#I am pretty satisfied with the design I got for Agent 8 but all the other agents? yeah no... a work in progress I suppose

[commandertartarsmoocher]

"Gay Is Okay 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🇩🇪"

[buckyscopyofthehobbit]

A Series of Events (Chapter 1)

Pairing: It’s a secret! 

Genre: Little bit of everything, TBH

Warnings: mention of death and medical infusions

This is the beginning of what I expect to be a long running series. The series is a reader insert that will be told through a combination of story and journal entries in a journal read by the therapist. 

Important notes;

Jan is Y/N’s therapist. 

Y/B/F/N is your best friends name

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

I’m never quite sure how I got here, and by here I mean the third highest floor of Stark Tower. Everything was perfectly normal one day and then the next Tony offers me a job and a place to live. Jan (Hi Jan!) suggested a timeline of events to read when I start to feel this way (that things aren’t real) so here I am. She said start at the beginning, so I guess that means childhood? 

I always remember having a fantastic childhood, it was hectic, but I always got to see my friends and honestly I enjoyed always having something to do. Growing up in the City seems to me like it should be every kids dream, it was mine. Every ounce of free time my friends and I would spend exploring the city we all called home and taking advantage of everything it had to offer. I was homeschooled, my parents said it was because the schools couldn’t keep up with me...but how could that be in somewhere like New York? I know that I did schoolwork all year, even though my friends got months off, but I never got a satisfying answer when I tried to ask why.

As far back as I remember my childhood weeks looked like this with a schedule on the fridge and my bedroom mirror (I had a rigidly scheduled life all through college as well, just one of my own making)

monday/wednesday/friday 

5a — swimming

7 — gymnastics

9 — breakfast, free time

10 — schoolwork and lunch while working

5p — judo

6:30 — dinner and free time

7:30 — stretching and schoolwork 

8:30 — wind down and sleep

tuesday/thursday/saturday

5a — competitions **or** extra foreign language tutoring (TUE)/various communications tutoring (THUR)/free time (SAT). 

7 — competitions **or** extra STEM tutoring

9— breakfast, free time

10— schoolwork and lunch while working

5p — combat training with dad

630 — dinner and free time

730 — stretching and schoolwork 

830 — wind down and sleep

and I truly believed I loved it. I liked the structure, I enjoyed all of the activities I did, and those activities were where I got to see my friends and family. I want to say I started everything around 5 years old, so 5 to 15 was spent mostly mapped out for me, but that’s not to say boring. Most of my free time was spent with my friends, or the few partners I had and I still had all those silly school traditions, and a graduation. The problem with this is when you’re 14 at prom, and 15 at graduation it just doesn’t feel the same, it always just felt like a waste of time. 

Competing brought a lot of success but my parents cared more for that than I did, making a near shrine in the basement. All I knew was that competitions were my excuse for a break in the repetition and it got me scholarships. 

For college I still lived at home and went to Columbia. Double majored in biophysics and chemistry, and my parents let me slow my schedule down to maintenance instead of building. College was great! In between school, assistantships, and practices I was free for the first time. Friday’s were “(Y/B/F/N) sleepovers” meaning that we went to parties and got hammered and then slept in their dorm, we just never told anyone my age. Graduated at 19, then it was on to medical school. 

Medical school was a nightmare, and one that I never honestly wanted to do in the first place, it was just a means to an end. Did dermatology and plastic surgery residencies and worked myself to the bone to finish by 27, I guess it helps to have parental connections too...well, but now that I think about it...why did they let me do that? Add that to the list of things to look into I guess. All through medical school I was expected to still maintain the gymnastics and judo, and had to prove it to my dad regularly. Then my mom would test me to make sure I was still practicing my languages, which was never very hard, it was my favorite thing I was forced to study. 

After that it was a PhD in biochemistry and molecular biophysics at Columbia. 2 years later and I never wanted to attend classes again. My PhD project was a healing spray that could be used to close deep wounds until the person could get somewhere safe, and I got it to work! It was an early prototype but it was miraculous enough that it got me the PhD, and a job. The day after my presentation Tony offered me a job and a place to stay, and I immediately accepted. 

Oh shit, should I explain that? It is part of the timeline so I guess? Jan, just tell me if I’m wrong...wait are you going to annotate this like an essay because that might be helpful. 

I met Tony when I was 11 through a series of events that are all part of what I’m not convinced is real. 

My parents said that I was born with a condition that affected my blood (I’ve never been told the name, seems suspicious) so once a month I get infusions to prevent recurrence. The first place I was going was this small office strip in Long Island, that i remember having the doctor, a coffee shop, and a travel agent (this seems so odd, surely I’m just not remembering correctly). At 7 we started just going to this mansion something like an hour outside of the city and got them from this doctor that insisted I call him Hank (what even is this memory). I remember thinking how odd it was that in this huge mansion I only ever saw Hank. At 10 I started going to this mansion on fifth avenue and again the doctor giving the infusions insisted a first name basis, Bruce (a mansion to get infusions?????). A year later he was introducing me to Tony, and both of them are still very close dear family friends. They both came to every competition, science show, graduation, project proposal, and demonstration they were able to. When Stark Tower went up my infusions were moved, and I officially got my own Stark Tower badge to hide. 

As I was saying, the day after my project demonstration Tony offered me a job and an apartment suite in the Tower. Of course I accepted, and he let me start designing my suite right away. After a month of renovations my suite was ready, so I went to get the keys. Hung out with Tony for maybe an hour, then went home. 

When I got home, my parents were dead in the living room floor. 

There you go Jan, is that what you wanted? That pretty much catches us up to when I started seeing you. 

[365days365movies]

January 14, 2021: GoldenEye (Epilogue)

WhoooooooooooooOK. Look, I’m gonna get through this, but I’m gonna have to go in a different order. I’m going from highest score to lowest, because that’s how I’m gonna be able to get through this. And for the record, I’ll be doing some...ranting...at certain points. This is gonna be interesting. Why? Well, let’s start with this little tidbit.

79%. Not my score. That’s the Rotten Tomatoes score for this movie. The average rating on RT is 7.1/10. My score...my score will not be that high. Maybe not terribly low, but...it ain’t gonna be that high. ‘Cause I got some problems. OH BOY...do I got some problems. And this might even be controversial for some, but if you like this movie, I’m so happy for you.

I...I was not that lucky.

Review

Direction and Action

To Martin Campbell: great job. I actually mean this sincerely, great job with the direction of this movie, as well as the cinematography. Good job from you too, Phil Méheux. Some of the shots and framing of this movie are great, and credit absolutely deserves to be given for that. And the action! Look, as stupid as some of the framing is for it (we’ll get there, dear GOD, we’ll get there), the action is all dynamite. From the jump into the dam at the beginning, to the VERY impressively brutal fight scene between Alec and James at the end. Absolutely impressive, and gets a 9/10 from me. Yeah, really. No complaints here. 

Wow, a 9? That’s a big deal! I thought you said you hated this movie.

I don’t hate everything in this movie. But some things...some things...we’ll get there.

Cast and Acting

I can’t believe I’m saying this, considering my opinions on a lot of the movie...but Brosnan is a pretty great Bond. I hate the lines he’s forced to deliver, I hate the relationships and lack of emotion in his dialogue (WE WILL GET THERE), but I don’t actually blame Brosnan for that. He does a great job with what he’s given. And that basically goes for everybody else...almost. Famke Janssen. Xenia...she, uh...HOLY SHIT DUDE. She fuckin’ GOES for it. She’s the craziest Bond...Girl...wait. No, wait, she isn’t the Bond Girl. SHE’S THE HENCHMAN. Shit. OK, I’m on board with Xenia and Famke Janssen’s portrayal. Over the top, sure, but I can deal with that. Sean Bean does great, no surprise there, and I even like Izabella Scorupco as Natalya. Alan Cumming...Boris....yeah, no, no pass for Boris, he’s obnoxious as hell. I know you’re a great actor, Alan Cumming. So why in the hell do I NEVER SEE YOU IN ANYTHING GOOD??? Except X2, you rocked as Nightcrawler. And y’know what, Judi Dench’s one scene as M was FANTASTIC. Seriously, more of THAT, please! So, yeah, when I really think about it, high marks here, too. 8/10!

And an 8! For somebody who liked Connery, I’m surprised that Brosnan was OK for you. And yet, you said you didn’t like this movie? Why?

Just keep reading. It’ll aaaaaaaaaaallllllll make sense soon.

Production Design

Not much to say here, except...yeah, it looks great! From Arecibo Observatory to the streets of St. Petersburg, it all looks great. Iconic sets, like that Soviet statuary. Costumes, ESPECIALLY Xenia’s, were also pretty good, although not particularly iconic. Definitely no real problems here. Good job, Peter Lamont! 8/10 for you and your cohorts.

These are pretty high grades, 365.

I know. I am aware. We are not done.

Music and Editing

Before I talk about Tina Turner’s song, I have one thing to say...the triangle guy in the orchestra was having a FIELD DAY. My girlfriend and I watched this together, and she noticed it first. Now I can’t unhear it. Everybody wants to be heard...even the triangle guy. Listen to the theme from the tank sequence, you won’t be able to unhear the triangle guy going CRAZY back there. 

OK, the opening sequence might’ve been crazy compared to others, but the song was...pretty good. Absolutely not my favorite Bond song (GOOOOOOOOOLD-FINGAAAAAAH-WHAP-WHAAAAAAAP-WAAAAAAAAAAH), but still good. And the rest of the music for the movie is good...but I won’t be buying the soundtrack, sorry to say. Still, Éric Serra did a good job, I mean that. With all that said, 8/10.

Gee, 365, you sure you don’t like this movieGIVE IT A GODDAMNSECONDOK???

Plot and Writing

...Hey, uh...you OK? Looks like your eyes have gone blank there, 365. You all ri-wait...wait, what are you doing with your thighs? No! NOOOOOOOOO-

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHATETHEWRITINGANDPLOTINTHISGODDAMNMOVIE

OK, take a breathtakeabreathtakeabreathtakeaBREATH. The plot and writing of this goddamn movie cripples EVERYTHING ELSE IT HAD GOING FOR IT for me. And for the duration of the film, I’ve been trying to figure it out. What was it? I’m gonna have to break it into pieces here.

Plot first. At the end of the day, the plot isn’t actually bad in and of itself. However...it is the most UNORIGINAL, HACKNEYED, SPY MOVIE, JAMES BOND CLAPTRAP THAT I HAVE EVER SEEN. The entire film just feels scripted, and not in a good way. And I know that, logically, some things are going to stay the same. He’s gonna get the girl, there’s going to be a dastardly villain, there’ll be gadgets, Bond’ll be cool, and there’s the music. Let’s take the music out of it, obviously, and look at the other core elements of a Bond film, shall we?

The Girl: I might’ve liked Natalya, but the characters had NO chemistry. Can’t say that about Brosnan and Izabella, they did fine with what they were given. But the characters weren’t given a single satisfying reason to get together. They needed to either meet earlier, or you needed to give her something in her character to get her to convincingly fall for Natalya. The work needs to be done with her. Because, let’s face it: James Bond is a man-whore. It’s literally a part of his character definition. He doesn’t need an excuse to fall for her, she needs an excuse to fall for him. And we never get a convincing reason for their relationship. Ever.

The Villain: Gaaaaaaah, Alec! Alec was actually an interesting character! His motivations actually did make sense, and play on a VERY tough event in the history of the UK. While it certainly doesn’t justify his actions, it definitely makes him more three-dimensional. Which is why it’s a shame that the film works so hard to flatten him out. They turn him from an intriguing individual, to someone whose ultimate goal is to steal ALL OF THE MONEY IN LONDON!!! MUUUUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!!!! This guy is a Baron Zemo, a THANOS. Doing terrible things for understandable reasons. Should’ve leaned into that more, instead of just turning him into Evil James Bond. One of the biggest failures of this movie, seriously.

Gadgets: WHAT GODDAMN GADGETS??? The acetylene torch at the dam? Barely a gadget, and you know it. The car? NOPE! Agent Wade takes it away! Here’s an ideaUSE THE CAR IN ST. PETERSBURG. Instead of TEARING UP DOWNTOWN ST. PETERSBURG. Real subtle, Bond, real great work AS A SPY, YOU FUCKLEHEAD!!! What about the pen? Oh, the one he uses by ACCIDENT? Yeah, not counting that either. The belt? Nope, not even touched. And lastly, I cannot stress this enough, WHY WOULD YOU TEASE ME WITH THE GODDAMN CAR MISSILES, AND DO NOTHING WITH THEM??? Yeah. Still not over the car thing, I mean that. Enraged. So enraged.

James Bond: Pierce...you did a good job. You did a great job, even. It’s not you. It’s the writing. See, Bond lines used to be cool. But then, Schwarzenegger happened. And Stallone happened. And literally the entirety of the 1980s and early ‘90s happened. And all during that, Bond was still around, and still pumping out movies. All of Connery’s wit and cunning got Flanderized into almost a parody of the original character. And Brosnan...Brosnan does his damndest with those puns. Those awful...AWFUL...puns. If they were here and there, sure, I could’ve taken it. But at times, it felt like EVERY OTHER LINE!!! At a certain point, the film felt less like a Bond film, and more like a parody of a Bond film. EXCEPT, that unlike Austin Powers, IT. WASN’T. FUCKING. FUNNY. But you may have noticed something...that has nothing with the plot. That’s all writing. OK, let’s get into it.

The writers need help; they were clearly locked in a room for too long until they came up with “good puns.” It didn’t work. And the problem stretches far outside of the puns. Lemme give you an example, yeah? At one point, Valentin asks if Bond has “joined the 21st century,” then notes that M is now a woman. That comment makes no sense in two ways. One, that phrase is meant to state that an individual is somehow dated, out of touch with the present, stuck in the past. Yet, working for a woman is most certainly a more modern trait, so that makes no sense. And secondly, THIS IS 1995, IN THE 20TH CENTURY. And that’s a relatively minor nitpick, at the tip of the iceberg of this film. There are plot holes, missed opportunities...long story short (too late), the writing is TERRIBLE. It’s goddamn awful. It’s so awful...that I’m going for 1/10. Yeah. This movie PISSED ME OFF.

There. You get it now? Most of the elements of the movie were fine, but the writing TORE it for me. Which leaves us with…

A 68%.

*wakes up* W---WHAT? You tried to Xenia me, and you still gave it a 70%? What about the whole “My score will not be that high” thing? HUH?

I mean...it wasn’t. The average rating on Rotten Tomatoes was a 71%. Mine’s a 68%.

Because here’s the thing: it’s honestly not a bad movie. It just infuriates me for one reason. By all other metrics, this movie’s totally fine. It’s just the unoriginal plot and cringeworthy writing that tears it down a peg. Just imagine if the writing was good. This movie would be considered one of the best action movies, instead of just once of the best James Bond movies. And even then, if you ranked these movies by Tomatometer, GoldenEye’s only #9. That’s beneath Lazenby, a Moore, two Craigs, and the first four Sean Connerys. In other words, it’s the worst Bond movie I’ve ever seen...and I’ve only seen the first four Connery movies. So, really, this rating makes sense when you think about it.

There it is: a good action film with shitty writing. That’s GoldenEye. And PLEASE disagree with me, I’m one of the outliers with this movie. It is a beloved classic for many, and I respect that. But for me...it’s a 68%. Just my opinion.

But this isn’t fair. I want me a good Bond movie, or at least one that I like. Already seen Goldfinger, so...let’s go for the Bond after Brosnan, shall we?

January 15, 2021: Casino Royale (2005)

[otterknowbynow]

Altean Home Economics (8/?)

Goo is great, but Hunk sure would feel better if they had kitchen access. all chapters in this tag | ao3 link in reblogs

"Did we decide this was baking soda or something?" Keith asks, passing a foil-wrapped block into Pidge’s  field of vision. 

"I mean, ideally we'd run that through the spectrometer in the lab and figure out its chemical formula like with the others, but I'm pretty sure it's something like that -- there’s a list of steps on the back here, see?" She points to the text, numbered with Altean numerals, and Keith nods seriously. 

“Okay, what am I looking at?” 

“Well, a lot of it I’m not sure what it says, but there’s a verb here that means ‘to rise,’ so it seems likely that it’s some kind of leavening, but like I said, I’d feel a lot more comfortable if I took it to the lab.”   

"Hm," Hunk says, and pinches off a small piece of the chalky stuff, rubbing it between his fingers until it's all dissolved into powder. “You want to add a sample of it to your pile, Pidge? I’ll keep the rest here.” She narrows her eyes, suspicious. 

“What are you going to do with it?” she asks. Hunk shrugs at her. 

“I’m going to put it in some batter and see what happens when I cook it,” he says. “Seems like that’ll tell us pretty quickly whether it’s some kind of rising agent or not.” 

“I mean, I guess,” she says. “As long as you don’t actually eat any of it until I get back with some answers.” 

“How stupid do you think I am?” Hunk says indignantly. 

Keith leans around him to add, “I’ll keep an eye on him.” 

“Thanks,” she says, pointedly ignoring Hunk’s face as she adds some scrapings of the block to an empty one of the tiny containers she’s been collecting samples in. She gathers up the pile in front of her -- a stack of a dozen or so little boxes -- and heads out to the door, nearly colliding with Coran and Lance as it slides open to reveal them on the other side. She lets out a startled yelp as the topmost container topples off the stack, only to see Coran’s hand shoot out to catch it before it hits the floor. 

“Ah, apologies, Number Five,” he says, offering it back to her. “And where are you off to with what appears to be half my spice cupboard?” 

“The lab,” she says as she tucks the fallen sample back on top of its fellows. “I need to run some tests and see what these are -- and most importantly if they’re safe for human consumption.” 

“Oh, nice!” Lance says excitedly. “Did you find any eggs?” Pidge blinks at him. 

“I mean, no,” she says. “At least, not unless they’re the eggs of something nearly microscopic.” 

“Fair,” he says, screwing up his brows and nodding. “I’ll keep an eye out.” 

“Alright, well, carry on, Number Five, I’m just here to help explain to Lance how the querlays work!” 

“Querlays?” she asks -- if she remembers properly, that’s an Altean word for..device, appliance, something of that kind, though it’s more specialized, and she’s not surprised the translator doesn’t seem to bother trying to put it into English. Coran gestures enthusiastically to the side of the kitchen that’s full of machinery and grins. 

“Just another way the castle’s design is remarkable, we’ve got more than enough technology here to make a feast that would satisfy a choferiak! Not that we’ve ever had occasion to, to my knowledge,” he adds this last conspiratorially, half-covering his mouth with one hand, though he hasn’t lowered the volume of his voice at all. Before Pidge can ask for a more detailed description of a choferiak, she hears a familiar trill and feels something bump into the back of her shoulder, turning to find --

“Turing!” she says, delighted to see the caterpillar, even if it is several decks away from where it probably should be. “Where did you find it?” She scratches it below its chin, looking to the others for answers. 

“Oh, he’s yours? He followed me to the bridge. We had words,” Lance finishes darkly, frowning. 

“Uh, okay?” Pidge doesn’t have the time to get into all that. “You do know it can’t talk, right?” 

“Talk, shmalk, he knows what he did.” 

“Why -- never mind,” she says, shaking her head. Lance deciding Turing is a “he” is not a priority right now. “I’ll take it back with me on my way to the lab. I usually try to at least keep them on the deck near the living quarters, so they don’t get lost.” 

“There are more of those?” 

“Well, yeah,” Pidge says, cradling the samples all in one arm so she can tuck Turing under her other one. “I’ve got three of them.” 

“Are the others nicer?” 

“Um,” she starts, but she’s saved from answering what’s an absurd question even by Lance standards by Coran, who claps him on the shoulder and moves both of them out of the doorway. 

“I thought we were on a mission, Number Four,” he says, gesturing toward the kitchen as a whole. “Something about pancakes and saving Hunk’s life? Though I have to say, I don’t really understand that last bit, since last I checked there’s nothing lethal in here!” 

Pidge ducks into the hallway before she can process Lance’s response, juggling samples and caterpillar, grateful that the door slides shut automatically behind her. 

[ayankun]

yalright let’s do this

AGENTS OF SHIELD SEASON ONE REWATCH COMPLETE BREAKDOWN MEGAPOST

hella spoilers for the entire canon up through season 5, but not 6 because I only saw it the once and am having a hard time remembering ANYthing about it.

I cannot determine specifically what it was about this season that caused to be branded “literal garbage” in my mind-hole for seven years.

Best guesses:

there’s some cheesy stuff that probably didn’t sit well with me at the time, and, at the time, there was no way of knowing that that kind of stuff was going to be ultimately eradicated

there’s some good stuff, like character stuff and plot stuff, but it didn’t successfully implant positive emotional responses in my brain-hole, leading me to be frustrated/offended at its own self-importance

there’s some stuff that just Doesn’t Work.  I won’t call anybody out, but there are some main side characters whose casting, in my opinion, leaves much to be desired.  when it comes to acting ability, I feel that it’s important to have the ranges of your entire cast match each other.  if you’re gonna hire B-listers, at least make sure they’re ALL B-listers.  if you’re gonna splurge and get some S-tier talent, pleeeeease don’t embarrass the B-listers by thinking you’re doing them a favor by including them on your project.  Understood, this opinion is highly subjective and I can’t expect everyone in front or behind the screen to buy into it, but it’s definitely a pet peeve of mine that causes strong reactions in me*

some of the plots are tired and/or straight up boring.  I got through them easily this time through because I was able to focus on the things I like, which is largely character interactions and re-learning the backstory for stuff that I know will continue to be important later on.  imagine listening to your grandpa’s stories about his life, but instead of telling you the cool stories about going to the moon or whatever, he’s telling you in great detail about the time he got his shoelaces stuck on like, a rusty nail sticking out of a fence.  It’s not a great story but it does explain why his mom only bought him velcro shoes after that and one time when they were trying on shoes in the store a couple of years later, some other kid started making fun of him for having velcro shoes and long story short your grandpa’s relationship with that kid is what got him interested in astrophysics and also he married that kid twenty-five years later -- but right now the story is specifically about spending forty minutes trying not to get tetanus.

Now that I’m older and wiser, what really surprised me throughout, though, was that not only was I not having any type of reaction that validated my “literal garbage” classification, I was noticing that there was A Lot of stuff that ticked a lot of boxes.

I’m talking technical stuff, the textbook basic filmmaking stuff, the stuff that I subjectively find objectively “Good” because it means that creative decisions were made with intent and were also executed proficiently enough to make that intent clear.

I’m talking SYMMETRICAL NARRATIVE which has to be one of my all-time favorite techniques, one that I personally use a lot, and I’m very biased in responding favorably when I see it, so I think ultimately this is a huge reason why this season cannot be classified as garbage this time around.  Because it shows that they cared!  It shows that they had A Plan!  It’s an emotionally satisfying technique that can be used to great effect when tipping the audience off to how far we’ve come from where we started.  It creates this nice tidy structural loop which I find very appealing.

Just real quick, you see this in individual episodes or even scenes, too.  Here’s a classic A+ example from episode 2:

Simmons has given Skye a bottle of water as a gag because that’s what happens on planes, and that bit is a set up to this bit, where Coulson is talking about how he rebuilt the Bus from the “studs up” and it demands to be treated with kid gloves; ergo:

Only to have the thing completely wrecked over the course of the episode.  In the denouement, “just starting to warm up to this place,” Coulson says ruefully, righting a broken glass as if that will put the plane back together; Skye immediately tosses a coaster down and moves the glass on top of it.

As a callback, it juxtaposes the starting-state and ending-state in your mind and highlights the contrast between the two.  And it’s also a nice character-building beat where you, the audience, get to observe Skye’s character in that she remembers a trivial detail that happened to be important to Coulson.  You also get to see Coulson observing the same, and you understand a little bit more about both of them.  *chef’s kiss*

So this is a pretty powerful and common technique, and I guess you could say that any well-resolved narrative is by definition going to recall you to the specifics of how it started.  Like ep 1 we start with Mike and Ace, their call and response “what are we/we’re a team,” and an understanding of Mike’s desire to be his kid’s guardian and hero and his desperate search for the tools that will allow him to become that.  In the finale, we see the pay off where Ace (via Skye) reminds Mike of this motivation, and Mike is finally in the position to protect his kid by taking out the Big Bad.

But I don’t want to go through the list to demonstrate that everyone’s character arcs likewise left them in a thematically resolved position relative to where they started.  Obviously this is an expectation of all (well structured) narratives. 

(And I don’t really mean to talk about callbacks themselves, such as Fitz’s obsession with monkeys or May’s repeated demand of “don’t call me that.”)

Stuff that only comes up at the beginning and the end.  Here’s the kind of symmetry that I mean:

Skye’s use of GPS encryption and the location of the diner where she first meets Mike.  Both topics come up in ep 1, and are revisited in ep 20 when she’s stalling for time against Ward and brings him to the diner by telling him that it’s the GPS coordinates necessary for decrypting the drive.  It says, last time you were here, Skye, you were living out of a van and fangirling over people with superpowers; now you’re an official agent of SHIELD (fun while it lasted, anyway) and you’re currently doublecrossing your own doublecrosser who was directly responsible for transforming you into the competent spy you are today.

Same thing: the only time we see Lola fly is at the end of ep 1, when Coulson and Skye are heading back to the Bus, and in ep 20 when Coulson rescues Skye from off the Bus.

Ep 2: 0-8-4.  We’re introduced to the very first object with the titular designation, and Simmons idly wonders “imagine what it would do to a person.”  Ep 22, it’s used to evaporate Garrett.  Same ep, we also meet the little, what even is it, that dendrotoxin EMP (??? I don’t recall whether the gadget is named) that Ward uses, and Coulson uses it in ep 17 to incapacitate Garrett.

Similarly, all the cool alien gadgets we spent the first few episodes gathering and locking up, including that first 0-8-4, are all broken out into the wrong hands in ep 18.

Also in ep 2 we are introduced to the idea of being thrown out of the airplane and Skye & co specifically prevent Ward from being sucked out.  We’re introduced to the concept of Coulson’s cellist!  Fury also makes a cameo (”talkin to me about authority”) ! 

It’s a little later on, but ep 6 has Simmons jumping out the plane, and Ward proving his Good Teammate status by jumping out after her (while Fitz is struggling on his way to do the same).  Ep 21, Ward boots FitzSimmons out the plane, and in ep 22 Fitz finally has the chance to properly save Simmons himself.

Ep 19 Coulson has a chance to save his cellist (again)

Ep 22, Fury comes back all Deus ex Machina and relinquishes authority of SHIELD directly to Coulson.

There’s also some dialogue recycled on purpose to make a point, like Fitz-Simmons introductory scene is recreated almost verbatim in ep 21:

Ep 2, talking to Skye about his mission vs ep 18 talking to Raina about his mission

(gotta admit, the man took this role seriously.  check out that cheekbone game he achieved in such a short time)

And again, Ep 1 Ward vs Ep 18 Ward.  They even framed it the same!!

All this to say, Season 1 is Structurally Sound and it has my blessing.

Now let’s move on to the list of things I liked that surprised me:

It’s pretty well polished, visually.  Joss Whedon’s veteran control of the director’s chair is readily apparent in the pilot, setting the visual tone for the series.  There are some made-for-tv shots over the course of the season, sure, and the least impressive compositions tend to involve CGI backdrops, but they do make the most of their interior sets and work hard to dress up various LA locations to, er, inspire the idea of the international scope of the show.  In my last update, I talked about ep 8 The Well in the context of Quality Directing, so it definitely goes above and beyond the basic shot-reverse shot when it wants to.

Ward.  Just for the record, I think Brett Dalton is great at his job and really brought exactly what they wanted to this character.  Eps 1 and 2 are a little shaky and stiff, but everyone’s performances are, as they let these characters coalesce around them.  I remember not liking Ward when I was watching this live, and honestly I think this was intentional.  He’s that character that you expect that you’re expected to like, you know, the traditional cocky savior type that lots of those fancy heroes are.  But because he’s so tropey in his characterization, you’re just ... over it?  And then when they flip the script and you’re supposed to hate him -- WOW.  It’s like two Christmases at once.  They took something you were already doing and rewarded you for it.

I’m not unaware of the “redeem grant ward” phenomenon.  I’m aware that the character had fans who were honestly drawn to and appreciative of the character before that persona was revealed to be a lie.

And honestly, it’s not that I like OR dislike Ward at all.  As a person.  It’s annoying that he’s a cocky bad-boy.  But it’s sweet when he plays nice with Simmons.  It’s embarrassing that he and May have “a thing.”  But it’s cathartic when he opens up to Skye about his past.  And Then, the sequence where we know he’s Hydra but Skye doesn’t.  And Then, the sequence where Skye knows he’s Hydra but he doesn’t.  And Then, his weird yucky confusion where he still wants to pursue something with Skye or doesn’t want to put down puppy-dog-eyed Fitz.

As a character, Ward is a great character.  His set up is so bland that the twist does appear to come out of nowhere, but on a rewatch all the groundwork is there.  His characterization as a baddie is enthralling.  I’m forecasting into season 2 a bit, but you want to follow his nefarious exploits just as much as you want to see his ex-friends smash his face in.  Brett Dalton played it right, A+ good job.  It makes Framework!Ward just that much more of a beautiful thing, to get to see what it would have been like if the Season 1 persona had actually been the man.

Also as covered in the last update, I was really very pleased to see how much character work was being done in this season.  Because I only watch and rewatch starting from the second season, there are important plot points that I’d been grudgingly attributing to this season about which I’d forgotten the specifics, such as, what’s the deal with Gravitonium, howcome we hate Ward so much, where did they get that memory-torture-machine, why are you acting like I recognize Titus Welliver’s character?  What surprised me was how much of a focus there is on character development as well.  A lot of good origin story stuff, like how green FitzSimmons is and how soft and good-hearted Skye is and all the reasons we respect and trust May and all the reasons we would follow Coulson to the ends of the earth.  Watching a found family start to put down roots is worth it, too, ten times out of ten.

The tie-in stuff wasn’t as overstated and stifling as I remembered it being.  They were allowed quite a long leash even this far back.  Centipede is based on Extremis, but helms a a unique narrative.  The Asgardians-of-the-week are just MacGuffins for driving character stories.  Turns out all of SHIELD has been Hydra all along!  Sucks to be you, a show about the Agents of SHIELD ... oh wait, Daddy MCU’s insane twist is mirrored in the DNA of your team’s composition AND baked into your overall season arc?  Well then.  Carry on!

Engaging with Season 1 explicitly as a prequel is a powerful thing.  First time through, I had the distinct realization that “too much of a good thing” was at play regarding Coulson.  He’s everybody’s favorite MCU character in 2013, hands down, but ... getting intimate with him for 40 minutes a week really waters down his mysterious G-man appeal.  BUT.  After spending six+ years with the man, Season 1!Coulson is a precursor to the 3-dimensional Director you’ll fall in love with, rather than a distortion of the one-liner MCU!Coulson you thought you wanted.

So what’s next!  Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and here all all the things I associate with AoS that were not present in Season 1:

Robot hand.

DaISy JoHnsOn

AGENT/DIRECTOR MACK where is he I need him

Fitz’s facial hair

Their underground SSR base with the exposed brick, I miss that place all the time

Hive, Bobbi*, Hunter, Kyle MacLachlan, Maveth (everything** about Seasons 2 and 3, really).  Robbie Reyes.  Aida and Kasius!!  I know these things are temporary, but they’re so important to the best bits and I love them.

Getting to see episode after episode where there are scenes at a time containing a majority (up to 100%) of women and/or POC characters with executive agency, and none of those characters are token or temporary but were placed there with intent to normalize a diversified cast.

My absolute favorite episode of all time, 4x15 Self Control.

Things I am not looking forward to:

**Lincoln.  I’ve seen these seasons four times and just now I had to google his name because I wasn’t sure it wasn’t Logan.  He’s garbage and I’m glad he’s dead.  Other opinions are available.

Misc. Thoughts

*I said I wouldn’t name names but Adrianne Palicki is a C-lister who can swing a B+ if the stars align. I love Bobbi, though, especially the way the character’s reputation precedes her, how her adorableness complements her badassness.  In fact, the character’s a great foil to May, who is also a badass lady and S-tier agent but has a completely different approach to being those things.  Bobbi’s a reminder that badassness and aloofness are not correlated at all.  Also there’s a headcanon out there that she’s non-binary (one of the reasons she prefers Bobbi over Barbara) and that is a concept I can get behind.  Bobbi’s perfect and I’ll fight you if you don’t agree.

Poor Trip!!!!!!!  When you always start from Season 2, he’s really just a flash in the pan, there and gone.  I’ve always been like, “well, he didn’t really have a home here, no carved-out niche, so I guess getting Coulson’d and becoming something to avenge is the best a character like him is gonna get.”  But now that I see that he comes late to the game as a literal stand in for Ward, his story is that much sadder.  He was never intended to BE a character.  He’s introduced with Garrett as a pawn/distraction during this arc’s who-is-Hydra shell game, he’s kept to demonstrate what kind of friend and agent Ward should have been, his defining character trait as a gentle flirt only serves as a catalyst for Fitz’s coming to terms with his feelings for Simmons.  The poor guy is just a walking plot point, up until the bitter end.  :<

I had entirely forgotten and/or never tracked the fact that Fury put together Coulson’s team specifically to monitor him after project T.A.H.I.T.I.  I’d forgotten the distrust Coulson has for May after he perceives that she has betrayed him by being a part of this.  It’s a season-specific reveal that is literally never mentioned again.  It’s important to the fabric of the narrative of that particular arc, offering up May alongside Ward and Trip as fodder for the aforementioned shell game, but the true inciting incident of this entire show just gets swept under the rug and ceases to matter.  I’m kind of :/ about that.

When you’re bi and non-binary, you’ll get a lot of mileage out of wanting to be/be with Daisy and/or Fitz, don’t judge me

In conclusion, Season 1 is the opposite of literal garbage, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is my favorite show and my favorite MCU movie, Daisy Johnson is my favorite Marvel superhero (not related to Season 1 but still true), and nobody had better spoil Season 7 for me pleaAAASE don’t let it happen.

[asexual-sheep]

Might be a little late in the month to post this but here we are.

I got a new computer this year, so I was unable to find any wips for August and finding and scanning traditional work is kinda a hassle.

Details on the works featured under the cut if your interested!

January

Originally posted January 12th 2018. I had just gotten a new Wacom Intuos for Christmas, I was have trouble using it whilst I was getting this done.

The character in question is a furry, and I can’t for the life of me remember her name. She’s the mother to some other characters of mine I haven’t drawn because drawing furry characters is still kinda hard for me. I got a lot of improvement to gain but I hope to do more at some point in the future.

February

Originally posted February 15th 2018. Another furry! This time a Deer.

I can’t remember the name of this character either, what I can remember is that he’s a drag queen who really enjoys performing.

March

Originally posted March 8th 2108.

Now, I do have a name for this character, it’s Madeline. She’s a noble Vampire from a place called Midnight City. She’s a very bitter and spiteful person who doesn’t trust very easy or at all. She’s super gay and I have to redesign her at some point to make her more batlike.

April

Originally posted April 3rd 2018.

Revali! I fucking adore Breath of the Wild and thought it’d be neat to draw Revali since he’s such an interesting character in my opinion.

May

Originally posted May 9th 2018.

This is Hoshi, she’s a Japanese Idol who’s a part of the Menhera subculture due to the large stigma towards Mental Illness in Japan.

I’m still very find of this design though some of her accessories could be colored differently.

June

Originally posted June 24th 2018.

I preordered the Octo expansion the day it was put up for preorder, and fuck was it worth it.

This is my Agent 8, I have plans to make him an oc in my original stories and not have him be stuck a fancharacter forever. So I’ll have to redesign him at some point.

July

Originally posted July 9th 2018.

This is not my oc, she was drawn for another artist on Twitter as a part of an art challenge regarding art styles.

I was proud of myself at the time for having drawn hands, and looking at them now they still look good!

September

Originally posted September 28th 2018.

This is Yasu, an oc I made up on the fly. Still trying to figure out what to do with her.

Drew her in my binder while I was still in college, I only had a select amount of colors on hand and by chance figured out how to color bruises and stuff, and as much as I like these drawings I remember being really worried about people looking over and seeing what I was doing haha

October

Originally posted October 16th 2018.

This was a redraw of something I did in 2017.

The character however is Lucy, I really like her design and I wanna draw more of her and her friends so hopefully I do that soon!

Still very proud of this!

November

Originally posted November 1st 2018.

I drew this the day after I had played Deltarune since it was safe to post about it. I am so excited to see more of what Deltarune has to offer as that demo left a large impact on me.

I’m still pretty happy with this piece, as I did draw a hand in it haha

December

Originally posted December 3rd 2018.

This is the most recent redesign of LIly, a character I’ve had since my elementary school Sonic the Hedgehog phase.

I hope I keep this design and develop it more as the year progresses, she’s been a really hard character to design and I never seem to be satisfied.

There is also an alternate version of this piece with blood and stuff on it, I thought it would look cool cuz she’s a Vampire and stuff. I never posted it here since I thought it might be kinda jarring? Even though it’s really quite tame, I don’t really draw gore or anything.

[isiyasy]

Wiladat Anniversary of 10th Imam Ali an-Naqi (A.S.)

Birth Imam Ali un-Naqi (A.S.) known as Hazrat Hadi was born in the mid of ZilHajj, 212 Hijrah in the vicinity of Madina, at a place known as Surya. His father is Imam Jawad (A.S.) his mother Samana was a maid with excellence, virtue and piety. Imam (A.S.) got the post of Imamate after the martyrdom of his father in the year 220 Hijrah.

Although he was not more than 8 years of age, yet he was the focus of the attention of Shias and the Abbasade caliphs were extremely scared and afraid of him. They set their hand to his exile and torture. Such as "Mutawakkil" brought Imam (A.S.) from Madina to Samarra and he stayed then till the end of his life. The Special Moral Features of Imam (A.S.) Imam (A.S.) was unique in asceticism, devotion and prayers. So that, when the agents and officials of Mutawakkil attacked his house, they saw him busy praying in a simple room.

He had a great attachment and affiliation with the holy Quran. Whenever he was free from the works of the people he would recite Quran. He conducted people with smiling and bloomed face and when he walked he took slow steps. He attended and helped the afflicted ones. Sometimes, he would grant up to thirty thousand dinnars to the have nots, needy and problem stricken people.

So that when "Mutawakkil" sent thirty thousand dinnars for him he gave all of it to a needy and poor Arab. The mother of "Mutawakkil" had become enamored and fascinated by the devotion and asceticism and faith of Imam Hadi (A.S.). On the day when Mutawakkil fell ill, his foot was injured and the physicians got unable and helpless regarding his treatment. His mother sent "Fatah bin Khaqan" to Imam's (A.S.) house to request him for a medicine. Imam (A.S.) recommended a medicine to him by which Mutawakkil was treated and cured and all the physicians were astonished at it. His mother send a thousand dinars as a gratitude in connection with his being cure. He distributed all of that money among the afflicted ones.

Imam's (A.S.) Attends the Distressed

Once "Younas Naqqash" came terrified and trembling to see Imam (A.S.) and said, "Oh the son of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) I am at the verge and threshold of death, you help my family." Imam (A.S.) asked him as to what was the matter. He said so, "one of the courtiers of Abbasade caliphate has given me a gem to engrave a design upon it. During the work, the gem broke into two pieces. Tomorrow, he will send someone to collect the gem. If he comes to know about the matter he will kill me." Imam (A.S.) bent his head downward then he raised it saying, "I prayed for you, be satisfied no harm will reach you from him, instead, this work will end to your benefit. Get up and go you will face no trouble tomorrow." The next day Younas moved towards the house of that man with trembling legs along with one of the officials deputed.

Not very long afterwards, the owner of the house arrived and said, "Oh younas it was settled that you engrave a design over that gem but two of my daughters have a conflict upon this gem." If it is possible, break the gem into two pieces, and engrave the design on each of the two parts of it. I will give you a reward too, for that, Younas said, "Permit me to think about this matter." He came out of that place and returned happily to Imam (A.S.) and expressed his gratitude and thankfulness over the kindness he had shown to him.

The Hardest Period

The continuation of combat and opposition of Imams (A.S.) to the tyrants and the brutal rulers is one of the pride and passions of the history of Islam and Shiite school. They, by their un-comprising attitude toward tyranny and siding with the poor and desperate flared up the anger of the tyrants and cruel to the extent that they deprived them off their sleep and comfort.

Although Imam's (A.S.) period of life was coincident with seven of the Abbasade Caliphs, yet the hardest and toughest period of his life as that of the caliphate of "Mutawakkil" because he was a fame fan, wicked and faithless person. If he posed to be religious that was only in view of promoting his political causes. In the year 226 Hijrah, Mutawakkil ordered that the grave of Imam Hussain (A.S.) be washed away by diverting (river) water and the place be ploughed for agriculture so that people may be deprived of the visiting the martyrs of Karbala.

Mutawakkil knew pretty well that each of these graves was a strong fortress against him, which continuously attracts the self-sacrificing and devoted soldiers, and heart burnt lovers from all over the world towards itself. So far so, that Mohammad Ibn-e-Idrees, one of the scholars sided by Mutawakkil. He instigated people to ask the solution to their (religious) problems from Mutawakkil so that they may gradually take distance from the family of Ali (A.S.).

Following the terrible crime of martyring the Imam (A.S.) Mutawakkil never had peace of mind and remained continuously sad and gloomy till the Turks killed him.

Imam (A.S.) and Unseen Aids

One day one of the flatterer and glib tongued person said to 'Mutawakkil', "Why do you command your court offices to honor Imam, and when he arrives they must raise the curtains and open the doors for him.

This itself is against your conduct. Let Imam (A.S.) come and go like the rest of the people so that he looses his worth in the eyes of people." Mutawakkil agreed to his demand and ordered his officials not to hold the curtains and open the doors while Imam (A.S.) comes or leaves. One day, one of his servants came rushing to him and said: "Imam (A.S.) is coming and to whichever part of the court he arrives, the doors open and curtains are drawn automatically.

This thing attracted the attention of all and if this continues on the superiority and supremacy of Imam (A.S.) will become clear and evident to all, thus your government will be endangered. Mutawakkil at once ordered that the officials must adopt the previous conduct with Imam (A.S.) and honor him more than ever.

Martyrdom Due to Truthfulness

One day Mutawakkil asked Ibn-e-Sikkit the tutor of his sons, "Do you love my sons more than you love the sons of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.)." He at once answered with valor and bravely, "I love Qambar the slave of Ali (A.S.) more than I love your sons." Mutawakkil was enraged and furious like an injured wolf and ordered that the tongue of this man be extracted and pulled out of the back of his head (neck) and so that great man died at the age of 58 years.

Mutawakkil Pressurizes the Family of Ali (A.S.)

Mutawakkil got famous and well known for his extravagant and lavish expenditure and misusing people's wealth so that he spent one million and seven hundred golden dinars for building a strong fortress which is present to this date in Samarra. With all these extravagances and plundering people's wealth he was so very strict in his behavior with the sons of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.).

So that the daughters of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) led their lives by yarn spinning in Madina and did not even have a pair of new dress to wear. Mutawakkil had a bad and ill conduct with the sons of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.). He got friendly with the enemies of Ali (A.S.) and gave them money to make fun of Ali (A.S.) and his family such as he was always accompanied by a stooge who cut jokes and made fun of Ali (A.S.) and made him laugh. He would laugh loudly and lunatic ally.

The rigid, tough and harmful attitude of Mutawakkil regarding sons of Ali (A.S.) went to the extent that he wrote to the governor of Madina, "whosoever wishes to help the family of Ali (A.S.) or visits them, punish him severely." Mutawakkil banished the Imam (A.S.) through one of his officials from Madina to Samarra in the year 243 Hijrah. He accommodated him along with his son Imam Hassan Askari (A.S.) in a military camp near his palace. And kept him under observation till the end of (Imam) life.

This is the very reason why Imam (A.S.) got known by the title of Askari, became Askar means army or military.

Imam's (A.S.) Knowledge Status

Since the knowledge of Imam Hadi (A.S.) originated from the Prophetic school thus the light of knowledge shone over his heart and made him aware of the secret of creation.

1. One day, the emperor of Rome wrote to one of the caliphs of Bani Abbas, "We have read in Bible that there is one Surah (Chapter) of the heavenly Surahs, which if read by anyone and practiced upon it's content God will not send that person to the Hell. You write me as to which one is that Surah? Because we did not find it in Bible." The Abbasade Caliph gathered all the wise men and asked them the question and all of them failed to answer it.

The Caliph summoned Imam Hadi (A.S.) and put to him that question Imam (A.S.) opened his lips for the reply and said, "That surah is Surah "Hamd" which every Muslim recites a number of times in his prayers at day and night time." Then Imam (A.S.) gave some explanations about it, which surprised and astonished all the wise men. The answer of Imam (A.S.) was sent to the emperor of Rome who, having read it, was much pleased and embraced Islam.

2. "Yahya bin Aqsam" who was one of the wise men of Mamoon's age and the caliphs afterwards asked Imam (A.S.) many questions through a letter which were replied by him. The questions of Yahya and the response given by Imam (A.S.) are as under: 

Question No.1. When "Sulayman (A.S.)" demanded the throne of queen "Bilqees" of "Sheba" his minister "Asif Barkhia" said, "I can bring the throne for you in the time of winking of an eye" why did Sulayman (Solomon) (A.S.) himself not do that? Did he himself not have the knowledge? Answer: Whatever Asif did was through Sulayman (A.S.) and he had received his wisdom and knowledge from him since, Sulayman was a Prophet he had the capacity and power to perform all these works. But because of it, that he wanted to introduce his successor to the people and make them aware of his station he assigned him this work.

Question No.2. On the basis of Quranic version when Yaqoob (Jacob) (A.S.) went to Kanaan along with his sons to see Yousuf (A.S.) all fell down into prostration before Yousuf (Joseph) (A.S.). Why did a Prophet like Yaqoob (A.S.) performed prostration for Yousuf (A.S.). Whereas, prostration is specified only for God? Answer: This prostration was not for Vousuf (A.S.) but as a thanks giving to God, just like the prostration of the angels for Adam (A.S.) even though, they did not perform it for Adam (A.S.), but prostration to God as a gratitude and thankfulness, regarding this creation, to Him.

Question No.3. Based upon the Quran's narration, if the edibles and beverages of Paradise are for the sake of pleasure then, why was Adam (A.S.) forbidden to eat the grapes and was expelled from Paradise? Answer. As God wanted to try and test Adam (A.S.), He commanded him not to obey his wife Hawwa (Eve) (A.S.) and not to eat from that tree. But he opposed it and as a result he was ousted from the haven.

Question No.4. Why did Ali (A.S.) order his men in the battle of Jamal (Camel) to chase and bring into effect the pursuit of only "the warriors" and not to kill those who ran away, or were not armed, or injured? But in the Siffeen battle he ordered to kill them all, whether armed or unarmed, injured or uninjured, whomsoever they found and laid hands upon. Why was this difference in the order? Answer: Since, the battle of Jamal was a battle of Islam verses Islam and a battle between a deceived Muslim against another Muslim but the battle of Siffeen was a battle of infidels against Islam. 

It was a combat between Muslim appearing infidels and the real Islam. The next day Yahyah bin Aksam asked all the wise men present in the assembly of Haroon: When Adam (A.S.) went to perform Hajj and visit the house of God, who shaved his head off? All of them were unable to give an answer to him. Then they put question to Imam Hadi (A.S.). He said, "Gabriel the angel of God." Yahyah took pleasure and enjoyed the answers of Imam (A.S.) and admitted to the knowledge station of Imam (A.S.) in the presence of all.

The Imam's (A.S.) News about the unseen

People observed from lmam Hadi (A.S.) due to his connection with God and the unseen world, works which were considered to be the specimen of God's might and power. One of the friends of Imam (A.S.) traveled from Iraq to Madina and had the honor to visit Imam (A.S.). Imam (A.S.) enquired from him the condition of Al-Wasiq the Abbasade caliph and he replied, "when I left Iraq he was fit and fine, and Mutawakkil was in prison and Ibn-e-Zayyat had become famous and well known among the people. Imam (A.S.) after a moment's silence said, "That which is God's will, shall take place, and there is no way to stop his orders and commands. Oh my friend be aware that Wasiq has passed away and Mutawakkil has succeeded him and Ibn-e-Ziyyat has been slain upon the behest of Mutawakkil."

I asked, "When was it?" He said, "Six days after you moved out of Baghdad."

Imam's (A.S.) Judgment

In the age of Mutawakkil regime a lady claimed that she was Zainub the daughter of Fatima. He said, "Many long years have passed since that period when Zainub lived and you are quite young." She replied, "Yes, but the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) drew his hand upon my head and prayed for me to remain young for ever. As such, after every forty years I turn back to become young." Mutawakkil called upon all the wise men to visit him and enquired from them, "What do you say about the claim of this women" All of them said, "she tells a lie." 

Mutawakkil said, "I know that she is lying, but what proof and logic do you have to condemn her." They said, "We do not know, Imam Hadi (A.S.) should solve this problem." Mutawakkil at once summoned Imam (A.S.) and told him about that matter.

Imam (A.S.) said, "send her to the cage of the lions, if she is telling the truth, because the beasts do not molest the children of Fatimah (S.A.) and do not eat their flesh. Mutawakkil said to the woman, "what do you say?" She said, "This man wishes that I may be killed. If he is right then let him do it himself." Mutawakkil said, "she is right, you must do it first yourself." Imam (A.S.) replied, "There is no hurdle to it" He went to the lions in the cage and sat among them. All observed with amazement, that the lions sat very respectfully before the Imam (A.S.) and sometimes caressed themselves against his body and he caressed their bodies with his hand, affectionately. When Imam (A.S.) ordered that they might move to a corner, all of them crept to a nook. Then Imam (A.S.) came out of the cage and went to Mutawakkil and said, "Oh woman now it is your turn." The woman started crying and begging saying, "I told a lie, I am the daughter of such and such man, and wanted to play a trick and a hoax but it did not work."

Imam (A.S.) in Mutawakkil's Assembly

Mutawakkil, who was a self conceited and egoist Abbasade caliph, was much annoyed about the attention of the people focused upon Hadi (A.S.) and was all the time immersed in the thought of annihilating Imam (A.S.). One day, he was informed that Imam (A.S.) wanted to bring about a revolt and has gathered money and weapons, for this purpose, in his house. Mutawakkil ordered the officials to attack and break into the house of Imam (A.S.) at midnight and search it and whatever money and weapons are discovered be brought to him along with the Imam (A.S.).

Mutawakkil had arranged a merry making party in his palace for his own relaxation and amusement and the musician played music and the singers sang sons for him. He was counting moments and waiting anxiously for Imam to be showed in. The agents and officials climbed the roof from the backside of the Imam's (A.S.) house and break into it. They found Imam (A.S.) busy in offering his prayers in a room. 

Howsoever, they searched the rooms but could not find anything except a certain amount of money and one sword. They picked these up and presented to Mutawakkil along with the Imam (A.S.). When Imam (A.S.) arrived Mutawakkil seated him beside himself and presented the dirty drink (wine) to him and asked him to take it. Imam (A.S.) said, "By Lord, I shall never at all touch my lips with it." Mutawakkil who was intoxicated and did not have attention towards anything turned his face to Imam (A.S.) and said, "Thus you must recite some poem (rhymes) for me." Hazrat Imam (A.S.) said, "I do not know any of them except for a number of them, which are left over as a monument of my grandfather Ali (A.S.)." Mutawakkil said, "Recite that" Imam (A.S.) recited the rhymes, of his forefather Ali (A.S.), which were striking and awareness creating. A tempest took shape in his interior. So that he came to his senses, out of intoxication. He wept and ordered that Imam (A.S.) may be sent back to his house respectfully.

The money, which was brought from his house, may be returned with sane addition to it.

The Translation of the rhymes is as under:

1. They made the high peaks, their residence, and permanently and always, stationed armed guards to watch that. But none of them could stop the death from approaching them.

2. Finally and consequently, they were dragged from their grand palaces into the ditches of graves and with how unfortunately they arrived it.

3. At this time, the voice of the caller of God raised which said, "Where did those decorations, crowns, magnanimity and ostentation and grandeur go?" Where did those faces brought up in coquetry and endearment and which were nurtured upon the wealth of others, and showed their pride and mincing air to them, go.

4. The grave made them anonymous and their faces turned into the fields of attacks of the insects and worms.

5. One day they ate and drank whatever they desired, without any care but today they have themselves become food of the animals. The rhymes, which were totally admonitions and advices, hammered the brain of Mutawakkil, and made him so ecstasies that he was awakened from the deep slumber and threw his cup of wine upon the earth and his eyes shed tears like it was raining.

Imam's (A.S.) Martyrdom

After the tyrant caliph Mutawakkl's death Imam (A.S.) was still in agony, pain and discomfort till the time he was martyred by "Mutaz" at the age of 42 and was buried in the land of Samarrah.

The Pupils of Imam (A.S.)

Although Imam (A.S.) was strictly under observation and he was being put under vigilance from all aspects but a group of his lovers, enthusiastic and amorous lovers of the spring of his knowledge contacted him confidentially and secretly and used to quench their thirst from that spring up to their utmost means. Some of his friends were:

1. Abdul Azim Hasani: He was one of the great and wise men of his age and was much renowned for his piety. Imam Hadi (A.S.) would usually say to his friends "whenever a difficulty crops up for you ask Abdul Azim and convey my Salam and Salutation to him." Once, he put forward his beliefs before Imam (A.S.). Imam (A.S.) said, "By Cod, these are the same beliefs which God has liked (approved) for His slaves."

This son of Imam (A.S.) was pursued and followed up very strictly and severely and concealed himself in the city of Rai and sometimes he came to visit the grave of Hamza, which is situated near his own. After sometime he fell ill and passed away and was buried at the same place.

2. Hasan Ibn-e-Saeed Ahwazi: Who was one of the friends of Imam Reza (A.S.), Imam Jawad (A.S.) and Imam Hadi (A.S.) and narrated traditions from all of them, lived in the beginning in Kufa then he left along with his brothers for Ahwaz and from there he shifted to Qum. He died over there. He authored about 30 books regarding Jurisprudence and the Islamic ethics and morality. The wise men accept the tradition narrated by him. Allamah Majlisi and Allamah Hilli had mentioned him with great respect and held him in high esteem.

3. Fazl bin Shazan Nishapuri: He was an informed, knowledgeable and strong jurisprudent and orator. He always had confabulation with the friends of Imam (A.S.) and benefited from them. He himself is considered one of the companions of Imam Hadi (A.S.). He wrote a large number of books, which attracted the attention of the wise men. Some of them say he wrote as many as a hundred and eighty books.

Following the demise of Imam Hadi (A.S.), he became a part of the companions of Imam Hassan Askari (A.S.). One day, when he visited Imam's (A.S.) assembly, he praised and recommended him to the people of Khorrasan so that they may get benefited from his books. Since he was pursued on account of his being a Shia, he traveled to Behaq and after a period he became ill and died in the age of Imam Askari (A.S.). Brief Sayings of Imam (A.S.)

1. The one who spends his life in refuge of God, world's discomforts will become easy for him.

2. The one who carelessly commits sin and throws away the curtain of modesty, God will make him ignanimous, desperate and wretched.

3. The one who does not counsel with others in his matters will be harmed.

4. World is a bazaar in which one group makes benefit and the other faces loss.

5. Cutting jokes and mockery is the activity and enjoyment and amusement of foolish ones.

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[lowmaticnews]

How To Paint Furniture

Painting furniture is one of the simplest DIY projects on the planet. However, it is also one of the easiest things to mess up. Trust me, I’ve painted more furniture than I care to remember and have learned so much it will make your head spin. Today I’m passing all of my wood painting info along to you! I’ve teamed up with my longtime partner Sherwin-Williams®, who sponsored this post to give you THE BEST furniture painting information available!

There are a million different sites telling you different (and conflicting!!) info. No one wants to learn to paint furniture the wrong way, or the hard way. So today I am sharing with you my absolute foolproof way to paint furniture. I have hundreds of reader questions at the ready and I’m going to answer all of them! (It’s a good thing that most of them are the same, see the most common at the bottom of this post!)

Furniture Paint vs. Wall Paint (NOT THE SAME!!)

Paint for some reason has this catch all mentality. How is it that we as humans have 15 different types of moisturizers, but paint is only allowed to have one formula? NO!! Regular latex paint is not designed for hard surfaces that get a lot of usage like a kitchen table.

If you’ve ever painted something and had the finish turn out tacky like it’s never cured, or had it peel off in sheets (so satisfying but not when it’s on your kitchen table) chances are GREAT that you went to the paint counter and told them the sheen and color but nothing was mentioned about the product type or project right?! Do you know how I know this?! Because I’ve done it…a few times! DANG IT!!!

You know you’re using the wrong kind of paint or the wrong technique if:

Your furniture feels tacky or sticky like it’s never cured

The paint dents

The paint chips or scratches it peels off

It’s extremely hard to clean and easily stains

It fades

It doesn’t have a smooth finish

You want to kick it every time walk past because of all the horrible feelings that come up at the sight of it.

Best Paint for Furniture

Ok so now that I’ve established that you need the right kind of paint (we’re all on the same page here yes?!) let me tell you what the best paint for furniture is. Sherwin-Williams Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel (its a long title. We’ll call it Emerald Trim Enamel for short ok?) When you are painting hard surfaces, you need to use a product that is created for hard surfaces. If you’ve followed Vintage Revivals for a while you might remember the many proclamations of utter devotion for Sherwin-Williams Pro Classic. Pro Classic is awesome, but Emerald Trim Enamel is a newer product and my new favorite.

It is formulated for hard surfaces and it is MAGIC!! You don’t need to put a finish top coat on it, and if you are painting over a freshly sanded surface you can can choose not to prime but we always recommend priming your raw wood surfaces for an amazing end result! Oh and have I mentioned that when you’re using it you get a completely smooth finish with a roller? Mic drop.

Once you use the right kind of paint for your projects, you will NEVER go back to using regular latex wall paint.

You know you’re using the best kind of paint if:

Finish is hard and unaffected by things on it

Finish doesn’t dent

Surface can easily be wiped off (for instance on a table)

Finish chips rather than scratches.

Finish is smooth

The color that I used on these IKEA Billy bookcase is Sherwin-Williams Ruskin Room Green SW-0042. Its the perfect muted dusty green and I am obsessed with it!

Painting Techniques

There are 3 acceptable ways of painting furniture; 4 if you live in 1992 and consider sponge painting a stylish way to bring character into your house. Painting with a sprayer, painting with a roller, and painting with a brush.

We used a paint sprayer when we painted the doors at the Merc and got a perfect mirror finish. But for the sake of relatablity and ease, today we’re talking about the other 2 techniques, rolling and brushing.

Brushing paint exclusively is a technique that I havent mastered yet (it’s on my bucketlist!) but using a good quality brush is CRITICAL. If you show up and are planning on painting a piece of furniture with one of those $2 chip brushes you might as well douse it in gas, light it on fire and save yourself the time. A good brush will cost around $15 and pay off in dividends.

Rolling a piece of furniture is my favorite technique. You have to make sure that you get the right kind of roller though, because if you don’t you will end up with a ton of anger inducing texture. Find a lint free roller that has a nap of 1/4″ or lower. Think about what happens when you’re actually rolling, the longer the nap the more surface is sticking in the paint right? The shorter the nap, the smoother the finish. HOWEVER. One of the most frustrating furniture painting pitfalls I’ve experienced is using a foam roller. The logic behind it is sound. The lower the nap the smoother the finish, so no nap means THE SMOOTHEST FINISH EVARRRRR! The problem with using a foam roller is flashing. Flashing is when the sheen is different (you can see a great example of it in this post!) My favorite roller for painting is a Purdy White Dove 3/8″ or a Sherwin-Williams Mohair. They are both awesome and will give you a great result!

  Painting Supplies

Once you know what kind of paint to use, and how you’re going to paint your piece, it’s time to round up the rest of your gear! (FYI all of these supplies are available at your neighborhood Sherwin-Williams store.

You’ll need:

Paint Brush

Paint Roller

Roller tray

Roller tray inserts (I promise they make your life so much better!!)

Drop Cloth

Paint stirrers

Paint can opener

Painters tape

220 Grit Sanding Sponge

Paint Triangles

How To Paint Wood Furniture in 5 Steps

Ok are you ready to get started!? Let’s dive right into painting wood furniture!

Step #1 PREP: Sanding, Stripping, and Cleaning and Disassembly

The first step to furniture painting success is your prep. There are a million tutorials online that give you hacks for skipping prep, but guess what? If you skip it, chances dramatically increase that you’re not going to get the result that you want.

Cleaning always comes first!

Sometimes all your piece needs is a good wipe down. If you don’t need to sand or strip, using a strong cleaning agent like TSP or a good cleaner degreaser will get rid of a lot of grime. TSP is a powder cleaner that you can get pretty much anywhere paint is sold. It’s really aggressive, so if you use it you’re going to want to wear gloves. If you’ve sanded or stripped, use a damp microfiber cloth or tack cloth to gather any dust.

Sanding:

The thing to remember is that you don’t have to take the piece down to the raw wood, when you’re sanding you are taking out imperfections (like scratches etc.) and roughening up the surface so that your paint has something to grab onto. The more aggressively horrific the surface of your piece is, the more you and your sander are going to become acquainted. For newer pieces, like the IKEA furniture we’re painting in this post, a light sanding with a sanding sponge is plenty of prep. If you actually need to take stuff off of the surface you’ll want to use a sander and disk. I LOVE the reuseable Diabo SandNet disks. We’ve been using the same one for 5 months!!

WARNING! Removal of old paint by sanding, scraping or other means may generate dust or fumes that contain lead. Exposure to lead dust or fumes may cause brain damage or other adverse health effects, especially in children or pregnant women. Controlling exposure to lead or other hazardous substances requires the use of proper protective equipment, such as a properly fitted respirator (NIOSH approved) and proper containment and cleanup. For more information, call the National Lead Information Center at 1-800-424-LEAD (in US) or contact your local health authority.

Stripping:

Sometimes sanding isnt an option, like if your piece has a lot of detail that the sander can’t get into. This is where you tell your husband that you’re going to get a stripper and just see the reaction. #stripperjokes All joking aside, stripping paint is one of the gratifying DIY ever. There is just something about spreading the product on and watching the paint bubble and wipe off.  The downside with stripper is that it can be really hard to get it out of the corners and grooves of a piece. I only use a stripper when absolutely necessary. That’s what she said.

Disassembly:

I always take furniture apart as much as I can before I start painting. Removing doors, hardware, and backs (if you can) makes it SO MUCH EASIER to get a professional finish (no one likes to open a drawer and see that they forgot to paint the edges!) If you’re painting a new piece like we are with our IKEA bookcases, we didnt even assemble them all the way before painting. Just make sure you put all of the hardware in a safe spot.

Taping

Once everything is cleaned and ready to go, now is the time for painters tape. Place it along the edge of your piece and use a credit card to burnish it into place. This will prevent any seepage and leaks.

Testing

To ensure success, you can do an adhesion test before priming. This will help you determine if your prep work was successful. In general, you want the surface to be clean, dry and dull before you start painting. To test for adhesion, apply a small amount of primer like Sherwin-Williams Extreme Bond to an inconspicuous area. Allow it dry properly and test to make sure it adhered to the surface well. Once you have determined good adhesion, you’re ready to prime and paint the piece.

Step #2: Cutting In

If your piece has trim or moulding on it, you’re probably going to want to cut in first. Cutting in is when you use a brush to paint just the corners of things before you paint the whole piece. Sometimes (depending on the piece) you don’t have to cut in, but if you do make sure that you feather the edge of the paint onto the rest of the piece. If you don’t you’ll end up with a hard paint line and some serious texture.

Step # 3 Rolling The First Coat of Paint

OH MY GOSH ARE YOU READY!? Here it is, the big moment. Start by loading your paint roller with a medium amount of paint. You’ll know it’s too much if you can’t see a lot of the texture, and too little if you see all of the spaces between fibers. The right amount looks full but not saturated.

Move your roller on the piece with even pressure, moving in the same direction the whole time. Be cautious to no over do it.Make sure that you are watching the edges and don’t leave big mounds of paint on them. Once the coat is on, put your roller down and STEP AWAY FROM THE FURNITURE.

The biggest mistake that people make when they are painting a smooth surface is that they fiddle and touch and try to fix every imperfection.

Once your paint is on the piece it’s begun the drying process. Friends, if you are messing with it keep in mind that it’s still drying, it’s just not drying flat. If you over brush or roll it, you’re just adding texture, which we don’t want. As it’s drying, if you notice a spot you missed, leave it for the second coat. If there is a drip, wipe it immediately. If you notice it as the paint has already started to dry just leave it alone, you will make it worse!

So much can be fixed between the first and second coats, don’t make your job harder by fiddling with it.

There is going to be a little bit of texture until the paint dries. Just let it settle. I PROMISE it is going to be fine!

For reals though, have you stepped away? Cause you need to do that. The paint will darken as it dries. After it is dry (usually about 15-20 minutes) you can gently touch up the mistakes that you exercised great restraint to not fix before. Go you!!

Step #3 TOUCH UP: Sanding Drips or Texture

Oh now it’s time to fix those mistakes. using a 220 grit sanding sponge, gently sand away the issues, whether it’s a drip, or a hair, or a texture issue. Wipe that spot down with a damp microfiber rag to get the dust!

Step #4 PAINTING: Roll The Second Coat and Let It Dry

Step #4 is just like step #2, you are going to roll the paint and let it dry. Make sure to leave it alone! (Are you sick of hearing that yet? Cause it’s REALLY important to leave it alone.)

Leave it alone. (That’s the last time I promise)

Step #5 Final Touch Ups and Reassembly

Once coat #2 is dry, you are free to touch up the piece as necessary. Sometimes you need to sand it, and sometimes you dont! Please keep in mind that even though your paint has dried, it hasn’t cured. Meaning, its dry and you can touch it, but until it’s cured you can still scratch it or chip it easily. When I was putting my piece back together I got a pretty gnarly scratch on it that needed to be touched up so I sanded it and fixed it. I always try to wait at least a few hours before I put it back together to give the paint a chance to start to cure.

Painting Tips

Painting around glass

I’ve been known to start a project without adequate supplies on hand. Sometimes the mood just strikes you right?!! One day I was painting a piece with mirrored doors and I didn’t have any painters tape, so I just brushed over the glass and was happily on my way. When it came time to get the paint off of the mirror I was kicking myself for not having tape, but figured out a pretty cool hack that I wanted to pass along. If you get paint on your glass, swipe over it a few times with a damp paper towel and give it a minute to sit. Then go back over it with a razor blade and it will literally fall off the glass!

Storing Your Paint Mid Project

Look, I get it. We’d all love to be productive enough to get a project done in one sitting, but reality, and 2 year olds and school pick up happen and then its 3 days later and I’ve ruined my brand new paint brush because I got distracted and forgot to put it away. Just me? One of my favorite tips to keep paint fresh for days on end is to put the whole tray, brushes and all, into a garbage bag to seal the air from getting to it.

Paint Pyramids

These handy little buggers are worth their weight in gold. Use them when you’re painting things like cabinet doors, or smaller pieces to lift them off of the ground.

And when it’s all said and done, you’re left with a piece of gorgeous furniture and a perfect paint job THAT YOU DID YOURSELF!!  High fives all around!!

Real Life Questions

I asked what your most frustrating furniture painting problems were, and man did you guys deliver with the questions! Let’s answer some of the most common ones, shall we?

     “After days of drying, things would stick to the top. To this day I’ll have things stick to the top of the table 4 years later! Why?”

This is one of the most common questions I get, the reason things are sticking is because it’s not a paint created to dry hard. Touch your walls (it’s ok, no one is looking!) does the paint feel hard? Nope! Using the right kind of paint, like Sherwin-Williams Emerald Trim Enamel is the best way to avoid eternal stickiness!

     “The spray paint I used left a matte line, even though the paint was high gloss”

This is called flashing and it happens when the paint color is uniform, but the sheen is not. It can happen for a few reasons but most commonly happens when the product is applied inconsistently, either too much or too little.

     “I painted a pine dresser white last year and it’s starting to yellow where the knots are! Why and what can I do?”

Ugh this is so frustrating. It seems to happen most with pine. The resins from the wood are concentrated in the knots and has started seeping through the paint. The best way to prevent this is to use a stain blocking primer or a shellac primer. Make sure that you get a nice good coat on and then scuff sand it without taking it all off.

     “I hate when I can see brush strokes or foam roller strokes from whatever I use.”

Man I hate that too!! Using a sprayer is definitely a way to prevent that in it’s entirety, but using the right kind of brush and roller will help a ton!

Now for the best part! I’ve got a whole video tutorial on How To Paint Furniture! Check it out below!!

If you’re ever planning on painting furniture, make sure you save this post to your Pinterest board so that you can come back as often as you need to!

Have any questions? Leave them below and I’ll answer!!

You might also want to check out:

How to Paint A Crib (and is it safe to paint baby furniture!?)

How to Paint Laminate Furniture

How To Paint Metal

The post How To Paint Furniture appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

How To Paint Furniture published first on https://landscapingmates.blogspot.com

[iyarpage]

Owner of Wee Taps and Full-Time Indie Illustrator & Designer: A Top Designer Interview With Paddy Donnelly

Indie Designer, Paddy Donnelly

Welcome to another installment of our Top App Dev Interview series!

This time there’s a slight twist: we’re actually interviewing a designer. I guess that makes this a Top App Designer Interview. :]

Each interview in this series focuses on a successful mobile app, developer or designer and the path they took to get where they are today. Today’s special guest is Paddy Donnelly.

Paddy Donnelly is an Irish illustrator who now lives in Belgium. With over 14 years experience as an illustrator and designer, Paddy now gets to make living drawing dinosaurs, and his 5-year-old self is very happy about this.

Paddy is comfortable working in a number of different illustration styles depending on the type of project. He has been creating kids apps for iOS under the brand Wee Taps and wishes that Pluto was still a planet. He also redesigned the raywenderlich.com website a few years back!

Love For Pixels

I understand you were previously a designer, and now focus more on illustration. What made you decide to make the switch, and were there any challenges making this career switch?

I’ve been working as a designer for about 14 years. I got my start in web design and have moved through desktop apps, mobile apps, print design, games and the last few years have been all about illustration. Now I’m focusing a lot more on illustrating children’s picture books, which is a totally different experience.

I’ve had a love for illustration since I was a kid, but it’s only after working in the design industry for so many years that I felt I could really dive into it as a career.

About 10 years ago, each website was something unique. A totally different design, based on what the website was about. Web designers were really creative, however, I feel that web design ‘found its groove’ a few years ago and we’ve gone through a period of all websites having this same basic structure and look and feel. Mobile apps also went the same way and I didn’t really enjoy the ‘flat design’ era. I do appreciate good, minimal design, however creatively I longed for something a bit different.

I wanted every project to be something new and challenging and didn’t want to start from a template. That’s maybe why illustration appeals to me. No two projects are alike and you can really express yourself in the piece.

There are of course challenges to working as an illustrator vs a designer. There is a lot of competition and it’s really difficult to break into the children’s publishing market, however, I’m enjoying trying something new.

Paddy now focuses on illustrations.

Imagine someone commissions you to create an illustration. What is your general process, how long does it usually take you and what tools do you use?

This depends on a lot of different factors. The first step is to discuss the concept with the client, their goals for the piece etc. Then I’d move on to rough sketching and often I’d use mood boards to show what I’m thinking in terms of style. Then it’s on to the digital illustration. Timing depends on the size, style, complexity etc.

I use a Wacom Tablet with Photoshop and Illustrator. I use a lot of Kyle Webster’s brushes in my illustration pieces.

What illustration are you most proud of, and why?

This is a tough one. Well, one of the most amazing opportunities I’ve had was to create the unlockable stickers for Foursquare’s Swarm app. That has been so much fun coming up with crazy sticker ideas, and also knowing that something you created is used by millions of people is pretty mind-blowing.

Sticker pack designed by Paddy for Foursquare’s app.

Recently I’ve created a couple of kids illustration pieces, one symbolising the struggle with dyslexia and one about Little Red Riding Hood that I’m pretty proud of.

Being a designer is such a creative outlet for me. It’s great to be able to imagine a creative solution in your mind and then work hard to realise that solution. Seeing a finished product is always satisfying, and hearing good feedback from users. Getting to be creative every day is perhaps the best thing.

What recommendations do you have for app developers looking to hire designers or illustrators? For example: where should they look to hire someone, and do you have any tips for working well with a designer/illustrator?

I’d say get involved in the project as soon as possible in the process so that both you and the designer know what’s expected and are both thinking about solutions. I always try to involve the developer even at the idea stage, as I think it’s far too late to hand a completed design to a developer and say ‘build this’.

If you get involved early in the process, developers can give you ideas on what new technologies are available, tricks you can use to speed up the workflow and give you an idea of what’s possible within the budget/timescale.

In terms of finding a designer, most clients contact me after visiting my portfolio site or through sites like Dribbble. I’ve also now just recently signed with an agent, The Bright Agency so now I get a lot of illustration projects through them. Instagram is also a good way to get your work out there. So any one of these avenues is a great starting point to finding a super designer..

If one of our readers wants to become “an awesome illustrator just like Paddy”, and has 4 years to do so, how would you recommend they spend their time?

Work hard.

Be nice to people.

These two rules are essential. There are no shortcuts. You just need to do more and more work to get better.

If your job is your passion, then all the better. Then you can constantly be adding to your portfolio, just for fun. And definitely, make connections with people. I’ve gotten so many great projects through other designers and developers I have worked with, met at conferences, interacted with online.

Be nice to people because it’s a small world and an even smaller industry.

Indie Life

How did you transition from a “normal job” to being a freelancer? And what are the challenges working on your own?

Start. Just make the leap. There’s something that has been rattling around in the back of your head for a while now. An idea. Something you’ve always wanted to do. It might not work. It’s scary. Everyone is scared. Just start it.

Essentially I just took more and more freelance work on in the evenings and weekends until I was sure that there was enough work out there for me, then I made the leap.

I quite like working on my own, from home. It doesn’t bother me, in fact, I really enjoy the peace and quiet. Forcing myself to keep active and get out of the house can sometimes be a challenge, but I’m getting better at that.

Paddy’s simple, yet beautifully creative workspace.

Paddy, can you tell me what an average day looks like for you? (i.e. 8:00 wake up…)

My current routine looks something similar to this;

8am: Wake up

8:15am: Coffee

9am-10am: Breakfast and emails

10am-12pm: Illustration work

12pm-2pm: Usually do something active, head into town, go for a walk or coffee

2pm-6pm: More illustration work

6pm-7pm: Dinner

7pm-11pm: Either do more work, usually creating pieces for my portfolio, writing, Netflix.

Many of our readers have had a challenging time making a successful business out of selling apps on the App Store. Out of the apps you’ve worked on, have any been a success financially?

We’ve had a bit of luck with a few of our kids apps however it’s all been dependent on Apple choosing to feature us or not. That’s the only thing that’s really worked I’ve found.

A few times our apps got picked up in a feature list, or sometimes in a banner in the App Store and we get a spike. We couldn’t give our freelance lives up just yet based on the revenue, however, it’s a nice extra passive income each month. It is very tough though making a living in the App Store. There is so much competition now.

I guess create something unique and look at what technologies Apple is focusing on and create something in that space to be in with a chance of featuring.

Focus

Developers really struggle with procrastination. What kind of distractions do you get and how do you handle them?

Paddy is at his best in the morning!

I do get distracted a lot, however, I also keep pretty flexible working hours. Working for myself from home means I can get a burst of creativity in the morning, take a break to do something else and then continue on in the afternoon or in the evening.

In the last few months I’ve really switched up my schedule and I am working when I’m feeling it, rather than sticking to a 9-5. I’ve found that’s really helped with being creative. Just keep the deadlines in mind, and disable the “autoplay” on YouTube.

For me, my noise-cancelling headphones and Spotify are the number one things that keep me focused. When I can close off the rest of the world and get in the zone, I can be creative.

How do you manage the wearing of multiple hats, for example managing clients and then doing the design?

Over the years I’ve figured out the kind of design work I really like to do and I stick to those areas.

Keeping focused on what I like to do and being honest with clients about not doing other types of design work has been important to me and my workflow. I haven’t had much trouble with the invoicing and contracts side of things. I have a pretty standard workflow now after working for so many years.

I’ve found what works for me and I think good communication with your clients is vital.

Paddy has really found what he loves to do!

Can you tell me more about your business process? For example; What do you use to create invoices? How do you make sure payments are received on time?

I’m a huge fan of Freeagent it’s a lifesaver. So easy to keep all your client contacts, invoices, time sheets together. I always work with contracts and require deposits before I start on a project. That’s really important.

Good communication with a client and settings expectations is also important. Make sure in your contract that it says you don’t deliver the final work or source files before your final invoice is paid is my ultimate advice.

Where To Go From Here?

And that concludes our Top Designer Interview with Paddy Donnelly. Huge thanks to Paddy for sharing his journey with the community :]

Having a clear direction on your career seems to be key to Paddy’s success. Paddy knows exactly where to get his clients, understands his workflow and has perfected his skills on the illustration side of the business.

I hope you can pick out the key’s to Paddy’s success and put in to practice in your work-flow.

If you are an app developer with a hit app or game in the top 100 in the App store, we’d love to hear from you. Please drop us a line anytime. If you have a request for any particular developer you’d like to hear from, please join the discussion in the forum below!

The post Owner of Wee Taps and Full-Time Indie Illustrator & Designer: A Top Designer Interview With Paddy Donnelly appeared first on Ray Wenderlich.

Owner of Wee Taps and Full-Time Indie Illustrator & Designer: A Top Designer Interview With Paddy Donnelly published first on https://medium.com/@koresol

[isiyasy]

Birth Imam Ali un-Naqi (A.S.) known as Hazrat Hadi was born in the mid of ZilHajj, 212 Hijrah in the vicinity of Madina, at a place known as Surya. His father is Imam Jawad (A.S.) his mother Samana was a maid with excellence, virtue and piety. Imam (A.S.) got the post of Imamate after the martyrdom of his father in the year 220 Hijrah. Although he was not more than 8 years of age, yet he was the focus of the attention of Shias and the Abbasade caliphs were extremely scared and afraid of him. They set their hand to his exile and torture. Such as "Mutawakkil" brought Imam (A.S.) from Madina to Samarra and he stayed then till the end of his life. The Special Moral Features of Imam (A.S.) Imam (A.S.) was unique in asceticism, devotion and prayers. So that, when the agents and officials of Mutawakkil attacked his house, they saw him busy praying in a simple room. He had a great attachment and affiliation with the holy Quran. Whenever he was free from the works of the people he would recite Quran. He conducted people with smiling and bloomed face and when he walked he took slow steps. He attended and helped the afflicted ones. Sometimes, he would grant up to thirty thousand dinnars to the have nots, needy and problem stricken people. So that when "Mutawakkil" sent thirty thousand dinnars for him he gave all of it to a needy and poor Arab. The mother of "Mutawakkil" had become enamored and fascinated by the devotion and asceticism and faith of Imam Hadi (A.S.). On the day when Mutawakkil fell ill, his foot was injured and the physicians got unable and helpless regarding his treatment. His mother sent "Fatah bin Khaqan" to Imam's (A.S.) house to request him for a medicine. Imam (A.S.) recommended a medicine to him by which Mutawakkil was treated and cured and all the physicians were astonished at it. His mother send a thousand dinars as a gratitude in connection with his being cure. He distributed all of that money among the afflicted ones. Imam's (A.S.) Attends the Distressed Once "Younas Naqqash" came terrified and trembling to see Imam (A.S.) and said, "Oh the son of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) I am at the verge and threshold of death, you help my family." Imam (A.S.) asked him as to what was the matter. He said so, "one of the courtiers of Abbasade caliphate has given me a gem to engrave a design upon it. During the work, the gem broke into two pieces. Tomorrow, he will send someone to collect the gem. If he comes to know about the matter he will kill me." Imam (A.S.) bent his head downward then he raised it saying, "I prayed for you, be satisfied no harm will reach you from him, instead, this work will end to your benefit. Get up and go you will face no trouble tomorrow." The next day Younas moved towards the house of that man with trembling legs along with one of the officials deputed. Not very long afterwards, the owner of the house arrived and said, "Oh younas it was settled that you engrave a design over that gem but two of my daughters have a conflict upon this gem." If it is possible, break the gem into two pieces, and engrave the design on each of the two parts of it. I will give you a reward too, for that, Younas said, "Permit me to think about this matter." He came out of that place and returned happily to Imam (A.S.) and expressed his gratitude and thankfulness over the kindness he had shown to him. The Hardest Period The continuation of combat and opposition of Imams (A.S.) to the tyrants and the brutal rulers is one of the pride and passions of the history of Islam and Shiite school. They, by their un-comprising attitude toward tyranny and siding with the poor and desperate flared up the anger of the tyrants and cruel to the extent that they deprived them off their sleep and comfort. Although Imam's (A.S.) period of life was coincident with seven of the Abbasade Caliphs, yet the hardest and toughest period of his life as that of the caliphate of "Mutawakkil" because he was a fame fan, wicked and faithless person. If he posed to be religious that was only in view of promoting his political causes. In the year 226 Hijrah, Mutawakkil ordered that the grave of Imam Hussain (A.S.) be washed away by diverting (river) water and the place be ploughed for agriculture so that people may be deprived of the visiting the martyrs of Karbala. Mutawakkil knew pretty well that each of these graves was a strong fortress against him, which continuously attracts the self-sacrificing and devoted soldiers, and heart burnt lovers from all over the world towards itself. So far so, that Mohammad Ibn-e-Idrees, one of the scholars sided by Mutawakkil. He instigated people to ask the solution to their (religious) problems from Mutawakkil so that they may gradually take distance from the family of Ali (A.S.). Following the terrible crime of martyring the Imam (A.S.) Mutawakkil never had peace of mind and remained continuously sad and gloomy till the Turks killed him. Imam (A.S.) and Unseen Aids One day one of the flatterer and glib tongued person said to 'Mutawakkil', "Why do you command your court offices to honor Imam, and when he arrives they must raise the curtains and open the doors for him. This itself is against your conduct. Let Imam (A.S.) come and go like the rest of the people so that he looses his worth in the eyes of people." Mutawakkil agreed to his demand and ordered his officials not to hold the curtains and open the doors while Imam (A.S.) comes or leaves. One day, one of his servants came rushing to him and said: "Imam (A.S.) is coming and to whichever part of the court he arrives, the doors open and curtains are drawn automatically. This thing attracted the attention of all and if this continues on the superiority and supremacy of Imam (A.S.) will become clear and evident to all, thus your government will be endangered. Mutawakkil at once ordered that the officials must adopt the previous conduct with Imam (A.S.) and honor him more than ever. Martyrdom Due to Truthfulness One day Mutawakkil asked Ibn-e-Sikkit the tutor of his sons, "Do you love my sons more than you love the sons of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.)." He at once answered with valor and bravely, "I love Qambar the slave of Ali (A.S.) more than I love your sons." Mutawakkil was enraged and furious like an injured wolf and ordered that the tongue of this man be extracted and pulled out of the back of his head (neck) and so that great man died at the age of 58 years. Mutawakkil Pressurizes the Family of Ali (A.S.) Mutawakkil got famous and well known for his extravagant and lavish expenditure and misusing people's wealth so that he spent one million and seven hundred golden dinars for building a strong fortress which is present to this date in Samarra. With all these extravagances and plundering people's wealth he was so very strict in his behavior with the sons of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.). So that the daughters of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) led their lives by yarn spinning in Madina and did not even have a pair of new dress to wear. Mutawakkil had a bad and ill conduct with the sons of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.). He got friendly with the enemies of Ali (A.S.) and gave them money to make fun of Ali (A.S.) and his family such as he was always accompanied by a stooge who cut jokes and made fun of Ali (A.S.) and made him laugh. He would laugh loudly and lunatic ally. The rigid, tough and harmful attitude of Mutawakkil regarding sons of Ali (A.S.) went to the extent that he wrote to the governor of Madina, "whosoever wishes to help the family of Ali (A.S.) or visits them, punish him severely." Mutawakkil banished the Imam (A.S.) through one of his officials from Madina to Samarra in the year 243 Hijrah. He accommodated him along with his son Imam Hassan Askari (A.S.) in a military camp near his palace. And kept him under observation till the end of (Imam) life. This is the very reason why Imam (A.S.) got known by the title of Askari, became Askar means army or military. Imam's (A.S.) Knowledge Status Since the knowledge of Imam Hadi (A.S.) originated from the Prophetic school thus the light of knowledge shone over his heart and made him aware of the secret of creation. 1. One day, the emperor of Rome wrote to one of the caliphs of Bani Abbas, "We have read in Bible that there is one Surah (Chapter) of the heavenly Surahs, which if read by anyone and practiced upon it's content God will not send that person to the Hell. You write me as to which one is that Surah? Because we did not find it in Bible." The Abbasade Caliph gathered all the wise men and asked them the question and all of them failed to answer it. The Caliph summoned Imam Hadi (A.S.) and put to him that question Imam (A.S.) opened his lips for the reply and said, "That surah is Surah "Hamd" which every Muslim recites a number of times in his prayers at day and night time." Then Imam (A.S.) gave some explanations about it, which surprised and astonished all the wise men. The answer of Imam (A.S.) was sent to the emperor of Rome who, having read it, was much pleased and embraced Islam. 2. "Yahya bin Aqsam" who was one of the wise men of Mamoon's age and the caliphs afterwards asked Imam (A.S.) many questions through a letter which were replied by him. The questions of Yahya and the response given by Imam (A.S.) are as under:  Question No.1. When "Sulayman (A.S.)" demanded the throne of queen "Bilqees" of "Sheba" his minister "Asif Barkhia" said, "I can bring the throne for you in the time of winking of an eye" why did Sulayman (Solomon) (A.S.) himself not do that? Did he himself not have the knowledge? Answer: Whatever Asif did was through Sulayman (A.S.) and he had received his wisdom and knowledge from him since, Sulayman was a Prophet he had the capacity and power to perform all these works. But because of it, that he wanted to introduce his successor to the people and make them aware of his station he assigned him this work. Question No.2. On the basis of Quranic version when Yaqoob (Jacob) (A.S.) went to Kanaan along with his sons to see Yousuf (A.S.) all fell down into prostration before Yousuf (Joseph) (A.S.). Why did a Prophet like Yaqoob (A.S.) performed prostration for Yousuf (A.S.). Whereas, prostration is specified only for God? Answer: This prostration was not for Vousuf (A.S.) but as a thanks giving to God, just like the prostration of the angels for Adam (A.S.) even though, they did not perform it for Adam (A.S.), but prostration to God as a gratitude and thankfulness, regarding this creation, to Him. Question No.3. Based upon the Quran's narration, if the edibles and beverages of Paradise are for the sake of pleasure then, why was Adam (A.S.) forbidden to eat the grapes and was expelled from Paradise? Answer. As God wanted to try and test Adam (A.S.), He commanded him not to obey his wife Hawwa (Eve) (A.S.) and not to eat from that tree. But he opposed it and as a result he was ousted from the haven. Question No.4. Why did Ali (A.S.) order his men in the battle of Jamal (Camel) to chase and bring into effect the pursuit of only "the warriors" and not to kill those who ran away, or were not armed, or injured? But in the Siffeen battle he ordered to kill them all, whether armed or unarmed, injured or uninjured, whomsoever they found and laid hands upon. Why was this difference in the order? Answer: Since, the battle of Jamal was a battle of Islam verses Islam and a battle between a deceived Muslim against another Muslim but the battle of Siffeen was a battle of infidels against Islam.  It was a combat between Muslim appearing infidels and the real Islam. The next day Yahyah bin Aksam asked all the wise men present in the assembly of Haroon: When Adam (A.S.) went to perform Hajj and visit the house of God, who shaved his head off? All of them were unable to give an answer to him. Then they put question to Imam Hadi (A.S.). He said, "Gabriel the angel of God." Yahyah took pleasure and enjoyed the answers of Imam (A.S.) and admitted to the knowledge station of Imam (A.S.) in the presence of all. The Imam's (A.S.) News about the unseen People observed from lmam Hadi (A.S.) due to his connection with God and the unseen world, works which were considered to be the specimen of God's might and power. One of the friends of Imam (A.S.) traveled from Iraq to Madina and had the honor to visit Imam (A.S.). Imam (A.S.) enquired from him the condition of Al-Wasiq the Abbasade caliph and he replied, "when I left Iraq he was fit and fine, and Mutawakkil was in prison and Ibn-e-Zayyat had become famous and well known among the people. Imam (A.S.) after a moment's silence said, "That which is God's will, shall take place, and there is no way to stop his orders and commands. Oh my friend be aware that Wasiq has passed away and Mutawakkil has succeeded him and Ibn-e-Ziyyat has been slain upon the behest of Mutawakkil." I asked, "When was it?" He said, "Six days after you moved out of Baghdad." Imam's (A.S.) Judgment In the age of Mutawakkil regime a lady claimed that she was Zainub the daughter of Fatima. He said, "Many long years have passed since that period when Zainub lived and you are quite young." She replied, "Yes, but the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) drew his hand upon my head and prayed for me to remain young for ever. As such, after every forty years I turn back to become young." Mutawakkil called upon all the wise men to visit him and enquired from them, "What do you say about the claim of this women" All of them said, "she tells a lie."  Mutawakkil said, "I know that she is lying, but what proof and logic do you have to condemn her." They said, "We do not know, Imam Hadi (A.S.) should solve this problem." Mutawakkil at once summoned Imam (A.S.) and told him about that matter. Imam (A.S.) said, "send her to the cage of the lions, if she is telling the truth, because the beasts do not molest the children of Fatimah (S.A.) and do not eat their flesh. Mutawakkil said to the woman, "what do you say?" She said, "This man wishes that I may be killed. If he is right then let him do it himself." Mutawakkil said, "she is right, you must do it first yourself." Imam (A.S.) replied, "There is no hurdle to it" He went to the lions in the cage and sat among them. All observed with amazement, that the lions sat very respectfully before the Imam (A.S.) and sometimes caressed themselves against his body and he caressed their bodies with his hand, affectionately. When Imam (A.S.) ordered that they might move to a corner, all of them crept to a nook. Then Imam (A.S.) came out of the cage and went to Mutawakkil and said, "Oh woman now it is your turn." The woman started crying and begging saying, "I told a lie, I am the daughter of such and such man, and wanted to play a trick and a hoax but it did not work." Imam (A.S.) in Mutawakkil's Assembly Mutawakkil, who was a self conceited and egoist Abbasade caliph, was much annoyed about the attention of the people focused upon Hadi (A.S.) and was all the time immersed in the thought of annihilating Imam (A.S.). One day, he was informed that Imam (A.S.) wanted to bring about a revolt and has gathered money and weapons, for this purpose, in his house. Mutawakkil ordered the officials to attack and break into the house of Imam (A.S.) at midnight and search it and whatever money and weapons are discovered be brought to him along with the Imam (A.S.). Mutawakkil had arranged a merry making party in his palace for his own relaxation and amusement and the musician played music and the singers sang sons for him. He was counting moments and waiting anxiously for Imam to be showed in. The agents and officials climbed the roof from the backside of the Imam's (A.S.) house and break into it. They found Imam (A.S.) busy in offering his prayers in a room.  Howsoever, they searched the rooms but could not find anything except a certain amount of money and one sword. They picked these up and presented to Mutawakkil along with the Imam (A.S.). When Imam (A.S.) arrived Mutawakkil seated him beside himself and presented the dirty drink (wine) to him and asked him to take it. Imam (A.S.) said, "By Lord, I shall never at all touch my lips with it." Mutawakkil who was intoxicated and did not have attention towards anything turned his face to Imam (A.S.) and said, "Thus you must recite some poem (rhymes) for me." Hazrat Imam (A.S.) said, "I do not know any of them except for a number of them, which are left over as a monument of my grandfather Ali (A.S.)." Mutawakkil said, "Recite that" Imam (A.S.) recited the rhymes, of his forefather Ali (A.S.), which were striking and awareness creating. A tempest took shape in his interior. So that he came to his senses, out of intoxication. He wept and ordered that Imam (A.S.) may be sent back to his house respectfully. The money, which was brought from his house, may be returned with sane addition to it. The Translation of the rhymes is as under: 1. They made the high peaks, their residence, and permanently and always, stationed armed guards to watch that. But none of them could stop the death from approaching them. 2. Finally and consequently, they were dragged from their grand palaces into the ditches of graves and with how unfortunately they arrived it. 3. At this time, the voice of the caller of God raised which said, "Where did those decorations, crowns, magnanimity and ostentation and grandeur go?" Where did those faces brought up in coquetry and endearment and which were nurtured upon the wealth of others, and showed their pride and mincing air to them, go. 4. The grave made them anonymous and their faces turned into the fields of attacks of the insects and worms. 5. One day they ate and drank whatever they desired, without any care but today they have themselves become food of the animals. The rhymes, which were totally admonitions and advices, hammered the brain of Mutawakkil, and made him so ecstasies that he was awakened from the deep slumber and threw his cup of wine upon the earth and his eyes shed tears like it was raining. Imam's (A.S.) Martyrdom After the tyrant caliph Mutawakkl's death Imam (A.S.) was still in agony, pain and discomfort till the time he was martyred by "Mutaz" at the age of 42 and was buried in the land of Samarrah. The Pupils of Imam (A.S.) Although Imam (A.S.) was strictly under observation and he was being put under vigilance from all aspects but a group of his lovers, enthusiastic and amorous lovers of the spring of his knowledge contacted him confidentially and secretly and used to quench their thirst from that spring up to their utmost means. Some of his friends were: 1. Abdul Azim Hasani: He was one of the great and wise men of his age and was much renowned for his piety. Imam Hadi (A.S.) would usually say to his friends "whenever a difficulty crops up for you ask Abdul Azim and convey my Salam and Salutation to him." Once, he put forward his beliefs before Imam (A.S.). Imam (A.S.) said, "By Cod, these are the same beliefs which God has liked (approved) for His slaves." This son of Imam (A.S.) was pursued and followed up very strictly and severely and concealed himself in the city of Rai and sometimes he came to visit the grave of Hamza, which is situated near his own. After sometime he fell ill and passed away and was buried at the same place. 2. Hasan Ibn-e-Saeed Ahwazi: Who was one of the friends of Imam Reza (A.S.), Imam Jawad (A.S.) and Imam Hadi (A.S.) and narrated traditions from all of them, lived in the beginning in Kufa then he left along with his brothers for Ahwaz and from there he shifted to Qum. He died over there. He authored about 30 books regarding Jurisprudence and the Islamic ethics and morality. The wise men accept the tradition narrated by him. Allamah Majlisi and Allamah Hilli had mentioned him with great respect and held him in high esteem. 3. Fazl bin Shazan Nishapuri: He was an informed, knowledgeable and strong jurisprudent and orator. He always had confabulation with the friends of Imam (A.S.) and benefited from them. He himself is considered one of the companions of Imam Hadi (A.S.). He wrote a large number of books, which attracted the attention of the wise men. Some of them say he wrote as many as a hundred and eighty books. Following the demise of Imam Hadi (A.S.), he became a part of the companions of Imam Hassan Askari (A.S.). One day, when he visited Imam's (A.S.) assembly, he praised and recommended him to the people of Khorrasan so that they may get benefited from his books. Since he was pursued on account of his being a Shia, he traveled to Behaq and after a period he became ill and died in the age of Imam Askari (A.S.). Brief Sayings of Imam (A.S.) 1. The one who spends his life in refuge of God, world's discomforts will become easy for him. 2. The one who carelessly commits sin and throws away the curtain of modesty, God will make him ignanimous, desperate and wretched. 3. The one who does not counsel with others in his matters will be harmed. 4. World is a bazaar in which one group makes benefit and the other faces loss. 5. Cutting jokes and mockery is the activity and enjoyment and amusement of foolish ones.

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Birth Imam Ali un-Naqi (A.S.) known as Hazrat Hadi was born in the mid of ZilHajj, 212 Hijrah in the vicinity of Madina, at a place known as Surya. His father is Imam Jawad (A.S.) his mother Samana was a maid with excellence, virtue and piety. Imam (A.S.) got the post of Imamate after the martyrdom of his father in the year 220 Hijrah. Although he was not more than 8 years of age, yet he was the focus of the attention of Shias and the Abbasade caliphs were extremely scared and afraid of him. They set their hand to his exile and torture. Such as "Mutawakkil" brought Imam (A.S.) from Madina to Samarra and he stayed then till the end of his life. The Special Moral Features of Imam (A.S.) Imam (A.S.) was unique in asceticism, devotion and prayers. So that, when the agents and officials of Mutawakkil attacked his house, they saw him busy praying in a simple room. He had a great attachment and affiliation with the holy Quran. Whenever he was free from the works of the people he would recite Quran. He conducted people with smiling and bloomed face and when he walked he took slow steps. He attended and helped the afflicted ones. Sometimes, he would grant up to thirty thousand dinnars to the have nots, needy and problem stricken people. So that when "Mutawakkil" sent thirty thousand dinnars for him he gave all of it to a needy and poor Arab. The mother of "Mutawakkil" had become enamored and fascinated by the devotion and asceticism and faith of Imam Hadi (A.S.). On the day when Mutawakkil fell ill, his foot was injured and the physicians got unable and helpless regarding his treatment. His mother sent "Fatah bin Khaqan" to Imam's (A.S.) house to request him for a medicine. Imam (A.S.) recommended a medicine to him by which Mutawakkil was treated and cured and all the physicians were astonished at it. His mother send a thousand dinars as a gratitude in connection with his being cure. He distributed all of that money among the afflicted ones. Imam's (A.S.) Attends the Distressed Once "Younas Naqqash" came terrified and trembling to see Imam (A.S.) and said, "Oh the son of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) I am at the verge and threshold of death, you help my family." Imam (A.S.) asked him as to what was the matter. He said so, "one of the courtiers of Abbasade caliphate has given me a gem to engrave a design upon it. During the work, the gem broke into two pieces. Tomorrow, he will send someone to collect the gem. If he comes to know about the matter he will kill me." Imam (A.S.) bent his head downward then he raised it saying, "I prayed for you, be satisfied no harm will reach you from him, instead, this work will end to your benefit. Get up and go you will face no trouble tomorrow." The next day Younas moved towards the house of that man with trembling legs along with one of the officials deputed. Not very long afterwards, the owner of the house arrived and said, "Oh younas it was settled that you engrave a design over that gem but two of my daughters have a conflict upon this gem." If it is possible, break the gem into two pieces, and engrave the design on each of the two parts of it. I will give you a reward too, for that, Younas said, "Permit me to think about this matter." He came out of that place and returned happily to Imam (A.S.) and expressed his gratitude and thankfulness over the kindness he had shown to him. The Hardest Period The continuation of combat and opposition of Imams (A.S.) to the tyrants and the brutal rulers is one of the pride and passions of the history of Islam and Shiite school. They, by their un-comprising attitude toward tyranny and siding with the poor and desperate flared up the anger of the tyrants and cruel to the extent that they deprived them off their sleep and comfort. Although Imam's (A.S.) period of life was coincident with seven of the Abbasade Caliphs, yet the hardest and toughest period of his life as that of the caliphate of "Mutawakkil" because he was a fame fan, wicked and faithless person. If he posed to be religious that was only in view of promoting his political causes. In the year 226 Hijrah, Mutawakkil ordered that the grave of Imam Hussain (A.S.) be washed away by diverting (river) water and the place be ploughed for agriculture so that people may be deprived of the visiting the martyrs of Karbala. Mutawakkil knew pretty well that each of these graves was a strong fortress against him, which continuously attracts the self-sacrificing and devoted soldiers, and heart burnt lovers from all over the world towards itself. So far so, that Mohammad Ibn-e-Idrees, one of the scholars sided by Mutawakkil. He instigated people to ask the solution to their (religious) problems from Mutawakkil so that they may gradually take distance from the family of Ali (A.S.). Following the terrible crime of martyring the Imam (A.S.) Mutawakkil never had peace of mind and remained continuously sad and gloomy till the Turks killed him. Imam (A.S.) and Unseen Aids One day one of the flatterer and glib tongued person said to 'Mutawakkil', "Why do you command your court offices to honor Imam, and when he arrives they must raise the curtains and open the doors for him. This itself is against your conduct. Let Imam (A.S.) come and go like the rest of the people so that he looses his worth in the eyes of people." Mutawakkil agreed to his demand and ordered his officials not to hold the curtains and open the doors while Imam (A.S.) comes or leaves. One day, one of his servants came rushing to him and said: "Imam (A.S.) is coming and to whichever part of the court he arrives, the doors open and curtains are drawn automatically. This thing attracted the attention of all and if this continues on the superiority and supremacy of Imam (A.S.) will become clear and evident to all, thus your government will be endangered. Mutawakkil at once ordered that the officials must adopt the previous conduct with Imam (A.S.) and honor him more than ever. Martyrdom Due to Truthfulness One day Mutawakkil asked Ibn-e-Sikkit the tutor of his sons, "Do you love my sons more than you love the sons of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.)." He at once answered with valor and bravely, "I love Qambar the slave of Ali (A.S.) more than I love your sons." Mutawakkil was enraged and furious like an injured wolf and ordered that the tongue of this man be extracted and pulled out of the back of his head (neck) and so that great man died at the age of 58 years. Mutawakkil Pressurizes the Family of Ali (A.S.) Mutawakkil got famous and well known for his extravagant and lavish expenditure and misusing people's wealth so that he spent one million and seven hundred golden dinars for building a strong fortress which is present to this date in Samarra. With all these extravagances and plundering people's wealth he was so very strict in his behavior with the sons of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.). So that the daughters of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) led their lives by yarn spinning in Madina and did not even have a pair of new dress to wear. Mutawakkil had a bad and ill conduct with the sons of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.). He got friendly with the enemies of Ali (A.S.) and gave them money to make fun of Ali (A.S.) and his family such as he was always accompanied by a stooge who cut jokes and made fun of Ali (A.S.) and made him laugh. He would laugh loudly and lunatic ally. The rigid, tough and harmful attitude of Mutawakkil regarding sons of Ali (A.S.) went to the extent that he wrote to the governor of Madina, "whosoever wishes to help the family of Ali (A.S.) or visits them, punish him severely." Mutawakkil banished the Imam (A.S.) through one of his officials from Madina to Samarra in the year 243 Hijrah. He accommodated him along with his son Imam Hassan Askari (A.S.) in a military camp near his palace. And kept him under observation till the end of (Imam) life. This is the very reason why Imam (A.S.) got known by the title of Askari, became Askar means army or military. Imam's (A.S.) Knowledge Status Since the knowledge of Imam Hadi (A.S.) originated from the Prophetic school thus the light of knowledge shone over his heart and made him aware of the secret of creation. 1. One day, the emperor of Rome wrote to one of the caliphs of Bani Abbas, "We have read in Bible that there is one Surah (Chapter) of the heavenly Surahs, which if read by anyone and practiced upon it's content God will not send that person to the Hell. You write me as to which one is that Surah? Because we did not find it in Bible." The Abbasade Caliph gathered all the wise men and asked them the question and all of them failed to answer it. The Caliph summoned Imam Hadi (A.S.) and put to him that question Imam (A.S.) opened his lips for the reply and said, "That surah is Surah "Hamd" which every Muslim recites a number of times in his prayers at day and night time." Then Imam (A.S.) gave some explanations about it, which surprised and astonished all the wise men. The answer of Imam (A.S.) was sent to the emperor of Rome who, having read it, was much pleased and embraced Islam. 2. "Yahya bin Aqsam" who was one of the wise men of Mamoon's age and the caliphs afterwards asked Imam (A.S.) many questions through a letter which were replied by him. The questions of Yahya and the response given by Imam (A.S.) are as under:  Question No.1. When "Sulayman (A.S.)" demanded the throne of queen "Bilqees" of "Sheba" his minister "Asif Barkhia" said, "I can bring the throne for you in the time of winking of an eye" why did Sulayman (Solomon) (A.S.) himself not do that? Did he himself not have the knowledge? Answer: Whatever Asif did was through Sulayman (A.S.) and he had received his wisdom and knowledge from him since, Sulayman was a Prophet he had the capacity and power to perform all these works. But because of it, that he wanted to introduce his successor to the people and make them aware of his station he assigned him this work. Question No.2. On the basis of Quranic version when Yaqoob (Jacob) (A.S.) went to Kanaan along with his sons to see Yousuf (A.S.) all fell down into prostration before Yousuf (Joseph) (A.S.). Why did a Prophet like Yaqoob (A.S.) performed prostration for Yousuf (A.S.). Whereas, prostration is specified only for God? Answer: This prostration was not for Vousuf (A.S.) but as a thanks giving to God, just like the prostration of the angels for Adam (A.S.) even though, they did not perform it for Adam (A.S.), but prostration to God as a gratitude and thankfulness, regarding this creation, to Him. Question No.3. Based upon the Quran's narration, if the edibles and beverages of Paradise are for the sake of pleasure then, why was Adam (A.S.) forbidden to eat the grapes and was expelled from Paradise? Answer. As God wanted to try and test Adam (A.S.), He commanded him not to obey his wife Hawwa (Eve) (A.S.) and not to eat from that tree. But he opposed it and as a result he was ousted from the haven. Question No.4. Why did Ali (A.S.) order his men in the battle of Jamal (Camel) to chase and bring into effect the pursuit of only "the warriors" and not to kill those who ran away, or were not armed, or injured? But in the Siffeen battle he ordered to kill them all, whether armed or unarmed, injured or uninjured, whomsoever they found and laid hands upon. Why was this difference in the order? Answer: Since, the battle of Jamal was a battle of Islam verses Islam and a battle between a deceived Muslim against another Muslim but the battle of Siffeen was a battle of infidels against Islam.  It was a combat between Muslim appearing infidels and the real Islam. The next day Yahyah bin Aksam asked all the wise men present in the assembly of Haroon: When Adam (A.S.) went to perform Hajj and visit the house of God, who shaved his head off? All of them were unable to give an answer to him. Then they put question to Imam Hadi (A.S.). He said, "Gabriel the angel of God." Yahyah took pleasure and enjoyed the answers of Imam (A.S.) and admitted to the knowledge station of Imam (A.S.) in the presence of all. The Imam's (A.S.) News about the unseen People observed from lmam Hadi (A.S.) due to his connection with God and the unseen world, works which were considered to be the specimen of God's might and power. One of the friends of Imam (A.S.) traveled from Iraq to Madina and had the honor to visit Imam (A.S.). Imam (A.S.) enquired from him the condition of Al-Wasiq the Abbasade caliph and he replied, "when I left Iraq he was fit and fine, and Mutawakkil was in prison and Ibn-e-Zayyat had become famous and well known among the people. Imam (A.S.) after a moment's silence said, "That which is God's will, shall take place, and there is no way to stop his orders and commands. Oh my friend be aware that Wasiq has passed away and Mutawakkil has succeeded him and Ibn-e-Ziyyat has been slain upon the behest of Mutawakkil." I asked, "When was it?" He said, "Six days after you moved out of Baghdad." Imam's (A.S.) Judgment In the age of Mutawakkil regime a lady claimed that she was Zainub the daughter of Fatima. He said, "Many long years have passed since that period when Zainub lived and you are quite young." She replied, "Yes, but the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) drew his hand upon my head and prayed for me to remain young for ever. As such, after every forty years I turn back to become young." Mutawakkil called upon all the wise men to visit him and enquired from them, "What do you say about the claim of this women" All of them said, "she tells a lie."  Mutawakkil said, "I know that she is lying, but what proof and logic do you have to condemn her." They said, "We do not know, Imam Hadi (A.S.) should solve this problem." Mutawakkil at once summoned Imam (A.S.) and told him about that matter. Imam (A.S.) said, "send her to the cage of the lions, if she is telling the truth, because the beasts do not molest the children of Fatimah (S.A.) and do not eat their flesh. Mutawakkil said to the woman, "what do you say?" She said, "This man wishes that I may be killed. If he is right then let him do it himself." Mutawakkil said, "she is right, you must do it first yourself." Imam (A.S.) replied, "There is no hurdle to it" He went to the lions in the cage and sat among them. All observed with amazement, that the lions sat very respectfully before the Imam (A.S.) and sometimes caressed themselves against his body and he caressed their bodies with his hand, affectionately. When Imam (A.S.) ordered that they might move to a corner, all of them crept to a nook. Then Imam (A.S.) came out of the cage and went to Mutawakkil and said, "Oh woman now it is your turn." The woman started crying and begging saying, "I told a lie, I am the daughter of such and such man, and wanted to play a trick and a hoax but it did not work." Imam (A.S.) in Mutawakkil's Assembly Mutawakkil, who was a self conceited and egoist Abbasade caliph, was much annoyed about the attention of the people focused upon Hadi (A.S.) and was all the time immersed in the thought of annihilating Imam (A.S.). One day, he was informed that Imam (A.S.) wanted to bring about a revolt and has gathered money and weapons, for this purpose, in his house. Mutawakkil ordered the officials to attack and break into the house of Imam (A.S.) at midnight and search it and whatever money and weapons are discovered be brought to him along with the Imam (A.S.). Mutawakkil had arranged a merry making party in his palace for his own relaxation and amusement and the musician played music and the singers sang sons for him. He was counting moments and waiting anxiously for Imam to be showed in. The agents and officials climbed the roof from the backside of the Imam's (A.S.) house and break into it. They found Imam (A.S.) busy in offering his prayers in a room.  Howsoever, they searched the rooms but could not find anything except a certain amount of money and one sword. They picked these up and presented to Mutawakkil along with the Imam (A.S.). When Imam (A.S.) arrived Mutawakkil seated him beside himself and presented the dirty drink (wine) to him and asked him to take it. Imam (A.S.) said, "By Lord, I shall never at all touch my lips with it." Mutawakkil who was intoxicated and did not have attention towards anything turned his face to Imam (A.S.) and said, "Thus you must recite some poem (rhymes) for me." Hazrat Imam (A.S.) said, "I do not know any of them except for a number of them, which are left over as a monument of my grandfather Ali (A.S.)." Mutawakkil said, "Recite that" Imam (A.S.) recited the rhymes, of his forefather Ali (A.S.), which were striking and awareness creating. A tempest took shape in his interior. So that he came to his senses, out of intoxication. He wept and ordered that Imam (A.S.) may be sent back to his house respectfully. The money, which was brought from his house, may be returned with sane addition to it. The Translation of the rhymes is as under: 1. They made the high peaks, their residence, and permanently and always, stationed armed guards to watch that. But none of them could stop the death from approaching them. 2. Finally and consequently, they were dragged from their grand palaces into the ditches of graves and with how unfortunately they arrived it. 3. At this time, the voice of the caller of God raised which said, "Where did those decorations, crowns, magnanimity and ostentation and grandeur go?" Where did those faces brought up in coquetry and endearment and which were nurtured upon the wealth of others, and showed their pride and mincing air to them, go. 4. The grave made them anonymous and their faces turned into the fields of attacks of the insects and worms. 5. One day they ate and drank whatever they desired, without any care but today they have themselves become food of the animals. The rhymes, which were totally admonitions and advices, hammered the brain of Mutawakkil, and made him so ecstasies that he was awakened from the deep slumber and threw his cup of wine upon the earth and his eyes shed tears like it was raining. Imam's (A.S.) Martyrdom After the tyrant caliph Mutawakkl's death Imam (A.S.) was still in agony, pain and discomfort till the time he was martyred by "Mutaz" at the age of 42 and was buried in the land of Samarrah. The Pupils of Imam (A.S.) Although Imam (A.S.) was strictly under observation and he was being put under vigilance from all aspects but a group of his lovers, enthusiastic and amorous lovers of the spring of his knowledge contacted him confidentially and secretly and used to quench their thirst from that spring up to their utmost means. Some of his friends were: 1. Abdul Azim Hasani: He was one of the great and wise men of his age and was much renowned for his piety. Imam Hadi (A.S.) would usually say to his friends "whenever a difficulty crops up for you ask Abdul Azim and convey my Salam and Salutation to him." Once, he put forward his beliefs before Imam (A.S.). Imam (A.S.) said, "By Cod, these are the same beliefs which God has liked (approved) for His slaves." This son of Imam (A.S.) was pursued and followed up very strictly and severely and concealed himself in the city of Rai and sometimes he came to visit the grave of Hamza, which is situated near his own. After sometime he fell ill and passed away and was buried at the same place. 2. Hasan Ibn-e-Saeed Ahwazi: Who was one of the friends of Imam Reza (A.S.), Imam Jawad (A.S.) and Imam Hadi (A.S.) and narrated traditions from all of them, lived in the beginning in Kufa then he left along with his brothers for Ahwaz and from there he shifted to Qum. He died over there. He authored about 30 books regarding Jurisprudence and the Islamic ethics and morality. The wise men accept the tradition narrated by him. Allamah Majlisi and Allamah Hilli had mentioned him with great respect and held him in high esteem. 3. Fazl bin Shazan Nishapuri: He was an informed, knowledgeable and strong jurisprudent and orator. He always had confabulation with the friends of Imam (A.S.) and benefited from them. He himself is considered one of the companions of Imam Hadi (A.S.). He wrote a large number of books, which attracted the attention of the wise men. Some of them say he wrote as many as a hundred and eighty books. Following the demise of Imam Hadi (A.S.), he became a part of the companions of Imam Hassan Askari (A.S.). One day, when he visited Imam's (A.S.) assembly, he praised and recommended him to the people of Khorrasan so that they may get benefited from his books. Since he was pursued on account of his being a Shia, he traveled to Behaq and after a period he became ill and died in the age of Imam Askari (A.S.). Brief Sayings of Imam (A.S.) 1. The one who spends his life in refuge of God, world's discomforts will become easy for him. 2. The one who carelessly commits sin and throws away the curtain of modesty, God will make him ignanimous, desperate and wretched. 3. The one who does not counsel with others in his matters will be harmed. 4. World is a bazaar in which one group makes benefit and the other faces loss. 5. Cutting jokes and mockery is the activity and enjoyment and amusement of foolish ones.

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