#but that is really all i know of anything ab preacher | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

ringmyheart · 4 years ago

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Dating Johan headcanons? Your Vinjin one was literal ✨gold✨ and yk so now i'm super curious about how you'd think dating Johan would be like.

Thank you!! 😭 I hope I did this well <33 also a warning, skip to where I wrote [HERE] if you’re uncomfortable w reading anything ab religion. Also I didn’t mean to offend any religion I am religious myself and didn’t specify any to avoid saying something incorrectly !

If you’re religious, he’s very VERY wary and cautious. Not of you but of the people you’re with, and it worries him a LOT

If u tell him ur hanging out with church friends he’s either insisting he comes too or asking a suspicious amount of questions of ur whereabouts and watching u from afar. He’ll probably step in on accident cuz he saw them like reach for ur shoulder or smmn and intervene cuz he thought like u were ab to get kidnapped but they were just gonna bring ur awareness to the food store around u, he’d be so on edge

He doesn’t like entering churches but if u go and u won’t negotiate on wether u can or can’t go, he’ll risk it all and come too

He’ll rough up the preacher after the service tho like “what’s your thing ???? Like what do you do.” And ask them questions completely unrelated and honestly kind of confusing to intimidate them

Like, “oh so this is all u do? U just preach?”

“Uh, yeah I love my job and am devoted. :) 👍”

“u have no other job? Nothing?”

“No...”

“R u married?”

“Yep!”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

“What??”

And he meant like yeah good keep ur eyes off of u his s/o or SMM but it came out off putting and frankly indiscernible 😭

While in the service he might even start to shake cuz he’s so worried if he sees AC or hears it running he’ll grab ur hand and book it cuz he thinks ur being poisoned 😭

[HERE]

Likes to share things with you, like clothes and all. U know that black jacket he always wears it’s also ALWAYS on u too

Half of it is cuz he’s stingy w money naturally so it’s like less money spent if u guys r sharing ur food and clothes and all

So ur always wearing his stuff but in return he’s always wearing urs and like even shoes. If ur taller than him and have clothes that were his size he has ur old wardrobe in his closet now as hand me downs

HE PROBABLY wraps ur shirt around his wrist as a good luck charm before fights. Before he gets into a showdown he’ll wrap it around like his arm and kiss it and say ur name or whatever and he swears if he does this tradition he cannot lose he won’t let himself

Because u don’t spend much money, u have wired earphones (nothing wrong w that ofc) HOWEVER if ur listening to music together and he runs into someone he has beef with he’ll start swinging and ur just there like 🧍🏽‍♀️ cuz the earphones r still connected and he’s fighting to the death w like sweet but psycho playing in the background

He loves physical activities to do together. If ur not active u probably will be now forcefully bc he’ll be like please and u can’t say no so now ur hiking every day

Forgets to wait up for u bc he gets rlly ahead of himself the amount of times u get lost on the trail is unbelievable and he eventually establishes the “if u lose me, HUG A TREE AND I WILL FIND YOU” rule w u and now three times a week ur hugging a tree and waiting for him to come pick u up in the middle of the woods

He’ll apologize and tries to teach u the layout but u don’t memorize it ever

Also loves biking and gets u matching bikes, likes walking the dogs w u, going on runs etc. if u cannot run he grabs ur hand and is all its okay u got this :)) like thanks for the sentiment but it doesn't help💀

DO NOT DO HOBBIES W THIS MF!!!!!!!!! If u like to dance and tell him he’ll do it with you and within two days he leagues better than you it would suck

He is so good at picking things up if u play just dance for fun he will kick ur ass and ur like bro I thought we were just playing having fun wtf 😕 and he genuinely wasn’t even trying

So if ur competitive don’t put him on the hobbies ur into cuz he will start it a beginner and be better than u within three days

He’ll feel so bad tho if he finds out u don’t like it. Like when u drew stuff he’d sit by u and draw too and when u saw he was advancing to surpass u u stopped. He thought u just grew out of it but finds u in like a closet drawing to hide from him

But he loves doing stuff ur interested in w u even if it’s something he was never into. If u like it he likes it by association

The type of boyfriend to buy you ten fruits if you say you like one.

In passing you mention liking watermelon the next day you come home there are ten on your counter and he’s like hey :DD!

Gets you a matching dog god jacket like him so u two and ur dogs r matching always

He doesn’t care if you’re wrong, he will die defending you!!! U r always in the right what do u mean the total cost is 10.00$?? What do u mean it says 10$ on the register?? They said it was 8$ u heard them

He’s pretty reserved when it comes to personal stuff and just everything in general. U will be three years into the relationship and realize u don’t know what his last name is??!!!

He’s a “I didn’t see why it was so important” mf... if u ask ab his past or occupation he’ll tell you but in a way that underplays it extremely. Because he isn’t that ready to be vulnerable and open up as well as thinking u might not care or you’ll leave him

He’s a pretty jump-y person because he had to be alert and on his toes most of the time. If you surprise him by accident by being too quiet then appearing right by him he’ll jump three feet up like a cat or sock you in the face then apologize profusely and tear up feeling horrible

He’s pretty perceptive but when caught off gaurd he gets very nervous, can’t help it

While watching tv shows or bingeing a series he will narrate everytning to u. Because he really enjoys the show and wants to make sure u understand in the fullest too and enjoy it. If he didn’t understand sometning in the beginning but then understands you HAVE to know too

“Oh my god he just shot him....”

“The dog RUNS AWAY!?”

“She said she loves him oh my gosh...”

“They’re kissing?”

Like yes Johan.... we know.... if you tell him he’ll stop but it’s like programmed in his DNA to not shut up while watching tv he can’t help it

He’ll also pause the show to turn to u and go “I KNOW HIM!!”

And ur like “rlly?? OMGG”

And he’ll go “YEAH he’s also in that other show remember :O” and u realize he does not know him recognizes him

😑😔 .

He’s not that updated on internet and how humor has progressed over the past few years so if u send him any meme over 2015 he will be so confused

Send this and he’ll text back “😅 why did you send me this?”

“Is that sonic?”

“Are these your texts with someone?”

Otherwise he’s a pretty normal texted. He uses punctuation sometimes which will throw u off gaurd cuz it will be like “I love you.” And it’s like sweet but why did he add the period?? But he doesn’t always so it’s regular

If playing sports or doing something competitive he threatens everyone in the beginning to let you win and always lets u get the score/goal/net, whatever. He pulls everyone into him prengame by their collar and is like “listen ur letting them win got that. If I see u take that ball from them....”

He’s a helicopter boyfriend he is always seeing what ur doing what ur up to how u are, etc. protective to a fault basically

Holds u back when crossing the street as if ur seven years old

I have more I could say, but I’ll inevitable write another johan relationship hcs some day again so I’ll save it for then 😅 I hope this was what I wanted! Thank you for requesting ❤️❤️

#Johan x reader #Johan seong x reader #Lookism x reader #Lookism #Johan seong

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mccoyyy · 4 years ago

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Bring historical accuracy to Carlisle's early life, pretty please 🥰

absolutely (and thank you @pandabooraccoon and the other two anons who asked something similar to this too I love you so much). I'm putting this under a read more cause, yeah

ok, to start of with I am nowhere near an expert, but this time period in history really fascinates me cause there was so much going on.

so Carlisle was born in 1640′s London, and at the time there was a shit tonne of religious and political upheaval going on. You had the Union of Crowns, disagreements over the Church systems, covenanting, Civil War and Cromwell, Executions and the removal and restoration of the Monarchy. Shit was mad. But I’m gonna start with Carlisle’s dad (I’m going to call him Abraham but full credit for that one goes to @panlight) cause I have so many thoughts

Abraham was a pastor in 1640. He most likely started working when he was breached and then took over as Pastor (Preacher) after his dad died. I’m going to say he was born around 1620, married in 1639ish and then Carlisle was born a year later. So he would be what, 20 when Carlisle was born.

First of the bat, there is no way that Abraham would still be alive and kicking when Carlisle was 23. The life expectancy back then was just under 40, so a 43 year old Abraham cutting about burning witches (and we’ll get to that in just a moment) just isn’t realistic but neither are vampires so oh well. In terms of religion if were being historically accurate, then Abraham would have most likely been an Anglican pastor as that was the dominant form of church in England at the time and he would have been fucked up by the mob/church/general public/all of the above for being anything else

However, it gets sticky when you bring in the idea of Puritanism. I firmly believe that Abraham would have loved Cromwell and puritanism (cause I like to headcanon him as an utter dick) but if were doing that then it creates a problem. If Abe was a devout Protestant Anglican, he would have believed in the divine right of kings (a monarch has no authority other than the word of god and therefore doesn't need to listen to anyone else) and therefore seen Charles I as the mouth of God, and had issues with the whole execution thing, so if Abe was a Puritan, then he would probably have to be a Presbyterian (dominant form of church in Scotland and also the parliamentarians) but again, this causes problems cause no one really liked Presbyterianism (understatement). It’s possible that he could have been influenced by Cromwell and switched from Anglicanism but religion back then was very different to what it was now, it took a lot to get people to change their ideas over faith (see the plague) so I’m gonna go out on a limb and blame Charles I who first started to undermine parliament and try to start Absolutism which lead Abe to change his loyalties. Either that or he supported Cromwell’s agenda but didn’t agree with execution which is the most likely option tbh.

With Abraham out of the way, we can now move on to our boy. Carlisle, the son of a pastor in 1640, there is no fucking way that this dude didn’t know the year/date he was born. Know why? cause dates were recorded by none other than the fucking church. aka his father. Carlisle is just bad with dates but that's ok buddy i guess that happens when your like 300. Secondly, his dad wouldn’t have raised him. It would have been left up to his mum, but cause she wasn't around he would have been raised by a wet nurse until he was breeched and entered the adult world at the ripe and grown up age of six (at least I think but I’m not 100% sure) when he would have started helping his father with sermons, and received an education of some form (probably a clerics education). Either way, he would have been helping his father at a very young age and exposed to so much shit

Back to Abraham for a wee second. Smeyer writes that he hunted down and burned vampires but again, this isn’t likely. Vampire hunters did exist but not in London. They were most common in Bulgarian/Serbian beliefs and even then they were very different to the modern idea of vampire hunters. And secondly, they wouldn’t have been burned! pyres weren’t used in the 1600s and instead would probably have been killed through hangings, torture or trials to determine whether they were a witch or not. So the good news is, Carlisle didn’t have to watch women being burned alive from the age of like six, he would only have to watch women being drowned, tortured, disembowelled, branded and hanged! and not just women accused of being witches, but most likely Catholics too!

We don’t know much about Carlisle’s life from his birth to his ‘death’, so I’m gonna take creative liberty and make some stuff up. London in the 1640s was utterly awful. It was dark, bleak, and really smelly. He was pretty lucky in terms of the plague cause the only major outbreaks occurred just before him and just after him (1603, 25 and 65) but there would have been the odd outbreak. I like to believe that Carlisle was an argumentative little shit and from the age of like 10 argued with his dad about literally everything. Canon says that Carlisle didn’t agree with his fathers particular brand of faith, so I’m going to go out on a limb and say that whilst he was still a protestant, and most likely Anglican, he probably followed an early form of religious tolerance at the least. Lutheranism didn’t reach England until around the enlightenment so I don't want to call him that but it was in existence in Germany at the same time so others had probably moved towards it a little, it just didn't have a name. His tolerance probably came from watching his father punish Catholics from the age of six, and their main argument as he got older was probably regarding tolerance of Catholicism. As much as I hate to say it, its low key unrealistic that Carlisle wasn’t married as a human so that would probably have been another point of contest between Carlisle and Abraham.

During Cromwell’s puritan reign was the most prominent witch-hunting years too, so if were being really nit-picky then Abraham would probably have only started hunting witches or at least started doing it a lot more frequently than he previously did round about here.

Cromwell died in 1658, and the monarchy was restored in England in 1660, but Carlisle’s dad most likely still followed puritan ideals and was not happy with the restoration period, and again, the revival of Christmas, theatre and fun was something that 20 year old Carlisle and Abraham would have disagreed over. Carlisle would have taken over a lot of his fathers duties round about this time, leading sermons and all that because Abraham should have been dead by now so I guess smeyer can have that one.

And now we get up to our boy’s final years. And this is like shooting still targets. Carlisle was hunting vampires in London sewers when he got bit, and then crawled into a potato cellar where he writhed in agony for 3-4 days. Firstly, sewers. The London sewage system wasn’t built for one or two hundred years. London was so fucking smelly. Like so much so that if it was sunny the house of commons/Westminster had to be evacuated cause the (literal) shite in the Thames would have warmed up and became especially pungent, and it was only when it started to affect MP’s that they though that maybe they should do something about it (which is probably another reason that super-senses-vampire Carlisle boosted to France as soon as possible). So he wouldn’t have been fighting vampires in sewage systems, but instead an alley, slums, or even along or near the Thames if you want to keep the sewage aspect.

After being bitten, it would have been pretty difficult for Carlisle to drag himself into a potato cellar because he’d be crawling for quite some time. Potatoes didn't become a staple crop in society for quite a while. They were about and people ate them, but were largely seen as food for the lower classes in society, and there certainly wouldn't have been cellars filled with them.

Also just as a little end note, plague devastated London 5 years after he was turned so literally my favourite headcanon to give Carlisle is that he blamed the outbreak on himself. Yes, he may have went along with the miasmic theory that Plague was caused by bad air instead of his fathers ‘divine punishment’ theories, but there’s nothing like a good bit of puritan guilt am I right? seeing and maybe helping with the plague (masks and so many herbs stuffed inside them would have blocked the smell of blood) is also what I like to think made Carlisle want to go into medicine.

And there you have it. A (sort of) accurate version of Carlisle’s and Abraham’s life. and again, disclaimer, I am nowhere near an expert, so there might be inaccuracies and mistakes here. But basically, smeyer please. Google is free.

#god im such a nerd #ive literally been waiting for this excuse lol #history is something im seriously interested in so pair that with immortal vampires living in different time periods and im in heaven #watch someone who actually is an expert come along like 'yeah your completely wrong lol'#ask #stregoni-benefici #carlisle cullen #twilight headcanon #twilight #twilight renaissance #rach rambles

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semi-occasionally-writing-stuff · 4 years ago

Text

Of Bullets & Blood - Chapter 3

Read on AO3

Summary

C.C. Tinsley. A preacher’s son. Now a bounty hunter who will do whatever it takes to find who killed his wife and son.

Ricky Goldsworth. A former samurai running from his past. Now a bounty hunter trying to stay honourable in a land riddled with crime.

At first glance, these men were opposites in every way. However, through betrayal, blood, corruption, and the crimes of a serial killer, they will find that they have much more in common than they first expected.

Western/Samurai AU!

Chapter 3: A Warm Meal & Bad Company

To say Ricky’s day wasn’t going that well would be an understatement. He had been out hunting for almost 7 hours and still hadn’t caught a thing. He found a deer, but his boot got stuck in the stirrup and he ungracefully fell off his horse and spooked the poor thing. Then an hour later Francesca bucked him off his horse when a rattlesnake slithered out onto the path. Other than that, there wasn’t much that he could find and he knew he didn’t have anything left in the cupboards as he donated it to the local church to feed the poor. Accepting defeat, Ricky started to head home until he came by a dirty white house where an old man was sitting on the steps of the porch.

“Hey son! You look like you’re in desperate need of a warm meal. Why don’t you come on in?,” he hollered.

Ricky noted that the man seemed pretty harmless, there was a walking stick resting beside him and he was had a wide welcoming smile that beckoned him in. Despite this, he didn’t really want to bother the man.

“It’s okay sir, I’m just passing through. No need to put yourself through all that trouble.”

“Nonsense, it would be my pleasure! Good company always has a seat at my table. My wife always makes too much for me and my son. It’s best that you do come in and help us eat all of it.”

The front door creaks open and an older lady appears who waves at Ricky, “Abe, that’s dinner ready. oh hello there, I’m Delilah! Come on in, I’ll set an extra place at the table for you.”

“The lady has commanded you to the table now boy, you better get in there,” the man laughed as he stood and walked inside.

Ricky sighed and decided that eating a homemade meal with a family instead of stopping by the general store for some awful tinned food was a better alternative. So, he climbed down from his horse, brushed the dirt off his clothes the best he could, took off his bow and quiver, packed them onto the horse and straightened his jacket as he walked up to the house and into the dining room.

“There’s our guest of honour! Come take a seat next to Samuel here. When was the last time you had a good meal with family?” Delilah said as she placed a plate full of stew in front of him.

“It’s been a while, they’re all back home. But I have to thank you, ma’am. This is real kind of you all.”

“You aren’t the first to say that and you sure won’t be the last.”

Before Ricky could find the words to come up with a response, he felt a sharp pain exploded in the side of his head as everything went black.

When he woke up, he was on his back in a dark and dirty well. His head was pounding and his whole body was stiff and achy. A foul but sickly-sweet smell invaded Ricky’s nostrils as he put his hand on something smooth and tried to push himself up, but his hand went right through and plunged into something cold and slimy. As Ricky took a closer look at what his hand was in, it was clear that his hand was in the guts of the rotting corpse of a young woman. He screamed and cursed as he scrambled back into the wall of the well. There were skeletons and half rotting corpses strewn around him. If he didn’t get out soon, he would be one of them.

The family had taken all his possessions from him, all he could do was try to climb out or stay here and starve to death. With a deep breath, he tried to grip onto the uneven rock that lined the well and tried to pull himself up with the little grip that he had.

“Alright…right hand there, push up with left leg then grab onto that jagged rock there with the left hand. What could go wrong?”

Unfortunately, many things could go wrong. As soon as Ricky grabbed onto the rock, he slipped which caused the rock to slice his hand open as he fell back into the depths of the well. He hit the bodies with an ugly crunch and prayed that the bones that broke were not any of his.

As the panic and desperation set in, he heard an echoey but familiar voice, “You know, of all the places I feared that I would run into you again. This was not one of them.”

“You know, this may be the only time that I’ll ever be happy to hear your voice Tinsley.”

Tinsley snorted, “And you call me pain in the ass, someone was certainly self-projecting there. Give me a second and I’ll throw down a bit of rope for you. Then you can tell me who the hell dumped you down there.”

Ricky slowly dragged himself back up onto his feet as he applied pressure to his bleeding hand. When the rope was lowered, he grabbed it and began to climb up as Tinsley worked to pull him up at the same time, “You might want to savour this moment, it will be the only time I will appreciate you Tinman.”

“Alright Golden boy, don’t taunt the hand that saves your ass.”

As Ricky reached the top, Tinsley grabbed onto his forearm and helped him over, “Well, don’t you look rosy. You doing okay, Goldsworth?”

“I got knocked out by some old man, spent God knows how long down a well filled with dead bodies and sliced my hand open. How do you think I’m doing?”

Tinsley carefully took Ricky’s injured hand in his and examined the cut. Without saying a word, he retrieved some whiskey from his bag and a bandage. He poured some whiskey on his handkerchief and gently cleaned his wound and then began to wrap the bandage round his hand as carefully as he could.

“Who did this to you?” Tinsley murmured.

“Why do you care?”

Despite how Tinsley presented himself and how desperately he tried to suppress it, he cared deeply about every victim he has come across. From the little boy he found drowned in the river with dark red and purple bruises all over his neck to the kind old lady that he found with her skull caved in from a robbery gone wrong, the weight of every life he wasn’t able to save or avenge haunts him. Even though Tinsley wasn’t too fond of Goldsworth, he knew he was a decent enough man worth saving.

“This is the first time in years that I’ve found a victim that was still alive. So, forgive me if I care about who is responsible for this.”

Ricky sighed; he has had his own fair share of failings. Often times it’s not the victims faces that haunt him; their names are long forgotten. It’s the little things left behind that stick out the most. A lone burnt children’s sock next to a smouldering house or streaks blood being carried down a river.

“It was some family. I think the old man was called Abe? He had a wife and a son but I can’t really remember their names. It was at some big old house, not too far from the pig farm. They very kindly served me with food that I didn’t get a chance to eat before robbing me.”

Tinsley finished bandaging up Ricky’s hand and clapped him on the shoulder, “Well, luckily for you, I think I know where that house is. The general store owner mentioned that he had heard a rumour that bodies were being dumped in this well. I found the bodies last week but didn’t have any leads and I knew if I reported it, then whoever was doing this would get away.”

“So, you waited for another victim to get thrown down the well? What if the next one was killed before being dumped here? You’re just letting another person die!”

“If there’s no trail to follow then there’s no killer to catch. They’ll just get a little more careful and keep going. This was the fastest way to find the killer and save as many lives as possible. It all worked out in the end though, right?” Tinsley reasoned.

Ricky grunted, relenting because deep down he knew that Tinsley was right.

Tinsley nodded, climbed on top of his horse, and stretched his hand out to Ricky. “There you go, Goldsworth. Now, how about we have a friendly chat with your hosts and show them that your sins do truly come back to haunt you?”

Ricky grabbed his hand and climbed onto the back of his horse, “I would love nothing more.”

By the time the two men reached the house, with the extra horse outside, Ricky knew they had picked up a new victim.

“We need to be careful here, wouldn’t put it past them to use whoever they have lured in as a hostage to get away,” Ricky said as they jumped off the horse.

“So, I suppose you’re not planning on announcing our arrival so they can fight us?”

Ricky opened his mouth to answer but Tinsley held his hand up and cut him off, “Don’t answer that, I’m afraid what you’re going to say. Listen, your whole honour thing works when you’re up against other honourable folk and when the time comes, I’ll let you have at it. But these folks are cowards that will put anyone they damn well please in danger if it means they get away. We can take them in alive but we need to do this the right way or that person is as good as dead.”

“Does the right way include being a sneaky little shit?”

Tinsley laughed as Ricky slowly broke out into a grin, “We can be direct little shits if you’d like?”

“I’d like that,” Ricky hummed.

Tinsley reached into his horse’s saddle bag, pulled out an old large revolver and handed it to Ricky, “Here, you know how to shoot a gun right?”

“Of course. Just because I favour the sword and the bow doesn’t mean I don’t know how to shoot a man.”

“Good, because we’ll be outnumbered, and I don’t feel like doing all the work if things go sideways. Anyway, I’ll go in the front and you’ll go in the back. Sound good?”

Ricky thought it through and with the little that he remembered of the house, he knew that it would take longer for him to go in the back and through the kitchen which would leave Tinsley outnumbered long enough to get riddled with bullets.

“Sounds like a great way for you to earn a couple extra bullet holes. I’ll smash through the window of the dining room, get the poor guy out and we’ll deal with them that way.”

Tinsley drew his pistol and cocked it, “It’s nice to know you care but if I get shot doing it your way, you’ll never hear the end of it. You head on round and on 3, we’ll smash in like the direct little shits you wanted us to be.”

Ricky nodded, quietly snuck round and pressed his back against the wall next to the window as Tinsley bounded up the stairs to wait at the front door. Ricky peaked through the window and saw two men with their backs to them conversing, one of which Ricky was sure was the son.

Delilah emerged from the kitchen and handed him the bowl of stew.

From his position he could see Abe reaching into a drawer and slowly pulling out a revolver.

Taking a deep breath, Ricky aimed at Abe and fired once, hitting him in the head and splattering blood all over the wall, then smashing the rest of the window with his gun and stepping through as Tinsley kicked the door open with his gun aimed at Delilah who was screaming next to her husband who was missing a chunk of his head.

“Alright folks, let’s play a game called ‘all the killers in the room stay still so no one else dies,’” Tinsley shouted as he nervously darted his eyes between the family and Ricky who had his gun pressed against the back of Samuel’s head, half expecting him to shoot them all in quick succession.

Ricky grabbed the back of the shirt of the young man whose eyes were wide with fear, hauled him to his feet and ushered him through the broken window, “We’re not going to hurt you, but you should most certainly run. Can’t imagine this scene is going to get any friendlier.”

The man frantically nodded and held his hands up, “Of- of course! I won’t tell anyone about this, I promise!”

“Now, will one of you kindly tell me where you put my things?” Ricky asked calmly despite the rush of adrenaline pumping through his veins.

“Fuck you!” Samuel growled.

Using the barrel of his gun that was pressed against the back of his skull, Ricky pushed his head down roughly onto the table, “Wrong answer, you really should try again.”

“It’s in the compartment behind the painting on the wall there, you murdering bastard!” Delilah screeched, pointing at the painting that was hung a few feet to the right of her.

“You got it?” Tinsley asked.

“Just watch my back,” Ricky answered, slowly moving his gun away from Samuel and walking towards the painting as Tinsley set his aim on the man to avoid friendly fire.

Once Ricky reached it, he tucked the gun into his belt, lifted the painting off the wall and was met with his katana, tanto, and a bundle of money. He tucked the money into his pocket and sheathed his tanto but kept a hold onto his sword.

“So, what now, you going to turn us in? You really think that is a punishment to us? You’ll make us famous and our legacy will be remembered for generations while the fools that we killed have no one around to even know that they’ve disappeared,” Samuel sneered as he slowly rose to his feet.

“What makes you think either of you will be leaving here alive? Can’t tell your story then huh?” Ricky chuckled.

Tinsley started to feel his sweat running down his back, there was a slight manic glint in Ricky’s eyes that alluded to something dangerous that was buried deep within, “Uh Goldsworth…What exactly are we doing? I thought the whole point of this was to catch them and turn them in?”

“Unfortunately, there has been a change of plans. If you don’t like it, you can leave.”

Before Tinsley could question him further, he stuck his katana into Delilah’s chest who frantically tried to reach for the gun her dead husband grabbed earlier.

With a shout of protest, Samuel rushed towards Ricky but didn’t get far before Ricky threw his dagger which lodged itself in his throat. He only made it a few more steps before collapsing to the ground and coughing up blood, wheezing and gurgling as he tried to draw more air into his lungs.

With a sigh, Ricky withdrew his sword from Delilah’s chest. Then he slowly walked over to Samuel and pulled his dagger from his throat, letting the blood pool on the wooden floorboards but ignored the clear sings of Samuel’s dwindling life.

Tinsley’s arms slowly lowered to his gun to his side, “What the fuck was that?”

“They're a bunch of cold-blooded killers Tinsley.”

“And it seems like you are as well. You going to kill me too?”

Ricky took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood from his blades, “I did what I had to do. You know that better than anyone. I'm willing to bet you've killed many unarmed folk in your time.”

“That's...different.”

Ricky snorted, “You might pretend to stand there all calm but we both know you've hunted down criminals and slaughtered them in a blind fury.”

He was right. It didn’t matter how hard he tried; Tinsley would not be able to suppress the memory of bone crushing underneath his fist or the spray of blood that hit his face. Two men had been foolish enough to dig up the grave of not only his wife but also his child. They had taken his wife’s necklace, her wedding ring and had also stolen the charred teddy bear that he buried with his daughter which they regarded as some sort of trophy for their hard work. This ignited a burning fury that was fed by the pain of grief which turned him into a raging inferno that left a river of crimson and a howling wind of mercy that was silenced with a violent unforgiving blow.

Tinsley sharply holstered his gun and tried to control his heavy breathing, “They took something that didn't belong to them and well…they had it coming.”

“Then why is that principle different now? They took the only thing I have that connects me to my family! They took this and many innocent lives just to birth a legacy of blood and fear. Are you really saying that you wouldn't have done the same?”

I did. I did and perhaps the worst part of it is, I don’t regret any of it.

Tinsley held hands up, “You got me there. What do you want to do ‘bout this mess then?”

Ricky sheathed his weapons and started to light the lamp, “If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s if you want to destroy a legacy then you must burn it to the ground. And that is what I intend to do.” Tinsley nodded and walked out, “Alright then. Now, you’ll have to excuse me, I’ve got an appointment with a cigarette.”

Tinsley didn’t quite understand Goldsworth. One minute he was yelling at him for being a cold killer but then went ahead to cut anyone down that dared to invoke his wrath. But perhaps he understood him more than he let himself believe. Tinsley used to try to be good but more of what he had to give was brutally taken from him and all that was left was an insatiable desire to seek revenge on anyone who had dared to wrong him. Maybe they were one of the same, one trying to be better than he was and the other who knew what path he had taken but couldn’t find it in him to change.

He lit his cigarette and as he held it between his lips. He took a deep drag to let the hot smoke fill his lungs. He heard the crash of the lamp being thrown onto the floor and soon felt the warmth of a dying legacy press against his back. And with the cigarette smoke shifting through the air like a ghost, Tinsley can’t help but wonder if he died right now, would the legacy that he would leave be more than one forged with the bullets he fired and the blood he has spilled?

Yes? No? He cannot find satisfaction in either answer. He knows that he never will.

#cc tinsley #ricky goldsworth #Tinsworth #bfu #shyan

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saywhatjessie · 5 years ago

Text

Hey Baby (Uhh, Ahh)

Written for Lissa for Fandom Trumps Hate, Timestamp for “Nobody Puts Baby In a Corner”, 3.7k (Ao3)

Dean bounced on his toes, shaking out his arms in a useless attempt to increase blood flow to his fingertips. The blood flow was fine: it was the rampant anxiety that was making his hands tingle.

He watched the monitor backstage, trying to distract himself with some of the biggest names in wrestling having their moment – talking about the previous night’s match and setting up the challenges in the coming year.

Dean had actually gotten to see Wrestlemania the night before. He wasn’t featured – wasn’t even a name on the wind – but he’d been invited to watch the match the night before his debut on the main roster. And boy had he watched.

He’d brought Sammy to watch with him, childishly wanting to show off for his little brother. He was a part of it now. He was a part of this thing that they’d both loved. They didn’t love it the same – Sam would never audition to be a wrestler – but you couldn’t just turn off the wrestling groupie inside of you.

Now Sam was sitting off to the side, elbows on his knees, watching Dean pace.

“You’re ready for this, Dean,” he reminded him, not for the first time. “You’ve got momentum. You’ve trained for it. You’re ready.”

“Yeah, I know, Sammy,” Dean answered with a snort. “You can take the kid gloves off, it’s fine.”

Sam rolled his eyes, turning his attention back to the monitor as Dean jogged in place.

Someone shorter than Dean came up to hip check him. “Hey there, butternut.”

Dean was already smiling when he turned to her. “Charlie.”

She grinned. “You’re on deck, babycakes. This match is ending and then we’re going on commercial, letting the youngins duke it out a bit, and once we’re back, you’re on.”

Dean nodded, his heart rate picking up the slightest tick. “Yeah, thanks, Charlie.”

Her grin softened in sympathy and she patted his arm. “You’re gonna be great.”

“Why do people keep telling me that,” Dean muttered. Charlie, laughed, punching him in the shoulder and sauntering off.

“Who was that?” Sam asked, his eyes still following the little redhead down the hall.

“One of the techies,” Dean told him. “Sort of assigned to me in my move, makes sure I go where I need to.” He grinned. “And a huge lesbian so don’t even try.”

Sam shook his head, scoffing. “I wasn’t, shut up.”

Dean grinned wider.

“Befriending her is still worth it, though, if you’d like. She’s lovely.” Came a voice, coming from a different hallway than the one Charlie had just left down. “Hello, Dean.”

Dean immediately flushed. “Castiel.”

Cas smiled, gently with his lips closed, inclining his head toward Dean. He was wearing his trench coat wrapped around him, actually tied at the waste to fend off the chill of the A/C they pump through the backstage. When he goes out to the ring it’ll be gaping open, showing off his amazing abs and the tiny little trunks he wears to wrestle. Dean was very familiar.

They’d met a couple times before, though not in any official capacity. An interview once. Party of a mutual friend. They’d only been officially introduced that week to go over script and choreography.

Because Dean was moving up from NXT. He was coming to the main roster: to Smackdown, officially. And a match with Castiel was gonna get him there.

Sam cleared his throat. Dean jerked, gesturing to him.

“Castiel, this is my brother, Sam. Sammy this is Castiel.”

“The Angel,” Sam said, coming out of his chair to shake Castiel’s hand. “It’s good to meet you. I’ve been following you.”

Castiel raised an eyebrow.

Sam flushed. “I mean your career! I’m a fan. Not a stalker fan but–”

Dean cracked up. “He knew what you meant, man.” Dean turned to Castiel, his eyes dancing. “It kills me that no one else knows you’re funny.”

“I’m not funny,” Castiel told him, but his eyes were also bright with humor before looking back at Sam. “But I was messing with you, Sam. I’m sorry,”

Sam shook his head, waving off the apology. “No, don’t be, it’s fine. You’re fine.”

“Yeah, he is,” Dean said, under his breath. Cas looked over at him, his mouth tilted in a smirk. He clearly heard him.

Well, Dean wasn’t wrong. And he wasn’t going to apologize. He winked.

Castiel smirked more, actually showing some teeth.

Sam rolled his eyes. “The longer we talk, the less angelic you seem.”

Cas turned to Sam, flicking his eyebrows once in a ‘Well…’ sort of way. Then he transformed in front of their eyes.

He lost the smile, his face smoothing out into an expressionless mask, his eyes going from bright amusement to simmering righteousness. He was a couple inches shorter than Sam, the big tree, but the way he held his body, his shoulders, he was looming.

“Read the Bible,” Castiel said, his usually gravelly voice coming out even deeper and more threatening. “Angels are warriors of God. I’m a soldier.”

Sam visibly shuddered.

Castiel smiled, his shoulders slumping again. he lifted his hands and tilted his head, as if acknowledging invisible applause.

Dean almost gave him some. Almost. That was extremely hot.

“That’s where my storyline is angling now that I’m heel, anyway.” Castiel said, as if he hadn’t just brought them to church, almost literally, with that performance. “I was thinking about doing some rebranding when I turn face again. Being the Seraph instead of the Angel.”

“Sounds like a font,” Dean told him, a little dumbstruck, still.

Castiel frowned. “Yes, I feared that too.”

Sam let out a little hysterical giggle, immediately covering his mouth.

“Okay, it’s almost curtain,” Charlie said, popping her head back in. “Dean and Castiel, with me. Sam, you’ve got a seat right up front.”

Sam cleared his throat, his mouth twitching. “Thanks.” He turned to Dean, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “Break a leg.”

Dean snorted. “I’m supposed to lose.”

“So lose really cool.” Sam shrugged. “Make a splash or whatever.”

“Fuck outta here,” Dean said, shoving his hand off his shoulder, but he did move in for a hug. “Thanks.”

Sam squeezed him back, clapping him on the shoulder again as he pulled away.

They turned to Charlie and Castiel, both of whom were looking seconds away from ‘awwing’ out loud.

Sam reached forward to shake Castiel’s hand. “Good to meet you. Really,” he said, before letting go and heading toward the entrance to the floor.

The three of them watched him leave for a moment, Dean getting more and more nervous with every step Sam took away from him.

But the moment passed quickly and Charlie was corralling them both into following her to the entrance stage.

“So your brother,” Castiel starts, the two of them walking side by side. “Older or younger?”

“Younger,” Dean sighed.”But he’s so stupid tall nobody believes me when I tell them that.”

Castiel grinned. ��No, I believe you. He suffers from puppy face.”

Dean barked a laugh. “Puppy face?”

“Yes. It’s not a baby face because he doesn’t look young . But when he talks to you he looks kind of excited, adoring, and wholesome. Like a puppy.”

Dean laughed again, his ears going pink thinking about it. “He is actually pretty wholesome. He’s in school to be an environmental lawyer, you know.” Dean lets out another laugh, softer this time. “Kid wants to save the world.”

Castiel hummed, his mouth serious but his eyes looking at Dean with a certain fondness.

Dean cleared his throat. “You got family?”

“No one close by,” Castiel said in a complete non-answer. “I have considered getting a pet, though. With this job, however…”

“Yeah,” Dean said. “You don’t spend too much time at home.”

Castiel hummed again, a noise of displeasure this time.

“Cats can’t take up too much work,” Dean continued. “You could get a cat. You just have to make sure someone comes in to clean the shit box if you’re away for too long.”

Castiel chuckled, eyes on the ground, smile quirking his lips. “I can certainly look into it.”

They arrived at the entrance stage, the light from the thirty foot high projection screens illuminating the back with a dull glow.

“Cue music,” Charlie said into her headset. The sound of wings flapping projected to the audience. Screams went up.

Castiel turned to Dean, his trench coat now untied and Championship belt on full view. He was sporting a wider smile than Dean had yet seen. “See you out there,” he told him.

Dean nodded but Cas had already turned away, pushing through the curtain to a gothic choir singing him to the rapture.

Dean let out a shaky breath, turning to the monitor set up just inside the door. Cas’s gait was confident and severe, stepping toward the stage with the deliberateness of a preacher walking to the pulpit.

He stepped into the ring, only deeming to duck his head to get through the ropes, but otherwise standing tall and firm. He discreetly grabbed a mic from a ref and brought it to his face, not saying anything. Just letting the audience feel his stare.

The audience booed. Well, half of them did. He was a heel; it was his job to be hated. But he was too damn lovable, he only got half the people in the stands to play along.

When the crowd had finally died down enough – not all the way, this was still a wrestling match, but enough – Castiel spoke, mouth very close to the microphone, in his deepest, most carrying gravel.

“Did you miss me?”

Cheers and jeers and boos and woos. Castiel’s face didn’t even twitch.

“How could you have missed me?” Castiel tilted his head, taunting the audience. “I didn’t go anywhere.” He spread his one arm wide. “I was champion before, and I’m champion now. No weak wrestler could take this from me.”

More noise from the audience. Castiel wasn’t as showy as some of the other wrestlers but he knew how to rile up a crown.

“I’m here, on Monday Night RAW, because I can be. Because,” he pointed out to the crowd, focusing on some lucky individual up in the stands. “You want me to be. I am the best wrestler here. We had an entire night to figure it out and last night, at Wrestlemania, I came out – I came back – with my belt.”

He pulled the belt off, raising it slowly above his head, the volume of the crowd rising with his hand.

Castiel’s presence was unlike anyone else on the roster. He didn’t saunter. He didn’t sneer. He just stood in the middle of the ring and told his truth. Like fact. Like he knew what was best and you’d just better listen.

It was captivating as hell.

“Your precious Gordon couldn’t keep it from me,” he said. “None of your supposed champions. No one who has ever been on this stage has ever had what it takes.” He pumped his fist in the air, firmly, the belt grabbing the light and throwing it back. “No one could challenge me. I dare any of you to come up here and try.”

That was Dean’s cue.

Well, the music was Dean’s cue. Four notes on a harmonica before the guitars came in, playing a vaguely rockabilly but mostly rock riff. Dean took one more deep breath before stepping out from behind the curtain onto a stage lit up with rushing colors of pink, blue, and purple.

He walked out with swagger, sweat dripping from beneath his cowboy hat but his face all cocky smiles and finger guns.

He didn’t get the same response as Cas – he was still new – but there were more people than he expected pumping their fists to Dean’s music. Screaming his name.

He had a pretty significant following already from NXT but… this was the big leagues. This was Monday Night RAW. To make his prime time debut during the Monday Night RAW after Wrestlemania was how you knew things were happening. This is where shit got real.

People were excited to see him. He was excited to see them. His nervousness melted away and he became more and more the cocky cowboy.

The last few feet, he took a running start at the ring, rollind between the ropes and popping up.

He knew the commentators now were giving the audience back home all his details. His name. His background. How they thought he would do in the big leagues. But the audience at home wasn’t Dean’s concern. He had to connect with the audience around him.

He walked around the ring, pointing at the assembly and subtly pulling a mic from a ref on the sidelines, before stepping to the middle of the ring, thumb hooked through one of the belt loops on his jeans.

He recited his opening to the largest crowd he’d ever performed in front of.

“I’m Baby Del Mar and I think y’all are mighty fine.” Dean almost stumbled. Hundreds of voices were speaking with him. He channeled the enormous grin threatening to take over his face into an arrogant smirk. “It’s time for ass-whooping” He turned and stabbed a finger in Castiel’s direction. “ He’s next in line?”

Screams went up. Wolf whistles and cowbells. Someone had smuggled in an airhorn.

They had to have known he was coming – the WWE didn’t keep many secrets – but they were reacting as if nothing so shocking had ever happened in their lives.

“I’m sorry,” Castiel said, his gruff words cutting short the people carrying on around him. “Did you say your name was ‘Baby?’ ”

Jeers from the audience. Dean wasn’t sure if it was at Cas or at him.

“I’m sure I’ll have you crying like one by the end of the match,” Cas continued his face stoic. It was more effective than any sneer or leer could have been.

“They call me baby because everyone loves me,” Dean said, spreading his arms to receive praise from the audience. And, remarkably, there was praise to be received. “And they’re gonna love me even more when I beat you, Angel.”

Dean was supposed to say his name. Was supposed to spit the word ‘Castiel ’ like it was gristle stuck in his teeth.

Dean took a… flirtier approach.

Castiel raised an eyebrow. The most emotion he’d shown in his face since he walked out. “Is that so?”

Dean winked and went off script. “Don’t worry. You’ll like it. I’m–” Dean had to cut himself off, the crowd had gotten too loud. He took the time to lick his lips. “I’m sure by the end of this, you’ll love me too.”

Cas’s face didn’t break again but for the slight creasing at the corner of his eyes,his eyes themselves bright and humorous. He was smiling. As much as he could while in character.

“We’ll see about that.”

They wrestled.

Dean lost.

It was incredible.

At one point, when Dean had broken out of Castiel’s Cupid Chokehold and stood looming over him where Cas was sitting on the ground, getting his bearings, the audience had taken up a chant.

“ Baby’s gonna kiss you. Baby’s gonna kiss you. ”

Dean had grinned, turning to pump his fist at the crowd.

He was the bisexual cowboy. Everyone knew that.

But to have people chanting…

Dean thought that may have been the happiest moment of his entire life.

And it just kept getting better.

Once Dean had been pinned, Castiel’s arm raised and belt secure, Dean pouted in the ring. Acting the baby. It was his thing.

And Castiel had turned to him and winked. Which was not his thing.

He was out of eyeline of the camera so no one saw. He maintained his eerie angelic persona.

But Dean knew.

Dean got backstage first, falling bodily into his brother’s waiting arms, both of them laughing and jovial.

“Dean that was amazing!” Sam crowed, slapping every inch of Dean he could reach. Dean was no longer wearing his shirt or his cowboy hat and was sticky with sweat but Sam didn’t seem to care. “I can’t believe you just threw your hat away.”

Dean smirked, feigning a shrug. He hadn’t gotten permission to give that hat away but “They’ll get over it.”

Sam laughed again, shaking his head. “You’re insane, man. But, damn, what a good match.”

“I agree,” came Castiel’s voice where he’d just joined them backstage. He was even smiling – a soft and crooked thing. “You’re quite the performer, Dean.”

There was nothing soft about Dean’s answering smile as it shone brightly out of his face. “Thanks, man! It felt really good being up there.”

“It always does,” Castiel said, his smile widening at Dean’s response. “And I think we worked rather well together.”

“Oh, fuck yeah, dude. It was just like,” Dean gestured back and forward with his hands, bringing them up to his head and making an explosion sound with his mouth. “Right?”

Castiel laughed, softly. “Exactly what I was thinking.”

Dean turned his grin to Sam who was also looking at Dean with more fondness than anyone over 30 should receive. “It was good, right?” He asked Sam. “Did it look as good as it felt?”

Sam nodded, slapping Dean on the shoulder again. “Yeah, man, it looked real good. I had it recorded so we can watch it tomorrow.”

Dean pumped his fist then frowned. “Why can’t we watch it tonight?”

Sam rolled his eyes, though he was still smiling. “I have an early call tomorrow. I need to go to bed .”

Dean frowned again. They were the headlining event so the night was technically over – he could hear the rustling of and shouts of the crowds as they made their way out of the arena. But... he was still super keyed up: he wasn’t ready to go home yet.

“If your brother needs to leave,” Castiel chimed in, his shoulders curved in a little, his head tilted, inquisitively. It was a weird posture on someone wearing a pair of trunks and nothing else. “the two of us could get dinner?” He smiled his soft smile again.“I’m not quite ready for the night to be over, either.”

Dean perked right back up, his chest swelling. “Yeah. Yes! I could use a burger.”

Castiel huffed a quick laugh. “I could always use a burger.”

“Awesome.” Dean was bouncing on his toes again. “Okay so… we should shower?”

Castiel nodded. “I would say, yes. Shower. Then burgers.”

“Great!” Sam said bringing his hands together in a clap. “So, Dean, I will see you at the hotel?” Sam raised an eyebrow. Nothing salacious but Dean knew what he was implying.

He blushed, clearing his throat. “Yeah, Sammy, I’ll see you at the hotel. You good to take a cab or–”

“Oh, no, I’m taking a cab,” Sam’s grin turned more wicked by the second. “I think you’re gonna want to introduce Castiel to your baby.”

“You have a baby?” Castiel asked, his head cocked (adorably) again.

Sam just winked, clapping Dean on the shoulder again. He reached forward with his other hand to shake Castiel’s. “Really good match. Great meeting you. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again soon.”

Castiel shook back, nodding in acknowledgement, still looking mildly bewildered but too polite to press the point. “I look forward to it, Sam.”

Sam nodded, his stupid hair bouncing around his ears, and he clapped Dean once more on the back and made his way out.

“Your baby?” Castiel asked again.

Dean chuckled. “My car. You’re gonna love her.”

Castiel huffed air out through his nose in a surprised kind of laugh but gestured with his arms for Dean to proceed toward their locker room.

They showered in the unselfconscious way of two athletes, despite whatever sexual tension might be going on. They kept up a steady stream of chatter through the whole process: How was living in Japan? (Dean) What’s it like being so close with your brother? (Castiel) What’s the best burger joint in town (They had a rather intense debate about this, though a smile was never too far from either of them.)

They took the elevator down to the parking garage below the stadium – reserved exclusively for the talent. Dean hung back so he could watch Castiel see his baby for the first time.

Castiel turned his eyes from Dean, a smile still on his face and turned toward the car. He barely paused, going immediately for the passenger door and waiting for Dean to unlock it.

Dean frowned. “Nothing? I don’t get a low whistle? Not even a ‘wow’? This is my pride and joy here, Cas.”

Cas blinked, his eyes a little startled.

It was then Dean realized he’s never called Castiel ‘Cas’ out loud before now. Only in his head.

Well, that was embarrassing.

Before Dean could apologize, though, Cas was responding, the corner of his mouth twitching. “I’m sorry, Dean, I don’t know very much about cars. I didn’t need one to get around in Japan and I haven’t really picked up the habit of driving since.”

Dean put a hand to his chest, dramatically betrayed. Really he was just relieved Castiel didn’t call him on the over-familiarity. “Blasphemy! No wonder they made you evil.”

Castiel chuckled, awkwardly adjusting the grip on his gym bag. “They’re actually talking about turning me face soon.” He shrugged. “Not much more you can do with the ‘dark angel’ storyline.”

Dean snorted, leaning forward to his rest his elbows on the roof of the car. He knew it made him look casual and just a little bit deviant. He’d struck the pose a lot. “So no more hellfire and brimstone?”

Castiel smirked, bringing up a hand to tap on the door handle, not quite as bold as Dean as to lean bodily on the car. “I’m afraid so.”

Dean hummed, peeling himself off the car with a flick of his keys. “‘S too bad,” he said, sticking the key in the lock. He waited for the lock to click open before he continued. “I do like a bad boy.”

Dean took a minute to revel in the mildly shocked but definitely pleased look that came over Castiel’s face before he jerked the driver’s side door open.

“Get in the car,” he told him with a wink. “We got burgers to eat.”

#Destiel #oops I wrote a thing #Fandom Trumps Hate #Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner #Jessie writes Destiel fic #WWE au #I should care more about tagging this but I don't

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deathishauntedbyhumans · 6 years ago

Text

New In Town

Stranger: [HS AU] Hey, I hope this isn't weird or anything, but my name is Alexander Hamilton, and I'm new in town. The Washingtons just adopted me. They said you live down the street from here and that I should introduce myself, so. Hi. -AH

You: I'm Aaron Burr. You probably already knew that, though. AB

Stranger: Yeah, they told me. They've got, like, a list of everyone? On the fridge? I didn't know people actually did that. -AH But apparently it's useful when they need someone to mow the lawn or whatever. I don't know. -AH Anyway. Hi. -AH

You: The Washingtons are nice. I used to watch their cat when they went out of town. AB Are you going to be going to school around here, now? AB

Stranger: I will be, starting Monday! I'm excited. -AH

You: We can walk together, if you'd like. It isn't that far, and I usually walk by myself. AB

Stranger: That would be nice. Thank you. They've already bought me a bunch of nice supplies. It probably says something about me that nice pens are one of my favorite things I have right now. -AH

You: It's good to be prepared. AB Where are you from? AB

Stranger: Ah. -AH Nevis. -AH

You: I... don't know where that is. AB

Stranger: Yeah, that's fair. -AH It's an island in the Caribbean. -AH

You: Oh. That's pretty cool. AB Do you like it here so far? AB

Stranger: It's definitely an adjustment. I've never been off the island before. There's so much more /happening/ here, though. Nevis is- tiny. And quiet. -AH

You: I've never been out of the country before. I can't imagine a place that's tiny and quiet. It sounds nice. AB How long have you been here, so far? AB

Stranger: It takes less than a day to make a trip all the way around the island, and that's not even in a car. -AH About four days? -AH

You: Wow. To... all of that. AB Well. Welcome to crowded and loud. No wonder you're still adjusting. AB [...] I'm sorry if that came out wrong. I'm not always very good at texting the right things. AB

Stranger: Ha, you're fine. I get what you're saying. It's an adventure. I'm excited, though. I mean, I've wanted to come to America for a while now, so. Now I'm here. -AH

You: There's definitely a lot to take in. AB Would you like to... come over? I'm better at introducing myself in person, and I'd like to make a better first impression. AB Only if you aren't busy, of course. I'm sure you have a lot to do, since you're still fairly new here. AB

Stranger: I appreciate the offer, but I'm actually enjoying what has to be the nicest bathtub in the history of mankind at the moment. Not even the hand of god could move me right now. -AH How about tomorrow? -AH

You: That would be nice. AB

Stranger: Great! -AH I'll bring some of the leftover cookies Mrs. Martha made today. If there are any leftovers, anyway. They're soooo good. -AH

You: Thank you, Alexander. That's really nice of you. AB Mrs. Washington bakes a lot. She's very good at it. AB

Stranger: No shit, yeah. I didn't know what a blondie was? And now I don't know how I've gone this long without them? -AH

You: Wait until she starts baking pies. AB

Stranger: Oh god, I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die of happiness. -AH I can't cook, like, at all, so just these past few days have been kind of a miracle for me. -AH

You: You can't die before you taste her pies. Those are definitely miracle-worthy. AB

Stranger: No, no, I'm pretty sure that the pie is gonna be what kills me. -AH It's okay. There are worse ways to go. -AH

You: She bakes bread, too. From scratch. AB

Stranger: Hooolyyyy shit. -AH Clearly, I've already died, because this must be heaven. -AH

You: She made this pumpkin bread last October for a bake sale at school... It was probably the best thing I've ever eaten. AB

Stranger: God... -AH I'm not even hungry but now I really want to eat. -AH

You: You don't have to be hungry to eat Mrs. Washington's food. You just... eat it. AB

Stranger: Not being hungry is still kind of a new feeling for me, honestly. -AH

You: What do you mean? AB

Stranger: Nothing. Just- it's nice. -AH

You: [...] Okay. That makes sense. AB Like I said, the Washingtons are really nice. They'll make sure you've always got plenty of food. AB

Stranger: Yeah. Their kitchen is huuuuuuge. -AH I kind of. Have a secret hoard of crackers under my bed. Mostly out of habit. -AH

You: Make sure you keep them closed up. Otherwise you'll get ants. AB

Stranger: Trust me, I know how to handle my food stashes. -AH

You: It's just a warning from experience. AB

Stranger: Fair enough. Thanks. -AH I just like knowing they're there. -AH

You: Just in case. I get it. AB

Stranger: Yeah. -AH This all still feels like a dream, you know? Like I'm gonna wake up any second. -AH

You: It's real. I mean, you're talking to me and I'm real. AB Those blondies were definitely real. AB

Stranger: I have an active imagination. -AH Oooooh, /true/. Yeah, I couldn't have imagined those. -AH

You: See? Even an active imagination couldn't have come up with that. AB

Stranger: You make an excellent point. -AH I kinda want to ask if she can make anything with coconut, but I also feel kind of bad asking for anything after how much they've already done for me. -AH

You: I'm sure she would be happy to do it. She likes baking, and she likes making people happy. AB I don't know if it's weird to say, but I'm really happy they adopted you? I've heard them talking to my grandparents before about how much they miss having kids around. AB

Stranger: I just really like coconut. One of the nice things from home. -AH I'm happy too, I'm pretty sure. It's kind of overwhelming how nice they are? I have no idea what to do with it, honestly. I've been on my own for- a while. -AH

You: On your own? AB

Stranger: Yeah. Pretty much. -AH

You: Wow. AB How old are you? AB

Stranger: Seventeen. -AH

You: That's a lot to deal with. AB

Stranger: It's been a lot, yeah. Yeah. -AH I've been going non-stop since I was thirteen, so now that I'm here and I don't have to, I'm just kinda- lost. -AH

You: You'll figure things out here. If you managed on your own for so long, you'll be able to adapt to this. AB [...] I'm not trying to pry, and you don't have to answer, but... I can't lie and say I'm not a little curious. What happened? AB

Stranger: It's fine, you can ask. -AH My dad walked out when I was a kid. I was- ten? My mom did her best for a while to provide for me and my brother, but then she and I got sick. I got better. She didn't. -AH We moved in with my cousin, cousin committed suicide. My brother left to go make it out on his own, and it's just been me since then. -AH

You: Jesus. That's... too much. AB You made it, though. AB

Stranger: I grew up quick. I've been working since then. A lot of writing, a lot of math. That's how the Washingtons found out about me. A hurricane hit my town last season, and it just- it destroyed everything. It was awful. So I wrote to every newspaper I could trying to get people to pay /attention/ and /help/ and people noticed. -AH

You: And they helped. AB That's amazing. AB

Stranger: Yeah. So. -AH That's my story. -AH

You: It's one hell of a story. AB

Stranger: Honestly, I was pretty sure I'd be dead by now, so I'm pleasantly surprised at this point. -AH

You: For what it's worth, I'm glad I got the chance to meet you and that you're not dead. AB

Stranger: Well, thanks. I appreciate it. -AH So, what about you? -AH

You: What about me? AB

Stranger: What's your story? -AH

You: Oh. AB I haven't done nearly as much as you have. AB My parents died in a car accident when I was just a kid. My sister and I lived with our grandparents until she moved out a few years ago. Now it's just me and them. I'll be seventeen in a few months. My grandfather is a preacher? That's... pretty much it. AB

Stranger: What do you like to do? -AH

You: I like to read? I was a in a play at school once, but I don't think I was very good. AB

Stranger: Ohhhh my god there are so many books here, I love it. Basically my whole little library I'd accumulated got destroyed in the floods. Broke my heart. But I'm allowed to read whatever I want off the shelves here. -AH You did a play at school? Huh. All kinds of stuff goes on there, then? -AH

You: I'm sorry about your library. I've got quite a few books, too, if you ever want to borrow any of them. AB Yes. There are all sorts of clubs and things. A friend of mine convinced me to act with her in a play because they were short on people. I like to sit in on the Speech and Debate meetings and listen to the debates. AB

Stranger: Ooooh, definitely! -AH THERE ARE DEBATES??? -AH I mean. Um. There are debates? Cool. Cool. -AH

You: There are definitely debates. AB Would you... like to come with me to the next meeting? AB

Stranger: /Y e s./ -AH

You: I don't usually join in, but they're always open for more people to debate if you're interested. AB Just... going out on a limb and guessing that you're interested? AB

Stranger: Yes absolutely please and thank you. -AH

You: They'll be happy about it. Maybe if I bring you, they'll stop bothering me about actually debating. AB

Stranger: Or I'll harass you into joining too. -AH :) -AH

You: I'll hide in the back of the room. You won't even know I'm there. AB

Stranger: I'm good at calling people out. It's what I /do/. -AH

You: The club's either going to love you or hate you. Either way, it'll be fun to watch. AB

Stranger: I have that effect. -AH I didn't know there was a debate club. I'm even /more/ excited about going to school now, shit. -AH

You: You'll have a good time. If either of us talks to any admin, they would probably be able to put us together in a few classes, too, if you wanted. They usually do, to try and make the transition for new students easier if they already know someone. That'd be up to you. AB

Stranger: That would be great! I'll ask. I had to go up there once already, but George made me wait in the hall because apparently I was "getting agitated" with the person. -AH It's not my fault he was stupid and bad at his job. -AH

You: I'm almost afraid to ask what happened. AB

Stranger: I want to do the accelerated courses, but they kept telling me no because they didn't have anything on my transcripts saying I could, because I don't /have/ transcripts because I've never actually /been/ to a formal school before and they couldn't seem to understand that so instead of just saying they'd give me a placement test, which is what they were supposed to do, he looked at me like I was stupid. -AH I'm not stupid. -AH

You: Of course you're not stupid. You wrote a letter to a newspaper and ended up here. Not many people could just... do that. AB Did you end up getting to take a placement test for it? AB

Stranger: Yeah. I did. And they're letting me do the classes. But it was just- frustrating. I was halfway out of my seat with my fist clenched before I knew I was moving. -AH

You: You have to be careful. Some of the admin is... slow, but they're even worse when they think they're not in control of the situation. AB That's good, that you're in the right classes, though. I'm also in some of the advanced courses. AB

Stranger: I get a little testy sometimes. So George made me wait outside. -AH Yeah? Great! -AH

You: Probably a good decision. AB Even if we don't end up in the same classes at the same times, I can help you with any catching up if you need it. AB

You: ((brb))

Stranger: ...maybe. Probably. Yeah. -AH That would be nice. I can get a lot from books, I just need to know where I should be focusing. I'll read anything I can get my hands on, honestly. -AH

You: I'll point you in the right direction once you get your first few assignments. AB A lot of it's just reading and retaining the information, so you shouldn't have much of a problem with it. AB

Stranger: I'm gonna like this, I can already tell. -AH God, I'm excited. -AH

You: You /will/ have to refrain from punching anyone while you're debating, though. AB

Stranger: ...damn. -AH

You: Not easy, but necessary. AB

Stranger: Is it, though? -AH

You: The admin won't look kindly on it if you deck someone at the stand. AB

Stranger: Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh -AH

You: Look at it this way: if you debate well enough, you won't need to hit them. AB

Stranger: Touche. -AH But it's /so/ satisfying. -AH

You: So is staying out of the dean's office.

You: AB**

Stranger: What's the worst that could happen? -AH

You: Suspension, expulsion. AB

Stranger: Well that seems excessive. -AH

You: Welcome to the American school system. AB

Stranger: A little fighting is good for the soul. -AH

You: Most people don't exactly share that sentiment, here. AB

Stranger: Boring. -AH Hell, that's how I made rent sometimes. I'd cause a little trouble, get some folks to bet I couldn't win, and then I'd get paid when I just wouldn't quit. -AH

You: That sounds... dangerous, Alexander. AB

Stranger: So is going hungry. -AH

Stranger: I'm scrappy. I managed alright. -AH Besides, half of the time, it was a scam anyway. I'd pay someone else to be in on it, and we'd split it. -AH

You: Being scrappy doesn't mean you were safe. AB You did what you had to do. I'm not going to judge you for that. But you don't have to do it anymore. AB You've got Mrs. Washington's pies to look forward to. AB

Stranger: It's just- weird. Not having to work at all. -AH

You: If it really bothers you, you could get a job? It wouldn't be fighting, obviously, but once you get into the swing of things with school, there are plenty of minimum wage places around here that hire high schoolers. AB

Stranger: I did other stuff too, relax. Mostly stuff for a local shipping company. I handled a lot of their inventory and accounting business. And writing angry letters to people who sent us shitty product. That was my main gig, and then I'd pick up other stuff when I could at some of the hotels or things like that. Anything I could manage, y'know? -AH Maybe I'll look into it. It's mostly just being idle that's getting to me right now. -AH

You: You've got enough experience that you could probably get hired anywhere. I'd focus on one thing at a time for now if I were you, but once you figure out school a job might be a good distraction from being idle. AB

Stranger: For now, I mostly just have to keep myself busy getting familiar with things around the house. And writing. I never stop writing. -AH

You: I can see why you got excited about having nice pens. AB

Stranger: They're soooo good. A little smeary until they dry, but they don't bleed onto the next page at all, and the lines are really crisp and it's just- yeah. -AH Good pens and a stack of empty journals. It's a dream come true. -AH

You: Get too many empty journals and you'll end up never leaving your house. AB

Stranger: Come winter time, I'll probably be okay with that. -AH

You: What do you write about? I mean, I know you wrote letters before, but what do you write in the journals? AB

Stranger: Anything. Everything. -AH A lot of political and economic stuff. Some of it's more like personal philosophical treatises. Really detailed pro-and-con charts. Books I want to pick apart. -AH

You: Wow. You really meant it when you said everything, huh. AB

Stranger: Yeah. -AH Some of it's just dumb stuff, though. Like, rolling over in the middle of the night and scribbling out "if I was an animal what would i be" barely legibly and then falling back asleep. -AH I have no memory of doing that, but it's in my journal. Which means I spent three days really intensely trying to work it out. -AH

You: Did you ever figure it out? AB

Stranger: Not to the point of being satisfied with it. -AH

Stranger: But then, I've never been satisfied. -AH

You: Maybe the debate club can figure it out. From what you've told me about yourself so far, you sound like you'd be some sort of cat. AB

Stranger: That's where I landed too, yeah. But see, with cats, the solitary/social split is an important one, and I was never able to settle that because I've never really... had a group of friends before. -AH

You: Maybe that will change. AB

Stranger: Maybe so. I kinda hope so. I've never had a chance before. -AH

You: You will now. AB There are lots of people to meet at school. Groups of every sort of people. You'll find somewhere to fit in. AB

Stranger: Yeah. One more thing to add to the list of reasons I'm excited. -AH

You: People will see that you're excited, too. They'll be drawn to it. That's how these things go. AB

Stranger: Woo! -AH That woo was vaguely sarcastic because I do not have exclamation points in me right now. I am flopped out face-first on this bed right now because /wow/ moving to a new country is exhausting. -AH

You: I can't even imagine. Moving from one house to another was bad enough as a little kid. AB You should get some sleep. You'll need as much rest as you can get before school starts. AB Is there a time difference from Nevis? Probably, right? AB

Stranger: No, actually. No time difference. Just- mental and physical exhaustion. Which I can usually power through. -AH

You: Even without a time difference, it makes sense you'd be tired. You've done a lot already and you've been here less than a week. AB You don't have to power through it. Go to bed, Alexander. AB

Stranger: Mm. Nah. I'm good. -AH Technically in bed. -AH

You: I meant sleep, and you know it. AB Besides, I'll see you tomorrow. We can actually talk in person, and you can be well-rested for it. AB

Stranger: [Slightly delayed] I don't wanna sleep, okay? -AH

You: Why not? You said you were tired. AB

Stranger: I'm always tired. That doesn't mean sleep feels better. -AH

You: [...] Oh. AB

Stranger: I'll pass out eventually. If I suddenly stop responding, that's probably why. -AH

You: That makes sense. AB You know, if you have trouble sleeping, there are things you can do to try and counteract it. AB

Stranger: Swipe some rum from the store before leaving work, usually. But /that's/ not an option now. -AH

You: Well, no. But there are medications for sleeping, and things that aren't medications but that do the same things. AB I usually try to meditate before I sleep. It sounds crazy, but it actually helps. AB

Stranger: Yeah, I can't slow my thoughts down for that sort of thing. I only have the one gear, and it's always running. And if I'm alone with my thoughts, it's either soooo much worse, or something I need to stop and write down anyway. -AH

You: It takes some practice, I'll give you that. AB Still. There has to be something. I would mention it to Mr. or Mrs. Washington. I'm sure they would help find something. AB

Stranger: Yeah. I guess I could do that. -AH It's just- not a great time. -AH

You: What do you mean? AB

Stranger: Sleeping. Sorry, shoulda been more clear. -AH

You: Ah. That makes sense, right. AB There's a lot to get used to, too. It might get easier as time goes on. There's probably a lot more noise here than you're used to, for one thing. AB

Stranger: Ohhhh, yeah. Different noise, too. I lived on a hill just over a beach on the far end of town. -AH

You: More cars, less waves? AB

Stranger: Less screeching monkeys, too. Which isn't a bad thing. -AH

You: Sounds... loud. AB Monkeys don't strike me as quiet animals. AB Maybe you'd be a monkey, if you were an animal. AB

Stranger: Please no. Maurice was Satan in the flesh. -AH

You: Maurice?? AB Did you name a monkey Maurice? AB

Stranger: I did not name him. I hated him with every fiber of my being. -AH My boss named him after we couldn't get him to stop coming in the store. -AH

You: What did he do in your store? AB Besides screech? AB

Stranger: One time he ripped all of the plastic bags out of their box, chewed a hole in the corner of every single one, and then stuffed them back in. -AH

You: That sounds like a monkey with a vendetta against plastic bags. AB Or people. Or both. AB

Stranger: They're fast babies with sharp teeth and they're /evil/. -AH He would run up on my shoulders while I was working, yank the tie out of my hair- usually with several strands in the process- and then either break it or fling it at me. -AH

You: Scrappy little troublemaker. AB Sounds like someone else I know. AB

Stranger: No. /Evil/. -AH Also, look up green vervet monkeys and tell me if there isn't something /strikingly/ uncomfortable about them. -AH

You: [...] They're actually rather cute. AB

Stranger: Blue. Balls. -AH They have /vibrantly/ blue balls, and they like to make them as impossible to ignore as they can. -AH It's not fun. -AH

You: /Oh./ AB I didn't see that at first, but that's... pretty unsettling, you're right. AB

Stranger: Yupp. -AH Now imagine dealing with that. All day. Every day. Screeching at you and scratching itself. -AH

You: No wonder you don't sleep at night. AB

Stranger: That's for sure the cause. Definitely. -AH

You: Close your eyes and all you can see is blue monkey balls. AB I... can't believe that I just typed that phrase out of my own free will. AB

Stranger: I'm making the /worst/ sound right now. Muffled wheeze-laughing. It's terrible. -AH

You: I'm glad that I can amuse. AB

Stranger: :) -AH I just realized you have no idea what I look like. Huh. -AH

You: My current mental image of you is a faceless person with long hair and a monkey on your shoulder. AB So, no. I don't really have any idea. AB

Stranger: ((brb))

Stranger: [Image attached: Alexander laying in bed, smiling tiredly and a too-big shirt drooping off to the side, hair falling around his face] -AH

You: [...] [image attached: Aaron sitting at his desk, smiling --albeit awkwardly-- with his face illuminated by a desk lamp] AB Figured I would return the favour? AB

Stranger: Mmmm. Much appreciated. -AH

You: You hair really is long. It looks nice. AB

Stranger: Yeah. I like it this way. More to grab. -AH Thanks. -AH

You: More for the monkeys to grab, you mean. AB

Stranger: I meant for me to grab in frustration. Or for someone else to grab in not-frustration. -AH

You: Oh. AB That makes... sense. AB

Stranger: Problem? -AH

You: Not at all. Just... got your drift, that's all. AB

Stranger: Another thing to add to the moving-frustrations, ugh. -AH

You: At least you'll be able to meet people soon, through school and everything. AB

Stranger: Yeah. Pretty different from what I'm used to. -AH

You: You're not used to meeting people? AB

Stranger: I'm not used to them being... permanent. -AH

You: Ah. AB It's not a bad thing. At least, not usually. AB

Stranger: No one sticks around on Nevis. They come for a week, maybe two. Maybe even a month or so. But everyone leaves. -AH

You: That's what you meant before, when you said you'd never had a group of friends? AB

Stranger: Yeah. -AH There aren't a lot of people on the island, and even fewer who actually like me. To the rest of the world, it doesn't even exist. Or if it does, it's just a pretty little place for them to ride ponies and go snorkeling for a week, and then it just vanishes. -AH

You: That's... awful. AB Your letters, though? People at least know it exists, now? Maybe someone will do something to help. AB

Stranger: That's life on the smaller part of the tenth smallest country in the world. -AH A little. People noticed for a while, donated some money to help with the cleanup. It burned out, though. -AH

You: Stuff like that goes in waves. Maybe it will pick up again. AB

Stranger: Maybe. -AH My point is, I'm not really used to people sticking around. -AH

You: Well, you're here now. People... tend to stick around. I've gone to school with some of the same people since I was five. AB

Stranger: That's- bizarre. -AH

You: I guess. AB That isn't to say we all like each other, but we've all had ten years to formulate hatred for one another if we feel so inclined. AB

Stranger: I'm not sure I've known anyone since I was five. -AH

You: It makes sense, but that's crazy to me. AB

Stranger: I guess my boss is the person I've known longest at this point? He was my mom's landlord, so I sort of vaguely knew him growing up. -AH

You: At least that's someone? AB

Stranger: Yeah, it kind of is. -AH He mostly just told me to stop sassing him all the time. -AH

You: Delightful. AB Although... it might've been warranted. You seem like the kind of person who would sass their boss. AB

Stranger: ...yeaaaaaaaaah. -AH We got some horses in one time that were just the scrawniest things when they got there, the poor things. I got them settled out to pasture to take care of them and all, but bossman didn't exactly like me saying that we'd gotten a shipment full of skeletons. I called them my skeletons all the time. -AH

You: I'm not sure the horses appreciated being called skeletons, either. Ab

You: AB**

Stranger: I named them all after bones. -AH

You: Charming. AB

Stranger: I mean, this is what happens when you let a fifteen year old asshole all but run your business for you. -AH

You: Yeah, that'll do it. AB You really ran the business? AB

Stranger: In everything but name, pretty much. -AH

You: That's incredible. AB I can't believe you're barely a year older than I am. AB

Stranger: It's not really that hard. You balance a few books, you don't communicate over the phone so no one knows you're a kid, you're golden. -AH

You: I've never run a business before. I've never even thought about it.

You: AB**

Stranger: I hadn't thought about it, but then an opportunity presented itself and I wasn't gonna throw it away. -AH Turns out spreadsheets are my soulmates. -AH

You: I've never even made a spreadsheet in my life. AB

Stranger: Oh, Burr, buddy. You don't know what you're missing out on. -AH

You: You'll have to show me how they work, I guess. AB

Stranger: :D -AH

You: You any closer to sleep, yet? AB

Stranger: Yeah. I think so. Thanks. -AH

You: No problem. I've been there. AB

Stranger: I'll see you tomorrow? -AH

You: I'll see you tomorrow. I'll be home all day; whenever you're ready, feel free to come over. AB

Stranger: Super. -AH

You: Sleep well, Alexander. AB

Stranger: You too, eventually. -AH

You: I'll do my best. AB

Stranger: And- thanks. Just thanks. -AH

#hamburr rp #hamburr #hamburr roleplay #THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH JOHN MULANEY I PROMISE #new in town #hamilton rp #hamilton roleplay #fandom rp #fandom roleplay #omegling #omegle rp #kris roleplays #my rp

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korrafitness · 7 years ago

Text

Nikki’s FAQ (as a linkable post)

HEY! So a bunch of people informed that my FAQ is inaccessible on mobile (it usually only works for iphones) so I’ve decided to work around this by making my FAQ into a post under a read more so y’all will be able to view/reblog it! And I will try to make edits/changes as I go along on my actual FAQ. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I am not a certified personal trainer and the advice and thoughts I give on fitness are based on my own personal experience and knowledge. I will answer any questions regarding fitness to the BEST of my abilities.

**I have split up my FAQ to be a bit more organized… Fitness Q’s are at the top and Personal Q’s are at the bottom

FITNESS FAQ

1. Can I ask you for fitness advice? Yes if you don’t see an answered question in the FAQ and the “fitness shit” ask tag feel free to shoot me an ask or a message. NOTE: PLEASE try to avoid asking me “Do you have any tips on ___?” Unless you specify a topic, it is generally too vague for me to answer. There is literally so many tips in the fitness tag. I promise if you spend some time there you’ll find what you need and then some. ***TIP: you can also search keywords (ex. cardio, nutrition, protein) for answered asks by “korrafitness.tumblr.com/search/KEYWORD”

2. What’s your workout routine?

For my program I am currently working out 3 to 4 times a week. For my current program (2018) I am running a 2 upper body day and 2 lower body day program. On one of those given days I will do a few power lifts, which can be: Bench Press, Sumo Deadlift, Overhead Press, Back Squats, or Front Squats. Along with a power lift I do accessory movements to complement it. Brief Overview of what movements work out which muscles: to work out your pecs, triceps, deltoids: usually a PUSHING motion is involved to work out your biceps, traps, lats: usually a PULLING motion to work out your glutes, quads, calves: usually pushing which is self explanatory

Examples of my workout plans:

· Push: Chest: Barbell Bench Press, DB (Dumbell) Incline Press, Pec (Pectoral) Deck, Cable Crossover, DB Flat Press, DB Incline Flys Shoulders/Delts: Overhead Press, DB Shoulder Press, Side Lateral Raises, Front Lateral Raises, Machine Lateral Raise Triceps: Dip Machine, Overhead Tricep Extension, Rope Tricep Extensions, DB Overhead Extension

· Pull: Sumo (or Conventional) Deadlifts (whole body workout) Back: DB Row, TBar Row, Seated Cable Rows, Lat Pull Down, Anchored Barbell Row, Pull Ups, Chin Ups, Pendlay Row, Barbell Row Biceps: DB Curl, Hammer Curl, Rope Hammer Curl, Preacher Curl, Spider Curls Rear Delts: Face Pulls, Reverse Pec Deck

· Leg: Back or Front Squats, Conventional Deadlift, Sumo Deadlift, Calf Raises, Leg Curls, Lying Leg Curls, Glute Kickbacks, Leg Extensions, Seated Leg Press, Hip Abduction, Hip Adduction, Barbell Hip Thrusts, Cable Pullthrough, Barbell Hip Thrusts, DB Reverse Lunges, etc.

· Abs: Leg Raises, Weighted Ab Crunches, Weighed Side Crunches, Planks, Decline Sit Ups, Russian Twists, Barbell Rollout etc. (I usually add this to one of the other days)The rep scheme of each workout varies. For the big compound movements (Bench, Deadlift, Squat, Overhead Press) I do one of the following: 4 sets of 10 (70% 1RM), 4 sets of 7 (75% 1RM), 5 sets of 5 (80% 1RM), 5 sets of 3 (85% 1RM) depending on the week. For the accessory movements I will typically do 3-4 sets of 12-15 reps. Low reps with heavy weights = building strength. High reps with low weights = building muscle. You want to vary because dealing with heavy weights is taxing on the body and if you are not careful it can lead to injuries.

The amount of sets and reps for accessory movements varies each day, one day it could be 3 sets of 15 and another 4 sets of 6-8, etc. Sometimes I will lower the amount of reps and increase the number of sets

3. What is your diet?

Nutrition 101 My goal is to become lean, which is basically try to remove my fat as much as possible without losing too much muscle. To do this I need to keep track of what I eat. On the nutrition label of every food there is 3 macronutrients: Fats, Carbs, and Protein. What are macros? Macros aka macronutrients are 3 basic components of food: Fats, Carbs, Protein. There are important because calories are not the only thing that attribute to being healthy. A good composition of macros is important for muscle gain, fat loss, and energy. This is important because I need to keep track of this if I want definition! How do macros and calories relate? 1g of Fat = 9 calories (Important to note that fat has more calories) 1g of Carbs = 4 calories 1g of Protein = 4 calories Right now I am eating about 700 calories below my maintenance calories (which is the amount of calories I need to maintain my weight.) I am eating 1470 calories a day AND I am trying to eat my weight in protein. (** UPDATE: I am currently in a maintenance phase so my calories have increased for the time being to roughly 1650-1750cal) Now I NEED TO DO THIS TO MAINTAIN MY MUSCLE MASS. Right now I weight around 130 lbs so I try to eat at LEAST 130 grams of protein. I am also limiting my fat intake to around 50g. If this is confusing I am basically eating 25% Fats, 40% Carbs and 35% Protein. I HIGHLY recommend you download the MyFitnessPal App!!! It makes it 10x easier to track what you eat and also calculates your macros and calories for you!!

So in short I am eating 1470 calories, ~130g of protein, ~150g of carbs, and <50g of fat with 2 refeed days where I eat 1900 calories. Along with that I am doing 1200 calories worth of cardio a week. Trying to get to the summer bod!

4. How do I get abs? Doing a bunch of ab workouts/machines/planks will NOT do anything for you if you have a little tummy. Abs do not just bypass the fat you have on your stomach. If you really really want to get abs its ALL about what you eat. Start tracking, start dieting, and in the end you’ll shed that tummy away and your abs will just be there! Yes it is important to do ab exercises but don’t do a bunch of crunches and wonder why your not seeing results its all about NUTRITION.

5. How do I lose fat in [specific area of body (thighs, tummy,hips, etc)]? Sadly there is not workout/exercise that can target a certain body part to lose fat there. You can certainly work out a specific muscle and tone/strengthen it however the fat layer will still be basically sitting on top of your muscle! To lose fat body has to burn it off by using it as energy! If you eat more calories than your maintenance, your body will just use those excess calories instead of your fat storage! You will need to be in a deficit!! You can do this by cardio or dieting or a mixture of both.

6. How do I lose mass (cut/get toned/lean/lose fat/weight)? Losing weight is a product of a CALORIC DEFICIT (consuming less and burning more calories than your body needs in order for it to use the fat storage in your body as energy) The best way to have a deficit is to keep track of your nutrition/calories and also burn calories as a cardio workout. (Refer to question 10 to calculate your caloric deficit)

7. How do I gain mass (bulk/gain weight/muscle)? In order to gain mass your body must be in a CALORIC SURPLUS (your body will not have the energy/nutrients to build more tissue as muscle otherwise) During this time you will gain fat if you are trying to bulk. It is possible to try a lean bulk phase where you MINIMIZE the fat gained by consuming a good macro ratio, only going into a slight caloric surplus (Refer to question 10 to calculate your caloric surplus), and adding in LIGHT cardio (just make sure you are still in a surpus) I also recommend eating your weight in protein (0.8-1g per 1lb of your body weight) because having more protein will aid in protein synthesis (an important part of muscle growth)

8. Why is it impossible to gain muscle mass and lose fat at the same time? You can still build muscle on a deficit HOWEVER you won’t gain MASS. You will still have stronger muscles/slightly more defined but they won’t grow in size. Your body just simply doesn’t have the energy/nutrients to build more tissue as muscle which is why people go on bulking/cutting phases. Being in a caloric deficit hinders protein synthesis which means your body tends to lose muscle when you’re trying to lose fat. Restricting your calories also restricts your body’s ability to build and repair muscle tissue so consuming high amounts of protein AND gradually increasing your deficit will help to preserve your muscles. HOWEVER!!! There is a SHORT portion of time as someone who’s just getting into fitness (never worked out before) that goes through a period of “newbie gains” where it is possible to lose fat and gain muscle because your body reacts very strongly to any new stimulus it gets (You will see that it is possible to make huge jumps in strength compared to that of an experienced lifter)

9. How do I calculate my caloric maintenance? First off, what are maintenance calories? The amount of calories you need to consume to maintain your current weight. This is determinant on many different factors (age, height, sex, lean mass, hormones, exercise/activity level, diet, etc) - Why is this important? In order to gain muscle mass or lose fat you will have to be either in a caloric surplus or caloric deficit respectively. To determine how many calories you need you will need to know your maintenance and add (surplus) or subtract (deficit) from that. (Note: Cardio can definitely help you put yourself in a deficit by burning more calories in your workout HOWEVER if you still end up eating more calories you may still end up at maintenance or even at a surplus!!!) - What’s the formula? There’s many different formulas and some might be better than others but here here is a VERY simple calories per unit weight calculation which is based on how active your lifestyle is (it is not very specific to individual and offers too wide of a range sometimes but it gives you a good guessimate for you to try to find your maintenance)… - normal, healthy, sedentary individuals: 12-13 kcal/lb - moderate activity (active 3-5x a wk): 14-15 kcal/lb - highly active lifestyle (active 5+ a wk): 16-17kcal/lb ex. I am moderately active and weigh ~125lbs so… 125lbs x 14kcal = 1750kcal and 125lbs x 15kcal = 1875kcal so… ~1750-1875kcal is the range in which my maintenance most likely lies NOW to get a more accurate measure you will have to narrow it down… for about 2-4 weeks monitor your weight by weighing yourself every morning when you wake up and before you consume any food. At the end of the week take an average of them and compare it to the previous weeks.. if it is roughly the same you have found your maintenance. Congratulations! - What now? I want to LOSE weight: From your maintenance start by taking ~10-20% of your maintenance away and again like the method before monitor your weight WEEKLY (it is very important to note that DAILY weigh ins are NOT A DETERMINANT OF HOW HEALTHY YOU ARE so please do not stress if it fluctuates against what your goals are) There is no exact numbers or pattern to follow when dropping the calories but if you are progressing well after ~1-2 weeks drop another ~5-10% and so on.. these results are GRADUAL and patience is very important. I want to GAIN weight: Same as above except now you are adding ~10-20% of your maintenance calories. Monitor your results and adjust as required.

10. What advice/tips can you give to a beginner? i. Set REALISTIC goals! Give yourself time and set goals that you are attainable so it can push you to work harder once you meet it! ii. Take progress photos! I can’t stress this one enough… numerical goals aren’t always the best inidicator for how well you are doing fitness wise! Visual improvement SHOWS you and you will notice small things that you would’ve never seen otherwise iii. Don’t cut cold turkey! Don’t think of dieting as something you should do for x amount of time just change some little things here and there with your nutrition I promise it’ll go a long way. Start by eliminating soda from your diet then junk snacks and then fast food! Not all at once! iv. Be flexible with your schedule! If you miss a day make it up another time and if you still miss it it’s okay forgive yourself move on KEEP GOING v. Don’t compare your progress to others! This one is difficult because of societal standards and unrealistic media portrayals but your OWN progress is what matters how are you doing compared to your PAST self! (Again, progress photos!!) vi. Start slow and steady! Don’t just go into it thinking the most important thing is the most weight you can lift, I see a lot of people go into the gym and pick up the heaviest weight they can handle and when they do the movement it’s not a complete extension or its sloppy. Take your time, good form and technique goes a long way. vii. Work out all your muscle groups! Don’t make the mistake of working out the muscles that you like (I was guilty of this) A lot of workouts indirectly aid in another and having an evenly built body will just make you feel strong as hell. Don’t be a dorito. viii. Enjoy your life! Just because you are working out/trying to be healthy doesn’t mean you can’t go out with your friends/family or eat the foods you want as long as they are in moderation!! Enjoy it and be ready to come back to it right after

11. What is the difference between high reps/low weight and low reps/high weight? - Higher weight and low reps = a bigger focus on building strength - Lower weight and high reps = a bigger focus on building muscle (hypertropy) Both are important to intregrate into a workout program if you want to have muscle definition and strength. Varying the rep scheme is also good to prevent over exhaustion of your muscles and potential injuries. For more rep scheme details refer to question 3.

12. How do I speed up my metabolism? Metabolism 101: 3 major components 1. BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate): the amount of calories your body needs to simply just BE à this is dependent on your mass/weight, age, height, etc and will only change if one of those factors changes 2. TEPA (Thermic Effect of Physical Activity): heat generated by ANY physical movement (walking, running, fidgeting, etc) à any amount of physical activity you add to your daily routine will help increase this. It may not be practical for some to suddenly do a bunch of cardio but if you add any physical activities (taking stairs, walking vs driving, etc) over time it adds up 3. TEF (Thermic Effect of Feeding): energy spent digesting, transporting, absorbing food àthis one is a bit trickier and less significant but a protein calorie requires more energy for your body to break down vs a fat calorie (a high protein diet could help you) MYTHS: - Drinking water will boost your metabolism (it does not affect metabolism, it simply just creates satiety and makes you feel a bit more full which helps for DIFFERENT reasons) - Eating more frequent smaller meals boosts your metabolism (NO scientific backing, what matters is DAILY/WEEKLY nutrition and calorie consumption)

13. What do you do for cardio? While I am cutting, my goal is to burn 1200 calories per week. I am doing low intensity cardio where I walk on the highest incline (15) at a speed of 3 for 30 minutes and burn roughly ~300cal per session.

14. What do you usually eat? While I am cutting: chicken, turkey, rice, eggs, cereal, low fat cheese and milk, greek yogurt, beef jerky, protein shakes, protein bars, vegetables, fruits, etc.. and I will still have the occasional snack/fatty food

15. How much can you bench/squat/deadlift? My 1 rep max for Bench: 130lbs Squat: 145lbs (front) Deadlift: 275lbs (sumo)

16. How do you stay motivated? I am gonna be honest but you shouldn’t rely on motivated to keep up with the gym.. motivation is fleeting and it comes and goes when it wants and there are gonna be bad days that kill it and in order for you to persist and keep going things need to become routine: 1. MAKE TIME FOR THE GYM! Plan ahead and schedule your week beforehand.. figure out which days and times you are able to go and try to set a consistent schedule. If you plan to go for 3 days a week and lets say you have a bad day on one of those days.. make it up! Go the next time you’re free, be flexible. 2. CHANGE YOUR ROUTINE LITTLE BY LITTLE! DON’T make a complete 180 to your nutrition or workout schedule and expect yourself to follow through with it. That’s way too difficult. Make adjustments here and there (don’t cut cold turkey!) and lets say you can’t work out for the whole two hours you wanted to.. that’s okay! Do as much as you can and slowly work up to it. 3. SET ATTAINABLE GOALS! The most discouraging thing is working really hard and expecting results a little too soon and have your “motivation” die because you haven’t made any “progress”. TAKE PROGRESS PICTURES! If you set smaller goals, once you reach them you’ll be even more motivated to keep going! 4. EXPECT BAD DAYS! Something I used to struggle with was being busy with work and school and all the stress that comes with that and I would stop working out if I had exams coming up and THAT’S OKAY! Take some time off, I know other priorities pop up HOWEVER after that’s done don’t feel like you’ve lost all the “potential progress.” Keep going! Life happens, don’t be so hard on yourself. 17. Is it better to work out all your muscles on one day or different muscles on different days?

It generally depends on your schedule. I do recommend giving yourself a few rest days! For someone that has a super busy schedule they may go only 2 to 3 times per week vs someone with a more flexible schedule that can go 4 to 5 times per week. As long as you can hit all your muscle groups in 1 week you are golden. example of workout plans: 2 days a week: upper body, lower body 3 days a week: push day (chest/triceps) , pull day (back/biceps), leg and abs 4 days a week: chest/tricep, back/biceps, legs, abs and shoulders 4 days a week: upper body, lower body, upper, lower 4 days a week: lower body, push day, pull day, lower body the possibilities are endless and are completely up to you

18. I can’t afford/go to a gym, what are some things I can do at home? If you can’t make it to the gym, I do highly recommend you at the very least invest in a pair of dumbells and possibly a pull up bar! Here are some workouts: - Push ups (chest/triceps) - Bicep curls (biceps) - DB lateral raises (shoulders) - DB shoulder press (shoulders) - DB rear delt flys (delts) - DB pec dec flys (chest) - DB tricep extensions (triceps) - DB rows (back) - Chair dips (triceps) - Pull ups (back/biceps) - Leg raises (w/ pull up bar) (core) - Squats (can add db) (legs) - Wall sits (legs) - Planks (core)

19. Do you have a sample workout program? Sample

20. How many times a week do you go to the gym and for how long? I go ~4 times a week and will spend an avg of 2 hours there, sometimes I’ll do cardio for 30 minutes in addition during my cutting phases

21. Do you ever experience gym anxiety? And how do you deal with it? Of course! The best thing you can do is avoid the gym at peak hours (5pm-8pm) and bring headphones when you go to basically block everyone out and ignore them. Bring a buddy if that’s an option. People at the gym are focused on their own workout and even if they seem like they’re judging you, it’s probably not the case they’re in their own zone!

22. Do you have any fitness websites you could recommend? NerdFitness, Darbee, BodyBuilding are a few And I also really enjoy OmarIsuf’s and Alan Thrall’s youtube videos.

23. Can I add you on MyFitnessPal? Sure its nikkintn

24. How long have you been working out for? I started working out about 4 years ago but have only recently, in the past few years, been more serious about it with dieting and consistency.

25. How do you cut your T-shirts? Cutting T shirt tutorial

26. What is your workout playlist? Playlist

27. What protein do you take? I take this one amazon it has 25g of protein for only 110 calories but any whey isolate will do just fine!

28. Do take any other supplements? I only take a preworkout before I hit the gym

29. Do you have any fitness blog recommendations? Sadly, I don’t follow any fitness blogs on here. However if you want recommendations for fitness inspirations @ bonschro, megsquats, brookeence, baconandbiceps, kriis_d, steficohen, cynthialeu, matiecakesssss!

ABOUT ME FAQ

1. What inspired your tattoo? My forever girl Korra, more specifically this fanart by peaceofseoul

2. Have you every cosplayed/would you every cosplay [character]? I have ‘closeted’ cosplayed before but I’ve never done an actual full blown one? I would really like to cosplay Korra one day but I don’t have much time/craft skills to make one at the moment.

3. What platform do you game on? PS4 only

4. Can I add you on PSN? Sure my PSN is i-Nikki however I don’t usually get a chance to play a lot of multiplayer because of school/work

5. How tall are you? 5′5″

6. What is your ethnicity? I am half chinese and half viet

7. Are you single? No

8. Favorite video games? Mass effect, tomb raider, the last of us, dishonored, transistor, bloodborne, horizon zero dawn

9. What’s your major? Biology, Fall ‘18 I will be attending pharmacy school

10. What’s your career goals? I want to become a pharmacist (drug lord)

11. Would it be okay if I draw you? Go for it. Follow your dreams.

12. What characters do you main on overwatch? Roadhog, Zarya, Mei, 76, Lucio

13. When is your birthday/sign? July 10th and cancer

14. Where are you from? If you missed it in my description, I am from Orange County, CA

15. Can I send you snaps of ___? My snapchat is PUBLIC. Apologies but I will not see any snaps that you send me. Only the people that I have added are able to message me. You can DM me on tumblr if you would like.

#faq #fitness #this will now be the link in my descrip!!!#i didnt want to make it as a post because i think thats messy #but i think its needed at this point lol #hope yall enjoy #long post #ALSO IM SORRY FOR MOBILE USERS RN #JUST BEAR WITH ME FOR THIS ONE TIME LMAO #I HATE TUMBLR MOBILE GOD WHY DOES IT NOT DO READMORE #okay its sometimes a readmore and sometimes not #regardless #im sorry

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secretlystephaniebrown · 7 years ago

Text

Letters to No One: 2/6

Summary: Lucretia writes letters that she can never send over the years.

Also on Ao3

She writes a thousand confessions to Merle, about what she’s planning on doing. She destroys them all, and then keeps working on her edits. She needs to make sure that this is all perfect. She can’t afford to be sloppy here.

She’s out of practice with editing. She’s had no need to; the others go through her journals, writing things in the margins, correcting them. It makes re-reading them agonizing, now that she’s trying to put a coherent narrative together.

She pauses on Cycle 21, and smiles, her fingers tracing lightly over the sketch she’d drawn of Merle, surrounded by shells.

Merle,

I tried to make sure that the beach you’re on is as close to the other one as I could. I hope you love it.

-L

Lucretia loses the following things in Wonderland:

Sixty hit points

Her physical strength

Twenty years of her life

A handful of magical items that she’d accumulated over a century

Several very powerful spells from her spellbook

She thinks she gave up memories, but a careful scan of her journals reveals nothing.

Lucretia has no idea what it is that she gave up, but she thinks it was important.

Merle,

I don’t… gods, I’ve made a mistake.

Wonderland is… I don’t even know how to describe it. I need help, Merle, I clearly need so much more help than just my handful of allies. I sacrificed so much—everything hurts, Merle. I’m curled up in the Felicity Wilds now and I just—I’d give anything for you to be here right now. You can’t heal in Wonderland, and we were in there for… I’m not even sure how long we were in there for. Weeks, I think, but honestly it might have been hours, or even years.

I gave up twenty years of my life. I feel it, too. But that might be the blood loss talking.

I left Cam behind. He begged me not to. He said that I’d die out here, in the Felicity Wilds. But I can do this. I know I can.

I just wish I had you here with me, by my side. I know I can’t, I know it’s impossible, but I wish I could have it anyways.

-L

Lucretia, against all odds, survives the Felicity Wilds, with the help of a fighter named Killian. Killian finds her, injured as she is, and offers her a healing potion and a helping hand out of the Wilds.

She pays Killian very well for the service, and then she looks her up and down.

“How would you like a job?” She asks.

Merle,

I’ve decided that maybe a part of what went wrong in Wonderland is that Cam and I were both magic users. I need to find balance. Not just wizards and clerics, but more people like Magnus. Warriors and rogues, maybe druids, paladins, bards. The seven of us were always heavy on magic—which is bad in a fight. After the high-level spell slots are used up, what are we left with? Magnus hitting things, and the rest of us resorting to using our wands as bludgeons. Or a staff, in my case.

Maureen isn’t a magic user, but she’s also no warrior. On my way out of the Felicity Wilds, I met an Orcish woman named Killian. She’s a fighter, and she helped me get out of there. I think she’s the start. I can build from this.

I will find balance.

-L

When she gets back from Neverland, she scries all of them. Or, well, not all of them—Barry is hidden from her, Davenport is the next room over so she doesn’t need to, and she still can’t find any trace of Lup.

She can’t tell much from the spell, but it’s a comfort to see their faces again. To know that they’re still alright.

She wishes they were here with her, reacting loudly to her hair. She can imagine Merle telling her that she’s still not old, not really, and she smiles to herself, for the first time since Wonderland.

Merle,

I’ve got a source that says you’re getting married. Don’t look at me like that, I’ve got one of your distant cousins in the Bureau, and she requested time off for the wedding. I must admit I’m shocked—you never really struck me as the marrying type. But then again, I’ve never known you in a world without the Hunger, have I? Maybe that’s what you were waiting for. A chance to rest.

Congratulations, Merle. I’ll try to find a way to send you a proper wedding present, besides giving your cousin the time off.

-L

For Merle’s wedding, she quietly slips down to the beach by the house he and his new wife Heccuba are living in. Hecuba has a daughter named Maevis. Lucretia casts invisibility on herself, and scatters rare shells all over the beach front, hoping that Merle will gather them, and create something wonderful for his daughter.

Merle,

Your cousin has reported to me in passing that you have a son now. A son. You’re a father! I… holy shit.

I know Taako and Lup used to call you “Dad”, but I didn’t expect you to go out of your way to prove them right so soon!

-L

Lucretia dreams about how it would have gone, if this had happened while the others were around.

She can imagine the confusion, the laughter, the shock, the swearing. She imagines Magnus carving a cradle for Mookie, baby blankets knitted by Davenport, Taako and Lup making increasingly ridiculous jokes as they all angle for the role of favorite aunt/uncle.

She sketches out on a piece of paper, the sky of their homeworld, which she likes to think she would have painted above Mookie’s bed, so he could grow up knowing his home.

She tucks that in with the rest of her letters.

Merle,

Your cousin passed away three weeks ago on a mission, so I’m out of the Highchurch/Rockseeker gossip loop. But I did manage to hear a rumor about a wandering cleric of Pan. Didn’t take long to get a confirmation that it was you.

I don’t know what happened, but I’m sorry things didn’t work out. This isn’t what I wanted for you—wandering from town to town like this, a travelling preacher. I had really hoped that you’d settle down and enjoy that happy ending.

But maybe that’s not what you wanted to be happy—like I said, you never really expressed interest in marriage, back on the Starblaster. But I just assumed…

Was that foolish of me? To assume that you’d all be alright if I just gave you what you wanted? A home by the beach, a place in a small town, a cooking show? Was this naïve, believing things would be okay?

Ordinary, every day occurrences seem so… small, compared to the lives that we lived. Food poisoning, divorce, and random acts of violence, completely separated from grand wars over magical artifacts… they strike whenever and wherever they please, not taking happy endings into account.

I guess I am a fool, thinking I could force the world into giving you the joy and peace you deserve. You’d think it would cooperate more, after we saved it.

-L

Lucretia starts an official Bureau of Balance file on Merle Highchurch, to justify using resources to keep an eye on him.

“Is he important?” Brian asks her idly, picking up the file at random from her desk. He has a very interesting report about rumors about a place called Wave Echo Cave, which she’s going over now.

“No,” Lucretia says absently. Lying has gotten all too easy, lately. She grabs her map of the glass circles, and starts measuring the distance between the closest one and the cave. “But I’m always on the lookout for talent, and Highchurch’s cousin spoke well of him.”

“He sounds like a fool,” Brian says.

Lucretia bristles, but she doesn’t allow Brian to see it. “If you say so,” she says. “Thank you for that report, Brian, I’ll pass this along to the Reclaimers.”

Merle,

I’m glad you’re with Magnus and Taako again. I feel better, knowing that you have each other’s backs.

-L

Lucretia goes to visit Fisher. “They’ll be here soon,” she promises.

Fisher lets out an irritated noise at her. They still haven’t forgiven her for taking their child.

“I’m sorry,” she promises, pressing a hand against the tank. “It will all be over soon.”

Merle,

You’re here, and I want to cry, because none of you recognize me at all.

-L

Merle lost his arm.

Magnus looks older, but Merle and Taako still look like they had on the Starblaster. If she had cast silence on them so she couldn’t hear what they were saying, she could have pretended that she was home once again.

Merle still tangles flowers in his bear, still laughs the same, but even before the arm, there had been something different.

His new arm is made of soulwood, and it is permanent. It will not heal at the end of the year, just like Lup will not suddenly return.

She feels so, so old, looking at them. She touches her face, thirty years older, twenty of which she didn’t even get to live, and misses her family, even though they’re standing right in front of her.

Merle,

You invited me to a spa. I… I must admit that this was unexpected. We’ll see how it goes.

-L

Lucretia should say no when Merle invites her to the spa, but Johann pushes her into going. “Boss, you like, really need a break. It’s harshing everybody’s vibe.”

And she’s missed Merle, so, so much, so she lets herself be pampered.

She asks Merle about faith. This is not the first time she’s asked him this question over their century of friendshsip. But she wants to know how his faith has changed, in this world with one sun.

She confesses more to Merle than she should, but of course, the static prevents him from knowing what she’s really saying.

“It’s faith in you,” Merle says.

She takes a deep breath and drinks her wine.

Merle is right. She has faith in herself.

She will finish what she’s started.

Merle,

How do you always know exactly what to say, even when you don’t know even half of what’s going on? Despite everything, sometimes I think you’re the wisest man I know.

-L

Merle brings his kids to the moon. Lucretia has no idea how to handle them---they’re not like Angus, who is most of Lucretia’s experience with children.

“Yeah, Hecuba and I have decided on split custody,” he tells her, chest puffed up. “Being a big hero and all.”

Lucretia smiles. “Even though she now knows you negotiate shirtless?”

“Well, with abs like these, who can blame me?” Merle says. He’s wearing a Hawaiian print shirt that gives absolutely no indication of musculature, and Lucretia laughs.

“I’m glad. Back to the beach?” She tries not to sound wistful.

“Oh absolutely,” he puts a cactus on her desk. “Now, this pretty lady is Antonia. She’s a hardy one, so I think she’ll be able to survive whatever even you can throw at her. But just in case, write yourself reminders to water her once a week.”

Lucretia laughs again, something warm in her chest. “Are you sure that’ll be enough?”

“Look, don’t make me regret this! I’m trusting you with Antonia!”

Lucretia smiles, and reaches out to touch the cactus gently. “I’ve got something for you.”

Her letters to Merle are wrapped with gardening twine. She’d stolen it from the greenhouses years ago in a fit of nostalgia.

He laughs when he takes them. “Only you would think that journals weren’t enough writing.” Lucretia feels her face grow warm. “You’ll be fine,” he tells her.

She smiles. “Thank you, Merle.”

A few days later, a letter shows up on her desk. A few crude drawings, primarily sketches of two young dwarves, but there are a few carefully drawn landscapes. They’re accompanied by Merle’s bold, large scrawl.

These are Maevis and Mookie. Whatever else, I wouldn’t have them without you.

-Merle

#Steph Writes #Letters to No One #Merle Highchurch #Lucretia #The Adventure Zone #TAZ: Balance #we interrupt this angst war to bring you TAZ fic!

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gyrlversion · 6 years ago

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This Constitutional Crisis Probably Won’t Be Trump’s Last

Photo: Pete Marovich/Getty Images

Most weeks, New York Magazine writer-at-large Frank Rich speaks with contributor Alex Carp about the biggest stories in politics and culture. Today, the constitutional crisis brought on by Trump’s opposition to Congress, the Trump tax exposé, and Michael Cohen’s dirty work for Jerry Falwell Jr.

With the decision to assert executive privilege to keep the unredacted Mueller report away from the House Judiciary Committee, Donald Trump continues to treat Congress, in the words of John Yoo, “like they’re the Chinese or a local labor union working on a Trump building.” Will his stonewalling work?

Let’s pause for a moment and reflect on the fact that we’ve hit a moral bottom where John Yoo is aghast at Trump. John Yoo! For those with short memories, Yoo was the Bush-Cheney deputy assistant attorney general who endorsed uninhibited presidential power grabs and drafted the so-called Bybee memo green-lighting “enhanced interrogation techniques” (a.k.a. torture). Even Yoo, it turns out, must draw a line when a Republican president waterboards the Constitution.

In any case, Trump’s stonewalling will “work” in the sense that the ensuing court battles over the wholesale White House effort to bury the unredacted Mueller report, resist subpoenas, and shut down all testimony by administration officials could drag on for months, if not years. But in a way this may be the least of the country’s problems, as Trump stops at nothing to hold on to power. As Jerry Nadler and Nancy Pelosi have said, we are in “a constitutional crisis.” But even constitutional crises are relative. The ultimate crisis may arrive, as Pelosi has been warning, when Trump, if defeated, attacks the legitimacy of the 2020 election. If his loss is narrow (and perhaps even if it isn’t), the imagination reels at picturing what havoc he and his riled-up base, a third of the country, might sow to extend his rule.

A comparable constitutional crisis could also be triggered if the Supreme Court does rule against Trump’s wonton invocation of executive privilege before Election Day arrives. Do we really believe that Trump and Bill Barr would obey that ruling? Would they actually release the evidence such a ruling would make public? Richard Nixon seriously considered burning the White House tapes before the Court mandated their release during Watergate. The comparable records of this White House include the copious notes taken by Donald McGahn’s chief of staff Annie Donaldson, described by the Washington Post as a daily “running account of the president’s actions” documenting “conversations and meetings.” Trump is already on record asserting that McGahn’s “notes never existed until needed.” It’s not beyond him or his attorney general to find a way to ensure that they keep never existing.

The easiest break in this stonewall could be accomplished by Robert Mueller. If Trump can’t prevent Congress from calling him to testify, testify he must. Alternatively, if Mueller can’t testify before Congress, then he must exercise his First Amendment rights and tell what he knows to the public in the forum of his choice. For a public servant who sees himself as a patriot and a tribune of the rule of law, shirking that duty is not an option.

Examining ten years of Trump’s tax transcripts, the New York Times reports that from 1985 to 1994 Trump was not only a massive business failure, but “appears to have lost more money than nearly any other individual American taxpayer” during the period. Will their findings put to rest the strangely persistent mythology of Trump’s self-made success?

No, it won’t. Which is not to say that this latest investigative report by the Times is anything less than conclusive and devastating in its exposure of the lies that have abetted Trump’s self-portrait as a business genius.

But how one wishes this and other exposés like it had appeared in 2016 or before. As I wrote in my piece about Roy Cohn last year, the Times executive editor from 1977 to 1986, Abe Rosenthal, was a social crony of Cohn, Trump’s fixer and promoter, and the paper’s failure to seriously scrutinize Trump during his rise to fame and power was a consequence of that relationship. It’s during that period, just before the publication of The Art of the Deal and long preceding both Trump’s Apprentice franchise and presidential run, when the myth of Trump’s self-made business success was firmly cemented in the public mind. The laxness of the Trump coverage then — not just by the Times but by most major news organizations — helps account for the strange persistence of that mythology despite all the evidence to the contrary uncovered by the Times, the Post, and other outstanding organs of investigative journalism over the past few years.

That said, it is impossible to imagine any information that could be reported about Trump at this point that would cause his hard-core supporters, including the Vichy Republicans in Congress, to abandon him. This includes any facts that may emerge if we see Trump tax returns for the quarter-century following those revealed by this week’s Times article. Trump could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot the commissioner of the IRS and he’d still be Making America Great Again.

In a recorded conversation reported by Reuters, Michael Cohen spoke of helping Jerry Falwell Jr. destroy “a bunch of … personal photographs” in 2015, possibly shedding new light on the reasons for Falwell’s influential endorsement of Trump. Should the new developments in the Falwell story line force a reconsideration of what we know about Trump’s Evangelical support?

No further reconsideration is required. To borrow Pete Buttigieg’s coinage, Trump’s Evangelical supporters long ago swallowed whatever moral, religious, and ethical scruples they had and enlisted as cheerleaders for “the porn star presidency.” Falwell, who endorsed Trump because he would bring his “business acumen” to a country “so deep in debt,” has been a particularly embarrassing example. He praised him for his “life of loving and helping others as Jesus taught in the great commandment.” (The Times found not a single itemized charitable deduction in Trump’s 1985–1994 tax documents.) Falwell defended the Access Hollywood tape as a possible “conspiracy among Establishment Republicans” to benefit Paul Ryan. He has compared Trump to Churchill and declared that he “cannot be bought.”

Evangelical voters’ unwavering support of Trump is historically consistent with their support of preachers who turn out to be either financial scam artists, closet cases, or sexual offenders when they are taking a break from preaching against LGBT civil rights and women’s abortion rights. Falwell wraps up all the hypocrisy in one execrable package. His denial of Michael Cohen’s claim that he helped him and his wife destroy “personal” photographs is every bit as convincing as Trump’s past claims that he knew nothing about Cohen’s hush payments to Stormy Daniels. And what are we to make of the seemingly synergistic news, broken by the same reporter, Aram Roston, when he was at BuzzFeed News last year, that Falwell and his wife put up $1.8 million to support a business managed by a 21-year-old pool attendant with no business experience whom they had met at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach? No doubt another example of “loving and helping others as Jesus taught in the great commandment.” Amen.

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itsactuallycorrine · 8 years ago

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Fall in Mutually Satisfying Weirdness and Call It Love

Troy and Abed's pilot premieres and the gang's all there.

also available on ao3

Day 6 of Community AW 17 is post-canon fic.

This the final installment of the mini-arc that takes place post my J/A story Playing House. Unlike the others, you might have to read the previous stories—at least the first two in the Playing House series—to understand this one.

Enjoy!

September 2022

Jeff and Annie are the last to arrive at Troy and Abed’s apartment, and Jeff rolls his eyes when Britta harasses him about it as she opens the door, but he’s not as annoyed as he normally would be.

The reason for it is the same one that causes Annie to flush and trip over herself to apologize. Jeff loses the battle against a smirk. It’s her fault they’re late, after all. A toddler-free hotel room far from home and Annie’s renewed sex drive now that she’s in her second trimester? Honestly, everyone should be grateful they’re here at all.

“Hey, Annie. Jeff,” Abed says as he walks into the room with Frankie and Troy trailing behind him. “Do you guys want a tour? Frankie insisted.”

Jeff’s distracted by the way Troy frowns at them. “What’s up with you? You should be happy tonight.”

“Where’s Xander? I thought he was coming—I even bought him special fruit snacks!”

“He’s with Jeff’s mother,” Annie says as she curls up next to Britta on the sectional that occupies the majority of the space in the living room. Well, that and a TV nearly the size of the wall it's hung on. “Jeff and I wanted to have some time to ourselves before we have two little ones underfoot.”

Troy sighs and drops onto the couch. “Fine. I guess Abed and I’ll have to eat all the fruit snacks.” The two of them trade thumbs-up as everyone else grabs a seat.

“So, guys!” Britta bounces in place. “Are you excited? Nervous?”

“I mean, kind of,” Troy says with a shaky laugh. “The reviews so far have been mostly positive, but… we’ll see.”

“I keep trying to tell Troy that the opinions of the masses don’t really mean anything in the long run.” Abed shrugs.

“You’re still putting part of yourself out there,” Annie says, patting Troy’s leg fondly. “And that’s always scary. But rewarding, too. I’m sure it’ll be great.”

“Explain the premise to me again.” Frankie furrows her brow. “The main character is the host of a children’s television program or something, right? And he gets accused of a crime? And it’s a comedy?” She sends a bewildered glance Jeff’s way. “Is this average for television series? Does nothing make sense?”

Jeff smiles. “I think if there’s one thing you can count on with these two, it’s that it’ll be anything but average.”

“Thanks, man,” Troy says, nudging Jeff. “And yeah. The main character—Ken Meng—is like a local-access Mr. Rogers kind of star. His show is going off the air after a few decades due to budget cuts, and then it comes out that one of the original cast members was kidnapped.”

“The kids from the original seasons circle up to help solve the mystery,” Abed picks up, “only they keep learning weird details about Ken’s life. Wait until you see Randall Park’s work as Ken.” He shakes his head in wonder. “He doesn’t want to be seen as Louis Huang anymore, and he really goes for it. It’s… it’s genius.”

Something niggles at the back of Jeff’s brain and the character name repeats on a loop: Ken Meng, Ken Meng, Ken Meng. When it clicks, he looks to Annie in dawning horror only to find her already staring at him. “Ben Chang!” they mouth to each other over Troy’s head.

The door buzzes and Troy jumps off the couch and is out of the apartment like a shot, without calling down first to see who it is.

Jeff takes advantage of his absence and slides closer to Annie, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “Did you suspect anything?” he murmurs in her ear. “What are the odds that they based all their characters off us?”

She sighs. “I didn’t put it together before now, but they told me a while ago the kids in the original cast grew up to be a detective, a lawyer, a school counselor, and so on. I should’ve known.” She goes still. “Troy’s stories. The ones he wrote while he was sailing around the world. Didn’t Chang go on trial for kidnapping in them?”

He glances away. “I don’t know. I didn’t read them.”

“Jeff, ” she says, poking his chest with a pointy little finger. “Don’t lie to your wife.”

He grins dopily at that, still not over it after seven months. “Maybe I skimmed some of them. But I was just looking for the sexy parts.”

She laughs against his shoulder. “Did you find any?” she teases, but when he cocks a brow at her, she gapes. “Really? Between us?”

He smirks. “I guess you’ll have to watch the show and find out.”

The door opens behind them and almost everyone turns and gasps at the same time.

Britta’s the first on her feet. “Shirley!” She rushes over and wraps her arms around Shirley. Troy joins in as he walks up behind Shirley and soon they’re all clustered around her.

All except Frankie, who watches with a smile, but Jeff feels a prick of remorse and is the first to extricate himself from the group hug. Everyone follows his lead.

Abed takes it upon himself to make introductions, probably so he can monitor the dynamic between Frankie and Shirley, but soon enough, they’re all sitting around as the ads before the show play.

And, honestly, the show is good. Based on some of the things he’s seen from Abed and Troy in the past, Jeff wasn’t really expecting to be impressed, but… By the time the first commercial break comes, he’s invested. It only has a little to do with the vain, smug lawyer character who’s obviously still nursing an unrequited crush on his former costar, who’s now a detective.

It’s not difficult to figure out the inspiration behind each character: Emily—the detective—is obviously Annie; the lawyer is Jeff; Betty the preacher is Shirley; the racist, sexist station owner is Pierce. But he’s surprised to see that there’s no character for Troy, until he remembers the series’ origin—Troy’s stories while he was away. He glances over and the wistful smile on Troy’s face tugs at his heart.

“It’s really great, Troy,” Jeff says, and Troy beams. “But it’s missing something.”

“What's that?”

Jeff pretends to think about it. “ I don't know. Someone to balance the group out. A lovable goofball who holds all these people together, who brings in the light when they all get too dark.”

“Jeff, spoilers” Abed warns with a knowing look in his eye. “That’s not until episode four.”

Jeff and Troy trade grins, and Abed shushes everyone as the show returns.

September 2023

Jeff and Annie watch from the comfort of their own home as Randall Park gives his acceptance speech for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.

”Abed was right,” Jeff says with a shake of his head. “His performance was genius.”

Annie nods. “I know! I didn’t think anyone could out-Chang Chang, but somehow he pulled it off. I can’t wait until season two premieres.” She pouts. “In mid-season.”

“Network TV,” he says with a sigh, wrapping his arm around her, enjoying the few minutes of peace until one or both of their kids needs something. “They just don’t appreciate art.”

#communityaw17 #community fic #jeff x annie #troy barnes #abed nadir #jeff winger #annie edison #community #corrine writes #otp: something always brings me back to you

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mercurygray · 8 years ago

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As Good Belongs to You: A Mercy Street Fanfic

Relationships: Emma Green/Henry Hopkins, Emma Green & Mary Phinney Tags: Letters, Slow Burn, Mutually Unrequited, Bedside Vigils, Late Night Conversations, Awkward Pauses, Period-Appropriate Hesitation

Summary:

Mary Phinney is abed with typhoid, and Emma, hoping to spare her more-skilled colleagues, has volunteered to keep the night vigil with her. The hospital's a different place at night - and sometimes the quiet hours of midnight (and the guests they bring) reveal more than they hide.

(At the beginning of 2.03, Belinda, seeing Emma come in that morning for breakfast, asks her bedraggled mistress skeptically, "You...spent the night there?" Try as I might, I couldn't wrestle that into something as scandalous as I wanted -- so have this instead.)

(Read on AO3!)

Emma focused her tired eyes on the plate in front of her and tried to summon something that vaguely resembled prayer over dinner. Dinner, of course, was a relative term - tonight’s offering (the same food as had been served on the wards this afternoon) was some species of stew, the vegetables all but boiled clean of color, texture, identity and, one rather thought, of flavor as well. (Abel was many things, but a chef was not one of them. Emma was glad Belinda had been accepted into the kitchen staff, if this what was passing for fortifying and nutritious fare for invalids.)

LordforwhatweareabouttoreceivemayyoumakeustrulygratefulAmen.

She spooned the first bite into her mouth, chewing hesitantly and felt it slide, tasteless, down her throat. This was not a meal she was going to linger over. The bread, at least, would be palatable - she knew Belinda had had a hand in it - and there was a cup of water, too. Scant fare for someone who had been working all day. And this is how Nurse Mary had been eating this past months! Small wonder she hadn’t gotten sick already.

She’d sent Doctor Foster away to get some rest, and was just starting to nod in her chair when the Chaplain had knocked at the door, trying to be quiet. “I thought you might like a moment of respite,” he had offered, leaning almost hesitantly into the room as he might somehow disturb the air and thereby wake the patient. “The kitchen...maid Belinda thought you might not have eaten, and bade me bring a plate upstairs. It’s in the day room, should you want it. Cold, I’m afraid. She said she’d been waiting to see you.”

Emma had smiled, rising from her chair. “She’s probably right. She always knows these things.”

“There’s...no rush,” the chaplain had offered kindly. “I’ve no place to be myself.” She had hesitated a moment, glancing at Mary, but the head nurse offered no guidance, still sleeping soundly. Well, but it was not as though the Chaplain had not seen his share of fevers. And there would be no great change if she was gone ten minutes.

Belinda had been right - Emma hadn’t eaten a thing since breakfast, too busy to turn in at the noontide hour for anything more than a cold cup of tea and too occupied with Mary in the evening to attend to dinner. Which was why she was in the day room, cautiously spooning cold stew into an unenthusiastic mouth.

She ate her meal thinking, quietly, about Mary and Doctor Foster, how close they had been when she had come into the room to start her watch. She’d had enough friends in love or out of it to think she knew what it looked like, but this was different, somehow, softer and calmer than what her friends called love -- almost more like what she saw between her parents, a kind of warm, wordless comfort that dwelt in the spaces between them.

She knew Mary had been married - and Foster, too, had a wife, though where she was now Emma did not rightly know. Divorce was not a word she knew well, considered an abomination of manners in her own home -- but if two people married, and found themselves unsuited, was it not better to break the thing apart? Would it not be better to build such things over anew?

She no longer felt that comfort from Frank. She knew that now, the doubt that had quietly begun moving into her heart several months ago now firmly in residence. She’d tried to give him a second chance, bandaging his wounds, even going so far as to permit certain intimacies she would never have allowed before in the hope that they would somehow clear her mind - yet still at day’s end, she had crept away from his room feeling more isolated than ever. “Don’t lie to me,” she’d begged, and he’d ducked his eyes and said “Not again,” and her blood had run cold.

Foster wouldn’t have done such a thing to Mary, she was sure of that. Or if he had done, she would not have permitted it to pass unnoted. McBurney, too, for all that he was a cold fish, certainly did not seem a man who held with lying, either, and seemed, also, the type too concerned with manly honor to cheapen himself in a lie. And of course the Chaplain would never have countenanced such a thing as lying to a woman he professed to love.

She had found herself wondering of late what such a creature would look like -- the object of Hopkins’ affections. She imagined someone rather more like Mary than herself, devout and quiet, studious and with a wise air about her person, the sort of soul one turns to for comfort in an hour of need. Of course she would need such gifts, if she was to be a pastor’s wife, a model of good behavior and the sort of woman who might lead Sunday school or direct the choir or organize the parish picnic or deliver food to the sick, as need warranted, a jewel-box of talents. A capable woman who can find? Her value is beyond rubies, the Proverbs said, and she was sure that was the only reason she had never heard Hopkins speak, of an afternoon, of a sweetheart at home. A woman like that was beyond rubies -- and would need to be, to deserve someone like Hopkins. Well-educated, polite, kind, agreeable in temper but resolute in purpose, and...well, but she would say it, handsome, too. Was that such a bad thing to be? A different kind of beauty than Frank had charmed with, but there was something about him that made her --

God is going to smite me, saying such things about one of his servants, she thought silently, pushing the thought to one side and hoping it remained there.

Eventually the plate was clean, wiped down with bits of bread - a trick she’d learned from watching soldiers too used to half rations bolt their dinners down and practically lick the plate clean of gravy afterwards. How her mother would disapprove! But her mother wasn’t here, and in her absence, Emma could do as she liked. The kitchen was short of water, anyway - eating thusly saved scrubbing. She brought the dish down to the kitchen and gave it as good a rinse as she could with the cold, scummy water in the basin in the sink, and, guiltily, left it for the morning crew to finish.

Hopkins was still in her chair when she returned, his attention deep in his bible, glasses perched on his nose, silhouetted in the light from the lamp on the bedside table behind him. He looked up as the door creaked. “I told you there was no cause to hurry,” he reprimanded softly, the smallest bit of judgement in his voice.

“It wasn’t something I wanted to savor,” Emma said with a shrug. Even Hopkins had to smile at that - though of course, he never complained. “Thank you for bringing the plate upstairs.”

“My pleasure.” He rose and tucked his marker back into the bible and his glasses into the pocket of his waistcoat, offering her the return of her chair. “Are you sure you don’t need anything else?”

She shook her head. “You ought to get some sleep yourself,” she said. “Can’t have you falling asleep on the ward tomorrow.”

“I could say the same for you,” he replied gently. She shrugged.

“We’ve only got one chaplain.” God above, had she really said that? How infantile she sounded - no better than a flirt at her first party.

Hopkins, for his own part, seemed not to have noticed, or else was merely being polite. “Well, I’ll bid you good night. I’ll keep Miss Phinney in my prayers.” He gave a brief nod of goodbye and nudged the door shut behind him as he left, bible in hand.

Emma looked at the closed door and sighed, wishing she’d had the sense to keep her mouth shut. She should have brought something to read herself - or perhaps she might borrow that book of poetry she knew Mary kept in her bedside table.

She turned to look for the slim volume, but found nothing -- except something that hadn’t been there that afternoon. A letter, carefully folded. Had Hopkins forgotten it? Had Foster?

She knew she shouldn’t read it, but...if it was only to return it…

The writing was decidedly female, the page cramped with script, mindful of not wasting a precious sheet of paper.

Dearest Brother,

First, if I may - a request. Mama begs you to write to her more often, and complains to me that I seem to get more of your love and devotion than she and Papa do. I try to say that you write so that the children know you are well, but she will not be moved by such exhortations. Write her, please. Your sister is growing weary of making your excuses. While we are on the subject of Mama and excuses, it seems we cannot attend a church sociable, sewing bee or market day without her constant observations on the ladies present and whether they would do for a preachers’ wife. I am ashamed to report she has in some instances begun making inquiries on your behalf. I give this news only so that you will be well-armed against it when you return home next, if you should be so lucky. She wants you married, Henry, preferably to some sweet-faced miss whom she can boss around relentlessly and who will give her more grandbabies than I have. Try to get home before she makes up your mind for you.

Emma smiled at the letter, wondering if she could get away with asking Hopkins about his mother the next time they spoke. But there was a second page, of different paper -- he’d begun writing the letter back.

Should she? Did she dare? She turned her eyes heavenward and begged forgiveness, and then read.

Dearest Becca,

Mama should know I wished to wait until I had a parish of my own, and a house, before I found a woman to be mistress of it. Until then, you should remind her, I am perfectly capable of darning my own shirts and whatever other domestic trivialities she feels I am in want of. (I will have her know I just yesterday mended a hole in my coat, without help from any of the ladies of the hospital.)

But I thank you for the warning. I would tell you to remind her I might yet find a wife here instead of home, but I would not wish to get scolded as a tease. A new paragraph, as though he had paused while writing. It would not be teasing, though. Gasp, sister, if you must - there is a -

(There was a crossout here, the word ‘girl’ scored through and ‘woman’ written after)

woman here whose affection I wish to win. I wish also you were here to advise on it; you always said I would be hopeless when it came to courting, and she is not the sort that bats her eyes at bible verses. (I remember you said Cora Darrow did that, when she would come on Sunday to hear me read, and I have not forgotten it.) But I think of bringing her home to meet you, and I think you would approve. At the very least, I think she would not stand by and let Mama order her about. She is one of the hardest workers in our hospital, though her family is a good one and she is unused to such a life. Papa would despise her politics - she is as Southern as they come - ”

Emma stared, her vision suddenly out of focus, the hand holding the letter somehow, magically, mysteriously not her own. She’d thought perhaps that it was Mary he’d been writing of, but Mary wasn’t Southern, had no politics Hopkins’ Abolitionist parents in Pennsylvania would disapprove of.

No, the Chaplain was writing of ...her.

The room swam, and she braced herself against the chair, taking several deep, calming breaths before everything came back into view. Instinctively she checked Mary’s brow - still cool. Her own pulse was rapid, her skin electric with nerves. Writing home of her!

He’ll want his letters back, a voice inside reminded waspishly. Are you trying to look for trouble? Another chorused.

Emma glanced again at Mary, wishing, again, that her friend were awake so she might beg some counsel. But Mary’s sleep was sound, and she would not wake her for some inconsequential crise de coeur like this.

The chaplain’s room was in the uppermost floor, near where the maids had stayed in the hotel’s heyday, and the stairs seemed endless. His letters burned between her fingers, every creak in the floorboards a cause for concern. The door was not quite closed, and, as she glanced at the crack in the door, she caught sight of the man himself, stripped to the waist and at his washstand, scrubbing at his face. Emma felt her breath catch in her throat. Lord give me strength. The prayer sprang up unbidden. Her aunts and cousins had often made jokes of an afternoon about the merits of a fine pair of shoulders, but she had never really had cause to think about such an attribute until just now. (She supposed she had given it some mind when Frank...but Frank was not nearly as tall as the Chaplain.)

She knocked, timidly, and he turned, pulling on a shirt as he crossed the room, doubtless used to enough desperate nighttime summonses that he had the foresight to dress before opening the door. Still, untucked and open at the throat...She steeled herself and tried to act naturally.

“Miss Green!” He almost closed the door a little more, seeing her in the hallway and mindful he was not properly dressed.

She held out the letters. “You left your letters on the table. I thought I should return them before they were missed.”

“Thank you.” He opened the door wider, embarrassed at being caught in such a state of undress as she now saw him in. Oh, shame on her, that she wished his hand would touch hers as he took them! “Thank y-”

“I read them,” she blurted out, before he could thank her for it, her cheeks bright crimson. “I didn’t know if you...or - or Doctor Foster had...I’m sorry.”

“Both... of them?” It was Hopkins’ turn to look a little beetroot in the cheeks himself.

She nodded, lost for words, aware her face was so hot you could probably light a candle from it. “Your sister seems an interesting woman,” she managed, with a small shrug and the most nervous of smiles. “I...wouldn’t mind meeting her someday. And...your mother. It’s only fair, since you’ve...already met mine.”

Oh, how to fix this? What to say? For she must say something, or else risk offending him, or, still worse, give him the impression that his admiration was unwelcome. Chaplain, our desires are mutual? He, too, was fumbling, the both of them caught between convention and candor.

“Miss Green, I should apolo-”

“Henry, please.”

The name dropped from her tongue as natural as breathing, and it struck him like a stone, stunned into stillness. So many thoughts distilled into two words, plea and petition both. Please let me speak. Please don’t be angry. Please don’t leave when I’ve only just gotten you. Please give me a chance. And, unholier than these - Please wrap me in those arms and tell me you won’t lie to me -- and mean it. She wondered for a moment why she hadn’t thought of that before. His name. I should have said his name. His stillness let her take a breath. “Perhaps we might take a walk, one afternoon? There’s a footpath along the park, near the river.” Frank used to take me walking there, she almost wanted to say, but didn’t - the less said now of Frank the better.

There, that ought to suffice. Invitation, not refusal. And the simple pleasure of hearing his name, where once had only been Chaplain, or Reverend Hopkins, or in a moment of crisis the somehow-more-immediate Hopkins, the burnish of his titles cast away.

“I would like that very much, Miss G-” he stopped, unsure of whether or not he might step out onto the ice and still return unscathed. She waited, expectantly waiting. “Emma.”

When had her name kindled such fires in her? She had long despaired it as a child, wishing her mother had more exotic tastes as her schoolrooms filled with Adelines and Cornelias and Sophronias. She could not help now but smile at the sound.

She found herself nodding, determined and decided. “Very well. Good night.”

She turned and began her descent of the stairs, almost to giddy to hear from behind her, as he closed the door, “Good night, Emma.”

Mary was still asleep when she returned, the bedside table finally yielding out the promised book of poetry. Emma could hardly keep her hands still, the words on the page dancing before her eyes, her mind half here, half already gone to Sunday, enjoying the view of the river from the path.

I CELEBRATE myself; And what I assume you shall assume; For every atom belonging to me, as good belongs to you.

#henry hopkins #emmry #i have written a thing #mercy street pbs #my first full length thing in a while #emma green

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weekendwarriorblog · 5 years ago

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The Weekend Warrior Home Edition 4/7/20 – ENDINGS BEGINNINGS, ABE and More (Sorry. No MY SPY.)

Boooooo … this week would have been when the Tribeca Film Festival was supposed to start, but I barely had a chance to go through the movies that were gonna play there when COVID-19 hit, and it was quickly cancelled. Apparently, they’re doing some sort of online festival this week, but apparently, they decided to wait until Friday afternoon to tell press who had already applied that they needed to reapply by Monday morning. If you didn’t receive or see this important Email, and I didn’t, then you were basically fucked in terms of covering the festival. That being said, this will be only the second time in 17 years that I didn’t cover Tribeca, and since they won’t even respond to Emails trying to fix this, I guess that means we’re done here.

This was also the week when, at one point, Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls World Tour was supposed to open but I saw it last week via screener and liked it more than the first movie. I tweeted about it here:

https://twitter.com/EDouglasWW/status/1248685996612489217

Of course, STX’s My Spy was gonna open this weekend after many delays and that now will be streaming on Amazon instead, so that’s just the way things seem to be going. Who knows when any of us will have any sort of box office to report on, especially with AMC filing for bankruptcy and possibly not making it until studios decide to release movies theatrically again? (The earliest possibility seems to be July at this point.)

This week’s Featured Movie is Drake Doremus’ new film ENDINGS, BEGINNINGS (Samuel Goldwyn), starring Shailene Woodley, who is quite fantastic as Daphne, a thirty-something L.A. woman – and honestly, having interviewed Woodley for Alexander Payne’s The Descendants, I have just as hard a time fathoming that she’s even closer to her 30s as I did believing 34-year-old Alexandra Daddario as someone in her 20s in last week’s We Summon the Darkness. Regardless, Daphne is trying to get over a heartbreaking break-up with a man who was also her boss, and she quickly gets into relationships with two men, Jack and Frank, played by Jamie Dornan and Sebastian Stan, who also happen to be friends, creating a tough love triangle.

The fact that Doremus opened this film with the Cocteau Twins was a good sign, and I do have to say that the music throughout the film is fantastic, but really, it’s more about Woodley and the fact that Doremus is returning to a more improvised style of filmmaking ala his earlier film, Like Crazy, which was one of my favorites. I do think that Woodley’s talent elevates her performance well above her male co-stars, who at times, frankly, I couldn’t keep track of which was which. (Dornan’s Irish accent gave it away most of the time.) But I liked how Doremus explores one woman trying to make decisions about her life and relationships, showing how hard it is to do that sometimes.

Endings, Beginnings is on Digital on Friday and then On Demand starting May 1. I honestly don’t know the difference between the two. I probably should figure it out, huh?

Another movie I quite enjoyed that’s on Demand and Digital this Friday is Brazilian documentarian Fernando Grostein Andrade’s first narrative feature, the family comedy ABE (Blue Fox Entertainment), starring Noah Schnapp (from Stranger Things), Seu Jorge, Mark Margolis and Dagmara Dominczyck. Schnapp plays 12-year-old Abe, a Brooklyn ‘tween and a diehard foodie with his own blog and desires to be a chef. His main goal in the year leading up to his Bar Mitzvah is to cook the perfect meal to bring his half-Jewish and half-Palestinian family together in harmony. He gets some helping learning the ropes from Seu Jorge as a Brazilian food cart chef who takes under his wing, but Abe has his work cut out for him as his grandparents and other relatives can never agree on anything.

Listen, this is a pretty simple premise but that helps make Andrade’s film so much easier to enjoy. I feel that this is a movie that probably would have done quite well on the film festival circuit (when there was one) since it’s a crowd-pleasing film that gives a very different look into the Israel-Palestine conflict from a Brazilian outsider, as well as in the guise of a warm non-confrontational coming-of-age film that should appeal greatly to foodies. I actually liked Schnapp in this role, mainly because he’s surrounded by such solid actors, including one of my personal faves, Mark Margolis, as his Israeli grandfather. Abe is the type of movie that may have gone completely overlooked in any other environment but actually keeps your attention through its warmth and pleasing storytelling that can bring those going through these hard times a smile or two. It’s not exactly reinventing the wheel or redefining “cinema” but it’s a good film to watch with the family you may now be cooped up with. (Probably for kids around Abe’s age so 11 and up?)

Next up is That Evening Sun director Scott Teems’ THE QUARRY (Lionsgate), a thriller based on Damon Galgut’s novel, starring Shea Whigham as a drifter who kills a travelling preacher and takes his place in a smalltown while being under suspicion of the police chief, played by Michael Shannon. The movie also stars Oscar nominee Catalina Sandino Moreno, and with those three alone, I really wanted to like this movie, but it was really dull and never really got me interested in any of the characters, which is especially a shame since Whigham is such a good actor, but this movie just didn’t do anything for me… at all.

Available now via VOD and on DVD/BluRay on April 28 is Tyler Cornack’s bizarre comedic (?) thriller BUTT BOY (Epic Pictures) -- co-written, directed and starring Cornack. To be honest, it’s the type of movie that is just too weird for its own good. I have to be honest that the movie’s title scared me, and if I read the actual premise beforehand, I might have been even more bothered about watching it then I was already just from the title. Okay, so Cornack plays Chip Gutchel, a married IT worker who becomes obsessed with anal probing after a proctology exam. A dog disappeared and then a baby but years later, a child disappears from Chip’s job, and the detective on the case (Tyler Rice), who is also being sponsored by Gutchel in AA, suspects that the missing child has gone up Gutchel’s … well, I don’t have to spell it out. This is one of those WHAT THE HOLY FUCK movies like The Greasy Strangler and Lemon that I immediately wondered (and apologies to the podcast of the same name) “How did this movie get made?!” While I felt the same way about the premise for the recent Swallow when I first learned about it, that movie was actually really good. I knew as soon as it became obvious what was happening that I had absolutely zero need to watch a movie about a guy who is able to suck things up his own ass. Don’t get me wrong. It’s a competently-made genre film but as it became clearer and clearer where it was going, I was getting more and more queasy about the whole concept. So yeah, I wouldn’t recommend this to my worst enemy, and I’m guessing most people will feel the same but there’s a lot of boredom out there, so who knows?

Wow, that’s it? Four movies? Sheesh…

STREAMING AND CABLE

At this point, it almost seems silly to break this column down into sections ‘cause everything is gonna hit your computer and/or TV sets until theaters finally reopen. Note: I haven’t seen any of the movies or series below.

Streaming on FX on Hulu Wednesday (today!) is the new mini-series Mrs. America, starring Cate Blanchett as Phyllis Schlafly, “the sweetheart of the silent majority,” a woman who is fighting back against women like Gloria Steinem (played by Rose Byrne!) and others who were pushing for the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) in the 70’s. The amazing cast includes Margo Martindale, Uzo Aduba, Elizabeth Banks, Tracey Ullman, “sweetheart of FX” Sarah Paulson, Melanie Lynskey and yes, there is at least one man, played by John Slattery. The showrunner is Dahvi Waller from Mad Men, too, so this should be an entertaining watch, and I’m definitely on board.

Lots of stuff on Netflix this week but not necessarily anything that’s been on my radar, like the new docu-series, The Innocence Files, which is exec. produced and directed by a number of impressive filmmakers like Liz Garbus, Alex Gibney and Roger Ross Williams. Debuting on Wednesday (today!), it looks eight cases of wrongful conviction and what the Innocence Project has done to try to get their cases overturned. This is a subject that has really interested me, although I liked last year’s Brian Banks more than Just Mercy. The Innocence Project is just such an amazing organization with what they’re doing to help those who can’t help themselves go up against the deeply injust criminal justice system, so this is definitely one I’ll be watching.

There are a few new features on Netflix on Friday, none of which I’ve seen but hopefully will be enticing viewing. The three new ones include the German film, Rising High, written and directed by Cüneyt Kaya, starring David Kross (not the comedian) as Viktor Stein and Gerry Falkand as Frederick Lau, two real estate moguls who get sucked into their wealth by defrauding the bank, losing sight of reality.

There’s also the French crime film, Earth and Blood (La Terre et Le Sange), from filmmaker Julien Leclerq about a sawmill owner named Saïd (Sami Bouajila) and his 18 year old daughter Sarah (Sofia Lesaffre) trying to sell his factory, not realizing that one of his apprentices hid cocaine in there, forcing father and daughter to face tough gangsters who want their drugs back.

Brazilian superstar Wagner Moura and Ana de Armas from Knives Out star in Greg Barker’s Sergio, a film about Sergio Viera de Mello, the UN diplomat who is ready to resign and spend time with his wife before he’s assigned to a mission in Baghdad just as the US invasion of 2003, and he’s crushed under a wall when a bomb blasts the UN headquarters.

Amazon Studios will be debuting Tayarisha Poe’s debut feature, SELAH AND THE SPADES, on Amazon Prime Video Friday. It takes place at Haldwell, an elite Pennsylvania board school run by five factions. It stars Lovie Simone as 17-year-old Selah Summer, who runs the most dominant group, the Spades, who caters to supply students with alcohol and pills. As tension builds between the factions, Selah’s right hand BFF Maxxie (Jharrel Jerome) has a new boyfriend, so Selah needs to find a new protégé.

Next week, more movies not in theaters!

By the way, if you read this week’s column and have bothered to read this far down, feel free to drop me some thoughts at Edward dot Douglas at Gmail dot Com or drop me a note or tweet on Twitter. I love hearing from readers … honest!

#TheWeekendWarrior #EndingsBeginnings #MrsAmerica #Abe #ButtBoy #Movies #Reviews #Streaming #Digital #OnDemand

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nebris · 6 years ago

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Liberalism is dead and what to do about it

From our overstocked archives Sam Smith, 2011 - As I was listening recently to a Bob Edwards interview with Kirsten Downey, biographer of the New Deal labor secretary, Frances Perkins, it struck me that the first woman ever to hold cabinet office in American history had played a key role in getting more accomplished than the last three decades of American liberalism combined - things like the Civilian Conservation Corps, Public Works Administration, Social Security, federal insurance for bank accounts, welfare, unemployment insurance, child labor laws, bargaining rights for labor, restrictions on overtime, a 40 hour work week and a minimum wage. Perkins’ colleagues in the New Deal also brought us legal alcohol, regulation of the stock exchanges, the Soil Conservation Service, national parks and monuments, the Tennessee Valley Authority, rural electrification, the FHA, a big increase in hospital beds, and the Small Business Administration. Add to that the numerous achievements of the Great Society including bilingual education, civil rights legislation, community action agencies, Head Start, job Corps, the national endowments for arts and humanities, Teacher Corps, anti-poverty programs, nutrition assistance, Medicare and Medicaid. Next to this, post-1980 liberalism seems at best pathetic and at worst a major betrayal of its own past. Even the otherwise crummy Nixon administration did better – bringing us EPA, affirmative action, the Clean Air Act, the first Earth Day, indexing Social Security for inflation, Supplemental Security income, OSHA, and healthcare reform. Future historians seeking to learn why America so easily surrendered its democratic traditions and constitutional government to a rabid right will find plenty to study in the rise of a liberal aristocracy that became increasingly disinterested in its own historic values. Like all aristocracies, it came to exist primarily to protect itself, had an impermeable faith in its own virtue, and held in contempt those who did not share its values or accept its hegemony. For many years, 20th century liberalism was saved from becoming an aristocracy because of the dominance of constituencies such as labor, European socialists and ethnic minorities. By the 1980s, however, these constituencies - thanks in no small part to successful liberal policies - had advanced socially and economically to the point that they no longer functioned as a massive reminder of what liberalism was meant to be about. With the end of the Great Society, Democrats began a steady retreat from liberalism climaxing in Clinton and Obama with their systematic dismantling of liberal programs and paradigms. As Glen Ford, editor of the Black Agenda Report, put it recently, “President Obama seems positively eager to dismantle the safety nets put in place in the thirties and strengthened by a black-led movement in the sixties.” Among the greatest victims of this retreat have been economic decency, social democracy and civil liberties. It was not that the new liberal aristocrats actually opposed them; it just didn't matter much to them. Liberalism was no longer a matter of masses yearning to breathe free, but of boomers yearning for an SUV and millennials for a new I-Something. While there were still repeated expressions of faith in a declining number of icons such as diversity, abortion, and the environment, the fact was that the liberal elite had become far more characterized by its capacity for self-defense than by its concern or action for others. Most striking was the disappearing interest in those at the bottom. Liberal city councils went after the homeless, pandered to developers, and engaged in other forms of socio-economic cleansing. The Clinton administration attacked welfare in a manner once limited to the Republican right; prison populations soared without a murmur from the liberals; Democrats supported without question a cruel and unconstitutional war on drugs; they joined the war on two centuries of public education; and liberal media aristocrats prided themselves in faux realpolitik and patronizing prescriptions for the masses. Obama gave freely to the banks but hardly noticed the foreclosed. The trend produced remarkable twists of liberal values. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus backed the war on drugs; the leaders of NOW repeatedly defended a sexually predatory male in the White House. And liberal academia provided all purpose justification through the magic rationalization of postmodernism. Through it all, the liberal aristocracy was the dog that didn't bark. Just as Sherlock Holmes' creature failed to warn of an intruder, so America's liberal leadership failed repeatedly to warn of infringements of civil liberties, of unconstitutional acts and legislation, or to rise to the defense of people beyond its own class. When the liberal aristocracy backed the war on drugs, happily sacrificed national and local sovereignty to multinational corporations, yawned as the Clintons disassembled their own former cause, and looked the other way as Obama expanded the police state, it was clear that this atrophied elite would not handle a real crisis. Thought without action is the coitus interruptus of the mind, which may be why liberals produced so few progeny. A politics so heavily grounded in intellectual considerations as opposed to human experience, runs the constant risk of losing its bearings. A wiser approach was espoused by Julius Nyerere who argued that the true revolutionary acted as one of thought and thought as one of action. Another great African activist, Nelson Mandela, credited cattle farming rather than universities as his inspiration. Moving herds around, he explained, had taught him how to lead from behind. Too great an intellectual bias turns citizens into data -- economic or sociological aggregates rather than human organisms. And it produces bizarre, incomprehensible, ineffective legislation like the current health care law. Politics involves real people and it helps to speak real people talk. Many liberals have a tin ear for their presumed constituency. This involves more than a choice of words; the over-refined language is clouded with abstractions while disdaining the anecdotes and metaphors that every good preacher knows is the easiest way to propel a message. I sometimes think that liberalism died when, in the last few decades, its advocates started talking about “infrastructure” instead of public works. The language of obfuscation added to the divide between liberals and others. Thomas Jefferson said that people "by their constitutions are naturally divided into two parties: “1. Those who fear and distrust the people, and wish to draw all powers from them into the hands of the higher classes. “2. Those who identify themselves with the people, have confidence in them, cherish and consider them as the most honest and safe, although not the most wise, depository of the public interests." There is little doubt as to which of these parties many liberals belong. Rhetoric notwithstanding, too often those leading liberal America believe they were born to rule. In fact, their profound self-assurance on this score helps to explain another anomaly of liberals and leftists: the frequency with which you will find them -- Bill Clinton and Barack Obama are names that spring to mind -- cavorting with those whose politics should be an anathema. The reason is simply that the blood of their entitlement is thicker than that of their ideology. What really ties Washington together and unites it against the rest of the country is not policy but a common understanding of the sort of person who should be in charge. Now the economy has fallen, our world status collapsed, our Constitution tattered, and our civil liberties deteriorating by the day. And in the place of a quietly incompetent alliance between conservative and liberal elites, we now find a rabid Republicanism rising unlike anything seen before – the most extremist mainstream party in our history. The collapse of liberalism, of course, is only one cause – less important, to be sure, than the cult of Reaganism, reckless capitalism or Citizens Unite, perhaps the worst Supreme Court decision ever. But this much we know: you cannot win in the eighth or ninth round if you give up in the first or second. At the very least, liberal disintegration opened doors sooner and wider through which the rabid right could easily enter. And there are scary precedents. For example, Article 48 of the constitution of the Weimar Republic stated, "In case public safety is seriously threatened or disturbed, the Reich President may take the measures necessary to reestablish law and order, if necessary using armed force. In the pursuit of this aim, he may suspend the civil rights described in articles 114, 115, 117, 118, 123, 124 and 153, partially or entirely. The Reich President must inform the Reichstag immediately about all measures undertaken . . . The measures must be suspended immediately if the Reichstag so demands." It was this article that Hitler used to peacefully establish his dictatorship. And why was it so peaceful and easy? Because, according to historian Thomas Childers, the 'democratic" Weimar Republic had already used it 57 times prior to Hitler's ascendancy. There are eerie similarities between Article 48 and the Patriot Act and warrantless powers being granted law enforcement in America. Yet traditional liberals have been astonishingly passive in the face of this huge assault on the Constitution. And get incensed if you mention the word facism. Progressives, populists, Greens, socialists and others fed up with the bipartisan crisis of our politics need to make a clearly visible break with dysfunctional liberalism and define a new way of approaching our problems. Here are a few things that could help it happen: - Put economic issues at the top of the list. If you review the historical examples above you will find an overwhelmingly concern for improving the economic life of ordinary Americans. Today’s liberals, if they care, don’t have much in the way of suggestions; witness the stimulus program that overwhelmingly favored Wall Street over ordinary Americans. - If you wish to win people’s support, argue with them, encourage them, heal them, teach them but don’t insult them. Raise hell against the big guys but don’t abuse the ordinary citizen. Show them the way, not the door. Today’s liberals repeatedly castigate those they should be recruiting. - Build communities not clubs. Liberalism used to be street theater. Now it’s a private club. You can’t build a movement with a club. - Stop federalizing everything. There’s no evidence that it works and people don’t like it. Adopt the principle that government should be carried out at the lowest practical level and you’ll be surprised how many new friends you make. - Elaborate processes, data collection and rule-making are crummy substitutes for effective policies. Yet they define liberal politics today. - Encourage reciprocal liberty: I can’t have my liberty if you don’t have yours. So some get their guns; others get abortion. It’s part of the essential nature of being an American: sharing space with those with whom you don’t agree. - Build new constituencies issue by issue. Many of your allies will disagree with you on other things but so what? One of the reasons that liberals are in such trouble is that they support diversity of skin color but not of thought. Besides when people come together on one issue they discover that the things that divided them aren’t as important as they thought. - A major cause of violence in America is the completely failed drug war. Liberals have largely ignored this issue. - Bring back labor unions, the most positive non-governmental institution in America’s past century. Yes, they need to improve their act, but that won’t happen until more people get involved. Encourage them to take new approaches such as pre-organizing the non-unionized on, say, a AARP model or creating co-ops as the USW is currently looking into. But fight against the assault on the folks who brought you the weekend. - Stop supporting wars just because a Democratic president is leading them. Imagine if the money we’re spending in Afghanistan was being used to help the American economy, its schools, its transportation and the less fortunate. Both our economy and our lives would be much better. - Help small business. Neither of the two major parties do, so you can make a lot of new friends this way. And, along the way, end corporate personhood. - Unrig our elections. End campaign bribery by public financing and make it constitutionally clear that corporations are not persons. Press for instant runoff voting. - Keep it simple. Remember that the media is not comfortable with complexity. - Give it a name. You know, something simple like the Dunkin Donuts Party that even the media can understand. That’s just a short list of the sort of things that would separate a new left from liberalism. Groups of disaffected progressives, Greens and issue activists could use the Internet to compile a short list policies that would define a new movement for a post-liberal era and start to rewrite the political chart. As it stands, we know that liberals hate Palin, Bachman, and the Koch Brothers. But what they really stand for remains a mystery. If you think there are not enough of us to create a new movement with clear goals, consider this: over the past few years polls have found that a majority of Americans support: Gay marriage, opposition to the drug war, legalizing marijuana, ending corporate personhood, increasing taxes on the wealthy, leaving Social Security alone, ending capital punishment, universal health coverage, ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, doing something about climate change, and public campaign financing, Further, resolutions critical of the Patriot Act have been passed in 378 communities in 43 states including six state-wide resolutions. On many of these issues, traditional liberals have often been lazy, passive, indifferent, opposed or afraid to do anything. And the media has kept this real majority view well hidden. We need to change this, but we can’t do it by looking the other way or hiding under the table. You can’t do it sucking up to Democratic presidents who expand wars and send welfare to Wall Street instead of helping those in real trouble. You can’t do it pretending that we’re not losing our civil liberties. Traditional liberalism must be put to sleep and replaced with something that recovers the spirit and ideals that it lost or discarded along the way. The liberal approach has become elitist; the alternative is populist. One draws from European history and thought; the other is rooted in American experience. One favors a centralized state and believes in the beneficence of large bureaucracies; the other is skeptical of grand institutions and keeps pulling decisions back towards the community based democracy. One seeks confrontation; the other consensus. One is polar; the other holistic. One is rational; the other spiritual. And one is dead, and the other is still waiting to be born. at 8/02/2018

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sky-on-blog · 8 years ago

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Music survey

94 questions

Answer with shuffled song titles!

What does your mom say when she yells at you: “Uncle Jonny.” Well, then.

Your dad pokes you on the head, what does he say to you: “Downtown.” Actually, that’s something my dad would do. He has a habit of just saying one word and assuming I know what he’s talking about.

A hobo walks up to you, what does he say: “I Exist I Exist I Exist.”

You’re best friend punches you in the arm, what do they say: “Smooth Criminal.”

Your crush bumps into you at school, what does he/she say: “Skinny Love.” They must be looking at someone else, ha.

Your worst enemy walks up to you, what do they say: “Insects.” Creepy.

You are walking down the street at night when you run into a stranger, what do they say: “Tornadoland.” Also creepy.

You are running to your house when your brother stops you, what does he say: “Kokomo.”

Your sister starts yelling at you, what does she say: “It’s Not a Fashion Statement, It’s a Deathwish.” Psh, thanks.

You see your pet, what do you say to it: “Stone.”

Your favorite teacher comes up to you, what do they say: “Samson.”

Your least favorite teacher walks up to you, what do they say: “Hackensack.”

WHAT SONG EXPLAINS YOUR (Shuffle):

Life: "One Headlight” - the Wallflowers.

Friends: “Hella Good” - No Doubt. Yesss.

Family: “Don’t” - Ed Sheeran. Haha, also accurate.

Boyfriend/Girlfriend/Crush: “My Best Friend” - Weezer.

Favorite Teacher: “Everything’s Just Wonderful” - Lily Allen.

Pet: “Better Together” - Jack Johnson.

Enemy: “Make Believe” - Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.

Religion: “Words So Leisured” - Franz Ferdinand.

Sexuality: “Have to Drive” - Amanda Palmer.

Sex Life: “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman” - Britney Spears. Yikes.

Doctor: “Voldemort is Going Down” - StarKids.

Favorite TV Character: “Aerials” - System of a Down.

Personality: “Got Your Money” - Say Anything.

Looks: “Send the Pain Below” - Chevelle. Wow.

SOUNDTRACK (Shuffle)

Opening Credits: “Lonely Hearts Club” - Marina and the Diamonds.

When You Wake Up: “Like a Virgin” - 2NE1.

Go to School: “No It Isn’t” - +44. Makes sense, since I don’t go to school.

Hang Out With Friends: “I Cut Off My Hair” - Regina Spektor.

You and Your Enemy Start Fighting: “Melody Emergency” - Gossip.

You Go on a Date With Your Crush: “Good News On the Remix” - X Ambassadors.

Your First Kiss With Them: “Clavicle” - Alkaline Trio.

You Get Home and You See That Your Siblings Jacked Up Your Room: “Safe in the Dark/Skeleton’s Lullaby” - Ludo.

You Go to Sleep: “Interlude” - Regina Spektor.

You Get Depressed: “To Know Him is to Love Him” - Amy Winehouse.

You Commit Suicide: “Black Hole Sun” - Copeland.

Your Funeral: “Get Out Alive” - Three Days Grace. Ironic.

Funeral Reception: “Shadow Preachers” - Zella Day.

Ending Credits: “Oh, Me” - Nirvana. This would actually be a good ending credits song, ha.

WHAT SONG DO YOU PLAY WHEN YOU ARE (Shuffle)

Happy: “Blake Says” - Amanda Palmer.

Sad: “Everything’s OK” - Lenka.

Mad: “Weatherman” - +44.

Depressed: “Ain’t No Cover” - Regina Spektor.

In Love: “I Had a Heart” - Real Friends.

Trying to Go to Sleep: “Through the Iris” - 10 Years.

Going to School: “Stop Stop” - the Black Keys. Yeah, that pretty much sums up my feelings about school.

Hanging Out with Your Friends: “Call Me Maybe” - Upon This Dawning.

Moping Around Because Your BF/GF Broke Up with You: “Take a Bow” - Muse.

Having a Bad Day: “Happy Medium” - Julia Nunes.

Bored: “You’ve Got the Love” - Florence and the Machine.

Really Really Hyper: “A Heady Tale” - the Fratellis.

Missing Someone: “Over It” - Rufio. Seems contradictory.

WHAT SONG WAS PLAYING WHEN YOU WERE

Being born: “Teenage Demon Baby” - Foxy Shazam. Awesome, haha.

Having your 1st birthday: “Nicest Thing” - Kate Nash.

First day of school: “Blank Space” - Taylor Swift.

First BF/GF: “Introduction” - Panic! At the Disco.

First Real Job: “I Love You More Than I Hate My Period” - Say Anything.

Going to College: “The Divide” - Tenacious D.

When you graduated: “Borderline” - Showoff.

Having your party: “All Too Well” - Taylor Swift.

Getting proposed to: “The Feel Good Drag” - Anberlin.

Getting married: “As We Are” - Kongos.

When having first kid: “Belle” - Jack Johnson. Belle is a good name.

Getting a divorce: “In the Mall” - Weezer.

Dying: “Only If For a Night” - Florence and the Machine.

Having your funeral: “Sorry” - Buckcherry.

PUT DOWN THE SONGS

1: “Heaven’s a Lie” - Lacuna Coil.

2: “Ass Backwards” - Mindless Self Indulgence.

3: “I’ll Cover You” - Rent soundtrack.

4: “All I Really Want” - Alanis Morissette.

5: “Alive With the Glory of Love” - Say Anything.

6: “Tim McGraw” - Taylor Swift.

7: “The Funeral” - Band of Horses.

8: “Wet Dog” - Mad Caddies.

9: “Things I’ll Never Say” - Avril Lavigne.

10: “Show Me Love” - Danielle Ate the Sandwich.

11: “Dateless Losers” - Reel Big Fish.

12: “It’s All Over” - Three Days Grace.

13: “Breakable” - Ingrid Michaelson.

14: “A Girl Worth Fighting For” - Mulan soundtrack.

ANSWER FROM SONGS ABOVE

#1 Reminds you of who: No one in particular, to be honest.

What is your favorite lyric from #2: Uhh. “I’ma break the English language with my four-letter flow?”

When did you discover band/singer from #3: When I saw the movie in high school. I think I was a freshman.

What’s the first line of song #4: “Do I stress you out? My sweater is on backwards and inside-out, and you say, ‘how appropriate.’”

What’s the last line of song #5: “I won’t let them take you, won’t let them take you, hell no, no.”

Can you relate to song #6: No, not really, ha.

What’s the first line of the chorus of #7: “At every occasion, I’ll be ready for the funeral.”

Is song #8 your favorite song: It’s not my favorite song of all time, but it’s probably my favorite song by that band.

How many albums do you have of #9: I just have her first album.

When did you first hear song #10: A few years ago when I discovered her on YouTube.

How did you discover song #11: When I burned the CD. I think I was in high school.

What do you like about song #12: The melody, the guitar, the vocals.

Spell song #13 without any vowels: Brkbl.

Who would you recommend song #14 to: Anyone who likes Disney soundtracks, and/or who’s seen Mulan?

THEME

Your theme song is: “I Get Around” - Dragonette. Wow, thanks.

Your best friend’s theme song: “The Icicle Melts” - the Cranberries.

Your worst enemy’s theme song: “Plateau” - Nirvana.

Your mom’s theme song: “Cure For the Itch” - Linkin Park.

Your dad’s theme song: “March of the Dogs” - Sum 41.

Your sibling’s theme song: “Meaning of Life” - Disturbed.

Your BF/GF/Crush’s theme song: “Banana Pancakes” - Jack Johnson.

Your celebrity crush’s theme song: “Short Circuit” - Daft Punk.

What song do your friends think your theme song is: “AB” - Regina Spektor.

RANDOM

What song was your mom humming when she was giving birth to you: “Exo-Politics” - Muse. That’s weird on so many levels.

What song was your BF/GF thinking of when they were kissing you: “Go-Getter Greg” - Ludo.

What song were you thinking of when breaking out of jail: “My Favorite Game” - the Cardigans.

What song are you thinking of now: “I Don’t Love You” - My Chemical Romance.

#survey

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newagesispage · 8 years ago

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February 2017

PAGE RIB

*****Dale Jr. married Amy Reimann on New Year’s Eve and Delta lost his luggage. Jr. does not seem too happy about the Muslim ban. He tweeted that his family immigrated from Germany in the 1700’s to escape religious prosecution. America is created by immigrants.

*****I know of a local church who is trying to get some of their mission workers back to their families because they are stranded in other countries.

*****Did Lance Armstrong or other racers use motors on their bikes?

*****The Michigan department of natural resources is offering a million bucks if you can keep the Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes.

*****Oprah is joining 60 minutes.

*****Caterpillar is moving senior executives and about 300 employees to Chicago. Their earnings have dropped more each year since 2012.

***** Megyn Kelly is out at Fox and in at NBC. Greta Van Sustern is now on MSNBC. George Will has been let go. Is Fox falling apart?

*****A New York man started a fight in an eatery with Jamie Foxx and his friends.

*****Janet Jackson had a baby with Wissam Alman that they named Eissa.

*****Four days after the inauguration, Israel approved the construction of 2,500 new homes in Jewish settlements in the West bank.

*****Hooray for the NHL and its 100 years!!

*****Ray Davies received a knighthood.

*****TNT’s Major Crime is back on Feb.22.

*****An updated ‘Archie’ called Riverdale is back and his parents are played by Molly Ringwald and Luke Perry.

*****There are reports that Trump will cancel funding for the National endowment for the arts and privatize the corporation for Public Broadcasting.

*****Dylan Roof was sentenced to death for the Charleston massacre.

*****The North Dakota legislature has introduced house bill 1203 aimed at protesters. It states that if a driver runs over someone on the highway and it wasn’t “on purpose” that they won’t be held accountable. The language does not specify protesters, it could apply to a child running across the street. It gives a pass to careless drivers and hot heads. The DAPL protesters are outraged.

*****Glad to see Norm back on The Middle. Also.. his book, Based on a true story, is one of the best I have read. Thanks Norm!!

*****The Baseball hall of fame announced the 2017 inductees: Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines Sr.. Ivan Rodriguez, Bud Selig and John Schuerholz.

*****Thought it would be Green Bay and Pittsburgh but it looks like the Super bowl will be Atlanta vs. New England.

*****Saw an interview with La. senator Bill Cassidy. He did not make a lot of sense, I wonder if he is ok? I mean, I wonder if he is mentally stable? Of course I say the same thing about our new President. Anybody else and their family would be checking him in for a mental evaluation.

*****Days alert: We have a new actress for the role of Jade. Glad Eric and Anna are back. Carrie and Austin still seem like the perfect couple. More Abe!! I miss Phillip!!

*****Thanks for the giggle by turning Hollywood into Hollyweed.

*****A new BBC documentary brings us evidence that a coal fire on the Titanic may have helped the ship go down even faster. A 30 year researcher tells us a fire in the boiler room damaged the hull long before it hit the iceberg. So the real culprits could be Fire and ice and criminal negligence. This had been reported at the time but has resurfaced because a collection of photographs. They were found in an attic by a descendent of a director of the Belfast based company, Harland and Wolff. There was a 30 foot long diagonal black mark on the hulls front starboard side near where the ice hit in a photo taken before the Titanic ever left the shipyard. Some seem to think this isn’t important but others think the mark was caused by fire and is a revelation.

*****The Coywolf is gaining ground in your cities. I think I saw one the other day too.

*****SNL suspended writer Katie Rich for tweeting a tasteless joke about Barron Trump.

*****Look for Ted Levine as the preacher in the thriller, Bottom of the world with Jena Malone.

*****Check out learn the address.org. Listen to some great speakers or leave your mark.

*****Tim Kaine told Capitol Hill about what it was like to be part of the fake news. He commented that a 4th grader would have trouble believing the stories so how can a possible National Security advisor?

*****Usain Bolt was stripped of a gold medal.

*****The Wall Street Journal tells us more than 150 financial institutions hold IOU’s from Donald Trump.

*****Gospel singer and radio show host of Bridging the gap, Kim Burrell , has been taken off the air in Houston. She was to perform on Ellen but due to anti -gay comments she made, her performance was cancelled. She was to perform with Pharrell who still appeared but distanced himself saying, ”I love her but there is no room for any kind of prejudice in 2017.”

*****C’mon while they still can.. could we have a Walton’s or Dr. Quinn movie? This country needs some good old fashioned family love. Dolly can’t do it alone.

*****Assange = Putin puppet

*****Who the fuck is Bo Bice?

*****Charles Manson was rushed to the hospital at the beginning of January. Some reports said that the 82 year old was to undergo surgery for serious gastrointestinal bleeding but officials would not comment.

*****There are only 7000 cheetahs left.

*****Illinois still has no budget.

*****Wow! So scientists now say that we have an organ, the mesentery, that they previously thought ‘a group of structures connecting the intestine to the abdomen.’

*****The Golden Globes started off with a teleprompter malfunction for Jimmy Fallon. We did not see much of him after that. The highlight of the evening had to be Meryl Streep and her fabulous speech about the election. People often poo poo the liberal Hollywood agenda when receiving awards but this was the first time all night that the crowd was silent and really listened. The ladies in the room looked so proud as she made her way to the stage for her Cecil B. DeMille award. She made such a perfect point about Trump and about supporting good journalism. We are gonna need that! Go Meryl! ***Other highlights were Donald Glover who got best actor and best show, Atlanta awards. He so deserves them. I was jumping up and down! Glover has also signed a new deal with FX to develop new projects. Atlanta won’t be back until 2018! I was so hopeful for Bob Odenkirk or Matthew Rhees to win but Billy Bob Thornton nabbed it. At least he mentioned Mr. O and Thornton pretended a funny feud. It was a win for Sarah Paulson and Casey Affleck! It seems that Julia Louis and her winning days may finally be over. Viola Davis won!! Gosling (who gave a great speech too) and Stone and La La Land won big, breaking records. *** There seemed to be some controversy about Fences and Hidden Figures with Jenna Bush.***While presenting for animated film, Kristen Wiig and Steve Carell took their banter all the way until the room was silence. Beautiful! Best dressed were Kerry Washington, Mandy Moore, Sofia Vergara, Janelle Monae, Questlove, Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Kristen Bell , Ruth Nega and Laura Dern. Worst dresses for me were Felicity Jones and Zoe Saldano, Riley keiou, Nicole Kidman and Carrie Underwood. It seemed a surprise to see Brad Pitt and Leo Dicaprio. Why was this Chrisley dude on the after show?? Did he dis Nancy Grace?***The stranger things kids seemed to be the belles of the ball. They seemed to have fun meeting everyone they came to see when the commercials were on.

*****The Jeff Macdonald case is back in the spotlight. The Green Beret officer is still trying to get out.

*****It looks again, like the left has been pussies to the republican bullies. During the election, Obama and his team wondered if lashing out about the Russian cyber problem would be adding to the chaos. We always worry about how it looks and we try to bend over backwards to do the right thing. While we are doing that, they just bulldoze over everything and everyone and people applaud it. We were looking for Putin to interfere in the actual votes but he was more interested in psychological warfare. Voters seemed to be looking for any reason to not vote for Hillary while Russia and the Trump lies kept coming. It is not surprising that Comey was so against not releasing this Russian interference. He turns right around and keeps bringing up the’ damn e mails.’ Funny he said nothing about the file that Russia had on Trump. Why does this guy have a job? He is always in the middle of some dirty business. We now know that Trump and his team were already talking to Russia during the election. BTW.. Is it worrisome that Trump was given a brief about this file but did not seem to know of it for days because he did not read it??

*****Is the new President doing some advertising for L.L. Bean?

*****Trump waited longer than any other president elect to hold an official press conference. It happened right when all his nominees were getting questioned. It took the spotlight off the bizarro world picks he made. Didn’t he always moan about Obama not holding press conferences? The crowd was filled with his own people to applaud his words. Trump and his family looked a bit queasy on Jan. 11, 2017. His announcer is spouting about lies before the racist even takes the podium. They had piles of files to make a point. If we read them what would they really say? There was a lot of venom (like the first 20 minutes) spewed at reporters. They built a whole campaign on fake news but now they seem to be against it. He calls CNN “fake news” and then the BBC, ”that’s another beauty.” Hmm. Jake Tapper hit back that CNN did not report any uncorroborated news. And Trump is still talking smack about Hil and now about how wonderful and elegant inauguration day will be, anything to keep from the real issues. We now know the inauguration was not all he built it up to be. He tells us that reporters are the only ones that want to see his tax returns. WRONG!! The bulk of this press conference was his lawyer telling us about his business affairs. He is going to give money made from foreign dignitaries at his hotels to the U. S. treasury. Ok. What about all the rest of it? You still have your name on buildings and you own the shit. There is still no resolution to various conflicts and his business ethics. Since then lawsuits have been brought by ethics lawyers against Trump. The press conference ended with the lovely thought that if his sons do a bad job running his biz, he will say “you’re fired.” What??

*****Ivanka is going to be a “modern day first daughter” who will be an integral part of the administration.

*****Seeing Laurence Fishburne on The Daily show call Trump ‘45’ gave me great inspiration. I have noticed that Joy Behar, Triumph the insult comic dog, myself and most everyone I know has so much trouble even saying ‘President Trump’. So I think in my next columns I will start to call him scary clown 45. To me it sums him up pretty good. I want to laugh, to cry and I’m downright scared for our country.

*****Shulkin , the current under secretary, has been picked to run the Veteran’s affairs department.

*****It was wonderful to see Joe Biden get the Presidental Medal of Freedom with distinction.

*****The bees have been added to the endangered species list.

*****The White house remembered Holocaust day without mentioning the Jewish people. Standard holocaust deniers in the White House, I guess. Reince Priebus who made the rounds at the Sunday morning shows this weekend made no apologies. He did agree that many Jews suffered . I think it is their mantra to never apologize.

*****Diane Sawyer takes on the ‘new reality’ on 20/20. She follows Americans who work 2 or 3 jobs with no safety nets or savings accountants. There is a boom in third shift child care. I am a little shocked that so many people are just waking up to this. It is business as usual for a big chunk of society, Most of the people I have known in my life have always lived this way. This really shows just how little people look to their fellow man to help or inquire of their plight. Oh, people are out there that have always had big hearts. But it seems like these ‘forgotten ‘ Americans ‘ don’t realize that a lot of us were always ‘forgotten’. It will never get better as long as people keep worrying about their own wallets. We need to work together. I do not understand what they mean when they want to make America great again. With some simple research we can see that unemployment is down, homelessness is down, wages are up, emergency room visits are down and crime is down. There is bad, always will be but America is pretty great. Until the top of the food chains spread it around, we are doomed to repeat things that forget some of us. Unfortunately, those very souls are in charge for now.

*****In the confirmation hearings of the rich, old Trump picks, it was great to see Diane Feinstein hit them hard right out f the box. She immediately asks about human trafficking and abortion. Jeff sessions tells us that Roe v. wade “one of the worst, most erroneous decisions made by the supreme court ever.” Al Franken seemed to really get under his skin. Do they not see that abortion rates are the lowest they have been since ’73? With better health care and access to better reproductive education we have gotten better and more widespread use of birth control. The Pope is trying to do his part by letting Catholic charities give out condoms despite many upset that it goes against religious teachings. Sessions was confirmed. **Rex Tillerson says the climate change studies are inconclusive. Elizabeth Warren was grilling Tom Price since he just kept going round and round and never really answering the questions.**Scott Pruitt is nominated for the EPA. He always sides with the corporate polluters, always working against the EPA.

*****They say the Wall will be a minimum of 15 to 25 billion to construct. The border is 3000 Km. long. This does not even take into account future maintenance and employees. The border towns do not seem too happy. Making it harder for people to legally cross the border is not the answer. They rely on customers that cross the border to buy their goods. Mexico is the 3rd largest trade partner of the U.S. and according to NAFTA and the WHO, Mexico can retaliate. After 9-11, the auto industry supply flow through North America from Canada to Mexico was disrupted. Do we remember the chaos that ensued? Sanctuary cities (except Miami) are not happy but should not be threatened with funding yanked. Former Mexican President Vincente Fox says he agrees that they should withdraw from NAFTA if this happens. 20% tariffs will cause prices to go up. Current President Nieto, though not terribly popular says they will not pay for this fucking wall. Lindsey Graham is pushing back to make sure we have Corona and tequila at a decent price.

*****The SAG awards went out just before January was over. There were many shout outs to Trump and speeches about acceptance. Julia Louis was the first to win and talked of her Father, an immigrant. Sarah Paulson asked for donations to the ACLU. The most emotional speech came from Mahershala Ali who talked about being at odds with his Mother about faith but that they worked it out. Other winners included Orange is the new black, William H. Macy, Viola Davis, Bryan Cranston, John Lithgow, Denzel Washington, Emma Stone, Hidden Figures and the cast of Stranger things which seemed to be the favorite. Dolly Parton was there to give Lily Tomlin the lifetime achievement award. Jane Fonda was supposed to be there but had taken ill. The Lily montage really showed an array of so many characters that is rare even for an actor’s montage. I thought the worst dressed were Nicole Kidman, Julie Bowen, Salma Hayek and Michelle Dockery. Best dressed were Michelle Williams, Emma Stone, Sofia Vergara, Gina Rodriguez, Taraji P. Henson, Mahershala Ali and Janelle Monet.

*****Meet the Press is 70 years old. Tom Brokaw has been with NBC for 50 years.

*****We have a newly discovered primate species called the Skywalker hoolock gibbon.

*****Sky arts cancelled the urban myths show about the Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Jackson, Marlon Brando drive.

*****Criminal Minds won a People’s choice award and Jane Lynch is back this month!!

*****Marshawn Lynch made a great cameo on Brooklyn 99.

*****Scientists now believe the appendix does have a purpose. It may protect beneficial bacteria living in the gut.

*****Thank you EW for your awesome cover story on Sarandon and Lange as Davis and Crawford. The first television ad left much to be desired but Ryan Murphy has to shock I suppose. I could not believe that set designers even recovered the bedroom furniture and the piano from the original ‘Baby Jane’ production Anyway, so excited about FEUD! Can’t wait!

*****The Tick is back.

*****Go Portland!! They have America’s first non- profit pub. You order a drink, a meal and which charity you want to support. I want to go to there. We need more of this. Those involved in the highlighted charities each month come a few times to work and tell the customers about their charity. One of those was the wayfinding Academy, a new Portland college. Exnovo Brewery is another non profit on the same wavelength. We must have more of this in Trump’s America.

*****A new book out by Brad Meltzer called I am Jim Henson looks great.

*****Hey Rev. Pat Conroy: Isn’t the notion of opening a house session with a prayer outdated?

*****I am loving The Young Pope on HBO with Jude Law, James Cromwell and Diane Keaton. I like the contrast between the large, empty Vatican rooms and the long dialogue .

*****HBO is bringing us Big Little Lies with Nicole Kidman, Laura Dern and Reese Witherspoon.

*****People are alive because of the affordable care act. If the republicans wouldn’t have eliminated the risk corridor, insurance companies would not have dropped out.

*****Weird Al is coming out with a boxed set of his best.

*****Excited about the film ‘Newness’ with Danny Huston and Matthew Gray Gubler.

*****Richard Carpenter has sued Universal music for 2 million because he feels that he and his sister Karen’s estate are owed royalties.

*****Ok.. so I never really see Dateline but do appreciate Keith Morrison’s voice and the sly little things he says. I caught a good one. They told us that the victim was pretty and there were always men around. Keith’s response: “But now she’s dead!” He was also quite wide eyed with the discussion about autoerotic asphyxiation.

*****Tom Hanks was hosting on NPR for Pete Sagal on Wait Wait don’t tell me!

*****Charmed is coming back with a prequel.

*****Biloxi, Mississippi does not celebrate MLK day.

*****Steve Harvey is a HUD consultant?

*****Georgia’s John Lewis does not recognize Trump as a legitimate President. He and many other Dem’s avoided the inauguration. The only real downside is that Russia is getting what they want. They love us squabbling amongst ourselves. It is a lot of ‘look over here while we are busy fucking you over here’. Trump is using the same play book. He is freaking about the size of the crowds at the inauguration. He puts the White House press secretary Sean Spicer out there on his first day to lie about the crowd size. CNN did not put this out live. They wanted to see what he said first , very shrewd. This might be the new normal. The press keeps asking Ms. Conway about it while we should be talking more about the women marching for their rights. I mean, talk about crowds, the women’s march had unprecedented crowds. My favorite shirt was the monster face of Trump with the American horror story logo on it. I think we need some of those knock down –blow up clowns that we played with as children only with Trumps face on them. They hit back with ‘oh they thought it would rain’ or ‘the Nielsen ratings were good.’ It is a tricky biz: Do we call him out on his ridiculous lies and blathering ? To ignore him could be dangerous but we will never get straight, coherent answers from these people. We have to put them at the bottom of the news but keep a close eye on what they are doing. Will the press be kicked out of the White House? Should they opt out on their own if they are only going to be told lies? Perhaps the Trump team just wants us to change the channel when Ms. Conway is being ridiculous so nobody is watching real news. It isn’t even spin or political speak any more, it is psychotic, blatant lies. Integrity matters.

*****Trump won’t have a lot of D.C. friends.. The map around Washington gets bluer and bluer every election cycle. The oval office is a bit frightening when you see Andrew Jackson looking on.

*****The right wants us to move on from this election. Everybody did give him a chance and every time he lets us down again. Did they let go of the birther movement? Should we forget the hateful things Trump says and continues to say? Should we thank him when we can no longer go to the doctor? He is trying to get the EPA to shut up, to keep them away from the press or social media.

*****It’s always sunny in Philadelphia and wolf cola are back! But are they trying to get taken off the air. They have always been so clever but they have been relying a bit too much on gross this season.

*****The constitution states that it is illegal for a President to not give up ownership of his business.

*****The Ringling Brothers circus is over after 146 years.

*****Liz Cheney is on board with Trump in supporting ‘enhanced interrogation.’

*****Independent lens on PBS did another riveting episode. They did a wonderful job of following Bill Genovese as he re discovers his sister, Kitty’ murder. I remember the case often in the news as I was growing up. It seemed that every other detective show did their interpretation. The murder of Kitty Genovese became a national talking point after a NY times article proclaimed that 38 onlookers did nothing. The truth had never really been known and we discover that much of what we thought we knew was wrong. After 50 years we will probably never know the whole story but the case still fascinates.

*****Seth Meyers and Mike O’Brien are working on a pilot for NBC called Deadline Reports about a high school biology teacher.

*****Stephen Colbert will host the 2017 Emmy’s. Do they even look anywhere but late night tv for hosts anymore?

*****Michael Moore is proposing a Taxes March on April 15. Yes.. Let’s see those fucking taxes.

*****The Oscar noms came out for the broadcast on Feb. 26. Wow.. nothing for Annette Benning!? But hooray for Viggo Mortenson and Michael Shannon. Hail, Caesar got a production design nod. Hmmm.

*****This Cobi fella seems pretty talented.

*****1984 from George Orwell is the top seller on Amazon.

*****So good to see Brendan Fraser making the rounds again. He is in the Affair. I think he will age like Chris Walken: a little nerdy, a little quirky, a great actor.

*****Aaron Rodgers Father is talking. He says “fame can change things.’ It seems the family does not attend Packer games.

*****Is Elizabeth Warren already looking into impeachment?

*****The inauguration: There was a lot of flap beforehand about performers. Ambassadorships were being offered to agents to get big names. Jennifer Holiday had not even agreed to be there. She had performed for 4 other Presidents. When it was announced that she would play for Trump’s inauguration, she did not quite seem to get it but that is no excuse for bullying.** All the Trump wives were there. **Ron Reagan Jr. reported that the 16 minute American carnage speech was a ‘Steve Bannon production’. It was full of darkness and bullying. **The crowd was still yelling “lock her up.” Climate change and healthcare is off the White House website. ** A couple hundred people were arrested. ** An executive order was signed to ease the burden as they repeal Obamacare? ** They filed a motion in Texas to postpone the voter ID case that has been shameful in its discrimination. They released no announcement about it, of course. It is only the beginning.**John Gore was named to head the civil rights division. He is the lawyer who defended the anti trans bathroom law and he is big on redistricting. ** Hillary Clinton was there, talk about the bigger man.**There was controversy about the inaugural cake because someone from the Trump staff ordered a replica of Obama’s cake that had been made by Duff. The cake shop used this time was asked to make a Styrofoam cake with 1 real piece for cutting. The owner said they do not refuse service to anyone because of their sexual orientation or political leanings so they did it. She and her employees decided to donate the money to charity. They gave it to the Human rights campaign who believe that Trump is unfit for the presidency.

*****Lisa Madigan is fighting against the shady practices of student loans.

*****Why are there missile launchers at the DAPL?

*****IT is the Year of the Rooster!!

*****Howard Dean is calling out the democratic leaders to do more.

*****Trump reorganized the National Security council. He stuck Steve Bannon in there and put the Director of National Intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on sort of a need to know basis. These are person who should be indispensable.

*****Trump may be letting go of the torture bone with some convincing by Gen. Mattis. Perhaps this will be one that he finally lets go of.

*****Rutland Vermont has hundreds of jobs available and are welcoming refugees. Well, they were until our fearless leader decided to ban people from 7 Muslim countries from coming into this country. And why would Iraq even be in this lineup? As of this writing, I am looking at CNN and watching the protests that are happening at JFK and all over the country. There was a stay put in place by a judge but Priebus later said they apologize for nothing and that there was no chaos. How do they say things with a straight face? Why are they so fucking scared of people that don’t look like them? They should be scared of themselves, most serial killers are white men! Should we ship them out?? Justin Trudeau says Canada will welcome those fleeing prosecution. CEO’s are weighing in from ETSY to Box on how despicable this all is. Even Dick Cheney stated that this is “against everything we stand for.” With all the protests and anger that is flaring, I would think that police and employees at airports etc. are going to be sick of all the extra stress and angst that Trump is causing them. All I can figure is that the President, his cohorts and supporters are terribly miserable folks. They seem to want to make the rest us unhappy as well. This administration seems to want to pull big government into everything. I was under the impression that they were against that sort of thing. Unfortunately, the law seems to be on Trumps side. Precedent gives the President sweeping power as to whom he lets in this country because of national security. Giuliani told a reporter that Trump asked him how he could do a legal Muslim ban and I guess this is what they came up with. Congressman Seth Moulton said in a statement that the ban made him “ashamed Trump is our President. His policies literally put our troops’ lives at risk. There is nothing in his executive order that improves the vetting process.”

*****San Francisco is suing Trump over his executive order about sanctuary cities.

*****ISIS is already using this ban against us.

*****The New Orleans Jazz fest welcomes Stevie Wonder, Tom Petty, Alabama Shakes, Snoop Dogg and The Roots to name a few.

*****Bounce tv hosted the Trumpet awards.

*****Aimee Mann has a new LP, ‘Mental Illness”. She will be touring America to promote her very acoustic new music inspired by folk rock of the 60’s and 70’s.

****Trump has nominated Judge Neal M. Gorsuch for the Supreme Court. His mother, Anne was part of the Reagan administration.

*****Al Franken in 2020!

*****RIP William Peter Blatty, the Ft. Lauderdale victims, Kevin Holt, Yanni “John” Alexis Mardas, Tommy Allsup, Miguel Ferrer , Geoff Nicholls, Barbara Hale, John Hurt, Mary Tyler Moore and Margaret Jean Lipinski

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