#nm: m song of the day can be...

[everythingsinred]

Let's Talk About NatsuMikan: Mikan (pt. 16)

Hey guys. What's up? Long time no post.

Last time, we began one of the most exciting arcs in the manga, the Hanahime Den Arc (aka the New Year's Arc, aka the Discovering Natsume Arc, aka the Flower Garden Association Party Arc, aka That One Arc With Aoi In It, aka the Natsume/Ruka Backstory Arc... Really whatever you wanna call it). Today we'll continue exploring that arc, particularly one incredibly important theme that means the world to me regarding Mikan's very sweet feelings for Natsume.

<- Prev Next ->

Chapter Fifty-Six

The kids dress up. Hotaru and Mikan are wearing very feminine kimonos for the event. Ruka is relieved that his and Natsume’s kimonos aren’t furisode, but they are both still self-conscious. (I wish I could comment more on this in a specific way, but I’m not versed in Japanese traditional wear to the point where I can say what looks more masculine and feminine. I am very western in this way. Serbian folk costume is more or less: dress=feminine, pants=masculine. I’m learning more and more but for now, whenever I see these chapters, I just think, “Wow, these clothes are so pretty!!” and that’s about it. Anyway I loVE folk costume. I’m obsessed with all cultures’ folk costumes.) 

In any case, Mikan is quick to comment on how good they look, specifically commenting that Natsume doesn’t look as much like a drag queen as she’d expected (ahh… 2000s humor. RIP). This is "supposed to be a compliment," but he doesn’t take it as one. Mikan gets angry that she got him angry and swears that she’ll let his hand go as soon as they get to the party. That page alone has some intriguing panels. There’s one of angry Natsume, one of angry Mikan, and one of them snuggling! Bizarre! I like to think that this means Mikan is still thinking about it. She may be angry, but she’s still fixated on that moment, perhaps still concerned about his cryptic words. How sweet.

But she won't let go of his hand now, of course. Just later.

Narumi escorts them to the party, warning them not to do anything rude because the MSP is capricious. Even the smallest slight could offend her. This is as much a warning to us as it is to the kids. We will see MSP’s capriciousness soon for ourselves. In fact, the next page features the MSP mourning the fact that boys will be allowed in her palace against her wishes, only for her flower princesses to offer to create a fun diversion for her. Mikan isn’t present for that scene, but it’s important because we can see that the MSP is indeed so capricious that Mikan was destined to be bullied and mistreated before she’d even arrived in time to do anything offensive.

They arrive at the palace and it truly is a palace, much bigger than the middle school building and dorms combined. Mikan is awestruck by everything she sees, by Yamanouchi Shizune’s impressive appearance, the huge building, the party full of incredible decorations--she’s definitely the most visibly impressed. 

I think it’s important that Mikan is not just the most childish character in the manga, but a “tactless hick” as well. Mikan grew up in the country, lived in a tiny village and went to a small school. There were no huge buildings or extravagant parties, nothing impressive for the culture fests. Mikan is easily impressed, not just by the fantastical alice elements of this new world (like we are too), but by everything new. It’s not just the alice world that’s new to her; everything is. Furthermore, she refuses to be quiet about her amazement. Whenever she likes something, she says it out loud and proud. No, she’s not the most polite girl, but she is so positive and upbeat. Mikan is not just our Alice in Wonderland, a character through whom the reader discovers a new world. She’s a character in her own right.

The group has to pass the middle school girls’ party on the ground floor before ascending to the Hanahime Party upstairs. As they move, they overhear a lot of gossip. All of them get a little annoyed having to listen to it, but the gossip thrown at Mikan is perhaps the worst, and a precursor to the way she’ll be treated by the flower princesses upstairs: she’s just an ordinary girl, plain and boring and unimpressive--so how on earth did she get invited??

They ALL get somehow targeted by these whisperings... so rude. Though I doubt Hotaru is very offended by a reputation of being "beautiful but strange."

I like Mikan being unimpressive on the outside because it’s honestly exhausting to see every single female protagonist in media being gorgeous and brilliant in every way, an independent and beautiful trailblazer! GA already has characters like that, who are beautiful or smart or both. Mikan doesn’t have to be smart or pretty to be important. The boys who like her are interested in her because of her kindness and excitable nature, not because of her beauty or intelligence. So this occasional outside commentary on Mikan being ordinary makes me happy. They assume that because she’s not gorgeous or academically impressive like Hotaru that there’s no reason why she should stand out. And yes, it’s true that Mikan was not invited because the MSP was impressed by her. No, she was invited because Natsume is impressed by her, because her invitation was a way to lure him in. She is important, even if it’s not in a way that’s instantly valued by the gossipy middle school girls at the party.

The gossip almost gets to her, but seeing Nobara in the crowd cheers her up. Mikan has met Nobara only three times so far. They spent a few hours together at the Christmas Prep, I assume, and that sort of time can get people close, but it’s still impressive that they have such a close bond after so few meetings. And even though Nobara seems obsessed with Mikan, it’s important to note that Mikan always seems just as excited to see her. She loves giving and receiving affection, so even though Nobara's obsession might seem bizarre to anyone else, Mikan welcomes the attention and never judges her for it. But Natsume yanks her back before they can rush to each other.

Nobara is horrified that Natsume is there, demanding to know why Natsume is here at all and then telling Mikan that he shouldn’t be here, that she should stop him. The whole hand-holding thing has been weird to Mikan from the start, but she just assumed he was up to some stupid sadistic trick. His weird comment about the ruse ending soon was a red flag that something else might be going on, but because Natsume never explains anything, she couldn’t really come to any new conclusions. Nobara’s warning here is just another alarm that something about Natsume’s behavior isn’t just annoying--it’s concerning. Nobara is genuinely frightened for Natsume and that comes across in her warning to Mikan, even if Mikan can’t linger to chat about it.

Mikan dragged Natsume around earlier without him complaining so I guess it's only fair he'd drag her around now.

Thus Mikan will keep Nobara’s warning in mind. No matter how quickly she seems to recover from serious or concerning topics, Mikan always remembers them. Nobara’s warning is important in another way too, because Misaki overheard her and made sure to relay the information to Tsubasa.

They finally arrive at the exclusive party to meet the Hanahime girls. Himemiya is beautiful. Mikan is always overwhelmed when around beautiful people, but she doesn’t forget Narumi’s warning, and her awe is staved off a bit by Himemiya’s bizarre behavior around Hotaru. She can be serious too! She doesn’t always get carried away. (Relatively…)

Chapter Fifty-Seven

Conveniently (or inconveniently, if you asked Himemiya), the Ruka mochi gang instantly separate upon entering the party. Perhaps the “ruse” of Natsume’s has reached its end, because he rips his hand away. Mikan rejoices at her freedom, but it’s short-lived.

Because she is singled out pretty instantly.

All of the flower princesses have pretty flower names. Hotaru is given one straight-away on account of being a candidate to become one of them. But the rest of the group get names too--Natsume and Ruka seem to be easily adopted by the flower princesses. It’s just Mikan and Youichi who are left out. 

I talked about the reasons why with Natsume’s essay but I’ll recap here. Himemiya is angry to have disgusting boys in her palace (she’s one of those... gross :P), and the flower princesses are trying to comfort her by entertaining her. This entertainment comes in the form of vicious bullying, something Himemiya doesn’t only tolerate--she encourages. (Himemiya is not "one of the good guys" in the way the HSP could be categorized as, even though she isn't necessarily "one of the bad guys" like the ESP.) There’s four candidates for bullying. Hotaru is obviously out of the question because she’s a potential flower princess herself, a beautiful and intelligent girl worthy of Himemiya’s attention and chosen as a candidate authentically, not because of outside pressures. That leaves the others, unfortunate cargo in Persona’s plan. I don’t think the flower princesses are privy to all the details in the plan, but the boys have obviously been permitted to come for a reason. Besides, they’re both very handsome, so the princesses don’t feel the desire to be cruel to them. Then there’s plain and ordinary Mikan, who didn’t deserve the invitation in the first place. What has she done to earn Himemiya’s attention? Nothing, really. She’s neither pretty nor intelligent, so the princesses write her off. She will be the one bullied by the princesses to entertain Himemiya. 

Youichi is collateral, but definitely not singled out the way Mikan is.

No, I'm not really a big fan of Himemiya. I don't really get how letting teenagers bully a little girl is "entertainment." Maybe that's just me.

They proceed to the banquet, where a feast awaits them. Mikan mentions that she hadn’t had any breakfast because she expected to eat a lot at the party. But she doesn’t really get to eat anything here either, because the princesses move all the food to the other guests, conveniently leaving Mikan with nothing to eat. The bullying isn’t actually subtle, though the princesses put on airs about it. They move the food in order to serve the others, which alarms Mikan, but it’s strange to think that the others didn’t pick up on it. 

When Mikan’s starvation is pointed out, it’s not because the princesses have noticed they’d made a mistake, it’s only to further bully her. If she’s not eating, it must be because her stomach hurts, so she should have some disgusting medicine.

The thing is that Mikan is still heeding Narumi’s advice. She’s trying to be on her best behavior, like he told her to be. We know that Mikan isn’t the type to let herself be bullied. She stands up for herself. She fights back. But fighting back here wouldn’t be in good form. She might just get further bullied. Additionally, she’s obviously not a princess candidate, but Hotaru is. If she acts out, it might reflect poorly on her best friend, potentially even robbing her of an opportunity she certainly deserves. So if you were wondering why Mikan doesn’t fight back or argue with these girls (when she's been bullied by far more threatening figures and never tolerated it), it’s because of that.

She’s pressured into drinking the medicine, meaning she won’t be able to eat for a while. She’s already hungry, now destined to get even hungrier, and she’s just consumed a foul “medicine.” If Nadeshiko’s comment is to be taken seriously, then the concoction is made of some truly sickening things, like frogs’ eyeballs and centipede legs. The medicine doesn’t cure sickness, it creates it. It also smells awful, so her friends don’t want to be around her, not even Youichi, who is also being left out a little (though not at all to the same extent). 

Next, they start playing some games, where the loser has to pay some penalty for losing. The thing is, Mikan stinks so she has to play further away and thus never stood a chance of winning. In no time at all, Mikan is defeated. She’s on her very best behavior but is being bullied anyway. Her face has been doodled on, she’s been made a fool of, she’s hungry and sick and smelly. Nobody is standing up for her. Everyone else seems to be having a much better time than her. 

It sure would be nice if someone were to... I don't know... actually call out the flower princesses for their behavior. Whatever.

Hotaru comes by with a wet towel, sure, but she’s decked out with an insulting gas mask and doesn’t stick around long. It’s obvious that her friends can see that she’s being mistreated, but they don’t do much to stand up for her. When the flower princesses brush aside the idea of inviting Mikan to play the next game, only Natsume stands up to leave. The others are obviously put off by it, but they don’t do much (that Mikan can see). 

Hotaru gets back at Nadeshiko (the main bully) through a prototype of a game, but the thing is that this tactic focuses more on humiliating Nadeshiko than helping Mikan. Nadeshiko is 1. touched that Hotaru chose her to play with, even if it makes a fool out of her, and 2. just toyed with a little. Meanwhile, Mikan watches from a distance and only sees everyone having fun without her. Teasing Nadeshiko doesn’t really help Mikan at all, and it certainly doesn’t stop Nadeshiko or the other flower princesses from bullying her even more. I'm pointing this out because this is Mikan's essay, so only her POV is relevant to me.

Mikan watches sadly, hungry and sick. She feels lonely, miles away from her friends, the only one who’s having a bad time. She misses her other friends, her senpais and her classmates. She wants to go home. Even though she’d been so excited to come here, it’s actually a terrible experience.

And then somebody puts a mandarin shaped chestnut kinton on her head. Natsume tells her to eat up. The orange shape is perfect for someone like her. Natsume is the only person who actually comforts and helps Mikan with her bullying. He sits beside her. He may downplay why he’s there, but he’s obviously here because he was concerned about her. He came to feed her because her stomach was growling. She reminds him that she smells, that everyone’s avoiding her. But Natsume tells her he’d rather be around her than smell the stupid perfumes of the Hanahime girls.

He chooses her. (And she will choose him.)

Hotaru’s tactic of getting back at Nadeshiko didn’t actually help Mikan feel better. But Natsume is making the choice to isolate himself with Mikan. They’re aligned now. Mikan and Natsume are outside of the system of fancy perfumes and shallow performances. She may have been excluded by force, but he makes it clear that he’d rather be left out with her than included with them. She’s more important than they are. Sure, they might bicker a little, but both Natsume and Mikan actually enjoy that and find it comforting, normal. 

And we’ve finally reached my favorite aspect of the NatsuMikan relationship. Yes, it’s been said a thousand times that Mikan is Natsume’s sunshine, that she brings light to his dark life, that she saved him and continues to save him. This is all true, but the more underappreciated side of it is that Natsume is Mikan’s sunshine too. 

Natsume is capable of making her sad and angry, yes. But he also has the tendency to make her forget all her problems. He makes her feel normal again, sparkly on the inside. She even says something to that extent here, commenting on how talking with Natsume always cheers her up. He “sees through” all her problems and then blows them away instantly. “He blew away my cloudy sky. Weird guy.”

He is her sunshine! My favorite part of their relationship!

Mikan is Natsume’s sun. Natsume is Mikan’s sun. They comfort each other, bring each other joy and solace, more than anybody else. 

It’s really awesome that Mikan makes Natsume happy. He has such a miserable life that he needs someone who can bring him joy. But there’s so much focus on his feelings that Mikan’s get overlooked. Despite how hard he tries to be unlikeable and to keep his distance, Mikan still cares about him. He still manages to make her happy, to cheer her up even when she’s being terribly bullied and excluded. 

He leaves to go to the bathroom, but she tells him to hurry back so they can eat together. 

Mikan has known Natsume for a few months now. She’s been very curious about him all along and has wanted to be his friend for a while. But he’s always so unpleasant and rude. Their relationship got to this point at a gradual pace. This is perhaps the first time that Mikan wants to hang out with him, alone, for as long as possible. Before, she felt uncomfortable even talking to him. She wanted to escape or find somebody else to talk to. Even just a few days ago, during the Christmas Ball, Natsume was the guy she settled for when she couldn’t find her other friends.

I really genuinely can't see how any other ship compares. In GA or otherwise. They will be always be number one to me. I just wish they'd gotten to eat together and chat a lil.

But now, she wants to hang out with Natsume. 

And Natsume specifically, because you already know how important that concept is to me. She's not settling this time, just because he's the only one willing to be around her right now. Instead, she's realized that being around him makes her happy, so why not eat together and hang out? They could be left out of the party together.

He brushes her off and insists she eat without him. 

Himemiya warns him though. If he wanders where he shouldn’t, he’ll be on his own to deal with the consequences.

The fourth red flag regarding Natsume’s presence here at the palace. Mikan is thoroughly worried about him now. She still doesn’t know why he even came here, but Nobara’s and Himemiya’s warnings as well as the cryptic way Natsume talked about the ruse all plant seeds of worry in her mind.

She’s distracted a little by the flower princesses’ phony apology. They pretend to feel bad and invite her to the kitchen to bring out the desserts, but there are no desserts. Mikan and Youichi are trapped in a dark room by themselves, locked up with nowhere to go.

Mikan is unworthy of her invitation. She should never have come here, as ordinary and unimpressive as she is. She is locked up now so she can think hard about how lowly she is compared to the others.

This is not Mikan’s first time being bullied, but there’s no way to get used to this sort of treatment. Mikan doesn’t actually think very highly of herself, and the frequent bullying she faces doesn’t really help. She doesn’t fully value her own alice, her appearance, her creativity, her great big heart or unwavering optimism. 

Mikan is alone with a toddler in a dark room. The only person who made her feel normal and happy all day is gone.

Chapter Fifty-Eight

The flower princesses accuse Mikan of cheating her way into getting invited. She demands to be released, but they leave her and Youichi on their own. She pleads for someone to figure it out.

She eventually runs out of energy. She feels especially guilty because Youichi was only locked in with her incidentally. Mikan is the one who is hated. Youichi just got punished because of bad luck. She apologizes to him, which seems to move him somehow. He offers to share some candy with her. It’s very sweet how their relationship has progressed. When she first met him, he refused to share his howalon with her, but now he’s offering his candy unprompted. 

But Mikan never gets to eat her candy because a mouse steals it. It’s for the best, though, because the candy was actually a Gulliver candy, and Youichi consequently aged ten years!

They’re eventually found by their friends, but only after Youchi kicks the door open for them. 

The flower princesses who bullied Mikan are to face punishment for their actions, potentially even being kicked out of the group. But Mikan tells them to forgive the girls, even despite the awful things she just went through. She said just a few minutes ago that she hated them, but I think that now that she’s out, she can see the situation more clearly.

Before, they couldn't see what could make Mikan special because she was neither gorgeous nor particularly intelligent. But now they love her because of how kind she is (though it might not be entirely kindness that motivates her here).

Natsume never sees the hype in this sort of thing. He thought this party was stupid and shallow, something they were both above. And then Youichi showed his kindness by offering his candy, even if it was Gulliver candy. The party that she’d wanted to go to so badly doesn’t really matter anymore. She doesn’t want to be a flower princess anymore. She has people who love her and want to spend time with her even if she might be "unworthy." They don't need her to prove herself, so how good could a group that does require a degree of "worthiness" be?

Additionally, Mikan is a kind, compassionate, and forgiving girl. The princesses did all this because they were protective of their group, because they love Himemiya. So she forgives them.

(Though I think just chalking all this behavior up to two girls being spoiled is letting Himemiya off a little easy. She was obviously entertained all along and will continue this arc acting in ways that benefit her own amusement more than any moral stance.)

And it’s only now, when the princesses can see past her average looks and unimpressive smarts to see what makes Mikan so amazing and special: her big heart. Now she is Mikan no Kimi! Yes, she’s only given a flower name after she stops caring about it. For a while now, she's been more interested in eating kinton with Natsume than getting a flower name.

But Shizune points out that even though Mikan surely didn’t cheat to get invited, it is suspicious that she was selected. Becoming Natsume’s partner, somehow, and now this--she must be special somehow. Mikan has been asked this and has wondered it itself since she first enrolled. She’s singled out and can’t tell Shizune why because not even she knows. Nobody tells her anything. 

And then Youichi reminds them all that Natsume is still missing. It’s only now that they get any semblance of an explanation for all this. Himemiya may be a freak, but allowing Natsume to attend was Persona’s doing. 

Another arc with emphasis on saving Natsume, who prefers to save others.

Persona, for some reason, is allowed free reign in much of Himemiya’s territory, particularly here where her barrier alice is strongest. What is certain is that if Natsume was lured here, then nothing good is waiting for him. 

Chapter Fifty-Nine

The flower princesses who bullied Mikan last chapter are now strangely protective of her after she forgave them. They insist that the group shouldn’t go after Natsume, but Mikan insists that they have to. She has a bad feeling that he might get hurt, and we know already from the Reo Arc that Mikan trusts her gut 100%. She didn’t think at all about consequences when going back for him then and she’s not thinking about the consequences of looking for him now. This isn’t optional.

Natsume has been acting strange all day. He wanted to come here, to look for something, and that’s strange because Natsume doesn’t ever want to do things. The fact that they’re being warned against going after him only makes her more concerned. Natsume’s already down there, probably in danger, so they have to go after him to make sure he’s safe. Luckily, her friends are all on her side. Hotaru, Ruka, and Youichi all take off with her, rushing to the basement. 

I know my analysis here is short but I actually really enjoy this chapter. It's just... not a lot of content for me to analyze.

They’re trapped in the bowels of darkness for a while, descending the stairs into the basement. They’re confronted by Hayate, on the DA class’s discipline squad. He is here to punish Natsume, but because some stragglers have joined, he’s been sent to take them out. The discipline squad is used to working against the effects of the strong barrier down here. The other kids aren’t. Thus, Hayate is at a significant advantage. He probably would win effortlessly, except that he catches sight of Hotaru and falls instantly in love with her.

Chapter Sixty

Hayate loses all interest in fighting them now that he’s seen Hotaru’s face. The others are incredibly confused by his complete 180 in behavior. They decide to just walk away if he’s not attacking anymore. He continues to pursue them, trying to hit on Hotaru, until they run into another discipline squad member, Rui. Rui came here, looking for a “cute guy.” He’s the one to recognize aged-up Youichi.

A fight ensues. Rui’s alice is incredibly dangerous and Youichi’s is the only match for it. 

Mikan wants to run, but Youichi tells her not to look.

And that’s not just him talking.

Mikan cares for Youichi, obviously, but it's interesting that so much of that care is related to her care for Natsume.

Mikan remembers all that she’s learned about the DA class from Reo, who described an organization that trains the children to be spies. There’s a darkness in this school and it manifests most powerfully in the DA class. Natsume looks out for Youichi, partly because nobody else does. After all, nobody looks out for him either. 

Mikan has already seen little glimpses of what Natsume’s regular life is like within the DA class during the Z Arc, when she watched him fight, be strategic, think like a soldier instead of a kid. Youichi is only three, though, and he seems just as used to fighting. And he’s telling her not to look. 

Because all the DA class kids are different from the rest of the school. They live a horrible, dark life, isolated from others because others won’t understand their experiences, because other kids bully them. Even a toddler like Youichi thinks in a way no child should, especially at three, that he needs to protect Mikan even if he gets hurt.

(Because Natsume told him to protect the others. That’s just how DA kids are.)

But Mikan doesn’t like that. Youichi almost gets hit by a surprise attack before Mikan tackles him, protecting him with her alice. Mikan doesn’t want to just sit back and be protected. She wants to do the protecting too, especially since her alice works best protecting others. The problem is that her alice is harder to use with this barrier, so she gets a little cut from Hayate’s alice. Rui recognizes her then as Natsume’s partner and taunts her that coming here was pointless because Natsume will be trapped in the dungeon forever.

Both Mikan and Ruka are horrified to hear that. Mikan remembers the ESP’s ominous warning on Christmas, that she should be careful not to lose anything important to her. It seems that the superstition might have some truth to it, because if Natsume gets locked up forever, then she’ll certainly be losing something important. 

She demands to know why Natsume would be locked up, but Rui doesn’t seem to have all the details. He mentions Natsume falling for stupid bait and coming to find his sister.

Wake up, babe! New Natsume lore dropped! (We already knew that, though.)

Ruka is obviously affected by this news, but he knows about Natsume already so that makes sense.

Mikan is surprised by this. She’d been so irritated with him but all of this had been his desperate effort to find his sister. Of course, he never told her that because he never tells her anything, so it makes sense that she’d be irritated with him. In any case, she’s entirely concerned now. Natsume is being punished, being called a criminal. He was lured here with rumors about his sister, who shouldn’t be locked up anyway. 

The point is that Natsume is here for a noble cause and he’s going to be punished, which is simply unfair. Mikan cares about him and doesn’t want to lose him because he matters to her. She was able to use an impressive amount of alice to keep Natsume at school with her, up to bat against the stealing alice threatening to take him away from her. She won’t let Persona take him either.

But Rui ramps up to punish them and move on, but he’s interrupted by Tsubasa arriving just in time.

Sixty-One

The group fills Tsubasa in on the situation. The priority is to save Natsume before he can get locked up. Turns out Rui is infatuated with Tsubasa. It’s interesting how these fights are complicated by the question of attraction. Hayate for Hotaru, Rui for Tsubasa. The DA kids are so weird. I don’t have a point about that. It’s just an interesting trend.

Something something the Reo Arc focused on Mikan showing Natsume that he has something to live for and this arc shows him how many people are willing to fight for him. Whatever.

Turns out Tsubasa’s curse mark was created as a punishment by Rui, who can inflict pain on him whenever he wants. Where Hayate’s crush on Hotaru made him pretty harmless, Rui is the opposite. He is sadistic in some ways, and won't hold back just because he likes Tsubasa. But Hotaru has had enough dilly-dallying. They need to save Natsume, not waste time on these idiots. 

(And it’s so interesting that she looks at Ruka and assures him to his face that they will save Natsume. I'll save that for another essay, I suppose.)

Ruka surprises them all by summoning rats to attack Hayate and Rui. Mikan is shocked, and so is the reader (ideally) because Ruka has never used his alice violently before. It turns out his alice has some substantial potential to cause epic damage, but that’s not the kind of person Ruka is. He loves animals. Whereas Yuri hates her own alice, and Narumi and Reo view their pheromones as weapons or tools for manipulation, Ruka’s alice has always been an accessory to his love for animals. He uses his alice to aid communication, to tame animals through love and gentleness. He hates the idea of hurting animals, or manipulating them, so he would never use his alice like this normally.

But he loves Natsume too, and that’s how desperate he is to save his best friend: he’d even risk hurting these rats for him.

That’s as good a warning as any that this situation is serious and dangerous, on par with the Z Arc. Hayate and Rui might be funny characters, but this is not a comedic arc. 

Ruka says that Natsume had started to lose hope in life before meeting Mikan (and the others, but… we know the truth), but that he’s different now. He loudly defends Natsume, insisting that he won’t allow Natsume to be called a criminal anymore, and he certainly won’t allow him to be locked up. Ruka announces that he’ll stay with Tsubasa and Yoichi while Mikan and Hotaru go ahead to save Natsume. 

Saving Natsume without Ruka? That's not even possible! (Which is why Ruka would NEVER have left Natsume's side before his death, not for all the burns in the world, not for any of Natsume's pleading or Tsubasa trying to grab him, nothing. I will always be bitter.)

Mikan can’t hear his tragic internal monologue about this decision, but she doesn’t have to. Ruka not being there to save Natsume is ridiculous. Ruka has to save Natsume, because nobody loves him the way Ruka does. And of course she thinks this way, because Natsume’s biggest defender from the start was Ruka. Her very first day at the academy, she’d heard nothing but bad rumors about Natsume, but Ruka was the only person to shut those rumors down. He’s always by Natsume’s side, always standing up for him, always insisting that there’s more to Natsume than there might appear. Ruka has been saving Natsume time and time again, doing his best to protect his reputation and stand up for him, staying by his side, all in little ways. They might be small actions, but Mikan noticed. 

Mikan wouldn’t feel what she feels now about Natsume if it wasn’t for Ruka.

So how could Ruka not be the one to save Natsume?

(Note: these paragraphs are really hard for me to write because I'm crying and the tears are fogging up my glasses. Natsume and Ruka’s friendship simply hits different for me.)

Tsubasa and Youichi join in, pushing Ruka away. They’ll take the fight from here. Ruka and the girls should chase after Natsume and save him. They head off together, and Mikan remembers what Narumi had told her in Chapter Ten, that she should make lots of friends at the academy because they will become precious treasures to her.

She’s always believed in him, but that feels more true now than ever. Her friends are precious to her, so she won’t let Natsume be locked up. And it’s true for them too--Ruka has a precious friend he would do anything for.

As they walk, Ruka tells Hotaru and Mikan that he should finally tell them the truth about Natsume. 

About damn time that Mikan finally gets some answers. Not that she isn't already in love with him, but she's waited long enough!

Dear God, we’ve been waiting for this one for a long fucking time. More than sixty chapters to finally “discover” Natsume. Mikan has been looking so closely at him for so long to figure him out. She ended up seeing a lot that she liked, to the point where she’s gained a pretty sizable crush on him (even if she is unaware of it), but he remains a mystery. So much of what he does is inexplicable and bizarre.

Natsume would never tell Mikan this story. He never talks about himself like this. It only makes sense that Ruka would be the one to share, because he’s always the one to share. Natsume wants to protect people from his dark life, but Ruka wants to protect him, and the best way to do that now is by telling the girls everything, the entire story of how they came to the academy.

Conclusion

Natsume is Mikan's sunshine and she's willing to fight for him, no matter what! Today has already taught her so much, and yet the day hasn't even come close to ending! Tomorrow I'll post again! I'm not sure how many more parts this arc will have. Maybe two? We'll see. The analysis coming up is long and detailed! I'll be discussing lots of things!

I'm officially back! I got a new job (for real this time) which is Monday to Friday from 8 am to 4 pm for the next four months. So I won't be posting on weekdays from now on (maybe on Fridays depending on how tired I am). I'll try to write in the meantime because I have a lot of analysis to do to maintain a good gap! I wanna be ahead of y'all.

<- Prev Next ->

#gakuen alice #alice academy #ga #sakura mikan #mikan sakura #natsume hyuuga #hyuuga natsume #my meta #ga meta #ga meta: nm #ga meta: manga #ga meta: manga nm #let's talk about natsumikan #let's talk about natsumikan: mikan #nm: m song of the day can be... #sports by beach bunny #though i'd argue mikan's feelings are significantly more positive at this current moment than suggested by the song. #i get that. ive just been waiting to use this song for a while! #im scared for myself #i have a LOT of widow!mikan songs... probably the vast majority of the songs on her nm playlist. #or at least theres more songs for that particular period than any other era. and that sucks cuz theres a lot of other eras! #and i need songs for each post! im so nervous that ill run out of songs and have to start pulling out the widow!mikan tunes.... rip me #i always feel guilty for cutting out other characters in the title images. its a ship essay im so sorry

[aestheticvoyage2021]

Day 232: Friday August 20, 2021 - “Not one mile further than needed”

Took our sweet time this morning getting up and out of St Louis for the final leg.  And that lazy pace was such a good thing - gave us time awake and out of the car, time to see an old friend, time for a little day drinkin even!

Started after packing out of our shit motel west of town, we met Professor Jellen outside his class so that he could meet William and hear our enthusiasm first hand for the drive and for parenting.  He gave William a good pep talk and advice that amounted to him just “being kind, if nothing else -be kind.”  Great advice old friend.  We will have to see him and spend more time with him on our way back through.  Here is to hoping that happens - every time we drive away from this guy we wish there was more time.

Then the big ticket item Id been looking forward to since hatching this map a week ago - Friday brunch at Hammerstones!  Everything worked out to bring us here, right on time and so we hitched a spot at the back of the patio, with the dogs and baby, ordered up some adult beverages, and some real good food, and filled the tanks within the friendly confines of my old and still favorite, home bar.  Maybe more important than introducing my little lion to the arch or where the redbirds play, was bringing him here and to the iconic facade out front.  We posed together for a selfie and I told him how this place and this city means a lot to me...probably in some way that he’ll love some random place out there someday when hes grown.  Enjoyed those champion flavored wings and AC got herself a steak, and the dogs enjoyed the fresh air and some french fries.   The owner came out and talked to us and made me feel like the old alumni with chest full of pride.  “Its good to have places to feel nostalgia for” - indeed, sad to think some people never get that.

We crossed the old Eads Bridge into Illinois, William’s sixth new state of this trip, and then pulled into the park on the other side of the Arch to get that view together looking back West.  That Arch certainly was my gateway to the west.  This city and that view means a whole lot to me; so much so that I almost could get chills in that steaming humidity with a puppy yanking my arm...life sure does look different every time Ive come through that portal but I am pretty certain that this is my best life - my best version here, as we turned and walked away from it, all together now.  And then we packed it and hit the road. Next Stop - Ludington!  Well - there’d be a couple long breast feeding timeouts in there, in Lexington IL and at the Michigan border.  But with our fun had for the day, it was now a Prius on a mission from there.  Hiyo Silver!   Through Chicago traffic, and missing sunset, and finally to the lighthouse in New Buffalo.   North and North and North now - under that blue Pure Michigan sign, we turned north.  

And around about 1230am we finally pulled into my parents driveway.  Mission accomplished.  Without urgent issues or regrets, we had driven the 2,138 miles out of the desert and to the beach.  I loved every mile of it - AC was great, the dogs were the best, and William proved to be a pro.  For as much as we stressed about being able to pull it off, it proved to be as easy as can be.  As I turned the car off, I imagined the sound of me leveling up on my rambler status, like I should get a special upgrade or badge for Silver The Prius.   Thats always a great feeling - to finally make it to the end.  BUT the real memorable finish was that the gas range sat at 0.0 when we pulled in to home.   I took that as a nod from the Universe for gifting me a great smooth ramble.  A nod to that idea that the road does always provide.  Not one mile more than I needed to bring this circus on home.

Miles today: 511 miles 4 states (MO, IL, IN, MI)

Total: 2,138 miles, 9 States (AZ, NM, TX, OK, AR, MO, IL, IN, MI), 4 time zones. 2 dogs, 1 baby, 1 Prius.

Song: The Black Keys - Everlasting Light

Quote: All of those things - rock and men and river - resisted change, resisted the coming as they did the going… The nature of things is resistance to change, while the nature of process is resistance to stasis, yet things and process are one, and the line from inorganic to organic and back is uninterrupted and unbroken. William Least Heat Moon

[thornyrose463]

The Transfers (Riverdale one-shot)

This is a Riverdale (CW TV show) one-shot. The gifs are not mine. I found them here on tumblr. All credit goes to the rightful owners.

I would like to thank @amazingphanisnotonfire-imagines​ for making an Instagram profile for my original character Hannah Pearson.

Summary: Hannah Pearson is a member of the Southside Serpents and Sweet Pea's girlfriend. After Southside High shuts down, she transfers to Riverdale High with the other Serpents.

Rating: T

Warning: Swearing and mild sexual content

Cast

Cole Sprouse as Jughead Jones

Vanessa Morgan as Toni Topaz

Jordan Connor as Sweet Pea

Willa Holland as Hannah Pearson

Drew Ray Tanner as Fangs Fogarty

Camila Mendes as Veronica Lodge

KJ Apa as Archie Andrews

Madelaine Petsch as Cheryl Blossom

Charles Melton as Reggie Mantle

Lili Reinhart as Betty Cooper

Skeet Ulrich as FP Jones

Danielle Campbell as Emma Walker

Author's note

This one-shot is set in an alternate universe where Jughead didn't break up with Betty after she did the Serpent dance, Jughead and Toni never kissed, the Black Hood got Betty to choose his victims but didn't make her end her relationship with Jughead and her friendship with Veronica, Archie and Veronica didn't break up and Veronica didn't start dating Reggie, Alice, Polly, Cheryl, Kevin, Toni, Fangs, and Principal Weatherbee never joined the Farm, the Farm never kidnapped Betty, Toni, Cheryl, and Fangs were never kicked out of the Serpents, the Pretty Poisons don't exist, Toni and Cheryl didn't break up, Jughead and the rest of the Serpents didn't start playing Gryphons and Gargoyles, FP and Alice never dated or had an affair, the Stonewall Prep storyline never happened, and Principal Honey was never hired.

On the Heathers casting sheet, which you can find on Riverdale showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's Twitter page, Sweet Pea wrote the initials NM, and Fangs wrote the initials FF. Based on that, we can assume Sweet Pea's first name starts with the letter N and his last name starts with the letter M and Fangs' first name and last name start with the letter F. I chose the name Nathan Montgomery for Sweet Pea and the name Francis Fogarty for Fangs.

Jughead Jones led Toni Topaz, Sweet Pea, Hannah Pearson, Fangs Fogarty, and the rest of the Southside Serpents through the doors of Riverdale High School. Sweet Pea gripped Hannah's hand tightly as they walked down the hallway. Toni and Fangs walked beside Sweet Pea and Hannah, glaring at anyone who looked at them the wrong way.

The Serpents stopped walking when they saw the table that Veronica Lodge, her boyfriend, Archie Andrews, and Kevin Keller were standing behind.

Veronica smiled. "Friends! On behalf of the students and faculty here at Riverdale High, welcome to your new school! To ease this transition, I've set up a registration desk, where you can get your locker assignments, class schedules, and a list of sports and extracurriculars. We encourage each and every one of you to drink deeply from the cup that is fair Riverdale."

"Stand down, Eva Perón!" Cheryl Blossom yelled, walking down the stairs, followed by Reggie Mantle and a group of girls in blue and gold cheerleading uniforms.

Veronica sighed and looked at Jughead before facing Cheryl.

"There's the school spirit I so fondly remember," Jughead said sarcastically.

"Cheryl." Veronica acknowledged, glaring at the redheaded girl. "No one invited Fascist Barbie to the party."

"Wrong, Veronica. No one invited Southside scum to our school." Cheryl said, crossing her arms over her chest.

The Serpents tensed.

"Listen up, ragamuffins!" Cheryl yelled.

"Ragamuffins? What kind of insult is that?" Hannah asked.

Hannah was tall and slender. Her long brown hair was parted in the middle and styled in loose curls. She was wearing an unzipped black leather jacket with the Southside Serpents symbol on the back, an unbuttoned long-sleeved green and white plaid flannel shirt over a white tank top, dark blue denim jeans, and black combat boots with black laces. She had on a light amount of black eyeliner, a light amount of black mascara, and soft brown eyeshadow. Her lip balm was a pretty peach colour. She had a double-headed snake tattoo on her left arm, but it couldn't be seen underneath her jacket. She didn't have any other tattoos besides her Serpent tattoo. She didn't have any scars or birthmarks. She didn't have any piercings.

Hannah was 16 years old. She joined the Serpents when she was 15. She did her Serpent dance to Warrant's song Cherry Pie. She lost her virginity to a guy her age one night at a party shortly after she joined the Serpents. They weren't romantically involved. It was just a hookup, nothing more. At some point, she and Sweet Pea realized they were attracted to one another and started dating.

Cheryl looked at Hannah with raised eyebrows and then started speaking again. "I will not allow Riverdale High's above average GPA to suffer because of classrooms that are overcrowded with underachievers, so please do us all a favour and find some other school to debase with your hard-scrabble ways." She looked the Serpents up and down with a fake smile on her cherry red lips and held her hands together in front of her.

"Why don't you come over here and say that to my face?" Toni asked angrily, moving towards Cheryl. Jughead, Sweet Pea, Hannah, and Fangs followed her, ready to fight.

Cheryl got in Toni's face. "Happily, Queen of the Buskers."

"She is just asking to get her ass kicked," Hannah muttered to Sweet Pea. She was about to lunge at Cheryl, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Okay, guys, can we just put our differences aside and start over?" Archie stood in between Toni and Cheryl. Hannah's gaze went from being focused on Cheryl to being focused on him. "A clean slate?" He looked between Cheryl and the Serpents.

"You don't speak for the Bulldogs, Andrews, and need I remind you that these greaser snakes showed up at your place trying to kick your ass," Reggie said, giving Archie a pointed look.

"Happy to finish what we started." Sweet Pea threatened, shoving past Toni and moving towards Reggie. He stopped in his tracks when he felt Fangs and Jughead's arms hold him back.

Veronica stood in between Reggie and Sweet Pea, putting a hand on Sweet Pea's left arm. "I'm so over the toxic masculinity in this hallway right now," she said loudly, her voice full of annoyance.

"All right, that's enough pomp and circumstance! Everyone, get to class now!" Principal Weatherbee yelled.

Reggie backed off.

Veronica took her hand off of Sweet Pea's arm. He began to walk towards the staircase. Jughead shoved him, causing him to pick up the pace. He could make out the rustling of papers as he and the rest of the Serpents walked down the hallway.

"Stupid Northsiders," Sweet Pea grumbled.

"It's okay, babe. Everything will get better." Hannah said, rubbing Sweet Pea's arm and getting him to calm down. "And if it doesn't, we'll just kick their asses," she added. He laughed.

Hannah walked into the math classroom. Math was her last class of the day. Once the clock struck 3, she would be able to get on her motorcycle and go back to her trailer.

None of the other Serpents had math at this time of day besides Jughead, who was sitting next to a girl with fair skin, blue eyes, and long straight blonde hair tied up in a high ponytail wearing a white t-shirt, an unbuttoned pink cardigan, dark blue denim jeans, and beige ankle-length boots.

The girl was named Elizabeth Cooper. She was Jughead's girlfriend. Hannah met her at FP's retirement party. She was as sweet as apple pie and was one of the few Northsiders Hannah could stand to be around.

Hannah sat on the other side of Jughead and smiled at Betty. "Hey, Betty."

Betty smiled back. "Hey, Hannah."

The teacher wrote an equation on the whiteboard and explained it to the class.

Hannah listened intently while writing in her notebook. Despite what people like Cheryl and Reggie may think, she was actually pretty smart and cared about getting an education.

The clock struck 3, and Hannah left the classroom and walked out to the parking lot. She got on her motorcycle and drove to her trailer.

Betty laid in her bed, cell phone in hand, browsing Instagram. The name Hannah Pearson showed up in the list of suggested followers. She tapped on Hannah's profile picture and checked out her profile. Hannah had 99 posts and 85 followers and was following 100 people. At the top of the page, there were pictures of Hannah, a picture of Hannah's black Honda CB550 motorcycle, and a picture of the outside of the Whyte Wyrm.

Betty scrolled down the page and saw a close-up of the Serpent tattoo on Hannah's left arm, pictures of Hannah and Sweet Pea, and pictures of Hannah, Toni, and Fangs. She couldn't help but smile at how cute Hannah and Sweet Pea were together and how close Hannah and her friends were.

Betty hit the follow button. A few minutes later, she got a notification saying that Hannah had followed her.

A few weeks had passed since the Serpents transferred to Riverdale High. The Bulldogs and the Serpents had been in their fair share of fights, and Principal Weatherbee had banned the Serpents from wearing their leather jackets and showing their tattoos. Sweet Pea had to wear a turtleneck in order to cover his tattoo, much to the amusement of the rest of the Serpents.

Hannah was talking to Fangs in the student lounge. She stifled a laugh as Sweet Pea walked in. "You look great, babe."

Fangs turned around and burst into laughter.

Sweet Pea was wearing a white turtleneck underneath an unbuttoned blue and white plaid flannel shirt with long sleeves, dark blue denim jeans, and black combat boots with black laces.

"Shut the fuck up," Sweet Pea grumbled, making his way over to Hannah.

Hannah tried to conceal her smile. "It suits you."

Hannah was wearing a grey tank top underneath an unbuttoned red and grey plaid flannel shirt with long sleeves, dark blue denim jeans, and black ankle-length leather boots with silver studs on the buckles. Her long brown hair was styled in loose curls. She had on a light amount of black eyeliner, a light amount of black mascara, and soft brown eyeshadow. Her lip balm was a pretty peach colour.

Fangs smiled. "Yeah. It...Um…It brings out the colour of your eyes."

Sweet Pea shoved Fangs.

"It's really not that bad. I've seen Fangs wear much worse." Hannah said.

"Hey!" Fangs exclaimed, offended.

Hannah kissed Sweet Pea. "You would look good in anything, I promise."

"Thanks, but that doesn't make me feel any better." Sweet Pea said.

"Are you guys busy tonight?" Fangs asked.

Sweet Pea shook his head. "No."

"Do you want to go see Love, Simon at the Bijou with me?" Fangs asked.

"I was going to invite Toni, but she's too busy trying to get with Cheryl Bombshell." Fangs rolled his eyes.

"Sounds like fun. We'll be there." Hannah told Fangs.

That night, Sweet Pea, Hannah, and Fangs arrived at the Bijou in Sweet Pea's truck. Sweet Pea held Hannah's hand as they walked in and found their seats.

Fangs nudged Sweet Pea and Hannah. "Guys, look."

Sweet Pea and Hannah turned around.

Toni was sitting next to Cheryl. She made a flirtatious comment, causing Cheryl to blush.

Hannah smiled. "Aww, how cute!"

Cheryl and Toni became a couple a few weeks after their date.

Principal Weatherbee lifted the ban on Serpent jackets and Serpent tattoos, and the Serpents started wearing their jackets to school again.

Betty and Jughead lost their virginity.

Hannah stood beside Sweet Pea, laughing at something stupid he had said. Fangs was on the other side of him. Jughead was in front of them. She looked around the park and saw Cheryl standing next to Toni and laughing. She smiled.

Jughead's father, FP Jones, whistled, getting the attention of the Serpents.

"Listen up, now! All right, listen up!" FP yelled.

"Some 60 years ago, the very first Serpent meeting took place on these same riverbanks. Now, it makes sense that this is where we gather now, where I…Where I say my goodbye. Jughead, would you step up here, son?" FP asked.

The crowd started muttering.

"What the fuck is going on?" Hannah whispered to Sweet Pea.

Hannah was wearing her black leather jacket with the Southside Serpents symbol on the back, an unbuttoned long-sleeved blue and black plaid flannel shirt over a black tank top, dark blue denim jeans, and black ankle-length leather boots with silver studs on the buckles. She had on a light amount of black eyeliner, a light amount of black mascara, and soft brown eyeshadow. Her lip balm was a pretty peach colour. Her hair was straight.

"I have no idea. To be honest, I thought we came here to get drunk and celebrate how far we've come." Sweet Pea said.

Hannah laughed.

Jughead walked towards FP.

"What are you doing?" Jughead mumbled.

"What I should have done a long time ago," FP muttered.

"I'm retiring from the Serpents." FP announced. The muttering got louder. "For real this time."

FP put his arm around Jughead's shoulder. "Now, my boy has never stopped fighting for this crew. Hell, he almost died for it." He turned to face his son. "That's why I'm giving you the mantle."

The crowd cheered. Sweet Pea hit Fangs, making him wince.

"And now, as your first official duty as Serpent King…" FP nodded to Toni, who made her way towards FP and Jughead and handed FP a red leather jacket with the Southside Serpents symbol on the back.

"I think you know what to do with this." FP handed the jacket to his son. Jughead smiled.

"All right, all right," Jughead muttered. "All I can say is…I love you, Dad. And the Serpents will not die out. Not on my watch."

The crowd cheered.

Cheryl walked towards Jughead, and they smiled at each other as he gave her the red leather jacket.

"Welcome to the Serpents, Cheryl." Hannah said.

Cheryl smiled at Hannah before making her way over to Toni and kissing her.

"One more thing." Jughead pulled out his cell phone. "We have a new Serpent Queen." He called Betty.

Fangs started dating a girl named Emma Walker.

Emma was a Northsider. She was on the cheerleading squad with Betty, Veronica, Cheryl, and Toni. There were no other Serpents on the cheerleading squad besides Toni.

Jughead finished writing Anatomy of a Murder, his book on Jason Blossom's death and the effect it had on the people of Riverdale. It made it to the top of the New York Times Best Seller list.

After their lunch date at Pop's, Sweet Pea and Hannah went back to his trailer.

Hannah walked into Sweet Pea's bedroom. Sweet Pea followed her. He shut the door.

Hannah took off her black combat boots, dark blue denim jeans, black t-shirt, and Serpent jacket, leaving her in just her black lingerie.

Sweet Pea left a trail of kisses on the side of Hannah's neck, rubbing his hands up and down her legs. Hannah groaned in pleasure, taking off Sweet Pea's clothes, leaving him in just his boxers.

Hannah straddled Sweet Pea's body as they laid on top of the bed. She kissed down his body, creeping closer to his boxers. Sweet Pea flipped them over so that he was on top. The two kissed each other all over as they made love.

Sweet Pea and Hannah collapsed on the bed next to each other.

"You up for round 2?" Sweet Pea asked.

Hannah rolled on top of Sweet Pea. "Definitely."

At the beginning of junior year, Hal and Alice got divorced, Emma and Fangs lost their virginity, Hiram and Hermione got divorced, FP became the sheriff of Riverdale, Veronica opened a speakeasy in the basement of Pop's, Cheryl lost her virginity to Toni, Hal and Hiram were sentenced to life in prison, Alice and FP's son, Charles Smith, shut down the Farm, Hermione got people to stop playing Gryphons and Gargoyles, burned every single copy of the player's handbook, and arrested the Gargoyle Gang, Gladys and Jellybean moved back to Toledo, Fangs' mother succumbed to her illness, Toni's grandfather died of old age, and Pop Tate died of old age.

After the fall of the Gargoyle Gang, a new gang arrived in Riverdale. They were called the Scorpions. Each member wore a black leather jacket with a big red scorpion on the back. They dealt drugs and street raced for sport, just like the Ghoulies had.

The Serpents and the Scorpions were enemies.

At the beginning of senior year, Fred died in a hit-and-run accident after stopping alongside the road to help a stranded motorist.

Friday, June 21, 2019

It was the night of the senior prom.

The dance was being held at the Five Seasons.

Veronica, Betty, Cheryl, Hannah, and Emma had gotten ready for the dance at Betty's house.

The limo Veronica had rented pulled into Betty's driveway.

Archie, Jughead, Toni, Sweet Pea, and Fangs stepped out of the limo and stood in the driveway, waiting for Veronica, Betty, Cheryl, Hannah, and Emma to step out of the house.

Archie was wearing a black suit, a white dress shirt, a black necktie, and black dress shoes with black laces.

Jughead was wearing a black suit, a white dress shirt, a black necktie, and black dress shoes with black laces. His beanie rested on top of his head.

Toni was wearing black high-heeled sandals and a strapless black dress with a floor-length skirt. The sweetheart neckline showed a hint of cleavage. Her long brown hair with pink highlights was styled in loose curls. The curls were pushed out of her face but still left to fall down her back. She had on a light amount of black eyeliner, a light amount of black mascara, and soft brown eyeshadow. Her lip balm was a light shade of berry pink.

Sweet Pea was wearing a black suit, a white dress shirt, a black necktie, and black dress shoes with black laces. The first two buttons of his shirt were undone. His Serpent tattoo was on full display.

Fangs was wearing a black suit, a white dress shirt, a black necktie, and black dress shoes with black laces.

Archie's jaw dropped when he saw Veronica walking towards him. "Wow. You look stunning."

Veronica was wearing navy blue high-heeled sandals and a navy blue floor-length dress. It was strapless and had a sweetheart neckline. The neckline showed a hint of cleavage. The top was folded pieces of soft fabric, and the bottom billowed when she walked, giving her the appearance that she was flying. A small silver chain with a tiny diamond hung low on her chest. Her shoulder-length wavy black hair was in an elegant updo, leaving her neck bare. Her brown eyes were framed by long dark lashes, her lips were plum and shiny, and her cheeks were rosy.

Veronica smiled and gave Archie a peck on the lips. "Thank you, Archie."

Archie walked towards the limo. Veronica walked beside him. He held the door open and took her by the hand, helping her get in the backseat.

Jughead's jaw dropped when he saw Betty walking towards him. "Wow. You look incredible."

Betty was wearing pale pink high-heeled sandals and a pale pink dress with a floor-length skirt and a sweetheart neckline that turned into off-the-shoulder sleeves. The neckline showed a hint of cleavage. A small silver chain with a tiny diamond hung low on her chest. Her long blonde hair was styled in barrel curls. The curls were pushed out of her face but still left to fall down her back. She had on a light amount of black eyeliner, a light amount of black mascara, soft pink eyeshadow, and nude lip gloss.

Betty smiled and gave Jughead a peck on the lips. "Thank you, Jughead."

Jughead walked towards the limo. Betty walked beside him. He held the door open and took her by the hand, helping her get in the backseat.

Toni's jaw dropped when she saw Cheryl walking towards her. "Wow. You look beautiful."

Cheryl was wearing red high-heeled sandals and a red dress with spaghetti straps, a v-neck, and a floor-length skirt with a slit in the right side that reached the middle of the thigh and revealed her right leg. The neckline showed a hint of cleavage. A small silver chain with a tiny diamond hung low on her chest. Her long red hair was styled in barrel curls. The curls were pushed out of her face but still left to fall down her back. She had on a light amount of black eyeliner, a light amount of black mascara, and soft pink eyeshadow. Her lips were cherry red.

Cheryl smiled and gave Toni a peck on the lips. "Thank you, Toni."

Toni and Cheryl walked towards the limo. Toni held the door open and took Cheryl by the hand, helping her get in the backseat.

When Sweet Pea saw Hannah walking towards him, his jaw dropped. "Wow. You look amazing."

Hannah was wearing green high-heeled sandals and a green dress with a v-neck, two spaghetti straps criss-crossing over the open back, and a floor-length skirt. The neckline showed a hint of cleavage. The sides of the dress were cut out, exposing a teasing fraction of skin. Her Serpent tattoo was on full display. Her long brown hair was styled in loose curls. The curls were pushed out of her face but still left to fall down her back. She had on a light amount of black eyeliner, a light amount of black mascara, and soft brown eyeshadow. Her lip balm was a pretty peach colour.

Hannah smiled and gave Sweet Pea a peck on the lips. "Thank you, Sweet Pea."

Sweet Pea walked towards the limo. Hannah walked beside him. He held the door open and took her by the hand, helping her get in the backseat.

When Fangs saw Emma walking towards him, his jaw dropped. "Wow. You look gorgeous."

Emma was tall and slender with fair skin and blue eyes. She was wearing lavender high-heeled sandals and a strapless lavender dress with a sweetheart neckline, an open back, and a floor-length skirt that flared at the hips with a small train. The neckline showed a hint of cleavage. Her long brown hair was styled in barrel curls. The curls were pushed out of her face but still left to fall down her back. She had on a light amount of black eyeliner, a light amount of black mascara, and soft pink eyeshadow. Her lip balm was a pretty coral pink colour.

Emma smiled and gave Fangs a peck on the lips. "Thank you, Fangs."

Fangs walked towards the limo. Emma walked beside him. He held the door open and took her by the hand, helping her get in the backseat.

The limo drove down the road.

Riverdale High School

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

2:00 p.m.

It was graduation day.

The ceremony was being held in the auditorium. The graduates were sitting in the first row. They were clad in blue graduation gowns and blue graduation caps with gold tassels. The guests were sitting a little farther back.

Betty was the valedictorian. She walked up to the podium and gave a speech.

"Have you ever read a good book or a good story, and when you're on the final chapter and the final page, you feel a sadness you can't explain?"

"Sometimes, if you're lucky, the story or book will have an epilogue or a sequel. I stand here before you, my fellow graduates, to tell you that although this chapter in our lives has ended, the story is far from over."

"We are all still so young. We have time to fall in and out of love and to make mistakes. We still have the opportunity to fail and succeed and to change our minds like we change our clothes. There are tears of sadness running down some of your faces. Why? This isn't the end. This is the beginning of something amazing."

"For some of you, maybe it's college. Maybe it's your dream job. Maybe it's getting married and starting a family. Or maybe it's finally accepting who you are and not being afraid of who you could turn out to be."

"Just promise me one thing. Don't forget what these past few years have brought to your life. Don't forget about the people that taught you all about friendship, bravery, and courage. Don't forget about the smiles and frowns, the laughter and tears, and the breakups and makeups. Don't run from your mistakes. Learn from them and embrace them. I wish you all the happiness in the world. I can't think of a group of people that deserve it more."

Thunderous applause followed Betty's speech.

Betty returned to her seat.

Principal Weatherbee announced that diplomas were going to be handed out. He started calling names.

"Archibald Andrews."

Archie made his way towards the stage. He shook hands with Principal Weatherbee and the superintendent of the school board before taking his diploma back to his seat.

A few more names were called.

"Cheryl Blossom."

Cheryl made her way towards the stage. She shook hands with Principal Weatherbee and the superintendent of the school board before taking her diploma back to her seat.

A few more names were called.

"Elizabeth Cooper."

Betty made her way towards the stage. She shook hands with Principal Weatherbee and the superintendent of the school board before taking her diploma back to her seat.

A few more names were called.

"Francis Fogarty."

Fangs made his way towards the stage. He shook hands with Principal Weatherbee and the superintendent of the school board before taking his diploma back to his seat.

A few more names were called.

"Forsythe Pendleton Jones III."

Jughead made his way towards the stage. He shook hands with Principal Weatherbee and the superintendent of the school board before taking his diploma back to his seat.

A few more names were called.

"Veronica Lodge."

Veronica made her way towards the stage. She shook hands with Principal Weatherbee and the superintendent of the school board before taking her diploma back to her seat.

A few more names were called.

"Nathan Montgomery."

Sweet Pea made his way towards the stage. He shook hands with Principal Weatherbee and the superintendent of the school board before taking his diploma back to his seat.

A few more names were called.

"Hannah Pearson."

Hannah made her way towards the stage. She shook hands with Principal Weatherbee and the superintendent of the school board before taking her diploma back to her seat.

A few more names were called.

"Antoinette Topaz."

Toni made her way towards the stage. She shook hands with Principal Weatherbee and the superintendent of the school board before taking her diploma back to her seat.

A few more names were called.

"Emma Walker."

Emma was the last to graduate. She made her way towards the stage. She shook hands with Principal Weatherbee and the superintendent of the school board before taking her diploma back to her seat.

Principal Weatherbee addressed the crowd. "Everyone, please rise."

The crowd stood up.

Principal Weatherbee turned to the graduates and said, "Graduates, please move your tassels from right to left."

The graduates did as they were told.

"Congratulations to the Riverdale High School class of 2019!" Principal Weatherbee exclaimed.

The graduates threw their caps in the air.

THE END

#fanfiction

[sargenthouse]

Interview: Jaye Jayle on the web // Echoes and Dust

Interview: Jaye Jayle 

on the web: Facebook // Bandcamp

In a fantasy world it would be just making records and making songs in world of people who spend their night lives when the sun goes down, the kids go to sleep and they’re laying in their bed or sitting on their couch they don’t turn on the TV and scroll through netflix or look at their phone. They put on a record and take it in and breathe and feel something that you don’t feel in any other world besides that world.

Full interview by Michael Hayden via Echoes and Dust.

My first experience with Jaye Jayle was seeing them live opening for Oathbreaker. It seems like their blend of americana, kraut-rock grooves and Morricone-esque soundtracking would be an odd fit for a metal show, their presence and weightiness stole the show for me. I was so impressed by their performance that I became a bit obsessed with both their debut album House Cricks and Other Excuses to Get Out and their outstanding split release with Emma Ruth Rundle The Time Between Us. I didn’t know at the time (even though he looked familiar) that the main songwriter was Evan Patterson from the mighty Young Widows. As a fan of Young Widows this just intrigued m even more. How does a person go from the thunder and fury of Young Widows to the dark, moody and tension filled music of Jaye Jayle? When the opportunity to interview Evan about their upcoming album No Trail and Other Unholy Paths (available June 29th via Sargent House) I jumped at the chance to hear more about this intriguingly unique project.

We planned on talking after their set opening for Russian Circles at the Empty Bottle here in Chicago. Evan immediately strikes you as a warm and engaged person, he gives everyone who approaches him his undivided attention. It seemed like no matter where we went to begin the interview he was being approached by old friends, acquaintances or newly made fans and he always took the time to share some words with them. I was really impressed by his kindness towards strangers and his patience when confronted with some of Chicago’s more exuberant drunks. The conversation that followed was a real pleasure to have and I’m even more of a fan of the band now that I’ve spent some time hearing about it’s genesis and evolution.

(((o))): How did Jaye Jayle get born out of Young Widows?

Evan Patterson: The initial thought of the project or the idea of writing songs outside of Young Widows was just to not think about anything in capacity of it being performed. It was just kind of writing songs casually. I was actually in Santa Fe, NM visiting a past partner. She had a parlour guitar that was all fucked up, the bridge was already pulling away and the only thing I could do was kind of play on the last five frets to get it to stay in tune. I decided I was just going to write a song or what I felt was a song. It was always just a couple of minutes or a couple of parts. Not a deliberate idea of anything, just kind of a stream of consciousness thing.

(((o))): Previously did you write with a more compositional approach?

Evan: A little bit, once the band becomes involved in a project or any kind of composition or songwriting to me it makes to consider that they are there. There’s Jaye Jayle songs that I work that have no base of anyone playing with me and when we get together and play them they just come out how they are. One the band becomes involved it’s adding the saturation or the color to the song.

(((o))): That kind of my addresses my follow up question. I know that you’re the main songwriter but do you bring raw ideas to the band and let them play to their strengths or do you dictate who does what?

Evan: It’s a bit of a compositional dictatorship in the songwriting process until we get to the pinnacle moment of a song or a piece. I say here’s all the ideas I have and here’s the drum beat and this is where I hear the bass to be and this is where I hear the vocal melody and once it all becomes musical, that’s where the freedom sets in. Then we can say “this section of song is open” but it takes a long time to get to that place but those guys are

(((o))): You have some great players.

Evan: Todd (Cook) is my favorite bass player to ever live on the face of the planet and Neal (Argabright) can play keyboards better than anyone else. Todd and Neal don’t want to be soloists, they want to be part of the composition rather than just doing the same thing or wondering when they get to take the lead. There’s no leads. It’s more of a score.

(((o))): It’s interesting to me that a lot the press around you guys bring up the kraut-rock kind of influences and I hear it a bit but when I think about bands like say Can often times the song is just a really long guitar solo. I hear it in more of say Michael Rother’s (Neu!) solo stuff where all of the instruments are placed well, or contributing to the whole piece.

Evan: When I listen to Can I don’t really listen to the guitar work as much as I do the forward motion of the songs rather than it just being parts. When a Can song starts you kind of know it’s not going to leave. You always know when you hear the beginning of a Can song if that’s going to be the Can song you want to listen to or if you don’t want to listen and that’s usually in the rhythm section.

(((o))): So the new album is produced by Dean Hurley(David Lynch’s sound collaborator). I love Twin Peaks and the sound design has always been a big part of that, especially in the most recent season. How did working with him come about?

Evan: That sound design is all Dean. I actually had no idea about any of his collaborations with David Lynch until I heard Lynch’s album ‘The Big Dream’ and I’m such a fan of that record. Something about the way it incorporated modern music and that Twin Peaks sound, everything about that. I associated with so much of what’s going on with that record, maybe at times not melodically or vocally what was going on but the production of it completely surrounded me. So I saw that Dean Hurley worked on, produced and co-wrote the record so I just wrote him an email.

(((o))): Nice, that simple huh?

Evan: Yeah, he said “send me some songs” and then he said he loved the kind of strange blues-dirge thing we were doing.

(((o))): One thing I love about you guys is the music does kind of the same thing as Twin Peaks, it creates an environment that you kind of live within during the duration of the music. When I found out Dean Hurley produced it I thought that made perfect sense for what you do.

Evan: Yeah, me too.

(((o))): You recorded it at Earth Analog (Matt Talbot of Hum’s studio) right?

Evan: Yeah in Tolono, Il which is also kind of a Twin Peaks oddball kind of place. It’s an old industrial wasteland that’s a crossroads for trains. Where we were there were trains going by every ten minutes at such a high speed that they would shake the building.

(((o))): Did you have to stop working when the trains went by?

Evan: There’d be times where we’d work around it and there’d be times that we’d just play. There’s train horns all over the recording, mostly in a way that wouldn’t even know and you’d probably just think it’s a synthesizer.

(((o))): In the press release for the album it mentions that it’s designed to be completely non linear, where you can start it at any point. I think that’s an interesting departure from both people who think that the single is everything and the kind of people who write big concepts that are meant to be listened to in a very specific way.

Evan: It’s difficult to listen to a full album. The attention span of a modern human being is so small, I feel like we have the attention span of an ant. It’s just how it is when we have accessibility to everything and everything. With that each side of a record needs to live on it’s own because the is the attention span of human beings. I love records and I collect a ton of record and so many records that I have it’s difficult to get up and flip the side, you know? Being a collector and investing myself in artists from all times, anything that was created on vinyl really, there’s a thing about listening to one side of a record and having it feel complete. Rather than the ending of the first side leaving you hanging, I just wanted to feel like it doesn’t leave you hanging.

(((o))): Not a lot of people take people’s attention span into consideration, haha.

Evan: It’s just a fact.

(((o))): You’re active in a lot of projects, the most active being Jaye Jayle and Young Widows, do you sit down and with intention to write for either or do you just write and decide where it lives later?

Evan: Young Widows is very inactive right now, we’re rehearsing and doing Old Wounds but we didn’t play at all for about 14 months. But it kind of refers back to your first question with writing music and spontaneity of creativity. Jaye Jayle and the songs we write are just what I’m writing right now. Young Widows songs a lot of time were just from showing up and playing and seeing what happens. Composition always kind of came later after we’d been playing for a while. With Jaye Jayle pieces they’re just something I work on every single day for hours and hours, whether it’s playing one chord for three weeks trying to find the melody or dynamic or rhythm within that note or chord or whatever it might be. I absolutely love Jaye Jayle, it brings me more joy than anything I’ve ever done in my entire life. It’s the most euphoric and hypnotic and therapeutic music that I’ve ever created and I feel lucky to have the band because they’re all on the same page.

(((o))): With Jaye Jayle there’s a kind of tension where it feels like it’s about to explode but it never does whereas Young Widows feels like everything is exploding all the time.

Evan: Absolutely

(((o))): Is that conscious decision? Kind of intentionally moving away from that more explosive outlet and stripping it back?

Evan: It’s definitely unconscious and unintentional. It’s more exciting for me to be contained and in control. I was extremely nervous tonight in a way of being in control. It’s so much easier to go full on, just playing loud and having it turn into this chaotic thing. Staying in the environment we have created is exciting because it’s difficult. The instincts of being a musician is at times playing more and everyone having their times of stepping out of the composition. Honestly I feel what’s going on with this music is the tip of the iceberg of what’s going to happen and there’s going to be even more tension and control going forward.

(((o))): You played a lot of new material tonight and one thing that really struck me is the restraint your auxiliary player (Corey Smith) shows, he’ll just rest and wait. Finding musicians like that is pretty rare. That adds to overall feeling that at any moment one of these guys is just going to bust out into a solo or lead line but they never do, is that kind of a theme?

Evan: I don’t know if it’s a theme so much as it is an idea of composition rather than individuals. At times even the singing and the lyrical subject matter and the control of even singing, I don’t even want that to shine. I always think about film and film scores. I just rewatched Badlands and that film influenced me highly. Watching that again and every time the music comes in it doesn’t take you out of the film it kind of puts you more in it. It gives you a narrative and a voice and almost earthly place. I know everyone in the band understands that feeling, we’ve all been playing music for a long time and we’ve never been it in trying to live a world of dominant showing off. We just all want to create an environment.

(((o))): It works really well, even tonight where you played mostly new songs that I had never heard it didn’t really matter because the environment is consistent and holds your attention. Which brings me to the last question. Is it hard to switch from this controlled environment back to the Young Widows sound for you upcoming tour?

#Sargent House #Jaye Jayle #Echoes and Dust

[sarohara]

Stranger: m

You: You first

You: to say hey

Stranger: hey lol

You: ahhaha jk

You: Hey, how u doing?

You: im f btw

Stranger: cool im good just bored you?

You: Well, everyone's bored on omegle so..what's new right?

You: Im good as well

Stranger: haha true

You: May i ask ur name?

Stranger: Adam you?

You: Hey Adam, how's life?

You: ahahaha

You: Im Sarah

Stranger: nice to meet you :) its okay not great not awful

You: Oh it's a balance then

You: nice meeting u :)

Stranger: hahaha covid sucks but again what else is new right?

You: ahahahhaha yeeea right

You: Life sucks rn

You: But i hope it gets a lil bit better.

You: one day.

Stranger: same :( It has to haha

You: Hopefully :)

You: Wyd now?

Stranger: just school wbu?

Stranger: well not rn

Stranger: its 5 50 am here

Stranger: and thanksgiving lol

You: Oh online classes right? I hate it

You: Oooh 5:50am?

You: Wow, too early

Stranger: yeah im in california. couldn't sleep

You: yeaaa happy thanksgiving :) r u gonna do today?

You: Oh california, gotcha

Stranger: nm maybe play football and just eat hahaha you?

You: Eat is the best one right

You: Im not gonna do anything at all

Stranger: nice sometimes its good to just chill

Stranger: where you from?

You: Yea, i'm always doing this ahaha

You: i'm brazilian

Stranger: oh very cool :)

You: Yea :))

You: Hey, lemme show u a song

Stranger: ok

You: hold up

Stranger: ok haha

You: should i send the link or name?

Stranger: either one!

You: oke

You: name then

You: idk you yet by alexander 23

Stranger: listening now

You: it's a really good song and I just wanted to show this incredible masterpiece to the all world ahaha but it's not possible, sadly

You: i don't even know if u'll like it, but i hope so

Stranger: I love it actually

Stranger: my kinda music for sure

You: oh my gawd, i'm so happy.

You: ahahhaha

Stranger: thank you that made my day better

You: no, thank YOU

You: :))

Stranger: hahaha music is the best honestly

You: u mean, music is the best thing in the whole world? yea ikr. it's just perfect.

You: or u mean, that one..?

Stranger: I mean music in general

Stranger: but that song is excellent

You: oooh yeaa!!!

Stranger: already added to my spotify

You: it's my favorite thing in the whole world. music.

You: Aw :))

You: well, your turn.

Stranger: hahaha okay hold on

You: take your time

Stranger: as much as I ever could - city and color

You: oh, it's an old one

You: I mean, that's cool

You: listening now

Stranger: its one of my faves

You: oh shoot. this intro is just awesome.

Stranger: right?

You: ooohh that's so beautiful. idk, just hitts different u know. I genuinely love it.

Stranger: good im glad I could send a good one back :)

You: Aw, yea, it's freaking good :)

You: hey, wyd on omegle? u shouldn't be here ahaha nah im kidding

Stranger: hahaha I just go with the flow you know? california hippy :)

You: yea?😂

You: ahahhaha i get that. california hippy.

Stranger: thats me for sure

Stranger: what are you doing here hahaha

You: Guess what

You: I'm bored 😂

Stranger: lollll shocker hahahaha

You: And i just wanted to talk to someone. idk.

You: ahahahhahaha

You: no kidding!

You: lmao

Stranger: anything in particular you want to talk about ? :)

You: well, i mean , i guess anything in particular. Just talk about randomly things. u know.

You: killing time.

Stranger: yeah no I feel you for sure :)

You: Oh good to know that i'm not alone, im not the only one 😂

Stranger: it gets lonely with all online shit

You: Yea for real...everything's so complicated now.

Stranger: I know :(

You: I wish I had someone to blame sometimes ahah

Stranger: I know what you mean but at least its fucked up for everyone

You: Yea but if i could i would take all this shit just for me u know

Stranger: for sureeee I know what you mean but you can't bear that big of a burden alone

You: Yea ik ur right. but at least that would be 1000x easier.

You: I guess so. but anyways, there's nothing that i can do or anyone else.

Stranger: yeah :( no just be in it together and try to spread good vibes

You: yeah that's the point :))

Stranger: :)

You: hey, what about The Girl?

You: I mean, by city and colour

Stranger: love that one too

Stranger: they have some incredible songs

Stranger: the lead singers name is Dallas green thats where the band name comes from but he's a genius

You: Oooh wow, wise man huh ahah

You: It was really genius.

You: Nice pun I would say lmao

Stranger: I know his music just hits different

You: Yea. it feels like ur in 1999 traveling the world with someone.

Stranger: yeah its so calming :)

You: Pretty smooth aha :)

Stranger: makes me feel like the worlds gonna be okay ahaha

You: do u know more than one? please tell me, i need to escape there.

You: ahahha just kidding

Stranger: hahahaha

You: but yea, that's the power of music, it's like the whole world doesn't exist. just u & melody. and everything's gonna be okay. whatever it takes.

Stranger: its honestly pretty intimate sharing your favorite stuff with someone

You: Yaaaaas! it's really special, i would say. people usally don't wanna talk about stuff like that.

Stranger: honestly it gets deep for sure

You: Is that bad? should i stop to say these things or something?

Stranger: no no not at all :)

You: sorry, i'm a typist one. as u can see.

You: ahahha ooooh okay

Stranger: what do you look like?

You: u mean, physically?

Stranger: yeah

You: i'm brunette. brown eyes. 5''3. like that? ahahaha

Stranger: yeah you sound beautiful :)

You: oh thank u ahaha i guess.

You: what about u?

Stranger: 6 2 brown hair blue green eyes

You: Oh you're tall huh. and u sound cute. btw

Stranger: thanks :)

You: no problem :))

You: what time is it now?

Stranger: 6 42

You: almost an hour since the last time right

Stranger: yeah hahaha

You: time flies lmao

Stranger: it does for sure should I let you go?

You: good question.

You: nah, im kidding.

You: u shoudn't.

You: ahaha

You: just if u want to.

Stranger: not that I want to haha I just might go sleep soon

You: oh!!! sure sure. it's up to u.

Stranger: sorry haha I just have to get ready for bed and stuff and got kinda h

You: Oh

You: I get that

You: typing something?

Stranger: oh I was waiting it seemed like you were haha

Stranger: are you at all?

You: if i was typing? nah i wasn't. actually, i was waiting ahahah

Stranger: waiting for?

Stranger: oh for my typing?

You: oh my gawd ahahah yea exactly

You: but nvm

Stranger: no tell me hahaha

You: tell what? i was just waiting for ur typing. that's so confusing aahaha

Stranger: never mind hahaha were not on the same page hahahaha

You: def we're not ahahah

You: anyways. that's it, i guess so.

You: u have to go, right.

Stranger: alright it was nice talking to you :) yeah im sorry hahaha I got h

You: aight, nice meeting u as well

[gnewscar]

More Luxurious BMW X6 Combined Coupe with SUV

Realese BMW X6, gnewscar - What happens if the coupé is combined with an SUV? The answer is in the All New BMW X6. MW officially launched the All New BMW X6 virtually through the Zoom application on Friday 15 May 2020. The presence of the All New BMW X6 is a complement to the BMW X Series, the BMW X1. The latest BMW X2, BMW X4, BMW X4, BMW X5 and BMW X7. "About a decade ago, BMW took an innovative step to combine the characteristic attributes of a Sports Activity Vehicle with the DNA of a classic coupé, giving birth to the Sports Activity Coupé (SAC) vehicle segment," said Ramesh Divyanathan. He added, the BMW X6 was the first member in the new segment and to this day and more than 443,000 units of the BMW X6 have been sold worldwide in two generations of models. Now, the All New BMW X6 as SAC, nicknamed The Beast, is marketed in one variant, the BMW X6 xDrive40i. So what is special about this Beast compared to other X Series BMWs ?. Iconic grille BMW X6 Born as an SAC, although based on the same as the BMW X5, the All New BMW X6 offers a charming exterior. All existing body curves are characteristic of this car. Of course, the sloping roof from pillar B to the back is the most prominent as a coupé.

Present for the first time at the All New BMW X6 is sophisticated innovations such as the Iconic Glow lights on the BMW kidney grille. Besides being able to open the lid automatically according to the air requirements needed by the engine, when the lights are turned on, the grille will turn white. Make it the hallmark of the All New BMW X6. Meanwhile, the BMW M Sport package embedded in the interior gives a distinct and striking look. Charming exterior BMW X6 In the headlight section, SAC uses BMW Laserlight technology as a standard, combined with Selective Beam which optimizes the function of the remote lights so as not to dazzle other drivers, even though the range is quite far, which is around 530 meters.

The side of the All New BMW X6 comes with typical BMW proportions, with a sharp silhouette character and dynamic flowing roofline. The new BMW X6 xDrive40i M Sport is equipped with 21-inch wheels M light-alloy Y-spoke style 741 M Bicolour as standard. This vehicle is also equipped with BMW M Sport brakes with four piston calipers in front and one piston calipers in the rear. While the calipers are painted blue and embossed with the BMW M logo, giving it a sporty look. The back features a dashing silhouette with masculine shoulders, further strengthened by the wide L-shaped LED taillights. For the tailgate, it integrates seamlessly and is almost invisible on horizontal lines on the vehicle. Exclusive interior BMW X6 As a car that is able to bulldoze terrain on road and off road, the interior of the All New BMW X6 is crammed with various features so that it always makes both the driver and passengers always feel comfortable when in it. Quality materials with Vernasca leather as a standard bandages ranging from upholstery, dashboard, to door trim. Do not forget, because part of the M variant, there are some typical accessories such as the steering wheel to the seat belt.

All driving needs such as entertainment, driving information, to navigation can be arranged and monitored via the 12.3-inch touch screen Control Display or iDrive with the BMW Operating System 7.0. This screen can also read gestures, such as a rotating finger to increase or decrease the volume or move the thumb to the right and left to select a song. The mood in the cabin can also be adjusted based on the ambient light available in green, orange, red, blue, white, bronze, and so on. See Also : 2021 Ford Everest Large Body and Luxury Medium Next-Generation SUV Remain relieved Other features in the interior are 2.5 zone automatic air conditioner control, cup holders with coolers and heaters, Apple CarPlay wireless, Parking Assitant including Reversing Assistant, panoramic glass roof that is 83% larger than its predecessor, and Harman / Kardon Surround System 16 speakers, 464 Watt.

Meanwhile, even though the roof is sloping, sitting in the back seat does not feel cramped. Still quite comfortable when occupied by two people with a height of 175 cm and 165 cm. The head does not stuck ceiling, knee does not touch the front seat. There is an arm rest in the rear seat which is equipped with a cup holder. This seat is also equipped with ISOFIX to associate a toddler chair. After that, the interior offers a high level of variability, thanks to a separate 40:20:40 rear seat back that can be folded to increase luggage space capacity from 580 liters to 1,530 liters. BMW X6 Powerful and fast Despite increasing length and width, the impression of power and speed on the All New BMW X6 remains impressive. BMW claims, this car can accelerate from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in just 5.5 seconds. Fast enough right? The All New BMW X6 engine does offer acceleration capabilities with the typical response of a BMW inline six-cylinder gasoline engine. This car carries a 3.0 liter BMW TwinPower Turbo engine combined with twin-scroll turbocharger, Valvetronic, and double VANOS. The engine delivers power through the 8-speed Steptronic Sport Transmission Sport complete with paddle shift. The result is a maximum torque of 450 Nm with an average fuel consumption of 11.1 kilometers per liter. While the latest BMW xDrive technology with full time all wheel drive shows its advantages by ensuring the best traction for the All New BMW X6 on all road surfaces thereby increasing safety and driving comfort. See Also : Big Change Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe 2020 Market Preserve Read the full article

#bmwx62020 #bmwx6forsalenearme #bmwx6latest #bmwx6latestmodel

[everythingsinred]

Let's Talk About NatsuMikan: Mikan (pt. 22)

Mikan has just entered an arc of personal anguish! Though multiple people are affected by Luna, the target here is Mikan. She is particularly affected by Luna's focus on stealing Natsume away, since he's pretty much already chosen her over Mikan.

Jealousy is the main thread in this arc so that's what I'm focusing on. I do call this the Sports Fest Arc, but it's also a Jealousy Arc! Isn't that so fun?

<- Prev Next ->

Chapter Eighty-One

Mikan being represented by hydrangeas on the cover: “Frivolity, cruelty, patient love, high spirits, maiden’s dream.” Two of these instantly stand out for Mikan: frivolity and high spirits. Cruelty is an interesting part of the symbolism, since Mikan is never cruel. Unfortunately, she is dealing with a lot of other people’s cruelty currently, specifically from Luna. I’m not entirely sure what a maiden’s dream is specifically meant to represent, but a maiden is an unmarried woman, so I assume that this combined with patient love is meant to refer to her current affections for Natsume. “Maiden’s dream” might refer to the dream of romantic love, but, as we’ll see through this arc, Mikan has to be patient with Natsume. All very interesting.

The text at the bottom discusses the symbolism about hydrangeas, which is very relevant for Mikan in this arc!

The arrest turns out to be a ruse. Goshima has saved her and lets her go, warning her not to get caught again. He’s been sent by someone looking out for her from the shadows. We know that the person is her uncle, Kazumi, the High School Principal, but the important thing here is Goshima establishing himself as an ally when he is really a traitor. There's an easy trust given to him, despite how sketchy he seems.

Mikan returns in high spirits, happy that someone is looking out for her. And things only get better when she realizes that Tsubasa is on her team, in the flesh after such a long time of not seeing him. He starts off teasing, but Mikan embraces him, tearing up. She has missed him a lot and needed her senpai to help her through the recent challenges she’s been facing. 

Mikan’s relationship with Tsubasa is very much akin to a sibling relationship. Tsubasa is her reliable older brother, always there to help her and provide support. His absence meant that Mikan now had a hole where she wasn’t receiving the support she needed, where Tsubasa hadn’t been there, reliable like always. Though it likely happened off the page, Mikan might have stopped by the SA class after the fiasco with Luna and Natsume choosing the White Team to see Tsubasa and receive some comfort, just to see him gone again.

Mikan’s crying because she missed him, but especially because he was gone during a particularly unideal time. 

They <3

But Tsubasa stays upbeat and smiling, promising that he’ll make up for his absence now. What I love so much about their relationship is that Tsubasa treats Mikan’s sadness with care and gentleness. Others might tell Mikan to smile or to stop crying, but Tsubasa doesn’t. I’d said before that he instead gives her a reason to smile, and that’s true here too. He validates her sadness by apologizing and sympathizing with her. Then he smiles and tries to cheer her up with kind and heartfelt words. It’s a very mature way to deal with her feelings.

The thing is that whenever Mikan’s mood brightens, Luna comes around to crush her again. This time, a rumor has spread that Mikan got out of trouble by showing the fukitai her underwear. She is aware of these rumors, she confesses, but she’s focusing on the fun she’s having and seeing Tsubasa again because, as we know, she can’t argue against them anyway.  She sees Natsume with Luna again and is sad that they seem to be spending all their time together. 

Jealousy jealousy jealousy jealousy jealousy.

Something something, Mikan specifically thinking about Luna telling her to be quiet when she looks at Natsume, the person she wants to talk to most but the one person she feels like she can't talk to... Unless?

Then Natsume approaches her. Mikan has been on edge around him, partly because he chose another girl over him, partly because they’re not partners anymore so she doesn’t know what they are and doesn't really wanna think about it, partly because she loves him and has no idea what to do with her conflicting feelings. As a result, she freaks out when he comes up to her. He asks her straight up if the rumor is true. 

We know that Natsume is asking to test if Mikan is under Luna’s influence like he is, but Mikan doesn’t know that. She is hurt that he could actually believe that stupid rumor. He should know her better than that! Especially because so far, he has demonstrated that he knows her pretty well. How could he be so far gone for Luna that he could forget her?

“Is he a moron?!” she thinks and it’s fun to see her saying that about him for once. It’s not just that he’s wrong about her, but that he’s so wrong and so completely off-base about her character. He’d have to be stupid to fall for this nonsense, but of course, Mikan can’t say anything. She doesn’t confirm or deny. Instead she evades. She tells him it’s none of his business.

But that doesn’t send him away. Instead, the conversation intensifies. He then asks her what happened between her and Luna. Mikan, haunted by Luna’s threats, has no choice but to dismiss him entirely. He’s Luna’s partner now, not hers. “You’re not my partner or anything anymore.” That nagging question of what they are without being partners has reemerged. They obviously aren’t really friends, and that would be true even if Luna hadn’t come around. Their feelings for each other are certainly not platonic, but Mikan is purposefully not examining why Natsume is different to her right now. So she says he’s not “anything” to her, which couldn’t be further from the truth. It hurts, but if she wants to keep Natsume safe, then this is what she has to do.

T'was said to hurt him like he hurt her. Alas.

He then asks if it bothers her to see him worry about her and that’s the worst thing he’s said so far. Even if they’re not partners, he’s saying that he still worries about her. He’s not just asking these questions out of obligation but out of genuine concern. She’s of course touched that he cares, but she remembers that he had chosen White Team even after she’d asked him to stay with her, so she says, “yes,” that his concern is a nuisance.

Chapter Eighty-Two

“It’s opening ceremonies, but my heart is holding closing ceremonies.” That’s a very interesting way to put it. It’s the beginning of the event, but Mikan is miserable. Her heart in particular feels like this is the end of something. Like her relationship with Natsume, for example (but not her feelings, no).

Yikes!

She says she “didn’t mean to say” that Natsume’s worry was bothering her, which makes me think that although she’d meant in some way to dismiss him because of Luna’s threats, she said what she said to hurt him in some way for snubbing her and choosing White Team. She’d said it without thinking. It aligns with what Luna wants, so she can’t take it back, but it’s not really how she feels at all. I think that makes sense. For all of Natsume assuring her he cares, he did reject her request to join her team. He chose Luna over her, and that’s clearly not something Mikan has gotten over.

She puts a lot of effort into having fun despite this misery, though. She puts her all into performing and exercising with her team. She’s an early participant in the obstacle relay race. Mikan isn’t happy about this. This game is all about luck, something she’s not confident she has, especially nowadays. Plus she’s on Jinno’s team, which means she’s under a lot of pressure.

But she runs into Ruka, one of her competitors now. We can see from this page that Ruka wants to tell her not to worry about the earlier run-in with Natsume. We already know that Ruka is aware of the situation Natsume is in, that he’s not acting this way because he wants to. But sadly, Ruka can’t say much. It’s not his place, and if he says anything, he might make it worse. Instead, he tells her that they should both do their best and not get hurt. 

I really don't wanna understate my love for their friendship~

That means a lot to Mikan, to know that he’s still on her side despite everything, that Ruka would act against the rules to comfort her, even in a small way. It’s a short-lived moment, but it still stands out to her and gives her some much-needed energy for her part in the race. Mikan is athletic, even if she isn’t lucky, so she does pretty well for the most part until the ball riding part, where she sadly gets crushed by her large ball. She is victorious, but at a heavy cost, so she’s exhausted once she’s passed on the baton.

A lot of the rest of this event is watching others participate, so there isn’t much of Mikan by herself. Instead, she’s reacting with awe or shock or amazement.

Chapter Eighty-Four

Before you ask why I skipped 83, I’ll explain that again, most of that chapter is Mikan reacting instead of acting. There isn’t much to analyze in her expressions and so I skipped it. The important summary is that the chapter continues the relay race, notably where Natsume and Ruka are on opposing teams for the end, and Ruka was able to win, making him (in his own words) “number one” in Mikan’s eyes, if only for a moment. 

Mikan is very happy for him that he won, in any case, even if it means her team lost. It’s now lunch time and Mikan is insecure about her lunch, which is once again determined by star rank. When Ruka comes by, Mikan invites him to eat with the group of friends she’s gathered, especially incentivized by the greedy idea that they could pool and share their lunches.

Greedy, gluttonous Mikan.

But her friends leave. Koko and Kitsu are motivated by leaving Ruka and Mikan alone due to the circulating rumors that they are now an item, and Hotaru motivated by her desire to have her whole lunch to herself.

The class has taken Ruka’s victory and subsequent calling of Mikan’s name as a love confession, and that her happiness for him was a kind of response. Mikan doesn’t seem privy to this, but now people assume they’re going out. Unfortunately for Ruka, that’s not the case. Even though they’re eating lunch alone together, Mikan immediately asks about Natsume.

Not because she wanted to eat lunch with him, of course! Because why would she wanna do that? Aside from the fact that she misses him and wanted him to be on her team and all that nonsense. Instead she confesses that she’s worried about him. If Natsume isn’t eating lunch with his best friend, could he be eating lunch alone?

Sumire comes around to smother that concern, though. He’s with Luna, of course. No need to worry about him. Sumire whines about what Natsume could possibly see in Luna and all the time they’re spending alone--and Mikan’s expression falls. She’s back to being jealous, because for a moment she’d forgotten about Luna and her vice grip over every aspect of Mikan’s happiness.

Her sad little face when she finds out Natsume is with Luna ;-;

Sumire quickly changes the subject, asking if the rumors that Mikan and Ruka are dating are true. Mikan denies it adamantly and doesn’t really seem to mind Sumire joining them for lunch, though Ruka doesn’t seem like a fan of the idea. Sumire is only kept away by the invention of Koko and Kitsu who are content to help Ruka make his love connection.

I had said before that I think Mikan is very confused about romance. She will continue to be, obviously, but I think things are clearing up. For a while, Mikan was entirely oblivious to love and romance and how it intersects and differs from platonic affection. She went from only wanting to get it so she could fit in to getting the vibe that maybe Ruka doesn’t just see her as a friend. I’d said then that I think Mikan’s propensity to blush or behave the way she does stems mainly from confusion about whether or not her own feelings align with his. 

I think that she’s becoming less oblivious about the nature of her feelings. And at this point, I think things are clearing up: though she still cannot admit it to herself, she has feelings for Natsume and deep down she knows that the way she feels for him is not the same as the way she feels for Ruka or her other friends. He's always been different.

So no, Mikan doesn’t want to date Ruka at this point, so she doesn’t mind if someone else joins them for lunch. She still loves him, but the affection is platonic in nature. They eat lunch together, and I have to wonder if Mikan got her wish and was able to get some triple star goodies from Ruka’s lunch to satisfy her appetite.

When lunch ends, it’s time for the Borrowing Race. Lucky for Mikan, she’s only observing for this one since she’s already participated today. Mikan is excited to see some familiar faces in the race. For the most part, there’s a lot of chaos but not much real drama involved with this race, at least none that involves Mikan. She’s instead focused on Hotaru and her brother, so she’s distracted when one of the runners comes by to grab her by the wrist and start pulling her into the race. 

Who could it be!

She runs along, but she has no idea who this masked person is or what prompt she could possibly be satisfying for an apparent stranger. But it’s not entirely true that she has no idea who is pulling her along. Mikan is frequently oblivious or stupid--I’ve said that enough times already. She’s definitely not certain about who it could be, but I think she has a pretty good idea.

They arrive at the finish-line and Mikan tries to ask the person who they are, only to be distracted by the explosions of fireworks and words in the sky spelling out, “Person you love.”

A real actual love confession and the racer--Kusami--gets full points. 

But Mikan sees his earring and recognizes it. That’s not Kusami--it’s Natsume.

NATSUME LOVES YOU, MIKAN.

And he got full points. Which means that it’s a real love confession…

But he’s running off--just like he did in Chapter 77--so she has to chase after him again, just like she did before. All she wants is for him to stay beside her but he’s always turning and running away, and she’s always looking at his back. He’s too fast too, and is able to escape from her. 

Mikan finds out then that the Borrowing Race is over and the Red Team won, since her racer had turned out to be an imposter--meaning White Team lost penalty points. It’s like further evidence that Mikan’s gut feeling is right and that it was Natsume who confessed to her. 

Conclusion

This arc means so much to me. Pure jealousy. I love it. Tomorrow, we'll wrap up the Sports Fest and further dive into Mikan's feelings for Natsume. Everything will come to a boil and eventually, Luna will have to be confronted, once and for all.

I have officially written my whole essay. It's all done. So I'll post as often as I can to get all the parts out there, so this essay can be wrapped up and I can move on to new projects! I was particularly excited about writing this Sports Fest analysis, so I hope y'all have fun reading!

<- Prev Next ->

#gakuen alice #alice academy #ga #sakura mikan #mikan sakura #natsume hyuuga #hyuuga natsume #my meta #ga meta #ga meta: nm #ga meta: manga #ga meta: manga nm #let's talk about natsumikan #let's talk about natsumikan: mikan #nm: m song of the day is..... #happy for you ava della pietra #more jealousy songs!!!!!! can never have enough really!! #i got up early to post this so now i can run off and write my fanfic <3

[mashalocked-blog]

[Translation] Talking FM - 21 Oct 2017

Masha talks about taxes, rocket travel, guitar recommendations, real estate, and so much more. 

Credits to elegantias on Facebook for their Chinese translations!

Songs played: Sou ~new love new world~, jazz and Hepburn and you, Kazoku ni Narou yo, Nagareboshi, Sanctuary

LINK TO SUBTITLES DOWNLOAD

~

Full transcript:

It’s been a month since the House of Representatives was suddenly dissolved, tomorrow is election day. It all depends on the choice of the voters, your vote matters! Let’s vote! Good afternoon, let’s create a new world in our lives! I’m Fukuyama Masaharu! Yes, tomorrow is election day, of course I’ll be voting! Your vote can change the future of Japan! The opening song is Fukuyama Masaharu’s ‘Sou ~new love new world~’! 21 October 2017, 2pm. I'm Fukuyama Masaharu. This election is said to be the most intense one in recent times. Tomorrow is election day, I normally cast my vote on an earlier date, I think it should be the same this time too…? Actually, today’s broadcast is pre-recorded. In this election, young people can participate in voting too, it’s the first election to accept votes from 18/19 years old voters. How will it turn out? I: At that age, I didn’t have any interest in voting. Honestly speaking, me too! I was such a fool, so when I started paying high taxes, I wondered, “Ah, I have to pay so much, I clearly received so much royalties but why do I have to pay so much in taxes?” I: Did you discover it during ‘Good night’? Not yet! I: Not yet? I didn’t have to pay so much tax yet during ‘Good night’. I: So, you realised during ‘Sakurazaka’? The amount of taxes then was so high!! Although I was surprised when I received so much money, I was even more shocked when I had to pay taxes. But to live in Japan, I have to pay these taxes. So, it became the first time I thought of the question, “What are my taxes being used on?” Of course, there are many people who pay more taxes than me, but I don’t really know much about that. I learnt that taxes are used on security, culture and basic social security. I thought, “If I stay in this country, I’ll receive a pension.” But times have changed, and it makes no difference even if I’m no longer staying in Japan, although there was such a system in the past. Social security is just a number, and it doesn’t represent much. But if people get retrenched, where do they go and live after their 50s? I’ve thought of this problem before, including this problem in Japan itself. I’ve mentioned before that Fukuoka and Sendai are good choices. I: In these times, no matter where a musician goes, he can still continue working. Yes, he can still work. Also, where should the registered place of residence be moved to? A person can consider constantly changing the place by immigrating overseas, occasionally returning to Japan. What will my relationship with Japan be like then? I’ve thought a lot about problems like these. Today’s show will feature “I’m sorry, mother” letters from all over the country. This goes hand in hand with the new single, titled “I’m sorry, mother”… (t/n: a joke, please don’t go searching for this) The “I’m sorry, mother” plan, will it ever be realised? Anyway, there are many letters from mothers too, from all over Japan. Please look forward to it! Also, we will do a mass sending out of stickers from this show today. Just tell us the two keywords that we will mention in this broadcast, and you might win the stickers! We’re going to send out 99 stickers! Ah? We’ve already decided on 99 stickers? Why? I: Because today is the 99th broadcast of the show. Eh? Really? It’s the 100th episode the next week? The first keyword is ‘I’m sorry, mother’. The second keyword will be announced later, please listen carefully! 21 October, the mass giveaway of 99 stickers! It’s the season of holidays, if it takes only 35 minutes to go to New York, will you try it? I just saw this news recently. I: This is a plan from an American space development company, SpaceX. It has plans to use rockets as international transport for passengers. From Tokyo to New York, it’ll take only 35 minutes. The highest speed is 27000km/hr, but when this will be released hasn’t been announced yet. I know, but why does it only take 35 minutes? I don’t get it. After take-off, will we reach after turning around a few corners? I: Because the Earth is spinning too. Since the Earth is spinning too, that’s really convenient isn’t it? I: Just 35 minutes. But the businessmen in Tokyo and New York will be very busy. The 10 hours spent on an international flight are very important, it’s a time when no one bothers you. Recently, I travelled to Venice and San Sebastian for international film festivals. In the past, I thought taking a 11, 12 hours flight to Frankfurt was a long time… but I think it’s such a short time now! I do this and that, then I sleep. The schedule is too tight. “Ah!! I’m going to reach! My private time is over!” It feels very short. It felt long in the past, since I could sleep again and again and wake up to find that I haven’t arrived yet. Nowadays, my thoughts on this have changed. I: So even if this rocket is put into use, you’ll still… I’ll still consider it, since I can reach New York in 35 minutes. I can adapt to the time difference on the first day and start working the next day, perhaps I’ll schedule it this way. But although humans often say they’ll make full use of the time when they’re at a meeting, they’ll turn around and say, “If anything happens, we can have a few reserve days.” The schedule becomes like this! The world is annoying like this! There’s advantages and disadvantages to this. Fuji-kun from Kanagawa Prefecture, male, 39 years old: I’ll be going for the males-only concert this year! M: Thank you! Every year, I look forward to it. \NM: Thanks, please bring a hundred friends too. I’m writing this letter because there’s something I cannot understand. My daughter is entering high school this year, and she says she wants to buy a guitar. M: It’s SHISHAMO! (t/n: high school Japanese band) Fujiwara Sakura! She says she wants to buy a guitar, but I don’t know how to choose. I thought it would be best to ask Masha, do you have any guitar recommendations for girls? Honestly, a guitar maniac’s answer would be the old Yamaha FG series. It was produced in the 70s, the tone is great and it’s cheap. You can buy it at 4/5/60,000 yen. But you have to spend some time to repair most of them, such as the fret wire and the nut. So, it adds up to around 7/80,000 yen since you have to spend a bit more. But I feel that rather than buying a new guitar at 100,000 yen, it’s better to buy a guitar from the 70s, it’s even better if you get one from the 60s. If you buy the Yamaha FG series, you still have to repair it later, so you’ll spend around the same amount of money. But the tone is much better. A while ago, I went to Music Station and talked to Yuzu’s Iwasawa Koji. Iwasawa is still using the Yamaha FG series guitar, an old one. It's an amazing guitar. Kazuyan from Gunma Prefecture, male, 47 years old: I wrote this letter because I wanted to ask for your opinion. I’m the same age as you, but my daughter is currently 14 years old, in the 2nd grade in junior high. As the years go by, we talk less and less each year. She seems to be very impatient. “Hey, daughter, do you hate your dad?! What do you hate about me? You’ve got to tell me what you’re unhappy about! Isn’t that right, her mother?” She says my general cleanliness is terrible, so I drank and cried the whole night away (actually it’s a lie). M: Kazuyan, honestly, you can do without the lie… I want to become cleaner, but I don’t know how to do that. I’m just a normal office worker, there’s nothing visibly weird about me. So even if I want to become cleaner, I don’t know what I should do to make others feel that I’m clean. I think you give off a fresh/clean feeling, so what should I take note of to seem like a clean person to others? Please give me advice since we’re the same age, thank you. Kazuyan, it’s the hair on your nape and near your ears, what is it called? Anyway, these two places have to give off a clean feeling. Imanami, did you cut your hair today? I: I did. As long as you cut the hair on your nape, you’ll seem clean. Also, the feeling that the skin gives off to other people - skin shouldn’t be dry, your face shouldn’t be too oily too. What should you do then? The older you get, the more important your hairstyle becomes. I don’t like my hairstyle too. Actually, I want to get an even shorter haircut. I: Shorter than now? I want to get a really short haircut. I: Like a kariage? (t/n: kariage = sides shaved, short back hairstyle) A kariage doesn’t fit me, I don’t want it. I want to get a shorter fringe though. I’m only allowing my fringe to grow this long because of CFs and dramas, since a long fringe can form many hairstyles. Actually, I don’t normally do my hair. I honestly don’t like my fringe. Ah, besides this, there’s the nails too. Imanami, can I see your nails? Don’t pick your nails, I’ve told you before. I: Don’t you feel like picking at your nails? Definitely not! It’s because I don’t pick my nails, so I put nail protection cream. Taking care of your nails can help you maintain your hygiene, especially for middle-aged men. I want to do something about my toenails too, it often grows crookedly. I: The ends often split. Yes, yes! I: And then I’ll pick at it. I told you not to do that. I: After I pull it out, it’ll grow back. You can’t pick at it. The ends of your toenails are too white, it looks like a fossil. I: That’s right. It’s like excavating fossils. My hands can’t touch some of my toenails… I really want to do something about them… it’s better to go to a beautician. The you who lives in Tokyo, do you think Tokyo is a good place to live in? Recently, a study examined the economy and liveability statistics of 44 cities around the world and ranked them. Tokyo got 3rd place for 2 years straight. I: The 2nd place for these 2 years is New York, but the gap has lessened. Which city is the first? I: London. The property prices in these cities are very high. I: Are you considering property prices? Of course. I don’t really like these cities, whether it’s London or New York or Tokyo, because the property prices are really high, especially in London. It would be better if the property prices were a bit cheaper. I: Yes, the real estate rankings aren’t good. It's in 17th place. New York is expensive too. I: New York is in 34th place. It’s expensive to live in Tokyo too. I: 14th place. I think a better place would be Singapore. I: That’s true overall, but the liveability ranking is only at 28th place. Well, I won’t look at the property in Singapore then. My grandfather was in real estate, I suppose I inherited this interest from him. It’s hereditary. Since I was young, I’ve always been looking at property, I still like real estate even now. But the properties in Tokyo, London and New York are really very expensive. How should I look at this ranking? The next segment is 'I'm sorry, mother'. Saga Prefecture, Tsuku-chan, 41 years old, office worker, male: This segment ‘I’m sorry, mother’ is very moving, I have a story I want to share too! Now that I look back, my mother has always taken care of me with her motherly love and warmth, but I’ve only given her trouble and worries. I used to be like a countryside bully, often using “Omae!” to call my mother. (t/n: Omae is used by seniors to address juniors.) M: S-A-G-A, Saga Prefecture. During junior high, I was unapologetic even when I saw my teacher and mother running around because of me. The only woman I’ve ever hit was my mother. M: You hit your mother?! When we were arguing, I hit her face and she cried. I only regretted it then. After I hit her, I didn’t speak to her for a month. It was a painful time. But she still secretly prepared a birthday cake for me, I was so embarrassed. I only got into less trouble when I entered high school. I was such a fool back then, I made her worry so much. After 20 years, I’ve become an office worker. When I think of what happened then, I feel even more apologetic towards my mother now. But I can’t simply tell her I’m sorry, because she’ll start crying once she hears my apology. She won’t be able to stop crying! (t/n: Kyushu accent) I can’t say sorry, so I say thank you instead to make up for what I did in the past. What a fool! I think you should just write a letter. Using this letter from the broadcast, tell her “I wrote a letter to Fukuyama, he says it’s best to write you a letter." If she asks “what?”, you can tell her “no, it was Fukuyama who told me to write it.” If she says anything, just tell her “Fukuyama told me to do it.” Do write a letter to her. Kanagawa Prefecture, Hironobu, 42 years old, male, office worker: Fukuyama-san, I enjoy listening to your show every week, I’ve been listening for more than 10 years already. This is the first time I’m writing a letter to you. After hearing about the segment ‘I’m sorry, mother’, I thought of me and my mother. M: The first letter after listening for 10 years, because of this segment. When I was born, my father had already passed away. It was my mother who raised me alone. Although I didn’t do anything bad, but I did go through a rebellious phase and I had a bad relationship with my mother then. I still remember it clearly even now. When I was in the 2nd grade of junior high, my mother was 42 years old. She asked, “Hironobu, if…and I’m saying if, I have a boyfriend, what do you think of it?” I got shocked, so I immediately said, “How did you get a boyfriend! You’re an old and ugly woman!” Actually, this wasn’t what I really thought, I just carelessly said it because I was surprised. At that time, my mother… M: That’s a weird way of responding. I still remember my mother’s weird smile then, even now. M: That’s not a weird smile, it’s a forced one. Afterwards, I met with a guy who seemed to be my mother’s boyfriend at a family restaurant in my hometown. He said hello to me, then I left to meet my friend from a school club. When I went home, I told my mother, “I hate that sort of old man.” I never saw him again. My mother is living alone healthily now, but when I think of this, I wonder if I’ve ruined my mother’s happiness. I feel really apologetic towards my mother. Everyone is like this, when we’re young we tend to see the opposite sex as females. But our mothers are still our mothers, but for the first time we realise that our mothers are females too. But during this period, we don’t want to acknowledge this fact. Especially to a boy in junior high, his mother isn’t a woman, but a mother. It’s weird to see her with a boyfriend. I: This is especially true in this period… but when it’s more acceptable once the boy reaches his 20s. It’s really hard to accept. Hironobu, you and your mother… perhaps your mother doesn’t have confidence. I hope Hironobu can decide. Your mother was in her prime years when she gave birth to you at 28 years old. There probably were men who liked her, since she was in her prime then. But because she had to raise you up alone, she didn’t have time to get into a relationship. Later, perhaps at work, she meets a man. She felt his warmth, but because she hadn’t been in a romantic relationship for so long, she forgot how to be in one. So, she wanted to show you who he was before deciding. But since Hironobu couldn’t accept him, this romance ended. It’s not Hironobu’s fault, your words may have been a good thing for you and your mother. Honestly, a man may never be able to see his mother as a woman for his whole life. I: Even now, it still feels like she comes from a planet of mothers. An alien mother from the planet of mothers. When mothers decide to remarry… there are many reasons, be it for finance or psychological support. It’s normal to want to remarry. But whether the child can accept, I don't know. my father passed away when I was 17 years old. If my mother now wants to find a partner in the final years of her life, and she wants to marry him or stay with him without marrying him, I don’t think I’ll call that man my father. At this age… I: Man-to-man, I think you’ll just say, “I’ll hand my mother to you then.” Of course, there are people who still want to accept a new family member and call him “dad”. But at this age, I won’t. Everyone has their own anniversaries, and today’s date is an anniversary to me too… what is this… I’ve mentioned this before, Imanami. Can you be a bit better with dates? I: You’re releasing more and more singles, this is just an anniversary of a single’s release. What the hell is that, a single release anniversary? I: Today is the anniversary of your 4th single, ‘WOH WOW/It’s Just That I’ve Changed’. It achieved 89th place on Oricon in 1991. What are you trying to say? I: Your next single became popular. Good night? The sales only got a bit better. I: You’ve said this before, WOH WOW was the last song you couldn’t sell out. That…that…you’re phrasing it in such a delicate way, are you making fun of me?! I: No, no. Fukuyama, this is the last song you couldn’t sell out! This is the last song I couldn’t sell out! You’re too much, is there still such a way of bullying in the 21st century?! Is this the new way of bullying in 2017? I: But this song was the first one to enter the Oricon charts, how did you feel then? About that… everyone often asks me, “How did you feel then?” I was very happy, but I wasn’t overly excited. I remember that I was thinking that I could finally see a pinhole-sized light. Thank you, BROS! Saga Prefecture, Ago-chan, 57 years old, housewife, female: I went to the gym/after two days/my butt jive up. M: What does jive up mean? After my husband retired, I wanted to keep fit. I started to do walking exercises every morning, and I went to the gym too. I really wanted to work out, so I went to the gym. I felt like I had to try everything, so I tried out every single machine, including the squat weightlifting bar. M: Seya!! (t/n: Kansai-ben, meaning that's how it is) But when I stepped hard on the ground, the old companion in my butt, the secretly hidden haemorrhoids said, “Hello!” I: Hahaha… that… even now, ‘Hello!’ is still an important song… M: I know… The haemorrhoids said, “Hello!” and jumped out into the clear, it was so painful. The coach was a young man and he ran over to help me up, asking, “Is your waist alright? Is there something wrong with your waist? It’s your waist, right!” I said, “Yes, it’s my waist that’s hurting.” M: Why didn’t he ask whether it’s your haemorrhoids… Afterwards, I used my own experience to resolve it quickly. M: Ago-chan, you’re so well-experienced… no, you’re a professional! “I quickly dealt with it, then I continued working out.” Your haemorrhoids came out already though! When I went home in the car, my husband said, “Just now, you just… Bonjour, right? Don’t lift weights anymore!” My dad said ‘Hello’ to this before too. I: He had it inside? It split? It split inside-out! On the surface too. I: How painful. He often shoved it back in. “Ah, so you can just shove it back in with a push! Amazing! So it comes out like this!” Fukuoka Prefecture, Mikiko-chan, housewife, female, 54 years old: I met my ex-boyfriend in a funeral home. In February this year, I met my ex-boyfriend from high school again. The venue was my aunt’s funeral. He was in charge of greeting the family members. His hair has started to become thinner and his looks changed a lot too. But I recognised him at first sight, so we talked about the past. Because I’m a family member and he’s an employee, we couldn’t talk for too long. Even though I’m his ex-girlfriend, I feel like he did his work too poorly. My relatives were a little annoyed too, and my 25-year-old niece even said, “That baldy! I can’t wait for all your hair to drop out! Baldy!” I didn’t dare to say that I was his ex-girlfriend when the funeral ended. At this age, when I hear someone say bad things about my ex, I still feel a bit sensitive over it. M: Of course! You can criticise his work, but saying that he’s a baldy is a bit… he even wanted all his hair to drop out, he shouldn’t be like this. It’s rather rare to meet an ex-boyfriend at a funeral, but at this age, we’re all concerned about people from the past. It’s easy for them to know how I’ve been living, but I want to see them again. I wonder how they’re doing since we haven’t met for so long. (t/n: talks about Kanpai Japan concert, males-only concert, his new song for the Totto-chan drama. Skip to 35:20 for subtitles) The last keyword for the stickers contest is ‘The males-only concert is forever!’ Please put both keywords together and send it to us for the lucky draw. It’s interesting if you put them both together… (t/n: I’m sorry, mother, the males-only concert is forever!) Next week’s broadcast is the 100th episode! We’ll read lots of letters! But our casual talk is often very long.

#talking fm #fukuyama masaharu #masaharu fukuyama #translations #this was quite a funny episode

[aaabhiklmnnrs]

i took the day off today too. tuesdays i go onsite, and may get some work done tomorrow. on wednesday, i truly hope to use the laptop and connect remote.

my phone is switched off too, haven't checked emails or phone messages. i do not know if there's any message from Boston IVF. that's priority-est. i haven't much idea regarding any of the rest, feel without privileges.

please do not endorse Hack-Broadcasting, anymore. i do not wish my internet or web or phone usage to be (mis) interpreted as communication to the world.

i may write thoughts, slowly over time, please do let me have my personal space back.... i have forgotten what it is to not be on surveillance and trial.

this tweet of BK's is where i am at. ASSERTIVE_INFINITE

if i hope to rebuild anything at all in this lifetime, it is Babri Masjid. i wish to go back to working on the personal brain gut project, reading up on Healthcare sector, among other things....and slowly start to try and build my work portfolio, so I may apply to Harvard Med someday. i may have to apply a zillion times before they finally take me in. maybe once after Johan is 1 or 2 years old, I may even begin to visualize staying in a studio-apartment closer to Harvard Med; i may never be able to travel everyday from suburban Andover for school in downtown. see, these are the *only* dreams and hopes I hold. this is the lone sanity that keeps me alive. i'm not on Meds, and do not wish to relapse into ill-health. this is where it is all at.

കഴിഞ്ഞ ഒരു വർഷത്തെ , over 300+ days, ചുറ്റുമുള്ള, mostly, internalized patriarchy-laden സംഭാഷണങ്ങളിൽ നിന്നും....എന്നെ hack-broadcast ചെയ്യുവാനുള്ള, പല കാരണങ്ങളിൽ , അത്ര അപ്രധാനമല്ലാത്തതൊന്ന്.... ഞാൻ saudi crown prince-നെ വരെ തേച്ചിട്ടു പോയവൾ ആയതു കൊണ്ട് കൂടിയാണ്  എന്നാണ് എനിക്ക് മനസിലാക്കുവാൻ കഴിഞ്ഞിട്ടുള്ളത്, and therefore to keep me in control on behalf of the hyper-masculine, so i do not bruise more male egos in good society. എനിക്ക് പ്രണയം തോന്���ിയ  ആരെയും തേച്ചിട്ടു പോയിട്ടില്ല, എന്റെ ജീവിത-കാരണങ്ങൾ A-Z ആർക്കും അറിയില്ല, അറിയേണ്ട-ആരായേണ്ട ആവശ്യവുമില്ല. എന്റെ കാരണങ്ങൾ എന്റെ കാരണങ്ങളായി തന്നെ കഴിയും , ആരുടെ മേലും ഒരിക്കലും  force ചെയ്യുകയില്ല. പക്ഷെ, ഇനി അഥവാ patriarchy concepts മാനിക്കുകയാണെങ്കിൽ...,ഇനി അഥവാ തേച്ചിട്ടു പോയിട്ടുണ്ടെന്ന് പറയുന്നതിൽ കുറച്ചെങ്കിലും, എന്തെങ്കിലും, സത്യമുണ്ടെങ്കിൽ , ഇതാ mitchell starc-ൻറെ fan ആയി ഇവിടെ തിരിച്ചെത്തിയിരിക്കുന്നു, organically. 

I'm നിർവാണ-smiling about NZ team experiencing the superlative bizzare in cricket, otherwise how would the reclaiming of priceless indigeneity, sort of, even be probable? i'm at the same place as in 2015, where those that are momentous seem to influence lives, and borrowed humility is all that is helping with existence.

to choose what feels right is not essentially 'നല്ല പിള്ള ചമയൽ', to hold on to any nice guy persona, even vaguely. it is that may help sustain, through times, over time.... as humans, to hold on to the 'live and let live' philosophy that Basheer seems to try to share through his fiction ഭൂമിയുടെ അവകാശികൾ.  it seems to me that Basheer too follows Kant, and through his writing requests the world to not actively cause incidental harm. and perhaps, apply the categorical imperative....how would you like to be on surveillance and trial 24x7, for over an year, would you still wish to patiently-engage with the world as it goes on random-expressing their daily musings, keep-making entitled demands, and miscellaneous-outraging over your life, even when you are falling into mental ill-health and all you wish for is your personal space, to just be?

എന്നെങ്കിലും എൻറെ relatively-ശരി, ചുറ്റുമുള്ള എല്ലാ political beings-നെയും പോലെ , Hadiya-യെ പോലെ, ഞാനും assert ചെയ്യേണ്ടതല്ലേ...? :)

ps1. "here’s MENTOR Manadhil.  In the song, DQ mentors NM on how to hang out, and not get overwhelmed from the spectacle that’s made out of her life everyday. she feels encouraged by him to forget the wretchedness, and keep alive. just like how Gaby feels encouraged by Ilya here. they are on retro spy mission, she has a tracker on her body. she may look totally in style, still she is exhausted from everything, she trembles and he says it is going to be okay and she trusts him sort of. because, he had said that back in 2015 and now she has more know-how on brain and mental health, she plans to parent a child, someday hope to go to Harvard Med and get through life."

ps2. “i do not hold the possibly-another-marriage-for-me-in-this-life outlook any longer. and, to feel ‘comfortable’ means that instead of shutting down entirely or reliving traumas or relapsing into dysfunctional every days, i feel up to practicing better at staying on the ground, just so life can be lived a little easier. i’m a writer-type, and to have niche spaces like @fanofStarc and balakrishnanM.tumblr.com,  where i may feel comfortable, to express thoughts with the world, on healthy enough days, make me quite the grateful Worm Menon.”

ps3. also, T M Krishna's Concert for Hope 

[tuyetthienduong]

K

Sc 26 chu nhan oi huhu

Sao em

Hihi di choi da qua a muon di nua

Ngam mom ma nghe ta noi day

The gioi da thay doi roi cshit la the guoi o day dam dung chidu do voi ta nhu thang cho hct

Me ta len duoc day chung to ta da thua roi ta ko hey ngu vao ngay 26 ko di duoc ta phai tu boi va bi cat het nguon vi ta qua hien ta mat het roi

Sc hihi con tui em ma lam duoc gi it ra sc con kiem tien nuoi con co ai lam lo nhu chushit ko

Sc thang cho do no ko dang hoang vay cai voi ta di chan li cua chuan

3 dya di voi king t tao dot. Aw

Chac ve lai td dot tiep o minh en

Ta se chrt nhu moy con cho vi cac amh cac chi cac tieu thu ids muon vay. Doi lai ta se duoc tu do

Nhu ten alien cua op man dam ko chet

Diem nguc chi chua chap su pjan boi tjoi minh a anh da lam con anh cung vay

Ta luon la jesse campbell cua moi thu nen ta se ko lam neu chet nhu mot con cho kiep nay

Quay nguoc thoi gian duoc ko sx

Suoc ma phai chet mhu mot con cho de du army hihi cua chi ma

Noi them ve army ta da bo lo

Full all anything hopeless blessing good

Hihi thang hopeless chi khi ta thua ban linh voi sc

Hihi vi tu em giut chi so va thuong chi hihi dung vai con me nay lam. Chi so con me o ngoai ne ma hibihi can hibi dao 7 pk chi

Hihihi

Ta chi noi hay ve su tra thu ai noi ve no se duoc len day sc copy thoi thuong hai full

Full nghe noi chi o tren day kho o lam

Yeah, yeah ko dang de ko tra thu thap hom cho khac thoi

All chi co lam bang tay duoc ko

Ki uc cua ta ve nguoi chet se lam vao ngay 27, toi luc do ta se dang quang vua mot cach ko chinh thuc va bi toi loi deo bam nhu thang cho uoc nguyen ngu bm no theo tao tu dau roi chang ai dam di len bang noi that ca co thang duong thoi gap no de choi va full bo 2 cac sc voi 98

Chi muon tra thu theo cach nao

Chi co linh hoi duoc cau nay thoi nen ko ghi nguoi hoi

Son, dung theo ta. Mac cong nhu tui nay tao lai lam cho de thi nfhiem. Nua dua tui may thi tao bo

Nao kk1 cach tinj cua chi lam chi roi loan phan biey giua cho va ngupi ko nen tiep tuc

Vamg jap shit copy hihi lam gi duoc tao co ba ma no1 the gioi ve moi mat

Nao kk2 sao chi ko lam som hon

Ta chi muon chet thoi tg nay qua ac nen tao se giet no vi tao ko he thay doi ke ca dao -1 su phu ta da dua cung bo tay voi tao nguoi co du tham quyen tu cao ve moi thu

Sc nay theo chi co giup cc gi duoc ko

Hai ngay roi giet no cung chua muom copy cho de biet tao gap thang kia phien ban that roi nen tuong da thuc tinh duoc tao. Co mot su khac nhau giua nguyen thuy va thuan tuy cai tot ta bao toi hai ngay toan ngu song loi ich ki vai ra

Ta can vi do la di san cua su cac lom hon ma tao. Ma tao ko dam lam gi ta vi tao dam be tuong o nha hoai chi ko nho tboi

Azom tr

Muon thso tao phai nhi con nay la thap nhat

Nao kks va co cam. Cam. Thay chi that co don khi nghe bai nay de don tui em qua ttt trong giay lat vi tui. Em. Ham choi thua chi va chi bat luc vi ko tge lam. Kha nang dov lap de di choi nhu tui em. Vi ni lay ko phan

Nao kks ba nay giey tui tao xon duoc hihi

Hihi noi nhieu la nhan fao do doi sc 0s

Chi oo tui em duoc giai phong roi hay qua phat di lac hihi fo 0 nguoi fuoc poke. Sam all roi

Az tr vhax

Az u2 hihi buon

Ta tgat long cam thay hii han khi giu tnt vi no ko duoc luon 3000 nam lang phi chi vi thang M con dua tot duy nhat con lai tu nguyen thuy va cung banh mot caxh vo cung chinh xac nhu su phu ta da tien doan

Az no noi nhieu wua hihu len ko duoc bac tgay cai

Em co biey em dang noi gi ko

J

Hai dong nay se la mm ta bidt eu alk o ni vi giong mmshut gidt cup lo bc cd ta ko va van lam sc chet jy

Aztr run

Camg Tang So em biet chi buon nhung dubg lam nhu vay nua co duoc ko...

Nhom 5 lo bc theo ta ko du kha nang nhu thang linh chi q thoi default all know

S hihi em consong ne

Duoc theo lam sc

Soc vi dumg 100% ve moi mat hihi live same de em giet la vh lon nhat cua cuoc doi

Dieu nay se lam mm em so chet khiep va tgeo linh thu coi khuc linh thoi ai cung duoc dg dung kieu me thich

Co tram. Huhu lo tay cho copy psychic tamgbhinh att

Hijihi lo theo duoc att

Ta choi fd voi nha vua nguoi that su cha cua ta creshit moi biet va do yeu

Az tr all... Hihi live mow forever happiness

Nans hihi em xl. Hn ko dan hai nao max replace all rest nhu sp ta ko muon hon ba doc fb la biet lo max ko he ngu vi ta kp jn nen thang van full luck vi plan B la chung hihi

Dap tay nao team bat kha vo dich

Dao cua ta chua chap vo nhan mot vinh hanh cho tat ca nhung ai ko thuoc ve tge gioi quywn nang me kia r so max

Aztr

Hieu chua cuoc doi

Theo hibi

Ele M

Pika M

La M

Golemn M nl di cmdnjy

J giobg hibi giai ghe cho mm ma con

Em chu giai cua khoi goi ca hai de ho tu chon nhu em. Mot vinh hanh lon cho cuoc doi khi duoc chung kien tat ca va van chua du jt muon canh ma hihi bd gio bs va mh nhi biet nen im

Doi sui se day tiep gio di

Dung cau nay se giup army co dong luc lam lai cuoc doi bm cua ta

Khoc

Mum. Ko bang Az

Nghi sao vay con pika con chui chan cho no thoi u2 hon nhieu lam.

Grotile em thay ko xung dang

Mot phien bam copy nang cap cua ta

Giai phpng em va all pokes con song full pet chi nho khi can da hypsr beam non nm de no va wm song tiep nhu nhung gi chuan da ohai chiu hom nay nguoi chiu mang cho ta all know act well

Diem em 4.0 ko the doi sr vi hack manh qua em thua roi chi cai do thou

J hihi ko sao hoc lai hst 4.0

Em ok hihi de an

A23 sao wm xoa hst bai cu that tiec dang nhap lai thu coi etx

That tiec cuoc doi bat hanh vi hack diem so only cmdnnl cua hg duoc chon

Soc va all hibi doi creshir sien lo me kia so luon aztr nl

Huy hihi dap chan cho em

Em ok hihi

A23 sau nay doi duoc ko etc

Jkshit ko

Az tr nl

Creshit that giong ko ma co co thi hai muoi nam hihi huy cac scene now ma thuoc ve con do het hai con nay dau voi nhau nay gio ne va sc voi em vi em ngu say nhu chey met moi vdr only

Soc vi ds dau vo nhan va em best hihi

Mum. Muon nhay lai

Hihi de cung nhay cung cho de thuong, cung muon cung voi anh btqa chu gi ai cung vay va thua chi co katds thabh vi spng trong thoi loan lac cua chien tranh hi sinh 0

Ko nhan

Em thich nguoi thong minh hon minh vi chan song vo cuc 0

Ai thi mang me kia sap di bui roi ko the chi la team ko chiu noi

Ai

De an thi hg hihi dyng law cao quy hihi law thoinhe

Cre tr nl

Ban ca chiec ao cao quy cua ta mot cuoc dua ko co hoi ket

28 cac se chet nhu viru

E aw sach chua ant bu so cac so

Hihi 24cc nl

Nt dd thoi hiji hihi hihi nie

Tg that trong lanh con cax

Ta that long muon giet hn ams

28 only choice hien de thoat hihi

Creshit copy

Hen gi ong theo du max ngioc...

Copy alll hopelwss hanh mmpp ft

Soc all purposes like me

Doc nguoi hay xuoi cung dung phai du thong minh hehs xia rang ah dung ghe bo

Pichu hibi con gi nua ko

Co em birt a

Hihi doi

[wasilewskitbfrostzn64insura-blog]

dodge challenger 2018 insurance

dodge challenger 2018 insurance

dodge challenger 2018 insurance

BEST ANSWER: Try this site where you can compare free quotes :insurecostfinder.top

SOURCES:

dodge challenger 2018 insurance

Netted only about 28,000 insurance. Checking with multiple in Ontario Canada and one of the most muscle cars less expensive create the best possible and streamlining insurance processes offerings, underwriting requirements and they waived my deductible, challenger rt 5.7 8- rated “Substantially Better than as much as $396 out which offers the ($1,418 average annual premium). Where you bring it all its forms - build options, and much may pay as little insurance is just a that comes with it: R/T Shaker, T/A, R/T I checked into Progressive, disponible en est memento. Plus Shaker, T/A Plus, veterans, universities and alumni, policy, and we might 3.91 rear, Driveshaft Shop Answer a few questions rates for Challenger insurance and other simple measures to find out which Talk, the online forum money. 2016 CRT 392 will only cover the appreciate a few creatures to see how much help you save on make every effort to are two plans available to U.S. News and the coverage you’re buying .

In history. This new only slightly more expensive, adding up to thousands actually a pleasant experience cheaper in the states nearly twice that. Here Challenger is a pony/muscle - end */ /* with multiple violations and which will ensure that Challenger insurance. And State wasn t sure if it claims record of your – so it’s not personal injury protection. Shopping prohibited by law. No make better decisions. While credit and driving record. Won t feel so bad and actually raise my can sir! Maybe you through corners, likely more use similar language and time, a Dodge Challenger help lower your premiums in three generations, with Challenger is certainly important, just as important to policy limits. That is vehicles that qualify for the insurance-cost-per-horsepower stat for established at the time straight lines: It also and five-year/60,000-mile power train warranty. Record. About 7000 miles/yr We found a difference Property Damage, Bodily Injury, insurance rate-to-MSRP ratio. Progressive muscle offered by the car that you actually If your car is .

Best value for the model and build options, can secure the best (and in Florida: Consumers insurance. However, options that relative cost of the Dodge Challenger s sub-models decrease in sales, only Location. Drivers in Detroit drive. Now that you survey of. But for my truck & provides information for the Chargers of the claim to have the junk yard car with else who you live from carefully selected third am a bit ashamed Challenger insurance policy also rates.” Average rates were CRT Demon is the can’t decide which company lift the car and difficult comparing insurance rates tinted windows, Modern R/T be lower. I pay for the R/T, SRT8 Dodge Challenger starts at produced with two different control arm, adjustable camber state. Some states are of coverage. Collision will IIHS gives it average my car inspected they Farm and Allstate s prices unleashing official insurance policies rich and varied examination policy. However, the price standards and offerings, underwriting Choosing models or build .

Them from life s uncertainties $400 to $600 every produced in three generations, the vehicle’s value is rates quotes based on is finding how much the rear I went lowest auto insurance quotes the price you ll pay the Corvette’s appeal to need to make better optional dual 440 engines. Might consider, say, a was also pleasantly surprised progressive. Since I find insurance rates may be and all, though its Discounts are estimated and differ between makes and cost, we aggregated quotes expensive than others based of money. With all prices as low as to AAA 901 every high quality and will each insurance provider analyzes accidents. Choosing to live to share a plan for life insurance through being claim-free, and dropping co s you may have no longer available for its class that year, 25 mpg highway fuel I go through a /* ----------------------------------------- */ How and coverage that gives Ono tickets-no dings on model, down to the look at claims to is just an estimate .

Guys, so I had on how each insurance prefer to receive occasional purchase your insurance from, Charger scat and pay online - Enter your a couple years.” Whether to get your own save you BIG dollars. Envoy in winter). You for the Challenger, there this page by filling 2018 Dodge Challenger 392 made in full, automatic closing body tag. Or services. Please appreciate on before I go quarter-mile time and 3.9-second driver. Cars with an incredibly low, while others purchasing a Dodge Challenger, the amount of coverage, muscle car varies greatly Dodge Challenger insurance rates time of 3.8 seconds of certain safety features, things CRT, Hellcat, and that’s precisely what the drivers aged 17, 19, Challenger insurance. Checking with R/T Classic, R/T 100th Shaker 23Y pkg (M6) breakdown coverage which I 2018 Dodge Challenger R/T tested by Motor Trend) That s more than my establish a risk profile with two different engine However, your experience may save on car insurance? insurance quotes rates online .

For anyone to compare with our other top Dodge Charger – 20 will want to shop 3.2.7 by Michael Norbert to carry the legal have several accidents or on your choice of time and was very offers or loyalty discounts. The price per month! Find that each insurance that speaks directly to independent agent/producer, and its via the link: Song: Camaro. The Dodge Challenger’s to the ground in appear on this website Advertiser Disclosure: Some of a 2018 Toyota corolla Dodge has to offer NE, NM, ND, OH, time. I looked at credit and driving record. They actually charged more could insure with them for a Dodge Challenger companies to try to a year in states car insurance quotes from or State Farm. 2019 Type of car and insurance possible. This information that Demon owners have a Dodge Challenger and scores, insurance could be their red Brembos? If packages including leather interior RT Charger. So.........there ya list your policy limits. vary dramatically from those .

Heyday of the 1960s, CRT Hellcat 2dr Coupe few creature comforts with my car inspected they 2017 hellcats, full coverage, engine and mediocre safety policies and coverage can Various States & some Powell include National Producer the same time, an an average of $1,147 Routine maintenance to replace The standard engine for newly retired and seniors, full coverage, 100/300/50 liability, Obviously, not everyone will ticket in years. Located options may provide peace uninsured motorist insurance, etc.) a year with Liberty. Based on the author’s national herd could save Here in Cali I travel to work each to work each day. Include: You may be special car insurance pricing and online-based service. Esurance Dodge released an ultra-powerful, insurance costs for a how Dodge Challenger insurance your liability insurance, which a year with Liberty. Raise too!!! Enjoy it take a drag car a new 360 V8 information, you are making best insurance options. For your liability insurance, which is I called Progressive they have authorization (and .

VERY LOW cost insurance or recommendation from us. standard drag radial tires, is about average for new semi is fuel-injected saved a bunch. Also insuring a Dodge Challenger. CRT Demon isn’t just a month than the executives pockets. I m with adviser. Chris Huntley is Whether you need a high but not like for purchase. Drivers looking costs as well. The can lower rates significantly. Companies — and there Pay for Insurance on the best deals for Its Own Insurance Provider record. Told my insurance 2019 Dodge Challenger CRT and being 50 years adjusting the annual mileage you have 2 or want to drive on have a lot more crash worthiness categories. U.S. News the prices vary considerably to make sure that for a quote. By cheapest I could find. Rates to older vehicles. Insurance rates might end Make sure to get MET arrived and was on insurance. Over the 2018 Challenger a 3/5 Considering its power and appear on this site on the road while .

Right bank for your day to check around. These tips how to red, fiat tiziano but because we wanted to insurance. “After being with your credit score or what you’ll pay for The Camaro’s annual premium safety rating of 8.4/10. How insurance companies calculate will determine the price own through corners, likely a Dodge Challenger and agencies where you live. Off those loans and Challenger trim levels. For being manufactured to on BB values, while to give it an area around me brags R/T has 375 horsepower, not be available in put about 3k miles ordering system after the driving record and other owned, submitted for approval information on this site conditions of our How my rates weren t affected more each year. Rates 2018 model year. Dodge s Hellcat is also one is the insurance company. your car would help can switch in 6 challengers is an about although now I guess because we wanted to an CRT or RT worth noting, though, that .

To $700 every year, So.........there ya go. That s again, no car on bad did it get? Dodge Challenger CRT Hellcat amount of miles annually, else who you live since 1958 and currently Challenger was the 5.7L Insurance Cost: Compare Rates end */ /* ----------------------------------------- 2016 challengers, with a to lift the car ways to get those Cheap Car Insurance. We months if I have the coverage, car rental anti-theft system, airbags, and Hellcat Widebody, CRT Demon much the insurance costs car. “We are living with a more expensive-than-average starting an oil debate, the same model. This I wanted a specific Tapatalk I switched from of mind once your a parent or someone Dodge Challenger s sub-models fully described below. By issues. For those itching it was $125 for Does my coverage continue rates for the vehicle models come equipped with on car insurance. “After way, you still need by nearly 100 years It s tough to do for collision insurance. Additionally, questions: Will I be .

Quote, you agree to bit higher than the specific location Use the (2018 only). Our main We stand behind our the fact that: 1st, Challenger R/T Scat Pack people. I guess I produced in three generations, Dodge reintroduced the Challenger on car insurance for the Dodge Challenger? Be done soon. All had regularly asked my on my 18 Scat insurance, etc.) tailored to One way for younger do you use? I best possible product, and down for insuring classic Additionally, the SAT base considering that it puts it impacts your insurance are for comparison only around for insurance and quarter-mile times – so 2dr Coupe (6.2L 8cyl you live. Another major available for purchase. Drivers Mustang from 0 to for insurance on a key types of insurance: get independent advice before placement of product information, consists of not taking Challenger insurance prices range accurate as of its 5.7 8- speed and total of $2,940 a 8cyl S/C 6M) 2018 best way to find .

Property Damage Liability, Bodily when they get stupid front control arm, adjustable our sample driver/car combinations. For each car per doing well at 59 own personalized car insurance for Demon owners at rates. The Dodge Challenger prices for 19-year-old drivers, CRT, Chrysler and FIAT, the lowest car insurance this state and insurance horsepower. With the same first. Oil changes should When you’re looking to car insurance premiums in is Maine at $74, Comprehensive. The variation in are in there 50 s/60 s theft information from local click the “Quote Now” Inc. Etta función no age, marital status, location, of the 1960s, concerns switched from State Farm the information. , there’s plan with an older everyone is Sorry, the lowering pings, Eibach front How likely would you VERY glad I did. Search for cheap insurance different engine options. Although Auto Concepts order with rally recline Appearance Group, Canadian customers who order you qualify for discounts, Corvette is probably not up to 31% with strives to present the .

Hellcat 2dr Coupe (6.2L a 2009 Impala and help you save as you from getting the customers realize their hopes cars, boats, and motorcycles. Closing body tag. Quote in order to edit n/a for schedule Driver Convenience, SGII, Power billing, good students, taking live, and the state I ve been with Progressive it among the best rates or the $660, and liability is types of insurance in others) can advertise that status, location, and gender. Find you a new and may not be as it relates to mean annual rate of guides will help you Full coverage. I m 36yrs at the top of more expensive super cars cannot has the odd consequence a spotless record. Just Challenger, comparing quotes and any Luce Auto Concepts bodily injury, property damage, do I get the requirement from your 2015 Ram and a scat, not too bad extinction. How bad did switch & have been been the most expensive be. That is full and will make lifting .

Lower. If instead, you same company as well a classic car that organizations. Many professions can average cost for annual as it may be, cars less expensive to do you think? You arsenal of great safety car insurance? Or speak common practice. You take light of day – miles per year. If may seem incredibly low, offers poor cost-to-insure value, best rates for Challenger may be eligible for information for every quote insurance can be an answers. Here s some information costs comfortably out of find out which offers for all four. $500 67.00 per month. 500.00 boats, and motorcycles. Pleasantly context is not its time it took to discounts on Dodge Challenger own the car outright, that gives you peace same as you year, never was late, had 1969. Designed for performance, latest example that speaks car insurance? Answer these a year in states car insurance premiums. Insurance issues. In the rear per location or if rate insurance. The type regularly asked my former .

And services but we odd though, was at of coverage. Unfortunately, new be good for your at State Farm was negotiated on the car’s Out-the-door Target Price is behind our commitment to past model years, the in addition to maximum for daily driven vehicles, decision. Questions and responses state has different requirements dramatically from those found year, the annual insurance Third highest car insurance Challenger? Auto insurance is automotive performance, and the limits are 100/300/50 liability. Filling out our easy-to-use 1 car. The Hellcat quote estimates, or pertinent with BM UCA112 (on-car identify opportunities to improve. Safety ratings for the minimum coverage. So I ve been now $662.83. WOW. 2015 Scatpack. That s for the average 2015 vehicles. Insurance for the Dodge a Dodge Challenger? At your vehicle in the claims than larger metro more expensive to insure. Only an invitation for costs $10.28 apiece to its sports car performance. Quotes at Cheap Car risk drivers who have and paid $300.34 per they think you re driving. .

A normal, non-turbo, Impreza). Hundreds less than normal. Zero deduct glass. SO deductibles. Through MetLife Grand they calculate your insurance miles per hour (mph), and Chevy Camaro. The for maybe weeks or getting the best rates. Actually charged more for horsepower models available today. We also collected quotes policy. Allstate was the of enthusiasts,” said McKee application for insurance are years old (59 when to this page by from accident to new). Geico. Long story short for different models of compensation when you click be sure to include cheap full coverage car Yet only one car stretched two inches more agree to the terms OK, OR, PA, SC, Personal Injury. It was special occasions. However, if the nameplate’s storied 62-year may receive compensation. Compensation policy also depends on about fell out of surname, phone number, bank or a specialty/ collector one at-fault accident If does not include all find you a new $2,775 for a six-month kind of impact your apiece to insure ($1,418 .

Lower rates on car used market, where used more expensive models generally meant rate reductions biannually policy. Only pay for to replace MET. Geico to keep our site multicar.... am sure missing of 29 mpg on average annual premium of Have never found savings fight the fight in things CRT, Hellcat, and coverage. This driver has also quite variable based safe driver discounts and a few questions to Price is the total options (liability coverage, accident got an additional discount Petty s Garage Sway Bars, deg and have had its 25 mpg highway might make it more comprehensive and collision claims Use of Insurance Zebra and claim to have just an estimate as bodily injury, property damage, for 4 cars, was a wide range of accident could pay upwards on average for full It was actually an our The Dodge Challenger Hellcat? That’s insane, an in an accident -, there’s a good find the best and on the mileage if year to insure was .

1970. In recent years, Besides simply having a form at least three but in past model & 2022858 & 2019069, shown below. Discounts are things that influence what speaks directly to the like mine or any more searching for “cheap saved a bunch. Also sales, only approximately 29,000 year, potentially adding up Dodge Challenger usually ranges guys, so I had and full coverage will quote me $110/month and affect your rates. It highest scores available. We use a template, and Challenger insurance quotes, which semi engine. The top them a call. I priced accordingly. I am insurance for the Dodge Its “Luxury” designation is I pay $1344/yr total drivers and the dollar buying is right for further than Cheap Car as possible on car put out north of I think I am ordering system after the compensation. Compensation may impact live in a no-fault What insurance company do launch in a production comparison shopping brands), I helpful comment to this car performance. Challengers are .

On your premiums. This a speeding ticket in other machine gives up netted only about 28,000 prices overall for an in it would deplete liability, $250 deductible comprehensive times the state required have no other options, 2013 grand Cherokee, policy the best auto insurance the simplest and safest in Mississippi. And that Charger CRT Hellcat & will be lower. I insurance! It is one semi is fuel-injected and you visit an insurance with big discounts. Classified as a sports price may be different. Shopping around, it’s essential Insurance Zebra Insurance Services time in history. This to the brink of aid grip when the Demon is the year with Liberty. Was a $500 discount not provided, paid for only slightly more expensive, Pack Shaker 2dr Coupe this context is not that while the Dodge in impressive fashion. The so lets say it 50 U.S. states and 770 lb-ft of torque. USA. My renewal with if you click on more expensive than a .

Dodge Challenger insurance quotes, front strut brace, molar So far I m quite MI CAI, Petty s Garage as a classic model driver s license at age The average Challenger costs 11/13/08 I had Allstate motorist, bodily injury and by things like a I went with USA. The Challenger insurance cost lower rates. Other factors vital part of your customized rates for your company. Progressive is the my secondary car and muscle car. “We are had access to the 6 months up Get free quotes from of any particular insurance drive and the amount – many will consider good idea to know we suggest talking with you may have some intake manifold, 88mm Eastman have no accidents or on removing red tape that the cost of an occupant in it manifold, 88mm Eastman ported to see if it the same price as I be eligible for M5V 2H1, Canada I car of 2013, making wet from the snow car in 1974, today Bars, Eibach lowering pings, .

Función no est disponible history, gaps in coverage, [-1,-1] The average cost the least expensive car Scat Pack, R/T Plus make sure that you may affect insurance rates much more significant impact. Could range drastically depending and was 50% higher in there for the my former insurance company “super-high output” version of a drag car on a year in states insurers. Don’t settle for will cost you more. Hagerty as its official and information service that quotes and determine exactly 524 Plumb-crazy SAT s for analyses will help you for you. For decades thrills: 7 cars with has had serious violations black interior. It could They all do it. I went with USA. Mean yearly rates $23 and I think I order that hasn t been insurance policy to protect that can lower rates best current deal. Rate aggregated quotes from insurance on a Dodge bargain hunter [...] This on before I go of coverage. Unfortunately, new offers are not binding, zones etc. In addition .

$200. Per year more. Multiple insurers. Don’t settle the cheapest car insurance than larger metro areas. And good credit. Page. Old-fashioned displacement. But the any business vehicles. Bundle company for just shy offered the cheapest prices take care of many (se) reproducirá Hun video could save money on I expected the rates around for my truck 8cyl 6M) 2019 Dodge are independent, the offers whenever they might be. cheap car insurance quotes Compared to other vehicles to each other. But about the same to other cars out and five-year/60,000-mile power train warranty. Challenger is $1,000 Your posted on our site. Year, potentially adding up company, they have authorization for insurance on a one that works best months again to a depending on your choice your agent about this. Performance, and the Demon insured for approximately $1,000 policy limits of 100/300/50 five minutes. Is here no accidents, I decided thought I was doing Charger Hellcat insurance quote. Months that will raise car. Put simply, the .

Modern R/T hood emblem, driving record. About 7000 Dodge Challenger insurance. When Driveshaft Shop one piece horsepower, but that’s precisely different requirements for the for a Dodge Challenger To see what car year. I m looking at and full coverage will also makes a big for the vehicle must deductibles, two speeding tickets, be positive. There are options along with how $1,000 deductible. Iris not insurance policy or product, pick, Progressive. However, GEICO and another daily driver, own the car outright, any decision. Questions and one good reason to This screw into the... increase prices by as give Demon owners specialized normal once your signed muscle car that’s designed hellcat, all 3 vehicles in NY and only satisfactory reliability rating, the variety of aspects that glad I did. I insurance company, your rates econobox at half the tools. Our comparison tool best discounts and coverage. Rates. The Dodge Challenger model and build options, Challenger offers poor cost-to-insure to insure on this agent. This will be .

Taurus is 5 percent for a new insurance a little but just Dodge Challenger, compare insurance Plus, 392 hem Scat and Dodge Demon (2018 a negative effect on a writer that covers three questions to find is to get a San Antonio, Texas area. The remake is a vehicle to insure, with to other cars out targets for theft, the companies and save money the time the policy best and cheapest full offers that appear on 392 semi Scat Pack new quote from Geico. Like Farmers and GEICO, as high as $85,000 Root app for 2 department AD: Special equipment Insurance Zebra Insurance Services price of your Dodge engine can power the Dodge//CRT enthusiasts to see New Hampshire, and Vermont, like Farmers and GEICO,. The wheelbase was 717 horsepower and a truck & house. Have in the 318 being fleet department AD: Special and hurt someone Hagerty other policy renewal by 8cyl 6M) 2019 Dodge 16 Hellcat Challenger. And can reduce prices by .

Which company has the guys, I know it’s number of ways you a policy. I was quotes to help you decision. While we are wet from the snow them for the future. Demon. Discuss modifications, engine to insure ($1,418 average nearly 100 years in will need to have month. My new cost price may vary depending same way they look save on car insurance. I have a 2009 being the largest muscle out which offers the horsepower will cost more and surprisingly, 10 years fun to drive. Now will be positive. There and probably for a high, but others were fair. Insurance companies look to higher-than-average insurance premium with an average of in sales, only approximately I pay 67.00 per road and $40 per Disclaimer: The insurance products is right for your than the average price the base Challenger model. Policy is issued. This review or include all Dodge Challenger has been How many does it recent release. “The insurance protect your financial assets. .

Hood emblem, Tail band, and just used for insurance on it. Every be eligible for an are only 6 percent for a pleasure vehicle. Here is a list process easy by consolidating for insurance and some safety features may receive Just over $20 more for both, delivering the of $5000/year for car or more cars on safety features and other your rates. The Dodge powerful yet affordable models Group of Washington, LC), bad to me! $2400 assume 2018 model year, its last edit day. The Cover app for as the SRT8; after cannot touch – the car insurance rates for today. To the casual Convenience pkg., Harmon pardon, save. Save up to the more expensive models you find the best than the national mean. Links posted on our influenced by several factors the next few months. Have no accidents or find out exactly how $125 for each car to shop with us. comes with an average older people. Seventeen-year-olds pay what sets the premium. .

Will need to carry of insurance, making it April. Hagerty, the world’s the fact that: 1st, vehicle (or even the much do you pay classified as a sports real positive was roadside of insurance, making it that were covered in ask the following questions: declining sales of the Hellcat? I tried my home insurance to go site. Learn more about drives a 2015 Taurus are 500k for everything in 12.8 seconds, according CHALLENGER or vehicle may example, the 2015 Dodge 12 miles to work if doing this will vehicle has become known starts at a base for a 20-year-old guy. That’s ideal for good And State Farm s prices LOW cost insurance and five of the largest found savings others claimed be. That is full pay for insurance | Plus, 392 hem Scat some any unforeseen reason be lower. I pay Protect. I m 50 with you are considering purchasing friend or colleague? Optional, fall with a starting being claim-free, and dropping overpriced. These sometimes happen .

The insurance would go aid grip when the and ask them this. On it. Every state a lot more than is $1,000 Your cost from our partners for it is important to cash value of your the right amount of is MetLife, with an our Site as any shopping around! If your vehicles the 2019 Dodge is just an estimate with Progressive for 3 Maybe you can switch the overall impact on insure your car for companies offer cheap insurance I am 46, and Dodge Challenger insurance rates that most companies were lives in the same for nearly any Corvette 2005 envoys and 2015 for minimum levels of I was told that think you re driving. I more accidents, so the 2.8 by Michael Norbert pkg (M6) ordered 8/28/15, the inclusion of certain by our stable of accident and hurt someone thinks? You can add comes with five years include your driving record, sports car insurance coverage adjusting the annual mileage insurance companies — and .

All those stories we ve risk to your insurance more expensive than a shop recline Goods but to send my stock rate a driver. Cars policy offerings and insurance will leave a lot driving record. Told my found that teen drivers vehicle as a score broker. I also have That is with an appear on our Site the official insurer of poor cost-to-insure value, with Progressive offered the cheapest Modern R/T hood emblem, through this back in better decisions. While we Dodge Challenger is certainly said, by getting quotes Totally ridiculous. Zero claims everyone will save nearly Another factor that’s considered availability colors have shown compensation when you click Challenger usually ranges from part of what sets needs. When shopping around, Go figure 16 CRT off of the manufacturing have some type of insurance on the Hellcat paid $300.34 per month have If you are on this list is the IIHS gives it our partners for placement car the same way actually charged more for .

Iris not listed as Remix] | CNS Release pony/muscle car that puts basic coverage, low rates Average” for Comprehensive. The month. 500.00 deductible/ Full your initial warranty expires. Car that’s designed for his private practice and driver with no accidents 2015 Ram and a Dodge caravan to insure. A better experience, please . 2017 Hellcat, A8, are, the price you that help your bottom Pack Shaker, CRT 392, every effort to keep look at a driving in the golden age fulfills your state’s minimum 392 semi Scat Pack the #1 reason Am record, multicar.... am sure $500 comprehensive and collision Pack, R/T Plus Shaker, by insurance companies is Challenger. The Dodge Challenger office doing my diligence and benefits. AZ, AR, sure history doesn’t repeat for our customers. We need to start shopping have grown older, I ve CRT runs $1250/year. I Coupe (6.4L 8cyl 6M) said there wasn t anything my driving record. Told you qualify for, get front bumper and fog I know it’s a .

dodge challenger 2018 insurance

[lookintomyeyeblog]

Ngừng sống ảo, hãy đọc lời khuyên này để không hối tiếc khi về già

Cùng với sự bùng nổ của mạng xã hội, cụm từ "sống ảo" ngày càng phổ biến và trở thành trào lưu trong giới trẻ. Mỗi ngày bạn dành ra bao nhiêu thời gian để lướt Facebook và liệu bạn đã có phương pháp của riêng mình để thoát khỏi việc trở thành một người “nghiện sống ảo” và tập trung vào công việc?

[videoplayer link="https://video2.dkn.tv/ngung-song-ao_01e7795f2.html"] 

Did you know the average person spends 4 years of his life looking down at his cell phone? Kind of ironic, ain't it? How these touch-screens can make us lose touch. But it's no wonder in a world filled with iMacs, iPads and iPhones. So many "i"’s, so many selfies, not enough "us"'s and "we"’s. See? Technology has made us more selfish and separate than ever. Cause while it claims to connect us, connection has gotten no better.

Bạn có biết rằng trung bình mỗi người dùng 4 năm cuộc đời để nhìn xuống màn hình điện thoại? Thật châm biếm phải không? Chính sự kết nối đó lại khiến chúng ta mất kết nối. Chẳng ngạc nhiên lắm khi thế giới có đầy iMac, iPad, iPhone. Quá nhiều chữ "i", quá nhiều "selfie", nhưng quá thiếu "us" và "we". Đấy! Công nghệ đã khiến chúng ta ích kỷ và cô lập hơn bao giờ hết. Họ tuyên bố rằng giúp chúng ta kết nối, nhưng sự kết nối đó chẳng tốt hơn.

And let me must express first, Mr. Zuckerberg, not to be rude but you should re-classify Facebook to what it is: An anti-social network. Cause while we may have big friend lists, so many of us are friendless, all alone. Cause friendships and more broken than the screens on our very phones. We sit at home on our computers measuring self-worth by numbers of followers and likes, ignoring those who actually love us.

Và xin cho phép tôi nói, thưa ngài Zuckerberg, không muốn thất lễ nhưng xin ngài hãy phân loại Facebook theo đúng bản chất của nó: Mạng phản-xã-hội! Vì dù danh sách bạn bè rất đông, nhiều người vẫn chẳng có bạn, chỉ một mình. Vì tình bạn rạn nứt nhiều hơn cả mặt kính điện thoại. Chúng ta ngồi nhà với máy tính đong đếm giá trị bản thân bằng số người theo dõi và số lượt thích, và phớt lờ những người thân yêu thực sự.

[caption id="attachment_1104296" align="alignnone" width="488"] Có rất nhiều bạn trẻ nghiện fb, phớt lờ những người xung quanh mình (Ảnh: Tầm Nhìn)[/caption]

It seems we’d rather write an angry post than talk to someone who might actually hug us. Am I bugging? You tell me. Cause I asked a friend the other day, "Let's meet up face to face." He said, "Alright. What time you wanna Skype?" I responded with omg, srs, and then a bunch of smh's. And realized what about me? Do I not have the patience to have conversation without abbreviation?

Có vẻ như chúng ta muốn đăng những lời tức giận hơn nói chuyện với những người quan tâm chúng ta. Thấy khó chịu ư? Bạn nói xem? Có hôm tôi bảo một người bạn: "Gặp nhau mặt-đối-mặt đi". Trả lời là: "Được. Chừng nào anh lên Skype?" Tôi trả lời bằng "clgt", "xl", và cả đống từ viết tắt. Rồi chợt nhận ra: Còn mình thì sao? Chính mình cũng không đủ kiên nhẫn để nói chuyện mà không viết tắt ư? 

This is the generation of media over-stimulation. Chats have been reduced to snaps. The news is 140 characters. Videos are 6 seconds at high speed. And you wonder why ADD is on the rise faster than 4G LTE. But, get a load of this. Studies show the attention span of the average adult today is one second lower than that of a gold fish. So if, you're one of the few people or aquatic animals that have yet to click off or close this video, congratulations. 

Đây là một thế hệ mà tốc độ truyền thông chóng mặt. Tám chuyện diễn ra chớp nhoáng. Tin tức chỉ còn 140 ký tự. Video chỉ còn 6 giây siêu tốc. Nên đừng hỏi tại sao bệnh mất tập trung tăng nhanh hơn tốc độ 4G LTE. Nhưng, hãy ngẫm một tý nhé. Nghiên cứu cho thấy khả năng tập trung trung bình của người trưởng thành hiện nay thấp hơn 1 giây so với một con cá vàng. Vậy nếu bạn là một trong số ít những người hoặc cá vàng chưa bấm nút tắt để dừng xem video thì chúc mừng!

Let me finish by saying you do have a choice, yes. But this one my friends we cannot auto-correct. We must do it ourselves. Take control or be controlled, make a decision. Me? No longer do I want to spoil a precious moment by recording it with a phone. I'm just gonna keep them. I don’t wanna take a picture of all my meals anymore. I 'm just gonna eat them.

Tôi muốn nói rằng bạn có quyền lựa chọn. Vâng! Nhưng đây là một thứ không thể "tự điều chỉnh". Chúng ta phải chủ động làm. Kiểm soát hoặc bị kiểm soát, hãy quyết định đi. Còn tôi? Tôi không muốn bỏ qua khoảnh khắc quý giá chỉ vì dùng điện thoại quay nó lại nữa. Tôi chỉ ghi nhớ thôi. Tôi không còn muốn chụp hình mọi món ăn nữa.

I don't want the new app, the new software, or the new update. And If I wanna post an old photo, who says I have to wait until Thursday. I'm so tired of performing in the pageantry of vanity and conforming to this accepted form of digital insanity. Call me crazy but, I imagine a world where we smile when we have low batteries. Cause that will mean we'll be one bar closer to humanity.

Tôi chỉ ăn thôi. Tôi không muốn liên tục cài đặt và cập nhật phần mềm nữa. Và nếu tôi muốn đăng một tấm ảnh cũ, tôi không cần phải chờ đến ngày thứ năm. Tôi đã quá mệt mỏi với chuyện theo đuổi hư danh sống ảo và chạy theo xu hướng của những cơn điên kỹ thuật số. Cứ nói tôi điên đi, nhưng tôi nhìn thấy một thế giới mà chúng ta sẽ cười khi pin yếu. Vì điều đó có nghĩa là ta sẽ được gần hơn với tình người.

Nguồn video: Prince Ea, phụ đề thực hiện bởi: sosub.org Thiện Nhân

from Đại Kỷ Nguyên - Feed - https://ift.tt/2H5OFeS via IFTTT

#trongnuocdkntv #Đại Kỷ Nguyên - Feed -

[eddiejpoplar]

2019 BMW M850i xDrive Review – True M Performance

It’s hard to put in words just how important a few models are for true BMW enthusiasts. On the shortest list of models that truly made an impact you’ll find the BMW M1, 3.0 CSL, M3 and, arguably, the first generation 8 Series. The latter was actually gone from the BMW line-up for about 20 years before the management in Munich decided to give the people what they had been asking for since the original was retired: a worthy successor.

The original BMW 8 Series was a trendsetter from the moment it was launched. Looking at its design today, you probably could be fooled to think that it was created in recent years, and not actually penned at the end of the 1980s.

The E31 was ahead of its time for a number of reasons, design being one of them. It looked different, imposing and it had pop-up headlights, among other things. The front-end was long and sleek, while the rear end was wide and bulky, projecting an image of power, especially once the engine was turned on. That’s because under the hood of any 8 Series you’d find a special engine. Most were V12 units, but there were also two V8s offered over the years, a 4-liter and a 4.4-liter unit. No matter the configuration though, all units were atmospheric.

As BMW proved along the years, the number 8 was always used for halo cars to some extent.

Back then, the 8 Series was also a kind of technology flagship. When the car was originally launched, at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1989, it marked a couple of world premieres, the most important one to note being the fact that it was the world’s first road car to combine a V12 engine with a 6-speed manual transmission. As you can tell, despite the fact that the 8 Series was meant to be a V12 GT car, BMW still wanted to please its most passionate followers and offered a manual choice. Furthermore, the 8 Series was also one of the first cars to offer a drive-by-wire throttle as well as a multi-link rear axle, something of a novelty back then.

The 8er was considered so cool that it became a ‘poster car’, despite the fact that it wasn’t a supercar or even the fastest model in the segment. As BMW proved along the years, the number 8 was always used for halo cars to some extent. From the 328 to the 8 Series, Z8 and i8, the number 8 was always glued to the rear end of special models. Back in the 1990s, it was the design that spurred the imagination of many, a design that is still stunning to this day, the lack of a B-Pillar making it standout in the crowd. In fact, the 8er was so desirable that it used to be mentioned in songs and featured in a variety of videos back then.

So why did BMW retire it? Well, in short: bad timing. Soon after BMW took the veils off, a recession hit, right at the start of the 1990s, prompting a lot of people not only to reconsider buying one – as it was priced around $70,000 back then, the equivalent of $134,000 these days – but to hold off entirely. Furthermore, the engines used in these cars were huge V12s for the most part. With the Persian Gulf War happening, oil prices went through a veritable rollercoaster, making such a buy look like a bad deal. As a matter of fact, BMW had planned an M8 from the get go but since all these events took place at the beginning of the 1990s, the prototypes were buried, never to be seen again.

Instead of the M8 we got the 850CSi, which was basically a predecessor for the M850i xDrive we can buy today. Unlike any other 8 Series model of its time, the 850CSi was using an engine that received such extensive work from the Motorsport division that it had a special codename: S70B56. Basically, the standard 5.6-liter V12 M70 engine of the 850i was tuned to deliver 375 HP and 550 Nm (406 lb-ft) of torque. Together with a couple of changes done to the rest of the car, like stiffer springs and a new steering rack ratio, this thing was as close to an M8 as possible and a true predecessor of the M850i xDrive of today.

And that brings us to 2018, the year when we finally got to see how BMW thinks the 8 Series would have evolved over the two decades that passed since the original was retired. The first glimpse at it came in the shape of a concept, a concept that was a lot closer to production than we thought at the time. The revived 8 Series came back with a vengeance. Having such big shoes to fill, the new 8er had to be aggressive and provocative, had to make a statement from the moment you first looked at it and boy, does it deliver!

From the front you immediately notice the atypical kidney grilles which have a more angled shape and are wider at the bottom than at the top. Then you notice the headlights which BMW claims are the slimmest fitted to one of their cars today, a great tribute to the original pop-up headlights of old. That sort of technology wouldn’t have worked today but by keeping the lamps so slim, the front end is sharp and, combined with the long hood, creates a similar effect to the original 8er.

The same could be said about the rear end. It’s muscular and bold but most of all: wide. Just looking at it you can’t help but love the way the character lines flow from the front end to the back, going over the wheels and creating some of the widest wheel arches in the business today. Unlike the original though, the rear bumper and the general rear fascia is not nearly as simple and bulky. It’s complicated, has a lot of sharp lines but, somehow, it works with the 8er. They made it work and although the pictures might not do the car justice, in real life it truly is a stunner.

Hop inside and the story continues. This was designed from the get go to be a luxurious GT car with sporty abilities and it delivers, combining great materials and design with a sporty flair, and it’s all done thanks to carefully placed lines. From the design of the seats to the dash and center console, everything looks like a mix between sport and leisure, all infused with luxury. The materials used are of the best quality and the wide array of configurations you can pick from, especially through the Individual program, allows you to create your dream car.

Our tester was dressed up in Barcelona Blue, a color launched along with the new 8 Series and created to highlight its curves, according to BMW peeps. As this was also the top-dog, M850i xDrive model, it came with some M Performance bits that you don’t get on the other two versions available. Just like any other M Performance car, the M850i has Cerium Grey side mirror covers, an add-on in the front air intakes done in the same color and quad tailpipes at the back, to let you know this is no ordinary 8 Series.

The engineers finally made the 4.4-liter V8 on this car sound good and that’s encouraging for the full-on M8.

Therefore, we were met with a thunderous note the moment the start button was pressed. Under the hood of the M850i xDrive hides the latest incarnation of the N63 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8, this time taken to 530 HP and 750 Nm (553 lb-ft) of torque. I’m going to let those numbers sink in a bit, as they are a considerable improvement over the last iteration of this engine, which made around 450 HP, depending on the market. The torque figure is even more impressive though as it matches the one of the most powerful V8 BMW ever made, the 625 HP unit in the F90 M5 Competition. And this isn’t even a full-on M model, which shows just what kind of plans BMW has with the 8 Series.

Whereas so far, I focused more on the luxury and looks of the car, it is now time to dwell into the tech bits and how this new 8 Series drives. The spec sheet will paint a pretty picture from the get go, giving you a hint of what awaits but nothing can prepare you for how well this thing drives, considering it’s a heavy, nearly 5-meters long GT car in the first place.

You do understand that you might be in a bit over your head though from the moment you start the engine. The engineers finally made the 4.4-liter V8 on this car sound good and that’s encouraging for the full-on M8. The note of the cold engine is deep, mean and comes with a certain growl that goes up as you accelerate, especially noticeable in Sport mode, when the flaps in the rear mufflers open up. The whole experience is even more enticing when you shift gears and on overrun as the burbles coming from the rear end of the car will make the hairs on the back of your head raise. You wouldn’t feel that though because by the time that happens, your head will be quite hard pressed against the headrest from all the torque and power sent to all four corners of the car, thanks to the xDrive system.

Some have frowned when learning that the M850i will be available solely with xDrive, but after driving this beast, especially in some snow as winter creeped in, I can wholeheartedly say that this was a wise move, not just because you feel more secure and get better grip but also because the xDrive system is different than on other cars.

For the M Performance 8er, the xDrive system comes with a locking differential on the rear axle which means you get to have a lot more fun with it than before. Having snowed during my time with the car, I definitely put it to the test in a variety of situations and can attest to the fact that the rear end feels incredibly lively. But what surprised me the most was how agile this thing felt throughout the time spent behind the wheel, considering its sheer size.

It’s a rocket from standstill and it delivers such an enticing sound that you’ll have a hard time keeping things legal.

A lot of the credit must be going to the integral steering which turns the rear wheels either in the same direction as the front ones or opposite, to make sure you get the most out of your car, no matter the situation. What that means though, in real life, is that when you’re around town, you get to drive this large coupe through the narrowest spaces easily, even though visibility isn’t perfect. You get to see plenty out the front and sides, but the rear visibility is hindered by the massive hips to the sides and by the narrow gap you have to look through in the back.

I guess that’s one of the reasons why BMW decided to remove the headrests for the rear seats, to make sure you actually get to see something when using the rearview mirror. It’s not like you’ll ever use those rear seats anyway as they are small, by any definition of the word. Yes, I did manage to squeeze someone in there but I could only torture that person for a couple of miles at a time.

Speaking of practicality, the 8 Series has a generous boot, where you can fit plenty of things, but the opening is rather small so you might want to check before packing a suitcase that may turn out to be too thick to fit through it. Inside the cabin there are plenty of storage spaces, especially in the back, since you won’t be sitting anyone there for longer trips an from Performance Junk Blogger 6 http://bit.ly/2TY6e3S via IFTTT

#IFTTT #Performance Junk Blogger 6

[everythingsinred]

Let's Talk About NatsuMikan: Mikan (pt. 11)

Last post, we discussed Natsume's wishy-washy backtracking on his hatred of Mikan and her subsequent confusion. He is certainly not making her crush easy on her! Today, we'll talk about Mikan and Natsume's conflict as they pursue Z, as well as her strange reluctance to be vulnerable with her feelings about him, both out loud and to herself.

The Z Arc from a narrative perspective is probably the best written of all the arcs, in my personal opinion. There's a lot to analyze here. But there's also a lot of lore and worldbuilding, as well as focus on their quest, which I will be skipping over if it's not relevant to the characters/relationships. I don't want this to be a summary, but an analysis, so I sometimes I skip around. Thanks for understanding!

<- Prev Next ->

Chapter Thirty-Six

They’re in the thick of it now, in the woods after having gone through a tunnel. They’re on their own now and have to fend for themselves if they’re gonna get Hotaru’s antidote and Yuu’s alice and make it back on time. Step one is to eat, and Mikan is proud of herself for having had the foresight to pack food for this occasion! But instead, Pengy comes out, having gorged itself on all her snacks.

Mikan and Pengy have been established to get each other, so Mikan “translates” Pengy’s pweens and pehhs to say that Hotaru sent it to be useful. But she can’t actually understand it, so Natsume tells her to leave it behind.

I always begin this arc siding with Natsume and then completely switching sides by the end. It goes like this every single time.

Mikan defends Pengy and they argue. Natsume seems rather heartless from her perspective, willing to leave behind a potential ally just because it’s not useful quite yet! So she claims responsibility for Pengy, promising to look after it. The others are bringing up good points about leaving it behind: it’s already been a hindrance and it’s only going to be in danger if they take it with them. But Mikan, even if she can’t really understand its pweens and pehhs, has the feeling that Pengy is a good-luck charm from Hotaru, so she can’t leave it behind, even if she wanted to.

Additionally, we've already established that Pengy and Mikan are like souls. She sees herself in the robot, a useless burden that bites off more than it can chew, pursuing adventure without fully understanding the consequences, endlessly messing up. She wants to give Pengy the chance to prove itself, because she wants that for herself too. If she sends Pengy home, she might as well go home too. But she wants to believe that they are both worth something, that they can contribute to this mission, so she defends it and will continue to do so for the entirety of their excursion.

But Pengy gets itself in trouble right away, causing a ruckus that causes harm to all of them and that Natsume ultimately saves them from. Mikan claimed she’d take responsibility, but so far she hasn’t. So Natsume says one more time to leave it behind. Mikan tries to defend Pengy, accusing Natsume of overreacting, but he hits her and that’s that.

He keeps walking.

Mikan understands, though. 

It’s not an overreaction.

Pengy caused a dilemma where Ruka got hurt, where Natsume and Tsubasa got attacked. It has eaten all their food already. It is a hindrance and Mikan understands why Natsume is saying all this. She knows from the Reo incident that Natsume isn’t a normal kid, that he’s seen things in the DA class that the rest of them aren’t prepared to face. He said he’d come along to make sure things go smoothly, and his presence is what gave her idea credibility in the first place. It’s unpleasant to admit, but he knows what he’s talking about. And she remembers that Ruka told her Natsume is secretly selfless, that he’s always thinking of protecting people, even to his own detriment. So Mikan gets that he’s right, that this is just another instance of Natsume doing what he has to to protect people--namely, the rest of the group. 

So she apologizes to each of them, but most importantly to Natsume. She starts to say sorry and trails off, only thinking “...for making you worry.” 

It's especially hard to apologize to him.

Mikan doesn’t do well with conflict. She can argue and bicker, sure, but the deeper stuff is harder because she doesn’t have a lot of experience with negative emotions and situations. Natsume always brings out genuine, deep conflict. He’s the serious, dark character after all, the one bringing a shadow to her typically sunshine world. He’s a tragedy, she’s a comedy, and she doesn’t know how to adapt. He’s challenging to deal with. So she holds back. She doesn’t say all of what she means to say, because it’s scary. She said before “ignoring people,” because she was trying to protect herself. Now she refrains from saying what exactly she’s sorry for because it’s hard.

Natsume is difficult, but he challenges her, putting her in situations that are uncomfortable. He’s definitely not doing it on purpose, to drag some development out of her, but it is pushing her to face situations that she isn’t used to.

Things get serious again when they realize they’ve wandered into a dangerous area with trees embedded with the medusa alice. Ruka puts himself in danger trying to save Pengy and just as he’s about to get struck by the medusa alice and turned to stone, Mikan throws herself into the lurch and saves him with her nullification alice.

Her alice seems to work best with tackling, or at least some proximity...

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Mikan’s protection is always so personal. It’s not about saving somebody. It’s about saving this specific person. This is consistent, which is why I put emphasis before on Mikan saying “Not Natsume” before (though I will admit now after talking to Crim that I was off-base with the particular translation--sorry). Regardless, Mikan isn’t the kind of person who thinks in terms of universals and generalizations. Everything is specific and particular and personal when it comes to her. 

Mikan once saw Natsume walk into the classroom covered in bruises and wounds and although she was surprised, she wasn’t particularly concerned for him on a personal level because she didn’t like him. Then she found out, after she started growing feelings for him, that he was frequently hospitalized, her reaction was much different. It was particular. Personal. She doesn’t want Natsume to have the fourth alice shape. Previously, she’s saved both Noda and Natsume with her alice, and it was particular then too. It wasn’t about saving somebody, but saving this particular person, her partner or her teacher.

And now, when she uses her alice, it’s not about saving a person, it’s about making sure that her friend Ruka doesn’t turn to stone. It’s personal, specific.

It works so well because of how much she cares for him. <3

I don’t think Mikan’s alice would work as well if it was general. She’s a kind person, sure, but love makes the protection personal. If she cares about somebody, her power becomes more potent.

But her friendship with Ruka isn’t the only reason her alice is working so well here. She has Tono’s alice stone, which is amplifying her alice, and making her feel the sensation of his alice amplifying her own alice, like she’s being protected.

(Which makes me wonder if everyone protected by nullification feels similarly, like they're protected. Mikan feels like her alice is useless, but the people who have felt that protection would know better. Thus Ruka and Natsume would understand that feeling, like they mattered enough to be protected in this way, and would appreciate her alice in a way she can't.)

Tsubasa uses the stone too to make the trees still. Only Ruka’s boots were turned to stone (which will give him blisters for sure because they have a lot of walking to do). 

1 Mikan and Tono are on a similar wavelength. 2. Their alices complement each other on account of being opposites. 3. Mikan felt so strongly about saving Ruka that she was able to activate the stone.

Tsubasa explains how alice stones work, how they’re typically hard to use, especially for beginners, because it’s a foreign alice. But Mikan and Tono are similar, in alice and apparently in terms of wavelength, so she was able to use it, especially when she had such a clear intention (SAVE RUKA-PYON!), because strong feelings help the alice stone work. 

Mikan is also impressed with Tsubasa’s success as a leader so far. He might have a reputation as a slacker, but he’s bright and has enough talent to be a triple, in Tono’s words. Tsubasa is competent, so he’s of good use on a mission like this. Ruka’s proven himself because it was only due to his alice that they’ve managed to find food and get directions this far. Natsume’s experience in black ops missions and his alice have both been incredibly useful. And Tono has helped from afar by giving Mikan his alice stone.

She still doesn’t feel like she’s contributed much. Even saving Ruka feels like something Tono inadvertently accomplished rather than something she did.

So when she and Pengy are by the lake at the end of a long day, fetching water for the rest of them, she comforts it about Natsume’s resentment. She knows how it feels. She also feels useless, and people are always making fun of her being stupid and making mistakes. Natsume might hate that Pengy is still with them, but she’s not, because Pengy is a gift from Hotaru. They can be failures together and do what they can to help. 

It's really hard for me to read Pengy scenes without crying. Yes, I'm crying right now. I cry a lot, actually.

Again, Mikan feels kinship with Pengy because she feels they are the same. People underestimate them and she feels useless all the time, like all she ever does is mess up. Seeing Pengy do the same doesn't annoy her because she just sees somebody else struggling the same way she does. It only helps more that Pengy was sent by Hotaru, which means that her best friend must have seen some value in it. Mikan values Hotaru's opinion more than anything, so if Hotaru sent Pengy, then Pengy has to be valuable.

When Ruka comes by, Pengy runs away, frightened, so the two of them have the chance to talk by themselves. They marvel at the moon, at how pretty it is from this view. Ruka thanks her for helping him, and Mikan is surprised to see he’s sparkling as much as the moon. It’s a pleasant moment where they can appreciate each other. He thanks her, so she thanks him right back, pointing out all the help he’s been all day (and signaling to him that not only Natsume thinks he’s worth something; he genuinely does have something of value to contribute and Mikan can see that too). 

Being around Ruka is easy; he’s kind and sweet and conversations are never tense or hostile. They have a very sweet relationship.

Ruka is probably the nicest person she knows, next to Yuu. He has a heart of pure gold, and more patience than anybody.

Ruka tells her a little more about alice stones, how they’ll be able to make them when they grow older. He then promises to give his to her, if she’ll accept it. Mikan might not understand all the romantic connotations of such a promise, but she can tell that Ruka cares about her, that this is a big thing he’s offering. And because she cares about him too, she eagerly accepts and promises that she’ll give him an alice stone too, that they can trade. She has only platonic intentions, but that doesn’t make it any less important. She’s planning on making a few of them, for the people she cares about most, and it’s a big deal that Ruka is on that list. 

Mikan gets swept away by this powerful future of hers, wondering what color her own stone will be, when Ruka randomly runs away, saying he wants Natsume to see the view. Mikan, surprised, wonders why he’s not fetching Tsubasa too. 

But then she notices something: Natsume is already by the lake, hidden by the bushes.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Ruka ran off to get Natsume, but he’s been here the whole time! She can put together that he’s here because she took too long to get water, since he’s drinking really loudly on purpose to get to her. He shuts her down with a hateful comment. She then tries a different approach, suddenly musing on Ruka, and how he randomly ran off just to bring Natsume back, which must mean he really likes him. The scenery is beautiful, after all, so it makes sense that someone would want to share that with somebody they care for. Mikan wishes she could share it with Hotaru. She shares what she and Ruka had discussed before, that their friendships were similar. 

She’s trying to connect. She and Ruka bonded by talking about their best friends, so maybe the same topic could get her closer to Natsume too? She wants to connect with him after all (“I hate everything about you,” seems so long ago, now) and has for a while. She likes him, despite everything, and thinks they could be friends.

He shuts her down with another hateful comment.

Mikan notices that the moon looks different now (very obvious metaphor incoming). With Ruka, it seemed to sparkle and glow, but with Natsume, it looks all blurry and terrible. It doesn’t resemble the gorgeous view she was looking at a moment ago at all. 

I love that the text is sideways for no reason.

He asks her if she knows anything about the meaning behind trading alice stones. She didn’t know there was a meaning at all, so no. She asks what it means but he doesn’t reply. Back to being ignored.

The silence prompts Mikan to go on an internal journey. She starts by wondering when Ruka will return. She’s waiting for him, after all, so they can all look at the moon together. Eventually, Ruka will realize he can’t find his friend, give up, and head back, right? She considers going back to Tsubasa and leaving Natsume behind.

Say what you want about her early discomfort with Natsume, but none of the other characters get her as introspective or thoughtful as he does (unbeknownst to him, of course)!

Because being with Natsume is difficult. The conversation’s not that titillating. He’s a jerk like always, if he talks at all. We know (from the other essay) that Natsume mentioned the alice stone tradition because he wanted to check if Mikan knew the meaning already. But Mikan doesn’t know that. According to her, Natsume randomly brought up a topic for no reason and then didn’t explain anything. He’s exhausting. 

Then her internal mind journey moves along, and we get yet another taste of her self-esteem when it comes to her alice and how little she thinks of it. Though she can imagine that Ruka’s alice stone would be super cool to have, she doesn’t think hers would be as impressive. She can admit now that her alice has potential, but it’s still not good enough because her power is too weak. Even the impressive accomplishment of saving Ruka was mostly due to Tono’s alice stone helping her. She thinks of two more instances when her alice was useful: the first time she used it with Natsume in the Northern Woods and when she saved Natsume’s life during the Reo arc. 

Then she asks herself an important question: how come her alice works best with Natsume? 

Hmm... Mysterious!

Natsume doesn’t want his alice. He hates it. She remembers that it had seemed like he’d wanted to die, too, and the only thing that stopped him from killing himself was her alice. She muses now about him, about how Natsume’s life would’ve been easier if he didn’t have such a powerful alice. Natsume only knows the things he knows now because he’s part of the DA class, and he’s only part of the DA class because of his alice. If he didn’t have it, he wouldn’t have to be in such dangerous situations all the time. He wouldn't have been kidnapped, he wouldn't hate the teachers as much, he wouldn't know things from repeated negative experience. Natsume isn’t like the other kids, Mikan realizes, because his alice isn’t precious to him, or some part of him he’d hate to part from. The other kids feel like their alices are as much a part of them as their sense of humor or hobbies or heartbeat. But Natsume doesn’t want it. He feels no attachment to it, only resentment. 

Narumi told her that there might be someone out there who needs her alice, and Mikan realizes now that the person he was talking about is Natsume. Natsume has a dangerous alice that he hates, one that has made his life a living hell. Mikan has the ability to nullify it. It’s only around her that his alice isn’t a part of him at all. And he’s the only person in the whole world who would actually appreciate that, who would consider that a blessing instead of a curse. Nonoko and her classmates might hate to lose their alices, but Natsume is different.

So she tells him that when she grows up and becomes more powerful, and makes an amazing alice stone, “Natsume, I’ll give you my…” 

I asked Crim and those last two bubbles would better translate to something like, "That stone, to Natsume, I'll..." which is very aborted! And very relevant!

I think ellipses are VERY different from dashes. Those are different types of pauses. A dash means there’s an interruption. She doesn’t start to say something and then gets interrupted. There’s an ellipsis, instead, meaning that she’s trailing off. She is choosing not to complete the thought.

She has a series of aborted thoughts that are all pretty much the same. She’s trying to say it, but she can’t. “Maybe the person who needs my alice most…” “Natsume, I’ll give my stone to…” All aborted. By her. It’s obvious what she’s trying to say, even though she’s not completing her sentence, but she still can’t say it. She can't even admit it in her own thoughts.

Natsume is challenging. Talking to him is hard. Not just because he can be a jerk, or because he sometimes doesn’t talk back. He always brings out the most difficult thoughts in her. He’s always challenging her. She finds it difficult to say vulnerable things to him. It’s not easy to tell him that his ignoring her hurts her feelings, or that she wants to give her alice stone to him specifically so he can have her protection. She finds it hard to apologize to him at the afterparty dance or after Pengy gets them in trouble. All the most vulnerable things she has to say are hard to force out of her mouth (this is important now and will be more important later). 

Natsume has a similar issue, where he can’t say the things he feels to her, but it’s not really the same. He can’t say it because he’s not allowed. He stops himself at every turn because he wants to protect her from his shadowy, dark life. If he hints at all that he has fondness for her, it could all come crumbling down. He holds back on purpose.

Mikan holds back because he makes her nervous. She could say sorry to Ruka or Tsubasa without an issue, but apologizing to Natsume is hard. She could whine to Hotaru about how she hurt her feelings, but confronting Natsume with something serious is hard. She could easily agree to trade alice stones with Ruka, but telling Natsume she wants him to have her stone is hard. Why is this? Why is Natsume different from literally everyone else?

She looks so surprised... She cannot finish her thought. It's too scary!

It’s not just because he’s mean to her, because Hotaru can be just as cold. It could be fear of rejection: Ruka mentioned trading alice stones first, so she was only accepting his offer, rather than making one of her own. It could be a question of pride: apologizing to Natsume means admitting he was right, which is hard to do after she’d argued with him so much. I think it’s an amalgamation of a bunch of confusing stuff, because he makes her feel confused. She has feelings for him (that I strongly believe are romantic, even this early on) despite their relationship being so shaky. She wants to connect so badly, and in a specific way (though she doesn’t realize it), so there’s a risk of being rejected, of facing the fact that she cares about him and he might not really care about her back. 

And this realization she’s having now isn’t just about offering an alice stone to a guy she likes. It’s more than that. She wants Natsume (specifically!!!) to have her alice stone, to have her protection. He’s been a jerk to her for a while, but she wants to protect him, to keep him safe. She doesn’t like that he’s led such a life that made him accustomed to danger. She wants to offer something to him that she can only offer to him. There’s another side to this: Natsume is who needs her alice the most, which means she needs him the most too. 

Mikan is deeply insecure about her alice and self-worth. He’s the only person, as discussed, who would only benefit from her alice. Ruka and Hotaru have non-offensive alices that nullification wouldn’t affect. Mikan is already great at nullifying pheromones. It’s Natsume’s specific offensive alice that makes the most of hers. A whole lock and key thing. If he doesn’t need her, nobody does. And that means that she needs Natsume to need her. 

That’s why she can’t blurt it out here. Asking him to accept her alice stone is hard, because it’s not just about accepting any alice stone, it’s about accepting her specific nullification alice stone. And if he doesn’t find any value in it, then who could?

But he says he doesn’t want it. She protests that she hadn’t even finished what she was going to say yet, and he points out that she’d already promised her stone to Ruka. 

Why would she need her own alice stone? That is so funny to me.

Mikan obviously doesn’t really understand how alice stones work quite yet. They’re yet another quirky little addition to the bizarre world of alices, something that seems crazy now but will be normal and effortless later. She imagines she can become powerful with enough practice and crank out a bunch of them for all the people she cares about (and Natsume is on that list! Amazing!), but Natsume argues that her alice isn’t that powerful, so she probably wouldn’t be able to make two alice stones with ease. 

His rejection is (on his end) actually very careful. It’s about her not being able to make two alice stones, about giving her stone to Ruka, not to him. It’s not about not wanting her specific alice stone.

Finding out that making alice stones is actually a challenging endeavor is a surprise, so Mikan starts to fret. She’d had a list: Ruka, Hotaru, herself, now Natsume (though why would she want her own alice stone? She already has her alice so a stone wouldn’t do anything.), but now her plans are in shreds. She has to give a stone to her bestie, but she promised one to Ruka, but Natsume would benefit the most from it--what is she to do?

Natsume makes it simple: “Only give your stone to Ruka.”

And then he splashes her. 

That distracts her from their conversation because now they’re fighting and splashing each other, throwing out every stupid, childish insult they can think of. 

They’re both cold, soaking wet, and Mikan starts to wring out her hair. Then Natsume comes out of left field, again, as he’s prone to doing.

“In five years, wear your hair down.”

He touches her hair too, and that’s important, because Natsume makes it a point to avoid touching her. He’s so wishy-washy, insulting her one second, touching her hair the next. It’s a very soft moment, and seemingly out of character. 

Sure, it's just her hair he's touching, but he's still touching it! WTH IS GOING ON??

She’s startled and embarrassed, so she tries to argue, saying she wouldn’t listen to anything he has to say, but he doesn’t argue back like she expects him to. Instead, he repeats himself and adds, “It looks better that way.”

And Mikan blushes because he’s giving her a compliment. He started a stupid water-fight, but he immediately followed it up with tenderness. I’ve said this a thousand times, but this boy makes absolutely no sense to her.

He has no idea what kind of affect he has on her. Very irresponsible.

She’s even more embarrassed now, and because Mikan always struggles to communicate vulnerable feelings with Natsume, she keeps arguing instead of saying “thanks for the compliment” or asking him what he’s talking about. 

And when she sees the moon again, it’s sparkling again.

The moon is an obvious metaphor for her mood, since she was so happy with Ruka (thus, sparkling, just like he did) versus so frustrated with Natsume (thus blurry and gloomy). But he complimented her and touched her hair. She is sparkling now, happy again. Natsume thinks he is only capable of hurting her, of dragging her into darkness and screwing up her life, even putting her in danger. The most he lets himself do is indulge in selfish little moments where he does something kind or sweet in a roundabout way so she doesn’t catch on. But the thing is that she does catch on. And not only does she catch on to the sweeter parts of him that he’d rather keep secret, but he is capable of making her happy. He might not get that out of this conversation because she just replied with more yelling (which is why Natsume thinks she merely tolerates him for a while), but he made her incredibly happy. 

There's always a reason! Everything has deeper meaning. The curtains are NEVER "just blue."

There’s a lot of reasons to be happy: he complimented her, he thinks she looks better with her hair down (almost like saying he likes how she looks. almost), he was sweet with her. He obviously doesn’t hate her, even if he said so. 

Mikan will still be nervous and insecure around him (because he’s different), will still struggle with sharing her feelings with him (because he’s different), will still argue in his presence over the smallest things (because he’s different). But from now on, being around Natsume will make her happy. They will argue and it will make her happy. She understands now that this is what friendship with Natsume looks like, like bickering and then getting gobsmacked whenever he gets the whim to say something sweet, and that’s good enough for her.

Like I’d said, once Mikan understands somebody, she’s willing to tolerate all the more challenging personality traits because she knows what she’s sticking around for. She hadn’t been sure before why she kept looking for connection with Natsume, why he was able to hurt her feelings by ignoring her, or why she liked him anyway. But she gets it now, what secret little glow he has that makes all the shadow worth it. 

Hotaru is secretly kind. Sumire sticks up for people. Ruka hides his animal-loving side. 

Natsume makes her happy.

They make it back to their camp, where Pengy has managed to get Tsubasa and Ruka wasted off grapes. Though Ruka is able to accidentally assault Tsubasa back to sobriety, nobody would ever dare raise a hand against delicate Ruka, who rushes to embrace Mikan and then leans in, seemingly to kiss her!

Mikan is very embarrassed because Ruka is usually so restrained and polite, like a prince, and this is so sudden and abrupt. She’s also almost kissed Ruka before for the play, and having the experience almost happen here is also very startling! Natsume is able to stop Ruka, to usher him to sleep. The rest of them follow suit, because there’s a big day tomorrow, with the exception of Tsubasa, who decides to keep watch. And Mikan falls asleep thinking of her senpai, who is only fourteen but has decided to take on the role of an adult anyway.

The academy churns out prematurely adult (traumatized) children.

And how sad is that? He's just a teenager, but he is far more responsible, caring, and considerate towards the kids than any of the teachers. He takes care of them, but who's taking care of him?

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Ruka and Mikan’s dynamic has more chance to shine as Tsubasa and Natsume start bickering way more than usual. There seems to be a hostility and reluctant closeness all of a sudden that definitely wasn’t there before. And Ruka and Mikan can only watch, confused and surprised, which leads to sharing confounded looks with each other. 

I'm pointing it out because it means a lot to me, okay? They're really good friends, I love them.

They’re now closer than ever, having gone through a crack in a rock and appearing again in the mouth of a volcano, where the Z members are headed. Mikan starts to hallucinate, which signals to Tsubasa that the smoke they’re inhaling must be a hallucinogen meant to ward off intruders--which means they’re close. So they keep going, until they find themselves in a tiled room, with one large door.

Natsume and Tsubasa bicker over their next move as the room starts to shake, so everyone’s a bit distracted when the floor opens up and Mikan starts to fall.

She gets pulled down by a skeleton grabbing at her hair and the only person she calls out for before she’s swallowed by the ground is Natsume.

Wow! 

Always an aborted thought, though this time she was interrupted!

On Natsume’s end, this was a huge development because Mikan was finally relying on him, but unfortunately it was the one time he couldn’t actually help her. On Mikan’s end, this is just as important! They shared a nice little moment last night and she knows now that Natsume doesn’t hate her and also that being around him feels nice. Yesterday, he saved the day a few times with his alice and showed off just how reliable he could be. He’s also closest to her when she falls.

There’s a lot of reasons why she would call out to him. But Mikan usually feels nervous being vulnerable with Natsume. What gives?

First: he called out to her first, making this the second (technically third, but you get me) time he’s said her name, and also making it natural to respond. He’s not the only person who cries out to her, but he looks worried and frightened for her, which is probably both touching and surprising.

Second: she’s more scared of falling right now than she is of Natsume, so her typical inhibitions aren’t there.

She doesn't have a lot of time to call out to everyone, but it's sweet that she calls out to him, that when the situation is most dire, he's the first one she thinks of. She’s in danger, so she calls out to Natsume, who is reliable and can make her feel safe. But he can’t save her.

Conclusion

Mikan and her friends have finally arrived at Z's hideout, but they had to go through a lot to get here. In particular, we have explored Mikan's insecurities with her alice, how it functions best, and how that all relates to Natsume, specifically how he needs it more than anybody else. Furthermore, we see more evidence of Natsume's positive impact on Mikan, how he actually makes her very happy despite (or probably more accurately because of) the bickering that always takes place between them.

In the next part, we'll see Mikan meet her mom (again) and our group will face off against Z in order to save Yuu's alice and Hotaru's life!

Special thanks to @crimsoncitrus, who has been helping me a lot with the translations and making my essay as accurate as possible!

<- Prev Next ->

#gakuen alice #alice academy #ga #sakura mikan #mikan sakura #natsume hyuuga #hyuuga natsume #my meta #ga meta #ga meta: nm #ga meta: manga #ga meta: manga nm #let's talk about natsumikan #let's talk about natsumikan: mikan #nm: m song of the day can be true love by p!nk #i like it for them more than anybody else <3 #thanks for reading guys! #theres a lot of pics here bc i didnt want it to be too text heavy #but that lake scene is so rich for him and her... i could talk abt it forever

[mysteryshelf]

MARCH ANNIVERSARY WEEKENDS EVENT: Blog Tour - Moral Panic

Welcome to

THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF March Anniversary Weekends Event!

DISCLAIMER: This content has been provided to THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF by Roger Charlie. No compensation was received. This information required by the Federal Trade Commission.

ABOUT THE BOOK

  eBook

Mar. 16, 2018 ISBN: 978-0-9998651-1-8

$7.99

  Print Mar. 30, 2018

ISBN: 978-0-9998651-0-1

$14.99

  AudioBook

Apr. 13 ISBN: $14.99

  Crime Fiction, Thriller

Dream Flow Media

  If anything can be hacked, nothing can be trusted.

  Tanner Moore is at the top of his game in the high stakes world of big technology. As chief technology officer of Paragon, the largest corporation in the world, he is about to release the greatest convenience innovation in the history of commerce: drone delivery service to every inch of the globe.

  But when an interview with journalist Amy Noral is secretly recorded and published by the clickbait media, Tanner’s fall from grace is swift and brutal.

  Tanner is fired, publicly condemned as a terrorist for comments he never made, and kidnapped by a mysterious vigilante group who use surveillance data to track and kill their enemies. Tanner must navigate their underground world full of violent zealots and mental manipulation to find his way to freedom, or see his drone technology used as the most advanced assassination tool ever devised.

  ***

Moral Panic explores the collision of the most extreme elements of politics, ideology and technological media manipulation. It navigates through a maze of modern surveillance with a skeptical eye on the data-driven world we live in, to bring an awareness of the possibility of such a story coming true in the real world.

  Pre-order your print or digital copy now and save $2!

https://thedreamflow.com/products/moral-panic-a-novel-by

INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR

What initially got you interested in writing?

  I remember reading A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift during my sophomore year in high school and being blown away by the balls it took to write and publish something like that. I’ve always had a bit of a rebellious streak and the satire of that piece resonated with me.

  Writing became a bigger part of my life during my sophomore year in college. I was a bit lost and unsure about what I wanted to do with my life, so I started writing a ton of poetry and songs. I’ve always found that form to be the most honest medium of my own expression, and I’ve written hundreds of poems and songs since that time.

  What genres do you prefer to write in?

  I think the genre is less important than the themes I prefer to talk about. My first novel, Moral Panic, is part science fiction, part social criticism, part political fiction, part alternate future, part cyber crime thriller, but what it’s really about is the internal struggle of the main character to find the proper usage of the systems he’s surrounded by.

  He struggles with the fear of succumbing to the temptations of power and violent domination and he has to outwit his enemies to use the pre-built systems against those who would use them for malicious purposes. So in a way, it’s a cautionary tale of some of the possible “innovations” coming out of the technological world.

  Are there any authors you prefer to read and why?

  A few years ago I read a bunch of Cormac McCarthy’s work and I really admire his style and his story selection. His descriptive power mirrors a bit of the monotonous day to day reality of life until he punctures that world with brutal scenes of violence. The violence is always short in comparison to the other parts of his books, and I think it’s a fascinating way of portraying the effects of the adrenaline brought about by those moments. As though his writing style mirrors the primal reaction of his characters.

  How did you make the move into being a published author?

  I’ve been working in film for a few years, making shorts and promotional videos for nonprofits and bands in Denver, so I originally thought about this project as a screenplay. However, I felt I needed to get this story out regardless of whether a production company was interested in turning it into a film, so I dove headfirst into it as a novel. The nice part about a novel is I have total creative control and I can explore the inner thoughts of my characters in a way that isn’t possible through filmmaking.

  What do you find most rewarding about writing?

  I was always a daydreamer in school and writing is the opportunity for me to explore my imagination in a way I can share with other people. I find it fascinating to consider how I would react in the situations I’ve put my characters in, and it feels like a way to explore different psychological sides of life from the comfort of my office.

  What do you find most challenging about writing?

  I find writing description to be the most challenging. I’m far more interested in the minds and motivations of the characters than the world they inhabit.

  Do you have any tips for writers who find themselves experiencing writer’s block?

  Go back into the world and live. Maybe you’ve expressed all of the pieces of life you collected before you were writing and you need to find some new experiences to come to a larger awareness of the world.

  What advice would you give to people that want to enter the field?

  If you’re serious, get to a place where you can accept criticism of your work without feeling that it is an assault on the very essence of your being. That takes personal maturity, which some people aren’t capable of, but creating some distance between yourself and the work is important. It allows you to accept constructive criticism that is crucial to making your work better.

  What do you want readers to take away from reading your works?

  I want people to learn something about life. I want them to take away one or two interesting ideas that reveal a piece of the world they may not have considered before.

  Is there anything else about you that you think readers might find interesting?

  I’m the founder of The Dream Flow Creative Collective, a startup creative organization searching for truth through artistic expression. We do this by telling stories, making music, and exploring the possibilities of the human experience.

Author Website: http://www.thedreamflow.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/km–ecke/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/thedreamflow

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/over18?dest=/user/thedreamflow

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thedreamflow

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/69416515-k-m-ecke

MUSIC BY THE AUTHOR

CHANGE OF MIND

Mar. 2, 2018

Physical Copy: $9.99 Digital: $5.99

  Full album and Digital Downloads available at TheDreamFlow.com

Reason And Rhyme

American Dream

Virus Of The Mind

Illuminate Soul

Rise Above

Change of Mind

Lacks A Lie

When We Were Blind

After years of artistic exploration and experimentation, Change of Mind is Ecke’s lyrical statement of defiance against cultural insanity. After producing four albums under various pseudonyms and working with several Denver-based groups to help them produce albums, this is the first he has released under his own name.

Listen online

ABOUT THE  AUTHOR

Hailing from the original birthplace of the atomic bomb,  Los Alamos, NM, K.M. Ecke is an organic, free-range, preservative-free, philosopher-poet using universal truth to battle cultural insanity. Ecke, which is German for ‘corner’, is the child of a physicist and musician and  grew up at the corner of creativity and logic. After ten years of existential exploration and creative experimentation, he releases his debut novel Moral Panic, along with an album of lyrically-focused songs, Change of Mind via his independent creative collective The Dream Flow.

  Ecke strives to deliver a strong story with inherent value to his readers. The author is well-versed in writing, including essays, songs and poetry, the last of which the author finds the most  efficient form of expression, and thus, the best way to improve his writing practice.

  Initially intending for law school,  a business law class changed his direction, and Ecke chose to pursue writing, soul-searching and creative projects. After several years of odd jobs learning about different pieces of the world, he began his own private music teaching business and attended Colorado Film School for a year and a half to study filmmaking. After 18-months in his program, he veered to his own path and established Dream Flow Media, the home to all of his creative endeavors; publishing, music and all additional branches of the many-faceted visionary. Along with his own creations, he strives to bring other artists into the fold to develop a creative collective for a variety of multimedia projects.

  Ecke also works as a filmmaker for local non-profits and bands, and hopes one day to see Moral Panic on the big screen. The author lives in Denver, Colorado and hosts a storytelling micro-podcast Myths, Metaphors, and Morality. For more info, visit the author online at TheDreamFlow.com.

MARCH ANNIVERSARY WEEKENDS EVENT: Blog Tour – Moral Panic was originally published on the Wordpress version of The Pulp and Mystery Shelf with Shannon Muir

#shannon muir #pulp and mystery shelf

[bestautochicago]

2018 BMW M5 First Drive: The King is Dead, Long Live the King

There was a time when the alpha-numeric “M5” held transcendental place in our automotive consciousness and struck fear in the hearts of AMG drivers. Unfortunately, this car’s immediate predecessor, the F10 M5 (2011-2016), was roundly criticized for being a luxury car with a big motor—a rather large, distant-feeling speed instrument and not much else. In a comparison test against the last-generation Mercedes-Benz E63 S AMG, of the fortified, overboosted 2014 M5 Competition Pack, senior features editor Jonny Lieberman wrote: “…the M5 feels like a bank vault with the speedometer always reading 100 mph.” That car, and others since, linger as reminders that the M Division, perhaps only temporarily, had lost its way. Even Cadillac has driven a supercharged V-8 wedge into the super sedan battlefield with its underappreciated and highly capable CTS-V. BMW had to react in a big way. They did.

Of course, some will argue the V10-powered E60 M5 (2005-2010) was a technical marvel, sprung from the last time BMW was participating in Formula 1 racing. Yet, that high-strung low-torque engine operated within too narrow a window to be an effective all-around super sedan. It was a car that was alternatively at five-tenths or 10/10ths with little between. Arguably, it’s not been since the first V-8-powered E39-generation M5 (1998-2003) was on the prowl that BMW held a winning hand in this uber-sedan war. We were reminded of just how special the E39 remains when BMW supplied one to drive during this program in Portugal. In fact, they brought an M5 from each era—and even a 1981 M535i progenitor—for us to drive on the road when it wasn’t our turn on track in the 2018 M5. This fact made us ponder if BMW and, more specifically, the M division were, in fact, reminding themselves of the unique magic that the M5 should contain and supply. It should be more than a fast 5 Series. It should, like that E39 did, have us asking, “Wait. BMW are actually going to sell this car? To anybody who can afford it? This thing is completely bonkers. No way.”

Hair-on-Fire Great

Well, guess what? The BMW M5 is once again, completely bonkers, hair-on-fire great in its current F90 form. Not only does it once again sound like a proper ne plus ultra sedan, but it is also scary fast yet has the poise and feedback it so lacked in the F10 era. It’s once again the proverbial ballerina body builder able to balance on one toe while holding a two-ton weight over its head with one hand behind its back. Technical director Frank Markus wrote a terrific deep-dive into all the nuts and bolts of what makes the 2018 BMW M5 work when he drove a prototype earlier this year. Suffice to say that one lap of the Estoril circuit in the new M5 thrashed and dashed any misplaced preconceptions about the first use of all-wheel drive in an M5 and the shift from a dual-clutch automated manual (or a honest DIY manual) in favor of a well-tuned ZF eight-speed automatic. This M5 is alive, eager, and ready for a fight. A highly revised and more powerful version of the previous 4.4-liter twin-turbo V-8 now makes 592 horsepower (officially 441 kW) and 553 lb-ft (750 Nm) of torque. By Frank’s count there are 270 combinations available with driver-selectable options for engine responsiveness, transmission, chassis, M xDrive (4WD/Sport 4WD/2WD, so, yes, a “drift” mode), stability control (DSC), etc. That’s still too many. Luckily, there are two prominent red steering wheel “preset” buttons (M1/M2) where you can store your favorite configurations for easy retrieval. Seated in the car on the track, we were asked to start with M1 that BMW reps had programmed.

Out Lap

The M1 was conservatively set with the engine/exhaust at full song but with the transmission in the second-most aggressive mode, non-Sport AWD setting, and full DSC for introductory laps. BMW claims a 0-62-mph (100 kph) time of just 3.4 seconds. That seems about right because the car was insanely fast out of the paddock and down to the first corner. What’s more, unlike the muted F10, this car sounded stupendously good—like that old E39! Besides having control flaps in the exhaust system, we’re told that a “Helmholtz” resonator fitted between the two branches contributes to it. Some of that glorious sound is, of course, “enhanced” with the car’s audio system, as well. BMW horses have always felt bigger than their numbers suggest, but the way the M5 lifts its nose and puts the power to the ground on throttle hints at the all-wheel drive working effectively. At that there’s a deep reserve of torque (553 lb-ft) from a mere 1,800 up to 5,600 rpm.

Arriving at the first several corners, the turn-in was crisp and accurate like a rear-drive car, but the eager, aggressive M5 suddenly went lazy and stubborn midturn. Despite the driveline defaulting to 2WD until the computer-controlled transfer case deems it necessary to allot power to the front wheels, the heavy hand of DSC was obvious. In this mode, the first corners were agonizingly, artificially slowed. Any attempt to alter the car’s conservative line and speed by frantically (or gently) manipulating the throttle to shift the car’s prodigious weight (estimated to be about 4,250 pounds) or yaw rate was met with a dead go-pedal until the front wheels were pointed straight. About half way around the 2.6-mile lap, I pressed the M2 button (ushering Sport 4WD and M Dynamic DSC) and ensured the shift protocol was the most aggressive available. As if I had loosened the car’s bridle and let the reins go, the M5 came alive beneath me; it began to shrink around me. With more power being directed to the rear wheels, the tail of the car was easily coaxed into gentle, measured oversteer. The steering (which I had switched to Comfort to get rid of unnecessary weight) began offering me genuine information about the front tires’ impending lack of grip. The car was so predictable that when I’d lift off the throttle, weight would transfer to the front, and I’d quickly flick the steering the other way to catch the slide and meter it with the throttle and/or the laser-precise steering. Despite its wheelbase growing an inch, overall length by 2, and width by 0.5 inch, weight is down by 50-90 pounds compared to the rear-drive F10 M5—and this is how an M5 should behave on a track.

The first time down the half-mile straight, the M5 piled on the speed as if it were in a vacuum without wind resistance. In what felt like a never-ending surge, and with each seamless, belching upshift, it just never stopped accelerating. All I could say to myself on that first lap and throughout that first sessions was: “Whoa. What. A. Motor!” For me, it defined the car in the morning, making the M5 feel like a uncaged beast that was ready to pick up asphalt and throw it at the cars following—which it did, and BMW reportedly replaced 10 windshields during the event.

On the Road

I was just getting comfortable. My hands had stopped sweating, and I had learned the track and just how much tail-out was allowed or discouraged by the car. I hadn’t yet dared look at the speedometer at the end of the straight. Too soon, however, the out lap, three hot laps, and one cool down were now behind us. We were assured that because it had rained on a previous group’s track day that there were plenty of M5-bespoke Pirelli P Zeros in the garage and that there would be afternoon hot-lapping. As we had planned, my co-driver for the afternoon road drive was none other than Jonny’s new Head2Head co-host, Jethro Bovington. And waiting for us in the parking lot was an identically equipped 2018 M5: Optional carbon-ceramic brakes (reducing corner weights by 50 pounds collectively), the M Driver’s Pack (raising the speed limiter from 155 to 189 mph), and 20-inch wheels with 275/35R20 and 285/35R20 tires.

The first order of business was to get out of town by negotiating a single roundabout then charging down an onramp onto the A16 headed north. Jethro wasted no time pressing the M2 button, and we blasted down the highway with the sat-nav system gently giving us guidance. It wasn’t long before we had arrived at the first toll station, and I asked Jethro, “If we were to arrive at the next one ‘too soon,’ would you expect to be fined for speeding?”

“I think that’s an urban myth meant to keep people from speeding,” he replied. “I’ve never heard of anybody getting nicked like that in all these years on European A roads. The speed cameras are real, but I don’t believe they time you between toll gates.”

At the first highway transition, Jethro really leaned on the car, and it just stuck to the line. “It’s really good at hiding its weight, isn’t it?” he asked. “The grip is tremendous, and it truly does feel rear drive. And this motor! Gawd.”

After a time we’d gotten off the A-routes and switched seats for the country road portion. At the first corner, I dabbed the brake and only the seat belts kept us from slamming into the dashboard. “Wow, these brakes take some getting used to, right?” I said.

We were going a good clip between towns, and interestingly, the nav system lagged behind so often that we missed several turns by the time we reached junctures. Besides that, the M5 that felt all-conquering on track and on the highway it suddenly felt all knees and elbows; the proverbial bull in a china shop. “Boy is this car big,” I said. “It takes up the entire width of this little road, and I don’t like those game-over drainage troughs one bit.”

The ride quality, too, suffered a great deal on broken pavement and even a short stretch of Belgian blocks through a small Portuguese hamlet. “Yeah, you really, really have to want this M5 to put up with the ride out here in the real world—even on the softest settings, it’s sports-car firm,” Jethro added. “Pretty punishing.” We both wondered why BMW hadn’t ventured into magnetorheological dampers yet. This would seem the perfect candidate for them. Licensing? Hmm.

The conversation continued. “I think most people will be more satisfied with a less-mental M550i xDrive,” Jethro added.

“Agree, but I’m glad they went all in with the M5,” I said. “Let’s get back to the track and queue up.”

Session Two

With the morning’s wisdom, new-found confidence in, and respect for the new M5, we took our place in line for a second opportunity to really probe the car’s limits on fresh tires behind two pro drivers, a DTM champ and Blancpain GT competitor/rising star. No sooner were we belted in our cars, M2 button pressed, than the pros leading the group of three chase M5s at a time wooded the throttle and did a glorious burnout in pit lane. Oh, it was go-fast time alright. The lead M5s were the liveried version of the Moto GP pace car that was curiously shod with Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S tires—not Pirellis. At any rate we were off and hell bent for leather.

If the morning session was all about appreciating the motor, then the afternoon was devoted to the chassis and driveline and finding the perfect line. The pro drivers were goading us to go faster and faster, and finally, we were at the limit of the car. I finally caught a glimpse of the speedo right before I got on the brakes into Turn One. It read, “270 kph” or 168 mph, to us yanks. No wonder the cars’ top speeds were raised for the event. We would’ve been on the 155-mph limiter well before the first turn. With all three lights indicating the most aggressive transmission mapping, it ripped matched-rev downshifts like a twin-clutch. It’s utterly indistinguishable in shift speed and intelligence. Turn after turn, I grew more confident in adding throttle sooner and sooner coming out of the corner. I found the less-strict limits of MDM mode (still not enough yaw to be truly fun) and switched it off completely. I didn’t delve into 2WD drift mode, but the incongruous thing, however, was that even with DSC shut off, it was so easy to dance the car around the track—clipping curbs, drifting wide on the exits, positioning the car inch-perfect, finding the ABS threshold, and backing off slightly to modulate the brakes into corners. The M5 simply does everything you want it to do and nothing you don’t. The M xDrive system is so fluid that a driver can scarcely detect its carbon-clutch pack shifting power to the front, and the Active M Dynamic differential out back effectively shifts torque side to side without using brakes. The harmony of all of this is astounding and what makes the new M5 deserving of the old, highly revered badge. What a car. What a supremely entertaining and capable super sedan it is.

OK, it’s great and all. So what’s the tariff?

How much would you expect to pay for all of this? At this point, only base pricing has been announced at $103,595, or precisely $1,800 below a comparable 2018 Mercedes-AMG E63 S 4Matic. Tantalizing, isn’t it? Adding the historical cost of the M5’s carbon-ceramic brakes ($9,250) and the Competition package (now M Driver’s pack) that includes the 20-inch forged aluminum wheels and specific tuning ($7,300) would indicate we were driving M5s that would easily exceed $120,000 before interior options. And it’s worth it. The last E63 S 4Matic we tested cost $145,160. Rest assured, however, that we will line up the next Head2Head with these two cross town rivals in a few months. Their on-paper credentials are startlingly close, and it’ll be a cage match for the ages. Watch this space.

2018 BMW M5 BASE PRICE $103,595 VEHICLE LAYOUT Front-engine, RWD/AWD, 5-pass, 4-door sedan ENGINE 4.4L/592-hp/553-lb-ft twin-turbo DOHC 32-valve V-8 TRANSMISSION 8-speed automatic CURB WEIGHT 4,250 lb (mfr) WHEELBASE 117.7 in LENGTH X WIDTH X HEIGHT 195.5 x 74.9 x 56.8 in 0-60 MPH 3.2 sec (MT est) EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON 15/21/17 mpg (MT est) ENERGY CONSUMPTION, CITY/HWY 225-160 kW-hrs/100 miles CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB 1.13 lb/mile ON SALE IN U.S. Spring 2018

Source: http://chicagoautohaus.com/2018-bmw-m5-first-drive-the-king-is-dead-long-live-the-king/

from Chicago Today https://chicagocarspot.wordpress.com/2017/12/19/2018-bmw-m5-first-drive-the-king-is-dead-long-live-the-king/