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callmebliss · 4 years

Video

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So there’s a whole lot of everything that goes in to making me the me that is me. One of those (many of those, let’s be real) things comes from one of the books I read. When I was a kid, I read a whole slew of Beverly Cleary books, especially the Ramon Quimby books.

OH, how I identified with Ramona! Smol, weird, inquisitive as fuck, prone to whimsy and rages and secretiveness and impulsivity. And JEALOUSY!

I learned about pinking shears from Ramona, and that the first bite of the apple tastes best, and too much of a good thing can give me a stomachache, and siblings are ineffable and wonderful, and there can be things we really enjoy about people we don’t like.

In the case of Ramona, a scene that made a huge impact for me was how she envied the hair of one of her schoolmates (was her name Becky? I feel like her name was Becky. It has been too many decades for me to be sure). Her schoolmate had exquisite spiral curls. Ramona had straight brown hair with bangs.

And I, as far as I knew at the time, also had straight brown hair with bangs. Brown because brown, bangs because bangs, and straight because I was made to comb and then brush my hair straight after every bath or shower. Otherwise, you see, there would be SUCH tangles.

::stares into the camera like I’m in The Office::

Ramona envied her classmate’s curls. Envied them deeply and desperately, and not just in a wanting way. She wanted to pull the curl straight and let it go, imagining it would make a boi-oi-oing noise like a spring. Eventually, of course, she did this. Obviously it did not, of course, make the noise, and she was disciplined, but took a satisfaction in it in spite of it all, and whispered to herself, “boi-oi-oing.”

((Now, there is a lot to potentially unpack there about having an undue fascination with someone’s distinct spirally curls and touching them without permission, and I’d definitely unzip that suitcase and throw everything everywhere except it was explicit in the text that Becky(????) was blonde.))

This has stayed with me for *mumblety* years, both the yearning for the curly hair, and the wanting to pull a spiral curl long and let it bounce back and making the boinging noise. And for a long time it settled into the background nothing of my life. I grew up. I learned to not try to have haircuts with bangs. I discovered the joy of conditioning. And I still combed and brushed my hair out intently after showers and baths.

But then. OH then.

I shaved my head.

I did it for charity in....I want to say 2013, and if the year really mattered I would go look up the pictures on the Book of Faces. Long story short I spent a month raising a couple grand on the internet for cancer cure research, and then - as is The Thing for folks raising money for that particular charity - concluded the fundraising by shaving my head down to the scalp.

OK fine I went to look, and it was 2012.

What was really interesting (aside from so very much about hair and flesh and the way people look at you in the world and the way things feel when something you’ve had on you always is gone and issues of femininity and gender and and and and and but that’s so many other posts and this is this one) was what I discovered when it started growing out. It... my hair? It curled. It was curly.

CURLY.

My dad always had curly hair. My brother too. But my mom, me, my little sister? Straight hair. Or so I thought. It was easy enough to believe. After all, how many cartoons have we seen where the girls’ characteristics are like their mom’s and the boys’ are like their dad’s?

But my hair was curly.

I’ve spent a lot of time in the years since trying to learn a whole lot about the care and keeping of curly hair. I’ve had a few trims but have been letting it range toward long, and been learning a bunch about... well. A lot of things. And slowly, surely, I’ve been figuring out ways to let it be what it wants and in a way that I like. Including, recently, long, spirally curls.

SPIRAL CURLS.

Hence the video at the top of this post, brought to you by my very satisfied inner Ramona Quimby.

#Dear Beverly Cleary #Thank you for so many things #Including understanding me when I was small and while I am tall #well #not tall per se #spiral curls #boing #hee HEEEEEEE

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anicarissi · 7 years

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Little Bo Peep (who found her sheep), and Ralph S. Mouse (of The Mouse and the Motorcycle), Halloween 1985 (my big brother and me)

#little bo peep #Ralph S Mouse #the mouse and the motorcycle #halloween #happy halloween #beverly cleary #book cosplay

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princessamericachavez · 3 years

Text

Fjorester Talk in episode 117

also known as Sofía goes buckwild and overanalyzes 10 minutes of conversation and body language.

ready?

Ok, first of all, Fjord looks so worried from the get go as he asks Jester if Lucien/Cree was speaking to her directly.

And when she confirms it he does this little grumpy sigh

He no like it. No like it at all.

Fjord: Does it seem like he’s keying in on you in particular?

LISTEN GUYS

I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR LIKE TWO WEEKS

HOPING FJORD WOULD GET PROTECTIVE OVER JESTER CONSTANTLY GETTING SCRIED ON/MESSAGED BY LUCIEN BUT I DIDN’T THINK TRAVIS WAS ACTUALLY GOING TO DELIVER

AND HE DIIIIIID

Ok anyway he goes on about how when they see someone else scrying it’s usually just a representation of the spell and wonders if Lucien is more powerful and therefor can see the person

and then he makes a pause mid-argument

because Jester makes this face and he realizes this is upsetting her, so he quickly backtracks trying to reassure her.

Fjord: I’m sure it’s just coincidence but...

and here’s where the idea comes and god how long has he been thinking about this???

Fjord: since we’re not in the sea... would you... want to wear this?

YES HELLO DO YOU SEE THE PARALLELS TO THAT ONE TIME HE WANTED TO GIVE HER AN EXTRA POWERFUL HEALING POTION TO MAKE SURE SHE WOULD BE SAFE??? PROTECTIVE FJORD PARALLELS!!!

and then he just brushes off the fact that he’s a huge Uk’otoa beacon everytime they are on water —baby, you died once already, don’t act like it’s whatever???

Fjord: maybe it would provide some protection if we were to keep checking in on him?

Jester: I mean... it’s worth a try.

Of course, as she points out, Lucien has already met all of them and he could just as easily scry on any of the M9 if he wanted to, but that’s not really what Fjord is worried about, what is bothering him. Fjord knew Lucien was watching and it’s not the first time they are scried on, but he makes it clear that he’s concerned about how centered on Jester that’s been lately.

Jester: Maybe it’ll keep me from getting seen next time I scry on him?

Fjord: I guess we’ll find out next time we try it.

The way he chuckles softly, trying to defuse the tension, and she smiles back even though this subject clearly has her nervous??? 11/10

Jester: Thank you.

SHE SAYS IT SO SOFTLY. SHE’S CLEARY SO TOUCHED THAT HE’S WATCHING OUT FOR HER AND HAVING HER BACK JUST LIKE HE ALWAYS DOES.

LOOK AT THOSE HEART EYES THEY BOTH HAVE WTF

THEY ARE BOTH SO SOFT

Fjord: Yeah. Just in case it’s not... coincidence.

Listen there’s such a heaviness in how he says the word.

Like the possibility of anyone —especially this very dangerous stranger with the face of a friend— purposefully targeting Jester is his worst nightmare. It probably is.

Jester: It’s also creepy. He did say that he kind of knew me, right?

NOTICE HOW JESTER IS STILL PLAYING WITH THE AMULET IN HER HANDS???

Idk why but that’s getting to me. She’s so nervous with this whole thing.

Fjord: He did?

Jester: When we got there he said he hadn’t met anyone except for me.

OH FJORD DOESN’T LIKE THIS AT ALL

So of course Jester tries to defuse the tension talking about how she must look like through the scry

AND HE’S JUST SO IN LOVE

And so he plays along

LOOK AT THE WAY HE MAKE HER SMILE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(same, Ashley, same)

And so, more reassured by the goofiness, Jester finally puts the necklace on.

Fjord: And of course, it’s Caleb’s...

Jester: oh

LISTEN SHE DID NOT LIKE THAT. She was clearly so excited to get a present like this from Fjord and you can see her face fall a little when it’s deviated towards someone else.

Jester: should I ask him if it’s okay?

Fjord: Well, he gave it to me to use it..

Fjord: and you seem to need it more.

AKA THE AMULET WAS FOR FJORD’S WELLBEING BUT THE WAY HE IS OK IS IF HE KNOWS JESTER IS PROTECTED

Jester, now that she knows this is something that he is personally choosing to transfer to her: Okay...

LOOK AT THE WAY SHE CLUTCHES IT TO HER HEART I’M DYING

Fjord: And just be careful.

Fjord: I don’t like the possibility of him keying in on you or using that connection between the two of you to manipulate something. His magic seems strange.

LISTEN GUYS LISTEN

THIS PART HERE IS HUGE OK?

This is the part where Fjord took 18 steps forward instead of one since Rumblecusp

Whereas before he could’ve hide his concern as something tactical, something useful that made sense and could help their mission... or could’ve hidden behind group speech to disguise his concern...

here he says “I don’t like the possibility of him keying in on you.”

here he is straight up saying “I am worried about you”

(quietly hopes Lucien does exactly that to trigger more protective fjord instincts in the future and lots of angst based shippy shenaingans)

Fjord: Alright. More adventures tomorrow.

BECAUSE THAT’S ALL OK

THAT’S IT

HE SAID HIS PIECE, HE KEPT HER SAFE, MADE SURE SHE LAUGHED A LITTLE AND THAT’S ALL HE NEEDS... THAT AND MORE ADVENTURES BY HER SIDE

But then Jester hesitates

AND LOOK AT THAT, THE WAY SHE PULLS BACK LIKE SHE’S AFRAID IF SHE SAYS THE WRONG THING HE’LL CLOSE OFF

THE WAY HIS FACE SCRUNCHES WITH WORRY OVER WHAT COULD POSSIBLY BE TROUBLING HER THAT SHE’S HESITATING TO SAY

Fjord: What?

Jester: H- How are you?

FJORD MELTING IMMEDIATELY:

The way he goes from super concerned to extremely soft in 0.2 seconds.

(i am ashley and ashley is me)

Jester: *explaining all the very valid reasons she has to be worried about Fjord too and all the crazy shit that happened to him only a few days ago*

Fjord: *bursting with feelings of love*

seriously travis pls have some mercy of my poor yearning soul

Also I wanna talk about the way Jester brings up Avantika.

Jester: She tried to pull you into the water... you guys had a thing... it must have been weird to see her all kinda dead and stuff... was it weird? And then you killed her... again...

The way she calls them “a thing” and the way she checks if it was “weird” for him to see her as undead really says a lot to me. I think Jester never quite got over the heartbreak during the pirate arc and part of her probably still thought that Fjord harbored some sort of feelings or attraction towards Avantika.

I think she believes whatever they two had was far more intimate than it actually was. Or, at the very least, Jester thinks it must have meant something to Fjord.

How could she not? The whole thing had her bursting with jealousy and pain and unresolved feelings... you can tell how anxious she is around this subject but also she needs to know if he’s alright because she cares too much

Fjord: It was weird. Yeah, it was weird, for sure. I wasn’t expecting that...

HE DOESN’T EVEN REGISTER IT AS AN “EX” THING I SWEAR

Fjord: I’m alright.

And so she finally relaxes.

Fjord: It feels like I keep trying to start newer chapters in my life and leave the old stuff behind and then it just... keeps popping up.

Fjord: It feels like it’s hard to... pursue something new, when the past is not dealt with.

YOU CAN’T SEE IT IN THE SCREENSHOTS BUT JESTER STARTS NODDING VERY GENTLY WHEN HE STARTS TALKING ABOUT NEW CHAPTERS AND MOVING ON

ALSO THIS

(ashley knows what I’m talking about)

Jester: Do we need to deal with the past?

SHE SAYS WE

BECAUSE AS USUAL THEY ARE A TEAM ALWAYS FIRST AND FOREMOST

AND IF THIS IS SOMETHING HE NEEDS TO DO SHE’S GOING TO HELP HIM AND BE BY HIS SIDE WITHOUT A DOUBT NO MATTER WHAT

Fjord: I think so.

Fjord: Yeah... I want to.

THE WAY HE LOOKS AT HER WHEN HE SAYS ‘I WANT TO’. HE WANTS TO HAVE A FUTURE WITH HER. HE WANTS TO LET GO OF THE PAST SO HE CAN HAVE A FUTURE WITH HER. HE’S LETTING HIMSELF ‘WANT’ THIS AND ADMITTING IT.

Fjord: I feel like I need to close all of that before...

AND THEN HE JUST GOES THROUGH THIS BLESSED FACE JOURNEY FOR 6 ENTIRE SECONDS

LOOK AT IT

AND THE WAY SHE SLOWLY SMILES LIKE SHE MIGHT KNOW WHAT HE MEANS

LOOK AT HER OWN FACIAL JOURNEY

ASHLEYYYYYYYYYY

And so Jester jumps into action mode offering her help.

and Fjord —once again— proves that he’s able and willing to open up to Jester about things that he’s keeping close to his chest... like Sabian.

Fjord: I um... I actually... I put a bounty out for S-Sabian.

IDK WHY THIS FACIAL EXPRESSION AMUSES ME THIS MUCH

THIS IS FJORD’S ‘IM ABOUT TO CONFESS SOMETHING PERSONAL TO JESTER FACE’ AND WE’VE SEEN IT BEFORE AT THE KILN AND IN RUMBLECUSP

Jester: A bo- When? How?

SHE’S SO BEWILDERED LMFAO

and a little offended that she didn’t know

and I think Fjord can tell by the way he quickly tries to excuse it as a way to keep Kotho occupied after the whole Vokodo ordeal

But Jester quickly gets back on track and starts looking for a way to help him with this. If finding Sabian is what Fjord wants —what he needs— right now, she’ll do anything to help him.

Jester: *describing how she would be able to help Fjord*

Fjord, who never had anyone be this ride or die for him ever and who is bursting at the seems with love for this kind and wonderful woman:

Fjord: Sure.

Jester: You want me to do it?

Fjord: Yeah.

THOSE HEART EYES SHOULD BE ILEGAL

Jester: *uses a sixth level spell to send a message for Fjord because this is totally her number one priority now and it’s not like they are dealing with stuff that literally drained her today or like they are stuck up north for god knows how long... nope... she needs to find a way to help Fjord right now*

Fjord:

okay okay okay

so after the message

you can see how Jester is worried that the news she finally found for him are bad news and not going to cheer him up

Jester: Oops

Fjord: No, no, no, no! No oops! That’s great! That’s great!

I love the way he rushes to reassure her, to make sure she knows that what she just did for him is amazing and means so much and please jester do not be sad about this because this already means so much to me you have no ideaaaaaa

Fjord: That’s... totally distracting but that’s great.

Fjord: Thank you.

Jester: You’re welcome! Now you know!

Fjord, with more feeling and emotion behind it like he wants to tell her that she and everything she does for him out of love mean the entire universe to him: Thank you.

Jester, blissfully unaware that he’s in love with him but delighted that she was able to help and that he is letting her in enough to help deal with his past: You’re welcome! I’m glad I could help!

Fjord, still not over how good she is and how diametrically different her kindness is compared to everything else he’s known in life so far and still after these many months shook and surprised by how wonderful she is: That’s very nice of you, I-

Jester: It’s just a (6th level) spell. Easy to do.

SHE HAS NO IDEA THAT WHAT HE MEANS ISN’T THE MAGIC NOR THE SPELL NOR THE INFORMATION... IT’S HER HELP AND SUPPORT THAT HE IS SO SHAKEN WITH.

Fjord: I.... will think about that all night.

Sure you will Fjord. We know you will. But we know it’s not about Sabien but about Jester’s kindness that you’re gonna be thinking all night. We know that’s what’s keeping you up. Not the past, the future.

AND OF COURSE

THE OBLIGATORY AWKWARD ENDING

Fjord: I’ll race you to the top!

Both: UP!

THEY ARE SO ADORABLE AND GOOFY AND PERFECT FOR EACH OTHER WTF HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO LIVE MY LIFE INSTEAD OF THINKING ABOUT THEM 24/7??

ANYWAY WHO IS READY FOR PIRATE ARC PART 2 AND MORE SHENANIGANS WITH THESE TWO WHILE FJORD GETS FINALLY READY TO MOVE FORWARD TOWARDS THE FUTURE HE WANTS WITH JESTER? I AM

#fjorester #fjord stone #jester lavorre #critical role #cr spoilers #sofia's nonsense

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siumerghe · 3 years

Text

Li Bi, from Alchemists, Mediums, and Magicians: Stories of Taoist Mystics

Alchemists, Mediums, and Magicians: Stories of Taoist Mystics is a collection of biographies of 144 historical figures associated with Daoism, compiled under the title Xuanping lu 玄品錄 by daoist Zhang Tianyu 張天雨 (1279-1350) and translated by Thomas Cleary.

Li Bi was styled Changyuan. He originally lived in Demon Valley. At the age of seven he knew how to write compositions, and in 728 he was summoned to meet the emperor as an extraordinary child. He was most favored by Zhang Jiuling,(67) who called him his little friend.

When he grew up, he studied widely and became expert in the I Ching. He used to travel around to Mount Song, Mount Hua, and Mount Zhongnan, seeking the spiritual immortals’ art of not dying.

During the Tianbao era [742–755], he went to the imperial establishment and presented Proposal for Restoring the Yellow Emperor’s Nine Cauldrons. The emperor, considering him quick-witted, had him lecture on Lao-tzu. He had a command of the principles and obtained the position of attendant scholar.

When Xiaozong [should be "Suzong": it seems the translator confused 肃 with 萧] assumed the throne at Lingwu in 756, he was making inquiries searching for him when Bi showed up on his own. Once he had interviewed him, the emperor was pleased, having had the successes and failures of the empire set forth to him. He was going to give Bi an official post, but Bi stoutly refused. Instead he asked to be allowed to attend discussions of national affairs as a guest and join the imperial entourage on excursions. Everyone pointed and said, “The priest is the ruler, while the layman is the hermit.” [I think it's a mistranslation of the phrase 衣黃者圣人也衣白者山人也 - "In the yellow dress - the ruler, in the white dress (i.e. in commoner's clothes) - the hermit."]

Thus the emperor bestowed the gold seal and purple cord of court rank upon him and appointed him minister of war for the Infantry of the Chief Commander, king of Guangping.

The emperor once said, “You wait on the deities above, you are our teacher in the center, and now you judge the infantry of Guangping below. Thus are we, father and son [emperor and king] sustained by the principles of your Way.” Cui Yuan(68) and Li Fuguo(69) were jealous of the closeness and confidence Bi enjoyed. Bi feared there would be trouble and requested retirement on Mount Heng. An imperial decree provided him with a salary of a third-ranked official, presented him with the outfit of a retired gentleman, and prepared a dwelling for him on Mount Lu.

Bi once took a curved pine branch to use as a backrest, calling it “fostering balance.” Later he found one shaped like a dragon, which he presented to the emperor. All around vied to imitate this.

When Daizong became emperor [in 763], he summoned Bi and housed him in the library of Penglai Hall. At first he didn’t eat meat, but since rank was bestowed on him he was forced to eat meat by imperial decree.

When Dezong [r. 780–805] was at the Sanctuary in Service of Heaven, he summoned Bi to his temporary headquarters and appointed him policy adviser. Bi first had a road cut through the mountains to the Triple Gate [sluices of the Yellow River] to facilitate shipping. Because of this effort, he was promoted to minister of rites, then in three years to associate manager of affairs.

The emperor once casually remarked, “Lu Qi(70) was puritanical and outspoken, but he had little learning and could not broaden us with the ancient Way. Everyone pointed out his treachery, but we never noticed.”

Bi replied, “Had Your Majesty been able to sense Qi’s evil, how could the troubles of the Jianzhong era(71) have occurred? Li Kui(72) combined the foreign commanders of Chinese armies, while Yan Zhen-qing(73) used Xilie. The damage done to longstanding benevolence and goodwill was great indeed.

“Also, Yang Yan(74) was condemned, though not executed; Lu Qi brought about his downfall and made Guan Bo(75) minister. When Li Huaiguang(76) became successful, Lu Qi goaded him into revolt. This is deceiving heaven.”

The emperor said, “What you say happened, true enough, but you must know what Sang Damo(77) said about the chaos of the Jianzhong era, that it was destined to be so?”

Bi replied, “So-called destiny is something said after the fact. Leaders make destiny; they shouldn’t plead destiny. If you plead destiny, then there’s no rewarding good and no punishing evil!”

The emperor said, “I’ll try not to say ‘destiny’ anymore.”

Shortly he was made a scholar of the Library Honoring Literature, working on national history. Bi requested that the first day of the cycle of the second lunar month be made the Day of Harmony in the Center(78) instead of the last day of the lunar cycle of the first month and that on that occasion the great ministers be given royal relative residence rulers, signifying the sizing up of bureaucrats. He presented a book on agriculture to teach basic production. The emperor was very pleased and issued an order making the second day of the second month, the third day of the third month, and the ninth day of the ninth month three official holidays, when everyone was to be given a bonus of a string of a thousand cash and invited to a banquet.

In the eighth month of 788, the sun eclipsed the two stars associated with literature and culture. Bi said, “Those stars govern maps and books; among the great ministers there will be someone aggrieved. Since I’m both a managing minister and a scholar, it must be me.” The next year, as it turned out, he died.

Bi had free access to the imperial palace, and he worked for four emperors, so he was the object of the jealousy of crafty sycophants numerous times, yet he always escaped by his wits. Moreover, time and again there were factional plots, of which he was able to alert the emperor, and he also improved and enlightened government himself. The restoration of the two capitals praised by historian Liu Bi was due in large part to the planning of Li Bi; his contribution was even greater than Lu Lian’s(79) and Fan Li’s.

Footnotes:

67. Zhang Jiuling (678–740) was a scholar and poet who held a number of high positions under the Tang dynasty, including director of the Secretariat and grand councillor.

68. Cui Yuan was a regional inspector and officer of the Secretariat under Emperor Suzong (r. 756–762).

69. Li Fuguo (704–762) was a eunuch who held high offices in the department of the military under Emperor Suzong.

70. Lu Qi was prime minister under Emperor Dezong, who is faulted for judging people on appearances.

71. This refers to a rebellion of regional authorities. The Jianzhong era lasted from 780 to 784.

72. Li Kui (711–784) held numerous offices under the Tang dynasty, including commissioner for entry into alliance with Tufan. Tufan was a Tibetan state considered a major threat to Tang dynasty China.

73. Yan Zhenqing (709–785) commanded several successful battles against the rebel An Lushan and served in a number of posts under the Tang dynasty, including minister of works and minister of justice. When Li Xilie rebelled, Lu Qi sent Yan to negotiate a surrender, intending to encompass Yan’s death. Yan stood up to Li’s threats and won the latter’s respect. Yan was later assassinated.

74. Yang Yan (727–781) was briefly a minister of state for Emperor Dezong. He is noted for reforming the tax system.

75. Guan Bo held many posts under the Tang dynasty. He is said to have been promoted for prime minister by Lu Qi because the latter considered him easy to control.

76. A regional inspector.

77. A famous prognosticator.

78. On this occasion the emperor customarily gave a banquet for the ministers of state.

79. That is, Lu Zhonglian.

#tang dynasty #li bi #daoism #xuanping lu #suzong #li fuguo #daizong #dezong

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mostlysignssomeportents · 5 years

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SO LATE SO SOON: fun, genre-celebrating SF for young readers (of all ages!)

[Harry Tynan posts on our forums as Moose Malloy. Earlier this week, he messaged me about his fun, self-published kid's book, written as a series of bedtime stories for his kid (a tradition I'm very fond of -- it's the origin story of The Borribles!). The book is so much fun that I invited him to write a short introduction and choose a excerpt for your edification. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did! -Cory]

The great Umberto Eco once wrote, in a marvellous essay about Casablanca, that "Two clichés make us laugh. A hundred clichés move us. For we sense dimly that the clichés are talking among themselves, and celebrating a reunion."

And hey, who doesn't love Casablanca?

I'm no Umberto Eco, but a while back I wrote a science fiction novel out of love for my son and out of love for the SF genre itself. Freed by love, I poured my heart into this short tale of a boy and his dad (plus his two accidental, argumentative clones, plus his dad's childhood dog accidentally yanked forward from the 1970s for their own, very tail-waggy reunion).

For my son's amusement, I unselfconsciously stuffed each of my quick, cliff-hanging chapters with my favourite SF clichés from a lifetime of fandom. I smushed in some 'gritty history' and some light moral lessons and some Shakespeare and some counterfactual frolics. I had huge fun bashing out 500 words nightly on an old laptop after everyone else hit the hay.

I was pretty careful with editing and general quality control. But I let the tale itself go where it wanted. When I read it over I smiled to find influences from stuff I adored -- not only Sheckley and Dick and Zelazny and Silverberg and Doctorow, but also Beverly Cleary, and Treasure Island, and Calvin and Hobbes, and 2000AD and Red Dwarf and arcade games and pop music and every other good thing we turn to for hope and light. I called it SO LATE SO SOON, after the wistful absurdism of the Dr. Seuss verse. Then I printed some copies and gifted them around. Did that a few times. Kinda forgot about it then, to be honest.

Now, I've never made any big claims for this book. For me it is, as Eco says, 'the clichés having a ball.' But it's had a joyful little half-life. Some schoolteacher here in Ireland read it in class. Kids I don't know, cousins of neighbours of my nieces or something, petitioned for a sequel. Well-meaning friends kept nagging me to publish it -- as if it were that easy!

But of course, it IS that easy to self-publish these days. And this week I finally did, on Amazon KDP. It feels great! Right now it's free, so if interested, please snag it

here

(US) or

here

(UK) or in your local Amazon region. I'll run more free days asap (KDP limits these, though).

I hope some of you like it. You could start with the extract below, wherein our protagonists use a time-freezing whistle to escape from a medieval court which alleges they're demons.

Finally... I cannot thank Cory and Boing Boing sufficiently for this -- it's a wish come true, realising a childhood dream (to write and share an entertaining story) with my dream audience (the awesome happy mutant community). Buíochas!

FORTY-FIVE

One minute later I was outside again, panting heavily, frightened and excited at the same time. The streets were filled with people stuck in fixed poses; even the horses who'd pulled us here in our cage were poised without twitching, like statues. And around everything, that strange ring of the whistle pulsed like some alien music.

No time to hang about, I told myself. We need to leave. But how? I went back inside the courthouse to assess the situation.

First, I removed the whistle from Marlowe's collar and stuck it in my pocket. No telling when I'd need that again.

Second, I took a good look at Dad, where he was suspended in time, leaning against the side of his dock. No way would I be able to carry him. But I might be able to drag him.

The sound of the whistle, still echoing, rang pure and clear in my ears as I worked.

I pushed experimentally on Ezquerra, who was blocking the steps up to Dad. He tumbled over like a skittle and landed flat on his back with a crash. Terrified someone would hear me, I looked around in a panic for somewhere to hide. But then I controlled myself. Who cared if anyone heard me? They were all frozen. And that gave me an idea. I looked around for the largest people in the room, to lie down beside Ezquerra.

Two soldiers and a judge later, I'd made a pretty soft-looking landing pad just outside Dad's dock. "Sorry, Dad," I whispered as I opened the gate at the top of the steps. He tumbled straight out and landed smack-bang across the judge's belly and a soldier's fleshy forearms. It seemed to me that the sound of the whistle was beginning to fade at this stage, and from the corner of my eye I could see hints of very slow movement amongst the crowd, so it looked like the freeze was wearing off.

That was fine. I was nearly ready anyway. But I needed to talk to Dad. I dragged him, with great difficulty, outside the courtroom door, around a corner, and down a quiet hallway with polished wooden panels and huge pictures of great battles hanging everywhere.

Then I waited.

All around me I could hear the sounds of reality restarting, like one of Dad's old records rotating at the wrong speed. Around the corner somewhere, I heard a footstep. As I watched Dad's face, he blinked. The ring of the whistle was almost completely gone now. And suddenly, time was back to normal -- moving forward at one second per second.

"Dad," I said quickly, "don't talk, let me explain. I froze time using this Silverberg whistle. Lukes B and C and Marlowe are still in the courtroom, which I imagine is going bananas right now, because you and I have just disappeared into thin air... and also, some people have been, uh, rearranged."

Dad's eyes bulged in confusion as I continued, but I put up a hand to silence him. "There's no time to lose. They'll really think we're devils now, with this kind of black magic. We need to escape. But I'm too small to carry everyone."

He nodded to show he understood. "This time, I want YOU to blow the whistle, go back in there, and carry all of us to somewhere safe. It wears off after about ten minutes, so keep blowing it till you're done. Got it?"

There were sounds of shouting and alarm all through the building now. A group of soldiers came tearing around the corner, spotted us, and charged with an almighty roar.

"Got it," said Dad. He grabbed the whistle from me, raised it to his face, and --

FORTY-SIX

Dad got us out of Lisbon. He got all of us out, all on his own.

It must have taken him hours. I woke up a couple of times, emerging woozily from the freeze-sleep, becoming aware of reality crowding in on me once more. The first time it happened, I was bent forward over a low wall, presumably where he'd left me while he went to get one of the other Lukes. There was a slow, low, grinding noise: GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG... It started to get faster and higher: GRGRGRGRGRGRGRGRGRGRGR... and then it suddenly disappeared as normal time resumed with a POP!

I lifted my head. I felt fine. I was near a busy marketplace. Sounds of life were audible all around me; I wasn't the only person waking up.

"Dad," I croaked. "The whistle."

I was still lying draped over that wall and couldn't even see Dad, but he must have heard me, because next thing I knew I was coming around again on the side of a dusty pathway just outside of the city.

GGGGGGGGGGGGG

GRGRGRGRGRGRGRGRGRGRGR

POP

Luke B was lying beside me and I could see Dad, with Luke C in his arms, staggering tiredly toward us. He saw me watching him, and winked. "You okay Dad?" I asked. "I'll be fine," he answered. "The old dog for the hard road, as my mother used to say."

He'd even rescued one of the backpacks somehow. It lay on the ground beside me. Seeing me looking at it, Dad winked. "Took it from the hands of the boss bishop himself," he said. "He'll be one surprised padre when he wakes up!"

I heard a sneeze behind me and looked over to see a soldier staring in amazement. That was only to be expected. After all, as far as he knew, there'd just been some weird noises and then we had appeared out of nowhere.

"No problem," said Dad, as the soldier started shouting. He lowered Luke C gently to the ground and reached again for the whistle.

https://boingboing.net/2019/05/02/so-late-so-soon.html

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jamboreeofsurprises · 6 years

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RULES: Tag 10 followers you want to know better

TAGGED BY: thank you to @parts-of-me-unravelling for the tag!

TAGGING: if you are reading this....you have officially been tagged Bo)

STAR SIGN: Leo (Virgo cusp)

HEIGHT: 5'5

GRAB THE BOOK NEAREST YOU AND TURN TO PAGE 23. WHAT’S LINE 17?: oh...this is embarrassing. it’s Socks by Beverly Cleary and there aren’t even 17 lines on the page. That’s how you know it’s kiddie literature

EVER HAD A POEM OR A SONG WRITTEN ABOUT YOU?: I think?

WHO IS YOUR CELEBRITY CRUSH?: those nice boys from that nice band, Sparks

WHAT’S A SOUND YOU HATE AND A SOUND YOU LOVE?: I hate the sound of vacuum cleaners, blenders, etc etc - anything loud, especially if it’s high pitched. I love water sounds (like drinks being poured) and pages being turned.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN GHOSTS?: Yes, but there unfortunately aren’t any in my house :(

HOW ABOUT ALIENS?: possibly

DO YOU DRIVE?: I can, but no license - hoping that will change in a couple weeks.

IF SO, HAVE YOU EVER CRASHED?: i got crashed /into/ once. lol

LAST BOOK YOU READ: I’m rereading Cardcaptor Sakura and a biography on Freddie Mercury at the moment

LAST MOVIE YOU SAW: Beetlejuice

WORST INJURY YOU EVER HAD?: Broken arm from falling off a ladder.

CURRENT OBSESSIONS: Sparks & all the regular music fixations (Queen and co.), CCS, doll collecting, back on Undertale a bit, DSP games...

DO YOU TEND TO HOLD GRUDGES AGAINST PEOPLE WHO HAVE DONE YOU WRONG?: No, but I have a hard time talking to them afterward.

IN A RELATIONSHIP?: mawwied mysewf

#survey

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badmovieihave · 6 years

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Bad movie I have Proud Mary 2018

#Proud Mary #Screen Gems #Taraji P. Henson #Billy Brown #Jahi Di'Allo Winston #Neal McDonough #Margaret Avery #Xander Berkeley #Rade Serbedzija #Erik LaRay Harvey #Danny Glover #Adobuere Ebiama #Owen Burke #Bo Cleary #Therese Plaehn #James Milord #Alex Portenko

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rabbitcruiser · 3 years

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National Siblings Day

National Siblings Day is celebrated on April 10 of every year. It is otherwise called as Siblings Day or National Sibling Day which observed in honour of the sibling’s relationships. The National Sibling’s Day aims at celebrating the under accepted special relationship, the bond of love, and the friendship between siblings.

“Certainly, people can get along without siblings. Single children do, and there are people who have irreparably estranged relationships with their siblings who live full and satisfying lives, but to have siblings and not make the most of that resource is squandering one of the greatest interpersonal resources you will ever have.” – Jeffrey Kluger.

History of National Siblings Day

In 1995, Claudia Evart founded the National Siblings Day in honour of her two siblings. She established that day after she lost siblings in separate accidents at very young age. Claudia Evart created SDF (Siblings Day Foundation), a tax-exempt organization, whose goals are designed to create the National Siblings Day. She selected April 10, because April 10 was the birthday of her late sister Lisette. We are all very lucky to have siblings in our life. Sometimes they may be annoying and painful to be around, but that should not stop us from celebrating the relationship of siblings, what will be the longest relationship in our life. Hence celebrate National Siblings Day by spending some time with your siblings on that day.

How to celebrate National Siblings Day

Celebrating National Siblings Day is quite simple and easy to remember. Just spend some time and have some fun with your siblings on that day.

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National Siblings Day (also referred to as Sibling Day) is observed on April 10. It is a day created to honor our brothers and our sisters.

Siblings. They are sometimes our best friends or our worst enemies. At times, siblings will provide us with our biggest competition, strongest encouragement and remind us of our most embarrassing moments.

Fictional characters describe those siblings best who are both rivals and yet are best friends. In The Hunger Games, Katniss puts her life on the line to save her sister Prim. Both Bo and Luke Duke in The Dukes of Hazzard risked their lives for each other. Author Beverly Cleary’s Beezus and Ramona’s longtime love-hate relationship between siblings depicted a normal childhood filled with angst.

Real life royal siblings Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret had a different set of rules to follow making their relationship quite different from anything we would call normal. Being a queen will do that.

Queen Elizabeth’s grandsons, Princes William and Harry relationship that’s been in the public eye since they were born, as do William’s children Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

Playing fictional characters who are siblings and being siblings in front of a television audience must have created a different lifestyle for Mary Kate and Ashley Olson. Their older sister is Elizabeth.

Another pair of sibling actors is Shirley MacLaine and Warren Beatty.

There have been plenty of presidents with siblings as well. George W. Bush has five siblings and William Jefferson Clinton has three.

How many siblings do you have? Are you rivals or do you support each other in all you do?

HOW TO OBSERVE

Spend some time with your sibling(s). Enjoy looking at photos and videos of time spent with your sibling(s). Play a song or two from the 35 Best Sister Songs list.

HISTORY

National Siblings Day was founded by native New Yorker, Claudia Evart in 1995 to honor and celebrate siblings. After losing her two siblings early in life in separate accidents, she knew how important siblings could be in our lives.

Claudia created the Siblings Day Foundation (SDF), a tax-exempt organization, whose goals included the establishment of National Siblings Day. Claudia selected April 10 in honor of her late sister, Lisette’s birthday. Visit the website for more National Siblings Day information at http://www.siblingsday.org/.

Source

#National Siblings Day #NationalSiblingsDay #Sushi #my brother's dog #pet #English Bulldog #Switzerland #Schweiz #Italy #indoors #outdoors #balcony #national day #10 April #my little bro #my brother and I #me and my brother

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shadowoods · 7 years

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Comfort | Shingeki no Kyojin

Desperately in need for something positive with the following characters

Let’s say after a terrible day they need some comfort of their favorite person.

A/N: no manga spoilers, anime snk first two episode spoilers might be included. Long post! +5 under the cut.

Levi Ackerman. He frowned when he entered the room you two were sharing and seeing you on your knees, cleary searching for something on the ground. “(Y/N), would you care to explain what in the world you are doing there?” The sudden sound of is voice startled you and with a loud dong, your head made contact with the wooden bed. “I was looking for dust to clean up.” His confusion grew more intense. Since when have you been so much into cleaning? “You know, I’ve recently read the human body loses a lot of dead cells and cleaning regulary will prevent a pool.” You nervously fiddled with your fingers, a slight brush crept onto your cheeks. “I know you don’t like that and since your arm is injured I thought...” “Tch”, he interrupted before you could finish. He stepped forward and helped you back onto your feet. “What’s the point if you injure yourself in the process, silly?” He sighed when you looked embarrassed and briefly placed his lips on your forehead. It was so light you weren’t sure if it even happened. “Thank you, though”, he muttered. Then he cleared his throat, pretending he was coughing all along.

Erwin Smith. Being the one in charge has never been more complicated. You needed to have reason for every decision you made and each time you made a mistake, at times like this, human lives were wasted. To say it was a lot of weight on one’s shoulder would be an extreme understatement. Time to give those shoulders a brief moment of rest. “Erwin”, you scolded. “Don’t you dare moving right now. You can��t function endlessly, it’s fine. Today evening you do as I say. Lean back.” You coughed. “Forth. Whatever.” With a slight groan he sunk back onto the matress. “For a commander you don’t really know what you want, he?” You could hear the mocking voice and popped a vein. Mischieviously, your grip onto his shoulders tightened which lead to another groan. “Oh my, strong soldier can’t even handle that?” You actually wanted to give him a massage, but his stubborn self couldn’t even relax for a mere five minutes. You considered stapling him onto the bed but this wouldn’t stop him from staying still. You were too busy to find a way to make him to see the smile on his face.

Mikasa Ackerman. A huge frown was caved onto her forehead for days and whilst everyone tried to avoid the worried female, you tried to make her as comfortable as possible. Eren has been asleep for a while now and even though he wasn’t in danger, Mikasa would not leave his side. You brought her self-made tea, bread or just sat next to her, letting her know she wasn’t alone. One day, she had fallen asleep in sitting position. With a smile, you place the tray with food and water on a table and sat next to her with some space left between. You were folding her scarf she had placed where you sat down when you saw a single tear ecaping her eye. She would never admit that but the current events were affecting her a lot. You unfolded the scarf again wrapped it around you two, pulling her into a hug. “(Y/N)”, she whispered. “It’s alright Mikasa, have some rest.” With a small smile, she sunk back into sleep.

Mike Zakarius. There was absolutely no use. You couldn’t read it. There was no way to interpret this lines and curves into letters and so, you needed to meet with the author of this report. When you knocked at his door and no one answered, you wanted to step in without permission, but a cadet informed you that he should be on the roof. And he was. You were sure he knew you were there, probably used his ability and smelled you from afar. “Mike, if you wouldn’t mind, would you translate your report for me?” “What’s wrong with it?”, he asked calmly. You walked closer to him and saw his eyes being closed. Obviously you caught him in his off-time. “I can’t read it. Your writing is horrible.” He chuckled. “Oh, well, sorry about that” he said, “but do you want me to write an essay on how I killed titans? I guess you know how it works.” You sighed. “You know I can’t-” “Switch to page two, (Y/N)”, he insisted. You obeyed and saw a few names neatly written one below the other. “These are the ones who died in the past few days.” He has closed his eyes again, slightly leaned back and let the wind go through his hair. You could hear some grief in his voice even though he tried not letting his emotions show through. “Mike, I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to-” He smiled. “I know. We’re used to it, aren’t we?” There was a small pause in which you were gazing at the stars. “Don’t you think we should enjoy every minute of being alive instead of writing long-ass reports on what we did to not to die?” Now he looked at you again, waiting for an answer. “I guess so.” “Why don’t you join me? I’d rather talk to those alive right now.” You silently sat next to him. Without thinking, you wrapped an arm around him and let him lean on you. You two didn’t talk, but then arm wrapped around your waist tightened, he whispered: “Thank you, (Y/N).”

Eren Jäger. You were about to retreat with the others to fulfill the next mission: Close the hole on wall Maria with Eren’s titan powers. You could tell he was nervous about that when you were on the way. It was pretty unusual for him to sit as stiff as stick and biting his lip continously. The others didn’t dare to disrupt his thoughts, and so didn’t you. There wasn’t anything to say, really. He tried to figure out how he is supposed to achieve the ability to do so and that wasn’t something you could solve. Instead, your hand searched for his and interwined your fingers with the cold of his. He almost jumped at the sudden warmth of your skin and looked at you with widen eyes. “(Y/N)”, he whispered slightly panicked, seeing the huge grin of Hanji as you two were practically holding hands. You returned the look and smiled, not letting go of him. “It doesn’t matter how this turns out”, you declared with a firm tone, “you are not alone and there is no chance I am going to leave you, understood? You are the only one capable of this.” His tensed shoulders relaxed a little and you could see the determination back in his gaze. “Understood”, he said confidently as he covered your hands with his.

Armin Arlert. You poked his cheek when you noticed he hasn’t spoken to you for a solid thirty minute time span. You were sincerly worried smoke clouds would form if he didn’t relax for like, a minute. “Armiiiin, what are you thinking?” You asked when he didn’t reacting to your constant touches. “Nothing, really, (Y/N).” You arched an eyebrow. “You should know better, be smarter than actually thinking I’m that dumb.” “You aren’t dumb. I’ve never said that.” You sighed as he drifted back into his own little world. With a swift movement, you got onto your feet and walked away. You weren’t giving up, though. “Whah, (Y/N)!” He shouted as you were slightly swinging a pillow at his back and shoulders. “Notice mee, Armiiiin.” You pouted playfully. “Don’t exlude me. If you don’t think about me that intensly, I might get jealous and that would upset me.” He blushed at your words. “U-um, I-” You chuckled. “I was joking.” You threw your hands in the air for some effect. “But it’s (Y/N)-and-Armin-time now.” You grabbed his hand and dragged him outside. “Time to take a waaaalk.” He laughed nervously at your energetic behaviour, but he was glad to have a break.

Jean Kirschstein. “Jean!” You exclaimed and flicked his forehead. “Ouch, what the heck (Y/N)?!” He complained. You gestured at the board in front of you. “Focus on the game or it’ll be boring when I’m going to win.” “Who said you’d win?” His voice got a bit louder, immediately provoked by the sly smile on your lips. “C’mon. Could it be more obvious?” You asked challenging. He knitted his eyebrows together, trying to think of the best move to make next. You smiled; finally you got his attention. You rose your arm and your fingers brushed his forehead. His eyes almost widened immediately and blushed. “Stop frowning, Jean. Or in ten years you are going to look like an old man.” He huffed. “Who said we’d be alive then?” “I do”, you said, with a smile that didn’t allow backtalk. Your hand wandered to his cheek “Don’t you dare leaving me, or a titan won’t be the thing to be most afraid of.” He gulped. “S-stop distracting me!” You let go and chuckled. “Whatever you say, Jean-bo.”

Sasha Braus. “I want meat. I want to go home. I want to sleep”, she groaned and let her head fall onto the table. the slight cracking noise was concerning you but Sasha’s reaction was humming and looking dull. The only reaction you got from this little incident was Connie’s irritated face - Sasha’s movement made the table shake, and so the tower of cards he was building for the last few minutes collapsed. You smiled at him and tried to soothe Sasha. “Come on, Sasha, everyone is worn out and tired. But you don’t see them complaining.” The groaning grew more intense and so was your headache. you desperately tried to think of something that would make her act like a decent human being again. “Tell you what, I am going to make you the most delicious dinner you ever had if you are going to pull yourself together now.” Her head shot up again and with her eyes sparkling she looked at your much more vivacious. “Really?” The lace of hope in her voice made you smile. “Really. And if I have to rob a royal to get resources, so it be.” She pulled you into a hug and you had the feeling she was almost crushing your bones. She was that excited and happy that she actually bit your shoulder slightly. “Ouch, Sasha.” You pushed her away to look at her eyes again. She cried but smiled so widely and innocently like a child you couldn’t be mad at her. “I’m so happy.”

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daagodfatherofsolar · 5 years

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National Siblings Day (also referred to as #Sibling Day) is observed on #April10. It is a day created to honor our #brothers and our #sisters. Siblings. They are sometimes our best #friends or our worst enemies. At times, siblings will provide us with our biggest #competition, strongest #encouragement and remind us of our most embarrassing moments. Fictional characters describe those siblings best who are both rivals and yet are best friends. In #TheHungerGames, Katniss puts her life on the line to save her sister Prim. Both Bo and Luke Duke in The Dukes of Hazzard risked their lives for each other. #Author Beverly Cleary’s Beezus and Ramona’s longtime love-hate relationship between siblings depicted a normal childhood filled with angst. Real life #royal siblings #QueenElizabeth and Princess Margaret had a different set of rules to follow making their relationship quite different from anything we would call normal. Being a queen will do that. Queen Elizabeth’s grandsons, Princes William and Harry and William’s children, too have royal sibling relationships that engage the world. Playing fictional characters who are siblings and being siblings in front of a television audience must have created a different lifestyle for #MaryKateOlson and #AshleyOlson. Their older sister is Elizabeth. Another pair of sibling actors is Shirley MacLaine and Warren Beatty. There have been plenty of presidents with siblings as well. George W. Bush has five siblings and William Jefferson Clinton has three. How many siblings do you have? Are you rivals or do you support each other in all you do? **Spend some time with your sibling(s). Enjoy looking at photos and videos of time spent with your sibling(s). Play a #song or two from the 35 Best Sister Songs list. Use #NationalSiblingsDay to post on social media. ***National Siblings Day was founded by native #NewYorker, Claudia Evart in 1995 to honor and celebrate siblings. After losing her two siblings early in life in separate accidents, she knew how important siblings could be in our lives. #love #phototheday #style #hats ...brought to you by #DaaGodfather aka #DaaGodfatherOfSolar aka your #SolarBrotherNo1 #ClimateChange (at United States) https://www.instagram.com/p/BwGGEd2lyz0/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=csbhsrsfy091

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