#it was fun watching the broadcast because the reporter just lost train of thought at totality and you can hear people cheering

[chipped-chimera]

Gotta say nothing shows the level of americanisation of media/internet than with this eclipse. Last year state in Australia (Western Australia) had complete totality of an eclipse in a dinky little town up north. It was inundated with tourists from around Australia and the world - we even had NASA scientists fly in for study.

I'm based in the only city of our hugeass state (Perth) and while we didn't get totality it was probably the most significant eclipse I've seen in recent memory. It was present in shadows, and there was a significant temperature drop during the experience.

Internationally? News probably didn't make a blip.

Meanwhile I'm sitting in my office overhearing the BBC on the tv (so british news) talking about an American solar eclipse like it's more significant? 🤷‍♀️

Anyway here's some of my pics of our eclipse last year: we had 72% coverage where I was, managed to catch some of the crescent shadows beneath our paperbark tree (I thank tumblr for bestowing this knowledge years ago).

[fiftyshadesofsleigh]

Is Hallmark Out of Ideas?

Or have they just found a formula that works? Pretty sure it��s the latter, but this year’s list of holiday flicks has more than just familiar faces. The plot lines themselves seem recycled not only from previous Hallmark movies, but holiday films from other networks as well.

I vowed last year that I wouldn’t watch or review Hallmark movies after the fiasco of the company bowing down to bigots and showing their anti-LGBTQ asses, but this year’s line up feels like an olive branch and I’m willing to give them a second chance. Am I optimistic that Hallmark has embraced the LGBTQ+ community and is targeting us with its stories? No. But I’m willing to see what changes they’ve made to take this step forward. 

Same goes for the whiteness of their casts. From what I’ve seen so far, the films are more diverse with black leads and even a mixed race couple. Welcome to 1967, Hallmark. But these are changes they’ve made to reflect what the public has asked for, and I’m interested to see how it goes. 

If you’re still set against Hallmark movies, Amazon Prime and Netflix both have great holiday flicks (I’ll be reviewing some here later this month!) that cater to a much wider audience.

Now, onto this year’s selection!

No way do I have time to watch and review all 40 of Hallmark’s offerings, but I’m hoping to get through 20 or so. This year they’ve given us 3 movies that focus on musicians, 2 with Lacey Chabert (ugh, pass), 2 with Holly Robinson Peete, 2 with Royalty, 2 with carousels (why?), and of course, the one with the gays.

A few classic leading ladies are back, such as Alison Sweeney and Candace Cameron Bure, and the rest are a decent mix of the usual suspects and new blood. Below I’ve listed only the flicks I intend to watch. I’m in Canadaland and don’t have the Hallmark channel, so my viewings depend on the films getting picked up and rebroadcast by another station. This means I may not have access to the entire list, but here we go!

The Christmas Ring, starring Nazneen Contractor and David AlpayA reporter (Contractor) takes her latest story to heart: While telling the love story behind an antique engagement ring, she turns to the ring owner's grandson to learn more about his family's history. This just sounds really sweet and a good slow burn.

A Timeless Christmas, starring Ryan Paevey and Erin CahillCharles (Paevey) travels from 1903 to 2020 to experience a futuristic Christmas, with the help of his charming tour guide (Cahill). Ryan Paevey and time travel? Yes, please!

A Nashville Christmas Carol, starring Jessy Schram, Wes Brown, Wynonna Judd, Sara Evans, RaeLynn, Kix Brooks, and Kimberly Williams-PaisleyJust as Vivienne (Schram) is about to accept a new job across the country, she's reminded that leaving everything she built isn't necessarily the best way to move forward. The Spirit of Christmas Past (Brooks) and the Spirit of Christmas Present (Williams-Paisley) show her just that. My secret country heart won't let me skip this one.

The Angel Tree, starring Jill Wagner and Lucas Bryant. A writer (Wagner) is determined to solve the town's biggest holiday mystery: Who is the person granting all of the wishes on the angel tree? In the process, she reconnects with someone from her childhood (Bryant) who helps her find the answer. I love Lucas Bryant even more than I love Ryan Paevey and Jill Wagner is great with mystery shows.

A Godwink Christmas: First Loves, Second Chances, starring Brooke D'Orsay and Sam Page. After returning home, Sam (Page) catches himself stuck in traffic next to his high school sweetheart, Margie (D'Orsay). This is a series and I haven’t see the first one, but I like a challenge.

The Christmas House, starring Robert Buckley, Jonathan Bennett, Ana Ayora, Treat Williams, Sharon Lawrence, and Brad Harder. Phylis (Lawrence) and Bill (Williams) hope that having their two sons at home over the holidays will help them find a way to grow stronger as a family. While there, both sons reveal that they are also struggling with problems of their own. Aka, the gay one. Thing I’ll be looking for: physical affection between the husbands. They’ve already chickened out and skipped the courting of the gays, so I expect them to act like a other married Hallmark couples, dammit! I badly want this film to be better than I expect it to be.

A Christmas Tree Grows in Colorado, starring Rochelle Aytes and Mark Taylor. Firefighter Kevin (Taylor) is the only thing standing in Erin's way of planning the best Christmas celebration ever. That means, it's up to her to win him over to get a celebration-worthy spruce tree from his property. Pretty sure Hallmark already made this movie in 2017. It's called Miss Christmas, starred Marc Blucas of Buffy fame, and was so boring I couldn’t finish it.

Good Morning Christmas!, starring Alison Sweeney and Marc Blucas. When two TV hosts are forced to cozy up to the competition over the holidays, they learn that they have more in common than they thought. Another familiar plot! This sounds very much like an ABC family movies called Broadcasting Christmas, with Melissa Joan Hart and Dean Cain (before his head was fully up his own ass). It was decent and who are we kidding, this has Alison Sweeney and I'm going to watch the shit out of it.

Christmas by Starlight, starring Kimberley Sustad and Paul Campbell. The days for The Starlight Café are numbered. That is, until Annie (Sustad) meets Williams (Campbell), who works for the development firm looking to demolish the restaurant. He proposes an out-of-the-box idea that forces Annie to consider how low she's willing to go to save her family's business. Hallmark leaning hard on what Hallmark does best. Depending of what she’s willing to do, this could be a very different movie!

Five Star Christmas, starring Bethany Joy Lenz and Victor Webster. Lisa (Lenz) is determined to secure a five-star rating for her dad's bed & breakfast. But when she meets (and falls in love with) a mysterious B&B guest, she's shocked to learn he's the travel critic behind the review. Another classic Hallmark trope, hopefully put to good use.

If I Only Had Christmas, starring Candace Cameron Bure and Warren Christie. A bright and cheery publicist (Bure) works with a scrooge-like business owner (Christie) and his team of The Wizards of Oz-inspired characters to help a good cause. My teeth hurt just reading the synopsis, but I'm still going to watch it.

Jingle Bell Bride, starring Julie Gonzalo and Ronnie Rowe Jr. When Jessica (Gonzalo) travels to a remote town in Alaska to track down a rare flower for her wedding client, she becomes smitten with the small town charm and one of its locals (Rowe Jr.) Julie Gonzalo is a gem and a mixed race leading couple is new for Hallmark and I’m going in with an open mind, but I hope they figure out that mixed race pairings don’t have to include white people.

One Royal Holiday, starring Laura Osnes, Aaron Tveit, Krystal Joy Brown, Victoria Clark, and Tom McGowan. Anna (Osnes) rescues a mother and son during a blizzard, only to learn that they are actually royalty — part of the Royal Family of Galwick, to be exact. She takes this opportunity to show the young prince (Tveit) how to celebrate Christmas the non-royal way. I want 'the non-royal way’ to include watching Die Hard in sweatpants and eating pie for breakfast, but I know it's going to be about decorating shit and snowball fights because this sounds a lot like another Hallmark movie called A Prince for Christmas.

Christmas She Wrote, starring Danica McKellar and Dylan Neal. Kayleigh (McKellar) is heartbroken to learn that her romance column is canceled right before the holidays. While home with her family, the person who canceled her column (Neal) shows up at her door to tie up loose ends. That title is a mighty ambitious, Hallmark, you sure you're up for it? Being laid off right before Christmas is something I have experience with, but I feel like Danica McKellar won’t be drinking her way into the New Year. 

Cross Country Christmas, starring Rachael Leigh Cook and Greyson Holt. Lina (Cook) and Max (Holt) face the unexpected when a storm hits, potentially ruining their holiday plans. The two of them are forced to work together to figure out a way home — without taking it out on each other. I have watched this movie a hundred times and I’ll watch it a hundred more.

Christmas Comes Twice, starring Tamera Mowry-Housley and Michael Xavier. By the looks of it, Emily (Mowry-Housley) has it all: She's a well-respected newscaster, and loved by many. But in her eyes, she lost the thing that matters most — her first true love (Xavier). A ride on the carousel at the town's Christmas carnival brings her back in time, giving her a second chance at the love and life she deserves. Carousels seriously creep me out, but I’m a sucker for time travelling and do-overs.

A Christmas Carousel, starring Rachel Boston and Neal Bledsoe. Lila (Boston) partners up with the Prince of Marcadia (Bledsoe) to repair the Royal Family's carousel by Christmas. Goddammit, another carousel! But I can’t say no to Rachel Boston or Royal flicks.

Love, Lights, and Hanukkah!, starring Mia Kirshner, Ben Savage, and Marilu Henner. In the height of the holiday craziness, Christina gets back a DNA test and learns that she's actually Jewish. This leads her down a path of self-discovery, even finding romance along the way. I'm already cringing, but let's see if they learned anything from the train wreck Hannukkah flicks of 2019.

Christmas Tree Lane, starring Alicia Witt and Andrew Walker. Meg (Witt) is eager to save the Christmas Tree Lane shopping district from demolition, but things get complicated when she discovers that her new beau (Walker) is linked to the demolition-hungry developer. Alicia Witt is hit or miss, and the premise is very much like the subplot to A Very Merry Mix-Up, which also starred Witt. I doubt this will be as fun as that one was, though.

Deliver by Christmas, starring Alvina August and Eion Bailey. Molly (August) worries that she's falling in love with two different men: Josh (Bailey), a widower who recently moved to town, and one of her clients. But what happens when she discovers that they're actually the same guy? These are the quality tropes I’m here for!

A Glenbrooke Christmas, starring Autumn Reeser and Antonio Cupo. Jessica (Reeser) knows this may be her last normal Christmas, so she escapes to a small town for peace and quiet. Things heat up as soon as she meets the town's fireman (Cupo). Her last normal Christmas? Autumn Reeser? Fireman? Yes.

Swept Up by Christmas, starring Lindy Booth and Justin Bruening. An antique seller and cleaner can't agree on how prepare an over-the-top estate for the holiday season. They start at square one, uncovering the home's hidden treasures ... and secrets. Fingers crossed for literal skeletons in the closet!

Well, that’s it! If you have recommendations or movies you’d like me to review, drop me a message! Happy watching!

[putschki1969]

Hikaru Tsumugu ~ Live Report

Notes: Got a 2-hour train ride ahead of me so I thought I’d use the opportunity to write up a little report. Please note that I was very exhausted during the live so I wasn’t able to pay as much attention as I usually would. Also, I didn’t know 7 out of the 17 performed songs so I had a hard time appreciating them properly. I didn’t cry which kinda surprised me. Maybe I was too tired. Hikaru did get a little teary eyed during the Kalafina section but aside from that, she was mostly happy and excited. Overall I think this live was much more powerful and cheerful in comparison to Hikaru’s birthday event from last year. Maybe that’s why it wasn’t as tearful. Then again, I know quite a lot of people who were sobbing like crazy. Anyways, let’s get this thing started:

Goods: I didn’t buy much tbh. The pamphlet, the tapioca set, the pen and the badges. The other stuff looked a little cheap if I am being honest. A little disappointed with the quality of the pamphlet. Quite expensive but very thin and it’s made up of some sort of rough paper material. Some pages have ugly printing marks (;_;)

Stage production: Pretty simple I’d say. The musicians were lined up on either side of a small staircase. There were some walls in the back and curtains/fabrics on top. They played the PVs of Hikaru’s songs during each H-el-ical// performance, it was nice to have the lyrics on screen to sing along. and for the other songs they mostly used elaborate lighting.

Hikaru’s look: As you can see from the pictures, she had her hair down for most of the live. It was styled very nicely with big curls. She wore a bold red lipstick. The live started with her wearing the white gown/coat. Pretending to take a drink, she went to her little table and all of a sudden she started stripping XD (it was like the Blue Day “signal” performance). She quickly dropped the coat during her MC before “Fili” and revealed a sexy red dress which was very reminiscent of the old Kalafina days (laces, corset style). After the instrumental she returned with a long blue dress that kinda reminded me of Kalafina’s 9+ONE denim style outfits due to the colour scheme. For her anisong section she surprised us once again by dropping the dress and revealing the sexiest outfit ever!!! Black high waisted leather pants and a black leather bralette. *nosebleed* During the encore she wore a black denim skirt and a long sleeved H-el-ical// shirt. Her hair was up. I wish they would have sold that shirt too since it looked much nicer than the normal t-shirts she was selling. As for shoes, she wore shiny black pumps with white laces. Speaking of laces, laces were definitely the main theme of her outfits that night. The coat, the dresses, her leather outfit and even her pumps had laces everywhere. Guess it all boils down to Tsumugu = Spinning. In her pamphlet you can see all the threads spinning around so I guess she was trying to go for the same vibe regarding her fashion. So glad Hikaru was kind enough to provide pictures of everything!!

Musicians: Everyone was in such a good mood!!! Gussy (Hikaru’s composer and one of the guitarists) was particularly hyped, he seemed to be really into it. Was a lot of fun to watch them perform.

Overall sound: I think for the most part, the live sounded great. Hikaru was in good shape and sang her songs well. If you don’t like the studio version though you won’t like the live version either. Hikaru pretty much used the same singing style which she used for the recording. The backing vocals were playing in the background to create a little more harmony. I think Hikaru was far more concerned about having fun rather than delivering a technically perfect performance! Hence, she ended up sounding a little off key or frail at times. Nothing that took away from the performance though. With someone as engaging as Hikaru I really don’t mind if the singing is less than flawless. Just seeing her having a blast was making up for any missed notes XD Wasn’t a particularly big fan of her anisong section because I didn’t know the songs and she got quite shouty there but I guess that was on purpose. Apart from some slightly screechy shouts she also did some very powerful shouts!

Random observations: The live was completely sold out! BANZAI!! The goods were also sold out (including the H-el-ical// CD). So happy for Hikaru’s “major debut“. I hope many people will watch the anime so she can have a lot of success as H-el-ical//. As has already been established, Keiko and LiSA were there to support Hikaru. They sat in the first row of the second floor (at the very left). Akihiro Tomita was also there. I think he might have taken up the role of producer. Masayuki Ohashi was also there. He was the one taking the picture of Keiko and LiSA. Then we have Takeshi Kato of course. I am expecting a SPICE live report very soon. When Hikaru did her infamous goods corner she also introduced her CD. Once again she mixed up Kalafina and H-el-ical// when she said that there were eight tracks by Kalafina included (during the SPICE broadcast she also mixed up the two if you can remember). It was super cute. Old habits die hard.

Amanhecer: Great start for the live, I LOVE this song. She sat on top of the stairs and sang it beautifully. It almost seemed like she was sparkling in her white coat. Like an angel.

Splendore: The pace really picked up here. Hikaru was running around on stage, jumping up and down. It was amazing to see her so happy. You can tell she was born to be a solo performer (something that cannot be said about Wakana XD).

粉雪 (Cover: Remioromen): Didn’t know the song but it was quite beautiful. Hikaru did a great job. Definitely one of the more memorable performances of the night.

WINTER SONG (Cover: Dreams Come True): Another song I didn’t know, unfortunately I didn’t particularly like it. Can’t really remember any details.

Fili:The first unreleased song from the CD. I loved it. Hikaru said it made her think of the earth. Too bad I can’t listen to my CD while I am in Japan.

Avaricia: Probably my second favourite H-el-ical// song. Awesome performance. Her dress was perfect for the more mature and jazz-y vibe of the verses. But of course my favourite part of the song is the chorus!

yolcu: Hands down the best H-el-ical// performance of the night (and my favourite song so far). This is such a good song!! Can’t believe how much I loved it! The way she was pushing her arm in the air, I literally felt power surging through me. Also, damn, Hikaru was so sexy moving to the exotic rhythm in her red dress.

Instrumental: That was kinda all over the place, didn’t really like it. It started with some sort of extension of “yolcu” and then it became very slow with just Hirotaka Sakurada and the violinist. Then the pace suddenly picked up again and everyone was playing. No idea if it was a special song or them just playing random stuff. I didn’t recognise it.

ARIA & blaze & sprinter: The Kalafina section was super special as expected. Hikaru said that she consulted Yuki Kajiura on the matter, about whether or not it would be a good idea to sing Kalafina songs. Everyone agreed that she should sing them if she wanted to, after all, they made these songs together (as long as the songs aren’t released on DVD/BD I am guessing Hikaru is free to sinf as many Kalafina songs as she wants). Only fitting that she should sing them. Also, her live is called “Tsumugu” which means spinning. It’s about the future of H-el-ical// which she is spinning right now but also about everything that has been spun so far and of course that includes Kalafina. It was just Hikaru, Saku-chan and the violinist. They used the acoustic arrangements from past performances. “ARIA” sounded different from her Birthday Event performance though. It was even slower and more dramatic. I LOVED it. Every time I hear a new version of “ARIA” I fall a little more in love with the song and Hikaru. If you have seen that short snippet of “blaze” in the 10th Anniversary Film then you get an idea of what it sounded like. “sprinter” was super emotional. Not as tear-inducing as during the Arena Live or during Hi’s B-Day Event but still, incredibly powerful. I definitely teared up and so did Hikaru!! “ARIA and sprinter” were shortened considerably since Hikaru didn’t sing any Kajiura-go parts. For the most part she also didn’t sing the Wa/Kei lines. I think she sang“blaze” in its entirety though (except for the bridge).

History Maker & Paradise Lost & 青空のナミダ: I have a hard time saying anything about these songs. I knew “History Maker” from the Birthday Event but the other two songs were completely new to me. No idea how the originals sound like but Hikaru certainly knew how to make the songs her own. I just wish she would have chosen songs better suited for her voice. Occasionally her singing sounded quite off. Or maybe I am wrong and the original songs simply sound like that. Most popular anisongs sound quite noisy to my ears. Whenever I am in Akihabara I have to cringe due to the loud not very pleasant sounding music playing in the background (I feel like it’s always something by Ao Eir or LiSA...no idea)...Hikaru was sexy as hell with her leather outfit so I mostly focused on that. Thank God I brought my binoculars. She was really bad-ass during the anime secret so it was a joy to watch.

Existence: I don’t remember anything about this song tbh, except that it had a very rock-ish vibe. I actually thought it was another anisong at first but then I kinda recognised Gussy’s trademark style and concluded that it must be the other unreleased H-el-ical// song. I probably won‘t be relistening to this a lot.

pulsation: Nice powerful ending! Nothing else to say about it.

EN

This is me: I had heard that song before but I couldn’t really place it. Either way, it was a very engaging performance! There are a lot of ooohhh parts in the song, Hikaru would sing one part and the audience would sing the other part. Everyone had a blast!! This was probably the most active song of the night in terms of audience interaction. Otherwise the audience was pretty tame I would say. Everyone remained seated during the entire live.

TSUMUGU: Not as emotional as I had expected, however, the lalala at the end killed me. We didn’t really sing along properly (neither were we asked to) but it was nice to have everyone waving. More teary eyes but no proper tears.

[savvylark]

Did I just Everlark the Olympics?? "More than Gold"

Continuing our discussion/obsession with Everlark in the Winter Olympics @katnissdoesnotfollowback challenged us the write our ideas. It’s all your fault. I misguidedly thought I could do something Olympic justice but this turned into, well you’ll see. Look for 'More than Gold' on Ao3. Unbeta’d. G rate. So far.

All eyes are on the Ice dancing pair Gale Hawthorne and Katniss Everdeen as they enter the 2018 winter Olympic games with a record breaking score and third world title, a painful Silver metal earned my a small margin 4 years. A certain Olympic Golden boy and former Speed skating legond has been asked to commentate for the games and he has his eyes on Katniss.

_____________________

PART 1 of 3

Primrose Everdeen hands Posey Hawthorne the bowl of popcorn as they settled in to the couch and get comfortable in front of the TV to watch Prim’s sister and Posey’s brother as they are interviewed on a world wide broadcast before the opening ceremony of the 2018 Olympic Games. Gale Hawthorne and Katniss Everdeen are entering the winter Olympic games with a record breaking score and third world-championship title, determined to give their best and bring a Gold medal to their home country of Panem in this year’s Winter Olympic Games before they retire indefinitely.

“Did you see all the relationship questions in every interview this week?” Posey asks with an amused expression on her face.

Prim bites back a laugh, think of how awkward that could have been.

There’s not question about how close Gale and Katniss are. After skating together for 20 years their bond is strong. Their friendship, partnership, and dependence on each other by many standards they are in a relationship. They are also so succinct, they read each other and understand one another. They have to in order to excel on the ice as a team. They know what the other is thinking, on the ice.

Before the broadcast starts Prim pulls up some of the newest buzz and articles about Gale and Katniss’s relationship.

Prim is positive they’re going to blow away the judges this year with their performance. Unlike 4 years ago, they will get the gold they deserve, they have been undefeated in every championship title for the last year. Gale and Katniss’s technical skills are flawless. The tensions, awareness, and harmony they have on the ice translates as beautifully romantic.

If you don’t know them.

This why it’s too hard not to watch the drama unfold as an inside observer.

Posy and Prim laugh at each article as the writers speculate at length and read into every look, every sigh and every perceived romantic moment.

It’s even funnier that they don’t realize the trainwreck their unravelling. Gale cleverly keeps them guessing with his comments.

But what they aren’t catching is that he’s been trying to tell Katniss that he wants more. He hopes she’s finally ready.

Gale hints “We have a great working relationship. We love working together. We have to find out which way we want to do that after we retire.”

In true Katniss form, she gives him nothing to go on.

No reciprocation.

No hints of pining.

The interviews continue on the television:

“How long have you two been skating together?”

Gale wraps an arm around Katniss and answers proudly “20 years.”

“I mean, how nice to have lived this Olympic journey with your best friend?” Katniss adds.

“Did you always imagine yourself being a decorated ice dancer?”

“Well, skating has been in my family for years, I think I knew I would be on skates, so yeah, figure skating or hockey.” Gale flashes a look or memory in his intense gray eyes.

“Absolutely not!! Gale and I tried every sport when we were kids. Actually I think in elementary school I wrote about being a Gold Medal speed skater like Rye Mellark as my first aspiration.” Katniss smiles and her voice softens as she says ‘Mellark.’

Gale’s posture stiffens.

“3 time Gold Medalist Peeta Mellark’s older brother was iconic when he won Panem a Gold in the late 90s.” The host explains.

Katniss started out with dreams as a speed skater, she was recruited by Gale’s aunt to figure skate because she raced with such passion. Gale and Katniss were paired up almost immediately.

“We’ve been best friends for 20 years…” Katniss explains.

But Gale has already been losing Katniss to Peeta Mellark for years. His kindness found a way of infiltrating the armor around her heart and wedged his way in.

At the world’s competition in 2013, the year before they headed to Sochi Katniss has a nervous breakdown and Peeta Mellark happened to be there to soothe and comfort her. Gale never understood this side of her. She was going to give it all up, the pressure was too great and Peeta gave her hope.

Katniss and Gale surpassed their own world record, but lost their world title by a jaw clenching 4 points to their fellow competitors and ‘frenemies’ Johanna Mason and Finnick Odair who competed for the nation of Unita Coasta.

Within the week Peeta had won his eighth consecutive world speed skating title for Panem.

Prim is the only one who knows and understands Katniss’s connection to Panem’s Golden Boy and 8 time olympic speed skating medalist. He’s been her inspiration from the beginning. Katniss will deny it, but everything else about her reveals the truth.

Katniss has been keeping an eye on Peeta since they were children.

The reporters can speculate all they want, #Everthorne could be trending worldwide, but the truth is Gale’s fire only perpetuates the fire in Katniss, and that translates on the ice as passion. He has never known how to calm her anxieties. Soothe her frustrations, understand her stubborn spirit. Supported her off the ice.

In 2016 when Gale and Katniss made the decision to come out of retirement and train for the 2018 Winter Olympics their focus and devotion was for their sport and each other.

Gale and Madge broke up because of the decision, Madge was ready to settle down and have a family at 26, and she assumed Gale was too.

Gale was quoted to saying, “I’ve been in a very serious relationship with our sport.” It’s a painful truth.

But the most painful truth is Gale can’t survive without Katniss.

He wasn’t as upset about things ending with Madge as he was with about the idea of losing Katniss.

Prim sighs as she thinks about Gale’s mood and expression those weeks. Determination.

That’s Gale’s second reason for completing in the winter games this year, he’s holding on tightly to Katniss and he doesn’t want it to end. As Gale poured everything into their career, he’s been desperately trying to convey that he’s always wanted it to be the two of them in the end.

Peeta Mellark has been promoting a new energy drink so he’s in a lot of ads that play during the televised Olympic footage.

Prim elbows Posey as Peeta Mellark’s blue eyes flash on screen, enhanced by the blue in the logo of the energy drink. Posey bites her lip and smiles shyly.

Peeta chose to retired after his third gold in 2014 and this Winter Olympics he’s been hired as a commentator during the games.

They ask Peeta how he feels about not being a competitor. “Do I miss competing? Ceaser, you have no idea, the desire is always there. It’s very powerful. So, yes, I miss it. But would I want to go back? No! But. of course I miss it. Sure, I spent fifteen years of my life truly dedicated towards the sport and thought of nothing else. I thought there was no life after the sport, so I put in my time. But there is huge life afterwards, a real life.” Peeta says with a grin.

Real.

After all the acting Gale and Katniss have to do on the ice as a “couple” real is a powerful word.

Prim picks up the subtle communication to Katniss and purses her lips.

Ceaser asks Peeta about him commentating, he has polite, engaging answers. Ultimately he wants to inspire kids to go after their dreams. Hart melt all over Panem.

“How has retirement been since those 2014 Games?”

“It’s been busy. I had always known that my career would be kind of a launching pad into many different entrepreneurial activities and I’ve never been one to sit back and relax. I’ve always been on the go, very hungry for more and it’s been amazing. I could write a book!”

“Will you write a book?” Ceaser asks.

Peeta laughs.

“Maybe I will, maybe a cookbook. But it’s been amazing and I’m blessed to have incredible wins and devastating losses throughout the years. But I think it’s all a part of this human experience that we are going through, it’s a lot of fun…” Peeta continues into a promotion for the sponsors.

“We heard that Katniss Everdeen is a good friend of yours, what do you think about her coming out of retirement and going after the Gold with her partner?”  Ceaser Flickerman prys.

At Katniss’s name Peeta’s eyes seem to dance. He schools his expression in an attempt to conceal the affected we all just saw.

“Oh Ceaser she’s going to win, THEY –they are going to win. Katniss is awesome. She is a really good person. She is multi-talented and she has a beautiful personality that I think the world deserves to see more of besides just the figure skater, the superstar… with all the philanthropic stuff she has done, you’re going to love what she’s going to do to inspire kids. She is just a badass, you know what I mean? I try to push her to do the things that fulfill her. Coming out of retirement, she doesn’t need Gold, that’s the thing, you know, she just loves to compete and do her best. But I tell her that it is more than that, she’s inspiring people at every end of the world!” Peeta finishes with a wide smile and dimples. Blue eyes locking in half the viewership, millions of woman sigh a crossed the world.

“Do you think Madge will take Gale back?” Prim asks Posey.

“Yeah I do.” Posey answers with a shrug.

“Good, because Peeta Mellark is a goner.” Prim states wide eyed with a funny expression on her face.

[dragonkeeper19600]

I saw someone ask about Roughedge, and was kinda curious about your own thoughts/headcanons about him if you had any?

Well, I’ve never really given Roughedge much thought before...

But coming with with headcanons for him sounds really fun, SO LET’S DO IT:

Before the war, Roughedge worked as a security guard at some kind of weapons lab.

The weapons cache developed here were originally meant for off-world enemies (of the sort Fixit mentions in “Ghosts and Impostors”), but Cybertron’s Golden Age had left things relatively peaceful. With no foreign threats to necessitate new weapons development, the lab was in danger of losing its funding.

So, to keep up interest, the lab began accepting commissions from Kaon’s gladiatorial arena. The best fighters would get sponsors that would get them better weapons. Watching two big guys just beat the snot out of each other over and over began boring, so sponsors and their clients (the gladiators) would go to the lab to get modifications to make the fights more interesting.

Roughedge was aware of the lab’s decline in integrity. This place was once a collection of some of Cybertron’s finest minds, united for the purpose of defending the people. Now, it was used for Cybertronian’s to tear each other apart. It was demoralizing, to say the least.

Still, a paycheck was a paycheck, and Roughedge did his job without complaining. He knew he had it better than some people.

Roughedge was once dragged by his coworkers to a match in Kaon. “We spend all our time guarding this heat, we might as well see it in action, huh?” Plus, a relative newcomer named Megatronus was scheduled for that night, and the tickets had been expensive. Roughedge had no interest in going. It was better for such violence to remain in the abstract. But peer pressure won the day, so he went.

The fight was even worse than he had imagined, in the rare moments when he’d allowed himself to imagine it. It was so visceral and undeniably unglamorous. When someone lost a limb, it just lay there on the ground like any other object with its own mass and solidity. The impact of one body against another made a resounding crash like nothing he’d ever heard. There was a heaviness to the whole proceeding, the inescapable sense of living metal in a tumble dryer. It made his stomach turn.

What made him the most nervous, however, was Megatronus himself. The man was vicious in the arena and really seemed to revel in the adulation the crowd heaped on him. Megatronus’s fans tried to frame his fortitude in battle as the triumph of a will to live, but Roughedge wasn't fooled. There was real bloodlust there. All his talk of changing society and  defying those who ignored the plight of the downtrodden made Roughedge uncomfortable. He sensed that this Megatronus was a troublemaker. 

Perhaps most worrisome of all was that sword of his, that wrist blade that was his weapon of choice. That hadn’t come from the lab. Where had he gotten it?

Roughedge’s fears came true after Megatronus’s falling out with the Council. One night, a mob of Megatronus’s newly christened Decepticons got the idea to raid the lab. What had started off as a riot turned into a mass assault as one Decepticon crashed a small personal flier into the lab, knocking a huge hole in the wall through which the streamed the angry masses.

Roughedge and the rest of the guard tried to fight them off, but there were simply too many, and they did not respond kindly to Roughedge shooting at them with a blaster. They surrounded him, and Roughedge was practically trampled under a mass of feet and tires as the crowd jeered. 

Eventually, they got bored and left him, but the worse was yet to come. Seeing the danger of letting Megatron’s followers leave with all this weapons technology, the Council sent in the Autobot Elite Guard to put an end to the riot. Seeing their approach, one Con panicked and ignited the armory’s explosives. The resulting blast caused the building to collapse on top of Roughedge. 

Not every guard survived that night. Roughedge got lucky.

The draft notice came after Roughedge recovered. He damn near had a panic attack when he saw it. In his head, he saw the way Megatonus had skewered his opponent on the end of his blade. He saw the jeering faces of the Decepticons who had surrounded him, their optics flashing red. He saw the steel beams of the lab as they rushed down upon him. He couldn’t do that again. He just couldn’t.

He, like so many others, fled the planet.

In his ship, alone, Roughedge sometimes listened for signals from Cybertron. At first, he heard the news. Another Prime had risen since the fall of Sentinel Zeta Prime. Beloved by all, Optimus Prime left the broadcasters confident that the war would be over quickly. But the tone became more urgent as they reported the fall of one city, then another. Soon, the broadcasts turned from declarations into questions. Has anyone seen so-and-so? Has anyone heard updates from Polyhex? Can anyone hear me? Oh, Primus, is there anyone there?

Eventually, the only things he could pick up were strings of code. Ciphers clearly intended for someone. Just not for him.

He used to respond to distress signals, but he eventually learned better. People these days didn’t send distress calls anymore. If they were out of fuel, about to crash, alone on a rock, whatever, it was better than attracting the wrong kind of help. Nine times out of ten, the SOS was actually a trap. 

Roughedge had a few close calls. He’d go to assist someone who claimed to be stranded and alone, maybe to share some fuel or talk, just talk to someone for once, but it would turn out there would be five people there, waiting to dismantle him for spare parts. His Autobot insignia especially drew ire. He had tried to claw it out, but it had hurt too badly, and he stopped.

Roughedge survived, however, because he fought tooth and nail to live. He utilized his training to take down multiple opponents at once. He remembered seeing his coworkers dead in the lab, the heavy, gray, finality of it, and he vowed that the war would not do that to him.

He had escaped being a soldier, but he couldn’t escape the fighting.

Roughedge became disturbed with how desensitized he had become to violence. He wondered what he was turning into. But then he remembered the worse of Megatronus: Violence is not depravity, it is the triumph of a will to live. Those words kept him sane. He realized they may have done the same for him, too.

Roughedge’s luck turned around when he met Shadelock. Shadelock was a Vehicon, born with no name, just a number, used as a tool for the purposes of those above him. The same object that Megatronus had used to be, only it was that same Megatronus who was now using him. Once he learned of the history he had been born into, he became fed up and deserted. No one ever bothered to put out a bounty for him. He was just one Vehicon.

Roughedge found a companion in Shadelock. He, too, had been utilized as a tool for those in control of his faction. But Roughedge had felt diminished when he’d fled the Autobot fold because the stability in his life was gone. Shadelock was liberated by it. Factions held you down, they restricted how you could behave, who you could associate with, who you could be. A whole messy tangle of alliances and rules, that mess it what caused war in the first place. Screw it, screw the whole thing.

There was only rule simple enough to matter: I do this, I get paid.

Roughedge and Shadelock have always taken clients who are shady at best, but in the days of the war’s fallout, that was really the only clientele there was. The job never mattered because there was no longer any attachment to it. Shadelock had been bred to kill without feeling, Roughedge had had to learn it. But once you learn something like that, it’s who you are forever. By the time Roughedge realized this, it was too late.

Neither of them made any attempt to reintegrate themselves into society once Cybertron’s reconstruction began. They no longer knew how to live that way. 

[riverofmemoriesft]

. Between the Lines . 165

Lucy thought her ribs were going to break when she was tackled by an overjoyed Natsu after finally getting to Hargeon the next day. Cobra cackled as she struggled to push him off. "I can't breathe," she gasped.

"Sorry!" Natsu pulled back and happily kept a grip on her good arm. She could see his sharp onyx eyes studying her. And then he gave her his signature grin, looking exceptionally happy as he told her, "I missed you."

Lucy had to fight back the urge to snort at his behavior. "I can see that." She patted his arm gently, letting her happiness at being with him again show through the gentleness of her touch. She wouldn't say it aloud, but she'd missed him and been a little lost without her excitable partner in crime.

"Lucy!" Wendy cheered as she tackled her in a lighter hug. Lucy laughed and hugged her and then let Happy join in.

"It appears you were missed by more than just Natsu," Jellal mused with amusement, Charle standing awkwardly at his feet as people openly stared at the group. A few looked annoyed, some hateful. More than one looked excited and whispered to one another, pointing their way.

"I missed her most though!" Natsu crowed, slinging an arm around her shoulders.

"Who the hell cares who missed Blondie most?" Cobra huffed. "Can we go now?"

"Yes," Lucy reassured with a laugh. He just wanted to see Kinana. As if reading her mind, he gave her a dark look. She pretended not to notice and leaned into Natsu's side as she greeted Jellal.

They made their way out of the airport and down the street. The train station wasn't too far away, and Lucy found herself exceptionally relieved to finally be getting home. She hadn't minded taking the job that had been requested of her - it hadn't been too bad, actually. But she'd missed her boyfriend and team, and she'd found herself expecting someone to react in a way the didn't.

When they climbed on the train, Natsu looked hopefully to Wendy, but she shook her head. "I don't want it to stop working on you," she explained. "I'll do my Troia for you though, if you'd like," she offered to Cobra with a beaming smile.

"Troia…?" He squinted suspiciously at her, as if not entirely looking forward to whatever she was suggesting.

"No more motion sickness," Lucy explained with a grin. "Natsu's favorite spell."

Cobra seemed to contemplate this for a moment before reluctantly agreeing, and Wendy murmured under her breath to herself as she went to work. He watched her with a wary look, and from where she was being carried gently by Jellal, Charle scolded, "Don't overuse your magic on something so ridiculous, child."

"I'm not," Wendy promised.

Lucy turned her attention back on Natsu, furrowing her brow in thought. "Natsu," she said, and then added, "Jellal, you too…these people we went after. They lured us in, as well as Sabertooth. They were after my keys, and Yukino's, too, I think."

There was a moment in which she was stared at, and then Natsu proceeded to burst into flames. Lucy gave him a glare; just because they weren't required to keep magic hidden didn't mean that he needed to promptly light himself on fire!

Jellal was far more quiet in his response, saying slowly, "I don't know why, but it doesn't surprise me. Many people would come after the Zodiac keys, Lucy."

The blonde touched the metal lovingly. "And no one will ever touch them," she muttered darkly.

"Lucy," Wendy said, turning to glance at her. "Would you like me to look at your arm on the train?"

"I'd appreciate it a lot," Lucy said honestly. "It can wait until we get home if it needs to though."

"I'll do it on the train," Wendy hummed. "I don't get to heal broken bones often. It's good practice." Lucy gave her a long look, as if uncertain as to whether or not that was a normal thing for someone with magic that healed to be saying. But she shrugged and moved on, turning to Jellal again.

"I recommend," Jellal said, continuing their conversation. "That you make sure to go nowhere alone. You're far more powerful than you were - particularly with how you've mastered that spell of yours. But just to be safe. There are ways that people can catch you unprepared. Your magic is unlike ours. You can't just summon it with your soul just yet. You require the touch of your keys and words."

"You mean I just can't suddenly breathe fire," Lucy murmured in understanding, eyeing Natsu, who was still leaking smoke from his nostrils. She gave him a glare until he stopped. "I get it. I'll make sure that someone's with me at all times," she promised, and then beamed a thoughtful Happy dropped onto her head, lightly using his claws to stay in place. He made sure not to hurt her head too badly with them.

Natsu tugged his scarf from his mouth and then subconsciously rubbed his chest, looking off into the distance without another word, even as Lucy questioned him.

Something's wrong, he decided, but it didn't bother him so much.

At least Lucy was with him now.

Evening found Lucy happily sitting at the bar in Fairy Tail's headquarters with Natsu on one side of her and an exhausted Gray on her other. A paper was before her, a carefully handwritten report filled out, and she was just signing her name as she asked, "What's up with you, Gray?"

"Training," he moaned. "Against Erza."

Natsu flinched in sympathy, but taunted, "Not strong enough to fend her off?"

"On the contrary," Erza's voice cut in. "He managed to accidentally cut my cheek."

The trio of mages glanced up as she came over, her hands on her jean-clad hips. Indeed, a long cut stretched from her temple to her chin. "Wendy offered to heal it, but every mage likes their scars. How's your arm, Lucy?"

"Sore," she admitted, eyeing her healed arm. She flexed her hand and grimaced. "She said that they would be for a day or two though, so…"

"You'll have time to heal before the Grand Magic Games then," she said firmly, beaming. Erza's eyes glowed as she told her, "We leave soon. It'll take us a good day or so to get the entire guild there. The Council's set up people to defend Magnolia in our absence."

"Everyone's coming?" Lucy said in alarm.

"Everyone," Erza confirmed. "They've built a magically enhanced stadium for it. They're broadcasting it across Fiore on every television."

"Great." Lucy sighed. So she'd fail in front of everyone. She sucked her lower lip between her teeth and chewed on it, her dark eyes troubled. Gray noticed and squinted at her from where he'd rested his head on the bar.

"What?" he grunted. "Don't want to compete?"

Natsu whirled in his seat, his onyx eyes landing on Lucy with a sharp look. "You don't want to compete, Luce?"

Lucy flushed as Erza looked her way, too. She raked a hand through her long hair as she sat back, shaking her head. "No, I do. I'd like to try, just...I don't think I'm going to do well. There are so many other mages who would have been a better choice. I wish Master had picked someone like...you guys, who's been using magic for longer than a year."

"Lucy," Gray drawled, sitting up and speaking hastily before Natsu could launch into his speech. "Listen. You're not the strongest. We aren't either. That title belongs to someone like Gildarts, maybe even a mage in another country. Here's the thing: your potential magic is incredible, surpasses quite a few of us."

"I believe it may surpass my own abilities," Erza added. Lucy squirmed uncomfortably at the compliment.

"And the rate at which you've improved and trained over just one year is incredible," Gray continued. "Do you know how long it took me to master making one weapon with ice? Or how long it took Natsu to manipulate the fire like he does? It took Erza years to entirely master and control the magic she uses."

"What the moron is saying," Natsu cut in impatiently, "Is that you're badass and Master picked ya for a reason. And if ya lose a match, you lose it. No big deal."

"That," Gray muttered, waving awkwardly at his rival. "What he said."

Erza only smiled warmly at her.

Lucy flushed a brilliant red and tried to blink back tears, honored by what they'd said about her. "I guess," she finally managed to get out, voice thick with emotion. "Thanks. All of you."

Gray gave her a grin and ruffled her hair affectionately before going to sit with Juvia, who'd begun to hesitantly approach them. But she'd stopped with an uncertain look, her eyes wide. Erza slammed Lucy into her chest for a hug, and Lucy gave a grimace of pain that Natsu cackled at.

When Erza had gone Natsu suddenly leaned towards her, getting in her personal space. Lucy narrowed her eyes and leaned back. "What are you doing?" she demanded, and he suddenly gave a beaming grin. Aware that Mirajane was watching them, Lucy arched a brow.

"I wanna go on a date when we're in Crocus," he told her and she blinked in surprise. "And I don't want to do something like we've been doing. I want to do something else."

"We can do that," she said slowly. She thought over all of it, narrowing her eyes as she contemplated what they could do in the city she'd lived in for quite some time. She came up blank, however, and frowned. "We'll have to see what's available, 'cause-"

"There's gonna be a small festival in town," he cut in. Lucy's lips parted; he'd already looked into this! "There's gonna be food and music and stuff, so I thought we could mess around there. It's not as big as our Fantasia Parade and stuff, but…"

"That sounds like fun, Natsu, let's do it," Lucy agreed, amused with him. She reached out and tapped his nose once. "So long as you're rich self pays for it, because my money is going towards rent."

"I can pay rent for you, too," he offered, and she shot his cheekily smiling self a glare before bidding him an amused farewell so that she could go and see what Wendy wanted when the girl waved for her attention. Natsu watched her go and then grimaced, rubbing away a phantom pain in his side.

Mirajane sashayed her way over and gave him a smile as she hummed, "Plotting with Lucy, Natsu?"

"Not plotting," he huffed. "Planning."

"Good. Take Gray and Juvia with you when you go, or Erza and Jellal. Even my brother and Evergreen. I need someone to screw with and tease since I can't affect you anymore." Her lips pulled into a pout.

He rolled his onyx eyes. "Go mess with Lisanna. She's been hanging out a lot with Bickslow, hasn't she?"

She sighed heavily. "Yes, but Bickslow complains to Laxus. I don't want Laxus being grouchy." As if this was the worst thing that could happen to her, the S-Class mage slouched across the bar and pleaded, "Tell me if you think Kinana would be a good victim!"

Natsu smirked, entirely amused with this. Mostly because he wasn't on the receiving end of this. "Nah, Cobra would get too pissed off. I think ya should mess with Levy about the whole marriage thing. Or Romeo and Wendy."

Mirajane clasped her hands together happily. "You," she said with a laugh, "Are one devious person, Natsu."

Natsu beamed like some kind of innocent child. "Only 'cause I can use it against 'em later."

Cobra, who'd passed by with thoughtful look, paused to squint at him. "...hey, lady," he said, addressing Mirajane. "Have him tell you 'bout how he's being a little clingy."

Natsu whirled on the other dragon slayer, bristling. "I am not," he snapped.

"Ooh, such a response," Mirajane teased.

Natsu scowled, suddenly aggravated. He was more than grateful when someone called his name - Wendy, he realized, a troubled look on her face. He scampered over as fast as he could, blowing a streak of fire at Cobra. He ducked to avoid it, cackling to himself.

"What's up?" he huffed as he reached Wendy, shoving his hands into his jean pockets. His onyx eyes shone with annoyance.

Lucy, who was seated on a bench, looked pale, he realized, and it made him suspicious. "What's wrong?" he demanded, furious suddenly. He found himself stressed as he rubbed his chest. What the hell was going on?!

"Lucy," Wendy said hesitantly, sensing that he was ready to blow. She faltered, suddenly nervous, and that just upset him further.

He'd done nothing to make her nervous of him!

Smoke poured from his nostrils as he huffed and Lucy sighed softly. "Walk me home," she ordered more than asked. It only proceeded to make him scowl. Lucy sent Wendy to the bar to get some water and they left soon after.

"Lucy!" Natsu demanded as they made their way through Magnolia. He could feel the desperate pressure in his chest that told him something was wrong, tearing at him, trying to claw its way free.

"Remember," she said quietly, "When I asked what people knew about anti-ethernano tumors? Back before we left Hargeon for Tenrou Island?"

Not liking where this was going, he nodded.

"I'd gotten one when I was little according to Momma's diary." Lucy's voice trembled now. "When Wendy was helping with my arm, she thought there was something off. So she took a look and found one here." She tapped her side. "I just...Natsu. Compared to you guys, how much magic have I truly used?" Her voice rose a little, confusion flashing across her face.

He was stunned. Anger flooded him, but then he shoved it down, not wanting to upset her further. "You'll...you'll be okay though?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Porlyusica's going to come and help Wendy remove it within the next few days." She took a shaking breath. "I just...don't understand." She threw her hands in the air, desperate. "Why is this not happening to you and the others? You use magic so much more often than I do!"

"I don't know," he admitted, and then scowled.

But he was sure as hell determined to find out.