#Gizmo the Scarecrow

[admiralgiggles]

“To survive a war, you gotta become war. - Rambo: First Blood Part II ”

- Gremlins 2: The New Batch

*The Office fans know …

#scarecrows in the village #peddlers village #Lahaska PA #fall 2022 #autumn activities #spooky season #scarecrow #nikon photography #photo of the day #gizmo #gremlins 2 the new batch #rambo

[glitterforashes]

Maybe date hcs for sal??? If you're fine and well?? I love that pretty boy too much ^^

𝐠𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞 (𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞)? ; 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐡𝐜’𝐬!

>>> OKAY YA’LL HERE WE GO! so sorry it took me ages to get to this! wonderful ask from macncheese here, thank u for requesting! hope you enjoy!! <3 (SORRY I POSTED IT BEFORE IT WAS DONE IGNORE THAT. THIS IS FINISHED)

𝐒𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫 —

is literally a nervous wreck leading up to asking you out

“dude, calm down.” “I CAN’T CALM DOWN SHE’S SO BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT.”

has to give himself multiple pep talks in the mirror (they don’t work)

practices asking you out on ash (that doesn’t work either and she makes fun of him)

comes over to your apartment to play video games, is sweating and twitching like he’s cracked out

“sally? you okay?” “go out with me.”

“..please.”

the laughter that erupts from your mouth makes him want to curl up and die

you agree to go out with him obviously

you set a date for friday after school at 8

he picks you up from your apartment, wearing his only nice pair of jeans and a band tshirt

“uh hi.”

“hi baby:)”

he hands you a flower from the flower bush outside of the school almost mechanically and you immediately put it in your hair

you two walk together to the little pizza spot across from the apartments

you hold his hand and he almost explodes

he pays for u!!

ya’ll sit and eat and talk and laugh so obnoxiously everyone else in the room thinks you’re psycho

an old woman stares too long at sally so you flinch at her and she nearly has a heart attack

sally stares at you with so much adoration you think his only good eye is gonna turn into a cartoon heart and launch at you

you stay the night at his apartment after!!

• gizmo snuggles up between you two and you spend the latest hours of the night talking and twiddling fingers with each other

at eight pm sharp, there’s a knock at your door. you smile as you go to open it, revealing sally. even though he was dressed plainly, it bout made you foam at the mouth. “uh, hi.” he said. you smiled, heavily amused by how nervous he was. “hi baby.” he very very mechanically pulled a hibiscus flower from behind his back and extended it to you, standing still as a scarecrow. “aww, sal! thank you!” you took it and placed it behind your ear, smiling from ear to ear. he was so freaking cute you had to will your entire body not to just kiss him all over.

he was stiff and nervous and looked kinda scary, so you took his hand and shut the door behind you, starting to walk down to the elevator. “thanks for inviting me out sally.” you say. he cleared his throat abruptly, like your thanks shocked him, before mumbling “yeah you’re welcome.”

it was cute how he was so nervous— especially since you two had done way worse things together than just going to get pizza. you had been interrogated by police, chased by travis and his little boyfriends, given detention together, and a whole bunch of other things that were universally worse than getting food.

“you know you don’t have to be scared, right? loosen up!” you teased, bumping your hip to his as you two stepped into the elevator. “oh. right. sorry.” you laughed, and he chuckled softly, shaking his shoulders a bit. the walk was less awkward from there,, you continued holding his hand and making idle chatter, just yapping about whatever graced your mind. he made a point to walk a bit ahead of you and open the parlor door, gesturing dramatically like some sort of medieval prince. “after you, m’lady.” he said, and you laughed, doing a curtsy with your imaginary skirts as you walked into the building.

you two went to the counter together, but you ordered for the both of you because sally didn’t want to talk to the cashier. you got a full pepperoni pizza and a side of the crinkle cut fries you two would always request when you were high. you waited off to the side until you got your food,, which you took over to a booth in the back closest to the door. you two ate mostly in silence, too hungry to try to talk between bites. as of late neither of you had been eating the cafeteria food, so this was a saving grace to your stomachs.

in the post-food coma you two experienced, you threatened to stick a fry up sally’s nose and he nearly spat his drink all over the table, which made you laugh so loudly you nearly got embarrassed. you wiped up the mess yall made as sal packed your leftovers into a little box, shaking his head and chuckling to himself the whole time.

you carried the box of fries and he carried the pizza box, but you two still managed to awkwardly hold hands the whole way home. you shuffled into the tiny elevator and watched for a moment as it climbed the levels. you peeked over to sally to see him already side eyeing you and you both erupted into laughter, filling the elevator with the sounds of amusement.

when you got to sally’s apartment you two placed the leftovers on the little rickety kitchen table and immediately retreated to his bedroom, saying hi to his dad and beckoning gizmo to follow on the way in. you took off your uncomfortable pants and tossed them in a corner, and sal stripped down to his boxers. of course, this wasn’t uncommon. you had both established long ago that sleeping unrestricted was the best way to sleep.

you two plopped down on his bed side by side and gizmo shuffled his way in soon after, laying on your right arm and half on sally’s torso. you two spent some time just petting and praising gizmo, talking about how cute he was and sal telling you the story of how they got him.

around midnight you threw a pillow at the wall to flip the light switch off, and you two rolled over to face each other. your hand found his naturally and he began rubbing small circles on your palm with his thumb. “thank you for taking me out.” you whispered, nudging ever so slightly closer. “you’re welcome.” he said, shifting closer to you. you two migrated closer and closer until your forehead was touching the forehead of his mask. your breaths merged into one as you inhaled and exhaled in sync, just enjoying each others presence. gizmo purred like a motorboat, having moved to lay on y’all’s intertwined legs.

“i think i love you, sally.”

you said, but he was already asleep. you smiled and shook your head, snuggling your face into his as you closed your eyes. “goodnight then.”

“i think i love you too, (y/n).”

#sally fisher xreader #fanfiction #x reader #fluff #date headcannons #hcs #sally face #romance #cutie pie #fanfic #indie games #sally face x reader

[chexadopt]

Scarecrow Bird | Plague Doctor Mask | Gas Mask Dangerous Art Magnet | Maggot Bracelet | Scraps Purse Jaws VHS Keychain | Baby Klowns Popcorn Statue | Corpse Bride Moth Dome Scraps Bobblehead | Emily Statue | Martian Door-cover Sandworm Groundbreaker | Miss Argentina Door-Knocker | Snake Inflatable Biohazard Tape | Spiral Sandworm Pillow | Corpse Bride Blanket Oogie Boogie Bugs Pillow | Beetlejuice Sandworm Blanket | Shrimp Hand Bowl Gizmo Driving Magnet | Beetlejuice Cup | Oogie Boogie Cup Grave Terrarium | Mushroom Skull | Moth Skull Framed Bugs | Invasion Area Sign | Halloween American Gothic Painting

#halloween decor #halloween decorations #halloweendecor #halloween #skeleton #skull #scarecrow #gas mask #plague doctor #beetlejuice #corpse bride #maggot #scraps #tim burton #jaws #shark #killer klowns from outer space #baby klown #moth #emily #sandworm #miss argentina #snake #inflatable #hazard #victor #oogie boogie #pillow #shrimp #gizmodo

[creatorthegod]

Christmas yuu au’s

It is almost christmas so why not make christmas yuu au’s

Santa-Yuu        Yuu who is the child of santa clause, they are really kind and know how to make lots of kinds of toys, they are also good friends with dwarfs and elves.

Krampus-Yuu        Yuu who is the child of krampus, they are kind but can be cruel when they want, plus they have lots of sentient toys and evil elves.

Miser-Yuu      Miser Yuu is the younger sibling of snow and heat miser, let's say they are both heat and cold so they know how to stop fights, and each of their brothers want them to be there favorite.

the nightmare before christmas-Yuu       This Yuu is part of the Boogie Boys, let's say they are a scarecrow and they once had to explain that they are a real scarecrow and it is not a costume but everyone loves them during halloween.

Rudolf-Yuu       This Yuu is also the daughter of santa except they also have Rudold with them and everyone is wondering why a deer has a glowing red nose.

Frosty the snowman-Yuu          This Yuu is a child who loves the snow and tells the others about the adventures about Frosty, he once visited Yuu who was happy to see him, some people had to do a double take when they first saw him.

Grinch-Yuu      Yuu is the child of the grinch who at first like there dad hated christmas and when they where stealing christmas they dressed as a elf but at the end they also started to like christmas, it’s going to be a mess when there dad comes.

Gremlins-Yuu     Yuu has a strange creature named Gizmo that seems to like Grim but Grim does not, one day they have to go do something for a few hours so they ask the first years to babysit them, what a bad idea.

I may add on some more later, and if you make a story for one of them please give me credit.

#twisted wonderland au #twisted wonderland #au #the grinch #gremlins #frosty the snowman #rudolf the red nosed reindeer #the nightmare before christmas #santa #krampus #snow miser #heat miser #the year without a santa claus

[awesomecoyote337]

Batman/DC Fanfiction Villain Requests

I’m writing a Batman/DC fanfiction in the style of a TV series script and if you have suggestions or requests for villains that you want to see included, let me know in the comments.

Villains that I’m using

Jinx

Mammoth

Gizmo

Kite-Man

Killer Moth

Firefly (Garfield Lynns)

The Riddler

Quiz and Query

Clock King

The Mad Hatter

The Wonderland Gang (The March Hare, The Walrus, The Carpenter, The Lion, The Unicorn, Tweedledee, and Tweedledum)

Scarecrow

Humpty Dumpty

Mad Mod

Signalman

Joker*

Straightman (Carl Finley)

The Penguin*

Mister Wing

Black Mask*

Lord Death Man*

The Eraser

Mr. Freeze

Poison Ivy

Bane

Faceless (Joseph Zedno)

Man-Bat

Clayface

The Terrible Trio (Warren Lawford/Fox, Gunther Hardwicke/Shark, and Armand Lydecker/Vulture)

Hugo Strange

Villains that I plan to use  

Two-Face

Blight

Calendar Man

Catman

Zodiac Master

I prefer Batman villains and I’m especially a fan of obscure or D-list villains (think Crazy Quilt, Mad Monk, etc) but I can do some non-Batman villains (Gorilla Grodd, Cheetah, etc) if people really want.

#Batman #DC #DC Comics #DCComics #DC_Comics #Fanfiction #Requests #Fanfiction_Requests #Fanfiction Requests #Fanfic #Fanfic_Requests #Fanfic Requests #Writing #Comics #Supervillain

[mister-e-filman]

Intermission: Bailey and Peter's List of Characters with Multiversal Counterparts

DC Marvel

Adam Strange Star Lord

Alfred Jarvis

Amazo Adaptoid

Anti-Monitor, Imperiex Prime Galactus

Aquaman Namor the Submariner

A.R.G.U.S. S.H.I.E.L.D.

Artemis Kate Bishop

Atomic Skull Ghost Rider

Bane Crossbones

Banshee Silver Banshee

Batman Moon Knight, Knight Thrasher

Beast Boy Reptil

Black Alice Rogue

Black Canary Mockingbird, Black Widow

Black Lightning, Bolt Electro

Black Mask Red Skull

Black Racer The Silver Surfer

Black Spider Spider-Man

Blue Beatle Beatle

Brainiac Ultron

Bumblebee The Wasp

Captain Boomerang Boomerang

Captain Cold Blizzard

Catwoman Black Cat

Cheetah Tiagra

Cinderblock The Thing

Clayface Sandman

Cyborg Deathlok, Machineman

Darkseid Thanos

DC's Enchantress Marvel's Enchantress

DC's Scarecrow Marvel's Scarecrow

Deadshot Bullseye

Deathstroke, Red Tool Deadpool

Dex-Starr Rocket Raccoon

Doom Patrol X-Men

Doomsday Abomination

Dr. Fate Dr. Strange

Dr. Polaris, Dr. Diehard Magneto

Dreamslayer Dormammu

Firestorm Human Torch

Gizmo, Gorgon Dr. Octopus

Godspeed Runner

Gorilla Grodd Gorilla-Man

Green Arrow Hawkeye

Green Lantern Quasar

Green Lantern Corps Nova Corps

Guardian, Cmd. Steele, Gnl. Glory, Shield Captain America

Hawkman Angel, Falcon

H.I.V.E. A.I.M.

Hourman, Calendar Man Father Time

Icicle, Killer Frost Iceman, Jack Jrost

John Constantine Peter Wisdom

Justice League The Avengers, Squadron Supreme

Kid Devil Nightcrawler

Killer Kroc The Lizard

King Shark Tiger Shark

Kismet Eternity

Kobra Hydra

Lobo The Wolverine

Lord Havoc Dr. Doom

Mr. Mxyzptlk Impossible Man

Mogo Ego

Multiplex Multiple Man

Niles Calder Professor X

Phantom Stranger Phantom Reporter

Plastic Man, Elongated Man Mr. Fantastic, Thin-Man

Raven Phoenix

Red Hood The Winter Soldier

Red Lion, Bronze Tiger Black Panther

Red Tornado The Vision

Richard Dragon Shang-Chi

Rocket Red, Steel Iron Man

Scandal Savage X-23

Shazam!, Power Girl Captain Marvel

Soloman Grundy, Damage Hulk

Star Sapphire Moonstone

Starfire Firestar

Stargirl Aurora

Suicide Squad Freedom Force

Superman Gladiator, Hyperion, Sentry, Kallark

Swamp Thing Man Thing

Teen Titans Young Allies

The Atom Ant-Man

The Black Spider Spider-Man

The Flash Quicksilver, the Whizzer

Tobias Whale Kingpin

Tracer, Mammoth Sabertooth

Trigon Marvel's Lucifer, Surtur

Wonder Woman Power Princess

Zatana The Scarlet Witch

Author's note: Sorry about the mess, I tried to keep everything as tidy as possible. I did the best that I could, oh well.

[carli-meows]

BucKie Dorthy, GooLi Scarecrow, CoSee Tinman, GizMoe Lion

#ramblings #easy

[discoverdurhamnc]

Things to do in Durham this weekend (Feb 16-19)

Check out our full Durham events calendar.

If you'd like to add an event to our calendar, submit an event here. Please check with the event owners to see if events change due to weather. Have a great weekend!

Multi-Day Events

The Book of Mormon at DPAC

This outrageous musical comedy follows the adventures of a mismatched pair of missionaries, sent halfway across the world to spread the Good Word. Contains explicit language.

Thu, Feb 16 at 7:30 p.m. | Fri, Feb 17 at 8 p.m. | Sat, Feb 18 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. | Sun, Feb 19 at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.

$45+

My Name Is Asher Lev at Levin Jewish Community Center

Adapted by Aaron Posner from the book by Chaim Potok, My Name Is Asher Lev follows the journey of a young Jewish painter torn between his Hasidic upbringing and his desperate need to fulfill his artistic promise.

Thu, Feb 16 at 7:30 p.m. | Sat, Feb 18 at 7:30 p.m. | Sun, Feb 19 at 2 p.m.

$25

2023 Oscar Shorts at The Carolina Theatre

With all three categories offered — Animated, Live Action and Documentary — this is your annual chance to predict the winners (and have the edge in your Oscar pool)!

Fri, Feb 17 at 4:00 p.m., 4:10 p.m., 7:10 p.m., and 9:30 p.m.

Sat, Feb 18 at 2:00 p.m., 2:10 p.m., 4:10 p.m., 7:00 p.m., 7:10 p.m., 9:20 p.m., and 9:30 p.m.

Sun, Feb 19 at 2:00 p.m., 2:10 p.m., 2:20 p.m., 4:10 p.m., and 4:30 p.m.

$9-11

Live Music at Sharp 9 Gallery

George Garzone w/Steve Haines, Ernest Turner & Brevan Hampden on Fri, Feb 17 at 8 p.m. | $25+

Scott Sawyer/Keith Waters Duo on Sat, Feb 18 at 8 p.m. | $25

Live Music at Beyú Caffè

Tha Materials on Fri, Feb 17 at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. | $12-25

Heather Hayes on Sat, Feb 18 at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. | $12-25

Improv Comedy at Mettlesome

Friday, Feb 17 at 7:30 p.m. | Wit: An Improv Comedy Game Show - Buckle up for this no holds barred comedic boxing match. Two players go head to head, pushing their comedic abilities to the limit for the title of Wit Champion.

Fri, Feb 17 at 9 p.m. | Hush Hush - Improv inspired by anonymous secrets from the audience.

Sat, Feb 18 at 7 p.m. | Golden Age - Improv inspired by an interview with a local artist.

Sat, Feb 18 at 8 p.m. | Improv 101 Graduation Showcase - This class show is the culmination of six weeks of improv lessons.

Sat, Feb 18 at 9 p.m. | House Party - A mix of short-form (similar to Who's Line is it Anyway?) and long-form inspired by an audience interview.

Sat, Feb 18 at 10 p.m | The Jam - Everybody in the audience gets a chance to perform. Great for students, beginners, and veterans.

$8

Thursday, Feb 16

Vinyl Night with DJ Deckades at Gizmo Brew Works

Enjoy fresh vibes on the patio with DJ Deckades. Bring your own vinyl to share or just listen to what the DJ is spinning.

6 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Free admission

Boulders & Brews Meetup at Triangle Rock Club - Durham

Show up and climb at TRC Durham, then head over to Hi-Wire for some brews. Don't worry if it's your first time or haven't bouldered before; everyone's welcome.

Your first visit to the gym with the Meetup includes free admission and gear rental, and subsequent visits with the meetup are $15 and include harness rental (outside of meetups, day pass rates of $19 apply and do not include rentals).

6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Live Music in the Taproom at The Glass Jug Beer Lab - Downtown Durham

Glass Jug offers local live music EVERY Thursday in their Downtown Durham taproom.

7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Free admission

Trivia Night w/Big Slow Tom at Clouds Brewing Brightleaf Square

Join Clouds Durham for Big Slow Tom's Trivia Night, every Thursday. Win some prizes, drink some beer, and show your smarts.

Enjoy $4 select draft and $5 rotating bartender's choice all night.

7:30 p.m.

Free admission

FUTURE TERROR // SCARECROW // ROVAGUG at The Fruit

FUTURE TERROR returns to NC with local support from SCARECROW and ROVAGUG (first show)!

8 p.m. - 11:30 p.m.

$8 cash only

Friday, Feb 17

Tasting at Ten at Counter Culture Coffee

Every Friday morning at 10 am, Counter Culture Coffee opens their Training Centers to coffee lovers who want to learn more about Counter Culture Coffee’s high-quality, sustainably sourced menu.

10 a.m.

Free, but donations accepted

Community Artist AU Show at Golden Belt Campus

Golden Belt Campus' first annual community exhibition. There will be over 100 local artists from Raleigh, Cary, Hillsborough, Pittsboro, and of course, Durham for a specially curated show in the front room gallery. Please join the celebration of the local art community this Third Friday.

6 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Free admission

Yolo Karaoke! at The Pinhook

Yolo Karaoke is the best. The INDY says so and people who do and don’t read the INDY say so.

Doors at 7 p.m. | Show at 8 p.m.

The COT Signature Series: The Baroque Concerto at the PSI Theatre - Durham Arts Council

The COT's Signature Series concerts feature the full chamber orchestra performing a variety of classical music under the direction of maestro Niccolo Muti.

7:30 p.m.

$10-35

Open Mic Stand-Up Comedy at Durty Bull Brewing Company

This weekly event takes place indoors in the Barrel Room, with seating available for nearly 100 people. There's no better way to unwind after a long week than a night of laughter with Ashley & Ebony. Interested in performing? Please contact Ashley and Ebony.

8 p.m. - 11 p.m.

21+

Free admission

Saturday, Feb 18

Shana Tucker, ChamberSoul™ Cello & Songs at The Carolina Theatre

Lyrical storyteller. Soulful cellist. Dynamic singer-songwriter. Fun teaching artist. That’s Shana Tucker! Her unique genre of ChamberSoul™ weaves together jazz, roots folk, acoustic pop, and a touch of R&B into melodies that echo in your head for days.

11:00 a.m.

$5

Field & Factory: A Look at Tobacco’s Laborers at Duke Homestead

Tours will highlight the contributions that each group of people working in tobacco made to North Carolina’s culture and powerful economy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, while addressing the inequalities in tobacco’s labor forces.

11:15 a.m.

Free, but pre-registration required

Call [phone] to reserve a spot

Cupid's Undie Run at Motorco Music Hall

Every February, thousands of undie runners in cities all across the U.S. come together, whether it be in-person or virtually, to support those affected by NF, a genetic disorder that causes tumors to grow on nerves throughout the body and affects 1 in every 3,000 births.

Cupid’s Undie Run kicks off with drinking and dancing, then we jog it out with a mile(ish) run and end it all with an epic dance party!

12 p.m. - 4 p.m.

$40

Daytime Mardi Gras at Durham Central Park

Set aside your worries about a cold and wet Mardi Gras night at a free daytime celebration the Saturday before. Dance, celebrate, and be creative outdoors under the Durham Central Park Pavilion with the Bulltown Strutters brass band, Cajun music from the Cajammers, on-site parading, Glass Jug beer tent, and food trucks.

1:30 p.m. - 7 p.m.

Free admission

The Monti GrandSLAM at The Carolina Theatre

An event nine months in the making, The Monti GrandSLAM pits our regular season StorySLAM champions against each other with brand-new stories on an entirely new theme.

8 p.m.

$22

Carnaval of All Rhythms at Motorco Music Hall

A celebration of Brazilian music featuring Caique Vidal, Junior Guedes, Wesley Noog, and Oxente.

8 p.m.

$20 advance | $60 for 4 tickets

Mall Will Tear Us Apart at Rubies on Five Points

NC’s favorite mallgoth DJs are back! It’s sad, it’s mopey, and so.much.fun. Join Fifi Hi-Fi and FKA Scary Dude on the edge of the mall’s decorative fountain, pensively tossing pennies into the wishing well of our discontent. Ruminate over a slice of Sbarro on all the loves we’ve had and lost, all the unrequited crushes that sent us to Hot Topic and back, penning those *amazing* (imho) poems, and had us rewinding Joy Division cassettes every 40 minutes to play it again – and again – and again – MALL WILL TEAR US APART.

Doors at 9 p.m. | Show at 10 p.m.

$5

JAM.BAE NIGHTS at Gojo Hookah Lounge

Hookah, small bites, crafted cocktails, heated outdoor patio, and Afro-centric vibes.

10 p.m. - 2:30 a.m.

$10, pay at the door

Sunday, Feb 19

Al Strong Presents Jazz Brunch Sundays at Alley Twenty Six

Al Strong, the Grammy-nominated jazz trumpeter, composer and recording artist, will bring a rotating lineup of musicians to perform during Sunday brunch at Durham's Alley Twenty Six.

Brunch is served from 10:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Music will be from 12 p.m. - 2 p.m.

Public Tour at Duke University Chapel

Learn about the history, architecture, and life of Duke Chapel in this tour. The tour begins at 12:15 p.m., or immediately following the conclusion of the Sunday morning service, and lasts approximately 45 minutes. No reservation is required but if you plan to bring a large group please contact [email protected]. Meet the docent on the front steps of the Chapel.

12:15 p.m.

Free admission

Durham Wedding Showcase at 21c Museum Hotel

Mix and mingle with florists, photographers, DJs, and more in the historic Main Gallery space to start making your ultimate wedding vision come to life.

1 p.m. - 3 p.m.

$10

MEGABITCH and Debbie the Artist Live at The Fitting Room

Local musicians MEGABITCH and Debbie the Artist perform live at The Fitting Room - a stage nestled in the back of Gibson Girl Vintage.

Doors at 7 p.m.| Show at 7:30 p.m.

$10-15 sliding scale

Comedy and Music Open Mic at Moon Dog Meadery

Presented with ComedyDurham. Sign ups begin at 6:30 p.m.

Comedy, music, poetry, any artistic performance you'd like to share are welcome.

7 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Free admission

Running Art Exhibits

Beverly McIver’s PASSAGE: Paintings 1983-2022 at Craven Allen Gallery

Beverly McIver is among North Carolina’s most noted artists, with work in major public and private collections. Following McIver through the most pivotal moments in her life, the exhibition reflects the passage of time and its effects on Beverly as an artist, a sister, a daughter, and a friend.

Mon–Fri from 9:30 a.m. - 6 p.m. | Sat from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Runs through Mar 4

Free admission

Selections from the Archive: Bill Seaman Print Retrospective at the Rubenstein Arts Center At Duke University

A print retrospective of the work of media artist, researcher, and Duke faculty member Bill Seaman.

Runs through Mar 12

Mon-Fri from 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. | Sat-Sun from 1 p.m. - 6 p.m.

Free admission

Corrientes Latinas / Latin Currents at The Durham Arts Council

Corrientes Latinas / Latin Currents, highlights the work of artists belonging to the Inter-Latin American Artist Collective (ILAAC), a group of professional artists working in the Triangle Area: Cornelio Campos, Luis MacKinney, Lety Álvarez, Pepe Caudillo, José Manuel Cruz, Antonio Alanís and Peter Marín.

Runs through Mar 10

Mon-Sat from 9 a.m. – 9 a.m. | Sun from 1 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Free admission

The Mind’s Eye: Gallery Members Exhibition at 5 Points Gallery

5 Points Gallery celebrates cleverness in the Year of the Rabbit with their new exhibit called “The Mind’s Eye”.

Runs through Apr 15

Free admission

Beyond the Surface: Collage, Mixed Media and Textile Works from the Collection at the Nasher

This exhibition includes approximately 40 works, primarily from the Nasher Museum’s collection. With a focus on collage, mixed media and textile works, Beyond the Surface explores how artists bring together disparate materials and ideas to create artworks that engage with all audiences.

Tue-Fri from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Sun from 12 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Runs through May 14

Free admission

Patrimonio | Heritage at John Hope Franklin Center Gallery

A series of drawing interventions on “Llanchama” (Amazonian tree bark) by Peruvian/American artist Renzo Ortega.

Mon-Fri from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Runs through May 18

Free admission

Exhibits at 21c Museum Hotel

Whitney Stanley: We Just Be in the Vault Gallery

This We Believe in the Main Gallery

Runs through May 2023

Open 24 hours

Free admission

Spirit in the Land at the Nasher

Spirit in the Land is a contemporary art exhibition that examines today’s urgent ecological concerns from a cultural perspective, demonstrating how intricately our identities and natural environments are intertwined. Through their artwork, 30 artists show us how rooted in the earth our most cherished cultural traditions are, how our relationship to land and water shapes us as individuals and communities

Tue-Fri from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Sun from 12 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Runs through Jul 9

Free admission

Art of Peru at the Nasher

This gallery features ceramics, textiles, metalwork and carvings produced by ancient cultures across what is known as present-day Peru.

Tue-Fri from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Sun from 12 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Runs through Dec 2

Free admission

#Durham #DurhamNC #things to do

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

i put my dick in your mental

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/q4JIRUj

by princelyJuggalo

jonathan cranes basements>>>>>>>> any other place in the dcu ever idk how to write out violence leave me alone song is obviously i put my dick in your mental by gizmo its so fucking good please listen to it if you havent already

Words: 741, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Batman (Comics)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death

Characters: Jonathan Crane, Bruce Wayne

Additional Tags: Angst, New 52 (DCU), Scarecrow's Fear Toxin (DCU), Songfic

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/q4JIRUj

#IFTTT #bruce wayne #batman #the dark knight #the cape crusader #gotham #dc universe #ao3 #ao3feed

[eugenerolton]

AGAIN, I FILLED UP EVERYONE WITH MY CHARACTERS, BUT I LIKE IT)

The Evil Scarecrow

Spaghetti guy

The tree

He shouldn't have eaten strawberries😔...

Pinata guy

Lotus long man

kids are running around in the forest)

#my art #oc art #old art #Gizmo the Scarecrow #Sayonek #Jacob #Eugene #Hubert DiMaggio #Vildan Vanssalliz #Slippy Argos #Bonica Jackril #Retew #Magnat Dickson #Natalisa Guidice

[jabbers-wild-world]

Welcome to Oz

art credit to @ghosta-r

#;; the emerald wizard (weston) #;; nothing but stuffing (hawke) #;; looking for a heart (gizmo) #;; too cowardly to be a king (leon) #and of course #there's dorothy and her dog toto #and hawke the scarecrow has a rooster #his name is big red #lol

[thelifeofmyferrets]

Which is your favorite fur-scarecrow? Mine is the bottom middle and the middle right. #Repost @carpetsharksugarshop with @get_repost ・・・ #fall #fall2018 #fallishere #scarecrow #ferrettutu and #ferrethat made by our dear friend @dooksandspoons have you joined tutu of the month club? We sure have 🧡 #peanut #gizmo #stella #harlee #rubiee #galaxee #haileestorm #ferrets #ferretcostume #ferretscarecrow #mykidshavefur #mykidshave4legs https://www.instagram.com/p/BoxvX5uhI1t/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1go61f0nxuobw

#repost #fall #fall2018 #fallishere #scarecrow #ferrettutu #ferrethat #peanut #gizmo #stella #harlee #rubiee #galaxee #haileestorm #ferrets #ferretcostume #ferretscarecrow #mykidshavefur #mykidshave4legs

[killemwithkawaii]

i have imagined an crossover AU with sally face with the wizard of oz; like ashley is dorothy, larry is scarecrow, todd is the tin man and sal is the lion...

>Okay but Ash would look great in the Dorothy getup lbr

>Larry def fits the scarecrow bc hes a spacy stoner, but it's hard for me to imagine Sal as the Lion, since he definitely isn't a coward... Plus, I just think Sal would look cute as the Scarecrow (hay pigtails, a patchwork face) and Larrys hair is PERFECT for a lions mane! I think it could work either way, though c:

>Gizmo would def be Todo and Mr. Addison would probably be the wizard(?), but who would be the Wicked Witch (Kenneth? Mrs. Packerton?) and who would be Glinda (Lisa? Mrs. Rosenburg?)?

>Oh oh oh they get tricked into drinking Addison tea and fall asleep, as opposed to falling asleep in the poppy field

>Would the flying monkeys be glitter ponies? oh god lmao

#K.E.W.K. answers #sally face au #sally face imagine #all your aus are cannon

[paladin-of-nerd-fandom65]

My Pitch for a video game based on the DC Comics Titans franchise

Title: Titans: Bludhaven 

Developers: Rocksteady Studios (Batman Arkham Series) and Treyarch ( Call of Duty Black Ops series) 

Game-play Features and Mechanics: 

- Third Person POV

-Open World exploration of the titular Bludhaven, complete with a mini map on the HUD and notable landmarks all throughout

- Combat Allowing Players to Dodge and Counter Attacks from Enemies in lieu of Arkham Series

- Also from Arkham Series if applicable to character would use of Stealth to avoid detection in larger open areas

 - Squad Commanding in vein of 2005 game Star Wars: Republic Commando, A squad of your playable characters will receive orders from your selected character via the push of a certain button on a controller D-Pad (Ex. ‘Regroup’ via Down D-Pad button summons all squad mates to player’s location.) Each character while sharing a similar control scheme in which makes their varying play styles accessible and hopefully a smoothing and quick learning experience for the average player. Can be switched in favor of simple One Character at a Time via Settings on Main Menu. If applied, Mechanic now operates similarly to Arkham Knight’s differing character swapping. 

- An RPG-esque loot system for characters outfits, combat abilities, and special skills based on Injustice 2. Similar to Injustice 2, said loot can affect single player play but otherwise is pure cosmetic for multiplayer modes. Loot is unlocked via small engagements with random thugs and henchmen in the single player mode’s free roam portions, completion of both main story and side quest missions and natural progression in both multiplayer and bonus modes. 

Main Story Premise: As the main defenders of the eastern coast city of Bludhaven, New Jersey, You play as the team once known as the Teen Titans but now simply the Titans, not just because of the age growth. Experienced but still youthful as ever, our heroes must take on some of the most diverse cast of rouge villains and criminals imaginable, all while unearthing a plot that might extend far beyond this one city...a plot that tests our heroes to the limit. Main Story is written by Gail Simone, Marv Wolfman, Scott Snyder, Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti; all under head writer Paul Dini 

- Main Playable Characters: Nightwing (Voiced by Scott Menville), Starfire (Voiced by Hynden Walch), Raven (Voiced by Tara Strong), Changling aka Beast Boy (Voiced by Greg Cipes) and Cyborg (Voiced by Khary Payton) 

-Supporting Non-Playable Characters (* Playable in Free DLC missions) : Red Hood (Voiced by Dante Basco), The Doom Patrol (Mento, Elasti-Girl, Negative Man, and Robotman), BPD Officer Amy Rohrbach, Dr Silas Stone (Voiced by Ernie Hudson), Arella Roth, Troia (Voiced by Mae Whitman)*, Tempest (Voiced by Wil Wheaton)*, Flash II (Voiced by Michael Rosenbaum)* and Red Arrow (Voiced by Mike Erwin)* 

- Rouges Gallery Present at Launch: Fearsome Five (Gizmo**, Mammoth**, Jinx**, Psimon and led by Dr Light), The Mad Mod (Voiced by Malcom McDowell), Ding Dong Daddy, Mister Twister, the HIVE Academy (Either henchmen or Supervillain students made solely for this game)**, Ravager (Grant Wilson version), the Calculator***, Killer Moth**, The Clock King, and Blackfire (Primary Story Mode antagonist; Voiced by Hynden Walch) 

** Incarnations of the characters here primarily inspired via depictions seen on the animated series Teen Titans from 2003-2006. 

*** Game-play wise functions similarly to the Riddler in Arkham City via Puzzle challenges and Hidden Informants within Henchman groups that can be interrogated by your player characters. 

- Additional Villains To Patch In via Free DLC: The Gordanians, Brother Blood (A compromising version of both his New Teen Titans comic and Teen Titans animated series incarnations), the Brotherhood of Evil( Madame Rouge, Monsieur Mallah, The Brain), The Court of Owls, Grid (In most versions, Cyborg’s counterpart from Earth-3, home of the Crime Syndicate) and Dr Jonathan Crane aka the Scarecrow

Multiplayer: A customization option allows players to either play their own version of the playable characters available to them or create their own in the modes as the connect to either the local console allowing up to 4 players or online in which up to 4 players on the console can now connect and play with other players who own either digital or physical copies of the game on their person. 

-Modes: 

- Team Brawl (Standard player v player match types in which players on either team rack up points for said team by defeating their opponents consistently. A streak in opponent defeats enables use of bonus items, equipment and even assistance from NPCs to further press on the advantage. Unlimited respawns are in effect and spawn location for each one is randomized. The team who either reaches the score limit first or has the highest score by a timer’s finish will be declared the winners; AI bots can be added via match settings to enlarge up to 10 total for both teams; Squad Command disabled unless only one player is present on a team, using commands on AI Bots teammates instead) 

- Command Post (While gameplay wise baring common ground with Team Brawl, now instead the objective is capturing marked ‘command posts’ across the map and holding them as long as possible. This time, instead of unlimited respawns at random locations as was the case in Team Brawl, said respawns are counted by each player and can only be spawn at command posts under friendly control. The team with the most respawns left or who mange to capture all command posts and maintain complete control for 15 seconds are declared winners) 

- Free for All (All players are independent from one another and must fight with one another. Respawns are limited to 5 maximum and their locations are predetermined and carefully guarded for each player. The objective is to defeat your opponents via depleting their respawns, the last one standing is declared winner. 

- Hardpoint (Similar to Command Post only in this case, the objective is a singular location on the map that must be held by a team yet itself lasts for 2 minutes before shifting to another location. Victory can be achieved via elimination of the opposing teams’ respawns) 

- Capture the Flag (As the name implies, Flags pertaining to each team are present on opposite sides of the map and the objective becomes capturing the opposing team’s flag and taking said flag to one belonging to the friendly flag. Unlimited respawns are active though this time predetermined to friendly territory. The team who reaches the score limit will be declared winner) 

- Other features include but not limited to: Wager system in which a bet over an agreed amount of Player XP can be performed between two players either local and/or online for a match, Winner of said match earns the XP with no consequence for the loser; Prestige Mode in which helps players can access to Upper Tier equipment and cosmetics for their characters after reaching the base multiplayer level 50; and finally, Custom Map Building mode in which using in game assets, players can craft their own maps that when completed are given the option to either keep for the local console or available for online matches sharing their creations across the player base. 

-Cross Platform? : Yes. 

-Map Selection at Launch (Size of said Map and Multiplayer Factions Involved): 

 Bludhaven Police Department (Medium; Bludhaven PD vs HIVE Academy) 

 Bludhaven Bloodhounds Stadium (Large; Titans vs Fearsome Five)

 Titans Tower, Rooftop (Small; Titans vs Fearsome Five)  

 Titans Tower, Command Hub (Medium; Titans vs HIVE Academy) 

 Fearsome Five HQ (Small; Fearsome Five vs Bludhaven PD) 

 HIVE Academy (Large; Titans vs HIVE Academy) 

 Meadowdale Mall (Large; Titans vs Fearsome Five)

 Byke Beach (Medium; Titans vs HIVE Academy)

 Haly’s Circus (Small; Titans vs Fearsome Five)  

Bonus Feature: Zombies (Development on this particular game mode is handled almost exclusively by Treyarch) 

- Unlocked via Completing the Main Story 

- Objective present in two of the three modes here is a simple one, survive rounds and waves of undead, turn on the power for the maps’ various player perks, player activated traps and equipment to enhance chances of survival in higher rounds. Game can end via periodic chances of escaping the map or until the player and his/her team is overwhelmed by the undead.   

- For Gameplay Combat, Each of the characters retain their fighting style and unique power set albeit adjusted to ensure a much more fair difficulty in fighting the undead, especially on higher rounds

- Mechanics present in Main Story Mode, in particular Squad Command, are implemented; in particular for single player. Can be switched off in settings if the player decides. 

- Story contains plot elements, characters and aesthetics no doubt adapted from the Zombies storyline present in the Call of Duty Black Ops franchise, hopefully integrated into the lore of the DCU. In particular in what Treyarch officially calls the ‘Aether’ story during it’s earlier seasons from World at War and Black Ops 1 are what is primarily implemented; with some elements seen in Black Ops 3 and Black Ops Cold War seen as well. 

Plot of Story: The Titans in the modern day find the remnants of a WW2 era German research firm called Group 935 whom among their experiments was reanimation of the deceased in hopes of creating an undead army but now that army is on the loose and its up to the Titans to stop them, uncovering the secrets of what or even who might be controlling them along the way. Story would be written by Gail Simone and Scott Snyder with input from Treyarch developers Jason Blundell and Jimmy Zielinski. Also, Story is in Canon with this game’s continuity, taking place 9 months after Main Story. 

- Three main modes are present: 

+ Story (Present for the largest of the maps at release. Players are given objectives to solve and unlock the various secrets and items found throughout the map. Completing these quests grants an immediate ‘escape from the map’ ending and a subsequent cutscene that advances the story being told. Bonus XP is earned if the Story Quest on the Map is being completed on a higher round.) 

+ Survival (Present for all maps. The most basic of modes in which, as the name implies, the basic objective becomes surviving the Zombies until either Escape or the player is overwhelmed) 

+ Turned (A Player v Player Mode in which One is a Titan of his/her choice as selected on the Pregame menu and the rest are Zombies who can sprint when needed and can swipe down the opposing player with one hit, transforming the Zombie who done it into their character. The Objective is to remain a Titan the longest compared to the other player within a 6 minute time limit) 

Map Selection at Launch (Unless stated, all maps have the playable characters of Nightwing, Starfire, Cyborg, Raven and Changling aka Beast Boy):

- Baily Church Graveyard (Story [Part 1: Noaptea Mortilor Vii (Romanian translation: Night of the Living Dead)], Survival and Turned Available)

- Titans Tower (Survival and Turned Available) 

- Bloodhounds Stadium (Story [Part 2: Das Feld (German: The Field)], Survivial and Turned Available) 

- HIVE Academy (Survival Solely; Only Map in which playable characters are instead the Fearsome Five) 

- Hatton Corners (Survival and Turned Available) 

- Bludhaven Harbor (Story [Part 3: Croaziera Intunericului (Romianian: Voyage of Darkness]), and Survival Available) 

- The Batcave (Survival and Turned Available)

- Capital City of Markovia (Story [Part 4: Mesto Obupa (Slovenian: City of Despair)], Survival and Turned Available) 

- Titans Europe Tower (Survival and Turned Available; In Survival for this map, playable characters rather then main Titans are Red Star, Hotspot, Jericho, Pantha, Argent and Herald) 

- Gorilla City (Survival and Turned Available; Playable characters in Survival Mode are the Doom Patrol Plus Changling/Beast Boy) 

- Group 935 HQ, Der Riese Facility, Wroclaw, Poland (Re-imaging of classic World at War map, Der Riese; Story Solely [Part 5: Morgendammerung der Toten (German: Dawn of the Dead)] 

Extras: 

- Fully digitally scanned comic book issues: Detective Comics #38 (First Appearance of Robin), Brave and the Bold #54 (First Appearance of the Teen Titans), Doom Patrol #99 (First Appearance of Beast Boy/ Changling) New Teen Titans #1 (First Official Appearances of Starfire, Raven and Cyborg), Tales of the (New) Teen Titans #44 (Robin becomes Nightwing, Debut of Jericho, Part 3 of the Judas Contract storyline), Nightwing v2 #1 (First Appearance of Bludhaven) 

- Brand new music video and Karaoke/ Sing Along of ‘Teen Titans Theme’ by Puffy AmiYumi 

- Character Profiles and voice samples 

- Main Story and Zombies Story cutscenes as unlocked 

- Diorama Mode (Trophies of Titans and Rouges unlocked via completing challenges across all three features) 

- Photograph Collection (called Donna’s Photo Shop in game menus) 

If you have thoughts, criticisms and ideas about this pitch you’d like to share, please reblog and reply. I am perfectly willing to hear them 

@mothnem @lightdusk96 @tarisilmarwen @fireflyxrebel-writes @thattimdrakeguy @wisegirlandseaweedbrainforever @hood-ex @nightwingmyboi @burr-ell 

#my posts #video games #sfw #dick grayson #koriand'r #rachel roth #garfield logan #victor stone #arkham series #rocksteady #treyarch #call of duty zombies #doom patrol #wally west #donna troy #garth #roy harper #jason todd #komand'r #court of owls #bludhaven #rambles

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Twin of NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover Begins Terrain Tests OPTIMISM, the full-scale engineering model of Perseverance, begins a series of rigorous tests to assess the risk of potential driving hazards on the surface of the Red Planet. On a recent day in November, the car-size rover rolled slowly forward, then stopped, perched on the threshold of a Martian landscape. But this rover, named OPTIMISM, wasn’t on the Red Planet. And the landscape was a boulder-strewn mock-up of the real Mars – the Mars Yard at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. OPTIMISM, a twin of the Perseverance rover that is exploring Jezero Crater on Mars, will perform a crucial job in the weeks ahead: navigating the Mars Yard’s slopes and hazards, drilling sample cores from boulders, and storing the samples in metal tubes – just like Perseverance is doing in its hunt for signs of ancient microbial life. Short for Operational Perseverance Twin for Integration of Mechanisms and Instruments Sent to Mars, OPTIMISM is more generically known as a vehicle system test bed, and the recently upgraded rover begins testing out new equipment for the first time this month. The tests help ensure that OPTIMISM’s twin on Mars can safely execute the commands sent by controllers on Earth. They also could potentially reveal unexpected problems Perseverance might encounter. “The size and shape of rocks in the visual field – will they turn into obstacles or not?” said Bryan Martin, the flight software and test beds manager at JPL. “We test a lot of that, figure out what kinds of things to avoid. What we have safely traversed around here has informed rover drivers in planning their traverses on Mars. We’ve done so much testing on the ground we can be confident in it. It works.” About as long as a doubles tennis court and twice as wide, the Mars Yard has served as a testing ground for many a fully-engineered rover twin – from the engineering model of the very first, tiny Sojourner that landed on Mars in 1997 to the Spirit and Opportunity missions that began in 2004 to the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers exploring Mars today. In each case, a rover double has scaled slopes, dodged obstacles, or helped rover planners puzzle out new paths on the simulated patch of Mars. OPTIMISM first rolled out into the Mars Yard in September 2020, when it conducted mobility tests. But it recently received some key updates to match features available on Perseverance, including additional mobility software and the bulk of the exquisitely complex sample caching system. And while the team has already performed tests using the coring drill at the end of OPTIMISM’s robotic arm, they’ll be testing the newly installed Adaptive Caching Assembly for the first time in the Mars Yard. The assembly on Perseverance is responsible for storing rock and sediment samples. Some or all of these initial samples could be among those returned to Earth by a future mission. “Now we can do it end-to-end in the test bed,” said the Vehicle System Ted Bed systems engineering lead, Jose G. Trujillo-Rojas. “Drill into the rock, collect the core sample, and now we have the mechanism responsible to cache that sample in the cylinder.” And if problems arise on Perseverance on Mars, OPTIMISM can be used as a platform to figure out what went wrong and also how to fix it. Twin Twins On this November day, a heavy-duty vehicle transported OPTIMISM from a JPL test lab to the Mars Yard garage. Recently expanded, the structure also provides shelter to one of Curiosity’s Earthly counterparts: MAGGIE, or Mars Automated Giant Gizmo for Integrated Engineering. A second Curiosity double, a skeletal version called “Scarecrow” that lacks a computer brain, is housed in a separate shed in the Mars Yard. MAGGIE would be joining OPTIMISM in the Mars Yard garage in the days ahead. But, for now, the test-bed crew was focused on OPTIMISM. “Straight 5 meters forward: Ready?” Leann Bowen, a test bed engineer, called out from a computer console inside the garage. “All right, bring her home, Leann,” Trujillo-Rojas said. With a whine of electric motors, OPTIMISM crept forward on its six metal wheels, stopping right on the mark on the garage’s concrete floor as members of the test-bed team looked on in their white lab coats. Through a wide-open door ahead of the rover, the Mars Yard beckoned. Drilling core samples from terrestrial rocks in the Mars Yard and sealing them in metal tubes is not as straightforward as it might sound. JPL’s Mars team provides a variety of rock types for OPTIMISM to drill through, since the exact nature of the rock Perseverance will encounter often can’t be known in advance. Terrain is a variable, too: One previous test with the robotic arm involved parking the rover on a slope, then instructing it to drill. “There was a possibility that the rover might slip,” Trujillo-Rojas said. “We wanted to test that first here on Earth before sending instructions to the rover on Mars. That was scary, because you can imagine if you drill this way, and the rover slightly slipped back, the drill could have gotten stuck.” OPTIMISM drilled the core successfully, suggesting Perseverance also could pull off drilling on a slope if required. Test Drive With longer drives in Perseverance’s near future, another job for the Earth-bound twin will involve presenting new challenges to the rover’s autonomous navigation system, or AutoNav. Perseverance uses a powerful computer to make 3D maps using rover images of the terrain ahead, and uses those maps to plan its drive with minimal human assistance. In Mars Yard tests, the twin rover might pause as it “thinks through” several possible choices – or even decides, unexpectedly, to avoid obstacles altogether and just go around. “Seeing the rover autonomously move in the Mars Yard, you kind of get that sense of being connected to the rover on Mars,” he said. “It gives you that visual connection.” Of course, OPTIMISM and its human team must contend with environmental factors very different from those encountered by Perseverance, which is built for freezing temperatures and intense radiation. Earth’s stronger gravity required OPTIMISM’s metal wheels to be thicker than its Martian counterpart’s. And its electronics sometimes must be cooled to avoid damage from Southern California’s summer temperatures – the opposite of the problem caused by deep cold on Mars. “On Mars, we try to keep the rover warm,” Trujillo-Rojas said. “Here, we’re trying to keep it cool.” Deer, bobcats, tarantulas, even occasional snakes, find their way into the Mars Yard. Wildfire in the region can fill the air with smoke. And testing and staffing schedules had to contend with COVID-19. “We’ve been through a lot of challenges with this rover,” he said. “As soon as we were going to start building it, with hands-on integration, the pandemic happened. And then we had rains, and we got a lot of fire. We had to leave the lab – smoky!” Now, a revamped OPTIMISM is ready to get back to work. “It’s a big milestone for our team,” Trujillo-Rojas said. More About the Mission A key objective for Perseverance’s mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet’s geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust). Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis. The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.

#space #science #Astronomy #physics #news #nasa #mars perseverance rover #mars curiosity rover

[catsafarithewriter]

Day 4: Musical

A/N: This is, unusually, a Natori & Cat King ficlet, exploring the chaos of double retirement, inspired (and referencing) the song: “If I Were A Jolly Blacksmith” from the musical TV show: Galavant. (Hence posting it on Musical day) I’ve really enjoyed this, so maybe I’ll write more on the retired concept. Who knows?

Also, a big shout out to @linchxpin for very kindly allowing me to play with their headcanons for Natori’s past! 

x

Natori took to retirement like a landlocked duck took to the sea. That is to say, once he figured he wasn’t in any major danger of drowning, he wondered why he hadn’t retired years ago. 

Of course, the core reason was the cat who had retired alongside him. 

Regardless, the switch from working cat to retiree was aided by two factors. The first was simply that he was tired. If the Cat Kingdom had possessed a functioning economy, the thought: “I don’t get paid enough for this” would have passed through his head multiple times a day. Since it hadn’t, his brain had substituted the thought for a swan-like state - graceful and smooth on the surface, and incoherent confused babbling beneath. 

And the second reason was that not much had fundamentally changed. He still had an irresponsible, power-crazed old cat to kittensit, only now when the irresponsible, power-crazed old cat decreed that Tuesdays would now be known as Second Mondays, Natori could pat the ex-king’s paw and go, “Maybe not, Sire,” instead of having to change all the palace calendars and politely ask the servants to play along for the next month. 

(Early into his tenure as a royal advisor, he had taken to bribing the servants into backing up the ruse. Later in his career, he had realised that the King’s attention span didn’t stretch far enough for him to realise that Tuesdays still existed outside the palace.) 

But while Natori was like a duck in the ocean of retirement, the ex-king was more akin to a stone. 

Natori wasn’t sure what had possessed him to agree to the ex-king crashing in on his retirement plans, except that old habits die hard and he had felt that Lune would benefit from his father being out of meddling range, but agree he had. 

Anyway, Natori had managed for... too many years to count. He could manage a little longer. At least until the ex-king found some direction. 

And so the two palace cats had found themselves in Natori’s kittenhood home, out in the edges of the Cat Kingdom and squarely in the mouse belt. (That stretch of scrub land dominated by villages which had risen out of mouse husbandry, and whose yearly highlight was the annual scarecrow contest.) 

In such a village, there wasn’t much use for an ex-king, not unless he could harvest catnip, or sheer a rabbit, or wrangle a mouse, and the ex-king definitely wasn’t one of such persuasion. 

(He had watched, with some horrified fascination, as a butcher skinned one such mouse in the shop window, and had briefly sworn himself to vegetarianism until Natori had politely reminded him that cats were obligate carnivores, and then repeated the explanation with smaller words.) 

As such, lately the ex-king had turned to contemplation - a markedly foreign concept to the cat for whom “reconsideration” was a survey of side courses. Natori had even found him once in the library. A scary enough situation even before one considered that the ex-king hadn’t known where the palace library was located in all his years living there. 

He had asked Natori’s advice on words such as “self actualisation” and “inner peace,” at which point Natori had confiscated the book and distracted him with the golf club their neighbour had made for him. 

It wasn’t that Natori was against cats reaching self actualisation or inner peace. In theory, it sounded all very nice and relaxing. But after a lifetime trying to gently steer his monarch away from stupid ideas and sometimes even succeeding, Natori had learnt to trust his gut. And he knew that the ex-king would take such ideas and run completely in the wrong direction with them and probably start a few fires in the process - not all figurative ones, either.  

And the point of all this was that when “Young Gizmo Junior” came running over bellowing “Mr Natori! Mr Natori!” Natori knew exactly who was at the centre of whatever chaos he was about to be dragged into. 

Young Gizmo Junior, a runt of a tabby who had yet to grow into his paws, fumbled up to the cottage’s porch with the kind of frenzied energy that comes from being torn away from interesting happenings. “Come quick, Mr Natori,” the kitten gasped. “It’s your friend!”

Natori lowered the cross-stitch he had finally been making progress on, and felt his heart dip along with it. “Oh no. What has he done now? Is it the mice? The rabbits? Please tell me he hasn’t fallen into the salmon river again--”

“No, Mr Natori, it’s worse. He’s singing!” 

Natori blinked. "But he doesn’t sing,” Natori said. “At least,” he amended, “not while sober.” 

‘Please don’t let it be catnip wine again, please don’t let it be catnip wine again, please don’t let it be catnip wine again,’ his mind chanted, ever hopeful that he had developed magic wishing powers since the last time he had fervently wished for a saner life. (Last Second Monday.) 

x

It was not catnip wine. 

It was somehow worse. 

Natori slowly leaned over to Young Gizmo Junior and whispered, “And how long has he been at this?”

“He was on the...” Young Gizmo Junior counted on his claws and scrunched up his face when he surpassed his last easily countable claw, “eleventeenth verse when Grandpa told me to fetch you.” 

Natori raised both eyebrows and nearly unsettled his spectacles in the process. “This is bad.”

“What’s he doing?” Young Gizmo Junior asked. 

“I’ve heard of this before. He’s on the third stage of Searching For Himself.” 

“Why does he need to search for himself? He’s right there.”

“You know that and I know that,” Natori said, “but cats who go searching for themselves don’t. The first stage is talking to oneself, the second is staring into the nearest water source--” 

“Grandpa said he was staring at the well funny--”

“--and the third is bursting into song,” Natori continued. He couldn’t remember the next step, but that was mostly because the ex-king had begun another verse, and Natori’s mind had tapped out. 

“If I were a jolly blacksmith,

What a happy cat I’d be,” the ex-king crooned, rounding towards Old McGregor’s workshop.

“I would do all kinds of blacksmith stuff in my blacksmithery...

“I’d hit the thing... with the other thing. 

“Till I made a different thing!

“If I were a jolly blacksmith...” 

The ex-king trailed off, and if Natori hadn’t been assured that this was the eleventeenth verse, he might well have believed that that would be the end of it. But the ex-king didn’t know the meaning of defeat - mostly because the Cat Kingdom didn’t have dictionaries - and so, after a little bit of muttering (that Natori caught the tail end of “No, I’m not feeling it. Besides, I’d get filthy. There must be something better”) he perked up and made a beeline for Maggie’s meat pie stand. 

“If I were a friendly farmer, 

“Wouldn’t that be oh so sweet? 

“I’d be planting greens and lots of beans,

“And other things to eat.

“Then I’d plant some eggs, and a couple mice,

“Then a yummy salmon cake!” 

The ex-king paused, vaguely aware somewhere in the recesses of his kittenhood education that it didn’t quite work that way. 

(”No,” he muttered, “that’s not right,” and Natori briefly thought there was hope yet. Then the ex-king continued with, “Any moron can plant a cake,” and the farmer upbringing in Natori cringed.)

Natori leaned over to Young Gizmo Junior. “Why can I hear a pipe playing?”

“That’s Uncle Saburo,” the kitten replied cheerfully. “He’s really good!”

“He’s also encouraging someone who needs no encouragement. Trust me.”

“I want to be special,” the ex-king continued, undeterred from the whispered conversations. “Needed. Liked. I’ve got it!” he cried, and made a dash for Rosie’s valerian wine shop front. 

(Part of Natori knew he should stop this. The other part really wanted to see how this worked out. Historically, the latter was a bad idea, but Natori put it down to shock.)

“If I were a merry brewer,

“That would be a grand career,

“I would pick the grapes and peel the grapes

“And stomp them into catnip beer-- dammit!”

The ex-king slumped down onto a convenient crate, which Rosie suddenly decided she didn’t need right now. “I don’t know how to do anything but be a king,” he lamented. “And no one wants me to be a king.” 

“Mr Natori,” Young Gizmo Junior piped up, “shouldn’t you go help your friend?”

“Not yet,” Natori said. “Let him finish first.”

“Why?”

“Because one does not interrupt a cat when he’s singing an existential crisis song,” Natori replied firmly. 

“If I’m just a jolly... nothing,

“What am I supposed to do?

“I don’t have a skill, no niche to fill,

“No one to come home to.”

Natori had a sink full of dirty dishes that argued otherwise.

“Don’t know where to go,

“Don’t know how to fit,

“Don’t know who to even be.

“If I were a jolly tailor... juggler... barber... wet nurse... cesspool worker...”

The ex-king sighed and shook his head. “What difference does it make? I would still be me...”

Natori waited a moment longer. When the last echoes of Uncle Saburo’s pipe playing had died away, he sighed and approached the aged cat. “Sire?”

“Go away Natori,” the ex-king grumbled. “I’m brooding.”

Natori didn’t go away. He waited a moment longer, just until the other cat’s ears began to twitch. He could read his old monarch’s tempers better than he could read his father’s book on Mouse Husbandry. 

“Brooding’s rather boring, isn’t it, sire?”

The ex-king scowled. “Yeah.”

“Do you want go down to the Mouse’s Tale pub and see if we can convince Chaucer to let you try darts again? Maybe you’ll even hit the wall this time.”

“Yeah. Yeah, that sounds good.” 

Stage four of Searching For Yourself, Natori decided, was getting yourself uproariously drunk. 

If the rest of the evening was anything to go by, the ex-king agreed. 

#day 4 musical #tcr birthday bash 2019 #the cat returns #tcr birthday bash 2020 #the cat queues #cat writes #the misadventures of royal retirement #aka my name so far for retired natori and CK #also there's a king in faerie tale theatre's Princess and the Pea who makes mad decrees and nobody listens #and that's basically become one of my little headcanons #like technically the cat kingdom has a lot of insane decrees #but they're not really used #decrees are more like a doodling board for the kings' consciousnesses #rather than actual lavvs #after this at least three old cats ask natori about getting the CK to sing in the village choir