#so maggie is a top 3 winner?

[dimension20pcbracket]

round 1 statistics

hi, gamers! while we wait for the round 2 polls to close, here are some interesting stats and tidbits from round 1 that I noticed :)

total votes: added up, the 52 polls in round 1 had a total of 28,221 votes. holy shit!

largest percentage of votes: sometimes the polls were tight, and other times they were... not. the top 5 most decisive winners were:

Fig Faeth (93.6%)

Kingston Brown (93.2%)

Sofia Lee (90.3%)

Chirp Featherfowl (89.7%)

Pete Conlan (88.8%)

the thinnest margin of victory to eke out a win went to Rue, who beat Amethar Rocks with a slender 52.2% of votes. notably, Rue kept up the trend in round 2, with their even slimmer 50.2% defeat of Gerard of Greenleigh, so it will be interesting to see if they're able to keep clinging on through round 3.

polls with the most votes: some polls really got you fired up, and brought Dimension 20 fans running in droves to vote for their faves...

Lapin Cadbury v Pinocchio with an unparalleled 1,636 votes

Squak Airavis v Kristen Applebees (838 votes)

Sam Nightingale v Colin Provolone (818 votes)

Katja Cleaver v Prince Andhera (767 votes)

Kingston Brown v Gangie Green (718 votes)

... while other polls had less fanfare. polls with the least votes:

Tuti IV v Maggie (347 votes)

Vicar Ian Prescott v Bob (388 votes)

Saccharina Frostwhip v Megan Mirror // Twyla v Marcid the Typhoon (392 votes each)

Bean v Amangeaux Epicée du Peche (409 votes)

Sunny Biscotto v Binx Choppley (416 votes)

it may not surprise anyone to know that it looks like none of the winners of these least-voted-on polls will be advancing to round 3; it seems the passion isn't there for these particular PCs :/

winning PCs with the most individual votes:

Lapin Cadbury (851 votes)

Kingston Brown (669 votes)

Fig Faeth (573 votes)

Evan Kelmp (509 votes)

Kristen Applebees (487 votes)

winning PCs with the least individual votes:

Maggie (255 votes)

Bob (260 votes)

Sam Black (269 votes)

Cody Walsh (274 votes)

Gunnie Miggles-Rashbax (285)

evidently, individual votes accrued in round 1 aren't a great basis for predicting future success - Kelmp was the fourth most-voted for PC in round 1 but won't be making it to round3, and Gunnie was the fifth least-voted for character in round 1 but on track to head into round 3 by a pretty decent margin.

campaign stats:

the most to least successful campaigns, by % of characters that won their round 1 polls:

Fantasy High: 100% (6/6)

Misfits and Magic: 100% (4/4)

A Starstruck Odyssey: 83.3% (5/6)

A Court of Fey and Flowers: 83.3% (5/6)

The Unsleeping City: 77.8% (7/9)

A Crown of Candy: 75% (6/8)*

The Seven: 66.7% (4/6)

Neverafter: 66.7% (4/6)

Mentopolis: 66.7% (4/6)

Burrow's End: 66.7% (4/6)

Coffin Run: 25% (1/4)

Dungeons and Drag Queens: 25% (1/4)

The Ravening War: 20% (1/5)

Escape from the Bloodkeep: 16.7% (1/6)

Pirates of Leviathan: 16.7% (1/6)

Tiny Heist: 0% (0/6)

Mice and Murder: 0% (0/6)

Shriek Week: 0% (0/4)

*ACOC: while Amethar was passes on to round 2 to compete against Pinocchio, he did lose his initial poll against Rue. if we included Amethar as a winner, ACOC would have a considerably higher 87.5% success rate, making it the third most successful campaign overall.

it's definitely interesting to see how the success of various campaigns has changed over round 2! Fantasy High stays strong, while the MisMag crew has been wiped out, and several campaigns have lost all of their remaining PCs. it'll be exciting to see how the numbers look when all of the final votes for round 2 are in.

thank you all so much for playing along with this bracket! I hope you're all still having fun and are getting hype for round three :)

[macaroni-and-antifreeze]

sorry gang i'm on a writing roll so here is

Ash's Thoughts About Every Winner + A Bonus

Wife, this is your warning. Do not look under the cut. You will be spoiled for literally the entire series.

Also I do briefly mention self-harm towards the end so if that is a trigger for you, I would recommend either scrolling or not reading the massive paragraph at the end.

Dr. Will (BB2) - There's a reason he's an iconic winner. He's a bit of an asshole but he's a lovable asshole, much like my dad.

Lisa (BB3) - Now, do I think a bitter jury contributed to this win? Yes. Is this win still deserved? Yes. She was a strong player in her own right and I'm still happy she won.

Jun (BB4) - One of my favorite winners. Basically invented the floater strategy that other houseguests try and fail to replicate to this day.

Drew (BB5) - Honestly, I have not dived very far into this mid-stage of the old seasons but I guess he's okay.

Maggie (BB6) - Not a big fan of her, tbh.

Mike Boogie (BB7) - There's a lot of shit that happened outside of the game that sours my opinion of him.

Evil Dick (BB8) - Ok, listen. He's a character I can say that much. But, there was a lot of production protection around his win. I don't think he would've gotten as far without America's Player.

Adam (BB9) - I haven't watched BB9, and I probably won't.

Dan (BB10) - What can I say about Dan that hasn't already been said? He is a BB legend and probably the best winner.

Jordan (BB11) - Yeahhhh, no.

Hayden (BB12) - I have conflicting thoughts about Hayden. Is he kinda responsible for Derrick? Yes. Is he entertaining to watch? Yes.

Rachel (BB13) - Ok I gotta admit, I'm not the biggest fan of her in 13, love her in 12 though.

Ian (BB14) - Ian is my favorite, if you have anything negative to say about him fuckin leave.

Andy (BB15) - I refuse to watch BB15.

Derrick (BB16) - See my future "Derrick Levasseur Ruined Big Brother & I Don't Respect Him As A Person" longpost.

Steve (BB17) - I am extremely biased towards Steve. BB17 was the first season I watched and the first to make me fall in love with Big Brother. If you asked my dad, he would say Vanessa was robbed. And I kind of agree, but also don't. We didn't have good enough internet for the feeds at the time so there's a lot of shit we missed.

Nicole (BB18) - I hate Nicole Franzel. I am tired of seeing and hearing her and I do not care if she lives or dies.

Josh (BB19) - 19 was a garbage dump as a season which makes it only fair to get a garbage dump of a winner. Only Kevin winning would satisfy me because he was the only bright spot in this hellhole of a season.

Kaycee (BB20) - Honestly, I don't give a rat's ass about this season. I was on Discord most of the summer so I didn't get to connect with a lot of the players.

Jackson (BB21) - Why do we award racists? I only watched the first half of the season because I was so angry.

Cody (BB22) - The only good thing he did was evict Nicole. This season made me stop watching until midway through BB24 because all of the Pre-Derrick players were evicted for trying to, yknow, play the fucking game how it was meant to be played. So tired of white boys.

Xander (BB23) - I have not gone back & watched BB23 in its entirety due to certain events in my life happening at that time because I fear it may trigger me and ruin my excitement for Big Brother.

Taylor (BB24) - It's what she deserves. She is 2 in my top 3 favorite winners, those being Ian, Taylor, and Lisa.

Jag (BB25) - I don't think you should win if you were evicted, but that's my opinion.

And finally, our bonus player:

Paul (BB18 & 19) - I have incredibly mixed feelings on Paul. When they played in 18, I thought they were the greatest person on Earth. They were cool and funny and had awesome style. And to an autistic middle schooler who couldn't keep up with the changing tides of the social hierarchy, they meant a lot to me because we were already very similar. So I mirrored them. I mirrored them HARD. They were everything I wanted to be as a person. Instead of being the kid who got bullied all the time, I could be cool. To this day, Paul is a really special houseguest to me because they provided an escape from the newly developing self-hatred and urge to harm myself. I'm older and healthier now, so I don't value my worth against people but they were a bright spot in a dark time in my life.

Then BB19 came along. And I felt betrayed.

Why was the person I looked up to suddenly acting like the very thing I was escaping from? It genuinely hurt a lot. And because of those feelings that still linger today, I still feel like that 12 year old "girl" who didn't know what was wrong with them whenever I see clips of Paul on BB19.

Thank you for your time. See yall on Thursday.

[disney-film-tourney]

Welcome mayors!

I haven't seen a competition for AC, so here you go. This is going to start with preliminary rounds of 6 characters each. These will include both villagers and special characters, like Tom Nook or Isabelle. I'll be including old characters who weren't in New Horizons, like Joan and Tortimer.

In the prelims, the top two from each poll will move on to the next round.

Propaganda is encouraged, but please no death threats or anything super violent. This is supposed to be fun.

I'm in the process of organizing the opening polls and gathering photos, but I don't mind starting this in a few days. Please reblog so we can have a better turn out.

Thanks!

Winners:

3/6/23 - Prelims Round 1:

- Big sister: Muffy (51.5%), Ursala (16.5%)

- Cranky: Dobie (53.8%), Avery (18.8%)

- Jock: Roald (32.6%), Genji (27.4%)

- Lazy: Bob (42.1%), Sherb (27.4%)

- Normal: Gladys (25.6%), Margie (24.4%)

- Peppy: Flora (33.9%), Carmen (19.1%)

- Smug: Julian (35%), Pietro (26.5%)

- Snooty: Diana (56.3%), Opal (12.6%)

- Special: Rover (33.1%), Niko (20%)

3/7/23 - Prelims Round 2:

- Big sister: Phoebe (37%), Agnes (31.5%)

- Cranky: Walt (39.6%), Hopper (25%)

- Jock: Dom (50%), Ribbot (24.1%)

- Lazy: Stitches (46.4%), Felyne (16.1%)

- Normal: Coco (42.9%), Lily (23.2%)

- Peppy: Sprinkle (62.3%), Anabelle (11.3%)

- Smug: Zell (47.5%), Colton (16.4%)

- Snooty: Judy (38.7%), Olivia (27.4%)

- Special: Blanca (40.9%), Wardell (19.3%)

3/8/23 - Prelims Round 3:

- Big sister: Cherry (43.9%), Deirdre (15.9%)

- Cranky: Bruce (50%), Cyd (23.7%)

- Jock: Tank (34.2%), Kevin (32.9%)

- Lazy: Zucker (41.7%), Hornsby (19.4%)

- Normal: Merengue (42.7%), Molly (29.2%)

- Peppy: Rosie (34.7%), Chai (18.7%)

- Smug: Kidd (38.7%), Leopold (14.7%)

- Snooty: Mint (44%), Baabara (30.7%)

- Special: Mr. Resetti (27.6%), C.J. (25%)

3/9/23 - Prelims Round 4:

- Big sister: Fucsia (43.7%), Hazel (17.2%)

- Cranky: Apollo (38.2%), Roscoe (20.6%)

- Jock: Scoot (37.9%), Hamlet (21.2%)

- Lazy: Punchy (42.9%), Beau (30.2%)

- Normal: Fauna (37.1%), Lolly (27.8%)

- Peppy: Bunnie (55.7%), Piper (21.4%)

- Smug: Marshal (60.3%), Henry (15.9%)

- Snooty: Julia (28.8%), Purrl (24.2%)

- Special: Flick (40.6%), Mabel (24%)

3/10/23 - Prelims Round 5:

- Cranky: Grizzly (28.6%), Elvis (20%)

- Jock: Kid Cat (51.6%), Tad (21.9%)

- Lazy: Sasha (46.5%), Filbert (23.3%)

- Normal: Vesta (38%), Gayle (23.9%)

- Peppy: Tangy (45%), Cookie (17.5%)

- Smug: Raymond (38%), Shep (23%)

- Snooty: Tipper (34.3%), Gloria (27.1%)

- Special: Tom Nook (29.8%), Katie (28.7%)

3/11/23 - Prelims Round 6:

- Cranky: Rolf (52.3%), Wart Jr. (15.4%)

- Jock: Ace (25%), Boots (23.2%)

- Lazy: TBA (25.4%), Jeremiah (25.4%)

- Normal: Maple (53.7%), Pekoe (26.3%)

- Peppy: Ketchup (41.8%), Merry (35.8%)

- Smug: Chadder (44.1%), Kyle (33.9%)

- Snooty: Ankha (38.4%), Whitney (28.8%)

- Special: Pascal (27.5%), Reese (21.2%)

Top 2: Jeremiah vs. Dizzy vs. Raddle

3/12/23 - Prelims Round 7:

- Cranky: Octavian (40.4%), Groucho (28.1%)

- Jock: Teddy (50.6%), Tybalt (16.9%)

- Lazy: Erik (57%), Walker (15%)

- Normal: Marina (60.2%), Sally (18.1%)

- Peppy: Audie (47.6%), Chrissy (21.9%)

- Snooty: Petri (42.1%), Portia (23.7%)

- Special: Celeste (56.7%), K.K. Slider (20.4%)

3/13/23 - Prelims Round 8:

- Cranky: Butch (41.3%), Lobo (27.2%)

- Jock: Antonio (32.9%), Drift (19.2%)

- Lazy: Bones (58.9%), Cole (22.2%)

- Normal: Nan (31.7%), Maggie (25%)

- Peppy: Shino (51.9%), Pinky (14.4%)

- Snooty: Mathilda (34.4%), Amelia (19.7%)

- Special: Blathers (41%), Brewster (27.7%)

3/14/23 - Prelims Round 9:

- Cranky: Wolfgang (38%), Kabuki (29.3%)

- Jock: Bam (43.8%), Snake (16.9%)

- Lazy: Cranston (25%), Elmer (21.4%)

- Normal: Ione (30.6%), Kiki (28.8%)

- Peppy: Ruby (33%), Bianca (26.6%)

- Snooty: Eloise (33.3%), Tasha (21.2%)

- Special: Jack (30.4%), Timmy & Tommy (27%)

3/15/23 - Prelims Round 10:

- Lazy: Lucky (64.8%), Wade (15.9%)

- Normal: Tia (50.6%), Daisy (19%)

- Special: Sable (32.6%), Isabelle (28.3%)

3/16/23 - Prelims Round 11:

- 11A: Rudy (46.5%), Jingle (18.3%)

- 11B: Tortimer (36.8%), Pashmina (35.3%)

- 11C: Fang (51%), Freya (26.5%)

- 11D: Étoile (47.8%), Chief (19.4%)

- 11E: Goldie (48.2%), Blanche (24.6%)

[newagesispage]

                                                                       JULY2023

THE RIB PAGE  

Elliot Page has given us a memoir titled Pageboy. ** Another good offering looks like The Book of Charlie by David Von Drehle.

*****

Another book release is A Tour De Farce: The complete history of the 3 Stooges on the Road by Gary Lassin.** And let’s not forget Ed Begley Jr. Who has written, To the temple of tranquility and step on it.

*****

Naomi Watts married Billy Crudup. ** Andy Richter married Jennifer Herrera and Conan was the last- minute officiant.

*****

DQ is getting rid of cherry dip. What the fuck? W was just discussing cherry dip the other day with a friend that had worked at DQ and she did not even know they had it. Try advertising the product, people before getting rid of it. Why does fast food always screw it up?? KFC let go of their lil’ lemon parfait and Steak and Shake stopped serving lemon, lime and orange freezes. C’mon. Somebody could open a restaurant with just the stuff that other places discontinue.

*****

Chelsea Peretti has directed, ‘First time female director.’

*****

A Federal Court overturned the Arkansas law that kept Dr.’s from providing gender transition treatment for transgender youth.

*****

Days alert: It’s like Nicole never learns not to lie. Never! At least she admits she is the queen of lies. ** The Body and Soul soap within a soap is too fucking funny! ** Terrell Ransom Jr. The actor that played Theo Carver as a young man may be on the way back!!** Xander and Sarah forever!!** C’mon, let’s try Li and Kristen and Chloe and Rex!!

*****

The 2024 Hollywood Walk of Fame has been announced!! The year will give stars to Chadwick boseman, Kevin Feige, Gal Gadot, Maggie g

Gyllenhaal, Chris Meledandri, Chris Pine, Christina Ricci, Michelle Yeow, Ken Jeong, Eugene Levy, Mario Lopez, Jim Nantz, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Michael Shur, Kerry Washington, Raul De Molina, Lili Estefan, Glen Ballard, Toni Braxton, Def Leppard, Charles Fox, Sammy Hagar, Brandy Norwood, Darius Rucker, Gwen Stefani, Dr. Dre, Jane Krakowski, Otis Redding, Angie Martinez, Billie Jean King and Carl Weathers.

*****

The 76th Tony’s came on June 11. My best dressed were Rachel Brosnahan, Lea Michele, Lupita Nyong’o and Jessica Chastain. Winners included Jodie Comer, J. Harrison Ghee, Sean Hayes, Bonnie Milligan and Alex Newell. The big musical, play and revival awards went to Kimberly Akimbo, Leopoldstadt, Parade and Top dog/Underdog. Aaron Rodgers was there to support his friend, C.J. Cormac who produced Ain’t no Mo.

*****

Censure Adam Schiff for telling the truth??** Pelosi told her Republican colleagues that they looked miserable. It is a fitting twist on the “you look marvelous” era. I mean, they do always look miserable. ** John Durham keeps saying he does not keep up with the news so he couldn’t know if there was anything to the Trump/ Russia controversy. He did admit that Trump made use of the Russian hackers. He poo pooed the Mueller investigation that brought half a dozen convictions. ** Greene and Boebert have been fighting on the house floor. How do people this ignorant get elected.

*****

The Wagner mercinary group staged a March for Justice in Russia.

*****

President Biden hosted Modi of India and the man took questions from reporters, a first!

*****

Sofia Coppola is bringing us her take on Priscilla. The film is based on Elvis and me.

*****

Georgia poll worker Ruby Freeman was completely cleared of fraud in the election.

*****

45 bags of human remains were found in a gulch in Guadalijara, Mexico.

*****

President Biden had to have a root canal. He also called Chinese President Xi a “dictator” at a fundraiser. ** Hunter Biden pled guilty to filing taxes late and will avoid charges that he lied about his drug use when purchasing a handgun. McCarthy called it a sweetheart deal. ** Comer admits that they have these investigations to bring down Biden’s poll numbers.

*****

Everybody seems filled with anxiety and the world seems a little more rude but murder is down 12%.

*****

The bodies of 81 immigrants went into the water off the coast of Greece.

*****

Ted Kazinsky and Pat Robertson have died.

*****

Danny Bonaduce has been diagnosed with Hydrocephalus and had brain surgery. He is recovering nicely.

*****

A new landfill was halted in Peoria, Il. The current landfill should be full in a year or two. It was discovered that an old diamond mine, Black Jewel no. 2, was discovered underneath. The hazards are being looked into.

*****

Chris Licht is out at CNN.

*****

Mike Pence and F X Suarez have jumped into the Republican Presidential ring.

*****

Netflix got what they wanted. They did lose a few customers but got a big bump in new customers after they wouldn’t allow people to share. They are getting away from their old tag line: Love is sharing a password.

*****

Pat Sajak is finally retiring from Wheel of Fortune. Ryan Seacrest is taking over? That sounds about right. The blandness continues.

*****

Scary Clown 45 was indicted on June 13. ** When Trump runs, GOP loses. - John Thune** A new poll shows 59% of the country wants Trump to end his campaign.

*****

Can’t wait for the Doc, Chasing Chasing Amy.

*****

2 Southern Baptists churches were expelled for having women pastors.

*****

The Supreme Court has left Native Americans to adopt or foster their own children.

*****

Stetson and other cowboy shit is quite popular right now. The 70’s are coming back hard.

*****

A company out of Washington state called Recompose will let your loved ones go back to the earth naturally as mulch.

*****

American Auto and Grand Crew were cancelled. Damn, NBC, didn’t you learn your lesson with Brooklyn 99? American Auto and Grand Crew are some of the funniest shows on tv. ** Mindhunter and Perry Mason were also cancelled.

*****

Pete Davidson was charged with reckless driving. He has checked into rehab.

*****

Paul McCartney has a picture book of the things he saw as the Beatles invaded America. Eyes of the Storm: 1964 looks awesome.

*****

The PGA? The Saudi’s? What?? The Saudi’s are taking complete control of the PGA. They won’t tell us all the details.  Is that a security risk? Many of the players and 9-11 victims feel betrayed. Sen. Richard Blumenthal is looking into it.

*****

Trevor Noah is starting a podcast that is still to be named.

*****

Oceangate  lost 5 passengers that paid $250,000 each to ride to the Titanic in a submersible named Titan. Contact was lost and the mystery began. It looks like the ship claimed 5 more.

*****

I hate the word, homophobia. It’s not a phobia, you’re not scared, you’re an asshole. - Morgan Freeman

*****

R.I.P. Astrud Gilberto, Cynthia Weil, Mike Batayeh, Wade Goodwyn, treat Williams, Cormac McCarthy, Bill Lee, Marlene Clark, Daniel Ellsberg, Beyond Wonderland victims, Glenda Jackson, Carol Higgin Clark, Sheldon Harnick, Frederic Forrest, Julian Sands, Titan victims, Alan Arkin and Rick Bennett

[mood2you]

okay

why... is homesick

(ID: Paneled, primary color but softer/greener blue acid paint splatter cover of Homestick A Memoir by Jennifer Croft, and soft painterly cover featuring clouds and a old-timey plane, a yellow circle by the plane and a big scarlet one on the bottom right, New York Times Best Seller Great Circle a noval by Maggie Shipstead, author of Seating Arrangements, end ID.)

on the 2023 women's prize book long list if it was a nonfiction* in 2019? But Wasn't Great Circle from... (looking stuff up)

(ID Wikipedia table of Women's Prize for Fiction winnter and finalists, 2010-2019. Year, 2010. Authors: Barbara Kingslover (highlighted blue because she was the winner), Rosie Allison, Attica Locke. The link of Locke is purple. Titles: The Lacuna, The Very Thought of You, Black Water Rising. The Lacuna is highlighted blue, and Black Water Rising doesn't have its own link/page, end ID.)

Hey I've read Attica Locke. Okay Black Water Rising was 2009 and finalist for the 2010 and Great Circle was

(ID: the 2012 table with Madeline Miller, Esi Edugyan, and Anne Enright, and their books, The Song of Achilles, Half-Blood Blues, the Forgotton Waltz. Miller was the winner, and Song of Achilles has a footnote E, end ID.)

h oh..! oh boy...!**

(ID: The 2021 table with Susanna Clarke, Brit Bennett, Clair Fuller, and Yaa Gyasi. Clarke won. Piranesi has a hover-box that says, "Piranesi is a fantasy novel by English author Susanna Clarke, published by Bloomsbury Publishing in 2020. It is Clarke's..." cuts off, end ID.)

(voices of 3 witches) well that's just fine***

(ID: Foggy blue river and trees cover of Black Water Rising, text on top of the cover says it was shortlisted for the Orange Prize in ficton 2010. By Attica Locke. New York Times Best Seller The Song of Achilles with 2 blurbs, "fast, true, and incredibly rewarding... A remarkable achievement," by USA Today, and, "Mary Renault lives again! Ravishingly Vivid," by Emma Donoghue, author of Room. It has a sticker that says Winner! Of the Orange Prize for fiction. A novel, by Madeline Miller. Piranesi's cover, featuring a colored wood-cut type of Faun with a Pan-flute, on a pillar. Internationally Best Selling Author of Jonathan Strange and Dr. Norell, Susanna Clacke, Piranesi, end ID.)

Anyways,

(ID: Wikipedia's 2022 table with bleed from 2021: Yaa Gyasi, Cherlie Jones, Patricia Lockwood. 2022 are Ruth Ozeki, the winner, Lisa Allen-Agostini, Louise Erdrich, Meg Mason, Elif Shafak, and Maggie Shipstead. Great Circle has a hover-box: "Great Circle is a 2021 novel by Maggie Shipstead, published on May 4, 2021 by Alfred A. Knopf." It's a larger box than necessary, end ID.)

There is a PATTERN have books from 1 year previously. I really like that, since the long list is happening "already" in February, um, well today is the oscars. But then, like, the fun stupid awards are november. what do you think would happen to the goodreads choice award if it let anyone at all make nominations. there's a discord bot that will display the link and summary and cover of a book based on "I'm Feeling Lucky" style searching quearying into the bot.i think that type of AI should sort the nominations and count them.

My thoughts.

*Hehe, no I'm not mad about the "memoir? fiction" aspect I just put it because everyone is saying everyone else is talkign about it.

(ID: A Million Little Pieces cover, defined photo of a child's hand covered in tiny multicolored plastic beads, like ice cream BB sprinkles, on an aqua background. By James Frey. With the blurb, "Gripping... a great story... You can't help but cheer for his victory," by Los Angeles Times Book Review, end ID.)

**Since Song of Achilles is popular, I hate it.

***Piranesi might have the same problems as Achilles. But I liked it. Mainly because I had musical accompaniment and was reading a LP version... so it felt slower due to being like 300 pages (it's somewhat short! People joke because appartently Mr. Strange and Dr. Norell is very long. Well I haven't seen it.)

(ID, 3 bookcovers. A blue silouette of a black girl with long braids in the wind, some hiding her eyes from view, New York Times Bestseller, Nightcrawling, a novel. Oprah's Book Club 2022. By Leila Mottley. With the blurb, "Searing... An intimate portrait of a young Black woman searching for autonomy and fulfillment." from the New York Times. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell a novel by Susanna Clarke, black with white bird flight silouette. The Final Revival of Opal & Nev, with a blurb "sorry untranscribed I'm tired, a nove"one of the most immersive novels l've ever read," from Ta-Nehisi Coates, by Dawn Walton, a novel, it's red with a black guitar silhouette with an orange cut out of a woman's face, end ID.)

Oh and I didn't. Bother with Great Circle. But it was the only 2022 Women's Prize book I'd, like, well I'd heard of it, and, um. I'd heard of it, and Opal & Nev, which I did pick up, but unlike Great Circle I didn't crack it open at all.

From this year I think I haven't read any of them or cracked them open at all but I've heard a lot about Nightcrawling.

[helen-kim-was-pushed]

So Ev*l D*ck hosted a bb6 reunion with everyone but Maggie, Ivette, Michael and Cappy (Jblow even showed up!) and here are some takeaways:

-Howie is now a big believer in Bigfoot

-Jen would’ve preferred to have been on the Sovereign Six side of the house

-April couldn’t stand Ivette and only worked with her because of Maggie (she said she and Jen wanted to flip the whole game but couldn’t)

-Ivette/Beau and April/Jen barely knew each other

-James would call Sarah from jury by waiting for the handler to go to sleep, steal his phone, then delete the call logs afterwards lmao

-Janelle had like 6 potential partners before Ashlea (and one of them knew Beau)

-James and April both said they would’ve voted for Janelle over Ivette

-April wanted to keep Beau over Ivette at F6, but Maggie basically guilt-manipulated her into keeping Ivette (she was the swing vote)

-April said that Ivette “poisoned” a lot of the friendship against Janelle early on, and later April was serious about working with Janelle at F4

-They all really respect Maggie’s gameplay now

-Ashlea was evicted first for not washing dishes

[storybook-souls]

top ten books i read in 2022

in order of how much i enjoyed them, not necessarily how good they are, although i do stand by them all being good. limited myself to one per series bc i do think otherwise seven out of these ten would be the raven cycle and the locked tomb series. add me on storygraph @strawberrrysky for more book opinions and also bc i desperately want more storygraph friends

(i promise my descriptions get shorter as i go on)

1. The Raven Boys, by Maggie Stiefvater

i somehow missed reading trc when i was a teenager and then avoided it for a while out of a combination of stubbornness and a total misconception of what the books were about. fortunately this year my friends responded to my plea for fantasy books in a modern setting by telling me to just suck it up and read the raven boys already and by the end of chapter 1 i was intrigued, by the end of chapter 7 i was locked the fuck in, by the end of chapter 15 i was like “oh okay this is gonna be my personality for a while.” the prose, the system of magic, the atmosphere, and above all the characters...augh. i love these books and i love the raven boys in particular i think maggie stiefvater REALLY knows how to establish her characters and her world and how to pull a reader in and how to give you that bubbly “it was starting!” feeling right alongside the characters. also the whole last act of this book made me experience brand new emotions. i could go on but i think everyone who hasn’t read these books yet should at least CONSIDER it.

2. Harrow the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir

it’s CRAZY how good this book (the second in the locked tomb series) is. it’s CRAZY. it shouldn’t work but it absolutely does. the prose, the set-up and payoff, the hiding things in plain sight. there’s NOTHING more satisfying than the way everything clicks together at the end. tamsyn muir said “you ARE going to read this book that’s inexplicably in second person and seems at first to totally disregard the first book in the series and you’re going to love it” and i respect her so much for that. and the CHARACTERS! the PLOT! genuine masterpiece i think it’s one of the smartest-written books i’ve ever read

3. Gravity is the Thing, by Jaclyn Moriarty

i LOVED this book. Jaclyn Moriarty’s prose is so melodic and fun to read--usually when i read a book in three days it means something about the plot really seized me but in this case it was more just how much i was enjoying her style. it manages to balance a sense of whimsy with feeling real and honest, which is exactly what i want from this kind of contemporary fiction. book about connection, book about grief, book about hope, loss, healing, resilience, imagination...when i finished it i cried for half an hour and it felt like my soul had taken a shower

4. Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke

Piranesi had been “at the top of my to-read list” for over a year by the time i finally got to it and i was a bit worried my expectations were going to be too high but oh my GOD was it every bit as good as everyone said. NO one is doing it like this book and I don’t want to tell you much more about it because I think the less you know the better but what a win for slow reveals and satisfying endings.

5. The Book of Eels, by Patrik Svensson

my nonfiction winner for this year. I learned so much about eels and also cried about humanity and family which is always what I’m looking for from a book

6. The Only Good Indians, by Stephen Graham Jones

i have GOT to get into reading more horror this book was so awesome. scary and brilliantly written and atmospheric and didn’t pull its punches even at all.

7. Jurassic Park, by Michael Crichton

one of my few re-reads this year but i LOVE this book, especially the masterful slow build in the first half of it. the horror of a dinosaur eating someone is one thing, the horror of human hubris and dramatic irony is another.

8. The Devourers, by Indra Das

the most visceral book i’ve ever read i think. now THIS is love and consumption! now THIS is a book about telling stories and being human!

9. Artificial Condition, by Martha Wells

The murderbot diaries are like. 80% funny and fast-paced and action packed and then all of a sudden you’ll hit a line or a concept that makes you have to put the book down and take a few laps around the room. Murderbot’s relationship with ART especially made me really feel like I was losing my mind. This is what I like about sci-fi.

10. The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman

this book is incredibly well written and i think the horror elements stuck with me more than some of the actual horror books I read this year. just a really gorgeous and atmospheric and dreamlike story that manages to convincingly feel like it’s playing with huge things while still keeping the scope of the story very small. like a whole ocean in a pond, one could say,

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

11. The Queen’s Gambit, by Walter Tevis (can’t help it i’m a sucker for a chess game)

12. Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn (i think i’d’ve liked it more if i hadn’t already known all the twists but even knowing what was going on it was still fucking awesome)

13. Owls of the Eastern Ice, by Jonathan C. Slaght (i think i learned more from this one than anything else i read this year)

14. The Traitor Baru Cormorant, by Seth Dickinson (no one is doing it like her)

15. Black Cake, by Charmaine Wilkerson (a win for my book club)

[imagine-loki]

Country Entertainment

TITLE: Country Entertainment

  CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: 1 / ?

  AUTHOR: brightsun-and-darkmidnight

  ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine Loki wooing you at an amusement part in the game area

  RATING:  Teen …? I think..?

  NOTES/WARNINGS: Maybe bad flirting? I am trying to make it fluffy

  My Ao3: brightsun_and_darkmidnight

  *FINALLY..Read the warnings. Once you agree you can handle it…

   ~ ~ ENJOY  ~ ~

Loki felt the gentle hand of his mother on his shoulder.

  Frigga smiled once Loki took his eyes off of the huge pig.

  “Let’s go see the events in the arena.”

  Loki nodded as the auctioneer started taking bids. Odin threw his hand up for the bid. 

  A few steps away and Thor caught up with Loki and Frigga.

  Thor gently hugged Frigga, “my friends are here. We were going to enjoy rides and play the games.”

  Frigga gave Thor a knowing look before speaking, “have fun and make sure you eat something.” Frigga pointed a finger at Thor, “make sure your FRIENDS eat too.”

  Thor smiled sheepishly. “Yes mother. Enjoy the show, it is barrel racing now right?”

  “It is. Now behave." 

  Frigga took Loki’s elbow and guided him to the entrance after Thor assured her the things she demanded would be honored. Frigga and Loki watched the riders but Frigga quickly had a favorite.

  Frigga tapped Loki’s arm as she exclaimed. "Look at her! Wow!”

  Loki smiled at his mother’s enthusiasm

  “She has excellent position on her horse, you can tell how much she trained! She has to be first place!”

  Loki looked at the score and the girl was .63 seconds away from the winner.

  “That’s a load of shit. She was the best!" 

  Loki’s eyes widened, "mother." 

  "Sorry dear. Well. I better get back to your father. You go have fun.”

  Loki nodded and went in search for Hela or Thor.

  Seeing Hela at a ring toss game he went over.

  Hela was talking to the worker and the woman smiled, making Hela turn. Hela went back to talking to the worker. Loki didn’t feel too wanted but sometimes Hela is better company than Thor at fairs. Thor and his friends always tried to hook up with whoever they could. Their flirting was absolutely terrible.

  Hela shook the woman’s hand, “bet you another 50 dollars.”

  “You’re on!”

  Hela turned to Loki, “dad get anything good to eat?”

  Loki shrugged, “mother and I watched barrel racing.”

  Loki watched the women exchange looks.

  Hela gave the woman money and a bucket of rings were placed in front of Loki. He rose an eyebrow and was about to ask a question.

  “You are gonna need to practice. Get all of those knives for me.”

  Loki quickly caught onto the game. The rings were meant to go around the knives in the center of the stand, but to make things a little more difficult the podiums spun so the knives were constantly moving. With a few practice throws Loki got the hang of it.

  The woman working the stand put the 5th knife on a pile. “He is really good.”

  Hela’s smile was heard in her voice as Loki got another knife. “You are gonna owe me that 50 dollars!”

  The woman huffed when Loki pointed to another knife with a ring around it. 

  “The freaking bucket cost 20 dollars, and he is gonna take all the knives!”

  Hela smirked. “Maybe you should have bet lower.”

  “I didn’t know your brother is really good at throwing stuff!”

  Movement caught Loki’s attention when someone moved fast to jump over the stand.

  It was a girl with tangled hair pushed back away from her face. She had a tight dark green tank top with a flannel around her waist. With tight jeans and dirty boots. The odd thing about her is she was wearing a bow around her neck.

  The girl wrapped her arms around the worker. “Hey big sis!”

  The worker wrapped an arm around the girl then stated, “Maggi. Fix your hair." 

  Maggie gave her sister a cocky smile. "I did. You know its because of the spoiled princess" 

  Hela laughed, "Comeon Sam, your sister is a sass master.”

  Maggie’s sister, Sam groaned. “Fuck off." 

  Maggie smiled, "life would be so dull without me.”

  Loki smiled and went back to playing the game… that he might have briefly forgotten.

  Sam asked nudging her, “What place babyswiss?”

  She gestured towards the bow around her neck, “Second. .63 seconds.”

  Loki got another knife added to the pile.

  Loki glanced at the girl and the clothes were the same as Frigga’s favorite rider.

  Hella held out a hand to the woman who slaps $50 in her hand.

  The sister explained to Maggie’s questionable face. “Hella said you would be under a minute.”

  Maggie drawled, “How nice to believe in me…”

  The sister defended herself as she set a new knife in Loki’s pile, “Listen we knew you would lose because that spoiled bitch would get rid of the horse.”

  Maggie shrugged her shoulders, “Now if someone beat her time before I had to go…”

  Sam talked again. “You’d be able to buy a new vehicle with your winnings.”

  Another knife added to Loki’s collection.

  Sam grumbled, “And buy my new supply of knives.”

  Hela laughed.

  Maggie exclaimed, “my jeep runs great. Just got a few things that need upgraded. I dont need something fast.”

  A squeaky voice made Loki want to cringe.

  “My truck would beat your shit jeep anyday. I would beat you at anything anyway.”

  A few laughs were heard but Loki kept his eyes on the game.

  Maggie leaned on the counter with a smile, “How about we ride something between our legs Princess?”

  The supposed princess laughed. “Right and what do you have in mind?”

  Maggie winked, “Your boyfriend seems ready." 

  Hela turned, both her and Sam laughed.

  Maggie laughed as well, "just kidding but I’m not kidding when I say you guys need to work on blood circulation above the shoulders. You might not use your brain often but it’s kinda important..”

  Loki sees the Maggie smirk and the princess one looks confused until she looks at her boyfriend’s crotch.

  A few laughed at the huff from the girl.

  Maggie continued with a dramatic eye roll, “I mean something with intelligence. A HORSE.”

  The cringeworthy voice held a cocky tone. “I won first place, what makes you think you can win?”

  Maggie shrugged standing up tall. “You said any condition anyway you could beat me. I want to get another shot at proving you wrong.”

  The girl laughed briefly. “Whatever. Cover that huge forehead of yours… is an hour too short of time to be presentable?”

  Maggie was running her fingers through her tangled hair. “Can I borrow a brush? No? Okay, I figured you always have your entire beauty necessities with you.” Maggie was working on forcing a knot to come undone. “Don’t wait up for me, I’m sure you are going to need the whole time actually learning how to gear your horse.”

  The other girl walked away with an eye roll and dramatic stomp.

  Hella laughed. “Well. I’m looking forward to this.”

  Sam cheered, “record it!”

  Maggie leaned her hip against the counter, “yeah let me know her reaction when I don’t show up.” She winced as she undid the knot in her hair by pulling it.

  Loki got another new knife set down in his pile.

  Hela patted Loki’s shoulder. “Just a couple more Loki. Good job.”

  Maggie exclaimed, “Is he getting all the knives?!”

  Hela smiled, “yep. I got 50 dollars saying, my brother, Loki, is going to get me one of every knife. With only one bucket of rings.”

  Maggie’s smile faltered a bit when Loki looked right at her.

  He shrugged. “My sister likes knives.”

  Sam huffed in annoyance, “and he is really good at this game.”

  Loki seen familiar blonde hair and went back to tossing the rings.

  Fandral leaned onto the counter making Maggie eye him oddly.

  Fandral winked. “You are a beautiful woman and I would love to see where those tan lines end..”

  Maggie’s face fell to a stoic expression. “Maybe they don’t.”

  Hela rolled her eyes and Sam glared at Fandral.

  Fandral continued not getting that he was unwanted. “I would love to take you on the Farris wheel. See the fair’s lights and how the moonlight makes your eyes shine.”

  Maggie rolled her eyes. “I don’t like heights.”

  “I could hold you and keep you safe in my arms.”

  “Strong arms are not going to help anyone from a fall like that.”

  “Ah yes. A graceful angel Falling hard for a man like me. It must have hurt.”

  “Actually to get here, I clawed my way up.”

  Fandral laughed, “all the better.”

  “Maybe you could kiss my hand better after sporting a black eye for the next victim of poor flirtation.” Maggie gave Fandral a sweet smile.

  “Surely a woman like you can be wooed.”

  “Get a ring around the blade of my favorite knife. You get as many chances as one bucket can hold.”

  Fandral sees Loki’s pile of knives, “well then do me a favor my REALLY good friend and help me.”

  Maggie crossed her arms and leaned back against the stand “If he does it, he gets the date. You are on your own.”

  Loki looked in his bucket and had 14 rings left and had 5 more knives to get. 

  Hela patted Loki’s shoulder. “Get her FAVORITE knife. You need a date.”

  Loki rolled his eyes. “I didn’t know there was more to this game than winning knives.” Loki threw a ring and got it around a butterfly knife.

  Hela took it from the pile and started doing tricks with it.

  Marigold got a knife out of her back pocket and was talking with Hela about tricks.

  Loki had 2 more knives to get but only 5 rings.

  Fandral was only able to get 3 knives in his haste and earned the laughs of Thor.

  Sif offers Fandral a fry and says, “Pitty offering”

  Fandral takes it and bites it with a high head as they all walk away.

  Maggie groaned. “Yep totally not my type." 

  Maggie held her knife still and Loki wondered if that was part of the trick. Loki had one more ring and he already knew he was not going to get the two knives left. He took a chance and threw the ring at the knife in Maggie’s hand.

  She looks down at her hand and back up at him.

  The sister laughed. "Well then… she’s speechless for once.”

  Maggie was quickly back to her social ways. “Shut up Sam.”

  Hella smirks and pats Loki on the back-“Looks like you have to go on a date with my little brother.”

[racewinner]

I was tagged by @fermula1 tysm love<3

Rules: Answer 30 questions and tag blogs you want to get to know better

Tagging (if you want to but if not it's completely ok💞): @alexalbonsimp @you-justwaitsunshine @formulabarbi @racinglesbian @singlepringle2023 and anyone who sees this and wants to do it<3

1. Name/nickname: My nickname is Maggie, my actual name is [redacted] sorry :c

2. Gender: i'm a girl

3. Star sign: libra

4. Height: uhhh I believe 168cm

5. Time: i'm gonna assume it's the time i was born? 2:15AM

6. Birthday: October 3

7.Favorite bands/groups: i'm gonna say The Neighbourhood but really there's a whole bunch of other bands i could say

8. Favorite solo artists: Halsey the loml<3

9. Song stuck in your head: The Dø — On my shoulders

10. Last movie: Happy birthdead

11. Last show: The haunting of Bly Manor

12. When did I create this blog: at the end of november

13. What do I post: f1 and very occasionally other sports

14. Last thing I googled: procreate recolor (stupid stupid update)

15. Other blogs: my main which is pretty much everything else that isn't sports. i don't use it a lot these days

16. Do I get asks: occasionally 🥰

17. Why I chose my url: my fav driver is Pierre (or was? Lewis is getting pretty close these days fjsjdjsj anyways) and he's a race winner so<3

18. Following: 33 people that i follow with this blog in mind (i probably should follow more people), but overall with my main i follow over 350+ blogs but idk how many of these are still active, probably not a lot

19. Followers: [redacted] but i love them all<3

20. Average hours of sleep: like 10h? if only highschool me with her 4 — 5h could see me now

21. Lucky number: i don't really have one, i guess i kinda adopted my sister lucky number which is 137

22. Instrument: none 😔

23. What am I wearing: sweatpants and my favorite very old sweatshirt

24. Dream job: [insert career path crisis] god i wish i knew

25. Dream trip: so many places but i'd love to visit Ireland<3

26. Favorite food: i'm basic but pizza imma right

27. Nationality: french 😔

28. Favorite song: P!atd — Far too young to die

29. Last book read: if we're counting interactive fiction, I've reread fallen hero:rebirth recently and it's still so good 🥰 if not it's the song of Achilles

30. Top three fictional worlds: uhhh harry potter, pokemon and the raven cycle

[screenandcinema]

Coming Attractions August 2021

As usual, we present monthly previews of new movies being released. These are the movies that will be hitting your local cinemas (and streaming services) this month:

August 6th

The Suicide Squad - While writer/director James Gunn was ultimately rehired by Marvel Studios to make the third installment of his Guardians of the Galaxy series (coming in 2023), in the short time between his firing in 2018 and rehiring in 2019, Gunn signed on to direct a new Suicide Squad film for DC Films. Now the sequel/reboot he made is finally here. Check out the carnage and mayhem of Suicide Squad in theaters and on HBO Max this month.

August 13th

The Kissing Booth 3 (August 11th) - Apparently Netflix made two The Kissing Booth movies, well here comes a third.

Free Guy - Ryan Reynolds is the titular Free Guy in this movie about video games which isn't based on a video game. Jodie Comer, who you will be hearing a lot about this fall when The Last Duel hits theaters in October, also stars in the film alongside Lil Rel Howrey and Taika Waititi. Early reviews of Free Guy have been surprisingly positive.

Respect - Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson stars as the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, in this upcoming biopic. Forest Whitaker and Marlon Wayans co-star.

Don’t Breathe 2 - What happens when you take the villain of an action horror film and make him the hero in a sequel? Well, you get Don’t Breathe 2.

CODA - After premiering at the Sundance Film Festival in January of this year, CODA, which stands for “children of deaf adults” was met with rave reviews and was purchased by Apple for a festival-record $25 million. Now CODA is coming AppleTV+ for the rest of us non-festivals goers to enjoy.

August 20th

Reminiscence - Westworld co-creator Lisa Joy makes her directorial debut with this science fiction film starring Hugh Jackman, Rebecca Ferguson, and Thandiwe Newton. I am so excited for Reminiscence that if every movie coming in August was released on the same day, The Suicide Squad included, I would go see Reminiscence first. Check it out in theaters and on HBO Max.

PAW Patrol: The Movie - Cool, a Paw Patrol movie. Thankfully for parents everywhere, it will be released on Paramount+ in addition to in theaters. Turn it on and leave the room.

The Protégé - Director Martin Campbell brings us a new action thriller starring Maggie Q, Michael Keaton, Samuel L. Jackson, and Robert Patrick. That pedigree alone is a recipe for success. Will the final product be any good? Who knows.

August 27th

Candyman - Nia DaCosta’s Candyman, a legacy sequel to the 1992 film of the same name, stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Teyonah Parris and is all set to scare audiences who say his name this month.

Vacation Friends - Coming to Hulu is a new comedy starring John Cena and Lil Rel Howery. Fun.

He’s All That - Netflix presents a gender-swapped remake of the iconic 1999 teen romantic comedy. This version stars Corba Kai’s Tanner Buchanan and TikTok “star” Addison Rae. No word yet if any Sixpence None the Richer is on the soundtrack.

Now for a quick look ahead to September, my top picks for next month are Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

-MB-

[ubernoxa]

The Sip: A GNR Modern Day AU

Chapter 4: Shot Hill

(Chapter 1) (Chapter 2) (Chapter 3)

Chapter Summary: Alanah may have gotten more than she bargened for when she discovers a little game can have other intentions

I had 4 beers and that was the only reason I agreed to play this shot hill game Stevie and Duff had mentioned earlier.

Dinner was absolutely delicious and I don’t think Slash could have done a better job cooking. It just tasted amazing. It was fall off the bone perfection.

We quickly moved that party inside and that’s when I saw Sandy again, happily sitting on the couch with some guy’s arm draped around her. She gave me a not so discrete thumbs up before I followed Duff and the rest of the guys to the basement.

When I walked into the basement, the only worlds that came to mind were holy shit. A large pool table occupied the center of the basement with a bar and mini living room off to the side. My eyes darted right back to the pool table which was filled with shot glasses. There were so many that it was impossible to count.

“Alright the name of the game is shot hill. For the newbies in the room, the rules are simple. There will be 3 teams. Me and slash, Stevie and Maggie, and Duff and Alanah.

Each team will select an A person and a B person this will determine who goes which round. Whoever got last the last time we played goes first. If the person to your right makes the shot, you drink. I should note that not all of the shots are normal shots, so tread lightly. If you don’t want to take a shot or if the ball lands on the floor before the second bounce, you remove an article of clothing of your partner’s choice.

Everyone give your phones to Izzy before we begin, Any questions?”

Duff gently rubbed my back as Axl explained the rules. I almost jumped when I felt his fingers dance in the straps that held my bikini top on. Before I could question if I should even play the game Axl tossed Duff the small ball who gave it to me.

“A for Alanah,” he smirked rather proud of his discovery. I had only had 2 beers or wait was it 3 or 4? Fuck. Never mind that doesn’t matter. A little fun never hurt anyone. I have played beer pong before. How different could this be?

I bounced the ping pong ball and it made it into a shot glass. Duff cheered from behind me as Stevie took the shot of what I assumed to be baileys mixed with milk.

Laughter quickly filled the room as he coughed a little.

“ Izzy what the hell was that?” Stevie jokingly yelled across the room.

“What you’ve never had vodka mixed with milk before?” Laughter filled the room again as Izzy spoke. Axl wasn’t kidding on how some of the shots weren’t ‘normal’.

“One of the winners gets to setup the next game and makes the shots,” Duff explained as we watched Stevie aiming across the table. There must have been something over there that he wanted Axl to drink. By the look of disappointment in his face, it wasn’t the red shot that the ping pong ball made it into.

Axl took the red shot and made a comment about how it tasted like cherries. Good news to hear that not all of the shots are messed up.

“You little bitch, were you trying to go for the black shot!” Laughter filled the room as Steven smiled and nodded.

“We all know what’s in there, Izzy made the shots and that special one is always there. I don’t want to EVER take that shot again. Sorry Alanah,” Steven then turned to me as he apologized.

“Why are you apologizing to me for?”

“You’re gonna have to take the shot,” he casually replied.

I looked up to Axl who seemed much too excited to toss the ping pong ball into the shot that was practically right in front of him.

“Survival of the fittest. I had to take that shot last time Izzy setup the game, and there is no way in hell I’m taking it again,” Axl joked once the ball landed in the shot.

“Well fuck..” I then turned to Duff and asked, “if he is afraid of that shot then I want to part of it. Which piece of clothing goes?” I couldn’t help but smirk as Duff’s eyes lit up.

He tugged on the belt loop of my shorts and I quickly pulled them off before he took his turn.

This time it landed in a clear liquid and Maggie asked, “hey Izzy, what are the odds that it is just vodka?”

“I’m not telling you shit Maggie. Part of the fun of winning is that you potentially get to fuck with people as they become more and more paranoid about what is in the glasses,” Izzy replied before leaving his seat and joining the rest of us at the pool table.

Without hesitation, Maggie grabbed the shot and finished it in one go.

“Holy shit that was water. I almost removed an article of clothing for water,” I couldn’t help but laugh with her as she spoke.

“Aim for The Shot,” Stevie pointed over towards the black shot he tried to get Axl to drink earlier. Maybe Slash would be the one to take the shot,

“No promises,” she responded before eyeing down the shot glass. I had never seen someone focus as much as she did as she tried to sink the ping pong ball into the cup.

“Woooo!” I joined in the cheering as she sunk it in.

I could hear slash groan across the room and laughter quickly followed suit.

“So how bad are we talking here? How bad is this shot? Cause my curiosity is getting the best of me right now,” Slash said earning a what the fuck look from Axl.

“It has the consistency of sludge, smells like shit, and fuck knows what that bastard puts in it but it will fuck you up,” Axl tried to reason with Slash. I wanted him to take the shot, so I wouldn’t have to. Please take the damn shot.

“But Axl, I haven’t tried it before!” Laughter filled the room as Axl threw his hands up in the air and walked away from the table.

“I swear to fucking god Slash. That shot is going to fuck you up and I don’t want to have to take care of you tonight. Remember why we call it the Dead Man?!” It was clear Axl was done with Slash’s shit.

“Alright, alright I was just fuckin’ with ya. What should I remove?” Axl rolled his eyes and I couldn’t help, but giggle at his response. I don’t know what I expected from the infamous Guns N’ Roses, but this wasn’t it. I wasn’t disappointed though, the media made them out to be a bunch of loud trash people. Standing here, in their basement, playing this drinking game made me feel like they were a big family. Without hesitation Slash removed he shirt earning a cheer from Stevie and threw it across the room making a little show.

“Alright Duff, how much do you love me,” I couldn’t help but laugh as a mischievous look crossed Slash’s face. He was going to land it in what Axl referred to as the dead man shot.

“You’re my favorite lead guitarist,” I shook my head knowing that Duff was going to take the shot.

“Hmm not good enough,” Slash replied. Before I could even blink, the ball landed in the shot glass.

“Sucks to suck,” I teased at him.

“Says the one who didn’t take the shot not even a round ago. Also we are on the same team,” I watched him as he eyed the shot. Was he seriously debating it?

“Jesus Christ,” I perked up and looked over at Axl who was trying to hide laughter and was whispering something I couldn’t make out to Slash.

“Pass the shot,” the room went silent as Slash passed him the shot. Was he seriously going to drink it?

“You know you don’t have to drink it,” I whispered to him. Saying I felt bad was an understatement. Like he said we were on a team.

“Ehh, one of us is drinking it tonight, so might as well get it over with,” he shrugged and whispered back, but I still felt bad. I shouldn’t had wimped out last round and just taken it.

“Here, a courtesy shot of vodka,” Izzy handed me a shot to give to Duff who mumbled something in auditable.

Without any fanfare Duff took the shot and immediately yelled, “WHAT THE FUCK IZZY” the room irrupted in laughter as Duff coughed and grabbed the shot of vodka to wash the other shot down.

“That’s fucking rancid,” Duff said between coughs.

Time flew by as the shot glasses began to slowly disappear, along with clothing. My shirt was the second to go. There was no way in hell I was taking a chunky shot, it looked absolutely repulsive.

“Is someone a little tipsy?” I giggled at Duff as he whispered in my ear. No...I only had like 4 shots and a couple beers...I was fiiiiiiiiine.

“R u talking’ ‘bout urrself” I giggled right back at him. My stomach was being thrown into loops from the smile that was planted on his face. He was hot. I tugged on the belt loops of his pants earning a mischievous look from him.

“Hmm...no I don’t think so,” He whispered back. I giggled as I felt his hand rest on my ass.

Without looking I tossed the ping pong ball across the table. It didn’t just miss the remaining shots, it never even hit the table. The room erupted in laughter and I quickly joined in. Maybe I was a little tipsy.

“Alright, rockstars choice,” I turned around to Duff and cringed at my slurred words. God I sounded like a damn basket case.

“I’ve been wanting to do this for hours,” he whispered in my ear. I felt him gently tugging on one of the strings that held onto my bikini top, and then poof, just like magic, it fell to the floor.

[aliveandfullofjoy]

Trivia: Oscar Winners 2019!

Parasite is the first ever non-English language film to win Best Picture (and it is so richly deserved).

Let’s actually knock a bunch of Parasite stats out of the way now, because there are a lot.

Parasite is the first film to win both Best Picture and the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival since Marty in 1955. 

With his Best Director win, Bong Joon-ho is the second person to win that award for a film not in the English language. The first was Alfonso Cuarón, for last year’s Roma. By that same token, this is the second year in a row that Best Director and Best Foreign Language/International Feature Film have gone to the same film.

Parasite is the first South Korean film to be nominated in Best International Feature. 

Parasite is the fourth non-English language film to win Best Original Screenplay, joining The Red Balloon (1956, French), A Man and a Woman (1966, French), and Talk to Her (2002, Spanish). Of the non-English language winners, Parasite is the first non-European film with this distinction. 

Parasite is the twelfth Best Picture winner with no acting nominations, joining Slumdog Millionaire (2008), The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), Braveheart (1995), The Last Emperor (1987), Gigi (1958), Around the World in 80 Days (1956), The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), An American in Paris (1951), Grand Hotel (1932), All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), and Wings (1928). 

Bong Joon-ho is the second Asian winner of Best Director, following Ang Lee (who won in 2005 for Brokeback Mountain and in 2012 for Life of Pi). 

Kwak Sin-ae is the first woman of color to win Best Picture.

Parasite is the first film to win Best Director without a nomination in Best Cinematography since The Departed (2006). 

Parasite is the eighth Best Picture winner since the Best Picture expansion in 2009 to be directed by someone who had never directed an Oscar-nominated film before: Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker), Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech), Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist), Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave), Barry Jenkins (Moonlight), Peter Farrelly (Green Book), and Bong Joon-ho (Parasite) all had their first nominated film be crowned that year’s Best Picture. 

Unadjusted for inflation, Joker has surpassed Forrest Gump as the highest-grossing film to win Best Actor. It is also the highest grossing film (unadjusted) to win any acting category, ironically surpassing The Dark Knight. 

Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes) is the first actor in an Anthony McCarten script to lose Best Actor. The last three scripts that McCarten has written that received nominations were Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), Darkest Hour (2017), and The Theory of Everything (2014), all of which won Best Actor. 

Martin Scorsese has become the first director to receive the dubious distinction of having a film go zero-for-ten at the Oscars. Both Gangs of New York (2002) and The Irishman (2019) received ten nominations and won nothing. 

Matthew A. Cherry and Karen Rupert Toliver (Hair Love) are the second and third Black winners of Best Animated Short. The first was Kobe Bryant, who won for Dear Basketball in 2017. Cherry is the second former professional athlete to win an Oscar in any category, joining Bryant. Toliver is the first Black woman to win Animated Short. 

1917 is only the second film to win both the Producers Guild Award (PGA) and the Directors Guild Award (DGA) and to not win a single above-the-line Oscar. The other film was Apollo 13 (1995). 

Similarly, 1917 is only the third film to win PGA, DGA, and BAFTA and still lose Best Picture. The others with this distinction are La La Land (2016) and Brokeback Mountain (2005). It’s worth noting that those two films did what 1917 was unable to do: win Best Director. 

Hildur Guðnadóttir is the first woman to win Best Score since Anne Dudley (The Full Monty, 1997), and is only the fourth woman to ever win the award, following Rachel Portman (Emma, 1996) and Marilyn Bergman (Yentl, 1983). She is also the first ever Oscar winner from Iceland. 

Between all of the actors who have ever won multiple acting Oscars, all but three have won at least one of their awards for Best Picture nominees. The three who have not are Peter Ustinov (Spartacus, 1960, and Topkapi, 1964), Maggie Smith (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, 1969, and California Suite, 1978), and now Renée Zellweger (Cold Mountain, 2003, and Judy, 2019). 

With Joaquin Phoenix’s Best Actor win, the Joker becomes the second fictional character to win multiple Oscars (Heath Ledger also won for the role in 2008′s The Dark Knight). The only other role to achieve this is Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando won Best Actor for this role in 1972′s The Godfather and Robert De Niro won Best Supporting Actor for this role in 1974′s The Godfather, Part II). Interestingly, both of these roles have won in both Leading and Supporting. 

With his acting win for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Brad Pitt is only the third person ever to win Best Picture and an acting Oscar. The others are George Clooney (Best Supporting Actor winner for 2005′s Syriana and Best Picture winner for 2012′s Argo) and Michael Douglas (Best Picture winner for 1975′s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Best Actor winner for 1987′s Wall Street). 

Toy Story 4 is Pixar’s tenth win in the Best Animated Feature category. It is only the second sequel to ever win the award -- the first was, funnily enough, Toy Story 3 (2010). 

For the third year in a row, the top three films in the Toronto International Film Festival Audience Award have won at least one oscar: in 2017, the top three were Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, I, Tonya, and Call Me by Your Name; in 2018, they were Green Book, If Beale Street Could Talk, and Roma; and in 2019, they were Jojo Rabbit, Marriage Story, and Parasite.

Sam Mendes (1917) is the first director to win the DGA, BAFTA, and Golden Globe and lose the Oscar since Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) in 2000. 

After Cate Blanchett’s performance of Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator (2004), Renée Zellweger (Judy) is only the second actress to win an Oscar for playing an Oscar winner. This might not be everyone’s opinion, though, since the real Judy Garland only ever won a non-competitive Juvenile Oscar. 

1917 is the first historical war film to win Best Visual Effects since Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970). 

With his win for Best Song, Elton John becomes the fourth LGBTQ+ person to win that category this decade, joining Sam Smith (2015), Benj Pasek (2016), and Lady Gaga (2018).

Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit) is the first indigenous person to win a Screenplay Oscar. He is the second New Zealander to win, after the writing team of Peter Jackson, Philippa Boyens, and Fran Walsh (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 2003). 

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’s Barbara Ling and Nancy Haigh are the first female duo to win Best Production Design in Oscar history. 

Kazu Hiro (Bombshell) is the first Asian artist to win Best Makeup and Hairstyling twice. He previously won in 2017 for Darkest Hour. 

Weirdly enough, here’s a trend that held true the entire decade of the 2010s: the Best Picture winner was never among the top three domestic grossing of films of the nominees. 2019′s highest grossing nominees were Joker, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and 1917. At the time of the ceremony, Parasite was sixth with a domestic gross of $35 million. Below are the rest of the decade’s highest grossers and winners.

2018: Black Panther, A Star is Born, and Bohemian Rhapsody (Green Book won);

2017: Dunkirk, Get Out, and The Post (The Shape of Water won);

2016: Hidden Figures, La La Land, and Arrival (Moonlight won);

2015: The Martian, The Revenant, and Mad Max: Fury Road (Spotlight won);

2014: American Sniper, The Imitation Game, and The Grand Budapest Hotel (Birdman won);

2013: Gravity, Captain Phillips, and American Hustle (12 Years a Slave won);

2012: Lincoln, Django Unchained, and Les Misérables (Argo won);

2011: The Help, Moneyball, and War Horse (The Artist won);

2010: Toy Story 3, Inception, and True Grit (The King’s Speech won).

[chassycat-original]

Karamel Sexy Times Shenanigans? Not So Much.

Let me preface this with a disclaimer. This is not me trying to create some sort of sexy times competition between Supergirl ships! This is simply something I noticed while watching seasons 2 and 3, and I’m wondering if anyone else had the same observation.

Okay, now that I got that out of the way...

It’s always confused me that people have complained about Alex and Maggie not being allowed to show the same level of intimacy as a hetero couple in their scenes on Supergirl. Because I remember seeing a lot more overtly sexual and intimate Sanvers scenes then the show ever gave their main m/f couple, AKA Karamel.

I said what I said.

While Kara and Mon-El may have had more actual kisses than Alex and Maggie - which makes sense because Kara is the main character and Mon-El was her love interest - most of those kisses were quick pecks that they mostly just smiled and giggled into. Sweet. Cute. Not sexy times material, though. 

In fact, in 2 seasons, Kara and Mon-El had exactly one makeout sesh. 

Yeah. ONE. 

Alex and Maggie, on the other hand, were definitely the winners at having more sexy times scenes! Hell, even Lena and James had a more sensual morning after scene (the music! so on point!) than Karamel did.

Even Mon-El and Eve had a scene that was more risqué than anything Karamel ever had together.

(Damn, son.)

Of course I have visual confirmation. I also have sadness. Because the writers sank the Good Ships Sanvers and Karamel, and I had to relive all their sweetest, cutest, and sexiest moments to satisfy my stupid curiosity! Thanks Supergirl writers! You suck!

*ahem*

Let’s just jump right in, shall we?

SEXY TIMES SHENANIGANS... GO!

1) In bed with someone on top, kissing?

Sanvers, for the win!

Look at that lighting, they are waking up together... what a gorgeous, sensual moment, ammiright?!

Karamel got horizontal exactly once, the first time they actually kissed when one of them wasn’t dying due to biological warfare.

But it was on a couch not a bed, and was more frantic and first-timey and passionate. But not truly intimate. Not like the Sanvers scene.

ASIDE: I saw someone commenting on the scene and describing with disgust the way Mon-El was grinding all up on Kara, which led me to believe that person clearly had no idea what “Mon-El grinding all up on Kara” would actually look like. Because it wasn’t that. Not that I would have minded seeing such a thing! (For science, obviously.) I’m just saying it wasn’t that.

2) Aaaw yeah, the sensual hand clasp, baby!

We all know what that sexy visual means! Yeah we do! So Sanvers wins again.

Karamel did sort of have a sensual hand slidey-type moment, but they were not in bed together. 

Plus, daydream? So...

3) Taking off each other’s clothes as they walk towards the bed 

Sanvers! Yeah. That happened.

Sorry Karamel. You’re 0 for 3!

And as far as I can tell, Karamel was the real loser here because all they ever got was Mon-El putting ON his shirt... and Kara wasn’t even there to witness/enjoy it!

4) ‪In bed, post sexy times, breathless pillow talk?‬

Sanvers! Winner!

Karamel never had that. Mon-El woke up alone after their first night together. And the ONE time Kara and Mon-El were in bed together there was no breathless pillowtalk, no sweaty afterglow, no indication of any sexy times whatsoever. They just appeared to be napping. Or waking up. Fully clothed. Adorable? Sure. Even somewhat intimate. But not sexy times shenanigans material.

Plus (again) it was a dream or a memory or a hallucination. No one really knows.

‪5) In bed, kissing and rolling out of frame for sexy times‬?

Sanvers. Again. Winners. They win.

There were exactly ZERO in-bed makeout sesh or sexy times for Kara and Mon-El! None. Nada. Sorry.

6) Proposition for sexy times shenanigans?

Sanvers wins here, too, with Alex waiting in sexy lingerie for Maggie to get home, with mood music and romantic lighting and a cheesy card with a love poem that said “Let’s have some fun!” *wink wink*

Of course, Maggie totally blew that moment, but the offer for sexy times (and Alex in lingerie) was there, bro! 

Karamel kind of had a moment the morning after their first night together, where Mon-El sort of implied he’d like to have more sexy times. Maybe sort of? When Mon-El was all “Can we maybe just stay here?”

But Kara was like “No, dude, we have work” and Mon-El was all “Boo work!” so I guess we’ll never know.

To recap...

In all, I’d say Sanvers got some seriously sexy and intimate scenes. More than the main couple did, in any event. They were definitely the winners at it.

And again, I’m not complaining. I actually adored the sweet, pure, puppy-love aspect of the Karamel relationship in S2. Of course, I also thought Kara and Mon-El would eventually get to enjoy a more intimate and sexy relationship in S3 (especially after the 3x01 opening scene - phew!), but I think we all know how that turned out.

Did I mention the writers suck? Because they do. They really really do.

[the-canary]

Kitchen Royalty - B.B (13/15)

Summary: Falling in love wasn’t on the menu, but neither was finding prince charming looking like a trash raccoon and living in your industrial freezer. (Pastry AU! Reader/Bucky Barnes)

Prompt: Sleeping Beauty

Masterlist

A/N: This is for @ciarawritesmarvel​ ‘s 1k challenge. Drabble requests are open! We are so close to the end! 

Please enjoy and feedback is always appreciated.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12

Richie, having spent the longest time living with their mother, probably knew the truest form of the woman sitting across from him in little chic cafe not to far away from the center of Manhattan. Sal had been blinded by his own resentment and inability to do anything for himself and his siblings in the years afterwards, his older sister simply didn’t want to remember the woman their mother had turned into nor the unseen pressures put on her. Their mother was a monster that controlled all the evils in the world, maybe that’s why Sal made up some excuse not to see her today and Richie knew not to even ask his older sister.

In front of him, behind the designer clothes and cool smile, he was sure that there was still purple bruises and scars that had never really faded. Richie tried to be a good brother and even better son, but he knew that only one winner would come out of this contest at the end of the day.

“How are your brother and sister doing?” she questions, her tone steady but Richie has had years of practice of noticing when it hitches for just a moment due to whatever emotion she might be feeling. His version of their mother wasn’t some dragon that couldn’t be beaten, but a broken woman that had hidden herself in the woods to protect her sanity.

“Good,” Richie states with talking a sip of his latte, “Sal is worried over Maggie and the baby. Sis is sort of dating--”

“Really?” Eleanor states with a giddy smile, over the fact that she was going to be grandmother (even though she hadn’t been allowed, by Rumlow, to go to the wedding or had ever meet Maggie) and that her daughter was opening her heart to someone -- whoever it was, she could just hope they were kind to her.

“Oh yeah, that Bucket is head over heels for her,” Richie smiles, having put two and two together a while back as Eleanor’s eyes widen for a bit -- catching his meaning and for a moment she remembers the crying her middle child had gone through over the loss of her dear childhood friend, over not seeing that restaurant ever again

She takes unsteady breathe and lets out a shuddering laugh over how strange and wonderful life could be sometimes, but she was sure that all her children were happy in this stage in of their lives, even without her. She takes out a packet from her bag, knowing that she is running out of time. Richie gives her a worried and confused look, as he leans in a little bit more -- unsure of what his mother is planning to do. Eleanor just smiles.

“Sweetie, I don’t think I am going to see you for a very long time,” she explains, as Richie frowns, “But, I hope you know that I love all three of you, even if it didn’t always seems that way.”

“Ma,” he breathes out, as she pushes the envelope towards his side of the table. It had all three of their full name. He looks at it before going back to look at the woman with a sad smile on her face.

“I am going to do one good thing for you three,” she states, trying to stop her voice from cracking, “They don’t have to forgive, but I want you to know that it’s always been for you three -- even if it didn’t always seem like it.       

“I know, mom,” Richie nods as she grins a bit more, “I’ll make sure they do too.”

They disperse soon afterwards, Richie to the bakery and Eleanor to a safe house in an undisclosed location, completely under Agent Coulson’s watch -- a first row seat to watch Rumlow’s empire fall.

 Steve can’t help but come home grinning from his latest visit with Bucky at the bakery. This was the happiest he had seen his best friend in a long time, and even with all the drama that surrounded the little bakery at the current moment and all the thoughts Bucky was having in regards of what to do after the contest was done with -- that didn’t stop the giggles and sweet moments that he shared with you out in the open. And if Bucky is happy, then Steve is over the moon.

However, Steve was never good at hiding things, especially not from his fiancee who sitting in the kitchen of their shared apartment with a frown on her face, as he came in.  

“Okay, Steve,” Peggy --his girlfriend since college and fiancee for the past year-- asks, as she crosses her arms over her chest, as Steve just stands there like a deer caught in headlights, “What are you hiding?”

“Sweetheart,” Steve starts, though he already knows that he is going to lose, “What are you talking about?”

“You’ve been going out a lot,” she frowns in worry, though Peggy knew that Steve would never do anything to hurt her --he was a giant gold retriever-- but sometimes he had too much a big heart for people, “I would like to know why, especially if it’s--”

“It’s Bucky,” Steve states because he doesn’t want Peggy to ever doubt him, but  because he was also the worst type of gossiper.

“What?” her breathe hitches in question, having not heard about the man in months since he had disappeared, as she presses her hands on the table in exclamation, “You found him? And you haven’t told his family?”

“It’s complicated, Peg,” he sighs out before taking his own seat, as brown eyes catch him like a hawk, “He made me promise.”

“Then, explain it to me,” Peggy relents softly, as she grabs his hand from across the table and a smile on her face, trying to reach a compromise like they usually did.

“He’s so happy,” he starts off with a grin and bright eyes, “And he finally found her.”

Peggy can’t help but grin, catching Steve’s enthusiasm as he moves forward with his story, but she will also be there to remind him that there are a group of women missing their son and older brother dearly.

 The next two weeks before the competition are crazy as hell for Bucky and you, what with still talking to Mr. Stark for additional details, there is also an increase in people coming into the store and checking out one of the best spots for pastries in Queens. There is an uptick in how many items have to be made in the day and the orders of people who want to try everything, it doesn’t help that people soon find out your relation to Marjorie's towards mid-week of the second week, as if someone had leaked it.

You count having Maria (and by extension Coulson and Fury, though only Bucky knew that) as a blessing because when people are asking a million questions and interviews, she stays quiet. The only time you really answer any questions or talk to people is during the social media campaign that Wanda had come up with for all the social media accounts that the bakery had.

Bucky watched you running around like a chicken with its head cut off. He was there to catch you when you were too tired or simply when you needed a second opinion on things, if the two of you were a team before -- now you were a partnership. Nobody could deny the soft look in his eyes when he looked at you and how you were never not that far away from him.

You were both lovestruck fools, it was plain to see and while you could share this happiness with your brothers, Bucky was coming to realize that he missed his mother and younger sisters. And while, he was doing a lot better since the last time he had seen them, he still didn’t want to be a disappointment when they saw each other again -- he wanted to go back to Sam and give it another chance.   

He wanted to be good for everyone, but it was hard as hell. Bucky wondered, as the two of you sat down and watched Netflix after setting up the final details for the competition for your pudding treat, if he could be happy with everyone, if they (and by extension you) would forgive him for all his faults.  

“Bucky,” you murmur softly as you see that he is lost in thought once again. You wonder what he was thinking about, but you never pushed him on anything especially when he was helping you so much with the contest just a week away -- both emotionally and within the shop, “What’s wrong?”

“I’m just thinking about my family is all,” he answers back as he places his head on top of yours and sighs out, “I miss them a lot.”

You pause and grab his left hand, curling your fingers together as you ask: “What are they like?”  

He doesn’t answer for awhile, as he takes a deep breathe which causes you to panic for just a moment.

“Wait, you’re not married, are you?” you can’t help but squeak out nervously, as Bucky only laughs at the question.

“No, cupcake,” he kisses your temple to calm you down, “It’s just hard to put them all into words, but I guess my ma and sisters are all strong women. The type that just pick up everything and just keep rushing forward without a word, sort of make me seems a little weak-willed, ya know?”

“Now, now--”

You’re about to complain, he knows you are, but before anything else can happen the doorbell to the back of the store rings. It causes the both of you to pause, as you quickly get up to see who it is but Bucky thinking about the last time that something like this had happened gets up and pulls you behind him. You blink in confusion for a moment as Bucky gives you a tight-lipped smile, silently asking if you’ll just indulge him for this moment. You nod and the two of you take the steps down to the store.

Bucky makes you stay near the staircase, as he sees four shadows near the metal door. He gives a quick glance for what might be near him, in case he needs to fight. However, he stops when he picks a familiar voice complaining about how cold it is. His heart stops as he slowly opens the door.

Both Bucky and you stop breathing, though for different reasons as he sees four pairs of blue eyes staring at him with a mix of emotions from relief to confusion to anger. He quickly picks up the hitch of breathe you take from behind him and in that moment Bucky knows he’s screwed .

“You’re Winifred Barnes,” you state, almost starstruck as she gives you a guarded look, “And those are your daughters behind you.”

“Yes, and that’s my son, James,” she answers back while pointing at Bucky. Your eyes widen before turning to look back at Bucky, who is clearly panicking as he turns towards you.

“Doll, I can--”

“ You’re Bucket ,” you whisper to yourself as blue eyes watch you frown as you put everything together. Your face going through a wave of emotions from confusion to concern until it’s completely blank as you walk over to him.

His mother is quite, unsure of what is going on, as his sisters murmur themselves in excitement over the sound of the familiar nickname. Bucky readies himself for you to yell at him --even hit him-- for lying to you, for keeping things from you like he had always done to the people he cared about for their own safety. However, you shock him once again as you grab the back of his neck and pull him into a heated kiss with your bodies moving together like puzzle pieces to fit together perfectly as you find out the truth.

You don’t let him go for a long time, careless about having his whole family there and more in love because after everything you had gone through to know who he was and how he had helped you this whole time -- well, that had your heart racing like never before and you didn’t want let him go until.

Eventually, after a good while you do so, only to see him blushing and biting his bottom lip, as if reminiscing the kiss from a few seconds ago and you are sure that the pain from your cheeks means that you have the goofiest, lovestruck smile.

“You’re my fucking good luck charm, Bucky Barnes ,” you breathe out as you had done so not so long ago but so much more loving (and completely in love)  than ever before, as your foreheads are still touching and you are in your own little world until you hear a voice -- that you are sure belongs to Rebecca Barnes followed by the laughing of the other Barnes women.

“Oh, we’re going to need coffee and pastries for this story.”  

Part 14

[centralparkpawsblog]

Blue Buffalo vs Purina Pro Plan

https://www.centralparkpaws.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Purina-Pro-Plan-Savor-Adult-Shredded-Blend-chicken-rice-dog-food-brand-comparison.jpg When I was growing up, I never thought too much about what our family dog was eating.

I would go with my dad to pick up new bags of dog food at our local pet store every once and a while, but that was all I knew.

I figured that dogs ate the same brand of food for most of the lives, only changing things up when they entered the different life stages on the front of the dog bags.

Bringing home my own dog has been a life changing experience.

She’s gone through phases where certain types of food irritated her stomach and one even gave her an allergic reaction!

It’s not uncommon for dogs to change their dietary preferences and needs as they age, which is why I study the different brands that are out there.

Check out the research I found when I compared Blue Buffalo and Purina Pro Plan.

It might change your mind about which one you should feed your dog.

Purina’s Company History

Purina’s history began in 1894, when William Danforth partnered with two other men to found the Robinson-Danforth Commission Company[1]. In 1902, the name was changed to Ralston Purina.

After working on their dog food blend for many years, its first major success was when it was fed to dogs on Admiral Richard E. Byrd’s Antarctic expedition in 1933[2].

The dogs were able to thrive even in the harshest conditions.

Since then, Purina has become one of the biggest brands in the dog food industry.

Best Sellers

Purina has many different lines of dog foods, but these are the top three Purina Pro Plan best sellers that people come back for again and again[3]:

Purina Pro Plan Bright Mind Adult 7+ Chicken and Rice Formula

Purina Pro Plan Focus Adult Large Breed Formula

Purina Pro Plan Focus Adult Sensitive Skin and Stomach, Lamb and Oatmeal Formula

While Purina sells Pro Plan blends for different life stages and breed sizes, their Bright Mind and Focus blends have particularly resonated with consumers.

This isn’t the first time we’ve compared Purina with another dog food company. How did Purina fare against IAMS?

Blue Buffalo’s Company History

People always say they’d do anything for their dog, and the Blue Buffalo founding family did exactly that.

When their dog, Blue, went for a check up at the vet and came back with a cancer diagnosis, the family dove into studying how they could optimize his nutrition.

This led to the creation of many different homemade blends, until they ended up with the one they liked.

Their BLUE Life Protection Formula became the foundation of their Blue Buffalo company.

Now, the company makes super premium pet food with only the best ingredients they can find, always calling back to the importance of natural nutrition for dogs.

Best Sellers

Blue Buffalo continues to improve on their original Life Protection Formula, which has made it the number one dog food in the country[4].

It has many different variations, which include their best selling products[5]:

BLUE Life Protection Formula Adult Chicken and Brown Rice Recipe

BLUE Life Protection Formula Adult Fish and Brown Rice Recipe

BLUE Life Protection Formula Puppy Chicken and Brown Rice Recipe

Given the Life Protection Formulas for all the life stages of a dog, these best selling products continue to meet the needs of many dog owners.

Blue Buffalo is a popular brand. But, is it the best? We tested Blue Buffalo against Fromm!

Recalls

Both of these brands have been around for many years, so they’ve each had a few recalls that potential consumers should be aware of.

Purina Recalls

Purina’s dog food was last recalled in March of 2016, since some of the wet dog food was lacking the right mineral and vitamin levels[6].

They were also recalled in 2013 for a potential salmonella contamination[7].

Blue Buffalo Recalls

Blue Buffalo most recently faced a recall in March of 2017, since further studies revealed toxic levels of lead in some of their wet dog food[8].

Over the last six years, they’ve also been recalled for having high levels of vitamin D[9], dangerous levels of mold[10], the presence of salmonella[11], and chunks of aluminum metal[12] in their dog foods.

What’s Important When Choosing a Dog Food?

Now that dog owners can see what food is available at pet stores and online, there’s a lot to choose from.

Here’s what you should consider before bringing any dog food home:

Many dog foods contain chicken. But, is all chicken equal?

Ingredients

Does your dog have any allergies or sensitivities?

Are you concerned about them eating only fresh ingredients?

Every dog owner should look at the ingredients listed on a dog food bag to see what their dog would actually be eating if they purchased it.

Price

How much are you willing to spend for a higher quality food?

Consider what your dog food budget is and how often you’ll be buying new dog food to determine what the best price is for you.

Availability

Some towns don’t have many pet stores for owners to visit, and some people may not be able to get deliveries at their home.

Make sure to check where you can get the dog food you’re thinking about purchasing for your dog to figure out its availability.

Taste

You’ll want to read online about what other dogs think about the food and even give your pup a taste test before fully committing to a brand.

Dogs shouldn’t have to eat food every day that they hate just because it fits a budget or is easy to find.

Brand Reliability

Once you’ve found the brands you like, research them.

You may find that they face frequent recalls or make some dogs sick, which won’t be something you’ll find out just by looking at the bag at a store.

Comparison of Purina vs Blue Buffalo

So how do these two brands stack up against each other?

Let’s find out.

Ingredients

  Winner: Blue Buffalo   

While I like that Purina is trusted by so many dog owners, I’m not so sure about their ingredients.

On the list for their first big best seller bag, one of the first ingredients is “poultry by-product meal”[13].

I looked it up and apparently by-product meal is when they grind up cleaned parts of a chicken carcass[14], which often contains things like undeveloped eggs and bones.

That’s supposed to make the food have a higher level of protein, but I would never let Maggie chew on a chicken carcass.

Why let it be in her dog food?

Blue Buffalo has many more recognizable ingredients on the list for their best-selling blend[15].

Blue Buffalo, on the other hand…

I’m not a fan of the second product being chicken meal, but that’s different from by-product meal.

Chicken meal is a combination of chicken flesh and skin that isn’t originally used in the food[16]. It’s cooked and ground up to add more protein.

Blue Buffalo wins the ingredients round for me.

It just doesn’t feel right to imagine feeding my dog powdered chicken carcasses.

Price/Value

  Winner: Purina…?   

Something every dog owner knows is that Blue Buffalo is expensive, but their prices are becoming much more competitive with other brands.

Purina’s specialty offerings are more expensive, but still not as expensive as Blue Buffalo

They average out at $50 per 25 pound bag[17].

On the other hand, Purina’s 20 pound bags are typically around $15-20[18], depending on where you’re looking.

That price is so low, it actually concerns me.

It makes me wonder how many fillers are actually in their food.

I’m used to paying $45-50 per bag of food for Maggie, so I’d much rather stick with Blue Buffalo’s price.

It’s much more than Purina, but it makes more sense to me to put my money with the food that uses fresh, whole ingredients.

Availability

  Winner: Tie   

These are both big brands, so they’re available at most pet stores and online.

That makes it easy for people to restock their dog food even on their busiest days, so they tie in availability.

Shop Blue Buffalo on Amazon

Shop Blue Buffalo on Chewy

Shop Purina Pro Plan on Amazon

Shop Purina Pro Plan on Chewy

Taste

  Winner: Depends   

It’s always really up to your dog to decide whether the dog food brand is a keeper.

If they like the taste of the food, it may be worth it to stick with the brand.

Brand Reliability

  Winner: Purina   

Purina has less of a history with recalls than Blue Buffalo does, so that may sway some dog owners into becoming their customers.

But both have had recalls on wet dog food, so that should be considered by any dog owners who need to get wet food for their dog.

Winner

  Winner: Blue Buffalo   

While price and availability are huge influences on which dog food brands people buy, this comparison came down to ingredients for me.

It really concerns me that Purina has by-product meal in their food and that their food is so cheap.

I don’t want Maggie eating fillers every day, which is why I’d go with Blue Buffalo before I’d ever buy Purina.

Think about all these factors for yourself before deciding which brand you should buy for your dog.

Resources

https://www.purina.com/about-purina

https://www.pressreader.com/usa/readers-digest/20190301/281517932267486

https://www.purina.com/dogs/dog-food/dry

https://www.wsj.com/articles/meet-blue-founder-of-americas-top-natural-pet-food-brand-1519416803

https://bluebuffalo.com/product-finder/dog/?facets=

https://news.vin.com/vinnews.aspx?articleId=51391

https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2013/09/purina-one-beyond-dry-dog-food-recalled-for-salmonella-risk/

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/does-blue-buffalo-contain-toxic-levels-lead/

https://news.vin.com/vinnews.aspx?articleId=51391

 https://www.seviernewsmessenger.com/2016/05/31/blue-buffalo-dry-dog-food-recall/

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2018/02/24/FDA-issues-2-more-pet-food-recalls-listeria-salmonella-found/5171519499067/

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/index/2017/03/

https://www.purina.com/pro-plan/dogs/dry-dog-food/bright-mind-senior-chicken-rice

https://www.petmd.com/dog/nutrition/evr_pet_food_for_your_pets_sake

https://bluebuffalo.com/natural-dog-food/healthy-holistic-blue-life-protection-formula/dry-food/lpf-adult-chicken-and-brown-rice-recipe/

https://www.petmd.com/dog/nutrition/evr_pet_food_for_your_pets_sake

http://theconnectiontcc.com/2019/07/09/dog-traction-rope-emerging-markets-analysis-regional-demand-growth-and-forecast-to-2024/

http://thescrippsvoice.com/market-research-news/160862/wet-pet-food-market-report-forecast-by-industry-insights-volume-opportunities-type-product-analysis-and-application/

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from https://www.centralparkpaws.net/dog-food/blue-buffalo-vs-purina-pro-plan/

[linhiko]

I want to ask them all but I’ll stick with 1, 2, 8, aaaaand ummm 19?

ASK THEM ALL?!!! You’re so sweet☺

1. book you’ve reread the most times?

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. 4 times so far, likely going to be 5 times by the end of this year.

2. top 5 books of all time?

oof. one of the toughest questions for a book lover, but i will oblige. in no particular order:1. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater2. I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak3. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen4. The Queen’s Thief Series by Megan Whalen Turner (yes, i know. cheating🙃)5. The Winner’s Trilogy by Marie Rutkoski (also a cheat, yes)

8. what is the first book you remember reading yourself?

i have no idea. i read so much as a child, so probably some popular children’s series like The Magic Treehouse or Geronimo Stilton.

19. most disliked popular books?

i feel bad because i can’t really answer this question either😅 like, because of the opinions i’ve seen about these books, i decided not to read them. but if i haven’t read them, can i really say i dislike them? it’s like food: you can’t say you dislike something until you try it. but truth be told, i am never gonna read these books so i might as well just say i dislike them: the raven boys and the acotar series. but again, i’ve never read them and never will so🤷🏼‍♀️