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favescandis · 4 years ago

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New Q&A with Alexander Skarsgård and Esquire Middle East

‘Alexander Skarsgård on pro wrestling, death metal, the joys of Godzilla vs Kong’ - by William Mullally, March 25, 2021

The Swedish star speaks to Esquire Middle East about his latest film, being home in Stockholm, and staying ripped for The Northman during quarantine

Alexander Skarsgård did not have the 2020 the rest of us did. There was no quiet quarantine, no tubs of ice cream devoured at three in the morning, no existential boredom, no staring out the window as we wondered if we’d ever be able to start doing things again.

No, Skarsgård had to spend the year staying in the best shape of his life to play an honest-to-god Viking warrior and Nordic prince Amleth in Robert Eggers’ upcoming epic The Northman. Not that he minded, of course.

Skarsgård is in a very good place. Before The Northman, he filmed Godzilla vs. Kong, which was one of the most joyful experiences of his career. It’s a film that is much better than anyone could have hoped, that fixes the flaws of the previous outings of the franchise in Kong: Skull Island and Godzilla: King of Monsters by making its supporting characters actually interesting to follow—including Skarsgård’s turn as a conspiracy-loving mad scientist named Nathan Lind—and making the battle between the legendary behemoths the stuff of Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant.

Esquire Middle East caught up with the 44-year-old Swedish actor, who is aging like a vampire, fittingly enough, over Zoom ahead of the film’s release.

Read the full ESQ&A with Alexander Skarsgård below:

Alex, it’s great to see you again. How are you?

I’m pretty good. You’re in Dubai, right? I’m in Stockholm, Sweden at the moment.

How long have you been home?

I’ve been here for two months now since I wrapped The Northman.

How’s that been?

Yeah, it's been really nice. I mean, it's obviously a difficult time, but considering everything, I'm lucky, because everyone is doing alright. It's a nice opportunity for me, as I'm constantly on the road normally. It’s great to just be home, and not just for a week around Christmas or weekend over summer. I actually get to be here and spend some real time with my family.

You didn’t have any downtime in 2020?

Well, I was actually shooting for most of 2020. When the pandemic hit, I was in Belfast about to start filming the Northman, then we shut down for three months, and during that I had to train basically. It's a very physical role, so I had to keep working out. I was still in work mode for the whole lockdown. Then in July, we started shooting till the end of the year.

Did you prefer it that way?

I was very grateful to be able to work. It was definitely different from the normal set because we were completely isolated. We got tested three times a week and I basically lived in a bubble up in the hills of Northern Ireland and didn't see anyone didn't do anything for six months other than work and sleep and train.

I have a friend Adlai who lives in that village in Northern Ireland and I kept trying to get him to go break into your set because I needed to know more about this movie.

It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. The most amazing experience.

You’ve been making a habit of working with great horror filmmakers, with Robert Eggers (The Witch) on the Northman, and Adam Wingard (You’re Next) on Godzilla vs. Kong.

What’s interesting about all these guys like Adam and Rob Eggers is they produce these really dark and twisted movies but they are two of the nicest human beings I've ever met. They're so sweet and genuine.

What do you and Adam like to talk about?

Death metal, probably. He's a big metal fan.

Are death metal people sweethearts, generally speaking?

Yeah, actually. Sometimes I feel like that's sometimes the case when you meet musicians in death metal bands they're like the sweetest, loveliest people who talk about their grandmothers and stuff.

Why do you think that is?

Maybe it's cathartic. It's a way to get out all that dark energy onto the big screen or as a musician onto an album.

Did you and Adam click immediately?

I met him years ago for another project. We didn’t end up working together on that but it was such a memorable meeting that we stayed in touch over the years. He’s not only a wonderful guy but so intelligent, such a film buff who knew everything about not only the horror genre, but even just films in general. When Godzilla vs Kong came up, I was just really excited to get an opportunity to work with him.

Were the words ‘Godzilla’ and ‘Kong’ enough for you, or did something specific draw you to this one?

I think it was a combination. I had just come off of a couple of really dark intense projects. I did the Little Drummer Girl, which is a limited series based on the John le Carré novel about conflicts in the Middle East, and I just come off Big Little Lies, two seasons of domestic abuse.

Did you just need something different?

It was just really two of the most rewarding experiences of my career but also really, really draining really intense experiences. I was just craving something fun and exciting. I hadn't done any big tent pole matinee-style movies and since Tarzan.

But you said it was a combination—are you also a Godzilla nerd?

Oh man, I was like a little boy. I just got giddy when I saw the renderings, the drawings, the storyboards, like the world that they wanted to create. I thought tonally they were the right people to make this kind of movie because I thought they had the balls to go all the way and make it as big and crazy and fun as it as I think it deserves to be, with the right amount of sarcasm and irony, but while still taking the topic seriously, and the characters seriously, and really caring about both Kong and Godzilla.

Did you and Adam share a lot creatively back and forth?

Oh, yeah. He would run up to me and ask what if they run into a creature that almost looks like an owl and start explaining how it works. And then you start sketching something on a piece of tissue. And then a week later, he would come back with something amazing that the visual artists have created. To be part of that from an early stage is so exciting to me.

As a pro wrestling fan, that balance of ironic and serious you mentioned sounds awfully familiar to me. Did you guys make a pro wrestling movie on purpose?

It’s a lot like pro wrestling. Like, you want the fights to be big spectacular, fun, and entertaining. But you want to care about the wrestlers, right? You want to root for them. I think Adam did such a great job in finding that tone. They beat the sh*t out of each other on an aircraft carrier, but you also want to connect with these creatures and care about them. The movie asks, what does Kong really wants other than beat up Godzilla? What is he longing for in life?

That’s exactly what I think when I watch the Undertaker throw Mankind off Hell in a Cell.

Absolutely!

Godzilla vs. Kong is in theaters now across the Middle East

https://www.esquireme.com/content/51448-alexander-skarsgard-on-pro-wrestling-death-metal-the-joys-of-godzilla-vs-kong-the-northman-interview

Photo from WarnerBros. Entertainment. Thanks to SophTop on Delish for the find!

#Alexander Skarsgård #Godzilla vs. Kong #Esquire Middle East #Alexander Skarsgard #The Northman

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tcm · 4 years ago

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Sammy Davis Jr.: Civil Rights Activist and Natural Born Entertainer By Susan King

Sammy Davis Jr. was an exceptional talent. He could sing (you’ll get chills up your spine listening to his recording of “I Gotta Be Me”), dance, act and lest we forget, he was a member of the Rat Pack. He and Harry Belafonte made history in 1956 when they became the first African Americans to earn Emmy nominations.

But most people forget Davis was also very involved in the fight for civil rights in the 1950s and ‘60s. In January 1961, he joined Rat Packers Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, as well as Harry Belafonte, Mahalia Jackson and Tony Bennett, for the Carnegie Hall benefit concert Tribute to Martin Luther King. He also performed at the Freedom Rally in Los Angeles that year and at the March on Montgomery in 1965.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. even wrote Davis a thank you note: “Not very long ago, it was customary for Negro artists to hold themselves aloof from the struggle for equality… Today, greats like Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier, Mahalia Jackson and yourself, of course, are not content to merely identify with the struggle. They actively participate in it, as artists and as citizens, adding the weight of their enormous prestige and thus helping to move the struggle forward.”

In 1968, Davis received the prestigious Spingarn Medal from the NAACP for his 1965 autobiography Yes, I Can. Nevertheless, considering his work for the late Dr. King, Davis shocked the world in 1972 when he supported Richard Nixon, who had a poor track record when it came to civil rights and would refer to African Americans in derogatory terms behind closed doors. But there was Davis, attending the opening night of the Republican convention in Miami Beach and then performing a concert for Republican youth. And it was during the concert that he hugged Nixon.

The backlash in the African American community was loud and strong. Wil Haywood stated in his biography In Black and White: The Life of Sammy Davis, Jr., “Sammy failed to understand Blacks’ distrust of Nixon’s ultraconservative views. The hug at the Republican National Convention, in the glare of the nation’s spotlight, seemed too to minstrelsy.“

Davis later said: “By their definition I had let them down. In their minds there were certain things I could do, certain rules I could break. I married a white woman and I hardly got any heat. But by going with a Republican president I had broken faith with my people.”

In a 1976 Ebony interview, Davis reflected that working with Nixon was not a betrayal to African Americans but a way to help Black citizens. “When my wife, Altovise, and I were invited to the White House after the November elections, I repeated [my recommendations],” he noted. “We started to rap, and he asks, ‘What can I do?’ Come on Sam, tell me what I can do.’ So, I laid it down again.”

He told Nixon that the funds cut from anti-poverty programs needed to be reinstated and that Martin Luther King’s birthday should be made a national holiday. But he soon realized Nixon wasn’t listening to him. He regretted supporting Nixon.

Davis was born in Harlem on December 8, 1925 to vaudevillians Sammy Davis Sr. and Elvera Sanchez, who was of Afro-Cuban descent. The couple separated in 1928, and Sammy Jr. lived with his father and his grandmother, Mama. He was just three when he joined the Will Mastin Trio with his father and Mastin. Davis never went to school. In a 2014 Los Angeles Times interview, his daughter Tracey Davis recalled her father telling her, “What have I got? No looks, no money, no education. Just talent.”

As a youngster, he appeared in short films, including Rufus Jones for President (’33). He toured with the Mastin Trio until he was drafted into the Army during World War II, where he suffered so much abuse from white soldiers that his nose was broken three times. “How did he make it and so many others not make it?,” Tracey Davis reflected. “He had talent. But what he went through would have killed a lot of people or make them bitter or just messed with your life so bad you couldn’t get over it.”

In 1954, Davis survived a car crash on his way home to Los Angeles after performing in Vegas. He lost an eye. He wore an eye-patch for six months and then was fitted with a glass eye. Two years later, he opened on Broadway in the musical Mr. Wonderful.

It was announced in August 2020 that a film is in pre-production about the ill-fated relationship in 1957 between Davis and Kim Novak. The relationship was quashed, as it would have killed Novak’s career and supposedly, it quite literally would have killed Davis – a hit was allegedly put out on his life. To keep the heat off of him, Davis was briefly married in 1958 to dancer Loray White.

In 1960, Davis married striking Swedish actress Mai Britt. According to Tracey Davis, her mother, who had appeared THE YOUNG LIONS (‘58) and THE BLUE ANGEL (‘59), was dropped by 20th Century-Fox because of her marriage. Tracey said her parents “didn’t regret being together. My mom loved my dad like crazy and my dad loved my mother. My mother was so lucky because her parents didn’t care.” Though they divorced in 1968, she said they never fell out of love. Before his death of cancer in 1990 at the age of 64, Davis told his daughter why they broke up: “I just couldn’t be what she wanted me to be. A family man. My performance schedule was rigorous.”

Tracey said that her dad and Sinatra were great friends offstage. “He was like a good cushion for dad.” And, if Davis ran into trouble due to his race, Sinatra was there to fight the good fight for his friend. “He’d say, ‘Oh, Sammy can’t come in here? Then I’m not coming in.’ I think it gave my dad such comfort knowing he had this big brother out there that would go to the mat for him.” Davis, who was a chain smoker and was rarely seen without a glass of vermouth, had a falling out with Sinatra in the early 1970s, because the performer was using drugs. “Frank was mad he was squandering himself, doing stupid things. He let dad know about it and dad was kind of well, I don’t care.’’ Eventually, Davis did care and apologized to the Chairman of the Board.

Being a member of the Rat Pack gave Davis a certain visibility, especially in the films they made together, including OCEAN’S 11 (‘60) and ROBIN AND THE 7 HOODS (‘64), but all of the actors were just having a good time on screen. These vehicles didn’t show Davis’s strength as a dramatic actor. But occasionally, he got the opportunity, such as in ANNA LUCASTA (‘58) opposite Eartha Kitt, CONVICTS 4 (‘62) and A MAN CALLED ADAM (‘66). And in 1964, he returned to the Broadway stage in the Charles Strouse-Lee Adams musical Golden Boy, for which he earned a Tony nomination.

“He was very representative of a time and place,” said Strouse in a 2003 L.A. Times interview. “He was created from a lot of forces, like the Earth coming in and ‘whoop,’ here comes Sammy Davis. He was brilliant along with everything else. He was the biggest star of the day and in the theater, he had no peer. We sold out all the time.”

But Davis also missed a lot of performances of Golden Boy. “He got himself very tired or perhaps depressed or nervous,” reflected Stouse, adding that Davis stretched himself thin “the way lemmings go to the edge of the cliff and then they go off. He didn’t go off, but he was always on the end of the cliff. He was very driven and yet very mild-mannered and almost submissive to Sinatra. He had to be loved. He wouldn’t get off the stage.”

As he got older, Davis stopped wearing flashy clothes and jewelry and got back to basics as a singer and performer. And, he is the best thing about his last film, TAP (‘89), with Gregory Hines. Their tap dance will make your heart beat a bit faster. Tracey Davis said though her father was “incredibly driven,” he had a “huge heart, a zest for life. He had more energy than anyone I had known.”

#Sammy Davis Jr #old hollywood #Rat Pack #1950s #civil rights #Black performers #Black actors #Eartha Kitt #Martin Luther King #politics #TCM #Summer Under the Stars #Turner Classic Movies #Susan King

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rallyrecce · 3 years ago

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Rally Sweden 2022 A-Z - Part 2

Neuville – the Belgian boy claimed victory here with Hyundai back in 2018.

"I'm a little teapot short and stout..."

Oliver Solberg – fresh from his win for Norway, with his papa Petter, in the Race of Champions, Swedish Solberg will be hoping for a better outcome than in Monte Carlo, where he was plagued by fumes entering the cabin of the car. His stage end interviews confirmed that it definitely wasn’t laughing gas being pumped into the car! He was a Super Trooper to carry on as long as he did.

Plug-In Charger – new hybrid technology means that the cars need to be plugged back into the mains once they return to service for the night, like some old iPhone.

Puma – M-Sport’s new offering topped the tables in Monte Carlo and looked damn fine doing it (that livery though, oof). Toyota and Hyundai’s ugly sisters showed great speed and proved that we’re going to witness a good fight for that glass slipper/WRC crown.

A wild Puma in the snow.

Queen Silvia – Mother of Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland, who has been a regular around the service park for many years. Despite the move up north, this year will be no different and the handsome prince will be in attendance at the royal ball, or inauguration as it’s actually known.

The Prince and the King.

Quick - despite the wintry conditions the drivers still put on a high speed show.

Räksmörgås– Swedish open sandwiches.

Roads – the drivers will take on lots of long straights with Finlandesque sweeping corners and crests.

Red Barn Arena – Friday and Saturday’s stages will finish with the fan friendly Umeå sprint which ends in the Red Barn Arena. Bring moonshine and your sister/wife for the barn dance, yeehaw.

Stig Blomqvist - this old school homeboy has kicked ass here more than anyone else, with 7 wins over the whole history of the rally (5 of those when it was a WRC event) and to keep it super Swedish 5 of these wins were behind the wheel of a Saab.

Skogstokig – translates as ‘forest crazy’ and is the equivalent of ‘mad as a hatter’. I think this can be applied to the Swedish spectators and a lot of the drivers.

Even Santa comes out to cheer on the teams.

Surströmming – that Swedish delicacy of fermented sour Baltic herring, sounds delicious. Stick some in the back of the cars, it will serve as both a motivational tool to get them to the end of the stage quicker and a tasty picnic snack if they end up in a snowbank.

Tyres - Super skinny studs are the order of the day, anything else would leave you flailing around like a lycra clad, Z-list celebrity on their first day on ‘Dancing on Ice’.

Weird looking hedgehog.

Utfart - We hope nobody crashes and has to utfart - Swedish for exit.

Umeå – the new home of the WRC’s only winter rally, based in Värmland since 1973, it has moved north to this European city of culture.

Vikings - they don't seem to be into all that violence and pillaging anymore and often come out to support their countrymen.

Vasterbotten – the host county of the rally. Has its own cheese. Tastes like salty, bitter Parmesan apparently. Remind me to stick some of that on my räksmörgås with a bit of surströmming. Delicious.

Windscreen – you would think that this is a necessity for driving in the snowy conditions – not for Oliver Solberg’s favourite fun uncle, Henning. Back in 2006, the wild man got his co-driver to kick out the windscreen completely following a fight with a snow bank. Made for excellent air conditioning and a stage end interview looking like a snowman.

"Yeah I get a really good view now and it's a weight saver."

Xsara – back in 2004, it was little Sebastien Loeb who piloted his Xsara to victory, becoming the first Frenchman, and non-Scandinavian in the history of Rally Sweden, to climb on to the top step of the podium.

"No officer, I am normally a very slow and careful driver"

Youngest – and it was in 2008 when Jari-Matti Latvala took the top spot and with it the record for the youngest ever winner of a WRC event. This was subsequently snatched away from him in 2021 by young whippersnapper, Kalle Rovanpera. Don’t be surprised if he loses it to little Tim Kaiser-Ogier in the next year or two.

Zara Larsson, Zlatan Ibrahimović– Swedish people who do songs and kick balls around etc. If you have better Z entry, let me know.

#wrc 2022 #wrc #m-sport #rally #sebastien loeb #world rally championship #toyota gazoo racing #hyundaii20 #thierry neuville

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mystic-kitten-writer · 6 years ago

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Limerence [M] ︳10

Pairing: Zuko x OC

Genre: Romance, mainly fluff with future smut, and if you squint hard enough - you’ll find some angst.

Rating: SFW

Words: 5500+

Notes: Chapter ten everybody! I hope you enjoy <3

Masterlist ︳09 ︳ 11

❤ Buy me a coffee? ❤

Limerence: (English/n.) the state of being infatuated with another person.

The moment their eyes locked they knew - the flames within him twisted while the water within her turned. It was a connection, a connection that would lead to love, adventure, and drama.

Resfeber

(Swedish/v.) A desire to experience new things; anticipation for the unknown.

~ Unknown ~

“You travelled quite far…For what, hm? For me to partake in that little plan of yours? Ah, you never do change, do you?” The man purred mockingly as he caressed her long black hair, pushing it behind her ear.

She smiled with her pouty pink lips, although the man wasn’t stupid, he knew how deceiving her smiles were. She was a vixen. Sexy but dangerous, but that is what he likes after all. With a tight grip, she pushed his rough hand away, “Why change when I’m already perfect?” She said with a taunt as she confidently pushed herself against the man. He chuckled darkly, enjoying her advances. She was a master of manipulation, and for the time being, he was going to let her have her way.

“So what do you say? Join me?” She said with a playful smirk as she dipped her fingertips lower and lower down his broad chest. He grinned darkly before leaning in, while she eagerly anticipated for his answer. Finally, his lips brushed against her ear.

“Fuck no.”

He stepped back and enjoyed the sight; she was fuming. He knew her better than she knew herself. She wasn’t nice. She wasn’t patient. She was a spoiled bitch; who always got what she wanted no matter what. And the best part, it took little to make her snap. “What do you fucking mean by no?” She hissed. Suddenly all seductive advantages dropped, and her golden eyes were ablaze; the real her shining through. “You heard me, no. What do I benefit from this, huh? Seems like a lot of work for jack shit.”

“The chance to hurt him. A chance to make him realize he is no better than us. That at the end of the day he is just like me.” She hissed, bitterness laced with every word. The man shook his head and tapped his chin, “That sounds more like a you problem. I gain nothing from this.” He said swiftly and crossed his arms. She laughed wickedly and shook her head, “Gain nothing from this? How about finally getting the revenge you always wanted, for the death of your poor innocent sister?” She purred out.

The man’s shoulder’s tensed as he ran a hand through his messy brown hair. His sister was his weak spot. It was what made him go went mad, shaped him into the man he was now, a ruthless killer. “If I wanted revenge I could just kill you.” She smiled amiably before walking back towards him and letting a finger trace along his clenched jaw, “You’re right, you could kill me and get your revenge. But we both know that would be no fun because you want the world to know how strong you are. How dangerous of a Waterbender you are. And killing me wouldn’t be a big enough meal to feed your ego. But damaging him would.”

He laughed bitterly; she indeed was the master of manipulation. Knowing precisely what buttons to press to make someone bend head over heels for her. “Fine, I'll play along. I'll depart in two days from when you leave.” She smiled, happy she got her way. “Perfect, I'll be arriving a few days before him. Plenty of time to make sure everything is in place.” With a quick turn on her heels, she began walking away, “When I get there you better be ready.” He said roughly. She continued walking away, but he could see her look over her shoulder with a grin, “Do I ever disappoint?”

~ Ying Yue Jiang ~

“Remember, stand straight, shoulders back, no, more like- that’s it!”

“Now chin up, look straight, darling- don’t let your eyes wander! Eye contact!”

“That’s it; now make sure your hands are also in front and stop biting your lip!”

I let out a massive huff while maintaining my famous smile as I continued walking the room for the nth time today like an idiot — the things I do for Zuko. For the past week and a half, day and night, here I have been; practicing non-stop the proper etiquette for Fire Nation royals with these lovely old ladies.

Both ladies looked at me with scrutiny as they observed every move I made, down to the way I nervously bit my lip. I knew they meant well, and they were just looking out for me, but this was the last thing I wanted to do, after attending these classes every day during our sails. They both seemed to notice I was getting irritated because right away they scowled and crossed their arms, “This is not about you darling, think of the bigger picture here. This is for Fire Lord Zuko.” She said as if to encourage me.

I sighed profoundly; I didn’t need her to remind me why I was working this hard, down to the way I sipped my soup at dinner or the way I took a sip of water. Ironically enough, despite me doing all of this for Zuko, whenever we were alone, that was the only time I could once again be myself. With a broad smile on my face, I started walking around the room once again, “How about now?” I asked, trying my hardest to remember every godforsaken rule. They both narrowed their eyes as they oversaw me.

“Good…but…” She started, and I groaned. Of course, there was a but, there is always a ‘but’ with these two ladies! I swear I'm going to- Before I could contemplate jumping overboard to escape these two women I heard someone laughing. I swiftly turned to the door to see Aang leaning against the door frame watching me play ‘princess’ as Suki and Toph would say. My eyes widen, and I was ready to jump up and say hi before a loud cough stopped me. I sighed and rolled my eyes before I begrudgingly gave Aang a small bow, “Avatar Aang, pleasure seeing you here.” I said elegantly.

Aang raised a brow, taken aback by my sudden political correctness, but he seemed to have caught on regardless. He stood up straight and returned my bow, although I could see the playful grin on his face. “Imperial Consort Ying Yue. I hope I'm not interrupting since you seem to be having fun.” I gave him a smile, a smile much too large which Aang only laughed at, “I'm having the time of my life.” I said through my teeth. Aang is enjoying this way too much, this monster. He contently watched me suffer silently, oh, but just you wait Aang, you’re my ticket out of this!

“Avatar Aang, I'm guessing that since you're here that only means it's time for me to leave.” Aang looked at me puzzled, and the two older ladies quickly jumped in, “Go where, we’ve only been practicing for ten hours, and we have much to go over still for tomorrow!” They said in sync. I smiled sweetly and politely bowed, “My deepest apologies, Fire Lord Zuko said he would send Avatar Aang my way when he is no longer tied up in political matters so we may spend some time together before our arrival tomorrow at the Fire Nation. Although if it's an issue, I assume you two lovely ladies can talk to Fire Lord Zuko about it, hm?”.

They both looked at each other hesitantly before bowing back at me, “If it's the Fire Lord’s wishes we shall accept. Have a pleasant evening, Imperial Consort Ying Yue.” I nodded my head and swiftly turned to face Aang, who had a mixture of emotions playing on his face; confusion and amusement. I finally let my guard drop and gave Aang a look that just barely skimmed the surface of how happy I was to get the hell out of there. I shut the door behind me, and within seconds I let my shoulders drop and let out a huff.

“I swear if Zuko doesn’t comment on how nicely I bow I'm going to kill him.”

Aang laughed out heartily as we began wandering down the hallway. “That bad huh?” I groaned out loud and shook my head, “You don’t even know. Thanks for going along with it, you know, about Zuko saying he wanted to see me.” I said, Aang grinned and gave me a thumbs up, “Nothing to thank me for, although, I must say. Threatening them with ‘Fire Lord Zuko,’ very unlike you.” Aang said with a raised brow.

“I was desperate,” I said with a laugh. Aang laughed along as he shook his head, genuinely surprised to see me hate something so much. “So now that you made your grand escape, what now fugitive?” I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t hide the small yawn that escaped my lips. It was late in the evening, as I could see the moon lighting up the night sky and the stars casting a beautiful glow on the water through the portholes. “Bed.”

“Already?! Not even Gran-Gran goes to bed this early.” Aang said baffled. I couldn’t stop the giggle that left my lips realizing that Aang just compared me to Gran-Gran. “We are arriving tomorrow, and I need to rest. I have to wake up super early to get dressed.” I groaned out remembering all of the details Lia told me regarding hair and makeup, although I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit excited, who doesn’t like to get dolled up?

“What about you? What are you doing?” I asked. Aang pointed at himself, and it was then I noticed that he wasn’t wearing his usual mustard coloured Airbender robes, they were looser than usual, “You're training now? At this hour?” I asked shocked. Aang nodded, “A workout before bed is the best.” I smiled at his excitement before I noticed that up ahead was Zuko’s study. Aang seemed to notice as well because he raised his brow, “You going to say goodnight before you go to bed?” He asked. I shrugged my shoulders, fighting against the temptation to visit Zuko.

Despite us, both being stuck together on the ship for a week and a half, Zuko and I barely saw each other. Every day from the moment we left he was locked away in his study preparing for the Earth King’s visitation. The only time I did see him was during the night. Every night he would gently knock on my door, bidding me a goodnight kiss before he departed. No matter how many times I asked him about his work he would shake his head ‘no’ and say that when he was with me, he didn’t want to talk about it because ‘I shouldn’t be burden with such matters.’ It wasn’t like I could force him to talk, so I respected his wishes, even though the curiosity in me was dying to know.

“I don’t know…he is busy,” I said with a pout. Aang gave me a look, and before I could react, he ran up to the door and began knocking. My eyes widen, and I ran up to Aang, grasping his hand to stop him from knocking non-stop, “What are you doing~!?” I hissed out lowly. Aang grinned before pulling away, “I love it when Katara surprises me with visits, you should try it with Zuko.” He said playfully. Before I could rebuttal, Aang dashed away. I squealed feeling the gust of wind roughly push against me as he ran with such speed around the corner, leaving me utterly speechless.

“Ying Yue…what are you doing here?”

I turned around only to bump into a surprised Zuko. I blushed and quickly began waving my hands frantically, “I’m sorry, I – uh, goodnight?” I stumbled out, taken off guard. I’ve known the man for how long now, and I still can’t formulate one coherent sentence? Zuko looked down at me amused. His hair was pulled back, and he wore his military uniform, but now that I was close to him I couldn’t help but notice how tired he looked.

Deep dark circles hugged the underneath of his eyes while his eyes looked strained, clouding the golden shimmer he usually had. He even seemed a bit paler than usual. His skin no longer glowing as brightly. Why am I just noticing now that he looks mentally beat? I frowned and instinctively placed a hand on his cheek, “Zuko…you look exhausted. You need to rest. You’re overworking yourself.” All giddiness was gone as I apprehensively overlooked Zuko.

Zuko smiled softly before he gently grabbed my waist, “Come inside.” He said softly. I nodded and shut the door closed with my foot once we were inside, still cupping his face, “Zuko, I'm not joking. You need to sleep…” I said with concern. Zuko groaned, and I noticed his grip on my waist tightened before he finally let his forehead rest against mine, “I have many things I have to get done once I get to the Capital, I have to do as much as I can now.”

I closed my eyes knowing that what he said was right, but it was still concerning seeing him drained. “How about you call it an early night. Rest up for tomorrow.” I said with pleading eyes. Zuko laughed lightly, “Did you just come here to lecture me?” He asked.

“You can thank Aang for that. I was going to go to bed, but he insisted I came to see you first.”

“You didn’t want to see me?” Zuko said as he placed his hand on his chest as if I had hurt him. I rolled my eyes and lightly slapped his arm, “I mean – I know you were busy and I didn’t think you wanted to be bothered.”

“Why wouldn't I not want to see what is mine?” Zuko said playfully, and for a split moment, the tiredness left his face. I pouted and gently poked his chest, “I'm not some object that you can own.” Zuko smirked and suddenly pulled me close to him, I gasped from the sudden movement, and he abruptly gripped my chin with his free hand, “You’re mine, love.” Zuko said firmly. I blushed and wanted to fight back, but I would be lying if I said that I didn’t enjoy Zuko’s natural possessiveness.

“Zuko~!” I whined out which in return made him chuckle. He quickly pecked my forehead, but his grip on me didn’t loosen up. Instead, he let his head rest on the crook of my neck as his hands snaked around my body. I could feel him breathe peacefully, and I instinctively wrapped my arms around him. “I'm exhausted,” Zuko muttered out. I laughed and let my hand run up and down his back. Gosh, I missed this. I never realized how needy I was until now. We never got much time to ourselves, this being the most intimate moment we’ve shared during this whole journey.

“I could fall asleep like this…” Zuko grumbled once again. I sighed contently, “I prefer you don’t, you’re quite heavy.” I said with a giggle. Zuko chuckled before lifting his head, “Are you ready for tomorrow?” He asked.

“As ready as I'll ever be. How about you? Excited to see your family?”

Zuko smiled like a child at the mention of his family before he nodded, “I can’t wait till I show you off.” He said with a grin. I felt my cheeks rosy up once again before I gently punched Zuko’s chest, “Zuko!” I said embarrassed. He laughed before finally pulled away altogether, curiously, I watched him walk towards his desk and lean behind, in search of something. “What are you doing?” I asked, although he ignored my inquiry and continued searching. I walked over to him carefully, and just as I was about to peak over his shoulder, he turned around, with an enormous box in hand.

My eyes widen as it was a wooden box, painted red with a gold bow on top, “I was going to give this to you tomorrow, but since we will both be busy, here.” I gasped as I struggled to hold the box; it was huge and heavy. “Wha-what is it?” I asked. Zuko poked my nose, “Instead of asking me every time I give you something, just open it.” I stuck my tongue out at him and preceded to place the box on a clear space on his desk.

Carefully I unwrapped the bow, and I hesitantly played along the edges of the lid, scared to open it. What could Zuko have gotten me? We are seriously in the middle of nowhere, where could he even have gotten me something? With a smooth motion, I lifted the lid and placed it off to the side, as I squealed seeing what was inside. Zuko must have enjoyed my expression because he bore the proudest smile on his face as I twirled around with the dress, inch by inch unravelling from the box and swaying with me.

It was everything I could have ever wanted and more. It wasn’t too overly decorated, and the beautiful bead-work along the sleeves of the dress was absolutely stunning. This is beautiful; I wish Suki were here so I can show her. “I hope you like it. I had a feeling you wouldn’t have something to wear tomorrow, so I asked the seamstress to design something. It would have been fancier, but we only have so much material on the ship.” Zuko said as he watched me dance around with the dress. I looked up at him in bewilderment, “Like it? Zuko I love it! This is beautiful; it’s like it was made for me!” I gushed.

Zuko laughed before finally placing a hand on my waist to stop me from dancing around in glee, “It was made for you. I wanted something that represented you: beautiful, simple, and pure.” He said as he gazed into my eyes. I smiled softly back at him and shamefully stared at him with admiration. He was perfect, how did I get so lucky? I pushed the dress against my chest as I struggled to formulate any words that could begin explaining how thankful I was for this dress, “Thank you Zuko, I-” but before I could finish Zuko pressed his lips against mine, and I gasped.

It was such a sweet and gentle kiss, as his hands gently cupped my face. I closed my eyes and let myself give in, enjoying his affection. There was just something about his kisses, that had me go weak in the knees and craving more. But it was more than just his kisses; it was just everything he did. His gentle caresses and compliments, he is too good for me. After what felt like forever, Zuko gently pulled away, his lips just grazing mine, “No, thank you.”

My hands were all clammy as I nervously looked at myself in the mirror. I was all dolled up; my hair pulled into a half up and half down updo as my makeup accentuated my pouty lips and round eyes. I looked like a porcelain doll, ready for display. Lia gently placed her hands on my shoulders and began massaging them. “Relax, Kima told me you get nervous but not like this,” Lia said with a giggle.

I giggled along with her before turning around; I was thankfully for Lia. Besides Aang and Sokka who sailed with us, Lia was the only permanent member of the Fire Nation ‘crew’ that I knew well. Zuko knew this and assigned her to be my head maid, although she quickly became a friend as she reminded me much of Kima. “It’s hard not to be nervous; this is it,” I said anxiously. Lia giggled before grasping my hands, “Ying Yue, you look stunning, Fire Lord Zuko won’t be able to peel his eyes off you. So stop acting like me on my first day on the job.” Lia said teasingly.

“You were this scared on your first day?” I asked, trying to ignore the chaos happening outside of my bedroom door. I could hear maids panicking, making sure everyone was dressed and guards rushing to get into formation. That didn’t even include the cheers from outside the ship, people waiting in crowds for our arrival. It was only a matter of time they would drop the ramp, and we leave the ship and step foot in the Fire Nation “You bet. I was supposed to be a tea maid, but tell me how the head maid got sick that day, and I had to serve Fire Lord Zuko!” Lia said, laughing at herself remembering the events of that fateful day.

I looked at Lia with wide eyes hearing her story, “You served tea to Fire Lord Zuko on your first day?” I asked shocked. Lia shook her head, “And to make it worse, it was after Countess Mai entered. It was like the universe was trying to set me up for failure.” She said, but as soon as those words slipped out of her mouth, her eyes widen, realizing that she spoke too much. I took me a minute to realize she mentioned Mai, and then I put two and two together.

“I'm sorry Ying Yue, I got too comfortable and I shouldn’t have mentioned-” I smiled and stopped her mid-sentence. To be honest, I was curious. Sure, Suki told me about Mai, and based off the subtle hints Zuko gave off, Mai seemed…tough. She didn’t seem like the most approachable of people in the world, and for a minute I wondered how Zuko could date someone like that. Clearly, I was missing something, especially if after everything everyone has told me, the gang still asked about her with endearment.

“Lia, I know about Countess Mai and Fire Lord Zuko already,” I said with a soft smile. Lia let out a huff, clearly holding in her breath in fear. “I was wondering…will Countess Mai be present? You know…in the sidelines?” I asked. Lia raised a brow before resting a finger on her chin, pondering. “In theory, yes. But…” She trailed off as she hesitantly looked at me. “Fire Lord Zuko and she aren’t exactly friends.” She said carefully. I nodded my head; I was so caught up in trying to impress Zuko’s family, I completely forgot about Mai. Just as I was about to ask more a knock caught my attention.

Lia quickly stood up and opened the door, only for her to bow down and start addressing everyone formally. Aang and Sokka walked in with giant grins on their faces as they looked at me, “Wow, you look beautiful Yue.” Aang said politely. I smiled; Aang is such a gentleman. “Thank you; you look handsome Aang, and Sokka…” I trailed off as I observed their outfits. Aang sporting his famous Avatar attire while Sokka wore a Water Tribe Military outfit. “…You could have tried more.” I teased at Sokka. Sokka’s eyes widen, but he grinned nevertheless, “Hey, you should be thanking me. I purposely underdressed so I wouldn’t distract people from your man, Zuko.”

I laughed as I could hear Zuko scoff from behind them, amused at Sokka’s joke. Sokka moved aside, letting Zuko walk forward and I could feel my mouth dry up instantly seeing him. Was Zuko always this fine? My eyes widen as I realized this was the first time I have witnessed Zuko in full Fire Lord attire. His hair was adorned with the Fire Nation Emblem while he wore lavish robes decorated with gold leaf. Zuko’s outfit made everyone look like peasants; he looked so regal, almost like a painting. Zuko smirked watching me not utter a word at him, but just staring at him in awe, he was sexy, and he knew it all too well.

“Cat got your tongue?” Zuko teased out. I blushed and slowly began walking towards them. Zuko wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me close to his side and whispering in my ear, “You look marvellous love.” Sokka rolled his eyes and already began walking out the door, “Save it for the bedroom people!” He groaned out loud. Aang laughed as he chased after Sokka and I glanced back at Lia. I giggled watching her give me a thumbs up, just like how Aang does, she is seriously just the female version of Aang.

“Are you ready?” Zuko asked, as he guided me through the door and we began walking down the corridors. I could feel my heart beat faster, and my hands feel jittery. I was so nervous it was pitiful. Not trusting my voice, I meekly nodded my head. I could see the crew up ahead, all of them standing in formation, ready to depart. Zuko began walking to the front of the line, and I was prepared to stand behind him, getting into position as my two teachers taught me ‘you must always stand behind Fire Lord Zuko, you're not his equal until marriage.’

So when Zuko suddenly gripped my arm and brought me to his side, I looked at him shocked, “What-”

“You're standing with me.” He said casually. My eyes widen, “B-but-”

“You’re my partner. You're mine, as much as I'm yours. And you deserve to stand beside me. Fuck tradition.” He grumbled, and I could see his cheeks getting rosy speaking so bluntly about his feelings. It was the first Zuko ever really acknowledged me as his equal. I was always candid with my feelings, but this was Zuko’s first time being honest with me beside the incident back at the Southern Water Tribe.

I smiled softly and linked my arm with him, sparing him from any teasing, although it was tempting. I stood proudly beside him, a new wave of confidence embracing me now that I had Zuko by my side. I could hear Sokka and Aang shuffle behind me as they murmured amongst themselves in nervous chatter.

“Fire Lord Zuko, permission to lower ramp?” A guard shouted.

I gazed up at Zuko, noticing he was looking at me as well with a giant smile on his face, “Permission granted.” I looked forward, watching the metal door slowly begin lowering. Just weeks ago it was me on the other side of that ramp, awaiting Zuko’s arrival, oh how the tables have turned. Zuko gently squeezed my hand, as if to reassure me and I let out one last shaky breath. This was it, my formal debut as the Fire Lord’s Consort; the start of something new.

Disclaimer: I do not own any Avatar characters portrayed in this story besides Ying Yue Jiang, Lia, Kima, and any future creations.

❤ Buy me a coffee? ❤

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aaronhart93-archive · 5 years ago

Text

discord II text Roman & Aaron

Discord thread featuring: Aaron and @romanbeckett

Mentions: @davieslandon @malakhai-ozera @jayceelynd @alison-haynes

Where: Aaron is at his house and Roman is at his house.

When: evening of May 26th-monrning of May 27th, 11:30p-2:30a

Description: Roman texts Aaron and they talk all night until they both fall asleep

Trigger Warnings: smut, what I would imagine harry’s peen to look like, really cute shit

Roman.

Hey.

Aaron.

Roman.

Khai broke up with me, so. With us.

with Jay and I. And he left.

Aaron.

oh my god...im sorry Ro

Roman.

Can’t say I didn’t see it coming.

Aaron.

what did he say? Like why...?

Roman.

He told us that he loved us but needed time to work on himself or whatever.

Aaron.

I don’t know Khai that well but it does seem like he’s got a lot of shit to figure out

how are you doing with it?

and jayc? Should I reach out to her or....does she not know we’re talking

Roman.

you can talk to her if you want. I think we both just don’t really know how to feel to be honest.

Aaron.

im sorry

i hope he's okay

and i hope you and Jayc are okay too

Roman.

don’t be lol honestly Aaron, I set myself up for it the second I agreed to close myself off, knowing all of the issues I need to work through as well

contrary to popular belief, I’m far from having it all figured out.

Aaron.

that makes two of us

that was quick tbh

Roman.

Yeah. I just feel like an idiot.

Aaron.

what no....thats not what i meant

Roman.

anyway.

how are you

Aaron.

okay....no please dont feel like an idiot. its his fault not yours

im....okay....getting better than i was last week

miss you though not gonna lie

Roman.

I miss you, too. A lot.

Aaron

im sorry

idk why i am i just feel like i need to apologize

Roman.

you have nothing to be sorry for lol at all

if anything, I’m sorry.

for bringing you into all this drama

and making you eat at a Chinese buffet lol

Aaron.

making me eat at a Chinese buffet is the only thing you have to be sorry for

also

i inserted myself into this mess as well. and didn't pull out once i realized who you were to landon

Roman.

does it make me immature if I laugh at you saying you didn’t pull out once?

Aaron.

YES BUT IM HERE FOR IT

Roman.

I might just be high, but now I can’t stop laughing lol

Aaron.

sksjks

im sober and laughing so

well not sober

i had a few drinks

Roman.

everyone knows you’re a lightweight Aaron, stop tryin’ to be sly lol

Aaron.

who you callin a lightweight, lightweight?

Roman.

only when I haven’t eaten anything LIGHTWEIGHT

Aaron.

https://tenor.com/view/uncalled-gif-5394176

michelle tanner voice

Roman.

You miss me. Just a reminder.

Aaron.

you miss me

another reminder

Roman.

I’m not the one calling you rude lol

Aaron.

you called me out for being a lightweight and i retaliated

forgive me

Roman.

you’re in denial is what you are :fingerguns2:

but I’ll forgive you.

Aaron.

idk you'd think for how much i drink i'd have a higher tolerance

i need therapy

Roman.

probably lol I’ll go with you

Aaron.

lol couples counseling?

Roman.

I actually think it would be quite funny to see what they have to say about US

Aaron.

i need a therapist to tell it like it is

then again i do have ali

that woman calls me out on my shit literally daily

maybe shes just a free therapist

Roman.

LMAO that’s...amazing. I like her already.

Aaron.

she do be driving me up a wall

but

shes family

Roman.

Ah, family. I’ve been trying to get my sister here, but she’s being an ass lol

Aaron.

asshat

who wouldn’t want to move to New York

Roman.

satans demons.

Aaron.

exactly

whats keeping her from coming?

Roman.

she’s not as hellbent on big cities as I am lol

Aaron.

weird

city life has always been for me

arent you from manchester? is that not a big city?

Roman.

it’s not New York lol

she lives in the country now though.

Aaron.

no city is new york

Roman.

exactly lol

Aaron.

what are you doing

besides getting high

Roman.

I’m naked on the couch eating cherry gilato while watching good mythical morning on YouTube

Aaron.

i would very much like to be naked on a couch with you

Roman.

I painted my nails and did a facial first lol i could do yours as well

Aaron.

ill take the facial

i couldn't pull off the nails though

Roman.

you’d look so kickass with some black nails

Aaron.

you think?

Roman.

hell yes. Even a sky blue, like those eyes

Aaron.

i blush

maybe we can try the toe nails first

in case I end up hating them

Roman.

OH, I’m also trained in Swedish massage, head to toe. If you want a personal spa day

Aaron.

that would just give me a boner

Roman.

well, it’s a FULL body massage after all.

Aaron.

sksjsks

dont tempt me

Roman.

Aaron. I just.

is it bad that I don’t want to stay away from you anymore?

that’s a dumb question

I know it’s bad.

Aaron.

its not dumb

I don’t want to stay away from you either

but I promised Landon

Roman.

I know. So did I.

You’re right, I’m sorry.

Aaron.

he’s my best friend

dont be sorry

im glad you’re being honest with me

I just don’t see Landon being okay with this anytime soon

Roman.

I know! I know. He’s mine too, and I care about him more than I care to admit. I shouldn’t be like this.

Aaron.

damn this is fucked up

Roman.

I shouldn’t have said anything

Aaron.

I wish this could be easier

im the one that started with the boner references

Roman.

Not really. I offered you a massage

Aaron.

okay yes but

I told you I wanted to be naked with you

Roman.

because I said I was naked

Aaron.

I just don’t want you blaming yourself that’s all

Roman.

I know, but it is what it is. I made a mess of everything, and now everything I had is ruined lol I deserve it.

Aaron.

I’m sad you think so little of yourself

Roman.

I don’t. It’s just consequences. I made bad decisions, and now I have to deal with the consequences. That’s all. It’ll all be okay.

Aaron.

I wish I could make you feel better

Roman.

you already do. I promise.

Aaron.

I just smiled

Roman.

show me?

Aaron.

sure

Roman.

omg bad idea my heart

Aaron.

oop

Roman.

you’re so fucking jahshsbzjdndjendj

Aaron.

AKDJDJAKALhdja

Roman.

I’m mad at you

for looking like that

Aaron.

Well i can’t stop thinking about u

Roman.

let me just

Aaron.

yeah I kept drinking

and as we’ve established I’m a lightweight

okay I showed you a selfie now you should be a selfie

Roman.

oh yeah? Trying to boss me around again are ya?

Aaron.

do what daddy says

Roman.BOTToday at 2:02 AM

yes daddy.

Aaron.

brb gotta go jack off

Roman.

stoppppp

Aaron.

not kidding

Roman.

you don’t need a better picture than that to do the deed

??? Lolll

Aaron.

I mean....you could send me some

Roman.BOTToday at 2:09 AM

Does this help?

Aaron.

holy fuck

ugh I wanna fuck you so bad

and put all of you in my mouth

Roman.

I want it too. I shouldn’t, but I do. I want you to fuck me with my hands tied behind my back, and you pulling on my collar from behind.

Aaron.

fuck don’t put those thoughts in my head or I’ll act up

I wanna tie you up so bad

and punish you for being so naughty

Roman.

I’d want to call out your name so loud, but you’d have to let me.

Aaron.

you can’t do anything without my permission

Roman.

I’ll do my best daddy. You know I like to make you proud.

Aaron.

Ro I just came into a sock so hard

I want you so bad but the fact I can’t have you makes that even hotter to me

Roman.

forbidden fruit, hm?

Aaron.

you’re my forbidden fruit for sure

Roman.

wish I could have been there to help

Aaron.

you did enough helping trust me

Roman.

are we terrible people lol

Aaron.

I know

we are

im trying though

so that’s gotta count for something

Roman.

I hope it does, for both our sakes lol

Aaron.

if this doesn’t work out we can always be together in hell

Roman.

that sounds like a rightful ending

at least I’ll be tan.

Aaron.

we’ll both be hot and tan chilling in hell together

and we can fuck all we want

Roman.

sounds like the next big Netflix series.

Aaron.

could you imagine a Netflix series about us

Roman.

no, I’m scared to lol it would be more insane than Tiger King

Aaron.

you think our lives are more insane than Tiger King?!?

Roman.

scary, right??

Aaron.

thats definitely...quite the comparison

Roman.

I would have loved to have seen your face watching it for the first time

Aaron.

watching that together would have been so fun

I can picture us watching that and freaking out together

Roman.

maybe one night we’ll trip acid and watch it again

Aaron.

confession I’ve never tripped before

Roman.

whaaaaaa

do it with me!

Aaron.

I mean yeah I used to do a lot of coke when I got drunk and sometimes still do but that been the extent of my drug use

hahaha I will trip with you, Roman Beckett

Roman.

aces! Just tell me when and where, and it’s a plan!

Aaron.

”aces”

but yeah let’s do it this weekend

Roman.

I’m British you knob. Shut up lol

Aaron.

I know MATE I was making fun of you

Roman.

sends long audio clip making fun of Aaron’s New York accent

Aaron

brooooo

I do say that though

Roman.

I know, I’ve listened to you talk enough

it’s cute though

ready for bed?

Aaron.

just about

I was gonna go to bed a while ago but wanted to keep texting you

Roman.

same.

tuck me in lol

Aaron.

do u want me to tell you a bedtime story

Roman.

yes, but make it snappy

and I want warm milk

Aaron.

damn

so bossy

but okay

Roman.

you know I’m spoiled.

Aaron.

that must’ve been my fault

okay Des like this one:

By the African river, know as the Nile The sun fell away and it rested a while The rhinos had braved all the smoldering heat They lay down to sleep as they wiped off their feet The elephants marched to their elephant beds And gently they rested their elephant heads Slowly the hippos sank into the river The water so cold that it gave them a shiver (Hippos can't swim, like the pelicans think They also can't float, they could easily sink) The hippos went bathing in cool, shallow pools Thinking the rhinos and elephants fools Underwater, they fell to the soft river bed On darkish green plants with a smidgen of red They strolled on the bottom, then bounced up for air They did it for hours, without any care The fish followed closely, and wove in an out Under their belly, and up to their snout Each of the hippos came up to the shore To feed on the grass by the river once more They dried off their bodies by shaking and stomping And took bites of grass, chewing and chomping With night fading fast, they were full from the feast The sun returned back, rising up form the east The hippos crept off to collapse for the day While rhinos and elephants got up to play Enjoying the warmth of the sun and its light Never knowing the story of hippos at night

just read it in my New York accent you’re so good at

goodnight Lois

Roman.

that was perfect. Goodnight Clark.

#discord #roman #text

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doomedandstoned · 5 years ago

Photo

PSYCHO LAS VEGAS IV

~Festival Review~

Words by Roman Tamayo | Photos by Sally Townsend | Films by Arturo Gallegos

Psycho Las Vegas is a unique experience: more than 70 bands play for 4 days in 4 stages. This is not a regular festival; it represents the triumph of the underground scene that loves heavy, slow, and psychedelic riffs. We are living in the golden era for this kind of music: bands like Electric Wizard or High on Fire playing in a big arena, the dream has come true. This festival is opening the doors on the American continent for new bands, while consolidating the old ones -- they will probably be the next legends like Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath. I flew in from Mexico City for Psycho this year and hope that in the near future the festival will turn its eyes to the thriving Latin America scene.

PSYCHO SWIM

The first day of the festival, I had the chance to see bands like Primitive Man, Danava, Lucifer, and Corrosion of Conformity playing on a stage overlooking a big pool, affectionately nicknamed the "slosh pit." For such a setting, the sound was amazing, the atmosphere unique; it was the start of a big party that would continue non-stop for the next three days. You could see fans from different parts of the United States and other countries like México, Argentina, France, Canada, and so forth. The cultural exchange and the vibe of friendship were amazing.

Primitive Man

I don't have words enough to describe how loud and heavy these guys are live. I think the correct way to describe it is: a massive wall of sound melting your face. In my opinion, Primitive Man emerged as one of the heaviest bands of the festival.

Lucifer

Lucifer was one of the most anticipated bands of the event. The line to access the stage was long, with people waiting upwards of 20 minutes to get access. As for the show, I think they stole the night. Nicke Andersson and Johanna Sadonis have an incredible band. You can feel the fuzzy vibe of the ‘70s all over their songs, carried out by musicians who are quite skilled for the job.

Corrosion of Conformity

Kirk Windstein from Crowbar introduced Corrosion of Conformity in the final show of the night and the entire crowd started to party. The sound was amazing, you can see why they are living legends. They played a lot of classic songs like "Albatross," "Clean my Wounds," "Broken Man," along with plenty of surprises beneath the starlit sky.

DAY ONE

Arthur Brown

It's Friday and Psycho Las Vegas has officially begun! I saw the God of Hellfire himself, Arthur Brown, to open things up on the main stage -- a big arena with an amazing sound. The living legend was back once again to offer us one of the most magical shows of the entire festival. The godfather of the shock rock let us know that there is no age restriction to being a rocker. The mix of clothes, musicians, vibe, passion, and love were the perfect combination, and the audience warmly recognized Arthur Brown for his many years of music.

Graveyard

After Arthur Brown, it was Graveyard's turn to wow us. The arena was full for this show. The Swedish stoner-blues outfit played an incredible set with songs from all of their albums: "The Siren," "Hisingen Blues," "Please Don't," "Goliath," etc. The sound was impeccable. With wider exposure like this, these guys could very well be recognized as the next Led Zeppelin.

Godspeed You Black Emperor!

After the break, I saw Montreal experimentalists, Godspeed You Black Emperor! Without doubt, one of the most impressive acts of Psycho -- more than music, it was a breathtaking experience. The visuals coupled with the sound had me in a trance for the duration of the performance by these eight musicians. One of our favorite shows.

Yob

Next, I arrived at the Beach Stage for Yob. I was very excited about this show, but unfortunately the audio from this venue was horrible during all three days. The mixing console was next to the stage and the audio engineers did not have a clue of how the sound was outside. Yob played an incredible show, nonetheless. During the last song, Colin from Amenra sang with Mike. What a great collaboration to witness!

High on Fire

After YOB, I ran to see High on Fire on the main stage, but it was the same story -- the sound was terrible. That, however, didn't stop the crowd from getting into the spirit of the songs, and they formed big circles for the mosh pit. The new drummer suffered a little bit during some of the numbers, though Matt and Jeff tried their best to coordinate with him. Certainly not the best show from the band, I’m afraid.

Fu Manchu

On the other hand, Fu Manchu radiated with pure energy. The sound was a little better than it was for Yob's set and the Cali legends did their best to offer us a killer show even with these conditions. Fu played a lot of classic songs: "King of the Road," "Saturn III," "California Crossing," "Evil Eye," and "Laserbl'ast!" One of my favorite bands of the festival and, in my opinion, deserving of a better stage.

Electric Wizard

Finally, I arrived to Electric Wizard. Tons of people tried to access to the main stage, it was crazy. Thankfully, the sound was beautiful. EW is heavy and loud, so imagine this sound in a big arena: massive waves of sonic force crashing against your face. The new bassist Haz (ex-Hawkwind) gives a new sense of heaviness, you can feel the difference he contributes. The band looked so happy playing songs like "Return the Trip," "See You In Hell," "Black Mass," etc. An unforgettable sonic encounter to be in the first rows for.

DAY TWO

Old Man Gloom

During my second day, I spent a lot of time at the main stage. The first band that opened the stage was Old Man Gloom, one of the best acts of the festival. After the loss of Caleb, Aaron Turner and the other guys continued the project. The sound was pure and direct -- you could feel your chest vibrating with every riff. Seeing Aaron Turner play made you want to move your head like a crazy.

Triumph of Death

Triumph of Death is a tribute to Hellhammer with Tom Warrior on front -- one of the most anticipated acts of the festival. The legendary Warrior played classic songs in a new way, like "The Third of the Storms," "Massacra," "Visions of Mortality," and "Triumph of Death," -- all amazing songs. The band was brimming with enthusiasm by the end of the show.

Sumac

Sumac is one of the heaviest bands of our time. Unfortunately, the sound of the Beach Stage was abysmal. The band, however, put on an incredible performance. To see Aaron Turner play twice in the same day was simply legendary. I hope next time the festival are able to troubleshoot the nuances of outdoor acoustics and put Sumac and Yob on a proper stage.

Clutch

Clutch was a lively, unforgettable experience, the legends playing a killer show. Neil Fallon is one of the top frontman these days -- he makes you want to jump, sing, hoot, and holler. One of the best moments of the gig was when we heard "Supergrass" and "Willie Nelson" -- what a great surprise. Clutch also played standards like "Earth Rocker," "X-ray Vision," and "Firebirds."

Misfits

After Clutch, the arena was packed to the gills for the Misfits. These icons of the underground put an unforgettable set, even with the technical problems experienced by Doyle. The crowd was crazy -- I saw four circle pits emerge from the beginning and they never let up. Glenn's voice continues to be one of the best in the industry. The band played some classics: "Where Eagles Dare," "Die Die My Darling," "Hybrid Moments," "Halloween," and "Hollywood Babylon," to name a few.

Full of Hell

I visited the House of Blues following this, where Full of Hell was on fire. I was particularly shocked by the drummer, one of the craziest and fastest in the biz. Hardcore, punk, noise and power violence -- Full of Hell is an experience-and-a-half. You can feel the hate in mere moments of these absorbing songs.

The Obsessed

The last band of the night was The Obsessed, and the place was understandably full for Wino. The sound was nice and balance; the crowd was crazy. Wino appeared and played some songs like "Soden Jackal" and "The Way She Fly." It's probably just my point of view, but Wino did not look excited about the show, though perhaps he always looks this stern. Whatever the case, it was great to see this giant of doom. A great way to close the Day Two.

DAY THREE

Weedeater

The last day came all too soon, but sadly all good things need to come to an end. However, some great things did take place throughout the day, like the marriage of Matt Pike (congrats). On Sunday we saw Weedeater. They are like an urban legend, where I'm from. Dixie Dave appeared on the stage and the crowd went nuts. The sound again was not the best and the guitar player suffered some troubles with his amp toward the end of the show. Such are the perils of change, Psycho having ventured out of their three-year home of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino this year to embrace a series of new venues on the Vegas Strip.

Mogwai

Mogwai is another affair entirely. Their music makes you feel a lot of things at the same time, like happiness, hope, and sorrow. The ambience was perfect for this performance. I don't have words to describe the sensation.

Dead Meadow

I moved on to see Dead Meadow and they were a trip. The light show by Mad Alchemy gave the place a unique ambience. The band played a special set for the people of Psycho Las Vegas, Jason having worked very close with the festival organizers to plan every detail from the get-go.

Uncle Acid and the deadbeats

From there, I ran to see Uncle Acid and the deadbeats and was an amazing show. Even if, God forbid, you don't like the band, their live performance is undeniable: the visuals, the energy, and the sonority make everything moving and memorable. They played songs like "13 Candles," "Waiting For blood," "Mind Crawler" and, of course, "I’ll Cut You Down."

Truckfighters

From there I ran over to the Beach Stage to see Truckfighters. It was the same story as with Yob or Sumac, the sound engineers still hadn't figured out their shit. Nonetheless, The crowd was happy and supportive. Truckfighters offered an incredible show with the new drummer, Toro. Two words: pure energy! The band played Gravity X and that was a joy to hear live, as this is one of the great contemporary stoner rock albums.

Power Trip

I spent some time watching Integrity, a lesser known band to me, then moved back to the Beach Stage for Power Trip, the modern heroes of thrash and crossover metal. The area was packed and when the band appeared on stage, the biggest mosh pit in the pool erupted. The guards tried to stop it, but it was in vain. This was surely one of the most iconic moments of the festival: the slosh pit. What energy; what a band -- long live these guys.

Twin Temple

Twin Temple was a great surprise. Imagine a black mass in middle of House of Blues with a band that combines rock 'n' roll, country, and garage rock. To see Twin Temple is a very unique experience, like the satanic version of Amy Whinehouse. I loved how all the crowd joined in the chorus: “SATAN, SATAN, SATAN!”

Amenra

The last band of my weekend was Amenra. I don't have enough words to completely describe the experience. The heaviest and loudest riffs, sadness, pain, and anger all wrapped up in one moment. That's Amenra, and it was a truly spiritual experience. Also, the visuals offered us a lovely trip. Amenra deserve to play the main stage when they come back to Psycho, as they are the rising legends of the scene.

Despite a few technical glitches here and there, Psycho Las Vegas was amazing. All in all, it's the best party for the scene, with a ton of bands, nice people, and smooth-running logistics. I hope that the organizers of Psycho start checking out bands from Latin America to join next year's roster, for the scene here is really blowing up. Thank you to the festival organizers, Liz Ciavarella-Brenner, and the team who run the press table for making my first US festival rad!

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adalheidismimisbrunnr · 5 years ago

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Galdr

Galdr (plural galdrar) is one Old Norse word for "spell, incantation"; these were usually performed in combination with certain rites. It was mastered by both women and men. Some scholars have assumed they chanted it in falsetto (gala).

Etymology

The Old Norse word galdr is derived from a word for singing incantations, gala (Old High German and Old English: galan) with an Indo-European -tro suffix. In Old High German the -stro suffix produced galster instead.

The Old English forms were gealdor, galdor, ȝaldre "spell, enchantment, witchcraft", and the verb galan meant "sing, chant". It is contained in nightingale (from næcti-galæ), related to giellan, the verb ancestral to Modern English yell; compare also the Icelandic verb að gala "to sing, call out, yell" and Dutch gillen "to yell, scream".

The German forms were Old High German galstar and MHG galster "song, enchantment" (Konrad von Ammenhausen Schachzabelbuch 167b), surviving in (obsolete or dialectal) Modern German Galsterei (witchcraft) and Galsterweib (witch).

Practice

Some incantations were composed in a special meter named galdralag. This meter was similar to the six-lined ljóðaháttr, also used for ritual, but adds a seventh line. Diverse runic inscriptions suggest informal impromptu methods. Another characteristic is a performed parallelism, see the stanza from Skirnismál, below.

A practical galdr for women was one that made childbirth easier, but they were also notably used for bringing madness onto another person, whence modern Swedish galen meaning "mad", derived from the verb gala ('to sing, perform galdr'). Moreover, a master of the craft was also said to be able to raise storms, make distant ships sink, make swords blunt, make armor soft and decide victory or defeat in battles.[3] Examples of this can be found in Grógaldr and in Frithiof's Saga. In Grógaldr, Gróa chants nine (a significant number in Norse mythology) galdrar to aid her son, and in Buslubœn, the schemes of king Ring of Östergötland are averted.

It is also mentioned in several of the poems in the Poetic Edda, and for instance in Hávamál, where Odin claims to know 18 galdrar. For instance, Odin mastered galdrar against fire, sword edges, arrows, fetters and storms, and he could conjure up the dead and speak to them. There are other references in Skírnismál, where Skirnir uses galdrar to force Gerðr to marry Freyr as exemplified by the following stanza:

34. Heyri jötnar,

heyri hrímþursar,

synir Suttungs,

sjalfir ásliðar,

hvé ek fyrbýð,

hvé ek fyrirbanna

manna glaum mani,

manna nyt mani.

34. "Give heed, frost-rulers,

hear it, giants.

Sons of Suttung,

And gods, ye too,

How I forbid

and how I ban

The meeting of men with the maid,

(The joy of men with the ma

A notable reference to the use of galdrar is the eddic poem Oddrúnargrátr, where Borgny could not give birth before Oddrún had chanted "biting galdrar" (but they are translated as potent charms, by Henry Adams Bellows belo.

6. Then no more

they spake, methinks;

She went at the knees

of the woman to sit;

With magic Oddrun

and mightily Oddrun

Chanted for Borgny

potent charms.

7. At last were born

a boy and girl,

Son and daughter

of Hogni's slayer;

Then speech the woman

so weak began,

Nor said she aught

ere this she spake:

8. "So may the holy

ones thee help,

Frigg and Freyja

and favoring gods,

As thou hast saved me

from sorrow now."

The galdr is probably both the most powerful and subtle way to access the magical energy of the rune. These chants have been described as being like a soft-flowing river with a powerful current underneath. Used in every phase of runic magic together with the form of the rune, the galdr is the main medium through which runic power finds expression. Everyone intones slightly differently, so feel free to experiment. By chanting and toning a rune, you can better experience and express its meaning.

When learning to galdr, focus on one rune at a time. Observe each rune’s tone, form, flow, and relationship to you and to the other runes. Trust your intuition, and decide when to sing

each rune as a song in and of itself, complete with melody and a beginning, middle, and end, and when to sing the rune by toning only one note. There is no right or wrong way to galdr.

When you galdr, breathe from your diaphragm and really stretch out the sound of each rune, toning as many consonant/vowel combinations as possible. For example, Fehu can be sung as “Feeeeeeee,

Faaaaaaaa, Fuuuuuuuuu, Faaaaaaaayhuuuuuuuuu!” (akin to the giant’s

“fee-fi-fo-fum” as he counts his golden coins, a symbol of mobile

wealth). Draw out and expand each of the vowel sounds, exploring

all registers and resonances in your voice. Discover where each

rune fits in your vocal register, and note where you feel it in your

body. Above all, remember galdring is a lot like learning how to sing

for the first time. Relax and enjoy the process. Galdring together

with your children, in the woods or at the ocean, can be great fun. As

you become proficient; you can combine the chants of several runes into

one song. With 24 runes in the Elder Futhark, there are many possible

combinations, but generally galdr songs using one rune, three runes, or

nine runes work best in magic. Be aware of the numerical significance

of the combined runes when crafting songs.

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thearrangment-phff · 6 years ago

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LXVIII.

October 2018

In late October, Archduchess Isabella left France to attend the wedding of Duchess Sophie of Württemberg and Count Maximilian d‘Andigné. While Sophie was a distant cousin, she was more so a closer friend of Isabella. To Isabella’s surprise, Sophie’s cousin Prince Joseph Wenzel of Liechtenstein, second in line to the Liechtenstein principality had a familiar face as his date.

The familiar face was Countess Laura Henckel von Donnersmarck, Isabella’s second cousin through their mutually shared great-grandparents, Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg and Felix, Prince Consort of Luxembourg. Within days of the Württemberg wedding, Prince Joseph Wenzel and Countess Laura had announced their engagement with an intended wedding in the Spring of 2019. Prince Joseph Wenzel’s great-uncle, the Swedish billionaire, Count Gustaf Douglas had invited few selected friends and family to his home in Sweden for a dinner party.

The engagement came to a great shock to Isabella, as she and many others never heard of a whisper about a relationship between Joseph Wenzel and Laura. Whispers quickly went around saying Laura was being pushed into an arranged marriage. The marriages of Isabella to Harry and Princess Olga Galitzine and Grand Duke George Mikhailovich were being brought up again. Olga and George were having an unhappy marriage so far.

The last thing Isabella had heard was Olga and George were highly disappointed in the birth of a daughter, a little girl whom they named Maria-Olga. There were talks about a plan, a plan to marry royals with other royals and those with noble blood. Isabella had been the perfect Habsburg-Bourbon royal. Laura’s mother was a Princess of Hohenberg, a great-granddaughter of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, and while she had Habsburg-Bourbon blood, Laura also had much noble blood.

Prince Joseph Wenzel needed a royal or noble blooded wife and though there were better choices, Laura was the only one who had accepted his proposal. Like Isabella, Joseph Wenzel recognized that marrying for love was a choice, being born with such a family meant a royal duty that made him forget having choices. His parents and grandparents were pleased to have Laura marry into their family. For centuries the ties of the House of Liechtenstein and the Houses of Bourbon and Habsburg were prominent and this new marriage proved to just be that once again.

Not long after, Isabella and Queen Letizia of Spain attended the First World Health Organization Conference on air pollution and health at the Headquarters of the World Health Organization, in Geneva, Switzerland. The simple fact that Isabella could speak Spanish with the Spanish Queen earned her the nicknamed of ‘Diplomatic Duchess’ as she did similar tactics with other foreign royals and politicians. The next day Isabella stepped out with Kate on their first joint engagement.

The two women went to the First World War Galleries at the Imperial War Museum. While the conversation started talking about Kate’s distant family members who died in World War One, things quickly changed to focus on Isabella. To many, why would anyone spend their time on Kate whose family were simple soldiers when Isabella was standing right next to her.

Isabella’s great-grandfather was Emperor of Austria & King of Hungary, her great-great-grandfather was King of the Belgians, her great-aunt was Grand Duchess of Luxembourg her great-grand-uncle was the King of Sweden, a great-great-grand-uncle was King of Denmark, another great-great-grand-uncle was King of Norway, another great-great-grand-uncle was King of Greece, another great-great-grand-uncle was Tsar of Bulgaria, and more distant relatives ruled the Kingdoms of Spain, Bavaria, and Saxony because of marriages to Archduchesses of Austria or their own Bourbon blood.

Compared to Isabella, Kate looked small and dull. A simple commoner standing next to an Archduchess of Austria could hardly compare in a historians eyes. When Isabella brought out stories told to her by her paternal grandfather Archduke Carl Christian of Austria and maternal grandmother Josephine Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg nee Princess of Belgium about World War One, nothing Kate could have said or done would take the attention off of Isabella. When Isabella shared family stories about the times of world war one in Sweden, Austria, Belgium, and Denmark Kate accepted the situation.

When the car was pulled up and both women had gotten into the car, they were treated by Isabella’s two elder ladies-in-waiting.

“Your mother won’t appreciate that,” spoke Charlotte first.

“I was simply telling stories. My grandmother would have appreciated her own grandmother being talked about,” replied Isabella.

“Her mother would have appreciated it too,” added Christine.

“Marie Astrid was just 4 when Princess Ingeborg died. I highly doubt she would remember her great-grandmother very well,” bite back Charlotte.

“Talking about family members is good, it keeps their memory alive,” said Kate.

“The history books written about Belle’s family are doing that job for her. That’s what happens when you have such a family like hers,” snarked Charlotte.

“Just because books were written doesn’t mean one should stop talking about family. What’s written can be completely different from actual experiences,” replied Kate.

“Kate is right. How we interpret book is not how we interpret family. You’ve read all those horrible things about my family over the centuries. Many of them might not even be true,” agreed Isabella.

“Really? Such the cases of Juana or Maria the Mad. What about King Charles VI of France or King Philip V of Spain? You descended from them and they all have the nickname the Mad. You don’t think what we read about them is false? What about all the atrocities they committed since the beginning of time? Belle, you tend to forget that you come from a family of inbreeding and despicable acts, what else are the Habsburgs known for and it looks like your family does not learn from their past,” argued Princess Charlotte.

“I think that’s enough bickering for today. We have a fun day ahead of us tomorrow for the centenary celebrations. We should look forward now,” interrupted Princess Christine.

Isabella turned to look over at Kate who was shocked at the way the conversation went too. Kate was trying to help but Charlotte was just as obnoxious about royal blood more so than Isabella. When the car pulled into Kensington, Kate waited until they were out of the car before talking.

“It was very nice going on this engagement with you today. Hopefully there will be more,” smiled Kate.

“Yes, of course. Thank you for dealing with my ladies, I know sometimes it seems backward to have them-”

“No, not at all. I understand that they mean a lot to you and they do more,” interrupted Kate.

“Okay, good. I didn’t want you to get the wrong impression.”

“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

November 2018

Morning at Westminster then attending several services were exhausting to Isabella. Just minutes after the engagements in London ended, she was on a plane to Luxembourg. There was a mass celebrated in memory of the deceased members of the Grand Ducal Family. While Isabella and Harry had gone, other royals include Grand Duke Henri, Grand Duchess Maria Theresa, Prince Guillaume, Princess Sibilla, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Leopold. It was a small gathering but the simple fact that Ferdinand von Habsburg came to another family event puzzled Isabella.

After the mass when the family was mingling around at the Grand Ducal Palace Isabella felt Harry and went immediately to Ferdinand.

She quietly dragged him away from the crowd, “Two family events, you have to tell me the truth Ferdinand.”

“Charlotte and I are dating. You know that.”

“Yes, but the simple fact that you come to two mass events is getting me suspicious. How serious is it?” asked Isabella.

“Serious enough to be here,” answered Ferdinand.

“She is just 18 Ferdinand.”

“You had someone at 18. It is not like we’re getting married.”

“But marriage is a thought in the far future, right?” asked Isabella.

“While it hates me to say this to you out of all people, but... this is none of your business.”

“She’s my little cousin. I remember holding her in my arms hours after she was born Ferdinand.”

“You’re treating me like a villain,” observed Ferdinand.

“You are 21.”

“It’s a three-year age difference. You and your husband are eight years apart. You’re being hypocritical again.”

“When have I ever been hypocritical?” asked Isabella.

Ferdinand hesitated, “We are getting off point Belle. The point is there is no secret agenda, no lies, no anything but the simple fact that I really like Charlotte and I want to be with her.”

“I just don’t want to see her hurt. She was always like another little sister to me. Charlotte was the only girl, surrounded by three boys, and I just wanted her to be happy,” confessed Isabella.

“I just want her to be happy too. Her parents and brothers are happy with our relationship. Things are going great for us.”

Isabella looked into the eyes of Ferdinand knowing she shouldn’t even have questioned Charlotte and Ferdinand’s relationship, “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to be sorry about anything. You had the right intentions but bad execution.”

“I’m sorry. It’s been a rough couple of months.”

“It’s understandable. Your name hasn’t been off the front page of the papers since your engagement. At least it feels that way,” chuckled Ferdinand at the end.

“I have to go now,” said Isabella in embarrassment.

“Okay,” smiled Ferdinand.

Before Isabella could return to Harry standing alone across the room, Isabella’s mother Marie Astrid had put her arm around Isabella’s waist pulling her in another direction.

“What is going on?”

“I wanted to ask you something.”

“What?”

“Have you called Joachim lately?” asked Marie Astrid.

“I have,” answered Isabella.

“Belle! You need to stop doing things like that. I also received a call from Alois saying you are ignoring his calls and from a Kinsky Count that are forgoing all responsibility on the trusts. You are spending far more than you are earning and you have paid barely enough attention to anything else,” explained Marie Astrid.

“What would you have me do?”

“Hand over the chateaus to someone else and put yourself on a budget. No more giving millions to charity. Form a council that has to approve every transaction over 100,000. Think logically about this or face having to sell you jewels within the next decade.”

“I’ll call a meeting with Johann and Alois. It will most likely not happen for a couple more weeks since I have a full schedule,” said Isabella.

“There is another thing I wanted to talk about.”

“What is it?” asked Isabella.

“Christine and Charlotte came to me before mass and said that they believe you might be pregnant.” There was a longed silence between the two women before Marie Astrid spoke again, “Is it true?”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you want to know?”

“I don’t know,” repeated Isabella.

“I can call a doctor and we can find out tonight.”

“I have to fly back to London with Harry tonight. If I stay, he’ll think I’m running away from my responsibilities or doing something I shouldn’t.”

“Then your father and I will talk to him. Belle, you should know by now.”

“I’ve been under a lot of stress lately. I haven’t been paying much attention to many things,” replied Isabella.

“I worry for you.”

“I understand mama.”

“If you are pregnant, then you can’t be on pills or at least the ones doctors would usually recommend,” said Marie Astrid.

“Pills? You want to go on medication?” asked Isabella.

“If it helps you and everyone around you then yes, I do. Belle, you have to think about Harry, your sons, and another possible child.”

“I understand.”

“I’m only trying to look out for you. You are my only daughter that is not within driving distance of me. I worry like any other mother would,” explained Marie Astrid.

#PHFF #prince harry fanfiction #prince harry fanfic #royal fanfiction #royal fanfic #fanfiction #Prince Harry

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xtinaparade · 7 years ago

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Four’s Company Part 10

Four's Company Tag List

@sausagefest1996 @innocent-reid @xsimplynaex @theonelazywolf @astilinski24 @bruiserw8 @sammi94jo @clevver-curls @fioportella @wrestlingbabe @moonchildcorbin @lost-in-the-stories @florenceivy @wokehoe @imnotshannon @onemorefanblog @swedish-strong-style @calwitch @stylesgirluk @lost-in-the-stories @loki-kaz2y5 @brian-mays-the-badger-king @lucky13kittten @jmertzlol4life @theonelazywolf @miss-superstar15 @harleymoxley @vebner37 @omg-savannahlangdon @dolphinpink310 @bruiserweight1 @penguin-g-41

Let me know if you want me to tag you in the updates!!!

Pairing - Seth Rollins x Roman Reigns x Dean Ambrose x OC (Katy)

Summary - Kathryn, or Katy as her friends called her, never felt comfortable in a normal relationship. She tried the whole dating scene in college, but she’d always get bored with the guy. She’d always move on and usually without even telling her current boyfriend. Coming from a particularly religious background, Katy didn’t exactly tell her mother her desire to be with more than one man at the same time. The trouble, she soon found out, was not many men felt the same way. Katy learned to keep that desire to herself, and resigned to living alone. Fast forward, Katy is the latest up and coming in ring announcer and interviewer in the WWE, a job that she loves. She gets to travel the world, see wrestling, and hang out with some of the hottest guys she’s ever seen. Arriving in 2013, Katy became fast friends with the three men of the Shield, and began to fantasize about not only having sex with all of them, but at the same time. Katy has long known how to keep her fantasies to herself, and never mention them aloud. That is until one night, she went to her friend’s birthday party, and a few games of shot roulette later, Katy admitted her fantasy to her good friend, who came to pick her up, Roman Reigns.  

Warnings - polyamours and gay relationships, angst, jealousy, smut, blow jobs, cumming, fluff, tag teaming, double pentration, don’t like don’t read

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9

Some people find talking their crush easy, but not Katy. She knows she needs to talk to Dean, Roman, and Seth, but she keeps chickening out. She pulled up shortly after them at the airport, but she let them stay in front of her instead of calling for their attention. She wants to talk to them, but she's nervous that they've changed their mind, or something. Then Katy started thinking more about why she wanted to talk to them. Yes, they indicated about her being with all of them, but both Dean and Roman got upset when Seth brought her back. So maybe they changed their minds about being with her?

"Fuck, Lindsay," Katy groaned, taking a seat near her friend, and hanging her head.

"You haven't talked to them yet, have you?" Lindsay asked.

Katy simply shook her head, keeping her head supported with one hand. "Nope."

"Why not?"

"Well I got to thinking," said Katy.

"That's your first mistake," Lindsay joked.

Chuckling, Katy continued. "When Seth brought me back to the hotel room, Roman and Dean got mad. Maybe I should just leave this alone."

"Well I can't tell you what to do, but if you have a chance at finding love, shouldn't you go for it?" Lindsay asked.

Letting out a long breath, Katy nodded. "Yeah. You have a point." Sliding out of the chair, Katy ran her hands through her hair. "Okay I'll go find them."

"Tell me how it goes," said Lindsay as Alexa came up to get her make up done.

Finding their locker room, Katy rubbed her palms on her thighs, then knocked on the door. Voices announced they were coming, and Katy's heart moved to her throat.

Dean opened the door, his hair wild and face flushed, telling Katy she caught up in the middle of something. "Katy?"

"Hey Dean, I was hoping we could talk," she said, watching Dean button his jeans.

"Yeah, for sure." Keeping his body between her Seth and Roman, Dean called to them. "Hey guys, Katy's here."

"One sec," called Roman, as sounds of getting dressed came from the locker room.

"Alright," said Seth, coming into view behind Dean. "Come on in."

Katy followed, biting her lip, walking past both Dean and Seth, finding Roman sitting casually with his arm over the back of a couch.

"I thought we scared you away," drawled Roman, his legs parted in such a way that Katy could imagine falling right between them, and taking his cock in her mouth.

Katy cleared her throat and shook her head. "Nah. Takes a lot to do that. Now I think we all should talk."

"About?" Dean asked, leaning against a locker.

"Well...." Katy looked down at her shoes.

"Ahh, I think I know," said Roman. "You want to finish was Seth started at that dinner you two went too."

Katy looked up and felt her pussy wetten at the look of pure dominance in Roman's eyes. Voice escaping her, Katy could only nod. She felt a hand slide up her arm, sending electricity down her legs, nearly making her lose her balance. Turning her head, she saw Seth stepped right behind her, his breath caressing her neck.

"Oh, Ro, she's got goosebumps," said Seth, moving her hair over one shoulder, and kissing her pounding pulse on her neck.

"Does she?" Roman smirked. "Dean, why don't you go take a look?"

Pushing off from the locker, Dean stalked towards Katy's right side, snaking an arm around her waist, allowing her knees to finally give out. "Oh Ro, she does," licking up the side of her neck, Dean whispered in her hear. "Now I wonder how do you taste. Would you let me find out?"

Katy could only nod, making Seth and Dean smirk at each other.

"Told you," smirked Seth, grabbing Dean, and kissing him hard on the mouth, as Katy leaned more on the two men surrounding her.

"My god," she moaned, watching the two men's tongues intertwine.

"You like what you see, then?" Roman asked, forcing Katy's attention from the kissing men, to the man sitting on the couch, his erection tenting his shorts.

Katy nodded, her body on fire just from Romans dark eyes staring deep into her.

"What would you do if I fucked Dean, as he ate you out?" Roman asked in a growl, making Katy moan at the thought. "Oh, you like that then."

Seth pulled away from Dean smirking, both of their erections pressing into her hips. "Roman, what would you like to see first?"

Roman moved his eyes from Katy to Seth, and instantly Roman's eyes softened a bit. "Have your fun, my love. I'll just watch."

Dean wasted no time grabbing Katy's chin and shoving his tongue into her mouth, making her moan into their kiss. Finally, she found the men strong enough to dominate her, and fuck if Katy wasn't ready to let them.

Seth kissed and sucked down her neck, careful not to leave marks where cameras could see, as Dean devoured her mouth, leaving now doubt about who was in charge.

Seth smirked, and knelt in front of Katy, with his back to Roman, and slowly undid her jeans. "Oh boys, looks like our girl likes to go commando."

Dean pulled back, his hand on her bare hip. "If she knows what's good for her, she'll throw away all the underwear she has."

"Yes sir," said Katy, feeling Seth pull her jeans down her legs, kissing thighs, knees, and calves in the process.

"Oh, she's smooth everywhere too," said Seth, tucking her leg over his shoulder. "Now I wonder how she tastes."

As Seth's mouth enclosures on her clit, Dean slid his hand up Katy's blouse, and grabbed her breast, making Katy scream in pleasure. "Oh god."

"Oh Katy, it isn't God doing that," said Roman, dick out, and hand leisurely stroking it. "Say our names."

"Seth, oh god Seth," said moaned, rocking her hips into his face. What his tongue and mouth could do should win awards. When Dean pinched her nipple, Katy's attention turned towards the man still standing, and exposing her chest. "Dean!"

"Stroke him," commanded Roman, seeing Dean's hard cock out with hand stroking himself, as he played with her breasts.

The commands were going to shove Katy over the edge, and Roman wasn't even touching her. "Yes, Sir."

Her right hand encircled Dean's hard cock, and she squeezed, wringing a moan from the man standing next to her. "Just like that," moaned dean, sucking on her ear, the same moment Seth inserted a finger into her core.

"Oh, fuck Dean, she's going to melt our cocks. Her pussy is so wet and hot already," smirked Seth, inserting a second figure into her body. "And she tastes better than any candy I've ever had."

"That's enough play time, boys," said Roman. "Seth, since you brought her to us, you can fuck her first. Dean get over here and suck my cock."

"Yes sir," smirked Dean sliding to his knees in front of Roman, taking the large cock into his mouth.

Katy squealed as Seth stood and lifted her up by her ass, wrapping her legs around Seth's hips, feeling the tip of his cock at her core. "Oh god, yes, fuck me."

"As my lady wishes," smirked Seth, shoving his cock deep into her pussy, pulling a scream of pleasure from her.

"OH God, right there, right there," moaned Katy, gripping Seth's back, as his hips furiously pounded into her pussy. "Oh, fuck yes, take me hard."

Seth slammed her back against the wall, and used the new angle to fuck her deeper and faster. "I love the noises you make. Make more of them." Roman commanded from the couch.

"Oh yes, fuck me. Fuck me," mewled Katy. "Yes there," she kept saying over and over.

"Your pussy is so hot, it's melting my cock," snarled Seth, feeling his orgasm start to build at the base of his spine.

Katy could barely get air in her lungs as she looked over Seth's shoulder and met Roman's lust blown eyes. He watched Dean's head bounce on the large cock, sending even more pleasure through Katy's body. "I can fit more than one," she moaned, never taking eyes off Roman, making the Samoan smirk.

"Dean, get in there then," Roman said, lifting Deans mouth off with a pop.

"Fuck yeah," Dean smiled evilly, stalking towards Seth, who paused deep inside her, and pull her from the wall.

"Dean get in here, you're gonna fucking love it," moaned Seth, biting and sucking the top of her breast leaving his teeth marks, as Dean slowly, inch by inch slide into Katy's already full pussy.

"So tight," moaned Dean, as Katy arched her back, nails digging into Seth's back.

"So full," she moaned, her body on the edge of pleasure and pain. When Dean was fully inside her, they didn't move, allowing her body to decide if it liked both cocks inside or not.

"How do you feel, sweet girl?" Roman asked from the couch. "If you can't do it, Dean will pull out now."

Katy took a few deep breaths, and began to slowly move her hips around the cocks inside her pussy. "I'm good, I’m good," she said feeling the pleasure once against start to build. "You can move now."

"Are you sure?" Dean asked, careful not to move.

Katy nodded, and slid up and down on them. "Yes, I'm sure."

Dean and Seth looked each other in the eyes, feeling their cocks pressed tight together in Katy's pussy. "I love you," Dean told Seth as he moved slowly in and out of Katy, sending shocks up and down Katy's spine.

"Seth you can move too," said Katy, looking the man in the eye. "Move the opposite of, Dean."

Seth nodded, never taking his eyes off her's, needing to make sure she wasn't in any pain. When she felt Seth move in and Dean move out, her whole body lit on fire.

"Fuck yes, yes. I need all of this," she moaned to the ceiling, as the champs found their rhythm of fucking her.

"That's it boys, show me how the best tag team works together," said Roman, his hand moving quickly on his own cock.

"I’m so close. Yes, yes, yes, please please, please," she moaned, her head falling back against Dean's sweaty shoulder, Seth's mouth enclosing on her exposed nipple.

"Cum," commanded Roman, as Katy's body exploded in pleasure, her pussy squeezing the cocks deep inside her pussy, pulling them over the edge with her.

Falling to the floor, Katy laid between Dean and Seth their sweaty bodies intertwined. "My god," she whispered, as she felt both cocks slide out of her.

"That was..." She started, unable to continue.

"Amazing," said Dean.

"Wow," said Seth, as Roman stood over them all with a smirk.

"So, Katy, what was it you wanted to talk to us about?" He asked, sending them all into a fit of laughter.

#dean ambrose #dean ambrose fanfiction #dean ambrose smut #roman reigns fanfiction #roman reigns smut #roman reigns #roman reigns fic #Roman reigns sexy #seth rollins #seth rollins imagine #seth rollins sexy #seth rollins fan fiction #seth rollins smut #the shield #the shield fan fiction #The shield smut #WWE #wwe fanfiction #wwe fan fiction

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arcticdementor · 7 years ago

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With regards to the Royal Wedding, I offer the sadly no longer blogging Mad Monarchist’s take from last December.

As some of you may have heard, Prince Harry is getting married and, apparently, many people have a lot to say about that. Many people also have a lot to say about what other people are saying. As is not unusual for me in such cases, both sides shouting at each other are people I find annoying. One side is mad because other people have opinions on the subject and they are wrong; this is, in fact, rather out of the ordinary as a royal marriage and that can be legitimately talked about. On the other hand, the people who are complaining the most are complaining about the least important “issue” with this marriage. Prince Harry is marrying Meghan Markle next May at Windsor Castle. This is legitimately a cause for comment due to a number of reasons. Meghan Markle is a commoner (not very unusual at all anymore but still an innovation in historical terms), she is an American, she is several years older than the Prince, she is divorced, she is an actress (not a line of work traditionally considered socially acceptable) and she is of mixed-race background with a White father and a Black mother which seems to matter more to both sides than any of the other issues.

Another issue which seems to have been given no attention at all is that it was announced that Miss Markle will be baptized and confirmed into the Church of England the day before the wedding which, I assume, means she has never been a member of any Christian church before. Ordinarily, that would also be rather a big deal but it doesn’t seem to be to most, not even to the Church of England, nor does the fact that she is divorced. No, the biggest, most talked about issue is the racial issue which I have a hard time getting a grasp on simply because it only seems to be an issue because people say that it is an issue and point it out.

…

The reason is doesn’t matter is because interracial marriage is not anything new nor does it have anything to do with anyone other than the two people involved. It is not very common, most people choosing to marry people like themselves, nor is it “groundbreaking” even for royals. It isn’t even much of an interracial marriage given that one of them is White and the other is half White. Regular royal watchers will know that this has happened before and I don’t remember anyone making a big deal about it, perhaps because previous examples were from non-English-speaking monarchies. HRH Prince Joachim of Denmark married a woman of mixed European and Chinese ancestry in 1995, Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg, (the two divorced in 2005) and HSH Prince Alois of Liechtenstein married an African-American woman in 2000, Princess Angela of Liechtenstein. It is also not completely unknown outside of Europe. The late King Hussein of Jordan married Queen Noor, an American of Syrian and Swedish ancestry, Princess Ubol Ratana of Thailand gave up her royal status to marry a White American man, Peter Ladd Jensen, in 1972. However, the princess did have to give up her status for this, her husband was given no titles or court recognition and the two divorced in 1998. The last King of Sikkim married a White woman from the United States as did the son of the last Crown Prince of Korea though he had no official status at the time and both of these marriages ended in divorce. The last Emperor of Vietnam married a French woman while in exile and I believe I recall a member of the Cambodian Royal Family marrying an American from New Jersey in 2002 (possibly not the first but don’t quote me on that). The most prolific were the Ottoman Sultans whose harems were almost completely full of women from the Balkans and southern Russia but, of course, those were not exactly voluntary marriages.

…

Keeping in mind that Prince Harry is now quite a ways down on the line of succession (and more so since the abandonment of male primogeniture) and this really should not be such a big deal, the bottom line is that the fact that the bride to be is partly of another race than the husband to be is only a side effect of the far more central problem this is product of and why, no, I was not overjoyed with Prince Harry’s choice. First of all, in no particular order, she is an American and I have long said that it would be better for the monarchy if Prince Harry would marry a girl from one of the Commonwealth Realms as it would help strengthen ties with the monarchy in those countries. She is divorced which, in my old fashioned views, would make her unacceptable just as it once did for Mrs. Wallis Simpson. She is also common and before anyone brings up the Duchess of Cambridge, I was not exactly thrilled about her nouveau riche background either, though she had none of the other problems Miss Markle does. It is not unprecedented, in fact it is the rule rather than the exception these days, that still doesn’t make me have to like it. However, there is more to it than being common alone. This is someone who has been an actress and I don’t doubt she will probably be the first member of the Royal Family to have been seen half naked in sex scenes on television. This was another one of the things that not so very long ago would have been considered an immediate disqualifier to say the least of it. There is also the religious issue but, frankly, that doesn’t bother me as much as it probably should simply because the clergy doesn’t seem to either and that would have to be the bigger priority.

#united kingdom #royal wedding #meghan markle #prince harry #madmonarchist #monarchism #classism #religion #divorce

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expatimes · 4 years ago

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What happened to football in 2020 – and what is next?

Empty football stadiums resound with their histories, argues Uruguayan historian and football fanatic Eduardo Galeano: “There is nothing less empty than an empty stadium. There is nothing less mute than stands bereft of spectators,” he writes.

His maxim has been tested repeatedly across the world this year, as football has been poleaxed by the pandemic.

“COVID has massively affected every aspect of football; from how the game is played, to how it is watched – with no fans, or restricted numbers – to the economics of the game,” journalist and author James Montague told Al Jazeera.

As COVID-19 spread rapidly in early 2020, nearly every professional league around the world was suspended.

Fans who were used to organising their lives around the regular rhythm and rituals of football matches were left with the option of rewatching old games or watching the likes of FC Slutsk take on FC Smolevichi-Sti in the Belarus Super League, the only European league to play on by late March.

Euro 2020 – with its particularly pre-pandemic friendly format of 12 host cities across the continent – was postponed to 2021, as was the Copa America.

Empty seats are seen in the stands prior to the German first division Bundesliga football match in Dortmund, western Germany

“It’s been a big x-ray and it’s been a big wake up call,” said sportswriter, broadcaster and academic David Goldblatt.

“On the one hand, the deep and profound importance of football to innumerable numbers of people and its reliance as a spectacle and a social phenomenon on a real human crowd, interacting with the thing on the pitch,” he told Al Jazeera.

“And then of course it’s revealed all the madness of the business model, at the level of individual clubs and in the game as a whole.”

FIFA estimates that COVID-19 is likely to cost football $14bn this year – about one-third of its value. It has posed an existential threat to many clubs often already floundering under debt and mismanagement amid wider inequality.

Even some of the world’s richest clubs have deferred salaries and payments, taken on huge loans, asked players to take pay cuts and furloughed or laid off staff – Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil even offered to save the club’s mascot Gunnersaurus from redundancy.

Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent at Inside World Football, told Al Jazeera smaller clubs who rely on matchday revenue have suffered most. Many clubs and entire leagues facing the prospect of collapse have been forced to seek bailouts.

“The biggest problem is really in the lower leagues and non-league football, because these clubs are struggling even to exist. They don’t have the TV revenue to fall back on,” he said.

The Olympic Stadium in Caracas is seen with empty stands due to the coronavirus pandemic, taken before the start of the closed-door 2022 FIFA World Cup South American qualifier football match between Venezuela and Chile

Empty stands

Reservations over the safety and wisdom of playing on during a pandemic were generally overruled by the brutal truth that the sport could not afford to forfeit the colossal broadcast revenues at stake.

While some countries cancelled their seasons, many leagues and competitions returned in May or June to play in empty stadiums – under strict testing and distancing protocols.

Liverpool saw out their first league title victory in 30 years playing in empty grounds. Continental club competitions returned in abbreviated formats – Bayern Munich won a Champions League that was packed into a couple of weeks in August.

Matches without fans – what the Germans call “Geisterspiele” (or ghost games) – played out to eerie soundscapes; whether from the cries of players made audible amid an ambient hum of absent fans or the artificial crowd noises added by broadcasters that jarred with shots of empty seats and often failed to compute with the messiness of real matches.

Montague says tensions between the idea of football clubs as institutions rooted in local communities and their status as globalised brands have been brought into even sharper relief this year – and the longer restrictions are in place, the greater the threat to fan culture.

“At the beginning of the pandemic I thought: it’s terrible how fans aren’t there but it’s also showing how important fans are – not just to the atmosphere, but also to the business model of football,” Montague said.

“But as it’s gone on, you start to see how people who run clubs, who run organisations in football see the need to exploit this window of opportunity to try to push through the reforms that would never have been possible before.”

Some clubs and officials – including Real Madrid’s President Florentino Perez – appeared increasingly determined to push for an elite breakaway European super league during the pandemic.

Meanwhile, English Premier League clubs in October rejected the controversial Project Big Picture plan devised by Manchester United and Liverpool, which had proposed more revenue and a financial rescue package for lower league clubs in exchange for the concentration of power among English football’s elite.

Playing on

The pandemic has often produced erratic football matches and wild score-lines, as well as more penalties and goals in many leagues.

Aston Villa beat reigning champions Liverpool 8-2, Bayern Munich humbled Barcelona by the same score in their Champions League quarter-final – leading to a thoroughly disgruntled Lionel Messi. Arsenal could not win a league match for almost two months.

“I think the fact that fans have not been able to attend home games, and the lack of pressure of having to perform in front of a packed audience, has led actually to free-flowing football by most clubs, and that’s why you’re getting these strange, bizarre results every other week,” said Warshaw.

Research by the Institute of Labor Economics found that in many leagues home advantage prevailed but was often less marked in empty stadiums and that referees awarded fewer yellow cards to away teams.

Many players tested positive for COVID-19 – including Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Mohamed Salah – and picked up injuries amid a congested fixture list.

AC Milan’s Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic already played a lot pre-COVID, but having to squeeze all these games into such a short space of time is bound to have an impact on players’ physical and mental wellbeing,” Warshaw said.

Women’s football has also taken a huge hit, with many leagues cancelled in 2020. In a report on COVID-19 published in November, the global players’ union Fifpro found that in 26 percent of surveyed countries women’s clubs were not included in the return to play protocols.

Fifpro General Secretary Jonas Baer-Hoffmann said wage cuts, job losses and a lack of support meant there was a “real danger that progress towards gender equality in parts of world football will be set back years”.

Meanwhile, debates over altered offside and handball rules, as well as the application of the VAR (video assistant referee) technology system, have become noticeably more acrimonious this year, Montague said.

“Having more people watching in front of televisions and screens is exacerbating that problem somewhat I think,” he said.

There were some heart-warming football stories this year; Japanese football legend “King Kazu” aka Kazuyoshi Miura, 53, set a new record in September when he became the oldest starter in the history of the country’s elite division. Celtic player Ryan Christie was overcome with emotion in an interview after Scotland qualified for its first major tournament since 1998.

And, while athlete activism is nothing new, footballers in 2020 have increasingly spoken out on political, social, and environmental issues. “This is on a scale, depth and reach that is really unprecedented,” Goldblatt said.

Footballers joined a FIFA and World Health Organization campaign against domestic violence during lockdowns. Many players repeatedly demonstrated support for the racial justice movement Black Lives Matter.

Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford has become a powerful force for social activism in the UK against hunger – twice forcing the British government to back down and reverse its policy over free school meals – as well as promoting reading and literacy.

Barcelona’s Antoine Griezmann cut his ties with Chinese telecommunications company Huawei over its alleged role in the surveillance of the persecuted Uighur Muslim minority.

But of course it has also been a year of profound loss in the football world.

Iraqi football legend Ahmad Radhi died after contracting COVID-19.

In 2020 the world also mourned the deaths of legendary Italian striker Paolo Rossi, former Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier, England’s 1966 World Cup winners Jack Charlton and Nobby Stiles, and Argentine great Diego Maradona.

Diego Maradona, then Argentina’s coach, waves to supporters prior the 2010 World Cup quarter-final match Argentina vs. Germany in Cape Town, South Africa

Looking ahead

Fans began returning to many stadiums across the world in the latter months of the year until surging infections and mutant strains emptied many stands again in December.

“ human cost – physically, mentally, and financially – is going to linger long after vaccines are rolled out worldwide,” Warshaw said.

Meanwhile, other trends loom on the horizon.

“A big story of 2021 will also be Brexit, and how that affects the Premier League,” said Montague, “and how much of a benefit there is going to be for other big clubs in Europe who can take advantage of the chaos.”

From January 1, 2021, all foreign players in the UK will be subject to a points based threshold, and British clubs will no longer be able to sign foreign players below the age of 18.

Goldblatt, meanwhile, pointed out that the pandemic is linked to environmental factors and the climate crisis, which will have increasingly stark implications for football and which the sport has to address now.

His research has found that the stadiums of 23 of the 92 English Football League clubs will experience partial or total flooding by 2050.

“Grimsby Town better take up water polo ASAP,” he said.

Goldblatt says football – as a sport of comebacks, shock victories, and deep cultural and political reach – generates collective hope and can play a vital role in climate activism.

“Maybe I am being too corny, but hope is a precious commodity. I don’t actually experience it in most of my life, spiritually or politically. But I do in football.”

#sport Read full article: https://expatimes.com/?p=16236&feed_id=26000 #coronaviruspandemic #europe #football #news #sports #unitedkingdom

#Coronaviruspandemic #Europe #football #News #Sports #UnitedKingdom

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archonreviews · 7 years ago

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The Archon’s Review of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is a fantasy role-playing game developed by Big Huge Games and published by Electronic Arts. In the fantasy realm of Amalur, Fate has dictated the comings and goings of all things. Particularly sensitive to the workings of Fate are the immortal Fae, whom are divided into the Summer Court and the Winter Court. However, tragedy strikes when a rebellious Winter Fae named Gadflow decides that the current Winter King isn’t doing enough murder, and that he should be king instead. After killing the Winter King and usurping his throne, Gadflow and his followers, the Tuatha Deohn, go to war against the mortal races of Elf, Gnome, and Human. The mortals seem doomed, as while the Tuatha can be killed, they reincarnate quite quickly and return to fight, whereas the mortals die when they are killed. To circumvent this disadvantage, a Gnome by the name of Fomorous Hughes creates the Well of Souls, a device meant to resurrect the dead. You are its first apparent success, and in the process of reviving, you become unbound from Fate, and basically ruin it for everyone. Now, you are the last hope for mortal-kind to defeat the villainous Gadflow and his Tuatha followers, restoring balance to the Fae Courts and preserving the realm of Amalur.

I first heard of Kingdoms of Amalur back in the mid-2000′s, just around when I was playing Oblivion obsessively. It was contemporary with another third-person fantasy thingie, Two Worlds, which the GameStop employee recommended against, before trying to shill for GameInformer. I suppose my point here is that I picked up KoA:R because I was curious to see what I had missed all those years ago. And yes, I am aware of the controversy surrounding the game’s creation and the dismantling of Big Huge Games, but I must confess to not being too familiar with the happenings.

The first thing one may notice in this game is the graphics. They’re actually pretty damn good, with beautiful vistas and vibrant landscapes. The characters are surprisingly expressive, even if that expressiveness does result in some humorous facial expressions. The character models are a little funny though; all the men, at least, have what I like to call “Ground Beef Body”. I ended up naming my character “Flaskkott Djur”, or “Pork Animal” in Swedish because he immediately reminded me of a hunk of ground beef (I got the word “Flaskkott” confused with the word “Nottkott” which is “Beef”. There’s your Swedish lesson for the day).

(Just look at that chin! And he’s got the neck of an ox to boot!)

Speaking of vistas, the diversity of environments is greater than I might have expected; although, get ready to see plenty of magical forests. There are, however, plenty of deserts, beaches, swamps, and arid landscapes to explore, all with plenty of monsters to kill and things to loot. All the environments are quite pretty and vibrant to behold and great emphasis has been placed on making each area feel like its own self-contained region. Even the magical forests feel different enough from one-another that you’re not likely to get lost.

(Upward shot of one of the game’s major cities. Go all the way south, along a beach and across a desert and through a forest, and you’ll find a Greco-Roman city ruled by Gnomes, as opposed to this necropolis-looking thing.)

Character creation is interesting. You only have two choices at the start; race and deity to worship. Funnily enough, you can choose to be an atheist, and it may be the best choice in my opinion, not because I’m some trilby-wearing “Dark Enlightenment” nutter, but because being an atheist gives you a permanent +1% experience point boost, and I’m always a slut for levelling up. All the other deities give you different boosts, and each of the four playable races gives you certain bonuses to non-combat skills.

When I say that you only have two choices at the start, I was leading up to something. See, KoA:R sort of has you create your character throughout the entire game. Every time you level up, you get a point for non-combat skills and for combat abilities. You could easily make the case that all RPG’s do something similar, having the player build up their character over the course of the game, but the difference is that KoA:R basically gives you nothing to begin with, save for a few points in all the beginning combat skills, plus a few points in non-combat skills dependent upon your chose race. Most other RPG’s would at least give you a bit more than that, if only to establish a direction. KoA:R is unique in that building your character is a persistent, fluid process, which keeps it engaging; in addition, the ability to refund all your points for a small fee allows you to go back and try a different build should you get curious/ fed-up.

One side-note I’d like to make mention of: If you’re the sort of person who gives a shit about difficulty curve, don’t buy the “Weapons and Armor Bundle” DLC. As the name would suggest, it creates a chest in the first town filled with weapons and armors for you to grab and use at your leisure. And while you’ll get/craft better equipment in time, it’s still better than the equipment you would otherwise have at the time, and it throws the balance off for a bit.

Speaking of crafting, the game actually has a pretty rad crafting system which allows you to create equipment, potions, and socketable gems. And frankly, once you put enough points into the requisite skills, you can craft some frankly ridiculous things. After a while, I was salvaging nearly all my equipment for the spare parts, rather than selling it. Gold wasn’t much of an issue anyway, and I wanted to see if I could craft an even more effective murder tool.

If it seems like I’ve been avoiding the topic of combat for a while, it’s because I’ve been avoiding the topic of combat for a while. Honestly, I think it’s one of the weaker elements. It’s slow and cumbersome, and it’s completely possible to be hit for a full combo because you couldn’t get your fucking shield up in time because you were already swinging at a different enemy. Whenever I swung my sword, I was committed for roughly the next half-hour. Also, for those of you more used to Dark Souls styled dodge-rolling, I should warn you that the dodge-roll in this game does not seem to have any invincibility frames; it just zips in a direction real quick is all.

(Spiders rather quickly became my arch-nemeses. They always came in groups, attacked somewhat unpredictably, and where often harder to kill than might be expected.)

To be fair, once you level up a bit and develop your own tactics, combat becomes easier. Learning your enemies’ attack patterns and learning abilities that stagger them, or prevent you from being staggered will help immensely.

If the plot synopsis up there seemed kind of involved and a little faffy, it’s because that’s how the game is. Ostensibly, the whole thing is based on old Irish and Scottish myths about the fae, and while the influence is clearly there, and it’s clear that the devs at least did a modicum of research on the mythologies they use. I like the idea of fighting Fate, the rapacious bastard. Although, there’s a bit where it’s implied that you’re appearance (remember, your character exists outside the web of Fate) was itself predicted by Fate. As others have pointed out, that point is kind of mad, but it’s not as big a deal as it sounds, and there’s evidence to suggest that perhaps Fate has simply rewritten itself to fit you in.

(The antagonist either screaming in madness or receiving amazing head. I’ll let you decide.)

Now, I have a bit of a confession to make. I spent almost my entire time playing this on sidequests. Much work has been done to ensure that the sidequest chains are engaging, from helping the resident mercenary guild fight an invading demon lord and his army of elven followers, to saving a small village from a rogue Fae and her spider minions. I had a lot of fun on all the sidequests; I almost forgot about the critical path. By the time I got back, I was massively overlevelled and had a set of powerful equipment to back me up.

Here’s a weird thing apropos of nothing: while the human ladies are dressed normally (boob-plates notwithstanding), the elven ladies are almost always in some kind of revealing top, often a deep V-neck. I have no idea why this is; there’s no lore reason for it. Maybe Big Huge consisted entirely of elf-misogynists? It’s bizarre is all.

(She’s just dressed like this. No idea why, especially when a normal human wearing leather armor has it look like regular leather armor.)

Now, some people have compared this game to Skyrim; certain reviewers even calling it “Baby’s first Skyrim“ I don’t necessarily think the comparison is a fair one. Whereas Skyrim is very much a standard fantasy RPG in the vein of its forebears, KoA leans more heavily on semi-frenetic combat action, even bumping up against the (admittedly nebulous) action-adventure genre in the subway car. Crafting is different as well. Whereas Skyrim has you stock up on ores and ingots to craft with, this game has you salvaging your old weapons to find screws and grips and rivets, which gives the crafting a different feel, even if they are functionally very similar. While Skyrim is admittedly a more detailed, immersive experience (glitches notwithstanding), KoA is about as complicated as it needs to be. It gets in all the features it needs to be a pretty good game in its runtime.

And Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is a pretty good game. Levelling up is more addictive than it is in most RPG’s, and great pains have been taken to make sure that each quest is fun and interesting, not just the main questline. Despite the reputation it’s accrued as a cut-rate Skyrim or “That one game what got a bunch of people in trouble and now it’s owned by Rhode Island,” I’d recommend it to anyone who likes somewhat complex fantasy worlds and/or anyone who likes their RPG’s a little bit on the actiony side. I may come back to it. After all, I’m more than half-way to the level cap and I’m not even close to the end of the main quest.

All in all, it’s a damn fine game. Would love to complete it some time.

(A back shot of a male character. I told you these people are made of ground beef.)

#archon reviews #video games #video game #fantasy #rpg #kingdoms of amalur: reckoning #kingdoms of amalur

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vestgauge1-blog · 4 years ago

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Cold showers may help boost weight loss Some fat cells, such as brown fat, can generate heat by burning fat. They do this when your body is exposed to cold conditions like in a shower.

In this sense the word cart pertaining to the trolley-wheel setting up linking the automobile to the overhanging high-voltage line, not to the vehicle itself. Trolley cars and trucks and also buses were first established in the UK as well as U.S.A. in the 1880s, and development of enhanced cart mechanics proceeded with the early years of the 1900s, which gives some sign regarding when the expression possibly began. The overhanging trolley remained in hobbies not specifically trustworthy. It needed overviews to maintain it on the cable, but the guides could never be big enough to survive heavy bumps since they would certainly after that run into the architectural supports for the cord.

Electric Cryotherapy Vs Nitrogen Cryotherapy.

The Wellfield Skin center.

Substantially also, the term piggy bank was not really videotaped in English up until 1941. A specific yet perhaps not unique beginning describes US railway slang 'tidy the clock' indicating to apply the airbrakes and quit the train rapidly, by which the air scale shows no and also is thus 'cleaned'. Prolonging this description, clock has long been slang indicating a person's face and also to hit someone in the face, rationally from the metaphor of a clock-face and especially the timeless photo of a grandfather clock. Words clean has various other jargon definitions in the sense of individual or material loss or defeat, for example, clean up, clean out, and merely the word clean. While these clock and also tidy significances are not beginnings in themsleves of the 'tidy the/his/your clock' expression they most likely motivated the term's natural adoption and usage.

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There is a sense of being possessed by satanic forces, which are the meemies. The Screaming Mimi film was a Columbia Studios dark psychological thriller, soon taken out after launch today taken into consideration by in advance of its time by 'film noir' fans. It starred Swedish actress Anita Ekberg as a traumatised knife-attack shower sufferer that becomes institutionalised, tormented and then exploted as a sexual professional dancer, by her medical professional. The mental-case aggressor re-appears and also terrorises the dancer, now called Yolanda. The 'Shouting Mimi' in the film is really a statue of a mad screaming lady together had by each of the aggressor's sufferers. In even more current years, the Wonder Comic 'Thunderbolts' group of super-criminals (aka and originally 'The Masters Of Evil') have a character called Screaming Mimi, which will additionally have actually aided to sustain the allure use the expression.

It's not feasible to claim specifically how and also when the word was gotten by the British or Americans, but the probability of this being the key origin of the 20th century 'shrieking mimis' expression is incredibly solid. Plebescite later got bigger definition in English describing the ballot or collective sight of the masses, as an example recorded in commentary of the (French people's) prominent approval of the 1851 French stroke of genius d'état. Partridge Vernacular furthermore cites mid-1800s English origins for pleb, definition, a tradesman's boy at Westminster University, together with 'plebe', a newbie at West Factor military academy in New york city state. The intended 'pygg' container or pot was then translated in definition and also pot design into a pig animal, bring about the pig form and 'pig bank', later developing to 'piggy bank', probably because the principle appealed strongly to children. Some descriptions likewise mention that pygg was an old English word for mud, from which the pig animal word also advanced,. Traditional etymology resources point to various vessels being called pigs but do not sustain the pygg clay or mud concept. There seems no clear recorded proof that pygg was once a word for mud or clay, neither of it being the origin of the pet's name.

This cutting-edge process Tones, tightens and Firms The Skin On The Face.

Where trolley automobiles have continued in operation or been reestablished the carts have normally been changed by 'pantagraph bars' (named after the item of illustrator's equipment that they appear like). The shares quickly boosted in worth by 10 times, yet 'the bubble burst' in 1720 and also wrecked countless people. 1870 Brewer verifies the South Sea Bubble term was used to describe any kind of plan which shows promise and after that resorts to spoil.

How long does fat freezing last?

Frozen, dead fat cells are excreted out of the body through the liver within several weeks of treatment, revealing full results of fat loss within three months. Some people who do CoolSculpting opt to treat several parts of the body, usually: thighs. lower back.

bring something into strong alleviation - highlight or stress something - this expression is an example of lots of mottos that are frequently used but not provided in dictionaries of jargon as well as expressions, in books or on the internet sources. This is since the expression is not vernacular or any type of other kind of distortion - the expression is simply based in a literal correct significance of words. The literal word-meaning of relief here is a three-dimensional comparison or a physical function that protrudes from an or else level surface area or aircraft - something that actually 'sticks out', in other words. ' Strong alleviation' in this sense is a metaphor based upon the literal definition of the word alleviation, as an example as it relates to three-dimensional maps and also distinctive surfaces of other types. That this is usually accomplished by appropriately lighting the subject certainly adds added significance to the allegory. Similar to many other expressions that are based upon actual but much less typically utilized significances of words, when you consider the interpretations of the word worried in a completely normal thesaurus you will certainly comprehend the definitions as well as the origins. Likewise, fascinatingly the word promiscuous was one of the most asked for meaning for the Google internet search engine as at May 2007, which perhaps states something of the contemporary world.

The vendor is an enabler, a carrier, a facilitator - a provider. Fascinatingly, the background of the word sell shows us just how ideal to represent and also pass it.

How many sessions of fat freezing do I need?

In most cases, you only need one CoolSculpting treatment per area. However, some people might need a follow-up treatment if they want additional results after several months. Treatment takes a few hours or less, with no required downtime.

The expression 'to have the yelling meemies/mimis' explains hysterical or paranoic practices in a general sense, or undoubtedly a 'shouting meemie/mimi' would be an individual acting in such a method. Then as currently the prefix 'yelling' is optional; the 'meemies' alone likewise means the very same, and also is the older use.

The beginnings of words are from the Latin, promiscuus, as well as the origin miscere, to mix. The sexual definition appears initially to have gotten in English around 1865 in the noun kind indiscrimination, from the French equal promiscuite, or promiscuité, more specifically. The word promiscuous had previously been introduced into English around 1600 however referred after that merely to any type of overwhelmed or combined circumstance or group. The fostering of the sex-related significance of indiscrimination then went across over to the adjective kind promiscuous, which presumed its modern sex-related definition by concerning 1900.

All potential negative effects will certainly be gone over by the practitioner before treatment.

It tightens the skin, settle creases, diminishes pores, targets the 'V' line formation and Jowell lines.

There can be slight aching over bony areas or a cozy sensation in the skin during treatment.

The treatment lasts anywhere between 6 months to 1 or 2 years depending on your age, diet as well as way of life.

HIFU improves total skin tone, pores, brightness and also flexibility.

The very early origins of the word nonetheless advise us that offering in its purest sense ought to intend to benefit the customer more than the seller. This solid focus on accomplishing a positive result for the buyer includes securely in excellent modern-day marketing approaches, where compassion, integrity, depend on, and also sustainability are central to the sales process. The English word sell is a very old word with even older beginnings. Prior to about 1200 the word was sellen, evolved from sellan, which shows up in the old English epic Beowulf, initially blogged about 725 AD.

South also has the meaning of relocating or taking a trip down, which aids the appropriate 'really feel' of the expression, which is usually a factor in an expression ending up being well established. sell - supply or move a product or service to someone in return for money - to the majority of people these days the concept of selling suggests affecting or persuading someone to acquire, with a focus on the seller benefiting from the deal.

Can I drink alcohol after fat freezing?

We also recommend not drinking heavily (alcohol) the day of your treatment. One drink or glass of wine is OK. It is common for the treated area to feel bloated, look swollen, and to experience temporary dulling of sensation in the first few days and weeks after CoolSculpting.

Websters and the OED say that pig was pigge in Middle English (). The OED and Chambers state pig was picga and also pigga in Old English (pre-1150). No trusted resources describe pygg as an origin word of pig, nor to pygg clay. There is nevertheless clear taped 19th century proof that clay and also earthernware pots and also containers, and containers and also pitchers, were called numerous words based on the pig word-form.

These are uncommonly very British English jargon words, which according to Cassells as well as Partridge appeared fairly recently in the English slang vocabulary. Partridge states that wanker is an insulting term, generally suggesting what it does today - a pinhead, or somebody taken into consideration to be useless or an irritability - dating from the 1800s in English, but offers no beginning. Partridge also suggests that until the 1970s wank was meant whank, yet this appears a little inconsistent as well as again is not supported by any more information. Just how wank and wanker entered into English continues to be unclear, yet there is perhaps an answer. Partridge, nor anybody else appears to have detected the evident link with the German word wanken, implying to drink or wobble. I have absolutely nothing else evidence of this possible German etymology of the wank words, but in the absence of anything else, it's the only root that stands apart. The lorry - typically a bus or a tramcar - that was powered by means of this a trolley-wheel electric connection was called a cart auto, or tram or trolley bus.

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Trolleys would therefore often polish off the wire, bringing the automobile to an unexpected halt. Being 'off the cart' normally implied impaired or damaged, which offered a noticeable metaphor for mad behaviour or craziness.

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swedishroyallove · 7 years ago

Text

Chapter 42

February 4, 2017: Royal Mews:

Lucy sits at her computer debating whether or not to post the photo to Facebook. She knows the tradition is to keep the gender a secret until the birth, but Madeleine did break with that with Leonore. After about 10 minutes of debating back and forth, Lucy makes the post.

“Isak and I couldn’t wait to share this news until the birth. We are having a girl!” she says with the photo of all the future princess’s cousins in pink shirts that say “I’m going to be a big cousin.”

Within minutes it had thousands of likes and the Swedish media had picked up on it. Madeleine had shared it and made a post of her own within two minutes of it going live. Madeleine was actually the one who encouraged Lucy to share the news since it was really bothering her to hide it.

Isak came in a few hours later looking a bit stressed. “What’s wrong?” Lucy asks.

“I was with Papa when you made the Facebook post. He went ballistic in the car. He hated it when Madeleine announced it, and he wasn’t happy this time either,” Isak responds.

“Uh oh,” Lucy says before tears start pouring. He thought Madeleine was a basket of emotions during her pregnancy, but nothing prepared him for Lucy.

He goes to call Victoria who rushes over. Soon as she walks in the door alongside Estelle, Carl Philip follows closely behind. Victoria goes straight to Lucy with Estelle not far behind. Carl Philip grabs his brother’s ear and drags him to the kitchen, “DAMN IT ISAK. WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING TELLING HER THAT?! WE DIDN’T EVEN TELL MADELEINE UNTIL AFTER LEONORE WAS BORN. YOU ARE A FUCKING MORON!”

“But,” Isak tries to say before Carl Philip interrupts, “DON’T! Mama is going to have your head when she sees you for this.”

A nervous Isak then says, “Does Madeleine know yet?”

“You better hope not. She will rip you a new one. Vic and I won’t be able to keep her from killing you this time.”

Meanwhile, Estelle has crawled in Lucy’s lap with tissues while Victoria tries to console Lucy, “Don’t cry. Papa is just a control freak. It’s your life, and your decision. Madeleine did it, too. She’s still alive and kicking. He will forget it soon, and when he sees her after she’s born, he won’t care that you revealed it.”

A sobbing Lucy says, “Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

Then Estelle gives Lucy a big hug and kiss and says, “Don’t cry Auntie Lucy. I still love you bunches. Plus, I had already told all my friends so Morfar should be mad at me!”

“Oh, Estelle...ever the little grown up. You are so sweet. I love you, too,” Lucy says as she hugs Estelle tight.

“Don’t worry. I’ll have a talk with Morfar,” Estelle says as she goes looking for Carl Philip.

The next day, the whole family was due to have dinner at Drottningholm. Lucy was nervous after hearing of Carl Gustaf’s reaction. When they sat down at the table, little Estelle got everyone’s attention.

“I have a very important announcement, Morfar!”

“Well, Estelle dear, what is it?” Carl Gustaf says smiling.

“I was the one who told first about my baby princess cousin! Everyone at school knew before Lucy so you can’t be mad at her. It’s all my fault! Take my inheritance, I don’t care! I give up the throne!”

Everyone, including the King, goes into a fit of laughter. Carl Gustaf says, “Well then, dear Estelle, I can’t be mad at Lucy then. But you can’t give up the throne, my dear. We all forgive you. You’ll be the greatest queen Sweden has ever had!”

Estelle jumps down and hugs her grandfather and then runs to hug Lucy. After dinner, Carl Gustaf apologizes to Lucy with Silvia at his side. Silvia gives her a big hug and tells her not to worry anymore. “He just turns into the Hulk occasionally when things don’t go how he plans. It was the icing on the cake that day after issues with the press.”

The family enjoys the rest of the evening together, and Lucy and Isak return home fairly early.

February 10, 2017: Royal Mews:

Lucy and Isak are headed out for an event at Stockholm City Hall where they will be attending a seminar on the sustainable development goals. The day went well with the couple posing for photos when arriving and Isak speaking during the closing segment. They did not know a storm was waiting for them with the press outside.

As they walk out to their car, the camera start flashing and reporters start shouting questions in Swedish. Lucy still is not fluent in the language and struggles to understand. One word she did catch was Zika and Brazil. Isak tenses up and goes over to the press. Lucy follows closely behind.

One reporter asks, “Is it true you conceived the princess while in Rio for the Olympics?”

Lucy quickly responds back, in Swedish, “That’s a very personal question that we don’t wish to share.”

“What do you have to say about all the risks associated with pregnant women in Brazil?”

They ignore the question and head back to the car, but not before Isak hears one that infuriates him.

“Don’t you think it was irresponsible and potentially deadly to do that to your child? What if it is born with defects? Won’t you regret it?”

He storms back, “Let me tell you something. That baby is a miracle. We will not regret having her. That question is uncalled for and unethical. How dare you ask us that!”

He storms back to the car and the couple heads to the Royal Mews. By the time they get home, the conversation is all over the news. They ignored it, but there was one story, in particular, that set them off.

This story did not come out until after midnight online. Its title stated, “Royal couple sets bad example and conceives new princess in Rio, child may be born with serious defects.”

Isak saw this story while Lucy was in the shower. When she came out of the bathroom, she saw in Isak’s face the fury.

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

“Isak...tell me.”

“No really, it’s fine, honey. Let’s go to bed.”

He goes over to kiss her goodnight knowing that would melt her. They crawl into bed, and Lucy grabs her phone. She sees the story immediately on Twitter. She shoots up out of bed in a rage. “WHAT THE HELL? HOW DARE HE!”

Isak tries to calm her, but Lucy starts pacing. She then begins to cry. She heads to the kitchen to get some water as Isak’s phone rings. He sees that it is Madeleine and answers.

“WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ISAK? YOU TOLD HER WHAT PAPA SAID? ARE YOU AN IDIOT?”

“Leni, not right now, it’s not a goo...” Isak hears glass drop in the kitchen. He takes off and sees Lucy doubled over in pain. Lucy then screams out in pain as Madeleine is asking what is going on over the phone. Isak tells her he has to go and hangs up quickly.

“Baby, what’s wrong? Did you step on glass when you dropped the glass of water? I’ll get it cleaned up.”

“No...Isak...not water...from glass....water broke.... in labor.... ahhhhhhhhhhh”

“Oh my gosh, Lucy, she’s not due until May! We are getting you to the hospital now!”

He carries Lucy to the car himself and speeds away with the royal protection officers struggling to keep up. He arrives at Karolinska University Hospital in record time and rushes in as he orders the guards to call the Palace.

They rush Lucy to a room and examine her. The doctor informs him that she and the baby are in a lot of stress. They would do all they could to keep the baby from coming so early, but the new princess would be born months before her due date.

#swedishroyallove #royal fanfic #royalfanficcollection #royalfanficcentral

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