There are times when I like to reimagine characters who existed in history because why not. Basing them from actual existing portraits or references to the best of my ability, so yes.

Happy birthday, Alexander the Great!

It's often said that his birthday happens around the days of July 19-21 but I most often celebrate it on the 20th and the 21st. Yes, I celebrate his birthday because that's what humble retainers do for their king.

Alexander the Great has such a nice smile.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

Alexander Vodka lines

I did most of the characters, but some I don't know or genuinely can't think of anything. Hope this is good >-<

Hello: Hey there, your that Traveler fella ain’t ya? Hope I don't owe you copyrights for  the name. Hm? I don’t? Well then, what can I help ya with?

Adventures? Sure why not, I could use the inspiration.

Two names: You’re curious why I have two names? Well it's sort of a thing in Snezhnaya that officers and other high ranking people have two names, like how harbingers do. Since I’m a high ranking member of the Schneznayan authors association, well former member, I have the name “Eis Cay’zar” meaning “ice ruler”. And Alexander Vodka is a pen name. Hm? What's my resistance name and real one? Well now Traveler, a man must have some secrets.

Change of tone: Ah yes, people often find the way I change from more eloquent speech to more casual off putting. Well it's the same reason I wear two sets of clothes: sometimes I feel like looking like an old noir hero, other times I like looking like a new age caped crusader. Sometimes I like sounding high society, other times I enjoy sounding like I’m from Khaen’ria.

How do you know about Khaen’ria: Well I was looking for accents and found out about a place called “New York” or something, a bit of investigation and I discovered everything. My source? That's a secret, ehe.

Good morning: Mornin’ Traveler! What's in the mornin’ paper?

Noon: Lunch time, my favourite time of the day. Let’s go get some pizza, I’m famished!

Afternoon: Almost time to punch out, let's go knock some skulls first.

Night: *yawn* Today was fun, thanks buddy. Get some shut eye, or if you can't come meet me at (wanmin/angels share/the tea house), first rounds on me!

When it rains: I am so glad I got over my fear of contacts.

When it rains(with glasses outfit): Hey can we get under something? I can barely see!

When it stops raining: The smell that comes after rain has always been one of my favorites.

When it snows: Perfect weather to bundle up with a nice hot cup of hot chocolate!

When it stops snowing: Do you ever miss home, Traveler?

About freedom: I warned Barbados, you know that? I knew that as long as he saw it coming, Signora wouldn’t stand a chance. But he just looked at me and said, “good, when I’m gone mondstadt will be truly free of the gods”. That’s a man I’d follow to the depths of the abyss and back.

About Venti: Speaking of Barbados, he’s a great drinking buddy. Me and him knock back a couple hundred rounds whenever I’m in Mondstadt! Course I’m always paying the tab, but I consider it a way of repaying him for making songs about my books.

About Kaeya: The cavalry captain? He’s pretty cool if you ask me, modeled as Rex Mondoleon for the cover of a historical fiction book I made. But I’d still like to know what he’s hiding behind that smile.

About Diluc: Don’t tell him I told you this, but one time I found Diluc after he was hit by an abyss spell that made him drunk. While he was drunk he kept ranting about how sorry he is for kicking out his brother. The poor guy has all that forgiveness in him but he’s too afraid to let it out.

About Jean: The acting grandmaster of the knights is someone truly deserving of respect. She leads by being a good person and earning the respect of her people, and she has never once tried to cover up the mistakes of the knights. In fact if a knight makes a mistake she’ll rush out to fix it. Jean should be the grandmaster, not that crooked old bastard.

About Lisa: Lisa was my first friend in Mondstadt. She mailed me about getting copies of my books into the Mondstadt library, I said I’d do a signing to promote a new one, one thing led to another and now we have tea every ninth day of the month.

About Rosaria: Don’t tell anyone, but I’m very sure she’s a vampire. A nice one, but still.

About Barbara: Awe that little doll? I once saw her kill multiple fatui because they threatened some sick and injured travelers. So I think she’s a great person, takes compassion to save lives and guts to handle taking them as well.

About Bennett: Bennett? Yeah I know him, nice kid. He likes my books but kept breaking them, so now I make special enchanted ones so he can’t break them even if he tried.

About Razor: The guardian of wolvendom? He’s a weird one alright, but he’s not a bad guy. I taught him how to read and write.

About Fischl: That crazy kid? I don’t care what everyone else says, she’s nice. People need to learn to just leave people alone, she’s not hurting anyone with her persona.

About Noelle: You will never find someone more dedicated too...well anything than Noelle is too the knights and her training.

About Klee: Klee and I are great friends! Nothing is more stimulating than massive explosions!

About Amber: She always has interesting stories to tell, like one time where she got rid of some bandits by making a dummy merchant cart filled with explosives! Or the time she had to help a kid get her pet giant snake out from the cathedral!

About Zhongli: Heh, he thinks he’s slick, but I know he’s Rex Lapis. Gotta say I kinda hate him for just giving up his gnosis, however he did it to free his people so I can’t be mad.

About Ninnguang: Never much cared for economics because I don’t know much about ‘em, so I can’t say anything about her business sense. But I can say that she’s a great leader who puts her people first.

About Keqing: Haven’t talked to her enough to know much, but she’s dedicated to her people and that's enough for me. Her dislike of blind faith in the gods is definitely enough to make me want to get to know her better though.

About Qiqi: Qiqi’s a nice kid, I don’t care what anyone says her being a zombie doesn’t make her bad.

About Baizhu: Snake man? Nice guy, helps me be accurate in my books. Always worry about him though, one hot breeze and he’s out like a light.

About Xingqiu: Xingqiu always tries to hide his good deeds, and while I can respect anonymity I can’t let a hero go unsung. So I’ve written multiple short stories about him using a different name, and put in the beginnings that it’s based on a true story.

About Chongyun: His popsicles are great inventions, I’ve played around with the idea a bit and made flavored ones. So far I’ve got strawberry and grape down and am working on this weird fruit called a..Banananana? I think?

About Beidou: Captain Beidou is so cool! She tells me stories about her journeys out to see and I write about them, but after seeing her in action I can’t really say that I do her justice.

About Kazuha: Kazuha has suffered so much, yet he refuses to give up and curl up away from the world when he so easily could. I have immense respect for him.

About Xianling: You’d be surprised at how good slime and boar tusk can be.

About Xiao: I’ve written down many myths and legends of the yaksha, but sadly I've never seen him in person.

About Verr Goldet: Oh she’s great company! Good business sense, and always polite.

About Gorou: Many people rightly attribute the Resistance’s survival and victories to general Kokomi, but it’s wrong to say general Gorou isn’t a brilliant strategist. He knows how to rally his men against impossible odds, and how to keep them standing against them. I’d follow general Gorou into battle any day.

About Ayaka: Ayaka seems so lonely, I hope when this is all done she can have some form of social life.

About Thoma: Thoma’s as cool as he seems. He always has a level head, and solves problems smoothly and without issues.

About Yoimia: KABOOOM!

About Kokomi: One time I was doing an interview of her excellency, to boost morale and draw new members. I intended on asking for her autograph, only for her to ask for mine! I’ve been riding that high for a while now and still ain’t come down.

About Signora: I hate fatui, but without that she has some good qualities: most of her power is her own unlike most other harbingers, and she’s a sharp dresser. Plus she’s actually justified in her choice to join the fatui, not excused, but isolation can justify many crimes in my book. But no matter what I can’t forgive her. She attacked my friend without a chance for him to fight back, and was unfairly cruel. Nothing can justify that, and I will not forgive her as long as she remains unapologetic for her cowardly cruelty.

About Childe: Fatui are scum, but Childe’s probably the best of them: he personally tries to keep civilians and the weak out of fatui business, and he’s only in it to make sure his family lives well. He also is powerful on his own, but most of his strength is the Tsaritsa’s well deserved gifts. Still though, he’s just a single stressful day from losing all his morals. I can’t leave the fate of my homeland to a madman like him, not unless he gets therapy.

About Scaramouche: Scaramouche...that bastard, it’s been five years and he still owes me 30,061 mora.

About the Fatui: The fatui are really just people who are lost or genuinely believe they’re in the right, and while I can sympathize and respect many of them I can't agree nor can I just stand by and watch. The grunts usually aren’t that bad, honestly they’re more like underpaid graduates new to the workforce, but the fighters you see daily? Almost all of them are scum no better than raiders, and debt collectors are the worst of them because they’ll do anything they can to scam you out of everything in their contracts.

About us-commissions: You know, if you’d like to commission a biography it’s 100 mora per ten pages.

About us-inspiration: You’re a font of inspiration for me, ya know that?

About us-fellow rebels: I’ve been with ya enough to know that this path you’re on, the one to find your sis/bro, you’re fighting against something far beyond my ability to deal with. I won’t abandon you, I’ll be here every step of the way.

About us-friends: We’ve been through a lot pal, I’m glad to call you my friend. Please, call me my rebel name: it’s Belgrade, named after the city where some very brave men took their last stand against oppression.

Hobbies: Well you have reading and writing, otherwise? Can't think of anything.

Favorite food: Grilled tiger fish, come get it while it’s hot!

Least favorite food: I really wanna try it, but I can’t have almond tofu. Or any nuts. Closes my throat right up.

Something to share: Hehe, I got embarrassing dirt on all the harbingers. Signora? She has a Tsaritsa body pillow. Scaramouche? He knits sweaters for his pet pig, cute but he hates letting people know. And Childe? Hoo man, the pics I’ve got on him have put a pretty mora on my head.

About me: Hey have you seen my dice? I wanted to teach the mondstadt kids how to play them...hm? What?! No, not gambling! It’s, uh, a tad embarrassing...h-hey look! Literally anything else, let's pay attention to it!

About me II: Alright! These rolls are great, can’t wait to use them next game. I’m so proud of Fischl, so young yet so imaginative. She’s already-ah! T-traveler! What are you doing?..

You know I’m the one meant to be learning the secrets here.

About me III: Back in Snezhnaya, everyone looks down on things that don’t “conform” where even the most rigid of nations like Inazuma have stopped caring. Adults can't play games, men can’t wear dresses, can’t even have a “weird” sense of humor. No laws against it, but being outcasted is...it’s not good…

About me IV: I wish I grew up in Mondstadt. The kids there are so free to be themselves, and the adults aren’t pressured to be nothing more than working hands. It’s not perfect, after all people are rude to Fischl and Benny for being “different”, but it’s better that’s for sure.

About me V: Hey traveler...this is...no it’s not embarrassing. You’re my friend and I have no reason to be embarrassed by wanting to enjoy time with you! Fischl’s going to run a pen and paper dice game, ever played one? It’s super fun, you get to be anything you want really, and it’s a great way to bond.

You will? Great! I’ll help you make a character!

Alexander’s troubles: It’s so hard to find publishers these days. Noone wants an actual plot, they just want twist after twist. What’s up with that?! Shock value is no substitute for characters you love living fulfilling lives.

Happy birthday: Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday you crazy bastard, happy birthday to you! Seriously pal, you put yourself in harm's way every day it seems, we literally met when you were fighting an actual god! Actually, know what? No danger all day! We’re wrapping ourselves in blankets and just relaxing!

Feelings about ascension-intro: woah, somethin’ feels different. I like it!

Feelings about ascension-building up: man, I’m feeling inspired all of a sudden! Hey traveller, give me a prompt!

Feelings about ascension-climax: HA! I don’t know what high I’m riding but I like it, I just finished writing a whole book series!

Feelings about ascension-conclusion: WOO! YEAH! ULRICH MIKAEL KEEPS WINNIN’!-I-I meant Alexand-ah forget it, I’m feelin’ too good to care!

OCs:

About Louis: That crazy inventor guy from Fontaine? I heard he got used by the fatui, damn shame that. Noone deserves to have their heart played with like that.

About Spritefather: You ever heard of Spritefather? I’ve only heard legends, but the fanmail I keep getting tells me that sometimes things are only legendary until someone writes them down.

About the Storytraveler: There’s this woman who travels from universe to universe to fix things, she’s in Teyvat right now. You should meet her, really nice person. But her powers are a bit weird, why does she transform like that? It takes so much time!

_____________________

Tagging: @love-psxlm, @storytravelled, @genshin-obsessed, @golden-wingseos

dude! more history rants, that was great!! I honestly probably learned more in that than I ever have in a history class

dude! Learning about history is SO much better when the person you’re listening to has a genuine passion for it! My Russian prof used to take his shoes off and bang on the table to prove his point, he would imitate historical figures down to the Russian accent (with great skill he lived in the USSR through the entire nineties which if you know anything about nineties Russia that is a FEAT. His wife to be at the time ((now a german history prof at my college)) was offered a ride in a helicopter by the Russian mob. She declined) 

Russian history is also just such a rich and dramatic and WILD history. Theres so many things to focus on like an entire semester was spent JUST studying the revolution and that was only an introductory course

Anyways since I’m here and can rant lets talk about two fun things! Lenins  name and his family as well as Vasily Grossmans greatest and most controversial works!

So Vladimir Lenin is a pretty iconic name. A pretty cool name in fact! Really rolls off the tongue and strikes FEAR into enemies hearts.

Did ya know it’s not his fuckin name? Nope! the guy straight up chose a new last name for himself! This former law student (oh yeah he wasn't even a politician no wonder the fucko didn't know how to run a country) was actually born Vladimir Ulyanov! 

but why the name change? Ulyanov is still pretty easy to say, still pretty memorable. Rolls of the tongue so on and so forth.

this, ladies, gentlemen, and everything in between and beyond, is because of Lenins older brother Aleksandr Ulyanov! 

(this guy has better hair than i could ever hope to, thanks diluted slav genes) 

now sweet Aleks here was also four years Vladimirs Senior and was also a revolutionary! (seems like it ran in the family) 

Not only was he a revolutionary but he was a MASSIVELY FAMOUS ONE and kinda helped set the ENTIRE downfall of the soviet union in motion long before the revolution was even a whisper of a thought. 

How you ask? well uh.

he tried to kill Tsar Nikolas II’s dad. 

yes, that Tsar Nikolas who later was overthrown and was executed by firing squad. Sorry the Romanovs are all very very dead we found all their bodies the animated movie was very wrong. 

Anyways, sweet kolya’s father was Tsar Alexander III and he was known throughout the land as the Peacemaker! 

(also yes they're both called Aleksandr. Russians only have like. Ten names to choose from)

wow sounds like he must be a great guy with a nickname like that huh? Why would anyone wanna kill him! Sadly, the nickname is only because Russia entered no wars under his rule. He was in fact, a huge bastard. Outside of being physically and emotionally abusive to his family (he would often berate Nikolai for being weak which definitely led to some of his issues with his authority and pride being questioned later on...) he was incredibly reactionary and heavy handed when it came to ruling. he opposed ANY movement that might minimize his authority as emperor. He was famous for executing a LOT of anti-imperialist terrorists.

he also looked like this

not to insult bulldogs but this guy sure looks like one. 

Anyways, Aleksandr Ulyanov helps devise a plot wherein he and a bunch of other revolutionaries will ride by Tsar Alek’s carriage and chuck a bomb through his window and then boom no more emperor. basically, it was the 1887 version of a drive by shooting. 

Naturally, it failed, otherwise we wouldn’t be talking about this! Anyways, All the conspirators were captured and sentenced to death. (5 were later pardoned none of which were Lenins brother.) They were all hanged.

Although Lenin was involved in politics before this to some degree, this action really radicalized him and really got the ball rolling for the eventual Soviet Union. Talk about butterfly effect. 

Alright time for history lesson part TWO!! Lets talk about Vasily Grossman and his work In The Town of Berdichev! Though more technically I will be talking more about the film adaptation titled Commissar(1967). 

quick background time! Vasily Grossman was born to a Jewish family and due to prosecution (of both Jewish people and Ukrainians) at the time was forced to conceal his heritage. He actually studied to be a chemist at first and was quite successful until he transitioned later in life to being a writer and reporter! His accounts of the Ukrainian famine are the some of the most detailed accounts as well as the most controversial (to the Russian state) he also was a war reporter for WWII and intensively documented the ethnic cleansing going on. Understandably.

he was strongly supported by Maksim Gorky! (yes that Maksim Gorky, famous writer, and the man who helped develop the entire soviet education system that kinda was just brainwashing and propaganda. Reportedly later in life he considered that to be one of his greatest regrets((he was also a massive homophobe too because same sex relationships were actually legal for a while there in russia!))

Long story short, Vasya believed strongly in several things. he believed in the human spirit, he believed in supporting his Jewish brethren, he believed strongly in mother Russia and the communist party. But more than that he believed that those who do not learn from our mistakes are doomed to repeat them. 

Thus came about his work. I’ll post a quick plot summary here from Wikipedia of the movie. it’s a really good film honestly I highly recommend it. 

“During the Russian Civil War (1918–1922), a female commissar of the Red Army cavalry Klavdia Vavilova (Nonna Mordyukova) finds herself pregnant. Until her child is born, she is forced to stay with the family of a poor Jewish blacksmith Yefim Magazannik (Rolan Bykov), his wife, mother-in-law, and six children. At first, both the Magazannik family and "Madame Vavilova", as they call her, are not enthusiastic about living under one roof, but soon they share their rationed food, make her civilian clothes, and help her with the delivery of her newborn son. Vavilova seemingly embraces motherhood, civilian life, and new friends.Meanwhile, the frontline advances closer to the town and the Jews expect a pogrom by the White Army as the Red Army retreats. Vavilova attempts to console them with a Communist dream: "One day people will work in peace and harmony", but the dream is interrupted with a vision of the fate of the Jews in the coming world war. She rushes to the front to rejoin her army regiment, leaving her newborn behind.“

- White army was the anti-soviet army during the revolution. Red Army was the soviets. Pogroms were targeted areas of ethnic cleansing against Jewish peoples, namely they were villages or towns that were wiped out. 

this film was banned for something like forty years for anti-soviet sentiment. But why? it seems pretty damn pro-soviet doesn't it? 

Well firstly lets talk about how oppressive the soviet regime was by this point! In 1967 Russia was in the dying throes of Stalins regime. Yes he had died a little over a decade earlier but the government was still very much being run by his ideals. All independent newspapers were banned. EVERYTHING every single piece of art, literature, news, commercial, WHATEVER, had to be state approved. And by god was it hard to get things approved. Grossman routinely wrote of his frustrations and struggles of getting anything published because if a Russain character was portrayed as anything but a happy go lucky communist then it would be censored. Grossman first ran into this issue when he was reporting on the iron and coal mines in siberia. the conditions were terrible but Grossman had to lie and say everything was fine. It let to a real crisis of ideals for him.

The first red mark against this movie is that well, it focuses on a woman. It’s an incredibly feminist movie, with the idea of motherhood and duty and the strength of a woman being just as much if not more than a man. (for reference a Commissar is like an army Officer) 

Secondly, she abandons her post! to have a child! In communist Russia NOTHING comes before your duty to the motherland. But again she eventually realizes that the call of her country is stronger than the call of this simple maternal life and she does go on to fight so why is this a problem?

Well ultimately, it boils down to the final scene. 

"One day people will work in peace and harmony" she says. An entirely pro-soviet message. But then it is instantly contradicted by footage of the holocaust. This is a visual representation fo Grossman saying that although the communist ideal is strong in the soviet union that they are being blinded by false enemies, prejudices and will find themselves committing such atrocities (of course they already are but again he DID still support the Soviet State) Basically it was a warning to the Soviet Party! Learn from the mistakes that were made and gentle themselves!

And this, this was a criticism of the Soviet party! And thus, it was shelved for nearly twenty years.

It finally was shown again in the late 80′s  

Grossman, after attempting to publish his magnum opus, Life and Fate, had his flat raided by the KGB and all his notes, manuscripts, letters, books, publications, and pretty much his life's work were confiscated. Grossman died in the mid 1960′s of stomach cancer not knowing if any of his writings or best works would ever be seen or published again. 

Thankfully they were found and published and his massively important legacy lives on in the people who know about him. But his story is a very bittersweet one indeed. 

you can watch the full movie here with English captions! 

(tw: imagery of holocaust, some anti-semitism (if i recall) some children without any clothes bathing if i recall (its not weird but I know it was shocking for me to see at first))

(maybe I’ll talk about the TRUE story of Rasputin another time...) 

Hamilton High School AU 86

But he couldn't do it. "No way. You want him, you can get him yourself. I'm not doing your dirty work, creep."

He scoffed. "What? So you're just going to share that little twink? You like knowing he's taking dick from someone else?"

Thomas grabbed his collar. "Don't you fucking talk about him like that."

"Okay, I'm sorry."

He tutted and threw him down. This guy may have talked big, but he was just a wimp, picking on those smaller than him just because he could. "You're fucking pathetic." He turned and walked away, feeling his glare on his back. He didn't care. Thomas was used to people hating him. At least now, it was because he was doing good.

Charles Lee tutted and picked himself up, dusting himself off. This was a setback. He thought that this guy was going to see things his way for sure. It made things harder, but oh well. The harder the challenge, the better the reward.

Thomas kept walking around until it was time for class again, sitting near everyone, except for John, of course, he had a different class. He leaned towards Lafayette and tapped his shoulder.

"Hey, man.. I just wanted to say again that I'm really sorry about how I treated you. All of you." Naturally, he'd gotten Alexander and Hercules's attentions as well.

"I just.. I realize how much of a jerk I was and I feel awful every time I get reminded."

"I'm sure you do." Lafayette stated coldly.

Thomas furrowed his eyebrows. "I do.. I mean it, Laf."

He just nodded and faced the front of the room. "Class is starting."

Thomas furrowed his eyebrows, but paid attention as class began.

After class, he caught Lafayette alone, while Hercules was going to take a make up test and Alexander went to find John.

"Did I do something?"

"Did you?"

"Laf, I really don't know why you're mad at me right now."

Lafayette stopped walking and sighed, turning to face Thomas again. "So, you're just going to deny selling out my brother to Charles Lee?"

Thomas furrowed his eyebrows. "What?.. What are you talking about?"

He rolled his eyes. "Don't play dumb with me, I'm not stupid. I saw you talking to Charles Lee. I heard him talking about you wanting him gone, you wanting Alexander gone so you could have John all for yourself. I'll give you a chance to tell them yourself, but if you think you can just-"

"I didn't sell him out."

"Oh, right, so I just heard someone else that looks exactly like you. I'm not stupid."

Thomas sighed. "I know that. I didn't sell him out. I told Lee I wasn't going to do it. I'll admit, it sounded like a sweet offer, but I wouldn't do that. Alexander makes John happy. All I want is to make him happy. I don't care how I feel about Alexander, the second I remembered that, I couldn't think of saying yes."

Lafayette's expression softened as he realized his mistake. "You mean that.. I'm sorry. I should've asked you before I just jumped to conclusions like that."

Thomas smiled a bit. "It's fine, I get it. I was afraid I was going to for a second there. But I won't, no way."

"Good." Lafayette smiled.

"Are we cool?"

"We are."

They shook hands and parted ways, both with a newfound respect for each other. Lafayette was beyond glad that Thomas was changing and Thomas found it refreshing to see this more human side of Lafayette. It was nice to see him making a mistake, too.

He found John outside of the school, talking a bit with Alexander, and smiled. "Hey, sunshine. Ready to go?"

John glanced over and smiled, kissing Alexander's cheek before watching him leave with Lafayette. "Yeah, I'm ready."

"Great. Let's just get Lucy, then we can go."

John nodded and followed him to his car, getting in the passenger's seat and going to the preschool with Thomas.

When they got there, he parked in front of the school, waiting in the nonexistent line. "They haven't let out yet, but if I go and drop you off, then come back, the line would be massive."

"No, I get it."

"Good." Thomas smiled and kept the radio low. "So.. How are you feeling about that Lee guy being here? Do you want me to get him expelled?"

John thought for a second before shaking his head. "It's not my choice to make. Ask Alexander about it, see what he thinks." After all, Charles Lee was his bully and he didn't want to make it seem like Alexander couldn't stand up for himself.

"You know what he'll say if I ask. You know he won't take any help from me.."

John paused for a second before responding. "Right... I don't know.. I'll talk to him about this."

"Alright.." He nodded and sighed, the car going quiet for a minute before Thomas put his hand on John's knee.

"Not now.."

"I wasn't planning on doing anything, don't worry babe." He leaned over and kissed his cheek, feeling him relax a bit.

"Sorry.. I'm just worried for Alex.."

"Don't be sorry. You didn't do a thing."

John smiled and put his hand over Thomas's, letting it stay where it was.

When the bell rang and the kids started coming out, Lucy was among those in the front, beaming as she saw John in the front seat of the car. Thomas opened the back door for her and she practically flew between the seats again, wrapping her arms tightly around John's neck.

"Johnny!"

John smiled at that, his breathing perfectly fine, and pried her off, hugging her normally. "Hi, Lucy. I missed you, too this past week."

"Why were you gone?" she asked with a whiny tone, her face pressed against his shoulder.

"I was having some time with Alexander. I'm sorry, princess. I promise I'll get to see you all week."

"Yay!" That seemed to easily fix whatever grudge she had against John and she let Thomas pluck her off and put her back into her car seat, buckling her in before getting into the front seat himself and beginning to drive off.

The entire drive home, Lucy talked to John nonstop about her previous week, making sure not to leave out any details, and he listened to every bit of it, nodding along and reacting where it was appropriate, until he received a phone call from an unknown number. He furrowed his eyebrows a bit. "Lucy, can you hold that thought for a second, please? I'm getting a phone call."

"Aww... Okay..." she reluctantly agreed.

"Thanks, sweetie." John smiled and answered the call. "Hello?.."

"Hey, Jack. It's Martha. Don't worry, I'm at a friend's house, using their phone."

"Hey, Martha." He smiled widely. "What's up?"

"Um... You have to talk to the boys. They've been... changing a bit and it's freaking them out.."

"Oh.." It didn't surprise him too much. He and Martha both started puberty at around 10 years old. But... It seemed so soon...

"Yeah.. And I don't know how to explain it to them.. I'm sorry, I've been on every website there is and I've tried to give them the talk, but I can't. I don't know what I'm talking about and it's just so awkward and... You know dad won't do it." He made John give Martha the talk when it was her time and John had to figure out for himself why his body was changing.

"What are you suggesting I do?.."

"I'm not asking you to come over. Not after last time.. But we're all over here because dad's friends are over at the house having a poker night," John felt his stomach twist, "and I was hoping that maybe you could face time and talk to them?.."

John hardly had to think about that. "Yeah, of course. I'm on my way home, but I'll call you in, maybe half an hour? Just to give myself a little time to prepare, you know?"

"Yeah, sure. Thank you and I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's fine. Call back in half an hour."

"Will do. Bye."

"Bye." He hung up and sighed, glancing outside and seeing that they were at the building, just about to park.

"Everything alright?" Thomas asked.

"Yeah, just my brothers.. They're, you know, changing and Martha wants me to talk to them."

"Oh.. Isn't it a little early?"

"No, this is about when I started. It's normal."

"Why are they changing?" Lucy piped up from the backseat.

John got out of the car, letting Thomas handle this.

"Um.. Let's get you inside, then we can talk about this."

"Okay."

All three made their way into Thomas and Lucy's apartment and sat in the living room, Thomas thinking for a few seconds before turning to his curious little sister.

"You know how me and Johnny look different from the guys in your class? How we're taller and I have hair on my face and on my arms and legs where he doesn't?"

"And your voices are lower?"

"Exactly." He smiled. "Well, when they're about 12 years old, maybe a little older or a little younger, they'll start to change to look like us and.. other things. Like they'll go more girl crazy, or boy crazy, like me," John rolled his eyes and chuckled, "and they'll probably want to be even weirder to get attention from the girls, or boys. It's called puberty and everyone goes through it, but it's different for girls."

"How?"

"Um..." Okay, Thomas was a very sex positive person and was very okay with the idea of letting his little sister know about these kinds of things, even if she wasn't going to be allowed to date until it didn't matter anymore, but... "I don't really know much about that one. Maybe Johnny can talk to you?.." After all, he did give Martha the same talk.

"Sure I can." He paused for a second. "You know, I'm going to talk to my little brothers and sister about this. Why don't I just tell you all at the same time?"

She nodded. "That makes sense."

"Good. In the meantime, what do you usually do after school?"

"I get a snack and do my homework." She hopped off of the couch and went into the kitchen.

Thomas sighed. "I don't know how you do it... Talking to kids is hard..."

"It's not that hard for me. They're just like us, but smaller and they just haven't learned certain things about life. I'm just teaching them, you know?"

Thomas nodded. "You're really going into your element, teaching little kids."

John smiled. "Yeah.."

Lucy came back with an apple and a juice box, placing them on the table before reaching into her backpack and pulling out her homework. She stood up at the table and began working on it, mumbling to herself and occasionally asking Thomas for help.

He helped her get to the answer, rather than just give her the answer, which she didn't seem to like, but she let it be.

John just smiled and watched, not wanting to interrupt the harmony of the routine by interrupting Thomas or stealing Lucy's attention.

About a minute or so after she finished her homework, John got the phone call. He accepted the face time and beamed as he saw his little brothers and sisters there, all sitting in a line.

“Two title fights, a #1 contender fight and a whole lot more fun” The UFC 231 Preview

Joey

December 4th, 2018

It's December! Ya know what that means? Max Holloway is fighting! Max Holloway is fighting on his fourth straight December card and thank GOD he's making the walk for this one because it's a dandy. The UFC heads to Toronto with what is ultimately a decent step down from their last three December Holloway related events but a god damn good card overall.  We've got two title fights, one long overdue and one we never knew we wanted until like a few months ago, and a plethora of really strong action fights and Canadian middle management fighters to round it all out. This card really does miss a great #3 fight (like Moicano vs anybody really) but beggars can't be choosers really. You have some important action fights at bantamweight, lightweight and featherweight outside of the two big fights AND THIAGO SANTOS IS BACK! If that doesn't have your heart skipping beats then I don't know what will. It's not UFC 232 or 233 but it's good and let's enjoy it, right?

Fights: 13

Debuts: Jesse Ronson

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations: 2 (Renato Moicano vs Chad Mendes CANCELLED/ John Makdessi OUT, Jesse Ronson IN vs Carlos Diego Ferreira)

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC): 11 (Max Holloway, Brian Ortega, Valentina Shevchenko, Joanna Contender, Thiago Santos, Jimi Manuwa, Eryk Anders, Gunnar Nelson, Cowboy Oliveira, Claudia Gadelha, Jessica Eye)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC: 3 (Jimi Manuwa, Matthew Lopez, Dhiego Lima)

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC: 8 (Thiago Santos, Max Holloway, Brian Ortega, Nina Ansaroff, Carlos Diego Ferreira, Kaitlyn Chookagian, Elias Theodorou, Aleksandar Rakic)

Main Card Record Since Jan 1st 2016 (in the UFC):  35-16-1

Max Holloway- 3-0 Brian Ortega- 5-0 Valentina Shevchenko- 3-2 Joanna Contender- 4-2 Cowboy Oliveira- 6-2-1 Gunnar Nelson- 2-1 Hakeem Dawodu- 1-1 Kyle Bochniak- 2-3 Thiago Santos- 7-3 Jimi Manuwa- 2-2

Divisional Breakdown:

Featherweight- 2 Welterweight- 2 Women's Flyweight- 2 Lightweight- 2 Light Heavyweight- 2 Bantamweight- 1 Middleweight- 1 Strawweight- 1

Too High Up- Kyle Bochniak vs Hakeem Dawodu

I don't think this fight was originally scheduled for the main card and then it got the bump up when Moicano/Bektic fell out. It's not the WORST fight to get bumped up because of the majority of the dudes on the prelim slate, very few of them are prospects and most are just established names and keepsakes for their respective divisions. Bochniak is very much riding the Zhabit fight buzz right now which is good for him and I guess I'm glad the UFC is giving Dawodu that PPV rub. THAT SAID/having said that, maybe another women's fight on the main card could've been a better allocation of resources. No, the fight will probably not be as exciting but Gadelha vs Ansaroff could theoretically be a fight where the winner draws a Tatiana Suarez or one of the other names in the division (Waterson, Felice Herrig, Calvillo if something happens to Courtney Casey). I'd even be okay with Aleksandar Rakic (one of the genuinely intriguing 205 lb European prospects) vs Devin Clark getting the call up. Either way, I'm not mad about this fight being on the main card BUT it could be better.

Too Low- Devin Clark vs Aleksandar Rakic

Let's go back here right quick. Even if you don't move Esparza vs Ansaroff, it's a perfectly accepted prelim headliner. It may not have a finish in it (I think Ansaroff and Esparza have one UFC finish combined) but it's got some name value, it's good compelling matchmaking and I think everybody will be fine with it in this spot when all is said and done. Devin Clark vs Alexander Rakic is the third fight on the Fight Pass prelims. It's somehow below Brad Katona (off TUF undefeated) and Matthew Lopez (loser of two straight and owner of a 2-3 record in the UFC). It's below a really blegh fight between Elias Theodorou and Eryk Anders and even Olivier Aubin Mercier vs . AT THE RISK of being mean, it's even behind Jessica Eye vs Kaitlyn Chookagian which is absolutely positively going to be a fifteen round sparring session given Chookagian's style and Eye's propensity to brainfart in the face of anybody who can comfortably strike with her. Kind of not a fan of this burial of the fight given that Clark is a competent (if somewhat frustrating) fighter and Aleksandar Rakic just dominated Justin Ledet without too much trouble. Let's do better, UFC.

Stat Monitor for 2018:

Debuting Fighters (Current number: 38-41-1): Jesse Ronson

Short Notice Fighters (Current number: 32-33):  Jesse Ronson

Second Fight (Current number: 42- 36-1): Brad Katona

Cage Corrosion (Current number: 22-37):  Max Holloway, Gunnar Nelson

Undefeated Fighters (Current number: 35-24-1):  Brad Katona, Brian Ortega

Keeping An Eye On But Not Really; Fighters with at least four fights in the UFC with 0 wins over competition still in the organization: Matthew Lopez

Twelve Precarious Ponderings

1- What is a fair buyrate expectation for this card? Let's start with the positives! Brian Ortega vs Max Holloway is the sort of fight that should not require the booker of the year award to sell. It's two compelling unique characters, dominant in their own ways and in their own base styles, from two unique backgrounds facing off. Both are on long long winning streaks in the UFC, Ortega is undefeated and Holloway has finished the greatest FW of all time twice. There's not a lot of trash talk but both guys are very clearly talking and trying to promote this fight within what they can say. Ortega has been a high profile fighter on a number of occasions and Holloway is headlining his third straight PPV. Now the negatives! Jim Cornette has a saying that I want to borrow for this one; Hurting your audience's feelings. Jim uses that sometimes to describe bad booking decisions which seem to have lasting damaging effects on business, scaring off fans and leaving them downright pissed off at what they got. Holloway pulled out of a March booking with Khabib Nurmagomedov due to a massive weight cut and nobody seemed to get too mad about it. Holloway a) tried to save the card and b) was up a weight class AND ON HIS COUCH when he got the call. The July one is a little bit more messy as Holloway pulled out AGAIN under vague circumstances as concussion symptoms turned to allegations that he had a seizure turned to rumors of water overloading to what is now rumored to be some sort of Vegas drugging. Holloway's done it twice now and despite being a warrior and  super consistent durable fighter, even I'm of the belief that I'll believe Max when he's in the cage and the door's locked. Brian Ortega isn't innocent either here although his problem is a more subjective one. Ortega had the chance to fight some guys on short notice in July for an interim title. He turned it down. There were a few problems with that for fans; 1) Ortega got HIS big break through a short notice fight where Frankie Edgar stayed on the card to face Ortega as a fill in, 2) he didn't seem the least bit remorseful about it which hurt the feelings of fans who paid big money to see him vs Holloway. FOR the record, if I were Ortega, I would've done what he did---but the right decision is often the wrong decision. When you do something good, the memory is short but be the guy (Jon Jones) who totally lets them down in their eyes then they remember it. The customer is always right even when they're wrong and we see that all the time in the UFC. This may be a fight between the guy who has twice dropped out of PPVs vs the guy who turned down an easy opponent on short notice to stay on the card.

So what IS the buyrate for this? In a just world, Ortega vs Holloway as headliners would do great and with a proven back up draw in Joanna trying to become a two division champion, the buyrate would be very solid. That said, we don't know if the UFC audience had its feelings hurt. There's also the old adage I was always told about December PPVs; if you go before Christmas, you're competing to get people to spend money they have earmarked for presents. If you go AFTER Christmas, you have a shot to get a boost from folks who just GOT spending money from the holidays. Go too far into January and you'll catch them around tax time. Holloway's two December PPVs did what I think we can consider to be the UFC baseline (215K for Pettis, 210 to 220K for Aldo II)  and Ortega is a first time PPV headliner. I wonder if the hope is to touch 300K but the reality is that anything over 200K should be fine. Let's see how hurt some feelings were.

2- It could just be recency bias but I can't help but shake the feeling this fight has some Fury/Wilder to it. Max Holloway, like Tyson Fury, can do everything absolutely right for 24 minutes. He can move perfectly, make Ortega pay for coming in sloppy, take him down when he's over aggressive on his plant foot and make Ortega's life miserable with body shots. The problem is that Ortega, like Wilder, has an equalizer that any given time can come into play. Ortega just has this freakish knack to fight with an inevitability; at some point you WILL make a mistake and when you do, it's over. One bad takedown attempt when you're under pressure? He's got your neck. Game over. Get a bit lazy in top control? Triangle. Game over. Even on the feet Ortega is really underrated (or was pre-Edgar) in how crisp he was not just with his knees and elbows but with his hands. Ortega brutalized Moicano with body work, slowing him down and pressuring him until Moicano panicked into a guillotine. He made Clay Guida miserable going for takedowns with crisp work on the feet and then when Clay was tired and falling behind, Ortega finished him with knees. Frankie Edgar made one slip up  on the feet and it was over. Ortega fights with like a man who is so confident in himself and so confident that he IS going to win that nothing you do can bother him or deter him. Holloway basically has to fight a perfect fight for 25 minutes whereas Ortega needs ONE opening across five rounds to end this.

3- Can Holloway get Ortega's respect enough to stop the pressure?  Holloway can fight going both ways whereas Ortega has at times struggled if he has to fight in reverse.

4- Max Holloway has developed into a pretty competent wrestler since McGregor bullied him on the ground and in large part, Holloway's wrestling is his secret weapon. If it's the path of least resistance and he can avoid getting caught with something stupid, he has zero problems taking dudes down. He controlled Jeremy Stephens on the ground and made Clay Collard wilt under relenting top control and back mount pressure through his wrestling. Thiago Tavares and Diego Brandao moons ago took Ortega down. I'm just not sure if Holloway wants to play that game.

5- So anybody more confident that we get Ortega vs Holloway happening than they are Valentina vs Joanna? Feels like we're about to get set up for another snafu.

6- The UFC's welterweight division has come a long way since Gunnar Nelson last fight. Colby Covington, Darren Till, Kamaru Usman, Rafael Dos Anjos, Elizeu Zaleski, Santiago Ponzinibbio and others have all basically taken steps up while Nelson has bee away. Gunnar USED to be the new hot act in town, aided by how uniquely calm he was and his relationship with Conor McGregor. Losses to Rick Story, Demian Maia and a finish vs Ponzinibbio  (although it may have been somewhat controversial) have clearly put a cap on Nelson's potential BUT he is just 30 years old, good on the feet when he can operate at range and a fluid grappler. Cowboy Oliveira's struggles primarily have been against squirrely grappler types (a third round sub vs Gilbert Burns and a panic triangle loss to Cowboy Cerrone are his more serious blemishes) and so I can absolutely see Nelson spamming takedowns until Oliveira either stops him or makes a mistake, gets his back taken and gets submitted. Either way this is a great fight and a great test to see what Nelson's got.

7- WHY is Gilbert Burns being allowed to cut to 155 lbs again? He was pulled from a fight with OAM before due to concerns about the massive weight cut and then when he lost to Dan Hooker, Hooker (a dude who went up from 145 lbs to 155 lbs) basically said the only reason he got the knockout was because Burns had cut so much weight to get to 155 lbs that his punch resistance was cooked. Seems risky and all around stupid for the UFC AND Burns to do this at 155 lbs.

8- So what IS Thiago Santos at 205 lbs? We're in the midst of watching Anthony Smith run up the UFC light heavyweight rankings and Santos iced him pretty easily all things considered. Santos, like Smith, is an all action fighter who is defensively flawed but blessed with unique offensive gifts. If we were to compare them; Smith is younger, more athletic and maybe a bit more aware defensively while Santos wrestles better, hits a hell of a lot harder and lives up the mantra of a man who has a fucking hammer tattooed to his chest. Smith's first fight at 205 was a cooked Rashad Evans while Santos' welcoming challenge was a short notice 185er in Eryk Anders. Manuwa hits really hard and will be desperate off of two losses, painting the picture that there just may be some risk for Santos in this fight. I'm still betting he fights like said risk doesn't exist.

9- Hard pass on Anders vs Elias Theodorou. The hardest of passes.

10- Can Jessica Eye FINALLY get the title shot she's been chasing with a win over Kaitlyn Chookagian? Twice Eye has been in the driver seat for a big fight and twice she's been knocked back, the first a close loss to Alexis Davis and the second a thrashing at the hands of Miesha Tate. Chookagian is the sort of fighter who doesn't possess the big size difference Davis had or the ability to make Eye pay for her repeated mistakes like Tate did. She's a good kickboxer with zero pop, great TDD and a desire to stay on the outside. If Eye can't do it here then she's never going to be able to do it.

11- Can Nina Ansaroff hurt Claudia Gadelha? I think Gadelha is officially at the breaking point of her durability and Ansaroff does have power even if she uses it so seldolmly.

12- IF Holloway beats Ortega, can we FINALLY put him in the running for GOAT?

Here is a new interview with Fabian Bourzat made by Ukrainian “Segodnya” (you can find a version in Russian here: https://www.segodnya.ua/…/francuzskaya-zvezda-figurnogo-kat…)!

Fabian Bourzat: “I don’t like sad people, they make me sad”

The French figure skating star talks about going solo in coaching, working with Ukrainians Nazarova and Nikitin, a possible collaboration with Nathalie Pechalat, and meeting Jean Dujardin, remembering Denis Ten, learning to let go, and also about his shoes and favourite programs and costumes.

– How did you decide to come to Ukraine with Sasha and Maxim? – We’ve worked together in Detroit for like three years. It’s a very interesting team, I love working with them. Their quality matches my vision of skating. They’re creative and original. They have a lot of flaws, but they want to bring something different to skating. And that’s what I love about them. So, when I quit my job in the US, they told me that they were moving back to Ukraine and they needed someone to get them ready for the season. I was on vacation at that time and said, “Why not”. And here I am.

– Do you want to go solo from now on? – I don’t know exactly what I’m going to do next year yet. But I don’t want to work with somebody else anymore. I think it’s time for me to choose my own path and not follow somebody else’s. I’ve done that for almost four years. It was interesting for me to work with Igor Shpilband, I’ve learned a lot, and I thank him for that. But right now I need to express myself way more through my teaching. So, I’m going to come back to France and try to develop what I can over there.

– Do you want to open your own school? – Yeah, that would be ideal. It’s difficult to find a full-time ice rink in France. Most people there work as freelancers, they work in camps and go back and forth between different places. If I can find an ice rink, yes, I will build a school. Right now I’m working with Sasha and Maxim. I don’t know what will happen in the next few months. But I would welcome them on my team. I also want to bring young skaters and help them grow, to make skating in France more competitive. We have a good history of ice dance in Europe. Right now it’s moving a little more to USA and Canada, and I want to bring it back to Europe.

– You’ve been to different countries. What difference do you see in the perception of skating? – In the US, it’s more competitive from the young age, and it’s something we don’t have in Europe. Here we’re trying to go to school first and then think about sports. And I want to try to balance that.

– You’ve worked with Shpilband both as a student and as a coaching partner. What have you learned from him? – When I was still skating, I loved the way he worked, because he gave me the opportunity to enjoy figure skating again. At some point of your career you start thinking only about competition, performing and results and you’re not enjoying yourself anymore. That’s what he brought me as a coach. As a partner, he has a strong work ethic, he is good at scheduling everything and handling a massive amount of work outside of skating. The structure, as well as the techniques, was really helpful for me. As a skater, I used to work with Alexander Zhulin in Russia, Muriel Zazoui in France, Anjelika Krylova and Pasquale Camerlengo in the US. They’ve all given me so much, and I was able to decide what I wanted to take from them and what I did not, depending on which kind of skater I wanted to be and which skills I needed for that. I think growing around so many coaches helped me to develop a different way of skating, and that’s what I want to give back to the kids right now.

– Is it your first time in Ukraine? What are your impressions? – Yes, it’s actually my first time. It’s really hot! Sasha and Maxim took me to so many different places, but I haven’t seen much of the city. For me, seeing different countries and the way people live is always a different way of approaching life... I love the food here. We had pelmeni, khachapuri, which is Georgian actually, we ate shashlik, cornichons. Borsch? I’m not a big fan of that. But there is a summer soup that Maxim wants me to try. We’ve also got pâté from my mom. The country is welcoming. It’s also because the guys make me feel welcome.

– How about our figure skating? Anything unusual? – There are lots of kids on the ice. I’m actually surprised there are so many boys. It’s difficult to find boys in figure skating. The more people you have to train, the easier it will be to develop something.

– Do you remember the first time you saw Sasha and Maxim? – It was at the 2015 Junior Worlds, the year they were third. I remember that I told Igor Shpilband then that this couple was really interesting, that they were trying to bring something more creative, which is difficult at the young age. They kind of matched the same way I did with my partner at the time, so I was really impressed of their work.

– You said they have flaws. Which exactly? – Well, they need to work a little more on the connection and the feel of the motion. They are powerful skaters with a lot of strength. They are able to get a lift of any kind of difficulty done. I’m here to teach them a different approach of skating, and I think it’s starting to grow into them. They are hard workers, they listen, they follow exactly what I say. I know it’s not easy, but they are committed and they want to succeed. How do we polish their twizzles? That’s my secret.

– What’s the most difficult part of coaching? – I think it’s managing different types of people. You can have young kids, teenagers or adults. And you need to be able to push them without breaking them. Managing and planning is still brand new for me, I need to keep learning.

– The Olympic season was quite rocky for Sasha and Maxim. You had some painful moments in your career yourself. How do you teach them to overcome those difficulties, to let it go? – That’s the exact process. They need to let it go and move forward. Because it doesn’t matter how many times you fall, what’s important is the way you’re going to come back on the ice and step up after that. They have really good skills and they need to be proud of it. Every big champion has made mistakes in their life. Some more than the others. You just need to swallow it, get your shit together and move on.

– How much time did it take for you to move on? For example, from the 2014, which was quite intense. – I don’t know, I don’t know… You just need to completely switch your head and keep going. It doesn’t matter, it’s not going to change. You can’t talk about the past forever, you just need to learn and forget.

– Do you get in touch with your former partner Nathalie now? – Yeah. She’s actually working in France. The fact that I’m going back there makes us get more and more in touch. I was talking to her like yesterday. We’ve never got along as good as now. I’d like her to come and work with me. I know her skills and what she’s able to do. I don’t think she’s ready to work full-time and I’m not sure I’m ready to work full-time with her, but it would be nice to have her input from time to time.

– What was the last time you met her? – At her wedding in May. It was nice, not too many people. It was emotional. She was crying, of course.

– Everyone’s probably asking you about her husband, the Oscar-winning actor Jean Dujardin. How is he like in real life? – He’s actually a really nice guy. I’ve met him a couple of times. And the more you see him, the less you see the actor and more, the person. I cannot say we bonded as friends, but I definitely understand what she sees in him. If he makes her happy, that makes me happy.

– Do you have a favourite program from your competitive career? – There were so many of them! The Circus program was really nice, also Cats, which was a long-long time ago, the flamenco program that we did with Antonio Najarro, Four Seasons. Mostly because we met and bonded with different people who choreographed for us. The Little Prince? It was not our masterpiece, more like a patchwork of what we did before. A part of Circus and Chaplin in the emotions, a part of Cats because of the storyline. It was a reminder of everything that we did throughout our career.

– Do you miss skating? – No. Why? I’m way older now. Skating is difficult on the body. The run-throughs, that’s what I don’t miss. I feel comfortable as a coach. I was listening to others for so many years, and I think giving is so much easier. Shows? We didn’t do that many with Nathalie, because I moved on to coaching right away. For me, the competitive career was the most interesting, because you were trying your best. When you skate in shows, you do everything for the audience, which is interesting, but you’re not trying to polish your skills, to evolve as a better skater. That’s what I didn’t like that much in shows.

– You were known for some iconic costumes. Which was your favourite or the craziest one? – Circus. Because of changing the costume in the middle of the program. And probably Cats.

– A few weeks ago we found out about the death of Denis Ten. There are different projects being made in his memory in Kazakhstan. Do you know if the international skating community plans on doing something in his memory, too? – I have no idea. For me, he was a friend, a great champion, he was a warm person. I think it’s really sad, and I give all my support to his mom. These are difficult times for her, I can’t imagine what it’s like to lose a child. And for Kazakhstan, too. They’ve lost one of the iconic figures and one of the most important people in the country. It’s a tragedy. If I have the opportunity to get involved in some kind of a memorial, I will definitely do that. But for me, to show all these emotions on the social media is not a way to pay tribute to him. The best way is to remember him and to try to be more like him, to be honest, always smiling and trying the best. He got a roller coaster in his life. He was on the top and then he got some difficulties in training and results, but he still fought back. And that’s something we need to remember him for.

– Was there anyone you looked up to? – It wasn’t one person. Because nobody’s flawless. More like qualities from a certain person. What I always notice in people, is if they’re smiling. I don’t like sad people, they make me sad. And I like fighters, like Denis.

– We’ve already talked about your costumes on ice, but you’re also known as a very stylish person outside the rink. How big is your collection of accessories? – Oh-h, I have a lot of shoes, like… a lot of shoes. Thirty or forty maybe. I like to dress differently when I can. When you’re French, you need to be haute couture. I also wear Italian costumes and Japanese shoes. Whatever I like, I just wear it. If people don’t like it, I don’t care.

– Do you watch football? – Sometimes, but I did watch the World Cup. I saw the final with Maxim. I told him, if he wanted to come he’d better root for France. I don’t watch football for football, it’s more about the company. And here, in Ukraine, we went to see Shakhtar Donetsk vs Arsenal Kyiv. Good game. Not that many Ukrainians on the teams though.

– And what about tennis? Have you ever been to Roland Garros? – I did once, a long time ago. I’m not so much into watching sports, I like to do sports myself, to play tennis, do outdoor sports like beach volleyball. I always loved skating on the ice, but after that I just wanted to go home and hide. Because of how media broadcasted everything. And if you’re on the court as a tennis player, for example, you have people who are going to cheer for one and root against the other. I don’t like this state of mind. Most of them are trying their best, and you need to cheer for both.

– Is it not like that in figure skating? There are some hardcore fans… – Not that much. But yes, there are always those kinds of fans. I saw those in Russia, in Sochi. When we were at the Worlds in Nice, the audience cheered for us more than for the others, but they were also cheering for everyone else they loved. It’s the same way in Japan. It depends on the people. That’s why I don’t like to be in the crowd all the time so I don’t have to see what people are like.

– What are your passions beside skating and shoes? – I love arts. I love to play videogames with my nephew. I have a dog. My passions are my family, my girlfriend, my people.

– To wrap it up, what are your goals for the near future? – I want Europe to be back strong again in figure skating. And I want to leave legacy as a coach and have someone who’s going to follow me up at my job and improve it so we could build a European style that will be recognized all across the world.

Kateryna Makarevska for Segodnya

Photo: Sergey Revera (Segodnya)

Source: https://www.facebook.com/kateryna.makarevska/posts/1782547921810355

Liverpool 4 Barça 0 (FULL MATCH)

Liverpool v barcelona game - Liverpool Barcelona: Stunning Reds comeback revisited | Football News | Sky Sports

Well done Liverpool! From a Man U fan. Comment posted by theredbaron, at 7 May theredbaron. Manchester United fan here. Every decent Manchester United fan sends Liverpool its congratulations on an astounding win. Congratulations Liverpool. One of the greatest teams in visit this site world.

Comment posted by Finkelstein, at 7 May Finkelstein. Brilliant Brilliant Liverpool against all odds deliver a masterclass victory. Simply outstanding against all odds. You simply couldn't have made it up Brilliant Brilliant. Comment posted by Liverpool v barcelona game, at 7 May Greenlantern. Amazing Liverpool you wanted it so much that you got it! Stunning liverpool v barcelona game and I hope that Spurs pull it out the bag also tomorrow. So happy for your team, manager and fans.

Comment posted by james mufc, at 7 May james mufc. Liverpool we are jealous but also are in love with you tonight. Hope we reach such heights soon too. MUFC fan. Fantastic result. Hope to see you in the final. Comment posted by moredetailsneeded, at 7 May moredetailsneeded. Congratulations, Liverpool. Great game, great victory, fully deserved-from a City fan. Comment posted by Ollie, at 7 May Ollie Okay, credit where it's due to Liverpool, I was not expecting that.

What a game. Comment posted by outonthefloor, at 7 May outonthefloor. Well done Liverpool from all of england. Comment posted by Filthyat 7 May Filthy. Well done and hope Liverpool win it now as will be thoroughly deserved. Must say support was incredible! Comment posted by jigsaw, at 7 May jigsaw.

I'm a firm man u fan, always have been, but go on Liverpool, absolutely brilliant. Updated at Liverpool have pulled of one of the most remarkable wins in their history to see off a Barcelona side that came to Anfield with a first leg lead, only to be dumped out of liverpool v barcelona game tournament and sent home with their tails between their legs on the back of a drubbing in which Leo Messi could scarcely have been more anonymous.

It was a truly remarkable performance from Liverpool, who will now face Ajax or Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League final to be played in Madrid. We want to create our own history. What the boys did tonight I thought we were better than the at Barcelona and they were probably better than the here. It was a mix of big heart and skills. We knew from the first game that if you have chances you have to score. The thing that made it really possible is that my boys are really mentality liverpool v barcelona game. When Sunderland let a lead slip at Derby in it was seen as a massive humiliation; my dad called for the reintroduction of the birch.

Now Europe's elite do it pretty much every week. Game's gone. You can hear more effing and jeffing from Jurgen shortly when he conducts his post-match press conference in the less genteel surroundings of the Anfield media centre. I actually I have watched in my life so many football games, but to play the best team in the world He goes on to repeatedly praise his players character, singling out Gini Wijnaldum, Divock Origi, Xherdan Shaqiri and Alisson among liverpool v barcelona game. Trent Alexander-Arnold also gets a mention - his contribution tonight was little short of outstanding.

The liverpool v barcelona game speed continued after half-time as Ter Stegen showed fine reflexes to block Virgil van Dijk's backheeled volley from a corner, before Alisson made yet another smart save from Suarez's check this out drive.

Liverpool v barcelona game stuck with the same XI that secured a advantage in the first leg; Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho once again started liverpool v barcelona game their former club.

It began to feel like another of those European nights at Anfield as Wijnaldum doubled Liverpool's lead with a low drive liverpool v barcelona game 12 yards from Trent Alexander-Arnold's cross, although Ter Stegen should have done better with the effort.

And just seconds after his first, Wijnaldum struck again, meeting a Shaqiri cross from the left with a fine header, but Liverpool weren't settling for extra time. While Barcelona re-organised for a corner, Alexander-Arnold drilled a quick corner into Origi's path, eight yards out, and the Belgian made no mistake, glancing into the top left corner with his right foot. Liverpool weathered the storm in the final stages, sending Anfield into a frenzy on yet another historic night our site the five-time European Cup winners.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was almost lost for words as he tried to express his feelings after the game. He told BT Sport : "The whole game. The whole performance was too much.

Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona (4-3 agg): Jurgen Klopp's side complete extraordinary comeback

It was overwhelming. I watched in my life so many football games but I can't remember many like this. It was overwhelming. I watched in my life so many football games but I can't remember many like this. Winning is already difficult but winning with liverpool v barcelona game clean sheet, I don't know how the boys did it. There are more important things in the world but creating this kind of liverpool v barcelona game is so special.

It's unbelievable. Fine me if you want. I'm not native so I don't have better words for it. What a special night!

Resource promised each other that we couldn't give up. That we'd fight until the end. We did it together.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT RUSSIA BEING KICKED OUT OF THE OLYMPICS

ELLEN WAS THIS YOU!?

Okay, so. Let me tell you guys a thing about Russia’s treatment post USSR break-up that is not taught in American schools due to Cold War propaganda.

Here’s the REAL historic breakdown of WHAT led to the end of the USSR:

Mikhail Gorbachev was the best thing to happen to Russians since Alexander II. As head of the USSR he was extremely, extremely liberal and created so many reforms that he earned nicknames like the Great Soviet Reformer (Alexander II was the Great Reformer). He was ending the ethnic erasure in Central Asia by putting native nationalists into the local government (governor type positions) and overall was trying to merge Capitalism into the Socialist government the way that eventually happened in China. He was also trying to bridge Russia into either a mixed democratic society after China’s model OR into a capitalist democracy. He understood that socialism had failed many Russians and that there was no point in continuing a failed experiment. 

America had nothing to do with the “Fall of the Soviet Union” despite American textbooks claiming otherwise. 

Gorbachev was making reforms that continued to limit the power of the Socialist Republic, working towards creating a truly representative branch of government (do I need to tell y’all how corrupt the USSR politics were?), and overall completely undoing Stalin’s legacy when Boris Yeltsein came on the scene. 

Yeltsein & Co. staged a coup that forced Gorbachev to dissolve the USSR and forced Gorbachev into exile outside of Russia. Russia very nearly got to have a democracy, but as is very Russia… at the last minute something got fucked. 

Yeltsein was the worst thing to happen to Russia since Nicholas II. (I mean, I’d say Stalin but Yeltsein benefited from Gorbachev losing power by way of coup the way Lenin (and then Stalin) benefited from Nicholas II losing power by way of coup. So in a roundabout way he’s the worst thing since Nicholas II in terms of the ending of a political era). Yeltsein brought in the false democracy (aka, oligarchy) that Putin would inherit. Yeltsein also established the Yeltsein “Family” (family as in mob terms) that would bring Putin his original power base and pave the way for absolutely painfully corrupt mob-like politics.

Now, here’s where America and the rest of the Western countries fucked up and conveniently leave out of their textbooks: 

The West decided to claim victory in defeating the USSR despite it being 100% internal power struggles that brought the beast down. The West would also tarnish the reputation of Gorbachev and make him appear to be an enemy that needed to be taken down (because how else would him being removed from power = a victory without him being an enemy); which would mean that in order for this propaganda warfare to work the West would have to paint Yeltsein as a hero. Which they did initially. 

Now, since the West (USA included heavily here) decided to treat the dissolution of the USSR as a victory, that meant they needed to treat Russia as a defeated enemy. 

For those unaware, to bring a country out of Socialism and into Capitalism it takes a great deal of assistance from Allies. One does not simply overnight have all their citizens involved in (failing) social programs that are supposed to provide them everything they need and the next day be forced into a very bare bones Capitalism without or with hugely reduced social assistance. 

Russia in the 1990′s experienced a Depression of a MUCH greater scale than the US’s Great Depression of the 1930′s. This is 100% due to Western countries treating Russia almost exactly as Germany was treated post WWI (which, in case you don’t know put Germany into such an economic Depression that Hitler was able to rise to power because he promised change). Which, by the way the West had learned that was bad idea and offered a HUGE amount of assistance to Germany post WWII which has since enabled it to become the economic powerhouse it was. YET, thanks to DECADES of McCarthyism, Russia was not given this treatment and instead was shut out of international trade, had massive tariffs placed on it, and ultimately purposefully left out of the international discussion all together. 

When the NATO was formed, the United States pushed to get the Soviet Satellite nations in as fast as possible. This meant countries like Poland, Moldova, Estonia, etc. were being accepted into NATO membership DESPITE NOT MEETING REQUIREMENTS TO JOIN NATO. This was done 100% with the intent to further weaken Russia, which it did. The United States also effectively chose to make it impossible for Russia to ever meet NATO requirements by raising them and raising them while making constant exceptions to add any of Russia’s border countries. 

The purposeful international neglect in rehabilitating Russia which lead to it’s Depression and intentional isolating of Russia’s borders through fostering NATO alliances with Soviet Satellite’s is what Putin has built his entire political career on. 

When Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin was actually democratically elected in 2000, he did so on a platform very similar to Trump’s and his slogan might as well have been “Make Russia Great Again”. Putin, being much more intelligent however has then spent 2000 onward consolidating his power and strengthening his ties to oligarchs. Putin also near immediately disposed of all belonging to the Yeltsein “Family” (he’s got a whole string of bodies tied to him) and made his hold on power unquestionable. When he has not been president, it has been to exploit a loophole in the Russian constitution that doesn’t limit LIFE service, only consecutive terms. He’s also very much been running Russia continuously since 2000. 

“But Emma,” you might cry, “Putin is a Bad Hombre. Why is he still in power if he’s so evil and corrupt?”

Well dear friends, because Putin is perhaps one of the greatest political geniuses of this century if not of all time. Putin has kept his approval rating above 70% (as verified by non-Russian polling) this whole time because he has built a cult-like following or at least acceptance due to his platform. What is his platform? His platform is on pitting Russia against the West, namely it’s generally the United States. 

Putin has convinced Russians that the last time Russia was secure was at the height of it’s Imperial power and he aims to get that back. He has painted the United States and the West as being the only thing stopping him and THIS has enabled him to do things like invade the Crimea, interfere with international elections, and at times do terrible things to the Russian people because he is “righting a historical wrong”. He is using the treatment of Russia in the 90′s as fodder for his own propaganda machine which keeps him in autocratic power. 

And he is an autocrat. There is not a single shred of real democracy in Russia. There is only a government in which the ultimate power is Putin. 

So, how do I feel about the exclusion of Russia from the upcoming Olympic Games? 

I feel it’s a horrible, horrible political mistake. I am well versed in steroid-use history and don’t deny that Russia is probably the most talented nation when it comes to cheating the system, but the idea that the IOC would outright ban the entire country from competing is a terrifying proposition. 

Also, realize Russia is also no longer being represented in the IOC. 

This plays right into Putin’s narrative and when you consider HOW close China & Russia are to declaring an official military alliance (they RECENTLY were doing joint military exercises in the Baltic) then you understand what an awful decision this is and how it could potentially jeopardize international politics. President Xi has also been building a narrative in his nation about how The West is the only thing holding China back from being a respected world power. You add them in an allegiance and the United States is kicked off the global stage, which might as well mean the entirety of the West is kicked off the global stage. The United Nations has proven to be the most useless thing in existence, especially since the UN couldn’t come to an agreement to stop Russia’s illegal invasion of the Crimea. 

The United States and The West are simply making it too easy for Putin to enact him plan by being this careless and the idea of letting “clean” athletes compete alongside refugees under the Olympic banner is a total farce. If you allow North Korea to compete under their flag but do not allow Russians to compete under their flag then you are showing the depths of McCarthyism in the 21st Century and the absolute idiocy in dealing with the sleeping giant that is Russia. 

The King of Paramo

Lore pings: @yuushanoah-fr @cityofinoue

A sort of short one! All dragons are in their bipedal form as usual.

He threaded the hallways of the ship far too carefully. Arodan had accidentally scared a few already by walking up to them silently. Right now he was only quiet because he didn’t intend to wake the sleeping people in a boat that creaked at all opportunities. In the semi dark he couldn’t see a lot outside of the glowing charm that hung from his wrist and he let Mimir soothe his other worries, the book open in his hands.

What is it you’re so afraid of?

‘I thought it was obvious.’ Arodan whispered, holding Mimir close enough so he could keep his voice to an impossibly low volume. ‘It’s dark. I’m on yet another boat. Yet another shade ridden figure who my or may not be a nut job.’

And that is really what is making you so frightful?

He paused. If he didn’t know any better Mimir had started to get far too good at guessing what he felt. ‘I’m the one who has to fix this. I chose this.’

You could have said no.

‘I didn’t want to.’ He arrived by the door to his cabin. He knew he had left his keys in some deep pocket of the coat Atlas had left for him but he couldn’t find it. ‘I’m part of these people.’

Mimir didn’t respond. This was fine with Arodan, it allowed him to close them and search his pockets better. Hopefully he wouldn’t get a response until he had freshened himself up properly. Right now his head wasn’t in the right place.

‘You’re not going mad, are you?’

He was as jumpy as he was tired and before Arodan spoke he had already jumped into a defensive stance and pulled a dagger from his coat. His entire being shook like the boat was going to give out under him. Before him wasn’t an enemy he had thought to see, but instead, shrouded by the shadows, he saw the hulking form of Balam. It occurred to him he must look positively insane now. ‘... Sir?’

Balam blinked a few times, bright blue eyes flitting in the dark. He had never seen Balam this hesitant, it was obvious despite the cover of the dark. ‘Is this a bad time?’

‘No.’ Arodan quickly pocketed the dagger and in doing so found his keys. ‘I’d appreciate it however if you wouldn’t sneak up on me, my liege.’ He mustered a polite smile to greet Balam more openly. ‘How do you even do that?’

Balam didn’t answer. By the way the light reflected on his horns Arodan knew he was shaking his head and his smile fell. He was taken aback more once Balam moved out into the light and revealed a beaten form that didn’t radiate the cheerful calm that was inherent to Balam. ‘My liege, huh?’ He tilted his head and then bowed it so his eyes disappeared into the dark. ‘... Would you mind if I came in?’

‘Into- Into my room?’

‘... Yes?’

Well, it wasn’t weird of Balam to ask to come in. Arodan didn’t know however how he was going to offer any words of comfort to Balam that wouldn’t make the situation worse. Silence could be equally bad. Slowly he pulled his keys from his pocket and unlocked the door, stepping in first. He gestured for Balam to come in, wordlessly.

Balam didn’t quite fit through the cabin door. His horns dented part of the frame and Arodan had to stop himself from taking Balam’s arm and pulling him through already. Somehow the massive man forced himself through and stood bent with his head against the ceiling of the room. Before Arodan could stop himself this time, he asked ‘Why don’t you just shift to a smaller form?’

Balam closed the door with his tail and sat on the floor, not meeting Arodan’s gaze. He didn’t look annoyed or surprised, Instead his brow was furrowed in a way it seemed to compact his eyes. ‘I’m not very good at it. This is as small as I can shift.’ He quietly started. ‘Is it an issue?’

‘No. Not at all.’ Arodan repeated. He chose to plop down on his bed and felt a quiet tight uncertainty rising in his throat. His thumb found his journal’s spine to rub, his other hand the bedsheet, and his eyes surveyed Balam. ‘Sir…’ Balam seemed to have been treated for a wound on his lower stomach he tentatively soothed with his hand. Mentally he looked to be more weathered. Arodan took particular note of his tired eyes. The skin around one was bruised blue as blended with his dark eyebags. He sat in the corner like a broken man, and Arodan didn’t have to ask if Balam felt okay.

‘Arodan, how do you feel about all of this?’

He perked up. Balam looked at him directly and Arodan couldn’t feel smaller than he already did. ‘I’m… It’s difficult for all of us. I wish I could have done more.’ The bedsheet was uncomfortably coarse against his fingers and the tight feeling in his throat grew only heavier. ‘I wish things didn’t go this way.’

‘I see.’ Balam hummed. Arodan grew only more nervous and he really didn’t know what he could possibly say to Balam now.

‘Sir-‘

‘Please just call me Balam.’ Balam interrupted Arodan with a voice that wavered and hitched as he spoke. His eye met Arodan’s and he managed to crack a smile. ‘I’m no king of yours.’ His gaze drifted to the side and he had a glazed look to his eyes. ‘I’m no king of anyone, so, we are true equals now. Isn’t it great?’

Arodan gave pause and he came to fidget with his journal instead. ‘Okay, Balam.’ He took a deep breath. ‘Why did you want to come into my room?’

Balam didn’t respond initially. He first occupied himself with braiding his hair that had grown significantly longer in such a short span of time. When he did it was with a sullen resignation. ‘I didn’t want to be alone, I suppose.’ He huffed lightly. ‘Couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat, so I didn’t know what else to do but stay in the company of someone.’ Lightly Arodan could see a healing wound on Balam’s arm. ‘So I found you, it seems.’

‘Balam-‘ Arodan got up and took the scarred arm. The wound wasn’t old and its angle didn’t look like the cleave of another’s sword. He knew that feeling too well to be comfortable with. ‘If you need to speak your mind then do so. It’s not magically going to get better if you sit in the corner of my room for the rest of this voyage.’

‘I know.’ Balam grunted. He bowed his head again and looked humbled by Arodan’s presence. ‘I failed them Arodan.’

‘This isn’t your-‘

‘It is my fault.’ Balam said. He looked at Arodan with hazy eyes and still was a great deal bigger than him sitting down. ‘That is the one thing that is truth.’ He shook his head once more. ‘What troubles me is that I have no idea how to fix this. I want to, I was responsible for these people. I made them lose everything.’

‘Okay, yes, maybe it was your fault. You were their king.’ Arodan said, regretting how rude it might sound. Balam nodded along to his statement. ‘But then again, what is wallowing going to solve? Are you giving up?’

‘Maybe.’ Balam whispered. His eyes fluttered shut. ‘What army do I have? I can’t go in and fight Alexander’s forces again. For my people I would trade my life but he has my city and I cannot risk their lives in that battle.’

‘Then we sneak in.’ Arodan said, jumping up.

‘They’d expect that.’

‘We could try.’

‘Then who do you want to sacrifice?’ Balam asked. He sounded more grim than anything now. ‘Caer is a scout. Carmen is still healing. Epoch is... dead. None of us are in a right mind to undertake such a thing.’ He shifted and it was the first time Arodan ever heard a floor creak in Balam’s presence. ‘I am not sending you either, you’d most certainly die. None of these people deserve to die.’

‘I know that too.’ Arodan held up his hands in defense. ‘But-‘

‘I said, I don’t know how to solve this, Arodan.’ Balam said with a raised voice that threatened to echo to the other cabins. He looked regretful of an outburst that had only been minuscule. ‘Please don’t make me put the lives of more people on the line.’

That ended the conversation momentarily. Arodan’s hands took to gently brushing over the skin on Balam’s arm and the king didn’t meet his eye the entire time he did. When he dared to speak it was still in hushed tone, a soft apologetic sentence. ‘Forgive me for asking this… But did you ever want to be king?’

‘So many have asked me. More must have spoken of it behind my back.’ Balam started. He looked as if he didn’t know how to answer this question. ‘I have always wanted to lead these people, but I wasn’t ready for it when I got the position. I wanted to be king but in the end I didn’t make a very good one.’ He blinked slowly. 'Love can't save a city when you're it's king.'

‘You didn’t stop being king because your city was taken over. Where I’m from we call that exile, and we can fix exile.' Arodan snapped. He shook Balam and found it was as difficult as he thought it would be to move Balam even slightly. 'Then start here. Take responsibility.'

'That, I know too.' Balam repeated himself in similar manner to Arodan. He nodded along to his statement like he had taken it to heart but his brain had yet to lead the action. 'I want to.'

'What's stopping you then?'

'Failure.'

Balam was right in doubting himself considering the last mistake he made cost him the life of someone dear to him and an entire city he cared for. Now Arodan thought of it, why didn't it bother him more? Shouldn't he be feeling more over the loss of the city? He sat down next to Balam with a quiet sigh and officially didn't know what else to tell him. The man was perhaps too stubborn.

'Arodan?'

Balam suddenly speaking to him caused him to near jump, luckily not a full on vertical leap. 'Yes?'

'I'm aware I must be very tiresome, and that I do things that upset people.' Balam started, shifting so he sat against Arodan. 'You cannot help me now, so give me time. I can't do what is asked of me now but I will soon. That I promise.'

'Well, it's an improvement.' Arodan would take a promise. That was enough. 'Why are you telling me this?'

'Because I trust you like the others. I would have told them too if they were in your position, but here you are.' Balam reached and pat Arodan's head with a fond gaze. 'You've come out of a tough spot too. We are similar, so we should look after each other. That is what I want.'

Arodan understood. He didn't nod, or say anything, but sat there and let Balam rest his hand on his head for a bit. When Balam pulled his hand back they opted to sit in silence, the only thing breaking their little balance being that Arodan offered Balam a book and took one for his own. They sat and read and he thought of how nice it would have been if he had gotten the opportunity to do so in the library. Maybe, if they reclaimed Paramo they could all sit and read. Carmen, Atlas, Caer, Langdon, Balam, they were his friends, that was truth, and he was comfortable with wishful thinking for once despite the current situation and the damage done. Balam had apparently trusted him enough to fall asleep reading the novel he had given him.

'Balam?' He gently bumped his shoulder and like with moving him Balam wasn't going to wake up either. How far exactly was he gone? 'Balam, you can't...' he shook him, then ceased the movement.

Why not.

Arodan picked up Mimir again and took to leaving the cabin. In the dim light of his charm he chose to sit in the hallway. Mimir had already written a few things when he opened them again but his focus stuck on a particular phrase.

What do you think of me going by feminine pronouns?

'You can if that's what resonates with you.' Arodan whispered to Mimir. His free hand searched a quill since speaking to a book had made him look odd earlier. 'How so?'

I was thinking of miss Solaire. I hope she's alright.

'Probably. She's a spirit, if we're lucky she's eating some Lux Laterna soldiers for us.' Arodan whispered. He found a quill but no ink regretfully and he really wasn't sure if he should continue whispering to Mimir. 'You wanna be like her?'

It would be really nice to walk in a form like yours.

Well, as long as she didn't possess him to do so Arodan was okay with that thought. 'I wouldn't know how to get you one like that but it is a fun thought.' He held Mimir close to him. 'I'll look into it.'

That'd mean the world to me.

'It's no problem.'

Thank you for being my friend, Arodan.

That made him just a bit tearful. He knew that. The confirmation just was nice, the kind of warm hug he wanted or the kind word. This was nice.

'What… What are you doing?'

That was not an as nice thing to hear. He peered into the dark and he could see Sachairi standing on just a distance from him. 'Oh, you.' As soon as the words slipped from Arodan's lips he found himself mentally bracing for whatever might come and he thought he should really ask himself why he just kept saying whatever came to mind. 'I mean- I didn't...'

Wait.

Arodan peered more closely now and he could see Sachairi was staring at him with a look he hadn't yet seen on him. He was pretty sure it was a self loathing disappointment completely with a light head tilt. 'Are… Are you okay?'

'No, I just...' It had been only the blink of an eye and Sachairi had returned to being the intimidating figure he had been in the crypt. 'It is none of your goddamn business.' Almost, that was. Something wasn't as confident in his stance.

'... Right.' Arodan scanned over the other man with obvious doubt. 'What are you looking for? Why are you up?'

'That too isn't for you to know.' Sachairi stepped towards him. 'I need to talk to you.'

'You mentioned that yeah.' Arodan gave as a flat response. 'Are you going to be polite to me or not?'

'Yeah, listen bucko, I'll be nice if I want to.' His eyes darted off to the side and he pointed at Arodan with a shaking, smoking hand. 'I need your help.'

'Sachairi?'

Balam poked his head out of Arodan's cabin. He looked half asleep still but alert enough to register what was being discussed. He didn't look particularly happy to see Sachairi. 'What are you doing out of bed? Go to sleep son.'

'I wasn't really feeling it.' Sachairi shrank under Balam's scrutinizing gaze and started to step away. The smoke that lined his arms and shoulders faded and his voice shifted. 'It's not as if I have to sleep.'

'Yes you do, stop being stubborn.' Balam sternly said. He wormed his way through the door yet again and nearly took the door out of its hinges. 'You aren't well. Rest.'

'I'm perfectly fine, stop telling me what I am.' Sachairi responded, turning on his heel and disappearing into the darkness. Arodan had expected him to follow up with something but nothing came. He could swear he heard a pained whimper out of the distance as if someone had maybe pushed him but that was the least of his worries. 

'That was… Very weird.' Arodan whispered, his gaze sliding up to Balam.

'It is like I'm dealing with a teenager.' Balam said. The statement sounded way too humorous to Arodan to take seriously. The following caught his attention far more effectively. '.... I swear it's as if someone else is wearing his face. When he looks monstrous he is more himself than like this.'

'I meant to ask, what did Atlas discuss with you about this?' Arodan walked over to Balam's side so they stood in the shared light of the charm. 'I know this is a highly personal affair but I have to step in.'

'He told me what was necessary.' Balam said painfully. He closed his eyes and looked more tired than before. 'I know I'm not going to stop you, and if a stranger is the way to figure out if he has become a threat, then I will take it.'

'That was the plan.' Arodan hummed. 'And he wants to talk to me, so that gives me an opportunity. I don't know why, but I'll figure it out.'

'I see.' Balam opened his eyes and took to eyeing Arodan suspiciously. Arodan knew what he was thinking just by how Kassa looked at him on the bunker's roof and he decided to not pay it any attention. 'I wish you good luck, Arodan.' Balam started to saunter away, off into the pitch black of the hallway. 'Do not lose sight of yourself.'

'I will, si- Balam.' Arodan responded. He waited until Balam truly was out of sight and then chose to retreat into his cabin again. He was quite done with all the heavy situations for today and as soon as his face hit the (to him) impossibly soft pillow he fell into a deep dreamless sleep. As long as nothing worried him in his dreams then he would be fine for the night.

Lineup Lamentations - GW13

Our Transfers, Captains, and Starting 11s for the week!

And if you missed it for subscribers Friday My Life episode just came out!

—

WALSH

TRANSFERS:

OUT: Salah, Pukki, Nketiah

IN (for -4 points hit): Dendoncker, Kane, Vardy

Time to shake up the squad with my first hit of the season.

Mo and this ankle situation feels like not something I want to be monitoring or thinking about in the near term so once I decided to bin him the moves made themselves.

I am back in on Kane.. my lover and FPL mistress will always be welcomed back to both either of my bosoms. I am all in on Mou bouncing them and sticking Kane back to traditional nine as he has done in years past. I have idea who will play in midfield or where but I do believe that Kane will be back up top with no fucking about and he will get them to feed the machine. I've got most of my other bases covered and this just felt like the best way to give me points. Gives me a horse who will start and play all these games as well as strengthening my bench with that Livp blank on the horizon.

Let's go Harold you lad.

Vardy still sucks.

GK:

Pope (wat)

Pope somehow got points last gameweek so maybe it will beget more points in this. He only has two more good fixtures before they turn so hopefully he can put some more points on the board. Been feeling antsy with him but not sure I'll have a transfer to spew on GK in the near term. TBD.

DEF:

Alexander-Arnold & Robertson (cry)

Trent and R0bbo still plod along game on game as Livp do their best Fulham impression at keeping cleans. Robbo knocked is a worry but meh he'll prob play. Whatever.

Good fixtures run for these so hoping that they finally kick into gear and keep some cleans to repay my faith.

Lundstram (MUN)

Pointstram obviously is in there as he will be for the rest of the season assuming he doesn't die or get dropped. Not a great feel with Manchu rolling in without Hendo and possibly with Jagz in there but whatever. Who knows which version will show up? I do not.

Rico (WOL)

Last is Rico. Ugh vomit poop. No faith in him and I hate him for the points he has gotten me on the bench. Somewhat reasonable on paper fixture so he's going to try his best to get me two points instead of one point. Time will tell.

MID:

Only three lonely mids as I have an eye to turn this trio into a duo.

Sterling & De Bruyne (CHE)

Raz and Kev are still chilling and I feel fine holding them both for a while. I believe in City and I think that points are coming for these two.

Mount (mci)

Mount somehow is still in my team despite drawing a lot of my disdain recently. Not much to say about him other than he is biding time in my team for me to build up an extra transfer to turn him into fodder and go 523.

FWD:

Kane (whu) & Vardy (bha) & Abraham (mci)

Forward group looks like point central with Kane Vardz and Tamela.

I guess Tam and Vard at this point are just like empty spots since everyone has them? Kinda? Either way, I guess it's good to have the good players who get points.

CAP:

Kane (whu)

Silly if you thought I wouldn't back big Harold in his first Mou game.

Come on Harry! Show us old Harry new manager bounce come on harry be a great guy i love you harry get me some goals assists and points come on harryyyyyy.

I can see the headlines now: "Mourinho struggles to a 0-0 draw at the Olympic in first game as King of the Potatoes" yipeee.

—

ALON

TRANSFERS:

OUT: Hudson-Odoi, Kelly, Lowton, and Pukki

IN (for -8 points hit): Maddison, Guilbert, van Dijk, and Connolly

WOW.

Here we are.

I think Walsh being very mad and very frustrated for two weeks and on the last normal pod has rubbed off on me a bit. I mean hits are also in my nature and I have a good track record of hits... It’s not that much of a stretch considering for two weeks I’ve been basically nailed on gonna take a -4 to get to -8 just one more click ya know?

My team was very flagged and in trouble as you can see I’ve removed a red flag backup in CHO, a backup in Kelly (Ward is fit), a player bombed out of the 11 in Lowton, and the old bald shtity guy who plays for the worst team in the Premier League... As far as -8s go pretty fucking good to get rid of a total of 2 points.

As for the guys I brought in Connolly was a panic like two weeks ago when Pukki was dropping again I made the early move of bringing in the now red flagged Connolly but it’s fine he’s gonna ride the bench anyway and should be back soon... The last trio came together literally last second right after Friday My Life I found a set of three that I like and all fit perfectly and just fucking did it.

Maddo is good, despite being down on him (or at least MORE down then most people) I still always said yes he’ll tick and get points, and Goodman kinda convinced me more on him from the Fireside.

I back Liverpool to start keeping cleans now that they don’t have the ridiculously bad fixtures anymore and VVD will start every single match in the pileup. He’s also kinda cover for me since the ownership between Trent/Robbo/Alisson is very high.

And lastly Guilbert Fred Gilbert comes in. He’s been pretty good and attacking since GW3 when he started starting but more importantly for my team he rotates very well with Soy/Tomori so the upcoming fixtures that I’ll be starting Guilbert in are home Newcastle this week, home Southampton in GW18, and home Norwich in GW19. Maybe more, who knows, but that’s the plan.

Alright long transfers section is done and I still feel good about the hit. I’m happy (for now).

GK:

Gazzaniga (whu)

Fortress Mou cometh. Cleans cometh. Let’s go.

DEF:

van Dijk (cry)

Oh hey bro welcome to the squad you almighty being.

Not feeling fantastic about a clean away and Liverpool usually play like shit after international break but it’s certainly possible with Palace’s shitty ass attack.

Lundstram (MUN)

Really hope that Egan comes in so it’s not a Jags absolute shit-show disaster. Still worried about no Hendo. Worried in general about this one have a bad feeling about the clean but you know Lund can get attacking returns vs. anyone and it’s home so let’s go Lundy.

Söyüncü (bha)

One of four guys that I’ve had since GW1; I fucking love Soy.

Away is tougher then home for this clean but I still expect it and expect Leicester to control and kill the match.

Guilbert (NEW)

Another new bro getting in there.

Newcastle somehow have been generating attack lately (Saint-Maximin in) but I still consider them the worst attack or at least bottom three attack in the division so home vs. Newcastle to me is as good a chance of a clean as any.

And maybe Fred is feeling saucy and gonna throw in an assist???

MID:

Salah (cry)

No words... if he plays then he’s captain material. If he plays but isn’t fit then fuck me. If he doesn’t play then really fuck me... Sweating the teamsheet a lot on this one as he might go from not a problem at all to a big problem very quickly tomorrow morning.

Sterling & De Bruyne (CHE)

I still back the MCI guys to score lots of goals and points and haven’t thought about ditching either yet. And I think that City are gonna score a lot of goals vs. Chelsea like at least three in my opinion so I love this match from FPL perspective.

Maddison (bha)

New friend.

Passes into the box / key passes / Casino merchant / cunt, he really ticks every box for me. Just gonna sit back and watch the points trickle in... Or the points’ll dry up and I’ll fucking hate myself for not backing myself.

TBD.

FWD:

Vardy (bha)

Duh.

Abraham (mci)

Duh Part 2.

CAP:

Salah (cry)

Well here we are... Part one of what I said about Mo was that if he’s fit then he’s cap material and so I’m taking that risk... I have vice on Vardy just in case.

I didn’t feel good capping Kevin or Raz or Vardy this week which I guess puts me largely in the minority but I don’t know Brighton have been really solid at home (5th best NPxGA) and Vardy shoots like 1-2 times per match and I’m just like meh maybe Liverpool just win 3-0 and Mo double returns. I can picture that a lot easier but maybe that’s just me.

Hate captain.

As Pod Partner said you gotta go with your balls and your penis sometimes. Alas.

—

RANDOM SLACKER OF THE WEEK: JEFFD

The words of Random Slacker are not officially endorsed by this website nor any employees of FML FPL LLC.

TRANSFERS:

OUT: Pukki & Salah

IN (for -4 points hit): Jiménez & Mané

Fear-based transfers IN. I’m taking only my second hit of the season in Gameweek 13, which represents massive personal growth for me as an FPL manager. My transfers this week were inspired by a Mourinho quote:

“…during my career, I made mistakes, and I'm not going to make these mistakes, I'm going to make new ones.”

The Pukki to Jiménez move doesn’t need much explaining. Canaries linger in my team because while I was foolishly shuffling KdB out and back in, I should have been dealing with stagnant assets like Pukki. Getting Jim isn’t the most titillating move, but after looking at the options at or below this price, he seems like the most sensible option in both the short- and medium-term.

I decided on the Mo to Mané sideway shuffle very late based on the landscape of my money league with my mates. I’m near the top of the league, and we’re all bad, but I’m the least bad historically. I noticed that I’m the only manager of 12 that still owns Mo, almost everyone has Mané, and I can’t tolerate this risk any longer.

Given health and recent form, I think the probability that Mané outperforms Mo is so much larger than the other way around this week — and over the next few weeks — and I'm prioritizing keeping pace rather than owning a differential. So I’m conceding the 4 points now to correlate my team a little more with the rest that own Mané. If I miss out on a run of Mo hauls, please refer to the José quote above.

GK:

Pope (wat)

His 9 points last gameweek were very unexpected and appreciated. Still, this is a player I’m looking at “downgrading” for a few extra coins before the blanks in GW18.

DEF:

Alexander-Arnold & Robertson (cry)

I can’t say enough about these guys. I look forward to owning them both for the rest of the season. I’m praying for Robbo’s health — because I love him — and my bench is loathsome.

Lundstram (MUN)

Looking forward to his 2-21 points this week. This is not new information, but the positions that Lundstram has been taking up in the past few matches are preposterous for someone classed as a defender in FPL. I’ve been almost forced to start him every week based on my personnel, which has proved advantageous since some other managers with deeper teams ended up benching him and missing out.

MID:

Mané (cry)

New guy gets a haiku:

Senegalese stud;

scores with both feet and his head;

welcome to my team.

De Bruyne (CHE)

I spent a lot of transfers and lost some value getting him out and back in. If he would repay the faith, that would be great. Note that if Kevin is going to score against a previous club that spurned him any time soon, it surely has to be this week.

Mount (mci)

As a Yank, I’ve watched Pulisic a lot, and this not the player I’m used to seeing. I think he’ll regress or get hurt, and then maybe the proverbial pendulum will swing back to Mount. Chelsea have some home bankers coming up, so I’ll reassess this spot frequently in the coming weeks.

Tielemans (bha)

I used my two frees last week to get this guy and Vardy, so I was obviously buzzing when they linked up for that goal. I opted to get him over Maddo and invest funds in my bench down the road, so I’m perversely desiring to see Youri keep pace with or outperform Maddo.

I don’t think it’s unreasonable to imagine him having a license to get farther forward and score in a match like this where Leicester may be bossing possession for long periods.

FWD:

Vardy (bha)

I’m a math/stats guy for work, and I enjoy FPL since eye-test is often so much more illuminating than stuff like xG. That being said, Vardy can’t keep up what he’s doing statistically, but I’m here to embrace and benefit from his unsustainable scoring record for as long as it lasts.

Abraham (mci)

Starting double Chelsea attack away to City does not inspire confidence in my squad, but City defense is a shadow of its former self, and we’ve seen Tammy get behind and punish mistakes, so I have optimism here.

Jiménez (bou)

The third pillar in the VAJ frontline. Do something, you donkey.

CAP:

Vardy (bha)

We may very well see a beleaguered Brighton side given injuries and Dunk’s suspension. We know what Vardy can do with limited chances, so this seems like the sort of match where he can actually get a volume of quality opportunities and maybe even a jammy pen.

The Spacetime Challenge

Create a fanwork involving an old theory/abandoned plot/headcanon for Fitzsimmons before 11:59pm PST on July 28th.

 My theory: Jemma being Hydra –all this time (after watch sneak peek 2x03) and she is working inside looking a cure for Fitz. (Its was a big deal back in that time. People talked a lot about Jemma being Hydra. But the theory lasted a week, until the end of ep 2x03)

*Jemma Simmons meets her chemistry partner the first week of class in Shield Academy.

*She doubts all the time about whether he has also been recruited by Agent Sitwell or not since no one, on earth, would behave so awkward and clumsy without some other hidden reason.

*She decide to start following him all the time in search of his secret identity.

*It turns out in the end, that Leo Fitz was not any kind of mad scientist or follower of Hydra or by the common good. He was just a shy teen obsessed with monkeys and fission engines that does not stop talking to her in codes during their endless classes.

* They become best friends for three simple reasons:

1. She has never met anyone more interesting-non-follower-of-Hydra in her entire life.

2. They are the only ones able to keep up with each other.

3. He makes her feel normal.

*They graduate early and before she superiors expect it, Jemma was accepted to be part of Sciops -thanks to the visionary projects that she and Fitz has built it, applauded by director Fury and Alexander Pearce.

*It was almost a shame that Fitz was not Hydra to share the satisfaction.

*And it was almost a shame not accept him like her Sciops lab partner again.

*In a matter of three months, Agent Webber designates them a private work space where the first sketches of the Night-Night gun start to be thought.

*Her superiors are enthusiastic thinking about all the possible benefits of a toxin weapon implemented in some bomb of mass destruction.

*The people of Hydra always think about massive destruction.

*Seeing Fitz smile when he thinks Night Night name, it’s the first time that Jemma doubts about why something created with so much brilliance should be used for something destructive.

*So, in the end, as her superiors pressure her to deliver data and Weber encourages her to create useful toxins, Jemma sends through the secret interface, sketches and incorrect numbers of boring projects.

* She decides protect the "Mouse hole" and the "Golden Retriever" of Fitz and their "Dwarves" and the rest of their inventions like theories of conduction, congelation, etc.

*Although she has no qualms about detailing the rest Sciops division projects, she coworker’s codes or the evidence obtained from guys with whom Jemma used to have a beer to obtain information, etc.

*But her own with Fitz, she keeps them secretly, deciding that she might report them later, when Fitz was not looking at her encouragingly or acting crazy for a cat liver next to his lunch or needing her to rub his shoulder.

*When working with him stopped being special.

*The first time Maria Hill talks about the BUS 616 team, Fitz goes crazy.

*During dinner, he tells her excuses about not being field scientists.

*For dessert, Jemma manages to persuade him to go on the adventure, as a perfect opportunity to see the world.

*The true hidden reason to convince him: She wants to keep him away, as much as possible, from what is secretly woven under the land of the secret organization to which they are part.

*And that's saying a lot.

*Jemma does not know what, nor when, nor why important Hydra leaders are mobilizing the threads but she knows it will be a massive thing and she wants to keep Fitz away from it.

*When she sees the same agent Phil Coulson, wounded to death during the New York battle, as head of unit, she realizes her mistake.

*She should never have dragged them into this.

*But between trips and missions, selfies with pyramids in Peru, jumping off the plane, shooting Sitwell –after that, they raised her Hydra salary, if you can believe it - her secret superior begins to be more and more insistent on the importance of looking Coulson closely.

*And Jemma begins to debate all the time about acting or not giving info, because Coulson turns out to be a good leader and next to Skye, Ward, May aka The Calvary and the missions, Shield doesn’t seem to be so bad as they always drawing it to her.

*It can be said that she and Fitz almost have a family on the Bus.

*Until a superior, called The Clairvoyant appears.

*So far, Jemma only heard rumors about him and then everyone is on a crazy plan to find him and she is running on a trap trying to discover the serum GH325 with the help of Fitz but without let he catch all the reasons why she seeks it, that is, to inform her superior of Hydra but at the same time without let Skye suffer more damage and more important, without Coulson and Hand or Garrett, the mythical spies authorization 8 of Shield, hear about her plans.

*And then SHIELD falls.

*Holy Hell.

*Shield collapses and she along with Trip are arrested by Hand who gives them a speech about belonging to the cause of Hydra and the common good and Jemma - not for the first time in her adult life - again has doubts about if she chose the right side, the right life, the true real common good ... so she decided not to give herself up. Die loyal to SHIELD now, without continuing to fail her life with Fitz and team.

*Although now SHIELD clearly is a losing side, out of order and pursued by justice.

*At the end, while she debates herself in silent, Hand reveals to be truly Shield and what Trip and Jemma are now part of the select group that she trusts and that in case they did not know, Coulson is Hydra.

*Jemma can’t believe that about Coulson, not even that she has just done what she vowed to avoid: leaving Fitz in the lion's mouth, in the same danger by which she dragged them away from the Sciops at first.

*After more revelations and fights, she is able to embrace Fitz while he, with blood and tears, is clinging to her.

*Garrett is arrested, along with ten Hydra agents and Coulson asks how deep the damage is.

*Jemma still holds Fitz in a hug when Hand starts to explains the destruction of three Helicarriers, Captain America's involvement, great destruction, Nick Fury death, some world leader’s fall, and so on.

*It's too much to process.

*Added to the fact that, just two days later, when Fitz, Tripp, Coulson and she return from a mission to their new distant secret lair in the snow called Providence they learn that Melinda is gone, Ward is Hydra and Skye is his prisoner.

*Two large wolves disguised as sheep. She and Ward on Coulson's team. No one ever imagined it.

*She is still afraid to reveal her truth.

*That same afternoon while they are interrogated by General Talbot, she realizes.

*She is not Hydra. She is a scientist, with complete loyalty to science and Fitz.

*And also, Ward is the real person with headwashing here, kidnapping Skye.

*She almost feels sorry for Ward if it were not because he killed Hand and Koenig and who knows how many more, consciously.

*Until now and in the past, she may have been Hydra, influenced by her superiors and teachers and by her own parents but she is no longer now and never, ever, would she murder someone by her own free will. And in fact that's what made her appreciate Leopold Fitz for who he is. The man who was willing to create a non-lethal weapon with her even though they both had the intelligence to create a weapon of mass destruction. Just because it was the right thing to do. Just because it was something that had to be done.

*Jemma still thinks about it, when they are forced to hide in a cheap Motel, Skye and May again with them.

*And she keeps thinking about it when Fitz invites her to wet their feet on the Motel's surprisingly clean pool.

* "Tell me that you're not Hydra," he pleads, his bright eyes holding the pain. Poor Fitz, he's seen so many things and suffered so much.

* "I'm not Hydra."

* "Yeah, good. Because I'm not, either. "

* "Of course not."

* "Yeah, because if you ever did, I do not know what I would do."

* "You'll never have to find out," she says, feeling all the weight of her words as she stretches to hold his knee.

*She may not have been discovered yet and she holds on the hope that she will never be. She is Shield. Not an agent of anything or something unimportant. She is, together with everyone, an agent of Shield. And that has to mean something.

*After all they have gone through, that still carry weight.

*A day later, she and Fitz are thrown to the ocean by Ward from the plane in mid-air and she instantly faints after her head hits against something hard.

*Wake up after a while, feeling confused and dizzy. She can see the bottom of the ocean through the window of the medical pod.

*Immediately Fitz with a sling on his arm, is talking about physics and facts and math as he used to do while he was nervous in classes with her at the academy.

* "Enough with the math. What are you saying?" She demands.

* "There is no way out" Jemma realize the truth with tears in her eyes "We're going to die down here."

* They sit face to face contemplating the end of their lives. She has a nice feeling of being in all this with Fitz, despite failing her promise to keep him away from danger. But she does not regret it. She may have been Hydra, but he showed her once and a thousand times a world of good intentions, of good odds that managed to change her mind.

* The first law of thermodynamics says that no energy in the universe is created and none is destroyed. Basically they would be transformed into something else after dying. And that's a touching feeling.

*Fitz looks at her with his blue eyes sparkling as she talks and he's about to say something when her brain starts working full blown.

* "Fitz, the glass!"

* "Yeah. It's bulletproof, pressure-resistant...”

* "But the seal is 4-hydroxy-4-methyl-2-pentanone, surely ..."

* "Yeah, I know what you're thinking" they're always read other mind "but the flash point is too high for it to burn"

* "But medical ethanol has a low flash point, and it burns..."

* "-Hotter..."

* "If we could use the defibrillator..."

* "-as an ignition source..."

* "-and build a compressed explosive…"

* "To ignite the seal, the outside pressure will..."

* "Blow the window in!"

*So they carry out the great plan.

*And he forces her to leave him.

*Force to take the last breath between her hands while she is still distracted by his words.

*He just said that she is more than a best friend...

*And she cannot stop crying and hugging him and not letting go because she has failed him.

*She has let he be part of the chaos and destruction hidden under the floor of SHIELD, fall into the hands of Hydra and now he is a victim of her acts.

*The most important person she has.

*When Fitz presses the button, she screams, takes the last bite of air seconds before the water hits her stomach like a thousand punches and resists. She never loosens Fitz's thin checkered T-shirt grip and drags along with him all the way to the surface.

*Nick Fury, the man she's helped destroy for years, looks her in the eye as she informs him that Fitz is alive.

*With a last attempt of ratification, she does not doubt to give the clues of the whereabouts of Coulson to Fury, feeling that she has done the right thing for once. That Garrett, Ward and Hydra deserve to pay for everything they've done.

* Still thinking about Fitz's last words, she looks at him, pale as he was at sixteen lying in a decompression pod with millions of tubes tucked into it.

*After nine of the longest days of her life, he wakes up. Not being able to speak or move but still looking at her, demanding an explanation.

*And he looks hurts. Was she supposed to let him die down there? Because she was not going to do it.

*They try for a while as the team continues to running in the shadows, hidden in an old facility of SHIELD. Meanwhile Coulson is the new director now that Fury pretends to be dead and as new members join the team, Jemma keeps trying. Complying with her promise to protect Fitz.

*She takes him out of the medical bay after two months and takes him to dinner. He does not stop complaining all the time.

*He does not make advances. The doctors analyzing new therapies but he continues give up. His words are clumsy, his hands shakings, his body surrendering. The damage in his temporal local brain was very extensive.

*And Jemma does not stop of blaming herself.

*It hurts her so much, to see him in such a way, with half her body asleep and a great attitude resentful towards her.

*Jemma Simmons finally makes a bold decision.

*Pack her things, talk to Fitz a while about going to visit her parents in England, hugs Skye in the hall and up the stairs to the director's office to expose her case.

* "We already knew." May sighs defeated.

* Jemma frozen, "Did you know?"

* "You're an awful liar"

* "But even so, you managed to pass Koenig’s lie detector better than mine," explains Coulson with a paternal smile "so, we do not doubt a moment when you were, like thousands of other subjects, easily influenced by a powerful Octopus paternal image."

* "Just like Ward," sighs Jemma, defeated. Every morning, she watched any movement of Ward in his special cell, blaming herself for not having known before.

* "You're not like him. Don’t do that” May reaches Jemma’s shoulder.

* After a while, Coulson asking “Are you sure about this, Jemma?"

* "It's what I have to do."

*So she leaves, leaves the base, gets a new life, a new house and a new job in a laboratory. Embracing her cover of double agent once more.

*This time, inside Hydra.

*To get the cure that Fitz needs.

get to know my OCs!

these asks are from @the-moon-dust-writings , original post HERE (also i recommend to check their blog!!)

i will answer for Vaughn Zander (Fall/out 4), Tamir (Fall/out Ne/w Vegas) and Kahurangi (Sk/yrim)

- OC’s full name? 

Vaughn: his full name is Vaughn Zander, first name means ‘little’ in welsh and the last name means ‘defender of people’ in old greek (derives from Alexander)

Tamir: her name means “tall” in Hebrew (she cannot remember her last name)

Kahurangi: it means ‘sky blue’ in Maori

- Where were they born?

Vaughn: he was born in Boston, on 13 feb 2045 (he is 32 yrs old)

Tamir: unknown location, but close to Mojave Desert, she was born in the year 2261 (she is 20 yrs old)

Kahurangi: in Elsweyr, but now i cannot remember the year, but she is 22 yrs old at the begining of the game

- What accent and language do they speak in?

Vaughn: umm normal accent?? or i cant figure it out what accent he has, but he can easily change accents, and even managed to talk as a cowboy lmao PROOF . also he does know many languages, like sign language,  Greek, German, Spanish, Italian, can understand Russian and Chinese

Tamir: she doesnt have a specific accent, and she knows english, sign language, chinese and very bit of spanish

Kahurangi: she does have an accent, and knows many languages, being easier for her to talk with everyone, as long as they arent bothered by her accent tho

- What flaws do they have?

Vaughn: he tends to be very lazy, sometimes is a coward, is very naive (with time he learns how not to be used by strangers), is sensitive, nervous, anxious, clumsy, sometimes may be arrogant, has a low self esteem, is insecure, very sarcastic, may be too honest

Tamir: has a very short temper, is very impulsive, acts before she thinks, may be insensitive for strangers

Kahurangi: pretty naive, noisy, trust strangers too easily 

- What are things that they are good at?

Vaughn: great at medicine stuff, cooking, singing, dancing, telling jokes, supporting his friends and family, telling or inventing stories, melee attacks

Tamir: good at medicine, at shooting at long range, persuading people to do what she wants

Kahurangi: cooking, practice fire magic, telling stories, can fight well

- What are their pet peeves?

Vaughn: loud or high noises, rude people, anyone that is cruel to animals (especially to chickens), dishonest people, people that cant keep their promises, people who doesnt care about others and ruin things

Tamir: anyone that talks for more than 2 min, anyone that belittle her or makes fun of her intelligence, loud people, people that dont pay any attention to her

Kahurangi: people that makes fun of her or call her “rug” or “cat”, rude people

- What is something they do not respect?

Vaughn: the supposed ‘leaders’ that doesnt care about other people and think they are the best, anyone that hurts other people for their own ways

Tamir: self-entitled peoples, anyone that use violence to make a point

Kahurangi: idem as others

- Could they survive on their own in a forest?

Vaughn: he would be terrified but yes he can survive

Tamir: yes

Kahurangi: of course

- Are they social with others?

Vaughn: very social, can make friends easily and keep in contact with other people, which is essential in Commonwealth

Tamir: not really, but she likes to talk alot with people she trusts

Kahurangi: yes!!! she loves to talk alot on many subjects

- Do they have good social skills?

Vaughn: yep ;)

Tamir: not exactly, but she gets by

Kahurangi: very good

- Do they have a guilty pleasure?

Vaughn: alcohol may be his guilty pleasure, but he tries to keep it in line, sometimes he consumes mentats

Tamir: mentats, jet, alcohol, but in a low meassure

Kahurangi: alcoholic drinks

- How do they express their feelings?

Vaughn: pretty open with his closest friends, he even hugs them daily and listen to them, but he lets his mask off with the closest persons (Nick, H/ancock and Debbie know him much better than others)

Tamir: she is pretty closed with her own feelings, but she becomes more and more open with Arcade

Kahurangi: she is very warm and isnt afraid to show her emotions to those she loves

- How do they react when they are proven wrong?

Vaughn: will admit he was wrong, but inside he will feel a bit bad

Tamir: still tries to hold her point, even that she lost

Kahurangi: admits her mistake and apologize

- How do they mourn?

Vaughn: he cries alot and either he needs to be left alone, or being hold in someone’s arms and being comforted, he will talk later about those who lost 

Tamir: she feels very upset and becomes more aggressive and prefers to be left alone until she calms down

Kahurangi: shuts herself down and wont talk with anyone for a while, sometimes she will cry

- When would they back talk someone?

all 3 would back talk those who really hate

- Do they gossip?

all 3 likes alot to gossip

- Would they ever be able to forgive themselves if they did something horrible? Example - Murder

Vaughn: no, and he would never forgive himself, but will do anything to fix things

Tamir: she would forget later but feels a massive guilt

Kahurangi: she would never forgive herself

- Do they care about themselves or others more?

Vaughn: cares alot about other than himself

Tamir: mostly cares about herself and only few people

Kahurangi: cares alot about others

- How would other OCs describe them?

Vaughn: “*about Tamir* she is very ambitious but she needs to be careful and not launch herself in actions without thinking” *about Kahurangi*: she is a great person and very sweet and kind, and she deserve to be properly respected by others”

Tamir: “*about Vaughn* a big fella that likes to punch things as much as he likes to act as a smartass” *about Kahurangi*: very nice kitty with sharp claws, i would go hunting with her”

Kahurangi: *about Vaughn* he is a great fighter, but also a great friend and has a good heart” *about Tamir*: i admire her energy and ambition, but she is very impulsive and that can lead to bigger problems for her”

- How would your OC describe themselves?

Vaughn: “i am not sure, but i try anything to be a good friend, a good dad and a good husband, and my friends seem more happy now since we befriended”

Tamir: “not everyone appreciates me but i honestly don’t care, i have other plans to do”

Kahurangi: “i believe that i am a good person, and that i can do great things by hardwork and helping people when they need”

- How would you as the writer describe them?

Vaughn: look i really really love Vaughn alot and im very proud of him and everything he does, he is a great person and he deserve the best (even that i hurt him alot lmao)

Tamir: a small but very fierce person, she can literally do anything that she wants, and can do good things in her life

Kahurangi: she is very sweet and i really believe she can save the land she lives in

- How well do they know their own limits?

all 3 do know their own limits, and they wont launch themselves in something too dangerous, and even Tamir does know when to stop

@biobliterator

Stuck: Prologue (Philip Hamilton AU)

AN: So Hi! This is the first Fan fic I’ll ever get to post here on Tumblr and I’m not used to it but it took a lot of courage for me to try and get this out. I owe a lot to @myladymojo for encouraging me to do this.

I hope you guys enjoy :) Forgive me if there are any errors.

Trigger Warnings: Allussions to death, allusions to sex. Sometimes language too.

————–

The candlelight was a dream: a glow that illuminated the beauty of all the women who were there. One pair had eyes only for each other. She came from another land that was foreign to the soil where she stood and so did he, both different yet both hearts beating the same. He made his way across the room, closer to her. The man gave a bow then placed a gentle kiss on her hand. “Dance with me, ma petite chou?” She smiled delighted to be the apple of his eye. The woman gave him a nod as he lead her to the dance floor. They were such a lovely sight to behold. Close friends gathered round to witness this.

“They’re all staring at you, Gilbert!” She teased. He was not much of a dancer, truth be told he couldn’t dance to save his life. It was never in his fancy but he did have a fancy to be intimately close with her whenever the chance arises.

“I’m doing this for you, Elena.. So it would be a great deal if you could make it seem as if I was leading?” He smiled embarrassed. Elena simply nodded, she looked around and took notice of their whispers of treason against her name. Friends were not the only ones who attended the ball.

“Go with Alexander, Mon chéri.. I’ll meet you somewhere when it’s safe for you.” He took hold of her and whispered it in her ear. She parted with him after gracing him with a curtsey to find Alexander.

“Lady Elena..” he bowed leading her outside. “Alexander, you do not know how great of a deal it is for me to receive your friendship. I shall treasure this forever.” She held his hands and kissed the back of it. Her eyes began to gloss with tears as she readies for her departure from the life she was used to living.

Alexander smiled at the woman he loved so dear.. she was not for him to claim although he tried. He could never persuade her feelings the way his good friend Lafayette had. He took his hands and placed it on her face cupping it.

“I shall think of you fondly whenever the gentle breeze of this winter’s pass shall whisper your name my dearest, Elena.” He placed a kiss on her temple.

The carriage came to a stop and Elena pulled herself away from Alexander.

“I’ll see you on the other side of the war, Alexander..” she told him one last time before retreating to the arms of her beloved Lafayette.

Alexander nodded to his friends with a painful smile he waved them off.

Feeling the freedom as their hearts took flight, the clouds were at their grasps and could never come down or look back.

“I’m yours.” She whispered “I’m yours.” He said back and kissed her

They allowed to let their love grow as each day passed, it was deeper than the occasional affair anyone had planned.

*****

“Je t'aime, Gilbert…” she giggled against his lips as they both laid in bed: legs sprawled, and arms wrapped around each other. The only light in the room was from a dim candle near the bedside table.

“I want you as my wife..” Lafayette said sadly looking her in the eyes

“I could still be if you left her for me..” she searched helplessly in his eyes “Wasn’t that what you promised me?” Fear grew inside her but one touch was all it took to ease her. She allowed herself to be enveloped with his embrace and turned her back on him. Lafayette buried his chin on the crook of her neck.

“In due time, they expect a lot from me. I need France on my side to see me as a respectable man in order for an alliance to work between this country and theirs. The people depend on me for freedom. One day we shall have our freedom. Trust me, I beg you to wait a little longer.” His lips traced her skin with feathered kisses.

She stayed silent to ponder it over but all she ever really knew was love, so love it shall be until the day of her dying breath.

“I trust you..” she took his hand and placed it close to her heart stroking it with her thumb.

****

Days passed locking herself only to the confines of the estate, her heart was fed with so much grief as she watched him send letters to his family in France.

“How has your wife been?” She asked no emotion while tending to the flowers in the vase

“She’s growing less fond of me for each letter. I suspect that she too has a man lying with her in bed. Do not worry.” He smiled and stowed it away a long with the other letters he received.

Everyday Elena swallowed her pride asked him to marry her in secret but everyday Lafayette simply pleads her to wait. She did not leave him, she thought that if he always laid with her, then he will find no reason to go back. In America he was free, they were free to be together.

The months go by and Lafayette left her to fight for the colonies. A letter came to the estate addressed to Lafayette. She knew all his letters were instructed to be delivered to his camp so why did this one stray away? She’d soon send it there but Elena looked at the symbol of the wax enclosing the letter, it was from his wife she recognized.

Elena knew that she must not open it, but it taunted her shamefully. She gave in and read every paragraph. Skimming over it repeatedly.

It was a mistake, it broke her apart. The contents it held were very clear, he was very much in-love with his wife still. He lied! Elena was foolish to think she could replace her in his life. She frantically searched his study for past letters and her suspicions were only proven correct of the married couple’s unbreakable love.

It ruined her as she fell to the ground of the house tearing the letters apart in anger, she felt pain in her chest that she’s never felt before, it burned and skinned her alive inside.

“How could you!!” She screamed at the empty walls and held herself, she was ruined. She wished she could go back home herself, but that was highly impossible. She can’t go back to her husband and her child, she was a ruined woman.

Elena was too heartbroken to notice, but during her fits of rage, she’d accidentally knocked over a lamp sitting on the table.

****

Lafayette came riding along with Alexander back to greet Elena with promising news of freedom! They won the revolution! He would stay and promise a new life for her! All those happy thoughts were becoming so clear.

He surveyed the house, but there was no house to enter as it was being consumed by the red and yellow hues of tragedy

“GO GET HER!!!” Alexander yelled furious trying to work his way around for an entrance.

But there was nothing to be done it was massive. They knew the risk..

Interview Magazine: Bill Skarsgard.

Of the eight Skarsgård siblings, four of them—Valter, Bill, Gustaf and Alexander—are professional actors, each blessed with the good looks and distinctly rakish swagger of their father, Stellan. So the odds of 26-year-old Bill finding his footing in the industry weren't exactly stacked against him. More unexpected is the path he's chosen: neither through the mainstream (such as Alexander, a leading man since his star turn on HBO's True Blood) nor through auteur-driven projects (such as Stellan, who has appeared in six films by the Danish provocateur Lars von Trier), but rather through a series of unexpected, résumé-confounding detours. Take his biggest American role to date, as Pennywise, the demonic child-eating clown, in the upcoming remake of It, out thisSeptember. As the blood-curdling creature originally played by Tim Curry in the 1990 miniseries of the same name, Skarsgård spends the entire film hidden beneath layers of garish and grotesque makeup—a daring choice for any young actor with matinee idol features. But Skarsgård has been in the business long enough to know what he's doing. He spent much of his youth traveling the world with his father, from film set to film set, and his first role came at the age of 9, as the younger brother to Alexander's character in the Swedish thriller White Water Fury (2000). After being cast in a handful of roles, both big and small, back home—including an award-winning turn as a young man with Asperger's syndrome in Simple Simon (2010)—his first major appearance on Stateside screens was in the Netflix fantasy series Hemlock Grove. This July, he will begin his play for international stardom alongside Charlize Theron and James McAvoy in Atomic Blonde, a high-octane spy thriller set in a simmering East Berlin. After that, he'll appear in Assassination Nation, alongside cool-kids Hari Nef and Suki Waterhouse.   But first: breakfast. Over a meal at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, Skarsgård submits to some words of wisdom—and a little gentle bullying—from his older brother Alexander. ALEXANDER SKARSGÅRD: Did you take out the trash this morning? BILL SKARSGÅRD: No. Why? ALEXANDER: Well, as your older brother, I think I should make sure you do that. Routines, or lack thereof, are a pretty good way to get to know someone. So what have you done today? What time did you wake up? BILL: You were at my house last night. ALEXANDER: But I tapped out early, because I'm a responsible journalist. BILL: But being the gracious host that I am, I had to entertain my houseguests. People left around 1 a.m. and I went to bed, so it wasn't super-late by my standards. I woke up around 10. I had a cup of coffee; that's the first thing I do in the morning. ALEXANDER: How do you take it? BILL: Black.   ALEXANDER: Like your soul? BILL: Like my soul. [laughs] And then I've been doing some really uneventful things. I worked on an audition that I have tomorrow and answered some e-mails, and now I'm here for this interview. ALEXANDER: I suddenly feel like maybe it was a mistake, as a journalist, to fraternize the night before with the person I'm going to interview. BILL: Everything that happened last night was on the record—is that what you're saying? Did you take notes? ALEXANDER: It was officially off the record, but as a serious journalist, I feel like maybe I shouldn't have done that.   BILL: Well, that's on you. ALEXANDER: It is on me. But let's move on. You said 10 a.m. is not particularly late for you. It sounds pretty late to me. It's a Tuesday—shit, I even got that wrong. It's a Monday. BILL: Between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. is usually when I get up. I've always been a night person. There's a sense of virtue attached to getting up in the morning and doing things and starting the day, and I always felt bad for not being that person. But as I've gotten a bit older, now I'm completely okay with it. That's just who I am. ALEXANDER: Because you feel like you get a lot of shit done at night when other people are sleeping? BILL: Yeah, or I just don't like mornings. The day feels way too long for me. ALEXANDER: Do you also feel that life is too long? Do you wish that life were a bit shorter? BILL: Just the day. ALEXANDER: What would be ideal for you, a four-hour day? [laughs] BILL: Stockholm is a good place for it, in the winter. ALEXANDER: What do you miss about Sweden, other than friends and family and all that? Is there anything specific that you miss when you're abroad? BILL: I miss being in my home country; here, I'm always a foreigner. America is, of course, built of people who are not from here. But going home, even just landing at Arlanda, the Stockholm airport, I think, "This is where I'm from. These people are my people." ALEXANDER: Does it make you even more proud of Sweden because you have that distance? BILL: It's not about being proud of Sweden; it's just a sense of belonging. Even if you've lived in a place for a long time, those first formative years are going to be a part of you forever, and it's something you can't replace. ALEXANDER: Why don't you have a home? BILL: I think it's a commitment issue for me. I have a hard time committing to stuff. ALEXANDER: What's wrong with us? I'm also homeless. Maybe it's a fear of missing out. Like, if I commit to one city and get a place there, then maybe there is something else out there. But wouldn't it be nice to have somewhere where you can at least drop your bag and unpack? BILL: 100 percent. I've been living like this for the past five or six years, so I'm looking for an apartment in Stockholm. Just like a two-bedroom thing. Every apartment I look at is so nice and tastefully renovated. ALEXANDER: Great furniture and beautifully done, but they all look identical. I think that kind of sums up the Swedish mentality in a way. It's all beautiful midcentury modern furniture, and they all have that Moroccan rug. You won't find originality. Swedes are very safe that way. So, what's your first memory from a film set other than with Dad when you were a kid? BILL: Well, my first film was with you. ALEXANDER: Oh, yeah. I didn't want to say it, but I got you into this business. I can take you out of it. [laughs] BILL: I would never have been here if it wasn't for the role of Klasse in White Water Fury. I was the only kid on set, and I remember I got upset for some reason. Do you remember the story? I ran away from set or something? ALEXANDER: Oh, I remember what it was. The fruit basket in your trailer wasn't fresh enough. And they got Evian instead of Perrier, so you stormed off and called your agent. BILL: [laughs] At 9 years old. ALEXANDER: You called your agent-slash-kindergarten teacher. I don't remember you being upset, but I do have a very vivid memory where you wrapped early one day, and they took you back to the hotel, and I had another scene. When I got back, you were just standing outside in the parking lot, waiting for me, and it broke my heart. It was just the two of us. We obviously come from a big family back in Stockholm. I never felt needed. It was always chaos with Mom, Dad, uncles, you know, we all lived in the same building. Dinner parties with 25 people every night. And for the first time, you and I went away together, and suddenly I wasn't just a big brother. I felt paternal. You were just standing in the parking lot waiting for your big brother to come home, because you didn't know anyone and you didn't know what to do. If I ever need a little sense memory for a scene, that vision of coming around the corner and seeing you standing there, this little boy in this massive parking lot, is really beautiful and heartbreaking. It was the first time I ever felt needed. BILL: That's a lovely story. ALEXANDER: We come from a family of musicians, artists, authors, creative people, and the only exception is our mom and one of our brothers—they're doctors. How often do you brag about them at dinner parties? BILL: There's definitely a sense of embarrassment about what it is artists really do, at least for me in terms of acting. We have a mom and a brother who literally save lives. ALEXANDER: He works at an ICU so he, on a daily basis, saves lives. Do you have a sense of guilt because he works his ass off and makes less money than you? BILL: Yeah, of course. It's not fair. I'm constantly embarrassed at the level of attention actors get and the level of money that we get. It's completely disproportionate. I think you have to feel guilty about it. I think it makes you a better person to keep reminding yourself. ALEXANDER: Your becoming an actor—was that the path of least resistance or was it a calling? BILL: All thanks to you for blessing me with the part of Klasse in White Water Fury. ALEXANDER: You're welcome. You might want to remind yourself of that more often, but I do appreciate it. BILL: I started acting when I was 9. I did smaller parts here and there as a kid, and then as I grew older I started resisting it, because I didn't like the idea of being, at the time, number four of the Skarsgård actors—Dad, you, and our brother Gustaf. So in high school I majored in science and was like, "Maybe I'll do something rebellious and become a doctor." [laughs] ALEXANDER: Did you seriously entertain that idea? BILL: I don't think I would ever be a doctor, but the reason I majored in science was because you could become a civil engineer, you could become a biologist, you could become a computer scientist—that was the point of it. I had no idea what I wanted to do. In my last two years of high school—because they would still reach out to me for auditions and I would read scripts—there happened to be these few scripts that I really responded to. One in particular that I read, I was like, "Oh, this is a real character. This is amazing." I was like, "I really, really want to do this." It was Hannes Holm's film, and I saw him at a premiere—I was, like, 19 at the time, I had probably been to three or four auditions, but I wasn't cast or anything—and I went up to him and was like, "I don't know what I need to do, but I need to be in your film." Eventually, I landed the job, and that was something that I felt transcended whatever other people would think of me. ALEXANDER: Do you believe you're a good actor? Do you think you deserve to be here because of your talent? BILL: 100 percent. ALEXANDER: Do you ever feel like a shit actor? BILL: 100 percent. I feel like I'm the best actor on the planet and I also feel like I'm a fraud. ALEXANDER: Simultaneously, or does it fluctuate? BILL: They're kind of simultaneous. I think hubris comes from insecurity. Confidence comes in a more rooted sense; part of being confident is being able to say, "I can be really shitty," and to accept that. But also not to crumble under it. ALEXANDER: So, the official It trailer has been viewed over 197 million times. It set a record for the most online views in a single day, when it launched. Why? Do we just fear clowns that much? BILL: I think it's huge for an older generation. Do you remember the original? ALEXANDER: I never saw the original. BILL: But did people talk about it in school? ALEXANDER: Yeah. BILL: I remember It being the scariest thing that existed for a kid. There were other horror films, like Friday the 13th or Halloween, but this was the really scary one because it was children and a clown. So many people go, "That film really destroyed my childhood," or, "I hated clowns after that." Hopefully, there will be a lot of 10-year-olds who will be traumatized forever based on my performance. [laughs] ALEXANDER: Is it R-rated? BILL: It probably will be, yeah. ALEXANDER: So those 10-year-old kids won't be able to see it then. BILL: Well, no, but— ALEXANDER: They'll still be traumatized by the poster. BILL: But not even that. The movies that they're not allowed to see are the movies that they're going to really want to see. ALEXANDER: Does it feel good knowing that kids around the world for decades to come will have nightmares about you? BILL: It's a really weird thing to go, "If I succeed at doing what I'm trying to do with this character, I'll traumatize kids." On set, I wasn't very friendly or goofy. I tried to maintain some sort of weirdness about the character, at least when I was in all the makeup. At one point, they set up this entire scene, and these kids come in, and none of them have seen me yet. Their parents have brought them in, these little extras, right? And then I come out as Pennywise, and these kids—young, normal kids—I saw the reaction that they had. Some of them were really intrigued, but some couldn't look at me, and some were shaking. This one kid started crying. He started to cry and the director yelled, "Action!" And when they say "action," I am completely in character. So some of these kids got terrified and started to cry in the middle of the take, and then I realized, "Holy shit. What am I doing? What is this? This is horrible." ALEXANDER: Was this your first interaction with a child where you realized how terrifying it would be for them? BILL: Yeah. But then we cut, and obviously I was all, "Hey, I'm sorry. This is pretend." [laughs]   ALEXANDER: Last question: Have you called Mom? BILL: Um, I haven't called her today, no. ALEXANDER: No? Call Mom.

Episode II: Age of empire

The world as we know it wasn’t always sunshine and rainbows, once upon a time it was an age of massive power across the world, and the lives of many innocent people were taken away by the cold and sharp scythe belonging to the grim reaper...

Our story begins with Senaka of the Assyrians, a horrible brute that ruled with an iron fist, terrifying to even his own children. He reeked havoc amongst innocent villages, either taking them away as slaves or slaughtered them in cold blood. Eventually the evil tyrant was murdered by one of his sons and as a hundred years went by, the empire had fallen for terror alone was not enough to rule the vast empire. They left into the world offering very little except for one huge component that would be used even up until this day, the alphabet. Developed by the Phoenicians, the alphabet was quickly spread throughout the world, wherever these people sailed to they always left it behind. Soon many great civilizations would pick the alphabet up and develop it into their own language. The Greeks developed it and the Romans later created the basis of Latin and as for other civilizations such as the Jews, they created Hebrew and the Arabs invented Arabic. Thanks to the vast lengths the Phoenicians went to spreading the alphabet. The world would become what it is today, a civilized and educated place, all thanks to the Phoenicians.

Though the invention of the alphabet might’ve brought upon a new world of intelligence, it did not stop the age of empire, so says the Persians. A new ruthless tyrant emerged, his name was Cyrus and he would make it clear that his name would be heard across the land, and feared just like Senaka’s name once was. Cyrus would turn his attention on the capital of Lydia due to the fact that they had once attacked the Persians, he sought out revenge and was on the verge of obtaining it. Croesus, the king of Lydia was once said to have all the gold in the world, however all that wealth was far from helping him now. He was on the verge of being burned to death until his life was spared by rain, to which he prayed for to the god Apollo. Impressed, Cyrus took Croesus under him as his advisor and eventually the Persians would develop a new way of currency, the golden coin. This ingenious idea that was eventually adopted by kingdoms across the land made Cyrus seen as a wise man with great ideas. A ruthless brute turned wise ruler by listening and showing respect towards other cultures and religions. He created and enduring empire known for its progress and prosperity all throughout the land and as far as his name could reach.

Around the same time somewhere hidden in the Himalaya’s, a new way of living was about to begin and it would all start with the guidance of one man, Siddhartha Gautama. Raised with a whole lot of wealth he began to notice that life wasn’t always going to be the way it was, money wasn’t the answer to everything. He left his old life and sought out a new one, becoming a man set to find inner peace through a simple life, spending his days walking through the forrest’s of India and meditating for long periods of time. His meditation lead him to finding inner peace and eventually became known as the enlightened one A.K.A the Buddha. Though like everyone else who walks this earth, his life went by however his teachings and his wisdom were kept alive through his students. The monks he taught would spread his knowledge of peace throughout the lands, still to this day in fact. The age of empire brought upon chaos and anarchy to our world whilst the Buddha sought peace and prosperity with no violence or hierarchy, open to everyone.

While Buddha was seeking a better way to live in peace, a new way to rule was set upon us and on its way to Europe...

Athens, a place where much of our world today has gotten its influence from. Before diving into all of that we must take a stroll down memory lane, to one of the greatest battles of all time, with democracy hanging in the balance. The Greeks faced off against the Persian empire, the number one ruling power of the world at the time, going up against a tiny little army produced by Athens, soldiers of which were mere fine folk of honest jobs such as farming, store clerks, etc. The great tactic of making their army weak in the middle and strong on the sides helped push them towards a glorious victory over the Persians. The tired army of Athens were now on their way home, racing against time to be there before the rest of the Persian armada reached the capital. After the glorious victory, The Greek society would erupt into its golden age of confidence, the finest literature and culture produced in the ancient world. The great Parthenon was erected in honor of the Athenian win over the Persian empire, and most of it still stands today, proudly reminding its citizens of the heroics their lineage had brought upon them.

While democracy was happening, something was brewing far far away out in the east. 500 B.C, modern day China was ruled by the Zhou dynasty and a series of small conflicts between clans were erupting across the vast land of China. A man brought into this world with a clear vision to restore order to society and its conflicts, a civil servant by the name we know as Confucius. His ways did not do much in the higher powers of China, instead they outed him and so he sought a new way of spreading his knowledge, through small villages he came across. Eventually he passed away at the ripe old age of 72, he might’ve died believing he was a failure but his students kept his legacy alive and carried on his teachings. In time, Confucius’s ideas were finally appreciated by the rulers of China. His philosophy finally took root in Chinese society and became deeply embedded in state institutions. 

As father times clock went ticking on, the age of empire was soon to meet a man of great significance in all of history itself. 356 B.C, the son of the king of Macedonia was born and would grow up to be known as the greatest empire builder in history, his name was Alexander the Great. At the young age of twenty, he became the king of Macedonia and set his young self out on to the world, conquering the Persian empire. Though Alexander was a conquerer, he was no tyrant, in fact he was the complete opposite. Past all the battles and wars, Alexander’s true goal was to bring him and his people together along side the Persians, even if it meant some backlash was received. A true union of the east and the west, through one man and his brilliance in battle. Though Alexander’s life was short, his legacy lived on and the democratic ways of the Greeks were carried on, spreading across the middle east, to N. Africa and eventually even Asia. 

In many ways the Greek society brought upon much of what we needed in order to have a proper civilization, though without one crucial thing that was so important, we might’ve never been the civilization we are today. Socrates, a philosopher who brought on the idea to question all in ones path formed the basis of what would be known to day as freedom of speech. His philosophy was thought to be poisoning the minds of the youth, and of course the government would not have his dangerous wisdom to come knocking on their doors, for it was seen as a threat to potentially ending democracy. So, with that he was sentenced to death but even so he stuck through with his words, never once resenting them. His ideas were eventually accepted throughout time, expressing oneself and ones opinion went on to be a well respected idea. Future users of the democratic way would see that Socrates had a point, that there needed to be a freedom of speech in this world for in that way the leaders would respect the citizens words and their opinions, as a sign of respect and mutual understanding towards each other. 

In many ways the age of empire brought upon mass chaos and an abundance of trouble to our world. Death was more common than the common cold, however in life you must break a few eggs before you can get an omelette. I think that in all aspects of life throughout all of human time, no matter what humans will always make mistakes, we will run into problems, trouble, a vast wasteland of struggle. However, we strive through thick and thin, eventually coming upon a brighter tomorrow. 

- Marko Mladenovik  

2015: Jan. ~ Jun.

✔ July ~ December 2015 || all fests/exchanges || other years

Top 30 longest AU fics

1. Four's Company by vampire_angel_z | @nobody-at-all-really [E, 275.6k]

The alpha triplets need a mate. Louis is too perfect to be true.  ~ 2015.05

2. All Tired Talk by @reedytenors [M, 268.6k]

In which Harry is the dying front man of a dying rock band, Zayn has finally given up holding his hair back in dingy bathrooms, Niall and Liam are holding up the fort, and Louis comes along with eyes the color of the sky to remind Harry that there is still more life to live.  ~ 2015.02

3. Gods & Monsters by Velvetoscar | @mizzwilde [M, 201.3k]

The instructions were simple: seduce and destroy Harry Styles. Not once did they discuss the option of Louis actually falling in love. So, naturally, that's exactly what he did.  ~ 2015.03

4. Lets Go To Dinner and Not Eat Anything. by Nicolasgrimshaw [T, 191.1k]

Louis is one of the 25% of males who suffer from anorexia. He's obsessed with calories and constantly working them off. Harry is also one of the 25% of anorexic males. He's obsessed with being able to see his collar bones and balancing a ruler on his hipbones. Louis is brand new to the path of recovery and since he and Harry are the only males in the hospitals program they have the honors of rooming with each other. Maybe if they can't fall in love with food, they can fall in love with each other.  ~ 2015.06

5. Right By Your Side by mezziedemo [M, 154.4k]

Marine Biologist Harry Styles works at SeaWorld Australia and conducts dolphin therapy sessions for people suffering trauma or fear of water. He loves his job and his life in Australia, but it all gets turned upside down when a beautiful blue eyed boy from the UK is sent down under for therapy after a near drowning incident. Louis Tomlinson dived into the river to save his sister without a second thought to his own safety. When he almost drowned trying to save her, the after effects are severe. After a particularly bad panic attack, he is referred to a program in Australia, where he finds himself in the care of the prettiest boy he's ever seen. Can they maintain the professional boundaries required to get Louis well again, or will their desire for each other be too hard to fight?  ~ 2015.06

6. Serendipity, Actually by somethingsilly | @landansquitebig [M, 143.1k]

AU where Harry truly believes in Destiny and Louis just happens to cross his path at the right moment. Featuring a world with the size of a stamp, Liam as the best friend ever, Niall as a social butterfly who knows everyone and Zayn who always knows what's going on.  ~ 2015.04

7. Unbelievers by isthatyoularry | @isthatyoularry [E, 136.8k]

It’s Louis’ senior year, and he’s dead set on doing it right. However, along with his pair of cleats, a healthy dose of sarcasm and his ridiculous best friend, he’s also got a complicated family, a terrifyingly uncertain future, and a mortal enemy making his life just that much worse. Mortal enemies “with benefits” was not exactly the plan.  ~ 2015.06

8. Let's Fall in Love in a Place You Want to Stay by embro [?, 134.1k]

A George of the Jungle / Tarzan AU where Louis is a model who meets Wild Man Harry in the Congo. He was raised by apes and barely speaks a word of English and turns Louis' life upside down.  ~ 2015.05

9. Wild And Unruly by 100percentsassy & gloria_andrews | @100percentsassy @gloriaandrews [E, 123.6k]

Harry is a cowboy sitting on the biggest oil reservoir in Wyoming, and Louis is the paralegal assigned to pressure him into selling his land.  ~ 2015.05

10. Marking Up The Atmosphere by acidveins | @harryendous [E, 119.1k]

At the age of twenty, Harry deals with things expected to occur at his age: student loans, instant meals, electricity bills, and the constant, incessant presence of never ending coursework. That, and the job of raising his six year old daughter and avoiding the charm of a young, successful, and very off-limits Louis Tomlinson.  ★ 1D Big Bang round 3

11. nobody shines the way you do by wildestdreams | @softasurcheek [E, 115.3k]

Louis pretends to be Harry’s boyfriend to help him win back his douchebag ex-boyfriend, but things don’t go according to plan.  ★ 1D Big Bang round 3

12. The Galaxy's Edge by thecheshirepussycat | @the-cheshire-pussy-cat [E, 113.9k]

In which Louis is a bounty hunter with a messed up past. Harry is a prince who just wants to prove himself. Niall and Zayn have too many things to figure out together. And Liam just wants to take care of his family. Things never quite go as they are planned during a simple rescue job.  ~ 2015.05

13. Crazy and Infectious by Star55 | @star55​ [E, 101.8k]

A 17/25 age difference story in which we flash back to find out just how Louis and Harry actually got together.  ~ 2015.02

14. Butterfly Gun by eravain [M, 100.3k]

1940's AU. Even after six years apart, they can't forget their shared wartime childhood.  ~ 2015.04

15. nocturne in silver and blue by tinyweirdloves | @tinyweirdloves [E, 97.5k]

louis is a fallen star and harry brings him home. told over the course of fourteen years.  ★ 1D Big Bang round 3 

16. Who Painted the Moon Black by throughthedark | @haroldsmodellegs [E, 95.6k]

Hunger Games AU where Louis Tomlinson is district six's victor from the 69th Hunger Games and Harry Styles is district seven's victor from the 72nd Hunger Games.  ~ 2015.01

17. Baby..Baby? by bottomlouiswriter | @bottomlouiswriter [M, 91.2k]

Louis and Harry are just a normal couple. Well if Louis being able to get pregnant even being a guy, and Harry already having had impregnated Louis resulting in their 10 month old son Alexander. They both have busy lives, Harry being at uni studying music and photography while also maintaining a job to support his family, and louis is a stay at home dad to Alexander. Everything is changed when Harry gets a life changing job offer and things start changing, quite quickly. Oh, and did I mention that Louis pregnant again.  ~ 2015.04

18. You are the Only Exception by MrsStylinson | @lovehoperomance [T, 91k]

Louis is 21 and a serial Casanova and Harry is the 17 year old heartbreaker who won't leave him alone who chooses to ignore this fact. Louis just might be falling in love with the ridiculously eager boy but Harry might just get tired of always giving chase.  ~ 2015.06

19. Chasing the High by Rearviewdreamer | @all-these-larrythings [M, 90.7k]

Louis is a therapist in a rehab facility and Harry has been court ordered to stay there for six weeks.  ~ 2015.03

20. Just Say You Love Me, Just For Today by NiamJenn1994 | @meloveniall1994 [M, 87.1k]

A Parent Trap Au  ~ 2015.05

21. No Matter Where You Are by Redworks [T, 85.9k]

AU where Louis makes a lot of mistakes but Harry loves him anyway.  ~ 2015.04

22. electing strange perfections by lightofathousandstars | @scrunchyharry​ [E, 84.7k]

Back for the summer from university, 19-year-old Louis is faced with a massive problem: their new gardener is quite possibly the most gorgeous man he's ever met. Over the course of the summer, Louis and a 25-year-old Harry will learn that love can be found where you least expect it.  ~ 2015.02

23. for now (and forever) [M, 88.2k]

Louis is going into the Army, Harry is going nowhere, and there's nothing like a little identity fraud between friends.  ~ 2015.02

24. leave it to the breeze by hattalove | @hattalove​ [E, 81.4k]

a great british bake off au in which louis cares about winning and winning only, harry is made of sunshine and rainbow sprinkles, and niall sticks his nose into other people's business. also featuring liam as louis's best friend-slash-concerned mother, and zayn as a macaron connoisseur.  ★ 1D Big Bang round 3

25. More Than Meets The Eye by Kathyyjane [T, 78.8k]

Harry Styles is use to being pushed around by the football team, so he expects nothing else from new kid Louis Tomlinson, who just happens to be a jock. Will Harry learn that not everyone is the same, that everyone has secrets, and that sometimes there is more to a person than what meets the eye?  ~ 2015.04

26. Want You More Than A by TheCellarDoor | @donotdialnine​ [M, 77.5k]

Falling in love with your step-brother’s best friend is a disaster enough. When he happens to be the boy everyone loves and you’re a nerd who wears sweater vests and cries during rom-coms, it takes it to a whole new level.  ~ 2015.01

27. You Drive Me Round The Bend by TheCellarDoor | @donotdialnine​ [M, 77k]

In which Louis is a spoilt rich kid who’s always on the phone while he drives and Harry is a struggling musician making his way down the mountain. It’s just a matter of time before they crash and burn.  ~ 2015.06

28. May We Stay Lost On Our Way Home by LoadedGunn | @loaded-gunn [E, 74.2k]

On March 31st, Harry Styles disappears. Though many speculate, only two people know where to find him: Niall, his former guitarist, and Zayn, who follows where Niall leads.The fact the biggest boy band in the world broke up two weeks earlier might be related to the disappearance. The fact Harry meets a fairy named Louis in the woods is a whole other matter.  ~ 2015.04 From Fairy Fic series

29. To Him Who in the Love of Nature by wayfared | @charrysoda​ [M, 71.4k]

after Louis' delicate world comes crashing down upon him, he takes off for the loneliest place he can think of. But, in the midst of the whirling snow, there's always a warm fireplace to come home to. ★ 1D Big Bang round 3

30. Blue as a glacier by kitundercover | @kitundercover​ [E, 71.3k]

Skiing AU. Harry is the famous singer who's decided to have a go at skiing between tours. Louis is the snowboarder who makes the mistake of taking the lift with him. They go from there.  ~ 2015.05