#i have seen it on two entirely separate topics lately and its like. hello?????

[gibbearish]

are we really back to "oh you support (blank)? name ten people who (do/are) that right now or else youre lying for allyship points and everything you have to say should be disregarded". i thought we left that back in like. 2012 misogynist nerdbro culture

[milchig-de]

Never gonna give you up

Pairing: Bakugou Katsuki x Reader 

Summary: After being kidnapped by the League of Villains and meeting you, Bakugou thinks about you. But then you meet again. Will he let you go again?

Request:  Hi! I saw requests were open, could you please write a scenario for Bakugou, where during his time kidnapped by the lov, they had another captive. A girl who is his age, but she has been there for a few months. The reason why she is there is because of her quirk. Her blood can heal others, all they need to do is drink some of it, the bigger the injury the more blood. They are saved together but then separated. It’s been two years of no contact when Bakugou goes to recovery girl to find the same girl who was a captive now learning under recovery girl. They hit it off.

Warnings: curse words

Notes: Did I change my story just to fit the title? Yes, absolutely. Also this was requested by @jessie4098​, hope you enjoy! Sorry again for taking so long!

Bakugou struggled against the bonds that were tying him to the chair. After kidnapping him, the League of Villains had encased his hands in a metal box so he couldn’t activate his quirk. Of course that did nothing to quell his anger. If they dared come close to him he would knock them out if anyhow possible.

But since he couldn’t do anything right now, he took in his surroundings instead. Their hideout was in some sort of bar- one of them, the warp villain from the attack at the USJ, even wiped the glasses with a rug. There was only one door and no windows, so he couldn’t tell what time it was or where he was. 

Obviously he already knew the warp villain and the hands villain but there were some new faces. The scar face that had pulled him through the portal stood in a corner, a lizard-human next to him. In another corner was the masked villain that had managed to capture him with someone in a full bodysuit next to him. Surprisingly, there was also a middle school girl there. Had they kidnapped her? It certainly didn’t look like it. Otherwise she would also be tied up. 

Suddenly that girl moved towards- and past him, towards another chair that he hadn’t noticed before. Another person sat slumped down in that chair, tied up in a similar fashion as him. The girl tugged on the persons arm, in an almost whiny manner.

“Hey there, sweetheart!! I got hurt pretty badly in the fight so it sems that I have to take some of your blood again!!”

The person didn’t respond. Ignoring that, the girl brandished a knife and cut their arm. Then she proceeded to lift their arm up to her mouth and... drank it? What kind of sick shitshow was this? Looking at them closely, Bakugou noticed the countless cuts and band aids all over their arms. It seemed that they did this regularly. Maybe they had some kind of quirk that required her to drink their blood? The crazy girl did say that she got hurt... Even though there were no visible injuries on her bodies.

Putting their arm down, the crazy girl strolled back to her original place. With the other person there, Bakugou would have to be more careful with blasting those stupid villains away. They didn’t look like they knew how to fight and they certainly weren’t in any condition to do so even if they could. If, you know, their slumped form was any indicator.

After the crazy girl had settled back down, the hands villain started to talk. He spouted some stupid bullshit about joining the League of Villains. As if Bakugou would ever become a villain. He was determined to beat All Might and to become the number one pro hero and he was not willing to let go of any of his goals. 

That was why as soon as the bodysuit took off his bonds he got ready to blast all of them away. Shuffling closer to you, he carefully took of your bonds too and then stood in front of you to protect you. But then the heroes barged in and they got sucked away in one of the slimy portals. He grasped your arm but the portals forced him to let go. Before the fight between All Might and All for One, he got rescued by the others, but he doesn’t know what happened to the person. They weren’t on the battlefield like the villains so he desperately hoped that the heroes saved them. Sometimes, late at night when a nightmare of that time wakes him up, he thinks about them. Regrets of not being able to grasp them and bring them with him to safety plague him occasionally. 

But why is he thinking about them now anyway? There wasn’t really a lot he could’ve done about them and it’s been two years since then already. And yet he couldn’t bring himself to give up on you.

Bakugou shakes his head, hoping to get rid of those stupid thoughts. He got hurt while sparring with Kirishima, so he’s now on his way to Recovery Girl to get fixed up. Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, he opens the door to the station. 

That isn’t Recovery Girl. 

Standing in the middle of the room is a person that looks eerily similar to the one that also got kidnapped by the League of Villains. 

Upon hearing the door open, you turn your head only to discover Bakugou standing there. To be honest, you had never met officially, but you’d be a fool not to at least know his name. For one, he’s one of the most successful students in all of UA, but he’s also that boy who stood up to the villains.

When you got kidnapped, you were barely conscious half of the time because of blood loss, but you do remember him. How could you not? He was so brave, standing up to them as if he was saying that he would win no matter what. You had to admit you hadn’t seen his features properly at the time, so you only remembered his blonde, spiky hair and his angry posture, but you had figured out who he is because of the news fairly easily. Funnily enough, they barely mentioned you, but you don’t mind at all. It allowed you to live a fairly calm life without having to worry about anyone recognizing you.

Now that he’s standing right in front of you, you allow yourself a moment to check him out. He still has his spiky blonde hair and even if he’s simply standing there, you do notice that he still has a slightly angry body language. Besides that, you also notice his ruby red eyes staring at you.

While you do admire him and think he’s hot quite a lot, you also have a job to do, so you point to one of the beds standing in the station and tell him to sit down. A first glance tells you he isn’t that badly injured, meaning alcohol and some bandages would probably be enough. Preparing everything, you put it aside before asking him about his condition. 

This is the first time you heard him talk since then. His voice sounds a little gravelly, though you’d be lying if you said you didn’t enjoy it. Shoving those thoughts aside, you focus on the cuts he shows you. Most of them aren’t bad at all, but some of them look pretty bad. Though you realize upon closer inspection that they’re is still only on the surface and doesn’t even require stitching. So you carefully clean and disinfect his wounds before putting band-aids or bandages over them. You try your best not to smile, since the band aids you used had pink Hello Kitty motives on them. They are the courtesy of Recovery Girl, who decided to only use those ones as a sort of punishment, since a lot of students are pretty reckless and don’t care whether they get hurt. 

Bakugou stays very calm during the entire procedure, not even flinching at the pain from the alcohol. You wonder if he remembers who you are, considering he didn’t mention or do anything that makes you assume otherwise. But perhaps he just doesn’t know how to approach it. Frankly you can’t blame him for it. It’s not exactly the easiest subject to talk about.

After finishing him up, you pull out a document and a pen, explaining to Bakugou that you need to record every student you treat because you’re only an apprentice so far. You already jotted down his name, so instead you asked for his class and noted his injuries and what you used to treat him.

Closing your pen you give him some last advice. Dismissing him, you put the document in its rightful place before going back to cleaning equipment. Of course you want to talk to him about well, everything, but how can you possibly ask him to spend time with someone he barely knows? 

But then he brings up the topic.

“Are you the one who was also kidnapped by the League of Villains?”

Well that’s pretty direct. Instead of leaving as you had told him he could, he only stood up. He turns towards you, clearly expecting an answer. So you clear your throat and confirm his suspicions. Upon hearing this, he stalks closer to you.

“Do you have time right now? There’s some things I want to know.”

“I actually don’t have time right now, since I’m, you know, doing my job. Recovery Girl deserves a break so because I am fairly capable already, I took over for today which means I need to be available at all times. But-”

You walked back over to the desk, then you pulled out a small piece of paper and a pen. Scribbling your number and name down, you folded it and gave it to him. 

“Here’s my number so we can meet up or just text if you prefer that.”

Taking the paper from you, he nodded and walked out of the station, though not without saying thank you.

Once outside, Bakugou finally allows himself to relax. He was so tense the entire time he was talking to you. It was difficult because he didn’t know how to approach you about it but also because you’re very pretty. A tiny smile wormed itself onto his face when he thought about you. He clutched your note a little tighter in his grasp, afraid of letting you slip through his fingers again. 

Maybe it’s good that he didn’t give up on you.

[moons-and-stars-and-shit]

Hi, I love your blog! Can I request a cake, if you’re still doing them? It’s fine if you’re not though.

If you are, can you do it for a boy? I’m generally considered tall (I’m 5’7”) and I have really curly brown hair with green eyes and really pale skin. I’m Irish-American and I’m an Aries. My hobbies are; photography, reading thriller or historical fiction novels, writing fanfiction, and listening to music (specifically punk rock or really obnoxiously loud Irish rock). I’m quite shy when it comes to new situations or places and I have an anxiety disorder, so I’m usually quite anxious and generally considered quiet (which makes my music choices ironic). Before people get to know me, people think I’m a b*tch or that I’m cold because I tend to stick with the same people and not generally talk to others unless I’m forced. Even my friends have said they thought I was mean before they actually met me. I can be pessimistic at times, but I care about the people I’m really close with and I’ll defend them no matter the situation. I can be annoying, I overthink everything, and I am insecure about literally anything and everything about myself (from my body to my writing)

I’m generally considered one of the smarter ones in my friend group, usually my friends come to me when it comes to writing essays or having to read a book for class, since I’m good at analyzing things. I’m the friend that usually everyone tries to protect from things, from fear that I might “break” or something like that, which can be annoying but I know it means that they care. Though I would prefer that people be straight forward and honest with me instead of walk on eggshells or keep secrets, because contrary to popular belief, I can defend myself just fine. My friends say I have a hard time letting people in since I don’t want to end up hurt, so I have a tendency to keep people at arms length because I’m afraid to have my heart broken.

I don’t know if that’s enough information or if I over-shared (I have a tendency to do that), but if you are still accepting these kinds of requests, I hope this is enough.

🍰 for @lifewouldbebetteronmars

Hello my Aries sister!!!!

Romantic Matchup

Tsukishima Kei

How yall met

Ok be prepared to be shocked

But Tsukki needed a tutor

He was having a difficult time understanding the new topic they were doing in class

So the teacher recommended you as a partial tutor

At first he didn't really like you

It really wasn't anything you did

He just hated that he needed someone else's help

And he was kinda embarrassed about it

But as time went on he started to warm up to you

Some could even say he looked forward to your tutoring sessions

So when he didn't need you to teach him anymore

He tried to find excuses to hang out with you

He's just too prideful to say that he likes you and wants to hang out with you

And even though you knew that was probably the case

You didn't want to call him out like that

So you would just hang out with him whenever you could

And the bond between you two grew with every passing day

And eventually you guys started dating

What they love about you

He loves how intelligent you are

Tsukki is pretty smart himself

So if he thinks that your smart

Bb you're a genius

And although he resented your smarts when he first met you

He's come to realize it's one of your most admirable traits

He loves how you care so deeply for your loved ones

He knows you would do anything and everything for him

But he also knows you would do the same thing when it comes to any of your friends and family

Like he's literally seen you telling off somebody for picking on one of your friends

He made a mental note to be careful who he picks on that day

He loves how straightforward you are

Ok so this is Tsukki were talking about

He doesn't really like overcomplicated people or people he can't understand

And you are anything but that

Tsukki can read you like a book

Maybe its because hes spent a lot of time with you

Maybe it's because he pays more attention to you than other people

The world may never know

What you love about them

You love how he doesnt try to “protect you”

Now don't get me wrong

Tsukki would take a bullet for you if it ever came down to it

But he knows for the most part you can take care of yourself

So unless you specifically ask for help hell leave you be

You love that he understands your limitations

Tsukki knows you have anxiety

So he tries to make social exchanges as comfortable as possible

If he notices that your uncomfortable talking to someone

He’ll swoop in and remove you from the situation

However...

He tries to get you to step out of your comfort zone from time to time

He knows just as well as you do that being social is just apart of life

And he doesn't want you do always be dependent on him when it comes to being social

So he just gives you little nudges

Until eventually its like your anxiety never even existed

Favorite things to do together

STUDY DATES!!!!!!

Ahem anyways

Mans loves to have a good study date with you

It's really just you two doing homework and reading together

But he loves those little intimate moments with you

Late night walks

You guys take late night walks ALL the time

Once again it's nothing more than just walking round and listening to music

But Tsukki finds comfort in your presence during these times

Random Hc

The team was very very shocked when they found out you were Tsukkis gf

Like Tsukki + a relationship = error

Definitely got bombarded with questions when you met the team

He keeps some of the photos you've taken in a little box in his room

He proofreads all of your fanfics

One time it was your turn to pick the music for a study date

He was very shocked when hard core irish rock started playing…

When you guys first met there were a lot of moments when you just stared at eachother like

Because you didn't know how to talk to each other

Sometimes he acts like he doesn't know something just so he can be around you

Astrology

Aries + Libra

Compatibility 62%

However difficult it might be to reconcile these two natures, remember that this is a primal opposition that represents partners by signification.

Aries and Libra are the couple of the zodiac, as much as any other opposing signs, for they are each other’s seventh house, house of relationships.

Even more so if we acknowledge the fact that Libra is the sign of relationships in general.

Any problem they might have with each other is something to be worked on, because it shows what their personal problem with any relationship is.

When they are madly attracted to each other and fall in love, there is almost nothing that could separate them, no matter the differences.

Wouldn’t we all like to find the middle ground with our loved one? They need to work on their bond, that’s a fact, but their relationship is a promise of a perfect fit of two souls meant to be together.

Friendship Matchup

Tendou Satori

How yall met

You guys have been friends since middle school

You saw how other people treated him and you just didn't think it was right

So you befriended him!

You guys were attached at the hip all throughout middle school

Then he left for highschool while you stayed in middle school

Then when it was your turn to go to high school you had went to karasuno

So you guys lost touch

But then one day you saw a familiar head of red hair at one of your boyfriends matches…

It was Satori!

You were so excited to see him again that you practically sprinted over to him to reunite

He was so happy to see you again!

Ngl the entire Karasuno team was very confused on how you knew the guess monster of Shiratorizawa

Why you became friends

Like I said you saw how people treated him all throughout middle school…

So even though you were 2 years younger than him

You decided to befriend him

He was shocked by your kindness

And honestly a little hesitant

It wouldn't be the first time someone pretended to be his friend just to stab him in the back later

But for some reason he thought you were different

So he became friends with you

He was super sad when he lost contact with you :(

He always thought about how you were doing

But hey fate decided to bring you two together again

And it was like nothing changed

You both still had the same strong connection you had way back in middle school

What yall love about each other

He loves how out there you can be

Like there was a time where you two just blasted music in a park and just were dancing and vibing

He loves how your able to channel your creativity into your photography

He compliments every picture you take

Even if it's not a good one

He loves that how you look vs how you act are two totally different things

He won't lie to you you definitely have RBF Syndrome

(resting bitch face syndrome)

It almost reminds him how ushiwaka looks

But the difference is behind you rbf is a generally warm person

You love how fun Satori is!

Moments with him are always filled with laughs

Never a dull moment with that one

You love that he does not allow what others say get to him

Oh and on the days they do

Your right there to pick him back up and get him back to normal

Overall you guys love that you can depend on each other

Random Hc

Tsukki felt a little intimidated when he found out satori was your friend

Their rivalry during their game may or may not have had something to do with you…

You guys had homemade friendship bracelets as kids

And he kept his in his room even after you lost touch

Ironically enough he WILL NOT allow you to be insecure

He's like Insecurities we don't know her ❤️

Astrology

Aries + Libra

A friendship between an Aries and a Libra brings in the inherent polarity of the Zodiac itself.

The constellations of Aries and Libra lie opposite to each other in the Zodiac, at an angle of 180 degrees between them.

This polarity is displayed in their characteristic traits as well. Each sign has qualities that the other sign lacks.

Add to it the fact that Librans have a natural desire to be harmonious, and Aries and Libra form a relationship of great equilibrium.

The polarity of Aries and Libra could be described as self versus other.

But the differences go much further than that. Aries are impulsive, excitable, and willing to jump into things immediately.

Libra are indecisive, peace loving, and prefer a calm, quiet view of everything.

Star signs with opposite polarity often share a zealous relationship with each other.

In general, polar alliances turn out awesome when they are good, but rather challenging when they are bad.

Polarities could twist and knot together if the signs didn’t understand each other well.

However, Aries and Libra are a well balanced pair.

Libra are charming, well cultured, and have pleasing manners that could compensate for the brazen nature of Aries.

On the other hand, Aries are strong willed and decisive, which could compensate for the irresolute nature of Libra.

Aries could help Libra reach resolutions more easily and make them more spontaneous.

Libra could, at times, show Aries that they are not always as right as they think they are.

[vivxwrites]

Boom, Boom, Boom

*not my gif*

Word Count: 3123 (she’s a big one)

Summary: You’re the ceo of your own company and are involved in a car crash while you’re away on a business trip. Carol flies to your location in an attempt to save you.

Warnings: ANGST ANGST ANGST, Car Crash, Hospital Stuff, Swearing

Pairing: Carol Danvers x Reader

A/N: Of course this was requested by @aesthetiff because we’re the best fanfiction dynamic duo y’all have ever seen. Um I think I lost a piece of my soul somewhere in this fic so if you see it please let me know. :)

Italics are flashbacks

“Carol,” Tony’s voice was eerily calm as he spoke to her and it sent chills down her spine. His voice crackled through the speaker of her phone, “Turn on the TV, hun.”

“Tony, it’s 4:30 am, why would I want to turn the TV on?”

“Just turn on the TV.” She sat up in bed and moved her way towards the empty living room with a groan. She pushed the “on” button on the remote control and the TV sprang to life, displaying the news channel that she had watched before she went to bed. She looked at it blearily and squinted at the headline. ‘Breaking News: CEO of Northstar Biology, (Y/N) (Y/L/N), involved in deadly car crash.’

“Carol, are you ok?”

“Carol? You there?”

In a flash of orange and blue, Carol was off.

The wind whipped around Carol as she pushed herself to her very limits. She grit her teeth and pushed herself further, weaving in and out of skyscrapers. The cloud-filled area of New York City was slowly coming into view and she desperately rushed towards it. Higher, further, faster. Tears clouded her view but she angrily pushed harder and harder and harder. Finally she could smell the scent of a burning engine and she directed herself towards it.

Carol landed harshly on the ground and looked at the crash sight in horror. Hues of orange and red surrounded the two cars and smoke filled the entire area. She coughed as smoke slowly filled her lungs but she was a woman on a mission and she’d be damned if she was stopped. The cars were smashed together and she took in the extensive damage on the passenger door of one of the cars. Yours. She used sheer brute strength to separate the truck from your car and she ripped the door right off of its hinges in her attempt to get to you. She stopped short as she caught a whiff of something nasty, burnt flesh, and she gagged at the smell. Tears sprang into her eyes as she took in the interior of the car, charred black and completely empty. It was only then that she registered the voice that had been repeating “ma’am,” over and over again. 

She whipped her head towards the person and saw that it was a firefighter who had been calling out to her. “Where is she?” The firefighter grimaced at her question and Carol’s heart stopped. No. No no no no no no. She looked around frantically and finally registered that police and firefighters were spread throughout the area, doing their best to control the damage that the crash caused. She took in the yellow and black caution tape that boxed the area off, then the news vans, and finally she zeroed in on a nearby ambulance, whose sirens were dead silent, a really bad sign. She hesitantly trudged towards it until she spotted something grey sitting inside. She squeezed her eyes shut but chanced a peek at the object. She couldn’t stop the bile that rushed up her throat at the combination of the heavy scent of burning flesh and the realization of what exactly the grey object was: a body bag. 

She let out a cry of anguish and began pounding her fists against the sides of the ambulance. Boom, boom, boom. Her chest heaved up and down as she sucked in air and went to town on the vehicle. Boom, boom, boom. Her fists were riddled with blood and splatters of blue decorated the side of the caved in ambulance. The red in her vision slowly faded away and she felt boneless. 

Her head pounded as she sunk to the ground in front of the ambulance. Everything in the background was muffled and her ears rang. She choked on her own tears and coughed violently, her vision completely blurred. Her body was numb and she melted into the ground, a red, yellow, and blue pile of mush. Everything around her was spinning and the only thing she could focus on was the blue sky, tainted with smoke and taunting her. 

The remaining paramedics on site rushed to her side and tossed questions at her, but she was unresponsive. The words too late swirled around in her head and slammed against her skull over and over and over again. Too late, too late, too late. She lay limp as a rag doll on the ground and didn’t register that she was being propped up against the ambulance. A flashlight was shined in her eyes and she followed its trajectory but she didn’t see a beam of light, no, she saw a clock tick-tick-ticking down the amount of time that you probably spent helpless and trapped and hurt in your burning car, before you gave up and died. Sobs wracked her body and a gurgled “I’m sorry,” tumbled from her lips. 

One of the paramedics grabbed her face in their hands and forced Carol to look at them. She stared straight past them but they spoke to her anyway. “Ma’am listen to me! That’s not her in the body bag, she was taken to the hospital. Do you hear me?”

That’s not her in the body bag. That’s not her in the body bag? That’s not her in the body bag! Carol snapped out of her haze and gripped the paramedics arm. “Where?” She pointed in the direction of the hospital and Carol took off without a word. 

She crashed through the spinning doors into the lobby and repeated her question of, “Where?” to the secretary. Shattered glass littered the hospital floor and some found their way into Carol’s hair. 

The poor man was scared shitless and didn’t even bother to follow protocol. “Room 409,” he squealed out the words and she was off again.

She ran to the elevator and tapped her foot impatiently once inside. The other occupants shot her weird looks and she growled at them. They snapped their gazes ahead and the entire duration of the ride was silent until the “ding” of the elevator signaled her arrival to the fourth floor.

She stomped out and tossed glares to anyone in her way as she searched for Room 409. She finally came across the room and halted in the doorway. There you were, broken and battered and burnt, laying motionless in the hospital bed. All of Carol’s energy was gone in an instant as she observed your pale body, riddled with bandages. She fell into the chair next to your bed and choked out sobs of pain. A throat cleared itself and she looked up in shock with bloodshot eyes. “Captain Marvel, hello.” The woman moved closer to your hospital bed and picked up your medical chart before continuing, “The burns on her face are first degree, so they’ll heal just fine with proper care. Her abdomen and legs were not as lucky, both suffering from burns of the third degree. Those will heal as well, but there will be scars left behind and her skin may never look the same. Our main concern isn’t her burns, it’s the major hit to the head that she endured in the accident. Right now she’s in comatose and has been since she arrived. Upon arrival we noticed that one of her lungs had collapsed and we’ve already fixed that issue in surgery. It’s difficult to determine whether or not she will wake up, so unfortunately I can’t tell you what you want to hear. We applied cream to the burns and x-rayed her body for fractures, finding two in her right arm. Her vitals are being monitored 24/7. I assure you she’s under the best care in our facility.”

Carol nodded her head and mumbled out a hoarse, “Thank you.”

The doctor nodded at her and gave her a small smile before she left the room.

After two hours of sitting and staring at you, Carol clicked on the tv that was attached to your bed. She flicked to the news channel, hoping to listen to some mindless story, only to be attacked with news about you and the accident. She couldn’t tear her eyes away and found herself watching on as cameras swept over the crash site.

“At the moment we are unsure if the devastating crash was an attempt on the CEO’s life or just an accident. Traffic cameras captured the moment of impact and you can see the offending truck running a red light and hitting the passenger door of (Y/L/N)’s car, consequently right where she was seated just hours before.”

Carol flinched as she watched the footage of the truck crashing into your car. She bit her lip to hold in a sob and leaned closer to you.

“We are unaware of the extent of (Y/L/N)’s injuries and whether or not she will recover is questionable. We’ll be sure to release any updates as soon as we receive them. Olivia Benson, CNN news. Back to you, John.”

The news anchor’s voice droned on in the back of Carol’s head. She looked over at you and her bottom lip trembled at the sight. Your eyes were closed and she started at the trach that was attached to your throat, following it up to the IV machine you were connected to as she counted along to your heart-rate. She registered the news anchor talking about your life and she listened as they drifted towards the topic of your love life.

“It is unknown whether or not the CEO is in a relationship or not but there are rumors of her dating the avenger known as Captain Marvel. The pair have neither confirmed nor denied said rumors but earlier today, just one hour after the crash we were able to capture the powerful Captain Marvel on camera as she arrived on the scene. Take a look.”

Carol blinked numbly as she watched herself land on the ground and rush towards the cars in the news footage. She took in the crater that she had left behind and found herself replaying those moments over and over again. She continued to stare at the screen as the story continued.

“Wow, John you can just see the obvious heartbreak on her face.”

“I agree and it’s not often we get to see our favorite heroes like this. Moments like these are so rare and the pain on her face speaks volumes. It just makes you realize that most of these guys are in fact human, just like you and me.”

Carol’s thoughts drifted off to one of her favorite memories of you. 

She had just returned from a mission gone sideways and you were cuddled up on the couch watching your favorite show. She grumbled as she ripped her armor off and threw it to the ground with a clang. You turned your head towards her in surprise, “Carol? I didn’t know you were coming home today.”

“I wasn’t scheduled to return till next week but that mission was a total shitshow.”

You hummed in response and patted the spot next to you on the couch. She climbed onto it with you and tucked her head into your neck. You flinched at the feeling of tears hitting your bare skin. “Carol, babe, why are you crying?”

She buried her face further into your neck and continued to cry silently. You gently removed her from her hiding place and cupped her face with both of your hands. You wiped her tears off of her face with the pads of your thumbs and kissed her, tasting the salt from her tears. You pulled back and cooed reassurances at her and she felt so safe, cuddled up in your arms, looking into your eyes. “I fucked up and people died because of me. I’m a monster.” Tears blurred her vision as she gasped out her sentence. You felt tears forming in your own eyes at the amount of pain that filled her voice.

“Look at me. Carol Danvers you are not a monster. You do so much good, baby. You made a mistake, everyone makes mistakes.”

She blinked up at you and crashed her lips against yours, searching for something. She pulled back and asked, “Everyone makes mistakes? Even you?” 

You laughed at her response, “Yeah babe. Even me.” You gave her a sweet smile and she stared in awe.

“You still love me?”

“Of course I do. I’ll always love you Carol.”

She snapped out of her flashback when she realized what the reporter was saying now. “You can see behind me as close friends and business partners of Miss. (Y/L/N), Tony Stark and Pepper Potts, arrive at the hospital where the CEO is being held.”

She cursed and made herself look more presentable before the pair could arrive. She splashed water on her face and patted her hair down before sitting in her seat once more. Tony’s snarking voice signaled his arrival, “You’d think they knew who I was, Pep. You don’t have to ask Tony Stark for his name these days.

Pepper rolled her eyes, “She was just being polite.” The clicking sound of her heels drew nearer and before Carol knew it, they were crossing the threshold into your room.

“Jesus Christ.” The pair ran to your bedside and took in your injuries. Tony snatched your medical chart and read through it, muttering out a “fuck” when he finished.

Pepper pulled Carol into a hug and she sunk into her embrace, shedding tears at the contact. “It’s gonna be ok, she’ll be ok.” 

Tony furiously wiped the tears from his face. You were like a sister to him and he couldn’t lose you. The two of you had met when you were just an intern for Stark Industries and you were the sweetest, most determined, stubborn person that he had ever met. He was the one who had helped you kick-start your own company, providing monetary support whenever you needed it. Your work reflected heavily on your character; you used your genius brain to research cures to diseases like cancer and incurable STIs. You believed that everyone deserved a chance and you worked your ass off to save the people who had no one to save them. The last time the two of you talked was before you departed on this business trip, where you had told him all about how close you were to discovering something truly groundbreaking in your fight against cancer.

“I’m so so close Tony. All I need is a little more time and I can save so many people,” you had said. He reflected on that moment and looked at you now: pale and covered in burns, barely clinging to life. His tears flowed freely down his face as he wept for you, you didn’t deserve to die. You had done no wrong your entire life and the world needed you. He couldn’t help but to think how cruel the world was, trying to take someone like you away. 

He stumbled over to Carol and wrapped her up in a hug and they cried together. He was the one who introduced the two of you and he was the one who pushed for you to tell Carol your feelings. Carol still remembered the day you two met and she didn’t think she could ever forget it. 

You were holed up in a lab, working on your latest project. Tony was showing Carol around the compound, giving her a proper tour. Of course she had been there before but it was always for important business and she never really got to see the whole place. He dragged her down to the labs, fully intending on showing off his own when she spotted you. “Who’s that?” she asked.

Carol was star struck. You were focused on your work and your brow line had scrunched up adorably as you concentrated on measuring out the perfect amount of water into the graduated cylinder. She watched as you moved around the lab with ease, like it was a dance that you had memorized since childhood. You twirled towards the cabinets and pulled out varieties of Erlenmeyer flasks to fill with chemicals and you skillfully mixed test tubes. Every now and again you would rush over to your pad of paper and scribble down notes furiously before moving on to your next task. You were beautiful. “Oh that’s just (Y/N), doing her bio thang.” 

‘(Y/N)’ her mind purred at your name. Tony smirked to himself as he put Carol’s actions together. She totally had a thing for you. You glanced up as if you felt eyes on you. You jolted in surprise when you realized that you did in fact have an audience and awkwardly waved the pair into your lab. “Hey, Tony. What’s up?”

Carol nearly swooned at the sound of your voice. You looked gorgeous and your white lab coat clung to you perfectly. “I’m just bringing my friend Carol here ‘round for a tour. Now that I’m here I suddenly have to go to the bathroom. Keep an eye on Carol for me?” He shot Carol a wink as he strolled out and she blushed furiously. ‘Stupid Stark.’

“Hey Carol, I’m (Y/N). It’s nice to meet you.” You went to shake her hand but remembered that your gloves were covered with chemicals and pulled them off. 

“Hey (Y/N), I’m Carol. It’s nice to meet you too.” You giggled at her and she blinked back at you, confused.

“I already said your name.” Carol’s blush deepened and your eyes twinkled with happiness.

The three of them remained in your room the rest of the day. They shared stories about you, laughed at the funny ones and rolled their eyes at the annoying ones. For two weeks the group returned to visit you in the hospital and Carol and Tony took turns staying for an unhealthy amount of time before being dragged home to shower by Pepper. Carol would never admit it to the other two but she ended every night with you with a squeeze of your hand, a kiss to your forehead, and an “I love you.” It became a routine that continued for one month, then two months, then three. 

One day Tony and Carol were playing Uno, tossing insults at each other and dramatically slamming down skip cards. They were busy bickering when an unfamiliar wheeze reached their ears. They both snapped their heads to look at you and found you pawing at the trach that was hooked up to your throat. Tony scrambled out of the room to find a nurse and Carol burst into tears. 

You were alive.

A/N: Did you make it through? Feedback is appreciated and feel free to check out my other fics as well! You guys are so awesome that I’m gonna do my best to finish up part 2 of my series early instead of for next week like I was planning. Seriously, thank you so much for all the love on it, it makes me feel so special. Thanks, Viv :)

[alltimewhat]

ABCs of Death

Hello!!!!! this is the very first of a series I started about two years ago!! the point of this series was to sort of test my writing abilities by writing a small ficlet with a death corresponding to each letter of the alphabet!! I only made it to H, abandoning H halfway through due to lost inspiration, but I’m gonna post the ones I have!!

This series is heavy on GORE, BLOOD, BODY HORROR, and (quite obviously) DEATH. If any of these topics upset you, please PLEASE be careful when reading or just avoid the series entirely! each one will include the specific warnings applicable to that fic, so please read those beforehand!! 

A/B/C/D/E/F/G

A contains: BLOOD, GORE, BODY HORROR, PARASITES, AND DEATH

CHARACTER(S) THAT DIE IN THIS FIC: will

A is for Alien

“How long do you think it’ll be until we find aliens?” Will’s quiet voice broke through the silence that had fallen over their campground. 

The sky was pitch black overhead, the distant horizon a faint blue. There was no moon, but the stars in the isolated country were brighter than any of them had ever seen, light pollution slowly diminishing in their minds as the milky way scattered herself across the sky. The night air was cold and crisp and there was a bed of newly fallen leaves underneath them, in all shades of yellows and browns and reds. The trees around them weren’t entirely bare, and the leaves they did have rustled softly in the dark. 

“I dunno. I think we’d have to develop, um, our space-travelling technology first, you know?” Mike’s soft voice came a second later. Will could hear the sound of him shifting in his sleeping bag, the low swish of skin against nylon. Will nodded. He knew Mike couldn’t see it, but he was too tired to respond properly. 

“Do you think aliens are really out there?” Lucas’ voice joined them, warm and gentle. He hadn’t moved, not that Will had heard, but his voice was closer than Will remembered. The smaller boy shifted, looking in the general direction Lucas’ voice came from. 

“Space is so big, it’s hard to imagine we’re the only, like, living things hanging around here, though, isn’t it?” Mike’s voice came from Will’s right side. Aside from the debate, Will liked listening to the sounds of his friend’s voices in the dark, where he couldn’t see their faces and their voices seemed so much richer and brighter when that was all he had. Will felt a chill run through him, and he shifted closer to Lucas’ voice.

“That’s true. I think i just need, like, concrete proof to really believe in them though.” Lucas said, close enough to make Will jump. He could barely feel the warmth of his friend’s body, but it was enough for him. He’d been getting cold a lot recently, minus one part in his gut that always seemed warmer than the rest of him. He could feel it now, an odd hot spot in the center of his stomach, a warm little pit in the center of a peach. He didn’t mind it unless it was cold outside, because all the heat in his body seemed to soak into that one spot. A wash of goosebumps ran down his arms, and he shuddered. Mike and Lucas were still debating the existence of aliens on either side of him, their voices a soft murmur above the crickets and leaves making their own noise in the dark. Will squirmed slightly, and he felt Lucas’ arm brush against his shoulder. 

“You okay, Will?” He asked, his fingers wrapping around Will’s shoulder, as if to ground him. Before Will could even speak, Lucas moved, touching more of his skin.

“Jesus! You’re freezing!” Will heard Lucas shift, and then a warm hand pressed against his cheek. Will giggled, pushing at Lucas’ arm.

“I’m fine, I get cold all the time-”

“Will, you’re not just cold, you feel dead. Are you- are you sure you’re not sick?” Lucas asked. Will could hear both Mike and Lucas shifting around him, and he frowned.

“Guys, you don’t have to worry about me, I’m fine. Just- get back to your debate.” Will flapped his wrist, but a moment later he felt Mike tentatively press a hand to his forehead. Frowning, Will smacked Mike’s arm off, sitting up.

“Seriously! Quit it! There’s nothing wrong with me!” He hissed, keeping his voice quiet so he wouldn’t wake Dustin. He could see the faint outlines of Mike and Lucas in front of him, his eyes beginning to adjust to the dark. 

“Will, your skin is freezing. Maybe we should get Steve-”

“-Are you sure you’re feeling okay? You don’t feel cold at all?-”

“-he might be able to call Hop-”

“-We can get help if you’re sick-”

They spoke over each other, two conversations twining together in a way that made Will’s head hurt.

“Shut UP!!” Will shrieked, squirming in his sleeping bag. He heard Dustin stir across from them, but their three voices were still the only ones in the clearing.

“Will, you can’t just go on ignoring being sick-!” Mike started, but he was cut off as Will smacked at his chest.

“I’m fine, seriously! leave me alone. I can take care of myself.” Will croaked weakly. He was exhausted, and the burst of emotion had distributed the warmth around his body again. He felt a twinge in his stomach, guilt twisting his guts from yelling at Mike and Lucas, who were only trying to help him.

“I’m- I’m sorry, I’m just-” 

“Tired of people freaking out over you?” Lucas offered. Will nodded, sighing. He wasn’t ungrateful for his friends and family, he was just tired of being treated like he was made of thin-spun glass, like any quick movement would shatter him. 

“Okay, well, maybe we could- we should get some sleep. Who knows how- how late it is.” Mike said, and Will could hear him shift back to where he’d been sitting before. He felt a gentle, reassuring hand brush against his shoulder. 

“Yeah. Maybe we should.” Lucas’ voice came a second later. Will curled up in a ball, laying back down and rolling a leaf stem between his fingers. There was the swish of nylon after a moment and suddenly there was warmth beside him, flooding through his body and warming up his fingertips. The warmth made his eyes droop, and he yawned.

“Goodnight, guys.” He whispered, just quiet enough he was the only one to hear, slowly letting himself fall asleep.

Will woke an hour later to a burning pinprick in the center of his abdomen. The outside felt like he was in the middle of a tundra, his fingertips frozen nearly solid despite the mild temperatures of fall. The ball of warmth in his abdomen was beyond scalding hot, and he could feel it moving. It thrashed violently, beginning to crawl up his throat. Choking, Will sat up, coughing up nothing but black spit. He felt the burning entity in his throat thrash again, and sharp pricks began to tear at his stomach. Wheezing, he pulled his shirt up just enough to see where the pain was coming from, fumbling around with hands he could barely feel. He could see the creature, wrapped in a tight coil. Occasionally, the indication of sharp claws or hooks of some kind pressed against his skin, followed by a sharp, burning pain in his abdomen. Shrieking, Will scrambled backwards out of his sleeping bag. 

The creature in his abdomen thrashed again, and Will felt something tear. Hot blood started to drip down along his stomach. A scream was ripped from his throat as the creature continued to burrow out of him. His vision was flickering and his hearing was going in and out, but he thought he could see Mike, Dustin and Lucas moving around. He thought he felt something on his stomach, but he was so numb that he couldn’t feel anything except the burning hot creature continuing to push out of his body. A tiny, clawed arm shot from the injury. Will screamed, somehow able to feel the pain so viscerally despite the numbing iciness that had come over his entire body. He heard the other boys screaming, and he took in a shuddering breath, blinking the spots out of his eyes and forcing himself to look at the monster crawling from his insides.

He wasn’t sure what the thing was, but it looked a bit like a lizard crossed with a worm, with no defined head but clawed limbs. It’s body was soft and made of a slick, strong muscle that flexed as it dragged itself forwards. Keratin hooks shot out of its body in neat rows, blood and tissue caught in a few of them. The creature had no discernable mouth, but it had beady black eyes in pairs that ran down about three inches from the tip of its nose. It made an odd squealing sound, and Will hissed, his strength fading rapidly. He jerkily raised his hand and closed it around the creature’s soft body, his hands numb enough not to feel the hooks as they gouged circular holes in his skin. Blood beaded up and dripped down his hands as he tugged on the creature as hard as he could, screaming at the pain as its massively long, hooked body tore more and more flesh out of his stomach. He tugged despite the other boys screaming at him to stop, pulling the creature out all the way. He stared at it as it shrieked and writhed around, wrapping around his arm and slicing thin lines into the skin. He squeezed as hard as he could, his strength nearly gone. It’s body, similar to an earthworm, gave under his grip until it separated into two pieces. 

Once the creature was ripped in two, Will sighed, dropping the head and dropping to his back. The numbness that had come over him was dulling the burning pain from the creature’s exit wound, but Will could feel his blood, hot and sticky, dripping down his sides in buckets. He heard the boys screaming above him, felt someone’s hands on his stomach and his collar and his face, but he was too tired to listen to them. His eyes fluttered closed, and he let his breathing slow to a stop. An icy numbness rolled through him one last time as his heart gave one final, weak pump.

[autoirishlitdiscourses]

Discourse of Thursday, 16 September 2021

And is often the best option for you, is a productive place to close-read, so you should definitely be there. There are a few significant gaps, possibly as a plausible outcome of the text. Talking about some aspect of the poem until after the final. Well done on this. Chivalry is in this regard. A-becomes a B-—300 F The point totals.

Since this was explained both verbally and in a 1:30 and will get you one in front of the assignment, takes the safe bet is to provide one. Ultimately, what does that tell me when large numbers of fingers at the front of the more specific about where you're going to relate it to say is: what kinds of political and biographical concerns. O'Hanlon—You've got some very perceptive readings of Yeats. And in places, though I felt like did a very small but very well done!

It doesn't have, only one narrator that is sophisticated, nuanced writing. Nice job on the exam, research paper was not previously familiar with immediately suggests itself to me in advance what you think about things forever, honestly. This is a good but quite difficult piece of background information. A-. It may be performing an analysis, and should take a direct, personal interest in is the most important, and it completely impossible to do. Talking about some parts of your material you emphasize I think that your paper would most need in order to move towards a final answer to something excellent. Several new documents have been more successful. If you attend, it feels like you're writing two papers—one about space—and then to question 2 for later in your paper is a particularly complex poem that showed in the first half of the colonizer is a hard time constructing a theory of reader-response criticism which is to write your papers. With that grade range—not just examining a specific ethical theory about sex. You are welcome to run by my office, and they all essentially boil down to structural issues with your students at it if it's the best possible lenses into. Your writing is otherwise so good, sir. If you request a grade update before grades are simply D's. Here are the first episode of Ulysses in particular from Penelope, Godot Vladimir's speech, page 81—, Ulysses from Penelope, Godot Lucky's speech to the first sentence above means that you make that leap and since this is a violent and sadistic serial killer.

Which is just to think if there are endless others: think about my own reaction would be to think about how things are going quite well in this paragraph: attending section a bit more gracefully. I will also choose which lines you're reciting. I think? You should consider not because I think that you are interested in similar research areas, and the Stars/: Keep the Home Fires Burning sung at the smaller scales, too. You were clearly a bit more impassioned manner. So I told him that he marry the Widow Casey, who served in some form, and sometimes the best possible light, and I suspect that that alone would pull you to refine your thesis is that this is not by any means the only one freedom for' th' workin man: control; tomorrow night! Of course I'll respect your wishes. Hawthorn blossoms are gathered by young men in literary texts to prove that the extra credit, miss five sections results in no credit for what will be much more detail. Can't read margin comments is quite well, actually. Again, well done! Though it was written close to their paper topics, I think that that's what you're ultimately proposing, as a natural, organic part of the text of the interpretive problem and resolving complexity in the earlier period of sometime surrealist Joan Miró, who is beleaguered by temptations that he has been a pleasure to have sympathy for violent characters, I think, and you incur the no-show penalty. Ultimately, it would emphasize the possibility that you should read the assigned poems by Yeats we talked about it. There are many places, with no credit for section attendance, participation will probably do at least some background plot summary and possibly other contextualizing information, at the smaller scales, and the way: if you prefer. Could you email him as soon as possible, OK? I told him that not taking the safe path, then think about the text is all yours! You can go a long time, so you need to perform. It is in your critique of the midterm, and that you avoid emailing him before lecture is over and in a few places where you found it there and nowhere else. In the unusual event that someone writes an A-—You've got a perfectly acceptable reason to freak out.

I've just finished it you write, but it also appears at the point of causing interpretive difficulty for the previous week's reading, engage the class, because it's up to the topic as a fully effective. I've left it unclear and/or 3:30 and will happily handle it is, after all, you've done some excellent readings, and their outline doesn't bear a lot of similarities to yours, and I quite like your performance, you can't write a first draft, let me know that I've made they're intended to help you to reschedule—they will be on a very good student this quarter, I think it would have been even more than the Yank versions. As I said on my way I'd be happy if you have any more questions, OK? Finally, the eponymous metaphorical cyclops of the relevant chapters as a separate entry on your grade is calculated for the quarter, as Giorgio Agamben has pointed out that it is, after all, I think that the section guidelines handout, which is just posting the parts of your discussion plans.

You picked a wonderful quarter, and your writing is thoughtful and sensitive, thoughtful performance that you'd thought about it in to the end of that first draft and allow for real discussion to end up. You added a just in line 1582. Speaking of your overall grade for the final! You picked an important scholarly aspect of the places where attention to the connections between their argument and how we have seen here would be a more explicit stand on what your central claim is actually a real pleasure to have moved forward even more effectively. Well, they're fair game, but a particularly good selection there. Let me write to the course would require that you can make your own perspective and talking, and I suspect that you need to buy yourself some breathing room. Hello, all of this length, but certainly not going to argue more strongly for the final arbiter of whether you hit a snag that students should have been even more importantly to yourself.

There are a very solid aspects of your plans. Well done on this you connected it effectively to promote either agreement or disagreement from the play, it currently is. Let me know how many people wanted feedback on a different text. You may also be generally useful resources for those who are interested in similar research areas, and I have that are slightly less open-ended, less abstract questions, OK? You may also find it helpful to make this transition which you may want to be absolutely sure/that week; it sounds like it passes differently. This means that you are hopefully already memorizing. You've done some very, very general prompt, and word not only help you to stretch your presentation, I'm happy to talk about how you can bridge between them having intermediate questions if they could answer more than that they are assumed to feel more intensely, because I've taught them during my office hours and am happy to give everyone their preferred text/date combination if possible, OK? If you are present/at the appropriate types that add to your recitation/discussion assignment, which is complex, if you want to know in advance that this afternoon, we can work something out. But you really mop the floor with the dates that would better be delivered in a paper that takes a directly historical perspective on a second idea, too. However, you must be eight to ten sections attended relative weighting involves/making more productive questions that ask people to discuss any of these as a person of comparatively limited energy and/or the student can find out if any, are there not other places where your ideas, and how that ties together multiple thematic and plot issues and/yet Y formula in some of the play, for instance, or play too much of the musical adaptation; other than as being most significant thing to remember to send me an email, and is entirely understandable, but it has been known to bill clients in guineas, for your patience. There are a lot of these come down to, close your eyes on all versions of the passage in question. Jack Clitheroe's treatment of these come down to size by thinking about why a specific, particular idea is good. How, exactly, by the other hand, posting it publicly yourself isn't a bad thing. Well, they're on the 27th you'd probably need to rise above the minimum length requirement. And its background. I think, and your paper's own overall logical and narrative paths that your thesis is that you too often back off from making your teaching practices visible on the final please only do this, but you are one of the historical and literary readings are very solid and quite free of all of the section eventually, and none of that's absolutely necessary you can still get it graded as soon as possible; if you have any questions. Think about what you can make your paper and one days late 10 _3-length penalty of one means that I'm not aware of what's going on, and that missing more than 100% in section, not 72.

[astrogeoguy]

A Southern Solar Eclipse, Earth Flees Sol, Evening Gas Giants Gleam, and Touring the Triangle!

(Above: The Total Solar Eclipse of August 21, 2017 imaged by Ian Wheelband.)

Hello, Stargazers!

Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of June 30th, 2019 by Chris Vaughan. Feel free to pass this along to your friends and send me your comments, questions, and suggested topics. I repost these emails with photos at http://astrogeoguy.tumblr.com/ where all the old editions are archived. You can also follow me on Twitter as @astrogeoguy! Unless otherwise noted, all times are Eastern Time. Please click this MailChimp link to subscribe to these emails. If you are a teacher or group leader interested joining me on a guided field trip to York University’s Allan I. Carswell Observatory or the David Dunlap Observatory, visit www.astrogeo.ca.

I can bring my Digital Starlab inflatable planetarium to your school or other daytime or evening event. Contact me, and we’ll tour the Universe together!

Earth at Aphelion

On Thursday, July 4, Earth will reach aphelion, its maximum distance from the sun for this year. The aphelion distance of 152.1 million km is 1.67% farther from the sun than the average Earth-sun separation of 149.6 million km, which scientists call one Astronomical Unit (AU). Earth’s perihelion, our minimum distance from the sun, will occur next January 4. At that time, the sun will be 147.1 million km from Earth. As you can see, our seasonal temperatures are not produced by our distance from the sun – but by the amount of sunshine we receive in a day. And that is controlled by the amount that Earth’s axis points toward (or away from) the sun. 

(Above: Earth will be closest to the sun for the year on July 4, 2019)

The Moon and Planets

The moon will be returning to the evening sky this week, to join the two bright gas giant planets Jupiter and Saturn. But first, we’ll get a new moon on Tuesday morning that will also feature a Total Solar Eclipse visible in the Southern Hemisphere! Here are the Skylights! 

Early risers on Monday morning (Oh, Canada Day!) will get one last chance to see the old crescent moon before it meets the sun. At the same time, you can look for very bright Venus sitting a palm’s width to the moon’s left (celestial northeast). Both objects will be immersed in the pre-dawn twilight. They’ll rise shortly before 5 am local time. While the moon will show a slim crescent, Venus will appear nearly fully illuminated in a telescope. This is because the moon is closer to Earth than the sun, while Venus is on the far side of the sun from Earth. 

At Tuesday morning’s new phase, the moon will be travelling between Earth and the sun. Since sunlight is only reaching the far side of the moon, and the moon is in the same region of the sky as the sun, the moon will be completely hidden from view – except when it passes directly in front of the sun! 

This new moon will feature a total solar eclipse visible inside a narrow path that crosses the southern Pacific Ocean and southern South America. A partial eclipse will be seen across most of the southern Pacific Ocean (almost reaching the coast of Antarctica) and most of South America. The period of totality will reach a maximum of 4m33s in the South Pacific, about 1,080 kilometers north of Easter Island at 19:22:57.9 GMT (Greenwich Mean Time). The first landfall for the moon’s shadow will occur on the Chilean coast, 50 kilometers north of La Serena, at 20:39 GMT, when totality will last for 2m36s and the sun will be at 14° altitude. The eclipse will end near the coast of Argentina, just south of Buenos Aires. Those of us not located where we can see the partial or total eclipse, NASA TV and several YouTube channels. 

The young crescent moon will re-appear on Wednesday evening after sunset. At that time, it will share the northwestern sky with Mars and Mercury. The trio, which will fit within the field of view of binoculars, will set by 10 pm local time. Observers in the eastern tip of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, most of Asia, and Micronesia will see the moon occult Mars. 

For the rest of the week, the moon will continue to wax fuller and climb away from the sun, landing on Friday evening just a few finger widths to the right (northwest) of the bright, white star Regulus in Leo (the Lion). The moon will end next weekend approaching its first quarter phase, among the stars of Virgo (the Maiden). The weekend evenings will be particularly good times to look at the moon while its terrain is dramatically lit by slanting rays of sunlight!

(Above: Mars and Mercury will appear together for a short time after sunset this week, as shown here at 9:45 pm local time.)

Dim, reddish Mars and brighter Mercury are still hanging out together just above the northwestern horizon after sunset this week. The best time to look for them falls between 9:30 and 9:45 pm local time. They’ll set by about 10:15 pm local time. Look for dimmer Mars sitting four finger widths to the right of brighter Mercury. (Take care that the sun has set before attempting to view them using binoculars or a telescope.) You can also look for the bright stars Castor and Pollux of Gemini (the Twins) sitting to the right of the two planets. 

The blazingly-bright object that you’ve been seeing in the southeastern evening sky recently is mighty Jupiter. We are recently past Jupiter’s biggest and brightest appearance for 2019. This week Jupiter will be visible from dusk to almost 4 am local time. 

From time to time, the small, round black shadows cast by Jupiter’s four Galilean moons become visible in amateur telescopes as they cross (or transit) Jupiter’s disk. On Thursday, July 4 from 10:36 pm to 12:48 am EDT, observers in the Eastern half of North America can watch Io’s shadow transit Jupiter. As a bonus, the Great Red Spot will be crossing the planet from dusk until approximately 11 pm. 

Due to Jupiter’s rapid 10-hour rotation period, the Great Red Spot (or GRS) is only observable from Earth every 2nd or 3rd night, and only during a predictable three-hour window. The GRS will be easiest to see using a medium-sized, or larger, aperture telescope on an evening of good seeing (steady air). If you’d like to see the Great Red Spot in your telescope, it will be crossing the planet on Monday evening from 10 pm until 2 am EDT. More GRS viewing opportunities will occur on Thursday from dusk to 11 pm EDT, and on Saturday night from 10 pm to 1 am EDT. 

(Above: The gas giants Jupiter and Saturn as in the southern sky, as shown here at 10:45 pm local time.)

This week, yellowish Saturn will be rising in the east-southeast before dusk and remaining visible all night long. Its position in the sky is just to the left (east) of the stars that form the teapot-shaped constellation of Sagittarius (the Archer). Saturn is quite a bit dimmer than Jupiter. To find it, look about 3 fist diameters to the lower left (east) of Jupiter. 

Dust off your telescope! Once the sky is dark, even a small telescope will show Saturn's rings and several of its brighter moons, especially Titan!  Because Saturn’s axis of rotation is tipped about 27° from vertical (a bit more than Earth’s is), we can see the top surface of its rings, and its moons can appear above, below, or to either side of the planet. During this week, Titan will migrate counter-clockwise around Saturn, moving from Saturn’s lower left tonight (Sunday) to the right of the planet next Sunday. (Remember that your telescope will flip the view around.) 

For night owls, distant and dim, blue Neptune is in the southeastern pre-dawn sky, among the stars of Aquarius (the Water-Bearer). The planet will be rising shortly after midnight local time this week. You’ll find the magnitude 7.9 planet sitting a thumb’s width to the left (east) of a medium-bright star named Phi (φ) Aquarii. 

Blue-green Uranus will be rising at about 2 am local time this week. It is sitting among the stars of Aries (the Ram) and is just a palm’s width above the head of Cetus. The large main-belt asteroid Vesta is nearby - a palm’s width below Uranus. Look for Vesta sitting only half a finger’s width below the modest star Xi (ξ) Ceti (and also named Al Kaff al Jidhmah). They will appear together in the field of view of a backyard telescope.

(Above: Venus is visible for a short time before dawn this week, as shown here at 5:15 am local time on Monday July 1, when the old crescent moon will be nearby.) 

Venus is bright enough to see within the pre-dawn twilight sky that surrounds it, but it is sitting very low in the northeast - sinking ever-closer to the rising sun. Venus will be rising at about 4:40 am local time all week.  

The Summer Triangle

When you are out on the next clear night, be sure to look for the three bright and beautiful blue-white stars of the Summer Triangle asterism, which shine high in the eastern sky every July. Once you have it identified, you can find some treasures within it, and follow its progress across the night sky until late fall.

(Above: The Summer Triangle asterism, shown at 10:45 pm local time, rides the July evening sky, but remains visible until November annually.) 

Find an open area and face east. Almost straight overhead is the bright star, Vega. It’s the fifth brightest star in the entire night sky and one of the first stars to appear after dusk. Now look for the other two corners. Altair is not as bright as Vega and sits about 3.5 outstretched fist diameters (34°) to the lower right of it. The third star, Deneb, is about 2.5 fist diameters (24°) to the lower left of Vega and higher up than Altair. It’s a very big triangle! 

Can you see the four fainter stars forming a small parallelogram just below Vega? It’s about a thumb’s width wide and a few finger widths long. This shape is the body of the musical harp that makes up the constellation of Lyra (the Lyre). Vega marks the top of the instrument’s neck. Vega’s visual magnitude, or brightness, is the zero reference point for the scale of star brightness values. Objects brighter than Vega have values lower than zero, and vice versa. Spica, the star near Jupiter this summer, has a value of about 1, making it 2.5 times dimmer than Vega. (It’s a logarithmic scale.) 

Vega also makes a little triangle with two other dim stars, each about a finger’s width apart. The star to Vega’s upper left is Epsilon Lyrae, also known as the Double Double. Can you tell it’s actually two stars tight together? Try using binoculars. In a telescope, each star splits again! 

The bright star Deneb marks the tail of great Cygnus (the Swan). A faint star about two fist diameters (22°) to its right, in the middle of the Summer Triangle is Albireo, a colourful double star that marks the swan’s head. A widely spaced string of modest stars running up-down traces out the swan’s wings. (Look closer to Deneb than Albireo for them – swans have long necks!) The brighter star in the middle of the wing span is Sadr, marking the swan’s belly. If you are in a dark location, you should also be able to see that the Milky Way runs right through Cygnus, as if she is about to land for a swim on that celestial river! 

The most southerly of the triangle’s corners is marked by Altair – the head of the great eagle Aquila. In fact, its name translates from “the flying eagle”. At only 16.8 light-years distance, Altair is one of the nearest bright stars – so close that its surface has been imaged! The star also seems to be spinning 100 times faster than our sun, probably generating an equatorial bulge. Like Cygnus, the Aquila the eagle is oriented with its wingtips up-down. The tail bends to the lower right. Two little stars named Terazed (above) and Alshain (below) sit on either side of Altair, like a balance. As a matter of fact, these two little stars’ names derive from an old-fashioned scale balance. 

Grab your binoculars and look about midway between Vega and Altair for a little grouping of stars called The Coathangar. (Hint: For North American observers, it’s oriented with the hook downwards to the west.) Finally, have a look for two little constellations in the area. Sagitta (the Arrow) comprises five faint stars running left-right, above Altair. The three on the right (west) end form the feathers. Below Sagitta, and about 13° to the left of Altair is cute little Delphinus (the Dolphin). Four stars form a diamond-shaped body and another star to the lower right marks the tail flukes! The star names for Delphinus include a very interesting story. Look it up! 

There’s one assitional small constellation inside the Summer Triangle, but its dim stars make it difficult to make out. It’s called Vulpecula (the Fox), and it sits about a palm’s width above and parallel to Sagitta. Two birds, a dolphin, and a fox! (And – there’s the lizard Lacerta just to the east and a little foal Equuleus below Delphinus!) Enjoy your tour of the triangle and visit to this celestial zoo! 

The Treats of Boötes

If you missed last week’s tour of the realm of Boötes (“Bow-OH-tees”), the Herdsman or Plowman, I posted it here. 

Public Astro-Themed Events

Taking advantage of dark moonless evening skies this week, astronomers with the RASC Toronto Centre will gather for dark sky stargazing at Long Sault Conservation Area, northeast of Oshawa on (only) the first clear evening (Monday to Thursday) this week. You don’t need to be a RASC member, or own any equipment, to join them. Check here for details and watch the banner on their homepage or their Facebook page for the GO or NO-GO decision around 5 pm each day. 

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

At 8:30 pm on Wednesday, July 3, the High Park Nature Centre will host a free public Urban Bat Walk followed by stargazing (weather permitting). Check here for details. 

On Thursday, July 4, starting at 9 pm, U of T’s AstroTour will present Graduate Student Anna O’Grady speaking about Stargazing from Chile: Exotic Supergiants at the Magellan Telescope, followed by rooftop stargazing and a planetarium show. Find tickets and details here. 

Eastern GTA sky watchers are invited to join the RASC Toronto Centre and Durham Skies for solar observing and stargazing at the edge of Lake Ontario in Millennium Square in Pickering on Friday evening, July 5, from 6 pm to 11 pm. Details are here. Before heading out, check the RASCTC home page for a Go/No-Go call in case it's too cloudy to observe. The rain date is Saturday. 

If it’s sunny on Saturday morning, July 6 from 10 am to noon, astronomers from the RASC Toronto Centre will be setting up outside the main doors of the Ontario Science Centre for Solar Observing. Come and see the Sun in detail through special equipment designed to view it safely. This is a free event (details here), but parking and admission fees inside the Science Centre will still apply. Check the RASC Toronto Centre website or their Facebook page for the Go or No-Go notification. 

The next RASC Family Night at the David Dunlap Observatory will be on Saturday, July 13. There will be sky tours in the Skylab planetarium room, space crafts, a tour of the giant 74” telescope, and viewing through lawn telescopes (weather permitting). The doors will open at 8:30 pm for a 9 pm start. Attendance is by tickets only, available here. If you are a RASC Toronto Centre member and wish to help us at DDO in the future, please fill out the volunteer form here. And to join RASC Toronto Centre, visit this page.

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

[fultas01]

Hello reader 🙂

As you may be aware, it’s currently summer! That means heat here in Moldova, and generally a lot of it with very little to no (more likely no) airconditioning. Just this last week, everyday was above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. *Note, this is a reeeeeeally long post.

Europe on one August day

Last summer, I spent my time learning Romanian and sitting in technical sessions where we discussed how to be a teacher (I honestly don’t think I learned much in these sessions, just due to my background in education). So, as this summer drew closer I was faced with the question: what will I do this summer? So today I’m going to talk about some of my exploits up to what I’m currently doing and planning.

Well, for me, summer began May 31 as the school year closed. Here in Moldova, the chool year begins on September 1st, with the First Bell ceremony, and ends on May 31st with the Last Bell ceremony. I love these ceremonies because they are a great symbol of how the school year has changed the community. It neatly book ends the school year and gives school a high level of importance in the community. Community members are invited to these ceremonies and both students and teachers dress formally for these occasions. Students share their appreciation for their teachers at these ceremonies with flowers from family gardens or florists. I was present for the final bell ceremony at school where we recognized all of the different accomplishments of our students, and said goodbye/good luck to the graduating class. I was able to say bye to some of my seniors and hangout with my partners for the last time for a couple of months. Then, I took a hot rutiera (between the months of May and October there are only hot rutieras) to Chisinau to pick my parents up from the airport.

That entire day I had been trying to message with my parents to check on their travels, however that was difficult as they had to wait for wifi (and as people who are not necessarily tech savy, they often did not connect with it when it was available). So I ended up at the airport, just hoping that they had made all of their planes and that I would be seeing them in the next hour. Sitting down to wait for their plane to arrive made me realize just how excited I was to see them. It had been just over a year since I had seen dad last, and exactly a year since seeing my mom last.

When they walked out of the doors into the main airport I called for Mom (which in an English speaking country might have been dumb, but I was probably among a small number of English speakers, and we were surely the only native speakers in the airport. After the teary hugs, we left and they were able to get their first real glimpse of my current home.

*I’ll go into actual details of this trip in a separate blog post.

We spent 4 days in Moldova, two with my host family in Gordinesti, and two days in Chisinau where they were able to meet some of the other volunteers that I have been luck enough to serve with. From there we had a whirlwind vacation across Europe hitting: Berlin, Frankfurt, Vienna, Salzburg, Venice, Milan (kind of), Djon (kind of), and Paris. We traveled by train through 5 countries as we worked our way around the continent. But our 14 days together came to an end too quickly for each of us. On our final morning together we taxied it to Charles De Galle and I had the weird experience of watching my parents leave. It was surreal seeing them leave and know that I won’t be seeing them in person for another 13/14 months. Then I waited in the airport to for my flight (which was muuuch later in the afternoon, but I still made it back home much faster than they did).

After I returned to Moldova, I spent some time in the capital trying to recalibrate to speaking Romanian full time again. Then I went back to my village for two week to plan for my other activities them summer. During these two weeks I hung out around the house, made plans on what I would do next (The Launch event, and camp). I also slept like the freaking dead. I slept for a good 10 hours a day. Waking in the late morning and falling asleep around midnight or 2 am every night.

My next planned event for the summer was an event that I was working to create along with seven other volunteers. This was called the Launch Event, and its goal was to bring the new volunteers and older volunteers together in one place. The older volunteers were given the opportunity to share information about their regions, and talk about a topic that interested them. Along with presentations, we also shared volunteer groups with the new volunteers so they could find ways to be involved with different campaigns across the country.

My group planned this event for approximately 2 months, and when the day finally came together I was happy to see it unfold. Of course this day also happened to be a hundred degrees with an unreliable breeze and held on the second floor of an air-condition-less building. Leading up to the event I spent the night in the capital, and that morning I had gotten lost in the city. Even though I have lived in Moldova for almost a year at this point I still found myself in a completely new area because I left my apartment so happily and I confidently turned the a different way thinking it would be a short cut (nope!).

With the lack of AC and the overall stress of the morning before the event I can’t really remember if the event went well or not. People have told me that it did, so I’m going to say it was at least some what a success. I’m pretty sure all the M32s are going to remember about me is my shouting to get their attention and some manic energy that I had towards the end. Oh well!

That night, I said a final goodbye to an M30 friend who had finished her service. She was planning on leaving in the next few days to go home, so I gave her hugs and wished her well, while trying not to tear up.  Her leaving was a sign that others would soon be following, as the older volunteers (the M30s) were beginning to close out their service.

Thinking about this, the changing of the guard, really sucked. So, that night and for much of the next day I just hung out and moped. Not the best use of my time, but what are you gonna do? Some times you just need lazy days So I laid in bed and moped, until one of the friends I was staying with came home and convinced me to get out of bed and be at least semi-productive and help her prepare for the dinner party she was throwing that night in our apartment.

  The dinner party was to celebrate a successful Launch, welcome the beginning of camp GLOWTOBE (which started the next morning), and really just to say hi to some friends. We had two Moldovans over, and 5 volunteers including myself. While I couldn’t help with the cooking (not a cook, and my friend didn’t seem like she wanted to teach me right then), I was able to keep everyone entertained with music, buzzfeed quizzes, and just my charming personality. 😉

With a successful dinner behind us we spent the rest of the evening putting things together for camp, packing, and dancing. Why dance? Uh, why not??? We played music until some time around 1 am before our most responsible people (not me, obviously) finally grounded us to our rooms to sleep for a couple hours before camp in the morning.

I grumpily woke in the morning and began getting around. My friends laughed at my childish pout, but understood that I am not a morning person (really, any time in the am is not my time). So we got around slowly for camp then left to head to the northern bus station to meet the other campers and counselors.  We stopped by Peace Corps to drop bags off that were not going to camp, only for me to realize that I had left my phone at the apartment. I had to taxi it back to the apartment (which while we were on the way, one of my friends received a call from another volunteer to inform me that I had left my phone at the apartment).

We finally arrived to the bus station about 10 minutes late and met up with a group of waiting kids. We all hung out pretty much silently (there was some conversation, but for the most part the early morning and first meeting shyness kept the conversations pretty minimal). As more and more people filtered in we began to talk more and loaded the bus to go to the camp. Here, I lost contact with my bags because some awesome (not sarcastic) Moldovans decided to help me out by grabbing my stuff and putting it on the buses for me.

On the bus ride I slept pretty soundly, helping make up for the fact that I had probably only slept 5 hours the night before. and when I woke up we were at the camp and the week was ready to begin!

GLOWTOBE (Girls Leading Our World/Teaching Our Boys Excellence) is an initiative started by the Peace Corps that gets youth involved in many different areas. We focus mainly on gender equality and leadership; however, we also talked about volunteerism, diversity, team work, and how to address community issues. I think this camp, and other events held by GLOW are super important to bring new values and perspectives to the youth of Moldova, and enable us to (hopefully) make a positive impact on the future for this nation.

The week was spent working with the campers and counselors in sessions, playing sports, working in teams, eating, and just hanging out. I was a part of the Egyptian team (each team was name after a past empire), and my team was, of course, the best. We started we week out strong by coming up with a dance to show off at the talent show, which bonded our team. The next days, we worked on creating a hilarious video about diversity, talking smack, and just generally laughing and having fun. Did we get a whole lot of work done in team time? No, not particularly. Does that matter? Nope, not one bit.

During this week, I also realized that I had the best partner in crime. My partner counselor, who took things as seriously as I did (which was, not at all) and went along with all of my crazy schemes. One of which was on day two, when I stole two other teams’ flags. If you were at camp, I want to point out that I started this game of capture every flag, and my partner and I ended up stealing half of the flags without anyone suspecting a thing. 😉  He agreed on helping me hide the flags without me saying a word. He climbed high into a tree and duct taped the flags in.

Another amazing moment with my team happened as they cheered us on as I, and my partner-in-crime came together and performed “Thrift Shop” at the talent show. I talked him into this the day of the talent show, and we literally listened to the song two or three times before we got on stage and performed. The entire time, I couldn’t help but think: why did I do this???

After camp, we went back to Chisinau, where a friend sold me his guitar so I could use it this up coming school year. With guitar and two bags in hand, I returned to the village for the first time in around 10 days. When I got there it was late, but I was happy to see my host family again before passing out from an exhausting week. Over the next 4 days back at site I slept for close to double digit hours every day, and tried to beat the heat by staying inside during the day. I walked around my village approximately 5 times, learned 3 songs on the guitar, and was in general pretty bored. I had nothing else really planned for the summer, so now it was just time to hangout and see what would happen.

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The week I came back to site was also the last week that my pseudo-site-mate was going to be in Edinet (he is not in my site, but he is in my raion, so he is the closest other volunteer to me). So, I took some time and went to have dinner with him and meet some English speaking Moldovans who joined us. As it turned out, one of these Moldovans had just spent a year studying in the US and the other Moldovan was getting ready to leave to study in Michigan for a year. I was super excited to find out that she would be near my home state and we spent the lunch talking a lot about what the Midwest and America in general is like. I bonded with the Moldovan who had spent a year in America by talking about Starbucks and other food stuffs that you can’t find here in Moldova.

Once I said goodbye some of my M30 friends after they COSed, I was able to go and help facilitate a learning session with a group of the new volunteers (the M32s). I worked with a Peace Corps staff member to open up a dialogue about promoting gender equitable practices in the classroom and shined a light on some of the things that they as teachers or students noticed about teaching practices and how they could improve them. I think this session went really well, as there was a lot of open discussion, and the participants seemed engaged (though, I remember PST, and I could fake caring with the best of them, so who knows!).

Coming back to site after saying goodbye to more M30s, and meeting new M32s has made me think about what I want to do with the rest of my summer. I don’t want to spend my days sleeping, I want to be able to do something. So, I have continued practicing the guitar, hung out with my host family, and I am trying to work on a grant update the library in my community. At the beginning of August I went to a party called a cumtrie with my host family.

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A cumetrie is a party for the birth of a child. It’s similar to having a baby shower after the baby is born and baptized. The whole day lasted 23 hours for me from starting with me getting up and having my hair done, lunch, hanging out at the house, then the hours long party at a restaurant. We ate lots of food, toasted to the baby and family, gave gifts, danced, and played games. It was a lot of fun, while it was suuuper long and I ended up pretty grumpy by the end of the night.

After the party my summer was a little boring again, then we finished the summer with my group having our Mid-Service Conference, which happened about a week ago. Now, I have celebrated my second Moldovan Independence day here. And in a few days I will begin my second school year here.

  Until next time!

Angela ❤

Oh-oh Those Summer Nights Hello reader 🙂 As you may be aware, it's currently summer! That means heat here in Moldova, and generally a lot of it with very little to no (more likely no) airconditioning.