#KERMIT-CODED WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME

[signmyst]

[emo-batboy]

Things Battinson Totally Did During His First Year of University

Using Unhinged or Odd Things I Also Did as a College Freshman :D

Note: for this list, let’s believe Bruce was living in an (admittedly expensive and swanky) dorm because it is required for first-years, especially those entering at a young age, and Alfred told him he needed to make friends. Also yes I did every single thing on this list. I never claimed to be a role model

Bruce, to his TA: I’m so sorry I’m late to class. I gave blood a few hours ago and almost fainted on the way here, but it won’t happen again.

Signs up for a class called “Age of Dinosaurs” despite it not being required whatsoever and proceeds to work his entire schedule around it

Bruce: Your mental health is super important. If you think you should see the on-campus therapist, go see them. Friend: Fine. I’ll sign up for therapy if you sign up for therapy too. Bruce: Hold on-

Finds a loophole in his housing contract that allows him to get a pet frog, calls him kermit :)

Gets a second frog because Kermit was lonely, names it Constantine after Muppets Most Wanted, then realizes that they’re gay for each other. Wonders if the rainbow-colored rocks he got them triggered anything

Swings dramatically between calling Alfred every single day and ghosting him for weeks, cries when he realizes what he did

“Accidentally” joins the student body council, doesn’t know what he’s doing, gets re-elected anyway

Molds a dragon out of Laffy Taffy instead of doing his work

Bruce: *joins Honors, gets all A’s, takes the max amount of classes, has several minors, overachieves* Also Bruce: I’m a failure.

Breaks into a building after hours to study because NO ONE KNOWS HOW TO SHUT THE FUCK UP AT THE LIBRARY

Bruce: I will not get seasonal depression this year. Bruce: *gets real and seasonal depression that year*

Meticulously schedules his day with a color-coded planner because if he sits down for too long, the thoughts will consume him

Gives a presentation to his rhetoric class on how much he likes Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse (it is 20 minutes long)

Successfully allocates funding from the student body council to pay for free feminine products in the dorms OUT OF SPITE because someone said it couldn't be done. fuck you, Andrew

Bruce: It is not an all-nighter if I go to sleep before my first class. Friend: It is 7:30am, the sun is in the sky, and your first class is at 12:30. Bruce: But I am getting sleep.

Refuses to go anywhere without his backpack because what if he needs three notebooks at once

Loses over 20 pounds because ✨stress✨ and scares the shit out of Alfred when he comes home for Thanksgiving

Argues with his TA over the one (1) question he got wrong on his Dinosaur exam

Bruce, calling Alfred: Hello father figure. How do I do taxes? Do I have to do them myself? Also, I think I’m having a panic attack.

Joins in on a charity arts-and-crafts project that gives kids books with matching activities made by volunteers, proceeds to commandeer the project because “it’s not color-blind friendly” and rewrites the instructions for everyone

Makes a murder wall

Goes to one (1) sports game and proceeds to leave in the first ten minutes because it’s way too loud wtf is wrong with people

Professor, addressing the lecture hall: I dare you to write an essay about these two sentences. Bruce: *writes an essay about six words, gets a 100, never even read the book*

Crawls into the ceiling for some alone time

Ghosts someone after a date because he’s too scared to tell them he didn’t know it was a date in the first place and now he feels bad

Classmate: How tf does he walk across campus that fast? I go in the same direction he does on my bike, and he’s always ahead of me. Bruce: *is gay sprinting to Dinosaur class*

Refuses to let others use his Favorite Pen TM

Constantly gets mistaken for a Grad Student because he is “so wise and mature” (bestie, that’s the autism)

Alfred: *casually mentions he got into a car accident through text* Bruce: *replies with a meme while hyperventilating because he doesn’t know what to do with that information??!*

Wears a suit to one of his finals

Regularly eats non-organic food for the first time in his life, proceeds to learn about several allergies Alfred forgot to mention he has

Writes “What is a Hot Pocket?” in calligraphy and proceeds to laugh his ass off alone in his dorm because he is so exhausted he’s reached the point of delusion

Locks himself out of his dorm right before class, frantically asks the floor group chat if someone can help, proceeds to tell the nice gay man on the floor who saved him “I love you” because his social skills have hit rock bottom

Makes a little music album display next to his desk for his favorite band (Nirvana) His friends call it a shrine, and they are technically correct

Has a blacklist of people he refuses to interact with because Reasons

Counselor: What do you want to do when you graduate? Bruce: *gestures vaguely*

Refuses to take the bus because there are people in there and he doesn’t like those

Loses one of his frogs, how tf did he do that, they’re fully aquatic, oh fuck, this is probably why they got rid of that loophole a year later because unbeknownst to Bruce, he accidentally started a frog revolution in the dorms, btw he SWEARS he did not mean to do that

Has two trash cans in his room: one for the Good Garbage, and one for the Bad Garbage. Only Bruce knows which is which

Bruce: *writes a creative piece about a ship’s final thoughts as it sinks, bringing its passengers down with it* TA: Absolutely lovely, Bruce, but are you okay?

Goes on Night Walks, keeps himself safe by maintaining a level 12 resting bitch face at all times

Earns the nickname “8th floor cryptid” after pacing the halls at 3am when it’s too cold for Night Walks (honestly tho how tf didn’t he get the nickname earlier?)

Bruce: Do you think a depressed person could do this? Bruce: *has a manic episode*

Okay that's all love you BYE

[gnomewithalaptop]

I'm still too distracted to write so here have a list of YJ-cast centric fics that make me froth at the mouth

Kon-centric recs:

I Want It That Way (1990s Tim/Kon) by WynterSky / @wynterstars -- A revamped, 90s-style Superboy origin story with added Lex Luthor AND a lil bit of 90s Robin for spice and flavor. Honestly, this whole series is so elite -- goes hard with the Superboy mythos + angst PLUS the third fic leans hard into the secret identity shenanigans in a way that'd make Miraculous Ladybug jealous. The first fic splits its attention between Tim and Kon, but the latter two are solidly Kon-centric

one plus one (easy math) by connerdrakewayne / @comphetkoncass -- Cassandra Cain and Kon go to a gala together. I'm always a sucker for a good Cass + Kon friendship. This one's very short and sweet, and it gets the job done -- 10/10 would read again

a timeline can be a haunted house by connerdrakewayne -- post-universal reset Kon angst + terrible coping mechanisms! This one goes so hard I read it three times. Tbh this author has an excellent handle on Kon as a character in general, so I honestly recommend just checking out their whole fic stash

Tim-centric recs:

Top 10 Secret Identity Fails by @havendance -- Tim's new English teacher is his on-again-off-again superhero teamup Helena Bertinelli (aka the Huntress). This one's just fun, okay -- the whole thing reads like it could be straight out of Tim's 1993 solo run, plus I love the dynamic between him and Helena. Overall just a very cool vibe

only the dead stay 17 forever by Sky_Dust (couldn't find their tumblr sorry) -- Listen, I've really been restraining myself here, because I realize my love for time-travel bullshit is not universal, but I genuinely couldn't not include this one. This bad boy is a Tim-centric time-loop featuring a seriously unhinged Tim -- definitely a darker tone, but I can't stop rereading it

Bart-centric recs:

reflections on respawning: a gamer's uncertainty by merils / @mamawasatesttube -- Bart has a hard conversation about his death and subsequent resurrection (feat. Kon) man, I just vibe with this one so hard. It's such a thoughtful take on Bart's more contemplative side, while still managing to keep his personality intact

the backlash to the backlash to the thing that's just begun by @kermit-coded -- trans/gnc impulse my beloved <3 also we get some funky Max & Bart bonding, made much rawer and more real by the fact that it's the 90s and nobody knows what they're doing. Again, feels like it's straight out of Bart's solo series

Cassie-centric recs:

you and I, we are more than just this armor by @suzukiblu -- KonCassie bonding + gender feels. They're both so trans in this, and the author does a great job of really digging deep into their complicated feelings (both about gender and about each other)

(also PLEASE somebody give me more Cassie-centric fic recs I'm literally begging you)

Team recs

I'm all yours but you're all mine by suzukiblu -- Poly Core 4 Soulmates AU! Essentially, everybody gets their 'soulmark'/soulmate-identifier (not really, but the best word) right when Kon wakes up in his pod, and because Superboy hasn't really made his big splash yet, they misidentify their soulmate as Superman; this is an issue mainly because 1) they're all 14-15 and Superman is roughly 30-ish, and 2) by the time this fic takes place, Superman is pretty verifiably dead. Currently in-progress, but this is such an interesting and fun take on the usual soulmates trope. I pinky promise you won't regret reading it

Love, Not Loved series by @popsunner -- hoooomygod this series makes me cry literally every time I read it, it's genuinely one of the most realistic representations of grief I've seen on AO3. Basically explores the general fucked-up-edness of pretty much the whole YJ Core 4 Squad dying one by one, with each fic focusing on a different funeral (complete with survivor's guilt, regular guilt, and just plain old complicated feelings). We get Cassie feels, we get Tim feels, we get Bart + Kon feels -- it's the whole shebang. Don't worry -- there's a happy ending eventually, but you def gotta work for it. This series beat me up and stole my lunch money and I'd happily do it all over again

Lost the Last Piece of Me by InsaneTrollLogic / @last01standing -- YJ Core 4 Animorphs AU! I'm sad to say I've never read the original Animorphs series, but every single Animorphs AU I've ever read has been such high quality. Unsurprisingly (I love this author, okay), this fic is no exception to that rule. Solid alien-invasion plot, character driven, and the world-building is explained well enough that even a newbie like me can understand (feat. some TimKon, but it's not the main focus)

Ikonoclast by anantipodean (couldn't find a tumblr) -- Tim and Kon get sent to an alternate reality that's almost (but not quite) like their own. This one's just fun for me -- I love the TimBart buildup and the worldbuilding on the other Earth is a funky time. Also, the other universe's Tim is goth and absolutely cannot stand mainstream-reality Tim, and I find that extremely funny for some reason

[azucar-skull]

Epic The Musical songs in a nutshell but I'm bad at explaining things

The Horse And The Infant - Surprise slumber party with the boys

Just A Man - YEET

Full Speed Ahead - That one Minecraft friend heading back to base after exploring for 14 hours

Open Arms - What I sing to myself while playing TLOU and blowing up people (not a joke--)

Warrior Of The Mind - How to slay and how to ✨️💅✨️ slay ✨️💅✨️

Polyphemus - Underage drinking

Survive - Me when I see an ant hill

Remember Them - Imagine doxxing yourself

My Goodbye - Fuck you Ody you are a waste of my time (get it? Cuz clock)

Storm - What I sing when there's even 1% precipitation

Luck Runs Out - Bro what the fuck

Keep Your Friends Close - I was expecting a man and then I saw boobs

Ruthlessness - The reason why I'm gay

Puppeteer - Girlboss

Wouldn't You Like - W E E D

Done For - What Sans sings before you fight him

There Are Other Ways - Every single fucking DnD bard ever

The Underworld - Oh we have trauma

No Longer You - Evil Kermit meme

Monster - Ody enters his emo phase

Suffering - Rolling high on deception but your opponent rolls nat 20 on stealth

Different Beast - Hamilton could never

Scylla - Didn't even try tequila

Mutiny - Tryna gentle parent my way outta this

Thunder Bringer - Misogyny

Legendary - Oh you poor sweet summer child

Little Wolf - Pretty sure this is against Greek hospitality code

We'll Be Fine - Making friendship bracelets for an owl

Love In Paradise - If Rapunzel was evil

God Games - Athena just constantly rolling for persuasion

Not Sorry For Loving You - 2012 breakup song

Dangerous - yuh get it Hermes

Charybdis - Sponge vs the sink drain as the water goes down

Get In The Water - Me to my dogs

Six Hundred Strike - Autotuned screaming

The Challenge - Queen being a queen

Hold Them Down - HUH?!?!?

Odysseus - Again, Hamilton could never

I Can't Help But Wonder - Cured my daddy issues

Would You Fall In Love With Me Again - 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[brakeneckspeeds]

@kermit-coded my brother I SEE you I GOT you

I got a strat for this! I listen to my shuffled liked songs, and I have 9,736 songs saved (road to 10K 🙌) so it messes with me pretty quick when outta that many, Spotify tries to pull its looping tricks.

This is a lot of superstition, but it's been working for me, so you might not have to do EVERY step but they make a difference.

First thing is go into your settings > then playback and from there turn off both Gapless Playback and Automix. I THINK these only really impact spotify's curated playlists? It's how you get SUSPICIOUSLY good transitions. If that's what you want? Keep 'em, but what it means is the same songs will play into eachother over and over again and you'll be in a loop.

(Auto play Similar Content is another one you can turn off if you Want to, but I don't think that impacts the playlist itself. Just what spotify will play when it's done with what's in the playlist. These will usually be some of the same music as spotify would put you through anyway, but it's harmless)

Here's the real money. SHUFFLE 👏YOUR MIX👏WITHOUT 👏 WIFI. Turn off wifi, turn off data, before you shuffle. I discovered this when at work, I'd hear songs I haven't heard in years, because Spotify wasn't connected to the internet and genuinely shuffled my tracks.

You can turn wifi on again after you CHECK the queue. This is a bit superstitious, but I think spotify alters your queue if you don't look at it. This is my Schröedingers cat (Or however you spell that losers name...). I think you need to Cook your queue. Load and scroll, and once the songs are set in stone, you're good to go.

heullo it's me . spotify . I just wanted to know if by shuffle you meant normal style or horrible terrible useless worst style. actually I'm gonna assume horrible terrible useless worst style

[finleycannotdraw]

Guess what? I’m re-binge-reading Good Omens. And here are some Obervations that I forgot about and some things I might put in fics. Also things I found funny. Basically my dumb commentary on the book.

Crowley actually flees Sister Mary. He doesn’t saunter vaguely away. He flees.

Ligur is rather more thoughtful than he’s portrayed in the show

Anathema likes to read about herself, and her teachers are confused because she spells words like Agnes Nutter

Crowley apologizes

By page 41, it is mentioned at least twice that Aziraphale and Crowley Do Not choose each other’s company for any reason other than that they are constants, that they have an Arrangement, and that they are Friends because being Enemies got boring.

Aziraphale blushes!!!!!!

The Drunk Scene is fuckin hilarious and it’s actually a lot longer than it is in the show, and really you ought to read it. (Book pages 47-50)

My mom (who has a PhD in human development) would probably like to talk to Crowley about upbringing because they seem to agree on how important it is

War has always looked 25, and had a vulture that died of fatty degeneration

Pollution is very cleverly compared to actual pollution

Warlock has Kermit the frog overalls, and Nanny Ashtoreth is described as someone who “advertises unspecified but strangely explicit services in certain magazines”. The tutors are present for about four paragraphs. Warlock is good at math and likes banana flavored bubblegum.

Crowley has a slice of angel cake. Aziraphale eats it. Aziraphale also eats deviled eggs. Hm.

Crowley calls Aziraphale angel casually enough to suggest he’s been doing it for a long time

Some girl at Warlock’s party calls Aziraphale a f*ggot

Crowley glares suspiciously at a gerbil. It is suggested that Hell has, in the past, sent hell-gerbils in place of hellhounds.

“Oh dear,” muttered Aziraphale, not swearing with the practiced ease of one who has spent six thousand years not swearing, and who wasn’t going to start now.

Adam and his friends play in a place called The Pit, where shopping carts go to die, apparently

Crowley is the first one to mention sides in the book!??!? Also Crowley goes on about how humans are more evil than Hell (but he calls himself evil—is he calling himself human already?)

Aziraphale yells “get off the road, you clown!”

“What’s a velvet underground?” *love confession???* “you wouldn’t like it”

Aziraphale is a bit rude to Crowley in the “flashes of love” scene and Crowley is less panicked about it

Crowley glares at the Bentley and it fixes itself

Anathema’s bike is called Phaeton

COULD THEY ACT ANY MORE MARRIED OH MY GOD

Aziraphale speaks like. Like ugh. “FlOUndeR on tHe rOcKS of inEquiTY”

“Thirty seconds later someone shot both of them. With incredible accuracy.” *cuts to a random pleasant story about Mary Hodges* *cuts back to where Aziraphale has fallen into a rhododendron and Crowley licks the paint before he knows it’s paint* dumbasses

Crowley does not slam Aziraphale into the wall

Crowley is actually pretty impatient and doesn’t argue with Aziraphale when he’s worried

“Nothing but dust and fundamentalists” “that was nasty” “sorry, couldn’t help it”

When the radio sings “Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me,” Crowley sings “for me” and then screams

Crowley asks Aziraphale if he’ll keep in touch, and Aziraphale doesn’t say tickety-boo, and then Crowley says “right” and feels very alone

the international express man is small and has glasses, and wears green woolen socks

The sword, which turns out to be Aziraphale’s, is described as having an aura of hatred and menace, which makes me think of how it could’ve gotten that aura from Heaven or from humanity or from War...

In the book Pepper has red hair and freckles, which makes it a cool comparison to War’s appearance and the defeat of War

Adam is excellent at slouching, apparently

Occasionally, as Aziraphale reads the book, he would very nearly swear

“He wouldn’t have said ‘that’s weird’ if a flock of sheep had cycled past playing violins.”

“If you had told him there were children starving in Africa he would’ve been flattered that you’d noticed.”

“...that he was English, that he was intelligent, and that he was gayer than a tree full of monkeys on nitrous oxide.” (151)

Wensleydale watches David Attenborough programs

Shadwell’s voice is described as “the color of an old raincoat” and seems to fake smoking cigarettes

Aziraphales cocoa is moldy and solidified by the time he calls Arthur Young, and has a thin layer of dust on himself too

Newt says that the walls look like nicotine and the floor looks like cigarette ash, and he suspects both are, actually, coated with these substances

Newt looks a bit like Clark Kent, and people seem to like Shadwell for some reason, much to his annoyance.

Aziraphale calls Shadwell “dear boy” on the phone

Agnes Nutter called God a daft old fool #goals

Adam is wayyyy too good at video games

Smelling Anathema’s perfume makes Newt uncomfortable

Adam suggests that Pepper ought to have Russia cause of her red hair (huh)

Anathema and Newt actually have decent conversations?? Like?? Show??? C’mon, man. The show kinda butchered their relationship.

Trees, apparently, make a ‘vvrooooommm’ sound when they grow very fast

“He suspected that Crowley was from the Mafia, or the underworld, although he would have been surprised how right he nearly was.” Shadwell also thought Aziraphale was a Russian spy. Wow, Shadwell.

Aziraphale calls Crowley and actually says “shut up” to him, and then when the answering machine beeps, he tells Crowley to “stop making noises” and then he swears for the first time ever.

The fuckin’ footnote on page 227

“A sleek computer was the sort of thing Crowley felt that the sort of human he tried to be would have.” I like the word choice here. He’s not pretending to be a human, he’s trying to be one. That’s a really important distinction.

It never actually says what Crowley does to his plants.

Crowley’s flat is very white. Wow, Crowley. It just looks dark because of the lighting. Heaven imagery and symbolism out my ears, goddammit.

Why does Hell say Crowley’s name so much when talking to him?? Honestly, I think that’s an intentional dig at his chosen name, using it in their speech to scare him. Wow, Hell. (And wow, Finn, excellent sentence)

Whenever the book says something is shaped like something, it definitely isn’t that thing. “man-shaped” “dog-shaped” “car-shaped”... makes it pretty obvious they aren’t men, dogs, or cars, huh.

The code to Crowley’s safe is 4004. The year he “slithered onto this stupid, marvelous planet”... and the year he met Aziraphale, of course. Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt, Crowley, my dude.

Crowley consideres sticking Hastur into his car until he turns into Freddie Mercury but then decides even he isn’t that cruel

Actual text that I feel like nobody really agrees with: “Madame Tracy was by many yardsticks quite stupid”

“Do I look like I run a bookshop?” “...imagine me out of uniform, sir, and what kind of man would you see before you? Honestly?” “A prat.”

I’m crying. The fucking bookshop fire scene made me fucking cry. I’m literally crying.

“...on all fours in the blazing bookshop, Crowley cursed Aziraphale, and the ineffable plan, and Above, and Below.” “The police and firemen looked at him, saw the expression on his face, and stayed exactly where they were.” “...a crack of thunder so loud it hurt....” *the sound of Finley sobbing into their cat*

The shortest biker in the cafe thing is 6′2, what the fuck

War, Famine, Pollution, and Pop Trivia 1962-1979

“Pollution removed his helmet and shook out his long white hair. He had taken over when Pestilence, muttering about penicillin, had retired in 1936. If only the old boy had known what opportunities the future had held.” HMMMMMMMMMMM

“There were no bitches in Hell either.” I know it’s talking about female dogs, but I rather thought Hell was full of bitches.

“Why are you talking like a poofter?” “Ah. Australia.”

“gOsh, aM i on teLEviSiON?” (Basically Aziraphale gets passionate about stuff and likes to talk).

Crowley is actually an optimist and doesn’t dwell too much on how sucky the world is. He doesn’t go get smashed in a bar. He just finds Aziraphale’s notes in the book and heads to Tadfield. And also, his new pair of sunglasses just... materializes out of his eyes. And he likes to whistle.

“Death and Famine and War and Pollution continued biking to Tadfield. And Grievous Bodily Harm, Cruelty to Animals, Things Not Working Properly Even After You’ve Given Them A Good Thumping But Secretly No Alcohol Lager, and Really Cool People traveled with them.”

“on top of the pile a rather large octopus waved a languid tentacle at them. The sergeant resisted the temptation to wave back.” Honestly dude, if an octopus waved at me I’d wave back.

Wait Agnes was apparently talking to Shadwell and not God when she said yowe daft old foole. I dunno

Madame Tracy: You old silly. Shadwell: 

Aziraphale does not know how to get rid of demons. Canonically. “Had never done other to get rid of demons than to hint to them very strongly that he, Aziraphale, had some work to be getting on with, and wasn’t it getting late? And Crowley always got the hint.”

The road to Hell is paved with frozen door to door salesmen, apparently. The question is where it is, because the demons always seem to just stem out of the ground.

“Heigh ho,” said Anthony Crowley, and just drove anyway. I love this sentence during that scene. 

I bet Hastur gets really mad whenever he hears Aziraphale’s voice from now on

Crowley isn’t breathing the entire burning Bentley scene

ADAM. SAID. “But I reckon you can make your own side” AND WE FUCKIN IGNORED IT?

The temperature above the M25 was simultaneously 700ºC and -140ºC which makes me think of something I read about magenta not being real. The M25 is magenta.

I feel like “Agnes” is just going to become an inside joke between Anathema and Newt at this point, and it will drive Crowley insane because he knows who she is but somehow still doesn’t get the joke.

I’m six inches taller than R.P. Tyler, and apparently according to the back sleeve of the book jacket, I’m very similar in height to Neil Gaiman

R.P. Tyler thought Shadwell was a ventriloquist’s dummy, and then sees cows doing somersaults

“That’s terrific. Much obliged,” said Crowley. — “Funny weather we’re having, isn’t it?” “Is it? I hadn’t noticed.” “Probably because your car is on fire.” .... Also the fact that Crowley looks like a young man which I find interesting.

“The Four Button-Pressers of the Apocalypse”

“Where is Armageddon, anyway?” “I’ve always meant to look that up.” “There’s an Armageddon, Pennsylvania”

Famine is the one that says “that’s one big avocado”, and also, I find it interesting that War, more than once, talks about love. (All is fair in love and war much?)

Anathema threatens the guard with a stick, pretending it’s a gun

Aziraphale, of course, asks Crowley to sort it out because he, Aziraphale, is “the nice one” and then proceeds to sort it out himself. Because of course he does. Because what else could he possibly do.

I just ADORE THIS BOOK OKAY

I’M PROBABLY GOING TO READ IT AGAIN IN A MONTH

Aziraphale and Crowley are so fuckin married I can’t

[haydenthewitch]

OMG MY FIRST TAGGED POST OKAY

1. last song listened to. "someone gets hurt" from the new mean girls movie. i like the old soundtrack better, but RENNE RAPP KILLED THAT THING. I LIKE THE SLOW BUILDUP IN THE MOVIE VERSION OF THE SONG BETTER. my top artests for the year was 1. taylor swift 2. lovejoy and 3. loveless.

2. fave color: water blue and deep/moss green. i know thats two but i can't help it i love both green and blue equaly.

3. last movie/tv show. if dropout does count, then the adventuring party. if it doesn't, then supernatrual. before that, percy jackson. the last movie would be the mean girls movie. i kinda rly liked it.

4. sweet/savory/spicy: depends on mood. i eat sweet more, i'd imagine, and spicy is second place.

5. last thing i googled: the fandom wiki to spell some names/locations for FHJY. i currently have a working theory that "interim emergancy backup principal arcturas grix" is an anagram of some kind. "IEBPAGrix" is too good to NOT be an anagram, i just can't figure out what the anagram comes out to yet.

6.current obssion: woo boy do i have a lot of current obsessions. taylor swift, D20, percy jackson, supernatrual, lore olympus, crochet/learning how to knit, ect. ect. ect. i got that adhd in me babes i'm obessed with a ton of shit

7. last book: i'm currently reading two: "don't want you like a best frenid" by Emma r. alban (Sapphic victorian romance, HIGHEST OF RECOMENDATIONS I AM SO OBESSED) and "the lost hero" by rick riordan (i'm re-reading but it still counts.)

8. last fic: i don't know if this should technicaly be in the "book" category becuse it's almost 200 normal sized chapters, but All the Young dudes (yes, THE marauders fic. let me be in peice.)

9. looking forward to: graduation. i'm so DONE with school. also, does a diagnosis count? i'm looking forward to finding out what the CONSTANT pain in my knees is fucking about so i can treat it. (i'm VERY young btw so this isn't an "ageing thing.")

Tags: (i'm new so this is just gonna be some cool ppl i follow, sorry if we aren't mutuals i don't know many ppl yet.) @say-hi-intrepid-heroes @hi-intrepid-heroes @quiddie @whichsandersside @iamwritingsanders @stoatteamsix @dimension20-theory @kermit-coded @nico-is-a-corn-plant

thank u thank u @fiddleleafedfig for the tag !!

nine people you want to get to know better

last song: when i opened the tag, 'alien blues' by vundabar but currently i'm listening to hozier 'would that i'. as of finishing writing this, radiohead. there you have it.

favourite colour: a deep cherry red. the kind that would make a really lovely lipstick gloss.

last movie/tv show: i'm terrible with shows and movies, but i was watching the bowie doco (moonage daydream) the other day, keeping on brand ik. i also love british comedians so 'would i lie to you?' is probably up there as well.

sweet/savoury/spicy: sweet if it is really well done. i'm talking specifically that one pub down by where i live that for some reason makes the best chocolate lava cake ever. if not, savoury forever.

last thing i googled: beatles guitar songs for beginners. i've decided to relearn guitar and i'm back to the absolute basics.

current obsession: concerts! this is a long-standing love but it is very evident lately. the way concerts down here work is that no one comes for years bc of the trek to aus, and then randomly there's this one month period where everybody is here at once and suddenly i have to choose between favs. that has been this month! hard on the bank account but my soul is thriving with a concert every other week. saw noah kahan, it was life-altering.

last book: i'm between the '50 yrs of led zeppelin' biography by mick wall, and 'anna karenina' by tolstoy atm. (adding it) last fic: blends by rvltn909. finished it yesterday and oh my god. the crime that was me putting it off.

looking forward to: still a little ways away, but i'm moving to america for (my) winter-spring!! i've work in the states, which i'm thrilled abt. it also means i am tracking down artists who refuse to concert in aus (hozier for the love of god) and trying to sneak them in as well.

np tags (apologies if you've already been tagged): @fairylittlebitch @alltoounwellll @the-moon-says-hi @just--vi @whyistarchaser @bellaxisworld @feminist-cult-following @none-of-it-was-accidental @svnflowermoon + ofc anybody else who wants to. tag me. let me know you all.

[signmyst]

rictor wip

[coppicefics]

Masked Omens: Week Four

[Image Description: Image 1 - A simple rendition of the Masked Singer UK logo, a golden mask with colourful fragments flying off of it. The mask has a golden halo and a golden devil tail protruding from either side. Below, gold text reads ‘Masked Omens’.

Image 2 - A page from the Opinion section of the Capital Herald, dated Saturday, 16th January, 2021. Full image description and transcript below the cut. End ID.]

Read the fic here!

(Falling records template from Pixeden)

The Capital Herald, Saturday 16th January 2021 Opinion, page 20

Main Story: TOFFLEY GATE: FIFTEEN YEARS ON, IT’S NO HOME Where is the affordable housing that was promised? And why can’t local people get access to it? The Toffley Gate development once seemed like that most elusive of rarities; a politician's campaign promise made real. When Lawrence Richmond, a distinguished barrister, was elected as MP for Toffley South in 2005, it was partly on the strength of his pledge to build a brand new block of affordable accommodation for the people of Toffley. In fact, if you ask most local voters why the future Transport Secretary won his seat, they'll point in the direction of Toffley Gate. The development, it was claimed, would create jobs in the area, boost property values, and allow more buyers and renters on low incomes to invest wisely in their future. Fifteen years on, how are those claims holding up? Well, the development did indeed bring in construction jobs, as well as long-term positions in the shops and services on Toffley Gate's street level. As construction continued, however, some concerns were raised – even as early as February of 2006, seven months before the grand opening – that changes to the specification meant almost all the flats in the towering buildings would be described as luxury apartments, rather than affordable housing. But as long as they were still rented out at low rates, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. When the development's 312 flats were put on the market, however, 276 of them were priced at luxury rates. The remaining thirty-six were a single block of small studio apartments, suitable for a single occupant or two, a far cry from the family homes Richmond had promised to provide. Protests followed, in 2009 and 2010, but it was too late. Now, fifteen years on, only 194 Toffley Gate units are occupied. The rest remain empty and useless, far beyond the means of most local residents and workers. The Capital Herald popped into the local coffee shop to canvas opinions. “Oh, they're lovely, aren't they?” said Gladys Jones, retired, who'd stopped in with her grandson, Chris, a student. “I'd love one of those balconies, but not on my pension.” And Chris? “They're going for what, two or three grand a month? I could work for years and never save up enough to live there.” What would he like to see done with the place? “Drop the prices, maybe set them up as student accommodation, the uni's always oversubscribed. Or just... make sure normal people can afford them, you know?” “I put my name on the waiting list for the cheap flats when the place opened, when I was about twenty-five,” Jenny Tyler, a teacher, told me. I asked her what changed her mind. “No, I'm still on the list. Fifteen years, I'm still on the list.” Has she considered applying for one of the more expensive unused units? “No. On a teacher's pay? No, in fact, I'm moving back in with my dad. It's cheaper to commute in from Tadfield than to keep paying rent in Toffley.” And what of those behind the counter? Of the three employees on shift, two had joined the waiting list for the affordable housing at Toffley Gate. All three agreed that they'd love to live in one of the fancier units, if it were possible. One, Tom, has a second job as a cleaner on the development. “I have to clean all the luxury homes, even the empty ones,” he said. “And there are a lot of empty ones. Even the ones where you can tell someone's moved in, there's hardly any sign of life. It almost seems like an investment property type thing, but I don't know how they can be making money without sub-letting it.” When approached for comment, Lawrence Richmond – an Eton graduate who lives in a large historic house with his wife and son – argued that he is not responsible for market rates, nor for setting the level of affordable housing provision within the development. Why, then, did he make such grandiose promises during his election campaign in 2005? And why, sixteen years on and after several protests, is he still in office? If Richmond is as keen on affordable housing as he claimed to be in 2005 – as he has continued to claim, during the run-up to every local election since then – there must be something he can do, in his capacity as Toffley's MP, to encourage the building's owners, Selectan Homes Plc, to lower rents and allow lower-income families to access the many unoccupied units in the building. Surely it would be a win-win situation; Selectan would reap the rewards of a fully-let building, existing Toffley Gate residents would benefit from an invigorated community, and local people could live in the area where they actually worked. The businesses established at the base of the Toffley Gate tower blocks would have as many customers as they could want. In short, Lawrence Richmond, what are you waiting for? TINA MOON

[Image Description: A colour photograph of a gleaming block of flats. End ID] [Caption] Toffley Gate gleams in the sunshine. But are its units overpriced? (Photo: Daniel Brubaker on Unsplash)

Right hand column: OLD TUNES ARE BEST How wonderful to hear some music from the good old days on ITV’s The Masked Singer. When I sat down to watch it - under duress, I’ll admit, and largely to keep my wife and daughters happy - I expected nothing but noise of the variety that makes up the modern singles chart. Imagine my surprise and delight, then, when several of the songs reminded me of the heady days of my youth. Some, of course, were older still, overshooting the perfect era of my teenage years to land in the tragically uncool Jazz Age, but for the most part over the last few weeks I have been able to sing along with abandon, embarrassing my daughters no end and infuriating my wife, who is desperately trying to ascertain the identities of all of the disguised celebrities inside the ludicrous costumes. I doubt we’ve ever heard any of those voices before, given that the really big names in entertainment no doubt have better things to do than make such fools of themselves on a Saturday night, so I won’t be participating in the silly guessing game. Instead, I’m picking my favourites based on the songs they sang in the first few weeks. Snake is my favourite, by virtue of singing a Whitesnake song in the first live show, and it was a good enough performance that I will, for now, dismiss last week’s show as merely a momentary lapse in skill and judgement. Bonfire got everyone in my house smiling with ‘Disco Inferno’, and it’s rare that my children and I agree on anything, so they have to be the house favourite. Axolotl chose wisely in channelling Kermit the Frog, a universally beloved entertainer, and Pony’s tribute to America with ‘Horse With No Name’ was very enjoyable, too. So, I don’t know who Snake is but I’m rooting for them anyway, it seems. Who knows what tonight will bring? READER’S LETTER FROM DEREK METTE

Coupon, bottom third of page: [Image Description: Graphic of two falling record sleeves, with corresponding vinyl records also falling beside them. The first album sleeve shows two silhouettes of a face, looking towards each other in the style of the face/vase optical illusion, and is labelled “talking about it - Anathema”. The second shows a closeup of hands holding a book, and is labelled “Anathema - Narrative Devices”. At the bottom of the graphic are track listings. “Talking About It: Talking About it, Here I Go, Talking in Circles, The Magic Word, Seventh Sense, Pour My Heart Out, Nobody’s Fault, For A Spell, Living In The Past, Parting Words. Narrative Devices: Narrative Devices, Stab In The Dark, Look Before You Leap, Out Of The Crowd, Daisy Chains, I Hate To Leave, Ashes, Eagle Eyes, End of Days, Parting Ways.” End ID.] EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT FOR CAPITAL HERALD READERS Exclusive to the Capital Herald, this voucher entitles you to 50% off the listed price of Anathema's first album, Talking About It, when you buy her new album, Narrative Devices. Featuring hit singles 'Daisy Chains' and 'End of Days', Narrative Devices has been described as 'a breath of fresh air for folk music' and 'a powerful meditation on the stories we tell ourselves every day'. 'Talking About It' contains the gorgeous ballad 'For A Spell', which has already sold over half a million units as a single in the two years since its release. Don't miss out on this amazing deal! Just take this coupon to your nearest participating retailer, or enter code CAP50 when ordering online. [Image Description: A barcode marked ‘FOR RETAILER USE’, from barcode.tec-it.com, and a QR code, from qr-code-generator.com. End ID.] Voucher expires 12AM 23/01/21. At participating retailers only. While stocks last. Not valid outside of fanfiction. For full terms and conditions, see page 28.

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 250: Why Is This Family Not in Therapy

Previously on BnHA: Fuyumi invited everyone over to Camp Todovid for a wholesome family meal because what could possibly go wrong. Kacchan and Deku proceeded to spend the evening blinking distress signals at each other in Morse code while Natsu shoved breadsticks into his purse and skedaddled after getting mad at Endeavor in a completely unexpected turn of events which absolutely no one could have foreseen. After dinner, Shouto had a heart to heart with Fuyu (and then Deku) about whether or not he was ready to forgive his dad, and meanwhile Endeavor said a prayer for his very dead son Touya. Poor Touya. He was such a nice boy. You know what he really used to like? Messenger bags. He’d put the oddest things in them, too. I wonder if Touya would still enjoy collecting strange and disturbing things in bags if he was still alive today. Alas. We’ll never know.

Today on BnHA: Some guy named Takami who just got out of prison decides to show up out of the blue and fucking kidnap Natsuo because WHY NOT. But before that happens, we get a nice scene of Kacchan and Deku sitting down with Shouto and Fuyu, who finally decide it’s high time they talked about THEIR SECRET DEAD BROTHER seeing as LET’S BE REAL, THAT WAS THE WHOLE POINT OF THIS DINNER TO BEGIN WITH. So basically, (1) he’s definitely dead! For sure! 100% deceased!, and (2) Natsuo apparently blames Endeavor for his death, lol no big. Deku and Kacchan are for some reason super fucking chill about hearing this, and then Endeavor comes over and is all “TIME TO HEAD BACK” and omg I’ve never hated him more. And then as they’re driving away from Todofield Hall, Takami shows up and is all “HEY ENDEAVOR LOOK I KIDNAPPED YOUR CHILD AND I’M GONNA KILL HIM!” and holy shit but Horikoshi is just fucking with us now, though.

(As always, all comments are my unspoiled reactions from my initial readthrough of the chapter. I did a quick edit for grammar and clarity afterward, and added some  ETAs in the process, but aside from that there are no changes.)

all right manga, do your worst. I’m completely spoiler-free on this one. watch it not even be a flashback, after all of that lmao

(ETA: lol I read these two asks after I read the chapter and they’re pretty great:

honestly this week wasn’t that bad, though! the worst part of it was the whole “only 13 pages again” thing honestly. next week, though, it looks like we’ll be in for some fun times. oh goodness.)

so it appears night has fallen on Todofield Hall, and hoooooooooly shit you guys, are they. are they all gonna have a sleepover at Shouto’s house, because fdszllk I. I’m gonna. ldskfjla

(ETA: [kicks Endeavor in the shins] why do you hate fun!?)

who is talking?? are these prison stripes??

so is this the Takami guy narrating, then? just like we all predicted last week. ???

(ETA: so I saw all these people going “wtf is this Hawks’s dad??” and I was like “lol what” and it took me longer than I’d like to admit to put two and two together, but anyways, long story short, “Takami” just so happens to be Hawks’s recently revealed surname (with the same kanji and everything -- 鹰見). so while every instinct in my body is screaming at me “gtfo no way they’re related”, it is an extremely bizarre coincidence, so uh. ?? I got nothin’, basically.)

WHAT THE FUCK

IS THIS GUY STALKING THE TODOROKI HOUSE. ABOUT TO BREAK INTO TODOFELL IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT WHILE MY CHILDREN ARE ASLEEP!? CAN THEY JUST NOT CATCH A BREAK

also I will never understand villains who get all smug about being captured alive. “your one mistake was not killing me when you should have!” like okay, so you’re admitting you’re a piece of shit who should have died, and that the hero totally could have done it, but they were nice enough not to so SHAME ON THEM, apparently

anyways I really don’t understand what’s going on at all lol. some guy looked up to Endeavor and then got himself captured by him for some reason. let’s continue I guess

oh lord it keeps getting creepier

-- oohhhhhhhh shiiiiiiit, is this fucker about to air Endeavor’s dirty laundry?? is that what this is about?

AHHHHH

NATSU SWEETIE WHERE ARE YOUR SELF-PRESERVATION INSTINCTS?? IT IS NOT SAFE! and also what the fuck, does Endeavor just not have any security in his home at all? surely he must, if for no other reason than the fact that HE HAS KIDS and he’s not always at home! I have to imagine that any pro hero with a family understands that they’re a potential target for villains and would take precautions. I wonder if we’re about to see this sneaky guy get wrecked

(ETA: nope, Endeavor really has no security whatsoever and Natsu got snatched while waiting outside for his Uber. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that he was too busy missing his brother and being sad to remember that he actually has a quirk himself. c’mon Natsu.

-- actually, come to think, props to Horikoshi for once again bucking the trend and having a guy be the one who gets kidnapped and becomes the damsel in distress. I’m just going to assume that had Fuyu been the one to get captured, Endeavor wouldn’t have even heard about it until he received a text from her with a picture of the guy encased in ice and a caption asking “so dad, uh, what should I do with this?”)

BUT FIRST, WE’RE CUTTING BACK TO THE TODOROKI KITCHEN, WHERE TODOBAKUDEKU ARE CURRENTLY HAVING TEA WITH FUYU BECAUSE SOMEBODY UP THERE LIKES ME YESSSSS

hhhglkohhhhh myyyyy godddddd

I KNOW!!! WHAT’S WITH THAT! WE’VE WAITED 250 FUCKING CHAPTERS PUTTING UP WITH YOUR SLY-ASS HINTS ALL “ALL RIGHT THEN, KEEP YOUR SECRETS” but is it finally time now? IS IT??!

Shouto says it’s not exactly an easy topic to bring up, and okay, fair. buuuut also, this is the same child who ambushed Deku in a corridor back when they barely knew each other and was all “let me tell you all about my dad’s quirk marriage and how he abused me and my mom and how I got this scar” so like. what exactly do you consider “easy to bring up” though

OH MY GOD IT’S HAPPENINGGGGGGG

we’re getting DETAILS. ABOUT. TOUYA’S PAST fkdslfh holy motherfucking shitballs someone pinch me

she says it happened right after Rei got hospitalized, which yeah, we all figured based on the middle school uniform in the photo. so that definitely pins down his age then, doesn’t it? Shouto was six when that happened, so if Touya was in middle school he’d have been between 12 and 15. so it’s very likely then that he was 14, the exact same age as Fuyu, so therefore THE TWIN THEORY IS CONFIRMED! WE DID IT TUMBLR

anyways back to being sad though, because

can someone please hug this child?? what are you all even doing?! do you not see his face?? jesus christ

oh no oh my god are you serious are you

okay, before I go on to the next panel and commence FREAKING THE FUCK OUT, I need to stop here though, because the thought that the Todos actually were in the process of healing nine years ago and could have potentially been spared years of additional pain had it not been for this tragedy is. just. I fucking can’t. I need a minute here. god

anyway. so now on to the freaking out though, because

:) :))) :))))))) huh. you don’t say

(ETA: hmm in hindsight I promised freakouts and then all I did was go “:)” but please understand that the “:)” conveys so much more inner freaking out than words could possibly communicate. just picture me screaming and waving my arms around like a Kermit the frog gif okay.)

look at this you guys. this revelation is so stone cold fucking sober that it even got Katsuki to make an actual normal face for the first time in god knows how many chapters, wow

by the way, words can hardly express how much I appreciate that Katsuki is sitting here chilling out drinking tea with the rest of them and listening to this tale of woe and empathizing like a normal, well-adjusted person, though. I will never take that for granted. thank you character development gods. y’all are bros

anyways the face in question that Natsu was making is so fucking sad, and just. THEY ALL NEED HUGS. why is this family not in therapy

NO!!!!!!!!!!!

YOU SON OF A BITCH!! JUST LIKE THAT YOU’RE RIGHT BACK ON MY SHIT LIST, ENDEAVOR!! CHRIST ALMIGHTY ARE YOU SERIOUS, SO WE’RE REALLY JUST GONNA LEAVE OFF THERE? “LOL SO YEAH, NATSU STILL THINKS DAD KILLED OUR BROTHER AND THAT’S WHY ALL THE TENSION” and Deku and Kacchan just nod like that is in any way a satisfying explanation rather than an INCREDIBLY OMINOUS STATEMENT which only goes and raises about A BILLION MORE QUESTIONS OMG. “oh okay, so he hates your dad because he thinks that he murdered your mysterious other brother we’re only just now hearing about. say no more. no further context necessary” fucking -- 

listen, you two. where the fuck are your investigative skills?? SOME SCOOBY SQUAD YOU ARE!!

oh my goodness gracious

listen guys, things I was not expecting to check off my character development bucket list today: Katsuki joining the Fuyumi fanclub and bonding with her over recipes. I wasn’t even aware that was on my list. BUT IT SURE WAS, AND IT’S CHECKED NOW AND I LOVE IT

also love that Shouto tells Fuyu to just text the recipe to him, and then he will share it with Katsuki. because they are best friends

also Deku is the only one here with any manners at all but oh well. we all been knew

(ETA: though to be fair, Katsuki asking for the recipe is about as big a compliment as one can give to a chef, and it kind of serves as a combination “thanks for the meal” and “everything was really good” tbh. shit, now I want her recipe.)

fdlkjfg

... [reaches out to gently touch the panels] so soft

-- BUT DO YOU KNOW WHAT’S EVEN SOFTER?

[faint sound of my heart imploding] ah

oh my god his face

and Katsuki’s face too. boy are you jealous. to think you were all “WHY THOUGH!?” coming here, only to walk away from it all with a kickass new mapo tofu recipe as well as a new person to add to your secret list of people you would literally die for. awwwwwww

and Shouto. omg. this is the most bashful panel I’ve ever seen. what a blessed chapter

anyway so now they’re all driving away (back to school?? I think he said?) and Endeavor’s talking to them about their upcoming schedule. so I guess they are heading back to school, then

anyway so he wants them to work the weekend as well as two weekdays? damn that’s a lot of class to be missing, he’s asking them to skip literally half the school week (since they have Saturday class too)

wow you guys look at this panel

takeaways from this: 1.) I honestly would have thought Deku would be the one tutoring other people in English, if anything. as of the midterms, he was above Shouto in academic rankings, but more importantly he’s also the biggest All Might fan on the planet, and All Might spent a lot of time in America in his youth and presumably speaks decent English himself, so you’d think Deku’s English would be passable just from his obsession alone. but I guess you just can’t beat that fancy private school education

and the other takeaway: Katsuki doesn’t like being squished in the backseat of a cramped Japanese car with Deku and Shouto. this one is absolutely shocking. I’m gonna need a moment to process this for sure. anyways poor Deku, he’s probably getting so many elbows to the ribs right now. I hope he elbows back

(ETA: actually the fact that Katsuki is apparently sticking his head out the window here in addition to complaining about the cramped conditions makes me wonder if he’s actually getting carsick. my poor baby do you need some dramamine.)

guys, meet Endeavor’s chauffeur

so anyway this is a bit sudden but I have a new favorite character now. life is funny like that. does he remind anyone else of Major Armstrong

wow Endeavor is answering the question seriously

okay but shit, I really fucking love this answer, though. he’s so matter-of-fact about it. because the thing is, the question isn’t really “when did you start baby-sitting a bunch of kids”; it’s “when did you actually start caring about something other than yourself?” and the answer is that it happened when he finally reached the top and realized the responsibility that went hand in hand with that role. it forced him to finally look past just himself, and to think about what it really means to be a hero. shit, I feel another essay coming on, but it’ll have to wait for some other time lol. we still have to see if Natsu’s going to make it out of this alive

anyway so now Armstrong is chuckling and saying that status really does change people huh, and they’re driving on into the night

OH SHIT

THAT’S A NICE SON YOU’VE GOT THERE, ENDEAVOR. IT WOULD BE A SHAME IF SOMEONE... okay you know what, I’m not sure where I was headed with that joke, but in any case I can’t finish it because this isn’t funny at all actually, this is actually SO FUCKING BAD oh shit oh shit

NATSUUUUU

oh no he’s so scared oh fuck. fuck. he’s only 19, he’s just a kid still. god. why do I always get so worked up over these parts. what am I doing reading a shounen manga if I can’t handle seeing kids in peril. HORIKOSHI PLEASE BE KIND TO MY BABIES

holy shit

okay, is this implying that Katsuki was sticking his head out of the window in that previous panel?? I realize more important things are happening and this is hardly the time to dwell on this, but jesus christ my kid is out here trying to get himself decapitated. boy what is wrong with you

anyway so now something is going "pop” and I have no idea. ??

(ETA: lol I guess it was Endeavor? you know, how Endeavor sometimes just goes “pop” for no reason. that’s just the sound someone makes when spontaneously bursting into flames.)

oh

far be it from me to start whipping out analogies about a mama bear and her cubs, but. damned if that ain’t what’s happening though. motherfucker, you mess with his kids? so would you like to die fast, or slow

so now some weird fucking shit is happening to the car, and I guess it’s this guy’s quirk again?

wow my man, so you’re really attacking the car with the three protagonists with SOMETHING TO PROVE in the backseat. you really do have a death wish

(ETA: on top of that, attacking the car mere minutes before the winter break ends, and with it, the deadline for “defeating a villain quicker than Endeavor.” HMMM anybody got some popcorn?)

now Endeavor is shouting “LET HIM GO!” because that’s what superheros shout when someone is being kidnapped

lol poor Natsu looks kind of awkward now

like, don’t get him wrong, he’s still scared for his life. but also he’s starting to get a bit of that same feeling that Katsuki and Deku were getting in the last chapter, like he’s suddenly found himself right in the midst of some grade A melodrama from which there is no escape. anyways don’t mind him, he’s just going to chill here in this big pile of bandages and see where this goes

so Endeavor is all “........... YOU’RE FROM SEVEN YEARS AGO!” and honestly that’s impressive. I guess the quirk is a pretty memorable one, though

wow now they’re suddenly being all coy with this guy’s name? what the hell

?? Natsu bud, I feel ya, this really is some awkward shit right here

ohhhh!

that’s the name of the chapter! well all right then, so at least that much makes sense now

so now Ending is apologizing to Endeavor, and wow, tons of essay fuel in these next two panels here

“you had so many things that I could never get” doesn’t this sound remarkably similar to Deku’s speech to Kacchan during their second fight at Ground Beta? huh

and also, I think we are slowly dancing closer and closer to the Thing Katsuki Lacks That He Needs To Learn From His Internship From Endeavor. what do you guys think? I have a lot of thoughts about this, but again, I’ll save it for another post seeing as shit is hitting the fan right now and all

OH SHIT

ARE YOU SERIOUS, OF ALL THE TIMES TO HAVE ANOTHER THIRTEEN PAGE CHAPTER! HORIKOSHI YOU ARE FUCKING KILLING ME HERE

well shit. okay so when he says “don’t make the same mistake twice”, he’s clearly talking about Endeavor letting him live the last time they met, but also I can’t help but feel like there might be some kind of double meaning here as well. the fact that he went from theft to kidnapping and attempted murder, on top of him mentioning earlier about how he went digging into Endeavor’s past, makes me wonder if he could possibly be trying to recreate a specific set of events. or is that crazy??

but just, hear me out. what if something similar to this went down before, with Touya perhaps being taken hostage by a villain (though it couldn’t have been the same guy because the timing is off, and also Endeavor didn’t recognize him right off the bat), and Endeavor making some critical mistake which resulted in him failing to save him, and Natsu then blaming him for that and holding him responsible for the death. honestly that makes the most sense to me, since I would think that “literally murdered his own kid” would be kind of a deal-breaker as far as the rest of the family ever reconciling with him. so yeah, this could get very interesting here

(ETA: hoo boy, so I’ve been browsing the bnha tags a bit, and it seems that a lot of people are interpreting the hints in this chapter very differently from me lol. I admit I could certainly be wrong about the “don’t make the same mistakes” bit having a double meaning. but like, do we really believe that Endeavor just straight up murdered his son and got away with it, or that it was covered up or something? or that he drove Touya to suicide? I think it’s much more likely that Touya pushed himself too hard, or that he accidentally got caught up in one of Endeavor’s attacks, or something along those lines.

what really struck me, though, was that a lot of people actually seem to be hoping for it to come out that Endeavor really is responsible, though. like, to the point where they’re prepared to be outraged if it turns out he’s not, and this part of the story doesn’t end up conforming to the narrative of Endeavor just being a sinister cartoon villain. and like, I don’t really know what to say about that. except that I really hate this idea that if an abuser is ever portrayed as something other than a heartless monster then it’s super-problematic and/or just bad writing. that Endeavor not murdering his son = Horikoshi endorses child abuse. or something. anyways I don’t have the spoons to really throw my hat into the ring here, but basically my opinion is that life is rarely just black and white in that way, and this story reflects that, and I think it’s absolutely the right call to make and is actually very good writing and I respect it. 

and also like, it’s not some all-or-nothing thing here where he’s either a perfect saint, or the worst person to ever exist! what he is is a man who made some terrible choices in the past and abused and hurt the very people he should have loved and protected the most. and what he is, also, is a man who has realized the awfulness of the things he’s done, and is trying his best now to be a good person. what he is is a human being. and acknowledging that doesn’t mean that you condone the abuse; it simply means that you acknowledge that people are made up of more than just the worst things they’ve done in their lives. that’s it.

anyways, for all of my “not gonna through my hat into the ring” nonsense, I’m doing a pretty good impression of exactly that, so I’ll shut up now. damn you Endeavor and your controversy-sparking ways. what kind of psychopath looks at the fucking BnHA fandom and says “not bad, but you know what this place could use? more discourse.” you knew exactly what you were doing, you fiend.)

anyways I’m going to hope and assume that Natsu isn’t actually about to meet his end here at the hands of this bestriped man and his peculiarly thematic villain name and sinister bandage arrows (are they bandages?? maybe not since they seem pretty solid and he’s threatening to stab Natsu in the eye with one. idk). and for all of my joking earlier, this guy actually does appear to have a real, genuine death wish since he keeps talking about how Endeavor should have killed him before. so in addition to all this other drama, toss in an attempted suicide by cop as well! this fucking arc, man. goddamn

[suga-kookiemonster]

ego 04 preview

ok so!!! i’m bursting with ideas for ego 04 and have a whole entire plot planned, but for some reason i have really been going through it getting said plot onto paper 😭maybe if you guys validate me it will give me the little kick in the ass i need lmao! so here’s an excerpt that i will likely change/embellish more as i go along, go wild fam ✌🏾

~.~.~

“Okay, I’m here,” Namjoon huffed as he shut the door behind himself. He lifted a hand to Mina in greeting, but gave you his signature stank face™ as he made his way over. “So you can stop tweeting those increasingly-distressed Kermit the Frog memes at me.”

“You love Kermit memes,” you pointed out as he dropped his backpack to the floor and folded his long limbs into your armchair.

“…I do and they were hilarious,” he replied, grinning despite himself. “But! That’s besides the point. I couldn’t pay attention at all during poly-sci, especially since you called a Code Red.” Joon gave you a thorough once-over. “And you look perfectly fine. _____, we’ve been through this! I told you Code Reds were only for emergencies.”

“This is an emergency!” you replied indignantly.

“Really? Because last time you called a Code Red the only thing that was wrong was that Arby’s was out of curly fries.”

“If Arby’s doesn’t have curly fries, then what is the damn point? They had already taken away my Black Cow shake,” you said mournfully. “They took my Arby-Q, they took my Black Cow, and then I showed up and there weren’t even any fries…I had nothing left, Namjoon!”

Joon stared at you, unimpressed. “Are you finished, or are you done?”

“…I’m done.”

“Good. Now what’s the issue.”

You sighed. “Jeon Jungkook.”

“Tell me why every time I turn around you’re having a Jungkook crisis?” Mina groaned. “I told you about him in the beginning, but your ass didn’t want to listen!”

“I told you too,” Joon reminded you pointedly, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Okay, okay.” You waved a hand dismissively. “No need to linger over the details. What’s important right now is to finding a solution to the problem.”

“And what’s the problem?” Namjoon raised an expectant eyebrow.

“I—” you swallowed, embarrassed that it happened, and even more embarrassed to admit it. “I accidentally let him…touch me…in my happy place.”

Mina’s eyebrows furrowed. “You let him touch you in a Trader Joe’s?”

“Of course not!” you scoffed incredulously. “…but speaking of, do we have any Two-Buck Chuck left?”

“Yeah, I think it’s on the second shelf in the fridge—”

“Can we please focus,” Namjoon huffed. “Some of us don’t have all day.”

“He touched my cooch, okay!” you yelled. “Stuck his hand in the box, perused the cookie jar, pet the kitty, snatched the snatch—”

With your first utterance, Namjoon had silently placed his face in his hands, but he only seemed to sink further and further into the armchair as you rambled on. “Please stop,” he interrupted, voice muffled by his fingers. His entire body language screaming tired.

Mina, on the other hand, was full-on gaping at you, eyes wide. “You let him finger you?”

“He didn’t finger me,” you replied hastily, cringing at the entire situation you had somehow managed to put yourself in. “Me saying he stuck his hand in was misleading, and I realize that now. He just kind of…felt me up in the middle of our chemistry lecture? It was an accident, I swear!”

“How is that an accident?” your roommate yelled gleefully, eyes sparkling with excitement.

“I think we were playing some unspoken game of chicken,” you groaned. “He assumed I would stop him and I assumed he would stop.”

“You got off in the middle of class?” Mina whispered in awe. “You let him rub one out. In a classroom filled with people.”

“No!” you denied, desperate to convince your friends that the situation wasn’t a complete disaster. Depsite the fact that you had gathered them here under the pretense of the situation being a complete disaster. “Class ended, so it didn’t get that far.”

“It didn’t get that far because class ended?”

“Can you please stop repeating everything I say? You’re not helping.”

Mina grinned. “_____, are you saying that the only reason it didn’t get that far is because class ended?”

“No, I—”

“So when were you going to make him stop?! When you finished?”

“I…I don’t know!” you groaned. “God, clearly I’m a horny mess and need to get laid. I had a momentary lapse of judgement, okay? I didn’t think he’d actually do it.”

Namjoon chose that moment to jump in, fixing you with a stare. “Jeon Jungkook, current runner-up for this year’s Highest Bodycount award. You thought he wouldn’t do it.”

You pointed a finger at him. “Obviously, hindsight is 20/20,” you huffed, embarrassed.

“But _____, we all saw this coming! We saw it coming 500 miles away, the Weather Channel told us it was in the forecast months ago, but did you listen? No! Your little Jungkookie would never.”

“You know what, I didn’t ask for your sass, mister.”

While the two of you bickered, Mina nodded to herself in thought. “There’s only one way to get out of this,” she said slowly, making both you and Joon pause to look at her. She shrugged nonchalantly. “You gotta fuck him.”

This time, it was you who facepalmed. “Meen, how come every time I tell you about a guy problem your solution is for me to fuck him?”

Mina looked at you like you’re stupid. “Uh, because 90% of the time, the solution is to fuck him?”

You looked at Joon incredulously, hoping he would back you up, but he only shrugged. “She’s not wrong,” he allowed.

You groaned in frustraton. “Mina, you told me to fuck my dickbag history teacher last semester! He was 89!”

“Listen, if you had rocked his world, he would have given you an A. That, or his heart would have given out, resulting in the Dean giving everybody sympathy As. It was a foolproof plan.”

“HE WAS ANCIENT!”

“You always have excuses,” she sighed. “Well, Jungkook is a young buck and fine as hell. What’s your damage this time?”

“Clamydia,” you deadpanned. “Also, he gets on my goddamn nerves.”

“Namjoon gets on your nerves,” she pointed out.

“And I’ve never solved any issues with him by fucking him, so that point is moot.”

“There were some things that definitely could have been resolved a lot faster had you fucked me, just gonna put that out there.”

“Namjoon!”

“What?! You called her point moot and I just wanted to say that wasn’t necessarily true—”

“Do you guys want me to leave so you can bang it out?” Mina smirked.

[inthehillswithamission]

I Miss Citadel (A feeble attempt at a love letter for an old friend.)

It is still hard for me to comprehend that it has now been over 40 years since I first arrived at Citadel. I had only known the Lord for just a few months and only after two weeks after I was born from above, the Lord had called me to the ministry. I was planning on going into a career that would involve drama but then and even now, I am so glad He called me into the ministry.

 I was so young in my faith, that I will never forget my old buddies did not know what to do with me. I made it clear to them that the old mike had died, and that God was doing a work on my heart.  They, in turn, took me down to the local grocery store, at 11:00 that night, unplugged a coke machine, plugged in my stereo and in the parking lot ,only 16-17 hours before I went to Citadel, we had a dance for Mikey, because he was going to be a preacher and go to a bible college. I know this is not your typical testimony, but I was just a baby in Christ. Excited about Him and surrounded by a lot of unsaved friends, who meant well, on my behalf. We danced until 2 that morning.

 I can only imagine what some of the staff must have thought of me, as my father was driving me up the mountain and I was listening to Elton John’s, “Love lies bleeding in my hands.” I had not really looked over the dress code as I jumped out of the station wagon, with my pair of overalls and Ringo Starr T-shirt , along with matching sandals and a crucifix so big, it was a good 10-11 inches long. All I knew was, I loved Jesus and I wanted to know Him better. I ran up, dressed like this, to one of the faculty members, hugged him for all I could and he must have been in shock, as all he could say was, “Son, you need to put a tie on.” Within an hour, my family and I were back at the school, with my one black tie, which was all that I wore for the first six weeks of school.

 The following morning, I felt out of place and awkward in this new place that God had called me to. I even questioned, is this really where You want me, Lord?  I felt like a spiritual midget, as one of the first things that the school wanted me to do, was take a test over my biblical knowledge. Yeah, right, let me see, John 3:16, John 14:1-3, which I had not really memorized. There was, of course, Genesis and Exodus, in the Old Testament and Matthew-John and, of course, Revelation. That was about it.  Okay, I thought, I am doomed. I was so broken-hearted, because I thought this was like an entrance exam and I had just failed it. Better get ready to call dad and tell him, “Your son is a moron, come and get me.” The disappointment must have shown, as one of the couples at Citadel was a young man, named Tim Willoughby, and his future wife, Joellen Holsinger. I could see their compassion and concern for me, as they asked me if I was okay. Of course, I lied, and they must have known it because Tim said, “Mike, this is not an entrance exam. All the school is trying to do is find out how much you know about the Bible.” I looked up at them and remember saying, “Well, they are going to find out, not much.’ Knowing just the right words to say, Tim replied, “You know, we all got to start someplace and Mike, you will be okay.” Joellen just smiled, and for the rest of the day we played some field games, as a way for us to get to know each other. Tim and Joellen picked me early to be on their team. All these years later, I never forgot their act of kindness to such a messed-up infant in the faith. I would read about their kind of Christianity, when I read about the Son of Consolation, Barnabas, and discover what a true gift that is, for some believers.

Like many of you, my favorite place was Kline Hall, the main and beautiful building which was the center of our campus and life. It became my very favorite place in the world, as it overlooked the valley and the Arkansas River. I remember doing something stupid, which led to one of the longest times of being sent to your room, in the school’s history, as I was told later by one of the faculty members. My room had now felt like a prison, but it was for something that I had truly deserved punishment for. I longed to be around people and still do, to this day. I am one of those guys who hates to admit, that he has separation anxiety. As soon as my punishment was over, I grabbed my books and sat on the wrap around porch, for the next three years, as much as I could. I loved the view, and, at night, I would look down and see the lights of houses and they became reminders to me, of how we were to be lights in the midst of darkness. As many of you know, it was stunning.

 Oh, for the hours of studying. The hearing of God’s Word, the privilege of sitting under the teaching of people who not only taught us His Word, but who lived it before us. The missionary challenges and how missions were so emphasized. Just to hear Daryl Champlin say the word “Glory” and how we trembled in the presence of a holy God.

I came at the best of times, Dr. Brownback taught me how to think and see God in a true world view, by dealing with philosophical issues of the Word, rather than through the world’s wisdom. Mr. Glasser introduced me to this God, who I am to pursue but would never fully know till we see Him face to face. Jerry Smith was the preacher and mentor, who made ministry practical. Mr. Ruchti was a giant. Think about it, we had a man of God who was a missionary, during World War II, to Brazil. How we loved getting him off subject and the joy of his tales of being a missionary, during that time. Mrs. Brownback gave me a love for the hymns of our faith. I found out why I did so bad, the first time I took Greek, by realizing my main issue was English Grammar, not Greek. Mrs. Ruchti would have us diagram sentences for hours. Mr. Willoughby, who gave me more practical tools for how to study the Bible, more than any man has ever done. I tell you brothers, what joy it was to sit under their feet, watch them grow and live it before us. We were among giants and did not even know it.

The friends that were made and those who I keep in touch with, still influence my life to this day.  My times with Dave Drake and Tracy Wilson, as we went into Oklahoma for our Christian Workers assignments. Then, having Tracy with me, as we would teach the youngest of children for the next two years. I learned more about preaching there than anywhere else.

Saturdays became special to me, as Scott Ingvaldsen, Doug Tucker and Sonya would sit down for about 2 hours together and talk about our spiritual journeys and the ministry. We never said it, but I thought we believed we had all the answers to reach the world and what sweet times of prayer.

These were friendships forged in steel and through the years, have been a source of refreshment and encouragement. I cannot list all the bonds that have been, and always will be, precious to me. Even now, I am still so grateful for so many who impacted my life and ministry.

Now, with the joy of working with Rock Haven, I have many of those old classmates working alongside of me, for the glory of His kingdom. The Barlow’s, The Boyd’s, Kermit Lowery and The Allen’s from OBI.

I will never forget when I first heard of how the school had closed, I was with Angela Morgan (Stone), at camp, for Moody Bible Church. I remember feeling devastated and became teary eyed. It was like I had just buried my friend. We were in shock for days.

Now, fast forward about a little over a year. Julie Hunter, who I had met during my Citadel days, and I were dating. Mr. and Mrs. Brownback invited us up to their house to celebrate New Years Day, they also had as their guest, Mr. Newell. Julie and I went on up to visit and would walk around the old campus. It felt a little odd as we strolled hand in hand around the campus, feeling like I would get written up for P.C violations and especially, that night before we left, as I kissed Julie and we held each other tight. Crying, praying, and being flooded with memories of our lives there, as we walked around the wrap around porch one last time. Little did I know, I was with my wife to- be, for over the next thirty years plus. It would also be the last time we would see the building, as it burned down shortly thereafter.

You know, I have been on the campus a few times since, through the years at a reunion, but in all honesty, its like the old saying, that you never really get to go back to the home you once knew. Just below, the old rock wall that Glen had built, it has been overtaken by the woods and shrubbery, so the view to me is not the same. The buildings are largely gone, over the decades of time, and it is not the same.

Yet, here is the beautiful thing. Citadel was not just Kline Hall or the other buildings that were on the grounds. It is now, forever seared, upon our memories. The teachings of Jesus, the wise words of our instructors and their lives. The friendships, but also for me, it will always be how all these things helped to disciple us, in being soldiers and becoming lovers of Jesus, who gave us His all. God bless and use you as you serve Him.

[wallpaperpainting]

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[j-philly-b]

OUaT 7x02 – Thoughts & Observations

“I’ll send an SOS to the world; I hope that someone gets my message in a bottle.”

           - The Police, Message in a Bottle

Ugh, seriously? We’re back to this bullshit? I thought we were done with the realm that shall not be named. But no, instead we’re going to be reminded of it on a weekly basis. Or at least I will be, because my anger over that entire plotline is unflagging.

But I am talented in unhealthy avoidance techniques, and will likely continue on because (1) I am a glutton for punishment, (e) Colin O’Donoghue’s face, and (!) I can’t stop myself from trying to puzzle this show out. Hi, my name is Joanne and I can’t get OUaT.

 Random Thoughts:

I was not prepared to say goodbye to Killian Jones, he of the multiple redemption and hero arcs. It was that and the high expectations I had for a story written by Jane and Jerome that left me in a pit of despair after the episode was over. I’ve gone through my stages of grief, I am almost at acceptance, almost.

I am relieved that CS have their happy ending/beginning together in SB. While I’m in the they don’t need a baby to be happy camp, it’s a fine development and everyone’s fic with a CS kid post-S6 is perfectly valid and canon compliant. So there’s that!

I know that many viewers, including myself, took Emma and Killian’s concern as an implication that they had a difficult time conceiving, maybe even suffering a miscarriage at some point. I’m going to go the lighter route and assume that Killian’s penchant for leather pants and skinny jeans slowed down the baby making process, which is why we saw him show up in the alt!EF in regular blue jeans.

I loved how Killian jumped into action and was instantly stabby as soon as he and Regina showed up in response to Henry’s call. Struck me as a very strong parental instinct to go on the offensive like that when you get a distress call from your kid.

Emma tells Henry that she has to give Henry what he gave her – family, and she starts by giving him Hook 2. Then Henry keeps Regina – and no one in SB is complaining because obviously Regina has absolutely nothing in SB and can walk away on a whim, what else do you do with a middle-aged woman with no spouse or child to look after?

I’m bitter because I can’t believe A&E or J&J put me in a position to feel defensive over Regina.

Interesting that being in the alt!EF meant that Regina and Emma’s magic wouldn’t work. But here’s the thing, Regina’s use of magic in the beginning showed us two things – her magic worked when she was protecting her TL, but didn’t work when she was to cast a locator spell. Subtle foreshadowing of what was to come later with Emma and Hook 2.

 Hook 2 using Killian’s blood to become him may have created a deeper connection than simply surface appearance. So not only was Emma able to connect to him by recognizing the man he could be, used to be, but maybe whatever it is that makes TL a physical manifestation was also able to recognize something in Hook 2 because of that blood connection? I’m not being clear, but I think this blood connection and TL is going to come up again for Hook 2 and his daughter. I am really leaning toward the daughter being created using some form of blood magic.

So Hook 2 has a daughter and now we’re going to be following his story. In a way, it makes sense, it allows CS peace and to continue living their happily ever after without unnecessary angst and separation. I just don’t know if I feel as invested in Hook 2 as I was in Killian Jones.

I had work it out in my head when Hook 2’s path diverged from Killian. I’m going with the wish realm diverging at the point of the flashbacks in the Cricket Game – in the wish realm Snow’s attempt to banish Regina worked, and she was no longer a threat to them from that point on. Therefore, Hook 2 never sang with Snowing and did not kill his father to leave Liam 2.0 an orphan out for revenge.

“I’ve always tried to do good.” Where did that come from with Hook 2? Did he turn around when his daughter was born? Was that his “you can be a part of something” moment?

I’m assuming his fall back into darkness was when his heart was poisoned/cursed and he was stopped from seeing his daughter. I’m just… ARGH!!! Another Hook redemption arc? Yeah, I’m still not quite over it yet.

Hook 2 roaming the realms looking for TL to cure his poisoned/cursed heart and then trying to use Killian’s connection with Emma for that purpose tells us what? That Hook 2 thought himself incapable of TL, and maybe now feels guilty that he didn’t try hard enough or believe in himself enough to save his daughter? That now that he has his second chance he will fulfill his role as his daughter’s white knight?

I like the carry through to HH and seeing that Rogers does not like hearing Henry’s daughter referred to as a vulnerability.

Roger’s curse memories of Emma are not too far afield from the truth. Their cursed personalities aren’t too far off from their true-selves either. Very unlike Regina’s curse when she tried to suppress people’s true selves. We’ve seen how Jacinda isn’t afraid to push back against Victoria, how Rogers, Regina, and Henry were able to come together easily, and how Rumple is on the periphery of that as well. So was the curse cast for evil intent or not?

Ok, so I think I called it last week with Weaver being the one to get Rogers promoted and reassigned to him. I’m sticking with my theory that Rumple knows what is going on and is more involved in the curse than we think at this point. It was more heavy-handed in this episode, mainly because there was more Weaver in this episode, but I’m fine with a Rumple that plays on both sides of the fence. I’m wondering if Weaver’s relationship with Victoria is a case of keeping your enemies close?

Interesting that Weaver was not included in the final scene with Roni, Rogers, and Henry.

 Also interesting that Weaver doesn’t push Roni when she says no, not the tactic we’ve been lead to believe he usually follows.

The shot of Weaver and Rogers from behind the bookcase in Henry’s apartment was great. The view of them was slightly obscured, Rogers is in the light, Weaver is in the dark. I like how it framed their characters at that point in time.

 The matching denim jackets of Rogers and Weaver, was there a Starsky & Hutch in the alt!EF?

So Weaver was testing Rogers’ moral core, why?

 Hook 2 is very good at strategizing, probably all the chess, but Rogers was way ahead of Weaver when he thought to grab Henry’s keys before they left the apartment. Not a surprise that Rogers has a healthy distrust of Weaver and can look out for himself.

 Random Observations:

Why are there no evil Kermit memes with Hook 2 in the hood confronting Killian?

Captain Youthful!

I also liked Killian referring to Hook 2 and his existence in the realm to be ignored as a bad dream, not real, a cracked mirror, and a twisted version of the truth.

Why do LT and Tiana jump to Henry being in love with Cinderella/Jacinda? They’ve known each other a total of ten minutes.

THE HAND!!!

Henry is a total hipster.

“I gotta hop.” “You must have a fairy godmother somewhere.” Tiana gets all the good lines.

Lady Tremaine uses that wand a helluva a lot for someone who doesn’t rely on magic.

Ok, but what did Gabrielle’s teenage daughter think about her mother getting all up in Colin’s face like that?

Tune in next week when Weave tests out his Welsh accent!

The Nancy Drews! Even before Weaver pulled the book off the shelf, I knew what they were by the yellow binding. My dad bought me one a week for a little over a year when I was kid. I’m getting teary just thinking about it…

Henry looking for buried family and “keeps hitting dead ends”? Yeesh

Ivy wearing a green shirt with fleur de lis in her first scene with Jacinda – green for a reason?

Jacinda can save herself. We get it, we’ve also heard it before.

How exactly did Hook 2 wind up stabbed?

Emma does have a little bit of a bump when they’re sitting on that log.

Why is Killian so angry when he throws that bean? Does he know Emma has terrible aim when it comes to portals and he’s worried she might run on the wrong side of it?

Henry creeping on Cinderella’s bedroom.

Of course Killian has another magical method of communication. Shellphones, messages in a bottle, does he keep a coop for talking seagulls on the Jolly Roger as well, enchanted semaphore flags?

Ok, Killian and Regina discussing Emma was about 10x more overdramatic than it needed to be.

Emma is “the mother [Henry] wanted, a hero.”  That’s gotta be a kick in the gut to Regina.

God damnit Henry, operation glass slipper is still going on and now you’re staring operation next chapter? Get your shit together kid.

Colin wetn super-irish at the end when Rogers was telling his story to Henry, yes?

Were the hair extensions for Emma totally unnecessary? Or are saviors like Samson and lose their power if they get a haircut? Wait, is that why Rumple got a haircut at the beginning of s6? It was a hint that he was a powerless savior?! AHA! I’ve cracked the code!! Sorry, there are certain storylines I will never not be bitter about

Why is Tilda Swinton doing adverts for Lyft? Someone write an androgynous preternatural character for that woman stat! Speaking of, I need to rewatch Orlando, it’s been way too long…

[holytheoristtastemaker]

Introduction Marketing is important for your career. I don't have to justify this; according to a recent survey I saw, 91% of you already agree. The more common doubt people have is in their ability to market themselves well. They see "Tech Celebrities", and then they look at themselves, and they say: "I'm not like that, when I put out a blogpost I don't get a billion likes," or "I don't want to be like them, that seems hard." The mistake here is equating Marketing with Celebrity. It's like saying your favorite restaurant shouldn't bother trying because McDonald's exists. They're two different (but related) things! You are a product. You work really hard on making yourself a great product. You owe it to yourself to spend some time on your Marketing even if you don't want to be a "Celebrity". Like it or not, people want to put you in a box. Help them put you in an expensive, high-sentimental-value, glittering, easy to reach box. Preferably at eye level, near Checkout, next to other nice looking boxes. It's not that hard to be better than 95% of devs at Marketing. The simple fact is that most devs don't do the basic things that people tell them to do. I think this has two causes: It's not code. Code is black and white. Marketing is shades of gray. A lot of advice is very generic. "Blog more". Devs often need more help transpiling Business Talk to actionable instructions. Let me try. You Already Know What Good Personal Marketing Is You may not feel confident in practicing good marketing, but you should realize you are being marketed at ALL. THE. TIME. Therefore you can be a world class expert in marketing that resonates with you. Step 1 is identifying the kind of marketing you already agree with. That's the kind that you can practice - not that other scammy, sleazy, invasive, privacy destroying kind. You've almost certainly already benefited from good marketing - by finding out about something from someone somewhere, that registered a hook in your mind, that eventually drove you to check it out, and now you cannot function without it. And you certainly want to benefit in the other direction - you want to be that thing that others find out about from someone somewhere. You want to register hooks in people's minds. You want to drive people to check you out. And you want people to prioritize working with you. One constraint you have that other marketers wish they had, is that you don't have to market to the whole world. You can target specifically the audiences you want to work for, and no more than that - meaning, as long as you are well-known in those circles, you don't need a public presence at all. Your conversion rate will be higher, and your stress probably lower (as will be your luck surface area). Personal Branding The topic of Marketing Yourself is pretty intertwined with Personal Branding. If you're like me, you've never really thought about the difference until right now. Think of yourself as a plain, unmarked can of soda. Branding would slap distinctive logo and colors on the can. And then Marketing is responsible for getting you, the freshly minted can of Coca Cola, in front of people. Branding is the stuff that uniquely identifies you. Marketing just gets your awesome in front of people. Of course, it helps marketing to have strong branding. This is why they are correlated. In fact, the strongest branding creates its own market. You don't want a laptop, you want a Macbook. You don't want an electric vehicle, you want a Tesla. I could list more examples, but I trust you understand. It's really easy to sell to a market in which you are the only seller. Almost literally shooting fish in the barrel. Nobody can compete with you at being you. The other wonderful feature of personal branding is that it is entirely up to you to create stuff that uniquely identifies you. There's no store somewhere from which you pick a brand off the shelf and put it on like a new coat. You create it from thin air, with the full dimensionality of all human personality has to offer. 7 billion humans on Earth doesn't even come close to exhausting the possible space of unique selling points you can pick. Picking a Personal Brand Your Personal Brand is how people talk about you when you're not in the room. So naturally, one way to start picking a brand is to listen to the one people naturally chose for you. Caution: you may not like what you hear! That's ok! That's what we're trying to fix. Personal Anecdote Time! If you can get a friend to tell it to you straight, good. If you can get some people on a podcast talking about you without you there, good. Or, like me, you can accidentally eavesdrop on a conversation. I swear I did this unintentionally - the first time I found out I had established an incredibly strong personal brand was when I was at a house party with 20 friends and friends of friends. While in a small group, I overheard someone behind me talking about me. They introduced me as "that guy that preaches Learn In Public". Then, at a later hour, I heard another person introduce me without me there. Then, again, when joining a new group, a third person introduced me the exact same way. I don't consider myself a personal branding expert. But I understood instantly that I had pulled off a very important feat - which was to write so much about a topic that multiple people instantly associate me with that topic. It's not critical that they say it in the exact same way, as that can be a bit creepy/culty, but it's good enough to use the same terms. If you want a more relatable example, think about how you would introduce your list of 5 people to a colleague, and compare that with how your 5 people introduce themselves. Anything But Average There are other aspects of my personal brand that don't get as much attention. But I bring it up front and center when it is relevant. I changed careers at 30. I used to be in Finance. I served as a Combat Engineer in the Army. I am from Singapore. I speak Mandarin. I've written production Haskell code. I sing Acapella. I am a humongous Terry Pratchett fan (GNU Terry Pratchett). I love Svelte and React and TypeScript. I am passionate about Frontend/CLI tooling and developer experience. I listen to way too many podcasts. The list goes on. But I have this list cold. I know exactly what parts of me spark interest and conversation. Therefore I can sustain interest and conversation longer, and people know when to call on me. You should keep a list too - know your strengths and unfair advantages. What I do NOT consider my personal brand is the stuff that doesn't differentiate me at all. For example, when asked about my hobbies, I deflect extremely quickly. I identify as a "Basic Bro" - I have my PS4, and Nintendo Switch, I like Marvel movies and watch the same Netflix shows you watch. Just like the million other Basic Bros like me. Totally basic. Totally boring. NOT a personal brand. In fact anything not "average" is a good candidate for inclusion. In particular: Diversity is strength. Adversity is strength. Weakness is strength. Nothing is off limits - the only requirements are that you be comfortable self identifying with your personal brand, AND that it evokes positive emotions as a result. I'm serious about that second part - You don't want trolling or outrage or cruel sarcasm to be your brand, nor do you want to bum people out all the time. Entertain, Educate, Inspire, Motivate instead. Identity + Opinions What I did accidentally, you can do intentionally. A nice formula for a personal brand is Identity + Opinions. A personal brand based solely on who you are, doesn't really communicate what you're about. A personal brand based solely on what you do, is quite... impersonal. People like knowing a bit of both, you should give it to them. You can be: the Mormon that teaches JavaScript Testing the Theater Nerd that loves Cloud Computing the Knitter that encourages Accessibility the Pianist that evangelizes State Machines (thanks to schwayse on my livestream for suggesting this one) In the right circles, there are exactly 1 person for each of these I just listed. I don't even have to say who they are. Identity doesn't have to be so personal if you're uncomfortable with it. Professional affiliations work. You can be "That Applitools Gal that created Test Automation University" or "That Googler that maintains RxJS" or "That Coursera Guy that loves GraphQL". It's just a little awkward when you eventually leave. I really want to give you more hints on this, but I'm afraid if I gave more examples I might limit your imagination. Don't even take this formula as a given. It's just one template. Consistency Humans love consistency. Developers REALLLLY love consistency. Here's an idea of how much Humans love consistency. We often want people who are famous for doing a thing, to come on to OUR stage, and do the thing. Then they do the thing, and we cheer! Simple as that. There's so much chaos in the world and having some cultural touchstones that never change is comfort and nostalgia and joy bundled up into one. Here's Seth McFarlane being prodded to do the voice of Kermit the Frog and Stewie from Family GUy - something he's done a billion times on a billion talk shows - but he does it anyway and we love it anyway. We LOVE when people Do The Thing! Similarly, when we market ourselves, we should be consistent. People love seeing the same names and faces pop up again (Caveat: you should mainly be associated with positive vibes when you do this). I recommend taking consistency to an extreme level. We used to do this offline with business cards. Online, our profiles have become not only our business cards, but also our faces. The majority of people who see you online will never see you in person. In most platforms, your profile photo is "read" before your username. Your username is in turn read before your message. Your message is read more than any link you drop. And so on. Therefore I strongly recommend: Photo. Take a good photo and use the same photo everywhere. A professional photographer is worth it, but even better can be something with a good story, or an impressive venue. If possible, try to show your real face, and try to smile. This puts you ahead of ~50% of users already who don't understand the value of this. Companies spend millions on their logos - why shouldn't you spend some time on it? We are irrationally focused on faces, and we really like it when people smile at us. Thankfully, because it's just a photo, it costs us nothing to smile at everybody all the time. It's a really easy way to associate your face with positive emotions. And when we see you pop up on multiple different platforms with the same face, we light up! The emotion completely transfers, and the branding is nonverbal but immediate. Real Name. Show your real, professional name if possible, unless your username is your working name. This works especially well in anonymous platforms like Reddit and Hacker News, because you are taking an additional step of de-anonymizing yourself. People respect this. Username. Your username should be your name if possible (so people can guess it), or failing which, something you intimately identify with. You should probably have the same one on most platforms, so that people can find you/tag you easily. Some, like myself, will simply use their usernames as their working names for ever. This can be a branding opportunity as well, similar to how music artists adopt mononyms and how fighter pilots adopt callsigns. Words. You should consistently associate yourself with a small set of words. Where a bio is allowed, you should have those words prominently displayed. For example, it doesn't take a lot to show up whenever SVG Animation or React and TypeScript are mentioned. You can set Google Alerts or Tweetdeck filters for this, and before long you'll just get associated. When you have your own words, like a catchphrase or motto, and it catches on, that is yet another level of personal branding. You will have made it when people start making fun of you. I'm not 100% serious, but I'm at least a little bit serious: Can people make memes of you? If so, that's a personal brand. All this personal branding will be 10x more effective when you have a Domain. You Need a Domain You Need a Domain. I mean this in both ways: Set up a site at yourname.com that has all your best work Pick a field that you are About. The first is hopefully obvious - instead of putting all your work on a platform somebody else owns, like Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn or other industry blog, have it primarily discoverable on your site/blog. This builds your site as a destination and lets you fully control your presentation and narrative - even off-site, on Google. Having a distinctive site design is yet another point of personal branding that, because you are a dev, costs basically nothing. People come to my site and they remember my scrollbars. But the second meaning deserves more introspection: I am asking you to plant your flag. Put up your personal bat signal. Planting Your Flag I used to have a very crude, kinda sexist name for this idea: "Be The Guy". This is because I noticed how many guys were doing this: The Points Guy is the Internet's pre-eminent authority on travel perks (It is now also a 9-figure business - pandemic aside) The RideShare Guy is who Wall Street called upon when Uber and Lyft IPO'ed Science communicators have definitely caught on to this. Neil deGrasse Tyson always introduces himself as your Personal Astrophysicist. But he's completely owned by Bill Nye - The Science Guy! If you skim over "the Guy" as a gender neutral shorthand, the actually important thing about having "a Guy" is that you look better just by "Knowing a Guy". Listen to Barney Stinson brag in How I Met Your Mother: You know how I got a guy for everything?... My suit guy, my shoe guy, my ticket guy, my club guy, and if I don't have a guy for something I have a Guy guy to get me a guy! This effect is real and it is extraordinarily powerful. Just by "having a guy" for something, you suddenly feel no desire to overlap with that person's domain. You can now focus on something else. And, to the extent you do that, you are now utterly dependent on "having a guy". You're also extremely invested in your "guy" being as successful and prominent as possible, so that you look better by association. It should strike you now that being someone's "guy" is very valuable, and that this also scales pretty much infinitely. You get there by planting a flag on your domain, and saying, this is what I do. People want expertise. People want to defer to authority. People don't actually need it all the time, they just want the option just in case. People love hoarding options. You can satiate that latent insecurity indefinitely. Most people also define "expertise" simply as "someone who has spent more time on a thing than I have" (The bar is depressingly low, to be honest. People should have higher standards, but they just don't. This is a systematic weakness you can - responsibly - exploit.) Picking A Domain You don't need to get too creative with this one. You want to connect yourself to something important: Maybe something people deal with daily but don't really think about too much (especially if they know they are leaving something on the table, like airline points - it is easy to make money from helping people unlock free money). Maybe something people only deal with once in a blue moon, but when they do it REALLY hurts (so you gain unfair expertise by specializing in having repeated exposure to rare events across multiple customers). There are a bunch of these, so to narrow down even more, look out for something you disproportionately love. Look for your own revealed preferences - search a topic in Slack or Twitter and see how often you talk about it. Look up your own YouTube watch history. An ideal domain for you is something that seems like work to others but you have fun digging into. With everything you love, there are things to hate. Find something within what you love, that you are ABSURDLY unsatisfied with. That love-hate tension can fuel you for years. For any important enough problem, there are plenty of experts. Do you feel like you haven't narrowed enough? Shrink your world. Be an internal expert at your company for your domain. This also helps you focus on things that bring value to a company, and therefore your career. It's also a very natural onramp to being an external expert when you leave. Claiming Your Domain Picking your domain is 90% of the journey. Most people don't even get that far. To really clean up, be prolific around that domain. Show up. To every conversation. I kind of joke about this as "High Availability for Humans". By showing up consistently, you become part of the consideration set. Humans don't have room for a very wide consideration set. It's usually 2. If we make lists and try really hard, we can get up to 10 (see: the Oscars). Think about the last time you purchased soap. You probably buy 1 of 2 brands of soap. But there are 100 on the shelves. They just weren't in your consideration set. So they never stood a shot. So your goal, as a brand, is to make it in. You do that by being Highly Available. By the way, we also have huge Availability Bias when it comes to recall. We conflate "first to your lips" with "being the best". We're also really good at backwards justifying what we just called the "best" by pulling up a bunch of bullet point reasons that have nothing to do with being "first to your lips". (Did I mention we like consistency?) It's your job to earn the right to be the best (and to define what that means), but also entirely within your control to be considered the best, which is what claiming your domain looks like. Give Up Freedom - For Now The flip side of planting your flag is you shouldn't plant it anywhere else. People like to see commitment. It implies, and usually does mean, that you have no choice but to be a domain expert. You signal commitment by giving up optionality. This is 100% OK - what you lose in degrees of freedom you gain 10x in marketing ability. The secret is - and don't tell anyone - that if you pick a Domain and it doesn't work out, you can still pivot if you need to. Nobody's going to hold it against you, as long as you don't pivot too often. If you really aspire towards more general prominence, you will find a much easier time of it if you first prove yourself in a single Domain. Blogging Blogging is usually mentioned up there in the "Marketing for Developers" space. I will always encourage you to blog - but don't fool yourself that pushing a new post every month alone will do anything for you by itself. There's just a lot of generic, scattershot advice about how you should blog more. These are usually people trying to sell you a course on blogging. (Except Steve Yegge!) The fact is Blogs gain extra power when they are focused on a Domain. CSS Tricks is a well known blog in the Frontend Dev space, and, as you might guess, for a long time it's domain was entirely CSS tricks. (It's expanded since then). Like everything else you follow, it's all about Signal vs Noise. Blogs let you get more juice out of that Domain Name you own, by constantly updating it with fresh content. You can also use it to feed that other most valuable online business asset: your email list! Overall, it is just a good general principle to own your own distribution. Twitter is a form of microblogging. It lets you export data easily and your content shows up on Google without an auth wall. All good things. But you're still subject to a feed. Definitely not a distribution you own - but it can be worth it to make the Faustian bargain of growing faster on a platform (like Twitter) first, then pivoting that to your Blog/Mailing list when you have some reach. Growing a Blog/Mailing list from zero with no other presence is hard. Marketing your Business Value vs Marketing your Coding Skills Business Value A large genre of "Marketing for Developers" advice basically reduces you to an abstract Business Black Box where your only role and value to the company is to Grow Revenue or Reduce Cost (or Die Trying?). I call this Marketing Your Business Value. This is, of course, technically correct: Technology is a means to an end, and ultimately your employer has to make ends meet and justify your salary. It is especially in your interest to help them justify as high a salary as possible. Have at your fingertips all the relevant statistics, data, quotes, and anecdotes for when you solve major product pain points, or contributed a major revenue generating/cost saving feature. You should be able to recite your big wins on demand, and frame it in terms of What's In It For Them, because you will probably have to. Managers and Employers are well intentioned, and want to evaluate you fairly and objectively, but often the topic of your contributions comes up completely without warning and out of context, and you want to put yourself on the best footing every time. Consider this Applied Personal Branding - success is when your boss is being able to repeat everything you say you've done to her boss, to advocate for you as fullthroatedly as you should do yourself. If you can, get it down to a concise elevator pitch - Patrick McKenzie is fond of citing a friend's Business Value as "wrote the backend billing code that 97% of Google’s revenue passes through.” Enough said. Coding Skills Unfortunately, this is not at all helpful advice for people who have yet to make attributable business impact through their work: Code Newbies and Junior Devs. Sometimes, even as a Senior Dev, you are still trying to market yourself to fellow Devs. These two situations call for a different kind of marketing that is underexamined: Marketing your Coding Skills. To do this other kind of marketing, you basically have to understand the psyche of your target audience: Developers. What are they looking for? There are explicit requirements (those bullet points that companies list on job descriptions) and implicit requirements (subconscious biases and unnamed requirements). You can make it very complicated if you want to, but I think at the core Developers generally care about one thing: that you Do Cool Stuff. Some have an expansive definition of Coding Skills - even if you've done something totally unrelated, they'll easily assume you can pick up what you need later. Others need something closer to home - that you've Done Cool Stuff in a related tech stack. If you're marketing yourself for employment, then the Risk Averse will also want to know that you have also Covered Your Bases - That, alongside the upside potential of hiring you because you've Done Cool Stuff, the downside risk of you being a bad hire is minimized. Do you know Git? Can you solve FizzBuzz? Is your code an unreadable, undocumented mess? This is covered if you have shepherded a nontrivial project from start to finish, and have people you can ask for references. If instead you're just marketing your projects and ideas, then downside matters less - it's easy to walk away. The definition of Cool really depends on your taste, but people's interests are broadly predictable in aggregate. If you look at tech sections of popular aggregator sites like Reddit and sort by, say, most upvoted posts in the past Year, you can see patterns in what is popular. In fact, I've done exactly that for /r/reactjs! Even if your project is less visual, and more abstract, you still need to explain to the average programmer why your project is Cool - it solves a common/difficult problem, or it uses a new technology, or it has desirable performance metrics. The best Cool Stuff will be stuff you have been paid money for and put in production, and that people can go check out live. If you don't have that yet, you can always Clone Well Known Apps (automatically Cool) - or win a Hackathon (check out Major League Hacking) - or Build Your Own X from Scratch, another popular developer genre. Portfolios vs Proof of Work Usually the advice is to assemble your Cool Stuff in a Portfolio. Portfolios do 2 good things and 2 bad things: Portfolios display your work easily and spells out the quick takeaways per piece - You control your narrative! Portfolios help you diversify your appeal - if one project doesn't spark interest, the next one might! In this sense it is most like a Stock Portfolio - you're diversifying risk rather than adding upside. Portfolios look skimpy without quantity - meaning you can feel forced to Go Wide instead of Go Deep, Quantity over Quality. Portfolios overly bias toward flashy demos (which doesn't really help if you're not trying to focus on Frontend Dev/Design) You can and should buy designs if design isn't a skill you're trying to market - it gives your projects an instant facelift which is generally worth multiples of the

http://damianfallon.blogspot.com/2020/04/how-to-market-yourself.html

[devinsena]

The Gosnell Movie: A Call To Action

To celebrate my 26th birthday, I drove an hour and a half to see the Gosnell movie in honor of his victims, most of which did not even live long enough to have a birthday, much less celebrate one.

My birthday weekend was filled with lots of fun with friends and family. Truly a great weekend! The company I work for generously gives us an extra paid vacation day for our birthday, so I took the day and drove an hour and a half to see Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer starring Dean Cain. It only opened in select theaters but it was worth the drive.

Facebook and National Public Radio both refused to allow paid advertising for the film, and despite ranking in the top 10 grossing films opening weekend there are many theater chains that are dropping the film.

In an interview, John Sullivan, the film’s marketing director and one of the film’s producers said, “I can tell you from my experience in 15 years of releasing movies independently, we’re in uncharted territories.”

Former Superman actor, Dean Cain, who played the lead investigator Detective James Woods in the film, remarked that he had never experienced anything like this before. “Perhaps it’s a sign of the times,” Cain said.

The film is based on the actual events of the investigation and trial of Philadelphia Abortionist, Dr. Kermit Gosnell. In 2011, Gosnell and several of his employees were charged with eight counts of murder, 24 felony counts of performing illegal abortions past Pennsylvania’s 24-week limit, and 227 misdemeanor counts of violating the 24-hour informed consent law.

Two years later, he was convicted of first-degree murder in the deaths of three infants born alive in his clinic and involuntary manslaughter of Karnamaya Mongar. He was additionally convicted of 21 felony counts of illegal late-term abortion, and 211 counts of violating the 24-hour informed consent law. A full transcript of the trial can be viewed online here and here.

After reports of illegally distributed controlled substances, and the supposed death of an immigrant woman, the DEA, FBI, and Philadelphia Police raided his clinic on 3801 Lancaster Avenue. What they found shocked them.

The investigators described the facility as ‘filthy,’ ‘deplorable,’ ‘disgusting,’ ‘very unsanitary, very outdated, horrendous,’ and ‘by far, the worst’ that they had ever encountered. The investigators reported to the Grand Jury that there was blood on the floor, the stench of urine filled the air, and a flea-infested cat roamed freely around the facility.

In their early morning raid they found half-conscious women moaning in the waiting and recovery rooms sitting on dirty recliners covered with blood-stained blankets. Additionally, the surgical procedure rooms were filthy and unsanitary and the instruments were not clean.

The following is an excerpt from the Grand Jury Report:

“Fetal remains were haphazardly stored throughout the clinic– in bags, milk jugs, orange juice cartons, and even in cat-food containers… Gosnell admitted to Detective Wood that at least 10 to 20 percent… were probably older than 24 weeks [the legal limit]… In some instances, surgical incisions had been made at the base of the fetal skulls. The investigators found a row of jars containing just the severed feet of fetuses. In the basement, they discovered medical waste piled high. The intact 19-week fetus delivered by Mrs. Mongar three months earlier was in a freezer. In all, the remains of 45 fetuses were recovered … at least two of them, and probably three, had been viable.”

The charge and evidence that seemed to convince the jury the most was that of “Baby Boy A.”  This child was born alive and Gosnell remarked that the child was big enough to “walk him to the bus stop.” The child’s neck was snipped with scissors.

A nurse took a photo of the child claiming, “He was so big. He looked like he could be somebody’s little brother. I just thought there should be a picture of him. To show the world that he was here for a little while.”

Although it was not shown in the film, the picture can be viewed on the film’s website.

Despite many reports of health code violations and unsanitary conditions to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, inspectors said they were given strict orders not to inspect abortion clinics. Gosnell allowed his untrained employees, some even as young as fifteen, to administer drugs and anesthesia to his patients in his absence.

When police investigators later searched his house, he calmly sat at his piano and played classical music while they searched. He stated he had no respect for the laws because he considered them politically motivated.

Whether you are pro-life or pro-abortion, this film should upset you. The film claims it was not about abortion, but rather bringing justice to the infants born alive and the innocent immigrant woman who was killed.

But for me, someone who has been studying abortion and advocating against it for over 8 years, it was about abortion. Even though he was only convicted of three cases of cutting the necks of children born alive in his clinic, there were countless other reports of the same thing happening; Kermit Gosnell “snipped” the necks of “possibly hundreds” of babies born alive.

The story of Gosnell may seem like an isolated incident, but this is not uncommon in abortion facilities. I have met workers across the country who have testified to also seeing babies born alive and left to die. Planned Parenthood has even gone on record saying they would not do anything to save the life of the baby if it were born alive.

Another abortionist in the trial testified the only real difference in what Gosnell did and the millions of abortions done across the country is the fact the child was outside the womb. Babies the same age as “Baby Boy A” are regularly killed in this country, legally. The only difference is their location.

Although I am glad Gosnell is serving life in prison for a small fraction of the horrible acts he committed, I could not help think: what about the thousands of other innocent children he killed? Where is their justice? What would it be like if all of the “doctors” who have killed innocent preborn children received the same punishment? How amazing and how much of a triumph of justice would that be? What if we lived in a society which actually cared about and respected human life? What if our culture had as much sympathy for the thousands of innocent children killed every day as it has for endangered animals?

As the movie ended I looked around the theater at the 380 empty seats around me and shook my head. I walked out of the theater with tears streaming down my face and shaking from anger.

Sadly, most people in the United States do not realize Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton legalized abortion for all 9 months of pregnancy (up until birth) for any reason. In my experience talking to people, most do not realize the preborn are living human beings. Most do not realize science is quite clear the preborn are unique, living, and whole human beings from the moment of conception. And most do not know who Kermit Gosnell is and what he did.

It is time we let the world know these things. If the media will not report the truth, it is up to everyday people like us to educate others on the atrocities being committed in the name of “choice” not only in our country, but around the world. If nothing else, let this film be a call to action.

To view the list of theaters currently showing the film visit Gosnellmovie.com.

Watch the trailer below:

source http://humandefense.com/the-gosnell-movie-a-call-to-action/