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mainsneat · 2 years

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Longboard tv pilot

Longboard tv pilot download#

Longboard tv pilot free#

Lance Carson is known for his incredibly relaxed noseriding style and powerful cutbacks. Good luck and Mahalo! THIS JACOBS SURFBOARDS LANCE CARSON MODEL Lance Carson As his logo art suggests.

Longboard tv pilot free#

Thank you for checking out this classic vintage board! If you have any questions please feel free to ask before bidding. THREE REDWOOD STRINGERS AND THE ORIGINAL 1966 YELLOW PINTAIL FIBERGLASS FIN THIS IS A VINTAGE NOSERIDER SPECIAL! ALOHA. Safe modes Limits Speeds & Gears if you want.THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL! ALL ORIGINAL 1966 FIRST GENERATION JACOBS SURFBOARDS LANCE CARSON MODEL PINTAIL LONGBOARD#6235 WITH THE DISTINCTIVE CARSON PINTAIL.Curved throttle response For smooth start-up.2 brushless motors, less moving parts so less maintenance.So a little bit about the specs of this board before you can see my not so standard unpacking video of this board from Exway. He took the board for a spin and he was absolutely surprised how it works. We had a talk about the board an I guess he is sold now as well. within seconds I overtook him and then we both stopped. Last week I went to the park and I was stepping from time to time just to see if I could override the board (yes this board also works without power if you want) and one really fast and experienced longboarder was boarding next to me and because he was faster than me I stepped up a notch, well I just put both feed on the board and gave power actually. So I’ve been driving around in Amsterdam and only real longboarders notice that I’m never stepping. So I mostly go with a maximum speed of 18km/h which is less than half of the speed this thing can do. It goes faster than bikes, or even scooters. I have been boarding a while now and this scares the crap out of me how fast it is. This means you have access to 100% of the board’s power. This board first let you drive 10km before HELLMODE is unlocked. But also the function of the brake can be changed to a reverse power.

Longboard tv pilot download#

If you download the APP, yes they even have an APP, you can change the settings of the board, speed curves etc. With the board you get a remote for controlling and its very easy to use forward scrolling is going forward and backward scrolling is braking. I’m living in Amsterdam where you have a lot of small but steep bridges and this board goes up without any problems. The board has 2 electro motors, one on each back wheel and are able to give so much power. They just want to have fun without compromising anywhere. You can see that the makers of this board are boarders themselves. The board has a small button on the bottom to switch it on and the upper deck is completely clean. From the outside, it just looks like a normal board instead. Because the electric motors are integrated into the wheels you don’t see anything that gives you the indication of an electric board. This machine is amazing, silent and looks great. The Exway X1, this is the first electric skateboard that I have seen that doesn’t really look like an electric skateboard, it is thin and has the battery integrated. They are not allowed in the Netherlands on public roads, so you need a board that doesn’t scream for attention or makes to much sound. To start most of them didn’t have a brake. I’ve got an electric longboard!!! Have you ever seen any of the video’s on youtube from Casey Neistat? He was one of the first who had such a board on youtube and I was in love with it from that moment but there are some disadvantages on electric skateboards/longboards at the beginning.

#Longboard tv pilot

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sirfrogsworth · 3 years

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I am so done with this weird Boomer superiority complex they have because they know how to drive a stick shift. Apparently wiggling a car dildo while stomping your foot has been elevated to an art form.

I have hundreds of other skills that were harder to acquire and are more useful than driving a stick shift.

This dude should try learning advanced macro photography using focus stacking. Or playing the intro to Thunderstruck with one hand. Or photoshopping cats into humorous circumstances.

In the United States about 2.4% of cars sold have a manual transmission. If you are in America, learning to drive stick is about as useful and practical as learning to milk a cow.

"But Froggie, what if you're super thirsty and the faucet is broken and the stores are closed and all you have is Bessy and a bucket?"

Pull out your phone, load up this video...

youtube

And start yanking.

I can drive a stick shift. I learned how because I had a *reason* to learn.

My high school best friend drove a turbocharged manual transmission Mitsubishi Starion that his father gave him when he upgraded to a Porsche Boxster. My friend secretly agreed to let me drive it really fast if I found a way to get really good at the shifting of sticks.

But it is not a super special ability that makes me better than anyone. I didn't spend 10,000 hours mastering it. It's not like I became a renowned VOA. (Vehicular Operation Artiste)

Or did I...?

Ah, yes, I remember it well.

It was the year of our Lord, nineteen hundred and ninety six. I was all of fifteen and one half years of age and my father borrowed a friend's four cylinder manual hatchback. I don't remember the name of the car, but if I were to give it a fake name I would say it was the Nissan Kurōzetto—because it was roughly the size of a Japanese closet.

It was a mature motorcar that had seen better days. It was a glossy ebony color that had turned into a matte mocha due to several layers of rust and a severe lack of washings. It made the regular vroom vroom car noises that you'd expect and several bonus noises that made you question its structural integrity. It had slightly more horsepower than a go-kart and delightfully manual brakes that always made you curious if you would actually stop when intended.

This car really made you feel alive when you drove it.

Deathtraps are funny that way.

I skidded around some empty streets for a couple of days while my dad tried to hold in his frustrated and sometimes terrified screams. With time and practice, I could eventually pop the clutch while on an incline and his heart rate didn't elevate one beat. I could move the car forward without that cute little chirping noise. I could transition from gear to gear sans diabolical crunching sounds. Eventually shifting became second nature. My muscle memory locked in and I was one with the car.

My quest was complete. The clouds opened up and golden crepuscular rays shined upon my borrowed automobile. A chorus of angels sung beautiful tones in perfect harmony. 100 trumpets played the fanfare of success.

Dare I say... twas the greatest accomplishment of my young life.

Women threw themselves at my feet. So-called "men" with automatic transmissions stared at me with envy. All of the cutest neighborhood dogs presented their furry tum-tums begging for scritches.

Yes, that is when this Frogboy became a Frogman.

Narrator: It was nothing like that and the Frogboy/Frogman thing is still undecided due to excessive cartoon watching and a large collection of stuffed animals.

Okay, I was exaggerating a little.

But the replies to that tweet above are full of Boomers bragging pridefully about their stick shifting prowess. Some showing off mediocre whips they claimed were more specialer because they had an extra pedal.

Congrats, you have functional muscle memory.

Now let's denigrate those who have foolishly gotten by using something automatic.

My favorite reply guy said he won't let his daughter get a license unless she learned to drive a manual transmission car.

For some reason changing a tire—a skill that is *actually* valuable and useful—is unimportant tacked-on knowledge he's teaching her just to be cruel.

How is that less vital than learning to drive a stick?

What emergency situation is he trying to prepare her for?

"Bumblebee's Boner" is my least favorite of the Transformers films.

I just can't think of any other happenstance where she would need immediate knowledge of driving a manual.

Also, StickShift Boomer Dad can't properly crop his Twitter avatar.

Since he is into weird requirements, perhaps he shouldn't be allowed to post on social media until he understands how to resize an image.

This weird nostalgic knob knowledge has become memeworthy for the Boomers. They can't resist sharing this image every time it pops up in their Facebook feed.

Hilarious!

So hilarious they actually adorn their vehicles with these stickers.

I've personally had 4 of my Boomer relatives share it on Facebook.

Though I wonder if they would think my version is just as funny...

I just get annoyed by this odd and toxic youth shaming. Boomers act like it is some moral failing that "kids these days" don't know how to do certain outdated things. So what it takes them a second to read an analog clock? Or they don't know how to use a rotary phone? Or they don't know how to churn butter?

Big whoop.

Learning a skill you may never use seems like a waste of time to me. Especially when you can learn these skills at basically any point in your life.

What is wrong with learning if and when you need to?

I think the reason Boomers are so precious about these skills-of-yore is because they are the generation most unwilling to learn new things. They aren't lost causes like my 97 year old Gram-Gram. They still have all their wits about them. And they aren't bad at using smartphones and computers because these devices are too complicated or unintuitive.

I mean, small children can learn these devices.

Many Boomers just aren't willing to put in the time and effort to learn new skills. They don't think they should have to. Things were fine the way they used to be and adapting to convenience makes you a snowflake. Or something.

Learning new skills is a skill in and of itself and they can't be bothered.

They got their jobs almost directly after graduating from an affordable college. Some of their careers matched the actual thing they studied. They rarely had to switch their careers multiple times and start over learning a new skill set.

They may tell the younger generations "just learn to code" but they would never take their own advice. If they happen to get laid off they would rather sit around and pout or blame people in other countries for "stealing their jobs." (Even though it is their greedy capitalist bosses who are responsible.)

Younger people are not only perfectly fine learning new skills later in life, but it is often a necessity for them. It can be very difficult to get a job in the field studied in school.

Boomers seem convinced if you don't learn something as a young person, you'll lose the opportunity to ever learn that skill again. They can't imagine having to learn to drive a stick shift at 35. If you don't do it as a 15-year-old with a learner's permit, it becomes forbidden knowledge or something.

This need to force their own children to learn useless skills "because that's how we did it" is not limited to operating motor vehicles.

If you hadn't caught on, this post isn't actually just about stick shifts.

It's about how they have held back our society because of their stubbornness, superiority complexes, toxic youth shaming, and rigid ideas about how things should be done.

We can't forgive student loan debt because Boomers already paid off their loans and it wouldn't be "fair."

We can't have universal healthcare because they already have good benefits at their job which would become worthless.

They don't want to learn new pronouns because that's not the grammar *they* were taught.

We can't switch to the metric system because they don't want to buy more Pyrex measuring cups and they spent all of that effort remembering there are 5,230 feet in a mile. Err... 5,250 feet? Over 5,000 feet in a mile. Totally easy to remember, no need to switch.

Schools are still prioritizing rote memorization when information can be accessed instantly. We could be teaching the context of history instead of memorizing dates. We could be teaching research skills instead of wasting brain cells committing state capitals to memory.

Seriously, who needs to know Jefferson City exists? I live in Missouri and I can tell you even the people in Jeff City don't care about its existence.

We make students use TI-83 calculators even though computers, phones, and tablets are a billion times more advanced and easier to operate and more accessible. These devices are using the same hardware as they did 30 years ago yet still command the same $100+ price tag. All because some Boomer politicians were lobbied by some Boomer businessmen to help maximize their Boomer profit margins by requiring schools to use some outdated Boomer technology because Boomers love that capitalism.

It's a buncha Boomer bullshit.

When things actually do manage to move on and improve they mourn the old way of doing things and shame people for preferring something easier and more convenient. They want things to be harder for young people because it was harder for them. They claim it teaches important life lessons about hard work but I have evidence they might just be dicks.

They keep having to retire skills they learned and since they don't learn any new ones, they start to feel like their knowledge base is becoming more and more useless. So they fight to keep things as they used to be for as long as possible. They become obsessed with the "good old days" that were only good for a select few.

I wish Boomers could have learned one thing from the generation that came before them—the futility of fiercely clinging to tradition in a world that advances faster than at any point in history.

Some traditions are fun. Some are harmlessly nostalgic. Most are just stupid and should be left in the past.

In a few years, many cars will have a single gear. They will have fewer moving parts, they will be easier to maintain, and they will break less frequently.

Boomers will most likely complain about this.

"You kids and your Easy EVs. In MY day we actually had to *learn* to drive. In the snow. Uphill. Both ways.

You probably don't even know how to pump your own gas."

"Actually, I just watched this video and... now I do."

youtube

"Okay... but... can you... can you MILK A COW?"

"Yes, some Frogboy posted a tutorial on Tumblr."

"Oh."

I think electric car companies should use this toxic mindset to fleece the Boomers out of their not-that-hard-earned money. Maybe donate a portion of the proceeds to help pay off student loan debt.

I've even got the sales pitch all worked out...

Hey there, my Boomer friend! Have I got a Boomtastic deal for you!

For an extra $5000 you can add the "Stickshift Simulation Package." You'll receive a pointless shifting phallus that plays combustion engine sounds as you needlessly shift gears.

Vroom vroom! Sounds like you are about to redline!

Better shift soon or else...!

...nothing will happen because the knob is not connected!

For an extra $30,000 you can get the "Back in MY Day" package.

Every technological convenience has been removed or disabled and replaced with drastically inferior items.

Because if it was good enough for you then, it is good enough for you now! Amirite?

Safety was barely considered because you used to do these things all the time and you "survived just fine."

And if you act now we can install the "Gasoline Equivalence Guage." This tells you how much you would have spent on gas if you were still driving an internal combustion vehicle. Thus allowing you to continue complaining about how you remember when gas was only 80 cents per gallon. Then you can promptly blame Biden for the inflated prices even though he doesn't really have anything to do with that.

Get your Electric BoomerMobile today!

Disclaimer: NOT ALL BOOMERS!

I gift this disclaimer to the less boomery Boomers even though Boomers are happy to generalize and lump every young person into the Millenial category—not realizing some of them are turning 40 now.

For the intent of this post, Boomer is a state of mind and not necessarily a specific age range.

Generally a Boomer is more conservative, upper middle class, and white. They say "Kids these days..." on a regular basis. The new Magnum P.I. show makes them very angry because it just isn't the same without Tom Selleck. And they have prewritten a Facebook petition to keep NCIS "on the air" just in case CBS ever decides to cancel it—even though it is entering its 19th season.

#long post #Youtube

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seokiloquy · 2 years

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Return Home -Kozume Kenma

Au: Sword Art Online

Requested

Tags/Warnings: GN!Reader, Very much uninformed writing of what Sword Art Online is, short lol probably the shortest I’ve written in a while

Word Count: 1k

It wasn’t home without you. Kozume’s heart burned every moment he sat, watching the water drop from its plastic container into the skinny tube that led to your arm. Any life left of you would be found in a world that he couldn’t reach nor take you from.

The dark helmet on your head was a capture device. Sold and distributed to gamers to experience a VR world like they never had before. He bought it for you as a birthday present. He could still feel the warmth of your lips on his cheek when you thanked him for it.

Regret burned his stomach every time he thought about the day. He should have bought something else. Even flowers, which you’d likely forget to hydrate and let rot, would have been a better choice.

Anything would’ve been better than visiting every day to watch your lay numbly with that helmet strapped to your head and tubes feeding you every day. Your body had to suffer because of his mistake.

Even so, he hoped you were doing well. In your mind, that is. Staying out of trouble, making a living in the virtual world you were caught in. Something calm, peaceful, staying away from the danger in the world.

But with every twitch your body made, he knew you were doing anything but. He shouldn’t be surprised. He wasn’t surprised. If anything, it gave him a semblance of peace that you still existed, that you were still you, even if it scared him.

So when he wasn’t busy, he’d sit and wait by your bedside, imagining what adventures you were on, and when he wasn’t, he tried not to think about the situation you were forced into.

You knew your parents would be proud of you. Who wouldn’t be? Having a kid held in the highest regard among all others is known for strength and power. Once you got out of the mind trap, you were sure that they’d be proud of all the time you spent playing video games. It was the only reason you managed to last so long, after all.

The need to get home to your natural body was strong, even if you found some joy in playing.

You were looking at the exterior of the Ruby Palace, floor 100, and your escape home when suddenly everything changed. First, the sky crumbled, giving way to eroding pixels and flashing lights. Then the sight of the enormous cone-like building in the distance vanished. The ground came; next, the stone path disappearing one rock at a time at great speed before reaching your feet. It was dark, pitch black. You couldn’t feel the weight of your gear or see your hand in front of you. It took a moment to release that there wasn’t anything there to preserve anyways.

It was all gone. Just you, mentally floating in an unperceivable space. Time seemed to be nothing as well because when light nearly blinded you, you couldn’t tell if you were left to your own thoughts for days or seconds.

What you soon found out, however, was that two years had passed since you put on that headset.

Kuroo watched Kozume run out of the gym that day, leaving everything behind except for his phone that he had gotten a call on moments before. The rest of the team were puzzled, conversations stopping at the sound of the gym door slamming.

“Was that Kenma?” one asked from the back of the gym, making Kuroo’s head turn in their direction. It was Yaku. “Do you know what that might’ve been about?”

“Maybe? I’m not sure at the moment.”

The next time the team saw their setter, Kuroo knew.

Wrapped protectively in Kozume’s arm was a familiar face, walking for the first time he’d seen in two years, was you. A weaker, frailer version, but recognizably you. So when you nearly took a stumble, like a newborn dear, he rushed over.

“Don’t touch me, Rooster. I fought off nearly every boss. I’m not some weak shit.”

Yea, definitely you. He backed off, letting Kozume get you situated on one of the gym’s benches.

The team was quick to crowd, more than eager to catch sight of a new face while appearing as subtle as possible. Futakuchi spilt water down his shirt, trying to look natural. You laughed, which he seemed to appreciate.

Kai placed a hand on Kozume’s shoulder, willing the young setter to speak.

Kozume, already not one for words, couldn’t seem to get the words out. Choking on breath every time his mouth opened. The team turned to Kuroo, the only person they knew who seemed familiar with the situation. But before the ruffled-haired boy got the chance to speak, you had made yourself known.

“Kenma and I are dating.” It was quite the opening line, making heads turn on a swivel. “Or were?”

Kozume’s dam burst. He curled up on his knees, letting you drag soothing strokes along his back with a shaky hand.

“Sorry, are. But it’s been. What has it been, Kuroo? Two Years?”

Kozume’s back shook. Kuroo nodded.

“Sorry, sorry. Um, well, I was one of the people trapped inside the videogame Nerve released.”

Kozume silently listened as you retold your story from your experience: expeditions, sword fighting, giant bosses. Injuries, battles, death.

He was glad you made it out alright. A part of him wished he could’ve gone in with you despite the danger. Just so you wouldn’t be so alone. So he wouldn’t be so alone.

The warmth of your hand on his back, listening to your voice as you painted a cinematic masterpiece for his friends to listen to, felt like coming home for the first time in years. And he knew, despite admitting having some fun in the fictional game he stupidly bought you, that you felt it too.

The banner is better than the fic lol - Bacon

Posted 13/03/2022

#Kozume Kenma #kenma kozume x reader #kenma x reader #Haikyuu x reader #haikyuu #x reader #oneshot #oneshots #haikyuu oneshots #haikyuu reader insert #reader insert #aus #haikyuu aus #fluff #haikyu #haikyu x reader #anime x reader #anime

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joshjacksons · 3 years

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Joshua Jackson interview with "Mr Porter" (2021)

Minutes before Mr Joshua Jackson joins me in a booth for a Friday afternoon drink at a vibey hotel bar in Santa Monica, he’s confronted by his past. Or rather, a woman in her early twenties who is binge-watching Dawson’s Creek, the teen show about a close-knit group of high-school friends coming of age in a sleepy American town, which made Jackson incredibly famous between 1998 and 2003. The series, which also made household names of Ms Michelle Williams and Ms Katie Holmes, went off air 18 years ago, but is now streaming on Netflix, to the bemusement of Jackson, who played lovable rogue Pacey Witter. “This girl was like, ‘Are you...?’ And I’m like, ‘Yes, I am. He got old. I’m sorry to break it to you,’” he says, before ordering an iced tea and a charcuterie board to tide him over until dinner time. “It always surprises me when young people say they’ve just got into Dawson’s Creek. I’m like, ‘Is it a costume drama to you? Do you feel like you’re watching a historical documentary?’”

The idea of a Friends-style reunion episode or a Sex And The City revival feels equally far-fetched to Canadian-born Jackson, now 43 and wearing it well in a pale green linen shirt and tailored linen trousers by Oliver Spencer that complement his fading brown hair and Cali-tanned skin.

“I don’t know why you’d want to [bring it back],” he says. “Nobody needs to know what those characters are doing in middle age. We left them in a nice place. Nobody needs to see that Pacey’s back hurts. I don’t think we need that update.”

And Jackson doesn’t need Dawson’s Creek. From Mr JJ Abrams’ sci-fi series Fringe (2008-2013) to the Golden Globe award-winning The Affair (2014-2019), from Ms Ava DuVernay’s ground-breaking true-crime drama When They See Us (2019) to the recent Ms Reese Witherspoon and Ms Kerry Washington-produced Little Fires Everywhere (2020), he has commanded the small screen – with a collection of dynamic and diverse work – ever since.

His latest role as Mr Christopher Duntsch, the Texas surgeon convicted of gross malpractice when 33 of his patients were left seriously injured after he operated on them and two of them died, in chilling Peacock crime drama Dr Death, is only stepping his career up another gear.

“I’ve never played anyone irredeemable before,” says Jackson, who is joined in the eight-part series (based on the 2018 Wondery podcast of the same name) by Messrs Christian Slater and Alec Baldwin. “He is charming, gregarious and has a high-level intellect, but he’s also a misogynist, probably a sociopath, certainly a narcissist and a complete incompetent who is incapable of seeing himself.”

If Duntsch is terrifying, then Jackson’s portrayal is even more so. The artist formerly known as Pacey is virtually unrecognisable (thanks to prosthetics) in the opening scene, but the real challenge for Jackson was allowing himself to view someone who is so “spectacularly evil” as a human being in order to walk in his shoes. “It’s a more damning portrayal of the man to make him into a human being, rather than just make him the bad guy,” he says. “He really believes he’s the hero, he’s the genius and that he’s the victim, so once I got past my own judgment, all the other things fell into place.”

Jackson might have his pick of stellar roles – and challenges – now, but it has not happened by accident. Take it from someone who has been in the business since landing his first job aged 14 in Disney’s live-action movie series The Mighty Ducks, opposite Brat Pack alumnus Mr Emilio Estevez.

“You try to make it look like it happens accidentally,” he says, “but there is no way to do this and not be ambitious. I’d say I’m extremely ambitious because I’ve been doing this cutthroat job for nearly 30 years. I’m in the pay-off phase of my career now. One of the benefits of surviving for as long as I have is you get to learn from your own mistakes.”

Such as? “I wouldn’t say, ‘I wish I hadn’t done that,’ because it all becomes bricks in a path, but [after Dawson’s Creek] I was not choosy enough about the things I was doing. You get stuck. You start trying to perform the performance you think people are hoping to see you do. I was so used to working all the time that I just worked all the time. There was definitely a conscious moment in my mid-twenties when I realised I wasn’t really enjoying the work that I was doing. My manager at the time just said, ‘Take a breath. You’re burnt out.’”

The turning point came in 2005, when Jackson was offered a role in the two-hander Mr David Mamet play A Life In The Theatre, opposite Sir Patrick Stewart. “God bless him, Patrick could have made my life miserable because I had no idea what I was doing, ” he says. “I hadn’t been on stage since I was a kid and now I was in the West End in over my head. But it reminded me that I actually enjoyed being an actor, that it’s not about the red carpet or travelling around the world. What I really enjoy is working on good material with good people.”

It’s no surprise Jackson’s time on Dawson’s Creek led to a career crisis. From the ages of 19 to 24, he lived with his fellow cast mates in Wilmington, North Carolina, filming day in, day out, in an arrangement he likens to college. “You get to the end and they’re like, ‘Here’s your degree. Go live now. You’re an adult. Go out into the world,’” he says.

But most graduates don’t have to deal with global fame. “It’s transitory. You’re only ever cool for a moment and then you become much less cool. I was always pretty dubious about flatterers,” he says, recalling a time he was stung in London in the mid-2000s. “I went on a date in Hyde Park with a woman whose name I will not use – she was socialite-famous – and she was acting completely bizarre, looking over her shoulder the whole time. I came to find out that she had hired a photographer to follow us through the park and gave a whole story to the tabloids about how I was going to meet her family.”

It was his growing fortune, rather than fame, that caused Jackson the most anxiety. “Suddenly, at 19 years old, I was making more in a week than most of my friends’ parents would make in a year,” he says. “It was lovely to have the money, but it was that feeling of nobody is worth that kind of money. You feel like a fraud and it took me a long time to forgive myself for not being the thing that I was perceived as.”

Born in Vancouver, but raised in Topanga, California, until he was eight (before moving back to Vancouver following his parents’ divorce), Jackson bought his childhood home in 2001 and lives in it today with his wife, British Queen & Slim actor Ms Jodie Turner-Smith, and their 15-month-old daughter.

“My father unfortunately was not a good father or a husband and exited the scene, but that house in Topanga was where everything felt simple, so it was a very healing thing for me to do,” he says. Fast-forward to 2021 and his baby daughter now sleeps in her father’s childhood bedroom. “There was a mural of a dragon on the wall in that room that I couldn’t believe was still there, years later. The owner [who sold him the house] said, ‘I knew it meant a lot to somebody and that they were going to come back for it some day.’”

Becoming a first-time parent during a pandemic sounds stressful, but it afforded Jackson months at home with his wife and child that his normal work schedule wouldn’t have allowed.

“I now recognise how perverse the way that we have set up our society is,” he says. “There is not a father I know who works a regular job who didn’t go back to the office a week later. It’s robbing that man of the opportunity to bond with his child and spend time with his partner.”

Despite his obvious career ambitions, fatherhood has changed Jackson’s priorities in “every possible way”, he says. “It’s 100 per cent changed how I approach my work and my life. That has been made so clear to me in this past year. For me to feel good about what I’m doing day to day, my family has to be the central focus.

“There are plenty of things left for me to do, but now the thing that gets me excited is experiencing the world through my daughter’s eyes. I can’t wait to take her scuba diving. I can’t wait to take her skiing. I can’t wait to read a great book with her. I’m not worried at all she’ll be a wallflower. She’s been a character from the word go.”

Jackson met Turner-Smith, 34, two days after his 40th birthday. He had been single since his 10-year relationship with German actress Ms Diane Kruger ended in 2016. “I was not looking to fall in love again or meet the mother of my child, but life has other plans for you,” he says.

The couple met at a party. Turner-Smith was wearing the same The Future Is Female Ejaculation T-shirt Ms Tessa Thompson’s character, Detroit, wears in the 2018 film Sorry To Bother You. “That’s what I used to break the ice. I shouted, ‘Detroit!’ across the room. Not the smoothest thing I’ve ever done, but it worked. We were pretty much inseparable from the word go. It was a whirlwind romance and I can tell my daughter I literally saw her mother across a room and thought, ‘I have to be next to this woman.’”

A self-confessed “useless” shopper, Jackson gives his wife full credit for his current wardrobe. He is jewellery-free, apart from a wedding band and a gold signet “JJ” ring on his little finger (a present from his wife), and discovered tailored sweatsuits (by Stampd and Reigning Champ) in the pandemic.

“Jodie has influence in the way that a wonderful wife encourages you, through love, to dress well. She was like, ‘We’re going to throw away all the sweatpants from your past and I’m going to get you some that actually make you look like an adult male and you will still feel comfortable around the house,’ and I’m like, ‘What an amazing idea!’ Who knew you could get sweatsuits that actually look good on your body?”

Jackson’s style has evolved, he says, “from slovenly teen to it’s-nice-when-your-clothes-actually-fit-you”. The penny dropped after he auditioned for his former co-star Estevez, who was directing the 2006 Mr Robert Kennedy biopic Bobby. He said to me, ‘You only got this job because I know you. You came in here to play a very well-put together 1960s political operative and you’re wearing jeans and a hoodie.’

“I had to grow up a little bit. We are very much raised in Canada to never, ever show off, so it took me a while to recognise it’s OK to look good when you go out.”

Still, when you’ve grown up in front of the camera, “every pimple literally documented”, and lived (very successfully) to tell the tale, you can probably be forgiven for the odd fashion faux pas.

“I wore a silk Ascot to an event once in Paris and I still have nightmares about it,” he says. “I looked like Fred from Scooby Doo, but you live and learn.”

#joshua jackson #interviews #jodie turner smith #dawson's creek #dr death #fringe #emilio estevez #mr porter #patrick stewart #michelle williams #katie holmes

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whatdoesshedotothem · 3 years

Text

Saturday 7 October 1837

1 ¾

A- had not long since had Cookson when I went to bed last night but was asleep not quite in good sorts for I had just after dinner said something about her not bearing the di[s]appointment about the pony very well and was beginning to say if she had had more disappointments when she said she had had a great many and on my saying but I had not disappointed her it seemed that I had she was right on awaking this morning by on my gently wanting to know how I had disappointed her she got wrongish again and left the breakfast table before Mr. Gray and when she had only poured me out one cup of tea and tho’ all passed off tolerably when I saw her afterwards yet my own feeling was uncomfortable and I mused of getting rid of her – Mr. Hoylands’ man

SH:7/ML/E/20/0141

painted inside of hall ante cellar door, and I stood by – breakfast at 9 ¼ with Mr. Gray – A- there at 1st but soon went away – then had Braithwaite Mr. Husbands’ radical Northgate blacksmith – wanted his bill paying – not signed by Mr. Harper so could not be paid – Blythe afterwards told me, Mr. Harper declined signing it – too high – had Robert Schofield for A-‘s drain along the Crownest carriage road at 1/9 per rood = £8.1.10 ½ - £4 paid in a/c – A- poorly so paid Robert for her – had Mr. Firth senior and gave him check in a/c of Northgate hotel £70 + £30 in a/c of Shibden hall – then had the man with Brays’ bill for lime and Booth with him, and gave the man a check for the amount = £38.3.0 and gave Booth check in a/c for £100 – then a little while with A- and wished good morning intending to go to the bank, and to ask Mr. Parker as to the law respecting returning horses as unsound – off about 12 ¼ - met Holt the engineer in the back road – returned with him – he had walked from Keighley sent him into the servants hall to dine with the servants and talked the engine matter over, with Mr. Gray who cannot yet understand the dead water business and how we shall avoid it at the new E.P. H- had brought his estimates of different considering engines

12 horse power £300 without boiler or 360 with ditto 15 of horse power

14---------------------320 ----------------------400-------------------16

16----------------- 340--------------------------440--------------------20

Cliffes’ estimate £360 near the gas works Huddersfield or

£430 and shafting and gearing

100 extra about £100.

200

730 and engine house £200

But C- would engage to put up a 10 horse engine with shafting and gearing and Engine house all complete for £500

Engine Holt said 4ft. strokes and 25 strokes per minute = 60ft. up and 60ft. down = 120 described by the pumps

mentioned 3 pumps instead of 2 (Mr. Gray thought they would work easier) yes! H- thought they would – mentioned the being bound in a hundred pounds penalty to have the engine working by Xmas or in 2 months from the time of receiving the other – he had said 4 months – would try – this to be settled afterwards – ended by giving him the following to answer ’40 yards lift – how many gallons delivered per minutes H- said if the engine was a portable one (a fixed engine or ‘land engine’ would cost double removing) he would move it for £10 – a land engine would cost double that moving – H- will consider the subject and give me an answer in gallons – said a 10 horse engine would burn along 8 loads of local per day

by 10 horse power

by 12 ditto ditto

by 14 ditto ditto

portable engine

6in. bore pumps

delivered by 2 and by 3 pumps’

Holt Engineer was hardly gone before Mr. Holt (collier) came with Mr. Cliffe of Huddersfield and another man, his engineer I should suppose – C- brought his estimate (vid. above) for a 14 horse power Engine too work two nineinch bore pumps and brought a plan of the engine to be warranted for six months they finding the fireman (I to pay him, I suppose) during the six months – C- explained what was comprised in the estate and I learnt the useful lesson that

the shafting and gearing would be extra about £100

and the engine house would be ditto about £200

quite against a portable engine – the difference would be in the expense of masonry – and they would move a land engine for as little as they would a portable engine – would move either for £20. quite against 3 pumps instead of 2 – would not work ½ so well – with a 14 horse

power engine two nineinch bore pumps was lift per minute 240 gallons

three six inch. ditto ditto ------------------------------------------ 120 ditto

two ditto ditto ditto ditto --------------------------------------------100 ditto

vid. Adcocks’ engineers pocket book of 1832.

their 14 horse power engine to have 2 nine in. bore pumps

pumps 10 strokes per minute

engine 25 or 30 strokes per minute

C- said the water wheel went too fast – there was ‘vibration’ makes 12 strokes per minute 10 strokes enough –

Holt owned that would not 240 gallons per minute to pump, nor even 100 gallons – they had been at the L.E.P. and owned that the present pumps were quite master of the present water and Holt owned that he did not expect to have as much water to pump as we have at present –

then why a 14 horse power engine? to pump the water so much faster that the engine may stand in the night – yes! but it cannot stand while the men are working as they will all night be till the Incline and all is completed and after that the engine will be moved to the Platform where 6 horse power is calculated to be enough – then why a 14 horse power?

Holt on taking him aside, owned that 10 horse power would be enough – sees no difficulty in carrying vent from Listerwick pit if 6ft. deep in water – and vent will be got to the Incline from the drift to let off the rag-water

C- will take the old pumps at 67. per cwt. the new will cost I think he said 15/. per cwt. the difference between a 14 and a 10 horse power engine = £124 with boiler and about £85 without boiler

10 horse engine boiler = £50 and 14 horse engine boiler = £70.

C- reckoned (including boiler) £31 per horse power .:. a ten horse Engine with boiler = £310

vid. last page Holt’s estimate 12 horse power with 15 horse power boiler = £360 or £30 per horse power

C- is a man of much ‘mouse-hole’ talk – would have not ‘after claps’ that is, I suppose fault found with his job when finished – he would not ‘make mouse holes’ – Mr. Gray told me at dinner he did not much like C- I like H- better –

C-‘s engineer owned that a 10 horse engine would work three six inch bore pumps and Holt collier owned that the present 2 were quite master of the present water, and he did not expect as much water in the new engine pit as in the present one!

While C- was here (after 2) Mr. Jubb called to see A- she had been gone ¼ hour? asked him to call again on Monday anytime before 1am he looked at Hotspurs’ eyes – believed he would go blind, but it might be a year or 2 before – doubted whether returnable because not at present unfit for his work – I proposed sending for Wheatly – yes! the best plan – he would know all about it – just before A- went Oddy came for wine for 1 of Nelsons’ men upon whom the old shed (coal shed) or something had fallen – supposed the man ½ dead – took him some of my fine old cognac brandy – It revived him and he would soon be right again then it came out there was another man hurt, and sick and a candidate for brandy – A- sent him some of the household brandy for I saw there was time to get it – the 2 men were soon at their work again – Messrs. Holt and Cliff went away about 3pm then out about for a little while – George had been to Granny hall to see the horses to be sold on Monday (near Brighouse) – all cart horses – had seen a brown 4 year old colt by shuttle of Mr. Macaulays’ in Georges’ opinion very likely to suit A- worth £30 to £35 but Mr. McA- might not ask that for him – then had Parkinson (and Booth had brought

SH:7/ML/E/20/0142

a hundred pounds from the bank) and had Booth to see all right paid to P- and had Blythe till 6pm – then out – at the turret and in front of the house till 6 50 – dressed – dinner at 7 50 (A- away to dinner tomorrow) and sat talking over the dead water and engines till 8 40 – coffee – read the paper partly aloud – strong address from Birmingham to Lord Melbourne against Peal’s bill of 1819, and our present ruinous monetary – vid. p. 4 of the paper and same p. shewing treasure-troves (coins found 18in. under the surface of the ground) to be the property not of the Lord of the manor, but of the crown – came upstairs at 9 40 and from then to 12 writing the whole of today – fine day F56 ½° at 9 40 pm – told Mr. Cliff that what I said was to go for nothing for that I should leave the business to Mr. Harper – that only one firm could have the job – I had nothing to do with estimates (unsuccessful) Mr. Harper would settle all that – looking over bills etc till 12 40

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janicho88 · 3 years

Text

Fire, Fur & Mistletoe Chapter 3

Pairing- Eventual Dean x Female Reader.

Word Count-2,383

Warning- Mentions of: loss of parents, death, and fires. Possible swearing. Slight angst. Fluff

Summary- A rewrite of the Nine Lives of Christmas, Hallmark movie. AU, Dean is a firefighter who doesn’t do commitment, the Holiday’s don’t mean much to him. Coming home after a shift he finds a dog in trouble. The reader is a veterinary student who works in a coffee shop trying to make it to graduation, until someone causes problems there for her. She isn’t interested in finding anyone other than her own dog until after she finishes school. Do their four legged friends have other plans?

A/N- This series is written for @spnchristmasbingo. The square filled for this chapter is Christmas Tree The first two chapters will stay closer to the movie than the rest will.

This chapter also fills my entry for @supernatural-love14,100 Followers writing challenge. Prompt - I don’t remember the last time I truly enjoyed Christmas.

This has its own tag list and it is open. That way I am not tagging anyone who doesn’t want to be tagged in Christmas stories. This story is unbeta’d.

Header by the amazing @winchest09

Divider from freepngimg.com

Series Masterlist

To say you were surprised to end up at an elementary school would be an understatement. Dean’s group of fascinating people were the kindergarten classes. He even had plastic fireman hats for them, and of course an extra one for you.

The kids were so caught up in his speech about fire safety and the important things to remember if there ever is a fire. He was so good with them and kept them all interested. He finished his presentation talking about Christmas trees and how they should all make sure their parents keep them watered, so the lights don’t catch them on fire.

Dean took questions at the end. Some of the boys wanted to know what it was like to drive the fire truck, someone asked if it was fun to slide down the pole. They were disappointed when Dean told them there wasn’t one where he worked. One little girl at the end ran up and gave him a great big hug before you guys left. He was so adorable with her.

When you left there Dean asked if you were interested in helping him pick out tiles for the kitchen backsplash. You didn’t have anything else to do and had been enjoying helping him with the house so you agreed.

Getting to the store he had three different ones selected and had you help him decide. After the paint he trusted your opinion on the color selection.

They had enough in stock of your choice to let you two get started on it when you got home. The rest would be in soon. You had a system worked out, you put the mastic on the back and Dean applied the tile to the wall.

That afternoon Dean headed into work for another 24 hour shift. The second call of the afternoon was for a house fire. Thankfully for the residents it was mostly contained to one room, just the living room. But that room had a bit of damage done.

Hoping out of the truck back at the station he asks, “Okay who seriously is going to BBQ a turkey in the fireplace. And plan on doing it twice because this was just going to be a test run before Christmas?”

“It’s the Holidays,” Bobby stated. “People are going to be doing crazy things. You’ve been here a few years don’t you know this by now.”

“That is true. Y/N and I were talking about that earlier after we left the school presentation.”

“Wait, WE, left the presentation? Did you take her with you?” Benny wanted to know.

“Well,”

“She’s living with him now, didn’t you know that?” Sam asks him.

“What, really?” Benny couldn’t believe it.

“She moved in a couple days ago.”

“Wow, you two move fast.”

“It’s not like that you idiots. She got kicked out of her condo and had nowhere else to go, and she already got fired because of me. I’m just giving her a place to stay till she figures things out. The house has the room. Our dogs get along great.”

“Is that why Miracle isn’t here?” Cas wants to know.

“Yeah, Y/N’s taking care of him and Dean. He’s falling in love.”

“Who Dean or Miracle?” Cas questions Sam.

“Dean, probably both. She is very easy to like.”

“You’ve met her, besides that day she was in here?” Benny wanted to know.

“Yeah, Dean called me to help move her.”

“I would have helped the nice pretty girl move, why didn’t you ask me to help?”

“I’m not sure packing would have been the only thing you tried with her, Benny. I just found her again, I’m not letting you scare her off.”

“He didn’t deny the love.” Sam says with a smile.

“I’m not falling in love with anyone, bitch.” Dean shakes his head at the whole thing as he removes his gear.

“I’m sorry, my jerk of a brother, is falling in love, but he doesn’t know it yet.”

“That can’t be true Dean, come on man. I look up to you, playing the field avoiding commitment, a constant string of beautiful women.”

“It’s not true, we aren’t falling in love, not dating. I still don’t do commitment, and never getting married.”

“So what are you doing with Miracle if you don’t do commitment?” Bobby asks as he takes off his coat.”

“Temporary long termish house guest.”

“Uh huh.”

“I told him when the house is sold he’s on his own.”

“Let us know how that works out in a couple of months, you idjit.”

“I’m calling your bluff with the girl. Can you say no to these three things.”

“Really Cas?”

Cas ignores Dean and continues on, “ You live with her? That’s a yes. Two, you spend all your free time with her? Yes.”

“Well.”

“Three, you think about her when you aren’t with her? Yes,”

“No, no, you have it all wrong. Like I said she is only staying till she gets back on her feet. We are getting to know each other so we hang out, but only because she’s already there.”

“Getting to know each other like you would if you were dating someone?”

“Shut it Sam.”

“Are you saying he is falling in love? The legend, is human after all?” Benny questioned.

“No, I’m not falling in love. Y/N is a temporary roommate. That’s it.”

“Man, you are like five minutes away from marrying this girl.” Sam tells him.

“I hate you all.” Gear off Dean leaves them behind to take a shower.

“Keep telling yourself that!” Bobby yells after him.

Wandering around Dean’s house alone while he was at work, you got to thinking. There was one thing you were really missing this close to Christmas, and it was something you didn’t think you would be able to have this year. A Christmas tree.

When Dean gets home the next afternoon you bring it up.

“I was wondering if you were going to get a Christmas tree this year?”

“Usually don’t. I don’t think I’ve had one in a few years.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I haven’t seen a reason too. I buy a house, fix it up and sell it. Usually I don’t stay in one long enough. I don’t do much for the Holidays. Why do you ask?”

“I was thinking maybe we could get a tree? I have a little artificial tabletop tree, but wouldn’t it be nice to have a real one? To have that Christmas smell when you walk in the door?”

“If you like real ones so much why didn’t you already have one in your place?”

“It was against the bylaws. Apparently too much of a fire liability.”

“That didn’t stop you with Dakota.”

“The tree can’t be hidden quickly like she was. She was worth risking it for.”

“You really want to get a tree?”

“Please, it helps it feel more like Christmas. If you don’t want one I understand.”

Dean threw his head back and sighed. “Fine we can go get a tree. I think there is a tree lot near the station that hasn’t sold out yet.”

“Let’s go to a tree farm, get the whole experience.”

“You’ll be the death of me Sweetheart.”

Dean didn’t have to work at all the following day, so after breakfast the two of you headed out to the Christmas tree farm. Dressed in warm clothes and boots you were ready to walk all around the 8 acre tree farm if you needed to, just to find the right tree. There was a wagon ride that took you around to the different types of trees. Dean and you got off in the back lot figuring you could walk your way toward the entrance.

“There’s a tree,” Dean points out as you start walking down the first row.

“Yes, and it’s also like four foot tall. It’s still growing, let the baby be.”

“Okay, miss Christmas tree expert. How do you pick the perfect Christmas tree?”

“It’s really pretty scientific you know.”

“Oh really? Please do explain it to me.”

You laughed at his expression. He had turned to you with wide eyes and a cheeky little grin. Like he was going to absorb whatever you said. “You dork.” Heading over to a tree you reach for a branch pulling your hand back toward you slowly. “First you need to check the freshness. If the needles stay on when you do that it’s good.”

You drop your hand to the side, “Then you need to inhale deeply and see how it smells.”

Dean did just that, “It smells like a tree.”

“Okay, but does it smell Christmassy.”

“Christmassy? Pretty sure you just made that word up.”

“Nope it’s totally in the dictionary.”

“Okay, Webster. Then what does it mean?”

“To be filled with Christmas spirit.”

Dean just stared at you for a moment. “You think a tree is going to smell like it’s filled with Christmas spirit? Just wondering if you were drinking before I got up this morning?”

“Oh come on, it’s that fresh cut pine smell that fills the whole place and makes it feel like Christmas.”

“Whatever you say, I’ll leave the nose work to you. What is step three?” He wants to know as you two walk down the lane looking at the trees around you.

“The lean test. You need to look at a tree straight on, then lean to the right and to the left, then stand back up straight. You don’t want a tree that is leaning too hard one way and is crooked.” You stop to inspect a tree, but continue on down your way.

The fourth step is checking the trunk and making sure nothing is wrong with it. Sometimes the tree might be straight but that isn’t. Or it could have a double one that won’t fit in a tree stand.”

“Height is important too. Your ceilings are fairly high so we could get a foot tree no problem.”

Dean is just smiling listening to you go on about trees while you walk through the lot. “Yep that is extremely scientific.”

You two stopped and looked at different ones but kept going. There was one you stuck a stick up in top of to mark if you didn’t find anything else you liked. Around an hour into your search you stopped in your tracks. Dean was lost in his thoughts and took him a moment to notice.

“That’s the one.”

“The one?”

“Yep, that’s the tree we should get.”

“There is only one? How do you know it’s the one? What if you are wrong, but you’ve already committed to it? What happens then, fighting and hurting the kids?”

“You lost me, Dean.”

“I um,” He just realized what all came out of his mouth. “I mean it’s a great tree. Let’s get that one.”

“You sure you are alright?”

“Yep great. Hold that steady, till I need you to push a little, will you?”

While you were helping to hold the tree from moving too much Dean got on the ground and started sawing back and forth till he had it lying on the ground. You couldn’t help but notice the muscles in his arms as he worked.

The two of you carried the tree toward the path in the hopes the wagon would be around soon and you wouldn’t have to carry it all the way to the front. Thankfully only about five minutes later you could hear it coming around. Up at the front they shook and bagged the tree for you.

They also had Santa, and some petting animals around.

“Did you want to go tell Santa your Christmas wish?” You asked Dean.

“You know, I already saw him this year. He and I are pretty tight.”

“Really?”

“Yep.”

After seeing the animals you hopped in his truck and headed to the store. Neither of you had a stand that would fit the newly bought tree. With that accomplished you were on your way back to the house. Getting the tree inside it was set up in the living room not to far from the fire place, but not near enough to catch any sparks that may pop out.

Dean didn’t have any decorations in the house, but you had some you had been saving. After the lights were on you went to the kitchen to make some hot chocolate for the two of you and pulled out some of the peanut butter blossom cookies you made the day before. Coming back Dean still hadn’t turned on the tv so you asked if you could. Finding the different music channels you finally came across a Christmas one.

The two of you were enjoying the music and each other’s company as you decorated the tree.

It was late afternoon by the time everything was done and cleaned up. You offered to start dinner and Dean came in to help you. The two of you working easily in the newly finished kitchen.

After dinner you two retired back to the living room turning off the lights in the room and just letting the tree shine. There was a roaring fire going, The Santa Clause 2 playing on tv. Chet had to be one of your favorite reindeer in training. It was very relaxing.

After the movie Dean mutes the television and turns to you. “Thank you for suggesting the tree. It’s actually really nice to have it. I don’t remember the last time I truly enjoyed Christmas. My parents fought a lot when we were little after the fire, before and after separating. After we lost them it was just Sam and I. Both of us just worked double shifts on Christmas at the station so others could have the time off. Now Sam has Jess so he works part of the day, but doesn’t do a double anymore so he can spend time with her and her family.

He looks around at the decorations on the mantle, “I wouldn’t be opposed if you had some other small decorations you wanted to get out too.”

“Okay, I’ll see what I have that won’t be in the way.”

He turns the volume back up and the two of you settle back to watch another movie.

Thank you for reading!

Chapter 4

Tags- @winchest09 @waywardbeanie @whatareyousearchingfordean @flamencodiva @deanwanddamons @jensengirl83 @abuavnee @lunarmoon8 @amyzombie1013 @akshi8278 @that-one-gay-girl @mandalou29 @igotmadskills

#fire fur & mistletoe #dean winchester #dean x female!reader #dean x reader #christmas #supernatural-love14 writing challenge #supernatural #spnchristmasbingo

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burlesque-articulation · 4 years

Text

So I recently went a little... Red-string-cork-board-wild for a very minuscule reason. Namely, I wanted to try and figure out if there was any evidence to back up the fanon of whether or not Graham Folger & Oliver Banks had ever been in a relationship for... Reasons.

To start with, I decided to relisten to MAG 003 just for a lil refresher on who the hell Graham even was (emphasis on the was, lmao). Now, the statement was first catalogued in 2007, but the actual events of the statement take place on 2005; first possible hole in the theory, because, in MAG 011, Oliver, under the alias of Antonio Blake, states that his relationship with "Graham" ended 8 years previous to when he gave his statement to the Magnus Institute, which was given in 2015; which means Oliver's relationship would've ended in 2007.

Why do I point this out though?

Mostly because during MAG 003, when Amy Patel has to chill in Graham Folger's flat due to being concussed, and in an attempt to reassure her, all Graham Folger says is "no worries, I'm gay ✌️" which, okay, that's reassuring, sure... But wouldn't it have been more reassuring to say, "Not only am I hella gay, but I'm also seeing someone." Now, sure, maybe because this is '05 and they don't really know each other that well, he probably thought that would be a little TMI, but then again I feel like "oh I'm seeing someone" is significantly less TMI then just flat-out coming out to someone. Either way, later Amy spends essentially weeks or months watching this dude, and he's always. Alone.

And when she described Graham Folger's flat, it didn't sound like a place TWO (2) people were sharing, it barely sounded like there was one person living there. (And Oliver mentions that he'd been in a SIX (6) YEAR relationship, with a shared living space). A little sus, but... Amy does also say that Mr. Folger spends an awful lot of time outside of his apartment so... Double life maybe? Perhaps.

-- Impromptu read more because this got longer than I intended! So the rest is under the cut --

But now let's take a long look at MAG 011, where Oliver, or Antonio if that's easier for anyone? Nah, let's keep it as Oliver— anyways, MAG 011 takes place in 2015, 8 years prior is 2007; but then.. 6 years prior to that, when Oliver's relationship with "Graham" would’ve started... That would've been in 2001 🤔 now why does that particular year ring a bell? Well, that's because in 2001 is when Graham Folger's parents passed away; which would MEAN THAT, if these two had ever dated, then either it would've been just after Graham Folger had lost his parents, OR, the accident would have happened during the start of their relationship. And I do hear that stuff like that either makes or breaks a relationship, so; hey, maybe they would've had problems from the start. Doomed to end before it began, y'know.

But this is what actually made me go back and relisten in MAG 003, again; because I wasn't 100% on that because for whatever reason I had the year 2003 stuck in my head, IDK. Anyways, it was while I was relistening to MAG 003, again, that I realized my timeline... Wasn't entirely correct. Because Amy Patel, yes she first met Graham Folger in 2005; but it was in September 2005; and the real meat of the statement doesn't start until about 4 months after that initial encounter— which means Amy would've started Graham-watching in Dec. 2005 or Jan. 2006.

You know what else I found rather interesting? In the closing comments for this statement that the Archivist gives us, the apartment under Graham Folger's name was sold in... Early 2007. I wonder... How closely that might actually line up with whenever Oliver Banks apparently ended his relationship with "Graham".

But let's loop back to the "Dec. 2005 or Jan. 2006" bit, because in the supposed timeline given to us in Oliver's statement (MAG 011), he and his "Graham" started having issues a year prior to the official break-up. Maybe that's why Amy never would've seen Graham Folger's partner, in the assumption that he had one, because they was havin' issues, so if Graham Folger had a partner, maybe they weren't hanging about too much.

Alternatively, maybe the real kicker, the Real end to this, alleged, relationship, was because things just started being Different around the start of 2006; say maybe around April? April 7th of 2006 if we want to get real specific. Maybe it was after that day that the relationship got just a bit too much.

Maybe, in the last year of this alleged relationship between Oliver Banks and Graham Folger, maybe Oliver tried to make things work, but there was just something so off about "Graham" so... Not-him, and yet this is still the man that Oliver looks at and remembers spending almost 6 years of his life with. But maybe things get just weird enough that, Oliver just does some digging, maybe he's looking for some excuse some reason for why Graham seems so different but so familiar. Maybe there was an update on the accident that happened (either before or after they got together) and it's having an affect on "Graham". Let's say he does this little research deep-dive while at work too. So he's just sitting at his desk, scrolling through old news, etc. etc, maybe checking new stuff, who knows. (And assuming that even digital scans of polaroids are also untampered) He comes across an old picture that, sure enough those are the Folger Parents, but who the hell is that dark haired teenager in the picture?

Now why would this be happening why Oliver is at work? Well, because in MAG 011, Oliver states that he had a breakdown at work that required him to take leave and supposedly helped to fuel his breakup which then left him on a friend's couch. Obviously it could actually be the other way around; that the break-up was the catalyst for the breakdown at work, but this is no longer a post about why Graham Folger and Oliver Banks weren't a thing, but rather a post on why it would hurt so much if they had been.

Because we're gonna switch gears now and take a peek from Not-Graham's perspective. Because what does Not-Graham, the Not-Them, want? Well, we know they like scaring and upsetting people, but Graham Folger isn't exactly a socialite and apparently didn't have enough of an outstanding presence that made him particularly rememberable. But you know what he did have? The table. The same table that the Not-Them really wanted to have smashed up in... MAG 039, I think (IDK main plot is just an entrée for me right now, not super important y'know). So, sure Graham Folger doesn't have a lot of people in his life, but he's got this partner that he was already having a rocky relationship with, so why not make that relationship even more unbearable on the other party? Just make it absolutely intolerable, in the hopes that the partner might just get fed up enough to do something irrational, like smash a table that apparently means just so, so much to "Graham". But in the end that doesn't work, because the partner just ends up dippin' out (side note: love the idea that Oliver is petty in the way that instead of destroying something that he knows his partner is fond of, he just like, sells the fucking table off instead, send the Not-Them on another wild goose chase to find it again, because that would be funny as fuck).

Regardless, around the beginning of 2007, the two will have broken up, and Not-Graham no longer has a reason to keep that flat so it gets sold, because the Not-Them either has the table and fucks off after that, or they gotta start all over again trying to find it, and Oliver cuts ties and starts crashing on a friend's couch.

It's circumstantial, sure. But when you really look at it... The timeline does actually match up pretty well, and I think that's pretty cool.

Anyways, that's all for now. Whether or not Graham Folger & Oliver Banks ever actually had a relationship in canon, who can say.

But if Oliver's "Graham" isn't Graham Folger, then who is it? Well, not to mix podcasts, but anyone here ever listen to The White Vault?

#burl posts #the magnus archives #oliver banks #graham folger #tma theories #i wrote this at like 2 am on my phone so if it's hard to read; that'd be why #also spoilers i guess?#but only really for like... season 1.

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buddy-kealoha · 3 years

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Day 2 Monday ”I am ready to start selling!” After a good nights sleep Sean walked over to the vendors booth near his lot and wow that beautiful girl was working. "Hmm she gets around to different booths!" Sean introduced himself turns out it was Zoe Patel. Not the same girl but just as adorable! Sean ordered breakfast "Red Velvet Cupcakes please!" Zoe gave him his order and she smiled at him. Sean felt weak in the knees. "Thanks!" Sean whispered. After Sean ate he noticed some more treasure to dig and Strawberries! Excellent! He loved Strawberries and he could save on his funds if he had them to eat! Sean also found some Snapdragons. Cool they will sell well. Further down Sean found more digging plus Mushrooms and Roses. Sean knew he could eat the mushrooms and strawberries(eat half and plant the other half) plus plant the Snapdragons and Roses to sell later and have a continual crop. Grandpa always said to plan ahead! He read about these plants and dig sites in his book. :) Heading back to the tent Sean decided to change into his warmer clothes because he was chilled from the cold and there was a light rain. He realized he forgot an umbrella but he found one in his tent with a note from Grandpa. "Sean you forgot this, I brought you one but deducted the cost from your funds. Be careful son and plan for everything. Love Grandpa" Sean was thankful his Grandpa saw his mistake and helped him. He checked his funds and saw the deduction of $150 now his funds are down to $430.

"Wow, that was expensive!" he whispered "Well back to frogging and fishing!"

It was kind of cold but Sean needed a bath so he showered in the rain. "Brrr I need a camp shower!" he gasped. All clean and dressed warmly again Sean planted Snapdragons, Roses, Strawberries and Mushrooms. He always enjoyed gardening and knew this was planning ahead.

Grandpa watched Sean and chuckled at his freezing shower but was happy he is setting in a garden and preparing for his future. Across the street in the next lot Sean realized there was more to dig and forage as well as a nice pond to fish in. Sean headed out to harvest and dig then try his hand as the pond. As he walked the new area Sean noticed the rain had let up and there was a beautiful rainbow. "Cool!" he whispered. Grandpa always told him to enjoy life and find beauty wherever he went. He was happy Grandpa picked this lot because of all the resources available.

Sean found a frog worth $100 wholesale and was catching mostly minnows but he knew he could convert them to plasma packs so he was still happy. While he fished he remembered reading about a "Yard Sale Table" he could get that would let him sell his finds at 300% mark up. He knew Grandpa would be pleased since this would greatly increase his earnings. Somehow he had already suspected Grandpa was watching him but letting him do it on his own. Thats ok! He was excited about the challenge. Sean looked up a yard sale table on his phone. $400 "Wow!" he whistled. He texted Grandpa and told him he wanted to order one. Grandpa replied "That's a lot of money! Why do you need it?" Sean replied "To increase my profit from sales."

Grandpa replied "Ok, I will drop it off."

Sean noticed his funds were deducted $400 leaving him with $30.

It was getting later in the afternoon so Sean took his fishing gear back to his lot and saw Grandpa had delivered his table. He read the manual that came with the table and loaded up his treasures and stocked the table. He then set the mark up to 300% and started his yard sale. Grandpa observed Sean setting up and started his sale. "Looking good boy!" he whispered. Grandpa started his truck and went on home.

Sean got excited as his first customers came up. He noticed it was still lightly raining and he knew that thunderstorms could crop up. He decided to invest in a pavilion over his tent and the table. It would be a good investment since a thunder strike could destroy his table. He would text grandpa when his sale was done. He remembered Grandpa always said to protect your investments. Sean was happy to see the plasma packs were selling at $200 each but he did start late and only sold $260 so he cleared his table and packed up for the night. He would start fresh in the morning. He was wet, hungry and tired. Yep he definitely needed a pavilion! Before he could clear the table someone bought another plasma pack. Sweet he recouped his investment and was back to $490 in funds.

#Sims 4 tips and tricks #sims 4 challenge

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wonkastarshine · 4 years

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Soooooo... I wasn’t sure when I was going to share this, but I’m just feeling very emotional towards this event today, so I think this is a good day to talk about it.

I’ve met Tim Burton.

That is me in the all black ensemble in front of him, at the bottom of this very long story. I met him on January 21st this year at his exhibition at the Neon Museum in Las Vegas. The second I found out that Tim was coming to Las Vegas, I cried so hard. This was finally my opportunity to meet the man that has shaped my whole life. But when I went online to secure a ticket for the book signing, they were sold out. I was devastated, and in a desperate plea, I called the museum and asked if they were COMPLETELY sold out. They said ‘yes, we are, but there will be a stand-in line.”

And the clouds lifted.

This was a risky trip. I would be ditching three of my classes to spend a day driving to Las Vegas and then driving back immediately afterwards. I live about 5 hours from Vegas. The stand-in line started at 10am. I planned to leave at exactly 5am and get in line as early as possible. I planned my outfit, my hair, exactly which book I was going to buy for him to sign, and how much I would need to put aside for gas money. It was all put into place.

Now, to convince Mom to let me go...

I wrote out a whole speech (a la Wonka cue card style) and read it out loud to her. I had lost so much sleep over the fear of her rejection, and the agony of knowing that I had a shot and it just slipped from my fingers. My mom’s biggest worry was that I would drive all the way, stand hours in line and have Tim say, “Sorry, I’m not going to sign any more.” But I told her, “I would rather go and be turned away, then to never know whether I would’ve been accepted or not.”

Mom wasn’t happy, but ultimately gave her blessing for me to drive solo(!) to Las Vegas. Gosh, even just writing about it now gives me such butterflies! I woke up at 4:30 and was out of the house by 5:30, as I had to wait for some fog to clear up. I was on my way, with Danny Elfman’s music to be my friend for the long drive. The drive was fairly empty. I went over the Tehachapi mountains just as the sun was rising. It was sooooo beautiful, with all of its purples, pinks and oranges. “Everyday” by Buddy Holly, from Big Fish was playing and it just completely summed up how I was feeling. This was my moment. From the second I laid eyes on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at age 4, Tim Burton forever changed my life. And now it was going to be time to thank him.

I arrived at the museum and to my surprise, the stand-in line was maybe 15 people maximum. The 400 people who got tickets previously were all in attendance. I breathed a sigh of relief and ate a snack while reading a book. The employees of the museum were so nice and always willing to answer our questions. One even said, “Tim loves his fans. He’s very grateful for all of you. I have no doubt he will sign for everyone.” So, the waiting began. I had arrived at about 10:30 or so and the signing would not start until 2pm. It wasn’t until around 2:30 or so that we were informed that those in the stand in line were definitely getting our books signed.

Y’all let me tell you, I almost died right there on the spot.

And I was internally panicking so much because I hadn’t allowed myself to plan what I was going to say to him, in the event I didn’t get to meet him. But it was real now and the gears were turning. I bought The Art of Tim Burton book from the stand and quickly joined the queue, which was moving rapidly. He was a fast signer, apparently. The employees told us we could pick ANY page we wanted him to sign and he would sign it. The gears turned even more. ANY PAGE?? Holy cow, what would I pick? Wonka, Edward, Catwoman, personal sketches of him and Helena?? I was so torn. I loved the concept sketch of Wonka, but there was some text at the bottom of it, and I kinda just wanted his signature to be alone with a drawing. I wanted to pick something that uniquely represented Tim, one drawing that completely encapsulated what his art is, what his art means and expresses.

And the lowly first sketch of Edward Scissorhands that he drew in high school was perfect. 100% Tim Burton.

The queue was getting shorter and shorter, and I realized that I was silly getting to think that Burton would want to really be having conversations with people. A self proclaimed introvert definitely would not want to talk to over 500 people in a day! So, I decided on one line. As soon as I turned the corner and I saw that tangled mess of black hair, those polarized glasses he never goes without, my heart completely dropped and burst with nerves. It was really Tim Burton, Tim Fucking Burton, sitting right there. The man responsible for creating my childhood: Willy Wonka, Edward Scissorhands, Corpse Bride, Nightmare Before Christmas, Batman Returns. It just seemed so surreal. I handed my phone to the nice lady behind me in line, who I casually held small talk with throughout the day. She was more than happy to take pictures of me with Burton.

He was moving fast! I barely got in front of him when he was already done signing it! I had to make my move. I stuck out my hand, waited until he shook it, made eye contact with me and I said, “Thank you so much for coming.” He smiled and I was quickly ushered away by the nice employees. It was perfect. No embarrassing blubbering or confessions. Just a handshake, a word of thanks and some smiles. I’m sitting here with tears in my eyes just typing this. I left the museum, and went to my car. I just stared at his autograph for the longest time. I called my mom and told her I made it and I met him. After I hung up, I sat quietly in car, silent, yet happy tears falling. Everything I’ve ever wanted to be, is because of Burton. My reason for wanting to become a film editor is because of Burton.

It was my honor and privilege to have met the genius. And I’m beyond grateful it happened before the entire world turned into a chaotic mess. Tim Burton has always been my rock in times of chaos. Today is no exception. What a day 🖤

#tim burton #neon museum #las vegas #abbie’s thoughts #sorry this turned out so much longer than expected #but i love tim burton y’all #movies #director #catcf 2005 #johnny depp

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nikkiwriteswords · 4 years

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Different anon from before but obsessed with a few things out of the last Klave HC you gave. Klaus' limbo dream music sound like German folk music to me. I could be totes wrong but it might be a callback to where he's supposed to be from. House with the water tower looks very much like a cabin in the woods deal I can see this being their plan after the war--instarecognition for Klaus. Klaus as a housewife with a dial-a-psychic side hustle!!!! Someone more talented than I please write this.

Yes anon! I only rattled off a quick youtube search but I think you’re right! I am 100% on board with that suggestion. But oh, oh, do you know what this could mean anon??

Klaus could’ve told Dave where he was from - I mean really from, before the whole being sold off as a baby thing. Which, wow, he’s probably never told anyone before. Who would he have to tell? You think osso bucco guy cared about Klaus’s German name or where he was born? Klaus is no one in 2019, no one without the Umbrella Academy and everything Hargreeves has made him. But in 1968, he’s someone. Someone wants to know why his parents (his parents!) named him Klaus, wants to know if it drew as much attention as Katz did, wants to know about him. They could both have German heritage. They could both want to reconnect with it after the war. Klaus is so hungry for belonging, to be someone that’s not ultimately Number Four.

So it would make a hell of a lot of sense, considering everything about the barber shop scene that follows, that the music is German folk; that the music and the snapshot of the water tower and the little cabin where Dave is waiting is at once a deep yearning to finally belong to somewhere, someone - and wild fantasy. Fairytale and optimistic little fables. A bandaid he’s slapped over all the trauma.

(Also, 80s kitchen sink psychic, very good very valid, but before that: before they settle, before they learn to be men and not soldiers - they roadtrip. They chase fantasies of home across America, and it’s so easy to ignore the war they’re still fighting beneath the hum of the engine, the radio, the buzz of Klaus’s chatter from the front seat. Dave absently shifts gears and reaches over, smoothes his palm over Klaus’s knee. He keeps it there for the next mile, settles back into the warm leather seat and grips the wheel with one hand; watches the road disappear beneath his knuckles. (Klaus never does learn to drive).)

#ask #nikkiwrites #scene analysis #character analysis #klaus hargreeves #dave katz #identity #belonging #they can have a little roadtrip headcanon as a treat #headcanon #klave

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jacscorner · 4 years

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Opium Is To Apples; An Animal Crossing Flash-Fic

“Well, that’s the last of the debt.” Tom said as he looked over the bag of bells. “Looks like everything’s in order.” As he notices the reluctant look on Nic’s face, the Tanuki raises an eyebrow. “Oh? What seems to be eatin’ ya up? Most people would be thrilled to be out of debt, don’t cha know?”

“I-I mean...yeah, I guess I am.” Nic admitted, “it’s just that...you know I’ve been just giving you back your money, right?” The Pig noticed Tom didn’t reply, so he kept going, “I mean, I sell you stuff, like Apples, and then I take the money and just pay my mortgage. Aren’t you...losing money?”

Tom’s face wrinkled. Nic expected the worst, but the Pig quickly noticed a round of giggles escape Tom’s muzzle before he started an uproar of laughter.

“Buddy, pal, you’re thinking a little too hard on this.” Tom patted Nic on the shoulder, “you shouldn’t be so concerned. Just leave the business for the business man.”

“Yeah, but, like, you’ve been pretty good to me.” Nic said, “you said I could pay you whenever and you didn’t say I have any interest or anything. So, well, I just feel a little bad for cheating you.”

The smile seemed to slowly fall into a smirk on the shop owner’s face. “Oh, oh, you really don’t get it.” He covered his mouth, looking ready for another round of laughs. Nic was getting annoyed, looking ready to shout something, but Tom cut him off. “Nic, how much do you know about Opium?”

Nic was taken aback by the question, “er, a-a lot less than you think?”

Tom put a hand on Nic’s shoulder, managing to maneuver his paw between the spikes on his jacket. “Let me tell ya a story about it; there once were two countries. One country had Opium, one didn’t. A business man could sell Opium to the people in one country for 1,000 Bells a day. But, if he wanted a much larger profit, he’d leave the country to the one without Opium and sell it for 10,000 Bells, cause it was that much rarer. Do you follow?”

“I...I follow.”

“Good, good.” Tom picked up an Apple. “Now, the Apple here represents the Opium. It’s plentiful, anyone can pick one, but it takes time and effort. Time and effort to wait for them to ripen, shake the trees, pick up the apples, make sure they’re good to eat, wash ‘em a little, and then sell ‘em. I don’t pay you 100 Bells for a random fruit I could get myself. I’m paying you 100 Bells for all the time and effort you put into getting it while I’m running my store.”

“O-okay...” Nic slowly nodded along.

“Now then, let’s say I just happened to know of another town. One that doesn’t have apples.” Nook said, “and let’s also say that I took the Apples that you sell to me and sold them there. I pay you 1,000 Bells for 10 Apples, but I go and charge another town 800 Bells since Apples are so rare there, thus having a monopoly on the supply and demand.”

“That means you make 8,000 Bells. And,” Nic’s eyes slowly began to widen, ”I give back...the money that you gave...to pay my mortgage...”

Tom chuckled, patting Nic on the back. “I can see the gears turning in your head, my friend. So why don’t you walk it off. Get some fresh air. Maybe catch some bugs or something.”

Eyes now open to his part in Tom Nook’s business, Nic began to drag his feet out of Nook ‘n’ Go.

#Animal Crossing #fanfiction #Flash Fiction #Tom Nook #Nic Cooper #Furry #Anthro #Anthropomorphic #Pig #Tanuki #Headcanon

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puroresu-musings · 4 years

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NJPW WRESTLE KINGDOM 14 Night 1 Review (Jan 4th 2020, Tokyo Dome)

Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura vs. Toa Henare, Karl Fredericks, Clark Connors & Alex Coghlin ***

Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi **3/4

JUSHIN THUNDER LIGER RETIREMENT MATCH Ⅰ: Jushin Thunder Liger, Tatsumi Fujinami, The Great Sasuke & Tiger Mask vs. Naoki Sano, Shinjiro Otani, Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Ryusuke Taguchi ***1/2

SANADA, EVIL, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI vs. Zack Sabre Jr.,Minoru Suzuki, Taichi & El Desperado ***1/4

Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & YOSHI-HASHI vs. KENTA, Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens ***

IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: Guerrillas Of Destiny (c) vs. Juice Robinson & David Finlay ***1/4+

IWGP US HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH/ TEXAS DEATH MATCH: Lance Archer (c) vs. Jon Moxley ****

IWGP Jr. HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: Will Ospreay (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi *****

IWGP INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: Jay White (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito ****1/4

IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Kota Ibushi *****

Photos.

Good Lord, was this a great pro wrestling show! It ran the emotional gamut and gave us trememendous matches aplenty, this was as close to perfect as a wrestling event gets in my opinion. After two very decent, but very brief, pre-show tags featuring a nice mix of Young Lions and NJPW Dads, the main show kicked off with the first of Jushin Thunder Liger’s retirement bouts. I loved this, and whilst I wouldn’t say it was a “great” match, per say, everyone brought their working boots to make Liger’s farewell feel special, and they certainly succeeded. It was also great just to see some of these guys in the ring. The 40,000 plus in attendance were super into this, with Liger’s exchanges with Otani (who are two of my favourite workers ever) being the highlight. Everyone looked good here. Well, as good as some of them are going to look in 2020. Naoki Sano hit a big tope suicida, which was initially frightening, but was great to see, 66 year old Tatsumi Fujinami hit everyone with his patented Dragon Screw Leg Whip, and The Great Sasuke nearly killed himself twice on a Senton Atomico, before the ever-selfless Liger stared at the lights for a Taguchi Dodon at 8:52 of a super fun outing. Liger shook hands with everyone in the post match. It’s going to be sad watching Liger go, I can tell you.

ZSJ submitted BUSHI with the Jim Breaks Special at 8:39 of a really good LIJ vs. Suzuki-gun 8 man. Zack and SANADA’s exchanges were the standout, hyping their British Title Match tomorrow, which should be excellent. Hirooki Goto pinned Yujiro with the GTR in another decent 8 minute multi-man. This was fun, but forgettable stuff with Ishii hitting a big vertical suplex on Fale getting the biggest pop. The WTL winners Juice Robinson and David Finlay defeated GOD to win the IWGP Tag Titles in yet another good outing. Finlay got the pin on Tama Tonga after an Acid Drop to win the belts. This was a feel good win, and anything that appears to shake up that ultra-stale tag division is a positive in my eyes. Next up, Lance Archer and Jon Moxley squared off in an excellent Texas Death Match for the US Title. This was a hard-hitting brawl which used the stipulation effectively, and featured a lot of plunder, some great brawling, and fortuitous hard-way juice. After surviving a Blackout onto four chairs, and a plastic bag induced EBD Claw, Mox hit a massive Death Rider DDT off the apron, through two tables, to regain the championship he never actually lost, at the 14:26 mark, when Archer couldn’t answer the 10 count. Great stuff here. In the post match, Moxley promised to beat Juice Robinson tomorrow.

In what was a truly exceptional Junior Heavyweight Championship battle, Hiromu Takahashi overcame certain defeat, and won his precious “belt-san” back, in a sublime match with Will Ospreay. This had it all; sky-high emotional stakes, a great story and fantastic action. It also featured one of the most creative sequences I’ve ever seen in a match, when Ospreay went for the Sasuke Special, but Hiromu caught him and tried a German suplex on the floor, but Will flipped out onto his feet. He then charged at Takahashi, who countered into an overhead belly to belly throw, but Ospreay jumped through the ropes, doing a roll back into the ring, then finally hitting the Sasuke Special in a mind-blowing spot. The story here was Ospreay continually working over Hiromu’s neck (hitting several worrying double stomps to the back of his head), who did a tremendous sell-job throughout. Ospreay got a believable near fall with the Oscutter, which lead into the hot closing stretch. After scoring a near fall with a Canadian/Mexican Destroyer, Hiromu tried Time Bomb, but Will escaped, hits the hook kick and tries Stormbreaker, but Takahashi counters, and runs straight into a Spanish Fly for another near fall. Hidden Blade connects, which Hiromu sold beautifully, then Ospreay tried Stormbreaker again, but Hiromu reverses into a Code Red for a great near fall. Hiromu battles back, hitting Time Bomb, but Ospreay kicks at two to a massive pop. A lariat follows, then Hiromu hits his new finish; a leg capture Emerald Flowsion, which is tentatively being called Time Bomb II, to end a fab match at 24:33, and the win the belt. This was a fantastic comeback story, as the Junior Ace returns from a potential career ending injury and reclaims his throne. This had high expectations going in, but far exceeded them, and here’s hoping this signifies Ospreay’s jump to Heavyweight full-time as he’s realistically done all he can do in the Juniour division.

This left the Intercontinental Title outing between White and Naito with an awful lot to follow. They had an excellent pro wrestling bout that was completely unlike the match that preceeded it, but told just as good a story. Unfortunatley, as good as the match was, at 33:54, it was much too long, which hurt it somewhat. Jay destroyed Naito’s knackered knees, which will be the story of these two shows, but Naito made a valiant comeback, hitting a tope rope Frankensteiner, and Gloria for a near fall. He goes for Destino, but Switchblade slumps to the mat to prevent it, then shoves Naito into Red Shoes for the prerequisite ref bump. This was Gedo’s cue to run in, but Naito sent him packing with a low blow, but Jay hits a low blow of his own, goes for Blade Runner, but Naito hits a Dragon Suplex. Gedo in again, this time with a chair, but is again sent packing. White throws the abandoned chair into Naito’s face however, which he takes full force, then takes the Sleeper Suplex. Naito hits a Destino out of nowhere for the double down, then hits a reverse rana and another Destino for a great near fall. Naito tried another Destino, but Jay counters into a Blade Runner attempt, but Naito reverses that into Valentia, then hits another Destino to win the belt, and head into the winner-takes-all match tomorrow. I will say that one thing New Japan do really well is protect finishers. Whenever White went for Blade Runner, the crowd, who were 100% behind Naito, gasped in horror every time, as if Jay hits the move, the match is over.

Which brought us to the main event, which was the best match of the night, very probably the best match of the entire year (I’m aware we’re only 4 days in), and one of the best matches I’ve ever seen. Both guys came out in new gear, with Okada looking like a God in his entrance, so you knew this was going to be special. It started slow but built into an absoulutely epic match. Okada hits the dropkick off the top to the floor, then his big dive over the barricade, then in the ring locks on Red Ink, a move he hasn’t used in forever, showing he’s going to the old tricks drawer to try and beat Ibushi, who of course beat him in the G1. Ibushi escapes a Rainmaker attempt and tries a Moonsault dropkick, (which saw him land right ontop of his head), but Okada catches him in a Tombstone, only for Ibushi to reverse that into a Bastard Driver. Okada tries John Woo, but Kota counters into a big double stomp, then hits the Golden Triangle to the floor, and scores a near fall with the Last Ride. Okada starts unloading with European Uppercuts, but Ibushi no-sells them, getting the “psycho look” in his eyes. Kota starts teeing off with hard palm-strikes, kicks and punches, Okada fores back with John Woo, but Ibushi pops right up and floors the champion with more strikes. He goes for the deadlift German off the ropes, but Okada counters into a nasty Tombstone onto the apron, but Ibushi makes it in at 19. Okada hits Heavy Rain (another old classic), then the German rolled through into a spinning Rainmaker attempt, but Ibushi escapes with a Lariat. Kota finally hits the deadlift German off the apron into the ring, which Okada lands right on his head for, for a near fall, then tries the lawndart, but Okada turns it into a spinning Tombstone. A Rainmaker is turned into a huge Ibushi Lariat, who then hits a Boma Ye, but Okada kicks at one! Another to the back follows, as does a big head kick, then Ibushi nails Kamigoye, but again the champion gets the shoulder up at 2.999 as the Dome goes crazy. Ibushi drops the knee pad and tries another, but Okada counters into an amazing dropkick. Okada escapes a top rope Tiger Driver and attempts a missile dropkick, but Ibushi catches him in a sitout powerbomb for a great near fall, then goes up top for the Phoenix Splash, but Okada moves. Okada hits a spinning Rainmaker, then another Rainmaker, but Ibushi kicks out as the crowd goes crazy. Ibushi counters another Rainmaker attempt with another big head kick, then hits a V-Trigger. He goes for Kamigoye again, but Okada counters into a Fire Thunder Driver, then hits Rainmaker to end an absolutely outstanding match at the 39:16 mark. This was just exceptional stuff that perfectly played off spots in all of their previous meetings.

Naito came out in the post match and he promised to win tomorrow, saying its his perfect chance to beat him at the Dome. I’m amazed Okada is even able to go tomorrow after this match. Okada says “no chance”, and thanks Ibushi. He also says he wants even more people in the Dome tomorrow to see the double Title Match. I can’t believe there’s another of these shows to go. What a time to be alive.

NDT

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bellamygateoldblog · 4 years

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The 100 Aesthetic/Preferences Tag

Tagged by: @blodreina-noumou ty babe!!

This is a tag game about AESTHETICS, not content, plot, characterization, etc. Just keep that in mind.

Rank the seasons from favorite to least favorite:

2 > 1 > 3 > 5 > 4 (me, petty: *won’t even put 6 on the ranking*)

2 - I think 2 has Octavia’s best look, very ‘Grounder In Training’ which was really really cute lol. Then there was the beginning of Clarke’s desent into grime, from pristine princess to getting weighed down with the dirt of her own emotions and percieved obligations and I liked to see it.

1 - everyone is clean and baby-faced and it reminds me of a simpler time. Was a fan of guard!Bellamy hair gel and all, it really brought out the douche in him. This season has my favourite Raven (she GLOWS) and Clarke Sky Babe looks. Jasper’s goggles. Dropship site was iconic.

3 - I appreciated the grimy aesthetic of season three because they really committed to the Goin’ Thru It.

The drastic shift in Jasper’s look was something I really liked. His boyish features are gone and now merely a ghost of innocence remains, in it’s place we have a more mature, hardened demeanor in the form of facial hair and a lack of cute, floppy hairstyle.

5 - we got the spacekru ‘clan’ look! In previous seasons we’ve seen clans have markers indicating who they belong to, Trikru with their earthy colours and wearing leaves, Azgeda with their furs and white paints, and Floukru with their ocean imagery, and now we see the survivors of apocalypse in their bluish-grey space tones styled in a way that makes it absolutely clear they’re all apart of the same group. We see a new headscarf for Emori, still very much herself but refashioned. And no glove! She’s completely comfortable with her new family. The scarf was very unique to her character so someone tell me why after all this they completely threw it out for season 6? Oh yeah it’s because season 6 isn’t real, it didn’t happen, I do Not See It.

All the boys glo-ed up. Loved that. All the girls started wearing their hair looser, Raven has her two strands sneaking out of her signature ponytail- she still very much looks like ‘Raven’ but everyone just in general looks more relaxed, like they’ve had a breather. In terms of the world, I loved the stark differences in the three main locations, and every one of them felt haunting but in different ways. Ghost lands. The wasteland of 5 was almost reminicent of the desert back in season 2, now devistated. The bunker was suffocating and chilling. The valley felt weirdly sinister in all it’s colours.

4 - eventually everyone looked peak skaikru, no longer delinquents in their various multi-coloured bomber jackets, marking their youth, but fully-fledged members of their group. I liked the way s4 almost paralleled s1 in look, they’re all wearing the same colours, but while they are all technically clean, they still look less presentable and exhausted compared to S1. Bellamy, again, like in season 1, is in his guard uniform but it’s more an upgraded and more mature version. In a way it looked like we came full circle. And Clarke and Octavia both going back to a more skaigirl hairstyle was the cherry on top. Luna’s costumes are probably my favourites on the entire show. I have no idea how we went from costumes of such intricasy and consistency to...’what in the name of halloween store clearance sale is that?’ in season 6.

6 - sanctum’s costumes were literally so ugly i don’t even wanna talk about it please don’t make me do it...

ok i go

1) Controversial ik but Emori’s Prime dress missed the mark. I liked the addition of the cape, but, again, it was so bare otherwise. There was no embroidery, no jewels, and the accessories they did give her were clunky and looked cheap. It looked too prom night. She was supposed to be royalty. And she didn’t look like it at all.

2) Absolutely hated the fact they put a pound of makeup on each of the space sisters’ faces. And the fact they gave them all unnaturally curled hair. Meanwhile Clarke and Octavia still somewhat look natural and ordinary so...what’s going on? And why?

Rank Clarke’s hair each season from best to worst:

1 > 6 > 2 > 4 > 5 > 3

some thoughts;

Not a fan of her season 4 hair, and i can’t articulate my dislike very well but why’d her roots get so dark? She never had dark roots in season 1, this character is a natural blonde, and yet over the seasons they became progressively darker and tbh? It started to irritated me. Also I don’t think the cut framed her face quite right? SOMETHING okay? Something about it......

Rank Bellamy’s hair/beard each season from best to worst:

3 > 1,2,4,6 < 5

The real debate: Bellamy in the blue shirt or the tan?

They both look the same to me. lol. Blue.

Clarke’s blue dress or pink dress?

Neither. Both weren’t very good looking. If you were holding me at gun point I’d say blue, but the cut did the opposite of help. And if they were gonna have a moment where Clarke, oblivious to her own *ethereal beauty* and not like the other girls, walks down the stairs ready to throw her hair into a messy bun and get sold to One Direction, they could’ve at least put her in a more suitable dress. Something a bit more glamourous, sophisticated, something to justify the 10 people in the room staring up at her in awe. It’s such a casual, tasteless dress? And she isn’t even wearing shoes? She isn’t wearing anything shiny, she didn’t do anything to her hair. We saw what other dresses and accessories Delilah had in her closet, the yellow and pink soft-flowing, feminine classy dresses and the pretty headwear she wore in her own short time in the season. But you give Clarke, your protagonist, that unflattering one? One that she so clearly hastily threw on and headed out in? She got two outfit changes, while none of the other main girls got any at all, and they were both ugly LIKE what was even the point?

Favorite Raven season: Her season 1 baby face just cannot be beat, she looks beautiful. And I only use that word very particularly.

Raven’s ark vest or red bomber jacket?

how about that red popper shirt from season 4

Raven’s ponytail or her s6 look?

Ponytail. It’s Raven. S6 look betrayed what her character was about.

Favorite Octavia season: 2! I love the baby grounder look.

Octavia’s hair in s2 (the braids) or s4 (the ponytail)?

The braids just because they were more interesting to look at.

Blodreina or Skairipa?

Blodreina. Like I said somewhere up there ^ that whole costume was a breath of fresh air.

Favorite Murphy season: S5!

Murphy with long hair or short hair?

I appreciated the rat boy look while it lasted, but the short hair makes him look good, while his other hairstyles pretty much were just there to contribute to the climate of his character.

Favorite Monty season: 5. Bout time they made him look grown. He’s actually a pretty ruthless and passive aggressive kid, the fact he looked so sweet in previous seasons really tricked a lot of the fanbase into believing he was some tiny cinnamon roll.

Favorite overall episode: I’m awful at seperating episodes. I just can’t do it lol

Favorite scene of all time: I just don’t have the best memory for these things. I quite liked the reveal of Blodreina, the transition is takes from Cooper in the very first arena fight to current day, and it switches from blue to red, and slowly reveals Blodreina. The music change gave me chills. Everything about the scene just felt really dark and eery. I was uncomfortable. And I loved it.

Biggest wish for s7: Visually/aesthetically, decide which style you’re going for. I’ve said this before somewhere but Sanctum was a confusing mess of sci-fi, royal, prom night, and divergent amity. Pick one and get back to me.

I want a better designed world. I want all the set and costume designers to actually communicate and work together to make the world look like something professional and not a cosplay convention on a cheap set with a big paper mache castle.

Also I’d love for all the girls to not be all dolled-up. Give Raven her ponytail back, I’ll even settle for the low pony. Give Emori her headscarf back. And go get them all some face wipes. Maybe give someone other than Clarke an oppurtunity to wear something besides their murder gear. And maybe make that something actually good looking. Put some effort in. Sheesh.

I don’t follow many people and most of the ones I do are hibernating lol. I fully encourage someone to steal this. But in the meantime: @johnmurphysreddit @awesomenell65

#the 100 #tag game

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rhetoricalrogue · 4 years

Text

And now for something completely different

@alittlestarling and I were plotting an AU of our squishy mage children when she mentioned in passing another AU where Vincent wasn’t in the picture and Roz and Rolfe had met in Haven instead. To say that I was a) excited about this idea and b) completely SOLD on the pairing is a gross understatement.

This is 2,000-ish words of 100% rough and unedited writing, but the prospect of a new pairing knocked a bunch of rust off my stagnant writing gears. Enjoy the start of an AU of an AU!

Upon meeting one of the fledgling Inquisition’s leaders, Rolfe Trevelyan, senior member of a secretive order of spies, trusted bodyguard to the Chantry’s upper echelon, confident musician and charming rogue, found himself desperately wishing that the earth would open up and swallow him whole.

Rolfe had plenty of time to craft his introduction on the trip from Orlais to the snowy backwater village of Haven. Considering that both the Left and Right Hands of the Divine were both involved with what most of the remaining Chantry leaders were calling a heretical group, he’d decided early on that honesty would be the best policy while explaining his presence. His superiors had ordered him to investigate the Inquisition, to survey the damage of the destroyed Conclave, and to verify reports that Chancellor Roderick had been sending back about a redheaded nobody of a mage that Rolfe was almost certain was named Rosalind - or maybe it was Rosmund; for someone who handled the Divine’s correspondence and was responsible for communicating her will to the rest of Thedas, Roderick was dismissive of the woman’s name at best and downright inconsistent with names at worst - and weigh the threat she supposedly posed to the world with his own eyes. He had gone over what he would say time and time again, mentally editing and polishing until each word shone like freshly-minted coppers.

The last leg of his journey had him practicing a charming smile as a way to distract himself from the biting cold and the wind that cut through his cloak and the multiple layers of clothing he wore underneath. He took some time to straighten his cloak and make sure his hair was in some semblance of order while he took in what could only be defined as a refugee camp. This was no army ready to overthrow the Chantry, this was a gathering place for people running from the chaos in the Hinterlands, both from the conflict between mages and Templars as well as from the demons pouring out of rifts in the sky. Ever observant, he made a note of the few handful of people teaching farmers and stablehands how to make use of the pointy ends of swords with varying degrees of success.

His steps faltered at the first glance of Cassandra Pentaghast, the former Right Hand of the Divine. He’d only seen her from afar once or twice in his twenty-year tenure in the Chantry’s service, and was unprepared for the combined sense of competence and almost cowing intimidating presence she radiated. He was both impressed and intrigued as he veered away from the makeshift training grounds and made his way further up the hill towards the Chantry.

“Ser Rolfe Trevelyan, of the Order of the Sacred Flame,” he muttered under his breath, passing a dwarf huddled by a fire who was not-so-quietly complaining about the cold. Rolfe could have sworn he had heard him comment about how he should have never left Kirkwall, but he wasn’t quite sure. “Ser Alexander Caldwell sent me on behalf of…” He rounded a corner and froze to the spot when he spied a flash of red inside a tent set up just outside of the Chantry doors. His mouth went dry and his tongue glued to the roof of his mouth. All sense of charm or good manners seemed to abandon him as he made his way inside.

He didn’t get but a foot inside when the woman turned at his presence. “Ser Rolfe Trevelyan,” she said, tipping her head in recognition. “I should have expected the Order to send their best agent.”

Rolfe opened his mouth, his well-practiced speech evaporating from his lips just as his breath fogged in front of his face. “Sister Nightingale knows my name?”

An hour later, Rolfe found himself wedged in a corner of the Singing Maiden, a watered down mug of what could only be considered “beer” consoling his battered ego. He’d bungled up the only chance he had at making a first impression, but had luckily recovered soon after. His explanation for his presence had been received with cool eyes, Sister Leliana’s gaze seemingly cutting through him more keenly than the wind around them, yet chilling him to the bone in the same manner, if not even more so. She’d raised an eyebrow as she listened, and Rolfe had the distinct impression that had she been displeased with his reasons for his arrival, she would have dispatched him on the spot.

At least Commander Rutherford was a bit less of a challenge, he thought, sipping at his drink. He made a face and pushed it to the side, offering it to a man with soot-covered hands and the look of a local blacksmith, fishing under his cloak for a silver flask and taking a swig of premium Antivian brandy, the liquor warming him from the inside out. Commander Cullen had been skeptical of Rolfe’s arrival, yet practical enough to offer a curt greeting and take him up on an offer to help train anyone who showed more promise with daggers than with sword and shield. Seeker Pentaghast had given him a dismissive snort when he made an offhand comment that not everyone could be blessed with her proficiency in weaponry, but he was certain that he had caught the faintest tinge of pink dust her cheeks at his comment.

“The Herald would be here to welcome you,” Ambassador Montilyet had explained, “however, she is currently traveling through the Hinterlands seeking support before journeying towards Orlais.”

It had been disappointing that Rosalind - the Herald of Andraste’s name had been Rosalind - hadn’t been present, but it gave Rolfe some time to figure things out now that he’d been welcomed and not immediately told to shove back off to Orlais post-haste. After his brief meeting with her advisers, he’d taken a short tour of Haven and had the misfortune of running into Chancellor Roderick himself. The man was trying his best to incite division within the population seeking aid and break up the Inquisition from the inside out. Rolfe found himself disliking him immediately.

He shuffled closer to the corner of the table he had secured and scanned the crowd. Taverns and inns had long since been familiar and welcome places to him and even in the midst of all the current upheaval, the Singing Maiden proved to be no different. There was a certain sense of comfort in the scenery and Rolfe’s people watching skills came out to play. He briefly entertained himself with making up professions and identities for the anonymous patrons. He was halfway through imagining that the woman perched on a stool near the worn and scarred bar was a noble in exile when the door opened and a small, well-bundled up woman came through, a hood and scarf wrapped around her head. She briefly stopped at the fire next to the bar to warm her hands before taking the mug the barmaid offered her. Whoever she was, no one seemed to pay her much mind as she wove her way through the crowd, eyes scanning for an empty seat.

Ever the chivalrous type, Rolfe stood and waved her down. “Fancy a seat?” he asked, habit making him flash her a smile that showed off a dimple on the right side of his cheek.

She paused and gave him a quick once-over. Now that she was closer, Rolfe could see that the tops of her cheeks and end of her nose were red from the cold. “Depends, does it come with a price?”

He leaned his hip against the edge of the table. “Only the price of my company, my lady.” Her hands were soft looking, so the brief thought that she could have been a baker or a shopkeep fled from his mind. Perhaps she was the noble in exile, though the way that she sipped at her drink - tea, from the looks of the leaves floating on the surface - quickly made him think otherwise. She regarded him with bright blue eyes that reminded him of a summer sky, a dusting of freckles that showed up once her face had warmed up from being out of the cold catching his attention.

She gave a brief snort of laughter before sipping her tea. “And if I don’t want to pay for my seat?”

“Then I shall bid you good evening and go soothe my wounded heart elsewhere.”

She rolled her eyes. “Something tells me that you don’t have to do that often.”

He grinned. “What makes you say that?”

“Oh no, I am not feeding an ego. I may not know you, but I know someone fishing for compliments when I see it.”

Well, this was a far better way to finish off a day of embarrassing himself in front of the Inquisition and then striking out at greeting the Herald. “If you’re not going to fish, mind if I throw out a lure of my own? What is a lovely lady like yourself doing in a place like this?”

It earned her another laugh, even as she rolled her eyes again. “Compliments and a come here often opening line? It isn’t even my birthday.” She sighed and slumped in her seat. “To be honest, I don’t know what I’m doing here.”

Oh. That sounded less like a lighthearted quip and more of a start of a silent request for a sounding board. “If it helps, I’ve been told that I’m an excellent listener. Sometimes it’s best to get what’s on your mind off your mind over a few drinks and company that won’t judge.”

She sighed. “Thank you, but I fear that what’s on my mind is more than what a mug of tea and conversation with a stranger could cover.”

Rolfe didn’t know what it was about her, but he was compelled to dig in. Perching a leg on the edge of the table, he leaned his elbow on his thigh. “How about a secret for a secret? I tell you one thing that happened to me today and you tell me one thing that’s bothering you? Like I said, no judgement.”

Her eyebrow raised again. “You are a persistent one, aren’t you?”

“I prefer the term tenacious. I’ve been told it’s a defining feature of mine.”

“Somehow, I think someone meant stubborn when they told you that.” She took another sip. “So, how was your day?”

“I made an ass out of myself in front of one of the Herald’s advisers.”

She sat up straighter. “How so?”

“I had a whole speech on who I was and why I was up here prepared and I garbled the entire thing.” He felt his face heat up when she burst out laughing. “Hey! I said no judging!”

She smiled behind the rim of her mug. “You said that, I made no such promises. It couldn’t have been that bad.”

“You would say that, you didn’t blush like a schoolboy and forget your own name when Sister Leliana declared she already knew who you were before you could even get a single word in. I’m certain she thinks I’m an idiot.”

That earned him another laugh. “Somehow I seriously doubt that. Leliana isn’t one to harshly judge people by first impressions. Believe me, I know.”

He snapped to attention at the mention of being on a first name basis with Leliana, though he easily kept his relaxed posture. “And I doubt that you could have made a horrible first impression.” Rolfe’s eyes scanned her features, trying to catch a glimpse of any hair that peeked out from under her hood. The tavern’s dim lighting worked to his disadvantage, making discerning if her eyebrows were a brown or red color difficult. “Now, your turn. How was your day?”

She looked away, her shoulders curving inwards as if she was trying to curl in on herself to make herself smaller. “I…” Her brows furrowed. “I found a friend, of sorts.”

“Friends are always good. Someone in high places?”

“Yes. Maybe. I don’t know.” She tugged at her scarf and pushed her hood away. “What else happened today?”

Rolfe licked his lips and took another swig of his flask, his eyes roaming over the windblown strands of hair that had escaped the neat braid curling over her shoulder. Red. “I had hoped to find someone when I first arrived, but they weren’t here.”

“Someone important?”

“Maybe. I don’t know yet.” He stood up and gave her a brief nod. “I’ll leave you to your tea, I still need to find a place to turn in before it gets dark. Thank you for the company.”

She looked like she wanted to say something else. “I hope you find who you set out to look for,” she told him instead.

“I hope so too. I’ll be around until then, so maybe I’ll see you again?”

He watched as her eyes widened. “Maybe. Wait, what’s your name?” There was a charming flush that spread across her cheeks that had nothing to do with the cold. “I mean…”

Rolfe winked. “Maybe I’ll tell you when we meet again. It lends a certain air of mystery to me, no?”

She sighed, but this time it was tinged with a playful sort of annoyance instead of the weight of whatever had been burdening her. “It lends you something, though I’m not quite sure mystery is what I would have described it as.”

“And with that, goodnight.” Rolfe made his way to the other side of the bar, stopping long enough to drop a few coins from his pocket into the jar for the barmaid. The blast of cold air hit him hard as he left and he pulled the edges of his cloak closer to his body on his way back up the hill. He’d lied when he told her that he still needed to find a place to stay, Lady Montilyet had secured him a small room within the Chantry. It was cramped and he shared it with a nobleman who was complaining about the conditions, but Rolfe had had worse lodgings during his many travels. Shoving his pack into a makeshift pillow under his neck, he rolled to his back and stared up at the ceiling as he tried to mentally compose a report to his superior as a way to fall asleep.

Alex, he started. Roderick is not to be trusted. He completely neglected to inform us about how pretty the Herald is.

#my writing #idk what i'm doing #or where this is going #but i suddenly have a lot of feelings about them #rolfe trevelyan #rosalind marlowe #canon-compliant AU?#who knows at this point but *yells into the void*#it's rough and full of spelling mistakes but idgaf #i'm writing again #and it feels good to break out from under that block

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hizzalot · 4 years

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Sethos: 02. My Butler and I by @SecretlyClawed

Driving into the city of Aberdeen usually took us a good couple of hours, us being Gerald and myself. It was a trip we took at least twice a week sometimes more if business or boredom required it. I did have a nice apartment in the city and it wasn’t completely uncommon for me to use it, but being who I was and living in the city with people everywhere wasn't that good of a combination. Besides the city was too noisy and wouldn’t allow me as much freedom to do as I please which my country living did. If you asked my alter ego he would snort and huff you in the face hard enough that you thought a tornado just winded by at the mere idea of living full time in the city because no matter how gullible and unaware many humans were when it came to the existence of other beings, most people would still notices the difference between a large bird and a 10 feet tall dragon, and no matter what you think they don’t scream like they do in movies and runaway. No today the little twats with all their technology want pictures, film clips, autographs and all other sorts of things. I'm being serious, they want it all if they could they want a goddamned interview and any of that is just a big no no.

I do have full control of my animal, well at least as much control as one can over a partly wild beast. In most cases I can stave him off if I have too but he is a demanding son of a bitch. Unlike me, I'm the least temperamental person you can meet, but don’t tell Gerald I said that because he will most likely get a heart attack he doesn’t like bent facts. Anyway, my dragon if he is denied his time to fly, hunt and play for too long he will eventually force his way out no matter where I am or what I'm doing, he can’t be stopped in those situations. In the early days that happened quite often because I had refused to accept what I had become. Gerald was many time forced to clean up my messes for many years, until one day about 25 years after my dragon first appeared. One day he had enough and sat me down for a talk, if that's what you want to call it.

After having to use every trick in the book to get me to listen even Gerald patience ran thin. He'd ended up taken me by the ear, and when I say by the ear I mean by the ear. Imagine being a 45 year old man in human years being dragged away by his ear, it was horrifying let me tell you, humiliating and nothing I care to experience ever again. He made me see sense so to speak even if he had to do it while I kicked and screamed like a child. Yes, it wasn’t one of my finest moments. I was young, childish and still blamed my unknown father for making me into a beast and in the end taking my mother from me, so I had cursed him off and refused to take my fate serious. When I still wouldn’t listen and had cursed Gerald too he had left me to my fate.

Trust me when I say don’t piss off the hand who feeds you especially if it runs your household, take care of all the nitty details that you never have to bother with because if you do you are left to tend to them yourself. It took me a lot of groveling and a hell of a lot more begging to get Gerald to come back, many years later he told me he never really left he just wanted to teach me a lesson, I should have seen it coming but didn’t. I didn’t dare chance it by cursing him off again but I might have grumbled about it for a while. Today Gerald is my one and only true companion, living side by side with me and as long as he does we are linked together. He was my father’s companion for many years and he is linked with both of us by blood. He is this ordinary human, if you can ever call Gerald ordinary, as anyone else but with the benefit of being linked to me by blood he is what you would call my human servant. He can feel me as I can feel him, we have a bond and as long as I live he will live too.

Gerald as my butler and personal adviser love to drive that was why we never invested in a helicopter to take us to the city. No he wanted to do it the old fashion way, the long way and he even drove an old Classic Alvis, the love of his life. I think he even loved that car more than me and he said he was pretty damn fond of me, but not more than that car. Gerald was the father I never had, no matter if the man who went under the name of Lord Stravos had father me. The irony being that it was not Gerald I was now going to have to save. Gerald said driving calmed him and gave him time to think how to work out the latest mischief I gotten me, us into, as for me well I enjoyed the quiet. If I got too bored I would fired up the laptop and do some work, work being searching for the next object for my personal collection. I both sold and collected antique goods and being 250 years old with more money to spend than I could find things to buy it was a good job and hobby. My money came both from the inheritance my mother had left me in property and money that had been well invested and my own personal wealth.

I had a very large and impressive collection of objects ranging from small coins, rings and bullets up to full warrior armor gear, to swords and my personal favorites, cars. I had built many garages over the decades to be able to store all 150 or so cars that I owned. I had every car that you could imagine a T-Bird original, an Oldsmobile, several different Mustangs; let's just say I have a thing for really old classic cars and Muscle cars especially. I even have a first model ford car, the so-called Ford Model T it was my pride and joy it didn’t race you down the streets but it was the first T Ford ever produced and it was bought by me. It was worth more in sentimental value than money to me. Considering the shape it was in I could probably get a good 100 grand for it but why would I ever need another 100 grand that I had in plenty, First produced T Ford not so much. The most amazing thing with these cars were that they all worked. Then they were all bought by my own hand, most of them but not all hadn’t been owned or driven by anyone but me, family bought and owned. I took pride in that. To others of course I simply let others believe I bought and restored or that they’d been in possession in my family for decades which in itself was impressive enough. Because to claim I bought a car in 1908 when I looked no older than 30 wouldn’t fly.

Closing the lid on my laptop I put it back in my bag letting the bag rest against the seat next to me. I let out a deep sigh watching the steep mountain of my home disappear before me as we kept heading for Aberdeen. I'm sure you are wondering about this thing with my father. I do too sometimes, it is a story of its own and rather long but for you to fully understand it I better take it from the beginning. My father was the longest living dragon shifter the earth had known. He lived long before what we today call civilization and long before that even existed. Tales of dragons started because of him, and because there were actual sights of him as he flew the skies of earth there were rumors about giant monsters that could fly and had spiky tails. Gerald told me all about it once I had finally come to a stage where I would listen to what he had to say. He told me how my father had pretty much reacted the same way that I had done, but compared to me he was all in alone in dealing with it. He hadn’t met my father until much much later and by then he was all well good and pleasant with his other self, so much in fact that Gerald was the one who had to lure him back into human shape. The first few hundred years alive my father had been so besotted about being this giant powerful creature that he had mostly lived in the skin of his dragon. His dragon so strong that over time he almost completely took over Drake Stravo’s mind and soul. Gerald had found him in the nick of time becoming the man to save my father’s humanity, that was how he had become my father’s butler and human servant. Gerald was the humanity to keep the dragon lord grounded.

Before Gerald he was a hunter, alone, living out in the wild, surviving day by day the only companion being the smoke that made him high. One night when he'd come face to face with a real life dragon it'd been the stroke of midnight he'd been lying by his campfire fire, and had just finished eating his one and only meal of the day and was high as a kite. That was when all of a sudden the flames of the fire had been shielded by this large shadow and this enormous creature without a name had appeared before him. At this time he didn’t know what a dragon was, and being high as a kite he didn’t even react in fright or other, Drake Stravos lay still on the ground watching the stars while the Dragon spoke to him in his mind telling him that he would be the new lord of dragons on earth, a predator to keep humankind in check and the one chosen to lead the Dragon Clan. That was how he became Lord Stravos

Some hundred years later here I am, Dragon Shifter extraordinaire, disguised as an antique dealer, the only offspring of the magnificent Lord Stravos his legacy like a chip on my shoulder. It is 2019, leather jacket is on and I have an old fashioned Butler in tow. We look like oil and water trying to mix, me with my 'going with the times' attitude, your average Joe persona. Then we have Gerald who refuse to live in the now with his fancy accent and polite manners that make people look at him like he is from Mars, which to be honest is not to far from the truth. I have a job to do, buying and selling antiques, if you ask Gerald it is to save his Master (I am only Sire) my job is to save a father I never met from the evil Elves in the realm beyond and reunite him with my mother. Because if I don’t his death will kill us all. No pressure!

It all sounds pretty stupid when you say it out loud therefore I almost never do unless it is with Gerald and a dying must to ensure the man I have not forgotten about my real job. Dragons, evil midget elves and heroes saving other heroes and damsels in distress sounds just like a bad Hollywood movie. But for heaven's sake don’t tell Gerald I said that he will have my tail, literary because he takes this hero business very seriously. He takes saving his Master very seriously. My only problem is finding that damn door to the realm where my father is kept and the fact that the damn thing only opens once every decade makes the waiting process a fucking drag.

“Sire. We are here.”

The window between the driver and passenger was down, Gerald always insisted on me sitting in the back, I was after all Lord Stavos offspring. Do you know how many times I’ve rolled my eyes at this, the legacy of man that is to me unknown is a burden all on its own.

“Awesome!” I exclaim knowing perfectly well it makes Gerald’s skin crawl using modern slang or words. It tickles me so to tease the man, I mean what else should I do with my time, there’s so much of it to spill.

“Splendid Sire, Splendid.” He emphasized each word giving me a stern look by using the rear-view mirror. Snickering I get out of the car before he has a chance to get out and open it himself.

“Sire if you insist on acting like a brat I will have to treat you as such and give you a time out in the corner when we get back home.” He threatens calmly next to me, his exterior never faltering even though I have made him very annoyed. With a pat on the shoulder I turn to him.

“Oh come on Gerald. Take that drivers hat off and dance down the street with me, live a little old man. Who knows you might even get laid.” I say as I hang my laptop bag over my shoulder and start down the street eyes glimmering with mischief.

“Corner it is then Sire.” Gerald shuts my door with a little extra force to show how serious he really is and all I do is laugh. Life’s good in o 2019. #MyButlerAndI #Eddark

#Eddark SethosBently MyButlerAndI SecretlyClawed

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