#....does antony have friends. he has partners for sure but does he have. friends.

[sforzesco]

Are Marcus Antonius and his friend in love? Cuz... If he touched Marcus Antonius' lips, what does that mean?

I don't think I've drawn Antony with a friend on this account before, do you mean Octavian? for me, they hate each other, but there's an overlapping area where resentment, desire, violence, and power come into play, and past that: familiarity, only it's the kind of familiarity where the pitch was turned up too high and it becomes claustrophobic.

if Antony shoves his fingers into Octavian's mouth, it's coming from a place of erotic debasement and power play, but he's also giving Octavian the opportunity to bite his fingers off. If Octavian kisses Antony, it's less a display of romance and more of a desire to consume, to conquer, to bite, to cannibalize.

They can't get what they want from each other, and in the end they're too similar and too different so it becomes absolutely unbearable.

On the Translation (of Sophocles' Philoctetes), Carl Phillips

[jvstheworld]

My Ted Lasso Re-watch: S1E9 (part 2)

All Apologies

Daily Planet reference - makes sense Ted would like Superman.

Ted understands introverts not wanting to raise their hands under any circumstances. And he's not a fan of the Westboro Baptist Church. Who is really? They're a bunch of, and I quote Keeley here, 'floppy cocks'.

Ted is an LGBTQ+ ally. Another reason to love Ted.

Beard has been paid to bite someone's arse? I need the full story on this man's life and all the shit he has gotten up to. No judgement, I just want to hear it. Nate's concerned look at Beard seals it. As does his later question of 'Where?'

Ted values their opinions despite thinking that they're wrong, is like when Trent asks Ted and Beard for their opinion on his book and says that he'll respect their opinion and will gladly tell them where they're wrong.

'I'm Audi 5000' are you from the 90s? That's like something you'd hear in Clueless. I'm pretty sure someone did say something like that actually. I think Tai said after she insulted Cher about being a virgin who can't drive, after she was told not to persue Josh because secretly Cher liked Josh. Yes, I have seen this film, though not in quite a few years.

Ted wants Roy to be a part of the starting line up because he knows that he'll be wanting to go out on a high instead of slowly becoming washed up. Ted has Roy's back.

Ted walking into Rebecca's office and doing all the little things he does makes him even more adorable. Yeah, I don't see this ending any time soon. God dammit.

Rebtalling about procrastinating to procrastinate having to tell Ted about all the shitty things she did.

I love Ted's rewind of him walking into Rebecca's office. It's cute and funny.

Then in comes the c***. Sorry, I meant to say Rupert... No, I was right the first time actually.

Rupert liked Higgins because Higgins would do anything he asked for fear of losing his job and his life being made miserable. He covered up Rupert's affairs and kept Rebecca in the dark. That's why he liked Higgins. And that offer Rupert casually mentioned, would be more of the same, but would be hiding the affairs from Bex.

Rupert and Bex are having a baby. Fuck you, Rupert. Rebecca probably wanted a child but because he didn't want one with her, she never got the chance. And you can see how hurt she is. She gave up something she wanted for him. She gave up so much of her life for him. And he now gets to throw it back at her like it's nothing. All because she left him and his control over her. Trying to be civil in front of your manipulative, narcissistic ex is hard to do. Mine was only my friend, not a romantic partner in anyway, but trying to be civil with him was impossible the very last time I saw him, because I wanted answers and every time I demanded them he would skirt around the issue. I get Rebecca's hurt here. He controlled so much of her life and stopped her from doing the things she wanted to do, and he gets to live his life now with someone who can do those things and he wants that with them. He lives off of her pain and suffering. He chose to tell her because he wanted to see the pain first hand. Schadenfreude at it's finest. Fuck you, Rupert. Though very well done to Antony Stewart Head for playing him so well.

Hannah Waddingham deserved her Emmy for this episode in this scene and coming clean to Ted. She deserves all the love and praise for her acting. No one could have done it better than her.

[ashintheairlikesnow]

If you’re still doing the word prompts: nepenthe (n.) - something that can make you forget grief or suffering for Antoni?

CW: PTSD/trauma recovery focus, references to past burns and current scarring

His eyes feel heated, still, as he ducks his head and walks with a determined step back towards the house. The walk from the bus stop isn’t all that long - maybe fifteen minutes of winding his way through the neighborhood, swinging past the run-down houses of people out enjoying the way the sweltering summer heat is slowly cooling as the sun begins to set.

The light is gold-tinged, and there are dark clouds building far to the southeast that suggests there will be rain, tonight. For now, though, the neighborhood is full of laughing, shouting, talking drinking eating loving life.

 Funny how he has lived here this long and he still stands apart from them.

Perhaps that’s not a problem of being a runaway pet, but of something deeper, some core aspect of whoever he has been in his life. 

The thought makes his burns begin to itch, and he rubs his left hand over his right forearm as he walks, gritting his teeth against the flush of false flame that travels up his arms to his shoulders, itching fires that race down his sides. The burn in the side of his neck, the only one he can’t hide.

I have need of an ashtray, and you do make such a pretty one, don’t you?

Antoni in his long-sleeved shirt and long pants passes households full of people in their tank tops and shorts, sandals that smack and flap against the concrete driveways where they run and toss basketballs into hoops. Babies and toddlers wearing swimsuits or their play clothes or nothing at all splash in little plastic pools, shrieking in delight. Dogs run in and out of sprinklers. Cats sit on porch railing, tails swishing, watching Antoni’s progress with calm thoughtfulness.

Somewhere, further down the street, he can hear Jaden and his friends howling like a pack of wolves, Jaden’s voice a touch lower than the rest. At barely thirteen, Jaden is already growing like a weed through the summer, seems taller every time he appears at the door to ask if Chris wants to come to the park today.

Antoni wonders, sometimes, if Miss Ruth is putting him up to it - but he can’t bear to make himself ask in case the answer is yes. What good would it to do, to break Chris open with information like that?

There’s no mistaking the light in Chris’s eyes that comes with being wanted by someone, thought about when he’s not right in front of them. The desperate affection of someone who is relearning what a friendship is, or maybe didn’t have any at all before. Antoni would be the worst kind of bastard if he took that away.

Who knows? Maybe Jaden and his friends fall as deeply for Chris’s enthusiasm for the world as everyone in the shelter does. It isn’t fair to carry his suspicion like this, when Chris doesn’t have those sorts of thoughts himself.

Especially when Jaden and his friends stood in the safehouse lying to the... cops? They looked and acted like cops, but Nat maintains they were company men playing dress-up. But Jaden and his friends hadn’t known the difference, and still they’d all lied as one about Chris’s existence with no motivation but to do the right thing, even when it meant staring fear in the face and setting your jaw against its threats.

Antoni can say no such strong things about himself. He is instead a man who ran through a dark tunnel and left Chris behind. 

Congratulations, Antoni, you don’t have the courage of your average twelve-year-old boy.

Therapy makes him like this, sometimes - his conversations with Dr. Berger in her home office after hours, twice a month or once a week depending on how he’s doing at the time, leave him melancholy. He feels like he has emptied himself of everything, is a man made of hollow spaces and scars and all the things he did not do, when they most needed done.

“Antoni!”

The voice comes from down the block, and Antoni looks up to see the flash of bright copper under the evening sun that tells him Chris is already outside waiting for his return, swathed in his usual uniform of Jake’s shirt over one of his own. 

Never - not once - has Chris asked him why it took him so long to come back to see if he was okay, after it happened. He is still a burst of light that makes its way out from behind dark clouds.

He raises a hand in a wave, managing a slight smile.

Chris doesn’t wait for him, but instead barrels out into the sidewalk, and Antoni’s eyes catch the shift of a cowboy hat, Jefferson turning to watch while carefully watering the rose bushes he’s convinced he can grow along the front of his house, his partner safely hiding in the shade of the porch and calling out his emotional support while drinking a beer. 

Jefferson looks up, and then back down again. Across the street, Miss Ruth sits fanning herself in a lawn chair while what Antoni assumes is Jaden’s mother and Miss Ruth’s daughter gestures widely, in the midst of a story. 

Naomi’s house is closed up, they’re down in Florida or something and Nat’s been going in to water their houseplants, and why anyone would go to Florida in the middle of summer is a mystery to Antoni.

The bigger mystery is why he even knows that Naomi is gone, or that her name is Naomi at all.

How did I come to know these people, and all these things about them?

The answer, of course, is Chris.

Chris makes it to him with striking speed, already beginning to tell a story about the neighborhood stray having a litter of kittens, and Antoni finds some of the tension bleeding from his shoulders as he slides one arm around Chris’s. The shorter boy walks next to him with a bounce to his step, chattering happily, and Antoni isn’t quite sure when he stops dwelling on his own failures, but by the time they make it up the front steps and to the door, his scars don’t itch any longer.

He pauses, takes a breath. He has failed in so many ways-

“I made, um, I made... made made made dinner tonight,” Chris says, and Antoni’s attempt to blame himself for something simply shatters as he takes that statement in.

“You what? Chrisha... what did you make?”

“Um, first, I tried to, to make pizza.”

“... First?”

“Well, when the smoke, the, um, the smoke-... the fire alarm went off Jake said maybe, um, maybe something that, that that that doesn’t, um, doesn’t use-use the... the oven. I got, um, I got... I was cooking and I went to set the, the timer, but then there was, I saw a thing on TV, and then I heard Jake listening to, to, to-to-to music I liked and then I... forgot.” Chris grins, shamefaced, and Antoni smiles back, shaking his head.

“So? What did you decide on, after the, ah, the smoke cleared?”

“Salad.” Chris gives a firm nod. “You, you can’t burn a salad.”

Antoni laughs, soft and deep-voiced, and Chris brightens even more at the sound. “This is true, Chrisha, this is true. I would be very impressed if you found a way to burn salad. Show me what you did.”

He comes back from therapy sometimes weighed down by his own guilt. Somehow, by the time Chris meets him halfway and leads him back inside, he feels less guilty and more like he has a chance to make up for every failure, simply by allowing Chris to forgive him for them.

The teenagers down the street are howling again, Jaden’s voice leading the way.

[love-sapphirerose]

Optimally Maximal Relationship Failures

https://www.deviantart.com/antoni-matteo-garcia/art/Optimally-Maximal-Relationship-Failures-863430102

This demotivational poster is super aggro and mega highly Anti-SessKagu, Anti-KogAya, Anti-InuKag, Anti-Kagura to some extent, Anti-Kouga to a vastly significant extent, Anti-Kagome to a huge extent, but also Pro-Sesshoumaru, Pro-Inuyasha, Pro-Ayame, and highly Pro-SessAyaInu. Sit back and relax, as I tear into Sesshoumaru's and Kagura's failure of a relationship, Kouga's and Ayame's major fart of a romance that should never have been, and Inuyasha's and Kagome's annoying volatility, why Kagura does not deserve Sesshoumaru, why Kouga and Kagome only deserve my ire, wrath, and fury, and why Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, and Ayame deserve so much better in each other. Furthermore, this is my contribution to this year's Red Ribbon Reviewers' month. Behold, my dear readers, my three greatest NOTPs of all time. Sure, I consider Naraku with anybody my greatest choice of a NOTP because someone as manipulatively dastardly such as Naraku deserves to be alone, done for, and truly deserves jack shit! However, that is too obvious of a choice. These three are the ones that make me want to tear my hair off and carve the hearts of Kouga and Kagome out with a blunt knife as well as tell Kagura to vamoose. As you can clearly tell, I have put these from bad to worse to the worst, with Sesshoumaru x Kagura being something absolutely unpleasant, Kouga x Ayame being a whole lot more atrocious, and Inuyasha x Kagome being the indubitable equivalent to toxic waste mixed with gallons of poison. Ergo, SessKagu is a bad pairing, KogAya is so much worse, and InuKag is the absolute worst pairing to exist in Inuyasha. I am aware that there are a good number of people who love to pair Sesshoumaru with Kagura because of how appealingly sexy they appear together. However, now that I have discarded those rose-tinted glasses for good, I can see this failure of a relationship for what this signifies and this all falls on Kagura's shoulders. Lest one forget that Kagura killed Kouga's tribesmen of her own volition and got pleasure out of that, trapped Miroku and Sango at Mt. Hakurei also by her own volition, kidnapped Rin, used Akago as a vessel to feed on Kagome's dark side, was manipulated into serving Princess Kaguya in the false hopes of wanting her freedom, and tended to mock Inuyasha. All of these atrocities would make Sesshoumaru fully cognizant that Kagura is far from being his equal in a relationship. Her dirty record as well as her hissy fit at Sesshoumaru for not helping her desire to be free from Naraku make her a co-dependent partner which can only spell failure in the long-term. As a mother to Rin, she would definitely fail badly because of her aforementioned dirty record and she would not be fully worthy of any sort of emulation. For someone like Kagura who is a formidable fighter, she has abused her wind powers to cause chaos and misery. Her passing may be tragic, but the awful deeds she has done are not worthy of my forgiveness. At least Sesshoumaru is free from being in a co-dependent relationship with that polarizing wind sorceress. Kouga x Ayame or KogAya is a couple I will never understand the appeal of. Yes, they are both wolf yokai, but these two could not be any more different, as Kouga is a big bluffer of a bully and a Karma Houdini and Ayame is a naturally brave, strong, fearless warrior princess with hidden depths that should have been fully realized! I have dreaded at the thought of these two ending up together because of all the failures and atrocities that would all resurface if Ayame were to find out all the horrible crimes Kouga has committed against an innocent young girl, Rin, and his entire tribe. This also extends to him not being the strong fighter he has made himself out to be and nothing more than a perennially pathetic loser who has relied on the Shikon Jewel's power instead of harnessing his own strength, as if the Shikon Jewel shards on his legs are a metaphor for steroids being used to give someone an artificial boost of strength and power. If Ayame dared to discover all of those atrocities, crimes, and rubbish Kouga has committed, she will be undoubtedly appalled at him and would repudiate him for good. I will reiterate that all of my sympathy goes to Ayame because of the fact that she deserves so much better than this pathetic waste of effort and time and deserves to grow as a veritably formidable heroine worthy of emulation, especially to all the young girls of the world. The mere fact that Kouga and his wolves killed innocent villagers including Rin who has lost her family and had to wander the world alone before she was revived Sesshoumaru through his Tenseiga and got away with murder, mainly relied on the Shikon Jewel's power to accelerate his strength and speed without working that on his own, and did not avenge his fallen comrades at the hands of Naraku and Kagura should all make Ayame's insides turn and make her reject Kouga for good and for all. Ergo, Ayame does not deserve this pathetic Karma Houdini and deserves to estrange herself from him forever, thus making her be the mother Rin truly deserves and will gladly give her her unconditional love and compassion to help her grow as a person. Speaking of couples I do not understand the appeal of by any shape of the imagination, we have my most dreaded NOTP of all time in the form of Inuyasha x Kagome or InuKag. Even as a child of eleven years old, I did not tune in to Inuyasha to see their soap opera fart of a relationship desecrating Adult Swim let alone the airwaves no matter where I was watching this series. I mainly tuned in to Inuyasha to see him growing from strength to strength and kick loads of butt, especially in his full yokai form. Furthermore, the more I saw Kagome and her brand of shrewishness, manipulativeness, brattiness, pettiness, jealousy, and callousness, the more irritated I became. There was barely any semblance of a romantic relationship blooming between Inuyasha and Kagome, as it was more of Kagome being the owner to Inuyasha's pet, especially where the Beads of Subjugation and the purpose of Inuyasha's sword Tessaiga are concerned. The Beads of Subjugation were used for Inuyasha to not do anything rash while the Tessaiga, aside from being a sword of destruction, was also intended to be used to protect those who are oppressed. Being the manipulative shrew Kagome was, she believed this would give her leeway for Inuyasha to shield her and be her "knight in shining armor" who will save her from all forms of danger without honing her own skills as a fighter. What is worse is that Kagome extends her manipulation to Miroku, Sango, and Shippou aka The Dunderhead Family to be nothing more than her pathetic posse and have them jump on a certain bandwagon that has brought Inuyasha a whole bunch of trauma. I am, of course, talking about how he was still hurting from the guilt he felt when Naraku manipulated both him and Kikyou into betraying each other. Miroku, Sango, Shippou, and especially Kagome never understood Inuyasha's pain and trauma in the slightest and The Dunderhead Family think that anytime Kagome was hurt it was all because of him. Furthermore, there is the fact that Inuyasha and Kagome are an undeniable example of being in a Karmic relationship with each other, given the many times they have been yelling, bickering, squabbling, and getting themselves in a heap of messily addictive habits that will only dig them deeper into more quagmires than find any sensibility or profound meaning. It says something that someone as compassionate, genuine, kind, and natural as Rin makes a far better companion to Inuyasha than The Dunderhead Family and...ugh....Kagome combined. Do not even get me started on the first episode of Yashahime because Inuyasha still has those accursed Beads of Subjugation on and she still does not trust him where Kikyou was concerned. Kagome was never attentive to him, never understood him in a profound level, and always believed she had dominance over him. This, my friends, is why I absolutely loathe InuKag with all of my being and it stands perched atop the medal platform of shame as my most disdained NOTP of all time. InuKag makes SessKagu more tolerable in comparison and the only other NOTP to ever come close to InuKag's brand of disgust is KogAya. Regardless, InuKag is the NOTP I will never want to touch with a twelve-foot pole. You might even noticed a recurring theme in terms of my discussion of my Inuyasha NOTPs and that is the importance of Rin. Well, she does play an integral part in not only Sesshoumaru's life but also the lives of Inuyasha and Ayame. Considering that Kouga and his wolves killed her in cold blood and got away with murder, Kagura kidnapped her as ransom for Sesshoumaru to annihilate Naraku, and that Kagome and The Dunderhead Family do not even come close to Rin's brand of compassion, I say that it was high time for Sesshoumaru to ditch Kagura, Inuyasha to give a big, fat, ugly screw-you to Kagome, and Ayame to drop kick Kouga in his family jewels to be the worthy parents to give Rin the great home she truly deserves complete with siblings in the forms of Dai, Roku, Kai, Shiori, and Shinta. To make things better, Rin will be definitely grateful to have two strong, powerful, brave dads like Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha, one courageous, honorable, compassionate mom like Ayame, three tough, independent, loving older brothers like Dai, Roku, and Kai, a lovable, caring, compassionate "twin" sister like Shiori because they are also the same age though Shiori is a month younger than her, and a lovable, sweet, attentive younger brother like Shinta. Just squeeze in Shuran, Hakkaku, and Ginta to be her loving uncles and Shunran to be her equally loving auntie and it will be a glorious family Rin will be more than happy to be a part of. With that said, having a three-way relationship with Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha being the chivalrous, caring, noble husbands to Ayame is so much better than having these three suffer a series of terrible relationships. This also extends to how proud Toga the Dog General and The Wolf Elder shall be of their progeny for giving Rin a great home and for finding true friends in Shuran, Hakkaku, Ginta, and Shunran who are just as supportive of Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, and Ayame being in a three-way relationship. In conclusion, I am so ecstatic to make SessKagu, KogAya, and especially InuKag my biggest NOTPs for life. I will never touch these failures with a twelve-foot pole ever again, but the putrid effect of these NOTPs will forever remain ingrained in my memory as a stern reminder what bad relationships can look like. From the co-dependency found in Kagura's failed relationship with Sesshoumaru to the utter deception and lies Ayame would have found herself falling hook, line, and sinker all for Kouga's pathetic hide to Inuyasha's and Kagome's fart of a relationship only spelling death and destruction for years to come, there is nothing that will salvage these losers together. I am just going to keep Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, and Ayame in a loving three-way relationship complete with a great family they can call their own and Shuran, Hakkaku, Ginta, and Shunran are going to be part of that family as their siblings for life. I hope you all enjoyed my evisceration of SessKagu, KogAya, and InuKag as my biggest NOTPs for life and I would love to hear from you if you agree with me on this. Until then, I will see you in the next submission. Take care and Happy Holidays, everybody. Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, and Ayame as well as the lame-os known as Kouga, Kagura, and Kagome from Inuyasha belong to Rumiko Takahashi and Sunrise.

[meta-squash]

Brick Club 1.3.7 “The Wisdom Of Tholomyes”

Oh my god there’s so much in this chapter, I’m so sorry for how long this is.

It’s probably just me, but this speech, or at least the beginning of it, reminds me of the way Shakespeare tends to write characters that are obnoxiously lecturing other characters (Polonius in particular comes to mind for some reason).

Tholomyes drunkenly stands up and tells everyone to slow down, to both eat and talk more slowly. But two chapters ago Hugo said they had finished eating. Go home, Tholomyes, you’re drunk. Tholomyes compares Talleyrand and Grimod de la Reyniere, one was a connoisseur of wine, the other of food, which is probably a “these people say savor your meals” statement.

Everyone else wants him to shut the hell up so they can continue their conversations and/or singing, which is funny. Also, I see so much Grantaire in this entire speech. Only, instead of a “down with your claws” remark going ignored, Tholomyes’ “You are it’s marquis” pun makes everyone quiet down, which he obviously takes as an invitation. 

Tholomyes first segment about puns absolutely sounds like Hugo being extremely self-aware. He has an unlikable character criticize and disparage the excess use of puns, fully knowing the amount of puns that will be used later on in this book. Hugo mentions irony in conjunction with Tholomyes in 1.3.2, here he’s really displaying it.

According to wikipedia, the Jesus/Peter pun is due to a Greek translation, where “Peter” is translated to “Petros” and then the same sentence also contains the word “petra” (rock), so that Jesus is saying “Thou art Rock, and upon this rock will I build my church.” The Polynices pun is from Aeschylus’ play Seven Against Thebes. At one point the play’s chorus describes Polynices and his brother Eteocles as being “true to each other’s names, both truly lamentable (eteokleitoi) and both full of strife (polyneikeis).” The Cleopatra pun is basically Cleopatra mocking Antony, who is upset that Caesar is late to battle, calling Caesar’s tardiness harmless. The “prudence of Amphiaraus” is also a pun, since Amphiaraus was a Greek king and seer who continuously did things knowing they’d go wrong or fail. The “baldness of Caesar” pun is a play on words because “Caesar” means “hairy child” and Caesar himself was balding.

I’ve just realized that the “Est modus in rebus” (Moderation in all things) line is what reminds me of Polonius. I can’t help but think of his “neither a borrower nor a lender be” lecture towards Laertes.

Tholomyes suddenly gets a little more ominous and foreshadowing as he talks about how love should not be overloaded, and there must be restraint and ends to things, even love. “The wise man is he who knows when and how to stop. Have some confidence in me.” I love this for a few reasons. First, Tholomyes is pretty drunk here, and he’s the one calling for moderation in all things. Ha! Second, it’s funny that he’s telling people to have confidence in him when they all seem to want him to be quiet. Third, he’s got an interesting way of interpreting “how to stop.”

Which is actually a line that’s interesting to me. Previously I kind of thought this cruel prank was a thing he’d done to women many times before, with other friends. Except this “the wise man is he who knows when and how to stop” line sounds like he’s talking about trying to extricate himself from this whole situation. Maybe he’s never knocked up a grisette before; certainly he’s probably never had one actually fall in love with him before, since usually everyone’s on the same page. He wants out of this relationship that’s more than he signed up for. It’s definitely time to stop, and this is apparently the only “how” he knows?

Sylla was the first republican to seize power via military coup; but at the end of his dictatorship, when he had imposed all the changes he wanted, he abdicated and retired. I don’t understand the Origenes line, but I think that’s due to my cluelessness when it comes to the way different areas of Christianity work.

He pronounces “friends” in a few different languages, which I can only imagine as being very slurred and with sloppy, ridiculous gestures. He waxes poetic (or something) about how to have no passion or love. I can’t tell if he’s talking about having an affair without falling into marriage/love, or feeling nothing at all. In the next lines he certainly seems annoyed with himself for getting mixed up with someone who has actual feelings for him.

Here’s more shades of Grantaire. Tholomyes has this whole rant on each country’s measurements; Grantaire has his rant on each country’s popular trade. But Grantaire’s is a political and social critique, while I think Tholomyes’ might be a dick joke?

Tholomyes isn’t even subtle about his affair with Favourite here. He straight up insults Zephine and calls her ugly, I think he insinuates that Dahlia is boring, and then he basically dismisses Fantine and calls her an airhead. And in the middle of this he sings Favourite’s praises. He specifically calls attention to her mouth. Also, he refers to her with “tu” instead of “vous,” the first time he uses the familiar with her, at least with company around.

God, he talks about Fantine like she’s not even there. What an asshole. I hate him so much. He talks about Fantine like she’s not there, and she doesn’t do or say anything to contradict that. Again, she gets no dialogue in this chapter. Where is Fantine at, mentally, in all of this? Because Hugo does this a lot: he’ll describe someone or something in idealized tones, and then a chapter or two later a character will have dialogue describing that same person/thing, but in much more down-to-earth ways. Fantine and Cosette are both described in conjunction with birds. Only, Cosette is a bird, and Fantine is staring off into space, imagining birds. Honestly if we’re still going about this with the headcanon that she’s on the spectrum (which I am, I love it), this sounds like an overstimulation shut down. Hell, my adhd brain does the same thing when I’m in places that are really loud and busy and there’s not really a point of focus. If everyone around them is yelling and laughing and singing as much as they are, then it’s probably horrific in this pub.

Tholomyes is so blatant here about his intentions around Fantine. “I am an illusion--but she doesn’t not even hear me...” I think this piece of dialogue is twofold. Tholomyes is again hinting at his plan to leave, to end everything; his relationship with Fantine is so fake as to be an illusion. But it’s also here to describe Fantine, who is dreaming up a relationship that doesn’t exist. I kind of get the feeling that Tholomyes hasn’t been very nice to Fantine for a while, hasn’t been trying to keep up the pretense of this relationship, and yet Fantine is so wrapped up in her own personal illusion that they’re in love that she is unable to notice or see his assholery.

Yet another shade of Grantaire here. This monologue describing Fantine made me think of R’s “Chowder is ugly” monologue. Tholomyes describes Fantine as the “daughter of chimeras” while Chowder is a chimera. They both get classical allusions: Fantine is a nymph, while Chowder is a gargoyle instead of Galatea. Chowder gets hair like lead, while Fantine is a jewel. Both men are drunkenly harassing women and being real obnoxious about it. The difference is a) Chowder is probably used to it as waitress and Grantaire doesn’t seem to mean genuine harm and b) Tholomyes is “in a relationship” with Fantine, and that’s no way to treat someone, and it definitely sounds like he’s mocking her in front of her face to other people.

The “too much sugar” rant goes with the marriage one, I think. According to Tholomyes, women are too obsessed with the fairytale-type nice things, spend too much time imagining sweetness like a wedding. I’m not sure how popular trash romances were at the time (I know Hugo mentions that Mme. Thenardier reads them) but I wonder if he’s referencing reading those as well.

“Make conquests. Rob each other without remorse of your beloved. Crisscross and double cross. In love, there are no friends. Wherever there’s a pretty woman, there’s open warfare....” You know what, I think Tholomyes actually really wants Fantine to figure it out. At first I thought he was being an annoying asshole and acting like this because he knows she doesn’t get it so he doesn’t care. But I actually think he wants to see her put it together. He’s still talking in metaphors and references, but I think he wants Fantine to realize that he’s cheating, that he doesn’t love her back and this is just a fling. He wants her to be on the same level as everyone else. I don’t know if he wants it so that there’s a better chance of them getting away without consequences, or if he’s a cruel bastard (he is) who wants to watch her world collapse. He’s been saying it louder and louder and more and more obviously as the speech goes on. But as he says just a paragraph before, Fantine just doesn’t get it. Either she truly doesn’t notice, or she refuses to see. He describes her as so distant here, I think she truly doesn’t notice or get it.

This is also a bunch of references to women who were historically raped. He basically seems to be saying that when you refuse to settle down, you get the “benefit” of being the enemy and taking other people’s partners. Gross. Hugo really knows how to write a slimy, unlikable asshole. And even his friends seem to think he’s going to far, because they tell him to stop talking, and when it seems like he’s going to start up again, they sing some annoying rhyming song. Why they thought that would shut him up, I don’t know.

He really does spend this whole speech dropping hints. “Let’s finish our course of study with folly and food” sounds like he’s talking about messing around with the women, but also definitely sounds like a hidden “ooh, you’re about to get tricked and feel so stupid.”

He spouts off a bunch more springtime allusions (comparing nightingales to the opera singer Jean Elleviou, Jardin du Luxembourg, pastorals about various upper-class streets, etc.) The pampas line is interesting. Pampas are big open fertile lowlands in South America, as compared to the covered arcades of the Odeon theatre. Again I think this is a twofold joke: on the one hand, literally the Pampas is a place Tholomyes could go and become a landowner and be a rich independent colonizer, but he feels he does perfectly fine shmoozing at the the theatre in Paris. Less literally, this could also be a sex joke, similar to Grantaire’s “if only I wanted to,” only worse. Basically he’s saying “look at all these girls I could go fuck in other places, but I get enough tail in the theatres of Paris.” Gross.

He then kisses Favourite “by mistake.” I think at this point he knows Fantine is never going to get it. But Favourite is clearly in on the joke. He doesn’t even care anymore, he’ll cheat on Fantine in front of all of them because they all kind of know except Fantine--who isn’t going to figure it out, obviously.

[john-taylor-daily]

Full text of the article:

Want to feel really old? Oh, go on then. Duran Duran turn 40 this year: the band, that is, not the members. For them it’s worse: Simon Le Bon is 61, John and Roger Taylor, each 59, and Nick Rhodes, the baby, 57.

As you would expect of a pop group who always appeared happiest hanging off a yacht in ruffled Antony Price suits, accessorised with a supermodel and a cocktail, they intend to celebrate in style, coronavirus permitting. So the plan, announced this week, is that on July 12, exactly 40 years since their first gig at the Rum Runner in Birmingham, they will perform in Hyde Park, headlining a bill that includes Nile Rodgers & Chic and their pal Gwen Stefani. Four of the original five will be there: the guitarist Andy Taylor, 59, left the band in 1985 and, after rejoining in 2001, walked out again five years later. In the past, the guitarist Warren Cuccurullo has filled in; this time Graham Coxon from Blur will take his place.

Then in autumn Duran Duran are releasing a new album, their 15th, which they are halfway through making.

Growing up in the West Midlands, I was a Duranie; my first gig was theirs at the NEC in Birmingham. To give an idea of the level of devotion, I had house plants named after each of them. John, his initials “JT” written on the pot in nail varnish, was a begonia; Rhodes, a busy lizzie; Le Bon, a rubber plant; Roger and Andy Taylor were cacti. My memory, foggy on so much, still holds the name of Nick Rhodes’s cat at the time (Sebastian). The household appliance “JT” would choose to be? “A refrigerator, so I would stay cool.”

But despite previous opportunities, I’ve avoided them bar an awkward backstage handshake with Le Bon. In the meantime, they have notched up record sales of 100 million, had 21 Top 20 hits in the UK and, unlike many bands who came to fame in the 1980s, they produce different, exciting, if not always lauded albums, working with new producers and musicians. They’ve had top five albums in each of the four decades they’ve worked. Their last album, Paper Gods (2015), produced by Mark Ronson and Rodgers, was their most successful for 25 years.

Now 46 and with no desire to anthropomorphise greenery, I meet Rhodes, the keyboardist, and John Taylor, the bass player, once described as having the squarest jaw in rock. Rhodes suggests his “local”, Blakes hotel in Chelsea, near the home he shares with his Sicilian girlfriend, Nefer Suvio (he and Julie Anne Friedman divorced in 1992; they have one child together, Tatjana). Taylor, just in from Los Angeles, home to his second wife, Gela Nash, who runs the fashion label Juicy Couture, invites me to his flat in Pimlico. Le Bon, still happily married to the supermodel Yasmin Le Bon with three grown-up daughters, is busy in the studio and Roger Taylor, four children and with second wife Gisella Bernales, is otherwise occupied.

Rhodes, who joins me in the bar at Blakes, has the same peroxide mop and alabaster skin that were always his trademark. He wears black trousers by the English designer Neil Barrett and a Savile Row jacket dressed down with a rock T-shirt from the Los Angeles company Punk Masters.

Four days later, I arrive at Taylor’s flat in a garden square where he greets me at the door dressed in black jeans and T-shirt, with sculpted bed-hair. I’m reminded of the time my brother splashed Sun-In on his to emulate Taylor’s bleached New Romantic fringe.

It’s good to have them back. They started on the new album in September at Flood Studios in Willesden, northwest London, and, as well as Coxon, have been working with three producers: Giorgio Moroder, Ronson and the DJ Erol Alkan. “The whole place is filled with analogue synthesizers, so it’s just joy for me,” says Rhodes, who began life as Nicholas Bates but renamed himself after a make of electronic keyboard.

Rhodes met Moroder — the “godfather of electronica” and the man behind Donna Summer’s I Feel Love — through a mutual friend of his girlfriend. “We talked about music and what had happened to us,” Rhodes says. “He is as sharp as a razor, 79 going on 45.” They worked with Ronson, who has produced Amy Winehouse and Adele, in LA. “The first thing Mark always says is, ‘Let me hear the rest of it,’” Rhodes says with a laugh. “He is quite competitive.”

Taylor, who leads me into a room that’s more gentlemen’s club than rock-star pad with an open fire, armchairs, brown furniture and bad Victorian paintings, says the break of five years has refuelled them. “We have to starve ourselves of creativity long enough that when we do show up we have something to say,” he says. “[The studio sessions] are quite exhausting because we have been down this road. We can finish each other’s sentences and I guess, to some extent, we can do that musically as well. We are working with the same cast; it’s like a soap opera. That’s why collaborators become so important as you need to keep the spirit lively.”

Rhodes, who says the new album is more “handmade” and “guitary”, explains the working dynamics: “John and Roger’s rhythm section often drives a track. Simon, the lyricist, gives all the songs our identity; it’s his voice that tells you it’s Duran Duran. My part has more to do with sonic architecture.” That may be the most Nick Rhodes phrase yet.

We move on to Andy Taylor. “Forty years ago we had Andy in the band and he was a strong flavour and a northerner and brought a rigour,” says John Taylor. “Filling that vacuum has always been one of the major challenges of version two of the band; we did it with Warren Cuccurullo and with Graham on this record. But it’s not the same. Andy didn’t mind telling people what they were doing wrong.”

He pauses. “We had a reunion with Andy [in 2001] and that was enormously difficult, actually.” How so? “That’s a book really,” says Taylor, who has written about the saga, along with his struggle with drink and drugs, in his excellent 2012 memoir In the Pleasure Groove. “Or it’s a mini-series.”

“It was very uncomfortable for us,” Rhodes says of Andy leaving in 1985. “For sure, it had become stressful over the previous year — we were all burnt out from not having stopped for five years — but we didn’t see it coming at all.”

What are relations with Andy like now? “I don’t really have any,” says Rhodes. “I haven’t seen him for many years since he left the last time. I was not even slightly surprised when it did fall apart. I was relieved. As much as Andy is a great musician he is not an easy person to play with.”

I mention to Taylor that Andy has just announced his own UK dates in May, playing Duran songs. “Uh-ha,” he says. He didn’t know. Does he mind? “I don’t mind at all. All power to him,” says Taylor. “I would rather he be out playing.”

Taylor has the sanguine air of someone who has spent decades nuking his demons (he’s currently working on guilt; he had a Catholic mother). He has been sober for 26 years after an addiction which in part led to the break-up of his marriage to the TV presenter Amanda de Cadenet in 1997. Was it hard at first? “It was like turning round an ocean liner,” he says, his voice posh Brum with a California chaser. “I work a daily programme and that’s what keeps me sober. It’s not something that just happens; it takes a lot of attention.”

We move on to the themes of the new, as yet untitled, album. Le Bon lost his mother recently, so we can expect songs inspired by loss. Taylor says he took inspiration from “the challenges of long-term relationships . . . Take a song like Save a Prayer, which personally I think is one of the greatest ever songs in praise of the one-night stand,” he says. “It comes to the point where you can’t write something like that. It’s not age-appropriate; yet it is sexy. So how do you write from the perspective of someone who is trying to keep a long-term relationship together? That is the challenge of any late-age pop star. How do you make it chic, to use one of Nick’s favourite words.”

It is hard to forget how impossibly chic Duran were in the 1980s: from their beginnings in Birmingham (Nick and John, anyway), where they met when Rhodes was 10 and Taylor 12, to a world of famous friends, beautiful partners and exotic travel. Le Bon married Yasmin after seeing her in Vogue, Rhodes was with the shipping heiress Friedman and Taylor the teenage de Cadenet. Andy Warhol was a close friend of Rhodes.

While others were singing about the dark side of Thatcher’s Britain, they were . . . more opaque. “In the 1980s a lot of what we did was somewhat misunderstood because we were living in the same gloomy years with high unemployment and miners’ strikes and civil unrest as everybody else,” Rhodes says. “But our answer to it was we have to get away from this and make it a little brighter because it didn’t seem like a particularly promising future.” Don’t expect that coronavirus torch song any time soon.

Their association with Bond — they wrote the 1985 theme A View to a Kill — only added to the glamour. What do they make of the new one by Billie Eilish? Rhodes admits that he mostly listens to classical music these days but “was thrilled to hear Billie Eilish. I think it’s by far the best Bond song since ours.”

But not better than yours?

“I am very happy that she reached No 1.” Duran’s got to No 2.

Taylor is more critical. “I thought it was lacking in a bit of Billie Eilish to be honest. It could have been madder. It was a little bit too grown up,” he says.

Is it as good as A View to a Kill?

“No!” says Taylor, theatrically. “Although,” he admits, “it was the most difficult three mins that we have ever produced.”

It had a great video, in which the boys slunk around the Eiffel Tower. Taylor frowns. “I hate that video. So stupid. I can’t watch it.” One for the fans, then.

A secret of their longevity, Rhodes says, is not bowing to nostalgia. “I like to keep my blinkers on and look forward.” Having said that, he sounds ready to write his own memoir. “I would do a book yes,” he says. “I haven’t read John’s on purpose. I even wrote a foreword for it for the US version without reading it, but I did own up to it. I think mine would be very different from a lot of the rock biographies. The one that sticks with me is David Niven’s.”

Rhodes featured in Warhol’s diaries and Warhol, the subject of a show at Tate Modern in London that opened this week, would surely feature in his. He “invented the 20th century”, Rhodes says. “Andy was making reality TV in the Sixties. Can you imagine what he would have thought about the internet? It was all his dreams come true, but he would never have got any work done.” Rhodes says he stays off social media for that reason. “It’s not that I don’t like it; I fear it. I am going down a rabbit hole I may never get out of.

They’ve spent twice the time being famous as being unknown. Are they the same people they were in Birmingham 40 years ago?

Rhodes nods. “Yes, yes,” he says. “There have been big changes — marriages, divorces, kids, moving countries in John’s case — but when we are all together we have known each other for so long there is no room for anyone to behave in a way that would be unacceptable. There is no room for divas. We have lasted longer than most marriages; it is like being married to three people but we each get to go home on our own every night.”

Taylor tells me: “Without getting into recovery talk, a lot of that is about scrubbing away the masks that you tend to accrue to cope, so I think I am as close to that person as I was 40 years ago.”

Rhodes says tolerance is the key. “Sometimes when I arrive at the studio it is really bright, maybe someone is writing, and so everyone accepts I can’t cope, and so the lighting comes down.” I tell him I once read he always wears dark glasses before noon. He laughs. “Pretty much. That’s funny. I am hyper-sensitive to light. It’s not just pretentiousness. “

They appreciate they will have to prepare physically for the dates. For Rhodes, a terrible insomniac, that means “fruit and vegetables and grains” and lots of walking. But no workouts (“I am not a big fan of gymnasiums”). Taylor says he needs to start practising bass and the need to get back in shape is “keeping him awake at night”. “I like to run, I do Pilates, I do yoga and I think about everything that enters my mouth, everything. I am 90 per cent vegan. I don’t drink, take mind-altering chemicals. I am on and off sugar.”

Perhaps the greatest sign that they still have it is that their children want to see them play. Taylor just heard from his daughter, Atlanta, who lives in New York and is soon to be married to David Macklovitch from the Canadian band Chromeo.

“It’s a surprise when you get a text from a child and they say, ‘You’re playing Hyde Park — my boyfriend and I want to come.’”

[abbeyroadie]

1 - Unpopular opinion but Antoni hasn’t been with Kevin long enough for the way some of you talk about them. Maybe don’t jump the gun just yet. And not to pull focus but Trace was successful without Antoni too. Owns his own business. He didn’t need the fame either and yet was constantly accused when he never posted photos with the celebs he hung out with. All these things you guys are saying about Kevin you either said about Trace or accused him of the opposite and it just seems a little weird.

2 - Trace looked at Antoni like he hung the moon too and they had cute moments cuddling at home on the couch at the end of a long day. There really is no difference except that Kevin smiles in photos and doesn’t thirst trap on instagram but considering that Antoni thirst traps too, I don’t see why anyone should have such an issue with that. I don’t care about Trace beyond his association with Antoni but the difference in how people have treated him vs Kevin has bugged me for a while.     

3 - I think you were the only one who even liked Trace because you like to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. You were saying the same stuff you’re saying about Kevin now about Trace when they were dating. You even created a couple tag for them too. The fact that you can’t stand him now after how much you liked him and them as a couple before should at least make you more wary about Kevin or anyone Antoni dates. But you’re always all in so quick and it’s fascinating to me.   

~ 

I’ll admit that I did like Trace while he was dating Antoni.I was always defending him when people questioned his integrity and motives.And I did point out that Trace and Ant had their cute moments, although thosemoments were few and far between when it came to public consumption. You reallyhad to dig deep to find smiley Ant and Trace pics. Doesn’t mean more of thosemoments didn’t exist in private. On the contrary, I’m sure they did. Did theycare for each other? Yes, I believe they did. Did they love each other? I don’tknow, but I assume things were serious since Trace packed up all of his stuff fromLA intent on moving permanently to NYC, assuming he was moving in with Antoni.And then something happened. Something really bad. There is no denying it. Evenwithout in-depth knowledge of what went down, we know Trace fucked up. He fuckedup so badly that Ant shut him out completely. Trace was in limbo because all ofhis belongings were packed up to move and suddenly, he had no place to move to.Ant cut him off. He erased Trace from his IG, he stopped following him,multiple of Ant’s friends stopped following Trace one by one. That doesn’t soundlike a relationship that just “ran its course.” It doesn’t sound like anamicable split at all. One minute everything is fine, and the next minute yourpartner doesn’t even want you to exist in any part of their world anymore. That’swhen I realized that Trace wasn’t the person I thought he was. I wasn’t privy tohis past relationships or his current dealings with drugs. But that’s allspeculation (depending on who you talk to) so I’m not even gonna go into all ofthat. All I know is somehow, someway Trace hurt Antoni. And, with me, that’slike flipping a switch. You hurt someone that I care about and you are DONE. (Irealize I don’t know Antoni personally, but I know enough about him to careabout him, so don’t come for me, lol.) Once the rose-colored glasses were off,I started to see things about Trace that other people were seeing. Again, I won’tgo into detail because that’s beside the point. But dig a little deeper intoTrace’s past and you’ll see what I’m referring to. And I don’t think that allof it is just in the past.

Which brings me to Kevin. I was wary of Kevin at first because of what happened with Trace, and then I realized comparing Kevin toTrace isn’t fair to Kevin. So, me being me, I’m giving Kevin the benefit of thedoubt. I know Kevin isn’t perfect. His excessive drinking and general talk ofdrinking/alcohol worries me a bit. Not that there is anything wrong with it – Kevin isof age and he can do what he wants – but the fact that he’s now dating someonewho has had issues with alcohol in the past to the point that they don’t drinkanymore PERIOD gives me a little bit of anxiety over how this may impact theirrelationship in the long run. But Kevin has already taken steps to show that hecan and/or will compromise certain things for Ant. Participating in Dry Januaryis something he may be doing for Antoni’s sake, or he could be doing it forhimself. But the fact remains that he IS NOT drinking at all for the entiremonth of January. This from someone who constantly enjoys parties and alcoholon a regular basis. Is it a permanent fix? Of course not. Does it show that he’swilling to try to do things with his boyfriend’s best interests in mind? Yes. Buthonestly, here’s the deal: If Kevin fucks up like Trace did, I’m done with him,too. I want Antoni to be happy, and right now Kevin is making him happy. So Iam going to support them any way I can until I see that Antoni isn’t happyanymore. But until that time, just like I did with Trace, I will support Antand Kevin’s relationship and be a Kevintoni cheerleader until I have reason notto be.

Bottom line: I am a fan of Antoni. If you makeAntoni happy, we’re cool. If not? All bets are off.

[adangerousbond]

Quiet times

Just a quick, small tag to episode 1x10 of Blood and Treasure

I’ve loved this show since it first aired (and so glad it’s already been picked up for S2), just never gotten around to writing anything for it. Wrote this out in an afternoon, so sorry in advance for any mistakes!

Hoping to have some more fics, however have about a third left to type out for a post S4 Blindspot fic that I need to finish.

Enjoy!!

Read below or at AO3 or at ff.net (Will link to it once they add the show for me to upload to!)

The sun was rising by the time they arrived at the airport in Russia, having gotten the okay for Danny to travel, as long as he agreed to get another set of bloods done in 24 hours, and having passed the scene off to the team on site, they had left the moment they could. The black SUV they were in pulled to a stop a safe distance away from Reese's plane, or second home as it was starting to feel.

Stepping out onto the hanger floor, Lexi slid on her sunglasses and followed quietly behind Danny, so quietly that had it not been for the sound of her boots on the concrete, he probably would have turned back to ensure she was following. Gwen, who had tagged along for the trip home, took longer to make her way to the plane, having to collect the stack of files she had gotten from her team in Russia and had figured the flight home would be a good time to start going over them all.

By the time she entered the small plane, Danny and Lexi were already sitting in their usual seats across from each other, the former pulling out his laptop to get to work also, whereas the later was staring out the window absentmindedly. Gwen had expected a bit of resistance from the thief when she had asked for the lift back to Rome, but she was quickly realising that there was more than just Farouk's death on the two's mind.

The plane ride had mostly been silent, had it been pretty much any other time, Danny would have been worried about his partner's lack of speaking, she was after all a naturally fidgety and questionative person, it was rare for her to go so long without moving or speaking, but he knew after everything she had gone through and found out the past few days, she was in desperate need of a moment to process it all.

"Do you need a lift home or to the Carabinieri?" Danny asked, as the plane landed and made its way to its hanger.

"Home thanks, I think we all could do with some rest before we look deeper into any of this." Gwen stated, collecting her things back into a neat pile.

"That's the plan, unless you're sending more agents to a Priest's apartment?" Danny responded lightly, gaining only an annoyed look and audible sigh in response.

"After we get you to the hospital for at the very least another blood test." Lexi spoke for the first time for the entire flight, drawing the attention of the other two passengers instantly, her tone even and determined.

"I'm fine, the doctor just said that as a precaution, plus he said 24 hours later." He tried to reason but the fire in the gaze he was met with told him she was not going to take no for an answer, and it would be easier to just agree, a part of him knowing if the situation was reversed, he would be pushing the same angle.

"I guess we will drop you off on the way to the hospital." Danny sighed, catching the small smirk on the brunette standing up across from him, glad to be getting her way but also happy that he would be getting checked out again.

"Thank-you." The Interpol agent said as she led the way off the plane, still slightly surprised at how easily he had given in to the other woman's demands, but pleased non the less that he had, she had wanted to agree that it was a good idea, but felt it better to stay out of it.

The hospital had already received all the information from the team in Russia regarding what had happened, which had made it much quicker than they had expected. Danny couldn't help but smile at Lexi's smug look when the doctors stated they were glad he had come in earlier so they could do a full work up and make sure to get a head of anything that might come up.

They were both exhausted by the time they managed to get back to Chuck's apartment, Lexi settling on the couch as Danny grabbed them some beers out of the fridge. He placed hers on the coffee table when she made no move to take it off him and sat on the couch, flicking through the tv channels before coming across a soccer match to watch and when she made no sort of complaint to his choosing, he placed the remote back on the side table and crossed his legs, resting his feet up on the table in front of them.

Collecting the throw rug that was on the back of the couch, Lexi wrapped it around herself, before nestling down into Danny's side, his arm wrapping around her to bring her closer. For the first time in the last few days she actually felt safe and almost content, with the soft drone from the tv and the warmth he was sharing with her, she quickly drifted into a light sleep.

The sound of keys at the door drew Danny's attention away from the TV, even though he knew that the most likely answer was that it was in fact his friend, a small part of him readied in the chance it wasn't. Picking up the sound of his friend's voice greeting on of the neighbours quickly putting him back as ease.

"Well, isn't this quite the domestic scene." Father Chuck stated as he entered his apartment and took in his two friends.

"How was your day?" Danny asked, keeping his voice low as he took a drink from his beer.

"That's all you have to say, after your pal at Interpol arrested me?" Chuck responded in a similar tone, having realised that he was trying not to wake Lexi, as he placed his stuff on the table.

"Sorry about that, all worked out though, you giving her permission to do some B & E really helped us out." A soft chuckled from Danny, answering the other question of if they were still on the agents list of suspects.

"I don't believe that's what I said." The priest sighed, getting his own beer from the fridge and sitting on the armchair across from his friends, "So what's new?"

"Farouk is dead." The blonde stated calmly, turning his attention back to the TV screen as he gave his friend a chance to take in the sentence.

"What?! You didn't think to maybe lead with that?" The fathers voice suddenly a lot louder than before as the information sunk in.

"Shh..." Danny scolded, glancing at Lexi to see if she had been disturbed by the noise, her lack of reaction making him think she mustn't have but he also knew she was only half asleep, making her more likely not to have reacted because she knew he was there already.

"Sorry, sorry, did she…?" Chuck apologised, his voice lowering once more as he asked the next question the new information brought.

"No, Hardwick." Danny offered quickly, his hand running up and down Lexi's arm soothingly, on the off chance she was in fact listening to the conversation.

"Still, it's a lot for her to take in." The confessional tone taking over, as he looked to the woman he had once deemed the devil with concern.

"It's not even the half of it." Danny deadpanned after a mouthful of beer, he was still trying to run over everything for himself, but he knew it was a whole lot more for her.

"Is she doing okay?" Chuck questioned, respecting her privacy to question his statement further, and knowing that even if he did, his friend didn't seem like he would share anything further, as if the information was more a part of her story than his.

"She's processing a lot." He felt as she turned her head slightly, telling him that she was in fact listening and had been close to cutting him off, she wasn't someone who was good with accepting concern.

"Probably a too wishful question, but does this mean it's over?" Chuck asked, changing the subject at his friend's lack of sharing, his tone depicting that he was already fairly certain of the answer but still needed to hear it out loud.

"I don't think his plan ends with him, he has too many followers for that, but we at least have Antony know, so they can't use him to fund anything." Danny just then realising he hadn't mentioned finding Antony until now, when the priest was lost for words for a moment as he mulled over the statement.

"If that's what they wanted him for." Lexi spoke, breaking the moment of silence and giving up just being a bystander to the conversation, as she turned just enough that she could see Chuck as well, but not enough to lose her spot tucked next to Danny.

"How are you going with it all?" The father asked, choosing to drop the subject so that he could instead check on her.

"Okay, I guess." Lexi chuckled, as if her response was a surprise to her as well, but she did actually feel like she was starting to get a handle on the information she had been presented with.

"Lex." Danny spoke as almost a warning, an undertone to his voice that the other man almost couldn't place, until he saw the glance between the two on his couch, he was worried she was shutting him out.

"No really, my mother was in a secret society protecting the tomb of a way back relative, which turns out is the reason she died, and the man I've wanted dead for years, now is, but I think I'm okay." She ran through it all, her tone carrying a hint of rawness to it that made her switch her attention to the TV for a moment as she ran her hand through her hair, all to collect herself once more.

"Wait, you're saying your mother was a member of Serapis, and that you're a descendant of Cleopatra?" Chuck's mind taking a few seconds to piece everything thing just said together, his friends exhausted state slowly getting clearer to him as he realised just how much they had been through in the past few days.

"Hmm, so if you have any other bits of crazy information you think we should know, can we maybe just hold off a couple days to hear it? At least until we know Danny isn't going to die from whatever it was that he stupidly touched." Lexi joked, her eyebrow high as she put forth her request, turning her head upward to catch the smirk from the blonde she was referring to.

"That's a lot to process, even for me and I'm only hearing about it." The priest's tone going back to concern and understanding that he had mastered over the years, one that she knew by now made it easy for him to get people to open up too, his eyes flying to the man's next to her once the end part of her statement registered in his mind, "Why might Danny die?"

"I'm fine, multiple doctors have given me the okay." The man in question stated after giving his friend the run down of what had happened to him.

"They still want to do more tests; they haven't given you the all clear yet." Lexi countered, not quite ready to believe that he wouldn't have any repercussions.

"They let me leave, they wouldn't have done that if they thought I wasn't okay." He tried to reason with her once again and once again he knew it was a pointless battle.

"Only because I promised to make you come back." Lexi near growled, a threat in her words as much as concern, and with all the loss she had been reminded of recently, no-one in the room questioned her motives.

"I think I need some dinner, what's everyone feel like?" Chuck brought the tone of the room down a few notches as he asked them both, keeping his glaze on Lexi, figuring she would have the most input in the topic.

"I don't mind, I don't think I'm hungry." Lexi shrugged the question off, gaining both men's attention instantly at her response.

"Well, now I am worried, you're always hungry." Chuck stated, placing his beer on the side table before standing and heading towards the kitchen.

"Come on Lex, we haven't eaten in ages." Danny reminded her, ducking his head to talk directly to her, his tone softer than it had been as his concern set in.

"There's a little pizzeria down the road, does the best comfort food in the city." The priest told them from his kitchen, having made the decision for them all.

"I don't really feel like going out." Lexi informed the group, reaching forward to the long-discarded beer that Danny had brought in for her, sitting back into the couch after she opened it.

"That's why they invented take away." Chuck responded without pause, handing over a takeaway menu with a small smile.

"How about I head down and get us some food?" Danny asked, skimming over the menu as he spoke, having gain some energy sitting there.

"I can go." Chuck cut in quickly, before giving Lexi a chance to make any comment on the plan.

"We've been cramped in planes and cars; a walk will do me some good." Danny explained, folding the menu back up, as he dropped his feet from the table and sat up straighter.

"Are you sure?" The father asked, concerned about his friend now that he knew about his brush with an unknown biological weapon.

"Yes, I'll be fine." The blonde told the two, leaning down and gently giving Lexi a quick kiss before the action even registered in his mind, ignoring his friends look from across the room, Danny stood and made his way to collect his coat and phone.

-----------------------------------------------

"I'm going to say something and I want you to listen, okay?" Chuck broke the silence that had taken over the apartment since Danny had left.

"I'm not sure I like where this is going." Lexi deadpanned, turning to his direction with a raised eyebrow and a hint of a threat.

"I know a lot of us have been quite harsh on you, myself included-" He started, without much pause to her words.

"-you mean calling me the devil." The thief interrupted, an amused smirk now covering her face as she kept the conversation light.

"Yes, that, but it was just because we care about Danny, which I guess is my point, after it all he had us to turn to, but you, you don't seem to really have anyone in your corner, well other than Danny." The priest continued on, using his low confession voice that she wasn't sure if she loved or hated.

"Gee, thanks." She snapped back, a slight irritation seeping into her tone as she took a drink from her beer.

"What I'm getting at, is it must have been hard for you to get through it all and none of us really thought about that side, about your side, so for that I am sorry." He spoke softly, the apology coming across as heartfelt and serious, two things she disliked in a conversation about herself.

"You care about Danny, I get it, it's fine." Lexi told him, brushing some stray strands of hair from her face, and putting a physical barrier between them in doing so.

"But, so do you, and that did surprise me." He caught the question in her raised eyebrow and pressed on, "I always thought you were just using him, that he was another person you were using to get something you wanted, but, you do actually genuinely care about him, probably even love him."

"Careful now, your saying I'm not the devil and that you believe I am capable of love, people might start to think you think I'm actually a half decent person." She chose to pick at the points of his sentence she could to try to bring the topic back to something she was more comfortable with.

"I do think that, and so does Danny, you're the one who has trouble accepting that, and I know it's just a part of your many defence mechanisms, just as being closed off is, but I will say this, I have a lot of married people come into my confession, and most of them are lucky to have a small amount of the love, respect and concern that you and Danny have for each." Chuck pushed his luck, watching the woman across from him closely as she hesitated a moment.

"Are you saying I'm not an open book?" Lexi joked, once again taking what she could from his words to keep some control in the room, to keep some small aspect light.

"You're definitely not, and neither is Danny, but somehow you two do actually seem to open up to each other, it's actually good for him too." He allowed her to choose the humour side of his words, knowing that it would be the only way she would continue letting him go down the line of conversation he had started.

"So, I've gone from being the devil to being good for him?" She questioned with a tilt of the head, evidently getting close to putting an end to the topic, one she wasn't entirely sure why she had let go on for so long already.

"At least as long as you stick around, which as much as I believe you need him too, I'm still not sure if you love yourself enough to stay with him and let yourself be happy." He stated, the blank stare he was getting telling him that he had pushed too far, that the conversation would be over even without the sounds of the front door being opened.

"What were you two talking about?" Danny walked into the apartment, sensing the tension between the two as he did.

"Father Chuck was just giving permission for us to get married; I think." Lexi explained in a tone much lighter than her previous glare had been, any hint of anger or annoyance that she had had in the conversation prior, appearing gone.

"What?" Danny asked, brows furrowed at her response, placing the food on the dinning table as the other two made their way over to join him.

"I just said," the father paused, flicking his eyes back and forth between the two, "You know what, never mind, let's just eat."

"Tell me later?" Danny spoke softly, and for a moment Chuck thought the question was directed at him, until he saw his friend was bent towards the woman next to him, who gave him a small smile and a quiet yes in response, and something told the priest she would actually tell him everything later.

[iustusetpeccator]

Antony, Cordelia, Ophelia, Horatio? For Viktor.

Shakespearean Character Ask Meme | Accepting.

ANTONY: What bad habits do you need to break?

Viktor is pretty disciplined as a whole, so he doesn’t tend to indulge in things he knows are bad for him. Having said that, he does enjoy spending half the day in bed on weekends, eating things that aren’t necessarily great for him (think a full English breakfast), and doing little things like cracking his knuckles that may be an issue in the long run. He’s also bad for overexerting himself, both as a player and as a coach, but he thinks of quidditch as the one source of value he has, so that’s not something he would ever acknowledge as a bad habit.

CORDELIA: Do you consider yourself a good person?

He does, by and large. In the binary world of Dark Wizards and good people he inhabits during his formative years, Viktor knows which side of that divide he is on. It’s only as he gets older that the cracks start to show, but he puts a lot of effort into being a decent human being, and most of the time he thinks he’s doing okay. Always room for improvement, though.

OPHELIA: Is there anything you regret not doing?

He is always plagued by what-ifs, although many of them are verse-dependent. As a whole, he wishes he’d taken more of a stand against Karkaroff as a student, although he remembers all too well the feelings of powerlessness that drove him into isolation during his years at the Institute. He copes with these particular regrets by getting involved with Durmstrang as an adult, working with Headmistress Vulchanova to make sure no one ever has to feel the way he did when he was a student.

On top of that, Viktor wishes he had had a more active role in the Second Wizarding War, but again, he is aware of his own limitations. He makes up for it by being active in the reconstruction period, which is an uphill struggle of its own. This is when he accepts that he’s not a man of action, but of reaction—not a warrior, but a defender, a fixer, a safe pair of hands.

Finally, in verses where he doesn’t end up with Hermione, he regrets not doing enough to win her over. Depending on the success of his later marriage, he also regrets not working hard enough to prevent the breakup of his family—but that’s something I’m still tinkering with.

HORATIO: Who do you love most?

Again, age- and verse-dependent, but it’s a combination of his grandparents, his brother, and his partner. Hermione is always at the back of his mind no matter what he does, but if they don’t end up together, he does gradually settle down into seeing her as a valuable friend, and that’s that. He never asks more of her than she is willing to give, no matter what he wants.

[rose-of-pollux]

The Shakespearean Riddles (MFU oneshot)

Title: The Shakespearean Riddles Rating: G Summary: A mysterious message sends Napoleon on a Shakespearean scavenger hunt with his partner by his side. Notes: This is my usual yearly fic in honor of what would have been Robert Vaughn’s birthday!

Cross-posted to ff.net and AO3 if you prefer reading there, can’t link due to the new linking restrictions...

Napoleon smiled in satisfaction as he glanced at his reflection in the mirror.  Another year older, and yet, there was not a single wrinkle or gray hair to betray that fact—much to his satisfaction.

“Ponce de León, eat your heart out,” he murmured.

The smell of pancakes and syrup finally succeeded in drawing him away from his reflection; though Illya was not as accomplished a chef as Napoleon was, pancakes were among the things he could make, and since it was Napoleon’s birthday, naturally, he wanted to prepare breakfast that day.

Illya already had the plates set up—one for each of them, plus one more for Baba Yaga, who had already started on her pancake.

“Happy Birthday, Napoleon,” Illya greeted him.

“Thank you, Tovarisch,” Napoleon grinned.

The two of them feasted on the pancakes.

“So, when are Ma and Dad coming over?”

“Evening,” Illya said. “I figured I would treat us all to a dinner in your honor—your choice of eatery, naturally.”

“I’ll mull my choices over and let you know--” Napoleon began, but he was cut off by an odd sound on their apartment door.  “What is that?”

Baba Yaga perked her ears up and looked in the direction of the door, but, otherwise, didn’t react, prompting Napoleon to get up and open the door.  There was no one at the door, but as he turned, he stared as he saw a piece of paper taped to the door.

“Illya!  Look at this!”

Illya got up from the table and headed over to Napoleon as he removed the paper from the door.

“What is that?”

“A message that was intended for me, by the looks of it,” Napoleon said, glancing from the paper to his partner.  “Hang on, it’s a poem—a riddle of some kind…  Look at this…”

He held up the paper so that Illya could read it; the note was typewritten to avoid having the handwriting traced--

Greetings, Mr. Solo; will you play my game? The average man would find this quest hard. But I wish to match wits with you, Mr. Solo-- How well do you know the one and only Bard?

First, I refer to The Winter’s Tale, And the beast that saw Antigonus depart. Go to where the beast now battles-- Against another beast in the city’s heart.

“A battle of wits…?” Napoleon mused.  “With Shakespeare as the theme?  I don’t know who’s behind this, but I will not lose!”

“I have every ounce of faith in you,” Illya said.  “But be careful—it could be a THRUSH trap.”

“I don’t think so; they don’t really know of my love of Shakespeare.  But of course, we’ll be vigilant.  Now, then, this riddle…. Well, the first half of the clue is easy enough.”

“Is it?” Illya asked.

“Sure—The Winter’s Tale?  Antigonus and a beast?  This is obviously referring to Antigonus’s fate, summed up in a famous stage direction--‘Exit, pursued by a bear.’  But where would a bear be fighting another beast in ‘the city’s heart?’  Pretty sure bear fighting is against the law.”

“To say nothing of the fact that urban-dwelling bears are not that common…  At least here.  I could tell you some stories from Russia…”

“I’d believe them,” Napoleon said, and he went back to pondering.  “Let’s see…  Not the Bronx Zoo—they wouldn’t let their bears fight.”

“I think not,” Illya agreed.

“Maybe it’s metaphorical…” Napoleon mused.  “Bears are used in a lot of symbolic things—bear markets, for instance, or…” He trailed off.  “That’s it!”

“What’s it?”

“The two beasts in battle in the heart of the city—the bear and the bull!  The Stock Exchange, Illya!”

“…Yes, of course. Well, that’s it; you’ve solved it.”

“There’s more to this than just one clue,” Napoleon said, a spark of intrigued determination igniting in his eyes.  “A battle of wits means that there’ll be more clues—most likely, we’ll find the second one at the Stock Exchange!  I’m going to head over there; you coming?”

“Of course; I relish the opportunity to stand back and watch how your mind works…” Illya mused.

Baba Yaga let out a “mrrah” and followed them out the door, dragging a pancake along with her.

                                        ************************

Arriving on Wall Street amidst the usual hustle and bustle of the crowd, Napoleon couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary—at least, not until a paper airplane flew out of nowhere and smacked him in the face, prompting Illya to chuckle and Baba Yaga to leap up and swat at it.

“Well, at least we know it isn’t a THRUSH plot; they wouldn’t be throwing paper airplanes,” the blond mused.

“Hmm,” Napoleon replied, scanning the crowd to see if he could spot who had chucked the paper airplane at him.  Finding no likely suspects, he unfolded the airplane to read the clue, which had been typewritten like the last one--

Well done solving the first clue; Find the next one, should you choose to play, Where the Bard’s tale of star-crossed lovers Was set, in film, in the modern day.

“Well, Romeo and Juliet, of course,” Napoleon said. “…Unless this is referring to the play-within-a-play about Pyramus and Thisbe in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but I doubt it—Romeo and Juliet is what everyone thinks about when you use the phrase ‘star-crossed.’  And the modernized film adaptation, of course, must be West Side Story!  So, the Upper West Side is where we need to go!”

“…You do realize how big the Upper West Side is?” Illya said.  “We could be there all day looking for another paper airplane.”

“…Right…” Napoleon said, staring back at the paper.  “Well, the specific location in the movie is Lincoln Square…”

“That narrows it down somewhat…”

Napoleon suddenly snapped his fingers.

“San Juan Hill!  I think some of the on-location filming for the movie even took place there!”

They got in a cab and were headed there; Napoleon seemed deep in thought as they rode on the way.

“What are you thinking about?” Illya asked.  “Having second thoughts about the location?”

“No, I’m confident about that,” Napoleon said.  “I’m just trying to figure out who is doing this, and why.  Is it someone trying to dethrone me as the reigning Shakespeare trivia champion at the office?”

Illya shrugged.

“I suppose we’ll find out once we follow all the clues…”

“…Guess so…” Napoleon replied, but it still didn’t stop him from being in deep thought about it.

Nevertheless, they had barely gotten out of the cab at San Juan Hill when Napoleon found himself taking another paper airplane to the side of his head.  Once again looking around and seeing no one who stood out, he held up the next clue for Illya to read.

Clue three harkens to a Danish prince, And two he once considered friends. From Avon to Broadway, an untold tale Now chronicles their unfortunate ends.

Napoleon’s grin had grown even further.

“It’s Hamlet,” he said.  “Well, to be more specific, it’s referring to the unofficial spinoff-and-pastiche that was just brought over to Broadway—Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.  I’ve been meaning to see that, you know?”

“…Now why did I not think to get you tickets to it for your birthday?” Illya chided himself.

“I’ll take a rain check,” Napoleon said.  “But, at any rate, I know where the next clue is—the play is at the Alvin Theatre on Broadway, so that’s where we need to go!”

He was so excited, he was about ready to take off down the street before realizing that it would be a long trek on foot; he gathered Baba Yaga in one arm and hailed a cab with the other, and Illya just shook his head in amusement.

                                             ****************************

Napoleon spent a few minutes admiring the marquee of the Alvin Theatre, clearly wishing he could see the show; he was pulled from his dreaming by Baba Yaga pawing at a paper that had been stuck to the door of the theatre.

“I think she is eager to continue with this quest, as well,” Illya observed, taking the cat from Napoleon as he removed the paper.  “Is that the next clue?”

“Was there ever any doubt?” Napoleon mused.  He held up the clue for Illya to read again—

In halls where treasures are on display, And time, across centuries, does span, Find the statue of the unfortunate king Who was slain at the hands of an honorable man.

“Well, the play is easy enough,” Napoleon said.  “Julius Caesar.  Brutus, who orchestrated his assassination, was repeatedly—and sarcastically—referred to as an honorable man in Antony’s speech.  Obviously, the hall of treasures is a museum… except that there are an almost endless supply of museums here in New York.”

“While that is true, I am sure that the museums which would have anything of Caesar’s on display would be limited,” Illya said.  “I think we can rule out the Guggenheim, for instance—one would not find statues of Roman rulers in a gallery full of modern art and other inexplicable pieces.”

“You’re still sore about the Pop Art Affair?”

“…Wouldn’t you be?”

“…Yeah, I would,” Napoleon admitted.  “Okay, let’s get back to this, then.  Now that I think about it, you’re right -- we can narrow it down to two museums: the Natural History Museum, or the Met.”

“That sounds about right,” Illya assessed.

“And the Natural History Museum, though it does have stuff on ancient civilizations, probably wouldn’t be the place for a statue of Caesar, either; they tend to focus more on everyday life.  So…  It has to be at the Met!  Hey--!”

Napoleon looked around furiously as a paper airplane flew out of nowhere and smacked him in the face again.  Opening it, he saw that it was blank—but two tickets to the Met fell out.

“Really!?” Napoleon called. “I solved the clue—you’re still going to make us go all the way to the Met to get the next one?”

There was no response, of course, and Napoleon sighed, shaking his head as he glanced at the tickets.

“You’re still going to go, aren’t you?” Illya asked.

“Well, of course; I’ve got my honor as a Shakespeare buff to defend!  Once more, unto the breach, Tovarish!”

It was now Illya’s turn to shake his head, but, nevertheless, he followed his eager partner to the Met.

In order to make sure that the tickets didn’t go to waste, the duo spent some time looking around at some of the exhibits.  Illya had managed to conceal Baba Yaga in his sweater, wearing a coat loosely over his sweater to prevent the cat-shaped lump from standing out.  She behaved herself, though there were a couple of times in the Egyptian exhibits where she peeked out to look at some statues of Bastet.

“She’s getting restless, Napoleon; we should find Caesar and the next clue and go,” he said.

“I still say it’s because she knows that’s her Ma, but sure,” Napoleon insisted.  At any rate, he was eager to get the next clue.

Sure enough, they found the statue head of Caesar, and though Napoleon was on the alert, he was still blindsided by another paper airplane.

“…I must admit, I am impressed at our riddlemaster’s ability to elude my spy instincts,” he said, as a quick scan around the gallery yielded nothing.

Cross a bridge for this final clue, And you will have won the day. Recall where Falstaff met his match, When he thought himself besieged by fae.

“…So, the last one—naturally, the trickiest…” Napoleon mused, as they now left the Met and Baba Yaga emerged from hiding and stretched.  Napoleon absently gave her some ear scritches as he pondered over the clue.  “Let’s see…  Falstaff first showed up in Henry IV, Part I and then Part II. By Henry V, he had died.  Legend has it, though, that the queen requested Shakespeare for another play with Falstaff—and the end result was, supposedly, The Merry Wives of Windsor.  The fae weren’t in the historical plays, so it has to be Windsor.  …Of course, it wasn’t really fairies in Windsor, either; it was a trick, and they were fake, but he thought they were real.”

“And the clue refers to the location where this occurred,” Illya said.

“Yeah, and that’s where it gets confusing,” Napoleon said.  “This took place by an oak tree in Windsor Forest; Falstaff was dressed as Herne the Hunter, and the tree came to be known as Herne’s Oak after the play made it popular.  Except… the real-life tree is long gone—and it would have been in Windsor Great Park, since the forest had been renamed.  And there was no bridge in the play, like the clue is referring to.  It can’t be that we have to go all the way to England!”

“That would seem a bit excessive,” Illya intoned.

“No kidding…” Napoleon said.  “It must be some sort of parallel to Herne’s Oak that we have here in New York…”  He trailed off, looking at Central Park all around them.  “…I guess you could compare Central Park to Windsor Great Park…  But that still doesn’t tie the bridge in to anything.”

“So you are admitting defeat?”

“Never,” Napoleon insisted, grabbing a map from one of the information kiosks nearby, pouring over it. “I don’t know of any notable oak trees near bridges…”

“Nor do I,” Illya mused.

“There was a Shakespeare Garden in the park, but it’s gone to seed over the years, so that can’t be it…”

“Was that pun necessary…?”

“Absolutely.”

Illya shook his head again as Napoleon suddenly froze, still staring at the map.

“…I think I found it…” he said.  “Oak Bridge! This has to be it—and it’s just a ten-minute walk!”

He took off down the pathway, prompting Illya and Baba Yaga to chase after him.

They soon found the bridge, and Napoleon paused as he crossed it, finding a large picnic lunch spread on a blanket by the lake side.

“…The clues led to here?” he asked, baffled.  “A picnic?”

“Yes, a picnic,” Illya said, and he smirked.  “Happy Birthday, Napoleon.”

Napoleon turned to face his partner as it sunk in.

“You mean you��?  The clues…?”

“I got to thinking, what could be something meaningful I could give you for your birthday?” Illya said, smiling.  “Buying things…  Well, anyone can do that—and you know I tend to balk at that as the default option for occasions such as these.  And then I realized—a way for you to have an experience you would truly enjoy, by using your skills and knowledge of Shakespeare!  And I was right—you have been enjoying yourself thoroughly all morning; I chose well.”

Napoleon let out an impressed, surprised chuckle.

“Well, thanks,” he said, once he managed to speak again.  He hugged Illya in gratitude, but then paused and let go.  “Hang on…. You were with me the entire time—how did you get the paper airplanes rigged to get me without them being disturbed by passersby?”

“Ah, well, I had a couple of accomplices to toss the paper for me…” Illya smirked, and he gestured as Cora and Leopold Solo came out of hiding, bringing the last of the food.  Baba Yaga meowed and greeted the two of them, purring.

“Ma?  Dad?” Napoleon asked, stunned.  “Illya, you told me they were coming in the evening!”

“I never specified which evening—it just happened to be yesterday.”

“…Sly Russian…”

Cora hugged Napoleon as Leopold clapped him on the back with one hand while holding Baba Yaga in his other arm.

“Happy Birthday, Son,” Leopold said.

“Thanks,” he grinned. “Well, I have to admit, I didn’t expect this present…”

“Oh, there’s more,” Cora said, taking four tickets out of her purse.  “Tickets to tonight’s showing of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.”

“Ah, that’s why I didn’t think to get them for you…!” Illya said, in a tone of mock surprise.

Napoleon shook his head in amusement again.

“Well, shall we continue this discussion over lunch?” Cora offered.

The men were all in agreement.

And as Napoleon sat down to eat, he had to reflect on how the picnic and the tickets were just the icing on an already blessed cake—for here, right now, he had everything he ever could have wanted.

                                                    The End

[marshmallowgoop]

Episode 12 Quick Thoughts

I cosplayed Zero Two at a convention this last weekend, and since nobody I went with was familiar with DARLING in the FRANXX, I gave a quick overview of the butt-piloting, titty-mecha anime, and, well, I definitely felt some shame for liking something of that nature so much that I sewed up a whole outfit and bought a bubblegum-pink wig and circle lenses to dress up as the lead heroine.

“The show doesn’t really know what it wants to be,” I said, in an attempt to justify my feelings, “but it seems like it has something to say, and I like it when it’s trying to say it!”

And DARLING’s 12th episode is a beautiful example of this thing really trying to say something. It’s hard to believe that a series with literal butt handles, gratuitous beach-episode fanservice, and an actual p0rn-esque plot wherein the girls of the series have their clothing burned away also pulls off something as emotionally investing and compelling as episode 12.

Zero Two: Don’t reflect me!

But here we are, and good gravy, I’m so into it.

To get right to the meat of the episode, what happens with Zero Two’s character is probably the most prominent element, and since everybody loves them Kill la Kill comparisons, I gotta say that the criticisms leveled against Zero Two for her behavior here remind me of the criticisms leveled against Ryuko Matoi when she abandons her friends near the end of that series: the backlash feels a lot like the demonization of a sad, lonely teenage girl for behaving like a sad, lonely teenage girl.

Of course what Zero Two does in the episode is awful and hard to watch. She’s completely and totally abusive to Hiro, and it’s not okay. But just like Ryuko’s actions in Kill la Kill, her behavior isn’t portrayed as okay. Zero Two’s treatment of Hiro is terrible, and the show knows it’s terrible, but the show also knows that people are messed-up creatures who make mistakes and do hurtful things---that’s part of what makes us people. A story acknowledging these flaws ain’t always pretty, but, well, life ain’t, either. There’s a realism here that grabs attention and keeps it. 

No, I don’t at all enjoy how Zero Two treats Hiro in this episode of DARLING or how Ryuko treats Senketsu in episode 20 of Kill la Kill, but I can see where both girls are coming from---especially because, hey, I’ve been a teenage girl myself. These young women aren’t just cardboard cutouts; they feel real, and that makes me care about them and their stories.

Zero Two: I’ll kill many, many more and become human!

I mean, call me silly and over-dramatic, but I totally feel Zero Two here. “I’ll buy more and more makeup and become beautiful!” is definitely a sentiment I’ve felt, and it comes from a similar place as Zero Two’s feelings. Just as Zero Two fears she can’t be loved because she’s not fully human, I’ve felt that I can’t be loved because I’m not pretty. So, even though I know deep down that it’s ridiculous and fruitless and I can’t change what I am---and I would say that it’s not implausible for Zero Two to understand on some level that killing more and more klaxosaurs won’t really make her human---a part of me still hangs on to the hope that, well, if I keep spending money and trying, I will be beautiful one day, darn it!

Is Zero Two’s behavior nonsensical? Absolutely. But, you know, I get it. I’ve been there. I know that when Hiro tells Zero Two that her horns and fangs don’t matter, she’s stuck thinking, as I do when my beautiful little sister tells me that I don’t need makeup, “That’s easy for you to say, when you represent everything I want to be!”

And Zero Two’s situation is even worse than I can ever imagine. She’s literally been abused and ostracized her whole life due to the very things that Hiro writes off as not mattering, and more than that, Hiro’s actions have made her understandably---and tragically---question if he means what he says.

After all, though Hiro has said, time and time again, that he cares for Zero Two and wants to get to know her, he repeatedly pushes her away with his behavior. Hiro is rarely the one to initiate physical intimacy (even if he desires it, as can be evidenced by his disappointed reaction to not getting a kiss in episode 7), and by episode 12, I’m sure Zero Two hasn’t forgotten the way he flinched at her horns when she offered they run away together in the bath in episode 4.

Of that episode, I wrote:

I was especially taken by [Zero Two’s] insistence that Hiro tell her that he wants to ride in Strelizia again... because this communicates to me that nobody has ever wanted to ride with her a second time so much. Zero Two absolutely cherishes Hiro’s sentiment, and she asks him to repeat himself almost as a way of cementing his wishes as something that’s truly real. Finally, after being alone so long, Zero Two has someone who cares for her.

Back then, Zero Two is astounded by Hiro’s “embarrassing” confession, but she sincerely seems to believe him, especially when she asks that he repeat himself and he does so.

But by episode 12---and with her monstrous transformation---Zero Two is left in a position of doubt and fear. Does Hiro truly mean what he says?

Hiro: Do you like picture books? I think we have some in the study.

Zero Two: I knew it. No picture books.

Though Hiro kindly informs Zero Two in episode 8 that the study in the plantation probably has some picture books, for example, Zero Two finds in episode 12 that his words hold no substance. There aren’t any picture books in the study at all. Can anything Hiro says be trusted?

Perhaps it makes sense, then, that Zero Two abruptly tells Hiro to kiss her right after. She has to make sure that his words are true and he really does love her... but she finds that he rejects her. No matter what Hiro says, he still pulls away from her fangs. It still does matter that she’s not human like any other girl who could have been his partner.

Zero Two falls into even deeper despair as a result, because while episode 12 certainly puts into question if her feelings for Hiro are real, given the entire series thus far, I just can’t buy that she only intended to use him.

I particularly think on the scene in episode 4 where Zero Two---seemingly on the verge of tears---bids Hiro goodbye and expresses regret that they didn’t work out. Why say such a thing so tenderly, especially when Zero Two looked perfectly willing to leave Hiro behind? Why lie, when it would seem she’d just get another partner to use as “fodder” before long?

Though episode 12 also certainly puts into question why Zero Two has been so drawn to Hiro, it’s hard for me to believe that she never felt any affection for him at all. As I see it, Zero Two simply becomes convinced that Hiro’s feelings for her are hollow, and, to prevent herself from getting hurt, she acts as though he was always nothing to her and she was only playing with him.

Zero Two: Out of my way!

Zero Two: Don’t touch me!

Zero Two: Get away from me!

One of the bigger reasons I have for this belief that Zero Two is just faking her ambivalence towards Hiro is the haunting recurrence of a pattern I noted previously in my episode 4 write-up:

....I was struck by [Zero Two’s] intense reaction to being touched by one of her “escorts” without her permission. The “camera” focuses on the escort’s hand curling around Zero Two’s shoulder, there’s a close-up on her eye, and then he’s thrown across the room as she tells him, “Don’t touch me!”

The moment is very reminiscent to another from episode 1. When Hiro tries to convince Zero Two not to pilot alone, he grabs her arm—and she reacts so strongly that she slaps his face hard enough to wound him for the remainder of the episode. In the English dub, she even says, “Get off me!”

These kinds of reactions, combined with how Zero Two has a complete lack of respect for other peoples’ boundaries, leads me to believe that something has happened to her in her past. I might be expecting too much from the show, but I could see it that Zero Two does what she does because it’s her way of asserting control in a life where she hasn’t had much of any.

When these intense responses are combined with the fact that Zero Two is apparently well aware of “what happens after kissing,” I’m beyond horrified. Something terrible happened to this girl---probably from someone who told her he loved her, which is also a concept she’s aware of---and she’s mortified at the thought of it happening again.

So, with Hiro, she makes it so she’ll be the one in control.

Additionally, while the situation seems bad now, given that it’s currently “winter” in the plantation and this image of Zero Two happily frolicking with Hiro (or someone who looks like him) in the opening sequence clearly takes place in spring, it seems likely that things will get better later... even if only for a moment.

As one last “quick” note for the episode, I was super interested to see a book first shown in episode 5 appear again: Royce and Abigail. While in episode 5 only the title could be made out (which, being me, I searched for only to find nothing), in episode 12, we can now see that Royce and Abigail is “Willa Shalespeare’s Tragedy.”

Of course, there are a number of Shakespearean tragedies this could be a play on---such as Antony and Cleopatra or Troilus and Cressida---but I think the obvious answer is the most plausible one: Royce and Abigail is a reference to Romeo and Juliet.

And considering how unsubtle DARLING in the FRANXX is with its symbolism and how it is this book that gets more focus than any other in the study, it seems likely that the anime’s story is headed down the Romeo and Juliet path. Though I’ve argued that Zero Two isn’t going to make it out of the show alive, perhaps in all truth, just as the adults’ war in Romeo and Juliet killed their children who got caught up in it, the adults’ war in DARLING in the FRANXX will end up killing both Hiro and Zero Two.

[sirengenerator]

odd numbers for a baby of ur choice... or many babies... it is up to u

thank u for the ask!! i’ll answer these for troye and florence.

1. Does your character have siblings or family members in their age group? Which one are they closest with?

troye is the youngest of nine sons, and thus the baby of the family even as a grown man. he’s closest with his second-oldest brother joey, who is an arts student and a Good Brother™ to troye, always ready to support his endeavors, even though troye isn’t really sure what he wants to do with his future.

florence has a twin but that situation is a big mess. antoni is one big repressed memory, but if florence was aware of who they were she’d probably consider them closest to her. achilles is sort of a sibling figure to her, in a best friend way. and honestly florence would love if they were actually her sibling.

3. What is/was your character’s relationship with their father like?

troye has a good relationship with his dad! there are very clear similarities between the two, (gail is like an Old Dad version of troye) and they’ve always gotten along.

florence never really got to know her dad, since her family situation was sort of loosely defined and cult-ish. he was moreso the guy who helped sire her rather than an actual father. florence doesn’t really have any relevant parental figures.

5. On an average day, what can be found in your character’s pockets?

troye: peppermint-flavored gum, his keys, his wallet full of pictures of his girlfriends, his phone, and probably a crumpled receipt from any store he’d been to that day.

florence: lint, a dollar coin. some quarters, and a cool rock she found on the sidewalk.

7. Does your character have recurring themes in their nightmares?

troye: losing loved ones, being forgotten. at several points he’s had a nightmare where he was inflicted with laila’s siren curse and it really messed with him. a lot of his nightmares take place on beaches at night and in other dark spaces.

florence: being abandoned, being betrayed. the latter is a relatively new fear for her, since she didn’t really allow herself to trust others until she started seeing laila and troye. ever since, she’s kind of paranoid that they might betray her someday, though she realizes it’s kind of an irrational fear.

9. Is your character’s current socioeconomic status different than it was when they were growing up?

not really! when he was growing up his parents would often be tight on money since raising nine kids isn’t the easiest on the wallet. nowadays, he isn’t super well off but he manages fine. he’s a bit of a compulsive spender.

florence wasn’t worth much as a kid and she isn’t worth much now considering she has no job and is also low tier scalie.

11. In what situation was your character the most afraid they’ve ever been?

laila has thrown herself into danger several times and troye never stops being afraid for her. it’s bad for his blood pressure, honestly. as for a specific situation, i don’t really know in terms of what scared him the most, but probably something related to laila’s Blind Overconfidence.

florence was most afraid when her tribe was split apart, not really knowing what to do without them or how to really grow out of the rhetoric she was taught. she’d learn to adjust later, but that was a big point of confusion for her.

13. Is your character bothered by the sight of blood? If so, in what way?

troye really hates the sight of blood, but doesn’t really react much aside from a lot of discomfort and disgust. he thinks things inside your body should stay there, ideally.

florence doesn’t care about and is unfazed by blood. being a man-eating monster’ll do that to ya.

15. Is your character preoccupied with money or material possession? Why or why not?

troye believes money and happiness are fundamentally separate, and while he appreciates having money because it’s pretty useful when it comes to living and all, he thinks happiness really boils down to having people you care about, not how much you’re paid.

florence loves material possession and owning things, especially if her things are the shiniest out of other things. at the same time, she doesn’t really understand the concept of currency and generally just likes having nice stuff without realizing that nice stuff costs $$$

17. What was your character’s favorite toy as a child?

troye didn’t get attached to any toys but he did get really attached to his childhood blanket, which he brought everywhere. it’s lilac and remains in a closet in his childhood room.

florence didn’t really have any childhood toys.

19. What is your character’s biggest relationship flaw? Has this flaw destroyed relationships for them before?

troye’s biggest flaw is that he’s kind of a pushover and he has a hard time saying no to anyone, and he hates to disappoint people. this leads to a lot of relationships that are really imbalanced.

he also gets really committed to people really fast, and while it’s not necessarily a bad thing it does tend to make a relationship seem rushed and when he reflects on it, he realizes he put a lot of expectations on said relationship.

florence, on the other hand, has a really hard time putting her trust in others and commitment is a really scary concept to her. because of this, the closest she’s really had to a “relationship” before laila and troye are a couple unrelated and meaningless flings.

she also didn’t really believe a relationship between a human and a siren could possibly sustain itself without falling apart before she started dating her partners, so that was kind of an obstacle.

21. If something tragic or negative happens to your character, do they believe they may have caused or deserved it, or are they quick to blame others?

troye’s first instinct is to think he did something wrong, and he has a hard time accepting it if the blame falls on someone else close to him.

florence is quick to blame anyone else for anything that happens to her, which leads to a lot of misplaced anger and grief. to be honest, anything truly traumatic most likely becomes one of florence’s repressed memories.

23. What does your character dislike in other people?

troye doesn’t like when other people have an inability to communicate in a relationship, a lack of respect for others wishes, or when people are extra-pessimistic.

florence doesn’t like elitism, which is kind of funny considering she grew up in a purity-cult. she also doesn’t appreciate when people are rude to her at all, and she holds grudges easily because of that.

25. How quick is your character to suspect someone else? Does this change if they are close with that person?

troye has a really hard time blaming other people, especially if he knows them really well. if he becomes suspicious of someone it usually has to be based on really convincing evidence.

florence is always quick to place the blame on someone, though her suspicion is often based on gut instinct.

27. How does your character normally deal with confrontation?

troye’s first instinct when it comes to confrontation is to try and talk out whatever it is the disagreement is based on. he doesn’t like violence at all and tries to avoid it when he can.

florence deals with confrontation via fists. meet her in the pit if you have a problem. ideally, if fists aren’t an option then maybe she’ll consider talking it out.

29. What did your character dream of being or doing as a child? Did that dream come true?

as a little kid, troye dreamed of being the long-lost prince of a mysterious and vaguely european country. he also entertained being an actor with a for a while as an older kid with a more solid grasp of “realistic aspirations.” neither of those dreams really panned out.

currently, he’s kind of undecided in what he wants to do with his future.

florence really just wanted to be happy and carefree when she was older. this dream has come true, sort of. at least, after she got over all the complications of her life on the surface.

31. Describe a scenario in which your character feels most comfortable.

concept: troye is sitting on a couch with his gfs, watching a dumb romantic comedy. laila is loudly eating popcorn and making blunt commentary on the contrived elements of the movie. florence laughs at any and all physical humor. he is very in love with the both of them. he can’t stop smiling.

humorous concept directly lifted from florence’s charahub page: florence, sitting on a throne. she is being fanned by two admirers, and worshipped by two more. she is eating a raw onion, and no one questions it at all.

actual concept for florence: she’s spread out on the couch, comfortably wrapped in blankets. laila hands her a hot chocolate and gives her a quick kiss on the cheek. she isn’t wearing terrible and oppressive construct known as pants.

33. In the face of criticism, is your character defensive, self-deprecating, or willing to improve?

troye had a big problem with being self-deprecating for a long time and nowadays he tries to focus on getting better instead of putting himself down, and takes criticism best as he can.

florence is either super defensive or super unaffected based on what is being criticized. if it’s something she’s legitimately insecure about, she becomes very defensive, but typically her inflated sense of confidence keeps that from happening.

35. How does your character behave around people they like?

troye is absolutely giddy hanging around his crushes, and he’s incredibly obvious to anyone with eyes. he tries his best to be subtle but “being subtle” in troye’s vocabulary is limited to not confessing his feelings on the spot. lucky for him, laila couldn’t read someone’s feelings for her if a brick was thrown at her detailing them, and florence shows interest from day one.

florence actually gets really frustrated if she genuinely likes someone. she finds it kind of scary, letting someone have any amount of sway over her decisions or infatuation.

37. Is your character more concerned with defending their honor, or protecting their status?

troye is more concerned about defending his honor, i think. he values his good reputation and doesn’t want people to think bad things about him.

florence couldn’t give a rat’s ass about what people think about her if they aren’t a close friend, and she doesn’t have much of a status to begin with, but she’ll defend herself to the people closest to her.

39. Has your character ever been bitten by an animal? How were they affected (or unaffected)?

troye was bitten by his family dog at age ten and cried for hours about it at the time. it didn’t really have any lasting affects though, and he loves that dog to death.

florence is regularly bitten by mosquitoes but otherwise she hasn’t been bitten by like, an actual mammal or anything. she was once stung by a jellyfish and it made her kinda pissed. how dare this evil bag sting her.

41. Does your character feel that they deserve to have what they want, whether it be material or abstract, or do they feel they must earn it first?

troye believes he should earn the things that he wants, and doesn’t want things to just be handed to him.

florence loves handouts, but she doesn’t pretend to deserve any of them. she kind of believes life is very luck-based, and she is very new to actually earning good things rather than just stumbling upon them.

43. Has your character ever had a dependent figure who was not related to them?

i can’t really think of one for troye, actually. i feel like he definitely had big influences in his life based on his relationships, particularly one with a boy he’d been pining over for a while that didn’t work out, but i don’t think there are any big names.

florence’s dependent figure is achilles, who is a very good friend to her and someone she really trusts to know the best for her, or at least advise her on how to live a healthy life.

44. What does your character believe will happen to them after they die? Does this belief scare them?

troye is jewish and has a sort of ambiguous on the idea of an afterlife. ideally, he’d like to believe that there’s somewhere huge and beautiful and grand that he’ll go after he dies, but he also doesn’t really know if that’s his actual belief or just what he’d like to happen. death doesn’t really scare him, but the permanence of it is sort of unnerving.

florence doesn’t really connect herself to a religion, but she was taught a belief in the greek gods and has an ambiguous belief in them. her belief in an afterlife isn’t very well-defined and a big part of her is suspicious that after she dies she’s probably just. you know. Be Dead. she isn’t really scared of it at all. it’s the natural course of all living things. she’d prefer to enjoy her life on earth while it lasts.

[businessguide12-blog]

35 mobile photography tips for taking better smartphone shots

New Post has been published on https://businessqia.com/awesome/35-mobile-photography-tips-for-taking-better-smartphone-shots/

35 mobile photography tips for taking better smartphone shots

Originally published: Feb. 12, 2015; updated/ re-published May 7, 2019

Main photo credit: Sigrid Buene

At 500 px, we securely believe that your tools are just that–tools. Whether you shoot with a Canon 5DS R or an old iPhone 5s, a great photographer can attain beautiful photos employing any device capable of capture images.

Now, let’s get practical. Want to take better photos with your smartphone? Great! We asked four talented 500 px photographers to share their tips-off for building the most of your phone’s camera.

So if you want to start capturing smartphone photos like the ones above, get out a pen and paper( or, more likely, a text file on your laptop ), and is fully prepared to take notes :P TAGEND Darja Bilyk’s mobile photography tips

1. Be ready!

I always maintain my phone in camera mode so that when I unlock it, it’s ready for take pictures. A good moment is so easy to lose. There can be no excuses such as,” Oh, my phone is somewhere in my purse ,” because we are talking about mobile photography. Your phone should be in your hand.

It may be an obvious thing to say, but nevertheless, you should remember to charge your phone and to keep your lens clean. I carry a charger with me most of the time to use, for example, if I’m having coffee in some nice coffeehouse, but the charger won’t save me in the forest.

I also often switch my phone to airplane mode. Not only does it help save the phone’s battery, but it also eliminates distractions and forces you to focus on photography.

2. Don’t think twice, take paintings whenever you want and of whatever you wish!

If you doubt whether to take a picture or not–take it! Snap it! Some moments will not be repeated. If you don’t like your picture, you can always delete it, but if you lose the moment, you wouldn’t be able to turn back time and catch it. Don’t overthink and hesitate, because there’s nothing to lose.

3. Light is the answer!

Let’s not forget that photography is all about use sunlight. Even the most boring composition will be saved by the good sun , no matter if it’s day or evening.

4. Learn the technological oddities of your phone camera

Find out the strong and weak sides of your phone. I know that my iPhone isn’t good at night photography. The images are noisy and blurred. That’s why I try to use it merely in the daytime.

Don’t be lazy, read the manual and make sure you’re using your phone in the most efficient circumstances. We may be self-confident and think that we know it all, but sometimes little tips-off in the manual can help us improve our photos in a big way. Learn how you can control the exposure or focus on the objects better, for example.

5. Don’t use zoom!

I think this is the first step towards taking a bad smartphone picture. If you want to zoom in on something, use your legs and move! Don’t forget that this is just a phone, and its capabilities are generally not the same as a DSLR lens.

6. Select and retouch!

Be selective! Try to choose merely very good images and then edit those.

There are many apps that will help you to do this, and while we can’t understate their help in creating beautiful images, don’t try too hard. You should remember that sometimes a painting is much better without filters.

It’s also worth mentioning that there is no ” magical ” application. Sometimes a scene can not be saved and instead of ” torturing” it, you’d be better off taking another photo. Try to use fewer filters and more individual adjustments that you can apply–each of of your photographs is different, so take an individual approach to editing them, too.

7. Choose unique angles

Try shooting from the dog’s view–this will construct you look at the objects from a new perspective. Also learn to use the grid, and then, just as importantly, learn to do without it.

8. Make your pictures come alive!

Print your paintings, send them as postcards, give them to your friends, hang them on your walls. Holding your scenes in your hands is such a lovely feeling, and it can’t be compared with looking at your paintings on a smartphone screen.

9. Don’t try to stick to one style!

I see a lot of people nowadays trying to shoot in one style, or even the same exact colors–don’t do this! Remember that versatility is great and showcases your creativity.

Who said that you can only be interested in landscape photography? If you feel like taking a portrait of someone, then do so. Don’t pigeonhole yourself. Be eager and don’t stop shooting. Your own unique style will develop!

10. And last, but not the least…

– A warm breakfast tastes better than it looks … put your phone away and feed the damn thing.- Don’t cross the road while editing paintings.- Love what you do and don’t let the critics get you down too much.- Don’t sit at home. Explore!

Darja Bilyk, 26 years old, was born and raised in Moscow. She works as an English teacher at school( teach kids from 8 to 18 years of age) and dedicates her free time to photography and traveling. She believes that a good photographer should be able to capture good photos of anything–landscape, portrait, or just some family album pictures–regardless of what equipment one possesses. The things that she looks for most in images are atmosphere and mood.

Find more of her work on 500 px, her website, or on Instagram.

Tony Antoniou’s mobile photography tips-off

Starfish Sunset by Tony Antoniou on 500 px

1. How to get more stable shots

Although the iPhone 6 Plus has optical image stabilization built-in, I find I get a better, sharper image by holding the telephone with both hands, much like I would hold a traditional camera.

The key for me here is to then not use the “software” shutter button, but instead to use the physical volume buttons that act as your shutter, eliminating camera shake and giving you sharper images. I am often surprised by the number of people who are unaware of this feature. The added bonus is that if you use your headphones that came with the phone, you can also use the buttons on that as a cable release and not have to touch the camera at all.

One more thing: hold down the shutter button and you get 10 fps burst mode so you don’t miss the action.

2. Keep your lens clean

A simple but important point: As we tend to keep our phones in our pockets or bags, give your lens a quick wipe before you shoot. It is a lint and dust magnet!

3. Download a better camera app

It’s true that the most built-in camera apps have improved over time, and they’re great for your median user, but us photographers who require a little more control over the settings should turn to others.

There are numerous third-party apps that you can download to give you all the control you would want. I personally use Camera +.

Editor’s Note: As of this last update, you can also use the 500 px iOS app to take and edit your images!

Blue Hour Posts- iPhone by Tony Antoniou on 500 px

4. Post-process your images

The reality is that you’ll need to process your images to get the best possible final photos.

Lightroom is my first choice if I want to do this on my computer, as it enables me to tweak the image to match my creative vision. Fortunately, there are also some great apps available, too if you wanted to do everything on the one device.

I use the free app from Google called Snapseed, although the latest version of iOS has much better built-in options than previous versions.

5. Never, ever use the digital zoom

If you want the best-possible image from your phone, forget about using digital zoom. The answer is simple: simply zoom with your feet. The added effect of doing this is that it really improves your compositional skills.

Tony Antoniou is a photographer and digital artist based in Surrey, UK. Together with his business partner, he runs f1 1 Workshops, a photography workshop and training company. Not only does he take some beautiful smartphone photos, many of the assets in his composite images are shot with an iPhone, too.

You can find more of his work on his 500px profile or by following him on Facebook.

Michael Kestin’s mobile photography tips-off

winter walk by Michael Kestin on 500 px

First off, it’s fun to take paintings with a mobile phone. The phone is always with us, always ready to shoot, and I have my studio to edit with me. Even better, I can share my images immediately.

It’s another kind of workflow, and a useful alternative to my big camera. Here are some tips-off :P TAGEND

1. Light

It’s all about light. Light surrounds us everywhere. See the illumination, get the shadows too.

light and shadow by Michael Kestin on 500 px

App use: Leme Cam

2. Focus

What’s your topic? Try to select only one topic for each shoot, and let it guide you. Stop for one second and think about whether you want to capture the picture in front of you. Need to zoom? Move yourself!

landscape by Michael Kestin on 500 px

App utilized: Leme Cam

3. Perspective

Get down on your knees, lay down on the ground, climbing a tree: there are hundreds of possibilities for capturing another point of view of the same subject. Try as many of them as possible.

harbour crane by Michael Kestin on 500 px

App use: Leme Cam

4. Reflections

Mirrors are everywhere: glasses, puddles, smooth and glistening surfaces. Use these to your advantage and detect other, more-unique views.

5. Black and white

Focus on forms, structure, textures, surfaces. Light shapes things, try to capture that!

regionalexpress by Michael Kestin on 500 px

App use: Leme Cam

6. Simplicity

Less really is more. Use empty spaces, the sky, uncolored surfaces, and focus on details.

two people by Michael Kestin on 500 px

App employed: Leme Cam

7. Apps

Feel free to change moods and colorings to add parts to your photos. Editing apps can assist you in build your pictures much better, or at the very least, more interesting.

columns by Michael Kestin on 500 px

Apps used: Leme Cam and Distressed FX

8. Moments Always try to catch the best moment. Feel any moment worth capturing.

winter walk by Michael Kestin on 500 px

Apps utilized: Snapseed, Mextures, Distressed FX

9. Shadows

Mother nature paints with light. When the sun is glistening, shadows help create lots of interesting scenes for you to capture. Look around and you’ll see that even mundane scenes can be captured in a special way.

shadows by Michael Kestin on 500 px

Apps utilized: Leme Cam and Mextures

10. Storytelling

Take a few images and build collages. This is a simple way to use your photos to tell a story.

places by Michael Kestin on 500 px

Apps use: Leme Cam, Distressed FX, Pixlr

Apps I often use for editing my photos:- Snapseed- Pixlr- Mextures- Distressed FX- Mattebox

Michael Kestin is a musician and interior designer who also works as a photographer and visual trainer devoting workshops in visual thinking and mobile photography that focus on visual spaces.

You can find more of his work on his 500px account, Steller, his website, and Facebook

Leslie St. John’s mobile photography tips-off

Evening Sun by Leslie St. John on 500 px

1. Clean your lens

I know it audios obvious, but your mobile spends its day with whatever is in your pocket or handbag. You will never take great images with pocket lint or greasy thumbprints on the lens…

This is a really easy issue to fix, but if you ignore it, it will limit you before you even start. Also, try not to keep your phone in your pocket or suitcase with things that might scratch the lens, like coins, keys, and the like.

2. Learn to read light

Lighting makes an image great, whether you take it with a Nikon D4 or a mobile phone. If you know what stimulates great light you are halfway to making great photographs.

Sunset by Leslie St. John on 500 px

3. Forget about flash

If you are out in a bar with friends, by all means, flashing away–but as with point-and-shoot cameras, the lighting is going to be flat and prone to redeye. You get much better images if you can use the room light.( see point 2)

4. Take lots of pictures

As a professional photographer, I almost never take one picture. The final image that the customers ensure is almost always the result of an iterative process.

Take a shot, critique it, then take another shot. Change your angle, alteration your distance to the subject, alter your exposure. Almost always, the end result is better than your first image.

5. Get a good telephone for photography

I often joke that, with my Lumina 1020, I bought a great camera with a built-in phone. I wanted to get a camera for the times when I was out with their own families or just out and about without my pro gear. I bought my phone with a specific eye on the camera. If you want to be serious about mobile photography, you need to have the tools for the job.

6. Learn to step out of auto mode

If you follow the advice in step 5, you probably have a phone that allows you to take some control of the exposure. One fault that many novices construct is to presume that the camera will always take the best picture.

The camera runs an algorithm that outputs a general result–it has no artistic judgement. The more control you take of the process, the more you will be able to express your artistic judgement, and the more likely you are to get outstanding pictures.

7. Shoot RAW( or at the least DNG)

The ability to shoot DNG files is one of the main features that describe me to my Lumia, since then I’ve seen this ability show up on other ecosystems. DNG files will retain more highlight and darknes detail than a. jpeg, and also give you more leeway in extreme lighting situations. But the best thing about DNG files is that they give you better material to work with for my next two tips.

8. Learn to edit

Learn to edit your scenes. As a pro, all of my pictures are edited. The same applies to mobile phone pictures. And by edit, I do not mean slapping an Instagram filter on a painting. Learn about brightness, contrast, and saturation. I use Fotor, Adobe Photoshop Express, and Lumina Creative Studio on my phone.

9. Really learn to edit

This is where DNG files genuinely shine. To get the best results, I import the DNG files into Lightroom and Photoshop to edit them there. The power of these programs and the control that comes from inducing penalty adjustments on a really big screen are what will attain the best possible use of your image.

10. Have fun!

At its heart, mobile photography is about fun. The exhilaration of having a camera available at those moments you want to keep is what it’s all about. The best way to improve is to have fun and to enjoy the process of doing better than what you had done before.

Leslie St. John is a Barbados-based bridal photographer who also shoots interiors, architecture, and the occasional commercial job to keep life interesting.

You can see more of his run or hear more from Leslie by visiting him on 500 px, checking out his website and mobile photography blog, or dedicating him a follow on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter.

33 #2014/ 365……… :). IPHONE by unai momoitio on 500 px

Hopefully you’ve learned a thing or two from the skilled photographers featured above, and are more determined than ever to go out and shoot something great with your telephone!

Not on 500 px yet? Sign up here to discover more incredible mobile photos !

Read more: iso.500px.com

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THE CONSPIRACY THEORIST 

facts

. name: mateo antony jiménez . age: 27 . gender identity & pronouns: cis male, he/him . occupation:  owner of the watering can florist

backstory

you were one of the town’s many surprises. you were born to two scientists renowned within the community, so before you were even alive, there was a shadow cast for you to fill. you proved to be a kid genius soon enough, and your peers expected you to be the first one to effectively get out of this wicked town. still, you were as unsuccessful as the others, ending up stuck in blackpine after your plans fell through. you didn’t beat yourself up over it - you knew full-well that you had the wits, and because of this, the mysterious, binding character of the town begged to be put under your scrutiny. after abigail’s disappearance, the mystery intensified, swallowing you more and more. now you’re determined to find the answers that keep you up at night, whatever it takes. 

connections

. the bibliomaniac » you were mere acquaintaces back in high school, but you never truly got to know each other. they were clever, as were you, and now that they too seem determined to dig out the skeletons in the town’s closet, it seems inevitable that you’ll gravitate toward one another to do so. 

. the sleuth » the two of you are like peas in pod, set apart by a handful of years. you can tell you’re no longer the only one interested and invested in all of this, which might bring out the competitive side to you. you’re not in it for the glory or reknown, but because you owe it to abigal and the myers. you’re ready to let your different approaches speak for themselves, but you fear you might have to approach them and team up if things start to get tricky.

. the paracosmist » your sibling. you grew up as partners in crime, and you continue to be. you are not immune to the occasional argument, but the two are incredibly close, being there for one another in good and bad times alike.

facelaim

carlos valdes

It’s always strange when people you never really got to know have such a powerful presence in your life, it’s sad when those people are your parents. They were always such a driving force within Mateo Jiménez’s life however. He was old enough when they passed away from a car crash to remember them at the very least, that is something he has. Something he has that he isn’t totally sure his sibling does. He remembers the strong sterile bleach smell they both always had when they got home from work. He remembers his father’s laugh, and his mother reading to him every night. He remembers they were good parents, and that were taken away from their children too soon.

The Jiménez children were lucky enough that their paternal grandparents could take them in, instead of going to the children’s home. That’s something Matty thanks his lucky stars for every day. The only time you will ever hear Matty say it’s lucky that it seems like the Jiménez family has been stuck in Black Pine for generations now, is because his grandparents were there for him and his sibling. And they were as good at taking care of the two children as Matty remembers his parents to be – it’s clear where they had gotten it from. They were kind, they were cheerful, they had a strong connection with the community, and ran a lovely little flower shop that always saw a boom in business around the holidays. They never put pressure on the kids, they were always there to support them. Matty remembers them always encouraging his curiosity, and to question things he was told.

He doesn’t know they meant it in the way he took it. He doesn’t know if they always knew something strange was up with Black Pine as well. Maybe they did. Maybe his parents did too. He hates to think about it, but maybe their tragic car accident wasn’t actually an accident … It’s something he doesn’t bring up. Or, it’s something he hasn’t brought up as of yet.

The point being Matty wasn’t just using the genius brain he inherited from his parents in school, he was using it to notice odd things going on around town. The biggest being that no one ever left. He was never the only one, his neighbor, Abigail Myers knew it too. No matter what changed through out the years it was something they spoke about, something they shared with each other. The town was off. There was something going on, maybe something that was even sinister… Who knew. Young minds always run away with ideas like that. And even when he left for college (something Abigail celebrated exuberantly with him) it was something he never stopped thinking about.

But the fact was he did get out of Black Pine. He was offered a full scholarship to the University of Chicago in Illinois, a place known for it’s sciences and specifically chemistry programs. Matty had always wanted to follow his in his parents footsteps and become a scientist – Specifically his goal was to become a Chemical or Nuclear Engineer, but there were so many roads open to him when he left Black Pine.

The city was great, college was amazing. He fit in so well with his fellow students, and there didn’t feel like there was some … unknown entity hanging over his head suspiciously watching his every single move. It was freeing. He loved his family so much, but part of him never wanted to go back to Black Pine. He invited his family up to visit him in Chicago instead. In reality he was worried that if he went back he’d never get out again. It was mid junior year when he was called and told that his grandmother had fallen incredibly ill, and likely wouldn’t make it much longer. That was the first time he went back home, and was lucky enough to say goodbye before she passed on. Matty wasn’t sure if he could leave again after that, but his grandfather insisted.

Finish college. Make something of yourself. They’d be fine.

Okay, if you insist.

So, that was what he did. He finished college with a masters degree in chemistry and he got a nice beginners job in his chosen field like he wanted to. A good one, with room for advancement and possibilities galore. Surely … this meant he was out for good. He thought that for a while. Until he was called again informing him his grandfather had been diagnosed with Cancer. He wasn’t as bad off as his grandmother had been, but he was too sick to work anymore and Matty was faced with a choice.

Ignore his family, or go back and help out. But the Jiménez family had always meant the most to him, so the answer was obvious. He moved back to Black Pine and took over the Flower shop so his grandfather could retire, and get his chemo therapy treatment in relative peace. Or at least without having to worry about his grandchildren. Things rarely work out the way you want them to, but Matty is okay with that. He isn’t angry, or bitter about being back in Black Pine like someone might have expected him to be. Perhaps that was just an experiment. Could someone actually ever truly leave?

It’s something he’s become more and more … interested in. Well, he would say interested, someone else may call it obsessed. There is something going on. It’s clear. And it became even more tragically clear when Abigail’s car was found in the town limits. Matty is absolutely gutted about what happened to her. They were friends. She was one of the very few people in town he could really talk to about his crazy theories, and she would give him some of her own. Something happened to her. Whatever happened wasn’t an accident. And he isn’t sure he’ll really be able to rest until he finally figures it out after all his years of wondering about it.

[briefzombiepersona-blog]

Image copyright PA

Image caption George Michael at the closing ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics

“Sex, beauty, sadness: All those things resonated with George.”

David Austin is casting his eye over George Michael’s art collection, which is on display at Christie’s in London before going under the hammer on Thursday.

Among the 200 exhibits are a colour-changing portrait of the star by Michael Craig-Martin, a dove preserved in formaldehyde by Damien Hirst, and a life-size bronze gorilla by Angus Fairhurst, which used to live in Michael’s garden.

Austin, who rarely gives interviews, was Michael’s childhood friend, songwriting partner and manager.

He worked closely with the star’s team to put the exhibition together, drawing on the times he’d accompany Michael to buy new works of art.

“I remember going down to the White Cube #gallery-0-5 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-5 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-5 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-5 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

one evening,” he recalls. “It was closed when we got there and we saw Damien Hirst’s Saint Sebastian through the locked doors.

“I remember his disappointment at not being able to see it – but I also remember him buying it. It’s such an imposing piece.”

The seven-tonne work restages the death of Christian martyr Saint Sebastian – traditionally depicted as a handsome young man pierced with arrows – using a bull encased in formaldehyde.

Over time, the saint has become a gay icon (more through iconography than biography) and his quiet suffering resonated with Michael.

Image copyright Damien Hirst

Image caption Saint Sebastian, Exquisite Pain by Damien Hirst

The star was frequently drawn to mournful pieces, and the Christie’s sale includes a haunting cast iron human sculpture by Antony Gormley, a pink coffin by Sarah Lucas, and an unsettling collage of broken mirrors and eyeballs by Jim Lambie.

But Michael also had a love of life and a cheeky sense of humour, exemplified by the triptych Urinal and Sex and Handcuffs, a reference to the star’s 1998 arrest for engaging in a sexual act in a public toilet.

“There’s a humour about the art,” agrees Austin.

“In actual fact, there’s a quote of George’s that we use in the exhibition where he sums it all up: ‘I guess I’m just not afraid of being laughed at.'”

Generosity

Austin accompanied Michael throughout his career, playing in his first band The Executive and joining Wham! for their Top of the Pops debut in 1982.

After a brief attempt at his own pop career, he co-wrote songs including I Want Your Sex and You Have Been Loved, and latterly became the star’s manager, “although I hate that word because George really managed himself”.

The art sale is the first public project since the star died as a result of heart and liver disease on Christmas Day 2016, aged 53.

“It does feel very personal walking around it, because George was such a private person,” says Austin.

Image copyright Michael Craig-Martin/PA

Image caption The charity sale includes a specially-commissioned portrait of the star by Michael Craig-Martin

Image copyright Mary McCartney

Image caption Other pieces in the sale include these portraits of Kate Moss by Mary McCartney

All the money raised will go to charity, continuing the philanthropic work he started in his lifetime.

After his death, it emerged that Michael had worked anonymously at a homeless shelter and donated millions to Childline – including the royalties from Jesus to a Child.

“He was a wonderful person,” says Austin. “A caring, kind, giving man.

“It never stops amazing me how he touched people and how much love there is for him.”

He remembers Michael’s final months fondly. They would spend the days working on a documentary before retiring to Michael’s home in Goring-on-Thames to play records or going out for dinner.

“I remember sitting in a restaurant one evening and people were looking across thinking, ‘Ooh, it’s George Michael!‘” he recalls.

“I got up to go to the toilet, and when I came back he was having a cup of tea with two women at the next table. They were just talking about life and their problems, and I was like, ‘What is going on here?’

“That was a small moment, but it was important – because that’s exactly who he was. Everybody warmed to him, from Princess Diana to those two women in the restaurant.”

Image copyright PA

George Michael’s art collection unveiled

Obituary: George Michael

George Michael: Six songs that defined his life

After Michael died, Austin found himself unable to listen to his music until his phone accidentally started playing a live version of Praying For Time.

“I was in shock. I fumbled with it and I wanted to turn it off,” he says. “But then I stopped, and I listened to him and I thought, God, he really can sing can’t he?

“George and I worked our whole lives together – but when you’re in the eye of the storm, you don’t always see it.”

Today, Austin is a custodian of the star’s legacy and says fans have a lot to look forward to.

“I’m going to make sure all of George’s stuff is back out on vinyl,” he says, noting that the Older album, which the star called “his greatest moment”, is currently out of print.

This December will also see the release of a film, Last Christmas, featuring nine of the musician’s most famous songs.

Starring Game of Thrones’ Emilia Clarke and Crazy Rich Asians actor Henry Golding, the rom-com has been written by Emma Thompson and is directed by Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, Ghostbusters).

Image copyright Universal Pictures

Image caption Last Christmas is a rom-com set in London, featuring George Michael’s music

“I did the deal with Emma Thompson because I knew it would be a family film, I knew it would have absolutely massive reach, and we’d be rolling out year after year to a new demographic that would be listening to his music,” says Austin.

“It’s really taking a note out of George’s book. He hated going around selling his wares and this film will do that job.”

Austin denies rumours of an all-star tribute concert but says there are other, secret projects in the works.

“There will be lots more happening in the future. Beautiful and significant stuff, too,” he says.

“My job is just to make sure everybody hears that music and his legacy continues.”

Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

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Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk

‘Everybody warmed to George Michael’ Image copyright Damien Hirst Image caption Saint Sebastian, Exquisite Pain by Damien Hirst The star was frequently drawn to mournful pieces, and the Christie's sale includes a haunting cast iron human sculpture by Antony Gormley, a pink coffin by Sarah Lucas, and an unsettling collage of broken mirrors and eyeballs by Jim Lambie.

[jewish-gay-elves]

getting what you need in a roundabout way

“They get down to the clinic and inside they see Anders helping a lil kid out with tristan like talking to other patients and stuff but stops at the sight of these three imposing folks and a dwarf ” - my notes on this au

Words: 1833, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 7 of the a tale of too many wardens because i want everyone to be happy and heres how

Fandoms: Dragon Age: II, Dragon Age (Video Games)

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: None

Characters: Male Amell (Dragon Age), Tristan Amell, Male Warden (Dragon Age), Anders (Dragon Age), Male Hawke (Dragon Age), Ant Hawke, Carver Hawke, Bethany Hawke, Varric Tethras

Relationships: Male Amell/Anders (Dragon Age), Anders/Male Warden (Dragon Age), Anders/Tristan Amell

Additional Tags: ok i kno i tagged with Male Amell/Anders but im sorry this is not really a shippy fic, its really just them like interacting with the hawkes

Carver honestly wasn’t expecting much when Lirene told them the clinic was in Darktown, he figured it had to be shoddy of course, but when they got there, he understood why so many people tried to stop them. The place was full of sick and elderly folks, all coughing and stewing in filth around them, what was more surprising was that not all of them were Ferelden refugees either. Some of them were definitely Kirkwallers, which amazed Carver considering he knew exactly how most Kirkwallers felt about the refugees who came after the Blight.

    Ant almost stopped halfway through, looking at those around them, looking like he might just roll up his sleeves and start casting and entirely blow their cover. Carver knew that as soon as Antony stopped, so would Bethany, and they’d never get their work done. Doing his job as a little brother best, he shoved Ant with his shoulder, jarring the oldest Hawke sibling out of whatever funk he was about to fall in. Varric chuckled at the two brothers, before following behind as they approached the back of the makeshift clinic.

    Carver could see the tell tale glow of magic, though this seemed more experienced than any of the minor healing spells their father had taught his siblings. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a man with a staff on his back, stand up to his full height. Multiple mages? Carver thought Lirene only spoke of one healer, but it didn’t matter, they were now close enough to see who was casting the blue light. He was taller than Carver expected, and blonde, and completely engaged in the magic he was casting over the young boy laid out on the table. After a moment, the boy gasped and sat up, coughing a bit as his body registered whatever happened to him. The healer himself, staggered back, leaning against a pillar to catch his breath. Ant started to step closer as the family gathered up the boy and headed for the exit. Ant hadn’t even reached the cot before the healer whipped around, staff in hand.

    “I approximate you have about two minutes to explain why you’re bringing weapons into a medical clinic before I decide I don’t really care why you’re here. There are injured and innocent here, only looking for help,” he said, trying to hide his fatigue with a sarcastic tone. Carver only heard the sound of a sword scraping against its scabbard before he realized he should have paid more attention to the other mage he saw. The other man he had seen had finally turned around, and was making his way towards the healer with a shortsword drawn and aimed in their direction.

    “If you’re Carta, I’ve already made our payments for the next two months. You’d best bully somewhere else if you’re short on coin,” the man said, making a gesture with his sword to point to the door, making sure they knew exactly where he wanted them to go. Bethy had already raised her hands placatingly, and Ant stopped in his tracks, copying Bethany’s motion unknowingly.

    “I’m just here to talk!” Ant said, looking at his companions to make sure none of them had drawn their weapons.

    “We’re interested in getting into the Deep Roads. Rumor has it you were a Warden. Do you know a way?” Varric asked, getting to the point immediately. The two men looked between themselves wearily.

    “Did the Wardens send you to bring us back? We’re not going, those bastards wanted us to get rid of our cat,” the healer said, starting to lower his staff. The other man still held his sword aloft, not lowering his guard for a second.

    “Not quite what I’d lead with darling,” the other man, who must have also been a warden, said. Carver couldn’t quite figure it out, but something was familiar about this man.

    “Poor Ser-Pounce-A-Lot, he hated the Deep Roads, though I’m not sure if he likes Darktown that much more,” the healer rambled. Carver couldn’t for the life of him figure out where this conversation was going.

    “You had a cat named Ser-Pounce-A-Lot? In the Deep Roads?” Ant asked, Carver almost smacked his face with his palm, of course that was what Ant was interested by.

    “Still have, actually. He was a gift, a noble beast indeed. Almost got ripped in half by a genlock once. He swatted the bugger on the nose. Drew blood, too.” he said, his gaze going distant as he recalled the memory. The other man rolled his eyes before returning his attention to the Hawkes and Varric.

    “So you came to Kirkwall just to escape the Wardens?” Ant asked, seemingly trying to keep things casual, but if Carver knew his brother, Ant was genuinely curious.

    “You say that like it’s a small thing, and not quite. Yes, we’re here because there’s no Warden outpost, no darkspawn, and a whole host of refugees to blend in with. And, some personal reasons of our own,” the healer explained. The other man shot him an annoyed look, probably because he was giving them far too much information, but clearly this healer was quite a trusting person. The look the other man gave, so fiercely reminded Carver of the very same looks his own mother gave him when he annoyed her, he couldn’t figure out how he and the healer knew each other. Or why Carver himself felt like he knew the man as well.

    “I’ve always heard that joining the Wardens is for life?” Ant went on, clearly confused as to why and how they left.

    “It is,” The other man said “But being a Warden is more than the bulky armor and stupid speeches about victory and death,” he had finally started to lower his sword as he spoke, but did not put it away.

    “Well, it’s partly true,” the healer contradicted, “The “hopelessly tainted by darkspawn” and “plauged by nightmares about the Archdemon” parts don’t go away. But it turns out if you hide well, you don’t have to wear the uniform or go to the parties,” he said, a smirk tugging at his lips.

    “Anders!” the other man admonished.

    “What? You hated the nobles too, oh you mean the Warden secrets right, sorry,” Anders said, wincing at his slip up. Varric was clearly trying not to laugh at the two men, and instead coughed to get Ant’s attention back on their goal.

    “Oh right! I’m part of an expedition into the Deep Roads. Any information you have could save people’s lives,” Ant said, putting emphasis on the latter half of the sentence.

    “Save yourselves the trouble of going down there in the first place,” The other man said, scoffing, he ended up cocking his hips to the side, in just the same way Carver had seen Bethy do thousands of times. Anders the healer had a little chuckle at the other man’s words before finally turning to Ant, with what seemed like a serious answer on his lips.

    “I will die a happy man if I never think of the blighted Deep Roads ever again. You can’t imagine what we went through to get here. I’m not interested in- Although,” he starts, looking to his partner before continuing, “A favor for a favor, does that sound like a fair deal? You help us, we help you?” he finished, looking to the other man with hope on his face. Ant started to smile, and Carver knew that they’d be knee deep in spider guts before the end of this, or somethings guts at least.

    “Help my expedition reach the Deep Roads, and I’ll do whatever you need,” Ant said, signing them all to their fates of taking care of whatever these two wanted, without even asking what they needed help with, of course. The two men seemed to realize this as well, Anders’ eyebrows shooting up as the other man finally put his sword away.

    “You don’t ask for my terms? What if I were asking for the knight-commander’s head on a pike?” Anders said, tossing around a hypothetical Carver prayed would never come to pass, for both Bethany and Ant’s sakes.

    “Is that what you ask?” Ant asked back, sounding genuinely surprised. It took all of Carver’s strength to not strangle him right there. Anders just smirked before responding, as if imagining the sight.

    “You decide,” he finally settled on, then continued “We have a Warden map of the depths in this area. But there’s a price. We came to Kirkwall to aid a friend, a mage, a prisoner in the wretched Gallows. The templars learned of my plans to free him. Help us bring him safely past them, and you shall have your maps.” Ant started nodding as if it was all done. Carver couldn’t help but speak up.

    “What exactly do the templars know of your plans?” he asked, stepping forward. Anders and the other man looked at him in surprise, then answered.

    “We aren’t sure, Anders had been passing letters to Karl through a maidservant in the Gallows. Then, we stopped hearing anything at all,” The other man said, looking at him approvingly.

    “Tell us about your friend,” Bethany asked, speaking up at last, clearly curious about how someone seemingly from the Ferelden Grey Wardens knew someone from Kirkwall’s circle. Anders started smiling before he answered.

    “His name is Karl Thekla. He was sent here from Ferelden when Kirkwall’s circle required new talent. His last letter said that the knight-commander was turning the circle into a prison” Anders said, voice dropping at the end.

    “Aren’t they already prisons though?’ Bethany said in an aside to Ant. The other man caught her words however and laughed.

    “You can actually see between the lines, can’t you, girl?” He asked, grinning broadly.

    “My name is Bethany,” she said, and Carver could tell she wasn’t that happy with the man just calling her “girl”. Thankfully, he caught this as well, and slightly bowed his head in apology.

    “We received reports of mages being locked in cells, refused appearances at court, and made Tranquil at the slightest of crimes. We can’t leave Karl in there,” he said, looking at Anders’ pained face.

    “How do you plan to break him out of the Gallows?” Carver asked, already thinking about the obscene amounts of templars he saw patrolling just the other day.

    “I’m hoping it won’t come to that,” Anders began. “I sent a message to Karl asking him to meet us in the Chantry tonight. Maker willing, he’ll be there, alone. But if there are templars with him, I swear, I’ll free him from them. Whatever the cost,” Antony was nodding, clearly understanding Anders’ feelings.

    “I would help any fellow mage, map or no map,” Ant declared, clearly in a righteous mood. Varric starts a little at this, before clarifying for Ant.

    “We still would really appreciate getting the maps though,” the dwarf said. Anders and the man just laughed in response.