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kittydemon9000 · 3 years

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SO MERLOPIAN KAI PART 2 ELECTRIC BOOGALOO

So, with Kalmaar, he ofc immediately goes to his parents about his feeling, slightly placing his revenge on hold. They are...dubious about it, but Maya raises the point of how there has never been a human/merlopian hybrid before, and from what Ray has told them about having two EM parents it’s possible for Kai to have some water abilities himself, which could be what gave Kalmaar his feeling. So, they agree to look into it.

Moving on..... Uh. Kai doesn’t have a fun time in S6, as briefly as he’s there. You see, Nahdakahn knows exactly what buttons to press and is able to get Kai into a panicked state where he, on the verge of a panic attack and mental breakdown, just says “I wish that I could just be normal! I wish I could just go home! I wish I could be with dad and mom and father and Kal and Bentho and Nya!!!”

The “normal” comment comes from how they weren’t able to completely hide Kai’s heritage since yeah, there were other people on the boat who saw him. That and he also tried a lot less to keep it hidden. And because some humans are assholes, he has to deal with that.

So ofc, Nahdakahn interprets it in the worst ways and as two wishes. Kai is now a full human yes….but was also sent to where the fish fam currently were……which just so happened to be at the bottom of the ocean.

So yeah, double trauma for both groups. Kai got to experience what drowning felt like, and his fam was essentially forced to watch him die since there was nothing they could do. They were too far under to take him to the surface and too far from the palace to take him there.

But dw, it gets even worse.

You see, the whole reason Nahdakahn is being this malicious about Kai’s wishes is because he learned that Kai was the reason the Preeminent was destroyed, thereby destroying Djinjago.

Nahdakahn is then able to do a “oh? Is this not what you wanted? I thought you wished to be normal.” Which ofc sounds really bad since it’s in front of his family. “But, I understand. You grow tired of the stares in the street, how they whisper behind you back about what you are. Not human, not merlopian, not normal. Just a freak masquerading as one of them.”

This ofc supremely pisses off the fam. Like, weapons drawn ready to commit murder.

But then Nahdakahn stop them with a “ah ah ah, I wouldn’t do that if I were you. After all, I am the only way your son has a chance at living. So go ahead. Make a wish.”

Trimaar ends up being the one to do it, and is smart enough to know this uh will twist it in anyway he can so says. “I wish for Kai to be sent safely to the surface without harm done upon him.”

Blah blah blah, your wish is yours to keep, Trimaar realizing “wait there’s a lot that could be interpreted” but too late BAM now Kai’s kinda stuck on the Misfortune’s Keep.

And he....generally has a pretty bad time. Think Jay but this time it’s personal.

However, Kai’s appearance had Trimaar get the Merlopian army and start heading to the surface. The remaining ninja have a brief moment of “are you kidding me two enemies at once” before learning that this is Kai’s lost family and they’re here to help.

So now the ninja have a whole ass fish army to help them, plus a very protective, very angry fish family.

But for the rest of canon, the only difference is that when they’re leaving Tiger Widow Island, Nya gets snatched along with Jay(who was taken because he hadn’t used his wish yet) and they aren’t stuck on the island, and then later that Kai gets sucked into the sword when the ninja launch their rescue mission.

But yeah, it gets all Un-Happened by Jay’s wish(which at seeing Kai physically hurt and being emotionally torn apart at his baby sister dying, wished that none of this ever happened and that Nahdakahn was never found), only like canon Nya and Jay still remember what happens.

Nya is now firmly on team Kai Is Alive and tells her parents everything about what happened and the wish Jay made, and more importantly where Kai is.

Unfortunately, they need to take some time and prepare. Trimaar and Maya have been doing their best over the years to open the populace possibly making bonds with the humans, but now it’s finally happening. They can’t just go up there out of no where, since from what Nya has told them 1) most humans don’t even know they exist and 2) in the past few years they have been subject of many attacks, mostly from non-humans, so they need to make sure the humans understand they don’t mean any harm.

So DotD happens, then the beginnings of S7 :)

Right out, Kai never liked the museum curator. Up to that point he’d only ever caught fleeting glimpse of him but something about him Kai just despised. As a result, he also visited the museum as scarcely as possible, and thus didn’t notice a very interesting painting containing a two very strange figures.

When he learns his name was Dr.Saunders.....things don’t go well.

It happened when Kai brought the helmet with his dad’s symbol on it. As much as he disliked the curator, he was the most likely to be able to recognize what kind of helmet it was.

Then in his anger he gets himself captured.

He’s taken to a special cell lined with vengestone and has guards around the clock, and Krux takes extra care to make sure Kai doesn’t know where Ray is.

ofc it’s around this time that the Merlopians arrive and express their wishes for a possible alliance between their two races. Unfortunately they showed up at literally the worst time, and double unfortunately the people in charge of diplomacy decide to bring some of the ninja in as an extra precaution because of the villains have been running around.

So the people who join the meeting are Lloyd and Jay from the ninja(they would’ve brought Kai but he hasn’t returned from his missions yet and isn’t answering their calls) as well as some police officers and from the Merlopians is the whole royal family plus a few guards.

Both Jay and Nya have a silent moment of staring at each other since “I know and I’m not sure you know but I think you know but I don’t want to say anything since you might not”

And just as they’re about to start, The Time Twins attack. Because why the hell not.

They’re actually able to hold them off for a while, but unfortunately there are too many Vermillion. Then Kalmaar whips out his Water Powers which causes him to get kidnapped since they need both Fire and Water masters for the blade.

While they’re recovering, Lloyd then gets a panicked call from Zane saying that he checked the museum footage and Kai has been captured. The gets overheard by the royal family, and then Lloyd asks why they looked so upset at which they learn(sans Jay since wish) that Kai is royalty. The eldest son actually, and thus first in line for the throne, as well as being presumed dead for the past five years.

So basically Krux has kidnapped the King and Queen’s husband, the crown prince, and the second in line prince(if anyone knows a more fancy term for this please let me know)

Maya, Trimaar, Nya and Benthomaar are not happy. Not with the Ninjagian people, no they’re fine, but they’re bout ready to murder Krux, and they don’t even know about Ray yet.

So they offer any help they can.

Zap back to how Kai and Kalmaar are doing.

Kalmaar is….kind feral tbh. Like, he’s biting, clawing, trying to strangle them with his tentacles, and before they got vengestone cuffs on him was trying very hard to drown anyone.

Ofc, this does little to the Vermillion and soon Kalmaar finds himself in the cell right next to Kai’s. He’s overjoyed to see his brother again, albeit upset that this is why.

They both reluctantly come to the conclusion that there isn’t much they can do at the moment, and there are many Vermillion guards right outside their cells, so they decide to start catching up.

And for pretty much the rest of the season canon is pretty much the same, just shuffle around the characters a bit and add a protective Fish Fam.

Though their little trip back in time is quite sight for the Past EMs, especially because of how Kalmaar is using his powers, which leaves Kai mostly stuck in his Fish Form. This time they don’t even bother trying to explain, just give instructions on how to defeat the Vermillion and jumping into the battle.

And I mean just imagine that from the EMs perspective. An enemy you thought you defeated just returned with a giant metal creature and an army of snake things that don’t look like any kind of Serpentine they’d ever seen. Then a shark person and squid person??? show up and not only do they know how to fight the snake things but they also seem to be Elemental Masters???? Despite the fact Ray is very much alive and they didn’t even know there was a Water EM. Then the two not only summon dragons but they also fuse their dragons into an even bigger one with two heads.

And then all of them disappear into the sky without a trace.

W i l d

But yeah, after that it calms down quite a bit. Kai spends the time skip before S8 reconnecting with his family and his dad, and through some tech courtesy of Borg they're able to bring Ray with them :D

And Kai actually goes to meet the Jade Royal Family since y’know. He’s the crown prince. He’s kinda important and legitimately forgot about it. Luckily Kalmaar is able to help coach Kai through it, but is also a bit smug about how he finally has something to teach to his older brother. Kai was actually the one who suggested asking the ninja for help protecting the mask.....but we know how that inevitably ends.

Bentho, Kal and Nya were actually on the ship for this particular adventure, and then Nya and Bentho were dragged along when they got sent to the First Realm. Bentho, despite being the youngest sibling and to the surprise of literally everyone, was actually really good with kids and spent the most time with Little Wu, right behind Cole.

But yeah S9......Nya and Bentho have a really bad time in the First Realm beause of the heat, but at least they don’t get captured. Kai on the other hand....

Yeah at some point he gets accidentally splashed with water and well.....it definitely doesn’t help with the Oni accusations. The Dragon Hunters decide to burn him along with the Wind Dragon, which moves up their Build Our Own Dragon time table.

After they escape Faith is actually pretty chill about the whole fish thing, but she does ask a lot of questions.

And then S10..... kinda the same. They end up dropping off as many people as they can with the Merlopians since the smoke can’t reach them.

I might make a Part 3 for the rest of the seasons, but yeah. this is where we’re at.

#merlopian royalty au #info dump #ninjago #kai #kai smith #kalmaar #prince kalmaar #trimaar #king trimaar #krux

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blouisparadise · 4 years

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Upon request, here is a rec list of bottom Louis with marriage proposals in them. We specified who proposes in case you want to choose which you want to read. Happy reading!

1) I’ll Light The Fire | Explicit | 7574 words | Harry 💍 Louis

“Alright, baby, we can do that next time, okay?” Harry says, trying to hide the smile in his voice and moving between Louis’ spread thighs. Harry wishes he had his camera handy so he could snap a photo of the vision in front of him; the way Louis’ caramel skin is contrasting with the white sheets, his eyelashes fanning over his cheeks, and the sun rays bouncing off his back. Fucking gorgeous. Harry runs his hands up the length of Louis’ legs, digging his thumbs into the soft skin on the innermost part of his thighs. He makes a mental note to move his polaroid within arms reach of their bed.

“I might change my mind, that sounds like a lot of wor-, oh god,” Louis gets cut off as Harry licks a broad stripe up his taint to his hole, practically purring into the pillow.

2) Won’t See It Coming Til It’s Already Gone | Explicit | 12631 words | Louis 💍 Harry

“Tell me that this is a fake,” Peter says, slapping a handful of papers against Louis’ chest. He says something else, something loud and demanding, barely even pausing for a breath, but Louis doesn’t hear it. All he hears is the sound of his own breathing, the sound of his own heartbeat.

Because this - this looks like a marriage certificate.

For a minute, everything stills, quiets. Louis drags his eyes up, meets Harry’s gaze, fixed on him.

Then the noise is back, shouting voices clamoring to be heard over each other, and Harry is still staring at him.

The ring that Louis hadn’t been able to stop noticing in the loo weighs heavily on his hand. His left hand.

3) Let's Take the World By Storm | Explicit | 14656 words | Harry 💍 Louis

Harry lifts his head off Louis’ chest to look at Louis’ face. “What’s that supposed to mean?” “I don’t know, but our sex life feels a bit boring, ‘sall,” Louis says, completely avoiding eye contact. “Boring.” Harry says flatly. He doesn’t say anything more, and Louis looks up to see that Harry seems to be mulling it over. “Yeah, boring,“ Louis says, and keeps talking before Harry can pipe up. “I mean, think about it. We’ve been dating since X Factor, and now things are starting to drag a bit. We don’t even have the time for handjobs anymore, much less actual sex.”

4) Dreams Can't Take The Place Of Loving You | Explicit | 15496 words | Harry 💍 Louis

In which Liam is the go-to ring guy, Niall's relentless, Zayn is family, and Harry and Louis are disgusting.

5) Life Won’t Wait | Explicit | 20327 words | Harry 💍 Louis

Note: This fic is the third part in a series.

It’s not until the third attempt goes terribly, horribly wrong that Harry realizes Louis is doing it on purpose.

All he can do is sit back in his chair, narrow his eyes, and watch as Louis pats the waiter on the back pseudo-helpfully, pretending like he’s actually doing something that makes up for the fact that he just deliberately tripped a waiter at one of the poshest restaurants in London and caused pasta to be spilled all over the place better. Like a pat on the back could make all of that better.

Ten minutes later, they exit the restaurant with absolutely no grace. Harry lets Louis tug him along, shielding him from the worst of the paps, but he doesn’t let up on the glare he’s got going on, directed at Louis’ back.

The gossip rags will all be screaming with headlines about how they’ve finally broken up for good, but it doesn’t matter right now.

6) The List | Mature | 32094 words | Louis 💍 Harry

In the weeks that follow, Harry opens his old journal more than he has in the past two years each time he remembers Venice or thinks about Louis. He always flips to the same random page in the middle of the book, marked by the picture of himself that Louis sent him a few days after they got home. There’s a message on the back that says, ‘Spontaneous looks good on you! See you soon,’ and it makes Harry’s chest warm each time he reads it. He wedges their list out from between the worn pages, and it feels silly staring down at a folded up piece of paper with a strange sense of nostalgia for experiences they’ve yet to have; for places they’ve never even been.

7) Welcome Back From The Friend Zone | Mature | 32354 words | Harry 💍 Louis

The one where an idea to create a fake wedding with the sole intent to receive gifts from billionaires took a turn no one, but also everyone, saw coming.

8) If I Loved You Less | Explicit | 36139 words | Harry 💍 Louis

Beautiful omega Louis Tomlinson is set to make his come out in London society and determined to find a mate in his first Season. With the help and protection of his oldest friend, Lord Niall Mendes, he takes Society by storm.

Being a wealthy and titled alpha means Lord Harry Styles has grown used to avoiding unmated omegas...until now. This Season he finds himself at every Society event just for a chance to speak with the omega with the flashing blue eyes.

Louis has the aristocracy at his feet and all the suitors he could hope for, but his secrets may ruin his chance at a love match.

9) Show Me Life Like I’ve Never Seen | Mature | 42953 words | Louis 💍 Harry

Louis never expected to leave the small art studio three blocks down from his job with anything besides the painting he caught a glimpse of and simply couldn't forget.

10) A Taste Of Desire | Explicit | 104414 words | Harry 💍 Louis

A Victorian ABO where Harry is the owner of the most successful cotton mill in Manchester, and Louis is an opinionated social activist about to disrupt Harry’s world.

Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.

#fic recs #bottom louis #top harry #larry #blp fic recs #blp

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anystalker707 · 4 years

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Lights, camera and fuck off (2/4)

Pairing: Gerard Way x Fem Reader Word count: ~ 1 600 Genre: Fluff Requested on Wattpad Summary: Basically just a cute day between Gerard and Reader.

"It's fine here," I tell Gerard as seeing we're already near enough to the building, "it'll be difficult to park there. Also, you don't need to pick me up later. I know the guys are coming over and I need to do some other things, anyways, so it won't be a problem." I smile at him as the car finally comes to a stop.

Gerard turns to me with a smile, his grip around the steering wheel loosening, "are you sure? I can still do it, tho, if you want."

"No, it's fine," I reassure him - sometimes I feel like he'd do anything for me if he could or if I let him. "Anyways, do I look fine? Is my hair okay? The lipstick?" Holding my phone up, I observe myself through the reflex, taking a last check on myself.

"No," he answers, "something's missing." Before I'm able to ask what's it, Gerard's fingers grab my jaw, making me turn to him, and he places his lips over mine. A wordless way of reassuring me and certainly one of the most effective. He pulls away with a small smile, rubbing the corner of my bottom lip with his thumb, "now you are."

A blush takes over my cheeks as I smile, gazing at him adoringly. "'Love you," I say while leaving the car, hearing his faint love you too after I close the door.

"And do you have any goal? Would you like to work on something apart from Umbrella?" The interviewer asks with a wide smile and a good mood. Unlike most of the times, the interviewer is someone who actually understands the subject he's talking about and his eyes flash more admiration than ambition. Actually, the whole mood is more casual - the live interview happening in the headquarters of the news platform, with a small public who was notified about it a couple of days ago, but most of it certainly is watching through the internet.

"Practically pleading for a role in a BBC series or in a Marvel or DC movie. It'd be nice being the Doctor or some other superhero," I say sheepishly, earning some appreciative words from the people gathered around us with their phones in hands. "But I couldn't wish anything better than working in Umbrella, that's for sure," I grin proudly. "It's been my passion since it was firstly published."

"I understand," he raises his eyebrows briefly, nodding. "And," he takes a glance at the paper cards he's got in hand, "what are you doing now, until you start filming Umbrella's next season?"

"Though I've already been indicated for a few series and movies, but I'm going to spare some time so I can tag along with MCR for at least a part of the tour," there's certain smugness in my voice, but I can't help it, it's not everyone who has a chance like this.

"Oh, really?" The interviewer says; at the same time some muttering starts between the public. "You're doing it?"

"Hah," I breathe out, furrowing my eyebrows at him in certain disbelief, "I've been waiting for this for six years, of course I wouldn't lose the chance. The return concert was already amazing, I can't wait to see them on tour. Not to mention I never got to see them live before the break up, so... It'll certainly be a good experience." The mention of it makes anxiety start bubbling in my stomach once again, pretty much like every time I think about it. The thought makes me so happy.

"Ah, are you comfortable to talk about your relationship?" He asks carefully, still not seeming completely secure after I give a small nod - though he seems sweet until now, I'm mentally wishing he doesn't start with these repetitive or too intrusive questions. "Hows it dealing with all the repercussion?"

"Oh, well," I throw my head back, scratching my neck in thought. "It's annoying sometimes, but negative comments are common, aren't them?" I throw a hand in the air, shrugging, "we can't please everyone. And, about the ones who just want to annoy, I hope they grow empathy at some point."

With a smile, I turn to one of the cameras, internally wishing the shoes fit and people do stop it. "C'mon, I don't understand what's all the fuss about while people's always spreading about acceptance, but can't accept this. How much of hypocrites are y'all?" I chuckle, though really meaning it - my words receive another wave of appreciative comments from the people.

"Oh my God, do you fucking live here now? It looks like you own the place!" Frank says from the couch in a playfully indignant tone as seeing me closing the door behind me. Mikey cracks a chuckle, greeting me with a small nod.

Playing along, I roll my eyes dramatically, "yes, motherfucker, now I own everything, even the band and I'm kicking you out of it," I point a finger at Frank, narrowing my eyes - he gasps offended; all I do is to chuckle. I'm halfway up the stairs, about to question where's Gerard when he walks out of the kitchen. "Sup, king," I say, earning a reprehending look for him as he places a hand on his hip; he ends up giving up with a smile after I chuckle.

The guys are talking when I make my way back downstairs - having changed and left my bag upstairs - so I just greet Ray back with a wave when he sees me walking to the kitchen. Thankfully, the week hasn't been too busy for any one of us, so Gerard and I have been spending more time together.

It makes me smile a bit seeing they remembered of me since, even having four used cups of coffee inside the sink, there's still some coffee in the jar. A vapor comes from the drink as I pour it in my mug and bring it with me as I move to the counter. A couple of magazines rest over the marble surface, I them left there once walking in the room - one is mine and other Gerard's, since the publishing house always provides the editions when we give interviews like this.

There's a picture of Gerard and me on the cover, a very beautiful one. A few pages in the middle of the magazine are reserved to the other photos we took, along with the interview. Everyone shall be happy now, with all the so much wanted answers. At least there was someone who was nice enough to not simply throw repetitive rude questions at us.

"Hey, sugar," Gerard's voice is suddenly next to my ear while he wraps his arms around my waist - the silence coming from the other rooms lead me to believe the others left already. Exhaling, I lean back against him with a pleased hum, but it turns into a desperate one after he places a kiss on my neck, tickling me. He lets out the sweetest giggle ever and I can't help but to melt, pecking his cheek.

"Look," I say, placing my mug on the counter then taking the magazine in hand, "is it fine? I'm still thinking it looks a bit weird." Anyways, it's practically the exact same with every other picture, I guess. The more I look at it, the worse it gets.

"No, it's perfect," he says in that specific tone, signing I can't argue back because these are facts. It should be difficult to believe him - because he's the kind of person who is right even against googled info - but it's actually easy and feels like he's telling me the obvious. "You're perfect." He tells me and I blush, placing the magazine back down on the counter.

Smiling, I place a kiss on his lips and move away to finish drinking my coffee and put the mug in the sink. Gerard has his phone in hand when I turn around, probably taking a pic of the magazines to post it somewhere.

I gaze at him for a moment and decide to go to the back garden, sitting down on a bench. He's walking through the doorway not long later and, as soon as he sits down, I move to lay on the bench, in a way my head's on his lap - the concrete is warm against my back. He lets out a small hum at me, caressing my cheek with his knuckles.

Everything is so peaceful. I can't really define if everything is really that good or if it's due to me finally being able to rest after such a busy day. The day is warm, with a light breeze - sighing, I close my eyes, allowing myself to just enjoy it and Gerard's presence.

I'm able to sense him moving and, cracking an eye open, there's him holding his phone over me. "Gerard," I say in a playful warning tone, "you're not recording me to post it, are you? I'm tired of seeing random videos of me on your story whenever I get on Instagram." I breathe a chuckle, actually loving all the attention I receive, though I'm not really worthy of it.

"Art's made to be appreciated," he answers simply, cupping my face, rubbing his thumb over my cheek.

"And I guess I'll never appreciate you enough," I answer, smiling.

#mcr #x reader #mcr x reader #imagine #my chemical romance #gerard way #gerard way x reader #fluff #fanfic #fanfiction #oneshot #writing #emo #my post

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yukisohmasmokesweed · 4 years

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heeey... so, might be still a bit early to ask, but: top 10 "things" about season 2? could be eps, moments, characters, things they did, whatever you feel like, literally ur top 10 favorites from it

i interpreted this to mean top 10 moments so....top 10 moments!

10. (from 2x4)

i love this whole fight so much. it’s kind of an unspoken thing after it’s first established that they have to hide a huge part of their lives from everyone around them since it’s a given, so i like this bottled-up frustration over having to live constantly walking on eggshells coming out. i also really really like that we get to see haru acting genuinely scary as dark haru; it’s introduced as a comedic thing and haru is a generally well-adjusted character compared to the rest of the zodiac, and so i like that we get to see just how destructive and chaotic his coping mechanism really is. filmmaking-wise it’s a little boring but i don’t really mind because it’s tense enough that i don’t really notice it.

9. (from 2x17)

this is the only funny one on my list because i live for the drama haha but i like this scene for more than its humor! this episode takes place at a point in the season where yuki has been able to accept that he is allowed to put himself and his recovery first, and has spent enough time with others and pushed himself out of his comfort zone enough to shake off the instantaneous automatic fear of rejection that his social anxiety manifests as. because of the slow undoing of this hardwired reaction and because he’s become very comfortable around kakeru, though, his real, unrestrained personality as well as his actual opinions start slipping out. i like that this scene shows us 1. that he cares for tohru so deeply that he would end a friendship over her getting hurt, even though he thinks it’s childish after he says it and 2. that not even yuki knows what his real personality is like because he’s kept it repressed for so long. and i think for people with social anxiety the reaction to this kind of thing is embarrassment, but despite his embarrassment kakeru accepts what he says at face value because he likes yuki for who he is, not who he pretends to be for other people’s comfort. this is a very sweet moment between the two of them even if it’s buried a bit underneath the humor and kakeru’s easy acceptance of yuki’s more dramatic and snarky side is one of the reasons yuki trusts him so much when it comes to heavy stuff. i don’t love the bg changes to this cartoony thing in fb but in comedic scenes like this one it didn’t bother me, and i thought all of the art in this episode was really nice. this was also one of my favorite voice acting moments from shimazaki, i looooved loved loved him stuttering as he turns around right after he has this revelation, i think it’s super funny and also very natural-sounding, plus it’s a different kind of delivery from yuki but it fits him so well.

8. (from 2x19)

i love this little moment between shigure and hatori. the way they talk about the curse in this scene is very indicative of their characters and how they feel about the curse: shigure is flippant and casual when he says rin visits him to see if he knows how to break it, and hatori is shocked at the idea of it, then instantly becomes resigned, claiming it’s not possible. but this moment right at the end is just *chefs kiss* the way shigure says hatori’s name so weighty, and the delivery of “...do you hear it?” is curious if not hesitantly hopeful, some of my fav line readings in the whole show. i also really love the pan up the stairs back up to the house when he says “the sound of breaking,” the implication of tohru’s involvement in this clear. this scene is also visually stunning and i like the track under it a lot.

7. (from 2x18)

i’m obsessed with this scene and i’m obsessed with every line reading from nakamura, he is so incredible. i thought the art in this scene was gorgeous and every blocking choice was amazing, the body language and where they moved and when was perfect. also one of my favorite tracks off the ost plays under this scene, and i love that it ends just before shigure delivers his line, “i’m the worst.” and rin looks over her shoulder in silence other than the sound of the door(!) sliding closed as shigure exits. you can feel in this scene how desperate rin is and how frustrated shigure’s flippancy is making her. i also really like rin’s body language in general, she’s a good amount touchier than anyone else, and she’s all over shigure in this scene, both because she’s propositioning him but also because of her implied closeness (gure-nii) to him.

this is an excellent shigure scene, and i love these lines included in particular as well as the repeat of them in the finale. it’s a moment of actual self-awareness and self-reflection from shigure for sure, you can tell by his face, but in true shigure form he is not saying it because he’s trying to be emotionally open with rin; he’s saying it to get her off his back. he knows that the curse is weakening but he also knows that the harder he pushes people and the harder they struggle to get out, the more likely the curse is to break. it’s cruel and manipulative and the most painful way to go about things, but hey at least he knows it!

6. (from 2x25)

this whole scene between shigure and hatori in the finale is a super hard hitter; they both know everything about one another and have nothing to hide and they are also very desensitized to cruelty, and so their conversations are incredibly frank, and they don’t skirt around anything, either. i like that hatori doesn’t hesitate to put shigure in his place regarding akito’s status (a good example of hatori as akito’s enabler and the upkeeper of the status quo in order to keep everyone’s lives as calm as possible at the cost of his own happiness), and i like that shigure immediately gives it back by calling out hatori’s attachment to the bond—which is an interesting thing to bring up and speaks to the bond as not just a curse, but of how it is also their family and community. their lives do revolve around it, so the curse breaking would be an unthinkable change to something integral to their existence.

i chose this moment in particular because it’s a great insight into shigure’s emotional state, one of deep jealousy and pain over akito’s rejection of him. i like that it’s a close-up of his eyes here; shigure’s eyes are important in the reboot, and seeing them here tells us that this is his emotional truth. when hatori calls him out, though, they are hidden again. these lines are also delivered so well, i love how low in his register he’s speaking, it’s not something we hear from shigure a lot. it’s very heavy and very indicative of his pain.

also, i like when they copy things exactly from the manga, so i liked this shot a lot as the closer of the scene:

5. (from 2x21)

ok obviously i had to put this because it’s my favorite scene in the manga...i thought this was very visually beautiful, loved that they had yuki standing in darkness (in front of a door!) and kyo illuminated by the light, but a light from a place he’s not allowed to enter. i think the lighting design speaks to how yuki views kyo, not only when he’s a little older as someone who is naturally charismatic and attractive, but in the moment, as a potential ray of light, a possible friend who could understand his situation through shared life experience. i just love the puff of breath yuki gives in reaction to kyo confirming what akito has been saying to him about how everyone hates him and everything is his fault, and i love yuki’s hands folded in front of his chest, protecting the most vulnerable part of his body as a reflex to words that deeply wounded him.

i like this scene for its function of the root of yuki and kyo’s conflict: that kyo needs to hate yuki and scapegoat him for his own problems due to yuki’s status in the family, and yuki hates kyo back to protect himself. it’s a very nuanced and deep take on a fictional rivalry that comes from a very realistic place of maladaptive coping and morphs into something more habitual and every day over time. also big love the casting choices for these two as children. this scene was amazing, it’s super short but i like this specific moment in it because it does a great job visually showcasing yuki and kyo’s immediate reactions and emotions to meeting one another for the first time.

4. (from 2x25)

i thought this whole sequence was incredibly well-done, but specifically i loved this part where the music swells and the loom crashes down onto the floor over akito’s repeated lines. also one of my favorite voice acting moments of the season, i loved akito delivering these lines through hiccups and sobs and trailing off into childish crying, and the art and animation was very visceral. seeing akito this out of control was amazing and kureno’s reactions to akito hit very very hard; it’s easy to sympathize with him and see why he would agree to this, and it contextualizes his decision to do so when all we the audience has seen before this is akito’s terrible and abusive behavior.

i also really liked kureno’s hands coming in towards akito to comfort, it reminded me of this

from 1x9 but flipped; instead of kureno’s hands coming forward to comfort akito but representing his choice to trap himself in the curse, it’s akito’s hands coming from behind to force yuki to stay with akito against his will. they also both cut off very suddenly, which i like a lot.

3. (from 2x8)

this transition makes me go absolutely ballistic. visually i love akito and tohru turning to look over their shoulders in opposite directions, i just think it looks very sexy and it was a cool way to transition out of one scene and into another. i also like the mirrored body language to set them up as each other’s foils in these two scenes. akito brings kureno, who is functionally their love interest, out for a walk and then proceeds to belittle him, his status, and his opinions. tohru goes out with kyo, her love interest, so they can have a nice time at the beach. they have a very open conversation about the “monstrous” aspect to kyo where tohru validates and appreciates his thoughts and emotions. having these two scenes back to back was a really smart move to contrast our protagonist and antagonist and set them up as each other’s foils, and it’s definitely my favorite scene transition in the season.

2. (from 2x10)

i loooove how insanely tense this scene is. i really like that shigure and akito are sitting in silence here until akito starts their monologue in full, and then the track is cut off at its crescendo by kureno’s knocking. the track being bookended by low ambient sound from outside makes it more impactful when it does start playing, and the track cutting off with the knocking makes the sound of akito’s clothes moving as they get up and the door sliding open while the camera is still trained on shigure’s expression deafening. i also like the shot choices in this scene, particularly the close-up of akito’s hands around shigure’s jaw and that we can only see their mouths, as well as the shot of shigure seething but partially blocked by akito’s torso. the voice acting in this scene is also bonkers good, particularly yuichi nakamura’s shigure.

this is the first time the audience has seen shigure mad, not just annoyed or frustrated, and that’s definitely a big part of why i love this scene. his conflict with akito adds a lot of depth to his character and i like seeing a different range of emotion from him than normal. i also just love the introduction of their whole relationship drama love triangle thing going on with the adults, i honestly think it’s hilarious that takaya baits the audience into thinking it’s going to be a love triangle between the teens and it just completely is not but is instead a deeply fucked up one between the older characters. truly a stroke of genius

1. (from 2x8)

i love this whole scene so much. i think cinematically it’s gorgeous, i love that they’re surrounded by greenery and i really like the leaves starting to fall around them and the beams of sunlight behind tohru. those choices could have come off flashy and overdone but i feel the way it was directed was subtle enough that it didn’t feel like ibata was holding my hand through my emotions, but impactful enough that it’s an emotional gut punch every time i watch it. the moment where the flute ends with tohru’s internal line and transitions into strings/chimes mixed with the sfx of the wind rustling through the leaves is beautiful and probably my favorite use of soundtrack this season.

the reason i love this moment in particular so much is because it so encapsulates yuki and tohru’s relationship. she sees him so clearly and has been in his life long enough to tell that his reaction to rin is a marked change from who he was when they first met. she also knows that yuki working through his trauma over akito is something he needs to do on his own, and that the best thing she can do for him is to support him and show him that she loves him. on yuki’s end, he already knows tohru will support him unconditionally, but he’s now at a place where he’s able to accept it in stride and knows without a doubt that she’s there for him. this little moment really showcases what their whole relationship is about and was gorgeously done. this scene very quickly became one of my favorites when the episode came out and i’m pleasantly surprised that it’s stayed there; in fact, it was totally enhanced by the development of their relationship this season, which has undoubtedly become my favorite relationship in all of fruits basket. i think a friendship as deep as this one is a rare gem in fiction, let alone one between a man and a woman. this whole exchange is very beautiful and touching and a great summation of what they both mean to each other.

#fruits basket #fruits basket season 2 #yeah im putting this on the tag because i spent a long ass time on this post #meta???#anonymous #ask #takes a huge bong rip

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purplesurveys · 3 years

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1149

What is your age? 22, but there’s less than a month to go before I turn 23.

What annoys you? Literally every single person who still supports the government at this point. For context, we are back to square one and we’re under the exact same quarantine imposed in March 2020 because of the surge in cases. Nothing has changed and nothing has been done in the last 365 days while people are getting hungrier and poorer. I’m done feeling hopeful for this country and I cannot wait to abandon it forever.

Do you have any allergies? Apparently, grass. Can’t be exposed to it for too long otherwise the skin on my thighs turn red and occasionally even get rashes.

Do you know anyone named Billy? Kind of, but they’re girls with their name spelled as Billie.

When is your birthday? April 21st and spending it in quarantine once again this year...

Who is your best friend(s)? Angela and Andi.

What's your favorite candy? I like gummy bears and worms. As for sweets, I really like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Butterfinger, Twix, and the Hershey’s Cookies and Creme bar.

When was the last time you cried? Maybe a day or two ago while watching a snippet from Caught in Providence.

Have you been out of the country? Yes.

Do you daydream? Not so much these days. I’ve been better at keeping my focus at work.

What's your favorite kind of dog? I love alllllll dogs, but I’d usually be wary of smaller dogs because 87% of the times I’ve met some, they’re aggressive or a bit moody. I don’t like stereotyping dogs as much as possible but because I’ve had direct experiences to back it up anyway, *shrug*

What day of the week is it? It’s a Sunday.

How do you like your eggs? Scrambled, poached, or an omelette with lots of fillings. Balut is also great.

Have you ever been in the emergency room? Only when I was born, I’m guessing.

What's the easiest thing ever to do? Idk, what comes easy to me might not be the same for others. But my answer would be to smile, regardless if it were genuine or otherwise.

Have you ever flown in a plane? Yeah, many times. The child-like excitement I get whenever I get on one will probably never go away, either.

Do you use fly swatters? No, my mom usually uses old shoebox covers or rolled-up scratch papers we have lying around to swat them.

Have you ever used a foghorn?: Only in video games lol, never in real life.

Have you pet a goat? I don’t think I have. I’ve pet lots of animals before but I don’t think a goat has been one of them yet.

Are you a giver or a taker? Giver, but I’ve been allowing myself to take more these days.

Do you like gummy candies? Love them.

How are you? We’ve entered summer weather now, so I feel hot and miserable. It’s also Sunday and I am stuck at home, which doesn’t make me the happiest camper.

What's your height? 5′1″ or a tiny tiny tiny bit taller than that.

What color is your hair? It’s black but on extremely rare occasions I’ll catch a single light brown strand when I play with my hair.

What's your favorite ice cream? Cookies and cream and chocolate chip cookie dough. My friend Leigh actually started her own ice cream shop recently and I bought her coffee crumble ice cream, and it is sooooooooo fuckinggggggggg good??????? It’s so rare to find coffee ice cream where I live period, so I’m fucking stoked to have a close friend who makes literally the best one and in generous servings too.

Have you ever ice skated? Many times as a kid. I was never formally trained, but it was something I wanted to try from watching other kids play in mall ice skating rinks; and when I did give it a shot, I ended up enjoying it. Luckily my mom was encouraging and actually frequently dropped me off at a rink so I can practice gliding and all for a few hours while she ran errands.

Have you cheated the IRS? That’s like an American tax thingy, right? We don’t have that here and my employer handles my TIN.

What's your favorite jelly bean? Not a big fan but if I had to have Jelly Belly, I obviously would want to get the pleasant-tasting ones.

Do you tell jokes? Yes.

Do you wear nice jewelry? Only on special occasions.

Do you want to kill anybody? I don’t want to kill anybody but I certainly wish a good number of public officials would finally die.

Do you want to have kids? Yes. I really wish I could still have a future with them. Thanks for the trauma, my real asshole of an ex.

Where did you have kindergarten? Somewhere.

Are you laidback? I doubt my friends would use this to describe me. I for sure lean more towards the uptight side of the spectrum.

Do you lie? Eh, occasionally.

When is the last time you sent a hand-written letter? I have no idea. Christmas 2019 maybe?

Ever talked in a microphone? Sure. Many times.

Do you still watch Disney Movies? I very rarely get in the mood for them if I’m by myself, but yes, I’d gladly sit down and watch should an opportunity come.

Do you like mangoes? No.

Do you have a nickname? 99% of people call me Robyn while my family calls me Byn, but there are a select few friends who’ve stayed long enough with me to catch other names I’ve gotten over the years, which have since become inside jokes/nicknames. There’s Reben and Rolayn, and literally just yesterday ‘Roby’ happened when I ordered food for lunch so that will probably catch on as well.

What’s your favorite number? 4.

Do you prefer night over day? Absolutely.

Are you an only child? No, I’m two siblings away from that status.

Do you wish this was over? I haven’t felt that way, no.

What is the closet orange object near you? An orange tumbler my Kuya gave me as a Christmas gift in 2019. There is also orange tape wrapped around the charger adaptor of my company laptop.

What one fear are you most paranoid about? Waking up in the middle of surgery and being unable to speak nor move.

Do you play any instruments? Nope.

Do you think you are pretty? Some days.

Are you quick to judge people? No, unless they are already blatantly showing their character like being rude towards service staff, tossing their trash to the ground, or cutting in queues. Whenever those things happen I give myself the space and freedom to guiltlessly judge.

What do you keep quiet about? How dysfunctional my family really is, and the things I really want to say about Gabie.

Do you have any quirks? Food-wise, I like peeling off the breading from fried chicken and placing them on the side of my plate so I can eat them last, because they’re my favorite part.

What’s a good reason to cry? Frustration. Crying can be really helpful in lessening stress.

Do you think you're always right? No.

Do you watch reality TV? Not religiously, but I love watching snippets of reality shows on Facebook because they’re all so embarrassing and it’s hilarious to watch hahahahah. Literally last night I was watching clips of Big Ed on 90 Day Fiance.

Are you a social person? More so now than I was years ago.

What states have you lived in? I lived in Manila briefly but it didn’t take long till we transferred to another city for a more peaceful life in the suburbs.

What is your favorite season? I wanna say winter because of what I’ve seen from it in movies and shows, but I’ve never actually experienced it before.

When did you last sleep in a tent? Sometime in March or April last year.

Do you like tomatoes? Mostly in diced form. Tomato sauce is fine but I don’t really like it in my pasta. Bloody Mary also tastes rather awful.

What time did you wake up? 8:30 AM.

Do you have an umbrella in your car? I think so, yeah. I finally placed one in there lmao.

Do listen to Usher? Eh, not really. 2000s R&B isn’t my thing, save for Beyoncé.

Describe the underwear your wearing? It’s light blue.

What’s the worst veggie? I never learned to like pechay. I’d still eat it, but only because I like cleaning up my entire plate.

Do you like movies with violence? Some. Like I hate action movies but I enjoyed A Clockwork Orange and Scream lol.

Where do you want to go on vacation? I recently bookmarked an Airbnb in Zambales and the accommodation is basically this super cute line of tipi-styled huts by the beach. I'd love to have a solo trip push through once this Covid mess subsides.

Ever been on a wave runner? No.

Where do you work? I work in a PR company.

Do you wish on stars? Just sometimes.

Have you ever had an x-ray? Only for mandatory medical exams.

Do you own a xylophone? I think I had a toy one as a kid, but it’s not with me anymore.

Have you watched the x-games? No, not interested.

What did you do yesterday? I stayed at home; ordered food for Angela as a surprise; debated if I should buy a pair of Air Maxes – and ultimately decided I’ve already spent too much this month to deserve a new pair of shows lol; and just settled to buy a new night lamp for my bedroom. I also watched the newest episode of 2 Days 1 Night and ate more of Leigh’s ice cream while doing work.

Do you like the color yellow? Only in mustard yellow. I also like the song Yellow, heh.

What year were you born?: 1998.

Do you believe in the zodiac? No.

Has your bank account been at zero? No. I remember when I was first opening my own account at the bank and the clerk told me to make sure I don’t go below P2,000, and my intensely by-the-book ass has been following the rule ever since, even though my dad has told me it’s absolutely fine to go below it so long as I have P2,000 back in the account after a month hahaha.

Ever been to the zoo? A few.

#survey #surveys

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heyimtavia · 4 years

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THE POST FINALE HENRY DANGER OPINIONS TAG:

Hey party people! Sorry I’ve been a bit out of the loop. Due to what’s going on in the world, adulting sorta got in the way and I have to DVR the final episode. No one tagged me, but I just wanted to add my two cents since this is officially the end and this is a really cute tag.

1. Who was your overall favorite member of Team Danger and why?

Charlotte hands down. She was brilliant, sassy and just a great friend to Henry no matter what. She’s one of the main reasons why I decided to tune into the show. I saw a lot of myself in her. I was once that little smart black girl that no one listened too. But it’s okay though, but that GLOW UP is real! I know from experience lol.

2. Who was your favorite non-team danger character and why?

Y'all know I love Fran the security guard. She should’ve gotten more air time. I just think she’s hilarious! I’d loved to see her try to wrestle a dolphin any day!

3. Who was your favorite villain and why?

Dr. Minyak & Nurse Cohort. I just gotta respect his hustle. Other than Rex and Rick Twitler, I feel like he’s the only everyday villain who always came close to defeating Captain Man & Kid Danger. He always had unique plans; from capturing and brain-altering Charlotte to taking Piper and the man fan hostage, he was always creative. Plus I love his little temper tantrums he sometimes throws.

4. What were your top five favorite Henry Danger episodes of all time and why?

1) All time Fav would go to The Great Cactus Con. From the dopeyness of how everyone can do a backflip instead of Ray. How Charlotte gets to show off her fashion design skills. How Piper unofficially works with Team Danger. Plus I love the cute romantic bit between Jasper and Patina. 2) Rumblr- That whole episode was just comedy gold for me. They should’ve brought Kyle back for the finale and had him show up at kid danger’s funeral 3) I dream of Danger - Its Char’s episode. I like how it alluded to Charlotte’s dream might come true but it doesn’t. However, I don’t like how they just moved on like the episode never happened even when Jasper thinks that char likes him. 4) Flabber Gassed- I love that char got to show off her fighting skills and how happy Jasper was to be a superhero. 5) Holey Moley- I straight up die for laughter every time I see that episode. I love how Henry kept saying, “oh look, a downside.” I feel like that episode would have been a sketch on All That or the Amanda Show. It just felt like good ole Nickelodeon comedy.

5. What were your top five least favorite Henry Danger episodes of all time and why?

1) Henry’s Birthday- Call me a diva, but if anyone treated me like that on my birthday, the party is OVER! 2) Captain Makini (I think that's what it’s called). Sorry, I'm not really a fan of Frankie Grande and though he was great for the musical, I really don’t think he needed a second episode. 3) Meet Cute Crush- I’m sorry, anything involving Piper is just physical and emotionally draining. All that girl does is yell. Thank u, next. 4) Sick & Wired- Because I got sick and tired of Ray’s shenanigans. 5) JAM Session- Now Piper isn’t my favorite character, but how that girl was manipulated all over a bet was just stupid and disrespectful.

6. What was your favorite running gag and why?

1) Fran’s line, “There’s only one in the whole world, and we got it!” Swellview must be a fun, mysterious place that always gets amazing things lol. 2) When everyone says “Click” before hanging up their phone. I find it funny because I’m pretty sure the kids had never owned a flip phone in their lives.

7. What was your favorite one-off throw away gag and why?

When shwoz referenced his song from the musical when he said, “Science, science, science, I’ve said this already.” I think he said this in Theranos boot. And also the grammar fights and how grammar rules don’t apply to Charlotte lol.

8. What episode, which character and which duo made you laugh the most?

I think Holey Moley & Rumblr both made me laugh the most. Those were great episodes. Jasper would have to be the funniest. That boy says the darndest things lol. Hensper. Because of how Henry loved Jasper’s mustache and wanted to get one too. And when Jasper and Henry were both “Dude. Bro. Dude. Bro. DUDE!” Over the Patina situation and Charlotte had to break them up.

9. What episode, which character and which duo made you the most emotional?

I think it was Second episode of the finale episodes, when Henry was freaking out at the end because he was alone and Rex had sent Ray A Million and one years into the past. The fact that he literally had to think like all of his friends because obviously that’s what he was used to, everyone being there to help figure out a plan and keep swellview safe. And the fact that for that moment he was kid danger and all alone was really scary for him.

10. How would you rank each season from 1 to 5, one being the best and five being the worst?

I would rank season 5 as 1. It overall had great episodes and delved into different genres and fun tv and movie tropes. It made it a joy to watch, though some episodes leading towards the end didn’t quite catch me. Season 4 would be like a high 4 but not exactly a 5. Season 3 was sorta Meh to me. So maybe a #. Season 2 would be a 4 and season 1 would be like a 4 because it was a the beginning to a great show and was still working out the kinks a bit.

11. Who was your favorite duo in the show (romantic or non-romantic)?

Chenry 100%. The friendship that those two have is great! Now I must say, I hate that Nick was still posting about them on their youtube page for clout knowing that it wasn’t gonna happen. I felt like they did that just so people would watch the final episodes. I was gonna watch regardless, but really Nick? Really?

12. What was your favorite Henry and Ray moment/episode?

The bro song! Plus I love that it kept getting referenced after the musical as well.

13. What was your favorite Chenry moment/episode?

When Char was controlling Henry in flabber gassed, she made him jump up and down while clapping! I love that even shwoz joined in too lol. And when Henry was concerned about her after she ate bad meat from the auto snacker.

14. What was your favorite Hensper moment/episode?

The mustache scene from Grand Theft Otto, “dude if I had one, I’d be Man Danger!”

15. What was your favorite Chensper moment/episode?

This also kinda includes Ray but when they were all stealing Joss Ross’s gift from her birthday party and they were just casually leaving. And how Jasper kept saying, “It’s not stealing if it’s from a criminal.” Plus I like the episode when Hen and Char have to pretend to date just to see if Jasper would keep their secret. The boy poured a whole bowl of pees down his shirt lmaoooo!!

16. If you could go back and change one element of the show, what would it be?

Have Ray grow up and stop fawning over Henry’s mom. It was just plain creepy! Oh and put some respect on my girl Charlotte’s name.

17. If you could say one thing to each main character in the pilot, what would it be?

Life isn’t always about one day getting a statue, (I’m looking at YOU Captain Man). Crime-fighting is fun and being a sidekick could literally every kid’s dream. But don’t forget to be a kid. Hangout with your friends, go to school, go on dates. Do the whole growing up thing. But at the end of the day, you have to do what’s best for you.

18. If you could say one thing to each main character in the finale, what would it be?

Thank you for sharing your lives with me and I am so so sooo proud of you all!

19. Were you satisfied with the finale? What part was your favorite and what part was your least favorite?

Honestly, I think it was okay for what it was. My fav part was when Jasper literally had to carry Char out of the mancave because she refused to leave Henry behind. I love that they decided to stick together. They did leave a lot of storylines open. I thought Joss Moss would be revealed as the real Mob boss. I thought Rick Twitler would regain his memory. Where the heck is Gooch? Caitlin? Chenry (for obvious reasons). I'm just spitballing here. Was it good? Yes. could it have been better? Hell yes.

20. What would your ideal Henry danger spin off look like?

Charlotte and Henry have powers and Jasper can fight! Dystopia. That was the spin-off that I wanted! I don’t really care about the new kids as much. They’re college-aged too? Just imagine the shenanigans they would get into! But we need to kick the Charlotte hating writer off the staff though. Can The CW pick this show up?

21. Where do you personally see the characters 10 years from now? What are they doing, who are they with, where are they in their lives - what do you think happened to them? Most importantly, are they happy?

I honestly haven’t thought about it. But I believe no matter what they do or where they may end up, they will be happy. They’ll probably always be a team.

22. What was your favorite part of the show and why did it initially draw you in?

It became an escape from my normal adult life. (I’m saying like I’m old. I’m only 23.) I randomly flipped it on one day, I can't remember what episode it was, but from then on, I was hooked. I used to watch it a while back, but I fell off, but at that moment on time, it was easy for me to fall right back into it.

23. What was your favourite part of the fandom and why did it initially draw you in?

The friends I’ve made, the people have met! They are the best out of all the fandoms I’m a part of. I’ve been on tumblr for years and never had I have a group of people be so nice, supportive and just incorporate me into things. I love you guys so much!

24. Describe your overall emotions/feelings regarding the show being over and the show in general, looking back on it as a whole, with one quote from the show.

It’s a bittersweet feeling. I hate to see it go. But all good things must come to an end. But I guess there’s nothing better to say than, “Feels Good.”

25. If you were able to add one scene in the finale, what would you add?

I don’t know honestly. Maybe we could have seen him reunite with his friends and family. Especially Charlotte and Jasper, Afterall, they probably thought that their best friend was dead for all they knew.

26. Favorite outfit/hair style?

Charlotte’s Date outfit with Jack Swagger. Sis was rockin that romper. Also when Jasper and Charlotte were helper bunnies! Those outfits were hilarious and cute.

27.Least favorite character?

I'm sorry but Piper. She was worse than the whole annoying little sister trope. I swear all ash did was yell through most of the seasons and then they gave this chick a driver’s license, I mean what?? Plus i think her reaction to finding out Henry was kid danger was better in Broken Armed and Dangerous, than in twisted sister.

28. What is question you would like to ask the writers/ producers?

Im tagging @adorkable-blackgirl @chenoahchantel

#henry danger #hd spoliers #hd tag game #hd

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fulcrumahsokaamidala · 4 years

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Saturday Spectacular #20

Happy Saturday!!! So this is me thanking awesome fanfic writers for their amazing work and all the time they put into their fics. ♥️ I want to recommend spectacular fanfic stories I read this week! ♥️ They are posted in the order I read them. All posts will be tagged #saturday spectacular fic rec

Airplanes, Coffee and Deadlines by @hope-for-olicity | Arrow | Completed

Summary: Felicity begins working at a national newspaper where she has always dreamed of working. On her first day, she meets a very interesting photojournalist. The two will eventually work together but sparks fly immediately.

It Will Be Fun. Trust Me. by @stephswims | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Felicity doesn’t agree with Oliver’s plans for a relaxing vacation. How will she ever get him to see her perspective?

Just Follow Me. I Know the Area. by @stephswims | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Rewrite of the infamous 3x01 date.

Now? Now you listen to me? by @stephswims | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: It’s moving day for our favorite Queens.

I Know You Didn’t Ask For This by @stephswims | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Set in season 2.

I Might Just Kiss You by @stephswims | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Set in season 2.

Yes, I'm Aware. Your Point? by @stephswims | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Established Olicity.

No, And That's Final. by @stephswims | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Established Olicity. Shopping for a present for Thea. Sort of.

Can You Stay? by @stephswims | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Set in Season 2 after the Russia debacle.

There Is A Certain Taste To It by @stephswims | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Established Olicity.

Listen. I Can't Explain It. You'll Have To Trust Me. by @stephswims | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Set in season 2. Day 10 of Fictober. Felicity has a feeling.

It's Not Always Like This by @stephswims | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Another Season 2 ficlet.

What If I Don't See It? by @stephswims | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Set in Season 4.

I Never Knew It Could Be This Way by @stephswims | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Takes place in season 1.

I Can't Come Back. by @stephswims | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Set in Season 1 before Felicity finds out Oliver is the vigilante, or can be a completely separate AU.

That's What I'm Talking About by @stephswims | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Established Olicity builds a sunroom.

Listen. No, Really Listen. by @stephswims | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: The conversation that should have happened in Season 4 to prevent Season 5 stupidity.

There Is Just Something About Him by @stephswims | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: AU.

Secrets? I Love Secrets. by @stephswims | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Season 2.

I Wrote Your Name in My Heart by @alanna-the-lionheart | Arrow | Completed

Summary: One cold night in December, a group of men kidnap Oliver right in front of Felicity. They leave behind no ransom or demands, no hints to his fate, and no clues to follow. As the new year starts, the team begins to lose hope that they will ever be able to save the Green Arrow; all except Felicity, because Felicity just got Oliver back, and she’ll be damned if she’s going to lose him again. Her hope pays off in the end…but when they finally find Oliver, they find a broken man they barely recognize. Felicity vows to do whatever it takes to make the man she loves whole again. Started off as a future fic but is now technically alternate canon/AU (takes places starting in early December 2016).

The Legacy of a Queen by @inlovewithimpossibillity | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Series of one-shots from a future AU where Oliver and Felicity are able to raise their children after they defeat the Ninth Circle and Oliver hangs up the hood

Lucas’ Adventures by CSM | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Post 2x07. One late night in the foundry Oliver finds an abandoned baby, who he later finds out is his biological son, the only thing is the baby seems to think Felicity is his mother, which is impossible. Or is it? aka, Mia Smoak gets tired of her baby brother and sends him to 2013 where their unsuspecting parents find him. Companion piece to Impeccable Genetics.My contribution for the Olicity Summer Sizzle

Three Little Words by @realityisoverrated-fic | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Oliver Queen loves easily and fully. When he loves someone, those three little words come easily. For Tommy, love has always been something used against him. To Tommy, those three little words are dangerous.

There Are Two Sides to Every Story by @oneofthosecrazygirls-fics | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Susan Williams and Bethany Snow are two of Starling City’s most prominent journalists…but their styles are very different. This is a series of articles written by these two journalists from the time of the sinking of the Queen’s Gambit to the present day.**set in the What Should’ve Been ‘verse**

Ride or Die by @someonesaidcake | Arrow | WIP

Summary: They say that life is a series of events that we can neither predict nor control… And then there is him. He’s a bit of an enigma. ~*~*~*~Young CEO Felicity Smoak is just trying to make her mark on the world, yes she’s a little high strung and stressed, but it was what is was… until he came along. With eyes a girl could lose herself in and shoulder-tapping hair made for hanging on to Oliver Queen was reckless and carefree. Also, he rode a bike. He was everything she wasn’t and he was a sucker for those sinful red lips and everything that came with them.*main story complete, now snapshots*

missing the bullet by @alexiablackbriar13 | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: After Oliver and Mia's cage match wins in Russia, Mia ends up getting shot when Oliver tackles the man aiming at her rather than jumping in front of the bullet. (A sort of alternate spec for 8x05)

by your side by ppperaltiagooo | Brooklyn Nine-Nine | WIP

Summary: in which jake is sent undercover again and amy finds out she is pregnant while he’s gone.

Queen vs Queen by @muslimsmoak | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Felicity Mignonette Renaldi Smoak has been handling being a princess pretty well so far. After all, she did only find out at the ripe young age of 15. Now, she is 21 and ready to take the throne of Genovia after being under the tutelage of her aunt. But there’s only one thing in her way, wait, actually two. Two things in her way: Oliver Queen, the hot young bachelor she danced with the night of her homecoming ball, who neglected to mention that he’s after her crown alongside his uncle Malcolm Merlyn, and the fact that she has to marry within 30 days if she wants to be Queen. Ray Palmer, Duke of Keystone is sweet, sensitive, intelligent and kind and seems like the perfect choice. But marrying and falling in love are two different things.

Silent Killers by @oliversmuse | Arrow | Completed

Summary: Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak have been married for three years and work CSI for the FBI. This story will follow their relationship and the cases they encounter.

Passion Killer by @oliversmuse | Arrow | Completed

A Shot in the Dark by @oliversmuse | Arrow | Completed

Summary: Part of the Silent Killer's series. Oliver and Felicity try to solve the case of a mother that was shot in her car on the way to work.

If I Can't Have You by @oliversmuse | Arrow | Completed

Summary: Oliver and Felicity are called to a murder suicide. As they work together they try to unravel why a wife would kill her husband and then herself and where the couples marriage took a wrong turn. Part of the "Silent Killers" series.

Kerosene and Desire by @smoaking-greenarrow | Arrow | Completed

Summary: An Olicity Notebook AU with a darker twist.

Alpha by @oliversmuse | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Oliver Queen was a powerful vampire that was captured by a group experimenting on hybrids. Turned into a hybrid that is half vampire and half wolf he is strong, fast and deadly. While in captivity he meets Dr. Felicity Smoak a hermatologist who is called in to monitor his feedings. All Oliver wants is to be free, away from the experiments and being in a cage, and strangely he feels he can trust Dr. Smoak. There is also an unspoken attraction between them that is forbidden. Can he convince her to set him free or will her attraction to him tempt her to keep him close?

Leaves of Change by @hope-for-olicity | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Felicity Smoak returns to her small hometown of Silver Lake just in time for the Harvest Fest, she came home to get grounding and figure out what she wants to do next the last thing she expected was that she’d want to stay.

The Donor by @spaztronautwriter | Arrow | Completed

Summary: Felicity Smoak has always dreamed of being a mother and she isn't going to let a little thing like men stop her from making that dream come true. Having a baby by herself might just be biting off a little more than she can chew, but one way or the other it's about to change her whole life.

Like Real People Do by more0rLessJess | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Felicity Smoak has had a rough couple of years and all she wants to do is move on with her life and start her own tech company. After an incident at Queen Consolidated, she quit and accepted a job working as a technical analyst and computer expert at the Starling City Police Department, where she’s stuck for at least another year thanks to the non-compete clause she signed in her Queen Consolidated contract. But as much as she’d rather be in the tech world, she does love being able to help others. Plus she gets to do that with the help of a certain Detective, who she may or may not be attracted too. Oliver Queen just finished five years in the Army Special Forces and is only working as an SCPD Detective because his best friend and fellow soldier, John Diggle, said it would be good for him to help pull his life together after years of hardships in the military. Oliver expected to hate the job, but what he never expected was meeting the IT girl with a heart of gold and her own demons to deal with. Captain Quentin Lance just wants a functioning police department.

And My Arms Will Be (Just Like Walls Around You) by imfallingforyoureyes102 | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: But then lightning hits again, thunder fracturing the silence, and the Oliver that Thea sees is ten thousand miles away from the Oliver she knows. God, when she’d said he needed to let someone in she knew she was right. His face is pale white - his mouth drawn into a tight, pained line - and the way Oliver clutches the doorknob like a lifeline is enough to draw a panicked breath from Thea’s small frame. (Or, while Thea hides out in the kitchen during a party at the Queen Mansion, a thunderstorm hits and it's Oliver who's stumbling in through the doors on the verge of a panic attack. Thea's all too scared and all too shocked and it's only a certain blonde that comes tumbling in after him who is able to pull the shattered pieces of Oliver Queen back together).

Artemis by @laxit21 | Arrow | WIP

Summary: When the Queen’s Gambit sank, two people were stranded on Lian Yu. Five years later, four came back.

Daughter of the Demon by @laxit21 | Arrow | WIP

Summary: What if in 1988 while traveling through Las Vegas Ra’s al Ghul bumps into a nice waitress named Donna Smoak and they have one-night stand together? A little bundle of joy named Felicity Smoak is the result. In 2014, the Demon Head becomes aware of his youngest daughter’s existence.

The Ravager by @laxit21 | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Slade Wilson’s plan for revenge against Oliver took time, money and no shortage of lives to pull together. His plan didn’t anticipate Felicity Smoak. How will his plan change now that his lost-lost daughter is working with the very man he’s trying to destroy?

Felicity of Themiscyra by @laxit21 | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Years ago, Donna Smoak left the island of Themiscyra and her sister Queen Hippolyta behind to live in man’s world. She never told Felicity the truth about where she came from. As a result of the Undertaking, Felicity discovers some of her Amazonian abilities and makes an interesting new friend: Diana Prince.

The Daughter That Was Left by @laxit21 | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Before the Gambit, Oliver Queen met QC intern Felicity Smoak. When he boarded the Gambit, he left something behind. Now, five long years later someone is waiting for him.

I Scream But No Sound Comes out by @laxit21 | Arrow | WIP

Summary: When Oliver returns from Lian Yu after five years, he comes back different. What happened there damaged more than just his body. How will his friends and family deal with this new Oliver?

How Not to Peel an Orange by imfallingforyoureyes102 | Arrow | Completed

Summary: “Oliver Queen, you give me back my orange!”

Felicity jams her finger into his chest with a small grumble.

“Yow! Hey, Edward Scissorhands,” Oliver growls, grabbing onto Felicity’s hand, his own hand absolutely engulfing hers. “Watch the claws.”

Oh, I’ll show you claws Oliver,” Felicity retorts spitefully, yanking her hand out of his grasp and swatting his arm repeatedly. “Give me back my fracking orange!”

(Or, after finishing a conversation with Laurel right outside the elevator bank, Oliver finds Felicity eyeing a small orange wearily. Laurel watches the amused banter that springboards back and forth between the two, and it isn't long before she sees exactly who Felicity Smoak is in Oliver Queen's life).

you got all my love to spend by @inlovewithimpossibillity | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Lingering on an executive floor to talk to an executive assistant seems a little unprofessional to Oliver. And that opinion definitely has nothing to do with the way that Felicity is laughing along to whatever the delivery guy is saying. Nothing at all.[Set early-S2, Oliver's pig-headedness rears its head but Felicity is taking none of it, leaving Oliver searching for a way to make it up to His Girl Wednesday]

late night secret gatherings by @alexiablackbriar13 | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Post-8x04. Oliver catches Mia sneaking out of the apartment and follows her to find that she’s secretly meeting Connor in the bunker for stress relief in the form of training. What he witnesses between them is more than enough to cause his overprotective fatherly instincts to flare up.

Vows by Abbie | Arrow | WIP

Summary: After the Siege of Starling City by Slade Wilson, threats and pressures force Oliver and Felicity to take desperate measures to protect their secrets, their team—and their very lives.

In Another Life by @inlovewithimpossibillity | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: This world has his head spinning and he’s constantly alert for whatever it might throw at him next. He’s trying to stay vigilant in case another figure from his past appears or something else throws him for a loop. He never, in a million years, would have expected what comes out of Dinah’s mouth next, however.“That was Rene, he said that Zoe needs to get some homework done so could you collect Mia? You’re so out of it anyway that you might as well take the rest of the day off.”[8x06 spec AU within which Oliver's alternate reality brings him face to face with a figure he never expected to see again]

Let me know if you want to be tagged!

@hope-for-olicity @emdee8907 @malafle @laxit21 @icannotbelieveiamhere

#saturday spectacular fic rec #weekly fic recs

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apicturewithasmile · 5 years

Text

Fishful Thinking

or: What the hell is up with all those fish references?

As I was working on two gif sets (1, 2) showing all (or at least most) of the times Red talks about fish in one way or another, I couldn’t help but wonder if there’s some pattern to these stories. I decided to sort the fish references into the four following categories and put my literary analysis degree to good use

Category 1: There’s always a bigger fish.

Category 2: self-recognition through the fish

Category 3: Beware The Fish!

Category 4: Is this the real life, is this just fanta-sea?

Though some fish references could be put in more than one category, I chose to sort them according to how I’d like to interprete their relevance to the show and Red’s character. Because of the vast amount of fish stories and references throughout the years I cannot possibly talk about all of them but I will still list them all under their respective category for the sake of completeness.

All of that under the cut because it’s long (sorry @ mobile users):

Category 1: There’s always a bigger fish.

1x01 Pilot Red: Zamani was a small fish. I’m Ahab. And if you want the whales on my list, you have to play by my rules.

3x11 Gregory Devry Red: I don’t know. What I do know is if he’s called a meeting and the members are gathering, he’s a very big fish. […] Follow this fish, and you can net the entire school.

5x13 The Invisible Hand Big Willie: Nash? Come on, man. You want to go up against those guys? You’re a big enough fish? Why risk that? | Red: I’m not a big fish, William. I’m Moby Dick.

The first of many fish references happens no sooner than in the Pilot (1x01) itself. Red calls his first Blacklister Ranko Zamani “a small fish” – as opposed to the “whales” he offers up to the FBI in exchange for immunity. Interesting in this scene is that Red refers to himself as “Ahab”, the Captain from H. Melville’s novel Moby Dick. In the book, Ahab is driven by his manic – and subsequently fatal – desire to hunt and kill the big white whale named Moby Dick. In the end this venture costs Ahab his life as well as the lives of all but one of his crew members.

When looking at this scene separately from the rest of the show it’s easy to think of it as ~just a TV show pilot giving us an easy way to characterise their protagonist – and yes, partially that is a purpose this scene serves (note it’s also the scene in which Red gives the show its name, referring directly to his list as “The Blacklist”). However, if we take into account what happens as the show progresses, even just in season 1, the Ahab-reference gains a little more weight, as Red’s “whale hunt” nearly gets him killed (1x10) while also leading to the death of two of his team members, Luli Zeng (1x09) and Newton Philips (1x11), as well as the murder of Task Force member Meera Malik (1x22). All of that for the hunt after the first season’s big fish and main antagonist Berlin, along with (as we will later learn) the undeniably even bigger fish: The Cabal.

Juxtaposing the Ahab-reference is Red’s remark from the episode The Invisible Hand (5x13) where he refers to himself as “Moby Dick” instead of Ahab. On one hand this serves the technical purpose to remind Red’s scene partner (and us, the audience) that Red isn’t just any fish – big or small – in the large tank full of criminals. No, he is in fact the biggest of them all, a legend and he will bring everyone down who tries to harm him. On the other hand it offers up an interpretation of Red knowing that his project – The Blacklist – will inevitably be his own downfall. He is both the hunter and the beast which means the question is less “who will win in the end?” rather than “is there any way out of this other than through his own death?”. This also ties in with the speculations amongst fans that Red himself will turn out to be the No. 1 on the Blacklist as the series comes to an end.

The third and final fish reference in this category is in the episode Gregory Devry (3x11) where the episode’s Blacklister gets called a “big fish” by Red. It’s possible to just brush that off as a somewhat common allegory to think of criminals as big/small fish but I find it noteworthy that it just so happens to be used for the Blacklister who claims to be the ~real Raymond Reddington. Describing Devry as a “big fish” also puts that label on Red by extension. And following ~our big fish Red also leads to the netting of an entire school of criminals aka The Blacklist.

*****

Category 2: self-recognition through the fish

1x21 Berlin Red: I was once on the island of Ko Ri, free-diving in the Andaman Sea. I felt terribly ill stung by a lionfish. I was dehydrated, in excruciating pain. I had lost all sense of time and place. I was completely disoriented. But I knew I was dying, so I readied myself for it. And in that moment, at death’s door, I looked up, and standing over me in the brightness was this landless Moken sea gypsy just standing there, smiling. She and her tribe nursed me back to health, good as new. And when I left the island she kissed me. It was like a burst of sunlight on my cheek. It was – It made nearly dying well worth it. That’s how I feel now.

2x09 Luther Braxton Red: In Mexico, there are these fish that have colonized the freshwater caves along Sierra del Abra.They were lost. They found themselves living in complete darkness. But they didn’t die. Instead, they thrived. They adapted. They lost their pigmentation, their sight, eventually even their eyes. With survival, they became hideous. I’ve rarely thought about what I once was. But I wonder if a ray of light were to make it into the cave, would I be able to see it? Or feel it? Would I gravitate to its warmth? And if I did, would I become less hideous?

4x12 Natalie Luca Red: Losing someone we love is painful. Agonizing even unto death. The Japanese call it tako-tsubo – a grieving surge of abnormal electrical waves that causes the heart to deflate and contort until it resembles a a fishing pot. Hollow and cold, an empty vessel at the bottom of a fathomless sea. I’m sorry for your loss. You have suffered enough of that in your life.

In this category I have grouped together instances in which fish-metaphors or fish-related stories are used to express Red’s inner conflict.

First I want to focus on the two monologues from seasons 1 and 2 as they complement each other very well and can be discussed together. The scenes not only share textual but also structural similarities: both of these monologues are spoken by Red to Lizzy in situations where he or both of them are in a dangerous and/or threatening situation; and they are both part of a season and mid-season finale respectively, which often are episodes with greater exploration of character motivation and inner conflict than there would be time for in a regular episode.

The hideous fish monologue in Luther Braxton (2x09) has been subject of great in-depth discussion in the fandom time and again; especially the Lizzington shippers keep coming back to it, as he is clearly talking about Lizzy when he mentions the “ray of light” and ends with explaining that he didn’t want her to follow him because it would put her in danger. [Sidenote: Anyone who still doubts that he was talking about Lizzy being his “ray of light”, I’d like to direct towards the episode Karakurt 2x21 in which Red invents an alias for Lizzy: “Ginger Lumiere” which literally translates to “Red Light”.]

You can also find a light-reference in the fish story from Berlin (1x21) when Red says “[…] she kissed me. It was like a burst of sunlight on my cheek. [...] It made nearly dying well worth it. That’s how I feel now.” as he is looking up at Lizzy, essentially telling her that despite all the pain and hardships he has gone through and will be facing in the future – it’s worth it because of her. With those two fish stories combined he paints us a pretty cohesive image of how he views himself – the hideous fish who adapted to the darkness that surrounds him and thrives in it; and what Lizzy is to him – a burst of sunlight, the warmth that could have the power to make him less hideous, and arguably even the sea gypsy nursing him back to health.

Interestingly the fish that stung him in his 1x21 story is a lionfish. I’m pointing that out because that same species will get mentioned again in season 4, so I will come back to that when talking about the next category.

In Natalie Luca (4x12) he talks to the young woman who has just lost her boyfriend and it’s evident that he’s not only talking about her loss but also about his recent experience of losing someone he loved – namely when he thought Lizzy had died after giving birth to Agnes. On a textual basis it seems like he’s just talking about Natalie but the camera is positioned in such a way that Natalie’s image is reflected in the window behind which Red sits, effectively merging the two characters together, making it clear that when he’s talking about her, he’s also talking about himself. Thus it is reasonable to assume Red is empathising with Natalie on the basis of grieving their romantic love interest (despite Lizzy having come back from the dead in the meantime, Red is still struggling with the pain Lizzy’s actions have caused him). He then describes Natalie’s and his pain as the heart resembling “a fishing pot. Hollow and cold, an empty vessel at the bottom of a fathomless sea.” Red feels like he has lost his “ray of light” and thus his heart has dropped to the bottom of the sea, into even deeper darkness than ever before, causing him to make decisions as hideous as shooting Kate Kaplan.

On a sidenote, the scene in which Natalie Luca’s boyfriend dies parallels Lizzy’s (fake) death scene very well in terms of camera angles and movements – Natalie being the stand-in for Red; the boyfriend being stand-in for Lizzy.

*****

Category 3: Beware The Fish!

3x15 Drexel Red: Right. Which is why we’re here now. We’ve come for the fugu kimo. | Dembe: Fugu kimo? | Red: Blowfish liver. Contains a poison 1,200 times deadlier than cyanide– so lethal, a single fish can kill 30 grown men.

4x05 The Lindquist Concern Red: Perhaps another go with the candiru fish. I understand they burrow into the most impossible nooks and crannies.

4x07 Dr. Adrian Shaw Red: Have you ever been spearfishing? You should go spearfishing. I love spearfishing. On the Ambergris Caye, there is a reef– | Liz: If there’s a reason you felt this story couldn’t wait, I’d love to hear it, but quickly if possible. | Red: I have a Blacklister for you. They call him The Coroner. | Liz: I just got my baby back, my husband, my family. This can wait. | Red: Lionfish. | Liz: Lionfish? | Red: An aggressive, invasive species threatens the local habitat, leaves destruction in its wake. Sound like anyone we know?

These three make up the group of fish as some form of a danger. Here we see fish used as a torture device by creative torture expert Brimley in 4x05 and mentioned in the form of a potentially lethal meal in 3x15.

The most interesting reference in this category though is the one from Dr. Adrian Shaw (4x07) because as I’ve pointed out above the lionfish which has first been mentioned in 1x21 makes another appearance here. 4x07 is the first part of the mid-season finale and in the beginning of the episode Red makes a point of equating Kirk to the invasive, aggressive and destructive nature of lionfish.

In the second part of this mid-season finale Red will then be tortured and almost killed by Alexander Kirk – a man who believes himself to be Lizzy’s father. In his attempt to get revenge and compensation for the years Kirk has lost with his (thought-to-be) daughter he goes to great and often violent lengths. This culminates in Kirk ~becoming the lionfish from Red’s season 1 story. Kirk injects Red with multiple substances that all build up to Red being in “excruciating pain. [losing] all sense of time and place” and being “completely disoriented.” just like in his story from 1x21. This then leads to Red saying whatever he thinks Kirk wants to hear in order to survive. The result is a (false) confession that Red is Lizzy’s father as well as some (yet-to-be-revealed?) secret whispered into Kirk’s ear which eventually convinces him to let Red walk free. The next time we see Red, he shows up at Lizzy’s doorstep, to visit the burst of sunlight that made nearly dying well worth it (whether that is still Lizzy at this point or the title has been handed over to Agnes is open for speculation).

*****

Category 4: Is this the real life, is this just fanta-sea?

4x09 Lipet’s Seafood Company Red: Marlin– that’s not a very common name. I knew a Marlin when I was young. Marlin Trout. One boy, two fish names. Funny.

4x22 Mr. Kaplan Conclusion Red: Ho Chi Minh City! That’s it. I got away from you aboard that catfish trawler on the Saigon River. My God, the humidity. But fun times indeed. More to come, Agent Gale. More to come.

5x15 Pattie Sue Edwards Red: Smokey, as you well know, Heddie did not take a powder. She’s lying in her bed right now, sneezing and wheezing, swollen up like a puffer fish. I’m afraid all the dogs and cats finally got the best of her.

5x22 Sutton Ross Liz: I’ll get you for this. | Red: You’ll try, but there’s a fine line between fishing and standing on the shore, looking like an idiot.

6x03 The Pharmacist Red: On a side note, I once went fly fishing for a cutthroat trout in the Roaring Fork Valley, where, inexplicably, I stumbled upon Justice Antonin Scalia may God rest his soul and, boy, did we have some real barn burners. My word, that man could argue. Six hours, hip deep in whitewater, and with all the yelling, neither of us got so much as an alevin.

7x01 Louis T. Steinhil Red: But I’ve been paralyzed before. The spine of a blowfish pierced my wet suit off Pit–

Some fans have wondered how much truth there really is in stories such as “Marlin Trout” (4x09) or fly fishing with Justice Scalia (6x03). Even the lionfish story from 1x21 can be up for debate. Did Red really experience all this or is he making it up for the sake of a nice metaphor, to buy himself time, distract his opponent? Is it realistic for one man to be stung by two poisenous fish (a lionfish and a blowfish) on two separate occassions? And how did a former KGB agent (if we assume he really is Ilya Koslov) know a Marlin Trout when he was young and presumably growing up in Russia?

But what all the fish-references in the fourth category have in common is that they are used for comic relief. I guess it’s also safe to assume that after so many seasons and fish stories to which the fans reacted positively, some of these later fish references are purely there as Easter eggs for fan service and one can hardly blame the writers for that. The most recent one from Louis T. Steinhil (7x01) was a good example of using a fish reference just so the fans could cross that off their Blacklist Bingo chart.

Especially the bit from The Pharmacist (6x03) sticks out as it is a very obvious nod towards James Spader’s previous TV show Boston Legal in which his character goes fishing in Nimmo Bay where he later gets married by Antonin Scalia in the final episode of the show. Since Red spends the first half of season 6 in prison and we keep getting scenes of him defending himself in court, the writers saw their opportunity for an Alan Shore homage and they took it. Well done.

*****

That’s it, I hope some of you made it all the way to the end. There’s not really a conclusion to this except that I don’t think there really is some deeper meaning behind the many fish references other than the writers and/or James Spader obviously being into fish very much. The fish world offering a vast selection of potential metaphors and stories also fits in nicely with (the real) Raymond Reddington having been a Naval Intelligence Officer.

So long, and thanks for all the fish!

#The Blacklist #Raymond Reddington #fish stories #tbl theories #the blacklist theories #Maddie writes #yeah like... that's what I did today #made 16 fish gifs #and then wrote an entire essay about it #what did you do?#I love being an almost 30 year old lady

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ahs-theories · 5 years

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Episode reaction: 9x03 Slashdance

@echoesout | @its-a-goode-day

Last episode’s reaction post (link), we ended it like this:

Last thought for now: Rita is suspicious. Because I don’t trust anyone whose attack we haven’t seen.

Agreed. We still don’t know how and why she ended up at the camp.

I don’t think either of us expected her to be that suspcious. Not that I’m complaining, because the fact that part of this is a psychological experiment being orchestrated by Rita, well, Donna, only gets everything a bit closer to our conspiracy/big brother/man-behind-the-curtain theory.

I love it! The question now, in line with our Big Brother theory, is whether Donna is just one twisted psychologist, or if she’s working for someone who wants this information? A larger conspiracy would be very cool.

From the way she talks about pornography being responsible for creating serial killers, maybe we’re in for another rogue religious figure like the Monsignor? It also makes me question her relationship with Margaret, who is openly and strictly religious. I wonder what Donna thinks of her and how much Margaret knows about “Rita”’s views.

It was interesting that they made clear that she’s just the puppet master, not a killer herself. She kept the original Rita alive, and she could have easily killed Brooke. But she didn’t. She seems to just be pulling the strings in the way it’s convenient for her experiment with Mr. Jingles.

Yeah, we can probably attribute her not killing Brooke to Brooke being part of the experiment, so both preventing her from leaving camp and not killing her herself are ways to prevent outside interference with Jingles’ work. But keeping Rita alive was an unnecessary risk.

Speaking of Jingles. He doesn’t remember killing the campers in 1970, but one glance at Margaret picture in the paper and he only wants to slash her. There’s two options here: they worked together and she gave him away or she’s the only actual killer and blamed him of it.

I have a theory that he was innocent back then and only became a killer now because he’s spent years being told it’s true and actually gone a little crazy.

In any case, I wonder what Donna would think of Jingles now. He deliberately killed the real Rita, with a weapon of choice. And he didn’t have to. So I’m not sure the experiment is turning out quite like she expected. Or maybe it is and Jingles is not the one being studied, but the others are. There’s a lot to discover of human nature in that kind of circumstance.

Ooh yes. Seeing how people react under intense circumstances. It’s kind of like what we saw in Roanoke—some people fought, some tried to flee, some just gave up—except this time it’s planned. But if all the counselors are being studied, I’d wager that Donna’s not working on her own, because there’s no way she’d be able to monitor all of them or get a full account of everyone’s actions.

I’ll be interested to see Donna in the next episode, because now she’s gotta react to Ramirez being an unpredicted variable and screwing things up. Personally, I’d love to see her get pissed and go after him.

Theory - The final girl

It seems the season is hitting a lot of the essential tropes in slasher films, so it’s safe to assume they’re going to be using the figure of the final girl (go here for more info if you’re not familiar). Brooke is the obvious final girl. However, because I think we still need to have a good twist on her character, I don’t think she will be. I’m sure she’s not quite the innocent she seems to be. In the characters’ backstories, their true selves have been revealed: Chet did take the steroids, Ray killed the fraternity pledge, Montana... well, more on her in the next paragraph, but it’s safe to assume she’s not a very good girl. But both Brooke and Xavier have been revealed as victims, their “dark secrets” didn’t make them villains. The difference between the two of them is that, while Xavier’s story has been proven true, according to the Blake dude, for Brooke’s we only know what she chose to tell Montana. Xavier has also proven to be a good person, at least for now, with his actions in the camp. So my take now is that we’re not going to have a final girl, but a final boy: Xavier.

We’ve agreed that Chet will probably be the next one to die, seeing as he’s already injured. No matter how much of a good guy Xavier is, there’s gonna come a situation where they have to leave Chet behind or die with him, and I vote they leave him. But also idk if Xavier will make it out, because of the rest of the campers, he and uh, Morrison’s character, and Chef Bertie are the only ones not tied into the plot. Donna and Margaret have Mr Jingles; Montana and Brooke have Ramirez. The others are just victims of unfortunate coincidence—as far as we know.

It’s also looking like episodes four and five will both take place on the current night, with episode five probably ending with them getting rescued/escaping/killing the killers, and the rest of the season will take place after the night’s events with them figuring out what really happened. Considering that, I wanna say Xavier (possibly), Montana, and Brooke (out of the main three) will all make it out of the camp alive, but not all of them will make it to the end of the season. I think they’ll kill Jingles, but then find out Margaret was the original killer and go after her. And Ramirez will die, so Montana will decide to kill Brooke herself in his honor—or she’ll go after whoever killed Ramirez if it’s not Brooke.

I have three ideas for the “final girl”: 1) Xavier bc he’s actually a good, innocent person. 2) Xavier and either Montana or Brooke—if Montana, then not knowing she killed Brooke; if Brooke, then probably believing she killed Montana in self-defense but not knowing whatever secret we know about how she’s not actually a “good girl.” 3) Xavier dies, Montana goes after Brooke, Brooke kills her instead and is the only one left standing. I really just think the second half of the season is gonna be Montana secretly plotting against Brooke while they all try to plot against Margaret.

Theory - Montana

First of all, so many Sally vibes in Montana. I mean, this look:

That, and all the serial killer talk is just screaming AHS: Hotel to me.

Anyway. Montana wants her dead. And she’s pissed with Ramirez for not killing her yet. It’s the obvious choice, but I do think it’s Brooke she’s talking about. And now it’s necessary to go back to the first episode and revisit all the scenes between Brooke and Montana, because I believe that Montana targeted Brooke and had Ramirez go to her house that night. Why? There may be a few explanations, but the one that for me would fit the most is that they’re both part of a satanic cult thing and Montana was somehow supposed to provide a sacrifice (a virgin one, possible) for Ramirez.

Last random thoughts: The whole “fake masked killers” was a callback to Asylum’s fake Bloodyfaces, wasn’t it? Even if it wasn’t, I’ll take it as such, cause it’s Asylum and it’ll always be my favorite season XD

And, who built the wooden spike pit? Everything points towards Jingles, and they even mention it was something used in the Vietnam war, but he couldn’t have possible had the time. The obvious answer would be Margaret, but after this episode, I feel they could pull a few more twists we never saw coming.

If he did build them, it would have had to be for the original murders, but it’s a stretch to say no one found it in all that time. So, Margaret? Or possibly Donna, as a way to keep her subjects from escaping?

I also personally want to see what happens between Margaret and Donna. Right now, Donna believes Margaret is Jingles’ “one who got away” and that Jingles has kind of fixated on her, so from her perspective, Margaret must be kind of like his final test to see how he reacts when face-to-face with her. But if Margaret is the real killer, what would her reaction be to finding out Donna wanted to study Mr Jingles? And what would Donna think if she found out Margaret was the real killer?

#ahs #ahs 1984 #american horror story #ep. reaction #ahs theories #ahs spoilers #s9 reaction

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moonlightmadnessreviews · 5 years

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It Chapter 2, and The Importance of Patience in Modern Horror Cinema

“For 27 years, I’ve dreamt of you. I’ve craved you. I’ve missed you!” We saw the release of the final trailer for IT Chapter 2 last week, and Pennywise’s words really struck a chord with me. This is a story about a monster who sleeps for 27 years, reappears amidst a great tragedy in the town of Derry, Maine and brutally feeds on the town’s children. They then return to the sewers to sleep, hungry as they might be, satisfied knowing that in another 27 years there will be a new batch of children to devour. Until they come in contact with The Loser’s Club, there is no sense of urgency for them, there is no rush. There is only patience. Much like the patience film making siblings Andres and Barbara Muschietti have displayed putting what is considered to be one of Stephen King’s most ambitious works onto the big screen. It’s that patience that helped IT Chapter 1 and will likely help the upcoming sequel.

Many of us grew up watching the original IT miniseries, released on TV in 1990. That miniseries was broken up into two parts in which we followed the Loser’s Club through their encounters with Pennywise The Dancing Clown (Tim Curry) as children, and their eventual return to Derry, Maine as adults. It is interesting to note that the series was split into two parts for the sake of time, not to separate the story of them as children and the one taking place 27 years later. After all, each part ran for about 2 hours with commercial time. This format stuck fairly close to Stephen King’s novel IT, released in 1986. At the time, this was King’s longest and most ambitious work and the constant bouncing between time periods was part of that. On the page, it was fairly easy to follow these time jumps and it certainly flowed nicely, keeping you engaged through out. However, when put on the screen, the story of the adult Losers Club paled in comparison to that of their childhood experiences.

IT 2017 spent much of its time in gestation, awaiting the day it would be unleashed upon audiences. In fact, the beginning stages of the production date back as far as 2009. Originally, the film was to be directed by Cary Fukunaga of True Detective fame, and would star Will Poulter (And his god damn eye brows, here we go again), of this year’s Midsommar, as the titular boogie man. The script underwent a number of rewrites as the director wished to update the story and inject some bits of his own childhood. The studio was pushing for a more conventional horror movie while Fukunaga wanted to venture out of the box of horror and dip into much of the same art horror style that was on display in season 1 of True Detective. Eventually, both Fukunaga and Poulter would leave the project.

Enter the film making duo of Andres and Barabara Muschietti. The siblings were known for their 2013 effort Mama, with Andres, or Andy, acting as director and writer and his sister Barbara sitting in the producer’s chair. After taking over for Fukunaga and rewriting his script, they set about making sure the studio was clear that this would once again be a two part project. Fukunaga had floated the idea initially, as it would allow ample time to dive into each character’s backstory and traumas, while also separating the time lines. With this laid out, the Muschietti’s were on a mission to find their Loser’s Club and Pennywise. Bill Skarsgård would take over for Poulter, and the Losers Club would be rounded out by Jaden Martell (Bill Denbrough), Finn Wolfhard (Richie Tozier), Jack Dylan Grazer (Eddie Kaspbrak), Chosen Jacobs (Mike Hanlon), Jeremy Ray Taylor (Ben Hanscom), Sofia Lillis (Beverley Marsh), and finally Wyatt Oleff (Stan Uris).

With such a large ensemble cast of child actors, the Muschiettis knew they would need to work on building a team dynamic, allowing the actors time to build actual friendships and camaraderie that would come across on screen as genuinely as possible. As shown during special features on the Blu-Ray and digital release, the Loser’s Club took part in a summer camp of sorts, getting to know one another while also getting into the mindset of 1980s children. The time spent laying the ground work helped to create a dynamic between the Losers that is certainly one of the film’s highlights, harkening back to movies like Stand By Me and The Goonies, as well as Netflix’s Stranger Things, which had premiered in the summer of 2016. We were seeing friends rallying together on screen because most of the cast was, and still are, friends off screen as well.

The efforts of all involved made for one of the biggest horror releases of 2017! Whether facing down bully Henry Bowers (Nicholas Hamilton) or Skarsgård as Pennywise (An absolute standout performance, honoring Curry’s performance while making the character very much his own, displaying great physicality and commitment to the role), the Loser’s Club managed to make us root for them every step of the way. Jaden Martell in particular elicited a heart wrenching performance in his portrayal of grief and guilt over the death of his brother Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott). The Muschiettis also showed patience and restraint with the marketing for their movie. They could have drowned us in images of Pennywise throughout the entire trailer, and though his image was posted everywhere by fans in the months leading up to the release, we got just enough to leave us wanting more. This isn’t always the case with big studio movies, which helps IT Chapter 1 in standing out.

Too often these days, we see a studio rush through their process to set up a sequel, or an extended universe, for a quick payoff. The DC Extended Univeres and Universal Studios’ Dark Universe are prime examples of putting the cart before the horse, trying to establish a shared universe the likes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They become too preoccupied with catching up that they forget to simply make good movies, ones that fans would care to see again and ones that would build to the exciting crossovers fans really love. Where Marvel’s MCU has been so successful is building a universe since 2008 with individual films on our main hero’s and then culminating in big cross over events, much like the way Chapter 1 spent time to get us excited for the return of these characters in Chapter 2.

All of these elements have now laid the groundwork for IT Chapter 2, hitting theaters September 6th*. By reworking the way the story is told, Chapter 1 handling the children in the 1980s and Chapter 2 showing them as adults in 2016, we were given enough time to care about the film’s large ensemble cast. We are invested in their story and we are even, at times, rooting for Pennywise. The patience and care with which this retelling has been handled is proof positive that even a big budget studio horror movie can work its pacing to leave us hungry for more. I’m just glad we didn’t have to wait 27 years to see the sequel come to light.

*The adult Loser’s Club will be portrayed by James Macavoy (Bill), Jessica Chastain (Bev), Bill Hader (Richie), James Ransone (Eddie), Isaiah Mustafa (Mike), Jay Ryan (Ben), and Andy Bean (Stan). Bill Skarsgård will reprise his role as Pennywise the Dancing Clown.

#it #it chapter 2 #it chapter two #stephen king #tim curry #bill skarsgard #bill skarsgård #the losers club #pennywise #pennywise the dancing clown #andres muschietti #barbara muschietti #cary fukunaga #horror #horror movies #horror films #youll float too #moonlight madness #moonlight madness reviews

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claryaastark · 5 years

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The Fragments of Him

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I gritted my teeth as I saw him running towards my direction. He seems scared but he still manage to tease me with a seductive smile and a wink — and that made me more furious. I rolled my eyes, heaved a sigh and calm myself.

“You’re 30 minutes late” I said calmly but with diction.

“Woah chill, I’m sorry, I need to finish my stuff first” and he smiled awkwardly while holding his ears.

“Don’t lie to me, what is it this time?” I said while raising one of my eyebrows.

“Hehe, my friends forced me to join them on a gig”

“And?”

“That’s it.”

“I know you, tell me!”

“And hehe, we drunk a little”

I picked up my stuff and rose from the grass then I walked away from his direction. He grabbed my arms and hugged me.

“I’m sorry” he whispered with a very gentle tone.

I cried because I know for a fact that I couldn’t resist this man, not ever. Instead of saying a word I just let myself cry on his chest.

“I’m sorry for keeping you wait, I won’t do it again, promise!”

“Promise?” I pouted my lips.

He gently tapped my head and smiled.

“Promise”

He held my hand then we went to our favorite spot. It was on a highland, where we have the chance to have a perfect glance on the city below. The wind is cold, and it almost touches the inner layer of my pale skin. During the eve, you can hear the deafening nights of silence. This place is very peaceful, there are no stress and problems to chase you. And I feel free.

I don’t have the chance to see him everyday, for a certain reason ; he always disappear literally. I still find it weird that we only have the chance to see each other every 4th day of the month. And luckily, the 4th day this month is Sunday. We’re not busy, we don’t have school, acads, and shits like those we encounter every weekdays.

I was 18 when I met him. He came to this place out of nowhere. He talked about random things, and I answered him. I do not know as well, how he found my little paradise since I was a child. But it doesn’t matter anyway, at least I found a friend in the middle of nowhere. And I’m not alone, that’s one thing for sure.

Because of my little drama about him, being unpunctual, I didn’t notice the violin that he was holding. We sat on the mattress, along with the basket of fruits, bread and milktea! And we talk, we laugh, he played the violin and he sang for me. He held my hand like he doesn’t want to lose me. 4th day of the month serves as my escape. There are lots of things that’s been bothering me, and I don’t wanna talk about it, not ever again. And he is my rest and my escape in this life of shit.

The sun is setting, and time literally flew so fast. He is dashing along with the rays of sun. He smiles like a morning sunshine, and talks like a dancing ocean waves — calm and assuring.

He was hugging me from behind while we cherish the moment of silence. I felt a pang of pain in my chest after I closed my eyes. Then I count, from 1-10.

“5, 4, 3...2”

“I’ll be back, I won’t leave”

“...1”

That’s the last thing he said to me and, he disappeared.

It was September and today is the 3rd day of the month. I’m on my room. I was flipping a 5-peso-coin while tapping my fingers on the wooden table. Here I am again, calculating the possibility of his uncertainty. I miss him so much, it was a month since I last saw him. Since we talked, since I touch him. I miss his silly jokes, his sweet remarks, his attractive perfume, his calm voice and his sunshine-like smile. Damn it!

I kicked the chair and I anxiously walked around the room, seriously, I’m so excited to see him again tomorrow! I looked myself in the mirror and I can’t help but smile. I got a lot of stories to talk!

I heard a loud consecutive knocks from the door and I opened it enthusiastically, I saw her again, the sweet woman in a color white casual gown.

“Tomorrow’s the day, you should sleep early my love!”

She smiled gently — my mom.

“Yes mom, thank you!” I jumped and we almost fell to the floor when I hugged and kissed her cheeks.

“Good night, my love!”

And I slept early, despite of uncertainty inside my mind.

This time, I was the unpunctual one, I was ten minutes late. Blame my closet, I had a hard time on choosing what to wear today. Today’s 4th day isn’t just an ordinary day of the month, it was our 24th meeting, our second anniversary. I saw him playing the guitar strings. I tiptoed and cover his eyes from behind.

“Happy 24th day!” and I kissed his cheeks.

I felt him smiled.

“I miss you so much” he said with a sad and excited mixed tone. He pulled a bouquet of colorful roses beside him, and a box colorful rolled paper.

“Read this once you’re home” he said naughtily.

He asked for my hand and we dance under the morning rays of sun, I buried my face on his chest and I let myself be drowned on the happy moment. I don’t wanna lose him, no and not ever.

We spent the day by eating, dancing, singing, laughing, and sharing each other’s story.

It was the sunset again, and it was the hardest and painful part of the day for me. Today’s farewell seems different.

He’s just staring at me, and he’s holding my hand thoroughly. I felt awkward but I didn’t ask. He kissed my lips and a drop of tears fell on my cheeks.

“I’m gonna miss you so much, I’ll be back!”

I did the same routine of counting from 10-1 and then again, he disappeared.

Seasons have changed, and time flies. It was the winter season and today’s 4th day seems gloomy. The rain pours and I was standing under one of the trees on our favorite spot, while holding my umbrella. I saw him walking towards my direction wearing his white hoody.

I smiled. The sun is nowhere to be found but he still has the dashing aura, like he glimmers around and he’s the only thing that I see.

“You seem cold” he removed his hoody revealing his color black shirt.

“Wear this, and let me hold the umbrella” I let him hold the umbrella for us, and half of the day, we just spent our time on watching the raindrops.

During the afternoon, I escaped and I run under the rain.

“Baby! You’ll catch a cold”

His face frowned. But I laugh instead.

“Who cares about cold? Come here! It’s fun”

I can see a hesitation on his face, but he still run towards my direction. And we danced, and kissed under the rain. I closed my eyes, and I put my head on his chest.

“I got to go”

I was shocked, we still have few hours before sunset.

“Why?”

“It’s time to go” he said expressionless.

“Are you kidding me, we still have few hours!”

“It’s time to go”

“Baby, stop it, stop joking! The sun haven’t set yet”

“It’s time to go!”

His hand are slowly disappearing, and he keeps on repeating his word.

“What’s happening?” I was crying hard because of sadness and confusion.

“Don’t leave please, please” I begged, but to my dismay, his body is turning into fragments, into pieces of dust in air.

“It’s time to go!”

That’s the last thing I heard before I closed my eyes, and he disappeared in front of me.

I opened my eyes, and I saw her. My mom, still wearing a white casual gown with a stethoscope on her shoulder.

“It’s time to go, my love”

She smiled. I looked at the calendar, and it’s the 4th day of December. I was wearing a hospital gown, and there are lots of apparatus in my head. I am also wearing a dextrose.

“She’s slowly recovering, the effects of her cognitive behavioral therapy is quite improving. Just let her regularly take her meds, and see you on next session, on January 4th. Advance happy new year!”

Mom smiled on her fellow doctor and we were left alone on the room.

I cried, and mom hugged me. She knows, she knows so well that I built a world inside my head.

I looked at my sketchpad and I saw him, I saw his smile, his golden aura. I saw him playing the guitar, the violin, I saw him hugging me and kissing me.

He is just a fragment of my imagination. My escape from this illness. I created him, I created us.

I was on the process of treating myself, and mom is my personal Psychiatrist. I suffered from traumatic disorder, after I lost dad on a car accident when I was 17. And I am taking meds, hallucinogens to be exact. It distorts my sensation and it produces a dream-like state experience.

I tossed a coin, that represents the uncertainty. The uncertainty of things between me and him. The uncertainty that I might not see him again, even on my imagination. The probability of being left behind even on the own world that I created inside my head. But I trust him, I trust that he will never leave, and he will consistently be with me.

But what happened on today’s 4th day of the month, is different. I let him flew away and turn into pieces of dust. Maybe, the doctor is right. I decided to leave my world of fiction and imagination and face my reality.

He is gold, and I’m colorblind. But still, I fell in love with a man that I created, I fell in love with a fragment of my own imagination and I’m glad that I did.

That time, I let myself cried.

2 years have passed. And I’m glad that I am finally leaving Illinois, my place of healing. And today’s the day, that I’m going home to the Philippines. 4th day of August. I smiled with the bittersweet memory inside my head.

“Calling all passengers of flight 416 bound to Philippines”

I held my luggage and hand carry. And we went inside. I’m not knowledgeable when it comes to airplanes but I am seeing a Boeing 737-200 in front of me. And this is where we gonna ride.

I put my earphones the moment I sat, and brought out my sketchpad. I smiled as I saw him, but this time, he is alone on my sketches. I felt a man who sat beside me but I didn’t even throw him a glance.

I started sketching again inside the plane.

Someone poked me, I got irritated and I removed my earphones to look at the man beside me, and I almost throw myself when I saw a real life representation of him, of my imagination. And he is in front of me.

“Miss, excuse me, why are you sketching me?” He asked half confused and half mesmerized as he stared on my artworks.

I didn’t speak a word. And I just let myself stare on him. Still shocked. He is real, and he is in front of me. This isn’t a dream or hallucination.

My heart is beating fast and I’m keeping myself from crying. Nervous, I still got the courage to ask for his name.

“Who are you?” I asked.

Half confused, he still answered me.

“My name is Roya”

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rumowrites · 5 years

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Defectum Ch.2

Go to the Defectum tag so see Ch.1!

In his drunken haze, he only heard the light footsteps when the other elf was merely a few meters away. Startled, Runaan spun around despite the pain and landed in a predatory crouch with a sharp hiss at the sudden motion. “Are you okay?” the other elf asked, showing his empty hands as if to signal he meant no harm.

The other had short hair that seemed to be more sandy than white and wore the clothes of a smith, a leather bag slung across his shoulders. “I’m fine.” Runaan insisted pleased that his voice didn’t waver or showed any sign of slurring. He had appearances to uphold. However, the other didn’t seem to be convinced as he slowly stepped closer. “I have some herbs in my bag that would prevent bruising if you like.” He offered, gesturing at this bag. “I’m fine, but thank you.” Runaan repeated in an attempt to get rid of his involuntary witness. “I don’t think so.” The other said, couching down beside him, and began to rummage through his pack. “Where does it hurt the most?” he asked and patiently waited until Runaan pointed at his ribcage. There was no point in telling the other ef to leave, now that he couldn’t be fooled. The short haired elf nodded and took a few leaves between his palm, begging to chant quietly. The leaves soon bean to glow and with a gesture of his hand the glow transferred to Runaan’s torso, easing the throbbing pain immediately. “Thank you…” he started, looking at the other expectantly “Tinker” the elf supplied and slowly go up, sensing the other’s distress at his presence. “your welcome Runaan”

The Assassin blinked a few times. His saviour knew him? It was no surprise really since almost everybody knew the leader and praised wunderkind f the most successful group of Moonshadow Assassins but it still made himself uncomfortable for not knowing the other’s name.

Now that he thought about it, he was sure he’d seed him around a few times. When he looked up from where he was staring at the grass, there was no trace of the mysterious elf left. For a moment he even thought he imagined the encounter, until his gaze fell on the bundle of herbs that was still lying at his side.

The next day, Runaan awoke with a throbbing pain in his temple, reminding him of last night’s events. He slowly rolled down from his mattress, only barley catching himself on the nightstand. It took hm longer than he cared to admit to get down to his kitchen in order to rummage through the drawers for pain medicine. Practically the only thing he as a soldier had unlimited access to, considering his occupation. He never took it for real wound though, preferring to fell first-hand when the pain lessened for real. Still, these potions were helpful to battle his morning headache after a night of too much wine or ale. He washed the bitter taste down with the rest of an almost empty wine bottle sitting on the counter from a few nights prior and made his way towards his private training room. The elves who had built this house for him had been taken aback by he request to include a large hall and keep everything else to a minimum but hadn’t objected.

He was still young, almost too young some would say, to lead so many missions but he’d seen more in his twenty-three winters than any other elf and nobody matched his experience in the field. Though most elves his age had a partner already, he tried to stay unattached. His duty bore too much risk for a companion and his schedule left almost no time for things like relationships. His group was currently on assignment, so he had no obligations to appear at the training grounds today. A positive thing he found as he still felt the slight throb of his headache against his skull. He started his training routine nevertheless, being used to the familiar signs of a hangover. Runaan worked out for a few hours before the increased grumbling in his stomach finally forced him to take a break.

Runaan slowly took in the contents of his kitchen drawers. It was nearly impossible to keep fresh fruit and vegetables around as hr was often away for several weeks at a time Still some of the merchants delivered food to his doorstep when he was home like they did for most of the soldiers who never stayed long in one place. He chose some vegetables for a salad and paired it with bread and cheese. The Assassin wasn’t the best cook but he managed. No one could prepare field rations in more different ways than he did. A skill born out of necessity.

However regular food often troubled him to an extend that he simply prepared more elaborate versions of the soldier’s meals he usually consumed on missions. Bowl and bread in one and a glass of fruity wine in the other hand, he ventured through his empty house out onto the terrace outside his bedroom where he could see the forest and birds. Runaan comfortably settled in a cross-legged position on one of the cushions, placing the food in his lap and the wine beside him. The wind was slightly cold for the season where it brushed his bare chest, but the bright rays of sunshine made up for it.

He ate slowly, sipping on his glass every now and then and replayed yesterday’s events in his head. Or rather the parts he could still remember. The encounter with the other elf however, he remembered perfectly. Including the humiliation, he’d felt which was exactly the reason he had put thinking about it off until now, busying himself with practise.

Not that he would be required to train in his down time, considering the amount of practise he got at the Academy all day in sparring. No, he simply needed the occupation, the familiar ache in his muscles to not turn restless. Also, it kept the Assassin’s mind off the dark depths that lurked in the shadows of his mind. Despite the state he’d been in last night, he was still able to recall the other’s face perfectly. The pattern of his marks and even the light gold colour that sparkled in his eyes.

What a pathetic image he must have conveyed, drunk and injured from a self-inflicted fall. Still, the mysterious elf hadn’t commented on it, staying mercifully discrete all times. The worst part was that he had indebted himself to the other, Tinker, as he remembered now. Runaan hated owing someone. A debt would always hinder his neutral position towards others. And that was crucial fo his very existence as an Assassin.

He had to repay the other elf in order to regain the controlled status quo he loved so much. But before he could do that, he had to find him. The Assassin replayed every scene he remembered seeing the other, extracting as much detail as possible. The perks of being used to gather as much intel as one could in order to survive were a trained and near perfect memory for the finest details. The first time he could remember seeing the other was his very first fight lesson. He couldn’t remember seeing him around after the first few times so he ruled out anything related to armed forces., taking in account that he would surely know him were the other a soldier. The next tie was years later, mostly on the street or the market but never in connection to anything that would help him find the other. Runaan went over the clothes he’d been wearing yesterday, a dark red linen shirt paired with smooth leather pants and a sturdy sleeveless vest in dark browns. A worker, maybe a carpenter or lumberjack.

Then, he remembered the metal pendant that had hung from the short haired elf’s neck. Fashioned with great craftsmanship, it had portrayed the sigil of the smith guild; combining the three rings from different metals for the professions of a black smith, jewellery maker and enchanter. A master of his trade then if he’d mastered all three of the guild’s disciplines.

And still the other had looked fairly young not possibly older that himself. It was rare to find masters of such young age as it took years to master each discipline enough to be allowed a master’s pendant. But then, he already commanded half of Xadia’s standing forces and lead all of the important missions at only twenty-three. By now, Runaan had finished his food, swirling the rest of the wine around in his glass before downing it in one swing.

#defectum #runaan #tinker #tdp theories #the dragon prince fanfiction #the dragon prince #tdp fic #tdp runaan #fanfic #rumo writes #rumo

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winryofresembool · 6 years

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EdWin ice skating AU, chapter 9

A/N: aaand here’s the next chapter, by not so popular demand. This was a lot of fun to write, and I’m quite excited about the next chapters as well! Will Ed or Winry be able to continue their Olympic games? Please enjoy and remember to let me know what you think of this chapter because that is all I get for writing this thing. Thanks to everyone who gave the previous chapter likes and comments! Specific thanks to @mautrino for the messages! :3

Previous chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5.5, 6, 7, 8

Companion pieces (note: these are all post Olympics happenings so reading the main fic first is recommended): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Next chapter: [x]

Words: 2100+

Warnings: probs some swearing but nothing else?

“Ms. Rockbell? We have the results from your x-ray.”

Winry simply nodded at the doctor, positive that this would be the end of her Olympic dream.

“I have some good news for you. Nothing in your foot is broken. You have some strong bones, I can assure you that not many would survive a failed landing like that without broken bones. I should know, I’ve been a sport injury specialist for a long while.”

“Oh thank goodness, so that means…!” Winry interrupted the doctor before he had finished.

“However, I do want you to take it easy for at least a week. The joints didn’t react well to the collision, so the foot might get sorer if you don’t give it a rest.”

“But the individual competition…” Winry grew worried again.

“It starts in a week, right? If everything goes well, you should be able to compete. However, I want you to skip the ice practices for at least 4-5 days and avoid putting any extra pressure on your foot. Compression might do. I also want to take a look at it before the competition”

The man wrapped a tourniquet on the injured foot and suddenly leaned in to whisper something on Winry’s ear:

“Don’t tell the others, but I’m really rooting for you in the individual competition. Of course as a team doctor I’m not supposed to take a side, but I knew your parents and… I can see they did a good job raising their daughter.”

“You did? Hey, I’d love to ask you a couple of questions…!”

The doctor simply shook his head and sighed sadly. “Maybe some other time. Now, if you excuse me, I have to get to my next patient.”

As he walked away, Winry felt completely puzzled. She hadn’t expected her parents to be brought up so suddenly. It still felt good to know she had people rooting for her, and momentarily she felt much lighter, knowing she could compete again.

That was only until she remembered the scene she had seen in front of her only an hour ago.

“Ed, Ed, can you hear me?”

Figures were spinning on front of Ed, and he couldn’t make up who was where when he opened his eyes. All he knew was that everything hurt. Moving his limbs was hard. Particularly his left leg throbbed like hell. He blinked his eyes once to let the people around him know that he was conscious, but that was pretty much all he could do. Finally, he registered that it had been Roy who had asked him that question and gave him a weak thumbs up as he tried to figure out what had happened.

The surface he was laying on was really cold. The lights above him were so bright they hurt his eyes. That must have meant he was still at the hockey arena. Suddenly, he remembered some force pushing him forward harshly, causing him to crash against the boards, leg first. He didn’t remember falling, but that must have happened since he was laying there in front of all these people.

“We are gonna lift you on the stretcher now, so brace yourself.” He heard a voice say.

Ed did what ordered and soon he could feel himself being carried off the ice. He dared to open his eyes again and saw himself and his helpers approaching an ambulance, but he didn’t remember much of what happened afterwards.

Before he knew it, he was already in the hospital. The team doctor, Marcoh, was doing his best to shoo the extra hospital staff away from him because he couldn’t let them see Ed’s automail. Unfortunately, Ed’s leg and head needed a proper check-up, and since there was no way Marcoh would be allowed to handle all the machines needed in a foreign hospital, he prepared himself to bribe a couple members of the staff to be quiet about what they saw.

Once Marcoh had gotten rid of the extra staff, he proceeded to make some tests and ask Ed a few questions. His conclusion: concussion and possibly a broken leg, but thankfully it didn’t seem the hit had made a lot of damage on his other body parts, and he was now able to move them quite normally. Perhaps most importantly, the automail port and the shoulder hadn’t been affected, something which Marcoh was grateful for because if something happened to it, that would mean a big and dangerous operation.

After he was done with all the possible tests he could make without the machines, Marcoh talked one of the radiographers into helping him, and they took Ed to be X-rayed. The automail arm had to be detached before that, but Ed didn’t complain since the pain in his leg was even worse than the nasty feeling in his right shoulder when his nerves were disconnected from the automail.

Ed started to grow bored while waiting for Marcoh to analyse the X-ray in his room. Even without the headache caused by the crash, he wouldn’t have dared to turn on the TV, because he wasn’t ready to face what would likely be shown there. The Olympics coverage would probably be full of his accident and people speculating how badly he was injured. Even he himself didn’t know that, so it was ridiculous to hear other people sound so sure when they said something like “he won’t be playing any more this season” or “he’ll be up and skating before you know it”.

Ed did have enough experience on injuries to know that he most likely wouldn’t be playing for several months. All he could do now was to wait for the results from both the tests and the game and wish for the best, and that made him feel frustrated. Just when he was about to start kicking the end of his bed with his healthy foot, at least five of his teammates entered the room, happy to see him looking relatively fine despite the accident.

“So? How did the game end?” Ed asked darkly before anyone had a chance to say anything.

“We won,” Hughes said, although his voice was lacking the usual excitement. “4-1. Havoc scored an empty-netter when the Drachmans were trying to tie the game.”

“Good,” Ed grumbled, although he felt far from good in that moment.

“We really wanted to stop playing after… that thing, but rules are rules… We did manage to get away from Bradley’s post game meeting though.”

“That’s cool guys, I’m just glad you won.”

“So, how are you feeling?” Roy asked. Ed couldn’t help but notice that for some reason he almost seemed… guilty? when he asked that.

“What do you think? In pain and pissed off.” Ed let some of his frustration out. “I can’t believe my first Olympic tournament lasted less than one game.”

“But do you know that yet for sure?”

“I may be fast at healing,” he said, thinking about his automail surgery from which he had healed in record time, “but I’m fairly sure my leg is broken and it doesn’t heal in one day.”

“I guess you have a point there…” Hughes admitted, but then a wide smirk rose on his face, as he remembered something that would distract Ed from his miserable thoughts.

“Anyway… I couldn’t help but notice there was a familiar looking young woman waiting in the corridor, looking like she wanted to see you but was too afraid to ask if she could come in…”

“Oh… who…” Ed’s brain felt a little sluggish still, but when he saw Hughes’ expression, the gears in his head started working.

“Winry? What is she doing here?”

“You can ask that from her. I’m gonna let her in.”

Before Ed could protest, Roy was already inviting to girl to join them. When she stepped in, she seemed very out of place, not knowing what to say in front of all these men, but finally she managed to give Ed an awkward wave.

“Hi.”

“Hi, Winry.”

“Um, how are you? I was waiting for my x-ray results when you were…”

“Huh? Did something happen to you?” Ed stopped her, looking more worried than Winry had expected.

“I hurt my foot a bit at today’s contest, but it was nothing serious… You seem far worse.”

Ed just shrugged. “I’ve been better, you’re not wrong about that… but been worse too.”

“Right… This is probably not the best moment to ask this, especially considering… but I was wondering if we could maybe talk? Alone?”

Ed gave his teammates a meaningful look and they left the room. Hughes couldn’t help but give Ed a thumbs up before he disappeared.

“What?” Ed turned back to Winry, an unreadable expression on his face.

“Uh… I know things are kinda weird between us, and I know you said it would be better if we didn’t see each other again…” she started awkwardly. “To be honest, I still kinda want to throw a wrench at you, but… if you feel like changing your mind about what you said earlier, I’m ready to start from the beginning. You know, as friends?”

It was barely visible, but Winry thought she could see a tiny smile flash on Ed’s face before he answered.

“What made you change your mind? I said some stupid shit back then…”

“Yeah, but I talked to a couple of people…”

“About me?” Ed raised his eyebrows.

“Y-yeah, kind of… But don’t draw any conclusions!” Winry blushed fiercely when she realized the implications of what she had just said.

“So, what did you talk about?” he asked, rather cockily in Winry’s opinion.

“Well, one of them, Rose, seemed to think that I should give you some time… and then she told me this interesting story about a hockey player who had helped her to get back onto her own feet again…”

Winry smiled playfully, happy to notice Ed had counted 1+1=2 based on his reaction. He seemed curious now.

“According to Rose, that guy seemed a bit of a jerk at first…”

“Hey!”

“Shut up, you big baby. I said at first. Anyway, even though the guy seemed kinda rough on the edges, his words really reached her, and she understood that she couldn’t dwell on something she couldn’t change. That saved her career. And now? She’s competing with me in these Olympics.”

“She is? That’s… that’s great.”

“Yeah… I guess what I’m trying to say is that you have a bigger impact on people than you give yourself credit for. You affected even me before we met here, inspiring me to aim higher in my goal to become a figure skater. That’s probably partially why I’m here in this room now. You know, sometimes you really infuriate me, but…” her tone became softer as she continued: “when I saw you being carried into the hospital, I realized that… I want to keep you in my life. Despite all. As a friend, of course!” she added hastily when she saw Ed blushing and having difficulties sitting still.

“You never give up until you get what you want, do you?” he asked after a while.

“No, that’s not a trait of a Rockbell.”

“In that case… the answer to your question is: yes.”

Winry didn’t understand what he was referring to. “What?”

“You asked me if I had changed my mind… and you just convinced me. Yeah, I think we can be friends.”

“Great!” A wide smile spread on Winry’s face. “I do want us to be able to be honest to each other, though, so if something bothers you… I want to know. I will call you out if you start avoiding me again.”

“About that… There are some things that I should explain to you, but I’m not ready for that yet. I just got a concussion and missed my chance to win an Olympic medal so this is not the best situation…”

“I guess that’s fair enough… but when you’re ready to talk, I’ll be here. Um, it seems your doctor wants you to get some rest,” she pointed towards the door through which they could hear Marcoh telling Ed’s teammates to leave the hospital. “… So I suppose I should go.”

She got up from her chair and turned to leave, but before she got farther, she felt Ed take a hold of her wrist and she turned to look at him.

“Winry, thanks. For saying all those things, I guess. It will probably get pretty boring here, so I wouldn’t mind if you visited sometimes.”

“Don’t worry, I will!”

Winry gave Ed one more smile, and when she disappeared from his sight, he gave a deep sigh, and thought:

“Shit. I’m screwed.”

#edwin #edward elric #winry rockbell #fullmetal alchemist #ice skating au #my fics

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astrogeoguy · 5 years

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Sunday’s Super Blood Wolf Moon Eclipse Explained, and Venus Kisses Jupiter in the Morning!

(Above: Michael Watson of Toronto is an avid moon and eclipse imager. He captured the April 15, 2014 total lunar eclipse and assembled this beautiful composite that clearly shows Earth’s circular shadow.)

Hello, Stargazers!

Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of January 20th, 2019 by Chris Vaughan. Feel free to pass this along to your friends and send me your comments, questions, and suggested topics. I repost these emails with photos at http://astrogeoguy.tumblr.com/ where all the old editions are archived. You can also follow me on Twitter as @astrogeoguy! Unless otherwise noted, all times are Eastern Time. Please click this MailChimp link to subscribe to these emails. If you are a teacher or group leader interested joining me on a guided field trip to York University’s Allan I. Carswell Observatory or the David Dunlap Observatory, visit www.astrogeo.ca.

I can bring my Digital Starlab inflatable planetarium to your school or other daytime or evening event, visit DiscoveryPlanitarium.com and request me. We’ll tour the Universe together!

My latest column for Space.com talks about using astronomy apps to enjoy Sunday night’s total lunar eclipse. You can find it here.

(Above: Once the moon wanes and rises later towards the end of this week, enjoy the sights of the Winter Milky Way, which rises through Canis Major, Monoceros, Orion, Gemini, and Auriga.)

Public Astro-Events

If skies are clear on Sunday night, January 20, starting at 10 pm, York University’s Allan I. Carswell Observatory will host a free public viewing session for the total lunar eclipse on top of the Arboretum Parking Garage. Parking charges will apply. Details are here.

Every Monday evening, York University’s Allan I. Carswell Observatory runs an online star party - broadcasting views from four telescopes/cameras, answering viewer questions, and taking requests! Details are here. On Wednesday nights they offer free public viewing through their rooftop telescopes. If it’s cloudy, the astronomers give tours and presentations. Details are here.

On Friday, January 25 from 6 to 7 pm, the Royal Ontario Museum and the Canadian space Agency will hold a free session entitled Getting to Know Bennu: Updates on the OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample-Return Mission. It will be held in the ROM in the Signy and Cléophée Eaton Theatre, Level 1B. Details and registration is here.

On Saturday, January 26, starting at 7 pm, U of T’s AstroTour will present their free planetarium show entitled Grand Tour of the Cosmos. Details are here.

The Super Blood Wolf Moon (Total Lunar Eclipse)

Last week, I wrote about tonight’s (Sunday) total lunar eclipse and posted it with diagrams here. Read on for an update on that information.

You’ve probably seen references to Sunday’s lunar eclipse as a Super Blood Wolf Moon, or a permutation of those words. These dramatic terms might elicit chuckles and/or eye rolls from astronomers, but they serve a purpose – to capture the imagination of the public and get them to head outside and look up! There are valid reasons for using each part of that label. Let’s break that down.

Blood Moon - The Earth is a solid sphere. The sunlight shining on Earth casts a circular shadow into space opposite from the sun. When an object, such as the International Space Station or the moon, passes through that shadow, no direct sunlight can reach it, so the object darkens. Some of the sunlight streaming closely past Earth passes through our atmosphere. The air refracts (or bends) the rays of sunlight because it slows the light down a little, and that refraction allows a small percentage of the sunlight, bent around the Earth’s perimeter, to reach the moon and slightly illuminate it. If Earth had no atmosphere, the moon would turn completely dark during a lunar eclipse!

During totality, only red light reaches the moon because our atmosphere scatters some wavelengths of light more than others. White sunlight is composed of a rainbow of component colours. The sky is blue in daytime because the molecules in the air scatter shorter wavelength blue light and lets longer wavelength red light pass straight through. Try this experiment. Shine a flashlight through a glass of water placed near the wall in a darkened room. You’ll see a distorted beam of white light on the wall. Now put a few drops of milk in the glass and the entire liquid will glow with a bluish light! If you didn’t add too much milk, you might also see that light on the wall is a now a warmer colour because the cool, blue wavelengths have been scattered throughout the liquid rather than passing through. The same effect causes sunsets to turn red, and only that reddened light can reach the moon during totality – colouring the moon a rusty red, or blood, colour.

Wolf Moon – The moon has always shone down upon humans on Earth. Eventually, people began to seek to understand our natural environment and to take advantage of the annual variations in the seasons to schedule planting, harvesting, hunting, and to celebrate life events. The twelve (sometimes thirteen) full moons per year acted as obvious celestial markers. Full moonlight allowed people to be out at night; hunting, or working the fields for extra hours to get the harvest in.

Each society around the world has its own set of stories for the moon and every month’s full moon has one or more nick-names. The Wolf Moon term is likely derived from North American First Nations traditions, although some think it has an Anglo-Saxon origin. In either case, it’s likely that hungry wolves were calling to one another in the dead of winter, and left an impression on people before our modern era. The January full moon, eclipsed or not, is known as the Wolf Moon, Old Moon, or Moon after Yule. It always shines in or near the stars of Gemini (the Twins) or Cancer (the Crab).

Super Moon – The moon orbits Earth every 27.3 days. The shape of the orbit is an ellipse that brings the moon alternatively closer and farther from the Earth. The difference in distance between perigee, the point in the moon’s orbit when it is closest to Earth, and apogee, when the moon is farthest away, is about 50,000 km. That causes a perigee moon to appear about 14% larger than an apogee moon – about the difference between a Canadian $1 and $2 coin when held at arm’s length. It’s not that much – visually. The closer moon will also be slightly brighter.

The term supermoon was coined to describe a full moon that happens while the moon is at or near perigee. January’s eclipsed full moon will occur fifteen hours before perigee, making it appear about 7% larger than average and generating high tides globally.

The supermoon aspect of this eclipse actually works against us. When the moon is near perigee, it is moving faster in its orbit, so it will cross the Earth’s shadow in a shorter time. The closer moon is also larger, so it remains fully eclipsed for a shorter time.

(Above: NASA’s Lunar Eclipse Page lists past and future eclipses. Each event has a web page with diagrams showing the path of the moon through the Earth’s shadow, where on Earth the eclipse will be visible (white areas), and the times for each stage of the eclipse in UT (equivalent to GMT). The partial eclipse stage will begin when the moon reaches position U1, and the moon will be fully eclipsed from U2 to U3 (about one hour). The second partial eclipse stage will end when the moon reaches U4 - 3 hours and 16 minutes after it began.)

Total Lunar Eclipse Visibility and Timings - This lunar eclipse will be visible start to finish in North and South America, the eastern Pacific Ocean, and westernmost Europe. Much of the eclipse will be seen in central and eastern Europe, but observers there will miss the later stages of the eclipse because they occur after moonset. For the western Pacific region, the moon will rise after the eclipse begins.

The partial phase, when the edge of the moon begins to darken, will begin when the moon contacts the Earth’s umbra at 10:34 pm EST on Sunday evening in North America (or 7:34 pm Pacific time and 03:34 UT). Starting at that time, look for the darkness to creep over the moon, growing from along its lower left edge.

At 11:41 pm Eastern time (8:41 pm PST), the last strip of brightly lit moon will vanish as the moon finally entirely enters the Earth’s umbra. The darkened and a coppery red appearance won’t be obvious visually or in photos until the moon is well into the shadow. The moon will stay fully within the shadow (referred to as totality) for 62 minutes. It will pass deeply through the shadow, and the moon’s southern half will appear darker than its northern half.

Greatest, deepest eclipse will occur at 12:13 am EST. After this, most people will head to bed because the second half of the eclipse mirrors the first half. The total eclipse phase will end when the moon begins to leave the umbra at 12:43 am Eastern Time on Sunday. At that time, look for a growing strip of illuminated moon to appear along the moon’s lower left edge. The partial phase of the eclipse will end at 1:51 am Eastern Time.

Now you know what to look for, and when to look. If you have a telescope, of any size, hold your phone’s camera over the eyepiece and take some photographs, or prop up your tablet or phone somewhere and take a time lapse movie of the eclipse. Hopefully the skies will be clear wherever you are! Don’t let cold weather keep you indoors for this one. The next total lunar eclipse won’t occur for the GTA until May, 2022.

The Moon and Planets

After Sunday night’s total lunar eclipse, the moon will spend the week waning and rising later. On Tuesday night, the moon will pass only two finger widths to the left of the bright, white star Regulus in Leo (the Lion). After mid-week, you can look for the moon in the western morning sky on your way to school or work.

Next Sunday afternoon, the moon will reach its Last Quarter phase, when it will rise at midnight and appear half-illuminated – on its western side. (Directions on the moon are opposite to sky directions.)

This week, Mars will shine as a medium-bright, reddish pinpoint of light in the southwestern sky. It will set at about 11:30 pm local time. Mars is slowly shrinking in size and brightness as we increase our distance from it.

(Above: Mars is the only bright planet in the evening sky nowadays, sitting above Neptune and below Uranus, as shown here at 8 pm local time.)

Blue-green Uranus is about 1.5 finger widths above, and slightly to the left of the modestly bright star Torcular (or Omega Piscium). This week, Uranus will be at its highest point, over the southern horizon, at about 6:30 pm local time – the best position for seeing it clearly. Dim, blue Neptune will set shortly after 9 pm local time, so look at it before 8 pm, while it’s higher. Neptune is sitting about two finger widths to the upper left of the modestly bright star Hydor (Lambda Aquarii). Hydor, and a pair of stars to its east (upper left), form a sideways narrow triangle with Neptune inside of it.

(Above: On Tuesday morning, descending Venus will pass very close to Jupiter in the southeastern pre-dawn sky, as shown here at 7 am local time. Saturn will be climbing higher every morning.)

Both Saturn and Mercury are too close to the sun to be seen this week, but next week Saturn will join the other two bright morning planets, Jupiter and Venus. Spectacularly bright Venus is now swinging back towards the sun, while not-as-bright Jupiter is being carried the other direction – west and higher. The two planets “kiss” this week. On Tuesday morning, Jupiter will be positioned only 2.5 finger widths south (to the lower right) of Venus. They will both fit within the field of view of binoculars. Look for the bright, reddish star Antares, the “rival of Mars” sitting a palm’s width to the right of Jupiter.

Keep looking up, and enjoy the sky when you do. I love questions and requests - so, send me some!

#space #astronomy #planets #total lunar eclipse #blood moon #supermoon #wolf moon #Orion #Winter Milky Way

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jenroseyokel · 5 years

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Awesome of the Year 2018: The Books

Happy New Year! ‘Tis the season for year end lists left and right as we attempt to figure out the best of everything from 2018. And of course, as a fan of books, music, and movies, it’s only right to get in on the list-making. Over the next week or so, I’ll be sharing my 2018 favorite lists. First up: books! This year, I set my Goodreads reading challenge at 40 books, and actually passed it. I’ve been setting arbitrary book goals for years, but I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve succeeded since 2007. Probably because of all the graphic novels and comic trades I read this year WHICH TOTALLY COUNT BTW. Ahem. Anyway. This isn’t really a best of 2018 list so much as a Here’s a Bunch of Books I Really Liked in 2018 list, split up into categories. I hope you’ll find something interesting here, especially if you’re looking for ways to spend bookstore or Amazon gift cards you got for Christmas… ;)

Newish Books by Rad Christian Women:

Every Arbitrary Book Goal should have a small correlated goal attached. This year mine was to make sure I read at least 50% women authors… and there have been a lot of GREAT new books from women writers in the past few years. If the “Christian women” section of your local bookstore makes you cringe a little inside too, check out these three wonderful books, all released in the past couple years:

Courage, Dear Heart by Rebecca K. Reynolds (NavPress, 2018)

Anyone who has read Rebecca’s writing knows she needed to write a book. She has a sharp mind, a poet's soul, a scientist's eye, and the most beautiful, tender heart. Also, she's an incredible writer who loves her readers with a love that radiates off every page. Buy a copy for everyone you know.

Wearing God by Lauren F. Winner (HarperOne, 2017) Girl Meets God was a formative book in my early 20s, and I’ve always meant to read more from this author, but somehow haven't. I finally picked up this one and oh man, for a solid month afterward I couldn’t stop thinking about it. With the eye of a scholar and the heart of a poet, Winner draws on personal stories, deep Biblical study, and a love of language to explore lesser known metaphors for God. Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Harrison Warren (InterVarsity Press, 2016)

Several years ago, James K.A. Smith’s Desiring the Kingdom helped me see liturgy in a new way, as not just religious practice, but the embedded routines that shape us. In this book, Tish Warren brings that idea to life as she walks through an ordinary day explores the holiness in our most mundane moments of living. You may not look at brushing your teeth or losing your keys the same way again.

Good Stories

This year, fiction reading was… all over the place? I don’t know if I read much that was OMG amazing, but here are a few that were fun…

The Fairyland Series 2-5 by Catherynne M. Valente (Feiwel & Friends, 2012-2015)

I am notoriously awful at finishing book series. I read the first Fairyland book maybe… two years ago? Yikes. Just finished the last one and wow, so fun. Colorful characters, a whimsical narrator, crazy locations, and a whole lot of heart make this Victorian fairytale meets contemporary fantasy a delight to read.

Til We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis (Harcourt, 1956)

Lewis’ contemporary retelling of the Cupid and Pschye myth through the eyes of Psyche’s jealous sister Orual. Second read for me, and even better this time around. Pretty sure this is Lewis’ storytelling at his best.

Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw (Orbit, 2017)

This was a year to embrace fun, nerdy reads. So there was the Star Trek spoof Redshirts (with a plot twist I totally saw coming... and I am not good at guessing plot twists) and my first trip into the Star Wars extended book universe (or whatever the heck they call it these days) and… this. A story about a doctor for the undead in London, trying to solve the mysteries surrounding a murderous cult and keep her monster friends safe. Not the greatest, but a fun Halloween read. I’ll get to the sequel eventually. (See also: bad at finishing book series.)

Poetry for Everyone

Another new reading practice this year: always keeping a poetry book on the bedside table. Poetry books are best for leisurely dipping in and out rather than reading cover to cover. If you think poetry is only for the ivory towers, give these writers a try and think again.

A Child's Year by Christopher Yokel (Independent, 2018)

Okay, I’m biased here, but hey! Chris quietly released a new poetry book into the world this fall, and I’m a big fan of Chris AND his poems. A Child’s Year is a season cycle, sort of like his last book A Year in Weetamoo Woods, but this time it’s anchored by a four part poem recalling the journey of seasons through childhood eyes. And according to our friend Kirsten’s 7-year-old son, he gets the experience right. ;)

The Jubilee by John Blase (Bright Coppers Press, 2017) For his 50th birthday, John Blase released his first poetry book, with a poem for every year of life. It’s rare for me to make it through an entire collection start to finish but these were just so good. There are poems about aging — the author’s and his parents’ — and poems that evoke wide spaces and natural wonder. There are psalms and parables, and meditations on dying and, yes, living. All of them finely tuned with wisdom, gentle grace, and a touch of humor in all the right places. How I Discovered Poetry by Marilyn Nelson (Dial Books, 2014)

When I heard Marilyn Nelson read her poem “Thirteen-Year-Old American Negro Girl” on the On Being podcast, I was captivated. And when I found this lovely hardcover in a used bookstore back home in Florida, I knew I needed to read more. This is a memoir in poetry about growing up in a black military family during the American Civil Rights era, told with gentle lyricism, warmth, and humor. Plus, the book itself is lovely with whimsical illustrations and family photos.

Comics!

I’m always on a quest to get more comics in my life. Plus knocking out a whole series in a couple weeks is a solid way to pad out your Arbitrary Book Goal.

Amulet 1-7 by Kazu Kibuishi (Graphix, 2008-2016)

After their father’s tragic death, Emily and Navin move with their mom to a strange old house that belonged to their great-grandfather… and so the adventure begins. In this fantasy series, the two kids find themselves in an underground world of demons, robots, talking animals, and a dangerous and powerful Amulet. A captivating and beautifully illustrated fantasy tale. Ms. Marvel 1-5 by G. Willow Wilson (Marvel, 2014-2016)

Y’all, I super want to be a Marvel nerd. But alas, I can't keep up, so I get my sister to loan books to me. Ms. Marvel is my new fave. A Pakistani-American girl from Jersey City has the power to grow, shrink, and stretch her body at will. So she’s trying to fight crime, keep up at school, and well, stay out of trouble with her parents. So fun. (Dear Disney: I really want this kid to show up in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. before it gets canceled kthxbye.)

The Legend of Wonder Woman by Ranae De Liz and Ray Dillon (DC Comics, 2016)

Weren’t we all mildly obsessed with Wonder Woman after the 2017 film? Another one I borrowed from my sister. A solid take on Diana’s origin story that’s accessible for comic n00bs (ahem, like me) who can’t figure out where to begin with beautiful art and a lot of heart.

The Classic I Finally Read

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen I always try to tackle either a thick intimidating novel or an unread classic in the wintertime. This year, I worked on my Austen deficiency and discovered I relate a little too much to Elinor Dashwood.

What’s Next?

In the new year, I think my goal is less about numbers and more about reading widely. I liked the 50% women authors goal because it helped me actively choose to support women writers. This year, hoping to read more books by authors of color, explore some new ideas and genres, and hopefully do a better job reading deeply and taking notes. I’ve got my eye on Book Riot’s Read Harder Challenge too, perhaps as a way to dig into new things I wouldn’t normally notice. And yeah... perhaps a monthly reading life update is a thing I can do here on the blog. :)

If you’re curious to see the full list of What I Read This Year and follow along with me in 2019, feel free to follow me on Goodreads!

What were some of your favorite reads in 2018? And what are your goals for the new year? I’d love to hear all about it in the comments!

#art #books #reading #awesome of the year #readers of tumblr #reading list #favorite books #best of 2018 #readers are leaders yo

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