#it’s in a beautiful future 3000 years in the future…

[asoulwithadream]

(beware beware, spoilers are there, if you haven't watched boom, this will be your doom)

I knew, it called, I knew, everytime Steven Moffat writes under RTD I will a) get scared b) cry c) love the episode. And in this case, all three happened! Bingo!

The concept, the really 1-place centered episode, the emotion, it was beautiful, and most of all, as always, I need to give some credit for my man Ncuti Gatwa KILLING it in all ways possible. This drama deity has graced us with his presence and I am about to become religious!

Love to see the Anglicans back, but I have to talk about my favourite bit of the episode: the Doctor's monologue. Fucking brilliant. Amazing, smart, very fitting to the concept, made me tear up, actually just shove me in a sock and fling me around, it was just so good.

Anytime the Doctor talks about war it's a good day because he will serve that speech till the end of his days.

Now, there's this theory I've written about by @ jeopardyfriendly on TikTok, which essentially argues that Ruby is the Doctor's daughter.

Her age is 3000+ calender years? (*edit: oh right the episode is set like 3000 something years in the future, i am an idiot)

Dad to dad, "I'm a dad too", look, Russel babes, you're hinting an awful lot about parentage and being a father, I'm sure this ain't no coincidence.

Some favourite moments: - Obviously the speech - Dad to dad, dust to dust - The Doctor getting scared that Ruby is going to die and oh my god that almost killed me. - "Everywhere's a beach eventually." Sir why are you talking about beaches you are standing on a landmine. - War is business. - I knew it was a Steven Moffat episode when they killed off the dad.

[powerin]

KALOS KIDS, WE ARE SO BACK!

[dilemmaontwolegs]

Bee Stings and Butterfly Kisses || SV5

Pairing: Sebastian Vettel x wife!reader Summary: Your husband takes nesting to a whole new level with the paradise he’s found to start his family. Warnings: established relationship, pregnant!reader, fluffiness WC: 1.4k

The property Sebastian had chosen to raise his children upon was everything you could have dreamt of and more. There were rolling meadows full of fragrant flowers, forests of conifers and evergreens, and even a lake with an abundance of trout. The house he had designed was built using recycled material and was sustainable to run with the dozens of solar panels on the roof. He had truly future proofed everything to live a life as environmentally friendly as possible.

“Did you know honey is the only food that doesn’t spoil if you store it properly?” Sebastian barely looked up from the old set of drawers he was upcycling into an apiary. “There were pots of honey found in ancient tombs in Egypt, around 3000 years old.”

“I still don't see why we need bees at our home.”

“Because, my love,” he said as he placed his hammer down and pulled you into his arms, “this is our future we are building. Without bees there’s no pollination, with no pollination there’s no flowers, or fruit and vegetables.” His hand splayed across your swollen belly, feeling his son’s kicks against his palm with a smile. “It’s our responsibility to protect our future.”

The outdoor sofa where you were reading was a current favourite place of yours. It was tranquil and warm and allowed you to get off your feet for a little bit while your husband pottered around in the garden. With only a few weeks to your due date everything ached from your neck to your ankles so you kicked your feet up and listened to the birdsong.

The hiss of pain was one you had come to know well recently and it only took a minute for Seb to appear at the edge of the garden, the metal gate squeaking on its rusted hinge. He cupped one hand over his cheek, one eye closed with a wince as he ascended the stairs to the deck.

“You wouldn’t get stung if you used the smoke, love,” you softly reminded him as he took a seat and pulled his hand away. “Oh dear, that’s a big one.”

“We don’t know the long term effect the smoke has on them, it could be poisoning them,” he said as he turned his head so you could use your nails to pull the stinger out without squeezing more toxin into his cheek. “They will recognise me soon and realise I’m not going to hurt them.”

“If you say so.” You loved your husband but you weren’t so sold on the trust building exercise he found himself in. More often than not after going to check the beehive you found yourself in this position, grateful he wasn’t allergic. “How is your queen doing?”

His lips pulled up into a smile and he sat down on the edge of the seat, pulling your feet onto his lap and massaging your swollen ankles. “You tell me, my sweet, how are you doing?”

Emotions swelled in your chest and you cursed as he laughed, leaning closer to wipe away the tear that escaped. “Damn these hormones. You should really stop being so nice so my poor tear ducts can have a break. Can’t you just be a jerk?” His laugh grew and with it the kicks increased. “Yes, yes, daddy’s laughing at me.”

“I would never laugh at your mother,” he chuckled, lifting your shirt to press his lips to your belly. Stretch marks littered the skin and you dared not to think about the other changes that you couldn’t see below the swell, but he still made you feel beautiful. “Everything she is going through is my fault.”

“That’s right,” you agreed with a smile. “Daddy spent a lot of time romancing and seducing me, and now here you are.”

Seb looked up, his long hair hanging in naturally soft waves around his face. “How could I not? You were the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I could hardly concentrate on the race after seeing you.”

“It couldn't have affected you too much,” you said as you tucked his hair behind his ear, “you still won.”

“I had to make a good impression somehow, since I could barely speak a word when we were introduced,” he admitted as he looked out over the garden he tendered.

You followed his gaze knowing he was going to be a great father considering the care he gave to the garden, and you. “It was your eyes I fell for anyway, they looked sweet and kind.”

The rows of plants were just flowering and you traced them to see the little bursts of yellows that all too soon would become bright red ripe tomatoes. Next were the beans, too many varieties to count, all climbing the trellis Seb had made from the wood of fallen trees in the forest. Further beyond were your favourites, the bushes that were brimming with berries of every flavour. Each morning you would amble your way to them with Seb and a bowl, pointing out the juiciest looking berries for him to pick for your smoothie.

Patting his good cheek, you shuffled to sit up and swing your legs off the couch.

“Where are you going?”

With a groan you pulled yourself to your feet and rubbed the straining skin at your sides. “To get some ice to stop that swelling,” you said as you pointed to his face. “You need to be able to see properly if you are thinking about getting back in a race car this weekend.”

“I can get it, you rest.” He followed you into the house even after catching the roll of your eyes and watched you struggle to bend down to reach the ice tray at the bottom of the freezer. Unable to stop himself, his hands caught your waist and straightened you up before he grabbed the tray. “I don’t want you hurting yourself,” he said with a kiss to your temple.

“I said the same thing, but you still went and got stung.”

“But that’s because I have you to kiss me better.”

You smiled at the softness in his tone and gave him the gentlest of kisses to his swollen cheek, barely the touch of a butterfly's wing. “There, is that better?”

“Yes, I don’t even need this anymore,” he said as he turned to put the tray away until you stopped him with an amused look.

“Nurburgring,” you reminded him, grabbing a tea towel to wrap the ice cubes in.

He had been excited since he got the call from Christian Horner to drive the historic track, and in a car modified to run on eco-friendly fuel no less. He was not going to do anything to miss the opportunity to return to the racetrack, even though he enjoyed retirement and the quiet life he had built in the rural settlement. So, he quietly accepted the ice pack and carefully pressed it to his cheek.

“It’s a dangerous track, Seb,” you murmured as you took over holding it, cradling his other cheek with your palm. “Please be safe and come home in one piece.”

His hands came to rest on your stomach, nearly covering it all as he splayed his fingers apart. “Of course, my love. And you need to stay in one piece until I get home.”

You giggled and felt the strong kick responding to his voice. “I have a feeling your son will take his time. Would you resort to one of those dreadful planes if he decides to come early?”

His lips twitched in amusement, used to your jibing over the consciousness of his carbon footprint. “I could probably drive home faster, with a few speeding tickets along the way, but I might be able to lower myself to boarding a plane for him.”

“Ah, that’s a father’s love,” you giggled. “He doesn’t even know what a sacrifice that would be.”

Sebastian lowered the ice pack so he could dip his head and kiss you. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for the two of you.”

“Except get rid of the bees.”

His lips curled against yours in a smile you felt. “Except that.”

[vikwrites]

Copacabana - Tony Stark

Summary ➣ A letter to Tony Stark, 16 years after his death. Pairing ➣ Tony Stark x Widowed! Reader Word Count ➣ 681

October 17, 2039.

Dear Tony, 

It’s been 16 years since you left this world, October 17, 2023, 16 long years. 

It's surreal to think that it's been this long. At times, it feels as if we're still the teenagers who first fell head-over-heels for each other, dreaming of a future without any obstacles in our way. 

The memory of our first kiss still lingers, like a cool breeze on a warm autumn day, in the midst of an October rain, our clothes soaked and sticking to our skin. Young and reckless, having just graduated from MIT with bright futures ahead of us. But in that moment, all that mattered was the taste of your lips, the warmth of your body pressed against mine. The world faded away as we stood there in the rain, lost in each other's embrace.

I watched as you slowly rebuilt Stark Industries after the passing of your father. We had just eloped to California, swept away by our passionate love, keen for a fresh start. But money had changed you. I tried to understand the pressure of carrying millions on your shoulders, but it became harder to reconcile with who you were becoming. Yet, despite it all, my love for you never wavered. 

I remember when you were captured in Afghanistan. Those 3 bitter months, I didn’t know if you would return or not. Then you came back, and in your chest was embedded an arc reactor, a false, mechanical pump; keeping you alive, but deep down, I knew you still had a heart. You changed so much after that, like you lost a part of yourself in that cave.

Then the world crashed upon us—aliens, Avengers, and everything in between.

The moments in between felt like a hazy blur, my mind struggling to hold onto the images as they slipped through my fingers like sand. I remembered catching glimpses of you on the news, especially in your impenetrable armour, well. We thought it was, but that fateful day on Titan proved otherwise. 

And it hasn’t been the same since.

Morgan, our little girl. She’s just been accepted into MIT, just like you’ve always dreamed of. In a few years, she’ll be getting her PhD in electrical engineering, just like her father did; hopefully, she’ll inherit Stark Industries and continue on our legacy. As proud as I am, it's bittersweet, to see her follow in your footsteps. I know you would have been so proud of her. But at the same time, it brings up all the painful emotions of losing you and wondering how different things would be if you were still here. 

Morgan misses you a lot, she really does.

On rainy days, we’d sit outside the cabin. As rain splattered against the wooden porch, Morgan would curl next to me, tucking her small hand into mine. She would turn to me with big, curious eyes; "Tell me about Dad," she said, wanting to know more about the man she never got to meet, and I would weave fantastical tales of his bravery, how he fearlessly battled against evil to protect us, but deep down, I knew that he had been just as scared and uncertain as the rest of us, scared that he would lose us.

The humidity feels nice, we seek solace these days, finding comfort in the melancholy beauty that accompanies them. But my heart aches as I think about how much you loved these moments, we used to sit by the lake, talking about how we’d get older in each other's arms, yet you're no longer here to join us. 

Occasionally, we’d still leave a cheeseburger out for you, hoping that somehow you can still taste it in another world. It's a silly habit, but it's all we have left to cling to your memory. We know you're no longer here with us, but our hearts refuse to accept it. It's our way of holding onto you, even though we know you're gone.

We miss you, Tony, and I hope I’ll get to see you again. 

I love you 3000.

⎊ back to masterlist

[eddiemadmunson]

Traitor - part 1 of 2

Summary: Y/N and Aemond are betrothed and in love, but when Aemond kills her brother Lucerys and is captured on Dragonstone, everything changes. Pairing: Aemond Targaryen x Velaryon reader Warnings: Incest, there is no smut in this fic, only angst and sadness. My only warning for this fic is that Vhagar is going to do something unusual for dragons from ASOIAF universe. Word account: around 3000 words A/N: English is not my first language, let’s pretend that ** means that they are talking in High Valyrian

Y/N Velaryon was the only daughter and legitimate heir of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Ser Laenor Velaryon, she was born 9 months after the wedding. Rhaenyra and Laenor had tried to sleep together couple times before she started her romance with ser Harwin Strong who was the father of Y/N’s siblings and by some miracle, Y/N has been born. She grew up along with her brothers,uncles and aunt in King's Landing, growing into beautiful young, clever and kind woman. When she and Aemond were 16 years old their mothers decided to betrothed them to achieve peace between the two parts of their family. Y/N stayed in King’s Landing after that infamous incident between Aemond and her brothers and cousins, Rhaenyra wanted to take her with them but Y/N begged her to let her stay there with Aemond and Rhaenyra eventually agreed, leaving her only daughter with the Greens. Y/N and Aemond has loved each other since they were kids and everyone assumed that they will get married soon and live happily ever after. Aemond often flew with her to the Dragonstone so she could visit her family, but he always stayed at the beach or flew back home and came back few days later to get her back to King’s Landing. Everything seemed perfect, but then Aemond called her brothers Strong bastards at the family dinner and her mother forced her to go back to the Dragonstone with them. Y/N followed her because she was also disappointed by Aemond’s behavior and wanted to stay with her mother for a while so he could think about his actions. But couple days later King Viserys died, Alicent and Otto placed Aegon on the Iron throne and Aemond killed her brother. Aemond tried to talk to his beloved Y/N, he flew to the Dragonstone on Vhagar’s back as usually but he was caught when he tried to get inside the castle and Blacks captured him and took him as a prisoner at the Dragonstone.

Present time:

You were sneaking to the prison walls, carefully looking around if you are not being seen by your mother’s guards. It seemed that everyone was placed around the castle walls, expecting attack or some kind of rescue mission from the outside. They did not expect that the real danger was lurking inside the castle walls. The night was dark and cold, you were tired, so fucking tired. You almost cried your eyes out. Your dear brother, your baby brother was dead. You will never hear his jolly laughter again, see his eyes sparkle in excitement while riding his dragon, you will never see him grow up into a fine man, lord of the Driftmark, husband of a beautiful Rhaena, father of their future children. But the worst thing about this situation was that it was your lover, your Aemond who murdered your brother. His dragon Vhagar snapped your brother and his dragon in half above the Storm’s End. Lord Borros Baratheon sent a raven with the devastating news to your mother, along with the message, that his house supports Aegon as a true heir to the Iron Throne. You still couldn’t believe that Aemond would be able to do something like this to you. Sure, he hated Luke and he wanted his revenge for such a long time, but killing him? The Aemond you knew wasn’t a stone blood killer. He was impulsive, arrogant and could be cruel to those who wronged him, but he wasn’t a murderer. You had to talk to him you needed to know what happened, what changed so much in those ten days you two were apart. You slipped behind the guard’s backs and silently walked towards the prison cell. You saw Aemond sitting on the cold prison cell floor and your heart ached. You wanted to hate him for what he did to Luke, but your heart was a traitor and it started beating loudly when he looked up as if he could sense that you are near. “Are you serious, Y/N?” Jace said and walked out of the shadows. “What are you doing here?” he demanded answers and you gulped in shame. “I... I just need to talk to him, Jace. I need to know what happened above the Storm’s End, I need to know why he did it,” you tried to reason with your brother.  “It doesn’t matter why he did it Y/N! He murdered our brother. Lucerys is dead because of him. We couldn’t even give him a proper burial because we couldn’t find his body, only pieces of Arraxes wings were found on the ground!” Jace hissed and each word was like a dagger to your poor heart. “I know, Jace, do you think that I don’t know it? Do you think that I didn’t cry myself to sleep the last three nights? You think I don’t care about Luke? And that’s why I need to know the answers,” you tried again, but Jace was cold as a stone. “I won’t let you go anywhere near him!” he stated. ”Jace, please, just couple of minutes,” you begged. “No, mother and Daemon will execute him tomorrow, nobody wants to hear his excuses or explanations. There is nothing to explain. That’s why he is gagged, nobody wants to hear a word from murderer’s lips,” Jace said coldly and your heart squeezed in your chest.  “Execute? You can’t just execute him without a trial! Aegon and Alicent will want revenge; we will be stuck in a death circle, Jacerys! If you kill him, they will find a way how to hurt you, or Joffrey, or little Vicerys and Aegon. And what we are going to do next? Kill Helaena, Daeron, Aegon or his kids? This is madness! We need to find calmer way out of this!” you grabbed his shoulders, shaking him with desperate tears in your eyes. Jacerys was looking at you with disgust in his brown eyes, his father’s eyes. “Why are you defending him, sweet sister? Is it even possible for you to still have feelings for him? After what he did to our brother?” he hissed and you blushed. “I just want to talk to him,” you tried again. “No, go to sleep. I can’t even look at you,” Jace was adamant. You sighed and looked at Aemond who was sitting in his cell, his hands tied up behind his back, his mouth gagged, so he couldn’t say a word, but he didn’t make any efforts to say something, he was sitting there calmly, his eye never leaving your figure, his blue eye was looking at you with the familiar adoration and unknown urgency to talk to you.  “Y/N, hey Y/N!” Jace shouted at you, you realized that he said your name couple of times before you started listening to him, too lost in Aemond’s eye. Jace grabbed your chin and forced you to look at him. “How can you still look at him like that, sister? With so much love and adoration? Are you insane?” Jace’s voice was cracking, he was so mad at you or on this whole fucked up situation. “I love him since I was a kid, Jace. I can’t just turn it off, I am not saying that I want to forgive him or forget what he did, I just need to know why!” you were crying now, hot tears running down your cheeks. You felt Aemond shifting in his cell but you didn’t dare to look at him, your eyes focused on your brother’s face. “I have never understood why you fell in love him, Y/N. He is cruel, arrogant, weird,” Jace started listing the reasons why he didn’t like your betrothed . “He was like this to you, because you mocked him when you were kids and teenagers. You, Luke and Aegon were making fun of him all the time, he was only reacting to your behavior. Luke mutilated him and he never even felt sorry for it, you can’t blame him for not being really warm to you,” you defended Aemond as always. Since you were a child you were always on his side that was the main reason why he fell in love with you.  “He calls us bastards all the time, Y/N,” Jace shouted and you said something what you immediately regretted. “The word is nasty, but the truth is that you are not Laenor’s sons. No matter how many times our mother or grandfather try to deny it, it’s a truth,” Jace acted fast before he had a chance to think about his actions, he slap you hard across your face. You gasped and fell on the ground. Your ears were ringing, your face was hurting, but it was nothing in comparing to the pain in your heart. Aemond went feral in his cell, you heard the clinking of his shackles against the iron bars as he tried to get to you or to Jace, but he was trapped there, but he somehow managed to take off his gag. “Touch her again and I will rip your hands off your body, bastard. Fucking coward!! Y/N, are you OK?” he was shouting and Jace was too shocked to react to him. He tried to help you, but you pushed him away, tears filling your eyes. “Don’t touch me, don’t you ever dare to touch me again!” you whimpered and run away, leaving them both in the cell. 

When you woke up the next morning you tried to talk to your mother about Aemond, but she told you the same thing as Jacerys. She wanted Aemond dead, there was no other option for her. Your kind and cheerful mother was now full of sorrow and blood thirst. You tried to explain to her that his death will only lead to another deaths and it will destroy your whole family but she wasn’t listening to you. All she could hear in her ears was “revenge, revenge, revenge”. When she asked you why there is a bruise on your cheek you told her, that you slipped and the door hit your face. She didn’t look convinced, but she let it go for now, she had other things on mind. She wanted to execute Aemond today, when the sun will set. You didn’t try to visit Aemond again, you were sure that Jacerys put a guards in front of his cell, expecting you to come back. He obviously didn’t tell your mother that you tried to visit him, he was too embarrassed that he hit you. He tried to apologize to you this morning but you ignored him. You were wandering around the Dragonstone walls, trying to figure out what to do. You could send a Raven to Aegon, but he wouldn’t be able to do something to save his brother in time. You wanted to help him escape by yourself, but you weren’t a fighter and even if you would be the best swordswoman in the Seven Kingdoms, they were outnumbered. And yes, you came to the conclusion, that you want Aemond to live. You were heartbroken and shaken that he killed your baby brother, but you couldn’t find it in yourself to wish him painful death. You wanted him to escape, fly back to King’s Landing and never show his face in front of you again. But you had no idea how to do it. Suddenly you heard a distant roar. You could recognize her roars everywhere. It was Vhagar. Well he obviously got here on his dragon. She was too big and dangerous so nobody tried to get to her yet. You quickly got on the horse back and rode towards the giant she-dragon. This was probably a stupid idea, but you were desperate. She was resting on the beach, looking your way as you rushed to her, but she remained calm. She was used to you, you and Aemond visited her almost daily, you rode with him on her back many times, he loved to see your happy face when you two were together in the air. Your egg has never hatched and you didn’t claim any dragon, but you didn’t mind, you weren’t rushing anything, you were sure that your dragon is waiting for you somewhere, you just had to wait for the right time. You slowly walked to the old dragon lady.  **Hi, Vhagar, it’s me, Y/N. Do you remember me, beautiful girl?** you asked her, your voice shaking slightly. You always felt respect to this magnificent beast. She always let you pet her and walk to her, but it was always with Aemond behind your back, talking gently to her, calming her down. She watched you carefully, her old eyes didn’t show any emotion. **I need your help big girl. Aemond is in danger. Your rider will die very soon if we won’t help him. Aemond is in danger!** you talked slowly to her in High Valyrian. You felt like a fool, dragons were smart but they were just animals, she probably didn’t understand a word you were saying. Vhagar looked at you with her ancient eye, not moving a muscle. **Please, we need to help him,** you begged her, slowly getting closer to her, she was now watching you carefully. This was stupid idea, she will probably burn you alive, but you didn’t want to live in a world where your own mother killed the man you love. You stopped dead in your tracks when Vhagar opened her mouth slightly and you noticed the hot flames forming deep inside her mouth. **No, Vhagar, be a good girl Vhagar, obey me, for Aemond. You are his only hope. Vhagar please!!** you pleaded with tears of desperation in your eyes. You weren’t afraid to die but you wanted to save Aemond first and he will die without your help, you had no doubts about that. Suddenly the wind blew wildly behind you, sending your scent straight to the old she-dragon’s nose. Vhagar hesitated and started sniffing, the look of confusion evident on her scaled face. She closed her mouth, the flames died in her throat. You let out a breathe you didn’t know you were holding. Vhagar’s massive head moved towards you and you stood your ground even though your survival instinct was screaming at you to start running away as quickly as possible. She sniffed you slowly and gently nudged your flat belly. Your eyes widened when you realized why the dragon is acting like this. **Oh, you can sense it do you? You can sense that I am with child,** you smiled softly and patted her nose as she kept nudging your almost nonexistent baby bump. **You can smell Aemond’s blood in me, that’s why you didn’t burn me alive** you realized and more salted tears were rolling down your cheeks. You have never cried so much in your whole life as you cried in the last 2 weeks. You were so happy when you didn’t bleed in the last 3 months, you waited until you were sure and you wanted to tell Aemond on his birthday next week. And now everything was ruined. You were expecting your first child with a man who you loved more than anything on this world but also with a man who killed your brother and whose brother usurped your mother’s throne. This felt like a fucked up story from one of the books you read in the library when you were spending your time with Aemond at his favorite place. You sighed and proceed to the next move. **I need to get on your back, big girl. Please cooperate with me, we are doing this for Aemond. Please don’t eat me or burn me alive,** you sent a silent prayer to the gods and slowly approached the rope ladder on her back. You touched it and she growled in warning. **Good girl, Vhagar. Please, obey me, the sooner you obey me, the sooner you will be able to have Aemond back in your saddle** you soothed her and slowly started climbing on the old dragon. Vhagar clearly felt uncomfortable, you were not her rider, you weren’t Aemond, but you smelled like him, she felt that you were carrying his child and maybe she somehow understood that you want to help him, so she let you climb up into her leather saddle. You were breathing heavily, the climbing took a lot of your strength. You took the reins in your hands and yelled. **Fly Vhagar, as fast as you could to the castle, before it’s too late,** Vhagar didn’t move for few moments and you thought that your efforts were futile but then she slowly started moving. You had to grip the saddle when the dragon started running on the beach, slowly spreading her massive wings, and before you knew it you were in the air. You made it, Vhagar listened to you. You quickly directed her to the castle, you were praying that you are not too late to safe Aemond and make your whole family hate your guts.

  Next part coming soon

[that-ari-blogger]

A Perfect Metaphor And A Perfect Joke

I put out a post a few days ago discussing some Critical Roll speeches, and I couldn't help but notice how people seemed to like that. So, I thought to myself: CR has some phenomenal moments, and I happen to have some more thoughts on them, so why not share?

With that said, Loquatius Seelie is a fascinating character played by a phenomenally skilled improviser. Allow me to explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR CRITICAL ROLL CALAMITY

Before I unpack this speech, I would like to briefly examine who Loquatius Seelie is. And I'll start with an analysis of his mechanics. I'm not going to go into detail on his spells and abilities, instead I would like to instead bring up his choice of class. In the EXU Calamity Wrap-up, Sam suggested that Loquatius began at 1st level as a warlock, and took the remaining 11 levels as a bard, and I think that is quite interesting. Where everyone else was a liar pretending to tell the truth, Loquatius was an honest man pretending to be a liar. He had got swept up in the drama of it all, and kept taking levels in bard as he descended more into the personality he created for himself.

"Fire"

I feel the need to stress that this speech was written in the break. There was no clever marketing team who laboured for hours. This was Sam Riegel pseudo-improvising. That's not what I'm analysing, it just needs to be said.

Anyway, what is this speech about?

Life. Life needs things to live, and a world needs people to inhabit it. But there's more, this is a farewell to the age of arcanum, and in a fitting send off, it breaks down all of the pompous ceremony and for the first time in a while, gets real.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the replenishment is cancelled. Our centuries old bond, severed."

This is all nice, but what happens next is fascinating. Its the end of an era, and instead of looking back at what has happened, the speech looks to the future.

"Our two cities are like a married couple. We may have our differences. We may not have the same goals. We may even separate for a time. But we are connected by love for eternity. We made a promise to each other, and its one we must fulfill."

The symbol of marriage is a ring, it's a fascinatingly old tradition, with discoveries in ancient Egypt that date back 3000 years, and the symbolism behind this is both obvious, and subtle. The ring represents a cycle, an infinite loop. The ring doesn't represent the marriage, but the promise to each other.

In this broadcast, Loquatius brings the Age of Arcanum to a definitive close, tricking an entire city of hubris to go down in flames in order for the new world to be born. And to everyone else, he invokes marriage, the ultimate promise of a future, everlasting.

"Remember your Avalir siblings and the sacrifices we made for you. Remember Cerrit, the Eyes of Avalir, and his bravery. Remember Nydas, the Dragon, and his sense. Remember Patia Por'co, Keeper of Scrolls, and all the wisdom she brought. Remember brave Zerxus and Evandrin, the First Knights of Avalir. And remember the Architect Arcane, Laerryn, the most beautiful woman in the world. And also, remember the Market of Wonders"

This is such a phenomenal send off, not just because of who he's mentioning, or because of the sheer force of acting skill that Sam is throwing around. This is phenomenal, because of what it asks the next age to remember. Bravery, wisdom, and beauty.

Loquatius can never know what will happen in the next age, but he begs whoever will hear this, to take just these things forwards. Be brave, be wise, be beautiful.

But that joke. "Remember the market of wonders." Brennan has credited Joseph Campbell with the phrase: "Comedy completed the revelation that drama begins." And for the life of me, I couldn't find where Campbell said this, so I think this is a Brennan Lee Mulligan original.

Perspective is important, and if you have only good things, like the Age of Arcanum, you get complacent. But if you have only bad things, such as the calamity is shaping up to be, the pain loses its meaning. Your senses dull. This joke is a dying man going out with a defiant smile, but its also a message to the world. Don't give up on joy, or hope, in the face of Armageddon, because that's when you need those things the most.

"I'm Loquatius Seelie-- And I'll drop my golden complexion and just use my true face, my true changeling face-- saying: Seelie you later."

This is unironically my favourite moment of the speech. Because its the final moment, and the face of an age has stopped all pretences. No special effects, no whimsey or buttering up the truth. The dead cannot lie, at least, not as easily. Try as you might, you go out as you are, you can pretend to be something else, or you can change, but when you finally shuffle off this mortal coil, that's it, there's no more pretending. Loquatius Seelie goes out not as a performer and presenter, but as a husband, and a hero.

[accio-victuuri]

yibo’s btf co-star zhai yujia posted on his weibo and shared stories from filming :

caption:

This is the first scene we filmed with Yibo in the movie #长空之王# . Arrived here at three o'clock in the morning that day, the sky was full of stars and beautiful. Although the altitude is 3,000 meters, Yibo still integrates into our test flight team with full emotions and energy, and cooperates with the shooting over and over again.

In the past 100 days, I have been filled with emotions. Time flies, I wrote some memories, the style of writing is average, but they are all my feelings, please bear with me.

Finally, I want to say: "Wang Yibo deserves to be loved by so many people!”

actual post:

I remember this photo was taken by teacher @摄影机 Rita. That day we drove from the urban area to the suburbs at an altitude of 3000 meters at three o'clock in the morning. It was around 4 o'clock when we got there, because there was no light pollution, the sky was full of stars, Very romantic. Yibo had read the script with us at the time, and we met each other. but this day is the first time we were playing against each other.

I remember the plot at that time was "Handsome Gao", "Jia Shengli" and "Lei Yu" and I, Four of us in a car, we don't know where we're going, but we didn't expect to go to Martyrs cemetery. It is a test of our mentality. That scene broke my inherent perception of him.

First of all, I am a dance fan of Yibo. I like dancing very much, Yibo’s locking dance is very good, so I appreciate Yibo's talent, but I always thought that Yibo may be a bit introverted and slow to warm up. But this scene overturned my imagination of his energy. When we acted together in the car for more than ten hours, he never left. He has driven a car, and has been cooperating with our performances one by one (the day we filmed. He have more than 50 takes, and he will always be in a state of full energy. ) We played our favorite songs through bluetooth, together at an altitude of more than 3000 meters. Fang sang along with the roaring vehicles. I still remember that picture, it is so beautiful.

At that moment, my impression of him changed, because I could feel that after learning the role, He wanted to integrate with us quickly. Including when he got into the tent. He has his own vehicle that can provide him with rest, but in order to let us brothers become more harmonious, Yibo took the initiative to move a chair into our tent. For more than 100 days, we had lunch together (I ate a lot of Yibo's chicken breast, meat and beef, thank you so much) Singing together, in the tent together, chatting about scripts, talking about airplanes, playing games, and becoming real friends. At that moment, I felt that Yibo was a very sincere and serious person. He was very unobtrusive and very humble while we were eating.

When we met the test pilot, the light of admiration and awe in his eyes was not fake. At that moment, my greatest feeling was that Yibo is someone who had great respect for people who are talented and responsible.

How time flies, I remember that at this time last year we were still in Tongchuan eating hot pot together, chatting about airplanes, and overcoming various difficulties at work.

I hope to have the opportunity to cooperate with Yibo in the future. I want to learn locking from him!

PS: I want to add that Yibo is a highly motivated person. He's interested in a lot of things and he will work very hard to study them. He's determined to do things well! I remember he especially downloaded a flight stimulation game just to know more about aircraft. He would play the game every day to experience flight and understand it.

What he did inspired and encouraged me. I was positively affected working with such an excellent person.

Well, I’ve talked so much so let me sum it up:

Yibo deserves to be loved by so many people.

link to the actual post

[scarlettgauthor]

A Candlenights Sermon

So five years ago a friend of mine said, "I grew up religious and I don't want anything to do with that anymore, but damn do I miss the good parts of a Christmas Eve service, like singing together and lighting candles!" and I said, "Well, what if we invent our own holiday? With singing? And candles?" and she said, "That sounds awesome!" and then we stole the name Candlenights from the McElroy brothers and I wrote a non-religious sermon and we rewrote our favorite carols to be secular and now, five years later, we have a new holiday tradition.

This is all backstory to explain what I'm about to share, which is my 2022 Candlenights sermon. Please join me if you would like to cry about space.

~~~

Hello, dear friends and dear family. We gather in the winter darkness once again, as we have for the last five years; as we have for our whole lives; as those who came before us have, on and on, back to the beginnings of people. Back to when the first monkey raised its head to look at the sky, and instead of only seeing the darkness, saw the stars.

Saw the light.

I think humanity fell in love right then, fell in love with the wide sprawl of the universe and all its secrets. Why else would we dedicate ourselves to it, as we have throughout time? Why else would we look at those sparkling lights in the velvet darkness and give them names and stories? Why would we do that, if it wasn’t to bring them closer to ourselves?

The first recorded evidence of constellations comes from 3000 BC in Mesopotamia, as our ancient ancestors sought to draw the stars out of the sky and know them better. We saw ourselves in them, and named them accordingly. "The Loyal Shepherd of Heaven," “The Seed-Furrow,” “The Farmworker.” Do you still know them? Do you recognize Orion, Virgo, and Aries? Did you know how far back our stories go?

The first telescope came in 1608, allowing us closer to the stars and the universe; allowing us to see the light we loved in greater detail, almost close enough to touch. We saw the craters on the moon; we saw Saturn’s rings for the first time; we looked at the cloudy arc of the Milky Way and learned that it wasn’t a cloud. It was more stars, each of them a tiny point of light.

America launched the first Orbiting Solar Observatory in 1962, and we could look at the stars from out there with them, as though we were one of them. We learned about gamma rays in our solar system and distant galaxies; observed solar flares from the Sun, our closest star; saw parts of stars that were previously unseeable, that we’d only dreamed were there.

The Hubble Space Telescope was launched in 1990, the culmination of twenty years of work by humans who loved the stars so much they fought through earthly concerns like budget issues and engineering mistakes; humans who were so devoted that three years later they made repairs to the Hubble in space to bring the stars closer. We saw things we could never have imagined, great beauty and great destruction, birth and death and so, so much light.

Last December the James Webb Space Telescope was launched after over twenty-five years of development, because we love the stars so much we can never be satisfied. Earlier this year we saw the culmination of that work, and oh, what a culmination. Hundreds of thousands of galaxies previously invisible to us. Nebulae we thought we knew from the Hubble shown to us in awesome detail. Stars being born among the corpses of supernovae. Stars. So many stars.

Close your eyes for a moment. Imagine the line of discovery that traces from our earliest ancestors all the way to us now. Imagine taking your ancient relative by the hand and sharing this knowledge. Imagine looking at the wide, unmapped sky together and telling them our stories, about their future descendants who loved the stars so much we found a way to go out among them.

Don’t you think that they would be proud? That no matter how far we’ve come, we still stand in the darkness and look for the light?

There’s a poem by Mary Oliver called The Summer Day. You may have heard the final lines before, as they’ve been co-opted to support hustle culture or grinding or working out or whatever else capitalism thinks it needs to sell us. I think that’s a shame, as the full poem is much kinder, and gentler, and wondrous than that. Let me read it for you now:

Who made the world? Who made the swan, and the black bear? Who made the grasshopper? This grasshopper, I mean-- the one who has flung herself out of the grass, the one who is eating sugar out of my hand, who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down -- who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes. Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face. Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away. I don't know exactly what a prayer is. I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass, how to kneel in the grass, how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields which is what I have been doing all day. Tell me, what else should I have done? Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do With your one wild and precious life?

My dears, what do you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? 

I plan to live the way I want to live, and love who I want to love, and always look for the light wherever I can. I hope that you will join me.

Happy Candlenights.

[dimalink]

Lian Ross is celebrating a space birthday

Music drawing based on videoclip Te Amo by disco and eurodance, retrowave, future synthesizers music, 80s style of singer Lian Ross. Best music era. As I can say.

And by the time, Lian Ross has a celebration her birthday. In a space place. It is space library. You can read there an intergalactic books. And drink a tea. While special room was reserved for Lian Ross and her friends. To read books, drink tea and coffee, and celebrate birthday.

This room has an expanding of subspace device and that’s why it has infinite number or little tables and little chairs for everyone who will visit. And also, it is placed a special mirrors, using them, you can adjust for a certain place of the room. To everyone to see everything.

Lian Ross is sitting at the sofa. And she drinks a tea. And looking at the vinyl records. And take a celebration words from good and kind animals. From her space friends. First who fly, it was at the ufo = one eyed. He has a green color. He drinks a purple tea and make a gift to Lian Ross – vinyl with space disco from year date 3000.

Through mirror-teleport, it is going little slow way process with good and kind animals are going for a tea. So, little owl is came out of a mirror. Take a look around. And make a present for Lian Ross – red flower. And he gave a gift card, that he draws by himself. Then he jumps at the little chair. And start to drink tea. And later he goes asleep. He is small yet and he goes to a school to a cyborg. Where he learns how to think and program with QBasic.

Rabbit has jumping to this place and brings a black tea. He gives a present - a vinyl record. And also, a bunny came with a present. And also, a little duckling and chicken has come. So how many, lots of good and kind animals were at the birthday of Lian Ross. They are positive little animals. All animals were at funny mood. They were jumping. They told their stories. They drink a tea. Makes a photos. They watched, they look, they sit at their little chairs. Drinks a tea.

Lian Ross is sitting at the sofa. She is listening music and drinks a tea. She is having a free time. Today Lian Ross has a most valuable day – birthday. Lian Ross is very positive. And she speaks with here friends. So, at the table there are black tea, green tea. And different kind of alien tea. Including a very well known in galaxy – purple tea.

So, from a mirror came intelligence plant and gave to Lian Ross present - a cassette player with disco records. And also, a pack of cassettes for records. So little duckling is came and say – Kra! And one more time – Kra! And give a present to Lian Ross – a one little candy. Very sweet as he told. And then he said that he needs to go to a school to a cyborg. And he goes back into the mirror-teleport.

Bunny came out of mirror-teleport. And bring to Lian Ross a pack of delicious green tea. And a pack of as good as a green tea, but a black tea, a delicious black tea. And also sit to drink a tea at the little chair. And it is already about one thousand little animals in the room. And about one thousands of aliens.

Mole is fell-out though mirror-teleport and scattered a bag with candys. Mole say – Oi! This is a present for you. And I want to drink a tea! Make a tea! Lian Ross! Said mole!

Lian Ross makes a tea for him. Mole starts to drink a tea. And tell about that mole dig lots of ground yesterday. And he digs up to the orange stones. Which are having some light. He is learning them. And also, he finds a somebody’s diskette.

Lian Ross says – lest see what is at the diskette.

Mole said – ok!

He launched a diskette at 386 SX2 computer. And they found a very interesting game about dungeons with very beautiful graphics. Mole starts to play with a big interest!

Thanks, Lian Ross! What interesting game it is! Said mole.

Lian Ross said – and I have a Gameboy! And I also play in it! In a different games. I level up my character.

Just about a moment, about a sometime, in a room it was a teleport, and robot came out and make a present to Lian Ross  - a new cartridges for 8 bit game console Nes. Excellent cartridges. New games. They are very hi quality and very interesting games.

Lian Ross is very happy about such presents. And she starts to look at these cartridges.

And spider robot came as a guest into the library to read lots of books. And he went to a celebration. He just brings with himself a box with games for 486 DX2 computer. big boxes. With very different new and interesting games.

Wow! Said Lian Ross!

And all day long some different guests, little animals, aliens, different music fans, including a humans from planet Earth. All of them go to Lian Ross birthday. They drink tea. A tale the tales. And in the evening, everyone goes back to their houses. Lian Ross fly to home via UFO. With a big heap of presents.

Dima Link is making retro videogames, apps, a little of music, write stories, and some retro more.

WEBSITE: http://www.dimalink.tv-games.ru/home_eng.html

[powerpolyculeshowdown]

listen I am THEE leverage ot3 enthusiast (I’m literally am @leverage-ot3) but I absolutely support the tardis ot3 as a worthy opponent!!!

I love jack, rose, and the doctor so so much and they deserve all the happiness! they were iconic for doing that in 2005 when gay marriage wasn’t legalized and homophobia was running rampant. they were very brave to do that move and they could have written it off as some funny moment but they made it really sincere and beautiful!!! jack is from 3000 (?) years in the future and he legit doesn’t care about gender or species or whatever, he just had feelings for them and Went For It and I respect him so much for that

leverage came out in 2008-2012 and they never had the three of them kiss, but they had some VERY poly feeling moments and the cast made references to the three of them being together in the gag reel since s2 (2009!!!). this is debatable but I consider leverage to be the more serious show and the fact that they slid those references in during a time when gay marriage wasn’t legal and only recently decriminalized (and poly relationships were out of the question, tbh) I really respect them for that. they were word of god canon as of the creator tweeting about them after the finale when the third of the trio basically made wedding vows to the other two (that were in a relationship with each other)

also in the new revival series they have a canon ace masc lesbian!!! and although they went back on the ot3 a bit with the third character dating and separate from the other two, s1 ended with the two that art together repeating the pseudo wedding vows and saying that they made robot bodies for the three of them so that they could be together forever (fucking ICONIC???!!!)

anyways this is a propaganda post for both ships because I love them dearly and they both deserve love

(I am still a leverage ot3 stan first and jacktenrose second, but still they both deserve love)

sorry im getting to these late i was eating lunch aaaaa idem who won the finished polls yet but any propaganda can still work for revival round!

[krystal-prisms]

Here we are lads, new post in my Dracula binge adventure. I'm on post number 3 and adaptation number fuck if I know. A lot.

So this one is Dracula 3000 (2004). Presumably different than Dracula 2000. Hopefully better, but we'll have to see.

This is set in the future, in space, which is a vibe. Right out of the gate I'm giving it not a lot on accuracy so we're going based purely on vibes, which are as we've gone on, the rating system that I have developed.

We've got Abraham van Helsing, captain. Arthur Holmwood, "The Professor" who is apparently not that smart, Mina Murray, the navigator, who is also apparently not good at her job. These are all the original characters. This is gonna be a wild ride.

Point for acknowledging that Arthur exists. I think they actually meant to make him Seward though.

I will say that it's interesting how they did the Demeter and are setting up the conflict, with the Demeter being an abandoned space ship and the main characters having to investigate it. The corpse is cool too how they tied it to the book. The hair is way way too long though.

I am obsessed with the effects and the filming of this, the angles and transitions are everything.

I'm getting real Among Us vibes from this. There sure as hell is an imposter here.

Obsessed with the fact that the ship is Space Communist. Also that Transylvania is an entire planet of vampires and that Dracula is the last one cause the planet is dead. Like no shit, a planet of fully vampires is not sustainable, there's no food source.

I admire the crew's dedication to guns, even after multiple demonstrations that it is completely ineffective.

How and why on earth did Vampire Mina get makeup where 1) they are in the middle of space on a 50 year old ship in the middle of deep space 2) why would her priority to be put on makeup and lie in a coffin instead of going to go eat the rest of the crew and 3) why didn't the dudes get a makeover.

I do appreciate how they made van Helsing descended from famous vampire hunters, and all bad ass I'm gonna kill these fuckers and then immediately get his ass handed to him by Dracula and turned into a vampire, and then immediately staked. He was giving Last Guy In A Horror Movie energy but nope, not today. Lol.

Point(?) for managing to to make every single character so profoundly and fundamentally unlikable in completely different ways. Like, everyone here sucks ass so hard, it's hilarious.

Also, in this scenario there's no downside for just. Letting Dracula suck your blood. Like, you don't Die die, you just turn into a vampire and become slightly more feral. Like, it's either turn into a vampire or be stuck on a ship being hunted, just cut your losses, man.

Ok no but that ending, I'm in love with it. Most of the crew was a vampire, then stabbed. Dracula got his arm cut off in a door. The only surviving guy left and the badass girlboss who was actually a government sent robot but before that was a pleasure bot leave to go fuck. There's a recording of the former captain of the Demeter from 50 years ago says he has to sacrifice himself and the ship. 50 years in the future I guess. The ship blows up. The end. Perfect. Classic. Beautiful ending. No complaints.

So overall, for accuracy it's like, in the negatives. None to speak of. However, in terms of vibes, despite all the characters being completely and utterly loathsome, I did like it. It wasn't supposed to be funny, but it sure as hell was. 7.5/10 it wasn't good, but it sure was a good time.

[theputterer]

Good Things In 2022

“It’s that time of year again! Time to remember all the good things that happened in 2022. I’ve done this since 2017, and highly recommend doing this as a fun way to reflect (and to have something for future reference when you are feeling Down.)

feels like I literally just did this for 2021, and yet.

just under the wire...

PERSONAL

I MOVED ACROSS THE WORLD!!!!! I am now living in Dublin, Ireland. it was a move I'd been aiming to do for years, and once I received my citizenship and Irish passport, I decided to give it a shot. I've been here for nine months and am having a wonderful time.

I did more traveling this year than I think I ever have in a single calendar year.

In Ireland, I've visited several counties and lots of Dublin, including: Malahide, Howth, Dún Laoghaire, Dublin Mountains, Glasnevin Cemetery, Little Museum of Dublin, GPO Museum, National Gallery of Ireland, National Museum(s) of Ireland, EPIC Museum.

I finally went to Paris for a few days in June! Visited: Musée d'Orsay, Eiffel Tower, Sacré-Coeur, Notre Dame (closed to visitors due to renovation/restoration work but wandered around the outside and had a fabulous lunch). Bonus points for the Paris Métro, which fuckin rules.

I finally went to Italy for a long weekend in October! Got to see my folks that weekend as well. Spent time in Venice and Florence. Ate a lot of good food and gelato.

My beloved Seattle Mariners broke a 21 year drought and made it to the PLAYOFFS!!!!!!

I have been puttering away on a ROGUE ONE-FRINGE fusion/AU, ENDLESS FORMS MOST BEAUTIFUL. it has been super slow going but I am trying and I WILL finish it.

Similarly, sorta, I took a writing class! I shared a snippet of my original writing which was well-received. I got some lovely comments from my teacher which is currently sustaining me.

Anything bolded below is something I particularly enjoyed and recommend. 

MOVIES

2022 movies I saw and liked:

TURNING RED

THE BATMAN

THE NORTHMAN

EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE

TOP GUN: MAVERICK

3000 YEARS OF LONGING

NOPE

SEE HOW THEY RUN

TICKET TO PARADISE

THE WOMAN KING

ENOLA HOLMES 2

BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER

GLASS ONION

BONES AND ALL

THE MENU

AMBULANCE

THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT

2021 movies I saw for the first time and liked:

ETERNALS

THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH

FREE GUY

SPENCER

THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS

UNCHARTED

TV

EUPHORIA (saw season 1, did not watch season 2. lol.)

MOON KNIGHT

FRINGE

STRANGER THINGS, SEASON 4

MS MARVEL

THE SANDMAN

THE CROWN (the first few seasons and then I stopped : / )

1899

DARK (BRO........ BRO........ BEST TV SHOW OF THIS CENTURY?????)

Special acknowledgment: ANDOR. what a trip and a half to see my beloved son on screen once more. I shared some thoughts here.

BOOKS

Did not read nearly as many as I should have! (I did read some other books but they are not on this last as I did not like them).

"Strangers to Ourselves" by Rachel Aviv

"Greywaren" by Maggie Stiefvater

"Babel" by RF Kuang

"She Who Became The Sun" by Shelley Parker-Chan

"Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me" by Adrienne Brodeur

"The Hours" by Michael Cunningham

"The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" by Taylor Jenkins Reid

"The Burning God" by RF Kuang (incredible series but BOY will it fuck you up!!!!!!)

"The Dragon Republic" by RF Kuang

"The Poppy War" by RF Kuang

"Winter Recipes From the Collective" by Louise Gluck

"You Feel It Just Below the Ribs" by Jeffrey Cranor

"Oscar Wilde: A Life" by Matthew Sturgis

OTHER GOOD THINGS

*some of these things are Good as in well-written or well-made, but maybe not Good in topic.

Saw a couple plays at the Abbey Theatre: "Translations" by Brian Friel and "Joyce's Women" by Edna O'Brien. Quite different, both devastating.

Morocco's run at the FIFA Men's World Cup.

Joplin Sibtain, who played Brasso on ANDOR, shared a reel on Instagram of the SPOILERS riot scene on Ferrix with "Killing in the Name" dubbed over it. Incredible.

Martin Scorsese watches DERRY GIRLS.

Local Man Sees Cheese For Sale At Incredibly Low Price, Makes Executive Decision, Purchases 40 Pounds of Cheese

Is Twitter dying? Probably. Here's a thread where everyone shared their favorite tweets.

This angry little dog.

Mother losing it over her baby's laughter.

Dave Sims' calling Cal Raleigh's home run that sent the Mariners to the playoffs for the first time in 21 years.

Janan Ganesh over at the Financial Times with an incredible and scathing assessment of why Liz Truss and the Tories have never gotten Brexit "right". (Hint: they think the UK is on par with the US.)

Twitter user attempts to summarize RIVERDALE in a thread.

This TikTok of two preteen girls discovering landlines that made me LOL and also made me feel DECREPIT.

Shauna Bowers for The Irish Times with a dispatch from Electric Picnic that featured bangers of lines, including: The most sacred Electric Picnic institution of all remains untouched: the inflatable chapel, where all true love stories begin. “That’s probably the only way I’d be able to get you to marry me,” a woman says to her boyfriend. He says nothing.

Ichiro Girl returns to T-Mobile Park and throws out the first pitch to, of course, ICHIRO.

A story about how dogs are the best.

Pianist named Alex Pian covers "Time" by Hans Zimmer in Lviv, Ukraine, as air raid sirens sound. Really powerful.

Emma Baccellieri for Sports Illustrated explores a topic we've all wanted to know more about: what baseball relief pitchers are thinking when they run in from the bullpen during a bench clearing.

This video of STAR WARS characters singing a classic.... just watch it.

MORE

CONTACT is one of my favorite movies and Rachel Handler for Vulture wrote an oral history for the film's 25th anniversary.

Stephania Taladrid for The New Yorker, on the ground at an abortion clinic in Houston when Roe was overturned. Required reading.

Linda Villarosa for The New York Times, "The Long Shadow of Eugenics in America". also required reading.

Joshua Rothman for The New Yorker, "Anatomy of Error". A neurosurgeon reckons with surgeries that go wrong. Fascinating!

Rachel Pearson for The New Yorker, "Waiting at a Texas Hospital for the Children Who Never Arrive". Dispatches from a trauma center in the aftermath of the Uvalde shooting. Required reading.

Similarly, Albert Burneko for The Defector, "What It's Like Here". On being a parent in America.

Palate cleanser: Cincinnati Reds allow no hits against Pittsburgh Pirates... and still lose. lol.

Evgenia Peretz for Vanity Fair with an absolutely wild ride of a read about a Grey's Anatomy writer who.... made up an entire life.

Rachel Aviv (who never misses, incidentally) for The New Yorker, "How an Ivy League School Turned Against a Student". What makes a "good" victim?

this thread about creepy shit kids say???

PIZZA FOR DOGS.

sending you all warmth and affection and hoping you have a safe, healthy, and wonderful 2023.

tagging anyone who wants to do this (and tag me so I see it!) as well as those who've done this in the past: @vaderkat @fortysevenswrites @leaiorganas @magalis @illuminahsti @i-am-slain @antifandor @alittlemomentum @cassianserso @callioope

[phanfictioncatalogue]

Completed Chaptered Tumblr Fics (2) Masterlist

part one

A Blue Starfall - wavydanrises

Summary: Phil is a botanist who enjoys going on hikes through the woods, when someday he walks into someone quite… particular. He didn’t believe in coincidences, so maybe it really was fate that guided his steps.

A Familiar Kind of Love - auroraphilealis, ineverhadmyinternetphase

Summary: Born in a world full of magic, Dan spends his days running an apothecary and curing the sick. Potions and antidotes are his only friends, and he lives a happy life of quiet solitude - until a familiar he never wanted takes it all away. Forced to make a decision that’s life or death for one of them, Dan and Phil have to learn to co-exist together, entering a journey of self-discovery… and a familiar kind of love.

a long walk to a dark house - cecilpalmrwriting

Summary: dan didn’t plan to run away, but then again, it may have been for the best. he has an abusive girlfriend, a strange disease, and, in his opinion, nothing to live for. but when a stranger with brilliant blue eyes finds him and offers him a place to stay, dan discovers that he does have a reason to live after all. love.

A Slow Descent - phan-panda

Summary: Falling in love with your best friend is a secret usually best left untold. Phil Lester, however, has never been good at keeping secrets.

All Is Fair - jilliancares

Summary: Dan Howell has made many mistakes in life, the first of which was being born to Aphrodite (or maybe just being born at all, in his uncle’s opinion). It’s never made much sense that he was son of the Goddess of love, seeing as he didn’t even believe in it. Still, maybe there’s time for his mind to be changed when he finds himself going on a quest to retrieve his mother’s “Cupid’s bow” with Phil Lester, son of Ares.

Beautiful Scars on Critical Veins - whalefairyfandom12

Summary: In which Phil works at a cinema to pay off his university fees and Dan is the student he finds sprawled on the floor with deadened eyes and a love of alcohol and fireflies.

Begin Again - curiosityandrain

Summary: Phil never expected Dan to take up a career in theatre but Dan moves to London to pursue it, leaving Phil behind. Three years later, Phil goes to see Les Mis where Dan plays Marius. Thanks to Phil’s friend Louise, they reconnect after the show. With both of their careers growing and going in separate directions, Dan and Phil are faced with the decision of whether or not they want to begin their relationship again.

Black Is the Coldest Color - phils-flower-crown

Summary: A high school senior name Dan was never one to believe in love at first sight. His life is changed when he meets Phil, a young college student with black hair, who will allow him to discover desire, to assert himself as a man and as an adult. In front of others, Dan grows, seeks himself, loses himself and ultimately finds himself through love and loss.

Blossom - crescendohowell

Summary: Phil is a rich businessman who decides to leave the city in favor of buying a house in the country.  He expected to find beauty in the house and the surrounding gardens, but he didn’t account for a cute gardener who loves flowers and hates him.

Burn and Bloom - jilliancares

Summary: Phil’s been hiding the fact that he’s an Earthbender for ten years, ever since it’s been considered illegal when the Fire Nation invaded. And, of course, the only solution to a random Fire Nation soldier seeing him earthbending is to kidnap him, right?

But They Say We’re Made Of Stars - cactuslester

Summary: 3000 years into the future, Dan and Phil meet as kids still in primary school. They follow a journey of becoming best friends to eventually falling in love and trying to navigate through the ups and downs life throws at them: secrets, bad teachers, intergalactic war, the usual.

Details Of An Asteroid - dantiloquent

Summary: “If you think about it, aliens probably believe in us, too. We’ve got our own intergalactic cheerleaders.” 

Famous Last Words - whalefairyfandom12

Summary: In a world where the last words your soulmate will say to you are written on your wrist, fearful and introverted Phil works in a bookstore. His greatest fear? The words counting down the seconds until he meet his soulmate, someone called ‘Dan.’ But it isn’t until he befriends a university student that he nicknames ‘Bear’ that Phil realizes that surviving through fear isn’t the same as living.

Head Down Low - camisadan

Summary: (TW) Dan isn’t right. He’s not like most of the others, he’s not genetically pure. He has no destined path, he has nothing going for him in life. He’ll be lucky to get himself a job in a fast food kitchen, and everyone looks down on him like he’s a piece of dirt stuck at the bottom of their shoe. Except one person: Phil Lester.

Imaginary Friends - adorkablephil

Summary: Nothing’s AU ... except that Dan and Phil have been appearing in each other’s dreams since childhood without realizing it because they’re soulmates. Everything on the outside looks like the reality we’re used to irl.

Misplaced - jilliancares

Summary: Phil wakes up in an alternate universe. And then Phil… wakes up in an alternate universe. Both Phil’s try to navigate back to their own life while simultaneously trying to deal with each others'. (AKA YouTuber!Phil tries to deal with the fact that he’s in a band and he and Dan are enemies, and Band!Phil tries to understand how in any universe he and Dan could be lovers.)

Notifications - notanannoyingfangirl

Summary: Indie movie actor, Phil Lester hadn’t meant to get under Dan Howell’s skin. In fact, they could both had could never have even dreamed of meeting other. So when a shitstorm erupts over twitter claiming that they’re a couple (who knows how that rumor started) and their agents desire to take advantage of the attention to launch a movie featuring the two of them… well the could both be happier.

Oxymoron(ic) - kidpxv

Summary: “Hey I have to photograph someone for class will you be my model?”

((In which Dan hates contrast and Phil is a walking oxymoron))

“It’s Up to You Now” - danalingphil-fics

Summary: in which Phil isn’t normal and it maybe hits Dan the hardest // aromantic!Phil (2009 and 2015 story lines)

Renegade - awesomesockes

Summary: It’s World War 2. Phil, a young German soldier, is stationed in Denmark. There he meets Dan - a rebellious Danish school boy who is intent on making his job hell. But before long, they realise they have more in common than they’d have thought. How do you hide a friendship when you come from two different sides of a war?

Steal My Heart (steal my whole life too) - ineverhadmyinternetphase

Summary: Captain of the Royal Guard and Prince of Morellia, Philip Lester has never been given the chance to find love. Instead, he’s run from a system that works to end class differences and improve equality for its citizens. Happy as he is to make the world a better place, Phil can’t help feeling bitter towards his ancestors for making it impossible for him to find someone who will actually love him for more than just his title, and strives instead for a life of justice and doing good - only to meet his match in the King of Thieves, a man who will change everything he once thought he knew in life. Together, they must depart on a quest to save the kingdom, and, in the process, destroy their differences and find their own form of love.

Sweet Pea - botanistlester

Summary: A nickname that goes bitter in your mouth. Cries for help that no one listens to. Gentle hands that make you quake on the ground you’re standing on. When Phil first met Nico, he thought he was a gift from the heavens. But behind the mask lies something daunting, something unnerving, that Phil never foresaw. Through his journey, he finds solace in Dan, the regular at his workplace, who seems to be the only one who sees through Nico’s mask to the darkness underneath. 

The Blind Boy - jilliancares

Summary: Dan Howell liked to think of his entire life as a series of tragic accidents. Because really, how many people can say that they managed to become blind and obtain a supposedly Cute Boy’s hate all in the span of one year? And Phil Lester has not had the best school life, so in order to avoid bullying or a bad reputation, he refuses to take shit from anyone at this new school. Even if that someone just so happens to be blind.

The Next Night - nebulous-frog

Summary: Germany in 1937 was a hard place for anyone "different". Dan just wanted to live his life, fall in love, and die surrounded by family, but his particular community was too "different". Dan found himself hiding, wishing for a better world, maybe even finding it in the eyes of an unlikely savior.

The Pianist and the Artist - crescendohowell

Summary: Dan is a struggling university student who loves piano that becomes friends with his neighbor, Phil, the artist.

The Proposal - fiction-phan

Summary: Dan Howell is the executive chief of a very known company which deals with publishing best seller books. He is hated but everyone in the office but everyone is too scared of him to say anything, unless they want to get fired. Phil Lester is his assistant. As much as he hates Dan and the way he treats him, Phil keeps quiet because of his dream of becoming an editor. When Dan learns that he might be facing deportation charges because of his expired visa, he convinces Phil to marry him in order for all charges to be dropped. The plan is to get a divorce after a few years but a weekend spent in Phil’s family house might just change both their plans, and the way they think.

The Reject - butterflyphil

Summary: Dan might be a little bit in love with his best friend, but it’s okay. Phil doesn’t get crushes, at least as far as Dan can tell, so Dan has spent the last two years pining in secret while learning to accept the fact that Phil might never see him the same way.

And it’s fine. It is. He feels lucky to have Phil as a friend at all, and he is perfectly happy to keep things the way they are. But things are bound to change when he finds some pretty convincing evidence that Phil does get crushes. And, as it turns out, boys who look like Dan are exactly Phil’s cup of tea.

The only problem? The object of Phil’s affection is Dan’s twin brother.

Those Who Trust - theshyauthor

Summary: (TW) Dan used to be a submissive and now he’s just a broken shell of a man.

Unintended - zeldainhiding

Summary: Foreston Academy was the very last resort for angry, lonely Dan Howell. He never could have imagined meeting anyone like Phil Lester, and Phil never could have known that befriending his new roommate would change his life entirely.

Is there such a thing as being too forgiving?

Writing About Blue Eyes - crescendohowell

Summary: Phil moved to a small town in order to help run the family restaurant. He only planed to be there for a year but he doesn’t account for Dan, the writer who loves the town and surrounding forest he calls home. While Phil doesn’t want to hurt Dan when he moves away, he can’t help falling in love with soft smiles, endless conversations, and the boy who always carries a journal.

[louisupdates]

LIVE REVIEW: Louis Tomlinson – Fortitude Music Hall

By Thomas Bleach

I was a Directioner, and in some ways I still consider myself one. I saw One Direction six times over their six year reign. I saw them play the 2800 person capacity Beacon Theatre in New York during their first album run, and then saw them play to 50,000 people at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane during their final year together. No matter the size or setting of the venue, the one consistent variable was their strong interaction with the crowd. It was always about the fans, and that’s what made them the biggest boyband in the world. And since they’ve all gone solo it’s the thing that has kept them going, as their fans still feel such a strong bond to them. 

Following the release of his debut solo album ‘Walls’ in 2020, Louis Tomlinson has hit the road for his first world tour, and unsurprisingly the crowd reaction has been wild to say the least. Kicking off the Australian run of dates in Brisbane with two sold out nights at the Fortitude Music Hall, he had over 300 fans lining up before 7am just to secure the best spots in the venue. With the line looping around the block by the time the doors opened, everyone raced in, and the “Louis” chants started almost immediately .

With the house lights dimming and the screams reaching deafening level, Louis Tomlinson walked out onto the stage with a big smile on his face for opening track ‘We Made It’. “Hello Brisbane” he exclaimed to the very emotional crowd, before rolling straight into an amped-up version of the One Direction mega hit ‘Drag Me Down’. He didn’t ponder too much on the past, but throughout the night he did perform ‘Little Black Dress’ and ‘Through The Dark’ from the 1D back catalogue, as well as reminding the crowd that he always loved Australia and the time he had previously spent here. But this show was all about showcasing who he is as a solo artist, and his alt-pop rock aesthetic was immediately represented. Inspired by the likes of Oasis, DMA’s and Catfish And The Bottlemen, the show was built around the interaction with his band, as well as strong guitar solo’s that elevated the ballad energy some of the songs brought. 

‘Don’t Let It Break Your Heart’, ‘Two Of Us’, ‘Habit’, and ‘Defenceless’ were the clear set highlights from his solo material and received huge singalong’s, as well as a cheeky cover of ‘7’ from Catfish And The Bottlemen, and ‘Beautiful War’ from Kings Of Leon which showcased his influences. But he also performed two unreleased tracks including ‘Change’ and ‘Copy Of A Copy Of A Copy’ which are both expected to be on his highly anticipated sophomore record. Closing out the set with ‘Kill My Mind’, he left the crowd sweaty, excited, emotional, and super happy from the show they just witnessed.

Louis Tomlinson is a natural performer. He always has been, and he always will be. His debut solo tour was an engaging show that paid respect to his past, celebrated the present, and hinted at the bright future to come. No matter where you stood in the 3000 person capacity venue, you felt like you shared a moment with him, and that is pretty special.

[satoruists]

what the future holds. (2.0k words) summary: shoko is tired of watching satoru suffer alone. cw: angst with comfort pairing: satosugu but there is only satoru note: dividers are by @cafekitsune !!

shoko isn’t a person who concerns herself with the matters of others too much, but satoru is acting strange. ever since suguru defected, he never seems to have time for anything else besides his missions. that in itself is not unusual. satoru became a fully realized sorcerer during his second year, and the higher-ups do nothing more than assign him mission after mission. satoru at least made some effort to at least see her in the year between his awakening and suguru’s exile from jujutsu society.

nowadays, he seems to brush her off more frequently. shoko gave satoru the benefit of the doubt at first. he is one of three special-grade sorcerers in the entire world. besides, it’s not like she isn’t busy. shoko is trying to juggle college entrance exams, applications, and the regular duties of a normal high school student on top of her life as a sorcerer. though it troubles her when she can’t even remember the last time he sent her a text with the sole purpose to piss her off or called her phone at an ungodly hour of the night.

shoko understands why, now, when she sees satoru practically draping himself over another man in a back alley host club in kabukicho. the only reason she bothered to double-take was because the two – at least from behind – look nearly identical to the couple she saw almost every day for three years. nearly.

satoru may be proficient in fooling others, but she’s accustomed to his little tricks. his smile doesn’t reach his eyes. his hand doesn’t smooth circles into the host’s upper arm. moreover, the eyes beneath his shades hold nothing. satoru used to look at suguru like his boyfriend was the moon, stars, and all the galaxies above — his crystalline eyes reflecting the beauty he saw whenever he laid his eyes on suguru. but here? satoru’s eyes are betraying him for once. it tells shoko everything she needs to know — this isn’t suguru. this isn’t who i need.

shoko cant help but wonder: will he be satisfied after he’s lost himself in the limbs of faceless strangers? does it soothe him to avoid his remaining friend? will it sate the hunger – the yearning – for his one and only? 

she does need to bother asking when she already knows the answer. no, it doesn’t do anything. it probably made things worse. no matter how hard he tries, he cannot pretend like the men who look like suguru are enough. satoru cannot silence the voice in the back of his mind whispering ‘suguru wouldn’t say that,’ or ‘sugu was better’.

regardless, shoko swallows her pride and pushes open the tinted glass door before her. a host club is not where she wants to be on a friday night, and she does not hesitate to tell the hostess that she does not want to talk to any of the hosts. she grimaces at the entry price — 3000 yen — that she is about to pay just to give satoru a piece of her mind as she rummages through her purse for her wallet.

satoru could recognize shoko’s cursed energy from anywhere, but he didn’t expect to sense it through the window of this establishment. part of him hoped she would just move on and ask him about it later, but of course she decides to enter. satoru releases a deep exhale when he realizes that he pissed her off. her cursed energy is coursing off her in waves. he told shoko that he was assigned an emergency mission in tokyo just so he could be here instead.

it’s a shameful little indulgence — to sneak away from the clutches of jujutsu society to breathe for once. to think that he, the pinnacle of jujutsu sorcery, would find his way into a seedy little corner of tokyo’s host club district? it makes satoru nearly laugh at how far he’s fallen. satoru unwraps his arms from the host, fishes out a wad of yen from his pocket, and dismisses the worker with a sly wink and a promise to see him again later. 

with that, satoru slowly makes his way to shoko’s table. she doesn’t bother to look up from her phone until he speaks:

“what’re you doing here, shoko? thought you didn’t swing that way.”

“i don’t,” shoko takes a drag of her cigarette. “i’m trying to figure out why the great gojo satoru is at a host club.”

satoru flashes one of his signature smiles, the one that says ‘don’t worry, i’m the strongest.’ he falters when he allows himself to meet shoko’s eyes from behind his pitch-black frames. her gaze solemnly whispers back: ‘i don’t believe you.’

“what, a guy like me can’t have fun sometimes?”

“it’s a little more than sometimes,” shoko murmurs. “you flaked the past three times we were supposed to catch up outside of jujutsu tech.” 

oof. it’s been three times already? satoru isn’t the best at keeping up with his arrangements, but he thought he was making enough time for her. but gojo — a man who struggles to admit his faults — can’t stop himself when he tries to downplay the situation like he always does.

“i told you i’ve been busy lately—“

shoko allows herself to give voice to her innermost thoughts when she retorts: “and you expect me to believe you?”

shoko directs her attention to the host satoru was with. from across the room, she would have undoubtedly mistaken him for suguru if she didn’t know any better. she was hoping the resemblance only applied to her limited view from the window.

“he looks awfully familiar, don’t you think?”

satoru doesn’t have to look in the direction she is referring to. he gathers her meaning quickly.

“i don’t know what you’re talking about,” satoru grumbles.

“you do. he looks a bit like suguru, doesn’t he?” shoko asks. satoru’s silence speaks volumes. “so this is where you run off to.”

the silence between them threatens to suffocate satoru. shoko sips her coffee and places it back down on the table before motioning for him to join her.

“sit. i need to ask you something.”

gojo pulls out the chair, and the squeaking legs do nothing but agitate him further. he deposits himself onto the seat with the grace of an angry child caught stealing from the cookie jar. 

“what is it?”

shoko rests her face against the arm propped up on the table. she knows she is about to hurt satoru, but she can’t stand to see him like this any longer.

“does this help you?” shoko asks.

satoru’s crystalline eyes narrow at shoko’s question.

“what do you mean by that?”

shoko remains unflinching. she’s seen this look before — many times, even. she’s seen it when he comes back from a meeting with his higher-ups. she recognizes it from the time his relative was on campus for sorcerer business. she knows what it means, too. do not speak another word to me.

“pretending. does it help to pretend like that man is suguru?” shoko prods.

gojo leans back against the chair, his arms folded against his chest. he’s gritting his teeth. his jaw is clenched as if he is trying to prevent the truth from escaping his mouth.

“i’m not pretending. i’m dating again, for real.”

shoko doesn’t attempt to suppress her scoff.

“yeah? after your three-year relationship? be real, satoru. we both know you can’t throw away your feelings that easily,” shoko spits back. “plus, you can’t even date the hosts here. we both know what you’re doing.”

shoko takes another drag from her cigarette and reminds herself that her goal is to help satoru, not reprimand him. it forces her to take a deep breath — even if it is tarnished with countless carcinogens.

“listen, you’re not the only person who lost someone,” shoko whispers. satoru grips the sleeves of jacket. “you think you’re alone? i was there, too.”

shoko’s following statements felt near foreign to her. she isn’t much of a sentimental person. there’s no time for women to indulge in emotions as jujutsu sorcerers. not unless they want to be perceived as weak. 

“i don’t care that you’re the ��strongest’ or whatever, but you can’t deal with things like loss alone,” shoko looks away from him and sighs. “so just— just stop whatever this is. i’m here for you.”

satoru’s head drops at her last sentence. he doesn’t even realize he’s crying until the first tear falls on his lenses, and the dam he built to keep himself safe from his own emotions breaks beneath the pressure of the oncoming flood of emotions. it sweeps him beneath the current, and he forgets where he’s at. all satoru can see are the haunting traces of suguru — his smile, his laugh, his voice — swirling past and drowning him.

“i miss him, shoko,” satoru sobs. “he was my one and only— and someday i’ll probably have to kill him all because he left us like that.”

shoko slides a napkin across the table to satoru.

“it’s cruel, isn’t it?” shoko mutters. “but you know i’m here. i know what you meant to each other. just stop running away from it. you can’t afford to. not unless you want to lose the other people in your life, too.”

satoru takes off his glasses and promptly uses the cloth napkin to hide as much of himself away from shoko. like shoko, there is no place for the strongest to show how frail he feels inside. the strongest jujutsu sorcerer can’t let the world know that there is one person who could shatter his heart to pieces with a single glance. the world cannot know that the gojo satoru is capable of feeling love, hurt, heartbreak, pain— he is told he is a god amongst men, but he is merely a boy at his core.

“you know you can’t change what happened to him, but you still have a future,” shoko says. “there’s always something you can do about that.”

satoru lets out an almost bitter laugh. it feels like shoko thrusted her arm into the depths of the whirlpool just to save him from being pulled under, and he can finally breathe. the sound causes shoko’s lips to curve into a small smile. she hasn’t heard a true laugh from him in ages. satoru really thought he was over suguru for a little bit, but shoko is right. he’s coughing up ten thousands of yen every week for a cheap imitation of what he used to have. he could tell he might have lost her as a friend, too, if she was a worse person. he can’t afford to lose his loved ones anymore.

“i can’t believe i kept trying to avoid you this whole time. you give decent advice sometimes, y’know?” satoru remarks.

“yeah. i do,” shoko affirms, almost smugly. “it’s up to you to follow through, though.”

“you know i will.”

it’s a bit of a shock to shoko when satoru reveals his “latest and greatest plan to change the future!” as he put it. he calls her at some godforsaken hour of the evening to tell her he plans to become a teacher at jujutsu tech. she wishes he left this revelation for a more reasonable time, but she did say she would be there for him. 

satoru kind of stuffed the memory of the host club into the recesses of his mind— or so he thought. it was another restless night because of shoko (who knew she could say insightful stuff like that?), and he finally figured out what he could do for the future instead of wallowing in the reflections of his past. 

“a teacher? i thought you hated kids.”

“nah. i don’t,” satoru sighs. “i hate the way adults in jujutsu society treat them. i don’t want anyone to go through what suguru and i experienced. i get to be right there with them to help instead. pretty good idea, huh?”

shoko pauses to think. okay, maybe gojo wouldn’t be the best at teaching from the book. he is the most disorganized person she’s ever met. it’s not like he doesn’t know what he’s doing! satoru is somehow good at everything he does— and that includes academics. however, every time satoru tried to help her with their educational studies, it ended with her being more confused than when they began. but if that’s his motivation…

“yeah,” shoko affirms. “it’s a great idea. you’ll be amazing.”

[isabelinlove]

Mister the Doctor! What're your favorite things to do with Isabel? What timelord shenanigans have you dragged her into? What wonderfully human things does she do that gets to you? (These are probably a lot at once, but they're all related so it counts!)

Well, I suppose it’s no secret that I love going on adventures with her! Past or future, but she studied history at university, so I think she likes the historical ones the best. And traveling with me is a lot more fun than writing boring essays. 😉 Unexpected things usually end up happening during our travels, but it’s always nice to get to explore a bit and experience the local culture. She always insists on a bit of shopping, and, well, it’s hard for me not to buy her whatever she wants when she looks at me with those beautiful brown eyes…

Sorry, what was I saying? Oh yes, adventures! Well, we’ve definitely gotten into our fair share of trouble together. We’ve encountered Daleks, Sontarans, and Slitheen, prevented a witch burning in 16th century London, witnessed the storming of the Bastille, and met all sorts of greats: Leonardo da Vinci, Edgar Allen Poe… even The Beatles! That was one of the first adventures I took Isabel on… they’re her favorite band and I suppose I wanted to show off a bit. At this point we’ve been everywhere from Ancient Greece to the year 3000 together, and no matter what kind of excitement happens, she always finds the fun in it. That’s one of the things I love most about her.

I adore all of Isabel’s human qualities, but I especially love the look of wonder she gets whenever I take her somewhere new. She’s always so keen to learn and explore and expand her view of the universe. I suppose that’s why we work so well together! It’s also very cute when we encounter something she’s studied before and her face lights up and she starts telling me everything she knows about it. She’s truly brilliant- even after being alive for 900+ years, I still learn new things from her all the time! And, well, it’s also really adorable when we’re up late chatting or stargazing and she leans over and dozes off on my shoulder. Yeah, really adorable… 🥰

Aaand there she is, looking like she’ll pick me up and drag me away if I keep talking, so I guess I’d better go! Thanks for the questions!