#Sofia has green and growing things near her almost all the time

[whyiseverythingscary]

okay but can we talk about the color in goncharov for a second? like, yes it has some pacing issues but oh my god the aesthetics of the film are on point

first off! when we open and goncharov is shown killing that man, the lighting makes it look as if the blood isn't red, but a dark and deep brown that is almost black and that color specifically! follows goncharov!

in the bar scene when he's drinking with Andrey the first time the wood of the bar is stained a near exact match near goncharovs hand, which has narrative significance! because if it wasn't significant then why would they put so much focus on the stain when andrey takes goncharovs hand? (other than, yknow, andrey taking his hand)

but even further! during the dinner scene with katya, the entire time that she is setting it up and placing the silverware the table runner is a deep green, (one of sofias colors but let's not get into that) only after goncharov comes home late with the lighting change it appears to be that same dark brown as the blood from the beginning! even at home, where he should feel the safest and most relaxed, he's followed by the blood he's spilled!

and it isn't only in dim lighting! it's hard to tell but when in full sunlight, like the scene with the anchovies, his own suit is dark brown and not black! stained with his sins and carrying them with him everywhere!

in fact the only time in the entire movie when blood is shown as red (and when the dark brown isn't near/on goncharov) is the ending scene when he's dying, only his own blood is red and thats the only time he isn't shown as stained with the blood he's spilled! when he finally accepts what he has done!

honestly shout out to the set designers

#goncharov #this does carry out with the other characters as well #it's just harder to tell because most of the film is focused on goncharov #but like #Sofia has green and growing things near her almost all the time #the only times they are absent are when she is speaking with goncharov #and it's most obvious when she's with katya #katya doesn't seem to have a color so much as she reflects color? #like I said the table runner is sofias color #and as the film goes on you see that more and more #until the titular scene where katya must make a choice #and she's wearing sofias green as her dress even while rejecting her #even the one scene from ice pick Joe has something #though it's more of a filter than a single color #everything is much brighter than usual and blue really sticks out #unreality

[danireznik]

INTRODUCING...

danica ‘dani’ reznik is a gamma-level mutant with the ability of bone spike protrusion. they’ve been in new york for nine years where they spend most of their time as a student at the xavier institute. when i think of them, i think of antlers tangled in thorny vines, muffled sobs, bloodshot eyes, and a taste of something sweet to hide the bitterness. they are affiliated with the former essex house residents & the xavier institute. || (kathryn newton, twenty-two, cis woman, she/her)

@c23intros

BASICS

Full Name: Danica Reznik Nickname(s): Dani, ‘Jane Doe’ Age: 22 DOB: October 31st, 1976 Zodiac Sign: Scorpio sun, Libra moon, Pisces ascendant Sexuality: Unsure Traits: reserved, skittish, quick-tempered, affectionate, bitter, determined Occupation: Essex House survivor Student at Xavier’s Family: Ivan and Sofia Reznik, parents; Klaudia, Amalia, and Lukas Reznik, younger siblings.

APPEARANCE

Height: 5’4” Eye Color: green/hazel Ethnicity: White Nationality: American Aesthetics: messy blonde braids, oversized clothing and hunched shoulders, fading bruises, candy wrappers torn to confetti. Tattoos: None Piercings: None Scars: So many. Anywhere she’s grown a bone through the skin and retracted it without cleaning and bandaging the wound, or anywhere a bone spike has remained external for an extended period of time, there’s a scar. Additionally, she has a permanent pair of bone antlers growing from her skull thanks to a series of ‘experiments’ at Essex.

HISTORY

The early years of Dani’s life passed in relative normalcy; she was born the first of four children to a Czech immigrant couple in Providence, Rhode Island, and spent her childhood running around the suburb they lived in befriending anyone who’d stop long enough to talk to her. Kids her own age, their parents, the mailman, no one was too big or too small for a healthy dose of Dani’s cheerful chatter. At school her teachers despaired of ever getting her to keep quiet for an entire class period, but most simply encouraged her to write things down and save them for later rather than reprimand the one little girl almost everyone liked.

When she was nine, Dani made her first real best friend - a boy named Matteo, who’d just moved into their school district when he was placed with a new foster family. The two quickly became inseparable, and for four years they played together, studied together, shared secrets and planned adventures without a thought to all the ways the world might separate them.

That separation came far too soon, provoked by a middle school bully who couldn’t resist making Dani a target, though she no longer remembers why. The other boy got too close, made a threat that was a little too genuine, and all of a sudden Matteo is between her and the bully while the florescent lights overhead burst like balloons. Everyone in the room stares, but Dani’s eyes are full of wonder and admiration rather than the fear that seems to have struck their classmates and teachers.

Of course they hustle Matteo to the principal’s office to wait for his foster parents; Dani doesn’t want to stay behind in class, but the teacher insists and so she grabs Matteo’s hand and promises she’ll wait for him at their bus stop the next morning. And she would have, if only she’d gotten the chance, but when she tells her own parents what happened they tell her in no uncertain terms never to go near ‘that boy’ again. Her father says he’s dangerous, her mother says they won’t let him go back to school tomorrow anyway, and Dani begins to realize that she may never see her best friend again.

Her own mutation makes itself known later that evening, when her father catches her trying to sneak out a window and grabs her arm to pull her back inside. Furious and distraught, Dani barely feels the bone pushing through her skin until Ivan lets out a yell of pain and jumps back clutching his now bleeding hand. She is dangerous now too, and with very little deliberation Ivan and Sofia make their choice: she can’t stay.

One phone call and a four hour drive later, Danica Reznik becomes a resident of the Essex House, and her former life becomes little more than a memory. Through it all she thinks of Matteo, looks for him in every new face she sees, sighs with relief every time a dark-haired boy turns around and isn’t him. Wherever he is, it has to be better than here.

(c)

#c23intro #about. // sᴛɪʟʟ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴏɴᴇ ʀᴇᴍᴇᴍʙᴇʀs❟ sᴛɪʟʟ ɪᴛ ᴡᴀɴᴛs.

[the-art-of-styles]

Pick the. . .

✧ After Raine's chosen by Harry, that handsome boy with green eyes and curly hair while playing a game that everyone can know the answer but not always the question, she's intrigued. And, looks like he spilled some of his drink on her favorite t-shirt, oh no!

Word count: 2934

Warnings: —

A/N: this is my first ever OS (that probably—most likely will have a part 2) so I hope whoever reads this likes it! :)

  

✦

The soft music danced its way between the walls like the two or three bodies that had no shame in dancing in front of a not so massive group of people since that was what there was now: a meeting with a few people with peaceful college vibes.

Raine came with Marinette, an acquaintance with whom she came to form a strong bond all this first year of university, something that she's completely grateful because she would not know what she would have done if she didn't have any hand to help her get out of the well in which the teachers and homeworks and grades induce her, so Marinette now has her hand and pulled her out of that disgusting swamp-like pit to take her to the beach. This was what Raine needed: a few beers, an occasional cigar (perhaps a magical one, out there), and living with people who do nothing more than wrap her heart in large arms of steam made of some rainbow reflected in the sky after a storm.

   "Hey, hey, everyone, let's get together and play something, what do you think?" A girl whose name is Celeste if she remembers correctly called everyone's attention, turning down the volume of the music and changing it for one that is low energy — slow rhythm.

   Everyone got together, there were about ten or a little more people in the room, some sitting on the couch, others brought some chairs and finally, people like Raine sat on the floor, although they were the minority.

   "Let's play this game where the person next to you asks you a secret question about someone in this room and you must say the name of that person, but not the question. The thing is that, after giving the answer, the person must toss a coin: if it comes up heads, the question is not revealed, if it comes up tails, they have to say it. For example; Sofia, who is next to me, asks me who I would kill from here, I would say... Jonas, I throw the coin and there it is dictated whether the question should be revealed or not. Otherwise, the named person will never know what was asked."

   "Hey, thanks for killing me," Jonas said.

   "You're welcome."

   "So bold questions?" A guy over there asked, taking a sip from his beer can and rearranging the black cap that covered his hair.

   Meanwhile, Raine also drank her alcohol and ate a few fries that were in the white bowl, this resting on the small glass table in front of her and everyone.

   "Any question. Okay," Celeste brought her palms together and rubbed them creating friction of warmth in them. Her gray eyes fell on Raine and then on the person next to her, Marinette. She immediately swallowed. "So, Mari, ask Raine something secretly and she has to answer, alright? Let's start!"

   Raine slowly turned her torso to see her friend with a mischievous smile threatening to explode on her lips, her face deformed to one of pity so that she doesn't ask her something embarrassing or that could cause conflict because with Raine's luck she knows well that she will have to reveal the question.

   Marinette leaned over and placed her hands as a shield over her ear, her warm breath smelling of beer, cigar and a bit of calm sending shivers down Raine's spine until she murmured, "Of all the people here, who would you fuck?"

   Her jaw almost dropped to the hottest hell as the corners of her lips rose a little, squinting at Marinette who flashed eyes of naive innocence.

   If she thinks about it, saying who she would fuck from here is not that serious, it wouldn't cause a nuclear war, nor would it be so embarrassing; after all, sex is not a taboo in this group of people. Unless the person she says makes a disgusted face at being named, then it—

   An abrupt sound interrupted the train of Raine's thoughts and cut the harmony of the game as hard as a sharp knife.

   A boy in his twenties or around came in, drawing everyone's attention. He wore black skinny jeans that still formed wrinkles in his knees and when they reached his ankles and a green flannel rolled up a few centimeters, where one could wonder why he buttoned it in the first place because it only covers half of his stomach, revealing part of a tattoo of a butterfly and some birds near his clavicles.

   "Yo Harry! You're late to the party, mate!" Jonas exclaimed as he clashed fists with Harry.

   "What party?" He looked to all the people, making a face with his lips. "What'd I miss? I was doing some stuff."

   "You know what? Because you're late you gotta have to be asked a question. Raine, you are safe for now. We're playing a game. . ." Celeste explained the plot of the game and Raine let out a sigh because she had come to the conclusion that she wouldn't fuck anyone in here.

   Well, before he appeared.

   The person next to Harry asked him a question and he nodded. His knees were bent and his arms rested on them, then he raised his head and scanned everyone present with his eyes, these stagnating in Raine's silhouette. From his left corner, a smirk was born. "You."

   She looked both ways, confused, and then returned to make eye contact with Harry while subtly pointing at herself. He nodded.

   "Aaalright! So Raine is the chosen one. Harry, throw the coin."

   A seed of nervousness was planted in the bottom of her stomach and droplets of water fell sporadically for each turn the coin made in the air, causing the plant to grow and grow and the petals to bloom, invading her lungs and not allowing her to breathe correctly, because what she wants the most now is that the question they asked him to be revealed but. . .

   "Heads. You're safe." And Harry smiled at her, his dimple being meticulously chiseled into the art of his face.

   The game continued until everyone was bored and the soft music became exhilarating, turning off the lights and starting to dance or just have a good time. Luckily, of all the rounds there were, Raine didn't have to reveal any questions, she was relieved, but there was one question she wanted to be revealed: Harry's.

   Suddenly, something cold touched her back and it spread like a plague poisoning a village: an epidemic. She arched her back, feeling how the liquid was draining more and more and more. . .

   "Shit! M'sorry! I'm so sorry!" A deep voice shouted over the music, causing her to turn around, and, with a bit of difficulty due to the low light, she could recognize Harry who had a "sorry" face but at the same time wanted to laugh.

   She took a deep breath, getting ready to say something to him because this is her favorite shirt but Harry stopped her by taking her hand and practically dragging her to the bathroom, where he turned on the white light and now she could see that Harry isn't like a Monet painting, by far he's fine and up close he is even better. His face is pretty, his skin, despite the acne marks left to remind him of his teens, were pretty, his eyes are pretty, and his rosy, rosy, oh-so-cherry lips are pretty. Everything about him looks pretty.

   "I'm sorry, it was dark and I didn't see you—"

  "It's fine I just—" Raine looked at herself in the mirror, placing her hands on the sink table and turning her torso a little to see the growing stain on her back "—I don't have nothing to change."

   Harry frowned but then relaxed, grinning at her, which now caused her to contract the muscles of her eyebrows until they shot up when he finished unbuttoning his shirt and handed it to her.

   The truth is, Raine's mouth cried at the sight in front of her. His torso was slightly tanned, a cross from a necklace resting between his pectorals, if she looked down at his hips, leaves were born from his pelvic line and tiny love handles were noticeable between his sides.

   She swallowed, the action making Harry's confidence rise when he noticed the effect he had caused in her, since Raine, without revealing so much skin, already had him with a racing heart and with words stuck in his throat. "Um, I, you don't — you don't have to—"

   "It's okay. Take it. It's my fault, anyway."

   "And what are you going to wear?"

   "Nothing," He smirked, the color of her eyes turning white. "Please, wear it." Honestly, Harry knew of other solutions to the problem he caused, but for some reason, he wanted — no, he craved seeing her wear his clothes.

   Suddenly, a crazy idea crossed Raine's head, and the words she formed slid so easily down her tongue. "I'll wear it if you tell me what the question was."

   Harry threw his head back and laughed, she crossing her arms in front of her chest and looking at him dead in the eye, trying to suppress the fun she was feeling and the heat she was feeling because, well, the bathroom was not the biggest and now she was supporting herself in the sink, Harry with his hands on either side of her hips (but not touching her), his bare torso helping nothing due to that he was repelling heat. So much heat.

   "You want to know the question?" Raine nodded. "Alright then. But first, put on the flannel for me, sweetness."

   To say that her stomach ached from the knots that were being made and undone was not enough, since a tingling crossed her entire body, dancing to the surface of her skin, extending to the tips of her fingers.

   "Fine. Turn around."

   Harry's lower lip was caught by his teeth, releasing his hands from the sink and turning around. Raine curled her fingers into her shirt, taking it off to drop it on top of the toilet, staying only her baggy jeans and a simple white bra.

   The idea that seemed to yell at her inside her head was that she should turn Harry around and start a hot make up session because one: she is in a reunion/party, two: they both are alone in a bathroom, three: he is bare-chested and she is half-naked, lastly, four: he's smoking hot. If Raine gathers enough confidence she would, but another intruder came to argue with her and now she thinks that if she does that, Harry might reject her and make her look ridiculous.

   "Why are you taking so long?"

   She breathed. She will not see him anymore, in the end, if he rejects her, it's his loss. Although he couldn't do such a thing, because he's attracted to Raine. Nothing can explain the reason for his immense and instantaneous attraction, it only exists and must be, because she is certainly one of the most beautiful people he has ever seen. Perhaps the most beautiful of all, she carries an unimaginable beauty where even the sun hides, because when it sees her, it gets scared of dying. So, this happened:

   "Hey Harry?"

   "Sweetness." She smiled at the nickname.

   "Can you help me put this on? My arms hurt a little." Raine internally slapped herself for the silly excuse she made for him to see her in a bra and maybe kiss her, but what difference does it make?

   Harry turned slowly on his own heels, his heart skipping a beat at the sight of her in one of her highest glories, his eyes not knowing where to look if her stomach or her boobs or her face or her lips.

   Now he swallowed, "Uh, y-yeah, sure."

   She smirked and turned around for him to help her. Suddenly, time started to move slow and deep breaths where the only type of breaths Raine could take (and honestly the same for Harry). She turned around so slowly, the heat emanating from Harry's chest dancing its way to warm up her cold back, goosebumps starting to arise when he, taking all the time of the world, started putting the flannel on her, sliding the sleeves on her arms, his fingertips lightly burning her skin, making her stomach contract and butterflies to bat their wings inside her.

"Want me to button it for you?" He mouthed, his deep, raspy words crumbling down his chin and melting on her shoulder.

It was getting harder and harder to stay sane, so she spun around and with a (not so) naive look, she smiled and nodded. His eyes started to go lower and lower, first, maintaining eye contact, then, going down to her lips, making him lick his, leaving them with a slight shine, and now he entered the space where her chest was uncovered and there was a galaxy in there, with her moles and some acne scars. To her stomach they went, that was so tight because she was just so nervous and was trying to control her breathing. His fingers mocked her, taking the piece of clothe between his index and pulgar one, going up, up, up, barely touching her skin to start button it from the top.

   When he was done, a long breath came out of Raine's mouth, making him giggle and smirk.

   "Will you tell me what the question was now?" She hissed, still being so close to Harry.

   He pursed his lips, "Maybe. Can I ask you something first?"

   "That's not fair—"

  "Would it be fair if I asked your permission for me to kiss the shit out of you?"

   This is it. This moment seemed to be the peak of Raine's entire existence, never has she felt like she was apart of a movie or a book and now with this proposal thrown out there, flying besides the bubbles of steam created by the pair, she feels like the fucking main character.

   "Depends how good the kiss is, though," she mumbled getting closer to Harry, their lips barely brushing each other, breathing the same air, chests going up and down, up and down, up and down.

   "Better make it worth it, then. Shall we?" And when she lifted one of her mouth corners, he could not resist it anymore and ended the close distance between them, pressing like a true gentleman his lips on hers.

   Man, fireworks were everywhere. The booze on both of their blood system making the room spin and the music outside of the bathroom blur.

   Slowly, their lips detached, almost not wanting to. They had their eyes closed, and when they opened them for a split second—that moment, everything got heated up and now Harry wasn't a gentleman and Raine wasn't a lady, they were animals with a immense hunger for each other.

   Their lips crashed again and now hands were roaming and exploring each others bodies, heavy breathing.

   Harry's hand snaked from the curve of her neck, to her waist, to land on her hips, his fingers caressing the top sides of her thighs. She had her hands on his belt, pulling him in every time, driving him completely nuts because now everything he could see, hear, and think was sex.

   He started walking to the front, making her walk back and crush on the sink, where he lifted her up, her legs surrounding his hips, so now Raine was sitting on the marble counter, and Harry's lips were on her neck, his hands slowly going up on her ribcage.

   "Oh. . . god. . . Harry," she barely said, not managing to even breath properly, while he was spreading wet kisses all over her boiling, soft skin.

   "Feels good, does it?" His voice was even deeper, chills running down Raine's spine because of it.

   "So f'ing good."

  "Mmm."

   His hands ghosted on her inner thighs, massaging them, and leaving, and going back.

   In a moment, Raine opened her eyes and saw the toilet and something inside her took control, because she shoved Harry away, making him look at her confused and preoccupied, a mix of both. She jumped from the counter and made Harry sit on the toilet, to then, with the most angelical face ever, she straddled him.

   He was. . . so turned on. "Fuck me, sweetness. Your pretty face is going to hell for that."

   "I'll meet you there," so desperate, she kissed him again. His tongue was testing the waters, trying to see if he could come in or not, so Raine opened a little bit more her mouth, that simple message making him smirk.

   His hands were on her hips and ass, and hers were grabbing his hair and lightly tugging it, making him groan against her.

   But, Harry doesn't know what drove him to completely lose his mind: the fact that she started grinding her hips against his, so softly, barely noticeable at first, or that when she started doing that, someone stormed in to the bathroom and vomited on the sink.

   "You've got to be fucking kidding me," he blurted, running his fingers on his hair in frustration while Raine was already up on her feet, reality hitting her back with a good slap. "Raine—"

   "I should go."

  "Bloody hell," Harry said to himself, dropping his head and taking his fingers to his lips, a small smile forming. His eyes landed on a very dead-looking Jonas, "dude, that's disgusting and you fucked up everything."

   "I shouldn't had eaten those magic brownies."

A/N: don’t know why the format looks weird i hope it doesn’t bother 🥲

#harry styles fanfic #harry styles writing #harry styles blurbs #harry styles #harry styles one shot #oneshot #fanfics

[askisabella]

* HARRY POTTER AU ;

alternate universe from January 23rd to February 2nd

Isabella ‘Izzie’ Regina Locksley sofia carson

she is sixteen years old

a sixth year student

sorted into Atticus House at Durmstrang. Slythern house at Hogwarts.

important connections; daughter of Robin and Regina Locksley, twin sister to Henry Locksley. niece to Zelena Greene. ride or dies; Killian Jones, Nathaniel Anthony, Evangeline Kennedy. new friends to Samantha Bradshaw and Wyatt Bruno.

her patronus is a robin.

wand; 11 ½ inch rowan wood with a dragon heartstring core.

things will be tagged [ hp au ]

Isabella Locksley is the epitome of a Slytherin. Due to a somewhat traumatic past and nightmares that still plague her the sixteen year old has thrown herself into all things magical in hopes of becoming the best. The best comes with power; power comes with being able to protect oneself and maybe even approval from her very Gryffindor family. Years at Drumstrang taught the brunette you have no one to rely on but yourself. Izzie is friendly enough unless provoked but really only relies on a handful of people. She deeply misses living in the muggle world where things were simple and her family wasn’t at odds due to the house separation at Hogwarts. She is a bit ashamed of being a Slytherin due to family history and the implications that come along with the house but hides it well from those who don’t truly know her. She excels at anything dark arts, potions and apparition and isn’t terrible at charms. When she isn’t in class, she can be found with friends, practicing anything magical or wandering about Hogsmeade.

FULL BIOGRAPHY

Isabella Locksley came into the world just minutes after her older bother therefore setting the tone for their lives; always second best. Childhood was absolutely wonderful! The Locksley home never lacked love and constantly fostered children’s curious minds. It wasn’t until one night everything changed.

The Dark Lord and his followers attacked Hogwarts which was just feet from the Locksley’s home. The sounds of screams, cackling laughter, the smells of sulfur and something she couldn’t pinpoint, the air tasted of something strong enough to almost gag the young girl. Time was spent hidden in the depth of a closet as the battle raged on unbeknownst to the girl. As if things weren’t bad enough, a strange voice entered her head causing an immense amount of pain but she didn’t scream. Shaking hands remained covering ears with eyes slammed shut in an attempt to block everything out. After what felt like hours the young girl was tucked into a bed beside her brother in their grandparents home.

Growing up in the magical world seemed normal until they arrived on the muggle side of things. No longer were wands, flying brooms and potions. However, like most children, Isabella was resilient and quickly settled in. Nightmares of that evening — everything heard, seen, mother leaving and returning with father near death — never fully went away. Often nights she woke up shaking and in tears, but after a while kept the incidents to herself in fear of bringing back bad memories for mum and father, as well. The muggle world was wonderful to Isabella! Every day memories of their life before began to fade making it a little easier to breath, with the exception of nightmares. Friends were made, activities joined, school excelled in, family close and everyone was happy. This world was safe.

Acceptance letters flew through the door one day causing a sense of dread to set in. They were going back. Not only where they going back but the twins were being sent to opposite schools. Isabella to to Durmstrang and Henry Beauxbatons. Begging and pleading would do no good so Isabella accepted her fate silently with a broken heart. It seemed cruel to separate their family but if mum and father thought it was for the best it must be, right? Bags were packed, supplies were gathered, and meek goodbyes given as every emotion began to internalize. Brown eyes couldn’t even look into parents the day she was sent away. This all just felt — wrong. Most felt excitement but she felt nothing but paralyzing fear.

Once at Durmstrang, Isabella thrived academically! Everything magical seemed to come with ease. It was strange. After learning about the very battle that almost tore apart her family something clicked, the more she knew the better protected. Knowledge is power. Power is protection. Over the years, the darker parts of magic began to change Isabella. It was a bit startling, even to herself, so she sought counsel from her parents during holiday visits and allowed them to ground her whenever needed. Along the way Isabella seemed to collect a handful of loyal friends.

Being around family every day was terrifying. It was no secret Isabella hadn’t wished to be forced back into the magical world, but feeling like an outsider after feeling a pull to the dark arts only seemed to catapult the girl into a depression. Isabella was horrified with the person she had become. Having to face her parents every day feeling like she had failed them hurt. Except Locksley’s don’t show pain — not according to grandmother — so hurt morphed into a wall painted with snarky comments and cold to the touch. As time wore on, the resolve began to crack allowing dad and mum to see there was much pain behind the mask. There was hope she could be the Isabella she once was again, but it was meek. 

Hogwarts 2.0 sorted Isabella into Slytherin without a moments hesitation. It wasn’t terrible considering most of the linage had also belonged to the house, but the moment Henry’s Gryffindor was shouted out it was hard to miss the pride in her parents eyes. Gryffindor was the ideal house for any student after the great battle but even more so for the Locksley’s as a family. Father had been a Gryffindor, mother had wished to be one and now Henry. The feelings were pushed aside to celebrate with those she knew were proud of her; friends.

#[ hp au ] #//just recycling the old bio but adding a little in #[ au biography ]

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

HOW GALAXIES DIE: NEW INSIGHTS INTO THE QUENCHING OF STAR FORMATION ** A simple model explains a wide range of observations by describing the contest between galaxy halos and their central black holes that eventually turns off star formation. ** Astronomers studying galaxy evolution have long struggled to understand what causes star formation to shut down in massive galaxies. Although many theories have been proposed to explain this process, known as “quenching,” there is still no consensus on a satisfactory model. Now, an international team led by Sandra Faber, professor emerita of astronomy and astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz, has proposed a new model that successfully explains a wide range of observations about galaxy structure, supermassive black holes, and the quenching of star formation. The researchers presented their findings in a paper published July 1 in the Astrophysical Journal. The model supports one of the leading ideas about quenching which attributes it to black hole “feedback,” the energy released into a galaxy and its surroundings from a central supermassive black hole as matter falls into the black hole and feeds its growth. This energetic feedback heats, ejects, or otherwise disrupts the galaxy’s gas supply, preventing the infall of gas from the galaxy’s halo to feed star formation. “The idea is that in star-forming galaxies, the central black hole is like a parasite that ultimately grows and kills the host,” Faber explained. “That’s been said before, but we haven’t had clear rules to say when a black hole is big enough to shut down star formation in its host galaxy, and now we have quantitative rules that actually work to explain our observations.” The basic idea involves the relationship between the mass of the stars in a galaxy (stellar mass), how spread out those stars are (the galaxy’s radius), and the mass of the central black hole. For star-forming galaxies with a given stellar mass, the density of stars in the center of the galaxy correlates with the radius of the galaxy so that galaxies with bigger radii have lower central stellar densities. Assuming that the mass of the central black hole scales with the central stellar density, star-forming galaxies with larger radii (at a given stellar mass) will have lower black-hole masses. What that means, Faber explained, is that larger galaxies (those with larger radii for a given stellar mass) have to evolve further and build up a higher stellar mass before their central black holes can grow large enough to quench star formation. Thus, small-radius galaxies quench at lower masses than large-radius galaxies. “That is the new insight, that if galaxies with large radii have smaller black holes at a given stellar mass, and if black hole feedback is important for quenching, then large-radius galaxies have to evolve further,” she said. “If you put together all these assumptions, amazingly, you can reproduce a large number of observed trends in the structural properties of galaxies.” This explains, for example, why more massive quenched galaxies have higher central stellar densities, larger radii, and larger central black holes. Based on this model, the researchers concluded that quenching begins when the total energy emitted from the black hole is approximately four times the gravitational binding energy of the gas in the galactic halo. The binding energy refers to the gravitational force that holds the gas within the halo of dark matter enveloping the galaxy. Quenching is complete when the total energy emitted from the black hole is twenty times the binding energy of the gas in the galactic halo. Faber emphasized that the model does not yet explain in detail the physical mechanisms involved in the quenching of star formation. “The key physical processes that this simple theory evokes are not yet understood,” she said. “The virtue of this, though, is that having simple rules for each step in the process challenges theorists to come up with physical mechanisms that explain each step.” Astronomers are accustomed to thinking in terms of diagrams that plot the relations between different properties of galaxies and show how they change over time. These diagrams reveal the dramatic differences in structure between star-forming and quenched galaxies and the sharp boundaries between them. Because star formation emits a lot of light at the blue end of the color spectrum, astronomers refer to “blue” star-forming galaxies, “red” quiescent galaxies, and the “green valley” as the transition between them. Which stage a galaxy is in is revealed by its star formation rate. One of the study’s conclusions is that the growth rate of black holes must change as galaxies evolve from one stage to the next. The observational evidence suggests that most of the black hole growth occurs in the green valley when galaxies are beginning to quench. “The black hole seems to be unleashed just as star formation slows down,” Faber said. “This was a revelation, because it explains why black hole masses in star-forming galaxies follow one scaling law, while black holes in quenched galaxies follow another scaling law. That makes sense if black hole mass grows rapidly while in the green valley.” Faber and her collaborators have been discussing these issues for many years. Since 2010, Faber has co-led a major Hubble Space Telescope galaxy survey program (CANDELS, the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey), which produced the data used in this study. In analyzing the CANDELS data, she has worked closely with a team led by Joel Primack, UCSC professor emeritus of physics, which developed the Bolshoi cosmological simulation of the evolution of the dark matter halos in which galaxies form. These halos provide the scaffolding on which the theory builds the early star-forming phase of galaxy evolution before quenching. The central ideas in the paper emerged from analyses of CANDELS data and first struck Faber about four years ago. “It suddenly leaped out at me, and I realized if we put all these things together -- if galaxies had a simple trajectory in radius versus mass, and if black hole energy needs to overcome halo binding energy -- it can explain all these slanted boundaries in the structural diagrams of galaxies,” she said. At the time, Faber was making frequent trips to China, where she has been involved in research collaborations and other activities. She was a visiting professor at Shanghai Normal University, where she met first author Zhu Chen. Chen came to UC Santa Cruz in 2017 as a visiting researcher and began working with Faber to develop these ideas about galaxy quenching. “She is mathematically very good, better than me, and she did all of the calculations for this paper,” Faber said. Faber also credited her longtime collaborator David Koo, UCSC professor emeritus of astronomy and astrophysics, for first focusing attention on the central densities of galaxies as a key to the growth of central black holes. Among the puzzles explained by this new model is a striking difference between our Milky Way galaxy and its very similar neighbor Andromeda. “The Milky Way and Andromeda have almost the same stellar mass, but Andromeda’s black hole is almost 50 times bigger than the Milky Way’s,” Faber said. “The idea that black holes grow a lot in the green valley goes a long way toward explaining this mystery. The Milky Way is just entering the green valley and its black hole is still small, whereas Andromeda is just exiting so its black hole has grown much bigger, and it is also more quenched than the Milky Way.” IMAGE....A new theory explains how black holes grow as a function of galaxy mass and eventually quench star formation in their host galaxies. The images on this graph, taken by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, are of nearby galaxies at the present era chosen to represent galaxy evolution. The graph shows how the evolution of small, dense galaxies differs from that of larger, more diffuse galaxies. The denser galaxies have larger black holes for their mass and therefore quench sooner, at a lower mass, whereas the more diffuse galaxies have smaller black holes for their mass and must grow more before quenching occurs. (Credit: Sandra Faber/Sofia Quiros/SDSS)

#space #science #Astronomy #physics #news #galactic evolution

[hoshyeoms]

gonna do the same back and not read them lmao: colours, you were beautiful, i loved you, i'll try, shoot me, man in a movie, & still

sorry I suck and it took me a bit to answer this, my laptop died in the restaurant I was at and I didn’t have my charger so I had to drive home and get it. 

Colours: if you had to choose a colour palette to represent your life, which colours would you choose and why?

I honestly have never thought about this, but my favorite colors are green and yellow, and anytime I get asked to decorate our board at work I always do yellow, pink, orange, and green. So I would say those four most likely, maybe a light blue in there too! 

You Were Beautiful: has there been a song that made you cry the moment you heard it?

Stay With Me - Chanyeol and Punch. The emotion in it really got to me, and I was definitely driving the first time I heard it. But it’s okay, I listened to it a few more times and now I feel the beauty in it I guess idk it doesn’t make me as sad anymore. 

I Loved You (REALLY I LOVED YOUUUUUUUUUUUUU, not sorry issa jam):   what’s one thing that you regretted losing? 

Nothing is coming to mind tbh, I manage to pretty much lose everything a lot but I find it eventually. One time I lost my notebook that I write all my thoughts and stuff in and I was so upset. Turns out it was under a box of stuff on my couch lmao. 

I’ll Try: name one thing you’d like to try that is out of your comfort zone

Literally the last 3 summers dad and I kept saying we were gonna go bunjee jumping for my birthday cause I think it would be fun and not as scary as sky diving (which he’s done). But the first summer we forgot cause I had just moved up here. The second summer dad broke his shoulder and couldn’t do it, and this past summer I was too busy with work and traveling so hopefully we’ll get around to it. I also really wanna go real ziplining. I did a small one that went over a festival area when I lived in Georgia, but it was like a carnival one so it was sketchy and sucked. 

Shoot Me (if you could hear me belting out all of these songs right now lmaooo): did you have any near-death experiences?

I think it was the past January (possibly December?) Emili ( @pinkhoodiemark go follow her she’s the best ilhsm

There were other times but those were just me being reckless, this was terrifying and I literally didn’t want to drive anywhere anymore. 

Man in A Movie:  if you could live out any movie, which would it be?

Oh man, I watch so many movies this one is kinda hard. Tbh any stupid cheesy romance movie probably. I am super in love with the idea of a cheesy love. One that has lots of affection and stupid lil things that are probably cliche but who cares it’s fun! But also I want to be in Tokyo Ghoul (yes the anime but in this case the live action movie) cause I wanna know what kagune I would have and I find the idea of being a ghoul really cool. 

Still: are you good at maintaining friendships after parting ways? if yes, how do you do it?

Parting ways, like moving away? Kinda yeah. I don’t really talk to anyone from high school, but that’s okay I didn’t really make many friends and I knew we would part ways cause growing up meant a lot of changes not just physically but everything else too. The huge group I made in college, I talk to about 1/3 of them, but that’s because a lot of that group has become very toxic and when I met them I was in a pretty bad spot in my life. But I do still talk to the main people I spent my time with, so I guess yeah I maintained. Idk how I did it tbh. We just kept texting, stela and sofia we have a group chat and send memes every few days, just kinda talk. I got to visit them in February then Sof was here in May/June. Doug we just kept snapchatting everyday until he left for the navy, now we don’t talk as much, but we’re both pretty busy nowadays. 

that was so long omg, thank you manda

send me a day6 ask!

[yourghastlycloseness]

i always want to be in tokyo and what the hell am i, exactly pt 4

SHOMA UNO IS SUCH A PUPPY

//

i’m not going to talk in complete sentences so here goes

//

i’m happy. more than ever, i feel like the end of my life is near. i might kill myself tomorrow, or at the end of the year, or maybe even 5 years from now. might get run over by an ambulance tomorrow (no lie, this almost happened and i laughed for 5 mins). i don’t know. 

but i’m also the most relaxed i’ve ever been. i want to run and want to learnt o play the guitar and sing like crap at a bar for all the musical n00bs, and i want to explore all of japan and use what little japanese i know to befriend fellow ice skating otakus (tbh, i’m no otaku; just a super casual fan) so we can gush over the beautiful, steely athletes who continue to push boundaries in this sport

but i also want to die because life feels...good right now? and this is how i would like to remember life, if i have to conclude it

i’m a romantic at heart

i always want things to end beautifully

// 

when C and i talk about sex, we sound like twelve-year-olds who know nothing because that is who we are

sex is truly fascinating and disgusting

i’ve been reading hentai and surfing pornhub and the stuff i find there is hilarious

all porn is comedy to me

//

was absentmindedly watching marianne with dad just to see what french words i can pick up

i took french for 3-4 months back in 2016 while in uni because i was pretentious

i’ve since forgotten all of it but i still can pick up simple words and phrases

everyone has a different learning style but i imagine it’s useful for me to get introductory lessons where anything not writing-related is concerned

writing is literally the one thing that i started doing without even realizing i was doing it

//

laughed so hard yesterday because A dropped by my house with a surprise delivery of cakes and bubble tea and a matcha macchiato

died laughing because to access my block, you have to dial the intercom for us to let you in. A keyed my unit number into intercom -- it was routed to my dad, who picked up the phone and told me we were expecting a grab food driver

i was like ???, i didn’t order anything. 

i was mentally prepared to see a man in a green grab shirt, only to find A standing in the corridor, looking like a serious grab delivery woman

i didn’t recognize her at first, so i said, ‘hi, excuse me. are you the grab food driver?’ when our eyes met, we both burst out laughing

also received brownies from J later in the evening. met her at the street separating our estates and she stretched her arm out to hand me a starbucks paper bag

COVID-19 makes social interactions interesting

//

my parents are lovely, kid bro is growing up well

i said it earlier, but i’m happy :”) haven’t felt this way in a while

mom and dad are so funny. they’re ageing backwards. they bicker over little things like slicing the mushrooms till they’re too thin. they watch netflix movies together. mom sits and asks too many questions. at some point, dad will turn around and ask if we have duct tape in the house

//

i’ve been watching interviews with sofia coppola and greta gerwig. love them both. might catch lost in translation again tonight, not sure. i’ve outgrown the film. i’ve seen it about 2 times? but both viewings were before i fell in love with tokyo. might be different to watch it this time

//

w0W 

wow

i can’t believe i’ve ignored the ENFP & ISFP profiles for the longest time

yeah they’re relatable. i think my social self can be ENFP/ENTP and my thrill-seeking side is ISFP. if we’re looking at the simplified corporate-friendly MBTI system, then i wouldn’t assign myself to either the E or I category. i’m more likely a socially anxious ambivert who mistakenly thought i was introverted. ‘ambivert’ sounds so lame lol. i don’t like sitting on the fence, but yeah, i’m probably evenly split between the two where my social energy is concerned. i’m the most extraverted introvert you’ll ever meet and vice versa

if we’re looking at functions alone, then it’s Ne > Fi

something else about my tendency to be solitary — it’s nature and nurture. i like being alone, and i do well alone. but i get lonely too, so i’ve ‘trained’ myself to deal with that because i always feel like people will abandon me eventually and i have to be self-sufficient

loneliness becomes more of a condition and less of a choice with age

if i had zero social anxiety and could own a playgirl mansion of my own, i’d be down for that

SO I NOW KNOW WHO I AM: 

highly relatable profiles, in random order. mixing 5 of these would probably get me my personality: INFP, ENFP, ENTP, INTJ, ISFP

damn i’m going to piss off MBTI purists when i explain that i relate to all 5 fucking profiles hoho

i’m satisfied that i finally have some types to relate to

ok time to check out career paths for these lol

[joseyfeli1-blog]

Camren is Endgame Pt.3

Here is the last part of this alternate universe I pictured and wrote down and published, and I thank you everyone that read any amount of it. I wrote this to get through some bullshit of fifth harmony as I felt indifferent to the happenings surrounding them all, I feel a whole lot better because of this. All this was to escape our reality and stare into a picture of how it is for another dimension closely like ours. I hope anyone that read this feels close to the same. April 8, 2024 -You ready Camz?- -Kinda have to be right? We only got, like eight minutes to get this finished perfectly right?- She turned and ruffled her dress and walked towards Joseph. -You know the memories will be so worth it right?- He says as he takes Camila's arm with his and fixes his tuxedo for the twentieth time that day, but when it is a wedding that first is two people who truly love each other, two happens to be two people that went through too much crap to not end up with each other and lastly under the eclipse! You want to make sure you're perfect. Which Camila and Lauren always are. -Oh! Stop you're perfect- Camz says while hitting his arm. -We aren't talking about you in that dress, camz, we about me. And,- he turns to see himself in a mirror and moved his black and purlpe slightly- I truly am.- the both let out a chuckle. Camila would be loved if her father were able to be there and give her daughter away, but sadly his work caused him to get an injury that has left him bedwritten, but through technology availabilities he is able to watch from Sinu's phone. Even on his bed a few hundred miles away he wore his best tux, or more like just the top only. Joseph was more than honored to be considered to give one of the greatest women he ever met and had the joy of living part of his life next to her. To be chosen made very happy and he was very happy to do so. They almost exit a double door small makeshift building, but stop to grab special goggles so the won't be able to see everything perfectly, but they needed to be safe. The walk out to slow music, and vocals of Maimi's high school choir. They walked the length of a long carpet that in the middle a preist and the girls best friends waiting in anticipation of this magnificent event. Somewhat arena placement for the chairs, so everyone is circling around this large moment. Everyone is wearing beautiful clothing and a pair of special spectacles as everyone stands and their breath is taken away as both beautiful women are exiting their respective changing areas. Their eyes meet, Camz and Lolo are entirely speechless at the sight of their soon to be wife. They both have elegant dresses that are the best to their curves. They are both in awe as the notice that the sun and moon are also coming together right above them. As they near closer and closer together the same can be said about the glorious celestial beings miles and miles away from this moment. As the finally arrive at the patch where friends and families are joined to enjoy Joseph hugs and kisses Camila's cheek before sitting down in his seat. As dies Mike Juaregi tears fall ever so gently as he lets the hand of his daughter into the hands of someone he believes to be trusted with his young ones life. They met up with their bridesmaids As the are standing yet in a twist way capturing the couple with love that their friends are marrying each other. There stood Ally, Dinah, Normani, Keanna, Veronica, and Little Sofi. All wearing generous bridesmaid dresses. All wearing pretty light make-up. As everyone took their seats as the priest starts to state, -We are all here, friends, family, fans,- that creates a small laugh from a few people who are or aren't crying already.-To be gathered in this momentous moment and special wedding to enjoy the creation of a strong marriage. Now this is a very special ceremony so now the brides have made their own vows and are now going to say them.- Camila turns a bit to grab her lette Sofia is handing to her. Camila hands off the bouquet to Sofia as she is struggling with too many thoughts in her mind. -Ahem,- Camila looks down and then stares deeply into the green eyed woman, no her green eyed woman and was going to start but needed to her hand so she went out and grabbed her hand now she held her letter and Laurens hand. Lauren then rubbed the brown eyed beauty, no, her brown eyed beauty, hand as Camz read her vows to the love of her life. -I like your Shirt,- Everyone couldn't handle already, anyone with dry eyes had now been tearing up. -with that one sentence, that somehow I had enough courage to say aloud to you, I felt flips in my stomach as you answered and even complimented me back. Lauren I love you, it is downright awful we weren't able to be in love as the children we were, but we knew, we always knew. But nothing else matters now, not the rough, the hardships, the tough, the worships, but that we always felt down, down, down in our hearts. We couldn't help our souls being touched how we felt safe with each other, felt scared away from each other, confused when we couldn't show it. But now, nothing stands or sits in our way, we now can scream our love to the heavens, to the last levels of hell. They will hear our souls finally be officially together, and will be happy that such caring people will be together, finally.- Camila ended looking up to her wife to be. Lauren had a big dumb smile and campassionately rubbing her hand on Camila's as her eyes gleamed with tears on their way out the station. But she kept her composure as she turned to her maid of honour, Ally. The older woman on the edge of tears had been brought back into the world after listening to the beautiful speech that was made by the woman of perfect beauty. She was started a bit, but gave Lauren hew letter that contained her heart on paper ready to be spilled in front if everyone and the magical, crazy amazing celestial beings themselves. Ally holds onto Luaren's bouquet and hands her the letter gingerly. Luaren opens it it with such obvious shaking hands that she is confused when Camila takes Luaren's pale small hand away to place a simple kiss swiftly. They both feel their cheeks warm up with such emotion and compassion. Lauren slowly brings her eyes to Camz kissing her hand and beams at the woman she knows will never hurt her intentionally, a woman who can bring so much love into the world, a woman who has the decision to be with whom ever she pleases and it seems Lauren is that lucky soul. Bringing her attention back to the important heart-felt speech she has prepared for weeks now. She always going to say these words in front of the woman that she wants to be with for the rest of her life. Truly she felt off the ground and the only weight she felt was that she hadn't spoke yet, paper ready in hand, unintentional liking her lips, and trembling hands holding the sheet of folded paper. She started. -Camz,- No monster could hold back how teary they would get as this was nearly the last time the Cuban woman would say that to her finance, but would then call her wife that. -I think it is better said when you love someone it is described as the best feeling, that being happy with someone in particular is the only feeling that can be comprehendible, as the world and every one of the infinite stars and planets and galaxies stop in movement, that every thing falters and only only perfection can be seen in front of that one person that makes you happy. Well I know something that feels even better, the understanding from your lived one. The complete reciprocated love. The radiating compassion from their eyes. The heart beats in synchronization. The moment you know no one will make you feel more you than that time you realize you don't want anything else, you won't need any impractical things anymore, you will never feel ungrateful when you feel it. Being understood, is something I feel with you Camz, and I don't want anyone else by my side fighting the good fight, the fight to love only. To being the injustice down from power, to show everyone their real beauty, to grow out of racism, sexism, misogynistics, and violence. With you with me, all of you, I know that those horrible things won't sting as bad as they do. So in a few days when we are watching Netflix and u have my head tucked into the nook of your neck, just know, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.- No one was able to handle the state of their goggles steam and cheeks deplorable status of water running down. -Oh!- Lauren adds,-Thanks, I like your skirt- As a large muscle-hurting smile spurs on Luars face as the sight of a younger beaming girl in front of her. -Your first words to me, aww Lo.- -For you Camz. Always, always for you.- They return from their gaze to pay attention to the priest who then states,-Now the rings,- the maid of honours are in action to take the letters and respective envelopes while handing them their beautiful perfect diamond cut rings dazzling under the sun and moonlight. They would be blinding everyone in sight if it weren't for the protective spectacles. Seems they made a great decision on this already perfect wedding. -Lauren repeat after me, I Lauren,- -I Lauren.- -take this ring,- -Take this ring.- -and place it onto you, my love, Camila.- -And place it onto you, my love. Camz.- As she gently led the ring to Camila's hand, everyone attending the ceremony couldn't stop a harmonious aww leave their mouths. The priest continued.-Camila, repeat after me, I Camila,- -Camila, repeat after me, I Camila.- creating a very quie, yet uproar of sly laughter. -Take this ring,- -Take this ring.- -and place it onto you, my love, Luaren.- -And place it onto you, my luuv, Lolo.- Still feeling the confidence of the laughter from earlier gingerly set Lo's hand and steadily put the ring onto her finance's hand. No, her wife. -You may now, both, kiss the bride.- The moment couldn't feel more right, the atmosphere, the people, their loved ones, the earth, the whole galaxy! Wanted this, wanted true-spiritual love to find themselves, In the cold never-ending sight of black space, darkness blanketing them both, the sun and the moon, at this moment and many more to happen, no matter what, will in fact kiss.

[firstjustgoin]

Waiting for June to Come

Oscar and Rosa are sitting on their couch in the living room where they have spent the majority of the last year, waiting for June to come.

Their living room is a testament to years and decor trends past: the greens and yellows and pinks of flowers covering the wallpaper, thick shag carpeting that has undoubtedly swallowed enough lego pieces and toenail clippings to be the site of a disgusting scavenger hunt for hours, a fat box of a TV that has just four channels. The living room gets the best light, their realtor told them when they were first looking at the house, and she was right: when the dark red velvet curtains weren’t drawn as they were most days, the living room lit up during the golden hour, catching every fleck of dust in the air and illuminating it into a thing of beauty.

Oscar and Rosa have their special chairs. For Oscar, it is a cushy La-Z-Boy recliner that can extend long enough for him to sleep comfortably through the night, a common occurrence these days. For Rosa, it is a dark green wing chair and matching ottoman, which, when you get close enough, you can see is covered in tiny embroidered poodles. Rosa has never sat in Oscar’s La-Z-Boy and Oscar would never dream about sitting in Rosa’s poodle chair and, therefore, they always know what to expect when they enter the room.

Today, as every day, the television is turned on to Channel 2: local news. Despite the fact that they rarely leave the house anymore, they know more than just about anybody else in town about the goingson. They watch the 7am local news, the 8am weather reports, the 9am national reports, 10am local news, the 11am Wheel of Fortune reruns, and the noon Wheel of Fortune reruns (usually by then, Oscar has fallen asleep and Rosa has started her afternoon crossword). In the evening, they watch the 4pm local news, 5pm traffic report, 6pm international news –– ”How sad,” Rosa often sighs when watching the 6pm show, telling herself to stop watching it –– and the 7pm Wheel of Fortune live episode. By 8pm, Rosa is brushing her teeth and heading up to bed while Oscar stays up to watch the 9pm comedy specials, which he will only laugh at if Rosa is not there.

It wasn’t always this way, as it almost never is. Oscar and Rosa used to have jobs to get to, friends to see. Oscar was a head contractor for a big construction business in town, well-known and respected for his attention to detail and easy-to-like demeanor. Rosa volunteered at the local soup kitchen on weekday mornings and bottled up homemade peach and blackberry jams to store in the basement come winter. There’s just one bottle of peach jam left, swallowed by dust and cobwebs in the corner of the storage unit downstairs. Rosa had been saving it for a special occasion, but there haven’t been any of those for awhile.

Once every couple days, Oscar will turn to Rosa and say, “Today?”

Rosa might pause, stand up and walk towards the curtained window and peek behind it, then settle back into her chair and shake her head slowly. “Not today, maybe next week.” And Oscar will turn up the volume dial on the television set a few notches and they will settle back into their lives on opposite poles.

At first, they waited for June the way a puppy awaits his owner’s return to his house after work –– eyes alert and searching, breaths frantic and ragged, wearing themselves out with anxiety. But months have passed and they cannot sustain such energy. They sit in their chairs and they watch news of worlds close and far and they are grateful for the moments when they forget what they are waiting for.

When June was a baby, not more than a couple weeks home from the hospital, Oscar took her on a stroll around the block. It was the first time Rosa could not see her in her periphery and she bit her nails down to blood sitting at the kitchen table waiting for their return. It shocked her, disturbed her, how her mind once sharp and logical had turned to a whirlpool of certain disaster as soon as she gave birth.

She had never fully grasped the concept of dar luz –– the phrase that was tossed around in all of the tattered-covered parenting books she had unearthed from her mother’s attic with handwritten notes scrawling around the edges of the pages: hablar con médico sobre el dolor, temes la ausencia más que el dolor, mes 7: la primera patada. But once she watched her baby disappear through the threshold of the door into a world she could not childproof, she knew that she had truly given light to the world and it was too late to take back. Like light, her baby’s life had momentum but no mass, she could not hold it tightly enough to keep it from one day walking away from her.

After she had devoured her nails, she remembered her mother’s book again and ran back to scour for glimpses into her struggle to let her own daughter disappear into the world, even for a minute. But the handwritten notes dried up on the page right before the chapter titled Mamá después del parto. She could only wonder.

Oscar wheeled June back into the kitchen not twenty minutes after he had left, smiling and whistling the chorus of “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.” He was so Middle-America sometimes she wanted to laugh and cry and kiss him all at once. Oscar with his affection for meatball sandwiches from delis with women’s names plastered to their signs, “Maria” or “Sofia” or “Viola”; Oscar with his proclivity for taking the winding back roads, already ten minutes late for the dentist, because he swore he saw a yellow-bellied warbler flying through the trees; Oscar who still said, “yes ma’am” to his mother on the phone like a thirteen-year-old boy in trouble. Rosa loved Oscar in the same way she loved her Nancy Drew boxed set growing up –– they both allowed her to pretend she had been swept away by a gust of wind, away from the world she had been told she was going to be mired in for life.

She might have allowed herself to be swept away forever if it hadn’t been for dark-eyed, baby June with a head so soft she thought it would turn to putty. Having a child forced Rosa to look herself in the eyes in the mirror and say at least three times a day, “You don’t get to fuck this one up, Rosa. Not this one.”

She had already come to terms with fucking up Oscar, but not this. “Hey,” she’d say lying in bed next to him, just as he had begun falling into his deep, impenetrable sleeps, “It wouldn’t be the end of the world if we broke up, right?”

Oscar would roll back over to face Rosa, her eyes narrowed and burrowing, “Well, I guess that depends,” he’d say, trying not to look as hurt as he felt, “what your definition is for the ‘end of the world.’ Technically, no, the world wouldn’t end. But my world would feel like it had for awhile.”

She’d shake her head and kiss his nose and he’d stop himself a dozen times for asking the dangerous why and they’d both roll back to their sides of the bed and fall asleep imagining other lives.

They had a baby together: a beautiful baby girl with his fingers and her lip curl and his easy laugh and her silent tears. They both loved their baby but Rosa knew that she loved her baby more than her husband did. He had done nothing but patiently change and re-change her diaper, walk her around in circles when she couldn’t sleep even in the coldest hours of the night, and sing to her songs from his childhood, but still she knew. He could never love June has much as she did and so she bit her nails until they burned and bled as soon as he left the house pushing his daughter in the stroller in front of him.

That was all years ago, back when she had an escape plan written out on the lining of her size seven jeans. She doesn’t have those plans or those jeans anymore. She doesn’t dream about other lives when she does finally succumb to sleep. She dreams in ticker tape headlines crawling across the screen: Local Man Hero After Near-Fatal Train Accident; Five-inch Rain Causes Flooding of Area Parks, Country Roads; Man Still At Large After High-Speed Chase. Her world the size of the peach pits buried in the the backyard.

It has been long enough since June has come that she does not remember the curvature of her daughter’s cheek bones, where the freckles that covered her forearms and knees as a child have faded and where they peek through darkened skin. She cannot recall whether she uses “y’know” like her father or “see?” like her mother. She has forgotten if she eats meat anymore or if she’s become a vegetarian or vegan like the commercials say that you should. She hates herself for forgetting, so she asks Oscar to turn up the sound on the television by a couple of notches and strains to guess the phrases on Wheel of Fortune before the luckier contestants.

[hottytoddynews]

These Dog-Days of summer are a good time to hit the cineplexes. Milk Duds, Goobers, a tub of “buttery” popcorn, and a bottomless iced cold drink, a chaise lounge experience in posh [anti-bedbug] leather seats, and A/C. What more can you ask for? And, unlike most summer Augusts, there’s much to shout about at cineplexes.

The days are long, and some of the best films are short. The studios aren’t waiting for late October roll-out of prestige films. They’re putting them out weekend after weekend – often with three/four openings on a Friday. Some making a big impact at box offices are indies. There’s comedy, drama, romance, murder, Superhero thrills, war-zone chaos, one determined dude on a snowmobile, and a new action goddess. Oscar-nominee Taylor Sheridan (Deputy Chief David Hale, TVs Sons of Anarchy; Danny Boyd, Veronica Mars) of Hell or High Water fame has sneaked in with the season’s sleeper, crime thriller Wind River, which he wrote. Oscar nominee Jeremy Renner is letter perfect as rough and tumble game tracker of mountain lions and coyotes who prey on livestock on a remote Utah Native American reservation. He’s also no slouch on snowmobiles! Already in the stark winter of their discontent, the poor natives are devastated by a second murder of a young woman, found viciously beaten and raped multiple times. This is not savory going — especially when Renner is called upon to assist urban (Las Vegas via Ft. Lauderdale) FBI Agent Elizabeth Olsen (Captain America: Civil War’s Scarlett Witch). We’ve seen directors handle flashbacks many ways, but Sheridan, no slack when it comes to inventiveness, introduces a new and seamless approach. The estimable Oscar nominee Graham Greene is featured as the girl’s father. In a brief but memorable seduction scene, HOHW’s Gil Birmingham – showing different sides of himself, will have a lot of audience members swooning.

In the U.S., a child goes missing every 40 seconds. You never think it’ll happen to you. Until it does. In Kidnap (Aviron/Di Bonaventura Pictures), when mom, Oscar winner Halle Berry, returning to the big screen after three years, catches a glimpse of the abductors speeding away, she begins a high-speed pursuit across Louisiana highways, byways, and bayous, overcoming obstacle after obstacle. The nappers messed with the wrong mom! TV veteran, 10-year-old Sage Correa delivers a masterful performance during the marathon chase that had to be shot with great care. Pay no attention to the red herons, as they don’t deliver pay dirt. The only delivering is done by indefatigable Halle Berry. The ending is powerful, but, on second thought, it would’ve been interesting to have another motive behind the kidnap other than the crackers out for ransom, that include long-time character actress Chris McGinn – move over (Misery’s) Kathy Bates!

There’s another Man in Black and, alas, he’s not Johnny Cash. The mind of Stephen King has no limits when it comes pulp fiction, but his works have proved to be a mixed bag when brought to the screen. Nikolaj Arcel’s brave attempt to adapt his seven novels and a short story published over 30 years [with homages to Robert Browning, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Sergio Leone] in Dark Tower (Columbia Pictures) falls into that category. It’s a box office champ, but no critics’ darling. However, who needs critics? Idris Elba is the last gunfighter in an alternate land out to keep the world from colliding; and Matthew McConaughey is evil incarnate as the Man in Black, with whom he’s locked in eternal battle.

Oscar winning director/and co-producer Kathryn Bigelow proved her mettle with Best Picture The Hurt Locker, and followed with a Best Picture nomination for Zero Dark Thirty. She and ZDT collaborator Mark Boal know a thing or two about war zones. This one is stateside, 1967 Detroit (Annapurna Pictures/M-G-M), where a police raid and a number of murders set off a literal African-American rebellion that set off a night of turbulence that segued into one of the nation’s largest race riots. The film is docudrama realistic, raw, disturbing, engrossing, brutal. A writer aptly summed it up: “The degree of terror and carnage is so strong that ‘based on a true story’ is too tame to do the film justice.” Not for the faint of heart, and in these Dog-Days of summer, certainly not a date movie. There are lessons that should have been learned and weren’t. John Boyega, John Krasinski, Jacob Latimore, Anthony Mackie, Will Poulter, and Algee Smith headline a huge cast.

Director Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk (Warner Bros.), a sweeping 70-mm IMAX epic [with the help of CGI] restaging of the 1940 evacuation of more than 300,000 Allied troops [French, British, Belgian, Dutch] in fast retreat from the Western Front at Dunkerque, France. Penned in by the Germans, they’re stranded due to a lack of transport. Fionn Whitehead, in a near silent role, delivers a shattering performance. There’s also Sir Kenneth Branagh, Tom Hardy, and, in his acting debut, Harry Styles. Except for Branagh, you may find it hard to spot the others. Olivier, BAFTA, Oscar, and Tony winner Mark Rylance gives a solid performance helming his boat, which joins the civilian watercraft armada aiding the rescue. Though you never see blood, the gore as Germans strafe and use their U-boats in unconscionable torpedo attacks is harrowing– but something’s missing. At 1:45, they’re no humanizing back stories to motivate audiences to care instead of just being blown away. The Dunkirk headlines were instrumental in getting FDR to aid the U.K. to avoid a conditional surrender to Germany.

How does a sweet gal with the name Lorraine become a bad-ass spy? In Atomic Blonde (Focus Features), adapted by Kurt Johnstad from Anthony Johnston’s graphic novel series The Coldest City, illustrated by Sam Hart, Charlize Theron is an agent sent to walled Berlin to retrieve a list of spies destined to fall into the hands of Russia for Britain’s MI6 military intelligence group. It seems like a set-up because she’s a marked woman upon arrival; but like Berry in Kidnap, Lorraine isn’t to be messed with. With almost 90% of the 115 minutes so bloated with mortal combat, karate chops, all manner of guns, and objects for body blows, it begins to get monotonous, sometimes ridiculous, and lacks a core.  The story gets muddled with the intro of a lesbian [it appears] French spy, played by Sofia Boutella – but it also gets rather steamy. Numerous flashbacks don’t help the film’s coherence. That said, Theron is, indeed atomic as a spy who doesn’t know when to come in from the cold. Kudos to director and veteran stunt coordinator David Leitch (John Wick), fight coordinator Jon Valera, and crew. Without their precision choreography, bloodied, bruised Theron and cast mates wouldn’t have come out of this alive. James McAvoy co-stars. John Goodman and Toby Jones are featured.

 There’s nothing sanitized about the raucous, crass R-rated comedy about female friends bonding, nonetheless is non-stop hilarious [and probably would be just as hilarious with less F-bomb raunch and sexual innuendos and more creative expletives], Girls Trip (Universal), made for $20-mill, rolled in out of the blue and has swept up $86-mill. In addition to stellar performances by Regina Hall and tiny dynamo Jada Pinkett Smith, brilliant comic Tiffany “Shake it ‘til it brakes” Haddish, better known to TV audiences, has had the big-screen break-out role of the year; and the gals have found a new crush in former Off Broadway actor and now hunk Mike “The Arm” Colter (who’s been gym-pumping since his Good Wife Lemond Bishop days).

It’s been a good summer for superheroes. In Spider-Man: Homecoming (Columbia Pictures/Marvel Studios), director Jon Watts does a high dive, forgets the past, and begins anew. Tom Holland (Lost City of Z) soars to new heights in the third reboot of the webby franchise by not taking himself seriously and being adept at slapstick. He’s superbly abetted by Oscar winner Michael Keaton’s intense menace– some of the film’s best moments are when Fresh-faced kid v Grizzled villain, and guest star Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. Peter Parker wasn’t alone waking up to the full potential of power. In Wonder Woman [Warner Bros.] Gal Gadot (a prime asset of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) spectacularly segues with gusto from princess of the Amazons to discover her true destiny as guardian of the world. With global grosses in the multimillions, it’s no wonder sequels are in the pipeline.

Ellis Nassour is an Ole Miss alum and noted arts journalist and author who recently donated an ever-growing exhibition of performing arts history to the University of Mississippi. He is the author of the best-selling Patsy Cline biography, Honky Tonk Angel, as well as the hit musical revue, Always, Patsy Cline. He can be reached at [email protected]. 

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