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borninacloud · 2 years ago

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Cheat - Eddie Munson x fem!reader

summary: Y/N is shocked to catch Eddie cheating at DnD...

warnings: swearing/cursing, slightly suggestive themes, let me know if there's anything else!

a/n: Let's just ignore vol.2 shall we 🙃 All things mentioned DnD wise are from 5th edition as it's what I use, so apologies for any historical inaccuracies there. Feedback always appreciated!

Masterlist & Request Info!

“And with a swipe of its claws, the dragon sends the mighty Sir Ode crashing to the floor, unconscious. The dragon turns, its frosty eyes drawn to its last remaining adversary… The incomparable sorceress, Udora Ulwick. Now, Udora, the fate of the party lies in your hands. What's your move?”

All eyes at the table turn to Y/N with rapt interest. The session had been running for several hours now, and after stumbling across what transpired to be an ancient white dragon, the party’s characters had been drawn into a gruelling, savage battle that had already cost several lives.

“I-oh god, what do I do?” Y/N said anxiously, looking to the rest of the party for help. Eddie leaned back in his seat, a satisfied smirk on his lips as he watched the panic unfold in front of him.

The room erupted into shouts from every direction, each person throwing their own opinion and advice into the mix as Y/N struggled to keep up with them all.

“Go for the attack, Y/N!”

“Yeah, it’s low on hit points!”

“No, you’ve got to heal someone, you need backup!”

“No she doesn’t, she’s got a 7th level spell slot left you moron!”

"Revive me, you need the protection of a cleric!"

“Quiet!” Eddie’s voice rose above the cacophony of noise, hands held up to silence everyone else as he fixed Y/N with an encouraging look, “It’s the lady’s choice. Let her make it.”

Y/N took a deep breath, studying the spellcasting section of the character sheet before her nervously.

Although it was already in its sixth session the campaign was still Y/N's first, so she wasn’t quite as confident in her actions as the rest of the party who had been playing Dungeons & Dragons for years.

She’d initially only agreed to join Hellfire as a one-off favour for Lucas, but after discovering that it was actually a hell of a lot of fun, perhaps in part due to the charismatic Dungeon Master whose smile made her heart race, she had asked to join as an official member.

Y/N knew she hadn’t exactly been the strongest player so far. In spite of that she always enjoyed herself and gave it her all during sessions, although she sometimes made silly decisions purely down to her inexperience.

That hadn’t mattered too much so far though, save for the disastrous encounter with the mimick the previous week, but now, with everyone else's characters incapacitated or unconscious, the fate of the entire campaign rested on her shoulders.

Y/N cast her eyes up to Eddie who, despite still sitting back with his arms folded cockily, gave her a reassuring nod, eyes boring into hers.

Her heart hammered under his intense watch and she stood from her chair with a steely determination, gaze unwavering as she pointed a finger at him for added effect.

“I cast… Finger of Death!”

The party burst out into divided cries, half delighted and half horrified at Y/N's decision. Dustin gave her a double thumbs up, but their cleric, Garrett, smacked a hand to his forehead in exasperation.

Y/N looked back to Eddie who grinned madly, sitting forward in his seat eagerly.

“Finger of Death, eh Y/N? Well we’ll have to see if that hits, won’t we?”

“Make the saving throw, Munson.” She replied shrewdly, leaning across the table to stare him down.

Eddie chuckled at her, clearly entertained by Y/N’s newfound confidence, before standing and grabbing the d20, tossing it casually onto the table in front of him. The party stood with bated breath, waiting for the die to come to a halt behind the Dungeon Master’s screen.

The room went silent as the telltale clattering of the die came to an end after what felt like an age. Eddie’s gaze left the table to cast a brief glance at Y/N. Her eyes were wide, anxious and hopeful as one hand gripped Lucas’ arm tightly.

He hesitated before breaking out into a bellowing cry, hand clutching his heart as he stumbled back into his chair dramatically, playing the part of the slain dragon.

“That’s a hit, Y/N!”

The room instantly erupted in cheers, the younger teens running to hug Y/N as she jumped up and down in elation, finally feeling as though she had proved her worth and was deserving of her place at the table.

“Oh my god, I did it!” She said breathlessly, mouth hanging open in shock as though she couldn’t quite bring herself to believe it. She caught Eddie’s gaze over Lucas’ shoulder and he bowed his head to her, a dazzling smile on his face as he did so.

“Great job, Y/N.”

Once the celebrations died down the party began to pack their belongings away, Y/N unable to keep from beaming as she tucked her character sheet neatly away in her bag. Dustin wandered past her towards Eddie, awarding him praise for the latest game.

"That was an awesome session, dude. I loved the- hey, you rolled an 18." Dustin’s innocent statement seemed to ring out above the rest of the commotion and Y/N froze over her bag, listening carefully to his next words.

"Shut up, Henderson." Eddie warned in a low voice, shifting nervously as Mike joined him and Dustin at the head of the table, trying to get a glimpse of the die in question.

"But you only needed a 15 to win the saving throw. You beat Y/N's spell with an 18."

"What?" The girl in question’s head whipped up to the pair, looking at Eddie questioningly, "Is that true?" She moved to snatch the DM screen away to reveal the die but he was too quick, grabbing the offending object before she could see the true result of his roll.

"Eddie!" She said, affronted. If anything his defensive reaction had proved Dustin's words to be true.

Y/N stood gawking at him, disbelieving. Why would he lie about a roll, especially when it was to his own detriment?

Eddie was nothing if not a fastidious Dungeon Master, he followed the rules to a fault and certainly never gave them any advantage during the game. In fact, he was incredibly strict and had never hesitated to kill off an entire party mid campaign before.

"What’s going on?" She demanded, hands coming to rest on the table as she stared down at him angrily, "Did you lie to let me win?"

Eddie grew flustered as his eyes shifted to the other Hellfire members, attempting to completely avoid Y/N.

"No, of course not!" He protested, trying to laugh it off, but it was without any of his usual confidence and only furthered Y/N's suspicions. Eddie didn’t get flustered, ever. He was lying.

"Dustin, tell me the truth. What did he roll?" Y/N rounded the table towards the teen, coming to stand before him with her hands on her hips in what she hoped was her most menacing pose.

"Uh- come on, Y/N. Does it really matter? We won, didn’t we?" Dustin looked between the pair, unwilling to rat out Eddie who he completely idolised, but also not having the guts to barefaced lie to Y/N who was visibly upset. He had never seen her get angry at someone before, but she was downright furious with Eddie.

"Of course it matters! I don’t want to win just because Mr. high and mighty Dungeon Master over here thinks I’m some stupid little girl that he needs to go easy on! Got to dumb things down for me, right Eddie?"

Y/N had always felt as though Eddie had treated her differently to the rest of the party.

He'd never gone so far as cheating to help her before, at least not that she knew of, but he often held back on the usual sarcastic and judgemental remarks that the rest of the party received.

It wasn't that he'd never teased her, but there was a marked difference between how he treated her and the boys. His quips didn’t hold the same bite when he spoke to her, they always seemed a little restrained whereas he had no problem tearing into the boys when they made a mistake.

Y/N had never really thought much into it before, chalking it up to the fact that that he was just more familiar with the others, but with the proof in front of her that the otherwise stickler for the rules, Eddie Munson, had faked a roll in her favour made her mind whirl trying to figure out why.

Did he think she was stupid? That the game was too complicated for her to properly understand? Was he fed up with the lousy moves she kept making? She’d admittedly made some bad plays in the past, maybe he felt like he had to make up for it so that the rest of the team wouldn’t have to suffer the consequences of her foolish actions.

Y/N felt a hot flash of embarrassment run through her, feeling humiliated. She’d just celebrated with everyone, feeling on top of the world with the knowledge that she’d finally been an asset to the party, but it was just a lie.

She was still as useless as ever and had just cost them the entire campaign. Jeff and Garret avoided catching her eye completely, and the others just watched her with pity.

Y/N bristled, snatching up her bag and flinging it over her shoulder as she marched towards the door, stopping only to fix Eddie with an icy glare.

“I quit.”

The party watched her retreating back as she stormed from the room, the door slamming behind her leaving utter silence in its wake.

All eyes turned slowly to Eddie who sat frozen in his seat, for once in his life lost for words. He felt guilty for lying to the team about the roll, but mostly he was taken aback at Y/N’s reaction.

He hadn’t intended to upset her, it was just that ever since she joined Hellfire she’d had rubbish luck with her rolls, so he’d wanted to give her a first win. Especially after he had witnessed how anxious and invested in the game she was, he just couldn’t help himself.

Not that he’d ever admit it to the guys, but he was totally hooked on Y/N. During their DnD sessions he found himself increasingly obsessed with finding things to do or say that would get her to smile or laugh at him, his stomach doing somersaults any time that she’d give him her undivided attention.

It was completely pathetic, really. He, Eddie Munson, hardcore metalhead and leader of the Hellfire club, feeling what he could only describe as giddy over a girl. And cheating at DnD! It was unheard of. He seriously needed to pull himself together.

“Now you’ve really gone and blown it.” Dustin exhaled loudly, shaking his head at his friend.

“Yes, thank you Henderson for that keen observation.” Eddie rubbed his palms into his eyes, frustrated as he tried to figure out where things had gone quite so wrong, “Sorry, gentlemen, for casting doubt on the integrity of the campaign. You can rest assured it won’t happen again.”

“Don’t worry about it, dude. I’d let her win too if I was trying to bang her.” Jeff piped up from behind him and Eddie instantly jumped to his feet, poking a finger in Jeff's chest angrily.

“Hey! Don’t talk about Y/N like that, man. It’s not like that.”

Jeff held his hands up in surrender, mumbling an apology as he backed away from him.

“You think you should go talk to her or something?” Lucas said hesitantly, not wanting to elicit another outburst from their DM. His words seemed to bring Eddie back to reality.

“Shit. Right.” He nodded, cramming the rest of the Hellfire equipment into his bag haphazardly before taking off after Y/N.

"Y/N, where are you going?" Eddie reached her just as she was exiting the school, the dim street lights the only thing illuminating her form on the otherwise dark evening.

"Home." She replied tersely, avoiding looking at him as she continued her path out of the school grounds.

"Well you're going the wrong way, the van's back there." He said with a nervous laugh, throwing a thumb over his shoulder to gesture at his van that sat across the parking lot.

It was customary for Eddie to give Y/N a ride home after Hellfire. After getting caught on her bike in a torrential downpour following her first session, he'd insisted that she couldn't take the risk again, even if there was a noticeable absence of clouds in the sky.

"No I'm not. I'm walking."

"You can't walk home, Y/N. Not at this time!" He shouted after her, a vain attempt to get her to stop.

“Yes I can, I don’t need you to do everything for me.” She huffed out pointedly, picking up her pace to break into a light jog as she ignored Eddie’s calls from behind her, heading towards the street.

Y/N hadn’t made it far down the main road before she heard the rattling of a familiar vehicle pull up beside her, Eddie's van visible just out of the corner of her eye. Still refusing to acknowledge his presence, she continued walking with her head held high, eyes set straight ahead of her.

Eddie ran his van alongside Y/N as she walked swiftly down the road, half leaning out of the window to plead with her.

“Come on, Y/N. I can’t let you walk home alone.” He begged, trying to lighten the tone with his next words, “You never know what kind of monsters might be lurking out there in the woods.”

When in doubt Eddie always turned to cracking jokes, finding that his offbeat sense of humour usually did the trick in de-escalating situations. To his dismay it didn't seem to be working with Y/N.

“And I wouldn’t stand a chance against them, would I?” Her eyes flashed dangerously as she finally stopped walking and turned to acknowledge him, “Silly old Y/N doesn’t even know how to play a stupid boardgame, let alone walk herself home. Right?”

Eddie sighed, hanging his head remorsefully.

“I’m sorry, Y/N.” He said earnestly, “Will you just get in the van? Please.”

Y/N eyed the road ahead of her, envisioning the long walk that she knew was in store.

Unfortunately for her, and unbeknownst to Eddie, she did know the kind of monsters that lurked in the woods of Hawkins. She knew them all too well.

A shiver ran up her spine at the thought and she let out a bitter sigh, rounding the front of the van and throwing open the passenger side door with unneceasary force.

“Fine. But this doesn’t change anything."

The drive to Y/N’s house was awkward, to say the least.

Eddie knew that he needed to apologise and he desperately wanted to, but wasn’t entirely sure how to put it into words.

Hey Y/N, did you know I only let you win because I fancy the pants off you? Yeah, and that little pout you do when you lose, it makes me want to jump across the table and kiss you so hard you see stars?

No, that would never work.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Y/N's voice interrupted his inner turmoil and he cast a quick glance over at her, watching as she hung her head, fingers playing with the hem of her skirt. Despite the situation he found it hard to concentrate on the road ahead, his gaze drifting to her fingers and the bare skin of her thighs that lay beneath them.

"What?" Eddie seemed genuinely surprised at Y/N’s words, all the improper thoughts of the soft, inviting skin of her legs leaving his mind rapidly.

"Is that why you let me win? Because I’m rubbish at DnD and you feel sorry for me? I might not be the best, but it's my first campaign and I'm trying. I know I've made some really stupid moves but-"

"I don't think you're stupid." He cut across her, disheartened that he’d made her feel that way. His voice was softer than usual as he continued, "Actually, I think you're kind of awesome."

It was true. There was a reason why Eddie had been so eager to accept Y/N into Hellfire as a permanent member.

He’d be the first to admit that he’d initially questioned why the preppy looking girl had agreed to sub in for Lucas. With her soft pink skirt and fluffy white cardigan she was in complete contrast to him and the rest of the party, visibly out of place at the table.

But he of all people should've known not to judge a book by its cover. Y/N was immediately invested in the campaign, coming prepared with a detailed character sheet and hanging onto his every word as he described the scenes before them, taking notes of all the little hints and clues that he'd purposefully let slip in a notebook reserved especially for the occasion.

Where he would usually grill new members, Eddie suddenly found himself unable to, taken aback by her innocent, enthusiastic smile and the way her eyes lit up as she surveyed the table, complimenting the detail of the maps and miniatures that he’d spent far too long setting up.

He didn't know how Sinclair knew the high school senior or had managed to get her to join them, but he made a mental note to thank the kid for turning to the so-called dark side and requiring a sub to fill his place.

Y/N was radiant, so full of energy and kind-hearted that it was hard not to get drawn in by her. What made it worse is that she was so damn pretty too. Despite knowing that she was way out of his league, and that he was everything she should stay away from, Eddie found himself addicted to her.

Addicted to her infectious laugh, glowing smile, and sparkling eyes. And he was especially addicted to the way that she watched him during their DnD sessions, attention solely on him, captivated by every word that he said.

It was even better when he had her all to himself after the sessions, even if it was just for just the small amount of time that it took to drive her home. To begin with they mostly spoke about the campaign, but as time drew on he found the conversations progressing past DnD to anything and everything; their interests, hobbies, hopes and dreams, and their futures.

Y/N had even shown interest in the music he liked, although he was certain that it wasn't really her thing at all. She'd tap her foot along to whatever cassette he happened to have on that day, and he took notice of the tracks she seemed to prefer. Usually it was the less thrashy ones, songs like Fairies Wear Boots and Rainbow in the Dark, and she definitely wasn’t keen on any Anthrax tunes, but regardless she always asked questions about his music and seemed genuinely interested in the answers he gave.

Kind of awesome didn't do her justice at all, but then what words could?

"R-really?” Y/N's voice faltered at his words, giddy at the compliment but wondering where on earth it had come from and just what he meant by it. Eddie nodded with a nervous smile, but his confession just served to confuse her further, “Then why did you lie about the roll?"

“It was getting late.” He shrugged, hoping that she couldn’t see through his lies, “I knew Harrington would be there to pick the kids up so I had to wrap things up anyway.”

“Bullshit.”

Eddie was taken aback by Y/N’s ferocity, although completely unsurprised that she had read him like an open book.

“That’s never stopped you before.” She pressed on, “You’re lying to me. And made me feel like shit! The way Jeff and Garret looked at me, they think I’m a total moron!”

“I didn’t mean to make you feel like shit, Y/N. And the guys don't think you're a moron.”

"Yes they do. I've seen the way they look at me, like I don't belong in Hellfire. I bet you're all fed up with how I keep screwing up your amazing campaign."

"You're not screwing up anything. They're experienced players, it's all good fun when things go a bit wrong and you have to think on your feet." Eddie responded honestly, taking note to have a word with Jeff and Garret before their next session.

“Then why did you do it? Just tell me the truth!” Y/N cried, at a loss to why Eddie seemed to be avoiding answering her question truthfully.

"Because I'm crazy about you Y/N! Jesus christ!” A frustrated yell burst from his chest as he slammed on the brakes, bringing the van to a sudden halt at the side of the road.

A long silence followed and Eddie brought a hand up to run over his face, “Sorry, I just like you, alright? Really like you, so I wanted you to win. I saw how upset you were after you messed up last week and I thought it’d make you happy if you won this time."

"Oh." Y/N replied in a small voice, words failing her as her heart hammered out her chest at Eddie's confession.

"Yeah. And for the record I don’t think you’re stupid at all, although I won’t defend your decision to enter hand to hand combat with that mimic last week. You’re a magic user for christ's sake." Eddie found himself unable to stop from filling the silence, rambling to prolong the inevitable moment when Y/N would reject him.

She laughed, hands coming up to cover her face in embarrassment, “Oh god, I knew it was a shitty move as soon as I made it, I just panicked! I get so into the game I can never think clearly!”

“That’s good, it means you’re really in the moment. And having someone that’s so invested makes me feel like I’m doing a great job as DM, y'know?”

“You are a great DM. Except for when you cheat, that is."

"Hey, you can't blame me for wanting to cheer up the fair maiden, can you?" He grinned cheekily, shooting her a wink that made her stomach flip.

"Eddie.” She started hesitantly, ��C-can we go back to when you said that you like me?"

Eddie swallowed, the confident mask he wore slipping away once more. He hadn't intended to practically shout a confession of his affections at her the way he had, but now that the proverbial cat was out of the bag there was no taking it back.

He felt vulnerable, uncharacteristically nervous as he fixed his eyes on the road ahead of him, preparing for her to turn him down gently. After all, they were complete opposites. What would someone like Y/N see in him?

"Sorry if I made you uncomfortable." He apologised, preempting the impending rejection, "We can just forget I ever-"

"You didn't!" Y/N's hand shot out to grab his forearm which was still resting on the steering wheel, despite the van remaining stationary. Eddie's eyes darted down to it before meeting hers again as she quickly snatched her arm back, suddenly shy, "You didn't make me uncomfortable, I mean."

“I didn’t?”

“No. And I don't want to just forget about what you said.”

"You don't?" He felt like a parrot, repeating her words dumbly, unable to fully believe the scene unfolding before him.

"No.” She affirmed coyly, ducking her head to hide her bashful smile, “I mean, why do you think I agreed to join Hellfire in the first place?”

“I thought it might’ve been the bitchin’ t-shirts." He smirked, confidence amplifying as Y/N laughed at him, shaking her head.

"Oh, it was definitely the t-shirts. Nothing to do with the cute DM.” She agreed, giving him a wink of her own and revelling in the way he became flustered, choking out a nervous laugh. Eddie could’ve sworn that his heart stopped at that moment. Like, actually stopped dead.

“Speaking of t-shirts, you still haven't had one printed for me yet."

And there was that pout, the one he'd tried to avoid so hard by letting her win the game.

Truthfully he hadn't considered that Y/N would actually want one. It wasn't often that people, especially people like her, wanted to be visibly associated with the Hellfire freaks. Yet again, she was full of surprises.

Eddie found himself answering Y/N before he had time to process his thoughts, distracted by thoughts of her lips and just how exactly he planned on wiping that torturous pout from them.

"You can always wear mine."

There was a beat of silence and he thought for a moment that he'd taken things too far, but then Y/N swept her gaze over him, cocking her head to the side as she watched his reaction to her next words through her lashes.

"I think I'll take you up on that offer."

Eddie knew he was done for when she bit her lip, eyeing his Hellfire tshirt shamelessly.

He exhaled shakily, hesitating under her gaze and giving her a once over just as she had done to him, before deciding to live dangerously.

"You wanna go back to my place to try it on?"

Eddie felt like the devil corrupting her. Maybe everyone was right when they called him a bad influence.

But with the look Y/N was giving him he wasn't so sure if it wasn't the other way around.

She fixed him with a wicked grin and he swallowed, suddenly feeling as though he was on the back foot, like he was about to pay for his prior actions.

"I'll need you to roll a charisma check for that, Munson. And no cheating this time."

#eddie munson oneshot #eddie munson x oc #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x fem!reader #eddie munson x fem!oc #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fic #eddie munson x you #eddie munson fanfiction #stranger things x reader #stranger things fic #stranger things fanfic #stranger things fanfiction

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bowiebond · 2 years ago

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So, was rambling with whoringrove the other night about Prince Jason, Princess Chrissy and ‘Mistress’/Farmboy Eddie from my royalty AU and,,, here’s some thoughts:

- Eddie being invited into Lady Chrissy and Prince Jason’s chambers and the oh so kind prince let’s him fuck his future wife,,, except when he’s getting too into it, Jason (who’s been watching from the sidelines) grabs his face and makes him look at him as he fucks Chrissy and orders him to cum and just,,, yeah

- especially if Eddie is still looking at him when he does cum 🤤 doesn’t close his eyes or anything, he’s getting off to the pretty prince too

- I like to imagine Jason doesn’t intend to take part in Eddie’s undoing, purely wanting to watch and make his future wife happy because she’s been eyeing the man every time they went into town or from the garden when he came by with goods for the kitchen, but he can’t help himself after seeing him up close, hearing him, watching him kiss his fiancées skin.

- He wants a taste and he’s spoilt so of course he wants Eddie’s attention too. Probably gets all in his head about it after they send him away shortly after his wife is satisfied and Chrissy is insisting they see him again, that Jason join them properly next time and that’s how they Eddie becomes their shared ‘Mistress’.

- Eddie teaches Jason more than just how to please his future wife but also his farmboy <3 And maybe even himself after he gets over his jitters of being with another man.

- He’s the youngest prince and so spoilt yet so easily flustered even if he tries to hide it. He’s got to catch up to his other two brothers, though Tommy was a dope and Steve was an idiot, despite their popularity. He could beat them any day in his opinion.

- the first time Eddie fucks him he has to hide his face in Chrissy’s neck and hug her tight the entire time because he’s nervous doesn’t want the man to see how red he gets or hear how loud he really is.

“Is he always this responsive?” Eddie would joke to Chrissy and the princess would giggle and nod even if Jason pinches her side for it.

- they move him into their quarters one day without warning and Eddie just goes ‘welp, I’m a part of the marriage, I feel like I get to be invested in couple arguments now’

- He still has his farm that he inherited from his uncle, but with how much money he’s had thrown at him from the royal couple, he’s able to hire a few boys and girls who had struggling families or no home of their own to keep it going and the a roof over their heads if necessary. He disguises it as them earning their keep, but he just didn’t have the money to spare until then to help the kids. (It’s something he often argues with Jason about, Chrissy a sympathetic ear who had been sheltered from it much like the prince, but Jason was quite a bit more stubborn and naive to the kingdoms struggles. Once he sees it for himself, he prods more at his eldest step brother to do something once he comes into power, which Steve agrees with considering his own lover grew up in tough conditions until he came to work for the royal family.)

- They can likely never marry but Eddie is enjoying Mistress privileges even if most people think he’s just a toy for Chrissy to entertain herself with while the youngest prince does his duties and not the main factor in both of the royals falling apart most evenings

- They get Eddie a little band anyway; either one for each ring finger, or a double band on his left. Jason chooses a thick silver band for him, expensive but easy to clean when he’s been out in the fields. Chrissy gets him something more delicate, brassy with vine-like detailing. He wears it around his neck more often than not, hanging from a leather strap, as not to lose it since it’s so slim. Plus, it’s a bit strange to have a man wear two rings.

- Chrissy and Jason wear rings of their own from him around their necks. Jason’s he got custom made from a friend, Gareth, who’s a blacksmith. It’s dark, near black, and shines like stars against midnight upon his collarbone. Chrissy’s ring is Eddie’s mothers, a ring that looks like the rings inside a tree, immortalised in a hard glass casing. It’s a tad too big on her ring finger but she loves it with all her heart and plays with it when she reads.

#eddie munson #jason carver #chrissy cunningham #munverham #munver #TigerFreak #carvingham #eddissy #royal au #lemon

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joeygoeshollywood · 4 years ago

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My 25 Favorite Films of 2020

Well, this was quite the crazy year, especially for movies. While many films that were slated to be released this year were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, this year still provided some laughs, tears, and thrills both in theaters and in the living room.

(NOTE: Due to the delayed awards season calendar and postponed Oscar bait films that are unavailable to be seen before the end of 2020, this list will eventually be updated after having seen the following films: The Father, Minari, News of the World, Nomadland, One Night in Miami, Pieces of a Woman, Promising Young Woman)

Here are my 25 favorite films of the year:

25. Kajillionaire

Quirky filmmaker Miranda July is back with her first feature in nearly a decade. Kajillionaire is a bizarre but captivating tale about a family of criminal grifters and how the daughter reevaluates her strained relationship with her parents after an outsider is welcomed into the fold. Evan Rachel Wood takes what could have easily been dismissed as a goofy caricature in Old Dolio (yes, that’s her name) and turns into a heartfelt portrayal of a woman whose lifestyle of freeloading dictated by her parents (played by Debra Winger and Richard Jenkins) becomes her own crisis. In many ways, Kajillionaire feels like a fantasy that keeps people asking, “What on earth is going on?” And this time, it’s for the best.

24. Freaky

Revamping decades-old plots like the body-swapping antics from Freaky Friday can either result in a predictable failure or a surprising success. Thankfully, Freaky falls into the latter category. In this horror comedy, a deranged serial killer (played by Vince Vaughn) swaps bodies with his victim, a timid teen girl (played by Kathryn Newton). What makes the film work though are the dedicated lead performances, particularly by Vaughn, who is pretty convincing as young girl trapped in a grown man’s body. With a few good laughs and decent thrills, Freaky is worth the watch.

23. The Outpost

The Outpost is an intense film about the real-life story of small group of US troops isolated by surrounding mountains in Afghanistan, under the constant threat of the Taliban, which ultimately comes to a head in the Battle of Kamdesh. The film captures the harrowing experiences of these soldiers with heart-pounding action sequences, which are fueled by a solid cast including Scott Eastwood, Caleb Landry Jones, and Orlando Bloom.

22. Uncle Frank

Paul Bettany may be best known for playing The Vision in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but he should be celebrated as his title character in Uncle Frank, a touching dramedy set in 1973 about an NYU professor who returns home to his estranged family for his father’s funeral while his niece, played by rising star Sophia Lillis, idolizes him for teaching her to be her authentic self while he keeps his sexuality a secret. Bettany brilliantly balances the coolness of his stature with the internal agony that ultimately hits a boiling point, which is counterbalanced by Peter Macdissi’s fun performance as Frank’s happy-go-lucky lover who accompanies him back home despite his wishes.

21. Hillbilly Elegy

Hillbilly Elegy was panned by critics over politics that had absolutely no role the film. Based on the best-selling memoir by J.D. Vance, the newest feature from Ron Howard shows the journey of a boy who despite all odds growing up in a poor family that constantly struggled with abuse and addition managed to get into Yale Law School and achieve the American dream. While both Gabriel Basso and Owen Asztalos hold the film together as the younger and older Vance in the present and flashback scenes, Amy Adams as the impulsive, irresponsible mother and an unrecognizable Glenn Close as the no-nonsense inspiring grandmother that turn Hillbilly Elegy into an acting tour de force.

20. The Trial of the Chicago 7

Oscar-winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin sits in the director’s chair once again in this courtroom drama about the real-life protesters who showed up in Chicago during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. With themes that resonate today, The Trial of the Chicago 7 benefits from its sharp screenplay, well-paced editing, and an outstanding ensemble cast that includes Eddie Redmayne, Mark Rylance, Yahoo Abdul-Mateen II, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jeremy Strong, Frank Langella, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Michael Keaton.

19. Yellow Rose

Broadway actress Eva Noblezada makes her film debut as an aspiring country singer on the run after her mother, an illegal immigrant, is obtained for deportation. Yellow Rose presents a nuanced depiction of US immigration, but at the heart of it is a heartbreaking story of a young woman who struggles between putting her family or her dreams first. Between Noblezada’s powerful performance and solid original music, Yellow Rose hits all the right chords.

18. Palm Springs

Move over, Groundhog Day. While the Bill Murray classic has largely monopolized the time loop film genre, Palm Springs gives it a run for its money. Andy Sandberg and Cristin Milioti star as the unlikely duo who are stranded reliving the same dreaded wedding day involving mutual acquaintances and their desperate efforts to escape the seemingly inescapable. The Hulu comedy stands on its own two feet for the good laughs, the chemistry between the two leads, and the film’s emotionally-grounded plot.

17. Let Him Go

Kevin Costner and Diane Lane reunite on the big screen after playing farmer parents in Man of Steel to rancher grandparents in Let Him Go, although this time they are able to display their full acting chops. In this period dramatic thriller, they set out to find their only grandchild following the death of their son only to discover that the widowed daughter-in-law remarried into an infamous crime family. While both Costner and Lane tug at the heartstrings, it’s Lesley Manville, who plays the ruthless matriarch of the family, that really takes command of the screen. Ultimately, Let Him Go is all about family and the lengths one is willing to go to protect it.

16. Unhinged

In a year plagued by the pandemic, Unhinged led the way to the revival of movie theaters back in August and perhaps in some ways it was meant to be the film to do so as the themes of a rage-fueled society and the lack of human connection carry weight. Russell Crowe stars, as the title suggests, as an unhinged psychopath whose road rage torments a woman and her adolescent son. Unhinged is the epitome of pure entertainment and is why we go to the movies. While it’s not quite the most sophisticated thriller of the year, it’s still one helluva ride.

15. Emma

Anya Taylor-Joy has had quite the year with both highs (The Queen’s Gambit) and lows (The New Mutants). But it began before the pandemic with the release of Emma, which she stars as the iconic Jane Austen title character, a socialite who meddles in the love life of others while refusing to acknowledge her own shortcomings in that department. Supported with a strong ensemble cast, beautiful production design, and comedic charm, Emma is not to be missed.

14. The Invisible Man

ln the era of remakes and reboots, very few are as good as Universal’s latest monster flick revival of The Invisible Man. Elisabeth Moss stars as a woman who believes she’s being haunted by her abusive ex-husband, someone she becomes convinced faked his own death and is stalking her without being able to be seen. Filmmaker Leigh Whannell, the writer behind the Saw and Insidious horror franchises, generates good thrills and high-wire tension with the help of high production value and a terrifyingly-good performance from Moss.

13. Dick Johnson is Dead

Documentarian Kirsten Johnson filmed a beautiful, intimate tribute to her father Dick Johnson, who has been suffering from Alzheimer's in the final years of his life. However, instead of dreading his death, both daughter and father embrace it by having him acting out several scenes of his over-the-top demises. Dick Johnson is Dead may focus on the subject manner of death, but this documentary actually celebrates life and the laughs that happen along the way.

12. The Wolf of Snow Hollow

Perhaps one of the littlest-known films of the year, The Wolf of Snow Hollow is not your conventional indie comedy horror flick. Writer/director Jim Cummings stars as an overly-heated police officer who attempts to get to the bottom of a string of murders in his small, snowy Utah town by what appears to be some sort of werewolf, though he remains unconvinced. Featuring one of the final performances from veteran actor Robert Forster, The Wolf of Snow Hollow uses its quirky sense of humor to stand out from the rest of the pack.

11. The Gentlemen

The Gentlemen is a fun, action-packed, crime caper from Guy Ritchie about the London turf war of drug kingpins. Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Henry Goulding, Michelle Dockery, and Colin Ferrell all round out the strong cast, but its Hugh Grant that really steals the show as the comedically manipulative Fletcher, whose only allegiance is to himself. If you like a stylish film with well-choreographed violence and a fast-paced plot, The Gentlemen should be your cup of tea.

10. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Some of the best play-to-film adaptations are the films that feel like you’re watching a play, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is one of them. Produced by Denzel Washington, Viola Davis gives a transformative performance as Ma Rainey, known as the “mother of the blues” and the clash she had with a pair of White music producers, but she also butts heads with her trumpet player (played by the late Chadwick Boseman), who also has his own music ambitions. While Davis obviously gives other Oscar-worthy performance, it was Boseman who was able to show how incredibly gifted he was as an actor. And while the world lost him far too soon, at least his last role ended up being his greatest.

9. The Kid Detective

One of the biggest surprises of the year was how good a movie starring and produced by Adam Brody was. Brody plays a washed up former kid detective who attempts to revive his once-celebrated career of solving mysteries by getting to the bottom of a murder in his hometown. The Kid Detective is a brilliant dark comedy from newcomer writer/director Evan Morgan with good laughs, plenty of plot twists, and a career-best performance from Brody, who proves he’s more than just the pretty face from The O.C. we all know him as.

8. Mank

Citizen Kane is widely regarded as one of the greatest films ever made and Mank is a worthy tribute. Gary Oldman stars as the title character Herman “Mank” Mankiewicz, the Oscar-winning screenwriter behind the iconic film. David Fincher (The Social Network, Gone Girl) managed to capture the epic scale of the 1941 classic that would make Orson Welles proud.

7. Soul

Soul is one of those rare existential Pixar films that goes beyond being children’s entertainment. Following in the footsteps of 2015′s Inside Out, Soul depicts what happens to the soul of a jazz musician who’s convinced his time on Earth isn’t over. While the universe created to explain how souls work and the plot that went along with it falls short of its emotions predecessor, Soul is still high-caliber among Pixar films and a great movie for both kids and adults alike.

6. Another Round

Perhaps the greatest work from Swedish director Thomas Vinterberg to date, Another Round follows four unsatisfied middle aged men who decide to take a theory of task from a Norwegian psychiatrist, who concluded that maintaining a blood alcohol level of 0.050 will enhance their mental and psychological state. Mads Mikkelsen, who’s best known to American audiences as Hannibal Lecter in the short-lived NBC series Hannibal and the Bond villain in Casino Royale, offers a strong, nuanced performance as one of the four educators who embraces this drinking challenge in a film that provides an equal balance of chuckles, cringes, and emotional gut punches.

5. I’m Thinking of Ending Things

From the crazy mastermind of Charlie Kaufman, the writer behind Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Anomalisa, his latest on Netflix is too a mind-bender. I’m Thinking of Ending Things is a surreal, zany, and at times disturbing examination of the human condition as the nameless female protagonist played by an incredible Jessie Buckley mulls over breaking up with her boyfriend (played by Jesse Plemons) while visiting his parents’ house. Accompanied with a stellar production design and a crazy-good performance from Toni Collette as “Mother,” Kaufman newest cerebral feature lives up to his iconic reputation of filmmaking.

4. Da 5 Bloods

Spike Lee is one of the few genius filmmakers who is able to blend multiple genres together and his latest film is no different. Da 5 Bloods is an action adventure, buddy comedy, dramatic character study, and war movie all wrapped up into one about a group of Vietnam War veterans who return to the former battlegrounds to find the remains of one of their fallen soldiers as well as some treasure that they kept hidden years ago. With a strong ensemble cast that includes the late Chadwick Boseman, its longtime character actor Delroy Lindo who steals the show with his powerful performance. Da 5 Bloods is easily one of Netflix’s strongest films to date.

3. The Assistant

One of the first #MeToo-era films, The Assistant offers the day in the life of a low-level female staffer of a production company who is haunted by the presence of her Harvey Weinstein-like boss (who never actually appears in the film). However, rather than depicting the dramatics of sexual misconduct, The Assistant uses the common subtleties and nuances of the workplace yet maintains the same tension and heartbreak. Anchored by the remarkable, devastating performance by up-and-comer Julia Garner (Ozark), The Assistant is as important as it is well-done.

2. Sound of Metal

Riz Ahmed gives the performance of his career as a heavy metal drummer and former addict whose sudden battle with going deaf upends his life. Sound of Metal is an incredible experience that gives a rare glimpse in the American deaf community which is enhanced by the remarkable sound design that helps the audience actually hear what the musician is going through. It’s truly one of the most rewarding films of the year.

1. The Climb

The Climb takes the generic “man sleeps with his best friend’s fiancé” storyline and turns it on its head. In his feature debut as writer and director, Michael Angelo Covino leads as the not-so-apologetic adulterer Mike and Kyle Marvin, who co-wrote the film, is the good-hearted Kyle who struggles to whether or not to forgive his best friend’s ultimately betrayal. Not only is The Climb is quirky and hilariously written, it’s a remarkably well-made comedy with some of the year’s best cinematography. Between a strong cast, a superb screenplay, and the extremely-high production value, The Climb is at the top of the mountain of 2020′s best films.

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kob131 · 4 years ago

Text

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4DPZGlNP8I

I was watching MangaKamen’s video deconstructing Cvit’s Persona 5: Style Over Substance video and I...I just couldn’t watch it. Basically, Kamen’s own videos on RWBY and Cvit’s Persona 5 video are way too similar (in that both make logical fallacies just to avoid their assumptions.) So, despite covering this briefly, I’ll do it in full here.

And if MangaKamen himself sees this: You can’t keep responding to people, criticizing them for stuff that you do yourself. I literally couldn’t listen to your video on Cvit because of the hypocrisy. Stick to your own standards: people respect you more for it.

P.S. Don’t create a circlejerk in the reblogs and replies. I do not have the patience for it today.

Before I begin, I should point out a small bit of hypocrisy. In his “Cvit Doesn’t Understand Video”, he complains about an influx of videos all about going into unnecessary details about how X things suck, calling it the ‘Joseph Anderson effect.’ I bring this up because one of the videos he brings up is The Cosmonaut Variety Hour’s video on Kingdom Hearts (which is, being generous, 22 minutes.) MangaKamen’s video is, again generously, 38 minutes. And I do mean generaously because I automatically rounded up Cosmonaut’s and rounded down Kamen’s videos. I don’t think he should be complaining about that.

While you could argue he was also complaining about the title as well: A. Kamen’s first RWBY video was literally titled “Whats Wrong With RWBY?!” with a title saying “Here’s why RWBY Sucks” in big bold letters. B. His video makes fun of people who are there to disagree with his title and nothing else and C. I watched Cosmonaut’s video on Kingdom Hearts: He’s actually more positive towards Kingdom hearts 3 than Kamen is to RWBY.

This is a small microcosism of he issue with his hypocrisy: it ends up affecting the quality of other videos too.

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His first section is on ‘contrivances’ or ‘things that happen in a story that don’t make sense’. Before he even gives a true example, we run into yet another problem with Kamen. In his explanation, Kamen mocks the scene were Jaune gets hit on by the mothers of the kids he’s helping with an image of Miles Luna saying ‘Remember, NOT a self-insert!’.

Issue? The episode wasn’t written by Miles Luna, it was written by Eddy Rivas. How do I know?

The episode says so. This is especially egregious because he chews Cvit out for just typing in “Persona 5 sucks” into google and saying a certain source popped up...and yet typing in “Miles Luna Jaune Arc Self Insert” would actually bring up something that outright shows Miles is self conscious about Jaune to the point of avoiding his scenes (https://www.reddit.com/r/RWBY/comments/7x3w4s/crwby_ama_w_miles_luna_kerry_shawcross_and_paula/du5dnc6/?context=3). So while Cvit may have been looking for evidence instead of thinking critically: he at least took the effort of doing a search result whereas Kamen probably made an on the spot decision with no sources whatsoever. Combine this with the fact this is not the first time he’s taken potshots at Miles and you have an effectively WORSE version of what he says Cvit did.

“But this is just a joke!” Yeah, and Sham-Amon was a joke about M. Night Shamalyan by Doug Walker. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t an insult and was correct (Shamalyan was actually a reason why the Airbender movie even RESEMBLED the cartoon.) That doesn’t make this okay, especially since I know a similar ‘joke’ towards someone he’s a fan of would get you a video made on you.

Now onto one of his examples: He says it makes no sense for Robyn to be allowed to run for Atlas’ council because ‘she is stealing supplies from the government.’ Issue is: judging by the footage he’s using, he’s talking about Volume 7 Episode 5 “Sparks” where Robyn created a blockade and stopped a supply truck Qrow, Clover, Penny and Ruby were on. She never actually makes a move to steal the supplies in the episode though. While you could argue it wwas implied because she had people behind them hiding behind camoflague-

In his Cvit video, he criticized the guy for saying that we don’t know how long Futaba’s friend was abused by her parents when Cvit makes the argument that the friend was abused for over a decade, never entertaining other possibilities. You know, what he does. (P.S. Sparks is the same episode with the Jaune-Mothers ‘joke’.)

He uses this faulty and hypocritical point to jump off into how it would be a bad look for her to steal from the government even if it was for a good cause and that most government prevent people from running because of this. See, not only is this still based on a point even Kamen would argue is not enough- The context in the scene (that Mantle hates Atlas government and Robyn’s platform is based off that discontent...Huh) would show that even if she was stealing, it would HELP her image. As for the ‘governments prevent people convicted of theft for running for office’- She hasn’t stolen anything yet STILL. Also, in his Cvit video, he complains about a point where Cvit’s source edited out preceding text to make the phrasing of a certain textbox look extremely awkward. So again, hypocrisy.

Then we have...another shitty joke. A really bad one too. It’s the scene with Weiss and Winter talking the training room with the audio taken out and speech bubbles that say ‘Why are we just staring at each other?’ ‘I dunno...just to look cool?’. Not only is this blatantly not what is happening (you can tell their heads are bobbing from talking), I literally cannot take this ‘joke’ any other way than a malicious potshot at the show. It doesn’t function any other way. I’m trying to be calm and concise but this stuff really harms any benefit of doubt I can give.

His next point is-Oh god damnit, the fucking Penny frame up AGAIN. You know what is more frustrating than a shitty point? A shitty point repeated ad nauseum. Before Kamen even made this video, I had already argued every single perspective of this. There’s literally nothing new he can give?

Security? We never see how Tyrian got in and considering his immense agility and stealth: he could snuck in or hid in the warehouse.

Fanaus night vision? Not all Fanaus have night vision and most of the crowd was seen trying to rush out of the warehouse (during a scene Kamen shows no less). He also says the show alludes to Atlas being a racially biased system...even though Jacques Schnee says he pays all his workers equally (AKA he treats all his workers like shit.)

Scrolls? Again, most of the people are shown trying to run away and no one who remains is said to have brought their scrolls.

Break in the argument for a smug laugh even though all he’s done is repeat other people’s failed arguments. (Issue with either being bitch basic with your arguments or copying others? I’ll have fought the issue long before you make it.)

Ends with saying “When the lights come back on, there’s no blood on Penny’s blades!” (Cognitive bias against Atlas. Like say, calling a character a self insert over a scene that wasn’t written by the person.)

He goes onto say that this is just the latest example of contrived writing but because his points are all faulty, it doesn’t come across as contrived: it comes across as normal but Kamen is too focused on making everything look as bad as possible.

“But what about Robyn’s Semblance?!”

I dunno, why do people say that the Covington Catholic kids are still racist when we have proof otherwise? Cognitive bias is a thing. Robyn wouldn’t try testing this (even assuming she COULD since it would be logical Penny just ran off after this in fear) because it al ready confirms her own biases.

His whole temper tantrum here is all based on around pure logic...something he himself has argued against in media. This thing goes on and on and it just test my paitence and gives me more and more reason to assume Kamen isn’t just missing info, he’s indulging in willful ignorance.

Then we have him bitching about Yang and Blake telling Robyn what is going on and how it’s contrived that they would think that Robyn was on their side since she hasn’t done anything good. Issue? This is all based on KAMEN’S perspective. A perspective that, at best, is heavily biased against Robyn.

Thing is, Robyn’s thefts (which began AFTER he said they did) were to help repair the break in Mantle’s wall protecting them from the Grimm, something Team RWBY agrees with. Of course they’d assume Robyn is a good guy since she’s acting in the interests of the people, something they do as well. Robyn’s only bad when you completely ignore how James brushes over the current struggles of the people is elected to protect and serve in order for his bigger picture, a method they don’t agree with. Something the show is showing isn’t a good idea as people see him as uncaring and unfeeling to their struggles.

“But Ironwood has been helping them!”

Cool. That has nothing to do with him alienating his own allies through his paranoia, causing Yang and Blake try and make peace with Robyn themselves. There’s also the fact that the team should be opposing this. After all, it’s the same thing Ozpin did to them and they chewed him out over it. And unlike with the lying to Ironwood, there would be no hints that this hypocrisy would be intended by the showrunners. So Kamen is literally advocating for bad writing here.

This was added in post edit by the way so the man literally shoved in a point that does nothing but push the theory he is biased without ever considering what is necessary in the show. Even though he demands it from others. It’s really inconsistent. Dare I say...the standards are contrived?

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Next is the ‘design work’ part. He’s says this is gonna be positive for a moment and it does lack his usual malice. Doesn’t mean it’s good.

He criticizes the designs of the main cast besides Ruby. He says that Blake’s design now emphasizes the color white despite supposedly being black before. Issue is that her alternate Vol.2 and Vol.4 designs also emphasized the color white and her original design has equal part black and white. Weiss’s is supposedly that her dark blue dominates her design and is too busy to be elegant. Issue is that it’s only on the jacket and it’s mostly the same color as her previous design (even having more white.) As for being elegant: I could definitely argue it goes for a military-esque elegance. And Yang is...too brown? Uh...her original outfit was dominated by being brown.

He praises Ruby’s for still having it’s red coloring but...it’s too red. Her original design was actually closer to being goth than Blake’s and was mostly black with bright red frills and her signature cloak. And her hair has drastically changed, like he complained about with Blake. He really shouldn’t be giving Ruby a pass here.

I have nothing to say about his point ‘they’re all too busy.’ I feel like any side I take will be too heavily influenced by my own feelings at this point.

He complains about the logic behind the long fabrics being easy to grab onto and says that because they justified the new outfits with ‘it’s cold’ they should listen here. Issue- Not only are these two different trains of logic but by his own arguments, he should be arguing for all of them to wear white and wear bulky armor since that’s logical as well, following his logic. He doesn’t set what the limit should be.

Honestly this whole part is just kind of fluff. A lot of nothing was said and kind of feels like it was put in just to make the argument ‘Well I said something nice about RWBY!’

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Next up is ‘consistency’. ... Oh god.

“Aura was rewritten!’ He never cites what happened here but I know this dance so well I could get paid for it. Aura has always been a thing you needed to activate, back in Volume 1 where Jaune was cut by a branch and Pyrrha said ‘why don’t you use your aura?’. The supposed inconsistency comes from WOR: Aura saying it was passive even though certain definitions and uses of passive work under these examples. He also says that people cant use their Semblances when they run out of Aura but they still do, citing that old example of Yang’s Aura flickering in her character short. Flickering, not breaking. Meaning she still has Aura.

He also adds in that point about the WOR Atlas saying that the cold of Solitas killed the Grimm. While they are depicted as freezing here, it should be noted that the Grimm have been known to evolve and adapt. Meaning they could have easily evolved to withstand the cold. Again, editing out context which he says is bad.

“Hey, Miles. Kerry. You ever gonna acknowledge what you showed in the World of Remnant again these days?”

Dunno, are you ever gonna acknowledge what you say in your own videos? Glass houses Kamen.

I also find it funny that he calls out the ‘it’s just a cartoon!’ thing out of nowhere on a tangent even as he previously blocked me over this. Apparently contrivance is okay if it can be used as a shield. And if he has a problem with this, look over your videos not even just the RWBY ones You have said harsher- deal with it.

He goes onto criticize the argument of not all Fanaus have night vision because of specific moments...with Blake and Sun, only two Fanaus. In fact, the first example has him say that Blake and Sun used their night vision to escape a White Fang meeting. ... White Fang. Fanaus. He’s trying to argue that this is a case of Blake and Sun having night vision to contrast when she apparently ‘doesn’t’ but never notices that his own argument kind of confirms what the show said.

Then we have his other example of Blake against Illa were she couldn’t see Illa. A chameleon Fanaus. With camoflague. Where lighting up the room would alter how the colors look to see her more easily. ....

This whole point was about how the show doesn’t give strict rules to the Fanaus night vision, even though other shows with more fundamental powers (as in, the thing their premise is based on) bend these rules (like MHA with so many Quirks not being related to their physiology or Jojo bending every single Stand rule) for their plot. This isn’t directly bad as he says it is and he never emphasizes why anyone should care other than the strawman of ‘STRICT RULES!’ even as his own favorites don’t follow that.

He also says there’s no repercussions for the Penny cover up since he says it was to cause a riot to attract the Grimm but the Grimm disappear and people are being arrested for their rioting in the next episode. ... The Grimm don’t invade until Episode 9. He’s talking about Episode 7. The arrest was for breaking curfew that Ironwood imposed afterwards to due the discontent from Jacques winning. Then we have the fact that Penny’s frame up leads to Robyn actually stealing supplies, which leads to Yang and Blake telling her about Amity, which leads to Ironwood’s paranoia taking over. So you know...kind of some of the biggest repercussions in the show.

I also remember he said it was to frame Penny in his contriavances section...which makes no sense if it was meant to cause a riot directly afterward. In trying to callout inconsistencies that don’t exist, he became inconsistent himself.

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Next part is “Don’t Show, Never Show”. .... How professional.

He begins by bitching at other people for misrepresenting his arguments about the Fanaus and how their oppression isn’t well shown. ... After he’s personally attacked the creators over a subject one of them is innocent and self conscious of and will mock that person for mocking his critics. Classy.

“Jacques is Orange Man bad stand-in-”

A. He never mentions anything about securing Atlas’ borders and in fact wants to OPEN them.

B. He’s never talked about making Atlas great or appealing to any sort of false patriotism.

C. He opposes the military whereas Trump supports them.

D. He has no slogans for his campaign, especially none like Trump’s/

E. He isn’t colluding with foreign powers aside from a generic bad guy orgnazation with no connections to the countries Trump is accused of.

F. Jacques being a slimy business man was made before Trump came into the presidency.

And G. Robyn Hill only connections to Hilarily Clinton is a gender and half a name (a name that is actually rather common in real life). In fact, considering her position is all about distrust in the government and appealing to the common man- She’s a closer stand in for TRUMP than Hilarlily.

Again, argument’s been made a thousand times, beaten it a thousand times.

His overall point is that Jacques is said to be a terrible parent but not shown, using the line from “This Life is Mine” ( Amazing how you conquered me, Chained me in servility) before going on to say that he ‘let her go to a different school’ (he was forced to), ‘Do whatever she wants so long as it doesn’t affect his business and reputation’ (contradicted by cutting her off, trying to limit her actions because of her ignoring his calls even though that does not affect his business or reputation), ‘spending his money at Beacon until she ignores his calls’ (finical abuse 101) and ‘she embarrassed him at a party by assaulting one of the guests.’

... The woman was outright mocking the people she knew, the ‘assault’ was an accidental summon, Jacques was trying to prevent her from just getting away from him, Jacques pressured her into singing for him despite her discomfort and never once tries to talk to his daughter like a person or calm her down, instead trying to silence her. All of THIS without getting his physical intimidation of grabbing her and slapping her, which is what Kamen strawmans the response being. Also ignoring what he did AFTER the slap, effectively trapping her in her room and spreading the idea she was unstable to save his image.

No amount of money matters here, ignoring once again that he tried withholding it once she acted outside what he wanted. That is the ‘chains of servility’ and I know you wouldn’t argue this outside RWBY. You’d be calling this ignorant beyond acception, Kamen.

“The worst examples of Jacques’ abuse happen outside the-”

Jacques’ worst abuse was being trapped in her own room for calling out the callousness of people smack talking a tragedy she went through. This is effectively mocking a war in front of a veteran then locking them in the basement while telling everyone they’re coocoo. That is in the show, stop trying to blame other materials THAT DO NOT EXIST just to appeal to a common compliant (about supplemental materials in RWBY).

“Well Winter abuses Weiss!”

So let me get this straight. A small smack on the back of the head before asking about her personal life to show she cares about Weiss (another example of cutting context) is at all comparable to abuse of parental power, controlling Weiss like a puppet and locking her up? What was your definition of contrivance and consistency again?

“Can I go off on a tangent?”

No. You have not earned that right. You have far exceeded any patience I should have given you. The fact I am STILL HERE is too much and I should just throw the rest of the video in that garbage dumb your delusion of the writing is. But I will STILL give you chance.

P.S. You use HBomberguy as an example? Even though one of the videos you chewed out in your Persona video (’Steven Universe is Garbage and Here’s Why’) is BASED OFF his work? So what? His hours long shit talking is okay? And no, this is not

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His next segment is titled ... “Okay What Is This Shit I’m Actually Cratching My Head I’m So Dumbfounded And Confused AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH”

... You misspelled “Scratching”.

He says the Grimm Attack after Robyn’s failed election was handled off screen. That never existed and the Grimm attacked THREE EPISODE LATER and is handled on screen.

He says that Jacques being arrested makes no sense because Watts can control technology and should have used it disable the security cameras in the Schnee Manor. As he outright says, Willow hid those cameras and Watts HACKS technology and cannot hack what he DOES NOT KNOW EXISTS. It’s outright said BY THE SHOW and SHOWN that he cannot just magically control technology.

He also questions how Willow got those cameras in there, ignoring that Jacques DOES NOT HAVE OMNISCENCE. Why she did when she SAID it was to make sure he didn’t abuse her kids. When doesn’t fucking matter. It’s all pendantic bullcrap. You can apply this to any situation in media and I know Kamen would bitch about the show’s pacing if they did this because it would be boring as fuck.

He says that there was no foreshadowing that Willow set these cameras up which I would like to give...if not for the rest of his video which illustrates to me he would have made this point with or without foreshadowing.

“How come Robyn isn’t being arrested because she stole supplies?!”

A. Because you keep inferring she stole supplies BEFORE the election, I’ll have to assume it’s the same here and say SHE DIDN’T.

B. If you aren’t and have changed to saying AFTER the election: The show SHOWS YOU that they’ve been trying to arrest her. She’s been EVADING them.

C. If it’s at Jacques’ house: Remember what you said about image? Wanna guess how damaged Ol Jimmy’s image will be if he arrests his biggest critic while under suspicion of rigging the election against her AND being questioned for supposed abuse of power?

D. Gee, not like the heating system in an artic climate shut down, Jacques just got exposed for helping a KNOWN CRIMINAL TOO, The Grimm actually invade, they have to save all the people, things collapse between RWBY and Ironwood and a fuckton of other things of higher priority than one woman stealing supplies to fix something IRONWOOD HIMSELF SHOULD BE FIXING.

“Hur dur, Salem generic’

Says the Jojo and Yugioh fan. Say, how did your precious VRAINS turn out again hm?

“HEY, WHY NO RUBY TELL IRONWOOD AND TAKE RESPONBILITY?!”

Maybe because there’s a bunch of soulless abominations currently running amok in a city full of innocents so she should take responsibility as an official Huntress and do her damn job while the comparatively combat inept Oscar handle the non combat situation. Or did you want contrivance to work in your favor even though you’ve been proven to be a biased liar who will betray everything he stands in order to make a shit point about a flawed show he couldn’t criticize with a fucking guide on it?

“Why not have Ruby stand behind and say ‘I’ll catch up with you later’?-”

Because you’ll cut context and make her look irresponsible. Your suggestions mean NOTHING when you have proven that you have no honesty on the subject and will flip flop to suit yourself.

Also I love how you mock Mediaocrity4 for ‘treating his opposition as idiots’ as your fucking video STARTED and is littered with you doing JUST THAT. Fuck, I bet you’ll do JUST THAT with this post.

“Oh look at this character who has been shown as overly emotional, rash and prone to not thinking when mad act in line with her character how dumb!”

Gee, like say...., A shut in otaku making constant video game and anime references in, let’s say, a JRPG filled with these references?

Huh, guess you agree more with Cvit than you say.

“Dur, fistcuffs mean Jojo!”

Oh wait, Fist of the North Star did it first. And it’s a stable in most fighting anime. But hey, who cares in Kamen shanks Jojo in the back if it means lashing out against RWBY amirite?

“It’s like the context of the fights-”

Where the Ace Ops against RWBY are highly emotional, having felt betrayed by people they though as comrades and acting individually instead as duos or even as a team while all being people with shown emotional issues failing to defeat a far calmer and more developed team that have been working with them and are aware of their flaws?

Or that Clover tried to blindly follow Ironwood’s orders just as Qrow did in the past with Ozpin as the two characters heavily mirror each other, Qrow tried to fight Tyrian at first even as Clover attacked him and never actually helped Tyrian (in facting ATTACKING HIM at one point) after Clover tried arresting him in front of Robyn, someone known to do rash things when it comes to Ironwood?

I’m so glad you decided to FOR ONCE IN THIS ENTIRE, NEARLY FOURTY MINUTE VIDEO actually pay attention to the show and not the memes of the people who agree with you.

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“Conclusion”

‘Like I said in the Steven Universe Movie, I don’t let the fanabse dictate my opinion on something-’

Which is why there wasn’t a single original viewpoint, perspective, criticism, wording or even ‘jokes’, all shit ripped straight from the mouths of others. It’s all shit I’ve seen before by other people. If I absorbed even more of this bullshit, I’d probably be able to see exact wordings in here too, I am THAT certain you didn’t think about this for yourself.

If you did, you would have noticed that you were repeating the exact same mistakes you constantly criticize in others. You would have seen that you were making assumptions based on your preconceived notion of ‘RWBY bad’ and not what the show itself was doing. You would have seen the vidnictive smugness you decried MatPat over. You would have seen the immense hypocrisy you called out before. You would have stuck to what you called your principles.

You have the failures of your biggest targets in this very video. The bias and brain rot of Quinton Reviews, the hack job of MatPat, the manipulativeness of Verlsify, the sheer level of bullshit of Cvit. You burned every single standard you set for others here, you did every wrong thing you screamed about, you failed in the same ways as those you profited from criticizing. Again, because I said all this THE LAST TIME and yet you got WORSE.

You mock and belittle the creators even as you give them every reason to treat you like shit because even the worst they’ve done looks justified compared to what you pulled. ‘Oh they said that people being mean is so bad!’ says the man preying on his weakness. ‘Oh he’s shit talking his critics!’ says the open liar. ‘Oh the writing was done by platypuses!’ says the man who wants to be taken seriously. ‘Oh it’s just a joke!’ Says the man who bitched out MatPat over jokes.

And I guarantee you’ll cry foul at me if you ever find this, decrying me as just a salty RWBY fanboy. And this time, I’m not accepting any excuses. You HAD your chances.

4chan trolls are more respectable than you. They have principles and stick to them. Fanboys are more respectable than you. They don’t claim to be anything else. And yes, your targets are more respectable than you. Their channels aren’t based on hypocrisy THIS deeply rooted.

I regret ever watching you because you were clearly speaking out of your ass.

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Post-Edit:

So i edited a couple of my less explained points to get my issue across. Just saying this here so that no one accuses me of editing the source for malicious purposes.

As for why I didn’t rewrite the last two sections to remove my anger: that stays to prove a point. I had tried to stay neutral or at least calm throughout the video. But my frustrations just kept on building as you became increasingly smug and condescending, even though you called out such shit against others. I can’t even respect your arguments as arguments because considering the erratic nature of this video as well as how out of place some of them are (”Orange Man Bad”): it sounds like you just took every single compliant ever said about Volume 7 and threw it in.

You end all your videos saying ‘Examine Your Fandom’. Did you ever do that yourself?

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datleggy · 5 years ago

Note

I’m autistic and one of the things I have trouble with is change. I’ve watched 911 since the third episode and now they have a second one? Idk. I’ve been seeing a lot of good things about it but I’m not sure if I want to watch it. Basically what I want to know is if it’s worth watching. Is it good? Are there any parallels between the new one and the Buck one? Who are the characters and what are they like? Will you start writing for this series instead of the other one? %

so, this got WAY longer than i thought it would, sorry!!! TL;DR is at the very very end!

tbh i didn’t wanna really give 911 lonestar a chance originally, i was lowkey annoyed bc it felt like they were like “oh u guys want buck and eddie, who are CLEARLY meant to be and have all this canon chemistry and relationship development to eventually get together??? lol NOPE but here’s a spinoff where u get ur white/latino gay ship :D”

which i do genuinely hope to god isn’t the case, like, i really need OG 911 to be like PSYCH here u go, some DIAZ-BUCKLEY fam. as a treat.

i did end up watching it bc curiosity and too many awesome gifsets finally got to me lol

and im only a couple of episodes in (haven’t had a chance to watch the 3rd ep bc of work and other things D: ) and so far i gotta say, i like the OG 911 calls that they get sent to more than 911 lonestars calls but again, im only 2 ep in, maybe they get more “woah thats crazy/hilarious/hearbreaking!” as the show goes on.

i honestly don’t see too many parallels between Buck and TK—the only thing i noticed where they’re pretty similar is how much they both enjoy easy physical contact. buck is very touchy feely and comfortable about showing affection/feelings and i feel like TK is the same regarding physical contact (with his dad at least)? but that’s about it.

for what it’s worth i do think the show is pretty entertaining and worth a watch!

my main reason for watching past the first episode is my enjoyment of the characters. i just think they’re all neat.

this is from a post i made when i first watched the show lol:

captain strand: good dad to all of his children

tk: hot gay messy boi

grace ryder: a fave, no nonsense beauty, judds better half

judd ryder: tragic big boi

captain blake: chaotic good w baby voice

marjan: wild feral messy gurl

mateo: if anybody’s mean to my SON im throwin hands bih

paul: again, if anybody’s mean to my SON im THROWIN hands

officer reyes: ready to dick tk down

here’s a more descriptive/longer summary of the characters if u wanna know more, if not skip down to the bolded sentence below lol:

owen strand is the captain (played by rob lowe) and to me he gives off chris traeger vibes (from parks and rec if u watched?) but with more depth. i like his character a lot, he’s a caring dad, seems like he knows what he’s doing, and like, c’mon, it’s rob lowe (i fell in love with him a million years ago when he played soda pop in the outsiders nipr;guebwuogrnofw)

tk is his son and a hot gay mess w some substance abuse issues (tho a lot has happened to him in only 2 ep i really don’t know how to feel about him entirely, bc besides stuff happening TO him, i don’t feel like he’s reacted in a way that shows much of his character?) idk maybe it’s just me. but he is a certified cutie so. lol

grace ryder, she’s smart (one of the only characters with more than ONE brain cell lmao) and gorgeous and an emergency 911 operator. she’s very supportive of her husband and what he’s going thru (which is A LOT), she herself has been thru a lot bc of the big incident at the beginning of the series and is still somehow held strong in spite of it all, she’s a personal fave of mine.

judd ryder is kind of a dick at first but i think its very understandable given the hell he’s been thru, im actually surprised at the amount that i like him. he’s very raw and vulnerable but has this “don’t worry im fine, back up” attitude that i loooove.

captain blake is the captain for EMTs, she’s got this soft teeny baby voice that contradicts so hard with her give no fucks ima do what i need to to find my missing sister actions irwughqwgoriegjf i like. she’s caring and does goes out of her way for the little guy.

marjan has ZERO chill but in a good way, i can already absolutely see her getting into trouble by doing some crazy impulsive thing on a call in order to rescue someone—-TBH she actually reminds me a lot of Buck from OG 911 in that way. like yea she’s reckless and impulsive but u can tell its bc she CARES and this firefighting thing is what she’s meant to do. i really like her.

mateo—-OH MAN. he’s 10000000% my favorite. it hurts me everytime he’s on screen, bc he’s such a sweet and HARD WORKING man and he deserves to be a firefighter and do what he wants/has been waiting for for so long, im so HAPPY captain strand gives him a chance. i think he might have some learning disability or maybe he grew up in a household where maybe his family was too busy or didn’t care to check up on how he was doing in school and they neglected to see how much he was struggling—this is all just pure speculation from the fact that on the show he tells captain strand during the interview that he’s always passed the physical exam to be a firefighter but keeps failing the written part :( i love my son.

paul is a trans firefighter who’s mainly known for his crazy good observational skills in the field—there’s an ep—ep 2?—that shows off his talent but like, i found it unintentional funny bc the way they did it was in a scene that honestly truly felt to me like a scene I MYSELF would write in a fanfiction if i wanted to show off a cool skill the character has but was also too lazy to make it look good???? lmaoooo im not trying to be mean but like, if u do watch it, its the 2nd ep i believe, the “office meeting” scene. other than that tho there’s only been a few scenes with paul in it (my personal fave being the skin care routine scene lol) but i look forward to more scenes of my son being a lil sherlock holmes :)

officer reyes is tk’s potential new mans. he seems like a good cop from what little ive seen of him doing police work. so, i saw a post someone made basically saying how ugly are the men in texas that officer reyes is out here thirsting over tk so HARD—and not to be rude, but he really is!!!! reyes is a goodlookin guy, so idk what’s up with that, maybe he likes messy bois? bc same.

p.s. im not sure how to feel about reyes and tk together yet bc it doesn’t really seem as if they have too much chemistry. hopefully that changes? i do kinda like that they haven’t started off their potential relationship on the best of foots, bc i love drama, an indisputable fact.

ONTO THE FINAL QUESTION!

OG 911 will always be my first love and i just don’t see this changing anytime soon. buddie will always be the #1 ship in my heart! and i have about a gazillion awesome prompts i need to work on so me switching over to 911 lonestar isn’t gonna happen. i love OG 911 way too much iuqhur4ogfoie3jwnwjinioj

tho i may occasionally—per the request of prompts i’ve gotten in the last week or so–take a couple of the characters from 911 lonestar and put them in a 911 fic as a crossover? we’ll see.

this ended up soooo long oruhibgruoeqwp i hope some of it helped tho?

tl;dt: 911 lonestar seems fun and the characters are interesting enough to keep me entertained so i say give it a chance :)

#long post is long #ask #anon #also i got ur other ask #NP! never a bother :)#911 lonestar #911 fox #tldr at the end #read more

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jupiterrags-blog · 5 years ago

Text

Anime Talk

Now let us take about the mode of entertainment which is anime. Anime is what usually people categorize as a cartoon from Japan. It is not a wrong description, but I think that just makes it seem niche. You can just call anime another way to say cartoons, because that it what they are. Anime provides thousands of hours of entertainment.

My journey started very interestingly. At first I did not like anime in the slightest. I remember Saturday mornings on Cartoon Network Toonami came on with Dragon Ball Z. I hated it. I did not like how there was not a proper lip sync that I saw in others shows at the time like Teen Titans or Ed Edd ‘N Eddy. I also found the voice acting somewhat cringe worthy at the time, I was very critical at such a young age. The only anime I would watch was Pokemon, at the time, though it was a less impressive show than Dragon Ball Z. I was just attached to the franchise of Pokemon already.

Two years pass by and I see Dragon Ball Z Kai on the Nickelodeon TV station. It was mid Frieza-saga and our main character Goku is obliterates a villain who was beating up another main character we though was powerful, Vegeta. Goku’s fight on took one elbow strike the abdominal muscles and the enemy collapses. I then catch another episode where Goku starts to fight the space tyrant Frieza. Frieza has been built up as the emperor of the universe, the most powerful being in the cosmos, an alien that never had to try hard a day in their life, but exuded such power and leadership. And in the other corner we had our pure heart and humble beginnings Goku going against him one on one. From there I was hooked for one of the wildest experiences of my childhood. The fight had its ups and downs, Goku was only being toyed with. He thought he had a chance to win this fight, but it seems all hope is lost as he is mercilessly tortured and beaten by his opponent, but still gets up anyway.

In the ladder half of the fight, Goku seemingly put down the space tyrant Frieza. The show left on a cliffhanger and the commercials told about a big event happening in the next episode of the show. Skip to a week later, the long awaited episode is coming out, but we have church. I literally cried because I wanted to see this new episode. I was emotionally invested in the struggles of an humble underdog Goku. That night I witnessed the monumental Super Saiyan Transformation. Goku’s hair golden, his brow furrowed, with a golden aura, and a feeling of authority. He dominated the space tyrant when he returned and actually forced him to put effort. Frieza begins to finally use his full power and dominates Goku once again and making the battle seem hopeless once again.

However, you realize Frieza’s attacks are doing less and less. Is Goku getting stronger? No. Frieza is getting weaker. Frieza does not have the stamina to fight at full strength. Remember Frieza never had to try hard before, he never trained a day in his life, but now that he is actually struggling he does not have the skills or stamina to keep up with Goku’s experience and constant training. Goku did not have the natural gifts that Frieza had, but his sheer years of hard work and passion put him above his opponents.

This fight lasted 3.5 hours even without dialogue. It is the longest fight in anime history. And I enjoy every minute of it.

From there I would enjoy other shows like Dragon Ball Z like Dragon Ball, Naruto, Bleach, Fullmetal Alchemist, Baka and Test, High School of the Dead, Mob Psycho 100, One-Punch Man, Haikyu, Jojo’s Bizzare Adventure, Gintama, A Silent Voice, Anohana, Toradora, Dororo, Hunter X Hunter, Kill La Kill, Gurren Lagan, Cowboy Bebop, Space Dandy, Eden of the East, Ponyo, Evangelion, Death Note, Terror in Resonance, Shingeki no Bahamut, Attack on Titan, Inuyasha, the entire Fate series, My Hero Academia, Hajime no Ippo, Erased, Saiki K., Nichijou, Kaguya-sama, Shokugeki no Soma, Baccano, Durara, and One Piece just to name a few. These shows taught me value I hold true today.

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creativitymouth · 7 years ago

Text

The World Forgetting by The World Forgotten Pt.3

A/N - A big thank you to all of the amazing writers on Tumblr who helped me get my story out there to begin with. @asthmaticeddie @apartofthelosersclub @firstfannypack @mikoalabearwrites @justauthoring If you haven’t checked out their stories please do so because it’s what gave me the courage to put my work out there in the first place.

Summary: Adolescence is kicking (Y/N) in the ass and she isn’t sure if she’s winning. SlowBurn!RichieTozierxFemale!Reader.

Trigger Warning: Depressive Themes and Sexual Assault. Cursing because of Trashmouth Tozier.

9th grade has many sexual assault mentions, if you are uncomfortable reading this please skip ahead.

Chapter 3

8th Grade - 1986

It had been 2 years, and Richie Tozier had just begun to realize his crush on you was possibly never going to go away. He had finally told all the guys about it on one of those days you randomly disappeared, but they all just shrugged him off. They had been sitting around in Bills place, wondering where their favorite girl had been when they stopped by her house earlier. When suddenly Richie found that he couldn’t keep his mouth closed, per usual.

“I think I like (Y/N).” He blurted out, everyone stared at him open mouthed. What had he just said? Impossible. No one said anything for a stretch of awkward seconds as they just gaped a Tozier. This was the guy with a new crush every week, so he couldn’t be serious.

“Trashmouth Tozier? With feelings for our pure little (Y/N), no fucking way man you’re joking.” Stan had said.

“Yeah R-Rich, you gu-guys are polar opposites.” Bill cut in. “It’ll g-go away eventually. L-like every other crush you-you-you’ve had.”

“Remember in 4th grade when Eddie had feelings for (Y/N) for like a month?” Stan said. “He had lied to (Y/N) and told her you almost killed him at the arcade, just so he could give her his back up aspirator.” Richie’s eyes narrowed slightly at Eddie, he had already known this information but hearing it now felt like a stab in the chest. He was the first person he told back in 6th grade about what seemed like a fatal crush.

“Hey!” Eddie yelled. “Way to fucking blow my spot man!”

“W-we’ve all t-thought that at some point.” Bill stated. “When we f-first met her in 2nd gr-gr-grade I swore I was going to m-marry her.” He shuddered at the thought of his 2nd grade self-proposing to (Y/N) on the swings. You had very kindly declined him, still boring that faint New York accent.

“Yeah, she’s like the only girl who talks to us, and she’s really pretty.” The guys nodded in agreement there was no shame in admitting you had a nice face. “I liked her in 5th grade for 3 months, even brought her Hydrangeas every day for a week.” Eddie and Bill laughed at the face Stan made, having feelings for you now only seemed disturbing. Though they had all, at some point, considered a relationship with you, you eventually crossed the line from potential love interest to sister like best friend. “I know you remember that Richie, you gave me pointers on how to get her to like me back.” Richie attempted a cocky smirk, though he felt disgust bubbling in his stomach. They had all gotten rid of there feelings for (Y/N) but Richie’s wasn’t fading. Not after 2 years and he feared not ever.

“You’re right, Richie Tozier doesn’t settle for just one bitch. He needs multiple chances to get it in.” Richie said causing the guys to groan. The truth was he just wanted to change the subject. Eddie was the only one who may have believed Richie. He had told him the same thing 2 years ago, why would he keep up this charade for 2 years? Was it possible that Tozier was in love?

So now, Richie found himself staring at you as you walked out of class to go to the bathroom. He wanted nothing more than to be able to forget these weird feelings.

-----------------

You walked into the bathroom, having just needed fresh air. The school dance was in a couple of weeks and Kyle hadn’t asked you yet. You’d both been players in this weird love game for 2 years, and it was beginning to frustrate you. Did Kyle want a relationship with you, or did he want arms candy? Or maybe Richie was right, and Kyle just wanted to “get in your pants”. You sighed trying to calm your overactive thoughts. You had always been a jittery child but in recent years things seemed to be getting worse. The fake smiles were harder to keep up, and your time management was severely lacking.

“Are you in there by yourself Beaver-ly.” A voice rung out, causing your stomach to drop. Greta Bowie had certainly developed a colorful vocabulary in the last couple of years. “Or do you have half the guys in the school with you, huh slut?” You half expected to see Greta’s shoes beneath your own stall, so when you saw her a couple of stalls down to say you were relieved was an understatement. “I know you’re in there you little shit, I can smell you.” You winced for the person I few stalls down. “No wonder you don’t have any friends.”

“Which is it, Greta?” A voice responded with strength. You recognized it as Beverly Marsh, Williams crush since the 3rd grade. He even had some pictures he drew of her, you insisted he pursue art school, but he always denied you. “Am I a slut or a little shit? Make up your mind.”

“You’re trash.” Beverly didn’t respond. You peered out the crack in the stall door, watching as a girl in Greta’s posy struggled her way over to the garbage can.

“Shit.” You said under your breath. This was a do or die situation, so obviously you being you, you picked die. Richie always complained that you had a super-hero complex. You placed your bag on the floor dropping onto your hands and knees and praying that you would make it to Beverly before the garbage did. You made it to her stall and peered up at her, putting a finger to your mouth. She held a tray of food in her lap, and stared at you peculiarly. You waved at her to follow you. She shrugged, obviously willing to try anything, before dropping on her hands and knees in a similar fashion as to what you had done. She followed you back to the stall you’d come too. “Sit on my lap.” You mouthed. She raised her eyebrows a smile playing at her face. You slapped your hands down onto your lap playfully. She sat down with a shake of her head, and you guys listened carefully as you heard Greta struggle to lift the garbage can.

At least buy me dinner first. You heard Richie’s voice in your head and couldn't help but silently laugh. Beverly looked back at you when your shoulders started to shake with laughter. She put her finger on her mouth, taunting your previous action. You smiled widely at her. Suddenly the sound of garbage could be heard falling harshly onto the ground in the stall where Beverly had just come from.

“That Bitch!” You heard Greta scream. “Find her, kick all the stall doors open.” You and Bev shared a wild look as the sound of stall doors began to slam. Beverly seemed slightly entertained by this turn of events.

“Now we run.” You stated. Beverly jumped off your lap, taking your hand in hers before swinging the stall door open and running out.

“Get them!” Greta hissed loudly as she stomped her foot. You had always known Greta to have a temper issue and a smart-ass mouth but had never before seen her physically rough house someone. You guys didn’t stop running, the bookbag you had on slamming into the small of your back roughly.

“This is a great first impression!” You yelled to Beverly sarcastically. She rolled her eyes.

“I’m known for those.” She responded, smiling even though you were both going to run out of breath soon. Greta, though wearing those same sparkly red flats (only now in a different size), was surprisingly fast.

“(Y/N)?” You hear Eddie yell from next to Rich’s locker. You didn’t have to look to know all the boys were looking at you strangely. They had probably come inside looking for you after the final bell had rung and you didn’t meet them at the bike rack.

“Not now! Busy running!” You yelled back as you passed them “Code brown!” Meet at Bill's house. You could hear the boys sputter in confusion, you weren’t one for trouble, at least not without them around. Stan was the first one to see Greta Bowie and her crew chasing after you and Beverly Marsh. He nudged Bill, who nudged Eddie, who then nudged Richie.

“Oh, fucking shit, what now?” Richie said with agitation. “How much do you guys wanna bet she was playing fucking super hero again.” The boys all shook their heads before following you. You’d made it to your bike in record time, and with a spare glance could see that you had maybe 30 seconds before Greta caught up.

“Get on, get on, get on.” You said hurriedly to Beverly.

“I have a bike.”

‘We don’t have I have a bike time!” Beverly made a noise of displeasure before jumping on behind you. You had never been on the receiving end of pedaling with another person. The boys often had you on the back of their bikes when you were too lazy to ride your own. Well after this experience you didn’t think you’d be doing that again. It was significantly harder to pedal with two people on a one-person bike. Despite that, you didn’t stop. Beverly kept her hands tightly gripped onto your shoulders. “You’re going to fall like that, you can put them around my waist. I’m not gonna bite.”

“You’re weird.” Beverly said before wrapping her arms around you. Her tone didn’t have any maliciousness behind it, she was just stating a fact.

“Exceptionally.” You responded. It was the first time someone had called you that, but you knew it wasn’t your fault. It was those boys and their terrible influence on your innocence. Hint, it was just Trashmouth.

“I like that.” She said smiling again. You didn’t know what it was about Beverly Marsh, but you liked her. You hadn’t known much about her besides that William had a long-standing crush on her that he couldn’t seem to shake, but after the short and terrible first impression you decided she was someone you wanted to keep around. For a while. You didn’t know much about other females, except your mom and Greta Bowie, but you figured that you and Bev would get along greatly.

After about 15 minutes of pedaling in the direction to Bill's house Greta had given up her chase. You knew it wasn't over, as it never was with Bowie. You slowed to a more paced pedal, and felt more comfortable, Beverly took her hands from around your waist, no longer afraid of falling.

“You can drop me off here.” She said suddenly. You quirked an eyebrow, knowing she was trying to run away from making more conversation.

“You know,” you begin “I’m on my way to hang out with my friends, and I’d think it’d be really cool if you could join us.” You smiled widely, your signature.

“I don’t know, I gotta get home before my dad.” She said, though it was more to herself then to you. “Maybe another time.” She said as you pulled your bike to a stop at the curb. She began to get off and walk away when you called out her name.

“Why don’t we go see the Breakfast Club, they’re doing a midnight re-showing at the dollar theatre.” She laughed loudly.

“Is it because I look like Molly Ringwald?” You shrug in response, still smiling at her. “Okay, fine. I’ll meet you there at 4 tomorrow.”

“Great! Bye Bevy!” She waved bye at you shaking her head slightly. The interaction was the weirdest, yet best one she had experienced in her 13 years of life. After watching her walk away, you left for Bill's house determined to make the boys help you get Stanley to study his torah.

-------

After the movie, you and Beverly Marsh were joined at the hip. The boys had come to accept that she was in fact, your best friend. Though she always persisted that she didn’t want to meet them yet, because she didn’t trust men it didn’t stop you from bragging about them. She argued that Richie liked you, and the thought made your heart jump, but you couldn’t place why. After all, you were Kyle Henderson's on again off again girlfriend. When she started smoking you were always there to reprimand her and try to hit the cigarette out her hand, but Bev was stronger and taller than you. Though you never gave up trying, you were also never successful. A few weeks before the dance, Beverly had finally opened to you about her father. She’d come to your house crying, falling into your arms with her hair cut short.

“It’s like he doesn’t know I’m his daughter, he sees me and sees some kind of s-sex object.” She cried as you pet her hair down. “He was always grabbing me by my hair and I - I just couldn’t take it anymore, so I cut it all off.” You nodded solemnly, finding yourself at a loss for words like when you had that talk with Mike. “I hate living there.”

“Hey,” you said gently still petting her head that was laying on your shoulder “why don’t you stay here for a while my parents won’t be back for two weeks. We can go to the dance together next week, I mean Kyle asked me to be his date finally but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you tagged along.” She looked at you now, wiping at her face.

“You sure?”

“Of course!”

“You won’t make me wear a frilly dress, right?” You laughed out loud at this, the thought had crossed your mind, but you knew Beverly would never go for it. She was a rock of stubbornness.

“Okay, no frilly dress.” You held up your pinky for her to take in her own. “I also have an idea for my hair, and I need your help.”

“What?” She asked you hesitantly. You looked down at your hair, smiling softly at the idea.

“We cut it.”

----------------------

Richie Tozier had his head in his hands in frustration, the dance had come far quicker than he wanted it to. He’d never wanted anything more than for you to be happy, but he started wishing that happiness was with him. When you called him, exclaiming that Kyle had finally asked you to the dance he spoke as though it was the greatest thing to ever happen, but he was just hurt. He had told himself that if Kyle didn’t ask you 4 days before the dance that he would ask you himself. Of course, Kyle did end up asking you and Richie hated himself for not making a move faster.

“That’s great (Y/N), just tell the man to use a condom.” Richie had said over the phone.

“Beep Beep, Richie.”

You talked to him for hours, told him about how Bev was going too and how happy you were. You even persuaded him to go, calling him your favorite loser and saying that you needed to see him there. He eventually caved, he couldn’t ever say no to you. But now he was wishing he had. You were slow dancing with Kyle, his arms around your waist and your head on his shoulder and it was making Richie feel sick. He thought about the way his heart reacted when you’d first cut your hair, he felt like he was able to see your face more and boy did that put him into cardiac arrest. When you’d caught him staring he ruffled your hair and told you it didn’t look to bad.

“Tozier.” A soft feminine voice said from above him. He grunted in response wanting to be left alone. “Tozier.” The voice said again, kicking him slightly.

“What the fuck do you want?” He snapped looking up. Beverly sat down next to him with a smug expression on her face.

“So, you like (Y/N) huh.” She smirked devilishly.

“W-what?” Richie was blinking rapidly as his stomach sunk. This was not a conversation he wanted to be having, and especially not with your best friend.

“You took one look at her and turned into a bright red tomato.” She laughed. “Then, when you saw her with Kyle, you turned green. So, either you like her, or you’re secretly a chameleon.” Richie grunted, leaning back on his elbows.

“Why does it matter anyway?”

“Why don’t you tell her?”

“Because she doesn’t feel that way about me.”

“Let me tell you something Tozier.” Beverly's expression was suddenly serious. “That girl doesn’t understand her own feelings.” Bev shook her head. “She talks about you more than the rest of the losers. Fuck, I know your favorite color and the exact number of freckles on your face.” She chuckled softly. “She’s afraid you know.”

“Of what?”

“Losing.” She stated simply “She feels inadequate, she doesn’t talk about it and she hid it really well, but if you look at her long enough you can see the cracks in the mask.” Richie didn’t respond, just watching you intently now. You seemed to be arguing with Kyle. “I think, she thinks that if she lets herself feel, she’ll fall apart.” Beverly frowned, she knew you well enough by now. Richie and Beverly suddenly quieted down, both just watching as you and Kyle seemed to bicker, but both also just lost in their own heads. Were you okay?

-----------------

“What?” You said pulling back from Kyles shoulder. His hands stayed on your waist. “What did you fucking say?”

“I said your friend Eddie is a snack sized bitch.” Your eyes grew to the size of the moon as you ripped yourself from Kyle’s grasp.

“How fucking dare, you!” Your hands came down roughly at your sides which caused Kyle to chuckle.

“Calm down babe.” He reached out for you, but you slapped his hand away. “Oh please, like you haven’t noticed the way he ogles other men, how though he’s 13 now he still hasn’t grown?” Your heart began to beat faster, your hands clammy, as you stared at Kyle. “You’re telling me you’re oblivious to the fact that your friend is a faggot?” You gasped at his use of the crude term. “You’re just pretending not to notice.”

“Yeah, like I pretended to be oblivious to your shrimp dick.” You growled. Kyle laughed bitterly. This was not how you wanted the dance to go, it had started so sweetly. You loved the dress you were in, you loved the way your hair looked at this length, and you had swooned when Kyle gave you a corset. Though you did rip off a flower to stick into Bev’s hair. When you got to the dance, you even got Bill and Bev to dance together for a while. Richie, had for the most part stuck off to the side, but you assumed it was because this wasn’t his scene. Everything had been going perfectly. Now, well, now it was ruined.

“Yeah, bet your friend likes my shrimp dick up his -” You didn’t give Kyle a chance to finish, your knee came up and slammed into his groin. You hadn’t pulled that one since 6th grade with Henry Bowers. Kyle doubled over with a grunt, his hand clutched tightly around himself. You moved to the side snatching a cup of punch from some girl’s hand, she shouted a soft hey, but you were too angry to notice her. You poured the liquid over Kyle's head, leaning down near his ear.

“If you ever say a word, about Eddie Kaspbrak, or any of the losers for that matter. I will rip your fucking head of Henderson.” You dropped the cup on the floor, before storming away. A small crowd had gathered, and you pushed yourself through not stopping until the boys and Bev all surrounded you.

“(Y/N)!” Stan yelled.

“Did he h-hurt you?”

“If he did, I swear to god.” Richie began.

“No.” You protested shaking your head.

“Then what happened (Y/N)?” Eddie asked you.

“He insulted you, said some pretty fucked up stuff.” Eyebrows knitted together, the losers club were used to being the butt of others peoples jokes. Stan was Jewish, Bill had a stutter, Richie talked to much, and Eddie was too short. People saying mean things about them was normal, yet still you always seemed to jump into action. Even if it was the guy you have liked for 2 years. “I wasn’t just gonna let him talk about Eddie that way.” The boys all looked at you in shock as Beverly smirked at you. That’s my girl, she thought. It was then Richie had known that his crush, wasn’t just a crush. Hearing you say you caused a man not to be able to have kids, all in defense of Eddie. Well that put things in perspective for him. Richie Tozier was in love with you. “No one’s going to talk about any of you badly if I’m around for it.” You took a deep breathe scanning the boys before your eyes settled on Richie. The crowd had scattered at this point, tired by the unfulfilling drama. You grabbed Richie's hand now, missing how he flushed. “Dance with me?”

“Uh,” He stuttered, and you were again oblivious to the way Beverly nudged him in the side. “Hell yeah.” He said. You smiled and pulled him away from the rest of the guys. You guys danced for what felt like hours, hips moving, voices screaming to try to match the music. You even had a couple of awkward slow dances. “Hey,” Richie said in the middle of one of those awkward dances, “it was fucking awesome of you defend Eds like that.”

“Duh, you’re my boys. Anyone with a problem with one of you has a problem with me.” You smiled at him causing his breath to catch in his throat. As you slowly moved side to side to the music, Richie found himself lost in your eyes.

“You look really beautiful.” He said suddenly. You blinked repeatedly, your smile falling as your heart sputtered.

“Oh, uh,” you pushed a hair behind your ear blushing profusely. No one had ever called you that before. “Thank you Rich.” You looked at him. Richie’s eyebrows were furrowed, he seemed to be considering something. “Rich?” You called him, he looked like he was going to lean in. Maybe connect your lips with his. Your brain reeled, what was happening?

“Guys!” Stan suddenly called, and you and Richie practically jumped apart. “Let's go, Eddie’s mom wants him home at a certain time.”

“Coming!” You yelled back, now noticing how close you and Rich were. Feeling the way, he had both of his hands on your waist, noticing the way yours were on his shoulders. How close his face had been to yours? You looked back at him, chewing on your bottom lip before moving away. He stood there for a moment with confusion. He couldn’t believe he was going to try to kiss you, in the middle of a school dance. It would have been the worst place to get rejected. You stopped walking when you noticed Richie wasn’t behind you. You turned around flashing him your wide smile. “Hurry up Tozier.”

“Y-Yeah!” He announced following behind you.

9th Grade - 1987

9th grade was the year of discoveries. It was when you had decided to make a change in your identity, figure out who you were under the colorful oversized sweaters (that could fit a truck in them) and the patterned leggings. You’d swapped them out, put all your old clothes in a bin under your bed and convinced your mother to take you with her shopping. You’d picked out brave pieces, striped crop tops and solid skirts with the occasional legging that you couldn’t turn down. You stopped attempting to maintain your unruly hair and let it do as it pleased, after all it was the 80s. The losers had changed too however; Eddie now dressed like Duckie from Pretty in Pink excluding the fanny pack that he would never take off, Stan stopped tucking in his button-down shirts while sporting vests and opened blazers, William had adorned denim jackets with patches he’d collect from local stores and never took off his off-white reeboks, and Richie Tozier well no one really expected such a drastic change from their favorite Trashmouth. Richie had begun experimenting with leather jackets and band t-shirts with his black Chuck Taylors, his curly hair now simply untamed. The only thing that remained the same was his glasses, and that’s because he spent so much money on clothes that he couldn’t afford contacts. Beverly, much like Richie adorned darker colors though she had never been a fan of bright things. Michael had changed as well, now sporting large printed sweaters and dark jeans. The Losers were still The Losers but they had a much better taste in fashion then in Middle School.

You attributed all these changes to why this had happened to you.

The navy skirt and long-sleeved crop top were a curse. My insistence to grow up and show flesh was my own demise. That’s what you whispered in your head as you teetered on your feet down the driveway to the Synagogue where you knew Stan would be. Your jellies were cracked on the side, and your hair had branches sticking out of it, your mind whirling as you stumbled over yourself.

Skirts are for girls who want it.

Crop tops are for girls who want me.

The words echoed in your head like a curse as you pushed open the doors to the Synagogue, still staring blindly ahead of you.

“Do you want me (Y/N)?” Henry asked as he walked closer to you. This had been the back and forth for the last 10 minutes, Henry following you and insisting you be with him. Commenting on your figure and appearance, making you feel gross. You scratched at your skin as if you could escape it.

“No.” You growled out attempting to shove him as he now stood in front of you, he grabbed your wrist at your feeble attempt.

“Yes.” He responded, his eyes gleaming with sin.

“I said no you fucking asshole.” You yanked back, trying to free yourself from the terrible primal look in Henry's eyes.

“That’s not what I heard.” He nodded shortly looking behind him for less than a second before two other sets of hands were on you and pushing you down to the floor of the woods. You struggled in their grasps.

“Let go of me!” You had kicked and screamed and yelled. The boys were much stronger than you. “I said get off of me you fucking pigs, this isn’t funny!”

“Who said this was a game.” Your eyes grew large with fear as you watched Henry unbutton his pants, you reached up and scratched one of your assailants in the face. They flinched back, and you moved to run for it. “Don’t let her go you fucking idiot, hold her down!” Henry yelled at whoever was behind you. Hands came into your hair and yanked you down again. You screeched at the pain as the grips tightened.

“Henry,” someone behind you spoke out, you assumed it was Victor, “you said we were just gonna scare her. This is kind of far man.”

“Did I fucking ask you?” Henry shouted, Victor shook his head and moved to remove his hand from your shoulder. “Move, and I’ll fucking kill you Criss.” Victor froze before putting his hands back onto your shaking figure.

“Let go of me!” You had always hated those damsel in distress kind of girls but now you felt as though you’d pay a heavy price for someone to come and save you.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered as Henry made his approach. “I don’t want to die.” Victor repeated.

“Shut it Criss, I want a turn after Henry and if you keep talking neither of us will get one.” Patrick said as his hand slithered around your throat to prevent you from thrashing. He stuck his thumb in your mouth and you gagged causing him to chuckle. You continued to thrash but the realization that no one was coming settled heavy on your chest.

“This is so fucked up, I’m so sorry.” Victor said again and that was the last thing you heard as your screaming voice drowned out all the sounds around you.

Stanley had seen you before you had seen him, he was reading his Torah as his dad sat upstairs in his office. Your clothes were tattered, the new patterned shirt you worse close to falling off you, the skirt you had on was clearly backwards and the jellies, that he had early told you were adorable, were barely on your feet. He squinted to try and get a better view of you, and that’s when he noticed the bruises running up and down your skin. His eyebrows spiked up when you hit the ground without complaint. You stared down at your hands, caked with dirt and blood as you were sure the rest of you was. He quickly rushed over to you kneeling as he softly placed his hands on your shoulders. Something was terribly wrong.

“Y/N?” He asked shaking you gently, you didn’t respond your mouth opened in a silent scream. You were sure you tore something in your throat, maybe you’d become a mute.“Y/N what is it?” His heart raced spiked as he saw tears gather in your eyes as you looked up at him. “What’s going on?”

“Will I still go to Hell if it wasn’t my choice?” Stanley didn’t understand at first, his eyes still wide scanning your broken (Y/E/C) ones. “Will God forgive me Stanley?” You asked again, your voice so small and destroyed. It was then Stanley understood, his breath caught in his throat, his mouth run dry. You were asking him if you would be forgiven for having sex before marriage.

“(Y/N).” He whispered like a silent plea. He didn’t want this to happen, especially not to you. Your eyes overflowed with the tears and you took in a shaking breath. You couldn’t take it anymore and just sobbed. Letting the emotions rack your body, the filth you suddenly felt like you were. Stan pulled you into him rubbing your back as you sobbed loudly in the nearly empty church.

--------------

“He did what!” Richie yelled pacing as Stan retold them what you had told him. “I’ll kill him, I’ll fucking kill him.”

“Not just him.” Stan whispered glancing back at you, he’d carried you all the way to Bills after contacting the losers seeing that every time you tried to walk you collapsed in on yourself. His back was incredibly sore, but he didn’t mind. You were sitting in the corner of Bill's bed with a large blanket wrapped over your figure. Eddie was sitting next to you as he rummaged through his fanny pack for something. “Hockstetter too.” Stan turned back around to face Billy and Richie. “They,” he paused swallowing looking back at you one more time before taking a deep breath. “They took turns.” Stan whispered so as not to scar you. It had been hard enough getting you to tell him, he didn’t want you to have to hear it from him. Richie inhaled deeply, as something dark churned behind his eyes. Stan had always heard Richie threaten to kill someone and never took it seriously, but now he wasn’t so sure. Eddie visibly stiffened, though he had finally found what he was looking for.

“Open.” He said gently, and you complied, there was no fight left in you. “These are just,” he paused he’d given you plan b’s his mom made him carry around, “for the pain.” He settled on since he didn’t wanna make you more upset. Eddie wrapped an arm around you and softly began to pick branches out of your hair, he normally would have been grossed out, but you seemed to be in so much pain. So, he pushed the thought of germs to the back of his head. He was going to keep searching for more pills he carried, maybe make you take everything he had in his fanny pack.

“He’s dead.” Richie finally settled on. “They’re both dead.” His voice was dark and without humor. He picked up a baseball bat and began tapping on it threateningly. “I know where he lives.”

“Ca-ca-call the c-cops.” Bill said suddenly. “W-we have t-t-to call the f-fucking c-cops.” Though he had been practicing for years, and slowly getting better, at times when Bill felt out of control he stuttered more than usual. You were his family, one of the losers. And when one of you hurt all of you hurt. He looked at you as his mind raced to catch up with his tongue, you seemed so torn apart.

“His dad is the cops.” Stan said with remorse.

“Forget the cops, we have to get her to a hospital.” Eddie was now giving you more pills, ones for pain, and some for illnesses you might contract. He didn’t think he could live with himself if you ended up catching an STD from Patrick or Henry. Lord knows where they had been.

“Hospital? Hospital, fuck out of here. We have to shove his balls so far inside him he’ll be tasting cum for weeks.” Richie was now thumping the bat on the ground roughly. He had never felt so angry in his life, his 14-year-old body brimming with emotion.

“I’m ca-calling t-the c-co-cops.” Bill said making a move to leave for the phone.

“Fine, and I’m gonna go shove this bat up Henry Bowers ass.” Richie said soon, as he began to gather his stuff.

“Stanley,” Eddie spoke, “Help me get her to the hospital.”

That was it, that was all it took, and you were sobbing again. Your hands in your hair pulling at it weakly as you head collapsed onto your knees. These boys cared for you so much, and you knew they only wanted what was best for you, but you couldn’t handle it. All the dotting, and the threats, and you especially didn’t want the cops involved. Cops meant parents and parents were a terrible idea. They would be so infuriated that you tarnished their high-standing posh reputations. Suits and balls were more valuable than their daughter’s dignity. The adults in Derry all had a way of ignoring serious problems.

“(Y/N).” Richie said as he slowly began to make his way over to you after putting the bat down.

“I-I-I’m sorry.” The boys all winced, you were apologizing to them for what happened to you. How fucked up. Richie was the first one to wrap his arms around you, thinking maybe he could meld you back together, you leaned into him sobbing some more wishing you could crawl out of your skin. Slowly all the boys followed. You sobbed even harder, and they all felt their eyes sting. They’d never seen you cry before, except for maybe once in 5th grade when you scraped your knee. They all silently vowed, that they would never let this happen to you again. Nothing bad would ever happen to you if they had a say in it.

----------------------

From then on each of the boys protect you. When Henry Bowers would show his face, they’d create a small barrier between you and him, taking serious punches for it. Richie even got suspended a couple of times for starting with Bowers for staring at you.

“Don’t fucking look at her.” Richie spat as you both walked in the hallways. Henry ignored the Trashmouth and winked at you. You skinned seemed to turn green as you recoiled, and Richie only grew angrier. He knew that Henry was just antagonizing him, but he couldn’t stop himself from running his mouth. Especially since you had shown fear. “Did you fucking hear me you mullet wearing piece of shit.”

“What? Was your girlfriend telling you about all the pleasure I gave her?” Your grabbed onto Richie's hand as though it was life support. “The way I made her scream.” Your eyes watered at the memory of the hands over your mouth. “How much she squirmed under me.”

“Richie.” You whispered, a desperate plea to run away from Henry Bowers. Richie looked down at you and when he saw the expression on your face that was the last straw for him and he took a swing at Henry. He was only 14, and was still considerably shorter than the 17-year-old Bowers. But in his heated moment of anger Richie was able to hold his own well. After about 10 minutes of fighting and a growing crowd, a teacher finally came to separate the two boys. You saw Richie lean closer to Henry mumbling something before spitting at him. Henry was enraged and tried to make his way back to Richie, but he couldn’t, not with the tight grip around his middle.

“What did you say to him?” You asked Richie once the teacher had let him go. Richie took hold of your hand before turning to you and shrugging with a mischievous smirk on his face. He was sporting a black eye, and his hair was tousled terribly but he still managed that signature smirk.

“Nothing, don’t worry your pretty little head about it.” He said. Though he thought back on it “Don’t you ever come near my girl again, or I’ll beat your ass worse than your dad already does.” What a badass thing to say.

Richie wasn’t the only one to defend you, even Eddie would step in front of you and get beaten up to the point where his asthma pump was needed. They were all severely disheartened by the change that had overcome you after the incident with Henry. You stopped smiling, didn’t talk as much and always made sure to cover your body no matter the weather. Your usual light was dimmed to the point where they were scared it would be gone forever. They each tried in their own ways to bring you out of it. Bill would draw for you, Eddie would read to you, and Stan would make you come bird watching with him more than usual. Richie almost never left your side and spent a lot of his time researching how to care for Rape Victims. Though they soon realized that this was something you had to come out of on your own. It was a personal battle and they couldn’t pressure you. Throughout all this Beverly was oblivious to whatever was going on, she had asked Richie multiple times why you seemed so different, but he only ever told her to ask you.

“It’s not my place to tell you Beverly, I’m sorry.”

Your relationship with her wasn’t negatively impacted, she was just worried. She’d stayed at your house for a month to try and put some pieces together but the only conclusion she’d come up with was that it was Henry Bowers related and that didn’t help her much. You’d found yourself at Richie’s house whenever Beverly couldn’t sleep over. You were afraid of your dreams and didn’t want to deal alone. So, Rich would tell you stories until he heard you snoring. You’d wake up and he’d have fallen asleep in a chair with his glasses on and his mouth hanging open. Though he couldn’t see it the sight always made you smile. You’d seen the books about rape victims Richie kept around and even though you never brought it up you appreciated it. He was trying to understand what you had gone through and help you build. You eventually begun to heal, though some things wouldn’t change. You burned all your short and showing clothing, now feeling that you were over exposed, and went instead to balloon pants and long sleeve shirts. The jellies, however, stayed.

“I see you're alone baby doll, your boyfriends not here to protect you?” Henry had you cornered against your locker. You tugged down on your sleeves trying to cover your fingers. “Should we have a round 2?” His hand came up to graze your cheek and you slapped it away. “Remember what happens when you fight.” He growled. “I get what I want anyway, and today I feel like sharing again.” Suddenly Henry was pushed away from you and knocked on the ground, you looked to your savior to see Bill standing over Henry. Your mind couldn’t help but ask where he was the day you needed him. Bill grabbed your hand as if to run but you ripped it away, making your way over to the stunned Henry.

“Don’t”, you pushed your foot down onto Henry's groin, “you ever,” you added pressure with each syllable, “touch me without my consent again.” You stomped on him twice. “I don’t need a savior, because I sure as hell will cut your dick off myself.” You smashed his groin under your foot, before grabbing Bill and leading him away. Bill noted that you had a thing for hitting guys where it hurt and told himself that he would never anger you again

“That’s not the last time you’ll hear from me baby doll!” Henry yelled behind you.

As soon as you exited the building you’d begun to cry again, your face shoved into the front of Bill's shirt as he rubbed you lightly on the back. The adrenaline fading, but this time the crying ended with a small smile. Maybe you’d be okay.

Maybe not. You may have won a battle but inside you were losing a war.

------------------

Taglist!!!!

@fightmebub @apartofthelosersclub

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astro-onechampionship · 4 years ago

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5 Reasons Fans Should Watch ‘ONE on TNT IV’

ONE Championship’s “ONE on TNT” event series on American prime time has been entertaining to watch. And with three exciting shows in the rear-view mirror, it’s clear the promotion is intent on offering a unique experience to martial arts fans in the United States.

Next, “ONE on TNT IV” is set to deliver another incredible night of action. The series finale, which will broadcast live this Wednesday, April 28, is stacked from top to bottom with compelling matchups.

If you call yourself a true martial arts fan, you won’t want to miss the action. Here are five reasons why you should definitely check out “ONE on TNT IV.”

1) ONE’s Underrated Roster

It’s become abundantly clear that ONE Championship’s elite roster has been wildly underestimated. The promotion’s list of more than 500 fighters, including World Champions from various disciplines, is truly full of killers.

That fact became even more clear in the main event of “ONE on TNT I,” where Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson – arguably the greatest mixed martial artist in history – got finished for the first time in his career. And a handful of other former UFC fighters have had a tough time in the Singapore-based promotion.

In fact, four of six athletes who’ve joined ONE from the UFC since 2018 have struggled. More than 63 percent of former UFC fighters have lost by stoppage, and 75 percent of them have lost at least once overall.

This includes Timofey Nastyukhin’s first-round destruction of Eddie Alvarez in 2019, Cosmo Alexandre’s one-hitter-quitter against Sage Northcutt in the same year, and setbacks for both Yushin “Thunder” Okami and Yoshihiro “Sexyama” Akiyama.

2) Aung La N Sang’s Shot At Redemption

One of the biggest storylines of “ONE on TNT IV” is centered around the main event. Aung La “The Burmese Python” N Sang will put his ONE Light Heavyweight World Title on the line, but his defense will come against a new opponent after original foe Vitaly Bigdash was forced off the card due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols.

The new foe is none other than reigning ONE Middleweight World Champion “The Dutch Knight” Reinier De Ridder, who took the belt from Aung La in October. Heading into that fight, De Ridder vowed to choke out “The Burmese Python” – and that’s exactly what he did in the Circle.

Not much is on the line for De Ridder in this one. He’s coming into this fight with nothing to lose and everything to gain, which speaks volumes about Aung La. It’s certainly risky to put your only remaining World Title on the line against a guy who just beat you.

At the same time, the Myanmar icon will be looking to redeem himself, retain his belt, and potentially earn a World Championship rematch at middleweight. Expect high drama and great action when these two throw down.

3) Eddie Alvarez Will Be Unleashed

After a disappointing night in Alvarez’s “ONE on TNT I” appearance, he’s jumping right back into the Circle. This time, the American superstar will take on long and rangy South Korean Ok Rae Yoon, who became the #5-ranked lightweight contender with a victory over former ONE World Champion Marat Gafurov.

In his last fight, Alvarez was disqualified against #2-ranked lightweight contender Iuri Lapicus for landing illegal shots to the back of the head. While that decision was later overturned to a no contest, it still cost the American his chance to earn a World Title shot.

However, a victory over Ok would thrust “The Underground King” back into contention. And if he wins impressively enough, he might just get the title opportunity next.

4) Hydrated Fighters

ONE Championship doesn’t allow their fighters to cut weight by dehydration in order to meet the stipulated limit. Instead, athletes compete closer to their “walk around” weight and eliminate all elements of dehydration for their weigh-ins.

This means the use of nylon suits, saunas, and other methods of cutting water weight are not allowed. Not only do fighters have to weigh in under the limit, but they also have to pass hydration tests to ensure this policy is well-enforced.

This policy has allowed fighters to be at full strength rather than weight-drained by the time they enter the Circle. The result is more exciting fights that often produce more exciting finishes.

It’s a wonder why no other mixed martial arts promotion has adopted this system.

5) Pure Entertainment

Above all, the “ONE on TNT” series has proven that there is more to martial arts than just MMA. Fans have witnessed some incredible Muay Thai and kickboxing bouts unfold in the Circle.

Whether it was Rodtang’s fiery American prime-time debut, striking legends John Wayne Parr and Nieky Holzken trading blows in 4-ounce MMA gloves, or Janet Todd scoring a brilliant body shot knockout in Muay Thai, it’s been amazing to witness the diversity of martial arts disciplines on display in ONE.

And there’s more to come.

At “ONE on TNT IV,” rising star Jackie Buntan will see action against Muay Thai’s “Barbie,” former ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard “Landslide” Folayang will showcase his wushu skills against arguably the best pure grappler in MMA, Shinya Aoki, and heavyweight sensation Oumar “Reug Reug” Kane will put his Senegalese wrestling power on display.

Needless to say, “ONE on TNT IV” offers an exciting mix of martial arts – and it’s not to be missed.

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perfectirishgifts · 4 years ago

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Arteta’s Midfield Choices The Key As Arsenal Face Tottenham Hotspur In Uncharted Territory

New Post has been published on https://perfectirishgifts.com/artetas-midfield-choices-the-key-as-arsenal-face-tottenham-hotspur-in-uncharted-territory/

Arteta’s Midfield Choices The Key As Arsenal Face Tottenham Hotspur In Uncharted Territory

LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 03: Mikel Arteta the Arsenal Manager before the UEFA Europa League Group … [] B stage match between Arsenal FC and Rapid Wien at Emirates Stadium on December 03, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

On Sunday afternoon, Arsenal will travel the few miles down the Seven Sisters Road to Tottenham for one of the oddest North London derbies in memory. Not just for the Covid backdrop and the tentative return of 2,000 socially-distanced fans to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but because Arsenal go into the game fourteenth in the Premier League PINC and Tottenham first.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. It wasn’t supposed to be like this when José Mourinho pulled on his Tottenham pyjamas last November, reputation dented by the tumults he engendered at Chelsea and Manchester United and abhorred by a substantial portion of the Spurs fan base for his perceived negativity in demeanor and tactics. And it certainly wasn’t supposed to be like this when Mikel Arteta surfed back into town just under a year ago, riding a wave of hope that he might be Pep Guardiola Mk. II.

Yet here we are. And the polarized context only adds to the tension. Arsenal are desperate for their first derby away win since a single goal from Tomas Rosicky gave them victory at the old White Hart Lane in 2014. Three points would take them within five of Spurs and give confidence and morale a much-needed boost after heated, clear-the-air talks midweek.

LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 12: Jose Mourinho, Manager of Tottenham Hotspur looks on ahead of the Premier … [] League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal FC at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on July 12, 2020 in London, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Spurs, meanwhile, are looking at the bigger picture. As José Mourinho said in his press conference on Friday, “Because now we are in such a good position it is a little bit different. Because we want the points we are not just like: ‘We want to beat Arsenal because to beat Arsenal is the only good thing we can give to our fans.’”

Recent North London derby games have been riveting, perhaps the most entertaining rivalry in the world in pure footballing terms. We have seen four or more goals on six separate occasions over the past decade. But the current circumstances and the two men now at the respective helms point to this meeting being significantly cagier.

Mourinho’s perpetual penchant for bus parking in high-stakes derbies was on show last weekend at Stamford Bridge and even playing at home, with fans urging them on for the first time since March, it is unlikely he will throw caution to the wind.

Arteta, for his part, has proved a far more cautious manager than many expected when he first took over from Unai Emery. His most important mission upon arrival was to fix Arsenal’s leaky back line and, aside from a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Aston Villa four weeks ago, that he has done. Especially in the games against the big six in which Arsenal have come out on top – the FA Cup semi-final and final wins over Manchester City and Chelsea and the league games against Liverpool and Manchester United – Arsenal have been reactive in the extreme, happy to sit and soak and strike on the counter.

Arsenal’s Spanish head coach Mikel Arteta (C) gives instructions to Arsenal’s English striker Eddie … [] Nketiah (L) and Arsenal’s Gabonese striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2L) on the touchline during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Everton at the Emirates Stadium in London on February 23, 2020. (Photo by Tolga AKMEN / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or ‘live’ services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images)

Yet when such an approach is unsuccessful – and in recent weeks Arsenal’s results have been poor – it is an invitation for criticism. Arsenal’s creative struggles have been much discussed, with talismanic striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang not finding the net from open play since August.

For that reason, the biggest questions prior to this derby surround the Arsenal manager’s team selection. After employing a lop-sided 3-4-3 formation for much of the early part of his reign, with Aubameyang on the left of the front three and Alexandre Lacazette playing through the middle, Arteta has recently moved towards a 4-2-3-1 with Aubameyang central and Lacazette left out in favor of an additional midfielder.

Yet on Thursday night in the 4-1 win over Rapid Vienna in the Europa League, Arteta paired Alexandre Lacazette with Eddie Nketiah in a more traditional front two. Lacazette dropped off to help work the ball forward and Nketiah operated as the spearhead of the attack, with Reiss Nelson and Nicolas Pepe cutting in to provide incision and invention from either flank. The central presence of Mohamed Elneny and Ainsley Maitland-Niles, meanwhile, provided the stability and dynamism to allow both full-backs to push up.

LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 03: Marcel Ritzmaier of Rapid Vienna in action with Ainsley … [] Maitland-Niles of Arsenal during the UEFA Europa League Group B stage match between Arsenal FC and Rapid Wien at Emirates Stadium on December 3, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. A limited number of fans are welcomed back to stadiums to watch elite football across England. This was following easing of restrictions on spectators in tiers one and two areas only. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

Maitland-Niles in particular was a refreshing sight. Asked what he brought to the midfield, he gave a Sunday league assessment of an elite display: “I had a bit of legs in the midfield, got about, tried to tackle, win the ball back, get up and down the pitch and give us a bit more dynamics, so it was good.” It was indeed and provided a bit of life to what has at times been a painfully ponderous midfield.

The fact that the game was against such weak opposition must be considered, but the performance on Thursday will have given Arteta food for thought. Might he opt for the same formation against Tottenham? If so, which players will he choose to fill the midfield and forward roles?

If Thomas Partey is fit he will certainly return, and Mohamed Elneny’s discipline and focus makes him exceedingly useful against better teams. But Arteta would be a brave man to play only the two of them and deploy Aubameyang and Lacazette as a two-pronged attack.

LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 08: Thomas Partey of Arsenal during the Premier League match between … [] Arsenal and Aston Villa at Emirates Stadium on November 08, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

With just two central midfielders – whether in a 4-4-2 or a 3-4-3 – Arsenal risk being overrun. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Moussa Sissoko and Tanguy Ndombele have formed a formidable central trio for Tottenham this term and with Harry Kane, who can become the derby’s outright all-time top scorer on Sunday, also prone to drop in and make it a central quartet, Arsenal could be outmanned.

To avoid that possibility, Arteta may opt for another midfielder. Dani Ceballos and Joe Willock could both play as a box-to-box No.10 option or if Arteta really is looking for stability, he could bring in Garnit Xhaka or Maitland-Niles alongside Partey and Elneny. As Arteta himself said when praising Maitland-Niles’ versatility after Thursday’s game, the Hale End academy graduate can “play as an attacking midfielder.”

If he does go for that three-man midfield option, it would make the central areas congested, but could free up Arsenal’s full-backs and wingers to contribute more offensively.

Finding that balance between defensive security and creativity is the main theme of this second act of Arteta’s reign. How he approaches the task could not only define the outcome of Sunday’s derby but his long-term future at the club.

From SportsMoney in Perfectirishgifts

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g0ldpainted · 7 years ago

Note

What would the bros think of Eddie Gluskin from Outlast?

Hello Anon! :)

I am so incredibly sorry that this took forever. At first, I didn’t know how to do this, then watched all Eddie scenes to refresh my memory and then my job got in the way.

I wrote this as a scenario. It’s technically one story. Noctis leads to Prompto which leads to Gladio and Ignis (while the last two technically play at the same time).

But in short:

Noctis thinks Eddie is utterly disturbing. At first, he thinks it’s just a weird guy.. but then his disgust for him grows steadily. In short, he hates him.

Prompto is completely terrified of him. Any- and every time he sees Eddie, he feels shivers running down his spine. This guy is coming straight out of his nightmares.

Gladiolus doesn’t really care at first. It just seems like any other antagonist to him. Eventually, he’s fed up about Eddie. To him, he’s unworthy of living and absolutely disgusting.

Ignis tries to analyze the antagonist.. but in this case, he gave up. In his eyes, Eddie is so fucked up there’s no turning back or saving him. However, he does like Eddie’s clothes.

Words: 4780+

Genre: Fun ^^

Spoiler: For outlast! Other than that these scenarios play pre-game.

Noctis:

“What’re you playing?” the dark-haired male wondered as he entered the room after an exhausting round of training with Gladiolus.

“Oh hey!” his significant other proclaimed, turning their head away from the screen for a split second to show him their wonderful smile, “This is Outlast, I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of it.”

“Outlast?” Noctis wondered, stepping closer to them while rubbing a towel along his neck.

“Yeah. How about you take a quick shower and then join me?” his s/o suggested, “Doesn’t cuddles and games sound great to you?“

"It actually does, ” he chuckled.

“Great! So hurry up otherwise you’ll miss the best parts,” his s/o urged him while they turned their head back towards the screen in front of them.

“Alright, alright - I’ll be right back,” he shook his head in disbelief, a soft smile spread across his lips, though.

So while their boyfriend went to conquer the bacteria and sweat on his body, they shrieked at every possible scary part, followed by a heartfelt laughter. Gaming was something the couple enjoyed greatly. May it be a round of King’s Knight or a round of Singstar - they enjoyed it all. Together, any and every game was fun. They either bashed the games, made fun of how bad they were, or were both following the story - if one existed - eagerly. Playing Kingdom Hearts was their nightly ritual: before bed, they always played an hour of it. And sometimes, most times, that hour became four and they stayed up all night. While his s/o could sleep throughout the day, Noctis, unfortunately, had royal chores to do. But at the end of the day, he always stayed awake for his precious lover that he adored more than anything. They better appreciate that prince sleepy head sacrifices his sleep for them. However, napping together was another one of their favorite activities.Little did the Prince of Dreamland know that he wouldn’t be up for any sleep tonight.After he took the long-awaited hot shower, he hopped into his sleepwear and cuddled up beside his S/O on the bed. Then their gaming evening began. Chapters one could finish in no time suddenly took forever. The controller flew around their bed whenever they reacted to a jumpscare, sometimes even hit the floor but luckily never broke. It was all, rather cruel, fun and games until a certain character came into the scene. Eddie Gluskin. From his appearance to the way he acted, he had a creepy vibe the second he showed up. While Noctis’ S/O managed to compliment his clothing, Noctis saw a pure danger. Nonetheless, they didn’t bother all too much. Until that weirdo actually attempted to women-ify the male protagonist. Not only did Noctis imagine the possible pain this different type of castration could’ve caused, he also shrieked when the saw was turned on.A loud exhale and a tap onto the Playstation-Home-Button followed right after. He. Was. Done.

“What type of freak is that?! Gross” he exclaimed, staring at his s/o in disbelief, “What went wrong in his head to try to turn guys into girls - his dream wife even?! And he even did it to others before?! But they were never good enough - what the fuck?!"

"Calm down, Noct. It’s just a game” his S/O tried to shrug it off although they were disgusted too.

“I just thought he was one of those innocent, sick in the head dudes that wouldn’t hurt a fly but have a cruel imagination - but really, he’s just the impersonation of evil and disgusting” Noctis argued, “I knew he’d be problematic but this is so not what I expected."

"He’s probably been through a lot” his S/O returned.

“So what? Doesn’t mean he can go around harming people like that purely for his entertainment” Noctis groaned, entering the game again, “I swear if he shows up again, I’ll delete this game asap and ban it in Insomnia."

"Noct you’re acting like he almost chopped your… eeh, little friend off - it’s just a game” his S/O continued to try to calm him down.

“This doesn’t change how disgusting this truly is. I don’t even want to begin to imagine people getting inspired by this - what if this happens in Insomnia?! We have to get rid of this game” he groaned, angrily moving the joystick around to make the protagonist walk.

Laughing, his S/O took the controller out of his hands: “Maybe you should let me play, otherwise you’re gonna break this controller.” Without hesitation, he handed the controller over to his beloved one, pouting right after though.

“Typical King, always looking out for his folk” his s/o joked, nudging their elbow into his sides playfully.

“Stupid game” Noctis groaned in return.

“Scared this might happen to you?” his s/o continued to tease him.

He didn’t even have to answer, they say it in his face: he was.And so his s/o had to play through to the very end of their gaming session. Noctis stayed quiet, only jumped every now and then. There was only one part in which he spoke up.

“Serves you right, you dumbfuck!” he shouted as Eddie experienced his last moments, a grin spread so widely across his face that he almost seemed insane.

Although the almighty dismemberer passed away, Noctis kept dreaming about the horrible sequence, cursing the game even days after.Little did anyone know that he wasn’t quite as tough as he usually pretended to be during horror movies and games. While he couldn’t ban the game, it was his dad ruining the fun. King Regis overheard his son venting to his best friend, the sunshine boy Prompto, and after hearing the summary, he instantly filled a contract to get it banned. He wouldn’t let any other humans get influenced by this. However, Noctis wasn’t done venting and now that it was a rare gem, he wanted to show his other friends the trouble he went through.

Prompto:

The second Noctis mentioned a cruel, gory and jumpscare filled game, he just wanted to run away and hide. While Prompto certainly didn’t hate horror related themes, simply preferred cute movies, he hated what Noctis told him about that game. But he finally gave in when Noctis forced him into watching the scene again - he still had the copy at his place, might as well show his best friend the cruel scene. So after an evening full of Prompto shrieking, maids coming in to check on them and his dad suspecting they were doing the do, they finally reached the gruesome chapter.

“Look at it!” Noctis ordered, followed by a grunt, “Open your eyes, Prompt!” Glancing over at the blonde, Noctis saw how he used his hands to block his eyes, only peaked through his fingers.

“C'mon, I haven’t played this far for you to chicken out” he groaned, using his free hand to tug on his hands.

“No! This is disgusting!” Prompto insisted, shutting his eyes.

“Chicken, you should appreciate me showing this game to you - it’s banned! I’m risking my dad freaking out on me only to show you that Gluskin guy” Noctis murmured, pressing the pause button before putting the controller down and crossing his arms.

Feeling his insecurities kick in, Prompto immediately opened his eyes: “You don’t have to be so mean.."

Before the Prince even said another word, he resumed the cutscene, resulting in Prompto shrieking again, his expression changing drastically.

"Why would you play this?!” the blonde complained, watching the scene in horror.

“My lover played it” he shrugged.

Just to tease his best friend, Noctis continued playing the game further and further. Prompto was in no way able to complain, the poor sunshine boy just grabbed a pillow and buried his face in it. There was no way he was going to watch all of this. While Noctis suddenly seemed to enjoy himself, Prompto was struggling big time. The game utterly terrified him. That shy cinnamon roll wasn’t prepared, not at all. And when Noctis passed the controller to him, forcing him to play the next part, and another jumpscare happened, the controller flew right through the room. It broke.At first, Prompto wanted to celebrate - finally, they’d be done playing this horrible game - but no, Noctis got a spare. The gaming went on. Eventually, Prompto was so scared, he started shaking.

“Prompt, it’s 2am, you should go home by now” Noctis bribed him, already preparing himself for bed.

While the second playthrough didn’t upset Noctis nearly as much, the blonde was scarred.

“Can’t I stay t-the night?” he suggested, clutching onto the pillow in his hands.

“No, the maids will think we’re dating.. And I can’t have them think I cheat on my precious s/o” Noctis explained, holding his hand out to the little blonde mass of fear sitting on the ground.

“Eh.. Just a little longer?” Prompto murmured, not wanting to get up anytime soon.. In face, not wanting to get up at all.

He was so horrified, he didn’t even want to leave the place because that’d mean he’d have to walk through the dark street - all on his own, too.

“Unfortunately, that’s impossible” Noctis groaned, reaching out to his friend to lift him up on his feet.

Overpowering him wasn’t hard; much to Prompto’s dismay, Noctis had him on his feet in no time. With shaking legs, trembling lips and widened eyes he stared at the future king, silently pleading him to leave him alone.

“Prompt, it’s late, c'mon” Noctis rolled with his eyes, getting more impatient by the second, “You know (s/o) will come over tomorrow.”

This time, the blonde just stayed silent, didn’t speak a word. In the end, he would only plead his best friend to let him stay the night so he wouldn’t have to walk through the dark alleyways to his home.Sighing, Noctis resigned and pulled out his phone - he wasn’t going to let him stay the night.. But at least he wouldn’t let his scared friend walk home on his own.

“I’ll call (Y/N) over..” he murmured, searching through the contacts on his phone.

Feeling shame wash over him, Prompto started staring at the floor. He usually stayed away from horror related things - unless his significant other would ask him to watch or play something with him. But aside from that, it simply wasn’t his cup of tea. And playing on his own just made it worse.

“Hey (Y/N), yeah, sorry for waking you. I- uh.. Prompto is here and he’s having a situation.. Uhm.. You have a car right?” Noctis briefly explained, trying hard to not embarrass his best friend - it was his fault he was struggling, not embarrassing him in front of his significant other was the least thing he could do.

“Awesome, we’re at the citadel. I’ll pick you up from the stairs so the guards won’t cause trouble” he continued to elaborate, watching the blonde quiver in front of him.

“Thanks, see you in a bit” he said his goodbyes before hanging up, “Heads up Prompt, your lover will be here in a bit.”

Hearing that was both terrifying and reassuring to him - he was scared to seem like a wimp, yet happy he wouldn’t have to walk on his own. He was sure his s/o would gladly care for him.. But still he felt ashamed of his behavior. His fear was stronger than his will to seem strong, though.

The following minutes went by in a flash. Noctis brought his best friend some tea while daggers were sent at him from numerous guards. It was late, the prince was supposed to be in bed. He had rules to obey to - that was one of them. But Prompto was more important. Sneaking down the stairs wasn’t all too easy either, guards had already approached Prompto’s S/O and prepared to take them away, thinking they were a threat. The prince himself had to announce they were innocent and coming for a visit - which made those guards even more suspicious.

The prince having a visitor late at night? That surely was a taboo. Prompto was fine - but a female? Eeh. Even sneaking his girl in was difficult and required a long talk with his dad about his duties as king and.. The sex talk. Yup.Regardless, while Prompto was sipping his tea and sitting on Nocits’ bed, his S/O entered the room.

“Honey, what’s wrong?” they immediately said, approaching him with open arms, ready to pull him into a hug.

“We played Outlast.. He got scared” Noctis scoffed, teasing his friend.

“It was a horrible scene” Prompto complained, “I didn’t want to see that."

"Do you want to tell me what happened?” his s/o wondered, sitting down beside him to embrace his shaking frame.

“Some crazy guy wanted to castrate the protagonist and he’s generally insane - now Prompt is too scared to walk home on his own” Noctis continued to tease him, hurting his friends ego quite a bit.

“It was gross” he murmured in response.

“That does sound disgusting, why’d you show this to him if he asked you not to?” Prompto’s s/o spoke up for him.

Noctis just shrugged to that, unsure of what to say as he took his smartphone out.

“Wanna go to my place?” Prompto’s s/o suggested, squeezing him gently.

“I’d love to” he proclaimed with a shaky voice.

“Alright, I’m here with my car.. Don’t worry about having to walk” they announced.

“Sounds good” the blonde quietly replied.

“Already leaving?” Noctis asked, typing away on his phone.

“Yes” they firmly replied, helping their boyfriend stand on his feet.

“Alright, I’ll guide you outside” the future king announced, tugging his phone away and heading back to the entrance.

They followed right behind him, waved their goodbyes and climbed into the car. Again, the guards were keeping a close eye on them.. But most were relieved the female left - they’d have to report that to the king himself. Especially if it was someone other than Noctis’ official girlfriend. Even in the car, Prompto was still shaking but his s/o’s near made him feel secure. He treasured them greatly, loved them do no end. And thankfully, they were so kind not to mock him. They understood and supported him. And for that, he loved them greatly.

“I’m sure he’s going to tell Gladio and Ignis..” Prompto groaned, fastening the seatbelt.

“He better not” his s/o murmured.

Oh boy, he did.

Gladiolus:

“Hey babe” the muscular man greeted his s/o after a sweaty workout.

“Oh, hey” they replied, continuously chopping food for lunch, only sending a short smile his way.

“How’s it going?” he asked, wrapping his arms around his s/o from behind and resting his head on their shoulder, “Looks good - one of your special salads?"

"Mmh” they hummed in agreement, turning their head to place a tender kiss on his cheek.

“Noct just told me about a sleepover he’s having later. It’s a bit sudden but he asked us to join.. Are you interested?” Gladio wondered, kissing his s/o’s neck, “I mean.. We could also rattle the bed a little."

"Gladdy, stop” they giggled, shaking their head to make him stop, “You smell."

"Awh.. Guess that means I’ll take a quick shower” he fake-pouted, slowly letting go of his s/o pretending to be walking off.

“Yup” they simply replied, still chipping some vegetables.

Catching them off guard, Gladiolus brushed their hair aside and kissed their nape softly followed by a gentle bite: “Or how about you joining me?"

"Gladdy, no” they bit their lip hard, still denying him, though.

“Fiiine” he groaned, giving in, “I’ll head to the shower.”

“Also, the sleepover is on - text him we’ll be there” his s/o announced.

“You really wanna go? I was hoping for some alone time with you” the broad man argued, sounding quite disappointed, “It’s our only day off.”

“It’s your friend and it’s a rare occasion that he invites his friends and their partners.. So yes, we’ll go and see what he’s up to” they reasoned, “Also, hurry up, food is almost ready.”

“Alright, you win” he chuckled, raising his hands up in surrender.

There was only one person that Gladio chose not to argue with, and that was his s/o. They were clever, too clever and they had a strong will. Convincing them was insanely hard. But he loved that they were someone that didn’t succumb to what he said. They weren’t scared of him, they just were themselves and Gladio greatly treasured that. Of course, sometimes they did argue or even end up fighting. Tears were shed, every now and then pillows flew through the room but he was usually just as emotional as his s/o. If one cried, the other cried. They couldn’t stay mad at each other for long, it was simply impossible.

Once the prince’s shield finished showering and they ate lunch, they prepared for their night at the citadel. Together, they packed two bags containing clothes and some simple toiletries. You bet Gladaddy kept trying to get in their pants but nope, they were not having it. They were already excited for what was to come. A night at the citadel, probably a dinner sponsored by the King himself and beds so unbearably soft got them in patiently excited. Oh, and of course a fun time with the Prince and his friends.. And their partners.

It didn’t take long before they arrived at the sleepover. Just to seem kind they brought chips and soda. Little did they know that their appetite would die down in the next hours. What started off as a nice evening, some drinks here and there - thank God the King didn’t know and Ignis was good at making them - and a huge ass dinner, soon turned into a nightmare. Prompto abruptly left with his s/o, something he’d usually never do. No one understood until Noctis wiped out a copy of Outlast.

“Guys, we have to play this game” he proclaimed.

Noctis’ s/o was already burying their head in shame; they were the reason he wanted to play this… Again.

“Isnt that the forbidden game? Didn’t the King ban it just recently?” Ignis asked, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

“10 points to Iggy!” Noctis chuckled as he shouted, putting the CD in his console.

“Is that a horror game?” Gladio’s s/o asked their boyfriend.

“I think so” he replied, shrugging.

The first few minutes were fine, it was a little scary, but didn’t have enough action for Gladio just yet. Needlessly to say, he was bored. His eyes were merely paying attention to the screen, instead, they often wandered towards his s/o, intently watching every move they made. They seemed to be engulfed by the events shown on Noctis’ huge TV. To comfort them, he wrapped one of his arms around their shoulders and pulled them closer.

“It’s just a ga-” Gladio was about to whisper into their ear but a squeal from them made him shut up and frown instead.

His eardrum might as well have cracked in that exact moment. Glancing at the screen, he only saw some kind of fighting scene. Well, it ended up being a lot crueler than he expected it to be.

“Does he..” he whispered in disbelief, immediately covering his s/o’s eyes to spare them

“Oh yeah” Noctis exclaimed, sounding oddly proud of showing this scene to everyone.

“That’s just gross” Glado scoffed in return, “I didn’t come here to see video game dic-"

"Just shush and watch” Noctis shut him up, “Prompto was scared shitless.”

“Why would you show this to Prompto anyway” he returned, growling a tiny bit as he was getting pissed off with Noctis’ attitude, “You know he’s easily scared.”

“It was fun” he argued.

“Oh c'mon, I’m done with this” Gladiolus rolled his eyes, getting up in one swift motion, pulling his s/o up as well, “I thought we were having a fun night instead of playing some bullshit horror game."

"I was expecting more” his s/o quietly admitted, pouting lightly.

“Babe, we should go home. I refuse to watch this dude -"

"His name’s Eddie Gluskin” Noctis’ s/o informed him.

“I don’t care. This is childish horror stuff meant to scar people. It’s not even scary it’s just gore -” Gladio complained, “And this antagonist is utterly ridiculous."

"He’s been through a lot, all his actions make sense if you analy-” Noctis’ s/o was about to throw in, only to be cut off by the prince’s shield.

“Bullshit!”

“Calm down” Gladiolus s/o urged him, “You’re overreacting.”

“Ugh, you’re right.. I’m wasting my energy on this. We should head home” he reasoned in return, agreeing to his s/o, “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

Without wasting another minute at the citadel, Gladiolus and his s/o headed out. Well. Weeeell. They did head out but they didn’t go home just yet. It didn’t take long before his precious s/o started freaking out at the slightest noise - even just some guard repositioning himself to standing straight. Taking them home through the darkness would only resort in emotional stress that Gladio didn’t want to put them through. Instead, he had another idea.Naughty as he couldn’t help himself to be, he led them to the training room. That was the only room he had unlimited access too. And of course, being the genius he sometimes was, he brought the keys with him.

“Hey, ssh, it’s okay babe” he whispered to his s/o, slowly guiding them into the room.

Looking at his s/o so shaken up and tense, all he wanted to do was make them feel good. Very good.

“You bet I’ll make him train extra hard for that” he assured them, slowly trailing kisses around their face, “Just try to relax for a bit.”

And so they ended up enjoying the night probably the most of them all. It was just a little unfortunate that the King himself walked up on them the next morning.

Ignis:

What was meant to be a fairly fun evening, turned out to be a catastrophe. Noctis abruptly made Ignis stay longer, asked him to buy ingredients for certain cocktails and sneak them up. That was easier said than done - most guards were suspiciously looking him up and down. Those 3 bags couldn’t only contain casual food, could they? Luckily, he got away without any trouble. However, it was then that Noctis asked him to invite his s/o, claiming that his own s/o would show up as well and that even Gladiolus and his partner were invited. He said he wanted this to be a big party.. Yet only with close friends.

Believing in the good of him, Ignis didn’t think much of it and gladly invited his beloved s/o that he got to spend such little time with. Every minute with them was dear to him. Wasting even a single second upset him greatly. They were busy with educating themselves, he was busy working for his best friend. They only met on weekends due to distance as well. It was mere luck that Noctis informed the advisor early enough for his s/o to actually catch the last train. Ignis originally planned on visiting them but Noctis’ party changed that plan entirely.Ignis sincerely thought this was going to be a pleasant evening. And although he didn’t agree to getting drunk, he didn’t mind taking a few drinks. All he cared about was seeing his s/o. They were actually the first one to show up.

While Noctis was roaming around the room, obviously looking for something but the couple couldn’t care less. They were completely engaged in talking, caressing each other lovingly and sweetly.

“I’m glad you could make it” the advisor softly spoke to his lover, “I feared we wouldn’t get to see each other this week since the prince had more duties for me."

"Yeah, the last train was a little delayed - it was pure luck” they admitted, gently leaning against their boyfriend’s body who held them in his embrace.

“I missed you” he whispered into their ear, not wanting Noctis to hear all too much of their private talk.

“I missed you, too” they replied, listening to his soothing heartbeat.

“Specs, have you seen my Outlast disk?” Noctis suddenly asked, tearing their little romantic moment apart with his loud voice.

“Your.. What?” he wondered, carefully letting go of his s/o so they wouldn’t be embarrassed because Noctis saw their intimacy.

“Outlast disk” Noctis impatiently replied, “The game."

"I fear not. Isn’t that the game your majesty banned?” Ignis asked, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose before he started preparing some simple snacks - another task Noctis randomly threw at him.

“Exactly. We’re gonna play that tonight” the prince announced, lifting some books up off the ground, desperately looking for it, “Last time you cleaned up, did you by any chance see it?”

“I just told you - no” the advisor repeated.

“You’re.. Cleaning for him?” his s/o asked, surprised by what their boyfriend does as job.

“Indeed, it’s part of my duty to look after him.. If he’s feeling especially lazy but this room is a mess, I help him” he explained to them, making sure to hold eye contact for as long as possible - simply because he missed those gorgeous eyes.

“I’m not lazy!” Noctis complained from afar.

“Yes he is” Ignis quietly mumbled to his s/o, smiling at them.

Once all crownsguard members and their partners had arrived, Noctis grew impatient. He couldn’t wait to play the game, it was written all over his face - even though he was the one who initially hated it. Drinks and laughs were shared, jokes were yelled through the room and even funny party games were played. It was all fun and games until Noctis started up the game.

As educated as Ignis was, he had never heard of this game. He only knew it was banned so he prepared for something terrible. While everyone fed on the snacks he prepared, Ignis just clutched onto the bottle of vodka he bought for a cocktail. The first minutes already bothered him, the entire setting didn’t seem appealing to him. While the game mechanics still interested him, the asylum theme highly concerned him. That was a strong sign that they weren’t going to play some easy kindergarten spooky game. Oh hell no.

It didn’t take long before his s/o cuddled up in his arms so they could hide their face whenever something scary happened. While Prompto left hours ago, Gladiolus was pissed off and Noctis’ s/o laid passed out on his bed, moving every now and then.. Ignis was casually drinking on. He didn’t really mean to but the urge of playing a drinking game suddenly got to him. Each time a jump scare occurred, he took a sip. By the time they reached Noctis’ favorite scene, his vision was already blurred. Usually, he would’ve tried to understand the story and the antagonists’ actions but.. he was to hammered.

“Oh my god..” his s/o whispered, burying her face in his torso.

Blinking a few times, Ignis slowly saw the scene unfold. It was then that he took not of the person attacking the protagonist: Eddie Gluskin.

“Admittedly, he has a good taste in clothing” Ignis proclaimed, “He’s dressing nicely."

Shocked by the only thing their boyfriend had to say about this scene, they glared up at him, his drunken glance meeting their sober ones. By the time they reached the ending - which didn’t take all to long thanks to Noctis’ good memory - Ignis was still sipping on his bottle, his s/o was shaking and Noctis happily finished the game. Gladio had left hours ago with his s/o. Ignis was the only one still around.. More or less.

"Specs what did you think of him?” the curious prince wondered, “It was intense right?"

"He wears nice clothes.. Is a little insane.. Kills innocent people.. But his taste in clothing is good” Ignis repeated, slurring on almost every word, “It’s a bad guy, we should stay away from him.”

If only Ignis hadn’t been drinking too much, perhaps he’d have other views of him. The only reason he even took that bottle was his own silent fear. The advisor was way too proud to share how gross this game was to him and that all characters highly disgusted him. From head to toe, he wanted to bathe them in shampoo and potion. The only thing he could actively recall at this point were Eddie’s fine clothes. Too bad his s/o witnessed it all and was ready to bother him all night with it.

Masterlist

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wiremagazine · 7 years ago

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THE FORT LAUDERDALE 9TH ANNUAL OUTSHINE FILM FESTIVAL TO CELEBRATE LGBTQ FILMMAKING

By Rafa Carvajal

If you love films, you must attend the 9th edition of the Fort Lauderdale OUTshine Film Festival (October 6-15), featuring over 30 new films, great community events and honoring LGBTQ actor and activist Tommy Dorfman with the Lavender Award for excellence in LGBTQ film. Tommy plays the role of Ryan Shaver in Netflix's 13 Reasons Why and is a vocal supporter of LGBTQ rights. OUTshine’s opening night event kicks off at 8 p.m. in the NSU Art Museum Theatre with the screening of Close Knit (a Japanese film that won the Teddy Jury Award and the Panorama Audience Award at the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year), followed by the red carpet and gala party. Go to outshinefilm.com for the full list of film screenings and to purchase film and event tickets.

I interviewed Joe Bilancio, OUTshine Film Festival’s director of programming, to learn more about this year’s films and how the festival is put together.

Rafa Carvajal: Tell our readers about his year’s OUTshine Film Festival. Joe Bilancio: As usual, the OUTshine Film Festival in Fort Lauderdale is sure to be a great time. Whether you have been coming the whole time we've been around or are new to the festival, it’s a wonderful chance to see the best of LGBTQ film along with parties and other special events.

RC: What are the highlights of the upcoming Festival? JB: I would not be kidding if I said they are all highlights, ha-ha. Of course, the opening night film Close Knit, which goes beyond the typical trans narrative and creates a sweet story that will be adored by all. Tom of Finland, the centerpiece film, goes beyond what you think you know about the man who created one of, if not the most iconic figure in gay culture and it’s a narrative. Saturday Church will have everyone on their feet singing and dancing in the aisles, yet it’s a poignant tale that needs to be seen.

RC: Which films do you think will stand out most and why? JB: High Low Forty, as it is a well crafted American indie film that many will relate to as family, and especially brothers. Its dry humor will play well to this audience. The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin, Behind the Curtain: Todrick Hall and Chavela are all amazing documentaries that bring us up-close and personal with people who we might think we know... but do we?

RC: Describe this year’s festival in 3 words. JB: Do not miss! Do characters count? Ha-ha.

RC: Which events do you think attendees should look forward to the most and why? JB: I think one of the most interesting aspects of the festival is when we try to not only entertain, but also educate audiences. We often do this through the films themselves, but this year we are doing a panel discussion after a wonderful film called Families Like Yours, and it is meant to educate everyone on families of same-sex parents and how they are no different. While the film does a great job, we thought it would be a great way to reach out to the community and those contemplating adoption, foster parenting or other means to becoming a family. We are bringing together members of the community doing this type of work and people from the film to present a wonderful event. Even if you are not thinking about adopting now, or ever, it is still a great way to learn about this important topic.

RC: Which films are your personal favorites and why did you like them so much? JB: OK, I knew it was coming. I hate, hate, hate the question, as there are so many favorites and for various reasons... but I love Rift. It is a genre film that is hard to classify as elements of supernatural, romance, drama and a few others are evident. It takes place in Iceland and the rugged beauty and isolation play such an important role. I also love Kiss Me, as it is just silly and campy enough without going over the edge, and how many women can't relate to having 72 exes?

RC: Why is OUTshine so important for our community and LGBTQ filmmaking in general? JB: I think my answer might have been a little different even a few weeks ago, but now more than ever it is an escape to a place where we are still free to be who we are, and an opportunity to see ourselves portrayed on-screen. It is a chance to have a little fun and spend time together in a world that has its share of difficult times. While we are lucky to live in an area that is open and accepting for the most part, there are still members of our community who don't have that amity, and we provide that to them... even if just for a week.

RC: Explain the process OUTshine goes through in selecting the films for the upcoming Festival. JB: That sounds so easy and matter of fact, and it really isn't. But there are basically a few parts. We look at major festivals and see what LGBTQ films they have and try to get those films to take a look at and see if they make sense for our audience, as all audiences are different. We also have filmmakers send us films to take a look at. Once we have the pool of films, we then utilize a wonderful screening committee that watches and evaluates the films again, mainly on the merits of the films, but also the "fit" for the audience. The joy of the committee is that they are a microcosm of the audience and not film professionals who often look at films differently than audiences. With that knowledge, we decide what best fits the festival.

RC: What is your job at OUTshine Film Festival and what does your role entail?JB: I am the director of programming, and to boil it down to a simple sounding description, I find the films, watch the films, have the committee watch the films and then decide what films will make up the festival. A bit simplistic I know, as there is more to it, but that is it in a nutshell. Programming the monthly screening series 954GLOW is also the responsibility of the programming function.

RC: Who is your favorite movie director of all time? Why? JB: Wes Anderson as I appreciate the quirkiness, yet accessibility of his films. They are art house films, yet they go mainstream. Most people have seen The Grand Budapest Hotel, and all of the Star Wars films. It really is a great mix.

RC: What do you enjoy the most about being the programming director of OUTshine Film Festival? JB: OUTshine is filled with an amazing staff (Victor Gimenez, Alexis Bosch and Jesus de la Salas), wonderful board members, amazing volunteers, and I think all of us and myself just want to ensure that the audience has a great time. That is the number one goal. It really is a family. We work hard, but also try not to take ourselves too seriously and I think that shows in the end.

RC: Is there anything else you would like to share with Wire Magazine readers about the Festival or any of the films? JB: I think they need to know that we are not just films. We have parties, special events, and access to filmmakers for Q&A session and informal meet and greets. Also, festival films are not scary, ethereal films. While often provoking and timely, they are also pure entertainment like no other. Take a chance and I think you will be happy you did.

SPOTLIGHT FILMS: 14 OF THE BEST 2017 OUTSHINE FILM FESTIVAL FORT LAUDERDALE EDITION FILMS

Photos provided by OUTshine Film Festival

120 BEATS PER MINUTE (120 BATTEMENTS PAR MINUTE) (France, 2017) Director: Robin Campillo In French, with English subtitles

OUTshine Synopsis: In the early 1990s, with AIDS having already claimed countless lives for nearly ten years, ACT UP-PARIS activists multiply actions to fight general indifference. Nathan, a newcomer to the group, has his world shaken up by Sean, a radical militant who throws his last bits of strength to the struggle for rights, access to treatment, and to be more than a statistic. 120 Beats Per Minute is more than a historical epic of the ACT UP movement in Paris; it is a beautiful story of deep love that is rarely seen on-screen.

AFTER LOUIE (U.S., 2017) Director: Vincent Gagliostro

OUTshine Synopsis: Sam (Alan Cumming), is an artist/activist from ACT UP who lived through the early years of HIV/AIDS. He is scarred and still struggling with survivor's guilt. He is bewildered by a younger generation of carefree gay men with their uninhibited use of social media, sexting, and seeming political indifference, but when he meets the seductive young Braeden (Zachary Booth) their pants quickly come down and, eventually, so does Sam's guard. As the pair become increasingly intimate, an intergenerational relationship blossoms between them-one capable of reawakening Sam's artistic soul and reviving his wilted heart.

AGAINST THE LAW (UK, 2017) Director: Fergus O'Brien

OUTshine Synopsis: The film follows the affair between celebrated Fleet Street journalist Peter Wildeblood and serviceman Eddy McNally. The exposure of their relationship had devastating consequences, leading to public vilification and prison sentences for Wildeblood and his friends Michael Pitt-Rivers and Lord Montagu of Beaulieu. Enduring a year-long incarceration that involved attempts to alter his sexual orientation, Wildeblood emerged with a determination to challenge the draconian laws that shattered the lives of generations of gay men. The narrative is interspersed with commentary from many of the actual people portrayed in the film.

B&B (UK, 2017) Director: Joe Ahearne

OUTshine Synopsis: Handsome gay Londoners Marc and Fred plan a weekend of mischief, returning to bait the owner of a remote B&B who they successfully sued a year prior for not allowing them to share a bed. Events take a deadly turn when another guest, with far more sinister intentions, arrives. Marc and Fred's weekend of fun turns into a suspenseful battle for survival in this smart, comedic dark thriller. B&B will keep you guessing 'til the end.

CLOSE KNIT (KARERA GA HONKI DE AMU TOKI WA) (Japan, 2017) Director: Naoko Ogigami In Japanese with English subtitles

OUTshine Synopsis: After being abandoned by her mother yet again, 11-year-old Tomo moves in with her good-natured uncle Makio, only to find that he is now living with his transgender girlfriend Rinko. Though a bit surprised at first, Tomo soon bonds with Rinko, a soft-spoken caretaker who makes exquisite lunch boxes. Rinko teaches Tomo to knit and showers her with motherly warmth. Though faced with prejudices and challenges, the three reimagine the nuclear family, on their own terms. Close Knit is a big-hearted film that depicts an alternative family structure with gentle candor.

DREAM BOAT (Germany, 2017) Director: Tristan Ferland Milewski In English, German, French and Arabic with English subtitles

OUTshine Synopsis: Once a year, the Dream Boat sets sail for a gay-men-only cruise. Far from their families and political restrictions, we follow five men from five countries on a quest for their dreams. The cruise promises seven days of sunshine, love, and freedom – but on board are also their personal stories, their doubts and uncertainties. Through it all Dream Boat shows us once and for all that each of us needs, craves and wants the same thing: someone to love us for exactly who we are.

FAMILIES LIKE YOURS (U.S., 2017) Director: Rodolfo Eduardo Moro

OUTshine Synopsis: Through candid interviews and humorous real life stories, Families Like Yours demystifies LGBTQ families and their lives, showcasing that they are just as loving, busy, and complicated as any other family. The film follows six families as they attempt to balance work and school, rush kids to sports practice, and deal with diaper duty. From across the nation and in all different stages of family life, from conception to grandchildren, these families represent a cross-section of the modern American family – the only difference is that they are LGBTQ families.

FREAK SHOW (U.S., 2017) Director: Trudie Styler

OUTshine Synopsis: In the vein of Clueless and Napoleon Dynamite, Freak Show tells the moving, heartwarming, and hilarious story of Billy Bloom, a boldly confident, wildly eccentric teenager, who faces intolerance and persecution at his ultra conservative high school, and decides to fight back on behalf of all the misunderstood freaks of the world by running for homecoming queen. Starring Alex Lawther with Laverne Cox and Bette Midler.

GOD'S OWN COUNTRY (UK, 2017) Director: Francis Lee

OUTshine Synopsis: Johnny Saxby works long hours on his family's remote farm in the north of England. He numbs the daily frustration of his lonely existence with nightly binge-drinking and casual sex. But when a handsome Romanian migrant worker arrives to take up temporary work on the family farm, Johnny suddenly finds himself having to deal with emotions he has never felt before. As they begin working closely together, an intense relationship starts to form which could change Johnny's life forever. God's Own Country is captivating and broodingly beautiful and a must see!

I DREAM IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE (SUEÑO EN OTRO IDIOMA) (Mexico, 2017) Director: Ernesto Contreras In Spanish with English subtitles

OUTshine Synopsis: An indigenous language (Zikril) is in peril as its last two speakers had a quarrel in the past and haven't spoken to each other in over 50 years. Martín, a young linguist, will undertake the challenge to bring the old friends back together so he can obtain a recorded history of the language and study it. However, hidden in the past, in the heart of the jungle, lies a secret concealed by the language that makes it difficult to believe that the heart of Zikril will beat once again.

LAST DAYS IN HAVANA (ÚLTIMOS DÍAS EN LA HABANA) (Cuba, 2016) Director: Fernando Perez In Spanish with English subtitles

OUTshine Synopsis: A tragicomedy that tackles the subject of friendship in a city on the verge of substantial change. Miguel and Diego are neighbors and friends. Miguel is a dishwasher who dreams of settling in New York waiting for a visa that never seems to arrive. Diego is a homosexual suffering from AIDS who puts his dreams and cheerfulness to good use in his struggle to carry on enjoying every single day of his life from his bed. This peculiar pair are surrounded by an oddball set of characters from all walks of life.

SATURDAY CHURCH (U.S., 2017) Director: Damon Cardasis

OUTshine Synopsis: Working single mother, Amara, leaves her two boys at home with their domineering Aunt Rose. Rose has her eyes on the older son Ulysses as he steals nylons and wears his mother's shoes. Ulysses is just beginning to explore his identity and sexuality. When Rose demands an end to it, the boy escapes to the Village and discovers both supportive friends and the inspiration to become exactly what he is feeling inside. A musical coming-of-age story is all the better for tackling multiple sides of the young LGBTQ experience, with compassion and heart combined.

THE LAVENDER SCARE (U.S., 2017) Director: Josh Howard

OUTshine Synopsis: With the United States gripped in the panic of the Cold War, President Dwight D. Eisenhower deems homosexuals to be "security risks" and orders the immediate firing of any government employee discovered to be gay or lesbian. It triggers a vicious witch hunt that ruins tens of thousands of lives and thrusts an unlikely hero into the forefront of what would become the modern LGBTQ rights movement. The Lavender Scare shines a light on a chapter of American history that has never received the attention it deserves.

TOM OF FINLAND (Denmark, 2017) Director: Dome Karukoski In Finnish with English subtitles

OUTshine Synopsis: Touko Laaksonen, a decorated officer, returns home after a harrowing and heroic experience serving his country in World War II, but life in Finland during peacetime proves equally distressing. He finds post-war Helsinki rampant with homophobic persecution with men around him even being pressured to marry women and have children. Touko finds refuge in his liberating art, specializing in homoerotic drawings of muscular men free of inhibitions. His work, made famous by his signature 'Tom of Finland', became the emblem of a generation of men and fanned the flames of a gay revolution.

This was originally published in Wire Magazine Issue 37.2017

#wire magazine #wiremag.com #wire #miami #miami beach #south beach #sobe #fort lauderdale #wynwood #wilton manors #gay #lgbt #glbt #OUTshine Film Festival

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usatrendingsports · 7 years ago

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2017 UFC Battle of the Yr: Gaethje vs. Johnson blows away the competitors

For a yr that was brief on huge occasions and large pay-per-view buys for UFC, there was no scarcity of persistently excellent fights in terms of motion.

From all-out wars with dramatic adjustments of momentum to extremely technical affairs which organically advanced into one thing extra, 2017 produced a variety of fights value remembering.

Let’s take a more in-depth have a look at the 5 finest from the Octagon over the previous 12 months, voted on by a panel of CBS Sports activities blended martial arts consultants.

1. Justin Gaethje TKO2 Michael Johnson (TUF: Redemption Finale) — July 7 at T-Cell Area in Las Vegas

It may be troublesome, in idea, to award a bout that did not go even two full rounds as the perfect of the yr. However motion star and half caveman Gaethje walked by means of at the least 5 rounds of harm to rally twice from the brink of defeat to complete Johnson within the former World Sequence of Preventing light-weight champion’s UFC debut. This was savage theater at its best.

If Gaethje’s second combat of 2017 is any indication — a combat of the yr candidate and third-round knockout defeat in opposition to Eddie Alvarez in December — UFC could have discovered itself MMA’s equal to boxing Corridor of Famer Arturo Gatti. Gaethje not solely showcased a Gatti-like lust for buying and selling heavy blows at shut vary in opposition to Johnson, it was his dramatic recuperative talents that helped the combat develop into so memorable.

Regardless of faster fingers and extra correct punches, Johnson routinely fell into the entice that Gaethje’s fixed stress created. Regardless of saying earlier than the combat he wasn’t going to be lured right into a conflict, Johnson could not hold from discovering himself in a single. The truth that Johnson saved discovering success at such a tempo and distance wound up changing into his undoing in the long term.

After getting off to fast begin with straight left fingers, the southpaw Johnson landed the largest strike of the combat with lower than 30 seconds to go in Spherical 1 when he wobbled Gaethje with a brutal proper uppercut. Johnson completed the spherical on the verge of making a stoppage in opposition to the fence with clear strikes from his toes.

However given new life, Gaethje merely would not cease coming ahead and the insane tempo seemed to be catching up with Johnson to open Spherical 2. That’s, till he wobbled Gaethje as soon as extra with a lightning fast straight left hand. Johnson emptied the tank alongside the cage wall however could not end Gaethje.

Slowly however absolutely, the momentum swung again to Gaethje, first by utilizing his chin and second by counting on his sick fuel tank to outlast Johnson. A proper uppercut late in Spherical 2 started Johnson’s exit by wobbling him. A second (and ultimately a 3rd) did enormous harm alongside the cage earlier than Gaethje compelled the stoppage within the closing seconds with knees to the face.

This combat was as brutal because it was thrilling, with the type of drastic momentum adjustments that breeds new followers.

2. Darren Elkins KO3 Mirsad Bektic (UFC 209) — March four at T-Cell Area in Las Vegas

Mirsad Bektic’s inventory could not have been any greater coming into UFC 209. Together with his unbeaten report and dyed blue hair, the Bosnian featherweight entered the Octagon a -700 betting favourite and was lauded a potential future champion in ready. He appeared to again up mentioned hype by connecting with clear proper fingers and taking Elkins down early in Spherical 1. The spherical ended with Elkins’ face a swollen mess and his blood gratuitously poured everywhere in the canvas.

After a cageside physician inspected the nasty minimize above Elkins’ proper eye between rounds, he was surprisingly allowed to proceed. The urgency helped create extra motion in Spherical 2, though it was Elkins who started on the incorrect finish of it as soon as once more. Issues started to vary, nevertheless, as Elkins saved scrambling into advantageous positions on the bottom. Nevertheless it was Spherical Three the place Elkins, nicknamed “The Injury,” almost secured cult hero standing with how dramatic his comeback grew to become.

Pressured to eat a gentle food regimen of fresh strikes to be able to survive, Elkins continued to combat for higher place. And with Bektic’s stamina fading late within the spherical, Elkins paired two proper fingers and a kick to the face alongside the cage to complete him in gorgeous trend. UFC announcer Jon Anik’s name of “Do you imagine it!?!?!?” correctly summed up the sensation of those that watched simply how far Elkins got here from behind.

The image is value 1,000 phrases after Elkins rallied to be Bektic. Getty Pictures

Three. TJ Dillashaw TKO2 Cody Garbrandt (UFC 217) — Nov. four at Madison Sq. Backyard in New York

There’s nothing in fight sports activities like a real grudge match and these former teammates spent months exchanging trash discuss forward of their bantamweight title bout, which added a palpable layer of depth as soon as they entered the Octagon.

With regards to pure expertise and abilities, this will have been the perfect combat on paper in 2017 for UFC between prime 5 pound-for-pound skills. However whereas method was on full show over the 2 rounds of this co-main occasion, so have been fireworks and drama, which is what went a good distance in making this one among 2017’s most compelling duels.

Dillashaw finally backed up each phrase he spoke within the build-up by knocking Garbrandt out handy him his first professional defeat. However the former champion wanted to outlive being dropped and badly damage by a proper hand within the closing seconds of Spherical 1 to get there. Garbrandt, who taunted his opponent by dancing early in Spherical 2 after Dillashaw missed a head kick, finally could have develop into over assured in how he carried himself.

With the pro-Garbrandt crowd yelling, “F— you TJ,” Dillashaw responded with a left kick to the pinnacle which momentarily dropped Garbrandt. It wasn’t lengthy earlier than Dillashaw caught him as soon as extra with a brief proper hook to the chin that floored Garbrandt and arrange the end through hammer strikes. Dillashaw added the second’s exclamation level by leaping into Garbrandt’s face and screaming one closing burst of disrespect after the stoppage.

The celebration after Dillashaw’s win was super. USATSI

four. Dustin Poirier MD3 Jim Miller (UFC 208) — Feb. 11 at Barclays Middle in Brooklyn, New York

In the event you listened to the sound bites from every fighter forward of this light-weight duel, each predicted a toe-to-toe conflict during which neither would take a step backward. That prediction grew to become an entertaining actuality because the pair of southpaws traded heavy punches and even heavier leg strikes all through in a stand-up brawl.

The fireworks escalated to a different stage within the closing 10 seconds of Spherical 1 as every fighter was rocked after buying and selling haymakers at shut vary. Poirier then wobbled and bloodied Miller in Spherical 2 with straight left fingers till Miller rallied together with his again in opposition to the cage.

However the bulk of the drama occurred within the closing spherical as a seemingly fading Miller started to show the tide with a brief proper hand that buckled Poirier and a sequence of leg kicks, which compelled him to modify stances. Miller appeared near a submission late till Poirier, who claimed an in depth resolution, held on regardless of a massively swollen proper shin.

5. Robert Whittaker UD5 Yoel Romero (UFC 213) — July eight at T-Cell Area in Las Vegas

This interim middleweight championship bout was fought at a particularly excessive stage over 5 tense rounds, and it showcased the evolution of Whittaker right into a star within the making. The native of New Zealand was compelled to beat adversity to be able to rating the largest victory of his profession after struggling a grade two medial ligament damage to his left knee due to a Romero leg strike.

Whereas Whittaker’s toughness and takedown protection proved to be the story in the long term, he endured an enormous surge from Romero, who dominated Spherical 2 together with his wrestling. Romero’s aggressiveness finally stole from his fuel tank, nevertheless, and price him late as Whittaker wore him down and floored him in Spherical four with a proper hand.

The ultimate spherical featured each fighters battling exhaustion, but nonetheless coming ahead in thrilling trend. Each landed huge photographs as the stress and drama solely escalated.

Honorable mentions: Eddie Alvarez TKO3 Justin Gaethje (UFC 218), David Teymur UD3 Lando Vannata (UFC 209), Jessica Andrade UD3 Angela Hill (UFC Houston), Jessica Andrade UD3 Claudia Gadelha (UFC Saitama), Derrick Lewis KO2 Travis Browne (UFC Halifax).

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yahoo-puck-daddy-blog · 7 years ago

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Fanboys, Freddie Hockey and Justin Bieber's sports take (Puck Daddy Countdown)

NASHVILLE, TN – JUNE 03: Frederick Gaudreau #32 of the Nashville Predators celebrates after scoring a second period goal against Matt Murray #30 of the Pittsburgh Penguins (not pictured) in Game Three of the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Final at the Bridgestone Arena on June 3, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

(In which Ryan Lambert takes a look at some of the biggest issues and stories in the NHL, and counts them down.)

8. The Rinne Haters!!! (again)

Well gang, this time last week we were all saying, “As long as Rinne doesn’t completely crap his pants in Game 2, the Preds should be fine.” And wouldn’t you know it, he crapped his pants like a hundred times, to the point that incredibly smart, cool people who are so handsome were saying, “Well I think you probably gotta go to Juuse Saros in Game 3.”

But then Rinne did a crazy thing: He allowed two goals on 52 shots (.962) and the series is even and everything is fine again. No more controversy! He’s still only .886 in the Cup Final, but Matt Murray is .902, and went .862 in Nashville. So who’s laughing now?

7. Miserable fanboys

And speaking of the whole “Murray looked bad in Nashville” thing, well, it takes a certain kind of psychopathy to start screaming like the sky is falling because the series is…… tied?

See, I understand, the Penguins have not looked good at any point except for those two stretches of three-ish minutes where they scored the bulk of their goals in the series. And even then, those were, as the soccer-likers say, against the run of play. They’re still getting caved in. And if you don’t think injuries are a big reason why, you haven’t been paying attention.

To that end, the Cup Final is progressing more or less how I expected: Predators absolutely raking, but the series is tied because it’s hard to shut down all that talent.

People in Pittsburgh cannot, however, accept this. They want Murray benched. They want a miracle comeback from Letang. They want Mario to come out of retirement (probably). They want Sullivan fired.

Now it’s a best-of-three instead of best-of-seven. And the Penguins are at home twice. It’s not like this is some sort of Horror From The Mind Of Clive Barker.

The hottest take of all is that Crosby and Malkin’s legacies will be tarnished if they somehow don’t drag this banged-up team kicking and screaming to another Cup against a team that’s been perhaps the deadliest in the league since February.

[Follow Puck Daddy on social media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Tumblr]

Man, imagine if Pittsburgh got the results they actually deserved in this series? It’s a sweep. At best it’s 3-1. It would be impossible to talk all those fanboys off all those bridges.

6. Not today with the trade rumors, alright?

A lot of teams have been out of the playoffs for at least a month at this point, and you can see people getting restless. That means we’re dealing with a lot of trade rumors. And I gotta tell ya, folks: Not a fan.

You wanna make a trade, go for it. By all means. But I can’t be bothered to pay attention to whether the Kings might trade a third liner or something. The whole expansion draft is coming up a week or two after the Cup Final ends. We’re gonna have a lot to talk about. Give it a week!!!

5. Freddie Hockey

I feel weirdly bad for Frederick Gaudreau, who has three goals in this Cup Final and had literally never scored in the NHL before that.

My man was just in the ECHL last season and now he’s the big Stanley Cup Hero to date (sorry, Jake Guentzel). But here’s the thing. He has a total of 15 NHL games under his belt. He has 3-1-4 in those 15 games. He’ll probably make the big club next season — or at least get a long look — and that might be when his trouble starts.

He was undrafted. His career high in the QMJHL was only 71 points (believe me, in the Q that’s not exactly a ton). The reason I am nervous for him is that he is building himself a reputation to which he is unlikely to ever live up. We’re talkin’ Dave Bolland status. Ville Leino, maybe. And I feel bad because he is a pure and beautiful boy.

He modestly lit up the AHL the past two years, yes. He had 40 goals and 90 points in 141 games, which is pretty good.

But man, three pretty damn big goals to start your career is a great way to convince everyone you’re the next true genius of the sport. He isn’t.

Hockey great Wayne Gretzky, right, greets former NBA player Charles Barkley, left, during a news conference before Game 4 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals between the Nashville Predators and the Pittsburgh Penguins Monday, June 5, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

4. The Round Mound of Watchable Intermission Segments

I said during Game 4 that it’s amazing what a talking head with an actual personality does to make an NHL intermission report engaging and fun. I was wrong to say it. I think Mike Milbury and Jeremy Roenick have personalities. “Dumb old grump” is a personality, right? (Keith Jones is a flat-out boring guy who’s only wrong 60 percent of the time, which makes him the best analyst NBC has.)

But if you watch basketball games, Charles Barkley is a dumb old grump on the NBA intermission shows, too. But he’s a gregarious dumb old grump, and I think that’s the difference. Say what you want about Sir Charles, but he’s always been a Personality first and foremost.

Try as poor Liam McHugh or Kathryn Tappen might, they cannot wring blood (entertainment) from stones (chronically wrong people). How many times do you watch an NBA halftime segment and it’s just Kenny Smith and Shaq making fun of Charles Barkley for being a fat, grumpy dope? More than you’d ever think, that’s for sure.

We remember the times Tappen or, like, Bob McKenzie make fun of Mike Milbury for being a horrible GM, because it’s both funny and true. They are basically winking to the audience: “This man is not qualified to give you even vague platitudes about what teams should or shouldn’t be doing.” And yet they persist on television, turning every segment they touch into grim, skippable affairs that are also occasionally tinged with Cold War-era xenophobia.

There’s a lesson in this. Neither NBC nor the NHL will learn it.

Let’s note here that Carrie Underwood did the segment on the first intermission, and it was also just fine and nice. But the fact that Eddie Olczyk kept calling her “Mrs. Mike Fisher” is some pathetic stuff. Mike Fisher is, what, the 80th-best center in hockey? He’s been in the league since 1999 and still doesn’t have anything close to 300 goals. Meanwhile, Carrie Underwood has 65 million records worldwide since 2007. Mike Fisher’s career high in points is only 53. He’s Mr. Carrie Underwood, and to pretend otherwise is to grossly overrate him in any way, shape, or form.

ON THE OTHER HAND: All this shows you what a sad organization the NHL is. Are you, like, a Q-list celebrity? You will be invited to present at the NHL Awards, guaranteed. The annoying neighbor kid from Small Wonder will be presenting the Vezina this year. And if you’re actually famous, like Charles Barkley is, you will be given a platform to say literally whatever you want about hockey. Barkley could have gone up there and said Sidney Crosby is a vampire (a popular theory that is impossible to disprove) and everyone would have chuckled straight through it.

And how did Barkley get to Game 4? How did he end up on a panel with Wayne Gretzky? Because he said on a national basketball broadcast — something lots of people actually watch — that hockey is good. Man, this is a thirsty-ass league when it comes to literally any amount of attention.

Can you imagine if Tom Cruise or someone like that were a hockey fan? They’d just give him the goddamn Jets.

3. Sticking with it

Hey whaddaya know: If you continually out-attempt, outshoot, and out-chance your opponent — and you also get the benefit of last change and a few bounces to finally go your way — you’re gonna pick up some easy Ws.

And because the Preds haven’t really deviated from their approach, they’ve also made all four of these games pretty fun.

I’m a big fan of this Final. Up-and-down hockey. The league could use more of this.

2. Nashville

Folks, I don’t know if it’s ever gonna work as a hockey market. Not like Winnipeg, where they struggle to sell out a 15,000-seat arena now that the novelty’s worn off and the team still sucks. These Nashville people are all going to go away in like seven or eight years when this team stops being competitive!

I’m from Canada, by the way.

1. The Justin Bieber sports take

Not specifically hockey-related but apparently people were all over Justin Bieber for wearing a hockey jersey that was not his “home team” Toronto Maple Leafs. So Bieber went on this mini-rant on Twitter about it. And it is the purest and rightest sports take I have ever experienced:

I support all sports I'll put ANY jersey from ANY pro team if I'm whack for wearing jerseys they give me out of love then I'm Whack

— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) June 5, 2017

Leafs above all but other than that u give me ANY JERSEY THAT LOOKS COOL ILL THROW IT ON

— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) June 5, 2017

I also don't know enough about sports to Really have valid opinion but I do enjoy sports!! And enjoy any high level sports game. Any team

— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) June 5, 2017

Hell yeah, dude. Hell yeah. Doesn’t matter to me who it is doing the cool stuff in sports, as long as the stuff is cool.

We can all learn a lesson from this. If you don’t like Sidney Crosby because you’re a fan of another team in the same division, you have to ask yourself how being a Flyers/Rangers/Islanders/Devils fan has broken your brain. Because it definitely has.

This goes for any sport. You don’t have to like the fact that the Warriors are running the Cavs out of the Finals, but damn do you gotta respect how ruthlessly they’re operating here. I don’t like the Patriots for their politics, but let’s not act like Tom Brady isn’t the best to ever put a helmet on.

Basically in sports I just want to see elite athletes do amazing stuff I have never seen before. That’s the real thing worth rooting for.

Thank you, Justin Bieber, for saying what needed to be said. Purpose was a perfectly good album. Thanks everyone. Have a nice week.

(Not ranked this week: The bad breath controversy, which I refuse to call Breathgate.

As a means of highlighting just how humorless the NHL is, generally speaking, we literally turned what was a very, very obvious joke from P.K. Subban into a three-day controversy. This league, man. Dumbest in the world.)

Ryan Lambert is a Puck Daddy columnist. His email is here and his Twitter is here.

(All statistics via Corsica unless otherwise noted.)