#first of all 22 isn’t a real age and second of all november is the most evil month

[cartoon-skeleton]

wait its november

[ratingtheframe]

Lights, camera, lockdown! All the films I watched at home this November.

Last month, the UK went on a one month down lockdown, causing cinemas to shut and new releases to be put on hold.

In fact, Christopher Nolan’s Tenet was the only multi million dollar film to be released this year. It’s painful to think that Dune was supposed to be released almost two weeks from now and that we have to wait several months to see the sci fi film hit screens. Despite the post poned releases and closing of cinema chains, there are still some great films I hadn’t seen and used last month as an opportunity to look into them. Even though I didn’t see as much as I did in October, the quality of the films I managed to see this month is high.

His House (2020) as seen on Netflix

Starting off reasonably well with this horror brought to you by Netflix that centers the life around two immigrants and a spirit haunting the new lives they’re trying to build in the UK. It’s certainly a new perspective that I haven’t seen in horror and definitely isn’t a film for the fainted hearted for some of the scenes in this are genuinely terrifying. The overall message was thought provoking and poignant as it sort of spoke for those who’ve lost their lives attempting to seek asylum and those whoa are still struggling to find a new home.

His House is available to watch on Netflix. Score: 9/10  

Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight (2020) as seen on Netflix 

Definitely one of the most surprisingly good films I watched this month, Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight is a classic Netflix horror from Poland. The film follows a group of Polish teenagers addicted to social media who are sent to a camp to curb their addiction. However, when on a hike through the woods, one of the teens goes missing and without a phone to call for help, the kids are forced to face two grotesque monsters feeding upon humans. From start to finish, this film was highly entertaining and had a good structure to it. There were no gimmicks or cliches and it’s definitely a film I’d recommend to just about anyone. 

Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight is available to watch on Netflix. 

Score: 10/10

The Ring (2002) as seen on BBC iPlayer

Gore Verbinski’s (A Cure for Wellness, Pirates of the Caribbean) infamous horror is a cult classic and must watch for scary movie fans. Usually horror films can be too gimmicky and borderline cringey without an ounce of substance to them. However, The Ring is surprisingly good in that it possesses a deep narrative with three dimensional characters, good acting and wonderful direction. When a journalist’s (Naomi Watts) niece dies in unknown circumstances, she embarks on a journey to discover a horrifying tape that if watched, kills you in a week’s time. The box office sales for this film speaks for itself seeing as the film made nearly $130 million when it was released back in 2002. The Ring is certainly not for the faint hearted, so if horror isn’t your thing, I’d advise you stay well away from it. 

Score: 9/10 

Misery (1990) as seen on Netflix

Stephen King’s Misery is turned into an unsettling thriller starring Kathy Bates and James Caan. Author Paul Sheldon (James Caan) ends up getting caught in a snow storm, that seems his car veer off the road, leaving him in a critical state. However, a seemingly caring and selfless woman, Annie (Kathy Bates) takes him in, using her work as a nurse to care for him. It turns out that Annie is a super fan of Paul’s work and the care she has for him soon turns nasty and sadistic, leaving Paul in a panicked state for he is in the middle of nowhere with a practical psychopath. I wouldn’t say Misery is one of best adaptations of King’s novels. There are better pieces of work by Stephen King that have been made into movies such as IT, The Green Mile and 1922. The pace was quite slow and the fact that it took place in only one settling detracted from the progression of the film. However, it’s entertaining, well cast and had a decent story to it. 

Score: 7/10

Drive (2011) as seen on Amazon Prime 

Drive is 1000% one of the best films I’ve seen this year, in my entire life in fact. It’s incredibly bold, ambitious, vivid, subtle and heart wrenching at moments. A stunt driver (Ryan Gosling) is torn between the world of crime he partakes in and the love he has for a young woman (Carey Mulligan) that lives in the apartment next door to his. The subtlety and sensitivity that both Gosling and Mulligan brought to this film was so pure and authentic to their characters, whilst bringing an underlying sadness to the entirety of the film. By the end of the film you want to cry but aren’t sure why and these sorts of films are rare to find. The sound track and SFX in this are unreal, again adding to the confirmation that this film is one of a kind.

Score: 12/10 

Time (2020) as seen on Amazon Prime

I was delighted to see Amazon Prime had put this straight onto their service seeing as I’d missed out on Time during the London Film Festival two months ago. This is one of the most moving and deep pieces of work I’ve seen this year. Time is a documentary filmed over 20 years that details the life of a woman trying to seek justice for her husband who was put in prison for life for armed robbery. Not only is she fighting for her husband, but also her four sons, two of which weren’t even born when their father was put away in jail. Fox Rich lives in Louisiana, one of America’s toughest states when it comes to the criminal justice system. Sentences are of some of the highest in the entire country and are especially harsher to people of colour. Fox and her husband took the fatal and desperate decision to rob a bank in a bid to support their business and family. This drastic choice took Fox’s husband away from his family and for 2 decades, Fox spent time trying to get her husband out of jail. The thing that moved me the most about this documentary was her sons; four beautiful, smart and driven men who grew up without a father. It made me wonder how proud Fox must be of her kids and to see her fight for her husband and remain loyal to him is enough love to last two lifetimes. 

Time is available to watch on Amazon Prime now.

Score: 10/10

The Departed (2006) as seen on DVD

Throughout this two and a half hour film I was wondering how they had managed to get Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Alec Baldwin and Mark Wahlberg to do a film together. And the answer is that this epic and high profile movie was directed by the infamous Martin Scorsese. It’s a mystery why I hadn’t seen this film sooner, seeing as it was a huge hit during its release making a staggering $291 million worldwide during its release. This is definitely DiCaprio’s best film (next to Revolutionary Road and The Revenant) and his performance was incredibly punchy and strong throughout. Everyone in this film was top class and the dialogue fitted well with each character with a natural story progression throughout. A top notch, Hollywood, must watch film.

Score: 10/10 

Murder by Numbers (2002) as seen on Amazon Prime

One of Ryan Gosling’s earliest films follows two high school students committing a sadistic murder simply to see just how it feels. Detective Cassie Mayweather (Sandra Bullock) is put on the case to solve the murder and quickly pieces the case together, leading her to Richard Haywood (Ryan Gosling) and Justin Pendleton (Michael Pitt) two students at the same high school. I wouldn’t say this film was bad, however the ending played a big part in the overall quality of the film. It had a good pace and characters, however the ending definitely let down the film for it was rushed and unaligned to the rest of the film. Ryan Gosling’s performance at the tender age of 22 was pretty decent and definitely stated to everyone else his ability as an actor for years to come. 

Score: 7/10

All Good Things (2010) as seen on Amazon Prime

As you can tell by now, I went on a Ryan Gosling whip this month. All Good Things is the true story of David Marks (Ryan Gosling), whose wife Katie (Kirsten Dunst) disappears and still to this day, has never been found. Marks was the prime suspect in the disappearance case but was never found guilty and lives a free man. Even though the story was interesting and the performances good, the fact this is a Weinstein Company Film made it hard to watch, especially with the totally unnecessary nudity and sex scenes that put Kirsten Dunst at its forefront. The film lacked a clear resolution and was left completely open ended like the case of Katie Marks, which is understandable, however not when it comes to making a good film.

Score: 6/10

Borat (2006) as seen on Amazon Prime

After finding the second Borat film to be highly entertaining, I decided to watch the first one and was certainly not left disappointed. The first Borat film introduces us to Kazakstan reporter Borat Sagdiyev (Sacha Baron Cohen) and his first visit to America, whilst taking in all the americanisms to report back to his own country. Soon his pursuit turns to Pamela Anderson whose doing a book signing across in California. The comedy has many jaw dropping moments and sees Cohen above and beyond the boundaries of comedy to bring the character of Borat to life.

Score: 10/10

Boy Erased (2018) as seen on Sky Cinema 

If there’s one film worth watching on this list, it’d be Joel Edgerton’s Boy Erased. This film is the product of a real understanding of film language and the ability to make a beautiful and heart felt story. Edgerton is a well known actor, but has taken time to go behind the camera as well as in front of it in this Golden Globe nominated picture starring the likes of Lucas Hedges, Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman, Troye Sivan, Xavier Dolan and Joe Alwyn. Like HELLO if that cast isn’t making you immediately turn off this site right now to find Boy Erased, then I don’t know what will. The film based on a true story follows Jared Eamons (Lucas Hedges) and his time spent at a gay conversion centre with fellow homosexuals Gary (Troye Sivan) and Jon (Xavier Dolan). Jared’s father (Russell Crowe) is a pastor he and his wife (Nicole Kidman) take their religion rather seriously, which is why Jared has been forced to seek help for his sexuality. It’s a hard concept to swallow, especially in this day and age when most parents, religious or not, are starting to become more acceptable of their children’s sexuality. This film exposes the reality beyond that and how some parents feel their child is damaged by something completely normal and feel the need to seek help for it. Boy Erased is made with sensitivity and beautiful acting from an a class cast. All round, it’s a perfect film.

Score: 11/10

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009) as seen on Amazon Prime

I was a little confused starting this film to see it in Swedish, as I thought I was watching the David Fincher film of the same title. However, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was original a book and the first adapation of it for film was directed by Niels Arden Oplev, two years before Fincher made his version, starring Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig. However, the fact that this version was in Swedish didn’t detract from the thrilling story spun onto screen. The three hour movie follows a journalist whose been hired to solve the mystery of a missing girl who is part of a high profile family. A young female hacker who once hacked the journalist and practically ruined his career, joins him along the way and the pair of them uncover a long string of untold secrets that see blood being split amongst numerous women. It’s one of the best thrillers I’ve ever seen and a must watch if you enjoyed Fincher’s version.

Score: 10/10

Still Alice (2014) as seen on DVD

A highly anticipated film on my part, Still Alice is an arresting and moving film about a mother struggling with on set Alzheimers. Julianne Moore scooped up a Best Actress Award at the Academy Awards in 2015, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA for her performance as Dr Alice Howland and her battle with Alzheimers at the age of 50. Kristen Stewart plays her daughter and Alec Baldwin her husband and their performances are equal to Julianne Moore’s. Overall, this was a touching piece that had soooo much depth to it and yet carried a satisfying simplicity throughout it. 

Score: 10/10

Enemy (2013) as seen on DVD

I heard about Enemy’s synopsis via a YouTube video and was throughly excited to watch it on hearing it was directed by Denis Villeneuve, a master director when it comes to thrillers and sci fi films. Even though Enemy was difficult to fully interpret, I still enjoyed the story and performance Jake Gyllenhaal brought to the table as a man who meets another man that looks exactly like him. There’s some pure mind fuckery that plays throughout the film as you’re left questioning who is this other man or if there are even two men at all. If anything, it’s an exploration of a man having a double life, wrapped up in some sinister secrets and tied between two women. All of Denis Villeneuve’s work is exceptional and Enemy is no different. A must watch for thriller lovers. 

Score: 10/10

A Star is Born (2018) as seen on DVD

Bradley Cooper’s A Star is Born certainly wins the award for making me cry the most this month. The last version I saw of this film starred Judy Garland and James Mason and was centred around a musical actress and the rocky relationship she had with her actor husband. That 1954 version possessed a lot of brilliance and it was easy to compare it to the more modern version starring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. Who would’ve thought these two could be such an authentic on screen couple? The songs, the lyrics and the acting that these two brought to this picture was on another level, it was incredible from start to finish. Obviously the fact that this film had been done 4 times before honed the quality of the film, however Bradley Cooper’s direction and ability to bring out the best in Lady Gaga definitely makes this version of A Star is Born the best one yet. This directorial debut was nominated for 8 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Lady Gaga was handed the award for Best Music for a motion picture. Warning: you will cry whilst watching this or at least afterwards. 

Score: 12/10

Sorry to Bother You (2018) as seen on Netflix

Netflix certainly came through this month when it put Boots Riley’s fanatical dark comedy Sorry to Bother You on its streaming service. It’s honestly like nothing I’ve ever seen before and the innuendo and hidden messages within this film make it something that you can watch several times and never get bored of. Cassius Green (Lakeith Stanfield) gets a job as a telemarketer who gets promoted to a “power caller” and through pride and greed, ends up abandoning his ideologies and friends completely. The film speaks for the gentrification of Oakland, California and capitalistic society we live in today. There are many hidden messages amongst the film that at first are hard to decipher, but soon you realise these messages are as clear as day within our own society. Lakeith Stanfield stars alongside Tessa Thompson, Steve Yeun and Armie Hammer, not a cast you’d usually put together but one that certainly worked. Sorry to Bother You is highly entertaining and will definitely make you laugh out loud at points and have you questioning your laughter right after.

Score: 10/10

The Florida Project (2017) as seen on DVD

I’m starting to think that films made between 2017 and 2018 are some of the best ever made and the Florida Project falls into that. I heard about this film through one of my favourite actors and was glad for the recommendation as this film is one of the best I’ve seen all year. The colours and character dynamics are strong and vivid throughout, as we follow the lives of people living on an apartment complex whilst speaking for the child poverty that plagues American society today. Willem Dafoe, who plays the complex’s handy man and security guard, even earned himself a Best Supporting Actor Award at the 2018 Academy Awards. 

Score: 10/10

Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind (2014) as seen on DVD 

Usually I’d pass on a Charlie Kaufman film, seeing as they make no sense, however I felt that it was time I delved into this cult classic starring Kate Winslet, Jim Carrey, Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo and Elijah Wood. It’s a really well made film with a clear and distinct message to it that’s represented in some phenomenal filmmaking techniques. The plot line of this film follows a man trying to erase a past lover and his memories of her get wiped away physically before your eyes on screen. This film is certainly a conversation starter and one I’d recommend to just about anyone. 

Score: 9/10

Moonrise Kingdom (2012) as seen on DVD

Wes Anderson’s wonderful mind is depicted in this endearing narrative about two children running away from home. This has to one of Wes Anderson’s most iconic films and next to The Grand Budapest Hotel, it’s definitely one of the films you think of when you think of Anderson’s work. His work is known for having well rounded stories, beautiful shots and A List casts, with Moonrise Kingdom being no expection as Anderson manages to squeeze Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Jason Schwartzman, Harvey Kietel and a young Lucas Hedges into this film. If you’ve seen any of Wes Anderson’s work and not Moonrise Kingdom, get on it now. No, seriously, now. 

Score: 10/10 

Jarhead (2005) as seen on DVD

Sam Mendes’ war film starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Jamie Foxx translates the lives of US soldiers in Iraq onto screen and the brain washing their government has done to boost the importance of the US military and the service soldiers are doing to their country. Jake Gyllenhaal’s execution in this film is a reflection of his ability as a great actor. He always has this patient and gritty approach to his work that makes him addicting to watch on screen. There’s an entire video on YouTube about Jake Gyllenhaal’s eyes and the way they communicate his emotions on screen. This is certainly present in Jarhead, as the anger, frustration, disappointment and despair is held within Jake Gyllenhaal’s eyes throughout. Jarhead was originally a memoir written by a US solider named Anthony Swofford. The only thing I wasn’t a fan of was the open ended resolution to the film and the stagnant progression of Jake Gyllenhaal’s character. He literally didn’t achieve anything, which I suppose is the point of the film and how the honour that soldiers who went to Iraq were supposed to feel, is more of a fantasy than a reality. 

Score: 9/10 

Silence (2016) as seen on BBC iPlayer 

This film was truly summit else and a refreshing turn on genre from highly acclaimed filmmaker, Martin Scorsese. Silence certainly proved that he has the ability to be more sensitive with his films and can tells stories outside his usual New York mobster type movies. The film tracks the journey of two Portuguese missionaries (Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver) in the 17th Century who go to Japan looking for one of their mentors (Liam Neeson). However in this era, Christians faced persecution in Japan and were practically slaughtered for not following the country’s religion of Buddhism. The priests’ journey is perilous and heart rendering as they are forced to abandon their own religion in order to save their own lives and the lives of others. Despite the film being just over 160 minutes, it’s an inspiring story and one that is told in a tactful way. To believe this is a film is quite hard, as the accuracy of it makes it closer to reality than just a film itself.

Score: 8/10

Lynn + Lucy (2019) as seen on BBC iPlayer 

This film recently came out in UK cinemas and was put onto BBC iPlayer due to lockdown. I found it to be interesting and enjoyed the new perspective it gave to quite a simple story. Lynn and Lucy have been friends for almost their entire lives, and when Lucy’s baby boy dies in unexplained circumstances, it drives a wedge between her relationship with Lynn, as people in their neighbourhood accuse her of being a child murderer. Eventually, Lynn stats to believe the rumours herself, leaving her best friend behind and favouring the opinions of those who hardly know her. A great debut and British film, Lynn + Lucy is profound story of friendship. 

Score: 8/10

Revolutionary Road (2008) as seen on Netflix 

Revolutionary Road has a metric score of 60% on Rotten Tomatoes, which I find quite offensive as the film nearly falls into the “thanks but no thanks” category of films. Directed by Sam Mendes and starring Kate Winslet alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, I don’t see what’s not to like. I only clocked halfway through the film why DiCaprio had been cast with Kate Winslet (Titanic, duh) and it made their on screen chemistry more prominent for me. I always say this about EVERY SINGLE Leonardo DiCaprio film I watch, but his performance in this was unreeeaaal. His character went somewhere intense and never returned, making the hardship on screen 10 times more powerful. There’s a scene where him and Winslet’s character are in a full blown argument and DiCaprio’s rage was on another level. Incredibly authentic and honest, Revolutionary Road showcases a wonderful example of when two masterful actors come together to make something great. 

Score: 10/10

Hillbilly Elegy (2020) as seen on Netflix 

Hillbilly Elegy recently got torn to shreds by critics as it was released on Netflix the other week, and I half agree with what most are saying about it, but also feel there’s unnecessary criticisms about this film. The film is based on a memoir of a Yale Law student, J.D Vance (Gabriel Basso) who comes from rough beginnings and ends up building the life he so desired from a young age. His mother (Amy Adams) is a destructive drug addict who’s moods change frequently so that she’s constantly at war with her own mother (Glenn Close) and two children (Haley Bennett and Gabriel Basso). The story follows J.D’s return to his home town to claim his mother from a hospital after she over dosed on heroin. The only problem is, he has an interview with a law firm from Washington the following morning and has to choose between taking care of his mother and landing his dream job. Sounds pretty intriguing, right? And it truly is. The film is laced with conflict and great performances from everyone, however critics have blasted this film with hate, saying that it doesn’t ring true to the entire American experience of living in poverty, without healthcare and enough money to bring food to the table. The fact that J.D made it to Harvard and now works for a successful enterprise somehow detracts from his struggle as a child, which I think is complete BS. I think this film should be taken for more face value than as a political story. It’s a straight talking, rags to riches tale that proves with hard work and dedication, you can transform your struggles into success. One critic had the audacity to say that “Selling out your origins is a kind of white trash cosplay because you were lucky enough to get out”. The irony of this is that the critic herself is white and it suggests had JD been a person of colour, it’d made a better film, which isn’t the kind of world where I want to live in when stories of people of colour are used as poverty porn rather than something to enjoy or learn from. My only criticism of this film would be the pace of conflict within the film and how things went from 0-100 waaay too quickly. This can happen in real life, but on screen it tends to look sloppy and rushed.

Score: 9/10 

And that’s it! A rather short list for this month, but as the year draws to a close, I’m just really excited for the new films hopefully hitting screens next year. Seen you soon!

[ryttu3k]

Working out this little coterie! (Bloodlines and Night Road protags, plus a handful of others.) Present-day (we’ll call it 2021, for the sake of dates) San Francisco. Subject to change, probably!

Sierra Torres

Gangrel. Embraced 2004, apparent age 23, current age 40. Unknown sire.

Bloodlines protagonist. Had a rough upbringing, ended up in the foster system with her older brother. One of her longer-term foster homes got her interested in the environment, and as she grew older, she got heavily into environmental activism (and has definitely chained herself to at least one bulldozer). Went to college to study ecology, but found she wasn’t the most studious and ended up dropping out, drifting around LA and working odd jobs.

Was Embraced by a guy she met at a protest against logging (at night, obviously), and, well, plot happened. (Much to her irritation. She’s mostly gay, teeny bit bicurious, but damn the one time she hooks up with a guy...)

Definitely clicked more with Jack than LaCroix during the events at the theatre, and as soon as she could meet with the Anarchs, she jumped in with both feet. Would lowkey die for both Beckett and Nines and has decided they’re both her dads (Jack is Favourite Weird Uncle).

Post-game, she stayed in LA with the Anarchs until all that business with Tara Kearney and Vannevar Thomas made it a bit uncomfortable. Growing tired of the politics, she (and Wren, who she’s known since the Ankaran Sarcophagus event) left for San Francisco, although she’s still in contact with and on good terms with the LA Anarchs, still does the odd mission for them, and will meet with the SF Anarchs on their behalf.

Leader of the coterie. Dating Wren.

Elijah ‘Pyre’ Carter

Banu Haqim. Embraced 1999, apparent age 19, current age 41. Sire: Julian Sim.

Night Road protagonist. The Good End version of Night Road where Pyre realised that, hey, Julian’s plans are really fucked up and ended up bailing on Julian, running off to SF with his boyfriend Raúl (who also isn’t a ghoul), also known as the AU where Pyre isn’t a complete disaster.

Originally from Syracuse. Was in college, dropped out, worked three jobs to pay off his whopping amounts of debt, was deliberately targeted by Julian. Worked (and was romantically involved) with Julian for nearly a decade before Julian manipulated him into diablerising Aila; shortly after, Julian disappeared. Pyre spent ten years on the road working as a courier until the events of the game in November and December 2019, where he was instantly drawn back to Julian’s side, fighting between his loyalty to his sire and his own sense of ethics.

Raúl helps become his moral backbone, and they work together (without Raúl being ghouled). After absorbing - and making use of - the 2100 formula, he apologises to Lettow and tells Julian that he can’t work with him, and he and Raúl leave for San Francisco, meeting Sierra there.

While he’s the eldest of the coterie (both in actual chronological age and in how long he’s been a vampire), he has no desire to lead, and is happy to leave that to Sierra. Has depression.

Raúl Cañedo

Brujah. Embraced 2020, apparent age 26, current age, uh, 27. Sire: Nines Rodriguez.

Night Road supporting character. As per canon, he grew up in Mexico City. After his father’s death and the arrest of his mother’s companion Antonio, he, his mother, and several family members crossed the border. Raúl was the only one to survive. While trying to help other family members across, he ran across Pyre, later encountering him again at Camp Scheffler.

Unlike in-game, when Pyre said he wasn’t comfortable making him into a ghoul, he accepted it, and they continued to work together hunting the true monsters as-is, gradually falling for each other over the events of the game and leaving together for San Francisco.

After being badly injured in an attempt to save people from a remnant Sabbat group, he asked Pyre to Embrace him. Pyre was reluctant to do so himself, and eventually Sierra suggested that he would make a pretty ideal Brujah. With the coterie travelling down to LA together, they met with Nines, who agreed to Embrace him. Now, Raúl is still happily involved with Pyre, still trying to fight against the real monsters, working through his PTSD, and learning what it is to be Kindred.

Briar

Toreador. Embraced 2011, apparent age 22, current age 32. Sire: D'Espine.

Originally from Dallas, Briar was an autistic, nonbinary arts student on the verge of dropping out when they caught the eye of D’Espine, who offered them the position of model and dancer at her club. Bonus points - for the relatively low price of becoming one of her ghouls, they’d also be able to be shaped into the perfect picture of androgyny they always wanted to be (along with the help of the Tzimisce Ana). While the life was sometimes difficult, they enjoyed the opportunity to explore fashion, music, and beauty, and eventually agreed to be Embraced.

For a few years, it wasn’t a bad life. Plenty of creative stimulation, with Briar able to get involved in fashion design and having plenty of beautiful things to stimulate their mind. Those nights came to an end with the Second Inquisition attacked Dallas in 2019, which set Briar’s anxiety off in a bad way; D’Espine encouraged many of her childer and ghouls to relocate for safer environments, and Briar (along with Ana, who, by now, was a friend) fled to San Francisco. There, they met Sierra and eventually the others, and is now enjoying the quiet security of being part of a coterie.

Brianna 'Wren' Metcalfe

Nosferatu. Embraced 2002, apparent age... hard to tell but she was 18 when she was Embraced, current age 37. Sire: Mitnick.

Wren has a surprisingly common story amongst Nosferatu - a geek and hacker (and, let’s be real, a bit of a weeaboo), she had stumbled her way across SchreckNet, was amazed at the world she had discovered, and was promptly dealt with. Namely, they sent Mitnick (who had previously done exactly that) out to her, who explained what she had found, and her options were either becoming a hideous undead sewer-dwelling creature of the night, or death.

Wren was sufficiently geeky enough to go, “Well fuck, I’m not exactly pretty or popular as-is, I can stay online, and I get neat powers. Let’s go for it!” and happily agreed to the Embrace. It was pretty cool - for a couple of years, when, shortly after the Ankaran Sarcophagus incident, the NSA breached SchreckNet and really got the Second Inquisition ball rolling.

Diving right into playing information security games against the NSA and FIRSTLIGHT, Wren worked on keeping the few remaining Kindred information systems relatively secure, right up until the 2009 information blackout. Deeply put out by the sudden lack of freedom, Wren approached Sierra, the Anarch neonate who had helped her sire out five years earlier, joining their movement and working on encryption and message-passing right under the noses of the SI (and, cautiously, starting a relationship with the Gangrel). When Sierra relocated to San Francisco, Wren followed, and now works on keeping the coterie secure and protected from the SI.

Occasional singing partner of Mort Sheaffer and preeminent provider of pirated media amongst San Francisco’s Kindred. Dating Sierra. Autistic and ADHD.

Ana

Tzimisce. Embraced 2007 at 16 but uses vicissitude to look older, current age 30. Unknown sire.

Ana’s background is relatively typical, albeit unhappy. A closeted trans girl, she went to school, dated girls, played sports, and generally play-acted the part of a ‘typical’ teenage boy, longing for graduation (when she could move away and start over).

Things went rather badly wrong when she was sixteen. Caught in the wrong place at the wrong time during a Sabbat War Party, she was Embraced and promptly knocked unconscious and buried alive (or, well, unalive). When the terrified and traumatised Ana finally dug herself out along with the rest of her follow ‘shovelheads’, she was crudely inducted into the Sabbat and sent on a hunt to track down a target she had never heard of, one of the disposable shock troops made especially for her elders to use as they wished.

She was one of the lucky ones. While her humanity had taken a beating during her Embrace, she was more scared than bloodthirsty, fled, and hid herself amongst the alleys and sewers, and had the exceedingly good fortune to stumble into a group of high-humanity Kindred who immediately recognised what she had gone through. They helped her, slowly and painstakingly, regain her humanity, and when they recognised the clan she had been Embraced into, even found an independent Tzimisce mentor to help her begin to learn to combine Protean and Dominate into Vicissitude.

The first person she used vicissitude on was herself, and while her ‘base’ appearance is usually the same (of a pretty young woman in her early twenties), she does delight in odd modifications or changes. While the discipline has a bad reputation as being used for pain, she uses it to help people, and by the early 2010s she had a reputation for helping people transition or modify their appearances in general. Working with D’Espine and her ghouls, she met and befriended Briar, and when the SI attack hit Dallas, the two fled to San Francisco together. While Ana’s PTSD still rears its ugly head, the security of her new coterie and the sibling-like relationship she has with Briar is helping her heal.

[papermoonloveslucy]

TV SHOW: LUCY & DESI

September 1952

The September 1952 edition of TV Show Magazine featured Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz on the cover in a romantic pose. The magazine was a publication of ANC (American News Company). ANC was founded in 1867. The company's abrupt 1957 demise caused a huge shakeup in the publishing industry, forcing many magazine, comic book, and paperback publishers out of business.

During September 1952, “I Love Lucy” premiered their second season, kicking off with “Job Switching” (ILL S2;E1) on September 15, followed by “The Saxophone” (ILL S2;E2) on September 22, and “The Anniversary Present” (ILL S2;E3) on September 29. 

WHY YOU DON’T SEE GOOD MOVIES ON TV

An inside article promoted above the masthead asked why television was not showing ‘good’ movies. The common thought was that television was usurping cinema attendance and that showing recent films would cut into the business of second run theatres. In the early 1950s there was great rivalry between television and cinema. This topic was addressed on “I Love Lucy”.  In “Lucy Gets Ricky on the Radio” (ILL S1;E32) in May 1952, the foursome watch a movie on TV. 

LUCY: “That little girl is Margaret O'Brien, isn’t it?” RICKY: “Look again - it’s Shirley Temple.” FRED: “Look again - it’s Mary Pickford!”

Not only does this comment on the sorry state of TV reception, it also demonstrates that the film they are watching is much older than they expected!  Mary Pickford was born in 1892, while Margaret O’Brien was just 15 years old in 1952. 

In “Baby Pictures” (ILL S3;E5) in November 1953, station manager Charlie Appleby is trying to impress the Ricardos about his TV station’s offering of motion pictures:

CHARLIE: “We’ve got the newest moving pictures in town. I bought a block of films yesterday, and I want to tell you that they’re going to make television stars out of some of the actors. Now, just remember their names: Conway Tearle and Mabel Normand.”

Both were silent film stars and died in the 1930s!

In “Don Juan is Shelved” (ILL S4;E22) in March 1955, real-life MGM studio executive Dore Schary was supposed to play himself, but he backed out claiming an acute kidney infection. Some sources say he may have had second thoughts about appearing on television, a rival medium. After all, film-making, not television, paid Schary’s salary. At the last minute, Vivian Vance’s husband Phil Ober played the role instead. 

ALL ABOUT TALLULAH

Another inside article is about stage and screen star Tallulah Bankhead.  Bankhead wrote a bestselling autobiography Tallulah: My Autobiography (Harper & Bros.) that was published in 1952.

Tallulah Bankhead was born in 1903 in Huntsville, Alabama, and left home at the age of 15 to appear on the New York stage. Like Lucille Ball, she was considered for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind (1939). She was briefly married to John Emery who had appeared on “I Love Lucy” as Harold the Tramp in “The Quiz Show” (ILL S1;E5) and as angry neighbor Mr. Stewart in “Little Ricky Gets a Dog” (ILL S6;E14). Bankhead died in 1968.

Lucille Ball does her ‘darling’ Tallulah Bankhead imitation in “Ricky Asks for a Raise” (ILL S1;E35). She first did it (with costumes) in “Lucy Fakes Illness” (ILL S1;E16). The real Tallulah Bankhead would guest star on “The Celebrity Next Door,” the second episode of “The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour” in 1957 and would prove to be one of Lucy’s most difficult co-stars. 

JIMMY DURANTE HAS WHAT IT TAKES

Another inside article talks about Jimmy Durante, who at the time was one of several rotating hosts of “All Star Revue” (aka “Four Star Revue”) on NBC, then entering its third season. 

Jimmy Durante (1893-1980) was a multi-talented performer who was distinguished by his bulbous nose. In “Lucy Meets Harpo Marx” (ILL S4;E28) Lucy Ricardo dons a novelty store mask and trench coat to impersonate Durante for a nearsighted Carolyn Appleby. He made a cameo appearance on “The Lucy Show” in February 1966. Lucille Ball had an uncredited role in his 1935 film Carnival.

In December 1965, Lucille Ball appeared with Durante (as well as Jerry Lewis and Danny Thomas) on “The Wonderful World of Burlesque”. 

In May 1969, Desi Arnaz sang a duet with Durante on “The Lennon Sisters Hour”.  Durante calls Desi’s conga drum a “Cuban waste basket”! In “Hollywood at Last!” (ILL S4;E16), Durante’s caricature on the wall at the Brown Derby restaurant takes up two frames – one for his nose. 

MORE LUCY & DESI IN ‘TV SHOW’

Lucy and Desi were back on the cover of TV Show just seven months later, in March 1953. 

Vivian Vance contributed to the June 1953 issue with an article titled “Lucy’s Baby” credited to ‘Ethel Mertz’.  

Desi contributed at story to the April 1954 issue about the television revolution. 

[fandom-star]

Transgender Pride Month Challenge

So, I'm an admin on a trans meme/info account on Instagram, and one of the guys on there sent this to our chat, so I thought I'd do it on here.

1. My name is Elliott or Ell. I am asexual and bi/panromantic (both fit me so I use both) and I am a transmasculine non-binary person.

2. The only proper coming out I've had was with my mum. I don't feel like putting it here, it's somewhere on my blog. Most of the time I've either given my friends my Tumblr knowing they'd figure it out or I've just dropped a thousand hints in group chats! I dunno, I just prefer coming out like that with people I know will be okay with it.

3. I've probably always had an idea, at least since I was about 8, but after the age of 10 I kind of went into a fair bit of denial and threw myself into being a fangirl. I eventually realised I should look into it in May 2018, when I first identified as a demigirl.

4. I am not on hormones. It's probably something I'll look into doing maybe in my mid twenties for half a year, maybe a year, to get the extent of the effects that I want, but I don't think I'd stay on for much more than a year.

5. My support system is mostly my friends. 

6. My chest, my deadname (mostly seeing it written), sometimes my voice, sometimes my height.

7. When I decided to change my name (July 2018 when I was exploring the possibility of being a trans guy) the one thing I knew was that I wanted to still be able to feasibly use the nickname Ell. So I basically looked around online for names with that sound in them. I ended up with about five or six and wrote down the pros and cons of them all. The only con on the name Elliott was that there was a guy in my form class with the same name (Elliot), whereas the others usually had about two. So I chose Elliott.

8. I haven't had much of a transition journey. I had my hair cut short in July 2018. Had my first irl coming out in September 2018 as non-binary to a friend who figured it out. July 2019 I changed my name. July and August 2019 I came out to my mum (if you followed me then you'll know what that story is and why it was over two months). November 2019 I went to a comic con with my friends which was my first time being openly non-binary in public, and I also bought my first pronoun badge there. Later in the month, my mum bought me a pronoun badge. December 2019 my best friend bought me my first binder. And some point before September 2020 I will have come out on my personal Instagram.

9. I don't think I have any regrets. I feel like I shouldn't have any, because everything I have done has brought me here, and I'm happy where I am. Maybe I regret backing out of coming out on Instagram last month, because I was gonna try coming out on 1st of July, but with everything happening I felt like it was a really inappropriate time.

10. My binder is a blue half tank from GC2B. His name is Robbie. I can't be bothered to take a photo!

11. My definite transition goals are to legally change my name and gender (but only when the UK legally recognises non-binary people, until then imma confuse people by having a masculine legal name but being legally recognised as female!) and have a chest reduction. As I said earlier, I'm definitely considering testosterone, but the two effects I definitely want from it are facial hair and a deeper voice, both of which I could probably achieve to an extent without the involvement of T. (I basically have the ability to grow a beard naturally, but I never have because mum's worried about me being bullied or whatever if it gets too much.)

14. I am single and have never been in a relationship. I know, I know, the shock and the horror of a 16 year old having never been in a relationship, but I'm permanently anxious about everything, and I don't develop crushes very often and the last two I've had have been on friends, one of which doesn't live near me and I've never met in person, so.... Yeah, and that means I can't really say whether people knowing I'm trans or not has had any difference in them being attracted to me.

15. Obviously, I'm not completely out right now, but when I do come out I will be quite open about it. There's no real way to be stealth as a non-binary person, so that's not really a possibility. Even on the trans masc side of things, I don't think I'd ever be able to be stealth nor do I really want to be. For one, my transition plans don't exactly allow for it particularly, but also, while being referred to as male is highly preferable to being referred to as female, if I can have control over it, I won't be seen as strictly either.

16. I think I stand with the majority when I say that the only concern I can think of around transitioning is transphobia. Especially with my classmates, because while some of them are amazing (hello the whole five of you here) there's a lot of casual transphobia and explicit mockery of non-binary people at my school. It's one of the reasons I really hope our pride group continues when I start back at Sixth Form in September, because I feel like we could do a lot to combat that.

17. I mean, I guess I basically went over fear of rejection in 16, but I guess I could extend on that by explaining why I don't really mention my dad in regards to all this. Basically, I haven't come out to him about anything regarding my queer identity. This isn't necessarily because of him being explicitly homophobic or transphobic (he's never said anything homophobic ever and seemingly supports my going to pride events), it's mostly because our relationship is somewhat distant. We don't have an awful lot to do with each other outside of sharing interests. And he tends to be averse to anything "new". So, yes, I fear that if I came out to my father about being non-binary he would react by either ignoring it or me or not believing me.

20. September 2016 vs Today, June 2020

21. Something I'm most proud of relating to being trans... ooh! Probably the time I went out for lunch with my mum and my granny (who is basically deaf) and being called "sir" and "young man" by two different waiters while mum went to the toilet. The reason that's such an amazing moment for me is because I was feeling extremely dysphoric about how long my hair was getting, so I wasn't even making any attempt to look at all masculine. 

22. Things that make me euphoric are binding, people saying my name, listening to recordings of my voice (a lot of the time it sounds a lot more androgynous than I expect) and seeing photos of myself in cosplay.

23. Music. Very generic! Um... I have a Spotify playlist of songs to listen to when I feel dysphoric. Speaking of Spotify playlists, most of them are based on ships or characters. My username is seltudoor. I have a rather large record collection and an old record player/radio/cassette player that used to be my dad's that I think is from the 80s. Everything else you know! Classic rock, Sinatra and all that.

24. Freddie Mercury is the love of my life (HA!) and my role model. I have put into words why somewhere on my music blog, but I can't exactly remember. It goes a bit deeper than that he wasn't afraid to be true to himself. I also have an entire post about my trans role model Lou Sullivan that I made last June. In short, he was the first trans man to medically transition as an openly gay man who was also a badass, though I mainly say that because towards the end of his life (he died from AIDS complications) he wrote that, although the medical system didn't recognise him as a gay man, it seemed as though he was going to die like one.

25. Weirdest fact about me. Hmm... not sure I have any weird facts. My bookshelf organisation has two aspects to it that I don't think I've seen anyone else have. I group them by genre and order them by publication date from earliest to latest.

26. Things that cross my mind a lot. The fact that I should really be doing some writing instead of reading another fanfiction or watching another YouTube video that spoils most of Merlin for me. I don't know really.

27. You can win my heart by having a presence that makes me feel like I can happy stim in front of you whilst we watch something together, by accepting the fact that you will probably come second to my fandoms/obsessions a lot of the time, by allowing me to be touchy and clingy at random moments for often a long period of time, by not judging that I can't do "normal everyday things" and helping me with them and by being weird. 

28. My mum, @maestrowave​, @in3ffable-husbands​, @fandom-0bsession​ and everyone else in my active group chats on Instagram, @britpop-bowie​, @esperata​ and some other people.

29. I don't know what I'm most scared of. 

30. I think I'm mostly happy. I have great friends, my education is probably headed in a direction that will allow me to progress into an industry I've wanted to work in since I was 9 and in two years' time I will hopefully be at uni and able to experiment with my transition without worrying about what my parents think.

[technical-adulting]

August Updates

Its a Saturday, and my only weekend day this week, as I'm picking up a shift for work tomorrow. People are back in the program setting, which is nice, but different, and a lot smaller. Not everyone is back yet, and we still can't really go out in the community with anyone. My shift tomorrow is residential, so we wouldn't be anyways, but, you know. It's a peaceful morning. Alyssa is making breakfast, it's sunny but cool outside, and I got to sleep in. There is still a lot going on, of course, but I've been grateful with the feeling of rest I've been given this week. Last night, I celebrated my mom's birthday, and I've had a few more chances to spend time with friends I haven't seen since before the quarantine, and honestly, longer. There's still work to do. BLM isn't a fad that we all needed to talk about for a few weeks and then ignore. Covid-19 is still killing people. Wear your mask in public, refrain from traveling, and quarantine if you do. Don't get angry if someone reports you for not following rules. The sooner we all comply, the sooner this will be over. Be safe and take care of each other. I'm working on getting slightly more efficient routines in place for myself. I started an intermittent fasting program in order to improve my eating habits. I was fasting for 18 hours and eating for 6, but now that I'm back at work it's actually closer to 22 or so. I'm not super hungry, as I've gotten used to my routine, so it doesn't bother me too much, though at the same time, I haven't seen a lot of progress either. I feel better. I don't feel sluggish as often, but I'm not really losing weight. I know I need to incorporate more exercise, so I've started using another app called Fabulous, that helps create morning, afternoon, and night rituals for you to follow, to improve routine and fit in healthy practices that otherwise I don't always think about. Some of my goals are to actually stick to an exercise regimen, and feel more rested. (I could probably benefit from a better skin care routine too but y'know, baby steps.) Alyssa has been trying IF with me too, though she isn't doing it as intensely as I am. It doesn't bother me and I'm really good at sticking to it, except for when I forget and eat something random (Like a tomato from my mom's garden, or I lick a spoon while baking), but the nice thing is, you also get days off, and I've been using them on the weekends so far.

I'm also excited to exercise more, because I know that will benefit Kiri. Kiri is a little high-strung, though honestly, she does really well. We just need to take her for longer walks, especially now that she can't be trusted in our fence. She has gleefully realized it is very easy to leap the fence, and does so without any effort. She always comes back once she is free, but not before looping the house and sometimes the adjacent field and wood at lightning speed. I tried to complete a second camp NaNoWriMo last month, to no avail. For some reason, it was really hard to just sit down and write a piece that was supposed to flow together. I plan to participate in the real naNoWriMo in November, and I worry that I'll struggle again unless I find some guidelines in the mean time to help me. I like writing short stories, and I've been told they're good. I think I need to piece the short stories into something more cohesive, and I can still follow some of the structure. It's just that the in-between parts, the explaining my world, the descriptions of characters, and how I want to portray their personalities officially seems more difficult. It feels like I should be ready by now. I have been telling stories about my characters for ages, literally these guys have existed for over 10 years, and yet when I sit down to actually tell a story that anyone could read, it feels like the way I want to tell it just wouldn't make sense to someone new. Maybe an outline would help. I don't know. One of my goals, leading up to November is to figure out some sort of guidelines for writing my first real draft. My other goal is to get more familiar with the political process. I feel like I never really learned how to vote. I know it's importance, and I plan to make my voice heard, but that's not enough. I'll be the first to admit, I do not watch the news. I don't have cable and I don't want it. I watch netflix and that's good enough for me. (And honestly, I don't even do that all the time.) But the first time I voted, back in 2016, I realized I hadn't known that local government was elected during the presidential election. This might sound silly, especially coming from an all honors student, who carried that into the honors program in college, but I realized I know very little about the voting process. I've been participating since then. I've allowed some news sources and a lot of social media shape my views, and I know I need to improve. I need to listen to the debates, I need to better understand the process, and I need my voice to be one that is informed, so the people I allow to speak for me, the people I allow to govern me, were actually influenced by my own understanding of what that entails. That's all of our duty. That's something we all need to be better at. I know it can be daunting and exhausting and feel like it will never help. In some ways, I'm very afraid that it won't, especially with Trump. He's already saying the polls are fake and that they will be inaccurate, and there are a lot of people who believe him. The thing is, he's not wrong. The polls are being messed with. Gerrymandering ensures that certain regions don't get as much of a say in the voting process, and especially with Covid, there will be whole regions (Likely those of lower income) that find they are unsure how/where to vote. Their voices matter the most, though. With mail-in ballots, there's a terrible chance that it will be inaccurate, as Trump has warned, but I worry that will come from his side. I worry he will argue inaccuracy if he doesn't win, he will call for recount after recount until magically the issue is corrected. Maybe this sounds conspiratorial to you, but I wouldn't put it past him. He has manipulated our nation into so much distrust of the system, but he is one of the reasons to not trust the system. Anyways, lets work together to get educated. We can't trust our officials to be honest with us, so we need to learn about it ourselves. You don't have to watch the news. Find a few good sources you trust, an online journal or something that gives impartial highlights, and go from there. Lets learn what it is we're supposed to be voting for. Lets form educations based on how we want to be governed, not how we want people to be taken advantage of. Not how we want to see certain people be stripped of their liberties. Lets vote for a nation that is supporting the people who live there, not attacking them.

[alindakb]

Letters to my Parents - Tuesday 22 November 1994 - by Alinda

Tuesday 22 November 1994

Dear mom and dad,

School is no fun anymore. Blaise isn’t talking to either me or Draco. He’s still angry about me getting into the tournament. He doesn’t believe that I didn’t enter myself. Greg and Daphne look like they are siding with Blaise on this, so they are avoiding us as well. And it’s not just them. The entire house is giving me angry looks all the time. They don’t really say anything, but it’s clear that they aren’t happy anymore with me becoming a champion. It’s because all the other houses see me as the person that is steeling Cedric’s glory. Even Professor Sprout seems distant towards me and the other Slytherins. At least Hagrid believes me, he told me so during our class where he had us walk the Blast-Ended Skrewts. Those things are out of control by the way. Draco is scared they are going to hurt one of us soon and that that will be the end of Hagrid’s teaching career.

Nott is having fun with me being a champion. He joked that everyone should get my autograph soon because there is no way I would survive the first task. Draco almost attacked Nott when he said that, but luckily Hermione and Ron helped to stop him. I don’t want Draco to get into trouble because of me. And that is not all, Nott tricked a seventh year Ravenclaw into making badges for the whole school. They say ‘Support Cedric Diggory - the real Hogwarts champion!’ and when you press the badge, the message changes into ‘Potter stinks!’ Almost all the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws wear them, and most of the Gryffindor’s do too. Only Hermione, Ron, Neville and Ron’s brothers Fred and George don’t wear them.

Nott offered one of the badges to Hermione but told her not to touch his hand, that he didn’t want it to get slimed up by a Mudblood. And that seemed to be too much for Draco. He reached for his wand and everyone around us was backing away. Nott also pulled out his wand. They both cast a spell. Draco went for Funnunculus and Nott used Densaugeo. Jets of light shot from both wands and hit each other in midair. They ricocheted off at angles, one hitting Crabbe who got great ugly boils on his nose. The other hit Hermione. Ron was next to her in seconds to help her. Her teeth were growing at an alarming rate, making her look like a beaver. This is when Snape arrived. He sent Crabbe and Hermione to the hospital wing and he gave Draco and Nott detention.

Hermione’s teeth are smaller now then they were before Nott made them grow with his stupid spell. She said that madam Pomfrey gave her a mirror when she shrunk Hermione’s teeth and that she told Hermione to tell her when they were back to there normal size. And Hermione just let them become a little less long then they used to be. I know she had been trying to convince her parents for ages to have them shrunk a little, and I’m glad she finally got what she wanted. She’s just a little upset that Ron hasn’t noticed yet. But Draco saved the day for him, by saying that it’s a good thing, that it means that Ron always thought that Hermione was beautiful.

And it isn’t only the students and teachers that make school suck. I had to go to this crazy wand weighing ceremony for the tournament. And that would have been fine if just Rita Skeeter hadn’t been there. She’s a journalist and she wanted to interview me. Mr Bagman said it was fine, so I kind of had no choice than go along with it. She took me into a broom closet so the others wouldn’t disturb us. And then she took out her Quick-Quotes Quill and started asking me questions. Only the quill didn’t write down anything I said. It just made up things, like that my eyes were filling up with tears when we talked about my parents. We didn’t even really talk about you, so why would I get teary-eyed. And she kept asking me why I entered. I said I hadn’t but she didn’t believe me.

I was glad when the door opened and the Headmaster told us it was time for the ceremony. Mr Ollivander was there to inspect our wands, making sure they are in good condition before the tournament. He first inspected Fleur’s wand, that contains a Veela hair that used to belong to her grandmother. So we were right in thinking she is part Veela.

He then went on to inspect Cedric’s and Krum’s wands, which were both fine. And then it was time for my wand. He took much longer inspecting my wand compared to the others. For a short moment, I was scared that he would tell the entire room about it’s connection to Voldemort’s wand. I was sure Rita Seeker would love to know that and put it in our stupid article. But luckily, Ollivander didn’t mention it and declared my wand in perfect condition.

That was the end of the ceremony and the Headmaster told us we could go down to the Great Hall to have dinner. But he had forgotten about the photographs. First, we had to take group shots. Seeker kept rushing forwards to make sure I was in a prominence potion. And then they wanted separate shots of all the champions. They took a million shots of me, much more compared to the other champions and it really bugged me. I wanted to tell Draco when I finally made it to dinner. Only Draco wasn’t there. I had to learn from Hermione that he was serving detention with Professor Snape because he got into a fight with some of the older Slytherins in the hallway.

When Draco finally made it back to the dormitory I was already in bed. I asked him why he had detention, but he didn’t want to tell me. I think the others had said something about me being a champion and with nobody there to stop Draco he most have finally lost it and attacked them. He’s been upset about it all for days now. And he snaps at people as soon as they open their mouth to say anything nasty about me.

And the article, you wouldn’t believe it if you read it. The only problem is, that most people do believe it. The article only focusses on me, it hardly on the TriWizard tournament. And Cedric isn’t even in it like he isn’t competing at all. Off course this pisses off everyone that isn’t a Slytherin. She made up most of it, quoting me on things I’ve never even said. Like how I get my strength from my parents and that I still cry about how you died. And she outed me and Draco to the entire wizarding world. I don’t know how she found out, but it was in the article how I was in a relationship with the young Mr Malfoy.

Well, I’m sure you will understand that Draco’s father wasn’t all too happy about that. That afternoon Draco got a very long letter from his father. It went on and on about how Draco was ruining the Malfoy name and that he should be ashamed of himself for showing these feelings to the world. He should know by now that even though he might think he loves me, that he will marry a good pureblood girl one day to continue the Malfoy name. Draco was really upset about the letter. He still pretends he doesn’t care what his father thinks of him and that he hates the man. But I can see that it’s hurting him when his father talks to him like he’s the biggest disappointment ever.

And that is not all. I’m nervous, like all the time. I feel like my whole life has been heading up to, and will finish with, the first task of this stupid tournament. And now that I know what the task is, it has only gotten worse. I have to go and face a dragon. A real dragon. And they are enormous and wild. I know this thanks to Hagrid. He made come to his cabin at midnight last weekend and asked me to take my cloak with me. Draco helped me get out of the dungeon close to midnight and then I was off to see Hagrid. When I got to his place he told me to follow him but to stay quiet and hidden under my cloak.

He led me to the Beauxbatons carriage. I wanted to ask what was going on, but Hagrid shhh’ed me. Then he went on a stroll with Madame Maxime. She also didn’t know where Hagrid was taking her. He told her not to tell anyone he showed her because she wasn’t supposed to know. It irritated me not knowing where we were going and having to run after Hagrid and Madam Maxime. And I almost turned around and went back to the dungeon to crawl into bed with Draco when I could hear men shouting up ahead. We walked around a clump of trees and then stopped. For a split second, I thought I was looking at bonfires, and men darting around them, and then my mouth fell open. Because the men were darting around four fully grown, enormous, vicious-looking dragons. Draco made me describe them both when I got back. He says it sounds like they have a Hungarian Horntail, a Common Welsh Green, a Swedish Short-Snout and a Chinese Fireball.

On my way back I also saw Karkaroff spying on the dragons. I knew then that all the champions would know about them, except Cedric. I told Draco and Hermione that we had to go find a way to tell him. In the end, Hermione just walked up to him when he was alone for a second and told him. She said he was very grateful when she told him. When he asked her why she was telling him, she told him that I said it was only fair that all the champions would know beforehand.

We’ve been in the library ever since Saturday. Hermione and Draco are sure we will find a spell that will help me get past a dragon. Krum is always here. It drives Hermione crazy. Because when Krum comes into the library, a hurt of girls come in a little later, making noise and staring at Krum all the time.

But the weirdest thing that has happened in the last couple of weeks is the way Professor Moody is trying to get on my good side again. He hasn’t said a nasty word about Draco in class ever since I talked to Professor Snape about him. And just last night he pulled me aside because he wanted to talk to me. He said he had seen that I had been studying dragons and that it was clear that I had figured out the first task. And then he went on to give me some general advice because he doesn’t show favouritism (it appears he only shows favouritism when it comes to people he doesn’t like). His advice was to play to my strengths. I told him I was good a Quidditch, and braiding Draco’s hair, but that I couldn’t see how any of those would help me get passed a dragon. I might be good at flying, but I wouldn’t have a broom on my, only my wand. And then Moody said: ‘My second piece of general advice is to use a nice, simple spell that will enable you to get what you need.’ So ever since then, we’ve been practising summoning charms, so that I can summon my broom on Saturday to get past the dragon.

I just hope I can manage it before Saturday. I would hate to not have a game plan when I have to face that dragon.

Love you both,

Harry James Potter.

[thesportssoundoff]

“Low on Canadians, high on good fights” UFC Fight Night: Gaethje vs Cerrone Preview

Joey

September 8th

So on main event and co-main event alone, this card is an easy win. The main event pits two of the UFC's best action fighters in a battle for LW action fighter dominance with subtle title fight implications. At the very least, the winner of this fight could find themselves comfortably resting inside the holiest of holy grounds aka "The elite top 5 lightweight" territory that's currently occupied by Khabib, Tony Ferguson, Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier. The co-main event pits an aging LHW grappler in the midst of a career renaissance vs one of 205 lbs wackiest fighters around. I shouldn't have to try too hard to sell you a main event/co-main tandem of Gaethje/Cerrone and Glover Teix/Krylov. Beyond that? There's still some pretty good stuff although the action fight quotient begins to sway here. We've got some good well put together fights at 185 lbs with Uriah Hall taking on Antonio Carlos Junior and Andrew Sanchez vs Marvin Vettori in a fight that could be shittastic or pretty fun. The HWs are back with some interesting filler action although Marcin Tybura vs Agusto Sakai could be violent in doses. There's your standard glut of Canadian fighters nobody cares about on an international level yet as well. The main card is interesting and pseudo deep while the prelims are littered with unknowns at 135 lbs and 145 lbs. It's a solid late Summer/early Autumn card worth your time with two big fights at the top of the bill to suck you in.

Fights: 12

Debuts: Miles Johns, Hunter Azure

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations: 2 (David Branch OUT, Marvin Vettori IN vs Andrew Sanchez/Sergey Khandozhko vs Michel Pereira CANCELLED)

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC): 9 (Glover Teixeira, Nikita Krylov, Uriah Hall, Justin Gaethje, Donald Cerrone, Misha Cirkunov, Todd Duffee, Marcin Tybura, Louis Smolka)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC: 1 (Chas Skelly)

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC: 4 (Augusto Sakai, Justin Gaethje, Glover Teixeira, Jimmy Crute)

Main Card Record Since Jan 1st 2017 (in the UFC):  25-18

Justin Gaethje- 3-2 Donald Cerrone- 4-5 Glover Teixeira- 4-2 Nikita Krylov- 1-1 Antonio Carlos Junior- 3-1 Uriah Hall- 2-1 Misha Cirkunov- 1-3 Jimmy Crute- 2-0 Marcin Tybura- 3-3 Augusto Sakai- 2-0

Fights By Weight Class (yearly number here):

Bantamweight- 3 (48) Middleweight-  2 (32) Heavyweight- 2 (27) Light Heavyweight- 2 (34) Featherweight-  2 (44) Lightweight- 1 (59)

Welterweight-  (51) Women’s Bantamweight-  (15) Women’s Flyweight- (29) Women’s Strawweight- (22) Flyweight-   (12) Women’s Featherweight- (7)

2019 Number Tracker

Debuting Fighters (25-49-1)- Miles Johns, Hunter Azure

Short Notice Fighters (24-32)- Marvin Vettori

Second Fight (49-24)- Jeff Hughes, Jordan Griffin, Ryan MacDonald, Cole Smith, Austin Hubbard, Kyle Propeleck

Cage Corrosion (Fighters who have not fought within a year of the date of the fight) (19-32-1)-   Todd Duffee

Undefeated Fighters (30-33-1)- Cole Smith, Jimmy Crute, Hunter Azure, Miles Johns

Fighters with at least four fights in the UFC with 0 wins over competition still in the organization (11-8)- Todd Duffee

Weight Class Jumpers (Fighters competing outside of the weight class of their last fight even if they’re returning BACK to their “normal weight class”) (25-17)- Kyle Prepolec

Twelve Precarious Ponderings

1-  So Donald Cerrone and Justin Gaethje attempting to make history and become the first UFC fighter to have four Fight Of The Night awards in a row. Thus far a casual perusal of about 50 of the usual suspects (Diego Sanchez, Jim Miller, Joe Lauzon, Nate Diaz, Edson Barboza, Dan Hooker, Kelvin Gastelum etc) have revealed that most of them top out at around 3 in a row. Just a fun factoid.

2- Is Cerrone  about to FINALLY become overworked? In November, he subbed Mike Perry in the first round of a pretty wild fight. In January, he beat Alexander Hernandez in a pretty tough fight where he got out of there early but not without damage. He fought Al Iaquinta in May in a five round fight where he took some damage but won at a relatively solid safe pace. He spun around real quick in June vs Tony Ferguson and got his face broken up for two rounds en route to a doctor stoppage loss. NOW Cerrone is back in August with a seemingly healed up eye to fight Justin Gaethje on short notice. Is this all a bit too much and a bit too soon for Cerrone or is the fact that it's short-ish notice and another fight in a busy schedule a benefit to him?

3- I think it's fair to say that Edson Barboza was the best kicker but is Donald Cerrone the best head kicker that Gaethje has ever faced?

4- What does the winner of this fight do? With Ferguson vs Khabib almost locked up and the McGregor spectre looming, is this just high level elite busy work for both guys?

5- Glover Teix vs Jon Jones II is coming, right?

6- This co-main event is pretty damn fun. This fight is the sort of guy Glover has traditionally had no problems with while Nikita has been consistently bested by Glover types. For Nikita, Glover is a big strong guy who isn't athletic but technically sound and experienced. Guys who can clinch with Krylov more often than not do well to get him to the ground, poke at the holes in his game and snag a submission win. For Glover, he's fighting his third straight guy who is more athletic, younger, wild and aggressive than him. Thus far Glover's plan seems to be to hold on, weather the storm, wait for the chance to get on top and then try to end the fight from there. Glover's turned into more of a grappler than he was on the regional scene and as his boxing and his reflexes have betrayed him, the return to BJJ Glover has made him as versatile as ever. If he can get a dude down, he normally finds a way to get things done. That's been the Krylov weakness.

7- If you remove adopted Canadian Misha Cirkunov, the earliest we see a Canadian on this card is the FOURTH fight. Is this the worst card in Canada in terms of Canadian fighter representation? The best fighter might be currently undefeated BW Cole Smith.

8- So speaking of Cirkunov, is his UFC run a success or a failure? Cirkunov came into the UFC's 205 lb scene as pretty much an heir apparent to the title picture and he was catered to and fed some so-so competition on his way up the ranks. The likes of debuting talents like Daniel Jolly, Alex Nicholson and Ion Cutelaba are on his resume as well as an impressive enough stoppage over Nikita Krylov. He had a contentious contract negotiation with the UFC before coming back with a brand new deal and losing 3 of his next 4 fights. His only win since 2017 is Pat Cummins which clearly doesn't hold much power these days. That said, he's got a 5-3 record in the UFC and occupies space in their top 15 so isn't that in theory a success? Cirkunov gets Aussie Jimmy Crute in a fight that Cirkunov SHOULD win assuming the Johnny Walker flying knee didn't shatter him irreparably as Crute is super green and stylistically the kind of guy that Cirkunov has beaten up on. This sort of feels like the UFC making the decision that Cirkunov is a gatekeeper now.

9- The last time we saw Todd Duffee, he was throwing a punch so horrendous that a dude on here started an award winning series on bad punches. Todd's had a lot of injuries apparently, some so bad that he was heading PI entirely just to get treatment on them. Duffee's return isn't an easy one either as he gets former LFA champ and solid prospect Jeff Hughes. Hughes lost his UFC debut to Maurice Green in a pretty wild fight and as we've seen, fighters who are in their second fight are very successful. Conversely fighters who haven't fought within a calendar year have a pretty damn poor record.

10- Chas Skelly vs Jordan Griffin is far too good of a fight to be the show opener.

11- Is Augusto Sakai any good or are we wasting our time here?

12- Uriah Hall vs Antonio Carlos Junior is a sneaky good fight between two polar opposite poor fight IQ dudes.

[ariaste]

Do you ever get really, really frustrated with writing? I know it's normal to get writer's block, but I've written barely a page within the last three months because I can't! Make! The story! Go! For a while, I would get a page in, hate the way I was telling it, then delete it all and start over. Do have any... suggestions? Tips, tricks? Things to scream at myself until I can Brain again?

omgggggggggggg nonny let me tell you what this year has been like

Last year I wrote like 350,000 words. My end-of-year average, across the Writing Days I counted, was 1305 words-per-day (I didn’t count Saturdays, because I work a 12 hour shift on Saturdays; I also took sick days and travel days and didn’t count those either. Any words I wrote on one of those three “non counted” days were FREE BONUS WORDS). Here’s my spreadsheet if you wanna look at it.And then this year. Let’s look at my spreadsheet for this year, SHALL WE.  It is... rather more grim. Also RATHER MORE MESSY. Gone are the meticulously dated entries. By October 22 of last year, I had written 232,000 words. This year, I’ve only just broken 103k.

I feel like those numbers are important to tell you about so that we have a scientific baseline.This is about to get real long so......

Last August, I finished editing A CONSPIRACY OF TRUTHS and happily turned it in. It was the best thing I’d ever written and I was so genuinely proud of it. In November, I slammed out 100k for NaNoWriMo, then spent December and January editing it and got it on my editor’s desk at the beginning of February. In April, she returned her feedback and I sat down to revise it again. 

And I froze. I had a major anxiety breakdown--the book was not as good as CONSPIRACY. Why? How had this happened? Why do bad things happen to good people? I will quote you the hysterical (both in terms of emotions and in terms of funny) email I sent my poor sweet editor:  “I'm feeling like this one isn't reaching as far as Conspiracy did, isn't screaming as loudly, isn't doing as much, and I'm starting to feel nervous and insecure about it?? And on one hand, maybe it doesn't have to do those things? It IS a quieter book, and there's a lot of "Man vs Self" conflict (which Conspiracy had none of, because Conspiracy was "Man vs Others" and "Man vs System"). I think on some level I'm expecting it to be Conspiracy, which... it is a terrible thing to expect one's second child to live up to the example and standard of one's eldest child rather than letting them be their own person, but at the same time I DO keep looking at this one and wondering, "Why can't you be more like your big brother? When it was your age, it was being timely social commentary already. What are YOU planning on doing with your life???" And then I argue for it, "Okay, I guess you're doing something small and quiet -- which does not necessarily mean unimportant -- about grief and taking personal agency and rebuilding your life in the wake of trauma and loss, and also a cheeky bit about social responsibility." And then I argue back, "But is that ENOUGH? Can you get into college with extracurriculars like those????"

Yeah, I was not really in a great place. But i am hilarious even in the midst of anxiety, and my editor did a dramatic reading of this email in front of a table full of people (with my permission), so at least there’s that. 

I started taking GOOD GOOD DRUGS for my anxiety towards the end of April, and that helped LOADS.

So, that is a very long answer to your first question: Yes, I absolutely do get frustrated. I try to treat writing like Any Other Job, but sometimes you do the working-from-home equivalent of working from home, and you do everything except put on pants and show up at the page/office. 

Now, about the rest of your concerns: First of all, I want you to stop deleting everything. Start over as many times as you want, but make a new folder and label it “Past Drafts” or, if you prefer, “The Shame Corner” or “Time-Out” and just put everything in there when it’s making you mad. Trust me on this. In the book I just finished last week, I wrote one scene THREE SEPARATE TIMES. Kept all of them, cause all words is good words.

Secondly: So the story JUST! WON’T! GO! This is a mood, this is the mood of moods. What have you tried? What have you changed or tweaked? Does your main character have something they Super Fucking Want, or something that they are Aggressively Avoiding? That helps! Make ‘em run for it, that’s plot. Give them a friend. If they already have friends, give them someone they can have Petty Arguments with. Does the group have a collective Goal? What’s the long-term goal, the mid-term goal, the short-term goal? What are the obstacles, and how is your character coping with them? Maybe you have given them too many obstacles and you need to throw them a lifeline? If the story isn’t going, it’s because your brain has realized that the pattern is crooked and it’s trying to make you correct it, so take a step back and a deep breath and try looking at the story from a bird’s-eye perspective. You gotta sorta learn to run your hands over it to feel the weird bumps, and you have to be flexible enough to CHANGE YOUR ORIGINAL VISION.This is the part that trips up soooooooooo many writers. They think their first idea is their best idea, and as anyone knows who has tried to buy a car, you don’t look at only one car and drive it off the lot, no questions asked. You look at the engine, you kick the tires, you mumble to the car man about getting some fuzzy dice and new floormats. You sit in the driver’s seat and fiddle with the seat positions and make thoughtful noises so the car man will think you know what those big words mean. Do that but with your idea. Poke at it. Kick its tires. Ask how much mileage it has on it. If the idea doesn’t go, it might be missing something like a spark plug, whatever the fuck that is. You know, some small but crucial thing. And here’s the good news: You already know how stories work. Your brain is SPECIFICALLY EVOLVED to be absolutely bonkers good at pattern recognition, and that’s all that stories are. It’s just patterns. That’s why your brain throws a fit when the pattern is crooked. Think of how every fiber of your existence goes “BAD AND WRONG!!!!!! WE HATE THIS” when you hear someone singing a song you love, but they mess up a few of the words, or they’re just a little bit off-key. Literally exactly the same thing.So you have all the tools you need. You have a brain that knows patterns, and you’ve heard millions of stories and you can hum a million songs. So listen to your gut, but listen CRITICALLY. When your gut says, “This is bad,” don’t just throw it out and run away scared. Breathe, and ask, “Why is it bad? What am I missing? What am I not seeing?” Pat around in the dark until you figure out the shape of the thing that’s getting in your way. Once you do that, it gets surprisingly easy to just... walk around it. Ask many questions, and then ask questions about the answers you get. Be willing to adapt and change based on new information.Your instincts are good. You know stories. You got this. 

[dontwantthenextcommanderiwantyou]

1-70 🙊

really… Really... R E A L L Y… How very fcking BOLD of you 😂

You know what, since I’m in such a good mood after watching Juliana “Braver than every Marine” Valdes go off on her deadbeat abusive father and defend her love for her soulmate Valentina, I’m actually gonna answer all 70 for you.

1. You just opened up a web browser. What is the first site you visit?

Tumblr of course, gotta get caught up on today’s gayness.

2. You just walked into a bookstore. What section do you go to first?

Mystery, I only go into a bookstore for one author and it’s Iris Johansen.

3. You are hanging with your closest friends. What are you most likely doing?

Something that could probably end badly for us lol My friends and I always look back on our nights out saying to each other “atleast we didn’t die tho” 

4. You just turned your car on. What station is the radio tuned to?

I don’t have radio stations set because I can’t stand the commercials, I need constant music when I’m driving so I always have my phone playlists on.

5. You have just woken up for the morning. What is the first things you do?

Go to the kitchen because I’m hungry, look around at the food, then go back to bed because I’m still too sleepy to make something to eat.

6. Complete this phrase: You cannot buy happiness, but you can buy____.

“but you can buy things that will MAKE you happy… such as dogs, a house in a safe neighborhood, a reliable car, medications and medical supplies, etc.”

7. What would you do if you woke up as the opposite gender?

First, I’d cry. Then I’d go practice my aim peeing standing up lol

8. Are you more likely to cook for yourself or buy food from a restaurant?

More often than not I’m cooking for myself, especially if I’m training because it’s cheaper eating healthy with homemade meals. 

9. If you had to lose one of your senses, which one would you rather lose?

I need my sight, hearing, and touch for sure, and I already know how much it sucks to lose taste after my radiation treatments, so smell would have to go.

10. If you could relive any one year of your life, how old would you be?

17, I’d wanna relive my first year of college.

11. Would you take a bullet for anyone you know?

My mom, brothers, nieces and nephews.

12. Would you rather be rich and dumb or poor and extremely intelligent?

Poor and intellige– nah fck that, I’d legit take being rich and dumb because if being dumb means I can secure my family’s future then I’m good, I could always pay someone to handle the brainy shit for me while I’m swimming in money lol

13. What TV character do you most relate to?

Tasha Williams from The L Word.

14. You just walked into a supermarket. What section do you first go to?

Sports & Outdoors… knowing damn well I don’t need to be buying anything but hoping to find a good deal on something so I can justify buying it.

15. Is sex before marriage wrong?

HELL NO! Sex is right… Marriage all together is wrong, wouldn’t recommend it.

16. You just won the lottery. What is the first thing you do with your winnings?

Buy a new phone and one-way ticket outta the state so no one can hit me up asking for money lol 

17. If your best friend admitted that they have a crush on you, how would you react?

I’d be flattered and make some joke about her having horrible taste in women.

18. Will the USA ever have a female president?

**I’ll have an answer to this question after November 3rd 2020**

19. You are carpooling with your friends. Are you more likely to be the driver or a passenger?

Unless it’s my turn to be the DD, I’m not driving with my friends.

20. How short is too short for skirts and dresses?

That’s not for me to decide because I’m not the one wearing them so if a woman is comfortable with a skirt that barely covers her labia, then more power to her. 

21. If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, without any consequences, what food would you choose?

Pizza, there are so many variety of toppings that I’d never get tired of eating it.

22. It’s Saturday night. What are you most likely doing?

Reading fanfiction

23. You go on a blind date. Your date is extremely beautiful and physically captivating, but you hate their personality. Would you want a second date?

Ab-So-Lute-Ly fcking not! All of the beauty in the world can’t make up for an ugly ass personality. I mean we could be fck buddies, but never a “dating” situation.

24. How strict should gun laws be?

25. Would you rather be the worst player on the best team or the best player on the worst team?

Worst player on the best team because I wouldn’t be able to stand being the one putting in all the work while my teammates slack off. Atleast if I’m on the best team I’d be able to learn from players who are better than me. 

26. How well do you work with others?

Not well at all unless I haaaave to.

27. You have the ability to cure only one fatal disease and eradicate it forever. What disease do you choose?

Whatever disease is most deadly to dogs, I’d eradicate that one. 

28. If you could go back to college and choose a different degree to study, would you?

Nope, forensic science is what I was meant to study, I loved every minute of it.

29. Where do you see yourself ten years from now?

Bish I can’t even see myself 10 days from now, I don’t fcking know lol

30. Are you pro-life or pro-choice?

Pro-Choice Pro-Choice Pro-Choice Pro-Choice Pro-ChoicePro-Choice

31. Would you attend a same sex wedding if invited?

Yes my gay ass would happily attend a gay wedding.

32. So far, what has been the greatest day of your life?

The day I landed in Germany for my first duty station.

33. Has anyone you know ever been arrested?

Yeah.

34. If it could be one season year-round, what season do would you want it to be?

Winter.

35. What is your biggest regret in life?

Not making my ex sign a prenup smh

36. If you could bring one celebrity back from the dead, who would it be?

37. What offends you the most?

Non-black people saying nigga. I don’t care if they’re white, latino, asian, any other person of color… or if they’re gay, bi, trans, any other minority… or if their sister-in-law’s baby cousin Tracy got a brother and his girlfriend’s black. If they aint black & they have nigga in their vocabulary, they’re a piece of shit, periodT

38. Would you rather have an ugly hairstyle or be bald?

No question about it…

39. At what age did you have your first alcoholic beverage?

Listen, I learned when I was like 8 or 9 to keep my ass in a child’s place when I tried to be slick and take a few sips from a beer can my cousin left on the table… only to get a mouthful of cigarette butts -_-

40. What do you think happens to us when we die?

Nothing, you just dead.

41. What do you think is the best way to quit smoking?

Have some willpower to not be an asshole who pollutes the air I gotta breathe. 

42. If you could take home any one animal from the zoo, which animal would you choose?

Penguin 

43. We’re humans created or did we evolve from earlier species?

44. What scares you the most?

Dying and being the introvert I am, no one would even know anything was wrong until 6 months went by without hearing from me, and my body’s just laying there decaying and making me unpresentable for my own damn funeral  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

45. What personality trait turns you off the most?

Being disloyal. 

46. You got offered a job to do something you hate, but the pay will make you rich. Do you take it?

Yeah… then once I’m rich I’ll quit :) 

47. If today you only had what you were thankful for yesterday, how much would you have?

Enough… not enough… 

48. How often do you get mad or upset at yourself?

Every damn day

49. If you could choose one celebrity to be your parent, who would you choose?

Michelle or Barack Obama.

50. If you could only listen to one musical artist for the rest of you life, who would you be listening to?

The Rap God himself.

51. Have you ever used you cell phone while driving?

Guilty.

52. Had anyone you were close to die way too young?

Yes.

53. Is world peace possible?

*Refer to question 18*

54. You go on a blind date. You date is extremely ugly and physically appalling, but you are madly in love with their personality. Would you want a second date?

A bomb ass personality is worth a second date.

55. How did you discover that Santa Claus isn’t real?

When I realized that whole story never made any sense… no white dude was coming to the hood to give niggas toys for free. Momma aint raise no dummy.

56. Do you believe in God, or some form of higher deity?

I believe in Deism, the knowledge of a God based on the application of our reason on the designs/laws found throughout nature. The designs presuppose a Designer. Deism is therefore a “natural” religion, not a “revealed” religion. It is the recognition of a universal creative force greater than mankind, supported by personal observation, perpetuated and validated by the innate ability of human reason coupled with the rejection of claims made by individuals and organized religions of having received special divine revelation.

57. If you could save someone you deeply cared about, but it meant breaking a law, would you do it?

IN A HEARTBEAT! 

58. What is the dumbest thing you’ve ever done for money?

Enlisted in the military.

59. If you were to make a YouTube video about what you know most about, what would the subject be?

Being a ✊🏿 black 🌈 lesbian ♀️ woman. 

60. What do you think is your greatest personality flaw?

I have very little patience. 

61. If your friends spoke to you the way you speak to yourself, would you still want them as friend?

Hey, if they’re honest then I can’t be mad at em.

62. Have you ever “woke up like this”?

Sometimes I do be waking up like this if I may say so myself

63. You got offered a job to do something you love, but the pay is one of the worst out there. Do you take it?

If it’s not a livable wage then obviously no. But if it’s a livable wage that doesn’t leave me with extra money, then yeah doing what I love is worth the sacrifice.

64. What do you think is your best physical feature?

100% my muscles, I don’t put in work at the gym and eat vegetables for nothing!

65. What do you think is your worst physical feature.

I’m 5′1″… 9 times outta 10 I’m the shortest adult in the room… aint that a bitch

66. Do you know anyone who has committed suicide?

No.

67. What is the nicest thing you’ve ever done for someone you don’t know?

Not knock them the fck out when they said black people need to be happy white people haven’t made us their slaves again yet.

68. Have you ever had a night’s dream come true?

Idk but I swear I have moments of deja vu tho, then I think maybe they were actually just things I dreamed about in the past… hell if I know.

69. How would you reject a date offer from someone you didn’t like?

Tell them I don’t like them. I’m all about being direct. 

70. Which do you think is worse: Failure, or never trying at all?

Never trying. Nothing wrong with trying and failing, everything wrong with being too lazy to even try. 

[shujinkomononobe]

Voltron has ended and I just finally digitalized my OC for the show...

Name: Blade Nadezhda Dunkeheit Titles: Einherjar of the Black Hound Garmr NA - 235

Age: Season 1 - 17 (22) Season 6 - 18 (23)

Birthday: May 23 Rebirth: November 28

Species: (Experimented) Human Heritage: German (Janus)/Russian (Allisa)

Relationships: Hunk - Best Friend Lance - Prank Partner Keith - Sparring Partner Pidge - Little Sister Figure Shiro - Uncle Figure Coran - Weird Uncle Figure Allura: Big Sister Figure Garmr - Friend and Hound Allisa - Deceased Mother Janus - Deceased Father

Weapons: Garmr - His Hound. Unlike the Lions of Voltron, Hound is a pendant that acts like a full body bayard. Created by Blade when a meteor of the same ore as Voltron fell on Earth. Due to it’s small size Blade couldn’t build a ship, hence why it is a pendante. Unlike the Lions, Garmr’s energy source is his Einherjar. Thus those who wishes to use him must need a large amount of quintessence within themselves. Allura, Lotor, Haggar, Blade and other Alteans are capable of using him. if someone uses him that lacks the required amount of quintessence, they will quickly tire out. Also unlike the Lions who sends signals or ideas to their Paladins, Garmr can talk to it’s Einherjar as one would normally talk to anyone. Body - Experimented body can control his biological components giving him abilities of numerous animals and aliens Magic - After consuming Altean hair he has given the ability of magic but he doesn’t know how to use it though.

Rules: 1. Anyone can give him an order 2. Any kind of order is acceptable. 3. Only the one who gave the order can cancel or change the order. 4. One order at a time. 5. Achieve the order at any means possible.

Personality: Kindly know he has two personalities. The reason for this is his body protecting him. Animals have self defense mechanism that protects them. His doesn’t protect him physically but emotionally. When fear overrides his system his self defense mechanism activates causing his brain to shut down all emotions. Only when he feels safe can snap him back to normal. Self Defense: Stoic and robotic. He follows the rules, making him the perfect tool for anything. His fighting capabilities during this phase is inhumanly great that Voltron fell before him during their first meeting in less than five seconds due to the lack of mercy and no fear of death. Normal: After being trapped in his self defense mechanism for nearly 17 years he is a bit shy and stoic towards new people. He often maintains distance towards newcomers and doesn’t trust easily. After gaining his trust he will show affection by physical touching. Which can be seen at the team when he constantly hug Hunk, carries Pidge around, massage Lance, pet Keith, arm wrestle with Shiro and teach the Alteans the Earth dances. He is also caring and fierce fully loyal once he trusts you. His fighting capabilities are still great in this phase but not as great when his self defense is activated due to his empathetic self. He is also known to call Pidge by her real name Katie, and calling Shiro by his first name Takashi and is also known to use German phrases from time to time. Russian phrases are rare but it also happens.

Backstory: His parents Janus and Allisa we’re both orphans. The two grew up in  the same orphanage in Germany and was never adopted. The two feel in love with each other as they grow up and helped around the orphanage. Later in their lives they became great scientists and got married. Allisa then became pregnant with Janus’ son. The two named him Blade after their first date when Janus tried to impress Allisa by carving their initials on a tree which Allisa replied sarcastically “Oh yes, bring a blade on a first date in a forest far away from civilization where no one can hear me scream is romantic.” Then tragedy struck the two. An accident occurred in their lab causing Janus to forget human emotions leaving Allisa. To make matters worse Allisa lost Blade in the accident. As a way to cope with depression Allisa kept Blade’s corpse in a specialized container as a reminder of the happy times. After five years she finds Janus again and found out he made a military organization with questionable morals named Angel Corps. In hopes of reminding Janus who she is, she joins the organization. After watching a documentary Janus sought to create the “perfect human”. A human capable of evolving so quickly that it can’t die by natural means. He instructs his scientists to create his desire by any means necessary. Some started from scratch, creating artificial humans, others started to experiment on young orphans, while Allisa who is slowly losing hope used Blade in the experiment. A lot of the experiments failed and died. A few like Allisa’s experiment succeeded. At first Allisa was filled with joy. She has managed to bring her son back to life. Until reality struck her that her son is to be made a soldier, a killer, a monster. Blade during the time was known by his code name. NA - 235. NA meaning Noah’s Ark which is the name of the project he is in and 235 as his number. He made friends with other experiments like him as they were all grouped up in a room. From time to time the scientists came to experiment on them. Little by little their numbers dwindle. The last experiment was the remaining experiments take a serum. Unlike 235 who was fine with the serum the rest of them turned into grotesque flesh monsters. Seeing his friends turn into such creatures scared him so much that the last experiment finally made 235 activate his self defense mechanism. And so he killed his friends when he was ordered by Janus. Allisa watched in horror seeing this. As the creator of the “perfect human” Allisa became Janus’ new assistant. Allisa accepts the “promotion” in hopes that she can keep her son safe. 17 years passed and a meteor fell. 235 was sent to investigate the it due to it’s abnormal readings. When he finds the meteor he called back the organization reporting his findings. Before the organization could give him a new order, a voice asked him to create something from the meteor. He does so with the voice guiding him and slowly made a pendant out of it. It is then revealed that the voice was Garmr. 235 gave the pendant to Janus when he was instructed to give him the meteor. Curious Janus wore it. Janus finding the pendant and the ore it is made of unique but ultimately useless gives it to Allisa.  Unknown to him Garmr tried to heal him. Slowly his emotions arise again and the memory of Allisa returns. Sure enough he looks and finds Allisa and asks her forgiveness. In joy Allisa does and the two planned to run away with their son for a peaceful life they originally planned. Unknown to the two a rival organization ordered 235 to destroy Angel Corps and to kill everyone involved in it. 235 follows this order. Allisa who had the pendant wished for someone to help her son. Garmr moved by her plea for her son and not for her life spoke to her. There the father and mother gave their quintessence to Garmr asking him to protect their son. When 235 finally killed the remaining people of Angel Corps, his parents, Garmr used the quintessence given to him to order 235 to use him. Garmr wants to fulfill the two’s wish but he doesn’t know how. He is young and has no experience with caring for another. And this robotic phase he is in isn’t a sickness since it’s natural for his body to engage in this weird self defense so he can’t heal him like what he did to Janus. Then he hears a roar of five lions, sensing they are like him he orders Blade to search for the Pride. The Pride of Voltron. Months passed and Voltron hearing a howl leads the Paladins to a moon. There they found Blade but Garmr who was scared for his Einherjar after the Galra continuously attack them both thought they were enemies and ordered Blade to fight them. In five seconds Blade defeats them. After hearing the the Voltron Lions roar, Garmr realizes he has found the ones who can help Blade, telling him to stop. After the fight Garmr apologizes and pleads for the Lions to help his Einherjar. Hearing this the Pride accepts his apology and promises to help Blade, coaxing their Paladins to welcome Blade into their group. The group naturally wasn’t so trusting with Blade at first. They also soon found out that he will obey any order which Lance used to his advantage to prank them all. In irritation Keith accidentally ordered Blade to kill Lance. Keith managed to cancel the order in time but in doing so they grew to hate Blade ordering him to isolate himself in a room. The only one was kind enough to visit and try to befriend him was Hunk. Bringing him food, talking about random things, asking about his life. With Hunk’s kindness Blade slowly felt safe until his body deactivates his self defense phase. After 17 years Blade finally cries into Hunk’s arms. After this he slowly bonds with the rest of the group who slowly but surely accepts him. Now he fights with them and depending on their choices, his future will change.

[scoutshonor56]

Burning Down the House

With a new year upon us, I decided to leave our pouting, petulant, and clueless “president” alone for a while.  I’m at the point where I don’t want this blog to become a regular, though fun and cathartic, critique of this moron’s day to day behavior.  Besides, who can keep up these days?  Certainly I never intended this blog to become solely a political airing of grievances anyways, when started back in November of 2016 - but then, who would have ever envisioned the likes of Donald Trump in the White House?

 So today I’m going to address an issue close to my heart; the wellspring that nourishes my spirit and is essential to the health and well-being of every living thing on our planet – the environment.  You see, I’m a baby boomer who grew up in the 60’s, and was quite the impressionable 14yr old on April 22, 1970, when the first official Earth Day was proclaimed. That year also saw the creation of the EPA, and like most of us from “back then”, I still hold onto many of the ideals of an aged hippie -  

 Those who know me also know I later worked for NASA - another touchstone for my generation - at Johnson Space Center, inside the television/communication contract, for 14 years.  During that time I got to watch the Space Station being built piece by piece, from when the first module, Zarya, went up on a Russian Proton rocket, to the first crew occupation, to its successful completion.

 I still pay attention to our space program as a tax paying enthusiast, although not nearly as much, and thus I watched a fascinating show on NOVA a week or so back, entitled “To Pluto and Beyond”.  It was about the continuing voyage of NASA’s New Horizons exploratory spacecraft, which is now traveling at roughly 37,000mph some 5 billion miles from our planet and still able to send back data and outstanding imagery to its home base here on Earth (taking over 4 hours to do so).

 In a nutshell, when New Horizons was first launched, in January of 2006, scientists and astronomers didn’t even think much existed past what they call the Kuiper Belt (the area in space past the planet Neptune), other than insignificant, floating chunks of minerals and ice of varying size and shape – such as Pluto, now not even an officially termed “planet”.  

 But soon that would change as our telescopes got larger, more sophisticated, and certainly more powerful (such as the Hubble), revealing a wealth of new discoveries and vastly widening out view, and theories, about space past our solar system.    

 In just a little over two years after its successful flyby of Pluto and its moons, sending back stunning and never before seen imagery, project managers were able to plot a new course that would enable the probe to fly past what is now called 2014 MU69, or its more colorful nickname, Ultima Thule (which sounds much more bad-ass!)  

 To go into any detail about the show and this discovery would require a whole different blog, so for my purpose today, let’s just say the level of technology, engineering, and computational math involved in this exploratory endeavor is right up there with just about any other high achievement in man’s history; an incredible display of determination and shear brain power that simply boggles my mind.  Sure, it was just an unmanned flyby, a probe…but successfully plotted over billions of miles, traveling at 37,000mph through orbiting planets, asteroids, and clouds of space debris, where a collision with something the size of a pea could mean instant disaster?  Where the tiniest fraction of miscalculation can put the craft literally millions of miles off course?  In the harshest and most unforgiving environment imaginable?  You may as well try to explain quantum physics to me.

 So what - what’s this got to do with a Talking Heads song... my point is this: excuse me if I don’t buy into this long running campaign of bullshit and misinformation put out by the petrochemical and carbon-based conglomerates, their money-wallowing and soulless lobbyists, and the special interest groups, who for the better part of fifty years have retained a complete stranglehold on our politicians and policy makers.  They continue to control the discussion of our energy sources with fairy tales and scare tactics in support of a technology that is over 200 years old. Let’s dim the lights, roll out the boogyman, and wind him up:

 “It will cost jobs!!  The transition to renewable and clean energy is too expensive, the sources unable to compete in today’s economy!!  The technology and infrastructure have yet to be fully worked out!!  It’s much more difficult and complicated than you can possibly understand!!  It’s simply going to take more time – it will be a long, slow process, and oil and gas will continue to play a dominant role in the meanwhile!!”

 And on, and on, and on…

 Bullshit!  Germany now gets 40% of all its energy generated from renewable, clean sources.  There are other countries in Europe harnessing tides to generate energy.  Our planet is a hotbed for thermal energy potential.  A recent study done here in Houston, at Rice University, claims Texas (who leads the nation in wind generated energy) has enough sun and wind to completely wean itself off coal within the near future.  

 Since when did America become the nation that couldn’t; that shied away from a challenge, technological or otherwise; that chose to follow instead of lead… was I stoned during that period?  Did I miss something?  Fifty-eight years ago, President John F. Kennedy stood at a podium at Rice University Stadium and declared:

 “We choose to go to the Moon!   We choose to go to the Moon...We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others, too.”  

 To put this into context, at that time it had been just over a year since America had launched their first man into space: Alan Shepard riding a Redstone rocket 116 miles into suborbital flight, lasting fifteen minutes.  Back then NASA scientists and medical professionals didn’t even know if a human could survive such a trip, or for how long.  Would they retain their vision, their mental capacity?  Would they lose all sense of direction?  Pass out? Would they be able to endure and function during the required long duration flight to the moon and back?  How would we even achieve such a feat?

 OK, some might say, “Well, sure, NASA had a limitless budget - and after all, the space race was strictly for nationalistic reasons anyway, to beat the Russians to the moon…”

All true, but umm, have you looked out your window lately?  Pay attention to any news?  And no, Fox doesn’t count.  According to a recent analysis, published in the Journal Science (see the story in the NY Times), our oceans are warming far more quickly than previously thought; like 40% faster on average than a United Nations panel estimated five years ago.  Researchers now conclude that ocean temperatures have been breaking records for several years straight.  Compounding the effects of our melting polar caps, warm water also takes up more volume than cold water, resulting in sea levels rising at an estimated rate of .13 inches (3.2mm) over the last 20 years.  Satellite measurements tell us that over the past century the Global Mean Sea Level (GMSL) has risen by 4 to 8 inches.

 Right now, over the last decade, we are seeing an increase in the number and severity of hurricanes, monsoons, tornadoes and wildfires.  NEWS FLASH Gomer and Thelma Lu, this isn’t a conspiracy perpetrated by greedy and alarmist eggheads in lab coats, nor is it “fake news” or fuzzy science; and it certainly shouldn’t be considered, or treated as a political issue.  It’s rock-solid, provable science that is accepted by 97% of scientists, climatologists, and geologists all around the world, who continue to ring the emergency bell. It’s happening today, all around us, and the bad news is we’re already too late; at this point, if we were to get serious this year, 2019, it will still be a game of damage control; of mitigating the consequences of our greed, ignorance, and gullibility.  

 In comparison, the goal and challenge of beating the Russians to the moon seems quite miniscule to that of restoring and maintaining the health of our little blue lifeboat called Earth.

 “Whatever, our planet is a dynamic, ever changing thing - Earth has gone through similar climate changes before!”   Yes, true – but over the span of tens of thousands of years, you moron.  Man has achieved the same results in barely two hundred.  

Just curious, but what part of 2.5 million pounds/second of co2 pouring into the relatively thin, fragile layer of atmosphere that protects our planet don’t you get?  Too hard to think about, or conceptualize?  Or is it easier for your lazy, flabby, unexercised brain to simply believe that it all just dissipates into outer space – you know, where the alien abductors that beamed you up into their mothership that weekend reside…

 Make America Great Again?  What a sad, short-changed, and utterly empty joke of a campaign slogan… Here, I’ve got one for you: SAVE OUR PLANET!  For your children’s future and their children’s future.  There simply is no option; no magical, last minute solution.  No plan B.  No spare planet accessible, sorry, this isn’t a movie - its real.  

 I simply don’t understand; why isn’t this the number one issue of concern for everyone?  Could there possibly be a greater threat and more important challenge facing us all today?  

 Ah well, what the hell – we’ll all be fine in a couple thousand years after we evolve with gills and become aquamen and women… Although, good luck finding something to eat, as we’re also killing the entire food chain of life in the oceans, from coral reefs to the dolphins, the sharks, and the whales…I guess we could become aquacannibals – now there’s a surefire idea for a hit movie!    Hmm, I wonder if we could talk Jason Momoa into that hard turn in the movie series plotline…  

[crimsonrevolt]

Congratulations Eliza you’ve been accepted to Crimson Revolt as Sirius Black

↳ please refer to our character checklist

Sirius Black is a character held very close to my heart, and let me say that when your application came through we were obsessed! You capture him so well, I found myself so drawn in with every new section. From your explanation of him as a character to your headcanons and question responses, it’s obvious to us that you love him as much as we do and will write him beautifully. We’re so excited to see you join us, welcome to the group! *Your faceclaim change to Matthew Daddario has been accepted.

OUT OF CHARACTER

Introduction: I’m Eliza, I’m 22, and my preferred pronouns are she/her.

Activity: I’m currently in my final year of uni, so aside from any sudden tsunami of work (always possible) I’m legit doing nothing except sitting on my laptop trying to figure out how to procrastinate my Commodus essay. So, uh, high.

How did you find us? through the marauders era tag, I think!

Anything else? Nothing that I can think of.

IN CHARACTER

Desired character: Sirius Orion Black – Orion for his father. Sirius is a family name; he’s technically Sirius Black the Third, but that’s not something he likes to shout about.

Birthday / star sign: Sirius was born on November 3rd 1960, which makes him a Scorpio, and if you need anymore proof that astrology is real I don’t know what to tell you.

Occupation:

Bartender. Sirius doesn’t need to work – his Uncle Alphard made sure of that – but he learned the hard way that nothing’s worse for his mental health than sitting around all day, picking at old wounds. He works at a bar just off Diagon Alley, wizarding, except for the occasional lost confused muggle. He’s good at his job; he likes to talk to customers, he enjoys small-talk, and he makes a killer martini – plus, it’s the perfect position to be in to gather information. He’s friendly with his boss, and on the second floor there’s a large room that is the perfect size for meetings of a book club. A very special book club, with no books.

Faceclaim:

I absolutely love Miles, but finding gifs for him is tough – could I use Matthew Daddario instead? (or, if you hate him, Aidan Turner or Harry Styles or Ezra Miller?)

Reason for chosen character:

This is actually the last part of the application I’m filling in – I’ve spent ages trying to figure out how to answer this question. Why did I pick Sirius? I can write him well, that’s true, I have a proper handle on his voice and how I think he’d react in most situations, but it’s more than that. I think that Sirius, in any marauders era rp, has the greatest possibility for plots; he’s extroverted, has a finger in basically every pie, and his future looks pretty bloody dreadful from a canon perspective, which is something I love. Give me all the blood and tears you can and I’m happy. Besides, I like Sirius. I think he’s a good man at heart, but his flaws are so immense that he’s fascinating to write. So I guess I picked him because I’d like to be his friend, but would hate him at the same time, and that’s all you want in a character, really.

In this section you should also describe the character and how you see them.

Inherently, Sirius is a man with many flaws that often overwhelm him. He is trying to be good, but not always succeeding. He enjoys the pain of others too much for comfort; he can switch to cruelty in an instant when threatened. He has much less of a conscience than James does – in fact, many would say that James functions as his conscience, that the two of them are two parts of one whole. When, at sixteen, he finally left the Black family for good, he cut them off in his mind as well as in practice, finding it easier to cope with the pain if he forced the world into black and white instead of shades of grey. It is only as he gets older that he is beginning to see the difficulties of choice facing his cousins – but his pride won’t let him admit such a thing. He was brought up with all the prejudices that came with the Black family name; his parents, though not Death Eaters, were violent people, viciously against muggles and muggleborns. He’s certain that his father at least is a murderer, and knows that they rejoice in the insanity of his cousin Bellatrix and all that brings with it.

The main way Sirius coped with the loss of his family was by demonising the lot of them. That isn’t, in a way, incorrect: the Blacks were and are at the forefront of the Death Eaters, and Sirius was always too compassionate to easily accept that ideology. But equally he refuses to see any good in them. Anyone who is even neutral in the war turns his stomach. He cannot understand the difficulty of choosing between your morals and your family – after all, he did it, didn’t he? He sees fighting as the only moral option, and that puts him in conflict not just with Death Eaters, but with other bystanders too.

Preferred ships // Character sexuality // Gender & Pronouns:

Bisexual | cis male | he/him

Preferred ships: I’m a sucker for wolfstar, but honestly anything with chemistry works for me. If you can come up with a horribly angsty plot, so much the better, because Sirius is not lucky in love.

Details:

Walburga and Orion had a happy marriage, but it was not one that set a good example to their son in terms of love. They never showed affection in public – Sirius never saw them so much as hold hands; when, as he was storming out of Grimmauld Place for the final time when he was sixteen, he saw his father place a hand on Walburga’s shoulder, he knew that he had truly gone too far to turn back. Their affection was based on fierce loyalty, concurrent goals and ideology, and matching intelligence that they both passed down to their eldest son, but they treated each other only with cold respect in front of their children. With no model of domestic harmony to fall back on, Sirius has never been very emotionally capable. Passionate by nature but always unsure of the affection of others, he tended at Hogwarts to fall into a pattern of obsession and then rejection that had him labelled a womaniser.

Sirius’s love for boys – it is a love for boys, he’s long since accepted that; at first he told himself it was just because he liked sex, but that theory’s been scuppered over and over again – is something that he is relatively open about. He is lucky in that his group of friends are quite accepting; even those who don’t understand the sexual revolution that has been happening in the last decade see it as another of his quirks, oh, that’s just Sirius. His self-confidence, as fuelled by the Marauders, has meant that he has rarely struggled with his sexuality – it’s another thing his family would hate him for, and therefore something else to be proud of.

CREATE ONE (OR MORE!) OF THE FOLLOWING FOR YOUR CHARACTER

Potential plots:

1. James Potter:

James and Sirius are two parts of one whole – Sirius sees him, with typical casual self-deprecation, as the sunlight to his own shadow. Sirius is hardly the sort of person to let anyone take a curse if he’s in the vicinity, but for James Sirius is pretty sure he’d do anything. Not only did James complete the transformation, already begun through his parents’ cruelty, of Sirius from Pureblood supremacist to fully-fledged blood traitor, but also makes him the best person he can be. Around James, all of Sirius’s rough edges are smoothed out; he’s at his funniest, and also at his kindest. They see each other every day, people take the absolute piss, and Sirius loves it.

2. Remus Lupin:

Ah, Remus. Sirius has been in love with a lot of people throughout his life – he can’t help it, he’s a Scorpio – but Remus, well, he lingered. Not that Sirius would say anything, and he spends half his time mocking his friend so thoroughly that no one suspects, and anyway, he’s over it, obviously, times five hundred. But there it is – Remus Lupin, lingering.

They work well together, is all. Remus looks blankly at him every time he makes a bad joke, which is excellent for Sirius’s ego; when Remus wakes up bloodied and furious with himself and the world, Sirius is there, feet up on the bottom of his bed, bottle of water in one hand and cigarette in the other. Remus knows that Sirius secretly likes to read, curled up in his kitchen with a mug of strong coffee, and Sirius knows how Remus likes his gin (strong, expensive). They might not be like James and Sirius, but they can sit in silence for hours, and a lot of the time, that’s all Sirius needs.

3. Regulus Black:

For a long time, Regulus was Sirius’s only friend – something he now says in a tone that’s supposed to be funny, but no one really laughs. A large part of Sirius, larger than he’d like to admit, knows how similar they are, how easily he could have been like Reg, had he not been the heir and subject to more pressure, had he not had James, and for a while he tried to be James to Regulus. But it was fruitless; perhaps it always would have been. Every so often they see each other, and it makes Sirius want to go and drink for five days – usually he then does.

4. Aversio

Sirius was an obvious choice for Aversio recruitment – not only is his cousin Andromeda a member, but he has often vocally and emphatically (and sometimes violently) declared his dissatisfaction with the Order. Weighed down by bureaucracy and occasionally the very prejudices they claim to fight against, Sirius sees the Order as a useless, bloated organisation, too afraid to do anything except wave placards in the air outside the Ministry. He has taken part in several Aversio attacks, but keeps his involvement entirely secret, except from other members. He is suspected, of course, and doesn’t like to openly lie, but there’s no proof; he’s still a member of the Order on the surface. He sees fighting fire with fire as a moral choice – to do anything other than the utmost is to betray the cause, and to be no better than the enemy.

Mini-headcanons:

nicknames padfoot

star sign scorpio

mbti ESFP, the Entertainer

greek mythological counterpart Poseidon, god of the sea, of earthquakes, of storms and horses, protector of seafarers, associated with drowning and madness.

season autumn

deadly sin pride

heavenly virtue liberality

element fire

flower gladiolus. Gladioli symbolise strength of character, faithfulness and honour, as well as remembrance and infatuation, with a bouquet conveying to a recipient that they pierce the giver’s heart with passion.

colour storm-grey

wand elm wood, unicorn hair, 11 inches, excellent for hexes

patronus black dog

early bird or night owl night owl

greatest fear rejection by his found family

secret superstition has a terrible habit of crossing his fingers while he sleeps to ward off bad dreams

small facts

Sirius can ice skate. He can play the piano. He can ballroom dance. He can make a wicked spaghetti bolognese. He likes to read, but can’t write to save his life; his handwriting is something close to incomprehensible. He has an average singing voice, he loves muggle music, and he wishes that he was born a Beatle. When he was fifteen years old he lost his virginity to a distant French cousin of James’s somewhere behind the Potters’ Quidditch pitch. He has been in love, at various points in his school career, with Remus Lupin, Lily Evans, Glenda Chittock, and probably Minerva McGonagall. He hates anything that tastes like nuts, won’t touch sugar quills, and changes his hairstyle every three days. You can tell that he’s unhappy because he retreats inwards, goes quiet, stormy. He likes Quidditch but prefers motorcycles, much to James’s disgust. He thinks marriage is a scam, but secretly wants children desperately. He loves cats, but they hate him. He would die for his friends.

IN CHARACTER QUESTIONNAIRE

Do you think it is more important to be feared or loved? Which would you rather be?

SIRIUS: Loved, for sure. Who’d say feared? Being feared is awful; there’s nothing more toxic. It wraps itself around your lungs like a sickness, like clove cigarette smoke, and twists you all up inside until it’s all you lust after, that look in someone’s eyes when they’re afraid of you. No, that’s not for me – I couldn’t trust myself not to want more. Love is good enough.

What is one thing you would never want said about you?

SIRIUS: That I was boring. Can you imagine? You’re sitting there, in your Hufflepuff scarf (you’re definitely a Hufflepuff in this scenario), and you’re eavesdropping on some older, way cooler students (one of them is especially dashing) and they say that they got trapped in conversation with you on Tuesday and couldn’t get away. They wanted to get away from you because you bored them to tears. I think I’d rather die than be in that position. You know what they say – all huff, no puff. Or something. Do they say that? They should.

If you were able to invent one spell, potion, or charm, what would it do, what would you use it for or how would you use it? Feel free to name it!

SIRIUS: oh, I’d absolutely invent a cure for lycanthropy. I don’t know if it’d be a charm, or a potion – probably a charm, because Lupin’s the worst at taking potions on time, and he’s the only werewolf I give a fuck about. Wait, did he not say that? Did he forget he was a werewolf? What, and I’m here, slaving over a cauldron, wasting my life away in this dingy basement (obviously I’m brewing this world-changing potion in a basement, by torchlight, also for some weird reason I’m wearing a full-length black robe?) like Nicholas fucking Flamel? I swear to God –

What kinds of decisions are the most difficult for you to make?

SIRIUS: it’s not necessarily that I find making decisions hard. I make decisions fast, and find it hard to go back on them. It’s more that – well, making the correctdecisions is difficult.

When I was sixteen – and I’m not introducing my age because I think it excuses it; it doesn’t, I’m just trying to set the damn scene – I made a mistake that could have – well, I was going to say it could have destroyed my friendships, but it was more than that. It could have made me a murderer, and Remus too. I’m only telling you this because I am assuming it will never go any further than the two of us. I don’t tell other people’s secrets.

I hated Severus Snape from our first day at Hogwarts. He was arrogant, and he was nasty, and he was clearly in deep with the dark arts, which I don’t hold with. Prongs hated him too, for other reasons that he’ll probably tell you considering he takes any opportunity to go on about Evans. And sixth year was shit. Again, that isn’t an excuse – but that’s what my mindset was, that autumn. My uncle Alphard had just died. I knew that I would never see my brother again, and traitor that he was, he was – is – still my brother. I came back to Hogwarts in September and it felt like a dark cloud had just broken over my head. It wouldn’t go away. I’m going to put this bluntly, because it’s how I do things best – Remus is a werewolf. That’s relevant.

In November, we all knew Snape was sniffing around. Moony had been off at the beginning of the month, and it had been a shit full moon; I wasn’t in a good enough place to control him as well as I should’ve been, and we were all roughed up the next day, Moony the worst. Prongs had a nasty black eye, as I remember; I had a cut up face, Peter was limping. Snape had been watching us. We were all on edge; he’d been close to figuring out Moony’s secret for years, and we knew that if he found proof he’d spread it all around the school. He’d want Remus out – expelled, or worse. As December grew closer, we grew worse. We were snapping at each other, we were getting close to fights every damn evening. Moony was pale and ill the entire month, there wasn’t even the usual grace period between moons. It felt like everything was bad.

The full moon was on December 2nd. That day, James and I had had a catastrophic fight about everything and nothing – we bickered like fucking lovers back then. I bumped into Snape at the bottom of the Astronomy tower, and I – I told him where to find Remus.

God, I regretted it. I regretted it immediately. But even then, even though I knew it was wrong, I hadn’t figured it all out. I’ve always been bad at seeing consequences. When I found James and told him, I was laughing. I thought we’d give Snape a scare – then he’d never bother us again. James has always been a better man than me; he knew immediately what would happen. Remus would kill Snape, or bite him – we weren’t sure which was worse. James went after him. He saved his life. Snape wasn’t grateful, the fucker, but I – well.

Remus forgave me first. He shouldn’t have; I didn’t deserve it. I couldn’t give less of a shit if Snape dies, but Remus would have been affected; I would’ve made a killer out of him. But we could never fight for long; we don’t give each other the silent treatment. I think Remus would forgive me anything. James, on the other hand, took months. Even now, he looks at me different. That’s the sort of decision I’d take back in an instant. That’s the sort of decision I find hard to make.

REACTION TO LAST EVENT DROP

Sirius would be right up there with Amelia and Dirk at the Quidditch match – he fiercely believes that Aversio has the right way forward, and especially after the Order’s apparent dismissal of Edgar Bones’s disappearance (Sirius sees everything other than intense passion as dismissal), he’s feeling even more frustrated and disenfranchised. He would absolutely be helping Marlene and James, though likely getting in the way somewhat, given his tendency to go in all guns blazing (all wands blazing?) when it comes to his family. Fuck Bellatrix is his phrase of the week…well, the month. The year?

I don’t know if Sirius would take direct part in the actual mission to rescue Edgar – it probably makes more sense rp-wise if he didn’t, maybe because the others don’t trust him (though I don’t know if James would leave him behind). Either way, Ed’s return is a positive for two reasons – one, Sirius likes the bloke, and two, he’s hoping he can use Ed’s rescue as a concrete example of Aversio doing better than the Order. Politics, mate.

WRITING SAMPLE

Sirius Black was up a tree.

He didn’t spend a lot of time up trees, as a rule. But it was the first of September, and as such he was avoiding people - and in the Potter household, the only place it was feasible to be alone was in the branches of the huge oak tree in the grounds, out by the Quidditch pitch. He’d climbed it, hands slipping on the wet bark, about an hour previously, and he was starting to shiver.

It was unseasonably cold for September. The wind whistled through the leaves of the trees and caught at his hair, tangling it into messy curls; he huffed and pushed it out of his face and let the rain sweep down in huge sheets. He imagined it washing his features away, leaving him with nothing but a blank canvas which he could paint over, inscribe new eyes, a new nose, a new mouth. Maybe he would make himself a Potter. He closed his eyes and imagined them hazel and bright instead of grey and sharp, and knew he was being fanciful. In the Black household, being fanciful was on a par with dreaming below your station, and Sirius, though naturally imaginative, couldn’t shake that last remnant of his mother’s distaste.

He opened his eyes and watched the water drip off his eyelashes in diamond flashes. He was freezing. Surely, he thought, somewhat bitterly, if this was meant to be a formative moment in his life the world would allow him a few more moments to be at least healthily warm so that he could get his musings into better shape. But it was not to be: he was starting to shake, and even he couldn’t pretend to be fine much longer.

Below him, a figure was struggling through the wind, down the sloping grass from the front door. “Sirius!” the figure howled into the combative weather, the wind tossing his voice away towards the lake. “Oi! Black! Are you completely fucking insane?! Get inside, it’s half-eight! Mum’s made bacon!”

Bacon - now that, at least, jerked Sirius out of his stupid melancholy mood. He slid gracefully down the trunk of the tree and landed with a thump and a squelch of mud in front of his friend, who glared at him through rain-speckled glasses.

“I,” he explained, with dignity, “was having life-changing thoughts.”

“Brilliant,” snapped James, in a manner that suggested it most definitely was not. “But Catchlove’s tits can wait, Black, because I’m starving.”

[aion-rsa]

Best Games to Play in 2021

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While 2020 was a landmark year for the gaming industry thanks to the release next-gen consoles and PC graphics cards, there are plenty of exciting new games to play 2021. From highly-anticipated sequels like Halo Infinite and Resident Evil Village to brand-new experiences such as New World and Deathloop, there are plenty of titles to try.

We’ve curated a list of the 2021 games we absolutely loved, as well as the upcoming ones we’re most excited about, including big AAA blockbusters and imaginative indie titles. Keep in mind that we’ve only included games that at the very least have a vague “2021” release window attached, which is why we’re not including games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel or Final Fantasy XVI. We’ll of course update this article as new 2021 titles are announced.

Here’s what you have to look forward to this year:

Age of Empires IV

October 28 | Relic Entertainment | XSX, XBO, PC

Real-time strategy fans have been waiting a very long time Age of Empires IV, which was announced in 2017. Set in the Middle Ages across 8 different civilizations at launch, Age of Empires IV is the first new installment in the series in 16 years. Fortunately, the game is finally out this year, letting players take control of some of the most powerful kingdoms in human history, including the English, French, Mongols, and the Dehli Sultanate.

The Ascent

July 29 | Neon Games | XSX, XBO, PC

The Ascent was originally planned as an Xbox Series X launch title before it slipped into 2021. A twin stick shooter at its core, The Ascent features a cover system as well as the ability to target high and low points on enemies, all in a destructible, open world cyberpunk setting. You can also fully customize your character with a variety augments.

Though Neon Games is a small studio, Epic Games was so impressed with early work on the title, that Neon was awarded a grant to help cover development costs. The result is a top-down co-op shooter that, while it isn’t wholly original, has a lot of style. Fans who want to return to the aesthetic of Cyberpunk 2077 and also want something they can play with friends should absolutely check this one out.

Axiom Verge 2

TBA | Thomas Happ Games | Switch

Metroidvanias from indie developers are a dime a dozen nowadays, but the original Axiom Verge stood out thanks to its tight controls, varied weapons, and compelling story. Axiom Verge 2 looks to largely be more of the same, but with even better graphics and more complex enemy patterns. The game has been in development for the past four years, but should finally be out in early 2021.

Balan Wonderworld

March 26 | Balan Company and Arzest | XSX, PS5, PS4, XBO, PC, Switch

Balan Wonderworld is a modern take on classic platformers of the 32-bit era. You choose from one of two characters and explore a variety of worlds mixing reality and imagination, but the real hook is the 80 different costumes you can find that unlock new abilities for your characters.

The game was directed by Yuji Naka of Sonic the Hedgehog fame. Fans of the platformers of the early ’90s don’t want to miss this one.

Back 4 Blood

October 12 | Turtle Rock Studios | XSX, PS5, PS4, XBO, PC

Valve may not have been able to get its act together to make a new Left 4 Dead game, but the developer behind the best-selling franchise has a spiritual successor in the works. Just like in Left 4 Dead, you’ll team up with three other players to take on waves of the undead in missions that change every time you play. There will also be a competitive 4v4 mode with one team taking the role of the zombies.

We went hands-on with the Back 4 Blood alpha, and so far, it does play a lot like Left 4 Dead with updated graphics, which isn’t a bad thing at all if you miss the classic horde shooter. The card system, which bestows interesting perks (and buffs) to players and zombies, does add a bit of variety to the usual formula that make this one a sleeper hit in the streaming world.

Battlefield 2042

October 22 | DICE | XSX, PS5, XBO, PS4, PC

Battlefield is returning to its futuristic timeline for this year’s installment. Set after climate change has completely devastated the planet, resulting in a global blackout, Battlefield 2042 sees the United States and Russia at war for what few resources are left. But you won’t be able to explore the themes within this setup through a single-player campaign, as this is a multiplayer-only installment.

Fortunately, the online play sounds impressive, with up to 128-player battles on next-gen consoles and PC. Classic modes like Conquest and Breakthrough are back, while the game will also introduce a new co-op mode called Hazard Zone. There are also tons of customization options that allow you to create your own multiplayer modes. What we’ve seen so far looks promising.

Bravely Default II

February 26 | Claytechworks | Switch

The first two Bravely Default games released on the 3DS were typical fantasy RPGs bolstered by their unique risk-reward battle system. Players could use brave points to stack up attacks for big damage, or default to save them up and take less damage in a turn. It kept those games fresh, even if they sometimes dragged on for too long.

Bravely Default II brings the series’ unique combat exclusively to the Switch for the first time. And true to its Final Fantasy inspirations, the characters and story are completely original, so you don’t need any familiarity with the earlier games.

Call of Duty: Vanguard

November 5 | Sledgehammer Games | XSX, PS5, XBO, PS4, PC

Call of Duty returns to World War II for the first time since 2017 with Vanguard, which takes things into alternate history territory with its story campaign that follows an elite squad of soldiers as they try to dismantle the Nazi war effort once and for all. Multiplayer offerings include the usual favorites as well as a new mode called Champion Hill that’s like a tournament-style battle royale. The game is also getting its own Zombies mode as well as introducing a new map for Warzone.

Chivalry 2

June 8 | Torn Banner Studios | XSX, PS5, PS4, XBO, PC

Chivalry: Medieval Warfare was a huge multiplayer hit on the PC when it was released in 2012. Unfortunately, with lagging developer support, most of the community moved on to other games long ago.

But Torn Banner is back with the sequel, which boasts next-gen graphics, improved combat, and massive 64-player battles. Bloodier and more violent than its predecessor, Chivalry 2 pits the Agatha Knights against the Mason Order once again in a battle for supremacy that will leave the battlefield littered with corpses. If you’re tired of modern-day competitive shooters, and have a strong stomach, this might be the online multiplayer game for you.

Chorus

TBA | Fishlabs | XSX, PS5, PS4, XBO, PC, Stadia

There’s been a serious lack of good third-person space combat shooters in recent years, but Chorus looks to rectify that. In this single-player game, you’ll play as Nara and her sentient ship Forsaken as they work together to track down the cult that created them in what Fishlabs is calling a “dark new universe.” It kind of looks like Goth Star Fox.

Unfortunately, we haven’t really seen anything more from Chorus since it was announced last summer. Hopefully, the radio silence ends soon.

CrossfireX

TBA | Smilegate Entertainment and Remedy Entertainment | XSX, XBO

CrossFire is a hugely popular tactical first-person shooter in China and South Korea, even though it’s barely made a mark in the West. Fortunately, Microsoft is bringing an updated version of the shooter exclusively to its consoles in hopes that it’ll catch on. Expect lots of tense, objective-based multiplayer action, and though the series isn’t known for its single-player, we’re looking forward to what Remedy can do with this mode hot on the heels of the excellent Control.

Like several of the titles on this list, CrossfireX was planned as a launch title for the Series X, but was delayed into 2021 due to development issues caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait that much longer for this one.

Deathloop

September 14 | Arkane Studios | PS5, PC

What if you could combine the movie Groundhog Day with the Hitman series? It’s likely that no one had actually asked that question before Deathloop. You play as Colt, an assassin stuck in a time loop on an island in the midst of a party that resets every day. You have to eliminate eight targets before midnight and avoid dying yourself, or you’ll end up at the beginning of the loop again.

Deathloop also features a multiplayer component that allows players to jump into your game as an assassin named Julianna, who is tasked with taking Colt down before he can complete his mission. This PvP aspect should result in some very interesting playthroughs.

While Microsoft now owns Arkane as part of its purchase of ZeniMax Media and Bethesda Softworks, don’t expect Deathloop on the Xbox any time soon. It’s still launching exclusively on the PS5 and PC.

Diablo 2: Resurrected

September 23 | Vicarious Visions | XSX, PS5, XBO, PS4, PC, Switch

While Diablo III’s reputation has improved substantially since its controversial 2012 launch, there’s still a vocal group of gamers who prefer the second game in Blizzard’s genre-defining action RPG series. Knowing how much this game means to a lot of people, Vicarious Visions has said it’s not out to reinvent the wheel for Resurrected. The updated 3D graphics will display in 4K, but you can switch back to the original graphics at any point with the press of a button.

And while there will be some quality of life improvements like a shared item stash and automatic gold pickup, don’t expect any revolutionary changes that will spoil the original experience. This should be exactly what we need to tide us over until Diablo IV hits shelves.

Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny

June 29 | Nippon Ichi Software | Switch

After a couple of well-received remakes, the first new Disgaea title in more than five years is finally here! This time around, the offbeat story focuses on Zed, a zombie who attempts to use something called “super reincarnation” to stop the seemingly invincible God of Destruction who is slowly destroying all worlds. If you’re in the west, your Japanese tactical RPG fix is waiting for you on the Switch.

Dying Light 2

December 7 | Techland | XSX, PS5, XBO, PS4, PC

Few sequels are as highly anticipated as Techland’s follow-up to its surprise survival horror action game, Dying Light. Bringing back the parkour and combat mechanics of the original, Dying Light 2 Stay Human is sticking to the winning formula of any sequel: the same but bigger and (hopefully) better. Set in Europe on a sprawling map that’s four times bigger than than the setting of the first game, Dying Light 2 tasks you with building alliances among the game’s many warring factions while also making tough choices that will have serious consequences. It’s type of game Techland excels at, so you should be excited.

The Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood

June 1 | ZeniMax Online Studios | XSX, PS5, XBO, PS4, PC, Stadia

Last year’s Elder Scrolls Online expansion finally brought the world of Skyrim to the MMO, and ZeniMax is keeping the blasts from the past coming. This year’s expansion, Blackwood, brings back elements from Oblivion, with a whole new campaign that sees you face off against Daedric Prince Mehrunes Dagon 800 years before the events of The Elder Scrolls IV. It’s all part of the year’s big Gates of Oblivion storyline.

The expansion adds the Blackwood region to the game, which includes the Imperial city of Leyawiin from Oblivion, and also finally brings a Companion system to the game. Recruit an NPC to fight by your side and explore the land of Tamriel.

Far Cry 6

October 7 | Ubisoft | XSX, PS5, PS4, XBO, PC, Stadia, Luna

By now we all know what to expect from Far Cry: hop into a tropical paradise, blow up a bunch of outposts, and methodically take back the land from the big bad guy. After a detour into the American wilderness with Far Cry 5, the next entry in the series heads to Yara, a fictional Caribbean country heavily based on Cuba. And with Giancarlo Esposito of Breaking Bad and The Mandalorian fame playing the big bad El Presidente, you know we’re in for some especially awesome villainy.

Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker

November 23 | Square Enix | PS5, PS4, PC

After one of the worst MMORPG launches ever, it’s a miracle that Final Fantasy XIV is still around a decade later. Not only did Square Enix turn things around, this game is now regarded as one of the very best in the genre.

Endwalker, the game’s fourth major expansion pack will conclude the story of the warring gods Hydaelyn and Zodiark, which has been running since the game’s 2013 relaunch. This won’t be the end of the MMO, though. Square still says it has several years worth of stories to tell.

Along with the obligatory new zones and quests, Square has promised two new classes: the sage, a healer who battles with floating swords, and the reaper, a melee-DPS class armed with a scythe. We can’t wait to try these out!

Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach 

TBA | Steel Wool Studios | PS5, PS4, PC

The Five Nights at Freddy’s series has been terrorizing gamers for more than a half decade now, and Steel Wool Studio is looking to up the scares with the power of next-generation graphics. We don’t know how exactly the game will play yet, but the announcement video showcased a very cool looking shopping mall with an ‘80s motif. On the PS5 and PC, Security Breach will support real-time raytracing, so Freddy and the gang should look better than ever.

Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection

February 25 | Capcom | Switch

After a lengthy absence, the crushingly difficult Ghosts ‘n Goblins series has been revived. Resurrection, which is a whole new installment and not just a remake, features the series’ classic 2D gameplay, with the knight Arthur fighting his way through hordes of monsters and environmental hazards. And of course, the new graphics look much better than the old NES and SNES games. Best (worst?) of all, this modern take is just as punishing as its predecessors so be prepared to die A LOT.

Guilty Gear Strive

June 11 | Arc System Works | PS5, PS4, PC

Billed as “a complete reconstruction” of the long-running fighting game franchise, Guilty Gear Strive introduces interesting new fighters as well as exciting returning characters. There is also a dedicated dash button and a new feature that lets opponents who are knocked into walls cling to them. If you can land enough attacks, you will break through the wall and initiate a stage transition.

It’s beautiful anime aesthetic also means you’ll really struggle to find a more stylish fighting game out this year. Come for the visuals, stay for the excellent gameplay.

Halo Infinite

December 8 | 343 Industries | XSX, XBO, PC

After a disappointing reveal last July, Halo Infinite was bumped from the Series X launch to Fall 2021. The game has been described as both a sequel and a “spiritual reboot” for the series, so it will be interesting to see how far 343 Industries handles Cortana’s heel turn after the fan backlash Halo 5: Guardians received. A new AI character known as “The Weapon” has already provided some clues.

Many fans weren’t happy to hear more microtransactions will be added to Infinite in the form of “coatings” (shaders) that can be purchased to customize Spartans in multiplayer. The good news that we recently played a little bit of Halo Infinite‘s multiplayer mode and came away really impressed with it! But let’s hope this game can deliver as a whole.

Hitman III

January 20 | IO Interactive | XSX, PS5, PS4, XBO, PC, Switch, Stadia

IO’s rebooted Hitman games are among the most underrated titles of the last few years, streamlining the series’ once finnicky systems and placing Agent 47 in huge sandbox levels with more ways than ever to eliminate his targets. If you own the previous two games, you can import maps and progress to take advantage of Hitman III’s improvements on any platform, but only the PS4 version supports the PSVR headset for the ultimate Hitman experience.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD

July 16 | Nintendo | Switch

The Legend of Zelda series turned 35 this year and Nintendo is celebrating the milestone with an HD remaster of one of the most underrated installments in the long-running franchise. Skyward Sword takes things back all the way to the very beginning of the Zelda timeline, telling the story of how the mythical Master Sword was created. Along the way, players are in for a fun adventure including some interesting experiments with motion control.

While it’ll likely never be as beloved as the games before it or Breath of the Wild, this Wii installment is still worth experiencing, especially if you missed it back in 2011.

Mario Golf: Super Rush

June 25 | Nintendo | Switch

It’s been a while since Nintendo dropped a new Mario Golf game, but a new Switch installment is finally here. While Super Rush offers up much of the same Mario Golf action you know and love, it does have an interesting new mode called Speed Golf, which pits competitors against each other as they race down the course in real time to see who scores first. It adds a bit of pep to the chill vibes of the series.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy

October 26 | Eidos Montreal | XSX, PS5, XBO, PS4, Switch, PC

Square Enix’s latest foray in the Marvel universe comes just a year after the release of Marvel’s Avengers, a dull loot shooter starring Earth’s Mightiest Heroes that left a bit to be desired. So why are we excited for Guardians of the Galaxy? For one thing, it looks like it has a lot more personality, as players take control of Star-Lord, who not only has to use his skills as a warrior to fight bad guys and monsters but also has to play leader to keep his band of rogue misfits in line during big battles.

Eidos also plays to its strengths as a developer of single-player, story-focused games — if you love the choice-based gameplay and dialogue from recent Deus Ex games, there’s plenty more of that in Guardians. This planet-hopping adventure also takes players to some of the most exotic locations in the Marvel cosmos, such as Seknarf Nine and Knowhere, meaning you won’t be stuck fighting robots and scientists in Utah for half of the game.

This is Square Enix’s Marvel do-over. Let’s hope they don’t waste it.

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition 

May 14 | BioWare | XSX, PS5, PS4, XBO, PC

Nearly a decade since its conclusion, the Mass Effect trilogy remains a favorite among many gamers. Now, BioWare has brought the series back to next-gen consoles with a fresh coat of paint. A laundry list of improvements, including upgraded visuals and 4K compatibility, are the highlights of this collection, with much of the core gameplay and story you know and love staying the same. They did tweak that dang Mako, though.

The Medium

January 28 | Bloober Team | XSX, PC

Originally announced way back in 2012 for the Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii U, The Medium was shelved for years due to technological constraints before finally resurfacing in 2020. Gameplay focuses on a medium who can instantaneously travel between the real world and the spirit realm to solve puzzles, something that just wasn’t possible until the current crop of consoles adopted solid state drives.

Bloober Team has quietly built a reputation for itself with excellent single-player horror games like Observer and Layers of Fear, and The Medium is their most ambitious game yet.

Metroid Dread

October 8 | MercurySteam & Nintendo | Switch

Also known as “Metroid 5,” this unexpected sequel to the original mainline series of Metroid games will bring Samus Aran’s story with the X parasite to an end, according to Nintendo. Set after Metroid Fusion, Dread sees Samus exploring the planet ZDR where she must find the X parasite and destroy it once and for all. That won’t be so easy, though. With a few relentless villains constantly pursuing her around the map, she’ll have to move fast, while also uncovering a new piece of Chozo history to complete her mission.

This game looks like a revival of the excellent side-scroller gameplay we’ve always loved from this series, with a bit pf horror thrown in for good measure. This is easily one of our most highly anticipated games of the fall.

Monster Hunter Rise

March 26 | Capcom | Switch

The excellent Monster Hunter: World helped the series find a large audience in the West, although the game’s more demanding performance requirements kept it off the Switch. Fortunately, Rise is built specifically for Nintendo’s portable-console hybrid. And rather than a watered down port of World, Capcom this is a full-featured sequel with a new, more vertical map and all 14 weapon types from Monster Hunter: World and Monster Hunter Generations. If you’ve been waiting to jump on the Monster Hunter craze on the Switch, now is the time!

New Pokemon Snap

April 30 | Nintendo | Switch

Nintendo unleashed peak late ’90s nostalgia with this revival of the Pokemon Snap series for the Switch. Wrapped in a modern package, New Pokemon Snap is more of the on-rails photography game you loved when you were a kid. The game features over 200 Pokemon to capture with your trusty camera, which you can upload online to share with other players. And true to the Instagram era, you can now touch up your pictures, adding blur and filters, adjusting the zoom, and more. This is a must-buy for Nintendo fans.

New World

September 28 | Amazon Games | PC

Amazon has had its sights set on the gaming world for quite some time, quietly pumping money into a number of projects, and New World could be its breakthrough hit. In this MMORPG set on an unnamed land in the Atlantic Ocean in the 1600s, you’ll wield bows, hammers, hatchets, magical staffs, musket rifles, spears, and swords against a variety of fantastical creatures. There will also be plenty of opportunities to gather resources, craft, and build settlements. Best of all, there’s no monthly fee to play.

Launching a new IP is always difficult, and MMOs are a particularly difficult genre to break into, but if any company has the resources to succeed, it’s Amazon. That said, New World had some issues during the beta that will hopefully be addressed in time for the full release.

Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection

June 10 | Team Ninja | XBO, PS4, Switch, PC

Before there was Dark Souls, masochists flocked to the Ninja Gaiden series, which basically wrote the book on punishing action games. If you’ve been missing this franchise of late, Koei Tecmo is re-releasing three of the 3D installments in a sleek new collection for modern platforms. Included in the box are Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge, plus most of the downloadable content released for these games.

Outriders

April 1 | People Can Fly | XSX, PS5, PS4, XBO, PC

Outriders combines the shooter and RPG genres in some unique and engaging ways. At the start of the game, you’ll pick from one of four classes: the time manipulating Trickster, fire-controlling Pyromancer, the seismic-powered Devastator, or the Technomancer, each of whom has a full-featured skill tree. Some have compared the title to live service games like Destiny and The Division, but Outriders also has a style of its own, presenting itself as a grittier alternative to those games.

Persona 5 Strikers

February 23 | Omega Force and P-Studio | PS4, PC, Switch

It’s a tradition at this point for Atlus to spin-off a Persona game into as many other titles as possible. We’ve already seen rhythm and dungeon crawler spin-offs of Persona 5 (and even a Super Smash Bros. cameo from Joker), but this is The Phantom Thieves’ first foray into the hack and slash genre. Gameplay is a mix of the usual Dynasty Warriors combo attacks, but there are also turn-based persona battles as well. And of course, expect plenty of Persona 5’s usual style and flare. 

Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis

June 9 | Sega | XSX, XBO, PC

Wait, didn’t Phantasy Star Online 2 just come out? Well yes, but only in the West. Japan has been playing the game since 2012, which is why the MMORPG might feel a little dated. New Genesis is a half update-half sequel with updated combat, and for the first time in the series, open world areas. It’s more like the Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn update instead of a whole new game. The best part is that you’re be able to transfer over your character from PSO 2 to New Genesis, and like its predecessor, it’s completely free-to-play.

Psychonauts 2 

August 25 | Double Fine | XSX, PS5, PS4, XBO, PC

Fans have waited for a Psychonauts sequel for 15 years, but Double Fine has finally released the follow up. Psychonauts 2 sees Raz once again delving into the psyches of other characters, with hilarious and frightening results. Raz isn’t completely alone for this journey this time around. He’s joined by a new glowing companion, known as the Mote of Light, who is voiced by Jack Black. We really loved this game!

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

June 11 | Insomniac games | PS5

There hasn’t been a bad Ratchet & Clank game yet, and Rift Apart continues that trend. The basic gameplay is be similar to the excellent 2016 reboot, but Insomniac also introduces instant travel between completely different worlds. While PlayStation may have oversold just how much of the rift jumping is happening in real-time versus the more scripted reality of the sequences, it’s still a lot of fun to explore the multiverse with our dynamic duo. The game’s visuals, which support real-time ray-tracing and full 4K resolution, also happen to look stunning.

Resident Evil Village 

May 7 | Capcom | XSX, PS5, PC

Resident Evil Village is a direct sequel to Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, but it’s much more than Resident Evil 8, as Ethan investigates the mysterious occurrences in an isolated European village haunted by vampires and werewolves. But has Resident Evil really gone all Hammer Horror or is there more to these creatures of the night than meets the eye? And what do they want with Ethan’s baby?! This survival horror banger will keep you invested and digging for the answers.

Scorn

TBA | Ebb Software | XSX, PC

Scorn looks like an absolute nightmare, but in the best possible way. It is, after all, directly inspired by the art of H.R. Giger of Alien fame and Polish painter Zdzisław Beksiński. In Scorn, you play as a skinless humanoid searching for answers in a horrific techno-organic open world. At the very least, it promises to be the most disturbing title of the year.

Shin Megami Tensei V

November 12 | Atlus | Switch

While the Persona spin-off series gets most of the attention nowadays, the original Shin Megami Tensei franchise is still going strong, and the latest title in the long-running series should be out worldwide next year.

This is the first Shin Megami Tensei developed using the Unreal Engine 4, so it should look fantastic, but expect similar gameplay to previous titles, including turn-based combat and lots of negotiating with demons to try to get them to join your party.

Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury on Switch

February 12 | Nintendo | Switch

When it was released in 2013, Super Mario 3D World was easily one of the best Mario games in years, effortlessly combining the 3D movement of newer games in the series with the level design and multiple characters of the original NES games. You could play as Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Toad, or Rosalina, and they could each don catsuits that opened up all sorts of new platforming opportunities. But maybe 10 people played it because no one bought the Wii U.

Fortunately, the game received the re-release it deserved this year. Plus you get a whole new campaign called Bowser’s Fury, an interesting twist on the usual Mario level structure that’s worth a playthrough.

Valheim

February 2 | Iron Gate AB

Valheim came out of nowhere to become one of the big success stories of 2021, selling more than a million copies less than three weeks after its early access release. If you aren’t caught up on the latest Steam phenomenon, think of it as Minecraft mixed with Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. You and up to nine other friends are dropped off in the middle of a Viking afterlife to survive, craft, and battle mythical creatures.

Iron Gate AB has been vague about what exactly to expect from future updates, but the studio has teased future customization options for homes and ships, and eventually even a new biome to explore. 

Wrath: Aeon of Ruin

TBA | KillPixel

First-person shooters have come a long way in the last couple of decades, but some times you just want to run and gun in a dark fantasy setting as quickly as possible. And remarkably few modern games provide that experience. Enter Wrath: Aeon of Ruin, a spiritual successor to Quake, Doom, and Hexen, built on the 25-year-old Quake Engine.

Wrath has been in Early Access since November 2019, and what’s been released so far is very promising, looking and sounding like a lost PC shooter from the late ‘90s. The full game should be out later this year. 

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Manny Pacquiao's Five Best World Title Victories

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By Hector Franco

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Published: August 07, 2021

Later this month, on August 21st, the city of Las Vegas will host one of the most anticipated fights of the year as Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) makes his return to the squared circle against unified WBC and IBF Welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. (27-0, 21 KOs).

The bout will also be for the Ring Magazine Welterweight title. Pacquiao has been the Ring Magazine champion at Featherweight (126), Junior Lightweight (130), and Junior Welterweight (140).

The fighting Senator will be coming off a two-year hiatus, the longest of his career, and at 42-years of age, will face height, reach, and overall size disadvantages against Spence.

Given Pacquiao’s name and stature that he has earned over a nearly 27-year career, he could have faced any opponent, including participating in an exhibition contest. However, the eight-division champion feels that he has more to accomplish and prove in the sport.

"There were a lot of opportunities for me to pick an easier fight than this,” said Pacquiao at a Los Angeles press conference promoting the fight with Spence. “But I picked Errol Spence Jr. because I want a real fight and a great fight for the fans.

“I’m a fighter, and boxing is my passion.”

At this stage of his career, Pacquiao has been fortunate not to have found himself at the hands of beating like many Hall-of-Famers before him. In this era, fighters have been able to stay at an elite level for longer due to advanced technology and new measures of rest and recovery.

However, this isn’t to say that he won’t meet his impending end at the hands of Spence. The last thing fans want to see is a scenario similar to when Muhammad Ali took on Larry Holmes in 1980 and was thoroughly dominated in a fight that was hard to watch.

Boxing isn’t a forgiving sport, and if Pacquiao overstays his welcome, he could end up the victim of a beating.

Throughout his career, Pacquiao has defeated 16 opponents with eight knockouts in world title fights and holds a 25-6-2 record against former world champions.

He has won the lineal crown in five separate weight classes and is the only fighter to win a title in eight divisions. One accomplishment that has escaped his grasp is successfully unifying titles in a division. Should he come out victorious against Spence, he will be the unified Welterweight champion, and it would arguably be his most significant title victory.

We will examine five of Pacquiao’s most notable title victories. There will be two victories that won’t be included, but are just as crucial to the eight-division champion's career.

In 2003, Pacquiao defeated Marco Antonio Barrera for the Ring Magazine and lineal Featherweight crown. No sanctioning body title was on the line for the fight with Barrera as he was stripped of the WBC Featherweight title following his second encounter with Erik Morales.

Almost six years later and 14-pounds heavier at Junior Welterweight, Pacquiao scored his most famous and emphatic knockout over Ricky Hatton in May 2009 to claim the lineal Junior Welterweight crown.

Although these victories will not be included in this list since there wasn’t a sanctioning body title on the line, these are two of Pacquiao’s best achievements and are arguably more significant since they established him as the number one fighter in the weight class.

5. Lehlo Ledwaba (36-6-1, 23 KOs) WTKO6

IBF Super Bantamweight Title – June 23, 2001

Pacquiao at Super Bantamweight had a near-perfect record of 11-0-1, with 11 knockouts with a draw against Agapito Sanchez in a unification bout being the only blemish.

Following a third-round knockout to Boonsai Sangsurat after losing his WBC Flyweight title on the weight scale, Pacquiao decided to move up to the 122-pound division.

The move to Super Bantamweight eventually brought him to the United States, where he was fortunately placed in a position to fight for the IBF Super Bantamweight title after Lehlo Ledwaba’s initial opponent Enrique Sanchez pulled out of the fight.

The fight with Ledwaba was Pacquiao’s first in the United States and was the first chapter of the meteoric rise of his career. Pacquiao dominated Ledwaba to a sixth-round stoppage putting the boxing world on notice.

Although the late Ledwaba, who passed away earlier this year due to contracting COVID-19, isn’t viewed as one of the elite opponents Pacquaio faced in his career, he made five defenses of his IBF title. He had previously had a career-best performance against Carlos Contreras on the undercard of the first Lennox Lewis-Hasim Rahman Heavyweight title bout in his native South Africa.

“We recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of my US debut where I beat Lehlo Ledwaba to win his IBF junior featherweight title,” Pacquiao stated in a recent interview to The Sun. “That was certainly special because it was also my first fight with Freddie.”

4. Keith Thurman (29-1, 22 KOs) WSD12

WBA Welterweight Title – July 20, 2019

Pacquiao’s most recent title victory was one of the greatest of his career from a historical perspective. The win over former unified and then-undefeated Welterweight champion Keith Thurman gave the Filipino the distinction as the oldest Welterweight champion in history at 40 and the only four-time Welterweight champion in history.

The win over Thurman doesn’t rank higher as the Florida native had been somewhat inactive before facing Pacquiao and has yet to step back in the ring since losing to the fighting Senator.

Ultimately, the knockdown Pacquiao scored in the first round, along with a dominant showing in the first half of the match, led to him receiving a split decision from the judges.

There is a saying in boxing that every fighter has one last great showing. Pacquiao certainly showed his greatness against Thurman, but will this be the last time we see him in elite form?

3. Miguel Cotto (41-6, 33 KOs) WTKO12

WBO Welterweight Title – November 14, 2009

For all intents and purposes, Pacquiao’s victory over Miguel Cotto in 2009 should claim the top position. Not only was this one of Pacquiao’s best overall performances, but it also secured him winning the Fighter of The Decade award for 2000-2009 and won him his seventh title in seven weight classes.

What holds this victory back slightly is an unnecessary catch weight of 145-pounds imposed on the match.

The first four rounds of the fight with Cotto rank as some of the best in boxing PPV history. Pacquiao scored knockdowns in the third and fourth rounds leading to an eventual stoppage in the 12th and final round.

This was Pacquiao at his peak and not only solidified him as a Hall-of-Famer, but as one of the top two fighters of the era along with Floyd Mayweather.

2. Timothy Bradley Jr. (33-2-1, 13 KOs) WUD12

WBO Welterweight Title – April 12, 2014

The most underrated title victory of Pacquiao’s career came in his second match with Timothy Bradley in April 2014. The two first fought in June 2012 and ended in a controversial split decision for Bradley that caused a massive public outcry.

Following the first fight, Pacquiao would be famously knocked out in the sixth round in his fourth bout with Juan Manuel Marquez.

Bradley would go in 2013 to have the best year of his career, first by participating in the Fight of the Year against Ruslan Provodniov and then winning a split decision over Pacquiao’s conqueror Marquez in a fight that Bradley arguably put on his most outstanding performance.

Often forgotten is that at the time of the Pacquiao-Bradley rematch, Bradley was rated as one of the top three fighters in the world pound-for-pound and was rated as the number one Welterweight by Ring Magazine.

The Palm Springs, California fighter’s work at Junior Welterweight as a unified champion and earning the number one position with a win over Devon Alexander in 2011 gave him distinction as an elite fighter. Add in holding victories over Marquez and Pacquiao although controversial for the latter, Bradley was on top of his game heading into a rematch with the Filipino.

Bradley was able to do something Pacquiao never could in clearly beating Marquez.

Due to the controversy of the first match with Pacquiao, the man known as the “Desert Storm” was arguably at his most motivated to prove fans and pundits wrong in the rematch.

Pacquiao-Bradley II would be the most exciting of their three fights, with Bradley choosing to engage and brawl with the fighting Senator through 12 rounds. Pacquiao would end up winning a unanimous decision and the WBO Welterweight title.

The victory over Bradley in 2014 not only established that Pacquiao was not a damaged fighter from his knockout at the hands of Marquez, but also made the eventual fight with Mayweather viable again.

The second fight with Bradley is Pacquiao’s highest grossing PPV since the fourth Marquez fight, besides the record-breaking fight with Mayweather.

Through three fights, Bradley was competitive, but he could never quite figure out how to deal with Pacquiao.

“I never got used to it at all,” Bradley stated on the 3-Knockdown rule Podcast. “His herky-jerky style is what makes him innovative inside the ring. This guy keeps you one edge. You think he’ll attack you, and he’ll foot feint you, feint you with his hands.

“You’re just constantly burning energy standing in front of him.”

1. Juan Manuel Marquez (56-7-1, 40 KOs) WSD12

WBC Junior Lightweight Title – March 12, 2008

The fight that began the run that made Pacquiao a worldwide superstar was the second match with rival Juan Manuel Marquez in 2008.

It may be problematic to put such a contentious bout on the top of this list; however, Pacquiao-Marquez II had everything you could want in a boxing match.

It featured two of the best fighters in the world, pound-for-pound fighting in a rematch of a disputed first encounter. The winner would be the number one fighter in the Junior Lightweight division holding the WBC, Ring Magazine, and lineal titles.

Rivalry, elite skill-level, and world championship glory all encompassed Pacquiao-Marquez II.

The match itself was one of the best in boxing PPV history, with both men battling to the brink of their talents. With numerous swing rounds that could have been scored for both pugilists and momentum swings occurring every few rounds, there was no telling what the judge's scorecards would look like once the final bell rang.

A third-round knockdown ended up being the difference on the judge’s scorecards. Duane Ford scored the fight for Pacquiao 115-112, Jerry Roth had a 115-112 scorecard for Marquez, and Tom Miller scored 114-113 for Pacquiao.

Media scorecards were looked at from members of the media that were not based out of Mexico and the Philippines, with 32 scoring for Marquez, another 32 for Pacquiao, and the remainder having the fight a draw.

At the time, Pacquiao-Marquez II was the highest-grossing PPV event at 400,000 buys for a fight below the Welterweight limit. That record would be broken a year later when Pacquiao faced Ricky Hatton at Junior Welterweight.

Throughout the history of boxing, there have been numerous fighters who have had storied and legendary careers. But Pacquiao's journey stands on its own as an odyssey through different eras.

All the millions of dollars Pacquiao has made in boxing did not change him from being grounded with legacy at the forefront of his thoughts.

“It is almost like I have had several careers in boxing the one I am in now makes me think,” Pacquiao said in an interview with Boxingscene.com. “If I can keep winning against elite-level fighters, perhaps I can be in the discussions of being one of the greatest fighters of my era.

“Of course, that is not for me to decide, but I would like to make my case before I do retire.”

(Featured Photo: Stephanie Trapp/Trapp Fotos)

[onceuponacoma-blog]

The crazy timeline

Hello guys! I tried to figure out this impossibile ride. I’m a supporter of @operation-out. So, my theory is based on Emma’s coma. 

Henry will help us ;)

We meet Henry in the Pilot at the age of 10. As we know our favorite kid was born in August (15/08/2001).

Emma had Henry at the age of 18 but actually that is not true. Emma Swan is born on the 22th of October 1983. Henry knocked at Emma's door at her birtdhay but the age of the child isn't changed. Emma gave birth to Henry at 17.

Emma was born during the night of 22th October but probably she has been recorded by the registry office on 23 October 1983. In that pics you can see the exactly date: Sunday October 23 1983. 

STORYBROOKE

We know this:

But:

In Regina's house the time isn't frozen and we can see it! 12:25

1x02 “The Thing You Love Most”

The dateline in a newspaper is fundamentally but this time they didn't show us the date.

We can suppose the timeline thanks to Emma's birthday. The date can be: Tuesday October 25 2011.

Tuesday became Thursday!

Now, the timeline is out of control since the car crash. Emma is in a coma. She's confused. She probably heard Regina saying “Tuesday” the sound is similar to “Thursday”. This is why there's no sign of the dateline on the second newspaper.

 4x10 “Shattered Sight”-1x04 “The Price Of Gold”

All flashback we see are fake but this is a super fake flashback. I would place it before “That Still Small Voice” because Emma isn't not the deputy, she wants to call Graham.

If it was jus for Emma's jacket I woul say that the flashback between Emma and Ingrid is from “The Price Of Gold” but I can't because the Ingrid's shop is not supposed to exist.

See? We can see this shop in season 1, season 2, season 3 and in one episode in season 6 (6x17 Awake).

let's check together:

Indeed, it’s night! 

1x12 “Skin Deep”

Easy, Febraury 14, 2012.

SEASON 2

2x14 “Manhattan”

Post Henry's birthday.

2×21 “Second Star to the Right”

I would place it in the middle of October (14 October).

The 2012 marathon was scheduled for November 4,  but for the first time in its story that it was cancelled a cause of the hurriacane Sandy.

The authors knew about this detail because they wrote the episode on January.

SEASON 3

3x07 “Dark Hollow”

From 2x22 we have this temporal jump

3x11 “Going Home

October 2012

October 2013 (Henry is 12 years old in the real world).

3×12 “New York City Serenade”

Diablo III was released at the beginning of September for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

Henry is team Xbox but if you look at the pics very closely there's no sign of the console and you will notice the Playstation's keys:

Playstation: 

Xbox: 

Strange! Strange! Strange! 

SEASON 4

4x17 “Heart Of Gold”

Back to season 2 we saw Emma, Henry and Gold take an airplane to go to New York. Robin, Roland and Marian didn't. One minute they were in Storybrooke and then puff...  they are in New York.

It's Christmas in New York.

+9 weeks = The end of February. Let me suppose on 26 Febraury, 2015. (Henry is 13 years old in the real world).

SEASON 5 

This season is such a mess, we can only suppose.  

4x22/5x01: We are at the beginning of March

At the end of “The Dark Swan” we have a time jump

Date: April 12, 2015

5x05 “Dreamcatcher”

Yeah, we guessed his age :)

5x08 “Birth”

A&E “ignored” the 9 weeks that we saw at the beginning of episode “Heart Of Gold”.

When we saw Zelena's belly growing up thanks to Emma's magic we had a temporal jump and now we are at the beginning of October. (Henry is 14 years old in the real world).

SEASON 6

6x04 “Strange Case

April 13-19

Belle’s pregnancy

Yep! We had another time jump and after that we were at the end of November. (Henry is  15 years old in the real world).

SEASON 7

The timeline it has always been a mess since after Emma's accident but now its completely ouf of control and it's even worse than season 5!

So Henry now has 18 years old?! Naah

He's right! College can wait because in the real world Henry is still a minor. I think now he's 16 years old because we saw for the first time an Halloween's episode.

Plus we know this:

We are not in some strange future where now Henry is adult and he has a ten years old  daughter. Adam’s right. WE ARE IN 2017. Emma is in a coma since 2011.

Thank you for your attention and sorry for my english :)