally we had that scene take place on the end of a small pier, like a fishing pier, a tiny little thing. We had this lone man standing at the end of the pier, and originally he was fishing. This thing evolved that maybe he’s not a fishermen, maybe he’s feeding the fish. But how that evolved was because the water was so rough on the morning that we were going out there, and I had the whole thing storyboarded, I had a shot from under the water with the guy feeding the fish, and I had the fish under there. I had all these wonderful storyboards and we had to throw them all out because the Coast Guard wouldn’t let us out on the pier because the water was too rough.

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This is the job of the director, “You got 15 minutes, where are we going to put the camera? Can’t go out on the pier. All those storyboards, throw them in the trash.” And thinking on your feet, deciding how we were going to tell that story, and then somebody came up with the idea of flying fish. It was like, “Well, we can have the fish and they jump out of the ocean so we see which way they’re going, and then they all suddenly turn and rush off the other way. Then that’s right before the asteroid hits.”

I’m proud of the way that that climax turned out. I also thought, “We end the episode with this giant meteor crashing into the earth,” so I decided to begin the episode with a tub of ice cubes, and someone’s smashing their ice scooper into these ice cubes, and you see all the ice cubes dance in one-third moon gravity, first scene takes place on the moon, and I thought that would be a fun bookend. A way to begin the episode with a crash and end the episode with a crash.

It’s very effective because it also just reminds the viewer of that thing that’s hanging over the whole episode, and has been hanging over the whole season.

We do get a Miller mention in this episode as well. I don’t know, just what was that like for you to direct a scene where your character from this other role you’ve played on this production is being mentioned?

I’m standing three feet away as they’re talking about Miller. It’s just a little bit surreal. There was a little wink in there. I wore my fedora every day. I figured if they’re looking for the director, just look around for the guy in the hat.

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The first three episode of The Expanse Season 5 are now available to watch on Amazon Prime Video. Episode 4 will drop next Wednesday, December 23rd.

The post Thomas Jane on That Expanse Season 5 Cliffhanger appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3mjsUta

[loveyboyslovin]

NovaHD Laser Tag

NSFW ~ NovaHD ~ Laser Tag, Kissing, Teasing, Surprise Ending

Based on a popular laser tag prompt; “Take me laser tagging and then push me into a corner and kiss me. Then shoot me and walk away”

AO3

The Cow Chop crew had decided to go out for a day of fun in LA. The weather was beautiful and they were ahead on their video schedule, providing the perfect opportunity to relax and reward themselves for their hard work.

Joe had heard about a new laser tag company that had just opened up in the city, and convinced the others to visit the venue and play a few games.

Everyone was excited, it had been ages since they had last played, and they hurriedly donned their sensor vests and guns.

Every member of Cow Chop was pretty average at laser tagging, all with the exception of Aleks, of course. He had taken the name Red Leader and was absolutely destroying everyone else on the field. By the end of the first game, he had a whopping 30 kills and hadn’t even died once.

As they all waited in the break room, Red Leader topped the leaderboard by a mile. When Aleks went to get himself a drink of water, the others all huddled together to plan.

“He’s absolutely fucking mental”, exclaimed Trevor, “We can’t even get close to him!”

“When you kill a player with a high killstreak, you earn all their points and more. Killing him is the only way we can possibly win this”, Joe explained.

“And just how in the hell do you suppose we’re gonna do that?! He’s like a bloody ghost!”, Brett cursed, “Come on James, he’s your boyfriend. Don’t you have any ideas?”

“I have a plan”, James grinned evilly, “But you guys are gonna have to keep him distracted. I’ll do the rest.”

Soon, the second game started and the plan was set in motion. Trevor, Joe and Brett had managed to confine Aleks near one of the edges of the map, but he was still raking in kills and hadn’t died.

“Is that all you’ve got?!”, his voice echoing across the barriers and his laughter resonant.

James used the distraction to his advantage, silently creeping closer before lunging out from his hiding place towards his boyfriend. Aleks saw the movement from the corner of his eye, and spun quickly around, trying to lift his blaster and deliver a death shot. James was faster.

James used the momentum to push Aleks against the back wall of the arena and pin him there. All Aleks could see in the darkness was the glow of their fluorescent vests reflecting in a pair of deep and ravenous eyes as they drew closer to him.

“J-James… What the f…”, Aleks’ startled yelp was quickly cut off as James’ tongue invaded his mouth.

James kissed him roughly, smashing his lips against those of his lover, and Aleks immediately melted back against the wall at the familiar feeling of his boyfriend taking control. It was like a fire had been ignited inside him, and he hungrily drew James closer, frantically claiming the mouth that was his to explore. All thought of the game had completely left his mind, drowned out by the intense waves of arousal that pulsed through his body. Aleks dropped his blaster and it bounced on the elastic cord connecting to his vest, as his hands weaved through James’ hair and he gently tugged. As James deepened the kiss, he was able to twist his hand under Aleks’ sensor vest and shirt, ghosting over his chest muscles to tease his nipple, coaxing a ragged moan from his boyfriend. Alek’s head snapped back against the wall and his eyes slid shut as all the air in his lungs was suddenly expelled in a heady gasp. He could feel his knees grow week as arousal pooled low in the pit of his stomach. James used the opportunity to kiss and suck a trail along his jawline and neck. Aleks could feel James’ hot breath as it tickled his ear, and he didn’t think it was possible for him to feel any more vibrantly alive than he did in this very moment…

“Game Over, Aleksandr”

The deep growl in his ear startled him from his desperate stupor, and his eyes snapped open just in time to watch James step back and shoot him point blank in the chest, before smirking and disappearing into the darkness. A siren signalled the end of the match and he looked up to the scoreboard to find that James’ team had secured victory by killing him.

As he leaned against the wall for support, Aleks tried to control his heavy breathing and cursed the lust-filled fog that had clouded his judgement.

Once he’d calmed himself down, he fixed his ruffled hair and clothes, and took off after James, vowing that his boyfriend would pay for this once he got him home tonight.

[liveindiatimes]

Who’s this batting like Sachin: When Former Pakistan captain mistook Sehwag as Tendulkar - cricket

https://www.liveindiatimes.com/whos-this-batting-like-sachin-when-former-pakistan-captain-mistook-sehwag-as-tendulkar-cricket/

Being compared to the greats of the game can be a big shot in the arm for any young cricketer. In India, if that comparison is with legendary Sachin Tendulkar then the scrutiny is double. Nobody knows it better than current India captain Virat Kohli, who is always compared to Tendulkar on stats and records. 20-year-old Prithvi Shaw has been seen as the ‘next Tendulkar’ ever since he broke into the Indian side with his sheer audacity of hitting fast bowlers anywhere he wants at such a young age. But before them, there was one Indian batsman who was not only compared to Sachin Tendulkar but also mistook as the legend during his early days.

Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif said he mistook Sehwag for Sachin during an India vs Sri Lanka ODI match. The Pakistan wicket-keeper batsman said he was watching the match on TV and Sehwag’s mannerisms, his batting style, his pads, everything reminded him of the great man when he was not even playing in that game.

“I remember an India-Sri Lanka game, Sachin was not playing in it and I was watching it on TV and I thought ‘who is this batting like Sachin?’ it was Sehwag batting at that time who was batting like Sachin. Similar pads, similar helmet. He was perhaps a bit bulky than Sachin,” Latif said in a YouTube show called caught behind.

Also Read | Alastair Cook names India batsman who can match Brian Lara’s genius

Latif, who played 37 Tests and 166 ODIs for Pakistan, said Sehwag was one of the most impactful Indian batsmen he has ever seen.

“I don’t need stats to describe him. He was such an impactful player, an absolute match-winner.”

Sehwag made his India debut in an ODI against Pakistan in 1999 as a middle-order batsman. He was dropped after just one game only to make a strong comeback in ODIs the next year. But his real fame came when he smashed a century on Test debut in South Africa on a seaming track in Bloemfontein.

Coming in to bat at No.6, Sehwag scored 101 off 173 balls with 19 fours against a South Africa attack comprising Shaun Pollock, Nantie Hayward, Makhaya Ntini, Jacques Kallis and Lance Klusener.

Also Read | Knew Sachin would hit over mid-wicket: Wasim Akram reveals plan that turned 1999 India vs Pakistan Test

Sehwag stitched a 220-run stand with Sachin Tendulkar, who top-scored for India with 155. India lost that match by 9 wickets but in Sehwag they found a player for the future.

Sehwag never looked back after that and he was reborn as a cricketer when former India captain Sourav Ganguly asked him to open the batting in both Tests and ODIs.

Sehwag, who is the only Indian to have two triple centuries in Test cricket retired with an average of 49.34. He scored 23 hundreds in 104 Tests accumulating 8586 runs.

In ODIs, the Delhi cricketer had 8273 runs 251 matches.

Lauding Sehwag’s fearless attitude in front of world’s best fast bowlers like Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee, Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar, Latif said the former India opener was an impactful player.

“He used to play to dominate. We are used to openers who were a bit circumspect at the beginning, gauging how the pitch is, who the bowler is whether McGrath, Lee, Wasim Akram or Shoaib Akhtar. But Sehwag was someone who feared none. He was an impactful player, had a great influence in his team and players like him succeed in world cricket,” Latif said.

  Despite playing with an India team that had Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly, Sehwag made a name for himself and is now regarded one of the best openers in Test cricket – All this despite having an unconventional style of batting and ‘lack of footwork’.

Latif hailed Sehwag’s technique, which was often labelled as unorthodox.

“He had a beautiful balance. People say that he had limited feet movement but that was perhaps the reason why he was so successful. And coaches nowadays have started to say that keep your balance with minimum foot movement,” Latif said.

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