#just another example of why manuel is best boy

[pigdemonart]

Ahaha

[criminalmutantsins]

My Top 10 Favorite Ducktales Characters

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NO. 10 Hewey Duck

At number 10 is Huey!

Hewey has been my least favorite triplet for most of the series; it by no means he’s a bad character or any of the sorts, Huey is more down to earth compared to other characters. It’s hard to say much about Hewey other than how he’s a sweet, fun character I’m glad is around.

His development in season three was good, though the weakest of the three. Kinda half-baked and rushed, as if the creators thought, “we have to add some Huey development since this is his season.” With Dewey and Louie’s, it felt like their respective seasons revolved around them instead of the other way around. The only episode I really think perfectly gave Huey development and at the same time move the main plot forward fluidly was the “Challenge of the Senior Junior Woodchucks!” with the whole Huey vs. Violet rivalry. Y’know what also sucks. Huey wasn’t even that integral to the finale. That annoys me to no end.

Now, I’m going to end this with positive notes.

What got Huey into the list was his sweet nature and how integral he is to the team’s balance. Every team needs someone who represents order and Huey is just that. Plus, his innocent love for romance is so cute. I love the episode where him and Webby were setting a date up for Fenton and Gandra.

NO. 9 Scrooge McDuck

Scrooge is probably the most interesting protagonist I’ve ever watched. Unlike most of them, he’s more of an anti-hero than a pure hero like Steven Universe or Luz from Owl House.

I don’t really have much to say about him because I don’t love him as much as the characters above him. He probably has the best development- Lena’s rivaling his really well. In the beginning, Scrooge was a grumpy miser but now, thanks to the kids, his heart is softer and more open. His cheapness is annoying, but the good qualities overthrow the bad.

Scrooge most likely would’ve been higher in the list if “The Life & Crimes of Scrooge McDuck” didn’t happen- or at least occurred in season two instead since humility and hard work was the main theme. The writers went overboard showing the audience how bad of a person Scrooge was in the past, especially with him taking advantage of the poor villagers and leaving them in their states-without even helping them. This episode downgraded Scrooge pretty badly.

NO. 8 Donald Duck

Although on the lower half of the list, I still hold so much love and respect for this version of Donald. He’s such a massive improvement from his previous iteration. The creators made him kind and strong-willed but kept his anger issues. Though, they turned that flaw into a more comedic and positive aspect of Donald since he uses that intense anger to protect his family. Speaking of that, his relationship with the triplets is absolutely adorable. He loves and protects them like a great father, and I’m still a bit peeved that characters didn’t acknowledge that more. Instead, their relationship was sidelined and pretty much haphazardly... replaced-I don’t know if that’s the right word- with May and June.

Another thing that annoyed me was Donald’s voice treatment. The creators pretty much portrayed his speaking problem as a joke, which is terrible. I hope to goodness that children with speaking troubles don’t take those “jokes” to heart because there is nothing wrong with having a different voice. It’s also surprising how much characters mostly don’t understand him when I can seventy percent of the time. This complaint is more towards season one since that was the season where most of the jokes happened.

Anyways, I hope this Donald will start a new beginning for the next iterations of him. A nice guy who has anger issues but means well. Same with him and Daisy’s relationship-another massive improvement the writers did. They are such a great couple from the episodes we got with them and this dynamic should continue.

NO. 7 Webby Vanderquack

Another character who was massively improved was the great Webby Vanderquack!

In the original series, she was a boring damsel-in-distress with no personality-pretty much like the earliest Disney princesses. The ‘17 creators did such a great job molding reboot Webby into a character who can kill you with kindness or impressive fighting skills. This pink-loving queen is probably the sweetest character I’ve ever met; I just want to hug her.

I love her optimism and caring personality. She was able to change Lena for the better and not give up on her when almost everyone did. Webby is the best friend you can have.

While I’m not fully on board with the Webby finale twist, I really liked how her interest in the McDucks played some big part of the finale. Do I wish it was in different circumstances? Yes, but I’m still glad Webby got an important moment for herself. That interrogation scene was very emotional; seeing Beakley fully breakdown like she did was shocking and really set the mood of how pivotal that moment. I literally almost cried seeing Webby so heartbroken by her grandmother’s lies- this pink baby deserves all the love in the world. At least she found out the truth and gained a parental figure in her life.

NO. 6 Louie Duck

I’ve gotta admit; I did not like Louie that much at the start of the show. Greedy and selfish characters usually don’t get my love, but season two changed. A lot more depth was added to him such as his insecurities and anxieties. I struggle with these issues and it was nice to see a character show that as well. One of my favorite arcs was Louie’s trouble connecting with Della; it was realistic and not rushed. While watching this season, I was often having trouble connecting with people, even old friends. Sort of having someone experiencing them alongside me made me feel less insecure and lonely.

His development was really good too, from beginning to end. At first, Louie was someone who was willing to execute every angle no matter how much it could hurt his loved ones. Yet, he grew to be a humbler person who now knows the consequences of his angles. A favorite episode of mine is “The Richest Duck in the World” because of this development. Seeing Louie clean the Bombei’s shoes with Scrooge made my heart melt.

What lowered him down to number eight was season three. There were a few episodes that backtracked Louie’s development like “The Trickening” and “The Fight for Castle McDuck” episodes. He was a real jerk towards Huey for no reason. It frustrated me enough to affect this list. And I also prefer other characters more.

NO. 5 Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera

You can’t expect me to not put this quirky and adorable dork in the top five! He’s one of the best boys in the show. Him being voiced by the great Lin-Manuel Miranda does add some bonus points- you can tell I’m a big Hamilton fan.

Like Webby, Fenton was drastically improved. He became this sweet, scatterbrained scientist who only wants to help people. I instantly fell in love with him. And it got even better when Fenton became Gizmoduck- my second favorite DT hero. He deserved so much more screen time, especially in season 3; “Beaks in the Shell” was not a good enough episode for Fenton and his relationship with Gandra. There should’ve been more. The finale moments he had was not satisfying enough, particularly him and DW sort of team up. It was rushed.

If a Darkwing Duck reboot takes place in the ’17 universe then Fenton must be a major character- at least show up in ten episodes a season. A Gizmoduck and Darkwing crossover is essential, and I will riot if it that doesn’t happen. And more Fandra, my fifth -maybe fourth- favorite ship.

I also had a big crush on Fenton back in season one. You can’t help but love him this sweety pie. This pretty much influenced thirty percent of his placement.

NO. 4 Launchpad McQuack

This muscular dummy is amazing! He brings a sense of comedy and light to every episode he is in. It’s infectious as h*ll!

I liked Launchpad instantly. He’s kind and wants the best for people. Optimistic characters are almost the best characters. They are great reminders of how there are still many good people in the world. Whenever I’m down and watch Ducktales, LP makes me feel a lot better with his dumb yet endearing moments. My favorite jokes are literally LP sending Beakley an invitation saying not to come and when he tried to make small talk with Gosalyn at the window; I can never stop laughing at those moments.

There are times when Launchpad’s dumbness irks me, but his good qualities overthrow that. Though, I wish he wasn’t used too much as comedy relief; LP had the potential to gain more development than what he got. I’ll give an example. Learning about his family would’ve been great to know- an appearance wouldn’t have hurt either. It could’ve opened a reason to why LP cares about Scrooge’s opinion and cares about him like a dad. Maybe there’s some bitterness in LP’s relationship with his dad and that’s why he doesn’t talk about his parents. Loopey not being introduced was a missed opportunity. Big brother Launchpad is all I need.

I also have a small crush on Launchpad, though mostly for his personality and voice. He’s still cute *wink.*

NO. 3 Drake Mallard

We made it to the top three! With the dashing caped crusader Darkwing Duck starting us off!

It’s funny how much I love a character who’s only appeared in like five-maybe six- episodes enough to put him in the top three. I had some trouble defining many reasons why I love him; it’s this weird connection I have with DW. He’s this dorky dummy who loved a big part of his childhood enough to make it his reality, yet I love him so much.

I think what made me fall in love with him was how similar we are. Like him, I was a meek person who got pushed a few times- either physically or mentally. Those times also inspired me to grow stronger and be an inspiration for the next generation. I can be pretty clumsy too(lol). Characters I see myself in are usually really high in my love list and it shouldn’t be surprising that Drake is one of them.

His kind and genuine nature was also what drew me in. And, I just made this realization, this is the first time I don’t prefer the original iteration over the latest one. I still love ‘91 Drake but he’s too arrogant.

Unlike the original DW, Drake became a hero to help others- though a wish for glory played a bit of a part too. This clumsy, stuttering actor took a step to become his hero and a future one for children like him. That’s admirable. His lovable personality also being so cute enough for me to want to give a big hug is a good addition.

NO. 2 Lena Sabrewing

Hands down Lena had the best development!

She started off as this distant loner who followed the gray area of morality. Now, Lena is a part of this loving family and her own person. A few of her episodes are my favorites, such as “Friendship Hates Magic!” and “A Nightmare on Killmotor Hill.” They are well-written episodes and hit me in the feels.

Like Louie and Drake, I see myself in Lena. There are times I’ve been afraid I’ll take on my family’s bad habits or turn like them. That’s why I love “A Nightmare on Killmotor Hill!” Watching Lena try to be good enough and feeling insecure reminded me of the dark times I usually think about. There are even times I have dreams of these issues. The creators must have been inspired by me (lol). Though, I am kind of jealous of Lena because of how great her friends are. I want friends like Webby and Violet.

Even so, I do have some issues with Lena. Her magic arc was not written as well as her previous arcs. This might be more of a personal opinion than anything, but I’m still going to say it. Lena learned to control her magic too quickly, and it was treated as more like a plot device. And a shaking one at that. For example, in “The Split Sword of Swanstantine” Lena was able to stop time and send her and Huey into his mindscape. But, somehow, she couldn’t conjure a burst of energy to attack Steelbeak; granted, Huey mentioned that, yet Lena’s reasoning was dumb. Attacking someone with magic is way easier than doing what she did. I’m a little lenient on this since that idea lead to more Huey development, though I’m still going to critique it.

A great thing about Lena learning was her temporary outfit change. She looks absolutely amazing in light colors, which I didn’t expect, and her hair design is what I saw she would look good in. The eye shape is kind of weird.

Lena’s magic mode is in my list of cosplays.

NO. 1 Dewey Duck

Finally, number one is Dewey Duck!

Dewey has stolen my heart since the beginning. His positivity and fun nature always make me smile, even during the toughest times.

In my opinion, Dewey has the best arc/development of the triplets. His arc trying to find out what happened to his mother was what kept me watching Ducktales and helped me see why this show is so special. Many of my favorite moments are in season one, specifically ones involving Dewey. For instance, the scene in “The Last Crash of the Sunchaser!” where Dewey was willing to risk his life to get the last piece of paper and possibly solve what happened to Della was emotional. Hearing the desperation in his voice while pleading with Scrooge to tell him what happened hit me hard. I can’t imagine how much pain HDL have gone through not knowing what happened and thinking they aren’t allowed to ask. It would be terrible to experience.

Another moment I loved was in “The Spear of Selene.” It was when Dewey was hesitant to know what happened as the possibility that Della was a bad person grew more prominent. He looked so defeated admitting that realization and it reminded me of myself. There were moments when I realized that my parents were not as good as I thought. It hurt me a lot. At least sweet Dewey didn’t have to go through that. The scene when Dewey started tearing up seeing his mom in the sphere was also heartwarming. I wanted to give him the biggest hug.

Dewey’s insecurities of not being good enough and to be loved is what I struggle with too. Its kind of different because I have trouble believing anyone loves me while he wants everybody to like him. Confidence is not my forte.

……………………………………………………………

[lesserfandomappreciation]

Hello hello!  Thank you that’s really kind of you!!! I love your writing (congrats on Chap 9, it was awesome)!

Personally I am terrible at flirting or even understanding how it works, so I did my best with this. Hope it comes across as good!

This wound up longer than expected, whoops! Flirting with Self-conscious s/o ( Red Shoes and the 7 Dwarfs )

Arthur

Charm out the wazoo. Arthur’s boisterous personality combined with his a princely upbringing and deeply instilled ideas on what a knight should be have created an inherent need to be charming when he’s interested in someone. It can range from surprisingly smooth to over-the-top. He’s pretty good at coming up with them on the go too, responding to what may be an innocuous question with a decent line.

His lines come in three main forms. 

Traditional knight/ye olde romantic keeping ideas of courtly wooing.

“May I join you, milady/milord?”

“Should you feel fear let me know. It’s a warrior’s duty to protect that which he treasures.”

Painfully, genuinely sweet lines that work only because he’s showing his real self and is not being over-the-top.

“Could I... hold your hand?”

Boasting: AKA showing off his muscles and hyping himself up (desperate moves he thankfully only rarely uses now thanks to his experience with Snow White)

The issue with all of these is that they come across as a bit fake or showy, as this type of flirting really isn’t for everyone. So a line missing when flirting with his self-conscious s/o is something he sort of expected. He doesn’t think it’s because they’re self-conscious, Arthur just thinks he messed up.

The way the self-consciousness manifests itself is going to change the way he reacts. For example, if they withdraw a lot, he’s going to think he really goofed it and is going to apologize, asking for clarification on what he did wrong so that he doesn’t do it again. That’s a very different reaction than if s/o were to bluntly tell him they didn’t believe him, leaving him dumbfounded.

The first reaction aside, Arthur would want to let them know he genuinely meant it, but his own lack of experience would really get in the way of that. How does he go about this? Him being him though, he would confront them directly about it and in that moment let his inner sweetheart shine as he makes it clear that he meant what he said. 

If they want to explain why they feel that way about themselves, great he’ll listen, but even if they don’t he asks them to not speak about themselves that way. They’re too wonderful to be hateful towards themselves.

After that the prince makes it a point to compliment them every single day. It’s not even always flirting, it’s straight up compliments. Their smarts, their passions, their looks, their hands, their eyes - everything is free game, and he’s not going to stop giving sincere compliments until they get it through their heads he likes them for them for a reason, and they should too. 

Pino

Stating facts about them counts as flirting, right? Cards on the table I don’t think Pino is really capable of flirting well, at least not on purpose. Yes, he’s mature and the eldest but that doesn’t necessarily equip him for the terrifying world that is interpersonal relationships outside of family. To even try to flirt takes a massive amount of pondering before he lets out a single word

His flirting, thus, is not so much flirting as it is:

A) stating things he likes about them/ Sort of.

“You are very smart. And strong. Strong and smart. Smrong.”

“You are a good size.”

B) complimenting them about something they did.

“Good job.”

“’You did good with that.” 

C) Giving up and just staring silently trying to think of something to say. Anything. Come on brain you helped build a selfie machine surely stringing words together isn’t that hard.

That one video of Lin-Manuel Miranda chanting “Come on brain, think of things.”

D) Any of the above, only his brothers are there to be the world’s best worst okayest wingmen.

The thing is, is that with this style of flirting barely comes across as flirting. S/o or not, it is going to be very difficult for anyone to pick up on any of this as intentional romantic interest rather than Pino being... Pino. Most people would maybe register this as awkward platonic compliments, if even that. His insecure s/o’s self-consciousness may not kick in for a while until they figure out that this is Pino desperately trying to show intentions.

Someone give this man cue cards he’s hurting.

Actually no don’t do that his brothers might get ideas. 

Despite this terrible inability to communicate romantic feelings, Pino does have one thing going for him. A stupid amount of emotional knowledge courtesy of keeping an eye on his brothers. Pino’s not dumb. When it comes to the people he really cares about he can get a good read on them. His s/o is no different. 

Upon realizing that s/o, the same s/o he has been pining after for weeks of awkward semi-flirting, has self-conscious issues, Pino is baffled. Bamboozled. Confusioned. Setting his own feelings to the side, the eldest brother works up the nerve to tell them full throttle that they are awesome. He doesn’t know what they have been through, nor where the feelings come from, but he will not let this stand. He is a little curt and blunt, but the intent is there.

If his s/o says 1 tiny negative thing about themselves, he’s armed with something they cannot deny. Facts. Pino has been debating his brothers for years, he will make charts if he has to.

Noki

Constant non-stopping stream of compliments. Noki is what happens when a fidget spinner is outfitted with an energy-drink powered engine. Pino, Hans and Jack can only somewhat keep him from vibrating into another dimension, and that’s with their powers combined. When he has someone in his sights, that energy is re-focused on making his s/o feel like royalty. 

Flirting is, if nothing else, absolutely amazing to witness in just how it is:

One constant stream of consciousness that results in compliment after compliment.

“That’s amazing, you’re amazing, that hat really suits you-”

“Your hair looks really nice today, though it usually looks nice every day-”

Painfully, unapologetically, sincerely sweet, gen-u-ine statements that could give anyone a bad case of sugar rush. 

“Why wouldn’t I want to be here? I really like spending time with you, you’re a really fun person.”

“When you smile your noise gets all crinkly and it’s super cute, you’re like a kitten!”

Cheesy, horrible one-liners that were bad in high school then and are bad in current times now. 

“Do you have a map? I keep getting lost in your eyes.” 

^^^^ That’s as much as I’m writing on that, this stuff is painful.

The painful part in all of this is that Noki, being Noki, is going to have no flippin’ clue that his s/o is feeling about this until he starts paying very close attention to their reactions. Are they turning away from him because they are hiding a blush, or because they are hiding tears? Are they blushing and incoherent because he’s just that good, or because they have no idea how to respond, this is a new experience to them, someone please show them mercy and send help. 

“Wait, you don’t believe me??? Why?!” Noki is not going to hide his bewilderment at all. This whole time he’s been flirting with them and they thought he was kidding??? He thought he was bad at this, not that they were going through some insecurities he may be encountering for the first time. He is going to sit down next to them, and s/o has about two seconds to decide whether or not they’re going to talk about it, because otherwise he is.

“You are amazing though! Everyone knows it! Snow White, Merlin, Sword-head, Hans, Jack, my brothers- we all know it! Do you think I could invent something that can possibly help this? You should have to go through life thinking badly of yourself when the world is a brighter place because of you! I-” 

TBH I do not have room for the whole rant here, but essentially this would likely wind up with him confessing because this is painfully obvious. 

By the end of this, he plans to make them blushy every single day until they see the them he sees, and beyond that too!

Kio

Shy sweetness that will punch you in the stomach when you least expect it. Oh you thought because he’s shyer and quieter than his brothers (and the entirety of the F7) that he isn’t capable of delivering some one-hit KOs using nothing but his words? You thought?! Pino is awkward but mature, Noki is a ball of constant validation, but Kio will use his reputation for shyness as an excuse to flirt out of the blue and then move on like nothing happened. 

Personal touch may be awkward for him but verbally making his s/o a goober just like him is his secret to being confident with his words. His s/o is in for it. 

Kio is a sneaky bastard who has the least range of flirtation (only 2 types really) but boy oh boy are they wildly different. 

The supreme sweetness that Noki (most of the boys if we’re being honest) take notes on when they want to be sweet to their loved ones.

“That’s a new bracelet isn’t it? It’s really suits you, you make it look good.”

“All your expressions are lovely but when you smile, the whole world seems brighter.”

The, ah, spicy stuff that none of the F7 besides Pino know that he is capable of uttering. Pino has no proof and is going crazy trying to prove to the group that the youngest brother can be downright heated with his flirting. 

“I could see you anywhere and be happy. Outside. Inside. In a house. In the bed. Especially the last one.”

“Your eyes are not the only part of you I could get lost in.”

Kio does not have the problem of not being clear in flirting. He’s not subtle. At all. As you’ve seen in some of the examples. The problem is that it can be a lot for a person to process, especially one that has self-consciousness issues. It really is out of the blue, which can throw the other person off when they’re not expecting it. Which is always. 

Thankfully, he is the happy middle between Noki and Pino’s ability to sense that something is wrong. It does take him a bit to pick up on it, but eventually he puts two and two together to realize s/o really is reacting oddly. Not in that they’re shy, but that there’s an underlying issue. It does take him a while to talk about it though because he has no clue how to approach it. It’s not a subject he’s good at tackling. 

The thought his s/o is going through this solo though does get him to gently pull them aside and ask them about it. He wants to know if it’s him overstepping into a very uncomfortable territory, if it’s specific things that trigger a certain response or if it’s something else entirely. Kio is a good listener, and mentally remembers a lot of notes for the next time he wants to compliment them. 

Very much makes it a point to let them know that hey, he likes them for them, and that yes, he is going to continue to give specific compliments their way because he adores them and they are worth it. 

[daresplaining]

Hey, Idk if you know this but imma ask you anyway cause I think you’re cool. ANYWAY, how do other hero’s react when they find out Daredevil is blind? (You have any HC’s that go along with it?)

    Hi, and thanks! I’m happy that running a comics blog is considered cool.

     This doesn’t actually come up as much as you’d think, because this kind of revelation almost never starts with people discovering that Daredevil is blind. Matt is (mostly) good at pretending he can see while in costume, since that’s an illusion he feels the need to maintain. Instead, what usually happens is this: someone (a fellow hero or otherwise) will learn that Matt is Daredevil, they’ll assume he fakes the blindness, Matt will then explain about the hypersenses, and that will be that. Sometimes he’ll be asked to prove it, but not always. 

[ID: Excerpt from Kesel’s Daredevil run. Matt and Foggy are standing together in an office. Foggy has his back to Matt (and the reader).]

Foggy: “Okay, Matt– you can stop pretending, now.”

Matt: “Foggy–?”

Foggy: “This whole ‘blind’ thing. I know you’re really Daredevil! Some ‘best friend’– lying to me all these years… playing me for a fool…”

Matt: “No, Foggy– you’re wrong! I thought you understood… I really am blind, from a childhood accident that heightened my remaining senses–”

Daredevil vol. 1 #353 by Karl Kesel, Cary Nord, and Christie Scheele

[ID: Daredevil and Karen Page are sitting together in a large, fancy, primarily green sitting room.] 

Karen: “And, your brother ‘Mike’… the aerial explosion in which you ‘died’… even your ‘blindness’… they were all nothing but ingenious frauds!”

Matt: “Two out of three right, my darling! I never had a brother… and that explosion was trumped up to flush out a would-be blackmailer! But, I have been blind for years… perhaps in more ways than one!”

Karen: “Really blind? I don’t… understand…!”

Matt: “When you get down to brass tacks, Karen… neither do I! As Matt, I told you once about the childhood accident that blinded me! That story was true, but not the whole truth!”

[ID: A panel showing a montage of Daredevil doing cool acrobatic tricks against an orange background.]

Matt (off-panel): “For, in some mysterious way, the same mishap that robbed me of my sight… amazingly sharpened my remaining senses, to far beyond those of other men… enabling me to avoid disasters, and to perform athletic feats that few people even dream of! Taste… touch… smell… hearing… all my senses were heightened! Except perhaps for that secret ingredient called… common sense! Why else would I never have told you before… that I love you?”

Daredevil vol. 1 #58 by Roy Thomas and Gene Colan

[ID: Daredevil and Black Panther are swinging in tandem across the nighttime city.]

T’Challa: “DD… I know I promised no questions… but I have never comprehended how a blind attorney can battle crime with the best of them! –If you truly are blind, that is!”

Matt: “I am… but I’ve got some other super-senses that just won’t quit! Remind me to tell you about ‘em sometime!”

Daredevil vol. 1 #69 by Roy Thomas and Gene Colan

[ID: Daredevil and Spider-Man– who is in his black costume– are crouched on a rooftop, talking.] 

Peter: “So… ‘Peter’, huh?”

Matt: “Yup. And in case you’re wondering, my handle is… Matt Murdock.”

Peter: “You’re kidding, right? I mean… Murdock’s blind… I mean… that is… uh, let’s go someplace and talk about this…”

[In the next panel they’re in Peter’s apartment, and in civvies. Matt is sitting on a chair, wearing a white shirt and blue pants. Peter is walking into the room, wearing a green shirt and blue pants.]

Matt: “Faintly acrid, but a nice apartment.”

Peter: “Boy, you really must be blind. And yeah, I had a fire recently. Let me understand– you could tell when you heard my heartbeat as Peter Parker and later as Spider-Man that we were the same guy? That’s some power. What do you call it?”

Matt: “Listening.”

Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man vol. 1 #110 by Peter David, Rich Buckler, and Bob Sharen

[ID: A panel of Luke Cage and Danny Rand– both in civvies– standing on a rooftop at night. They are looking up toward the viewer (at Daredevil, off-panel). Danny is holding up a newspaper.]

Luke: “You can put that down. He’s blind.”

Danny: “Oh, he really is blind. I thought he was pretending because of all the heat on him.”

Luke: “No, he’s really blind.”

Danny: “Oh.”

Daredevil vol. 2 #38 by Brian Michael Bendis, Manuel Gutierrez, and Matt Hollingsworth

    These are just a few examples, but you get the idea. It’s very rare that someone figures out that Daredevil is blind without it being tied to a full-on secret identity reveal. The best example I can think of is this great moment from one of the Daredevil/Batman crossovers. Trust the World’s Greatest Detective to figure it out…

[ID: Daredevil and Batman are standing together on a rooftop at night.]

Bruce: “Let’s say you’re visually impaired. You favor your other modes of sensory input. A subtle inclination of your head when there’s a sound. An extremely slight flaring of your nostrils, probably indicating olfactory acuteness. You’re practiced– or possess sensory enhancements– making your powers of observation markedly proficient.”

Matt: “Thanks. Yours aren’t bad, either.”

Daredevil and Batman by D.G. Chichester, Scott McDaniel, and Gregory Wright

    I love this because Matt’s blindness and powers would affect his body language, and I kind of wish that more characters– particularly those with combat expertise– would notice. As it stands, pretty much everyone who knows that Daredevil is blind also learns about his hypersenses immediately afterward, and since there’s always been a tendency for writers to allow Matt’s powers to get him out of situations that would generally require sight, his blindness doesn’t come up as much as I wish it would within the context of his actual hero work and team-ups. The little evidence available suggests that his fellow heroes are accommodating (we get little details, like the fact that the text on Matt’s Avengers ID card is written in braille) and they’re generally impressed by him, but they don’t make that big a deal of it. Sometimes they’ll forget he’s blind, but he is quick to remind them. In the wider context of the Marvel superhero community, a blind superhero isn’t that weird, no matter what Brainwashed Wolverine™ might claim:  

[ID: Wolverine and Matt (in costume, but without his mask) are fighting in Matt’s apartment. Wolverine is slashing with his claws; Matt is trying to restrain him]

Logan: “Hands offa me, you blind freak!”

Matt: “This isn’t you that’s saying this. You have to fight it, Wolverine. You’ve just been reprogrammed.”

Logan (caption): “Listen to you, Murdock: talking like you’re some kinda super hero– Ever wonder why they didn’t ask you to join their fancy teams, big shot? Ever wonder why you always work alone? ‘Cuz you’re blind. Handicapped. Oughta hear the sick jokes they crack behind your back–”

Wolverine (2003) #24 by Mark Millar, John Romita, Jr., Paul Mounts

    (This comes after a long rant about how Matt gets more dates than him. Brainwashed Wolverine™ was going through some stuff in this issue…)

    One context in which Matt’s blindness does come up is in his interactions with other blind superheroes. In these cases, it usually serves as a source of bonding. Gerry Conway gives us this weird-yet-touching issue in which Matt encounters a blind hero from another dimension:

[ID: Daredevil is standing over a figure (Tagak), who is wearing a purple and orange skin-tight suit and a leopard-print mask that covers his whole head.]

Matt: “Now maybe I’ll get some answers! Like, number one… who you are… and number two… how you pretend to see– when you’re blind!”

Tagak: “How…?”

Matt: “Big clue: the way you hesitated just now… and let’s just say it takes one to know one!”

Tagak: “Then you…? It seems there is much to speak about, my friend!”

Daredevil vol. 1 #72 Gerry Conway and Gene Colan

   Since Matt generally works so hard to hide his blindness while in costume, it’s notable that he shares this information with Tagak within minutes of meeting him– especially when he didn’t actually have to.

    Here’s a more recent example, from after Matt has revealed his secret identity to the Inhuman superhero Reader:

[ID: A panel showing Reader sitting at a table, with Matt– in civvies and with his arm in a sling– standing next to the table.]

Reader: “Wait… are you really blind? Gotta admit, I kind of liked being on a team with another blind guy.”

Matt: “I’m really blind.”

Reader: “Then how…”

Matt: “You’ve got your tricks, Reader, I’ve got mine.”

Daredevil vol. 5 #609 by Charles Soule and Phil Noto

    This example is a bit more complicated, since (spoiler alert) it’s all in Matt’s head, but 1. this conversation seems in-character for Reader anyway, and 2. the fact that Matt would want him to react this way is still significant.

    And then there are the villains! One of my favorite examples of Matt’s blindness coming into play in his hero work is this great scene from Waid’s run, in which the Jester– having learned Matt’s secret identity but assuming that the blindness is just an act (as everyone does at first, see above)– sets a trap that is entirely vision-reliant…

[ID: Matt, in civvies, comes across a life-sized dummy of Foggy hanging from a noose. He perceives it in an unrecognizable form with his radar sense. This alternates with panels of the Jester, who is sitting in front of an array of computer screens and getting increasingly agitated.]

Matt (caption): “And what is this? A Jaycees haunted house? Who are you supposed to represent?”

Jester: “He’s staring right at it! Why– why isn’t he reacting?”

Matt (caption): “Real dead bodies have a distinct odor, Jester. This smells like foam rubber and latex. What were you trying to accomplish here? Fail.”

Jester: “React, damn you! That’s your best friend hanging from a noose! Anyone who’s ever seen Murdock in a fight knows the ‘blind lawyer’ gag is a put-on! Open your eyes!”

Daredevil vol. 3 #32 by Mark Waid, Chris Samnee, and Javier Rodriguez

    I don’t really have headcanons as much as I have a wish to see more of this sort of thing in the source material itself (though I would love to hear other people’s headcanons, if they have some!). We’ve come a long way, in general, from the “Matt’s senses more than compensate for his blindness” attitude that plagued early (and some more recent, unfortunately) Daredevil comics, and Waid’s run in particular made great strides in this area, but I always feel like more can be done. I want Matt to hang out with more of the Marvel Universe’s other blind characters (there are a bunch of them!). I want his blindness to come up more often in his team-ups with sighted heroes. We’ve seen antagonists target his hypersenses, but I was surprised and a little disappointed that, back when his blindness was public knowledge, his rogues didn’t try to use that against him. On the other hand, we got awesome things like this during that period…

[ID: A panel showing Matt on the street, in civvies, signing an autograph for a blind kid with a service dog.]

Daredevil vol. 4 #11 by Mark Waid, Chris Samnee, and Matt Wilson

    …which is another of the many reasons I’m sad it’s over, as Matt/Daredevil interacting more with the non-powered disabled community is another thing I want– including negotiating his identity as a superpowered disabled person. 

    There’s a tricky line that needs to be walked in handling this aspect of Matt’s character. In making his blindness too prominent, or too debilitating, there’s a risk of turning him into a caricature or making it seem like a burden rather than a simple fact of his existence. Matt is a complex character, and his sensory array is only one part of that complexity. But he is one of the most prominent blind characters in comics– if not media in general– and I still feel like there are a lot of stories surrounding this part of his identity that haven’t yet been told, in the context of both the civilian and superhero sides of his life. 

[novoki]

Writing Tags

So for those that don’t know, tags are the ‘they said’ part of writing. This is something that a lot of people find difficult and, despite being such a small part of writing, can seriously ruin your story if done wrong.

So I’m here to give you guys an easy how-to guide on making sure your tags don’t suck, and that readers don’t get turned off three sentences into your story.

Step one: Throw Out the Excessive Stuff

Now this comes in two forms. Number one - specifying your characters too much. It’s perfectly fine to use ‘she’ three times in a row, your audience isn’t stupid and can pick up on who’s speaking through context clues (something I’ll touch on later). It’s absolutely one of my biggest pet peeves when people write about how “The skinny boy” said something when it’s completely not relevant to the story. Especially when there’s too much detail, like “the skinny dutch boy”. Why do we need to know he’s skinny? Why do we need to know he’s dutch? You can just say ‘boy’ and it’ll read fine! Don’t go overboard on your pronouns and adjective, especially when it’s unnecessary.

The other form is in the verb. Now, in school and classes and stuff, you get taught to use words other than ‘said’. Don’t listen to them! No, it’s horrible advice! Whilst yes, a text can get boring if people are “saying” something five times in a row, but it’s so much worse when one person said “whispered”, another “yelled”, and another “cried” all in a few paragraphs. It is very tiring as an audience to read that, so don’t be afraid to use ‘said’ every once in a while. Even better, use no tags! Readers can still pick up context clues and figure out who’s speaking.

Here’s an example:

You see this? Hurts to read, right? Too wordy, too much happening - you don’t like it, I don’t like it, Lin-Manuel Miranda doesn’t like it! So let’s tone it down a bit:

Lookie here - I only used tags twice, and I only used an original one once. The rest I used an action, or no tag at all. And it’s already much easier to read, right? Not perfect - but easier.

Step two: Place Tags in Different Orders

I feel like this is a pretty obvious one, but I’m still going to go over it because it’s quite a common mistake a lot of people make. Use a mix of sentences, too - simple, complex, clause, ect. It really improves the flow of your writing, and you’ll have more fun with it too.

An example:

This is quote boring to the reader because it has the same tone and pace throughout the whole thing. And even though we mixed verbs and actions, it’s still not the best piece of writing. Now look at this one:

Personally, I would have removed tags completely for at least one of these, but I kept them in just to show you how to mold your tags around different sentences.

Step three: Add Action

Another pretty well-known one, but a useful one nonetheless! As I’ve mentioned, completely erasing tags is a good way to go about solving this problem and one say of doing this is to replace it with an action. It can also help with the whole character confusion thing, as if you mention something a character does and then follow it with dialogue, the reader is going to assume they’re the ones who are talking now.

The fun thing with this is you can get creative with it - you don’t always have you do a ‘[action] [quote]’ you can experiment with the formula a lot. On top of this, going back to the point in the paragraph above, action can help you define that it is the same person speaking. 

For example:

In this whole passage, I’ve only used 2 tags and only one for Harvey. Yet you can still tell that the whole time it’s him who’s speaking, not everyone else. I did this by making it clear that the others weren’t doing anything - yes, I was describing their actions, but I was also describing their inaction by doing so.

Here’s an example of a passage without the use of action for tags:

Iffy, right? Right. So here’s one where I use action instead of verbs:

The last line actually brings me to my last point, which is:

Step four: Context Clues

Finally, the thing I’ve been on about for the last 10000 paragraphs is explained. And, honestly, it’s very easy. All you have to do is let your audience figure out who’s speaking. And whilst this may sound difficult, it really isn’t - you can’t assume the reader is a clueless nobody who can’t understand who’s speaking, because if you do it breaks up the immersion of the text.

Instead, leave clues in the dialogue. To make it clear one character isn’t speaking, make sure their name is mentioned so the audience knows it’s about them and not by them. I’m also positive your read will be able to deduct “wait - this character is talking about murdering people, so it must be the murderer” or “only this character speaks with this accent.”

We love examples here, so:

At no point here do I mention Dennis speaking, but it’s clear that he is. This is through context clues - the fact that Jake says his name, that Jake just spoke so the next line can’t be his, ect.

Context clues just make it a lot easier and less crowded - notice how I didn’t mention Jake saying the first line, either, but you guessed it was him because they’re the only ones in the scene.

Anyway, hope this helped you and have fun writing!

[noiseartists]

Mexican Shoegaze, Dream & Noise Pop, a quick guide, Vol.1

To present the great Mexican scene, we asked a specialist: Jairo Manzur, Editor of Sonidos que Permanecen (ex ‘Shoegaze Latino America’). And what a superb introduction it is.

Thanks to Lorrelle Meets the Obsolete, Lasitud, Los Kowalski, El Glum, Acty and Rilve for providing some of the material for this article.

INTRODUCTION

“I find it hard to introduce a genre so global (and kind of diffuse nowadays) as shoegaze even in a single country. In my mind, any attempt would just leave things out. So, instead of introducing Shoegaze in Mexico, I will try to propose a way to approach the genre in two different ways: a historical one and a geographical one. During this brief introduction, I will also refer to other articles that have highlighted bands and musical scenes.

Shoegaze in Mexico: a historical perspective.

When I was asked by Noise Artists to write an introduction to this guide, the first thing that came to my mind was to find and explore the roots of Shoegaze in Mexico. In general, Shoegaze become a musical phenomenon in Latin America during its resurgence around the 2010’s (a resurgence prompted by Internet communities dedicated to the genre and the worldwide availability of equipment and gear that was before too expensive or hard-to-find).

Nonetheless, many countries had seminal bands during the 90s; even if the examples are scarce bands like Silvania or Resplandor (both from Peru), Mellonta Tauta (Argentina) or Un.real (Puerto Rico) were pivotal in the development of shoegaze in Latin America. To my surprise, there is little information about bands doing Shoegaze during the 90s in Mexico.

In his introduction to the Pitchfork's list "The 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time", Peter Kember (founder of Sonic Boom and Spacemen 3) reminds that:

“If you had told me in 1991 that, 25 years later, I would be prefacing a list on Shoegaze, I would probably have told you it would never happen. Few of these bands paid even the slightest, fleeting lip service to commerciality. I couldn't see it.

But things change; even by 1993, I was redressing my views. I played a show that year in L.A. at Johnny Depp's Viper Room. The support band, to my complete amazement, was a Shoegaze band—a Mexican shoegaze band. The thought that this music might cut through cultures with such broad swathes had never occurred to me before, but now I could see this genre might have long legs, in between that gaze and those shoes.”

Kember does not state (and probably doesn't remember) the name of that Mexican band. Still, the mention is priceless and problematic: that band (and probably others) existed, yet we don't have any valuable information about them. So, that is a (re)search that needs to be addressed in the future. The location of the gig is also important: areas like Baja California (with Tijuana on the lead) have become important musical centers thanks to its proximity to the United States border. As noted by Erich E. Mendoza on "Tijuana's Independent Spirit Has Made It Home to One of Mexico's Most Exciting Music Scenes":

“To understand why the Tijuana scene is experiencing a revival, we have to dive into the early 90s, when a local band named Staura was just getting its start. Staura was made up of Gaby Spica, René Soberanis (better known as Loopdrop, another key band in this scene), and Omar Foglio, who would go on to become Tijuana's top independent promoter and launch Swenga Fest in 1995.

It was during the career of Staura and Loopdrop that the local public began to turn their heads and notice what was going on in the few venues and bars that had performance spaces for bands at the time. And it was through these initiatives and with this support that other acts like Ibi Ego and Shantelle began to come to life in the early 2000s.”

Shoegaze in Mexico: a geographical perspective.

Though Mexico City concentrates most of the population of the country, the musical scene in Mexico is well decentralized. As already commented, Baja California has been an important and fervent musical area for decades.

In recent years, bands like Lorelle Meets the Obsolete or Mint Field (mixing Shoegaze, Dream Pop and Psych Rock) have risen to global fame, by so increasing the already notorious presence of the area on the musical map of the country.

Aguascalientes also seems to have a strong bond with Shoegaze: bands like Le 1991, Bleak Boys, Car Crash Sisters and others, have explored the genre with success; the same happens to other states like Guanajuato (with interesting bands like DUVVI. Clan de Venus or the already disbanded Candy Colors) and Morelia.

Differently from other Latin American countries, the music in Mexico is not centered around the capital city. So, any attempt to think any genre has to encompass the country as a whole.

Lorelle Meets the obsolete

Mexico’s Lorelle Meets The Obsolete conduct a mind-blowing experiment in restrained noise. Bringing their intense new album ‘De Facto’ to the stage they now push electronics to the fore of their wall of sound. All elements (the surging guitars, clattering electronic beats and heavy live rhythms) coalesce into a wave of sound, like an acid rock Factory Floor. They sing mainly in Spanish with some detour through English.

There is an interesting article in the Guardian that points out that

A mix of shoegaze textures and darker psych stylings has earned Lorelle meets the Obsolete acclaim far beyond their native Mexico, with Robert Smith and Henry Rollins among their fans.

An other article in Sonic Cathedral points rightly about the evolution of the band’s sound on the last album:

De Facto isn’t just a progression from 2016’s acclaimed Balance, it’s a new start which sees Lorelle Meets The Obsolete ripping up their own rulebook and building everything up from scratch. When they returned to Ensenada after touring Balance in 2017, they built a new recording space with their roommate and touring synth player, José Orozco. As a result, a lot of the songs were initially conceived without guitars.

“There’s nothing unusual about this, but for us it was all new territory working this way,” explains Alberto. “Having a new palette of musical equipment gave us the chance to develop the songs in a different way, so songs were constructed around drumbeats and synth lines – most of the guitars only came at the end.”

The line-up is:

Lorena Quintanilla (Lorelle): Vocals, electric guitar & electric bass.

Alberto González (The Obsolete): Drums & percussion, electric bass, casiotone, electric & acoustic guitars.

Their music work to date is (we included links to some good reviews):

2011: On Welfare, album

2012: Ghost Archives, EP

2013: Corruptible Faces, album; Live In Mexico City; What's Holding You?, EP

2014: Chambers, album; Live in London

2015: God Unknown Records Split, EP

2016: Balance, album

2017: The Sound Of All Things, EP

2019: De Facto, album; Unificado (Pye Corner Audio Remix)

Some songs we love:

SADFIELDS

Sadfields are a Noise Pop band from Mexico City formed in 2015. After a fantastic first song, "Falling apart", the band released their first 6 songs' EP/LP. If you like a huge sound, cranked guitars, beautiful melodies, look no further. The Band and Noise Artists did a full artist presentation that you can find HERE

They sang in English but have started lately with lyrics in Spanish with gusto. The music work to date is:

2016: Falling apart, single

2017: Homesick, album; I don’t know why, single

2019: Atrás / Desaparecer, singles

The current line-up is:

Daniel Espinoza - Vox/Guitar

Miguel Lara - Bass

Erick Román - Drums

Some of the songs we love:

LOS KOWALSKI

The Kowalski are a band from Mérida, formed in 2011. They sing in Spanish and mix progressive rock and reverb Pop very efficiently.

“We create a color palette by means of distortion and echo waves, where melodies of reverberated voices appear, combining organic sounds with electronic sounds.”

The current line-up is:

Pablo Fuentes: drums, keyboard, guitar, voice

Manuel Gutiérrez: guitar, keyboard, voice

Arturo Ponce: bass, guitar, theremin

They have 2 EP, 1 album (see below) and are currently working on our second album, which they hope to release in early 2020:

2015: Sputnik, EP

2017: Sónica, EP

2018: Dejarte ir, album

2019: Sputnik, EP

Some of the songs we love:

ACTY

Formed in mid-2015, ACTY (Amparo Carmen Teresa Yolanda) is a band originally from the state of Hidalgo.

The 4 names making the acronym come from Compadre Lobo, a novel written by Gustavo Sainz. The band’s taste for literature is reflected in their songs, the lyrics narrate youthful anguish, while music envelops us in atmospheres of noise (Shoegaze, Kraut, Noise, Post -Punk.)

They are currently belong on the independent label "Amigos Records" with whom they have released their two albums in Cassettes. They have released 4 official videos, the most recent being "Nothing is what They Want." According to the band, their last album, ‘Once Veinte’

“is the turning point between what it would be and what it is. We follow the path of what it would be, renouncing what it is. That is why we are here, living that utopia that we always wanted but we never dared to discover.”

The music work to date is:

2016: Amparo Carmen Teresa Yolanda, album

2018: Once Veinte, album

The current line-up is:

Iván Aguilar: voice, guitar

Oscar Aguilar: drums

Emmanuel Cerón: bass

Some of the songs we love:

SPRAY CANELA

Spray Canela is an independent Mexican band and ‘always will be’:

“One day we realized that what is believed and said about the Mexican music scene is very partly a lie. Unhappy with the national scene we decided to take action by our own hand and stop limiting our ideas and sound, expanding out of our area of comfort. We record our own music and produce our own merchandise, we like to keep it that way.

Since 2017 Stupid Decisions has been our hallmark for sharing our vision about sound, as well as our taste for cassettes, independent distribution and other things that could be called D.I.Y.”

Their sound is always changing, song after song, from Shoegaze, Raw Post Punk and progressive Rock, giving them an almost organic life.

Their music work to date is:

2019: Síntomas De Un Punto Muerto, album; Domio Mundial / Ciccone, singles

2018: Milagro Adolescente, LP

Some of the song we love (the second piece is absolutely epic):

LASITUD

Lasitud is a Shoegazing / Dream Pop / Post-Rock band from Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico. They mix the experimentation and stridency of Shoegaze, the soft harmonies of Dream Pop and the sensitivity of Post-Rock, resulting in a deep sound full of unique textures.

“Listening to Lasitud is like taking a long journey of dream landscapes”.

The music work to date is:

2018:Lasitud, EP

2019: Fantasma , EP

The current line-up is:

Paola Vidal,voice and keyboards

Julio Beli in voice, guitars

Andrés Contreras, guitars

Max Campos, bass

José Gorrochotegui, drums

Some of the songs we love:

EL GLUM

Hailing from Guadalajara, Mexico, EL GLUM is the solo project of Eduardo Vela, the guitarist of alternative rock band Aurum, with a debut EP (Uno) in 2018. Seamlessly melding ’90s influenced dashes of shimmering shoegaze reverberations and atmospheric, lulling dream pop with energetic rhythms, mesmerizing synth and blurred vocals, El Glum has just dropped a new single “Lejos”. The music work to date is:

2019: Fuera, single; Lejos, single

2018: Uno, EP; Presente. Single

Some of the songs we love:

RILEV

RILEV is a Shoegaze / dreampop band originally from Mexico City. Their first EP was done and released totally independently. They are mainly inspired by nature and love and believe in music as a catalyst for strong emotions

The current line-up is:

Manuel Grados: Guitar, voice

Alexis Guzmán: Bass

Alfredo Reyes: Drums

 The music work to date is

 2018: Rilev EP

Some of the songs we love:

BLEAK BOYS

Bleak Boys are a band from Aguascalientes. They released their first music in 2014. Their music is a powerful ensemble and loaded with a loud sensibility,

Describing their music, the bands says:

We met somewhere in a dreamy landscape

The current band members are:

John: Guitars, Vocals, Synthesizer

Paco: Lead Guitar, Vocals

Cruz: Bass, Keyboards

Noel: Drums, Vocals

The musical work to date is:

2015: Part Time Punks Sessions, album; Tensegrity, EP

2014: Corrosive, EP; Ræd, single; Bleak Mates, single

Some of the songs we love:

[thisdaynews]

Premier League predictions: Lawro v rapper & Man Utd fan Avelino

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/premier-league-predictions-lawro-v-rapper-man-utd-fan-avelino/

Premier League predictions: Lawro v rapper & Man Utd fan Avelino

Arsenal host Chelsea on Sunday but which of these inconsistent sides will come out on top?

“Take away Liverpool, Leicester and Manchester City, and there are a lot of bang-average sides in the Premier League this season,” said BBC football expert Mark Lawrenson.

“People talk about how good Chelsea are ‘on their day’, and say the same about Tottenham or Arsenal too – but they are not having many days.

“All of these sides are being beaten by teams you would not expect to, and sometimes pretty easily.”

Lawro is making predictions for all 380 top-flight matches this season, against a variety of guests.

This weekend, he is up againstrapper and Manchester United fan Avelino.

Avelino grew up in Tottenham but fell in love with Manchester United after watching David Beckham and Paul Scholes on TV. “Kevin de Bruyne is the best player in the Premier league – much as I hate to say it. My favourite player cannot be a City player, though, so I am going with Paul Pogba. Why? On his day, he is unstoppable.”

Avelino, whose latest song Higher Power is out now, has been frustrated by United’s up-and-down form this season – and thinks Paul Pogba could help provide the solution.

“Nothing comes as a surprise to me with United this season,” he told BBC Sport. “I have been saying for a while that, in the bigger games, we tend to do all right.

“We just need to figure out a different way of playing because when we are asked to have most of the ball, it is like we don’t know how to break teams down – there are no ideas, it is like we are running into a brick wall.

“The reason Pogba could help fix that problem is because of his inventiveness. He can just pick a pass or do something where he changes a game with one moment.

“He is head and shoulders above the other guys. It is almost like being back in the playground, when one of the older boys would get on the ball. Everything about him is just better.

“I don’t think he can do it on his own, though. We have to build on what we have with him in the team, but we definitely need one or two other players who can do something similar.

“People say he is inconsistent but I think we have to admit United are not one of the best teams in the country right now, and he needs some help.

“Pogba plays with the best of the best for France, but it is not the same for him at United – and when the United team does not perform then it does not seem fair to always say it is his fault.”

Premier League predictions – week 20 Result Lawro Avelino SATURDAY Brighton v Bournemouth x-x 1-2 2-1 Newcastle v Everton x-x 1-1 1-1 Southampton v Crystal Palace x-x 2-0 0-1 Watford v Aston Villa x-x 2-1 2-0 Norwich v Tottenham x-x 0-2 2-1 West Ham v Leicester x-x 1-1 1-2 Burnley v Man Utd x-x 0-2 0-3 SUNDAY Arsenal v Chelsea x-x 1-1 0-2 Liverpool v Wolves x-x 2-0 1-1 Man City v Sheff Utd x-x 3-0 4-2

A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth10points. The exact score earns40points.

LAWRO’S PREDICTIONS

All kick-offs 15:00 GMT unless stated.

SATURDAY

Brighton v Bournemouth (12:30 GMT)

Brighton played well in the first half against Tottenham but ended up with nothing to show for it.

That seems to happen quite often with the Seagulls. They are nice to watch but they are not clinical at putting teams away.

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‘Lots of positives’ despite Brighton defeat – Graham Potter

Bournemouth are pretty similar, just more experienced at this level. Cherries striker Callum Wilson is fit again, which is a big boost for them, and it would be just like them to go to Brighton and win.

Lawro’s prediction:1-2

Avelino’s prediction:2-1

Newcastle v Everton

Everton got a good win over Burnley in Carlo Ancelotti’s first game as Toffees boss. They had to wait to make the breakthrough, but they deserved the points.

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Carlo Ancelotti pleased with ‘special’ Everton win

The worst thing Newcastle did in their defeat at Old Trafford was scoring first, because they made Manchester United angry.

However, the Magpies have been in decent form at St James’ Park under Steve Bruce – they have not lost there in the league since Arsenal beat them on the opening weekend.

If they react as a team, like they did after their last heavy loss against Leicester in September, when they responded by winning three and drawing one of their next five games, then they will get something out of this one.

Lawro’s prediction:1-1

Avelino’s prediction:1-1

Southampton v Crystal Palace

Southampton produced their best performance of the season to completely outplay Chelsea on Thursday.

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Massive performance from every Saints player – Ralph Hasenhuttl

Their results have picked up a lot in the past month, which shows what a good idea it was to back Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl when he was under pressure earlier in the season.

A lot of clubs might have reacted differently after losing 9-0 at home when they were in the bottom three.

Crystal Palace also got a really good result, fighting back from 1-0 down to beat West Ham, especially because the Eagles do not score very many goals.

I am going with another Southampton win here, though. They have the worst home record in the top flight at the moment, but Hasenhuttl has developed a knack of picking the right team to get the job done.

Lawro’s prediction:2-0

Avelino’s prediction:0-1

Watford v Aston Villa

Watford are off the bottom of the table and their improvement continues. They had to work very hard for their point against Sheffield United last time out – but they got it.

The great thing for new Hornets boss Nigel Pearson is that he has come in and got results straight away.

Doing that means he gets a response on the training ground too, because the players think: ‘He knows what he is talking about.’

Aston Villa hung on to beat Norwich but it is a real worry for them that they are conceding so many goals and chances.

It is alarming how open they are, and that is why I am backing the Watford revival to continue.

Lawro’s prediction:2-1

Avelino’s prediction:2-0

Norwich v Tottenham

Norwich made lots of chances in their defeat by Aston Villa but, not for the first time this season, they finished empty handed.

The Canaries will think they can get at Spurs too but, unless they improve defensively, this will probably end up with a familiar outcome for Daniel Farke’s side.

Lawro’s prediction:0-2

Avelino’s prediction:There might be a bit of a shock here. 2-1

West Ham v Leicester (17:30)

I thought Leicester’s tactics were strange in Thursday’s defeat by Liverpool. James Maddison was on the left of midfield but he kept disappearing to come inside and play, because that is what he does.

That left Trent Alexander-Arnold completely free to pile forward down Liverpool’s right. Everyone knows what a threat he is, and I don’t really understand how Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers did not spot what was happening, or try to change things to stop him.

Leicester are now without a win in three league games, and I am not convinced they will get a victory here, either.

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Manuel Pellegrini ‘disappointed’ with manner of West Ham defeat

The pressure is mounting on West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini as his side slide down the table, but they have picked up some decent one-off results along the way and I just have a feeling this will end up in a draw.

Lawro’s prediction:1-1

Avelino’s prediction:1-2

Burnley v Man Utd (19:45)

Which Manchester United will show up? At the moment, you just don’t know.

As poor as they can be – their defeat by Watford before Christmas, for example – United are very dangerous when they are at it.

This is a tough game to predict, because I also think Burnley will be better than they were when they lost at Goodison Park in their last game.

But if United play well, they will win.

Lawro’s prediction:0-2

Avelino’s prediction:I have been buzzing off United striker Mason Greenwood since before the season started. He is unreal.

I speak to some of the people at United and, even in the summer, his name was buzzing.

He was the talk of the club, with people expecting big things from him, so I started looking into him and saw this young guy who is two-footed and has got ice in his veins with his finishing. He has got a lot of work to do, but you can see what everyone is talking about – he is just so dangerous.

I love seeing talented young players but what sticks out for me is if I can identify character and temperament too.

If I could pick one player for United to sign in January, it would be Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund. He is quick, dynamic and young, and he is creative and hungry for success too.

He would be able to handle the pressure of playing for United too – obviously talent is the first thing you need but to be a success at big clubs you need the right mentality too, and he showed that by going to Germany and becoming a key player for his team.

As for the game? It is a tough one but we are going to go there and absolutely pulverise them. Pogba will be back in the side too. 0-3

SUNDAY

Arsenal v Chelsea (14:00)

This is Mikel Arteta’s first home game as Arsenal boss, and I am sure that will give everyone a bit of a lift.

But I just don’t trust the Gunners defensively – you can’t, because it is still the same players, regardless of who is in charge.

Chelsea are so inconsistent at the moment too. I watched their defeat by Southampton last time out and, as frustrating as they were in that game, I would not be surprised if they played much better here.

Lawro’s prediction:1-1

Avelino’s prediction:Willian looked like Lionel Messi when Chelsea beat Tottenham last week. I am a big, big fan of the Blues right now, and their manager Frank Lampard.

Chelsea are a young team so they are going to have some weeks where things do not go so well for them, but it is exciting to see a lot of young English players get their chance. 0-2

Liverpool v Wolves (16:30)

The number of chances Liverpool have created in the first five minutes of their past two league games is just frightening.

What Jurgen Klopp’s side are doing slightly differently now is they keep hitting these long balls, from Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk, and they are so accurate.

It is so difficult for teams to try to stop them, because they don’t really know what is coming.

It just means Liverpool keep getting behind defences, and not just from interplay in the opposition half – they can hurt you from distance now too.

That is what whoever they are up against has to contend with, and I think they will cause real problems for Wolves – who will have had a day’s less rest than them before playing it too.

Lawro’s prediction:2-0

Avelino’s prediction:I love watching Wolves. They are good defensively and they are a good counter-attacking team, and I think they can come away with a point. 1-1

Man City v Sheff Utd (18:00)

Sheffield United have not been beaten in any of their nine away league games so far, but this is by far and away their toughest assignment to date.

If City play anywhere near as well as we know they can, they will have too much firepower for the Blades.

I am not expecting United to make life easy for them, because they will be solid and well organised, and they are a clever side.

But the teams who have beaten City at Etihad Stadium this season – Wolves and Manchester United – undid them using absolute pace, and Chris Wilder’s side do not have that in their attack.

Lawro’s prediction:3-0

Avelino’s prediction:To beat City at the Etihad like Wolves and Manchester United did, you pretty much have to play the perfect game.

As great as Sheffield United have been this season, I think City will have too much for them. Kevin de Bruyne is playing like an alien at the moment, and is the best player in the Premier League without a doubt. 4-2

Lawro was speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan.

How did Lawro do last week?

From the festive Premier League matches on 26 and 27 December, Lawro got five correct results with no exact scores from 10 games for a total of50 points.

He was beaten by singer-songwriter Richard Hawley who got four correct results, but with one exact score, for a total of70 points.

+/- DENOTE POSITION DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LAWRO’S TABLE AND ACTUAL POSITION TEAM P W D L PTS +/- 1 Man City 19 18 0 1 54 +2 2 Liverpool 18 16 2 0 50 -1 3 Tottenham 19 14 4 1 46 +2 4 Chelsea 19 13 3 3 42 0 5 Arsenal 19 10 5 4 35 +6 6 Man Utd 19 9 5 5 32 +1 7 Leicester 19 9 4 6 31 -5 8 Aston Villa 19 7 4 8 25 +10 =9 Burnley 19 7 3 9 24 +3 =9 Watford 19 7 3 9 24 +10 =11 Everton 19 6 5 8 23 +2 =11 West Ham 18 7 2 9 23 +6 =11 Wolves 19 7 2 10 23 -6 14 Bournemouth 19 6 2 11 20 +2 15 Newcastle 19 6 1 12 19 -5 16 Brighton 19 5 2 12 17 -1 17 Southampton 19 4 3 12 15 -3 =18 Crystal Palace 19 3 5 11 14 -9 =18 Sheff Utd 19 4 2 13 14 -12 20 Norwich 19 0 7 12 7 0

GUEST LEADERBOARD 2019-20

Score Guest leaderboard 160 Gabriel Luna 140 Arnold Schwarzenegger 100 Adam Peaty 90 Helen Housby, Jo Harten, Bobby Seagull, Geraint Thomas 80 Andy Murray, Stephen Graham 77 Lawro (average after 19 weeks) 70 David Baddiel, Richard Hawley, Michael Johnson, Craig Mitch, Alex Scott 60 Sonny Bill Williams, Serge from Kasabian, Stefan Ratchford 50 Chelcee Grimes, Reece Parkinson, Sam Warburton 40 Stephen Fry, Neil Jones, Tommy O’Dell 30 Seth Rollins

Total scores after week 19 Lawro 1,470 Guests 1,320

Read More

[books-on-the-brain]

So I used to read a whole bunch, but then I took a small break so that I could have an actual social life. Now I'm trying to get back into it but I've tried to... I just can't get into it. Do you have any suggestions of what I could do to get back into wanting to read more?

bI relate to this SO. MUCH. It’s always hard to find a good reading/life balance, since reading can often be a very isolating activity. It’s also really difficult around this time of year for younger readers, too, since a lot of us are getting back into the swing of it with school and such and find that we have much less time to be reading what we want. So without further ado…

How I cure “reader’s block”/being in a book rut!!!

1) First of all, there’s literally no shame in reading something because it’s short and you know you can get through it, or reading something you might consider a “beach read.” If it’s less daunting for you to pick up a 70-page romance novella than Tolstoy that is perfectly!!! okay!!! What matters is that you’re still reading and it’s making you happy, not that you have gained all the answers to the universe by reading a dry and endless classic.

2) Another good option is to reread something you know you really love/want to revisit. I find it’s typically easier to read something for the second or third time and if it’s been a while, then you’ll still be surprised by little things here and there and get the warm nostalgia fuzzies. For me, one of my old favorites to revisit is Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I always read it at the beginning of the summer when I’m switching from all academic reading to personal reading (f i n a l l y) because I’m familiar enough with the story that it goes pretty quickly, but I still really love it.

3) In a similar vein, I find it really fun when I don’t want to sit down and read seriously to go back to some of my old favorites from childhood! For example, I loved the Deltora books by Emily Rodda when I was a kid and had some fun the other day going back through some of them and reminiscing. It has the potential to remind you of your love for stories and also in my case, it reminded my why I fell in love with fantasy at a young age and why I’m still so passionate about it! Reading children’s/middle grade/YA books is always acceptable and so much fun at any age.

4) This Barnes and Noble Reader article also suggests reading about books if you can’t actually read a book. As they explain it, find book blogs (like those on tumblr!) that speak to your interests and get you excited about picking up books. Other people’s enthusiasm goes a long way in encouraging you to also pick up a book to read!

5) If you can, find other avid readers and friends who you feel comfortable sitting in silence with! One of my favorite memories ever is sitting on my friend’s back porch and trading the books of the KARE First Love manga series back and forth. We played peaceful music in the background and so we were spending time as friends AND getting reading done. This lead us to discuss our favorite scenes and how we felt about certain translations (literally just because we like how to guy asked the main girl out in the online scantalation better than the printed book rip). But we ended up really getting into this series that in all honesty is kind of silly (despite the soft spot I have in my heart for it) and we joke about it all the time. Reading and socializing in one!

6) And speaking of manga…it’s always a great bridge for getting back into reading when it’s been a while, as are graphic novels! If you haven’t ever tried manga or graphic novels and don’t think it’s your rap at least give them a chance! I thought I hated them until I read Fullmetal Alchemist and fell in l o v e! You’re getting a story and doing some reading, but the pictures really help to ease you in so that you’re not necessarily devoting the same attention that you would be with a novel that’s just pages of text. As such, each volume is pretty quick depending on how long you linger on the drawings. If you already do love manga/graphic novels, then try picking up a new series you’ve been interesting in or rereading a series you already know you like!

Here are some graphic novel recommendations!

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson (a story that does a fun take on the idea of the “bad guy” - it actually gave me way more feels than expected, and I loved the art style)

The new Ms. Marvel series written by G. Willow Wilson and illustrated by Adrian Alphona (so do not confuse this with the old Ms. Marvel, this one is better in my opinion because our hero is your average teenage Muslim girl living in Jersey City and it’s refreshing, amazing, adds diversity to the typically white/male dominated world of superheroes, and I am unabashedly in love with one of the main characters, Bruno)

Umbrella Academy written by Gerard Way and illustrated by Gabriel Ba (this does another more twisted/dark take on the idea of the superhero story, if that’s something more up your alley. It’s the first book of a series I’ve really been loving lately, plus I trust Gerard Way’s taste in comics unequivocally and he wrote it so that’s a yes in my book!)

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (the intertwining stories of an American-Chinese boy trying to figure out his place in the world and the Monkey King of Chinese fable)

I did not include a special section for manga recommendations because most of what I read is probably not the sort of stuff to dive into after having reader’s block. Overall, the realm of shoujo might be a good place to look (things like Skip Beat!, Blue Spring Ride, Fruits Basket, and Kimi ni Todoke. Ouran High School Host Club and Dengeki Daisy were ones I really enjoyed too.)I also recently read Orange which is a fairly short series and easy to read - I loved it but major depression/suicide/mental illness tws there.In terms of shonen, Hunter x Hunter would be a good one because not only is it amazing, but it’s broken up into shorter yet very distinct story arcs which I feel would be easier if you’re trying to get back into reading. If someone has some more recs tho, please add!

7) Another variation of manga/graphic novels is online webtoons, which are basically digitized comics. I have recently discovered them and think they’re the best. things. ever. If you’re like me and you have a horrible habit of lying in bed scrolling absently through your phone before going to bed and after waking up, this might be good for you. I have slowly been replacing my mindless Facebook scrolling with scrolling through webtoons, which has been so amazing for my mental health! My favorite app is literally just called Webtoon or maybe Line Webtoon (the icon in the app store is a green speech bubble that says “Webtoon”).

For most webtoons, chapters are generally pretty short so it doesn’t take a lot of focus but once again, you’re still reading, and you’re still getting a good story, all while laying fetal position like you might while scrolling through Facebook or texting people before bed. Not to mention you’re supporting amazingly talented artists/individuals who are oftentimes not published and doing this for fun or with the hopes of eventually being published, so you can say you followed them from the start! Also since they update only a few times a week, it gives you something to look forward to on random days.

Here are my favorite story-oriented webtoons currently:

Assassin Roommate by Monica Gallagher. Super cute and quirky romance with a great female lead, also really great in terms of body diversity, and LITERALLY THE ONLY REASON I LOOK FORWARD TO TUESDAYS, THE DREADFUL DAY AFTER MONDAY

My Dear Cold-Blooded King by limelight. Just started this but it seems pretty cool??? The author has paired up with a musician so all the chapters have music which is lit af if I do say so myself

Silk and Briar by paragoing-paragon. I think this is on hiatus but it’s shaping up to be a brilliantly-constructed fantasy story with some crazy twists and turns

instantmiso’s stuff is also really popular (Where Tangents Meet and Siren’s Lament). It’s not as much up my alley as it is pretty fluffy romance and I’m not crazy about the writing, but she is an incredibly talented artist and has great music with her chapters. Her stuff is super good for an easy read without a ton of brain power/commitment, but I say that with immense respect for her talent and abilities! 

Cheese in the Trap by soonkki. This was also made into a K-Drama so I read the series and threw a little watch-party with some of my friends from my Korean class! Super good series and another great way to enjoy reading AND be social!

Here are the webtoons that are more “Sunday newspaper funnies”               style, where each chapter is a mini story:

Bluechair by Shen (this is WILDLY popular and I totally see why!!! These are hilarious and have cheered me up on many a rough night!!!)

Sapphie: The One-Eyed Cat by joho (feel-good, cute comic about cats that’s also pretty funny. I shamelessly read like a hundred chapters in one sitting.)

If none of this is appealing to you, there is always the audio option! If the actual act of your eyes scanning the page is difficult because you can’t focus on anything, there are a lot of options in this realm!

8) Local libraries usually have an audiobook section that is deeply neglected, but holds some secret treasures! Whenever I go on roadtrips, I always pick up two or three before I head out. They’re also perfect for when you do mindless tasks like sorting/folding laundry, walking a dog if you have one, waiting in long lines, or on your commute to and from school or work or any other similar activities. 

What’s cool is you can search for audiobooks based both on books you actually want to read, and whoever is narrating it. I know Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz had a super popular audiobook because Lin Manuel Miranda narrated it. If you want to pay, Audible is one of the most popular paid platforms for audiobooks. I haven’t personally used it, but it seems to be quite successful. One way or another, audiobooks are a good way to get back into reading without having to budget extra time to sit down with a book.

9) Podcasts can also help if you haven’t already explored those and are open to! Not all podcasts are TED talks, or political debates, or generally academic, or whatever they are stereotyped as. There are a ton that feel just like audiobooks, or at the very least like a play without any visuals. There’s a script and there’s a story and I know it’s helped me ease back into a mindset that preps me for reading because much like audiobooks you can listen to them all the time (I do so while cooking dinner and walking to classes) and it helps your mind switch from reality to the world of a story with relative ease if that makes sense. I’m pretty new to podcasts myself so don’t have a ton to recommend, but here’s what I’ve been enjoying….

Podcasts to look into:

Anything written by Mac Rogers. That includes The Message, Afterlife, and Steal the Stars. Personally, I like Steal the Stars and The Message more that Afterlife. They’re all sci-fi stories that are generally told from one perspective but you get to know amazing characters and I was not expecting the twists and turns. And Steal the Stars is still coming out so jump on the bandwagon now lol

The Adventure Zone from Justin, Travis and Griffin McElroy at My Brother, My Brother and Me (another podcast which I have not listened to). The Adventure Zone is actually them playing Dungeons and Dragons, but they’re funny as all get out (the last place I lived had a communal kitchen for dozens of people and I was always laughing like and idiot while listening to this and making dinner and I’m pretty sure everyone thought I was nuts). Eventually the Dungeon Master gets super into the story telling and they script some of it with cool music. It’s really amazing and has a nice balance between story/characters but also the element of “real people” as they’re a bunch of brothers and they’re dad all just having fun. It’s a good bridge to getting back into reading.

Welcome to Nightvale is always a classic. It’s a bit trippy for me but tons of people enjoy it. The same team also produced a podcast called Alice Isn’t Dead. I honestly know nothing about it but one of my friends always raves about it, so it has his vote!

10) And okay so here’s my last suggestion. It might feel like a bit of a cop-out because I guess it kind of is, but it often works for me. So here it is. Sometimes it just helps to sit down and remember why you like to read in the first place. The fact that you’re actively trying to get back into it isn’t meaningless. It’s a very willful decision. So what is driving you? Maybe it’s because…

reading is an escape or a way for you to cope with difficult things in your life. This can be anything from mental illness, to school/work stress, to relationship dissatisfaction, difficult family or economic situations. Maybe you just are bored of our planet earth. Sometimes you might just need to be transported into another world for whatever reason and that is totally okay.

or reading inspires you to live your best life. Maybe there’s some character in a book you love that you look up to and aspire to be. Remember that passion you had when you were first getting to know that character, and that sense of being understood or finding a role model. Maybe you want to go on an adventure as wild as that character went on and that’s your idea of living your best life. Whatever the reason is, this sort of inspiration is a powerful emotion that books make us feel and sometimes that’s also a good reason to reread a book that’s inspired you.

and I don’t know, maybe you’re a writer yourself and you draw inspiration from reading in that sense. The more you read, the more you learn about what sort of writing you like and don’t like, and you grow stronger in your craft. Good readers help make good writers (but also don’t take that to mean that if you happen to be a writer and you’ve been in a book rut for a long time that you own skills are waning. we all get in book ruts and that’s okay. maybe it’s time to seek out a new source of inspiration in a different genre or new writer)

or perhaps you simply love stories. Maybe you breathe stories like other people breathe air and you can’t imagine that side of you not existing. If you’re one of these people, that makes reader’s block twice as hard. But that doesn’t mean that if you’re not turning pages that you’re not absorbing stories. Take it slowly and ease back into it with things I already mentioned like podcasts and webtoons.

One way or another, you’ll find your way back. Maybe this post will spark something. Maybe it won’t, and it will take another few months for you to really feel gungho about reading again. That’s all okay. Take your time. Enjoy being with friends and other activities. Do what’s healthiest and what works best for you. And eventually you’ll get back to reading a ton. However it happens, I wish you the best of luck!

[the-desolated-quill]

Captain Britain Joining The MCU. Give Me Fucking Strength - Quill’s Scribbles

You know there are some points in my life where a person or a movie studio does something so stupid and moronic that my only response is... what the fuck are you doing?

DC, what the fuck are you doing?

Marvel, what the fuck are you doing?

Kevin Feige... what the fuck are you doing?!

Yes, apparently Marvel Studios are considering putting Captain Britain into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Something I’m sure every comic book fan in the land has been crying out for. Now I’m sure you’re wondering what I, a British person, may think of this. Do I feel patriotic? Proud that such a ‘beloved’ British icon is going to be part of the MCU?

Yeah, I can’t say I’m excited about the prospect and the reason is because... um... how do I put this?... Captain Britain is quite possibly the dumbest thing to ever come out of Marvel (and I’m including Howard The Duck).

Captain Britain was created by Chris Claremont and Herb Trimpe to be the British equivalent of Captain America. But whereas Captain America took off and became a relatively integral part of the American comics industry, Captain Britain never had quite the same impact with us Brits. In fact in contrast with Captain America, he’s actually a very obscure character. While he does have his fans (very few fans), most people have either never heard of him or, like me, can’t stand the fucking sight of him, finding the character to be more patronising than patriotic.

There’s a number of reasons why Captain Britain never took off, but first let’s quickly sum up his backstory. Brian Braddock (smirk) was born into an aristocratic family in Essex and educated at Fettes College In Edinburgh. Because his family were no longer rich enough to fraternise with their academic peers, Brian was a quiet and lonely child because he was too proud to fraternise with the lower classes (and I’m sure we in the lower classes were eternally grateful for that, you stuck up git). After his parents, Sir James and Lady Elizabeth (oh I do beg your pardon) die in a laboratory accident, Brian gets a job at a nuclear facility at Darkmoor. When this facility is attacked by a terrorist, Brian gets on his motorcycle (a motorcycle? Oh come now! Surely that’s far too lower class for him. Shouldn’t he be riding a horse and cart? Pip, pip! Tally ho chaps! We’ll give the ruffians what for!) and goes looking for help only to then crash and get seriously injured (you had one job! That’s you off the Queen’s Christmas card list). He is then saved by Merlyn (yes, that Merlin) and is offered the chance to become Captain Britain. He’s asked to choose between the Amulet of Right (pffft) and the Sword of Might (tee hee). Brian chooses the amulet and he transforms into the champion of Great Britain, fighting for Queen and country and all that is pre-shrunk and cottony... Oh no, wait. That’s from Captain Underpants. Have you ever read Captain Underpants? It’s a brilliant series of books. Very funny. Did you know that DreamWorks are doing a movie adaptation? I’m very excited! :D

Now you may have noticed that I wasn’t really taking this seriously. And really, how could I? It sounds more like a parody of Captain America. But no. Apparently we’re supposed to be taking this very seriously. So come on. Let’s be serious about this for a moment. No! Stop sniggering! Control yourselves, please! This could very well be the next big thing in the MCU.

As I said, there are many reasons why Captain Britain never really took off. The most glaring example being how stereotypical it is. He comes from an aristocratic family. He went to a boarding school. It’s incredibly painful. He’s one step away from spending Sunday afternoons playing croquet in the grounds and sipping tea in the gazebo before retiring to his four poster bedroom where his butler will give him a glass of port as a nightcap and remind him to get up early in the morning so he won’t be late for a spot of fox hunting with the chaps from Grantham House. I mean Jesus Christ!

Another big reason why Captain Britain doesn’t work is because we don’t really have the same relationship to our flag and our country as the Americans do. Oh sure we can be patriotic on occasion, such as on remembrance days or royal events, but America takes it to a whole other level. Americans love their country. They love their flag. They’re proud to be Americans. To the point where they even have laws dictating how you should take care of your flag. You can actually get punished for not cleaning your flag properly. In some states it’s illegal to wash your flag in a washing machine because it’s disrespectful. That’s insane! Like... it’s just a piece of cloth! Calm down! Brits, generally speaking, don’t have that kind of relationship. In fact kind of the opposite. We often mock our country and view it with a certain amount of disdain. The only people who feel truly patriotic about Britain are the royalists and other such nutters. People who passionately believe that Britain is the best country in the world, who love the Royal family and harken back to the UK’s glorious yesteryears (which never actually existed). While both Captain America and Captain Britain are both equally dumb ideas, I can see why Americans would be drawn to Captain America. An American patriot who stands for American ideals and wears the American flag across his chest with pride. Captain Britain on the other hand, with his Union Jack and his Amulet of Right, is more likely to produce snorts of laughter from us Brits.

But I’ll say one thing for Captain America. It may be a stupid idea and he may talk as though he has the Declaration of Independence shoved firmly up his arse, but at least he doesn’t act all high and mighty or try to lord it over everyone else. No. He fights for the common man and that’s largely because he was a common man himself. A wimpy kid off the streets of Brooklyn determined to become a soldier and fight the Nazis, wanting to protect his country from injustice. His inner strength, good will and patriotism is what made him a prime candidate for the Vita-Ray experiment and he represents an aspirational figure that kids can look up to. Captain Britain is precisely not that. In fact he represents what the majority of Brits actually hate. An overly privileged, upper class prick who has great power bestowed onto him despite the fact that he’s done very little to actually deserve it.

And that’s by far the biggest problem with Captain Britain. As a character, he just doesn’t appeal to us Brits. He’s above us and he sees himself as above us. We don’t want to see that. If we wanted to see that, we’d just watch BBC Parliament. Let me give you an idea of the kind of characters we in the UK love:

Derek Trotter, more commonly known as Del Boy, was the main protagonist of the hugely successful sitcom Only Fools & Horses and is arguably one of the most beloved characters in British culture today. A market trader and con man who sells hooky gear on the streets of Peckham and often gets into trouble due to his get rich quick schemes. 

Dave Lister, a vending machine repair man from the sci-fi sitcom Red Dwarf. This lager drinking, curry loving slob ends up becoming the last surviving member of the human race and a Godlike figure to a new race of people that evolved from his pet cat. As the series progressed, he helped his robot Kryten break his programming and become fully independent, and it’s this that helps him to grow and mature to become the space hero he is now in the current series.

Victor Meldrew, from the sitcom One Foot In The Grave. A middle aged man forced into early retirement and having to find ways to pass the time, be it through peculiar hobbies or shouting at the weird events happening around him, much to the dismay of his wife Margaret.

Basil Fawlty, from the beloved sitcom Fawlty Towers, has become one of the most iconic characters in British culture. A traditionalist, right wing hotelier desperately seeking to raise his social status and to become successful, but is forced to work with people he absolutely despises, including his incompetent Spanish waiter Manuel.

Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced Bouquet) is the main character of the sitcom Keeping Up Appearances. Housewife to her eternally suffering husband Richard, she’s a pompous snob desperately seeking to maintain the illusion that she’s wealthier and more socially important than she actually is. However her attempts to climb the social ladder are often ruined by her working class sisters or her senile father.

And finally, just to bring this back into the realm of comic books there’s:

John Constantine. The chain smoking, working class magician from Liverpool who fights dark supernatural forces on a regular basis and frequently has to make morally dubious choices, often resulting in the deaths of his friends and loved ones.

Now what do all of these characters have in common? They’re all underdogs. Working class. Losers. Idiots. Failures. Those are the types of characters we’re drawn to as a culture. The reason why I included so many sitcom characters is because I feel they perfectly demonstrate the difference between British and American culture. America is brimming with idealism and aspiration. The idea that anyone can become greater than their humble origins, and this is reflected in their culture. In most American movies and TV shows and comic books, the main character is often smarter, wittier, tougher and/or funnier than the audience, representing someone they can aspire to be like. Here in Britain, where our rigid class system is permanently ingrained into us at an early age, we mostly accept the fact we’re likely going to stay where we’re at for the rest of our lives and so our media reflects that by giving us characters that are in similar situations to us. The reason we identify with the likes of Constantine and Lister and Del Boy is because they operate on our level and share our problems and worries. They’re one of us. When Basil Fawlty and Hyacinth Bucket arrogantly disregard their working class roots and try to raise their social status, it’s funny when they fail because serve them right for looking down on us. But when Del Boy eventually becomes a millionaire at the end, we’re legitimately happy for him because we like the character, we want to see him succeed and we’re glad he managed to succeed without compromising who he is. And that’s why Captain Britain will never be accepted by us. He is above us and has power over us and we don’t like that. People with power and authority are to be mocked and shamed, not to be celebrated or aspired to be like.

The idea that Kevin Feige is even considering putting Captain Britain into the MCU for me proves what I’ve been saying about Marvel all along. That they don’t care about creating a coherent or entertaining universe, that they’re adding characters and storylines just for the sake of adding characters and storylines, and that Kevin Feige clearly doesn’t have the slightest fucking idea of what he’s doing. If he did, he honestly wouldn’t think Captain Britain would be a profitable or worthwhile project to pursue. I also feel extremely annoyed by all of this. Remember when Feige said we were definitely going to see an LGBT+ superhero appear in the MCU at some point in the next ten years? Or just recently when he said we were totes going to see Miles Morales’ Spider-Man show up in the MCU at some point in the future? All of these vague half-promises constantly pushed back to make way for more ‘important’ projects like an Ant-Man sequel, an Inhumans TV series or Captain fucking Britain.

Regardless of what your thoughts are on the state of the MCU right now, I think we can all agree that when you get to the stage when you’re seriously considering Captain Britain as a legitimately good idea... maybe it’s time to take a break and reevaluate just what the fuck it is you’re actually doing.

[nanamismoonchild]

Chapter 9- The Forgotten

Summary: It’s time for Y/N to learn to defend herself. There might be more than one greedy Aunt after her or there might not be one at all….

Warnings: This Chapter is pretty chill

A/N: Its here! I finally decided to not be lazy for once in my life! And I typed it 😂😂😂. Enjoy~ @sandey12 Thanks bby for blowing up my notes 😘😘. I totally forgot I had to upload this chapter.

_________________________________________

Maniel snaked his way toward me. He had officially gone crazy. I had no way to escape this lunatic.

“Y/N, why are you all the way over there?”

I stayed quiet, backing away only to crash into a rack of makeup. Maniel grabs me by the legs, and drags me out of the store; his grip was too tight for me to kick out, and my arms couldn’t reach his face to claw at him. I was completely and utterly defenseless.  

Suddenly,Maniel let go of my legs  ,  throwing me into someone else’s arms. The arms pushed me back onto the floor. Looking up, blue piercing eyes stared back at me coldly. The thing’s arms were long with sharp claws as hands. It was hunched over, but still stood no more than three feet than I. It’s teeth hung over its bottom lip with a little spit menacingly dropping off it. I squeaked; I may be a Demon-Werewolf hybrid but this thing could tear me apart in a matter of seconds.

Y/N, trust me, please.

I do. Just please hurry with whatever you are about to do. This thing scares me.

Manuel nodded to the huge beast who threw me on his back and started towards the exits. My wiggling skills were no match for mega-strength of Large Teeth ( his new name). Large Teeth opened the door to the park lot. Turning my head slightly left, I saw there were hardly any cars, except Bang’s. The mall did a handy job of evacuating everyone besides me.

Large Teeth paused in his a stride towards nowhere; I could feel his body practically shrink under me. He let’s go of me, but the fear and curiosity of the beast’s transformation makes me stay in place. His arms and legs take on a human form and his teeth shrink to normal size. A familiar face morphs into place.

“Hobi?” My mouth drops to the ground, “But how?”

“I will explain another time, for now, I need to get us safely home. Give me your hand. ” “But what about Bang?”

“It is too late for him, sadly. Your scent lingers in his car, so it wouldn’t be of use to us. Trust me and give me your hand,” He offers me a smile.

He says to trust him a lot but why? I take his hand and we vanish.

I felt as if my body had been pulled through a mouse hole when I woke up.

“Aish, Hobi hyung. Why’d you rush it?“

“My spells only last for a few minutes after I turn back human. You should know this. ”

“I know… I just hate that you knocked her unconscious. ”

“ I didn’t knock her out! She couldn’t handle the sudden feeling of being stretched; it’s like that everyone’s first time. Including yours, Kookie. ”

Namjoon spoke up, “ Quiet down. She’s awake. ”

Groaning, I sat up, clutching my head, “Why do I feel like utter shit?”

Jin, who had been sitting beside me, backhands me.

“Because you were being pulled through the Vertex, as I like to call it, “ Hobi informed me. Seeing the confused expression on my face, he continues, “ It’s a portal from one place to another. It’s one of my six talents.”

Jungkook rolled his eyes., “ I can also do it, but it’s not as strong as his-”

“I can do something better than JK,” Hobi interrupted giggling.  

“Anyway, Y/N. are you okay?” Jin cooed.

“No I was thrown into a vertex, almost squeezed to death, and trapped inside a lingerie shop with a lunatic wolf. “

The boys grew quiet.

Hobi quietly says. “Sorry, Y/N. I tried to get to you as soon as I could. Unfortunately, his pack subdued me; Jungkook and Namjoon saved me, however.”

“It’s not your fault, Hobi. I don’t blame you,” I say with a gentleness. “It’s whoever is trying to kill that has to be stopped.”

Jimin speaks up, “Y/N, you know that your aunt is the culprit-”

“I know that, “ I give eye-contact to each wolf, “ But I feel as if she isn’t the only one. Aunt Noel has had countless opportunities to kill me. She wouldn’t have told me about the box my father left me. She only wants money; she doesn’t mean to murder me. Someone else is.

The boys nod in agreement.  

“Y/N is right, Namjoon,” Jin states. Namjoon nods and addressed it, “ Well then, we must keep track of everyone that interacts with Y/N on a daily basis.  It’s the weekend, so school is not important for now. In the meantime, we will begin Y/N’s training. “

Yoongi lazily opens his eyes, “y/N, are you ready to be bewildered?”

“Of course not.”

“Well let’s begin.”

“Wait! Can I eat first?”

Jin leads me to into the living room which has been rearranged for the occasion. The television had been replaced with a white board. The couches had been moved to another room with only the single-person couch left.

Taehyung and Jimin stood to the side; Namjoon, Hobi, and Yoongi were across from them; Jungkook was near the board.

Jin explained, “ Before we begin, I want to give you a brief run-down. In the Supernatural world-Y/N, please sit down- powers are categorized into four categories: Manipulators, Strengths, Dark, and Elemental. Manipulators have skills and talents that allow them to control anything, especially powerful ones like myself. They can read minds, but they could also control what you feel, think, say, and do.  Few wolves have this, but other species like Sirens use them for bad.  Strengths are literally the strongest. In the wolf kingdom, they are Alphas. I’ll have to explain the social ladder of wolves another day- Y/N, are you still listening?”

I quickly shot up, “Y-Yes, I was just resting my eyes. “

Yoongi laughs and Hoseok shushes him.  

Jin rolls his eyes, “ As I was saying, Strengths are those like Namjoon and Yoongi. They have quick minds and could easily defeat an enemy that is lower than them. Elementals use the elements as their safeguard; fire earth, water and air. These are common with wolves who have special personalities; Hoseok, for example. He uses the air to create a vortex. Then there’s Dark. Dark is similar to dark magic. Demons are known for this, which is why they appear as poltergeists in the Human World. “

“Ok…Where do I fit in?”

“We don’t know. You could belong in a four categories because of your hybrid.”

“Oh.”

Namjoon eases next to his husband, “ And that’s why we want to train you. Jin and Jimin will teach you Manipulation. Taehyung will teach you Dark.  Jungkook and Hoseok will teach you Elemental. Yoongi and I will teach you strength. “

“Taehyung, is the only Dark?”

“Yes.”

“So who would you like to come to first?” Jungkook asks me. Something tells me he wants with him first.

“I’ll come with you.” I catch a glimpse of him smirking at Taehyung and Jimin, who were following the other boys out of the room. What’s with that?

“So Jin has told you the basics, thankfully, so Hobi-hyung and I could focus on helping you channel Elemental powers.  If it doesn’t work then it means that you’re not one of us.” He laughs at an unknown joke. He stops when he sees that neither or Hobi have laughed with him.

Hobi continues, “ There’s a simple test that requires the use of this white board. “ I nod.  “ Now you’re going to try and move this board with air. “

“What?” “The easiest way to learn is if you try without being taught. “

“Sounds philosophical.”

“I  try my best to be Namjoon.”

I take a deep breath.  I can do it.  If it’s anything like the mind-reading, I have to picture the wind. But how do you visualize something you can’t see? Wait… Yes you can. You can feel the wind, yet the trees gracefully dance, especially on lazy cloudy day. The wind is blowing harshly making the trees sway every which way.  

The board lies across the room. Whoops. Hobi and Jungkook’s eyes are wide.

“OK, now try fire. Just don’t destroy the board. It’s Namjoon’s favorite. “

Let’s try again. Fire can be imagined. It’s different colors based on different compound elements. Blue,purple, red-my favorite color is purple. The board, which had been replaced back onto the table by Jungkook. lights up into a pretty violet.  It diminishes with a poof, the board doesn’t have a scorch mark.

“Wow.  Y/N, you’re amazing,” Jungkook says in awe. He’s smiling at me, and I can’t help but grin back. “Can you try- Y/N, what’s wrong?”

My head is spinning just a bit too fast for my liking.

“Y/N?” Hoseok exclaims. “Namjoon, Jin! Something’s-”

[junker-town]

5 reasons why Liverpool-Bayern Munich was so much better than its score

PLENTY of incredible plays by players other than forwards made Liverpool and Bayern Munich’s 0-0 Champions League draw a great game to watch.

While it can be difficult to find positives from a 0-0 draw, not all 0-0 draws are the same. The match between Bayern Munich and Liverpool, though goalless, was hardly boring. It was a frantic contest with stellar displays from many players who weren’t forwards. I enjoyed it, and there a few particular events and individuals who I thought were incredible:

The Beefy Bayern Boys

In comparison to their lean, speedy, tricky opponents in Sadio Mane, Mo Salah, and Roberto Firmino, the Bayern players like Joshua Kimmich, Niklas Süle, and Mats Hummels, and Javi Martinez all look like they spend most of their time in the woods chopping trees and dragging logs back to their cabins with their hands. Kimmich is the shortest of the group at 5’9, but he’s wide and stocky. Meanwhile, Süle is 6’5 and weighs over 200 pounds, Hummels is 6’3 and 198, and Martinez is 6’3 and 190.

The Liverpool trio, and the rest of their small-but-agile players, put the advantages of their smaller size on display with deceitful turns in tight spaces, twisting and turning their defenders inside out. It looked only a matter of time before the Liverpool attackers would bamboozle their way to a few goals.

But the Beefy Bayern Boys stood strong. What they lacked in agility and fleet-footedness, they made up with timing, intelligence, persistence, and power. Rather than getting into foot races with their opponents, they often covered wonderfully for one another when one was beaten. If Mane got past Kimmich, Süle was there to sweep the ball away. When Süle was beaten, Kimmich and Hummels closed down the space. And Hummels stood his ground often by muscling away attackers when they tried to run beyond him. When all else failed, they — especially Süle — threw their bodies in the way, trusting that they were wide and tall enough to block any space for a shot. And it worked.

The game was a display of opposing definitions of athleticism, and while Liverpool’s build seemed like it should dominate a fast-paced game, the Beefy Bayern Boys combined their physicality with intelligence to counter their opponents perfectly.

Naby Keita and Georginio Wijnaldum

Keita has been looking more comfortable and confident in midfield after a rough start to his Anfield career. Wijnaldum is well known as a critical quality to this Liverpool team, even if he’s still a bit underrated. They’re two different types of players, but something I love about both is their dribbling ability and how it unnerves defenders.

In the second minute of the game, Alisson drove the ball to Wijnaldum in the center of the field, right under the halfway line, to bypass the Bayern press. Wijnaldum controlled it and turned upfield, and immediately Martinez was by his side, grabbing and trying to take the ball. Wijnaldum ran to the right, and when Martinez followed, he chopped the ball back behind himself, turning to go left as his defender tried to regain his balance. Martinez was clearly beaten and had no choice but to foul Wijnaldum.

In the first half when Keita was at his best, he was taking players on, even beating a few of them with step-overs.

Slick skill by Naby Keita #LIVFCB pic.twitter.com/jaSDmvalai

— Elton Phiri (@elton_phiri) February 20, 2019

One of the earliest lessons that midfielders learn is to keep things simple. Losing the ball in the center of the field by trying to do too much is an almost unforgivable sin. But Wijnaldum and Keita at their best are examples of why the ability to dribble in midfield is a terror to defenders. When they beat a defender one on one or break pressure by turning away a defender, it creates a numerical and space advantage that allows their teammates to concentrate on making runs behind the defensive line. So many of Liverpool’s chances and best attacks came from one of those two turning or dribbling past a defender and forcing the defensive line to panic and retreat.

Joshua Kimmich

I love Kimmich. He is such an intelligent and brave player. There were two instances for me when he showed just how incredible he is defensively.

In the 22nd minute, Mane dropped deep in the middle of the field to receive a high pass from Salah. Süle beat Mane to the ball and headed it away. Unfortunately for Süle the ball fell to Keita just a few yards away and the Liverpool midfielder started bringing the ball forward. This meant that Süle’s position was compromised. Mane was running into the space, down the middle, that Süle had vacated. There was a small window of time when Keita could have played in Mane, but he hesitated and soon Kimmich and Hummels had squeezed in from opposite sides of Mane to cut off the pass.

So instead, Keita waited until Andrew Robertson made a run down the left side. Right before Keita passed the ball into space for Robertson, Kimmich — who was running with his body turned sideways, and with his back facing Robertson — turned his hips to square up with Keita. When Keita played the ball to Robertson, all Kimmich had to do was slide sideways to close him down. And as soon as Robertson took his first touch on the ball, Kimmich jumped into his path and poked the ball away.

Then there was the tackle that Kimmich made on Mane while playing on a yellow card a few minutes later. Wijnaldum had sent in a lofted pass to Mane on the left side of the box. Mane controlled the ball with his right thigh, and as the ball landed near his left foot, Mane hesitated to take a touch because Kimmich had erased the small space Mane had to operate. In that moment of hesitation, Kimmich slid in and got the ball away.

Both tackles were in the box, and they were dangerous to attempt, but Kimmich was not only correct in his calculations, but he had set the conditions that made it easier for him to take that risk. By swiveling his hips or decreasing space to make an attacker think before making a move, Kimmich forced his opponents into traps of his own making.

Throughout the game, he constantly did small things that made it easier for him to win challenges, and funnel Liverpool attackers in dead-ends.

Jordan Henderson’s pass to Mo Salah

Towards the end of the 11th minute, Henderson got the ball a shade over the halfway line, looked up, and sent in a long ball that found Salah racing between Süle and Kimmich. The ball hit Salah in stride, behind both defenders and right in front of goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. Salah stretched out his leg to touch the ball towards goal, but Neuer was able to save it comfortably.

(Skip ahead to the 30-second mark.)

Goalkeepers OWNED today's Champions League matches Watch the #UCL on #BRLive: https://t.co/L9inkxcxNq pic.twitter.com/6S14gvGSlh

— Bleacher Report Live (@brlive) February 19, 2019

I’ve often joked that Henderson’s best qualities are looking very English and walking around with his chest out, but against Bayern, he was tremendous. He covered the whole field, bailed out his teammates when they made mistakes, and won the ball back to kickstart Liverpool attacks many times.

Henderson was impressive throughout the game, and I was pleasantly surprised and awed by his long ball to Salah. So while I will give Henderson reprieve for a few weeks because of the quality of that ball, I don’t think it’s too farfetched to say that Salah is just an off-brand Carlos Vela.

Alisson Becker and Mohamed Salah praying before the game.

I always like seeing the players’ pregame rituals. It’s fun to see what things people do to instill some order in our chaotic reality. Or at least, to calm their nerves and make themselves comfortable within that chaos. Soccer is nerve-wrecking, even before the ball is kicked. There’s an excitement and nervousness leading up to the game, an anxiety that could potentially overwhelm a player and cause them to have a terrible game.

Most people who play the game, no matter how good they are, have small rituals that they perform in order to prepare themselves for 90 minutes of pushing their mental and physical capabilities. Some of the rituals are elaborate, like Tim Howard’s, and others are as simple as players hopping on one leg while entering the field.

Prayer before games is fascinating to me because of the humility involved in it. Before the game, Mo Salah stood near the center circle and prayed with his hands before his face, as he usually does, then wiped his face with his hands afterwards. While standing in his goal, Alisson had his eyes closed, with the index fingers on both hands pointing to the sky as he prayed. Prayer is an assertion by those who perform it, that there are other powers, greater powers, at work. Or at least present. When the stage was set for human and bodily excellence, Salah and Alisson, each in his own way towards his own faith, chose to appeal to something beyond themselves and their teammates.

[kaitymccoy123]

((I am queuing up a bunch of posts for the next couple days so I can still participate but I am still hiding away from tumblr))

Rules

1. Always post these rules

2. Answer the questions given by the person who tagged you

3. Write 11 questions of your own

4. Tag 11 people

Tagged by @mccoymostly

WARNING YOU RIGHT NOW THAT THIS IS PROBABLY GOING TO BE FILLED WITH LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA PRAISE SO BE PREPARED.

1. What’s your absolute favorite scene from any film?

I have honestly thought about this question all day.  I have a very, very hard time picking favourites, for ANYTHING, especially books and movies.

One scene I loved was from The Fault In Our Stars and I thought it was really well done.  It is the scene where you know Augustus is going to die **spoilers** and Hazel is sleeping, but then the phone rings.  And you know.  You just know what the phone call means and I swear my heart broke with her as she just turned inwards on herself and started to sob.  Beautifully done.    

2. What’s the most terrible book you’ve ever read?

There have been a few, but I am actually going to switch the question to the most terrible MOVIE you ever seen.  I may rant for a minute.  

I hate stupid movies.  And I know that sounds really obvious to say but like I hate stupid humour movies where it is just dirty jokes and stupid boys the whole time, for example, 21 Jump Street, or Step Brothers, or things like that.  My entire family and all my friends know I hate those movies and if I walk in while they are watching one they will flat out tell me it is one of those kinda movies and I will shrug and walk out.  I hate them.  

But my all time least favourite movie was Napolean Dynamite.  Please nobody shoot me but me and my brother couldn’t make it halfway through that movie because it was so dumb.  I hate stupid humour.  :)

3. Star Trek NoTP, and why?

I had a hard time warming up to Spones for a while, and still am pretty iffy about it because I just don’t think they would work that well together.  They are both stubborn beyond belief, so it would take a hell of a long time for either of them to even admit that they liked each other, at all, and there would be a lot of arguements.  

4. The four most badass humans to ever walk the earth? If you’re feeling it, I’d love to hear your justification. ;)

KAITY IS DEFINITELY NOT A HISTORY BUFF SO THESE ARE PROBS GOING TO BE ALIVE PEOPLE.

((I have also just filled these out and realize I should probably change the question to ‘The four most influential nerds to ever walk the earth’ because that’s where my mind went.  Kaity does not dig deep.  Kaity does not know a lot of famous people, especially famous historic people.  So these are basically nerdy celebrities.))

1.  Lin-manuel Miranda: Of freakin course.  He is ridiculously talented, the cutest cutie pie ever, and humble on top of that.  He works to inspire creators, young and old, and I look up to him in every way.  

2.  John Green: Once again, nerdy with a purpose, my kinda people I guess.

3. Misha Collins: though I am not an avid SPN watcher (though I have seen up to season 9) I have seen posts about Misha Collins and all the stuff he does and all the charities he runs and things and I think that’s awesome.

4. John Barrowman: once again not an avid Doctor Who watcher (though I have seen up to the eleventh doctor) I think John Barrowman is another nerdy with a purpose type, someone to change people’s views on the world.

5. The fictional character you identify most with, and why?

SO MANY TO CHOOSE FROM.

Right now I would honestly have to say Scotty.  

I would say my favourite character is still Bones but since I did my little kinda meta-analysis on Scotty, I realize him and I are very much the same.  

We are kind, soft, and appear very positive, upbeat and willing to help, and we are all those things, but we are often taken for granted and our easily trusting nature is sometimes used against us.  We are gentle and docile, but will turn on you at a drop of a hat if you break our trust or try to hurt our friends.  We will go to the ends of the earth to help people, so much so that it is sometimes exhausting.  One-on-one is best for us, and are generally quite quiet, but if you get us talking about something we are passionate about we could talk your ear off for days. -I am also 100% sure he is Hufflepuff (as I am) and I will fight you on this. (I have so much more but Imma hold back to keep this post relatively short)

6.If you could hang out with one person for a day, living or dead, who would you pick, and why?

Once again, my true and honest answer would be Lin-Manuel Miranda.  I just think it would be an amazing day, and I could share my writing ideas with him and my passion for nursing, and I just think he would be a really good listener. I honestly really just want to talk to the guy just to tell him how much he inspires me, not only with all his wonderful musical talents, but also as a person, because he advocates for loving things with your whole heart and expressing that in every way possible.  Also he maybe would take me to go see Hamilton and with that I would die.  

7. What character, from any source, do you think gives the best kisses, and why?

My mind can only think Star Trek at the moment and I honestly would probably say Jim would.  I think he would have the most skill and practice and be able to be receptive to your skill and comfort set.  But I wouldn’t turn down a chance to kiss Bones either. ;)

8. Who is your favorite artist (any medium; this can be interpreted broadly), and why?

**tries to think of any other person than Lin-Manuel Miranda** **cannot**  He is an artist in every sense of the word.  The way he is with words and music is astonishingly inspiring and I can’t sing his praises enough.  

9. What’s your favorite theoretical crossover? In other words, what characters, from different fandoms, would you like to see interact, or who would you like to see thrown into a different universe? I hope this question makes sense, guys.

I think a Guardians of the Galaxy/Star Trek crossover would be hilarious.  But I guess timelines don’t quite work out.  

10. Who is your favorite iconic scientist, and which of their contributions do you find most significant?

Kaity is not a history buff and whenever we talk about the history of whatever we are learning I kinda zone out because I like to focus more on the future than the past but I will scrounge around for something.  

I guess Florence Nightingale, for pioneering modern-day nursing?  That’s pretty darn awesome.  

11. If you could remake any movie, in any way you want, what movie would you pick, and what would you change?

This one took me a while, and that is only because I could only think of book-to-movie adaptations where I would actually know how to change something.  The only one I could think of was Divergent (it’s the one I most recently watched) and I would change two things:  

1. Add in the scene where Tris falls off the ferris wheel and Four saves her.

2. Have their first kiss be actually where it’s supposed to be, near the chasm, sitting on rocks together.  I thought that the way they did it was too overdone, too predictable.  

Bonus?  If you could make any contribution to any field (cure any illness, make any discovery, invent any technology, write any book or create any art, be remembered for anything), what would it be, and why?

I would definitely say anything to do with nursing honestly.  I want to be remembered as the nurse that held your baby while you weren’t there, while you had to go take care of your other kids and you felt so safe leaving them with me.  I want to be remembered as the nurse that saw the change in vitals and new something was terribly wrong with your child and reported it right away so it could be fixed.  I want to be remembered as the nurse that wouldn’t give up on your child when it seemed like everyone else would.  I want to be remembered as your child’s favourite nurse.  

I would love to rid the world of any childhood illness ever, so I didn’t have to become a pediatric nurse, but I do, so I want to be remembered for that.  

Kaity’s 11 Questions:

What person do you most look up to in the world and why?

What book really spoke to you, maybe even changed your view on things, and how did it do that?

If you could spend the afternoon snuggled on a couch watching a movie with a fictional character, who would it be?

If you are in a bad mood, do you prefer to be left alone or have someone to cheer you up?

Do you judge a book by it’s cover (literally or figuratively)?

What’s the one thing that people always misunderstand about you?

What is your Harry Potter house and do you feel you were sorted correctly?

Do you consider yourself an introvert or an extrovert?

What is your favourite colour?  Why?

What’s your most listened to song?

What celebrity would you trade lives with?

Tagging: @mccoymostly, @yourtropegirl @imagicana @captainsbabysitter-blog @digitalmoonhowell @trekken81 @atari-writes @outside-the-government @starshiphufflebadger @youre-on-a-starship​ and anyone else who wants to answer them!

[footballheroes]

Someday...

Tonight, I watched The Mexican National Team defeat Canada 3-1 in the Gold Cup. The team played well after Mexico’s captain, Andres Guardado came in substituting Erick Gutierrez in the last minutes of the first half. He scored two of the goals. Roberto Alvarado scored one. In my opinion, our defense still needs help. I’ve noticed we are being scored on almost every game. On the other hand, we are still scoring. So far, Mexico has won all their games since Manager Gerardo Martino’s arrival. Can he be the manager that will change history with El Tri? Will he stay for World Cup 2022?  I always dreamed of this National Team to win a World Cup someday. I’ve seen three World Cups since I started watching soccer back in 2010. Anyway, what better way to show this entry I wrote in my journal 5 years ago. The reason I am showing this is to show how this team changed my perspective on soccer.  It’s a bit long. Just a reminder I wrote this in 2014. There are some grammatical errors. I’m still working on it.

December 31, 2014                                                                                11:52pm                                                                                                                                             

This is the last note of the year. Tonight, this is dedicated to the Mexican National Team, “La Seleccion Mexicana.” Thanks to the Mexican National Team, I fell in love with soccer. As a kid I detested soccer however, I never knew that one event was going to change my perspective about soccer.

And it began in the World Cup 2010…

Mexico shared Group A with South Africa, France, and Uruguay. In the elimination round, Mexico tied against South Africa, won against France, and lost against Uruguay. There were some memories during the elimination round. For example, I am never going to forget when Andres Guardado, one of our Mexican midfielders, pushed a South African player to the ground. I did not like Guardado at all because of that!

My very first game of Mexico was actually against Argentina in Round of 16. Unfortunately, we lost 3-1 by an offside the referee didn’t mark, and let’s not forget Osorio’s mistake giving the ball to our opponents! (Watch the replay online, it’s too depressing to remind myself this again.) However, in that same game, I saw my first goal of El Tri by the one and only Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez. After the disappointing loss, I was devastated from the elimination. I asked my father, who was a huge soccer fan, when the next World Cup will be?

“It’s next summer, right dad?” my 13-year old self said.

“No, the next World Cup is in four years.”

“What? 4 years?! I have to wait four years! Why can it be every year?” (I’m pretty impatient about so many things and imagine waiting for four years for the next World Cup! Impatience is one bad habit of mine, but boy I had so much to learn.)

My father said it’s good that the World Cup is every four years. I asked him why if this was the first time I witnessed the entire world together. You wouldn’t believe the excitement of all my classmates in middle school watching the game on television in our classrooms. Also, the time I entered the indoor swap meet and literally every stand had their television on a World Cup game. Everyone was so involved everywhere I go.

Well, there was no other choice, and had to wait until Brazil 2014. After the World Cup 2010, Mexico played friendly games before the year ended. We had the honor to play against Spain, the 2010 World Cup Champions in our home territory. Another game I remembered was against Venezuela. It was our last game of the year. I remembered we tied that day because in that time, they were also broadcasting the Chile miners being rescued after being stuck there for over two months. However, there were some changes. In October, Javier Aguirre, our manager during the World Cup, was replaced to Jose Manuel “Chepo” de la Torre. With little time, this is how I experienced my first months of soccer.

I realized I had so much to learn about soccer. It’s not just watching one of the biggest sports events of the year. It takes time to learn, and the Mexican National Team helped me along the way.

And this is how it started…in 2011.

Our manager at that time, Jose Manuel “Chepo” de la Torre made his debut against Bosnia. In this game, this is how I discovered goalkeeper Jose de Jesus Corona. “Chepo” won his first victory with El Tri.

So far, so good.

Then in their second game against Paraguay, I knew another goalkeeper, Alfredo Talavera. Although these goalkeepers did great in their first game with our new manager, I wanted to see Guillermo Ochoa, another goalkeeper of the team. In our third game we were against Venezuela, and that time I had the chance to see Ochoa as goalkeeper. (Also, this was Mexican player Carlos Vela’s last game with Mexico before he started refusing to play for us.) During these years in road to Brazil 2014, these three goalkeepers became special to me, and I knew they were going to the next World Cup.

Before the Gold Cup, it was assured that Corona will be playing the tournament. He had an amazing season with his club, Cruz Azul. However, Corona had the “headbutt incident” against Club Morelia’s personnel. Unfortunately, this caused him his absence in the Gold Cup for indiscipline. So, Ochoa took his place and played the first game against El Salvador where we won 5-0 (“Chicharito” did his first hat-trick!) When I thought our problems were gone after that victory, it got worse. The doping results came in and five of our players were positive with clenbuterol. It is a banned drug athletes use to build muscle and lose fat. Ochoa along with Franciso “Maza” Rodriguez, Christian Bermudez, Naelson Sinha, and Javier Duenas were separated from the team.

By this, goalkeeper Alfredo Talavera took Ochoa’s place. Who would have thought that our third goalkeeper was going to be the startup from now on? Fortunately, it didn’t affect the team’s performance. Mexico won against Cuba and Costa Rica and became leaders in their group. Mexico had a rough start against Guatemala, however, we redeemed ourselves and won 2-1 that took us to the semifinals against Honduras. I will never forget the time when personnel from the Honduras team said “Chicharito” should fear their players. The game was intense. The ball just didn’t want to go in. In the last minute of regular time, Talavera saved us with an amazing block that maintained us with life. During the extra time, we won 2-0 with goals of “Chicharito” and Aldo DeNigris. The best part of the game was that “Chicharito” talked on the field and had a little message for Honduras.

“Miedo No.”

I was so happy! The victory led us to the final everyone wanted- USA vs. Mexico, the biggest teams of CONCACAF.

The final was held in the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California. It was special knowing El Tri was so close to me in that final. In the game, United States had a 2-0 lead in 25 minutes. I know, crazy right?

I said to myself that this is not over, I know we will catch up. (You should probably know by now that I’m an optimistic and overly dramatic person when it comes to soccer, don’t judge me!) Mexican midfielder Pablo Barrera made the first goal and minutes later Guardado made the second one. Now, the game was tied 2-2, and it was still the first half! Barrera switched the score in the first minutes of second half. We were now in the lead and then… the best moment happened. Giovani Dos Santos kicked the ball for it to curve to the top edge of the net. It was the best goal of this Gold Cup, for me the best goal of the year. Even today I haven’t seen a beautiful goal like the one he made that day. My siblings and I jumped with joy. When the referee blew the final whistle, I yelled, I jumped, I cried. It was my first Gold Cup and what best way to start than to see Mexico receive their sixth title. Javier Hernandez won Best Player and Best Scorer of the Tournament with 7 goals. Also, our captain Rafael Marquez won the Fair Play award. Let’s also not forget this was Alfredo Talavera’s year. He saved us in almost all games he played in this tournament.

After the Gold Cup, the World Cup Sub-17 was held that same year. Mexico hosted that World Cup. It was the first time I heard about this tournament. I thought the only World Cup was the one that comes every four years. This World Cup, on the other hand, is played every two years. Anyway, I didn’t watch much of this tournament since I was busy around that time. However, I can’t forget the historic game that happened in the semifinals against Germany. This game was crazier than the Mexico vs. USA game. Mexico had the lead 1-0, then Germany tied. Germany scored again and switched the result. Suddenly, an amazing corner kick from Jonathan Espericuela gave us the draw. However, during that play, Mexican youngster Gomez received a hard headbutt. Blood already stained his shoulders. The jersey was covered with his blood. Many medics said he was done but he insisted to continue. He came back on the field with bandages around his head. That day I watched a wounded warrior on the field. He was like a mummy with that number of bandages on his head. He surprised us with his “chilena” that made Mexico scream on top of their lungs. Mexico won that day and went to the finals against Uruguay where they won 2-0 in the Estadio Azteca. They won their second title in this category. It was another beautiful moment!

Then, I had the chance to watch the World Cup Sub-20. I watched Mexico made it to semifinals. Unfortunately, we lost against Brazil. We were against France for third place. We defeated France and stayed third. Also, I saw my first Pan-American games where Mexico won the gold medal against Argentina. It was an amazing year for the youth players of the Mexican National Team. Not everything was perfect though. I can’t forget about the Copa America. The Copa America is a tournament of COMNEBOL, South America’s Soccer Federation. It is played every four years. Although, Mexico is not from COMNEBOL, they were invited to play. Mexico usually has good results in the past regarding this tournament. We made it to the finals once back in 2001 but lost against Colombia. However, in 2011, this was not the case. We lost all our games. Oh, and that’s not the worst part, eight players were separated from the team with a prostitute scandal. I discovered many tournaments. I discovered the World Cup Sub-17, the World Cup Sub-20, Gold Cup, Copa America, and Pan American games in one year! I guess my father was right. It’s better that the World Cup is every four years.

Can it get better?

2012 was a new year for other tournaments. However, it is the year the qualifying rounds in every soccer federation began. Although, they don’t win a title in these 2 year long qualifying games, it has something that all countries want- a spot for the next World Cup! (Except for Brazil since they are automatically in for being the hosts of this World Cup). So, the road to Brazil was officially on. Each soccer federation have different ways on how their teams will qualify. I’ll be focusing only on CONCACAF since Mexico is there. Mexico won all their home and away games against Guyana, El Salvador, and Costa Rica that easily took them to the Hexagonal. The Hexagonal will start in 2013, so Mexico was practically done until next year.

That same year, I had the chance to see the Pre Olympics, a tournament to secure a spot for the Olympics taking place in London. Mexico defeated Honduras and got their ticket to the Olympics. Another tournament was introduced for Mexico- Esperanzas de Toulon. Mexico made it to the finals and defeated Turkey. They won their first trophy in that tournament. Everything was going so well for El Tri until the friendly games.

Mexico had four friendly games scheduled before their start in the Olympics. Mexico had poor performances during these friendly games with two loses, one draw, and one victory. People were already criticizing that this team will not make it far and will not even make it to fourth place. I was in my room while La Ultima Palabra was on television. I was so fed up with the analysts’ negativity, I shut it off. I grabbed my soccer journal and wrote down my thoughts. My words exactly, “It’s true,” I wrote, “we will not make it to fourth place because we will win the gold medal. I know they will.” Days later, Mexico played their first game in the Olympics against South Korea. The game ended 0-0, and yes, people still criticize. However, Mexico won their two games and was leader of their group.

The game against Senegal was difficult. Mexico had a 2-0 lead, until Senegal tied us which made the game to overtime. Mexico managed to score two more goals and ended 4-2. Mexico made it to the semifinals against Japan.  Japan scored first, however it motivated us to attack in the second half. With goals from Marco Fabian and Javier Cortes, we won 2-1. This took us to the final which already guaranteed us a medal. The game was against Brazil, who never won a gold medal either. In the first thirty seconds, Oribe Peralta made record scoring a goal making it the fastest goal in Olympic history. Peralta scored both goals that helped Mexico win their first gold medal in soccer. We changed history! Also, I have to admit it was goalkeeper Corona’s year. His saves helped Mexico win that gold medal. Because of his games, everyone were saying that he was going to be in the startup of the World Cup.

2012 was a great year for Mexico again. I was so excited for 2013 because of the upcoming tournaments. There was the Confederations Cup, Gold Cup, Pre-World Cup Sub 17, and Sub-20, World Cup Sub-17 and Sub-20 were back, and the World Cup Qualifiers.

Can’t you see the excitement with these competitions? Mexico was going to be involved like the past two years. However, I never would have imagined it was the year that my faith was tested. And it all started in the first game of the year, a friendly against Denmark.

We tied against Denmark. The players look like they weren’t giving it their all. It was a boring 1-1 game. I didn’t make a huge deal about it. It was just a friendly game. I’ve seen some boring games in the past, and they were never anything to worry about. Then, we began our Qualifiers against Jamaica in our home stadium, the Estadio Azteca, and we tied a boring 0-0. We were having trouble in that game, Jamaica almost scored. They had more chances than us. After the game, our player “Maza” Rodriguez lifted his middle finger on the camera. Everyone made a huge fit over that. Criticism rose up. More friendly games and qualifiers came up and we kept tying. We tied against Honduras, United States, Panama, Costa Rica, and barely defeated Jamaica in qualifiers. In our friendly, we tied against Peru and Nigeria.

My first Confederations Cup wasn’t the best in my case. The Confederations Cup is a tournament played every four years before the World Cup. In this tournament, the winners of each Federation’s come together to face each other. It’s a small tournament of eight teams. Mexico lost their first two games against Italy and Brazil and won their third one against Japan. Because of the first two games, we were eliminated in the first round of the Confederations Cup. However, the youth teams didn’t do as bad. Mexico played an amazing final against USA in the Pre-World Cup Sub-20. “La Momia” (Remember World Cup Sub-17 against Germany) did another “chilena” that helped Mexico win the tournament. Also, Mexico defeated Panama in the final of the Pre-World Cup Sub-17. So, both teams had their spot secured for the upcoming World Cups. Unfortunately, Mexico Sub-20 lost against Spain in Round of 16.  Mexico Sub-17, on the other hand, had a rough start. They were defeated 6-1 by Nigeria in their first game. With that result, everyone thought they were not going to make it far. However, in the games against Brazil, we won in penalties by an amazing save from Mexican goalkeeper Raul Gudino in the quarterfinals and won against Argentina in the semifinals. Unfortunately, they lost against Nigeria again. However, we can’t forget the effort these youngsters did after that huge loss.

Anyway, things weren’t looking so well in the big team. We keep losing points in the qualifiers. Fans wanted “Chepo” out of the team, but the Federation decided to keep him longer. Unfortunately, the loss against Honduras in our stadium caused his execution from the National team. With only three days before our game against the United States, Luis Fernando Tena, our auxiliary manager, was going to lead the team. However, he already announced that after this game, win or lose, he too was leaving the team. It hurt me so much that two good years with the team wasn’t enough to make him stay, however, our lack of points made it possible that we could be out of the World Cup. And just to think things can’t get worse. It did.

We lost to USA.

Our position in the World Cup is in danger…

Victor Vucetich, former manager of Mexican club Monterrey was our trainer for the last two games of the Qualifiers, Panama and Costa Rica. There were many complaints from fans and reporters that we don’t deserve to play the World Cup. Many people lost their faith. I continue to stay optimistic because I believe my team was still going to the World Cup. However, problems kept rising when Ochoa and Vela refuse to play with Mexico.

The game against Panama was so intense. We made the first goal, but Panama tied us. Then, in the last minutes of the game, Raul Jimenez did an amazing chilena. In the end, we won 2-1. I wish things were different against Costa Rica. United States played against Panama at the same time as Costa Rica vs. Mexico. Costa Rica was defeating us 2-1 while Panama was defeating United States with the same score. With Panama’s score and ours, we were out of the World Cup! Unfortunately, we lost against Costa Rica. However, United States counterattacked Panama and won 3-2. That score benefited us to play the repechage against New Zealand. Even USA tweeted “You’re Welcome Mexico.” After this, Miguel Herrera accepted to be our new manager. He was still manager of Mexican club America. El Tri practiced three days a week to prepare that game. We played the home and away games and won both games against New Zealand and got the last ticket to the World Cup. This was the most stressful year I encountered. I never would have thought Mexico suffered that bad to make it to the World Cup. Even though we made it, many fans lost faith in our team. And this leads up to the year I’ve been waiting for… World Cup Brazil 2014.

Mexico send a #QuieroCreer message to the fans through twitter. In this message, certain players of the National Team asked for fans to support them while they play the World Cup. Certain players like the captain Rafael Marquez, Javier Hernandez, Alfredo Talavera, Miguel Layun, and among others said they will play with heart in this World Cup. It sounds a bit cliché, but it was still a motivational message. The video showed scenes of the team being scored against some of their rivals. Also, it showed scenes of the important victories that took them to the World Cup. (You can find this on Youtube.  Just search Quiero Creer Mexico)

Let’s just say they completed their promise. No, we didn’t win the World Cup or made it to the famous fifth game. However, we did win something. They play with heart in every game. How can we forget Guillermo Ochoa’s best performance against Brazil? We tied against one of the best national teams in their homeland! Remember when a Croatia player said we should tremble with fear? What did we do? We responded on the field with a 3-1 score. In the group stage, Mexico already won our hearts. Our faith was coming back. In the Round of 16 against the Netherlands, we scored the first goal in the second half. You wouldn’t believe how happy the players, the fans, my family, and I was. However, good things always comes to an end, right?

Unfortunately, with fifteen minutes left, Netherlands tied. In the very last minute, we received a penalty against us. Fans reading this know about this penalty. This is where the famous #NoEraPenal became wildly known to the world. Unfortunately, this was the end of our participation in Brazil. I feel we deserved to change history in this World Cup. You wouldn’t believe how much I cried that day. The sadness in the players’ eyes showing that they didn’t want to leave. The sound of tears from my little brother and sister in my living room. The faces of Mexican fans with tears in their eyes. As I lean my head against my wall, “Can we ever win a World Cup someday?

Months after the World Cup 2014…

Well, Germany won this World Cup. Memes of #NoEraPenal were across the globe. Mexico Sub-22 won gold in the Central American and Caribbean games. Mexico won against the Netherlands in a friendly with Carlos Vela’s return. It was a nice way to finish the year.

…

The Mexican National Team has shown me it’s better late than never. We will do whatever it takes to be in Russia and change history by becoming champions. It is going to be difficult, but I know we will be in Russia. We received memorable lessons these past years. Thank you Seleccion Mexicana for giving heart and soul in every game. Thank you for all the lessons you taught me. I have felt every single emotion while seeing you guys play and I feel that I am one of you. Thank you for showing me that nothing is impossible if we dream big and that we will play for our lives to win the World Cup 2018. 2014 is now in the past.

Now it’s 2018’s turn...

[libarygoldfish]

Dead until you awake - Hamilton fanfiction, Ghost AU (Chapter 1 )

Author :

I really want to post this fic somewhere and have it back up on some part of the internet. This is a collaboration between me and my dear friend Trinnie. I love it with all my heart. So please don't insult our work if you somehow found it and read it.

Rating:

Warning: Major character death, graphic violence

Category: M/M, F/M, Multi

Fandom: Hamilton (Lin Manuel Miranda)

Characters: Alexander Hamilton, Charles Lee (Li), Ling Li,

Relationship: Alexander Hamilton & Charles Lee (Li), Karin Simons (OC)/ Charles Lee (mention/post)

Additional tag: suicidal character, drug use, accident, embarrassing violation of privacy, parental issues, college failure, teenage pregnancy, attachment issues, etc

Chapter 1 :

Alex raises a middle finger to the man who drove him and his wet carton boxes to his new accommodation. It was a makeman following orders from Mr. Schuyler, helping Alex one final time before closing all his doors to the Schuyler family. Great. Another way to rub it in his face that he was never part of it anyway.

He looks at the small townhouse with its yellowing front yard and spider-webbed windows with a sigh. It is unbelievably cheap and strangely free of any negative feedback. Once Alex thought he had seen somebody said the place was haunted, but then the comment was deleted within an hour. Seems like the website has a good filter with spam content then.

He knows for sure he’d feel very alone in it. Such a big home for no one but him. Alex normally would get angry at this moment, angry at Eliza’s impassive expression and the way she gladly turned from him with a hand on her slightly swollen stomach. He’d get angry if he has the energy for it.

But he doesn’t. Everything is taken away from him: his education, his job, his girlfriend, his child growing in her stomach, and now his anger. His life is a spilled glass of water. And he wants to break the glass.

The floor squeaks when Alex starts carrying in his boxes. As if there is a second pair of feet walking with him but Alex pays no attention. He observes the heavily hanging webs across the furniture and upper corners, almost like thin veils of invisible brides. It’s a nice place to die, nobody will probably find him for a long time.

He wonders if the bottle of bromethalin rodenticide will be painful once Alex gathers enough courage to use it.

He enters the bathroom and is happy to see the taps still work. But the old water leaks a color brown and he leaves it open until it looks safe enough. The bedroom seems to be less dirty other than a few webs scattered on top of the neatly made blanket covering the bed. He simply flings it to the floor and lies down, closing his eyes for sleep to naturally come and claim his idle, unenergetic body.

Ten years, this is his 10th year stuck in this awkward position. He hasn’t get out of this haunted house since 2008. Everything seems to get bigger and fancier over this decade, but he’s still that 21 years old Charles Lee. He thinks while remembering what it was like when this new kid moved in a week ago.

People who rented this house would always move out before their one year contract reached an end. They would curse at the owner through texts, trying to leave a comment on their website, or even collecting evidence about him. They have never succeeded to get any attention, you can see their plans fall apart by those new ones filling into their empty spots. Nobody knew that being noticed was harder than they imagined.

Take this new roommate he has as the example. This ponytail-teen seems to be ignoring his present from the very first second. This boy, whose name clearly is Alex based on his email account and how most of his friend address him in that flat-touchable phone. “ Alex” hadn’t even seemed to notice he have a ghost roommate. No matter how much noises and signs he makes with every part of the house.

Shaking window? Alex simply gives it a glare before he continues his meaningless small paragraphs ( who even would spend that much of the time to debating on a website that you can only type 140 words ? ).

Disrupting the signal so that the youtube site would play a video which screams out his name? His emotionless new roommate only texted what happened to a guy named John.

Not even with his best trick that makes everyone “ realized” they have a nonhuman roommate. Alex, or more correctly, one of the worst roommate he ever had in this house ( Burr won the worst place easily, but this guy feels worse than him in a way). Charles can’t believe he just wiped those words off without a flinch, those words he spent hours and precious energies on… what a monster he is facing here.

And a monster deserves to be treated like one, he has to use that forbidden way to communicate with Alex.That way he hadn’t had a chance to do since 2009.

“Hi, Alex, I’m your ghost roommate Charles Lee. Can you please pay more attention to the fact You HAVE a roommate and he’s NOT a human? How can you possibly ignore every sign I gave you? Anyway, please stop ignoring my present cause I… really need your help on something important... please stop pretending you saw nothing, or I will keep typing on your thin computer and that flat-touchable phone. ”

He types down everything he wants to shout into Alex’s face while the boy is writing another long paragraph about something he doesn’t give a fuck. All he needs is this asshole to notice him, and at least do something about it.

Honestly? Comment section fighting is now the only thing that keeps Alex alive. It’s small and unexpected, but Alex had nothing else to look forward to when he goes to bed every day. It drags him out of bed, although he only changes places by sitting on the dusty desk. Still, progress is progress. Even if it’s tiny and insignificant.

Alex hasn’t even cleaned the place ever since he came here. If he’s going to die very soon, why bother cleaning it? He remembers he once was the most hard-working employee and what did it cause him? His education. Maybe his sanity is also out of the question. Which is why he’s seeing the pointer blinking and blinking as the keyboard types on its own. Alex raises his hands away but the stream of words continues nonetheless.

“Hi, Alex, I’m your ghost roommate Charles Lee. Can you please pay more attention to the fact You HAVE a roommate and he’s NOT a human? How can you possibly ignore every sign I gave you? Anyway, please stop ignoring my present cause I… really need your help on something important... please stop pretending you saw nothing, or I will keep typing on your thin computer-“

Interesting. But this says nothing. Alex thinks this website has such an interesting AI to respond to him. He thought AI’s would never admit they’re not human. Unless they have come up with a roleplaying model, then that’s very understandable. He decides to give it a try.

He simply types back. “Why should I pay attention to this non-human roommate? If he’s staying, isn’t he obliged to split the ownership payment with me?”

“Why should I pay attention to this non-human roommate? If he’s staying, isn’t he obliged to split the ownership payment with me?”

Can a human be more… insensitive about what just happened to him? On his computer? Charles Lee is certain that he made those keyboards typed themselves in a normal human’s eyes. Are the technologies really that advance right now? But things are still going by his plan, this one is still communicating with him.

He dislikes how this new human has no respect or fears toward him...but he remembers how great a human interaction felt like, and how much does he miss it.

So he continues sucking up battery power from Alex’s strange computer while writing down his reply to explain the situation. Jokingly trying to convince his new roommate why he doesn’t need to pay the rent.

“Are you really asking why a ghost doesn’t need to pay rent? …

Here’s why I don’t need to pay anything. First, I don’t need any place to do anything I need to. For example, I’m sitting in the same spot you are now, in a thick layer of dirty blankets. do you feel my weight or anything on you? No? great. See my point?

Second, this is MY house. Well, technically my grandma’s now, cause I leave it to her after I became a ghost.

… Should I start proving I’m a real ghost now like those weird comedy movies? “

He crosses his leg after he finished the reply, saving some additional energy he got from touching/possessing Alex’s device. Today seems to be a bit, no, so much fresher than these ten years (not physically, of course, his house is still dusty like a winter storm). To have another person to truly communicating with is… unbelievably happy. Not like he doesn’t enjoy alone time and watching others living their own lives. He’s dead, he shouldn’t have any desire to be and live like other humans. He should be moving on from this.

He won’t be one of those people who can’t move on.

Alex blinks. It’s a bit harder to tell if this is an AI that hacks into his computer or not. But then he remembers the writing on his mirror. The way his video game specifically chanted over and over in a demonic tone.

Definitely a ghost then.

“Are you a ghost of a Revolutionary general?” Alex now asks aloud. He tries not to feel stupid. But then he’s seeing a blurry silhouette, the glitchy motion around this figure.

Could it be that the more he believes in this being, the more of it he would see? Alex recalls the theory from an old movie he saw.

He opens up a Word document and types in.

“How did you die? Why didn’t you go to the afterlife? Is there an afterlife at all?”

[Fin-fucking-nally!] Charles shout out after hearing Alex’s questions. Feeling terribly happy about his new roommate’s recognition of his identity. He starts typing out his replies after calming down from that shouldn't be existed excitement.

“ That would be cool and sad if I’m from the 18th centuries. But no, I’m just a regular college fuck-up from 10 years ago. “

He can't help but imagines how terrible would it be if he's here since 1776, that kind of ghost is definitely one that can’t move one, 10 years isn't that long when compared to centuries of existence.

He continues typing in his reply after thinking about them for a few minutes.

There’s nobody to tell him can he tell a human that or not… But since this isn't a classic horror film interaction, why not telling him about it? Not like it and privacy matters that much anymore.

“ Wow wow, slow down my dude, that's some... long-story-short questions you just asked. But before I answer any of those, I need to know would you help me out or not first, a simple yes or no. Because, you know, those questions are awfully personally to a ghost, to a stuck one like me.

Alex shakes himself awake at that reply. It’s been a week since he moved in and Alex hasn’t gone outside at all; he didn’t eat much and is still counting on the fridge stock. He hasn’t interacted with anyone, which may have caused him to forget very basic manners. He forgot he has just asked someone, a former human, how they died.

“I’m sorry, didn’t mean to offend you. What do you mean by “help out”? What will this help entail? I pretty much have nothing to do for now so time’s not a concern.”

Alex smiles bitterly at his own reply. Time was something he never had before. He enrolled in college with an unbelievable amount of financial aid, his name too innocuous for filtering. After that, he learned that uni had never been the highschool endgame, the movie ending he imagined. No, it was a storm of progress.

He balanced between study with finding enough dough to feed himself. It went well until Alex was wrought with illness after spending 14 hours a day outdoors in January running errands. He lost precious time for his work, his study and was brought into the care of one Eliza Schuyler. She was doing Meds but helped out her Nursery friend who couldn’t attend her practicals. Eliza was drawn to his hard work and scathing humor, the way his speech naturally flaunts.

She just didn’t know that the downsides to him were sleepless nights, a frayed mind and a man desperate to rise above his station.

She realized too late when her belly swelled and she had to hide from her sisters by staying over at his place 24/7. The nights she couldn’t sleep with his desk lamp on and the cackling of his keyboard, her feet aching which prevented her from seeking relief from the morning sickness. The way Alex tried to do work from home to tend for her needs went underappreciated. They were sketched in different shades of pencil gray, smudged in terrible condition. Both missing schools, both not working enough to sustain themselves and both miserable. Both failing uni and there was no salvation but to retake the year. Scholarship ripped away from Alex and his chance of regaining a similar one is a number with many zeros behind a dot.

One of them had a family to fall onto, the other did not. And he would never do. And he will soon make a child fatherless with the bromethalin waiting in his bag like a ticking time bomb.

He stands up from his former position, taking few steps to face that kid who smiles bitterer than how he should in his age. Not like he’s that much older than him, but he knows what other kids look like at his age, at least how they look like at 2008. Replying him further with a sarcastic tone between his sentence doesn’t sound like a good option at this moment. Charles decides to write his answer with a different kind of tone he was planning to use.

“ Non taken, it was good enough that you are curious than furiously trying to kick me out…”

He remembers the first few families who seem to care about him at first. Our little girl has an imaginary best friend, they said. How cute, he like a dog just like her, they awed. He wants her to let him be IN her body, they screamed. Totally ignored is the reason behind his intention to possess her, only looked into the things that conquered over their minds. Most humans who didn’t get scared treated him like a pest. forgetting who is the real owner and who’s the new *guest*.

“ ...that help relates to my afterlife. To answer your one of your question, Yes, the afterlife does exist. Even though I haven’t been to my own afterlife yet. But I can feel it... like that company you always want to get in, but you just not qualified... ANYWAY. I, clearly still stuck in between. This means I still haven’t moved on, I still have regrets I NEED to fulfilled… I know we just start to know each other for couples minutes, it’s fine if you don’t want to help me at all. “

He tries to look Alex in the eyes, saying out the help he needs while typing it down.

“ Can I… Possess you? And maybe borrow your thin-Computer for a day. I just need to find her, I mean, finish that things I can’t leave behind … I won’t overdo it, of course, even I know too much possession can kill a human. “

Alex blinks and rereads. Blinks some more. Traces the line with his finger. So his battery level has decreased almost by half. He quickly imagines how being killed by this will be like; probably feeling drained and tired until you suddenly drop dead like a shut-down PC.

So it’ll be a sort of death in your sleep kind of way...suddenly the bromethalin seems a tad ridiculous. Alex’s having an easy way out, and it comes unexpectedly almost like everything else in his life.

“So..Charles? Why are you asking for permission? Did you almost kill someone when you tried to possess them?” He asks to find out if there’s really a guarantee of death should this possession business be real.

“ Well, it’s a tradition. A routine we need to follow if we need to possess a living thing. Like… inviting a vampire into your house? “

Charles types back with a sense of relief but misunderstands Alex’s reaction to his response. He only catches his reaction of him touching the decreasing battery level.

“To be honest, I have never really possessed a person more than an hour before. I heard about how possession kills a health human though. And killing someone with this… unfortunately *power* isn’t my intention.”

He lies down on the ground, pretending he can feel those dust on the floor again. Like what he used to do when he wanted to avoid his parents’ meeting. Sleeping on the cold floor with AC running whole night always made him sick enough to not seeing anyone, but still able to do his works.

Alex for a moment cannot see the blurry figure anymore and panics a bit. He hasn’t seen it lying down.

“Wait? Where are you?” He calls. “I’m curious, how do you know you are poss- how do you know you have successfully possessed someone?”

“And how will possessed death be like, I wonder? Is it like brain dead or stop-breathing-dead?”

“ I'm on the ground buddy. Already missing me without even seeing me clearly?”

He didn’t get up from the ground but stay in the same position, typing out his answer with his head this time. One of the few good things about being a ghost, you can type with your mind. Which lower the rated battery dies out, but still takes a lot of battery power out fast.

“I’m glad you are getting serious now, cause your computer is dying faster than I thought. Well, I would be able to control your physically. Kinda like your 2nd personality in some way, you would still be able to interact with me internally??

…and the ...um, death? It would be like a brain dead situation. I would be slowly draining your brain, human’s natural energy source, where we have most of the electric signals going on. That’s probably an important reason why a ghost need consent to possess anyone. We are basically slowly sucking up your life juice. “

“...how can I trust you to control me?” Alex asks, shuddering. This sounds like an out-of-control situation and that’s something unacceptable for Alex. No way. Not after the downward spiral he and Eliza were helpless to escape.

“Can’t you do what you’re doing now? Like…” Alex looks to the ground, not seeing the blurry figure very well so he pins his gaze onto a particular spot. “Like...not be in my body but still using my life force?”

John’d criticize him for his need to control everything. But Alex thinks once you’ve reached such a low point as now, your complex is of the least concern.

He wonders if Charles needs to keep his ghostly state a secret.

“Well, that’s not how human possession works, unfortunately.“

He replies to Alex with a smirk on his face, chuckles lightly from how easy human imagines possession would be. Why would he be controlling those machines than humans when humans are so much more efficient?

“ I figured out that we can only control lifeless subjects distantly, but not any lives who have a thought. Do you know I even have to negotiate with a bird if I want to possess it? Yes, I tried E V E R Y T H I N G . “ And he can’t understand any of their words no matter how hard he tried.

“And I’m only a regular ghost who barely managed to keep my energy wave together, forcing a living being to be fully under my control… would possibly break me apart. So yeah, you totally don’t need to worry about me doing anything you don’t want. I would be like your subpersonality, who doesn’t have enough power to push you away from the spotlight? “

For a moment, Alex isn’t going to take the risk. But then he sees himself in the phrase “tried E V E R Y T H I N G” and does a double-take. He knows very well the feeling of having done everything and still ends up alone. Defeated. A failure.

That feeling of loneliness, helplessness and trapped is what he sees in this ghost friend. He has nothing to lose. And even if he dies from this, maybe Charles can take over his body. And live a better life than him.

It’s a win-win.

“You’ve got yourself a deal. How do I give consent?” Alex asks into thin air.

Charles can't hide his smile when Alex really agree with this … Is he truly going to give his consent to use his body? Dear god, I promise I won’t kill this innocent kid and use his body as little as possible.

“OMG, you are giving me your consent ?! ...Here, repeat this sentence after me till you can see me laying on...no, sitting on the ground with my favorite sweater. “

He sits up and tries to make himself looks less messy, someone is going to look at him clearly with giving him consent. At least Alex would see a ghost with a fixed hair. A good first expression would probably make their face to face interaction less awkward.

“ repeat after this till you see me: I, Alex (your full name), agree to let Charles Lee possess me at my free will. Not because of outside force or threat by the ghost who is going to take control of my body temporarily.”

“If something goes wrong...Nah, I mean, who is there to miss.” Alex chuckles carefreely and repeats the phrase written on his screen.

“I, Alexander Hamilton, agree to let Charles Lee possess me at my free will. Not because of outside forces or threat by the ghost…” A drop of sweat trails down the side of his face. Alex is really reaching the end of this sentence. He has forgotten what it feels like for his heart to beat this fast, for him to feel the liveliness of expectation, “who is going to take control of my body temporarily.”

He shuts his eyes.

A connection suddenly appears right after Alex finishes his sentence. Charles can take control of Alex’s body without any barrier now. But he wants to wait till he finally can see him in the eyes. And make sure he still agree on doing it afterword.

“Alright, I think we have built that route for possession now… can you hear me? “

He asks curiously, trying to calm himself down from talking to a real human in five years. Hoping Alex would be able to hear him.

“ Do you… regret your decision now ?”

Alex’s eyes open as he is startled by the sudden voice in the previously quiet room. Following the direction of it, Alex sees a young man sitting on the floor.

A handsome face, symmetrical and nice to look at if not for the way blood is dripping over the left side of it. His ghost, Charles Lee, is wearing a large sweater with the faded writing of a university name. His skin is translucently pale, so pale that the dark eye bags are as pronounced as eye make-up.

“You are...Charles?” He reaches out to touch the ghost’s shoulder and it felt as if his hand passes through a block of ice. It’s a numbing feeling, strangely calm. If death is actually like this, Alex doesn’t see why he has anything to fear.

“No. I don’t regret it.” He offers his hand for a shake. “Not at all.”

“ Yep, I’m your local-very-dead ghost roommate, Charles Lee. “

He puts on a more relaxing smile when Alex start asking him questions instead of getting irrational about his present, he did meet a better human this time. Better than the last human who tried to kick him out with holy water (which was only a waste of money).

“ I’m glad that you didn’t freak out meeting me. You know, I don’t exactly look like a normal human. Do I give you a good first expression? Like my style so far ?”

He shakes Alex’s hand with his most steady handshake, greeting his temporarily human in a manner he hasn’t use for ages. Can’t help but gets exciting about having this opportunity enter his life, well, dead-life.

“ Are you sure you are ready for a possession though? I don’t feel you have enough energy for it. “ He asks after shaking Alex’s hand, noticing the condition of his current stage isn’t as good as he imagined before their connection.

“Let’s roll with it. I’m probably the best chance you’ve got.” Alex brushes off Charles’s concern for his health. “We’ll start soon. I’m gonna help you free yourself from regrets.”

Even though Alex is still living with his.

“ … Let’s start this tomorrow, I insist. We need to give your body some time to get used to our connection. “

He pats his new human on the shoulder and tried his best to still looks exciting. Like this connection between them only means the possession, nothing more.

But he knows nothing more about it, this is a completely new experience for him too. He has no idea what might happen next.

“both of us need some charging right now. Possession would work the best with a fully rested body. “

And so they slept.

[torentialtribute]

Sir Jackie Stewart turns 80 next week… Here he opens up to Sportsmail about his extraordinary life

Sir Jackie Stewart turns 80 on Tuesday and celebrates the milestone with a lunch attended by the queen

No sportsman before that can make that claim.

The book of Stewart & # 39; s contacts reads as Burke & # 39; s Peerage and there will be a shortage of famous friends at the Louis XIV-style restaurant at the Royal Automobile Club at Pall Mall for the shindig . ]

But the engineers who have kept him safe during the dangerous racing days that delivered triple world championship titles will be just as cherished guests.

Sir Jackie Stewart will spend his 80th birthday in royal company on Tuesday "

Sir Jackie Stewart will spend his 80th birthday in royal company on Tuesday

However, there are many friends who can't make it.

It is not long before Paul, the butler, has the walls of the apartment with emptied three floors between Geneva and Lausanne, where the cream-colored furniture is immaculate and the dust is collected before it falls in. post-prandial coffee from the terrace overlooking the Mont Blanc, Stewart says: I could have been killed. Almost none of my friends are alive, Jimmy Clark, Jochen Rindt, Francois Cevert, I was close to all those people. "The list goes on,

& # 39; In the 11-year window in which I drove 57 friends and suit died legas, often in horrible circumstances. If you played five years, you were more likely to die than to survive. Those are the statistics. It was brutal. I will not forget the pain of the widows and the fear in the eyes of women who wondered if it was their turn next.

& I sometimes feel guilty. Take Mike Spence, my teammate at BRM (British Racing Motors) the year before. His right wheel came off during training at the Indianapolis 500 and hit him on the head. I saw him at the hospital.

& # 39; It should have been me in that car but I broke my wrist so that I couldn't compete in Indy. & # 39;

<img id = "i-9195b60bc64503d0" src = "https://dailym.ai/2MOtK4P -0-image-a-3_1559941764070.jpg "height =" 943 "width =" 634 "alt =" The racing went great with Jonathan McEvoy of Sportsmail to discuss his incredible life Jonathan McEvoy to discuss his incredible life

The racing went great together with Jonathan McEvoy of Sportsmail to discuss his incredible life [Spencewaseenofandfoldeddriverswhoinevelemaandin1968first9first9first9first9first9first9first9sfarred9hffofthejob-'forGod'ssake'-thatStewartheardthatClarkthedoubleworldchampionhaddiedinHockenheimIwasnotwillingtoacceptthenewsIcalledfromasmallrestaurantnexttothemainroadthattoMadridairportHiswifeHelenansweredthephone'Wedidn'tsayanythingelse'

& # 39; Hello, it's me & # 39 ;, he said. A long silence fell. We both knew what it meant. My great friend, my hero, the man we wanted to be godfather to our second son, Mark, was dead. We burst into tears. & # 39;

Stewart and Clark had excavations in London and the memory of his Stewart pains to this day

I ask him who the greatest British driver in history is. Lewis Hamilton & # 39; s expanding c.v. of excellence, including five world titles, states his claim. But Stewart says unambiguously: & # 39; Jim Clark. & # 39;

Juan Manuel Fangio was the greatest driver of all. Jimmy is the next one. And then I would say Alain Prost. Ayrton Senna was very fast, but Prost hardly moved the wheel – like Jimmy and me. I learned that by watching Jimmy. At Lewis it's hard to tell how good he is because he drives such a good car. You should see him in a less competitive car. Valtteri Bottas is as fast as Lewis this season. Max Verstappen is currently the fastest driver.

& # 39; But I thought Lewis in Monaco won one set of tires in the last race for almost the entire race. & # 39;

This year marks the 50th anniversary of both Stewart & # 39; s first British Grand Prix victory and the first world championship. The last of his titles came in 1973, secured in Monza.

But in practice his teammate, his friend and intended successor as Tyrrell & # 39; s No 1 driver, Cevert, died. & # 39; Francois & # 39 ;, says Stewart, pointing to the Frenchman's picture in the apartment, & # 39; look, great eyes. & # 39;

I found Helen at the end of the bed at the Glen Motor Inn and told her about his intentions to retire, which I had kept secret from her. He looked straight in the eyes and said: & # 39; I am no longer a driver from this moment on. & # 39; & # 39; Now & # 39 ;, she replied, with tears, & we can grow old together & # 39 ;.

]

Lady Stewart is 78 and li in dementia. She comes to the elevator to have lunch with me and offers me a glass of white wine.

Her illness is the reason that she and Sir Jackie, and their Norfolk terriers, Whiskey and Pimm's, are back in Switzerland instead of in their own country pile, Clayton House, in Buckinghamshire. The clinic is close by. Lady Stewart can have her hair done right next door.

Helen was a well-known beauty of the Swinging Sixties – regularly shown in Paris Match – and was a professional witness to the entire field on a round table during his racing days. She is now a grandmother of nine to eight boys and a girl.

Her illness prompted Sir Jackie to be perhaps the last major fight of his life – to find a cure for dementia.

& # 39; Race Against Dementia & # 39; is focused on raising money to train PhD students to the highest standard, using McLaren and Red Bull F1 teams as templates.

He has seen a number of laboratories and finds them too dirty. He is a perfectionist and tends to pluck a loose thread from the shirt of the person he is talking to.

Sir Jackie & # 39; s new focus is on helping find better treatments for people with dementia "

Sir Jackie & # 39; s new focus is on it help find better treatments for people with dementia

There are some major surgeons in England, but the entire medical world, the infrastructure, is not focused on quickly finding Healing, "He says.

& # 39; We need progress yesterday, not next week. That is why Formula One is a great model. There is a grand prix every two weeks and so much. to improve the performance of the car between each race. "

He knows what fighting is. Suspicious stupid at school because he was diagnosed with dyslexia, he didn't fiddle with anything because he missed a spot at the 1960 Olympics in the shooting team. He won all national awards, spirit.

Attention to detail motivates him. For example, he has been a Rolex ambassador for 51 years and has cut the left sleeve of his shirts a bit shorter and wider to show the watch optimally.

When he ran the Stewart Grand Prix in the late 1990s and won a race from a standing start, the team never had a red, only blue-chip carriers such as HSBC.

He has his drivers on public speaking lessons and has unpacked them flawlessly – fits Doug Hayward, shirts from Turnbull and Asser, shoes from George Cleverley.

& # 39; I like doing things right & # 39 ;, he says, proud of his long relationship with companies such as Ford, Goodyear and Heineken. I love dealing with the right people. As my father said: & # 39; If you fly with the crows, you can get shot at, if you sound like the eagles you have to be safe. & # 39;

He calls the deceased King Hussein of Jordan the most remarkable man he has met. I learned a lot from him.

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Jackie leads Jochen Rindt (right) on Silverstone as the first twice in 1969 "

Sir Jackie leads Jochen Rindt (right) at Silverstone as the two compete for first place in 1969

The Queen is the most amazing Princess Grace, he says, made Monaco & # 39; he and her eleven were taken to the Hotel de Paris, where photographers' flashlights got out of hand.

Sean Connery is a friend George Harrison, another buddy with & # 39; one of the best ghosts I have ever met & # 39 ;, lee Rde his son Paul to play the guitar

& I have been very lucky & # 39 ;, says Stewart, World Sportsman of the Year in 1973 and recently found the Trophy to prove it to Debrett & # 39 ; s, who could not find a record of his performance.

He was notified by ABC for his Broad World of Sports broadcasts directed by Jim McKay and is still well known in the United States.

& # 39; While standing in an elevator, I may be recognized, but I am sure when I speak, with my Scottish accent and sound quite high. & # 39; The years – and the urge he has endured in aluminum cockpits – have demanded his right hip and left knee, both replaced at the Mayo Clinic in America, and a new right knee is planned

Over on his Clayton estate House the benches are engraved with the names of his fallen friends. Their death puts new connections in the right perspective. Not only is Stewart 80 next week, but he has never spilled blood as a driver and, more importantly, got out before he killed him. These are awards that are worth celebrating.

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[mrmichaelchadler]

Matt Fagerholm's Top Ten Films of 2018

For dutiful film critics preparing to mark their ballots, the final months of the year are nothing less than a cinematic avalanche. Studios do everything in their power to entice us into viewing their most prized work prior to our voting deadlines and “best of” lists. There’s no way any single person can watch and fully digest every single movie that comes out in a given year, but boy do the most devoted cinephiles give it their all, consuming multiple pictures after work hours or early in the morning. 

You can’t merely enjoy movies to pull off such a feat, you must be obsessed with them and believe deeply in their importance. It’s not just a job or a hobby, it is one of the great purposes of my life to champion an art form that possesses the power of strengthening our connection with one another. In such divided and toxic times, the humanizing beam of a film projector is more vital and revitalizing than ever. And in many recent cases cited below, it reminded me of why I fell in love with visual storytelling in the first place.

10. “Mary Poppins Returns”

In an era where Disney appears hellbent on churning out pointless yet highly profitable shot-for-shot remakes of their animated classics, the very notion of producing a sequel to the studio’s all-time greatest picture sounds like a surefire recipe for disaster. Yet what “Chicago” director Rob Marshall has achieved here will stand as a definitive example of how to honor a masterpiece. There is no attempt made to equal or improve upon Robert Stevenson’s 1964 marvel—after all, how does one top perfection? Yet with a running time clocking in just nine minutes shy of its predecessor, this buoyantly old school musical captures the innocence, whimsy and wonderment of “Mary Poppins” while offering its own spirited take on the material. 

Emily Blunt is well-aware that she does not possess the indelible screen persona, let alone the pipes, of Julie Andrews, yet her balance of warmth and sardonic wit is impeccable for the title role, as is Lin-Manuel Miranda’s vibrance and Cockney-by-way-of-Neptune accent in the Bert-like role of lamplighter Jack. A team of veteran animators were brought out of retirement to create the film’s glorious hand-drawn sequence, while the “Hairspray” duo of Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman penned nine original songs echoing the Sherman Brothers’ signature vaudevillian style. Worth the price of admission alone is the ever-ageless Dick Van Dyke, playing the son of the banker he brilliantly brought to life incognito in the first film. Marshall clearly drew upon his childhood memories of seeing “Mary Poppins” on the big screen, and this labor of love is sure to delight fans and newcomers alike. It certainly brought out the child in me. 

9. “Life and Nothing More” 

Winner of Film Independent’s John Cassavetes Award during last year’s Spirit Awards ceremony, Antonio Méndez Esparza’s arresting film aims to capture nothing more than the relentless flow of “life itself.” The director used his script merely as a blueprint, enabling each scene to be formed organically in the moment, while guided by the experiences of his nonprofessional actors (who share the first names of their characters). Spirit Award nominee Regina Williams delivers one of the year’s best performances as a waitress struggling to provide for her troubled son (Andrew Bleechington), and baby daughter in Leon Country, Florida. I’ve watched Esparza’s film twice now, and its greatness reveals itself even more upon second viewing, upending the biases we may have developed about certain characters. 

The first time around, I tended to view events from Andrew’s perspective because that was how they were framed by the camera. His refusal to trust his mother’s boyfriend (Robert Williams) is understandable, since his own dad’s incarceration has given him little reason to trust father figures, though his methods of ousting him from the house are no different from that of the white family who attempt to kick the boy out of their affluent park, even as he poses no threat to them. All of the film’s major conflicts arise from a stubborn reluctance of its characters to communicate with one another. The poignant final shot suggests that our estrangement can be mended the moment we choose to lock eyes and listen to each other, allowing our voices to rise above the deafening cries of our presumptions. 

8. “The Tale”

When Lady Gaga appeared on Stephen Colbert’s late night show this past October, she delivered a stirring defense of Christine Blasey Ford, the psychologist who charged Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault prior to his confirmation as a Supreme Court justice. “If someone is assaulted or experiences trauma, there is scientific proof that the brain changes,” noted Gaga. “It takes the trauma and puts it in a box, files it away and shuts it so that we can survive the pain.” It may take years for that box to be reopened, as evidenced by multiple survivors of the abuse administered by Olympics doctor Larry Nassar. Taped testimonials delivered by these women and girls during his trial, and subsequently uploaded on YouTube, were humbling in their bravery. The same can be said of this blistering narrative memoir from documentarian Jennifer Fox, who revisits an episode from her youth that she had kept buried for decades. 

While interviewing rape victims for her latest project, Jennifer (Laura Dern) is triggered into remembering the intimate relationship she developed with the running coach (Jason Ritter) and instructor (Elizabeth Debicki) at a horse-riding camp when she was only a little girl (played with heartbreaking innocence by Isabelle Nélisse, sister of “Monsieur Lazhar” star Sophie Nélisse). Rather than accompany Dern’s scenes with routine flashbacks, Fox finds ingenious ways of having the heroine enter her own past, interrogating the occupants of her memories as if they were the subjects of her latest documentary. Dern’s late “Rambling Rose” co-star John Heard gave one of his final performances as the older version of Ritter, who is publicly shamed in a sequence that registers as a rallying cry of the #MeToo movement.

7. “Custody”

There was no horror film in 2018 that tested my nerves quite like this Hitchcockian nightmare from Xavier Legrand, an incredibly gifted first-time feature director from France. Billed as a domestic drama, I was prepared for something more akin to Asghar Farhadi’s “A Separation,” as a divorced couple, Antoine (Denis Ménochet) and Miriam (Léa Drucker), battle in court over the custody of their young son, Julien (Thomas Gioria, in one of the most astonishing debut performances I’ve ever seen). At first, my sympathies leaned toward the father, whose foiled bids to connect with Julien are relatable—until his face hardens and he begins to show his true colors. Ménochet slyly straddles the line between frustrated sad sack and frightening monster, causing us to feel as perpetually on edge as Julien, never certain of his next move. 

In every tremulous motion and agonized glance, Gioria conveys the volatile atmosphere of white-knuckled fear his father maintained at home. Merely being in Antoine’s presence is enough to give Julien PTSD, and when he attempts to make a run for it, he quickly realizes there is only so far he can go. In a superb instance of juxtaposition, Legrand cuts from Julien’s older sister (Mathilde Auneveux) belting out “Proud Mary” at a birthday party to the violence that threatens to erupt between Antoine and Miriam in the parking lot. Then we arrive at a climatic sequence on par with the finale of Hitchcock’s “Rear Window,” as Legrand’s Oscar-worthy sound designers create a harrowing sense of impending doom with the subtlest of repetitions. Only at the final fade out will you allow yourself to take a breath. 

6. “Leave No Trace” 

A list of the year’s greatest achievements in acting wouldn’t be complete without Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie’s extraordinary lead performance in Debra Granik’s quietly shattering drama. Having already won over New Zealand audiences with her endearing web series, “Lucy Lewis Can’t Lose,” here McKenzie goes toe-to-toe and nose-to-nose with the sublime Ben Foster, and proves to be every bit his equal. Foster’s character of Will has the same first name as the role that the actor played in Oren Moverman’s equally great war-themed film, “The Messenger,” about an injured soldier assigned to inform families that their enlisted loved one has passed. The man Foster embodied in that film was named after one of the soldiers he met during his research, so it’s only appropriate that the Will he portrays in Granik’s film is also a veteran haunted by ghosts from the past. 

The picture is deeply effective in part because none of Will’s demons are ever spelled out in an expositional monologue. So much can be gleaned simply through his behavior, such as how he winces at the sound of propeller. Choosing to raise his daughter, Tom (McKenzie), in the wilderness of Portland, Will has carved out a manageable life for himself. The strength of the bond between him and Tom endures until the modern world comes crashing upon them, forcing the pair to reevaluate what direction they want to take in life, and whether it will be the same one. McKenzie never overplays a single note of her character’s journey, remaining strong for her dad even while fighting back tears. It’s the restraint of her work that left me with a lump in my throat.

5. “Muppet Guys Talking” 

For lifelong Muppet fans, Frank Oz’s euphoric documentary has been the gift that keeps on giving. It premiered exclusively online this past March, enabling the legendary Muppeteer-turned-director to connect directly with viewers, while providing those who sign up for a membership with enough deleted scenes to fill a separate feature. Taken altogether, this footage paints an invaluable portrait of Jim Henson’s genius, in terms of both his visionary creations and his knack for being “a harvester of people.” Oz (Miss Piggy, Grover, Fozzie Bear) joins four of his fellow “Muppet guys”—Dave Goelz (The Great Gonzo), Fran Brill (Prairie Dawn), Bill Barretta (Pepé the King Prawn) and the late Jerry Nelson (Count von Count)—for a lively chat about the process of puppeteering and the painstaking effort that must be expended in order to achieve the most fleeting yet crucial nuance. It’s fascinating to watch the performers break down the origins of their iconic characters, and how they were inspired by aspects of their own lives. 

Yet what makes the film truly great is the way in which Oz and his wife, executive producer Victoria Labalme, resurrect the humanistic spirit of Henson, enabling his worldview to reach beyond the barriers of show business and prove utterly universal in its relevance. Acknowledging that the Muppets’ signature style is less than polished, Oz keeps the picture loose and alive, refusing to conceal the cameramen scrambling to capture their subjects’ unscripted banter. The performers and audiences that Henson brought together through his artistry are his everlasting symphony, and this onscreen quintet is enduring proof of that. And if you like 1981’s “The Great Muppet Caper” now, just wait till you get a load of the behind-the-scenes stories. It’s one of the most mind-boggling feats in cinema.

4. “First Reformed”

With this richly disquieting film—his finest since 1985’s “Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters”—Paul Schrader proves himself to be a master of “slow cinema,” and like the tortoise, he has outpaced every impatient hare in his path. Moviegoers unfamiliar with this term may assume that it promises little more than a dull slog, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. If anything, this genre’s contemplative nature proves to be far more transfixing than films so breathless to entertain that they forget to earn our investment. The austere filmmakers that Schrader pays homage to throughout the picture—notably Robert Bresson and Carl Dreyer—are interested in withholding certain elements, refusing to utilize techniques that viewers have come to expect, such as a quick editing pace or varied coverage like over-the-shoulder shots.

Alexander Dynan lenses the film in the same compressed aspect radio as Paweł Pawlikowski’s “Ida”—1.37:1—limiting the camera movement almost entirely to scenes that jump from the temporal plane to the cosmic realm, escaping the bonds of reality. Whereas Schrader’s “Taxi Driver” followed a disillusioned veteran whose plans to wreak havoc on a world he believes to be diseased are foiled by the plight of a 12-year-old prostitute, “First Reformed” is about a disillusioned military chaplain-turned-pastor whose plans to wreak havoc on a world he believes to be diseased are disrupted by the plight of a pregnant woman named Mary. Ethan Hawke delivers the performance of his career as Toller, a clergyman with self-righteous convictions fueled primarily by his personal demons. Like Dietrich Brüggemann’s “Stations of the Cross” (a 2014 German masterwork that Schrader and I both revere), this movie is a rebuke to the fallacy that self-destruction is tantamount to spiritual transcendence.

3. “Roma”

No director makes my jaw drop quite like Alfonso Cuarón. His latest movie left me so stunned that I remained pinned to my seat throughout the entirety of the credits, which end with the Buddhist chant, “Shantih Shantih Shantih.” This invocation of peace—in body, speech and mind—was memorably repeated in Cuarón’s “Children of Men,” a 2006 thriller that horrifyingly foreshadowed the current refugee crisis. That film contained two extended sequences of continuous movement—one set in a car under siege, the other on war-torn streets—that are among the most spellbinding triumphs of cinematography, choreography and effects in the history of cinema. Cuarón’s new film culminates with a bravura set piece on par with those others, yet that’s only one aspect of its greatness. 

Like “Children of Men” and “First Reformed,” this deeply personal tour de force assesses the challenge of bringing new life into a chaotic world. It is also a black-and-white valentine to the Mexico of Cuarón’s childhood and the maid who nurtured him, embodied by Cleo (newcomer Yalitza Aparicio). As she finds her own life paralleling that of the middle-class woman she works for, Cleo begins to feel increasingly conflicted about her own future, as well as that of her unborn baby. Having learned a wealth of techniques from his regular DP, three-time Oscar-winner Emmanuel Lubezki, Cuarón takes charge of the camerawork this time around, and his eye for composition (albeit less restless) is every bit as audacious. A pair of visual motifs involving water and airplanes resurface in endlessly provocative ways, while two prolonged scenes—viewed from static angles—blur the action in the background, marrying two moments of inevitable heartache. I have rarely heard an audience react so audibly to the art of mise-en-scène as when I saw this film with a sold-out crowd during the opening night of its theatrical run in Chicago. If you see only one movie on the big screen this holiday season, make it this one.

2. “Minding the Gap”

In the monumental 52-year legacy of Chicago’s production company Kartemquin Films, none of its documentaries have impacted me on as personal a level as this astonishing debut feature from Bing Liu. While filming his longtime friends Keire and Zack as they took part in their cherished hobby of performing bruising stunts on their skateboards, Liu began to see a potential film materialize as he held the camera on their faces. “This place eats away at you,” says Keire of their hometown, Rockford, Illinois. He relishes the fleeting sense of control he sustains while skating, until he wipes out. Sure, the hobby may hurt him on occasion, but so did his dad, and he still loves the old man, though it’s telling that Keire finds catharsis in stomping on his boards until they splinter. 

The fact that all three men are victims of domestic abuse is alarming but also quite commonplace in a town where nearly half the population is paid below the minimum wage, and where the residue of violence clings to the interior of houses that were meant to comfort and protect. “I saw myself in your story,” Liu explains to Keire, who likens the experience of making the movie to “free therapy.” As the filmmaker struggles to come to terms with the wounds inflicted by his own upbringing, he starts to see echoes of his abuser in the increasingly unsettling behavior of Zack. When Liu films his mother and simultaneously confronts her about the abandonment he felt as a kid, he keeps a separate camera fixed on his face, drawing attention to his own inability to break free from the pain of his past. Assisted by co-editor Joshua Altman, Liu weaves these stories together, forming a seamless tapestry of anguish and catharsis that culminates in an extended montage so deftly executed, it left me in awe.

1. “Eighth Grade”

As a bullied student in eighth grade, what I desired more than anything was to become a director of films that would make kids like me feel less alone. Now, with his first foray into filmmaking, Bo Burnham has made the movie I’ve spent nearly two decades hoping would one day exist. The film’s heroine, Kayla, is a lonesome soul bereft of an extracurricular outlet. Though her graduation from junior high is only one week away, every second in that soul-crushing environment feels like an eternity. So she turns to the world that didn’t exist when I was her age, the one that beckons to her from the cool glow of her laptop and phone. Burnham, who first garnered a global audience via his comedic YouTube videos, honors his protagonist by refusing to play her feelings for laughs. As portrayed by 15-year-old Elsie Fisher, Kayla emerges as one of the most compelling and vividly realized movie characters I’ve ever encountered. My heart broke every time the camera lingered on her face—untouched by an artificial Hollywood sheen—as she struggled to contain her embarrassment behind an expression of optimism. 

The screenplay by Burnham doesn’t have an ounce of condescension, and the laughter that it generates—which is plentiful—arises out of recognition rather than ridicule. These are the years where attentive parenting is utterly essential, and Kayla is fortunate enough to have a father, Mark (Josh Hamilton), who may exasperate her with his persistent prying, but has a limitless reservoir of empathy and understanding. When Mark’s words finally register for Kayla during a lovely sequence set around a campfire, they affirm her sense of belonging in the world. As he tells his daughter, “You make me brave,” I couldn’t help agreeing with him. There is nothing braver than a middle schooler who dares to be human. What makes “Eighth Grade” the best film of 2018 is the way it makes Kayla’s anxiety resonate on a level that transcends all age, race, gender, nationality and culture. With petulant bullies elected to our highest offices, and technology breeding an addiction to constant approval, it goes without saying that our world has currently succumbed to an eighth grade mentality. You no longer have to be 13 in order to feel trapped in junior high. 

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