#i travel in a ladies coach and the number of things you see is amazing

[greektragedybitch]

i love mumbai locals. you just see so many people there, coexisting, living. there's the tired teacher, gently arguing with a parent in hushed whispers about why there was a complaint about their child. there's the make-up artist, checking up on her brushes before her next stint. there's students, giggling wth friends or sitting quietly after a long day of classes. there's a young lady who knits, colourful yarn spread across her lap without anybody complaining. there are toddlers who are seeing the world for the first time and crying babies that everyone gathers to console. there's a devotee of krishna, dressed in chaniya choli with her beautiful jewelery and face painted, there are no judging glances, everyone compliments her. there's the mother with a job, talking to her child in the time she can squeeze. there's the old woman with gajra and flowers and the man selling earrings. there is so much diversity and so many languages and so many cultures, all together in one place. and no matter how crowded it is and how uncomfortable it gets, there is always, always place for you.

[doverly]

How Forbidden

My (admittedly late) submission for Friday Night Frights 6/14/21.

A recently conquered princess sents out on a journey to find her secret lover.

~3.5K Words

“Your Highness, it isn’t only your reputation at stake, but our entire peoples'” the knight insisted with a grave expression.

“My reputation shouldn’t be at risk for loving another woman,” she spat back, words shaking and unsteady. “You can’t tell me that there’s any sense to it!”

“I cannot,” the knight admitted. “Nor can I do anything to stop you, unless the Duke orders so. Whatever you do, don’t let it come to that.”

Even though Lady Diamond knew the risks she still couldn't abandon her lover. Her knight had been leaning close to her hear, whispering his urgent warnings as she fingered the letters of her love, but when her ladies got back from the powder room he jumped back. Like he had always been a respectful distance behind her. Like he hadn't watched her read intimate letters night after night. Like he was nothing but a loyal guardsman.

Most of Lady Diamond's ladies were orphans or otherwise left with nowhere to go. The recent absorption of the Kingdom of Ardenne into the Empire hadn't helped their situation, in fact, it had changed everything completely. In the new Dukedom of Ardenne-Chance, no one knew their place. Suddenly the beloved princess was nothing but a Grand Duchess, and countesses and dukes found their rank completely diminish. Diamond was trying her best to find them husbands or stable living, but it was hard.

In the evening light of her dressing room she and her ladies, under the watchful eye of her loyal old guard, played little games and talked of meaningless gossip. Even though their empirical absorption had been bloodless, the meer might empire had warranted an immediate surrender from Diamond's brother, it had still rocked their world. Little inconsequential games and talk really helped Diamond and her ladies feel at ease.

Diamond lost soundly, but with good cheer. By the time the sun went down the ladies were in good humour and left to their respective chambers with a spring in their steps. Diamond was left in her dressing room with Sir Garrette, everyone knew that he would try nothing with the lady, he was like an uncle to her. When everyone left Diamond left the game table and practically sprinted to her writing desk. From a secret compartment, unlocked by a little key that Diamon kept on her at all times, Diamond unlocked it and took out the most recent letter.

"My love, my heart, my everything. While I am a patient gentlewoman my heart yearns for you, and I have decided that I would like to meet you. I understand that you might be apprehensive my love, I can see the cute little frown on her face as I write this, I cannot live without you, my dear. And I realize now that I have not been living. Ever since we first met at the masquerade in the capital I have been dead. Seeing you, dancing with you again, touching your bare cheek with my hand, will bring me to life again my love."

"Please if you have any desire to see me come to the Equinox Mascequrade in the capital, I have had an invitation sent to you and your family. I know parties such as these are only for adultery and debauchery but it is the only way for our love to remain secret. If you don't come I will continue to love you from afar. I will be wearing the deep blue coat trimmed in silver and a gown of your favourite colour. I cannot wait to see you trimmed in jewels and diamonds. The thought of you sends my heart into shivers

Your servant,

Imperial Gentlewoman

Lady Diamond swooned in her chair, reading and rereading the passionate words. Finally, she would be meeting her imperial lover outside of the borders of secret letters and messages. As the gentlewoman had predicated Diamond was a bit nervous, but excited as well. Her heart quickened in her breast. When they had last met Ardenne had just become the Dukedom of Ardenne-Chance. Her little brother had been whining, at seven years old his only concern had been why he wasn't called "king" anymore. Only Diamond and her mother, the regent, understood what was truly at stake. Diamond had been so focused on trying to ingratiate herself and her ladies with the imperial nobility that she hadn't noticed when a masked gentlewoman led her away. They had danced, oh they had danced, but before she knew it Diamond was home, her imperial partner gone across the mountains. When the first letter came, Diamond had been ecstatic.

The next day Castle deAudinot was in an uproar of packing. Beds, linens, servents, and gifts were being loaded onto balloon wagons to be lifted over the mountains. With her mother supervising the packing and the final alterations of their ball dresses, Lady Diamond was left minding her brother, the boy Duke, Isaac. Unlike other little children with incredible power Isaac, Diamond thought, was very well mannered and polite. Always minding his tutors and his governess.

Diamond's ladies doted on Isaac, asking him about books he read and asking him to try their homemade sweets. Isaac loved the attention, but was still bashful, as a boy of 8 usually was. Diamond looked down at the commotion with a smile, she was sure that Isaac would be an amazing Duke when he was older.

Isaac's guard, Sir Patrick, stood near the door with Garratte, both knowing that the coming days would bring stress. Everyone was trying to keep their minds off of the chaos to come. Even Diamond, she occupied her hands and her mind with what seemed like a meaningless craft. "Gentlewoman" was what her lover called herself. Meaning that both gender and class stood in the way of them being together. Diamond was the Grand Duchess of Ardenne-Chance, first in line to her little brother's thrown. She didn't care, but being of a lower rank probably meant that the gentlewoman didn't have the comforts that Diamond was used to. Even the imperial family probably didn't have some of the things that Diamond was used to. Namely jewels. Ardenne-Chance was nothing but mountains, beautiful mountains sure, but mountains nonetheless. But inside of their blue-gray rocks housed a fortune. Sapphires, rubies, emeralds, agates, and even her namesake, diamond, were found in blunk in the Chance Mountains. Lady Diamond's mother, the regent, suspected their wealth was part of the reason the empire had wanted them in the first place.

In anticipation of their meeting Diamond was making her gentlewoman a pocket watch. Well, the watch had been made by a watchmaker, but Diamond was decorating it. Spread out on a work table was a wealth of multi-covered diamonds. Only diamonds, when her lover looked at the watch she wanted her to think of her. But, Diamond couldn't help but think, she may already be used to such luxuries. She had been having doubts for months now. Her "gentlewoman" seemed too educated, too serious, too philosophical to be a simple gentlewoman. Diamond knew that her lover might be lying about her identity, but she didn’t care. She loved her “gentlewoman”, no matter who she was.

Diamond did up the watch face with dark blue and white diamonds, making miniature mounts that shimmered in the light. Their white caps were like a dusting of fresh snow, and their blue expanse was breathtaking. It was the Chance mountains. When her lover used the watch, Diamond had also decorated the hands with blue diamond dust and the numbers with white, she would see Diamond’s birthplace and the most important and beautiful place to her. It was the perfect gift, and it would never break, not with the new jewelry epoxy that had been developed recently by court inventors.

And it was finished just in time. Diamond hardly had time to slip the gift into a papered box and into her pocket before she had to bundle up her brother and her ladies into a half dozen fine balloon coaches. With the guiding fire being controlled by an expert balloonist they glided over the mountains in style, passing over tiered farms and glittering mountainside mines. As they passed over villages Diamond leaned out of the carriage window to wave, savoring the sight of her subjects waving back. Her mother had been the main driver of the unification treaty but Diamond had worked diligently from the sidelines, keeping everyone happy and open-minded, all for the good of her people. When they were flying over the poorer mountain communities, villages packed tightly in rocky outcroppings and nestled onto small plateaus Diamond dung into her purse. Children ran under the carriage hoping to catch the luxuries she threw out. From the other carriages as well the rain began. Even though the economy of Ardenne-Chance was quite tightly controlled, the wealth of gems could lead to rapid deflation if left alone, the nobles still tried to give back whenever they could. From her carriage Diamond threw crystalized roses and elegantly shaped sapphires, waving all the while. It was the highlight of her day, knowing that a simple handout from her would prevent starvation for several seasons. And for her mother, the regent, it was a guarantee that there would be less grain on the national poor service.

After two days of constant travel, they were finally at the capital. Verdun was an amazing city, just as it had to be. Its white spires and paved roads were a testament to the empire’s power. The power to build up cities out of nothing, to give everyone a home, and still have money left over for huge palaces and museums. The Ardenne-Chance delegation touched down in front of the Eastsinger Palace. It was an imposing, but surprisingly beautiful place. Large glass windows and towers carved out of purple-hued rock. The moat was full of crystal clear water with flowers growing from the depths.

“I’ve always hated this place,” Diamond’s mother, Gwen, whispered in her ear, “Pretending they are all nice and airy, while in truth their hearts are as cold as ice.”

Not all of their hearts Diamond thought.

Palace servants and even some nobles immediately flooded out of the front doors to help them get their things in order. Gwen had been shocked when the invitation to the Equinox Masquerade came, but she had taken it in stride. She had arranged for them to arrive a week early for diplomatic meetings, ceremonies, and games. Diamond and her brother were going to be busy, but she had made sure to clear her schedule the morning after the ball. Normally, back in Ardenne-Chance, Diamond was busy reviewing policy, talking to the council, and asking the citizenry how legislation affected them. In the empire, they had no official duties, but perhaps the work they would be doing would be harder. Diamond was naturally kind, but she had been taught cunning and intrigue by her mother. Her mother was confident in her skills of subterfuge and diplomacy, but Diamond was nervous about dealing with the imperial nobles. They were said to be more cunning than Ardenne-Chance nobles, and Diamond just hoped that she didn’t accidentally get caught up in any imperial intrigues.

Diamond got to her rooms without problem, though she did walk a little faster than normal. The imperial guard seemed large and unwilling, without a smile anywhere near his face. Her ladies also seemed nervous, Diamond’s lady of honor, Prudent, practically bolted the door once they were inside. The rest of the ladies had to be escorted to their own chambers, but Prudent was sleeping with Diamond. She normally did, the nights in Ardenne-Chance got cold even when they were indoors, so it was nice to sleep next to another person.

“There is tea in an hour, we should change quickly,” Prudent said, slightly out of breath.

Diamond tried to slow her racing heart because she knew Prudent was right. Another downside of their packed schedule was that they would have no time to catch their breaths. Quickly, in time for tea, Diamond and Prudent changed. Diamond, knowing that her mother wanted to make a show, bedecked herself in a light blue silk gown with gold trim and matching gold and sapphire rings, bracelets, and a tiara. Prudent was richly dressed in yellow, but not that richly dressed. Diamond found the rules on her lady’s dress were ridiculous, with the number of gems that Diamond wore there was no way they could outshine her, but her mother didn’t think like that.

As they were walking to tea, escorted by two more ladies and guards, Diamond looked around the castle. The walls were covered in rich tapestries and the floors in gleaming wood. Diamond couldn’t imagine the wealth of servants that were needed to keep up with everything. Beautiful paintings were hung on each corner, but Diamond thought their subjects ruined the image. At one corner there was a large portrait of the imperial royal family, the Cold Emperor with his dark furious stare, the Eternal Bride Queen with her youthful smile and blushing cheeks even at 55, the Mysterious Twins one with a dark smile and the other with a playful smirk, and the Freezing Princess she stared out with piercing brown eyes seemingly aware that she would have to step over her brothers to get the imperial throne. While the Queen was beautiful and happy, the rest of the family sent chills down Diamond’s spine. She was happy when they finally sat down for tea in a comfortable green papered sitting room.

After tea, it was the drafting of joint legislation with her mother and Isaac, after the legislation was done there was dinner, after dinner, there was a small play to attend. The next morning Diamond got up and did it all over again. The only thing that kept her going, through the odd looks and lingo she didn’t understand, was the letter she got from her lover.

Again the fact that the letter was able to appear inside of her writing desk testifies that her lover wasn’t a simple gentlewoman. Perhaps she had an important position in the palace? Diamond didn’t know how else a random woman would be able to have access to her, a Grand Countess’s, chambers. Still, that didn’t stop her from soaring the letter.

My heart, it is a happy day now that you are here. Thought guilt creeps into my thoughts. I know you, I have seen you laughing, sparkling in your gowns, about the palace but you have not seen me. Even if you did see me you would not know me, and I would cry at the thought of your chocolatey diamond eyes sliding over me like I was a stranger to me. Still, soon you will know me, just as much as I know you. My mask shall be in the style of a golden eagle and I shall lift my wings for you, my love. Soaring above the clouds is nothing if you aren’t there with me.

Soon, my dear, soon. Wait for me,

Imperial Gentlewoman

Diamond was waiting, and she was waiting patiently. Every night, before crawling into bed with Prudent, she brushed the smooth, silky purple feather velvet of her dress every night and tried on her amethyst studded mask. The ball couldn’t come sooner.

Eventually, the ball did come, and the Ardenne-Chance delegation met in the regent’s rooms to get ready. Even though Diamond was a natural leader she let her mother take the lead. Her ladies, her little brother’s entourage, Gwen’s own ladies, and other various Ardeen, paid rapt attention as Gwen spoke. She and Isaac were at the center of the room, Gwen telling them who and who not to speak to and in what way, and Isaac just standing there in his little cream and diamond suit looking adorable. Isaac had been brought along to every important meeting and legislative drafting, Gwen thought that it was important for him to learn what it was like.

With the strategy meeting over, everyone put on their masks. Full face masks were the dress code, but everyone could tell they were from Ardenne-Chance. No one else would be wearing as many jewels.

Getting into the marble ballroom, Diamond was stunned and Isaac audibly gasped. Even though she had been in the ballroom before, it always stunned her. It was in excellent taste. Gold liveried servants glided around holding trays of crystal glasses full of golden wine and the band played on a circular stage in the middle of the bright place. The high ceiling was covered in skylights, letting in silver moonlight that contrasted nicely with all of the gold.

Diamond had already arranged everything, within her mother’s guidelines of course. From the last masquerade, she knew the routine. Plenty of flirty buoyed by plenty of alcohol. Everyone drinking and dancing. Diamond had pre-scheduled her dances, as was the custom, but she had arranged it so they carried her further and further away from her friends and family. Her dances also allowed her to scan the entire ballroom, looking for a golden eagle mask or deep blue coat. When her dances were running out, she had scheduled 15 in advance, Diamond started getting worried. The count she was dancing with was sweet, but she wasn’t looking for a sweet man, she was looking for her lover.

The end of her dances came up and Diamond was left with tears forming in her eyes on the edge of the dance floor. She could see Prudent on the other end of the ballroom and Diamond had just started walking toward her when someone tapped her shoulder. Before she turned around Diamond prepared an appropriate response, tapping a Grand Countess on the shoulder was an odd gesture of impotence and Diamond was kind of scared. But when she turned around, Diamond’s heart melted. She should have known who would be so bold as to tap her on the shoulder.

From the ground up she was wearing a modern light blue gown, royal blue coat with gold buttons, and an elegant tapered gold mask with golden feathers. For the first time in her life Diamond was speechless and it seems like her lover was as well. Diamond didn’t consider herself especially attractive, especially with the mask, but her lover seemed blinded by beauty.

“May-,” her lover paused as her breath hitched, “May I have the next dance, your grace?”

Unlike the confident passion of her letter in real life, her lover seemed nervous. They didn’t dance on the main floor, instead, they danced off of the floor and out of the ballroom. They didn’t speak while they were walking, only the retreating sounds of the ball and their own footsteps. Diamond was aching to rip off her lover’s mask and finally see the face of her beloved, but she was patient. Instead, she let her lover lead her down narrow halls and a few of what she assumed were secret passages. There was no time to ask where they were going, Diamond just had to trust her lover.

Eventually, they got to a small balcony overlooking the city. Unlike in Ardenne-Chance, where the mountains seemed dark and haunting, in the empire, the lights of the city were clustered close together. Lantern bearers were comets streaking across the city and clubs were stars, sparkling in the darkness. Her lover leaned over the railing and when Diamond leaned in close her lover put her arm across her shoulder. The warmth of her coat was intoxicating, Diamond smiled and looked upon the golden mask.

“Thank you for coming, my love, I know that the journey must have been tedious and you have no great love for the empire,” Diamond looked away from her lover’s shining brown eyes. Her mother still blamed the stress of the empire for driving her father into an early grave, but while Diamond was sad about her father’s passing and the situation she found herself in, she was quite neutral on the empire. Their armies were brutal, yes, and their emperor was cruel and callous, but no one can deny their conquered territories prospered after their rule.

“I would go anywhere, and do anything for you.” Diamond blushed as she took off her mask. Her face was a picture of love and devotion.

Her lover took her hands into hers and faced her, “No, my jewel, it is I who will do everything for you.”

The gentlewoman reached up to her mask, Diamond’s heart jumped, but when she took it off it was Diamond’s turn to audibly gasp. Brown eyes that glittered with heat and passion, and an expression like melted ice. Even though the woman before her looked thousands more cheerful and lovely Diamond still recognized her.

“But you are the imperial princess,” Diamond stammered, “You are to be empress.”

“Yes,” Princess Jordan said, her voice melting, “And you are to be my queen.”

Without warning, Jordan kissed her, a soft touch of lips so vulnerable and tender. It was more of a question than an assertion “Do you still love me?” the kiss asked Diamond. And Diamond said yes, she leaned into the kiss and let herself melt into Jordan. Their love was already forbidden, did it really matter how forbidden? Diamond had already learned how to ignore the world, it didn’t matter who Jordan was. All it mattered was that she loved her.

Lol, I love Friday Night Frights. I can never think of prompts, and this one was really good. Have an amazing weekend you guys (I know it's Saturday now, sorry I was tired last night). 😊😊😊

@promptsforthestrugglingauthor

[nellie-elizabeth]

Doctor Who: Revolution of the Daleks (2021 New Years Special)

I honestly really loved that! Like, a lot!

Cons:

It wasn't perfect, however. Of course. A few little nitpicky things, and one or two bigger complaints:

So, the bad guy was a little too one-note evil capitalist/politician. Some of his lines made me roll my eyes, like "this is a PR nightmare" being his reaction when he learned that the Daleks were eating liquified humans. The irony of him suddenly being hailed as a hero worked okay, but he was maybe just a touch too cartoonish for my personal preference, in an episode that mostly managed to feel really grounded.

Sometimes the Dalek stories will touch on this "race purity" thing, and the Doctor will talk about how they are beings of hate, and it really feels like we're doing a Nazi allegory, but they don't quite... go somewhere with it? Like, we've got the Prime Minster character talking about protecting borders and increasing security, and then the Daleks who are trying to stamp out "impurities," right? And there's something there, it's not exactly the most subtle of story craft, I guess I just wish it felt more intentional. The Daleks have metaphorical resonance here, and I'm not sure it was totally utilized.

My biggest complaint is one that could have been fixed with an added line or two of dialogue. See, the Doctor drops her "fam" off, then immediately gets imprisoned and remains trapped for literal years, from her perspective. Jack shows up and saves her, and when they return back to Earth, ten months have passed for Graham, Ryan, and Yaz. And the fam, especially Yaz and Ryan, are pissed. They're livid with her for abandoning them, and it really made them think about their place in life, if they want to stay with the Doctor or not. That's all well and good, but there's not really a confrontation of the fact that the Doctor didn't abandon them because she was off on a lark... she was imprisoned. Alone, cut off, for years. I was really flummoxed by the lack of sympathy extended by the others. I know it's her "fault" or maybe the TARDIS' "fault" that she got back ten months later, but what about the years that she spent without them? In my opinion, there was a lack of balance in dealing with that aspect of things.

Pros:

So... if Yaz is not supposed to be in love with the Doctor, someone forgot to tell the actors. And writers. Because WOW. I'm kind of obsessed with the way Yaz was written here. When the Doctor is gone, both Graham and Ryan try and get on with their lives. But Yaz remains firmly focused on finding the Doctor. Of all three companions, Yaz is the one who gets a special moment with Jack, where they basically commiserate over what it's like to be in love with the Doctor and know you won't get to stay with her forever. And then Yaz decides to stay, while the other two leave the TARDIS. There is just so much material here, so much love and desperation from Yaz. There were ways to make this a lot more no-homo, and they didn't take it. For example, during the Jack and Yaz conversation, Jack starts off talking about all the amazing things he got to see with the Doctor, and how losing that was so hard. But Yaz doesn't frame it around her experiences in general, she frames it around the Doctor as a person - wishing she'd never met her so she wouldn't have to suffer knowing what she'd be losing. It's GAY, I tell you. GAY!

Just look at Yaz's arc in this episode. She's missing the Doctor, she's conflicted about staying with her because of the heartbreak awaiting her at the end, but she chooses, ultimately, to stay by her side. Honestly, Yaz is the first companion since... well... Rose, maybe, whose character arc is best served by staying with the Doctor forever. Because she loves her. Romantically. Other companions, notably Martha, Amy, Rory, and Bill, all had other shit going on, other things they had to learn through their adventures. A life to grow into. Yaz? Yaz's place is by the Doctor's side, and I for one am thrilled to see where they're going with this. Come on, BBC. Don't be cowards. Make it gay.

Having Jack back in this special was such a treat. He's an undeniably fun and hilarious character, but Barrowman grounds the performance and gives Jack some real weight. I kind of love the way Jack and this version of the Doctor interact, with this depth of history but also a certain frostiness. We must remember that the Doctor knows what happens to Jack, exactly how long he'll live and how his end will come, and this version of the Doctor, more than any of the other modern versions, has a bit of a wall up when it comes to revealing her inner self to the people around her. But they still love each other, and you can see that love shining through the performance. At first, I was kind of miffed that Jack basically made his exit offscreen, just a voiceover saying he was staying on Earth, a very casual goodbye... but then actually I ended up loving that choice. It's like the Doctor and Jack are two people who were once very close, and will always have that bond, but now they're kind of like time traveling coworkers, just flitting in and out of each others' orbits. The way Jack leaves, there's no reason why he might not come back another time. It's refreshing and fun.

And Jack gave himself a bit of a mentor role in this episode, coaching the others (especially Yaz) on what it is to be the Doctor's companions, on what it might mean. I loved the moment when the Doctor came up with a plan to defeat the Daleks, and while the others were all confused, Jack got exactly what she was doing and tried to talk her out of it right away. Then, when the ship needed to be destroyed, the Doctor assigned the task to Jack, knowing that he'd be happy to blow it up. That shared history really shined through for me!

And now let's talk about Ryan and Graham leaving the TARDIS to stay on earth. Earlier, I was talking about companions and how for the most part, the characters have a growth arc over their time with the Doctor. For Ryan and Graham, it was about healing their relationship, as they grieved for their shared loss. And they did that. They have purpose now, as we see them continuing their life and fighting to protect Earth in the Doctor's absence. I love the idea of having more companions around for the Doctor to interact with. This has never been an ensemble show (not since it rebooted anyway), and the gimmick works best by having the Doctor and one or a small number of companions along for the ride in the TARDIS. But imagine Ryan or Graham giving the Doctor a call someday, whether it be in this regeneration or the next, because they need help with a problem back on Earth. Or maybe the Doctor calls them up the next time she's in the neighborhood! It warms my heart to think about it!

I haven't talked much about the Daleks or, you know, the actual plot of this special, and that's because frankly I'm not sure that was where its strengths lie. And that's okay! I will say I liked that the focus remained on the characters and their relationships, but we also had some commentary about the growing prevalence of the police state in first-world western countries. And capitalism is always an easy motivator for a villain, and that was executed more or less well, barring the complaints I made above. It was a serviceable story that created a proper threat, while really only being there to serve as a backdrop for the human drama.

So that's it! I've seen some mixed responses to this one floating around, but I for one quite enjoyed myself, and I'm excited to meet this new companion coming in. As long as they don't try and make him a love interest for Yaz or the Doctor. These ladies are spoken for.

8/10

[olympianpandback]

April 22 -25 The gas furnace worked well and we ran the generator to put some power in the coach batteries and to make breakfast coffee. The rock formations around the white Canyon are quite interesting and I took some pictures showing a brownish material extruding from the White Rock along the ledges of the Canyon.  Along the way to the end of Arizona 95 we took a detour to an overlook. A very spectacular overlook. A lady was eating breakfast looking at a signpost. We struck up a conversation with her and after talking about RVs for awhile and so forth she asked if I knew anything about faucets.   The faucet in their RV was flopping around because it become disconnected from the main nut anchoring it to the countertop. I got under neath the sink and found out that it was just unscrewed. She was amazed that I could even get under the sink to look at it. I got my channel locks and she held the faucet while I reattached the nut that goes through the hole in the counter top. Then I got back under the sink and secured the faucet again. When I got out from under the sink her sister Jill who she's travelling with was there and was asking me while I was under the sink “did I do a lot of sit-ups because I was in a bridge position. I told her, yes I used to do 200 every day, but don't do that many anymore. We talked about a lot of things, some politics and a little bit about my time living in Germany. They live in Washington State and invited us to visit them when were there in the North Cascades. She wrote down all their information, cell phone numbers, etc on the back of one of my cards. It’s amazing the things you encounter on the road and we were very happy to be able to help them get their faucet reattached to the countertop. After that, we had an uneventful but beautiful drive through Capitol reef National Park and down I-15 to Beaver Utah where we will spent 2 nights doing some maintenance on the RV and maintenance on our bodies.   April 24 We met a nice couple from Vail Colorado mid-morning looking at our RV. We invited Bill to come in to look at it and he brought his wife Beth over later. They have a Winnebago, 27' with a tow behind. The winds gave them a bit of trouble yesterday. They had unhooked the Honda and let her drive that to follow him in the Winnebago. We had a great conversation and decided to have a drink tonight after we both did our own thing. We went to “The Creamery” and bought some fresh cheese and took a ride up highway 153 to the end of the road 22 miles out of town. We wanted to go to the end of the road and we did. It literally ended in a snowbank at 9000+ Ft. It was a beautiful drive and it was fun to drive back down to the campground before we went for ice cream at the creamery. Bill and Beth joined us for a cocktail and a great conversation. He was a builder built 10, 10, 10 houses 10000 ft² for 10 million dollars and the people live in them 10 days a year. Not a bad gig and he’s retired now and knows about Mercedes 2500 and 3500 Sprinters because he’s involved with a Limousine service that uses these Vans around Vail. April 25 – April 27 Midday We planned go West on the loneliest highway in the world US highway 50 and then on to Reno before entering California. We had an option that we had decided not to take which would go SW toward Las Vegas and Death Valley. Since we have a book of the most scenic and unusual routes in America, we wanted to check that off our list. We headed West in nice weather, cool but that's normal for 7000'. We decided to stop at a campground in Eureka, Nevada. It was reasonably priced and had decent bathrooms. The owner told us that we were supposed to have a dusting of snow but it wouldn't amount to anything because the ground was warm. Many of you already know what happen, but we woke up to proximately 6" of snow and it was still snowing.  We thought we might have to stay there several days. Our neighbor started cleaning off his RV and truck saying he thought the road were clean enough to drive on and he was heading west. I cleaned off our RV and he and I decided that he would be the forward scout and call me to report on the road condition. He gave his 1st report 10 miles out that the roads were clear but wet. We decided to follow him and he reported that at 20 miles the road was dry and to come on. We did and we passed him about 60 miles later because we were “booking it’. Dennis call me to say you guys are getting after it. I told him diesels runs better when they run hot . I also told him I lived in Germany and there only two speeds over there, fast and faster. We had a good laugh over the phone and maybe will drop in to see him when we get to Oregon. We stopped for coffee and they passed us. We decided to see if there were any spots at Nellis Air Force base. There were spots and we were able to reserve a nice campground for 3 nights to catch up on the blog and do some repacking etc. It was nice to wake up to moderate temperatures in the 50's instead of in the 20 's in the high desert. We will spend two more days here and will head toward Death Valley in California on Thursday      

[evgeniamedvedeva4u]

Exclusive: Evgenia Medvedeva Reflects on Difficult Transition Season, Newfound Love for Canada

TORONTO, Canada — It’s been quite a year for Russia’s Evgenia Medvedeva.

Around this time last year, the two-time World champion and two-time Olympic silver medallist sent shockwaves around the skating world when news broke that she was leaving her longtime Russian coach, Eteri Tutberidze, to train under Brian Orser and Tracy Wilson at the Toronto Cricket and Skating Club.

In a difficult transition season that saw her uproot everything in order to move across the world with her mother, Zhanna, the Russian teenager certainly hasn’t had it easy. Speaking in a narrow hallway at the Scotiabank Arenaahead of this year’s Stars on Ice show in Toronto, a relaxed Medvedeva reflected on her first season with her new coaching team, her newfound love for Canada — which she considers solely her new “work” home — and her first time touring in North America.

As anyone in figure skating will tell you, a lot can change in a few years. After winning back-to-back World titles in 2016 and 2017, Medvedeva was easily considered the most dominant force in ladies’ figure skating and seemed primed for Olympic glory. However, the unpredictability of injuries and the unexpected emergence of a compatriot three years her junior (Alina Zagitova) quickly saw that title slip from her grasp.

Determined to prolong her competitive career for as long as she could, Medvedeva made the decision to switch to Orser a couple of months after the Olympics, and she struggled in large part to recapture the same magic of her first two senior seasons. Through all her struggles, the 19-year-old admits that she was able to discover a lot of things about herself, thanks in part to her strong support system.

“I can say that I’m a really, really strong person,” she said with a big smile. “Last season, last year, I’ve just been through a lot of things — not always good things — through some bad things, but yeah… Now I’m here and things are going as it’s going and everything is fine.”

For a period of time, that did not seem to always be the case in a roller-coaster first season with Orser and Wilson. After winning a silver medal at the Autumn Classic International, the Russian managed to produce an incredible free skate to recover from a disastrous short program to place third at her first Grand Prix event, the Skate Canada International. With a shot at qualifying for the Grand Prix Final at her next event in Grenoble, France, Medvedeva barely missed the podium and, with it, her chance to qualify for the prestigious six-skater event.

A month later, Medvedeva returned to Russia to skate in her first competition on home ice since switching training bases at the incredibly competitive Russian Figure Skating Championships. With Orser by her side, the Russian didn’t know what to expect. When she made the unexpected switch last spring, she had inadvertently ended an unspoken trend that had become second nature for most of her compatriots: successful Russian skaters always stay in Russia. By becoming the sport’s first prominent Russian to leave the country to train with a non-Russian coach, Medvedeva did not know what sort of reception would await her in her unofficial homecoming. The result was better than anything she (or Orser) could have ever imagined.

Despite another disappointing short program that saw her sitting in 14th place going into the free skate, Medvedeva still received a hero’s welcome after both programs, which helped to finally put her at ease over a decision that she had mulled over for more than six months. With a 7th-place finish at this year’s Nationals, the 19-year-old left her homeland with a greater sense of purpose.

“That was really unexpected for me and so unexpected for all our team, ’cause Brian was, like, shocked a little bit and he would say that he never saw something like this in his life — that support, that energy that the crowd gave us at Nationals,” she said, beaming. “It’s really amazing and [at] Nationals, I started to feel confident in myself and started to understand that the real crowd really loves me.”

Due to her placement at Nationals, Medvedeva was not immediately selected by the Russian Figure Skating Federation to compete in the World Championships, but after winning the Cup of Russia, she became one of the three Russian women sent to compete this past March in Saitama, Japan. Despite sustaining an injury to her thigh, the two-time former champion managed to win the bronze, earning new personal bests in both the short and free programs in the process.

A couple of months later, Medvedeva says she feels much better now and just needs some time and practice to recover all of her triple jumps. While she struggled to find the words to describe the kind of technical strides that she has been making in the last 12 months with Orser and Wilson, the former World champion admits that she does feel like a completely different skater now than when she dominated the sport. “My body’s changed and the whole feeling of figure skating has changed for me in a good side,” she remarked.

“And I continue to improve my feeling of competitions ’cause the old ways that I went to competitions before, it doesn’t work at all anymore, so I have to find new ways to prepare myself mentally and physically ’cause I’ve got a totally different body, a different mind and sometimes I’m trying to go back to my old ways but it doesn’t work!” she said, laughing.

“So, yeah, I will continue to find it and I know Brian and Tracy will work [with] me and help me with it.”

For someone who has already tasted success at such an early age, it goes without saying that this was the most difficult season of Medvedeva’s career. Once considered the heavy favourite at every event that she entered, the Russian now finds herself returning to the same competitions as a sort of dark horse, which she says is something that she is slowly learning to take in stride, along with the little things that she continues to learn about herself every day.

“I’m proud of that I’m not gave up and I’ve been in situations where I’ve really thought to give up, but I’m lucky that now I’ve got a lot of people around of me who always support me and will support me in all decisions that I will do,” she said, when asked about what she is most proud of looking back on her difficult season. “There’s all my friends, all my coaches — Brian, Tracy especially — [and] my mom, who is living with me here and put everything into my figure skating. That’s amazing to have a lot of many people like this because not everyone has that person [or support system].”

With the help of this crucial support system, as well as an incredibly diverse group of training mates at the Toronto Cricket and Skating Club, Medvedeva admits that she has gradually become more comfortable with the idea of living in Canada. As an avid coffee drinker, she raved about the simplicity of Tim Hortons. While travelling from Ottawa to Laval for this year’s tour, she even ate her first Beavertail, a classic Canadian fried dough pastry that is shaped like a beaver’s tail. (“[The] guys just bought a box of Beavertails and they said, ’Ah, she’s Russian! She never tried it!’”)

While she has learned to appreciate some aspects of the Western world, Medvedeva has stated repeatedly in past interviews that she has no intention of representing any country other than her motherland and in many ways, she still considers herself to be completely Russian.

“I can feel a difference [between Canada and Russia] but in this difference, I’m trying to stay myself, I’m trying to stay Russian and yeah, I feel like work home here. I don’t feel like home home and yeah, I miss my country, I miss my language sometimes. I changed the language, even my main language that I’m talking every day.”

In a year of firsts for the 19-year-old, Medvedeva’s competitive career is not the only thing that has seen a refreshing change of pace. For the first time in between seasons, the Russian has decided to join the famous Stars on Ice tour in Canada, a 12-city tour that will finish in Vancouver on May 16. Asked about what the experience has been like before her fourth show in Toronto, a very exuberant Medvedeva exclaimed, “This is a lot of fun!”

“I was a little bit worried in the first few days ’cause I had to learn a lot — a lot of steps, a lot of material — and I just can’t see how [other] guys are learning so fast. I was really worried ’cause I’ve always been so slow in remembering something, but in the last day, everything’s fine and I just relaxed a little bit. We’re just having fun, especially the ’90s number — that’s so much fun and we can feel like the crowd loves it.”

While skating show programs has been a nice change of pace for the two-time World champion, one would be remiss to think that she has not been conscientiously using the extra ice time between shows to perfect her jumps, particularly her triple salchow, which appears multiple times throughout the show.

Going forward, as someone who has become more known for her world-class artistry, Medvedeva is well aware of the current state of figure skating across all four disciplines, whose new scoring system has been designed to benefit those who attempt more difficult elements. It is a system that the Russian unfortunately knows all too well — after all, she was only 1.31 points away from capturing the gold last year in PyeongChang.

With her sights already set on going one better at the next Olympics in Beijing, Medvedeva has set a very ambitious goal for herself — one that she knows could take years to properly develop, let alone put to use in competition. “Quad salchow is my main goal for me for the coming season and I would like to land it clean — maybe step-out, maybe three turns, but somehow land it with no under-rotations,” she revealed.

“Now you can see how ladies start to do everything like this (jumping quads) and keep ladies’ figure skating [at a high level] and it’s really amazing. Not everyone [can do it], of course, but you’ll see sometimes a quad sal even looking like a trick. But there’s a lot of girls who still look like [young] girls and doing quads, and it’s really amazing and it’s our future of figure skating and this is life. Life is always improving in whole things and figure skating is improving too.”

“I’m ready to improve myself and I’m ready [and know] that learning quads can take a few years — same as triples. I didn’t learn all the triples or even one triple, like a triple flip, in one year — I didn’t. It was three years.”

As she attempts to develop one of the most difficult jumps in all of ladies’ figure skating, Medvedeva will also be looking to add new combinations to her repertoire next season, explaining that the process actually fascinates her and continuously pushes her creatively as a skater. “I can do a few combinations with the loop too, like not only salchow loop, but it’s much harder for me so I have to work on it to make it easy,” she said, referring to the new 3S-3Lo combination that she added midway through this season.

With the most difficult part of her transition now behind her, the 19-year-old has already announced on Instagram that she will skate her new short program to Matt Bellamy’s “Exogenesis: Symphony, Part 3” and her free program to music from Memoirs of a Geisha, a decision that she made entirely herself long before this year’s World Championships.

In terms of goals for the upcoming season, the 19-year-old kept things short and sweet but in a way that perfectly encapsulated the maturity that she has shown in the last 12 months: “I just want to find the way how to prepare myself and to learn as much as I can.”

With a strong support system in tow and the lessons of a roller-coaster transition season now under her belt, Medvedeva will be in for a real battle next season with the emergence of a very talented group of young skaters, but like a phoenix rising from her own ashes, there is now no question that she will emerge stronger than ever, poised to reclaim her throne atop the world of ladies’ figure skating.

Author: Max Gao

Source: https://medium.com/@MaxJGao/exclusive-evgenia-medvedeva-reflects-on-difficult-transition-season-newfound-love-for-canada-100f385316a4?_referrer=twitter

[blue-collects-things]

The Losers Club + Singing

Warnings: Swearing (shocker), very brief mentions of Bev’s asshole father being an asshole, light homophobia and racism

Requested: Not implicitly

Author’s Note: This got real long so I’m just going to put it under the cut (like usual) but I really enjoyed writing this! I’m working on part 4 of YWISC, I promise, but until then, take these peace offering headcanons. *shoves this post towards you and runs*

((i’m so excited for this one!!))

🎶 ben 🎶

ben only sings if he’s 100% certain he’s alone

he won’t even sing in front of his mother, that’s how embarrassed he is

one time, bev caught him singing new kids on the block and he was red for a solid 20 minutes

she subtly drops hints around the other losers for a while just to see how red ben could get

his voice is decent, but there are songs he can totally nail if he tries and it sounds amazing

when he was little he was in his church’s children’s choir

he secretly wants to be able to serenade bev like in all the musicals his aunt is so fond of

he was dared once to sing karaoke at the restaurant the losers went to

he absolutely refused to go onto the stage alone

so mike went with him and didn’t take it seriously

ben thought it was hilarious so he went along with it and just sang

when he gets his own car at the end of sophomore year, he turns up the music he listens to as loud as it can go while he sings

only if he’s alone, of course

when he’s with his friends, he lets them pick so he doesn’t have to hear the comments about his music tastes

he likes to sing in different languages because it presents a challenge and he wants to be fluent in a ton of different language

like honestly, he gets super into k-pop when it becomes popular

but his favorite languages to sing in are italian and french because they sound pretty (romance languages ya know)

when he gets into a new band, he gets into a new band and learns literally every word to every song even if it’s not his favorite

🎶 bev 🎶

bev can’t sing for shit but that doesn’t stop her

the boys: please stop, i beg of you

bev: la la la i can’t fucking hear you

however ~however~ she can rap like nobody’s business

when hamilton comes out, she knows that shit better than lin-manuel miranda himself

she can do the entirety of guns and ships in her sleep

when her and richie go smoking, they open all the doors of richie’s car and turn up their music full blast

they scream all the lyrics and dissolve into fits of giggles

bev is actually a little self-conscious about her voice

her father always made her sing with him when she was little

and he would say shit like “mmm could be better” or “wow that was awful”

it actually hurts a little when the boys make fun of her but they always reassure her they’re joking

when she goes to concerts, she all but screams the words to the songs and the people around her are doing the same thing so she feels right at home

beverly fucking marsh, ladies and gents, gets up on stage during the high school talent show with one of the choirs every single year and raps while they sing

everyone looks forward to it

freshman year, she did the rap parts of Magic

sophomore year, she did the rap parts of Stereo Hearts

junior year, she did the whole song from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

senior year, she did the rap parts of Alexander Hamilton

when she graduates from college with her education degree, the first teaching job she gets, she helps her kids learn the material through rap

all the kids love her because she makes learning fun and easy to remember

when she and ben go to homecoming together their junior year, she sings softly under her breath to one of the slow songs

and she’s actually trying

like she practiced

and ben is beyond impressed

“wow, bev, that’s beautiful”

and she blushes but won’t say anything

at the graduation party, she and the losers have, she gets a little tipsy after the adults leave and sings the highest, loudest song she can

it sounds phenomenal

the guys are flabbergasted

richie: we should get you drunk more often, bevvie. you could win tv show contests with that voice.

bev: shut the fuck up, trashmouth.

when she has her first kid, she takes three vocal lessons so she can sing lullabies to them

because she wants them to her voice

she gets super sappy when the baby smiles after she sings

she may or may not have cried

🎶 bill  🎶

how does one describe the singing voice william “big bill” denbrough

the answer is: you can’t, you tried, you failed

when he sings, he shouts

like there is very little musicality when he tries to sing

he gives bev a run for her money when they go to concerts

he’s the type of person who, because he is a writer, writes his own songs

and they’re really good, but he can’t sing them correctly

when georgie was little, he would always want bill to sing him to sleep at night and his parents don’t get it because bill’s voice isn’t soothing or sleep-inducing in any way

at church, his parents have to quiet him down because the picky old ladies look scandalized he’s singing so loudly during mass

georgie just grabs his hand and sings loudly with him bc big brother idolization, ya know?

(he may or may not stick his tongue out at the old women when his parents aren’t looking to stick up for his brother)

he never stutters when he sings and richie thinks this helps him learn to speak without stuttering

stan starts picking up on it and will quietly sing with bill when he feels overwhelmed and can’t get his words out

bill is amazing at lip-syncing 

the losers will all be listening to music and suddenly they look at bill who’s like in the zone and mouthing every word

then a cyndi lauper song comes on and if you didn’t know any better, it would seem like her voice was coming out of his mouth

it freaks mike out

bill auditions for a musical (the first and last) in college and the people listening to him are like “why is he screaming at us?” and defer him to stage crew where he finds out he can wield a nail gun like nobody’s business

he wants to privately serenade stan on one of their dates and has richie help him prep for it

richie teaches him simple chords on his guitar and lets bill borrow it for the evening, coaching him to sing softly

bill sings “i’m yours” and stan is smiling so widely his cheeks hurt but he can’t stop

“did you like it?” bill asks when he’s done, not looking up

“like it? i love it!” stan just snuggles up next to him for the rest of their date (and bill thanks richie a million times later)

when he works out, he always listens to music and can be heard trying to sing along under his breath (and failing) by all the employees and other patrons

when he leaves whistling whatever he had just been listening to, the poor woman next to him sighs in relief

🎶 eddie 🎶

eddie’s voice is unnaturally high for a boy but he loves it anyway (think mitch from pentatonix)

he joined as many school choirs as he could during middle and high school and totally was captain of the tenor 1s in his senior year

unironically calls the other tenor 1s his children

dude has the range of a opera singer

it’s more comfortable to sing in the higher end of his range but he can do the equivalent of a singing death drop and slide all the way from a b5 to a g3

always gets the solos when competing because he has such an impressive range

starts an a cappella group his freshman year of high school and convinces stan to join (we’ll talk more about that later)

they get so good, they start to do travel competitions

it’s probably the most diverse group at derry high because literally everyone that has a good voice is welcome to audition

a kid named taylor helps eddie arrange music and choreography even though they’re in a wheelchair

sings duets with his mom in the car because it’s the only time that they seem to get along without arguing

their go-to song is “halo” by beyonce

eddie’s mom is so highkey proud of her son and his abilities that most of the time she’ll just sit back and listen while one of them is driving until eddie says “ it’s supposed to be a duet, mom”

loves to vibrato it up because he’s super dramatic when he sings literally anything

he gets teased because singing and dancing in organized choirs is “gay” according to the bowers gang

ok one time, bowers made fun of him and the rest of the tenors and eddie just straight up decked him before calmly getting on the bus to go wherever they were competing

the tenors (and the bases) were like “shit dude you okay?”

and eddie says “no one makes fun of my kids” while shaking out his hand

and the tenors kind of crowd around him for a hug because they love their mom captain

he sings the national anthem a lot at high school games but one time, he was invited to sing it at a red sox game in boston and he freaked out

richie: you’ve sung this shit like a million times. all that’s changed is the number of people listening to your beautiful voice. now go out there and make hot baseball players fall in love with you.

eddie: *blushing* shut the fuck up.

sings lullabies to literally everyone and it soothes them so much

richie is falling asleep on his lap? lullaby

stan is having an anxiety attack? lullaby

bill is freaking about his stutter? lullaby

mike is overwhelmed by the amount of work on his plate? lullaby

ben has a nightmare? lullaby

bev is crying about her father? lullaby

needless to say it works wonders

🎶 mike 🎶

has such a low voice and it drives everyone nuts

he has all the girls (and some guys- mostly richie) salivating after him when he sings once at a high school talent show 

can harmonize with anything like a song will just be on the radio and he’ll drop in a perfect lower harmony that just works

cantors at mass on sundays sometimes and usually sings with the choir

he has a real knack for the baptist religious music and his voice is just perfect for it

his college did a production of “the drowsy chaperone” (A/N: great show) and when he tried out in a spur of the moment decision, he got the part of george

he killed it

also, he learned a tap number with the actor who played robert and the losers were thoroughly impressed

ben: i didn’t know he could move like that

bev: *shouting* that’s my son!

stan: *mortified* shh!

when mike becomes the derry librarian, he starts a story time for the little kids and when there’s music in the books, he’ll sing

a little girl only comes on days when he sings and that amuses him to no end

he plays classical music through the loudspeakers when he closes up the library because it gets lonely, you know, and tries to sing all the instrumental parts with his voice

he does the best with cello parts

one time, someone came in late and he didn’t even realize it and they started to clap

he now locks the door before he starts to clean up

LOVES karaoke and always drags his friends to bars and forces them to sing with him

tries out once for a really prestigious travel choir who do lots of shows in europe because they were looking for a bass

the snooty old man in charge of auditioning says “we don’t take your kind here”

and stan is livid when mike tells him about it

stan: hypothetically, if you told me their names and i went to their houses, what would happen if i killed them?

richie: jesus, stanny, remind me not to get on your bad side.

sings with eddie at ben and bev’s wedding and makes them cry tears of joy while they’re doing their first dance

mike’s twin daughters maisie and charlotte clearly have the same vocal skills as their dad and they sing together while they get ready for school

mike’s wife, louisa, has plenty of videos on her phone of them trying to sing around their toothbrushes

🎶 richie 🎶

richie tozier, my friends, is a wonder when it comes to singing

typically, he doesn’t try too hard and goofs off with silly songs

sings shit like “never gonna give you up” and “barbie girl” unironically

stan is neverendingly exhausted by it

stan: anything but blue again, please

when he applies himself, he drives people wild with his raspy, amazing voice

and by people, i mean eddie

he taught himself to play guitar when he was 12 and then when nobody would sing with him, he did it himself

in a stroke of bad decision making on the school faculty’s part, they allowed him to be the announcer at a football game and he sings all the announcements- all of them

richie: *singing* number 27 (bill) looking feisty tonight

richie: *still singing* when will the quarterback (mike) love me?

principal: that is quite enough

richie: *singing some more* you can’t do that (whole stadium claps)

every once in a while (quite often) when richie stayed over at the denbroughs, georgie would ask him to sing with his brother so that his lullaby could be a duet

for just a year and one year only, richie is in eddie’s a cappella group

he gets lovingly kicked out because he distracts not only eddie but a lot of the others in the group because he’s a really great singer when he tries

but he helped make a killer arrangement of feel again that they still use to compete even after eddie graduates

is actually very knowledgeable about music theory because it was always part of the youtube videos he watched when he was learning guitar

richie: you know, i think this would sound better with a major third chord instead of this minor seventh

mike: what

richie: what

mike: i have no damn idea what you just said

joins a band as lead singer and guitarist when he gets to college and gets really popular locally because of his “just got out of someone else’s bed” voice

you know those songs bill writes? yeah half of them are with help from richie

they start a youtube channel anonymously and sing them as duets with richie’s soft guitar music (think jem and the holograms)

they have a really niche cult following, some of whom try to figure out who they are, but mostly just to enjoy the music

georgie claims it’s his influence from lullaby time when he was younger (and the boys humor him)

🎶 stan 🎶

woo boy, where to even begin with stan?

he never sings in public and the times that he does sing are so few and far between it’s like a cryptid sighting

bev: i once heard stan singing in the shower after we all went swimming in the quarry

the rest of the losers: bullSHIT

but ~buuuuuUUuUUUtttt~ this boy has the voice of a god and he uses it like a weapon

stan: *doesn’t want to do something*

stan: *singing* billy, you know how much i love you right?

bill: *totally taken aback* not fair

he once sang in the talent show because it was his senior year (and he lost a bet to richie)

he decided to sing a sappy love song that was popular and the whole auditorium was so stunned it took them a full thirty seconds to give him a standing ovation once he finished

this boy is the only person in the losers club who can do any p!atd song, like any of them, and do an accurate impression of brenden urie

it’s a little scary how close their voices sound

his mother teaches him the hebrew prayers they sing during shabbat and sometimes the losers will catch him singing them when he’s not paying attention

he got tipsy once while he was out with bev and eddie and sang a super raunchy song on stage during a karaoke night and totally crushed the hell out of it

nobody believes that this happened

not even stan supposedly

bev and eddie: i swear on my life

mike: over my dead body did this happen

ben: yeah no way

stan: *winks at bev and eddie*

when he and bill move in together, stan will sing to bill when he thinks bill is asleep

stan will run his fingers through bill’s hair and sing something like blackbird and bill is just... goosebumps everywhere

stan sometimes knows bill is awake by the way his breathing hitches and keeps going because bill is the only person he trusts to be totally unafraid in front of

he can hit high notes like nobody’s business but only if he’s taken a shot of hard liquor recently

at the graduation party, he and eddie got into a high-note-off

a video exists somewhere on ben’s phone of the two just going at it

richie can be heard in the background just losing his fucking mind

stan never accepts solos when he’s part of eddie’s a cappella group and nobody understand why (again voice of a god)

there was a competition when eddie was getting over laryngitis and the only person who knew his solos were (drum roll, please) stan!

needless to say, they blew the judges away and won first place

~ ~ ~

There you are! I hope you enjoyed this little treat while I work on part 4 of you were in screaming color (which I have recently edited chapter 1 of and put it on ao3 here). Got a request? Submit one here. See my masterlist here.

[marvel-has-my-soul]

Jet Fighter

(Peter Parker x OC Female)

Description: Jet is a girl with wings and superhuman strength. Need I say more?

CHAPTER 4-

Parker

Jet sat down at the lunch table, in front of MJ. She shot the other girl a smile and began eating. MJ had her nose buried in a book, her eyes scanning the page quickly. A stack of more books sat in front of her. Jet didn’t interrupt her friend’s reading, and instead took to surveying the room, a habit that Steve had helped her form. She took in everything around her: from Flash cackling at his own joke from where he sat on his lunch table with his friends, to the lunch ladies gossiping about different students, to a group of girls taking down the Homecoming banner. Lily tilted her head. 

“Hey, MJ?” She tapped the girl’s shoulder. MJ looked up, an eyebrow raised. 

“Yea?” She asked. Jet pointed towards the banner. 

“What’s Homecoming?” MJ snorted, setting her book down.

“You really are the epitome of a homeschooler, Fisher.” MJ laughed, before adding, “It’s a dance. A stupid excuse to get dressed up and ask people out. You're lucky you missed this years. It was a bust."

Jet nodded, not fully grasping the concept, but didn’t press MJ for more. Her friend had already picked her book back up and began reading again. Suddenly someone sat down next to Jet and another person sat next to MJ. Jet looked over to see two guys.

The smaller of the two sat next to her while the bigger one took his place next to MJ.

"Hey losers." MJ said, taking a bite out of her apple.

"Hey." Both of the boys chorused together. Then both turned their attention to Jet.

"You're the new girl." The larger one commented. Jet nodded slowly.

"I'm Ned." He continued.

"Lily." Jet responded. She turned her attention to the boy next to her to see him staring her down. "And you are...?" The boy shook his head.

"Oh, um Parker--Peter. I mean, Peter Parker." He stuttered out. Jet nodded.

"Right." She said slowly.

"So where're you from?" Ned asked, breaking the awkward tension between Jet and Peter.

"Upstate, near Syracuse." Jet said, the city name that she had never stepped foot in fell from her mouth without a second thought.

"Oh cool." Ned said. "What made you move down here?"

"My dad travels a lot so he sent me here to live with my uncle."

"Lils never been to a real school before, have ya?" MJ cut in, finally putting her book down.

"Really?" Ned asked, his eyes wide. Jet nodded awkwardly.

"Yea..I was homeschooled."

"That's so weird. So like, you have no clue how to function in normal society."

"I can manage." Jet snapped, narrowing her eyes. Ned's smile disappeared.

"Sorry I was just joking around." He laughed awkwardly. Jet shook her head slightly, noticing out of the corner of her eye that Peter was staring her down again.

"Do you have something to say, Parker?" She asked, turning fully to him. Peter's eyes widened.

"No! Nothing...” Jet raised a brow before turning back to her food and eating. MJ, Ned, and Peter shifted the conversation to something called DECA. Jet tuned them out, having no clue what in the world they were talking about. 

I wonder was Steve is up to. Probably having more fun than me. She thought as she bit into her sandwich. 

“You should come to our meeting tonight, Lily.” MJ suddenly said. Jet looked up at her friend.

“Sorry?” She said.

“We’re in need of a new member, and you seem pretty smart.” MJ went on. Jet shifted her gaze to Ned then Peter then back to MJ.

“No thanks.” She said flatly. 

“Come on, at least come to the meeting. You might be surprised.” MJ pleaded. 

“I can’t. My uncle wants me home right after school today.” MJ sat back slightly, her shoulders deflating.

“Alright, but see if you can come to another meeting. I’ll text you the schedule.” MJ held out her hand. Jet peered at it curiously. She slowly extended her own hand, but MJ moved her hand away,

“I’m asking for your phone.” She said. Jet’s eyes widened slightly.

“OH!” She quickly grabbed her phone and passed it to MJ. Her friend immediately handed it back.

“You have to unlock it.”

“Right.” Jet placed her thumb on the censor and her phone unlocked. MJ quickly typed in her number and texted herself. She handed the phone back to Jet.

"I send you the schedule tomorrow and you can show up whenever."

The bell rang, signaling an end to lunch. Jet walked with MJ, Peter, and Ned. Jet darted into the bathroom once her and MJ entered the girls locker room. She locked herself in one of the stalls and quickly changed, pulling her jacket back over her shoulders once she was in her gym clothes. MJ was waiting for her when she walked out.

"Got a nasty scar or something?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" Jet asked.

"No one changes in the bathroom stall, Lils."

"Right...guess I'm just not used to that.."

"No problem. Come on, we're running the mile today and I want to get it over with."

The two girls walked out together, heading down to the track with the other students. Peter and Ned caught up with them as everyone lined up at the starting line. Jet extended her leg back and crouched down, bracing herself to take off.

"What are you doing?" Ned asked.

"It's a race, right?" Jet said. Ned opened his mouth to respond when the gym teacher blew a whistle.

"You all are running the mile today. Don't worry about time, we're not doing anything else today." He said boredly. "On your mark, get set, go."

All the other students started out at a jog, talking with one another, but Jet took off. She sprinted passed them, leaving MJ's side despite her shout of protest. She blew passed the gym teacher, whose whistle fell from him mouth in shock.

She slowed up slightly as she rounded the first curve, knowing that she couldn't be too fast, but she remained in front of the slow moving pack of the rest of the class.

Jet ran with ease, just like she used to running with Steve and Sam. She blew passed the gym teacher, who still watched her in awe. She lapped a few of the stragglers, who all shot her dirty looks. She rushed passed the finish line, running a few paces before stopping, placing her hands on the back of her neck as she caught her breath.

"4:34! Amazing!" Jet whipped around to see the gym teacher looking at his stop watch.

"Thanks." She laughed, knowing she could crush that record on any other day with Steve or Sam.

"Are you in track? Cross country?" He asked. Jet shook her head.

"No sir...never played a sport in my life." The teacher got really excited.

"Listen...uh Lily right?" Jet nodded reluctantly, "I'm the girl's soccer coach, and now you could always join track and just run, or you could play soccer and kick some ass while you're at it."

"Quite the advertiser. I'll think about it."

"Great! Tryouts are this Friday." Jet nodded enthusiastically, the teachers excitement rubbing off on her.

***

Jet sat in the bleachers as the rest of the class finished their mile with much slower times than herself. MJ was in the middle pack of people with Peter and Ned. The three of them trudged up to the top of the bleachers where Jet was perched.

"I...was gonna....tell you...that it wasn't...a race..." Ned gasped out, collapsing down next to her.

"I figured once I had started, but by then it was too late to slow down. But it got me on good terms with Coach Donovan. He wants me to try out for the soccer team."

"Soccer? What about DECA?" MJ asked.

"No offense, MJ...but smarts have never really been my thing." Jet said, looking up at the girl. MJ sighed and sat down on the bench in front of Jet.

"Whatever. Do what you want, I guess." MJ muttered.

"That's really cool, Lily...have you played before." Peter asked, sitting down next to Jet. He seemed to be the only one interested in the conversation so Jet turned towards him and they talked until the end of class.

Tag list:

@ginger-elf-queen

[ask-puppojiminnie]

Numbers 200 to 1? \^-^/

200: My crush’s name is:Nyx ♥♥♥

199: I was born in:1998

198: I am really:Tired.......

197: My cellphone company is:MTS

196: My eye color is:Brown

195: My shoe size is:6.5/7

194: My ring size is:6

193: My height is:5 feet

192: I am allergic to:Nickel and perfume

191: My 1st car was:2002 Buick LeSaber 

190: My 1st job was:Postal Clerk

189: Last book you read:Across the Universe by @jiminthefairyprince and @possesen

188: My bed is:Double bed....?

187: My pet:Puppo is Frejya, Kitties Bygul and Trjegul, geckos Leo and Princess Bubblegum

186: My best friend:Jenna, Nathan and Sydney ♥

185: My favorite shampoo is:Herbal Essences Body Envy

184: Xbox or ps3:PlayStation

183: Piggy banks are:a thing....

182: In my pockets:Nothing

181: On my calendar:Jin and Taehyungs birthdays

180: Marriage is:A big goal for me ♥♥♥

179: Spongebob can:Be my bestie

178: My mom:Tracy

177: The last three songs I bought were?You in Me - KardHush - Miss aThe Cure - Lady gaga

176: Last YouTube video watched:Dragons in Places Part 1 - game grumps

175: How many cousins do you have?15

174: Do you have any siblings?A brother

173: Are your parents divorced?Nope

172: Are you taller than your mom?By, like.... a quarter inch

171: Do you play an instrument?Not anymore.

170: What did you do yesterday?Skyped with @nyx-vesperia ♥♥♥ drew a new comic page and wrote a bit of story

[ I Believe In ]169: Love at first sight:Yes

168: Luck:Yes

167: Fate:Yes

166: Yourself:Fuck no

165: Aliens:Yes

164: Heaven:No

163: Hell:No

162: God:No

161: Horoscopes:No

160: Soul mates:Yes

159: Ghosts:Yes

158: Gay Marriage:Yes

157: War:Sometimes

156: Orbs:What.....?

155: Magic:Fuck yes!

[ This or That ]154: Hugs or Kisses:Hugs

153: Drunk or High:Gross. neither

152: Phone or Online:Online

151: Red heads or Black haired:Black haired

150: Blondes or Brunettes:Brunettes

149: Hot or cold:Cold

148: Summer or winter:Winter

147: Autumn or Spring:Autumn

146: Chocolate or vanilla:Vanilla

145: Night or Day:Night

144: Oranges or Apples:Oranges

143: Curly or Straight hair:Depends

142: McDonalds or Burger King:McDicks

141: White Chocolate or Milk Chocolate:Milk Chocolate

140: Mac or PC:PC

139: Flip flops or high heals:High heels

138: Ugly and rich OR sweet and poor:Sweet and Poor

137: Coke or Pepsi:Coke

136: Hillary or Obama:Obama

135: Buried or cremated:Buried

134: Singing or Dancing:Singing

133: Coach or Chanel:Chanel

132: Kat McPhee or Taylor Hicks:Who?

131: Small town or Big city:Small town

130: Wal-Mart or Target:Target but we don’t have it anymore

129: Ben Stiller or Adam Sandler:Neither?

128: Manicure or Pedicure:Manicure

127: East Coast or West Coast:East Coast

126: Your Birthday or Christmas:Birthday

125: Chocolate or Flowers:Chocolate

124: Disney or Six Flags:Disney

123: Yankees or Red Sox:Neither

[ Here’s What I Think About ]122: War:Don’t like it

121: George Bush:I don’t know enough to have an opinion

120: Gay Marriage:Make that shit legal everywhere. I want to be able to travel around the world with my wife

119: The presidential election:Ugh.... no comment

118: Abortion:Pro-choice

117: MySpace:Never used it

116: Reality TV:Gross

115: Parents:I love them, but they can be bad sometimes....

114: Back stabbers:Fuck backstabbers

113: Ebay:Don’t use it

112: Facebook:Don’t have it

111: Work:Tiring

110: My Neighbors:I’ve never met them

109: Gas Prices:Pretty fucking bad

108: Designer Clothes:Sometimes amazing. Sometimes, very questionable

107: College:Scary

106: Sports:What is sport?

105: My family:My immediate family is nice.

104: The future:Don’t wanna think about it

[ Last time I ]103: Hugged someone:Sometime in september. My co-worker found out her cat had been run over by a truck

102: Last time you ate:4 hours ago

101: Saw someone I haven’t seen in awhile:I saw my girlfriend after a year in the summer.

100: Cried in front of someone:April when my friend told me about her family emotionally and mentally abusing her.

99: Went to a movie theater:July to see Baby Driver

98: Took a vacation:July

97: Swam in a pool:Two years ago?

96: Changed a diaper:Never have

95: Got my nails done:May

94: Went to a wedding:Three years ago

93: Broke a bone:Never have

92: Got a peircing:July

91: Broke the law:Never have

90: Texted:Two minutes ago

[ MISC ]89: Who makes you laugh the most:@nyx-vesperia

88: Something I will really miss when I leave home is:My animals

87: The last movie I saw:Wolf Children

86: The thing that I’m looking forward to the most:My girlfriend coming out here ♥♥♥

85: The thing im not looking forward to:Working in the Post Office during Christmas

84: People call me:Katy

83: The most difficult thing to do is:speak my mind

82: I have gotten a speeding ticket:Nope

81: My zodiac sign is:Libra

80: The first person i talked to today was:Nyx

79: First time you had a crush:6th grade

78: The one person who i can’t hide things from:Nyx

77: Last time someone said something you were thinking:Last night

76: Right now I am talking to:Syndey and Nyx

75: What are you going to do when you grow up:Hell if I know. 

74: I have/will get a job:Yes

73: Tomorrow:Sleep

72: Today:Worked

71: Next Summer:Don’t even know

70: Next Weekend:I think I work

69: I have these pets:Doggo, Kitties and Geckos

68: The worst sound in the world:Ever heard of Justin Beibers song Baby?

67: The person that makes me cry the most is:Probably my mum and dad

66: People that make you happy:@nyx-vesperia @hyperkittyjkat @hobiisthesunfiteme 

65: Last time I cried:last week

64: My friends are:THE BEST

63: My computer is:Acer

62: My School:Don’t go to school

61: My Car:2002 buick lesaber

60: I lose all respect for people who:lie right to my fucking face

59: The movie I cried at was:The Iron Giant

58: Your hair color is:Silver

57: TV shows you watch:Outlander

56: Favorite web site:This hellsite

55: Your dream vacation:Nordics with @nyx-vesperia

54: The worst pain I was ever in was:My concussion

53: How do you like your steak cooked:I don’t like steak

52: My room is:Blue and Green

51: My favorite celebrity is:BTS

50: Where would you like to be:With @nyx-vesperia

49: Do you want children:Maybe one day

48: Ever been in love:I am right now

47: Who’s your best friend:Jenna, Nathan and Sydney

46: More guy friends or girl friends:Probably more guy friends

45: One thing that makes you feel great is:Talking to my girlfriend

44: One person that you wish you could see right now:@nyx-vesperia

43: Do you have a 5 year plan:Hell no

42: Have you made a list of things to do before you die:Nope

41: Have you pre-named your children:I don’t remember

40: Last person I got mad at:Someone at work who yelled at me for not having their parcel

39: I would like to move to:New Brunswick

38: I wish I was a professional:Hairdresser

[ My Favorites ]37: Candy:Coffee Crisp

36: Vehicle:Camero

35: President:Obama

34: State visited:I haven’t been to the states

33: Cellphone provider:MTS

32: Athlete:Don’t know any

31: Actor:Kim Taehyung

30: Actress:I don’t know any....?

29: Singer:Park Jimin

28: Band:BTS

27: Clothing store:Dynamite

26: Grocery store:SuperStore

25: TV show:Outlander

24: Movie:Iron Giant

23: Website:This hell site or Youtube

22: Animal:Raven

21: Theme park:I’ve never been to one

20: Holiday:Halloween

19: Sport to watch:Figure Skating

18: Sport to play:Soccer

17: Magazine:I don’t have one

16: Book:Does Songbird and the Sea by MissterMaia count?

15: Day of the week:Friday

14: Beach:Bay of Fundy

13: Concert attended:Great Big Sea

12: Thing to cook:Alfredo

11: Food:Spaghetti

10: Restaurant:Don’t have one

9: Radio station:kkul FM 06.13

8: Yankee candle scent:Don’t have one

7: Perfume:I’m allergic to perfume

6: Flower:Hydrangea

5: Color:Pink

4: Talk show host:Don’t have one

3: Comedian:Nope...

2: Dog breed:Pitbull

1: Did you answer all these truthfully? Yuppers

F U C K 

Y O U 

S Y D N E Y

[altitude-times]

Les Chèvres de Montagne

Yo Kelsey! Merci d’avoir accepté de participer à cette interview. I’ve been following Les Chèvres de Montagne for quite some time on Instagram and honestly, I love seeing girls encouraging girls to get out there and beyond their comfort zone. It’s super inspiring. Since when are you part of the group? How did you come to know the group? You mentioned you have a friend who’s a founder?

Hey Noémie, thanks for the interest in Les Chèvres de Montagne! I am thrilled to get to answer some questions for you and hopefully inspire you or other ladies to get out and be a part of the community. I've been a part of Les Chevres de Montagne for the last few summers with this summer being my third year coaching the mountain bike program in Les Estries. I was very fortunate when I first arrived in Quebec because the majority of the ladies I knew were also lovers of the outdoors. Coming from BC, this was heaven-sent! Pascale was a good friend of mine and one of the founders of the group so as the things expanded, we all did our part to be involved. There is a core group of ladies in Les Estries, and a lot of them are a part of Les Chevres in some way whether it be as a coach, nutritionist, chiropractor, event coordinator and more! The gist of the group was to create a community for women who loved the outdoors and wanted to participate in activities with other ladies. Whether you're a veteran at the sport you love or you simply want to try something new, the events are catered to be enjoyed by ladies of all skill levels, and that's what's so amazing about it. Plus! You meet so many new friends that you're never alone for your weekend adventures. I was stoked when I was first asked to help with the coaching. There's nothing more rewarding than watching the progression of the ladies over the few weeks you have with them.

According to you, how does going out between girls change the dynamics? Personally, I'm delighted to see girls playing in the mud instead of making Youtube videos about contouring. Sludge is a different kind of skin foundation. (ahah!)

The vibe is really special at all of the events. All the girls are encouraging each other and if they haven't signed up with a friend or two, they certainly leave with two or more new friends. Since I started with Les Chevres de Montagne, the number of ladies in my lady crew I can reach out to for weekend adventures has quadrupled, and that's something really cool. Everyone shares a common passion for the outdoors, and I agree, seeing this many ladies stoked on having fun outside rain or shine is pretty damn cool if you ask me.

What sports do you personally prefer? I guess it’s probably cycling, am I right?

Hahah you are correct! I come from a mountain bike background having raced downhill for six years before retiring at 18 due to too many head injuries. Since then, I spent three years coaching in Whistler Bike Park and a month in the Yukon coaching Army Cadets for the Federal Government. It's been a wild ride, but I couldn't see my life without mountain biking in it, so I love riding for fun nowadays and coaching on the side. Aside from that, I grew up skiing but recently switched over to snowboarding, I enjoy hiking and camping (if you can call it a sport) and try my best at fishing on the weekends.

Can you tell us a bit about an anecdote, something funny that happened or something truly memorable?

Because the majority of the girls participating are French, it's always a bit of a joke that I coach in English because they get an English lesson at the same time. For their entertainment, I'll throw in some phrases in French or attempt to explain my teaching anecdotes in French which always creates a few laughs. As for anecdotes, the cowboy gorilla stance which I learned from one of my coaches still gets people giggling. It sounds silly, but it really works! I've been using it with the kids I have coached as well as adults. That, and the chicken-wing, Superman. Another golden one I took from my time learning with the fantastic instructors at Endless Biking in North Vancouver.

What’s the longest trip you’ve experienced with them? A weekend? A few days? What was the biggest challenge?

For the past two summers that I have coached with Les Chevres de Montagne, we do a weekend at Vallees Bras du Nord, so I generally will arrive the Friday night and stay until Sunday. There are some epic multi-day adventures such as a survival camp over the winter and multi-day hikes, but so far that's the longest event I've done with the group. The biggest challenge, hmm that's tough. I think the biggest challenge for a weekend of coaching like that is just reserving enough energy to get through the weekend. After a long week at work, the drive there, a weekend of coaching and then the trip back, it can be a lot, but hey, it's hard to turn down an epic weekend of riding with such a fun group of women. Last year, we got to choose one of the two days to coach and had a free day to ride. This was fantastic because how often do you get your full lady crew out together to shred some new trail?!  Another tough challenge is having to head home after having so much fun of course!

You mentioned that you were involved as a mountain bike teacher. Can you tell us more about that?

You betcha! So the first year I coached, I was the head coach and the one I organizing the lesson plan for the beginner group, the intermediate group as well as my group of advanced riders. My second year, last summer, I coached the beginners. Both seasons were a blast, but personally, I kind of enjoyed the beginners a bit more because you got to watch the ladies confidence absolutely flourish over the six weeks. That's not to say the advanced riders didn't as well, but it was just such an enlightening feeling to watch the new riders' faces light up when they tackled a new trail they were so fearful of before. This is probably the best part of coaching, watching someone realize their potential and then turn into an absolute shredder. Everyone starts somewhere, and it's so refreshing to get to be a part of that process.

During my years of racing, I worked with numerous different coaches who all had their different ways of coaching. Everyone learns a bit differently so having those different techniques to work with is always great.

How do you plan your food for these occasions? Any delicious recipe you’d like to share?

We have our lovely Emilie who is the nutritionist for Les Chèvres de Montagne and plans the meals. Everything is taken care of for the participants for all meals from morning to after dinner snack (we make some mean s' mores cones!). We generally go for simple, hands-on meals where everyone can more or less serve themselves family style. This also depends on the size of the group but last year, we had amazing tacos that of course had the group stoke leve very high! Emilie is great at creating vegetarian-friendly menus with gluten-free options as well. As for the best recipe, I would say the energy balls. These are great and super easy to make even at home. At the beginning of the mountain bike days for the Vallées-Bras-du-Nord camp, there is a spread of jars with everything from dried apricots and cranberries to almond slices and honey and oats and pumpkin seeds and more. You simply mix your preferred ingredients in a bowl, add some honey and apple sauce for texture and stick and voila! You've got an energy ball to snack on later in the day. A lot of recipes can actually be found on the Les Chèvres de blog here → Yummy recipes!

What are your personal favorites gear-wise? It can be accessories, boots, jackets, backpacks, hydration systems, whatever.

I am currently in LOVE with my new Giro Cartelle MIPS helmet! I had a hard time finding a new helmet because I was just in between the small and medium for POC but this Giro fits like a glove. It's comfortable for long rides (my last helmet had an awkward pressure point in the middle of my forehead) and looks great. The best part is that it is equipped with MIPS® which reduces rotational forces. This is important for me with my past head injuries so I am happy to have a helmet that I feel safe wearing. Ooft, there is so much great gear on the market these days! I try to look away so that I can keep my credit card from screaming at me but hydration-wise, the hip packs are becoming incredibly popular! Not everyone is keen on wearing a hydration pack (although they can double as back protection as some brands will integrate spinal protection in the design) so the hip pack is the next best thing. I'll be wearing a CamelBak RePack™ LR 4 this season which I am excited to try out and I know that Osprey's Seral Lumbar Pack has been receiving raving reviews. For all the latest in mountain bike gear, stories and utter radness, check out Pinkbike.com. This is the epicentre of the Mountain bike world and a great source of knowledge, entertainment and of course, used bike goodies to purchase.

What did you learn from the group? What are your challenges for the year?

One of the biggest things I have learned from Les Chèvres de Montagne is that there are A LOT of badass ladies here in Quebec who absolutely slay on the trails, the slopes, and the crags! When I first started mountain biking, it was very much a men's sport although the times are changing (a lot) and it's amazing. The number of ladies that turn up for the mountain bike events and other events for that matter is impressive and inspiring. I'm proud and feel honored to be a part of such an amazing community of fierce women who are turning the tables in the outdoor world and also showing how accessible these adventures can be.

Anything else you’d like to share?

For all the ladies (sorry fellas, Les Chèvres de Montagne is for ladies only). Don't be shy! If there's an activity you're interested in but don't have a car or are not sure if you will be good, just do it! There are often many girls travelling from Montreal for events so finding someone to carpool with isn't a problem AND I can guarantee you're going to have a wicked time if you go.

[iguana012]

Intro post: Tatsuki Machida

Now that the off-season is officially here, skating fans will have the opportunity to see their retired faves again and in Team Japan’s case the number of retired faves has been increasing every year. Of all TJ retired “stars”, one of them stands out through their personality, way of thinking, skating, and why not - refusal to speak to the media again.

Tatsuki Machida was what people call a “2nd tier” skater until his last couple of competitive seasons. He was the “almost there but not quite” guy.  Nobody in his family was involved with skating and he was doing it just for fun until he saw Daisuke Takahashi and decided he wanted to become a skater like him. 

His life story has inspired skaters and fans alike; thanks to him, many people were encouraged watching him get out of the crowd and reach the top. It’s probably one of the most beautiful “underdog becomes hero” fairy tales. But just like every other inspirational story, there’s more pain and sadness behind the medals than fulfillment and happiness. 

Early life

He was born a premature baby and the doctors told his mother there were chances he wouldn’t survive. His mother stood by his incubator praying until he started feeling better. 

He has a younger sister Sakura and his father is a company employee at Mazda

He was very close to his maternal grandmother Kumiko, who gave him a handmade amulet. Kumiko embroidered his silhouette on it. He always kept it in the pocket of his warm up jacket. 

When Kumiko fell sick, he wrote a letter to her: "My mother wants to visit Tottori to take care of you, but she can't. She can't leave here since I'm a figure skater. I feel very sorry for it." Kumiko died of cancer.

He used to live in Hiroshima. His mother worked in two places at the same time to pay the costs for his skating. 

When he was in the second year of University, his mother fell sick and spent over a month in the hospital. As he had seen how hard she worked, he told her "I'll try my best to earn prize money and to be a skater who will be invited to many shows. So please leave one of your two jobs" 

His mother and sister often went to see him compete. He is very close to his sister. 

Although he was living in Hiroshima, he decided to attend the same high school as Daisuke Takahashi in Kurashiki city, Okayama. He had to take the train every day.

He was obsessed with video games so much that one time he showed up at the rink with his console instead of his skating boots. 

He started taking interest in books when he traveled by train to school and back. 

He moved to Osaka when he entered Kansai University and joined the Kansai University skating club. 

The Kansai University skating club is now famous for its skaters: Nobuo and Kumiko Sato, Daisuke Takahashi, Nobunari Oda, Satoko Miyahara and Marin Honda. 

He became close friends with Takahito Mura and Keiji Tanaka.

Making a name for himself

He won the Jr National Championships in 2006 and placed 9th at the 2007 Jr World Championships

In 2008 he met Yuzuru Hanyu with whom he later developed a new friendship

In 2009 he finished 4th at the National Championships and was listed as first substitute for the Vancouver Olympics

In 2010 he won his first major international medal, a silver at the Four Continents Championships

He and Yuzuru Hanyu were assigned to their first (and same) Grand Prix event but none of them had a strong debut; Tatsuki had started trying quads in competition but he only landed one at the 2010 Nebelhorn Trophy, where he won the gold medal

In 2011 he moved to Lake Arrowhead to train with Anthony Liu, a coach he had met earlier at a summer camp 

Anthony Liu became like a father - older brother figure for him. With his help, he started to become more consistent 

In 2012 he contacted Phillip Mills after watching Ashley Wagner’s “Black Swan” program. He wanted a similar “bird-themed” program for himself. Mills choreographed Firebird for him

He became very close to Mills and his family; Mills would later describe him “A diamond; no colors, just sparkles. Sparkles of talent.”

Rise to fame and retirement 

By 2012 he had become Phillip Mills and Stephane Lambiel’s new muse; he was skating a Lambiel program for his short and a Mills program for his long

He finally qualified for the Grand Prix Final when he was 22, but finished last

He had a strong desire to go to Worlds but he finished 9th at the Japanese Nationals that same season 

He was deeply disappointed with himself but was already facing the Olympic season and he vowed he would rise from his own ashes. He shaved his head and started choreographing his first program, Byakuyako. 

At the start of the 2013-2014 season, he had only landed 2 ratified quads in competition. From then on he landed 28 in just a season and a half. 

He reached the Nationals podium for the first time, qualified for his first Olympics and Worlds and became the #2 man in the country and the world

He used to say he was aiming for the gold medal at the 2015 Worlds and was considering competing until 2018

He was talking about his FS as something that had never been seen before, and a challenge for him artistically and technically 

He forbid the media to disclose details about his new programs and he used to practice with the windows of the rink covered

His new SP, Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra, was inspired by his personal experiences in his love life 

Phillip Mills told the media it was only the beginning of what Tatsuki had to offer to the audience

Nobody knew he intended to retire until the day he announced it 

The Aftermath

His mother, Yayoi Machida: “At first he was saying his goal was the World Championships. He would have possibly gone to Worlds if he had made the podium at the Nationals. Perhaps he thought he didn’t deserve to.”

He always brought around 5 books with him to every competition he went and always valued the artistic side of figure skating: for his FS Symphony no 9 he held his opening pose for 20 seconds so that the music could be longer, as the limit of 4:30 minutes was too short for the symphony.

Takahiko Kozuka: "Whenever we had meetings and press conferences we all enjoyed his comments which are well known as the ‘Machida quotes’. His way of thinking was completely different from ours and that will always be my perception of him. He was very different from me or any other skater for that matter. He was one of a kind."

Yuzuru Hanyu: “My ideal image of a man is Tatsuki. As an athlete and as a performer, he never turns away from the road he’s chosen.”

He told Takahito Mura “I know you have the ability so I’ll be counting on you to carry on the years I’ve given up on and achieve the things I couldn’t.” Mura said Tatsuki could have stayed for longer. 

“We enjoyed chatting even though he was never the type who talked much,” Mura describes Machida. “But he’s always been unique, and his breakthrough came around the time of ‘Timshel’. I was very shocked to find out that a skater who had been competing with me all this time had retired. His presence has been a big part of my life and I am truly grateful for his words - 'I entrust everything to you’. I have to get good results and do my best for him." 

"He retired just so suddenly. Otsukaresama from the bottom of my heart,” Daisuke Murakami said, choking up. “I’ve been rooting for him so much and I’ve worked so hard to catch up with him… he’s truly been an inspiration. The first word he told me was 'ganbatte’ (give your best). I will do that, keeping his words in my mind.”

At the 2012 NHK Trophy, Murakami suffered a serious injury. The socket in his right shoulder was dislocated and he needed an urgent surgery. He had to go on a long hiatus from skating to recover and he thought of retirement. But the only thing that changed his mind was Machida.“He was amazing,” Murakami says, referring to Machida’s 2013-2014 season. “He had a brilliant breakthrough at that time. His presence at the Sochi Olympics inspired me and I decided to keep going because I haven’t reached my full potential yet." 

Yoshinori Onishi, his last coach: “When I heard he retired, my wife and I burst into laughter. That’s just like him, I thought.”

Machida would always say “I’m the 6th ranked skater” and other such timid things, so Onishi told him “Humans are like this, if you only say negative words that’s how things will be. Carrying out one’s own words is essential. If you set a huge goal for yourself won’t you be able to do it and try your best?”

“Machida’s true character is actually clumsy. This boy who struggled with chasing both grad school and skating, he did so well,” Onishi said.

Phillip Mills: “Tatsuki’s Ladies in Lavender was about something completely different but I’m hoping that the people viewed it as something that helped themselves. It’s many different things that inspire me to try and give the skaters what they deserve. Something that will help them not only grow artistically but be successful competitively and to inspire hopefully the world and develop into an artist. Not just an athlete, but an artist as well. And I think Machida has done that, with me the best of anybody thus far. I was so fortunate to work with him for all those three seasons.”

Personal life

He is currently living in Saitama, near Tokyo, attending and working at the Waseda University. 

He wants to become a choreographer, art director and coach. He’d like to direct his own ice show. 

He is also dedicated to finding a way to facilitate the balance between skating and studies for elite athletes. 

He considers himself “simply a student, no longer a star” and has never spoken to the media since he retired in 2014. 

However, he keeps getting media attention whenever he appears and is always welcomed with a loud round of applause. 

When his appearance was confirmed at Prince Ice World right after his retirement, the tickets were sold out in less than 2 hours. Moreover, BS Japan broadcasted the show live for the first time in its history due to Machida’s sudden popularity.

While a classical music nerd, he also enjoys pop music and Korean pop music

He used to have a stalker who followed him closely wherever he went for about a year and a half; the stalker has disappeared from social media platforms for almost a year

He was constantly rumored to be in a relationship with fellow skater Haruka Imai; in 2014 she traveled with him in the US and Tatsuki introduced her to Phillip Mills, who choreographed her new programs

Skating style and qualities

Journalist Jean-Christophe Berlot: “As soon as Tatsuki Machida, the 2014 world silver medalist from Japan, entered into the Meriadeck rink, TV crews from Japan started following him wherever he would go, from his warm-up to concentration time to -- of course -- his practice sessions. "You can always feel when a master is entering into a hall," former great Pierre Brunet (who coached Carol Heiss to her Olympic victory) used to say. Machida's taking part in the Trophée should be an event in itself in Bordeaux.”

Tatsuki Machida on his own skating

I see figure skating as a performing art. A quadruple jump, like a quad toe, can be a piece of art in itself. A beautiful surrounding helps going into that direction, at least. So, it's important for me to use my technical capacity to create art. If you want to give a good performance, you need to understand culture, and to study the music, the composer's life, the choreography of your programs.You know -- (he smiles) -- in English, we say "figure skating," but in French, they say "artistic skating." I think they are right. Figure skating should be a performing art, just like ballet or dance. It belongs to the same category. I cherish performing arts.

During my time on the ice, I forget about the competition. I tell myself, "This is my stage." In this way I don’t just think of jumps, scores or medals. I think of expression. Jumping is also a way to express oneself. A jump is a piece of vocabulary to express one's feelings. I have to say that my skating career is 18 years old. I have worked on each one of these jumps all year long, and this for 18 years. They are just expression. I don't think of them, I just do them.The rink is my stage, and all I want to do is to focus on expression.

A quad expresses strength. It is so powerful. When I land a quad, I can hear the audience react directly. In comparison, a triple will be an enhancement to the program. I love big audiences. I always want to show my art to the entire world. In Japan, skating arenas are much bigger than this one, and they are always full!I like big audiences, especially for my long program: We have chorus in the fourth movement of Beethoven's 9th Symphony, and a big audience makes it even more special! 

Tatsuki Machida’s skating through the audience’s eyes

His skating style has always been described as “larger than life”, “dramatic”, “grand”, and even “royal”. He had a commanding presence on the ice and his jumps were huge. He had one of the best 3A and probably the best 3Lz among all Japanese men. There was (and still is) a lot of meaning behind his programs; a thought, a personal experience, a feeling. He skates with his heart on his sleeve. He takes you along in his journey. He has the posture and lines of a ballet dancer. His best work is perhaps “The Inheritor”, a tribute to skating itself. Every jump is included in the program, in between intricate transitions and balletic choreography. It is the very essence of Tatsuki Machida - the person, the skater, the artist. 

More info, articles, edits and videos on http://tatsuki-machida.tumblr.com/

[teaandjay]

Guest blog: Found - the Lost City

We are super excited to welcome our travel buddy extraordinaire, Tom Hamilton, to our blog. He promised us a guest post four years ago after our trip to Burma...and he’s finally come good. 

I have had my eye on the Lost City trek, one of the jewels in Colombia's backpacking crown, for many years. As I made final preparations to travel to South America to gatecrash Jess and Tom P's honeymoon for a month, Jess asked me again via WhatsApp if I definitely wanted to do it - absolutely, I replied with vague notions of living out some form of Indiana Jones jungle fantasy without really knowing much about what it's actually like. From the little I knew it was a beautiful walk through lush jungle to a hidden ancient city - what's not to like?

On my arrival in Bogota we spent a joyous fortnight or so gallivanting through the capital itself before heading to the Coffee Region and the superb city of Medellin. We then took a flight up to the city of Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast, which is the jumping off point for the trek. It was on arrival in Santa Marta that the reality of what we were attempting began to dawn on us. As we walked out of the airport, the Caribbean heat and humidity hit us straight away and were a shock compared to the pleasant spring-like weather in the mountains. On arrival at our hostel and at the various transport termini around the city we started to see other foreigners, usually slumped on the floor with a dazed, vacant expression on their faces as if they had just witnessed something utterly horrific and legs covered in so many insect bites they looked like victims of a chemical warfare attack. It became apparent that this disparate group of gringos were 'survivors' who had just finished the trek. With the colour rapidly fading from my face I discovered that my mental image of an Aperol Spritz sundowner at the end of each day in a rustic yet boutique posada followed by a ceviche dinner was perhaps unrealistic. As we booked the trip we were told it would be very hard, very wet and accommodation very basic. We looked at each other reluctantly but decided it seemed like a 'must-do' so paid up and were told to pack a small bag for the 3 night/4 day trek and we would be picked up the following morning at 10:30. That night I did a bit of research regarding Ciudad Perdida (Spanish for Lost City) and found out more about its location deep in the mountainous jungle of the Sierra Nevada mountains and no-one really knows how old it is - it was probably built between the 11th and 14th centuries but some parts may date back to as early as the 7th century. At its peak some 4000 indigenous Tayrona people lived here and the city was never discovered by the Spanish conquistadors who rampaged through the area in the early 1500s although the conquest did succeed in wiping out the Tayrona themselves, with the present day Cogi and Wiwa tribes making up their descendants. The city was not 'found' again until the 1970s and was still sketchy from a security point of view until relatively recently due to FARC guerrilla activity and kidnappings in the area.

Armed with this new-found knowledge and with a trip to the famous lost Inca city of Machu Picchu in 2010 as my only real point of reference, we were picked up the following morning for a bone shaking jeep ride deep into the Sierra Nevada and the menacingly named town of Machete, start point of the trek. The trek The just shy of 50km trek is not technically difficult (with just a few sections of scrambling over rocks) but the difficulty comes from the punishing uphill sections coupled with the heat, humidity and insects. There are also over 20 river crossings to contend with - some are simply crossed by stepping stones while others ensure you hoist your bag over your head as you wade through waist deep rushing water. As we travelled on the cusp of the rainy season, many parts of the path had been reduced to a muddy quagmire, which also slows down progress. I was already paranoid that Tom and Jess's penchant for multi-day Andean hikes would mean I was woefully unprepared physically for the trek - it was certainly physically the toughest thing I've ever done but I was thrilled I managed to hold my own and bagged a solid mid-table finish in our group.

The weather Although a month before the official rainy season itself there was some fairly feisty weather around with some incredible thunder and lightning on display. The worst storm came on Day 2 just as we began the biggest ascent of the whole trek and the heavens opened - I have seldom seen rain like it anywhere in the world. The already muddy path was soon akin to a water park flume and this slowed our progress towards our camp close to the city. The worst thing about this was coupled with the humid weather once the storm passed meant that clothes had absolutely no chance of drying out so you essentially were wet for four days . We christened the plastic bags for our wet clothes as 'Bags of Death' due to the horrific odour coming from them by the time we finished. Accommodation & food The three camps we stayed in were a lot larger than we were all expecting and totally different. There were bunk beds stacked up on top of one another and sheltered from the elements by a corrugated iron roof with a separate dining area with long tables. There were even some pipes for having cold showers - you had to put dirty wet clothes back on but at least you had a few minutes of relief. The food was better than we expected with lots of carbs to keep us going with lashings of the incredible fruit juices that Colombia has in abundance. And who knew what a life saver Gatorade could be? The drink of choice for American college footballers happens to be just the ticket for replenishing your salts and rehydrating you on such a hot trek - so cue various ladies setting up stalls on the trail selling ice cold bottles of it.

The group & guides We were very lucky with our group of 18 people drawn from all over the world and of all physical abilities. We made some great friends and everyone was great at helping everyone along. We trekked with the amazing Guias & Baquianos, who were the first company to take tourists to the city and our head guide Pedro had done the trek over 600 times! They were a wealth of information on all aspects of the trek and were fantastic in ensuring that no one in the group was ever left on their own despite the wide range of abilities. Morale This is always important on a tough hike in difficult conditions. Some people in our group had a strict 'no complaints' policy which was rigorously enforced. Our antidote to any negative thoughts was a healthy mix of gallows humour and the classic games of 'if you could eat/drink anything right now' and the like.

The final leg to the Lost City involves a challenging river crossing followed by the ascent of 1200 narrow and slippery steps. Our reward was beautiful weather and, in the spirit of ranking things, a city more spectacular than Machu Picchu in my opinion. Most gloriously of all, we had the place pretty much to ourselves. There is no doubt this trek is very tough and was the hardest physical thing I have ever done but I am so glad I did it. 

The Lost City itself feels like it is almost future proofed against rampant tourism development by its location - only the most determined will be able to discover its treasures and the huge numbers of coach tourists and the much maligned 'silver surfers' with their need for luxury accommodations and direct airport access will be kept at bay. This will secure the city's isolation and tranquility for future generations and this can only be a good thing.