#this is so saddening bro he was so young and he has his whole life ahead of him

[saintchaser]

rip reiky de valk ☹️ may his soul rest in peace 🕊️

#this is so saddening bro he was so young and he has his whole life ahead of him #prayers to his family and i hope he’s in a better place now #death tw #tw death #reiky de valk

[deliciousdefendorinternet]

not sure Wether anyone's done this yet? but last night I kept thinking about the great angst potential of a story where Bro zone have to travel through Branch's memories in order to save his life.

like I said the ideas kept coming to me last night like the story could be Branch gets attacked by some sorta parasite that starts slowly draining his life energy while infecting his mind and keeping him in a deep sleep state.

so the only way to save him is for a group of people to do some magic meditation crap courteously of Creek lol to travel into Branch's mind to chase after the parasite which has travelled through his memories.

so of course Bro zone insist on being the ones to go despite Poppy not being sure about the whole thing due to seeing it as somewhat an invasion of privacy especially for someone as private as Branch tho the others remind her its the only way to save his life.

so from then on its just a perfect excuse for some heart-breaking Angst as the Bros follow the trail of the parasite leading them further and further back into different memories of Branch's.

like I imagine things start off seemingly harmless enough where at first they end up in a memory from later on in his Bunker years but still prior to the first film.

and its just Branch dancing around in his Bunny Pyjamas while the Bros all laugh their heads off thinking its just a funny embarrassing memory.

but Bunny Branch feels a tiny tremor in the ground and instantly runs and hides under his Bed clearly panicked thinking a Bergen is approaching.

his Brothers somewhat saddened to see this try to tell him that it was just a minor tremor and he doesn't need to be afraid but they realise that isn't how it works and they can't actually directly interact with anyone in the memories.

their basically just invisible ghosts who can do nothing but watch the memory play out.

anyway they continue following the Trail of the parasite to memories further back they arrive at one with a teenage looking Branch in the Bunker actually getting ready for an outing.

he's in a suit and is trying to tie a proper bowtie and there's multiple invites from Poppy to a Birthday party on the table making it clear to the Bros what's going on.

young Branch takes a deep breath and with a small present in his hand he goes to the entrance of the Bunker which his bros are all happy to see.

only for their smiles to fade when they see him stop right at the entrance looking at the door and hearing some party music going on in the distance.

the Bros despite knowing he can't hear them are all egging him on trying to encourage him to go but after young Branch looks down.

and has an upset and seemingly frustrated expression after a little internal battle as despite clearly wanting to go join the others he can't bring himself to take the risk.

and he throws the present across the other side of the room and walks back to his room in the bunker.

disappointing his brothers and leaving them somewhat somber.

and the next memory could be of when Branch was still a pretty young kid and the Bunker was still in its early stages.

and maybe if we wanna go really over the top in the sad angst department 😭😭 we see little Branch sitting down at a table with multiple chairs having something to eat and we see he's written his brothers names on the other chairs.

saving spots for them for when they would come back and maybe he even has little pretend conversations with them telling them about everything he did that day like setting up their Hideout aka the Bunker.

ending the conversation with a sad little "" I Hope I see you soon ""

and I like to imagine Floyd eventually gets too emotional after seeing all this stuff and walks off on his own with either Bruce or Clay going after him on their own.

with Floyd telling them that he remembers what he would have been doing around this time all those years ago he was just out living it up getting wasted ( on sugar of course lol )

partying into the long hours of the night being a solo performer traveling around living as a carefree party animal.

the other brother tells him its somewhat pointless blaming himself now and they just need to focus on finding the parasite and saving Branch's life.

but still Floyd says he broke the promise he made before but he very determinedly says he isn't going to break another one to him ever again.

so they move on to the next memory which is little kid Branch finishing building Gary maybe commenting on how he'll never leave him and that he can't wait for him to meet his brothers.

further rubbing salt in the wounds for the Brothers but at this point they try and stay headstrong and keep on going in further and the next stop.

sees them at the Trolls tree their taken aback given the amount of years its been since they saw it this way and then they hear a sound and realise Apon looking up that its the sound of little Branch singing.

the Brothers all see Chef looming in the background and they then see their Grandma running towards Branch only for JD completely caught in the moment not thinking straight.

to start running up the Tree towards them as well their Grandma pushes Branch out of the way and JD just makes it to her only to helplessly phase through her.

as she's grabbed by Chef and they all watch as she's taken away what follows is somber moment of silence as they all realise exactly what Branch lived with all those years on his own.

and the Brothers have to watch the memory version of Branch succumb to Grief and lose his colours while they can't even try and comfort him.

after this they finally reach the final stop which isn't actually a memory its just Branch's Bunker with a grown up version of him inside it.

from here on I'm not exactly 100 percent sure what I'd want to happen or be said between them it can just be a nice little climax where this version is the actual present day Branch just trapped in his mind.

and he feels somewhat ashamed that his Brothers would have seen all these moments from his life but JD says he's sorry he had to live with that burden of watching what happened to their Grandma for so long on his own.

Bruce says he shouldn't have had to go through any of that on his own when he was so young and he wishes he'd have come back at any point as he would have taken him with him back to Vacay and he never would have been alone again.

Clay says that he wishes he'd told them some of this stuff himself when they all first met back up so they could have tried to better understand why he felt so hurt by them.

and Floyd simply gives him a Hug without really saying anything.

you could change the way each Bro zone member reacts if you want I'm not dead set on these reactions for them I just thought they were kinda cute.

anyway from here on its pretty simple they find the parasite it takes the forms of people it thinks will best rattle them based on its knowledge so it takes the form of Chef.

but this is a pretty daft move as the brothers just all proceed to kick its butt without any hesitation and after its beaten they all wake up from the sleep state.

but yeah has anyone done anything like this? as like I said I just started thinking about it last night and I couldn't get the idea out of my head as there's so much angst potential 😭😭😭😭

#trolls #trolls branch #trolls brozone #dreamworks trolls #trolls band together #branch #branch trolls #trolls dreamworks #brozone #trolls 3 #trolls branch angst #trolls bro zone angst #trolls fanfic ideas #Trolls #Trolls Branch #Trolls Bro zone

[ninjago-nerd999]

Dead Dad! Au pt. 2

Ok! So some more things I wanna add to this little au of mine.

Warning: Mentions of suicide, character death, and all around angst.

First things first! Garmadon’s appearance. Obviously he’s incredibly pale, seeing as he’s basically a walking corpse. He still has his oni markings since that's what he was supposed to be, as well as horns because why not. I like to draw him in more casual clothing rather than his gi because I refuse to draw anyone in their gi lol. He wears bandages around his neck and right hand because reasons…..

(I’ll put up a reference pic later)

Secondly, since Garm can cross the realms of the dead and living, (don’t question it) he kinda becomes Ninjago’s Grim Reaper. Helping the deceased to the after life. Though he typically changes his appearance to look how he did when he was alive thanks to his Oni abilities.

Thirdly, the Garm family and what happened to them afterwards.

So for Wu, as I mentioned before, he becomes incredibly guilty. All he can think about is all the things he should have done or said that could have prevented what had happened. So he closes himself off, becoming colder as the years go on. He only loosens up later down the line when the ninja start to become his family, but it’s for this reason he tends to come off as cruel or cold. He can’t bear the thought of possibly being the fault of their demises as well.

Misako still leaves. However this time is out of grief instead simply abandoning Lloyd. The thought of raising Llyod by herself scares her, so she leaves him at Darkley’s. (I think it’s pretty clear how much I don’t like her so we’ll move on)

Now for Llyod. Here’s the thing, Garmadon died when he was still very young, so poor Llyod doesn’t really know how to feel. Of course it saddens him that he never really got to meet his dad, and the only memories he has are pretty limited. But that’s the thing, Llyod was never really told who his dad was or what he was like by ANYONE. So he kinda just moves on through life. And since there’s no Lord Garmadon, Llyod has no reason to want to be bad. So instead he runs away. He probably still accidentally unleashes the snakes, but probably more out of wanting a place to stay rather than revenge.

As you can imagine, Garmadon took great care in watching over Lloyd and Wu. (he quickly realized how much Misako sucked) He would carefully watch from the shadows, even though no one could see him, he still tried his hardest to let them know he was still there and that he loved them dearly. Though nothing ever worked. He especially felt guilty when around Wu. Watching his little brother blame himself made Garm feel like he was dying all over again. And watching his baby boy being forced to grow up and take on the whole world broke him to pieces. He wanted so badly to help them, to let them know he was there for them. But he could do nothing but watch.

Now here’s a few characters that were also affected.

Krux. Bet you weren’t expecting that!

See, me and a friend always headcanons that Krux and Acronix were actually really close with the other EMs. However their quest for power broke that bond. And when his brother was banished, Krux’s need for revenge only strengthened. Which is why he took Ray and Maya captive.

So you can imagine how much he understood the pain of losing a brother. 

In response, he let Ray and Maya go, knowing that they too were close to FSM bros, and would be heartbroken at the news.

However, it allowed Kai and Nya to grow up with parents instead of Kai having to raise Nya himself. And Krux still ran the museum, but he became someone the EMs grew to trust again rather than fear. 

Morro! I’ll explain in another post. ;)

And of course since there’s no Lord G, other villians rise to fill the role. I’ll expand on this later lol.

Now here is the main premise of the story. 

Ever since the day of the departed, Cole was still able to see spirits and entities beyond the land of the living. 

What he didn’t expect was to notice some dude following around Lloyd and Master Wu.

Now, when Cole confronts the strange man, he didn’t expect the guy to get so excited.

HOLY SHIT SOMEONE COULD SEE HIM!!!!!!

Garm was ecstatic! He immediately explained who he was (a bit too quickly for Cole to understand) and practically begged this kid to summon him.

But unfortunately, Garmadon made one mistake. 

He mentioned he was a demon.

And Cole was not cool with that.

Cole immediately doesn’t trust him and instead refuses to summon Garm. There was no way his story could be true! 

So the story goes on with funny shenanigans of Garm trying to convince Cole to summon him, but Cole keeps refusing until he’s sure Garmadon is actually who he says he is. Which is kinda difficult since he can’t really ask anyone...

#ninjago #ninjago au #garmadon ninjago #llyod garmadon #wu ninjago #misako #kai ninjago #nya ninjago #ray smith #maya smith #morro ninjago #ninjago krux #tw suicude #tw death #idk what else to tag

[atopearth]

Pub Encounter Part 5 - Soichiro Toyoizumi Route

Soichiro seems like the perfect gentleman. He owns the bar, takes care of everyone, is very serious about his work and is always watching out for Shiori since she’s surrounded by all the guys lol. Gotta love the cliche where the heroine is about to get dragged off by random crappy guys at night and the guy coming to her rescue haha. But I guess at least for this time around, Shiori is actually visibly scared and trembling over the idea of what could have happened to her if Soichiro wasn’t there. I feel like a lot of other stories romanticise it and focus on the guy being a hero whilst neglecting how frightening it can be for the girl, so I’m glad the game addresses that a bit. It was very nice and thoughtful of Soichiro to take her to a warm nearby cafe and have a coffee to calm her down, and hold her trembling hands, I think that’s important to give her warmth and assurance. It was so cute when Shiori was self conscious (since she was the only one at the bar for now) so she kept saying something to Soichiro and then saying it was nothing when he asks what is it, and then loll when he did it back to her for revenge haha. It’s pretty nice to see them spending time together wine tasting at the bar when it’s a day off, I think seeing how happy Soichiro is doing that, and seeing Shiori so interested in his job is sweet. It was certainly refreshing when he sat next to her to drink the wine instead of always being behind the bar and keeping that distance. Shiori was so adorable when she found out that Soichiro got top sommelier and kept blabbering about how she didn’t know what to give him as a gift so she got him a bouquet of flowers haha, she’s so innocent and sweet lol.

Lmao at Shiori talking to Minoru about Soichiro, he’s like her new buddy to talk about her love life haha. LOL when Soichiro got her to try the nectar of rhododendron and then told her that even though it’s not dangerous, it is mildly poisonous! Would have been nice to know that beforehand, lol! Although I do admit that it was kinda weirdly sweet when he lightly kissed her on the lips and told her that now he’s like “poisoned” too, so if anything happens, they’ll both be in it together lolll. It was cute when he invited her on a date, but it was saddening when he implied that they shouldn’t be together due to their age difference, which is a logical problem to think about. She could probably be his daughter lol. Although when she persistently showed that her feelings were love and he reciprocated by singing her a love song with his jazz band, that was so sweet. Or not! He’s not ready! Which is fair enough tbh, compared to her who has a whole future in front of her, Soichiro is like nearing his elderly years, I think it’s normal to think about whether he really wants to start a relationship right now, and with someone so young too, and whether he can even take it since what if she falls out of love. For him, she’ll probably be the last woman he’ll ever be with, but for her, she’s young and has so many choices, he’s probably not even sure he wants to limit her choices to him. However, I do have to say, if he’s not ready, he really shouldn’t do all these things to her and get her hopes up! What if he changes his mind later?!

Keiichiro was pretty crazy to nearly attack Shiori thinking she was the one who stopped Soichiro (his brother) from giving him any more money. Although I guess I can kinda understand why he would be so desperate (even if it doesn’t excuse his actions). He’s been relying on his brother’s financial support all these years so that he could keep up his dream of making art with his flower arrangements and yet now Soichiro is suddenly cutting all that off! I mean, they had an arrangement where Soichiro would support his dreams as if they were his, so you really can’t blame him for thinking Soichiro betrayed him, especially when he just tried to cut him off without explaining anything to him, I think that was the worst tbh. You can’t just do that when you both decided on this together as a sort of vow and considering how old they are, it must have gone on for decades tbh. Glad he ended up talking to Keiichiro properly and telling him that he believed himself to be stunting his growth and development as an artist because Soichiro has always been protecting him and so that closed him off like a flower in a greenhouse, not being able to really present the beauty he should be able to.

I thought it was an interesting take on the “genius” thing though, usually it’s people like Soichiro (who can do anything quite easily and master it) that end up being the famous and successful one, but in this scenario, Soichiro acknowledged Keiichiro being the one who could bring magic to his work, and so he chose to dedicate his life to helping him bring that magic to the rest of the world instead of doing anything for himself. If you look at it from an outside perspective, I guess it was a pretty toxic relationship since they were both relying on each other to achieve their dreams instead of themselves individually. I just think that Soichiro could have handled it better instead of just trying to cut Keiichiro off without explanation. Otherwise, I guess it’s nice that Shiori allowed him to realise that his relationship with his brother wasn’t really helping him grow as a person (when she commented on the flower arrangement that portrayed the brothers’ relationship), and that they both ended up limiting themselves to a stagnant dream. To be fair though, they should have realised how unsustainable this was when this “dream” obviously wasn’t feeding Keiichiro. Nice of Minoru to give Keiichiro a job opportunity though, first step in his new way of approaching the flowers I guess! I think I can understand why Soichiro could never tell Shiori he loved her until now though, his life had been so bounded by his relationship with his brother that they both practically lived for each other, and him loving Shiori would change his priorities and what would be most important to his life. So it was a difficult decision to make. In a way though, because of how things unfolded and handled, you really can’t blame Keiichiro for thinking that Soichiro dumped their relationship of many years for a random girl lol.

As expected, both brothers are happy and Shiori quits her job to work at Audire. I think it was really cute how Soichiro invited all the regulars to have her formal debut at the bar as a worker now. But I think considering their future and how much she disliked her work, spending as much time as she can with Soichiro in an environment she likes would probably be a better use of her time. I might have enjoyed the good ending more than the best ending tbh, just because I found it so cute to see Shiori complain about having to go to work when she took a day off to spend the whole day with Soichiro. And then seeing him so considerately close the bar early to spend the night with her, and then prepare dinner etc when she had to go to work just made my heart feel so warm. Soichiro totally isn’t my type and I honestly don’t feel much of the romance this time around, but I found the good ending very heartwarming. I really wanna say that it was crappy that Soichiro just let her win the drinking contest by making her drinks less strong, but really, considering how reckless Shiori is, I honestly doubt she would have ever admit her loss until she collapsed or something, so I guess it was right for him to take that into account and let her win so she doesn’t destroy her health lol.

Overall, I like Soichiro, but I like him as a person more than a romantic interest. I feel like the romance fell kinda flat in terms of their love chemistry as partners. It felt like it was one of those she changed his life so he likes her kinda stories, which is fine, but it just didn’t have the romance for it imo. Otherwise, I quite liked Soichiro and his back story since it felt different. It was definitely shallowly explored, but I did like how he was like a genius that didn’t know what to do with his life so he relied on his brother to give him purpose to it, I thought it was an interesting take on the different lives people lead and found it pretty interesting. I also liked that it shows how important communication is, because if Soichiro kept hiding the reason, Keiichiro would have hated him forever, yet when he explained it to him properly, it benefited both of them immensely by relieving them of the shackles where it was always designated that Soichiro was the protector and Keiichiro was to be protected, so seeing them independent in the end was nice. Even though things happened in a very simplistic and easy way (the bro got successful so fast, you gotta wonder how he couldn’t feed himself all these years lol), it was still a nice read. Definitely my second pick after Ryunosuke🥰

#pub encounter

[wishingforatypewriter]

Between Us (Chapter 8)

Summary: In which the stresses of young professional life put strain on relationships. (The rest of the story can be found here)

Megumi had known for years now that her boyfriend had an uncanny talent for making things difficult for himself, but his endless ways of doing so never ceased to amaze her. 

You see, five months ago they had packed up everything they owned and moved from New York to Paris—him with the intention of opening his first restaurant, and her with an unrelenting desire to stay by his side. 

Souma could have done what most chefs would do—take his savings and his seed money and start small, grow his reputation and clientele—but he had never been one to play it safe. 

He had chosen a location right in the middle of the sixth arrondissement, within blocks of both Shinomiya Kojirou and Tsukasa Eishi’s culinary fortresses, and he hoped to compete in this high profile venue using low prices and common ingredients. 

And naturally, he was working quadruple time to make his menu stand out. 

“What are you making?” Megumi asked after she came home from her shift at the Shangri-La. An intoxicating savory smell was wafting out from the kitchen. 

“Stuffed quail,” he explained as he took his dish out of the oven. “How was work?” 

Megumi shrugged. “Some of the customers were a bit difficult,” she said. In her experience as an executive chef, the super wealthy tended to be, but that was who the hospitality industry catered to in these city centers. It was a world away from her family ryokan in more ways than one. “But it was fine.” 

Scattered around the kitchen and living room were balled up pieces of notebook paper with five, ten, fifteen riffs off the same recipe ideas. There were also three half-empty coffee mugs that he must have abandoned as soon as he was caffeinated enough to remain upright. 

“Did you eat yet?” he asked her. 

Megumi shook her head. “But I won’t try anything strange today,” she warned him. At this point, about one in ten of his recipes would turn out a failed experiment, and at his current rate of innovation, Megumi was subjected to four or five of these horrors each day.

Souma laughed at the half-terrified face she made and then plated the quail for her along with a soup-trio starter served in shot glasses.

Megumi took a seat at the kitchen table and let him serve her. The deep savory flavor sent tremors through her, made her eyes roll back. If not for her continued exposure to his cooking, she might have been flat on her back at the first bite.

“How’s it taste?” he asked, all broad grins and honey eyes. A person who didn't know him as well would have no inkling of the trial and error that had gone into it, the rejected drafts and countless hours of revision. They would never guess that he was running himself ragged. 

“It tastes wonderful,” she said, meaning it completely. “Now add it to your menu and get some rest, please.”

He sighed, running a hand through his red hair. “Come on, Megs,” he said. “I was kind of looking for feedback.”

“I'm not a haute cuisine critic,” she said, not for the first time that week. “I won't go inventing flaws in a dish that's already great, just for you to spend the next twelve hours obsessing over it.”

“It's not obsessing. I'm just trying to get this right.” Even as he spoke, he was scrawling something onto a notepad. A revision, maybe, or an idea for a new dish entirely. “Nakiri said if I fuck up the opening, the restaurant will go under in three months.”

It took everything within Megumi to keep from stating that in this particular instance she didn't give a flying fuck what Nakiri-san thought. Still, she felt certain that the possessor of the god tongue could convince him of anything. “I know the restaurant is very important to you, and Nakiri-san is a reliable source when it comes to these things, but the average customer would love this dish, and that's who you’re cooking for, right?”

“Of course, but I-” He never did finish his thought, as just then his work phone started ringing. And when did he become the sort of person who needed a work phone? It seemed like one of many invisible lines he had been crossing by the day. “I gotta take this.”

“I know,” she said, leaving him to go out on the fire escape with his phone and the half empty box of Marlboros she was ignoring right now, but wouldn't for much longer. 

He would keep working long into the night, though Megumi could not be relied on to say whether or when he actually made it to bed. By now she had realized the futility of something like waiting up for him.

Though her work and studies brought her to Europe frequently,  Arato Hisako did not often venture to Copenhagen. So the significance of her sudden visit was not lost on Alice, and it greatly saddened the Nakiri heiress that she would have to turn such an old and dear friend away from her home unsatisfied.

“You know I can't help you, Hishoko.” She crossed one leg over the other and took a dainty sip of Darjeeling tea from a painted cup.

Hisako narrowed her eyes fractionally, her grip on her own teacup tightening ever so slightly. She was desperate, Alice could tell, but still clinging to her well-practiced composure, her steely nonchalance. “It's been almost a year. You and Kurokiba must know where he is.”

“Ryo-kun might, but good luck getting him to talk when he wouldn't even say anything to me, his soulmate. Like can you even believe the disloyalty engendered by this so called bro code?”

The brief rant was met with a half-annoyed look from Hisako, who clearly wasn't interested in her long-term relationship woes.

Alice shook her head. “And even if I did know, I wouldn't tell you.”

“Why in the world not?”

“He’ll be back when he makes his fortune, and if he didn't tell you anything, there has to be a reason for it.”

Hisako rolled her eyes. “The reason must be that he wants me to never speak to him again.” She placed her teacup down and crossed her arms over her chest. “I can understand wanting to start over after those Sendawara snakes stole his research, which is exactly why I told him not to take that job in the first place.”

“You did warn him multiple times,” Alice conceded.

“But to just disappear is so idiotic. He could be dead in a ditch somewhere and no one would know.” 

“We got from dumb to dead in a ditch really quickly, Hishoko. If you're that worried, why don't you just ask Professor Shiomi?”

“I came here because Jun called me and I couldn't tell her anything.”

“Oh.”

“He's just so prideful and selfish and-”

“And are you sure you don't just miss him?” 

“As if I would! I'm only asking out of consideration for Jun. And I have a boyfriend, anyway.”

“Does ‘boyfriend’ know you came overseas to inquire after your ex?”

The pregnant silence between them spoke for itself. 

Alice just sighed and poured more tea into their cups. “You two are hopeless,” she said. “At any rate, since you're here, we might as well have lunch.”

---

“Thanks for coming all the way out here,” Ikumi said as she started closing up her beach side shack. 

“It's a nice place,” Erina replied between sips of rum punch. After weeks of writing restaurant reviews in her apartment, reclining on the beach in Los Angeles was exactly her idea of paradise. “I’m glad you invited me to your kitchen.” 

“It's really more of a project than anything else,” Ikumi said. “My father is making me get a business degree out here, and if I didn't start cooking again, I was going to lose my shit.”

“I hear that.” Erina adjusted her sunglasses, trying to remain present in the conversation despite the perfect beachside dish coming together in her mind’s eye. She would have to get back to Madrid sooner rather than later. “Are you going to relocate to Italy when you graduate?”

“Hard no.” Ikumi grabbed her car keys and led Erina towards her bright red convertible. “I'm breaking up with Takumi the next time we see each other.”

Erina’s eyes widened a bit. The last time she checked, Takumi and Ikumi had been as solid as Alice and Kurokiba or...or Yukihira and Tadokoro. “I don't mean to pry, but what happened?”

“Nothing happened, really. It's just the distance. Every time he’s supposed to come out here, something comes up. If it's not his father, it's his uncle, or his grandmother, or the fucking trattoria. I’m just tired.” She made a sharp turn onto the highway, just to get stuck in gridlock. She muttered a curse under her breath. “This is the worst thing about L.A. If you ever want to set up shop in California, just go to the Bay Area.”

“Noted,” Erina replied as she took in the traffic jam. They’d probably be stuck in it for at least twenty minutes. “So what happened when you went out to Tuscany?”

“Oh my god. His parents were so rude to me the entire time, especially his mother, and he didn't do anything about it. The only person who bothered to stick up for me was Isami. And then later he tried to explain that they were ‘just a bit conservative.’”

At this, Erina couldn’t help but snort a little. “What does Takumi Aldini know about conservative? Did he grow up wearing Victorian ball gowns around the house?”

“That's exactly what I said! And you know what, if he’s going to let his mother slut shame me for not wearing a turtleneck in the middle of July, we don't need to be in a relationship. At all.”

Not for the first time, Erina felt glad that all her relationships thus far had been short, sweet, and shallow. All this aggravation would only distract her from truly pursuing her cooking. 

“When you make the split official, there are some guys I can introduce to you.”

“Are they on the national football team?” Ikumi asked, smirking. 

“Naturally.” It had taken Erina a while to warm up to the athletic types, but they had grown on her.

“Yes!” Ikumi turned the air conditioning up in her car, seeming to finally accept their lot. “You and Arato-san have been doing it right this whole time.”

Were they, though? Truth be told, only time would tell. But she carried the image of the dish with her as the car inched into the horizon, and forgot to call her new boyfriend when they got back to Ikumi’s place.

#shokugeki no soma #soumegu #sorina #akisako #ryoali #between us

[amnachil]

To the Perfection Chapter 1 Part 10

Here’s the next part !

Thomas Sunday February 17 – Monday February 18

"This is amazing, astounding, fabulous ! There is a god among us ! His plays are incredible ! Muller is a real bless from heaven !"

Yeah, right... Everyone was celebrating Raphaël's team victory at Cody's mansion. And this damned presentator was making useless praises. Honestly, Thomas was only thinking about Dan. I wonder what he thinks about all this stuff... Does he ever get jealous of all the fame around big bro ? The young teenager liked the idea, but well... His crush was too perfect for this kind of things. I should just enjoy our evenings together, when he ends up so overstuffed he's barely conscious. I never expected to be able to rub his amazing belly...

"You brother really is something." smiled Cody next to him. "He's gifted right ?"

Thomas looked at him and smiled. You really are something : a fuckin' leech.

"Of course he is." he lied anyway.

"By the way, do you know what's going on with Ilhan ?" asked his friend. "He seems a bit... weird lately."

The ginger looked towards their buddy. He was munching crips in front of the telly. Each time he was taking a handful of food, he looked at it, and then sighed with weariness. Seems like he got used to eat a lot the evening now...

"What to you mean by weird ?" asked innocently Thomas.

"Well, he looks kind of sleep deprived ? Less energetic, like uh... more submissive."

Thomas's smile grew wider. Cody had always been observant. But that's none of your business.

"Maybe he's stressed because his grades ain't improving much despite my zealous help." he suggested. "I mean, I allowed him so much of my time... Look, we should show some benevolence and cut him some slack."

"Sure." agreed Cody.

"I'll talk to him and see what he has in mind." finally assured the ginger.

Well, to be honest, he didn't really talk about that. Thomas joined Ilhan upstair, and made sure they were alone. Then, he put an hand on his middle-section and smiled.

"Looks like you fed yourself already quite well." he whispered. "Can't wait me uh ?"

"Man what the hell did you do to me ?" mumbled Ilhan. "I just feel like I need to stuff myself !"

The ginger smile grew. For his own personnal pleasure, he had always be careful to feed his friend with high sugar-based and caloric food. He also made a schedule for the session, in order to get Ilhan's metabolism accostumed to the stuffing. That way, his stomach also stretched and get used to bigger quantities of food. And of course, he linked the bloated feeling and sexual desire.

"Thomas can you look at my eyes and not my belly ?" asked Ilhan. "You don't realise on what mess I am, do you ? My grades are dropping since I can't concentrate, I'm getting out of shape and I'm pretty sure Joël and Cody suspects we're... I don't even know what we are doing ? Are we a couple ? A fling ?"

You talk too much. Thomas opened a room and smiled.

"You should just enjoy the moment, Ilhan. Don't you want to have a good time with someone as wonderful as me ?"

His friend frowned. But he was completely under his charms anyway. And so they entered in the bedroom.

Thomas left Cody's home in the middle of the night. He wanted to spend his early morning with Dan before school. To be honest, I was only thinking about him, even while I was fucking Ilhan. Gregory's idea wasn't working very efficiently. Was it bad ? Maybe. But the young lad didn't care for that right now. He was almost home when he bumped into Darren. Damnit.

"Hello Thomas." smiled his professor. "You were celebrating your brother's victory with your friend I guess ?"

He nodded slowly.

"Well, I can't blame you to be up so late, or early, since I'm myself right here." laughed the teacher.

Yeah, and what the hell are you doing in the street at this hour ?

"Party ?" he asked more diplomatically.

"I was having a video game night with Dan." replied Darren. "Anyway, gotta go or I'll be wasted tomorow, I'm not that young anymore eh !"

Thomas watched him go away. He spent the night with Dan ? Now that he thought about it, his crush had talked about his long time buddy back in town... I don't like this at all. Dan is mine.

Dan Wednesday February 20

"Shouldn't you... urp... be in class ? It's 2 pm. Burp."

Dan slid an hand to his pants, and unbuttonned his zipper. The extra room he got from it made him sigh. His belly expanded freely. He lied back. Being sat was a bit uneasy. His eyes went down to the plate right in front of him. Two more slice of pie. He looked to all the empty plates around. Did I eat that much alone already ?

"I'm not skipping anything important." whispered Thomas. "And I think you need a little help to finish your meal."

The junior looked at him, amused. You enjoy this, right ? His friend was rubbing his distended stomach with expertise. It was very appeasing. Thomas suddenly put a slice right under his nose.

"Don't you smell that ? You want it right ?" he said genuinely.

Dan frowned. He was beyond stuffed, and nearly in a food coma. To be honest, he wasn't thinking straight, and sure, he wanted to eat that pie. He was just too much of a glutton to miss this opportunity. But he wasn't too groggy yet to not notice how much Thomas was into the feeding.

"Please... Can you talk to me normally ?" he asked. "I mean, I get you are taking advantage of my absolute lack of control over my appetite to have fun, but don't treat me like an animal please."

Thomas blushed. It was very unusual, but Dan didn't think about it. He was too focused on his belly.

"Sorry." stumbled the ginger. "I thought it would... help you finish... But if you prefer when I'm not talking I can just..."

"You can talk." cut Dan. "Just, be normal okay ? I don't feel at ease when you're playing a role."

"Sure. I'll be myself. Now, let's finish this pie."

The junior's belly let out a groan which drew Darren's attention.

"Man, you look stuffed."

They were at this one's home since two hours. They had been playing video games and talking about this and that. Despite his already gargantuous lunch, Dan had found himself eating snacks all the afternoon. I stayed completely bloated this whole time... It was more than a urge to be full : stuffed was his natural state now. Thanks god Thomas's parents were buying enough food to feed an army...

"Sorry." he said. "I definitely am."

"Well. I hope you don't mind gaining weight, because you're ballooning pretty fast." laughed Darren.

Thanksfully, it wasn't a jugdment, just a joke. It make Dan more conformtable. I really missed him. He sat up straight with difficulties. I'm not used to my new weight.

"Anyway, Darren there is something I would like to do." he changed the subject. "You know I have a boyfriend ?"

"Yeah ?"

His friend offered him a slice of pizza and a beer. You must be kidding me ? Despite his thought, Dan took it, of course.

"I want you to meet him. You're my best and eldest friend and I'm sure Raphaël will..."

"Raphaël Muller ?" interrupted the chestnut teacher. "Oh my god. You're in love with the God of Soccer ?! I can't believe it."

Darren looked astonished. Well... I know my boyfriend is someone famous. He shook his head for a moment, manifestly surprised.

"Man that's... woah. You want me to meet Raphaël ?"

Suddenly, he opened wide his eyes. Dan was too focused on his distended stomach to notice it, but a  glint of panic crossed Darren's look.

"What about this sunday ? He'll be back in town for a week."

The young teacher didn't answer. He frowned, but when Dan looked at him, he forced a smile.

"Sure thing." he said. "I'm sure it will be great."

Darren was kind of weird. The junior had left his friend an hour ago, and he was going home. Because he was stuffed, he was walking slowly, an hand on his bloated belly. I really need to watch what I eat... He had grown from thin to chubby fast enough. And he was getting seriously fat now. But nobody was helping. Thomas was more than eager to feed him. Darren and Carol were always testing his limits. And himself enjoyed all the food way too much. I don't mind having a belly, but I don't want to be completely out of shape... I'll be ridiculous next to Raphaël. A noise suddenly caught his attention. He glimpsed someone who was breaking into an house. No way... At start, he wanted to call the police, but he recognized the thief... I must be hallucinating...

"Shirley." he hailed her. "What the hell ?"

His sister stopped. She turned towards him and smiled.

"Hi Dan. Looks like you have enjoyed yourself."

"What are you doing ? An old lady live here."

"Yeah, I know that. Look, I just needed a roof for the night. You can't blame me for that, can you ?"

Dan sighed. She was completely out of her mind. She didn't care about the law anymore.

"Sis', I should be calling the police..." he looked at her. "Just come with me."

They walked in silent. Am I doing the right thing ? Thomas wouldn't mind the extra company for one night or two, but it couldn't be a long-run solution.

"You need to stop this bad stuff." he finally said. "You'll be in jail in no time otherwise."

"You worry now ?" she laughed. "You weren't so concerned when mom and dad almost sued me."

"And you weren't nice to me either." he recalled. "Not to mention you tried to charge Raphaël of a fake sexual assault."

She froze. For a second, she looked desesperate, and he regretted his words. But soon enough, she replaced her distress by anger.

"You and your Raphaël... You're so lucky he wants to stay with you. I mean, look at you Dan. You're an average student who barely managed to pass in thrid year. You're dumb, indecisive, and naive. And you're not even good-looking, my dear fat brother. When was the last time you made something good in your life ? Raphaël is a god, a famous player who is idolized in the whole country. How long before he finds someone way better than you huh ? You're here judging me, but you're not better at all, stupid brother !"

And she ran away. Dan looked her outline disappear, both shocked and saddened by her attitude. Why is she so bitter ? Her words crept in his mind. He suddenly felt awful. Ugly and stupid. He recalled Sam and Carol's words. Even Darren called his boyfriend the God of Soccer. Afterall, they were right, weren't they ?. Raphaël was the perfection among humanity. How the hell could he love someone like Dan ?

To be continued

Well, a part focused on Raphaël without the man being physically here.

Thomas got it easy, with two feedee who enjoy his company... (or do they ?). At least, Ilhan is obeying him for now;

Dan’s always been insecure so it’s not suprising he feels that way when everybody tells him how perfect Raphaël is. Now we have to see what he will do about it.

#to the perfection #TP #Thomas #Dan #weight gain #stuffing #Dan's growing very well #Dan's has self-confidence issue #Ilhan's getting chubby #Shirley is a criminal #Seriously she's not nice #Chapter 1 #part 10

[womenofcolor15]

SHOCKED & SADDENED: R.I.P. John Witherspoon, A Hollywood Legend

Father, husband and comedic acting legend John Witherspoon has passed away at age 77. We're shocked and saddened by the unfortunate news, and we're so fortunate to have been a witness to his impact while he was here. Full story inside.

In unfortunate news, Hollywood legend John Witherspoon died in his Sherman Oaks home last night.  The Friday star's family shared in a statement:

“It is with deepest sorrow that we can confirm our beloved husband and father, John Witherspoon, one of the hardest working men in show business, died today at his home in Sherman Oaks at the age of 77.

He is survived by his wife Angela, and his sons JD, Alexander, and a large family. We are all in shock, please give us a minute for a moment in privacy and we will celebrate his life and his work together. John used to say ‘I’m no big deal’, but he was huge deal to us.”

He was a huge deal to all of us, too.  Not many black actors have successful careers spanning 30+ years that have a direct impact on the culture throughout most of our whole lives - from representing fatherhood through comedy (Friday franchise) to being the voice of the grandfather we all have ("Boondocks"' Gramps).

His son, J.D. Witherspoon, who is also a comedian and actor, posted the most heartfelt tribute saying:

          View this post on Instagram

                  So...my Dad died today & honestly I’m not sure how to feel. I’m sad, but I’m also happy 4 all the great times we had together. We’d roast each other like homies more than Father & Son, and I really loved that about us. In all seriousness I work as hard as I do thanks to seeing Him grind for literally 77 years of his life, and I’m damn proud to be his son. If I have even half the career & impact he has had on people I’ll be very happy. His legacy will live on through me, my family, his friends, and everyone else who was touched by him here on earth. He was my best friend & my Hero. I Love U Dad...I’ll miss u. - J.D

A post shared by J.D. Witherspoon (@jdwitherspoon) on Oct 29, 2019 at 11:02pm PDT

      Back in May, John was seen arriving to FOX 29 Studios during his stand up comedy tour in Philadelphia, PA:

    A month prior, he appeared on Netflix's Strong Black Lead's podcast to give an in depth look into his career. It was every bit eye-opening and inspirational, and we're so happy he got to tell his story beyond "Bang! Bang! Bang!" while he was here.

Tony Rock, his Friday co-stars Mike Epps & Ice Cube, and more have been pouring out their hearts about John. And Tom Arnold even gave us insight into the man and writer he was that we many of us didn't already know:

I’m devastated over the passing of John Witherspoon. Life won’t be as funny without him. pic.twitter.com/gtmiZiEppP

— Ice Cube (@icecube) October 30, 2019

        View this post on Instagram

                  Aww man this is a heart breaker I remember the first day on the set of next Friday and you told me calm down and let the jokes come natural I was so honored to have work with you thank you for all the advice and laughs and great movies that you gave us Jhon we love you man rest easy see you in comedy heaven you be truly missed

A post shared by Mike Epps (@eppsie) on Oct 29, 2019 at 10:48pm PDT

    tony_rock

Verified

Condolences to your family. I'll cherish the times I spent with him as his opening act many years ago. He would say 'Young fella do some extra time tonight. I don't feel like working'. Next night he'd say 'I'm cutting your time tonight. I feel good'. Rest Peacefully Sir John. #BANGBANGBANG

  taylorbennett

Verified

Played A better Role as a Pops in Than allot of Dads

  hahadavis Verified RIP THE ORIGINAL POPS breshawebb Verified My heart just stopped. Im sooo sorry j! My prayers are with you and your fam right now. Your dad was a fuckin legend. Wow georgelopez Verified Well Said JD , god bless you and your family . kenjeong Verified Sending all my love, thoughts, and prayers to you and your family. Much love.

  comedianlilrel Verified You’re in my prayers man!!! kevonstage Verified Terribly sorry for your loss bro. lalamilan Verified Sending you love and condolences youtube Verified We’re so sorry for your loss, J.D.

thetomarnold Verified I loved your dad. I working with him. I loved just hanging with him. I loved being at the airport with him or at a fancy charity event with him. I even went to a high roller children’s charity night in his house. We ended up going through his closet. There was some very valuable art in his closet. “I had to take it off the walls. Too many at risk kids in the house tonight. Can’t trust them. I used to be one” John Witherspoon was an idea man. He was as smart as he was funny. He always tried to make to make things better. Funnier. John made everyone around him better. He was an uncredited writer on every project he did & because I worshiped him, I’d say “Spoon, the writers me to do this but I’m going to THIS. What do you think?” Your dad deserved Producer credit for the way he’d arch his entire forehead & say “I like it Tom but maybe cut it in half or two thirds” John Witherspoon was a comedy legend I was blessed to know as a human being. He was an old school blue color hard working comic/actor/dad/husband/friend. John Witherspoon was a fucking MAN. I’m so sorry for your loss buddy.

R.I.P. Mr. Witherspoon.  Our thoughts and condolences go out to all of his loved ones who graciously shared him with us through the years. #ForeverPops

Photo credit: Shamayim/Netflix, Backgrid

[Read More ...] source http://theybf.com/2019/10/30/shocked-saddened-rip-john-witherspoon-a-hollywood-legend

[gyrlversion]

Avicii And Mac Miller’s New Projects Are Making Fans Think Twice About Posthumous Releases

As music fans, nothing can quite prepare us for the heartbreak we feel when a beloved artist suddenly passes away. And although it’s never easy to cope with a musician’s untimely death, it’s long been clear that death doesn’t necessarily mark the end of a music career. In fact, it seems that several departed artists’ legacies continue through a string of posthumous releases — many of which are dropped months, years, or even decades after their passing.

Take Avicii‘s Tim, for example. The first posthumous single from the late Swedish producer, whose full name was Tim Bergling, was “SOS” featuring Aloe Blacc, and it was released on April 10, mere days from the first anniversary of his death. The opportunity to hear his signature sound again not only brought fans joy, but also a sense of closure. “It was his way of saying goodbye,” longtime fan Lindsay Sperin told MTV News.

When Bergling’s full-length LP arrived on June 6, the reaction was similar, with many fans of the EDM superstar feeling grateful he left behind music that, a year later, would offer insight into the last several months of his life. “Overall, the album is something society needed to remind people that everyone, no matter who you are — famous, successful, pretty, smart, talented, etc. — is going through something,” Sperin added. “And that is so important.”

But while some fans took to social media to say that the album helped fill a void, others wondered if the album was an accurate representation of what the producer’s next album would’ve sounded like had he been alive to finish and release it himself. “It’s hard to capture someone’s vision if you aren’t them,” Luke Wells, an avid listener of Avicii, told MTV News.

Fans of the late Mac Miller seem to share many of the same fears. After his voice popped back up on two recent tracks — 88-Keys’s “That’s Life” and Free Nationals’s “Time,” both recorded before his 2018 death — fans expressed how nice it was to be able hear his voice again, especially on an ecstatic song like “That’s Life.” “Without this music, fans only have what [Mac] gave [before he died],” Anya Schoenfeld, a fan of Miller’s, told MTV News. “The work [he] has been working on for [his] fans and for [himself] was for nothing if it’s not released.”

Still, other fans have raised concerns on Twitter about whether the release of any further posthumous music from Mac lessens the authority he would’ve had over his own voice if he was still alive. “It just saddens me that [deceased] artists don’t have the control anymore of their music,” said Eddie Henriquez, a fan of the late rapper. “[The verse] could’ve been planned before [his] death, but when [he’s] not able to reap the benefits… it feels sort of… hollow? I want to know that an artist has control over their content.”

Although these opinions don’t represent the entirety of both Avicii and Miller’s fanbases, the concerns raised — like posthumous releases themselves — are nothing new. On June 7, Warner Bros. released a new album from Prince titled Originals, a compilation of hits he recorded specifically for other artists, like The Bangles’s “Manic Monday” and Sinéad O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U.” Michael Jackson‘s second posthumous album, 2014’s Xscape, featured eight songs recorded by the pop icon in the 1980s and ’90s before getting remixed by L.A. Reid, Timbaland, and several other producers to create the final product, which found a mixed reception. Jimi Hendrix, who released three studio albums in his lifetime, had 13 additional studio albums dropped posthumously — not to mention 27 live albums and countless other special releases. While this material was received with excitement by plenty of devoted fans, it’s not hard to understand why, for others, the continued release of music after an artist’s passing can raise an eyebrow.

One of the major reasons why musicians’ estates approve such releases is that ultimately, it simply gives fans more. At least in Avicii’s case, it’s what many of them believe he would’ve wanted. “Nothing but praise for @vargasandlagola, @arizona and @coldplay along with all the other producers for finishing the posthumous @Avicii album ‘Tim,” tweeted Avicii fan Conor McGee. “It’s a wonderful way to round off his producing career and it’s the way he would’ve wanted it.”

With much of Tim meticulously planned out prior to his death, and some songs like “Heaven” already done, completing an album that Bergling would’ve been proud of became of utmost importance to his co-producers. And from many fans’ perspectives, they succeeded. A release like Tim can be therapeutic, and not just for fans, but also for the team that took on the intimidating task of finishing it. “It became almost like a comfort to work on these songs and to have them, to listen to, to remember and to think back on the whole process how they were put together,” producer Karl Falk told NPR.

There’s an undeniable value in how much Tim has helped fans, friends, family, and co-producers grieve the producer’s death. And in case the good intentions behind this posthumous release weren’t clear, his team took additional measures to make sure the music was released in a way that celebrates his life and helps others who share the same struggles. Along with naming Bergling as the sole producer of the album in its credits, all the proceeds of the album were donated to the Tim Bergling Foundation, a nonprofit that focuses on mental health and suicide prevention created by his family following his death.

But while many people are able to justify the posthumous releases by Avicii and Mac Miller, it doesn’t seem to be as simple for fans of Lil Peep, another recently departed musician. Since his death in 2017, Peep has appeared on nine singles, including with superstar collaborators like Marshmello and iLoveMakonnen. When Gabriela, a young fan of Peep’s, began to notice these releases happening on a semi-regular basis, something didn’t sit right.

“His death hit our generation really hard, because it could have been any one of us,” she said. “The fans want to honor him, but it feels like the label or whoever is in charge of these releases just wants to capitalize on our generation’s loss.” But when it comes to “I’ve Been Waiting,” Peep’s song with iLoveMakonnen and Fall Out Boy, she admits there’s a bit more of a gray area. “I love the idea of Fall Out Boy jumping on Lil Peep’s track because that would have been a dream come true for him,” she added about the artists who was celebrated for merging hip-hop and emo. “And I’m sure a lot of the people who made that happen felt it was a way to honor Lil Peep.”

Though the path from buried studio artifact to properly released posthumous track can be complicated, fan reactions reveal that when done correctly — and at their best — these releases can offer a significant amount of relief and healing to those the artists have left behind. Ultimately, as Avicii fan Sperin concluded, the emotional catharsis may end up outweighing the confusion: “Posthumous music reminds us how special life really is and how quickly our time here can come to an end, and maybe that’s a good enough reason for it.”

The post Avicii And Mac Miller’s New Projects Are Making Fans Think Twice About Posthumous Releases appeared first on Gyrlversion.

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[kidsviral-blog]

Live Twitter report: Cops at Junior Seau’s home, gunfire heard; Update: Seau dead, suicide confirmed

New Post has been published on https://kidsviral.info/live-twitter-report-cops-at-junior-seaus-home-gunfire-heard-update-seau-dead-suicide-confirmed/

Live Twitter report: Cops at Junior Seau’s home, gunfire heard; Update: Seau dead, suicide confirmed

http://twitter.com/#!/ASHBLANC/status/197746556965879810

There are cops at Junior Seau's home… we are told something really bad happened. More to come…

— Harvey Levin (@HarveyLevinTMZ) May 2, 2012

Shootings at Junior Seau house? What is going on with him in the last couple years. Oh no!!!

— Theresa Seid (@RockOnMommies) May 2, 2012

Something is going on at the home of future NFL hall of fame linebacker Junior Seau’s home. We’ll update this post as more information comes in.

UPDATE: This doesn’t sound good at all. Initial reports say Seau is dead.

spoke with an investigator at Coroner's Office who said they're on way to scene..and a law enforcement source says Jr is dead.We're checking

— Harvey Levin (@HarveyLevinTMZ) May 2, 2012

Reports are circulating that Junior Seau is dead. I really hope this isn't true.

— Logan Stringfield (@BuzzCityPunk) May 2, 2012

People in law enforcement are telling us Junior Seau is dead … but we are unable to confirm that right now. #TMZ

— Dew Master (@MrDewMaster) May 2, 2012

I just heard that Junior Seau's is dead and cops are at his house as we speak. Anyone know anything about this. If he is man what a sad day

— Kivaka (@kivaka) May 2, 2012

Damn. News 10 is saying Junior Seau might have committed suicide. Sad.

— jodie hughes (@JodieAHughes) May 2, 2012

UPDATE 2: We are sad to report that the initial reports have been confirmed. Junior Seau is dead at the young age of 43. He has 3 kids.

Cops are investigating the shooting, but suicide is suspected. Seau attempted suicide back in 2010 when he drove his SUV off a cliff.

Seau becomes the 8th member of the of ’94 Chargers to pass away.

Junior Seau dead in suicide, source says. Link to story to come.

— UT San Diego North (@UTNorth) May 2, 2012

Report: 911 Call Reports Possible Suicide At Former NFLer Junior Seau's Home http://t.co/0cY81Cbx via @TPMLivewire

— David Kurtz (@TPM_dk) May 2, 2012

**UPDATED BREAKING NEWS** Very sad *Tears Flowing As I Type* Junior Seau "Reportedly" committed suicide about 60mins ago.. #RIP Junior

— Incarcerated Bob IBN (@incarceratedbob) May 2, 2012

Fans of the NFL as well as current and former NFL players are offering their condolences.

My prayers and condolences to the family of one of the NFL's greatest linebackers to ever play the game.. Junior Seau.. R.I.P

— Chad Johnson (@ochocinco) May 2, 2012

RIP to Junior Seau. One of the best defensive players the league has ever seen. He will be missed.

— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) May 2, 2012

RIP Junior Seau. Sad. Extremely sad. May peace be with your family and loved ones at this horrible time.

— Kevin Iole (@KevinI) May 2, 2012

https://twitter.com/#!/MoMass11/status/197753264450711553

#RIP Junior Seau. Got to know him on the sports show and a bunch of charity stuff. Great guy. GREAT ballplayer. Respect to his family.

— Tom Arnold (@TomArnold) May 2, 2012

I guess it is true. #RIP Junior Seau. Thoughts and prayers go out to his three kids.

— Kisha Tapangan (@KishaT) May 2, 2012

Wow, I'm just sick over the story of Junior Seau. Always loved whenever I got to be around him. One of the funniest dudes around. RIP man

— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) May 2, 2012

RIP Junior Seau. Interviewed him many times over the years in covering the NFL…was never anything but decent and kind. Terrible news.

— Josh Elliott (@JoshElliott32) May 2, 2012

I first met Junior Seau when I was 18 yrs old and a Freshmen at San Diego State. He actually told me I had NFL potential and I believed it.

— Kirk Morrison (@kirkmorrison) May 2, 2012

Saddened to hear Junior Seau has died. He was proof that a 40-year-old linebacker could still dominate among a league of 20-year-olds #RIP

— ryan sutton (@qualityrye) May 2, 2012

The passing of Junior Seau is pretty tragic. The list of post NFL players dealing with depression and suicide grows. Hate to hear this.

— Gregory Shane Helms (@ShaneHelmsCom) May 2, 2012

I'm so sad. RIP JUNIOR SEAU. He was an amazing player and an amazing man. I looked up to him when I was young. 🙁

— Kendra Wilkinson (@KendraWilkinson) May 2, 2012

Beloved man w/ a charitable heart. Inspirer, hero to many & friend to all. RIP Junior Seau pic.twitter.com/jlWsxiXn

— Kiptyn Locke (@Kiptyn) May 2, 2012

Very sad news about Junior Seau if the reports are in fact true. RIP #55

— James Ham (@James_Ham) May 2, 2012

My thoughts & prayers are with Junior Seau's family right now. He was one of the best to ever play the game. Sad, sad day.

— Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) May 2, 2012

I cannot believe all of this about Junior Seau!! Man was a legend! What could've possibly caused this?!? Someone had to notice something!

— Hank Baskett (@TheHankBaskett) May 2, 2012

We must enjoy each day like its our last…RIP Junior Seau

— Pierre Thomas (@Pierre_Thomas) May 2, 2012

Dear @ESPN, Junior Seau is dead, no one gives a shit about bounties anymore, besides Saints fans

— BuckeyeEmpire (@BuckeyeEmpire) May 2, 2012

Junior Seau may not have been the 1st great USC LB to wear #55 but he'll always be the Trojan most identified with that legacy #.

— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) May 2, 2012

Junior Seau was a dear friend of mine. This is a very sad day. He was a great player and a better man. Rip my brother.

— Alfonso Ribeiro (@alfonso_ribeiro) May 2, 2012

At a loss for words right now. R.I.P Junior Seau.

— Justin Tuck (@JustinTuck) May 2, 2012

A man's worth is measured by what he does for others, not what he does for himself. Junior Seau was a great man. You are missed Junior. #RIP

— Jim Trotter (@JimTrotter_NFL) May 2, 2012

Saddened 2 hear of the death of NFL GREAT Junior Seau! A great football player but an even GREATER man! He will b missed! #fb

— Kurt Warner (@kurt13warner) May 2, 2012

https://twitter.com/#!/michaelombardi/status/197761775242973185

WOW RIP Junior Seau. He will be remembered as his amazing on field talents. If you are depressed seek help as suicide is never the answer.

— Shane Carwin (@ShaneCarwin) May 2, 2012

Truly heartbreaking reports about Junior Seau. He gave so much to others and had more to give. RIP. Prayers are with him and his family

— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) May 2, 2012

Wow. And then we lose Junior Seau…not such a beautiful day after all. RIP

— Lil Wayne WEEZY F (@LilTunechi) May 2, 2012

to put this whole day the situation in perspective… RIP Junior Seau. what a tragedy.

— Scott Shanle (@scottshanle) May 2, 2012

RIP Junior Seau u inspired me to play sports with ur great energy and dedication, its a sad day, u will be missed, #55

— Frankie Delgado (@frankiedelgado) May 2, 2012

I'm in stunned disbelief and completely crestfallen over the news about Junior Seau. Prayers and well wishes to him and his family.

— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) May 2, 2012

My prayers & condolences to the family of Junior Seau…great player & even better man. Glad to have had the honor to suit up with you bro!!

— Donte' Stallworth (@DonteStallworth) May 2, 2012

RIP Junior Seau. There's nothing funny whatsoever about suicide. So save your jokes, show some class. Thoughts & prayers go out to the Seaus

— Moreno (@Moreno) May 2, 2012

RIP Junior Seau!!… wow that's crazy sad day for the NFL

— Austin Daye (@Adaye5) May 2, 2012

RIP 2 junior seau… 1 of the best LB's to ever play the game

— LaMarrWoodley (@LaMarrWoodley) May 2, 2012

JR RIP 1 of our game's all time greats more importantly a reliable friend & inspiration 2 many 4 his kindness, generosity & charitable ways.

— Larry Fitzgerald (@LarryFitzgerald) May 2, 2012

Wow shocked right now, I tapped Juniors picture every single day before heading out to practice at USC. R.I.P. to a legend n awesome person.

— Brian Cushing (@briancushing56) May 2, 2012

A sad day prayers for the Seau family. Jr was a good friend a good teammate but a much better man.

— Mark May (@mark_may) May 2, 2012

Don't think anyone truly understands how hard it is to play in this league. Seau played 20yrs. 1 of the greatest of our gen. Rest peacefully

— Chris Ogbonnaya (@ChrisOgbonnaya) May 2, 2012

Junior was a true competitor and a special player. My heartfelt condolences go out to the Seau family.

— John Elway (@johnelway) May 2, 2012

So saddened by the news of Junior Seau's passing. The hearts of the Trojan family go out to his relatives and friends.

— Pete Carroll (@PeteCarroll) May 2, 2012

All of us are deeply saddened about Junior Seau, a great player loved by teammates who also worked hard to serve his community. …

— Roger Goodell (@nflcommish) May 2, 2012

… Junior and his family will remain in our thoughts.

— Roger Goodell (@nflcommish) May 2, 2012

#RIP Junior Seau. Great friend and competitor….. Had great times together. Will be missed.

— Michael Strahan (@michaelstrahan) May 2, 2012

If you follow Twitchy.com, you heard about this news WHILE it was happening. If you still live in the stone age and get your sports news from ESPN, you may have been disappointed.

There is a reason @espn is not reporting junior seau suicide. Gathering facts rather than retracting later I assume,

— Sports Bets Daily (@SportsBetsDaily) May 2, 2012

@Buccigross so Junior Seau apparently has passed away due to a self inflicted GSW to chest? @SportsCenter @espn not reporting?

— Ara (@ArchieBaldEagle) May 2, 2012

https://twitter.com/#!/GaPeacHnicKi/status/197756778455379968

@AdamRubinESPN junior seau has been dead for four hours and espn is still not reporting it. Wtf?

— Mike McNamara (@hampton16) May 2, 2012

Love how ESPN is reporting about the Saints bounty and not mentioning Junior Seau's death. Football is not serious. Life is. 😔

— Maria Laurelle (@RiiAAAAkinZZ) May 2, 2012

ESPN still not reporting on supposed suicide of former Chargers LB Junior Seau. Strange…

— Dan Meyer (@MeyersMusings) May 2, 2012

UPDATE 3: It has been confirmed that Jenior Seau committed suicide.

https://twitter.com/#!/AdamSchefter/status/197772726675582976

Damn, Junior Seau committed suicide…wtf?

— Major G.A.U.G.E. (@majorgauge) May 2, 2012

Can't believe junior seau committed suicide….so sad…R.I.P #chargers

— Chargers (@ChARGERSx619) May 2, 2012

Suicide is complicated and hard to reconcile. Heartbreaking news regarding Junior Seau. #RIP

— Adam (@a1d7a1m7) May 2, 2012

Damn. It's all ways sad when you hear "suicide"…. R.I.P Junior Seau

— Fatal Attraction (@JermXbruh) May 2, 2012

Heart goes out to Junior Seau's family…. the @nfl concussions are no joke. Leads to depression and often to suicide. So sad. 🙁 RIP

— Travis Wright (@teedubya) May 2, 2012

UPDATE 4: Apparently Seau left a suicide note explaining that he shot himself in the chest to preserve his brain for NFL concussion related testing. This report has not yet been confirmed and should be considered a rumor at this time.

https://twitter.com/#!/Radio_Champ/status/197767091233890304

https://twitter.com/#!/Steiny31/status/197769827539095552

if rumor about Seau's note is true, to have the forethought to preserve his brain for research, while in the midst of suffering, is amazing

— Brandon Gee (@brndngee) May 2, 2012

Ugh, just read about Seau's suicide note. That's absurdly sad. Hopefully a link to CTE is made and his death can mean something.

— Captain Buzzkill (@Matthew_Bremner) May 2, 2012

Sad to hear about the suicide death of former NFL star Junior Seau. He supposedly left a note saying he wants his brain donated to research.

— Jason Solomon (@solomonster) May 2, 2012

Story of Seau's suicide note is super depressing. Requests his brain be researched for prevention of future tragedies.

— Alex Huang (@alexjhuang) May 2, 2012

https://twitter.com/#!/dukefan805/status/197780575627644928

UPDATE 5: We reported it as a rumor and it turned out to be just that. New reports indicate that Seau did NOT leave a suicide note.

San Diego newspaper. RT @nctimes: Oceanside police claims there was no suicide note found at Junior Seau's home.

— SPORTSbyBROOKS (@SPORTSbyBROOKS) May 2, 2012

https://twitter.com/#!/sgallman/status/197790234853916673

Oceanside police claims there was no suicide note found at Junior Seau's home.

— UT San Diego North (@UTNorth) May 2, 2012

Read more: http://twitchy.com/2012/05/02/live-twitter-report-cops-at-junior-seaus-home-gunfire-heard/

[lana-shhhhthoughts]

A Girl, A Bull, and Two Raging Men.

Here are my shhh-thoughts about the Fearless Girl, Charging Bull and an ugly Piss-y Pug that literally no one wanted. I call this palaver, “The Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly Real Life Play of the Art World” - cos apparently not all reactions to taking offence are equal and opposite (sorry Newton) - as in this case, where one seemingly swallows the other until they explode. Fortunately for the Pug (and for all of us), it was removed before someone else made a statue of a flea infestation, and someone else, a flea treatment, ad infinitum.

Before I continue with my thoughts about that dumb Pug, we need to discuss the history of the story. And before we do that, I would like to publicly state my sincere admiration for how each artist seems to deploy the character traits reflexive of their own sculptures in dealing with this palaver: Di Modica is stomping his feet and snorting at the misappropriation of his work, Visbal appears to be quietly standing her ground (check out her quote below), and Gardega, well, he just snorted, took a piss on some art and was forcibly removed from public space for being allowed off-lead. It is also intensely interesting to me that both male artists chose animals who are well known for snorting. #notallmaleartists

So. Back to the history. Way back in mid-December 1989 (that’s almost 30 years ago, kids), the world was a very different place to what it is now. Yes there had been a wave of feminism in the 70s, sure, but let me tell ya, women were still push overs in the business world in the 80s. If you don’t believe me, check out my old favourite films of the day, 9 –5 and Working Girl (where unbelievably, Melanie Griffith must have had the ONLY female boss in the firm). Great films. Great. Yuge. And then watch the film Wall Street, if only to count the number of women not relegated to being secretaries. It’s no secret that finance is dominated by men and I don’t think anyone would deny it, though they may debate the reasons behind it.

Meanwhile, in a studio not far away from the Gordon Geckos of New York but in an antithetical world, an artist by the name of Arturo Di Modica had spent $350,000 of his own money and worked for 2 years on the beautiful, massive bull that we now know and love as Charging Bull - his response to the Wall Street crash of 1986. His artistic intention was for Charging Bull’s symbol of virility and courage to be a “celebration of the can-do spirit of America … where people from all over the world could come … and through determination and hard work overcome every obstacle to become successful.” But artistic intention and artistic interpretation don’t always match up, especially as the passage of time alters our understanding of society. It’s important to note here that it was not commissioned. It was a piece of guerrilla art delivered under a giant Christmas tree in front of the Stock Exchange on Broad St in the middle of the night. Di Modica still owns the statue and it is on loan to the city. It’s an incredible act of generosity by an artist - and that needs to be acknowledged. And it was his symbol of love for his adopted country. At the time. In 1989. But regardless of whether an artist likes it or not, we always look at art through a prism of history and experience. And things have changed since 1989. For the sake of argument (in case you just CAN’T relate to the feminist angle) let’s create a specific, more universal example: let’s look at the Bull again, this time placed in the context of the GFC -  

At one point (to the artist), The Bull may have been a symbol of courage and virility, but its deliberate placement in a post GFC financial district places it in a defined environment, and our bull suddenly takes on a darker and more aggressive meaning. Instead of being “courageous and virile”, standing as separate entity to Wall Street, it now “represents” Wall Street. As representative, we see that our trusted bull invested in fragile pottery, built a china shop around all of us, had a large and public tanty, and destroyed everything. His virility also fucked us. Royally. In every way conceivable. He fucked us up and down, round and round and inside out, then walked out of the shop feeling satisfied with himself, because not only did he get away with it, he also ended up getting fed from the hand of the country that keeps telling him he’s a good boy. ‘Cos you know, “bulls will be bulls.”

I may have gotten off on a tangent there, but my point is that post GFC, this bull takes on a dangerous and entitled quality. And thus the original intention of the artists’ work is blown away by history, and blown away by the eyes through which the viewer looks at it - eyes that still have shards of china left in them that sting.

The place of women has also changed since 1989. You just can’t make a movie like 9 to 5 anymore because people would be like “why are all those women using typewriters?”. But back then Di Modica chose a Bull as his symbol, because I guess maybe to him, the bull represented “people”, and by “people” that meant men. After all, at that time, it was mostly only men who worked the paid jobs, and definitely only men who worked the WELL-paid ones. In fact, I’m sure Sigourney Weaver’s boss character in Working Girl was probably paid just marginally more than Melanie Griffith’s secretary character was.  It was only men who could apparently make positive change through their paid work. And only men who led. And he’d have been right to think that. Because most people would have thought that. At the time.

A male cow. A. Male. Cow. Whoooo boy! How on earth could Di Modica have known that in the future, placing a bull in the financial district could be interpreted as male dominance that stands in the way of women climbing financial ladders? He couldn’t. Because the world was different then and while MOST women were doing unpaid or underpaid work that allowed men to succeed in their careers – they simply weren’t acknowledged as being able to succeed themselves. What Di Modica didn’t address then, was that women WERE working very hard and HAD the determination. They just weren’t recognised for it. And so, the animal he chose to represent “the people” was male.

I guess my long and drawn out point is that depending on your life experience, the bull is likely no longer viewed in the way the artist originally intended and it is more than likely no longer a symbol of love for an adopted country, but a negative reminder of bullishness and dominance, and that the privilege of power will still win in the end. And thus, someone thought that perhaps it is time to change the reading of that art to something more positive. Enter State Street Global Advisors, Kristen Visbal, McCann and Fearless Girl. There has been a LOT said about Fearless Girl. Initially we loved her! I mean, yes, it took appropriation to a whole new level, making the world discuss the pluses and minuses of appropriation (which is a whole other post), but in general, suddenly a lot of women around the world got excited. Because they could see themselves in her, and they could see her in themselves. We’ve all faced that angry bull - not the 1989 interpretation, but the one we see in 2017: the dominant males who refuse to let us pass (notallmen guys notallmen). We empathise with her, we know she’ll grow into a woman with the same stance, I think most of us wish we were her. The bull snorts and she breathes it in like it feeds her. It is wonderful and empowering and celebrates mixed race. Certainly, I know women who bring their daughters to the statue and I already know young girls who adopt her stance. That alone is priceless. So we loved her. We loved her!

Until it was revealed that SHE was an advertising campaign. Let me get this straight…. we LOVED HER… and then we found out an artist actually got paid in dollars instead of “exposure” and suddenly it’s not ok. Is it because we felt duped? Or because the company has a NASDAQ ticker of SHE? Now, SSGA are not entirely clean – they allegedly invest in mining, petrol, and fracking amongst other frightening things, and some of those companies have associated human rights violations. So, when I write this next paragraph, I am in no way defending those investments (which do absolutely need to be considered in the context of feminism) but for now I will separate it for just a moment. Because… Advertising or not, you cannot deny that SSGA and McCann got it right. Someone there should deservedly be guzzling multiple cases of Moët, because this work was a great success until we decided that a corporation shouldn’t be paying for art. So, it’s an ad. But it’s an ad that works, unlike the failed Pepsi ad, and the “come drink a beer with me and I’ll change my deep-seated hatred of transexuals” Heineken ad. Those ads don’t work and will never work, because they don’t speak our truth. Let’s face it: Margaret Court ain’t never gonna change her mind on same sex marriage just by sharing a Heineken with a gay couple deeply saddened by their inability to get married in Australia. But finally, finally, here is an ad that actually harnesses the zeitgeist, and does it in a fierce sculpture that we, as the world, can enjoy as a work of art after they’re done advertising it. Or, another way to think about it is as a commissioned sponsored work (and god damn it, art SHOULD be sponsored).   And women are fiercely protective of it. We so rarely see ourselves presented in art in powerful poses that when a dude bro is photographed humping it, to shame and diminish her power, we immediately react. I mean seriously, who WAS that guy? Because…. Fearless Girl is more than just a statue. She IS us. I mean sure, not everyone agrees: The Washington Post published a piece saying it “portrays the empowered woman as a child, reinforcing the idea of femaleness as cute and inoffensive.” But I’m a proud femmo, and I vehemently disagree with that statement. “Cute and inoffensive”? Tell that to all the MRAs losing their shit over it. Which is another sign that it works. OK. We need to get to some nitty gritty. I am a left-leaning lefty leftist, and yet here I am defending an investment management firm with potentially dirty ties. But here’s the thing, my left-ism is based on what I think is just and true in the world, but I pepper it with a healthy dose of realism and logic: We’ve been busting the balls of financial industries for not doing the right thing for a long time (cos let’s face it, they’ve been assholes), and finally a firm decides to do something about their gender equity and we’re all like, “yeah nah, this is bullshit - you’re only addressing gender equity because you think that’s what people want.” Ummm…. Yeah!? Of course! They’re responding to what we’re asking for! Get with the program! We demanded, and they are finally delivering. And yet we rail against them for finally doing what we’ve been asking for all these years and we slam them for paying an artist to advertise their inclusive hiring practices.

And here is why that is wrong. They nailed their advertising. We’ve been talking about Fearless Girl since she was installed because the issue divided people, which in and of itself means it was successful: now the world knows that SSGA hire women. We shouldn’t be bawling them out for using corporate feminism, or art as advertising or presenting it as guerrilla art, we should be nailing them to the wall for alleged dirty investments. We should be holding them accountable and saying, “hey, well done on Fearless Girl and congrats for actively encouraging gender equity in your firm. Good one. Five stars. Go you. Shame it took you so long but never mind we got there in the end and now we can all move forward. Speaking about moving forward, let’s have a wee chat about Rio Tinto…”.

‘Cos at the moment, my guess is that they are thinking that whatever they do, they can’t win: Keep up bad employment practices? The public hate us. Try to address gender equity? The public hate us. So, given that we are loudly castigating them for publicly announcing their gender equity, why on earth would they bother cleaning up something a hell of a lot bigger: their investment portfolio?

Look. All your corporate feminism arguments are valid: Yes, they shouldn’t use feminism for corporate gain – but if the net result is that it puts more women in high positions, then use it. I don’t care. Just give women better jobs and better pay. Whatever gets us there in the end. They will always only put their profits first instead of the “right thing to do”, BUT if aligning with a feminist fight means they get more money, then it’s incentive for them to promote more women and you know who wins? Women. (And them… they also win, but the main point is that women might have a fighting chance of paying a mortgage before we die. Plus, if we finally get gender parity in finance, then we also have equal rights to be assholes if we wish.) Basically, as pure advertising though, McCann, SSGA, and Kristen Visbal totally nailed it. Good on them. You know who didn’t nail it though? Gardega, with his ugly pissing pug.

Once again, artists does not get to dictate how their art is interpreted by the viewer, no matter their intention. Sure. Alex Gardega may have been TRYING to make a statement about corporate interference in existing artworks, but what the world ACTUALLY saw was him pissing on fearless girls who to be frank have enough to contend with in the world thank you very much. Here’s the thing - and again I stress that contexualising art in the year that it is viewed is key - in 2017, women are still fighting the bull and trying to stand our ground even while dude bros are photographed rape-humping our fearlessness (suuuuuuuuch a duuuude), and yet Gardega chooses to completely ignore the social context in which he creates his ugly pissing pug, and decides to take over an important discussion with his man voice by literally pissing on the conversation. If there was an art equivalent to being mansplained, this is it. I mean, it’s not like Gardega made the work years ago, like in Di Modica’s case where the context has changed around the artwork making it read differently. No. In fact it’s worse. Gardega has completely and utterly ignored and misread the CURRENT situation, blatantly disregarding women’s daily struggle to not be debased, and he deliberately chose to piss on an image that many women see as either a mirror or an aspiration of ourselves. What a douche-canoe. If it had been a fearless BOY, would this have all happened? Would we be having this discussion at all? Would a pug be pissing on the boy’s ankles? Well no, because the artwork wouldn’t have needed to be commissioned at all if it was a fearless boy. And hence we see why she is necessary. Pissing Pug was removed a mere 3 hours later. I wonder how he feels. Is he proud? Is he indignant? Is he at ALL embarrassed that people think his art is shit? His ill-thought through, base-reaction work had zero layers to it, with complexity and depth so badly lacking that its feet are sticking out of its shallow grave. I wonder if he cares. Quite frankly, all I care about is that he has not completely derailed the conversation, yet is a mere blip - the short interjection of a self-important man who thinks he knows about “stuff” and tries to storm into a situation like a bull. But he’s not a bull. He will never be a bull. He’s a pug. A short, badly-made pug, who, try as he might, simply can’t see the whole lay of the land, because of his own stature and perspective. Ironically, if only he’d stopped pissing on fearless girl, perhaps she may have picked the pug up lovingly, so that he could see more of what’s around him. Clearly the artist has felt strongly enough that he had to interject with his statement, but he also clearly knows nothing about the conversation between the bull and the girl, because he just wasn’t listening properly. And thanks to this guy, the girl, who was otherwise busy with the bull, now has to multitask and find the time to shake the annoying piss-y pug off her leg.

Pissing Pug means nothing to Fearless Girl except for an extra bit of laundry and a wash. Of course he means nothing. Because she has a Bull to contend with. 

PS. I am fighting the urge to not post this. In fact it took me a good week and a half to post it after writing it, and now it’s no longer current. I took so long, because posting a shhhhh-thought is scary stuff: the minute this goes online is the minute I open myself up to online abuse. But I am trying to take my cues from Fearless Girl and face the bullies anyway.

PPS. I have deliberately avoided discussing the issue of appropriation and Di Modica’s reaction to Fearless Girl in this post. I hint at it, but figured it has been debated in plenty of other forums and I simply had something else to say. Also, this post is long enough as it is.

“I feel like to remove this work at this point would be to diminish everything that she stands for,” Visbal says of the brewing controversy. “Really and truly when Mr. Di Modica placed his work in 1989 it became a public work just like Fearless Girl—it belongs to the public, and the placement of Fearless Girl is simply an expression of the right to freedom of speech. There’s been some allegation that this is a corporate work but it really doesn’t matter how we came up with the piece,” she continues. “It was modeled from start to the completion of the piece by me and I utilized the same methods I use in creating any work. I’m sorry that Mr. Di Modica is not happy with the work—I asked him to join me at our sculptures twice. I think if he had taken the time to listen to how we view Fearless Girl and his work, maybe he would be embracing the women that the Fearless Girl represents.”

#fearlessgirl pissingpug chargingbull