#because when terence was small

[igotsnothing]

This is an outtake of Terence and Rhys playing chess, from the last chapter of "Amaranthine". Since Rhys was losing badly to Terence, he resorted to underhanded tactics... This just strikes me as ridiculously comical. Look at him cheating so brazenly! Look at those grabby hands. Poor Terence looks so adorably spooked.

[anamoon63]

RL and Sims update post + a thank you note

(Warning: long post ahead, read at your own risk).

I wrote this post to thank you guys for all the likes and comments you keep leaving on my posts, even though, as you may have noticed, I can't be here as often as I used to. Real life has taken over almost completely, as I think it should. There are too many things going on, with me, my family, my country, even my sims and other games, lol.

I'm not going to bore you with daily life problems, much less with sad and depressive stuff, or with previews of a story I don't know when/if I'll ever finish, the only thing I can tell you is that I'm still busy with a lot of work, (fortunately) and family stuff; plus, I (finally) started going to therapy (yes, at my age). So right now, I'm juggling even more things than I already was.

And so I wanted to thank you for sticking with me, for continuing to read the chaotic stories of my wacky characters without judging them; thank you as well for each and every message you have sent to my inbox, be it questions, or flowers and love; and to all of you who continue to tag me both on sims stuff and cute games, knowing that I most likely won't be able to answer you, really, thank you for continuing to think of me. Your messages soothe my heart in difficult moments, and I wish to answer them all, I just don't know when I will be able to do that, hopefully someday.

Now, my sims story. For those of you who might remotely still be interested, I'm currently revising the next few episodes of Time Traveler which I wrote earlier this year. To be honest, I don't know when they will be ready, I just know the story goes on and as soon as I have reviewed these episodes, I'll start taking the pictures. When will they be published? Frankly, I don't know. It could be early 2025, but no promises, as I don't have much free time on my hands now. I manage to write in the evenings, but in-game photo shoots are quite time consuming and have to be done in peace and privacy, of which I don't have much at the moment. So, if I do decide to publish these episodes, it will likely be early next year, and at a rather slow pace.

About my gameplay, in Sims 4 we will continue with the Wilsons until the end of the season (coming soon), and then we will take a small break. As for The Sims 3, we just finished Patrick's story in Bridgeport, so now we'll go back with The Cho Brothers. First, we'll take a brief trip to Lucky Palms with Terence and Cynthia Cho; then we'll spend a rather long time in Hidden Springs and Starlight Shores, to see what has happened with Tyron, the eldest of the Cho brothers. And last but not least, we'll go back to Uni with Dale and Kelly, who I hope will FINALLY graduate this year, hahaha.

Anyway, I just wanted you to know that I am not gone (yet), that if one day I decide to retire I will make a special post about it, I won't leave without saying goodbye, but that day seems far away at least for the moment. 

Now, regarding Inzoi…

I admit Inzoi has captured my interest. As usual, I'm late to the comment party, but I still want to put my two cents about this amazing game. Seeing the trailers and all those beautiful Inzois created by other simmers got me so excited, and at the same time, terribly frustrated to see that the demo didn't contain any gameplay. I need to actually play the game to give an opinion on it! So far it looks beautiful, though I must say that the character creator disappointed me because the sliders are Sims 4 style, which I've always found a bit complicated, I'll forever prefer the Sims 3 sliders, but hey, I had a lot of fun creating my own Inzois.

Hopefully the graphics and gameplay are as good as seen in the previews and its developers won't “break” it into multiple or turn the into a malfunctioning cash cow like EA did with The Sims 4, and to a certain extent, also with the Sims 3 in its time. I hope with Inzoi they'll go for a complete game, no matter if it's expensive, if I consider it is worth it, I'll give them my money as soon as it comes out.

That being said, it is important for me to clarify that I will not abandon The Sims 3 (or even Sims 4 though I don't play it much) for Inzoi. Ever. Neither do I plan to recreate my sims OCs/games in it, because my sims are exactly that, sims. If I ever get to play Inzoi it will be with entirely new characters, although I confess, I did try to reproduce two of my most beloved sims (a boy from the future and a college girl who is a model *wink*) and they turned out pretty well, but nowhere near as adorable as they look in The Sims 3. Plus, the environments in which those two OCs currently move could not be reproduced in Inzoi, at least as far as I know.

Okay, enough of Inzoi. In short: I'm not gone, I'm still here, I'm still reading all your stories, only at a much slower pace, two or 3 simblrs per day at the most. I'm going to read them all, just bear with me, and forgive me again if I don't always comment. Sometimes I don't even have the time or the energy for that. Believe me, 2024 has been an intense year in every possible way, sometimes I really need a break, but I try to be around and will always find a way to keep in touch, even if at times it seems like I'm nowhere to be found, I'll get back to you at some point.

That's all, thanks for reading this far! Have a nice and beautiful start of the week. 💗

P.S. I wrote this post three days ago, wish I had published it earlier, that way I probably wouldn't have gotten a notification that some Simblrs Community 'removed my membership'. When I clicked in said Simblrs Community icon, it said the community was 'private'. I don't know if that's some kind of automatic Tumblr thing, if there's a committee that decides about this, or if it was just a glitch in the matrix; whatever it was, I'm so sorry I wasn't able to be here to keep said membership. I didn't even know Simblr was a private membership. For what it's worth, it wasn't neglect or lack of interest for my part, just lack of time. I hope one day to be able to qualify again and be worthy of this membership. At any rate, I thank you for thinking of me and admitting me in your community in the first place.

[its-a-me-mango]

MANGOOO!! hello, been shy to slide into asks but i got very curious looking at your SMG4 posts.. do you have any headcanons you think are cool ? Would be a blast to see them! :D

OH HAI!!!! Oh my god I love headcanons so much I promise, but I'm one of those people who immediately forgets them all when I'm asked about them. Also I forgot which ones are mine and which ones are someone elses, thought tbh if someone HC is good enough for me to think I made it then like, that would be a huge compliment to me haha! X3

I have a few that I can think of off the top of my head right now, there's a few that need a whole post to explain but I'll do that when I feel like it, gonna leave out any LGBT headcanons because I already agree with everyone else, they are all gay and trans except the ones that aren't and that's so awesome.

Again forgive me if I repeat someone else's HC, or if anything I say is proven to not be possible, I fucking forgorrrrr;

SMG3 has tattoos, I know I've shown that one already but listen. He has 3, one is a half sleeve on his left forearm that's got a skull and a bunch of bombs and explosions around it, another one is on his right mid thigh which is a memorial tattoo for Terence, and one very small one on his back right shoulder blade that's just a little skull (it's very blown out and old). He'd like to get more at some point, none of the others have any tattoos but he's trying to convince them to get one.

All the SMG's have the little arrow thing that was on their guardian pod as a marking somewhere on their body, SMG1 has his on his chest under his scarf, SMG2 has his under his hat, SMG3 has his on his lower back, and SMG4 has his on the back of his neck, they're all pretty hidden and not too visible, but anytime they use their meme guardian powers they glow.

Tari is just a bird fan in general, for someone who stays inside gaming she sure knows every single bird ever. She's not a bird watcher but she can identify any bird you show her easily, and she's always happy and excited to see bird when she does go out. Obviously though ducks are her favourite, but she like all waterfowl in general.

Karen is divorced, she just gives me divorced girl energy. She has full custody of her kids because her ex was a piece of shit and didn't want them anyway, her kids were all too young to know about him thankfully. She probably got married right out of highschool or something, those relationships never seem to work out. I keep thinking of those "day in the life of a divorced 23 year old" videos like, that's her lol.

Bob's secret hobby is fabric work, you will catch him dead before you catch him admitting or even showing anything he makes, but he makes garments and furniture for fun. Sometimes he'll throw them into the black market and lie about their value for a quick buck and to clear out space, he doesn't care much once they're completed he just likes making them.

I think this one's just semi canon, but SMG4 Mario is secretly really good at reading people, yeah he's kinda dumb but he can pick up what people are feeling in depth, he just doesn't always get why. He's also just a good guy to go to for comfort, not advised though don't listen to him, he's just really good to ramble/vent too (mainly because he won't remember what you said lol).

I'm sure I'll think of more as soon as I post this, but come back and ask again at some point and I'll try and remember them lol

[sapphire-heart-tippy]

Sugar Crash Void Bash: The Fanfic!

chapter 1 chapter 2 chapter 3

CWs: Anxiety, snake mention

Chapter Four: Strawberry Shortquake

chapter 5 chapter 6 chapter 7 chapter 8

“Hngh!” Tippy hoists a large, sparkly blue suitcase onto the bed, “Alright, that’s the last of it.”

“Sweetie, you’ve said that three times now.” Vanilla rubs his husband’s royal blue hair.

“I know, Vans, but this time I mean it.” Ze chuckles. Ice looks around, then puts his hands on his hips,

“Did you pack any shoes, Termite?”

Tippy’s eyes widen and ze quickly unzips the suitcase. Ice lightly covers his mouth with a small chuckle as he watches his husband. Ramón walks into the bedroom’s open door, looking a little nervous. Ice turns to his son, while his husband picks out some shoes to bring,

“Hey, Foofs. Are you all packed up?”

“Oh, uh, yeah, papa.” The teen nods then clasps his hands together, “So. We’re going on some kind of vacation or business trip or…?” 

Ice frowns his brows, looking a little nervous. He gives a polite smile to his son, while his husband tries in vain to press zeir suitcase closed,

“Oh, we’re simply visiting my home country to…” Vanilla looks to his upper right, “expose you to a part of my culture which– that y-you have never seen before. You- this is for your enrichment and education.” Ramón nods slowly then looks away nonchalantly. What is the point in lying to me about what’s really going on? I’m not stupid, papa… 

After the plane trip

Ramón and his fathers leave the plane. The teenager looks outside the airport’s window with confusion, something he has also been feeling as he looked out of the plane’s window.

“Is something the matter, child?” Ice asks his son.

“Yeah uh… I always thought Egypt was just, like, nothing but sand. There's also... grass?” Ramón asks. Tippy immediately starts laughing. Vanilla sighs with an exhausted look, not only from the fact that his son has obviously not been paying attention in class, but because he knows a barrage of puns or plays on words are coming from his husband.

“Well, I guess you better get your grass to the table tonight, because we're gonna have sandwiches for dinner!” Tippy snickers.

“Oh boy...” Ice speaks with an exasperated expression. Tippy giggles and looks up at Vanilla. Ice gives his husband a scolding look. Tippy cackles loudly, making some people turn to look at what’s happening. 

“J-just-” Tippy holds onto Vanilla’s arm while Ramón cracks a smile, biting his lip trying not to laugh. The blue haired man continues, “J-just make sure you don’t wake up Vanilla’s mummy!”

“I don’t have a– ugh. Be quiet, Termite. Not another word from you until we get to the manor.” Ice shakes his head, a little annoyed, but also curious about what other puns his husband has to offer.

“What? Oh that’s not… Fair-oh.” Tippy’s hyena laughs are contagious, causing Ramón to giggle along with him, “G-get it? Pharaoh? Because–” He keeps laughing, “No? Well, I have more puns to keep you sarcopha-guessing!” 

“Tippy.” Vanilla turns sharply to his husband, stifling a chuckle and cracking a smile against his will, “Enough. *chuckle* That is inappropriate.” 

“Sorry, sorry. You know how I get when I’m nervous, baby.” Tippy pats Vanilla on the back. He mumbles, “N’Doul would make even worse puns.”

Ramón chuckles and looks around at the airport. It has been years since the teen had been out of the country. 

“Ice?” A familiar voice speaks, making Vanilla’s head turn in an instant.

“Oh, Terence.” Vanilla replies, “It’s been years.” He touches the small of his partner’s back, “Tippy, you remember Terence, hm? Oh, and this is my son. Ramón.”

Ramón shyly but coolly waves to Terence.

“It’s nice to meet you, Ramón. Wow… You look just like your papa. The resemblance is almost uncanny.” Terence nods at Ramón and glances over at Ice. Ramón smiles then looks away, very perplexed as to why he said that… Terence then turns his attention back to Ice, “Lord Dio has given me specific orders to bring you three back to the mansion. So follow me, you all.”

In the car

Ramón looks out the window of the car. He hears his fathers speak to Terence but doesn’t pay attention to what words they are saying exactly. Instead, he is more focused on the new country he is in. Soon enough, they arrive at the mansion. Terence parks the car and steps out. Vanilla opens the door for his son and smiles at him,

“Well, Foofy, we’re here. What do you think?”

“Whoa!” Ramón looks at the outside of the mansion. Tippy skips around in the little yard and up to the front door. Ice gently pushes Ramón’s back up to the stairs leading up to the door of the mansion. The family and Terence enter the mansion. It’s bitter cold and dark inside, save for a few electric lamps and candles scattered around. Tippy scoffs and leans toward Ramón,

“Tch, wow, and it looks like your ‘tío Dio’ still doesn’t believe in dusting.” 

Terence glances over to him,

“Yeah, well– yeah.” He brings the family up to Dio’s boudoir. Ramón can’t help but feel a bit uneasy when they reach their destination. 

“Ah… there you are.” The golden locked, ivory fleshed man speaks as the door opens. A toothy, fang filled grin spreads across his ancient yet youthful face. He trots over to Ice, planting gentle kisses on either of his cheeks. He leans down and kisses the back of Tippy’s hand, with a grin. Suddenly, his amber eyes land on the bubblegum haired adolescent before him,

“And this… this is the fabled Ramón.” The pasty white man stretches out his hand, tipped with inky black claws, to the young boy. Ramón looks to his papa for reassurance. Ice nods at his son. Ramón hesitantly shakes Dio’s hand, feeling the cold, clammy, corpse-like flesh on his own. 

“Well, well, well…” Dio speaks, his voice low and sultry, soothing to the ears yet something is eerily off about it… very inhuman, quite divine yet unholy. Everything about this man is a walking contradiction it seems, “How are you enjoying your vacation thus far? Hm?”

“O-oh, uh…” Ramón looks to his parents then back at Dio. He gulps then sheepishly replies, “It’s pretty cool, heh!” Dio nods his head, turning to Ice and Tippy,

“It’s uncanny how much he is like the two of you… both in appearance and demeanor. Even as an infant, it was just mystifying, the resemblance.” This makes Ramón confused yet again. This is the second time he has been physically compared to his adopted fathers. E-even as an infant?! What?! Ramón’s heart rate skyrockets.

Dio inhales and speaks again, “At any rate, I suppose it’s time I introduce you to your rooms, hm?”

That’s when an equally as large and buff older man, albeit just a bit chubbier, with blue hair and beard stubble, walks by the room, reading a book.

“Or better yet,” Dio snaps his fingers, “Jojo.”

“What is it–? Oh! Guests!” He closes the book shut, “How quaint, I–” He pauses, “Oh my stars… it can’t be! Mr Ice? Gratuity?”

“Jonny!” Tippy runs over to him and gives him a hug. Jonathan wraps his arms around the petite man, giving a hearty chuckle, “Man, I am never gonna get used to you being so tall… or having arms! And legs! And… everything below the neck! Haha, and you have a beard now!” Ze takes Jonathan’s arm and pulls him to zeir family, “Look, look. Vans and I got married and had an itty bitty!” Ze points to Ice and Ramón. Jonathan clasps his hands together,

“Oh, how precious! What a darling little family you have here, dear friend.” Jonathan shakes Ramón’s hand with a polite smile, “What an honor to meet the child of Mr Ice and Gratuity.”

“Jojo, show them to their rooms. The happy couple will stay in Ice’s old room, Ramón will stay in Gratuity’s old room.” Dio dismisses the four.

On the way to the rooms

“Wait, wait, hold on a second,” Ramón speaks, “So let me get this straight; you were a severed head in a jar. My papa and daddo used to take care of you, and Mr Dio is a vampire?!”

“That is correct, dear boy.” Jonathan confirms.

“...What is going on here exactly?!” Ramón shakes his head in confusion. The three adult men all exchange looks with each other, turn to Ramón and speak in unison,

“We don’t know.”

“H-huh–?!” Ramón gives them all an incredulous look. Jonathan raises his hands up and speaks cheerfully,

“Oh, it certainly is spectacular to have you two in the manor once again!” He shows them around, “It has been a while, yes indeed. As you may notice, we have made some adjustments to our living quarters.” 

“Yeah, I’ve noticed there’s different people working here too,” Tippy begins, “Terence and N’Doul are still here though.” Jonathan nods and points to some new decorations, 

“Of course. Oh, look at these, so delightful. Mr Ice?”

“Yes, Mr Jojo?” Vanilla responds. 

“I hope you don’t mind, but we spruced up your old room a bit.” Jonathan opens the door to Vanilla’s old room. It’s clean and pretty fancy as opposed to how dark and gloomy it used to look, “Dear brother didn’t tell me that you all were arriving, so pardon the dust.”

“No, no, it’s alright, Jonathan.” Ice looks around, memories of his time in the mansion flooding back to him. Nostalgia and dismay of the recollections fill his heart. Tippy immediately jumps face first on the bed while Ice looks around and touches his old sliding closet doors. Ramón points to the right side of the room,

“What’s in there?” 

“Oh, that’s the bathroom, Foofy. Your papa had his own bathroom too.” Ice turns to look at the bathroom door across the room, remembering the first time he and Tippy had showered together. A small smile creeps upon his lips as he looks back on that memory fondly. 

“So… you were basically Mr Dio’s…?” Ramón asks slowly, his voice trails off at the end of his sentence.

“Servant.” Ice glances back at his son, “Yes, I… I was Lord D– ahem, Mr Dio’s servant for a time.”

“Lord Dio?” Ramón tilts his head, much like Tippy does when he’s confused. Ice feels his cheeks grow hot and he nibbles the inside of his cheek,

“Yes, because he is the ‘lord’ of this mansion, my child. You know how there are lords and ladies? Well, he is a ‘lord’.” 

Tippy pipes up,

“Oooh, I thought it was because you practically worshipped the guy–” 

“Tippy.” Ice grits his teeth and scolds his husband softly. The blue haired gentleman looks back and forth between Ramón and Vanilla, 

“I-I’m just kidding! I was just joking, Ramón!”

It’s a little bit of an awkward silence. Jonathan rubs his neck and turns away,

“It’s such a pleasure to have you back, old friend. Alright, dear boy,” He turns his attention to Ramón, “Come with me and I shall show you where you will be staying.”

The two of them leave the room.

Ice sighs and sits on the bed, hanging his head and looking ashamed. Tippy gently touches zeir husband’s shoulder. The brunette looks over at zem with a dejected expression,

“Please don’t tell him…” he looks down at his hands, “about who I used to be. I don’t– *sigh* I don’t want him to think of me in such a bad light.”

“I’m sorry, Vans. I wasn’t thinking.” Tippy rubs Ice’s shoulder.

“It’s alright.” He touches zeir hand, “I was at my lowest point. I did things I’m not proud of. I let L– Dio, goddamn it, humiliate me… sometimes in front of guests. I-I was so blinded by what I thought was love to even think for myself.” 

Vanilla looks up at the top of the door frame for a while, then back down at his hands,

“I worshipped him like a god because he saved my life… you know what I did. He treated me so kindly, with a tenderness I have never felt in my life…” he turns to his husband with a warm smile, “That is… until I fell in love with you.”

“Awww, Vanilla. You soft serve.” Tippy gives Vanilla a little peck on the lips. The brunette holds both of Tippy’s hands gently,

“Then you showed me what real love is like. What it actually feels like to have somebody care about me…” He delicately caresses the cheek of his lover, “I couldn’t ask for a happier ending to this fairytale.”

Tippy chuckles and happily hums against the touch of Vanilla’s knuckles. Ze lightly touches Ice’s left bang, admiring the grey and white streaks mixed with the original brown hair,

“I’ll love you forever and ever… you’ve become such a handsome older man, you know? I’m looking forward to spending the rest of my life with you.”

Ice chuckles, a pleased smile plastered across his face. Those beautiful smile lines on his face, indicating how many years he has spent smiling and laughing rather than frowning and sulking, crease on the corners of his mouth. The delicate little crow's feet on the corners of his honey sunset brown eyes scrunch up with joy. He presses his lips, lightly glossed with his favorite vanilla scented lip oil, right in the middle of his husband’s forehead. 

Meanwhile

“Alright, lad.” Jonathan opens the door to a bedroom, “This one used to be your father’s room! Er, your other father’s room. The one with the blue hair that is.” Ramón enters the guest room and looks around. It’s a little smaller than his papa’s old room. The bed is up against the wall, as opposed to being in the center like in the other bedroom. Ramón sets his luggage down and turns to Jonathan,

“Thank you, Mr Jonathan.”

“Oh, it’s never a problem, dear boy!” Jonathan gives him a warm smile, about to close the door, but he remembers something, “Ah, and feel free to raid the fridge. Just don’t disturb my wife!”

“W-what?!” Ramón recoils in shock.

“Ahahahohoho! I jest, my boy, I jest!” Jonathan chuckles, “Have a pleasant stay, and a good night.” He closes the door gently. Ramón sits on his bed, relaxing a bit. He touches the blanket a little…

“Something tells me he wasn’t joking.”

It’s a restless night, filled with tossing and turning. Chills crawl down Ramón’s back, yet beads of sweat pool across his face. The teen trembles with fear of an unknown threat, clutching his chest with shaking breath as he stares up at the ceiling. Behind his eyes, a cryptic dream of snakes coiling around his limbs plays, all with eyes of crystal, until they make their way to his throat, strangling the life out of him until his eyes go grey. The young boy lays on his side, clinging to his pillow for any semblance of comfort. 

After what seems like an eternity,

Tuk tuk tuk

Ramón jolts up and gasps sharply.

Tuk tuk tuk

“Foofy?” his papa’s voice speaks through the door. Ramón hesitantly climbs out of bed. His hand trembles as he reaches for the doorknob.

Krrrrrrrr

The door opens with a creak. Ice looks down at his son with a sweet, adoring smile. Ramón internally breathes a sigh of relief,

“G-good morning, papa. What’s up?”

“Hmhm, we need you to go ahead and get dressed for the day.” Ice softly rubs his son’s curly pink hair, “Mr Dio wants us all to meet in the dining hall for breakfast. He has some important news to tell us.”

“Oh, y-yeah! Sure. I’ll be right there.” Ramón rubs his neck. Vanilla leans down, about to plant a kiss on his son’s forehead, but he catches himself. Instead, he gives Ramón a polite smile and nods,

“Of course, dear. I love you.”

Ramón gives a nod and a smile right back before closing the door and getting ready. 

In the dining hall

Dio is sitting down at the end of the table, daintily sipping on a mimosa. Vanilla and Tippy are sitting next to each other, touching hands and chuckling between themselves. Jonathan is finishing up setting the table with many different breakfast food options. 

Ramón shyly and hesitantly walks into the large room through the open archway. Dio chuckles,

“Ohohoho, there he is.”

Ramón makes an awkward smile and lazily waves at those at the table. Ice gestures for his son to sit nearby. The pink haired boy obeys and sits next to his fathers. Dio takes a sip of his mimosa and hums a bit,

“Mmm… try some of those pancakes, lad. Add a little bit of powdered sugar, berries, and maple syrup on top,” he does a chef’s kiss, “divine.” 

Ramón nods and helps himself to some breakfast along with his fathers. Everyone begins to feast for a while. Dio clears his throat and turns to Vanilla,

“Ice.”

“Yes, sire?” Ice instinctively asks. Ramón tilts his head,

“Sire?” 

Dio chuckles and takes another sip of his drink as Vanilla’s cheeks heat up. Dio speaks before Ice can say anything,

“Something important I have been meaning to tell you,” He stands up and approaches the brunette. He drags his hand along Ice’s shoulders, stopping at his right shoulder. The blonde leans down and speaks into his ear softly,

“There is… somebody I’d like you to meet…” the vampire pats his shoulder and walks away. As he’s halfway to the archway, he glances behind him at the others,

“I’d like the rest of you to meet him as well. I’m certain he will make an important ally.”

When Dio says that, Vanilla gets tense. He was under the impression that this all was supposed to be a secret from Ramón. It looks like all of that just went out the window now.

Important ally? Okay, this just got weirder. What is going on?! Ramón thinks to himself.

To be continued…

[sailorplanet1997]

i know i SHIP them as a couple (always have been since the first movie) and i may get many hates from others (except for a few) but i think from each of the friendships i believe these 2 have the healthiest friendship out of everybody "The Lost Treasure" really shows it but it's also showed in the first and the third movie even if it's small, it's still there they support each other, they forgives each other after a fight, they cares for each other very much, they trust each other, they're honest with each other, they have each other back if something happens, they listen to each other and respect each other, they don't judge each other for who they are nor their mistakes and they're being there for each other in good AND in bad times their friendship are the MOST realistic from everybody yet they have the MOST healthiest friendship at the same time most people find them toxic (especially Tinkerbell) and for what? because Terence have a crush on her or because Tinkerbell is toxic just because she wanted something from him but newsflash...none of the friendships are perfect but both characters apologized to each other after some miscommunication that temporary broke their friendship and made up to each other after they both realized they needed each other in their lives and their friendships mattered to them both the MOST, just because of some fights between these 2 fairies doesn't make them toxic still people can't convince me to change my mind because i won't ever change my mind about these 2, i ship them for multiple reasons (i'm okay with most ships when it comes to Tinkerbell but i don't have strong feelings for other fairies then i do with Terence) i prefer for them if they were a couple but oh well we can find some fanfics between these 2 fairies i guess (they can learn from each other based on their personalities and their experiences) if there's anything which friendship are the toxic ones in my opinion it's either: James and Zarina or Tinkerbell and Peter Pan, i recognize the signals to a greater or lesser extent when it comes to toxic friendships towards each other (for me Tinkerbell and Terence isn't on my list with toxic friendships, infact it's the exact opposite of toxic friendship between Tinkerbell and Terence)

[alterrune]

Operations Emperors Abyss

Mission 1: Syntax Error

Details: Terence and the Toppat Radical’s have an underground server facility setup in the UK. These server’s contain some details on Terence’s new weaponry and technology. We believe he is looking to robotic warfare with drones and machines, and we want to put an end to these operations. Break into the facility and pull the plug on his servers.

Complications:

Titan Security System: The facility has been outfitted with special security, keycard readers, security panels, and cameras can’t be destroyed or hacked, be careful.

Small Arms Only: We've had issues smuggling weapons to the mission site. You're going to need to bring small, easily concealable weapons. Only pistols and SMGs will be available.

Extra Cameras: Terence doesn’t want to take any chances, so he’s set up a serious amount of cameras in the facility. Because of the Titan Security System, the cams can’t be destroyed nor hacked.

CHAPTER 3, ACT 5: THE ABYSS BEGINS

(All 5 of us are in a sewer line going directly underneath the compound. The plan is to set a few bomb charges and flood their operation with sewer water. The bomb charges are ones that I made, small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, yet packed with enough explosive power to blow a hole through any wall. However, we're all less than happy with the current situation.)

Kyle, what exactly were you on when you thought of this plan?

A LOT of sleep medication, Alter. I've had some really bad bouts of insomnia from this, remember?

Yeah, but even though you were pretty much sleep-talking, you made a valid point. "If they're deep underground, let's go deeper underground". That was what you said, and honestly, it was pretty genius of you.

Alright, pretty sure that's the last of the charges. Are we all ready?

Sweetheart, just detonate the damn things already. WE'RE IN A SEWER!

Yeah, let's go.

(Henry detonates the charges, which causes sewer water to rocket through the floors of the facility up to it's ceilings. Not only are all personel completely knocked out by the blasts, but all the security systems got completely drenched and short-circuted, knocking it out completely.)

WHOO!!! That was AWESOME!

Let's get outta here before someone else shows up, Kyle. Adam, beam us out!

(We're beamed out, and just like that, mission complete!)

CHAPTER 3, ACT 5 COMPLETE

ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: "SEWAGE BLAST"

DISPLAYING EPILOGUE...

(Terrence returns to the compound, only to find the floor to be completely blown out, revealing a sewer pipe below.)

Hey, boss!

(Terrence whips out his gun, but stops himself from firing it when he realizes it's merely one of his underlings.)

What the hell are ya doing down there, ya bloody idiot?!

(Terrence has a heavy British accent. He was raised in the UK, after all, and only moved to the Toppats when he heard they needed a new leader. To him, that was the best time of his life, but to everyone else, it was the worst time in the Toppat's entire existence.)

The CSB got us, sir. Mind helping me up?

(Terrence is about to shoot him, but he decides not to. His rage is at the CSB, not his head scientist. He extends a hand out, helping the poor man out.)

Let me guess, those blokes left a message?

Yes, sir. Here.

(Terrence unfolds the note and reads it.)

Terrence! Long time no see, fuckface! You know, we didn't miss you in the slightest. The Toppat Clan is doing WAAAAY better than when you were in charge, y'know? We all called your tyranical rule the "Age of Suave", because it was so bad it felt like AGES before the Toppat Clan did something about it. And like all tyranical rulers, you were defeated. And if you can be defeated once, it sure as hell can happen again.

Hope you burn in hell, you piece of shit.

Unsincerely,

Kyle Gibbons✍🏼

Alterrune🔺

Violet Wolfsbane💜

Henry Stickmin 🔵

Ellie Rose 💕

(Terrence takes the note, pins it to a corkboard, and throws a throwing knife at the corkboard, landing dead-center on the note.)

Dr. Grey, run a scan. There's someone we need to kidnap for a ransom. "Édouard Labarthe" is his name. And if ya get anymore calls from that bloomin' idiot brother of yours...

Oh, trust me. Earl and I have been out of contact for a while now. As far as he knows...

..."Jerry Grey" has been dead for a long, long time.

END OF EPILOGUE

[snakegorl212006]

FF16 pairs react to gender netural reader who was isekai-ed had cancer back in our world and thought they didn't have it anymore when they woke up in Valisthea, but realize they do, know they won't have much time left since chemo isn't a thing in Valisthea. and worked up the courage to tell them. (Also the ff16 pairs already know reader is from another world)

S/O with any incurable and harmful illness(like cancer or something)

(warning: reader death, death topics, illness, minor angst, minor spoilers)

========Clive + Jill==============

-they’ll be devastated if they knew -both would try ways to cure it

they would be as supported and involve in your life -they’ll shower you with attention and make sure you can do anything the world has to offer(that’s safe and in there limits) -jill would try to ignore the illness as he thinks that would make the situation worse -clive would also try but it’s more obvious he’s bothered by your illness because it reminds him of his brother -if you manage to beat your illness and survive longer than was expected that would be fantastic and you’d see them both cry with joy -if not and you just get worse or even pass away they’ll be devastated -it would take a while to get over the fact that they can’t do anything -that feeling of helplessness has plague them for most of the journey together and your passing from your illness is a nail in the coffin for them -they would try to move on and help free the world in cid’s and your name

=======Joshua + jote=============

-some one give jote a break plez -great now there’s two terminally ill people in the group -Jote would confine you to the same treatment as joshua -she would constantly check up on you when on the road -joshua is more sympathetic to your condition -joshua is dying from his eikon and you are sick from your illness -Jote and joshua would continue trying to find cures for you even when everything is lost -if you survive your illness at the end jote would be happy that you beat your illness on your own and would be proud about how strong willed you are -joshua would be the same -if you pass away before joshua did they would be heart broken and after everything is over, jote would continue her research into your illness and try to find a cure so this doesn't happen to anyone else -joshua would continue his mission in your honor

====Cid===============

-doesn't show that he’s bothered by it but inside he’s freaking devastated about it -he doesn't let your ailment ruin things and how everything is going -he takes you out more and incorporate you in activities that you might enjoy -he understand that this will affect you in the long run so he tries to include you in less missions -if you survive your illness, he’d throw a celebration for you. A small one with just the two of you -if not he’ll visit your grave every time he could -when he too passes away, he would want to be next to you

====Benedikta============

-no no no no no no no N O! -your not sick -your not ill -your NOT leaving her -she’ll down right ignore your illness until you end up exhausted and week from it -she would take her frustration on the medical staff for not curing you and would punish them if they fail to do so -slowly she would give up hope for a cure -she would lock you away to make sure you don’t get infected with anything else -she would take you out to the nieces places just to see you smile for she believes it might be the last she might see it -she would consider killing you herself so she can end this on her terms but could never bring herself to do it -if you pass from your illness, she would become empty a deeper shell of herself -would return to her more canon behavior but more depress and cruel -last resort she would beg barnabas to turn you into an akashic like him -if you live and survive, she’ll take every part of your recovery and will be more careful with you -she doesn't want to lose someone she loves -never again…

======Dion + terence==============

-also on a denial streak but more reasonable -much like Joshua and jote they would try endlessly to cure you -definitely treat you like broken glass unless you say otherwise -Both would visit you more often -after some decision, dion would try to give you lavish treatment to the best doctors to keep your condition stable -this would let the king know that you exist as Dion’s lover(that’s another issue that i might make separate headcanon if you get discovered on normal circumstances) -Terence would give you gifts and spend more time planning fun thing you all would enjoy -Dion would also take time away from his duties just to take you to do anything you wish -if you pass away, both would be devastated -If you live, they’ll be ecstatic and probably would make your relationship more public tbh -unless you still want to keep some privacy -but life would never be the same if you gotten better

====Barnabas + Sleipnir============

-not even bothered by it -they love you yes but death won’t stop them from being together -unlike everyone on this list, i don’t think they’ll try to find a cure after you given the info that your sick and it’s not curable by the technology in this world -they would spend time with you more than they already did -will be stricter with your time outside with others -if your illness becomes too much(like hair loss or bodily weakness) they would offer you to turn into an akashic much like barnabas -if you were about to die this won’t be a choice -you’ll become a akashic at the end of the day

====Hugo============

-calmer denial -like Benedikta he would be heartbroken and can’t comprehend losing you -would punish doctors who failed at curing you and won’t stop until you feel better or get rid of the ailment -unlike the others, his desire to help you could draw him away from you and bury himself into saving you -he would spend money on different experimental techniques into helping you -seeing you get worse breaks his heart and sometimes avoid seeing you like this, if you end up getting worse. -if you end up passing he’ll blame himself for not trying harder and would dedicate time and resources into making a memorial for you -if you live he’ll break down -you would hardly see this man to be completely vulnerable with you but this would be the few and i mean very few times he would crack -he loves you so much..

[theanticool]

My top 10  most anticipated fights of the weekend (7/31/2024-8/5/2024). In no particular order. But also, bonus stuff cause there's more stuff going on I'm happy to see.

Terence Crawford vs Israil Madrimov - Terence Crawford is arguably the best boxer on the planet. He went undisputed in 2 divisions. He absolutely picked apart and tore up an elite welterweight in Errol Spence. And now he’s got his eyes set on Canelo. But that means trying to bridge 3 weight classes. So he’s moving up to super welterweight, where he will challenge WBA champion Israil Madrimov. And while the Boots fight is the one boxing fans wanted to see, Crawford is a 36 year old moving up a weight class to fight a young undefeated world champion. Nothing to sneeze at. Madrimov is a more than capable world championship level boxer and there isn’t a ton of tape out there on him because he’s still relatively young in the game. The table is set for some magic.

Cory Sandhagen vs Umar Nurmagomedov - UFC on ABC 7 - First time we will see Cory Sandhagen in almost 11 months after he tore his tricep mid-fight against Rob Font. Crazy to see how quiet it’s been for Sandhagen, even with the injury. The constant flux of the 135lb division has had him lost in the narrative. With O’Malley becoming champ, his weird rematch with Chito, Yan finally getting the bounce back win, Figs moving up to 135lbs, Cejudo coming back, and now Merab finally getting his title fight, I feel like Sandhagen is an afterthought. But nothing will boost your career like putting an L on a Nurmagomedov. Umar has done his part of adding to his father and brother’s family legacy, winning 5 straight inside the UFC to stay a perfect 17-0. The interesting part of this one is Usman has a propensity to strike with his opponents, far more than his brother did while Cory has shown he is susceptible to a heavy, aggressive wrestling game. We’ll see how it shakes out but I’m super excited for this one.   

Chito Vera vs Deiveson Figueiredo - UFC on ABC 7 - this one has stinker potential. I like Chito, but the man spends 95% of every fight just walking forward throwing nothing. He’s got huge potential for violence. He finished that otherwise one sided beating of O’Malley by hurting him with a bad knee to the body. But he will just let you circle if you want for 15-25 minutes. And I feel like that is a lot of what Figueiredo has built his game around at 135lbs.He’s not the huge powerhouse bulldozer anymore. He’s just a really fast, accurate puncher who can leap across distance. I can see this being a fight where rounds are decided by like a handful of exchanges. But still hyped as I like watching both fighters fight when they’re at their best. 

Elves Brener vs Joel Alvarez - UFC on ABC 7 - Brenner is fun. Alvarez is fun. Alvarez is a 6’2 freak at 155lbs who likes to use his size to set up submissions (he’s won all 20 fights by stoppage, 17 by sub). Brener is a Chute Boxe fighter. Nuff said. Should be electric while it lasts. And I don’t expect it to last terribly long.  

Dakota Ditcheva vs. Jena Bishop - PFL 7: 2024 Playoffs - I’m not sure if this fight will be competitive. Small sample size but Dakota Ditcheva really looks like the goods. But Jena Bishop is an elite jiu jitsu player and if you’re going to get exposed for your lack of grappling skills as a striker, she’s the type you lose to. Ditcheva is a fantastic striker who has shown some tremendous finishing ability against lesser competition. Jena Bishop will be the best fighter she has fought thus far and it’ll be interesting to see if the knowledge of her grappling skills causes Ditcheva to forego some of her tools to avoid possibly being taken down.

Taila Santos vs. Liz Carmouche - PFL 7: 2024 Playoffs - A weird fight. Feels like with a different bracket, this is the final. This has stinker potential too tbh. Carmouche is not historically a fun fighter and Santos is someone who is more known for giving Valentina Shevchenko a hard time rather than a fun fight. But the interesting thing for me is which version of each fighter shows up. Santos is so content to grapple, wrestle, etc with a lot of her competition and when forced into that type of fight, can prove to be incredibly difficult to handle. Carmouche is someone who theoretically will try to take her down and beat her up with elbows from inside the guard/half guard. But we’ve also seen instances of Carmouche getting an opponent who she will decide to strike with, because the idea of extended grappling sequences seem too much or too risky. I’m interested in that dynamic, even if it makes for a hard 15 minutes to watch  

Andy Cruz vs Antonio Moran - It’s Andy Cruz. Of course I’m interested. The rush does not stop. Cruz has fought competition high above the benchmark for guys just starting out their careers. He’s fighting former world title challengers at the very start of his pro career. And working with Bootst team in Philly shows me he’s serious about become not only a world champion but a big player in the sport. He gets a spot on the undercard of Crawford-Madrimov. Matchroom is positioning him for big lightweight fights. And while Antonio Moran isn’t a world beater, he is a guy who is 30-6-1 and been a step up fight for fighters like Devin Haney, Arnold Barboza, and Jose Pedraza. 

David Morrell vs Radivoje Kalajdzic - David Morrell was the scariest fighter at 168lbs. HUGE power out of both hands with some really crafty set-ups thanks to that Cuban amateur background of his. But with the politics of the division revolving around Canelo, he decided enough of that and has moved up to 175lbs is search of a big fight. Radivoje Kalajdzic is a fine 175lber in his own right. Not a world champion level but a fine first fight in the weight class with some pop himself. And considering how hard it was for David Benavidez when he made the jump against Oleksandr Gvozdyk, we’ll see how much of Morrell’s power really carries upwards. 

Nabil Anane vs Felipe Lobo - I don’t know as much about Nabil Anane as I should but from what I have seen he is 6’7 fighting at 145lbs. A true Muay Thai Sebastian Fundora. And I’m here for it. Lobo is always a fun fight, win or lose. Nabil has won 3 straight in ONE and looked like a killer in the process. What’s not to love? 

Dedduanglek vs Nakrab 2 - A rematch of a fight I remember really enjoying the first time around. 

Honorable mention: 

Caroline Dubois vs Maira Moneo - I had a secret 11th fight I wanted on here. Rare in recent weeks seeing as a lot of folks are taking off for the summer. Caroline Dubois is emerging as a true elite talent at lightweight. With Katie Taylor up at 140lbs, those LW titles are potentially floating in the ether. Dubois is looking to grab the interim WBC belt in a fight against a very game Maira Moneo. Haven’t seen much of Moneo but she has a win over an old but game Erica Farias. Can’t put this in the top ten because I don’t know Moneo like at all but I’m always excited to see Caroline Dubois. 

Olympic Wrestling - Olympic Wrestling starts on Monday, August 5th. And to me, it’s by far the most fun combat sport at the games. You got so many fantastic wrestlers competing this year. Akhmed Tazhudinov, Stevan Micic, Rei Higuchi, Hassan Yazdani, Amir Zare, Geno Petriashvili, etc. Mijaín López is looking to become the first ever 5x Olympic gold medalist in Greco-Roman, cementing himself as the greatest Olympic wrestler of all time. Yui Susaki is looking to etch her name as the heir to Kaori Icho and Saori Yoshida and lead the Japanese Women’s Wrestling team into their next era of dominance. American Amit Elor is the future of the US Wrestling team and after capturing 8 gold medals at the world level in the last four years, she’s looking to add a gold medal. Speaking of Americans - Kyle Dake, Spencer Lee, Zain Retherford, Kennedy Blades, Aaron Brooks, Kyle Snyder, Mason Parris, Dominique Parrish, Helen Maroulis, Kayla Miracle, and more. It’s a great squad. They’ll definitely bring home some medals. Looking forward to it!

Feel free to show what has got you all excited this week in the world of combat sports.

[dumbsmoothie]

"Hello there, Duchess!"

Truth be told, Eir still hadn't become quite used to being addressed as such. It was possible that she never would. Even so, the impish tone that had dripped from the formal title had allowed her to discern who the speaker was before even laying eyes on him. There had only been one person who had referred to her as 'future Duchess' whenever he had been in a playful mood–which had been quite often. "I bet you've been dying to say that, huh?" she cheekily commented as she turned to greet the latest party guest to arrive.

Gav had been grinning from ear to ear as he came to a halt. A laugh escaped him as he admitted, "Maybe." He then proceeded to feign a troubled sigh while placing his hands on his hips. "Now I have to think of a new nickname." The act soon ended. From the way that his eye scanned the area, Eir could hazard a guess as to what he had been searching for.

"Oh, I see how it is," Eir stated as she withheld a giggle. Folding her arms across her chest, she concluded, "You actually came over here to see my baby instead of me." Of all the men who had resided in the Hideaway, Gav may have been the only one to dote on infants more than Clive.

As if the accusation had wounded him, Gav stumbled backward with a hand clutched at his heart. "Can't it be both?" he questioned with performative melancholy.

Eir couldn't help but laugh. "Well, you'll have to go and find him yourself," she informed him with a playful wave of her hand. "Joshua had him, then Uncle Byron wanted to hold him, and shortly after that, Clive wandered off with him." Considering the fact that Jill had been sharing the tales of their travels with her at the time, Eir knew that Clive hadn't done so with the intention of bringing his nephew over to see his wife. "I figure he'll magically find his way back to me when he's hungry." More often than not, that was always the case.

"I suppose that means he's in good hands then, wherever he is," Gav responded with a laugh. Suddenly, he straightened his posture as if he were a soldier standing to attention. "But never fear, Duchess! Good ol' Gav will find 'im for you!" A grin accompanied the goofy salute of a few fingers before he promptly turned heel to carry out his self-appointed mission.

A couple rounds of casual conversation later, Eir's small break of sitting outside on the grass with Torgal was interrupted by the increasingly noticeable, discontent grumbling of an infant who happened to be on a short fuse to wailing.

"I fear he may be growing hungry," Terence explained as he approached with the baby swaddled in his arms. Walking alongside him was the sweet girl who had almost been dispatched by Joshua's overly cautious attendant so long ago--which Eir would casually remind Jote of as a means to tease her.

While Eir climbed to her feet, Kihel added with a giggle, "Pri--I mean, Dion thought he had started crying simply because he held him."

The smile on Terence's face widened before he bit his lip slightly to hide his amusement. Despite it being a matter of unfortunate timing, his Prince must have suffered temporary distress when confronted with what had been assumed to be rejection. "Yes, he was quite... panicked." Dion may have prevailed against Ultima, but a crying baby had bested him in the end.

"Oh no!" Eir laughed as she accepted her son into her arms. Shifting her attention to the infant that had been temporarily soothed by the sound of her voice, she playfully stated, "I guess we know who will be the first to hold you once you're content again, huh?"

[raviliuz]

Flintwood soulmate au

That's kinda long and kinda cute-funny i guess. Anyways, Flintwood is so perfect for soulmates au

Marcus Flint told himself he didn't care who his soulmate was. Everyone was incredibly excited about it, it was the only interesting topic around sixteen-year-olds, they analyzed their signs, trying to guess who their soulmate was. Marcus, however, was most weirded out by couples, stressed that they might not turn out to be meant for each other. They loved each other, they knew that their relationship worked well and made them happy, and yet they were willing to give it up for someone they might not even know.

Flint knew from the examples of his and his friends' parents that both a soulmate relationship could be a disaster and a relationship between people who, according to the universe, were not meant for each other, could be perfect and full of love. He didn't get his hopes up for the whole farce.

Despite this, when he went to bed on June 21, he couldn't stop thinking that when he woke up in the morning, he would have a tattoo of his soulmate.

***

On the morning of June 22, Marcus had a hard time stopping himself from examining his body for the tattoo. He didn't want it to be the first thing he did when he woke up. He didn't want to admit to himself that he cared.

He was saved by Terence Higgs, who, unasked, said:

"Below your collarbone."

Marcus slept shirtless. They had a room just the two of them, he and Terence, and Flint was always comfortable around his closest friend. After all, the blond had seen much more than his muscular stomach.

Higgs had had a soulmate mark for six months now. On the palm, near the thumb, there were waves and a purple shape they still hadn't identified. Terence would never admit it, his parents weren't soulmates after all, and they were an incredibly lovely couple, but he cared who his soulmate was. It annoyed him all the more that he couldn't even tell what it was, let alone who it might symbolize.

Marcus looked at himself in the large wall mirror that hung next to their wardrobe. He automatically looked down at his collarbones and almost laughed at the tattoo. Broom. Well, he could agree with the universe, apparently, he and his soulmate were a good match. It wasn't an ordinary broom though, it looked a bit like branches with leaves and reminded Marcus of a Russian school of magic where Quidditch was played on small trees.

He stopped laughing two days later when Lucian Bole, who was by far the best in herbology among them, made him realize that the twig growing from the broom was most definitely an olive tree. Marcus didn't know many Quidditch-obsessed Olivers. Fuck.

***

Marcus did nothing with this information. Contrary to appearances, he did not hate Oliver Wood, he considered him a great player, but the younger Gryffindor was so easily irritated and it gave Marcus a strange pleasure. But he didn't think Oliver shared his opinion, and regardless of their relationship, Marcus knew he wasn't anyone's ideal.

So he hadn't mentioned it to Oliver, who was still a year away from his sixteenth birthday, but the thought always flashed through his mind when he and Oliver were arguing and arguing. He found it a little amusing.

***

Oliver Wood stayed up all night waiting for the characteristic itch of his skin. Most people got their soulmate mark shortly after midnight, regardless of what time someone was born. So Oliver waited, taking advantage of the fact that it was vacation and he didn't have to get up at all.

Wood would describe the feeling as a tickle rather than an itch, but perhaps that's because his tattoo appeared on his ribs, reminiscent of the feeling of running your fingers over someone's ribs to tickle them. Even though it was a late hour, he switched on the light to examine the newly created tattoo. He was genuinely surprised. Usually, the soulmate mark had its symbolism and referred to the person destined for man. The meaning of their name, passions, favorite things, or colors. Meanwhile, Oliver had... a stone on his ribs. A gray boulder with irregular shapes.

***

Neither Oliver nor any of his friends could understand what the boulder in his ribs might have symbolized. Wood didn't care too much about that. He'd thought about it a lot over the summer, but when the school year and with it the Quidditch season started, the stone moved to a very distant place in his mind.

***

Everything went down in November.

Oliver went flying, taking advantage of the drizzle that kept most people from being active outdoors. But of course not one particular Slytherin. Marcus Flint flew aimlessly around the pitch and between the loops. As soon as Oliver entered the pitch, the Slytherin flew over to him, and as always, they began to argue. Wood hated that amused smirk that always showed on Flint's lips when he was barely keeping his fists from clenching. At one point when Oliver bluntly called him an unprincipled creature that brings shame to the human race, Flint laughed and swashbucklingly said:

"Not a nice way to talk about your soulmate."

***

Flint couldn't help himself. He hadn't planned on confessing their bond to Oliver. He often wondered what Wood's tattoo looked like and whether the boy knew they were soulmates. Now, seeing his face, he was sure that the Gryffindor had not deciphered his tattoo.

"Excuse me, what?!"

Marcus laughed at Oliver's indignation. He hadn't expected a positive reaction, so he was glad it was at least comical.

Flint took off his shirt without a word. He would have been able to show the boy his tattoo without it, but he wanted to show off his muscles. Is there anything wrong with that?

***

Oliver blushed as the Slytherin randomly began undressing. Flint pointed to a small drawing under his collarbone, Oliver looked at it, and before he could protest that the broom wasn't necessarily related to him, Marcus explained:

"Those twigs and leaves, that's an olive tree, Oliver Wood." He gave him a suggestive look "What does your tattoo look like?"

Oliver ignored the older boy's question and stepped closer, then without warning ran his finger over the tattoo. He felt a pleasant shiver, and Marcus hissed. Hell, it's all true.

After that, he lifted his shirt, showing Flint his ribs.

"I have a boulder on my ribs, a bloody boulder. I have no idea what's that supposed to mean."

Flint chuckled and between laughter asked:

"You do know what a flint is, right? You've literally had my surname on your ribs for three months and you haven't figured it out?"

Oliver got angry. A stone is a stone, why delve into the topic. Now the drawing seemed awfully obvious to him, not even a hidden meaning, just Flint.

"Since when did you know we are meant for each other?"

"It was pretty obvious, about two days after my birthday, I was sure it's you," Marcus admitted.

"And you didn't say anything?!" Oliver yelled, "for a year and a half?!"

Flint didn't seem bothered by his anger and shouting, he awkwardly scratched his head and explained:

"What did you expect? That one day during a fight I'd randomly confess to you that according to the universe, we would be a perfect couple?"

The Slytherin said it ironically, joking about the bizarreness of the situation. It wasn't until the words left his mouth that he realized it was actually true. Oliver noticed it too and didn't fail to point it out.

"You literally did it today, why not a year and a half ago? You selfish asshole, you laugh at my ignorance of boulders, at least I'm useful for anything more than Quidditch..."

The string of insults was interrupted by the boy's loud laugh.

"For your information, I draw, pretty well from what I've been told, and I'm a hell of a magic dueler," Marcus rarely bragged, but he liked to surprise the Gryffindor. His puzzled expression was almost as funny as the furious one "By the way, it's not very nice of you that the first thing you do when you find out I'm your soulmate is to yell at me."

Marcus' voice definitely didn't indicate that he was actually feeling unfairly treated or hurt.

"The second thing I'm going to do is break your nose."

Flint burst out laughing, not expecting Wood to follow his threats.

***

Oliver, as well-mannered, polite young man he was, took Flint to the Hospital Wing, making sure not to stain his robes with the blood still dripping from Marcus' broken nose.

Madam Pomfrey sighed hopelessly when she saw them. Both boys made frequent appearances in the Hospital Wing, especially Oliver. Wood spent a lot of time on that bed, both due to injuries from games and training, and general exhaustion. The boy often ignored his own body and overtrained himself, which ended up with nights in the hospital wing and chatting with Madam Pomfrey.

"What happened?" She asked, not sure if she wanted to know.

"I broke his nose," Oliver openly admitted. After all, he had no reason to feel ashamed or guilty.

"Oliver," Pomfrey groaned, "You know I have to inform Professor McGonagall? It's shameful to break someone's nose. Again."

Marcus kept his head down, letting the blood flow freely, though it almost stopped by now. Madam Pomfrey placed a cold compress on his neck and gave him a painkiller.

"Please don't tell Professor McGonagall, there's no need to" Marcus protested. "Let's not lie to ourselves, it's not the first time and it probably won't be the last time. There's no reason for me to want to send him to detention, what do I get from that?"

Oliver sighed in relief as the boy stood up for him. Apparently, Flint agreed with him that he deserved a broken nose. Wood wasn't afraid of losing points, he didn't care much, but the detention was just a waste of time that could be used for training.

"Can you at least explain to me what happened?" Pomfrey sighed deeply, mending Flint's nose.

She didn't understand something about this situation. Oliver had broken Flint's nose, yes, that had happened before, but he also had brought the Slytherin to the hospital wing, propped on his arm, and was still sitting there.

"Don't even get me started," Wood growled, as if forgetting that the boy was sitting next to him and could hear everything. "That... Marcus knew we are soulmates for one and a half years and hadn't thought that it might be nice to tell me about it. He told me that today without a reason really, and randomly started undressing" Oliver sounded indignant, he locked eyes with Madam Pomfrey "I'd like to make it clear that I did not take his shirt off. Well, didn't he deserve what he got?"

Madam Pomfrey was horrified at this news. She knew from her own experience that the more contact there was between the two, the more often they showed up at the Hospital Wing door for a variety of reasons.

But despite all that, she thought, Oliver had brought him here and still hadn't left, waiting for him to get his nose fixed and Flint, even listening to the rant about him, didn't seem upset and didn't even want to cause Wood any trouble.

While Oliver was telling the origin of Flint's broken nose, Pomfrey had just managed to fix it to how it was before. There was no difference. Marcus thanked her for both fixing his nose and not telling the other teachers about the situation.

Then he did something that surprised everyone in the room, probably even himself:

"Wood, how about the third thing you do with this information is go to Three Broomsticks with me?"

Wood did not refuse.

[21stcenterry]

✺ — what's up, danger?

the unfazed everyman of foundationhq, as penned by DORIAN.

perfect stranger dossier / fhq. task 001

basics

𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄 Terence "Terry" Okello

𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒 Aforementioned "Terry" but if you want to save some syllables "Terr" is an option

𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐌 Daniel Kaluuya

𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐔𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐒 Hair styled in short sponge twists and low fade, trimmed stache and beard, and a thousand-mile stare

𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐎𝐎𝐒 / 𝐏𝐈𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 A half-arsed one on their wrist from some bloke in bristol that Terry got while three sheets to the wind. Terry can't even make heads or tails out of it. Calls it "the scribble you make when checking if a biro ran out of ink"

𝐀𝐆𝐄 / 𝐃.𝐎.𝐁. 34 / December 21, 1989

𝐙𝐎𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐂 Sagittarius

𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐎𝐖𝐍 Southwark, London, England

𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘 Dembe Isabirye (Mum), Solomon Okello (Dad), Julian "Juli" (Younger Brother), Cornelia "Nelie" (Younger Sister)

𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 / 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐒 Non-binary, they/he

𝐒𝐄𝐗𝐔𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 Gray-ace

𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐋 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐒 Single

𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐒 Reserved, easygoing, tolerant

𝐍𝐄𝐆𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐒 Indifferent, passive, incurious

𝐇𝐀𝐁𝐈𝐓𝐒 Clicks their tongue at kids, something he picked up from babysitting his younger siblings. Reads magazines and leaves them around after. Midnight cravings for sandwiches. Wired like a night owl. Sleeps through movies at the theatre

𝐇𝐎𝐁𝐁𝐈𝐄𝐒 Sleeping, staying warm and alive, betting drinks on a round of billiards, rubbing his shitty tattoo when he gets nervous, which is rare

𝐏𝐄𝐓𝐒 (𝐋𝐄𝐅𝐓 𝐀𝐓 𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄) None

the foundation

𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐅𝐅 𝐓𝐈𝐓𝐋𝐄 Junior Security Officer

𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍(𝐒) Worked at a lumber mill, car mechanic, small dairy farm, Sainsbury's, various pubs, food cart, janitor, bouncer, overnight stocker, telemarketer, waiter, dog groomer, horse groomer, ferret groomer

𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐍𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 Guard work at Site-91, turned out a tad dodgy for his fellow mates

𝐒𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐒 / 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐒 Basic firearm training, keeping calm during security protocols, basic office duties, has a food hygiene certification (expired), able to dissociate on command, can tell the difference between coke and pepsi

extras

𝐁𝐈𝐎𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐇𝐘

TW: divorce, death, dark humor referring to suicide

Terence "Terry" Okello, born in London Town, is an un-special bloke. They'll even tell you that. Low middle-class household, working parents separated rather mythically by the crack of dawn and graveyard shifts, their adolescence jiggered up babysitting a younger brother and a sister as a teen. They whip up chip butties to stretch their food and sit in front of the telly to distract themselves from a life bound to go nowhere. It was what it was, you know? Some people were winners, and some people were Terry.

Their Mum and Dad split up when Terry turned 18, citing irreconcilable differences; their brother went with Dad, their sister went with Mum, and Terry's new girlfriend they met at a trade school broke up with them, so they were really in a pickle by the time they became an adult in the eye of the Law, weren't they. Well, stiff upper lip and all that. Can't cry or complain, relationships are fickle. Love is dead! Carry on! Terry went paycheck to paycheck, job to job, couch to couch, doing God-knows-what to survive and get a cheeky extra for a pint.

No one liked a jack of all trades that much, though. Recruiters and their ilk despised it, actually. Asked Terry questions like why did you only stay for 4 months at Sainsbury's, and what are your foreseeable goals for the future? Sneering at their well-traveled CV, Terry could only get entry-level things because they didn't show enough of that charming Hooray Henry spirit for the white-collar positions, namely a branded suit and tie from Harrods. Terry couldn't give a damn. These interviews were a load of tosh.

So, after bouncing around for a few years, Terry finally stuck to a job. Err, instead, a job stuck to them. It was a security position at a privately owned manor in Rural Yorkshire. The amount of money they listed felt comically scammy, but Terry was racking up a bit of debt. While they weren't the biggest and meanest, they knew how to project their voice and appear threatening. Ish. They filled out a resume, spent a week faffing about, and surprisingly got through the phone interview all right. All the bloke on the phone wanted was someone who could keep mum about the work. Easy enough, Terry said.

Wonderfully, the job was! No shady dealing bosses, watering hole gossip, middle management power trips, and the greatest spooks Terry faced on the job were a couple of drunk teenage vandals. Being able to send Mum cash instead of asking for money for once felt good. So they stayed as a nightshift guard at the Eckhart House for a couple of years.

Little did Terry know their golden goose was hiding a rotten egg. Underneath the manor was a Foundation facility known as Site-91, and Terry found out the hard way when they agreed to trade shifts with another guard, who was a bit too happy to see his daughter's first-grade play recital. While running for their life, Terry realized this was why they avoided chumming it up with coworkers wherever they had worked. Work "friends" made their business your business, and Terry didn't want any business that involved xenobiological specimens and thaumaturgical artifacts. What kind of bonkers story was this? And why did it almost tear Terry's arm off when they waved their flashlight?

Following the traumatic encounter that left even Terry, the one who can't be arsed with even reporting someone hitting their motor, a bit rattled with a broken arm in a plastic cast, they received another call- the recruiter from years ago.

The first thing they asked was, Did you tell anyone?

And Terry said, No? ...Aw. Aw. Fuck, you're gonna kill me, aren't you, mate. Well, can you make it seem like none of my family was involved, at least? I can write a note to add a touch of realism...

Good for Terry; they weren't slated for an abrupt end to their mundane life. Bad for Terry, though, because their simple life was going to change. They were introduced to SCPs and what the Foundation truly was. Terry had thought "The Foundation" was just some kind of marketing ploy, a catchy name for the security business, of words that didn't matter but sounded like a right dream, like Vigilance, Safeguard, and Integrity.  

As they had told the recruiter at the start of the job, Terry kept their head down and, at times, looked slightly off to the right. Just so to not accidentally witness some time travel portal swiping up lab coats left and right. Their job was to guard a single hallway, and fighting some space god was rightfully- thankfully- out of their pay grade. And they'd be fine keeping in line for the next so many years... But some people were nobodies, and some people were Terry. 

The Ethics Committee called, lad. Pack your things and kiss Mum goodbye.

𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 I like all sorts, but I'd love to write a friendship that contrasts with Terry's no-nonsense demeanor, some work buds grabbing a drink at the end of the shift if we have shifts... someone that Terry drives crazy, vice versa. Honestly, anything.

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑 / 𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐒 poster child for unfazed everyman, unlucky everydude, fish out of water, dull surprise, action survivor, weirdness magnet, apathetic clerk, conditioned to accept horror, safety in indifference, terse talker, bystander syndrome, the slacker, closest thing we got, subverted red shirt, sarcasm mode

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 OJ Haywood (Nope), Shaun (Shaun of the Dead), Arthur Dent (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), Squidward (Spongebob Squarepants), Garfield (Garfield), Charlie Brown (Peanuts), Isaac Clark (Dead Space), Sokka (Avatar the Last Airbender), Winston Zeddemore (Ghostbusters), Conway (Kentucky Route Zero)

𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐒

[offender42085]

Post 962

“Hello!!  You have beautiful home.   Would you like to change religions? I have this free book!....

Robert Timothy Estall, Nevada inmate 1132490, born 1989, incarceration intake in 2014 at age 24, placed on parole 10/14/2020

Conspiracy, Kidnapping, Burglary, Robbery, Battery with intent to commit a Crime

Days before Christmas 2013, two men who used the Mormon religion as a disguise in order to enter a Las Vegas home and commit robbery were sentenced to seven years to life in prison.

Abraham Austin (Nevada inmate 1132483) and Robert Estall dressed in matching white collared shirts, black ties, black pants and black shoes and beat Terence Delucia while robbing him at gunpoint in June 2013.

They had reportedly approached Delucia’s front door in a Spring Valley neighborhood, posing as missionaries who wanted to talk about religion.

Prosecutor Michael Schwartzer said the crime took “a significant amount of premeditation.” Estall and Austin wanted marijuana and cash they believed was inside Delucia’s home, prosecutors have said.

Delucia, who admitted to smoking pot but said he only sold small quantities to friends, testified that about an ounce of marijuana and $3,000 cash was stolen during the robbery.

Estall wielded a handgun, though he never fired.

“They’re lucky this didn’t turn into something more deadly,” Schwartzer told District Judge Michelle Leavitt.

Defense lawyers said Austin and Estall served in the Air Force together.

When the men first knocked on Delucia’s front door, they told him they wanted to speak with him about Jesus and handed him a pamphlet, Delucia said.

A security camera outside Delucia’s home captured the men as they approached the door.

Delucia tried to turn them away, but when he attempted to shut the door, he felt Estall’s arm around his neck. Then a hand covered Delucia’s face as he called to his wife, Ida.

After the surveillance video that captured the phony evangelists drew wide media attention, people across the valley became wary of opening their doors to Mormon missionaries, Schwartzer said. The Delucias moved out of state because of the crime.

One of the men struck Delucia with a handgun on the right side of his head, causing him to bleed.

They led him to the garage and demanded marijuana before forcing him face down on the ground. They told him to start counting before they fled.

Estall’s lawyer, Robert Draskovich, did not dispute the allegations but downplayed the kidnapping charge.

“This kidnapping, if we’re going to treat it as such, was incidental to the robbery,” Draskovich said. “The movement from the house to the garage was not so substantial that it substantially increased the risk to the alleged victim.”

At trial, Estall told jurors that he was “looking for quality marijuana at a reasonable price” when he and Austin drove to the Delucia home. The defendants did not intend to pose as Mormon missionaries, Estall told jurors, but instead had been instructed to wear business attire so they wouldn’t arouse suspicion from neighbors.

Both Estall and Austin declined to speak about the case during the sentencing hearing.

2u

[diovstheworld]

So, my sleeping meds are kicking in, so hopefully this makes sense! You said you like the D'Arby brothers? Me too! By chance, do you have relationship headcanons scenarios with them (separate, not together or poly)? Specifically for an S/O they are head of HEELS in love with? Thank you. :)

D’Arby Brothers as Significant Others

hi anon! firstly, sorry this took so long for me to reply to. work has been kicking my ass :( but yesss i love the d’arby brothers so much and i never get to talk about them so i’m so glad i have a request to talk about them and my headcanons! here you go! the S/O is gender neutral in this one :)

୨ ╭ ୨୧ ✦ ︶꒷꒦・⎯⎯・⎯⎯・₊ˎ✧๑

Daniel D’Arby:

first of all, his love language is gifts. he’s always bringing home his S/O some type of present, normally in the form of their favourite flowers

also likes to get his S/O some personal jewellery, like matching necklaces or bracelets with each others names on them, or eternity rings with his S/O’s birth stone on it OR the stone from the month they met in

despite his love language being gifts, he absolutely ADORES affection

though he prefers to be the giver of the affection rather than the receiver of the affection

his favourite way to show affection is giving his S/O surprise hugs out of nowhere when it’s least expected

he enjoys cooking meals for his S/O when he has the time and honestly, i think he would be a pretty good cook so the meals he makes are to die for

always goes all out for dinners too by setting the table all nice with candles and your favourite drink (alcoholic or non!)

i think he would also have albums full of photos of him and his S/O and keeps a small photo in his wallet at all times

Terence D’Arby:

i think his love language would be words of affirmation for sure

always complimenting his S/O and telling them how much he loves them and would never leave them

date nights with terence are mostly done at home where he’ll cuddle up with his S/O and watch movies together with them

always buys his S/O their favourite snacks too, and always surprises them by choosing a movie they enjoyed from their childhood (this boy listens!)

also enjoys a gaming date night! they’re his favourite type. he loves playing mario kart with his S/O

though he enjoys letting his S/O win all the races because he loves seeing the happy look on their face when they win :)

he’s not a big fan of public displays of affection, but he always makes up for it at home for sure by giving his S/O plenty of hugs and kisses

always buys you your favourite foods when he’s out grocery shopping and normally comes back with little gifts with you

these are mostly in the form of plushies that he thinks his S/O will like and so his S/O has ended up with quite the collection lmao

[tilbageidanmark]

Movies I watched this week (#186):

“How can Zuckemborg let this happen?…”

Thelma (2024) is a lightly-paced, adorable comedy about a strong-willed 93-year-old June Squibb, who's scammed of some money, and is determined to get it back. I loved it because she reminds me of my own independent mother (94), and because we need more non-condensending movies about really old people. Also starring very old Shaft (Richard Roundtree) in his final role, very old Alex deLarge with an oxygen tank, and as 'Winston', the very same guy from 'Focus Group'. 9/10.

🍿

Last week I discovered British auteur Terence Davies, and saw 5 of his movies. Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988) is the first feature he directed, another period piece based on his own tortured youth in poor working class Liverpool of the 1950's. With abusive father Peter Postlethwaite, his traumatic memories remain bearable only when he reflects on the other members of his family. They only survive because they can sing. Unvarnished pub-life, where the rituals of drinking, and carrying on together transcend. No wonder the British film critics hold this film is such high esteem.

🍿

2 by Yugoslav Zvonimir Berković:

🍿 My apartment (1963), a young girl narrates her impressions of moving into a new apartment. A lovely snapshot of post-war realism.

🍿 Rondo was decidedly not what you would expect from socialist entertainment of that time. A psychological play of ménage à trois between a sculpturer, his wife, and a judge who starts as a chess partner to the man, becomes a friend of the two, and then seduces the woman. It was interesting, but eventually became unfocused. The actress, Milena Dravić, was one of these pretty European divas from the 1960's. 5/10.

🍿

My 17th & 18th by Agnès Varda, both about Parisian streets:

🍿 Varda made Daguerréotypes in 1976, when she had to stay at home with her baby. So she shot around the street where she lived, 90 meters on each side. It's basically the life of the little stores, and the customers who visit them. The local boulangerie, plumber, hardware store, butcher, accordion repairman, the small grocery, perfume maker and barber. Also, a driving instructor and a magician who dropped by for a show. Absolutely beautiful.

🍿 L'opéra-mouffe (Or as it was called in English Diary of a pregnant woman), one of her own favourite films, is a wordless, impressionistic poem about the Rue Mouffetard street market. What a great photographer eye she had! Lovely visuals with lovely-as-always score by Georges Delerue. Perfect! 9/10. [*Female Director*]

🍿

Three ages (1923), the first feature Buster Keaton wrote, directed, produced, and starred in. A 3 part anthology about love, repeating the same story during the "stone age", Roman times, and at present. The Stone age predate The Flintstones aesthetics. Includes some great, classic gags.

🍿

2 Nordic Noir (both from 1949):

🍿 Another classic Danish Noir from their most prolific period of the 40's and 50's, John and Irene is about a pair of small time ballroom dancers who travel all across Scandinavia, struggling to make a living. The woman, Bodil Kjer, is tired of their hardship, the man is naive and tries his best. Her unhappiness, and yes, nagging, driving over the edge. It's dark and tragic, dealing with powerlessness in a slightly different way.

🍿The debut film by Edith Carlmar, Death Is a Caress was the first Norwegian film directed by a woman. It used the same framing devise of flashback confession, and told again of an obsessive, ill-suited love affair. This time between a young auto mechanic and an older wealthy femme fatale. But it was weak and completely unconvincing. [*Female Director*]

🍿

Watching John Wick (after reading this fluff piece on GQ about the saintly Keanu Reeves). They killed his dog, so he seeks revenge on the evil Russians, check. I am not the target audience for this type of action flicks. But it's filled with nothing but male cinematic cliches: The Mustangs always revs, Whiskey for breakfast, it always rain during funerals, and the video game-action, wow, the action... 2/10.

🍿

2 shorts about pussies:

🍿 Pussy (2016) is a line-drawn animated short about a woman who relaxes alone at home, decides to smoke some pot and play with herself in the bath. Delightfully funny first film for a young Polish maker. Sweetest NSFW film of the week! [*Female Director*].

🍿 Pussy's Breakfast, a fantastic 1905 film about a girl and her cat eating breakfast, enhanced and colorized version. 9/10.

🍿

3 horrifying documentaries:

🍿 "Why have you avoided confronting your family past?"

I've been obsessively thinking about the Nazi "Final Solution" for 50+ years, so I've come to despised most movies about the holocaust. 'The Zone of interest' was different, because it tackled the subject soberly, with unsentimental brutally. Now comes the new documentary The Commandant's Shadow, which is like a companion piece to 'Zone', tackling the same topic, Rudolf Höss’ family life. But it approaches it from a different angle: The generational trauma suffered (only partially by his son who's 87 now) but mostly by his grandson. And it contrasts that with a parallel story about a Jewish survivor, now 98, and her adult daughter. Together, these four deal with the burden of knowledge, shared guilt over unspeakable horror that was not of their doing, but which cannot be diluted even after 80 years. It features (new-to-me) footage from inside the camp, including many of the selection. Harrowing and hard. 9/10. [*Female Director*]. [Screenshot Above].

🍿 Retribution, "Investigating Trump, Project 2025 and the future of the United States". A scary Australian doc. which was released just after the assassination attack on Trump, so it's very current. They interview both critics as well as some of the proud architects of Project 2025. Absorbing, alarming and well-done. 8/10.

🍿 People You May Know (2020) is about Cambridge Analytical, and the misinformation warfare conducted by the ultra-right with the help of Big Data. How the The Council for National Policy and others brainwash and radicalize evangelical Christians, in order to merge State and Church. It's highly disturbing and mostly-known information, but it was done in a sloppy, amateurish way.

I must stop watching documentaries about religion - It does nothing but aggravate me!

(These last two were found on a list by Mara Einstein, a professor of media studies with a specialty in religion and cults. She recommends the documentary 'Bad Faith' as the best documentary on the subject. Having seen it recently, I agree.)

🍿

3 more by Russian Aleksandr Petrov:

🍿 Petrov is a Russian animator who employs pastel oil paints on individual glass plates, a tedious process which causes his films to look dreamlike and surrealistic. He usually tells stories with old-fashioned agrarian themes, like classic Russian literature. I previously saw his Oscar winner 'The old man and the sea'.

The Dream of a Ridiculous Man is based on a Dostoevsky story, and is narrated by Alexander Kaidanovsky ("Stalker"). A suicidal man finds a reason to carry on after meeting a little girl. Fantastic hallucinations. 8/10.

🍿 My love, a romantic story about a boy and two young girls, done in the same dreamy style. It was released by Ghibli Studio, as they expanded their world-cinema offerings.

🍿 The cow (1989) is a symbolic little story about a village boy and his cow. Nominated for an Oscar.

🍿

A bunch more short films:

🍿 Larisa is a tribute to filmmaker Larisa Shepitko, made in 1980, a year after she died in a car accident at the age of 40. It's my first film by her husband, Elem Klimov. (I know! I couldn't make myself watch his 'Come and see', but now I'll see that, as well as her 'The Ascent')

🍿 Students at an Hungarian film school were shown a black & white photo of three peasant women standing all looking outside the frame, and were told to write a short story about it. Wind ("Szél", 1996) is the award-winning, stunning result.

🍿 In All the World's Memory (1956) Alain Resnais explored the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the enormous depository of everything that was ever published in France, as well as extensive collections of manuscripts, artworks, and priceless historical artifacts. As a record, it's rudimentary, and at 21 min. too short. But now I want to see a newer, better film about the topic. This National Library must be one of the greatest institutions in the world.

🍿 The French An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge won the 1963 Oscars. It is based on the Civil War writer Ambrose Bierce's story. A man is about to be hanged from a bridge, and his life flashes in front of his eyes before his neck breaks.

🍿 The Life and Death of 9413, a Hollywood Extra was a renowned avant-garde short from 1928, one of the few experimental silent film to receive general distribution. It was famously made for a total of $97 in German Expressionistic style, and was the first film shot by Gregg Toland.

🍿 "...It was time for secret games and conspiracies. The workers were ready to rebel. They had learnt a new word... Exploitation. Strangely enough, the three leaders of this underground movement went missing over a year. Rajan Shreshta, Narbu Lama, Charmie Gurung..."

Six Strands is a poetic Bengali story about mysterious, lonely lady who produces the most expensive Darjeeling tea in the world. It opens like a loving, magical nature documentary, but turns into a subtle, symbolic political manifesto. 8/10. Now I must see his award-winning feature 'Court'!

🍿 Outside in, a personal diary by an Irish filmmaker about the surreal experience of living in New York during Covid, when the the city was shut down and the streets were empty. Well done. 7/10.

🍿 A supercut of movie scenes that feature eggs, from a YouTuber named Patrick Tommaso. The list is here. Now I want eggs.

🍿 Stanley Pickle, a strange British short, with even stranger pixilation-type animation, about an automated boy who lives in the middle of nowhere. [*Female Director*]

(I also dreamt that I was running a marathon carrying two heavy backpacks, and that it was like watching myself actually doing it in a movie, but it was very difficult, and fortunately after a long while, I woke up…)

🍿

"Haben sie Homer und Peter mit Chevron pump?"

Because of this clip, I watched my first few episodes of Family guy, pulled randomly out of a list. S2E3, S4E1, S9E7, S11E4, S13E1, S17E11 .. I could easily add some more. Seth MacFarlane must be a fun guy to hang around and crack jokes with. Lots of gross-inappropriate sex and drugs jokes. I'm not too familiar with much Adult Animation otherwise.

🍿  

(My complete movie list is here).

[typingtess]

NCIS: Los Angeles Season 14 Rewatch:  “Glory of the Sea”

The basics:  The team hunts (see what I did there) for an Admiral abducted from his home.

Written by:  Faythallegra Claude wrote season 13’s “Perception”.

Directed by:  Terence Nightingall directed "Expiration Date", "Old Tricks", "Warrior of Peace", "The Sound of Silence", “A Bloody Brilliant Plan” (which he co-wrote) and “Divided We Fall”.

Guest stars of note: Duncan Campbell returns from “Of Value” as NCIS Special Agent Castor, John O'Hurley as Navy Rear Admiral Ted Gordon, Bryan Lillis as Jessie Fiore, Audrey Wasilewski as Meredith Huxley, Charles Kohut as Jim Bones, Brent McGregor as Long John and Tre Hall as Marcus Moore.

Our heroes:  Go on a treasure hunt.

What important things did we learn about: Callen:  Not so sure about the treasure. Sam:  Totally doesn’t believe in the treasure. Kensi:  Working well with Rountree today. Deeks:  Looking at places where Bertie can live. Fatima:  Solving puzzles with the Admiral. Rountree: Figures out the lock number by thinking like Gordon. Kilbride:  See Kensi.

What not so important things did we learn about: Callen:   No bachelor party. Sam:  Fire at the Hanna household was contained with more embarrassment than damage. Kensi:  Thinking she’s not the fun parent. Deeks:  Possibly the fun parents because of the blonde surfer look and skydiving. Fatima:   Helping Kensi achieve fun parent status. Rountree:  Thinks life is about the journey, not the treasure at the end. Kilbride:  Enjoyed Michael Mann’s “Heat 2” novel.

Where in the world is Henrietta Lange?  Earns a mention about Callen’s wedding gear.

Who's down with OTP:  One half was apartment shopping with his mother.

Who's down with BrOTP:  Great Callen and Sam episode – lots of banter, wedding talk, bachelor parties and treasure.

Fashion review:  Callen has on a long-sleeve dark blue tee-shirt.  Sam is in a charcoal grey long-sleeve tee-shirt.  Kensi is wearing a dark purple cap sleeve top.  A white turtleneck with chocolate brown pants for Fatima.  A black short-sleeve tee for Rountree.  The Admiral wears a darker blue suit than usual, white shirt, blue tie.

Music:  John O’Hurley sings “Weigh, Hey and Up She Rises” to open the episode.  “Sloop John B” by The Merrymen ends the episode.

Any notable cut scene:   Yes.  Kensi and Rountree talk in the boatshed before Marcus Moore arrives.  She has a question for him – how did he bring up his sister alone?  Rountree said he didn’t really have much of a choice.  Kensi just doesn’t understand - Rountree was a kid.  Kensi and Deeks are adults.  That gets a laugh from Rountree.  Kensi agrees, “Rosa’s easy.  Deeks is like having a baby chimp.”  She asks him seriously how did he get through it all.  There were lots of tears, lots of mornings where he was scared.  But he had to go on for Jordyn’s sake.   And they had each other which made it easier.

Kensi thinks Rountree did an amazing job.  Jordyn is so accomplished.  Rountree said all he did was keep her clothed and fed, Jordyn did all the amazing stuff.  Kensi doesn’t believe that.  Rountree tells her he really wouldn’t want to do that again.  Kensi is confused – raising Jordyn or rasing a child of his own.  Either one is Rountree’s answer.  He isn’t sure about bringing another kid into the world.  He’s also not sure about wanting to do it again.  Kensi tells him that when he meets the person he’s supposed to be with, “and you fall madly in love”, things change.  Rountree thinks it might.

What a terrible scene to cut.  Find this one a home in another episode because it was a great look at Rountree.

Quote:  Sam:  “You know what treasure is to me?” Callen:  “A 50-pound kettlebell and some baby oil?” Sam (laughing):  “Family and friends, a good day's work.”

Anything else:  In a small Los Angeles home, a gentleman is making himself a smoothie for breakfast where the main ingredient is alcohol.  Singing “Whey, Hey and Up She Rises” as the man works on his smoothie, the power goes out in the house.  There are kids outside causing trouble outside – “oh, those damn kids!”  The man grabs a spear (as one does when the neighborhood kids are full of mischief) and goes to his door.  When the man opens the door, he met by a group of men wearing ski-masks, looking for a fight.  The man puts up a decent defense of himself but is subdued.  A hood is thrown over his head as he’s taken from his home.

While Deeks is using a personal day to help Bertie find a new place to live, Kensi is working on a list of fun places to take Rosa.  Fatima is interested until she hears Kensi’s suggestions – a production at the Geffen, visiting museums like the Getty, LACMA and MOLAA.  The MOLAA, Kensi notes, is the only museum in the entire country dedicated to Latin American art. 

Fatima thinks a play and four museums aren’t exactly young girl fun stuff.  She thinks shopping at the Grove, being part of an audience when a TV show is filmed, celebrity house tour around LA or visiting an escape room could be fun.  Kensi is all about art and theater.  Fatima is all about Kensi “ushering Deeks into the role of fun parent.”  Kensi talks about not being the fun parent and Fatima gets it – surfer Deeks is the default fun parent unless Kensi really wants it.

In the driveway, Sam gets a phone call – the fire department was by the house.  Alone in the house, Raymond forgot he was making steak and eggs.  Small fire, no real damage according to the fire captain.  Callen is sympathetic – how does a man like Raymond go from commanding a battalion to suddenly need a caretaker?  “Kicking and screaming,” according to Sam.

Changing the subject, Sam wants to know if Callen has been fitted for his wedding suit.  He hasn’t.  In fact, he’s been thinking about grabbing a suit from wardrobe – they’re all really good.  Sam is horrified.  The suits have gunpowder and blood in them.  Besides, Hetty would kill him if he took the suit for an unauthorized event.  Callen laments that Hetty would have to come out hiding to do that.  Sam pushes his tailor again, even promises to pay for the suit.  Callen and Sam are called to Ops.  Kensi and Fatima are already there.

The man kidnapped from his home is Rear Admiral Ted Gordon.  Neighbors heard the struggle and a security camera picks up Gordon and his abductors leaving the house.  The security video is from behind – no clear faces, no visible license plate.  Gordon has no family – no wife, no siblings, no kids.  He has been on leave from the Navy in advance of his pending retirement.  His prior assignment was working with a civilian tech contractor Nautical Robotics.  They specialize in robotics – mostly underwater gliders than can travel unmanned through the ocean.

Sam is familiar with the Navy’s gliders – they can do scientific research, catch drug smugglers, deploy weapons.  The Russians and the Chinese have both captured these gliders in the past, claiming they are “spy boats”.   Sam doesn’t disagree with the term.  The team thinks instead of trying to recreate one based on the captured “spy boats”, a hostile actor grabbed Gordon so he could make a glider for them.  Castor picked up Jessie Fiore, Nautical Robotics chief engineer.  Kensi and Rountree will interview him in the boat shed.  Callen and Sam are off to Gordon’s home.

In the boat shed, Fiore isn’t sure why he’s been brought in.  Kensi mentions Gordon, who Fiore calls “the Navy arm of our project.”   The two were close.  Operating the glider requires two people.  Fiore is shocked to learn Gordon was kidnapped.  Kensi asks if Gordon mentioned threats.  Fiore says no but didn’t think Gordon would say anything it he was threatened.  “Ted’s not scared of anything, just like my Dad.”  Fiore invited Gordon to family barbeques until the two had a falling out after Gordon appeared on the Marcus Moore tech podcast.  With 12-million subscribers, Moore’s interview of Gordon never mentioned all the people working at Nautical Robotics.  “A tiny shoutout could have catapulted my career.”  There are questions if Gordon even had permission to appear on the podcast.

A flashback of the podcast has Gordon chatting up the gliders and their capability.  He talks about “my gliders” in a Navy authorized interview.  Fatima learns that after the interview, Moore flew to China and met with a groups of hackers.

Callen and Sam arrive at Gordon’s home talking about robots, thinking at some point RoboCop will be real.  Sam jokes about replacing Callen with RoboCop before wondering how his father would deal with an electronic home health aide.  Inside the house, Sam thinks the place looks like a maritime museum.  Antique compasses and cannon balls, the place looks like a museum to Sam (maybe Kensi can take Rosa there).  The bookshelves have been tossed, same with several drawers with papers.  Callen picks up the one of the model boats.  It reads “SOS” on the back.  Sam notices the sails all have a morse code on them.  The sails spell “Inside”.

In the boat shed, Kensi and Rountree question Marcus Moore.  The trip to China was to expand the reach of his show – he met with some tech firms with money to spend.  Kensi asks Moore about a meeting with some black-hat hackers who have caused trouble for a number of big hospitals.  Moore denies knowing the people he met were hackers.   Moore thought he was meeting with people who work in green energy.  Rountree mentions the Gordon interview which Moore thinks is irrelevant – the Navy approved the interview.  The kidnapping comes up and Moore is worried.  Gordon was a difficult interview – always interrupting the flow to make calls away from Moore in the recording booth.  Moore could see that Gordon was angry.

Callen breaks up the wood boat and finds a leather journal inside.  Gordon went to a lot of trouble to hid the journal but also went to a lot of trouble to make sure it could be found.

From the boat shed, Kensi and Rountree get a debrief from Fatima in Ops.  Gordon’s calls were to a librarian in the LA Public Library system, Meredith Huxley.  She works in the maps department.  Gordon called Huxley five times in a short time span.  Kensi and Rountree are off to interview Huxley.

Returning to the office, Callen and Sam run into Admiral.  Callen is reading Gordon’s journal.  The Admiral recommends “Heat 2” instead.  The kidnappers were looking for something – probably the journal.  The journal is about buried treasure – a Spanish galleon sunk somewhere off the California coast with the crew burying the ship’s riches nearby.  The Admiral now knows why Gordon never married.  A SEAL buddy of Sam does some deep sea treasure hunting in Florida – no luck.  The Admiral wants to why Gordon kept such a specific diary – there are drawings of the ocean throughout the book.  One drawing is missing a big section.  The team is either looking for people stealing robotic technology or they’re going on a treasure hunt.

At the library, Kensi introduces herself and Rountree to Meredith Huxley in what looks like a map room in an LA library.  Huxley is unhappy to have Navy cops sent after she returned Gordon’s antique map.  The map, Gordon believes, leads to buried treasure.  Huxley isn’t so sure.  She did, however, verify the map was legit – 17th century Spain.  But with her planned visit to her daughter in Sacramento, Huxley locked it into a secure drawer in the library. Gordon picked it up as soon as Huxley returned.  The map may not lead to treasure but it is true antique and worth a good deal of money.  In his rush to retrieve the map, Gordon left behind some notes he took.  Huxley offers them  to Kensi and Rountree.

The journal is full of information, including a manifest for the Spanish galleon, the stars in the sky the night of ship wreck – incredible details.  Gordon has a riddle for the location of map - "The Lone Sailor can't see the treasure, but he looks to the map at his parallel dove."  Sam is good at riddles – thinks the Lone Sailor Statue in Long Beach.  Callen and Sam are on their way to check things out.

Gordon’s notes were mostly about the symbols on map.  To find the treasure on-shore, Gordon first had to find the ship.  If he find the ship and deciphers the symbols on the map, he should be able to find the treasure.  About a month ago, Gordon told Huxley he found the ship using glider technology.  Kensi remembers Fiore saying the glider needed two people to operate it.  Fiore likely knows about the shipwreck and the treasure hunt.  Kensi asks Fatima to bring Fiore in again.

Callen and Sam arrive at the Lone Sailor Statue and with Fatima, start working through the riddle.  The statue of the Lone Sailor is looking at the ocean, which is south.  The statue is on Paloma Avenue – paloma means dove in Spanish.   With the latitude of the statue being 3376, Callen and Sam are off to 3376 Paloma Avenue – Antique Mariner Bookstore. 

While the bookstore is closed for business that day, the door is opened.  Callen and Sam enter the store and hear noises in the back.  Two men in ski masks are taking in the back.  Callen and Sam say “federal agents” which causes both men to run.  Sam captures the man who jumped into a storage room while Callen’s guy escaped in a white van that looked like the vehicle used to kidnap Gordon.   No license plates.  Back in the store, Sam takes off his guy’s ski mask – it is Jessie Fiore. 

Callen and Sam question Fiore, who isn’t cooperating.  He’s afraid for his life.  After being convinced that Callen and Sam want to find Gordon and keep both Gordon and Fiore safe, Fiore opens up.  Gordon was still in the van that got away.  The plan was to go to the Channel Islands and find the treasure.  Sam asks which one of the Channel Islands – there are five – but Fiore doesn’t know.  The map was drawn before the different islands had names.  Gordon wouldn’t tell anyone which island.  Sam asks Fatima to track a boat Gordon had and where it is located.  It is probably near the treasure.

Kensi and Rountree finish with Meredith Huxley.  As they are about to leave, Huxley pulls out a briefcase belonging to Gordon.  It is very heavy – makes a loud noise when she places it on a library desk.  Kensi asks to look through the bag.  It is empty but weighs a lot.  With Kensi finding a false bottom, Rountree breaks out his knife to see what’s there. 

The man with the van is Jim Bones, a name earning a chuckle from Sam.  Fiore explains that he helped Gordon find the shipwreck with the glider.  Once they found the shipwreck, Gordon wouldn’t share the location of the treasure but promised to give Fiore his share once it was discovered.  An angry Fiore didn’t trust Gordon to do that so he joined an online forum of treasure hunters.  Jim Bones and a guy name Long John promised to help Fiore.  Fiore promises he didn’t know the two would kidnap Gordon.  Calling Gordon “amazing”, Fiore says Gordon didn’t give up the map even after the was roughed up by Bones and Long John.  Only after they put a gun to Fiore’s head and promised to kill him did Gordon give up the bookstore’s location.  Fiore feels guilty – Gordon took a beating and gave up the bookstore location after Fiore betrayed him.

Kensi opens the false bottom.  There is a small key safe.  Opening the key safe using the year of the shipwreck, Kensi and Rountree find part of the missing piece of Gordon’s journal.

In the book store, one of the file cabinets is opened.  It was a locked drawer, now opened with a key.  Gordon said that is where the map was held.  Opening the other drawers to see what’s inside, Sam finds one is jammed.  Finally getting it opened after a struggle, Sam finds and cypher decoder wheel and an encrypted manuscript written in Latin.  There is another piece of paper cut from Gordon’s journal. 

The Admiral walks into Ops and asks Fatima about narrowing down the island.  She hasn’t – Gordon visited all five with his small boat.  Callen and Sam send their missing drawing piece and Fatima is able to put them all together.  Looking at the drawing on the big screen, the Admiral notices a letter in one of the waves, a U.  They also find a Q, N, A and T.  Fatima can’t make that into a word while the Admiral isn’t going to even try to pronounce it. 

Noting the letters are in different waves coming closer to the shore, ordering the letters as they make their way to the beach, it spells Tuqan.  Tuqan is a Palestinian poet according to Fatima.  It is also the Chumash word for San Miguel Island.  The Chumash were indigenous to the area and treasure hunters would us that in their maps.  Callen and Sam are going to be sent there on a chopper but San Miguel Island is a Navy test site for missiles and other unexploded ordinance.

Arriving at San Miguel Island, Callen and Sam in their vests with the big guns find Gordon with his kidnappers.  They are being very careful.  The island is full of places where one misstep means “kaboom” according to Sam. 

The kidnappers want Gordon to dig up the treasure.  They have a metal detector and weapons pointed at Gordon.  Gordon mentions Juan Cabrillo, a Portuguese explorer who died on the island.  Before his death he cursed the island – people of ill-will are cursed if the come to the island.  The unimpressed kidnappers threaten Gordon but he tells them his destiny will not be controlled by men like them. 

Callen and Sam creep up.  They yell “federal agents”.  This gives Gordon the chance to take his shovel and knock out one of the kidnappers.  The other kidnapper makes a run for it and hits some of the unexploded ordinance.  Kaboom.

The area was cleared by the Navy’s bomb squad and medics took away the kidnappers.  Gordon admits he’s stunned Callen and Sam found him.  Callen mentioned that Gordon didn’t make it easy.  Saying that he was looking for the treasure for decades, Gordon says he realized that if he was ever lost at sea, all of his work “would have been for naught.”  He set up the journal and the puzzle to leave his discoveries to a person with the same spirit he has.  It never dawned on Gordon that his passion would put him or anyone else in danger.  They mention Jessie Fiore.  “Gold and silver are worth a fortune but a human life is priceless, even a scoundrelous traitor like Jessie.”

Gordon thanks Callen and Sam who are ready to fly him back to the mainland.  Gordon isn’t going anywhere, instead he wants Callen and Sam to join him on his adventure.  Callen declines.  Gordon says the two don’t believe the treasure is there.  Callen is evasive, Sam’s a hard no.  Gordon promises to report to the SecNav about anything he finds.  He tells Callen and Sam that when ships were made of wood, men were made of steel.  Callen and Sam like that.

As they walk away, Callen thinks about a beach wedding.   Sam thinks Callen would like a beach bar wedding instead.  The two talk about sharks – Callen doesn’t like a beach with sharks.  Sam suggests the Great Lakes.  All the while, Gordon is studying his map and getting ready to dig.  Sam is down on beach weddings – weather is always an issue.  Sam’s suggestion is to let Anna plan the wedding with Callen using the magic groom words – “whatever you want, honey.”  Sam is looking more for another wedding event – the bachelor party.  Callen doesn’t want any part of the bachelor party.  Even though Deeks has booked the flights.  Cage diving with sharks in Mexico.

Fatima meets with Kensi in the bullpen.  She has an idea of turning the cultural/educational places as part of a scavenger hunt.  This way it is fun - Rosa can learn some things and get a feel for Los Angeles.  Fatima will even help.  Kensi thinks it is a great idea but thinks it is asking a lot of Fatima.  Fatima is all in – it will be fun, put some brain teasers to keep the mind sharp.  Kensi wonders if this makes her the fun parent.  It would unless Deeks takes Rosa skydiving – which he totally would do.

Rountree joins Kensi and Fatima.  He wonders if Gordon will find the treasure.  They admire how he loves the hunt – it is about the journey, not the outcome.

Callen and Sam are sharing some beers on the back deck of the boatshed.  Sam is talking about hiring the nurse from the hospital in “Dead Stick” to take care of Raymond.  Callen thinks they should have put Gordon on the chopper with them back to LA.  Sam disagrees – Gordon is right where he wants to be, looking for the treasure. 

The Admiral arrives.  He’s pro-treasure hunting, it started capitalism.  Sam isn’t – treasure is family, friends and a good day’s work.  The Admiral hands Callen and Sam a gift from Gordon before he leaves.  Sam opens the little pouch and pours the contents into Callen’s hand.  It is a little bit of the treasure.  Callen is stunned.  Sam isn’t. 

What head canon can be formed from here:  Again, I really think the cut scene was a huge loss not only for the episode but for the series.  It was a great look at Rountree.

I’m sorry they didn’t use John O’Hurley more.  The man is a great comic actor and he could have really filled out that role instead of being in the very beginning and the end.  This episode could have been the final season’s “A Bloody Brilliant Plan” – played for laughs with a good case of the week – but played it a little too straight.  A funny hour once a season is always a good thing.  A funny episode without Deeks – often the source or the butt of the humor in the show – is a fine effort. 

Callen and Deeks as an anti-bachelor party grooms.  Did not see that coming.      

Episode number:     Season 14, episode six.  It is the 308th episode overall.

[lotus-flower-writes-history]

The Unofficial Black History Book

~~

Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784)

Imagine being the best-known and also the first African-American woman to publish a book of poetry at the age of 13, whilst being a slave.

This is her story.

Phillis Wheatley was the first African-American and second female to publish a book of poems. And she was also the youngest.

Phillis Wheatley was born on May 8th, 1753, in Gambia, West Africa. There's no record of her real birth name. 

When she was no younger than seven, she was kidnapped by slave traders and brought to America in 1761. The slave traders renamed her 'Phillis' based on the slave ship she arrived on, 'The Phillis'

She was transported to the Boston docks with a shipment of "refugee" slaves who, because of their age or physical frailty, were unsuited for rigorous labor in the West Indian and Southern Colonies. They were the first ports of call after the Atlantic Crossing.

In August 1761, Susanna Wheatley, the wife of Boston tailor John Wheatley, was "in want of a domestic."

Susanna purchased "a slender, frail female child...for a trifle."

The captain of the slave ship believed that Phillis was terminally ill, and he wanted to make at least a small profit off of her before she died. 

It's reported that a Wheatley relative surmised her to be "of slender frame and evidently suffering from a change of climate," "nearly naked, with no other covering than a quantity of dirty carpet about her," and "about seven years old...from the circumstances of shedding her front teeth."

When Phillis was sold to the Wheatley family, she adopted their last name and was taken under Susanna's wing as her domestic.

During her time serving the Wheatleys, which was about sixteen months, Susana discovered that Phillis had an extraordinary capacity to learn. The Wheatleys, including their son Nathaniel and their daughter Mary, taught her how to read and write after discovering her precociousness.

But this didn't excuse her from her duties as a house slave.

Phillis was soon immersed in the Bible, astronomy, geography, history, theology, British literature, and the Greek and Latin classics of Virgil, Ovid, Terence, and Homer. Inspired, she began writing poetry between the ages of 12 and 13.

At a time when African Americans were discouraged and intimidated from learning how to read and write, Phillis' life was an anomaly.

When she started to publish her poems, her fame, and talent soon spread across the Atlantic. With Susanna's support, Phillis started posting advertisements for subscribers for her first book of poems.

However, a scholar of Phillis's work, Sondra O'Neale, notes, "When the colonists were apparently unwilling to support literature by an African, she and the Wheatleys turned in frustration to London for a publisher."

In 1773, Phillis was in continuously poor health; she had chronic asthma. But she sets off for London with Nathaniel Wheatley, her master's son.  

When she arrived in London, she was accepted and adored for both her poise and her literary work. And during her time there, she also received medical treatment for the ailments she was battling.

She met Selina Hastings, a friend of Susanna Wheatley and the Countess of Huntingdon. Eventually, Hastings funded the publication of Phillis's book. "Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral." Was the first book of poetry published by an enslaved African American in the United States. 

Her book includes many elegies as well as poems on Christian themes, even dealing with race, such as the often-anthologized "On being brought from Africa to America."

Phillis was also a strong supporter of America's fight for independence; she penned several of her poems in honor of George Washington, who was Commander of the Continental Army. She sent him one of her works that was written in 1775, and it eventually inspired an invitation to visit him in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In March 1776, she traveled to Washington.

 Phillis eventually had to return to Boston to tend to Susanna Wheatley, who was gravely ill. 

After the elder Wheatleys’ died, Phillis was left with nothing and had to support herself as a seamstress. 

We don’t know exactly when she was freed by the Wheatleys, but some scholars suggest that she was freed between 1774 and 1778. And during that time, most of the Wheatley family had died.

Even with her literary popularity at its all-time high and being manumitted, freedom in 1774 Boston proved to be incredibly difficult.

Phillis was unable to secure funding for another publication or even sell her writing. 

In 1778, she was married to a free African American man from Boston named John Peters. They had three children, but sadly, none of them survived infancy.

Their marriage proved to be a struggle due to the couple's battle with constant poverty. Phillis was then forced to find work as a maid in a boarding house, where she lived in squalid, horrifying conditions.

Even through all her misfortune, Phillis continued to write. But, with the growing tensions between the British and the Revolutionary War, she lost enthusiasm for her poems.

Although she continued to contact various publishers, she was unsuccessful in finding support for a second volume of poetry.

On December 5th, 1784, Phillis Wheatley died alone in a boarding house at 31 years old, without a penny to her name. 

Many of her poems for her second volume disappeared and have never been recovered. 

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Next Chapter

The 16 Street Baptist Church Bombing

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