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xviruserrorx · 2 years ago

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Title: "The Rain Before The Rainbow"

Chapter 2/7: "You Should've Raised A Baby Girl, I Could Have Been A Better Son"

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This fic was originally written around late 2019-early 2020 ish, but was abandoned for reasons and now I'm gonna re-write it to but I have a no-delete rule so I'm posting all the original drafts here for anyone who still wants to see them. "But Virus these are terribly written" you may say and, yeah I know, this story was one of the first things I had written after a 5-6 year writing hiatus... But here they are terrible Grammer and all!

Fandom: The Umbrella Academy (Tv & Comics)

Relationship(s): Five | The Boy & Everyone

Character(s): Five | The Boy, Klaus Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves, Allison Hargreeves, Vanya | Viktor Hargreeves, OC - Ymir Cyprus

Important Tag(s): Alternative Universe - No Sparrow Academy, Comic Book Elements, Time Traveling, Five-Centric

Rating: Teen and Up

Warning(s): Major Character Death, Cannon Character Death

Word Count: 2,904/41,006

The Hargreeves return from 1963 and find they have averted the initial Apocalypse. The siblings return to life as it once was but now together and not expecting impending doom. Five begins to adjust to life with his siblings how it used to be but knows something is missing. By something, he means someone. What happens when Five decides to jump back in time and try to save Ben. Is he successful? Or will he face the consequences of his actions?

"The End To The Beginning, The Beginning To The End" - Tumblr | Ao3

->Next: N/A

Continue reading below or read the edited version on Ao3

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Five(POV)

Five frantically started writing out all the formulas he needed to go back a couple years and to a specific date.By a couple years He meant 13, back to when his siblings were 16.

Five looked through the old newspapers from the library where their father had kept every newspaper with them in the headlines.

He went through them by year till he found all the ones under 2006. Five took a deep breath before flipping through the individual papers.

He landed on the one that he needed,the one with the headline reading.

The Horrors death

Five grabbed the paper and blinked back towards his room and scribbled the date down on his wall.

He kept at it till the sun started to set in the sky. Five didn't notice the day whizzing by nor did he care.

Knock!

"Yoo hoo Fivey Dinner is ready"

'Dinner?'

'Didn't they just eat breakfast?'

'What happened to lunch?'

Five glanced back at his clock that read 6:35 pm.

'Oh'

"Tell Diego I'll be down there in a minute Klaus,"Five yelled through his door.

"You know Di is gonna murder me if you don't come down for Dinner, Baby Cinco ."Klaus said to Five still with his door closed.

Five starred at his wall, he had most of the equation worked out but one thing he didn't know was the details of Ben's death. What people were around? Who were they fighting? What was so important about this mission they had to go?

Only the remaining other 5 siblings knew and Five knew he had to ask them and soon or else finding the right equation wouldn't mean anything.

Five huffed and got down off of his bed and opened his door with Klaus who was leaning on it tumbled into his room.

"AGAIN not a Baby"

Five was about to blink downstairs then realized he should start saving his energy if he's gonna make a big jump.

Instead Five walked past Klaus, down the staircase to the dining room.

"Wow you actually walked down here for once,"Diego commented while placing a plate in front of him.

Klaus followed shortly after Five and plopped down in his chair," See told you he didn't die Allison."

Five looked over at Allison with a questioning look.

"I knocked on your door for lunch and you never responded,and I did NOT think he died Klaus" Allison said to Five then redirected her glance over to Klaus who sunk down in his chair.

"You acted like it," Klaus muttered.

They both continued to argue with each other while Vanya just laughed at the two.

Five rolled his eyes and continued eating his food.

"Where did you get these scratches from Five?" Diego ran his thumb over a small spot on Five's cheek.

He also grabbed Fives hand that was laying in his lap and turned it over where his palm was scratched slightly.

Five looked at his other Hand which had the same small, light scratches and caught sight of his knees which also were the same.

'Shoot'

'The tree'

In that quick second that Five began to fall he must have scratched himself on the other branches on the way down before Klaus was able to stop him from falling.

"....uhhh,"He looked over at Klaus whom he and Allison had stopped arguing ,over hearing his and Diego's conversation. Klaus turned his head and looked the other way.

'Traitor!'

Allison cleared her throat,"Five fell out of a tree this morning"

'Annnnd there it was'

Diego turned back to him,"A tree?"

Allison laughed at Diego's reaction,"Ask Klaus he knows."

They all looked towards where Klaus had been sitting and found him at the farthest end of the table.

"What me? I'm just, Number 4, you know the one who doesn't know anything."

Five glared at Klaus,He was not gonna be the one to take all the blame for this.

Five picked up his fork and stabbed what was on his plate,"Klaus was the one who dropped me from the tree." He said, bringing what he had on his fork to his mouth.

Everyone looked at Five then back towards Klaus,"Klaus!" They all said to The Seánce.

"What but that's-.....uh…..Fivvvvveeeee"Klaus whined, for both him and Klaus knew what he said was a lie.

"I said don't do anything stupid and you go and drop our brother out of a tree Klaus." Diego started to scold Number 4.

Five took a sip of his water and glanced at Klaus pouting while Diego was lecturing him.

For the first time since he left them when they were 13, Five started to laugh at his siblings, bringing a serviette to his mouth so he wouldn't spit out his water.

They all looked back towards Five

Klaus stood up from his chair,"See he's lying!"He said, trying to make a point to his siblings, His hands spastically making gestures towards the younger.

Five laughed more at Klaus' outburst which made his siblings smile at seeing him laugh.

They all dropped the topic of Five falling out of the tree( still not sure who did what ) and continued to chat while they all ate their dinner.

Five remained quiet for the rest of the time,listening to Vanya about her rehearsal and how she had a solo recital coming up, Allison about an upcoming shoot she had, and Diego and the new case he was assigned to.

Till he remembered

He has to know the details of Ben's death

Five waited till everyone was done and cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"I wanted to ask you guys something,"Everyone looked towards Five with questioning looks while he looked down at his plate and shuffled a piece of food around it.

Everything stopped what they were doing as they saw the look on Five's face. Allison dropped her conversation with Luther, Diego leaned against the counter as he stopped clearing the dishes, Vanya's smile fell,and Klaus stopped messing around and bothering Diego.

Five felt everyone's eyes drilled into him but, They all stayed silent and let Five talk, not interrupting him.

"....…I-I want to know the full story"

Five grimaced at himself 'why did he stutter?'

Five took a deep breath

'here goes nothing'

"Of what happened the day Ben died"

"............."

Five felt like the silence between his siblings lasted years till one of them spoke up.

Allison stood up and started helping Diego clear the dishes,"We told you what happened Five and you also read what happened from Vanya's book."

Her voice was calm, not sincere, not sad, not angry, just…..calm

"But not everything," Five heard his voice get louder, he was always the only sibling that didn't know what completely happened to Ben.

"Five," It was Vanya with her soft nice voice who said his name.

She looked like she wanted to cry at the mention of their deceased brother.

He looked up from his plate and at the rest of his siblings all wearing different expressions.

Klaus' much like Vanya's, Diego and Allison looked calm and collected, while Luther looked like he wanted to punch the latter.

"Bud, you've asked us all on separate occasions about that day and we've told you all we can"

'bud' they all have been calling him that since he returned and Five didn't mind the nickname from his siblings, but right now it frustrated him.

"Can tell me or Want to tell me?" Five snapped at Diego.

Diego still remained calm and Five dropped his head again, he instantly regretted what he did.

Klaus opened his mouth to talk but was quickly interrupted by Luther.

"It's none of your business Five,"Luther told Five, more angrier than the others had been talking to him.

'None of his business?!'

Five snapped his head in Luther's direction,"was I talking to you Number One?" He had both hands placed firmly on the table, and His words had his normal attitude and bite to them.

"You did address everyone Number Five," Him and Luther were obviously getting heated with each other much like how Diego and Luther got.

Five stood up from his chair at this moment and so did Luther.

"Stop it Luther," It was Allison, her tone serious,with Diego still leaning on the counter behind her glaring at Luther.

Five had been biting his tongue the whole time when he couldn't take it anymore.

"Maybe I was addressing everyone who isn't to blame for Ben's death," Five knew it was a low blow, and didn't know if anyone had ever known if Five knew who they all blamed.

Vanya sat up from her chair and quickly walked out of the kitchen. Allison quickly followed behind, chasing after Vanya.She turned around before exiting the kitchen.

"You just had to ruin dinner didn't you?" Five didn't know if her words were directed towards him or at Luther,but either way...they hurt.

Luther went after Allison, and that left the 3 other brothers alone in the kitchen.

Five sat back down in his seat and swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat, staring at his hands that he was wringing together.

After a couple of seconds they heard the two sisters arguing and the front door being open then slam shut.

Five winced because he knew him bringing up the topic would have caused all this, yet he still opened his mouth.

One of the wooden chairs creaked as Klaus stood up, more slowly and calmly than the others who had already left the room.

He walked over to Five and laid a hand on his shoulder.

" I'm sorry Five"

Five didn't realize how much he would miss the stupid nicknames from Klaus till he didn't hear them.

'Why was Klaus apologizing'?

Five wanted to tell Klaus he's sorry and not to apologize, but he didn't dare open his mouth...not right now.

Five felt Klaus' hand fall off his shoulder and then the latter exited the kitchen, they could hear Klaus' bare feet against the tile as his footsteps got more and more distant.

Diego was the only one left alone with Five in the kitchen. He's still leaned against the counter which so happens to be in front of where Five is sitting.

"F-five," He hears Diego take a deep breath and runs his hand over his face.

Five wanted to mentally and physically smack himself, He hasn't heard Diego stutter in a while, the last time was when they were back in the 60's. He knows it only happens when he's upset nowadays.

Diego stayed quiet not saying anything to him. Five hated it, he hated the silence especially from Diego.

As much as Five liked to joke around about Diego being a pushover, Diego was just a protective big brother to them all. Making sure Vanya got to and from every rehearsal safely, helping Klaus through every withdrawal and nightmare, and carting around Five at whatever hours of the night to make sure he wasn't out alone or always making him tell Diego where he was so he didn't have a heart attack.

Diego was a constant in all their life's and kept them all in one piece.

Five looked up at Diego who had an expression he couldn't even describe.

"Di…?"

Five hardly if ever used their childhood nicknames for his siblings,unlike Klaus who always had a new nickname for every single one of the siblings, every day of the week.

Diego got off the counter and walked over to where Five was still sitting. He bent down in front of the younger and put his hand on Five's cheek, softly stroking it with his thumb.

Five slightly flinched at the contact he didn't indicate.

" What's wrong Five?"

Five wanted to tell him everything, He wanted to tell him how much he missed Ben, He wanted to break down and let Diego hug him, He wanted to feel warmth from another person's touch.

He wanted to accept the comfort.

But not right now

Five opened his mouth but never said anything and instead closed it and let his head drop down from his brother's gaze.

He felt Diego's hands fall to his Knees and rub circles as his older brother began to talk.

" Why don't you go upstairs and get some rest then we can all talk tomorrow." Five almost felt like this was a punishment of some kind, for him to wallow in every wrong in how he's treated his siblings, that has occured within the past few minutes.

Five nodded his head, still not daring to talk and began walking out of the kitchen towards his room.

Five was passing by the others rooms,when Klaus came out of his with his fur coat and leather boots on. Five knew he was gonna go out to score some type of drug, he had been clean nearly 2 weeks Five really didn't want him to ruin that. He watched as Klaus ran down the stairs and headed towards the front door.

'Why didn't he stop him? '

Five quickly turned away and walked as fast as he could till he hit his room. He shut his door behind him, palms flat on the wood as he took a deep breath. He put his back on the door before sliding down to the floor, hands tugging at his brown locks.

Five sighed, Dinner was a disaster. They had all finally been getting along and he had to just go ruin it all. Five let his head fall back against the door and thought about everything that just happened.

Fuck!

He knew Ben's death was hard to talk about for everybody, much less in detail about everything that happened that day.

He glanced around his room looking at all the things he never got rid of since his ACTUAL 13 year old self owned this room. The toys piled up on top of his dresser in a wooden toy box, the toy tractor on his window seal, his baby blue walls, and his light blue fluffy blanket that had designs on it still laid at the foot of his bed.

He glanced back at his wall where the info oshed equation was scrawled down. If he is just able to get Ben back, maybe everything will be better.

Five pushed himself off the floor and grabbed the almost finished stick of chalk and jumped back on top of his bed.He slightly bounced and almost lost his balance.

'no wonder Klaus was always jumping on his bed as a kid'

Five shook his head, Not the time. He needed to focus on what he was doing.

He would just have to figure this out by himself, like when he was in the apocalypse.Five was gonna keep at it till he got the right equation.

Some time passed and He stopped for a minute as he heard arguing downstairs between who knows. Someone's footsteps followed as the argument stopped, they grew louder with each step.

There was a light knock on his door as he was trying to figure out the last two numbers to his equation.

"Five, are you still up It's pretty late." It was Allison, she probably had been the one arguing with one of his brother's downstairs.

He looked at his clock

11:31 pm

He had been losing track of time all day working on this. He marked the number he got down, One more to go.

" Five?"

He still felt like he couldn't talk to his siblings at this moment. He scrambled down to his knees on the bed and reached over to switch his lamp off.

It took a couple of seconds till he could hear her slowly walking away from his room.

Five waited till the footsteps got farther and farther, till he could no longer hear them.

He switched back on his lamp so he could see what he was writing. He stood back up and marked the last number down then looked over the entire equation.

'something didn't seem right?'

Knock!

"Five, honey it's way past your bedtime," Ugh Mom.

Five jumped off his bed and opened his door a crack so he could peek out. He looked around and made sure none of his siblings were around before talking to Grace.

"Sorry Mom, just wrapping something up I'll be in bed by midnight." He gave her a half smile hoping she would believe him.

She smiled back at him," alright dear just make sure to change out of your uniform to your pyjamas."

She still treated them all like her children even after all these years. Five nodded his head and softly closed his door back up.

He grabbed his notebook and wrote down the equation before shoving it in his pocket.

This was gonna have to do

Five went over and locked his door knowing it would buy him more time in the morning before his siblings realized he was gone.

Five slipped on his shoes, grabbed his blazer that was hanging on the end of his bed and shrugged it on.

He wished Dolores was with him right now.

He stood up in the middle of his room and his fist began to glow.

Here. Goes. Nothing.

#virusfanfic

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lilith-swbf · 5 years ago

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How do you think the other skaters like Minami, Phichit, Yurio, and Chris etc pamper Haru-chan once he's a toddler?

*plops down and opens storybook with flourish* I’m GLAD YOU ASKED! pfff this got long af forgive me

Imma go into more than just when he’s a toddler if that’s alright lol as well as random tidbits that crossed my mind 😄

Phichit:

• At first, Phichit is kinda wary that Chiharu doesn’t like him, cause he’s pretty quiet when Phichit holds him, but as it turns out, Chiharu is just super comfortable around him. When Yuuri goes to skate and Viktor has to coach, for example, they hand Chiharu off to Phichit most of the time, if he’s there, cause Chiharu is just so calm with him and rarely gets fussy. He snuggles his lil plump cheek on Phichit’s shoulder and watches mama skate on the screen in the warmup area, and will often refuse to let anyone else hold him once Phichit has him.

• All. The. Selfies. With Viktor and Yuuri’s permission, Chiharu becomes a co-star on Phichit’s instagram when he babysits. Gahh, imagining Chiharu with those cute instagram filters makes me melt, omg… 😍

• Can you say newborn photography??? Spoiler alert for the next chapter, but while Haru-chan is still tiny, Phichit books a flight and comes to visit with photography equipment in tow. Under Viktor and Yuuri’s watchful eyes, he poses bby nugget in several different ways and captures some truly precious photos. He convinces grumbling, reluctant mom and enthusiastic dad to be in a few of them, too. (Extra spoiler alert: one photo in particular gets chosen in a photography contest)

• Because Yuuri calls Phichit “Phichit-kun”, Haru-chan copies his mama and calls Phichit “Cheeto-kuu” while he’s learning to talk and it makes everyone in the vicinity die of cuteness every time. (੭ु ›ω‹ )੭ु (many thanks to @croaissant for sharing that invaluable headcanon with me literally over a year ago. I remembered ♡)

Minami:

• Kenji-nii (or Kenni-nii in babyspeak) is the designated wrestler, for sure. Toddler Chiharu wins every time, naturally, and Minami delights in his triumphant giggles when he pretends to fall over from tiny baby punches and head butts. ♡♡

• Catching bugs!! Especially butterflies, which are Chiharu’s absolute favorite. Minami teaches him to hold extra still so they’ll light on his finger, and he’s just spellbound by the lil bugs. For several weeks, Viktor’s lock screen is a picture of Haru-chan with his brow creased and his lip poked out in concentration, shining eyes fixed on the bright yellow butterfly perched on his chubby finger.

• If Minami is holding Chiharu, he’s most likely on his shoulders. Nevermind the fact that Haru-chan holds onto his hair and probably pulls it sometimes; Haru-chan likes to be tall and that’s the way it will be. (Bonus: imagine Yakov solemnly shaking hands with bby bean at eye level)

• Minami knows better than just about anyone how to make Chiharu laugh. Even during the stage of babyhood when Chiharu is pretty solemn, Minami is always able to coax a few gummy baby giggles out of him, and it’s the sweetest sight. Viktor and Yuuri have about a thousand videos of him doing it. ♡

Chris:

• During the stage when Chiharu isn’t great at ‘r’ sounds just yet, “Chris” becomes “Kiss”, lol. Chris tries and tries to get him to pronounce the ‘r’, but Haru-chan stubbornly insists he’s “Kiss”, at least until he learns to pronounce ‘r’ correctly. It turns out to be apropos, though; toddler Chiharu mimics Chris’ European way of greeting (kisses on both cheeks) and gives Chris two sweet, clumsy cheek kisses every time he sees him. He won’t give anyone else two successive kisses exactly like that, so it makes Chris feel so loved. 😢

• DESIGNER BABY CLOTHES. Yuuri is horrified at the thought of Chris spending that kind of money on their baby, but eventually realizes Chris is going to do it anyway and relents. Catch Chris on instagram with a Gucci diaper bag over his shoulder, holding baby bean and sporting matching Balenciaga hoodies #fashionablebaby #coolestuncle😎

• You wouldn’t think Chris would be the type to be good with kids, but he IS. If Haru-chan is fussy while they’re all out and about and mom and dad are looking tired, Chris is usually the one who ends up with him, especially when bean is fairly small. Chris just holds lil man and rocks him and rubs his back, quietly humming to him, and 9 times out of 10, Chiharu is asleep within a few minutes, drooling on his shoulder. Yuri is very jealous and thinks it’s witchcraft.

• Haru-chan is fascinated by Chris’ stubbly chin and jawline. He sleepily reaches up to touch it sometimes when Chris is bottle feeding him. ♡

Yuri:

• Let’s face it, Yuri is the favorite uncle, mostly because he comes to visit the most often. Any time he knocks on the door of either Viktor and Yuuri’s house or the onsen, wherever they happen to be, Yuuri (who of course would know Yuri was coming) will stop what he’s doing and turn to Chiharu and raise his eyebrows in a gasp.

“Who’s at the door, Haru-chan?” He whispers, hushed with excitement. “Is it uncle Yura?”

And Chiharu’s eyes get all big and starry and he hastily scrambles up from his seat with all the grace of a 2 year old and toddle-runs his way to the door at top speed with Makkachin trailing protectively behind him. He yells Yuri’s name over and over in his sweet little voice, but of course, it comes out more like “Yoo-ah” than Yura.

(Outside the door, Yuri’s struggling not to melt from the inside out cause he loves bean so much lolol)

Yuri finally opens the door, kneels down, and catches his happy nephew into his arms for a tight hug and a ruffle of his messy black hair.

(Viktor was recording the whole time shhh don’t tell Yuri)

• Despite being frigid and competitive out on the ice, Yuri is soft to a fault with Chiharu. Any game Chiharu wants to play, any kid’s movie he wants to watch, Yuri’s there for it. Even if it’s something he normally hates. Haru-chan wants to play save the princess? Yuri looks damn good in a crown anyway. Haru-chan wants to watch Yuuri’s old Moomin VHS tapes for the hundredth time? Pop that shit in, buddy, I’m sure there’s something in there we missed the first 99 times we watched.

• (Viktor and Yuuri have a plethora of pictures of Yuri sprawled on the couch asleep with Chiharu conked out on his chest after a long day of play.)

• It’s hard, but Yuri really does do his best to temper his language around Chiharu. You can bet that Chiharu’s probably heard a few things he shouldn’t, but at least Yuri’s trying. (Cue Haru-chan toddling up to Viktor while he’s washing dishes and asking what a “fuck” is. A plate is probably dropped.)

LOL I got carried away but that’s fine 😂 thank youuuuu for inspiring me to ramble about these babes cause I love them so much 💖💙

#anonymous #yuri on ice #swbf #bby bean is so so loved #😭🙏❤❤

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thesportssoundoff · 5 years ago

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DWCS Season Finale Primer

Joey

August 25th, 2019

Dusko Todorovic vs Teddy Ash Middleweight

Dusko Todorovic 8-0, 25 years old From Serbia Secutor MMA

Fun Factoids:

-Dusko Todorovic already comes into the DWCS with plenty of quality wins on his resume. He has a win over funky Brazilian UFC fighter Michel Pereira (up a weight class for Pereira), DWCS fighter Alexander Poppek (up a weight class for Todorovic), Pride veteran Kazuo Takahashi and then undefeated fighter Toni Merkulev. -Dusko is looking to become the second European born fighter to win a contract on the DWCS. The first one was Croatian fighter and Stipe Miocic training partner Aleksa Camur. -6 of Dusko's 8 wins have been recorded (one fight has no listed methodology for the result) first round stoppages.

Teddy Ash 14-4, 29 years old From Canada Shaved Bears MMA (Home of Tanner Boser)

Fun Factoids:

-Teddy Ash's record is equally loaded with names you'd know. He went 1-1 with former UFC veteran Dominique Steele, has a win over former UFC veteran Seth Baczynski, a win over DWCS veteran Cameron Olson, a loss to UFC signee (released due to PEDs) Adam Hunter AND a win over Bellator vet Viktor Valiamaki.He was also at one point scheduled to go back up to 205 lbs to fight Matt Hammil this year but THANKFULLY that fight fell through. -Teddy Ash has been a pro since 2013 and is an ALASKA FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP veteran. -Since "What do fighters do when they're not fighting?" is always of interest to some people, Teddy Ash works as a welder in the Syncrude Aurora mine.

Kailan Hill vs Impa Kasanganay Middleweights

Kailan Hill 5-0, 24 years old From California, By way of Puerto Rico Blackhouse MMA (Home to Lyoto Machida, Anderson Silva, Pedro Munhoz, Mackenzie Dern)

Fun Factoids:

-Kailan Hill has spent 4 of his 5 pro fights fighting in the LFA cage with stoppage in 3 of those 4 fights. -Hill comes into this fight with a decision win over Jhonoven Pati; Pati's pro losses prior to that? Ryan Spann (in the UFC) and Punahele Soriano (now in the UFC). His other high profile was WW Adam Fuggit, 4-1 with his sole loss coming to Bellator vet Austin Vanderford. -Hill owns two of LFA's most impressive finishes; one by step up knee into a right cross vs Adam Fuggit and the other a spinning backfist KO over 4-1 Andre Walker.

Impa Kasanganay 5-0, 25 years old From North Carolina Gym-O (Home to Scott Holtzman, Bryan Barberena and Justine Kish)

Fun Factoids:

-Impa DEBUTED in 2019. He has less than a full year's worth of experience as a pro even if he has three years of amateur experience. Madness. -Despite his relative lack of experience, Impa has appeared almost entirely for brand name MMA orgs. He's fought twice for Island Fights, once for KOTC and once for LFA. His most accomplished opponent is 4-3 (now 4-4) Devorious Tubbs. -Impa Kasangnay played college football at the university of Western Carolina as a reserve linebacker.

Sang Hoon Yoo vs Peter Barrett Welterweights

Sang Hoon Yoo 5-0, 29 years old From South Korea Busan Team MAD (Home of See Heo Ham, Dongi Yang, Stun Gun Kim and Doo Ho Choi)

Fun Factoids:

-Sang Hoon Yoo's record is truly perplexing. His first official fight on record is against a 15-6 Vitor Toffanlelli. He followed that up by fighting not a single person over .500 from that point on. -Hoon Yoo's fights has made lightweight before but two of his last three fights have been at a 165 lb catchweight so keep an eye on that as it pertains to a fighter making or not making weight. -Yoo is looking to become the first Korean fighter to win a DWCS contract.

Peter Barrett 10-3, 33 years old From Boston Team Sityodong (Home of Kenny Florian, Rob Font, Saul Almeida), Lauzon MMA (Home of Calvin Kattar, Rob Font )

Fun Factoids:

-Not sure if this counts as fun for Barrett but he comes into this fight 2-3 in his last four fights. His last win was over longtime MMA veteran Jay Ellis who boasts a rugged 17-75 (!) record. -Barrett was scheduled to compete on a Bellator card in 2018 but his opponent popped for PEDs and the fight was nixed. He never got another opportunity with the organization. -Peter Barrett works as a bartender outside of fighting.

Ben Sosoli vs Dustin Joynson HEAVYWEIGHTS BIG BOI WEIGHT

Ben Sosoli 7-2, 25 years old From Australia Resilience Training Centre

Fun Factoids:

-Ben Sosoli was a contestant on TUF 28; he lost to eventual winner Juan Espino in the quarterfinals. -Ben Sosoli has a professional boxing background as well as a background as a rugby player prior to a knee injury. -Sosoli's best opponent is Kelvin Fitial who he split fights with.

Dustin Joynson 5-0, Age Unknown From Canada Zugec Ultimate MMA (Home to Sarah Kauffman and Ryan Janes)

Fun Factoids:

-Joynson debuted in 2014 and then took three years off, in large part due to the fact that they couldn't find him a fight. Joynson struggled -Joynson did a large portion of his camp for this fight at Syndicate MMA and the UFC PI. -Dustin Joynson works in a school in Canada and he said he won't quit his job even if he gets a UFC contract.

Dylan Lockard vs TJ Brown Featherweights

Dylan Lockard 6-1, 27 years old From Boston Sityodong MMA (Home of Kenny Florian, Rob Font, Saul Almeida)

Fun Factoids:

-Lockard's one pro loss is to 3-3 Shane Manley although he did rebound from that to win three fights against opponents with records above .500. -Lockard is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire. -Dylan Lockard has some weight class versatility as he's fought as high as 155 lbs (in his last fight, a five round championship fight) and as low as 135 lbs at the start of his career.

TJ Brown 13-6, 29 years old From Arkansas

Westside Fight Team (Home of Bryce Mitchell)

Fun Factoids:

-Brown has some names on his resume that might ring bells. He has losses to UFC veteran Bobby Moffet, Bellator veteran Cody Carrillo and Bellator/LFA veteran Trey Ogden. -TJ Brown is coming onto the Contender's Series off a big highlight reel KO over Ken Beverley. -Brown is about to fight for the fourth time in 2019 and wants to take another fight before the end of the year as well.

#MMA #UFC #DWCS

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stellartv · 3 years ago

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☆◌∘░ ❛ ─ 𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐒 ! ODIE, VIKTOR, and JJ have stepped into their home. we hope they like the look of their condo and get settled in quickly. by quickly we mean within 9 hours or else they won’t be able to pick up their starting check of $1,000 ! ❏ ⤵ JEON JUNGKOOK, CHOI YEONJUN, AND KIAN LAWLEY ARE NOW TAKEN.

☆◌∘░ ❛ ─ jeon jungkook, twenty-four, he/him. ❏ ⤵ ⋯ congratulations, ( odie kim ), you’ve been selected to be a participant in our new reality show stellar ! we thought you were a perfect candidate because you ( were struggling for money after moving ). we also heard that you’re from ( newcastle, england ) and were a ( zookeeper ), no wonder you applied for the show. from your tape we also gathered that you were ( humble ) and ( headstrong ), would that be a wrong assumption ? we hope not, it’d make for good ratings. it almost seems like you’re a ( capricorn ), which seems to make perfect sense. what was it that you liked to do again ? ( boxing ) ? that sounds about right. remember that even with reality shows, you’ve always got a part to play and yours is ( walking in the rain whilst listening to music, wearing oversized clothing 24/7, lofi playlists playing whilst going about your day ). just make sure you lay off ( smoking ), we’d hate for it to portray negatively on camera for the audience. first impressions are everything ! ─ « p. 22. gmt.

☆◌∘░ ❛ ─ choi yeonjun, twenty two, ze/they/xe. ❏ ⤵ ⋯ congratulations, ( VIKTOR YOO ), you’ve been selected to be a participant in our new reality show stellar ! we thought you were a perfect candidate because you ( WANTED TO FOLLOW YOUR BEST FRIEND HERE ). we also heard that you’re from ( NEW CASTLE, UK ) and were a(n) ( TATTOO ARTIST / PROFESSIONAL PIERCER ), no wonder you applied for the show. from your tape we also gathered that you were ( QUICK WITTED ) and ( IMPATIENT ), would that be a wrong assumption ? we hope not, it’d make for good ratings. it almost seems like you’re a ( PISCES ), which seems to make perfect sense. what was it that you liked to do again ? ( VIDEO GAMES ) ? that sounds about right. remember that even with reality shows, you’ve always got a part to play and yours is ( LACK OF SLEEP CAUSING BAGS UNDER YOUR EYES, MESSY DYED HAIR FALLING TO FRAME YOUR FACE AND KEEPING A CD CASE FULL OF 90'S + 00'S ROCK. ). just make sure you lay off ( CHEWING YOUR FINGERNAILS ), we’d hate for it to portray negatively on camera for the audience. first impressions are everything ! ─ « i. 24. est.

☆◌∘░ ❛ ─ kian lawley, 26, he/him. ❏ ⤵ ⋯ congratulations, ( JAMESON “JJ” WALKER ), you’ve been selected to be a participant in our new reality show stellar ! we thought you were a perfect candidate because you ( WANTED TO GET OUT OF YOUR HOMETOWN & BECOME SOMEBODY ). we also heard that you’re from ( LOUISVILLE, KY ) and were a ( EMT ), no wonder you applied for the show. from your tape we also gathered that you were ( OUTGOING ) and ( CLOSED OFF ), would that be a wrong assumption ? we hope not, it’d make for good ratings. it almost seems like you’re a ( AQUARIUS ), which seems to make perfect sense. what was it that you liked to do again ? ( PLAY PING PONG ) ? that sounds about right. remember that even with reality shows, you’ve always got a part to play and yours is ( BEANIES, ROLLING BLUNTS, & LEATHER JACKETS ). just make sure you lay off ( SHUTTING PEOPLE OUT ), we’d hate for it to portray negatively on camera for the audience. first impressions are everything ! ─ « sj. 26. est.

#twitter rp #oc rp #appless rp #new rp #accepted.

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pinktacofury · 7 years ago

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Oh Shiny!

Heya guys and gals, here’s a Hawaii Five-0 imagine, my little brother gave me this idea and it’s been stuck in my head since last night haha.

Warnings- None

Summary- Aislin (Ash-ling) Ryan arrived in Hawaii direct from Belfast Ireland, her massive attack trained Rottweiler Ridgeback, a gun in her hand and a target in mind only to have her revenge blind sided by a certain Steve McGarrett, how he knew where to find Viktor Hesse she wasn’t sure but he didn’t seem to be a civilian, he was too methodical.... Aislin was given an Ultimatum, go to prison or join Fiv-0.

A/n- I only own Aislin and her big ol woofer Darius, I own none of the people, places, things, images or gifs used in this imagine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aislin chuckled a little as she made her way through the airport with her beloved hound at her side, Darius huffed softly looking up at her with an annoyed glare at the leash she clipped onto his thick black leather collar. He hated the leash she figured it was only because he always stayed at her side no matter what... even when he wanted to chase the cat next door to them in Belfast. Unfortunately for poor Darius unlike in Belfast they had to obey the laws here, even if it meant putting him on a degrading leash, Aislin was on a mission of personal revenge, the man she was hunting had killed her brother and now she was going to make him pay. Only when she finally finds Viktor Hesse he’s already engaged in battle with another man, they were distracted and that meant she was able to get close enough to personally take him out.

“Your brother died like you did.” The man stated just as Aislin let loose two rounds from her gun into Viktor’s chest, the man beneath him looked back in her direction confused.

“Come out, show yourself.” He called out though his voice remained at a normal level, meaning he knew she was nearby... so much for a stealthy assassin... she was going to get so much shit from the guys if she made it home.

“Put tae gun down, saved yer life, I get shot I’ll be vera displeased.” Aislin murmured as she stepped out from behind the crookedly stacked container she and Darius had been crouched behind, she held her gun pointed up away from the man as he frowned at her slightly.

“Aislin Ryan.... you can’t pretend you did this to save my life. He killed your brother in Belfast six months ago.” The man murmured pronouncing her name wrong making her sigh softly and massage the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger.

“Ais-lin (Ash-Ling) Ryan, and ye are right, was nae for yoo. Happy accident that.” She muttered placing her gun back in the holster at her waist, she stepped forward putting herself into the line of fire, trusting for just a moment that he wasn’t going to shoot her.

“The way I see it, you’ve got two choices here, go to prison for twenty five to life... or join me working for Five-0, I could use someone with your skill set on my team.” The man stated making Aislin grimace a little, she knew she would be in some deep shit with the guys back home if she took up the shield... but she also knew that she would never survive in Prison, too many people out for her blood in there.

“Ye gonna make me wear a uniform?” She asked as she walked to him jumping onto the container where he stood, he offered her his hand to steady her when she nearly fell forward with the momentum of her jump, Darius launched himself at the man, the massive hundred and ten pound beast throwing the man onto his back with massive paws holding him to the ground with by his chest. Darius snarled above the man his teeth bared threateningly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the beast of a dog collided with him Steve was certain he was going to die, kanine teeth as long as most of his pinky finger were bared at him, a feral growl ripped from the creatures chest as it held Steve down. An ear splitting whistle forced a change in the massive dog who instead turned to look at Ailin and let his tongue lol out the side of his mouth, wagging his tail happily as he watched her walk up to him patting him on the head before she offered her hand to Steve who hesitated to take it.... Steve didn’t want to be attacked by the dog again.

“Darius doesn’t like strange people touching me.” She gave a low whistle which caused the dog to sit beside Steve instead of on him as he had before allowing her to pull Steve to his feet.

“I can see that... So uhm, ride with me down to HQ and we will get you your shield.

Five-0 Headquarters

“Danny, Kono, Chin Ho, Max... This is Aislin Ryan and... Darius, they will be joining the team. They’ll be with Danno and I.” Steve announced as he lead a nervous looking Aislin into the bullpen.

“Ais-Lin (Ash-ling) not Ai-slin (Ai- slin). Darius, leagan síos, fanacht.” (Darius, lay down, stay.) She muttered before walking towards the others shaking each of their hands while Darius grumbled softly from where he lay his head on the floor.

“Wait, wait, wait! You wanna let the Irish Queen of Assassination join the team?” Danny shouted throwing his arms into the air prompting Darius to jump to his feet and place himself between Danny and Aislin who gently placed her hand atop the massive dog’s head as it came up to her ribs.

“Bí othar, b'fhéidir go gcuirfidh mé in iúl duit é a ithe níos déanaí.” (be patient, maybe I will let you eat him later.) She murmured softly to the beast prompting a chuckle from Steve who shook his head taking Aislin by the shoulder and showing her to the desk she would be using for paperwork and so on as he handed her, her shield and the registration for her gun as a federal weapon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What? Do I look that bad?” Aislin asked as she walked out of the stores the others had taken her to, they decided she needed to look more like a Hawaiian, they all stared at her with funny expressions on their faces.

“Actually you look pretty hot.” Laughed Kono with Darius at her ide demanding attention.

“Meh, for a killer you look alright.” Danny grumbled making Aislin giggle at him shaking her head.

“You look great.” Chin laughed as he gave her a one armed hug.

“You look... uhm... you look okay.” Steve murmured rubbing his hand along the back of his neck. Aislin giggled and tapped his chin with her pointer finger, she’d been with them for about a year now and had gotten into the habit of tapping his chin to remind him it was his idea in the first place.

“yeah, Yeah.” He chuckled as they turned away and made their way to the beach to find Konakoa and his food.

#Hawaii Five-0 #Steve McGarrett #Steve McGarrett x reader #steve mcgarrett x oc

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wonholliness-blog · 7 years ago

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My boo tagged me again. Ty @sarcasticjuiceboxes i loaf u uu u u ~

ONLY RULE IF YOU DO IT, TAG A FEW PEOPLE/BLOGS YOU ADORE :)

WHATS YOUR FAVORITE SONG(S) TO SING/HUM?

Fantasy - JBJ , From Zero - Monsta X , Skydive - BAP , Peniel’s rap in Movie

WHATS YOUR FAVORITE FLOWER/TREE/PLANT (ALL 3 OR WHATEVER YOU HAVE AN ANSWER TO)?

Boyyy i love flowers i can’t choose. gimme a goddamn brushwood i will cherish it forever.

FAVORITE COLOR(S)?

Black, yellow, white, gold, rose

WHAT DO YOU ALWAYS DOODLE (IF YOU EVER DO)?

tiny monsters on the back of my school notes

HOW DO YOU TAKE YOUR COFFEE/TEA? IF YOU DON’T LIKE THOSE WHATS YOUR FAV WARM DRINK?

i loveee~~ coffee. i usually make my coffee at home: 3-4 teaspoons of coffee with 1 of sugar i never use milk when i’m making it. but whenever i go out i get myself a white cafe mocha from strabucks

FAVORITE CANDLE SCENT?

vanilla, lavender

SUNRISE OR SUNSET?

Both. they both mean something to me

WHAT PERFUME DO YOU WEAR, IF ANY?

oh oh i love perfumes. i usually wear La vie est belle Lancome, FlowerBomb by Viktor & Rolf, Si by Giorgio Armani and Classique by Jean Paul Gaultier. at some point i wore Heat Kissed by Beyonce but it’s too sweet for my tastes and recently i got interested in Signorina Misteriosa by Salvatore Ferragamo i think i will purchase it soon. i highly recommend these perfumes. if someone reads this pls try these. they’re magical

WHATS YOUR GO TO DANCE MOVE WHEN YOU’RE ALONE?

gashina, twerk [bc i have a glorious butt i have to put it to the test], monsta x’s stuck choreo

FAVORITE QUOTE?

“Today might be the chance to grasp the chance to let your talent bloom. Maybe tomorrow, the day after, or next year… Maybe even when you’re thirty. I’m not sure if physique has anything to do with it, but if you think that it will never come, it probably never will. “ - Oikawa Tooru

FAVORITE SELF CARE THING(S)/ROUTINE(S)?

I sleep as much as i can, use fancy [but cheap] skin products, eat a proper meal and do squats every day before getting a shower

FUZZY SOCKS OR HOUSE SLIPPERS? Fuzzy socks

WHAT COLOR ARE YOUR EYES?

brown

WHATS YOUR FAVORITE EYE COLOR ON OTHERS? Hoseok’s eye color

FAVORITE SEASON? WHY?

Spring and autumn tbh because you can enjoy a cup of coffee outside, the weather allows you to wear your favorite scarfs and all those cute jackets, but also because the most beautiful flowers bloom in the spring and bc i like the smell of the rain [???] but damn i also love winter for christmas and the snow and summer because i like going to the beach. a tan hoe that’s what i am

CHEEK, NECK, OR NOSE KISSES?

cheek. i hate people who touch my nose. my nose is not for everybody and neither is my neck

WHAT DOES YOUR HAPPY PLACE LOOK LIKE?

4 places:

my room where i can find my peace after a long day handling people and life

a certain kitchen which gives me the feeling i have a family in a city i live by myself

my boo’s balcony where all good ideas are born and memories are made while enjoying a cigarette

in the arms of a certain person

FAVORITE BREED OF DOG?

i love all doggos i can’t pick one giving the fact that i grew up wanting one dog of each breed

DO YOU EVER WANT TO BE MARRIED? IF SO, WHAT COLORS WOULD YOU PICK FOR YOUR WEDDING THEME?

black, white and gold

CURSIVE OR PRINT?

SILK OR LACE?

lace

FAVORITE WEATHER?

cloudy, windy thankies for reading this far. i tag

@monsieur-yoo @everydaywonho @limkkukkung @notmonstaxtrash

#personal #q: uni hiatus

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daily-dose-of-naruto · 7 years ago

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Can I request some sfw relationship head canons and gifs with Kankuro (obvi❤️) and for Viktor of Yuri! On ice Thaaank you guys, I love you guys so much!❤️❤️

The GIFS are going to be a separate post, otherwise this post would be way too long. But I had so much fun writing for Viktor I forgot how amazing he was. :) ~Admin Shadow

Kank is King, yoo. ~Admin Marx

Viktor Relationship Headcanons

• One of the biggest advantages about having Viktor as a boyfriend is that he is very touchy-feel so if you’re one of those people who is nervous about initiating anything he has you covered. Any opportunity he can or when you are least expecting it, Viktor will be grabbing you and pulling you close. He loves giving hugs and Viktor is very tall so he often will whisper some sweet nothings in your ear, or at rare moments he might say something sexy.

• Viktor never means to do this, but he tends to make promises a lot and doesn’t always make good on them. So if you are someone who would take offense to someone forgetting a promise, you should probably end things with him because it’s just going to end up in tears or fighting. Of course, he does love surprising people, it’s something he’s famous for, so at the most unlikely of moments he will sometimes come through. If he’s aware he maybe made the promise awhile ago and never did anything, expect him to work hard to make up for it.

• Even if you are in a relationship, Viktor can’t really curb his outing habits, so if you aren’t into that it might be hard to deal with. He always insists on going out drinking usually one night a week – he’s a man that has to be on the scene from time to time. Viktor is usually hellbent on dragging you out with him, and will act unaffected if you decline, but he is extremely hurt. He likes taking you out and having his arm wrapped around you; what can he say, he’s a proud boyfriend. Though, he isn’t the best at stopping himself or slowing down on his drinking if he’s having a good time, so he has to nurse a hang over the next day and can be a little cranky for the first few hours of the morning.

• His greatest weakness by far is food. If you know how to cook, he will literally think you’re perfect. He is always insisting on helping you make good, hardy meals that just fill you up. If you don’t have time for a lavish dinner, then he usually begs about going out to eat. He literally has no fear about trying new food, and will attempt to make you try a little bit of every different thing he orders because he wants you to be a food critic with a wide palette.

• But above all things, Viktor is highly supportive and will always push you to better yourself in life. He refuses to see you be too complacent, and will really try to convince you to take advantage of new opportunities or a promotion in your career. He will always have your back, and he can be very convincing if you seem to be very resilient to his ideas of bettering yourself or making yourself stronger.

Kankuro Relationship Headcanons

• Kankuro expresses his affection through teasing. It’s never his intention to be demeaning but playful; he can also take a bit of ribbing himself if it’s from someone he holds close to him like you or his siblings. As such, he expects you to not take him very seriously because despite the arguably stricter teachings of Suna, he recognizes that it’s still important to get your laughs where you can given how serious and all-consuming the role of a ninja can be.

• Kankuro gets really excited for festivals and he’s found that Konoha’s are particularly fun. If neither of you have prior obligations he’s more than willing to make the trip to Konoha just so you can attend them. It’s the busy, bright atmosphere of the summer night life he’s really into. Despite being fairly good with money, something about these sorts of events just makes it flow like water through his hands. He’ll try to win you at least one large prize or three small ones and it’ll take both hands to drag him away from the game booths.

• Whether you want to join with friends and make a not-quite-group-date or just make it a “just-you- two” event is something he’ll leave up for you to decide. If you’re more comfortable inviting colleagues to join up with while going out, he’s cool with that, and he’s also cool with it being exclusive.

• Despite his easygoing and teasing nature, he becomes stony and confrontational the second he sees that you’re being bullied or harassed by someone. That’s only if you *are* feeling uncomfortable and obviously need some back-up, though. If you seem to be fine and able to handle it yourself, he won’t intervene because he doesn’t want to be overbearing and risk getting accused of such by Temari. If it’s clear you do need help, he will *immediately* confront the people bothering you and tell them to piss off. In reality it’s just a front and he dislikes needless fighting, but his glare and tone usually send people scurrying regardless.

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wp-yahoo-style-1042-yahoopa-blog · 6 years ago

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Here are the top 2019 wedding dress trends

The top five weddings dress trends you need to know for 2019. (Photos, clockwise from left: Viktor & Rolf, Viktor & Rolf, Elie Saab, Marchesa, Lela Rose)

Calling all brides-to-be: the top five biggest wedding dress trends of 2019 are here!

During Bridal Fashion Week, it was clear the “Meghan Markle Effect” was alive and well. Bridal designers from Cushnie and Viktor & Rolf to Theia latched onto Meghan’s gorgeous Stella McCartney halter-neck dress as a key wedding gown style for 2019. It’s elegant, simple and utterly refined — 100 percent fit for a royal (and you too!).

The classic fabric of lace received a modern minimalist makeover at Lela Rose and Ines Di Santo, showing that lace wedding dresses are no longer about frills and fluff, but clean lines.

Finally, bridal designer veterans like Elie Saab and Marchesa make a strong case for gowns with plunging necklines and off-the-shoulder silhouettes, bringing the perfect pinch of sexy skin on your wedding day without going overboard.

Below, see our guide for the top five wedding dress trends for 2019 and where to buy today. Talk about a major box to check off on your wedding to-do list!

Wedding dress trend No. 1: Halter dresses are coming back in a big way for bridal thanks to Meghan Markle. (Photo: Viktor & Rolf, Art: Yahoo Lifestyle photo-illustration)

As soon as Meghan Markle stepped out hand-in-hand with Prince Harry wearing her Stella McCartney simple white silk crepe halter neck dress, she sealed its fate as a major trend for 2019. Although it was only Meghan’s reception dress, it made a big impact on the bridal industry. It has an ultra flattering cut, showing off just enough skin while remaining conservative, and giving a nod to one of the biggest halter dress moments ever — when Marilyn Monroe stood over that subway grate in 1955’s The Seven Year Itch. In 2018, Meghan updated that classic look for the modern day bride.

BHLDN Montreal Dress

BHLDN Montreal Dress (Photo: BHLDN)

At $220, this halter neck dress is a steal if you loved Meghan Markle’s royal wedding reception dress. The high slit will let you dance the night away, too — so you really just need one dress for the entire event.

Shop it: $220, bhldn.com

Asos Edition Cross Front Cape Wedding Dress

Asos Edition Cross Front Cape Wedding Dress (Photo: Asos)

The cape detail adds a regal effect to this gorgeous halter gown. — and provides a fantastic alternative to a long veil.

Shop it: $261, asos.com

Stella McCartney F18 Magnolia Halter Wedding Dress

Stella McCartney F18 Magnolia Halter Wedding Dress (Photo: Nordstrom)

After the global success of Stella McCartney’s design for Meghan Markle, the designer decided to launch her own bridal line. Naturally, it includes a rendition of Markle’s dress, which you can own in one swift click in the link below — though it’s got a hefty price tag.

Shop it: $5,200, nordstrom.com

Wedding dress trend No. 2: Bridal designers are adding bow details small and large to wedding dresses for 2019. (Photo: Viktor & Rolf, Art: Yahoo Lifestyle photo-illustration)

For wedding dresses this season, designers have decided to add sweet bow details to the trains of dresses, straps, bodices and more. Bridal designers like Vera Wang and Viktor & Rolf have incorporated bows in their 2019 wedding collections, proving they are no longer strictly for little girls and pageants. Even Kate Middleton isn’t immune, sporting a velvety bow in her hair during the holidays. Whether you decide to go for a dress with a bold bow statement or something more subtle, it’s a trend we firmly stand behind.

Floravere J. Mitchell

Floravere J. Mitchell (Photo: Floravere)

Floravere is making a big splash in the bridal industry for its size-inclusive gowns and design versatility. They are able to take high quality designs and deliver them straight to you at an accessible price point by cutting out the middleman. Find gorgeous gowns like this bow version and more online at floravere.com.

Shop it: $1,475, floravere.com

Reformation Giotto Dress

Reformation Giotto Dress (Photo: Reformation)

This dress is all about the “party in the back.” It’s a simple, floor length strapless gown made sustainably, in Los Angeles, of 100 percent silk.

Shop it: $528, reformation.com

Isabelle Armstrong Evelyn Silk Off Shoulder Mikado Gown

Isabelle Armstrong Evelyn Silk Off Shoulder Mikado Gown (Photo: Moda Operandi)

This wedding gown is packed with drama, but coupled with sweet details like bows along the straps. Wherever you get married, you will definitely make an entrance wearing this.

Shop: $5,950, modaoperandi.com

Wedding Dress Trend #3: Lace wedding dresses are here to stay. (Photo: Lela Rose, Art: Yahoo Lifestyle photo-illustration)

Lace has a rich history dating back to the 16th century. Popular during Edwardian times, lace wedding dresses, for too long, looked a bit too frumpy. Thankfully, they have received a much needed refresh through the removal all the unnecessary frills and fluff. Now, it’s all about using lace to show off your svelte figure, without the drama of a traditional ball gown.

H&M Long Lace Dress

H&M Long Lace Dress (Photo: H&M)

We love the mock neck on this sleeveless lacy gown. When H&M forayed into bridal, we couldn’t have been more excited, as we knew that meant wedding dresses at prices humans could actually afford.

Shop it: $249, hm.com

Melissa Sweet Lace High-Neck Halter Sheath Wedding Dress

Melissa Sweet Lace High-Neck Halter Sheath Wedding Dress (Photo: David’s Bridal)

If you can’t decide between a halter gown or lace dress, then just combine the two together! This version has a delicate vintage-nostalgia quality to it.

Shop it: $958, davidsbridal.com

Rachel Zoe Estelle Cutout Maxi Dress

Rachel Zoe Estelle Cutout Maxi Dress (Photo: Shopbop)

The open-back silhouette is stunning on this lace maxi dress by Rachel Zoe. It’s more breathable than other dresses and would work well in a tropical climate where you would want to wear something a bit on the lighter side

Shop it: $495, shopbop.com

Wedding dress trend No. 4: Bare shoulder dresses show just the perfect amount of skin on a wedding day. (Photo: Elie Saab, Art: Yahoo Lifestyle photo-illustration)

Off-the-shoulder gowns that show off your bare shoulders are the perfect medium between a halter and a boatneck. It’s still modest, but with a touch of sexiness. If you’re a bride who loves the idea of a strapless gown, but worried about the lack of support, this is your answer. With bare shoulders and a bare neck, it’s the perfect dress to let your brightest and most beautiful baubles take center stage.

Theia Bridal Blake Gown

Theia Bridal Blake Gown (Photo: BHLDN)

Think of this dress as a blank canvas. Then let your hair, skin, makeup, and jewels shine in this classically beautiful ivory crepe gown.

Shop it: $900, bhldn.com

Azazie Jillian BG

Azazie Jillian BG (Photo: Azazie)

A princess-worthy gown for any bride.

Shop it: $249, azazie.com

Cushnie Bridal Candice Off Shoulder Bodice Gown with Train

Cushnie Bridal Candice Off Shoulder Bodice Gown with Train (Photo: Moda Operandi)

A stunning rendition of a Meghan Markle inspired wedding dress, it is a gown that is effortlessly beautiful.

Shop it: $4,495, modaoperandi.com

Wedding dress trend No. 5: Plunging V-necklines are a key feature of wedding dresses for 2019. (Photo: Marchesa, Art: Yahoo Lifestyle photo-illustration)

Minimalist gowns with plunging necklines might seem a little daunting to wear at first, but don’t worry. Designers like Marchesa and Jenny Yoo have been able to take the best parts of a classic deep V dress like J.Lo‘s historic Versace Grammy look and transform them into something classically beautiful, but undeniably sexy.

Jenny By Jenny You Blythe Plunging Crepe Gown

Jenny By Jenny You Blythe Plunging Crepe Gown (Photo: BHLDN)

This dress is perfect for any style minimalists. The deep V-neckline and bell sleeves add a bit of playfulness and sexiness.

Shop it: $1,200, nordstrom.com

Asos Edition Cape Sleeve Wedding Jumpsuit in Satin

Asos Edition Cape Sleeve Wedding Jumpsuit in Satin (Photo: Asos)

Jumpsuits, pantsuits and separates are becoming more popular with modern day brides. The cape and plunging neckline add an extra flair of elegance and femininity.

Shop it: $261, asos.com

Carolina Herrera Ivy V-Neck Crepe Trumpet Gown

Carolina Herrera Ivy V-Neck Crepe Trumpet Gown (Photo: Moda Operandi)

If you want to splurge on a dress, Carolina Herrera is one to look at. Although the fashion house torch has been passed from Herrera to Wes Gordon, the Herrera stamp of creating beautiful timeless gowns is not going anywhere.

Shop it: $4,990, modaoperandi.com

The editors at Yahoo Lifestyle are committed to finding you the best products at the best prices. At times, we may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page.

Read More from Yahoo Lifestyle:

• From Lady Gaga to Elisabeth Moss, bridal gowns were front and center at the 2019 SAG Awards • The most dazzling wedding dresses (and pantsuits) from Bridal Fashion Week • 36 jaw-dropping wedding looks from Bridal Fashion Week

yahoo

#Bridal #Bridal Trends #Yahoo Shopping #Wedding Dress Trends #Wedding Dress #_lmsid:a0Vd000000AE7lXEAT #_uuid:86c1feba-56b7-3f36-a17f-130f5ebb71bf #_revsp:wp.yahoo.style.us #2019 #Wedding #_author:Julie Tong #Shopping #Trends

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jadisjavaisuncoeur · 8 years ago

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Rules: tag 20 followers you want to get to know better Tagged by: @humanivers (i’m boring af but thank you my dear) Gender: female  Nickname: i just go by my first name, Juliette, i hate nicknames as a matter of fact  Star Sign: Scorpio  Height: I’m short  Sexual Orientation: let’s go with pansexual (i can hear a friend yelling in the bg ‘BISEXUAL HOMOROMANTIC, but i’m planning to marry Gong Yoo)  Hogwarts House: Slytherin  Favorite Color: Red  Favorite Animal: Ducks  Average hours of sleep: 5  Cat or Dog Person: Dog, definitely  Favorite Fictional Characters: Johanna Mason and Finnick Odair in THG, basically all characters from FMA, Viktor Nikiforov and Otabel Altin in Y!!!oI and a few hundreds more  Number of Blankets I sleep with: one  Favorite Singer/Band: Glass Animals (BIGBANG - BLACKPINK - LEE HI) Dream Trip: I’m craving Brazil, Turkey and Vietnam Dream Job: French President of the Republic (no one said it should be reasonable)  When was this blog created: you weren’t born probably  Current Number of Followers: 502 or something  What made you decide to make a Tumblr: i was bored and i had photoshop back in the days

@seanconneraille @flammedoudoune @seleyin @studytolive @moodyshae @dontbesoevil @mama-desu-para @morningsoftness @lumeha

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bountyofbeads · 5 years ago

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Waiting for Bolton: A Capital Speculates on What He Will Say https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/26/us/politics/bolton-trump-impeachment.html

Waiting for Bolton: A Capital Speculates on What He Will Say

As the House impeachment inquiry enters its second month, there may be no witness investigators want to question more than John R. Bolton, the president’s former national security adviser.

By Peter Baker | Published October 26, 2019, 11:52 AM ET | New York Times | Posted October 26, 2019 |

WASHINGTON — The message that John R. Bolton, President Trump’s former national security adviser, sent supporters of his newly reopened political action committee last week raised as many questions as it answered in a capital consumed by impeachment.

Mr. Bolton implicitly criticized Mr. Trump’s foreign policy, declaring that “despite all the friendly notes and photo ops, North Korea isn’t our friend and never will be.” But he also wrote that the nation’s security “is under attack from within,” citing “radicalized Democrats.”

The conflicting signals were maddening. After either resigning or being fired last month depending on whose version is to be believed, is Mr. Bolton so estranged from Mr. Trump that he might provide damaging testimony to House investigators? Or does he share the president’s view of out-of-control Democrats pursuing an illegitimate impeachment out of partisan excess?

The question is more than academic. As the House inquiry enters its second month, there may be no one in Washington that investigators want to question more than Mr. Bolton. His name has come up repeatedly in testimony that has depicted him resisting Mr. Trump’s Ukraine pressure campaign and warning that Rudolph W. Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, was a “hand grenade who’s going to blow everybody up.”

But even as he has been at the center of the discussion during the impeachment inquiry, the outspoken former Fox News commentator has remained uncharacteristically silent. To Democrats who vilified him for years as an ultraconservative warmonger, suddenly Mr. Bolton has emerged as a much-sought witness who in the narrative they are assembling may have made a principled stand against Mr. Trump’s abuse of power to advance domestic political goals.

“What it says is this is not about competing Republican versus Democratic visions of American foreign policy,” said Representative Tom Malinowski, Democrat of New Jersey. “This is about whether our foreign policy should be made in the national interest or in the personal political interests of the president.”

It may take longer for investigators to find out. Mr. Bolton shares a lawyer with his former deputy and longtime ally, Charles M. Kupperman, who went to court on Friday to ask a judge to decide whether he should obey a House subpoena or a White House order to not testify. Mr. Bolton presumably might follow the same course.

If and when he does testify, Mr. Bolton appears positioned to answer fundamental questions surrounding the events that have led the president to the edge of impeachment. As the national security adviser, Mr. Bolton was charged with managing the government’s foreign policy apparatus. Yet Mr. Trump and Mr. Giuliani worked around Mr. Bolton to try to pressure Ukraine to investigate Democrats. At the same time, the president froze $391 million in American assistance to the former Soviet republic.

“According to the testimony given to Congress so far, Bolton was a central figure in trying to prevent any delay in releasing foreign aid to Ukraine,” said John Yoo, a University of Berkeley law school professor and senior Justice Department official under President George W. Bush. “I cannot see how any responsible investigation would not seek Bolton’s appearance.”

But he added that the White House would presumably “go to the mat” to fight any effort to interview Mr. Bolton. “If the White House were to fight the House impeachment on executive privilege grounds, Bolton would be the hill on which to die,” Mr. Yoo said. “The Trump White House could claim not just that the impeachment investigation is illegitimate, which is its current line of defense, but that it is defending the right of future presidents to have an effective White House and to conduct a successful foreign policy.”

A Yale-trained lawyer, Mr. Bolton brought years of experience when Mr. Trump made him his third national security adviser in March 2018. Mr. Bolton served in both the Justice Department, where he headed the civil division under President Ronald Reagan, and the State Department, where he was an assistant secretary of state under the first President George Bush and an under secretary of state and ambassador to the United Nations under the second Mr. Bush.

While Mr. Trump appreciated his firebrand style of politics on Fox News, Mr. Bolton saw his job as keeping Mr. Trump from making unwise deals with outlier states like North Korea or Iran, leading to friction. Mr. Bolton struggled with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for control of foreign policy and left just a day before Mr. Trump agreed to restore the frozen aid to Ukraine under pressure from Congress.

With his trademark bushy mustache and unapologetic conservative views, Mr. Bolton, 70, has built a following on the right, even flirting in the past with running for president himself. His political action committee has donated more than $1.5 million to candidates since 2014 and spent another $6 million to promote his policy views related to national security.

Since leaving Mr. Trump’s team last month, Mr. Bolton has already identified five Republican senators and congressmen for whom he plans to raise $50,000 each and, as reported by Bloomberg, sent out the solicitation email on Thursday that seemed to provide conflicting clues. He has also rejoined the Rhone Group, a private equity firm where he worked before the White House, and was spotted in South Korea in recent days talking with investors. And he is reportedly thinking about writing a book.

The combination of his pedigree and the possibility that he really does have incriminating information about Mr. Trump makes him a particularly appealing witness to Democrats. The prospect of one of the nation’s most visible foreign policy conservatives testifying against his former boss would, in their view, underscore the significance of Mr. Trump’s transgressions.

But some Democrats warn that they cannot be sure what he will say once he sits for an interview. “You just can’t work from assumptions,” said Representative Mike Quigley, Democrat of Illinois and a member of the House Intelligence Committee. “I don’t know what he had. I don’t know if he has value. I don’t know if he is willing to talk about it.”

The president’s defenders dismiss the idea that Mr. Bolton could hurt Mr. Trump. “I don’t care what Bolton says,” Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina and a close ally of the president’s, said on Fox News on Thursday. If the Ukrainians did not know the president had held up their aid when he was pressing them to investigate Democrats, Mr. Graham said, there is no impeachable offense. “You can’t have a crime unless you have a victim. There is no victim here.”

Democrats disagree with that logic, saying it can still be an impeachable offense to pressure a foreign power to provide dirt on a political opponent regardless of when the Ukrainians knew about the suspension of the assistance. Moreover, The New York Times, citing interviews and documents, reported that in fact word of the aid freeze had gotten to high-level Ukrainian officials by the first week in August, earlier than previously known.

Mr. Bolton has hired Charles J. Cooper, one of Washington’s best-known lawyers and a colleague and friend since the Reagan administration, when Mr. Cooper was an assistant attorney general. Mr. Cooper, whose firm’s motto is “victory or death,” also represented former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, another Trump adviser who fell out with the president.

According to testimony presented so far, Mr. Bolton bristled at efforts by Mr. Giuliani to bypass the national security process as he pressured Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and a conspiracy theory that Ukrainians, not Russians, intervened in the 2016 election, and did so to boost Democrats, not Republicans. Mr. Trump’s former homeland security adviser repeatedly told the president that the theory had been “completely debunked.”

Mr. Bolton met on July 10 with Ukrainian officials and Gordon D. Sondland, a political appointee serving as ambassador to the European Union, who was working with Mr. Giuliani and Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, on the issue. When the investigations came up, Mr. Bolton grew so irritated that he abruptly ended the meeting, according to Fiona Hill, his former top Europe and Russia adviser.

Ms. Hill testified that Mr. Bolton told her to report what was going on to a White House lawyer. “I am not part of whatever drug deal Sondland and Mulvaney are cooking up,” he told her to tell the lawyer. She also testified that, on an earlier occasion, Mr. Bolton said, “Giuliani’s a hand grenade who’s going to blow everybody up.”

Mr. Bolton unsuccessfully sought to block Mr. Mulvaney’s effort to arrange an Oval Office visit in May by Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, an authoritarian leader whose criticism of Ukraine reinforced Mr. Trump’s already hostile views toward the country. Mr. Bolton likewise opposed the July 25 telephone call in which Mr. Trump pressed President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine to “do us a favor” by investigating the 2016 conspiracy theory and Mr. Biden.

Mr. Bolton went to Ukraine on Aug. 27 to try to prepare for a meeting between the president and Mr. Zelensky that ultimately did not happen. While there, William B. Taylor Jr., the acting ambassador to Ukraine, said he raised his concerns about the frozen aid and Mr. Bolton recommended he send a cable to Mr. Pompeo.

But Mr. Mulvaney and Mr. Sondland have said that Mr. Bolton never brought any concerns about the Ukraine pressure campaign to them.

“I read that and I was surprised, because John Bolton never complained to me about it,” Mr. Mulvaney said on “Fox News Sunday” last weekend. “No one at N.S.C. ever complained to me about anything that was going on.”

Mr. Sondland testified that Mr. Bolton embraced their efforts during a conference call in June. “We went over the entire Ukraine strategy with Ambassador Bolton, who agreed with the strategy and signed off on it,” Mr. Sondland said. “Indeed, over the spring and summer of 2019, I received nothing but cordial responses from Ambassador Bolton and Dr. Hill.”

So now Mr. Bolton has been left in the middle, a key witness in the unfolding impeachment drama. His friend, Thomas M. Boyd, an assistant attorney general in the Reagan and Bush administrations, said Mr. Bolton understands his obligations to guard the confidentiality of communications with the president but will also be prepared to give his unvarnished views if it comes to it.

“I just don’t think that he’s in an awkward position at all,” said Mr. Boyd. “He’s very comfortable in his own skin and whatever decisions he’s made or plans to make, I’m sure he’s comfortable with them as well.”

Nicholas Fandos contributed reporting.

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U.S. House impeachment testimony resumes as court buoys Democrats

By David Morgan, Richard Cowan | Published October 26, 2019, 6:04 AM | Reuters | Posted October 26, 2019 |

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Democratic-led impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump resumed on Saturday with testimony from a senior State Department official, a day after a federal judge buoyed the probe by dismissing Republican claims that it was illegitimate.

Philip Reeker, the acting assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, met with the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs, Intelligence and Oversight committees behind closed doors at the U.S. Capitol.

Lawmakers and staff held the first weekend deposition of the investigation, after Reeker’s testimony was postponed due to memorial events this week for the late Representative Elijah Cummings, who had played a lead role in the inquiry as chairman of the Oversight Committee.

Democrats claimed victory after a federal district court judge on Friday rejected a claim by Trump and his Republican allies that the process was illegitimate because the full House had not voted to authorize it.

The judge ordered the Trump administration to give the House Judiciary Committee secret material from former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.

The White House, citing the lack of an authorizing vote, had claimed the inquiry was “constitutionally invalid” and defied numerous congressional subpoenas for documents and testimony.

“The American people had another victory yesterday in the court decision validating not only the impeachment inquiry but the imperative that the administration stop stonewalling,” House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, who is leading the inquiry, told Reuters.

But Republicans remained defiant. Representative Doug Collins, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, said the ruling ignored historical precedents set by past impeachment inquiries and that he looked forward to “an expeditious appeal.”

FOCUS ON UKRAINE

At the heart of the inquiry is a July 25 phone call in which Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, a leading Democratic contender to face Trump in the 2020 election, and his son Hunter, who had been a director of a Ukrainian energy company.

The Trump administration was withholding $391 million in security assistance for Ukraine at the time, and investigators are looking into whether Trump improperly tied the release of the aid to getting Ukraine’s help in probing the Bidens.

William Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, testified on Tuesday that Trump made the aid contingent on Zelenskiy announcing he would investigate the Bidens and a debunked conspiracy theory that Ukraine, not Russia, had meddled in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

U.S. election law prohibits candidates from accepting foreign help in an election.

Trump denies wrongdoing. And, backed by his fellow Republicans in Congress, insists he is being treated unfairly.

Reeker, 54, a career diplomat whose portfolio includes Ukraine, is the latest on a growing list of current and former officials who have met with investigators despite the administration’s argument that the inquiry is invalid.

Among issues the committees are expected to explore with Reeker is Trump’s abrupt dismissal of Marie Yovanovitch in May as ambassador to Ukraine. According to emails given to congressional committees this month, Reeker sought to intervene when Trump supporters accused Yovanovitch of being disloyal to the president.

Another diplomat involved in those communications, George Kent, testified last week that he was told to “lie low” on Ukraine and instead defer to three of Trump’s political appointees. Yovanovitch has also testified, accusing the Trump administration of recalling her based on false claims.

The committees have scheduled several depositions for next week, all behind closed doors.

For Monday, they have called Charles Kupperman, a former deputy national security adviser to Trump, and on Tuesday, lawmakers expect Alexander Vindman, the White House National Security Council’s top expert on Ukraine.

Kathryn Wheelbarger, acting assistant secretary of defense for international security, is scheduled to appear on Wednesday, and Tim Morrison, a top White House adviser on Russia and Europe, is scheduled for Thursday.

Kupperman on Friday filed a lawsuit asking a federal court to determine whether he can testify. His lawyer said the judicial branch needs to weigh in on whether the president can block Kupperman and other White House officials from complying with congressional subpoenas.

Reporting by David Morgan and Richard Cowan; Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Writing by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Leslie Adler, Chizu Nomiyama and Daniel Wallis

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House Democrats get a legal victory in impeachment inquiry

By ERIC TUCKER | Published October 26, 2019 | AP | Posted October 26, 2019

WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge has ordered the Justice Department to give the House secret grand jury testimony from special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, handing a victory to Democrats as they gather evidence for the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump.

In a Friday ruling that also affirmed the legality of the impeachment inquiry itself, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ordered the department to turn over the materials by Oct. 30. A Justice Department spokeswoman said it was reviewing the decision. The administration can appeal.

The ruling in favor of the House Judiciary Committee comes as Democrats gather closed-door testimony from current and former government officials about the Trump administration's efforts to get Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden. The Mueller materials could reveal previously hidden details to lawmakers about Trump's actions during the 2016 election and become part of the impeachment push.

The material covered by Howell's order consists of redacted grand jury testimony mentioned in Mueller's report. The Justice Department says that information is the only piece of the document that key lawmakers have not had access to.

Democrats believe the still-redacted information could shed new light on key episodes of the investigation, including discussions Trump is reported to have had with associates about the release of stolen emails during the campaign and conversations about a 2016 Trump Tower meeting at which Trump's eldest son expected to receive damaging information about Hillary Clinton. The judge said the materials could help lawmakers as they decide which witnesses to call for an impeachment inquiry and what additional lines of investigation should be pursued.

In a 75-page ruling accompanying the order, Howell slashed through many of the administration's arguments for withholding materials from Congress, including the need for continued secrecy.

"The reality is that DOJ and the White House have been openly stonewalling the House's efforts to get information by subpoena and by agreement, and the White House has flatly stated that the Administration will not cooperate with congressional requests for information," Howell wrote.

While the Justice Department said it could not provide grand jury material under existing law, "DOJ is wrong," she wrote. And though the White House and its Republican allies argued impeachment is illegitimate without a formal vote, the judge said: "A House resolution has never, in fact, been required."

The judge also rejected the Justice Department's argument that impeachment does not qualify as a "judicial proceeding." That distinction matters because, though grand jury testimony is ordinarily secret, one exemption that allows it to be legally disclosed is in connection with a judicial proceeding.

"To the extent the House's role in the impeachment context is to investigate misconduct by the President and ascertain whether that conduct amounts to an impeachable offense warranting removal from office, the House performs a function somewhat akin to a grand jury," the judge wrote.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, the Democratic chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said he was pleased by the ruling.

"The court's thoughtful ruling recognizes that our impeachment inquiry fully comports with the Constitution and thoroughly rejects the spurious White House claims to the contrary," Nadler said in a statement. "This grand jury information that the Administration has tried to block the House from seeing will be critical to our work."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the ruling was "another blow to President Trump's attempt to put himself above the law."

"This critical court ruling affirms Congress's authority to expose the truth for the American people. Most importantly, the Court recognized the House's right to obtain grand jury information pursuant to its impeachment inquiry," Pelosi said.

Justice Department lawyers argued against providing the materials at a hearing earlier this month. They pointed out that House Democrats already had significant evidence from Mueller's investigation, including copies of summaries of FBI witness interviews. But the judge said that information is no substitute for the actual grand jury testimony.

"To insure most effectively against being misled, HJC must have access to all essential pieces of testimony by witnesses, including testimony given under oath to the grand jury," Howell said, referring to the House Judiciary Committee.

"Additionally, for purposes of assessing and following up on the Mueller Report's conclusions, the full Report is needed: the grand jury material may offer unique insights, insights not contained in the rest of the Report, congressional testimony" or FBI reports, she added.

The Mueller report found insufficient evidence to establish a criminal conspiracy between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign. It also examined multiple episodes in which Trump sought to thwart the investigation and pointedly determined that he could not be exonerated on obstruction of justice allegations.

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Diplomat who tried to quash smear campaign against colleague testifies in Trump impeachment inquiry

By Karoun Demirjian and Carol Morello |

Published October 26 at 11:00 AM ET | Washington Post | Posted October 26, 2019 |

Philip Reeker, a senior State Department official who tried to counteract a campaign of falsehoods that undermined the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, is testifying before House impeachment investigators Saturday.

He arrived at the Capitol shortly after 10:30 a.m., accompanied by his personal lawyer. According to an official working on the impeachment inquirer, Reeker gave his deposition under subpoena to get around an effort by the State Department to block him from appearing. Foreign Service officers are required to answer subpoenas issued by Congress.

Reeker, who heads the team of diplomats specializing in European affairs, is the latest Trump administration official scheduled to appear behind closed doors despite a White House edict that no government employees cooperate. Based on previously released accounts, he can be expected to provide a limited but critical piece of the backstory involving an informal endeavor to prod Ukrainian officials to investigate former vice president Joe Biden and his son Hunter ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

In March, Reeker was selected as acting assistant secretary in charge of the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. As head of the bureau that dealt with Ukraine, Reeker was nominally in charge of policy for the country. In reality, the policy was being steered by political appointees and by Rudolph W. Giuliani, President Trump’s personal attorney, according to previous testimony given during the impeachment probe.

A crisis was already brewing, in the form of rumors and conspiracy theories targeting Marie Yovanovitch, many being pushed by Giuliani. Highly regarded among her fellow diplomats, Yovanovitch was then the U.S. ambassador in Kyiv. State Department officials considered baseless the roiling questions being raised among conservative U.S. media about her loyalty and honesty. They began suggesting ways to defend her, both internally and publicly.

George Kent, the Reeker deputy overseeing Ukraine policy, warned in an email to colleagues that Yovanovitch was the victim of a “classic disinformation campaign.” Reeker passed along Kent’s concerns to David Hale, the third-highest ranking official at the State Department, and to T. Ulrich Brechbuhl, the closest confidant and longtime friend of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Their emails were provided to House investigators by the State Department’s inspector general.

Ultimately, the efforts were futile, and Yovanovitch was abruptly recalled. Reeker may be able to shed light on whether his appeals on her behalf reached Pompeo, and if so, how the secretary of state reacted. Pompeo has faced mounting criticism from State Department diplomats who contend he has not done enough to publicly defend Yovanovitch and their colleagues who are running up large legal bills due to the impeachment inquiry.

Like other diplomats who have testified before him, Reeker is a witness whose testimony will be difficult to assail. He is a career Foreign Service officer with a reputation for being apolitical, hard-working and professional. Colleagues say he is the type of leader whom junior Foreign Service officers turn to for career guidance. He has at times advised them to grab opportunities elsewhere, even when it was in his own interest for them to stay.

“He’s a workhorse, not a showboat,” said Daniel Fried, a former diplomat who resigned at the onset of the Trump administration. “He comes from the Masha Yovanovitch school of professionalism. He’s a capable, nice, relaxed guy, not at all stiff. And he’s utterly nonpartisan.”

Reeker joined the State Department in 1992. He signed up for the Foreign Service exam “on a lark” when he saw a flier for the test while attending the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University after graduating from Yale.

His did tours in Hungary and Macedonia, and was the U.S. consul general in Milan. He won wide praise for his public diplomacy, serving as the deputy to spokesman Richard Boucher under secretaries of state Madeleine Albright in the Clinton administration and Colin Powell under President George W. Bush. His work has been recognized with the Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence in Public Diplomacy, and with several State Department awards.

Boucher said Reeker was unflappable, even when Reeker was the sole person in town who could speak for the department when a crisis broke out somewhere in the world.

“He made the transition from a Democratic administration to a Republican one without any difficulty,” he said. “That’s because he’s fundamentally nonpartisan.”

Boucher said it was in keeping with his independence that Reeker would jump to alert the top officials on the seventh floor of the Truman Building that lies were being spread about Yovanovitch, a friend as well as a colleague.

“Masha is someone we all know, and we all think she is one of the best managers of people and policy we have in the State Department,” he said. “To hear her talked about in any other terms, the right thing to do is to stand up and say it’s wrong.”

The State Department ethos, particularly among officials tasked with explaining policy in public, is to stand up and speak the truth inside the building, instead of taking it public where it can become politicized. Reeker epitomized that ethos, according to friends and colleagues.

But as a career diplomat whose position was preceded by the adjective “acting,” Reeker may not have as much clout as the political appointee who preceded him.

“He’s done a good job,” said Fried. “But in this administration, if you’re not political, you don’t have a lot of juice. Now, all of the Ukraine team is under the knife.”

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The Impeachment Inquiry This Week in 6 Developments

Details of a quid pro quo. Enter the “Deep State.” Steve Bannon is back. Revenge of the Republicans. And more.

By Kaly Soto | Published October 26, 2019, 5:00 5:00 ET | New York Times | Posted October 26, 2019 |

More damning testimony. A Republican resistance emerges and so does the “Deep State.” Steve Bannon is back and so is Anonymous. So many developments ... so little time. It’s O.K., we’ll recap the week for you.

DAMNING TESTIMONY

The top American diplomat in Ukraine gave a vivid and impassioned account on Tuesday of how multiple senior administration officials told him that President Trump blocked security aid to Ukraine and refused to meet the country’s leader until he agreed to publicly pledge to investigate Mr. Trump’s political rivals.

In testimony to impeachment investigators delivered in defiance of State Department orders, the diplomat, William B. Taylor Jr., sketched out in remarkable detail a quid pro quo pressure campaign on Ukraine that Mr. Trump and his allies have long denied. He said the president sought to condition the entire United States relationship with Ukraine — including a $391 million aid package — on a promise that the country would publicly investigate Mr. Trump’s political rivals, including former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his family. His account implicated Mr. Trump, citing multiple sources inside the government.

Read Mr. Taylor’s opening statement.

6 Key Revelations of Taylor’s Opening Statement.

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A REPUBLICAN RESISTANCE

It’s been a week of pushback by members of the Republican Party. On Wednesday, House Republicans staged a protest at the Capitol that delayed a crucial deposition in the impeachment inquiry. Chanting “Let us in! Let us in!” about two dozen members pushed past Capitol Police officers to enter the secure rooms of the House Intelligence Committee, where investigators have been conducting private interviews.

On Thursday, Senate Republicans introduced a resolution condemning the impeachment inquiry. Senior Republican aides said the resolution was not expected to come to the Senate floor for a vote until next week at the earliest.

The president also got some encouragement from Stephen K. Bannon, the former White House chief strategist, and other supporters and former aides. They have launched a new radio show from Mr. Bannon’s basement, called “War Room,” to help fight impeachment.

And finally, Mr. Trump has canceled subscriptions to The New York Times and The Washington Post. Officials in the West Wing on Thursday announced that copies of the two papers would no longer be delivered to the White House. The administration is moving to force federal agencies to end their subscriptions, as well.

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THE IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY IS ON, JUDGE SAYS

On Friday, a federal judge ruled that the House is legally engaged in an impeachment inquiry, delivering a major victory to House Democrats and undercutting arguments by President Trump and Republicans that the investigation is a sham. (Representative Adam Schiff, above, is among those leading the inquiry.)

The House Judiciary Committee is entitled to view secret grand jury evidence gathered by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, Judge Beryl A. Howell of the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia, ruled in a 75-page opinion. Attorney General William P. Barr had withheld the material from lawmakers.

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TRUMP’S War ON THE ‘DEEP STATE’ TURNS AGAINST HIM

Nameless, faceless and voiceless, the C.I.A. officer who first set off the impeachment inquiry seemed to be practically the embodiment of the “deep state” that the president has long accused of trying to take him down.

But over the last three weeks, the so-called deep state has emerged from the shadows in the form of real live government officials, who have defied a White House attempt to block cooperation with House impeachment investigators and provided evidence that largely backs up the whistle-blower. Here’s the warning letter received by one of the witnesses, Laura Cooper, the military’s Russia-Ukraine expert, before she testified.

Also worth noting: An anonymous Trump administration official who published a September 2018 essay in The New York Times, about the active resistance to the president’s agenda and behavior from within his own administration, will publish a book next month.

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IN UKRAINE, A FORGOTTEN WAR

We traveled to the front lines of the war in Ukraine, a bare-bones fight against Russian-backed separatists. The war there has killed 13,000 people, put a large part of Ukraine under Russia’s control and dragged on for five years. It was almost forgotten by the outside world until it became a backdrop to the impeachment inquiry. Ukrainian soldiers on the front line were jolted when American military aid was suspended in July. While the aid was restored in time to prevent any military setbacks, it took a heavy psychological toll, they said, striking at their confidence that their backers in Washington stood solidly behind them.

The president and his allies have said that there was no quid pro quo with Ukraine because Ukrainian officials did not know military aid had been blocked, but word of the aid freeze had reached high-level officials there, according to interviews and documents.

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IN COURT

One of the two indicted associates of President Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani tied the casease to the president himself, saying that some of the evidence gathered in the campaign-finance investigation could be subject to executive privilege. The argument was raised by a defense lawyer in federal court in Manhattan as the two associates, Lev Parnas, above, and Igor Fruman, pleaded not guilty to federal charges that they had made illegal campaign contributions to political candidates in the United States in exchange for potential influence.

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party-hard-or-die · 6 years ago

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The Best and Worst of Cannes, Maybe Coming to a Theater Near You

Over the next year or so, a number of the great, good and absolutely unnecessary movies at the 71st Cannes Film Festival will trickle into American theaters and then onto streaming platforms. Some will open with a splash, like Gaspar Noé’s flashy, amusing, then disappointing “Climax,” which played in a parallel program and has been picked up by the distributor A24. If we are lucky, others, like Alice Rohrwacher’s lovely “Happy as Lazzaro,” will also open, though probably far more quietly, buoyed largely by the ardor of critics. It is unlikely that most of these movies will mean much to the American box office, which is dominated by industrial product.

Every year, Cannes presents an overstuffed, witless event movie that generates publicity for the festival and reminds the world that the event can go commercial when it wants. Sometimes the movie is a forgettable French divertissement; this year it was “Solo: A Star Wars Story.” But the festival’s reputation has not been built on Hollywood mega-events. It has been built on strategically positioning itself as the paramount champion of global cinematic art — “the mecca,” as Spike Lee called it the other day — while being the world’s largest film market.

That commitment to art cinema — and specifically to the international auteurs who burnish its standing — is only part of the story. You wouldn’t know that from some of the reports in the American entertainment media, though, which has been announcing the festival’s irrelevancy for years. Whether Cannes matters (oui! non!) makes for a catchy headline, but the better question is who the festival matters to and for what reason. It certainly matters to France, which subsidizes the festival, which in turn promotes the country’s cultural heritage, generates a great deal of revenue and helps tourism. Cannes sells movies; it also sells France.

As always, the festival has a significant international presence, offering a bounty of movies from around the world suggesting that borders remain open, at least in art. Set in rural Italy, “Happy as Lazzaro” traces the story of a blissful innocent who with several dozen relatives works the land for an imperious owner. With a sensitive touch that makes every face, tree and ray of light come alive, Ms. Rohrwacher creates a textured, vibrant portrait of a lost world that is at once emotionally sustaining and grossly exploitative. Hirokazu Kore-eda’s delicate, beautifully paced “Shoplifters” centers on a very different marginalized Japanese family, though one as affecting.

Among the strongest competition entries is “Burning,” from the South Korean director Lee Chang-dong. Based on a short story by Haruki Murakami, it centers on a young man who, in the midst of a family crisis, becomes pulled into an increasingly unsettled, unsettling relationship with a young woman who in turn takes up with another man. Mr. Lee creates a seductive intimacy — pulling you close enough to think you’ve figured everyone out — that grows progressively ominous and dangerous. In a crucial role, a terrific Steven Yeun (who was here last year with “Okja”) proves that he’s a star, even if the American industry hasn’t yet figured that out.

Two directors in the competition were barred by their governments from attending, including the Russian Kirill S. Serebrennikov, who in “Leto” looks back at the Soviet rock scene during perestroika. The story is a fictional gloss on the story of the real Viktor Tsoi (the swoony Teo Yoo), who helped lead the rock revolt in grungy clubs, jam sessions and pastoral idylls. Another director whose absence became a reverberant presence this year is the Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, who plays himself (or a version of that persona) in “3 Faces,” a moving multigenerational portrait of three independent female performers, including a woman who was banned after the 1979 revolution.

Yoon Jong-bin’s “The Spy Gone North,” a rollicking cloak-and-dagger adventure about a South Korean agent who infiltrates North Korea, is the kind of genre title that the festival often relegates to special sections, which it did in this case. Presumably the movie was seen as too commercial and slick for the competition; it’s also a lot of fun and I’d rather watch it again than revisit David Robert Mitchell’s grating “Under the Silver Lake,” which is in competition. Movie allusions and Andrew Garfield’s hard-working star turn as a Los Angeles slacker is about all that holds together this labyrinthine, wildly self-satisfied mystery. Mr. Garfield of course is also useful for red-carpet duties.

The red carpet at Cannes has in recent years also become a symbolic battlefield, specifically when it comes to women. The festival’s dress code is vaguely defined (in principle it is just black tie), but the enforcement of that code by employees monitoring the carpet has led to dust-ups, including one a few years ago over a woman’s shoes that was labeled Heelgate. (Women have pushed back and this year Kristen Stewart kicked off her stilettos.) It’s an unfortunately silly nickname that obscures the reality that Cannes relies on the spectacle of a rigid ideal of female beauty — cue elegant wraiths promenading in designer gowns — to sell its image to the world.

And, all too often, a fair number of the women walking, smiling and smiling some more on the red carpet are doing so in support of a male director. Only three of the 21 movies in the main competition are from women, though the numbers are better elsewhere. As in the United States, this imbalance can be blamed in part on the inequities of the movie industry. A 2016 report from the European Women’s Audiovisual Network found that only one in five features was from a woman. But programming plays a powerful role in the cinematic biosphere, which is why the number of mediocre male directors who pop up here each year can be so frustrating.

For much of its history, after all, Cannes has sold male auteurs, one reason it was moving to see “Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché” here in a special screening. Directed by Pamela B. Green, this documentary explores the life, career and fade-out of the woman thought to have been the first female director. Born in France in 1873 (she died in 1968), Guy-Blaché made the leap from secretary to director while working for Gaumont, where she directed hundreds of films. She went on to found a studio, Solax, in the United States, only to fall on difficult times and — as she was excluded from one history after another — into obscurity.

Ms. Green discovered Guy-Blaché while watching a TV documentary about female filmmakers. “I never thought of a first,” Ms. Green told me, “and I never even thought of a woman director.” But she was intrigued and her curiosity led her on an eight-year odyssey that found her scouring archives across the world, cold-calling possible Guy-Blaché relatives and making stunning discoveries, including a clip of this foundational figure holding a camera that seems to have been shot by those other pioneers, the Lumière brothers. The determined Ms. Green isn’t yet finished with the movie, which she has financed through donations, including from Hugh Hefner.

When I asked what the chances were that she could get more money to finish, Ms. Green wasn’t optimistic. “Difficult, believe it or not — I mean we talk about the #MeToo and Time’s Up, etc.; Hollywood has not funded this movie,” she said. “All the people who have come forward are outside the business.” Ms. Green, who discovered a trove of material while making the documentary — old letters, photographs — said that she planned to start a foundation named for the filmmaker. Ms. Green wants to help in the restoration of Guy-Blaché’s films and make them accessible, doing her part to write a woman back into the history she helped make.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page C8 of the New York edition with the headline: Coming to America: Best and Worst of Cannes. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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The Best and Worst of Cannes, Maybe Coming to a Theater Near You

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page C8 of the New York edition with the headline: Coming to America: Best and Worst of Cannes. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

The post The Best and Worst of Cannes, Maybe Coming to a Theater Near You appeared first on World The News.

from World The News https://ift.tt/2Iv7Zjv via Today News

#Daily News #Daily World News #Daily Business News #Daily Sports News #World The News

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