#not a fan of the 'two women being catty to each other over a guy' trope | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sstrongstyle · 4 years

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𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭

𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: Adam Cole x OC, mentions of Seth Rollins x OC 𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘: After nearly a decade of being the golden girl of WWE, Adaline Marin wants out. Their ring was no longer home, haunted by her first love and upon reaching her thirties, the face behind "Aspen Glory" wonders if the passion she once had was still ablaze. Instead, she gets sent down to NXT to join the Undisputed Era. The next three hundred and sixty-five days, all captured by cameras for the history books, become a year of revival, reinvention, and realization with her legacy at stake and a new flame from the past emerging. 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒: All characters are referred to by their real life names (for the most part) 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒: I love feedback! Please send some my way! <3 Very background heavy chapter, no real fun, but more to come. If you’re interested in being added to a tag list, let me know!

CHAPTER THREE.

June 8th, 2019

Adaline couldn't believe that she didn't just agree to this, but agreed for it to be done for an entire year. It wasn't like she cared about being in management's good graces and volunteered to do it, but she somehow got hoodwinked into agreeing to a 365 special on herself. She was the last person in the world to enjoy having cameras on her when she was out of the ring and no longer Aspen Glory. Doing interviews out of character for Adaline felt like pulling teeth. She avoided Total Divas at all costs. Even appearing on stuff like Ride Along and UpUpDownDown was difficult for her.

"Just call me the modern day Undertaker," Adaline rolled her eyes, but she smiled a bit, as she sat down for the camera.

She liked her privacy as much as any other wrestler that had cameras constantly on them, but especially since fans liked to pay extra attention to her life for whatever reason. Adaline attributed it to her once long term relationship with Colby, highly publicized at several points because of whatever dirt sheet rumours and private leaks that were thrown their way. She was quiet at all times, her Wikipedia page only covering her wrestling career, as she had been as vague about her childhood as possible in the past.

Raising an eyebrow at the producer, Craig, a few feet away, Adaline wasn't sure where to begin. "I can just talk about anything?"

Anything but the few things on the "no mention" list. Most were contributed by WWE, but a lot of other things were provided by Adaline. This included her past relationship with Colby outside of kayfabe and especially anything to do with Nikki Bella.

"Start with talking about your career so far. You can name drop companies and non-contracted performers, but only because we'll be editing whatever we don't want aired, anyway."

"Right," she shifted slightly, unsurprised. "Well, I'm turning thirty-two this fall, so this will be into my sixteenth year of doing this thing."

She wasn't exactly sure why the Network executives wanted to give her a 365 special. As far as she knew, most of the episodes were focused on wrestlers overcoming serious injuries or taking the next great step in their careers. Was this what NXT was supposed to be for her?

Craig's expression remained blank, as he pushed his semi rimless glasses higher on the bridge of his nose. "You started at sixteen years old?" His eyes never left the clipboard in front of him, where she assumed was a list of prompts to ask.

"Yeah, I dropped out of high school in the tenth grade and I worked retail and other random part time jobs for two years while training and working local shows in Toronto. Bingo halls, high school gyms, random parking lots, you know," Adaline explained further, still trying to loosen up her tense shoulders. "When I turned eighteen, I dropped everything and moved to the United States because I knew I was limited, wrestling where I was wrestling. I was an illegal alien with no plan and just a few hundred dollars—the dumb indie wrestler dream."

It'd been so long since she looked back at that time in her life. Once embarrassed by her roots, Adaline felt a warm, fuzzy feeling at the pit of her stomach and couldn't ignore the swelling of pride in her heart. She'd come far.

The look on Craig's face induced Adaline to continue, so she took a deep breath. "My early work happened in Pennsylvania, where I fought my way into gyms and I mean fought. It was really hard at that time for a woman to be taken seriously. It was guys like Drew Gulak and Jon—" Although Craig said that she was allowed to name drop non-contracted performers, she was positive that uttering the former Dean Ambrose's name wasn't worth it. "—um, who helped me learn the ropes and culture in that area. Chikara's Wrestling Factory really helped me out and I did stuff for them and other places like CZW. Drew was the head trainer at the CZW at the time and was one of the first mentor figures I had."

If Adaline had to put her money on it, she would have said that Craig was bored out of his damn mind, but then again, he had the same expression on his face ever since he walked into the room. "Did you just stay in the northeast for that portion of your career?"

"I ventured a bit more west as time went by. Definitely lingered around Illinois for a while, since it's where the top independent women's promotions were at the time. Funnily enough, I ended up living in Chicago for about ten years after that." To be with her boyfriend, but she didn't mention that. "I did some time on the west coast, not as much as I wish I did, but I definitely had some fun doing stuff in California and for a split second, Mexico. Three years into working in the States and I somehow, by a miracle, land myself in the locker room of Florida Championship Wrestling."

To this day, Adaline wasn't exactly sure how she got in. The tape that she sent the developmental recruits was god-awful and her tryout promo was more than cringy. However, looking at other people in her recruitment class, it was clear that officials and scouts looked at potential over everything—how well could they be molded into the WWE standard, the ceiling of their entertainment value. She wasn't sure if she should feel flattered that they saw that in her or not or if they simply saw that she could be easily manipulated.

"It was definitely a time down there. Difficult, yes, but I learned so much." Adaline could recall nights crying into her pillow out of frustration for where her training was going and how she was treated by the other talent. Girls often claimed how hard they were judged for being models and dancers before coming to FCW, but it was just as hard being an "arrogant indie schmuck." There weren't many women from back then who could relate to the garbage that she went through.

Craig asked, "Do you think performers then had a harder time in FCW than the recruits down in the PC and NXT today?"

She paused, taking the question in. "Not a harder time, per say, but the process is much smoother now, while being more of a burden. We have the state of the art Performance Center now, compared to that warehouse we used to train in. NXT gets so much more exposure now that it's harder to reinvent yourself at your own pace." Adaline said. "In a way, because NXT is now its own brand, I would say that talent from the FCW era were much more catty in the sense of starting drama and wanting to move up to get on the road with the main roster talent. The divas division back then was a very different culture to the women's locker room here at Full Sail, which is now very welcoming. Everyone wants to help each other, not drag them down."

There was nothing Adaline wanted to do more than expose certain names, but she held herself back. The catty environment, the hazing, the drama and sabotage, was too much for her. She was just glad that she move on from there quickly, as her memories in developmental hurt her as much as they did help her.

"And after FCW?"

Adaline grinned. "Oh, come on. Everyone knows what happened after that."

For the first few years, she was afraid that the only reason she got lumped in with The Shield was because she was Colby's long term girlfriend and that they assumed he would be most comfortable with her as their valet. After all, Adaline wasn't exactly progressing as a character in FCW. She was scared of that, and only being considered as eye candy and a side item for the boys. It took years of understanding from other people and seeing the product in the eye of the executives that they truly must have seen potential in her.

And if all of the above were true anyway, then Adaline made damn sure to prove herself to be otherwise in the past few years.

"My time with The Shield was everything I could ask for and more. I'm glad I spent that portion of my career with those guys, I don't think I could have found my way around without them. We were all definitely kind of lost, but we had each other, and we were really family." She wanted to say are family, but things were different these days.

Adaline talked to Joe the most, at least up until her move to the yellow and black brand. He texted and checked up on her often while she was off TV. Jon came here and there, but things were different. She only kept up with him through Renee, since the man clearly had yet to discover how to reply to a text.

Then, there was Colby.

Things were good the first couple months after the big finale. As fine as they could be, really. They were on different brands leading up to Wrestlemania, which contributed tremendously to the smooth sailing. After the Royal Rumble, though, things got. . . weird and of course, she hadn't known it yet, but it was around the time he started seeing Becky.

"Hey, Becks, some of the girls are going back to my hotel room after the show," Adaline had tapped Becky on the shoulder after catching her outside of the trainer's room during the later hours of Elimination Chamber. "You gonna come and kick my ass in Mario Kart?"

For whatever reason, Becky's expression dropped. "Oh, uh, actually, I'm just gonna head back to mine. Call it in early, y'know?" Tripping over her words, the fluster in her voice was a tad suspicious to Adaline, but she brushed it off.

She'd proceeded with her plans with Pamela and Leah, playing video games into the early morning. Adaline didn't even think of Becky and her obvious excuse until Leah mentioned that she ran into Becky on her way back to her own room.

"It was written all over her face! Someone definitely got lucky that night," Leah mused at the makeup table, two days later at Smackdown. "Who do you think the guy is? She's definitely not one for random hookups."

Adaline knew that she wasn't owed an explanation to Colby's new love life, but she was a little disappointed that she figured it out on her own. The little things, the rumours she heard backstage, all pieced together for her to realize what was going on between the two of them. Maybe Adaline wouldn't have felt so ruffled about it if it wasn't made to be so weird and secretive. She didn't tell anyone what she found out, keeping it to herself until they announced it themselves.

"Stop making excuses for him, I know why he's late." She didn't even look up from her phone, as she waited in the passenger's seat of the group's rental car. "He's with her, right?"

This was at the tail end of The Shield's farewell era in February earlier that year. Though, Adaline was not heavily involved in the storyline as some expected her to be—the escalation to her own Wrestlemania feud had been going on and she had duties to fulfill on the Smackdown brand. She wasn't there for the buildup throughout the month on Raw, but she was able to join the reunion at Fastlane. It was the group's last match together and the group begged personnel to let her be apart of at least the final moments.

Joe and Jon simply exchanged looks with each other in response. They clearly knew about the couple and probably found out from Colby himself. While nobody said anything to Adaline about it, deep down, they all knew that nobody needed to. She knew Colby more than possibly any other person in the world and the two weren't surprised that she figured it all out.

"Right." Jon was the one who chose to break the awkward silence. "Well, he can meet us there. Let's get this show on the road, we got some beautiful people waiting to see my beautiful face at that bar." It felt a little wrong to not wait for Colby on their way to the roster's "Goodbye Shield" party at a local watering hole, but even Joe was sick of waiting and started the engine.

"We had the time of our lives in that initial run. There's just too memories that I'll cherish forever, you know. But, my memory of all time is surprising the fans at Fastlane, when I showed up to accompany the boys to the ring one last time and having that farewell embrace as the show went off air." Adaline quickly blinked back the tears, as sensitive as ever, but she didn't like showing that side of her to the camera. "I swear to god, time seemed to just completely stop for those few minutes. It was out of this world, nothing like it."

The most magical part of wrestling was the crowd, there's no denying that. On the eve of Fastlane, Adaline felt mountains of love and excitement from the fans, knowing that they were witnessing the end of an era. All four of them knew it was the end of an era, in many ways more than one. Adaline and Colby, who were always known as a collective, rather than individually, were now apart and were now moving on from each other. Mox chose to chase his dreams elsewhere, away from the three that became his family. Joe's legacy in the industry was building and building, year by year. They were no longer the people they were in 2012, having finally gotten a taste of wealth and glory after early years of struggle when the four used to share a single hotel room to save costs.

She'll always be grateful for her run with The Shield. At the beginning, she was just happy to be in a main roster storyline. She was just happy to be able to maximize her time with Colby. Beyond that, Jon and Joe became her family. Bickering over who's turn it was to drive after long house shows, getting to know Joe's kids, playing video games in the locker rooms and every hotel room, and nobody leaving the trainer's room until everybody was clear. No one got left behind.

Back then, it was like that. Now? Adaline can't help but feel like she's come to that point, without any of the three by her side for the first time in a decade.

Craig sighed a little too loudly, rolling up his sleeve and glancing at the shiny watch on his wrist. "We're running out of time. We'll touch on your time with The Authority and everything since then for our next interview day, maybe also dig a little deeper into your new alliance with Undisputed Era." Adaline tried not to breathe a sigh of relief, already worn out from the questions. "Last thing. What are your expectations going into NXT, considering all that you've gone through in sixteen years?"

A question that she didn't know the answer to.

"It's good catching up with you. You have your locker number?" Coach Bloom stood up from his chair from across the desk, extending his hand for Adaline to shake.

She nodded, taking his hand. "Yes, sir. I'll be on my way, then."

Being called into the head trainer's office was similar to the feeling of being called into the principal's office and she had more fear in her body than someone who had just arrived should have had. That was the feeling that Bloom gave off to all NXT residents, but she knew that there was always care behind his tough demeanour. He simply wanted to welcome her properly to the PC on her first official day.

Meanwhile, Serena had been sitting to the side of the two of them and she couldn't confine the grin stretching across her face. When they had shook hands, she instead pulled her old friend into a tight embrace.

"I'm so happy you're here," she whispered into her ear, not caring that Bloom was rolling his eyes at them, mumbling about something for the two women to take it outside of his office.

They had only reunited so few times since Serena signed on as a coach for the Centre a year ago and it only made the moment feel so much sweeter. At the very beginning of Adaline's career, Serena had served as such a helpful mentor figure, even going into their short lived time in the FCW women's locker room together. To have their paths intersect once again, at yet another pivotal part in Adaline's life, seemed poetic in a sense.

Adaline walked out of the office, in tow with Serena. "I guess I'll be responding to your drills again, huh?"

"And you better do it damn well," she raised an eyebrow at the younger woman. "I'm still in shock that you're here. They really didn't want you going anywhere else, huh?"

Shrugging in response, the Canadian sighed. "I'm in shock, too—considering that NXT wasn't apart of the plan." Adaline was getting tired complaining about how the wool was pulled over her eyes during her contract negotiations, but it was starting to fully settle in. Meeting the guys in Hunter's office softened the blow. It was time to shut up and accept the facts.

"People everywhere watched what you did all over the world during those two years that you were gone. You don't need this company to be a star, they need you," Serena said. "Have you maybe considered that you're here because you did all you could do on RAW and Smackdown?"

Those words echoed in Adaline's head, as she trudged into the women's locker room.

It had almost ten years since she started this journey in this company and it seemed like almost everybody that started with her had already grown tired of it. Her first road wives, April and Celeste, were long gone. Danielle decided that she was worn out and was gone. Trinity had recently taken time off and wasn't sure when she was coming back to the ring. Saraya, someone who Adaline thought would be wrestling in her sixties, was retired. Even the goddamn Bellas weren't around anymore. Ninety percent of the division from a decade ago was gone. Wasn't she exhausted, too?

She envied women like Becky and Pamela, who were still hungry for more. There were others who had just made the main roster and some down with her in NXT now, who suffered through the struggles of the indies and were still ready to claw up to the top. Adaline wondered where that drive was for her.

Every locker was labelled by ring name, some with more long-standing plates—mainstays like Io Shirai and Bianca Belair. Meanwhile, others simply had a laminated piece of paper slapped on top of the metal. These were the recruits who had yet to prove themselves, the names that Adaline couldn't recognize.

A shiny, new plate shone on the locker that sat at the corner of the room. Aspen Glory, it read, in all of its permanent lustre.

She slammed her gym bag onto the bench, the impact echoing throughout the empty room. The process felt foreign, making a locker home when Adaline spent so many years travelling to probably hundreds of different arenas and treating each space and moment as temporary. She wasn't sure where to begin, as she unlocked the door and was met with a clean, baby blue interior.

There were some basic things that she brought, like extra socks, a water bottle, and shower shoes. Adaline quickly filled the locker up with these contents and it still appeared so barren to her. What the hell else was she supposed to put in it? She shrugged, not thinking too much about it. Then, she heard the door creak open.

Somewhat hidden away from the front of the locker room, Adaline could hear a distinct voice that seemed to be talking to someone over the phone and a smile formed, hoping it was who she thought it was.

"Yeah, that sounds good for dinner. I just got into the PC, I think Cheree's already waiting for me. You know how she is, she's always early. Alright, bye, Johnny, I love you. See you."

A flash of blonde hair only confirmed Adaline's suspicions. It was Candice LeRae, who hummed the melody of a 90s pop song and chewed bubblegum, as she strolled over without noticing the other female in the room. She easily unlocked her name plated locker, which was across from Adaline's, and nearly everything spilled out from it being too full.

She groaned. "Oh, crap," Candice said, trying to chase a bottle of dry shampoo that had begun rolling across the floor, only to be met with Adaline's bemused expression.

"Hi."

"Hey," Candice replied with a grin, a little perplexed.

Almost instantaneously, they pulled each other into a hug. Knowing that she would be diving head first into the unknown, Adaline was aware that she couldn't navigate all on her own. The two Breezango idiots were too busy figuring their own things out and she couldn't voice her anxiety to her new stable mates, wanting to give off a confident face. There were only so many people that Adaline could turn to outside of them, so she gave Candice a heads up that she was now reporting to the Performance Centre.

Adaline bent down and reached out for the lavender can for her shorter friend, passing it to her. "Your shit's a mess, girl."

"Yours will be, too. Give it a month," she rolled her eyes and peeked over her shoulder at Adaline's belongings on the bench. "You're moving in today?! I honestly did not expect to see you here so soon."

"I told you that I landed a few days ago, didn't I? I've been in meetings all weekend," Adaline replied with a groan. She had only been in Orlando for such a short amount of time and the amount of work and settling she had to do was taxing. The NXT tapings hadn't even begun, yet.

Candice said, "Yeah, it doesn't really slow down for another week or so. You'll love it here, I promise." As everyone else had promised Adaline, who clearly wasn't convinced.

The blonde turned around and put the can back into its place—if it even had one, in that mess of a locker—and began rummaging through her personal possessions. Candice let a out a soft a-ha! when she found what she was looking for at the back of the space, a Minnie Mouse hairbrush. Adaline chuckled softly at the sight and turned around, closing her own locker.

"Are you off to go workout?"

"Yeah, Cheree's wanted to get some cardio in. Any more meetings today?" Candice replied.

Adaline shook her head. "No, just moving in." She gestured to her gym bag and locker.

"Well, while you're here, the taping schedule is posted up by the west wing double doors, you know, the ones to the main gym. We can check it out together. Actually, would your name even be on there?" Candice thought to herself, considering that she was one of the few people who were made aware of Adaline's presence. The taping schedule wasn't usually subject to the change unless there was an injury, but producers were known edited the cards last minute to accommodate random returns and debuts before, at least once the talent found out.

The woman in question just shrugged in response. "Beats me. It doesn't hurt to look, right?"

"Then, we can check out the travel schedule. Ooh, I hope you're coming with us to the midwest loop at the end of the month!" Candice became giddy. "We'll hit the road together, no men! I wish we got to do that more often when you were in Cali."

Adaline didn't get the opportunity to do so often, but she loved wrestling in The Golden State and especially in PWG. When she worked with them in the past, she always travelled and hung out with Candice.

"I don't think so, but probably the next one?" she shrugged.

The two began chatting more for the next few minutes, mostly about Adaline settling in and her new house. Always the lazy type, she'd been procrastinating and the boxes in her home were left untouched, despite her promising herself that she would get it all out. The small talk about something other than wrestling for once settled the restlessness in Adaline, a small distract of sorts.

It wasn't like she disliked talking about wrestling, rather it was all that seemed to be on her mind for the past while since Wrestlemania. Somehow, it was the first time Adaline really took notice of that, considering she lived, breathed, and ate wrestling for the past sixteen years of her life. A part of her felt worrisome for the sudden awareness of it, wondering it had any relation to her other career concerns.

Unfortunately, the brief, sweet wrestling-free moment was cut short when the locker room door slammed open.

Everyone knew who Shayna Baszler was, or at least, every woman in the company did. After all, the current NXT Women's Champion was probably next in line to overtake your spot in the animal kingdom. Management wanted to push her to lead the division once she would inevitably leave NXT and become a box office draw for all of the big pay-per-views and tours and media.

Some said that Shayna was one of, if not, the most intimidating women on the NXT roster and bore a vicious gaze. Even upon entering the locker room that was nearly empty, her presence demanded attention. All eyes drew to her so naturally and so quickly as they tore away from her out of fear.

"Out of my way," was all she had to say to Adaline, not even flinching at the sight of the veteran and former women's champion.

Adaline zoned out for a moment, completely baffled by the attitude that she was just given. She couldn't help but scoff, trying to process the disrespect that was being shown to her.

She narrowed her eyes at Shayna. "The hell did you just say to me?"

In between them, Candice just sighed. It seemed like that she wanted to end what was going to be an ugly dispute early, but something held her back. Adaline hoped it wasn't out of intimidation by the former mixed martial artist.

Shayna stared back at the woman in front of her. "You think you can just waltz in here and act like you got this brand on lock? They get tired of you on the main roster and Japan couldn't offer you enough money, so you come down here to fuck around?"

Adaline wanted to find out how Shayna found out that she was going to be here, but that wasn't the main concern of hers. Her jaw nearly dropped to the ground, hearing Shayna's words. Clearly, she didn't like her or some rumours already began to float around backstage. Regardless, Adaline was already on the bad side of the de facto locker room leader.

With the fury running through her body, though, she didn't give a damn.

"I'm going to say this once, so you better listen up," Shayna began, "I think you're entitled. I think that you've ridden on the coattails of your ex-boyfriend for your entire career. So, I don't like you. Plain and simple."

"You think you know me?" Adaline's voice began to rise, but Shayna held up a hand and didn't let her finish.

She said, "Maybe for you, being here is like a little vacation before someone like Ashley Flair gets injured and creative will need another spoiled brat to bury their women's division with on Smackdown. For some of us, NXT is our entire lives. Don't mess that up for us."

With that, Shayna bumped Adaline's shoulder when she walked away to the other side of the room and behind a wall to another area of lockers. All she could hear after was the stomping of boots and the slamming of a metal door open. Meanwhile, she was in complete shock of the conversation that just happened, wondering if she just imagined it.

Looking at Candice's sheepish expression, though, it confirmed that Shayna Baszler did indeed strut right up to Adaline and cussed out one of the scariest warnings that the latter had ever heard in her life.

"Honestly, she gives that talk to every new girl," Candice said in a low voice, as she ushered Adaline out of the locker room.

"You can't be serious," Adaline shot back, still worked up over what happened. It took all the will in her body to not barge right back in and swing at Shayna's smug face.

The target was now on her back and she had yet to even step into the yellow brand's ring. If she was being honest, it was definitely a wake up call to where she was now and the expectations weighing down on her shoulders. She didn't know what she was supposed to do. She didn't even want to be here. Adaline wouldn't admit it out loud, but she was terrified for the first time in years.

#adam cole imagine #adam cole fanfiction #adam cole x reader #wwe fanfic #nxt fanfic #wwe imagine #hm series

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mustangshelby04 · 4 years

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Boston Boy - Marriage Advice

This is just me being a little catty towards a certain ex while giving you guys more looks at our favorite couple’s married life.

Kate played another round of peek-a-boo with her and Chris’ nine-month-old daughter. They were in LA for the premiere of Gifted, Chris’ movie that he had been filming when he and Kate met. He had been super nostalgic over this press tour. When he had filmed Ellen the day before, he had actually opened up to her about what it was like being a newlywed and new father to their daughter. It had made Kate tear up.

Her excitement was through the roof for today, though. After the premiere, she and Chris were taking Madison over to Twitch and Allison’s house for dinner. Twitch had remembered their talk from the year before and had invited them as soon as they had walked into the studio.

“Kate, we need to get you dressed and finished, babe.” Jenn said, walking over to Kate and making faces at Madison.

“Ok.” Her hair was up in rollers, but her makeup had been done already. “Mom!”

“On it!” Helena came in and took Kate’s seat while her daughter kissed Madison’s cheek and went back to the master bedroom.

Chris was working on tying his tie and Kate nodded appreciatively. “That suit is going to look so good on you, baby.” She said.

“Not half as good as you will in that dress.” He winked and she grinned. Jenn made a gagging sound as she grinned at the couple and got to work on Kate’s hair. “Seriously, Jenn, this dress is gorgeous.” Chris ran a hand over the forest green fabric of the A-line, deep V-neck dress with a beautiful train and a high slit.

“I thought it would accentuate her hourglass figure and show off her amazing shoulders and legs.” Jenn said. “Seriously, Kate, you have amazing shoulders and legs.”

“Thank you.” Kate said, blushing. “What shoes did you choose?”

“The nude Filamenta strappy Louboutin sandals.”

“I love you.”

“You get to keep them.”

“Oh my god, marry me?”

Jenn laughed as Chris whipped around. “Um….” He held his hands out in a clear what-the-fuck motion.

“Look, it doesn’t have to be a legal marriage, but Jenn and I are going to have the ceremony. I need to lock her down for life.”

“I’d be honored, babe.” Jenn said.

“Six months in and she’s already moving on to a second marriage.” Chris muttered playfully.

“Ok, go finish getting dressed out there so I can finish getting your wife ready.”

Thirty minutes later, Kate walked out looking like an old Hollywood goddess. She had added some baby-lights to her hair recently to make it a tad bit blonder at Jenn’s insistence. She had been right, of course. The baby-lights looked really good with her porcelain skin and it really popped with the long beach waves that Jenn had done with her hair tonight.

Chris let out a long, low whistle when he saw her. He was holding Madison and looked at the baby with a grin. “Your mom looks gorgeous, huh?”

“I can agree with that assessment.” Helena said, situating her daughter’s train. “But I’ve always thought that.”

Megan walked into the room from Chris’ office. “Good. We need to get moving. We’re going to be running late if we don’t leave now.”

“That was my fault.” Kate said. “I wanted to feed Maddie before we left.”

“It’s ok.” Megan made a beeline for the door.

“Mom….”

“We’ll be fine here.” Helena said, taking Madison from Chris. “I’ll see you later. Have fun.”

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

The premiere for Gifted wasn’t nearly as large as the Civil War premiere. It was much more chill in comparison. Kate felt a lot more at ease and she and Chris posed happily together. The press asked Chris questions about his marriage and baby, even directing questions at Kate herself. Megan was great at helping Kate navigate the press. They stood together while Chris took pictures with the cast and director.

“Is that Jenny Slate?” Kate asked Megan.

“In the floral dress, yeah.” Megan confirmed.

“Hmm….”

“What?”

“I’m not a jealous person by nature, but I don’t like how she’s pawing or looking at my husband.” Megan looked a little nervous. “Meg?”

“Before Chris met you, he and Jenny were very flirtatious.”

“Huh.”

“What ‘huh’?”

“Just…. Huh.” Kate never let her smile waver. She knew the cameras were always watching.

“She’s married.”

“So is he, but that’s not stopping her from trying to flirt with him.”

“She’s not doing anymore press for the movie with him after this. He’s strictly with McKenna and Octavia.”

“Good.”

Megan grinned at Kate and Kate laughed slightly. Chris came over and took Kate’s hand. They finished walking the press line and headed into the theatre. “What were you and Megan talking about?”

“You and Jenny Slate.”

“Really?”

“She said you two were really flirty before we met.”

“Oh. I mean, I guess, but she’s married. I wouldn’t ever….”

“I know you wouldn’t.”

“What does that mean?”

“Come on, Chris. Are you completely blind? That woman was all over you.”

“For pictures.” Kate rolled her eyes at her husband. “Kat, seriously…. She’s a nice person.”

“I love you, but you are such a dude!”

“What?”

“Chris!” McKenna Grace came bouncing up and tugged on Chris’ arm. “Is this her?” The little girl’s eyes looked up at Kate excitedly.

“Yeah, McKenna, this is Kate.” Chris said with a big smile. “Kate, this is McKenna.”

“I’m so excited to finally meet you!” McKenna wrapped her arms around Kate’s waist. “Chris came back to set and he just couldn’t stop talking about you. You really are the prettiest!”

Kate laughed. “Thank you! He told me a lot about you, too. I’m really excited to see you in the movie.”

“You are?!”

“I am! Chris couldn’t say enough good things about you.”

“Chris!” McKenna giggled shyly which made Chris laugh. “Kate, you look really pretty. I love your dress.”

“Thank you so much. I love your dress, too. The sparkles are really cool.”

“Thank you!” McKenna’s mother called her over. “I have to go to my mom. I hope you like the movie.”

“I’m sure I will. It was lovely to meet you.” McKenna hugged Kate again before running off. “She is just the sweetest thing.”

“So, I’m such a dude?” Chris asked, steering the conversation back to before McKenna came over.

“Yes. Right now, it means that you’re completely oblivious to the fact that someone is hitting on you.”

“I swear she’s not….”

“She totally was.” Megan said, coming over.

“You’re ganging up on me?”

“Of course we are. Seriously, Chris, watch out for Jenny. She’ll get you in trouble.” Chris threw his arms up in defeat. “Ok, let’s head into the theatre. They’re going to do introductions after the movie.”

As they headed for their assigned seats, Chris looked down at Kate. “I wouldn’t ever pursue her.”

“I know.” Kate said, squeezing his hand. “It’s not you I’m worried about.”

“Do you want me to say something to her?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Chris helped Kate situate her dress as she sat down before he sat beside her. “Are you planning something?”

“Nope.”

“Kat….”

Kate chuckled and leaned over to kiss her husband, running her fingers along his neck in the way she knew he liked. He shuddered in pleasure and she grinned against his lips. When they broke apart, Kate directed her gaze right at Jenny as she made her way to the seats behind Chris and Kate. She gave Kate a tight grin before sitting down.

“That suit really does look amazing on you.” Kate said, adjusting Chris’ tie as she crossed her legs, using the slit to expose one of them from mid-thigh down.

Chris didn’t miss the bare leg. He reached out and ran his hand along her knee and thigh. “I really love this dress.”

“Me too, but it’s a rental.”

“Can I buy it for you so you can just wear it around the house?”

Kate laughed. “I love you, you big dork.”

“I love you, too.” He leaned over and kissed her again.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

Kate stood with Chris at the afterparty. McKenna wasn’t there, but the rest of the cast and crew were. Chris had proudly introduced her to everyone. Octavia had given Kate the warmest hug and then Kate had promptly expressed her admiration for the actress. The two women had talked about growing up in the South and even picked on Chris for being a ‘damn Yankee. He jokingly took offense to that and corrected them by saying he’s a “diehard Red-Sox fan and don’t forget it.”

Chris looked down at his watch. “We need to leave soon if we’re going to make it home to pick up Maddie and head over to Twitch and Allison’s house.”

“Ok.” Kate took a sip of her champagne and set it down on a nearby table. “I need to pee.”

He chuckled. “I’ll be waiting right here.”

When Kate walked out of the bathroom, she rolled her eyes. Jenny hadn’t come near her or Chris since the movie had ended. She’d had to watch the couple make doe eyes at each other throughout the film. Chris had kissed Kate’s hand or temple constantly and wrapped her in his arms when she had cried. Now Jenny had slunk over when Kate hadn’t been near Chris.

Poor Chris looked super uncomfortable and his eyes brightened when he spotted his wife walking up behind Jenny. Kate purposely slid between Jenny and her husband, kissing Chris for good measure, and then smiling brightly when he wrapped his arm tightly around her. She finally turned and acknowledged Jenny.

“Hi, we haven’t met. I’m Kate Evans, Chris’ wife and the mother of his daughter.” Kate said, not offering her hand.

“I heard you got married, Chris.” Jenny squawked.

“I did. We got married in October.”

“I bet you looked so handsome.”

“He did.” Kate snapped.

“My wife looked so much better than I ever could.” Chris said.

“Our daughter kind of stole the show, though.”

“She did! That little dress you chose was too cute on her.”

“Thank you, baby.” Kate kissed him quickly. “We need to get going.”

He looked at his watch.“Oh shit! We do. I’ll grab Megan and let her know we need the car pulled around.”

“Ok.” Kate watched Chris rush off and she looked at Jenny. “Look, if you’re not happy in your marriage, leave it. But stay away from my husband. He’s quite happy in his marriage.”

“I….” Jenny started.

“Save it. I know about the flirtatious banter before Chris and I met. I don’t care about that. I care about you flirting with him now. I care about you putting your hands on my husband where they don’t belong.”

“Babe!” Chris called, waving her over.

“If you’re not happy, find a way to get happy. Talk to your husband and stay away from mine. Have a nice life.” Kate gave Jenny a sarcastic smile as she walked to catch up with Chris.

“What did you say?” Chris asked, wrapping his arm around her waist and glancing at Jenny’s stunned face.

“Oh, I was just giving her some marriage advice.” Kate smiled up at Chris. “I think we’re doing well enough that I can dole some out.”

He eyed her for a moment, but relented when she kept her smile at him. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, baby. Now let’s go get our baby and hang out with some new friends!” Kate kissed him as they walked through the exit doors together.

Tag List

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#Chris Evans #Kate Allen O/C #Chris Evans/Kate Allen #chris evans fanfic #chris evans fanfiction #Boston Boy

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i-writeandread-blog · 5 years

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A Portrait of a Tortured You and I - Chapter 5

His tongue was tangled with mine, dancing around my mouth. He tasted sweet and the way he smelled was utterly divine. I didn't want to break away for anything let alone air, but it had to happen. I was both exhilarated and drunk on his entire being. The dichotomy not lost on me. My head was spinning. In that moment I would have given anything to have him rip off my clothes and take me right there. I didn't realize how much I missed the touch of a man, but I was made fully aware by one kiss.

He completely pulled away from me and I felt a surge of panic moving it's way up through my chest. He regretted it. The kiss changed his mind. Fuck! This is what I knew would happen. He turned around and saw me.

"No, no, no kitty cat. It was perfect. I just needed some distance because I could have fucked you right on this rock in front of everyone." Jared squashed the doubt in my head running rampant.

"That would have been nice." I said coyly.

"You're gonna be trouble, aren't you? I'm an old man you know!" He joked. "Maybe you're not as shy as you seem, hmm?" He walked back over to me and ran his fingers through my hair. "I look forward to finding out your true self. But that will have to wait. For now, I'm going to walk you back to your cabin and make an appearance around the island."

He descended the rocks and helped me down the last section onto the beach. Taking my hand in his and lacing his fingers through mine, he said a simple thank you, then took my hand to his mouth for a chaste kiss.

We walked about a hundred feet and then he let go of my hand. I knew what this meant. We would be getting closer to the activity of the others, crew and Echelon. I understood. We were meant to be just fan and celebrity for the duration of camp. I had to from this minute going forward, slide right back into who I was three hours ago. It shouldn't be too hard, but I was a typical girl that wanted to immediately jump head first into all things Jared. I had to resist that urge regardless of where we were. It had been the demise of all my relationships, I'm sure. I got too needy, too quickly.

As we walked further and further towards the tents, cabins, and facilities, he started walking faster and faster to where I was lagging behind. By the time we saw the first few people meandering around I was at least ten yards from him. People immediately started bombarding him. I guess most of these people were either new to Mars or never had been to any camps/ vip's. You didn't see that happen much in Malibu. People would stop and wave, say a quick hello, maybe he'd talk to a few people here and there, but there wasn't any bombarding.

He didn't seem to mind and once it happened it alerted a few of the counselors. About five minutes later Kennon was by his side to escort him around unscathed. It was the first time I had seen her, surprisingly. I took the chance to explore this part of camp and took in all the sights, sounds, and smells.

Everyone and everything was so colorful and the atmosphere was light and cheery. I was now more than ever so overjoyed to be here. I finally spotted people I knew. Not only knew, but these were MY people. My friends. Dana, Jen, Trish, Joey, Rachel and Mike were all over by the pool. I waved at them and then made a mad dash to be by their sides.

I had met each of them through the years at various events, and together we had all become the most eclectic group. We mostly only had Mars in common, with the exception of Rachel also being a writer. She was more successful than I, as she just completed her first novel and had sent it out into the publishing world. I was only slightly envious of her tenacity, but she cheered me on and gave me words of encouragement to keep powering through my block. It was her I needed to see and thank the most.

"Oh. My. God. You guys." I drew out the z sound on guys... I grabbed Rachel and hugged her. "I'm writing. Well sort of. I wrote two chapters earlier. They're not any good, but I'm writing. Thanks for encouraging me!"

"Catherine, I knew you could do it! I'm sure they're really fantastic!" She exclaimed.

"Chatty catty, if you don't get over here and fondle me right now, I just know something isn't right." Joey said laughing. He was the funniest one of us all. I wrapped my arms around his waist and squeezed his butt as he did the same to me.

"Get a room!" Dana said.

The next few minutes we caught up. I told them about my upgrade and they all agreed that I deserved it. Not a one of them felt slighted or upset. These really were my friends and cheerleaders.

Everyone was in their swimsuits but me and as we were all talking, I walked dangerously close to the edge when Mike got close and pretended to push me. I almost fell in from trying to avoid him. Everyone laughed until Natalie actually walked by me and sent me flying in anyway. People were shocked and I heard a few muttering around saying that it was wrong of her. The next thing I knew there was a splash next to me. I didn't see who it was, but I wasn't in the dark long. People were cheering and jumping in left and right. It was Jared, fully clothed. He came up for air, saying to me and only me: "You fall, I fall. Fuck her."

It was honestly the sweetest gesture and he had no idea how much it meant. He actually stayed in the pool and played with everyone. He periodically dunked and splashed people, even partaking in a game of water volleyball, if one could call it that. About thirty minutes later, he got out. Everyone was staring including me. His clothes were clinging to all the right parts of his body. He lifted his shirt up and over his head and the sounds of ovaries exploding left and right made him turn to us all and wag his finger at us.

"Ladies ladies... there's nothing to see here."

Joey chimed in and said, "That's right ladies, he's all mine." Jared busted a gut at that and went full on Rayon. "That's right, honey. I'm all yours." He slapped his butt.

The hilarity was too much. After the snickering died down, Jared told everyone how much fun he had, but that he needed his rest because he was of course an old man. Why he insisted on saying that all the time, I'll never know. He was younger at heart than any of us and God knows he looked it too.

I finally emerged from the pool and Trish, who had not gotten in brought me a towel. A few counselors were walking around telling us that there was a campfire with s'mores and a sing along in ten minutes. I wasn't too keen on either the s'mores or singing, but I wanted to warm up by the fire. I invited everyone to come check out my bungalow while I went back to change. Everyone was eager to see what they looked like.

"So this is how the rich live?" Mike said.

"Oooh does the mini fridge have alcohol?" Joey opened the door. "Whaa! It doesn't."

"Joey, you know camp is dry..." Dana added.

I went into the bathroom while they all looked around. When I emerged, they all hushed. "What?" I asked wanting to know what they were talking about. And in unison they asked, "who did this for you?"

"I can't say."

"But you know, don't you?" Said Rachel.

"Yes." That was all I could tell them. Shannon didn't want even me to know, let alone my quirky pals.

"Okay... it's just kind of crazy, if you ask me. When I asked how much the packages were, I was told 13,500 dollars. But keep the secret." Dana seemed annoyed.

"Maybe she isn't allowed to say? Maybe it was Jared and she had to sign an NDA." Joey joked. "Is that it, honey? Are you and Jared having a clandestine affair?" My cheeks became flushed. He was only half right. Geez, this was going to be hard to keep from them.

I shook my head, but was afraid my body would give me away. They left well enough alone and we left to go find the campfire. Upon arrival I noticed Natalie off to the side flagrantly gawking at me. It was unnerving.

"What's her deal, y'all? Like does anyone have any idea why she is acting this way? Last year, she was fine." I knew none of them knew because we had discussed this right after the Vyrt incident, but Jen who had been conspicuously quiet most of the evening shifted her feet. I was almost certain she knew something and I was positive this is why she was being so muted.

"Okay, Jen. Spill the beans. What's going on?" I was going to get her to talk if it killed me.

"Ugh, alright Catherine. But I'm warning you, you may not like what I say." I acquiesced and let her know to continue. "Remember the last night of camp?" I vaguely did... "you know, when we had church of mars? You went onstage during Rescue Me, along with Natalie and several other people." I did remember that, and I was fairly certain I was about to have a lightbulb moment. "Jared danced over to you and winked at you. It was subtle. No one from the crowd noticed, but Natalie did. Then he twirled you around. Not once did he really pay Nat any attention, but he was all over you." I let her words sink in. But I was obviously in denial about what happened that night because I don't remember him being paying particularly any more attention to me than anyone else.

"Oh Cat, come on! He was all about you. You have to remember that?" She added. "Okay, Jen, lets say that is how it happened. What difference does it make? I've seen him do the same with her before." I said.

"Yes, but she took it to mean that you were being flirty with him."

"Uhhh all women are flirty with him!"

"Yeah, but she actually think she has a shot with him. You can't be this naive. You've seen her Facebook posts where she says she's in love with him and she calls him her man. She's actually delusional. She thinks you're trying to steal her man." Jen looked over at Natalie and shook her head mouthing "nutjob."

"I suppose this makes sense. But to go the lengths she has seems too crazy, even for the most rabid of Echies."

"It doesn't stop there. At the last show of the tour, in Phoenix... you went with your sisters. You had VIP, your sisters decided last minute to come to the show and they didn't have it. So you were conflicted about it."

"Yeah, but I went in and left them behind at their behest."

“Yeah, well when you and Trish were talking about how you felt bad about them not being able to come inside and none of you had the extra money to pay for them to do it. Well, she overheard Jared... who must have heard you two talking, he... well he said to someone to make sure at the end during Closer to the Edge, that anyone that was with you, got up on stage. She saw him point directly at you. You and Trish were too busy talking to notice, but she saw it."

This was all so surreal. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I remembered them being pulled onto stage and how excited they were. We were all at the back of the pit because my sister was slightly claustrophobic. I was surprised that someone had come to us and told us to go up. The memory of how it happened was a blur now. But it was slowly coming back.

"So, I was online a few weeks after she attacked you on Vyrt and saw she had posted about this all, and how she was going to make sure you couldn't get close to Jared again. I'm pretty sure she's even more pissed off now, that you're doing the VIP. I'd really watch your back around her, Catherine. I don't think she's finished trying to ruin you."

I looked at Natalie and noticed the devilish grin on her face. I think Jen is right. Natalie had something up her sleeve and I was certain things were going to go south fast.

@msroxyblog @callmeasyoulove

#thirty seconds to mars #30 seconds to mars #jared leto #campmars #marsisland #shannon leto #jaredandcat #jaredleto #jared leto fic #jared leto fiction #jared leto fan fiction #jared leto fanfiction #jared leto fanfic #jared leto fanfics #aportraitofatorturedyouandi chapter 5

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theodorasutton · 5 years

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Digital Anthropology and Formula 1

This blogpost starts with my entry to the DHL competition, which offers my own way into Formula 1, through the drama and personalities of the sport. After my entry, I’ve written my ideas for researching Formula 1 from the perspective of digital anthropology.

My Formula 1 Moment

A few months ago I entered a Formula 1 competition to describe my best F1 moment. I wrote a really heartfelt description and went to submit it, only to find out it was about 5 times too long. I cut it down, submitted, but knew it wasn’t any good. I decided to share the original version and describe my way into the sport which I absolutely never expected myself to like - here it is:

March, 2018. My boyfriend had been watching the Formula 1. The qualifying had ended, and now there was a press conference.

I had never been interested in sport, certainly not one that was so clinical and confusing as Formula 1. For me, all the drivers blurred into one, some seemed to wear red, others wore white, and all of them seemed strangely keen to wear logo embellished headgear. Here they were, three of them, herded behind some microphones, giving stilted answers to press questions. Distracted and on my phone, I was impatient for the end of the program so that we could watch something interesting. "I can assure you we don't have a party mode,” one of them was saying. "I used the same mode from Q2 to the end of Q3. There was no extra mode, no extra button I engaged in." "What were you doing before, then?” The guy in red asked him, taking a sip from his drink and smiling mischievously. "I was waiting to put a good lap in…” The guy in white said, “to wipe the smile off your face,” he added under his breath, with an extra dash of sass. Was he angry, or was he joking? It was hard to tell. The two of them seemed to be rigid with tension, but keen to put on a good show for the cameras. The guy in white patted the guy in red’s arm, insisting that he was only joking. The awkwardness was palpable, and the exchange had my full attention. The other guy in red, sitting on the right, however, seemed to be daydreaming. Who was this guy in white, who my boyfriend told me was winning everything? What planet had he landed from, that gave him the ability to win races with robotic precision? The guy in red with the mischievous smile seemed to be the underdog, and was endearing. The daydreaming one was pure comedy. “Do they have brawls in the bars after a race?” I asked. “I don’t know,” my boyfriend said. “I’m not sure they can drink. They have to maintain almost no body fat.” I frowned. “I hope the guy in red punches the guy in white,” I said. I envisioned him chucking TVs out of swanky hotel windows. I live for the drama. This was the moment that got me into Formula 1. For the first time I saw inside the machines that zoomed predictably around faraway racetracks. I started to realise that Formula 1 wasn’t just lap times, numbers on a screen, and a choice between hard or soft tyres; it was fundamentally about the people. There were egos, eye watering pay checks, glamorous locations, and a whole lot of pressure. There were feuds, confrontations, and tears. It wasn’t until much later that I realised the physical toll of driving a Formula 1 car, and the gym regime that accustomed drivers’ bodies to immense forces while going round the track. I had thought drivers were just pressing buttons inside a machine, but these were athletes putting their lives on the line. Lewis wasn’t always so sassy. He usually spoke with the measured words of a religious guru, emphasising gratitude and hard work. Meditating, praying, exercising, and listening to the right song before a race were apparently what helped him achieve his super-human results. We jubilantly listened to a Christina Aguilera where he was rumoured to perform a hilarious and cringeworthy rap. “Imagine all the other drivers teasing him with it,” I said. It took me a while to realise that Sebastian was a four-time world champion. His voice was low and disinterested while he gave clamouring journalists a run through of his race. In Bahrain, in 2019, Lewis seemed to make him spin on the track through pure intimidation. After races, we watched eagerly for the private moment when the top three drivers would meet in the break room, wipe the sweat off their faces, shake hands, and grimace after two hours of ruthless competition. Was the loser completely crushed? What would they say to one another now that they were face to face? But it was Kimi who became the most entertaining of the three from the press conference that day. Often giving nonsensical answers to journalists (that started with the sound “bwoah”) or pretending to not hear them, he, too, was mischievous and clearly hated any kind of ceremony that stopped him either driving very fast, or going home. His elusiveness made me increasingly curious, and I searched for entertaining stories, finding ones about him napping on piles of tyres, drunkenly diving off a stage with no crowd to catch him, or screaming “gloves and steering wheel!” to a bewildered pit crew. Since that moment in March 2018 I’ve learned more about what really makes Formula 1 tick. I’ll be honest, I still switch off when people start talking about technical specs. But I love to watch the drivers, team principles, and pundits, when they find a way to say everything with just a look in their eyes, or a quiet dig at a competitor. I love it when there’s gossip and wild predictions, and memes to be made. I never thought I would love a sport like I love Formula 1 now, but it was the people - and Lewis’ sass - that got me where I am now.

Digital Anthropology and Formula 1

Through getting my head around F1, I’ve unsurprisingly thought about it in terms of my own research into digital anthropology - or how technology is part of our social world today. I truly know nothing about sport, so I may be wrong, but it seems that F1 is the most technologically mediated sport there is. Rather than athletes who test their physical capabilities, the drivers’ abilities are mediated through a machine, which could be working well, or could be crawling round the track. That machine has been built from the ground up, bolt by bolt, by engineers constantly trying to improve on the vision of the four-wheeled vehicle. They don’t simply drive the same car at each race, it’s continuously evolving and being tinkered with by the team and its engineers in-between weekends.

F1 car aerodynamics Rather than watching the race directly, the teams themselves watch a row of television screens. For starters, the circuit is too big to see in one go, and the noises are too loud to expose your ears to. To experience F1, even for those participating, necessitates cameras and microphones and screens. But the teams are not only watching footage of the race, but endless numbers dancing in front of their eyes, listing speed for each sector, tyre wear, temperatures, and predictions. What secret software do they rely upon to give them an advantage over others - what algorithms are at work, invisibly measuring and shaping the race? Do they have the problem of too much data - data saturation or InfoObesity - where they can learn no more, or they struggle to store, protect, or analyse the information flying at them?

Renault’s Pit Wall, Singapore GP

Pit wall display screen, from Reddit

While the celebrity drivers of F1 plummet themselves around a track several centimetres away from the tarmac - sometimes losing up to 3 litres of water and 4kg in one race - F1 is equally a mathematical sport. This interplay of bodies and technology, personality and data, is fascinating. If I were to design a research project on F1, it would ask how these aspects of the sport are reconciled. What relationship do the teams have with their technology? Are strategies based more on digital information - “The computer says we should do this, so we’ll do it"? Or do they put their faith in people like Hamilton, knowing that his judgment in split seconds would prevail?

Masculinity and aggression would be important themes. Comparing Formula 1 to my limited knowledge of football or rugby, where frustration can be taken out with shouting, running, tumbling, or even brief fights, I wonder if F1 is more of a restrained, poised sport, played behind a veil of respectability, where resentment comes out not physically, but in catty, underhand plays, spies, cutting people out, or perhaps insistently pronouncing your name wrong. My suggestion that Hamilton might throw some TVs out of a window was an attempt to understand where that necessary frustration ends up. A clip of Ricciardo screaming with his helmet still on, Verstappen shoving Ocon, or Schumacher marching furiously up the pit lane towards Coulthard, pulls back the curtain. Behind the scenes, what dastardly behaviour lurks? I also wonder how the teams would take failure differently if they were all women. After both Red Bull cars were taken out of the same race, I remember saying to my boyfriend that “I wouldn’t want to be in a room full of those angry Red Bull workers.” When Haas repeatedly have outbursts on their radios, they seem to be transgressing an invisible rule of Formula 1, that anger is a private matter. What other invisible rules are there that shape team behaviour, and create friction between them?

Haas team principle Gunther Steiner’s outburst at Sochi, for which he was fined $7500

At the same time, while teams seem keen to control their presentation, moments of intense emotion, and authentic reactions of the drivers and pit crew, give fans something to go on. How does Formula 1 balance its primary purpose - the need to be entertaining, with the teams' clear desire to maintain professionalism and secrecy? In 2017, F1 released YouTube videos of the post race driver briefings, which featured drivers sat in rows like bored schoolboys. The videos are extremely entertaining, mostly due to the comedic camerawork and Grosjean attempting to get other drivers into trouble - but the uploads have since stopped, possibly because it was too much of an invasion into the meetings. Netflix’s 2019 series “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” gave us a behind the scenes look, and helped us meet the personalities in F1 and empathise with their stories and struggles. In the recent On The Marbles podcast, Lee McKenzie explains that one reason why AutoSport is going out of print is the on-brand messages from the teams are too bland and repetitive for the price of the magazine. My own entry to the DHL competition displays my feeling that the sport needs drama to continue. This tension plays out everywhere. As the stewards continue to penalise small errors in driving, they curtail more of the scrappy, fight-y racing that the drivers seem to enjoy as much as the spectators, resulting in races that are “boring” and “processional.” Rather than relying on printed interviews, fans may be turning to social media to connect more closely with the characters in the sport. Through Instagram, Reddit, and YouTube, fans create memes based on the funniest moments on and off track, some of which endure for months.

Left: A fan’s take on Haas’ “I think Ericsson hit us”. Right: The radio message to Kimi Raikkonen when his drink was not connected The McLaren driver Lando Norris, only 19 years old, posts stories on his Instagram most days, and welcomes the playful Internet world of memes and ridiculousness in a way that breaks with the usual “robotic monotony” of drivers. It turns out that in his spare time, when he’s not racing in real life, he enjoys racing Verstappen on a video game. In this way, through following them on Instagram, fans can see relationships between the drivers - in a recent example, Ricciardo and Leclerc teased each other on their own respective Instagram accounts during a shared flight. Technology is playing a role, then, not only in the broadcasting of sport, but in the way that fans can relate to F1 and its personalities, by viewing mundane and everyday moments that span much further than the race weekend.

Left: Ricciardo’s selfie with sleeping teammate Verstappen Middle: Norris’ Instagram, teasing his teammate Sainz Right: Leclerc jokes about a misspelling of his name

Research Outline

Taking an academic view of Formula 1 Absolutely Totally Seriously, I would propose viewing it through the idea of Rationality. Rationality has come up in my work on digital detoxing, where in a “Disenchanted” modern world, we perceive that technological progress explains the world down to neat facts and figures. We can bend the world to our own ends, since everything becomes calculable. To act rationally would be to do things for the intended goal, without the need for guesswork or fate.

Interpreting Formula 1 in these terms, the sport splits into its Rational and Irrational aspects. On the one hand, teams design machines using cutting edge technology, and sensors and numbers tell them how to optimise the car to be more likely to win. On the other hand, the teams are made of people, who are emotional, or rather irrational - who might in fact be the key ingredient for winning (like the magical je ne sais quoi of Lewis Hamilton or Ayrton Senna), or who might require motivating, might cause problems, or make mistakes.

I would hypothesise that the teams themselves prefer a rational view of F1. They want everything to be predictable, structured, cool, calm and collected. However, in order to survive, in order to entertain, the sport requires Irrationality - drama, friction, emotion, personality. Also under this heading would be fate, luck, the driver’s own headspace and personal life. A research project of Formula 1 would look at how the teams manage tension between these two aspects - and I would aim to answer questions through an ethnography of team culture.

My research questions would be something like this.

How do the teams incorporate digital technology into their work, and do Formula 1 teams rely more on technology, or on human skill?

What norms are there around emotion in Formula 1, and how is emotion managed by the teams?

How do Formula 1 teams balance the need to be entertaining with the need to win, and how is social media changing their relationship to this?

I better get back to my thesis.

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travllingbunny · 5 years

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The 100 rewatch: 1x06 His Sister’s Keeper

I’m a new fan of The 100, who first binged it last year, August to November. This is my first full rewatch of the show. I was planning to start it anyway and finish it before the season 6 premiere on April 30, and when I saw that Fox Serbia was airing a rerun (Monday to Friday, 40 min. after midnight, with repeats the next day), starting on 1st February, it was a great opportunity to start my rewatch in HDTV on my beautiful new TV. I decided to do write-ups and tag other fans on SpoilerTV website, as I did when I was first watching the show. But my posts turned into full blown essays. So, finally, after over a week, I’ve realized: Why don’t I post them on my Tumblr blog, too? I’ll copy my write-ups of the first 7 episodes, and then I’ll post my rewatch posts after I watch each episode. (The next one, 1x08, is on Monday’Tuesday.)

Spoilers below for all 5 seasons of the show. I go of on a tangents and make a lot of references to future events.

Rating: 8/10

Flashbacks to characters' past on the Ark are always one of my favorite things. i wish we'd get more of them. So far, IIRC, there's just been 3 episodes with flashbacks - 1x03, this one, and Join or Die in season 3. They really did a good job making both Bob and Marie look younger in the flashbacks. I do think that telling a 6 year old child it's his responsibility to take care of his sister is messed up, but on the other hand, what choice did Aurora Blake have? I can't judge her for it, since she was in a terrible situation, and it's the Ark system that's to blame for it all. And I've seen people hate on Aurora way too much. Some even go as far as to bring up that terrible "poor people should not have kids" argument, which is awful (classism, eugenics..). . (Another mini-rant upcoming) Speaking of weird things I've seen said in the fandom, I was really puzzled to learn that a lot of people did not realize Bellamy and Octavia have different fathers, and act like that's a big surprise, or that I've even seen people say that "the show never gave indication that they were half-siblings"?? WTF? The show never gave any indication that they were anything but half-siblings. For starters, I don't know why those two being full siblings would be anyone's default assumption, or why some people apparently think that women can't conceiving children with more than one man in their lifetime and that half-siblings are such a weird, rare and unheard of thing? But once you've seen this episode, the probability that they have the same father becomes microscopic. They're 6 years apart, there is no father in sight when Octavia is born, no one ever mentions a father, and Aurora is not in a regular relationship with anyone at the time Octavia is born. If Octavia's father died or was floated, it would have happened very recently, and they would have certainly mentioned it. In fact, I think that they would have definitely mentioned it if either of them knew they had a father who had been floated. I'm not sure what the deal was with Bellamy's father, whether Aurora had a serious relationship with him, whether he was around when Bellamy was very little and what happened to him (but even if he was in the picture at any point, he clearly couldn't have been around much, because Bellamy never mentions him), but in case of Octavia's father, he's clearly not in the picture and it's almost certain Octavia doesn't even know who he is. The two biggest revelations of the flashbacks were: that Octavia was discovered when Bellamy tried to let her have a life, for the first time, by taking her to see the Moon through the window and taking her to the dance to have fun and meet people; and that Shumway was the one who made Bellamy shoot Jaha in exchange for a place on the dropship. Not the greatest mystery The 100 has done - it was always going to be one of the few notable characters on the Ark, it was getting obvious it was not Kane, Diana hasn't even been introduced at this point, and the show never made the whole Jaha - Diana conflict remotely interesting or meaningful. Just how awful would have the lives of the Blake siblings been if they had spent their lives on the Ark? Octavia would have probably never met anyone other than her mother and her brother, never had a chance to have any kind of life except hiding. And Bellamy would have probably never had a real romantic relationship or a close friend (I always assumed he never had any of those on the Ark, because he kept people at a distance), never giving himself a chance to have a family of his own other than his sister, because of having to keep such a huge secret from everyone. Re: the Earth/present part of 1x06, it takes place fully on Earth (which was such a relief for me at the time, because at this point, I was sick of the Ark and hated pretty much every major character there other than Abby) and it's mostly about Bellamy taking a group of Delinquents (including Finn, who was asked to come as a tracker, and a bunch of kids who volunteered) to find Octavia, who was caught saved by Lincoln at the end of 1x05. One of the kids who volunteers is Jasper, the others include Bellamy's FwB Roma, John Mbege, some kid named Diggs, and Monroe (her first appearance). Three of those are redshits that end up killed by the Grounders. The rest almost meet the same fate, if Octavia hadn't asked Lincoln to help save her brother, so he used the signal horn to send a fake warning about the acid fog. which of course had the Grounders running away. I've seen a theory that Bellamy stopped sleeping around (minus that thing with Raven later in S1) because he felt guilty over Roma's death, because, as he says, she only joined the rescue party because of him. It may also be the turning point where he notably starts caring more about all of the Delinquents and not just his sister. As for the scenes with Lincoln and Octavia... eh. Lincoln will get much better writing and become one of my favorite characters in season 2, but in season 1, they were writing him really poorly. He was clearly meant to be mysterious and give the wrong first impression as a scary dangerous dude, which is why he doesn't talk until the very end of 1x07. But that doesn't actually make sense - there's no reason whatsoever, if he's already helping Octavia and doing things not sanctioned by the other Grounders, that he couldn't just talk to her and explain the situation, rather than chaining her up in the cave after healing her. The B subplot is again the love triangle. Or to be fair, the development of the relationship between Clarke and Raven, which is not just about the love triangle. Clarke reveals the info about the shelter to Raven (which Finn is not happy about) and they go together to search for things Raven could use to fix the radio with and contact the Ark. They have a conversation about their mothers, too. Clarke is still very angry at her mother because she blames her for her father's death, but won't talk about it, while Raven thinks Abby is awesome and wishes she had a mother like that, comparing her to her own alcoholic, neglectful mothers. We also learn more about Finn's role in her life - they knew each other as children, and he was the neighborhood boy who was giving her things and helping her survive. Which is consistent with Finn's character - he's always focusing on the girl he's in love with, doing everything for her and doing everything to make sure she feels that she needs him.

Then Raven figures out that Clarke and Finn had hooked up, because she found the origami deer and she's smart, and confronts Clarke about it I don't like the way Raven is catty to Clarke here, as opposed to the fact that she later doesn't confront Finn about it (until much later, when she realizes he's in love with Clarke). I always hate it when women blame only the "other woman", but not their own boyfriend/husband who's the one who cheated. But, again, I love the fact that Clarke absolutely doesn't do the "catty and fighting for a guy" thing. Instead, she points out that she didn't know about Raven.,but also tries to smooth things between Raven and Finn by pointing out that they thought Raven and everyone on the Ark would soon be dead and they would never see them again. This is, however, way, way too generous to Finn, because he was flirting with Clarke already on the dropship and pursued her constantly from day one. But I'm not sure that Clarke is even fully aware of it. She may be thinking that he really wasn't planning on hooking up with her till that moment at the end of 1x04, when he lost hope in contacting the Ark. She has very little romantic experience, after all, and seemed too distracted by everything else happening around them, the fight for survival, trying to save Jasper, Wells' death, the drama with Charlotte etc. to even notice how much Finn was hitting on her. The same way that, in season 2, she was far too distracted by planning the war and worrying about Bellamy and the Delinquents at Mount Weather and didn't seem to notice Lexa giving her heart eyes, until Lexa surprised her by kissing her. She's really not the most attuned to these things. Raven\s remark that "he could have waited for more than 10 days" (yes, exactly) gives us the first explicit clue about the exact timeline. The painful Octavia/Bellamy confrontation at the end of the episode is one of the best dramatic moments on S1. It gets resolved at the end of S1, but now I can't help thinking that it's just the first of the many times throughout all 5 seasons where Octavia blames Bellamy for pretty much everything ever. I remember that Bellamy takes back what he said here in the S1 finale - telling Octavia his life didn't end when she was born, it began - but does Octavia take back any of what she said to him, blaming him for their mother's death and her imprisonment and all? I don't remember that, but I'll pay attention in 1x13.

Timeline and body count at the end of 1x06:

The first 6 episodes took place over 10 days. The first 3 episodes must have been something like a day, then there was a week between episodes 3 and 4, and 4--6 were about a day or two.

Body count:

at least 320 dead people on the Ark, 10 dead Delinquents on the ground: 2 killed in the crash landing (and due to their own stupidity), 3 (Trina, Pascal, Atom) killed by the acid fog (that is, the Mountain Men) - though technically Clarke mercy killed Atom, 2 killed by the Delinquents themselves (Wells - murdered by Charlotte, Charlotte - suicide, mostly sue to pressure from Murphy),, 3 killed by the Grounders (Doggs, Mbege, Roma). "The 100" are The 90 now. As of the start of season 6, they'll be The 4.

#The 100 #the 100 rewatch #the 100 1x06 #His Sister's Keeper #bellamy blake #octavia blake #clarke griffin #raven reyes #lincoln kom trikru #aurora blake

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wazafam · 3 years

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The lovable Joey Tribbiani had a complex character arc and was often a struggling actor with a few regional credits to his name. It took time, but by the end of Friends, Joey was doing well for himself. He had been nominated for a Soapie Award for his work in Days of Our Lives and co-starred in a World War I movie with famed actor, Richard Crosby (played by Gary Oldman).

RELATED: Friends: 10 Nicest Characters, Ranked

Joey was known mostly for loyalty, trustworthiness, and for valuing friendship more than anything in the world. These character traits and a couple more made him the most iconic person on a show essentially about friendship.

10 Survived In The Challenging Acting Business

Not a single member in the group has a story nearly as dynamic as Joey's. He knew there was more to life than paying bills. So, instead of caving to family pressure and going into his father's pipe-fitting business, Joey pursued the field he was actually passionate about. A struggling actor in New York, he had to work a number of survival jobs before he caught his big break.

Joey worked as a cologne sampler, an acting teacher, Christmas tree salesman, museum tour guide, and briefly as a waiter at the gang's hangout spot, Central Perk. The dry spell didn't seem to bog him down, especially because he had cultivated a strong friendship with Chandler who looked out for him.

9 Compelling Character Arc

Joey's slow transformation is the biggest testament to the strength of his character. He didn’t get to promptly work as an actor but nevertheless persevered. He was home in the middle of the day while his friends were hard at work.

Joey's big break came when he was cast as Dr. Drake Ramoray on Days of Our Lives. The stint however didn't last long because he angered the writers by claiming he made up his own lines.

Joey was able to get his Days of Our Lives part back in season 7 of the show. Thereafter, he was shooting a movie with Richard Crosby and throwing soap opera parties on his roof.

8 Astute Remarks

Chandler may be hailed as the king of sarcasm, but sometimes his witty one-liners paled into insignificance when compared with Joey's astute observations. In "The One with the 'Cuffs," while speaking to an encyclopedia salesman, Joey rightly remarked there were a few things in life that couldn't be learned from books.

RELATED: Friends: 10 Times We Related To Joey

Joey also gave clever pieces of advice to his friends, such as when he reminded them their bosses disliked them because they were hanging out at a coffee shop in the middle of a workday.

In the show's pilot, after seeing Paul the wine guy walk out of Monica's bedroom and apartment, Joey made fans laugh when he sarcastically contradicted Monica's earlier statement by asking, "What the hell do you do on a real date?"

7 The Loved One

Joey was unquestionably the adorable one among the group.

Things would many a time turn sour between the friends. Ross and Rachel's on/off relationship inevitably led to conflict and the first time they split, they couldn't stand being in the same room as each other. Ross angered Chandler by fooling around with his mother. The Chandler himself crossed the line when he kissed Joey's girlfriend behind his back. The brother-sister duo, Monica and Ross either bickered about the latter's constant presence in her apartment or blurted out each other's secrets.

Joey was the least catty person of the six. He kept people's secrets and willingly gave up meat during Phoebe's pregnancy.

6 The Man Behind The Famous Pick-Up Line

When Joey wasn't goofing around with Chandler, drinking coffee at Central Perk, or eating his fill at Monica's, he was spending time with the ladies. Chandler and Ross seemed to have the worst luck with women, whereas Joey was quite the charmer.

According to Joey, he would just look a woman up and down say, "Hey, how you doin'?"

Only Matt LeBlanc's Joey could deliver the line with absolute charm. None of the friends could speak in Joey's cadence, much less be able to bowl people over with the iconic catchphrase.

5 Good At Giving Advice

Joey almost always made sense to his pals, even when he uttered gibberish. A case in point is the 'moo point' moment in “The One where Chandler Doesn’t Like Dogs."

As Rachel sought advice from Monica and Phoebe on whether or not she should make a move on her assistant Tag, Joey gave her good advice.

"All right, Rach. The big question is, "does he like you?" All right? Because if he doesn't like you, this is all a moo point," he told her.

Though for a short while the girls look bewildered, it made some sense when Joey explained what a moo point actually was.

“It’s like a cow’s opinion. You know. It just doesn’t matter. It’s moo.”

RELATED: Friends: 10 Times Joey Proved He Wasn't So Dumb After All

However bizarre the word 'moo' may have sounded, even Rachel had to admit it made sense not to waste any efforts over a person who didn't like her back.

4 Most Selfless Friend

Joey would oftentimes go out of his way to make life better for all of his friends. He showed genuine concern for Rachel and Phoebe upon hearing they were to become single parents. Without any hesitation, he offered them marriage saying people who shared special bonds could marry to raise a child together.

Joey put his feelings aside to let Chandler date Kathy. He also covered for Chandler and Monica at the expense of his reputation for a long time. Admittedly, it made him look like an idiot but he did everything he could (including shaving his legs) only because his friends weren't ready to make their relationship public.

3 A Truly Good Person

Joey was a good human being, as he was compassionate and empathetic towards the people around him. In "The One with The Birth," he offered his support to a single pregnant woman while she delivered her baby.

Although Joey was forced into becoming Treeger's dancing partner in "The One with the Ballroom Dancing," he eventually came around and started to enjoy it too.

The defining features of Joey's character were treating people with kindness and warmth.

2 The Famous One

As Friends reached its conclusion, the gangs' respective careers panned out the way they wanted or hoped to. Joey's path wasn't nearly as smooth, and he had his fair share of struggles. But the fact remains, no one amongst a group of well-educated adults ended up becoming famous like him.

Because Joey was in the acting business, a great number of people knew about him. He was once the three-down clue for a crossword puzzle in the Soap Opera Digest, earned a Soapie nomination, and rightly called himself a soap opera star before lending $2000 to Monica in, "The One With the Boob Job."

1 Officiated Two Weddings

Monica and Chandler couldn't have found a better minister than Joey to officiate their wedding. On the day of the wedding, Joey had a full plate but managed to arrive just in time to lead the wedding ceremony. He kept the officiant speech sweet and told a room full of people he couldn't imagine two people more perfect for each other.

Joey also performed Phoebe and Mike’s ceremony. Earlier, she'd asked him to walk her down the aisle but seeing that their minster was snowed-in, he offered to officiate.

The fact that Joey performed two of his closest friends' weddings proves his friendship was important to them.

NEXT: Friends: 10 Things Even Diehard Fans Didn't Know About Joey

Friends: Why Joey Is Actually The Show’s Main Character from https://ift.tt/3rDGgDh

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superleezathomasworld · 4 years

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Alex Aust talks lacrosse’s Olympic ambitions, building a personal brand

You had an awesome career at Maryland. What initially drew you to the school?

Maryland wasn’t even my dream school at first. It was actually the last school I visited. When I was going through the recruiting process my dad made me visit all of the schools that were looking at me so I went to about 25 different schools. And I thought the campus was all right, didn't think anything was crazy awesome about it. But it checked all my boxes: big school, big sports team, big campus. It was when I met the team and Cathy, our head coach, that I realized I had to go there. I just fell in love with the culture.

What was it like winning a championship your freshman year?

It was pretty unreal. It was my dream. I mean, it's every little kid's dream, and it's even better than you expect it to be. Winning it my freshman year, I was like, "Oh, that was easy. I guess we're going to do it every year now." But unfortunately we didn’t win again. My freshman year it was all based on our seniors and their leadership. They were just absolutely incredible. That first year really paved the way for me and showed me how I wanted to be treated and how I wanted to treat others.

Although your team didn’t win another championship the last three years of your career, you came really close.

We always made it really, really close. I mean, I played in the national championship game again my sophomore and senior year. And as a senior we ended up losing the championship game in triple overtime. Although it was super hard to lose, I learned so much every single year from losing in the national championship or in the final four. I know for a fact that I am the person I am because of my experience at Maryland under Cathy, and I’m not sure that winning more championships would have changed that. Of course, it would have been icing on the cake.

Losing in triple overtime your senior year must have left you feeling like you still had some unfinished business.

Oh my God, 100%. After I graduated, I actually stayed and worked at the university under Cathy purely because I was like, "I am not done. I can't be done." I couldn’t understand why it had all happened the way it had because I felt like our senior class did everything right. We were the leaders we wanted to be. I kept thinking “Why didn't the good guys win?" Ultimately, I think it all made me a better coach. And then, after that it really pushed me into fighting to make the 2017 World Cup team because I was like, "I'm not ready to be done with lacrosse." So it had some positive effects.

What does it mean to you to be a professional lacrosse player for the WPLL? What’s your big picture vision for the league?

Considering myself a professional athlete is something that I would have never thought was possible, and I'm so grateful that I live in a time where I can really lay the foundation and be a part of paving the way to make lacrosse a powerhouse sport at the professional level. I want lacrosse, men and women, to be where basketball is, where baseball is, where football is. I want females and males in the sport that I love to be able to have this be their full time job. And I think that what it's going to take to get there is just exposure.

I think that that's really what the PLL [Premier Lacrosse League] did a great job at doing, especially getting their NBC Sports deal. Their social media coverage of last summer was absolutely out of this world. It was showing people lacrosse like they'd never seen it before. And I think that women's lacrosse has to do the same thing. We need to have the same innovation and exposure that they had. We don’t have to change the sport. We have the people. All the women involved are incredible. They’re so well-rounded and they know what it takes to scrape and claw at being a professional athlete. We all empower each other. Now we just have to bring the social media and the marketing and the TV exposure to our sport. We have to put these female athletes on a platform so that the most number of people can see them and know what great role models they are for the next generation.

You yourself have quite the social presence. You’ve honestly blown up! How did that come about?

I think that it just came really natural, and it also is something that I just genuinely enjoy. I'm an oversharer, I love connecting with people, and I think social media, when used positively, is just so powerful because it can connect you with so many people from all over the world.

We’re lucky at Maryland because we have so many youth programs that come and watch us and because we’re in such a hotbed for the sport. Cathy also does such a good job in encouraging us to be role models. That’s where I found my love for coaching, by connecting with players at camps and coaching them when I was still playing at Maryland. I think that created a little bit of a fan base, and then those people have just grown up with me, which is really cool.

How do you view the interplay between your athletic career and your personal brand?

I think it actually goes hand-in-hand with lacrosse as a sport, in terms of being creative. There's room for creativity in the shots you take and just the way that the game is changing, and growing, and moving fast. It's the same with social media. And I think that's why anything goes, because it’s a space that’s constantly changing and growing. And it’s so accessible to everyone, so why not share my experiences? I've been running weekly workouts and I've had 300 people join my live workouts. I've never worked out with 300 people in my life so it’s been cool.

Inevitably, there’s going to be trolls. How do you deal with them?

Trust me, there's plenty of those negative keyboard warriors out there. But my mentality is, if I connect with just one person, if one person can read or watch my posts and get some insight into what I've gone through, and if that helps them in turn, then it's worth it. Now, I might not be everyone's cup of tea. I might not relate to every single person. But I love what I’m doing, and so I’ll continue to keep growing. It really is genuinely what I am creating at the moment.

Do you think your playing style has changed from college to the professional level?

In college, your game develops as you grow as a team and as an individual. And you have the luxury of playing together with teammates every single day. Whereas now, at the professional level, we do not have very much time to get ourselves together with our teammates. In college I was more of an assister but now I am more of a goal scorer. With the US Team, I just slotted into that role just because we had ridiculous ball handlers on our team and I just wanted to get onto that team in any way, shape, or form that I could, and if that took me being a catch and finisher, then I was okay with that. That's how my game has evolved. I've learned what works for me and what doesn't. And I just think with being a little bit on the older side, especially in the pro league, it saves a lot to not be the one with the ball going to goal every single time.

How do you think lacrosse’s growth compares to other female sports professionally and internationally? Obviously, there's been a ton of talk about pushing for the sport to be in the Olympics. How does it get there?

Lacrosse is both the fastest growing sport and the fastest game on two feet. So for any young athlete that wants to run really fast and play a sport that's high-scoring, lacrosse is the one for you. I think it's just such a perfect combination of so many things we love. It has the same one-on-one play as basketball. You have to have the same hand-eye coordination as in field hockey, but it's on a soccer field. You shoot into a goal and it has contact like hockey. It combines so many sports that if you're an athlete you are going to pick it up quickly, and then if you really love it you're going to excel. And I think the best part about it is that it's just so quickly growing that I tell all my club girls, if you want to play lacrosse in college, there is a spot for you. There's so many college programs that are looking for people to fill their roster.

And playing professionally now is really cool, as is playing internationally for the World Cup. But I think getting this game into the Olympics is the most vital thing. There's about 27 women’s teams that compete at the World Cup, and 40 on the men’s side. So there's an international love for the sport, but I think that we need to make it more feasible for those who may not have the budgets to play. Ultimately, they are shooting for lacrosse to be in the Olympics by 2028. And in order to do that, they’ll have to go with this new Olympic format, where it’s six on six on a smaller field and there’s no draw after goals.

What are your own personal goals in the sport? Do you see yourself playing for many more years?

I want to play for as long as I can. I don't think I could ever see being without lacrosse in my life, but I have also developed a love for fitness and lifestyle and mindfulness coaching. So I could see myself, especially as I continue to grow my brand, just helping these young female athletes navigate the craziness of growing up. Being a female athlete is so unique. I think it's your superpower. But it's like, how are you going to be the best at your sport, be a complete bad-ass, but also not be catty, and not be jealous, and not be insecure but be self-confident? There's so much to navigate that I wish I would have had a strong female role model help me go through it. Now I hope to be that for someone one day.

I think that I will always work with people in some sort of regard, through leadership, through coaching, through fitness. And I just think growing my brand to help those middle school, high school girls that are just going through sport and looking for a good role model is my ultimate goal.

source - https://www.justwomenssports.com/reads/alex-aust-talks-lacrosses-olympic-ambitions-building-a-personal-brand

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alleiradayne · 7 years

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A Game of Highs and Lows S07x06: Beyond the Wall

And we're back! I've been swamped with loads of writing the last few days for upcoming events. Which means I’m so glad this show is done after this weekend. Let’s hop right to it.

Highlight: I’m really grasping at straws here, but like, I chuckled when Sandor impaled the super special wight on one of Drogon’s spines. Otherwise, I got nothing.

Lowlights: I can’t pick one. I just can’t. The entire fucking episode is my lowlight.

The Pacing

What even was this? Like, so much happened without the passage of anywhere near enough time, I’m baffled. There’s no way these dudes survived on a rock in the completely frozen north. And how convenient that wights are so dumb they didn’t know the lake froze over again until Sandor’s dumbass started throwing rocks at them.

Gendry makes it back to Eastwatch in what must be a world fucking record. And a raven makes it to Dragonstone in hours. And Dany makes it to their exact location in another handful of hours.

Hope this is dramatically satisfying television, guys.

And that’s just the pacing beyond the wall, forget Winterhell. Why did Arya and Sansa have a sort amicable reunion, but then, without preamble, jump right back into being catty? What happened? Where’s the impetus for Arya to dislike Sansa so much five minutes later? The letter showed up after Arya started being mean to Sansa? The organization of these events is so out of fucking order. It would have made some – not much but some – sense, to have Arya be nice to Sansa for a bit, then find the letter, then get up on her soap box.

And Dragonstone was simply bad dialogue that I’ll get into in a minute.

Nothing really happened in this episode except for maybe a wight dragon. Which I have no feelings for because Dany didn’t give two shits about Viseryon, either.

The Dialogue

There’s no logic here at all. Every conversation is stupid and awful. None of them are important or poignant or interesting, they’re all quite boring and predictable. Anything with Tormund in it is about fighting and fucking. Anything with Sandor in it is about how gods and religion suck. Anything with Jon in it is … nothing. The other people don’t make any fucking sense being there, and thus their dialogue makes no fucking sense either.

I am not okay with brushing off someone’s very real sexual assault unless you’re punching at the person who is minimizing said assault. Like if Beric and Tormund and Sandor had been made out to be assholes for giving Gendry so much shit, I’d be completely fine with it. But nope. Gendry is made out to be a whiny bitch and it’s played for laughs. Hah, sexual assault and torture is hilarious! /eyeroll

Sansa and Arya arguing was a bunch of nonversations again. Arya just talked over her about stupid shit. There’s more to unpack here, but I’ll get to that in a minute.

More stellar Tyrion fellating at Dragonstone, but this time it’s coupled with the wonderful infantilizing of Dany. And the horrible seeding of Jon x Dany? I’ve read better fanfic on AO3. Like loads better. A thousand times better.

The Characters

I don’t even know who these people are. I despise what they’ve done to Tormund; he has daughters that he loves very much and is even brought to tears when thinking about them on a couple occasions. He’s terrified for them. You wouldn’t know that by watching the show though, he’s all about fighting and fucking and Brienne the Big Woman™.

But more than that, I despise what they’ve done to Arya and Sansa. These sisters are supposed to be major parallels throughout the entire story. Arya doesn’t hate Sansa, she hates herself for not being as good at feminine coded skills as her sister. Sansa never really cared about Arya beyond what happened on the King’s Road in AGoT, and even then, she puts all of that at Cersei’s feet eventually.

When they’re separated, their journeys take them on incredibly similar paths that are remarkably perfect for their skill sets. But both are learning to hide their identity in a myriad of ways. Except not on this show. Sansa has learned next to nothing besides that the world sucks. And Arya has learned even less, that she can be an asshole and do whatever she wants and get away with it all the time.

What baffles me is that their reunion was boring, but not hostile in the least. Suddenly, Arya starts in on Sansa for no reason? Giving her shit for staying in their parent’s bedroom – which doesn’t make sense, Sansa is the Lady of Winterhell now, she should be living in that room – and liking nice things and still being all ladylike.

Hot take: being lady like is a-okay. Being ladylike is a completely acceptable way of conducting oneself, especially given the constraints of roles available to women in Westeros.

Another hot take: there’s nothing wrong with rejecting those constraints and doing your own thing too. Brienne did it, although she suffers much internal strife for it in a beautifully nuanced way.

Point is, neither of these things are the right way to exist. But Arya is insisting that. She is insistent on the fact that being lady like and liking pretty things and having pretty hair and whatever other feminine coded things this show likes to shit on are bad and wrong. And that Arya’s tomboy nature is right. She even fucking says this exact thing:

“I knew that what I was doing was against the rules, but he was smiling, so I knew it wasn’t wrong. The rules were wrong.”

I … yeah, the rules suck, they’re the result of a patriarchal society, but this is not the way to challenge them!

And how convenient for the writers that Arya ignores everything Sansa says. Sansa has several good points when she gets a word in, but Arya ignores her and keeps right on trucking with all her bullshit. I just can’t with all this faux feminism.

I swear if they somehow come together and become bffs because of Littlefinger next episode, I’ll laugh my tits off. Seriously, this is so whack, I have no idea how they’ll ever get to that point.

The Dramatically Satisfying Moments

Each of them fell flat. Thoros dying, Dany saving the day, Viseryon dying because of that, Dany and Jon falling in love in a matter of seconds, Sansa finding the messenger bag of faces, Arya being a jerk. None of it really hit home.

This was a jumbled mess of frustrated thoughts. I want to like this show so bad but even my husband, who has been a huge fan of the show through season 6, is starting to see how fucked up it is.

Until next week folks! The final episode to cap off this ridiculous season, thank the Maker.

#got #game of thrones #spoilers #a game of highs and lows #got spoilers

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justanothercinemaniac · 7 years

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Epic Movie (Re)Watch #127 - Chicago

Spoilers below.

Have I seen it before: Yes

Did I like it then: Yes.

Do I remember it: Yes.

Did I see it in theaters: No.

Format: Blu-ray

1) This film holds a lot of personal significance to me. I first saw it when I was 13 in one of the hardest months of my life. I was sick with pneumonia (diagnosed that day) and my great grandmother had just died, so the whole family was over because the funeral was that week. It was late and someone wanted to put in a movie so my dad pulls out Chicago. My mother was a little bit strangely strict about what PG-13 movies I could and could not see, usually forbidding more sexual stuff than anything else. So this was the most sexual film I had seen at the time and I had felt because of that, and the fact I was watching it with all the adults of my family, that I had been promoted to the adult table in some senses. I was really captivated by the music, the story, the moral ambiguity, it was just so different from anything else I’ve seen. I would not be Just Another Cinemaniac without Chicago. In some ways its as important to my film fan identity as Back to the Future.

2) The film opens with an extreme close up on Roxie’s (Renée Zellweger’s) eye, giving us our first inkling on how this is a musical in Roxie’s mind. But more on that later.

3) Note that we never see Velma Kelly’s (Catherine Zeta Jones’) face until she’s on stage giving a performance. This creates the feeling that Velma is ALWAYS putting on a performance.

4) Catherine Zeta Jones as Velma Kelly.

This film is pretty much perfectly cast, I think. 4 of its actors were nominated for Oscars, with another being nominated for a Golden Globe. Zeta Jones actually won her first (and to date only) Oscar for her role in this film, and for good reason to. She IS Velma Kelly. Zeta Jones is totally lost in the role, being able present all of Velma’s different qualities. Her showmanship, her rare vulnerability, her killer instinct, and it all just WORKS. You never EVER feel like you’re watching an actress. Zeta Jones IS Velma Kelly and as the first character we get a nice long look at, it is a great performance to start the film off with.

5) Hey, it’s Dominic West!

6) Renée Zellweger as Roxie Hart.

Roxie is really the lead of this film, the character who we follow along and see the world through. The writing is really interesting. It would have been easy to start Roxie off as some innocent girl who made a mistake and goes on this big journey, but Roxie - despite whatever facade she puts up - is hardly some innocent girl. She readily and passionately has an affair even though her husband is a pretty nice guy (and not a “nice guy” where the guy acts nice but is really a jerk, but is actually pretty kind), murderers her lover just for being a jerk (there are better reasons to murderer someone), all while putting up this act like she did nothing wrong and is the victim. And I honestly think she believes it.

Renée Zellweger captures all these conflicting parts of Roxie’s character with true mastery. She also is able to handle Roxie’s transformation into a more cutthroat and determined creature with the same expertise. Like with Zeta Jones, you never feel like you’re watching Zellweger just giving a performance. She is - for all intents and purposes - Roxie. Originally Charlize Theron was cast in the part but after a change in directors there was a change in casting, and Zellweger had to learn signing and dancing for the film. It paid off wonderfully, as she was nominated for an Oscar for what is possibly her best role ever.

7) John C. Reilly as Amos.

John C. Reilly was also nominated for an Oscar for his performance in this film, and it is clear why. Amos is the only honestly good character in the film, and even then he is not without his flaws. He is not above losing his temper or being able to say when enough is enough when it comes to Roxie (you know, the woman who cheats on him, tries to have him take the fall for murder, and manipulates him in court just to get off). But - because this is Chicago - he’s the only main(ish) character to come out the other side being totally and utterly screwed over. There are some nice layers to Amos (mainly the loss of temper as mentioned above) and Reilly is just totally sincere in the part. It’s no wonder he was nominated for an Oscar.

8) This film sets itself apart from other movie musicals through the idea that the musical is all in Roxie’s head.

This creates a plausible explanation for why character’s burst into song and dance, allows the film to utilize some unique editing and art direction, and finally gives us a nice peek into Roxie’s head. This element allows us to see just how passionate Roxie is not only for the desire to perform but also the desire for fame. It also lets us know how she sees OTHER characters in the film (namely Billy Flynn, but more on that later). I think it is this key element that set the film up for such critical and artistic success, leading to its best picture win at the Oscars.

9) Danny Elfman provides a few nice instrumental pieces of score for the film which feel totally period Chicago. When you are adapting a popular musical such as Chicago adding extra music could be a challenge, but Elfman’s occasional score blends perfectly with the rest of the film.

10) Queen Latifah as Mama.

Latifah rounds out the quartet of Academy Award nominated performances with her portrayal as Matron Mama Morton. I think it’s Latifah’s best performance. She is able to portray Mama as cooperative and a bit soft spoken, but still someone who deals with no bullshit from her inmates. She is as manipulative as any other character in this film, if not as in big a way. You often hear her tell Roxie and Velma EXACTLY what they want to hear knowing that it will lead to a big pay day for her. It is a crafty role which Latifah plays well, and her introductory song “When You’re Good to Mama” shows off not only this characterization but Roxie’s perception of her quite well. It also allows for Latifah to show off her impressive singing chops.

11) The Cell Block Tango.

Where do I even begin with this number? It is by far the most iconic and best part of the entire film. The filmmakers are able to use the idea of “the musical in Roxie’s mind” to create a visually unique and compelling number which is edited together seamlessly with the “real world” of the Cook County jail Roxie finds herself in. Each of the “murderess mistresses” is given enough time to create a unique character and create a sense of the world Roxie (and the audience) finds herself in at this time. I particularly find the use of ribbons to illustrate blood/murder wildly effective, noting that Hunyak’s ribbon (the girl who constantly claims she is not guilty) is white whereas the others are red. This suggest that she is - in fact - innocent.

It is also worth noting that while the first story starts off very much “I’m guilty, here’s what happened”, that by the time we get to the inmate who claims her husband “ran into her knife” ten times the stories have become more and more claiming of legal innocence. This is a trend which continues through Velma’s story, where she claims she blacked out after seeing her husband & sister having sex and came to with blood on her hands. We as the audience have actually seen NOTHING which contradicts this story, further creating a nice sense of showmanship within the film.

12) Okay, I am all for good female friendships on film and television, but I would be lying if I said the catty relationship between Velma & Roxie was not entertaining. I think this is a byproduct from good writing (with what we know about these characters, how ELSE could their relationship go?) and the wildly captivating chemistry between Zeta Jones and Zellweger. Their relationship is one of the key sources of conflict throughout the film and with those two actresses it just WORKS.

13) Richard Gere as Billy Flynn.

The number in Roxie’s head which introduces us to Flynn - “All I Care About” - is a pitch perfect example of expectations vs. reality. After what she’s heard about Billy (which isn’t much mind you), Roxie expects him to be this honest to goodness lawyer who only wants to save women from dying in by the noose in Chicago. What we get however is the craftiest, most manipulative skeeze ball in the film. So why is he so damn likable? Who is he comparable to the roguish Han Solo? Why do we root for him? I think that is all in Gere’s performance. It would be easily to play him as a disgusting slime ball but there is a charisma that Gere brings which I think elevates the character and the film. Originally offered to Hugh Jackman & John Travolta at different parts, Gere’s chemistry with the rest of the cast is great and although the film didn’t land him an Oscar nomination he did receive a Golden Globe for his work.

14) I think it’s worth noting that Roxie does not take too long to adapt to prison. Again evidence that she’s not as innocent as she wants people to think.

15) “We Both Reached For The Gun”

I can never tell if this or “Razzle Dazzle” is my favorite number in the film, but I think for a visual standpoint it HAS to be this. This is once again where the conceit of “the musical in Roxie’s head” benefits the film GREATLY. The imagery of Roxie being a dummy operated by Billy to sell her story not reflects on their relationship in an incredibly clear way (as well as how Billy is literally using people) but also is just visually fascinating. Zellweger is a lot of fun during the number, and if you ever want to know why this film won the Oscar for best editing the year it was nominated just watch this scene.

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16) The song “Roxie” when Roxie is at the top of her game is a great character study. It goes even deeper into Roxie’s desire for fame and admiration, a key quality in her character that drives pretty much all her actions throughout the film. It features gorgeous cinematography with its use of mirrors and presents us with Roxie’s ideal self. This ideal self is not a good person (not necessarily), but someone who is adored by her audience. If that doesn’t speak to who Roxie is as a character I don’t know what does.

17) A film is told in cuts, as in cutting from one moment to the next in as clean and clear a way as possible.

Velma [after Mama suggests she kisses Roxie’s ass to maintain some position]: “Over my dead body.”

[We cut to the mess hall, where Velma is seen smiling at Roxie]

Velma: “Mind if I join you?”

18) “I Can’t Do It Alone”

Up until this point we have not seen Velma truly vulnerable. We have peeked more into who Roxie is as a character than who Velma is. That all changes with this number, which shows us that Velma is just as desperate for the spotlight as Roxie is. She NEEDS to stay relevant, she NEEDS the fame and the admiration, and only when it was too late did she realize that the murder of her sister took away one of the key things that made her so desirable to the world in the first place. This song is a fun number that adds nice depth to Zeta Jones’ character and shows off just how talented she can be with Velma’s vulnerability.

19) My heart broke a little when I saw Velma’s face after Roxie’s rejection of her.

And in that moment and that moment alone, I think I shipped the two of them together.

20) Lucy Liu’s glorified cameo as Kitty, the newest jazz killer in Chicago and the one who threatens to take away Roxie’s fame, is a perfect example of how easily Roxie can fall. But here’s the thing, Roxie is smarter than she appears. And more manipulative. It is her greatest strength that people underestimate her, so when she “faints” and mentions “the baby” everyone - from Velma to Billy - are all surprised by her.

21) I was a naive 13 year old. I didn’t understand that the doctor who said he’d testify that Roxie was pregnant had very clearly slept with her (hence Billy’s remark about his fly being open).

22) “Mister Cellophane”

Somehow this song not only shows us how ROXIE perceives her estranged husband as being someone who’s not worth caring about, but also makes Amos into a sympathetic character. He is not particularly whiny about the fact that he’s oft forgotten, he’s just a little sad about it. Reilly’s performance in the song is filled with soft sorrow and vulnerability we don’t always get to see from the actor, an honesty which carries the entire song on its back. It is a truly worthy number to be included with the rest of the film, with its Chaplin like art style and Reilly’s vocals, and I’m glad it made the cut.

23) In a lot of ways Chicago is a noir comedy musical. I say this for two reasons: Amos being kinda screwed over at the end, and the fact that Hunyak - the only innocent girl in the jail - is the only who is hanged. This also reminds Roxie of the fact that she IS on trial for murder and of the fatal consequences she could face.

24) “Razzle Dazzle”

If “We Both Reached for the Gun” is my favorite number in the film from a stylistic standpoint, then “Razzle Dazzle” is probably my favorite from a thematic one. Gere expresses Flynn’s belief that the courts are just a circus, simply entertainment to be manipulated, in a way which is just that: entertaining. I am always totally taken in by the song through its themes of craftiness, playful melody, and fun visuals. It is just a wonderful number which I love watching again and again.

25) If “Razzle Dazzle” doesn’t tell you how Billy sees the court system than this line will:

Hell, the non-musical court room scenes are in a lot of ways more dramatic than the musical ones.

26) This film had a song which was shot but not included in the final cut, one sung between Mama and Velma called “Class”. Still found on the movie’s soundtrack, “Class” had the pair discuss how the world seems to have gone to shit and how no one has any class. It was cut both for pacing issues and - largely - because it did not fit the theme of “the musical in Roxie’s head”. Roxie was at the court house and these two started singing after hearing about what was going on over the radio. It is a wonderful song but I think the film works better without it featured.

27) It took absolutely no time at all for Roxie not to matter. The press didn’t even want her picture after the verdict was read. Another killer, another star.

28) The final number of the film is a dual thing. The first of which is Roxie singing the song “Nowadays” on her own at an audition. The song is sad, somber, and lacks umph. This causes the directors to pass on Roxie. But when Velma and Kelly work together? When they’re able to work with their heat and chemistry and put on a duet of “Nowadays”? The umph is back and it is a wonderful number to end the film on!

I’m obviously biased through my own personal experience with the film, but I think Chicago is quite possibly the best movie musical of the 21st century (yes, even better than Les Miserables). The acting is incredible across the board, with Catherine Zeta Jones and Renée Zellweger being the obvious standouts. The concept of “the musical in Roxie’s head” allows for a musical which is unique and supports a wonderful art style. The songs are fun, the pacing and editing are great, and it’s a technical spectacle in its subtletly. Just a wonderfully entertaining film I think everyone should watch.

#Chicago #Chicago Movie #Roxie Hart #Velma Kelly #Rob Marshall #Catherine Zeta Jones #Renée Zellweger #Richard Gere #John C Reilly #Queen Latifah #Dominic West #Epic Movie (Re)Watch #Movie #Film #GIF

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danwensrandoms · 7 years

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Princess Nine a bittersweet review *spoilers- lots of them*

*Warning: spoilers ahead because I don’t think the reason why Princess Nine left so many fans feeling so mixed about it can be explained clearly without massive spoilers. I suggest only reading on if you’ve finished the series.

I don’t think any rushed nor anti-climatic ending has left such a bad taste in my mouth before. For a show that has time and time and seen it’s dorky set of female characters (of various personalities, dreams and background) grow in spirit and courage. Whether it’s Kanako standing up to her Dad; Mao finally catching that pitch with the help of Izumi (who despite being the crazy proud ‘you should do everything yourself’ believer, instigated her teammates’ growth on multiple occasions); and Ryo chasing her dream while learning more about her father and overcoming self-doubts/trust issues. Expect none of this mattered in the last leg of the show. Due to a shoed-in, cliched romantic subplot where the characters seem to act completely out of role leading the series to conclude with the team walking away with nothing, because of ‘jealous’ emotions welled inside the two aces.

Whilst it was pretty obvious that the creators wanted us to see character growth but that went out the window because of the ‘romantic’ misunderstanding that tore our two mains’ morale. Izumi and Ryo, have a far more interesting and complex relationship than the standard love triangle stock affair. Though you wouldn’t have thought that if you only watched the last third of Princess Nine. It’s almost as if when Ryo survived her touch with death - mainly thanks to Izumi bracing a rainstorm in bare feet just to call out to her ‘rival’; it wasn’t even head boy Takasugi that saved her ultimately- the two female characters had a brain wipe because they both loved the same guy (which they only seemed to remember at the most crucial moment of their baseball careers even though both knew before Izumi was even on the squad and her hating Ryo at first had nothing to do with getting jelly over Tagaboy).

I’m fine with them overcoming feelings involved in puberty and all that jazz as that’s part of coming of age. But why on Earth are viewers subjected again to a trite storyline where girls are painted as jealousy-ridden, catty-fools that ignore all previously built friendships and chasing dreams/responsibilities because of a romantic interest. There are enough stories out there already telling girls that they should be jealous and catty that even the heroines will be like this (it’s like we’re cursed to hate each other). But this time it hurts more because the entire story up until now was about girls, mums, coaches, fathers coming together to beat prejudice, to reach for dreams, to show that these girls had as much guts as the boys. Even though you have conflicts between different personalities you learn to not give up and to work towards something everyone loves unconditionally, whilst making life-long friends along the way. That’s the spirit of sports and for women’s sports, it’s especially crucial because of the lack of funding and support from organisations.

Princess Nine, for the most part, told a narrative I’ve been trying to find in animation (west or east) for a long time. For a majority of the show, I had wished nothing more than to travel back in time and tell my younger self to watch this. Because this was the inspiration I needed as a young girl. So that I would’ve the confidence to go and participate in sports at a younger age, despite self-doubt and stereotypes. Right now I’m not sure I’d 100% recommend Princess Nine to my younger self. With an ending that basically proclaimed:

“Everything you worked for becomes non-existent because even the strongest, most compassionate girls refuse to communicate their own envy despite having deep bonds. Because LUV Triangles Imma right?”

Maybe the writers really did want us to understand that saying “It’s nothing” all the time and covering up the truth will lead to an unhappy ending. Which would have worked if it wasn’t pulled out of nowhere and disregarded all previous character development and the growing relationship of the two mains (seriously there was even a bloody montage that insinuated something deeper.) The moment after Izumi blatantly lied to Ryo (a person she clearly treasures) to make her stay away from Takasugi despite her very foundation of her character was to be brutally honest, the damage was done.

I don’t think all stories should have standard happy endings but I felt that Princess Nine deserved a better ending. One that paralleled its themes, that it started out with. About overcoming loss, doubt, earning and learning trust. About the determination showcased by various female characters in the show whether they had dominating personalities or not. About passion for team sports and the desire to get more girls involved in the picture. About feminism, essentially.

It’s ironic that a show that seemed to fight the narrowed minded ‘suits’ trying to shut down the team’s progress due to ‘image’ and ‘tradition’ fall to its own prey. I don’t know if the original creators’ hands were forced to create such an ending and to include such an out of character subplot but it certainly felt like some group at the top said that if they don’t melodramatise the (badly done) romance part, it won’t sell. I hesitantly call it a romance because it tells a pretty shit love story as well, I’m pretty sure a lot of other shows did relationships better and in all honesty, Takasugi’s character is a lot more nuanced till he basically became an age old plot device for the Ultimate Downfall of the Main Female Characters tm.

I mixed heartedly recommend this show but I will say that this is the first time I’ve seen an anime speak about positive group mentality in a team of girls doing something considered especially ‘unladylike’ at the time. For their own sake, for each other’s sake and out of a love of baseball. And it did it without resorting to objectifying the girls (which is what’s popular in modern day female cast heavy anime) and without being patronising. It almost fully captured the essence of women’s sports (coming from a women’s football fan) but unfortunately, I have to hope that in the future there will be another attempt that does this to the very end. For now, I suggest that creators take influence from real world athletes. Tokyo 2020 is approaching so the dream is still alive.

And with that, I will leave it with a memorable and well-done scene from the ending. Koharu prepping the ‘wave motion swing’. A moment that embodied everything she cared about and manifested with a great home run. As unlikely as a sequel is I would love to see more of Princess Nine’s cast of characters again. Because despite all the frustration I can’t say that it hasn’t further cemented my passion for sports. I will take those feelings with me whenever I play.

#princess nine #a bittersweet anime for me #anime #women's sports #long post #i have not ranted about anime for a while #guessed it shows how invested i was in a show lol #sports anime

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thoseguysontheradio · 7 years

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MT: WWE Monday Night RAW (4/17/17) Review!

Whatever happened to Roman Reigns? Is Braun Strauman going to fight everyone? Is Kurt Angle still technically the General Manager? Read on to find out in this edition of "Matt Talk!"

Braun talks about ft. Kurt Angle

This was needed more than I thought it was. Kurt Angle needed this moment, because up until this point, he's been behind the scenes, and hasn't done much. Other than making a few matches here and there, he really hasn't added much to RAW. I know some people don't want him getting as involved as Foley did, and I definitely don't want him to turn into "The Authority", but why have a GM character if he isn't going to play any role in day to day match making? This was a good call on their part. I can't wait to see what face Angle is going to do.

Chris Jericho vs Samoa Joe ft. Rollins on Commentary

Its great to see Jericho still around. Obviously, he wasn't leaving the second they announced his rematch with Kevin Owens, but I'm sure this is a dream match that a lot of people are able to scratch off their bucket list. The only two problems with this match is a small botch by Jericho, and Rollins' commentary. The botch was problematic because Joe ended giving Jericho an unintended leg drop when Jericho was supposed to dodge a top rope senton. The reason why Rollins' commentary wasn't the best addition to the match was because we either had commentary focusing too much on his feud with Joe, or he clammed up for most of it. When he did speak, it didn't have a personality or fire to it. I wouldn't say he's bad at commentary, but Rollins' promo afterwards definitely made up for this.

After Joe picked up the win off Jericho, his promo to Rollins was a much needed addition to this feud. We understand why Rollins wants to fight Joe, but not why Joe would want to retaliate. He likes to hurt people, sure, but why not ignore Rollins and move on to someone else? Keeping him as a "hitman" even with Triple H is a smart way of writing him, and it could also mean that other people can hire him in the future.

ELIAS SAMSON SIGHTING #2

The "Drifter" known as Elias Samson was seen playing a guitar near former WWE RAW Tag Team Champions, "The Club."

Braun Strauman beats up fun-loving tag team

He beat up The Golden Truth. There's not much else to say, other than it hurt. A lot.

"Grrrrrrr! I said, 'Everyone!'" -Braun Strauman, 2017

The Club vs Enzo & Cass

Apparently, Strauman beat up The Club's opponents for tonight. I'm always the first one to defend the Brand Split, because both RAW and Smackdown are stacked with talent, both new and old, that have an opportunity to bring a lot of depth to both rosters. Sadly, this is not one of those times. I don't think these four have ever had a bad match with each other, but they've had a lot of matches in recent memory.

And to top it all off, it seems as if one half of the Revival was injured at a house show, and will be out for two months.

Miz TV ft. Ambrose

This os exactly what Ambrose needed. WWE has this problem where they give Superstars whatever title it may be, and they stop giving them promo time completely. Whoever's challenging the champ obviously needs their time to shine, but it definitely hurts face champions in the long run. The characteristics and promos that got crowds invested in these Superstars in the first place seem like they are tossed aside because, "They are the Champ!" This promo solidifyed Ambrose as the Intercontinental Champion.

But let's not take anything away from The Miz, either. I mentioned that this feud happened just last year on Smackdown, yet he is able to make this feud feel fresh and new. Having him be the pursuer, yet acting like he's already the Champion, adds a great layer to what could have been a very stale Smackdown rehash.

Braun Strauman assaults masked individual ft. Big Show

This is one of the worst things you can do to newer talent, and to your Cruiserweight Division. I understand that it sounds like I'm speaking in hyperbole, so let me explain. Braun and Kalisto are both newer talent, but Kalisto is specifically new to RAW, due to the Superstar Shakeup. As all of us can tell, he's a smaller guy. So rumors suggest he's on his way to the Cruiserweight Division. He's been on the house show circuit lately, so a move to RAW looks like it would revitilize his main roster career. Especially if he joins 205 Live. However, how is he going to look on 205 Live, after getting decimated and thrown into the garbage by Strauman? How are the Cruiserweights going to look? You can't build a division and act like they're just like everyone else, when one of the members of said division gets rag dolled by Strauman, even if he is monstrous.

TJ Perkins vs Jack Gallagher ft. Neville and Aries

This match wasn't as good as their showing on 205 Live, but its still a great way to show a wider audience a heel TJ Perkins. While the match itself had both performing going at it in a very Cruiserweight fashion, it devolved into exactly what we saw coming once we had Aries and Neville sitting ringside. Thankfully, Perkins won via cheating, and while I love Gallagher, this can continue their feud, where Gallagher hopefully wins, at Payback.

Titus™ Brand tries to recruit Apollo Crews

While I'm not the biggest fan of Titus' inring style, I am a big fan of the current character Titus is playing. However, I don't think this would be a good first feud for Crews on RAW. Titus' charisma can potentially bring out some hidden charisma from Crews, but I would say the crowd will only care if he looks good in the ring. It might have been better to put him up against someone who is more of a high flyer.

Sasha Banks vs Alexa Bliss vs Mickie James vs Nia Jax

This is why we needed a Brand Split. The fact that we can have these four women in the spot light, able to challenge Bayley for the title, is simply a delight. While I was a big fan of the match, I'm not sure what to think about the outcome. I love that Bliss cheated to get a chance to go after the title, and I do think that she would be a great villain for Bayley, but I wouldn't want Bliss to win the title too quickly, because it feels like she just lost it on Smackdown. Many of you may have heard me voice my displeasure on something similar happening to Kevin Owens with his win over Jericho at Wrestlemania, so I have to be fair and apply the same train of thought here.

Big Show is in the best shape of his life

Big Show was interviewed by Charly Caruso about his attack on Braun Strauman, and said, "I am in the best shape of my life."

Curt Hawkins Star Factory ft. Finn Balor This is a great way to use Hawkins. Fun, delusional heel who gets beat up. I am usually not a fan of squash matches, because it doesn't showcase a wrestler's abilities. Yes, they beat up someone "really good" and "wow, that was so fast", but it usually makes the wrestler look like they can only do the few moves that they used. Thankfully, Finn is so fast and nimble that it actually looked like he bested Hawkins, instead of seeming limited.

ELIAS SAMSON SIGHTING #3

During a fun Chris Jericho interview with Tom Phillips, Elias Sampson appeared. The promo wasn't needed and was simply a rehashing of last week's... until Samson appeared. We will be bringing you more updates on Samson when he appears.

Bray Wyatt Promo

I am ususally a big fan of Bray Wyatt promos, and I can't say that this one is particularly bad, but coming off the heels of the confusing promo he gave last week, it still feels weird. Bray Wyatt, a RAW superstar, can still challenge Randy Orton for his WWE Title, which is a Smackdown Title, at a RAW PPV... WWE, everyone.

Alicia Fox ft. Dana and Emma

I've said in the past that I have no problem with varied characters in every division. Even if some of them, especially in the women's division, are considered "outdated". I say this because there are people that can act like how WWE has written some of the women throughout the years. This, however, is not excusable. There needs to be a healthy balance in the division, where we don't see characters, especially the women, acting "catty" and like children.

Yes, Fox has had her gimmick for a while, but what they're doing with Dana and Emma is absolutely dreadful. This isn't the BFF's from NXT. Emma can be wreaking so much havok as a heel, but she does something like this, and it makes their feud seem so worthless. I know Emma's face character is a (loveable) dork, but that doesn't mean that her heel character needs to do things like that. She needs to seem like a credible threat, and at this point, its not working.

Jeff Hardy vs Cesaro

This is a match I never foresaw in my PREMONEETIONS, but its still a reality that I am happy to be a part of. Jeff Hardy seems to have a good spring in his step, and it didn't really seem as if Cesaro had to slow down his general pace to wrestle Jeff. The only issue is Jeff winning. Yes, he is one half of the tag team Champions, and he is a future WWE Hall of Famer making his return to WWE, but I just can't see it happening. If there were some kind of shenanigans, I think it would have made it more believable.

Big Show vs Braun Strauman

If this match hadn't happened already, I'd definitely be behind this. I'm not really a huge fan of hoss matches, but Braun is young, and Big Show has been doing some good work as of late, so it would've been a great novelty match if it were being done for the first time. I do have to say, though, while these two have gone at it before, this may be the best match these two have ever had together, and it made them both look great. Even though the "breaking the ring" spot is something that's been done plenty of times over the years, it hasn't been done in a while, so it still gets a rise out of me. Great way to end the night, and its understandable why this was the main event.

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The 10 Most Controversial Things Bollywood Actors Have Said

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The 10 Most Controversial Things Bollywood Actors Have Said

The 10 Most Controversial Things Bollywood Actors Have Said Niharika Nayak Hyderabd040-395603080 December 23, 2019

Bollywood actors are often known for making problematic statements about each other and propagating ‘cattiness’. At this point, Bollywood is pretty much the same as any other business, with actors often having clashing feelings towards each other. So while you and I like to talk about our managers and associates behind their backs, actors also feel the need to vent out! Unfortunately, since they are always in the limelight, their statements make it to the public eye. Here is a list of 10 controversial comments said by actors:

1. Priyanka Chopra’s Reply To An Alleged Diss By Kareena Kapoor

While advertising her 2012 film Heroine, Kareena Kapoor at an event said that Heroine would fare more superior at the box office to Madhur Bhandarkar’s award-winning Fashion featuring Priyanka Chopra. Kareena’s statement didn’t sit well with Priyanka, and the National Award-winning actress chose to give it back to Kareena abruptly. Priyanka replied back savagely, “Well, I guess if you don’t have one (national award), then it’s just sour grapes, you know. What do I say?”

2. Sonam Kapoor’s Answer To Shobha De’s Unwarranted Comments

The feature writer and actress got into a heated argument after she remarked on Sonam’s attractiveness while alluding to her lingerie photoshoot, the actress let loose about the writer via social media. The actress stated “Guys pls don’t take Shobhaa De seriously. She’s a fossil who’s getting no action and going through menopause.”

3. Deepika Padukone On Ranbir Kapoor During Koffee With Karan

While Deepika Padukone might speak candidly about how she and Ranbir are now good pals, her appearance on Karan Johar’s chat show in 2010 suggested otherwise. In response to KJo’s question of what she’d want to gift ex-flame Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika unabashedly stated, “I’d like to gift a pack of condoms to Ranbir because he uses them too much.”

4. Kareena Kapoor On Being Compared To Aishwarya Rai

Some reports had claimed that before Kareena Kapoor was offered the lead role in the movie, Heroine, Aishwarya Rai has been approached but had to leave due to her pregnancy. When Kareena was later asked about the same and even compared to Aishwarya during a press conference, she stated: “There is no point in comparing me with Aishwarya, we’re from two different generations.”

5. Shahid Kapoor On Working With His Ex- Kareena Kapoor

While the ex-lovers have teamed up for many successful films in the past, including Jab We Met, the actor had a very quirky response to when he was quizzed about working with his ex. The actor stated, “If my director wants me to work with a cow or a buffalo, I am ready to do it.”

6. Anushka Sharma On Competition With Deepika Padukone

Anushka alleged that she was being hounded by calls from friends of Deepika making fun of Anushka for Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani going into Deepika’s hands. Anushka responded to the ‘trash thrown at her’ in a meeting with a popular news agency and made statements that started a cold war between the two actresses. “I am Kashyap’s and Hirani’s choice. She is Ayan’s and whosoever. I never pull anybody down. That makes me nice, right?” the actress stated candidly.

7. Jaya Bachchan On The Spat Between Salman Khan And Shah Rukh Khan

sriyanofficialgroup / Instagram

Post the spat between the two biggest superstars of Bollywood, the usually reclusive Jaya Bachchan came forth and bared her emotions during an interview. She stated that she still considers SRK to be her son but was extremely disgusted by his alleged snide remarks on her daughter in law, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Jaya said, “I would have slapped Shah Rukh if he had made any infamous statement about Aishwarya in my presence.”

8. Naseeruddin Shah On Farhan Akhtar’s Films

Known for being one of the finest actors Bollywood has to offer, it took his fans by surprise when he passed a remark on Farhan Akhtar. During an interview, the veteran actor was quizzed on his taste for new-age actors and directors. The actor stated, “Farhan Akhtar films are the ones I clearly don’t care for.”

9. Aamir Khan Takes A Dig At Shah Rukh Khan In A Blog Post

The competition between the three Khans that dominate Bollywood has consistently been a much-loved fodder for page-3 columnists. However, things went over the edge when the actors themselves started taking cheap potshots at each other. Aamir Khan took it to a new level of low by sharing an episode on his blog which insulted SRK fans as well as the actor himself. Aamir allegedly wrote, “Shah Rukh is licking my feet, and I am feeding him biscuits every now and then. What more can I ask for?”

10. Sonam Kapoor On Looks And Acting Skills

sonamkapoor / Instagram

Sonam said on Koffee with Karan that it’s very typical for individuals to consider ‘glamorous actors’ as non-actors and shockingly received a nod of approval from her father while stating it. The actress said, “Just because one looks ugly, doesn’t mean he/she can act.”

Tell us what you think of this list. Were you stunned by the names involved in this list? Let us know in the comments below.

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