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ourstarscollided · 4 years ago

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jatp fanworks appreciation - day 1 (writers)

motivation - so in true me fashion and my aversion to brevity, i've made three (3) posts (see also artists, gifs/edits) to celebrate the wonderful people in this fandom who have made my jatp tumblr experience what it is; a community of people who simply shout into the void about their love of a ghost band and their fearless female leader. i've enjoyed simply being on the sidelines admiring everyone's love for the show, but i thought this would be a good time to really show my appreciation for all these wonderful people, because if i've learned anything from this pandemic, it's that there is NEVER a wrong time to tell someone that they are simply ✨the best✨.

disclaimer: i don't interact with most of these people personally and i simply absorb their content from afar and scream about how wonderful they are in the tags.

This list kind of became a fic rec, so if you're looking for some wonderful fics to read (or reread), I've also included my favs from the author here as well.

Okay this is gonna get a little long so please bear with me. But I just wanted to preamble this by saying that the fanfiction written by the jatp fandom is what resparked my love for reading fiction after about 3-4 years of not reading for leisure (be an adult they said. it'll be fun they said.). So I'm really grateful for that? I don't interact with a lot of people, just because it makes me a little anxious, but I will constantly yell about your content in the tags as if I were on a set of bleachers with a megaphone.

I also know there are so many wonderful fic writers out there (on Tumblr and not on Tumblr) that make amazing pieces of work, and this is just a tiny peek into that, and is not at all conclusive.

Without further ado here are some writers who live rent free in my head, in alphabetical order, so feel free to just skip to your name to avoid my rambling:

@bluefirewrites -> your Merry Ex-Mas fic had me on the edge of my seat every single time you updated. I am so in love with how you wrote the characters into this and at how many words you churned out for this fic. This was filled with so much adventure, and it was really welcome during a time when the world wasn't allowed to travel. And I simply love all the other drabbles and fics you write, but I especially enjoy the hilarity of Ray Molina, Crime Scene Photographer and Matchmaker.

@captainkippen -> I'm pretty sure Love Drunk was one of the first fics I ever read in this fandom. Your stories and your writing feel so goddamn real and I find myself so immersed in the worlds that you've created. I have reread most of your jatp fics and I still manage to find myself stupidly grinning at my phone each time. Your stories flow so easily and are such perfect characterizations of the characters we know from the show, but elevated to fit into your verse. I cannot say enough how wonderful your writing is and how talented you are!! (also a slight nudge that I am still very much following along with The Key and the Crown and I hope you continue it!)

@catty-words -> Your???? Exhaustive??? Music??? Lists???? The amount of work and dedication and microanalyzing that you put into pulling out every detail from each scene is so admirable. You not only manage to find the details, but you also give us EVIDENCE via your intricately selected gifs. You could've just put the video of the performance, but no, you take your time to find that specific 1 second shot to emphasize your point. And your little fics that you sometimes throw out into the world? They're so beautiful, and so fun to read and I enjoy them so much! (I am STILL screaming about this band's a snack) Thank you for validating my yelling in the tags, and for feeding my hyperfixation to this show. (I'm sad these lists are ending soon, but it's about the journey ya know?)

@lydias--stiles -> I don't even know what to say here because I've yelled so much about your fics that I feel like there's really nothing else to yell. Your Road Trip AU was also one of the first ones I read in this fandom, and really just made me go absolutely feral. Pretty sure I absorbed the rest of your fics in an ungodly amount of time and I just simply think you are incredibly skilled and talented. Every time you post a new fic I always wonder what it's like to be in your head because the ideas you come up with are so unique and so well thought out. Thank you for all the art you create for this show, I will constantly be in awe of you. (Special shoutout to the 5+1 fic that became a 31 chapter monster)

@pearlcaddy -> This list would not be complete if I didn't mention you. First of all, thank you for suggesting this wonderful week, it has been so lovely to see so much love being spread around today. Secondly, I never thought I'd find myself reading a Buffy or a Wizarding World crossover fic, considering I know nothing about those two things. And yet I found myself on various nights after work at 3 in the morning just silently screaming and/or crying into my phone. Your writing is so insane. Your world building is so insane. Your banter/dialogue is insane. The way you capture the love between Julie/Luke in different universes is so perfect. Thank you for gifting us these beautiful pieces of art, and I hope you know that you have at least made one person (me) a very happy reader. I also really admire your dedication to "this will only be a oneshot", only to write like 4 other POVs for it. (Special shoutout to 100 Bad Days)

@ruzek-halstead -> Literally every single fic you have written lives rent free in my head. The way you've managed to build this universe of different Julies and Lukes, and each one still captures the essence of them is astounding. You've extended their characters beyond what we know from the show and I am just in awe of everything you write. Please know that dead of night is both triggering to me and yet the most hilarious thing I have read. (Special shoutout to the Fake Dating Christmas AU and of course the Cinderella Story AU)

@serendipitee -> Your stories and your writing are absolutely magical. I think Write It Down was one of the first multi-chapter fics that I followed super closely and whenever you updated, I would literally drop what I was doing and read it instantly. You have such a way of building the plot and the characters for all of your fics and drabbles, and making the reader just want more. Please know that I am so obsessed with Oh, She Waltzed With the Dead and I cannot wait to see where you take the story!

@sunsetcurbed -> I have no words for your writing. I am simply in awe every time I read something from you. The way you've got down Alex and Willie's voice to a tee is so crazy good. You write their characters and their stories with such grace and care, especially with how you approach the topic of mental health. Thank you for all the research you do and for also writing in your own experiences. I literally binged the Princes Diaries AU during work and lost a good half day to it, and I regret nothing because that fic left me in SHAMBLES. I secretly adore the way you say you're going to keep a fic short, and end up writing an insane amount of words for it. (I have not yet left my obligated long-ass comment on Chapter 4 of the College AU yet because I am still processing the fate/destiny concept.)

@tangledstarlight -> Gahh. Rosie. Please. This is going to sound a little repetitive considering I just screamed at you last night, but now I guess I will just have to publicly confess my adoration for you!!! Thank you for being my first online friend in a very long time, and for putting up with me yelling at you about everything (and also nothing at the same time). I can't believe all it took was one message about your Royals AU for you to post it, but I will gladly take that credit any day. You are so so so incredibly talented with your writing, and your ability to transport me to another world while I read your fics is unparalleled. I adore the way you can come up with a new story to write every day, and then proceed to throw it into your pot of other WIPs. I am so so so so lucky to have gotten to know you and am incredibly grateful that I now have someone to cry about everything with 🧡 (If you read anything from Rosie, you need to read her Seasons/Long Distance Juke "friendship" fic and the Reggie x Photography oneshot that made me bawl my eyes out.)

@thedeathdeelers -> No thoughts. Just soulmates. Jk jk, you know I love your Reggie x Ray x Carlos fics, and I will scream in the tags about it until the day I get more of those fics from you. This is lowkey a threat, but wrapped in kindness. You are so wonderful to see on my dash (albeit scary at times because of the sheer amount of headcanons and theories running through your head), but you radiate such positive energy that it's impossible to not want to jump in and scream about soulmates with you.

Some special mentions to fics that also live rent free in my head:

@sunsetsandcurves wrote a Willex Cruise Ship AU inspired by a Simple Plan song and it’s something I never knew I needed until I read it.

@phantom-curve wrote a Juke fic based off of Coney Island and I would just like to say, yes, it did shatter me. (Here’s the fluff sequel that makes up for it though)

@unsaidjulie wrote the Juke dog fic of my dreams and I simply cannot express how much I want the Molina’s to have a dog now.

@pawprinterfanfic managed to get me incredibly invested in a Star Wars AU even though I know absolutely nothing about Star Wars. I just know that I would die for two (2) space boys.

@sanssssastark your Later universe made me realize that I do very much want there to be more mature content for this fandom (and you constantly deliver).

@theobligatedklutz wrote a Tangled Willex AU that makes me screech every time there’s an update. Just read it.

@alexthedrummerboy your talent knows no bounds when it comes to your Social Media AU. Also she’s written ORIGINAL songs for Alex and Willie?!?!?!

@gennified has this really wonderful modern take on pride and prejudice for Willex and I’m so obsessed with how much miscommunication there is.

@bananaleaves okay, I just found your Tumblr today, and I know you don’t know me in any capacity, but allow me to scream about THIS FIC RIGHT HERE. If anyone in this fandom is to read ANYTHING, it’s this fic. This was one of the best things I’ve read in a long time and absolutely wrecked me. Please just read this.

This turned out WAY longer than it was supposed to, and I’m SO SORRY. (I also tried to make sure I got everyone’s pronouns right, so PLEASE let me know if they’re wrong!) A final sincere thank you to everyone in this fandom who writes. Your talent knows no bounds. Gonna stop talking now before this becomes an essay....

#jatp fanworks appreciation week #fic rec #if i realize that i've missed someone i'm gonna bite the bullet and send an ask to you okay. i will not let my anxiety STOP ME FROM #YELLING HOW MUCH I LOVE PEOPLE'S WRITING!!#idk what else to tag this other than i genuinely think this show saved my mental health and so have all the fic writers.#gonna post this now before i chicken out oky aklfwjepofae #motivation monday

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let-it-raines · 5 years ago

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Catch Me If You Can (18/?)

298 days. That’s how long Killian Jones was away from a baseball field. It’s less than a year, only part of a season for him, but it might as well have lasted a decade as he alternated between physical therapy and spending an excessive amount of time sitting on his couch.

But then he came back and won the World Series.

It’s something no one saw coming, and it’s certainly not something anyone who knows about his arm would predict. Now it’s a new season with new possibilities, and anything could happen. On-field reporter Emma Swan will be there to cover it all even if she is not his biggest fan right now.

Asking her out live on-air will do that.

Rating: Mature

A/n: Thank you all for being so incredibly kind to me all of the time! You don’t have to do that, and I can’t thank you enough! We’re back from London in this chapter, and they’re having that “sleepover” that was talked about. In a totally not cheesy (or at least my tolerable amount of cheesy) way ❤️

Thanks to @resident-of-storybrooke for beta-ing, and @carpedzem, I think you might like this one!

Found on AO3: Beginning | Current

Tumblr: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |

Tag list: @eala-captian @galaxyzxstark @xellewoods @mariakov81 @ultraluckycatnd @royalswan @shey-starsfury @sals86 @iam2307 @ashley-knightingale @karenfrommisthaven @scientificapricot @captswanis4vr @ultimiflos @jamif @idristardis @nikkiemms @resident-of-storybrooke @tiganasummertree @bmbbcs4evr @onceuponaprincessworld @jennjenn615 @mayquita @captainsjedi @teamhook @notoriouscs @kmomof4 @ekr032-blog-blog @cs-forlife @andiirivera @jonirobinson64 @qualitycoffeethings

-/-

“I have four days off of work, and I feel like you.”

Emma sighs the words as she drops a bag in the entryway of Killian’s apartment, the black and white bag making a small thud against the hardwood. He’s got absolutely no idea what she has in there, but it sounds like every book she’s ever owned plus a brick or two that she somehow picked up on her subway ride over here.

Killian fakes a laugh, rolling his eyes a bit as Emma walks up to him and wraps her hands around the back of his neck, pressing up on her toes to gently brush her lips over his in greeting.

“You’re so funny,” he says sarcastically. “You know for a fact what I do on my days where I’m not pitching. I work a solid two hours a day on all of those days.”

Emma hums as her fingers curl into the back of his hair, and he can practically see the mischief dancing in her eyes. “You poor, hard-working man. I don’t know how you do that.”

“I put one pant leg on at a time like everyone else in the world.”

“You are basically a hero.”

“I definitely think I have a mark in a hero column.” Killian dips his head to run his lips over hers again in a better greeting than the one they just had. “I’m happy you have four days off. Whatever are you going to do with them?”

“Tonight, I was promised a sleepover with my boyfriend where he’s going to bake for me. Tomorrow, I think I’m going to go hang out with my nephew and take him outside to sweat it out in this insufferable July heat, and then for the next two days – who knows? I think I might just sleep while you spend your days exercising and suffering outside.”

“I am particularly interested in the activities you’re going to do on the first day.”

“I thought you would be. Can I take a shower first, though? I went to spin class with Ruby this morning, and I feel super gross.”

“I mean, I wasn’t going to say anything about the smell but – ”

Emma slaps his chest and laughs before baking away, a smile on her face. “Shut up, you ass. I’m finally going to go see what kind of shampoo it is that you use to make your hair soft and smell so good. You can learn a lot about a man from his shower.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to join you, love? It feels wrong that you’re seeing my bedroom and bathroom for the first time without me.”

“Oh no, it’s awesome. Like I said,” Emma sighs as she picks up her bag supposedly full of books and bricks, “I’m about to snoop. Be back in however much time it takes me to go through your stuff.”

“The hot water twists to the right,” he yells at her before picking up his mug of coffee and taking a sip, laughing under his breath at Emma.

Ridiculous woman who he loves.

So much.

Every part of him wants to tell her, wants to say the words out loud so that she knows just what she means to him, but he’s still biting his tongue. He thinks Emma might love him too, that she might be in the same place emotionally, but he doesn’t know. There have been moments in the past week where he thinks maybe just maybe she’s going to say something, but then she’ll change the subject or smile at him and he’ll know that the words aren’t coming.

Emma’s been burned so badly in her past, from her parents to her exes to the assholes she works with, and he’s still so amazed that their relationship is going so well. They very obviously had a rocky start, but the faith and trust that he has in her and that she has in him to share the depths of her heart astounds him.

This is – this is everything that he never thought he’d have again, and he keeps telling himself to calm down in his future thoughts because it’s still so soon.

When has his timing ever matched up with conventional standards?

But she makes him so incredibly happy, and even when they get into little arguments, he’s glad to be having those. Weirdly, he missed them. He missed having someone to debate dinner plans with and to have to schedule time to spend with and all of those other little things.

Emma was so good with his nieces in London last week too. He knew that she would be since she has so much experience with Leo, but it was refreshing to see how taken she was with Addy and Lucy. Or really, how taken Addy and Lucy were with her. Killian knew that asking her to come to Addison’s birthday party was a bit of a gamble that she likely wouldn’t take him up on, but he’s so glad that she did. Watching her walk around the room in that yellow dress effortlessly talking to his family was absolutely everything to him.

Logically, he knows that once they decide to share that they’re dating with those closest to them, Emma’s going to have to do some kind of reintroduction to the family, and he hopes that it goes well then too, that no one is mad at them for hiding such a big thing right under their noses.

That’s not going to happen. It simply won’t.

Elsa and the girls had nothing but nice things to say about Emma after that day, especially when the girls kept trying to sit next to her on the plane ride home, and all Liam did was tease him about asking her out and how she must be the most forgiving woman on the planet.

She must be.

Killian can hear the water run through the pipes to the shower in his bathroom, and since he heard no screaming, he assumes Emma figured out how the shower works well enough on her own. So, he opens his fridge and starts pulling out the ingredients he needs today. He had to go grocery shopping this morning, which was a bit of an ordeal since he had no idea what he was shopping for, and he feels like his fridge is stocked with food to make enough baked goods to stock one of those insane sales that Addy and Lucy have at their school every few months.

How much money can they really raise through selling baked goods? Donating money would likely be more effective, but he is very obviously not on a PTA board.

But he told Emma that he would bake for her one of these days, or really, that he would bake with her, and he’ll be damned if they don’t finally do that today. He swears that things keep getting more and more hectic lately in between traveling for work and then doing actual work, and they never get a moment to just breathe and be in each other’s company.

Or talk.

They have a hell of a lot to talk about as well, and there never seems to be time. Hence why they’ve been home from London for over a week and still haven’t been able to talk about telling their friends and family.

What is life going to look like during the off-season? He wants to imagine, but he can’t. Not quite yet. That’s getting ahead of himself once more.

As the water in the bathroom runs, he starts mixing the ingredients for the crust of the strawberry lemonade bars they’re going to make. He knows that Emma is a bigger fan of chocolate while he is not, and on another day, they’ll do something more up her alley. He’s got things for smores, mostly as a joke, and he imagines she wouldn’t mind simply eating the chocolate bars.

The water turns off in the bathroom, and yet twenty minutes later, Emma still hasn’t emerged from his bedroom. Curious, he puts the whisk he’s using down and wanders back down the hallway to his bedroom, his door open so that he can see Emma sitting on his bed with a brush in hand as she works at a tangle in her damp hair, gaze focused out of one of floor-to-ceiling windows to the city skyline below.

“Hey.”

Her head twists toward him, a soft smile curved on her lips.

“Hey,” she smiles, tugging at her brush, “you have a super nice shower, and I’m totally going to utilize that more often. Also, your bed is comfortable, and it is a shame we have never used it before. Like, I love your couch a lot and the times we have had on it, but I think the bed may win.”

“Is that what you’ve been doing in here this entire time? Thinking about my bed?”

“Yep. I wasn’t really going to snoop. That’s weird. I just wanted to make sure your bed was comfortable, and I was right.”

Killian chuckles under his breath as he steps further into the room and bends his knees to brush a kiss across her temple. “I wouldn’t have minded if you snooped. There’s nothing to hide in here.” She arches a brow. “Really? You don’t have some kind of super weird shrine of me hidden in your closet?”

“Hmmm, no. I have one of Erin Andrews though. She’s my favorite blonde sportscaster.”

“You’re the worst,” Emma groans even as a chuckle passes through her lips. She tosses her brush behind her, letting it bounce on the mattress, before falling back onto the mattress herself. It’s then that he notices she’s wearing a matching set of pajamas, pink and white striped shorts with a button down with the same pattern. “Your jokes are not homeruns today.”

“Yours aren’t either, darling,” he sighs before sitting down next to her and running his hands up her inner thigh before messing with the hem of her shorts. “Did you bring matching pajamas simply to mess with me?”

Her head pops up to look at him, golden hair darkened by the water and her face bare of makeup. “Yep. You said we were having a sleepover, and I am taking you to your word. If it makes you feel less like we’re teenagers, though, I do not have a bra on under this shirt.”

“Really now?” he growls, twisting on the bed and crawling toward her, his mouth hovering over hers as his hand snakes up underneath her shirt to feel the soft skin and the very obvious lack of a bra covering her breast as he flicks his fingers over her nipple. “Ah, you weren’t lying then.”

“I tend to like to tell the truth.”

“That’s good. Me too.”

His tongue slides into the warm heat of her mouth as Emma gasps beneath him, her hips arching up while her mouth explores his even though she’s most definitely already got it mapped out. It’s as intoxicating as ever to kiss Emma, to glide and nip and tease as arousal tricks down to the base of his spine and his groin. This is not at all what he came into his bedroom for, but intentions were very literally left at the door now that he’s teasing her breast and tangling his tongue with hers in a passionate slide.

It’s quick as he unbuttons the buttons on Emma’s shirt, quicker still as she pushes him onto his back and slides his joggers off of his legs so that she can bite at the skin at his hip, nibbling a bruise into his skin that he’s sure will be there for days. There’s no time to worry about that, though, because then Emma’s hand is settling at the base of his length while her mouth settles around the tip, and he nearly implodes right then and there.

Fucking glorious.

And he tells her so in a stuttered breath, one that he can barely catch from the way that she’s working him higher and higher. His hips arch up off the bed when she hums around him, and his head presses back into his pillow while his eyes shut. He can’t, he can’t, he can’t…and then the heat of Emma’s mouth is gone, and his eyes open as his heart wildly pounds in his chest. He’s just about to ask if she’s okay and then if she is, what the hell is she doing, but then he watches her slide a condom down his shaft before she settles over him and sinks down onto him so that he can feel the most glorious heat of all.

“Holy fuck,” he mutters, reaching forward to grab onto her hips, holding on tightly enough that his fingerprints might as well be inked into her skin. “How many times do I have to tell you, love, that you’re going to be the death of me?”

Emma rocks above him, her still-damp hair falling down her back as she arches it. “A few more times, at least. Or until you die.”

“I love that you can be so morbid in a moment like this.”

“I, ah, I try.”

As much as Killian wants to thrust up into her, to control the movements and the pace, he lets Emma do just that as he watches her move above him in what is very well the most glorious sight he’s ever seen. He can turn his head to either the right and see a skyline of Manhattan that looks out onto Central Park, but nothing can compare to this. Not the view from his bedroom or the view of miles and miles of ocean stretching out ahead of him with the sun beating down on his back.

Not even the view of thousands of people cheering for him in the stands.

Nothing compares to Emma.

The muscles in her thighs flex as she continues to move, her hands curled into the hair of his chest and pulling at him, and he can see sweat beading at her forehead. He imagines that later she’ll complain about how she just showered, how she was already sore from going to spin class, but there are no complaints now as his orgasm rolls in on a slow motion that has him cursing Emma’s name instead of confessing his love for her.

That may very well be the hardest thing he’s ever had to do, but thankfully he could focus on his own falling apart and then Emma’s, her orgasm coming to her with her flushed cheeks and parted lips.

That’s another glorious sight right there. They seem to be never ending.

“Just for the record,” Emma sighs several minutes later when they’ve cleaned themselves up and changed back into clothes, “that was not my intention for this morning.”

Killian cocks a brow and moves to cross his arms behind his head from where he’s propped up in bed, a sated smile on his face. “Am I simply that irresistible to you?”

“You smelled really good, so obviously I just had to fuck you.”

“Oh, well, of course.”

Emma giggles against his shoulder before looking up at him and brushing her lips over the corner of his mouth. “And maybe. I feel like I can’t tell you that you’re irresistible because then I’ll inflate your ego too much.”

“Ah yes. That could be an issue.”

Emma opens her mouth to say something, and he feels his stomach twist in anticipation only for Emma’s stomach to audibly growl. “I feel like now would be a good time to get that baking done.”

“Oh shit,” he curses, gently moving Emma off of him so that he can get up from bed, “I left the ingredients out on the counter before I came in here. They’re not supposed to sit out that long.”

-/-

“You’ve got a little something on your cheek, love,” Killian teases as the two of them stand in his kitchen, his countertops covered in bowls and pans with cartons and bags left open. It’s far from the tidiness that he usually keeps, but no part of him minds this morning as he and Emma get more time together.

Emma scrunches up her nose in response, reaching her hand up to wipe at her face on both sides and only managing to get flyaway hairs from her still-damp braid stuck to her cheek.

“Did I get it?”

“No,” he lies, squinting his eyes so that he can focus in on her face just that little bit more. How is he so enamored with those freckles? “On your left cheek, Swan. Right in the middle.”

She huffs with a slight roll of her eyes before raising her hand and rubbing at her cheek while he reaches into the bowl of icing for their strawberry lemonade bars they’re (mostly him) making and swipes his finger through the cream before running his finger down Emma’s cheek as her lips part and her eyes quickly blink up at him.

“Did you just make up me having something on my cheek so that you could put icing there?”

“Yep.”

“You’re an asshole.”

“You’re calling me that a lot today.”

“Yeah, well,” she scoffs, crossing her arms over her chest as the pout that’s on her face begins crack, the corner of her mouth ticking up the slightest bit on the right, “you are being one.”

“Hey, love?” he asks, knowing that he’s about to start truly pissing her off, “you have a little something on your cheek. You should probably get that.”

If her eyes could roll to the back of her head, they would, and while Emma says that he’s the one without a great poker face, she doesn’t have too great of one right now either. She uncrosses her arms, and she looks like she’s going to wipe at the stripe of icing that’s on her cheek, but at the last minute, she lunges for the bowl only for him to grab her wrists and pull her arms upwards so that she can’t get the icing.

“Asshole,” Emma repeats while he laughs, nudging her knee away from his so that they can move out of the kitchen. Or at least a little. He’s pretty sure that Emma has her knees locked so that she won’t move. “You can’t just put icing on my face and not give me the opportunity to do the same to you.”

The words “love isn’t fair” almost escape his lips, but he bites his tongue, one particular word in that sentence not something he can say unless he’s calling Emma “love.” Even that sometimes seems risky, but it’s as natural as saying her name.

“Maybe later,” he falsely sighs, dipping his head to brush his lips over her cheek so that he can taste the icing that resides there, a sweet taste of strawberry. “You’re sweet.”

“You’re cheesy.”

“I don’t think I’m covered in cheese.”

“Oh my gosh,” Emma groans, leaning forward so that her forehead presses into his chest, her laugh loud enough so that he can feel the vibrations of it. “I cannot believe that I’m actively choosing to date you.”

“Trust me, darling, I ask myself why you’re dating me every single day.”

“As you should.”

They eventually get back to actually baking, the two of them working in companionable silence even though he keeps having to tell Emma to keep going on mixing the batter. She wants to use a mixer, which is fine most of the time, but this is always better if it’s done by hand. Emma is not a baker in the slightest, and while he knew that, it does surprise him the slightest bit when she asks questions that he thinks most people know the answer to. Then again, she never had someone to teach her to cook or bake or any basic life skills, which is probably why she loves grilled cheese sandwiches and other simple foods like that. They were something she could teach herself.

Liam taught him how to cook. Brennan never cared enough to.

But then again, past the knowledge that Liam gave him and that he learned from watching the Cooking Channel, he’d know nothing about baking if it wasn’t for the accident and his broken arm and torn rotator cuff. Almost instinctively, he rolls his shoulders back and begins stretching his right arm to loosen it up. It’s felt fine the past few days, but he felt a slight pull in it late last night and is hoping that it’s not going to start acting up again. He knows that his injury is most likely going to have a permanent effect on him, but like always, some days are better than others. And he’s doing everything to prevent it. He honestly doesn’t know what he’d do if presented with another long injury lay-off. Would he even have the motivation to try to come back?

That’s not a thought that he wants to have.

So, he doesn’t. He goes back to telling Emma about his day yesterday and how well he thinks the team is going to do for the rest of the season. His confidence with his arm may fluctuate, but his confidence with the team does not. They’re playing damn well this season, better even than last season, and he can’t help but hope that they’re going to be standing on the field as winners at the last game of the season.

Getting ahead of himself. He’s got to stop doing that.

“Yeah, well, if that happens, you still can’t ask me out on air,” Emma teases, bumping her hip into his while she pours the batter into the pan.

“Swan, we’ve very much established that only you ask me out in this relationship.”

“Exactly. I’m obviously the person who always makes the big moves.”

Killian shakes his head before kissing to top of her head and turning around to put the tray into his oven, closing the door and setting a timer for thirty minutes on his phone. He and Emma settle down onto his couch, Emma throwing her legs over his lap and stretching her arm over his shoulder while his hand settles on her inner thigh. It’s comfortable, relaxed, and he could fall asleep with the way the sun is softly coming through his windows and the television is playing quietly in the background.

But he doesn’t. Mostly because Emma starts talking.

“So, we need to talk.”

His head twists toward her so that he can look in her eyes. “I feel like that’s something you’ve said before.”

“Funny,” Emma laughs, nibbling on her bottom lip, “because I have, and we’re about to have the same conversation.”

A sigh passes through his lips as his mind connects the dots. “Ah, well, what is it you want to say? I figure you have an itemized list in that head since you’re the one who brought it up.”

“It’s not itemized, per say. It’s just kind of there all mixed around.” Her free hand moves as she says this, and she sinks a little further into the couch, splaying her legs out over him even more. It’s the most comfortable and awkward he thinks she’s ever looked in his presence. “I’m…it’s hard, okay. Don’t laugh at me.”

“I’m not laughing,” he says even as he laughs, his teeth biting down on his bottom lip while Emma glares up at him. “Okay, okay. You’re just so flustered, and it’s adorable.”

“How do we ever have serious conversations?”

“Usually we’re in a hotel bed.”

“Damn, you’re right. I’d say we go back to your bed, but I feel like I’ll get distracted by how soft your sheets are.”

“Oh, and not by me?”

“Nope,” Emma chuckles, bopping his nose, “not at all.”

His hand taps at her hip, fingers curling up underneath her top so that he can pinch the skin on her stomach. “Share what’s on your mind, darling.”

She sighs, her lashes fluttering closed against cheeks.

“So, I really, really want to tell people about you and me. I want to be able to not have to lie to Ruby about where I’ve been or not be able to tell David and Mary Margaret what’s going on in my life. And I want you to be able to tell Liam and Elsa. I don’t want to go to any other parties where I just happen to be there and have to act like I don’t’ know all of this information about your family. But then it’s just so complicated because, like, what about your team? Obviously, we can’t tell everyone, but you probably want to tell Robin and Will, maybe even Eric. And telling Eric means telling Ariel, probably Belle too, and then it’s just this wide web of people who know and can’t say anything. And it really doesn’t change how we spend our time together except adding a few apartments for us to hang out in. By the way, there’s a dude with a camera hanging out outside the apartment building, and I had to wait for him to leave his spot to come inside. So, there’s that too.”

Emma just spewed a couple hundred words at him in what must have been a singular breath, and he feels like he’s whiplashed as he tries to work through them all and pick exactly where he needs to start.

Damn, okay. This is complicated. This is all so complicated, and it’s very much his fault for his actions of nearly a year ago. There are other factors and complications, and while yes, the two of them could very much say that they’re dating and be able to live their lives more freely, they both know that it’ll be easier to possibly share once the season is over. It’ll make Emma’s life and job less complicated and while things are obviously going well, those few extra months will make it easier for them to actually know what they’re doing here.

“Okay,” Killian finally sighs, figuring he might as well take it item by item, “so first of all, I can get you a key to the back entrance so you don’t have to deal with the occasional obnoxious paparazzi who obviously don’t know that I’m not that interesting. I should have already done that, but I felt like that would be a bit presumptuous.”

“Yeah, I would have freaked the fuck out.”

“You’re not doing that right now?”

She shrugs. “Only a little.”

“So that’s one problem solved,” he sighs, tapping one finger against her stomach for emphasis. “Next, when you go home tomorrow, I want you to tell Ruby and Graham, okay? That’s going to be step one, and I’d honestly really like to come over and see your apartment and meet them. The same goes with David and Mary Margaret and even Ruth. Those people are all your family, and if you want to share that you have the most handsome lover in all of New York, I want you to do that.”

“That’s exactly what I’m going to tell Ruth and David. I’m going to call you my lover and see which one freaks out more. I bet David asks me for sex details.”

“Swan,” he groans as his head leans against the top of his couch, his lips curling into a smile, “that sounds like a good way for me to get murdered.”

“David is not that scary.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve found that no matter how progressive the world gets, older brothers tend to be far too protective, and no offense, but David is that type. I bet when we meet that he’ll squeeze my hand far too tightly in the handshake.”

“I hate that you’re right about that.”

“Exactly. But we’re clear on that. You tell your family, and I will tell mine. We’ll both make it clear that this doesn’t get out, and since we trust them, we know they’re going to respect that, yeah? And just so you know, I guarantee that Liam is going to insist on meeting you again and pull all of that older brother shit too.”

“Maybe we should just let he and David hash it out.”

“That’s exactly what we should do,” Killian chuckles as his phone starts to buzz, the timer for the oven going off. Emma’s legs slide off of him for him to stand from the couch and walk to the kitchen, grabbing two oven mitts to remove the hot pan and place it on the burners. “But seriously. We take this slow, okay? I know that I’m going to tell Liam and Elsa first, and you’ll likely tell Ruby first. And if it goes well, we take baby steps to move onto other people.”

“Are they going to totally hate us for keeping this a secret from them?”

“Maybe but not once they see how happy we are.”

Emma stands from the couch and walks over to him in the kitchen, leaning over his island to eye the cooling lemonade bars. “So, when are we going to be able to eat those?”

“In about an hour, so you have to be patient.”

“I’ve never been particularly good at that.”

-/-

Walking around the apartment, Killian starts opening up curtains to let the florescent lights of the city in, his bedroom painted in a soft glow of red and greens and yellows. The only light he has on in his bedroom is from the television, so he keeps seeing Emma’s features in flashes. It’s likely the laziest day he’s had in years, and while they did hash out details of letting their under-wraps relationship be a little more public, most of their day has been spent in bed exploring each other or watching Netflix and eating their baked goods and the pizza that he ordered. He knows that he and Emma teased each other about this being a sleepover when they’re both grown adults who are dating and not teenagers who are spending the night at their friend’s house, but they’re somehow falling into all of the stereotypes they teased each other about.

The glass of rum he’s had and the glass of wine Emma’s nursing surely help.

Maybe a little bit of boredom too.

“Truth,” Emma says flatly, pulling his comforter further up over her lap.

“Hmm,” he hums while he makes his way back to the bed, crawling under the covers and shifting to run his legs over Emma’s so that he can feel her smooth skin, “tell me the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to you.”

“My boyfriend asked me out on TV.”

“Is that your serious answer?”

“Yep.” Emma twists in the bed and scoots down further under the covers, her blonde hair still twisted into a braid, but a lot of the front pieces have fallen out and are landing on her bare shoulders. “That’s what I’m sticking with for now. It’s your turn. Truth or dare.”

“I feel ridiculous playing this game.”

“But it’s fun.”

“Aye,” he laughs, reaching over to grab her hand and tangle their fingers together before resting their hands in the small space between them. “Truth.”

Emma’s eyes close as she thinks, her lips pursing, and he’s got absolutely no clue what’s about to come out of her mouth. “What is your least favorite thing about me?”

“Damn, Swan, that’s dirty.”

“Usually you like that.”

“Different kind of dirty. Um – ” Killian clicks his tongue as his mind runs through a short list of things that annoy him about Emma as he tries to think of something that won’t get Emma truly pissed at him. “I don’t like how difficult it is to get you to answer the phone.”

“That’s a copout.”

“So was your last answer.”

“Fine. I’ll accept it. Dare.”

“Kiss me.”

Emma rolls her eyes right after he says the words, but she still presses forward to briefly brush her lips over his, a soft, slow kiss that has his body aching for more. But Emma pulls back before he can deepen the kiss, and he’s left with the feel of her lips on his.

“That was also a copout,” she murmurs as her hands reach down to pull the covers all the way up over her shoulders, her breasts disappearing from sight. “Truth.”

“Tell me your absolute favorite movie.”

“The Princess Bride. Feel free to quote it with me any time, and I will quote it right back.”

“As you wish.”

Emma’s eyes widen and her lips part at his words, and earlier he should have said that his least favorite thing about Emma is how hard it is for him to read her even when she’s an open book to him. But an open book half printed in code where he partially knows what’s going on but can’t quite decipher the rest.

“Your turn,” Emma whispers, snuggling further into the pillow. If he doesn’t watch out, she’s going to take his pillow home with her like she did his Vandy sweatshirt.

“Truth.”

“If you could talk to your dad again, would you?”

It’s a question out of nowhere, one he wasn’t expecting, and as much as it makes his blood boil to even think of his dad, he doesn’t mind being open like this with Emma, not when she squeezes his hand to reassure him and looks at him with green eyes that might as well hold the stars for all the light overshadowing the darkness that he sees in them.

“No,” he answers immediately before biting his tongue. “Maybe, but only to tell him how much he’s screwed up my life. I don’t – I believe in forgiveness and learning from your mistakes. I would be nothing without all of that, but I – a dad should love his kids and be there for them no matter what, not on the condition of how well one of them is playing baseball. I know that if I ever have kids, I want them to feel everything that I didn’t at home. I want to be more like my mom in all of the love that she showed, you know?”

Emma doesn’t say anything then, but she does release his hand to reach forward and grab the chain around his neck, letting his mom’s ring fall into her palm. “You’re a good man, you know that, twenty-nine?”

“Eh.”

“You are. I promise.”

Emma moves across the bed so that she can wrap her arm around his waist, simply sitting still with him in the quietness of the room as sirens and car horns blare outside, the life outside the city continuously moving as they stay still, reveling in the silence of the cocoon of his bedroom and not letting the outside world get to them. This has been one of his favorite days this year, which is saying a lot when he’s had so many that have already meant the world to him. He doesn’t know how it could get better.

Lips brush across the muscles on his stomach, soft and gentle and everything that Emma can be. “Killian?”

“Yeah, love?” he mumbles, absentmindedly running his fingers up and down the smooth expanse of her back.

“Dare me to do something bold.”

He chuckles, not entirely sure where this is coming from, but he does what she says anyways. “Emma, love, do something bold.”

Her intake of breath is something that he feels against his chest before she says, “I love you.”

#catch me if you can #cs fic #cs ff #captain swan fic #captain swan

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whieldonflyfishing · 4 years ago

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Learn How to Fly Fish

ALL ABOUT FLY FISHING

To turn into a decent fly fisher, we should have the option to learn how to fly fish.

It truly pays to locate a decent teacher or mentor to assist us with this, until then, here are seven of our top tips for learning to fly fishing that will expand your catch rate.

How to learn how to fly fish

Types:

Dry fly-fishing is the point at which a fisherman is projecting a light fly—one that copies sea-going bugs—and is basically used to get trout, as indicated by Mitchell. With dry fly-fishing, Mitchell says, "the fisherman normally attempts to make the dry fly buoy along normally with the current." It's likewise the ideal alternative for apprentices—and it's the sort of fly-fishing I attempted—on the grounds that it's moderately simple to tell when you have a strike (basically, a chomp from a fish) on account of the deceivability of the skimming fly.

Wet fly-fishing, which is basically used to get trout and some warm-water species, is the point at which "a fisher projects a fly that sinks or uses a limited quantity of weight to make it sink," says Mitchell. "The fisher attempts to make the fly float at similar movement as subsurface flows, or to gradually swing the fly across subsurface flows, or move the fly through still waters," which means this procedure is likely excessively progressed for a newbie.

The remainder of the procedures—streamer fly-fishing—is the point at which "a fisherman projects a sinking fly, regularly one that impersonates a snare fish, and afterward swings it over the flows or recovers it through still waters," as per Mitchell. This method, which is additionally most likely somewhat progressed for an absolute amateur, is utilized to get the biggest assortment of fish, including trout, warm-water fish, and saltwater fish.

Fly fishing basics:

Hand-Tie Your Leaders

There's no contesting the accommodation of machine-tightened knotless pioneers. Be that as it may, the good old sorts offer a fisher some undeniable points of interest. Knowing the specific engineering of the shape permits us to effortlessly remake a messed up pioneer on the stream or to adjust its exhibition qualities to meet changing fishing conditions. We get greater flexibility at a minuscule part of the expense. All we need are spools of scarf material, and the ability to tie a Blood knot.

Skate a Spider

Fishing dry flies on a dead float is an exemplary move; however, skating has a long history, as well. In any case, hesitant trout will regularly squash skittering dries in large, implosive strikes. The more seasoned flies intended for this procedure—called creepy crawlies and variations—are tied on short-shank snares with long, oversize passion that cause the flies to ricochet and skim on the water.

Keep the fly very much lubed, and use bar movement or the current drag to draw the fly over the surface, in a smooth force or in faltering jerks. Incidentally, you can skate swinging wet flies too, lifting the rod until just the fly is on the water and the fly is kicking up a little chicken tail. It's a tremendous short-line, pocket-water procedure.

The length of the butt segment takes into account six creeps of the line to be utilized when you're tying it to the fly line; different segments permit 2 inches each for the halfway bunches.

On the off chance that you break a leader, it's anything but difficult to decide the right tippet size. Simply start at the butt area and check down from 21 by twos (21, 19, 17, and so forth) to discover the measurement in thousandths of an inch, on the off chance that you need a lighter chief, scaled the 4X back to 6 inches and include a 5X or 6X scarf. For a heavier one, scaled back to 0X (.011) and included a 1X or 2X scarf. Abstain from joining materials that are more than .002 inch separated in breadth on the grounds that the bunch may not hold well.

Dap a Dry

One of the most seasoned and least complex stunts in the book, dapping is currently excused as a method for kids and dolts. Be that as it may, this methodology is undeniably fit to circumstances with no projecting room, as brushy little streams or tight, bankside runs. Remain a pole length back from the water.

With just the pioneer through the pole tip, bring down the fly to the surface, let it float a couple of inches, at that point get it and put it down once more, basically "tapping" or "dapping" the fly on the water—copying exactly the conduct of an egg-laying caddis or mayfly. Tune in and feel for the strike. Unrefined? Perhaps. Powerful? Undoubtedly. It permits us to get a fly into in any case unfishable spots.

Lose the Bobber

The present fishermen depend intensely on yarn or froth strike pointers despite the fact that old-style nymphing is regularly more profitable. Disregard the marker when:

1) Nymphing profound, energetically paced runs. Given the start to finish current differential and the weight expected to get the fly down, a marker can cause unnatural drag.

2) Working pocket water. Short, bending current tongues and thin chutes make it hard to put the fly and pointer on a similar float—Fish a fairy on a short, scarcely rigid line.

3) Fishing clear, shallow, smooth stretches. Pointers can scare fish. Rather, oil the pioneer to inside a foot or two of the end.

Make Flies from hiding Fur.

Prepackaged hide naming for tying flies is grandly helpful yet restricted. It's typically hacked and mixed hare or squirrel hair. Conversely, hide on the stowaway, which has been utilized for quite a long time, opens up an abundance of decisions, especially for fresher fly-levels who may just know the prepared stuff in fixed plastic packs. Muskrat and otter are fantastic dubbings; mole hide is wonderful.

Badger, lynx, coyote, beaver, wildcat, opossum, raccoon, and nutria are astounding too, and these hairs are as yet reachable. Hide on the 8cover up is satisfying to work with, offers a scope of unobtrusive regular tones, and permits the choice of including or precluding the watchman hairs in the blended naming to control the surface of the completed fly body.

Mind Your Streamside Manners

In actuality—great habits are more critical than any other time in recent memory. The prime, and most often disregarded, order: Give a fisher on the water some space. At any rate, courteously ask whether he minds sharing a spot.

On the other hand, on the off chance that you've just discovered a promising pool, fish it well, yet don't residence it. Continue moving and give others a possibility. On the off chance that incubates is on, and we've discovered rising fish, we need far less room than when you're prospecting. Nothing breeds generosity like contribution another person a bit of your hotspot. The overseeing standard in the entirety of this is straightforward: Respect others' satisfaction.

Fish Wet Flies

To most fishermen over the most recent 50 years, fly fishing has consequently implied dry-fly fishing. Solid skimming lines have settled on it the strategy for decision. However, the old style of wet-fly fishing will frequently get trout when skimming designs fall flat. It's likewise a straightforward strategy. Cast a wet fly across stream or quartering down and attach leader to fly line.

Follow the fly with the pole tip as it swings on a tight line in a circular segment over the current and stops straightforwardly downstream. Retouch the line or utilize the bar tip for swimming the fly before stones, into creases, and underneath the overhanging brush.

At the point when we're fishing a tight line this way, squeeze the fly line against the pole with your pointer, leaving a foot-long circle of slack hanging between your finger and the reel. The circle, pulled tight when a fish hits hard, gives a sort of pad and more dependable hookups. Fish two, or even three, flies thusly, each on a 12-inch dropper attached to the curve of the snare above it.

Learn the Water Haul

With the accentuation these days on enormous water, and large projects, this subtle introduction has nearly been overlooked. Be that as it may, when we're stitched in by low-hanging brush, the water pull conveys. Let the current convey the line legitimately downstream of us. Hold the pole 45 degrees downstream; at that point clear it upstream with a short arm movement and a flick of the wrist.

Keeps the pole tip low, moving corresponding to the water, and we can shoot a cast that never rises in excess of a couple of crawls over the surface, winding a fly profound under tree appendages and shrubs. Also, on the grounds that we can stay frozen in place and play out this cast with the bar low and at least movement, it's a shrewd decision for fishing creepy trout that are holding near us.

Use Feet

The present fishermen cast longer queues and fish at more prominent reaches, much of the time basically in light of the fact that advanced tackle makes it effectively feasible. Be that as it may, except if the circumstance calls for it, arriving at a long distance is really one of the most exceedingly awful methods of getting trout. Exactness endures, drag issues increment, and snaring rate drops.

Extraordinary fishermen of the past, for example, Ray Bergman, perceived that being a decent angler and being a solid caster isn't something very similar. Shrewd situating and secrecy will out fish a ton of fly line. It's similar to safeguard in b-ball; the best players depend more on their feet than on their arms. Study the flows and partition the water into individual fishable areas. At that point walk or swim to the one ideal spot for working each part of the water—a place that permits you to toss a genuinely short, straight, exact cast.

Roll Cast

Most fly fishermen become familiar with the move cast first—at that point rapidly dismiss it as simply a stage while in transit to "genuine" projecting, a demeanour supported by the solid, quick poles now in design and the mind-boggling utilization of weight-forward fly lines, neither of which move cast especially well. However, when the luck runs out's (or the brush), with no space for a regular overhead conveyance, a moving cast keeps you fishing.

With a moderate-activity pole and twofold shape line, it gives amazing reach, and it's ideal for wet-fly fishing, where bogus projecting can dry the fly and repress sinking. The cast is accomplished in a solitary, proficient movement that keeps your fly on the water as opposed to logging preferred customer credits in rehashed, superfluous bogus projects.

Conclusion

Continuously remain safe. We could list endless things here; however, most is the presence of mind. Ensure to wear shades and a cap to secure your eyes. Great quality enraptured shades likewise help with spotting fish and in particular assistance me when we are swimming spotting rocks profound gaps and submerged structure. We recall a year ago while facilitating an excursion in Norway fishing a major waterway in bright conditions our shades cut; however, the glare of the sun considering the water and recognized numerous impediments.

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pluckyredhead · 7 years ago

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Daredevil 101: The Nifty (Late) Nineties

Last time on Daredevil 101, Matt had yet another nervous breakdown, and Foggy finally found out, after 30 years of canon, that his best friend was Daredevil.

Now, with Matt having un-faked his death, he, Foggy, and Karen are free to settle into a new status quo - and it’s a refreshingly light-hearted one! Honestly, I would say this is the peppiest Daredevil ever is - there’s less melodramatic thought-bubbling than the Silver Age, and no undercurrent of severe depression like in the Waid run. It’s just sheer, pleasant fun.

In fact, it’s basically a romcom, with wacky misunderstandings and lots of workplace shenanigans thrown in. Which, considering we’re talking 1996-1998, is right on schedule.

Over the next three posts we’ll be covering Daredevil Volume 1 #353-375, mostly by the creative teams of Karl Kesel/Cary Nord and Joe Kelly/Gene Colan (the latter of whom also drew much of Silver Age Daredevil, aw).

Content Warning: Reading between the lines, emotional abuse by a parent.

We begin with Matt deciding that the best way to announce his return to the world is to stroll into the courtroom during one of Foggy’s cases and just start arguing it alongside him, creating a media circus. Foggy’s...less than thrilled:

How on earth would he know you’re really blind, Matt? You never a) explained anything or b) apologized, you literally just jumped out the window and ran away.

Anyway, they don’t have time to go into it (and Matt gets to skip out of apologizing again) because they get a shocking message:

1. Foggy, you are a fashion icon, never change.

2. How does he know Rosalind Sharpe? And why is he so agitated at the prospect of meeting with her???

Meanwhile, Karen's trying to find her own direction in life:

Matt’s always been pretty careless and jovial about Karen selling out his secret identity - he has literally never tasked her with or blamed her for it - but it weighs on Karen. Also, I don’t blame Karen for not being sure what job to take, since her last two were “handing out anti-porn pamphlets on a street corner” and “running a drug addiction hotline,” both of which are noble causes but neither of which seemed to come with a salary.

Side note: this haircut is very dated but it is my 100% favorite Karen haircut of all time. So kicky! So fresh! So Monica Gellar circa Season 2! I love it.

Meanwhile, Matt’s gone back to “swashbuckling banter-er” when it comes to fighting crime:

I mean, Matt’s jokes are stupid, but that’s part of the point. At least he didn’t say “Talk to the hand” or “Don’t have a cow, man.”

Later, he and Foggy meet with Rosalind, and she offers them both junior partnerships in her firm. Foggy instantly, gleefully accepts, but Matt’s more reluctant:

So yeah, Rosalind is a stone cold bitch, and I don’t use that word lightly. I think she’s a fascinating character but not because she’s, like, not an awful person or anything. (For anyone reading this who doesn’t know why this is so awful: Rosalind is Foggy’s biological mom, though Matt and the reader don’t know that at this point. That’s why this means so much to Foggy.)

It’s also pretty baffling, because Rosalind declares Foggy “adequate” and Matt “astounding,” but Matt has been a) disbarred and b) declared dead twice, while Foggy is a former district attorney and legal counsel to both the Fantastic Four and Tony Stark around this point in time. The perceived wisdom about the characters up until Bendis takes over in a couple years is that Matt is a brilliant attorney and Foggy’s a fumbling buffoon, and both Kesel and Kelly steer hard into that curve, but not only does it not match what the characters actually do, it never made any sense from a character point of view. Why would Matt, The Greatest Lawyer Ever, saddle himself with an incompetent? And how could he run The Most Successful Law Firm In New York while dragging Foggy’s dead weight behind him when it’s canon that he barely ever has the time or emotional capacity to do legal work? I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS FOGGY NELSON SLANDER!

Anyway, Matt and Foggy take some time to hash it out (though Matt obviously doesn’t tell Foggy about Rosalind’s ultimatum), but it’s a tense discussion considering how hurt Foggy still is about the Daredevil thing:

“I can only say I’m sorry so many times, Foggy!” Maybe start with once? That’s a good number to begin at, Matthew. (This “UGH get OVER it” attitude continues for a while, btw, until Foggy finally stops bringing it up. Gee, I wonder where he learned to put up with such belittling dismissal from his loved ones?)

That’s Liz Osborn at the door - formerly Liz Allan, Spider-Man’s high school dream girl, now the widow of Harry Osborn, mother of his child Normie, and head of OsCorp. Foggy helped her with a legal matter recently and she’s come to, well...

Yeah, she’s there to ask him out. GET IT, GIRL. Liz knows what’s what. (Well, she does now. Not so much when she was 16, but then who among us did?)

Check out Foggy’s foreshadowing about Rosalind there in panel 2, btw.

Matt, meanwhile, realizes that he really does owe Foggy this after, you know, the lying to him forever thing, so he tells Rosalind he’s in, on one condition:

Yeah, so Rosalind wants to fuck her son’s best friend, right? That’s what’s happening here? I mean, I kind of get it - Cary Nord draws a hell of a Matt - but also Jesus Christ, no, Rose, keep it in your pants.

And so Nelson and Murdock becomes Sharpe, Nelson, and Murdock. Meanwhile, Karen is fully on board the Foggy/Liz train:

Matt, as usual, is deliberately obtuse/borderline resentful of the fact that Foggy might have other relationships. Oh, Matthew. I’m sure if you just tell Foggy you’re in a triad with him and Karen he’d be on board.

Hey look! It’s Misty!

(She’s the investigator for Rosalind’s firm. She’s also talking about Danny there, yes. They dated pretty consistently in the comics for like 40 years. They’re very cute. COMICS DANNY IS BETTER. Anyway I like it when she and Matt flirt.)

Oh and hey, while we’re here, let’s have the one-two punch of Nelson and Murdock in action. ONE: Matt, having badgered Foggy into defending a supervillain for convoluted Daredevil reasons, fails to show up in court:

Foggy, you are a sartorial wonder and a joy forever, I love you. (Seriously: KILLING. IT.)

TWO: Matt bursts in, either in costume or out, with evidence he’s just come into possession of that’ll blow this case wide open!

There you go, that’s every Daredevil trial scene ever except for the time Matt made Peter dress up as Daredevil so that he could cross-examine him.

Please note Rosalind cackling evilly back there, because she’s trying to get Foggy to throw Matt under the bus, because...she resorted to extortion to get Matt to join her firm and now she wants to ruin his reputation? Which will hurt hers to? Again, Rosalind’s so busy being calculating and cutthroat that her actions frequently don’t make any goddamn sense.

But this is also pretty much the moment that Foggy lets go of his resentment over Matt’s secret and re-pledges his troth, so I feel a lot of feels about it. Even if I would like to see Matt dangle a bit longer.

Meanwhile, Karen’s found a job, though she’s been a bit cagey about what it is with Matt. Why? Well, she’s a late night DJ/talk radio host...but for WFSK, which is owned by - you guessed it - Fisk. But she’s great at it!

This dialogue is 100% ridiculous but also 100% believable, can’t you just hear her cadence? If you’re old enough to remember this kind of thing, at least.

Rosalind has decided to turn Foggy’s friendship with Daredevil (who of course she doesn’t know is Matt) into a win for the firm by branding him as “Daredevil’s Pal,” so she calls in and puts a very startled Foggy on the phone so that he can talk about his relationship with Daredevil:

YOU GUYS. I’M CAN’T. <3 <3 <3

A few callers dial in with weird theories and questions (“What if he has weird bug eyes?” “Whatever happened to those funny little kids he used to hang out with?”), but then “Mike” from the Bronx calls to ask what Karen - I mean, “Paige Angel” - thinks of Daredevil:

Karen goes on to say that Daredevil’s saved her life, and she wouldn’t be the person she is without him. “Mike” replies that Daredevil must be blind...if he can’t see how lucky he is to have people like her in his corner. He adds that whoever Daredevil is, he’d probably be impressed that “Paige” is trying to do some good from the inside at a place like WFSK.

Karen, not being an idiot, recognizes Matt and is touched. And Matt, who’s just heard his two favorite people wax rhapsodic about how wonderful he is?

AWWWWW LOOK AT THIS HAPPY BOY! You enjoy it, buddy. You don’t get to have it too often.

Next up: Nelson family drama, and the return of two of Matt’s old flames!

#daredevil #daredevil 101

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junker-town · 6 years ago

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The 2 ways Mack started his latest UNC tenure on the right foot

Brown hired coordinators versed in football’s schematic evolution, and he’s already giving them talent to work with.

Mack Brown evidently now dislikes the label “CEO” coach. That marker came to be a caricature of his time at Texas: that Brown spent his time glad-handing boosters and recruits while his staff did the real coaching. It was a label Brown created by presenting himself as someone who would marshal the program’s vast resources and provide the vision and direction needed to translate Texas into an overpowering program.

But now that he’s taken back over at North Carolina, where he built the resume that resulted in his hiring at Texas for the 1998 season, Brown has stayed true to the CEO coach skill set. He built a staff with several up-and-coming coaches from prominent, modern schools of offense and defense, while reuniting with his old recruiting coordinator Tim Brewster (who was at Texas A&M) and hitting the trail to try and assemble a top-flight roster.

He’s built a strong staff. Brown secured air raid OC Phil Longo, who built an astounding resume at the FCS level with Sam Houston State before moving to Ole Miss in 2017. In Oxford, Longo’s offenses ranked 10th and 20th in S&P+. Brown also got Army DC Jay Bateman, who’s been ahead of the curve in building “positionless” and tempo-proof units.

Recruiting has taken off as well. The upshot is that Brown is building an impressive-looking program, at least as much as he could before the Heels play any games.

1. While Brown spent five years out of coaching, the sport changed a lot. He made sure to hire people versed in the new way.

Brown made it a point to pursue air raid coaches to try to bring an exciting and lethal brand of football to help the Heels build up their reputation. The obvious target, Kliff Kingsbury, ended up with shockingly good options, but Brown did well to get Longo.

Longo utilizes a particularly aggressive version of the offense. His Rebels took deep shots in the passing game whenever they could and ran a fair number of RPOs, primarily as a way to create opportunities to throw it down the field:

Or to the perimeter:

This is the cutting edge of the RPO world, using power run schemes to create opportunities to throw the ball to one-on-one matchups. The Rebels also mixed in some more air raid-specific schemes, like running multiple vertical concepts with receiver sight adjustments or one of Longo’s favorite schemes: combining route combinations with a QB draw as a way to approach third down:

This play is a great encapsulation of the “pass-first” paradigm that many of today’s spread offenses (especially the air raid teams) employ. You have to spread out to defend the quick throw first and then rally to stop a runner going between the tackles behind lead blocking.

The defense Bateman brings to Chapel Hill was designed in light of offenses like Longo’s. Bateman’s Black Knights faced a similar unit — and one Brown wants to emulate — when they took on the historic Oklahoma offense on the road in 2018.

The defensive success Army had in that 28-21 OT loss has been overstated. The Sooners moved the ball consistently throughout the game and were held down mostly by Army’s offense holding the ball and limiting them to 40 total plays at 8.9 yards per snap.

However, the Knights were able to cause problems for the Sooners with their disguises and ability to easily communicate blitzes and calls down to the field when moving at tempo:

They played 2-4-5 personnel much of this game, getting as many of their versatile LBs on the field as possible and throwing simulated blitzes and shifting coverages at the Sooners to create confusion. The Army defense was designed to allow the staff to signal in simple, one-word calls that would tell the players their assignments, and then they’d create one of a handful of core concepts. The variety was in who’d play which roles.

In the same way air raid teams have their three-day install in which they absorb the entire offense and then learn how to execute it in a wide variety of fashions, the Bateman style is essentially the air raid of defenses. The Heels will only have a few coverages and blitzes, but they run them from a multitude of different packages, with each position group taking turns doing the blitzing or covering particular zones or routes. The goal is be as confusing as possible to the offense, and to as flexible as possible in dictating the one-on-ones across the field — all while running as few concepts as possible.

2. More good news: Early indications are Brown might be realizing UNC’s recruiting upside.

Since Brown left after 1997 (and often before his tenure), the Tar Heels have struggled to win consistently. But they have pretty high recruiting upside if they get the right buy-in and leadership. Their state has more than 10 million people and a growing population with plenty of talented athletes. Only five states produced more blue-chips in the 2019 class than North Carolina, which has seen an increase the last few years.

UNC has competition within state borders from Wake Forest, Duke, and NC State. Plenty of other schools, including neighboring-state Clemson, operate in the area. But if the Heels put anywhere near as much emphasis on football as they have on basketball, they could at least regularly beat out their in-state foes to a pretty good-sized talent base.

In the 2019 transition class, UNC signed three of the state’s 16 blue-chip recruits. For a team that won two games, it was a historically strong class. In 2020, the Heels seem poised to do even better. A North Carolina Tar Heel team that locks down in-state talent has a much higher ceiling than what we’ve seen.

Brown’s vision is strong. While he may shy from the moniker, he’s fulfilling the “CEO” role at a high level early into his second tenure in Chapel Hill. The potential hangup is in quality control and oversight.

What happens once this team starts playing Virginia Tech, Miami, or rival South Carolina?

Brown can recruit, but his expertise in implementing and coaching up modern tactics after his time away is next to zero. After aiming to land the best possible hires and to help those coaches load up their position meeting rooms with talent, Brown isn’t going to have much to offer his assistants if they need to tweak or adjust their tactics to make them work.

In rivalry games, teams go all-in on game-planning, and Brown’s teams haven’t always measured up. His Texas was 7-9 against Bob Stoops’ Sooners, with four losses of 38 points or more under Brown’s direction. The Sooners combined similar amounts of talent with a head coach known as much for his own personal tactical ingenuity as his capacity for making strong hires and running a program. While at UNC, Brown was 1-3 against South Carolina and 5-5 against NC State, with a long early losing streak against the Wolfpack.

So, there are no guarantees. But so far Brown has looked re-energized and has initiated a plan to direct UNC’s potentially massive resources towards making a powerhouse out of a team that went 2-9 in 2018. If he can get UNC rolling forward again, perhaps the program will be able to maintain momentum the next time he moves on.

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whieldonflyfishing · 4 years ago

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FLY FISHING BASICS

To turn into a decent fly fisher, we should have the option to learn how to fly fish. As a calculating teacher we show many individuals we are actually astounded at exactly the number of fishermen has awful methods or propensities when projecting - this is not something to be embarrassed about as it can generally be fixed. It truly pays to locate a decent projecting teacher or mentor to assist us with this.

We now indicated a large number of fishermen, including numerous that had been looking for quite a long time how to project better. So once we can project capably here are seven of our top tips for learning to fly fishing that will expand your catch rate.

How to learn how to fly fish

Types:

Fly fishing basics:

Hand-Tie Your Leaders

Skate a Spider

Fishing dry flies on a dead float is an exemplary move; however, skating has a long history, as well. In any case, hesitant trout will regularly squash skittering dries in large, implosive strikes. The more seasoned flies intended for this procedure—called creepy crawlies and variations—are tied on short-shank snares with a long, oversize passion that causes the flies to ricochet and skim on the water.

Keep the fly and pioneer very much lubed, and use bar movement or the current drag to draw the fly over the surface, in a smooth force or in faltering jerks. Incidentally, you can skate swinging wet flies too, lifting the bar until just the pioneer is on the water and the fly is kicking up a little chicken tail. It's a tremendous short-line, pocket-water procedure.

The length of the butt segment takes into account six creeps of the line to be utilized when you're nail-tying it to the fly line; different segments permit 2 inches each for the halfway bunches.

On the off chance that you break a pioneer, it's anything but difficult to decide the right scarf size to begin changing the shape. Simply start at the butt area and check down from 21 by twos (21, 19, 17, and so forth) to discover the measurement in thousandths of an inch, on the off chance that you need a lighter chief, scaled the 4X back to 6 inches and include a 5X or 6X scarf.

For a heavier one, scaled back to 0X (.011) and included a 1X or 2X scarf. Abstain from joining materials that are more than .002 inch separated in breadth on the grounds that the bunch may not hold well.

Dap a Dry

Lose the Bobber

The present fishermen depend intensely on yarn or froth strike pointers despite the fact that old-style nymphing is regularly more profitable. Disregard the marker when:

1) Nymphing profound, energetically paced runs. Given the start to finish current differential and the weight expected to get the fly down, a marker can cause unnatural drag.

2) Working pocket water. Short, bending current tongues and thin chutes make it hard to put the fly and pointer on a similar float—Fish a fairy on a short, scarcely rigid line.

3) Fishing clear, shallow, smooth stretches. Pointers can scare fish. Rather, oil the pioneer to inside a foot or two of the end.

Make Flies from hiding Fur.

Badger, lynx, coyote, beaver, wildcat, opossum, raccoon, and nutria are astounding too, and these hairs are as yet reachable. Hide on the cover-up is satisfying to work with, offers a scope of unobtrusive regular tones, and permits the choice of including or precluding the watchman hairs in the blended naming to control the surface of the completed fly body.

Mind Your Streamside Manners

New fly fishers are brought into the world consistently. New trout streams are definitely not. That implies more jam-packed waters. However, it doesn't imply that good old stream decorum must go the method of oiled-silk fly lines and gut pioneers. In actuality—great habits are more critical than any other time in recent memory. The prime, and most often disregarded, order: Give a fisher on the water some space. At any rate, courteously ask whether he minds sharing a spot.

Never poach another angler's water by placing in front of him, whether or not he's working upstream or down. When running into each other when fishing, the fisherman moving downstream respects the one is working up by leaving the water and strolling farther beneath him. On the other hand, on the off chance that you've just discovered a promising pool, fish it well, yet don't residence it.

Continue moving and give others a possibility. On the off chance that incubates is on, and we've discovered rising fish, we need far less room than when you're prospecting. Nothing breeds generosity like contribution another person a bit of your hotspot. The overseeing standard in the entirety of this is straightforward: Respect others' satisfaction.

Fish Wet Flies

Learn the Water Haul

Keep the pole tip low, moving corresponding to the water, and we can shoot a cast that never rises in excess of a couple of crawls over the surface, winding a fly profound under tree appendages and shrubs. Also, on the grounds that we can stay frozen in place and play out this cast with the bar low and at least movement, it's a shrewd decision for fishing creepy trout that are holding near us.

Use Feet

Roll Cast

Conclusion

We recall a year ago while facilitating an excursion in Norway fishing a major waterway in bright conditions our shades cut; however, the glare of the sun considering the water and recognized numerous impediments.

from Whieldon Fly Fishing - The Fly Fishing Diaries https://ift.tt/3bYg2XH via IFTTT

#IFTTT #Whieldon Fly Fishing - The Fly Fishing Diaries

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