#we got better quality at 8 pm last season

[mayasdeluca]

MAYA AND CARINA STATION 19: 7x07 'Give It All'

[itsjustbasketball]

First we take Monaco...

It is May 1, 2024, playoff time in İstanbul, an ancient city seducing you with the whispers of its stories, told and untold… Fenerbahçe Beko returns home after splitting the two away games in AS Monaco Basket for Game 3.

Fenerbahçe Beko: The basketball team of one of the oldest and most popular sports clubs in the country, with a storied history in the League. A permanent fixture in the Final Four between 2015–2020, the 2017 Euroleague Champions. Looking to go back to its glory days under the command of Šarūnas Jasikevičius, who took the helm mid season…

AS Monaco Basket: A relatively newcomer to the league, built around one of the best players on the court, holder of the league’s all time leading scorer title. With a single Final Four appearance in 2023, eager to show they belong…

The drive. Left home at 7 pm for the 8:45 pm game at Ülker Arena. A rare 20 min drive, gave us more than an hour to kill before game time. Because living in this city is about traffic management, first and foremost.

The t-shirt. In our seats by 7:30 pm. Yellow road to final four t-shirts to greet us. The colour is kicking, and the material is soft and thin. Way better quality than the Toronto Raptors t-shirts from way back when. Unwearable with their high collars, and shitty material, still gathering dust somewhere in the closet. There is a curious drawing of the team on the front. Saras is there, and so is Motley, I think, Scottie, almost. It is downhill from there. Why is Dorsey an angel? But most importantly, Who is the dude with golden funky glasses? Questions, questions.

Pre-game. The rosters are up. Motley still out. John Brown, who got injured last game, is also on the sidelines. I like Brown, he was huge in the regular season loss to Monaco. Sertaç who also left game 2 early due to an injury is on the roster (but does not start). The arena audio sound is way too loud. TOO LOUD. And the music is meh. So we rock the headphones and crack the volume.

The refs. They boo the refs at the start of the game. Every game. They know something I don’t? As this unfolds, the refs are not convincing — or convinced — at all, which leads the fans to question every call they don’t like. Which is made worse by the refs questioning every other call they themselves make. I am still not over that bizarre time travel sequence in game 2, where Monaco was awarded the ball after an unsportmanlike foul call for Motejunas from the future, they should really ban time travel on the basketball court. This whole watching, and rewatching, and re-rewatching is butchering the game, and not sustainable or manageable, and inevitably we will have to give the whistle back to the referees and back down.

The game. I did not believe we would win game 1 until we won it. I believed we would win Game 2 until we lost it. This game felt like a W from the start. Yes there were flashbacks in the 4th, but this is home, and this team only lost two home games this season. Crvena Zvezda and Efes. I remember the Crvena Zvezda game, where as we were cheering against Teosodic and his men, I could not help but think that it just was not working, perhaps working against us. Last night it felt just the opposite. The arena was rocking (I read the comments on social media today dissing the Fenerbahçe fans in the arena for whatever, and from our vantage point right at the centre I have to say that is neither fair nor accurate. The fans were engaged throughout, and definitely made a difference. It was definitely a play-off atmosphere. This is an arena where most watches the game sitting down, with only certain sections — the usual suspects up and about all the time… And football jerseys vastly outnumber the basketball ones — I counted only 5 yesterday — Does not change the fact that the fans rocked last night.) The team played well and hard. Calathes, Guduric and Biberoviç were all huge, but I felt, all said and done, Papagiannis made a big difference last night at both sides of the floor. Diallo was the Monaco player that stood out the most, was all over the court and rather annoying. Monaco looked rather tired at times. The inbound alley-oop pass from Strazel to Blossomgame was a thing of beauty (yet I was more dazzled by the defense — or lack thereof watching the highlights). After a defensive breakdown I look to Saras to figure out what went down, as he is seen shouting at the top of his lungs to whomever messed up…. The last two minutes of the game went at a dizzying pace, one crazy sequence after another, I had to sit down for a bit to steady myself at some point. I am a bit hazy about what went down, but in the blink of the eye, Hayes-Davis was running the clock for the game to end, and we could all breathe again.

The jersey. I am a basketball fan, who grew up watching Efes, celebrating the Koraç Cup win on the street with a handful of people, who happened to move to a Fenerbahçe neighbourhood in İstanbul upon returning home. So this is my neighbourhood team now … This season has been mostly about getting to know the team. All season, game after game, there has been one question playing around in my mind. If I were to buy a jersey whose name would I put on it. My brother has a Saras jersey — they could not fit Jasikevičius on it-, which I thought was a brilliant idea, and my son who can still count his age using his two hands wants a Wilbekin- which only makes sense… But whose name would I put on my jersey… I really like this team, and would wear any number of the players (Biberoviç if I was younger, Hayes-Davis if he had not dropped 50, Papagiannis if I was trying to make a point, Pierre if he was able to stay on the court longer, Motley if I was taller…) but here we are. And there is one name I came to associate with this team more than any other — and that is Nick Calathes. I am not buying a jersey, just yet.

Post game. It took us around an hour to get the car out of the arena, a price we were willing to pay for waiting to cheer for the team after the W. Home in 15.

The day after. We re-watched the second half on Euroleague TV. It’s been a while since I rewatched a game that I have attended, was surprised to see how different the two experiences could be, especially for an intense playoff game. Your logic and your emotions stack up differently in each case, tipping you off slightly, landing you in surprisingly different points, both of which might be equidistant from the truth of things. The Euroleague commentary was rather enlightening, making me realise that we beat a terrific, great, Herculean Monaco team with a single terrific play (by Papagiannis) and by, well being open.. Quite an accomplishment, I think. Terrific.

[cyarsk52-20]

SEX

Here Are This Year's Sex Trends That We Can Actually Get Behind

SHELLIE R. WARREN

MAR 17, 2023 17:00 PM EST

If you’ve checked out my byline here, even for a little while, you have probably caught on to the fact that I thoroughly enjoy researching random information (I get it from my daddy). For instance, I can’t explain what exactly prompted the search but, not too long ago, I was curious about what place is currently considered to be the sexiest in the world. It’s actually one of my favorite cities — London(NY and LA are in the top 10). That got me to looking up some of the sexiest hotels in the world as well (some ones in general are hereand here; some cool Black-owned joints are here). And that got me to wondering about currently popular sexual trends — you know, stuff that is super popular in the realm of all things sexual activity right now.

Let’s just say that when it comes to 2023, they pretty much run the gamut. Anyway, if you have a natural curiosity for random intel like I do, here are 12 sex-related things that could make coitus even betterin your neck of the woods.

1. Sex Outside of the Bedroom

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Recently, while in a session with some married clients, a wife helped to prove a point that I’ve been making, on repeat, for a few years now — a lot of people are leaving their marriage, not due to abuse or cheating but sheer boredom. Because as shallow as that sounds, when things become tedious, they can almost start to feel almost like torture. Sex is not exempt here either.

That said, let’s not act like the reason why most of us prefer to have sex in a bed is because, when the bed/mattress is hella comfortable, it makes getting into (and out of) positions so much easier; plus, falling asleep right after is super convenient in that spot. However, if you want to spice things up, getting out of the bed can be a wise move.

Some current favorite spots (according to what I’ve read and some folks that I’ve interviewed have shared):

Couches

Showers

Hallways

Dryers (when it’s on)

Kitchen Counters

Walk-In Closets

Work Offices (when no one’s there)

Tents in Backyards

Hotel Balconies

Fitting Rooms

At the very least, this should get your imagination going. So, whatcha gonna try?

2. All-Natural Aphrodisiacs

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It’s kind of wild that, even though aphrodisiacs have been around since FOR-E-VER, probably until the end of time, folks will debate on if they are actually “real” (as far as their effectiveness goes) or not. Personally, I think that if supplements (which we’ll get into later) can help to give your libido a boost, foods that contain said supplements will probably do the same.

Anyway, something that keeps coming up in sex-related content these days is all-natural aphrodisiacs. Food-wise, I penned a couple of articles for the platform a while back (check out “Eat Your Way To Better Sex With Aphrodisiacs” and “10 In-Season Fall Foods That Are Incredible Aphrodisiacs”). Scent-wise, read “8 Natural Aphrodisiac Scents, Where They Go & How To Make Them Last” for a variety of essential oils that can help to take things to another level (especially if you apply them to the right pressure points) too.

3. ASMR Sound Effects

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For years (and years…and then some more years), I’ve slept in silence and slept just fine. Yet over the past several years, I’ve gone to bed to the sound of rain (YouTube has a ton of channels that will play it for hours on end; just put “rain sounds for sleeping” in the search field) and it has taken my quality of sleep to a whole ‘nother level! From what I’ve read and researched sounds like rain, ocean waves, and even a blowing fan can help you to rest better and more; that’s because certain ASMR sounds activate the part of the brain that releases dopamine and oxytocin — both of which help you to feel calm and more relaxed.

On the sex tip, you might want to crank up some ASMR sounds too because it also helps to decrease your stress levels. Not only that but when your hearing is stimulated in this fashion, it can actually intensify your other senses (sight, taste, smell, and touch).

I mean, a lot of y’all went wild over H.E.R’s song “Damage” and whether you realized it or not, it’s, in part, because she referenced the sexy ass classic “Making Love in the Rain” by Herb Alpert ft. Lisa Keith and Janet Jackson. And doesn’t it now make even more sense that those kinds of songs make sex even better?

Hell, don’t wait for a rainy day. Put on a YouTube video. Do it ASAP too — the sounds and the sex, if you can.

4. Remote-Controlled Vibrators

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Since it’s been reported that somewhere around 14 million individuals are in a long-distance relationship, there’s no way that we could talk about sex trends without addressing one that’s growing in popularity among couples who don’t get to see each other as much as they would probably like.

One of them is remote-controlled vibrators. If you’re not familiar, it’s basically a vibrator that can be controlled by someone else. Although the possibilities are clearly — eh hem — endless with this, just make sure to keep in mind that you typically need a strong Wi-Fi signal. Also, you should read as much fine print on the product you’re considering because sometimes there are data and privacy issues.

Don’t let that last point freak you out too much, though. Honestly, these kinds of vibrators have been around for a long while now. Personally, I think the pandemic has brought them back into the sex spotlight. Anyway, Allure (here) and Self (here) did you a solid by providing a list of some of the best ones around. At least do a lil’ bit of window shopping, if you can.

5. Multi-Purpose Lube

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There used to be a time when people thought that lubrication was pretty much for women who couldn’t get “wet enough.” These days, as folks are getting more creative when it comes to sex, they know that wetter truly is better. That’s why I wrote articles like “If You've Always Wanted A 'Lubricant Cheat Sheet,' Here Ya Go” and “The Wetter, The Better: 10 Creative Ways To Use Lubricant” for the site.

So, when you get a chance, check those out and then determine in your mind that you will invest in a couple of bottles of lube (if you haven’t already). If you’re not sure which brands to go with, a good (no pun intended) entry brand is Astroglide because it’s water-based (which means it will feel natural and won’t compromise condom useor damage your bedding), it’s super affordable and you can find it in just about any drugstore around.

Just for the record, if you like to engage in activities like shower sex (check out “So, This Is How To Make Shower Sex So Much Better”), go with a silicone-based lubricant like Wet Platinum. A water-based lube while you’re in water is not gonna do you much good. Stuff is a lot more slippery with silicone in there.

6. At-Home STI/STD Testing

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While I’m over here irritated that so much data supports the fact that ONLY one-third of men use condoms (eye roll), I think that’s why I’m never shocked whenever I see that STI/STDs continue to increasewith every passing year (SMDH).

This is why, if you are sexually active, you need to get tested annually(no exceptions). And if you happen to have multiple sex partners, this needs to go from every 12 months to every 3-6 months (no joke).

And what if you “don’t have time”? Yeah, that won’t fly because, these days, you can get tested from the comfort and convenience of your own home (you can read about a list of some of the best that are currently out on the market here). Even though a lot of at-home tests aren’t exactly the cheapest things in the world, nothing is more valuable than your health, so…budget for them. It’s worth it.

7. Menstrubation

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If you just read this heading and thought it was a typo, I get it. When I first read about it, so did I. Basically, menstrubation is period sex — only with yourself: menstrual masturbation. And why would someone want to do that? Well, the reality is that it’s not so much the sex (or touching) itself that helps bring menstrual pain-related relief but the orgasms that can come from it. 

According to science, when we climax, it causes a burst of endorphins that can ease uterine discomfort. Some say that it can even be just as, if not more, effective than ibuprofen. The more you know, chile. The more you know.

8. (Black) Sex Influencers

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Currently, I’m getting certified to go another level in my life coaching work. One of the classes that I tiptoe in sometimes explores all things sensuality. While one of the other students and I were discussing the class (well, actually the instructor), we both talked about how surprising it was to learn that something as simple as breathing deeply can totally change how you feel about your looks, your sexuality and how you cope with stress.

That’s a big part of the reason why I personally think that, no matter how conservative or totally-out-of-the-box you might be about sex, being open to listening to a sex educator or influencer could prove to be beneficial on some level — and when it comes to our particular platform (and who it serves), particularly if they’re Black. Because if there’s one thing that the majority of us participate in, in some way, it’s sex. So, the more insights, perspectives, and tips that we’re given in this area, the more the experiences, overall, are able to potentially improve — and who doesn’t want that?

If you’re interested in checking out some sex influencers, last year, BuzzFeed published an article entitled “These 22 Black Sex Educators Are Changing The Way We Think And Talk About Sex” that can serve as a cool starting point.

9. Eco-Friendly Sex Toys

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It’s pretty much irrefutable that sex toys continue to grow in popularity. In fact, one more report says that by 2026, it will gross close to $55 billion bucks. So, if those are totally your thing and you want to be on-trend, make sure that you go with ones that are good for the environment. This would basically mean sex toys that are made from an ethical standpoint and with vegan ingredients. One company that carries those is The Natural Love Company.

Everyone here’s grown and can do whatever they want. However, while we’re on this topic, I just want to say that I was chatting it up with a friend of mine who said that one of his female friends told him that she had to basically go into detox over one of her vibrators. Why? Basically, because it caused her to orgasm so quickly and consistently that she found herself getting mad at her actual partner.

Yeah, that’s how “too much of a good thing” can turn around and bite you in the ass (no pun intended). While using sex toys to enhance intimacy is one thing, if it’s causing you to have a disconnect from actual human connection, think twice about adding more to your collection.

10. Libido-Inducing Supplements

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A lot of us don’t eat as healthy (or consistently healthy) as we should. That’s just a fact of life. Thankfully, there are things like supplements that can help our systems to get the vitamins and minerals that we’re not receiving from our diet alone.

For whatever the reason, this year, supplements that can help to increase your sex drive are all the rage. Ones that top the list include:

Fenugreek: it increases testosterone levels in both men and women

Maca root: it helps to improve symptoms that are related to erectile dysfunction in men

L-arginine: it expands blood vessels which can give men harder and longer erections and intensify orgasms for women

Vitamin D: it can decrease vaginal dryness; especially in menopausal women

Saffron: it can improve your sex drive if you happen to be on an antidepressant

Magnesium: it can put you in a better mood, so that you can enjoy sex more

Zinc: studies show that a lack of it can result in lower testosterone levels

Those are just for starters yet have enough data to back them to give them a try. Just make sure that if you’re currently on a prescribed medication that you run adding a supplement into your diet by your doctor and that you follow the instructions on the label when it comes to taking them. Supplements can be pretty potent, sometimes not in a good way, if you’re not careful.

11. Emotional Intimacy

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I live in Nashville (shout-out to Music City!) and so, I’ve been making it a point to try and entertain — although on some levels, it feels more like tolerate — the current season of Married At First Sight. Airris? Yeah…AIRRIS. I actually know some people who know him and they’ve been able to give me some insight on why it seems like he only has two channels: arrogance and horniness (and Twitter’s beenletting him have it for it too).

Anyway, I didn’t even need to know the late bloomer scoop to catch that he hasn’t even begun to know how great sex can actually be because not only (according to him) has he never been in lovebefore, he seems to not establish the greatest emotional connections with his sex partners either.

I hate that for him because, even the guys I know personally who are, let’s just say, quite active in these streets, they will vouch for the fact that sex is so much more fulfilling when it’s with someone you are emotionally connected to. And just for the record, let me run down seven signs that an emotional connection — mutually so — actually exists between two people:

A strong chemistry is mutually there

You know each other beyond the surface level

You are open to meeting each other’s needs (not just in the bedroom either)

There’s some sort of friendship established

You enjoy each other’s company (even outside of sex)

You’re consistently curious about each other

Reciprocity is present

With articles and videos touching on the fact that hookup culture is getting really old (even I once wrote about how I’m not a fan of casual sex based on what “casual” actually and literally means; you can read it here), perhaps we’re seeing a turning of the tide. Maybe we’re remembering that sex is fun yet it can also be something special that transpires between two people. Hmm…just maybe.

12. Sexual Mindfulness

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Last one. In the holistic wellness space, a word that comes up pretty consistently is “mindfulness.” The simplest way to define what it means to be mindful is you’re intentional about doing whatever is necessary to stay in the moment, be self-aware, and stay almost hyper-conscious of what’s around you.

If you really let all of this sink in, it makes perfect sense that sexual mindfulness would be quite effective and beneficial when it comes to sex because, the more in tune you are with your own body, your partner, and the space that’s around you, all without overly concerning yourself about time, that can make for a much more intense and satisfying sexual experience.

So, how can you do things that will make you more sexually mindful? When it comes to yourself, sex journaling (check out “The Art Of Sex Journaling (And Why You Should Do It)”) and vaginal mapping (check out “Why 'Vaginal Mapping' Needs To Be Part Of Your Healing Journey”) are great starting points. When it comes to amplifying sexual mindfulness with your partner, orgasmic meditation (check out “What Exactly Is 'Orgasmic Meditation'?”) is a powerful way to go.

Whatever you choose, try and slow down, get still and really take each other in without any electronics around. Being fully “in” with your partner can tap you into an energy field that will take sex to a whole ‘nother level. Yeah…out of all of the sex trends for this year, this might be the best one. #wink

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Featured image by Nikada/Getty Images

SHELLIE R. WARREN

After being a regular contributor for about four years and being (eh hem) MIA in 2022, Shellie is back penning for the platform (did you miss her? LOL).

In some ways, nothing has changed and in others, everything has. For now, she'll just say that she's working on the 20th anniversary edition of her first book, she's in school to take life coaching to another level and she's putting together a platform that supports and encourages Black men because she loves them from head to toe.

Other than that, she still works with couples, she's still a doula, she's still not on social media and her email contact (missnosipho@gmail.com) still hasn't changed (neither has her request to contact her ONLY for personal reasons; pitch to the platform if you have story ideas).

Life is a funny thing but if you stay calm, moments can come full circle and this is one of them. No doubt about it.

Sent from my iPhone

[littleharpethcrossfit]

Tuesday, 19 December, 2023.

It was a brisk 42 degrees. Herb complained so many times that Dana warned him that he would be ridiculed in this blog. Was that a Nordic ski-hat that Herb was wearing?

Warmup

3 Rounds

10 Small Banded Thrusters

5 Pull-Ups

I should give participants some kind of reward for doing the warmup.

Strength

Back Squats: 5 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1 / 1

Aiden=315 Ed/Chase=295 Dana/Herb=235 Paul=205 Tom=185 Coach=175 Kayla/Sue/Elisa=105 Linda=85 Joe/Lew=75 Shannon=late

WOD

12 Minute Cap

Run 400 / Row-Ski 500 / Bike 1000m

18 Thrusters (95/75/45)

Run 400 / Row-Ski 500 / Bike 1000m

15 Thrusters (115/85/55)

Run 400 / Row-Ski 500 / Bike 1000m

SCORE: MAX THRUSTERS (135/95/65) IN TIME LEFT.

Lew=48 Ed=41* Sue=34 Chase=32* Herb*/Dana=20** Coach=19 Tom=18 Kayla/Joe/Elisa*=15 Shannon=10 Aiden=8 Paul/Linda=0

Extra Credit: Anyhow Dips 5 / 5 / 5 / 5 / 5

Akin to the warmup, participants should get special notation.

Notes:

As ironic and ludicrous as any event could be, a traffic cone was this evening driven over once again. The ironic part is that the very self-same person who tore one up a few weeks ago, today ran over the replacement that he so readily purchased for the Barn. Luckily for him, the replacement ones he bought are of far better quality and stood the test his luxury Lexus. BTW, these new ones are much taller and have reflective tape, which begs the question "How can they be missed?"

While researching today's WOD (which should shock my detractors), I noticed that the exact same WOD had a Cap of 10, 12, or 14 minutes at various boxes. Therefore I sacrificed my healthy well-being earlier in the day by doing a test run. I was able to have 90 seconds remaining under a 12 minute cap, which is why I gave LHCF athletes the 12 minute cap. Everyone got to post scores except Miss Linda and Paul. Sad for them.

Chase brought me some Anna-Christmas-cookies. I know she meant them all for me, but several ants came to the picnic table and made off with most of them. Miss Linda and I both got one, and it was delicious. Why did Miss Linda blame me for the ants ??

This Thursday is truly not any special occasion. The 21st of December is the Winter Solstice, which means that the Earth has reached its maximal tilt in relation to the Sun. Herb can draw great comfort knowing that from that day forward, the days are getting longer and the nights shorter. We will have to keep Herb ignorant of the fact that Spring, The Vernal Equinox, is not until 20 March, and Baseball season is still far away.

But for some reason I want Thursday to be a better than usual wine tasting. Not so fabulous as last Thursday (The Mexican Buffet) but nice. Not because Miss Linda's Birthday is only 2 days away (hint), but maybe because it's almost Christmas Eve. Do I really need a reason ?? Never-The-Less (I like to say that), the party will be in the warm indoors of the Barn, and I will bring the best wines of 2023.

Thursday at 4 PM.

[vickiabelson]

Felix Angel Solis Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson

If a good man is hard to find, a great one’s murder. Felix Solis, currently killing it in The Rookie: Feds, and who killed, literally, as Omar Navarro in Ozark, the role which broke him out of actors actor/working actor to famous actor. Deserved. All over the place. Felix’s stunning performance in the Pulitzer-winning, The Cost of Living, is forever seared in my soul. As is his Navarro. How the hell did he make that unconscionable murderer likable and even at times… sympathetic! Chilling and thrilling.

We talked about fame, which first found him mid-pandemic when he and we were masked. Here he was on the most talked about show on television, with the most talked about part, and he was hiding in his house avoiding people and life, invisible walking amongst us when he wasn’t. 

Felix’s reentry into living includes being recognized daily, which he views with humility and recognition, citing an example of his own stargazing awe. His return to “normal,” has been gradual, aided greatly by resumed work where strict protocols allowed for a certain feeling of safety, and at the time forced his willingness to take risks. 

Felix details why he began the pandemic in abject terror and how now, he’s replaced fear with respect.

We talked about the current writers’ strike, its impact on the industry, and on actors, many of whom can’t afford to lose work, yet, looking ahead at the bigger picture. Felix argued both sides, clearly torn.

Success has shockingly had little effect so far on the work on offer, yet, the man’s been busy just wrapping the last of 22 episodes of The Rookie: Feds. 

Cultivating ideas for his Subway Token Films (with his partner in this and in life), just today he reached out to Pulitzer Prize Winning Playwright, Martyna Majok, who penned Cost of Living. I’ve been manifesting this “marriage” for 5 years. 🤞

Readying for a trip to New York, we talked the current scary weather/air quality due to the Canadian fires, to whether to mask in the jazz clubs, to what pizza rules. Felix had a somewhat existential good every man answer, but we both know, it’s Joe’s!

I noted earlier today that the first time we sat down in 2018, Felix, with a long, deep resume already to his credit, was soft-spoken to a fault. I had to turn my volume up to 11. Our next sit-down, 4 yrs later, post-filming the final season of Ozark, and portraying Navarro for 2 seasons, Felix sat up straighter, spoke louder, and took up more air in the room. This visit, a year later still, Felix fills the screen. In part, no doubt, we know each other better, staying in touch here and there between these conversations, but more than that, this man is shining into his well-deserved and earned, star.

Philanthropic, a generous, warm-hearted, art-affirming humanist, Felix is sizzling hot and downright lovely. I adore spending time in his razor-sharp, thought-provoking, mind-bending, company.  Can’t wait to watch whatever he’s got coming up next. For tonight, going back to the Solis archive - gonna watch Man on a Ledge. I need more Felix! 

Felix Angel Solis Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson

Wed, June 7th, 5 pm PT, 8 pm ET

Streamed Live on The Facebook

Replay here: 

[thewhiteroseofvermilion]

Moving Forward

Hello everyone. It’s been a long time since I’ve last spoken to you all, and an even longer time since I’ve last updated this story. Over the months and years, my absence has saddened, frustrated, and even angered many of you. Despite my own valid feelings of how—to put it bluntly—I don’t owe any of you anything as this is something I do for free and in my own free time, I still recognize how it must feel for you all to see something you enjoy so much slowly lose momentum and eventually grind to a halt. Furthermore, my habit of making enthusiastic yet empty statements in between didn’t help either. 

As such, a proper and honest explanation is due, as anything less would be unkind. This will be lengthy, but please bear with me. 

For the past four years, it’s been increasingly difficult to find the time, energy, and motivation for me to properly sit down and write. Seemingly gone are the early days of this story’s life when I was able to publish a new chapter every month or so, or even every two weeks when I was at the top of my game in terms of activeness. Even though I had an immense workload due to being a double major in college, leading me to adopt the best work ethic I’ve ever had, I still led a sheltered lifestyle where I didn’t have to worry about the many looming, inevitable adult responsibilities that were ahead of me.

Those tranquil years of course came to an end when I graduated, and I soon felt immense pressure to shift my attention to finding work, living independently, and working on things that would further my career. While I received support as an aspiring writer from the majority of my family, those being my mother and sister, the both of them commented more frequently as time passed by that my “fanfiction” wasn’t something that I should be spending so much time on anymore. After all, it’s not like I could sell the work as my own, and the fact that despite fanfiction absolutely being a valid artform, it wasn’t something that the world of professional employers cared about. 

Nonetheless, when I did eventually find work as a film freelancer, I still tried to persevere and write on the side. My goal back then was to work in film in order to sustain my pursuit in writing. Film was something I went to school for, greatly enjoyed, and even saw a possible future career for myself in, but it was the writing aspect of it that I was truly after, that being primarily screenwriting. 

After two years of living at home, I felt the need to try and live independently as I outgrew my tiny room and my mom started dating a man that I didn’t particularly like. I knew it wasn’t financially smart of me to do so when my mom allowed me to live with her rent-free. But at the time I thought that it would help me to become more mature and productive, as I would have to force myself to work in order to put a roof over my head and food on the table—as opposed to living a sheltered life at home where everything was taken care of for me. Essentially, I was longing for the lifestyle I had in college, thinking that once I returned to it, I would be able to reacquire that once incredible work ethic I had. 

So, I became roommates with a friend from college and together we rented a townhouse together. Rent wasn’t terribly expensive, but it wasn’t cheap either. Regardless, I was able to make ends meet. My greatest challenge however, was to live up to my family’s spoken and unspoken expectations. On one hand, my mother was sweet and understanding, naturally giving me her full support. My father, on the other, always thought that it’d be better for me to pursue something safer and more lucrative, and to not risk being a starving artist. But the one I had to prove myself the most to was my older sister, who was wildly more successful than I was—financially and professionally. My pay compared to hers was like a drop in a bucket, and I felt both indirect and direct pressure from her to be more “professional” like her. Therefore, I threw myself into my work, which is when things slowly began to go downhill. 

As a film freelancer, my work hours usually averaged between 10-12 hours a day, and with my work taking me all over my home state of Maryland and even into neighboring Washington DC and Virginia, my commute time to and from work ranged anywhere from an additional 1-3 hours. It became incredibly common for me to wake up for work anywhere between 3-6 AM and not get home until 8-10 PM. 

Unbeknownst to me at the time, I slowly slipped into a routine where when I did have the “time” to write, I had zero energy or motivation as my work was so taxing. I reached the point where I had to drink two energy drinks with 300mg of caffeine to get myself to and from work. I saw less and less of my roommate and friends. I spent an alarming amount of money and gained weight from ordering take-out so often because I hadn’t the energy to cook for myself when I got home late from work. There would even be days when I fell into what felt like comas, sleeping up to two days straight at one point. My physical, mental, and emotional health was in serious decline. And yet I didn’t see it that way, as I had become obsessed with trying to prove to my family, my sister in particular, that I wasn’t a failure and that my pursuit of writing wasn’t a hopeless one.

During the first month of COVID-19′s outbreak last year, I finally had a much-needed vacation. This was undoubtedly the best time for me to have returned to writing—but I didn’t. At this point, so much time had passed since my last proper writing session that the few times I did try to write, I found myself completely unable to write anything. I was so out of practice and so out of touch with what I had written. This honestly frightened me, and I soon began to doubt if I could ever be able continue the story with the same quality that so many readers fell in love with. Regrettably, I fled from this revelation long enough for a full month to pass by, and I soon found myself busy with yet another distraction: unemployment. 

I was out of work for about 4.5 months, from the middle of March to the beginning of August. During this time, I had to rely on state unemployment, which earned me great scorn from my older sister. Our relationship had always been uneven since we were kids, but it was becoming increasingly toxic as of late since our college years. I felt so ashamed to tell her how much money I made in a year from my job as a film freelancer, and how I barely managed to move to a better position after four years of work. Riddled with guilt and disappointment in myself, when work became readily available again in August, I frantically threw myself back in harder than ever before. In the past where I had turned down the occasional job to give myself some time to relax or in order to make it to a social outing with friends, I now accepted every job thrown my way, only declining those that would make me double-book myself. I earned a lot of money during those months as a result, and I was so happy to finally distance myself from the stigma of being “unemployed.” However, I once again failed to see that I was yet again sliding back into the lifestyle that had been slowly poisoning me for the past two years. 

After essentially working non-stop from August to March, my body, mind, and soul soon returned right back to the brink of collapse. It wasn’t until then at my lowest point when I finally realized how I initially went from working to sustain myself in order to write, to not writing at all and only working to sustain myself to work even more. It was truly scary to see myself fall victim to a brutal cycle of unfulfilling work that could have trapped me for years to come if I hadn’t broken free first. That’s when I realized that my lifestyle was personally unsustainable, and that something had to change. 

Henceforth, I’ve made the difficult decisions to both transition out of film freelancing and to soon return home to live with my father. At the end of April, the homeowner of the townhouse my roommate and I had been living in for close to three years gave us our 30-days-notice to vacate, as they no longer wished to rent but to sell the property. As my roommate had been planning on finding a place of his own with his girlfriend for quite some time, we split amicably at the end of last month in May and I’ve since moved into a temporary apartment with a friend who has traveled back to Maryland for seasonal work. 

Regarding the change in my career, I’ve been looking into applying for writing positions for something that I’ve grown to enjoy over the past few years, which is to write reviews for media such as film, anime, and videogames. This of course is not what I truly want to do in life, but I think that because it actually involves writing, it would be both good practice in terms of practicing my writing and experience in terms of resume-building. Furthermore, a stable “9-5″ job as such would be good for me, I think, as it would introduce some desperately needed structure back into my life. Being a freelancer was definitely fun as I had the power to choose my own schedule, but it unfortunately fostered a lot of laziness and procrastination when I wasn’t completely burnt out. 

I’ve shared with you all this information, a great deal of it being very personal, in the hopes that it helps you better understand who I am as a person and what I’ve been going through these past four years. 

I understand that my word may be difficult to trust due to my history, but I sincerely wish to let you all know from the bottom of my heart that I do plan on continuing writing The White Rose of Vermilion until it’s completed. My fears and insecurities may have alienated me from that promise, but not once did I ever entertain the idea of fully dropping the story. And I promise you, I never will. It most likely will not further my career in any way, bring any revenue in, and will continue to consume a great deal of my precious free time—yet I still choose to pursue continuing it because I can’t see a future where I don’t finish it.

It is after all my most cherished project; the reason that I was able to truly find my calling as an aspiring writer, its success also ultimately being the proof to my mother that I had some skill as a budding writer, who then gave me her full blessings to pursue it as a career. But most important of all is that it’s the reason why I was able to experience first-hand one of the most important and beautiful discoveries in my entire life. That being the incredible phenomenon of how art is like a beacon—its bright light is powerful enough to reach out and inspire others to create art of their own. From Monty Oum to Nancy Phetchareune to myself, I was blessed enough to see readers create wonderful fanart to show me or tell me in a review that reading my story had inspired them to create something of their own.

I am officially leaving behind my prolonged hiatus and returning to working on The White Rose of Vermilion. While I am extremely hesitant to even estimate when the next chapter will be published, please know that I am genuinely trying to leave behind my habits of old and returning to a more consistent schedule. 

The White Rose of Vermilion will return in:

Arc II, Chapter Twenty-Seven: Stranger in the Night

[twentiethcenturymoviesandtv]

Star Trek: Facets of Filmmaking

As it turns out, before Star Trek was fully realized in the form we know today, the show was originally not going to be about Kirk and the Enterprise at all.  In fact, it was going to be about a ship called the S.S. Yorktown, captained by a man named Robert April, on a mission to explore the Milky Way galaxy.  The original concept, still named Star Trek and set in the 23rd century, was loosely based on the Horatio Hornblower novels, and took inspiration from The Voyage of the Space Beagle, the Marathon series and the 1956 film Forbidden Planet.

By the year 1964, when this idea began to take shape, Gene Roddenberry, creator of Star Trek was an experienced writer for western television shows, and was well accustomed to (at the time) television’s favorite and most popular genre.  By 1964, however, Roddenberry was tired of the shootouts, and wanted to do something different, something with a little more depth to it.

Still, Roddenberry knew what the executives, and the public, was used to.  As a result, the first draft of this new Star Trek idea was generalized as a sort of ‘Wagon Train to the Stars’, a formulaic type of show where every episode was a standalone adventure in the continuous exploration of the final frontier: space.

As Roddenberry wrote the draft, a few things changed.  Gone was Robert April, replaced by Captain Christopher Pike, who would be portrayed by Jefferey Hunter, and the rest of the crew.  The name of the ship changed too, to the more familiar Enterprise.  As these changes came about, so too did the true nature of Roddenberry’s dream show: both an adventure story, and a thought-provoking morality tale.

Armed with his script, Roddenberry brought Star Trek to Desilu Productions, (a rather large television production company headed and half-formed by Lucille Ball herself) and met with director of production Herbert F. Solow.  Solow saw promise in the concept, and signed a three-year development contract with Roddenberry.

Star Trek moved into the next stage of development.  Further drafts were drawn up and the idea that would later become the episode The Cage was revised, until it was shown to CBS as part of the ‘First Look’ deal with Desilu productions.  CBS wasn’t impressed with the show, declining to purchase it.  They had another ‘space show’ in development that seemed too similar, a show that would become Lost in Space.

However, another company became interested: NBC.  In May of 1964, Grant Tinker, the head of the West Coast programming department, commissioned the pilot that would become The Cage (which would later be reworked into the episode The Menagerie).  After it was completed, NBC turned it down, claiming that it was ‘too cerebral’, but although this was a mild defeat, Star Trek wasn’t beaten.  NBC still showed interest in the concept, and made the highly unusual decision to commission a second pilot: the episode that would become Where No Man Has Gone Before.

With this came quite a few changes.

Christopher Pike was scrapped as a character, as was the vast majority of other cast members.  Only the character of Spock, as portrayed by Leonard Nimoy, was kept, and of the other cast members, only Majel Barrett stayed, demoted from playing the second-in-command (scrapped due to the unthinkable notion of a woman Commander) to the ship’s nurse, Christine Chapel.  With this new pilot came an onslaught of new, more familiar names and faces: William Shatner as Captain Kirk, Chief Engineer Lieutenant Commander Scott played by James Doohan, and Lieutenant Sulu, (originally a physicist in the first episode, but a helmsman afterwards) played by George Takei.

This pilot passed with flying colors, and with that, NBC added Star Trek to their fall lineup for 1966.

Still, there were changes to be made.  In this first pilot, the ship’s doctor was Mark Piper, played by Paul Fix.  Dr. Leonard McCoy, played by DeForest Kelley, would join the cast when principal filming for the first season began.  Also joining the cast was Nichelle Nichols, playing Lieutenant Uhura, and Grace Lee Whitney as Yeoman Rand.  (Whitney would depart halfway through the first season, after being on the receiving end of sexual assault from one of the executives of the show, but would later appear in the film series beginning in the 1970s.)

Besides Where No Man Has Gone Before, NBC ordered 15 episodes to start off the show.  The first episode of Star Trek, The Man Trap, aired at 8:30 PM on Thursday, September 8th of 1966 as part of NBC’s ‘sneak preview’ time slot, received with mixed feelings.  While some papers and reviewers genuinely liked the new show, (such as The Philadelphia Inquirer and the San Francisco Chronicle) others, such as The Boston Globe and The New York Times didn’t.  Variety described the show as ‘an incredible and dreary mess of confusion and complexities’, and predicted that it would fail.

Fighting for position against reruns of previous shows, despite the critics’ warnings, Star Trek won a time slot, and began with decent ratings.  However, it didn’t last long.  By the end of the first season, Star Trek was sitting at 52nd out of 94 programs.

Star Trek was sinking, fast.

But even then, it wasn’t without its supporters.

The editor of Galaxy Science Fiction, Frederik Pohl, offered up his amazement that Star Trek’s consistency remained good, with no drop in quality after its Tricon winning early episodes.  He expressed his fear that the show would be cancelled due to its low ratings, and pleaded with audiences to help save Star Trek, writing letters to prevent its cancellation.

At this time, the only thing that was keeping the show on the air in the first place was the demographics it was reaching.  NBC had become interested in the demographics of the shows it was producing in the early 1960s, and by 1967, was using that as part of the decision making as to which shows got dropped.  

And something about Star Trek’s demographics interested NBC very much: it had managed to attract ‘quality’ audiences: high income, high educated people (primarily males).

As a result, NBC ordered ten more episodes for the first season, and ordered a second in March of 1967.  The network then changed Star Trek’s timeslot, moving it to 8:30 on Friday nights, a timeslot that seemed doomed for failure among the audience that Star Trek had gathered.

The next season, things didn’t seem to be getting any better.  It was at this point that the show added on Walter Koenig as Ensign Chekov (as George Takei was working on The Green Berets and was not as available for shooting), although some might have wondered why they would have bothered.  The show’s ratings were still dropping.  William Shatner, expecting the show to be cancelled, began to prepare for other projects.  

Again, the demographics saved the day.

Roddenberry’s initial concept of adventure alongside morality tales intrigued the audiences Star Trek had attracted.  The show had values, values that had to be applied to every situation.  The show was sincere, and serious in its exploration of issues like racism, war and peace, human rights, technology, class warfare, and imperialism, far different in tone and content than the other chief sci-fi show at the time: Lost in Space.  As a result, the show generated a more interested fanbase, perhaps the first true ‘fanbase’ of any franchise in history.  In the end, it was they who saved Star Trek.

By the end of the first season, NBC had received well over 29,000 fan letters.  During the second season, Roddenberry began a campaign to persuade fans to write in to NBC, to support the show and save the program.  Between December of 1967 and March of 1968, NCB had received nearly 116,000 letters from people who did not want to see Star Trek cancelled.  Science fiction conventions, magazines, and newspaper columnists encouraged readers to save what was called ‘the best science-fiction show on the air’.

The fans didn’t stop with letters.  Over 200 students of the California Institute of Technology marched to NBC’s studio in Burbank to protest the cancellation of Star Trek in January of 1968, carrying signs that said things like ‘Vulcan Power’.  They weren’t alone; other groups of students of MIT and Berkeley did the same thing in New York City and San Francisco.

Interestingly, the letters that NBC received were not of the typical ‘fan mail’ quality.

“Much of the mail came from doctors, scientists, teachers, and other professional people, and was for the most part literate–and written on good stationery. And if there is anything a network wants almost as much as a high Nielsen ratings, it is the prestige of a show that appeals to the upper middle class and high-brow audiences.” (Lowry, Cynthia (January 17, 1968). “One Network Goes ‘Unconventional’”. Nashua Telegraph. Associated Press. p. 13)

“The show, according to the 6,000 letters it draws a week (more than any other in television), is watched by scientists, museum curators, psychiatrists, doctors, university professors, and other highbrows. The Smithsonian Institution asked for a print of the show for its archives, the only show so honored.” (Scott, Vernon (February 7, 1968). “Letters Can Save 'Star Trek’”. The Press-Courier. Oxnard, California. United Press International. p. 17.)

After the episode The Omega Glory, on March 1st, 1968, the announcement came:

“And now an announcement of interest to all viewers of Star Trek. We are pleased to tell you that Star Trek will continue to be seen on NBC Television. We know you will be looking forward to seeing the weekly adventure in space on Star Trek.” (“Letters For 'Star Trek’ Hit 114,667”. The Modesto Bee. April 14, 1968. p. 26.)

If this was intended to stop the letter writing campaign, it was a dismal failure.  A comparable number of letters came in to NBC following this announcement, full of thanks for renewing the show for the third season.

In March of 1968, NBC moved Star Trek to another time slot: 10:00 PM on Fridays, an even worse shot than before.  To make matters worse, it was only being seen by 181 out of 210 of NBC’s affiliates.  Roddenberry fought the network to move it to a better time, but he was denied.  Exhausted, Roddenberry quit working on production of Star Trek, remaining executive producer in name only.  The running of the show went to Fred Freiberger, who was with the show as it stood on its last, shaky, legs.

And it was on its last legs.

Star Trek season three was a dying breath, the death-rattle of a show that was being intentionally destroyed by its own network.

To quote Nichelle Nichols:

“While NBC paid lip service to expanding Star Trek’s audience, it [now] slashed our production budget until it was actually 10% lower than it had been in our first season … This is why in the third season you saw fewer outdoor location shots, for example. Top writers, top guest stars, top anything you needed was harder to come by. Thus, Star Trek’s demise became a self-fulfilling prophecy. And I can assure you, that is exactly as it was meant to be.”

It showed.

While I hesitate to call season three of Star Trek a mess, it is difficult to deny that the show was definitely struggling.  Episodes dropped in quality, characters became more exaggerated and less ‘true’. Star Trek stopped filming in January of 1969, and after a total run of 79 episodes, the show  was cancelled.

As a newspaper columnist advised:

“You Star Trek fans have fought the “good fight,” but the show has been cancelled and there’s nothing to be done now.”

Rather incongruous with the image of the pop-culture giant we know it as today, wouldn’t you think?

So what happened?

As it turns out, Star Trek had enough episodes (thanks to the third season) to enter syndication.  Desilu Productions, which at that point had become Paramount, licensed the syndication rights in order to turn a profit, and reruns of Star Trek began airing in late 1969.

In syndication, Star Trek became a cult classic, finding a larger audience on reruns than it had during its original run.  The show, which was airing in the afternoons and early evenings, was attracting a young demographic, and, ironically, Star Trek became known as ‘the show that wouldn’t die’.  By 1970, Star Trek was boosting Paramount’s ratings, and becoming extremely popular.  In January of 1972, over 3,000 fans attended the first Star Trek convention in New York City, kicking off a previously unheard-of trend of organized fan gatherings where they could buy merchandise, meet cast and crew, and screen episodes of the show.  These people, coming to be known as ‘trekkies’, took pride in their knowledge and extreme love for this series, which was becoming renowned for being a smart, heartfelt science fiction show that had been cancelled too early.

17 years after Star Trek was cancelled and started reruns, Star Trek became the most popular syndicated show of all time.  By 1987, Paramount was bringing in $1 million per episode, and by 1994, reruns were still airing in over 90% of the United States of America.

The rest is history.

It has been over fifty years since Gene Roddenberry’s vision of a wagon train to the stars first took flight, and it was a hard battle fought to get as far as it did.  Never before had a show garnered the support and devoted love from a fanbase, never had it inspired such huge leaps and bounds in television and fandom alike.  Never had a television show meant so much to so many, and continued to do so well past its end.

For a show that struggled through a third season, it seems incredible that Star Trek still holds the weight that it does today.  The show that wouldn’t die gained new life beyond the grave, still capturing people’s attention decades after it was cancelled, growing to become one of the best known and best loved television shows ever made.

Against all odds, Star Trek lives on, remaining one of the greatest television shows of all time, for very good reason.

Join me for one last article as next time we take one last look at Star Trek in our Final Thoughts.  If you have any thoughts, questions, suggestions, recommendations, or just want to say hi, don’t forget to leave an ask!  Thank you all so much for reading, and I hope to see you in the next article.  

[oddcoupler222]

*pounds fists on table* Those Who Wait AU, TWW AU, TWW AU! trying to get my chant started ;) but seriously, i would do many things in order for you to post the alternate ending where Margaery didn't come out in that article/didn't go to the wedding...

okaaaay now that the real ending is out and about, i can divulge the au ending

in the event that Margaery didn’t go to Robb’s wedding, didn’t come out to Missandei in that article, the courses of their lives change drastically. Those Who Wait would have come to an end with chapter 21 (post Sansa’s love confession)

and then we would have:

It’s Only A Matter of Time

Sansa and Margaery are “broken up” (semantics, since they weren’t technically together and all). Sansa breaks down to Jeyne about their breakup, has confessed her love for Margaery. It’s been almost a month since that fateful confession, and Margaery is about to do her final interview before the election. In chapter 22 of Those Who Wait, she talks to both Renly and her grandmother, and is also heartbroken and knows she’s in love with Sansa.

But when the moment comes for her to tells Missandei about her sexuality…she decides by the skin of her teeth that it’s too risky, and instead, swallows it and listens to what she believes are her better instincts.

Now, the story diverges. Sansa goes home for Robb’s wedding, dealing withher heartbreak from Margaery. Margaery does not show up and profess her love for her.

Margaery goes on to win the election for the Small Council by the considerable margin she had on Cersei at that given point in time, and buries herself in work to get over her heartbreak. Sansa does her best to lean on her family and friends and deal with her feelings, as she prepares for her internship.

And… life goes on.

Eventually, the heartbreak gets easier. Sansa slays her internship, and returns back to King’s Landing seven months later (about 10 months post-breakup), and is as over Margaery as she’s going to be, really (which hurts and takes some time, more time than she’s ever had to deal with before after a breakup, because she has never been in love with someone the way she’s in love with Margaery. She’s never met anyone like Margaery, and they just had… something between them that clicked so well… so it takes some time).

She enrolls in KLU for a PhD program, working as an adjunct professor there (which will become her tenure career), and eventually starts trying to date. The following year, she meets Arianne Greenfield. She’s a couple years older, a journalist.They date, get engaged, and married, within the next few years. Two years later, they have a daughter, Gemma.

In the meantime, Margaery is a badass and climbing the political ladder like no one’s business. Margaery Tyrell is quickly becoming a name, beyond Olenna Tyrell’s granddaughter. She makes more reforms and gets more proposals approved than anyone has in over twenty years, and gets elected to the High Council in less than three years. Which is outstandingly fast.

She, after almost a year of self-imposed celibacy, VERY quietly dips into meeting women who she is sure will be discreet. It’s less frequent than in the past, she doesn’t go on any dating apps or anything, and it’s usually one night stands. There are a couple who last a little longer, but they are usually people who also have things on the line/wouldn’t really want for their sexuality/romantic pursuits to be public. And even when women inevitably fall for her, she doesn’t ever fall back, or really ever let herself be in a position to be. Because she under no circumstances wants to feel like her personal wants and career are at odds like she did back with Sansa ever again, and also doesn’t want to feel that heartbreak.

Even though they weren’t in each other’s lives, though, they never completely lose track of one another.

Like. The day Sansa gets married, Margaery knows and does she hyper-focus on work that day, staying at the office later than anyone else, and then go home and get a bit drunk and cry? Yes, yes she does. Does she hear through the grapevine that Sansa was pregnant -and see her from a distance at the store during said pregnancy, and feel this pang through her heart at this feeling of longing because no one has ever gotten into her heart like Sansa did? Of course.

Does Sansa always - always - stop to read every article that features Margaery’s rising political career? Sometimes getting lost in the thoughts, with this strange feeling of pride? Does she sit on the edge of her seat during Margaery’s High Council election, because it was just SO important? Undoubtedly.

But no matter how many years went by or even that her wife was a journalist who would occasionally write on politics, she never breathed a word about Margaery’s sexuality.

And they saw each other a handful of times over the years, too. As I said, Marg saw pregnant Sansa at the store. Sansa’s dad died a couple years after she’s married/has her daughter, and as he was a prominent politician who - at that point - Margaery had met multiple times and worked with a bit, she attended his funeral.

Arianne ends up having somewhat of an emotional affair, with her high school sweetheart, when Gemma’s about four, in a painful twist for Sansa, and they geta divorce (the ultimate irony as the world’s biggest romantic who is constantly unlucky in love. Also she publishes a humorous short-stories book Unlucky In Love - Tales of a Literally Hopeless Romantic that she started writing when she was tipsy and at Jeyne’s house the night after her divorce was final).

Margaery, in accordance with her lifelong plan, comes out after being on the High Council for 8/9 years - a couple of years before running for PM. She does it relatively quietly; her name isn’t AS publicized as it is in TWW universe and she, as according to plan, is not in a relationship, so it’s not something that anyone ever sees. It’s still a big deal, but a calculated risk that is relatively working out.

And even though she is now open to the idea of being with a woman publicly, it’s also difficult because… she wants someone who is going to be there for her as a partner, someone who understands all of the demands of her job (and how it’s really not just any job… whoever would be with her has REAL demands put on them as well),someone who has her own ambitions and wants, too. And she can’t really datecasually all that easily, you know? And - Margaery has discretely dated a LITTLE since coming out, but… she has this image of who she wants. It’s a, uhhh, very specific of an image of what she wants in a girlfriend.

The dust is starting to settle on being out, though, because it’s been a little over a year, and as she announced that she’s going to run for Prime Minister in the next election only about 2 years off, and the campaign is slowly starting, there’s a lot more interest in her right now. As the first outwardly gay politician as well as one of the youngest ever, who has become well known as a turning point in politics, there’s been some talk about having an authorized biography of sorts about her  to really jump into campaign season.

On the flip side, when Sansa had dinner that night that Marg came out, she quite literally dropped the cup she was holding at the announcement that Margaery Tyrell had come out (thank the gods for having a young child, because her cup was plastic, but like - still, she gets a weird look from her daughter). And she can’t help but have fleeting what-if thoughts that she does her best to squash.

Now, into the thick of things -

One of the big platforms Margaery has been working on since she got into politics is about education. Cost, quality, structure, etc. And she and a few others on the High Council who had supported different bills/proposals about funding for education are going to an event at King’s Landing University, which has a new program running for scholarships and students from not privileged backgrounds.

As the fates come together: Margaery and some others who have been on the political side of this education reform attend a a big dinner/fundraiser to jumpstart some programs at KLU. She’s there, having a decent evening, talking to some coworkers, when some speeches begin - and everything becomes background noise in that moment because

Sansa Stark (is it still Stark, she wonders, after she got married?) is up there, addressing the room. And even though there have been those very few moments they’ve seen one another in the last 15 years, it hasn’t happened in years and Sansa looks so good. Her hair is a little shorter and she’s older, but she’s up there and making a speech and - she is captivated by her.

After the speeches and whatnot are said and done, Sansa is in the crowd and is talking to a few of her coworkers, and as she’s in the middle of conversation, who joins the conversation but Margaery Tyrell.

Sansa chokes on her drink, because she did not know Margaery was going to be there, and she’s really right there and smirking. And Sansa only remembers seeing Margaery once in person since their breakup, but it was at her dad’s funeral and she was heartbroken and grieving and doesn’t remember much of that time, so this feels like. The first time she’s seeing her in person, and of course every time she’s seen her in articles or on the news, it doesn’t do her justice.

They get “introduced” and Sansa is still surprised and speechless, and Margaery shakes Sansa’s hand anyway - holding for a beat too long - as she says, “We’ve met, actually.” But never looks away from Sansa. 

“How are you?” is the first thing that comes out of Sansa’s mouth, because she’s just - she’s been wondering since Margaery had come out, honestly.

“I’m well; what about you?” Margaery’s voice is low and even though Sansa’s coworkers are there, she can’t help but feel like it’s just the two of them, and she slowly releases Sansa’s hand - no more wedding ring, she notes, and feels a resounding thud deep inside.

Sansa, after Margaery drops her hand, shakes herself out of it as much as she can, but how does she still feel that way when Margeary touches her? Like it’s 15 years ago, and she has to shake herself out of it. “I - I’m good.”

They don’t have time to talk just by themselves, really, standing in a group with their coworkers, but they have commentary with the group, and don’t really look away from one another.

Sansa goes home, tiptoeing in because Gemma is not the world’s heaviest sleeper. Jeyne is babysitting and can tell she’s dazed even as she huffs and falls into a chair. And when she tells Jeyne, her friend shouts, and ends up cutting the conversation short, because Gemma wakes up.

And Margaery? Well she goes home feeling like she wants to know Sansa all over again.

Fast-forward to a week later, where Sansa gets a phone call from Westerosi Publishing, who has wanted to publish an authorized bio on Margaery since she came out. And she’s almost numb in surprise, when they tell her that she was personally requested to write Margaery Tyrell’s story. “Requested?! By…”

“Ms. Tyrell, of course.”

Which is flattering and for a moment wonderful, but then like - “I’ll be in touch,” she tells them distantly.

Because what does this all mean?

So, she goes to meet with Margaery to talk about this, and has to take deep breaths and remindherself that she isn’t 24 anymore and Margaery Tyrell isn’t the first womanshe’s ever been with who broke her heart. That she is a married-and-divorced woman, with a daughter, and that this is going to be professional (even though it keeps playing in her mind that Margaery PERSONALLY REQUESTED HER).

So, she goes into the meeting, and Margaery is thrilled to see her. Because just in that one reuniting with Sansa, she felt more than she has with anyone else, like they have this thing between them. And she isn’t expecting anything, but maybe this at least can be a solid point for them to talk again.

She and Sansa talk a little bit, and Sansa is clearly a littlenervous, and finally, she asks why Margaery personally requested her for this. And Margaery thinks for a moment. Because her team was against it - “This Stark woman has only written academic pieces, with a sprinkling of historical fiction collabs and one admittedly successful but still book about humorous short stories. You could get so many more distinguished people -” “I want her.” -

“I want my story to be told by someone who understands me,” she settles on, quietly. Honestly. At the very base of it, she needs that.

“And,” she winks, “I’ve read both of your books and I know how talented you are. Even if it’s been a while for us to reconnect, I trust you much more than I trust a stranger to write a fair portrayal of me.”

It’s - the vulnerability that gets Sansa. The honesty, the earnestness, that draws her right in, and she finds herself agreeing.

So they go over some logistics in that meeting, and end with a handshake. And Margaery is wearing that little smile that makes Sansa’s stomach flip-flop even after so long, even though Margaery hasn’t done anything remotely unprofessional… And Margaery is wearing that smile because she just- Sansa is still Sansa. Some things have changed, of course, because no one stays the same after so much time passes, but there are things about Sansa that could never change, and she feels this rush of - something.

So, they communicate a bit through email/text, and then meet up again for a dinner meeting, the following week. And Sansa gets the feeling that Margaery might be hitting on her, somewhat. Which is a rush in and of itself, for her, too. Because Sansa hasn’t dated since her divorce, not really, and Margaery has this thing about her that has always always just set her on fire and made her feel like blushing and beautiful and…

But - no. This is Margaery, who broke her heart once, who is now in evenmore of an important position, who is literally in line to become the leader of the country – and so Sansa clears her throat at dinner and asks, “I know we have a, uh, a history. But this is - professional. You and I. Professional. Right?”

And Margaery smiles at her, even though entirely professional isn’t exactly what she wants, but she concedes…even before she quietly clears her throat, “Sansa, about the - the past-”

“I don’t think we need to talk about that,” Sansa interrupts, flushing, because it’s been so many years and she can still picture when Margaery broke up with her, when they’d met at the cafe, so clearly, and, “There’s no need. We grew, we moved on, and we’re, well, we’re here now.”

Which isn’t exactly what Margaery wants, because she wants Sansa to know so much about what she was feeling back then, and maybe she never really entirely moved on from that? She isn’t positive, she just knows no one else has ignited her the way Sansa does. She’s never felt the need to smile or that weird feeling in her stomach just from hearing from someone the way she does with Sansa, even after this time.

But if that’s what Sansa wants, she nods, and accepts it.

They keep working together, meeting every week. After a couple of weeks, things feel like they have a rhythm down, which is good and easy and just like it always is between them when other things don’t get in the way. They laugh about things and have some light hearted teasing and sort of re-get to know each other (and find that they are different in some ways, of course, but… still the same in others. They talk about their same love of tv shows and movies and books and share new things about their jobs. Sansa talks about Jeyne and Arya (who officially lives in KL now and they are closer now, even) and sort of about her daughter, but she actively has been trying to keep that barrier a bit because she needs to try to keep some boundaries. And Margaery eats every single detail up).

But Sansa does her best to try to redirect them back to Margaery, taking notes about her life and thoughts, and constantly reminding herself that she is there to do a job.

After about a month, Sansa has to cancel their meeting. Because, as she tells Margaery, she just has so much at home right now and she wishes she could go to their dinner, but she just can’t. She sounds so stressed - and Margaery takes the initiative.

She goes to Sansa’s, bringing dinner with her, and officially meets Sansa’s daughter - who is adorable and precocious and chatty after initially being a little shy. She talks to Margaery, all excited, because she recognizes thatshes “the council lady on the news that mommy watches” and asks all sorts of questions, like if Margaery really is in charge of everything and if she gets to have ice cream whenever she wants, etc. And seeing them together is like so surreal to Sansa and alarmingly nice which it SHOULDN’T BE and she sheepishly apologizes for all of Gemma’s loquaciousness after she puts her to bed, but Margaery waves her off, because she genuinely, really enjoyed it.

Things are quiet between them and it kind of leads them into talking more personally than they have been. 

About Margaery’s current wants and personal life (they’ve been talking a lot about her history and childhood during their other meetings, because that is where Sansa is starting in getting book material). But Sansa keeps thinking about Margaery and her daughter and ends up saying, “You were really good with her.”

Margaery is pleased and surprised that Sansa thinks so, “You don’t need to sound so surprised,” even if she’s very grateful, “She’s truly very cute. Very much like her mother,” it slipped out.

Sansa laughsa bit, and Margaery hesitantly asks - because she needs to know, “Where is her other mother?”

Sansa is quiet, her shoulders slumping after a moment, before she sighs, and unloads the story. About Arianne, the cheating, and her divorce. And about how she moved to the Westerlands, where she’s from, last year because her new wife’s sister is sick. Which Sansa understands, she supposes, but their daughter is here, and Sansa is essentially a single mother, now, and Arianne is supposed to take her for two weeks to the Westerlands in two weeks, but rescheduled it for the following month, which had resulted in Gemma being very upset and why Sansa had canceled their meeting.

Margaery eats upall of the information (and is pissed about the fact that Sansa’s wife cheated on her and is now all happily married and not here meanwhile Sansa raises their daughter primarily by herself but she holds it in). Before her hand falls to Sansa’s, which - touching isn’t something they do very often, but she can’t help it, “I think you’re truly incredible for doing it all, for the entire life you’ve built.”

And Sansa almost cries, really, because Margaery means it and she can see how much she means it, and she didn’t know how much it would mean to hear Margaery say that but it does. Then she scoffs out a little laugh and is like, “Yeah, and all of this comes from the woman who is doing it all. Everything you’ve ever wanted, en route to being the most successful woman in the country. You really are almost there.”

It truly almost slips out, the words WANT to come out, that she doesn’t really have it ALL…

Which leads into holding long eye contact… leaning in like magnets because how can they not… and they kiss. Starting off slow and exploring and just feeling and Sansa sighs against Margaery’s lips, her hands cupping her jaw softly because gods, there is just a way Margaery feels against her that is so - so Margaery.

And Margaery feels like she could devour Sansa, because this want inside of her is immediate and she feels like they left off in a way that was her own fault, but she never got closure on this door, and it feels like she’s been missing this for over a decade. They makeout on Sansa’s couch and it’s so good, and just when Margaery’s hands fall to her waist, Sansa pulls back.

She’s a little panicked and tells Margaery that they can’t. That it’s not at all agood idea and - so much could go wrong and… they can’t. Because she is panicking and there’s so much to think about, and Margaery sees that, and leaves to give Sansa space.

The next time they meet, a few days later, Sansa is determined to make sure that does NOT happen again (which is also a little rough because Margaery is so fucking attractive and she’s giving Sansa the looks like she wants to kiss her and -ugh). And so finally, she addresses the kiss, and wants to say it’s a mistake and – is floored when Margaery says that she doesn’t regret it at all, and that, in fact, she would like to kiss Sansa again, right now, in fact. Sansa leaves their meeting early and is reeling.

… but eventually gets brave and texts Margaery the next day to ask her professional questions about the next section of the biography. Which Margaery answers, quickly. And then also tells Sansa that she meant it when she said she wanted Sansa yesterday, and that she doesn’t want to push her at all, but she wants to be open this time around.

They end up sleeping together after a celebratory dinner because the first chunk of the book that Sansa got done was extremely well-received by the publisher. And afterwards, Marg spends the night at Sansa’s (because, damn it,she is In This, this time). They see Gemma the next morning, which - Sansa is all, mommy had an adult-friends sleepover, and Gemma is oblivious, but is enamored with Margaery, who is somewhat quickly rushed out by Sansa.

Sansa is having an internal crisis about what to do, because she is nervous about dating at all at this point in her life, isn’t open to being burned again, and definitely isn’t wanting for herself or her daughter to be subject to all of the comments that could/would be made by public medias if everything goes south if she was found out “being with” Margaery (and isn’t sure she wants her daughter all of the suddenin that spotlight at all)

But of course, she can barely control herself with Marg, because when has she ever been able to?

They sleep together a few more times, too and it’s all so familiar but also new, and it’s so exciting. For both of them. Like falling in love all over again but somewhat like they never left. Only, this time, for Margaery it’s something she wants, something she welcomes and she could cry with how much she feels like she’s been missing this, missing Sansa. And for Sansa, she is so unsure and worried…

Featuring a night, about a month into it, Sansa and Margaery are talking - Marg asks about if she’s excited for her “girls night” with Jeyne and Mya and Elia and a few others they’ve befriended along the way, and Sansa disappointed-sighs and says she is going to cancel, because her sitter cancelled on her. And before Margaery realizes it, she is volunteering to watch Gemma for the night.

Sansa pauses, like, “um really?” Because while Margaery has met Gemma a couple of times, it’s never been just the two of them and Sansa has sort of been trying to keep it like that, but the thought of it is so nice…

Margaery is also like WHAT AM I SAYING inside but, “Yes, of course,” slips out, because she wants to be closer to Sansa and getting to know Gemma more is a factor in that. One that she surprisingly isn’t terrified of or avoiding.

It ensues a scene with Loras, who is cracking up, “YOU’RE going to watch a CHILD?” because kids are obviously not something Margaery is around often.

But then she goes to Sansa’s place and Sansa gives her quick overview/instructions and is sort of reluctant to leave…

However, it turns out that Gemma at first is very satisfied with laying down and coloring and reading, especially because Margaery makes a lot of funny voices when it comes to reading aloud. They end up getting along well. Margaery paints her nails and Gemma is just really damn adorable because she is like a little Sansa in a few ways, which is more precious than Margaery could have thought.

She also gets Margaery to give her some lemon cakes by giving her the big-blue eyes, and when they’re sitting together at the kitchen table, she stares at Marg and asks, “Are you dating my mommy? Because my mom, my other mom, dated someone new and then left,” and she’s all downtrodden.

And there’s a moment for them, where Margaery feels the weight of those words, the weight of what she’s doing here - what she wants to do - with Sansa, as in be serious with her. She finds that she’s still not scared of it, though, and she gives Gemma a little smile, “I don’t think your mommy would leave you, for anything in this world.”

And Gemma smiles a little back at her, “You’re probably right.”

They end up falling asleep on the couch together, during which Gemma tells Margaery that she’d like if she came back for movies, especially if she’s dating her mom. And also if Margaery wants to come to school with her on career day, because “that would be cool.”

And gods be damned, Margaery thinks right in that moment she falls for Gemma, too.

And coming home from girls night - which featured Sansa getting called out on sleeping with Margaery and Jeyne absolutely screaming, “What fucking YEAR is it?!” - Sansa comes home and sees the two of them sleeping on the couch. Which of course melts Sansa’s very soft heart that she has been trying to keep tough to relatively no avail.

It all leads to a moment nearing the end of this, where Sansa is talking to Margaery for the biography, tentatively, about her love life. And she has to get all of her bravery to ask, “And… have you ever been in love?” She doesn’t know what she wants to hear, really, but she knows her heart is racing.

When Margaery stares at her she holds her gaze, as she feels her own heart pounding, “With one woman, yes.”

And Sansa’s breath rushes out, and tries to continue asking questions, trying to remain as objective as possible, starting to ramble a bit.

But Margaery interrupts her, standing from her desk as she speaks quietly but steadily, “I was in love when I was in my twenties, right before I won my first big election for the small council.” She rounds the desk to kneel in front of Sansa, “There was a woman who was both predictable and unpredictable in the best of both ways, kind and intelligent, and so very lovely, who was in love with me. I broke her heart, because I was too concerned with how it would effect my career. And I’ve spent fifteen years questioning and ultimately regretting that decision, and wondering what might have been if I hadn’t been so afraid.“ 

At some point, her eyes welled up with tears, because it’s all true and it feels so big inside of her, all of the times she’d spent wondering what if, what if.

Sansa’s heart is racing and she is this close to tears, as she’s frozen. And she… she doesn’t know what to do.

"I haven’t dated anyone seriously since my divorce,” comes out.

"I know, darling,” it feels so natural to say, and Sansa actually shivers at it, even as she shakes her head.

"I - I have a daughter.”

“Gemma is very lovable.”

“I… I’m scared,” she admits, because she is, that’s what it boils down to. Scared for her daughter, scared for herself, and…

“I’m not.”

“How can you not be?” Sansa was incredulous.

“Because everything I said to you is true, Sansa. I broke your heart because I was afraid and I can’t change that, but I’m out now, and I’m not afraid. I’ve done everything alone, just like I always thought I would. But I never thought it would be so lonely. And I want you to share it with, if you want me, too,” it’s really more begging than she’s ever done in her life, and she doesn’t want Sansa to leave her office, she - she feels like everything is so vulnerably on the line.

But Sansa’s hands are shaking and she tells her she just - she needs some time.

Which leads to both of them being miserable and Margaery tries to give her space, even as she thinks about how she’s sure that only Sansa will ever be this for her. This person who makes her feel so much, who she is so in love with, who makes her feel like everything is on the line. She doesn’t want to lose that, not again.

And Sansa… Sansa doesn’t know what to do at all. Until Margaery ends up coming to Gemma’s career day, shocking her, giving her an apologetic look, “I wouldn’t have come but Gemma, well, she asked me. And I’ll leave right after, I swear to you.”

Gemma beams at Marg while she speaks and tells Sansa that she likes the lady she’s dating, and there’s something in that moment that makes her feel like she should dive - so she follows Marg when she leaves, her heart in her throat.

And Sansa is actually, really, crying when she reaches her, her voice breaking, “You broke my heart. More than anyone ever has,” she admits, “I loved my wife, I really did, but even her cheating and ending our marriage… it was harder because of the situation, but I wasn’t as heartbroken, not nearly.”

Margaery stares at her, wide-eyed and she knows they’re in public and for this one moment, she can’t bring herself to care.

“There’s something about you, about you and me, that is just different. I thought it was because you were my first woman or maybe because you were the first person I really fell in love with, but I don’t - I don’t know how to explain. I don’t know anything other than the fact that it’s just the way it is,” she wipes at her cheeks, her hands shaking, her heart on the line it feels like, because everything with Margaery feels like that, and it always has.

But this time, Margaery’s eyes are big and soft and warm and there’s so much hope in them and there’s this rising feeling in her stomach, before Margaery reaches out and pulls her toward her, her arms wrapping around her waist, pushing up onto her tiptoes to kiss Sansa.

Not in secret, not in fear, just - loving her, for real, and she can’t stop, even as she feels Sansa’s hands comb through her hair before holding her there.

“It’s the same way for me,” she murmurs when they part, “It always has been.”

[canaryatlaw]

OKAY. It’s Sunday night, I’m on the plane back to Chicago from Clexacon in Las Vegas. What a weekend man. I had such an amazing time with friends I already knew and ones I just met for the first time. However, much of how the con was run was an absolute shit show. I must’ve said a hundred times that being that they’d done this for like 3 years already, they should know better than to do the stupid kind of shit they were doing, and yet there we were. So that led to some crappy situations, but I still had a great time do to the awesome people around me. I can’t say I’d go again though, because it was just a very poorly run event and I’m (obviously) not afraid to call them out on it in public, because it’s clearly needed when they’re prioritizing getting every last dollar out of everyone rather than the safety/wellbeing of the guests and the experience of the congoers (and the sanity of their volunteers, for that matter. But I should start from the beginning.

I left off Thursday night right before trying to fall asleep. I say trying because sadly it did not come easy, I think I fell asleep finally some time around 4, which put me at like 3-4 hours of sleep for the night, which made me feel a lot more exhausted through all of the very long day I had. I think I woke up at 7:30 am on Friday, that sounds right. Threw the last of things together and got an Uber, picked up Jess and was on our way to the airport. Got through everything okay, for one reason or another they let us go through just the metal detector instead of the full scan machine thing which was nice because the whole machine is a giant pain. We got to our gate and waited, and got somewhat delayed but eventually got in the air. Landed about 1 pm Las Vegas time, so 3 pm for us, so it already felt like it’s been forever and we wanted to get there as soon as we could. We ended up taking a taxi to the place instead of dealing with their airport’s Uber procedures, whatever those were. It was a pretty short drive, so we got there and walked into the casino part, and proceeded to get very lost until we saw someone that looked like they would be going (take that to mean whatever you’d like) and begged them to help us which they readily did thankfully lol.

So with some help we got to the actual part the con was taking place at, and found our friends who were in line for the Avalance panel that was at 3 pm. They were fairly close to the front for the regular admissions at least, so we got fairly good seats. I was going to live tweet but since getting off the plane my signal had been very poor (apparently Verizon doesn’t get good reception in Nevada) and not only did the place not have WiFi, but some people were saying they actively dampened the cell phone signal to “keep people focused on gambling” or something like that which is wild, really, all of this leading to the conclusion that my battery was gonna die a lot quicker than normal and I couldn’t afford to live tweet. Clexacon is also really good about putting their whole panel’s online though (one thing to their credit at least) so I didn’t feel too bad about it. The panel was great though, Jes and Caity together are always fucking hilarious and they were honestly so bad at paying attention and staying on topic it was really funny. They definitely like, hinted heavily at several things upcoming in the rest of the season, I won’t get into it because I know some people don’t like spoilers so I’ll leave it there and say if you want to know more go watch the panel. It was really great though, and as was suspected, Katrina Law crashed it and it was hilarious.

After the panel we rushed over to Jes’ table as soon as we could, which took a minute because instead of the normal con set up where each celebrity has their own table, they were switching off tables in shifts more or less (a dumb mistake which led to issues when they needed the table for the next guest but still had a mile long line, one of many things they totally should’ve known better than to do). So we had to wait a minute and then get in line and wait for her to head over, which wasn’t too long. Jess got a photo signed because she had a nice new one and it let us talk to her lol. She was doing selfies but that wasn’t quite established yet, since the con had put out a whole statement saying there would be no selfies (and then the guests were like yeah right we’re gonna do them anyway, bless). So we talked to her for a few minutes about some spoilery stuff we had gotten told about and then moved on since she had quite a line already.

After that we walked around the merch hall for a few minutes before heading over to the photo ops, and oh what a chaotic mess that was! After a while we managed to get in the right place with the right people and then had to wait a while longer lol. But for that night we had a duo op with Caity and Jes with Season, Jayne, Jess and I, with a pose inspired by the breakfast club (I’ll post my crappy quality picture of the print out since they don’t have the digital downloads yet and don’t know when they will after this) which involved me lying on the floor lol so that was amusing, got to say hi to Jes and told Caity I’d see her tomorrow.

Once we were done with that we waited for a bit for other people that had different ops since they were all clumped together (singles for any of the three including Katrina, duos with any of them, or trios with all three) and then once we were all done we left to go to the Taco Bell, the infamous Vegas Taco Bell that you can get married in and was famously featured in Jess’ social media au that I didn’t read 😂 but it had become quite a big deal, so we walked for about 15 minutes till we got there. They were blasting music inside at like a way too loud volume, so after ordering and getting our food we ended up sitting at their little outside portion, where we could still hear the music but it wasn’t quite so bad, lol. So that was certainly an experience.

When we walked back to the con place we met up with some friends who had brought along some games and such for a game night, and we ended up playing games with them for several hours, which was very fun. We played one called The Resistance which is kind of like Mafia and whenever we play any game like that I will ALWAYS end up being the “spy” as it was in this case, and it happened both rounds we played 😂 it’s just more fun that way. We played a few different fun ones. It was getting late though and I was like high key tired, and since we weren’t actually staying at the hotel there because it was very expensive (though the rooms were very nice) so after a while Jess, Melissa, and I ubered back to the holiday inn where Melissa had gotten a room and was letting us crash with her lol. Our Uber that night was a red hummer, so that was wild. I was like getting deliriously tired at that point but I knew if I didn’t wash my hair it would look like shit in photo ops the next day so I forced myself to wash it quickly and then go to bed right afterwards.

I set my alarm for 8 or 8:30, I’m not sure which, but I got up and got ready for the day, grabbing a quick breakfast at the hotel before heading over to the con. The Nyssara panel was first thing that day but since we knew it was gonna be online anyway we decided to skip it in favor of Jes’ line on a hope that most people would be at the panel instead (there were actually a good number of people there, but I’m sure there would’ve been a lot more without the panel). So we waited a bit for her to show up and she started signing, then we had to wait a few minutes while she went and crashed the Nyssara panel of course in payback for Katrina crashing the Avalance one the day before, which we fully expected to occur lol. Then she came back and we got to her pretty quickly. I had her sign the op of her and Caity that we got the night before.

Once that was done we headed to the photo ops since they were shortly afterwards, also a shit show but no surprise at that point. I just had a Jes op, and I decided since I was wearing my Captain Marvel tank top I got from hot topic a few weeks ago I decided we should do the pose with our arms extended since that was their kinda thing, and it came out really well, I was happy with it. Once everyone was done with photo ops, which took a while longer, we went to the autograph/merch hall and decided to hit up Caity’s line while we could, I had her sign her side of the duo op from the night before and got some selfies, it’s always great to talk to her, Sara’s always gonna be my favorite character and a big part of why I love the fandom as much as I do so I always love getting to interact with Caity, and she seems like she remembers me pretty consistently at this point so that’s always nice.

Once we all got through Caity’s line Jes’ was still really long so we decided to go to the Black Lightning/ThunderGrace panel with Nafessa and Chantal, who were both super awesome and the panel was great. They were so much fun to get to talk to and it was good to hear the writers were playing the long game with their relationship since at the beginning of season 2 it looked like that might not be the case. Towards the end of the panel we were informed that Jes’ line had been capped, which was very weird because she was supposed to be signing till 5 and it was only like 3:45 at that point which is WAY too early to cap a line. So after the panel we headed straight over there to figure out what was going on. One of the other stupid things the con was doing was overpromising things to their VIPs and basically just letting them through over the regular admissions at a rate that was impractical and frankly just didn’t make sense. So there was a VIP line that was very long and looked like it might be being added to, and a shorter regular admission line. We basically decided to be stubborn though and see if we could play it out on the hope that if they tried to end it before we got there Jes would see us and want to talk to us basically, which I’m not sure how successful we would’ve been and did not at all know if it would work or not. But basically we planted ourselves at the end of the regular admission line on the premise that we were talking to our friend who had managed to get added to the line, and then as things evolved basically more people started getting in behind us which the volunteers were not happy about (I want to make it clear though, I’m not at all blaming the volunteers for the shittier parts of this weekend, that blame lies solely with the con and the decisions they made, including not training their volunteers for all the situations they should’ve been trained on, but the volunteers were just doing their job and I would never fault them for that) which was understandable but we were gonna try.

We eventually more or less got added to the line but there was zero guarantee we were actually going to get to see her.

At some point around 5 Jes wanted to stay through the line so she had to get moved to a different table since they were still doing their shitty system with the tables, and then had to lead the whole line over behind her, which we think they basically just put the entire VIP line in front of the regular admission people, even those who had arrived clearly after us, so we ended up waiting quite a while there with seeming little to no movement. After we had been waiting a little while they Black Lightning girls had come to the tables nearby and Nafessa didn’t have a line, so I ducked out quickly (with plenty of friends to save my spot ofc) to her table because I’ve wanted to meet her for a while now but never had the chance, and thankfully she was doing selfies so I got to talk to her for a bit and then take some selfies with her, she was really really great and I basically cried talking to her about how much I love the show and the character of Anissa so much and just how iconic it was to see the image of her standing there in her superhero outfits and having the bullets just fucking bouncing off of her after so many LGBT female characters were killed off often for very shitty reasons, I’m like tearing up just thinking about it now lol so I was really glad I got to meet her.

Once I finished there I ducked back into Jes’ line, which had finally seemed to move some so we were a little closer, but still had to wait a bit longer. Jes was a total champ because she absolutely did not have to stay for everyone there, but she chose to do so despite being super tired and worn out herself, so she gets major credit here. We got to see her finally though after going through way too much shit to get there lol, I got my op from earlier that day signed, but had to forego a selfie because I was out of cash lol. Oh well. It was sad because the only con coming up she has scheduled is the love fanfest which is in Barcelona this summer (and in case you were wondering flights to Barcelona for those dates are sitting solidly around $800) and we’re ofc not planning on attending that so having to say goodbye without knowing when we’d see her next was kinda sad (and of course we’ll be bugging HVFF like crazy to fucking invite her to their cons, ugh) but I was still really glad we got to see her.

When we finally finished there god we were all so wiped and hungry since it was almost 7 pm at this point and we hadn’t really eaten since breakfast, so we ended up taking an Uber to the closest In-N-Out which was of course a must whenever we’re somewhere there is one (usually California but in this case Vegas). It wasn’t terribly crowded so we were able to get a table and food fairly quickly, god their strawberry shake was so fucking good and their burgers and fries were great too. We stayed there for a while and just talked and had a good time before deciding to walk back since we now had food in our stomachs, lol (we were originally going to walk there but my stomach was already like mmmMNOPE and walking for 20 minutes would’ve been high key bad). Once we got back to the con place we met up with the game friends again and played for the rest of the night. We started with a game called joking hazards which is like cards against humanity but based on cyanide and happiness comics which I read religiously for years and you basically had to build the funniest comic strip and my entries had everyone cackling basically the whole time even if I didn’t win the round, it was just all really hilarious and fun. We moved on to some other games which were fun, around 10 or so Jess had to head to the airport because she had been planning on going to Star Wars Celebration Sunday (plans which got thwarted by unexpected snow in Chicago) so she was flying out that night and arriving at like 6 am Sunday morning. We kept playing till like 1 or so at which point everyone was just really tired so Melissa and I headed back to our hotel. I washed my hair again quickly and got ready for bed. One thing we messed up on was forgetting to bring any makeup remover wipes or otherwise makeup remover, and there’s only so much you can get off in the shower, so when I get home tonight I need to like, douse my face in makeup remover and get off all the damn mascara that I couldn’t get off for three fucking days. We headed to bed though, Melissa’s flight was early Sunday morning so we said our goodbyes and went to bed.

I was set to wake up to my alarm at 10 to an empty hotel room which did in fact occur, but it took a little longer for me to actually get out of bed because I was very tired lol, I don’t think I actually fell back asleep but I rested my eyes a bit more until like 10:26 at which point I convinced myself to get out of bed. I got ready and officially checked out of the hotel room (which just involved telling the front desk the room number and that we were checked out) and headed over to the con place, messaging a few various friends I had made since arriving since my original friends were now gone, lol. I met up with them shortly afterwards in the merch hall where we wandered around for a bit and I did buy some stuff, mostly small art stuff and a few buttons, before we headed to the short film festival that was taking place from 12 to 2. I grabbed a sandwich quickly from the little cafe they had and headed in. The films ranged between comedies and dramas of different subjects, they were all really good and several made me cry, one had me like on the verge of sobs at the end lol so yeah they were very good I’d say. Once those were finished they had a little talk with some of the film creators and actors that were there which was fun.

Once that event was done I headed back to the merch hall with one of my friends to find a few things, and once we were satisfied there we ended up walking out across the street to the New York, New York casino which had a shake shack, where I got a burger and a root beer float which was very good. So we ate and talked and had a nice time. We walked back to the con area after, my friend went to a pitch session and I went back to the merch hall for a final round before finding another friend and sticking with them for a bit, one of the tables had been doing a raffle so we waited for the results of that which was entertaining, then talked to a few vendors we knew, and ended up going back to my friend’s hotel room for a little bit. My flight was supposed to leave at 7:25 so I was planning on leaving the con for the airport around 5, but I had gotten an email from southwest saying it had been delayed half an hour, so I ended up staying until around 5:30 before saying my final goodbyes and getting an Uber to the airport.

The Uber ride was quick, check in was very easy and I breezed through security, again only having to do the metal detector, so I made it to the gate shortly after 6 and then had plenty of time lol. So I just sat and listened to podcasts and went on my phone while having it plugged into one of the outlets they had under the seats for about an hour or so until I got up and grabbed some Burger King for dinner, then returning and eating that while we started the boarding process, the flight before us ended up getting in a little late so I think our ultimate take off time ended up being like 8:10 or so. We’re supposed to get in a bit before 2 am Chicago time, which should be fairly soon since my phone is currently reading 11:25 pm Vegas time, which would be 1:25 am Chicago time. Of course I packed super light since I was carrying my backpack around all day for two of the days I was there, so I just have the shorts I wore today which was great for the 80 degree Vegas weather, but being that it FUCKING SNOWED in Chicago today I’m guessing they’re gonna be a bit less than adequate. Since I flew Southwest we’re getting into the airport that’s further from me, but the roads will at least be clear and you can just take the expressway up so it doesn’t take too much longer than the one that’s closer to me (which is always just a pain in the ass because it’s O’Hare but it’s where pretty much everyone flies out of except Southwest). So now I’m here, sitting on the plane and typing this. As things stand right now, Jess had gotten off of work tomorrow for Star Wars Celebration which she wasn’t sure she was gonna do on Monday but since today didn’t end up working out she’s gonna go, I was able to get a single day Monday ticket to go with her so we’re gonna get brunch at 10 and then head down to that con, lol, probably stay mostly in their merch hall and maybe meet up with some people, before going home to watch the Legends episode of course. And yeah, that should be fun. I’m running low on battery so I’m gonna stop typing for now, I’ll probably write a final few sentences once I’m home or almost home and about to go to sleep.

Okay, flight landed at 1:49 am, it’s now 3:08 am and I’m lying on my bed about to go to sleep. Goodnight peeps. Hope you had a good weekend too.

[andrustara]

Premier League Fixtures | Sky Sports

Epl schedule tomorrow - EPL Fixtures This Weekend |

If you have the Premier League then your app should be pristine video quality. They have eye money and the resources. NBC Sports gets a little lazy with the video quality because they know that no other tv network in the United States has any plans to buy the rights to click at this page the PL anytime in the near future. Can somebody please teach the idiots at NBC about what full match stats are. This happens quite often.

She never persists and changes the subject or cuts to a commercial epl schedule tomorrow. How lucky are you guys!!! Due to the virus, soccer watchers are at the mercy of network TV. Fun at first but boring.

A second sighting could be most instructive. Also, when the League starts epl schedule tomorrow, why not run the words the fans sing across the bottom of the screen. Is that a good idea. Rex Hearn, 89, Manchester City supporter since 7. Surely after all these years some enterprising fan has collected them in book form to which epl schedule tomorrow may refer. We understand! Rex Hearn. Love that we have epl schedule tomorrow start of a fixture list.

Just wondering about your source? Hi Ian, epl schedule tomorrow clubs and NBC Sports as well as other media outlets wait until tomorros is officially announced before publishing the schedules. Thanks again. It says that it is on Telemundo in the official Premier League app and I am just wanting to make sure that it is true. Sometimes the official Premier League app has informative post wrong listings. Yes, the Peacock games on Sunday will be on Gold as shedule.

Brighton-Newcastle will be on Peacock and Gold also. Replays for tojorrow matches will be available after 9 pm ET. I tried the Gold this year, but never had enough discipline to not look up the scores until 9 pm. I will not sign up for package next season. In total, Peacock Premium will present more than 1, hours of Premier League live match schedul epl schedule tomorrow programming — the most robust offering epl schedule tomorrow available in the U.

Included are full-event replays for all matches on-demand after 9 p. Here in the U. IT makes it very easy to track your wagers, post the odds, track different sportsbooks to select the best odds. Do you know if there is anything like that published in the U. I would love to subscribe to it as it would make wagering on the games less time consuming and more enjoyable.

I would imagine if there is they also might publish for the German, and other Premier level leagues. Thanks for any help you can give me.

Sky Sports picks the games for their television broadcasts, which sometimes require approval from police scheduoe games that are derbies or matches that are considered to be more dangerous requiring additional police protection for fans. The process takes time. I blame all three of them because they have cheated a huge number of Premier soccer fans from a great deal of pleasure.

A pox on all three of these selfish organizations! They took it away, now you have to pay to get it? I think you call epl schedule tomorrow extortion!? At least this Saturday and Sunday I actually will get 3 each day; unless that changes between now epl schedule tomorrow then!!! Can epl schedule tomorrow find a phone number to call Peacock for live help? I mentioned before to very wary of giving them sdhedule credit card information.

EPL Fixtures This Weekend

Rip off artists. So apparently, if epl schedule tomorrow want to watch the reigning EPL champs, you need Peacock at the moment. Maybe in November I can watch Liverpool. Epl schedule tomorrow noticed that!!! A real shame. Like I tell everyone, it was fun while it lasted! Looks like Christopher Harris was right. NBC is screwing over its cable subs a bit more this year. Chris: thanks for the link.

I caution people again to be wary of this vendor. Do you want the shock epl schedule tomorrow being wrongly charged? The hassle of dealing with an organization that hides its phone number?

Whose chat line appears inoperative? Other contact info made difficult to obtain? Even the investigator writing up the case noted difficulty reaching them. Do you have the time and disposition to deal with such problems for such a poor service? Will report outcome. Obviously it looks e;l an error occurred with otmorrow experience. Many companies make it difficult epl schedule tomorrow find their phone number.

I already pay for Peacock Premium but, unlike every other non-HBO service, it is difficult to watch Peacock outside of the home. My friend has an old Roku and a Amazon fire stick, so the app is unavailable. And she is a Comcast customer. But if you are paying for it then it should be available wherever you want to watch it.

But NBC is making it very difficult for me to share my love tomorroww the game with others. A quick update on my Peacock tribulation. Good news. Thanks to Chris H.

The sign up process was clunky, user unfriendly, and I had no confirmation that it epl schedule tomorrow thru. So I tried again but this time more cautiously opting for visit monthly, as my confidence in Peacock ebbed.

Premier League TV schedule and streaming links

Bingo… access to the Prem! I received the monthly charge, but later also got charged for the whole year for the failed sign up. My error was that, in my initial frustration to get activated, I must schesule entered my email incorrectly. So they were also charging me for that service, feeding to nobody or someone lucky! It was epl schedule tomorrow result of a harried fan being careless out of frustration, but why not install a system that would require email validation?

Looks like Peacock Premium subscribers have been screwed over?? How greedy is that? Just using it to force in new Peacock viewers!! I hope they lose the next Premier League contract. I only say this because there are many epl schedule tomorrow cutters that hope this same thing happens — but only so they can actually watch a top level match like this one via schedle stream only service like Peacock. Not as long as providers know that their traditional cable networks still draw a significant revenue stream, yet also can do so via their separate stream-only service.

EPL is most watched euro soccer league in the US and any provider will do what they can to maximize their revenue possibilities. If you epl schedule tomorrow a later model of the Roku devices with their latest software you can screen mirror to epl schedule tomorrow Roku. You then control the start and end of the game from your iPad but the video and sound comes from your TV.

I Have just bought a gen6 IPad and maybe this will do better. tomrorow pay for Peacock Premium on my old pad, how do I get to install epl schedule tomorrow on my new one without having to pay twice? Rebecca You should definitely be able to see an option to just login to Peacock app with your current profile do not sign up again epl schedule tomorrow the new iPad so helpful site to not be epl schedule tomorrow. Rebecca since Peacock allows multiple streams at the epl schedule tomorrow time your old iPad installation will not epl schedule tomorrow you from installing the app epl schedule tomorrow the Apple App store and than being charged again.

Just install the app and provide login credentials like email address and password. As far as your freezing problem is concerned it could be that your WiFi connection to the iPad is not very good. Make sure that your WiFi connection is excellent 5 bars. Other users did complain that Peacock does buffer the stream too many times to their liking.

So distinguish between buffering and freezing, epl schedule tomorrow will show a twirling circle. I always have to make sure not to connect to my Scyedule 5GHz epl schedule tomorrow as somehow that one is not as good as my 2. If I pay for the product I should be able to access the epl schedule tomorrow whenever I want to, how I want to and at a time that best suits me.

LTx In other topics here it was hotly debated what you mentioned. Several factors contributed to the lack of features in the Peacock App. There was no clear strategy how to present to the tomodrow the games as is evident by the dividing the matches between NBC, NBCSN and Peacock and than again a change in strategy by dropping games from the On-Demand Peacock streaming.

It all reeks a bit of an amateurish approach. Liverpool v. Now I am paying for less??? Makes you dizzy trying to figure it out each week. There is an error on the scheduling. On Sunday the 7th you show Wolverhampton v. Leeds and on Monday the 8th you show Leeds v. Crystal Epl schedule tomorrow. As s Leicester City fan I was miffed there was no game scheduled so went to their site and see they are epl schedule tomorrow to play Sunday v.

Otherwise keep up the good work! Man City game on Peacock will have spanish comm by the Telemundo crew epl schedule tomorrow for the first time. Life, for me, is more complicated with Peacock streaming more of the big games. Do the brave thing everyone and cancel Peacock! Then they will blog epl schedule tomorrow implement a scheeule model.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Competition: Schedulr League. Saturday, April 10 am EDT. Free Trial. Browse Offers. Rex Hearn January 21, Vasil February 22, Dave L May 13, Jack July 2, Payasos February 23, Chris March 23, Rex Hearn August 7, I love your humor,! Rex Hearn 88, City fan since 7!! Sam May 29, Bruce Duffy February 17, I totally agree with Rex. FIX IT!!!! Echedule Eaker March 8, Tom March 15, Christopher Harris March 15, Mike August 12, Is there epl schedule tomorrow venue that allows for subscription?

Thank You. Mike Borelli. Christopher Harris August 13, Doc March 25, Azer March 26, JP March 26, Doc March 28, Burnley 0 0 West Ham United. Chelsea 0 0 Fulham. Crystal Palace 0 0 Manchester City. Everton 0 0 Aston Villa.

Manchester United 0 0 Liverpool. Newcastle United 0 0 Arsenal. Southampton 0 0 Epl schedule tomorrow City. Tottenham Hotspur 0 0 Sheffield United. West Bromwich Albion 0 0 Wolverhampton Wanderers. Arsenal 0 0 West Bromwich Albion. Aston Villa 0 0 Manchester United. Fulham 0 0 Burnley. Leeds United 0 0 Tottenham Hotspur. Leicester City 0 0 Newcastle United. Liverpool 0 0 Southampton. Manchester City 0 0 Chelsea.

Sheffield United 0 0 Crystal Palace. West Ham United 0 0 Everton. Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 0 Brighton and Hove Albion. Burnley 0 0 Leeds United. Everton 0 0 Sheffield United. Crystal Palace 0 0 Aston Villa. Manchester United 0 0 Tomorrod City. West Bromwich Albion 0 0 Liverpool. Chelsea 0 0 Arsenal. Newcastle United 0 0 Manchester City. Southampton 0 0 Fulham. Tottenham Hotspur 0 0 Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Brighton and Hove Albion 0 0 Manchester City. Burnley 0 0 Liverpool. Epk 0 0 Leicester City. Crystal Palace 0 0 Arsenal. Everton 0 0 Wolverhampton Liverpool full match highlights этом. Manchester United 0 0 Fulham. Newcastle United 0 0 Sheffield United. Southampton 0 0 Leeds United. Tottenham Hotspur 0 0 Aston Villa.

[365footballorg-blog]

Five food items to try at LAFC's new Banc of California Stadium

Alex Dwyer

April 25, 20188:15PM EDT

LOS ANGELES — Whatever people choose to eat at LAFC’s new stadium, ideally, they won’t have to wait very long to do it.

Ahead of Sunday’s opening game at Banc of California Stadium, when LAFC host the Seattle Sounders (9 pm ET | FS1; Full TV & streaming info), the priority at the concession offerings around the new facility is to offer quality, a local connection, and to get food and drinks in a timely manner.

“We wanted to offer the ultimate fan experience when it comes down to technology with [wireless internet], getting people into the gates quickly, and fast lines at the concession stands,” said Benny Tran, senior vice president of development and strategy at LAFC on Wednesday morning during a culinary media day for Banc of California Stadium.

Tran, affectionally known as “Stadium Benny” to LAFC supporters and those involved with the club, referred to the culinary offerings at the new venue as one of the features he cared most about during his three long years researching venues across the world, the sport, and the league.  

“We looked at how other stadiums did it,” Tran added. “We did not want to focus on what everyone got all the time, which was, depending on the stadium, okay food or junk food.”

Tran spoke to the club’s ethos of being authentic, young, and community-oriented, pointing out that none of the eateries at MLS’s newest venue were influenced by national chains.

“We ended up with great local partners,” Tran added. “Starting with Beer Belly, then everyone knows Bludso’s in this town, Chicas Tacos is a newer enterprise, but they have wonderful food right in downtown, and Seoul Sausage is German sausage meets Korean food.”

Media members embarked on a tour of those local eateries, as well as several in-house concessions stands created with the club’s hospitality partner Legends, before finally being invited to the Founders Club to sample the food on offer.

Ahead of Sunday’s home opener, here are the top five culinary items not to miss:

1. Beer Belly’s duck fat fries (with raspberry mustard and Three Weavers Expatriate IPA)

Alex Dwyer

Keep your peanuts. Keep your crackerjacks. Even the venerated local institution, Dodger Dogs, may not be able to compete with Beer Belly’s duck fat fries. Dunk one of the savory, crispy potato slivers in the biting raspberry mustard and relish a bite of brutal sweetness that only a Carlos Vela curler or the right craft beer can top.

Thankfully, owner Jimmy Han’s outpost of the restaurant that introduced craft beer to nearby Koreatown will also feature a rotating local beer menu with Three Weavers (Inglewood), Mumford (Downtown LA) and Eagle Rock Brewery all available for Sunday’s kickoff.

2. Seoul Sausage’s kalbi pork sausage (w/ kimchi relish, garlic jalapeño aioli & fried onions)

Alex Dwyer

After starting out making sausages in apartment kitchens, Seoul Sausage won season three of “The Great Food Truck Race” as Ted Kim and his co-founders set out to make a to-go version of Korean BBQ. As many Angelenos already know, with their kalbi pork sausage, they nailed it: a gushing, fresh-grilled link, cut with a distinctive kimchi buzz and smidge of jalapeño fire.

With their booth opening at The Banc, now the restaurant’s most famous item can travel easily with LAFC supporters whether they are bound for the 3252 North End, regular seats, or the club’s more exclusive spaces.

3. Bludso’s brisket sandwich (with mac ‘n cheese)

Alex Dwyer

Compton isn’t the first neighborhood visitors to Los Angeles conjure up when choosing where to grab a meal but for the last decade, native Kevin Bludso has produced the best Texas-style BBQ in Southern California, perhaps the whole state.

Their “slow and low” approach has achieved unreal flavors that taste like they took lifetimes to produce and their saucy brisket sandwich is among the South LA institution’s greatest victories. Paired with a couple scoops of gooey mac ‘n cheese, the meal reaches an echelon of soul food you’d never expect a fancy new stadium to feature.

4: Chicas Tacos barbacoa tacos (with chips & guacamole)

Alex Dwyer

While it’s true that you can essentially throw a rock from Banc of California Stadium and find a street vendor serving up $ 1 tacos that are tough not to love, America’s home for good Mexican cuisine doesn’t disappoint when the Angeleno staple is offered inside the confines of the stadim. Case in point: Chicas Tacos. In just a couple of years, the downtown Los Angeles restaurant has created an assortment of regional delights with one eye toward tradition and the other on evolution.

Their barbacoa tacos, especially when drenched in several stripes of red salsa, deliver without reinventing the wheel: what Angeleno wouldn’t be keen to scarf a quick couple tacos before the black-and-gold takes the field? All the better if you keep a bag of chips and guacamole at the ready for mid-match snacking.  

5. The Roost’s pita nachos (with feta, tzatziki, and cucumber salsa)

Alex Dwyer

Apart from the local restaurants invited to open branches at Banc of California Stadium, the in-house concessions team created several eateries (with names like The Crest, The Press, and LA Rotisserie) but its Mediterranean-inspired booth — The Roost — which produces the most novel take on a basic stadium snacks, something Tran called “elevated fan fare.”

Pita Nachos feature lightly fried, unleavened bread piled with feta bricks, diced cucumber, and smothered in tangy tzatziki. I was skeptical the foray into a “healthy” alternative to the hand pumped liquid cheese would fall short of either goal but in-house Chef Matt Eland might be onto something stadium goers had no idea they always wanted — the creation is a fresh take on an old classic.

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MLSsoccer.com News

Five food items to try at LAFC's new Banc of California Stadium was originally published on 365 Football

[kakooshi]

Would You Like Some Tea In Your Cauldron?

Read on Ao3

Warning: Implied/Referenced Drug Use

Levi hated losing bets. He rarely ever lost courtesy of his dear uncle, but this year, all it took was his misplaced faith in a racehorse named “Jean” during the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe for him to end up being at the mercy of the scheming, shitty, four-eyed freak known as Hange Zoe.

There had been a raffle draw, and Levi’s dare was to decorate his house for the Halloween season and give out some sweets to the trick-or-treaters.

It was better than what Erwin had done on Valentine’s a few years back, when he had to sniff the armpit of every man in the pub just because he revealed his hand too early (It was a historical event) to Mike. Hange still had photos of the event saved in their so-called “family album.”

The problem was that Levi wasn’t too keen on giving out the only sweets he had. Candy didn’t exactly come at a cheap price, and he definitely wasn’t going to spend his entire salary buying new ones to cater to some brats’ sugar rush.

There were tea-flavored candies sent to him as gifts from his Grandfather Ackerman, who had worked as an employee in a candy factory and had later run several teahouses in the country during his younger days.

While Levi was fond of tea, he wasn’t a fan of it being used as a candy flavour. Its taste was very faint and unusual to begin with; sweet but not exactly the ideal type of treat that the little ones would gobble down wholeheartedly and come back for greedily in the next spooky years to come.

The night of Halloween was relatively uneventful for the man as per usual. Even as a kid, he never experienced the thrill of egging some poor hag’s house, or screaming his throat raw in one of those badly decorated third-rate horror booths, or even carving pumpkins and snatching wet apples with his mouth just for the hell of it.

Most importantly, he never had the luxury of preparing a costume…even until now. Hange encouragingly told him that he didn’t have to; he was already scary-looking enough.

“Ow!” Hange held their stomped foot, jumping up and down while Levi scoffed and took the basket of candy from them to place it on the breakfast nook.

The first few trick-or-treaters that came to Levi’s house were tame considering that they were under adult supervision. On the other hand, Levi secretly found it annoying how some parents, teachers, nannies, and even older siblings would apologize to him for the children they accompanied thinking that he looked like a serial killer from a textbook slasher. Was his appearance really that unsettling?

When he opened the door, basket in hand, a little girl in a pink, fairy costume quailed in fright and went down the porch steps to hide behind her mother.

Guess there was no need for a well-thought out prank; his “pinch-me-and-I’ll-punch-you” expression already came in handy.

It was almost 9:00 pm, and the hoots of the owls could be heard in the distance. Levi was ready to remove all the decorations much to his chagrin, but just when he was about to store the remaining candy back in the cellar, something caught his ear.

“Eren, it’s almost late,” said a little girl’s voice. “Mom’s going to get really worried, you know.”

“Just one more house left!” someone replied doggedly. Yep. It was definitely a brat.

“If I recall, your father said not to trick-or-treat at 10 or more houses. You still have an appointment with him after all,” Not bratty. Also, the kid sounded smart for his age.

“One more bag of candy won’t hurt, Armin.” The footsteps got louder.

With a sigh, Levi turned away from the cellar with the candy still in his arms to meet his last trick-or-treaters for the night outside. Upon opening the door, the first thing he saw was a boy who looked to be about 7 or 8 years old. He was dressed as a dog…no, a werewolf, what with the puffy ears, fangs, and paws he wore for feet. The ruffled fur of his top matched the color of his hair.

On either side of him were a raven-haired girl and a blonde boy. The girl was dressed as a huntsman, a plastic axe by her side, and the boy a warlock. Together, they seemed to be quite the fairly strong bunch.

As if a flip had been switched, the wolf boy immediately perked up at Levi and flashed a wide grin, “Trick-or-treat!”

He was the first kid not to show signs of fear in front of him. How interesting.

The other two weren’t as enthusiastic. The girl stayed silent, though Levi could tell she was a little wary of him. Meanwhile, the blonde muttered the greeting with a nervous stutter, twiddling with the pouch he held while huddling up to the girl. Levi couldn’t blame him; his sunken eyes spoke for themselves.  

“You brats better be thankful I still haven’t cleared the Jack-o-Lanterns off my lawn,” Levi said tonelessly, stepping down the stairs while grabbing for a pack of candy.

“Our apologies, sir!” the blonde stammered. “If you’d like, we can leav—”

“Eren just wants some more candy, that’s all.” the girl interrupted.

“Guys!” shouted the wolf boy. Shaking his head in embarrassment, he looked back up to Levi again, holding up his cauldron treat bucket in a silent plea. “I just need one more for my secret stash, sir.”

“Your secret stash?”

“Yes,” The boy blushed before continuing, “My father’s a dentist so it’s not often that I get to eat lots of candy.”

The sourness from Levi’s expression dissolved and was replaced by sympathy.

“Well, I wouldn’t want your long journey to go to waste, would I? Here…”

Levi poured several pieces of candy into Eren’s bucket. He felt something twitch in his chest at the sight of the boy’s wide, green eyes gleaming in happiness. If he had a tail, Levi was sure it would be wagging by now.

“These are from Teas’ Time, aren’t they?” the wolf boy, Eren, asked excitedly.

He didn’t bother to wait for his answer and picked out a piece, tearing at the wrapper with his teeth with an alarming vigor. Levi raised a brow and made a confused face at the other two kids waiting patiently for their sugar-deprived friend.

“He always eats the candy after receiving it. That way, he’ll know which ones will become his favorites,” the blonde explained, as if reporting a scientific experiment.

“Tch,” Levi kneeled down to Eren’s level, “So, how does it taste?”

To his slight amazement, Eren seemed to be enjoying the candy judging from the pleased expression he wore; he hummed in answer: ‘It’s good!’

No, it’s not, really. Levi tried the candy for himself; it was certainly healthier than most sweets but it didn’t hold a candle to the likes of Kitkats, Snickers, or Twix candy bars. Hell, even that candy corn crap tasted better than the hard, circular disks currently making Eren’s eyes glaze over.

Then again, it was better than not having any at all.

“Huh,” Levi regarded him in kind, “The ones in your possession are Citrus green tea, by the way. You still have more flavors to try.”

Eren’s face fell, “Thank you, sir, but my Dad won’t let me have any more. They’ll ruin my teeth,” he pulled off his fangs to show Levi a crooked but clean set of them; no cavities in sight.

Well, that’s understandable. Levi stood up to bid the boy and his friends goodbye but the former stopped him with an exasperated “Wait!” before he could.

“Are you going to give out some more next Halloween?”

Levi weighed his choices. No, he didn’t want to do this again. God forbid his house get wrecked; he was already lucky not to have done much cleaning the first time save for the removal of decorations.

But one look at Eren’s puppy dog eyes compelled him to think differently. Yes, there was absolutely nothing unusual about inviting a child to trick-or-treat at his place when he was opposed to the very idea hours ago. Not at all.

“Shit’s expensive so one flavor for every year. Be sure to collect them all before you don’t have the balls to go trick-or-treating anymore,” He offered, ignoring the surprised gasps from the other two.

Eren looked about ready to bounce off the floorboards, fangs bared, “Thank you, Sir! I can’t wait!”

In a flash, the boy was down the front steps joining his friends, both relieved that the night was over. They all waved at Levi, departing into the streets with the autumn breeze ruffling their clothes. Eren in particular gave one last smile at him before digging in his pack to wolf down—excuse the pun—more of the sweets from his grabby little fingers.

For the first time that night, Levi’s lips quirked up a centimeter. Perhaps he ought to treat Hange out to see that science fiction horror film they were so crazy about.

For the next three years, Levi would leave some candy waiting in a mini black cauldron by the porch for little Eren to find. Since they were of premium quality (or so his grandfather claimed), each year promised a different flavor, and with every bite, Eren’s adoration for the maddeningly expensive stuff only grew.

Citrus green tea, green tea latte, classic iced tea, black tea…Levi could only go for so long until hearing his tea-obsessed relative sob happily from the other side of the phone at the news of someone genuinely enjoying his brand of candy.

His friends were just as happy at the news.

“Looks like you’ve got yourself a faithful follower, Levi.” Erwin said one night over brandy.

“He’s just happy because he finally figured out a way to clear out his pantry,” Hange cackled. This earned them another well-placed stomp on the foot.

Levi had learned quite a lot about Eren too—like how his ears would turn red every time Levi asked him about his intake of sweets, or how passionate he was in his ramblings about anything other than the different candies he collected from the other houses. Levi’s favorite was the one where he and his two friends from before, Mikasa and Armin, reported some guys shoving their dicks inside carved pumpkins as part of some sick, twisted dare to the police and were given ten times the candy they had that day because of it.

“Levi, why have you never gone trick-or-treating?” a 12-year old Eren asked. He was perched on top of the red loveseat in his living room, Hogwarts robe pooling over the edges and glasses falling askew from the upside-down position he was in.

“My uncle never made me go. Juvenile delinquents used to put weed in candy bars back in the day, so he didn’t want to be responsible for my getting wasted,” Levi said as if commenting about the weather.

Eren’s flipped over in shock, “You can put drugs in candy?!”

“Yes, which is why you should be extra careful when receiving treats from strangers; even the most benign things can become the most dangerous when placed in the wrong hands.”

Levi found what he was looking for in the fridge—Chai tea. Eren’s favorite.

The boy in question nodded slowly in understanding, “No wonder Dad only let me trick-or-treat at my relatives’ place.”

“Hm.”

Eren’s eyes were fixated on Levi for quite a while. He propped his elbows on the sofa, chin resting above them as he sent the man a soft smile, his glasses sliding a little onto his nose to reveal bright green, mirthful and genuine.

“I trust you, though.”

Levi returned one of his own; he threw the candy at Eren, “Up until now, I’m still baffled by the fact that you didn’t piss yourself seeing my face for the first time.”

Eren laughed while unwrapping the foil. Popping the candy into his mouth, he gave a pleased hum, chewing slowly to savor the taste.

“Oh, I was pretty scared alright,” he spoke while he ate, “I thought you were going to whip out a scythe or whatever; complements the murderous look on your face and everything.”

“This coming from the kid who said he trusts me.”

Eren simply flicked his wand as if to ward him off, sticking his tongue out.

Eren didn’t come to Levi’s house the following year.

At first, Levi supposed it was because Eren had indeed grown up and was definitely too old to ever trick-or-treat again. Surely, his friends and family found it pretty strange for someone as adventurous and fun as him to spend the last few minutes of Halloween with an almost broke college student, and a grumpy one nonetheless.

But Levi knew Eren wasn’t the type to ditch friendships like that, although to be quite honest, Levi wasn’t exactly sure when he started considering Eren as his friend. Maybe the boy was just that likeable despite his tendency to be a little shit.

Eren had messaged him online 7 hours after Halloween Night ended. Suffice to say, Levi didn’t know whether to congratulate or pity the boy with the news he’d been given:

Brat: I got braces :/

Levi pondered a bit before typing out his message and pressing the send button.

Levi: Mashed potatoes and gravy, then?

The notification came faster than he could blink:

Brat: :D

Halloween couldn’t possibly be more hectic this time around. Levi’s dorm mates had invited him to participate in the new “Zombie Run” sponsored by his very own university; his fingers were still sore from when he punched the Walking Dead who had tried to cop a feel chasing him.

He was just about to nurse his knuckles with some ice packs when he heard the clicking of boots on his porch steps.

Levi was at the door in an instant; ice packs forgotten on the floor; he pulled it open to see tousled brown hair and vibrant green eyes.

It was Eren, now a teen, who had come to trick-or-treat at his doorstep for the first time in three years. And oh—

The boy’s getup was certainly….riveting. He wore a red button-up underneath a black military jacket with side seams that went below the waist, matching gloves and high-knee combat boots, and white pants accentuating his shapely legs…

Levi mentally smacked himself before taking in all of Eren’s costume. Speaking of legs, they were fitted with belt straps…no…Eren was actually wearing a harness, its unique pattern contrasting nicely with the red shirt and white pants. There was even a small leather skirt that Levi didn’t notice until later.

And shit, Levi now had to look up at his face because of how tall he’d gotten. It was kind of annoying.

Gone was the scruffy, werewolf boy from 7 years ago. Before him stood a sharply dressed cadet, an air of confidence and integrity about him. Tonight, Eren was a soldier…ready to fight on the frontlines; it was the best costume Levi had ever seen him in.

“Trick-or-treat,” Eren greeted. His voice was lower now, and his braces were gone too; there was only a set of perfectly straight and white teeth.

Eren whirled around, the long end of the jacket flowing behind him. Levi caught a glimpse of the insignia on his back, a white wing overlapping a blue one, “Do you like it?” he asked in a way more akin to a princess flaunting her ball gown.

Levi did a mock bow, “Why yes, Your Highness.”

The boy smirked before quickly pulling out dual blades from his sides (Where the fuck did they come from?). They looked pretty fucking sharp.

The older male raised his arms, whistling lowly, “At ease, soldier.”

Eren put the swords back in their hilts, “They’re ultrahard steel. Good for cutting flesh.”

The look Levi gave him was nothing short of incredulous.

Eren laughed, “Just kidding, these aren’t really made of metal, but they do make a good slashing sound!” He emphasized this with a wave, as if to cut Levi in half.

He didn’t want to know the rest of the details, “Aren’t you a little too old for trick-or-treating?”

“Levi, it’s 2017. If you’ve noticed, there are a lot of teenagers going from house to house for treats and no tricks, hopefully. All my friends are wearing the same costume I’m in.”

Levi wondered how many there were. He held back a snort at the idea of a bunch of High-School students in weird military attire (He still didn’t know the significance of the harness), marching along the streets and chanting roll-calls begging for Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Laffy Taffys.

Not wanting to waste the evening out in the windy cold, Levi turned to fetch what Eren had arrived for in the first place, “Citrus green or…”

Eren’s gloved hand on his shoulder stopped him in place.

“This is the last time I’m ever going trick-or-treating,” he paused, tightening his grip, “and I want you to come along this time.”

Levi looked over his shoulder, admittedly shocked despite his cool gaze.

“I don’t have a scythe and robe with me,” he still found within himself to joke.

There it was again, that life-expanding laugh. There was a glint in Eren’s eyes that Levi couldn’t place, and he felt a prickling sensation spread through his body from where Eren touched him.

‘Don’t get ahead of yourself. He’s still a kid after all, but you know you’re willing to buy him all the treats he could ever want in the world,’ said the nagging voice in his head.

“I’m also too old,” he added.

“Pshh, you don’t look that old to me,” Eren gestured to Levi’s height. Levi scowled and punched him in the arm, making him release a pained chuckle.

“Oh, and another thing…” Eren reached inside his jacket and pulled out a parcel; unwrapping it.

Inside was a jumbo pack of Matcha-Green Tea Kitkats.

“I bought them myself,” Eren said proudly, holding it up for Levi to see, “earned cash and all. I can guarantee that you won’t find any suspicious substances in them.”

Levi snickered. On the other hand, he couldn’t recall ever feeling such a strong surge of admiration.

“Thanks, kid.” He offered Eren one of his rare smiles.

Eren wasn’t finished with his surprises just yet. “Say, if I offer you this….” he flaunted the Kitkats in Levi’s face with one hand while the other went into his jacket again (God, how many stuff was he hiding in there?), bringing out a larger parcel. It was slightly open, but Levi’s eyes widened upon seeing the belt straps inside.

Levi reached out with careful fingers to pull the folds apart, revealing the costume—the same one Eren was wearing.

“…will you be our Captain for Halloween, Levi?”

Levi didn’t even realize he had nodded until he felt a pair of strong arms around him. This close, he could make out the faint smell of citrus; just like years ago. His cheeks were beginning to warm up so he gave a few awkward pats to Eren’s back and eventually pulled away from him.

“There’s only one problem to deal with, I guess.”

Eren’s body went stiff, “What is it?”

Levi grabbed the harness and the rest of the belt straps, holding them up in distaste.

“How the fuck do you put these on?”

[pinkicingshopp]

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8 1 ptr leveling exper a I Wise Woman Once Said Damn It I'm Getting A Maine Coon T-Shirt ce reduced fifth azerite armor ring added raid testing. So this is going to be a bit long but bear with me I had what I believe to be a pointless and incredibly frustrating experience with the assistant manager jamie at your auburn hills great lakes crossing location today I have been coming here for three years I frequent your orlando san marcos and new jersey locations as well at least once a year when we stop we usually spend 5 to 10 thousand dollars on your products the system is simple I go in park in a corner and bring bins to my corner sort them bag them move them to the front register and repeat today I brought a personal duffel bag as it holds about 8 to 12 of your bags worth of stuff I get told that i’m not allowed to use it because it’s policy not a big deal at all I say okay i’ll do that for the rest rather than rebag all of this i’ll just go up in line and pay for it and it can sit behind the counter seems pretty reasonable to me nope I got obstructed suggested that I might be stealing something and not allowed to pass stating if I don’t want to follow the system I can leave he then takes my entire duffel dumps it onto the floor and then rebags it into victoria secret bags then moves it to the front counter so it can be rang in I thought this was a little odd but hey he was doing all the work rebagging it so whatever i’m like dude i’m going to be spending about 8k today all I want to do is come in spend some money get out without any drama what’s the problem whoevers in charge should be thrilled with a sale like this we’re spending 8k keep in mind that I told him that I would do what he wanted and it wasnt’ a big deal and the response was to the effect of stop being lippy and just listen I told him what do you want from me I just agreed with you and said I would use your bags i’m not being lippy at all I know this because I said okay dude not a problem i’ll use your bags his response was maybe if you get to buy it i’m like what are you suggesting that an 8 000 order is something you guys don’t want he’s like yeah if you buy it i’m like dude we are spending 8k today why would I bag up a bunch of stuff and spend 2 3 hours picking our your fabulous product to not buy it anyway so I had 4 credit cards one card had 2 000 one had 3500 one had 2000 and one had 1000 because I am buying for multiple people I had 4 different cards all in my name I wanted one receipt for each card not a big deal to me right wrong again he cited some policy and said if the order is more than 750 items that they aren’t allowed to ring in under 750 items on any one receipt id like to point out that that amount is higher than your employees said they could take as a cash payment I asked him to please show me that I would understand better if I could just read it he was willing to do so he brought out the policy book and to my surprise what it actually said was words to the afffect of cash payments cannot be split up or over 750 items I forget the second half my immediate reply was so what’s the big deal im using credit not cash he snatched the policy book away from me at that point and said you know what you can just listen to me or I don’t have to let you buy anything it’s up to my discretion I then called your orlando outlet and your new jersey outlet and talked to the store managers and cited your policy I was given I asked them to confirm if that was accurate and both said if it was a policy it was news to them I then asked if they would let me buy my order using 4 cards and 4 receipts the woman at orlando said oh my gosh yes we do that every single day I asked if I went to her store if I would have any trouble with this in the future and was told no then she said you can always come down here if you’re in the area and i’ll be happy to take your order after that phone call I tried again here’s the video of that attempt I said listen I have 4 credit cards your register girl said you told her she can’t ring up an order under 750 items that’s 3500 if it’s 5 items not all of my cards have that much I have done multiple receipts every time I came here heck I can even supply them to show it he tells me that because I am order so many items that I can’t have less tan 750 items per receipt so I point around to everyone else and ask what about everyone else you aren’t forcing them to spend a minimum of 750 items what about the final charge i’ll have 750 items for two tickets but the leftover isn’t going to be 750 items you’re not going to let me buy them he shrugged his shoulders to say no at this point I haven’t yelled ive been a bit snarky and sarcastic because I know he’s just giving me a hard time two people ring in our order almost every time I am up there and we were there 3 times in the last 6 months spent a bunch each time so at 730 8pm or so we are done shopping assuming that two people could ring us up ended up being a fantasy he forced one employee only to ring us up later on he comes up when its now close to 9pm and says hey you mind if we ring you up on both registers I chuckle and say no I don’t but you do you don’t want to be breaking that 750 rule do you he glared at me and then sent the employee away and walked off after blinking a few times I laugh because after telling me over and over he couldn’t do it he just got caught trying to do what should have been done to begin with a short while later after 9 I find out that everyone is standing uip front except for the one girl and another associate because none of the rest of them are allowed to help her ring us up the only two people left in the store with about 700 more items to be rang in if that’s not enough since it was a holidy all of these employees are apparently being paid overtime to stand around and wait at a bit after 10 all but two girls leave and one girl is waiting to count cash while the other girl sits and keeps ringing stuff in we apologize profusely we expected two employees to ring us up like always and timed our visit to be out around 9 if this had happened instead of having one literally stand there and watch her for 1 hour and 47 minutes after close we would have all been out on time and no overtime or extra hours spent so finally at 10 47 pm our orders are done we thank the lovely girl lauren and jasmine who got stuck staying 2 hours past close because a manager made up some random policy and had to double down when I pointed out he really needed to follow that 750 rule when he was going to toss another girl on the register if this is policy fine it doesn’t seem to be no manager at your other outlets knew what he was talking about the orlando one insisted that the only restrictions are on cash payments and verified I was paying cash or credit it’s a pretty humiliating experience to get hassled trying to buy panties and bras by someone who’s on some type of power trip the only thing I said sideways to him was that I flat out didn’t believe his policy and that credit absolutely is not the same as cash I didnt call him any names scream at him or did anything to disrupt the store beyond what you see in the videos if this is not policy i’d like an apology from that manager in person or over the phone admitting he was mistaken I would hope that the next time I go there I am not hassled but if not I guess there’s always orlando or new jersey who seem to be quite friendly I also want to give recognition to jasmine and lauren lauren is the poor soul who got stuck ringing everything in alone because of the manager’s silly rule and not allowing anyone to help because it would be in violation of the 750 item rule jasmine was the cash counter who had to wait until we were out of the store to count cash even more interesting is that I had a former employee with me helping me buy and she said she never heard of this policy either but it doesn’t mean it wasn’t added since she left she was just as confused because the manager spent over 30 minutes trying to explain and defend this when that time certainly would have been more efficiently spent doing productive things instead of hassling someone who literally sits in a corner and speaks to no one while sorting through your products one bin at a time id love a call back about this or to find out what exactly is going on ive never been hassled like this before and it was a little frustrating and very trying to keep my cool joe rossetti alexandria gunn. Placed an order back in july and earned 30 in children’s place cash that couldn’t be spent until mid september ordered 60 in september so I could use the 3 coupons not only did you drop 2 items from my order saying they were no longer available you refused to reissue my 30 in coupons after you lost my package but I didn’t learn and I ordered from you again with a 30 off coupon I just received an email stating that yet another item in my new order is no longer available let’s see if the rest of my order will arrive p s I ordered from carter’s after I ordered from you and their order has already arrived get your act together children’s place See Other related products: I Wise Woman Once Said Damn It I'm Getting A Maine Coon T-Shirt