#i still had fun doing this mini marathon despite myself! it's a good show and i love watching it! | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

u23art · 5 years ago

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A LOOK AT THE STARGATE FRANCHISE

A Look at the Stargate Franchise Stretching over the expanse of nearly 20 years, the Stargate franchise persevered as best it could, entertaining audiences with scifi/ military adventures with various SG teams across many planets. And by golly, over the last month, I took it upon myself to watch all the Stargates. Starting with the Stargate film, the adventure begins with the discovery of an artifact in Giza, covered in glyphs, experts suspected the portal like object to have originated by an intelligence earlier than the Ancient Egyptians. Nearly 80 years later, historian/ archeologist/ anthropologist Daniel Jackson (James Spader) is recruited by a military outfit and successfully deciphers the meaning of the glyphs and the artifact. Each glyph coordinates with a constellation, using 6 around a destination along with a point of origin creates a wormhole to travel along between two of these artifacts called Stargates. Joining up with a team lead by Col Jack O’neill, they set off to a distant planet, meet an ancient life form that nurtured Earth’s earliest cultures and liberate a desert people from the alien that named itself their god. This film, though overshadowed by the media that came afterwards, is an earnest adventure story that knew what it wanted and nailed the landing. The world building is solid and doesn’t interfere with the story progression and creates a sympatico relationship with the character Daniel Jackson. The character’s enthusiasm for understanding the culture validates the importance of the world and the world in turn gives Daniel Jackson a muse to let him flex his intelligence, giving audiences some engaging and thorough analysis to connect with. James Spader gives a stand out performance with this character and becomes the backbone of the film, with no disrespect towards Kurt Russell. Combined with effective special effects, the 1994 film cements itself as a science fiction must-see. Following up the movie, running ten years from 1997 to 2007, Stargate SG-1 was a prime contender on Showtime and the scifi channel.

Recasting O’neill and Jackson with Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks, the two form a team with Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) and a former enemy soldier Teal’c (Christopher Judge). Expanding upon ideas set by the film, the galaxy is under the rule of another parasitic race known as the Goa’uld. This show was balanced and well cared for. Some charms of this show carry over from the movie, namely the relationship shared between each new world and Daniel Jackson, and this time this aspect is improved upon by the performance by Michael Shanks. He had fun with his character, his character loved exploring and that validated each new world the team visits. On top of this, the worlds aren’t just one and done, with each new season brings evolving politics, making the story well-constructed and leaving next to no added fluff. Regarding the new actors aside from Michael Shanks, Richard Dean Anderson portrays Jack O’neill with a calm yet playful demeanor, making him a comforting presence in any seemingly stressful situation. Teal’c is portrayed by Christopher Judge, giving a performance offering strength, sensitivity and breathtaking deadpan comedy. Samantha Carter however, played by Amanda Tapping, is a bit of a double edged sword. Sam Carter is stubbornly professional, meaning that she approaches problems with calm inquisition, but she doesn’t actually have a character arc. Despite getting her chops busted constantly by coworkers and villains alike, she responds to nearly every show of pigheadedness with “with all due respect”. I can’t think of many instances where she gives an aggressive or sarcastic response to rude behavior, and further still I don’t think there was a single point where she cracked a joke. But I digress, all in all SG-1 is a well-oiled machine and earns it’s good reputation. Next up is Atlantis. Running from 2004 to 2009, we find ourselves in a new galaxy with a new SG team led by Col John Sheppard. Lasting only 5 seasons, the show left behind a few ingredients that made it’s predecessors as engaging as it was, but still provided fun character interactions. The show is more action based, most stories depicting each new world as a new danger and resolving many conflics with hammers rather than scalpels. And the team this time around lacks a character like Daniel Jackson, removing the element of curiousity towards the worlds and in turn the worlds begin to lack appeal. The writing began to lean more on characters than world building, but regardless, John Sheppard and his crew provide fun, banter and action. And then came Stargate Universe. Thanks, I hate it. This show lasted only 2 seasons and a comic book mini series, and I couldn’t be happier. I can’t remember the last time I watched such an uncharismatic show, with an uncharismatic cast on an uncharismatic set. Lasting even less time than Atlanis, with only 2 seasons from 2009 to 2011, adventure is abandoned entirely and replaced with a survival story. Here we follow a group of civilians and SGC personnel, dragged along by the obsessive curiosity of the total sociopath; Dr. Rush. Deciphering a Stargate address with not 7 but 9 glyphs, Rush drags over 40 survivors of a base attack onto an abandoned, ancient ship called the Destiny. Several galaxies away from earth and unable to control the ship, Rush seeks to uncover the mission of the Destiny while everyone else just wants to get home. The funniest aspect of this show is that it’s structured like a reality tv show, take a bunch of irritated people, isolate them and watch the chaos ensue. There’s even a surprise pregnancy, and I totally watch scifi for that. As for world building, there is next to none. Each world is one and done, managing only to give the characters brief periods to have some shenanigans before moving on. There’s plenty of intrigue regarding the Destiny, from the get go it raises a number of questions; what was the ship’s purpose, why was it abandoned, where is it’s crew. Only one of these questions is truly answered; the purpose of the destiny was to track down and investigate an energy signature supposedly left behind from the birth of the universe, essentially a journey to find God in a sense. Story progression drags it’s feet and without proper focus. The main point of intrigue is the Destiny and it’s mission, then there are the ongoing problems of cabin fever among the civilians and then there’s the emotional turmoil of the SGC soldiers and their emotional instability. None of this is executed in a way that works, the characters certainly perform but none of what they do contributes to learning anything new about the Destiny, leaving me with total apathy towards scenes with most of the characters because they’re irrelevant to the main point of interest towards the show. I found myself just glazing over the characters problems because they don’t contribute substance in tandem to the main story. This is not helped by the fact that the characters wear dull, dark clothes on a dull, dark space ship, leaving no scene looking particularly remarkable. In addition to the problems on the Destiny, there is an issue of cloak and dagger espionage on Earth, this becomes more interesting by default because we join members of the original SG-1 team in well-lit locations with a clear problem and characters willing to solve said problem. The series ends unspectacularly and was followed up by an unspectacular comic that still doesn’t resolve the ongoing problems. This show bears the name “Stargate” but lacks all the elements that made what came before it so entertaining. The show was cancelled due to issues of poor reviews and financial trouble and at present there’s no chance of a return, and I won’t lose sleep over this. Then after wrapping up my time with Universe, I ended my Stargate marathon with Stargate Infinity. Stargate Universe was a standard 26 episode animated series from 2002 to 2003, airing on the short lived Fox Box and produced by Dic animation. Set years ahead of SG-1, Gus Bonner and a rag tag SG team are framed and accused of treason, finding themselves banished by Stargate command and chased by an alien race called Tlak’kahn. It’s a show for young audiences, and made by an animation studio that pumped out a lot of budget cartoons. Though to this show’s credit, it was more bearable than Alienators: Evolution Continues, another Dic cartoon based off a science fiction property which displayed embarrassing writing like a badge of honor. The show is cheap, has passable animation, toy like character designs and barely taps into the ongoing conflict, making nearly every episode a contained story. Had I watched this before I watched Universe, I probably would have looked on this show with more scrutiny. However, this is not the case, and I can look on this show more favorably now that I’ve seen what Stargate can look like without most of it’s pieces. Despite the show’s faults, it still retains the idea of adventure and exploration, and it has episodes that lightly touch upon issues like living in poverty or dealing with addiction. And Gus Bonner had so many insightful things to say on issues of science and history, I found it rather wholesome. I even appreciate the colorful toy-like designs after several hours of next to no color at all during Stargate Universe. All in all, the show retains the Stargate identity and gives a decent enough show with what resources it has. There were several other pieces of media that came out for the Stargate franchise, such as books and games, but as of this time the Stargate Franchise is on ice for the foreseeable future. It was an underdog that had some bite to it, and that didn’t go unappreciated. It was refreshing getting to watch the shows and get a more complete perspective for the scattered episodes I’d seen when SG-1 was still on the air.

#Stargate #Stargate SG1 #Stargate Atlantis #Stargate Infinity #Stargate Universe #Jack O'neill #Daniel Jackson #Samantha Carter #Teal'c

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jessiewre · 5 years ago

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Day 57

Sun 1st Mar

KILIMANJARO 5KM FUN RUN DAY (& half marathon apparently) 🏔🏄🏻‍♀️🥇🏃🏻‍♂️

Despite Phil’s clear natural ability to run extremely well, he gets himself all worked up when he has a race on, so he woke up that day feeling a bit anxious. He did about 8 nervous poos before we even left the hotel.

I was still not convinced about wearing running leggings in the heat and while Phil was in the loo, I looked around his bag for alternatives. Phil’s bag is a treasure trove of comfortable items and I needed something comfortable - shorts ideally - but not too short shorts. And then Walaaa! I found some. Perfect. I put them on and they were SO comfortable and airy. There was just one problem...which Phil spotted straight away.

Phil walked back into the room and looked at me with wide eyes, shaking his head

‘Jess, no, no no no you cannot wear those. You look...ridiculous’.

Ok so maybe Phil’s surfer board shorts weren’t the normal choice for running but they ticked so many boxes!

‘But they are comfy!’ I said, knowing full well that he was right.

I did look a little...casual and surfer-like.

He then said the ultimate supportive thing (even though he didn’t mean a word of it) and told me that If I wanted to wear them, then screw it, whatever would make me most comfortable. And I have to say I appreciated him saying it.

But I had a moments clarity and changed into the running leggings, crossing my fingers I wouldn’t regret it. Phil breathed a sigh of relief that I would not be embarrassing him in front of all his running pals.

Phil managed to stomach a banana and we left in the dark to flag down a tuc tuc. Annoyingly, 3 people had just left the hotel and were trying to flag one down in front of us, but they weirdly walked a few metres up the road. So we ended up flagging a tuc tuc down before them. As we went to drive past them, I told the driver to stop and asked them if they wanted to jump in, cos I’m a dead nice person an that.

I did have to sit on Phil’s lap which I don’t think his legs were very grateful for considering the task that lay ahead of them, but I personally thought it worked out fantastically for us as our guests insisted on paying, saving us a whole £1. THINGS WERE LOOKING UP, THIS WAS GOING TO BE A GREAT DAY AFTER ALL.

There were thousands of people around (none in board shorts weirdly and lots in running leggings) and we went into the stadium to watch the beginning of the marathon. The view directly behind it was an EPIC clear view of Kilimanjaro mountain. Amazing!

There was a great buzzy atmosphere and we watched as Olympian standard runners stood in position ready to go at the front of the pack. Then BOOM, off they went, all 800 of them! As soon as they did though, the panic set in with Phil. We rushed off to find his starting position for the Half marathon, as awkwardly, it was starting in a completely different place outside the stadium. We did a cringe speed-walk up to the start point where THOUSANDS of people were piling in to do the half marathon (WAY more popular than the full marathon - I guess people are just lazy huh). Phil made his way into the middle of the crowd, but I spotted a route to get closer to the front so shouted him over to give it a try. It worked, and he got closer to the front, but frustratingly I knew he would have been better even further forward as lets be honest, he’s normally faster than the majority of runners 💪🏽 😏

It was too late though and 7am arrived, Phil set off and that was it. GOOD LUCK PHIL I thought as I watched his butters red hat disappear into the crowd. But then I walked off to find the 5km starting point and thought Screw it, I need the luck now, he’ll be fine.

The 5km was full of all shapes, sizes, ages & genders. Some people had jeans on (still no board shorts though), there were LOADS of children and it was all very lighthearted with tons of people doing a lot of walking. A real mixed bag that goes to show that taking part is the most important thing. I was determined to run the whole way though and for the first 3km, I was feeling good! A few kids had started to run with me and we highfived as we went along, overtaking tons of people. But by 4km, they had run out of energy and sunk back as I stormed ahead (yep, I’m faster than 10 year olds, no biggie) and suddenly I could see the finish line! OMG I looked at my phone and realised I could achieve a sub 28 minute 5km here! Jeez I hadn’t run that fast in years! I picked up the pace a bit and felt so happy (that it would be over soon). I was BUZZIN. But as the finish line got closer, I started to notice that no one was stopping. What weirdos I thought. They were all continuing forward. Hang on a minute...oh shittttt I was approaching the START line, it was NOT the finish line. Urgh, my mood dipped and I was GUTTED. Taking part SUCKS, I thought and I trudged on feeling very tired. The next 5 minutes of uphills were not so fun and there were so many corners, every time revealing that the finish line was not there. But I FINALLY made it back into the stadium and finished the bloody thing, without walking at all (god I wanted to walk up those hills) and devoured the bottle of water they gave me. I looked at my phone. 34 minutes. Not 28 minutes lol but not bad. Considering I was at high altitude and there were so many hills, I was happy, and at least I did it like. Ok fine, it IS the taking part that counts. But no time to lose, it was nearly 8:30am and I needed to get into position to see Phil finish!

I wobbled my way over to the stands like a granny with piles (nb. Not all Granny’s have piles), and watched as half marathon runners trickled in. The weird thing was though that NO ONE was cheering or clapping. It was so quiet. Hundreds of people were watching on happily, smiling away, but there was zero whooping. So weird. I’ve not done loads of races but the ones I have done in England have been amazing, mainly due to the crowds of people cheering you on and offering support and encouragement. I felt kind of bad for the runners as reaching the end of the race with a quiet crowd staring at you looking like a bit of an anti-climax.

I found a spot by a sagging fence and was able to see the runners turn the corner onto the home straight. Every time anyone with red appeared, my heart skipped, but it wasn’t for another 15 minutes that I spotted Phils red vest powered towards the finish. Fortunately he was not wearing the hat but I saw that he hadn’t lost it, it was just strapped to his vest. Damn He was going super fast but I managed to film him as he finished with pure pain and relief on his face.

He got his medal and water and I ran round to congratulate him, but mainly for him to congratulate me of course.

He said the race had been super hard, with 10km of UPHILL to start off (HOW GROSS IS THAT) followed by some super steep downhills. But he said the views were incredible and that it was an amazing experience. He was glad he’d done it and he was glad it was over. I told him, its the taking part that counts babe.

We shared some cashew nuts and had a few beers in the shade then realised it was not even 9am 😂.

We went across to the unofficial ‘warm down’ that some bloke had decided to host and had a bit of a laugh doing that. But it was quickly getting much hotter and I still had my leggings on of course, so we jumped into a tuc tuc back to the hotel for showers and a refresh. We were back by 10:30am, madness to think about what we’d already done that day. And the fact that we’d basically had nuts and beers for breakfast.

We ate the leftover pizza slices from the night before and had a chill out for our aching bodies. Well, I was pretty knackered from the run, but on the other hand, Phil seemed rather spritely. Hunger kicked in and chirpy Phil offered to go and collect a takeaway for us! Well it was funny he said that, cos I was just about to offer myself, but hey, he got in there first. Good for him, and even better for me.

Phil rocked up 45 minutes later with a bag of curry - dahl makhani, veg biryani & garlic naan - and we sat on the floor having our romantic curry picnic like it was a midnight feast. An awesome way to celebrate my running achievement & also Phil’s half race.

After more rest, we went out to find a sports bar to catch some football, but Pepper’s bar was soooo dry with no vibe (or WiFi, can you bloody believe it) . We figured there must be a marathon party, so followed our hostels advice and ended up at the HUGE beer garden of Hugo’s. It was rammed with people who had obviously been drinking all afternoon (or perhaps since before 9am??) and they were having a great time. There were empty bottles everywhere as the staff couldn’t keep up with the drinking speed, with a DJ on a stage and TV screens showing football. In the middle of peoples seats, mini dance floors were popping up as peoples favourite tunes came on. We grabbed some beers from a lady who insisted on serving us like table service despite everyone else using the bar, and we found a box to sit on and watch the crowds & Man Utd game at the same time.

We drank beers for a few hours, chatting to people and having a laugh with others who were dancing. It was really fun. But Phil suddenly dipped and said he was too tired to stay out any longer. It had been an early start I suppose.

So we hopped into a tuc tuc and tipsily headed off back to the hostel for showers and bed, popping into a shop on arrival for some dinner-substitute snacks (Phil had discovered a certain crisp that tasted a lot like Wotsits apparently).

It was only when we got back to the (very hot) room and got ready for bed that I realised it was only 7:30pm...

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escapingreality1992 · 5 years ago

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The Movie Queen and Her Captain

Luna and Steve Rogers have a Harry Potter marathon and things get steamy.

"How is it possible for you to not even flinch during a horror movie? I mean, seriously? Not one jump scare got you," Natasha asked while we walked into the front entrance of our home; the compound. We had just finished watching A Nightmare on Elm Street at the theater; they had a Halloween special going on where they'd show older movies to get people in the mood for spooky season.

"Call me the queen of horror movies. Or movies in general. But technically I've already seen that one. At least I'm not the one who jumped when he had the longest arms on the planet," I replied.

"First of all, it weirded me out and second it was really disturbing. If I saw someone walking down the street with arms long enough to circle my entire body, I'd run too,"

"Except you wouldn't escape because it's a dream. It's the whole point of the story line. He kills you in your dreams. You wouldn't get very far either. That's his ultimate power, trapping you in dreams. Though I bet you could take him. You are the Black Widow after all," I argued.

"Still, it's going to give me nightmares and not the ones I normally get," She stated. As we neared the lounge, the smell of buttered popcorn hit my nose, both of us sneaking in the lounge to see what the boys were watching while wearing sweats. Peeking around the corner, I recognized the movie as The Exorcist, suppressing a giggle before catching Natasha's gaze. Her lips twisted in a wicked smile, the same idea coming to mind. Crouching low, we slunk to the couches, each picking a specific target; Nat's favorite person to scare was Tony, she always squealed in delight when he shrieked like a girl. I switched my targets each time, today's choice being Sam. I got Steve last week while he had been getting a glass of water in the middle of the night and I decided to go easy on him this week.

As the scene played on - the one in which the main character levitated - you could feel the tension in the air creating the perfect timing for us to launch out attack. Once the priests reached the third part of their chant, we sprung up and shouted 'BOO!', our hands landing on the intended targets. Popcorn and bowls flew into the air, shrieks - not screams - sounded around the room, making Natasha and I cackle with laughter.

"Oh my god! You should see your faces," I stated after Tony asked FRIDAY to turn on the lights.

"Why? Why do you two feel the need to scare people?" he complained, shooting us a glare. We laughed again and at his huff, we attempted to contain ourselves.

"Sorry, sorry. It's fun to do and the expressions on you guys right now are worth it. Don't forget it's spooky season, which is by far the best time to terrify anyone. If anything, it's your fault for putting on a scary movie creating the perfect opportunity to scare y'all anyway," Natasha said. She sat down on the couch beside Bucky, kissing him on the cheek. He blushed, draping an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. I smiled, loving their relationship with each other. They had been dating for six months, their chemistry undeniable. I settled in between Steve and Thor, rubbing their arms to calm them down.

"I take it you had fun at the theater?" Steve asked me.

"Of course. Natasha got scared during some of the movie though," I responded.

"No, I didn't," I raised my eyebrows at Nat as if to say 'sure you didn't'. "Maybe a little. Anyways, are we going to finish this movie or not?" she commented.

"You two aren't going to scare us anymore right?" Sam asked.

"No more scaring. We promise," Nat and I said at the same time; it sounded a bit reminiscent of the twins from The Shining. The horrified looks on the guys' faces made us laugh before apologizing and saying we wouldn't do it again. Tony resumed the movie, most falling asleep before the credits rolled; the only ones still awake were Steve, Loki, Vision, and me. Lights flooded the room when the DVD menu popped up, causing the sleepers to squint their eyes tighter against the brightness.

"I guess it's a good time to call it a night. Let's head to bed. There's nothing much to do tomorrow anyway," Tony stated, yawning and stretching as he stood up. Each Avenger went separate ways to their rooms, some like Wanda and Vision and Bucky and Nat went to the same room together; others to their individual chambers. I had the good fortune to be escorted by Steve to mine as we were adjacent to each other on the same hallway.

"Thank you for walking me to my room," I told him, opening my door and switching on the light.

"No problem. Good night Luna," he told me.

"Night, Steve," I said, turning to go inside and change into my pajamas.

"Hey, uh, Movie Queen?" I heard Steve ask. My lips quirked into a small smile at the nickname.

"Yes? What can I do for you Spangly Man?" Steve chuckled, leaning against the door frame.

"You have all of the Harry Potter films right?"

"All on blu ray too. Why?"

"Would you want to do a marathon with me?"

"Tonight? It's a little late don't you think?" His smile faded at that and he turned to return to his room.

"How about tomorrow? We can start at 7 a.m. All the movies back to back equate to 18 hours and 20 minutes without the credits. It'll be around 1 a.m. when we finish but we still have to account for bathroom breaks and food," I offered, my words freezing him mid-step. He spun around to face me.

"Tomorrow. I'll meet you in the lounge at 7," he agreed, walking backwards to his room, hands in the pockets of his gray sweatpants. I smiled, closing my door to turn in for the night.

My alarm woke me at 6:30, giving me plenty of time to freshen up and change into a tank top and sweatpants before meeting Steve in the lounge with the 8 Harry Potter movie in tow. I found him with a bunch of pillows and blanket in his arms and arched an eyebrow.

"What do you have there?" I asked, curious to know what he was planning.

"Supplies for our marathon. I thought we should be ultra comfortable if we're watching all of these movies. Question. Would it be too bold of me to ask if we could move downstairs to the theater room? I don't want to be interrupted if the others walk through the lounge," he answered me.

"No, not at all. It'll be fun when it's only the two of us and I want you to have the full experience. Head on down. I'll grab a few drinks and snacks," I told him. Steve nodded and walked down the steps while I went into the kitchen. I got a bag of popcorn going while I pulled out water and a few cans of soda, placing them in a separate bowl. Emptying the popcorn into the second bowl I set out and tucking the movies under my arm, I grabbed both bowls and joined Steve in the giant theater room; blankets and pillows gathered on the massive couch. I handed Steve the popcorn bowl, pulling out a water for him and one soda for me; I stored the other drinks in the mini fridge for later. I set up the screen and DVD player, hitting play when the menu came up. Joining Steve on the couch, I shifted under one of the blankets.

"Are you excited?" I whispered, grabbing some popcorn.

"Definitely. It's going to be a fantastic date," His response stunned me and before I could say something, the first scene started up, silencing me.

Date? I didn't think he liked me in that way, I thought. Some part of me always hoped he might; I had developed a huge crush on him over the years but never made a move to ask him out. Believe me, I wanted to but every time I tried, I backed away from the subject too afraid of rejection and then have our friendship ruined. I remained silent through the first two movies and we took our first bathroom break before starting the third. I hesitated in pressing play, wanting to talk about what he said before the first movie.

"Steve?"

"Yes, Luna?"

"Nevermind. Let's get this next one going," I stated, once again chickening out and pressed play. More silence ensued, the occasional glance from me over at him to see if he was enjoying the movies; he definitely was, no surprise there. Our hands accidentally touched during the scene with the dementors before they went back in time to save lives. Halfway through the fourth movie, we decided to order in some Italian food for dinner, resuming the movie after it arrived. Tears were shed from me at Cedric's death, Steve moving closer to console me by rubbing my shoulders. During the fifth, the air conditioning came on and I tried to refrain from shivering despite the blanket draped over my body.

"Are you cold?" he whispered. I shook my head and continued to silently suffer. My body betrayed me half an hour later, shivering more when it became unbearable.

"You're cold. Come here and snuggle with me," Steve whispered, moving the bowl of popcorn he made before starting the Order of the Phoenix. I slid into his side, letting him drape an arm over me. I melted into the warmth, burying myself closer to him.

"You're an icicle. Why didn't you say something earlier?" he asked, keeping his voice low so he didn't miss any important dialogue.

"I didn't want to bother you," I whispered. He hugged me tighter and released me when it was time to switch out the DVDs. We took another bathroom break before getting Half-Blood Prince started, this one wasn't a favorite of mine and I considered it slower paced than the others.

Coming back from the bathroom, I took up my original spot much to Steve's disappointment.

"I'd like to keep cuddling with you please," he told me. I had to admit I liked his arms around me and slid back into him; our bodies meshed together like two puzzle pieces. As the movie progressed, I noticed we were both a little restless, occasionally tracing small patterns on each other's legs.

"Luna?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I...Would it be alright if I kissed you?" Steve asked. I swiveled my head to look up at him, shocked at the question. Say yes. Tell him you want him to kiss you, I thought.

"Yes. You can kiss me. Please, kiss me," I answered. Steve leaned in, his lips brushing lightly over mine. They were soft, a bit salty from the popcorn but also warm like the rest of him. The movie seemed muted while we held the kiss for a few minutes, breaking away. He didn't waste any time after the first kiss to press his mouth back to mine, devouring me, his hands tangling in my hair, pulling me closer. My hands gripped his shirt tightly, the same urgency for him to do anything he pleased to me. Taking my movements as an invitation, he removed his hand from my hair and gripped my hips; he lifted me onto his lap, those callused hands moving to hold me buy shoulders. We kissed more fervently, our tongues tangling with each other. Soon he moved his heated lips to my neck, finding a spot to suck on, a soft moan escaping my lips. He brushed them over my collarbone, his fingers snaking down and under the hem of my tank top. Steve lifted it off my head, tossing it to the floor. He unclasped my bra next, exposing my breasts to the cold air. My nipples perked up, capturing his attention, the pads of his thumbs brushing lightly over them before he lowered his mouth to latch onto one.

I arched into him, the sensation of his tongue swirling around it, arousing me, wetness pooled at my center, my hips moving against him. The friction I caused as I did this made his length harden only making me want more of him. I slipped my hands under his shirt and lifted it up, pausing his actions to get the fabric off his body. Next, I got off him to pull down his sweatpants and also removing mine. I straddled him again, dry humping him, my lips attaching to his neck, my hands in his soft hair.

Steve flipped me so I laid flat against the couch, his lips finding mine, his fingers sliding under the flimsy material of my underwear. He stroked my folds, my hips moving to ride his fingers; a low moan erupted when he inserted two of them inside me.

"Oh, god. Steve..." I whimpered, my hands gripping his back, nails digging in his skin. He grunted against the sharp pain, removing his fingers to rip off my underwear, deciding to the material was in the way. I moved my hands down to push down his boxers, freeing him completely. Taking him in my hands, I stroked his cock, groans of pleasure coming from his lips. He got up to remove them completely and used his knee to spread my legs wider, lining up at my entrance.

"I'm going to ask you this once. Are you positive you want to do this?" he asked, the bright blue of his irises darkening with lust.

"Yes. I want to. I'm sure," I replied, pulling his face down to kiss him. He sheathed himself deep inside me and I moaned into his mouth at the sensation. He pumped in and out slowly, our breath quickening, moans and groans echoing around the room. Something must've caught his attention because he paused, a confused look on his face.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Why is everyone crying and lighting the sky with their wands?" he answered. I turned my head to the movie screen and saw we had missed an important death.

"Oh, Dumbledore died. Snape killed him," I replied.

"Wait, seriously?"

"Yeah, it's really sad," I told him, pulling his face back to kiss him.

"Right. Sorry. I'll continue," he said, his thrust hard and rough, something I had hoped I'd experience one day with him. I climaxed first, reaching another one when he climaxed. He pulled out, allowing me to switch to the next movie. I came back to him, his muscular arms pulling me into his lap. Steve secured me with one arm tight around my waist, the other spreading my legs to work me with his fingers until I reached a third orgasm.

"Steve..."

"Sh. You've seen these before. Let me play a little longer. You screaming my name is the sweetest thing I've heard all day," he told me, teasing my swollen clit with his thumb. My legs quaked each time he pushed me over the edge, throughout the first part of the Deathly Hallows. During the last movie, I had my turn playing with him, teasing him through important parts so he could pay attention. I paused the movie before the big battle and got on my knees in front of him, taking his cock in my mouth. He gasped, head thrown back as my tongue explored every inch, bringing him over the edge and swallowing when he exploded into my mouth. I sat beside him, his arms pulling me close to him.

"This has been a wonderful date, don't you agree?" he whispered, my lips curling into a smile.

"I agree. We should do this more often," I told him.

"Next week sound good?"

"That will be perfect," Once the final movie ended, we got dressed and returned to our rooms.

"Spend the night?" he asked. I nodded, entering his room. We climbed in, snuggled close and fell asleep, drifting off to a beautiful dream world.

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venus-says · 5 years ago

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Aikatsu Stars! Episodes 33-38

Is that time of the year again (for the fourth time this month lol)

Yay, the weather was good today and I managed to do everything I had to do on time so the Aikatsu marathon continues! Another 6 episodes this night so let’s get going.

One thing I don’t like about these episodes is how rushed they felt. Like, last episode Rola was eager to get lessons from her mom which makes you believe the training hasn’t started yet. But then at the beginning of episode 33, the training was already over?

Talking more about episode 33 itself, I have a huge problem of how the show has been framing Rolas as wrong, that she has been so focused on beating Yume that she lost sight of her own path. And while this is a good message, this was never the reason why she has lost so many times?

Like, she has lost because Yume’s OP power would always come up and blast her away, she was never in fault of anything in this whole story so why does she have to go through the teaching of doing things her way for herself must come with a “you lost because you were trying to beat someone” note attached to it?

The next episode... boy I don’t even know what to say. Like, it was really necessary to put gyaru who were doing blackface to show Mahiru’s abilities with makeup and such? Like, even if they wanted to keep the girls as gyaru they could’ve done them without they using brown foundation, couldn’t they? I don’t know, this is such a sensitive subject, I feel like... I can’t really speak properly on the matter?... But it still bothers me quite a lot... and it kinda negates all the good things this episode was trying to do...? Idk, i’m just gonna shut my mouth and move on.

Following the tragedy of that episode, we have a mini-arc focused on exploring Yume’s power. And you guessed, I could care less about this whole thing.

I’m sorry but the sadness, the sense of urgency, all the strong complications they’ve put in these episodes just don’t work for me. I know it probably has for most of the people, many people must think these episodes, 35 especially, are one of the bests in the entire franchise, but since I don’t like the concept of Yume’s power since day 1, I couldn’t care less about this whole thing.

In fact, it just makes me even angrier because apparently, Yume is only THE THIRD PERSON to have experienced this, like if the show didn’t have already gone out of its way to show enough times just to show how special Yume is.

And if thongs weren’t bad enough already the headmaster HAS TO put more pressure and once more plan to expel her, when it really wasn’t necessary no more.

Honestly, I can’t. I just can’t. I also don’t like how fast it was for Yume to raise from her lowest point, you know the journey of her slowly getting her confidence again would’ve been way much more interesting to see then what we got. Oh well, at least now I hope that with this chapter close this power will never appear again and we won’t have to deal with it anymore.

The next two episodes are the traditional Christmas and New Year episodes.

And as always, I don’t have much to say about them. 37 is the typical x-mas episode you can expect from Aikatsu. Sadly it got sprinkled with terrible romance bullshit on the top which turned this episode that could’ve been very cute and adorable, and a very nice change of pace after so many eventful episodes, into a despiteful thing because we have boys and girls and obviously they can’t be just friends, they must be love interests because what other purpose would they have, right?

Episode 38 is the New Year episode and I have nothing to add here that I haven’t said before in this post. There was a lot of foreshadowing and prediction of the future here but these were things that are pretty obvious to presume so it wasn’t even fun to see and create theories.

If I have to add something here is that Rola’s solo version of 1, 2, Sing! is the superior version and if you disagree you’re wrong.

And this was Aikatsu Stars for the day, this was actually a lot shorter than I was expecting, I hope I’m not forgetting anything. In any case, we’re 12 episodes away from the end of this season and I can’t believe we’ve made it so far, it feels like time is flying. I wish this experience was filled with less complaining and more joy, but oh well I’m getting ahead of myself, this is a speech I should've been making in two days, not now. ANYWAY, enough talking. Bye-bi~

#Aikatsu Stars!#aikatsu

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ouraidengray4 · 6 years ago

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Not Giving 100 Percent Can Actually Help You Get Fitter

It took years of having a torrid, on-again-off-again relationship with working out to finally discover a deep and abiding love for fitness—and a six-pack. My secret? I gave myself a break and stopped asking myself to be so hardcore. Seriously, rarely do I give more than 70 percent of my max effort.

It's hard to believe that you don't have to torture yourself to be fit, especially when every ripped-AF person you meet at a coffee shop is raving about the CrossFit class that just made their eyes bleed (... awesome!). Besides, conventional bro wisdom and even scientific studies declare that the harder you work out, the better results you get. (Failure, bro!!! You gotta get to failure, BRO!!!) Yep, I swallowed that blue pill too.

It's just that hardcore workouts NEVER worked for me.

People thought I was fit because I had the highest PT score in my battalion—as a former medic, I could run 20 miles at the drop of a hat and knock out 130 push-ups in a minute. But despite being able to perform under pressure, I never felt fit.

That might've had something to do with the fact that I always had some sort of catastrophic injury that kept me from being consistent and gaining muscle. And truthfully, injury was okay with me because I hated working out. It was a high-stress, low-fun thing for me, and I'd take any excuse to avoid it.

So I settled for being "skinny fat" and semi-sedentary throughout my early- to mid-20s, only reverting to binges of hardcore exercise when I got fed up with the way my body looked and felt, and always burning out or getting injured. I was basically a bulimic exerciser.

That you could enjoy your workouts and essentially be a balanced human being hadn't occurred to me yet (failure, bro, failure!!!). But shortly after I turned 28, I came across one of those YouTube videos that just happens to resonate with you in a satori-like moment from God (is there an algorithm for that?). And it had me drinking a new flavor of Kool-Aid within 24 hours.