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blogthebooklover · 1 month

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Movie Recs In Honor of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

I decided to write out a list of movies to watch in honor of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes coming out very soon. This list will feature movies with apes besides the POTA movies, or movies with weird and bizarre friendships/found families.

The Original Planet of the Apes Franchise (1968-1973, Amazon Prime)

Honestly, I've only watched the 1968 movie a handful of times. I decided to watch all of the original franchise leading up to the release of Kingdom. They're all a lot of fun, with social/political commentaries at the time of each film. If you're a movie collector, or like behind-the-scenes/director's commentaries, I highly recommend buying the Blu Ray compilation pack.

2. Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes (2001, Disney+ or Amazon Prime)

I know, hear me out. Yes, it's over-hated, and yes, there was A LOT of potential for this movie. There were definitely too many "cooks in the kitchen" when drafting this movie. Imho, I think it's a guilty pleasure, popcorn movie. If you're a fan of makeup effects, Rick Baker (THE modern makeup effects master) does an absolutely phenomenal job with the designs of the apes in this movie (and check out his Instagram too). I do like the production and the ape costume designs for this film as well.

Tim Roth and Paul Giamatti are such a blast in this movie, too!

And the posters for this movie look so cool.

3. Planet of the Apes Reboot Trilogy (2011-2017, Amazon Prime)

I think this is what the 2001 movie should have been, and was trying to go for. While the three movies did make their money back at the box office, I have two theories why they almost went under everyone's radar (again, this is my opinion):

A. Because of the mixed reception from the 2001 movie.

B. Because of the abundance of comic book & remake movies coming out during the 2011-2017 years.

I put this trilogy right up with the Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. The storytelling is great, the special effects hold up well, and this reboot's version of Caesar has became one of my favorite main characters in modern film.

4. Mighty Joe Young (1998 remake, Disney+)

I don't know why this movie doesn't get talked about that much. Rick Baker, once again, does incredible work on the special effects for Joe. There's also a great musical score by James Horner. And Bill Paxton and Charlize Theron give amazing acting performances. And I think it's actually one of the better remakes that came out from the late 1990s.

In fact, the team that worked on the 1933 King Kong also made the 1949 film. Even Robert Armstrong (Carl Denham) came back for the '49 film. Ray Harryhausen worked under the supervision of Willis O'Brien for the special effects for the original movie. He also has a cameo appearance alongside Terry Moore (Jill Young) in a party scene.

Aaaaand I just found out the writers, Mark Rosenthal and Lawrence Konner, also did an uncredited rewrite for the 2001 POTA movie.

5. Tarzan (1999, Disney+)

Of course, who doesn't love Tarzan??? And Phil Collins's A.M.A.Z.I.N.G soundtrack???!!!

6. King Kong (1933, 2005, Amazon Prime/MAX)

Okay, technically it's a giant monster movie and the OG prior to Godzilla. And it also set the standard of film making overall. However, it is also a bit of a Beauty and the Beast story, hence the lines: "It was Beauty killed the Beast" and the "And the prophet said: And lo, the Beast looked upon the face of Beauty. And it stayed its hand from killing. And from that day forward, he was as one dead." I also recommend watching the extended cut of the 2005 remake.

7. Lilo & Stitch (2002, Disney+)

Again, who doesn't love Lilo and Stitch???

8. How to Train Your Dragon Trilogy (2010-2019, Amazon Prime/Peacock App)

Once again, who doesn’t love HTTYD (and why are they remaking it as a live action movie????)???

9. Gorillas in the Mist (1988, Amazon Prime)

This movie is about Dian Fossey (played by Sigourney Weaver), a primatologist who studied mountain gorillas and she was part of a trio of women who studied great apes; the amazing Jane Goodall and her study of chimpanzees, and Birute Galdikas who studies orangutans. The movie is also based on her book of the same name.

I use past tense for Dian, because she met a tragic and horrific death while she was conducting her research on gorillas. I have in-lined a link to Dian Fossey's Wikipedia article for further reading.

Rick Baker, once again, does some amazing practical creature effects work for the gorillas.

10. George of the Jungle (1997, Disney+)

One of my favorite Brendan Fraser movies, and such a fun, and a bit of a campy movie based on the cartoon series (which is also a spoof of Tarzan). I quote this movie every so often. Unfortunately, Rick Baker did not do the ape designs for this movie. The creature effects this time around was done by none other than the Jim Henson Creature Workshop!

#movies #sci fi #planet of the apes #movie recs #tarzan #mighty joe young #king kong #planet of the apes 2001 #tim burton #the iron giant #how to train your dragon #lilo and stitch #gorillas in the mist #george of the jungle #movie recommendations #science fiction

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icarus-suraki · 3 years

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12, 46, 119 :)

12. What are your 5 favorite songs right now?

In no particular order...

The Banjo Beat Yeah, I know it's a meme staple, but it's got the kind of sound I love and how cool would a bellydance choreography look to this?

Little Dark Age (slowed) Yes, I first heard this in one of the Angels & Demons tiktok compilations and I loved it, shut up. I love the 80s goth energy in the video too. Like, it just hits the spot, you know?

Tick.Tock.Magical.Idol.Time Because sometimes you just gotta find a happy place, okay? If there's ever a lipsynch or idol show at a convention, this is gonna be what I perform in my cute cyclops kigurumi mask. Absolutely. (The Pripara animes got me through a very long winter a few years ago. I'd literally get up earlier than I needed so I could see the latest clips after a new episode aired before I went to work lol. And, yes, I love Yui, but Lalaa is best girl. They get to perform together, though.)

Lots of Zenbukimi and Not Secured,Loose Ends songs lately. I'll throw these here for an example: "Loud Asymmetry" and "独白園" ["Garden Monologue" or "Monologue Garden"?]. I have a whole YT playlist, lol. I'm kind of fascinated by the whole "underground idol" phenomenon and the CodomoMental label groups because they're both idols and anti-idols, which is kind of an interesting conflict within "idol-style" music in Japan...

Superman This is what I use for my alarm every morning in the hopes that high energy ska-punk will make me get up. It doesn't always work, but I like the song anyway. I've been on a real ska and ska-punk streak lately.

46. What are you paranoid about?

On the one hand, as a Thomas Pynchon fan, who has major themes of paranoia in, uh, all of his books, I have to laugh. But, at the same time, I'm so much less paranoid than I used to be. I put this down to my medications. In the past, wow, I've been paranoid about, uh, everything?

I think I'm kind of weak willed because any kind of "world's gonna end on x date" thing would send me into multi-day panic attacks. Nostradamus, obscure and dubious prophecies, biblical interpretations, Book of Revelations, political stuff, anything. I'd find myself believing all kinds of irrational things but not feeling like I could do anything about it (I mention this in particular because it’s markedly different from the Q-Anon fandom that is determined to Do Something about what they believe is happening; I felt informed but helpless, like there was an air raid siren blaring but nowhere to go and no shelter to be had, only inevitable destruction needling down from the clear blue sky). Like, all these terrible things are going to happen to us all and there's nothing we can do about it. Biblical stuff would always set me off in a major, major way. I'm rather proud I can shake off all the people talking about microchips in vaccines because a few years ago I would have been panicking about whether that was true and what the ramifications would be because, obviously, there was no way to get out of this inevitable fate or possible damnation and maybe it was the Mark of the Beast so what does that mean? Are there going to be people starving outside grocery stores now? Was xyz event really a sign? How much are we going to suffer??? What if I'm not good enough for God?????? Lots of religious anxiety in my past, as you can see. And some still, to be honest.

Yeah, it sucked. Glad I got most of that anxiety sorted before 2020 lol. (I sometimes think I could use a bit of anxiety because now I'll do dumb shit without fear because, eh, who cares? So I may have swung too far in the opposite direction.)

119. Favourite book? It's a three-way tie, baybee!

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury: I wrote a bang-up college admissions essay on this book and why it's not actually about censorship (as is usually but incorrectly taught) but rather about a disinterest in books/reading or an anxiety about the intense emotions that reading can bring out in the reader and I want to major in English so please let me come to your school to do that. And, guess what? They did. I read this book and then I felt feverish for, like, a week after. That's how hard it hit me, especially surrounded by high school classmates who really didn't care about school or reading or anything. It was like "fuck, this is too close to possible!" Anyway, it's still not about censorship.

Ulysses by James Joyce: This book, this thing, has such a reputation of being Evil and Dirty. So I read it. Fuck it, why not? Actually, I had been assigned some stories out of Dubliners to read over the Thanksgiving break my freshman year and I was kind of like "why the fuck did no one ever tell me to read these before now?" So I went and read Portrait of the Artist. N.B.: I think I was ~18 or 19 at the time and that thing hit me like not just a ton of bricks but about six tons of bricks. Like, I know I'm part of the .05% of people who actually like The Catcher in the Rye, but I think that's because I read it when I was ~15 or 16, because I was the ideal age and in the ideal mindset to read it. (The older I get, the more I identify with Holden's teacher, Mr. Spencer, who essentially tells Holden that if you can just hang on, I promise it gets better and you can do the shit you want really soon. But I also know how badly that would have gone over with my 16 year-old self, so...) So, anyway, in internet parlance, I realized I was kin with Stephen Dedalus, right? The only natural next step after PotA was Ulysses, since that picks up after PotA, so I just jumped into that with a copy from the used bookstore and separate annotation book from my school's library. And, o my fuck, Jim, you fucko, how did you do this? Like "I'm gonna create so many references and so many layers that you're going to have fun picking at this for years." And he was right! I have never been to Dublin but I can navigate the older parts of the city thanks to this dirty, profane, vulgar, obscene piece of literature lmao. I finished it the first time when I was almost 22, Stephen's age in the book. I went to Europe that summer, 2004, which was 100 years after the events in the book (1904) and intended to play at being Stephen, but that shit did not work out as planned and ended up being more accurate to canon than expected: i.e. everything was terrible and I suffered very artistically. I had planned on going to Ireland this year, because I turned 38 this year, Leopold Bloom's age in the book. 2020 wasn't having it. So maybe 2021? Or maybe 2022, the anniversary of its publication. This thing hangs in the background for me constantly and it's like the most amazing running joke in my life. I dressed up as Stephen for Halloween in 2004 too. Just sayin’.

Gravity's Rainbow: When I was working at a major chain bookstore immediately after college, it was retail hell and I was extremely depressed and everything sucked. I had no direction, no plan, no nothing. I kind of wanted to go get a PhD in English, though. So I started using my employee's discount to buy and read all the books that everyone seemed to talk about but had never read. Among those was Gravity's Rainbow, which was a title that intrigued me but I had no idea what it was "about." And saying what it's "about" isn't all that easy but that's kind of not the point. Just know that it's a dirty little book about sex and rockets. The point is the fuckery that our boy Tom Pynchon does with words and language and imagery and little winking references to things. I fucking love it. It's like, yeah. It's set during World War II and immediately after and it's bonkers and the author wrote most of it while very, very high. I went on and read the rest of his books (The Crying of Lot 49 is pretty much tied with GR for my affections; I would cosplay a theatrical interpretation of a Tristero courier if I ever had the opportunity) and bought Against the Day literally on the day it came out because I had become that much of a dork. (I also read Finnegans Wake about this time, which I also really love, a fact which really unsettles some people.)

Why can’t I be normal? I have no idea. I blame my past and my proclivities.

Ask me stuff! Put question in, get blathering out!

#noises from issy #living up to my namesake #long post #james joyce #ulysses #read your ulysses kids #it's good for you #thomas pynchon #gravity's rainbow #sex and rockets #ray bradbury #fahrenheit 451 #nerd alert #shut up issy

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funsize-mermaid · 6 years

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ASIA POP COMIC CON 😥

Dahil first day ng APCC 2018 today, AT DI AKO MAKAKAPUNTA this year due to some issues 😭 😭 AHAHHA char. Pero totoo di talaga ako makakapunta. Share ko nalang yung past experiences ko with APCC na napuntahan ko.

Actually 2 years palang naman ako nag pupunta ng comic con. 2016 and 2017. Tapos sabe namin, every year kami pupunta kaso dibaaaa, graduate na adulting, ayan nag wowork na yung iba, si Gabie, tapos may classes pa si Jem, tapos wala sa Manila si Joshua, tapos nasa Canada si Sandip, tapos ako I’m broke AHAHAHAHA. 😂 Nung 2016 lahat kami first time pumunta. Tapos sobrang na overwhelmed kami sa dami ng makikita don. Para kaming mga batang ligaw dun. Tapos ang dami naming nagastos kabibili ng kung anu anong merch. Tas may mga tutorials ng game dun and madaming freebies (at nameet pa namin yung anak ng may ari ng Zark’s burger. gwapo beh 😍) 😂 TAPOS HIGHLIGHT NG ARAW KO, NAKITA KO SI NICHOLAS HOULT 😱 !!!! 💕 hahaha pota na starstruck ako beh! Sayang wala akong pic, sungit nung bouncer eh! Tapos super pagod kami talaga kase from opening to closing nandun kami. AHAHAHA ang lala. syempre diba sulit sulitin na dahil may bayad. Theeen, nung 2017 naman, nagulat ako, dahil nakipag partner sila sa Netflix dahil kasagsagan ng kasikatan ng Stranger Things at Riverdale that time. May parang attraction themes sa loob, pero need mo pumila. Alam nyo guys, pumila kami ng 2-3hours para lang makapasok dun sa loob nung may malaking stranger things sa picture AHAHAH pero worth it sobrang sinulit na namin nung pagpasok namin ang tagal namin dun. Madaming rooms kase don. May theme ng Orange is the new Black, Jessica Jones, Riverdale, Stranger Things, at madami pang iba. Tapos ang galing sa Diner yung sa Riverdale ang cute, very retro tas may pa free chocolate shake pa sa loob HAHAHA iba din. Tapos madaming freebies swear, may laptop sticker from netflix, cap, riverdale sticker, etc. Then as usual inubos namin ang oras sa kakalibot sa buong SMX HAHAHAHA tapos habang naglalakad kami, may naririnig ako na foreigner na lalaki nag sasalita sa likod ko, tapos pag harap ko si RAY FISHER pala 😱 ! HAHAHAHA so eto si mayora na starstruck nanaman HAHAHAHA tapos naglakad na sya. edi lakad ulit din ako, tapos biglang may humawi sakin na foreigner, pota hinahawi ako, yun pala nasa likod ko si MILLIE BOBBIE BROWN 😱 hahahaha anuba ano lahat sila sinusundan ako. jokeee hahahaha ayun. wala lang tapos syempre same nung last year madaming pinamili and hanggang closing kami. Comparing sa 2 years APCC ko, obvious naman kung alin yung mas maganda dibaaa. Kase nung 2017 ang dami kong napuntahan talaga. Tho konti yung may game tutorials pero sulit sa Netflix part. So sobrang sad talaga di ako makakapunta ngayon. So by next year DAPAT makapunta na ulit ako. 💕

#personal

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icom-uk · 3 years

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The Radio Society of Great Britain has recently added Icom's Ray Novak's Online Convention presentation 'SOTA, POTA, and IOTA, QRP DXpedition fun!' to their YouTube Channel. Definitely worth a watch for Ray's knowledge, enthusiasm and perspective on this subject: https://youtu.be/gGJ1BVq2JRs

#icom #hamrradio #amateurradio

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plasticoftheapes · 6 years

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Name: Astro-Apes: Warrior Ape, Artemus, Myra and Dr Zorma License: Knock-Off of Planet of the Apes Manufacturer: United Manufacturing Company, HK (inflatables: Dan Brechner, Taiwan) Year: 1970s Material: plastic, fabric clothing (inflatables: vinyl) Height: 8” (inflatables: 3”) Type: action figures, mini inflatables

Astro-Apes! I wish this had been an animated series! It took a long time to assemble this family of rare British PotA knock-off characters—now my set is complete. Artemus and the Warrior Ape came as disintegrated shards of plastic inside dry-rotted clothes. I replaced the bodies and cleaned and resewed their outfits. The face sculpts are kinda great—cartoony, but detailed.

The Warrior Ape has a Flash Gordon helmet and jumbo ray gun. Artemis totes a mysterious tiny briefcase. Myra wears a yellowish space flower in her hair. Dr Zorma sports professorial glasses. And they’re all rocking their brown galactic pleather.

The header card features character art with an 8th-grade notebook feel and lets you know their names (collect them all!).

The Astro-Apes are probably the only knock-off toy line to have spin-off licensed mini inflatable versions. Assorted colors, full-body illustrations. You can often find these (and other great stuff) at I Had That Toy.

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rifcringes · 7 years

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Got tagged by @melruna

RULES: Copy this post into a new text post, remove my answers and put in yours. When you are done, tag up to 10 people and also tag the person who tagged you… and most importantly, have fun!

A) Age: 18

B) Biggest fear: Spiders can all lick my nonexistent balls. Heights can get fucked too

C) Current time: 6:15 pm

D) Drink you last had: Water to swallow Midol with

E) Every day starts with: Tumblr checking and denial

F) Favorite song atm: Jungle by Jon Bellion

G) Ghosts, are they real?: Why the fuck not

 H) Hometown?: Idaho is about as specific as I’ll get

I) In love with?: That sensation of discovering you have more time to sleep than you thought. Oh, and Underfell Sans or some shit.

 J) Jealous of?: People who can self-regulate their own hygiene

 K) Killed Someone? Why would I admit to that on Tumblr

 L) Last time you cried: About a week ago. Emotional overwhelment brought on by poor health choices

 M) Middle name: Rose;

 N) Number of siblings: 2

 O) One wish: Death to sanctimonious self-righteousness. Also as many puppies as I can pat

 P) Person you last called/texted: My grandma

 Q) Questions you are always being asked: Can I turn off the light? (my roommate)

 R) Reasons to smile: Lin Manuel Miranda. The way a bottle of coke tastes when first opened. Pizza at the perfect temperature

 S) Song last sung: Come Thou Fount

 T) Time you woke up:?????????

 U) Underwear color: snow leopard print

 W) Worst habits: Terrible cleaning and scheduling abilities.

 X) X-rays you’ve had: I think one? I broke my leg when I was four and I don’t remember getting one, but I must have done

Y) Why is there not a listing for this letter? Cause

 Z) Zodiac sign: Cancer

 Tag your it: @iloy-imagines @letshavepunsoffun @miss-iskoola-pota @golden-flower-games @justatrashcanhere @senpaishrinealex

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weytani · 7 years

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R U L E S: Copy this post into a new text post, remove my answers and put in yours. When you are done, tag up to 10 people and also tag the person who tagged you… and most importantly, have fun!

I was tagged by @sh00t (thanks, demon)

A) Age: 21 B) Biggest fear: my inevitable death scares the shit out of me,,, but failure makes me want to die, so C) Current time: 11:27pm D) Drink you last had: orange squash E) Every day starts with: me lying in bed, checking tumblr ao3 twitter & email F) Favorite song atm: “superheroes” by the script, i've been listening to it over&over G) Ghosts, are they real?: i don’t think so but i wouldn’t fuck with a ouija board yknow H) Hometown?: a small town in the north west of england I) In love with?: i thought hard abt this & nothing comes to mind lol J) Jealous of?: my older brother. anyone who is better than me at anything. anything K) Killed someone?: what L) Last time you cried: i teared up thinking about the power rangers on my way to work today. & yesterday. & the day before M) Middle name: therese :x N) Number of siblings: 1 brother, 1 half brother, 1 step-sister if it counts O) One wish: i want to be the best @ everything ever or at least rich or at least pretty P) Person you last called/texted: julia ! Q) Questions you are always being asked: "how was your weekend” “what are you up to tonight” bleh, office smalltalk R) Reasons to smile: going to visit friends & drink & eat @ my fav restaurant this weekend, nice S) Song last sung: “steal my sunshine” by len, i find myself muttering it under my breath a lot ffhjgkl T) Time you woke up: 6am, that work lyf U) Underwear colour: white. im a dull person ok W) Worst habits: o my god too many. they’re gross. im gross X) X-rays you’ve had: my foot one time i think? Y) Your favorite food: i like pasta a lot. & recently i’ve been putting chilli pesto on everything Z) Zodiac sign: cancer

tag: @shmuliawrites, @pota-totoo, @adelaides, @thedorkone, @nowrunalong (or not if you did it already or don’t care to ide)

#about me

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therealjammy · 7 years

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An Old Friend, A New One

For @pota-totoo. This fic was totally inspired by one of your tweets in which you said Shaw would outlive Bear. So I had to write a little something on it. But there’s a surprise for you in here and I hope you like it!

Warning: Major character death.

Bear was perched by her leg, his chin resting on her boot and chocolate, watery eyes wandering from person to person and dog to dog. His tail thumped happily and his tongue lolled from his mouth, getting droplets of saliva on Shaw’s shoe. He hadn’t been in a mood to chase his ball for a little bit, but Shaw could understand that. Like him, her body was slowing down too. But that didn’t stop her from going on missions and shooting bad guys and getting to blow things up. With Bear, it was a little bit of a different story. He couldn’t walk as far and slept for hours on and off during the day. He was getting arthritis in his joints. There were patches of white fur on his chest and snout and around his eyes. Shaw teased him from time to time about having grey hair and he would look at her as if to say you have some too.

They walked home together, Shaw slowing her pace so he could keep up. He was wobbling a bit but looked happily up at her. When they were home she scratched behind his ears as he lay in his dog bed, eyes closed and head pressing into the touch. He liked to hear how good he was; each time Shaw murmured the phrase his tail would beat against the side of the bed or the bookshelf.

“Get some sleep, buddy. You look pretty tired.”

In his last days, he was as loving as he was the very first time Shaw had met him. He slept between her and Root on the bed, head pillowed on one of their legs for most of the night. He greeted them when they came in the door, wobbling over and nearly stumbling into things because of a cataract in one eye. His appetite was as big as Root’s. He rotated between them on movie nights for pets and ear scratches and still begged for people food even though his stomach wouldn’t be able to handle it. But towards the end of his life an illness befell him, resulting in many trips to different vets across the city in order to diagnose it.

“Unfortunately,” said the fifth vet, clipping more X-rays to the lightbox, “your tough guy’s got cancer. It’s already spread to multiple places, as you can see here,” she pointed to the stomach and the liver. “Surgery is an option but there may not be much we can do otherwise.”

Root chewed on her nails. Her left hand was buried in his warm ruff, shaking slightly. Shaw was studying the X-rays, arms crossed over her chest.

“I can give you some time to think things over,” the vet said gently. “I’ll come back in a bit.”

The door shut softly behind her and Root let out a shaky breath.

“We can afford the surgery and the other bills,” Shaw told her. “I think it may be worth a shot.”

“Okay,” Root said, nodding, pressing her lips repeatedly to Bear’s head and letting the tip of his tongue grace her nose. “Yeah.” She hadn’t expected to love him this much, so overwhelmed with the thought of him leaving forever. Everything aged but if she had one superpower in the world it would be to make him immortal.

The vet came back five minutes later, her black uniform covered in orange cat hair. “Wild cat back there,” she commented, making Root smile a bit. “So, have you made a decision?”

The surgery was scheduled for Tuesday of next week. The Machine cleared their schedules for two weeks in case things went amiss. She told Root the odds of survival in elderly dogs to make her feel a little better and promised to watch over him while he stayed at the vet for two days recovering. By the end of it the vet—whose name they now knew was Autumn—gave them a call and said he made it out okay and was coming around from the anaesthesia. Would they be free to visit him tomorrow morning?

By the time they made it the office was filled with waiting people with cats, dogs, and even parrots that squawked and repeated phrases. The resident cat, Lucille, jumped in Shaw’s lap and made herself at home until she had to get up to go to the room where Bear was waiting for them. The shut door blocked out the noise and they were enveloped in a quiet, cool room, Bear’s tail wagging despite the cone fastened around his neck to keep from licking the stitches on his stomach.

“Hey bud,” Shaw said. He licked her palm and nuzzled his nose into Root’s elbow. “You doing okay?”

Autumn came in a moment later, looking pleased. “He can go home tomorrow,” she said. “I’ve prepared some ointment that you can rub on the stitches and given you antibiotics to mix with his food or treats. Just make sure he doesn’t lick them.”

Root pored over the vet bills and wrote checks to pay them off, taking from the bank account she’d set up a while ago for normal expenses. Her hand shook when she signed each one with a cover signature, one the Machine had made sure was completely thorough. Bear’s condition had worsened slightly and after several back and forth calls between Shaw and Autumn the conclusion was reached that there wasn’t much to do except keep him comfortable and try to keep his pain level down.

Shaw had set up an air mattress on the floor by Bear’s bed so she could keep an eye on him during the night. Sometimes the mattress would bounce and wake Root up and other time she would wake up during hours where Shaw soothed him through pain or dreams. But even if he was losing weight and looking worse for wear there was still that spark in his eyes, that happy look in them like he wouldn’t want to be with anyone else.

There was a day where he couldn’t get out of bed. Autumn did house calls as well and came bearing a travel kit, red hair up in a bun and blue latex gloves on as soon as she’d stepped through the door and into Shaw’s apartment. He was calm throughout the examination and, when it was done, moved his head closer to Shaw and Root’s hands, pressing into their touches. Soft whines escaped his throat.

“He’s hanging on,” Autumn said, packing away her stethoscope, a solemn look on her face. “He’s in pain, though. I don’t know if you want to let him hang on a little bit longer or…” She trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished. Her eyes darted between Shaw and Root, taking in the thoughtful expression on Shaw’s face and the upset face of Root, who was biting the inside of her cheek to keep something inside.

“Let me make a call,” Shaw said, rising from her crouch. She went into the bedroom to call Lionel and John, telling them the news and asking their advice.

“I’ll be there in a few,” John told her. Rustling on his end was a sign of him rushing out the door.

“Yeah, of course I’ll be there,” Fusco said. “Gotta say goodbye to the big guy, right?”

When they arrived it was early evening and the sun was beginning to sink lower in the sky. It cast golden light in Shaw’s living room, shining warmly on Bear’s bed. His tail wagged and wagged when he saw John and, when Lionel gave his ears a scratch, he licked his palm. Autumn introduced herself and explained the process of putting an animal under, keeping an impressive composure even though there were tears making her hazel eyes glassy.

“He’ll go right to sleep and the heart will stop in two minutes or so. I’ll need you to put some towels down; often the bowels release.”

Once he was comfortable Shaw spoon fed him a bit of peanut butter. “One for the road,” she said, scratching behind an ear as he eagerly licked the stuff away and smacked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. She set her hand on Root’s leg and fingers wove between hers. Root kissed his head several times. John pet the base of his skull. Lionel got licks to the hand. He was looking at all of them with his happy eyes even after the stuff was administered via IV. He gave Root a last kiss on the nose and leaned his head into Shaw’s hands.

Life was significantly empty for a little while. An absence of colour existed and maybe a lack of love, too. The world felt strange when Bear wasn’t there to greet them at the door after the end of a long day, wasn’t there on their walks in Central Park or in the backs of cars when they were meeting John or Lionel at a dog-friendly restaurant to sit outside in the city ambience. The loss was equivalent to losing a good friend. You didn’t know what to do with yourself for a little while but you had to move on somehow, bury yourself in things that would take your mind off the loss, but not forget about anything. Remember all the good memories, laugh at the stories.

“Remember when he nearly bit that guy’s arm in half?”

“Or dragged Root across the subway because he saw a rat?”

“That was once, Sameen.”

“I remember messing up commands and having him jump on my desk and then knock everything off when getting down.”

I have memories of his loyalty and love, the Machine chimed in. I grew attached to him too.

It was a rainy July day, the heat from earlier still present in the air despite the cold droplets that fell from the sky. Shaw had just finished a mission where she and Root destroyed a leftover Samaritan server farm with bullets and plenty of C-4 and a few scratches to take home as souvenirs. She’d requested dinner from the Chinese takeout place down the street from her apartment and a short walk in the park by herself.

“Take your time, Sameen,” Root had said when there was a lull in conversation from the other side of the phone. “It’ll be here when you get back.”

Shaw settled herself on a bench on the walk path. This time of night the park was relatively deserted save for joggers enjoying the cool and rainy weather and lovers strolling underneath black and blue umbrellas. The rain created a soothing ambience, reminding her of quiet nights on missions in different countries and of quiet nights with Root, with Bear lying at their feet. He’d lived a good life, spoiled until his last moments, surrounded by people who cared for him and filled with so much life and love. Shaw closed her eyes and leaned her head back to the rain, letting it kiss her face. If there was an afterlife, she thought, she hoped he was chasing balls and Frisbees and rats and eating all the peanut butter and bacon cupcakes he pleased.

When the sky was significantly darker she headed home. There was a strange feeling swimming inside her chest, one that was familiar but unnameable. The rain was soaking into her hair and clothes and her stomach was growling.

Warmth enveloped her when she returned home. She wrung her hair out in the shower and changed into dry clothes, a tank top and sweatpants. She kept her socks on to keep her toes warm. She emerged from the bedroom with her hair down and was met outside the door by a wriggling creature. It took her a moment to realise it was a puppy, whining and clawing at her leg. She stared at its eyes, happy and brown like coffee, the little pink tongue and little wet, black nose. The little stubby tail wagging back and forth.

“Root,” Shaw said, not looking at her, “what is this?”

“He’s a surprise.” She was tearing open cartons of Chinese and opening a new bottle of bourbon that they would christen in new glasses. “It’s been a few months. I figured it was time.”

Shaw bent down and picked the puppy up. It licked at her chin and mouth and nose, yipping happily. A little collar dangled around its neck, the gold nametag already bearing a name. Hugo.

“Did he come with this name?” Shaw asked. The puppy wriggled in her arms and she scratched behind its little ears.

“I named him. You know,” Root added, “like the author who wrote Les Miserables.”

Shaw snorted. “I doubt you’ve even read the book.”

“Part of it.” Root handed Shaw a glass of bourbon when Hugo was placed on the floor. He scampered after Shaw, little claws scraping the wood floor. “It was when I was a PhD student for a week.”

Later that night, Hugo’s warm body was nestled between their shoulders, already curled up and sleeping. His breathing came in slow quarter notes, warm puppy breath caressing Shaw’s shoulder. She wondered if Bear looked similar as a puppy.

“Do you like him?” Root asked.

“I think so.” Shaw stared at him a little longer. “He better not chew my boots.”

“I already got him a brand new pair to sharpen those teeth on,” Root smiled. “And puppy training pads.”

Shaw reached over to cup Root’s face. “You didn’t have to, you know,” she murmured.

Root kissed her palm. “I know. But I wanted to. We were missing him and I know Hugo won’t be the same, but I’m sure we’ll care for him just as much.”

The next morning warm sunlight streamed through the large windows and Shaw woke up with Root’s head on her shoulder, her arm thrown over her waist, and Hugo sleeping soundly on her stomach. He sensed that she was awake and cracked open his eyes. Somehow he looked at her like she was familiar.

#root x shaw #tumblr fic #fan fiction #person of interest

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