#oh my god its a november miracle i finished something

[ultramantr1gger]

already under my skin

[strongsassysexysloane]

Eleventh Day of Twelve - A Tired but Treasured Day

A/N - Look at that! We are second from the end! Thank you to all the comments and love! Really appreciate it, it's been a long week!

. . . .

Read previous drabbles below.

. . . .

You walked into the office clinging to your cup of coffee. It felt like you were just here and you were, only five hours ago. This time however it was your own doing. You'd found a tiny shred of evidence to go on and had to follow it before the trail went cold. Then it lead to Gibbs and Nick finding the killer in a warehouse in town and bringing him in at just after 0100. You didn't finish interrogating until 0200 and it was now 0730. Coffee, coffee needed to be pumped into you to wake up this morning and a constant flow throughout the day would be required.

To your delight there was a hot cup sitting on your desk as you walked into the bullpen. No note so you assumed this time it wasn't from your gift giver. Day 11 and no one had spilled the beans or gone looking at the cameras like they wanted to on day one.

"Gibbs dropped it off about five minutes ago before he went down to get a report from Kasie who wasn't pleased to be called in so early." Ellie explained while leaning back in her chair and sipping her coffee. "He brought one for all of us."

"Christmas miracles do happen." Nick grinned, dropping his small cup in the trash. "Done."

"It's not a race. You just slugged all your energy for the next three hours."

"Oh please, I've stayed up later and come to work more tired before. Remember the November incident." He waved off.

"I still feel hungover from it." Ellie grumbled, scrunching her nose at the memory of Tequila.

"Please don't remind me." Tim groaned. "Plus I'm not allowed anymore Tequila, Delilah's orders."

"She may be on to something." You ran your hand through your hair, smirking at the banter. Turning on your computer for the day, you saw the next gift hanging from your desk lamp. It was beautiful, a little teddy bear carved out of marble with a shimmering purple and green crown sitting on its head.

"Day 11, the gift giver strikes again." You rolled your eyes at Nick's words while holding the Christmas decoration in your hand, running your thumb over the intricate detail.

It was sweet, a cute addition to your small Christmas tree at home. You'd put it up on December one. That was your tradition and some years it didn't seem worth it but you made the effort. Being alone on Christmas sucked, there was no way around it but this year you were making an effort to not sulk about it. The secret gift giver certainly lifted the spirit as well.

Your tree wasn't over the top but a nice addition to your home. This would fit perfectly front and centre and you made sure of it.

The day was relatively easy. The office banter keeping the spirits going with a good supply of caffeine. It was really just a lot of paper work and then you were set free around mid afternoon to try and have that weekend off. This time Vance made sure the team wouldn't be called in. There were other agents to take the call after all.

You'd missed Jack most of the day and didn't want to interrupt her as she was head deep in evals for the end of year. Instead you decided to shoot her a text when you got home.

- Just wanted to say have a good weekend. Didn't want to interrupt your head mojo.

You knew she'd get a kick out of it and you weren't mistaken.

- Head mojo hey? Smarty in the evening just like you said. Missed you today, didn't realise how many evals I still had to do before I went on my trip. Now I'm back logged and still at work.

It was just hitting 1830 which was a late one for Jack on a Friday. She was always hurrying along at the end of the week to make sure by the time 1700 hit she was out the door.

- I hope you are either finishing for the evening or planning on having dinner while you work. It's getting late, Jack.

- No need to worry about little old me. I need to get these done, I'll grab a bite later. Enjoy your night.

An idea popped to mind, you grabbed your coat and car keys and headed back out into the snowfall with your blue scarf still wrapped around your neck.

Thankfully, you weren't too far from the Navy yard and the Diner was just a five minute detour on the route. You called ahead so the food was ready when you got there and still warm when you knocked on her door.

"Come in, y/n."

You huffed, opening the door. "Now how could you possibly know it was me?"

Jack was sitting on her couch, shoes off, legs crossed and glasses tugging her hair back and sitting on her head. "You didn't reply, you always reply. And you care too much." She got up, placing her laptop on the coffee table and walking up to you.

Those were a lot of compliments you weren't entirely prepared for. You thought Jack was the one that cared a lot, but never too much. "I think I care just the right amount but I can eat this all by myself if you'd prefer?" You smirked, pretending to walk back out but Jack caught your arm.

"I didn't mean it like that. I lo-ike that you care so much." She ran her hand up and down your arm a few times before dropping it away. Her warm comforting smile turned into a cute frown. "And don't you dare walk out on me now that youve made all this effort to come here." She took a deep breath in. "Is that two cheeseburgers and fries?"

The frown and the way her nose twitched at the smell was completely adorable. "With a side of gravy. Wasn't sure if you liked it on your fries or not." You shrugged, missing the soft and loving look Jack gave, you walked past her and sat at one end of the couch, unpacking the bag of food. "Come, sit." You urged, patting the spot beside you as she just stood there and watched.

With a soft smile curving her lips, she came around after a beat and sat exactly where you said to. She took the small pot of gravy and poured it over her fries before pouring the rest over yours. "Thank you."

You bumped her shoulder lightly. "Anytime. Can't have Jack Sloane Hangry and loose in DC." That got you a slap on the knee but it was worth it as her hand soothed the spot she hit and stayed there for a while until it was time to eat.

"Didn't mean to ruin your Friday night plans either." She took a huge bite of the burger.

Between bites you managed an answer, "You mean my big watching The Holiday movie while eating a cup of noodles or the one where I go to sleep at 7pm because im living on about four hours sleep right now."

Skipping over how tired you were she jumped at the mention of the movie. "That's my favourite Christmas movie! It's got the best of both worlds! The sun of LA and the cold winter wonderland of the UK. God, I haven't watched that in years! My mum and I went to the movies to watch it and then every Christmas after we'd watch it together, some people had Love Actually, we had The Holiday. Guess I stopped watching when mum passed." She ate a few more fries. "Wow, Jack, way to ruin the good mood. Sorry. Got lost for a moment there."

You liked it when she rambled. She always would say so many interesting things and you just loved to hear her voice. You prayed the day never came when you wouldn't hear it anymore. "Don't apologize-" You held up your hand to stop her from butting in. "- And, no it's not because of Gibbs silly rule. I enjoy hearing about your past about things you love or did. The Holiday is a sweet movie, my must watch in December along with The Grinch, Home Alone and many more. I try my best to keep the holiday spirits up when I'm by myself for them which has been the last many."

"I enjoy hearing you talk too." She smiled, taking a massive bite of her burger and filling up her cheeks.

There was no silence after that. The evals were put to the side and you talked for what seemed like hours. Talking about childhood Christmas' and silly stories to cringe worthy dating moments over this time of year. It wasn't until you couldn't keep your mouth shut from yawning that you said good night around 2300.

"Sorry you didn't get your evals done." You sing over the roof of your car as Jack unlocked her Mini.

"Don't be. I'm happy to come in tomorrow because tonight was fun!" Her genuine smile told you that she wasn't lying. You could read people pretty well and most times Jack Sloane was an enigma to you but right now you knew she was telling the truth.

"Good night, Jack."

She opened her car door before adding. "Enjoy your movie!"

You yawned with a laugh. "You're kidding right? I'm going to sleep, I'll watch it tomorrow now."

"Fair, good night y/n. Sweet Dreams!"

. . . .

Who doesn't want this to end? Me. But I also maybe, slightly want a break from writing every day. It's been fun but tiring. I've enjoyed it a lot though! I love this time of year, if only I wasn't working in retail.

[let-it-raines]

Okay, now I know you're accepting prompts for the CMIYC verse, expect a whole lot of them coming from me 😂I'd LOVE to see Emma finding out she's pregnant, and her telling Killian, and just their whole journey through her pregnancy!

This isn’t going to cover everything you asked for @dorisquinn but I’ve got 2/3. You can send me all of the prompts you want. Honestly, seeing your enthusiasm as well as the enthusiasm of others to still want parts of this universe makes me so happy! You guys should see the timeline I just mapped out to make sure everything stays cohesive because I’ve got some more extras to write for you guys 🙈

found on ao3 | here |

-/-

March 2022.

“These boxes are never going to get unpacked.”

“We could have hired someone, you know.”

“I’m not even working full-time right now. There’s no need for us to have hired someone when all I’m doing is sitting at home.”

“You go to meetings…on occasion.”

“I have a meeting tomorrow. Stop making that look on your face, twenty-nine.”

“There’s not a look on my face, besides a handsome one.”

Emma huffs and falls back against the wall, sinking down onto the ground and pulling her knees to her chest. They should have moved as soon as last season ended. It would have given them more time to unpack the ridiculous amount of stuff they somehow accumulated over the past three years, but there was a problem with the closing and then the plumbing, and they officially signed for this place two weeks into spring training. Killian had to fly back from Florida for the paperwork, spent one night in the house with her where all they had was their bed set up, and then he went straight back to the hell that is Florida humidity.

At least they’re not there for months at a time in the summer. Everyone would die. It’s bad enough when they’re in Tampa for a few days at a time.

(Then again, humidity in New York in the summer is no joke.)

She could have flown down and stayed with him, already has for a few days here and there, but they need to get settled before the season starts and things get insane. Things are really never not insane, but there are definitely periods where there is a little more peace.

Off-season is undoubtedly her favorite season.

She loves baseball and the game and working almost every day, but having Killian home for months at a time and being able to sleep in their own bed instead of a hotel bed is so much better than anything else.

Emma definitely wants the off-season back.

And this house to be unpacked.

One of those things is more likely to happen than the other, and it’s not the house getting unpacked.

“I miss you,” Emma whispers into the phone.

“I miss you, love. You know you can fly down anytime, right? There’s nothing keeping you there. It’s been less than a week, but I miss you terribly.”

She flips the camera around to all of the boxes. “I don’t want to be living in chaos. I want, like, some kind of organization. I told myself that when I left my room key with you that I would not be flying back to Florida. I have to get this place functional.”“I know we’ve been married for nearly a year, love, but I don’t think you should be turning into me quite this quickly with all of that talk of organization.”“Technically, as far as everyone else knows, we’re only nine months into this whole marriage thing, so that’s not quite a year.”

“Specifics.”“Ruby was over here yesterday helping me unpack and found the pictures from the clerk’s office. I’m pretty sure she figured us out.”“I think David has known for awhile now.”“Why do you think that?”

“Just a hunch.”Emma groans and scoots further down on the floor. “If David knew, he would have said something.”“Aye, you’re likely right.” Killian smiles, his face slightly pixilated. “Come see me this weekend, Swan. I know you said no more flights, but maybe just the one more. I’ll take you to dinner. Wine and dine you and all that.”“I think there’s a third part of that proposition.”

Killian gasps and holds his hand to his chest. “Dirty.”

“You know it, twenty-nine.”

“I think you mean sixty-nine.”

“Oh my God.”

Killian chuckles and pushes his hair back. It’s too long again. He hasn’t gotten it cut in months, and as handsome as he looks, she’s desperately waiting for him to get it cut. Suggesting it hasn’t really worked out well for her, but if he likes it long, he likes it long. It’s not like she’d appreciate it if he told her to shave her legs or something like that.

“I’ve got to go to workouts, but I’ll call you again tonight, yeah?”

“I look forward to it. I love you.”“And I you, my love.”

The video lingers for a moment, and then it disconnects, only the memory of Killian’s smile there.

She misses him like crazy. It’s ridiculous and stupid and kind of annoying. Maybe she should go down and see him this weekend. It’s not like she has this weekend. Spring training is almost over, and she could wait it out. She really could. That’s what she’s told herself she’ll do, but should she if she doesn’t have to? Maybe if she gets enough boxes unpacked.

Hell, maybe she should just cave and hire people to do it for her, but she put up such a dumb fight when Killian suggested it that she doesn’t want to admit to failure now. Not that he’d ever truly judge her for it.

Okay. He’d judge her a little bit.

Her phone buzzes in her hand.

Elsa: You planning on letting me in?

Shit. The doorbell didn’t sound, and Emma didn’t hear a knock at the door. Quickly, she stands from the ground and kicks a box to the side before hurrying down two sets of stairs to get to the front door. She loves having more space than the apartment, but she doesn’t love all of the stairs. At least, right now. Soon she’ll hopefully kick ass at being able to walk up and down them quickly.

Hopefully her ass will look fantastic because of it too.

Damn Manhattan and its lack of space.

“Hey,” Emma greets after unlocking the front door. “Did you ring the doorbell?”

“I did.”

“Well shit.” Emma leans forward and wraps her arms around Elsa. “I guess our doorbell is broken too. Do you know anything about electrical work?”

“I know how to hook up our cable, but that’s about it.”

“Then what good are you to me?”

“I bring you donuts.”

“Bless you.”

“I know.” Elsa steps inside, closing the door behind her, and immediately walks toward the kitchen where she puts down the bag of donuts she’s carrying and then immediately starts looking around the room. “Have you unpacked any of the kitchen?”

“A few things. Mostly things I use. It’s all Killian’s, and he hasn’t really been here to tell me where to put anything. I don’t know his system as well as I should.”

“Do you have silverware out? Plates and bowls?”

“I have a few things but not all of it.”

Elsa sighs and pulls her shorts up and then adjusts her t-shirt. She took the day off to help Emma unpack, and, really, she should be lounging around watching TV or something. “I don’t mean to go all mom on you, but grab a donut. We’re about to unpack your kitchen. Then we move to your bedroom and your closet so you can at least function. Everything else will come later.”

“As long as I get a donut, this all sounds good to me.”

“You can have another if you finish this room.”

“I’m good with a bribe.”

“Incentive. It makes it sound less dirty.”

Emma laughs. “Deal.”

Elsa is some kind of unpacking machine. It’s actually ridiculous. She knows exactly how to store everything in their cabinets and the pantry, and while Emma is sure Killian will rearrange it all when he realizes it’s not to his specifications, after three hours, they have all of the kitchen boxes emptied. It’s practically a miracle, and Emma didn’t even need an extra donut to make her do the work.

(An extra donut is sounding really good right now, though. Elsa got the good kind.)

All she really needed was Elsa. If they had Anna here, though, Emma imagines the entire house would be finished by now. Well, if Anna wasn’t eight months pregnant. Mary Margaret would probably be the better choice, but she’s got a class full of third-graders to attend to. Ruby, however, would bring everything to a halt because she’d get distracted by the things she was unpacking.

They move upstairs and back to the bedroom after they’re finished in kitchen, and Elsa sticks to the bedroom while Emma works in the closet. She’s got some of her clothes up, mostly her workout stuff, and even though their stuff is boxed in a way that should make it easy to hang up several things at once, Emma keeps getting distracted trying to organize it in a way that’s not something she’s going to sustain.

Seriously. Who is organized enough to keep things sorted by color?

Killian. Killian is. He organizes his freaking t-shirts by how old they are.

The weirdo.

Emma finally decides to just do it by type of clothing, and after she’s gotten all of her dresses on the racks, she decides that she needs some kind of break. She did not sleep last night, and no amount of coffee could wake her up.

Has she even had coffee today?

Or maybe she’s simply bored by having to unpack. That’s a lot of the same thing over and over again, and all Emma really wants to be doing is watching Netflix.

Slowly, she slides back down to the ground and pulls out her phone again, answering her texts and then clicking on Instagram to move away the notifications. It’s all stuff Killian has tagged her in, and she quickly moves through the videos and memes before clicking on his page. It’s been mostly baseball lately, pictures of him, Will, and Robin, but if she scrolls a little further back, there are pictures of Liam and Elsa or Addy and Lucy. And then there are pictures of her. She mostly uses social media for work, but she does like to get on and see what Killian has posted. It’s usually something she’s never seen, and there are at least ten pictures on here that she had no idea were taken.

There’s one in particular that she likes the most. It’s from last November. They were in Portland for Thanksgiving sitting on the swing in Ruth’s backyard, and Killian snapped a photo of her drinking coffee, the sun glinting off of her skin in just the right way so that she looked tanner than she actually was.

My love forever, the caption reads.

That day had been…hard. It had been fucking awful, actually, but Killian had wrapped his arms around her and held her until it wasn’t so awful.

That’s what he does. He makes awful days feel that little bit better simply by being there.

She likes that, likes that she has that forever now.

My love forever.

She has had that love for awhile with David and Ruth, with her friends too, and while she doesn’t like to put some relationships over others, Killian does get the slightest elevation.

It’s good to have all that love. It’s healthy, and if someone asked her twenty years ago if she’d ever have any of this, she would have laughed in their face.

She can’t stop staring at the photo and all of the memories behind it. She had been so sure that morning, and it wasn’t…she wasn’t.

“Hey, Emma, do you have – woah, what’s wrong?”

“What?” Emma sniffles, wiping below her eyes. “What makes you think something is wrong?”

“You’re sitting on the floor sniffling and wiping your eyes. Those are pretty big clues.”

Emma scoffs. “I’m fine.”“You’re a liar.”“Els, I’m fine.”

“I believe you about as much as I believe Killian when he says that.” Elsa walks over to her to and slides down onto the floor next to her, kicking away a shoe and grabbing onto Emma’s forearm. “You want to talk about whatever it is? You know you don’t have to, but I’m a good listener. I couldn’t be married to Liam if I wasn’t.”

“Liam does talk a lot.”

“I think it’s a Jones family trait.”

“I think I might be pregnant.”

She might have that trait too for the way she just blurted that out.

Elsa gasps, and Emma braces herself for it just like she braces herself for it every time this conversation comes up. She’s the one who brought it up this time, but it was kind of inevitable when this is honestly all she’s been thinking about for two days now.

For a little more than two days if she’s totally honest.

“I didn’t…I’m not,” Emma stutters, trying to continue talking before she shuts herself up, “I never thought I would be someone who wanted a baby. I thought I was going to be alone for so much of my life, so when Killian and I decided to try and kept having these negative tests, I don’t know. I, well, it sucks, and it’s been really damn hard. It hasn’t even been a long time, and we’re still so young. I probably shouldn’t even complain because I know it’s harder for other people. It’s just that a part of me feels like I’ve gotten so much good in my life I was never supposed to get. What if this is the thing I don’t get? What if I have this feeling in my gut now because it’s some kind of sign that I should give up before my hopes get too high?”

“Oh, darling,” Elsa sighs as she wraps her arm around Emma’s back and pulls her toward her, rubbing her hand up and down her arm, “you can’t think like that. The world doesn’t give you a certain amount of good and then just stop. You can have more good than you think you deserve. I do. And that feeling of helplessness when it comes to getting pregnant and it not working as fast as you want? I’ve had that too. It’s what happened with Lucy.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I thought maybe Addison was going to be it for us, and we were like you two. We hadn’t been trying for a long time, but it could still feel hopeless when Addison was so easy. Getting pregnant is hard, and unless you talk to others like this, there’s no way you’d know. All you’d see is the happy announcements and the smiles.”

Emma turns her head into Elsa’s shoulder. It’s a good thing she’s not wearing mascara because she’d totally ruin Elsa’s t-shirt.

“So I’m not some kind of freak show for sitting in my closet freaking out about this?”

“Emma, having a baby, or even the possibility of it, is the most terrifying thing in the world. If you weren’t having meltdowns, I’d be concerned about you.”

“This is so not in my wheelhouse,” Emma mumbles. “I talk for a living, talking about this is…different.”

“Baseballs and babies aren’t exactly in the same category.”

“They are on Family Day.”“Yeah, well, you know what I mean.”

Emma huffs and pulls away from Elsa, leaning her head back against the wall. “This closet is still such a mess. My shoes are everywhere.”

“Oh, I know. I think I’m going to need to borrow those wedges that are caught up underneath the pile of Killian’s jerseys.”

“They are yours to borrow.”

“Not to keep?”

“Nah, I like them too much for that.”

Elsa laughs and twists on the ground until she’s facing Emma, small smile on her face. “You’re going to be okay. You and Killian both. And if you ever need to talk, Liam and I are always here. Anna too.”

“Anna is eight months pregnant with twins. All she does is warn people against getting pregnant. I don’t think she’s ever going to have sex again.”

“Can you blame her?”

“Absolutely not.”

Elsa claps her hands together. “Okay, let’s conquer this closet, and then I’m taking you home with me for dinner so you’re not left in this house stalking your husband’s Instagram.”

“I was not doing that.”

“You totally were. I could see it on your screen when I walked in.”

“I’m taking away your shoe privileges.”

Elsa quickly gets up and runs over to the wedges, picking them up. “Nope. They’re mine now.”

-/-

She’s pregnant.

Or, at least, that’s what the three tests she took this morning said.

Emma had gone over to Liam and Elsa’s last night for dinner, and she’d forgotten about everything. She really had, and it had been nice not to think about it and to be able to know that her life was going to go on no matter what. She knew that. Logically, she did. Her life is not defined by what a pregnancy test says, but when it’s what you want…

When it’s what she and Killian want.

And they might get now.

Oh shit. She is not ready to give birth.

That’s not even happening right now, or in the near future, but it’s going to happen. Emma’s pretty sure it’s some kind of torture device designed to make being a woman even more difficult, but she’s got to stop thinking of that right now.

What she’s got to start thinking about is the fact that she’s in New York while Killian is in Florida.

Florida.

Shit. She’s got to book a flight to Florida.

She said she wasn’t going to do it, but that was before she knew for sure.

That was before.

Where the hell is her neck pillow?

Emma gets off the rim of the tub and walks into the bedroom, grabbing her laptop off the charger and stretching out on the bed while trying to find the next flight. There are a few this afternoon, but she’s got meetings she can’t cancel. There’s one she might be able to make around seven, though, and she quickly enters her information and books a one-way ticket.

She’s never been so excited to go to Florida.

-/-

“Can I get an extra key to room 835?”

“And your name is?”

“Emma Jones.”

The receptionist starts typing on her keyboard, looking up at Emma and then looking back at her computer, her brows furrowed. “I’m sorry. There’s not an Emma Jones in that room.”

“I know. It’s my husband’s room. It’s under his name. Killian Jones. It should be under the block of rooms for the Yankees.”

“Ma’am, I’m sorry, but I can’t give you a key to that room. It’s our policy, especially when it comes to our VIP guests in our suites. It’s for their safety.”

Emma has to fight the urge to roll her eyes. She’s exhausted. It’s been a long ass day, she sat next to someone who snored the entire flight down here, and all she wants to do is see Killian. Why the hell did she leave her key with Killian last week?

Oh, yeah, because she wasn’t supposed to come back.

“If I was some kind of stalker, how would I know his room number?”

“You would be surprised what people know.”

She sighs and pulls out her phone, clicking on Ariel’s name.

“Emma?”

“Ariel, can you get me an extra key to Killian’s room?”

“Are you here?” Ariel squeals before quieting. “Wait.” There’s a mumble and then the sound of a chair squeaking before Ariel’s voice comes back into focus. “Sorry. We’re out at dinner, and I had to move away from the table. This is a surprise, right?”

“Mhm.”

“That is literally the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“You need to hear more things.”

“Oh, hush. I’ll call the front desk. We’ve got to be back soon anyways because I have to relieve the babysitter for Morgan, so it won’t be too long.”

“That sounds perfect. I’ll probably see you tomorrow, okay?”

“I can’t wait, and I promise that my lips are sealed.”

They hang up, and the front desk’s phone immediately rings. The receptionist nods and smiles and is completely and totally nice to Ariel, typing in a few things on her computer as she avoids eye contact with Emma. Then the conversation is over and Emma is being handed a card.

“This works for both the elevator and the room. Have a nice night, Mrs. Jones.”

“Thanks,” Emma says, forcing a smile. She knows the woman was just doing her job, but it doesn’t keep her from being annoyed. She’s not about to be pissy with her though. “Have a good night.”

Grabbing her luggage, she maneuvers out of the lobby and to the elevator. She knows this hotel better than any other hotel in the country from how much she’s stayed here, and she easily makes her way up to Killian’s room, sliding the card in the door and sighing in relief that the clerk actually gave her a key that worked. She was worried that she wouldn’t.

Killian’s suite is clean, and Emma knows it’s not just because of housekeeping. The man is so damn particular about everything, and even though all she wants to do is curl up in bed and go to sleep, she opens up her suitcase and starts putting her few clothes away, making sure not to mess with any of Killian’s stuff. It’s what he would end up doing later anyways, and if she does it now, it’ll be one less thing he’ll have to focus on.

How the hell is she supposed to tell him that she’s pregnant?

That’s something she should have focused on for the flight down here, but all she could think about was how much she wanted to murder the man who was snoring next to her.

She’s going to be great at the whole getting no sleep thing.

Did she really want this? Did they? Are they crazy? What drives someone to want to have a baby? Yeah, they’re cute, but then they grow up and yell at you for telling them not to eat straight sugar for dinner. And she didn’t have parents. Well, she has Ruth, but she didn’t have Ruth for fifteen years. Killian’s mom died, and his dad is a piece of shit. What do either of them know about babies and being parents?

What do either of them know about kids in general?

Well, they do have nieces and nephews and friends with kids. Hell, their friends have had so many kids. It’s like in the past two years all anyone has done is pop a kid out and –

The door to the suite beeps, and Emma doesn’t even realize she’s been pacing for a long time until Killian’s standing right in front of her blinking with his mouth wide open.

“Hi,” Emma squeaks out.

It’s official. She is not herself today.

“Fucking hell,” Killian mumbles.

“Well, that’s always the greeting a girl – ”

Killian strides forward and cups her cheeks before pulling her to him with his mouth, sucking on her bottom lip before he starts moving and can’t seem to stop. It’s been less than a week. That’s all. It hasn’t even been that long since they’ve been apart. They make it a point to never go more than nine days, but she’s missed him more than she ever has.

Melodramatic and all that.

“What,” he starts, still kissing her, “are,” he continues as his lips move to her jaw, “you,” he sighs against her cheek, “doing,” he whispers against her eyelid, “here?” he finishes as his lips find hers once more while their foreheads rest against each other.

“I really missed Scarlet.”

Killian tilts his head back and barks out a laugh as his hands move from her cheeks to her biceps, squeezing them. Her stomach is absolutely swirling.

“God, I love you. You’re – ” He shakes his head, and his eyes crinkle. He’s gotten darker during training, and there’s the slightest tan line from where he’ll wear his hat backwards during pitching drills outside.

“I’m what?”

“Well, if I were to list all of the things you are, I imagine we’d be standing here forever.”

Emma scoffs and pushes at his chest before moving closer once more so she can wrap her arms around his neck. “Why are you the way that you are?”

“Charming? I believe I was born this way.”

It’s Emma’s turn to shake her head at him. She presses up on her toes and lingers until her breath is ghosting over his mouth. “I love you, twenty-nine.”

“Good. I love you, Swan.”

She finally kisses him then, and Killian slowly backs her up to the bed until she’s falling down on top of it. All thoughts leave her mind as his lips and his hands move over her, and they truly disappear when his mouth is between her thighs and all she can think is how damn good that feels. It almost always does, like some kind of magic that’s bottled between the two of them, and even when it’s not good, Emma knows that there’s no one she’d rather get lockjaw or really unfortunate cramps with.

And weirdly, as Killian swivels his hips and hits just the right rhythm, she knows that no matter how much she’s freaking out about everything, the two of them have got this.

“Did you know the front-desk clerk thought I was a stalker?” Emma asks later. They haven’t changed back into any clothes, and Emma can’t seem to stop twirling Killian’s chest hair around her fingers while his hand dances across her back, tracing familiar words there.

“Really now?”

“Mhm. I tried to get a room key, and she refused to give me one.”

“Ah, well, I have been having an influx of stalkers lately. It must be my devilishly good looks.”

“You’re never lacking in confidence, are you? Even when it comes to joking about something that’s not funny.”

“You would know more than anyone how that isn’t true.”

Emma leans down to kiss his chest before resting her chin there. The air conditioner clicks on, and a cold rush of air runs over Emma’s bare skin. Killian tugs the comforter up over a little more of her back, and they sit in silence as Emma starts counting how fast her heart is beating. If she doesn’t tell him tonight, she won’t sleep. It’ll eat at her until the morning, and with how exhausted she is from not sleeping two nights in a row, she really can’t afford another night without sleep.

She also hasn’t had coffee in days. That has sucked.

“Killian, I – ”

She stops when his finger traces her name into her back. “What is it, love?”

“Nothing,” Emma begins, even if she knows it’s everything. “It’s just…Killian, I’m pregnant.”

For the rest of her life she’ll remember that Killian stopped blinking for a few seconds too long. She’ll remember that his eyes are slightly red-rimmed from his own lack of sleep, and she’ll remember the way that slowly but surely his lips curl from a small smile to one of the brightest she’s ever seen from him.

“Are you? For real? I’m not imagining this conversation?”

Emma inhales and nods. “I think so. I wouldn’t be far along. Like, at all, so anything could happen. But my period is late, and I took, like, three tests this morning that were positive. Peeing on a stick never feels normal.”

Killian chuckles as his free hand comes around to tuck her hair behind her ear. He’s so gentle like that, and she doesn’t know what she did to deserve him. He can be hot-headed and impatient and ready to act on his anger instead of thinking it through, but at his core, Killian Jones is a good man.

“Aye, I imagine not.”

He leans down to glide his lips over hers, and even if Emma had imagined what it would be like to tell Killian they better start reading all of those books so they have some clue what they’re doing, she knows none of it would be better than this.

Calm and content and like they were always supposed to end up here.

“I love you, Swan,” Killian whispers as his hand shifts from her back to her stomach. “I don’t – thank you for being by my side for all of this.”“Always, twenty-nine. Always.”

-/-

-/-

Tag list: @bluewildcatfanatic​ @killianswannn @dorisquinn​ @onepunintendid​ @authorarsinoe​ @stunningswan​ @eala-captian @galaxyzxstark @xellewoods @mariakov81 @ultraluckycatnd @royalswan @shey-starsfury​ @superchocovian​ @sals86 @iam2307 @ashley-knightingale @karenfrommisthaven @scientificapricot @captswanis4vr @ultimiflos @jamif @idristardis @nikkiemms @resident-of-storybrooke @tiganasummertree @bmbbcs4evr @onceuponaprincessworld @jennjenn615 @mayquita @captainsjedi @teamhook @notoriouscs @kmomof4 @ekr032-blog-blog​ @cs-forlife @andiirivera @jonirobinson64 @qualitycoffeethings​ @carpedzem​ @tornadoamy​ ​

[nikatyler]

End of the Year 2019

How is it the end of the year already?! It feels like yesterday when I took the pictures from the first row. Looking back at 2019, it was a weird year for me. I’ve had some of the best of times and some of the worst of times. My self-esteem was at its highest and at its lowest too. And when I think of all that has happened, this year feels both too short and too long at the same time. I’ve achieved and ruined so much.

You guys have seen a lot here, and as always, we are going to look back at it. You can check the posts for 2016 here, 2017 here and 2018 here and here. I will be doing a separate post for my favourite non-story pictures later, because there’s been a lot of them too. WHAT AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE. I mean, bold of you to assume I’ll stop.

January: We started off by finishing the rose generation, which was one wild ride that I enjoyed a lot. Not pictured: the very unexpected birth of Lucian and Ross’s transformation into a vampire. I thought that’s where the story would end. I thought I’d move to the next generation and he’d be just a side character that shows up sometimes because well, he has to. Family and all that. As we all know, he’s still stealing the spotlight and not always in a...good way. But we’ll get there.

February: Gen 6. I still think Kayla is my cutest irrelevant spare. Well, a spare’s kid. The first fire accident. This one ended well, Adam saved himself. And that last picture...I don’t know, I just love when ghosts show up on the lot at night, okay. And ghost!Tyler is a whole mood.

March: Regaaaaan ♥ Quads’ storylines. The second fire accident. This one didn’t end well, but I was weak and quit without saving. I mean, I was also in the middle of a storyline. If Miracle had suddenly dropped dead, I would have had to rewrite everything, and I wasn’t into that.

April: Quads aged up and their storylines more or less wrapped up. I think we’ll be seeing less of them when the legacy comes back. We can only hope StoryProgression will be nice to them. Will and Roan though. Oh my god, these two. They weren’t supposed to do much but they played quite a role in a later storyline. I love them. Their storyline is definitely my most favourite out of all quads’ storylines. And finally, Regan leaves for Isla Paradiso.

May: Courtney and Felix got married and you still haven’t seen their baby. Whoops. Regan made friends in Isla Paradiso. I love George and Lou with my entire heart. Oh and of course, she made more than just friends there. Shit’s about to go down.

June: Shit really went down but I had so much fun working on this storyline. Just...give me strong emotions to work with and I’ll go wild. At the end of the month, I finally started posting my BPR. Did I tell you that it started off as a bitter joke? Which is ironic because they’re berry sweet sims. Okay, that wasn’t funny at all, I’m sorry.

July: More BPR. Gen 1 was quite uneventful and boring, I know, but just you wait for gen 2. It’s been done in true simmeronnie fashion, your favs aliens and fires may or may not return but you didn’t hear that from me. Anyway, yeah. Eden. Just like Ross, he’s another sim that starts off as an ass who refuses to take care of his child but then as the time goes, he changes for the better and long story short at the moment I love him even though he’s still a dick sometimes. Like when he refuses proposals. But you didn’t hear that from me either. Next up we have Gwyneth and Vanessa. I’ve said this before but Vanessa...she’s a good match for Gwyn and I’m happy they’re together, but there’s something about her that I just don’t like. For example, why the hell can’t you let go, Vanessa. Why do you have to keep holding those grudges. (says the person who holds a million irrational grudges too but ok go off ron maybe the reason why you don’t like that is because you see yourself in that) Oh and yeah, even though they’re not my favourite couple and I don’t even like one of them, they have the cutest proposal pics I’ve ever taken. Period.

August: More BPR. At this point there have been less alien jokes so they decided to come back to remind us they still exist and they still want to be my brand. Sorry my dudes, that’s probably not happening again. Oh. I started posting my BC in August. I’ll post the rest too, I promise. I’m actually almost done, I need to finish the last episode. Soon, hopefully. But yeah, BC will return. And more BPR...I love Roxanne. She’s a lot like me. She writes weird stories about aliens, likes her characters more than real people and sometimes eats weird shit for breakfast. (let’s just say my eating habits have become quite interesting ever since I moved to a dorm...)

September: Oh god, this rivalry between Eden and Vanessa...well, it’s not even a rivalry, Vanessa just hates him. “You weren’t nice to my wife? Cancelled, and no I don’t care that you’re making up for it now.” Magnolia is my favourite evil sim and I love this alliance her younger siblings have formed against her haha.

October: The moment you’ve been waiting for, NSB is back! Ross keeps wanting to hang out with Sunset, which makes me cry because it shows how far he’s come. Sunset and Dawn...when I was playing the yellow gen, I wasn’t even into them as much as I am into them now. They’re finally getting the development they deserve through the ask games. They’re the soft adorable couple that I need to balance out the overdramatic mess that said no to happily ever after...amirite Ross and Caleb? Not that it’s their fault that their happily ever after was just temporary but shhh.

November: Crystal and Claudia are born. I love these girls so much. Claudia reminds me of her grandfather in some way and because of that I’m kinda scared of what her generation will be like, but also I can’t wait to play it haha. Grandpa!Ross is a thing I didn’t know I needed. Oh and would you look at that, another fire accident.

December: This month started nicely, right? Sunset and Dawn got married...and then...then my worst fuckup of 2019 (second worst actually but we won’t be getting into the first one) happened. I didn’t include a picture of that because we don’t need to be reminded of that, do we? Instead, there’s a picture of when things were alright again. I love these two boys ;-; Please make sure they’re safe from me. I don’t care what it takes, just make sure nothing happens to them again. My heart wouldn’t take it. (says the person whose first reaction to seeing that Ross is dying was hysterical laughter but again go off sis) And finally, the family is moving into a new house. Which reminds me, I should put the old small one on the gallery. Will do that.

Thank you for a lit an amazing 2019!

Now let’s just hope that 2020 is less lit...if you know what I mean.

[mightyfineblog]

‘Stand By Me’  -2-

Ben Hardy x Reader

Ch. 2

Series Summary: You are moving in your boyfriend’s flat. As you unpack, you remember the long road you two have walked down from when you met to where you are now.

Chapter Summary: Ben remembers your first date.

Warnings: none; fluff and kisses;

Words:1.8k

Song: Elton John – The Way You Look Tonight

So, here is it. Enjoy:

You pull Ben for another kiss, savouring his salty lips. He sweetly places small and soft pecks all over your mouth. From the cupid’s bow, to the edge of your lips, you hum and smile. Pulling away, his mouth follows yours.

“Babe” your hand stokes his cheek.

He flutters his eyes open and you meet him.

“What is it, baby doll?” he cocks his head to side, examining your state.

“I can’t wait for us to start our life together after everything we’ve been through.” your other hand holds his in your fist.

He smiles and pulls you by your wrist over him.

“Me too. We’ll be so good, as long as you’re standing by my side. Here.” he takes both of your hands and brings them up to his lips. While he places a kiss on each knuckle, you gasp

“I love you so much.”

“I love you more.” he murmurs between each kiss.

Untangling your fingers, he brings your palms to each side of his face. You smile at the view.

“What a sight! The man I love, right here in my hands.” you lean, not breaking contact to place a kiss on his lips. “Are we still going to dinner? As a living together couple?” you pull away, repositioning from his lap.

“If you want baby.” he bites his lip, spreading his body to the sides of the sofa.

“You know I do. I love getting all dolled up for you Ben.” you wink at him, sitting up from his lap.

“Hey.” his hand grabs a hold of your thigh, giving you a smirk “I love it you when you are all dirty.” he squeezes, making you jump a little.

“Me too Benny Boy, but not when its actual dirt from carrying boxes around all day.” you chuckle, spreading his legs apart. Situating between them you lean forward, arms supporting your weight on his knees, you give him another kiss on the lips.

“On a second thought…” he gives you bedroom eyes, as his hands wander up your bum.

“Oh, we’re not skipping dinner tonight Hardy! Call your mates, We’re celebrating. Since the place isn’t in shape for guests, it’ll be a nice restaurant.”

“You wish is my command princess.” He sweetly charms you up.

You press your lips together, letting him know you got his incline “What about the shower we talked about earlier?”

“We can take it together.” He lifts a suggestive brow.

“You know” you step back “I’d love run me a hot bath, with you in it” your hands glide over his chest, feeling his toned abs through the fabric.

“Exactly what I needed to hear.” He stands up.

Lifting your chin up, his thumb brushes over your lips, separating them a little “My pretty.”

“I’ll prep the bath. Make the phone call.” You kiss him tenderly.

After a few minutes you are dipped in the hot tub, leaning against your boyfriend’s chest. He brushes your hair to the side, revealing your back. Ben’s lips placing lingering kisses over your shoulder. He hums at your soft skin. Taking some foam, he gently spreads it over your back and shoulders, while rubbing them. You don’t hold back your moans, as his thumbs ease the soreness. He smiles letting out a small chuckle.

“Whaat? I’m sore as hell.”

“Nothing babe. Your moans are so cute.” He places a kiss on your cheek.

He adjusts himself and lays back with you on his chest wrapped in a cuddle. The foam tickling your bodies, it feels peaceful. It feels at home. It feels so good, so right.

“Hmm. Home.” Ben lets you rest in his arms.

“I didn’t quite know what home felt like until your arms were around me.” You confessed.

“Anywhere with you is home.” he nuzzled on your neck, leaving small kisses.

A smirk appears on the corner or Ben’s lips, a sweet memory surfacing up on his mind. One particular moment, at the beginning of your relationship.

…

November 2015,

Hammersmith, London, UK.

I can’t believe she lives in such shithole. The place is awfully disgusting. At least I’m taking her out tonight. I can’t believe it’s actually happening. The pure fact she agreed to this is a miracle of it’s own. It totally was worth ruining the burberry. Okay, serious now.

Suit? Dapper.

Time? Like a swiss train conductor.

Hair? Sleek.

Teeth? Clean and shiny.

There she comes. Scratch that. I’d let her ruin me in pieces. Damn those legs, so fine in that tight number she’s wearing.

Fuck, I’m staring, I’m staring. Not good Ben. Not good. I quickly divert my graze.

“It, it’s a wonderful night.” I quickly look up to the sky. She chuckles in response.

Phew. That was close.

“Are we going to the restaurant or are we staying here?” she observed.

“Of course not. It’s just, you look lovely.” I take her hand and place a gentle kiss on her knuckles. Her skin is so soft against my lips, so delicate I might break her. She smiles warmly at me.

I open the door for her and can’t help but fall in thought at the sight. Her grace. Quickly running to the driver’s seat, I pop on and start the engine. It roars super manly, I bet girls dig that.

“Whoah!” she snickers.

“I thought I was a Mercedes guy, until I tried this baby.” I proudly pat the steering wheel.

After a while, i am sure she is convinced i’m a cool guy, my driving is good and I’m looking good tonight. Fingers crossed the night will go smooth and according to my plan.

I park outside the restaurant. Hopping off my seat, I hand the keys to the valet and rush to open the door for my lady.

I extend my arm for her and watch her as she steps out, lights revealing her beauty. The way she shines is more than enough to make a mall fall in love with her. I smile.

“Um, Ben.” she shrugs, “Why is everybody staring at me?” she shyly brings her head to my shoulder, while still holding my hand.

I hum and my smile turns into a smirk “Because they’re all jealous.” I lift my chin down to her ear.

“It’s alright. Let’s go inside.” I squeeze her hand in reassurance.

“Wait!” she pulls me a step back. “I forgot my purse in the seat.” she nervously chuckles.

“Let’s go inside, and I’ll have the valet to bring it, yeah?”

She nods and turns around. I place my hand on the small of her back to prompt her forward.

As we make a few steps she seems to loose her confidence. That’s where I entwine my fingers with hers.

Once inside, away from the flashing cameras and people’s stares, we are seated by the panoramic window. It certainly is the best place in London to take a date. The food is amazing, the wine is heavenly and view is breathtaking. Well, not as much as she is. I just gotta keep it together and don’t mess this up. Everything else will be alright.

“When I agreed on a date with you, I definitely didn’t expect the whole package.” she ponders.

“I, I don’t know where to start my apologies. I like you and I’d hate myself if I ruin it for us.”

“Well, seems like we’re on the same page here” she winks at me.

“Sorry, what?” I don’t quite follow.

“I like you too.” her voice is soft and girly, like a sweet melody.

I exhale, eyes locked on the ground. I feel so embarrassed.

“Shall we order some food? I’m starving.” she brightens up.

“Oh and as for what comes with in the package, i think i can handle a few snaps.” she perks up “Just gotta make sure i show my nicer profile” she casually pages though the menu.

“And you’re not gonna run away?”

“For a few photos? Nope.” she concludes.

“You’re so adorable” i can’t help myself.

The rest of the dinner was very nice. She seems so intelligent and cute and funny and witty. But it’s time for my special plan to put in action.

“Dear, I’ve got another plan for tonight.” I stand up from the table.

“What? I haven’t even finished my glass of prosecco.” she chants.

“We’ll have plenty. Come with me, or we’ll be late.” i extend my arm to her “Trust me”

“Okay” she warningly replies.

On the elevator to the exit I decide to reveal my plan. “I’m taking you to theatre.”

“You are?” she gasps.

“Mhm.” I straighten up, feeling accomplished.

“Means you remembered. That I’ve never been.” she is wide eyes beside me.

“You gonna love it.” i squeeze her hand.

Once at the theatre we move around the grand lavish auditorium to find our seats. Thank god I have my connections with the theatre to be able to get us the best balcony seats.

“I’m so excited!” she claps her hands quietly, squirming on her seat.

“I’m glad.” i take her wrist and bring the back of her hand up to my lips. “There’s something about the way you look tonight. I can’t quite explain but, it takes my breath away. You, take my breath away.”

“Oh Ben.” she panted.

Before I knew it, her lips were on mine. Good lord, have mercy on me. She has the sweetest, cutest kissable little lips in the world. I can’t help but run the tip of my tongue along her bottom lip. She parts her lips and out tongues meet. I could die a happy man right here, right now.

But i also got to remember we’re in public, so I pull away slightly, but she follows. She probably is as eager as me at this moment.

“Hey” I cup her cheek. “I can kiss you all night long, but there’s older people around.”

“Of course” she nervously chuckles, returning her fixed posture on her seat.

Soon after the start, I couldn’t pay any more attention to the stage. My eyes are glued on her. Watching her watch is all the joy I can feel. I study every little expression of her face, every little squirm she does. The way she’s holding my hand in her lap for reassurance suddenly feels like home.

…

“Babe” you brush your fingers along Ben’s cheek. “You must be so tired Benny.”

“Huh?. What? No I’m awake” he shakes his head.

“I love you” you lean in to place a kiss on his nose.

“Let’s go to dinner, shall we?” you mess with his damp hair.

“Mhm” he nods at you.

Exiting the bath you both roll into fluffy robes to get ready for your first dinner as living together couple.

____

[precuredaily]

Precure Day 148

Episode: Futari wa Precure Splash Star 49 - “In Top Form! Forever Friends Under the Starry Sky!” Date watched: 29 July 2019 Original air date: 28 January 2007 Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/LingrF5? Project info and master list of posts: http://tinyurl.com/PCDabout

words don’t do this justice

note: I may revise this later if i look back and think of more to say. I probably will, bit i wanted to push this out now for personal reasons.

This is it. The finale. We finally made it! From November to now, Splash Star has been a long road plagued by personal difficulties and stubbornness and some lost sleep along the way, but I made it! And boy do we have a lot to discuss!

The Plot

When we left off, Saki, Mai, Michiru, and Kaoru, were infused with the power of spirits and transformed into Cures Bloom, Egret, Bright, and Windy. Gohyaan mocks their resolve and points out how all life is gone and there’s no light, no wind, nothing. It’s a world of ruin, except for the four of them, and he’s about to fix that. They battle, and as the girls again try to explain why they consider life so valuable, Gohyaan explains his backstory. He is an existence predating the universe, and he doesn’t like the commotion of life, so he wants to go back to the quiet. The girls won’t let that happen, because they have so much to live for. Gohyaan destroys the entire Earth, and thinks this is the end for them, but no! Saki explains how she needs to lead the softball team to victory. Michiru wants to try baking bread, because Saki’s is so delicious. Kaoru wants to draw with Minori and Mai, Choppi wants to live in the Land of Fountains, Flappi wants to confess his feelings, and Mai wants to keep drawing everyone’s smiles. They stand up, gather their power, and all together they perform a brand new four-person finishing attack: Precure Spiral Heart Splash Star!

This is too much for Gohyaan to handle and as the girls proclaim the strength of their hopes and futures, he is blown away.

The spirits of the various fountains and the Fairy Carafe reappear, and they restore everything to its original, beautiful state. We see all six fountains one final time, as the girls stand in front of the Sky Tree as they realize that it’s connected to the World Tree in the Land of Fountains. Princess Filia is fully restored to power, and Korone returns to being a normal, non-talking cat. However, Michiru and Kaoru have exhausted the last of their remaining energy, and they begin to fade away. Saki, Mai, Flaapi, Choppi, Moop, and Foop all cry deeply, not wanting to let their friends go, and even Filia seems sad but unable to do anything. However, a miracle occurs as the spirits of the Land of Greenery flow into the two, and Filia deduces that the spirits themselves want to live with the Michiru and Kaoru. They’re restored to life, and Princess Filia finally returns to her place in the Tree of Life.

At this point the first ending theme begins to play as we get a montage of events: All four girls visiting the Fountain of the Sky at long last, fulfilling that promise. Waving a tearful goodbye to their fairies. Mai and Kaoru drawing in school. The girls sitting on Gourd Rock in the spring. Saki and Michiru baking. And then, the softball tournament. Kaoru and Minori have drawn a picture to support Saki, while Michiru baked some bread in the shape of Saki’s head. Kaya, Miyasako, Kenta, Hitomi, Yuuko, and Mai are all in the stands anticipating the game. Saki looks into the stands and sees Izumida, the former captain, and suddenly gets nervous. She walks out of sight, and Mai walks up to her. They hold hands and Saki comments about how holding hands lets Mai’s energy flow through her, a callback to an earlier episode.

Then Saki walks out onto the field. Next thing we know, we’re treated to a few of Mai’s drawings: Saki holding the championship trophy, indicating they won. Everybody gathered together with Saki: Mai, Michiru, Kaoru, Kenta, Miyasako, Kaya, Hitomi, Yuuko, Izumida, Ms. Shinohara, Saki’s parents, Mai’s parents, Minori, Kazuyua, Korone, and all the fairies. Basically, every major character in the series. How nobody saw the fairies is not answered, and I have to assume it’s actually a photograph that Mai copied but details aside, it’s a great picture.

We zoom out to see Saki and Mai sitting beneath the Sky Tree, closing the sketchbook, and the real credits roll.

The Analysis

I absolutely love every minute of this. Even with the powers of all four spirits, Gohyaan is a formidable opponent, but the girls hold their own and manage to overcome him in the end. What is the power of destruction next to an indestructible will? He underestimates the power, the value, of life, and that is his ultimate undoing. He gets the peace and quiet he wants.... at the cost of his existence. And, indeed, this explains the Uzainaa’s name. It’s derived from “Urusai na”, which means “it’s annoying”. Gohyaan is an existence that predates the universe, and he doesn’t like the commotion created by life. It’s a darkly mundane reason to want to try to destroy everything, and frankly he should find a new hobby, but maybe in the end he learned that life is precious. Doesn’t seem like it, though. Honestly I don’t have much to say about the battle itself. There’s some good scenes, like this part where the cures all flip Gohyaan, but it’s more of an exchange of wills than a physical fight. Both are important aspects, as I’ve commented many times, I just want to note that the physical stuff was done last episode.

Let’s talk Michiru and Kaoru. Officially, they don’t get new designations even with the powers of Moon and Wind, because the idea at the time was still that Precures were only ordinary girls, but I think they deserve to be called Cure Bright and Cure Windy. Their journey is heartbreaking, even if their death was an inevitability and they were given a new lease on life very quickly. They never deserved what they got, but their tragedy is a part of this show I honestly forgot about, and I think it makes it more powerful. I knew Splash Star was an underrated gem but I had forgotten the depths of tragedy the Kiryuus were in, I kind of thought everything was pretty hunky-dory when they got back. Their journey escalates this show to a higher tier in my view, and I’ll have to remember that when making recommendations.

Obviously, they already had powers from being Dark Fall denizens, and getting Cure abilities doesn’t make them innately better, but it’s a great next step for them, epitomizing the journey they’ve undergone from mindless servants of Akudaikaan to friends and sisters who have a network of people who care about and support them, discovering their own interests, and getting to live life. They are every inch heroes in the way that Saki and Mai are and they have been done dirty by the franchise writ large.

The epilogue gives us a lot of things I really wanted. Michiru and Kaoru finally get some casual clothes, and they are really stylish.

Also, we fast forward to spring and see them in spring outfits and Michiru’s outfit is extremely similar to Nagisa’s spring clothes.

I’m happy to see them living normal lives, practicing baking and art and getting to experience life, finally. They seem so happy and I’m sure they have a bright future ahead of them and GOD DAMN IT TOEI WHY DO YOU IGNORE THEM. They were lucky to get Figuarts.

The softball championship game is something else I honestly forgot happened. I commented back in the last softball episode (35 I think) that we would never see Saki lead the team to victory the next year, because the show didn’t get a second season. Well, they took care of that here, and Saki did live up to her promise to Izumida by winning the championship.

In general it’s a lot of tying up loose ends that I really appreciate. Flappi finally confessed his feelings to Choppi and they’re a couple now, Kenta and Miyasako are still going strong as a manzai duo, Yuuko feels inspired by his encouragement even if they don’t seem to be a couple, and... well, the last closure we got on Saki and Kazuya was in the Christmas episode, but that’s just as well because Saki’s only love is Mai. For real though I love that the episode closes out on them being close, and you can choose to interpret their friendship any way you choose. It’s just perfect for this show.

Oh and there’s a little epilogue after the ending theme. On the TV broadcast it was probably a preview for Yes! 5, but we don’t get that here. Instead we get  , some stills of Saki and Mai thanking everybody for watching, and saying that Precure will continue for a long time! And boy, truer words were never spoken.

Next time on precure Daily, I’m going to revisit a little Splash Star something that I forgot to do sooner. After that, I’m going to try to push out a retrospective on the entire Futari wa era, before we change up the formula big time with Yes 5. My goal is to finish Yes 5 by the end of 2019, but if I’m really good I might even be able to start GoGo this year. I don’t want to drag another show out for 8 months, so we’ll see where we end up. I hope to see all of you again soon!

Pink Precure Catchphrase Count: 1 Zekkouchou Nari!, in the title of the episode.

[dailyaudiobible]

10/31/2019 DAB Transcript

Lamentations 4:1-5:22, Hebrews 2:1-18, Psalms 103:1-22, Proverbs 26:23

Today is the 31st day of October. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It is a joy to be here with you today on the final day of the 10th month and the 304th day of our year together. So, we spent the last several days kind of transitioning. We were moving into new territory in the Old Testament and we were also were moving into new territory in the New Testament. Now we’re kind of settled in for a minute as we got ourselves going in the book of Lamentations in the Old Testament and the book of Hebrews in the New So, we’re finishing the month strong and preparing to move into the new month with the wind at our back, with a little bit of momentum. So, we’re reading from the Amplified Bible this week. Today, Lamentations, chapters 4 and 5 and we will be reading the lamenting poem of the siege of Jerusalem.

Prayer:

Father once again as we end our day, the proverb smacks us between the eyes about the things that we say and the way in which we use words and language. And today we are told not to be manipulative, not to be murmuring. And, so, oh Father we need Your help. And we get help actually from the psalm that we read today, the beautiful words of Your abiding love for us, and the awareness that when we use our God-given lips and tongue that You have given us for purposes that do nothing but tear down Your kingdom and bring darkness, well then we are paying no attention whatsoever to Your abiding love and patience for us. And, so we ask forgiveness and we pick up the refrain in the Psalm that we might bless You. And we confess, hearing the phrase bless the Lord, like, this is all throughout the Scriptures and this is something that we say but we don't stop to think about what we’re saying, that we can be a blessing to You, to Your heart by following Your will and Your ways, which is also the very best possible thing we could do for ourselves. And, so, forgive us again for the ways we've misused words. May we be a blessing to You today. We ask this in the name of Jesus, knowing that we’re not capable of any of this stuff in our own strength. We need Your Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth, that we might collaborate in life with You and that that may last You today. Come Holy Spirit into this we pray. In the name of Jesus we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

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And that's it for today. I'm Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

I sit in the sunlight and consider your ways starting my day with a heart full of praise I joined with the birds singing sweetly in the background I believe they’re praising you too let everything that has breath praise the Lord that’s what the psalmist encouraged all life to do and I trying to acknowledge you and all of my ways because I believe the blessings are the direct result of a heart full of praise and for me I found that there is no better way to encourage your favor as I go through my day my strength in the present my help in ages past my only hope for the future for surely this world will last and as it fades away along with its desire please purge me anew with your all-consuming fire and as you burn up all the things that I don’t need please review them for what they truly are wood straw and stubble although when I look at them from afar they appear to be gold and a source of much gain but it seems like some lessons can only be learned through adversity and pain so as I consider your goodness and ponder your ways I surrender afresh with my heart full of praise

blindtony1016@gmail.com. I’d like to give a shout out to Michelle from Los Angeles. Hope you’re managing well with the fire all around you. Know that you were being prayed for and loved from afar and Drew from the Bay Area too. And once again Brian and the Hardin family, thank you for this wonderful podcast for God’s Holy Spirit to flow keep it flowin’ y’all. Alright.

Hi there, this message is for Lauren who called a few days ago about her breast-feeding journey with her three-month-old. I wanted you to know that I am praying for you and thinking of you. I have a six-month-old and we’ve been on a similar journey. It’s been tough and I just wanted to let you know that as soon as I heard your message my heart really went out to you and I prayed for you. And I pray that God would give you so much strength and patience. I prayed that He would take away all of your worries. Sometimes I know that breast-feeding can feel so isolated. And, so, I wanted you to know that I’ve been praying for you I’ve been thinking of you and I wanted you to know as well that God is with you and I pray that He would make his presence known to you especially as you’re in those moments feeding your baby. I hope you feel encouraged and I hope you know that He can perform miracles and He can make things happen for you and He cares about something like this, He does. And, so, I just wanted to let you know that you are not alone. I’m praying for you. God is with you and I really hope that things turn around for you and your baby. Persevere. He will give you the strength to carry on.

Good morning Daily Audio Bible family my name is Isaiah from New Jersey I’ve been listening for the past I think it’s like two-and-a-half, three years and I’ve called in a few times, but I have a prayer request. I am a teacher working on my certification and I have this last section to pass and I’ve taken this section multiple times and I just want to be done with it. And I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I have been seeing a tutor faithfully every week just to get my skills and I take it in two weeks on November 9th and I just want your prayers just an agreement that I will finally pass this section so I can move forward over this hurdle and in my career as well, and that the Lord will bring all things back to my remembrance and just lead and guide me, I can acknowledge Him directing my path with choosing the correct answers and not worrying about time. And also, I just love you guys so much. I appreciate your…all your prayers and your…and your praise reports. Such a blessing to listen every morning on my way to work and just intercede with you. I love you guys. Thank you, Brian and Jill for your ministry. I hope everybody has a blessed Sunday and just thank you for just agreeing with me in prayer that I will pass this test finally in Jesus’ name. Have a blessed day guys, love you, bye-bye.

Hi, my name is Lori I’m calling from Washington state I’m the first-time caller. My husband and I are going to Israel in February with the Daily Audio Bible and I’m asking for prayers for my husband Mike. He’s having some difficulty with his leg and his back and he’s hardly able to walk right now. So, just asking for prayers for healing. Thank you. Bye.

Hi Barbara on the first-time caller I’ve been listening to Daily Audio Bible for several years. Shanda called in October the 28th from Aberdeen South Dakota about her interactions with her children and I just really related to your situation. My children are grown now. By the grace of God we have a good relationship and they are walking with Christ but I just wanted you to know that God loves you and He loves your children and I found it most helpful whenever I felt confronted and conflicted about an interaction with my child, right in that moment I would just reach out and say. “God what is my ministry right now? By the Holy Spirit lead me.” And He always…and He always showed me what I needed to say or what I needed to do. Sometimes I needed to go and be quiet or sometimes my teenage son just needed to hear me say that it…everything was going to be okay and that I loved him. But the Holy Spirit will help us raise our children if we just can resist the temptation to walk in the flesh, but just to reach out in that heated time and asked for God to be with us. So, Lord we do ask for help in parenting and for the strength we need to love and raise Your children the way You would have us, to give us peace in our homes we pray today in Jesus’ name. Amen. Love you. Hang in there.

Dear Lord, I’d like to pray for Shanda. Just heard her call about feeling lost and like she’s not making any progress growing in her walk with you because she lost her temper and yelled at her kids. And I just want to pray for her, you know, give her peace about that, you know, that…that everybody is…nobody’s perfect and everybody makes mistakes, and everybody needs You to help them with their patience and their control, their emotions. I just want to pray that she stays encouraged and that she keeps on trying in Jesus’ name I pray. Shanda, you know, everybody…everybody struggles with that and, you know, if you can try when you feel and over whelming emotion that you don’t want to engage in, if you can just think that, you know, it’s coming on, I feel it, I don’t know what to do with it…I can’t…you know…I don’t feel like I can control it…I’m going to say something I don’t want to say, if you just even in your mind if you don’t even say it out loud but you bring it to God right then and there he has for me in the past taken emotions away. And like I get this I just can’t this irk this…this…this feeling that I can’t get rid of and I know it’s gonna like nag me and bug me and it’s gonna change my…how I…how I speak to people and, you know, I ask God and He takes it away. It may take like five minutes or something, but He does, He takes it away. So, if you could try that. All right. Bye.

[the-elemental-sides]

all of my god dang WIPs

In an attempt to put my life in some semblance of order, as well as have a convenient place to check back on the thing I should be writing at the moment, I am putting here a list of every single in-progress Sanders Sides story in my Google docs. There’s like, 15 of them, listed roughly in order from “has not been touched in 1000 years” to “worked on fairly recently.”

Oh yeah! And if any of these stories are listed as “dead” but you like the concept, feel free to take it! Let me know if you want to see what I had written.

Sanders Script

Last Modified: February 18, 2018

Status: Dead

Summary: A fake episode script where the Sides explain the Sanders Sides fandom to the recently-accepted Anxiety, who’s been staying away from the whole ordeal. My first Sanders Sides writing! I started writing it just after catching up with the series because I thought, no way could I write any kind of non-script-style fanfic out of these characters.

The Joan Thing pt II

Last Modified: March 30, 2018

Status: Dead

Summary: The first attempt of many to write a sequel to The Joan Thing. It failed. However, its concept might be something I revisit later. 

Architects

Last Modified: April 30, 2018

Status: Dead

Summary: Gods/creators-of-the-world AU sort of thing where the Sides are all creating aspects of Earth (sea, space, underground, sky) with Thomas as their supervisor. Got fired because I thought the concept was too complicated/theological, and it started feeling kind of like the Sims. 

Guardian Angels

Last Modified: April 29, 2018

Status: Most Likely Dead

Summary: In a world where many people have guardian angels, Patton finally gets his in the form of Virgil. The Sides didn’t feel entirely in-character to me, so I changed the names and started an original fiction version. Then I still wanted to write the Sides version and got confused. 

Angst

Last Modified: July 20, 2018

Status: Dead

Summary: Yep, the doc’s just called “Angst” because I wanted to practice something sad. Roman goes out on a mind palace adventure, breaks his leg fighting a monster, and can’t get home. Virgil finds him. I wrote ‘666′ soon after this and was satisfied with that.

First Person Fusions

Last Modified: July 22, 2018

Status: doesn’t look good, chief

Summary: I did publish a chapter of this on Analogical, and I have a bit of the Logince chapter done. Not sure if I’m still interested in it or not, especially since I don’t have ideas for the combined headspaces of the rest of the ships.

From The Other Side

Last Modified: July 31, 2018

Status: Hiatus

Summary: I have the prologue published. I love this idea, but I don’t know if I can finish it any time soon. It’s kind of a longer fic! We’ll see what happens to it.

Talyn, The Take Two

Last Modified: September 9, 2018

Status: Needs a miracle

Summary: This doc is a conglomerate of most of the other “Joan Thing sequel” attempts. Sorry, fans of the story, it’s just weirdly hard to write??? It’s difficult to push the concept any further without playing into even more of the unintentional D.I.D. similarities of the first. I need a really solid idea to continue this one.

A Morality Story

Last Modified: September 10, 2018

Status: PURGATORY

Summary: All right, this story is a weird case because it’s in my Tumblr drafts. It’s RIGHT there. I even got a beta for it! But I’m very self-conscious about sharing it. It’s an experimental little exchange between Morality and an OC of mine whose whole deal is morality too. Eh, maybe I’ll hit post one of these days.

Ask Prompt Doc

Last Modified: September 18, 2018

Status: In Progress

Summary: Vy and hayleycreagine/nextstep17, this one’s for you! Your asks have been in my inbox for m o n t h s and I’m still working on your suggestions. Sorry for the wait, but they SHALL be finished. Someday.

The Elemental Sides

Last Modified: Nov 2, 2018

Status: WILL be completed

Summary: My longest story, and the one the blog’s named after. It’s about Thomas discovering four spirits with elemental powers trapped in an amulet. Currently, I do have enough for another chapter written, but it’s all definitely in first-draft mode.

G/T Sides

Last Modified: Early November

Status: Hiatus

Summary: This one isn’t in a doc, but amazable01 requested a continuation of an unnamed story about Logan having a brownie, Patton, take up residence in his house. It’s currently an unfinished Tumblr draft. I don’t wanna disappoint amazable, so I’ll do what I can!

Project Doll

Last Modified: February 1, 2019

Status: In Progress

Summary: I can’t talk too much about this one because it’s my Reverse Big Bang fic. The plot is *continuous screams of horror for an hour*. See ya when I post it in April!

sides ideas

Last Modified: February 2, 2019

Status: In Progress

Summary: This one is actually pretty close to being done. I fell in love with a Sanders Sides fic and wrote my own chapter for it: an interpretation of some events that were covered in a letter. Can’t wait to finish it and talk more about how much I love this fic!

W***** L*********

Last Modified: February 5, 2019

Status: not even started yet but I made the doc

Summary: This one’s the fic I’m gonna write for the regular Big Bang (I might be getting ahead of myself, but the mods recommend we use all the time we have). I have to censor the title so I don’t spoil anything, but maybe you can guess??

Analogically

Last Modified: this morning lol (feb 6)

Status: In Progress

Summary: Based on a recommendation by theresneverenoughfandoms, this is an Analogical oneshot. Hopefully I can keep up with writing it...unlike many many stories on this list!

[auburnfamilynews]

Good morning to all you cool cats and kittens from the Satellite of Love where it’s time for another installment of Auburn Football Theater 2020. So far on the countdown we have:

10) 2011 vs South Carolina

9) 2016 vs LSU

8) 2008 vs Tennessee

And today, we have a particularly fun task as we start what the mads have deemed the

section of the countdown. Could it have started last week? Sure, but as much as last week’s game was painful to watch…this one was particular stinky as Auburn’s opponent actually had a solid QB that was leading the nation, and the Auburn defense did what the Auburn defense does, choke the life out of him in extreme fashion. This week, we watch (for many the first time ever) the 1998 Homecoming game between Auburn and the UCF Golden Knights.

THE PREGAME

For most Auburn fans, we will remember 1998 as the year Terry Bowden tucked tail and took off the night before the Louisiana Tech game for more than one reason, but literally left his staff and players holding the bag on the rest of the season.

‘Brother’ Bill Oliver

‘Brother’ Bill Oliver, who was Auburn’s Defensive Coordinator at the start of the season, took over the Head man job and had done a pretty good job, with a dominate win over Louisiana Tech and falling just short against a highly ranked Arkansas team 24-21. Things you need to know about Auburn in 1998, Auburn had an excellent defense, however, the Tigers had ZERO offensive power…like at all. However, the Tigers are led by a baseball start and current hitting coach for the Tiger baseball team.

Offensive firepower was not a problem for UCF in 1998. Mainly because they had this guy at the controls.

That’s right, Mr. GET YOUR ROLL ON himself, Daunte Culpepper.

Daunte led the nation in passing coming in to the game and had routed every team they had played that season, with the exception of Purdue, who was pretty good and led by this guy.

Joe Tiller and Drew Brees

On defense, UCF was pretty stingy as they were led by…

THE CHIZ

Yup, you are correct, that’s good ol’ Gene Chizik on the right calling the plays for the Knights.

UCF entered the game at 7-1 while Auburn walked in at 2-6 and fighting for pride and pride alone.

THE GAME

To start this game off, it is a glorious November day in Auburn. Leading us in our quest for the next 3ish hours are familiar but fresh faces.

And the special teams for the Tigers make sure to start the game off right.

Well, there is a harbinger for how this one will play out. UCF gets it at the 35 and DC shows off that big arm with a couple of big pass plays in a 14 play drive but needs a conversion on 3rd and 5 to keep it going.

So, the Golden Knights take the early 3-0 lead on Auburn.

The Tigers would get the ball on their own 15 and 3 plays later would punt it back to UCF where the Knights would go on the march again but would stall out just past midfield and decide to go for it on 4th down.

Charles sorta stole my thunder, but only Auburn, with an offense reminiscent of the French Army in WW2, would take the pick 15 yards down field instead of just knocking it down and getting it at the 35ish. However, the Tigers would get a big run on the drive.

Yup, Michael Burks! I said that out loud when I saw him pop up on the screen. Rusty Williams was the real running back I remembered from that season but the 17 year old Burks was the ‘star’ of the running game from the midpoint of the season on. Back to the drive and the offensive positivity would not last.

Yeah, the run game was really the only thing Auburn really had and…well…yeah.

A punt followed and UCF would get it at their own 35. The Auburn defense would turn up the heat on the Golden Knight gun slinger after the turnover on the previous series.

UCF was held to its first 3 and out of the game and Auburn got it in great field position at the 45. The drive, however, was short lived.

So, the defense is put in another tight spot at the Auburn 36. UCF would take 7 plays….7 PLAYS, to get to the Auburn 10, where Daunte would make mistake #2 of the day.

Oh if only Bray could have slipped by the wide out and raced down that home sideline. He didn’t though, and Auburn got it at the 4, where they wouldn’t do much and punt in 3 plays. At this point, if you hoped that UCF would hole up and not want to make any more mistakes, you’d be wrong.

So, it’s the Knights from the 24. It would take them 8 plays….8 PLAYS this time, and the Auburn defense would hold the Knights to a Field Goal try.

So that doubles the UCF lead to 6-0. Auburn would take the ensuing drive 6 plays but needed to punt and UCF would run out the half, and wow what a half it was. Let’s just take a look at those stats.

MERCIFUL GOD! Sure, Auburn’s stats are bad, but what on Earth UCF, excluding the Purdue game, the Golden Knights had scored 31 or more points in every game! Now they have just over 100 yards of offense. They do enjoy a 6-0 lead over Auburn though.

To start the second half, Auburn would take the kick out to the 32 yard line and go 7 plays before needing to punt and pin the Knights deep at their own 15 yard line. From there, UCF would go on a 10 play drive before Daunte would make mistake #3.

HOW BOUT SOME ROB PATE LOVE! Big number 31 gets in on the Pick Party and set the Tigers up in a great spot. Auburn would inch a little bit closer for Rob Bironas (RIP) to try a 43 yard Field Goal.

And that’s how ya kick a field goal Mr. Tuttle. While this one is starting to look like LSU from a few weeks ago, Auburn now looks to have some confidence going against that Gene Chizik defense. UCF had other ideas though. The Knights would go from their own 44 after a really nice return and march down to the Auburn 8 yard line.

YES SIR LARRY CASHIER! Pick #4 of the day and the second for Cashier on that end of the field ends yet another UCF drive. Auburn would take it from the 5 and have to punt it away. UCF would see the Auburn 3 and out and would raise them their own 3 and out to give it back to the Tigers at the 30. That’s when an old name popped up on my screen.

DEMONTRAY CARTER LADIES AND GENTELMEN! This was actually a nice drive for Auburn…however.

UCF would stop that drive but the Auburn defense wouldn’t allow the turnover to turn in to points and would force a punt.

So the offense has the ball but its at the 2…yay.

The offense would gain 20 yards to at least keep the field position somewhat normal with time becoming a factor. UCF would get it from their own 37.

That’s the first time UCF has done a thing on the ground to really mention and it couldn’t come at a worse time. With about 3ish minutes left, UCF now has it in Auburn territory and a TD would finish this one off for sure.

Well there ya go! Anyone getting that feeling that Auburn may pull this one off?!

OK…so gonna sit back down.

Auburn would get it to 4th down and need a miracle to keep the drive alive.

Ok then…that’s something to build on…let’s see what Auburn can do on 1st down

HOLY CRAP! HOW….WHAT…..OH MY GOD! Sure the call was completely botched but can you blame them? They are UCF centered and had the game in their hands. Now they need a miracle to salvage the game.

The Knights would get it from their 9 yard line with about 50 seconds left and would need a Hail Mary to win this one.

THE AFTERGLOW

Sadly, what came to follow for both teams would not be very bright for the 98 season. Auburn would show good fight against really good Georgia and Alabama teams but would fall by 2+ scores to wrap up the season at 3-8. Following the uat game, Auburn would hire Tommy Tuberville from Ole Miss, leaving Coach Oliver out in the cold after his best efforts to salvage the season and showing that he could do the head job.

UCF on the other hand would win their final two games to close the season at 9-2. After the Auburn game, they had a verbal agreement to play in the Oahu Bowl in Hawaii but this was the season that Miami beat an undefeated UCLA (wow what a world) team at the end of the season and that shook up the entire bowl breakdown so the Golden Knights were left holding the bag. Were they do have beaten Auburn, who knows if they would have gotten a spot or not.

Well that’s it for this week’s edition of Auburn Football Theater 2020. Join us again next week as I punish myself through a forgotten win in Auburn’s history as the DEEP HURTING continues! As we leave you this week, just remember, Auburn is 3-0 in the regular season against UCF. Guess who is 0-1 All Time vs the Knights.

from College and Magnolia - All Posts https://www.collegeandmagnolia.com/2020/4/13/21218411/aft2020-7-1998-ucf

[its-just-like-the-movies]

October 2017 Viewing List

Hi all! Sorry no reviews this month, but a very large paper I did on Arrival for class has been kicking my ass most of the month. As such, I’ve probably seen Arrival about four times this month, but mostly in bits and pieces. Hopefully a real review soon, or even more capsule things, but there is a Smackdown post on the way (where yours truly was quoted again!) and plenty of fantastic-looking releases coming out this November. Oh! And I got a job at a movie theater! In the kitchens, but still. Plenty of time to daydream about actressing. Now on to the main event!

A Ghost Story (17, B): Some peaks and valleys, but as a temporal, sonic mood piece, I think it works splendidly, though others love it more. - 10/2/17

The Little Hours (17, C-): Balances modern & period flourishes well. But craziness never feels that crazy. Loses steam as it goes, if anything. - 10/2/17

Savage Grace (08, B+): Mannered tale of moneyed perversion only more fraught by keeping us so very off kilter. Incestuous. Cannibalistic. - 10/2/17

No Country for Old Men (07, B): I like many scenes more than the whole, but still packs a punch. Third time least charming. Indelible sound. 10/3/17

Spider-Man: Homecoming (17, B): I couldn't believe it was so fun. And funny! Holland has charm for days. Standalones are really improving. - 10/4/17

Arrival (16, B): No tweet. Watch it. - 10/5/17

Girls Trip (17, B): More going on for its characters than a good time, but also the best time you could have. Thank you, ladies. Thank you. - 10/6/17

Battle Royale (01, B+): Hyperbolic take on insane premise frightening and funny. Keeps hold of its targets without mocking the students. - 10/6/17

Gaslight (44, B): Frequently commanding, missteps & wasted potential sitting with what's great. Odd start, uneven middle, strong end. - 10/7/17

The Ornithologist (17, A-): Thank God it's on Netflix. I need more than one trip to wrangle its everything. Impossible to look away from. - 10/9/17

Mars Attacks! (96, B): Sort of defines eccentric, often pretty fun. Wish it didn't belittle most of the characters it killed. Ack ack. - 10/12/17

Props to the Lisa Marie Smith sequence, Annette Bening, glittery capes & thongs, Brown & Grier, their kids, "Guess it wasn't the doves"

Blade Runner 2049 (17, B): Aesthetically dazzling on all fronts. Actors rarely imaginative. Not sure how worthwhile the story is. - 10/14/17

The more I think about it, the more 2049 seems like squandered potential by mostly ignoring replicant deviancy and mechanical autonomy.

Also why Ana de Armas feels like the only worthwhile performance. She blurs those lines, and by actually emoting - emphatically! - onscreen

Dragon Seed (44, C-): Ghastly casting, lamely executed. Barely hums along on own terms. I regret paying for it. I regret, well. Everything. - 10/16/17

(Talking to someone about Katharine Hepburn in Dragon Seed) I could not believe how bad the early going was. She barely looked anyone in the eye! I'm just grateful it wasn't worse.

Get Out (17, A-): How come Jordan Peele's amazing direction is barely getting play? Why isn't this a lock for Picture? How is it so good? - 10/17/17

The Death of Louis XIV (17, C+): Last third clicked, for some reason. Narcotic. But if this lets you craft each frame as tapestry, so be it. - 10/17/17

The lighting of faces and wigs and sets and fabrics, the blocking of actors, the texture of everything. So painstakingly styled to the art of its era.

Atlantis: The Lost Empire (01, C-): No tweet. Not impressed. - 10/18/17

Faces Places (17, B): Starts out awkward, but grows real flair, deepening relationships between Varda, JR, and their subjects. - 10/19/17

The Road Movie (17, A-): First third blends absurdism, comedy, horror, spectacle so adroitly. Less funny as it goes, but never loses impact. - 10/19/17

Human Flow (17, B-): I wish I liked it more, but this feels weirdly distant, and vague around politics & contexts damning the refugees. - 10/20/17

Lightning Over Braddock: A Rust Bowl Fantasy (89, A-): Protests of dying town, dreams of con & director surprisingly well-suited together. - 10/21/17

Spettacolo (17, C+): Study of autodramatic Italian village fine by its present, & by unclear future. Oddly skimpy on long, flavored history - 10/21/17

Quest (17, B): Olshefski indulgent with close-ups and hand shots, but still emerges with a strong, often touching portrait. Great with PJ. - 10/21/17

Since You Went Away (44, B): Too long, but it got me good. Corny, but still plenty moving, with a surprisingly sad core. Colbert a gem. - 10/21/17

Mrs. Parkington (44, C-): Garson's charm can't carry through two shitty timelines, embarrassing dialogue, vile misogyny. Evaporates on sight. - 10/22/17

Cameraperson (16, B+): No tweet. See it! - 10/23/17

None but the Lonely Heart (44, B): Amazing that something where seams show so frequently, from all central parties, resonates so powerfully. - 10/24/17

So, Barrymore's gonna win the Smackdown right? I mean, Jones and McMahon are good, Moorehead's a hoot. But that last scene! My goodness.

Stagecoach (39, A): Even piecemealed for class, it’s power and velocity isn’t diluted in the slightest - 10/26/17

To Sleep With Anger (90, B+): Quieter and more quotidian than I expected, but still a potent and compelling experience. Actors a huge plus. - 10/26/17

Laura (44, A+): Perfect balance of baroque embellishments, unknowable characters, ornate style. A masterpiece, gloriously realized. - 10/28/17

Days of Glory (44, A-): Surprisingly full probing of guerrilla ethics, tactics, politics. Better made, directed, and acted than I expected. - 10/30/17

A lot of films look great next to Dragon Seed but this just overwhelms that similar kind of WWII story in so many ways.

The cast is great, especially the leads, who sell their romantic and political maturation beautifully. Stellar child perf from Dena Penn too

The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (44, A-): Amazing that it exists at all, let alone in that year, with that tone. Cast, Sturges on fire. - 10/31/17

Marjorie Prime (17, B-): Multiply centered structure seems to play with ideas, scenarios without committing. Strong finish. Smith! - 10/31/17

Not as mighty a haul this month, but hopefully November will be a little more promising. Happy Thanksgiving all, and Happy (belated) Halloween from me and my aggressively red/pink hair!

[frostybwitch]

Get To Know Me

I was tagged by @yachiie. (ayye, thanks for the tag!! :))

Rules: Answer these 92 statements and tag 20 people

Last: 1. Drink: some blackcurrent juice LOL. 2. Phone call: one of my flatmates, cos she forgot her keycard and got herself locked out lmao.   3. Text message: liz, my panda-loving best friend lmao 4. Song you listened to: if you love me — J Rabbit. 5. Time you cried: like really, really cried? um, probably back in early Feb when I couldn’t see my parents off and reality finally struck that I’m gonna be alone in melbourne all by myself without any family or friends. (but at least I’ve got my awesome flatmates now who are like practically family to me atm.)

HAVE YOU: 6. Dated someone twice: lol nahh, been single my whole life to even think about dating someone twice lol. 7. Kissed someone and regretted it: nope. 8. Been cheated on: nopey-do. 9. Lost someone special: people, in general, walk in and out of my life so quick that I get fucking whiplash sometimes lol. 10. Been depressed: back when I was younger, yeah. 11. Gotten drunk and thrown up: lmao yeah, that one fucking time and never again.

LIST 3 FAVORITE COLORS: 12-14. Blue, baby pink, grey

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU: 15. Made new friends: yeap. 16. Fallen out of love: im so glad to finally tick this one off. 17. Laughed until you cried: for sho 18. Found out someone was talking about you: lol yeah, apparently. 19. Met someone who changed you: yeah… nahh. 20. Found out who your friends are: oh yea, dats for sho. someimes I kinda forget that people actually care and when they show that they do, its always such a surprise :’). 21. Kissed someone on your Facebook list: lmao no way

GENERAL: 22. How many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: everyone LOL. 23. Do you have any pets: im not allowed to have pets in my current apartment :( 24. Do you want to change your name: nahhh 25. What did you do for your last Birthday: friends/family took me out for an awesome dinner. 26. What time did you wake up: 7.30am for some a practical class or sth 27. What were you doing at midnight last night: scrolling thru tumblr/facebook LMAO 28. Name something you can’t wait for: TO FINALLY GET BACK HOME TO SINGAPORE IN NOV~ WOOTS 29. When was the last time you saw your mom: digitally through skype? last saturday. physically? early feb of this year. (fuck im starting to feel a tiny bit homesick now. ahh I miss my mom. :( ) 30. What is one thing you wish you could change in your life: to be a wee bit taller? 31. Listening right now: my recorded lectures that I missed this morning LOL. 32. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: lol nope 33. Something that is getting on your nerves: people who do not pay attention during lectures, subsequently not understanding the material being covered and then coming to me with a fuckload of questions and eventually getting me to give them a mini-lecture to them on the spot. (like ffs, the lectures are fucking recorded and you’re in uni. not stupid high school. your classmates/profs are not there to spoonfeed you through omg. and for the record, do I look like the prof taking the class to you? jfc.) 34. Most visited website: tumblr/youtube/facebook (the unholy trinity of distractions lmao)

LOST QUESTIONS. I JUST PUT IN RANDOM INFO ABOUT ME: 35. Mole/s: i’ve got 3 of them that I know of. 36. Mark/s: not that I know of 37. Childhood dream: to be a professional musician. (look where life actually led me to LOL) 38. Hair color: dark brown. 39. Long or short hair: it’s mid-length-ish? 40. Do you have a crush on someone: god no thankfully, i’ve had enough of all that for now. 41. What do you like about yourself: i’m smol and thin without ever working out. 42. Piercings: nah-dah. 43. Blood type: O+ 44. Nickname: d, dio. 45. Relationship status: single af 46. Zodiac: capricorn 47. Pronouns: she/her. 48. Favorite TV Show: supergirl. (only in it for katie mcgrath tho) 49. Tattoos: asian parents would not approve. 50. Right or left hand: righto. 51. Surgery: none 52. Hair dyed in different color: my mom wouldn’t allow it, apparently. 53. Sport: badminton? but if I get to choose, I’d do none cus my stamina for sports is fucking non-existent and I can’t run long distance to save my life either. 55. Vacation: anywhere with harry potter world/disneyland 56. Pair of trainers: uhh, my nike joggers i guess?

MORE GENERAL: 57. Eating: gum LOL  58. Drinking: regular drinking water 59. I’m about to: finish the lectures I missed today 61. Waiting for: winter to end and for november to come. 62. Want: A KITTEN 63. Get married: eventually, yeah 64. Career: uni student. (medical scientist-in-training)

WHICH IS BETTER:

65. Hugs or kisses: hugs seem like the less intimidating option for now. 66. Lips or eyes: eyes, for sho 67. Shorter or taller: taller 68. Older or younger: older  70. Nice arms or nice stomach:  stomach I guess. 71. Sensitive or loud: sensitive, loud people are exhausting to deal with. 72. Hook up or relationship: relationship 73. Troublemaker or hesitant: hesitant. i have too much on my plate to have time to worry about a troublemaker.

HAVE YOU EVER: 74. Kissed a Stranger: lol no. 75. Drank hard liquor: yeah def. 76. Lost glasses/contact lenses: i lose my contacts all the time. 77. Turned someone down: maybe? LOL I wouldn’t know. 78. Sex on the first date: lol fuck no 79. Broken someone’s heart: ehhh, I really wouldn’t know. 80. Had your heart broken: oh lmao, tons of times. 81. Been arrested: nah, im too much of a law-abiding citizen to break the law. 82. Cried when someone died: not really 83. Fallen for a friend: nah

DO YOU BELIEVE IN: 84. Yourself: i try to 85. Miracles: i like to think, yeah? just cus the world deserves a little bit of hope sometimes. 86. Love at first sight: nahh. 87. Santa Claus: lol lmao please, I'm too old for that 88. Kiss on the first date: um, depends on how much I like the person I guess.

OTHER: 90. Current best friend(s) name: liz and eunice 91. Eye color: black like you can’t see my pupils black. 92. Favorite movie: MINIONS MOVIE (ITS SO FUCKING CUTE I CANT HANDLE OMG)

tagging: @sushimiyuu @mari-hoehara @maki-roni @symphonyalpha @steel-glass-heart @sunshineandfoxes