#genuflection

[emmaklee]

"genuflection" is another of those great words that are really hard to slip into a casual conversation

[gracemarkss]

this exchange goes crazy...dana "i worship the sea he sailed on" "i did it because i knew if he found out he would kill me" "part of me likes it, needs it, wants the approval" " along the way there are other fathers" "i thought you'd be pleased" "he was my instructor at the academy" "he must have been a wonderful teacher...yes, he's remarkable man" "your fear of failing him?" scully would know a thing or two about THAT...

[still-breathing-au-p3r]

Mitsuru feels as though a shroud has been lifted from her. At last, she can breathe again.

She still misses her father. The pain of losing him will likely never fully fade; she will have to carry his absence in her heart for the rest of her life. But for the first time in weeks, it doesn’t seem as though that burden is on the verge of crushing her. For the first time, she feels strong enough to bear the weight of her grief.

Sorrow shared is sorrow halved, and finding solidarity with Yukari had been exactly what Mitsuru needed– all the more so for being so unexpected. Even after all the harm that had come to her and her family as a direct result of the Kirijo Group’s actions, Yukari had still offered Mitsuru her sympathy, an olive branch, a lifeline.

And now Mitsuru can hold her head high again. She hasn’t failed her father, not as long as she continues to fight for his sake– for the sake of his hope for the future, his hope for her future. She’ll fight for Yukari’s father’s last wish, and for everyone she cares about.

There’s a great deal of work to be done in that last area. Her fledgling bond with Yukari has made her realize just how much she has taken her team for granted. They’re comrades in arms, and Mitsuru would risk her life for any of them without hesitation, but until now she has still kept them at a judicious arm’s length. She’s unsure if she can claim to truly be friends with most of S.E.E.S.– two very notable exceptions notwithstanding.

She’s already taking steps to remedy this dereliction: tomorrow she’ll be joining Yukari, along with Yamagishi and Aigis, in their exploration of the city. Yukari has promised to share a wealth of secret insights from her time spent living here– many of which concern where to find her most highly recommended sweets. Once they’ve returned home, Mitsuru will make a point to spend time with everyone one-on-one and truly get to know them.

As she steps back into the lobby of the inn from the courtyard, Hiraga flags her down and inquires after her wellbeing, as he is wont to do; both he and Odagiri express their relief when she can genuinely say that she’s doing better. She leaves them to the playful argument that Hiraga incites soon after, smothering her amusement at how strongly they remind her of a certain other pair.

She turns towards the stairs and her eye catches on a figure standing conspicuously apart from any of the clusters of students milling around. It takes her a moment and a second glance– one she can only pray was adequately subtle– to register just who she’s looking at.

In her own defense, the sight of Shinjiro Aragaki, of all people, wearing a traditional yukata was not one she would have ever predicted seeing.

That being said… it isn’t a sight she has any complaints about.

Technically his silhouette is a bit smaller without the added bulk of his coat, but the fine cotton drape serves to showcase the actual breadth of his shoulders very nicely. The low collar and his tied-back hair emphasize his throat– the strong, corded line that runs from the corner of his jaw to his breastbone.

For once his eyes aren’t half-concealed under the shade of that hat he favors, either. She finds it a terrible shame that he keeps them– and their subtle, warm expressiveness– hidden away so much of the time.

…

What an awkward time she’s chosen to discover that her very dear friend is, in fact, incredibly attractive.

No, that isn’t entirely accurate. Mitsuru has known for some time that he’s quite good looking, and perhaps more to the point– good looking in a way that she, specifically, finds very appealing. She’s been aware of this fact since before she had begun to enjoy his company; since even before the two of them had been able to get along at all.

At the time, it had been infuriating. As they had grown to be friends, it instead became amusing. An entertaining but trivial and easily ignorable quirk of their relationship.

Lately however, ignoring it has been more and more difficult, even with the considerable amount of practice she’s had with the exercise.

It’s been part of her daily routine since Tanabata, when the confrontation with the Lovers Shadow had forced Mitsuru to acknowledge certain elements of her feelings about Akihiko that she’d previously avoided considering too closely. She had dutifully unpacked those elements, examined and identified them, and then promptly boxed them up again to actually be dealt with at a later date.

Whatever event or events had catalyzed the paradigm shift when it comes to Shinjiro had been subtle in comparison to the… near-incident… in that hotel room with Akihiko, but the results are the same, and the conclusion is no less undeniable: she cannot put off addressing this unnamed pull between the three of them for much longer.

Of course it had never been her intention to keep it all swept under the rug forever. Back in July she’d sworn to herself that it was a temporary measure, to be kept in place only until they had finally vanquished the Dark Hour. Then she would broach the subject with Akihiko, and they would be free to explore what it might mean.

But now the day when they can lay down their weapons seems more distant and uncertain than ever, and it’s been made all too clear to her just how easily someone can be snatched away while she waits for the right time to reach for them. They’ve come so close to losing Shinjiro once already.

Perhaps ‘the right time’ is not this very moment, but it will have to be soon.

Despite her continuous attention, Mitsuru is still caught off guard to suddenly find her gaze returned. Shinjiro’s expression changes very little aside from a scant inward slope to his brows, but she can see the question there as clearly as words printed on a page.

Holding fast to all the manufactured serenity that a lifetime of navigating social minefields has earned her, Mitsuru strides to stand beside him. She is the very image of someone who had not been shamelessly ogling mere moments ago.

She’s overstepped again. He’s been very kind about her lapses in decorum these past weeks, never once calling her out on those moments of weakness– but she cannot and should not expect him to tolerate such behavior forever.

Ah, so he’s merely being bashful again. She’s relieved, of course, but also– more than a little charmed.

Shinjiro blinks at her, seemingly at a loss for words. Mitsuru preens, pleased with herself for rendering him speechless.

And then, ducking his head, he laughs. He’s been freer with laughter since he’d awakened from his coma, but always with a guarded quality to it that hadn’t been there when S.E.E.S. was new.

That restraint is nowhere to be found now– Shinjiro laughs openly, quiet but full-throated and just like he used to.

Her heart flutters like a hummingbird high in her chest. She can only hope that it isn’t as blatantly obvious from the outside as it feels.

The right moment will have to come soon, indeed.

[dancingaroundtheworld]

NYT: “Ann Telnaes, a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist for The Washington Post, said on Friday evening that she was resigning after the newspaper’s opinions section rejected a cartoon depicting The Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos, genuflecting toward a statue of President-elect Donald J. Trump.”

The Post needs to replace its masthead with DEMOCRACY DIES IN COWARDICE.

[odinsblog]

Catholic larping💀💀💀

[haveyoureadthisfanfic]

Summary: Raylan returns to Harlan, finds himself ravished by a beautiful woman, goes to church and finds himself on his knees.

Author: @toli-a

Submitter: @undercovercannibal

[magdaleneanthony]

epic acolyte training moment

[offthewall1979]

the MJ Curtsy Counter™️ is at 1½

[fieriframes]

[Give myself as a sacrifice. Genuflecting ghost, I kiss the floor. Rise, my love, show me paradise. Nothing seems so simple anymore.]

[the-pirate-captain]

Today at mass the teeniest, tiniest altar server came out to light the candles, and he was doing so well (even though he couldn't see the tops of most of them!) until he got to the Advent wreath. He lit the pink candle. Which, you know, is the only 25% of the candles you really can't light today. But then! He proceeded to light the purple candle next to the pink one, and we as a congregation understood that he hadn't mixed up the colors, he just forgot he wasn't supposed to light all of them. He had lit three candles before he quickly snuffed out the pink and the extra and we all breathed a sigh of relief. The first Sunday of Advent was saved, etc etc

[gomensnightingales]

We don’t talk abt genuflecting ghost enough! like gentleness at the beginning and the harmonies at the end??? It makes me want to cry Sufjan u have done it again 😭

[taumoebaa]

please tell me more about Genuflecting Ghost i am Intrigued

Genuflecting Ghost is honestly just a fic that I wanna read LMAO. It's just Liam's POV of the Varrish torture scene in IF. I'm fully subscribed to the idea that that really was Liam, and that Malek sent him down there voluntarily. Maybe I'm delusional. Oh well.

So, Liam (in some FW universe Hell) goes to visit Malek every day, asking him over and over again if he can be sent to the world of the living. His methods of convincing Malek slowly get more and more ridiculous until Malek finally agrees.

I’ve tried reverence, I’ve tried pleading. I’ve tried offerings, and I’ve tried sacrifice. I’m at my wits’ end here, and I’m starting to think that the God of Death just enjoys watching me struggle.

Liam: Take me to the world of the living. I only need a day. Malek: Outrageous. You, a mere human, dare to command a god’s will? Liam: Sincerely, I don’t give a fuck if you’re the God of Death. I need to be with her. Right now. [Some convincing words later.] Malek: She will not see you unless she wishes to. The living do not see the dead simply because they are there. Liam: She’ll see me. She has to. Drip. Drip. Drip.

[Retelling of the canon events until Xaden shows up. Liam fades away when Violet no longer needs him there. He returns to Malek.]

Malek: So, human. How was it? Seeing that which you once were—the living. Was it everything you hoped for? Liam: Yes. It was. The God of Death raises a pointed finger, places it in the center of my chest, and sends me tumbling back down the silver steps once more.

[shotbyshe]

Cool Words from "The Morning Show"

hinterland:

The land directly adjacent to and inland from a coast.

A region remote from urban areas; backcountry.

A region situated beyond metropolitan centers of culture.

genuflect:

To bend the knee or touch one knee to the floor or ground, as in worship.

To be servilely respectful or deferential; grovel.

bleary-eyed:

With eyes blurred or reddened, as from exhaustion or lack of sleep.

Dull of mind or perception.

Having eyes sore or unfocused, due to weariness or excessive drinking; same as blear-eyed{1}.

libel:

The legally indefensible publication or broadcast of words or images that are degrading to a person or injurious to his or her reputation.

An incidence of such publication or broadcast.

The written claims initiating a suit in an admiralty court

onslaught:

A violent attack.

An overwhelming outpouring.

Attack; onset; aggression; assault; an inroad; an incursion; a bloody attack.

shrewd:

Having or showing a clever awareness or resourcefulness, especially in practical matters.

Disposed to or marked by artful and cunning practices; tricky.

Sharp; penetrating.

~~~~

Randomly decided to give The Morning Show a go. I've known about it for years, via the Emmys, and Globes nominations but I just never cared to watch it. I ended up binging the first season during work and I loved it. I continued to the second season and couldn't stand it. Now I am delaying starting this new season until it's fully aired.

Anyway, all of these words were spoken on the show. These were the ones that stood out to me.

I've always hated the word shrewd (because it made me think of 'shrew') but always enjoyed hearing it in conversation. It resembles 'rude' in sound, but means something entirely different. I used to refer to it as "sure rude", like "you're sure rude"...LOL. I said that internally in my Reese Witherspoon Alabama accent.

Speaking of Reese's accent, a part of why I loved the first season and why I was intrigued to watch The Morning Show in the first place is because Reese has her real-life southern accent and is rocking brown hair. I rarely see her portrayed this way so I was glad to see it. In the second season, you barely hear her accent, she's back blond, and she and everyone else is acting very strangely in their respective characters, in my opinion.

Sidenote: I actually hate when series' do this. They'll establish characters one way then decide they want them to be "more relatable/real" or whatever the fuck and then they're completely different the next time I see them. Anyway, rant over 😎. I'm shrewd. [**]

*I liked seeing Rachel and her little sis reunited.

**I ranted about this with Friday Night Lights, on my other blog, too.

[cathedralight]

rip xie lian you would've loved javelin by sufjan stevens........

[heartyearning]

honestly the fact that james turrell looks like this is so right and real to me