#retrospective motorbikes

[motocrunch]

Mash Motors X-Ride 125 – Image: Mash Motors

 

Mash Motors is a retro French brand that’s been hugely popular in mainland Europe and has now expanded into the UK through Motomondo.

The moto brand takes its inspiration from the late sixties and early seventies era of motorcycle design. Like many of the brands on this list, it utilises Japanese-derived engines built in China to offer competitive pricing and low-maintenance motorcycles in a stylish package.

Of all Mash’s 125 model range, the X-RIDE 125 gives off the strongest seventies vibe with its classic enduro styling. Gold-finished 17 ” wheels, a side-mounted race place and a teardrop fuel tank are perhaps the strongest indicators of this nostalgic style.

[sadesluvr]

CAT AND MOUSE. (III)

Miguel O'Hara x Black Cat! F! Reader Warnings: None A/N: Longer chapter here! We're throwing it back to your first encounter with Miguel and Jess, featuring some backstory. PREVIOUS CHAPTER | READ ON AO3 | SERIES MASTERLIST

One, two, three. Jump. 

One, two, three. Jump. 

One, two, three – four? Fall. Don’t forget your hook. 

The Lower East Side of Manhattan, though buzzing, was not one of your favourite areas to endure a life-or-death chase in. The tenement-style buildings brought about a good bit of consistency, and the dark alleys provided safety, but the boutiques and nightclubs ruined your sense of levelling; building height always falling somewhere between being too high and too low. 

Hammerhead was onto you. Well, his henchmen, at least.

You’d made the mistake of teaming up with him – a rising mafioso – in a particularly emotionally charged moment in your life; having negotiated with the man to help get yourself out of prison after your fabricated display of mental instability had been denounced.

All it had taken was a bit of hush money thrown in the prison psychologists' way, and the upholding of your promise to attend the government-mandated classes. Then you’d been as good as new. 

On paper, a thief and a mafia boss didn’t seem like a great pairing - and retrospectively, it wasn’t. Both of you were liars, con artists and utterly selfish; but you’d found that there was a strange level of trust between you, almost in a father/daughter way (You were one of the few people who knew him as Joseph).

If he had a shipment or a particularly wealthy associate, he’d let you in on it; and you’d drape yourself in one of your finest dresses to schmooze with rich folk at the beginning of the evening, yet by night they’d find themselves robbed. In turn, you’d used your private investigator skills to weed out any rats in the family. 

It was rather nice until it turned sour. Hammer, as greedy as ever, sought an opportunity to rise in the ranks, and started dropping little clues that you were the one stealing from all the wealthy people in town. News travelled, and when you confronted him, he shot at you. Narrowly missed, but a shot nonetheless.  

In turn you stole from him; not just the material items but wads of cash themselves, even tipping off the NYPD about inner dealings. It wasn’t comparable to attempted murder, but you were certain that you’d have fun in maiming his pathetic goons. 

SCREECH. 

Their motorbikes skidded along the pavement as they dipped and slid into alleyways in search of you, unsure as to whether you were above, or right behind them. 

In this case, it was somewhere in between. 

Blood rushed to your head as you slid upside down, putting your entire faith in your trusted grappling hook.  

“Looking for me?” 

Jumping off the rope, you swiftly retracted the object and lobbed it into one of the men's faces, making his nose bleed. As he was stunned, you kicked him in the groin, the heel of your boot wedging into his penis.  

“Fucking bitch!” One of the remaining two of them yelled, and the metallic click of a gun seemingly unlocked in your muscle memory. Using the weakened man's body as a shield, you flinched as the bullets penetrated his body, causing him to jostle and writhe like a fish out of water. 

You didn’t have the time to think. Quickly sliding the gun from his back pocket, you shot at them, aim slightly off from your awkward position behind a quickly dying body. Sliding it into your holster (a new addition thanks to your recent experiences), you used your grappling hook as a lasso, knocking the two of them in the process. 

“Agh!” they yelled, momentarily falling to their feet. You took off in the opposite direction, running towards the light of the main road.  

One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three. Your feet slammed onto the ground, your mind a muddle as you hastily tossed the hook and latched it onto the branch of a tree. Just as you were about to jump, you heard an engine again. 

Shit! Perhaps Hammer had sent more men than you’d thought.  

Fortunately for you, that wasn’t the case. This sound belonged to a fresher, snazzier motorbike, and a black woman with yellow glasses and gorgeous, free-flowing dark curly hair was barrelling down the road, with a red and blue figure following close behind. She was shouting something – most of it incoherent under the roar of the engine and busy Manhattan streets – but you were certain you heard the word ‘Hammerhead’. 

Narrowing your eyes, you scoped the scene from amongst the green leaves of the trees, watching as the two men emerged from the alley, somewhat disorientated. 

“Damnit, the bitch escaped again...Boss is gonna fucking kill us!”  “If that ain’t bad enough, we’ve got Spider-Man on our ass.” 

Spider-Man? Now that made for an interesting turn of events. 

Adjusting your mask, you took out your hook once more as you followed in pursuit of the mysterious woman and Spider-Man, smiling to yourself as you heard the criminals cry out in recognition. Swooping through the trees, traffic lights, and narrowly avoiding cars, once you felt that you were far enough ahead you dropped to the street level, somehow blending in with the sea of people that roamed the streets.  

The woman on the motorbike and Spider-Man weren’t far ahead. Though his figure were blurred under his swift, powerful motions, you could tell that there was something different about this one. He was futuristic; with bright red talons and red lassos rather than the typical spiderwebs, and his suit had a neon-like glow to it, as if he’d been rendered in. Where had he come from? 

“LYLA...Is the anomaly still in his initial position?” you heard the man say. Anomaly? Before you could mull it over, a yellow, glowing woman popped up beside him. 

“No movements on Hammer detected. But we do have two goons that are unaccounted for...” 

“What do you mean ‘unaccounted?’ How did we miss this?”  

He sounded pissed. 

“Black Cat’s dealing with them.” 

“Black Cat? What business does a criminal have with a mafioso?” He had an accent, and the final word rolled off his tongue as he spoke. You guessed he was Spanish. 

“Turn around. She might tell you --”   

And with a flash she’d disappeared, leaving the man in a moment of shock and confusion. His head whipped around, and red lines on his mask – where you assumed his eyes were – widened and narrowed at the sight of you gliding through the air. It was shocking to how he hadn’t noticed you. Perhaps he was extremely well focused. Either that, or your lived up to your name. You guessed the latter. 

“Jess...” he muttered, and somehow the lady heard him, her mannerisms following his own as she glanced at you. 

“I’ll handle it.” She said pointedly, nodding forward so that the man could go ahead. He barely cast you a second look before taking off, causing you to frown. Seeing your opportunity for a bit of chaos, you plonked yourself on the back of her bike, the sudden weight causing her to temporarily lose her grip and making the bike jerk about. 

“Sorry,” you grinned. You weren’t really. “I heard you talking about Hammer. I’m interested.” 

“...And you are?” 

“Your biggest help right now.” 

She sighed, looking you up and down before giving in and focusing on the road. “...What’ve you got for us?” 

“I don’t know where you came from, or why you’re here but you’re not alone. I’ve had a run in with Jos— Hammer myself, ‘n he’s got his henchmen on my ass right now.” you said, looking back. You couldn’t see them, but your heightened senses told you that they could see you, likely having pistol-whipped someone for a vehicle. There’d be no way they could follow you on foot. 

“That’s rough.” The woman said, rather devoid of emotion. To be fair, she had just met you. 

“I’m sure a gal like you has got it covered, but if you’re beating his ass, aim for the lower half,” you said proudly. “He’s practically mush down there.” 

‘Jess’ paused and bit her lip. 

“How do we know you’re not messing with us and setting up some kind of trap?” 

You scoffed. 

“I have a loaded gun in my pocket and my claws are made of metal. If I wanted to kill you, you’d be dead by now. Besides, I owe him nothing. He tried to shoot at me you know.” 

You didn’t see it, but Jess cocked a brow. She didn’t know if she was impressed, annoyed, or disinterested. 

Squinting, she pressed down onto the accelerator before placing one hand to her ear, presumably to radio Spider-Man. 

“Miguel, we’ve got some new information…Yes, I know we don’t know her, but... Trust me, I think we’re good — No — Don’t worry, I’ll explain later. ” 

“Bosses, huh?” 

“He’s not all bad,” Jessica said, and her voice sounded noticeably soft. “We work very hard. It’s not easy doing what we do.” 

You raised a brow. What was it with all the cryptic bullshit? 

“And that is?” 

She cocked her lip into a small smirk. 

“You’re about to find out.” 

 Watching all the mess go down from a nearby fire escape hadn’t made any more sense. Whilst you’d eventually hopped off Jess’ bike and lured the goons to the ‘meeting’ spot, Jess and Miguel had found Hammer and delivered him a beating, restraining the two men with webs and a red lasso respectively.  

Joseph was naturally a big guy, and it had taken the two of them to deal with the situation.

It was fascinating, really, to see that even in a crucial situation as this that he’d hung onto his morals of ‘not hitting women and children’… despite the fact he’d literally fired a bullet at you. Even with his agility, this ‘Miguel’ figure was taking most of the beating, to the point that you’d even considered stepping in.  

Trust me for choosing the losing team, you’d thought. You had for sure considered things to be over, at least until the man’s mask had glitched off to reveal the side of his face. He had rich brown skin and dark hair, second only to the enticing fact that he bared fangs and had plunged them into the side of the man’s neck. 

Your hands curled around the edge of the railings as he did; a euphoria coming from seeing Joseph drop to his knees. ‘Miguel’ looked spent, quickly reapplying his mask before picking up the man by the neck and restraining him. 

“LYLA, scan the area.” 

There was that yellow light again. 

“No further anomalies. Canon remains in tact.” 

And there was that word again. 

The men had been arrested by the NYPD, but Joseph had suffered a different fate, his body being thrust into a psychedelic looking wormhole. You’d never truly expected one of those to exist. 

“I guess my little tip worked, huh?” 

The two Spider’s whipped their heads around to face you, just as the portal abruptly closed. You took a step back from the sudden gesture and tried to readjust your eyes to the natural light after the cacophony of colours. 

“Thanks for your help,” Jess said with a small smile. “We’ll take it from here.” 

Frowning, you crossed your arms over your chest as you took a step forward. 

“You never told me what all of this was for.” 

Jess looked over at Miguel, who seemed to be deliberately avoiding eye contact with the pair of you. He didn’t answer, instead continuing to type something on his watch. 

“Hmm,” you grinned, eyeing the man up and down. Now that he was stationed, you could effectively see just how large he was; with a broad chest, slender torso and, admittedly, a great ass. He must’ve been almost 7’0. “ 

The strong, silent type. I didn’t know they made men like you anymore…” 

Unknowingly, that was the phrase that got him to look at you, the red outlines of his mask giving away the fact that he’d cocked a brow. His focus was lingering, as if he were studying you. In any other circumstance, one would’ve felt uncomfortable. 

“This —“he began, but cut himself off. “It doesn’t concern you.” 

“It’s technical stuff, really,” Jess jumped in. “We don’t want to bore you with details.” 

You shrugged. “I’ve got all sorts of time.” 

The pair paused again and shared a look, but this time Miguel was the one to speak. 

“We’re Spider-Man, but not from this dimension,” he began, placing his hands on his hips. “We’re not the only ones. We protect the multiverse, the thing that connects all of us. Hammerhead was going to interrupt a canon event for someone in this realm, and if he succeeded the entire universe could’ve collapsed.” 

You blinked.  

“…So where is he now?” 

“Back at HQ, with the others. We capture them, and keep them in so it doesn’t happen again,” Jess interjected. “Consider your debts cleared for a while.” 

It seemed you were stunned for the second time in a day. It seemed they’d done you a favour, no matter how unintentional. 

“This multiverse thing…There are other versions of me?” 

“Yes,” Miguel said quickly. “But they’re not you.” 

You clicked your tongue and pouted your painted lips before stepping towards the man, who stared down at you indiscernibly. You got close; so close that you were practically peering up at him through your lashes, in awe of his abnormal size. It was as if he were some kind of athlete, like a wrestler. Lowering your voice, you cocked your head in intrigue. 

“So, if I’m destined to be on this world forever, and you’re not from here…Why can’t I see you show me your face?” 

His body visibly tensed, and momentarily it felt like you were the only people in the world. It was provocative, and even though you couldn’t see his face, you could tell the cogs in his mind were turning; his head slightly swaying as he lowered his chin towards you. It was sweet that he was giving in so easily. Your eye contact was unwavering, and your nose made a soft whistling sound as you breathed, trying to control your racing heart. It was almost as if he were under your spell. 

“I’ll just be getting back...” Jess whispered awkwardly, pulling the two of you from your situation.  

The man composed himself once more, his chest expanding as he nodded, looking beyond you and to the black woman. It was barely perceptible, but there was a small smirk on her face as she backed away.

You heard a few pixels glitching just as she disappeared into the hole, and upon turning around you’d found that he’d taken his mask off. The bastard hadn’t even given you the satisfaction of watching it happen.  

Two could play at that game. 

He was handsome, finely crafted, with high cheekbones and a chiselled jaw to match, piercing brown eyes and perfectly moulded lips that unfortunately were fixed into a frown. Judging by his blunt tone of voice and general demeanour, you guessed he frowned often. 

“Do you do everything a woman tells you to?” you grinned, placing your hands on your hips. 

“Don’t flatter yourself. You’re not a threat. To us you may as well be a nobody.” 

“Ouch,” you hissed, but ultimately brushed it off. You knew what kind of man he was. “I wouldn’t be so harsh. I had Hammer eating out of the palm of my hand. Imagine what I could do to you…” you cooed, to which he raised a brow.  

“Estoy tan asustado.” [I’m so scared.] He said sarcastically. 

Narrowing your eyes, you smirked. He was quippy, not in the upbeat, childish sense but sarcastic and aloof. Interesting. 

“I can be really useful, y’know? You should let me join the team.” 

He didn’t respond. His frown got deeper. 

“Your skills would be better off elsewhere,” he said flippantly, now obviously bored of the conversation as he ran something into his watch. “I’m leaving. I have things to take care of.” 

You rolled your eyes. 

“All that science stuff, right?” You scoffed, checking your nails before you gave the man a pointed once over. “You Spiders…You’re all the same.” 

That seemed to pique his attention. Glaring, it was his turn to step towards you, angling his head in a manner that signified confusion. 

“ ‘Spiders?’” 

You chuckled. 

“That shouldn’t be a shock to you. You did say that there was more than one, right?” 

He huffed, placing his hands on his hips once more.  

“Yes…” he muttered. 

You clicked your tongue, a knowing smirk wiped across your face as you playfully tapped his cheek. 

“Then you know that this isn’t my maiden voyage.”  

You stepped away with a flirtatious wink before swinging onto the rooftop above you, making your way back into the sunset. It was rare for Miguel to ever find himself dumbfounded, but this interaction had superseded his expectations. One minute the power had been in his hands, and the next it had slipped away, dropped only due to a total lack of control. 

Fate was a strange concept, something that he hadn’t quite managed to wrap his head around, even after his years of studying. Black Cat (or at least a form of one) was ingrained in almost every Spider-Man’s story; the ultimate test of desire, commitment and morality, and now apparently it was time for his test. 

And he hated it. Or, at the very least, it scared him. 

(If you already had a Spider-Man, why had the universe brought you two together?) 

Taglist: @honeyluvsatj @saturnknows @vancehopper1987

[youhideastar]

Deastar’s 5 Most Re-Read Fics of Last Year

My New Year’s resolution was to rec more, so I’m starting with my 5 most re-read fics of the past year!

1 and 2: Blooded Crown and Misethere by Astolat (The Witcher)

Look, I don’t even go here. I’m not even in this fandom. I first read these before the TV show had come out, and let me tell you, it made said TV show very disappointing. But I have re-read these two fics (they’re not related to each other but they’re similar enough that I’ve grouped them together) probably 10 times each over the years. I absolutely fucking love their twisty-ass plots. I love the “what if Wolverine and Machiavelli fell in love” takes on the characters. I love the combination of humor and deadly serious political shit going down. I have a problem and it’s that I can’t stop reading these fics and probably never will.

3: i’ll be your girl by plonk (The Untamed/MDZS, ~30K)

This fic is everything. It’s funny. It will make your heart sore and tender. It has smoking hot sex scene after smoking hot sex scene. It’s pining while fucking (top three trope for me!). It has the absolute most ridiculous premise, and then executes it beyond your wildest dreams, never losing sight of how ridiculous it is. Said premise: Wei Ying seduces Lan Zhan, who he thinks is straight, while dressed up as Britney Spears for Halloween. They continue to hook up, with Wei Ying in a series of themed seasonal drag outfits, while Wei Ying falls in doomed love with a straight guy (or so he thinks), and Lan Zhan tries to figure out what the hell is going on but is too gone on Wei Ying to stop. My all-time comfort object fic.

4: All Old Things Are New Again by The Feels Whale (miscellea) (@thefeelswhale) (The Untamed/MDZS, ~52K)

This fic is WAY too long to be a habitual re-read, but that never stops me. “Full-time necromancer and part-time cam boy, Wei Wuxian, finds himself unexpectedly homeless. An enthusiastic patron comes to his rescue. Conversely: Immortal Cultivator Lan Wangji has been waiting a long time for his deceased husband to be reincarnated again. In retrospect, he should have anticipated that this is how it would go.” It is SO satisfying to watch Wei Wuxian slowly lower his (very reasonably raised!) guard and let Lan Wangji take care of him; in many fics, that trope ends up stripping away Wei Wuxian’s inherent badassery, but not here: this Wei Wuxian is so smart and capable and tough as nails, oooh, I like him so much!!! And it does not hurt that the numerous, exquisite sex scenes feature a delightful blend of (a) my favorite all-time kinks and (b) stuff that is not on my usual menu but that magically rocks my world as applied to these characters in this story.

5. This Tornado Loves You by FeelsForBreakfast (@rabbitcrimes) (The Untamed/MDZS, ~9K)

Want to get way, way up close with Lan Zhan’s brain while he realizes that his ferality about Wei Ying does, in fact, go up to eleven? This is the fic for you. I can’t do better than the author’s own summary: “Hanguang-jun is dating a mild mannered, non-cultivator named Wei Wuxian. The Yiling Laozu rolls up to a nighthunt on a motorbike, no relation at all to the previous statement.” This author’s Lan Zhan/Lan Wangji voice is so fucking good, it makes me mad. And SO FUNNY – I have read these jokes probably a dozen times and they STILL make me laugh out loud. The awesome modern cultivation worldbuilding is so casually done that you sleep on how good it is. Finally, this fic is tagged “you will say ‘Yiling Laozu hot’ or your money back,” and let me tell you: you are NOT getting your money back.

[maximumwobblerbanditdonut]

Mishaps you’ll never forget!

He doesn't need any more rehabilitation for his knee. He had a motorcycle mishap 🏍️ in Scotland in December 2021 before his trip to New Zealand when he tore his MCL and fractured his knee, receiving stitches and leaving a scar.

In Pharos’ picture in L.A. January 2022 (a month after the accident and supposedly in rehab) before New Zealand it’s shown he’s trying to stand up with flexed knees, but he has problems in both legs.

I couldn't get a full view of his left knee up close, during HYROX in Glasgow last February 2023 the first impression of him was a lack of mobility, trying to extend his left knee during the pushup. HYROX’s image is not clear but it shows that he has a hypertrophic scar, a thick scar, in response to his wounds.

But now, with the long-awaited photos from New Zealand, we see more details of the injury he left behind and that he has been hiding all this time. It looks like it was more than a small abrasion from falling on the pavement, leaving a big scar. This is a scar from trauma such as cruciate ligament restoration/reset, falls, femoral MCL incisions, surgical incisions and stitches. This is no small thing for a motorcycle accident 🏍️

He always appeared from the waist up, sitting in front of the camera, or wearing an essential tracksuit, as he did on his cycling in Otago Central Rail Trail. 🇳🇿

His problem seemed to be more serious 🧐 than mentioned at the beginning, and took months to recover, due to the severity of the injury.

I'm more interested in seeing the post-crash motorbike 🏍️ (that he hasn't shown in two years) helmet and motorbike clothing, to understand in retrospect his accident, remembering he had to follow Scotland's mandatory safety rules riding a street bike, a mountain bike or a motorcycle (motorbike)

Why did he need to customise his Triumph motorcycle if he already had a previously customised Harley-Davidson?

It doesn't matter how much riding experience you have (he’s an inexperienced rider) accidents happen. But you can’t forget what happened.

[5sosfanfictioncatalogue]

Hello, do you have a list of Lashton friends to lovers or enemies to lovers?

Currently we only have a general friends/enemies to lovers masterlist, but, here are some Lashton ones! I'll also go ahead and draft some masterlists as well!

- Alex

Enemies to Lovers:

Honeysuckle (ao3) - cornflowerblue (daydadahlias)

Summary: it's the 1970s, Ashton is a homophobic lead singer and Luke is the new gay roadie on tour with his band.

i feel the wind in my hair, chasing after you (ao3) - hideforalifetime

Summary: Luke works more than he should, is paid less than he should be for the amount of hours he works, goofs off at lunch with Calum, goes home to his dog Petunia in the evening and watches whatever’s on HBO. Then he does it all over again. And he’s sick of it. He wants a change. He wants to be the guy he was in college, free of all worries like rent and bills and all that bullshit. Just walking from class to the dorm to the bar, and every weekend, he’d go off on his own, just him and his motorbike. 

Or, the one where workaholic, control freak biker Luke Hemmings meets the most laid back guy he's ever seen. And he's hot, which is a plus.

Le Chatelier's Principle (ao3) - LyricalPary (hoseoky)

Summary: Ever since being promoted to head waiter, Luke had had one problem that came in the form of a six foot, curly-headed, hazel eyed demon. And by demon, he meant his frustratingly stubborn, unfairly attractive co-worker, Ashton Irwin.

You'll Be Stuck On It Cause My Love's So Good (ao3) - senioritastyles

Summary: Luke and Ashton are football buddies until they're not and then they are again and then they're not and---okay, you get it.

you tell me you're tipsy, i tell you you're pretty (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: Luke and Ashton wake up married during a weekend in Vegas

Friends to Lovers:

'I'm already something, to someone I dont know' (ao3) -Forbiddenmichael

Summary: luke has been in love with his best friend for so long, and now the time to tell ashton his feelings has long since past

the kids will be alright, eventually (ao3) - wafflelashton

Summary: ashton falls in love with his best friend, luke, and is somehow the last to know.

Warm On A Cold Night (ao3) - LyricalPary (hoseoky)

Summary: In retrospect, Luke probably shouldn’t have offered to give Ashton a ride. He knows that now, thanks to the awkward silence and the nerves in the pit of his belly. But at the same time, what was he supposed to do? Leave Ashton standing out there in the harsh cold of winter? Of course not. Good people don’t do such things, and Luke likes to think of himself as a fairly good guy.

(Or, Luke and Ashton get stuck during a snow storm. But, maybe it's not as terrible as it seems.)

We're Our OTP (ao3) - felixandtae

Summary: Where Ashton and Luke make a YouTube channel together and eventually fall in love after they do challenges, tags, and Vlogs.

you can hear it in the silence (ao3) - fakecharliebrown

Summary: Ashton turns to look at Luke then. He doesn’t speak right away, appearing to consider his next words very carefully. He opens and closes his mouth several times, before finally, he says, “Do you think it’ll all work out for us?”

Luke hums softly. His head is angled in such a way that Petunia imagines he’s looking at their intertwined hands behind his dark sunglasses when he admits in a quiet voice, “I think it already has, Ash.”

Ashton squints at him for less than a second before he turns to face forward, closing his eyes against the bright afternoon sun, and says, “Yeah. I think you’re probably right.”

or; Petunia loves her boy more than anything in the world. When the world shuts down, she realizes that she might not be the only one.

[khaotunq]

Getting to know your BL mutuals - 2022 edition

I GOT TAGGED. @first-kanaphan tagged me and i got a bit squeaky about being present enough to be tagged in things ;~; ♥ Thanks, Jamie! We're besties now xoxo

Rules: Answer the questions and @ some people. Include the tag "g2ky BL mutuals 2022" when you post.

Series I have watched, roughly in order: Bad Buddy, Vice Versa, The Eclipse, Not Me, Theory of Love, Love Mechanics, Love in the Air, Tonhon Chonlatee, Cupid's Last Wish, Ghost Host Ghost House, Between Us, 2gether.

What BL surprised you most this year?

Honestly, I only started watching stuff in... summer? I have no idea. At some point, @aroceu was yelling on twitter about something called patpran and I was intrigued. Thing is, I have absolutely no concept of when anything aired unless I waited for episodes to come out, soooo. Because I'm aware of the anniversary, I know Bad Buddy started last year but technically it ended this year, and it also kickstarted this manic journey. So... Bad Buddy. Because my life revolving around BL's all of a sudden was certainly a surprise.

What BLs were you most disappointed in this year?

I don't know that I've been disappointed in anything, because if I'm not enjoying something, I'll cheerfully quit and think nothing more of it. I'll also find something to cling to to avoid disappointment. So, as much as Vice Versa is an easy target, I'll pick that because I think it had a lot of potential and fell way short. No hate, it was cute, I just spent most of it with my head in my hands. But I'd subject myself to fates worse than death for Neo bloody Trai, as it turns out.

What was your favorite BL of the year?

The Eclipse. I simp for First and Khaotung, so both of them together is a recipe for my own personal disaster. Also, see aforementioned Neo.

Who are your favorite BL couples (not just in 2022)?

AkkAyan (The Eclipse)

AouFuse (Vice Versa)

Ji Woo/Seo Joon (To My Star)

KanThua (The Eclipse)

PatPran (Bad Buddy)

PrapaiSky (Love in the Air)

VeeMark (Love Mechanics)

If you had to suggest a BL for someone, what would it be?

I'm using the promise of the occasional motorbike to lure Julia in, so LITA comes to mind, but honestly probably Bad Buddy, because that's where I started and it worked for me? The only drama is minor and is resolved, it's cosy, it's silly, it waits patiently to gut-punch you, and overall it's just... perfect.

What was your favorite non-BL this year?

I genuinely don't think I've watched anything much this year. I'm boring. Leverage: Redemption is probably the only thing? It makes my soul happy.

Tagging: @aroceu @mushiemadarame @bi-wuxian idk if i have any other bl-adjacent mutuals so. but if u wanna do this and say i tagged u, i'll retrospectively tag ya

[yestolerancepro]

I’ll be Back 40 years of The Terminator Radio 4

Hi there I thought I would draw your attention to the above documentary that was broadcast on Radio 4 earlier today not only is the Tolerance celebrating its 25th birthday this year but the original Terminator film is celebrating its 40th birthday this year it was released on October 26th 1984.

The link is from the BBC sounds website you have over a year to listen to it

Tolerance and the Terminator

Why am I talking about Terminator well we almost had a Terminator spoof in the Tolerance film as you can see below first published in the 2nd Part of my Producers comentary blog 

Deleted scene

Tolerance deals with five major issues, one of which is transport. The second deleted scene is one I rather miss, and I wish we had kept it as it would have been funny. In the finished film, we see Robert trying to get to his interview; his taxi has not turned up and he just misses the bus; it is just not his day. The deleted scene would have been a Terminator spoof. Perhaps the scene was excluded because the director felt a bus company would not let us borrow a bus for a few hours! It is a shame as Railtrack let us borrow a train for half a day for the Huddersfield Station sequences later in the film.

Terminator!

Robert falls into one of his day dreams and lifts himself out of the chair and onto the bus. He is now wearing full bike leathers, sun glasses and motorbike boots; the passengers on the bus look terrified!

ROBERT: Town.

Robert hands the driver a ten pound note.

BUS DRIVER (pointing to a sign which says correct change only): Correct change only mate.

Robert leans into the perspex.

ROBERT: 'I’ll be back'

Robert the Terminator steps off the bus; the bus pulls away leaving him standing next to the wheelchair in his normal clothes. According to the shooting schedule if this scene was shot it would have been recorded on the 17th August the same day as the Huddersfield Train station scenes making a long day even longer perhaps another reason why it was cut

The props listed for this deleted scene include full leather gear motorbike boots sunglasses and rather strangely a red eye was Richard planning to have a prosthetic eye made just for this scene ?

If the above radio programme has wetted your appetite to learn more about the original Terminator from 1984 you might also want to watch these documentaries on Youtube

To watch a video called WTF Happened to The Terminator from from the JO Blos original you tube page Click here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1QwVogN-yA&t=46s

To watch a a retrospective review of the original Terminator film from the Oliver Harper You Tube page click here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRYFDGDBdG8&list=PL17vqAEJv6CV1syq4_fFKgBwSqGdJzH9z&index=301&t=16s

Ten things you didn't know about the Terminator Video Series from Minty Comedic arts

The Original Terminator film click here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-tprB2tQ4Q&t=117s

The Terminator Trailer from 1984

(256) The Terminator (1984) Official Trailer - Arnold Schwarzenegge Movie - YouTube

Pictures

Poster for the Terminator

Script for the deleted Terminator scene from the Tolerance film

[poojanpatel]

What role does “privilege” play in nature interpretation?

Privileges; are given sets of actions to be continued or performed by an individual as a notion of socioeconomic status, concerning the prevalence of wealth, power, or prestige.

I think privileges (Ps) are earned, though we may call some "silver spoons" or ones who have been adopted into privileges. These sets of actions differ amongst each individual. Someone of a lower socio-economic may think it a privilege to ride a bicycle, that individual may awe at the sight of a motorbike, and so on ... car, chauffeur, luxury car, etc. There is no set of defined privileges from the perspective of the individual; however, analyzing the entirety of society, it is generally considered a privilege to be born in a developed country. One where the basic life necessities are fulfilled.

The factors that interpreters should focus on revolting these Ps are that of

Acknowledging their individual position in society whilst introspecting and further retrospection its effects on others

Knowing that every individual is not the same. Differences in intellect, education, race, language as well as physical form take place in a complex web of formation

To be privileged is neither an honor nor a dishonor. Treating others with the same positive attitude should be the primary course of action when conversing. When people say "I am honored to be there" is nothing but a testament to their prior efforts and penance.

To be privileged is to be born a human; and have a consciousness that allows us to evolve (not only physically), ponder, reflect, analyze, and implement. The ability to have free will over our actions (not being constrained to our instincts only). Nature is but a medium for us to connect with one another. "Reduc[ing] cultural barriers by personally “inviting, including, involving” [any] populations" is a sound justification to dissolve societal privileges gained through nothing but negative attributions of the higher socio-economic class. Our goal should be the unification of all regardless of their background. Tall task I must say; However, not impossible. Creating cultural bonds with appropriate moral and beliefs is one way to reduce set privileges.

Following the above list, our actions should not differ among people who are disabled, of different races, socio-economic statuses, cultures, etc... The ability to see past that and connect with others is the role of an interpreter. The realization that prestige, power, and status are not a limitation to interact with others is a start. Our society is heavily revolved around this school of thought, maybe due to the tremendous influence of the Romans or the Greeks. We are always looking to climb higher in society for a better lifestyle of material gains. We must dissolve this thought and move past it to connect each individual to one another through our interpretation.

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2019). Interpreting cultural and natural heritage: For A Better World. Sagamore Publishing.

Blaze

0 notes

[joy2paris]

Second Week in Paris!

19/9/23

Still so surreal mannn. It feels so crazy to feel the way i am feeling - I cannot express how nervous I was before coming. I am so thankful to my past self for pushing past the fear and doing this. So so proud of myself. It's so funny as well as I was beginning to really feel regret about doing it. The nerves have completely gone and on top of that, I feel super calm, happy (I have been grinning teeth all day) and so much self-compassion. Sounds cheesy but it is the honest truth.

The day after writing this I felt a bit differently haha. Things were getting to me a bit and was feeling quite homesick and down. But, it has only been two weeks, so underneath it all I know it’s normal - so there is a sense of calmness beneath it.

On Tuesday, I decided to pluck up the courage and ask one of the girls I really clicked with at one of the picnics if she wanted to go on a walking tour to Montmartre with me. I was very happy to know she reciprocated my energy and felt the same way and wanted to meet.

Wednesday - tried to go to the welcome picnic but ended up at the wrong building :( the French security guard was so sweet though- he even offered to have ridden me on his motorbike had he had a spare helmet. My French friend I had made (with our limited convo because of my bad French vocab) was going and was hoping I could make it but I had missed it ugh.

Thursday - went for Italian w my midlands uni lot! Was a nice atmosphere and they are all really sweet, chill and funny. we then went to this shit student boat party with these other two from my home uni. One of them I had not met before but she is one of the funniest people I have met LOOL. Giving Year 6 disco vibes again and then we had to cycle to a restaurant and be jobless in Paris till the metro opened up again. The funny girl was hungry so we cycled to this 24 hour restaurant with all the rats mingling about haha. It was on that bike ride that it really sunk in for me I was here and a wave of sadness kind of came over me. I just felt unsettled and missed the comfort of my beautiful, amazing uni life (this sounds like I am seeing it through rose-tinted glasses but I can testify in the moment I felt this way too). However, that build up to that feeling was after feeling times of being unsettled in the beginning. As my second mum Cleo Sol says, good things take time. The restaurant we got to was kind of rude and we suspected potential racist vibes (we were all people of colour). all we wanted was some water and some fries but they just essentially refused to give us that and said we needed to order a big meal? It was way too pricey. Besides me and another girl, they can all speak French so it is not like the issue was us being unaccommodating English people or anything like that. Went back to two of the girls place and got some food and then I headed back at the crack of dawn to my place - I even had to crawl under the door of the metro because my ticket didn't work.

Friday - randomly went to this meeting that was not meant for English taught course students - only the French as other people from our uni were going. However it kind of worked out as we got stuff semi sorted (writing back on this retrospectively, there are still major issues). but then we got bubble tea, and climbed arc de triomphe! it was a cute vibe and nice to get to know them more. although I of course want to make friends outside of my home uni, it is nice to have them as people to connect with and for us to all look out for each other. I was too tired to go to the student party that was on later that day.

saturday - went out with the lovely german girls to bar and got crepes after :) we went to this amazing square which was buzzing with energy and I loved the atmosphere so much. they were super lovely and reciprocating of energy and they have lived in many other places. both 23 as well, so it was nice to have that almost older sister energy, connect and chat. really cheered me up! they were going to flea markets the sunday after but I couldn't go :( another time and I am excited to be closer to everything when I move to my studio.

sunday - montmartre tour and picnic. went for coffee with this other german girl that I really connected with at one of the picnics before we went on the tour. she is so genuine and I really enjoyed our chat :) the coffee was super bougie and I did have a bit of a headache after from lack of food and general exhaustion. I am excited to properly cook at my studio too. the tour was cute and met a lovely italian girl and it was cool to see the area, though quite hard to hear everything the tour guide was saying.

second long convo with my flatmate: we talked all about films and he wanted to bring me back some food from this restaurant he loved but the queue was so long. but he got me a nutella crepe instead, so sweet! so we planned to go to the cinema the following week. just so heartwarming to be looked after so well by the host family :) so grateful for them taking out the time to speak to me etc. Morals and heart all in the right place

monday 18th - finally (ish) got credits sorted. was fun just laughing about it all with the girl from my uni who is in the same boat as me. even though it is disorganised, the french staff themselves are sweet and are so chilled and laid back haha. we got stopped on bus by ticket inspectors with home uni lot on our way to urban outfitters LOL.

Tuesday - went to english lecture with a home uni girl, felt a bit sad as it was a great big hall and difficult to mingle. she is not too interested in socialising which is perfectly okay but I personally would really like to, and a big part of the reason I decided to opt into this optional year of living abroad

wednesday - was half an hour late to lecture as had not received timetable update as i am not properly on the system yet as admin is rubbish. was ready to give up but finally made it. had to sit on the ground of the hall with these two other girls because there was so many people. one girl was native French and super sweet. she let me see the notes from the part of the lecture I missed and the other girl was also lovely; Canadian studying Hong Kong raised. we grabbed lunch at the Crous canteen right after and sat on the grass, chatting about the differences between our cultures. I learned that French people who are not from Paris do not really like Parisians - they even have a special name, something like "Parisienne Chien" like Parisian dogs haha! People here are so shocked by the fact I have had to get a visa and just the difficulties that have ensued from Brexit alone.

In the evening I went to one of my German friend's apartments which is in a super nice area. I dropped off my stuff as I was staying the night at hers, then we headed to my future road for when I move to my studio - another girl we met at the picnic had a little pres before we went to this student night. It has been so fascinating just observing the differences between how cultures interact, but also with language/native barriers. Like, the way a lot of British young people chat and what they chat about. But it is also about character too, i.e. the kind of personality you have and how you act in social situations to make other people feel welcome and all of that kind of stuff. It is also to do with age too. A lot of this is self-explanatory but I am just becoming more aware of it now I am in this setting.

The event was kind of dry but I didn't have high expectations so I was not disappointed. These types of places love to play such Year 6 disco music. Back when I was 11 years old I would be eating it up but it just feels weird singing along to Kesha and Pitbull. They did play a bit of Parado no Bailão, but I am sure for the Brazilians that is their equivalent of us hearing a Stormzy song or something. It was so nice to leave at 2am and get the night bus back and be home at a decent time as I was staying with a friend. We snaffled some biscuits and had such a hilarious moment. Laughter is actually the best thing and it was just so nice to proper laugh. Writing it out it won't seem as funny, but she is the same age as me and we both did "gap" years, two years of university and are now here for a year before completing our final one. In her year out, she worked at an elderly care home in the Northeast of France. Her English is immaculate, but of course there are some words that get lost in translation, or a better word would have fit the meaning intended better. She was talking about how she had to move the elderly in their wheelchairs from one location to the other. Instead of saying "wheeled", she said they "rolled" them, and it just conjured up search a funny image and we were in stitches of laughter.

The next morning we went to her local boulangerie for a pastry and had a lush baguette. The quality of food is truly way better here. London is such a rip off. Growing up as a child there you don't really notice the price of stuff like that, and as a young adult I have been in the Midlands most of the time which is way cheaper. Events and some food spots can be pricey here, as well rent... but galleries are free for students, transport is so much cheaper and day to day eating is less (besides Mcdonalds lol). We had another funny moment where we were speaking about guys. I was sharing with her the woes of having to interact with London boys. I cannot speak for all of them, but most I have come across are just childish, arrogant, unromantic, aggressive, scarily persistent, disrespectful, unnecessary amounts of pride, worship their boys, weed addicts and actually quite misogynistic (the list goes on; single ladies we are in the trenches. Hard to not feel like all the good ones are already taken). She asked about my opinion on speaking to older guys, as she feels often their maturity is at a level we can actually take on. I said how even the older ones I had come across also fit this typical London boy trope, and that ultimately I never want to feel inferior to a guy and at a similar stage in life to them. Additionally, that I feel like older guys interested in younger girls often like doing that because they feel like they can take advantage of them a bit more. I finished this long spiel to find out that she had a boyfriend who was 25 hahaha. Though we laughed, as the day before she had mentioned that she was a bit scared/would not feel to comfortable living on the street that she did not realise was the street I was going to be moving into next week.

I had a class later that evening and had travelled all the way there to find no one in the class, even after triple checking with any staff member I could see that it was the right place. None of them knew what the issue was; I only discovered the day after about the timetable change but as stated, I did not receive this due to all the admin issues meaning I cannot access my emails yet. I met a Greek girl who seemed nice - quite straightforward seeming haha. More people know about the area I go to in the Midlands for university more than I realise. Anyways, the lack of class upset me, especially as I was going through PMS. Due to the lack of campus, missing out on some welcome events in the initial week and the international community not being so apparent to me, these lectures feel like a lifeline for actually interacting with people from my university. So I had a cry when I got back. Felt nice to release some pent up feelings. I just have to get used to the fact Paris universities are ridiculously organised and not think about the fact that this could have been avoided if I did what I usually did and researched heavily before doing this. Also, my host for where I am staying in was super reassuring. I am so grateful for her and her son for making me feel so welcome. Even though it is an hour away, I would not have changed this being my initial experience into Paris. So thankful!

Friday I really enjoyed myself :) I had a french language lesson in the morning. Although it's complete beginner class I have to be in (learning the alphabet and our names), the teacher is super lovely and funny. It really made me feel super nostalgic because it was a classroom set up, we had to take it in turns doing different activities and embarrassingly over exaggerate our mouths when we did the phonetics. Also, she had this erratic, funny energy which heavily reminded me of my French GCSE teacher. Though she seems super sweet and understanding. The classroom environment also meant we could connect as a class and laughed over funny moments. Like, we had to ask each other "Comment ça s'écrit?" when doing this name game, and one girl accidentally repeated it when it should have been everyone else repeating it. So the teacher joked that it came across like she was saying, "how you spell me?".

I sat next to another super sweet German girl (I need to visit there again, literally not come across a German I did not rate since being here) and would be really lovely to meet up with her - I said once I move into my studio but maybe I can see her in the day next week. It was also really nice because I actually got to speak to other Erasmus students in the same boat as me: the few lectures I was able to attend, you have no idea who anyone is and the layout is not catered to speaking to people. I had to hurry to my next lecture which was in our other building that was a twenty-five minutes away. There were two girls I saw ahead of me rushing in the same direction, so I decided to ask them if they were heading there. They were so sweet and we got to chatting. They are from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, how cool! It is also really nice chatting to people with such an age range. A few years ago I had this thing about thinking I could only become good friends with people my age but it is actually really nice to have the range. In the same vein, I used to think I would only truly get along with Londoners. Although there is a shared experience and that can translate over to bond and personality, I really enjoyed getting to know sweet Northerners and non-Londoners at my Midlands uni and now here - from people all over the world!

[motocrunch]

Massimo Tamburini

Massimo Tamburini was an acclaimed Italian motorcycle designer renowned for his iconic contributions to the industry. His meticulous craftsmanship and visionary design approach gave birth to legendary motorcycles like the Ducati 916 and MV Agusta F4, solidifying his legacy as a pioneer in the world of motorbike design.

[hoagmaster]

Cody's Mission: Impossible Revisit

Several days ago I finished up the latest marathon building up to a new release. Although this one was a new entry that didn't seem like a bad idea from the jump: Misson: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One.

We've been getting a lot of part ones lately that pull the move of "Hey, we're stopping the movie in the middle of the climax. Hang tight until the next one!" So I have some thoughts about how this one did it.

I first got into these movies in 2015 in the buildup to that year's entry and because Now Playing Podcast was covering them. I credit that podcast for getting me to watch more movies and to try and engage with them more when I can, along with other stuff since.

Anyway, on with the recap and a few sentences about each one.

Mildish spoilers await maybe?

Mission: Impossible - Here we go with the one that started it all in the mid-90s, which come through in a nice quaint way. This is the entry that feels the most like a spy movie with plenty of slow, quiet moments and an overall focus on espionage rather than spectacle. But the tense scenes we do get, such as the crew breaking into the CIA to steal the coolly-named NOC List, are some of the most entertaining and enjoyable I've seen. A strong start to the series and one I will continue to revisit.

Mission: Impossible 2 - This one seems to be the most divisive for all the impulses of director John Woo coming through along with Tom Cruise's ego being in full force in 2000. He wants you to think he's the coolest person on screen at all times. But all the over-the-top spectacle honestly makes me laugh more than anything. Maybe the most quotable movie of the bunch with all the slow-motion gunplay, explosions, and motorbike antics you could want. I like this one a lot.

Mission: Impossible III - We took a few years off for other stuff before this one drops in 2006. The star is a bit more fine with everyone else doing stuff and Phillip Seymour Hoffman gives us the best antagonist of the series with his calm, intimidating demeanor that gives the impression he's in control in every scene even when he's not. It also has perhaps the most visceral moment in the series with one character's end, so that's something. This one is certainly enjoyable, but maybe lacks that one detail to make me hold it up like the others.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol - And now we get to dropping numbers and picking up subtitles of varying lengths! We still have some cool spy stuff in here, seen most prominently when going into the Kremlin, but this is also when the series begins to focus on spectacle above all else. And I daresay it might be better for it, because the Burj Khalifa sequence with the climbing and the running might be my favorite bit in the entire series. It's noted for being the one where everything goes wrong, which we've all felt!

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation - The original stopping point for my marathon ended on a high note with a ridiculous action bit on a plane that also works as a slow burn with the opera sequence and bits of espionage. But then we get to the submerged tunnel and subsequent car and motorbike chase and the action escalates until the end. Lot of fun that maybe in retrospect makes it my favorite movie of that year.

Mission: Impossible - Fallout - My first series revisit was capped off in 2018 with what was really my favorite movie of that year. The sequences like the HALO jump, brutal bathroom fight, big car chase and the other chase that led to the star breaking his ankle are just the tip of the iceberg. But it also packs an engaging plot that, even on this rewatch with some time away, got me more than once. All that stuff makes the two-and-a-half hour runtime fly by and, showing my hand, make this one my favorite to date.

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One - I'll say up top that I'm hesitant to give a full evaluation because as seen in the title, it's a part one. We have not gotten the full story. I felt this way about Fast X and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse from earlier this year. The second one could totally botch everything and sour me on it! But unlike those two movies that pull the "stopping the movie mid-climax" stunt I mentioned before, this one feels like it does have a definite end that just also has a set-up for the next one. The action remains as fun as ever even if some of it doesn't feel as "grand" as some of the earlier sequences. That said, the one bit that's seen in all the ads, when pulled off in the full context of the movie, made my crowded theater go silent for a good five seconds. It was a rad moment, and the movie is rad. The newly begun (and justified) strikes might impact the timing of the next one, but I'm down if it helps the people making these things get better pay and treatment!

Thus wraps up my latest mission. As I do with each series go, I like to cap off with my ranking of the series. This one feels a bit distinct because unlike most series where I find one or two clunkers, this is a series where I like every entry and love quite a few of them. Hence, this might actually be my favorite movie series ever!

Mission: Impossible - Fallout

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

Mission: Impossible

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Mission: Impossible 2

Mission: Impossible III

Anyway, time to see series is up next.

This post will self-destruct in five seconds.

[lindsaystravelblogs3]

Days 21/22 – Thursday/Friday, 15-16 June - On to the Aeolian Islands

Thursday (writing this on Thursday - but two Thursdays later!)

[Well, once again, it is two full weeks since I have been able to write anything.  Our second (and last for ever and ever) bus trip officially concluded this morning, or last night for us, and I have certainly forgotten many of the blogworthy things to write about.  That being the case, I suspect numerous things will be glossed over very lightly and a few things will be discussed in a little more depth as my memory fizzes and then fizzles - probably with a lot less fizz.]

When we were going up to breakfast, we found a message outside our door, inviting us to meet our tour leader in the foyer during the morning so we met him before going up to brekky.  It was essentially to tick our names off a list to ensure that we had arrived.

We stayed in our room most of the day today, only venturing out for a slice of pizza and a drink for lunch at the same place we had lunch the day before – where the HOHO buses start from – then back to the hotel to sort and edit more photos and write more retrospective thoughts for our blogs.

At night, all of our tour group met in the foyer of the hotel for a welcome (very welcome) drink and introductions all round, before walking the mandatory ten minutes (it took a bit oner fifteen minutes) to a local restaurant for dinner.  The group is mainly Aussies again – twenty-two of us and six Kiwis.  And nine of us had been together in Sardinia and Corsica so already knew each other a bit.

The dinner was mainly seafood and very nice but downstairs from the street and incredibly noisy in the enclosed underground space.  I was completely wrecked by the noise, zonked beyond reason, but couldn’t easily escape because I was hemmed in a corner surrounded by furniture that made it almost impossible to get out without asking four other people to move.  We eventually got out and walked back to our hotel, but there was another example of how rigourously people comply with the traffic rules here.

Heather and I were at the tail of a small group crossing the road on a well-lit crosswalk, with the green ‘walking man’ beckoning us on, when a motorbike roared through two red lights and brushed my back quite roughly as he across the pedestrian crossing swerved behind me.  I regard that couple of seconds as yet another potentially fatal incident and reckon I am lucky to be alive.  Nobody takes the least notice of any traffic rules or signs here and it is up to the pedestrians to dodge whatever is coming their way – if they can.  The rules are quite simply – drive as fast as you can, irrespective of real or perceived obstacles, and park literally anywhere, wherever your vehicle stops!

Friday

Quite a long drive today. Although we started a bit later, we had plenty of time to cross most of Sicily from Palermo to Milazzo where we caught the ferry to the Aeolian Islands.  We followed the coast and often had the ocean a couple of kilometres to port and craggy mountains to starboard.  We stopped a few times along the way for photos, but nowhere were the views as spectacular as they were from the bus.

Two of many high bridges, and one of probably hundreds of tunnels.

We were in and out of a hundred tunnels and saw (and drove over) some spectacularly high bridges, some a kilometre or more long spanning deep valleys.  We stopped at Cefalu for lunch – we just shared a panini and a drink, but others had a more substantial meal.  There was the mandatory cathedral and castle/fort and we did a bit of a tour of the local ‘attractions’.  Frankly, I am about done with almost identical cathedrals and duomos, battlements and fortifications – all interesting enough in their own right but twenty-odd examples later, one starts to glaze over.  Differentiating one from another, remembering which millennia each comes from, who conquered who to become the new short-lived tyrant, what the special features of each city were – it all gets too much so I just let most of it wash over me - and just occasionally remember something important (that Heather usually assures me I misunderstood anyway).

We had a walking tour through part of the town and a visit to a cathedral and were then let loose to find a coolish place for some lunch.  It was not cool, but after lunch, we strolled down a few alleys looking for the ‘laundry’ our guide had told us about.  There is a spring and some minimal structures where the village women used to go to do their washing.  I had just about given up on finding it when I found myself standing next to it.  The flow of water was really fast so I reckon the women would have needed to keep a firm grasp on their washing or it would soon be floating out to sea.

The wash station. A strong flow of water comes in at the sides from the spring. The women sat across the central stones and pounded their washing in front of them. The rinse-water torrent flows straight out to sea on the right.

We walked back up the hill and again I stumbled on some steps that took us onto a small beach.  I was fascinated to see that about a third of the beach was occupied by families and others, maybe fifty or so people, while the other two-thirds of the area had not a single person on it.  The reason was obvious.  The larger section was cordoned off with deck chairs all lined up beautifully and policed by a couple of mafiosi who charge about $AU55 per person per day for anyone wishing to take advantage of their largesse and actually use one of them.

The plebs' free (not open!) beach with people on the left, and the snobs' beach with sentries on the right.

Back on the bus, we drove on to Milazzo where we caught the ferry to Lipari – the largest of the Aeolian Islands.  After our previous ferry experience, I was pleasantly surprised to sail through Security without incident – because there wasn’t any.  We all lined up behind the Security barrier, and then the boarding call came, and they opened the gate and we all went straight through – like civilised, law-abiding citizens.

We had a small fleet of people movers to get us and all our baggage from the main harbour (Marina Lunga) to the hotel that was a bit further along from the smaller harbour (Marina Corta) and down at sea level a couple of kilometres away.  Our room was superb (most of them were – but there were at least two disappointed tourists because they ran out of rooms with such grand views), overlooking the ocean with our own balcony – quite idyllic.

We all enjoyed a refreshing welcome drink and enough time for cooling showers, before it was time for yet another excellent dinner in the restaurant, under our balcony and overlooking the sea.

[theseerasures]

the thing about Winter vs. Ironwood in the heart of Atlas as it literally falls all around them is that--with the exception of Watts, who’s not leaving whatever room he’s holed up in rn--they are the only two characters left on Atlas.

Fiona, Joanna, May and the kids are all either at the gateways or already in Vacuo. Robyn, Qrow, and the AceOps (my current guess is Marrow and Elm are in the hold of Robyn’s airship, and Vine’s about to join them) are on their way to Mantle, and once the situation with the bomb is resolved, they have no reason to go back. there are portals all over Mantle, after all.

and no one would think to look for either of them. Ironwood is supposed to be locked up, Winter is supposed to be locking him up and helping with evac, and the thing is--

the thing is that Winter doesn’t have a team. the thing is that it has been IronwoodandWinter for so long, and that has changed so recently, that very few people would think to consider where she might be.

(it was mere chance that they encountered each other in the Vault at all. James had been looking for the Staff, and Winter--Winter had been looking for her family. and she did find it, in a way.)

so unless there is some miracle (which i suppose i can’t rule out completely)-- where it turns out that Klein has kept the airship parked by the Oscar Hole this whole time, and they find some way of going through it up to the Vault--Winter is alone.

and after the fight, after she wins--she will be even more alone.

[curseofaphrodite]

Of Monsters and Men Regulus Black x fem!reader (fluff!)

Summary: I missed writing for him and didn’t know which troupe to choose so I’m doing ALL of them. I present to you - best friends to enemies to lovers with jealousy, insecurities and confessions during a heated argument.

[ tw: swearing, suggestive language, I tried ✨sexual tension✨ again. ] | masterlist

The Gryffindor common room was alive with laughs like always, and Remus, James, Lily, Regulus and you were sitting near your usual spot near the fireplace. 

It was unusual for a Slytherin to be there, but unusual doesn't ever mean impossible.

“Y/N?” Sirius called, walking to them with a confused expression. He was holding your phone in his hands, which you remembered giving to him earlier that day so he could watch videos on how to ride a motorbike.

“Why’s your- uh, screen-” he handed the phone to you, which you took cautiously, because you were sure Regulus was suddenly looking calm. Way too calm, like a Slytherin after they got away with a perfect crime.

“Did he change the lockscreen again?” you asked, your voice tired. “What is it now?”

“A shirtless picture of a random man,” Sirius to the room. 

The culprit couldn’t keep it in. He burst out laughing, and got up from the couch meekly as you locked eyes with him.

“I’m going to kill you!” you yelled, then started chasing the younger Black brother around the room.

“Everyone else sees it too, right?” Marlene asked with a sigh, but she wasn't the only person who was getting tired of it.

"You mean how Y/N and my idiotic brother are both obliviously in love?" Sirius asked, rolling his eyes. 

Regulus's laughs almost scared the marauders. Whenever they saw him, he was usually grim. Last year, he made a friend, or specifically Y/N. 

You definitely made his days brighter and before they knew it, Regulus was sitting at the Gryffindor table for lunch, running around with you outside of classes, making jokes — it kind of made Sirius feel guilty in a way.

What if all his little brother needed was a friend? Couldn't he have tried to be nicer to him before? These questions plagued him, but at least it was better late than never. They still had lots of times to mend their relationship. He hoped so anyway. 

When Regulus ran past him with you on his tail, Sirius raised his hand into the air, making him halt. 

"Y/N," Sirius said, his tone bored. "Can you save the running for outside our dormitory? Where McGonagall wouldn’t see him? My brother isn't exactly allowed here, is he?"

"She can't help it mate," James smirked. "I was chasing Lily all through fourth year too. Not literally of course."

"No," Regulus laid across the free couch, his words dry, as if he have said it a thousand times before. "Y/N and I are just friends. You don't get it. That sounds like a you problem."

"Exactly," you agreed, sitting down beside him, cozying up by throwing an arm around his chest. 

James's mouth fell open. So did Sirius's. 

"It's like you can't see what you're doing," Marlene muttered under her breath, but Lily came to your defense, something you were grateful about.

"It's not our place to say that," she said, giving you an understanding smile. "If they say there's nothing going on, then there's nothing going on! It's not like last year when she—"

"SILENT NIGHT, HOLY NIGHT!" You yelled on the spot. "ALL IS WARM, ALL IS BRIGHT!"

You closed your eyes, preparing yourself for what was about to come. In retrospect, Lily almost saying it was bad enough. Interrupting it with a Christmas song when it's not even December was just more suspicious. You quickly got up from the couch, thinking of more distractions.

"Last year she what?" Regulus asked curiously. 

"Last year when she secretly dated Remus," Lily finished, not knowing why you had interrupted her.

Remus looked away from the awkward scene in front of him, suddenly interested in the way wind was blowing past the leaves outside the window. You, on the other hand, was shrinking under Regulus's eyes.

If he was angry, hurt or annoyed, he usually hid it very well. It was one of the things he has learnt to do in life — to hide behind a wall of neutral calmness. He never shows emotions for too long.

Which is why you felt even more guilty, because there was a slideshow of expressions running past his face, far too fast, each deep, and all of them so clearly exposed to the world. 

Disbelief, surprise, anger, then betrayal. 

"It's getting late," Regulus said simply, then walked off.

"What just happened?" Remus asked, feeling bad himself, even though he didn't do anything wrong.

"I- uhm, I'll talk to you guys later," you said, throwing an apologetic smile towards your ex, then followed Regulus out of the dormitory.

He was certainly good at being quiet, which made you squint your eyes to see which way he had gone. You finally saw him walking left, towards the secret passage outside of Hogwarts. Groaning, you continued your pursuit.

The evening air was thick with typical Hogwarts fog and a fair few clouds. Even though it was dark, stars were only starting to peek from the curtained skies.

"Regulus, come on, wait!" you yelled, but he was ignoring you completely. Fastening your pace, you grabbed his hand, which finally made him stop.

He looked lost.

"Okay, what's going on?" you asked, not letting him go. "Don't tell me you hate Remus."

"You lied." His words were a tangled mess of emotions. 

"I don't know what you're—"

"Don't give me that. You lied. You remember it."

You didn't have anything to say to that. You just stared, wondering why you were even surprised that he remembered.

"You do remember it, don't you?" Regulus asked, taking a step forwards in anger. "That day I got a letter from my mother? You didn't care about the content but you made sure I was distracted the entire day. Astronomy tower, library, assignments? You stayed with me through all of it."

You looked away from him, rubbing your elbow up and down.

"I asked you whether there was something going on between Lupin and you," he continued, getting more frustrated by your silence. "Because I was so sure there was something familiar in the way he looked at you. You said no."

Hearing your sigh, he glared. “You lied to me, Y/N. You lied — can you fucking say something?”

“I don’t know what to say!” you yelled back, getting tired. “Yes, I was dating Remus then, but like Lily said, it was a secret so I kept it a goddamn secret!”

“Since when did you trust Lily more than me?”

“That’s not fair,” you shook your head wildly, taking a step back. “You don’t get to decide who I should confide in.”

He seemed even more confused by that. “Well sorry for thinking I was your best friend.”

“You are!”

“Then why did you lie?”

“Because I was confused, okay? I was fucking confused,” you screamed, making him catch off guard. “I liked Remus, I did. I don’t regret dating him either. But you never helped, Reg, you only made everything complicated.”

“What are you talking about? I didn’t even know you were dating him—”

“Maybe because I was in love with you!” You interrupted sharply. “I am in love with you, dummy!”

Regulus didn’t look surprised. In fact, he looked more tired. “Do you think that’s funny?”

“I’m not lying!”

He sighed and started walking back to the castle, trying to leave you alone. Only you followed him again, this time determined.

“Regulus, I’m not lying. I love you okay, I do? I fucking do, can you please look at me?”

“Then I guess you do have a type,” he said, his words cold.

“What's that supposed to mean?”

He stopped walking to turn to you. 

“You like the guys who are broken, utterly doomed and dangerous. I was nothing but a pity case for you. You didn’t see a friend in me, you saw someone you could fix to feel better about yourself. Of monsters and men, you choose the former.”

You blinked, wondering how he came to that conclusion. Then you remembered how he knew that Lupin was a werewolf. Anger surged through your veins.

“Remus is not a monster,” you snapped.

He smiled sadly. “Interesting how you thought to defend him first.”

-

That night, he couldn’t sleep. To be honest, he couldn’t sleep most of the nights, but he thought he was getting better. Not just his resting pattern, but he wanted to be better as a person. Yelling at someone for loving him was not what better looked like.

He sat up on the bed, rubbing his eyes. He had instinctively looked away to the left, because what lay straight ahead was a mirror. He hated it from the start of Hogwarts. He never wanted to see himself unless he had to.

His reflection only reminded him that he can’t change who he truly is.

Did he believe you loved him? Short answer, no. 

The only people he had in his life was his parents, who were supposed to love him but never did. And of course, his brother, but he didn’t hesitate to leave him, even if it was for a few months.

When everyone around him was leaving, was it really a surprising fact that he’s unsure whether anyone would ever stay?

He looked at the mirror. Guilt stared back, raw and unhelpful. Regulus decided the least he could do was apologize.

He trusted you. If he actually had a chance to hold you close, kiss your neck, whisper sweet nothings into your ears – if he had a chance to call you his, even if it was for a day – he’d take it. Fuck the consequences.

He’d watch his heart burn if it meant you were the one lighting the match.

-

The next day, he ran down the stairs a bit faster than he usually did, almost making him fall down.

“Where are you off to in such a hurry?” Sirius asked teasingly. “Is it the walk of shame I’m witnessing?”

“I just woke up dumbass,” he retorted. “Do you know where Y/N is?”

“You could ask a bit nicer—”

“Sirius!”

“Fine, she’s in her room.”

Regulus ran, knowing he had no plan or words, but he couldn’t just not do anything either.

Sneaking into the girls’ room was easy, he had done it before when he was planning pranks with you. Sneaking into your room without your permission was a bit creepy, but he had to move quick if he didn’t want to be seen.

With a gulp, he unlocked the door and closed it behind him. Fortunately, Lily and Marlene, two of the girls you share your room with, was nowhere to seen.

Unfortunately, neither were you.

He cursed under his breath and prepared to search for you somewhere else, but he noticed your phone near the bed. Suddenly, he had a corny plan.

What if he put a lockscreen which said “sorry” or something? Of course he’ll verbally tell you too, but a little surprise like that might make you smile. Or roll your eyes. Either way, he wanted to try it.

But when he took phone, he froze. The shirtless picture had obviously been removed last night. 

The homescreen now showed a picture of you and him, laughing at something in front of you. He remembered the shot being taken by Marlene weeks ago.

He smiled.

He put the phone back where it was, and was about to leave when the door to the bathroom opened.

“Holy fuck!” you jumped, tightening the towel around you. Regulus made a startled noise too, then like the gentlemen he was, covered his eyes with his hands.

“What are you doing?” he yelled.

“Me? What are you doing?” you asked, baffled.

“I was- here to see you!”

“You’re seeing a lot of me right now,” you joked, though your eyes remained guarded.

“My eyes are closed,” he said defensively, then turned around as if that'd convince you more.

You grabbed a shirt from Lily’s bed, then pulled it over you. It was a bit loose, but way better than having just a towel.

“Okay, now what do you want?” you asked, remembering last night’s events.

Regulus turned, then stared like he did the first time. He thought you looked absolutely stunning, but didn’t say it out loud for the sake of not getting punched.

“I, er, wanted to say I’m sorry,” he stammered the words out.

“And?”

“I — don’t know, I thought you’ll kick me out by now.”

“You literally humiliated me,” you said, your voice rising. “Why should I forgive you after one apology?”

“Because maybe this was what I was warning you from the beginning,” he replied, though not unkindly. “I told you that I'm not a good friend. I never had practice. I can’t mess up anything with you, I love you too much for that.”

“As your best friend?” you asked, a bit warily.

“As someone who’s scared to be anything more,” he whispered, wishing he could disappear. His next words were wary too. “But I can try. If I mess that up too, I won’t have any more excuses.”

You hesitated. A part of you knew he’d never hurt you intentionally, but like he said, it was scary. How do you start dating someone you’re already so in love with? Wouldn’t that be harder?

Or maybe easier, you thought, giving in.

“Good thing you didn’t come ten minutes ago,” you said, trying a smile. “I was sleeping and it was hot last night so I was wearing less than this.” 

Regulus forgot to breath for a second – maybe it was the playfulness in your words, but your voice now alerted his senses to observe everything else about you.

The wet hair clinging onto you, the way Lily’s shirt looked so wrong but right, with just enough skin to tempt him. You were biting down your lips as you had done a thousand times before, a clear sign of nervousness, but all Regulus could see was the movement, so fluid and timid. He wondered, just for a second, how it would feel like to be one the biting down your lips. How you’d taste like. How you’d respond.

“You know,” you began again, when he didn’t say anything. “One day we fought and even after you apologized, I woke up with blue hair. Are you sure you’re not gonna do that to me again?”

“Believe me, there are a lot of things I want to do to you right now.”

You blinked. He quickly started stammering, mentally facepalming for not thinking his words through.

“That’s not what I meant—”

“Show me.”

His eyes widened. “What?”

You sat down on the bed, with a smile so daring that it was an invitation. Regulus was still standing, towering over you, with calmness spread across his face. He bent down a bit, then raised your head upwards, meeting the tip of his nails on your jawline.

“Are you sure?” he asked, his other hand already wandering around your neck.

“Yes.” You allowed yourself to fall back on the bed.

Regulus climbed over, his eyes now ablaze with amusement and desire. He could feel the beats of your heart, now pulsating ten fold. He brushed his lips against your neck, making you tighten your hold on the bedsheets.

“You know there are people out in the hall?”

“We’ll be quiet,” you promised. 

He met your eyes, as if you just said a joke.

“Wanna bet on that?” he asked softly, almost like it was a dare.

———————

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[petits-pois-carcinogenic]

I fucking hate Provence holy shit. I almost fell into a ditch and die today because a retard saw the Bol D'Or circuit race this week end and felt like doing some Akira shit with his motorbike.

No one ever heard of a fucking blinker down there. Traffic signs are suggestions to those genetic dead-ends. Stop means feel free to slow down, orange light means accelerate, clear the way means free-for-all. I cant believe i got slapped on the wrist during my driving exam for not crooking my neck to check the rear view mirror when 200 metres prior i had seen a car nonchalantly drive past a red light.

Fuck Marseille and its inhabitants, insulting the Homo Sapiens kind through their sheer existence, whose brains got fried under the Sun and whose only goal in life is to watch the next upcoming OM match.

Fuck you Toulon, the last time you were relevant is when you scuttled the French Fleet to avoid having it fall to the Germans, because ruining shit is all you're ever good at.

And with retrospect, Fuck the Var in its entirety and fuck its 60% Le Pen voterbase, so afraid of being replaced by Arabs as if every ethnicity that sailed the Mediterranean at one point in History didn't stop by to run a train on your grandmothers which is the only reason you deficients aren't inbred vegetables bound to a wheelchair since birth which you still ended up upon since you tried one night to mimic a formula 1 race with your shitty Peugeot 308 and crashed into a plane tree paralyzing half your nerves.

Every French kid born South of Avignon should be thankful the catholic church lobbied against eugenism back in the 30's or this entire region would have been sterilised into extinction.

My only consolation when I'll be back in Finnmark next january, stranded in the vidda and eating my frostbitten toes off to survive is the knowledge that I will still be 35 parallels away from this shit region and the dicks that occupy it who only deserve to be visited by a nuclear warhead.

[johannesviii]

This is a long post about Shaman King I started to write ages ago and I don’t have a good title for it

Let me tell you about Shaman King for a few minutes, okay. Because the new anime adaptation is coming in like 3 months and I’m still not ready for it. Also I started to write this post 5 years ago just because I re-read the whole thing at the time and it’s been in my drafts since then. Oops

But yeah Shaman King was the very first fandom I got into when I first had a real internet access, around 2003-2004. I was around fifteen. The manga was still going. And in retrospect, it was full of problems. Among other things:

Not enough female characters & questionable choices for most of the ones who actually have a part to play in the plot

A black character drawn with big lips (see above), and I REALLY HOPE this is gonna get fixed in the new anime ; I mean even the author stopped drawing him like that a few years ago when he did the “remix tracks” extra chapters so come on please

An imaginary native american tribe who, while pretty cool, is still imagined by a Japanese dude in 1999 soooo yeah there’s some rough corners here and there (edit: got some anon hate about that but I'm sorry, "ancient aliens" tropes always make me uncomfortable)

An art quality which gets worse and worse over time due to deadline pressures and an increasingly exhausted author

Was stopped before it could reach its natural conclusion (the author drew an actual ending years later and tbh it’s great so I’m putting this very low on the list)

So yeah. Manga from 1999. Problematic. Aged badly. It happens.

BUT.

In retrospect, most of it is such a kick in the metaphorical butt of shonen manga as a whole I can’t believe it was competing against Naruto and One Piece at some point?? Like

It’s a shonen so it plays the "dramatic and sudden power jump” game, but it uses it to reach a surprising conclusion (in the “new” ending I mean)

Most of the characters are “shamans” which means they can see ghosts and spirits, and they use them to fight, to work, or to help other people. This is a manga in which you’re gonna see a Russian shaman channeling a Vodyanoy spirit into a drum to create a torrential flood. You don’t see that in every manga

It’s stated right away that no shaman can be truely, irredeemably bad, because only good-natured people can see ghosts and spirits.

So, no matter how bad a villain may be, they must have had a good nature once even if they look like a complete bastard at the moment.

How far is the author willing to go with that concept? Pretty far

Even without talking about the main villain and how the story ends because, duh, spoilers... Like

My favorite character, who gets a full redemption arc later, cuts someone open in his first chapter

He’s one of the good guys 10 volumes later

Speaking of which the amount of gore in this manga has to be seen to be believed, Jump would never let this happen nowadays

If you’re wondering why this is in the “positive” (......?) list it’s because I was 14/15 and all kids that age crave blood and angst

The main character, Yoh, pictured above, is very laid-back, and I mean very. He listens to the in-world equivalent of Bob Marley and constantly wears big headphones. Also he wears sandals, and sometimes there’s a weed leaf drawn on his t-shirt

His parents arranged a mariage between him and a girl shaman even though they’re still teenagers, so this would have potential for High Drama - but surprisingly enough it turns out they like each other and after that he just goes around saying “this is my future wife” and she’s like “hello if you touch him I’m going to end you”

It sounds weird and it......... is, tbh, but it’s also refreshing among all the “ugh, girls, yuck” tropes that nearly all shonen mangas used to have at the time

Yoh’s main goal in life is to live with minimal effort

When his grandfather tells him he must train to participate in a shaman tournament which happens every 500 years, because the winner gets a wish granted by the Great Spirit, he decides his wish will be to make everybody’s life easy so that nobody will ever be forced to work or do shit they don’t want to do to survive anymore

Yoh Asakura is a Millenial icon don’t @ me

Speaking of which

Almost everyone in this series is broke as f█ck

Yoh owns a big house but that’s only because the price was ridiculously low since it’s the most haunted place in Tokyo and nobody else wants to live there. The house is constantly full of other characters (including enemies) who have literally nowhere else to go

The only important character who isn’t broke has money because his family is super rich but he hates all of them because they’re all bastards so it’s super awkward

Another character bought a really cool motorbike but he’s going to be in debt for the next 40 years

Also he’s a hobo

And also bi

What I’m trying to say is: relatable

Also the tournament is held by an imaginary Native American tribe. They’re also broke. All of them. The two judges who are in charge of the main characters live in a cramped appartment and often try to sell souvenirs in the street to pay the rent

I know that’s hashtag problematic but I still love them I can’t help it

Just like in most shonen mangas the hero seems to amass a big collection of Friends but since everyone is a weirdo in a way or another and comes from all over the world it looks even funnier

At some point during the tournament, the main characters have to form small groups of three in order to participate to the next part. Yoh’s team is one of the strongest teams among the ones we’ve met at this point, and is composed of 1) Yoh, a laid-back sleepy kid wearing toilet sandals 2) the aforementioned bi hobo who’s sad because his current crush is in a rival team, and 3) a thirty-something tatooed guy with no legs and an IV drip and who looks like he hasn’t slept since 1997

Oh and they all wear adds for a bath house

Because remember: everyone’s f█cking broke

Spoilers for the mid-point of the manga but I need to talk about it because it encapsulates everything I used to love in it

You’ve been warned

So

At some point the main character, Yoh, is asked to choose between staying in the tournament or resurrect his rival

This is framed as some kind of very heavy, very huge dilemma. Like oh no what will he do. Will he give up his dreams and hopes. Will You Push The Button(tm)

So the choice is presented to him

In a very dramatic way

And he immediately goes “there’s a way to save him?? YES PLEASE”

He doesn’t hesitate a single second and drops the tournament in a heartbeat to save the guy

This scene greatly contributed to make me a better person I’m not even joking at all

I love Yoh

So anyway I don’t have a proper conclusion for this

Shaman King is very flawed and its flaws need to be acknowledged to fully appreciate all the good things in it, and the “old” fandom from more than 15 years ago was a very good formative experience for me because the forum I was on (which was nuked from the face of the internet by a hacker “looking for training grounds” (his words not mine, he posted it on our frontpage a full week before he did it) in 2005, rip) was full of people who were really into criticising every little aspect of the manga but still loved it dearly

And I think that’s a healthy way to enjoy things and I think we should bring this back

Anyway

Shaman King extremely flawed but full of good things

I still can’t believe it’s back

Johannes out