#again breezy did fantastic job <3

[gloryride]

Fancy Bimboy

📸 by @breezypunk | commission detes

I commed Breezy some time ago and wanted pretty pics of Oscar for his birthday ... and never posted it x) what a shame ! look how he's pretty in his suits (with flipflop, that's true fashion) This himbo needs love !

[twistedapple]

Hello the 30 questions meme for Nuria - can you answer #1, #4 and #30?

Hello, thank you for your message!

The Ask Meme is here.

What was your Tav's place of birth and raising like?

This will be addressed in my fic, A Tale of Brimstone and Storm, however I've already mentioned some points regarding Nuria.

She's from Calimshan, born and raised in Calimport from an Air Genasi mother and a half Air Elemental father (who's himself the progeny of a Djinni and another Air Genasi). I wouldn't say she has a sad past, but some things that could be rather shocking have been normalised for her because of her mother's own position in Calishite society - Ashemmi already worked as a spy, and basically readied her daughter to keep the family business up, if you will. It implies questionable things by our IRL standards, however. For example, Nuria started learning the trade while passing for an apprentice at the Festhall of Eternal Delight - the biggest "temple" to Sharess in Faerûn. There, she learned to entertain with clever conversations, dances, by playing instruments and singing, learning how to play games... And well, there's also the sexual aspect. At 15, the average Calishite girl is getting married - at 15, someone had already paid a large sum for Nuria's maidenhead. She doesn't feel ashamed by that however, because to her, all of that represents tools in her arsenal.

When her parents left for the Elemental Plane of Air, she decided to add another option to her abilities, and became an assassin on top of her spying abilities.

Her upbringing means she lives outside of Calishite society, however it is not exactly a problem for her. Calishite society acknowledges power based on how one displays it, and Nuria's jobs pay well. Besides, the only way for a woman to have some sort of equality in Calimshan is to live outside of its society, so Nuria is far from being the only woman with hm criminal tendencies. Calimshan's underworld has always been thriving, and one can't expect anyless from a country more akin to snake pit than a cozy cottage.

4. What hobbies does your Tav have? How did they acquire these interests?

Bouncing on the previous reply, some of Nuria's hobbies have been picked when she worked at the Festhall of Eternal Delight. She greatly enjoys music and enjoys playing kanun and singing. I'd describe her voice as soft and breezy - I compare it to Marilyn Monroe and Jessica Alba, both in the way she talks and sings. There's a charming, sing-song lilt when she talks - whether it's something she does on purpose or not, that's another question entirely.

She also took to dancing, because it's a fantastic way to express oneself and let the music live through one's body. This is the sort of impression I have in mind for her: hearing the music and getting into the rhythm. Her dancing skills are also applied in the way she moves when she fights: she's light-footed, flexible and graceful.

Her last hobby is related to her work under Vizer Shahrokh, in Palace Ward. She took to horseriding quite quickly and is a good rider in her own right. She owns a moody grey mare named Banu.

30. What are your Tav's intentions/goals after the end of the game?

Asking for spoilers, aren't we? Her goals will remain the same as they were at the beginning - the events of Baldur's Gate 3 are basically an interruption of her plans. But it ends up being a lucky interruption for her, as it provides her with an opportunity to push for her goals more easily afterwards.

I'm afraid I can't say more than that about her goals without spoilering the second half of my fic plans lol

Thank you again for your questions!

[wishuhadstayed]

Feel the Magic

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x reader

Word Count: 1.1k (Finally!)

Summary: Reader goes on a second date with Aaron, but things don’t turn out quite as expected. A second part to Begin Again as requested by @yes-sir-hotchner

Warnings: slight angst

Author’s Note: This started out as a one shot and now it may become a full blown series. Who knows?

Part 1 Part 3

Masterlist

It had been almost a full week since your almost magical date with Aaron Hotchner and you seriously couldn’t get the man off of your mind. I mean, honestly it seemed to good to be true. He was handsome, kind, and pretty much everything you ever wanted.

He’d arranged another date with you today, a quiet afternoon at the park and dinner after. As the minutes dragged by until Sunday afternoon, you began to grow nervous and excited. Needing a familiar voice, you dialed up your best friend and matchmaker, Penelope Garcia.

After a couple of rings a voice like a ray of sunshine came through. “Hello my gorgeous angel. How are we feeling about our date today?”

“You knew I’d call, didn’t you?”

“Of course I did, Sugar. What’s up?”

“I don’t know. I’m really looking forward to it, I guess it’s just nerves getting to me. I just want things to work out well, you know?”

“Oh honey, you have nothing to worry about. The two of you were practically made for each other. Aaron and Y/N sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G” she sang.

“Oh my God, Garcia, STOP,” you said, covering your face from embarrassment even though you were alone in the house. “It’s just our second date. I highly doubt there will be any kissing. You really think he likes me that much?”

“Well you know he’s a man of few words, especially at work, but he seems to have been in particularly good spirits this week. I’m pretty sure that’s mostly you, babe.”

“Thanks Garcia. I feel better now. Listen, I’ve gotta go so I can get ready.”

“Anytime girlfriend. And I fully expect you to give me all the juicy details after, okay?”

“If there are any juicy details to be given, I swear on pain of death you’ll be the first to know. I’ll talk to you later. Bye.”

Hanging up the phone you realized you were running late. Aaron would be there any minute. Rushing to get ready you threw on some mascara and a cute, breezy sundress.

Just as you slipped your shoes on there was a knock at the door. Stomach full of butterflies, you raced downstairs to open the door and there he was. Dressed in a tan sweater with the sleeves rolled up and fitted jeans, he looked criminally handsome.

“Hey Aaron, how are you?”

“I’m good,” he replied, looking you over in a quick sweeping glance. “ You look fantastic. You ready to go?”

“Absolutely.”

It was a perfect afternoon for the park. Sunny, but also a gentle breeze, the temperature was just right. The two of you walked and talked, passing occasional touches on the arm that felt as natural as breathing. Soon your feet began to tire, and Aaron guided you to the nearest bench with one large hand at the small of your back. It was turning out to be another fairytale day, and he certainly fit the role of Prince Charming.

The two of you were just about to head off for your dinner reservation when his phone rang. You felt him tense instantly.

“I’m so sorry, Y/N, I really have to take this.”

A sinking feeling washed over you as you said “It’s okay, go ahead.”

Stepping a short distance away, he answered. You saw a look of disappointment wash over his previously smiling face. Closing the phone, he approached you, the bearer of bad news.

“That was the BAU. We caught a case. I am so incredibly sorry, Y/N. I’ve got to cancel our dinner. You know I would never want to cut things short, but my team needs me.”

The words hit you like a sharp stab right to the heart. Trying to hide the pain you asked, “When do you leave?”

“I can’t really give you any details right now, but I have to go as soon as possible. I’m so sorry. I’ll drive you home.”

The car ride back to your house was made in awkward silence. Dropping you off at the front door, he took both of your hands and looked deeply into your eyes, a look of sadness lingering on his brow. “I can’t tell you enough how sorry I am that things turned out this way. My job makes things difficult sometimes, but I swear as soon as I get back I will make it up to you.”

Feeling the genuine remorse in his tone, you responded, “It’s okay, Aaron, really. I understand. They need you. You should go.” And with that, he turned to get in the car and drove away.

Once he was out of sight, you rushed in and slammed the door, collapsing with your back against it and the tears started to flow. You knew it was selfish to cry about your ruined date when his job was so important, but you couldn’t help but be crushed. Everything had been going so well, and it was all dashed to pieces by a simple phone call.

You spent the next week wavering between worrying about Aaron’s safety and feeling sorry for yourself. You couldn’t help but wonder if things would be the same wonderful way they were before when he finally made it back. When day 9 passed and you’d still gotten no word from anyone, you began to believe that he’d already gotten back and just come to his senses and didn’t want to see you anymore.

You curled up on the couch that night, exhausted and emotionally drained. You were about to head upstairs and take off your makeup before heading to bed when there was a sudden knock at your front door.

Who could that possibly be at this hour? Looking through the peephole you see him standing there in the front porch lights, hands crossed behind his back and a sheepish grin on his face. Aaron Hotchner.

“Aaron, it’s 10:30 pm, what are you doing here? Are you crazy?”

“We just got back in from the case and I just couldn’t wait until tomorrow to see you,” he pleaded.

Before you could say anything more, he took a step forward, pulling you in. One arm snaked around your waist, his other hand twining in your hair as he pressed his lips to yours. Warm and gentle, but firm, it was absolutely breathtaking. As he pulled away, your heart raced with the thrill of the kiss.

“Been thinking about doing that all week,” he whispers. “Wait here, I have something else for you. Retreating down your driveway and opening the car door, he returned with beautiful bouquet of pale pink roses.

Handing them over with the sweetest look on his face he inquires, “Am I forgiven?”

Of course he is. Maybe you’ll get your happy ending after all.

Tag list: @ange-must-die @agenthotchner @yes-sir-hotchner @hotchner-carisi @hotchners-slut @arganfics @ladyreapermc

[starryse]

Café of Hell- Literally

Kim Taehyung Demon! Au

Genre: fluff, angst, humor, fantasy, demons

Group: BTS (Taehyung)

Pairing: Demon!Taehyun X female! reader

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For the past 3 months you’ve been working at the coffee shop near your university, which luckily for you, was only a few minutes away. The tips were always generous and the customers were polite, even if you messed up their order. Sure it was a minimum wage job that didn’t exactly allow you to buy gucci, but it paid your student debts and kept the electric on in your small apartment down the street. Plus, you just happened to be favored by your boss and receive discounts on all coffee drinks, how good for you since most nights when you got home from school were spent cramming in study guides and chugging down the cold vanilla latte from that morning. And the same happened to go for you now, as you sat on your grey carpeted bedroom floor, iron-man socks clad to your sprawled out legs, highlighter clutched in your hand as notes were scratched across your sociology homework that just happened to be due first thing tomorrow. The clock seemed to speed up when you really needed it to stop just long enough to finish this and rush to the night shift at work. Night shifts weren’t rare for you, so to have to rush through your homework and scramble around to get ready were almost a normal thing in your apartment. As soon as you finished the question you had spent ages on, the playlist that was once on shuffle was shut off as you stuffed the papers into your bag by the messy bed that had all your notes and clothes clustered from the headboard, all the way to the bottom where you stood. Tossing the floral bag onto the havoc looking bed, you pulled the hair-tie off of your wrist, threading it around your disheveled hair away from your face. You puffed your cheeks out as a breath of air came out, taking in a single moment of silence before you continued to run around your apartment getting ready. The curtains that were originally tied up were now flowing down the window, and the pumpkin candle aroma that filled your cozy apartment started slowly dying down as the smoke from the flame took its place. After tossing your laptop into your bag and grabbing your phone off its charger, you quickly shuffled your away through the door, locking it in the process.“5 minutes to spare tonight, nice Y/N” You glanced down to the time on your phone, taking a quick break from rushing to work, knowing you finally had time to get to work unlike the previous days where time was just a figure of your imagination.. In other words, you were so late out the door your boss thought you died. Typically you would drive to work since it had been either highly cold or pouring outside, but today was different. You were actually on your way early this time and the weather was calm and breezy, unlike every other day in your life. The cream colored building came into your view as you rounded the corner of the cafe.

The bell chimed as you stepped into the shop, the smell of coffee and the warmth of the heaters immediately hitting you. Shrugging off your long coat that held past your knees, you were met with the familiar face of your boss.“Somethings wrong, you’re never here when you’re scheduled to be. Who died? Do I need to call animal control?” The older lady’s face was filled with concern, but the underlying smile was clearly visible as she took the coat of your arms and hung it up on the employees rack. You smiled at that, rolling your eyes at Miss Kim's way of playing around.“Actually yeah you should, I saw that creepy guy back out there hugging the lamp pole, he doesn’t seem to ferile to be around people” Jeongyeon spoke up behind the cashier as she poured the frothy coffee into the cup, passing it to her customer. You walked behind the counter, grabbing your apron and tying it around your waist, “And I think I saw him at the market the other day. I overheard him talking about the “scary black eyed people he saw coming out of the cafe” i’m slightly concerned for him” you snickered at your friends comment, walking over to the register starting to work as quickly as possible, “Dudes probably on drugs or something, maybe he had one of Miss.Kim’s special drinks as she calls them” Jeongyeon chuckled at that, grinning at the inside joke between the two of you, as she proceeded to clean out the machines.

A few hours passed as your shift came close to an end, the last customer had ordered their drink as you locked up the register for the night, with only the machines left to be shut down. Jeongyeon had left an hour ago, leaving just you and Miss.Kim in the dimly lit shop. You tugged of your apron, replacing your coat on the rack, and began to clean around the cafe before you made your way home. As you swept the coffee beans off the floors, a sigh came from behind you.“y/n, dear, I know you have an early class in the morning but you’re the only one I can rely on with this.” miss Kim began, as she walked around the counter to you, placing her coat over her shoulders and slipping her white gloves onto her hands, “I really have to get home to Insu, apparently even at 15 the boy can’t be left alone without getting into trouble” Kim looked up from buttoning her coat, swinging her purse onto her shoulder, “Anyways, would you be the sweetest angel and lock up the cafe for me? Just make sure the doors are locked and the files are put away and locked up, it should only take another hour ish I promise! I’ll add more money to your paycheck, and it’d really help me out.” The stammering lady finally stopped rambling as she glanced up to you in hopes you say yes.You force a smile onto your face as you peer down to the aging lady, “Of course, Miss Kim, as long as you get home safely to Insu!” you usher the frazzled woman to the door, making sure to keep the smile on your face.“Oh thank you y/n, you’re such a dear!” Miss Kim opened the fairy light framed door, as she began to rush to her small car in the parking lot.

You groaned, tugging out your ponytail, letting your hair cascade to your shoulders. The look of joy was nowhere near evident on your face, as the dark circles under your eyes seemed to be even more prominent. “Alright y/n, all you have to do is lock the doors and you can go. Then you can get home to your warm house with all your fluffy blankets. Let’s get this done.” You grabbed the keys to the file cabinet in the storage room, putting all of Kim’s important documents away into safe keeping in the locked room. As you walked out to the counters you heard the familiar rumbling sound from the world outside. You popped your head up, looking out the large windows in the shop, being met with the large drops of rain pouring down onto the pavement. Streaks of purple lightning could be seen hitting trees in the farther distance, signaling a storm was beginning. As if you hadn’t groaned a lot previously that day, you did it again just for shits and giggles. The frustration that was hidden in you was slowly bubbling up to the surface as the realization that you weren’t going to get home until even later that night set it. How fantastic. Before your luck went downhill like the rain, you remembered the sticker covered laptop you brought with you for break earlier that day. After making yourself a pumpkin chai latte, you settled in the booth against the corner of the moon lit cafe, pulling out your laptop and opening up the new drama you began a few days ago.

The previously filled cup was now halfway empty and becoming cold as you shifted against the cushioned bench, the rain pouring outside not seeming to let up. The clock on your laptop read 12:13 a.m. You had officially been there for another two hours than intended, and from the looks outside it was going to be even longer. Your eyes began to feel heavy as your focus on the drama was fading, drowsiness taking over you as it got later and later. A loud crash from the room behind you quickly awakend your senses, your eyes widening and head shooting up from its position against your laptops keyboard. Not knowing whether to get up and investigate or shrivel up in the corner like a coward, you froze in your spot, waiting for another sound or a figure to come out. This was not how you planned on going out, half asleep and huddled on a bench in your workplace at 12 am. Growing tired of waiting, you gained the courage to seek out the cause of the crash. You stood up from the bench, shutting your laptop quietly and slipping your shoes back on. You silently began to move over to the counters, scanning around the dark shop. The air was tense and the only sound that could be heard was the rain slamming against the walls of the cafe. Your body rounded the corner before your eyes could look past the wall, and the first thing your round eyes set on was the large shadowy figure standing over the coffee pot. A shriek left your drying mouth, as you scrambled away from the figure. The shadow visibly jumped back, dropping the coffee in the process.

“Ah damnit! Look what you made me do, I was excited to drink that!” A deep voice cut through the room, covering up the loud sound of you panting. “Wait a minute, what the hell are you doing here, you shouldn’t be here?!” The mysterious person turned towards your attention as you were splat against the beige wall, hands gripping onto the plant that was previously on the counter. The man sniggered as he looked over you, “what exactly do you think the little leafy plants going to do? Health me to death?” You looked down to the plant that was tightly pressed against your chest, then back up to the owner of the laugh. His eyes were set on you as you scanned over him. His hair was dark and ruffled against his forehead and his eyes seemed to have a vague glint to them as he smirked at you. His shoulders were wide as he stood tall against the counter, his dark jacket covering his broad chest. You made no sudden movements, rather you just continued to stare up at the man, as you fiddled with the plant in your grasp.

“Um okay. Well I’m Taehyung! What’s your name girl who planned on hitting me with a plant?” Taehyung extended his hand over the register, a rather boxy grin etching across his face. Fuck it. You reached out to shake the males hand, slightly smiling (honestly you just look frightened) at him, “y- y/n” The handsome guy shook your hand, locking eyes with you in the process.

“Cool cool, nice to meet you, I think, y/n. I’m just gonna make my coffee if you don’t mind.” Taehyung turned around, releasing your hand, and began to remake the drink you made him drop. Your mouth finally closed after hanging open, all form of moisture gone, Sahara desert maybe? After relishing in whatever just happened with the stranger, your senses finally kicked in.With a shake of your head, you stepped up from the wall and walked over to where the mysterious boy was making his coffee.

“How did you even get in here? I had those doors locked?!” You watched Taehyung pour his coffee into a travel mug, God knows where he found that, the coffee filling all the way to the top of the lid, the froth foaming over the edges of the cup. The white substance dripped onto the countertops, eventually slipping down the cabinets to the floor you JUST mopped.

“Dude cmon I JUST cleaned those floors, that took my pure labor man” you rolled your eyes at the boy who seemed to brush off the fact you just worked to make the floors spotless. Taehyung took a swig of his coffee before turning to face you, walking around the counters to where you were, sitting on top of the light grey counter top. The honey skinned man watched as you reached for a napkin from the nearby booth, wiping away the mess the latter had made. A toothy grin made its way onto his features, something about watching you poor humans work just made him all joyful inside.

After tossing the soaked coffee stained napkin into the trash bin, you scoffed at the sugar packets left around the coffee pot. Seriously, the dude was raised in the depths of Hell I swear, what decent human being doesn’t toss their garbage? The sweet sound of silence filled the air as you clean the rest of the strangers mess, the drowsiness you felt earlier completely discarded. Taehyung clears his throat, setting down his cup, “To answer your question, I got in through the floor. You humans and your pointless questions, how else do you think I’d get in if you locked the door? Do you expect me to crawl through the window, possibly getting my Versace jacket caught in the frame? So weird.” Taehyung sighed, leaning back on the counter, his hands pressing against the cool material. He pursed his head over his shoulder, dark strands of hair falling gently over his eyelashes, as he watched your face crumble with confusion. You uncrouch your knees from your spot in front of the trash bin, facing the weird boy to your left.

“Did you just say you came up through the floor? And I can float through walls too, right?” You boasted with your answer, walking back over to the bench you were in before the ruckus Taehyung caused. The devil himself kicked off the countertop, nearing his eyes at you,

“I don’t know CAN you? You don’t have to believe me, y/n, you shouldn’t even be here right now talking to me in the first place.” He scoffed, taking a seat on the chair opposite of you. You pulled a face at the arrogant man, “last time I checked you’re the one talking to me and I'M the one that works here, in reality I should’ve called the cops ages ago.” Taehyung scowled in your direction, his tone lowering (if that was even possible with this dudes voice dayum) “Call the cops, I really want to see how that works out for you, human.” You pinch the bridge of your nose, rubbing your cheeks afterwords, distaste was evident across your expression. “Human? You’re a human too, dumbass. Seriously what’s wrong with you, you’re the one that came in here, made a mess, and now you’re acting as if you have the rig to be an ass? Bitch please, eat a snickers.” Regaining his composure, Taehyung slouched back in his chair, realizing that arguing with this girl wasn’t even worth his precious time. He had an eternity to live, why spend it arguing with a mere human girl he’ll never see again once the gates open. Taehyung hummed in response, craning his head around to look out the window. The rain was falling down as hard as ever, and the lightning has not ceased up since you last checked it, before you were jolted up from Taehyungs presence.

“It looks like the rain isn’t going to stop anytime soon, why don’t we play this civil until one of us leaves, hm?l Taehyung glances over at you, his eyebrows raising slightly waiting for your response. Your lips pursed together as you sucked on your lip, your baby pink vans tapping against the table leg. As you thought about what Taehying said, your leg still pressing against the table leg every so often, the sudden grip against your ankle causing you to blink up in surprise. “I said to be civil, I didn’t think that meant kicking my leg with your foot every 20 seconds.” You pulled your leg from Taehyungs hand, tucking it behind your other leg in front of you, your cheeks flushing the same color as your shoes.

“Sorry it’s a habit. But yeah cool civil I can do that whatever.” You rested your chin on your palm, leaning against the table. The two of you sat in silence listening to the rain drop against the roof of the café. As the night progressed and the storm carried on, the temperatures lowered to much colder weather than earlier, causing the chilly breeze from the howling wind outside to seep through the cracks in the shops door. The cold current snuck to the table, right along your arms, causing you to shiver and wrap your arms around yourself for some warmth. You stood up from the spot you were glued to the last half hour, brushing the hair away from your eyes. “I’m gonna go turn up the thermostat, I’m unfortunately not cold blooded so I’m getting chilly. Do you need another coffee or whatever it is you drink?” Taehyung peered through the crack in his arms from resting his head on the table, looking up to you. A quiet yeah sure could just be heard from the mumble the yawning boy let out. Your feet threaded across the icey floor boards, you being extra thankful you decided to wear the thick Christians socks your mom bought you, today. After making Taehyung his drink, you set off to the back room to turn up the thermostat, there was no way you were letting miss Kim find you as popsicle stuck to her bench tomorrow. Flicking on the light switch to the room, you immediately dropped the freshly made coffee straight to the floor in front of you, the liquid seeping through the grey carpet instantly.

“TAEHYUNG” the name left your mouth before you could even process it, you, meanwhile, stashing yourself away behind the desk chair by the door. The heavy footsteps of the person behind the name came faster than you thought when you were met with the owner of it stopping in front of the desk. Taehyung’s eyes brightened instantly seeing the cause of your distress, that same boxy grin etched across his face, “about time, they waited long enough this time!” glancing back and forth between the two things, you gawked at what just happened.

“Taehyung” you slowly got up from behind the chair, standing behind the door, “why in the hELL IS THERE A HUGE ASS HOLE IN THE MIDDLE OF MY BOSS’S OFFICE” Taehyung simply turned to look at you over his shoulder, his jackets zipper rattling, “that, my dear y/n, is my ticket home” your eyebrows knitted together though your mouth stayed hung open. “Talk soon, babe.” And with that, the boys golden eyes turned a dark hue as he waved his hand at you before diving into the bright hole on the ground. As you stood there in confusion as to what happened, the hole began shrinking, the bright light it cascades slowly fading, until there was nothing left but the coffee stain you spilt into Miss Kim’s office floor.

“What in the actual fuck just happened.”

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[nathanneedsausername]

The MCU (So Far) Ranked

With Avengers: Endgame right around the corner now feels like a good time to talk about all 21 films that brought us to this moment.

#21 -  Thor: The Dark World (Alan Taylor) 

Rating - 3/10

Look, there always has to be one.

Thor: The Dark World suffers from the same problem that most bad comic book movies do it is simply forgettable, this is the worst type of film to write about because I have noting to say. Far from being insultingly bad but also far from being any good. Honestly if you ever plan on cramming these films again do yourself a favour and skip this one.

#20 -  The Incredible Hulk (Louis Leterrier)

Rating - 4/10

You can skip this one too. 

The Incredible Hulk is a product of its time, in the late ‘00s this was about as good as action movies not called The Dark Knight got. This one isn’t unwatchable and the bit were The Hulk kicks Tim Roth into a tree is pretty cool but given how little this film has effected the franchise going forward you really wont miss anything by skipping it.

#19 - Iron Man 2 (Jon Favreau)

Rating - 4/10

I get why they made this movie, but I’d rather they hadn’t.

Iron Man 2 is basically just a teaser trailer for the better movies that were about to come out. This movie consists of boring conversations between Tony Stark and Nick Fury and even more boring scenes with the villains that really kicked of the cliché that these movies have boring villains. The suitcase Iron Man suit is really dope though.

#18 - Ant-Man and the Wasp (Peyton Reed)

Rating - 6/10

Meh.

Ant-Man and the Wasp is actually pretty good. Paul Rudd is allowed to fully explore his comedic talent making this a very watchable film however the script lacks any focus and it is ultimately difficult to stay invested in anything happening on screen. It’s a mixed bag but it’s pretty fun.

#17 - Thor (Kenneth Branagh)

Rating - 6/10

Kenneth Branagh made a super-hero movie, this is about as good as that idea could ever have been.

Thor is a surprisingly small movie, revisiting this film now feels slightly strange given what we have since seen of the character. Branagh was always the wrong choice to direct a Marvel movie especially during a time were the studio had far more say than any of their filmmakers. It’s worth revising this film to set up the Avengers but other than that it isn’t anything special.

#16 - Avengers: Age of Ultron (Joss Whedon)

Rating - 6/10

It took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that this movie is just ok.

Avengers: Age of Ultron should be so much better than it is but it ended up being the poster child for when a studio gets cold feet and tries to take over on directors vision. Joss Whedon is an excellent story teller but this does not so off his talents at all. Once again this certainly isn’t a bad film it just isn’t great, there is some good dialogue and the introduction of both Scarlet Witch and Vision is worth seeing.

#15 - Captain America: The First Avenger (Joe Johnston)

Rating - 7/10

Way more camp than I remember .

Captain America: The First Avenger feels as though it has taken the framework of a more conventional war drama and just thrown in some superhero stuff and I don’t necessarily think that is a bad thing. When this film embraces its campness it can be very entertaining. Chris Evans was a prefect casting choice for Steve Rodgers and this film does go in an unexpected direction by making Captain America basically just a mascot but once again the villain is weak and large sections of the plot are forgettable. Overall worth re-watching it is probably better than you remember. 

#14 -  Captain Marvel (Ryan Fleck, Anna Boden)

Rating - 7/10

I’m sorry, I like this one.

Captain Marvel might be the most controversial film in the whole franchise. I have some grievances with this one, namely lack of any style or originality in the writing or direction but the chemistry between Brie Larson and Samuel L Jackson helps to make this an enjoyable watch. I know you probably don’t agree with me but this is my list and I like this movie, so there!

#13 - Iron Man (Jon Favreau)

Rating - 7/10

Not as great as I remember but still pretty good.

Iron Man will forever be remembered as a film that changed cinema witch is so weird to me having re-watched it recently. This is a rather slow and somewhat  cliché 2000s action flick with a paper-thin plot. Robert Downey Jr. and Jeff Bridges both give it their all and I have nothing but respect for Jon Favreau for turning RDJ’s mad ramblings into a coherent film.

#12 - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (James Gunn)

Rating - 7/10

I’m still not sure how to take this.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is the most visually stunning film in the MCU, almost every shot could be used as a laptop wallpaper. This also has quite possibly the strongest theming as its story about fatherhood and toxic relationships can bring a tear to your eye if you let it. So it is such a shame that this film is full of jokes that just do not land and weird side plots that feel like set-ups for movies that Marvel would probably never let James Gunn make. I kinda love this movie but this is as high as I can put it on this list.

#11 -  Captain America: Civil War (Anthony Russo, Joe Russo)

Rating - 8/10

The fight scene though!

Captain America: Civil War is one great fight scene that is all anyone ever wants to talk about. I think the rest of the movie is also pretty good, this was our first look at how the Russo brothers would handle a larger ensemble cast and every character gets the screen time they deserve. Really though the airport fight is amazing!

#10 - Doctor Strange (Scott Derrickson)

Rating - 8/10

The word Strange is in the title.

Doctor Strange has a remarkably safe plot given the source materiel, although that can all be forgiven given how amazing the visual effects are. This is a very entertaining film mainly for the creative and ingenious uses of special effects. This film can drag a bit but it is worth it to see something that gives the end of 2001 a run for its money.

#9 - Iron Man 3 (Shane Black)

Rating - 8/10

And you thought my views on Captain Marvel were controversial!

Iron Man 3 is great and I will not change my mind on that. This was the first team up between Robert Downey Jr. and screenwriter/director Shane Black since 2005′s Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and it was worth the wait. The dialogue is sharp and the plot with Tony Stark dealing with P.T.S.D. after the events of The Avengers makes for a great character study. 

I am aware that the general consensus is that the plot twist sucks but with Ben Kingsley’s fantastic performance and the wonderfully absurd way that it is reveled I can’t help but love it. In all honesty I just to big a Shane Black fan to hate this (the same logic does not apply to The Predator).

#8 - Ant-Man (Peyton Reed)

Rating - 8/10

I can only image how great the Edgar Wright version of this would have been.

Ant-Man is so much better than people give it credit for. The dialogue is constantly funny and the screenplay is paced perfectly so that the film never has a dull moment even in the quieter character scenes. Moments like the train-set fight and the first time Scott Lang uses the Ant-Man suit are among the best scenes in the whole franchise. Like most people I have to believe that the Edgar Wright version would have been better but I must say that Peyton Reed did a pretty great job piecing what he had together.  

#7 - Black Panther (Ryan Coogler)

Rating - 8/10

Marvel’s little awards season darling.

Black Panther is somehow one of the most important and talked about films of the decade and in all honesty it sort of deserves it. Coogler does what other MCU filmmakers would never do and dives head first into real world political issue, ending his film with a poignant note about free trade and open borders. Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger adds a nuance that is missing in most comic book movies. Overall Black Panther is a breath of fresh air in an over-saturated genre. 

P.S that soundtrack is awesome!

#6 - Thor: Ragnarok (Taika Waititi)

Rating - 8/10

How did this happen?

Thor: Ragnarok is everything I wanted it to be. Taika Waititi is one of the most interesting filmmakers working today and it is great to see a major studio allow such a unique voice to make the exact film that they wanted to without sacrificing their creativity. This is not only one of the best Marvel films but one of the best straight comedies of the decade. I cannot wait to see what Waititi has in store in the future.

#5 - Spider-Man: Homecoming (Jon Watts)

Rating - 8/10

Things are looking up for Spider-Man.

Spider-Man: Homecoming was my favourite Spider-Man movie up until very recently. This genuinely feels like watching an 80s John Hughes film in the 2010s that also happens to action sequences in it. The scene where Peter Parker and Adrian Toomes are in the car together is brilliantly tense and shows of the dramatic range of both Tom Holland and Michael Keaton. The characters feel real and fleshed out and the breezy feel of the editing brings the world to life through the naive eyes of a young Peter Parker. I honestly can’t believe how good this ended up being.

#4 - Avengers: Infinity War (Joe Russo, Anthony Russo)

Rating - 9/10

This simply should not have worked.

Avengers: Infinity War is one of the most ambitious films in cinema history. I have so much respect for the Russo brothers for managing to make a film with this many characters and this many plot points feels cohesive and endlessly entertaining. I think the real triumph of Infinity War is how watchable and fun this movie is despite being 2 1/2 hours long, full of characters and constantly hitting you in the face with really depressing stuff. Let’s hope that the Russo brothers can pull of the same trick twice. 

#3 - The Avengers (Joss Whedon)

Rating - 9/10

This movie isn’t given enough credit anyone.

The Avengers was a huge gamble back in 2012 and although it may now feel quaint given the achievement that was last year’s Infinity War Joss Whedon was able change the landscape of blockbuster cinema and make this whole thing possible. Almost every plot point in this film has since become cliché, Whedon and Feige laid out a blueprint for success that no one else has been able to copy since. The Joss Whedon humour and snarky dialogue  helped to pave the way that these characters would interact in the future and his unique approach to  utilizing an ensemble cast makes this film worth revisiting over and over again.  

#2 -  Guardians of the Galaxy (James Gunn)

Rating - 9/10

James Gunn hit the mainstream with a movie about a talking raccoon, I can never complain about the Hollywood system ever again.

Guardians of the Galaxy should not work on most levels but Gunn was just crazy enough to pull it off. The character interactions here rival the Wheadon penned interactions in The Avengers and the Gunn’s direction brings the strange worlds he has created to live in striking ways. Gunn was given a chance to showcase his humour and he ran with it, Guardians goes from dark and meandering to fun and rapidly paced within seconds and it is a complete joy to watch no matter how many times you have seen it.

#1 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Joe Russo, Anthony Russo)

Rating - 9/10

The Russo brothers came out swinging.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is an entertaining, tightly directed, brilliantly acted, fast paced and well edited action film that just so happens to be a squeal to the First Avenger. Many of the best moments in the franchise are in this film including the elevator scene and the fight on the bridge, this film also has great character interactions especially with Steve Rodgers and Nick Fury. This feels like an update on classic James Bond stories with a modern edge, this is everything that a comic book movie could be and I highly recommend checking it out again if you haven’t seen it in a while. There is no question that The Winter Soldier is the best of the MCU.

Franchise Rating - 7.1/10

Nathan Needs A Username’s Must See Movies: https://letterboxd.com/nathan_r_l/list/nathan-needs-a-usernames-must-see-movies/

Nathan Needs A Username’s Avoid At All Cost Movies: https://letterboxd.com/nathan_r_l/list/nathan-needs-a-usernames-avoid-at-all-cost/

[mrsspidermanmaryjanewatsonparker]

Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows Vol 2 #10-12 Thoughts

Previous thoughts here.

Even though issue #10 is a done-in-one and issues #11-12  two-parter, to all intents and purposes the three issues form a three parter, issue #10 acting as a kind of precursor to the latter issues.

  First things first the elephant in the room to address is Ryan Stegman as the writer and by extension the artists filling in for him.

  Whilst neither Stockman nor Level are the measure of Stegman, they both do respectable jobs, with Level’s art in particular being a better compliment to Stegman’s. This isn’t to say Stockman’s art is ill suited because like in issue #5 his style excels at expressive almost Rugrat looking child characters and issue #10 features one such character as the lead.

  Stegman for his part, whilst he may be working off of ideas leftover from Conway, does a surprisingly good job. There are some problems with issue #11-12 I will talk about later, but issue #10 is great and over all his dialogue, pacing and handling of the characters is solid, shockingly solid for someone who I do not believe has much (if any) writing experience. This applies to his writing contributions to issues #8-9 too.

  His work is not as layered or as nuanced as Conway’s but it’s still good, still cuts to the heart of this series (family) and still delivers on the emotion when needed.*

This arc as a whole provides a decent enough wrap up to the over all subplots across the series and the 12 issues as a whole did a good job in the pacing department.

I despise decompressed storytelling but RYV up to this point has handled it really well. The first 4 issues were the guiltiest in this department but their style of pacing was justified. Beyond that it’s been done-in-one stories or else two parters or in this case a pseudo three parter. This keeps things nice and breezy and makes you feel like things have actually advanced quite a bit since issue #1.

Of the three issues though it must be said issue #10 was the strongest and most interesting.

I said back when I covered issues #8-9 how I appreciated that each story across the series was mixing up which characters get the focus (last arc being Peter and more noticeably MJ) and that continues here. Whilst technically Normie is the lead character of issue #10 it’s Peter and Annie who’re the Parkers getting all the focus here, and it’s adorable.

  This is something we haven’t seen before outside of that back up from issue #1 and it’s nice to call back to that (along with the fact that Peter pumps Annie full of sugar when MJ’s away). The clever part of the story is how the focus upon Peter and Annie is complimented by the Lizard and Billy’s opposition to them. This recalls Mr. And Mrs. Spider-Man #1 from 2009 but also emphasises the key point of this story: Normie’s loneliness.

The whole issue is an exploration of Normie, his attempts to live up to his father and grandfather’s toxic legacy and how that quest and their absence in his life has left him alone and unprepared. He thinks he’s grown up to cope with the challenges facing him but he is still ultimately a sad little boy who misses his family.**

In particular in this issue and the next two Normie’s problems are highlighted when contrasted to Annie. Annie expresses gratitude for having a loving family like Normie lacks, calls out Normie on the depressing state of his young life and behaves (comparatively) more like a real child of around their age.

But it is also Peter’s treatment of him with small sympathy that highlight’s Normie’s childishness and pitiful emotional state. We see his anger is born less from a desire to honour his legacy, or even plain old revenge but more a childish anger about just not having his parents (specifically his Dad around). And Stegman and Stockman just sell it!

You see the shades of Norman and Harry’s vendetta cropping up in him but just from a different angle. This permeates through the arc actually and both directly and more subtly recalls DeMatteis and Buscema’s Harry Osborn arc from the early 1990s.

It’s not just fun or coincidental references either it taps into the idea of how family legacies can be toxic which is contrasted nicely with the family dynamic of the Parkers.

This comparison and contrast between the Osborns and Parkers deepens in issues #11-12.

The most obvious example to bust out is the one already drawn (but done better here imo) from the Venom arc. That of MJ and Liz Allan both being mothers who will go to extremes for the sake of their children, with their confrontation in this arc being pretty juicy.

But we also see it in Peter’s protectiveness over Annie too. In another potentially genius call back to Spec #190 by DeMatteis and Buscema (and possibly RYV vol 1 #2), a rage fuelled Peter beats the crap out of the Rhino due to him threatening his family. This is both a realistic reaction for a parent to have and also very true to Peter’s established character in both RYV and the 616 universe, and something not displayed much in RYV vol 2.

In a way this arc marries (if you pardon the pun) the kind of extremes Peter was shown to have regarding Annie from vol 1 with those MJ had been given in vol 2 as the story shows both becoming aggressive in pursuit of rescuing Annie.

In having Peter hunt down Annie, Annie confront and attempt to redeem Normie and MJ get to the bottom of her Venom situation with Liz, issue #11 does a great job of closing out the over arching story of volume 2 by having the Parkers all equally be the focus. Issue #12 kinda does the same thing by involving the X-Men and similarly the use of a Regent power draining mech helps tie-back into the original RYV.

Issue #12 in regards to balancing out the family has a few more mixed results, but it depends what you want out the conclusion.

The story again provides us with a nice change up in the dynamics as it’s more Annie and Normie’s story than it is Peter and/or MJ’s. So it’s something different, but for a wrap up arc maybe having the Parkers fight all together was more thematically appropriate.

It certainly isn’t poorly done though. Annie comes into her own, Normie is believably redeemed and the story has a great message about how words can sometimes win out over fists.

There is also a great twist (kind of) in having the background character Ms. January wind up as the main villain, allowing for Normie to be redeemed and allowing him to break the Osborn Curse of which the arc is named after. It also ties back into the theme of family as Ms. January’s actions stem from a kind of motherly instinct towards Normie.

The action is pretty decent as are the stakes.

Giant robot = Bad.

Giant robot vs a powerless Spider-Man and Mary Jane = Very bad

Giant robot vs a powerless Spidey and MJ whilst it also has the powers of four of the X-Men = How ARE they gonna get out of this one?

Speaking of the X-Men, the arc handles them in a way I appreciated. Not only does their presence recall RYV #1 but it also ups the stakes whilst not allowing them to take away any of the spotlight from the Parkers.

Specifically Annie who comes into her own as I said and this then leads into a pretty organic transition into the new 8 years later status quo.

So...all great right?

Well...not exactly.

Let’s put aside how the Goblin mech having the X-Men’s powers was somewhat underutilized. Let’s put aside even how as I said it maybe should’ve been better if all three of the Parkers were involved in bringing down the threat.

Let’s instead talk about the three big elephants in the room.

Elephant #1: Venom

When I finished RYV #9 even though MJ was still wearing the symbiote I presumed that she’d beaten it and was going to get rid of it. Seemed like the obvious and natural ending to that arc right?

Right...except that didn’t happen.

I was truly surprised when I saw MJ in the suit during this arc. It got me thinking her absence and trip to the hospital in the prior issue made more sense.

But narratively it served little purpose here. It gave MJ something to do in issue #11 I guess but equally MJ could’ve gone to confront Liz without the symbiote simply to learn why  Liz had done what she did.***

So why did MJ keep the costume? My suspicion it was purely to justify her still wearing it in Venom-Verse and thus milk MJ in the suit more given how the marketing department (or whoever) were the people who pushed that onto the series in the first place.

It wouldn’t be much of a problem if not for the fact that it’s disposed of so cheaply and easily in issue #12 and you have to No. Prize why she couldn’t have gotten rid of the suit earlier.

The Fantastic Four were mentioned in issue #10 and since they were the guys who got Peter and the symbiote separated in the first place you’d think this wouldn’t be a problem. The ONLY explanation I can dream up (and this isn’t present in the story mind you) is that the symbiote was altered somehow by Liz to be resistant to fire and sonics, hence why in issue #9 MJ punches a flamethrower or something with no problem.

Elephant #2: Ms. January.

Conceptually a background character turning out to be a villain in a twist is great. Problem is we never learn why.

At first it seems like Ms. January just cares for Normie that much but not only is this an offhand motivation in the first place but more poignantly Harry (not Normie) is brought up more than once by Ms. January in issues #11-12.

So it has something to do with him but we never learn what exactly.

She just switches on everyone, goes nuts and it’s because of Harry.

????????

I think this is an example of Stegman being an artist more than a writer tripping up, it may well have been Conway’s original plan for Ms. January to be the final boss but he hadn’t fleshed that part out and Stegman just plugged it in.

Elephant #3: This arc takes waaaaaay too much stuff from Spider-Girl.

I love Spider-Girl. She is my second favourite Spider character behind Peter himself. Her series was a triumph and an underrated all time classic.

And one of the key parts of that series was Normie Osborn being a sad lonely young man self-destructively trying to live up to his father and grandfather’s legacy as a Goblin, and avenge what he perceived as his father’s death due to Spider-Man. The subplot wraps up in Spider-Girl #27, my favourite issue of the series, in which Spider-Man’s daughter is captured and at the mercy of Normie, calls him out on his BS, expresses sympathy for him and with kindness talks him into changing his ways, finding redemption and becoming an ally to her.

Sound familiar?

Here is the thing, putting aside how Spider-Girl did it better, there is nothing wrong with repeating the same ideas to an extent.

But it is the fact that they repeat the redemption part and the manner in which it happens that is the problem. No Normie isn’t borderline suicidal in this story but he’s still on a path to destruction and still has Annie at his mercy and she still is the one who redeems him.

It would’ve been a better take had it actually been Peter who talked him down.

The comparisons to Spider-Girl are not helped by many fans feeling RYV and Annie supplanted Mayday in certain respects and more poignantly that from here on in the series would be borrowing waaaaaaay too many elements from Spider-Girl, starting with the epilogue to this issue where Annie becomes a teenager.

So...in a lot of ways this arc had the weakest writing of RYV up to this point, but I think it’s strengths in spite of it’s weaknesses combine to render it stronger than the X-Men arc and thus only the second weakest arc of the series thus far. In particular I have to commend them for making so much of it work as they did in spite of Conway leaving.

I doubt I’d be complaining this much had I read these at the time of their release though simply because back then these would’ve still been infinitely better Spider-Man than Slott’s clownshow.

Were I to give issue #10 it’s own grade it’d be an A-.

But the 3 issues collectively get a B-.

  Good, worth a read but very flawed nevertheless. 

  *Which is very damning when you consider Stegman, an artist, was a better Spider-Man writer in 3-5 issues than Slott was across 10 years.

  **Also the story explains why Normie seems more intelligent than he should be, it’s because of the Goblin formula which helps resolve what otherwise would’ve been something of a contrivence.

  ***Speaking of which how did Liz know Spinneret would’ve taken her bait about the symbiote? Not saying there is NO explanation but we don’t really get one ever.

  P.S. How the Hell can this random orb contain Peter’s powers? His powers stem from being altered on a genetic level!

[socialwicked]

6 ways to keep your summer job search cool and breezy

Europe is dealing with one particular of the best summers on history. July 18th was the most popular working day recorded in France in virtually 20 many years and London knowledgeable a sweltering 40 degrees for the first time ever in July. Nations like Switzerland and Sweden also broke their former records.

 When the weather conditions is this warm, it’s tough to focus on just about anything do the job-relevant. E-mails appear just a minor little bit unimportant when your buddies are going on a beach excursion. Meetings are a nuisance when you want to sunbathe in the back again garden in peace.

 Even so, if you’re at the moment hunting for your next function then you shouldn’t overlook your position hunt. Following all, the summer season is a single of the very best times to protected a new gig. Choosing professionals generally have additional time on their fingers right before they enter the autumn rush (so they will basically consider the time to study your software), there are loads of networking prospects, and it will be less complicated to take some annual go away so you can show up at interviews.

    Algae-designed glass and cow’s blood?  Authorities and artists focus on the foreseeable future of sustainable material style

     But how do you stability obtaining a fun, comforting summertime, with discovering a wonderful new  vocation ? Well, we’ve got you coated. Choose a search at the ideas down below.

 1. Get arranged  The initial matter you have to have to do is get arranged. One particular of the least complicated approaches to do this is to maintain anything related to your career research in a person cloud-based mostly folder, so you can access it everywhere, from any machine. Make absolutely sure to increase samples of your former work, your references, include letter samples, and diverse CV templates. You ought to also examine any on line profiles you have and make guaranteed they’re exact and up-to-day.

 It can also be practical to set up a spreadsheet to keep track of the positions you’ve applied to, and the stage your software is at. It might feel like a firm hasn’t returned your electronic mail in a extended time but in reality, it could just be a number of operating days. Now, the future time you want to use for a role, every thing will be proper at your fingertips.

 2. Agenda your look for  Confident, summer is all about having exciting, but you also need to have some time to relaxation, recuperate and expend time with your beloved ones. If you are significant about your research, set time aside each individual week to utilize for employment or prepare for interviews and adhere to it. For instance, Tuesday mornings from 6am-8am could be your allotted time. Applying an app like  Just one Big Point  is handy as it’s made to aid you in obtaining one detail performed every single day. You could do a new position software or some observe-ups, for instance.

 If you are scrolling as a result of the  Property of Expertise Job Board  when sailing off the Almalfi coast or implementing for roles while at a waterpark with your kids, some thing has absent improper. Bear in mind, you need to love your downtime much too.

 3. Discover your community  The summertime is a fantastic time to socialize. Nevertheless, loads of specialists make the oversight of contemplating that the only way to network is at function-related situations like conferences or seminars. In fact, you’re just as probably to meet your long run manager within just your personal extended networks.

 Through the summer time months, make an active decision to strike up much more discussions with the persons that you meet — at a friend’s BBQ or on a aircraft. Choose an fascination in their life and you never know what could happen.

 4. Celebrate every single win  If you want to make your position search additional enjoyable, really don’t neglect to celebrate all your little wins. Did you update your CV? Terrific! Now, address oneself to an iced espresso. Did you get asked to attend an job interview? Wonderful! It seems like you need a morning walk in the sunlight to rejoice.

 Making modest, attainable benefits into your position lookup plan is a excellent way to make it more exciting. It will also help you to continue to be motivated for longer.

 5. Bear in mind the principles  Work searching can be taxing on both of those your psychological and actual physical well being. To stay away from strain, you will need to make certain you glance after on your own. In this heat, never fail to remember the basic principles: take in plenty of new, unprocessed foodstuff, get a good night’s sleep, and consume loads of h2o to stay hydrated.

 Attempt to shell out a little bit of time day to day away from your display screen far too. Even if it is just for an hour ahead of bed. It can make a variation.

 6. Do not sweat the modest stuff  In the course of your career look for, points will go incorrect. Recruiters will ghost you, employing administrators will give the role to somebody else, and salaries will not meet up with your anticipations. We know it is uncomplicated to get discouraged with these setbacks, specially if you’ve been looking for a new role for very some time.

 If you want to get by way of your summer lookup in a person piece, you just can’t sweat the little stuff. When matters start out to get annoying or overwhelming, choose a crack and give oneself some time prior to starting once again. And keep in mind, your desire job is out there.

  Now all you have to do is commence implementing. You can obtain lots of astounding roles on the  House of Expertise Work Board

https://socialwicked.com/6-ways-to-keep-your-summer-job-search-cool-and-breezy/

[cardcaptorwatanuki]

@suitcasesoffeathers tagged me... a while ago :') Thank you, and I'm very sorry I'm so late! Now here come the rules: 1. Always post the rules 2. Answer the questions given by the person who tagged you 3. Write 11 questions of your own 4. Tag 11 people (or however many you want)

1. If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why? I've got the most trivial answer I think... I'd like to fly. I'm quite used to flying (or sometimes jumping high due to lesser gravity) in my dreams and feel off without it.

2. Follow up question: would you want to be a superhero, villain, or just a regular citizen (with powers of course lol)? Even if I wanted to, some hero I would be :p I also would need a great excuse to become a villian (and then again, villians should be gifted no less that superheroes, no?). So yeah, that leads to me being a humble (and maybe a bit shady) citizen who's fighting their own battle.

3. What’s your most prized possession? When I start to think about it, it's seems like I don't have any at all. I'm getting old lol. Well, I'll go with my electronic piano -- I barely can play it, but I wish I could. Back then when I had a music teacher, he would tell me -- whenever I had mastered a new etude -- that I wasn't putting enough feelings into it, and it would make me extremely anxious. As I said, I'm barely able to play anything now, not to say express any feelings with music, yet it feels like the only way to speak at all.

4. If you could live in one anime universe, which would you choose and why? I'm not choosing anything specific, but a universe with a space travel and technologies would be nice.

5. If you could switch lives with one anime character, who would you choose and why? I think I mentioned this already as my dream job, but I'd most likely switch my life with Kishitani Shinra's. We're not alike, though, and I wouldn't be very excited to shelter a dozen of little-known people at my place... Like, yes, imagine me swithicng lives with Shinra but I'm Daikoku.

6. What’s your favorite pastime? Napping. Then maybe riding my bike and colouring.

7. What kind of weather do you like the most (sunny, rainy, cloudy, hot, cold, warm, breezy, etc.)? Ehh, main rule is no (midday) sun. Like I love it and stuff but my eyes don't, so if it's sunny all I can think is where the heck I'm going, not how the weather is nice today. So let it be a bit warm or chilly with a nice breeze and maybe even sprinkle, but just no sun above my head.

8. What is your favorite anime and why? Every time there's a question about my favourite anime/film I think about a multitude of masterpieces that possibly exist but I just haven't seen them yet. I'd like to go with Kaze Tachinu. I almost wrote down "Silver Spoon", but it's primarily manga, and I have to finish it yet.

9. Follow up question: How were you introduced to your favorite anime and what got you hooked? I don't remember what lead me to Kaze Tachinu, it's probably that I was in the mood to watch an anime movie, or even officially dubbed in Russian anime movie, which is rare. "Silver Spoon" was in my plan-to-read-list since the day it was anounced that Arakawa Hiromu-sensei is starting a new manga, but the list is huuuge, so it got lost eventually. Then I saw @omnismith's post on my dash telling me I should check an anime adaptation of "Silver Spoon" no matter what, and I did. I was so sorry it took me so long to watch it... ;_;

10. If you could magically master any activity or have any talent, what would you chose? (Eg: dancing, writing, drawing, playing an instrument, martial arts, etc.) Hmm. I do work with my graphic tablet and (try to) play the piano, but I would feel no satisfaction if one day I'd wake up and excel in any of it. Like, I need to know I was working hard. MA is something I haven't really tried yet, so I'm not choosing it either. Dancing is... another thing. I just can't, so some magic would be nice (':

11. If you could wish for any single thing, what would it be and why? For now I wish I had 14 more points in anatomy for my first semester at university, then I wouldn't live in fear of getting expelled for the rest of the year. Well, I have another semester ahead to fix things up, so I'll be okay.

Okay now, there's eleven more questions for @alice-chan-chan and anybody else who sees this post (meaning for you, @suitcasesoffeathers, too, if you're not tired of answering yet, and for you, @omnismith, since I've already mentioned your name above, hue hue). 1. What your dream vacation would be like? 2. Do you use snail mail to contact your friends and relatives, or are you into e-mails & IM completely? 3. What was the weirdest experiment you've done with your appearance? 4. Sub or dub for foreign language films, series & anime? 5. Would you rather spend your holidays at the city or at the countryside? 6. Do you prefer homecooked food or restaraunt/fast food? 7. What is/was your favourite subject at school? least favourite? 8. What's easier for you: to speak or to write your mind? 9. Have you ever saved up money? What did you spend it on? 10. What's your favourite fantastic creature? 11. What's easier to bear for you: boiling hot or freezing cold?

[cooperenjoys]

Top Ten Movies of 2016

This is my thirteen (going on 30) year of doing a list of my top ten (Eleven) movies of the year.  You should make a comment of some kind! And if you don’t see your favorite film, tell me. Enjoy Movies.

10. Love & Friendship: Whit Stillman + Jane Austin = A funny and wonderful film that any Jane Austin fan should see right away.  Love & Friendship is pure breezy wit from beginning to end, and with so many verbal punch lines that you won’t be able to catch every joke in one viewing.  Kate Beckinsale proves again that she is way more than the Underworld movies.  And Tom Bennett is an actor to keep an eye on since he steals every scene he is in.  Film Fact: Kate Beckinsale's first theatrical release in almost four years.

9. Don’t Breathe: Fede Alvarez + home invasion = A grind house thriller ride that never lets up. Fede Alvarez has done it again after his well done remake of Evil Dead.  Alvarez exploits the sensory impairment of his villain for one suspenseful set piece after another, demonstrating a strong command of his craft while investing the mayhem with some sly subtext, both economic and moral. Mostly, though, Don’t Breathe is an exercise in pure, sustained intensity that never lets up until the final frames. A must see for any one that loves thrillers. Film Fact: Stephen Lang wore contact lenses that greatly restricted his vision, particularly in low light. The other actors, in the scene taking place in the dark, wore lenses that made them look like they had dilated pupils but also greatly restricted their vision.

8. Arrival:  Denis Villeneuve (Sicario) + Aliens = One of best films of the off the year that appeals to the intellect just as strongly as it appeals to the heart. In a film that explores language and characters, it allows the viewer to experience the depth and wonders of what language means, what it’s for, and what it can do. Also, how we communicate alters our perceptions. I have been enjoying this trend of recent years of smart science fiction and I am really excited to see what Denis Villeneuve does with the new Blade Runner. (I wrote almost the same line last year for Sicario.)  Film Fact: Director Denis Villeneuve and screenwriter Eric Heisserer created a fully functioning, visual, alien language. Heisserer, Vermette and their teams managed to create a "logogram bible," which included over a hundred different completely operative logo-grams, seventy-one of which are actually featured in the movie.

7. Deadpool/ Captain America: Civil War: Ryan Reynolds + Rated R Superhero film = Gold. And Superheroes fighting each other + Actually a good Spiderman = Nerd dreams.  I am happy that Ryan Reynolds finally got to be the correct version of Deadpool and got to do the film correctly.  Deadpool was a hilarious, crass, and ironic film that did something certain audiences have been waiting for, something different and that is why its highest grossing R-rated movie of all time. I am hoping Logan follows this trend of something different.  Film Fact: 20th Century Fox refused to pay the writers of the film, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, for onset input, Ryan Reynolds paid out of his own pocket for them to be onset to look over the film. While Captain America: Civil War had phenomenal action sequences and good character development, it also redeemed the not fantastic Avengers: Age of Ultron and cleansed the palette for the next Spider-Man movie. I can actually say that I am excited for the next Spider-Man movie thanks to this movie.  I can also say this was the essence of a classic Marvel comic come to life: the melodramatic angst, the team-ups and the in-fighting between characters. Everything my teenage self would have wanted.  Film Fact: The day before filming a fight scene with Robert Downey Jr., Sebastian Stan sent him a video of himself doing intense bicep curls in front of the decapitated head of an Iron Man suit. He attached the message, ‘Looking forward to our scene tomorrow Robert.’

6. Moonlight: Alex R. Hibbert + Ashton Sanders + Trevante Rhodes = Three amazing actors playing one character through many stages of his life. Moonlight is a stunning piece of filmmaking that is beautiful shot. Barry Jenkins used a shoestring budget to create a heart warming story of a boy growing, learning and finally accepting just who he is. There is so much I want to say about this film but I rather it is a surprise when you see it.  I can say that Mahershala Ali is amazing in it too and that he deserves an Oscar for this role.  Film Fact: When Juan teaches Little how to swim, Mahershala Ali is really teaching Alex R. Hibbert how to swim. When production started, Hibbert did not know how to swim.

5. Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping: The Lonely Island + Mockumentarie = Box office failer, but Soon to be Cult classic (I hope).  I have to say I enjoyed every second of this movie.  While this movie has its silly moments that I enjoyed, I do feel it digs deep into the absurdities of not just the music business, but the nature of the music documentary. Couple that with genuinely great songs like “Equal Rights”, “Finest Girl (Bin Laden Song)”, and “Incredible Thoughts” and I feel like it is absolutely worthy of standing alongside other faux music docs like A Mighty Wind or This Is Spinal Tap. This is a movie I will be watching over and over again and finding new things to laugh about every time.  And after writing this, all I want to do is stop writing and go watch it again.  Film Fact: A small clip from a Lonely Island video "Kablamo" is seen in the movie.

4. Midnight Special: Jeff Nichols + Michael Shannon = Another Fantastic movie on my top ten list.  Jeff Nichols is on a string of fantastic movies. He is the Director of the fantastic film Mud that was on my top ten list last year.  He also directed another film getting a lot of hype this year, Loving. In the middle of those two films he decided to make a somewhat-Spielbergian sci-fi/adventure that manages to be both grounded and awe-inspiring. And he did what he always has done and hired the wonderful Michael Shannon to be in the movie, this time giving him a bigger role. Jeff Nichols also surrounded Michael Shannon with other great actors: Kirsten Dunst, Joel Edgerton, Adam Driver, Sam Shepard and young Jaeden Lieberher. This all together makes Midnight Special a lively and riveting movie that trusting its audience in a way few movies of this scope dare to be anymore. Its gets my award for best sci-fi of the year and continues the trend of smart science fiction movies. Film Fact: Jeff Nichols wrote the film as a reflection on becoming a father.

3. Manchester by the Sea: Kenneth Lonergan + Casey Affleck + Michelle Williams = Cryfest.   I have to start out that you will cry in this movie...well, at least I did.  Don’t let that scare you away from the wonderful film because while this movie is a sad movie, it’s also hilarious and sweet and frustrating movie.  The movie is just about Life, how messy and strange and sometimes incomprehensible it can be.  Kenneth Lonergan vision of human experience and the unknowability of the human heart is shown through the fantastic actors in the film.  A cast that includes Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler (This man can do know wrong), Gretchen Mol, Matthew Broderick and a brilliant discovery Lucas Hedges.  One scene with Michelle Williams and Casey Affleck has me crying just thinking about it.  Go See it. Film Fact: According to an interview with Kenneth Lonergan on DP/30, the idea for the film didn't originate with him - the main core of a character going back home to take care of a family member after a death was pitched to Lonergan by Matt Damon and John Krasinski as a script that Lonergan would write and for Damon to direct. But due to scheduling conflicts with The Martian, Damon couldn't direct the film or star in it (he suggested Casey Affleck to star in the film.) Lonergan was then given free rein as a writer-director for the project, with Damon and Krasinski as producer.

2. Hunt for the Wilderpeople: Taika Waititi + New Zealand = A fun and beautiful film.  In this year of hell and death, we are lucky that Taika Waititi was there to give us this cheerful film that would require a strong effort to actually dislike it. After directing the fantastic What We Do in the Shadows, Waititi turned his attention to a heart-warming pre-teen adventure that would have felt right at home in the 1980s alongside The Goonies and Stand By Me. Julian Dennison and Sam Neill play off each other so well, that every scene with them is a delight.  The film also has beautiful shots of New Zealand forests. If you haven’t seen it, you are in for a real treat.  Film Fact: The Toyota that main characters use is called Crumpy, in reference to Barry Crump, the author of the book the screenplay was based on. An identical vehicle was driven by Barry Crump in a long running series of Toyota commercials in New Zealand, where Barry played a bushman taking a city slicker named Scotty for a drive through the Bush. Scotty was played by Lloyd Scott, who appears in this film as "Tourist".

1. Hell or High Water: Taylor Sheridan + Western = Best film of the year.  First thing that drew me into this film was the dialog.  Taylor Sheridan has shown he is a brilliant screenwriter after doing this film and last year’s Sicario. (This movie keeps popping up on this list.)  Sheridan has written a witty screenplay here that captures a bank-robbing cowboy movie perfectly while having a scathing commentary on the financial health of the country.  The film is a perfect balance of entertaining and having something say about the state of things.  The second item that helped this film is the stunning performances from Jeff Bridges, Ben Foster, Chris Pine and Gil Birmingham.  I would say the best role Chris Pine has ever played.  Jeff Bridges does a perfect job of being likeable and racist. And Ben Foster can do no wrong.  Then there is David Mackenzie directing.  He does a perfect job of showing a small buddy film but also displaying the wide open space of Texas.  I loved every inch of this movie.  Film Fact: The phrase "come hell or high water" typically means "do whatever needs to be done, no matter the circumstances". It also refers to the "hell or high water clause" in a contract, usually a lease, which states that the payments must continue regardless of any difficulties the paying party may encounter. Both definitions apply to different parts of the plot in this movie.

Top Ten Honourably Mention (In Alphabetical order):

Doctor Strange

Don’t Think Twice

Green Room

La La Land

Maggie’s Plan

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Sing Street

Swiss Army Man

The Invitation

The Witch

Best Animated Movie:

Zootopia

Runner Up: Kubo and the Two Strings and Moana

Best Documentary:  

O.J.: Made in America

Other Good Films of the Year:

Hail, Caesar!

Jungle Book

Nice Guys

Finding Dory

Mr. Right

Bad Moms

Sully

Eddie The Eagle

Captain Fantastic

Keanu

Everybody Wants Some!!!

The Lobster

Worst:

5. X-Men: Apocalypse

4. Star Trek Beyond (You can’t win them all Chris Pine)

3. Zoolander 2

2. Sausage Party

1. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

[kiddiemom-blog]

cuppacocoa|parenting. education. marital relationship. food

Parents, have you ever became aware of a Quiet Schedule? Likewise called a Busy Book? It is a cloth book filled with fun activities that your kid can have fun with ... quietly!

.?.!! My child girl LOVES her quiet book!

BRILLIANT isn't it? From making different Mr. Potato Head mixes to counting cupcake sprays to buttoning buttons to building sandcastles, quiet books help children develop their fine motor abilities, evaluation instructional ideas, and encourages creative believing all while keeping your kid hectic and quiet.

Um. Yes, please. (Go

HERE to make your own!)I'm not of the"kids should be seen and not heard" camp by any methods, but there are simply times when you require them to be quiet-- at a church service, or on an aircraft. Sometimes, you simply want something useful to keep them busy-- waiting at the medical professional's office, or when you're going to with a good friend that has no kids and no toys and you don't desire to truck a whole bag of playthings for your youngster. THIS BOOK IS GENIUS! I seriously can't believe I have actually never heard of it prior to!

Everything started when I was at a friend's place and found a homemade felt book pushing the flooring. I flipped it open up to have a look-see, and inside was a felt xylophone, with removable pieces velcroed down in the colors of the rainbow. How charming!! I relied on another page and saw a colorful felt page with surprise animals hiding below rectangular flaps. Much enjoyable for a little one!

I wanted one.

I asked her where she got it, and was a little brokenhearted when she said she and some other friends mass-produced pages and swapped them to make the book. I was brokenhearted since I missed the boat! However I figured Etsy would be all over this, so I went house to see just how much these bad boys were opting for. And then I got some severe sticker shock: $200 for a 12-page book?! FOR SERIOUSLY?! There were individual pages choosing $6-30, and despite the fact that I'm not a craftsy individual, I couldn't assist however think ... I could make that!

I did.

Sort of.

I decided to draw it up and put on my organizer hat (which I am good at, but normally do not enjoy *), and sent out an e-mail to a few mommas who I thought might be interested. Some forwarded the message to a few of their mother pals, and within a day, I had 14 commits. Wow.

Wow # 1: That is a lot of pages to make.

Wow # 2: ... WE'RE GOING TO GET 14 DISTINCT QUIET BOOK PAGES! SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!!!

I was incredibly stired! I reached out to Christy D., the initial organizer, got as much info as I could on how she arranged it, and after that got the ball rolling with my own group. Quick forward 2 months and ... WE FINISHED! WE MADE 14 QUIET BOOKS !! AND THEY'RE AMAAAAAAZING!!!!

Here's a comprehensive take a look at each stunning page! I have no patterns for you, however you can discover similar pages and patterns on Pinterest and/or Etsy. I will share how I made my felt chain links in a future post, since that was the one I did:]

* Can I just say that arranging this group of mothers was THE BEST ever ?! They were so responsive, so accountable, so encouraging, and did such a gorgeous job!! Everybody helped one another out, pooled resources, and composed encouraging reactions in email. I didn't even understand all of them (some were good friends of pals) when we began, but I sure hope our paths cross again!

I divided my 14 pages into 2 books: one for babies (0-2yrs), and one for toddlers (2+). Considering that they're bound with a book ring, I can quickly swap pages in and out.

I provide to you my Child Quiet Reserve:

Front Cover I simply sewed down some adorable fabric and stitched some lines across for a quilted look. Kinda untidy.

That's how I craft =P Cars and Stoplights The traffic lights are velcro, and my lady loves to rip them off and put them back on. The vehicle slides up and down along the white ribbon. She is still finding out that it

's not a rip-off item! Ocean Scene with Moving Fish Have a look at the detail on those moving fish, and the detail on that stitching around each fish and through the coral and plants! It's a beautiful page, however I'm not letting her play with it up until she understands the concept of moving-- not yanking!

Sensory Jellyfish My buddy made this as part of our daughter's first birthday present! Isn't it beautiful? Our woman enjoys to flip back to this page often to tickle("Ticko ticko! ")the arms. It's the prettiest thing on the planet!

Mitten with Snowball I think these were indicated to be mittens for outside snow play(includes a white snowball concealed inside the mitten ). Being a baker, I decided to pair it with the Apple Pie page so it looks more like a baking mitt Babies can slip their hands in and out of these cute mittens!

Apple Pie Weaving Not sure why I put this in the child book instead of young child, cause I'm pretty sure she won't be weaving anytime quickly ... however at least it matches with the baking mitt! Not to fret: thanks to the book ring binding, I can easily move this page over to the toddler book anytime (in addition to the Hungry Alligator, which it is back-to-back attached to).

Starving Alligator I truly desired a zipper in the peaceful book someplace, so I'm actually happy somebody made a zipper page

! Isn't this adorbs? Children can unzip the alligator's mouth and put the fish into the ocean! Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head Felt potato heads! I enjoy it! There are a lot of mixes for this! Each of the pieces had Velcro glued onto it, which was simply enough to make it adhere to the felt. Also, the potato head itself is a pocket, so you can store Mr. Potato Head's pieces in there while playing with Mrs. Potato Head's pieces! Craftwise, this page needs a lot of cutting, but works well for the individual who does not sew!

Sandcastles on the Beach How adorable is this? I enjoy the details from the sewing along the water's edge to the little starfish to the double-backed pages. The individual who made this consisted of two sandcastle sets in case any got lost. You 'd think individuals would try to do what was "most convenient" or "quickest," but clearly the group of women here offered their all-- even with children/babies in your home (or in the belly)!

... Which was just the baby variation, folks.

Here are the pages for my toddler book!

Chain Hyperlinks This was the page I made. I liked how kids would have the ability to get some ROYGBV practice in while also establishing great motor abilities as they attached the snaps. I likewise included black and white strips for moms and dads who wanted to teach their kids how to use colors (black, white, red, green, "gold") to teach the Gospel message. More on that in another post!

Counting Flower Kids can practice counting with these flowers! The intricate numbers were eliminated from a good friend's Cricut device, and inside the flower pot is a second set of blue petals ... simply for variety. So thoughtful!

Lace-up Football We had the option to pick a lace-up football or ballet slippers. I understand we have a woman, but I couldn't assist but choose the football, because my own youth was filled with a great deal of football( and no ballet ). And I enjoyed it that way. This is a fun method to practice tying laces! Plus, the football fabric is a very soft suede that even I like to rub!

Breezy Clothesline This adorable page permits kids to take clothing down from the line and put it into the white basket. I enjoy

the colors and multimedia! Fancy pants! Oh my goodness. That giraffe print. Could it be any cuter?! I also love the sewing information throughout. The person who made it likewise told us we could switch the buckle to the other side, to establish both the right and left hands!

Great idea! Balloon Buttons This was Part I of my"celebration pages":-RRB-. Not only are the buttons hand-sewn down, but the buttonhole is edged all professional-like and everything! Fantastic page for button practice!

Last, however not least ... drumroll please ...

Counting Cupcakes Your child counts the variety of sprays on the(detachable Velcro )frosting and matches it up with the number composed on the cupcake liner! This page literally took my breath away. Why? Because, people, each of those "sprinkles" is actually a button that has been HAND-SEWN ON. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? (1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 +9) x 14 = 630 BUTTONS!.?. !!! And I thought my chain links were a lot of work!! C. definitely takes the (cup)cake on this one (ha ha!)!

Incredible? Do not you wish you had one? (Sorry to make you yearn for ...) I hesitate mine is priceless, though, so you'll just need to make your own. Not the organizational type? NOT TO CONCERN! I got your back! I have actually set up a post detailing How to Make a Peaceful Book with a Group of Buddies, and will post it for you soon, consisting of e-mail design templates and resources you can utilize to direct your own group peaceful book project!I just ask that you link my website and share the Cuppacocoa love:-RRB-.

I am going to send this post to all the women involved in the task, so please show some love below in the comments! Which peaceful book page(s) did you like the most? Which details do you enjoy? Which one(s) would your kid (or ... you?;-RRB-)enjoy having fun with? Do you think you'll ever make one?

Thanks for reading, and delighted holidays !!

Share this:

34 actions to "I Can't Keep Quiet About My Peaceful Book!"

I'm going to make one for my granddaughter!! Thank you for this post!

Ooh so ambitious! Are you going to do all the pages yourself? I have a post coming up on how to make a felt one, so you can inspect that out for concepts, too ... especially if you have some other pals who may have an interest in making one =-RRB-.

I still have my peaceful book my mom made me as a child. I remember investing numerous church services playing with it. Then my own kids had fun with it when they were young. Someday I will have grandchildren who can play with it at my house! Mine was made prior to Velcro was popular, so my pages have snaps instead. That's another alternative to utilize somewhere on your young child pages.

You're the 3rd person who informed me their mother made them a quiet book! I can't believe individuals have learnt about this for so long and I've only just heard about it. She must have done a fantastic job since it is lasting many generations! Thanks for the tip-- I did happen to use button snaps for my page (links), and it works well! I believe it'll be rather resilient =-RRB-.

Wow, I have actually constantly enjoyed reading your posts because you released it. With today's publishing, I like to comment I really like the details, they are really cute and thoughtful designs. What a group of creative ladies. Grace from Michigan

Thanks, Grace! I'm so pleased you enjoy my blog site and value the information on these pages:-RRB-.

Peaceful Books-- 12/26/2014

I enjoy your quiet books! I made something very similar for my 3 year old nephew for Christmas. I have not done the numbers and alphabets. Your book gave me some excellent concepts of how I may improvise to do them for my nephews book. When I saw this idea on a different web-site I just enjoyed it. Yours ended up great. Thanks for all of the important things that you share.

Thanks, Patti! So great of you to take the time to make this for your nephew. I would like to get one as a gift! It takes a tremendous amount of time! What a fortunate guy (and lucky moms and dads !!:-RRB-).

[seecourtneytravel]

October 1, 2018 Monday

Hot October

I can’t believe it is October already. I already feel like I will be missing my favorite season in New York. I miss the coolness and the changing colors in the leaves. It’s weird to be in a blazing heat of sun on the same month of my birthday where it’s normally chilly and breezy.

Today I go to LPH after having a fantastic weekend. I never thought I would expounds new families, friendships, and cultures all in one weekend. Seeing Sambawan island is one of my favorite places now.

The day is a normal day at the hospital. I help where and when I can, asking the nurses where they need me. They typically didn’t need my help because in all honestly I couldn’t. Everything was so different and I literally didn’t know how to control my resource usage or make due with such limited resources. Medications here are pretty much the same just prepared differently. I’m not sure if I mentioned, but they do a “skin test” to make sure a patient is not allergic to an antibiotic and wait 30 minutes before administering. I was surprised they did that just as they were shocked we didn’t do that.

Anyways.. it’s around 10am and this kid who is maybe 8 or 9 is hunched over approaching the triage desk. He is tachycardic in the 150’s, high fever of 38.5 axillary, and is complaining of severe right lower quadrant pain. It was an obvious appendicitis. Or worse, a ruptured one.

I asked immediately if I could be present for the surgery. I asked if it was going to be emergent. They said yes. Emergent but scheduled at 4pm.

I am not used to the sitting and waiting. In my head I have the unlimited resources. Here I have to be patient. I’ve learned a great amount of patience but I will never lose that urgency bug that every ER nurse has. When you lose that, it might cost the patient's life. At the same time I don’t express panic. Sometimes here I’ve had a lot of “wow” factors in the differences with western medicine.

My fave Doctor

Dr. Villarente. He a general surgeon that is seen a lot roaming around the ER assessing surgical cases and seeing follow ups that come into the ER. He is very sociable and has American humor and wit. After getting to know him he invited me to assist with the appendectomy of the young boy that afternoon. I said yes eagerly. I left at 1pm to return at 3pm that day to prepare. An opportunity I didn’t want to miss.

When I arrived at three I hung around the ER and waited for the dr’s go ahead. The OB doctor came to the ER at 3:45 saying she had an emergency C-section that took priority. They only had one OR with one anesthesiologists. I asked if I could join in on that as well. Volunteering here I’ve learned you really had to ask for the opportunities.

I feel like I’ve lost my opportunity to shadow or jump in assist in an American OR. There are too many rules to do that. Maybe there’s not too many rules but this was an opportunity I took advantage of now. I guess I wanted to see if maybe being an OR nurse was still in the deck for me.

They were already prepping the patient for the c-section, or the “CS.” The doctor started making her incision, cauterizing small blood vessels on her way in. It seemed very movie like and straight forward. Before I knew it she reached in and grabbed the baby and the baby was crying. The baby was handed off and the umbilical cord was cut with the placenta removed. I stood back and appreciate the entire birthing process and then excused myself while they finished suturing her up again.

It felt like another hour went by and it was 630pm and the boy didn’t even get in the room yet. I never went home and all I could think about was how worried my Nanay was. She probably had food spread on the table waiting and wondering like usual. But she had no phone and there was no service at the hospital.

Finally, it was time. The room was prepared and the boy was wheeled in my wheelchair. He could barely stand to get onto the OR table. The anesthesiologist gave him a spinal injection for his pain. I forgot his name but he was fantastic. He had gentle eyes and was really easy to talk too. Everyone in OR seems like such a close group with constant smiles. That seems to be most of the staff here, always on a no worry spectrum.

As they prepped the patient, Dr. V asked me to scrub up. I never thought in my life I’d be asked to do that. Last time I did was in nursing school. I did, followed his directions and walked in with my hands in the air terrified to touch even...the air!

They had cloth sterile gowns and drapes, the assistant had assisted me and prepped me with my 7.5 sterile gloves. I was the tallest in the room and felt like I was in a dream. I stood across from the surgeon as the nurses made her counts of all gauze and surgical tools. He began his first cut.

It’s nothing out of the ordinary to me, I guess I was mostly impressed that the bleeding was at a minimal even without cautery. People get skin tears and bleed out in the ER it seems like. Here the Dr cuts through the subcutaneous, muscle, and even through the peritoneal cavity that encases the intestines and still not a ton of blood. I could be saying some things anatomically wrong but you get it.

The doctor had made a midline incision with only his assessment knowledge pointing towards his appendix has already bursted. Without CT, he was correct. This procedure has made my presence feel very useful. It was very difficult to find the end of the patients appendix because the intestes would fall in his way. The other nurses hands were busy handing the surgeon his tools and holding one side. I had the job of holding the opposite side open for the doctors visual aid. It felt like more hands were definitely needed.

The patients peritoneal cavity was cleaned with sterile water and betadine. This just proved to me how crazy the human body is. Afterwards, layer by layer the patient was sutured. I was given the job of cutting the sutures. I stuck around until the patient was fully sutured. I excused myself because it was nearing 8pm.

I finally arrived left. When I was on the jeepney I received message from Ronja saying my Nanay was looking for me. I also informed staff members that I would be home late. Nancy was double informed and when I arrived she looked very eager to see me come through the doorway.

[interstellarinfinity]

I found another one of these

I found another questionnaire from a few years back so imma answer it now again (and I only answered ones that changed lmao)

1: Full name

Then: Madison Now: Madison

2: Age

Then: 16 Now: 19

3: 3 Fears

Then: thunderstorms, spiders, school Now: spiders, death, ending up alone

4: 3 things I love

Then: bands, books, God Now: Ivan, my sisters, music

5: 4 turns on

Then: don’t get turned on but… intelligence, good hair, beautiful eyes, sense of humor Now: Hands, lustful eyes, sweatpants, and this is super specific but Ivan has a grey shirt that makes me go nUTS for some reason

6: 4 turns off

Then: smells weird, rude, obnoxious, bad taste in clothes Now: rude, attention seeker, constantly correcting, thinks they’re always right

7: My best friends

Then: mikie, hannah, ellen, tom, lauren Now: Sophi, Ivan, my sisters

8: Sexual orientation

Then: straight/asexual Now: bisexual and not ace

9: My best first date

Then: haven’t had a good first date Now: my first date with Ivan (it was a breakfast date!!!)

10: How tall am I

Then: 5′1 Now: 5′1 & 3/4

11: What do I miss

Then: a lot of things Now: Ivan, my lyco friends, DPA, Ivan, Sophi, Ivan, Ivan, did I mention Ivan?

12: What time were I born

Then: 8:20 P.M. Now: 8:10 p.m. (I asked my mom and I was wrong before wtf)

13: Favourite color

Then: pink Now: pink

14: Do I have a crush

Then: YES Now: yeah cause bf

15: Favourite quote

Then: I have many Now: The greatest value in life comes from loving yourself for who you are

16: Favourite place

Then: Disney World Now: wherever Ivan is

17: Favourite food

Then: thin mints Now: mac and cheese and nugs

18: Do I use sarcasm

Then: yes Now: ofc

19: What am I listening to right now

Then: take flight by lindsey stirling Now: La Llorona from Coco (I can’t stop listening to the album help)

20: First thing I notice in new person

Then: hair Now: how they act with others

21: Shoe size

Then: 61/2-7 Now: 7

22: Eye color

Then: greenish/hazelish Now: they change a lot but primarily green

23: Hair color

Then: dirty blonde Now: dark blonde/red/brown

24: Favourite style of clothing

Then: sweater, leggings, combat boots Now: t-shirt, capri jeans, and converse/toms

25: Ever done a prank call?

Then: no Now: omg when I’m drunk yes

27: Meaning behind my URL

Then: starry night cause I love space, niall bc niall Now: idk it sounded cool

28: Favourite movie

Then: big hero 6 Now: Coco

29: Favourite song

Then: moon trance Now: I Miss Those Days by the Bleachers

30: Favourite band

Then: one direction Now: one direction

31: How I feel right now Then: happy Now: tired

32: Someone I love

Then: *** Now: Ivan

33: My current relationship status

Then: single as a pringle Now: happiest relationship I’ve ever been in

34: My relationship with my parents

Then: fantastic Now: fantastic (surprise)

35: Favourite holiday

Then: christmas Now: halloween

36: Tattoos and piercing i have

Then: none Now: traditional ear piercing

37: Tattoos and piercing i want

Then: cartilidge piercing and the cancer constellation tattooed somewhere Now: just the cancer constellation tattoo and a rose tattoo bc sorority

38: The reason I joined Tumblr

Then: it sounded fun Now: it sounded fun

39: Do I and my last ex hate each other?

Then: no Now: he can go to hell

40: Do I ever get “good morning” or “good night ” texts?

Then: heck no Now: heck yeah

41: Have I ever kissed the last person you texted?

Then: no Now: nope

42: When did I last hold hands?

Then: back in january with my ex Now: two weeks ago with Ivan :(

43: How long does it take me to get ready in the morning?

Then: like 20 minutes Now: if I’m not trying, 10.  if i’m trying, an hour max

44: Have You shaved your legs in the past three days?

Then: no Now: nope but I NEED TO LADOINFAD

45: Where am I right now?

Then: my couch Now: my bed

46: If I were drunk; can’t stand, who’s taking care of me?

Then: no one i don’t get drunk Now: either my big or Ivan cause they’ve both had to do it

47: Do I like my music loud or at a reasonable level?

Then: reasonable level Now: both depending on mood

48: Do I live with my Mom and Dad?

Then: my mom yes Now: my mom yes

49: Am I excited for anything?

Then: disney world in 11 days Now: for Ivan to come back from Mexico

50: Do I have someone of the opposite sex I can tell everything to?

Then: yes Now: yes

51: How often do I wear a fake smile?

Then: 1/8 of the time Now: never

52: When was the last time I hugged someone?

Then: today Now: a few days ago

53: What if the last person I kissed was kissing someone else right in front of me?

Then: i wouldn’t care Now: there will be blood

54: Is there anyone I trust even though I should not?

Then: no Now: no idea

55: What is something I disliked about today?

Then: i have a migraine Now: people suck at work

56: If I could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?

Then: lindsey stirling Now: niall horan

57: What do I think about most?

Then: someone Now: Ivan

58: What’s my strangest talent?

Then: picking up stuff with my toes (WTFFFFFF) Now: forgetting everything I’ve learned from a semester in an hour

59: Do I have any strange phobias?

Then: i’m afraid of thunderstorms Now: i have trypophobia?  does that even count?

60: Do I prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it?

Then: in front of it Now: still in front but I enjoy photography

61: What was the last lie I told?

Then: … Now: that i don’t have sex LMAO

62: Do I perfer talking on the phone or video chatting online?

Then: neither Now: facetime!

63: Do I believe in ghosts? How about aliens?

Then: ghosts yes, aliens maybe Now: both

64: Do I believe in magic?

Then: i like to think it exists somewhere Now: there’s magic in love tbh

65: Do I believe in luck?

Then: not really Now: not sure tbh

66: What’s the weather like right now?

Then: sunny and breezy Now: cloudy night

67: What was the last book I’ve read?

Then: the elite Now: i’m in the middle of turtles all the way down 

68: Do I like the smell of gasoline?

Then: yes Now: yup

69: Do I have any nicknames?

Then: maddio Now: maddio, mads, poopsy (thanks Ivan)

70: What was the worst injury I’ve ever had?

Then: almost breaking two of my fingers on two seperate occasions Now: ripping both my knees open, my hand, and my cheek

71: Do I spend money or save it?

Then: spend it Now: SPEND IT HOLY SHIT I CAN’T SAVE FOR SHIT

72: Can I touch my nose with a tounge?

Then: no Now: nope

73: Is there anything pink in 10 feets from me?

Then: yes my blanket Now: my jolly rancher plush (work perks)

74: Favourite animal?

Then: penguin Now: penguin

75: What was I doing last night at 12 AM?

Then: sleeping Now: probably watching youtube

76: What do I think is Satan’s last name is?

Then: no last name, he’s like madonna Now: doofensmirtz

77: What’s a song that always makes me happy when I hear it?

Then: i have many Now: hold on forever by rob thomas

78: How can you win my heart?

Then: just be kind and be honest with how you feel Now: same as before (wow past me had some wisdom)

79: What would I want to be written on my tombstone?

Then: idk Now: i got no idea

80: What is my favorite word?

Then: don’t have one Now: ?

82: If the whole world were listening to me right now, what would I say?

Then: *middle finger emoji* Now: fix yourself and love everyone

83: Do I have any relatives in jail?

Then: idk maybe one in tennessee Now: LIKE 5 IN TENNESSEE LMAOOOO

84: I accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow me with the super-power of my choice! What is that power?

Then: reverse time Now: stop time for everything around you and the people you’re with

85: What would be a question I’d be afraid to tell the truth on?

Then: idk Now: anything about my sex life if my mom asked

86: What is my current desktop picture?

Then: 1d concert picture Now: collage of my friends and family and me boy

87: Had sex?

Then: no Now: HELL YEAH

88: Bought condoms?

Then: no Now: yup

89: Gotten pregnant?

Then: no Now: nope

90: Failed a class?

Then: no Now: ALMOST LMAO

91: Kissed a boy?

Then: yes Now: yupp

92: Kissed a girl?

Then: no Now: when i’m drunk i do lmao

93: Have I ever kissed somebody in the rain?

Then: i wish Now: yeeeeees

94: Had job?

Then: no Now: i have two right now

95: Left the house without my wallet?

Then: yes Now: i literally did this on the way to work the other day lMAO

96: Bullied someone on the internet?: no

97: Had sex in public?

Then: hell no Now: oops

98: Played on a sports team?: sorta

99: Smoked weed?

Then: no Now: hehehehhehe yeah

100: Did drugs?: no

101: Smoked cigarettes?: no

102: Drank alcohol?

Then: like sips but not a whole glass or shot or anything Now: YUP I LIKE THE ALCHY

103: Am I a vegetarian/vegan?: no

104: Been overweight?: yes

105: Been underweight?: yes

106: Been to a wedding?: yes

107: Been on the computer for 5 hours straight?: yes

108: Watched TV for 5 hours straight?: yes

109: Been outside my home country?

Then: no Now; does canada count

110: Gotten my heart broken?: yes

111: Been to a professional sports game?

Then: yes Now: just went to my second one last fall!

112: Broken a bone?: No

113: Cut myself?: yes

114: Been to prom?: yes

115: Been in airplane?: yes

116: Fly by helicopter?: no

117: What concerts have I been to?

Then: one direction/5sos twice Now: 1d, 5sos, lindsey stirling, twenty one pilots

118: Had a crush on someone of the same sex?

Then: ;) Now: uh yeah

119: Learned another language?

Then: halfway Now: ALMOST HALFWAY WITH SPANISH AGH

120: Wore make up?

Then: i wear it everyday Now: i fucking love makeup

121: Lost my virginity before I was 18?

Then: no Now: lost it AT 18

122: Had oral sex?

Then: no Now: hell fucking yeah

123: Dyed my hair?

Then: no Now: a lot in the past 6 months lmao

124: Voted in a presidential election?: no

125: Rode in an ambulance?: no

126: Had a surgery?: yes

127: Met someone famous?: no

128: Stalked someone on a social network?: yes

129: Peed outside?: yes

130: Been fishing?: yes

131: Helped with charity?: yes

132: Been rejected by a crush?

Then: not yet thank god Now: yup it sucks

133: Broken a mirror?

Then: no Now: i didn’t but my roommates bf broke mine lmao

134: What do I want for birthday?

Then: many things Now: my boy :(

135: How many kids do I want and what will be their names?

Then: one kid, a girl, named aristotle Now: a girl and a boy and idk names

136: Was I named after anyone?: no

137: Do I like my handwriting?: sometimes

138: What was my favourite toy as a child?: my skip it

139: Favourite Tv Show?

Then: house of anubis Now: stranger things

140: Where do I want to live when older?

Then: in a city Now: anywhere that’s not the USA

141: Play any musical instrument?

Then: viola and piano Now: viola, violin, piano, ukelele

142: One of my scars, how did I get it?

Then: falling on the conastoga trail while attempting to exercisse Now: burnt my arm cooking

143: Favourite pizza toping?: extra cheese

144: Am I afraid of the dark?: yes

145: Am I afraid of heights?: no

146: Have I ever got caught sneaking out or doing anything bad?

Then: no Now: not yet 

147: Have I ever tried my hardest and then gotten disappointed in the end?: yes

148: What I’m really bad at

Then: giving advice Now: focusing

149: What my greatest achievements are

Then: ??? Then: landing my past three jobs, being a part of a sorority, maintaining a 2.5 gpa

150: The meanest thing somebody has ever said to me

Then: that I’m annoying and a bitch Now: that i ruined their life 

151: What I’d do if I won in a lottery

Then: buy EVERYTHING Now: pay off my loans then go travel the world

152: What do I like about myself: my eyes

154: Something I fantasise about

Then: a lot of thing Now: being with Ivan forever