#he wants to ascertain his number 1 fan position

[nobetawesuffer]

Max aggressively claiming to call Charles sexy. Ok max, I get it. You win

#he wants to ascertain his number 1 fan position #we lose max we lose #we are all mere peasants #we get it #max verstappen #charles leclerc #lestappen #formula 1

[teawaffles]

The Fugitives from the Fire: Chapter 3

Note: Some language.

Showers of sparks flew in all directions, fanned by blasts of hot air; amidst all that, both police officers and locals were using buckets and pots to throw water on the flames, in a strenuous bid to put out the fire.

“……Oi oi, we’ve already got a problem?” Sherlock mumbled, half in shock.

It wouldn’t be easily resolved — in an unexpected way, those words had come true. Lestrade grabbed a nearby officer by the arm.

“What the hell happened here?!”

The officer answered loudly, almost in a scream.

“A fire broke out! The building we were holding the criminal in caught fire!”

“……Jesus!”

Lestrade spat that word out, and threw himself into the firefighting effort right away.

“I’ll help too! Someone give me water!”

A split second later, Sherlock also moved to help. He took a bucket of water from the man closest to him — but the moment he saw his face, he stopped.

“……Gregson?” [1]

The man — Assistant Inspector Gregson — widened his eyes in shock.

“Holmes! You bastard — why’re you here?!”

As a famous detective, Sherlock often disregarded the police when solving his cases; Gregson could never stand the sight of him, and so it was no wonder he’d raised his voice. However, having grown accustomed to that enmity, Sherlock spoke quickly in response.

“Lestrade called me in himself. Anyway, were you the one sent to secure the other fugitive?”

Gregson waved the question away, as if he was in a terrible gloom.

“Dammit, quit yammering! Let’s talk about the details later! Our priority now’s to put out the fire!”

Saying that, he rushed off to draw more water. It was a reasonable point, so Sherlock refrained from pursuing the matter. Still, he found Gregson’s unusually impatient manner strange.

The quick arrest of the first fugitive. The burning building. And Assistant Inspector Gregson.

From all the elements that had presented themselves at this stage, Sherlock Holmes was certain that this case would be a tough one.

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

Roughly five hours after Sherlock and Lestrade arrived at the scene, the fire had finally been extinguished.

Having given their all in putting out the fire, the volunteer firefighters were now sitting on the roads as they caught their breath. But the building had been reduced to nothing more than a charred skeleton — it had completely burnt down. A heap of blackened wood lay on the ground where it once stood; within it, tiny embers still smouldered away, and thin trails of smoke wafted into the air. It was still too dangerous to enter the site, but as a small blessing amidst this misfortune, the adjacent buildings had been left largely unscathed, with only their outer walls scorched by the flames.

“……It feels like one job’s been completed, but the real work starts here, huh.”

A worn-out Sherlock muttered to himself, having already shed his jacket. Then, the familiar voice of his partner rang out in his mind.

“Sherlock. Isn’t it too convenient for a fire to break out at this time? If the fugitive they were interrogating had been caught in the blaze……”

——I know. But first, let’s remain calm, and listen to what they have to say.

He answered John in his heart, then walked over to Lestrade, who was conferring with another officer a short distance away. It seemed he was in the middle of asking the other officer what had happened.

“O—y, Lestrade. Did you find anything useful?”

“Yeah: it seems it’s going to be a while before we can inspect the scene, but from my subordinate’s report, I’ve gotten the details of what happened before this. I’ll explain.”

Saying that, Lestrade began to narrate the sequence of events, and Sherlock listened in silence.

From what he’d heard from his subordinate, the building was a cheap old three-storey inn built from wood. After searching the interior based on the tip-off, they quickly found and arrested one of the fugitives. After which, in order to find the location of the other criminal, they immediately brought the arrested man to a room and began to interrogate him.

“Where’s the room located?”

Sherlock cut in, and Lestrade looked up at the spot where the room had likely once stood.

“It was at the end of the second floor — the one the man himself had rented. Each floor had three rooms: taking the ground floor as an example, the room numbers had been assigned as 101, 102 and 103. ” [2]

“So the one at the end of the second floor would be number 303. Did all the officers storm the room together?”

“No; out of the ten men who arrived first, five of them entered the building while the other five stood by in the vicinity. Among the five who entered, two were questioning the man in room 303, one stood watch outside the room, while the remaining two stood in the ground and first floor corridors respectively, observing the movements of the guests in the inn.”

Listening to the breakdown of the officers’ positions, Sherlock looked at the ruins of the building as they lay heaped on the ground.

“If the building was only this large, leaving five people outside would be enough…… But why have men stationed on each floor at the corridors?”

“The other fugitive might’ve been hiding in the building, so they wanted to interview the guests and ascertain their backgrounds. However, it seems the innkeeper detests the Yard: they allowed us to question the fugitive, but refused to let us to visit the other rooms, insisting it would bother the guests. So the officers had no choice but to quietly stand watch in the corridors.”

Having realised yet again the animosity in the slums towards the police, Lestrade sighed, and Sherlock nodded in reply.

“From the start, the source of the information had been an anonymous tip-off, which is　suspicious. The story up to that point was that the police arrived here half in doubt, then actually found the criminal — from that alone, it would’ve been difficult to insist on advancing the investigation any further.”

Sherlock understood the bind the officers had found themselves in back then. He continued.

“During the interrogation, they did check everyone who entered and left the inn, didn’t they?”

“Of course. But I didn’t receive any reports about any suspicious characters.”

“Okay. I’ve got the deployment of the officers at the time; please continue.”

The arrested fugitive had been surprisingly stubborn, and refused to utter a word about the other man’s whereabouts. At that rate, the officers had judged that they were getting nowhere, and left the room for a short break. Their strategy had been to give the man time to relax, then force him into a state of tension once again, in order to strain his mental state.

In addition, by this time, the locals had gotten wind of the Yard’s presence. They’d begun to gather around the inn and create a commotion: the atmosphere had turned bleak. In order to avoid the situation escalating into a riot, out of the five officers in the building, four went outside to appeal to them to remain calm.

Just like this, the fugitive had been left alone in the room. The man had been made to sit in a wooden chair that had been furnished as part of the room, with each of his hands cuffed to the chair’s armrests. The only entry point to the room — the door — had one officer standing guard in front of it. Moreover, even if he were to leave by the window opposite the door, as the room was on the second floor, he couldn’t simply escape by jumping out. With these conditions in place, the officers had thought that there was no chance of him escaping.

——In fact, that line of thought had held true. The criminal had not escaped; rather, he had been murdered inside the room.

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

Five minutes after their break had started. In the vicinity of the inn, something odd had arisen. Complaints and jeers had suddenly turned into shrieks and screams. The lone police officer who’d remained in the building thought it strange, and immediately after, someone yelled “Fire!”.

He went downstairs to see for himself: true enough, flames were rising up from the ground floor. The officer rushed to spread the word to everyone in the building, directing them to evacuate. Of course, he then went to release the man handcuffed in room 303, but the door couldn’t open: it had been locked from the inside.

At this point, Sherlock placed a hand under his chin as he muttered.

“If he had been bound to a chair, then even with his hands cuffed to the armrests, he would still be able to move around the room. If it’d been a bed, depending on the size of it, he might still be able to move. The man could’ve locked the door from the inside, but…… By the way, was it really locked? And not that the door had been warped and gotten stuck, or something?”

“It seems that much was certain: I understood he tried many times, but found the door locked from within.”

“I see. Sorry, I’ve been interrupting you quite a bit.”

“No, I don’t mind……. After that, the officer peeked into the room via the keyhole. And then, inside the room, he saw something he would never have imagined.”

From Lestrade’s tone, Sherlock was fairly certain what had happened in there.

“The room was locked from the inside, and the man lay dead within it……?”

It seemed his prediction had been spot on: startled, Lestrade stared at him, then muttered “Yeah” in a sombre tone as he continued.

——From the keyhole, the officer saw the man lying prone on the floor while still cuffed to the chair. His back had been soaked in a red substance akin to blood, and he showed absolutely no sign of movement. Amidst the commotion from the fire, it was as if time had stood still for him alone.

Panicked, the officer rammed the door in a bid to break it down. But no matter how many times he slammed himself against it, the door merely creaked, showing no signs of opening. Apparently, the innkeeper had taken precautions to prevent the police from entering the rooms without their permission — it seemed the doors had been robustly built. Making matters worse, his fellow officers were desperately engaged in fighting the fire, as well as evacuating the surrounding residents: they had no leeway to come to the second floor and help.

After that, the officer kept trying to break the door open. But the fire swept through the wooden building, and soon, the flames had reached the floor right beneath him. Inside the room, the man remained motionless. After a further struggle, the police officer gave up on rescuing him, and ensured that there was no one else left in the building as he made his escape.

That was the gist of how the inn had been burnt to the ground.

“…………”

A sudden fire. A room with its door firmly shut. And a man who’d collapsed in a prone position.

Having listened till the end of the story, Sherlock replayed the situation back then in his head. In his heart, he cracked a wry smile.

The search for a fugitive had turned into a locked-room case.

T/N: It’s a proper mystery this time!! I quite like this one :3

Footnotes:

[1] Gregson first appeared in Chapter 8 (“A Study in ‘S’, Act 2") after Lestrade arrested Sherlock on suspicion of Count Drebber’s murder. This is his first panel:

(Taken from the official translation of Volume 2)

[2] Similar to Story 1, I’ll be using the British way of referring to building levels (i.e. ground floor, first floor, second floor).

#moriarty the patriot #yuukoku no moriarty #yuumori #english translation #the girl who sees rainbows

[dpjustified]

Bingo #2

(disclaimer: fanfic only, not a headcanon)

(#2 themes: Mer AU with a twist [I made sure twists were okay first], Swagger Bishie platonic version don’t hate me, It’s not gay if it’s dead mention)

Danny sighed.

He and Tuck were just as surprised that their first year of high school would end with Dash, their number one bully, becoming Danny’s good friend. Somehow Jazz let his secret slip, and it was all downhill from there. Dash started actually being nice, and not shoving them into lockers. Then Dash actually asked to hang out with him after school sometimes, him, the school loser! Once Danny and Tucker got to know another side of Dash, it wasn’t so bad hanging as a group sometimes. Dash even said hi to them at school. He still insulted them with nicknames though, but they insulted him back, and it was all good.

Of course, sometimes Tucker and Dash just couldn’t get along, so Danny was forced to mediate.

Today, his dad decided to drag all three of them on a fishing trip to lecture them about puberty and dating. At least he wasn’t alone with his dad, but then again, now his friends would hear the embarrassing things his dad liked to say. Either way, he was at a loss.

Nah, I have to stay positive. It could be fun this time!

Nope, he knew he was fooling himself.

“Now, boys,” his dad started, in the tone he used when trying to sound like he was imparting some great wisdom. “When you start dating, and I don’t care who it is, you have to treat them well.”

“No duh,” Dash said, only to get a glare from his dad. “I mean, yes, I agree.”

“In this day and age, if the other person wants to pay for some of the dates, or all of them, just let them. This does not make you any less of a man! In fact, when I was dating your mother, Danny, she had a side job at the lab while I, sadly, could only afford peanuts.”

“You mean you mooched off mom, Dad?” Danny said, not surprised. His mom must have really been in love to date and marry the man-child that was his dad. He still loved him though.

“Wow, goals man.” Dash said. He would be impressed by that. Danny would not have been surprised if Dash mooched off of all his friends, including Paulina. He was already mooching off Danny and Tucker for soda at the Nasty Burger, not that it was that pricey. And he was rich so he really had no excuse.

“I’d totally be down if a girl wanted to treat me,” said Tucker, who had pulled out his PDA to take notes.

“Don’t take my dad seriously guys,” Danny whispered.

“No, no, this is good stuff,” said Dash.

“And if you do get a date,” his dad continued, probably pleased at the undivided attention he was getting, “please encourage them to join the Ghost-keteers. You can get date night and fight night in one night!”

All three groaned.

Danny put his hand on his dad’s shoulder. “Dad, are you still trying to sell that? No one’s going to join.”

“Really?” His dad looked like a sad five year old.

“I’m sorry I have to break it to you.”

He looked like he was going to cry.

“Dude, you can’t be so mean to your dad, man,” Dash lectured. “I’m sure you can do some advertising, and maybe make it into a Phantom fan club. I’m sure lots of people will join then!”

You mean, you’ll join, Dash.

“But it’s an exclusive club, only for the most dedicated ghost fighting heroes!” his dad said passionately, raising his fist. “Not just anyone can join.”

Tucker chimed in. “So, that’s very simple. On the first day, we’ll have them take a survey. They have to agree to one week of intensive Fenton training. And put uniform sizes of course and preferred ghost fighting gadget. Once they pass, they become official members! With official uniforms. Of course, anyone that fails can try again next year.”

“That’s...” His dad took a moment to think. “That’s brilliant! Great idea, Tucker.”

“Anytime.”

He did not want a bunch of fangirls - and fanboys - at his house, even if they didn’t know he was Phantom. Oh, he got an idea. “Dad, Jazz would make a great club president.” If Jazz was in charge, he could rely on her to reign in the fans and keep him and his secret relatively safe. As it was, people kept flirting with his ghost half with the mantra, “It’s not gay if it’s dead,” when he kept telling them he wasn’t dead!

Heck, even the Box Ghost says he’s not dead, and Plasmius has fans but doesn’t get any of the harassment I get! I told them I’m into girls but they don’t care...

He had to quickly abandon the idea of a ghost phone when all his voice messages were of the inappropriate sort. Good thing Jazz screened his phone for him; she was scarred for days even after burning the phone and canceling the subscription.

“Great idea! Jazz is the responsible type. The ghost-keteers will be in safe hands!”

Danny sighed. “What about fishing?”

“Oh, sorry son. I’ve kept you all waiting.” He opened the case that contained the fishing rods and passed them out, then instructed them on how to put on the bait, let out the reel, and reel in once something bit.

An hour later:

“How’s it going, kids?” Jack asked next to a bucket full of junk. “I’ve got all sorts of treasures so far. An old boot, a rare gold watch, and some kind of message in a bottle.”

“So you’re a treasure hunter now, Dad?” Danny replied sarcastically.

“You are, Mr. Fenton?” Dash replied, excited. “Cool!”

“I am, aren’t I?” His dad rubbed his nose with pride.

Danny felt a few drops fall on his nose. He looked up. The weather was starting to get bad. But if it was just sprinkling, there was no real reason to stop early, was it.

“So far,” Tucker said, peering into their buckets. “It’s Dash 1 guppy, Danny 0, me 3 catfish. So far, I’m on top!”

Dash attached another bait onto his hook then threw it back in. “Just you wait, nerds, I’m not about to throw the towel on this race.”

Danny sighed again. “Now why’d you have to rile him up, Tuck?”

“Because competitions are fun? And besides, you’re dead last. Ch-ch-chicken?”

“I am not a chicken.” He shoved a worm onto his hook and accidentally pricked himself. At least it didn’t go in. His dad sucked at first aid, and Tucker wasn’t any better. He quickly put a waterproof band-aid on his bleeding finger then threw the hook in the water. As long as the wound wasn’t infected it would heal quickly enough.

After a few minutes, the line grew taut.

“I think I caught something,” he said, growing excited. At this point, he would even be happy if he caught a boot.

“Well, reel it in,” Dash said. “I’ll even help you pull if you need it.”

“I’m fine,” Danny said. Even though Dash knew his secret, he still insisted on treating him like he was weak. Well, he was actually pretty weak if he wasn’t using his ghost energy as a boost.

He was unprepared when the line pulled suddenly, and because he held on so tightly to the rod, he was yanked off the boat. He let go of the rod. The rain grew fiercer and the waves started to move, pushing him to and fro.

“Danny!” his Dad yelled. “It’s okay, I’ll come save you.”

“No, need, I’ll do it!” yelled Dash.

Tucker held them both back. “You guys will just make it worse. Danny can handle it, right...Danny?!”

Something grabbed his head tightly, covering his eyes, and pulled him under the water rapidly. The cries of his friends and dad faded, and it was too dark to see. Something gripped his neck and he let out a gasp, unfortunately inhaling water. He kicked out madly and panicked, struggling to calm himself.

I can handle this. A water ghost? If it’s too dark to see...

He activated his ghost powers and elbowed out, hitting a soft form. The grip loosened and he turned around with glowing eyes.

In front of him was a girl with black hair coiling around her like seaweed, and glowing purple eyes. Seaweed was wrapped around her form, and the hook from his rod was clearly stuck in the side of her neck.

At least he knew why she was trying to kill him now.

He didn’t have time to think. He had to get away and get some air.

He shot out an ecto blast at her, but a black scaled tail shot out from behind her and knocked it away.

...Tail?

Just great, and just when he had enough with ghosts. The question was, was she a mermaid or a ghost mermaid?

While he was in thought, she gripped his neck again, and he felt like his powers were getting sucked away. In moments, he lost his ghost form. He could barely maintain his glowing eyes, and he could feel his consciousness fading.

If I fall asleep here, I’m a goner!

He couldn’t panic. What was the best way of startling a girl? He grabbed her face and kissed her, then received a punch in his gut.

I should have seen that coming...

Well, at least he died trying.

...

He woke up in a cavern who knows where with a purple eyed girl staring down at him.

He quickly backed up and looked back from a safe distance. He ascertained that he had his energy back, so if needed he could fight against the mer-lady...

For some reason, she had legs. That, and the only thing censoring her was her hair.

“Um,” he started. “Thanks for not killing me?”

She blinked, then crawled over to him.

“What do you want?” Then again, if she had the ability to absorb his powers, he didn’t know if he had a chance. “Are you a ghost or a mermaid? Or both? What are you?”

“First...” Her voice was so striking that he couldn’t help but stare. “Can you get this thing out of my neck? It hurts.”

“R-right.” He reached over and made the hook intangible, pulling it out easily. The line had long snapped, but he had no time to worry about the fate of his dad’s rod right now. He then reached in his pocket for a band-aid. He was glad this vest had waterproof pockets.

She reeled back at the band-aid.

“Relax, it just seals the wound. It might not last too long underwater, but for now, right? I won’t hurt you.”

She narrowed her eyes,  but tilted her neck to allow him access.

He stuck it on then sat in front of her, staring. “Why were you trying to kill me earlier?”

“You were clearly trying to kill me earlier, were you not?”

“I was just...fishing? Not for you, of course. Whatever you are.”

“Mermaid.” She looked down at her knees. “Not sure what a ghost is.”

“Eh. Someone with my powers”- He harnessed energy in his hands, then let it disperse-” and bleeds green, can float, disappear, and fly, all the time. Me, I’m just half ghost. Kinda like you, half fish.”

“Half fish? Never heard that before, but I see what you mean.”

“Well, personal question really...Do mermaids, can they transform like that? I mean, your tail to legs on land. That’s really nifty.”

She looked away. “Only after they’re married. It’s a survival thing.”

“Married?” He didn’t know why but he kept thinking she was pretty. It wasn’t a surprise; even though she looked his age, mermaid culture was probably different, and it would only be natural that she was taken-

Why am I thinking about hitting on a mermaid I just met! Weirdo, stop being weird!

“It’s your fault I can’t go back now,” she said with tears in her eyes.

“Wait...what?” He was confused. “Was it the hook thing? I’m-I’m really sorry...” Yep, he would ruin someone’s life without trying. Even though the Cujo thing wasn’t entirely his fault, he still cost Valerie’s dad his job and ruined her life. Was he just a loser?

“Not that, the kiss! You mean you don’t know?” She hobbled over to him and slapped him. “You have to take care of me. I can’t even use these things.” She pointed to her legs. “The blend-in-with-humans class isn’t even taught till 17! I’m not ready for this.”

He wasn’t ready for this.

“Uh...” He took off his jacket and handed it to her. “For now, tie this around your waist. And we can see about getting out of here. You know. Like so.”

He indicated where and she tied it. Then he picked her up and flew her back to the boat. It was empty.

He later found his dad, Dash and Tucker enjoying snacks at the hotel they were staying the night at. It took him forever to explain the girl as someone he saved from drowning, and even then no one believed him except good old Dad. After giving her some clothes to wear that he had purchased from the souvenir shop, he had to spill the beans to his friends once his dad was asleep.

“You’re a mermaid?” Dash said, then shook the girl’s hand. “It’s like a storybook! What’s your name.”

“Hey, I wanted to hit on her first,” Tucker whined.

“Sam,” she said, rolling her eyes. “And you all?” She was clearly not excited to be there. Apologizing clearly wouldn’t help at this point.

As usual, Tucker spoke for them all. “I’m Tucker, the cool kid.” He wiggled his glasses. “Dash here is our star athlete, and Danny is the superhero with ghost powers. I...assume he’s already told you that.”

“Right. Danny.” She glanced quickly at Danny then focused on Tucker again. “And what are you eating?”

“A meat pizza.”

“Meat...how cruel.” She looked at him with pity.

“Hey, I’m a carnivore. Guess you’re not one of those man-eating mermaids?”

“That’s what you humans think of us? Disgusting.”

Dash waved a hand. “Hey, don’t worry, you only see those mermaids in horror movies. You know movies right?”

She gave a blank stare.

Dash and Tucker gave each other a knowing glance. “We have a lot to teach you.”

Danny pulled her back to him. “Hey you two, don’t corrupt the innocent!”

Tucker silently opened a laptop and loaded the “Undersea Monster” movie.

It’s only on these things that these two agree.

What was he going to do with this mermaid girl?

#danny phantom #phango19

[nanigma]

Leon Fanbook Translation: Profile

Link to the Takumi Fanbook

Introduction

Look who actually kept her promise! This still took me forever and a half, but I am very happy I got it pushed out within the time frame I imagined. Things are off to a good start, I think.

Before we continue, here is the same note as before: As I am currently without a real income, I would very much appreciate it if you could throw me a couple bucks via my ko-fi account. It doesn’t have to be a lot, just what you think my translations are worth really.

My comments in italics

I will be using the Japanese names

My comments in italics

I will be using the Japanese names

Page 8-9

Profile

Prince Leon's Profile

His personal data, history, as well as dialogue and all sorts of information will be shown here. Before we can really know, and therefore talk about the younger Nohrian Prince Leon, we need to some basic information on him.

Just what kind of person is Leon, the younger Prince of Nohr? If we start with data such as age, height and weight of the person in question and analyse everything until we arrive at topics such as his mother and his family, the information we can gain on him is not inconsiderable. Trying to pinpoint more through his in-game profile description “likes tomatoes the most out of everyone in the army”, one can glean his favourite food. Once he gets started, the praise he heaps upon tomatoes can become quite disconcerting. It seems that even with the 40 to 47 pages of published material, questionnaire results and submitted art,

Leon’s image is forever associated with tomatoes. But, that’s not all. To be worthy of being called a Leon fan, it is necessary to know and understand him by collecting all the surrounding information on him, and thereby truly ascertain his character. Definitely things like him pretending to be cold in order to push others away, or how much he prides himself in being a strategist. Perhaps he also uses the strong impression left by something like his obsession with tomatoes to conceal the things about his character that he doesn’t want others to know.

Personal Data

Prince Leon's personal data

Name: Leon [Leo] Gender: Male

Class: Dark Knight Weapon: The Sacred Treasure “Brunhilde”

Physique: tall and slender, with no excess fat attached Birthday: June 30th Country of Origin: Nohr Residence: Royal Castle of Darkness

Hair Colour: Gold-shaded flax colour Eye Colour:  A blood-like shade of crimson Skin Colour: A little sickly seeming First Person Pronoun: Boku* Second Person Pronouns: Kisama, Anata, Omae* Likes: Reading, Tomatoes

Family: King Garon (Father), One of Garon's Concubines (Mother)

            Marx (Older Brother), Camilla (Older Sister), Elise (Younger Sister)             As well as a large number of other siblings             Aqua, Kamui             Foleo (Future Son) Retainers: Zero, Odin

Voice Actor: Mamoru Miyano

Page 9

History Data

Early Years

He was born as the child of King Garon of Nohr. In those days, Garon would keep a number of concubines, from whom he also received a lot of children, beside his legal wife Ekaterina. The woman who became Leon's mother was one of them. Their royal children's claim to the throne, as well as their constant aim to become worthy in the eyes of their “spouse”*, meant that the rivalry between the concubines grew ever more tense, and they soon became wrapped up in intrigues that were literally dripping with blood. Because of Leon's mother, who stood in opposition to the main faction belonging to Ekaterina, he did not have any contact with his older siblings, Marx and Camilla, during his early years.

Childhood Years

His handsome features inherited from his mother, and moreover his possessing an overwhelming number of outstanding qualities, made Garon take notice of Leon even among his many siblings. Leon's mother would use this fact as a trump card against Ekaterina's faction, as well as the mothers of the other children, in order to assert her own superiority. Compared to her stated motive of looking out for her son's interests, her desire to turn the King's love and attention towards her was clearly more important. According to Leon's own recollections, she never displayed much of what could be called „a mother's love“ towards her son. When Leon seemed to turn his talents towards the magic arts, his exceptional qualities became yet more polished as they bloomed. Once he reached the position of one of the most preeminent magic users in the kingdom, Leon was given a place at Garon's side next to Marx and Camilla. At the same time, Garon's many illegitimate children, as things were progressing towards the conclusion of their violent struggle over the selection process, finally acknowledged each other's existence.

As for Leon, together with his older siblings, Marx, Camilla, Kamui, as well as his younger sister, Elise, he formed a unit that would later come to be referred to as the „The Nohrian siblings“. For someone like him, who grew up without receiving any parental love, there can be no doubt that the warmth reflected in the eyes of his siblings was a great source of happiness for him.

Once the war breaks out

And so, Leon, who had attained an untouchable position among the Nohrian royalty, continued expanding his magical abilities to become a Dark Knight of the highest order within the army. When he entered, it was with the Divine Weapon Brunhilde in his hands. Thanks to his tremendous powers, he was granted the title of „Gravity Master“. Due to not having had many allies because of the circumstances of his birth, he has a hard time trusting others, as well as a deep hatred for cowardly deeds and acts of betrayal. To tell the truth, his Nohrian brethren have in the past been on the receiving end of Leon's mercilessly executed punishments. This is why he is called cold-blooded, but instead it would be more apt to say that he is shaking with anger and unease on the inside. On the surface he appears to have a cool-head, and because of that seeing his true self sometimes shine through the cracks of the mask is all the more meaningful – For those who are familiar enough with him, this too is just another big part of „Prince Leon's“ appeal.    

Resolution, as well as the future

As these events become history, it says that as the Nohrian and Hoshidan royalty joined hands and fought their mutual enemy together, the two younger princes, who grew up in similar circumstaces, seemingly displayed a mutual affinity for each other. It is further says that during battle Leon would rely on only his older brother, Marx, as well as his retainers, Odin and Zero, but after these events it would seem there is documented proof that the name of the younger Hoshidan Prince, Takumi, was added to the list as well. Leon's signature divine weapon „Brunhilde“ would later be inherited by his son, Foleo.  

Performance Data

Just his starting stats and skills. You can also find them on the wiki

Monologue

Prince Leon's monologue

Level Up (Worst): Maybe my bearing wasn't befitting of royalty... Level Up (Low): Well, as expected. Level Up (Good): I'm glad this didn't end in embarrassment. Level Up (Best): It scares even me to see how strong I've become. Level Up (Max): I am already strong, so don't you think this is enough? Class Change: Hm, I trust that my clothes didn't turn inside out?

Buying: Be sure to pick something out that looks good on me, alright? Buying (salesperson): Only you would ever buy things for the person running the store. Selling: I would prefer if you didn't just go around selling my belongings... Selling (salesperson): Having my own belongings sold to me... it's painful. Forging: I'll show you I can handle any kind of weapon. Forging (salesperson): I dislike physical labour... I wonder if I can't just use magic?

Defeat (Classic Mode): No way... To think someone like me could be defeated... Although, I should accept death with dignity, I simply can't do that to my siblings... Allow me to retreat here... Defeat (Casual Mode): How dare you... To think of all people, I'd be forced to retreat... This is humiliating...  

------------------------

1. Boku: The more non-threatening yet still distinctly male form of I. 2. Kisama: Used to be formal, but is now an incredibly rude way to say you (though also a bit antiquated). I think Leon mostly uses this with Ganz, Zola and Macbeth, as well as Corrin for part of Birthright. 3. Anata: Standard, “polite” way to say you.(although it has to be said that in common Japanese pronouns are not often used, and even anata can seem rude or weird when used in excess) 4. Omae: Literally “you in front of me”. Not the most polite, but can be used in casual situations. I think Leon mostly uses it with Elise. 5. The kanji used here was  夫 or literally husband. The concubines apparently considered Garon this, even if they weren’t on Ekaterina’s level, but I thought this would sound confusing, so I am clearing it up here.　

Overally, I am enjoying the Leon book so far, although I would have liked if they had included more info about the conclusion of the concubine war and what exactly happened to Leon’s mom (or at least give her name!!).

#fire emblem fates #fe14 #leon #leo #fire emblem leo #fanbook #nanigma translates

[wsmith215]

If college football limits fans this fall, who gets left out? ‘I don’t know where we’ll end up’

The stands at the Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium accommodate 80,126 for Sooners football, and they’ve squeezed in that many or more for every game played in Norman since 1999. It is a spectacular scene, one that everyone at OU would love to see repeated another half-dozen times this autumn.

This wish almost certainly is going to remain unrequited, of course. The COVID-19 pandemic may be less off a threat by then, if we’re fortunate, but there is no voice of authority asserting that it will disappear. College football will be affected, and those in charge are planning for a variety of contingencies, including the possibility of limiting the attendance at games to make it possible for smaller audiences to attend but social distancing to be maintained.

MORE: Preseason top 25 rankings, bowl projections

That would mean the majority of those 80,000 fans at Oklahoma and other top venues being left out, and managing this reality is part of the immense challenge NCAA athletic directors are facing. It’s not as simple as picking a percentage of capacity and then spacing spectators properly around the stadium. Nor is it just a matter of choosing who gets inside the gates. Because many of those left out might disagree with the decision.

“There are going to be some difficulties in the social-distance model,” Oklahoma AD Joe Castiglione told Sporting News. “We’re working on all of that. I don’t know where we will end up.

“Things change almost hourly. It’s just hard to focus on a target and then go hit it. There’s a lot of unknowns. The best we can do is focus on what we can control.”

The nature of the 2020 college football season, presuming it takes place, is yet to be established. Will all games be played? Just conference games? Will schools choose to contest games in empty stadiums or with the stands partially filled?

And if some fans are allowed, how will those who are excluded respond?

Castiglione said Oklahoma is accustomed, in the best way possible, to using its legacy points system to distribute tickets for such events as the College Football Playoff, the NCAA Final Four or major bowl games. The Sooners reached the Final Four in 2016 and the CFP in four of the past five years.

“Our fans have been used to it,” Castiglione said. “However, not everyone travels to bowl games or the Final Four.”

Using that same methodology to determine who gets to socially distance inside the stadium and who must watch from the living room, if it comes to that, would be a delicate operation for Castiglione and a vast number of his colleagues among FBS athletic directors. As all of the extremely popular major-college football programs prepare for what remains an unknown, they are working through a wide variety of scenarios.

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith told reporters on a conference call last week that OSU has discussed the possibility of social distancing crowds in the 102,780-seat Ohio Stadium that would lead to between 20,000 and 22,000 in attendance for the Buckeyes’ seven home games this fall. Between students and the general public, they usually sell close to 75,000 season tickets.

“We would obviously have to look at our points system, for example, that we have in place,” Smith said. “We do have a diversity of constituency throughout our stadium. So we have to make sure that we look at each individual group: faculty, staff, students, donors, Varsity O, parents of athletes — all those different constituencies. Media. So we have to look at those and come up some strategies within those groups.

“Our point system has held the test of time. So that would probably be one. And then, of course, the parents and guests of our student-athletes and coaches would be a high priority. So we’ll come up with a strategy, but we haven’t nailed that down.”

If it seems simple to design a stadium seating plan that keeps everyone six feet apart, consider that not all groups are likely to be the same size. There may be a married couple holding two tickets and another group of family members that regularly buys eight seats. Castiglione’s staff is working to ascertain how their donors and season-ticket holders are planning themselves for the season to use that information to be able, eventually, to properly space spectators if that’s what’s required.

Those who are excluded in such a scenario might not be the only ones bothered. Those accustomed to prime seats, or particular seats, might find themselves in a less-desirable location.

“There’s a lot of input,” he said. “At some point, we’ll have an output.”

Castiglione said the process of planning for fall sports has included myriad conversations with experts as well as observation of plans and protocols being followed by other sports in their attempts to plan a return to activity.

The University of Oklahoma announced a month ago its plan to open campus and conduct in-person classes in the fall term. The school’s football facilities will reopen for voluntary workouts July 1, with the OU medical team clearing each player before he participates.

“We know there isn’t any way we can completely eliminate the risk,” Castiglione said. “Every single decision is being based on the health, welfare and safety of the people we serve. We have never deviated from that.

“We are making our plans with optimism, but we’re not 100 percent sure how many we’ll be able to activate.”

MORE: College football’s top 25 QBs for 2020

The challenge is slightly different at a school such as Toledo, which has a smaller facility and, on average the past couple of years, had a few thousand seats remain empty for home games. The Glass Bowl capacity is listed at 26,038, and last year’s average attendance in a 6-6 season was 20,399.

When the coronavirus outbreak was declared on March 11 to be a global pandemic, Toledo athletic director Mike O’Brien was in New York City as a member of the NCAA men’s basketball committee. Upon his return, he met with his staff and made a simple declaration that, as college athletics administrators continue to wrestle with so many unknowns and unprecedented circumstances, holds true.

“I told them: I don’t have a manual for this. There’s nothing in my top desk drawer,” O’Brien told SN. “We’re doing the best we can.”

O’Brien noted that the Mid-American Conference includes members from five states, and they could be on varying schedules relative to opening. The Rockets are supposed to travel to Tulsa for their opening game, and officials there have indicated they are planning on opening the season. San Diego State is scheduled for a visit to Toledo, and even though the Cal State University system has indicated most coursework would be taught online in the fall term, “On their end, it’s very positive football is going to be part of their fall,” O’Brien said.

What an SD State-Toledo game in early September would look like at the Glass Bowl is difficult to establish at this point.

“We have our various models, and some of this could be taken out of our hands,” O’Brien told SN. “We have to priorities. Go with donors, season-ticket holders and pare the list down from there. We have those kinds of quasi-plans in place. We have 45 suites; we always have a wonderful buffet. That’s going to change.”

O’Brien said he does worry about the possibility of upsetting those in Toledo’s fan base who are unable to gain admittance to what is likely, if any fans at all are permitted, to be a mostly empty stadium.

“We do whatever we can to get folks into our stadium,” O’Brien said. “But at the same time, to counter that, there are going to be some folks that still are fearful of going out. I’m optimistic that if we have football, we’re going to be able to allow those that want in to get in.”

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#Sports Report

[defensefilms]

Jomboy Media And The Houston Astros

This is the kind of story I live for. 

So in late 2019 there was a Major League Baseball team that was outed for cheating by method of stealing the opposing team's signals while pitcher and batter were on the plates. For further context stealing the opposing team's signals is not illegal in and of itself according to Major League Baseball's rules. However doing so by any method that involves technology and/or video recording, definitely is against the rules. 

So how did the Houston Astros pull it off? Well it began with players and coaches looking for a way to read opposition catchers and pitchers signals to gain a competitive edge. There are leaked e-mails between the Astros General Manager and a team scout that indicate that GM Alex Lynch instructed the scout to go to games and find out what was possible and if they needed any kind of video recording equipment to implement a new strategy designed to help them ascertain opposition signals and give their batters an edge in anticipating pitches, limiting strikeouts and increasing hits. What the conspirators eventually settled on was placing a camera on the field facing the batter and reading the signals from the catcher behind him to the pitcher, whose back would be facing the camera. As the catcher changed signals the Astros would have a guy in their own dugout who would use a bat and bang it on a trashcan to signal to the batter what kind of ball the pitcher was throwing. According to the source, there would be no banging noise if the pitcher was throwing a fast ball, one bang if it was a curve ball and two bangs if it was something else. We're literally talking about a dude standing in the dugout and banging a bat against a trashcan. A crude method to say the least but these were the beginnings of something that would become much more sophisticated as time went on. The Astros would win the World Series in 2017 and their methods evolved enough to where by 2019 Astros batters were rumoured to be wearing buzzers underneath their shirts that would replace the trashcan method and signal to batters what type of pitch was coming.  They won the World Series again in 2019.

So About Jomboy Media, he’s a lifelong baseball fan who watched every game of the Houston Astros regular and post season. In a video posted on the 12th of November, Jomboy explains exactly how the Astros were accomplishing their success and how the banging noises were prevalent on every big play. That video has gotten over 3.4 million views on YouTube but more importantly is that it was accurate. Almost down to the last detail. Jomboy describes how you hear a banging noise, the pitcher throws a curve ball and the batter knocks it out the park. It was scary accurate and well done on Jomboy's part to notice that and put the information out there. 

The bigger issue here, however is that Jomboy Media is one guy. Literally one guy, just a guy. Why is a sports fan sitting on his couch or in front of his laptop able to notice this kind of really strange pattern with the League's most prominent team and yet no one in mainstream sports was able to catch this?

It raises questions about where sports media is right now and who you should trust when it comes to game by game analysis. The belief we've been fed as far as sports media is that you should trust their information because their proximity to the sport and those in it puts them in a better position to assess and analyze the sport. 

Does it? 

No one man or entity can have eyes everywhere but what about something that's happening in clear view of everyone and the leading authorities in sports news and media are beaten to the punch by a sports fan with a YouTube channel. Interesting times we're in. You have to wonder if this had happened 15-20 years ago. It might not have been reported back in 2002-2004 simply because there was no Jomboy Media in 2002. If he didn't have credits or affiliation with the leading mainstream sports media broadcaster, he would have been ignored because that's how media operated then and how it largely still operates today. NBC Sports, ESPN, Fox can create content that fits the new media times but their standards, practices and procedures are likely outdated. 

I, for one, am taking note of each of these missteps, not just in sports media but in all media. The Zeitgeist is moving forward and along with the palpable feeling of never having trusted mainstream media, is the sense that people are willing to trust the new alternatives in media. We're not looking for the old reliable face that was on our television for 2 decades. The new age sports fan doesn't want another Dan Patrick or another Mike Francesca. The new sports fan is taking note just like I am about how often those within media are getting it wrong. 

However moreover than that they are finding out that the most reliable information is coming from people in the seats at home. Fan made sports content is going to keep notching these credibility wins and it's up to sports fans to decide how they want to consume their content and moreover who is presenting it to them. 

Not only that but there are issues of practicality that makes it hard to invalidate the distrust of sports fans regarding the media. In 2016 before a divisional game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers, Stephen A Smith, famously of ESPN's morning show First Take, gave a false and uninformed pre-game breakdown that mentioned players that had been injured since early in the season. It's a mistake and Stephen A Smith shouldn't lose his entire career over it, however, it also raises the issue that if you're a television sports analyst and you get up everyday at 3 or 4AM in the morning and you do a morning show and then you do a radio show until the late afternoon, after which, you then you fly out to be in the arena for the NBA's premier game that night. That's a packed schedule. 

So when do you get time to watch games? You cannot possibly be in every arena every single night of the year. So eventually these guys get caught slippin' because it's only a matter of time before they have to talk about a team they haven't watched all year. 

During last year's NBA playoffs I wrote a blog post about my annoyance with Fox Sports Radio host Doug Gottlieb, who claimed that the 2019 NBA Eastern Conference finals lacked interesting stories and players. I found this to be asinine and ridiculous. An absolute insult to anyone that had taken more than 10 minutes to watching these teams in the regular season and then in the post season. It was blatant false reporting disguised as opinion and I've already written about why I think so. These are the kind of flaws that are becoming more apparent to vigilant sports fans and particularly those that frequently watch teams that are in smaller markets. 

Don't get it twisted ESPN and Fox Sports ain't closing their doors any time soon and new media probably won't make that happen, nor should they, because sports content is a whole lot more fun if you have these big outlets that can churn out this much broadcast television. All I'm saying is that the existence of Jomboy Media, raises questions of credibility. That's all we're talking about here. At the end of the day how many L's can you take before sports fans decide you aren't the number source for good sporting insight?, and if you're being honest, if that's where sports fans are in as far as trusting sports analysts, then they've probably been in this place for a long time. They're ready for something new and they're ready now. 

Just an opinion. 

Sources:

1. Jomboy Media's Video On Astros Cheating:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2XNW1qHN9w

2. JomBoy And Foolish Baseball's Video Breakdown Of The Astros Cheating:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewzdIvVavpY

3. The Athletic's Article by Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich Article about the Astros:

https://theathletic.com/1363451/2019/11/12/the-astros-stole-signs-electronically-in-2017-part-of-a-much-broader-issue-for-major-league-baseball/

4. Stephen A Smith Lies About Hunter Henry (2016 playoffs):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5iEYtWKd9Y

5. Doug Gottlieb On The 2019 Eastern Conference Playoffs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNdUBFFBByw

#sports #sports media #sports news #houston astros #sign stealing #cheating scandal #jomboy #jomboy media

[apparitionism]

Road 4

Sometimes when I’m working on a thing, I caution myself about what not to do. What’s greeted me every time I’ve opened the file that contains this chapter and next one are the words “My worst impulses: happily and uncomplicatedly ever after.” It’s not that I don’t want them to be happy; I do want that. I always want that. But in some contexts, ease is untruthful, and maybe even immoral. Anyway, not that anybody cares, but there’s some strong language in this part. Disclaimering just because. I suppose when you get down to it, I’m writing just because, too. Part 1, part 2, and part 3 preceded this.

Road 4

Ignore a problem long enough, and it eventually goes away. Or it kills you, and Myka would be fine with either of those outcomes.

She doesn’t trust herself to drive home—because she might drive somewhere else instead—so she sleeps in her office at the garage. That’s not so unusual, really, and her body knows how to position itself in her chair so that she can nod off pretty quickly. No matter what’s on her mind.

By the time Alicia and Manny get in the next morning, she’s back at work on the fuel pump. Manny says “hey.” Only under very special circumstances does Manny’s conversation get much more elaborate, or engaged, than “hey.”

Alicia, however, greets Myka with “What’s with all the fresh sealer on that old pump?”

“Long story,” Myka tells her. In terms of actual mechanics, the story isn’t long at all: she’d thought she was installing the new fuel pump, but she had in fact begun to reinstall the old one. She’d got as far as placing the gasket, with sealer all over it, onto the busted pump before her hands started telling her strange things about grit and grime and new parts don’t feel like this. So she told herself to focus, started over, and didn’t think about the long story.

She doesn’t think about it now. She pays close attention to the rest of the install, takes a little longer than she otherwise might, but once she’s done, it starts up fine and fires fine, so she parks it out back and calls Wayne, praying she won’t get his wife instead. Mrs. Darnell hates the Cutlass, begrudges the repairs, wants Wayne to trade it in for a Camry because she’s read that they are very reliable. Myka doesn’t bother bringing up anything about Wayne’s driving. Mrs. Darnell also always asks for Myka’s help in making the pro-Camry argument, because “Wayne likes you—he’ll listen to you.” Wayne doesn’t listen to me, Myka would be inclined to tell her. Nobody listens to me. Even I don’t listen to me. But she doesn’t bother bringing that up either.

She gets the answering machine. “Wayne, come get your car,” she tells it.

She works her way with great care through the next job, too: replacing a set of worn-out semi-metallic brake pads with new ceramic ones. She would’ve replaced the skinned pads with the same quality product, but she got upsold by the driver rather than the other way around. She’s not going to be an idiot about it; it’s not her job to keep people from going pricier than they need to, not if they’re bound and determined—so, ceramic it is, pal.

People want such unnecessary things. They never believe you, never listen, when you try to tell them that good enough really is good enough.

Up for her after that is a silver Infiniti sedan, only two years old. Pricey car. Powerful. All its owner said when he brought it in was that the check engine light came on, which hadn’t really surprised him because it’d been driving a little hinky.

She plugs in the scanner, reads the error codes. They suggest she should give up on the car completely, send it to auction or junk: everything is wrong. “Everything is wrong” and “driving a little hinky” don’t equate, so she announces to Alicia and Manny, “I’m going to get this out on the road to try to figure out what its problem is.”

“What’d the OBDs say?” Alicia asks.

“Nothing that made any sense. I’ll feel it out, then bring it back and reset the whole thing. See what we get then.”

Manny looks up from under the hood of the pickup truck he’s working on. Myka’s pretty sure that’s the one with the fan-belt issue—but since when is she only pretty sure about such a thing? He lifts the bill of his dark blue Sky Sox hat from his graying head, then pulls it tight back down. Manny doesn’t waste motion much more than he does words, but he picked up the cap-adjusting tic when he pitched in the minors, decades ago. The omnipresent dip lodged behind his lower lip is from baseball too, and he tongues it before he speaks. “You check the gas cap?” he asks Myka.

“Of course,” is her automatic response. A loose cap: it’s the number one cause of weirdo codes. It’s always the first thing you check.

Myka has not in fact checked the gas cap.

“Yeah, okay, no,” she mutters, and she goes to check it.

Myka ascertains that the cap is tight. Then she says to Alicia, who has followed along behind her, “I seem okay to you, right?”

“No.”

“What do you mean, ‘no’? I’m fine.” A foolish response, given that she’s the one who asked the question.

Alicia snorts out a disdainful little breath that suggests she’d agree with “foolish.” She says, “One, you didn’t check the gas cap.” That, she offers with a raised finger that immediately reminds Myka of Helena’s one, two, three archaeological explanations. The memory ambushes her in its fullness, and she doesn’t know whether to congratulate herself or cry at having warded off such detail for this long. Instead of letting herself fall back into that terrifying conversation of last night, instead of letting herself open the folded piece of paper in her pocket, she focuses on how Alicia’s counting off reasons on her gloved fingers—she always wears gloves, to protect her nails, which she gets elaborately done twice a month. Myka and Manny have both been trained to express appropriate awe at the artistry involved, though Manny usually gets away with something on the order of “that looks nice.”

Alicia’s manicure, Alicia’s gloves—Alicia counting on gloved fingers is familiar. Better, Myka tells herself. It’s familiar, and it’s better. It’s familiar, so it’s better. Alicia goes on, “Two, you lied some lie about a long story, first thing this morning.” Myka tries to protest, but Alicia stops her with, “And then three, you took three hours on those pads. I’ve watched you swap out a transmission faster than that. Watched you. I mean it was a manual, but.”

“I remember that. Because I remember you were watching and not helping.”

“I was timing. You could’ve broke a record. So you gonna take that Infiniti out and be gone for three hours? Me and Manny just need to know.”

“I don’t need to know,” Manny says. He retreats into the pickup.

“Talk to a customer ever and maybe you might,” Alicia calls to him.

Myka says, “I’ll text you or something, okay? I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“You just said you were gonna try it out and then reset.”

“Right. Look. Like I said, I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“You look.”

Myka doesn’t want to look. “Okay. A thing happened.”

Totally justified derision: “Wow, yeah. I get why you need to drive around, work that out.”

Totally justified. Myka says, “I’ll ask you, seriously, what would it do to you if somebody came in here and—I don’t know. For you, it’d be like they came in here and reminded you of your ex.”

“Reminded me like came in and said ‘Hey, remember that psycho motherfucker?’” Alicia crosses her arms. She looks very, very tough. She is a very small black woman, one who can look very, very tough—because she is very, very tough. She and Myka have each been through some things, but Alicia’s things have been personal. Somebody out to get her as her. Myka tries not to forget how different that is.

“Reminded you,” Myka says, “like made you think about things you don’t. Don’t because you shouldn’t, because it’s a better rule.”

“Only thing that’s got a prayer to start that up is that psycho motherfucker himself comes in, which is why I got a restraining order says he can’t.” Alicia pauses. “But I know you got no restraining orders. So the fuck came in here?”

Myka weighs the pros and cons of telling Alicia, of telling anybody; it rings uncomfortably of therapy, which she was bad at, so she’s made it into another thing she doesn’t think about. Then again, talking to Helena last night had had a similar ring, and there’s another full, unavoidable thought: Helena with her determination to make Myka say things. And, worse, think about things.

She waits too long. Alicia’s posture stiffens, and her jaw takes on a hurt jut. Myka half expects her to start muttering okay be like that or fine don’t tell me like a teenager would. Myka sighs. “It’s a woman. She showed up last night. I hadn’t seen her in a year, but she walked in here last night.”

“A woman who’s a psycho motherfucker like my ex?”

Myka shakes off that suggestion. “Seems to want things I can’t give her.”

“Seems to.”

“Right. She shows up here like I owe her something.”

“Do you?”

Myka can’t immediately say no—even though she doesn’t owe Helena anything, not in any sense she can name. She pushes her dirty hands through her hair. She doesn’t remember taking her hair down, but here it is, down. Jesus. “What do you owe somebody you slept with because she seemed to need it and honestly so did you?”

“If you didn’t get her pregnant, probably nothing. You get her pregnant?”

“Doubtful.” Myka can’t stop a chuckle. “You never know, but doubtful.” She tries to linger on the laugh—tries not to think about a child, and the loss of her, and how that is really the only reason any of this happened.

“She do shit to hurt you? To fuck you up?”

“No. Other than show up here, no.”

“She know that was gonna fuck you up? Twisted like this, where you don’t check a fucking gas cap?”

“No.” Because Helena had thought that Myka was in a place better than her own bereaved self—objectively better. A place more whole. Myka wants to laugh.

“So she is not a psycho motherfucker.”

“She came all the way here from Morocco. England then France then Morocco then here. She said it was to see if I was all right. What’s the call on that?”

Alicia makes a “well, well” face. “Hardcore,” she says, and it’s praise. “She a stalker?”

“Technically maybe. But really not. Hardcore, though, yeah.”

“She good in bed?”

Myka is not surprised by this question; Alicia is, in her own way, very like Driss. But Myka’s more inclined to answer when Alicia asks, so: “Yes,” she says. It would be dishonest to say anything else. Because it isn’t just nostalgia that has kept Myka from trying with much enthusiasm to look for any companionship lately—it’s the real and sometimes too inconveniently present knowledge that anybody else would likely pale in comparison. She’s spent some time not being thrilled with that knowledge. “But that happened—not here. Obviously. And she shouldn’t be here. Elsewhere is elsewhere. You know how I feel about... elsewhere.”

“Shit went down, and home is not the place you want to keep all that. I get it. I live it. My kid lives it. But this hardcore stalker who’s good in bed, does she get it?”

Myka doesn’t have an answer.

Alicia takes off her right glove, points her index finger hard at Myka. Its nail features a profusion of delicate daisies that do nothing to sweeten her words. “If she is not a psycho motherfucker then don’t blame her for any psycho motherfucking shit. Am I gonna blame my kid? I gotta bring him with me, no matter what, no matter how much he looks like that psycho motherfucker.”

Myka says, “I don’t like how that fits.” Because Alicia’s son, twelve years old now, does look like her ex, such that Myka has never really understood how Alicia can look at him. Every day. And Myka is now considering that Helena can’t bring her kid with her. And yet she always brings her kid with her. What hurt Helena didn’t happen elsewhere. She doesn’t get to leave it in the desert. Myka’s inability to see that simple fact—to get to it—shames her. “I really don’t like how it fits,” she says.

Alicia shrugs. “Sorry, Corporal.” She puts her glove back on.

“Don’t,” Myka says.

“You’re the one brought up my ex. Reminded me. Gotta give you something back.”

“Yeah,” Myka acknowledges. She rubs her eyes. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“Yeah. Nobody does. Go drive. Or whatever.”

****

The Infiniti really is acting weird. Codes aside, there’s an overall lack of smoothness to its energy, somehow frantic and sluggish at the same time. Its engine should pick up like nothing’s happening at all, the noise a thick layer of butter in the deep, deep background, but instead there’s a hungry rumble forcing Myka to listen to how much labor it’s chunking, clunking through.

She pushes the pedal, drives even faster than she usually does. Maybe there’ll be a cop around and she can get herself stopped, ticketed, something that holds her up, something she has to deal with.

Instead, she just gets to Helena’s hotel really, really fast. In a car that worked far too hard to get her there.

But Helena’s probably gone already anyway. It’s late afternoon, practically evening, and even though she said she had a late flight, she’s probably gone already anyway. That’s what to hope for.

Myka parks in a space reserved for loading and unloading—maybe somebody’ll raise a stink about it and that can be the thing to deal with. But nothing happens, even after she’s sat there for a while, so she gives up. She gets out of the car, slams its door. The sound is expensive, yet unsatisfying. She goes inside, to the desk, and asks if the person in 327 has checked out yet.

The clerk, a boy who can’t be more than eighteen, gives Myka a look like he’s afraid she’ll strangle him if he gives the wrong answer. He taps at his computer. He says, with a quaver, “No. She hasn’t checked out.”

And what is Myka supposed to do now? Go up there, bang on the door? And then what?

So she mutters a surly “thank you” and goes back to the car. She sits in this expensive, nonsensically faulty car that isn’t hers, in a parking space she has no right to occupy, and she doesn’t drive away.

Thirty-four minutes later, Helena walks out of the hotel, wheeling a suitcase. She stops and waits.

Myka drives up, parks in front of her. Stands up out of the car. “Get in,” she says.

Helena gazes at Myka. Her breathing doesn’t change, and her expression stays neutral. She sounds far more like her desert self as she asks, “Where are we going?”

“To the airport.”

“I’m taking the hotel’s shuttle.”

Don’t be difficult, Myka would tell her, but she knows that she herself is the one being difficult. “Take this instead.”

“My turn now: why are you here?”

“I had to check out why this car was driving hinky.” That’s at least the truth.

“And that made you think of me. I’m flattered.”

“Would you just get in the car.”

“Why?”

“So I can drive you to the airport.”

“In a car that’s likely to break down.”

“It isn’t hinky like that.”

“That is clearly a term of art in your business. As for breaking down, I suppose you would know better than I.” But she gets in the car. She doesn’t look at Myka.

The car doesn’t break down, despite Myka’s roaring unreasonable wish that it would. She has the wild idea that she might pretend it’s stalled, steer it regretfully to the shoulder—but no, it drives like the dream it’s supposed to, creamy sound and all, and it’s only a five-minute trip anyway, and then they’re pulling up to the terminal, and it’s too late. It’s too late for everything.

Myka stops at the curb. She gets out and hauls Helena’s suitcase from the trunk, sets it on the pavement. Pulls up the handle, so Helena won’t have to. Helena’s out now, too, and she says, “The car didn’t break down. You were right.”

“Yeah.” She’s caught between wanting to memorize Helena’s face as she stands here, every strengthened detail of it as it is now, or to cling tighter to the past vision of thin grief. Neither one is going to be a comfort. (Neither one is going to recede.)

“May I kiss you?” Helena asks, and it’s her desert voice again. So wrong for it to emerge from this rejuvenated body. “Just once, just goodbye?”

The car decided to get here. That made clear what her answer has to be. “No,” Myka says.

Helena nods. She takes the bag’s handle, and she turns to walk into the terminal. The scarf, that Essaouira scarf, is around her neck and shoulders, like an animal, there to serve her, to protect her, as a familiar should. That, Myka did right. She reaches out to reassure herself of its nubbled weave, to flip it one last time between her fingers. One little last physical reminder of all those colors, all that beauty Myka couldn’t bring herself to face. It’s in her hand for an instant, and then it’s slipping out, as Helena moves away.

Tighten your grip.

Where the directive comes from doesn’t matter; it’s an order and Myka obeys it.

Helena turns around.

And she’s launching herself at Myka as she had at the end of the race last year, as if her body is spent but she’s won something.

They embrace like it’s first and new—and the first kiss still feels like this—but then again it is first and new: it’s their first kiss goodbye.

Helena holds her eyes closed for a moment after it ends. She looks, in that instant, like she’s asleep—sleep, that beautiful time, when if there are no dreams, there are no memories either. That’s the only real peace, that and the instant of waking, that one instant when everything is forgotten and fine.

How close to forgotten and fine it all had seemed, just now, when Myka was kissing Helena; how it had become no longer so when she opened her own eyes from the kiss. And she watches as Helena, too, now, when the instant of waking passes, takes upon her face again all of that remembered weight. Kiss me again, Myka imagines saying. It helps me, and it helps you, so kiss me again.

But trying to escape into a world of dreamless sleep: that’s cheating. So instead, she says, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“For what?” Helena’s voice is as soft as the kiss.

For wishing, when I knew I shouldn’t. “For all of it. Not being as right as I pretended to be. Not being the same person here as I was there. Not being someone who could give you what you want.”

“What do I want?”

“That person in Morocco. That person there.” Because that person, there, did the right things, at the right times.

“Yes, that person, there. There, then. But if I’m not the same now, here, why would I expect you to be?”

“It was so beautiful,” Myka tries to explain. Tries to explain away. “So differently beautiful. That could never happen again.”

“No, it couldn’t. I for one don’t wish to be in need like that again.” Her words bring Myka dangerously near tears, because of course Helena doesn’t want that. All Myka wants to do is crawl back to Essaouira, back inside that differently beautiful sanctum of time and place—but she would have to drag Helena back with her, and she would not drag Helena back into that exile, not for all the world. (And yet it feels like all the world, that’s what she’d be getting back, for that moment; she’d be getting all the world.) “But Myka,” Helena says, and it’s a strange side-stepped reading of Myka’s mind she performs as she goes on, “you are still in the world, and no matter where in the world that is—no matter what you tell yourself about who you are in different places—no matter what you want to leave in this place or in that one—no matter any of that—you wear the same face.”

“This isn’t your face. It isn’t the same. You look better now.”

“And you speak with the same voice.”

“Even your voice is different.”

“You are still in the world, and so I did not have to resign myself to the loss of your face. To the loss of your voice. I could come here, and I could see you and hear you. You could still tell me things. Or did you forget them all?”

All Myka can manage is a shake of her head.

“Then tell me this: Why should I mourn the loss of you when here you stand? Would you wish more such grief upon me?”

“Wish grief on you? How can you say that? Why would you say that?” Here she is near crying again, this time from frustration.

“Myka.” That voice, saying her name, low and terse. But there’s a keen tension to it now too. “If I were to continue explaining myself to you, I would miss my plane.”

Myka recognizes that carefully articulated statement for what it is: one last chance. Myka can take this one last chance to keep being who she’s been. That person would let Helena walk away, into that terminal lit up from the inside, into all that light. It’s waiting for her.

That person would stay out here, in this mountain twilight, and let Helena walk into whatever future she can find.

She’ll go away, and Myka won’t see her again, because there are things she doesn’t think about. She will put Helena fully away, with those things she doesn’t think about, as she should have done before. Another thing that Myka will put away, with those things, is the fact that Helena tried—folded with the fact, plain in Helena’s gaze now, that she will not try again.

(We all have one grand gesture in us.)

This won’t ever happen again. Something else might happen, but it wouldn’t be this. A thousand other things will happen, but they won’t be this.

“Would you?” Myka asks.

It’s the second-most selfish question she’s ever asked. The most selfish was when her first tour was almost up, and she had to decide whether to extend. Her mother was sick, and she asked her parents, “Do you need me stateside?”, knowing that they would say yes, knowing that that would be her excuse. To get out from under the pressure of being magic: yes, to escape that pressure, she selfishly asked a question. The asking diminished her, both in her own eyes and in those of her parents. They were, they are, unselfish people. They never would have thought to request that she come home.

A wince of a question, yet she asks it. “Would you?”

Helena moves closer, but in a sidle, like she must stay balanced to dart away, like this is surely the most obvious of traps. She moves closer still, and Myka raises her arms, just a little, but as much as she can.

And it seems like a miracle, but really it’s just two bodies coming soft together one more time, with cars and people all around, suitcases and goodbyes, but this kiss is like those that were a year ago—like those that were not first, a year ago; like those that were instead deep inside two differently beautiful nights, in a country not their own.

If it were just this, everything would be all right, and nobody would ever hurt anybody, because Myka is thinking of every intimate touch. How her legs would slide against Helena’s. How her cheek would rest against Helena’s hip. How her hands would rise up Helena’s back.

Myka finds herself starting the car and driving. She is driving somewhere, anywhere. Helena is beside her in a car on the road, instead of beside a stranger on an airplane in the sky, and Myka is driving somewhere.

TBC

#bering and wells #Warehouse 13 #fanfic #Road #part 4 #AU week #this part was going to take us to a later point in the story #but I felt this as a more natural break #plus this means that it has emerged a tiny bit sooner #that it would have otherwise #I know I'm glacial #(maybe climate change will cause a Delaware-sized piece of me to break off) #(although I really don't have that much self to spare) #but I feel so strongly about the things that are being dealt with here #that I want to get it a little bit right #plus cars' innards are unexpectedly fascinating #(I realize it's my problem and not yours that I've spent far too much time on the intricacies of engine knock)

[makingscipub]

Poo and puns: Recent representations of faecal microbiota transplants in English language news media

This post, by Carmen McLeod, Brigitte Nerlich and Rusi Jaspal, has recently been published on the Microbiology Society Blog. We reblog it here with permission.

***

Bacteria, germs, poo…these are words that normally don’t evoke images of health and happiness. The relationship between humans and bacteria is often understood as a combative one. Bacteria are an enemy that must be fought and we have been fighting them for many years. We have been fighting them in the toilets, we have been fighting them in the kitchens and we have been fighting them in hospitals. All the while bacteria have been mounting a resistance to the weaponry – such as antibiotics – we use to fight them. And so, the fight goes on.

This is still a dominant picture of bacteria. But things are changing. Bacteria have had an image make-over since the advent of probiotics and ‘good bacteria’. This more positive view has grown alongside the development of the new research field of microbiomics, which studies all the microorganisms of a given community (a ‘microbiota’) together. But of course, there are still ‘bad bacteria’ around. One of them is Clostridium difficile (or C. diff for short). This bacterium can infect the bowel and lead to serious diarrhoea. It especially affects people (mainly the elderly) who have been treated with antibiotics in hospital settings.

Here is where ‘poo’ comes in, or rather faecal microbiota transplants (FMT). This is the process of transferring stool from a healthy donor, who has a healthy gut microbiome containing good bacteria, to a recipient with a dysfunctional intestinal flora (containing bad bacteria), in order to repopulate their gut microbiome.

FMT has been used in one form or another for a long time, but has only recently made its appearance in official health care settings, especially in the treatment of otherwise intractable cases of C. diff.

Clinicians and scientists are starting to talk about FMT to journalists; journalists and science writers are picking up these stories and patients too are relating their experiences to the media. For our research, we wanted to find out more about this, get a feeling for what conversations people are having about FMT and whether this is changing the ways in which we understand the relationship between humans and bacteria.

To do this, we investigated how English-language newspapers represented FMT between 2003, when the phrase first appeared in English-language news, and 2017. From what we can ascertain, both science and the media began to follow the FMT story more closely from 2013 onwards.

In order to generate a data set of news articles on FMT, we searched for ‘fa(e)cal microbial’, ‘microbiota transplant’ and ‘stool transplant’ on the Nexis® UK news database. ‘Fa(e)cal transplant’ generated an amount suitable for qualitative analysis: 1609 articles – 1547 with duplicates removed. We then focused on ‘newspapers only’, which meant excluding trade publications, websites, magazines etc. This left 612 articles and after duplicates were removed, the remaining overall data consisted of 504 articles [December 24, 2017 search].

We studied these articles using qualitative thematic analysis, paying particular attention to certain forms of language; namely puns, wordplay, metaphor and argument structure, salient topics and events, key actors, and emerging patterns within the data, which clustered especially around the three aspects of FMT: faeces, bacteria/microbes and transplants/donation. We also examined broader themes associated with health and the gut microbiome, in order to uncover emerging social representations.

Our findings show that print media focused in particular on creating novel, mainly hopeful, social representations of faeces through wordplay and punning, side-lining issues of risk and fear. There was, of course, also hype, and future research should pay attention to evolving ‘GutHype’. In our media sample we saw controversy emerging around FMT and obesity. For example, one headline proclaimed “Bowel hope turns to crap” (Sydney MX, Australia, 06/02/2015). Autism featured as one of many hyped-up diseases that FMT is supposed to cure. One article asked “Are gut microbes really a panacea, or just overhyped?” (The Guardian, 2017), and another, in The Globe and Mail, talked about “Poo and woo woo” in a “post-truth” world.

The ‘gut reaction’ to the process of FMT is likely to be one of disgust. Throughout our corpus, this gut reaction was highlighted but also counteracted through various rhetorical strategies, namely punning, strategic use of numbers/science, contrastive storytelling, and the use of ‘but’. For example, a seminal 2013 study on FMT which triggered media attention was reported in Scientific American under the title “The S••t hits the fan!!”. The work of an FMT pioneer Australian doctor, Thomas Borody, attracted a lot of attention and reporters pointed out that his scientific papers include “such titles as Flora Power and Toying with Human Motions. But he is also deadly serious”. Another example of what we call the ‘but strategy’ is the: “The procedure is, of course, messy and odoriferous, but it’s also simplicity itself.”

We also identified changing metaphorical framings of microbes and bacteria from ‘enemies’ to ‘friends’ (“microbial miracle workers”). Additionally, readers are familiarised with FMT through the depiction of the process as being both mundane (“you can now liquidise your partner’s poo in a blender and insert it into your body at home”) and highly medicalised (“pills you pop in the mouth and swallow”).

We argue that emerging media representations have the potential to background the yuck factor and shape more positive social representations of FMT, paving the way for FMT to become a more socially acceptable procedure. Future research can build on this baseline study in order to study how social representations circulate in the wider media and public sphere, online as well as offline, and how they may change over time and differ between countries, as research into FMT progresses.

Further Reading:

Hodgetts T, Grenyer R, Greenhough B, McLeod C, Dwyer A et al. The Microbiome and its Publics. EMBO Reports 2018;19:e45786. McLeod C, Nerlich B, Jaspal R. Fecal microbiota transplants: Emerging social representations in the English-language print media. New Genetics and Society 2019; 38/3, 331-351.Nerlich B, Koteyko N. Balancing food risks and food benefits: the coverage of probiotics in the UK national press. Sociological research online 2008;13:1–14.

Dr McLeod presented her data at the Microbiology Society Focused Meeting Anaerobe 2019: Changing perceptions of anaerobic bacteria; from pathogen to the normal microbiota and back

Image needpix

The post Poo and puns: Recent representations of faecal microbiota transplants in English language news media appeared first on Making Science Public.

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[zeroviraluniverse-blog]

GOP to release spending bill ahead of Friday shutdown

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GOP to release spending bill ahead of Friday shutdown

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On the roster: GOP to release spending bill ahead of Friday shutdown – Dem lawmakers offer McCabe jobs to secure his pension – Trump touts opioid plan in New Hampshire – DCCC breaks February fundraising record – D’oh! GOP TO RELEASE SPENDING BILL AHEAD OF FRIDAY SHUTDOWN USA Today: “After two shutdowns and five stop-gap spending bills, House Republican leaders are expected to release a $1.3 trillion spending bill in the coming days that would fund the government through Sept. 30, the end of the this fiscal year. The bill must be passed by both the House and Senate and signed by President Trump before Saturday, or there will be another partial shutdown of federal agencies. Democrats and Republicans agreed on top-line spending levels in February, when they approved a sweeping budget deal and a short-term funding measure to keep the government open until midnight March 23. But lawmakers are still quibbling over a bevy of specific provisions that could be jammed into the $1.3 trillion spending bill. The flashpoints include everything from funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border, which President Trump wants, to de-funding Planned Parenthood, which House conservatives want. Democrats have said they want a ‘clean’ spending bill that does not include such controversial add-ons. House Republicans are meeting Monday evening to discuss the massive spending bill before releasing the text publicly.”

Trump supports proposals for federal subsidies to insurers – AP: “President Donald Trump has told two Republican senators that he supports adding proposals to a huge spending bill that would provide billions in federal subsidies to insurers to help curb health care premium increases. Two congressional sources said Trump offered that support in a Saturday call with GOP Sens. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Maine’s Susan Collins. Alexander and Collins are among Republicans who want to restore federal payments to insurers that Trump halted last fall that reimburse them for reducing out-of-pocket costs for lower-earning customers. They’d also create a $30 billion, three-year program to help carriers afford to cover their sickest, most expensive clients. Both proposals are in peril. Democrats oppose GOP language forbidding the federal money from being used to finance abortions. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the call publicly.”

And offers on DREAMers, border wall occurred too – Politico: “The White House and congressional Democrats traded immigration offers futilely over the weekend, according to three sources familiar with the talks, leaving little chance of an immediate deal to protect Dreamers. The White House on Sunday made an 11th-hour push to include billions of dollars in border wall funding in a massive congressional spending bill due this week, but it clashed with congressional Democrats over how far to go in protecting young immigrants who face deportation, the sources said. White House officials asked Democrats to approve $25 billion for President Donald Trump’s border wall in exchange for extending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program through fall of 2020, those sources said. That would give Trump his full wall funding request in the must-pass spending bill and still give him leverage over the DACA program heading into his 2020 reelection campaign.”

THE RULEBOOK: PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE “In order to ascertain the real character of the government, it may be considered in relation to the foundation on which it is to be established; to the sources from which its ordinary powers are to be drawn; to the operation of those powers; to the extent of them; and to the authority by which future changes in the government are to be introduced.” – James Madison, Federalist No. 39 TIME OUT: FOR LOVE OF THE GAME Atlantic: “There’s a lot of losing in sports. Only one team can win at a time, and only one champion escapes the season without tears. But that doesn’t stop Americans from spending nearly $56 billion a year on sporting events, while dropping many billions more on jerseys, cable packages, buffalo wings—to say nothing of the substantial emotional costs incurred. … Is fandom worth it? At first glance, the evidence isn’t encouraging. Following a loss, fans are more likely than usual to eat unhealthy food, be unproductive at work, and—in the case of the Super Bowl—die from heart disease. … Yet a substantial volume of research shows that being a fan can also have positive effects. It can ward off depression and alienation and build a sense of belonging and self-worth… Much of this is due to social bonds among fans, but not all—sports worship also provides individual fans with a number of strategies for navigating life’s emotional challenges.”

Flag on the play? – Email us at [email protected] with your tips, comments or questions.

SCOREBOARD Trump job performance  Average approval: 41 percent  Average disapproval: 54.8 percent  Net Score: -13.8 points Change from one week ago: up 1 point [Average includes: NBC News/WSJ: 43% approve – 53% disapprove; Gallup: 40% approve – 56% disapprove; Pew Research Center: 42% approve – 53% disapprove; CBS News: 38% approve – 57% disapprove; George Washington University: 42% approve – 55% disapprove.]

Control of House Republican average: 38.2 percent Democratic average: 48.8 percent Advantage: Democrats plus 10.6 points Change from one week ago: Democratic advantage down 0.8 points  [Average includes: NBC News/WSJ: 50% Dems – 40% GOP; George Washington University: 49% Dems – 40% GOP; Quinnipiac University: 48% Dems – 38% GOP; Monmouth University: 50% Dems – 41% GOP; USA Today/Suffolk: 47% Dems – 32% GOP.] DEM LAWMAKERS OFFER MCCABE JOBS TO SECURE HIS PENSION Fox News: “A growing number of Democratic lawmakers are offering temporary jobs to ousted FBI official Andrew McCabe in an attempt to help him secure a full government pension after Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired him just two days shy of his retirement. It’s not clear if the Democratic offers could even work or be accepted by McCabe. Asked by Fox News about the possibility, a source close to McCabe would only say the former FBI deputy director is ‘looking at all options.’ … McCabe was fired just days before he would have been eligible for a lifetime pension, meaning those benefits could now be in jeopardy — something Democrats are trying to prevent. Sessions said the DOJ’s inspector general determined McCabe was not truthful during his review of the Clinton email investigation and the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility recommended his firing. Since then, at least four Democratic lawmakers have publicly offered jobs in their congressional offices.”

Trump goes after Mueller – AP: “President Donald Trump on Sunday took out his frustrations over the intensifying Russia investigation by lashing out at special counsel Robert Mueller, signaling a possible shift away from a strategy of cooperating with a probe he believes is biased against him. In a series of weekend tweets naming Mueller for the first time, Trump criticized the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and raised fresh concerns about the objectivity and political leanings of the members of Mueller’s team. Trump also challenged the honesty of Andrew McCabe, the newly fired FBI deputy director, and James Comey, the bureau’s former director whom Trump fired last year over the Russia probe. The president’s aggressive stance followed a call Saturday by his personal lawyer for Rod Rosenstein, whom Trump appointed as deputy attorney general and who now oversees Mueller’s inquiry, to ‘bring an end’ to that investigation.”

But Trump’s attorney says Mueller won’t be fired – Fox News: “An attorney for President Trump said Sunday evening that the president ‘is not considering or discussing’ firing special counsel Robert Mueller after Trump fired off a series of tweets criticizing the investigation into Russian actions during the 2016 presidential election. ‘In response to media speculation and related questions being posed to the Administration, the White House yet again confirms that the President is not considering or discussing the firing of the Special Counsel, Robert Mueller,’ read the statement from Ty Cobb. Cobb’s remarks came one day after Trump’s personal lawyer, John Dowd, called on Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to ‘bring an end’ to the Mueller inquiry.”

TRUMP TOUTS OPIOID PLAN IN NEW HAMPSHIRE Reuters: “President Donald Trump, targeting the U.S. opioid epidemic, called again on Monday for the execution of drug dealers, a proposal that so far has gained little support in Congress, amid criticism from some drug abuse and criminal justice experts. At an event in Manchester, New Hampshire, Trump unveiled an anti-opioid abuse plan, including his death penalty recommendation and one for tougher sentencing laws for drug dealers. For Trump, the visit to New Hampshire returns him to a state that gave him a key Republican primary election win when he was a political newcomer in 2016. Back then, he promised to tackle the opioid crisis, which is particularly severe in the New England state. Since then, he has taken only modest steps. He declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency in October, but without providing more money to fight the epidemic. Some critics, including Democratic lawmakers, said then that the declaration was meaningless without additional funds.”

DCCC BREAKS FEBRUARY FUNDRAISING RECORD Roll Call: “The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee raised nearly $10.6 million in February. That’s the most the committee has ever raised during the second month of the year, according to figures obtained first by Roll Call. The DCCC raised $3.38 million from online donations in February, with an average online gift of $18. So far this cycle, the group has raised more than $50 million online, which includes 300,000 first-time online donors, and a total of $125 million this cycle. It ended February with $49 million in the bank. ‘It’s been clear all cycle long that the grassroots are energized and unified around the goal of taking back the House,’ DCCC Chairman Ben Ray Luján said in a statement. ‘The DCCC’s historic fundraising combined with incredible candidate fundraising will ensure that Democratic candidates have the resources to tell their powerful stories and connect with voters,’ he added.”

Senate GOP to use Trump as main political strategy – Politico: “But Senate Republicans are nevertheless making a counterintuitive, all-in bet that President Donald Trump will save their 51-49 majority — and perhaps even help them pick up a few seats. Even as fears grow within the GOP that Trump will cost Republicans the House, Senate Republicans say the president will play a starring role in the closely contested campaigns that will decide control of the chamber. Trump will be front and center in every state that helped elect the president, according to GOP senators and strategists, making the case that Democrats are hindering his agenda. ‘If you look at a race in a state like Missouri or North Dakota — or any of these states — he’ll be very involved,’ said Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado, chairman of the GOP’s campaign arm, who speaks with Trump about political strategy regularly.”

Dems begin getting their 2020 teams ready – Politico: “The hiring stage of the 2020 shadow primary is underway. At least a dozen possible Democratic presidential candidates have begun bolstering their teams by adding aides with campaign experience to their Senate staffs, personal offices or 2018 reelection payrolls. The hires are never explicitly advertised or designed to be about 2020. But the behind-the-scenes shuffle is a long-overdue stage in the traditional precampaign scramble. Potential candidates who have run before — like Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden — largely have their core teams in place. Yet in many other cases, chiefs of staff and senior strategists are now actively looking for new talent after receiving clear instructions from their bosses…”

PLAY-BY-PLAY Judges dismiss GOP lawsuit over new congressional map in Pennsylvania – Roll Call

Kelly taps Chris Liddell to be his deputy – Politico

Hillary Clinton tries to explain her comments on Trump voters after backlash – Fox News AUDIBLE: A TRUE JUXTAPOSITION “He dresses like a hobo, but he’s an elitist.” – Anthony Scaramucci speaking about Steve Bannon in the most recent episode of Recode Decode, a podcast hosted by Kara Swisher. [Ed. note: Chris Stirewalt is away – by which we mean he is holed up in his garret, hiding from his publisher and trying to finish the book he loves but that may be trying to kill him. He will return, Lord and the Louisiana Historical Society willing, on March 21. In lieu of flowers, please send coffee and bacon.]  

D’OH! UPI: “A driver in England presented a fake driver’s license featuring a character form The Simpsons at a traffic stop, police said. Thames Valley Police shared a photo of the driver’s license featuring the name ‘Homer Simpson’ along with an image of the cartoon patriarch delivering his iconic catch phrase ‘D’oh.’ … Twitter users pointed out the unidentified male driver made several mistakes when crafting the spoof license, printing the incorrect address and date of birth for the well-known cartoon character. ‘Everyone knows that Homer Simpson lives at 742 Evergreen Terrace! Amateur…’ one user wrote. Police weren’t amused by the man’s stunt and he faced another charge after the officer learned he had no insurance.”

Brianna McClelland contributed to this report. Want FOX News Halftime Report in your inbox every day? Sign up here.

This article was written by Fox News staff.

#ahead #bill #Friday #GOP #release #shutdown #spending #News #Politics

[rachelbelitardoblog]

Treat Music Like a Unique Topic

Consider back to whenever you were in college. You had your academic courses along with your after-school actions. You knew your every day routine: Math, English, Science, and so on. Then just after school: piles of limitless homework!

With lots of different topics, it is no wonder incorporating time to practice music can seem to be like a burden to a kid. That is exactly where you can be found in - it is possible to aid shift your child’s mindset!

What’s the bottom line? It is as much as you to assist your little one see music within a unique light!

As opposed to treating music like any other subject, make a distinction so your youngster sees music as one thing she or he desires to do. The most beneficial method to shift your child’s mindset would be to let him or her play an instrument they are essentially keen on.

“If you desire your little one to be motivated to perform an instrument, music should be diverse than other educational subjects,” says Bobby K. from Guitar Chalk. “Your kid shouldn’t see music being a forced discipline, like Math or Geography. This eventually comes down to picking out the right instrument, which is going to be the 1 the youngster is fired up about and wants to play on his or her personal.

“For me, that was the guitar, which had me training (voluntarily) three to 4 hrs each day at eleven years outdated. That couldn’t have happened with piano simply because piano wasn’t “my” instrument. It had been just an additional topic. But guitar was distinct in that it felt like play, not college work. Receiving your little one into a similar situation, wherever their instrument does not come to feel like just a different school topic, is absolutely significant. If it’s not happening, that may be a signal that it’s time for you to switch instruments.”

This also implies it's possible you'll have to be versatile. Whilst it may be highly-priced to allow a child to begin and halt various distinct actions, try and work with her or him to uncover a single he or she enjoys and is intrinsically motivated to practice.

Like this tip? Click here to tweet it. 

Place Your Child in Manage It is no secret that when we’re told to do some thing, we really don't generally want to do it. Throughout the program of a day, there are lots of unique people today (dad and mom, teachers, older siblings, coaches) telling kids what to accomplish. Include music to that record and it’s no wonder inspiration appears to dwindle!

Combat this issue by putting your kid in handle. Allow her or him ascertain the practice routine, that way they are more probable to stick to it.

“Kids hear adults tell them what to complete each of the time; to catch their consideration, allow them system their particular practice schedule,”  says Nicole Weiss, LCSW Psychotherapist and Coach. “Start with all the end in mind. In essence, you want to get your youngster to create the determination that she or he requires to practice to ensure she or he can play the way he or she really wants to play. After the decision is made, the mother or father may help the kid analysis and discover how generally a very good musician practices. The youngster then sets a routine according to the actuality that, for being good, one particular need to practice.”

Not only will this permit your child to feel a sense of control, it can also assist him or her to find out the value of practice.

“The little one makes the schedule, then the parent reinforces it,” Weiss says. “I’m positive lots of mothers and fathers studying this would say…’yeah but will they do that day to day?’ That is exactly where you can be found in - but you have extra excess weight in the reminder. It had been the child’s wish to generate the purpose. In addition, the reward need to be for accomplishing little ambitions. For example: ‘practice every evening this week and we will download that song you would like.’ Reward the operate.”

Additional: Inspire Your Kid to Practice Using a Reward Procedure

Help Your Little one Have an understanding of the Present of Music Show your little one that taking part in a musical instrument is usually a distinctive privilege and an opportunity that isn’t automatically available to absolutely everyone. Teach your little one to enjoy music and all it has to present. Help them learn that music can enrich their daily life.

“I feel that we’re right here on this globe to carry out excellent points with all the gift of our lives, and we’re right here to serve other folks,” says Heather F. from Music for Young Violinists. “Learning to perform [the violin] aids us in the two of these places - we’re drawn up into a level of greatness via the discipline necessary to study this art type, and in this procedure, we cultivate a gift that we will share with other individuals.”

This also consists of helping your youngster build a like for music. Consider them to concerts or exhibits, perform music in the home, and assist them uncover what they like.

A lot of grownups want they'd stuck which has a pastime or endeavor they commenced as being a youngster, like enjoying a musical instrument. Whilst this could be a complicated concept for young youngsters to grasp, teaching them to enjoy music may help them have an understanding of why practice is important.

According to this post from MusicTeachersHelper on motivating students to practice, “…I can’t count the number of instances I’ve heard adults say to me, ‘I quit taking piano when I was young and it was this kind of a error. I wish I could go back and take lessons once again.’ Moms and dads can assist little ones know the worth that musical talent brings to society.”

Really do not Make Practice an Obligation This one might seem to be a little counterintuitive, right? Immediately after all, you have invested the money in an instrument and lessons, and you also want your child to create essentially the most of it. Plus, if your son or daughter wishes to be good, she or he wants to practice!

The key right here is to not make practice seem to be like an obligation, as compared to other fun activities. For example, if your son or daughter loves to perform video video games or play outside, really do not enable him or her to do this till immediately after completing practice.

Using a exciting activity as being a reward will produce the mindset that practice would be the obligation that stands while in the way of the exciting exercise, and this could develop resentment or dread for practice.

As Why We Educate Piano suggests, “Don’t set an arbitrary quantity of practice time, devoid of precise aims, then reward them with playtime or video video games afterwards. This just reinforces the notion that playing piano just isn't enjoyable and video games are enjoyable.”

System Performances With regards to any sport, hobby, or endeavor, it is critical to maintain your eye around the prize. The identical factor applies when it comes to your youngster learning an instrument; your son or daughter has to have a purpose in sight, otherwise, she or he might query the will need to practice.

“If you want to hold students engaged and enthusiastic about their music training, make certain they are carrying out continually all through the yr,” says Anthony M. founder and writer of your Music Parents’ Guidebook. “There are other profound results on much more scheduled performances for all school packages, at the same time. We, as mothers and fathers and teachers, need to foster a increasing curiosity and in some cases an excitement about music in our children’s lives. Constant performances would be the very best technique to do that and proceed to encourage our young children.”

It gets better:

Not simply do performances assistance to boost pleasure, they also get the job done to hold little ones accountable. Inquire any music instructor - even the most unmotivated pupil will probably be extra likely to practice if it means keeping away from embarrassment at a recital!

Allow Your Child Select Simply because you loved playing piano being a child does not indicate your little one will adore taking part in just as a great deal. Your youngster may have other interests, and it’s crucial to allow him or her to take a look at various endeavors.

“First of all, I think it is significant that the child select the instrument they are planning to understand,” says Matt T. from Unlock the Guitar. “I’m a guitarist, and I’d adore almost nothing over my son to get keen on discovering guitar, but he’s undeniably drawn to your piano. Plus, if an instrument is thrust on them, training it'll also be thrust on them. Letting the youngster pick out the instrument turns this on its head, and into your favor, even if they did not opt for the instrument you'll have liked them to play.”

Be Their Cheerleader Let your little one know you’re their biggest fan, in particular early on when your kid could feel frustrated or discouraged.

Eighty-eight notes college of music suggests listening for your youngster in your house as typically as you can and building encouraging remarks about their progress. Also, make sure to inquire them how their lessons went.

Get a real curiosity inside your child’s musical journey. Your son or daughter will probably be thrilled to perform for you personally and demonstrate off new expertise!

Enable Them Engage With Music Your kid is extra probable to practice music if he or she feels linked for the system. Help your son or daughter build an interest and curiosity for music.

To assist your kid keep engaged, come to be a a part of the course of action. No matter what it is possible to do to acquire concerned is most likely to increase their curiosity and determination.

“Motivating your child by reward or punishment will end doing work quite immediately; as an alternative, assistance your youngster get curious about music and produce an inner want to engage with music,” says Jonas G., the founder of flowkey.”Let your kid play all over with distinct instruments. Listen to music and sing together. Your kid will naturally would like to imitate you, so a large motivation for children to practice is seeing their moms and dads engage with music themselves.”

Create Issues As opposed to telling your kid to practice, assist him or her set particular ambitions and problems. This can help them progress more quickly due to the fact they’ll work on accomplishing certain duties or mastering distinct skills. This notion might be utilized to any instrument.

Practiceopedia author and practice expert, Philip J., features a entirely various get: “Don’t ask your young children to ‘practice’ - they will not understand what to try and do. As an alternative, give them bite-sized, clear issues to complete: (1) Function out a fingering for measures 24-35 (2) Steadily velocity up part B to 85bpm. (3) Be capable of perform the left hand from the coda from memory.”

Acquiring difficulties coming up with all the correct challenge? Examine out Phillip’s web-site, thebootcampedition.com, for any large assortment.

Celebrate ALL Accomplishments Discovering to play an instrument can be a lengthy journey full of peaks, valleys, and plateaus. Though you will unquestionably be proud after you watch your youngster complete, it’s essential to celebrate the very little victories along the way in which.

Even though verbal praise is very important, you may also need to build an additional method to celebrate achievements; familyshare suggests trying to keep a journal of the child’s accomplishments. When you place it in creating, you’re less very likely to neglect. If journaling is not your point, it is possible to hold a white board about the fridge, or produce a chart that you just can display in the home!

Celebrating the very little victories will help your youngster hold a constructive attitude when they’re struggling or owning issues tackling a whole new idea or song.

Allow Them Perform Music They Like Whilst you will discover normally certain signature songs and classics for numerous instruments, your child will eliminate curiosity if she or he does not just like the music they’re taking part in.

Get the job done along with your child’s teacher to generate certain your youngster is playing some music they definitely take pleasure in.

Based on the Academy of Music and Dance, “As kids get to be all over ten years old, at times younger, they begin to produce preferences for musical design, largely influenced by radio, Television, and no matter what they’re most exposed to in your house. They're going to also generally gravitate to no matter what their good friends are listening to, especially for boys at about age 13 and women all around age 11.”

Use this as a motivational method; make it possible for your son or daughter to perform at the least one particular familiar song as part of their weekly regimen.

Make Practice Fun This ought to come as no surprise - no one really wants to practice when it is dull! Include fun video games, routines, and problems, and your youngster will seem forward to practice!

In accordance with PianoDiscoveries, “appropriate goals and favourable reinforcement will make training entertaining and rewarding. Extremely couple of young children are self-motivated in their practice. Most will need incentives and reminders to help keep them focused and moving forward.”

Request your child’s music instructor for some imaginative methods to make practice additional entertaining!

Come across the proper Teacher This brings us to our last strategy and one on the most critical: uncover the proper teacher! While practice is finished outside of lessons, if your child connects with their instructor, they are a lot more very likely to practice on their very own time.

Based on Music Central,”…finding the appropriate instructor will make or break the whole expertise. Do not be afraid to test a new teacher if your youngster is not connecting. The most beneficial teachers are often the ones who not merely educate, but know how to get a fantastic buddy and mentor to your kid.”

Locate a teacher who understands your child’s mastering fashion, plus a man or woman who’s able to teach ideas in a way that keeps your little one interested. When your son or daughter likes their teacher, they’ll be a lot more prepared to get direction and practice continually.

Between the many problems that mother and father face in handling children’s music lessons (deciding upon the instrument, locating a very good instructor, and so on.), getting little ones to practice could be the most daunting of all. The severity on the challenge and the relevance of practice make it tough to believe that you'll find so number of content articles addressing this. What’s extra, parents and music teachers frequently resort to your failed tactics they recall from childhood in desperate attempts to encourage young children to practice. A prevalent example of this problem may be the “practice for 30 minutes” rule, through which a music teacher will endorse that the little one practice 30 minutes every day and generally maximize this time because they get older. In attempts to enforce adherence to this arbitrary commitment, mothers and fathers will frequently “pay” the little one for 30 minutes of “work” with a little something rewarding like viewing Television, taking part in outside or taking part in video video games. The issue with this particular method is that it can make the 30 minutes of practicing one thing to be endured in order to do a little something that's valued. But what exactly is so sacred about 30 minutes of training? In which did this typical unit come from? How is it superior than 27 minutes or 34? To transform training into a rewarding exercise, moms and dads must inspire reaching day by day musical ambitions. For example, as an alternative to saying that thirty minutes of practice is ample irrespective of precisely what is accomplished, you could say, “Today the aim of practicing is usually to play the very first eight measures of the piece with out any mistakes.” Whether reaching this intention will take twelve minutes or 40 minutes isn’t vital. Precisely what is vital is the kid knows the musical objective of each each day practice session and feels motivated to be as efficient as you possibly can although training so as to reach that intention and truly feel that sense of accomplishment. In the event the intention is playing the 1st eight measures on Monday, the logical objective for Tuesday is to perform the next eight. Fairly soon, the little one will acknowledge the cumulative target from the week: to play the whole piece no cost of mistakes. This prospects to a lot more inspiration, a lot more work for the duration of practice and most significantly, pride in what they've achieved. Whilst this method achieves better good results, in addition, it involves much more hard work from the dad and mom; it’s uncomplicated to evaluate the clock and monitor thirty minutes, but goal-related training means setting day by day goals to your children, monitoring the ease or problems your youngster experiences with his music and setting new, additional demanding ambitions. Really do not stress! Here are some ideas that will help you: Initially, divide the week’s goal or teacher’s expectations into 7 equal components and ensure your kid understands every single a single. On some days, your youngster could decide on to get the job done towards two days’ worth of objectives, during which case, it’s wise to provide them the choice of skipping the following day’s practice session. Everyday objectives really should be attended to every single day and need to involve taking part in scales or other technique-building abilities; advancement on distinct pieces may be more spread out, provided that the little one continues to move forward together with the piece. Though it could be tempting, don’t bargain with practice time. While in trying to skip per day, your kid might really indicate, “I will practice double tomorrow,” this sets the standard that practice time is negotiable. Progress ought to be measured and appropriately altered each day (if required) by analyzing the amount of effort, aggravation and completion/advancement in reaching the everyday goals. Yes, this can be a lot more perform than monitoring thirty minutes per day, but in the finish, this may be much simpler compared to the agony of forcing youngsters to adhere on the mandatory thirty minutes of meager, unmotivated work. It is going to also make everyone’s life a bit more fulfilling!

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