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chudleycanonficfest · 3 years ago

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Day 26, Post #1 by @cheesyficwriter

Title: The Greatest Chapter

Author: cheesyficwriter

Pairing: Harry/Ginny

Prompt: Moving in together

Rating: T

Trigger Warnings: None

Prompt: Moving in together

The Greatest Chapter

At age 10, I had the most embarrassing schoolgirl crush on Harry Potter. I'd see him and run in the opposite direction, painting the perfect image of me as a young girl who lacked the confidence needed to formulate words — any words — around someone I liked.

Before getting to know Harry for who he really was, I was so infatuated with the idea of the Boy-Who-Lived. I wanted so desperately to be going to Hogwarts with Ron before I was old enough, knowing that Harry Potter would be there too.

The way Harry took on a basilisk to save my life during my first year did nothing but solidify my growing feelings for him. My crush never really went away but instead transformed into a casual friendship based upon our shared experience in the Chamber of Secrets, a friendship that I was willing to accept at the time because I just wanted to be around him.

As we grew up, I started to relax more in his presence. We gained a mutual respect for one another, exchanging laughs in the Great Hall and sharing in-jokes during Christmases at the Burrow. Those little moments, in between all of the chaos and turmoil of what used to be, helped me learn a few things about Harry that I wouldn’t have discovered otherwise — not even on the front page of The Daily Prophet.

When I was younger, I admired Harry because I was under the impression that he possessed traits that I didn’t. I never imagined that I could be as brave, or courageous, or charismatic as he was to me. What surprised me the most about our developing friendship at Hogwarts was that there were far more similarities between us than differences. We shared the same wicked sense of humor — that I like to say I inherited from my plethora of brothers — yet could still hold my own during quick-witted battles, and I often found myself looking at Harry whenever something made me laugh, just to see if he was laughing, too. My stomach always spiraled when, more often than not, I found him looking back at me. We used our shared humor to our advantage, and I was thankful for that small respite in the midst of so much darkness.

We shared the same values, both of us realizing the importance of family, friends, and love above everything else. It’s what we fought for every day, even when it seemed like we were too young to really know what love was.

As our friendship continued, my romantic feelings for Harry were buried deep down in a place where I was once convinced they would stay. I decided to throw all of my energy into school, developing my skills as a witch, thus growing the confidence I needed along the way to put myself out there with other, more available boys.

For years, we were caught up in our own lives, and it shocked me more than anyone to have captured Harry’s attention when I least expected it. From the first moment he kissed me, I never hesitated. All of those feelings I had attempted to bury came rushing back to the surface, like revealing a galleon that I had stashed at the bottom of my trunk.

I will never forget those few stolen weeks we had together when I was 15 and he was 16. He described it as something out of someone else’s life, and at the time, I had thought that was all we would ever be. Time was fleeting, and there wasn’t enough of it.

Harry had no choice but to dedicate his life to fighting for the wizarding world, and I was always determined to be right there beside him, up until the point where I couldn’t. I was smart enough to understand why he didn’t ask me to come with him. It was his mission. His, Ron’s, and Hermione’s. I didn’t often miss the times the three of them carried on by themselves, engaging in secret conversation and disappearing without the faintest clue of their whereabouts until much later.

On that fateful day that Harry broke things off, I already knew what he was so desperately trying to convey to me. If I were to have accompanied him on the Horcrux hunt, it would’ve been me he was worried about instead of finding the pieces of Voldemort’s soul that were crucial to defeating him.

That notion — although tragic in a sense — gave me more pleasure than the feeling of scoring an impossible goal during a Quidditch match.

Regardless, Harry was never far from my mind those long months that he was gone. My childhood crush seemed silly at that point because I had gained so much more than a fleeting romance.

As time passed, and Harry and I found our way back to each other after Voldemort's defeat, it took us a minute to catch our bearings and resume our relationship that we had put on an indefinite pause.

It hadn’t always been easy dating him. In fact, dealing with the fame that Harry carried around with him from being a war hero had been a lot harder than I ever anticipated. But it was always unspoken that we managed, despite what any publishings had to say about us.

I came to love him, not for being Harry Potter, but for who he truly was. His heart. His courage.

As I stood reflecting on my relationship with Harry in the drawing room of 12 Grimmauld Place, I was overcome with emotion. Our relationship wasn’t perfect, but it was the one we were destined to have, and that made every hardship worth it.

The room housed a large window overlooking the street, a charming — albeit dusty — fireplace, and ornate fixtures. For a person who just moved in, I felt like the house itself could have been in worse shape. Harry did an exceptional job keeping the place organized, especially for someone who, up until just a few days ago, lived there by himself.

That’s not to say I hadn’t already spent plenty of nights at Grimmauld Place over the last couple of years. In fact, I probably spent more nights there than I did at the Burrow once I returned home from my final year at Hogwarts.

It was during those nights that I discovered just a fraction of the pain Harry went through. He’d always been intensely emotional, and so many nights I spent shaking him from his residual nightmares of the trauma he went through, despite the wizarding world being in a much better place. I comforted him the best I could in those moments, determined to make it clear to him that I’m never letting go — not this time.

I smiled to myself as I took a seat on the piano bench, observing the peeling paint from one of the large, cracked walls. We had a lot of work to do, but moving in together was a proper next step for us.

"Gin? Are you home?" Harry’s voice carried through the dusty walls.

Before I could respond, Harry was already standing in the open archway, head tilted to the side with curiosity etched across his face. “Were you just staring at a blank wall?”

I crossed my arms, determined not to let him know about my extensive reflection into our past. “So what if I was, Potter?”

He looked as if he wanted to question my retort further but instead joined me at the piano, bumping his shoulder with mine.

“It’s a lot of fun coming home to you,” he admitted, the rich, melodic sound of the piano filling the open space from his fingertips pressing against one of the keys.

“You know that’s practically how we were before, right? When was the last time we spent a night apart?”

Harry shrugged, and it was clear he never really thought about it. “Dunno, but it was one night too many, I reckon.”

I sighed, wanting to ask a question that had been weighing on my heart. “Do you find it odd that we’ve never really argued? I mean, even when you broke up with me-”

“Why must we go back to that?” Harry interrupted, a pained look crossing his face.

I gave him a playful pat on the arm. I wanted our past to be something positive we could look back on and didn’t fancy dwelling on the shit times.

“Shush. I’m just saying, even though it hurt a lot to not know where you were for almost a year, I always understood your decision. You had to go.”

Harry’s eyebrows knitted together, clearly still trying to work out the point of the conversation. “Where are you going with this?”

“I just-I can’t believe I’m saying this,” I rubbed my temple to ease my stressed-out mind. “I’m actually worried that we will never fight.”

“Oh, we’ll fight.”

I turned towards Harry, who was too busy fiddling with the piano keys to even look at me. He responded straight away, like he didn’t even have to think about it. “How can you be so certain?”

Harry snorted. “I’ve witnessed you get all hot-headed when you disagree with other people.” He sent me a dazzling grin, reaching out to trail his fingers through my stray ginger strands that hung loose from my ponytail. “You’ve got that fiery red hair. It’s only a matter of time.”

“Hey!”

“In fact,” Harry smirked with a mischievous glint in his eyes, “I think you’re the most problematic person I know, Ginevra.”

Harry yelped when I pinched his forearm. “You prat.”

He chuckled, wrapping an arm around my shoulders to pull me closer. “In all seriousness, though, we’re going to be fine.”

I stared at him in awe but leaned into him. “You are so sure of yourself.”

He grabbed my shoulders, pivoting our bodies so that we were facing each other on the bench. “You wanna know how sure I am?”

Before I could respond or even react, he kissed me full on the mouth. He growled as our kiss intensified, and all at once, our positions shifted as I felt a sharp pain in my back from my body making contact with the piano keys with a resounding trill. I was left dizzy and breathless, snogging Harry as a wave of happiness resonated through me.

When he pulled away, his fierce emerald eyes locked on mine set my mind ablaze. “Does that answer your question?”

I decided his question didn’t require a verbal response, so I simply attached my hand to the nape of his neck before dragging his face back to mine. We didn’t talk much for a while after that.

I knew, perhaps more than anyone else, how much Harry desired moving forward from the past. I’m ready, too, to start the greatest chapter of our lives.

#chudleycanonficfest2021 #HP fest #hp canon pairings #canon fest romantic #submission #hinny #harry x ginny

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hyuckles-chuckles · 4 years ago

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riddle me this — n. jaemin

a simple riddle was the only key to get into the ravenclaw tower, if only hufflepuff jaemin could answer one correctly so he could finally ask you out on that date he promised to take you on once he answered a riddle.

pairing ; hufflepuff!na jaemin x ravenclaw!reader

other character(s) ; mentions of ravenclaw!moon taeil

genre ; fluff, hogwarts!au · word count ; 2k · rating ; pg · warning(s) ; me not knowing about astronomy, breaking curfew and almost being caught

request ; “jaemin + 14 : ‘don’t make a sound.’ + k : hogwarts!au” by anon

masterlist ; adobe’s 1500 follower celebration

a/n ; this is dedicated to my ravenclaw homies! i saw y’all in the comments and reblogs of my other harry potter based fics, and i finally wrote a ravenclaw reader since i’m a ravenclaw, i can’t believe i took so long to write one hehe! besides that, i hope y’all enjoy this:)))

You sat in the Ravenclaw Common Room, reading a novel as your feet dangled over the star covered, midnight blue carpet. With all of your homework done, you finally were able to relax in the Tower, the whistle of the wind calming you down from the day you had at Hogwarts.

You were turning the next page of your novel when seventh year prefect Moon Taeil sat next to you and pulled out his own books. “What’s up, Moon?” you mumbled as you focused on the words dancing on the page. You had a feeling as to why he sat with you, but you were too engrossed in your novel to pay him much attention.

“Nothing much,” he answered you, pulling out some Transfiguration scrolls from his bag. “But there is a Hufflepuff kid trying to get into the Tower.”

“A Hufflepuff kid?” you questioned, finally looking from your novel for more than two seconds.

The only student from the Hufflepuff house who was constantly trying to get into the Ravenclaw Tower was Na Jaemin, never being able to do so because he wasn’t able to answer the riddle correctly. Jaemin tried constantly because you had promised him a date if he was able to get into the Common Room without the help of a Ravenclaw student. When you had made that promise, you didn’t really like him all that much, only making the promise with the hope that he never answered the riddle correctly.

But after the few weeks of him trying and trying again, the moments when you exited the Tower to talk to him only got you to know him better as well as like him better. A few days ago, you even told him he didn’t have to answer the riddle and just ask you on a date. However, he was loyal to his promise and would only ask you on a date once he managed to successfully get into the Tower.

A faint smile appeared on your lips as Taeil confirmed it was Jaemin. You quickly abandoned the Common Room, running off to your dorm to drop your stuff off and run to the door with the Eagle Door Knocker to see Jaemin.

You opened the door, startling Jaemin with the abrupt action, only for him to smile when he saw that it was you who opened the door.

“How many letters are in the alphabet?” he asked you while he sat on the floor in front of the door you closed. Instead of greeting you normally, Jaemin would always ask you the riddle that the Eagle Door Knocker asked him.

You thought about the answer, already having one in mind, but you wanted to know what Jaemin said. “How many letters did you say were in the alphabet?”

“There’s 26 letters in the alphabet from A to Z, but the door won’t open,” he told you, pouting when you giggled at him and joined him on the floor. “Just tell me the answer please.”

“How many letters are in the word alphabet?” you asked him, giving him the final clue to answer the riddle.

“Who phrases a question like that?” he asks, annoyance dripping in his voice.

“It’s not just a question; it’s a riddle.”

“Well, then the answer’s 8,” he smiled, booping your nose before standing up, extending his hand to help lift you up.

“Na Jaemin, you can’t be so cute with me and then not ask me out on a date,” you pouted as you took his hand, standing closer to him than you normally would with other people.

“We made a promise, I will stay loyal to my promise even if you want to break it,” he smirked at you before walking down the stairs, laughing when he heard you follow him.

You rolled your eyes as you took his hand in yours. Before he could ask you why, you quickly gave him a witty reason. “I hold my friends’ hands like this. You shouldn’t worry about that promise.”

“I didn’t know that we were friends,” Jaemin chuckled as he went up another flight of stairs. You recognised this as the staircase that led to the Astronomy Tower, the tallest Tower at Hogwarts.

“I don’t let random boys take me to break onto the roof of the Astronomy Tower,” you tease him.

“I would never!” he scoffed, holding a hand up to his chest. “I got permission from Professor Sinistra to be here. I had to get an O on my last test, but it’s all worth it.”

You and Jaemin walk up the spiral staircase until you reach the top of the Astronomy Tower, the telescopes already pointing up to the night sky. You remember coming up here in your first year with your fellow Ravenclaws, identifying the constellations in the sky for practical exams. You’ve never been up here with anyone outside of your house and your professor, but you were glad that it was Jaemin you were with right now.

“I thought you wouldn’t be asking me on a date, Na Jaemin,” you smile as you walk over to a telescope to look into the sky, identifying one of Jupiter’s moons.

“Who said this was a date?” he asked you as he leaned against the wall next to you. “This is just two friends looking at the sky.”

“Sure,” you said sarcastically as you raised your head from the telescope, prompting Jaemin to look where you were looking.

“Europa?” he questioned as he looked at the same moon you were looking at.

“That is Europa,” you confirmed, beaming when Jaemin turned to look at you with a wide grin.

“I’ve got to thank fifth year Astronomy for that,” he said as he smiled at you.

“We learned that in first year,” you giggle at him, sitting down on the cold stone to look at the bright stars above you.

“Oops, I guess,” he mumbled as he retrieved his wand from his belt. “Accio, blanket.” Seconds later, a black and yellow blanket flew up along the tower and into Jaemin’s hands. He laid the blanket on the floor next to you so you could scoot onto the blanket to stop the cold from spreading throughout your body.

“Thank you,” you said as you laid down on the blanket, cheeks heating up when he moved down to lay right next to you.

“It’s my pleasure; I can’t have you getting cold.”

You looked from the sky to Jaemin who was already looking at you, thinking about how you ended up here. “Which is faster, hot or cold?”

“What?” he questions, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

“It’s a riddle; I’m training your brain to answer the Eagle Door Knocker so we can finally go on a date,” you admit, turning on your side to give all your attention to the Hufflepuff in front of you. “Which is faster?”

“Uh, hot is faster?” he answered you, yet the hesitancy in his voice made his answer seem like a question.

“Why is it faster?” you asked him, curious as to how he came up with the correct answer.

“Because people get hotter faster than they get cold,” he suggested, a shy smile adorning his face for his reasoning. “Was I right?”

“Your answer was right but your reasoning was wrong.”

“Then why is hot faster than cold?” Jaemin asked, leaning on his elbow to get a better look at you.

“Hot is faster because you can catch a cold,” you inform him, laughing at the way he groans at the correct reasoning.

“Riddles are so dumb!” he complains, only causing more laughter to fall from your lips.

“They’re not dumb, it’s just a brain exercise,” you tell him.

“Well, I exercise enough on the Quidditch field,” he grumbled even though he had a small smile on his face as he laid on his back once more and closed his eyes.

“Well, if you answer my riddles correctly, I’ll give you a kiss on the cheek.”

“Okay,” he grins as he sits up. “Give me another one, I’ll get it right. I promise.”

For the rest of your time on top of the Astronomy Tower, you gave Jaemin three kisses of more than possibly twenty kisses on his cheek — each one getting closer to his lips. Unfortunately for you both, you had classes in the morning so you had to leave the Tower and go to your dorms. He insists on walking you back to the Ravenclaw Tower, and who were you to say no?

You walk hand in hand towards your Tower of residence, Jaemin’s Hufflepuff blanket wrapped around both of your shoulders as you walk down the many staircases and passages. It was just the two of you for a few minutes, until you hear someone walking as well. You feel the squeeze on your hand as Jaemin quietly runs to a corner and crouches down, bringing you with him.

“What’s wrong? I thought you had permission to be out,” you whispered to him.

“I did,” he whispers, his face extremely close to yours, “but not past midnight. So, don’t make a sound.”

You listen to the sound that slowly approaches where you and Jaemin hid, the echoes of a meow bouncing off the walls, indicating that it was Filch and his cat. If you got caught by him at this hour — especially with a boy from a different house — you would receive a huge punishment. You didn’t want him to find you, so you got your wand out and held onto Jaemin’s hand tighter than before.

“Expecto Patronum,” you whisper, pointing your wand in the opposite direction of where you two were. As soon as you utter the word, a Persian cat appears, the blue glow of your Patronus causing Filch’s cat to get distracted and chase it down the corridor.

“Mrs Norris! Get back here!” you hear Filch yell as he chases his cat down the corridor, completely ignoring the Patronus.

“Let’s go,” Jaemin whispers, quickly helping you up and running towards the stairs of the Ravenclaw Tower. You both laugh when you hear the echoes of Filch’s cries for who was out there, already long gone from the scene of the crime.

“So…a Persian cat?” Jaemin asks you as you walk towards the door to your Common Room.

“Yeah, what’s your Patronus?” you ask him, standing with your fingers interlocked with his.

“It’s a bunny rabbit,” he chuckles as he looks down at you.

He’s leaning in when the Eagle Door Knocker asks you a riddle. “What is at the end of a rainbow?” He pauses his moving closer to your face to think about the answer to the riddle. While at the Astronomy Tower, he realised that he needed to think about the question before answering the riddle.

Usually, people would say that a pot of gold was at the end of the rainbow, but the answer to this riddle was—

“The letter W,” Jaemin says as he turns to the door, waiting for its answer.

The door opens slowly and Jaemin jumps in the air, silently cheering for himself for opening the door by himself. You quietly clap for him, not trying to alert anyone inside the Common Room.

Once Jaemin is done celebrating his victory, he places his hands on your cheeks to bring your lips together in a sweet kiss. “Now I won’t feel guilty about kissing you before getting that door open,” he says against your lips.

“I’m just glad you finally opened the door,” you smiled, pressing another kiss to his lips.

“Lunch together tomorrow?” he asks you as he lets go of you.

“It’s a date,” you say, walking into the Common Room, waving him off as he took the stairs all the way down to the Hufflepuff Basement.

And even though Taeil reprimanded you for returning to the Ravenclaw Tower after curfew, the smile on your face never disappeared. “Why are you still smiling? I’m forced to deduct points from our house because you broke a rule.”

“Because I finally got my date with Na Jaemin.”

to celebrate getting 1500 followers on here, i opened up my requests! be prepared for more requested works from me!

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maraudersandlily20 · 4 years ago

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Disturber of the Peace

Harry was used to visitors. His friends made it a habit to come and check on him, at least once a month, just to ensure that he was still living. It had been a few years since The Boy Who Lived had disappeared and Harry was almost glad to see him go. He was learning a great deal about himself in France and liked the constancy of a place that belonged to him.

He had been occupying himself while there, of course. He had taken to tending plants as well as painting. Draco told him he was rubbish, but he still liked to try. And then of course, there was the reading. McGonagall had sent him an array of books regarding defensive magic. He wasn’t completely daft and knew that McGonagall wanted him to return to Hogwarts, but as a teacher. She had as good as stated it in her last letter, telling him that he was always an extremely bright student and his life experiences were more than enough qualifications to get him the position. He had enjoyed the books, toyed with the idea of going to teach, but had declined the offer. He declined the offer three separate times. But, he had to admit, at least to himself, that he felt a bit of longing in him when he thought about it. He would have the chance to form the minds of students, create in their minds an image of him that didn’t revolve around him being the chosen one. It was a nice thought.

He sighed as he flipped through the pages of one of the latest books regarding countering spells. He had learned a great deal from the writers and knew that, with all of the knowledge he’d gained recently, he was more than capable of teaching. But he felt blocked, like he wasn’t sure. He was afraid of deciding and that left him stuck alone in a cottage in France.

As he was contemplating this dilemma, he heard a knock from the door. Assuming that one of his diligent friends was returning with some kind of food or some great story in their new positions, he rose to get the door. He was glad his friends were moving on in their lives, but he sometimes felt like he was being left behind. It was his fault, he knew, but he couldn’t help it. Ron was becoming one of the brightest aurors of their generations. Hermione had already taken a position in the ministry. Ginny was a professional quidditch player and Luna had started on a path toward tattoo artistry. It was all rather fine and well. And Harry was in France, tending his plants, and hoping no one would recognize him. It felt off and a bit unfair.

He shook himself of those thoughts and moved to answer the knock. Wondering if Draco had returned from England early, he opened it to reveal, not Draco, but someone he was unused to seeing at his front door.

Neville Longbottom stood on his porch, holding what appeared to be a succulent in one hand and a bag in the other. He hadn’t seen Neville since his wedding nearly two years ago. He looked good. 26 years old and one of the youngest professors in Hogwarts history. His work in Herbology was revolutionary and the research he provided was unmatched. Harry would never admit it to him, but he had purchased every single piece that Neville had published. He didn’t understand any of it, really, but he liked seeing Neville’s name on the top of the parchment. A comforting thing.

But this wasn’t a paper, this was Neville Longbottom in the flesh. Harry felt himself grin.

“Neville!”

“Hello, Harry!” Neville answered, moving forward and giving Harry a hug, though an awkward one, considering his hands were full.

“Come in, come in!” Harry said, moving aside so Neville could enter. He did so and took in the sight of the little cottage that Harry had made his home. His eyes scanned the pictures on the shelves, some magic some not, as well as paintings and wood carvings. Neville was also pleased to see that every plant he had ever given Harry was on display somewhere on the walls.

Neville turned to Harry, setting his bag down and holding out the little plant. “This is for you. I found it in a little shop on the way in, and figured you might like a plant that wasn’t entirely magical.”

The other man smiled and accepted the gift. “Thanks Nev. It’s lovely.” He moved further into the room and placed the plant on a shelf, beside one of his favorite flowers that Neville had gifted him. It had very picky standards when it came to shelf-mates, but Harry figured the little succulent might do the trick. The plant bent over in curiosity, seeming to smell the succulent before releasing puffs of pollen in appreciation. It liked it. Harry turned to find Neville grinning in pride.

Later, when they had settled into the main room with cups of tea in their hands, Harry began to ask Neville the questions he had wondered since his arrival. “What brings you here, Nev? I haven’t seen you since the wedding. How's Hannah? How’s Hogwarts? Tell me everything.”

It seemed Neville couldn’t keep the smile off of his face. “I know, it’s been too long. I’m sorry about that. But, between the field work, the wife, and the teaching, I haven’t really had any time to think.” Harry waved him off, not caring about the time. He was simply glad to see him. “Hm, alright, well. To start, Hannah is doing well. She’s taking to healing like a bee to honey. She and Draco were in the same classes when they started, though Draco left after they became certified. She likes having her own practice. She’s set up shop in conjunction with a few other healers in Hogsmeade, so we have a small house out there. That way I can still teach. It’s wonderful.”

“That sounds lovely, Nev. I’m glad you and Hannah are doing well.”

“Yes, me too. And to answer the question I’m sure is on your mind but you’re too afraid to ask is no. No babies on the way yet. Much to Hannah’s mother’s disappointment. I’m so scared of babies that I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to do it.” He persisted, despite Harry laughing at his words, “They’re so complicated! Why can’t they be more like plants? Water, dirt, sunlight! That’s all they need.”

“You could argue that kids need the same though,” Harry said, placing his cup onto the saucer on the table.

Neville rolled his eyes. “Yeah yeah, that’s what I’ve been told. We just don’t want to rush anything.” He turned his attention to the plant sprouting on the table beside his chair. It was growing quite splendidly, Harry would often brag, and it was. The flowers were beginning to come in and the scent of the small tree-like plant was unmatched.

“As for the other two questions you asked, they are actually connected,” Neville continued, avoiding Harry’s eyes by staring at the plants.

“Oh?”

“See, Hogwarts has been quite the place since the war. Much of the integrity is still there, but it has that feeling of purity that you only get from a new building. It’s beautiful.”

“That’s good,” Harry was cautious in his reply.

Neville turned to look at him. “It also is looking for new teachers.”

Harry immediately sighed, figuring the conversation was heading in this direction. “Nev-”

“No, Harry, come one. Hear me out?” After a moment, the exasperated man gestured for him to continue, looking put out. “I know McGonagall has been on your tail about taking the Defense Against the Dark Arts position, and I know you’ve been pretty persistent in turning it down. But McGonagall thinks now is the best time. Our current teacher, Douglas Finn, is going on sabbatical to study the movements of Thestrals. We need someone.”

“There are plenty of capable people who could fill his position, Nev.”

“Yeah, but none of them are you.”

Harry stood angrily at his words, grabbing their cups and heading into the kitchen to clean up. Neville followed. “You know I’m right, Harry. After you decided to leave Auror training, you’ve been listless. Not even trying to find things that make you happy. Ron’s told me all about it. You’ve grown stagnant the past few years.”

“I’m fine, Neville. In fact, I’m really happy. I like living here, I like not having people stare at me all the time. I like the peace and quiet.”

“Bullocks!” Neville interrupted him. “I know you, Harry Potter. I know everything about you and how your brain works. We’re practically brothers at this point. I’ve seen your dick, alright? We have a bond.” “Please don’t say we have a bond after stating you’ve seen my dick ever again, Nev. Please.”

“Fine,” Neville was trying to hide a laugh, Harry could see, but he pressed on. “I know that you’ve really enjoyed your peace and quiet. And I’m not saying you should give it up completely. But you’ve been here so long that the world suspects you to be dead.”

That made Harry smile. “I know, I’ve seen the articles.”

“Exactly,” the man stated, pushing at Harry’s shoulder. “You’re not dead, Harry. You just aren’t living. You aren’t doing anything anymore. And I can tell that you’re not happy. Content, maybe. But not happy. And teaching these kids, with the experiences you have under your belt, might be exactly what you need.”

Harry folded his arms, leaning against his counter. “I mean, I understand where you’re coming from, Nev, I really do. But I don’t think I’m cut out for it. And then, there’s the whole Draco situation, which, if you’ve spoken to Ron, I’m sure he’s told you all about. It’s hard with him having to return to England and spend so little time here. If I was at school teaching, I wouldn’t have any time to spend with him. Our relationship is so new and fragile, I can’t risk it. It just doesn’t make sense for me to throw away everything I’ve built here just because when I was younger I worked so hard NOT to be dead.”

They stared at each other for a moment, Harry trying to show Neville that he was being sincere. But Neville had a way of seeing Harry in a way that he had forgotten. It was almost like he could read his mind.

“I don’t think you mean it, Harry.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve been so worried about peace and quiet and anonymity that you’ve forgotten about living. And this cottage is changing from a home into a hideaway. I think you’re using all of this as an excuse. I think that you’re hiding.”

It struck a chord in Harry that he had tried to ignore. Was he giving up life because he was comfortable? Was that the way he was supposed to be living? He wanted to feel fulfilled, wanted to have a life that didn’t revolve around him being Harry Potter, and he thought that France was the answer. But, maybe it wasn’t. Maybe Harry was hiding. Hoping the world would forget about him.

Maybe he wanted that, though, because he thought that was best.

“I really appreciate you coming here, Nev, to talk to me. I know McGonagall probably sent you here. But I really am happy. I like living in this town where no one knows me. It’s…”

“Safe?” Neville finished for him. Harry nodded. “I don’t mean to sound like a prick, Harry, but when have you ever cared about being safe?”

Again, a tug in his chest. He didn’t like how much Neville could see him. These were all arguments he had had with himself before, but Neville had a way of making it stick. “I’m afraid-” Harry started, his voice getting caught. He cleared it and stared out of the window, trying to work up the courage to admit this. “I’m afraid I won’t be any good. I’m afraid I’m going to let them all down. I don’t want to feel responsibility for so many kids. I feel like it’s taken me this long to be responsible for myself. I’m afraid of failing.”

There, he had said it. The truth about the offer to teach at Hogwarts. Harry was terrified. His friend seemed to understand him completely, nodding and moving to stand beside him.

“When McGonagall asked me to teach, I didn’t know what to do. Hannah thought it was a brilliant idea, even though she was still doing her nursing courses. But I wasn’t sure. I hadn’t exactly been the brightest or most liked at school as a kid, and I worried that the moment I stepped back into those halls, that boy who everything always went wrong for would come swinging back into me.” He laughed. “And he did, a bit, but that’s beside the point.”

Neville took a moment to think, as if planning his words carefully. There was a moment of peaceful stillness between them before he carried on. “Before I made the decision, I went and saw my mother. She was happy to see me, as she always is. She doesn’t really know who I am besides the boy who brings her snacks. But she knows me, and that seems to be an improvement.”

Neville shoved his hands deep in his pocket, a habit he had when he felt uncomfortable in his vulnerability. “I told her about the offer to teach and how I worried I wouldn’t be good enough. And she listened, like she always does, but she said something pretty remarkable after I finished. She said, “no one is ever good enough until they try”.” He looked back at Harry, his face red. “I decided that I would give it one year, and if at the end of the year I hated it, I would leave. But I tried. And I loved it. There’s something about kids that brings a light to you that you can’t get anywhere else. And here I am, three years later. I have had a lot of awkward moments, but I’ve also learned a great deal about myself. I get to care for these kids and instill in them a passion for things they learn about. It’s pretty special.”

Harry contemplated his words as Neville tried to drive the point home. “Just give it a try. Give it a year. And if it’s not for you, then you can move on. I won’t try to stop you or get you out of your comfort zone ever again. You can come back to France and have all the peace and quiet that you want. Okay?”

Harry couldn’t help but laugh, feeling a bit overwhelmed. But he sighed. “Alright Nev. One year.”

Neville grinned and clapped him on the back. “I’m glad to hear it! I’ll let McGonagall know.” He headed back toward the front door to pick up his bag, Harry trailing behind him in confusion.

“Do you need a place to stay?” Harry asked, wondering again if Neville had come all the way to France to convince him to teach.

“Nah,” Neville smiled. “Mrs. Longbottom is currently waiting in a hotel in Paris for me. I’m all set. We’re celebrating one of our many anniversaries, because she likes to celebrate and I like her. So it works out for everyone.” He opened the door and stepped through before taking a pause and turning back to look at Harry. “It’s good that you said yes, Harry, considering Malfoy agreed to take the potions master position last week. See you at school!”

“What?!” Harry exclaimed in surprise, but it was too late. Just as quickly as he had appeared, Neville Longbottom was gone. Leaving Harry confused and suddenly employed. He wasn’t sure what had happened.

#Harry Potter #Draco Malfoy #Drarry fic #my writing #neville longbottom #this shit is dramatic #but i had to post this before the next fic #because they're connected

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dawsim · 6 years ago

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simself tag

i was tagged by the lovely @teael

i tag: @hiddenspringss, @simphoniae, @enismald, @glazeio, @simsdork, @tropicivy, @elnorasims, @bearcula, @ohhiplumbob, @obi-uhie, and @pixelddump <333

traits: music lover, goofball, gloomy, loner, foodie

You have to make a simself and put whatever you wish there, traits, anything about you. After the keep reading thingy are +100 questions I found that you can answer if you want, but you don’t have to.

What is your full name? madeleine

What is your nickname? dawson, maddy, mads, daw, bitch

Birthday? december 26

What is your favorite book series? i’ll just say harry potter :-)

Do you believe in aliens or ghosts? aliens.. maybe? ghost YES

Who is your favorite author? uhhh idk

What is your favorite radio station? i literally only listen to spotify so idk maybe chill lofi beats to study to

What is your favorite flavor of anything? vanilla

What word would you use often to describe something great or wonderful? cool, amazing, incredible

What is your current favorite song? smile a little smile for me, the flying machine

What is your favorite word? FUCK

What was the last song you listened to? the rain the park and other things, the cowsills

What TV show would you recommend for everybody to watch? bojack horseman

What is your favorite movie to watch when you’re feeling down? hercules

Do you play video games? eh

What is your biggest fear? losing the spark for life or losing my big brother

What is your best quality, in your opinion? i’m pretty clever

What is your worst quality, in your opinion? i’m awkward and insecure sometimes

Do you like cats or dogs better? i love cats

What is your favorite season? fall or winter (right in between them)

Are you in a relationship? nah

What is something you miss from your childhood? before webkinz was turned into a capitalistic cesspool 😞😢 and when i wasn’t a sad bitch

Who is your best friend? i’m gonna say my mom

What is your eye color? brown

What is your hair color? brown

Who is someone you love? my mom and brother

Who is someone you trust? my mom and brother

Who is someone you think about often? my dad :/

Are you currently excited about/for something? winter break so i can hang out with all my friends who are off at college again

What is your biggest obsession? danny devito

What was your favorite TV show as a child? DRAKE AND JOSH <3333

Who of the opposite gender can you tell anything to, if anyone? my brother or my friend dylan

Are you superstitious? i just have a lot of anxiety that it spills into that zone sometimes

Do you have any unusual phobias? nothing unusual really

Do you prefer to be in front of the camera or behind it? probably behind

What is your favorite hobby? guitar

What was the last book you read? the scarlet letter for school (rip dimmesdale 😩😢)

What was the last movie you watched? the shining

What musical instruments do you play, if any? guitar

What is your favorite animal? i love raccoons

What are your top 5 favorite Tumblr blogs that you follow? i can’t narrow them down to 5

What superpower do you wish you had? time travel

When and where do you feel most at peace? alone in my room

What makes you smile? my sims

What sports do you play, if any? nah

What is your favorite drink? lemonade, cream soda, rootbeer

When was the last time you wrote a hand-written letter or note to somebody? i do write for rights every year so like last march or so idk

Are you afraid of heights? yeah

What is your biggest pet peeve? so many

Have you ever been to a concert? yes

Are you vegan/vegetarian? no

When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? someone with a dog lol

What fictional world would you like to live in? the shire in middle earth

What is something you worry about? my dad

Are you scared of the dark? no

Do you like to sing? sometimes

Have you ever skipped school? yeah lol

What is your favorite place on the planet? my house

Where would you like to live? idk. a suburb that’s so boring but yeah

Do you have any pets? i have a cat named buzz!

Are you more of an early bird or a night owl? i think i would be an early bird if i wasn’t so lazy

Do you like sunrises or sunsets better? sunrises

Do you know how to drive? no

Do you prefer earbuds or headphones? earbuds

Have you ever had braces? no

What is your favorite genre of music? 60′s-70′s pop, 60′s soul, 2000′s pop-punk, indie, rnb, some hip hop

Who is your hero? my mom

Do you read comic books? nah

What makes you the most angry? clingy or ignorant people

Do you prefer to read on an electronic device or with a real book? the real thing!

What is your favorite subject in school? zoology

Do you have any siblings? two older brothers

What was the last thing you bought? pho

How tall are you? 5′4

Can you cook? yes

What are three things that you love? days off, clean clothes, my cat

What are three things that you hate? sunday nights, monday nights, ignorant people

Do you have more female friends or more male friends? depends which friend group but probably girls

What is your sexual orientation? probably pan idk

Where do you currently live? us of a

Who was the last person you texted? my friend

When was the last time you cried? lol an hour ago

Who is your favorite YouTuber? my faves: kurtis conner, drew gooden, danny gonzalez (i also love david dobrik vlogs bc heath is just. my type)

Do you like to take selfies? nah

What is your favorite app? spotify

What is your relationship with your parent(s) like? my mom is my best friend i love her more than anyone and my dad is eh :/ it’s rough rn

What is your favorite foreign accent? liverpool accents

What is a place that you’ve never been to, but you want to visit? new orleans!

What is your favorite number? 26

Can you juggle? no

Are you religious? i find religion so interesting and sometimes it’s a good escape place.. but there are so many terrible aspects to it as well so idk

Do you find outer space or the deep ocean to be more interesting? deep ocean

Do you consider yourself to be a daredevil? no lol

Are you allergic to anything? no

Can you curl your tongue? yes

Can you wiggle your ears? no

How often do you admit that you were wrong about something? if i’m really wrong i’ll admit it right away

Do you prefer the forest or the beach? beach

What is your favorite piece of advice that anyone has ever given you? idk :/ to prioritize my own well being

Are you a good liar? nah

What is your Hogwarts House? hufflepuff

Do you talk to yourself? oh yeah

Are you an introvert or an extrovert? introvert

Do you keep a journal/diary? sometimes i keep a dream journal if i’m trying to get back into lucid dreaming

Do you believe in second chances? if what they did wasn’t despicable then i believe they should get a chance to redeem themselves.. but not a ‘second chance’ cuz that kinda makes it seem like what they did is erased

If you found a wallet full of money on the ground, what would you do? depends but probably hand it in

Do you believe that people are capable of change? probably

Are you ticklish? a little

Have you ever been on a plane? yes

Do you have any piercings? i have some closed up ear piercings

What fictional character do you wish was real? lana winters from ahs

Do you have any tattoos? no

What is the best decision that you’ve made in your life so far? to stop caring what my stupid high school classmates think about me

Do you believe in karma? yes

Do you wear glasses or contacts? YES lol my vision is so bad and i haven’t gotten a new prescription for like 3 years… my vision with my glasses ON is 20/50 and 20/60 hahah

Do you want children? maybe

Who is the smartest person you know? my friend deming

What is your most embarrassing memory? it’s not the most embarrassing of mine but i recently was in an airbnb and it had a lot of dachshund knick knacks and i opened one of them and a bunch of powder came out and we all thought i had just spilled some dog’s ASHES everywhere but after like 20 minutes of trying to put the ashes back in we realized it was a pepper shaker ahahahah

Have you ever pulled an all-nighter? yes

What color are most of you clothes? blue

Do you like adventures? sometimes

Have you ever been on TV? don’t think so

How old are you? 16

What is your favorite quote? my friend recently said “my roomate asked me to watch the communal juul for the night but i don’t fuck with nic”

Do you prefer sweet or savory foods? savory

#simself tag #<33333 #yes my hair actually looks like that rn #also owen's coat is a wip #a holiday gift maybe?? :-)#e

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dewitty1 · 6 years ago

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Chapters: 23/23 Fandom: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling Rating: Mature Warnings: Underage Relationships: H/D, AS/S Characters: Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter, Albus Severus Potter, Scorpius Malfoy, Lily Luna Potter, James Sirius Potter, Ginny Weasley, Astoria Greengrass, Luna Lovegood, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Rose Weasley, Hugo Weasley Additional Tags: Suicide Attempt, Teen Angst, Mpreg, Veela, Cliche, Accidental Bondage, HP: Epilogue Compliant, Novel, Underage Sex, Bottom Harry, Bottom Draco, Switching Series: Part 26 of Mab’s Harry/Draco fic

Summary:

Harry has been seeing Luna, Mind Healer, for twelve years. Recently his repressed homosexuality resurfaces in a way that turns his world and his family upside down. Epilogue compliant

Notes: I wrote this fic about 7 years ago as a challenge to myself to write a novel-length fic. As a bit of a joke, and to make the process easier, I decided to throw as many fandom tropes and cliches into the mix as I could manage. Kinda shake things up and make learning how to write a process that I could just have fun with. I am now, a little ashamed of having fallen into the trap that many, many new fanfic writers do: female character bashing. Looking back, I think I had realized my error partway through and tried to salvage the plot and Ginny’s character in particular, but my fix was to throw another female character unnecessarily under the bus.Having said that, I do not regret writing this fic. I have grown leaps and bounds as a writer largely because of having taken this project on and successfully completing it. I’m more aware now of the problematic areas I hadn’t recognized in the past and largely, the plot with mental illness struggles, ending of relationships and the emotional impact that comes from it, struggling with suicidal ideation personally or having a family member in that position - were included as a sort of self-therapy. Writing about these subjects by putting them into a fanfiction perspective creates the distance I needed to be able to see them from a ‘big picture’ perspective and to work out my own grief/trauma responses from events in my own life. This fic represents healing for me and second chances and is not executed on any sort of “professional level”. I don’t write fanfiction in order to build my skills in preparation of becoming a “professional” writer; I do it because it’s the only method I have found that gives me mastery of my own thoughts and feelings and it helps me become a more caring and mature person.

Excerpt:

“You look really hot when you smile,” he said, disbelieving the words as they came out of his mouth.

“You look really hot when you’re embarrassed,” Draco said running his hand through his hair once more, letting it fall back into its just-been-shagged look.

“Fuck,” Harry said looking over at Draco as if seeing him for the first time. “This is more like it, the whisky I mean.” He downed the rest of his shot and set the glass on the table.

Draco shrugged and did the same.

“You know, Potter, I always fancied you back at Hogwarts,” he said, nonchalant.

“No you didn’t,” Harry insisted. “You hated me, you always insulted us, tried to get us in trouble. Hell, you even joined the wrong side of the war because you hated me so much.”

“That’s really what you think, isn’t it?” Draco asked, tapping the arm of his chair with his fingertips.

“Yeah, that’s really how it is,” Harry said, suddenly confused. “How can you even joke about fancying me back then? I thought you’d grown up.”

“Oh, I have, Potter. I’m a lot bigger now than I was then. My eyes are open to the realities of the world, but I’ve fancied you since the day you refused to take my hand in friendship. You were the first person to ever refuse me anything, and I wanted you.”

Harry gulped, “Well, why weren’t you nicer then? You have to admit you were a fucking racist bastard back then. That wasn’t any way to go about impressing me.”

Draco shrugged. “I did what I was raised to do, Potter. I started coming to my senses sixth year, but—” he shuddered, “—I was already in too deep. I don’t want to talk about the past though; we can talk about that some other time.”

Harry shrugged, unstoppering the bottle and pouring himself another splash. He held the bottle up to Draco, as if to ask if he’d like some as well, and Draco nodded, holding out his glass for Harry to pour. “In for a knut, in for a Galleon.”

“What’s that you’re saying?” Harry asked drinking down the whole of his glass.

Draco downed his as well. “I’m drinking the same amount as you are to even the score, Potter. It’s spiked with Veritaserum. If you’re going to be honest with me, then you may as well realise that I’m being just as honest as you are.”

Harry stared at him aghast. “Don’t you serve anything that’s not spiked?”

Draco barked his laughter. “Potter, I entertain gay Muggle men. I want to know when I’m being lied to. It’s become a bit of a habit, but this is the first time I’ve drunk alongside.”

“What do you want?” Harry asked, growing suspicious.

“I want your body, naked, sprawled across my bed,” Draco said, without a hint of sarcasm. “What do you want, Harry?”

***

This fic is full of tropes,and does contain some Ginny bashing as the Notes I included say, but it’s still a fun, smutty, if also tropey, ride, that you may just enjoy if you check it out. Xo 😊💗 Carey

#The Power Of Three #Author: Queenie_Mab #Drarry #Drarry Squad #Drarry fic #Drarry fic rec #Fic rec #Drarry smut #Epilogue compliant #All the tropes #AO3 bookmark no 28 #Carey's AO3 bookmark recs #Carey's personal bookmarks #💖💖#READ THE TAGS #Read the author's note

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mariedtofiction · 7 years ago

Text

50 bookish questions tag

Thank you @thevajunglebook for tagging me! (I’m always up for being tagged in anything btw)

1. What is your favourite book and/or book series of all time?

It’s maybe a boring answer but it simply can’t be anything other than the Harry Potter series

2. What is the longest book you have ever read? How many pages?

According to Goodreads it's Winter by Marissa Meyer at 827 pages

3. What is the oldest book you have ever read? (Based on its written date)

I read parts of the Iliad for class, but the oldest book I’ve read in its entirety is probably Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing

4. What is a book series that everyone else loves but you do not?

I wish I’d read The Mortal Instruments when I was younger where I would have probably loved them. But I read them last year and though they were entertaining enough they’re not worth the hype in my opinion

5. What book or book series would you like to see turned into a film/ TV series?

The Shades of Magic Trilogy! I just want all the Lila and Alucard scenes tbh

6. What is your favourite stand-alone book?

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. I reread it at least once every year

7. What is a book that you feel glad for not reading?

I’m proud of myself for DNF-ing Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. I was 200 pages into it and thought it was kind of stupid and kind of sexist..

8. What is a book that you feel guilty for not reading?

The final book in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy, Dreams of God’s and Monsters. I really should have read it last year when I finished the second book, but for some reason I didn’t and now I need to reread the previous books

9. What is a book you have read that is set in your country of birth?

Hamlet by Shakespeare

10. What is a book that you own more than one copy of?

I own four copies of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone...

11. What horror book made you really scared?

I don't like horror oops

12. What book do you passionately hate?

Shadowland by Alyson Noel. I’m embarrassed by how long it took me to realize how bad the Immortals series is, but they were my first books in English and I was just high off the fact that I understood what I was reading

13. What is the biggest book series you have read? How many books are in it?

I loved everything Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen when I was little so I own a lot of the books inspired by their movies and TV-shows. I owned and have read the first 32 books of the Two of a Kind Diaries

14. What book gives you happy memories?

The first book in Meg Cabot’s Princess Diaries series is so precious to me. Again it’s a series I read when I was younger, but I reread them last year and I still absolutely adore them even if it’s mostly because of the nostalgia.

It was the first book where I felt more connected to a character than to my real life friends. I wanted Mia Thermopolis to jump off the page and be my friend

15. What book made you cry?

I’m not really a book/movie crier... The only book I can think of where actual tears left my eyes is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at the part where SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS Harry walks towards the forrest to die

16. What book made you laugh?

A Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sara Banard made me laugh mostly because it was so incredibly cute! It’s so sweet and meaningful at the same time, it’s possibly my favorite read of 2017

17. What is your favourite book that contains an LGBTQ+ character?

We are Okay by Nina Lacour is amaaazing! I love it

18. Have you read a book with a male protagonist? What is it?

Ha! Yeah I have. History is All you Left Me by Adam Silvera is one of them

19. Have you read a book set on another planet? What is it?

The Martian by Andy Weir is one of my all times favorites I recommend it to everyone!

20. Have you ever been glad to not finish a series? Which?

All of the Percy Jackson spin offs. I started the first book of the Heroes of Olympus series and promised myself to never pick it up again. It wasn't Bad and I liked the original Percy Jackson, but I don't need any more Rick Riordan in my life

21. Have you ever read a book series because you were pressured?

I'm ashamed to admit I'm more likely to be the one pressuring others when it comes to books. But there was this fantasy-series when I was maybe 8 yo that my teacher forced the class to read and I absolutely hated it (it had more male characters than Dead Poet's Society)

22. What famous author have you not read any books by?

Brandon Sanderson but I plan to fix that

23. Who is your favourite author of all time?

Rainbow Rowell

24. How many bookshelves do you own?

7 but most of them only hold like 10-15 books

25. How many books do you own?

Around 200 I think

26. What is your favourite non-fiction book?

I think it’s Why Buffy Matters: The Art of Buffy the Vampire Slayer by Rhonda Vilcox

27. What is your favourite children’s/middle-grade book?

I don’t really read middle-grade anymore, but back when I did The Shamer Chronicles by Lene Kaaberbøl were my absolute favorites. They’re translated into English and if you enjoy great characters and dragons I highly, highly recommend them! Here’s a little link

28. What is your next book on your TBR?

We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson has been calling my name lately or maybe The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

29. What book are you currently reading?

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows the audiobook read by Stephen Fry

30. What book are you planning on buying next?

I own way too many books I haven’t read yet so I’ve set myself a goal for the summer: I can only buy five books in total from June-September. The books I’m itching to buy right now are:

Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

Eliza and her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

Beautiful Broken Things by Sara Barnard

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

(However I’m going to a yard sale tomorrow and there’s no way I’m not bringing back a book or ten...)

31. What was the cheapest book you bought?

My copy of City of Thieves was just 1$

32. What was the most expensive book you bought?

It’s either the Hamiltome (Hamilton: The Revolution) or the illustrated Harry Potter books 1 and 2

33. What is a book you read after seeing the movie/ TV series?

Matilda by Roald Dahl

I first watched the movie and thought it was way too revenge driven. But maybe the original story would be better so I bought the book, but ended up seeing the musical before reading it. The music was great and the show had its moments, but I’m sorry to say I didn’t really like it that much. Finally I read the book. And though it was better than the movie I still didn’t really like it.

34. What is the newest book you have bought?

The Hufflepuff version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

35. What three books are you most looking forward to reading this year?

One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake!!

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

and I’m finally going to get around to reading Radio Silence by Alice Oseman (I know I’ll love it)

36. What is a book you love that has a terrible trope? (Love triangle, etc)

The Raven Boys series. There are several tropes to point out, but I think the forbidden-lovers-trope is super terrible. But I still really like the 2/4 of the books that I’ve read!

37. Have you read a book in a different language? What was it?

I read almost all of my books in a language that isn’t my native one. I’ve read books/novella in English, Danish, Swedish, and German

38. What is a book you’ve read that is set in a time period before you were born?

Lois Lowry’s Number the Stars

39. What book offended you?

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

40. What is the weirdest book you have read?

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and I really didn’t like it

41. What is your favourite duology?

I wouldn’t exactly call it a favorite, but I haven’t really read that many duologeis, so I’m going to say The Wrath and the Dawn

42. What is your favourite trilogy?

Captive Prince or The Hunger Games!

43. What book did you buy because of its cover?

Rebel of the Sands was a pure cover-buy. It’s not something I do all that often although I will search and search for the prettiest cover of a book if I like the summary

44. What is a book that you love, but has a terrible cover?

I hate the design of my copy of Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

45. Do you own a poetry anthology? What is your favourite poem from it?

Poetry is kind of a hit and miss for me but I do own two anthologies. I loved the one I’ve read which was the princess saves herself in this one by Amanda Lovelace. My favorite poem from it is this one

46. Do you own any colouring books based off other books?

I was gifted a Harry Potter one and it’s too pretty I can’t color it in!

47. Do you own any historical fiction?

I own The Bronze Horseman as an e-book, All the Light We Cannot See, The Book Thief, and a few others

48. What book made you angry?

Sophie’s World!! Grrrrrrrr.... I cannot talk about that book calmly

49. What book has inspired you?

I don’t 100% agree with the message of Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson but it inspired me to think about my summer in a way I previously hadn’t

50. What book got you into reading?

We start and end with Harry Potter. The first time Harry helped me was when my parents read them to me as a kid and one day I took over and read them myself. And then Harry helped me again two years ago after I hadn’t picked up a book in years

I tag @thebookgiver, @bookswithmichelle, @thoughtsfromaravenclaw and anyone else who wants to do it!

#book tag #booklr #If you want to talk to me about any of the books I've mentioned #please please do

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phoenixfire-thewizardgoddess · 7 years ago

Note

1-100

…are you joking

no one on this earth wants to know that much about me

you asked for it:

1: when you have cereal, do you have more milk than cereal or more cereal than milk?

The intention is always more cereal than milk, and yet… it always ends up being the opposite.

2: do you like the feeling of cold air on your cheeks on a wintery day?

…as an Australian, NO

3: what random objects do you use to bookmark your books?

Heh, what DON’t I use?

Receipts, assignments, old documents, letters, other books, string, anything i can lean it against and hold it open with, etc.

even the odd obliging cat’s paw for a few minutes

4: how do you take your coffee/tea?

~I drink neither, I am boring like that~

5: are you self-conscious of your smile?

Yeah, I’m aware of how fucking ridiculous I look when I smile, and my non-perfect teeth.

6: do you keep plants?

not currently, but I used to have sunflowers and such

7: do you name your plants?

not usually, which is odd bc i name literally everything else

8: what artistic medium do you use to express your feelings?

~writing~

words are easy

have tried painting and drawing but i’m just so shithouse at it

9: do you like singing/humming to yourself?

Y~E~S

all the time

10: do you sleep on your back, side, or stomach?

All, depends on the day really.

11: what’s an inner joke you have with your friends?

Well, a few years back for some reason some irl friends and I would randomly start singing the Narwhals Narwhals song, or reply ‘the dirt is gone!’ after anyone said ‘Bam!’

but recently? online? uhhhhhhh… well, i send shitty mouse-drawn-in-Paint pics to the ever-patient camiluna27 and she finds polite things to say about them… which is our little joke

12: what’s your favorite planet?

Like my favourite Sailor Scout, it’s Jupiter.

13: what’s something that made you smile today?

Our foster puppy is coming today

14: if you were to live with your best friend in an old flat in a big city, what would it look like?

it wouldn’t matter what it looked like, we’d make it work even if our only furniture was a minifridge and a beanbag… sharing the chores, watching stupid shit at night, complaining or joking with each other, etc.

15: go google a weird space fact and tell us what it is!

It takes 230 million years for our solar system to make a single orbit around the Milky Way.

16: what’s your favorite pasta dish?

Tuna Mornay (? never been sure how it’s spelled tbh)

17: what color do you really want to dye your hair?

BLUE

18: tell us about something dumb/funny you did that has since gone down in history between you and your friends and is always brought up.

my brain is blanking, and yet last night i know i was recalling something really stupid…

19: do you keep a journal? what do you write/draw/ in it?

Nah, i just shitpost my angst or delight onto this site…

20: what’s your favourite eye color?

I have no preference for eye colour.

21: talk about your favorite bag, the one that’s been to hell and back with you and that you love to pieces.

Oh, I got this shoulder bag thing from The Harry Potter Experience when it came to Australia… it’s half-covered in an ever-changing bunch of badges (keep losing and finding them/getting new ones). it’s been left in the sun, saturated, pelted with hail as i ran for cover, etc.

22: are you a morning person?

I never used to be… but since the antidepressants, i’m finding mornings way easier.

23: what’s your favourite thing to do on lazy days where you have 0 obligations?

mess about on the computer, usually

video games or writing something, or chatting with people i can no longer see physically/it would be super expensive to meet irl

24: is there someone out there you would trust with every single one of your secrets?

yeah, a few

25: what’s the weirdest place you’ve ever broken into?

???? who in the hell is breaking into enough places to have a top ten list?

26: what are the shoes you’ve had for forever and wear with every single outfit?

Heh, I just have a handful of cheap-ass shoes I got from Big W a few years ago and I get cheap insert things to keep them alive. I randomly put on any pair i can find, whether they match the outfit or not… what other choice do you have with big lady feet and soft skin?

27: what’s your favorite bubblegum flavor?

Fruity

28: sunrise or sunset?

Sunset.

Sunrise means I’ve been awake too long and have Fucked Up ™

29: what’s something really cute that one of your friends does and is totally endearing?

not to bring her up consistently, but camiluna27 literally drew fanart of one of my fanfics (the first ever??? holy shit) and I was so goddamn flattered I almost couldn’t believe it… someone liked my trash and DREW SOMETHING?

such talent. much love. so excite. wow.

30: think of it: have you ever been truly scared?

Pfft, yeah, probably.

31: what is your opinion of socks? do you like wearing weird socks? do you sleep with socks? do you confine yourself to white sock hell? really, just talk about socks.

Socks are good.

I am making a sock right now, in viking fashion, it looks ridiculous.

Sleep? In winter, sometimes.

MISMATCHED SOCKS WERE A GODDAMN FASHION STATEMENT AT SCHOOL HELL YEAH

32: tell us a story of something that happened to you after 3AM when you were with friends.

Well there were two funny things.

the first one was this massive sleepover party, and the minute the lights went off with all these adolescents sardined on the floor (teens but like, everyone was just chilling nothing nsfw happening), the marshmallow war began

it’s 3am and people are being PELTED with the goddamn things in the dark it was chaos.

the other time, i’d gone to a party thing, put up a tent to stay over like the others and this other girl at the party i’d just befriended (along with her highly anxious friend i managed to calm down) was not sure how to get home and i’m like… stay in my tent i have space it’s chill

we’re sleeping in jeans bc that seemed like a good idea at the time (it was NOT)

everyone’s STARVING. like, no real FOOD was at this party (New Years party?) we had chips and softdrink and that was it… and i dunno if you know this, but no amount of like, chicken-flavoured chips will fill up the aching hollow in your stomach for Real Food

so we’re talking bc we’re awake, relative strangers who are starving together in a tent they’re intending to share the night in, and we get on to SUPERNATURAL

i loved the show still it wasn’t the disaster it became, yet… and she admits that the S1 episode with the Wendigo freaked her out… and i’m like, hah, yeah, glad we’re not in a tent with woods around, huh? bc i am an asshole… that was pretty much where we were

and around the same time, the free-roaming chickens on the property are slowly moving past and making satanic noises, freaking her out more so i changed the topic to calm things down… but then, later on (waaaaaaaaay too early in the morning bc some of us had to pee early and it was Effort™ ) i get back to the tent to find a Chicken. In. The Tent.

looking at me like *I* was being the asshole here for intruding on her rest.

the other chick-a-dee is sleeping and im thinking ‘well fuck she’ll freak if the chicken’s randomly there when she wakes… and i try to subtly get the chicken out, and if you know chickens… you can understand how i failed

it was hilarious, and disastrous.

33: what’s your fave pastry?

don’t know, really

34: tell us about the stuffed animal you kept as a kid. what is it called? what does it look like? do you still keep it?

Oh! I still have them.

There’s two, one called (creatively) Teddy, who wore a yellow onesie the Parental Unit made for him. My fondest memory of him was this time in kindy where we took our teddies in bc it was ‘Teddy Bear Picnic Day’, and during naptime, the teachers took the teddies and hid them around the playground…

We had to find them when we woke up.

Teddy had one foot in the top of the fence and looked like he was trying to leave/escape… i told the Parental Unit this story a thousand times over the years, the poor bugger.

The other one was made for me, after Parental Unit had a dream i’d be a girl. Her name is Heidi (you know, after the song? ‘Heidi, Heidi, Heidi ho, the elephant walks oh so slow’), she’s a pink elephant in a tutu and lovely and she and ted are hella safe for now.

35: do you like stationary and pretty pens and so on? do you use them often?

I do like them, and when i get a special pen i use it for EVERYTHING, then flounder to find a basic pen when it runs dry

36: which band’s sound would fit your mood right now?

I don’t know, i’m not really feeling anything.

What’s that song that’s just 3 minutes of silence?

37: do you like keeping your room messy or clean?

>.> Messy

When it’s clean, it’s Clean ™

But when it’s messy… >.>

38: tell us about your pet peeves!

*unfurls list*

people who stand in the way and block entire corridors to chat with someone and there’s a public bench RIGHT THERE

capitalism

i can’t remember any others right now but i know there’s LOTS…

39: what colour do you wear the most?

Most of my outfits have black in them. We can pretend it’s slimming.

40: think of a piece of jewellery you own: what’s it’s story? does it have any meaning to you?

I have a dragon ring, my estranged godmother bought it for me from this massive local market we once went to, back in like 2007/2008?

I love it so much for some reason (not so much th godmother tbh, she’s a pain) and it’s mass-produced, but i love it… wear it almost everywhere

41: what’s the last book you remember really, really loving?

Out of the Black Land by Kerry Greenwood

42: do you have a favourite coffee shop? describe it!

~nope~

43: who was the last person you gazed at the stars with?

Well, I looked up at them on the way inside the other night and pointed them out to the Parental Unit. They’re pretty stunning here, without city lights to obscure them.

44: when was the last time you remember feeling completely serene and at peace with everything?

??????????????????? that’s a thing?

45: do you trust your instincts a lot?

Perpetually, always.

46: tell us the worst pun you can think of.

I can’t, you’ll punish me.

47: what food do you think should be banned from the universe?

that mayonnaise-peas pizza thing i just saw, WHY

48: what was your biggest fear as a kid? is it the same today?

I feared the wild animals in the dark when i was locked outside, and also feared Huntsman Spiders.

Today? the spiders and anything in the dark can square the fuck up, and fight my fear of disappointing everyone/failing

49: do you like buying CDs and records? what was the last one you bought?

used to, but the CD player in the car broke… so now i just use the ipod/itunes

50: what’s an odd thing you collect?

…monster high dolls, hardy boys books, comic books

51: think of a person. what song do you associate with them?

uhhhhhhhhhhhhh mind blank

52: what are your favourite memes of the year so far?

Cask of Amontillado and Joe Biden memes have been awesome

53: have you ever watched the rocky horror picture show? heathers? beetlejuice? pulp fiction? what do you think of them?

Rocky Horror? Good, interesting.

heathers? pulp fiction? no

beetlejuice? seemed a lot more exciting when i was little

54: who’s the last person you saw with a true look of sadness on their face?

our puppy

she’s learned the exact sad face to make when she wants someone to go outside and play ball

55: what’s the most dramatic thing you’ve ever done to prove a point?

can’t think of anything overtly, honestly

unless you count ‘yeah i can use a swivel chair instead of a ladder’ and the inevitable falling through a bookcase

56: what are some things you find endearing in people?

Honesty, Humour, Excitement and Communication/Connection, Creativity

When they energise, not drain

57: go listen to bohemian rhapsody. how did it make you feel? did you dramatically reenact the lyrics?

it has always been interesting, and it makes you feel dramatic…

i can neither confirm nor deny…

58: who’s the wine mom and who’s the vodka aunt in your group of friends? why?

no idea

59: what’s your favourite myth?

define myth

like ‘mermaids are a thing’, or ‘that time a god did _____’ or like, ‘swimming right after eating can give you stomach cramps’?

60: do you like poetry? what are some of your faves?

used to

61: what’s the stupidest gift you’ve ever given? the stupidest one you’ve ever received?

uhhhhhhhh literally any fanfic i give as a gift, is stupid

i got two little plastic dicks as a joke gift from someone as a secret santa thing (another time i got a $2 piece of trash bag thing the size of my hand that broke the second i touched it, and i was rather upset)

62: do you drink juice in the morning? which kind?

no, but my fave juice is apple blackcurrant or tropical

63: are you fussy about your books and music? do you keep them meticulously organized or kinda leave them be?

well, depends, i try to keep the series together and stuff, but mostly it’s ‘if it fits, it sits’ in the bookshelf

64: what colour is the sky where you are right now?

obscenely blue, like, you’d think it was computer generated blue

65: is there anyone you haven’t seen in a long time who you’d love to hang out with?

Yeah

66: what would your ideal flower crown look like?

…something with blue flowers, but let’s be real, the chance to wear a flower crown would be amazing even if they were all corpse flowers

67: how do gloomy days where the sky is dark and the world is misty make you feel?

they are otherworldy and beautiful, they have a different energy to sunny days

68: what’s winter like where you live?

Cold. Stubbornly wearing shorts and tank tops claiming you’re not cold. putting four layers on the bed bc what. the. FUCK.

69: what are your favourite board games?

Cluedo, Monopoly

70: have you ever used a ouija board?

Nah, that seems like a terrible idea. I refuse to be That White Girl™ who invites demons in…

71: what’s your favourite kind of tea?

Mortali-tea

Nah, none, i don’t drink tea or coffee, i am BORING.

I am the Beige of people, beverage-wise.

72: are you a person who needs to note everything down or else you’ll forget it?

Sometimes. Esp. recently, I find noting it down helps, but usually I remember more than i assume i will.

73: what are some of your worst habits?

Lazy/procrastinate, eats stupid shit I SHOULD NOT BC I AM FAT AS FUCK, overthinks, boring.

74: describe a good friend of yours without using their name or gendered pronouns.

amazingly talented, fun, incredibly aesthetically pleasing, open, understanding, brilliant and a pleasure to interact with.

75: tell us about your pets!

Okay, so we have four cats and a doggo.

The two oldest cats are sisters, aged 11; very loving but also tiny murder machines so they’re inside mostly.

Two youngest half-siblings, aged 7; one is the perpetual kitten who loves affection, the other is a slinky boi who comes to you if he wants love, and not before (adores my sibling tho, their bond is strong).

Doggo is the baby, she’s 3 i think? Always energetic.

+ a foster puppy we just got today, just now, and she’s fuckin’ adorable but like, a massive ball of energy.

76: is there anything you should be doing right now but aren’t?

cleaning

77: pink or yellow lemonade?

PINK hell yeah

78: are you in the minion hateclub or fanclub?

HATE

i will fight ALL of them to the DEATH

79: what’s one of the cutest things someone has ever done for you?

Listened to me complaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaain

Also drew me art for no reason i mean, c’mon that’s so cute

80: what colour are your bedroom walls? did you choose that color? if so, why?

Light blue, yep. loved it, and also it went with the underwater theme the family did

81: describe one of your friend’s eyes using the most abstract imagery you can think of.

Amazing as orbs go.

82: are/were you good in school?

generally, shit at chemistry though (but then, if an entire class fails an exam, you don’t ask the students whose fault it is)

83: what’s some of your favorite album art?

uhhhh not sure

84: are you planning on getting tattoos? which ones?

maybe dunno

85: do you read comics? what are your faves?

my dude, so many.

Batman, Nightwing, Wonder Woman, Teen Titans, The Titans, ElfQuest, Avengers, New Avengers, Saga, Hawkeye, uhhhhhhhhh, like, i have HEAPS...

86: do you like concept albums? which ones?

i have no idea what that is

87: what are some movies you think everyone should watch at least once in their lives?

St Trinians, love that movie...

AVATAR

88: are there any artistic movements you particularly enjoy?

...good question, i have no idea what you’re asking

89: are you close to your parents?

The Parental Unit literally knows every facet of my being bc i can discuss anything with them. Even if we clash on ideologies or whatevs.

The Other One’s a violent stalker, so no, not that one.

90: talk about your one of you favourite cities.

I have been to like, Brisbane and Sydney... not a huge pool of cities to compare from. Uh, I like that there are so many comic book shops in brisbane tbh...

91: where do you plan on travelling this year?

Probs Brisbane.

92: are you a person who drowns their pasta in cheese or a person who barely sprinkles a pinch?

Depends on the type of pasta, really.

93: what’s the hairstyle you wear the most?

Plaits. Keeps it out of the way.

94: who was the last person you know to have a birthday?

Sibling. I went all out with their gifts and am barely making it to monday... but it was worth it.

95: what are your plans for this weekend?

>get foster puppy

>chill/be boring bc you are the human equivalent of the colour beige

96: do you install your computer updates really quickly or do you procrastinate on them a lot?

Procrastinate, mostly. ‘Restart required’ lol nope, you can wait...

97: myer briggs type, zodiac sign, and hogwarts house?

ENTP, Gemini, Gryffindor

98: when’s the last time you went hiking? did you enjoy it?

oh god no. Grade 9 they had this youth action program... sent us orienteering in the bush... up a mountain, down a moutain, through the fucking lantana six times because the boys in the class have the map and can’t fucking read it right but ‘girls can’t read maps so why would we give it to you’...

it was a goddamn disaster, but we survived. hated it, so much

99: list some songs that resonate to your soul whenever you hear them.

Sia’s ‘The Greatest’, ‘Move Your Body’ and ‘Unstoppable’

‘This is Gospel’, ‘Emperor’s New Clothes’, ‘Don’t Threaten Me With A Good Time’, and ‘Golden Days’ by Panic! at the Disco

‘Never Coming Back to Earth’ by Steve Aoki & Fall Out Boy

Most of the songs by Lindsey Stirling

‘Heroes’ by Generdyn

‘I Hope You Die In A Fire’

‘Wait For It’ and ‘History Has Its Eyes On You’ from HAMILTON

‘Assassin, Murder, Monster’ and ‘Chase the Morning’ from REPO! the Genetic Opera

‘The Beauty Underneath’ from Love Never Dies

100: if you were presented with two buttons, one that allows you to go 5 years into the past, the other 5 years into the future, which one would you press? why?

I’d slam both at once and launch myself into a temporal paradox so i simultaneously never existed and also always existed therefore becoming a GOD...

#Anonymous

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junker-town · 6 years ago

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5 winners and 4 losers from the surprisingly fun Pro Bowl

Patrick Mahomes dropped no-look passes and f-bombs, Jason Garrett ISN’T a robot, and Jason Witten is still so bad at announcing. So bad.

Well, there’s officially only one game remaining in the 2018 NFL season. You know, the one at the end with the rings and commercials and Tom Brady. This weekend, the Pro Bowl served as the appetizer, holding us over until the main event on Super Bowl Sunday.

On a chilly, rain-soaked Sunday in central Florida, the AFC blew out the NFC by a score that you probably don’t care about and doesn’t really matter, but we’ll tell you anyway: 26-7. If you think that’s a good omen for the Patriots next week against the Rams, there’s probably no real correlation. The AFC has won three years in a row now, which corresponds to both a Super Bowl win and a Super Bowl loss for New England.

But we have an entire week to talk about Rams-Patriots. Instead, let’s take a moment to appreciate all the weird, wild, and omg why that the 2019 Pro Bowl had to offer.

Here are our five winners and four losers:

Winner: Fun — really!

The Pro Bowl is an easy target for jokes. It basically exists so players can say they were an X-time Pro Bowler and make a little extra money while they wish their team were playing in the Super Bowl the following week. Like, at least preseason football has some stakes.

But if you accept that and don’t pretend the Pro Bowl is anything else, then the Pro Bowl can actually be — dare we say? — fun.

This year was no exception, and the person we have to thank most for that is ... Jason Garrett?!

It started when he lined up Ezekiel Elliott in the shotgun formation so that Zeke could hand the ball off to another running back, Saquon Barkley. But the moment Garrett proved he’s not in fact a robot came later, when he ran a fake punt with Elliott:

Don’t know I’ve ever seen Jason Garrett as excited as he was after a fake punt run by Ezekiel Elliott picked up a first down in the Pro Bowl (Video: @NFL) pic.twitter.com/h3zPHYWrtK

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) January 27, 2019

Garrett was just getting started, though. He also put Elliott, Barkley, and Alvin Kamara in on defense — and it worked (sorry, Taylor Lewan).

Same thing with receiver Mike Evans, who made a pretty dang good cornerback by coming down with an interception. That also gave us THE most Pro Bowl play ever, and we adored it:

what a great Pro Bowl pic.twitter.com/xET0PhHtao

— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) January 27, 2019

Now that’s a delightfully stupid time!

The AFC took its own turn with position changes. Jalen Ramsey lined up at wide receiver and caught a touchdown pass from Deshaun Watson, while Melvin Ingram got just as many carries (and two more yards) as teammate Melvin Gordon.

We also got one Patrick Mahomes no-look attempt, and even though it wasn’t completed, it wouldn’t have felt right if he hadn’t at least tried:

it took roughly 3 minutes for Patrick Mahomes to throw a no-look pass at the Pro Bowl pic.twitter.com/vgP9BxnQ9u

— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) January 27, 2019

Next time, JuJu. Next time.

Loser: Anyone trying to throw/catch a ball

Remember when the Pro Bowl was played every year in beautiful, sunny Hawaii? Lol, not anymore. Now it’s in our theme park mecca of Orlando, just up Interstate 4 from Disney World, Epcot Center, SeaWorld (is that still open?), the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and uh, The Holy Land Experience.

That also means there’s a good chance of rain. This year, it was 100 percent, all game long. Andrew Luck, bless his dorky heart, at least thought the weather was “a little bit of fun”:

Checking in with 1⃣2⃣ at the #ProBowl. : ESPN pic.twitter.com/Q1dkLaLHzy

— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) January 27, 2019

Everyone else probably didn’t enjoy it as much. Amari Cooper and Jarvis Landry each had an egregious shoulda-been-a-TD drop, and there were a total of five interceptions in a game where it’s generous to call defense “optional.”

One of those picks was thrown by wide receiver Adam Thielen, who admitted the weather didn’t treat him kindly.

“I was soaking wet, the ball was soaking wet, and the wind was against me. I’m not a man of excuses, but it wasn’t in my favor, that’s for sure,” he said.

Good news: He can now go back to ... Minnesota. In January. With a polar vortex coming.

Winner: The Swear Jar

Patrick Mahomes made the swear jar a little richer after forgetting he was mic’d up, letting an f-bomb slip, and then hilariously realizing his mistake:

Live television >>>>> pic.twitter.com/WKa93vXijZ

— Chase Snyder (@ChasingSnyder) January 27, 2019

He was named offensive MVP for the game — probably because he threw for 156 yards and a touchdown, but we like to think it was a little bit for his “offensive” language too.

Winner: Jamal Adams

If Mitchell Trubisky or Xavien Howard got injured Sunday, Adams could’ve found himself in the loser column. The Jets safety was already the subject of some criticism after he injured the Patriots’ mascot by tackling him at a Pro Bowl practice earlier in the week.

He parlayed that attention into an unrestrained performance in the Pro Bowl where he was all over the field. He blew up Howard when both AFC defensive backs were trying for an interception, and then he laid out Trubisky on a sack.

NFC goes for the flea flicker but @TheAdamsEra says NOPE. : #ProBowl on ESPN + ABC + Disney XD pic.twitter.com/e0CLfp82gB

— NFL (@NFL) January 27, 2019

A few minutes later, Adams hauled in an interception on another ill-advised trick play from the NFC.

.@TheAdamsEra is all over the place. He intercepts @Athielen19 on the double pass : #ProBowl on ESPN + ABC + Disney XD pic.twitter.com/bHrZy3QPU4

— NFL (@NFL) January 27, 2019

Adams was a deserving winner of the Pro Bowl Defensive MVP Award after playing a meaningless exhibition game like his hair was on fire.

Loser: ESPN’s commentary crew

It was a rough year for Jason Witten and Booger McFarland in their first season as the analysts on Monday Night Football. The Pro Bowl gave them one more chance to show how much they learned and grew this season, but nope — it was another reminder to audiences that they’re really not good at this.

Just a few minutes into the game, Witten seemed to suggest that Colts tight end Eric Ebron was one of the favorite targets of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes all year:

Patrick Mahomes throws a TD pass to Eric Ebron Jason Witten: “Ebron was his guy all year” Good to see Witten in Pro Bowl form pic.twitter.com/Zy4A0lYw9H

— Cameron DaSilva (@camdasilva) January 27, 2019

On the AFC’s next drive, McFarland said he wants to see Mahomes become a player who will drop back in the pocket, scan the field, and go through his progressions. What?! The Chiefs quarterback is probably going to be named the NFL MVP next week because he picked defenses apart all year from the pocket. Did Booger not watch Mahomes at all this year?

ESPN will reportedly bring the same Monday Night Football team back next year, and — for some reason — even had the crew replace their popular Coaches’ Film Room during the college football national championship.

The Pro Bowl should have been a low-pressure, easy situation for the team to show next season will be better. It didn’t.

Oh, and Witten broke the Pro Bowl trophy, too.

lovable galoot Jason Witten broke the Pro Bowl trophy pic.twitter.com/nXKiNqNvta

— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) January 27, 2019

Loser: The Pittsburgh Steelers

JuJu Smith-Schuster limped off the field in the second quarter and never returned on Sunday.

Uh oh. Juju Smith-Schuster came up limping on that last play and is being looked at on the sideline. #ProBowl #Steelers pic.twitter.com/PLV9cwWt3K

— Roto Street Journal (@RotoStJournal) January 27, 2019

The good news is the Steelers have seven months to get him healthy before the preseason starts. The bad news is Pittsburgh needs him as ready as possible now that a potential Antonio Brown-less future looms.

Winner: The NFL’s hoodie sales

A rainy, 45-degree day in Orlando served as prime evidence why this game should never have been moved out of Hawaii. It also made Sunday a banner day for players to rock the timeless hoodie-under-your-jersey look.

Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Jarvis Landry and Keenan Allen both sported the sweatshirt layer in Florida, taking advantage of the fact no defender would care enough to drag them down by their hoods. Eric Ebron wore one too, getting it in a selfie he took with Deshaun Watson on the field while the clocked ticked down on the third quarter.

Winner: The AFC defense

The Pro Bowl is supposed to be a scoring onslaught. Defenses take it easy, don’t tackle much, and play pretty soft coverage.

So why did it take the NFC about 51 minutes to finally get some points on the board? The conference’s first drive of the game got all the way inside the 5-yard line, but the AFC stuffed Kyle Juszczyk on a fourth down to get the goal-line stand. Then the NFC had three consecutive three-and-out drives.

The NFC was down 17-0 at halftime and the second half didn’t start off much better when Mitchell Trubisky threw an awful interception on the first play.

.@ChrisHarrisJR was waiting... PICKED! : #ProBowl on ESPN + ABC + Disney XD pic.twitter.com/Qtf1L912pj

— NFL (@NFL) January 27, 2019

A fourth-quarter touchdown kept the NFC from getting shut out, but the AFC actually played good defense and finished the game with seven sacks and three interceptions.

Loser: Dee Ford

One week ago, Dee Ford’s offsides penalty prevented the Chiefs from clinching a win over the Patriots — if you recall, as I’m sure you do, the Patriots would go on to win the game and make it to the Super Bowl because that’s what always frickin’ happens.

Ford owned the mistake and said he’d use it as motivation to get better.

Wellll, this is maybe not the best start:

This dude never LEARNS SMDH pic.twitter.com/CKO9tvmS9S

— KingStrong (@King_DKP) January 27, 2019

At least this time it didn’t matter.

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emma-what-son · 8 years ago

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Emma Watson: the feminist and the fairytale

From TheGuardian Feb 2017: This person really thinks her feminism is genuine, but at least they’re pointing out that she isn’t A-list.

She’s about to star as the heroine of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, but post-Potter she has received more plaudits for her activism than her acting.

It may seem strange that one of the most anticipated films of 2017 should be a live-action remake of a Disney cartoon about Stockholm syndrome, but Beauty and the Beast has already built up the kind of fan base that is normally reserved for rebooted sci-fi franchises and adaptations of erotic bestsellers. When the first trailer went online in November, it was viewed a record 127m times in 24 hours, beating the previous leaders in that particular field, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Fifty Shades Darker. Stranger still, 27m of those views were on the Facebook page of the film’s star, Emma Watson.

That figure might suggest that the 26-year-old who played Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series is now a bona fide superstar. But Watson’s celebrity status is slightly more complicated. As a Hollywood player, she isn’t going to give Jennifer Lawrence or Scarlett Johansson sleepless nights, but as an actor-activist she has the kind of influence that would have been unimaginable a generation ago.

For proof that Watson isn’t yet an A-lister, you just have to glance at her filmography since she hung up her Gryffindor robes. Broadly speaking, she has taken supporting roles in ensemble projects, such as Simon Curtis’s My Week with Marilyn and Darren Aronofsky’s Noah, and above-the-title roles in films that vanished without trace. Alejandro Amenábar’s repressed-memory chiller Regression didn’t recoup its $20m budget, and Colonia (AKA The Colony) pulled in a grand total of £47 in its opening weekend in the UK. Meanwhile, she turned down the title role in Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella, and accepted then dropped out of La La Land, thus handing Emma Stone the part that may well win her a best actress Oscar. In the years between Harry Potter and Beauty and the Beast, in other words, Watson was better known for films she wasn’t in than for films she was.

In contrast, Kristen Stewart followed her stint in the Twilight series by embracing arthouse cinema and being embraced right back: she was the first American female actor to win a César award for her performance in Clouds of Sils Maria. And Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe, has grabbed every possible acting opportunity, from big-budget capers (Now You See Me 2) to indie curios (Swiss Army Man), from television (A Young Doctor’s Casebook) to theatre (Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead). Compared to them, Watson is barely trying.

But there is more on her mind than acting. Having stepped away from the business to study for an English degree at Brown University in Rhode Island, she now spends as much time on feminism as she does on films. In 2014, she became a UN Women goodwill ambassador; in 2015, she was named on the Time 100 list of world’s most influential people, and last year she continued to make headlines by, for example, leaving feminist books around the London Underground system.

None of that may appear very remarkable: Watson isn’t the first film star to double as a political activist. But few stars can have been as reassuring or inclusive in their consciousness-raising. When Angelina Jolie and Leonardo DiCaprio signed up to humanitarian and environmental causes, for instance, they were already untouchably glamorous demigods whose lives seemed a million miles away from their fans’, and whose jet-setting activism seemed almost as distant. Watson is different. She may have flown to Bangladesh, Uruguay and Zambia on behalf of the UN, but she doesn’t come across as if she is lecturing her fans from on high – more as if she is learning alongside them.

The first reason for this is that Watson’s fans feel, with some justification, that they know her. Not only have they watched her growing up onscreen in eight blockbusters, but they have heard her admit that the character she played in those blockbusters was just like her. In an interview with feminist author bell hooks in Paper magazine, she said that when she started reading JK Rowling’s novels, at the age of eight, “the character of Hermione gave me permission to be who I was,” ie, “the girl in school whose hand shot up to answer the questions”. But when she was cast as Hermione she used her earliest interviews to deny she was that girl: “At first I was really trying to say, ‘I’m not like Hermione. I’m into fashion and I’m much cooler than she is,’ and then I came to a place of acceptance. Actually, we do have a lot in common. There are obviously differences, but there are a lot of ways that I’m very similar. And I stopped fighting that!”

If Watson-watchers believe she is just as earnest, studious and intelligent as Hermione, then, they have her permission. Whereas so many former child stars have shattered their youthful images, either by going off the rails in their personal lives (eg, Drew Barrymore) or choosing to play edgy, sexualised roles on film (eg, Dakota Fanning), Watson has been brave enough to carry on being the school swot. The youngsters who identified with her when they saw her in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in 2001 can feel that she has yet to let them down, nearly 16 years later.

Even her activism is bound up with that swottiness. Rather than manning the barricades, Watson has focused on reading, discussion, and chronicling her studies on social media, thus making them accessible in a way that would once have been impossible. Last year, she set up a Goodreads online book club, Our Shared Shelf, which recommends a text to its 168,000 members every two months. Its current book is Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues. “There is so much amazing stuff out there,” Watson enthuses on the club’s homepage. “Funny, inspiring, sad, thought-provoking, empowering! I’ve been discovering so much that, at times, I’ve felt like my head was about to explode.”

Again, these are hardly the pronouncements of a Tinseltown divinity, but the sincere effusions of someone who is really getting into her homework project, and who wants her friends to get into it, too. It is no wonder Watson’s fans have taken to feminism with her. And it’s no wonder those fans are so thrilled about her starring role as Belle in Beauty and the Beast.

Watson rejected the part of Cinderella, she has said, because the passive character didn’t “resonate” with her. But Belle is a more Hermione-ish heroine. In the original 1991 cartoon, she wasn’t content to do the housework with the help of some chirruping bluebirds: she strolled through town with her nose in a book. And Watson told Total Film magazine that she had pushed the character even further from the traditional Disney doormat, so as to ensure that she is “the kind of woman I would want to embody as a role model”. She isn’t just Belle, but bell hooks. Never before has there been such continuity between an actress’s online persona and her two most iconic roles.

Of course, Watson is still playing a fairytale heroine in a film with “Beauty” in the title, so she isn’t exactly dismantling the patriarchy. “She’s a very useful figure for feminism, because she attracts people who might not be drawn to it in another form,” says Professor Diane Negra, the author of What a Girl Wants: Fantasising the Reclamation of Self in Postfeminism. “But she is a particularly palatable version of a feminist celebrity. She is a very glamorous and polished figure with all the markers of privilege. She is clearly not an activist of the old school.”

One way to understand Watson’s very 21st-century celebrity activism is to see her as a multi-hyphenate entrepreneur in the vein of Beyoncé and Gwyneth Paltrow. It’s just that instead of using her brand to promote her own range of perfumes and cookbooks, she is using it to promote gender equality. And if Disney gets a ton of free advertising along the way, so be it. For every hundred Watson fans who go to see her in Beauty and the Beast, there will be one who reads The Vagina Monologues on the bus home.

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malmo777-blog · 8 years ago

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About Me

Haven’t done one of these since I was fourteen. It’s time.

1. What is your full name? Mallory Cook Fraser

2. What is your nickname? Malmo, but I try to get people to call me McFraser. No one does.

3. What is your zodiac sign? Libra. Fun fact- I’m attracted to Tauruses, always have been, apparently always will be.

4. What is your favorite book series? Obviously Harry Potter is dope as fuck but I read these Stephanie Perkins books and fell in love.

5. Do you believe in aliens or ghosts? No aliens, although something is out there that moves, it just isn’t gonna follow our earth definition of “life”. Ghosts- not typically. I believe in energy, and energy can possess things.

6. Who is your favorite author? I love Hemingway, Stephanie Perkins, and Sarah Dessen can be great if you’re in the mood. John Green is running out of steam at this point although he used to be on the list.

7. What is your favorite radio station? I love so many! Either 95.7 or 92.5 (both NH radio)

8. What is your favorite flavor of anything? Cherry

9. What word would you use often to describe something great or wonderful? Wicked or dooooooope.

10. What is your current favorite song? Today it was Cinderblock Garden. Lately, Undone (the sweater song)

11. What is your favorite word? Fuck.

12. What was the last song you listened to? Broadside- Coffee Talk

13. What TV show would you recommend for everybody to watch? Skins really is for everybody. Or HIMYM. Although Fairy Tail is my favorite, it’s not for everyone.

14. What is your favorite movie to watch when you’re feeling down? The Little Mermaid can always perk me up.

15. Do you play video games? Not much anymore. Used to play super nintendo. Good at racing games.

16. What is your biggest fear? Being financially unstable as an adult.

17. What is your best quality, in your opinion? I’m 100000% honest all the time. I say things exactly how I see them and never leave people guessing. I don’t like to play games and waste time.

18. What is your worst quality, in your opinion? On the flipside of that, I can’t keep my mouth shut. If something is bothering me, I wanna talk about it, even if it’s venting to another person. Which sometimes causes unwanted conflict. Not a huge deal, but I’m also super type B and I hate conflict.

19. Do you like cats or dogs better? Cats. Dogs are too in your face.

20. What is your favorite season? Springtime, spring-a-ling-a-ling time.

21. Are you in a relationship? I’m in lots of relationships, just none are romantic.

22. What is something you miss from your childhood? It was so inexpensive to be a kid.

23. Who is your best friend? Not sure if he knows it, but totally my bud Dillon. He is my mind. We don’t even have to talk to understand what’s going on.

24. What is your eye color? Blue

25. What is your hair color? Golden blonde.

26. Who is someone you love? My daddy.

27. Who is someone you trust? My best friend.

28. Who is someone you think about often? Alex Gaskarth

29. Are you currently excited about/for something? End of the semester! Woooo! And I just barely got sick the day after it closed, which is good. I get sick every year around this time, it just usually falls on midterms week, not right after. So I’m happy I missed it.

30. What is your biggest obsession? My book series.

31. What was your favorite TV show as a child? Roccos Modern Life

32. Who of the opposite gender can you tell anything to, if anyone? Obviously my best friend.

33. Are you superstitious? Only after one of my exes passed away. Since he did, things are freaky sometimes. But never scary. It’s always good energy.

34. Do you have any unusual phobias? Elevators. Potatoes. Mold.

35. Do you prefer to be in front of the camera or behind it? In front.

36. What is your favorite hobby? Writing!

37. What was the last book you read? This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen. Finished it two days ago.

38. What was the last movie you watched? Road Trip. I love raunchy comedies.

39. What musical instruments do you play, if any? Bass clarinet, clarinet, guitar, a lil piano, a lil sax, and vox.

40. What is your favorite animal? Loke ;)

41. What are your top 5 favorite Tumblr blogs that you follow? Oooo haven’t been on here enough to decide.

42. What superpower do you wish you had? Ability to call spirits and bond with them.

43. When and where do you feel most at peace? Lying in bed right before sleep, listening to tunes.

44. What makes you smile? Going to work.

45. What sports do you play, if any? Marching band.

46. What is your favorite drink? There’s this orange mango peach shit from market basket that’s phenomenal. Oh, alcoholic? Ahh, umm, Smirnoff ice?

47. When was the last time you wrote a hand-written letter or note to somebody? Christmas. Cards, you know.

48. Are you afraid of heights? Used to not be but now? Abso-fuckin-lutley.

49. What is your biggest pet peeve? Mixed silverware in the dishwasher.

50. Have you ever been to a concert? Try 12.

51. Are you vegan/vegetarian? I am vegan, but not super duper strict raw vegan or that shit. Just nothing where the ingredients state meat, eggs, or milk.

52. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? An actress or a pop star.

53. What fictional world would you like to live in? Fiore

54. What is something you worry about? Money, clearly.

55. Are you scared of the dark? No. I’ve been living in the woods long enough to be used to it.

56. Do you like to sing? FUCK YES

57. Have you ever skipped school? One time I said I was sick so I could stay home and write Harry Potter fan fiction.

58. What is your favorite place on the planet? Fells Point, Baltimore

59. Where would you like to live? Baltimore

60. Do you have any pets? Not anymore

61. Are you more of an early bird or a night owl? Early bird!

62. Do you like sunrises or sunsets better? Sunrises. The signal a new chance.

63. Do you know how to drive? Very well actually.

64. Do you prefer earbuds or headphones? Headphones!

65. Have you ever had braces? Nope.

66. What is your favorite genre of music? Pop punk, 2007-2008 era

67. Who is your hero? My daddy.

68. Do you read comic books? Only Deadpool

69. What makes you the most angry? When TOP fans come into my store aND FUCKING TEAR APART THE T SHIRT WALL AHH GO BACK TO HELL YOU ANGSTY LITTLE SHITS!

70. Do you prefer to read on an electronic device or with a real book? Real books. The creak of the pages, the smell. All part of the experience.

71. What is your favorite subject in school? History!

72. Do you have any siblings? Four older ones. Two and two, each gender.

73. What was the last thing you bought? A new air freshener for my car. Wait, no, groceries. Some of that juice I was talking about before.

74. How tall are you? Five foot nuthin’.

75. Can you cook? Apparently I can grill, I’ve been told. I think I make BOMB pasta.

76. What are three things that you love? 1. Blink 182 2. Chipotle 3. My dad

77. What are three things that you hate? 1. Pessimists 2. The word “hate” 3. Unneccessary negativity (kinda like this question)

78. Do you have more female friends or more male friends? A really good mix. My anime crew is all boys, my music friends are boys, my coworkers AKA besties are all girls, and my school friends are girls.

79. What is your sexual orientation? Straight.

80. Where do you currently live? Washington, NH

81. Who was the last person you texted? My girl Colby

82. When was the last time you cried? About twenty minutes ago, watching Fairy Tail

83. Who is your favorite YouTuber? I don’t watch a lot of youtubers but the one I enjoy the most is Shane.

84. Do you like to take selfies? No. But on occassion I will, just so I can do better personal branding.

85. What is your favorite app? I use wattpad more than anything.

86. What is your relationship with your parent(s) like? With my mom? Deceptive, negative, she always needs something for nothing. With my dad, amazing. He’s my best friend, sole provider, everything. If he wasn’t my dad he’d still be my bestie because we just get each other.

87. What is your favorite foreign accent? My phillipino friend Cam is phillipino, sounds mexican, and my mock accent is indian. Fuckin hilarious.

88. What is a place that you’ve never been to, but you want to visit? San Diego, west coast pop punk capital.

89. What is your favorite number? 7, but 77 in sports.

90. Can you juggle? No

91. Are you religious? I love all religion and the concept but do not identify with any one.

92. Do you find outer space of the deep ocean to be more interesting? Space fucks me up. Ocean for sure.

93. Do you consider yourself to be a daredevil? No. I may be a Gryffindor for the things I love but I am waaaaay too type b to take unneeded risk.

94. Are you allergic to anything? Nope. But caffine reacts really badly with my body.

95. Can you curl your tongue? Yup

96. Can you wiggle your ears? Nope

97. How often do you admit that you were wrong about something? Often

98. Do you prefer the forest or the beach? Beach. I can go to the forest any time; I’m bored of it.

99. What is your favorite piece of advice that anyone has ever given you? Just as a flower does not get to choose where it blooms, a child cannot choose their parents. It stuck with me, that my character doesn’t at all need to be attached to them. That I get to be my own person.

100. Are you a good liar? No fuckin way.

101. What is your Hogwarts House? Gryffindor!

102. Do you talk to yourself? All the time, only in the car.

103. Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Extrovert. Being surrounded by people makes me feel less lonely.

104. Do you keep a journal/diary? I keep an everyday question journal.

105. Do you believe in second chances? Only after apologies. No sorry, no chance.

106. If you found a wallet full of money on the ground, what would you do? Depends on the money. Ten bucks? I’ll call that my payment for the hassle of turning it in. Lots? Nah. If I turn it in with that much, they’ll probs be grateful and gimmie some.

107. Do you believe that people are capable of change? Absolutely. Everyone changes all the time.

108. Are you ticklish? If I say yes you’ll know my weakness. If I say no I’m a liar.

109. Have you ever been on a plane? Yup. Like three times? Not sure.

110. Do you have any piercings? Belly button!

111. What fictional character do you wish was real? Wooderson

112. Do you have any tattoos? Not yet. A few more months.

113. What is the best decision that you’ve made in your life so far? Moving out and quitting Shaws. I followed my dreams all the way to Hot Topic.

114. Do you believe in karma? Not really. Coincidences are funny, but good people hardly ever get good karma, it’s usually only ever bad for bad people. That’s not how it’s supposed to work.

115. Do you wear glasses or contacts? No.

116. Do you want children? Four!

117. Who is the smartest person you know? My best friend.

118. What is your most embarrassing memory? Tripping while hiking with my crush. My only recent moment.

119. Have you ever pulled an all-nighter? Twice!

120. What color are most of you clothes? Maroon or green. Can’t decide.

121. Do you like adventures? Love*

122. Have you ever been on TV? Nope

123. How old are you? Seventeen without a purpose or direction.

124. What is your favorite quote? “I just wanna fuck this burrito!” - Jack Barakat

125. Do you prefer sweet or savory foods? Totally depends on the mood.

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recentanimenews · 5 years ago

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Bookshelf Briefs 9/26/19

Black Clover, Vol. 17 | By Yuki Tabata | Viz Media – As predicted, friends are fighting friends in this one, as a good deal of the cast have been Possessed By Elves. Not Asta, of course; he’s our hero. But Yuno seems to be affected… except he proves to be the only one with the mental strength to throw it off. I’d roll my eyes at this if it weren’t Black Clover, a series that runs on clichés. Speaking of which, remember that nun from chapter one? The one Asta is theoretically still in love with? She returns here as the villains go after the orphanage, allowing Asta and Yuno to return and show off how much they’ve grown. Black Clover loves to run on things we’ve seen before, but this volume may have had a bit TOO much of that, as it was unsurprising. But still fun. – Sean Gaffney

Daytime Shooting Star, Vol. 2 | By Mika Yamamori | Viz Media – I will admit, this series is going to live or die on how far it takes the teacher student romance—I don’t THINK it’s endgame, but as with most shoujo it’s hard to make sure. (Shonen romances are nice enough to telegraph the winner in the first chapter.) It’s well-crafted, and the author seems to be aware of the issues it involves, but we shall see. Till then, I do enjoy the kids hanging out with each other, particularly when Suzume manages to be so sleepy during a study break that Yuyuya’s mask slips off and she starts berating her in front of everyone—though the masochistic guys she then starts to attract are less welcome. I enjoy the sense of humor and characters in this, despite some issues. – Sean Gaffney

Daytime Shooting Star, Vol. 2 | By Mika Yamamori | VIZ Media – Daytime Shooting Star continues to be far better than it seems like it’s going to be, with a student-teacher romance at its core. The important factor, of course, is that Suzune’s love for Shishio is unrequited, though he does finally become aware of it at the end of this volume. One thing I really love is that there’s drama—Suzune has made friends with Yuyuka (who has a subplot of her own in which she slips up and shows her true belligerent self and gains some masochistic devotees as a result) and is attempting to shield her from the knowledge that the boy Yuyuka likes (Mamura) instead likes Suzune—but no cartoonish, over-the-top villains. There’s just complicated circumstances and likable characters and it’s all really great. I hope it doesn’t spoil it all by doing something stupid like hooking up Suzune and Shishio, at least while she’s still a student. – Michelle Smith

Emanon, Vol. 2: Emanon Wanderer, Part One | By Shinji Kajio and Kenji Tsurata | Dark Horse Comics – This is two large short stories continuing the story of a young woman who has memories going back to the dawn of time. We get a better understanding of what happens when she moves from mother to daughter, and what happens to the mother—it’s disturbing and a bit terrifying, no surprises there. The current Emanon also has a twin brother, something that’s never happened before, and their reunion is as awkward as you can imagine. As for the first story, boy howdy that is a lot of nudity. It’s absolutely gorgeous—the art alone is worth buying this for. But boy howdy, that is an AWFUL lot of nudity. Interested to see where this goes next. – Sean Gaffney

Golden Kamuy, Vol. 11 | By Satoru Noda | Viz Media – This volume gives us the Golden Kamuy equivalent of Bonnie and Clyde in two lovers, now reunited after he gets out of prison, who love to make love and also love to kill people. Naturally, they run afoul of the 7th Division, but the action sequences are absolute gold. Meanwhile, Sugimoto and company are running into a new outlaw running around defiling animals. Biblically. If you’re the sort to be bothered by a two-page spread of a man screwing a deer… well, you likely stopped reading Golden Kamuy long ago, but I feel I should give the warning anyway. It’s also sort of hilarious, like a lot of Golden Kamuy‘s grossest moments. Even for a series that runs on pure “what the hell?” this volume was pretty bonkers. – Sean Gaffney

The Ideal Sponger Life, Vol. 3 | By Tsunehiko Watanabe and Neko Hinotsuki | Seven Seas – Even when our lead couple have successfully coupled, there’s still intrigue. Zenjiro NOT taking a second lover is proving to be, you’ll pardon me, a royal pain, and his pretense (which is somewhat true) that he’s so gaga over Aura that he can’t even look at another woman will only take him so far. Worse, once Aura’s pregnancy gets out, it turns out that Zenjiro’s ancestors may actually ALSO be from this world, which means trouble if the two magical powers combine in their child. Fortunately, our hero is also really good at contractual language, something we rarely see in an isekai. I’ll be honest, this is a LOT more interesting than I was ever expecting. I want more. – Sean Gaffney

Queen Bee, Vol. 1 | By Shizuru Seino | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – I read Seino’s Girl Got Game back in the day, but truth be told, I didn’t like it very much. Queen Bee is definitely an improvement, though I continue to not love Seino-sensei’s approach to zany comedy. (I just think too hard about where random chainsaws came from, for example.) Anyway, the premise here is that Mihane Hirata is an aggressive girl with a scary face who’s in love with the class prince, Toma. He thinks she’s interesting and wants to get to know her, but doesn’t want her for a girlfriend. What I didn’t like was all the background characters who keep popping up to comment about how hideous Mihane is, but what I do like is both Mihane’s self-loathing and Toma’s insistence that she should just be herself. If this were longer, I might pass, but as it’s complete in three volumes, I will probably finish reading it. – Michelle Smith

Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!, Vol. 1 | By Take| Seven Seas – Given the titular heroine, all puns intended, and the fact that the book literally has a raised cover so you can see her boobs stick out, you would think this would in fact be pretty lewd. It’s not. Aside from one or two accidental gropes and a brief shot of Uzaki in the shower, this is not a title about boobs. What is it? Well, picture Teasing Master Takagi-san if she were actually bad at it. Uzaki really likes her sempai and wants to hang out with him all the time. He finds her overeager personality and ludicrous breasts to be rather exhausting, but doesn’t dislike her per se, so they do in fact hang out a lot. Slice-of-life then occurs. If you like that sort of manga, and can tolerate the breasts, this is worth a look. – Sean Gaffney

The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 1 | By Kousuke Oono | Viz Media – One of the manga debuts that I was most looking forward to this year was The Way of the Househusband. The premise is simple enough—a legendary yakuza boss known as The Immortal Dragon has left the underworld behind and now lives a his life as a stay-at-home spouse—but Oono’s execution is brilliant. The intensity, fervor, and complete earnestness of this former yakuza in his approach to household chores, shopping, and all the rest is magnificent to behold. I would certainly be interested in learning more about The Immortal Dragon’s wife and the story behind them settling down into marital bliss, but even if that is never more than hinted at, I expect The Way of the Househusband will continue to be immensely satisfying and ridiculous in the best sort of ways. I was not at all disappointed by the first volume and am eagerly awaiting future installments. – Ash Brown

The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 1 | By Kousuke Oono | VIZ Media – Tatsu used to be a revered yakuza known as “The Immortal Dragon,” but now he’s given up that life to pursue happy domesticity. Seldom has a series won my heart so quickly. It actually wasn’t the “cozy yakuza comedy” aspect, though that offers plenty of amusing scenarios, from Tatsu thoroughly intimidating an unscrupulous door-to-door salesman to drafting rival thugs to help him at a bargain sale to taking cooking lessons with a bunch of ladies to exclaiming “hot damn” over a great deal on cabbage. No, it was the cat, curiously sauntering into the background to survey the goings-on. The kitty has the best reactions (and some bonus chapters of his own). Tatsu’s career-woman/otaku wife Miku is great, too, and I look forward to the story of how they met. This short volume goes by swiftly, but it is quite the treat. – Michelle Smith

Why Shouldn’t a Detestable Demon Lord Fall in Love? Vol. 1 | By Nekomata Nuko and teffish| Sol Press – This book is like just eating pure sugar from the bag. For once the demon lord is the one summoned to another world. He’s fine with that, as a) everyone hated and misunderstood him in his own world, and b) his summoner is a hot young woman raising two cute orphan children. He’s nice. She’s nice. The kids are nice. Even the tsundere kid is really nice. There is an evil lord and his evil assistant, and they are the standard “I have no redeeming features” brand of evil, but you get the sense they were put in by editorial decree. The author just likes writing sweet married life scenes. I don’t know whether this deserves more volumes, but it was pretty good. – Sean Gaffney

Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 3 | By Kamome Shirahama | Kodansha Comics – It’s titles like these that make you realize the sorts of things Harry Potter didn’t do. After resolving the cliffhanger of the previous volume, Coco continues to learn how to be a witch, helped by a young man in a potions workshop who can’t see colors, which makes it hard to, well, tell potions apart, as absentminded folks don’t really label them well. He’s a smart cookie, though, and shows her a shortcut that might help save her mother. Meanwhile, a lot of forces are making things more difficult for her—both actual antagonists, giving her secret powerful ink, or her own teacher, who may be more of a smiling villain than anything else. One of the best new titles this year. – Sean Gaffney

By: Ash Brown

#Anime #News #Manga Bookshelf

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chickeninthewoods · 6 years ago

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2004 films

| The Bachelor | Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2004 (late-nite) | Pulled from the pile of purchased DVDs at the folks'... to great disappointment. This is a bad, bad film, and Chris O'Donnell truly sucks. Phoned-it-in sucks. This explains why he hasn't worked much in the last 5 years - which was a bit of a mystery up until now. Avoid this like the plague.

| Spanglish | Dec. 27, 2004 (afternoon) |

| Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | Sunday, Dec. 26, 2004 (late-nite) | Dark and long. The kids are growing up, and the films are, as well. I think my mom is borrowing this from my sister. She has all three, unfortunately mostly in fullscreen.

| Snow Falling on Cedars | Sunday, Dec. 26, 2004 (late-nite) | Fantastic and incredibly sad. This was pulled from the stack of purchased DVDs at my parents' house over xmas vacation (who knows why they buy what they buy).

| Rivers and Tides | Saturday, Dec. 25, 2004 (afternoon, w/ the 'rents) | A gorgeous, nearly-meditative study of the work of Andrew Goldsworthy, who creates sculptural installations in and from nature.

| Seabiscuit | Saturday, Dec. 25, 2004 (w/ the 'rents) | Oddly-paced, but exciting. A book moved to the screen doesn't always work well, though, for the reasons well-illustrated here. The historical snippets might have worked well as chapter introductions, but they make for a confusing set of transitions on screen.

| De-Lovely | Friday, Dec. 24, 2004 (evening) | A mess of a film, though pretty and entertaining. But maybe that was intentional. Porter's life was a mess, albeit an entertaining one.

| Before Sunset | Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2004 (late-nite) | I had planned to watch this on the plane to Indy, but after watching the original last night, I couldn't help popping this one in today before my trip. I'm frustrated as hell by it, and the sudden ending, but I guess that's the reality part.

| Before Sunrise | Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2004 (late-nite) | Luminous, like Julie Delpy's skin.

| 24: Season 3 | Week of Dec. 17, 2004 | My current policy is to review television series all at once, rather than a disc at a time, but I wanted to begin by noting that this season does not start out well. The tech is particularly bad, and I don't really care about what happens next.

| The Door in the Floor | Saturday, Dec. 18, 2004 | A little less dark than I thought it might be, and more tangible. I haven't read any Roth, ever, and now I'm prompted to start. I'll have to rent it again to watch the commentary and featurettes -- I'm fascinated by writer/screenwriter collaborations, and the adaptation process (so long as the writers can also talk).

| The King of Comedy | Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2004 | I think it's not possible to watch a film on the recommendation of someone who says its their favorite. I just don't have much to say about it.

| Jersey Girl | Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2004 (afternoon) | Ooh, this was cute! 13 Going on 30 cute, 3 Men and a Baby cute. The kid was great, and the Sweeney Todd bit was cute even in its un-cute-ness. A definite recommendation for parents and families who want to see a decent movie.

| A Home at the End of the World | Thursday, Dec. 9, 2004 | I'll admit, I rented this for the much-anticipated kiss between Colin Farrell and Dallas Roberts. It wouldn't have been worth waiting for, if that's all there was to this film. But all the things I disliked about marginally similar films, I liked about this. Where Forrest Gump was nearly campy, this was understated and honest. Where the Myth of Fingerprints was sarcastic, this was lacking all irony. At the same time, where Big Eden was celebratory and fantastical, this was pretty raw. So I don't know exactly how I feel, but I'm glad I saw it.

| Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind | Saturday, Dec. 4, 2004 (afternoon) | Reviews were generally positive, but I had received a recommendation against watching it just a few days prior. I enjoyed it, and would certainly keep it out of the "never again" bin, though it probably won't end up on a best list. As other reviewers noted, its the emotional core that saves this film from a bad sort of quirky, and I did appreciate that. But I felt it didn't go far enough exploring the morality of doing such a bizarre and radical thing. I would have preferred a "what if" movie with a love/life story running through it, to a love/life story with lots of other stuff piled around it. Jim Carrey didn't annoy me, though, and that's a rarity. Kate Winslet is yummy.

| Capturing the Friedmans | Nov. 27, 2004 (afternoon) | Truly one of the most amazing films, ever. While working on a short film about children's pary clowns in NYC, the filmmaker happened upon an extraordinary story of a family caught in an avalanche of molestation charges and media frenzy in the mid-1980s. The film includes footage shot by family members during the time of the arrests and court proceedings, as well as present-day interviews with police and other persons involved. If netflixing, be sure to get Disc 2 as well, as there are hours of additional footage and follow-up interviews with the filmmakers.

| Maze | Nov. 1, 2004 (afternoon) | This scared me off initially, fearing it was a Rob Morrow vanity piece, but then I forged ahead on faith in Laura Linney. And I wasn't disappointed -- the film is quite lovely, surprisingly nuanced, and I forgive Rob Morrow his salary whining in the 90s (Janine Turner, however, is getting her just desserts in dry-eye commercials)

| Ghost World | October 25, 2004 | I held off on seeing this when it was playing at York Sq., but it was fun on dvd. Scarlett and Thora bring so much to the table.

| The Apprentice, Season 1 (all discs) | Oct. 20, 2004 | Addicted to S2, thought S1 might be good. Soapy fun.

| Seeing Other People | Oct. 20, 2004 | Julianne Nicholson is always great, but the movie wasn't my favorite. Vulgar and ultimately a little boring.

| Dopamine | Sunday, Oct. 10, 2004 | I like Sabrina Lloyd, and the story here was interesting, but I didn't ever really latch on to anything in this picture. There was so much unexpected darkness, maybe that pushed me away. | Normal | Friday, Oct. 1, 2004 | I was so skeptical... but this was handled with about as much grace and dignity as I could ever have imagined.

| Uptown Girls | Sunday, Sept. 19, 2004 | Decent fluffy entertainment.

| Dinner for Five: Season 1, Disc 1 | Sunday, Sept. 12, 2004 | Never as interesting as it promised.

| High Art | Saturday, Sept. 11, 2004 | Not as hot on the most recent viewing, but I'm sensing the ambition element more clearly each time I see it.

| Alias, Season 2 (all discs) | Week of Sept. 6, 2004 |

| Tuck Everlasting | Sunday, Sept. 5, 2004 |

Alexis is a wonder, and I'm so glad she has a spot on the WB for a while.

| Charlotte Sometimes | Sometime in September, 2004? |

| 13 Going on 30 | Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2004 | I watched this on the plane, BDL>>DTW, and finished in the wrap place in terminal B. Cute, cute, cute entertaining fluff.

| Mona Lisa Smile | Monday, Aug. 9, 2004 | I don't know why I haven't returned this yet; it was good, though not in the Wonder Boys-kind of way I had hoped. Not much new to say, though it was interesting to watch how the juxtaposition of super-smart-capable and wanna-be-housewifey played out

| Watching You | Friday, July 30, 2004 | This was a set of short films, all lesbian-themed in some way. I got it because I was looking for a short called "travelling companion," which had been on another set of shorts on VHS a few years ago. The quality of gay-themed cinema has come so far in the last few years, though. My favorite ("10 rules") was actually in the "extras" section, though I wasn't sure exactly why there was that division. The title short, "Watching You," was set in Israel (??), though that never was mentioned explicitly.

| The Cucumber Incident | Monday, July 27, 2004 | This was an indie (so indie it's not even in IMDB yet) documentary, viewed on the Sundance Channel's DOCday. It tells the story of a group of three women in a family who basically raped and beat the husband of one of the women, who had been molesting his daughters. It's complicated and awful -- the wife who let her husband back in the house after he'd been to prison for molesting her older daughter, the child protection system which didn't intervene after subsequent charges (and let him back in the house after his imprisonment), the complicated revenge / scare tactics they exacted, and the overwhelming weight of the justice system that fell on them as a result. Everything about this is awful, and though I never felt like we really got to the heart of the women's fury as they prepared to terrorize this guy, that may be as much a result of midwestern stoicism as it is a comment on the film's ability to draw out their story.

| A Mighty Wind | Saturday, July 24, 2004 | I've watched this more than once now - I don't know why, but it's silly and entertaining and even ok musically.

| Travelling Companion | Tuesday, July 20, 2004 | I watched this on an interminable train ride from New Haven to Boston, when the train literally broke down in the middle of rural Rhode Island. Nice.

| Casa de los Babys | Monday, July 12, 2004 | I may need to give this another look before I comment too much. I rented this while my sister was visiting, and I'm not sure we finished it.

| Along Came Polly | Sunday, July 11, 2004 | B+

| Girl With a Pearl Earring | Sunday, July 4, 2004 | Watched this at T's up in New Hampshire -- it was a lovely portrait, and a really creative and daring way to make a film about a painting.

| Dead Like Me (entire first season) | July, 2004 | So bummed I don't get Showtime anymore... rent the dvds if you get the chance, it's almost as good as Six Feet Under (the first year of SFU)SHO

| Things You Can Tell Just by Looking At Her | Wednesday, June 30, 2004 | I watched this in the car, driving from my parents' house in Michigan down to visit my sister in Indianapolis. It's not a bad car-movie (if such a category exists), except that I did get a tad claustrophobic at one intense point. I really thought I had seen this before, but I had only vague moments of deja vu as I watched it. The women were just amazing -- Glenn Close, Callista Flockhart, Amy Brenneman, Cameron Diaz (and more) -- but I was particularly amazed by Callista Flockhart. I don't think it's reasonable to question her talent after watching her work in this film -- something so far from Ally McBeal, so different and difficult. The movie is a set of one-acts, each focusing on a different character. The supporting characters in each act are extremely sparse, though there's a bit of connection woven throughout the film, between the characters. It's important to understand that they're living in the same time, the same world. Glenn Close is an Ob/Gyn with real emotional maturity and intimacy issues; Cameron Diaz is a relatively well-adjusted blind girl whose sister (Amy Brenneman) is taking a backseat; Holly Hunter is a successful, albeit lonely bank officer who reels at the pointed analysis of a homeless woman who buns her cigarettes; and Callista Flockhart is a woman tending to her dying lover (Valeria Golino). There's also a piece with Kathy Baker who infantilizes her new short-statured neighbor, but I found it really odd and jarring compared with the rest.

| Raising Victor Vargas | Tuesday, June 29, 2004 | Watched on the plane from Detroit to Hartford -- though I think I'll want to see it again when I can hear and concentrate better. This would make a great double-feature with "Real Women Have Curves", for the sheer heart of both

| The Banger Sisters | Sunday, June 27, 2004 | Watched mostly on the plane between Hartford and Detroit, and finished up at my parents' house in Michigan -- this was a fun little showcase for a variety of veteran and newcomer talent. Goldie Hawn's butt really is amazing, Susan Sarandon proves she can give up scenery-chewing for Lent, and Eva and Erika somehow manage to look like sisters (though moreso if their parents were Susan and Goldie...)

| Nobody's Baby | Monday, June 14, 2004 | Caught this one on Showtime, found by the Tivo's Radha Mitchell wishlist. I'm not sure what Radha's doing playing these desert waitresses (e.g., When Strangers Appear), but this one wasn't bad. A little anachronistic, maybe, but not awful.SHO

| All the Real Girls | Saturday, June 12, 2004 | Though I really like some of the actors, I just didn't find this movie that compelling. It was slow, and maybe would have been better if I had seen it on the right kind of day (e.g., long, slow, cold and weathery).

| Trembling Before G-d | Saturday, June 12, 2004 |

| Purity | Saturday, June 12, 2004 | I watched this nearly in a double-feature with Trembling Before G-d, and it was so stunning. Clearly bitter and biased, but stunning.

| Saved | Friday, June 11, 2004 | Saw this Heathers-in-a-Christian-High-School in the theatre, opening weekend. Not terribly crowded, which was surprising. The movie was just delightful; funny and interesting and terribly attentive to the details, which was important. It's fun to see someone like Mandy Moore play a character this deliciously saccharine, too. Go see.Orange

| Marathon | Thursday, June 10, 2004 | Caught on the Sundance channel -- and couldn't tear myself away. It's a faux-documentary of a girl who does an annual 24-hour crossword puzzle marathon in NYC -- mostly on noisy subways and buses. The dialogue is minimal, the plot is pretty much nonexistent, and yet its riveting to watch, for some reason. It's one of the few times watching a film where I felt like I was in that zone of a conversation where I was truly getting to know someone.

| Out of Season | Sunday, June 6, 2004 | A surprisingly ok new grrl movie, which is unusual. And since I wasn't expecting anything at all, I was a very thrilled little camper. This definitely goes on the recommendations list, maybe even above 'Go Fish' (though after 'Get Real').| Soldier's Girl | Friday, June 4, 2004 | A really wrenching look at the story of a particular casualty of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (pre-"Don't Pursue," I think). I don't know how close to the truth this story was, but I'm not sure it matters. It was beautiful.

| The Company | Wednesday, June 3, 2004 | I've been dying to see this ever since it came out, but I was a bit disappointed. While the dancing was just out of this world, I had trouble adjusting to all the jumps between performance and slice-of-life/rehearsals and story. I think that was intentional, but it just didn't work for me. I love the Joffrey, though, and it was worth the time spent just to watch them dance. Neve included. While I'm usually the first to scrunch up my nose at something that appears to be a vanity piece, this is most certainly not one of those times. No one hires Altman to do a vanity piece, for starters. For an Altman-esque look inside the ballet, this is what you want. But I still prefer Center Stage for the energy of the dance world (as soapy as it can be).

| xx/xy | Tuesday, June 1, 2004 | I wasn't sure what to make of this -- it sounded too much like that other film with Kathleen Robertson in a menage a trois -- but with Mark Ruffalo, I wanted to give it a shot. It was interesting for the blurriness and for the look at a particular kind of person's behavior in a relationship, but I didn't love it.

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mceproductions · 6 years ago

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November 2018 Blurbs

11/1/18 In Novembers Gusty Gale...The one baby song that sticks with me is that line from Chicken Soup with Rice... The fact that I know that and can sing falsetto really sets a tone. Rice Lake run today as Scholarships needed answering somehow the fact that i can only qualify for one and yet still can deal with classwork is a mystery. Eli in 2 Weeks and hoping Basketball at the Vikings Stadium at months end. Mom said shed go with on Saturday to St. Paul but in case not contingency is the Queen Movie. Stinks about Nutcracker being lousy Grinch remake for Christmas Movie it is. 11/2/18 Patti and the Bravada im trying to buy. Something tells me thats got to answer itself very soon. Ellen wasn't going to St. Paul either so contingency may now be in place. Work at least had benefits being sorted out. Also Lego Harry Potter man that game was fun, glad for the port, now they just need to port other lego games. 11/3/18 Bravada is now mine thanks to mom. More crucially Queen Movie was luckilly in town, at theater that is now only open weekends. Confusing yes, just hoping this isn't premant closing like Bruce. Movie was near perfect as Rami Malek Crushed It, a term I almost never use. Andrew fried microwave after 18 years. It was overdue but man it stinks that its gone. ReLife Anime...If episode 17 had me tearing up, the other 15 1/2 should be just as interesting. Unlike that other show A Sister Is All You Need, a premsise about slice of life, authors and drinking that wears dull quick. 11/4/18 So begins a short week, mainly due to assurance needed for initial plans. Just wish they could have called me in for one more day, i have assurance but still could have used it. Pete Davidson is really hurting based on this weeks SNL no matter his mindset and well wishes, he's hurting. Packers more so...and Ricks final Walking Dead, what a cop out...So glad I'm done with the show, no matter how interesting teenage Judith looks. One more detail, just when I thought 2018 had used up all its anime...Rapping Zombies on a Show that really should be used by the ZombieLand Sequel coming out next year, they can spit licks. 11/5/18 Remember Remember...An annual watching of V For Vendetta and its poigancy highlights today. Bravada is now officially mine just have to get it al registred and isured without it breaking my bank. Also never trust pictures for all purchases on Ebay, miffed on that count. Very long day tomorrow, even work may be overshadowed by this, could have used this 2 years ago on that fateful night. 11/6/18 The Blue Wave of election day. Unlike 2 years ago when that blowhard of president peeved off the country, this made me glad i was working. Plenty of distractions. But Walker is gone from Wisconsin and the Blue Wave crested at the house. Not the complete washover those wanting Trump gone hoped for but still great. 11/7/18 Those 2 dopes i call younger brothers...Somehow they dont get it. Only thing they do get, is how awesome Red Dead Redemption is and how i wish to high heaven it came out for the Switch. 11/8/18 This time of year when the cold comes out, the stuff you like to do seems impractical. I have a vehicle that I cant use until i get it titled, and a nephew coming in 1 week who may not even see me a bunch. Lone thing giving me some solace, the black Friday Ads popped up today. So many possibilities. 11/9/18 Winter has shown in full force, proof being, those 2 dopes stuck here. Me having to suffer through it until I head to work. Holding off on Grinch until next week, possibly seeing it with Mom and Eli. 11/10/18 RWBY Continues to astound. Salems storied history with Oz, wholly molly. Christmas season always seems to bring out the best when it comes to treats. Lately my favorite seems to be those nougats. Fresh and gooey all in one sweet package. Badgers sure do stink. That guy getting revenge on Pete Davidson especially the Ariana Ringtone that was worth it to see during SNL, Liev Schriber sure is not funny though. 11/11/18 Vets, heroes who give thier daily lives to defend all that we hold dear and sacred. Also fitting its the centiniel of said remeberence. New guy on Cap 2 Tristan, I'm really liking, seems to hold his own quite well. 4 days until Eli comes looking forward to it. 11/12/18 Why does family make the easy things so difficult, once again those 2 dopes. Store had Black Friday stuff being assembled today. Be glad to use debit card tomorrow when i get bulk of my funds back. Last few days have been rough. 11/13/18 GameFlip, an app ive been using to buy mainly Amazon cards is really having it both ways with me. Great to find digital codes for almost nada, but this one guy who i bought a card from on Sunday has been really screwey. Really miffed on that front. Said digital codes allows me to rewatch The Meg during work lunch. 11/14/18 Final Project for class has me creating a full training seminar. Stinks knowing that I have to do it on too broad a subject issue. Mobility in the workplace, having to do with wheelchairs and other devices. Wow city this is hard. Christmas box has been dug out, begining decorating tomorrow before Eli shows up. Hunters at play this weekend. Also glad store discount expands to food for rest of year. 11/15/18 Dad is 60 feels weird to say that. Well Eli, a little bit intimidated by me, but we have a week to fix it. Got A debt collection thing from WITC On the same day i finaly knocked off tuition. I know i wanted to not have autopay on tuition but this is ridiculously overkill. Likley watching Fantastic Beasts Saturday when we get back from Rice Lake, glad like the Queen movie this is in town. 11/16/18 Nora and Eli, weird combo that sends him into his Grandmas arms. Glad thats occuring while im not at home. At least my and Erics Grandma got to see him, just not sure how much longer that will be a possibility. One week to Black Friday and the trucks for delivery have tripled. The sales will be worth it but the work on the other hand, wish that just came faster. 11/17/18 Stags day, the first day of hunting season a little less crowded around the area. Went with mom and Eli to see Grinch but showing ended up being sold out. Eli for being 4 is just a near ball of energy, even if we never gave him sugar Wish he could calm down, mom somehow seemed chill with it, might have to take her advice on this issue. Cute when he has to be, bullet like mom put it on all other fronts. As for Fantastic Beasts, it seemed overstuffed for its own good a two hour episode like youd see on Netflix or somewhere else. Though Depp did win me over as Grindlewald. 11/18/18 Eli was better today, and we managed to actually get some stuff done. He ended up being major help with placing ornaments on my tree. Work however was a mess, misinformation abound. Thursday outside better not be a bigger mess. Oh wait its the Black Friday sale yeah it will be. 11/19/18 The thanksgiving week is always wacky, Monday somehow is wackiest. Eli went with Mom to meet Rafe while I mainly spent it finishing decorating the room. Green Light Strand isnt working will have to replace it. Cayedn surprsingly got a deer and Eric is really helpful on that front. Work meanwhile was nuts, this time however, with Split Pants. May have to get new ones before Thursday Night. Glad this week a lot of stuff on Itunes and Amazon is on sale. Will likely take big advantage of this. Andy possibly thew wrench in plans, hopeful that i dont have to cancel. 11/20/18 Lone day off this week has me stopping at WITC to finish work i have assigned since i have no class tomorrow. Had to pick up pants as my others split. Will hold off on game or blu ray until thursday night after work. Mom and Skillet cookies glad she makes them but could wonder what else around here might break as stove is going. Our turkey is set for tomorrow as Eric and compay leave before parade on thursday. Hopin to get Eli once more to do craft project, want to surprise mom on that count. 11/21/18 The day before, aka the busiest travel day of the year. Made rudolph feet with Eli, a lot bigger than i pictured him to be. Had to wear split pants as replacements didn't fit. Turkey was good, unexpectedly tried Moms squash that was really tasty for some odd reason. Back outside for carts tomorrow, first time since the summer and i get thrown to the wolves on the big one. Colder than usual i will admit. 11/22/18 Eli seemed sad to leave us, but at least i got him the ornament he made ready before he did. Another thanksgiving the parade in full glory. Lions crappy game, Cowboys decent game, and Wal-Marts annual 6pm sale. Cole really needed to be slapped. He must think im dumber than i look. Best part is always the low price movies and tv shows. Annual pickups of Flash, Arrow and Big Bang Theory. Handmaids Tale DVD counts too this time along with Jumanji and a film i personally wanted to see but heard crap about, Assassins Creed. Not looking forward to the rain tomorrow. 11/23/18 Quieter than usual actual Black Friday. Couple that with Rain that washed away snow, pretty off day all around. 11/24/18 Plans for Basketball with Andy and Carynn are officially scrapped, could remedy that in another surprise way. Something about today that just felt so much more off than usual. Lingered at Library, lingered at Store, even lingered at McDonalds stuff i would not normally do on a day like this. Ralph Breaks the Internet I'll hold off on for now. Really still want to see Grinch. Badgers finally lost the Ax after 15 years, really makes you think. 11/25/18 Finally got Wolfenstien 2 downloaded for Switch, will look forward to play something else besides Zelda for a bit Smash Bros awaits in the wings. Christmas gifts are starting to take abit of idea form. UCF continues to climb, will need upsets by Texas and Northwestern to have a shot at Playoff but without QB is risky. 11/26/18 Mom threw out her back, not sure if it was from picking up Eli but she seemed more out of sorts than usual. Other replacement for Cap 2 joined, liking him so far. Small issue with Chyenne who was on phone for nealry 15 minutes in the middle of the aisle, and nobody said a peep. If it was me, would have been fired. Privelege indeed. Guy at McDonalds may be homeless, was tempted to report him but with all the white calling blacks for doing normal stuff no way id risk it. 11/27/18 This day always seems to be the quietest when it comes to stuff coming out, almost nothing. One movie I wanted to get for Eli when he was here finally showed up. Wrapped up DVD's as gifts for Eric and them. 15% extra coming Thursday. Not sure what itll be used for. 11/28/18 Rare Wednesday I had store duties as well as class. Got extra 15% card for the even 25%. Glad ill be able to use it this time. Unlike what I originally had intended for The 30th. Could use some more snow around here. 11/29/18 25% discount thankfully goes 2 days so held off on that. Visited WITC the Christmas decorations are great as usual. Visited Menards but the so called enchanted forest seemed lacking. At least I was able to get bulbs and another set of blue lights. Sold ticket, hopeful Andy can get in tomorrow and enjoy himself. 11/30/18 Contigency Plan #2: Animated Grinch, OK Cumberbatch was excellent and Pharell ups Anthony Hopkins but the movie was just simply Ok. 25% got used well for Moms clients and Connor and Amber. Andy and Carynn got in and enjoyed themselves. Also got thier save the date and details on the Weddding. Looks like a fun 4 day trip next May. Last Part of Year begins, lets see if this can finish strong. Never figured at start that id be blogging this but just goes to so. 334 Days down 31 to Go.

#november 2018 #blurbs #ralph 2

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philosopherofnothing · 6 years ago

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Putting the Pieces Back Together

Emma Cook is a 26-year-old whose life is far from being a normal one. She owns her mother’s bookshop since she has passed away, and makes a really big effort to keep it running as smoothly as she did. She suffers from depression, which makes every little aspect of her life a struggling hell. But everything changes when, in a freezing winter morning, she sees Eddie Redmayne standing outside the bookshop, waiting for her.

Chapter 1. Meeting Eddie.

You drew in a sharp breath when the cold winter wind hit your face as you stepped out of your little home on Corinne Road, Tufnell Park. How you hated winter, you thought as you wrapped yourself in your big plaid scarf, almost covering your face completely. You took a fleeting glance at your watch only to realise that you had a bit more than two minutes left until the train arrived at Tufnell Station. You quickened your pace, praying to a God you did not believe in to spare you from the monstrosity of missing the train and therefore arriving late to work. You hated being late, and even more now that the bookshop was doing so well.

Arriving at the station, you could hear the train getting into the platform. You ran down the stairs and got through the train door just in time before it closed.

You caught a glimpse of yourself in one of the train’s windows as you walked towards the seats, and you couldn’t help but let out a giggle. You looked as British as one could get: red and black plaid scarf, long black trench coat and light brown boots. Anyone else could surely pull it off, but you felt a bit ridiculous in that outfit.

Getting off at King Cross, you really were wished you could afford to live closer to the bookshop. You were quite apprehensive about crowded places and King Cross Station was one to fall in that category, always full of exasperated commuters and loud tourists trying to take their picture holding the Harry Potter trolley on the wall. Almost there you thought as you made your way through the crowd towards the Victoria line, the one that took you to the shop.

It was 8:55 when you walked out of the station, just five minutes before you had to open the bookshop. Luckily you were just three blocks away from it, and this part of Westminster was not that crowded at this time of day. You turned round the corner at 8:59 and your heart sunk when you saw a tall man standing outside the shop, his right foot tapping impatiently on the pavement.

“I’m coming, Sir!” you called out as you rushed towards him.

The man turned around at your call and flashed a smile at you. “Don’t worry, Miss,” he said as you reached him panting. “I know it wasn’t the opening time yet, but I just had to be here first,”

“I’m so sorry. You know how it is at this time of day, it’s nearly impossible to get anywhere on time when you have to travel through London,“ you excused yourself as you turned the key and opened the door, waiting for the man to go in first.

He nodded and walked in and you followed, closing the door behind you. You could see him better now that you both were out of the sunlight. He was really tall, almost a head taller than you, and his hair was of a soft red. You hurried past him towards the counter and looked up once you were behind it. He was standing in front of you, a gentle smile crossing his face. Now that you were closer to him you noticed his freckled face and his dark green eyes. A flicker of recognition came across your mind, but you were unable to pinpoint where you knew him from.

“Now yes, Sir, how can I help you?” you asked, your voice turning quite professional.

“Well, you see, my parents live not so far away from here and I often walk past your bookshop on my way there. About a month ago or so I saw you had a poster up about the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them case thing or book, I don’t really know what it is. It said you were supposed to have it in this week and I wanted to purchase it.” he answered, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

“Oh, Sir, I’m so sorry but we haven’t got it yet. I think it is supposed to come in at the end of the week,” you replied as you checked the entrance date on your computer. “Yes, we are getting it on Friday 4th.”

He looked disappointed. “Blimey, I thought it would be here by now,”

“I know, Sir, I’m sorry. You can always try luck at one of the big bookstores,” you smiled at him apologetically.

“No, don’t be sorry. I’ll wait. I really like your bookshop” he quickly replied, his cheeks coloured a soft pink. “Also I don’t want to cause turmoil by going to a big store,”

And that was when it clicked. The hair, the eyes, the kindness. Him not wanting to be recognised. You casted a quick glance towards the cardboard cutout of the cast of Fantastic Beasts that was at the left of the room. There he was, standing in the middle, awkward pose, wand in hand. He was Eddie Redmayne. You gaped hard at him, which caused him to chortle.

“I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself, Miss. I… I honestly thought you would recognise me, “ he admitted awkwardly. “So silly of me. Eddie, Eddie Redmayne” he continued, holding his hand in front of you.

“Nice to meet you, Sir. Emma, Emma Cook,” you replied, shaking his hand slowly.

“Please, call me Eddie. Your formality is killing me,” he said with a genuine smile, making you blush. “Emma, I really want to buy the book here. If I give you my phone number, would you be so kind as to call me as soon as you have it?”

You nodded, still unable to process all that was going on at the moment. He took out a pen from inside his coat and wrote his number down in a slip of paper he found on the counter.

“Here you go,” he said, handing it to you. “I really have to go now, Emma, but I really hope to hear from you soon,”

He turned around and walked towards the door leaving you there, speechless, slip of paper in your hand. Before exiting the room, he turned around once more, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“By the way, you look very English today. I like it,” And with that said, he left the shop.

“Holy fucking shit” you breathed.

#eddieredmayne #fanfic #newtscamander #fantasticbeastsandwheretofindthem #fantasticbeaststhecrimesofgrindelwald #lovestory #english #fanfiction

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mrszubes-blog · 8 years ago

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Hobbies & All That Weirdness

To my darling husband,

Since we met almost 4 years ago, we have traded back and forth so many habits, hobbies, and interests. I think that’s part of meeting someone new, developing a relationship with this person, and deciding to spend the rest of your life with this person. You pick up on the things that interest them, and you learn more about those things so that you can share in your significant other’s hobbies and interests.

When I sat down and thought about it, I actually came up with a few significant things that I’ve picked up from you.

- Whiskey: Where to begin! I think it was our third date; you bought me a very expensive shot of Macallan whiskey and insisted you were going to teach me ALL about scotch. You even had the Scottish accent to go with the talk. I was still getting used to your accents and quirks, so I must admit it took me a while to take you seriously. To be completely honest, that first $26 shot of Macallan tasted like burning. I had zero experience with drinking scotch straight or on the rocks. Before that, the strongest drink I’d ever had with a double Jack Daniels and Coke. So I was super confused on how this was a GOOD thing. Fast forward three years, and we were on our honeymoon in Scotland, visiting 14 distilleries and trying over 40 different whiskeys. We even picked up the last bottle of Macallan Ruby the distillery had (not a cheap investment!) and decided that instead of saving it, we’d drink a wee dram each anniversary. And it is, without a doubt, one of the best things I have ever tasted. (:

- Phonetics: When we first met, I was a bit confused by your fascination with different ways of pronouncing words and sounds. Rhyming and accents went hand in hand. I’ve long since lost count of the different accents you’ll slip into, but I do know that you reserve the Scottish accent for when you’re picking out a Scotch to drink, and you reserve the Jamaican accent for when you’re drunk off your ass (which is SO much fun for sober me!). These days, we flip back and forth on rhyming off words and sounds while making faces without even realizing 100% that we’re doing it. I think we scare other people sometimes.

- Working out/See-It-Eat-It: This one wasn’t one you intended to pass on, I think, but somehow it happened. When we first met, we were both a lot skinnier. You were on a hardcore 3x/wk, 2.5 hour work out schedule. And you got me to join in. I learned so much from you about strength training. I also learned that the reason your gym sessions were so long sometimes was because of the amount of cardio you did to burn off excess calories. Excess calories that came from seeing something delicious and just eating it all! Something we both lack is self-control around sweets, and while I tend to nibble at something periodically… you just inhale it whole. Hence the longer workouts. I must confess it’s really hard when you sit there with half a cake to not sit down beside you and eat the other half. For breakfast. And I know I’m no help either: I just love to bake, and we both love to eat it. Thankfully, I know that working together to track our food intake and get back to exercising more means that we’ll get on top of this weight thing soon. (:

That said, when I thought about it some more, there are some of ‘your things’ that I tried to understand and just completely failed, the main one being…

- Music: Try as I do, I’m just incompetent with music. I can’t carry pitch, I can’t keep a beat, and I still don’t know which string is which on a guitar. I couldn’t tell you the difference between an overdrive pedal and a fuzz pedal. Humbuckers and P90s all sound the same to me. Telecaster vs. Les Paul? No. Freaking. Clue. I just don’t have the ability to understand the difference between these things or how to use them myself. My music capability started and ended with high school band playing the alto saxophone, barely passing that before dropping it. While I do care that you are happy with your music gear choices, I know that my opinion will mean zip. So feel free to talk out your choices and thoughts, but please don’t look to me for final decisions! And also don’t ask me to tell you which pedal or pick up sounds better. As the expression goes, it’s all Greek to me!

- King Games/Other Phone Games: I’ve tried all of the games you play at some point or another. Honest, I have! And they just don’t hold my attention in the same way that they hold your attention. For you, they’re a way of unwinding, distracting you from a long day at work. For me, they’re a passing fancy. I’ll play up to level 20 and then delete it. Or I’ll play to level 5 and then forget about it for 6 months, before coming back and going to level 10. And then deleting it. I’ve got no problem with you playing them (except when I’m trying to tell you something), but I doubt I’ll ever really share that interest with you fully. I will periodically steal your phone and try level 1254 that you’re on, just to marvel that they don’t run out of ideas for these things. But that’s the extent of my understanding/interest.

I think the same can be said for you picking up things from me…

- Phonetics – Again: On the same lines, you’ve picked up some of my favourite phrases and phonetics too. The popular one that you love/hate is ‘Its dee-fferent’. I don’t know why I started saying it that way on occasion. Most likely to show that I’m mocking something as being different when it may not be all that different.

Example- Husband: “Let’s by chocolate mint cup ice cream.” Me: “No, that stuff sucks. Let’s buy candy cane chocolate crackle ice cream.” H: “They’re the same thing! Chocolate mint!” Me: “No they’re not. It’s dee-fferent.”

And the other day you quoted me and said ‘cold as balls out’. I’m not sure how I started using those sayings and spellings, but you’ve jumped right into using them. I’m so proud! (;

- Meal Planning: You’re starting to get into food prep and cooking, though very reluctantly. We’ve only recently taken steps to get you more involved in this process, and so far I think we’re both excited about how well that is working. You know how this works: I pull into the grocery store parking lot with a game plan. I have a grocery list, coupons, PC points list, and a route through the store. I’m in and out in 20 minutes. In the same time I can buy $100 of groceries and loop the store once to hit the check out, you’re still in the produce section admiring the hot peppers. You also see something super cool in every aisle and put in the cart to use sometime. Problem is, “sometime” doesn’t always fall before it expires or rots. But we’re both learning on how to make this work for both of us. We pick meals to make and compile a grocery list in advance. I slow down so you can look at all the cool stuff you didn’t know grocery stores had, and you show amazing self restraint to not to splurge and buy Aisle 6. Our first attempt at this last week went really well. We only went $25 over budget. I’m so proud of us! (:

Likewise, there are some of ‘my things’ that you just can’t get into. Namely…

- Harry Potter: I know you’ve tried. I know I’ve pushed you on it. But I’ve totally accepted that this is my thing. Well, it’s my obsession, as you say. I really can’t help myself. It’s only been in the last year that it’s really reached the point of obsession. I do read the books regularly. I watch the movies after I’ve read the books. I follow fan pages on Tumblr and Facebook. I joined Pottermore (FYI I’m in Gryffindor!) and I keep up to date on the spin offs and expansions of the series. I know you don’t understand, but please understand that for me, it’s the perfect escape. When life is just full of work and responsibilities, I can lose myself in a book about a young boy that faces battles and problems different from mine. I can focus on someone else’s fate, rather than my own. Next time you see me reading one of the books or watching one of the movies, please don’t give me a hard time. Instead, ask if I’m doing okay. Because I’m probably reading/watching again to avoid some bigger evil in my life. FYI the greatest gift you could give me would be to read the books with me or on your own. I can’t begin to tell you how much better the books are, how much more thorough and satisfying it is to read the deeper details of an intricate web of a story.

- Knitting/Looming: I think you just see any time I spend working on crafting projects such as knitting and looming or cross-stitching in front of the TV as time that could be better spent cuddling with you. Which I understand. And I promise to split my evenings between you and the craft projects. But another way I unwind is to do something with my hands while watching TV. I get twitchy and fidgeting otherwise. So do you, by the way. You fidget with the games on your phone. I think it would pain you to go through a whole TV show or movie without ONCE picking up your phone to flick through Facebook, check email, or play a game. It’s just how our weirdly similar brains work. I don’t fault it in you, so please don’t fault it in me.

I don’t worry about how different or similar we are. I like that we can share in some similar interests, and I like that we still retain our own independent activities and interests. But I do love how many memories we have while bonding over these now shared interests and activities. I love seeing you learn the titles of the Harry Potter movies, and I love seeing your enthusiasm as you attempt (in vain) to teach me the difference between a G cord and a D cord. We may giggle, roll our eyes, or sigh in exasperation. But we do it together. Forever and always.

All my love,

Your Wife

#love #marriage #husband #wife #weareforalways

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