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bonjour-rainycity · 3 years

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Late in the Night | Part Four

Previous part

Prompt: Friends have a bet how long it will take the ship to get together (Content Challenge Day 7)

Pairing: Legolas x Female Reader

Rating: PG-13

Word count: 1602

Warnings: None

Challenge participants: @game-ofthe-company @grunid @themerriweathermage @errruvande @the-reformed-ringwraith @awkwardkindatries

^^ Hey! If I haven't commented on your post(s) yet, it just means I haven't gotten the chance to read them. School has been ramping up, but as I have free moments, I'll be going back and looking at all your challenge posts <3

A/n: You guys...IT'S THE LAST PROMPT OF THE CONTENT CHALLENGE! What?! Thank you so much to everyone who participated and interacted with our posts. I had such a blast creating this past week and getting to know each and every one of you. I think it would be fun to do something like this again in the future, so let me know if you would like to be involved in planning/get updates!

As always, I encourage you to check out the accounts tagged above and our masterlists! You can find the challenge masterlist here and my personal masterlist here. Okay, enjoy :)

Aragorn waits, keeping an eye on the trees.

The minute his friends from the eastern inn arrive, they will leave town.

He had a pleasant night — private room, hot bath, well-prepared meals — but is ready to get back on their journey. For all he knows, the brief rest he allowed them could have already cost them vital time.

That thought causes him to pace.

“Calm yourself, dear friend, they will be along shortly,” Gandalf councils.

Aragorn tries to heed the wise wizard’s advice. Sure enough, he soon hears the light sounds of feet crushing grass and twigs, and knows they are close.

The four of them break into sight at roughly the same time, and Aragorn notices two things:

One, Legolas and Y/n refuse to look at each other.

Two, Gimli wears a grin bright enough to rival the sun.

Aragorn knows he must speak with the dwarf as soon as possible.

Something has happened.

Merry, who doesn’t get enough credit for his observation skills, notices the oddities too, and elbows Pippin in the side. Their eyes grow wide, and it takes everything in them not to shout guesses as to what this means.

It is a good while before Aragorn, Pippin, Merry, and Gimli have a chance to convene and discuss the new development. All four of them, though of course dedicated to the task at hand, desperately want a resolution to their ongoing bet.

It had started innocently enough.

Merry made an off-hand comment about how well Legolas and Y/n seem to get along. Gimli noticed the lass was a clumsier fighter when Legolas was watching. Aragorn realized his friend seemed nervous around the human woman. Pippin saw how each of them smiled brighter when the other was near.

Somehow or other, the four of them had put together their observations, and the rest is history.

The bet was born.

Each of them had put down fifteen coins and a deadline, losing the coins if Legolas and Y/n did not become a couple by the deadline, and winning coins if they did. Knowing his friend’s shy nature well, Aragorn had given the two the lengthiest allowance — six months. Pippin and Merry recognized the bold nature of humans, and guessed it would only take four months for Y/n to speak her mind and Legolas to reciprocate. Gimli, on the other hand, thought the two were already head-over-heels for each other and wouldn’t be able to keep quiet about it, and had given them only a month and a half.

Each participant, knowing his deadline was drawing nearer, had taken steps to push the two in the right direction.

The hobbit friends moved Legolas’ and Y/n’s bedrolls closer when they weren’t looking.

Aragorn put them on watch together. A lot. To the point where he actually felt bad about the bags under Y/n’s eyes.

But Gimli, perhaps, had been the boldest of them all, and proudly tells his friends so the moment they are alone much later that evening.

“Quickly, they are suspicious why it took four of us to gather firewood and herbs,” Aragorn mutters, darting a quick glance in the direction of camp.

“Yes, just get on with it,” Pippin squeaks, then throws a hand over his mouth, knowing he might alert Legolas with his volume.

“Alright, listen up lads.” Gimli grins and proudly tells his tale. “Boromir and I got to the inn first, as planned, and the innkeeper asked how many were in our party. I said two, and the innkeeper made a comment how it was good we didn’t have more folk waiting outside, as his inn was almost full. Well, that got me thinkin’, so I inquired how many more rooms were available. The innkeeper said two, not including the ones Boromir and I purchased. So I whipped out my velvet pouch and paid for another room, fibbin’ a bit and saying I might have a lady friend visiting and wasn’t sure if she would want to sleep in my room or not after our activities.” He wiggles his eyebrows in response to the stunned looks of his friend.

Aragorn shakes his head slowly, a bemused smile setting in his lips. “So you paid for an extra room just to force Legolas and Y/n into sharing?”

“Right you are,” Gimli grins, placing his fists on his hips. “It wasna even that expensive — I’ll make it back three times over, now that I’ve won this thing.”

“Ah, ah, ah, hold on,” Merry holds up a hand, halting Gimli’s gloat. “You can’t prove they did or said anything to start a courtship, so you haven’t won!”

“They won’t even look at each other and the elf’s as red as a strawberry, of course something happened,” Gimli practically shouts.

Aragorn, reliably a voice of reason, intervenes. “We shall have to inquire then, but be smart about it. We do not want to jeopardize their potential courtship with our game.”

The companions agree, then quickly turn to the forest, gathering firewood and herbs to supplement Sam’s soup and their cover story.

{***}

Back at camp, Legolas sits on a low tree branch, keeping watch over all his friends.

But mostly Y/n.

He cannot pull his eyes from her face. She sits on a rock, staring into the fire, absently cleaning the mud from her boots. Without permission, his mind goes back to the way he held her this morning, tucked against his chest, her leg wrapped around his. It was wildly improper, and he should be ashamed of himself.

But he doesn’t feel ashamed. Because the way they woke up this morning didn’t feel improper, it felt natural. With all his heart, Legolas wants to wake up like that every morning — his favorite person kept safely against his side. He wants to guard her and give her a wonderful life and bring her home and have his people adore her, too.

Legolas’ resolve hardens, because he knows he can no longer keep this to himself. Y/n has a right to know how he feels, because it affects her too.

He pushes himself from the branch, landing on the ground in silence. With four long strides, he stops beside her, reaching down a hand. “Will you talk with me?”

She looks up at him, nerves like she’s never felt before erupting within her. But she gathers her courage, forces what she hopes is a smile, and takes Legolas’ hand.

She wonders what he’ll say.

All day, she had been lost in embarrassment. Somehow in the night, she’d thrown her leg over his and practically attached herself to his chest — who does that?! And he’d said nothing when they woke up, only got up and went about his routine like normal.

So obviously, he doesn’t feel anything for her.

And that’s what this conversation has to be about.

Briefly, though, she allows herself to remember what it felt like to be in his embrace, and knows that she will cherish that feeling forever.

The warmth of his hand in hers helps her hold on to that memory and, to her surprise, when they reach a secluded spot, he does not let go. No, he takes her other hand in his, clutching both tightly.

Legolas nearly shakes with nerves, and he wonders if she can tell? Does she know how he feels like he might be sick? Oh, he has never felt anxiety like this before, and desperately wishes for it to be gone.

So he wastes no time in putting himself out of his misery.

“I want to be with you.”

Y/n blinks. Surely she can’t have heard him correctly? “What?”

Legolas sighs — her reaction gives him no indication how she feels either way. He bolsters his courage, and tries again. “I feel affection for each member of this Fellowship. But whereas I love the others as if they were my kin, I am unable to deny that how I love you is different. Elves live long lives and thus take matters of the heart very seriously. And, well,” he shrugs, all eloquence leaving him the moment he sees the shy, hopeful smile spread across her lips. “My heart is with you.”

Y/n can hardly believe her ears. She thought that he didn’t…that there was no chance of…but rather than dwell on all her miscalculations, or the myriad of dangers that haunt their future, she decides to just enjoy the moment. She throws her arms around Legolas’ neck, and he grips her tightly against him.

She turns her cheek to rest on his shoulder, unable to contain her grin. “You hold mine as well. I love you, Legolas.”

He pulls back only to rest his forehead against hers, head swimming from the joy of her acceptance and at being this close to her. “And I love you.” She lets out a giddy laugh and he closes his eyes, soaking in the sound. But then he focuses again, for there is something important he still must ask. “Will you accept my offer of courtship?”

Y/n can’t help herself from bumping her nose against his affectionately, and it feels so wonderful, so free to be with him this way. She has no desire for her future to continue without him, and so, her answer is found easily. “Of course.”

Relief settles in Legolas’ bones, the nerves finally leaving him and being replaced with happiness.

Just as their lips meet, the four friends break through the tree-line, back from collecting supplies.

Gimli’s triumphant shout can be heard for miles.

“Pay up, lads!”

A/n The end! This is the last chapter of this mini-series! Thanks for sticking with me as I had some fun with this one. I keep tag-lists, so at any time, just let me know if you would like to be tagged in anything. I’m in the planning stages of a Haldir x OC fic, and while I usually stay away from OC’s, I just cannot fathom typing “Y/n” for the length that I’m planning on making that story. So be on the lookout for that! Hope you all are taking care of yourselves and please know that my inbox is always open. Lots of love!

LITN tag list: @angelic-kisses13 @lainphotography @anangelwhodidntfall @sheriffgerard @themerriweathermage @k-llama-llama @hirokosoul @wellfuckmyexistence @ipsychosocial @anjhope1 @my-lotr-obsession-is-unhealthy

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iturbide · 3 years

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I don't often see stuff about these two, but I'm curious what your thoughts are on Vaike and Maribelle as characters?

I never hear about either of these two and this makes me so excited

How do I feel about this character?

I love The Vaike. You know that thing that’s come up a couple times now, about me having a major soft spot for the characters that have more muscles than brains? Yeah, Vaike counts. From the minute he showed up on screen, I was dying over this muscle-bound fighter talking himself up and getting shot down by my favorite non-delicate princess. And he just keeps doing such outrageously stupid stuff like losing his damn weapon on the road how can you miss something like that sir??? He’s just such a fun guy and he’s always making me laugh, which is something I treasure in a character and which clinches a lot of my favorites.

Also, his supports are generally just so good? Despite being a total jock, he’s got such heartwarming ambitions, given that he came from the slums and joined the Shepherds in an attempt to lift his entire community out of that situation. On top of that, he’s just a really nice guy who looks out for the people around him, and even if he’s a little blunt in how he talks to people, he’s both honest and encouraging, doing his best to help where and how he can. He’s just such an enjoyable character and one who I never see enough of.

Who do I ship this character with romantically?

Hilariously it’s the other character you asked about (spoiler alert for the other half of this answer). I love Vaike and Maribelle as a couple, this very prim and proper noblewoman with a long and storied pedigree and enough manners to teach Miss Manners a thing or two falling for a man from the literal back streets who doesn’t know a ladle from a soup spoon. I love the way they balance each other, especially: Vaike gives Maribelle more insight into the common folk she wants to help as a member of the magistery court and makes her better able to engage with and help them; meanwhile, Maribelle has the funds and clout to help the village he came from get a better footing and lift itself up. And overall I just think their interactions are great, with Vaike being able to ignore Maribelle’s over-the-top dramatics and cut through to the real issues, while Maribelle can bring him down to earth when his ego gets a little too inflated. They just make for great partners that balance one another out and I love them together.

Who is my brOTP for this character?

Chrom and Sully! Honestly the idea of these three making trouble together is so great to me, and I feel like they would just egg each other on into increasingly daring and stupid antics if left to their own devices. Chrom is someone that Vaike really respects, which is why he challenges the prince so much and treats him as such a worthy rival, and I love the idea of them getting stronger together and pushing one another to new heights. And Sully is just great, I love the fact that she’s so much better with women than he is, and I feel like they would end up with a friendly rivalry of their own -- so having all of them together is just perfection.

What’s my Unpopular Opinion™ about this character?

Look, Vaike does not get attention at all from fandom. He barely registers enough with people for there to be opinions, let alone popular ones. The idea that he deserves more attention is unpopular enough, I’m pretty sure -- but I stand by it, because he’s really fun to me and I really wish that more people would engage with his character.

What’s one thing I wish would have happened with this character in canon?

I kind of wish he’d just gotten more attention in general. I know that there are limitations to who can take focus, and Awakening doesn’t have a lot of room for extraneous stuff with how its story is built, but it would have been really nice to have more little moments with the characters outside of Supports, just seeing them doing things together and interacting. Vaike only got a few small moments to shine as a character right at the beginning, and then the focus shifted away to other people and things; I just wish we could have seen him shine more often.

and who could forget the noblest of Ylissean nobleladies

How do I feel about this character?

Oh, Maribelle. Maribelle is such a strange character for me because on a theoretical level I adore her -- she’s got such drive and passion and conviction, she literally wants to change the system to make things better for the masses! -- but her attitude drives me up the wall. I love her interactions with Lissa and how much she cares about her friends, but every time she’s dealing with someone that’s not nobility or royalty my irritation is boundless. The game, sadly, doesn’t do a really great job showing her growth into a more open and fair-minded person even in her supports, so I don’t usually care for her in canon, but in fanfiction (and especially Future Built where I can put in the real character work and show her change) I absolutely love her to bits she’s so great. She’s capable and talented and ambitious in a way that really could bring about changes for the better in Ylisse, and I’d be eager to see how she does it.

Who do I ship this character with romantically?

I’ve already spoiled this part haha it’s Vaike. I love how they interact so much and honestly Brady just makes so much sense with Vaike as his dad? The gangster attitude, the rough language and casual way of speaking, coupled with a ton of noble knowledge -- he uses tea cozies it’s perfect -- just feel like the perfect mix of both parents.

Who is my brOTP for this character?

Lissa, obviously! Maribelle and Lissa are so great together, I love their friendship and how Maribelle will pull out literally all the stops for Lissa’s sake because Lissa was really the first person who gave her a chance and wanted to be her friend. Maribelle really shows how kind she can be when Lissa’s involved, and it’s really sweet to see; I just wish she’d do it more often with more people. Also, it’s really fun to think about her and Gaius eventually working through their issues and becoming friends and allies, and I deeply enjoy her friendship with Robin (primarily in Future Built, because I am in fact super biased).

What’s my Unpopular Opinion™ about this character?

Are. Are there popular Maribelle opinions? I don’t see much of her around, so I’d be pretty surprised to find out any...but I guess if I had to pick something, I’d say that I actually think she’s really prejudiced. Yes, she does want to help the common people, and that’s an incredibly admirable thing to do -- but the fact that she talks down to them constantly in her supports and makes it clear that she thinks she knows better than them (like trying to push new clothes onto Kellam despite how important his armor is to him). That’s a really, really bad attitude to have, and is antithetical to the work she claims she wants to do. She needs to work on that if she intends to get commoners to work with her: she has to be in their corner and support them, rather than expecting them to match her expectations, which is something that’s sadly not on display in canon.

What’s one thing I wish would have happened with this character in canon?

I really wish her supports had done a better job of showing her personal growth, rather than usually ending with a joke. Maribelle as a character has so much potential, especially considering her ambition to join the magistery court; it’s really a shame that so much of that is squandered by how poorly handled most of her conversations are. She never even gets a sweet moment with Brady, which I will forever be bitter about -- let them bond like so many of the other parents and children do! Let him play the violin for her! Let her be moved by the power of his performance! I just wish the game had bothered to do her justice.

Give Me a Character

#answered #anonymous #meme #fire emblem: awakening #vaike #maribelle #i love these two and i love them together #though i will be honest #future built is what really made me love maribelle #i wasn't a huge fan of her before i started digging deep in there #but she's such a great character and i love to see her shine #and vaike is just endlessly great i love him

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calliecat93 · 3 years

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ST: TNG S6 Watchthrough Episodes 22-25

Suspicions: Crusher has been ousted as the CMO and doctor in general to the point that it sounds like she’s going to be court-martialed. Why? Well, the episode shows us as Crusher explains what happened to Guinan. She had been holding a scientific conference but during an experiment, a scientist dies. As more happens, Crusher decides to investigate on her own… which included performing an autopsy against orders when all else failed and against the family’s wishes. So… I love Crusher. She is nowhere near close to overthrowing McCoy as favorite CMO (or favorite ST character in general)… which since Pulaski is her only other competition ATM it’s not much, but still. She’s smart, determined, understanding, nurturing, a maternal figure, and while she may be shouty like her predecessor, she doens’t need to be to be an awesome doctor who will have her voice heard. Two people died under her watch and she will get to the bottom of it, knowing fully well that she’s risking her career by doing so. Seriously, McCoy would be proud! It’s a good episode that lets Crusher be plain awesome. She takes matters into her own hands, keeps investigating even after getting herself into hot water because it needs to be done, and she kicks the bad guys' ass and save herself at the end. Even Ogawa gets an awesome moment by giving Crusher access to autopsy files and endangering her own career to help her. Hell yeah, medical officer solidarity~! It’s not the most impactful episode, but if you love Dr. Crusher, this is absolutely an episode to check out~! 4/5.

Rightful Heir: Ever since Birthright, Worf’s been having a crisis of faith. He goes to reflect on this and has a vision of Kahless, a Klingon spiritual leader and he has returned. Yep, we have us a religious episode folks. Kahless causes Worf to find his faith again and view him as the savior that he is hailed as… too bad that Gowran isn’t convinced. Thos episode actually raises a lot of interesting questions to me. What happens when a spiritual figure returns? How do we explain things despite them making no logical sense? How can we be for sure that they are being truthful? And what happens when it all comes crashing down? Do you maintain the facade to keep up morale and allow the teachings to continue their intent? Or do you tellt he truth and cause who knows what kind of chaos? I can relate to Worf here. Especially in recent years, I’ve been having a major crisis of faith and in such a vulnerable state, it’s so easy to fall into something like this. Klingon episodes really like to delve into the complicated politics, huh? Also really liked the talk between Data and Worf near the end about faith. I agree with the sentiment that even if a claimed diety is proven a fraud or fake, the teachings still matter… but the fact that they ultimateley maintain the facade of Kahless kind of muddies it up. The Klingons get guidance… by a fake. Now to be fair the problems of this and what’ll happen if Kahless ever gets found out and Worf wants the truth known to the people, so at the very least it’s ackowledged. I feel like the realizations should have impacted Worf more than it did, but ah well. Overall it was fine. 3.5/5.

Second Chances: While on a mission led by Riker, the crew stumbles upon… Riker. Another one. Okay, long story short, Riker has stranded eight years ago, got rescued, but transporter hijinks created a clone who was left alone. I S2G, transporters are freakin’ horrifying. I actually thought that this was going to go down like TOS’ The Enemy Within, but they avoid that. This Riker, who we’ll call Thomas, has the memories of the Riker from eight years before. So he hasn’t undergone any of the six-season-long development that Riker has so he hasn’t done things such as reconcile with his father, become the First Officer, and he still has romantic feelings for Troi. Major praise to Johnathan Frakes here. Acting against yourself is never easy. We have gotten it a couple of times, Brent Spiner’s done it plenty at this point. But Frakes did a fantastic job as both Riker’s, the one we’ve come to know and the man that he used to be/would have become had he remained stranded. Thomas and Troi’s interactions are sweet and really give us a nice glimpse of what Riker and Troi’s past relationship had to be like… although it is kinda awkward considering the older Riker’s presence and all. What would it be like to interact with an alternate past version of yourself? Riker is much more collected and in charge than he was then but also plays it safe more, while Thomas has more of the cockiness and immaturity that he did back in the early days but is also far more daring. In the end, things don’t work out with Thomas and Troi as Thomas chooses his career just as he did in the past and Troi’s not willing to thro the life she has away to marry him. Poor Troi cannot catch a break. This was an interesting one. I feel like Thomas should have been more affected by the fact that he was alone for eight years, but I also like that we don’t go for the whole evil/insane plot either. It was really cool to see the older Riker against a version of himself who didn’t end up on the Enterprise, the mature take on Riker and Troi’s relationship and how we’ve avoided every standard pitfall they couldhave fallen into, and we even avoid killing anyone! Hooray~! 3.5/5.

Timescape: As Picard, Data, Geordi, and Troi are returning from a science conference… but find the Enterprise and a Romulan ship frozen in place. There are some weird time distortions going on and after rigging up some bands to keep themselves un-frozen, they try to get to the bottom of it. This was a fun one! It’s cool yet creepy to see Picard, Troi, and Data going through the Enterprise (Geordi’s manning the shuttle, he gets to go on the Romulan ship though) and seeing all the insanity that was going on, including Crusher being shot at point-blank range… okay that’s on the horrifying end of the scale, but still. Don’t worry, they avert her dying for realsies! Picard also loses it and his mental breakdown is just plain freaky. Troi was freakin’ awesome in this one, getting to do actual Starfleet officer things, be actively involved, and they bring back up Face of the Enemy and Troi’s experience with the Romulans and their tech prove very beneficial! Yes, let’s keep the awesome Troi train running! It was just a fun episode and for the penultimate one of the season, it serves its purpose well~! Also Riker does not get along with cats haha. 4/5.

Alright, one more for S6 to go and along with it we start S7. The beginning of the end is nearing folks. I’m so excited~!

#st watchthrough

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birb-tangleblog · 3 years

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☕️ imo one of tts’s biggest weaknesses is that the supporting cast all exists in service of rapunzel’s story to the point that anything not immediately relevant to her just sort of Doesn’t Happen and it makes me sad! because there’s all these supporting players with inklings of being really fascinating characters but not one of them is utilized to their fullest extent

☕️ but also i feel like a lot of fanworks try to correct this by just moving the focus to whichever character is the fave so rather than the cast getting fleshed out it’s more like the spotlight has moved? and that also bums me out; i feel like i’m constantly on the hunt for fics that really feel like *ensemble casts* instead of the leading player and chorus thing canon does 😭

☕️ unrelated: ik everyone knows s3 did adira dirty and most folks also seem to be annoyed by cap’s irrelevance given *his daughter* is the villain for most of s3 but i specifically think we were robbed of *adira* being the one to tell cap that cass stole the moonstone. i think about this all the time. she’s like the worst possible person for him to hear it from and therefore that’s what i want to have happened. i love drama

☕️ Big agree on this one! I feel like if TTS were really able to lean into its ensemble cast, it’d have been incredible. I love Raps, but the story needing to center on her so much does limit it in some respects- and explains many of the problems on a meta level, haha.

Like, of the episode plots that I see fans wish we’d gotten most commonly- eps focusing on Var in S2, or Cass in S3, or on any of the plot-relevant side characters who got dropped- they’re typically all stories that would take place independently of Rapunzel’s, so it’s no wonder they didn’t happen. And some of the eps we did get prob would’ve been tighter if they didn’t involve her- “No Time Like the Past” comes to mind.

That said, smth I love abt the show is that every single supporting char has an arc (on paper) and a story of their own, and a lot of those stories start well before the timeframe of the show- we just don’t see it in canon. But the potential is there, and that’s a huge part of what creates such intrigue and appeal despite the underutilization.

☕️ Agree, though honestly I can give this one a pass depending on the medium, scale, and goal of the fanwork. Nothing wrong w/ just focusing on the favs!

But I think for fics with a wider scope, AUs, or rewrites asking big questions (“What if Cass climbed the tower?” or “What if Var had moon powers?” type stuff) more attention to how the other chars would be affected is warranted. Consideration of how the rest of the cast would change makes the premise feel rounded, and I wish we saw it more too.

☕️ I’ve act never seen this suggested before now, but now I wish we’d seen it too! It would’ve been a very interesting interaction, and Adira being her blunt self and breaking the news would be.... something alright. Bonus if she still referred to Cass as Short Hair while talking to him.

Credit where it’s due tho to whoever tasked Adira with telling Cap (or didn’t get to him first lmao)

#absolutely not bashing Raps btw!!#just that more focus on the supporting cast would've been great #e.g. not every AtLA ep focuses on Aang or his perspective and it's to the show's benefit #and I specify medium in the 2nd one #b/c I think for illustrated AUs or comics it's just what's feasible to draw #text post #ask #ask game #bestworstcase

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lumau · 4 years

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Gentlewings

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Yay! Finally more Juprafel content! Here is a fanfic for you that I’ve written for the Mogtober 2020 prompt for day 5 (favorite side character).

Notes: I’m still pre-Hollowpox, so some things might not line up anymore later on. I wanted to write down one (of my many) ideas on how Jupiter met Israfel for the first time. What I enjoyed was to specifically not focus on Israfel's addictive singing, but on what else might connect him to Jupiter, what his personality could be and his background. I have (many) theories about him and the “not-actually-angels”, as a lot is still left in the air (pun intended) after Wundersmith. I made up quite a few things about them, which will very likely be inaccurate. I realise the angels from Grave Importance influenced me and especially the story around Amitiel and Zophiel. I just really got something for corrupted angels, I guess. :D

There will be some flirty stuff (it’s Jupiter North after all!), but you can totally read this as the beginning of a special friendship if you’re not into shipping.

And if you are, though, I already plan to write a follow up story for Mogtober day 9 which will likely have more of a romancy note to it. And there will be the matching illustration I made, so stay tuned for that!

Oh, and a shout out to those who were there for the first posts on this blog – there will be a moment of recognition for you if you make it to the end! :)

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Gentlewings

When he received the Stealth’s request to join forces with them on a special mission that would involve the visit of a very fancy and exclusive soirée, it all sounded exciting and like the perfect job for him. Three hours in though, Jupiter felt the nagging of a headache and, even worse, extremely bored. It turned out he had not been recruited because of his impeccable looks, his charisma or his ability to turn every party into a roaring success, but because of him being a Witness.

To his outrage, they had not even let him wear his famously snazzy pastel mint coloured evening suit. However, no one could stop him from giving the all black stealth uniform at least a small personal touch by adding a floral pink pocket square and his favourite lavender dress shoes. They had to agree to this mildly rebellious act begrudgingly. His ginger mane and beard already made it impossible for Jupiter to be actually stealthy anyways, and their human and wunimal resources (HWR) for this job were so limited, they couldn‘t risk losing his cooperation.

As he was supposed to, Jupiter let his gaze slowly wander over the crowd from the outskirts of the dim lounge. Once again, he could not detect any sign of disturbances in the general atmosphere of the party. Most of those attending were slightly on edge and rather wished they were somewhere else, as he could clearly see in their auras and the web of Gossamer threads, but that was nothing unusual at a political event and what he had expected due to the delicate nature of the gathering.

Scattered across the room was a small number of extremely posh diplomats and their guests. The intention of WunSoc in inviting the COG (Celestial Observation Group) was to stay on good terms with them, an urgent necessity after the recent issues they had gotten into when both groups were faced with being involved in those interspecies murder cases.

Jupiter had never before been in a room with several Celestial Beings at once, and he could do without that experience. Part of the preparation for the job had been a thorough briefing about their kind, and only a few chosen senior Stealth officers with special mental training had been found suitable. Watching the interactions in the room through his lens had been captivating at first, but now it started to tire Jupiter out. Humans were already so complicated on their own, but the unique trait of the Celestials, absorbing and influencing the emotions of those around them, turned the whole room into a blurry melting pot. As Jupiter curiously observed, the clowd-like puffs of emotions were drawn towards the winged folks, but sometimes their own state of mind also seemed to drift over to their opponents, engulfing and influencing them.

Fascinating, but clearly highly dangerous and for Jupiter, who’s visual filters were lowered on his watch post, quite exhausting. He had been instructed to notify the chief officer immediately, should the atmosphere in the lounge take a risky turn or should he detect any hostile intentions. So far everyone was peacefully engaging in small talk though.

Mentally turning his filters back up, Jupiter closed his eyes for a second and stifled a yawn. He checked his fob watch – 15 minutes till the end of his shift, finally. A smile crossed his face. Through the eyes of a ‘normal’, the sight of the room was actually outrageously beautiful. The dim light made the Celestials‘ skin, wings and gowns shimmer in varying metallic shades, and their faces wore mild, austere looks as if nothing could ever disturb their composed aloofness. The briefing had warned about their ethereal beauty and mental influence, but seeing it in person was something else. Jupiter could feel a little pinch of longing in his stomach. The worst part of the job was that he had to keep at the sidelines of the party – not a particularly fun party, but still.

Something caught his attention in the corner of his eye, something sparkly in the shadows of an alcove. He focused and could make out the shape of a person surrounded by a sizzling cloud of gloomy energy. Tensing he tried to see what was going on. He did need light to make full use of his knack, but it was bright enough for him to tell that someone was not having a good time over there. Were they hostile though? There was some anger, for sure, but diffused with other emotions like anxiety and sadness, and a very strong sense of being out of place. Definitely not someone planning to overthrow the Wundrous Society or cause a civil war between sky and ground.

Pushing away from the wall he had been leaning against, Jupiter started to stroll over to where he had seen the golden shimmer in the darkness. Jupiter’s curiosity was piqued. His face lit up. For the sake of the safety of the Free State, he had to investigate, right?

“Excuse me, is everything okay?” he addressed the stranger, approaching, but before he could take another step, their head shot up and without warning Jupiter was hit by such a sudden wave of anger, it felt like a fist to his stomach. He gasped and stopped dead in his tracks. There was a cloud of chaos emanating from the Celestial, speckled with hundreds of tiny flame-like shards that were swarming towards him like angry wasps. Jupiter felt the irresistible urge to turn around and get out of there immediately. Then he remembered to breathe. One slow, deep breath. And another. Like he had been taught when he had first learned to control his vision. And another. And he could see past the darting flames and feel his body again. Nothing was physically attacking him. He just needed to focus.

Taking one more deep breath, he concentrated and said in a calm and measured voice, sporting his warmest smile, as if nothing had just happened: “I saw you sitting here alone and was wondering if you needed anything.”

It took the Celestial a moment to find their composure, but the storm-like cloud around them was calming down. Jupiter suddenly felt a desire to go to the bar and get them a strong drink. Blinking, he could see that this prompt had not appeared out of nowhere, but it was actually drifting over to him from inside the alcove. “Sneaky!” he thought slightly amused, “This should get interesting.”

“Look,” he said, “I’ll get you a drink, if you stop glowering. Just give me a minute, alright?” He winked and was about to turn away, when a low, deeply melodic voice spoke. “We have been warned about you, Captain North.”

Jupiter’s heart made a little jump and he could feel the hair on the back of his neck stand up. That voice… it was the most perfect sound in the universe. He could see it sending little rippling waves through the Gossamer. Someone with a voice like that shouldn’t even be able to exist in this realm. It seemed somehow… indecent.

Jupiter noticed that he was staring at the Celestial open-mouthed and shook himself out of it by running a hand through his hair. “I’m flattered! What have you been warned about? My sharp wits? My gingerness? Or about me being very handsome?”

To his own surprise, the hint of a smile crept across the dark face. Jupiter noticed once again a golden shimmer. “All of those might have been mentioned,” the Celestial replied, standing up, “but we were mainly told to not engage with you due to your special ability of seeing the truth.”

“Yep, that’s me!”, Jupiter smiled, obviously pleased. “As you already know so much about me, may I ask for your name?” There was a stirring and a soft rustle of feathers, as the Celestial stepped smoothly out of the dark corner. Now Jupiter could see where the reflections came from. The dark skin was rippled in tiny rivers of gold, and the folded wings were speckled with what looked like a million golden stars. It was difficult to not feel awed by such otherworldly beauty.

“Pleased to meet you, Captain North. My name is Israfel.” “Israfel, it’s my pleasure. And please call me Jupiter, I’m currently not working.” “Are you not? I thought you were on watch duty? That’s what I was told, at least.” Jupiter made a mental note about an alarming lack of secrecy in the preparation of this mission. “My shift has ended”, he checked his fob watch, “one minute ago exactly. My replacement is just taking her place over there.” He had spotted Barren, the Bulldogwun that was taking over for him across the room and gave her a little wave, that she answered with a grim nod. While she didn’t have his vision, her sense of smell was so finely tuned that she could perceive a lot of what he saw. He felt sympathy for her. It was hard work for either of them to use their senses in a room full of people.

“So, Israfel. Will you be having that drink with me regardless of those warnings?” Jupiter tilted his head with his most inviting smile. There was a short silence. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for either of us to be seen together. Let’s meet outside on the balcony in a minute. I’ll have a double-shot of Whiskey.” Without waiting for a reply, Israfel moved towards the balcony and left Jupiter standing, a slightly sheepish grin on his face, feeling utterly pleased at this exciting turn of events.

Jupiter had to work his magic on the bartender, as this was in fact an alcohol free event. They couldn‘t risk anyone letting their guards down tonight. Shortly afterwards he stepped out onto the wide balcony, in one hand a flute of pink champagne and the Whiskey in the other.

Israfel stood at the balustrade overlooking the nightly Nevermoor, wings mantled as if to stretch them after having them tucked for too long. A light breeze ruffled the feathers that reflected the light of the lanterns and they seemed to glow warmly. Jupiter urged himself to continue moving, as he’d also happily just stood there, observing this almost surreal scene, forever.

“One Whiskey for the gentle--- erm...” Jupiter stopped, his mind running into a dead end. Israfel took the glass from his hand and drank. “It’s okay, you can say gentleman. Although my kind does not abide by your human roles of gender, your masculine forms would be most suitable for me.” He downed the rest of the glass and set it down onto the balustrade.

They stood in silence for a moment, taking in the view of the sleeping city. “It must not be easy for you to live around all of this.” Israfel gestured towards the dim lights below. “Hmm?” “As you probably know, my kind absorbs others' emotions. Living amongst all these people... I just couldn’t. And I suppose it must be similar for you, seeing everything, always.” He gave Jupiter a quizzing look, “How do you do it?” “I see you’re not into small talk, are you?” Jupiter chuckled amused, “Tell me more about this emotions thingy then. How does it work?”

Israfel looked a little annoyed by his evasiveness, but still answered. “It’s fairly simple. We take in others’ emotions and they become part of us. Good emotions nurture and heal us, while negative emotions pull us down and can be quite a pain. We depend on the emotions of others, but too much of them or especially bad ones can even cause harm. Human emotions are complicated. Amongst ourselves, we can control what we take in. That’s why we always live in pairs or groups and rather stay away from humans.”

“Wait,” Jupiter interrupted, “what you’re saying is you’re practically feeding on emotions? And you would die if you were left alone?” “Not quite, no. Our bodies need food and drink, and we can survive without others’ emotions. But our spirit would wither, and after some time, we would be left empty.” “Fascinating!” Jupiter proclaimed, “But also quite dreadful, the thought of dying internally.”

Now it made somewhat more sense to him, Jupiter thought. The Celestial Beings were all utterly beautiful and could charm and manipulate people with their voices, and although they were rarely ever seen in Nevermoor, practically everyone admired the angels of legends which they resembled. It was quite a refined hunting technique, coming to think of it, for a being that thrived of affection to reflect the fond dreams and wishes of their prey. But Jupiter wasn’t judging.

“So back in there earlier, at that dull party”, he motioned towards the lounge, “were you just a little hangry then?” Israfel startled, and burst into a snorting laugh, that Jupiter hadn’t thought he’d be capable of, as it seemed way too profane. “Maybe. Now I’m better though.”

Jupiter could see that. The dark cloud had not vanished, but there were other things in the Celestial’s aura. The alcohol, silver shimmer of excitement, little flashes of curiosity and a string of… affection? Focusing closely for a moment, Jupiter could see a very faint, thin rosy ribbon wafting in the air and connecting the two of them underneath their rib cages. ‘Huh!’ he thought, ‘Makes sense. Not hangry anymore.’

Israfel’s voice made him look up again. “Actually, I was kind of stood up. I’m not part of the COG. Cassiel brought me along as his companion. I didn’t want to come, it’s always such a pain being cooped up in a room on the ground, no space to stretch my wings without knocking anything over… Those boring conversations and not even a proper drink to be had.”

Jupiter could see some of the tiny flames reappear and the cloud around Israfel’s head grew darker again as he talked himself back into a rage. ‘Quite an intense one, he is’ Jupiter thought somewhat approvingly. “And as soon as we get here, Cassiel immediately disappears for a special meeting or something that he wouldn’t tell me about, leaving me all by myself in a room full of strangers. Not as if he hadn’t been depriving me all those last weeks anyways.” Israfel slapped his hand on the balustrade and left it there curled into a fist, staring down sulkily at the empty street below.

“Sounds like you’ve had quite a night,” Jupiter remarked compassionately, wilfully blocking the raging flames from his vision. “Are you and Cassiel… close?” “Yes. No. Well, not in the sense that your kind speaks of it. We don’t form such emotionally entangled bonds as you humans do. We provide for each other. It’s a form of communal organisation.” Jupiter tried to imagine what that could look like and wasn’t sure he understood. An organised relationship to provide for each other's needs of affection? 9 a.m., 5 minute hug before work; 6 p.m., make 3 compliments each? When he looked at Israfel’s aura though, what he saw resembled pretty much what he’d expect to see in someone who had been hurt by a loved one. He stopped his inner monologue to turn back to the grim looking Celestial. His wings were drooping now and he seemed so utterly miserable, Jupiter could only just stop himself from giving him a big squeezing hug, once again, a wish that was not just of his own making.

“Hah!”, Jupiter suddenly burst out, “Gentlewings!” “What?” Israfel looked up at him in bewilderment. “Oops, did I say that out loud? I just realised, earlier I should have said ‘One Whiskey for the gentlewings’, cause… well, you…” he trailed off. Israfel shook his head in disbelief, but was unable to help a smile creeping onto his face. “I can’t even.” “But thanks, anyways.” “What for?” “That you’re trying to cheer me up. I appreciate it.”

“Captain North!” a voice rang across the balcony, making both of them startle and turn. “Inspector Lamar?” Jupiter started walking over to the stealth officer standing in the doorway. “We have been looking for you, the guests are leaving and Inspector Barren would like a word with you before we wrap up.” Inspector Lamar saw past Jupiter where Israfel was still standing at the balustrade and cast him a questioning look, “Is everything alright, Captain?” “Right as rain, Inspector, right as rain. I was just checking in on one of our guests who felt a little queasy. You know, not much room for wing stretching and so on in there, got a little claustrophobic, poor chap.” He gave Inspector Lamar a conspiratorial smile. “I’ll find Barren in a minute, I’m just going to make sure that Celestial is feeling better before he finds his way back to the others.” The Inspector didn’t seem fully convinced by his words, but nodded and turned to re-enter the lounge.

Israfel strolled over to Jupiter, a worried look on his face. Jupiter gave him a reassuring smile. “No need to frown, they just informed me that I’m wanted by my colleague and that the party is finally ending. The guests are leaving, so you should probably go and find Cassiel as well.” “Oh, right,” Israfel sighed and nodded, “thanks for helping me out earlier. You made that evening a lot more bearable.” Jupiter beamed at him and couldn’t help but feel very pleased with himself. If he didn’t know his knack was being a Witness, he’d have sworn it was picking the most interesting people in every crowd, finding the odd one out, those who wouldn’t conform, and befriending them. He knew right away that Israfel was different from the other Celestials, and was convinced he’d only merely scratched the surface of his personality. He could feel the promise of unexpected adventures in the air.

Leaning casually against the door frame of the lounge, Jupiter ran a hand through his long ginger hair. “If you’d like something better than a just bearable evening… You know I run the Hotel Deucalion, and Frank, my party planner, who is a vampire dwarf by the way, only one in Nevermoor, he’s always coming up with something brilliant for our weekly party night. Should you want to join this Saturday… you might even have some fun?” Israfel’s face showed surprise, as if him having fun at a party seemed quite an abstract idea. He considered the thought for a moment, and Jupiter was pleased to see the shimmer of excitement intensifying around him. But then something crossed his mind, his face fell and the silver glow subsided. “Listen, thanks for asking, but your kind and my kind can't ever become closely acquainted. We become dependent on your emotions, and our ways of influencing you mentally would mean you could never truly trust me. It's an impossible endeavour, really."

Jupiter smirked. He was Captain Jupiter Amantius North, member of the Wundrous Society and League of Explorers, first to climb Mt Ridiculous, discoverer of 17 previously undiscovered realms, to just name a few of his many (partially self-given) titles, and for a good reason – he could never resist an impossible challenge.

"Shall we say Saturday, 8 p.m. then? I will meet you in the Deucalion lobby. Unless, of course, you’d rather come via the rooftop terrace? Oh, and don’t worry – all of my staff and my esteemed guests are very discreet. No need to fear a public political scandal should we get utterly drunk and end up dancing together on the buffet tables." He winked and turned to move away quickly, leaving Israfel standing dumbstruck, before he had the chance to say anything in return.

Jupiter could feel his heart pounding with excitement and glee, a wide smile drawn on his face, as he briskly walked through the now almost dark lounge, ignoring the shadows of the events of this past evening that were emanating all around him. He could still see a hint of the rosy ribbon that connected him to Israfel when he looked down. What an intensely fascinating person he met tonight! He was hooked.

#mogtober2020 #fanfiction #nevermoor #juprafel #jupiter north #angel israfel #wundersmith #cassiel disappears - again #casrafel is a thing now too #because relationship anarchy for the win #and nonbinary gender stuff #because why not

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kronologicn-igga-blog · 4 years

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Do Men Just Want Sex?

You have quite recently met this extraordinary person and he has taken you on a couple of dates. You have known each other for a couple weeks and you truly like him. This specific night, you have wound up at your place on your comfortable lounge chair, watching a movie. The movie has finished, and out of nowhere things have gotten hot. He is causing moves and you to feel that he needs to go the entirety of the way. Out of nowhere, all sort of inquiries enter your brain: Do I truly need this? Is this too early? Is it accurate to say that he is going to like me the following day? Does he simply need sex from me? How would I know whether he truly loves me? Would I truly like to engage in sexual relations? Am I truly enjoying this? What is he truly thinking? Do men simply need sex? What would it be advisable for me to do?

Have you at any point had any of these contemplations? In the event that you resemble most women, you presumably have. Indeed, need a legitimate person's point of view? Need to realize what experiences the person's psyche in this circumstance? Peruse on! Before we start, how about we tidy up something straight up. Do men simply need sex? No. Be that as it may, numerous women whine that folks just need sex. Furthermore, lamentably, some folks feel terrible about this and choose to stifle their sexual drive, when, actually, there ought to be nothing amiss with folks needing to engage in sexual relations. It is totally typical and in all actuality, indeed, most folks would like to engage in sexual relations. All things considered, women, you would not have any desire to get a person who isn't sexually inspired by you, correct?

Things being what they are, if that is reality, how would you know whether you are engaging in sexual relations too early, on the off chance that he really enjoys you, if would he say he is going to consider you the following day, and what he is truly thinking about? As a disclaimer, I might want to state that the accompanying exhortation is for the most part for those that decide to have intercourse before marriage. At last, my recommendation is consistently to follow your heart. In the event that in your heart you accept that standing by to be married before engaging in sexual relations is the correct thing for you, at that point the simple response for you is simply to pause. Try not to let anybody disclose to you otherwise in light of the fact that it might appear as though every other person rushes to bounce into bed or in light of the fact that the media is so unequivocal about sex. However, for those of you who are battling with the choice about when is the opportune chance to engage in sexual relations, continue perusing.

In all honesty, men are exceptionally straightforward animals. In all actuality we men frequently don't figure much before we accomplish something, particularly in circumstances where the entirety of our blood is streaming south, away from our cerebrum. In this way, since we've covered what is going in a person's brain without giving it much thought, we should help you by and large get men, on the grounds that the more you get them, the better choices you will make for yourself. Recollect that at last every one of that men need is to satisfy you. However, it is hard, if certainly feasible, to regard your needs and wishes, in the event that you don't communicate them or regard them yourself. Because a man needs to have intercourse with you and is genuinely pulled in to you, doesn't really imply that he additionally feels a passionate, mental, or potentially spiritual fascination too.

Healthy science and fascination among people frequently grow in an unexpected way. Men generally get pulled in to women first truly and simply from that point onward, intellectually and inwardly. Women, then again, normally first build up a psychological or enthusiastic fascination, and simply after that does the physical part kick in. This clarifies why women can without much of a stretch confuse men's advances of needing to engage in sexual relations as implying that he should likewise think about her. Since, naturally, the lady would by and large need sex just on the off chance that she felt that she truly thought about the person, she is presently going to accept the equivalent is valid for the person, in turn around. In this way, before engaging in sexual relations, ensure you are not erroneously setting yourself up to be harmed. Try not to accept that since he is truly pulled in to you, he additionally truly thinks about you.

My second suggestion discloses why holding on to engage in sexual relations later on can really be a success win circumstance. Women regularly commit another error in believing that on the off chance that you don't engage in sexual relations with a man, his enthusiasm for you will drop. This is basically false. Despite the fact that, the facts confirm that men would like to engage in sexual relations, it is likewise evident that holding back to have intercourse sometime in the not too distant future can really expand the energy in your relationship and work to your advantage.

Numerous women have either heard accounts of men leaving their friends-or have encountered this themselves-for reasons of not having had any sex. This programmed affiliation just isn't correct. While there are numerous men that are searching for simply sex, and keeping in mind that it is obviously evident that on the off chance that you dated one of these men they would likely leave you since you didn't have intercourse with them, the men that really care for you won't leave you therefore. Furthermore, on the off chance that you were searching for a progressively genuine relationship, you would simply be happy that the individuals who were searching for sex did really leave. On the off chance that a man truly prefers you for what your identity is and thinks about you, as you are dating he would not leave you as a result of no sex.

Some of you may as of now question what I am stating, yet permit me to clarify further. Over the previous ten years, I have seen, experienced, and interact with an expanding number of overall quite caring folks who need to make a relationship work the same amount of as women do. In all actuality men today likewise long for a fantastic, adoring, and upbeat relationship. While there are likewise numerous bastards that frequently give men an awful name, I have practically every day interacted with numerous extremely pleasant folks who genuinely need to make relationships work.

In spite of the fact that these men, on the off chance that they dated you and loved you, would likely need to have intercourse with you, they would not leave you since you needed to pause while becoming acquainted with one another. Truth be told, the more they really got the opportunity to like and know you, the more they would most likely need to make the event extraordinary too. Understand that for a person to hold back to engage in sexual relations really encourages him search out the amount he would need to get physically involved with you. This gives the energy in your relationship an opportunity to become significantly more.

There is shrewdness in pausing. As you hold on to engage in sexual relations with him, he will have the chance to initially see if he truly likes and thinks about you. In the event that you can make your dating encounters positive without sex, this deferred satisfaction will likewise help him through those extreme occasions in your relationship when you are not agreeing. The more he encounters being effective in fulfilling you while you are dating, the more he will have the trust in himself when challenges turn crazy and you are not generally as content with him as in the first place.

Understand that holding on to engage in sexual relations for when you believe you are prepared can really help increment the enthusiasm in your relationship and help your person to become the best man he can be. For whatever length of time that he feels expectation and he has prevailing with regards to fulfilling you, I guarantee you there is no danger in disapproving of his advances.

Along these lines, if seemingly out of the blue you feel that you are not prepared, this is the thing that you can securely say: "Hello, I truly like you and this feels so great, however I am not all set further yet. I simply prefer to go moderate." By saying this, you have conveyed that you need him to pause, yet you have additionally done it in a manner that likewise discloses to him that he has fulfilled you. Actually, you've given him the courage to keep on pursueing you. Should he ignore your desires, rehash the expression and be firm.

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mraudaciouus-blog · 4 years

Text

Do Men Just Want Sex?

You have quite recently met this extraordinary person and he has taken you on a couple of dates. You have known each other for a couple weeks and you truly like him. This specific night, you have wound up at your place on your comfortable sofa, watching a movie. The movie has finished, and out of nowhere things have gotten hot. He is causing moves and you to feel that he needs to go the entirety of the way. Out of nowhere, all sort of inquiries enter your brain: Do I truly need this? Is this too early? Is it accurate to say that he is going to like me the following day? Does he simply need sex from me? How would I know whether he truly loves me? Would I truly like to engage in sexual relations? Am I truly enjoying this? What is he truly thinking? Do men simply need sex? What would it be advisable for me to do?

Have you at any point had any of these considerations? In the event that you resemble most women, you likely have. Indeed, need a fair person's point of view? Need to realize what experiences the person's psyche right now? Peruse on! Before we start, we should tidy up something straight up. Do men simply need sex? No. Be that as it may, numerous women whine that folks just need sex. Furthermore, sadly, some folks feel terrible about this and choose to smother their sexual drive, when, actually, there ought to be nothing amiss with folks needing to engage in sexual relations. It is totally ordinary and in all actuality, truly, most folks would like to have intercourse. All things considered, women, you would not have any desire to get a person who isn't sexually keen on you, correct?

Things being what they are, if that is reality, how would you know whether you are engaging in sexual relations too early, on the off chance that he really enjoys you, if would he say he is going to consider you the following day, and what he is truly thinking about? As a disclaimer, I might want to state that the accompanying counsel is for the most part for those that decide to engage in sexual relations before marriage. At last, my recommendation is consistently to follow your heart. In the event that in your heart you accept that holding back to be married before having intercourse is the best thing for you, at that point the simple response for you is simply to pause. Try not to let anybody reveal to you in any case since it might appear as though every other person rushes to bounce into bed or on the grounds that the media is so express about sex. Yet, for those of you who are battling with the choice about when is the perfect time to have intercourse, continue perusing.

In all honesty, men are straightforward animals. Truly we men regularly don't figure much before we accomplish something, particularly in circumstances where the entirety of our blood is streaming south, away from our cerebrum. Along these lines, since we've covered what is going in a person's psyche seemingly out of the blue, how about we help you for the most part get men, on the grounds that the more you get them, the better choices you will make for yourself. Recall that at last every one of that men need is to satisfy you. Be that as it may, it is exceptionally hard, if certainly feasible, to regard your needs and wishes, on the off chance that you don't communicate them or regard them yourself. Because a man needs to have intercourse with you and is truly pulled in to you, doesn't really imply that he additionally feels a passionate, mental, as well as otherworldly fascination too.

Healthy science and fascination among people frequently grow in an unexpected way. Men normally get pulled in to women first genuinely and simply from that point onward, intellectually and inwardly. Women, then again, normally first build up a psychological or enthusiastic fascination, and simply after that does the physical part kick in. This clarifies why women can without much of a stretch confuse men's advances of needing to have intercourse as implying that he should likewise think about her. Since, instinctively, the lady would for the most part need sex just in the event that she felt that she truly thought about the person, she is presently going to expect the equivalent is valid for the person, in turn around. In this way, before having intercourse, ensure you are not erroneously setting yourself up to be harmed. Try not to accept that since he is truly pulled in to you, he additionally truly thinks about you.

My second suggestion discloses why holding on to have intercourse later on can really be a success win circumstance. Women frequently commit another error in feeling that on the off chance that you don't engage in sexual relations with a man, his enthusiasm for you will drop. This is essentially false. In spite of the fact that, the facts demonstrate that men would like to engage in sexual relations, it is likewise evident that holding on to have intercourse sometime in the not too distant future can really build the enthusiasm in your relationship and work to your advantage.

Numerous women have either heard accounts of men leaving their friends-or have encountered this themselves-for reasons of not having had any sex. This programmed affiliation basically isn't valid. While there are numerous men that are searching for simply sex, and keeping in mind that it is obviously evident that in the event that you dated one of these men they would most likely leave you since you didn't engage in sexual relations with them, the men that really care for you won't leave you therefore. What's more, on the off chance that you were searching for an increasingly genuine relationship, you would simply be happy that the individuals who were searching for sex did really leave. On the off chance that a man truly enjoys you for what your identity is and thinks about you, as you are dating he would not leave you on account of no sex.

Some of you may as of now question what I am stating, however permit me to clarify further. Over the previous ten years, I have seen, experienced, and interact with an expanding number of pleasant and caring folks who need to make a relationship work the same amount of as women do. Truly men today likewise long for a fantastic, adoring, and cheerful relationship. While there are likewise numerous bastards that regularly give men a terrible name, I have practically day by day interact with numerous extremely decent folks who genuinely need to make connections work.

Despite the fact that these men, in the event that they dated you and enjoyed you, would most likely need to engage in sexual relations with you, they would not leave you since you needed to pause while becoming more acquainted with one another. Truth be told, the more they really got the opportunity to like and know you, the more they would presumably need to make the event extraordinary too. Understand that for a person to hold back to engage in sexual relations really causes him search out the amount he would need to get physically involved with you. This gives the enthusiasm in your relationship an opportunity to become considerably more.

There is shrewdness in pausing. As you hold back to engage in sexual relations with him, he will have the chance to initially see if he truly likes and thinks about you. In the event that you can make your dating encounters positive without sex, this postponed satisfaction will likewise help him through those extreme occasions in your relationship when you are not agreeing. The more he encounters being effective in satisfying you while you are dating, the more he will have the trust in himself when challenges turn crazy and you are not generally as content with him as before all else.

1 note · View note

agirlinjapan · 5 years

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Red Data Girl: My Wish on the Night of the Shooting Stars (Week 19)

Red Data Girl: My Wish on the Night of the Shooting Stars By Noriko Ogiwara A Translation

Miss the last piece? Read it here!

Check out the RDG Translation twitter!

Help me pay for my next translation project on Ko-fi.

Happy Palm Sunday, Easter, and Passover to those who will be celebrating over the next week!

This installation has brought us to page 200 in RDG 6. We’re chugging along! It’s officially spring break for me, which means I’ll have more time than usual to dedicate to RDG. I’m hoping to get a decent amount done each day, and move further through the novel. I think I’ll be done by the beginning of summer!

Translation Notes:

The Namahage are a type of demon portrayed at festivals in certain parts of Japan.

The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons appears in a number of Japanese folktales. It’s more or less just what it sounds like.

Red Data Girl: My Wish on the Night of the Shooting Stars By Noriko Ogiwara Chapter 3: Winter Solstice Part 1 (2 of 3)

Seeing as no one came to the student government room during the study days before the exams, it was a much better place to tutor someone than the library. Talking wasn’t allowed in the library’s reading rooms and any questions a student amassed during their time there were easily forgotten by the time they left and could speak again.

In the government room though, it was perfectly fine to talk. Miyuki also seemed to prefer it over the library because he felt more comfortable when other people’s eyes weren’t on him. They could also talk freely about whatever they wanted when there weren’t other people around. Today, Izumiko was planning to use that solitude to bring up the awkward moment they had had the day before.

However, Miyuki and Izumiko weren’t the only ones to claim use of the student government room. When they arrived, Okouchi and Hoshino were already settled there. Unused to not coming to student government once a day during the pre-exam club hiatus, the two second years had been coming anyway to play around with the computers there.

Okouchi and Hoshino were so lost in their own world though that they never once bothered Izumiko and Miyuki when they studied together or did anything else. Little by little, Izumiko had gotten used to their presence, and didn’t notice them as much as she had at first.

The two second year boys came from very normal families. It was clear that neither of them had been raised in connection with spiritual abilities of any kind. However, while they did know about the students who had been raised with magic, they had reacted quite calmly to their existence. Their reaction probably wasn’t the norm though. The way they interacted with Izumiko hadn’t changed at all either.

The people Honoka collected for student government all must have something special in common, but I wonder what it is… Izumiko thought quietly to herself.

Hodaka and Honoka’s student government had turned itself into a well-functioning group over the past few months, but they had to have all been chosen for some quality they showed. Izumiko was just grateful that no one had been treating her differently since everything with Takayanagi.

The bespectacled duo had liked Miyuki from the start, and Miyuki had gotten along with the older students as well. He seemed to have a respect for their deep knowledge of everything two dimensional. Izumiko could tell that the duo was quite intelligent as well. They just really didn’t care much about anything outside of their own interests.

That day, as Hoshino, Okouchi, Miyuki, and Izumiko were talking, Hoshino said out of nowhere, “Did you know? December 25th, the day that everyone thinks is Jesus Christ’s birthday, was actually decided on by the Christian church after the Council of Nicaea that was held in 325 AD. The Roman empire was showing off the authority it had at the time, and they set the date to intercede with the Mithraic winter solstice. December 25th was the date of that holiday.”

Miyuki looked at Hoshino, and then let out a small laugh. “Does that mean you’re interested in a Christmas event all of a sudden?”

“If this is all common knowledge to the exchange students, it would be embarrassing if I didn’t know it. It was interesting to look things up. Listen to this,” Hoshino continued enthusiastically. “The headquarters of the Greenland International Santa Claus Association is in Copenhagen, and they talk about people becoming certified Santa Clauses on TV and stuff. Also, Scandinavia is seen as Santa Claus’s home. But in Scandinavia, the word they use for Christmas, Yule, is actually the Germanic winter solstice that dates back to before Christianity. Old Man Santa doesn’t appear in that old European festival. Instead, there’s a spirit of some kind who doesn’t give nice presents to anyone. It’s kind of like the Namahage here in Japan. It’s a demon that goes around scaring little kids into behaving well.”

The image of a man dressed up in a demon mask and a straw cape with a sword in his hand going door to door during a festival came to Izumiko’s mind. She had seen it on TV at some point.

“The Namahage is from the Touhoku region in the northeast, right?” she asked. “He’s part of one of their festivals.”

“Yes, yes. He’s the one that goes, “Are there any bad kids here? Are there any crybabies here?”” Okouchi said, his expression serious as he took on the demon’s role for a second.

“The Christmas that Japanese people are used to comes from the US,” he continued. “And US Christmas comes from England. We’re used to the Christmas traditions that come from the English speaking part of the world, but there are many different traditions beyond those. The reason why western Christmas has rooted itself so deeply here in Japan is because Emperor Taisho died on December 25th and the day became a national holiday. It became a normal day again after World War II, but decorating Christmas trees, Santa Claus’s presents, and the winter sales war remain.”

“Have you been researching Christmas too, Okouchi?” Miyuki said doubtfully.

“I need to be prepared so that this doesn’t become a Christian based event. I’m doing this for President Honoka, too.” Okouchi went back to typing on his keyboard. “Christmas trees appear in winter solstice festivals that predate Christianity. Decorating houses with boughs from pine trees comes from early, non-Christian traditions. Decorating with evergreens is said to keep away evil spirits and attract good luck. We decorate with pine branches in a similar way here in Japan. After December 25th became Christ’s birthday, Germany began the tradition of decorating trees in the early modern era. It apparently then spread to England through the royal family. When Europeans first came to America, Christmas trees were one of the customs they rejected as being pagan. They were Puritans after all.”

“Wow. That’s unbelievable,” Izumiko said, her eyes wide. “So, Christmas trees are a pagan tradition. Decorated trees and the way we hang pine boughs outside people’s homes seem really different, though. Do they really still have the same basis in their meanings?”

Seeing Izumiko’s involvement in the conversation, Hoshino continued with increased vigor. “Speaking of original meanings, the connection between Christmas and the Wild Hunt is also interesting. There’s a legend about a hunt that takes place during the time between Halloween and the winter solstice. The hunting party is made up of fairies, the dead, and their black hunting dogs. That’s the Wild Hunt. The stories originated in Europe, and there are lots of different versions of it, but because any human who sees the hunt dies, it’s basically the same as Japan’s Night Parade of One Hundred Demons. However, if children put offerings in their stockings on the night before Winter Solstice, Germen folk stories say they’ll receive presents in those stockings from the Wild Hunt the next morning. ”

“Is that where leaving candy in Christmas stockings comes from?” Izumiko asked.

Miyuki made a sour face. “Please use this time to study for the exams, you two. Don’t waste the rest of your time wrapped up in this.”

“We’re getting wrapped up in this because it’s just before the exam,” Hoshino said. “Without fail, I always feel the need to read a big fat book right before exams.”

“Ah, me too.” Okouchi agreed.

The two of them made a few comments about their extensive stock of knowledge, but the conversation ended quickly after that. It wasn’t because they were bothering Miyuki though. They had simply said all that they needed to. Most likely, Okouchi and Hoshino had not been ignoring their studies, they had simply wanted to give Izumiko and Miyuki a break from their own work.

Quick break or not, Izumiko had been surprised by what she had just hard, and she couldn’t easily stop thinking about it. Even after parting from the bespectacled duo, she was still mulling over the information.

“I didn’t know that Christmas had its roots in a pagan holiday. Maybe I’ll do some research on it too… I’ve never heard of the Wild Hunt either. If they were comparing it to the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, the legends should be from around the Heian era probably. The Night Parade is mentioned in an Abe no Seimei story, isn’t it…”

“Don’t get pulled into this, Izumiko. We’re focusing on math right now,” Miyuki said, giving her a frightening look. “If you do the same thing they’re doing, you’ll waste all your time. Those two have the impressive ability of being able to switch back and forth between topics in an instant.”

“Had you heard about what they said before?”

“Most people wouldn’t know those things. I’ve only ever thought of Christmas as a day where kids ask their parents for things they want.”

“So, a present day?”

Sensing that Izumiko could no longer concentrate on the problem set, Miyuki gave up for the time being and answered her question.

“Okouchi was right when he mentioned the sales war. Isn’t that really what Christmas is for most people besides people who believe in it?”

“I never got any presents on Christmas,” Izumiko replied. “Were you someone who did?”

“I don’t just get stuff. I have to ask Yukimasa for it. If I bug him about something I need, he’ll get me whatever I want. He’s such a bad parent. I guess it’s his way of making up for leaving me alone so much,” Miyuki said bluntly.

The dry relationship between him and his father was quite evident at that moment. He didn’t seem as close-lipped as he usually was when Yukimasa came up in conversation though. He was speaking calmly.

Izumiko expanded upon the question she had already asked.

“Did you ever get a Christmas present from anyone? Like from a kid at school or something?”

“Yeah, I got a few of those.”

“From girls?”

Hearing this, Miyuki looked at Izumiko in surprise. “Well… some. We had present exchanges and Christmas parties, after all.”

“I’ve never been to a Christmas party. But I’d see presents during the cold season with their pretty wrapping paper and ribbons, and I always thought it would make me feel really good to get one. They have a different feel to them from getting New Year’s money,” Izumiko said, thinking about it yearningly.

She had never been able to experience a Christmas party when her school life had depended on being driven back and forth from the shrine to school in Mr. Nonomura’s car. She only knew about them from what she had heard from other people.

Miyuki gave a little laugh as if he found her life detached from the rest of the world strange.

“Unexpected Christmas presents do make people happy. You end up wondering how the other person knew you wanted whatever it was that they gave you.”

“Are you talking about something you got from a girl?”

“Why are you getting so particular about this? I get Christmas presents every year. That’s why Yukimasa can’t ignore the day either and gives me something. The sender’s name is never anywhere on the box, but it’s probably from Kaori. I have a feeling that it comes through Mr. Sengoku.”

Izumiko blinked at the unusually personal story he had just told her. Kaori was the name of Miyuki’s mother who had divorced Yukimasa years ago.

“Does your mom live in the mountains? Mr. Sengoku is the ascetic monk you trained with on Mt. Haguro, right?”

“I have no idea where Kaori is now. I heard that she got remarried a long time ago. That’s why I haven’t seen her or talked to her since she left. I just get a present with no name on Christmas.”

Miyuki showed no emotion at all, but all the same, Izumiko could sense how he was feeling. Even though he hadn’t seen his mother in all this time, she still had a big place in his heart.

After a moment of thought, Miyuki ended the conversation with a note of finality. “Mr. Sengoku is Kaori’s uncle. He’s the only person I know in the Sengoku family. Let’s stop talking about Christmas. We can talk about it more after the exams when we can relax.”

Izumiko knew how much it had taken Miyuki to share this story with her, so she didn’t want to make him angry by spacing out on the math problems he had prepared for her. She dropped her head back to the problem set, and diligently returned to her work on the equations.

Keep reading!

#rdg #red data girl #rdg 6 #rdg 6 week 19 #rdg my wish on the night of the shooting stars #translation

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freedom-shamrock · 5 years

Text

Exceeds Expectations

Also on AO3 This follows the Improvements story “Dressed for Success,” though it can be read on its own. This is also day 23 of my ML WIP-Completion project.

It was late, and all Adrien wanted to do was go to bed, unfortunately his father had other ideas.

"Adrien," his father said, his voice sharp in the quiet of the mansion.

Adrien looked up and mentally slouched in response. He'd only just come in the front door, and there was his father at the top of the staircase, looming down at him in what had become his traditional we-are-having-a-conversation-whether-you-like-it-or-not mode. "Good evening father," he said, not bothering to mask the weariness in his voice. He'd just worked a fourteen hour day, and he didn't care if his father didn't understand how exhausting runway was.

"We need to speak about this evening," his father said, clearly ignoring every cue Adrien sent him through body language and tone. Or maybe he was oblivious. That seemed too charitable.

"Can we do this tomorrow?" Adrien asked. "I'm beat."

Gabriel shook his head. "This should not take long." He turned on his heel and strode back to his office.

Adrien briefly considered ignoring the clear summons and letting his father see what it felt like to be ignored for a change, but knew he'd end up with some other unsavory job or task as a result. Last time they fought, Adrien suddenly found himself added to multiple underwear campaigns. The photoshoots didn't bother him, since he had about as much physical modesty as an actual cat, but the uptick in rabid fan interactions was not worth the risk. They'd gotten more lewd, too, and that kind of grossed him out.

Plagg wriggled in his pocket, something he'd started doing when Adren was frustrated, and for reasons he couldn't understand, it calmed him. So he was able to drag himself up the steps and into his father's office without letting the irritation get to him.

"You wished to see me, father?" Adrien declared as he crossed the threshold into his father's atelier. He'd taken to announcing his entrance this way in the past year, hoping to point out how rarely his father actually talked to him personally, and how it generally had to do with work. When it had no obvious results, it went from an attempted notice to something bordering pure sass.

"I wish to discuss your presentation for this evening," Gabriel said, straightening up in his chair, and pushing aside the tablet he'd been focusing on despite the fact that he'd summoned Adrien not two minutes earlier.

"I see," Adrien said. While he knew he could draw this out just to toy with his father, he was too tired for that to hold any amusement tonight, or rather this morning, as it was nearly three. "Let's just skip the niceties and get straight to the point where you tell me what I did wrong so I can apologize and get to bed," he suggested.

That prompted an unexpected reaction. Gabriel's eyes widened and he frowned. "I wasn't aware that you'd done anything wrong this evening. On the contrary, I was going to compliment you on your music selection and clothing choices."

Adrien stared at his father in disbelief.

"However," Gabriel continued, "if there's something you need to confess about your performance today that I was previously unaware of, by all means, feel free to do so."

Adrien scowled across the desk at his father. "Seriously? I can't win with you." He shook his head. "You don't compliment anyone , least of all me. I can't honestly recall the last time you told me you were proud of something I'd done, so you'll have to forgive me my assumption." He paused to gather his thoughts from his exhaustion-muddled brain, speaking up before his father could respond. "I handled myself like a proper Agreste today. I performed my walks and poses as I have been trained to. I was professional and represented Gabriel to the best of my ability."

Gabriel let out a huff. "You're getting emotional."

Adrien rolled his eyes. "I need to go to bed. Unless you want fatigue to be featured on my face in tomorrow's publicity piece."

"Fine." Gabriel glowered at him. "I will make this quick. Your work in the show was professional, as expected. Your performance at the after-party exceeded my expectations."

Adrien stared at his father in shock. "Exceeded expectations?"

Gabriel nodded. "Your music selections added to the ambiance in a way that suggested adequate familiarity with the setting and it's needs. The music was neither too loud, quiet, lively, or dull, so it brightened the atmosphere."

Adrien managed to keep his mouth in check when he really wanted to sass off about how he'd spent his whole life both in this environment and playing piano, so of course he had the knowledge to pick the right music. Normally he was eager for any shred of positivity that could be interpreted as praise, but in the last few months, he'd grown weary of scrambling for such scraps.

"That wasn't the surprise, though," Gabriel admitted. He steepled his fingers in front of his chin. "Your apparel for the after-party could not have been better chosen had I done it myself."

"They were your designs," Adrien said, shrugging. He knew he'd been right in enlisting Marinette's help, but he'd merely hoped to avoid a scolding and hadn't anticipated praise.

"True," Gabriel agreed. "But they were not pieced together as I'd originally intended them, and the way that was handled enhanced your appearance while minimizing your temporary defects."

"It's called a growth spurt," Adrien grumbled. "You wanted me taller."

"Yes," Gabriel said with a sharp nod. "And while it's temporary, the transition is ungainly."

Adrien reminded himself, yet again, what Marinette had told him. She thought he was impossibly beautiful no matter what his father said.

"The only reason you didn't upstage the show-stoppers, is that your clothes were slightly older designs, still fresh and intriguing, but not flashy." Gabriel stood up. "The match-up was innovative, brilliant, and the fit was perfect."

Adrien nodded. "I would be happy to express your appreciation to Marinette for her assistance, then."

"Marinette?" Gabriel asked. "As in Marinette Dupain-Cheng?"

Adrien nodded. "She came over a few weeks ago and helped me pick my look for the after-party. She told me what needed replacing in a larger size and re-tailored everything to ensure a good fit."

"Hey Marinette," Adrien called, jogging to catch up to her on the sidewalk approaching the school.

"Welcome back Adrien." She smiled at him, and it brought him some unexpected happiness. "How did it all go?"

"Really well, actually." He was still a bit baffled by the odd three A.M. conversation with his father. "And honestly, I think a big part of it was because of you."

"Me?" She seemed genuinely surprised. "I hardly did a thing."

Adrien shook his head. "I was pretty nervous about the after-party," he admitted. "I knew the music would be fine, but… I was really unsure about the rest, and my father has been on my case about representing Gabriel in the right fashion." He grinned at his own pun.

Marinette scowled a little. "He needs to lighten up. You're his son, not an employee or indentured servant. And it's a design house not an empire."

He laughed, unaccountably struck by the irony of her words. "Honestly to hear him talk about it, I am the scion of a noble house, far more important than the common folk I surround myself with." He snorted. "Anyway, your help with my suit made me feel a lot better, because even if he came down hard on me for failing to do my best, at least I had evidence that I'd gone out of my way and sought the best resources to fill the informational gap he'd left for me ."

Now she looked angry, and that hadn't been his plan. "Adrien, you're making me worry. More than I already did."

"Sorry, I'm not good with words, especially when I'm excited." He beamed at her. "He loved the outfit! He actually complimented it. You made him regret not making me a headliner." He shrugged. "Though to be honest it was nice to have a break from that pressure." He was getting off track, dammit. "Ugh. Let me start over." He took a deep breath and straightened up. "Thank you so much for helping me; it reduced my stress for the whole event, which allowed me to be at my best." He held out his arms and tilted his head before pulling her in for a hug.

"Okay, okay. You're welcome." Marinette giggled. "Now put me down."

"Oops." He hadn't realized he'd picked her up. "Still not used to being so much taller than you," he admitted, setting her back on her feet and letting go.

"I'm glad it went so well." She patted his upper arm. "And hearing this actually explains a few things."

Adrien thought for a moment, but spoke up when she didn't continue. "Explains what?"

Marinette rolled her eyes. "Nathalie stopped by yesterday with information on the internships that will be available at Gabriel this summer. It was… awkward and seemed really out of the blue."

"That's… unexpected." While he liked the idea of working with Marinette, the thought of her working at Gabriel made the hair at the back of his neck stand up. He'd heard that it was a hard place to be an intern, and that the position generally involved fetching coffee and doing administrative stuff, with occasional on location gopher work. "Didn't you already apply for summer internships?"

Marinette nodded. "And I've actually heard back on three of them, two yes and one no."

"So you're not going to apply for one at Gabriel?" he asked.

She patted his shoulder. "I'd love to work with you again, Adrien. But I want nothing to do with your father."

Adrien grinned. His father was so used to getting his way, this would come as quite a surprise. "I approve of your plan. I never get to work with interns anyway."

Planned to do this yesterday, but felt a bit bleh after too much wassail and tasty food at game night Saturday.

I still have 5 WIP pieces to write, and it's safe to say those won't get all finished today. Alas. But ideally this week yet.

#Miraculous Ladybug #Fanfic #My Writing #Improvements #mlfluffiction #WIP challenge

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killian-whump · 5 years

Text

OUAT 3x01: Rewatch Blog

Welcome aboard, mateys! It's time to start rewatching Season 3! As usual, I'm a bit behind everyone else on this rewatch, but I've decided it's more fun for me to move at my own pace, so I probably won't be catching up anytime soon ;)

That said... Let's get started on Once Upon a Time Season 3!!!

Whoa. Wait a minute. Eleven Years Ago?! I really AM behind... ;)

Seriously, though. Do they really have to handcuff her ankle to the bed? Do they have a problem with women in labor jumping up and escaping prison right at that precise moment in their lives?

That's sad, though :(

Ooooh... I love the deadly stillness after the ship "lands" in Neverland. It's so... eeeeeeeerie.

Ahhh, and the ominous look on Killian's face.

You can just FEEL the tension in the air.

"Aye. Neverland."

AHHHHHHHH TENSION AND ANGST

Kinda lame title card, haha.

Aw, great. It's this guy. NOBODY MISSED YOU GREG. YOU CAN GO BACK TO WHEREVER YOU WENT DURING THE HIATUS NOW.

SHIT. HE BROUGHT TAMARA, TOO.

I really hate these two, guys. Like, really.

Oh, come on. Don't shove a fucking kid, you asshat. Fucking GREG. You're an insult to your name, and I don't even like your name.

Oooooh, spooky noises. I love the atmosphere they built for this realm.

"Who we work for is not your concern, kid." Well, according to YOU as of about 20 minutes ago in show time, it's not YOUR concern either, dipshit.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA THERE'S SAND IN YOUR BATTERY COMPARTMENT, YOU FUCKING MORON. WHO PUT SAND IN YOUR BATTERY COMPARTMENT, HUH? YOU FUCKING IDIOT.

Shut up, shut up. I know it was Peter Pan. LET ME HAVE MY MOMENT.

"It's a good thing you guys don't ask any questions." Hahahaha, bested by an 11-year-old and sand.

...and there he goes, shoving the damn kid again. You're just a colossal jerk, aren't you, Greg?

At least Tamara has the sense to look mildly concerned right here.

"Oh, I know, my hot-headed queen."

I JUST DIED. Forward my mail to my gravesite.

I totally forgot that line ever happened. I love rewatching this show.

"I hope not, or we've wasted our lives." AAAAAAANGST

"Your lives... well... THEY'VE SUCKED" hahaha, Why don’t you tell them what you really think, Emma XD

"We found you." Awww... "And lost Henry! And Neal!" Well, to be fair, it's not like you can expect them to give two shits about Neal. They met him, like, last week. And he's kinda a dick. And his Dad's, like, evil incarnate. But okay.

"Oh, that's a great use of our time: A wardrobe change." One of the best lines ever, really.

I mean, did Rumple really need to do the dramatic cane-spinning exit, though? It makes for good TV, so it's cool and all, but imagine it in real life. Like, just a boat full of people staring at where he once stood, thinking, "JFC That was unnecessarily dramatic."

OH, YEAH, LET'S LIGHT A FUCKING FIRE, GREG. THAT'S A GREAT FUCKING IDEA, GREG. Fucking loser.

Yes, I do plan on doing this until he dies. You have your hobbies; I have mine.

"You making S'Mores?"

HAAAAAAHHAHAHAHA OMG LOOK AT HIS FACE:

Fucking goon. Haha. I named that screencap "assface" when I saved it, because I feel it's fitting for both the character AND the face he's making.

"What if the empty communicator wasn't an accident?"

You mean the one someone OBVIOUSLY filled with sand instead of batteries ON PURPOSE??? Noooooooooooo.

"Don't let the kid get in your head." He's not even TRYING, Greg. He's just hungry and wants some fucking S'Mores. I want some S'Mores, too. We all want fucking S'Mores. S'Mores are delicious, FuckingGreg.

OH LOOK, IT'S FELIX.

AND ALL THE REST OF THE LOST BOYS ONES BOYS. I think we’re calling them “Boys” now. Must have gotten the rights.

Kill him, Felix. Somebody. Anybody. I'll even settle for the annoying Lost Boy with the face that annoys me, although I don't think he's in this season, but he's welcome to join it IF HE KILLS GREG.

"Then you're not getting the boy." Oh, Greg. It is entirely too late for you to do anything remotely likable now. Like, I literally want to throw Henry at them now just to spite you.

YEEEEESSSSSSSSSS RIP THAT MOTHERFUCKER'S SOUL OUT OF HIS BODY. TAKE HIS SPINE, TOO. THE ENTIRE SKELETAL SYSTEM. MAYBE A DISEMBOWELING'S CALLED FOR HERE?

Or, you know, you can just leave his husk there by the fire to rot away. That's good, too. I'm not picky.

GREG IS DEAD, EVERYBODY.

Tamara and Henry are running! Oh no! Will they make it? Will they-

This is a great scene, everybody. Thank you so much. This is the best thing to ever happen to me and the season only started 10 minutes ago.

Hahaha, they even show us a close-up of Tamara lying motionless on the ground, and then Greg. Like they KNOW we've all been waiting for their demise and they wanted to give us screenshots for our scrapbooks.

Anyway, thanks Felix! That was pretty cool. Much obliged.

Hey, look. An enterprising young chap has helped Henry up. There's no way he could be a bad guy.

I have to say, of all the "twists" in Once, this was one of the worst ones in terms of how OBVIOUS it was.

To some extent, it's the casting department's fault, because Robbie Kay is just TOO fucking perfect for Peter Pan. Like, he just EXUDES Peter Pan and he's not fooling anybody.

Heeheehee CS flirting <3

"What do you want?" All due respect, but it's HIS fucking ship? Like, he doesn't really need a reason to be below deck on his own ship?

"I didn't realize you were sentimental." "I'm not."

I love it when he spits the cork out, but how many corks does this man go through?!

Oh, look. Speak of the devil - It's Neal.

"Tell Emma I'm alive. And I love her."

Well, that's a GREAT message to pass on through your kiiiiiid. Won't get his hopes up or anything.

ANYWAY.

"Long enough to know I miss him, too." T_T

UH OH. TROUBLE'S AFOOT!!!

Oh, Dave and Snow are at the helm. That explains it. LEARN HOW TO DRIVE, SNOWING. Gosh.

Pun intended. I'm so sorry.

Regina: "What the hell are you two doing?!" Ahahahahaha :D

"Prepare for attack!" "Be more specific!" I love all these interactions. This is like the WORST family vacation EVER and I love every second of it.

"What's out there? A shark? A whale?" "A kraken?"

YOU FUCKING WISH.

Actually, no, Dave probably doesn't wish... but Kraken-san does! :D

Emma's response is classic. "Mermaids?!" Like what the fuck else does she have to put up with in this crazy sham of a life NOOOOW?

Dave's kinda hot manning that cannon, I gotta say. He's showing off some guns firing off that gun, if you know what I mean.

But really, what did they plan to DO with one mermaid, anyway? Especially after Regina chased them all off with her fireballs?

Oh, look. Henry and Totally-Not-Peter-Pan are on the run!

I'm super fooled by him talking himself up in third person, though XD

"If Pan wants you... he WILL get you."

"Pan will rip their shadows into oblivion."

"Pan loves nachos with spicy cheese."

"Pan is the awesomest guy on this island."

Aw, man. This scene is a snoozefest :/

Literally. They're all just watching Aurora sleep XD

Wait. HOW is Neal feeling better? He got shot, like, 10 minutes ago in show time and he's had no REAL medical care, aside from whatever they bandaged him with, since none of these folks here have magic.

HOW IS HE FEELING BETTER?!

I gotta be honest, though. Rumple is hot as SHIT in this season. I ain't gonna pretend otherwise. This leather clad badass thing WORKS for him.

Oh, look. Tamara's still alive.

"C-Can you forgive me?"

I'm gonna guess that is a HARD ASS NO, bitch.

Haha, love the way he flicks the dust off his fingers.

"GET THAT THING OFF MY SHIP!"

I love how panicked he is by the mermaid XD It gives my entire life meaning :D

I wish we had more information in canon about Hook's time in Neverland. We can tell this is FAR from his first skirmish with mermaids, but how/when/why/what happened? I NEED TO KNOW! Especially if it involved wounds or peril or other things relevant to my interests...

Touching Mulan and Neal chat.

More running in the woods with Not!Pan.

"Well, I'm all out of fish food." Love you, Regina <3

"Fillet the bitch." Seriously, love you so much bae <3

Snow's face, tho XD

This is 110% why I watch this show. SHENANIGANS.

...and a pirate. Don't forget the pirate.

"I've outrun many a storm!" We know you have, babe. We know. You keep telling us...

SHAMPOO COMMERCIAL TIME!!!

PERIL ON THE HIGH SEAS!!!

CERTAIN BLETH DEATH!!!

SUPER DRAMATIC MUSIC!!!

...as we cut to a peaceful, though somewhat dilapidated, castle in the Enchanted Forest. Birds are singing, dawn is breaking, the world is alight with hope and possibili-

JUST KIDDING. GET BACK TO THE FUCKING DRAMA STORM, SHOW.

I hate it when they do this.

Hey, Sean. Nice intro.

"You don't want to see ID?" Neal... ISTFG.

Disappearing arrow, heehee. SHENANIGANS.

I love how interested Robin is in what's inside the vault XD Always a thief, eh?

"This isn't a storm. It's bloody damnation!" Love that line <3

"Let the slags go!" Haha "Don't call my wife a slag!" Haha!

BOY FIGHT!! BOY FIGHT!!!

They're all wet, too! Slow down, cameraman! I wanna see ALL of this!!!

Oooh, almost gutted with his own hook. Haaaaarsh.

Emma, no one's listening to you. Emma, no one's... They're not... They're not even looking or paying any attention at all... They won't even- Oh. Okay. Somehow everyone saw you jump, despite literally being in a fight for their respective lives. Neat.

...aaaaaaand cue the convenient rigging falling loose and hitting her in the head.

SHENANIGAAAAAAAAANS

Oh, look! They're flying!!!

This would be super touching if it wasn't, you know, exactly what Pan wants XD

Haha, Emma looks so ethereal floating there, unconscious, in the waters of Neverland, facing certain death.

Awww! A big group effort rescue!!! Good job, team!

"Told you." Right, but no one was listening...? So how do they even know what she's talking about? Well, I guess maybe they WERE listening...?

Shenanigans? idek anymore...

SHENANIGANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Awww... Bobby's acting is so great right here. This is awesome. Very moving. The part after the shenanigans, I mean. Although they’re great, too.

Felix, you're kinda a dick, though. That’s kinda a compliment, tho?

I love it when magic flops :D Dramatic music aaaaaand... nothing.

"Actually, I quite fancy you from time to time, when you're not yelling at me."

You like her even more when she's yelling at you, son. IT IS KNOWN.

His offended face when Charming says, "With him?" XD DAVE, WHY WOULD YOU SAY THIS ABOUT ME. DAVE, I THOUGHT WE WERE PALS. DAVE. DAAAAVE.

Hahaha, his adorable shrug to Regina. SHENANIGANS <3

"You couldn't be more right, Henry."

I'm so glad they didn't try to drag out the reveal of Pan to another episode, because he seriously wasn't fooling aaaaaanybody.

Except for Henry. Oops?

It's so great how ominous they're being at the end of this episode, advancing on Henry like that...

Although Pan's "let's play!" is a lot less frightening when you know he literally means "let's dance around a fire and create a rhythmic ruckus" but hey. It still works for the ending of this episode, which is now... OVER!!

PEEEEEEEEEEEEEEW!!! PEW PEW PEW!!!

#ouat rewatch #watching fairytales #3x01 #oc #kw reviews #not whxmp

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tomeandflickcorner · 6 years

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OUAT Episode Analysis- Leaving Storybrooke

Well, folks, here it is. We’ve come to the final episode of Once Upon a Time. In spite of everything, regardless of which characters and ships you liked or disliked, regardless of which plotlines or seasons you might have felt were bad, I think we can all agree that this was an experience. One that has probably changed us forever.

The final episode ends where the last one left off. Robyn and Alice have traveled to Storybrooke to try and gather up some reinforcements to help Henry and company in Wish World. And the first people they run into are the Dwarfs, Granny and Archie. Of course, there’s the slight issue that, as far as the people in Storybrooke are concerned, Henry has only just graduated High School, which means Alice and Robyn have to explain that they’re from the future and have traveled back in time via Gothel’s curse. However, their explanation results in the Dwarfs and Granny acting with hostility, with Granny even aiming her crossbow at the two young women, forcing them to run for their lives. To be honest, this part really bothered me. While I can appreciate how the people of Storybrooke have had a long history of a new Big Bad popping up every other week and all, Alice and Robyn were clearly trying to ask for their help. And it wasn’t as if villains were the only people coming into Storybrooke. Remember that when Ariel first appeared in town, she was there asking for help. And Elsa also was not a threat when she arrived, either. So their less-than-gracious welcome was rather uncalled for. While I get that the notion that Alice and Robyn had come from the future when Henry was an adult with a wife and daughter might have been a big pill to swallow, it wasn’t that unheard off. I’m sure everyone in town has heard of Emma and Killian Prime’s time traveling adventure by now. So what was their deal with trying to attack Alice and Robyn?

Fortunately, after they’ve escaped the angry mob, Robyn spots Past!Regina’s car driving by. Speculating that Regina would believe their story if they told her Henry was in trouble, they approach the car. Only to find that the car was being borrowed by Past!Zelena, who was in the process of driving a much younger Robyn to daycare. Past!Zelena explains that Regina was out of town, as she and Emma had taken Henry on a post-graduation trip. (So, Henry didn’t immediately leave on his soul-searching quest after he graduated?) Not deterred by this, Robyn proceeds to try and convince Past!Zelena that she’s an older version of the five-year-old sitting in the car, using her knowledge of her mother’s quirks to back up her claim. This seems to convince Past!Zelena, as she digs out the old magic bean she had stored away for a rainy day.

Incidentally, isn’t brining Past!Zelena into this going to create a significant timeline issue down the road? Because this means the Zelena we’ve seen throughout the season already knew that all of this was going to happen. Unless she drinks a forgetting potion like the way Past!Rumpelstiltskin did during the CS movie.

Back in the Wish World, Henry Prime, Rumpelstiltskin Prime and Wish Killian have found themselves within the Snowglobe prison, where Henry Prime is reunited with Parallel Ella and Lucy. As the three try to figure out how to stay warm, Rumpelstiltskin Prime admits that when Wish Henry used the Author’s pen to strip Alice of her mantle of Guardian, it somehow ended up taking away Rumpelstiltskin Prime’s powers as well. Not sure how that worked, but at this point, there’s no point in questioning it. Either way, it means that Rumpelstiltskin Prime is just as susceptible to the cold as the rest of them, and has no way of freeing them from their snowy prison. Wish Killian, however, refuses to give up and insists on continuing to try and find a way to break out of the Snow Globe by testing different areas of the glass siding periodically for weak points.

It’s here that Wish Killian and Rumpelstiltskin Prime have a moment of some sort. Rumpelstiltskin Prime basically admits he’s always secretly admired his former advisory’s unwavering determination and good heart, stating that that’s why he kept Wish Killian as his partner in the Hyperion Heights police force even after waking up. He even states that he feels that Wish Killian was the closest thing he ever had to a friend. Which is kinda nice, if not for the fact that he tried to kill Killian Prime and the people he cared about on more than one occasion. Then again, maybe the only reason why this scene is even believable is because this isn’t Killian Prime. It’s rather convenient that they can use that detail to brush over everything that went down between S4-6.

At that moment, out of nowhere, Maui’s fishhook appears in front of them. When Wish Killian uses it to free them all from the Snowglobe, it’s revealed that Alice and Robyn were responsible for its appearance. Not sure how they managed to locate Maui’s fishhook, because I seem to remember Gothel confiscated that particular item. So how were they able to find where she stashed the thing? It’s also shown that Past!Zelena ended up tagging along when they portal jumped to Wish World. However, there’s no time to celebrate their escape, as Robyn, Alice and Past!Zelena had found a notice posted on a tree outside, announcing that Wish Henry plans to execute Regina at dawn.

Meanwhile, Regina was being confronted by Wish Henry, who makes it very clear that he intends to make sure she pays for murdering Wish Snowing. Regina tries to explain that it was all a mistake and that she didn’t mean to kill them, which is rather stupid. What, she just accidentally crushed their hearts? Even if she hadn’t figured out at the time that Wish Snowing were real people (which was extremely moronic to begin with), she still knew exactly what she was doing. Just saying, Regina. Instead of trying to make excuses, maybe you should try and own up to what you did and apologize to Wish Henry.

Regardless, Regina goes on to try and beseech Wish Henry to look inside himself and find the brave and kind person she knows him to be. She even states that, in another version of reality, she is Henry’s adoptive mother. And because of that, she doesn’t want to see anything happen to Wish Henry. As one would expect, Wish Henry isn’t swayed by Regina’s words and announces that she will die in the morning for what she’s done.

Later on, Regina is, I guess, having some sort of dream sequence where she’s visited by the spirit of Robin. In the dream, Spirit Robin gives Regina a bit of a pep talk, stating that perhaps she can find a way to convince Wish Henry that no one’s path is set and that he can let go of his desire for vengeance. The topic then turns to the sorrow that their lives together was so short. Now for the record, I was overall okay with Outlaw Queen. At least when Robin wasn’t being reduced to Regina’s glorified arm candy. But this scene seemed to come out of nowhere. I might have forgotten, but I don’t think Regina mentioned Robin once during this whole season. Not even when she was starting to get into that whole quasi-relationship with Facilier. Not that Regina seemed all that upset upon learning that Facilier died, of course. (How did those two even meet again? They never explained.) Personally, I think it would have made more sense for Robin’s spirit to come to Robyn. After all, we’d already seen her discussing how much she wished she’d gotten to know her namesake in 7x14. So why couldn’t Spirit Robin drop in to say hello to the daughter he never got the chance to know? It’s a bit annoying how Robin is once again being reduced to being nothing more than Regina’s love interest. Not to mention I’m kinda miffed how we never got to see Roland again. Why can’t Robyn get the chance to meet her half-brother?

Anyway, Henry and the rest of the New Nevengers come up with a plan to rescue Regina from Wish Henry’s dungeons. The plan involves Wish Killian and Robyn creating a diversion so Henry can sneak in and free Regina. During this scene, we get a rather endearing interaction between Wish Killian and Robyn. It seems that the curse on Wish Killian’s heart is getting worse, leading him to think that his time is almost up. So he asks Robyn to look after Alice for him after he dies. This leads to Robyn admitting that she’s planning on marrying Alice when the time is right, and she asks for Wish Killian’s blessing to propose, with Wish Killian gladly granting it. In gratitude, Robyn informs Wish Kilian that she refuses to accept that he’ll die, stating that no matter what, he’s going to be around to walk Alice down the aisle. With that said, Wish Killian and Robyn initiate the distraction, with Wish Killian charging at Wish Henry’s soldiers with his sword drawn and Robyn firing off a few arrows.

Down in the dungeons, Henry manages to locate Regina’s cell, but before he can get her out, they’re discovered by more of Wish Henry’s guards. For a few tense moments, it looks as if Henry is in a real pickle. But then, out of nowhere, Snow and Charming appear. I guess they were told about Robyn and Alice’s brief appearance in Storybrooke and, unlike Granny and the Dwarfs, weren’t so quick to dismiss their claims. And as such, have come to provide some backup. Although, this brings up another issue. Because Snow and Charming now know that Henry and company will eventually wind up here after Young Henry leaves on his soul-searching quest. If that’s the case, how come Emma, Killian Prime, Regina and Zelena were caught unawares by all the stuff that went down throughout the season? Just saying, Snow doesn’t have the best track record in keeping her mouth shut.

Time Travel Paradoxes aside, Snow and Charming convene with the New Nevengers in the Wish World equivalent of their old war room, where they discuss the matter of how to defeat Wish Rumpelstiltskin and figure out how to free Wish Henry from his grip. It’s here that Wish Rumpelstiltskin’s ultimate plan is revealed. Basically, he’s taking advantage of the fact that Wish Henry also holds the position of the Author. Apparently, if the Author’s heart is filled with enough anger and malice, it can trigger some kind of spell that can trap people within their own personal Prison Book. Once inside the Prison Book, the captured person is doomed to an eternity of isolation. And Wish Rumpelstiltskin has a Prison Book for everyone. (I wonder. Were A&E making an intentional reference to the Myst game series here, or is this just a coincidence?) There’s also a scene when Wish Rumpelstiltskin tests out this Prison Book spell on Wish Blue Fairy. Because, yeah, Rumpelstiltskin is racist against fairies no matter which version it is. Once Snowing and the New Nevengers learn of this plan, they set off to find a way to stop him. Snowing decide to go off and try and inspire the people of the surrounding villages to not lose hope. Not sure what that would accomplish, to be honest. Maybe they felt that, if the New Nevengers couldn’t find a way to prevent everyone from getting trapped, then the trapped people would still have hope that they could escape and therefore not give into despair. Either way, I can’t help but think this might have resulted in a lot of confused villagers. After all, in Wish World, Snow and Charming were not only dead, but had also been considerably older. Wouldn’t seeing a younger version of the dead monarchs lead to a lot of confusion?

Regardless, Wish Killian, Henry, Alice and Robyn head off to try and find Rumpelstiltskin Prime, who has been off doing his own thing (which involved him revisiting his memories of Belle via dreamcatcher and being morose over the fact that he probably won’t be able to rejoin her in the afterlife now that the Guardian no longer exists). And Regina goes off to face Wish Henry, in the hopes that she can convince him to let go of his anger so the Prison Book spell couldn’t be cast. Can’t remember where Parallel Ella, Lucy and Past!Zelena went during this whole thing. They just kinda disappeared from the episode at this point. Maybe they went with Snow and Charming? Who knows?

When they locate Rumpelstiltskin Prime, he reveals that he’s discovered Wish Rumpelstiltskin has managed to squirrel away a bit of backup magic in case he ever found himself of need of it. Rumpelstiltskin Prime decides to utilize that bit of magic in order to rip out Wish Rumpelstiltskin’s heart. If he can do that, then it will all be over. (Wasn’t that what they tried to do with Evil Queenie Poo when Regina drank the Jekyll Juice? Look how well that one went over.) However, it doesn’t matter, because Wish Rumpelstiltskin makes his appearance known at that point and proceeds to gloat that he’s already succeeded in corrupting Wish Henry’s heart. To prove his statement, he conjures up the Prison Books for Henry, Wish Killian, Robyn and Alice. And because Wish Henry is, at that very moment, engaged in a duel with Regina, the Prison Book spell begins to activate, with the five of them getting sucked towards their individual Prison Books.

This scene gets rather nail biting, as Henry, Robyn, Alice, Wish Killian and Rumpelstiltskin Prime are all trying to hold on to a nearby long table for dear life, but it’s clear that they won’t be able to hold on forever. This is driven home when Alice starts to lose her grip, much to Robyn and Wish Killian’s horror. In desperation, Wish Killian, disregarding his cursed heart, maneuvers himself close enough to Alice to grab hold of her just as her grip on the long table fails.

However, in the nick of time, Regina manages to get through to Wish Henry, stating that he isn’t alone that his life means everything to her, etc. etc. This apparently works, as Wish Henry relents, allowing Regina to embrace him. To be honest, this seemed a bit anticlimactic, but I guess Wish Henry was already starting to second guess himself, since he’d realized Regina willingly approached him despite knowing that he probably wouldn’t have listened to what she had to tell him. But the moment he gives up on getting revenge on Regina, the Prison Book spell stops.

Unfortunately, it seems like it’s too late for Wish Killian, as the effort involved in keeping Alice from getting sucked up into her Prison Book resulted in his cursed heart completely giving out. As a devastated Alice cradles his body in her arms, Rumpelstiltskin Prime has a final confrontation with Wish Rumpelstiltskin. They pretty much go back and forth for a bit over which version of them is the strong one, with Wish Rumpelstiltskin stating that Rumpelstiltskin Prime has become a pathetic shell of his former self and Rumpelstiltskin Prime stating that he’s actually evolved into the strongest form of himself. Eventually, Rumpelstiltskin Prime reveals he’s finally learned the moral of the story- that doing good doesn’t count if you’re only doing it for the reward. You have to do the right thing just because it’s the right thing. With those words, he uses the magic he got from Wish Rumpelstiltskin’s backup stock to rip out his own heart so he can place it within Wish Killian’s body. This ends up killing not just Rumpelstiltskin Prime but Wish Rumpelstiltskin as well. Okay, that’s great and all. But I’m still scratching my head over how Wish Rumpelstiltskin’s life was somehow tethered to Rumpelstiltskin Prime. It’s not as if they were connected through Jekyll Juice the way Regina and Evil Queenie Poo were in S6. Just saying, it’s not as if Wish Killian would die if Killian Prime died.

Also, how would this magical transplant thing help bring Wish Killian back to life? It didn’t exactly help Victor Frankenstein’s brother. Or Daniel. The only known case of this working was with Snow and Charming, when they performed the heart spilt. And it was pretty much stated that this only worked because Snow and Charming were True Love. So how exactly would Rumpelstiltskin Prime’s heart bring Wish Killian back to life?

Regardless of how it doesn’t make a lot of sense, it still works. Not that I’m complaining, of course. Especially since it means that Wish Killian is no longer affected by the Curse of the Poisoned Heart, which enables him to properly hug Alice at last. And because Rumpelstiltskin Prime died doing the right thing for the right reasons, and without caring about the reward, he ends up being granted a reprieve. Which allows him to reunite with Belle in the afterlife. Those of you who know me know that I’ve been more or less opposed to Rumbelle since the start of S4. But to be honest, I guess I can live with this. After all, it really seems as if Rumpelstiltskin FINALLY learned his lesson this time and realized that good deeds don’t count if you’re only doing them to earn brownie points. That’s kinda on par with Christian teachings. Even someone who repents of their sins at the last minute is granted forgiveness. The ONLY thing that bothers me about how this turned out is the fact that we’re told Rumpelstiltskin’s happy ending doesn’t in any way include his LIVING SON! What’s poor Gideon supposed to do now? He’s completely alone in the world now.

Also, I noticed something during this episode. Wish Henry seems to have a scar above his eyebrow. And in that scene when Young Henry was fighting the dragon at the start of the last episode, he ended up getting a nasty cut in the same place. Does that mean that was actually supposed to be Wish Henry in the opening scene of last episode? If so, why was Wish Rumpelstiltskin saying he came all the way from the Wish Realm? Wouldn’t the fact that we were looking at Wish Henry mean we were IN Wish World? I’m so confused.

And now, we’ve come to the aftermath. An undetermined amount of time later, Henry Prime and Wish Henry both approach Regina, who has been off on her own reflecting on everything that has happened. It’s here that Regina reveals she’s got an idea. She’s found the Wish World version of the scroll she’d used to cast the original Dark Curse (because Wish Regina never got the chance to utilize it.) She states she plans on using it, but with some drastic alterations. Instead of crushing the heart of the thing she loves the most, she plans to combine the love of all the people she cares about to turn the Dark Curse into something else. Basically, instead of bringing people into the Land Without Magic and separating everyone, this new twist on the Dark Curse will essentially merge all of the magical realms together. In other words, all the different realms in the entire multiverse will be joined together into one gigantic realm tucked away inside a pocket dimension located in a secluded corner of Maine.

Okay, to be perfectly honest, I’m still unsure how I feel about this. I mean, at face value, I can see how that might be cool. As Regina points out, it would mean that nobody would be separated from one another by dimensional barriers anymore. And you wouldn’t have to worry about locating a magic bean anymore to realm jump. (Though I suppose that’s going to put Anton out of a job.) Not to mention the obvious pros. This would mean that Emma would now be able to visit her friend, Elsa, at any time. And it’ll be that much easier for Ruby to swing by with Dorothy to see Granny and her BFF, Snow, during certain weekends.

But there are some pretty significant problems that I don’t think they bothered to address before they came up with this idea:

1) What if the people who lived in the different realms didn’t want to be directly linked to Storybrooke? Granted I got the impression during, that whole flyby of the newly established United Realms, it still looks like each realm is still granted their own designated area. They’re not made an actual part of Storybrooke. I guess it could be compared to the United States, in a way. Texas and California are technically part of the same county, but they’re still able to be treated as separate from one another. But even so, it’s rather presumptuous of Regina to make the decision to combine all the realms together without bothering to see how the people in all the different realms felt about it. Considering the way Grumpy and the others greeted Alice and Robyn when they first arrived in Storybrooke, I can see the people in the other realms wanting as much distance between them and that town as possible.

2) Wouldn’t this introduce a lot of new dangers to Storybrooke and the other realms? If you’re going to connect all the realms together, you’re kinda making it easier for ogres, the Jabberwocky, and people like Blackbeard to have limitless access to areas they didn’t have before. Not to mention the fact that there might be certain diseases that could now spread rampant, leading to possible epidemics. Just saying, think of how many Native Americans died from things like smallpox when the Europeans brought the disease over with them. In much the same way, there might be a particular illness that the people of Oz have developed a natural immunity to while denizens of Wonderland might have never been exposed to it before.

3) The fact that Wish World is being included in this whole plan is going to potentially lead to a lot of confusion. Because there’s now going to be two versions of practiclly everybody. We’re talking two Grannys, two Augusts, two sets of Dwarfs etc. The only people in Storybrooke who won’t have a doppelganger are Snowing and Geppetto, since Wish Snowing and Wish Geppetto are dead. And of course Emma, because I think we’re now supposed to conclude Wish World and its entire history was created around Emma. On the other hand, there’s probably going to be THREE Reginas running around- Regina Prime, Evil Queenie Poo (who had settled into Enchanted Forest Prime with Wish Robin) and the now elderly Wish Regina. I’m sorry, but do we really need that many Reginas? To quote Killian Prime from 3x05: ‘I can barely stomach one.’

4) The obvious time paradox going on right now. If this whole ordeal in Hyperion Heights and Wish World have been taken place in the past, around the time when Young Henry left home in 7x01, then wouldn’t this mess around with the timeline? So, you’re telling me that Henry Prime was off adventuring in Parallel Enchanted Forest at the same time that Post-Adventure Regina was merging all the realms together? If that was the case, shouldn’t Pre-Adventure Regina have already known everything was going to happen? Not to mention that this probably means Robyn has to share legroom with her five-year-old self. Show, you’re not Doctor Who! You don’t get to throw this Wibbly-Wobbly-Timey-Wimey crap at me!

Regardless, this plan of Regina is put into effect. And in the big fly-by over the new United Realms, we see quite a few cameos. While I’m sure I’m missing some, I believe I spotted the Nautilus, Tinkerbell, the Queen’s Castle from the Enchanted Forest, Camelot (I think), Oz, Arendelle, the Beanstalk, Agrabah, and the Land of Untold Stories. We also catch a glimpse of a dragon. According to an off-camera conversation between Regina and Zelena, the dragon we see is Lily. Indecently, we FINALLY get acknowledgement that Lily tracked down her Dragon Daddy. Turns out that the mystery father was Zorro. Because apparently Zorro can turn into a dragon in this universe. Interesting choice.

But that brings us to the final epilogue. Zelena is bringing Regina to Snow and Charming’s castle in the Enchanted Forest Prime sector. (Wonder where Chad was during this scene. Didn’t Zelena end up marrying him?) It’s revealed that they plan on crowning Regina as the supreme ruler of the United Realms. Ugh, yeah. Don’t get me wrong, because as I’ve said before, I’ve mostly been okay with Regina throughout this season. But why should she get to be the Supreme Ruler? Why does there even need to be a Supreme Ruler in the first place? You can’t tell me all the other royals were okay with this. People like Tiana & Naveen, Elsa, Jasmine, Rapunzel Prime, Guinevere, Merida, Thomas & Ella Prime, Abigail & Fredrick, and Anastasia and Will from Wonderland Prime. Are they all supposed to defer to Regina now? You can’t seriously tell me that they all were okay with that. But that’s what Snow is claiming, so whatever. Which reminds me- we get a brief appearance of Little Neal during this scene. He’s actually stopped being a baby. It looks like he’s now….maybe five or six? I’m not really good at guessing the ages of little kids simply by sight. But the point is that he’s actually not stuck as a baby anymore. So kudos to him.

And so Regina gets crowned as Supreme Ruler of the United Realms. Although, there is a much welcome interruption to the proceedings. Namely Emma and Killian Prime, who come bursting in after arriving late. (With Emma announcing that she’s sorry that she’s late, which was obviously meant to be a callback to how Regina crashed Snow and Charming’s wedding in the Pilot.) The explanation is that their newborn daughter was being fussy and that’s what had delayed them. Even though I knew it was coming, it was still such a joy to see Emma again, looking as gorgeous as ever. She even was wearing her trademark red leather jacket over the pretty pink dress she wore for the occasion. And Killian Prime (who apparently still has his pirate regalia) really did look like a slightly disheveled first-time father. Even though there were moments when the baby he was carrying was so obviously a doll. Also, I can’t tell you how thrilling it was to hear Emma actually refer to Killian Prime as Henry’s stepfather. Yeah, I realize that’s what he was all along, but to just hear it verbalized was wonderful. And yes, we learn the CS baby was named Hope. While it’s not the name I would have picked, since I think that’s a bit too flowery, I guess it makes sense. Especially considering the lives Emma and Killian Prime led before they found each other, and how their love story unfolded.

Once the excitement of Emma, Killian Prime and Baby Hope’s arrival has died down, the coronation of Supreme Ruler Regina continues. Again, why was Regina picked for this role? Wouldn’t Emma have been the better choice? Not only was she the one who originally brought everyone together through her role as the Savior, but she was also the one who was robbed of her royal birthright. Wouldn’t it have been more satisfying to see Emma finally being recognized as the ruler she was always meant to be? Look, I get that Regina was the one who came up with this whole idea of the United Realms and all. But as much as select Regina fans would like to think otherwise, Regina wasn’t the main character. Emma was. So why is the final episode so focused on Regina? For crying out loud, she wasn’t even the focus of this final season. This season was supposed to be predominantly about Henry, and he barely did anything in this series finale. But I guess it’s pointless to harp on it, as it’s already said and done. At least the ending montage was beautifully done. Yeah, during Supreme Ruler Regina’s coronation speech, in which she talks about how there are sure to be many more adventures, we get an amazing montage sequence that exhibits various moments from the show’s entire run. I won’t deny that I LOVED that moment. It was so nice to be able to look back on how far this show has come. At the same time, this montage really drove home that this was it. This was the final episode of Once Upon a Time. And if that wasn’t enough, the episode even ends with one final glimpse of Storybrooke, including the Yellow Bug (which is thankfully not encased in stone along with Stone Troll), ending with a shot of the green road sign that reads ‘Leaving Storybrooke.’

And that’s it, folks. Our show has come to an end. While I knew this day would come eventually, and I’m glad it came when it did, it still feels surreal. We’re never going to see our favorite characters again. This will be the last time we see them grace our TV screens. Sure, we still have the novelizations, which I will probably read at some point. And I believe Jen and Colin said they would not be opposed to making a Captain Swan movie at some point. But even if that movie never gets greenlighted, I think it’s safe to say that this is a show that will live on in my heart, in spite of the issues that sprung up throughout the years. And I will always be grateful to the show’s seven years, and the friends I made within the fandom.

(Click here to read more Episode Analyses)

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braindamageforbeginners · 6 years

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Intent/The First 120 Hours

Cycle 8, Day 11

Everyone always wants to know what chemo (technically maintenance chemo) is like, and I try to give an accurate portrayal, However, the truth is, even with the lighter touch and my new Hunter S. Thompson drug-fueled lifestyle (actually, after reading “Gonzo Girl,” even at my most heavily-medicated, I’m not in the same league), you’ll feel physically and mentally funky (and there’s always that nasty injection site pain from the Marizomib). The good news is, with Marizomib, fatigue is the most-noted downside (I wrote about that previously, but fatigue, I’ve learned, isn’t really exhaustion, it’s when consciousness is painful), so I usually get a full night’s sleep. Thanks to a quasi-legal medical substance, the chemo hangover is cut down significantly, and you wake up feeling, almost too good. So, yeah, in my false sense of recovery, I did push myself a little too hard and sprain something in the bad leg, so I'm spending today on the couch, thanks to that nasty rubbery leg of mine. I try to keep active and fit, but it isn't always a reasonable goal. So, today; rest; tomorrow, more-achievable goals, like going up and down stairs without a deathgrip on the rail.

Anyway, the point of this writing project is to provide some sort of useful data in an easily-digested form, so I thought I’d give a few pointers on surviving the first 120 hours after a terminal (we'll discuss it) cancer diagnosis (with the warning that it’s from my perspective, but what works for me may well be fatal for you; use your own judgment). I’m not talking about self-care or organizing your prescriptions - that’s later in the process. I’m going to tell you what I wish I’d known to survive the first four or five days after the diagnosis (non-medically). This is about how to subtly shift your thinking from "I'm gonna die" to "I'm going to scream into the gates of the Underworld like I own that fucker," which, based on personal experience, might be the necessary attitude to putting off that particular scenario.

1. Do what you need to do, emotionally. One of the shittier things able-bodied people do to new cancer patients is tell them to buck up, or be positive. Folks, if this goes South, I will experience cachexia. Most survivors are sterilized and have long-term health issues related to treatment. You wouldn’t tell someone who’s about to march into the jaws of hell to smile, especially if they’ve just had a seizure or are in pain. If you have to drink a bottle of whisky and drunkenly call an ex, now’s the time, you might not get it later. I think I spent a day dry heaving and lying in bed before I really came to my senses. Do what you have to, but do it quickly because you are now on the clock.

2. Find appropriate help. Just as not all cancers are created equal, not all doctors are created equal. Again, according to Briish stastics, “medical misadvenure” is the third leading cause of death. Having said that, even though I insist on the very best for my glioblastoma, that’s because there isn’t much of a middle ground between “survivor” and “dead” with that. If I get lung cancer or colon cancer, I may not be quite as picky. I’ve talked previously about finding good oncologists, and, as recently noted, they’re usually not motivated by money. And be creative in where you get information; two friends from the Mesozoic contacted me to ask for help with their parents who have glioblastoma. It seemed odd to me that I’d be asked about, especially since one of these friends is a practicing physician. I try to give everyone accurate, well-researched advice, and I hope I did then, but it still feels like there’s somehing wrong in the universe when I’m somewhat knowledgeable about how to handle a crisis. We’ll ignore the self-contained, Zen koan-like irony of that statement in a guide to what to do.

3. Find new friends/join a support group. I don’t know if it’s just brain cancer patients - I don't know if it's just brain cancer patients or all cancer patients, but your previous support group (or key members of it) will be conspicuous in their absence. In my case (and another person I've read of), I heard back from a bunch of random people I literally hadn't heard from in decades (in a few cases). I get an awful lot of passing privilege, but, so far, any time I've dropped the "C" word - it's immediately changed the nature of our interactions. So far, overwhelmingly, people have been kind, or positive, which is great, but it does get grating after a while that any time the phrase "and what do you do?" comes around, there's a stilted shift. You know who absolutely could not give less of a shit about your new medical label (unless you're having a seizure)? Other cancer survivors and patients. And - bonus - they'll actually be able to give you far more accurate and up-to-date info on your disease and/or financial or social resources that might now be at your disposal than I know about. I'm indebted to my old friends from the Mesozoic who showed up to cheer me on in my hour of need (extra kudos to Laura and Julie), but I owe an unrepayable number of favors to the Leukemia Kids (okay, that's the Young Cancer Support Group, but most cancer patients under 40 are lymphoma or leukemia patients/survivors, hence my name)(sorry if you guys don't like it, I'll think of a better one ASAP) who helped me get past that (sort of, I still need all the help I can get). I did not do that, but, in retrospect, it was a massive mistake I didn’t.

4. Prepare for drama - your life is about to become a bad Lifetime Television Special, and it does affect different people in different ways - I know one brain cancer survivor whose husband left her - and you’re going to be doing this while experiencing an amount of fear you’d previously been unable to imagine; the full 31 flavors. You will be - initially - completely overwhelmed by terror. I'd recommend seeing a shrink (I do); all the prescription pads will come out for this one. The bad news is, even if you beat this thing, you don't ever really get over it. I've talked to late-stage breast cancer survivors who say the same thing; even after years of clean scans, the anxiety and fear never fully leaves (it certainly hasn't for me, though, but I'm not even a year out of a five-year deal).

5. know the difference between terminal, incurable, chronic and fatal. I remember which step on the stairway I was on - the third or fourth - when Mad Scientist told me those six words, over the phone (I was traveling at the time), "I'm so sorry, it's stage IV." The world swung, because I suddenly knew not only that I would die soon, but exactly how (that's a really horrifying thing to consider, I wrote one of my fist essays - posted around here, somewhere - to try and capture that sensation). Fatal diseases are like a car crash - they'll kill you. Terminal illnesses are defined by Wikipedia (and I like their definition, since the traditional definition has involved how, subjectively, soon/quick the disease is likely to kill you) as, "an incurable disease that cannot be adequately treated and is reasonably expected to result in the death of the patient." You'll note a lot of weasel words in there that make this nice, elastic definition my favorite, but the phrase I like to hang on is, "adequately treated." Chronic diseases are the ones that last three or more months (or something like that; I did take an intro pathophysiology class that involved knowing the instructor's definition of "acute" and "chronic"). Chronic cancers - like mine and a lot of recurrent leukemias - are ones that require five consecutive years without metastasis or recurrence before you're declared "cured." It's telling of the quality of my medical team that, as far as I know, none of them have ever said the words "fatal" or "terminal" in my presence. Instead, I've been given a series of treatments that really suck (check this blog for any examples you'd like), but, I'd so far rate as "adequate" in that they've kept the disease at bay (for those of you working out, step-by-step along with me how to save yourself or a loved one, that statistic is progression-free survival. I'd imagine, based on how a new immunotherapy has gotten to round 3 just in the nine months I've been in treatment (technically, treatment ended back in February, I'm in "maintenance chemotherapy," but since I have to be in the infusion center every Tuesday, and I have to remain wary of potential problems/side-effects/etc. it's just easier to think of myself as still being in chemo). And most cancers are, technically, incurable. We might have a definitive treatment of some sort, but since it's ultimately caused by damaged DNA, and we can't repair or zap every single rogue cell in your body, most are just genetic time bombs. And, since I've survived the first tumor, a lot of medicine seems to have swung back to reclassify a lot of very treatable (but not curable, apparantly) as either chronic or having that potential. I like to use the idea/metaphor I saw another science writer use; it's like heart disease or diabetes; it'll take a lifetime of management and monitoring, but it may not, necessarily kill you. In other words, you've received a helluva strong first blow, but, even with the gravest prognosis, you might be around for a longer struggle (and time) than you'd thought.

6. Use statistics as guidelines, not rules. This was a big one for me. And it doesn't mean you shouldn't use statistics, or automatically dispute them, but realizing the GBM median life expectancy included both 20-year-olds and 90-year-olds who dropped dead of heart attack and people who refused (or were not candidates) for other treatment. Again, there's a lot of luck involved in this, at every single point, but you can - mentally and physically - prepare for pain, or hardship, or potential heart problems (and react and treat such things). You can't really prepare for cancer recurring or metastasizing, apart from writing your own eulogy (which, come to it, I suppose this is a part of).

7. Decide right now if you want to live or go gentle into that good night - This is far, far more important than you might think, because both the medical industrial complex, your disease, and the basic, horrible logistics of this situation are going to be beyond exhausting. There's a lot of luck here, but, from minute 1, I have had one thing going for me: complete, near-psychotic commitment to actually staying alive. And that's what it'll take (sadly, in more than a few cases, much, much more will be required). You're going to have to charm, cheer, cajole, finagle, and, in some cases, con people like there won't be any consequences, because, if you're unsuccessful, there won't be. And this will give you the required attitude to deal with some of the higher-ups you'll meet in medicine (and scream at them, if necessary). Again, full honors to all my various clinicians and support staff over the years who have never made me feel trapped or impotent by my immediate sitaution, but, at the same time, if any of the sort of arrogance and contempt I've heard of from other folks (including doctors) was actually warranted on behalf of modern science and medicine, there would be no fatal diseases. Again, I'll happily write glowing testimony on behalf of the people treating me, but I've met too many patients who feel like refusing treatment because they're too dejected or frightened to go on, and their doctors or insurance are still charging them (why that's still allowed is largely due to the fact that modern medical insurance is an entirely artificial industry created to meet no demand, and enabled by Richard Nixon and Edgar Kaiser)(again, I'm making none of that up). I'd urge everyone to get up, remember that dead men, women, transgender, non-binary, (and anyone I'm forgetting), do not pay bills; hopefully that'll give you the sort of needed psychological boost to get off your butt and demand more. It's not a sustainable life strategy, but until the end of your illness is in sight, Malcolm X's statement, "By any means necessary" should be your mantra.

8. Don’t lose hope - Believe me, it seems weird for me to write it, and it might very well be warranted in more than a few cases, but I did ask myself, once, why I'd be on the phone the next morning ordering and organizing my prescriptions (orchestrating what substances should be in me on which day is now a more daunting logistics task than the D-Day landings), instead of just sitting quietly in a comfy chair until it was all over (that's still always a temptation), and all I can say is, I guess it was enough to motivate me through another day. And another. And another. And, in the meantime, another treatment has made it to trials, for, wait for it, recurrent GBM (which is what I'll have if the Warlocks miscalculate using the lunar calendar)(no longer a joke; each treatment period is 28 days). I'm not gonna lie, it's gonna get miserable, and not all of us will make it (Hell, measles has a death rate, which, there, that sensation of realizing measles can be fatal, is what a TIA feels like).

9. Mourn your old life, don’t waste time trying to get it back. I made that mistake between Tumor #1 and 2. I'm not making it again. I realize I can only write for myself, which was the horrifying realization that came to define my existence - no one, as far as I can tell, has written a decent, current, useable guide to avoiding the reaper when your number's up. So I guess I'm going to have to stay alive long enough to do that. Also, I don't know if anyone out there's outlived their own life expectancy, but I've already done it twice, and there is no more amazing sensation - no matter what else your life looks like.

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ericvick · 3 years

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Stepping up by stepping back: Partaking the vaccine hesitant

Just lately, on the Massachusetts League of Group Wellness Centers’ communications platform, a wellness employee on Cape Cod posted the pursuing information:

“I required to share what I look at a extremely thriving conversation I had with a hesitant client that can make me truly feel much better in all those situations. This female responded to our text outreach for a vaccination clinic asking if she could get some counseling on the vaccine …We spoke at duration about safety and development, but in the finish she stopped me, saying, ‘I sense like your occupation is just to make me say of course.’ I felt dreadful at to start with, I defined to her that my work is never to make her sense pressured or guilty but only to give her the info we have available to help her make the best final decision for herself and her body.

“She confessed to me that she thinks all the science, she appreciates she should get it, but she is just afraid considering that she has had lousy activities in the earlier with vaccines…We spoke for a when, and in the finish, I advised her we would eliminate her from the call record. I certain her all over again that we help her final decision, and that if or when she is at any time prepared, we are here with no judgment. We thanked each and every other, and she even gave me props for generating her comfortable…This, for me, was the most profitable conversation I experienced to date with a affected individual.”

“You’re probably scratching your head: Why, in a race to get photographs in the arms of as lots of individuals as probable ahead of they get Covid-19 or the coronavirus mutates into a more virulent type, does the Massachusetts League of Group Wellbeing Facilities contemplate this to be just one of our achievement tales?

Our access into the state’s most vulnerable people is deep. Just one in every single 7 Massachusetts citizens receives treatment at a wellbeing center. In Boston, just one of each individual two residents will get care at a wellbeing middle. They normally are living in small, multi-generational residences do the job in important employment and use public transportation. They are the very same communities that were—and, sadly, in some cases, carry on to be—devastated by the pandemic. They are also between the most vaccine hesitant. Our patients’ extra careful attitudes were being verified by a poll organized by the League on public attitudes towards the Covid and other vaccines final December with the Museum of Science Boston and MassINC. The poll oversampled Black and Latinx communities and was administered in English and Spanish. There have been two essential results. The very first was that a the vast majority of Massachusetts people planned to get the vaccine, but wished to wait until finally other folks had absent initial.

The next was that, across all groups, physicians are the most trusted supply of information and facts about the vaccines. But there was a fall of 10 p.c involving whites and communities of shade when it came to obtaining vaccinated right away. That difference can be discussed by the legacy of racism, worries about immigration status, linguistic and cultural isolation, and logistical limitations to entry.

To bridge it, we knew we would will need to attain out to our neighborhood health personnel, dig into vaccine hesitancy scientific studies, and seek input from our associates in the work we do to provide susceptible populations. We would also have to allay our patients’ panic and mistrust by exhibiting them we believed in their great judgment, acknowledging their want to make great decisions, and respecting their autonomy. The good thing is, this solution aligns perfectly with our members’ philosophy of affected person-centered treatment.

The League’s engagement campaign began in January 2021 with the development of products to help folks in having respectful conversations about the vaccine—and permitting people make up their individual minds. The talks can be involving well being middle team and people, among local community well being personnel and individuals, or amongst people on their own with their family members and pals.

There are four sorts of products.

Suggestions for Talks — This is a uncomplicated guidebook for obtaining open-finished, nonjudgmental discussions. They are written at a primary reading amount and are offered in 10 languages at our website, massleague.org.

Prevalent Thoughts and Considerations — Our common issues and fears aren’t like any other individuals out there! They have been tailored precisely for every single inhabitants in Massachusetts, each in terms of what thoughts are provided and in the buy they are introduced. The customizations have been established by listening to the viewpoints of overall health center employees, community teams, and a neighborhood health worker advisory team. They have also been thoroughly published to make them simple for wellbeing center sufferers to have an understanding of and use. They are out there on the League web-site and can be utilised on line or as printed handouts. Experience totally free to personalize them by adding your personal symbol at our website, massleague.org.

Service provider Movies —We requested Black and Latinx health center companies to talk about their encounters of the pandemic, the vaccine, and why they consider persons should really get the shot. But we questioned them to depart their lab coats at home and talk to us as if they were previous friends, not as physicians offering healthcare advice. The result is real men and women sharing their truths, which we think is the only way to genuinely link with clients around the challenges and gains of the vaccine. We are functioning them on regional cable television all over the condition and on social media. The films are obtainable on the League web-site and YouTube web pages.

“After the Pandemic” Artists Films — The remaining element of the marketing campaign, scheduled for late spring and early summer, is a established of pretty short films showcasing artists from every single community chatting about their encounter of the campaign and demonstrating an artwork they did to illustrate the theme “After the Pandemic.” These are meant to rejoice each individual group and encourage those folks who haven’t gotten vaccinated but to do so. They will be operate on social media.

We are now at an inflection issue in the campaign. Lots of of our clients — more mature individuals and individuals with well being problems — have been comparatively keen to get vaccinated. With the opening up of eligibility to anybody more than 16— and now 12—we predicted that we would come across far more resistance, which appears to be to be the scenario. We are now wanting to detect pockets of people who are skeptical or nonetheless on the fence and have interaction with them about the vaccine. If you have some of these men and women in your individual populations or have thoughts about who they may well be and can use our resources to get the conversation started, we welcome your collaboration.

Michael Curry is the president & CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Overall health Centers.

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#hesitant #Partaking #stepping #Vaccine

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attract-mode-collective · 6 years

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Just Another Late Night At The Game Center

And just another massive dose of game culture, as originally shared on the Attract Mode Twitter account, (most of) everything that was shared in the latter half of February. The first half was covered here.

Before I forget: the above is courtesy of erickimphotography.com.

Again, given how short Feb is supposed to be, I figured this post would be too... and it's not. So am wonder if going weekly might best going forward?

Anyhow, where did I leave off last time? Oh yeah; Valentine's Day. And here’s Amy Rose, from the day after, reminding us all that, as great as love can be, it also hurts (via sonicthehedgeblog)...

Check out this devastating big boot from Mario, one that would make the WWE's Undertaker or Kane proud (via suppermariobroth)...

You're no doubt familiar with Julie Bell's work, but are you aware of the close resemblance between her art & the artist herself? (via slbtumblng)...

Some nice, pixelated sukajans we have here (via kauzara)...

Look at these hipsters...

Look at these hipsters standing around, on a Brooklyn rooftop...

Look at these hipsters standing around, on a Brooklyn rooftop in leggings based upon the interactive menu for the Super Famicom's satellite modem peripheral. (via minusworld.co.uk)...

Am legit thinking of getting this shirt covered with quotes from people trying to figure out which Metal Gear character is gay (via kotaku.com)...

Am rather fond of Data Weave, which has more than a passing resemblance to the Eliss scarf that helped put the Attract Mode shop on the map (via prostheticknowledge)...

When you go to bed, don't forget to never use your Dreamcast as a pillow (nor should you ever place it on a bucket filled with leafy greens either, but you probably already knew that one; via posthumanwanderings)...

Not sure which SNK 40th Anniversary shirt I like more (via miki800.com)...

It's just Hidetaka Suehiro, playing... I think The Last Blade? Criminally underrated Neo Geo game btw (via nintendu)...

And the late, great Robin Williams playing Ground Zero Texas for the Sega CD (via celebgames)...

Plus the President of Turkey, circa 1990, playing Galaxy Force II for whatever reason (via historium)..

Pro-tip to any & all custom arcade cabinet sellers: if you're going to photograph someone playing a game on your thing, have said person actually play the thing (in this case, Robotron utilizes dual sticks and no buttons; via arcadephile)...

Today's recommended reading is a follow-up to another older post, one that's all about Willie Williams, who not only inspired Virtua Fighter's Jeffry McWild but also Tekken's Paul Phoenix (via lordmo)...

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After seeing this gif of a young woman punching a dinosaur (or possibly a dragon) in the crotch, I may have to give Capcom Fighting Jam a second look (via kazucrash)...

Sticking with the subject of crotches for just one bit, everyone out there's familiar with PuLiRuLa, right? (via kazucrash)

Just a friendly reminder of how wacky commercials for the PlayStation 2 were back in the day (via kurhl)...

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Back to the subject of dinosaurs... yet still sticking with fun under the sun (via sidestorygaiden)...

If I'm gonna share fan art of unofficial PlayStation 1 era mascots, then I have to pass along this rendering of Abe (via it8bit)...

Seen countless folk play music with a Game Boy or a NES... but a Dreamcast? @slowmagic is the very first, and with a Hello Kitty edition Dreamcast no less...

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Does anyone know if these figures of Dorimukyasuko & friends were commercially produced or if they were just made for the Sega no Game wa Sekai Ichi~i~i~I ad that the image comes from? (via vgprintads)...

We've gotten snowfall here in NYC over the past few weeks, once during during sunset, but alas it wasn't nearly as pretty as this (via kirokazepixel)...

It's been ages since I've posted any Game Culture Snapshots, despite countless promises that I'd fix that. Well, until that finally happens, here just one, from IndieCade East 2018. Which was an epic bust, but hey, at least I finally got to play that Bill Viola game I first encountered at GDC 2008...

PLEASE tell me that GBA Video carts are the new hot means of distributing bootleg Hollywood flicks (via @katribou)...

This part from The Thing always reminded me of Asteroids on the Atari 7800 (via pixpunk)...

I posted this on Twitter, not realizing that I had shared it on the blog once before. But since I can’t find that original post, and since it's so damn nice, plus totally worth looking at again (via humanoidhistory)...

I also need to re-share that Tron movie poster cuz it's the first lead up to this Blade Runner-related spread from Joystik Magazine (via mendelpalace)...

As someone who fetishizes old video game magazines, I'm legit ashamed that I didn't know about Joystik sooner (via here & here)...

Please enjoy a healthy helping of scans from Lovely Sweet Dream, the dream journal that would become the basis of LSD for the PlayStation 1 (via here & here)...

Sorry, but I still think the idea of a multi-billionaire sending his sports car into space just cuz he can to be kinda cringey, yet that doesn't mean I'd don't think this pixelated recreation is any less pleasant (via it8bit)...

I've never been to Beverly Hills, so I have no idea if this portrayal according to Super Chase: Criminal Termination is accurate or not; maybe it was when the game was produced? (via obscurevideogames)...

Meanwhile, closer to where I am (somewhat; am not all that far from Long Island) is Mario & Yoshi & the Book of Revelation (via greathaircut)...

Are you playing Mario? Or is Mario playing you? (via suppermariobroth)...

Game Boys. And Game Girls. Mostly Girls. (via contac)

Before anyone asks, no, I do not have a bigger/wallpaper appropriate-sized version of this super sexy image of a couple of Wiis (via klaus-laserdisc)...

I think I kinda need to do this to my PlayStation (via dreamcast.tokyo)...

... Which reminds of those fancy, souped up by audiophiles PSXs I mentioned a whiles ago...

I celebrated Cat Day in Japan by posting this fave official King of Fighters illustration (via videogamesdensetsu)....

... along with this Monster Hunter fan art (via kerriaitken)...

... plus this highlight of a fave WarioWare: Twisted micro game (via suppermariobroth)...

So yeah, Flash sucks, I get that, but as the platform fades away, so does the opportunity to play games like Fear Less! (via zombie-chaser)...

Thankfully, WORLD OF HORROR, "a love letter to the cosmic horror work of Junji Ito", is something that's much more accessible (for now at least)...

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I don't know much about Dujanah, which has you assuming the role of a Muslim woman with grievances against a military force that's occupying her Islamic homeland, other than it looks extremely compelling...

Yet another game I need to check out is CONTINUUM, which is a shmup that combines time manipulation and Tetris? (via alpha-beta-gamer)...

It's a legit shame that Jetpack Squad has seemingly fallen off the map (via shmups)...

Another shmup that I really, really want to play (though it's starting to feel increasingly unlikely) is AEROBAT, which looks just as gorgeous (and insane) today as it did the first time I laid eye (via shmups)...

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Yet another game that was never meant to be, and the only thing we have here is some incredible looking concept art; if it ended up happening & was any good, I wonder if I'd be a PC-FX owner? (via videogamesdensetsu)...

If a Tokyo Dark Souls was ever to happen, which artist's take do you prefer; this one (via visor-visual)...

... or this one? (via mendelpalace)

You know about celebrity roasts, right? Well, a comedy club in Long Island City had one for Mario, though I have no idea how it went; I had kung fu practice that night...

Me, when the coffee kicks in (via anthony10000000)...

I had no idea that Typing of the Space Harrier was even a thing (via posthumanwanderings)...

It's a bit unsettling how some of Dreamcast Magazine's advice on how to survive Y2K are still useful today, in particular their words of wisdom regarding Seaman (via posthumanwanderings)...

Megadora Man, a Tokusatsu-esque take on the Mega Drive, for Beep! Mega Drive; am assuming his foes are inspired by the Famicom and PC Engine (though am not totally sure which is which; via obscurevideogames)...

Question: how hard would it be for someone in the US to get the first three issues of Famitsu from the Japanese Kindle Store? (via miki800.com)

Been well over a decade since first laying eyes and I FINALLY know the identity of the artist behind a series of Mario illustrations that has long left me stupefied: his name is Ishihara Gōjin (via videogamesdensetsu)...

I woke up the other day with a sense of purpose, with the knowledge that I finally have a mission in life: to do whatever I can to make this dancing kid from Sega Splash Golf a viral sensation (via sonicthehedgeblog)...

Though speaking of morning, been feeling run down as of late, though it's my own damn fault for not having breakfast. Which is why I can't wait for my Persona 3 toaster has yet to arrive (via gasp-theenemy)...

Had no idea that MAME can also emulate those crappy, Tiger handheld games; naturally there's not much to look at, since none of the background is part of the game's code (via lanceboyles)...

Eggman has a sense of humor (via voidirium)...

Eggman also has aesthetics (via posthumanwanderings)...

When you mess with the textures in Wind Waker for the sole purpose of making Vaporwave Link (via pmpkn)...

Man, I really wish each and every mech in Tech Romancer actually had its own anime (via ultrace)...

Before Mappy was a video game, it was a physical game involving real deal robots (via namcomuseum)...

And I swear, one of these days, we'll make available online Zac Gorman's print from Comics Vs Games 2...

In my time I've encountered lots & lots of BMO fan art, so much that it has become increasingly difficult to take notice and be impressed, yet this one managed to do so regardless (via it8bit)...

Let's all take a moment to appreciate the instruction manual for Cubivore, shall we (via skincoats)...

Cubivore's Japanese box art is also very nice (via gaygamer)...

An important message for all parents out there, concerning Minecraft (via reddit.com)...

When you can't afford the licensing fees for Miami Vice, Ghostbusters, Barbarella, I think... and maybe Logan's Run? (via mendelpalace)...

Given how Platoon ended up as a NES game, the idea of the Terminator on a Tiger handheld isn't totally far-fetched (via rewind01)...

And finally, PUT THAT CONTROLLER DOWN, NOW! (via fuzzyghost)

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