#that one post that the humanities and stem people need to band together against the business majors...

[darkacademiaarchivist]

Art and science aren't enemies, they're kissing each other on the mouth actually

[potentialproblem01]

Minor Acts- a Jan/male reader fic

For @thesunflowersutra You wanted some fic, I have delivered. A week late but who’s counting.

Also posted on my AO3 if you prefer to read it there, mark for later, etc, whatever. 

Minor Acts- 1.6k E-rated pwp smut

Jan looks at you over the cherry of his burning smoke. You'd been planning this for a while now, pouring out papers and schematics across the floor of his room. The work was finally coming to fruition. 

Tension had been growing since you’d levered yourself off the floor earlier that day, nearly slipping on a stray paper before hauling Jan up too, ending up pulling him into your space. There'd been the hum of tension and anticipation as you packed bags and gathered supplies. 

The plan was solid and it worked. The two of you watched the bomb go off from across the bay hidden by the night and old ocean-swept trees and distance. Coffee in one hand, cigarette in the other behind matching smiles watching the flames catch, shockwaves echoing across the water. The collapse of the human anaesthetic of TV. 

You turn to him, euphoria of a well executed plan simmering and transforming into something a little more wild and further untamed; less satisfaction and more hunger. The discipline of the fight slinking out of you as you catch his eye, trailing over his nose and his scruff. 

He sees you looking and like always, it’s a battle of who gives in first. You chuck your cigarette aside.

You’re never really sure who wins or loses these games but you lean in first, catching his bottom lip. The night stretches unlimited by possibility as you push him over on the blanket, climbing on top and sitting across his hips as you feel his interest start to grow. He can feel yours assuredly as you press him down, ribcages preventing you from getting closer. 

The wind had died down from the day and the peace of starlight and calm water tempers the flare of need you have despite the carnage across the bay. You go slow, enjoying his taste; nicotine and the sweet remnants of the joint from earlier, cheap wine from lunch, the salt and freedom of the sea. 

He gets his hand under your shirt, trailing over your abs and toying with the band of your jeans. His eyes glitter in the dark, full of mischief with the promise of indecent misconduct. His hands move back up, across the thin lower ribs and brushing against your nipples as they push up, encouraging you to lift your arms and discard your t-shirt. The worn out cotton lands in the grass and you move your hands back down to him, getting one hand in the longer hair on top of his head and a forearm to the side to keep from smothering him. His arms come around your middle, digging into the soft muscles of your back. 

You give him another kiss before peppering his face with them: cupid's bow, tip of his nose before dropping them across his beard line. He lets out a soft sigh and grinds up against your ass, using his grip around you to lift himself into you, being his usual needy self. You press down with your hips, angles of your bones clicking with his, your arousal trapped between you. He still struggles with trying to create some friction but you don’t let him. 

You latch onto his neck, nibbling and sucking to bruise, pulling his head back to give you space to work. Torturing him when he so clearly needs you. You pull on his hair a little more, not to hurt but to tell him to behave. 

You sit back and pull him up a little, letting go to get his shirt off too. His rough skin tastes like the sea as you lick at him. Down over the soft swell of his pec to lavish his nipple in reward for a job well done today. He mewls so pretty, soft chest fuzz sliding against your afternoon coarseness. 

You nose along his skin before crossing over to the other side, giving the same reward to the other nipple. He moves his hands to your hair, dragging fingers across the shorn velvet part at the base of your skull before tugging on the longer strands. You resist his insistence to hurry as you back down his body, savoring his impatience as you kiss down his linea alba, playing with the hair there. 

You hook your fingers into his waistband, sliding them around to undo the button and pull them down and off. You stand up to shuck your own jeans off too, reaching for the backpack. He props himself up, watching you halo orange in the firelight. The night air is cooling you faster than the draining remnants of danger. 

You packed the lube in the side pouch. 

You settle back between his legs popping the cap and squeezing the cool liquid across your fingers. Tracing down the seam, pressing the soft skin before skipping down and pressing gently into his hole. He’s still a little open from the morning and your finger sinks in so easy. He’s wiggling, begging for another and you oblige; he did so good today, he’s earned it. 

You dip in a second finger, pushing at the heat of his ring before hooking up and pressing gently at his prostate. He lets out a soft shout, not prepared for you to get to him so quickly. You usually take your time, but you have no patience for that tonight as your work burns behind you. There’s something driving you to skip the foreplay and get right to being close, like a final closure to the plan. Like spending the stolen cash. Like hanging the stolen art.

The papers in the morning will speculate about an accident but the evening editions will display the note he left about TV being the opiate of the masses on the front page. 

You dip in a third finger, pulling at his ring teasing and lilting. Feathery touches to his thighs and the cut of his hip bones. He’s a squirming mess beneath you, so beautiful in the dark and smelling like the remnants of plastic explosives. 

You withdraw your fingers and pull him in by the hips, grabbing the lube again and drizzling some over your cock before spreading it over yourself. You grab his hips to line yourself up before pulling him up your thighs to get close enough. You angle his hips with one hand and guide yourself to his hole with the other before pushing in, the resistance light as you enter him. 

His face makes the most exquisite scrunch as you stretch him open again. You fit yourself in and let go of his hips to drag a slick hand up his stomach, lube sticking to his happy trail. You tweak a nipple before leaning in to steal a kiss. He kisses back with a whimper, chasing your lips as you pull away and grip his waist. 

You thrust slow and sure, his heat incredible in the night air and you want this to last. 

His skin is warm against you, sticky with the ambient salt, his hair stiff with it. When you run your hand through the strands, they stick out in every direction, softening him in your eyes. Here, under you, he’s hardly just a hard-eyed revolutionary, he’s one of the most beautiful people and minds you’ve ever met. You’re pretty sure the image of him spread on your cock as a satellite station burns behind you casting long orange shadows across the salted bay will stay with you forever. 

You keep thrusting in with easy and slow strokes until he looks so fragile he might cry. You like when he cries but now is hardly the place to put him back together after. You pick up the pace, changing the angle by getting further under him. 

He soon starts to shake, tightening around you. You’re not near enough to the edge to come at the same time but you think you’ll have plenty of chances to synchronize in other aftermaths. With another drag across his prostate, he’s coming, ropes painting his stomach and reaching up his chest. Some hitting you. In his blissed out state, you fuck into him with abandon, seeking your own release until you find it burning through your core and burying deep inside him.

You stay there, buried in him, panting. He’s starting to come down to earth himself, looking at you with hazy brown eyes. Your breaths eventually even and a calm settles over your little beachy cliff. The stars are obscured now by the smoke and light of the flames but you can feel them up there, twinkling away because everything is as it should be. 

You pull out of him, cock soft and wet with lube and come. You back away to wipe off with the edge of a blanket and lean in to look as your come dribbles out of his ass. It’s one of your favorite sights. You plant a kiss on both his thighs, licking up some of his cooling come before wiping the rest away with the blanket too. 

He lets out this beautiful sigh and you know he’s about to pass out. You’re safe for now. Content. Something bordering happiness crawling up the base of your brain stem. You hate to think it’s love but if the bomb detonates...

He falls asleep after he comes like he usually does, exactly in the position you left him in. His arms are splayed on the blanket, legs pushed out from his hips where you cleaned him off. 

You let him sleep for a while. The sirens have only just started blaring, red and blue lights not yet flashing across the water. He’s gorgeous when he sleeps, looking much less angry with the world. He’ll have another idea when he wakes but for now you bask in the heat of the flames and his love. Tomorrow will be another plan.

After all, what’s a minor act of terrorism between lovers?

[starblazerm31]

Apprentice April Asks #1 Azalea/Imalia

Here are my answers to my Apprentice April Asks #1.  Thanks so very much to @leis-main-blog​ and @verysoftthings​ for sending me asks!  I honestly wasn’t expecting it.  ^^;  I tend to write books about these two, so I made a separate post.

1. The Basics.  What is your character's name?  How old are they?  How tall are they?  Skin color?  Eye color?  Hair color?  Gender identification?

Azalea Larinya Nevra.  30, female. 5'6"; medium skin tone; eyes blue with gold around the pupils; hair aqua to coral ombre; medium length

Imalia Vilyana Gabriev. 36, female. 5'10"; fair skin tone; eyes crimson; hair brown with burgundy ends; very long (art by @carowhitewolf​)

2.  Love Interest.  Who does your character love?  What attracted them to that particular LI?

Julian/Lucio (different universes).  

Julian - she loved how kind he was, and she adored his bumbling.  She was compelled to help him because his cause was right.  He couldn't be guilty, he was too much of a good man.  She really wanted to help him with his own inner demons as well because he didn't deserve to suffer, even at his own hand.  That glorious chest didn't help either, lol.

Lucio - she thought he was overall adorable.  Yeah, he was hot as hell, but it was his personality that got her heart thumping.  He really was brave and skilled, and she had a feeling that not many others had appreciated it much.  Yeah, he had done some horrendous things; but Azalea could see the actual changes happening in him and she knew that he had hope.

Asra.  She had known Asra since she was 15 and he was 8.  They had a good 20 year friendship and she knew him very well.  She fell for him when that friendship veil lifted after the events of The Arcana story and she finally really noticed how beautiful he was.  "He's smart, kind, talented, awesome...AND hot?!  THE WHOLE PACKAGE?!  I'm such an idiot..." 

3. Familiar.  Does your character have a familiar?  How did they meet?

Corva, a white raven.  She met Corva when Malak led her to an alley where Corva was lying on the ground with a broken wing.  Azalea nursed Corva back to health, and Corva refused to ever leave. (image c. Mike Yip)

Balthazaar, a phoenix.  Balthazaar was one of the phoenixes in the magical menagerie at the University of Prakra.  He was ornery, and the handlers had a hard time with him.  Imalia liked how stubborn he was and over time developed a rapport and closeness with him.  The university allowed her to claim him as her familiar and take him home. (image c. Kiss Clip Art)

4. Hobbies.  What kinds of things does your character like to do for fun?

Parquor.  She loves running around, slipping up buildings, jumping over rooftops and sliding down poles.  XD  She's a very high-energy person and parquor keeps her healthy and mentally sharp.  She also enjoys writing.  She will write on just about anything that has her attention at the moment.  Magical theory is one of her favorite subjects, but she does enjoy writing fiction.

Her hobby...is harassing bandits.  She gets perverse joy out of robbing robbers blind.  If she can find the original owners of things that were stolen...awesome.  If not...hey, this is an ancient Drakrian fertility statue!  I'm gonna put this on my shelf at home.  Oh, and leaving off-color messages in ancient languages in ruins.  "Here I sit all broken-hearted..."

5. Hidden talents.  Is there something neat that your character can do?  Tie a cherry stem into a knot with their tongue?  Say any word backwards perfectly?

Azalea is kinda like Sherlock Holmes.  She can look at a person and form their entire story in her mind.  She never uses it against someone; she just uses it to be more friendly.  But if you're annoying her and won't go away...she will scare you with what she has figured out about you.

Imalia secretly loves to sing and isn't terrible at it.  She's one of those people who will sing in the bath, and if someone mentions it, she acts like it didn't happen.

6. Magical talents.  Is there a specific type of magic that your character excels at?  Any magic they aren't so great at?  Or do they actually shy away from magic altogether?

Lightning.  She's good at conducting the currents and utilizing its explosive capabilities.  She also uses lightning as a personal shield while in battle.  She is also really good at enchanting things; like her hair.  She makes enchanted dreamcatchers that actually catch nightmares.  Both Julian and Lucio appreciate this ability.  (Lucio's dreamcatcher needs to be cleansed more often than Julian's)

Fire and Darkness.  Imalia is in tune with fire and is extremely good at using it to its fullest potential; absolute destruction.  As for the darkness...that will be explained in number 12.

7. Interaction.  How does your character typically interact with people?

She is very polite, but not overly so.  She tries to come off as someone you can actually have a conversation with.  Sometimes if she's feeling nervous, she will go into overly-polite mode, but if the vibe starts to feel calmer, she will loosen up.  She is very energetic and sometimes hyper with her friends.

She is ingratiating and very proper until you piss her off.  Then you get things like "Why don't you get a horse, move up to the mountains, and don't bother anybody?  You have the personality of a dead moth." (RIP Don Rickles)  With friends, she's very laid back and frank with what she says.

8. Romance.  What is something that your character and their LI love to do together?  How do they show affection?

Azalea x Julian - They LOVE to read together.  They have spent hours cuddled up together over a good book.  Azalea shows Julian affection with gentle touches, kisses, and koala hugs.  (she really loves how tall he is)  She also makes sure he eats and gets plenty of rest.  More than once, she has brought him dinner to his clinic while he was working late.

Azalea x Lucio - They love to spar.  They are so different in fighting style that sparring really helps them improve their skills.  Also, the prize at the end for the winner is quite nice.  ^_~  Azalea shows Lucio affection by listening to him and holding him.  She also likes to try to out kiss him.  He reaches for her hand, she spins away and plants two on his cheek instead.

Imalia and Asra love to travel the Magical Realms together.  They get into really long and in-depth conversations about the things they see and experiment with how their willpower affects the realm around them.  Imalia shows affection by constant words of praise and sneaky touches and kisses.  The more she can surprise him, the better.  She also keeps a hefty supply of Lapsang Souchong tea at her estate for him and loves giving him little trinkets and things she has found on her travels.

9. Travel.  Does your character like to travel outside of Vesuvia?  How often?  For how long?  What kinds of things do they do away from home?

Yes.  She loves to see more of the world and meet new people and see different cultures.  She will travel maybe once every year or two.  When traveling, she will typically stay away for 1-2 months.  She loves adventure, but she does love her home more.  Azalea loves to learn new types of magic or new methods of spellcasting from different cultures.  She finds that certain techniques make her own magic stronger.

Definitely.  She herself is originally from the northern hemisphere, so travel isn't something new to her.  She gets wanderlust sometimes and has to get out into the world.  She will be gone typically for six months when she decides to travel.  She has been gone for three years before.  She HAS to investigate old ruins wherever she goes.  Who knows that treasures or knowledge lay inside?  She must find out!

10. WTF.  Has anything just...weird ever happened to your character?  Something that made them stop and go "What just happened?!"

She was trying to brew a potion that would allow the drinker to become a mermaid for a short while.  She ended up spilling it on a plant before it was done.  The plant sprouted tiny muscular hairy legs and arms, stood up, walked to the window, shook its fist at her, and jumped out.  Turns out she had forgotten a key ingredient in the early stages of brewing the potion.  Mazelinka made fun of her for a solid week.

One time, she and a rival mage were about to have a battle.  Right before they were to begin, this strange fellow wearing a sentient red cape fell from the sky and landed in between them.  He promptly stood to his feet, apologized for the intrusion, and left.  (Yes...I do mean Doctor Strange fell from the sky)

11. Crime.  Has your character ever been arrested?  If so, what did they do?  Have they ever helped stop a crime?

She has never been arrested, however, she is guilty of petty larceny.  It's not something she does often...just when some jerk needs to be taught a lesson.  They always get their stuff back, but she will make sure they are thoroughly inconvenienced.  She has stopped another thief before.  The thief took the purse of an elderly individual who was trying to buy food.  Azalea scaled up to the rooftops and cut the thief off, holding him down until the guards caught up and arrested him.  She gave the money back to its owner.

Yep.  She's been arrested plenty of times.  Usually for assault and/or destruction of property.  Hey, that jerk deserved to have his carriage set on fire.  She has stopped several assassination attempts on her cousin, Queen Dreen Suval of Seiruun.  She has also stopped dark plots at the Magical University in Prakra.

12. Secrets.  What is a secret your character has?  Are they in line for the throne in a far off land?  Was there this one time at band camp...?  Are they secretly involved in an assassin's guild?

Azalea secretly writes smut.  She loves it.  And her actual hair color is gray.  The aqua-coral is an enchantment.

Imalia actually is in line for the throne of Seiruun; second in line, to be exact.  But she HATES this.  It's why she continues to live in Vesuvia rather than her home country.  Imalia is also no longer entirely human.  During an adventure that went terribly wrong, she summoned the Lord of Nightmares while inside the Magical Realms.  (The Lord of Nightmares or "Lon" is an eldritch goddess) Lon then proceeded to implant herself inside Imalia.  Lon is a being of pure darkness and nightmare, so Imalia has control over darkness when she taps into Lon's power. Through some creative wording, the contract between the two of them allows Imalia to use Lon's power and form when she needs to; however, Imalia is forever plagued by terrible nightmares that not even Azalea's dreamcatchers can stop.  The dreamcatchers just catch on fire.

13. Overcompensation.  Is there something that your character just HAS to do better than anyone else?  Or are they just that dang good without trying?  If they see someone else showing off, what is their kneejerk reaction?

She's actually quite humble.  If she sees someone showing off, she really just concerns herself with their safety.  "Please don't be careless and die, please!"  But she IS gifted.  Her magic is insanely strong, she just doesn't like to make a big deal out of it.  She gets embarrassed.

She is the best in the room, and you'd better damn well know it.  Unless she respects you.  Then she will tone it down.  But if she sees a showoff...she's got to mess with them.  She's got to show them that they aren't all that and a bag of chips.

14. Fight Club.  Is your character a good fighter?  What kind of skills do they have?

She's pretty decent.  Her attack magic is awesome, but her physical fighting mainly relies on how quick and squirmy she is.  Her punches hurt, but they don't incapacitate.

She can fight pretty damn well.  Her father made sure of it after most of her family was killed by assassins (it does sometimes really suck to be royalty).  She is a heavy hitter and her intent is to end a fight with one strike.  It doesn't always work, but hey...second, third, maybe fourth time is the charm.  Or maybe you should just blow it the hell up.

15. The Arts.  Is your character a creative type?  What kinds of things can they create?  Can they act?  Street perform?

She is.  Like mentioned earlier, she writes and makes dreamcatchers; she also gets into stage acting with Julian (when he's her LI).  She's not a solo performer though.  She has to be in a troupe or else she gets massive stage fright.

She can draw very well, almost photo-realistically.  She mainly uses this skill for documentation when she's studying something.  But every great once in a while she will draw a political cartoon making fun of some noble.  Once she drew a penis on the face of one of Lucio's statues.  He snapped back "I'd never put something that small in my mouth!"  She retorted by drawing a full body penis on a different statue.  It got misinterpreted by many townspeople as "Hey, look!  Lucio is a dick!!"

16. Goofy.  Is your character a clown?  Do they like to make people laugh?

She does.  She doesn't see herself as funny, but when she slips in something humorous into whatever she's talking about it usually takes whoever is listening by surprise.  Spit your drink kind of humor.

YES.  She has such a strange way of speaking sometimes that you can't help but snort at the things she says.  Yes, it is entirely on purpose.  She loves to crack jokes and has a self-deprecating sense of humor at times.  She will also be hilariously over-confident as well.

17. Language.  Is your character multilingual?  How many languages do they speak?  Do they have an accent?  Is it sexy?  Is it silly?  Do they have the multilingual lisp?

No.  She only speaks her native language.

Yes.  Imalia speaks ten different languages.  In her normal language, she doesn't have a multilingual lisp; but in about four of her other languages, she does.  It drives her nuts, but she just can't seem to fix it.

18. Embarrassment.  What is something really embarrassing that your character has done/said?

Azalea can't remember this, because it's part of the memories she lost.  But Imalia remembers.  One time she was going to meet one of the magisters of the Magical University of Prakra to see if she would be accepted.  She spent weeks preparing how to introduce herself.  On the day of, she mentioned how excited she was to meet Magister Asshole.  Imalia blinked and said, "It's pronounced Ah-shole."

One time she said something quite rude about Lucio in front of Azalea (when Lucio is Azalea's LI).  Azalea proceeded to tear her a new rectum, claiming that for someone so smart, she was incredibly closed-minded.

19. Memory.  Has your character gotten any of their memory back?  If so, what?  Did it change them?

No.  She insists that she doesn't want her memories back because she likes who she is now.  She gets the important information from Asra and Imalia...her parents’ and aunt's names, what they were like, and how they died.  That's all she feels that she needs. 

*looks at me*  "I'm exempt from this question.  I'm your OC, not your MC."  *walks out*

20. Family.  Talk about your character's family.  Who were they?

Her mother (Etoile) and father (Galen) were traveling merchants.  Her mother was the one with magical talent.  Her mother's sister (Sylvaine) owned the shop and taught Azalea most about magic.  When Azalea was 13, her parents were robbed and killed by bandits just outside of Vesuvia.  She lived with Sylvaine until she died of pneumonia when Azalea was 20.

Imalia's father was Vitalric Gabriev and her mother was Narsial Trevallan.  When Imalia was 14, her father's family (the Sairuun royal family) were murdered by assassins sent by a rival country.  Only Vitalric (and Narsial), Imalia, Vitalric's older brother Rhemun and his daughter Dreen survived.  Rhemun and Dreen remained in Seiruun to run the place while Vitalric and his family moved to Vesuvia as a failsafe in case there were other assassination attempts.  Vitalric started studying to become a doctor, while Narsial started grooming Imalia to wed into a noble family.  Narsial was extremely abusive.  Long story short, King Rhemun died of a hunting injury, and both of Imalia's parents died in the Red Plague.

[qqueenofhades]

with hearts like wars and lips like scars

Surprise, surprise, I have officially arrived in this dumpster and there appears to be no getting out. This is my first-ever effort at writing for these two (as well as my first MCU fic, I think), so please be gentle, as I have watched ten episodes of The Punisher over three days and have a lot of emotions. I am New Here and just want to play a bit in the sandbox.

Tagging @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels, @extasiswings, and @prairiepirate because they know what they did.

Set immediately post-1x10 of TP. Rated T.

Karen takes the subway home.

It seems almost like a strange thing to do, banal, ordinary. Half of her can’t see why it shouldn’t be. Once the feds and the cops and the crime-scene cleanup crews can’t think of anything else they need to do to her, she’s politely taken Agent Madani’s card – you two have a connection, like this is some game show, maybe – and retrieved her bloodstained purse, she ducks into the bathroom long enough to be sure she won’t cause any more public hysteria, then steps out and walks to the subway. There are still plenty of flashing lights surrounding the hotel, she gets checked one more time before she can leave the police cordon, and finally, nakedly, she’s on the street, alone. She looks up at the sky, for half a second. No idea who she expects to see fly by. Iron Man?

There is some interest in the scene, and Karen gets goggled at briefly, but New Yorkers are New Yorkers, and it’s nothing they haven’t seen before. The grumbling seems mostly to be about how it’ll fuck up the evening commute, and she briefly wonders who all these people are, who she is, that they just live here and accept it as the price they have to pay. She feels dreamy and numb and oddly uncaring. She fishes her Metro card out of her purse and stands coolly on the platform in the cold drench of the fluorescents, keeps turning her head and looking too long at any tallish man in a dark hooded sweatshirt. Of course it’s not him, not since he climbed out of the roof of the elevator and she – and she –

(Karen doesn’t know how that sentence ends, and doesn’t know if she should.)

She waits until the subway pulls in, realizes too late it’s the local 1-train and not the express, and gets stuck calling all stops, until she gets off at Times Square to switch trains. There is something alluring about the idea of being lost in the crowd, nobody looking at her twice. Karen sees people more worried about the whole thing than she ever was and wonders why she doesn’t give a damn. Well, it’s not that, not exactly. Just that if you consider that she was the one grabbed by a crazed bomber and nearly blown to the same red mist that he ended up as, pulverized on the inside of an industrial freezer, she should be the one most upset. Life and death twisted between her fingers, red wire or white. She couldn’t let on. She couldn’t look down. She had to keep her eyes on Frank’s, and trust him.

She did. She does. The only one in the city again, probably. When after they’ve been subject to actual fucking alien attacks and destructive galactic warlords and whatever else, somehow one man, one loner in black, is Public Enemy Number One. It makes sense if you think about it, the way humans are, the way they’ll determinedly ignore the most ridiculous and insane shit but throw fits over the smallest thing. The headlines are ginning up to be good and hysterical. The Punisher Returns! Clear-as-day picture from cop car dashcam footage. Karen is the only one who knows it’s a lie. The Punisher didn’t return. Frank Castle left.

(Frank Castle left.)

(She closes her eyes and tries, yet again, to make her peace with that.)

It’s getting dark by the time Karen walks up to her apartment, the familiar drone of a siren going a few streets over and kids loitering on the steps. She climbs past them, digs for her keys, collects her mail, and wonders if she remembered to buy milk; she thinks she was getting low. Just getting back from a normal day at work, evidently. Nothing more.

Her phone buzzes maniacally in her bag, now that she’s out from underground and has reception again, and she finally remembers it, takes it out, and sees about forty missed calls and texts from Foggy. At least he, not being a savage, has had the decency to check up on her, since it’s probably on the news that a Bulletin reporter was caught up in the mess, and Wilson was open about targeting her. Karen thinks that while she might know a few too many vigilantes for peace of mind and quiet life, she’s just as cussedly stubborn about running into the punches. Pick your battles, pick fewer than that, that’s too many, put some back, it’s just as much her as it is Matt or Frank. She didn’t have to go on the radio and she didn’t have to defy the whole damn establishment like that, but she did. Maybe that’s why she and the other kind get along.

Karen unlocks her door and pushes it open, dropping her coat and bag on the back of the couch and shutting and bolting the door. She thumbs out a quick text to Foggy reassuring him that she’s fine, which – if the phone buzzing again thirty seconds later is any indication – doesn’t really do the trick. She picks up. “Yeah. Hey. I just got home, I’m fine.”

“I haven’t been able to get in touch with you for like, six hours.” Foggy sounds accusing. “Karen, what the hell happened? That bomber – ”

“It’s all right.” Karen toes off her heels and tucks the phone under her chin, padding into her kitchen to see what can be scraped together. “I was on the subway. And before that, they had interviews and other things they wanted to do. Like I said, I’m home now.”

“Jesus, Karen.” Poor Foggy Nelson; being friends with Matt Murdock and Karen Page is not a job for the faint of heart. He pauses before the next question, as Karen can almost hear the name being shaped in the air and knows it’s coming. “Is it true that he’s back?”

They don’t need to define “he,” though Karen feels a momentary urge toward deliberate obstinacy. She loves Foggy to death, but she doesn’t know if she wants to get into this with him. She hasn’t told either of them about her intermittent, secret meetings with Frank, the way that she told him he would be dead to her if he murdered Schoonover, and then when he improbably turned up again months later, disguised as a hobo asking for change, her only emotion was relief. She kept wondering if she might hold a grudge, but she knew fairly quickly that was a lie. She didn’t want to. She just wanted to see him again. Strange, how that always seems to be the place they end up in. Truncated. Unfinished. Unmended.

Foggy is still waiting for an answer, and Karen doesn’t know what to tell him. She opens the fridge, sees a few Chinese takeout boxes, a wilting head of lettuce, a bodega bag she stuffed in and has forgotten what’s actually in there. Maybe she can boil some pasta, there might be some in the cupboards. She opens it. To the phone she says, “The police are doing their job, I’m sure they’ll figure out everything that’s going on. Tell Matt that I’m okay.” She doesn’t want to ask if Matt noticed. She assumes he does care. She is not, however, in the mood for whatever moral high horse he would be bound to hop on in regard to Frank. “I’ll call you tomorrow, Foggy. Okay?”

With that, not leaving him a chance to point out that she never answered his question, Karen hangs up, and tosses her phone onto the counter. It spins a few times, hits the fruit bowl (or at least, what would be a fruit bowl if she ever went to the supermarket) and as she steps over and opens the cupboard in search of victuals, she catches sight of the browning roses tucked in their vase against the back wall. Their stems are dry and brittle, their petals dropping, and she should probably throw them away, but she finds her hands unexpectedly freezing. White roses. That was how he thought she should get in contact with him. Not a burner phone or anything else like that. I’m an old-fashioned kind of guy. Seriously?

Karen finds her mouth quirking up into a brief smile. Then – she doesn’t know why, but still – she impulsively grabs the vase, runs more water into it like that will suddenly bring them back to life, and sticks it in the window, where it’s visible from the street. She’ll throw them out tomorrow. She’ll make peace with it then.

She boils a little pasta, sloshes the last of the Prego béchamel sauce over it, and mixes it up in a bowl, standing at the counter to eat. As she takes a bite, the heat stings undiscovered cuts in her mouth, and she grimaces, spitting it back and breathing hah-hah-hah until the burning subsides. She’s more wary about the next forkful, but she’s hungry, and it doesn’t take long in disappearing. Then she puts the bowl in the sink – wash it tomorrow too, apparently – and checks her phone again, this time to answer messages from Ellison. No, she does not expect to miss her deadline. She avoids the question on what on earth she was thinking. She was just there to interview Senator Ori. A journalist cannot be blamed for that.

Karen walks into her bathroom, pulls her hair out of its loose knot, and lets it tumble down her shoulders. Strips off the blue silk blouse, dotted with blood, and decides that true to the emerging pattern, she will worry about how to get the stains out later. Opens her medicine cabinet, digs out Bactine and band-aids and hydrogen peroxide, and hisses and winces as she dabs at the shrapnel cuts on her face. The paramedics took care of most of them back at the hotel, but there are still a few extra. She was, after all, publicly held hostage by a terrifying killer, gun to her chin, dragged into an elevator. Can’t blame her for being shaken.

Karen sets her chin, looks at herself in the mirror, wonders if you’re supposed to cry just to release the stress hormones or however it makes you feel better, and doesn’t think she has any likelihood of weeping for herself. She strips off the skirt and the frayed pantyhose, runs a shower, and steps in, letting the water cascade over her head and shoulders until it finally turns lukewarm and she cranks it off, old pipes creaking. She wraps a towel around herself and brushes her hair until it likewise falls into a monotony. Ritual cleanliness. Lady Macbeth and her spot. Have to keep washing until it finally comes out. Karen doesn’t know why. It’s not her spot.

At last, she shakes her damp hair back, steps out of the hot steamy bathroom into the comparative shocking coldness of the hall, and goes into her bedroom to put on her pajamas. There is a strange, hollow, echoing emptiness in her chest that’s different from ordinary trauma or the receding of shock, something she doesn’t want to think about. Wants to get into bed with enough quilts to feel their weight, to be pressed down into the mattress, to sleep for a hundred years, or at least until the alarm has to go off tomorrow morning. The world will make more sense then, be settled back into place. That, and then she can –

Frank Castle is standing on her balcony.

For a long moment, for a brief and wild eternity, Karen is completely sure that she is hallucinating him. That she has somehow called him up from whatever hinterland he’s gone back to, that this is just some mirage of a stressed and tired mind, that of course she’s seeing him only because she wants to. She doesn’t know how on earth he would have gotten up here, if he was real – parkoured his ass up? It seems to fit the dramatic necessity – but then, how or why Frank does anything is usually the mootest of points. When she blinks hard a few more times and he’s still there, when he catches her eye through the glass and seems set to jump back down if it’s not what she wants, she is forced to accept that he, somehow, is actually there. She remains where she is an instant more, then shoves the window open and hisses, “Frank? What the hell, Frank!”

He grabs the frame and limbers through, elegant as a cat. He lands on his feet like one too, but he straightens up slowly and with evident pain. There’s still dried blood on the side of his head where the bullet grazed him, he’s moving carefully enough that there must be another, and Karen has a brief and confused impression of him bodily diving in front of a shotgun to ensure that wasn’t her. His shoulder looks fucked up too, and she fights the brief and pointless impulse to tell him to go to the hospital. Of course the Punisher can’t walk into St. Luke’s or wherever else, with the entire city on the lookout for him again. Wherever he’s been living, whatever urban shithole he’s stayed off the grid, who knows. And even though she should, as they stare at each other, Karen can’t tell him to go.

“What are you doing here?” she manages at last, in half a whisper. “It’s dangerous.”

Frank grunts, almost amused, as if he can’t believe she’s actually saying that to him after the day they’ve had. He does, Karen supposes, have a point, and he tips his head at the flowers. “Saw them. I wanted to make sure you were all right.”

Karen wants to ask how he saw them, but she gets the sense that Frank is working with somebody who has a whole lot of cameras and is not afraid to use them. They stand a few feet apart, her clean and damp and pink-faced, hair loose in shining blonde locks, warm from the shower, and him filthy and bloody and dressed in black, having climbed all the way up here with God knows what injuries just because he caught sight of a bunch of dead flowers. Karen feels absurdly guilty, as if she should have taken more care at calling him up, that she has this power and perhaps needs to go wary in how she uses it. They stare at each other a moment more, and she shakes her head. “God, you’re still a mess. Don’t you have anyone to look at that?”

“Normally a guy named Curtis would do the honors. But he got the shit kicked out of him earlier by our friend.” Frank’s mouth tightens, and he looks away. “Didn’t feel like I should impose again.”

Karen has some sense of Frank mentioning him earlier during the face-off with Wilson, something about the bomb that Curtis had been strapped to, and that they needed to pull the white wire, then and now, to stop it. A brief shudder passes over her, the fear she didn’t feel then, when it was nothing but instinct and adrenaline and the unshakeable knowledge that if she wasn’t walking away from here alive, neither was Frank. Live or die, they were doing it together, and she lets out a slow, shaky breath. Then she says, “Go sit down.”

Frank seems about to argue, smartly decides against it after a glance from her, and painfully makes his way to one of the kitchen chairs. He sits down, ready to spring up again in an instant at any sudden noise or knock, if some enterprising cop tailed him here, and Karen wonders briefly if she really should let him stay. That thought is dismissed as soon as it comes, and she goes to pull the curtains shut, then returns to the bathroom to collect her first-aid kit. Having Matt Murdock in your life means you own a decent one, and while Karen is no Claire Temple, she knows a thing or two.

She comes out with it and sets it on the kitchen counter, as Frank turns his head, regrets it, and winces. Then he says, more gravelly than usual, “Karen. You don’t have to fix me up.”

“Hold still.” Karen pulls on a pair of blue rubber gloves and tears open an antiseptic wipe, dabbing at the crusted blood along the shaved side of Frank’s undercut, as he jerks but doesn’t make a sound otherwise. The bullet has left a corrugated gash, but she should thank either his reflexes, for being fast, or his goddamn skull, for being so thick, and she holds his chin with her other hand as she works. As ordered, Frank stays unnaturally still, like a big cat in the scrub remaining motionless for a human to approach it, but she can feel his breathing. It takes almost a dozen wipes to get the blood off, and she cuts a length of gauze, folds it into a pad, and presses it into the wound. Of course, running around for hours after you’ve been shot in the head, no matter how glancingly, doesn’t help. God, he’s stubborn.

There’s no sound except the muffled thump of someone’s music from down the hall, and the hiss and sigh of the radiators. The atmosphere is strange, slow, heightened, like in the immediate aftermath of the blast when they found themselves on the floor, battered and breathless, and turned toward each other, drawn like magnets, as she reached out to touch his chest and his hand cupped her head, shielding, checking to see if she was all right, the roughness of his callused fingers tangling in her hair. Karen discovers that her throat is oddly dry, that she has to swallow, as she cuts surgical tape and tamps the gauze in place. Then she says, “What about the other one? Let me see that.”

“It’s – ” Frank shifts tersely. “Karen – ”

“You took a goddamn bullet for me,” she snaps. “Let me see.”

He blows out a frustrated breath, but reaches for his shirt and slowly peels it over his head, grimacing again as the blood-sodden fabric sticks to the wound and comes away with an unpleasant sucking sound. It’s mottled and bruised, an entry and exit hole visible on ribs and back, so at least the bullet isn’t in there; Karen is not nearly skilled enough for extraction surgery. She notices, in a sudden and matter-of-fact way, that Frank is ripped. Not that you would expect otherwise, the sort of things he does, but this is the first time she has had the chance to inspect the results at close range, and it does something to her, makes something flutter low and hot in her stomach. She looks away. She’d rather he didn’t see that.

Karen pours some disinfectant on another gauze pad and dabs at the wound, feeling like this is just window-dressing to make her feel better rather than anything about to actually help, but Frank silently tolerates her attentions. She tapes another dressing into place, looks at his shoulder, and decides that while it indeed may be partially dislocated, she isn’t sure how to put it back. It’s clearly causing him significant pain, he doesn’t need to be at a disadvantage if someone comes after him, and she’s just trying to think if she can Google “how to reset shoulder” on WebMD when Frank says, “Grab my elbow. Line it up with the joint. I’ll tell you when you have the right angle.”

She looks at him, startled, then takes hold of his arm, lifting and bracing it, as Frank wriggles around awkwardly to try to give her the correct degree of torque. “When I count three,” he says, slightly breathless, “you whip it up hard and straight, you’ll hear a pop when it goes in. Keep it at that angle. Got it?”

“Yeah.” Karen takes a better grip, adjusting the angle slightly as he beckons with his chin. She waits as Frank counts, and then on three, does as ordered, with a brief fear she’ll break his arm. There’s a horrible wet scraping sound but no pop, he swears in pain, and she lets go, with another stab of guilt. “I’m sorry.”

“No, come on,” Frank rasps. “I thought it might take a couple tries. Grab it, Karen. Good girl. Again. One – two – three – ”

This time, there’s a brief, fierce resistance, she can feel it running through the whiplash cord of his muscles and then into hers like an electrical current, and there is a grate and an undeniable pop as Frank’s shoulder snaps back into joint. He lets out a heartfelt “Fuck” of relief, massaging at his collarbone, and grimaces, blowing out a breath and dashing the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. “That’s better.”

“Here.” Karen takes the ibuprofen bottle and shakes out several rust-colored pills. “I’m sorry I don’t have anything stronger.”

Frank glances at her ironically, as if in acknowledgement that she pre-empted his question, then scoops the pills up and chokes them down dry. Karen goes to get him a glass of water, which he drinks, then clears his throat. “I should – I should get going. Micro’s probably already shitting bricks about this whole thing.”

“Micro?”

“Guy I’m working with,” Frank says, not particularly helpfully, but this at least makes Karen feel briefly better that he is not attempting this damned-fool idealistic crusade completely single-handed. “He can be a goddamn mother hen sometimes.”

“Someone should look out for you.” Karen can’t quite stop herself from reaching out for him, as if to cup his cheek, though her hand doesn’t entirely get there. Frank tilts his head back, his brown eyes shadowed almost black in the crappy lights of her apartment, and their gazes meet, the undercurrent of earlier, whatever it was between them in that instant in the elevator when their foreheads touched and their mouths were close and… Karen knows about Maria, of course. Knows that Frank can’t bear to let go of his wife, not now, not with the job not done, and she doesn’t want to distract from or dishonor that. And yet.

The moment remains heightened between them, as the tip of her fingers brush ever so slightly against his jaw. It’s the briefest and most innocent of touches, but Frank tenses as if it’s been something far different. Of course nobody touches him with kindness. Nobody touches him without intending to break him, more than he already is, takes defiant pride in already being in so many pieces that they cannot do any worse. And yet, Karen thinks, that is not entirely true. If she had died today, if he had not been able to save her, something else would have broken among all his halls and halls of shattered mirrors. Something fundamental, and permanent, and painful. She doesn’t know if she wants to have that responsibility, that weight on his much-abused heart, and yet she does nonetheless.

Frank turns his head as if he’s about to kiss her fingers, like that kiss on the cheek in the darkness down by the bridge, when they met after the car accident with Madani. He stops himself, of course, if not entirely in time to disguise what he was going to do. Karen pulls her hand back, self-conscious, and he gets to his feet. “Thanks, Karen. I’ll see myself out.”

She wants to tell him that he’s an idiot, an idiot, that he doesn’t have to run alone across the city to whatever lonely bed might await down whatever miserable hole, but as well established, Karen Page knows too many vigilantes. She bites her tongue instead, wanting to at least offer him a hot shower and something to eat (what? Her pasta leftovers? Maybe she can warm up the Chinese?) but she knows he won’t accept. He’s already come all this way to see that she’s safe, she ended up taking care of him, the city is still looking for him, and he will take no chance of being caught here. But even with all this being the case, she doesn’t know how she’s just going to – well. To just let him go. Again. Always. Maybe one day that cycle will end, but it is not today. It is not now.

“Frank.” Her voice is tremulous. “Take care of yourself.”

He looks at her for a long moment, those shadowed eyes and that craggy, broken nose, that hard mouth and the jarhead buzz cut, so many hard edges somehow softened past bearing when his gaze is fixed on her, and only her. He seems about to say something else, then gives it up as a bad job. He takes half a step, reaches her, and grips the back of her head, drawing their foreheads together. They share breath, their eyelashes flutter, her lips part as if in instinctive and unspeakable need for a kiss, but Frank does not kiss her. He tilts her chin back and presses his mouth to the pulse point on her neck, raw and unformed, devoted, desperate, as if he needs, if nothing else, to feel the echoes of her living, beating heart. He holds her against him for another moment, their breathing heavy with unspoken, unshared words, and then he lets her go, with impossible tenderness. He says in a rasp, “Lock the door.”

Karen manages a tight little nod, lips pressed white, clenching her fingers into her palm until she can feel the crescent moons of her nails. She goes to the door with him, as if bidding him good night after a pleasant evening, and as he looks at her again, it takes all her effort not to kiss him then and there, Maria or no Maria, vengeance or punishment, death or dishonor. But she can’t, and he can’t, and so, somehow, she opens the door again and does not need to tell him to be careful. He steps out, and she waits until he is out of sight, and then, as ordered, she locks it. The bolt is heavy as iron in her hands.

Karen turns, and goes into her bedroom, and lies down on her bed, in the darkness. When she closes her eyes, Lewis Wilson’s maddened face swirls up behind it, until it vanishes in a bloom of ravening flame, and she opens them again with a jerk. She will get over this, she supposes. She always does. But it still takes her a while to close them again.

She sleeps. Not all that well, and broken with uneasy dreams, but she does. She is awakened, as ever, by her alarm the next morning, as if – just as she wanted – everything has snapped back into place like that reset joint, as if the world will go back to whatever normality it possesses, which seems to be quite little in this corner of Hell’s Kitchen sometimes. She gets up. She walks into the kitchen. Thinks about how she’ll get to work. Opens the cupboard, then glances over, reflexively, at the window

The dead flowers are still there. She needs to throw them out. And yet, that’s not the only thing. A fresh bouquet of white roses has been laid on the balcony, glistening with morning dew. An apology, perhaps. A goodbye. Another message. It could be anything. Who knows how long it will be before she sees him again to ask.

Karen opens the window, takes them inside. Cuts the stems and puts them in a new vase. Then gets dressed, grabs her purse and her keys, steps out of the apartment, and does not look back.

[anneapocalypse]

Anne watches MCU: Captain America through Age of Ultron

My trek through the Marvel Cinematic Universe has continued but I really slacked off on making posts about it after the first, uh, three, so here's a catch-up post!

And as a note, I am watching the films in release order, but for simplicity's sake I'm grouping some origins and sequels together here.

Spoilers for everything through Ultron, as well as some mentions of Civil War and Captain Marvel.

Crossposted from dreamwidth.

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) & The Winter Soldier (2014)

Captain America to me marks a turning point in the MCU, the moment when these films reach a level of sincerity and groundedness that will become a standard in superhero films. And as such, the Captain America series is one of my favorites within the Marvel universe. World War II has also long been an interest of mine, so it's no surprise that I enjoyed the first film so much.

And when Steve reawakens in the modern day and becomes one of the Avengers, carrying on the ideals that made him who he is, I love that too. I would say Winter Soldier is as much an Avengers movie as it is a Captain America movie (the same has been said of Civil War) because once Cap enters the present day, you can't really have Cap without the Avengers.

In the hindsight of having recently seen Civil War, think this is partly because Steve, more than any other Avenger, is defined by his relationships to other people. His friendships, his rivalries, his loyalties—these are what make Steve Rogers who he is, both in the past and in the present. Steve's whole life is shaped by his friendship with Bucky Barnes. His first thought upon waking up in another time is not of the world he has lost but the people he has lost. And his new friendship with Sam Wilson is easily one of the most delightful moments in The Winter Soldier.

I will say that my primary disappointment with The Winter Soldier was that it wasn't really an origin story for Bucky Barnes. There is not a lot of character development for Bucky himself—it is still very much Steve's story. But the focus is again on Steve's relationship with his old friend, and his refusal to give up on Bucky ultimately saves them both.

And I think that focus on relationships is also what makes Captain America a favorite for me.

The Avengers (2012)

I really wish I had written about this movie when I first watched it, because my memory of it is now very much colored by having seen Age of Ultron and Civil War since. Attempting to set that aside, I did enjoy this movie when I watched it, though not quite as much as I enjoyed Captain America.

The Avengers is absolutely not a standalone film. This is definitely the point at which the MCU truly becomes a shared universe, and the origin stories we've had so far are really not optional for understanding these character dynamics.

The tension between Steve and Tony does make sense, both for the characters themselves and as a kind of meta commentary on the evolution of the Marvel universe: Tony Stark's layers of defensive irony set against Steve Rogers' straightforward sincerity.

There are other character beats that work for me in this movie as well. We get the best character development for Natasha, given that she doesn't get her own movie. (CRIMINAL.) That she successfully plays Loki, out-tricks the Trickster, is a truly beautiful moment. Ruffalo's Bruce Banner establishes pretty clearly that he is not Ed Norton's Bruce Banner. And Tony/Pepper manages to grow on me a little bit.

Loki as a villain is... okay. I think it's pretty clear by the end that his plan was never really about dominating Earth, but about causing chaos—which he does, pretty successfully, and in the hindsight of Civil War, said chaos has some far-reaching effects. That part works for me. On the flip side, I really hate mind-control MacGuffins; I think they're a lazy means of getting characters to do whatever the plot requires without having to justify the characterization in any way or deal with the aftereffects, and in my opinion Marvel overuses this trope to death.

Hawkeye as a character is absolutely wasted in this movie, as we have no idea who he is before he is controlled by space magic.

This ties into a larger issue with the Avengers series that, again, feels much more prominent after seeing Civil War: the Avengers aren't a team. Not really. They're a group of solo superheroes attempting to work together. This would be fine for a first Avengers film if the plot were about building them from a group of loners into a real team. But this film isn't about that. It's about dividing them before we've really seen them united. We are told, and not shown, that Natasha and Clint are close friends; beyond that, who on this supposed team actually have a reason to care about one another? And by the end, what has this film really accomplished in terms of building a rapport and making the Avengers feel like a team?

I think the fact that they end the film sitting around a table eating shawarma in stone cold silence says it all.

Iron Man 3 (2013)

The third Iron Man movie begins to bring Tony Stark a little more in line tonally with the other Avengers. Tony loses none of his distinctive character, but his experiences are treated more seriously in this film, with Tony suffering from PTSD. It also explores how the events of Thor and The Avengers have challenged Tony's arrogance as a former lone-wolf superhero driven by technology and his own extreme wealth.

By this movie I'm pretty well over Tony/Pepper. Pepper loves Tony, she cares about him—but she never seems happy with him, only constantly stressed, and as a viewer who loves Pepper, it's honestly not fun to watch. This is something I think Nolan's Batman series better understood; there's a reason Rachel doesn't wait for Bruce. The genius billionaire superhero is a terrible boyfriend. Marvel, unfortunately, doesn't really want to acknowledge that. For Pepper to be happy with Tony, Tony needs to change, and Marvel doesn't really want to change Tony. For Pepper to leave Tony means the hero doesn't get the girl, and Marvel doesn't want that either. So we're left with this tiring, unsatisfying relationship, and I'm super over it.

To add insult to injury, Pepper gets superpowers and doesn't even get to keep them.

The MCU has a Women Problem, and it's really, really obvious in this film. I do like parts of it very much; it's undeniably enjoyable to watch, and I like a lot of what it does with Tony. But it's also representative of some of the cracks in the Marvel fresco as a whole.

Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Darcy is the most fun character in the Thor movies at this point, and to be honest I kinda like her more than Jane.

The Dark World is another fish-out-of-water story, only this time it's Jane that's the fish. I didn't hate this movie, but it didn't make a huge impression on me, as evidenced by the fact that I can't find any notes for it. :P I enjoyed the stinger of Loki being alive at the end (I knew he was going to be, but it was still fun to watch), and I was pissed they killed Frigga (one of my favorite characters in the Odin family).

And once again, we have a female character infused with a force of tremendous power and she isn't even allowed to keep it. Are we noticing a pattern here, whereby with men, superpowers are celebrated no matter what kind of horror they went through to get them or even how much they hate themselves for having them (hello, Bruce Banner), but for women, superpowers are a horrible curse they need to be rescued from?

Yeah, Marvel has a women problem. NEXT!

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) & Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (2017)

Along with Captain America, Guardians is tied for my favorite series within the MCU. It is unapologetically fun, yet still sincere in its own way, striking a fresh and unique tone for the MCU.

These two movies are excellent and in my opinion, do a much better job of showing a band of loners becoming a team and building a rapport and learning to trust one another than Avengers did.

There is no character among the Guardians I don't love, and the restraint with which Quill and Gamora's relationship is handled (in that they build a friendship, rather than making Gamora Peter's prize for becoming the hero) is damn refreshing. Drax is simultaneously hilarious and sincere—in fact his humor comes from his innate sincerity. Rocket Raccoon exemplifies the kind of insecurities all the characters must overcome to work together. And both Gamora and Peter show self-reflection and growth in the second film, Peter by facing down his own ego, Gamora by acknowledging what her sister Nebula went through without denying her own suffering.

These films, especially 2, are all about relationships, including complicated and troubled relationships, and that's probably why I love them.

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Age of Ultron was a weird watch for me.

There were things I liked about it a lot, Natasha's relationship with the Hulk and Clint finally getting some long-overdue character development especially. And yet I came away from this movie feeling more tired than anything else. There were some good character moments, but the story did nothing for me.

Most of all, though, I think my exhaustion stems from how deeply formulaic the Marvel films have become at this point. They're just really, really predictable. I'm already tired of AI-centric plots not thinking of anything more creative to do with their premise than "It tries to wipe out humanity/take over the world I guess." This story feels utterly phoned in.

And even in terms of relationships, this film doesn't really hold up. For one thing, the whole setup of the film is the continued tension between the Avengers, most prominently Steve and Tony, which has never really been resolved. Tony going rogue and activating Ultron isn't so much a betrayal of an established trust as it is simply highlighting the fact that there isn't any.

Meanwhile, Natasha and Bruce are bungled... badly. Much has been said about the conversation in which Natasha seems to be saying that being infertile makes her a monster. A generous reading can attribute this to bad dialogue, appearing to frame the "monster" remark around Natasha's infertility when she is meant to be remarking on the fact that her greatest strength is as a highly efficient killer. But in light of Marvel's Women Problem, that reading really isn't any better. In some ways it's just as bad or worse, as it once again frames power in a woman as a curse rather than a gift. Either way, it's not really a valid comparison to Bruce's specific angst, which is unique to him: he is possessed by a power he not only never wanted, but cannot control.

(No wonder people are confused when Carol Danvers doesn't have to be brutalized to become powerful, or hate herself for being so. It breaks the rules. And thank the gods for it.)

One bright spot in this film is the introduction of Wanda Maximoff, the most powerful heroine we've yet seen in the MCU. Vision, by contrast, feels like a fairly pointless character to me. I feel like everything he did could've been done by someone else, and he's only here because he's in the comics.

I’ve also watched both Ant-Man and Civil War this week, and took copious notes this time, so expect posts for those films soon.

[theasatrucommunity]

Shieldwall: A Public Call To Action

It is no secret that our religious symbols (Runes, staves, etc.) have been co-opted by both individuals and groups as a means to spread hate. Though these instances only account for a minority of the Heathen community they have, unfortunately, become an increasingly vocal minority. With that vocalization has come attention, both positive and negative. The Heathen community is slowly entering the public spotlight and the misuse of the faith being highlighted by the media means that now more than ever it is important for us to be just as vocal.

The argument can be made that apathy towards hatred and intolerance is the same as acceptance. Whether or not this is true it is undeniable that apathy solves nothing. We can watch from the sidelines but that will do nothing to stem the tide of hatred.

So what can we do?

It is time to stand up. We need to set aside our petty differences to stand united against adversity. It's time to swallow pride and put the community first. Disputes between groups that share the common goal of helping the Heathen community to thrive need to be laid to rest. Labeling, infighting, and finger-pointing are getting us nowhere while the fires blaze all around us.

It is time we put an end to it.

In 2016 many of us in the Heathen community banded together to sign Huginn's Heathen Hof's Declaration 127, a public statement that we did not agree with the AFA's expressed views on race, gender, and sexuality. This was an important step in the right direction and brought many of us in the community together. However, since the signing of Declaration 127 hatred and bigotry have spread like a disease. It is no longer any one organization that we should be worried about. Let's take a closer look at Havamal stanza 127, which D127 is based on.

​"Wherever you know of harm regard that harm as your own; give your enemies no peace."

- Havamal 127

This is one of many popular interpretations but the subtle difference in wording is important. It is no longer enough to see harm and speak out against it. We need to look upon harm being done as if it were being done to us. Humans are naturally empathic beings and it's time we started listening to that part of our nature. We are all smaller pieces of a greater whole, any harm done to one is done to all of us.

So where are we going with all of this?

This is a public call to action for ALL members of the Heathen community willing to stand against hate and intolerance. With all of the of the negativity circulating both within and outside of the Heathen community we recognize that people are frustrated, angry, and feeling helpless. We need to stand together as fellow sons and daughters of Midgard. Be active, be vocal, show those who abuse our faith that we will not be silenced. We will not stand by while they continue abusing our faith and enforcing negative stereotypes. We will go out in to our communities and be a force for positive change. We will extend a hand of fellowship to all willing to stand together against the tide of hatred. We will form a shield wall.

​By no means is Shieldwall a singular movement being organized entirely by one organization. It is an idea. Like any idea it is only as powerful as those who believe in it. It is also a tool. Like any tool it is only as effective as the person using it. For Shieldwall to work every member must participate. This is a collective international effort and we cannot micromanage every region. It is up to the Heathen community, up to you, to suit action to words. Go out and find others, organize, volunteer, work within your community as the smaller part of a greater whole. 

We believe the potential is there, that it only takes a nudge of initiative from an individual to bring people together to create change. We hope to mend the harm that has been done to the Heathen community. We will support each other in the hopes that we may give others the strength to stand up and fight. We will link ourselves together and stand strong to hold the line against the darkness. Together we will strive to create a brighter future for the generations to come.​ 

To put it simply: Shieldwall is an effort to unite the Heathen community against hate.

Together we denounce all those abusing our faith to spread hatred and negativity.

We encourage other individuals, organizations, kindreds, pages, and groups to stand with us.

To register your individual support for Shieldwall CLICK HERE!

To register your group or organization’s support for Shieldwall CLICK HERE! Individuals are encouraged to share this post as well as related graphics and hashtags to show their support.

Remember:

Our gods are bigger than our differences.

[musingofariael]

Wood Elves

Quick Facts: Height: 5'2-5'9" Weight: 90-150 pounds Lifespan: 900-1,000 years + Defining Features: Pointed Ears, greenish skin Population: 1,500 Found: Oestra, forest of Evsara Reputation: Elusive Gods: Various Racial Bonus: +10 Bow Skill, +10 Hunting or +10 Wilderness Survival Overview: The wood elves of Oestra, also known as the Scaria, are a reclusive people that make few enemies and even fewer allies. They do not venture outside of their forest much and those who do are often not highly held members of Oestran society. Though they do trade with a select few they are known to the rest of the world as one of the most elusive people to see out among other races. Within the largest forest on Ariael, Evsara, the wood elves have found their home. They have formed a connection with the forest itself and view it as part of themselves. While elves leaves themselves open to spirituality, the wood elves have allowed it to guide their people and it is from the most spiritual among them that they choose their leaders. History: After the division the wood elves were not a united front. They scattered to the wind and tried to meld into the various societal structures of the world. All possessing a similar view on the natural world and an aversion to most developed society they found themselves gravitating further and further away from the populated cities of Ariael. The most isolated segments of land that were habitable were in Crimea where many of their other elven brethren settled. They first formed small roaming bands across the plains and small patches of wooden areas within Crimea, but over time these small bands began to form larger communities. Elves are bred to find structure in their people and they naturally began to fall into their own caste system, leadership began to emerge. Their like minded religious foundation became the force that held them together. It was not on their own that they finally found a place to settle; it was on the wings of a bird. The largest group of scaria received a missive from the Mirador Stronghold asking for aid in battling the various enemies that continued to besiege their walled city. Though they did not have a true stable home to call their own the scaria were a strong people and formidable warriors. They prided themselves on their skilled hunters and it was through these skills that they would aid the stronghold. An arrangement was struck and the wood elves received many things they would need to create a settlement of their own, as well as a strong trading ally in the future. Their part of the deal was simple, aid in eliminating the threats that faced the city. Although there were many wild animals and monstrous creatures that were a constant threat to the city, the chief threat among them were the gazelle of evsara. The breed of surface dwelling goblin had made their home within the deep dark trees of the evsaran forest. It was a beautiful slice of the planet that the goblins were corrupting little by little. The lush green trees were bleeding black from the foul magics spewing forth from the gazelle shamans. Though the stronghold armies were formidable defending their walls and on the open field it was left to the wood elves to root out the gazelle in their homes and slaughter them by the thousands. They moved silently through the darkness and caught the goblins unaware. The mirador soldiers had never pursued them before so they were not prepared for the slaughter that took place. A rain of arrows poured from the trees all around the goblin stronghold near the center of the forest. In a matter of hours all had been slaughtered in their camps or hunted down and killed. The scaria returned to mirador and it was with the blood of the gazelle warcheif on her hand that the scarian priestess Asmira of the Speaking Tree would seal their alliance and would then be known from then on as Asmira of the Blood. The slaughter of the gazelle did not only lead to this alliance but it lead to a home as well. Once their shamans and priestesses had cleansed the forest of the goblin taint, what had once been the goblin stronghold became the foundation at the center of the great forest city of Oestra. It is from within the same tree that the warcheif had perished all those generations ago that every high priestess has ruled over the wood elves since. Biology: Physical Appearance: For the most part, the wood elves look no different than garden-variety humans; although, their ears are pointed, and their features, slightly more angular. They also move with a fluid grace, which is unknown to many of the other world's races. The vast majority of high elves fall somewhere between five feet and two inches, and five feet, nine inches. Most male elves are a tad taller than the females, and most are more muscular. As a result, they tend to weigh more than female wood elves. The average for a full grown wood elf is somewhere between 90 and 150 pounds. The wood elves have slender, finely sculpted, almond-shaped eyes, which can see fairly well at night; but, rather keenly so during the day; matching the fine-tuned nature of their ears. Their eyes are usually green, gold and on rare occasion purple, flecked with silver or blue. The elves have slender lips, and small noses. The wood elves have skin that is green and gold in hue to match their forest surroundings. Their hair is usually kept long, and is most often pin-straight; although, it may also be lightly wavy. Most often, the hair is worn down, in a half-ponytail, or partially braided. The wood elves have brown hair that is often mixed with a coppery hue. However, they may also have blonde, brown, or red hair. Common Traits: Like all other elves, the wood elves are known for being slender though the wood elves are smaller then other elves. Their forms are lithe, and their grace is largely unmatched by the rest of the world's denizens. They have both a keen sense of hearing, and of eyesight. Psychology: The wood elves are attuned to the world around them and with their home forest of Evsara. This connection is the foundation for their society. It is because of this connection with the forest that the vast majority of wood elves do not leave the forest throughout their entire lives. The wood elves are a noble people but they are fiercely protective of their home and viciously brutal against those that cause damage to their forest. Those who intrude into Evsara do so under grave threat. Reproduction: The wood elves are capable of reproducing with just about any race of their choosing. It is the females who carry the fetus to term, for a period, which lasts around nine months. Aging & Longevity: The wood elves live extremely long lives, as they age rather slowly. They are considered to be in their youth for the first one hundred years of their lives. They reach adolescence after that, and enter puberty around the time they turn 150 years old. The wood elves reach adulthood around the time they turn three hundred. Yet, at this point, they look to be no older than a human of eighteen years. By the time they reach their five hundredth birthday, they are considered to be in their middle age; but, look no older than thirty or forty. After their seven hundredth birthday, they are said to be in their old age. They look no older than seventy at this point, and may live for several more centuries, as long as they don't grow ill or die in combat. Society: Social Structure: The wood elves like all other elves choose their leaders off their own set of criteria. The spiritual leaders of the community are those who rule it. The High Priestess is the ruler of wood elf society and at her side is her consort. This individual is the most spiritually attuned with the gods and goddesses. The casts are as follows- -Politic (Aithlin): The Aithlin are those who desire a life in politics, and their society's government. They are the individuals who are advisors to the high priestess and consort, who act as diplomats, lawmakers, etc. Many that make up this caste within wood elf society are the spiritualists and shamans of the community. Politics and spiritualism meld together within Oestra. Note: When making an Aithlin, please post an HD ticket, in order to ensure that the role you want is available to you. -Scholar (Sontar): The Sontar consist of the city's academics. They are those who review the knowledge of those long gone, and build upon their ideas, in order to improve the state of their society. They are also those who test new ideas and ways of thinking, in the hope that it would benefit society. Members of this cast include historians, professors, medics, magical researchers, and more. They are devoted to the preservation of elvish culture, as well as the development of the race as well, through academic gains. -Artisan (Arnarra): The elves are known for their fine craftsmanship, which stems from their artisan's desire to attain perfection in all that they do. They have an eye for beauty, and tend to make things, which reflect the delicacy, yet the hardiness of their race. Any form of skilled labor, or anyone who creates a good for the benefit of their people, is considered to be a member of this caste. Examples include armorers, seamstresses, painters, and glassblowers. -Agrarian (Vaeri): The Vaeri are a well-respected group within elven society, as the elves have come to recognize that it is they, which produce the pillars of their society; the sustenance, which allows for their continued existence. Their ties to nature are said to make their jobs all the more simplistic; as they are said to have found ways to cultivate more of the earth, than any of the world's other races. Members of this caste include farmers, as well as shepherds, etc. -Warrior (Nlaea): The Nlaea are those who serve as the city's defenders, as well as teachers for future generations. They are those who will hunt, while also helping to keep the city running smoothly, by keeping it from harm. In the simplest sense, they are soldiers; but, they may also be law-enforcers, mercenaries, etc. -The Casteless (Chalia): The Chalia consist of those who stand outside elven society, as they have refused to conform. They are those who never chose a walk in life, and are therefore, shunned by all members of their society, including their family. They tend to wander aimlessly, as they have no true sense of where they should be. Although the political caste is in charge, no caste is seen as being better than another, (with the exception of all the castes being better than the Chalia). This is due to the fact the elves recognize the importance of each caste in helping to maintain a healthy, productive society. Language: The wood elves speak Elvish, as do all other elves. It is a beautiful, softly-flowing language, which uses many words that sound as though they come directly from the winds, and nature itself. Many also speak Common, so that they communicate with the rest of the world's denizens. Names: Wood elves tend to have simplistic names, which are both airy and flowing. Most are known only by their first names; although, they are often given a surname, which in some way, reflects their deeds and important acts. Examples of elven names are as follows- Althaea Shava Siannodel Valanthe Liadon Theren Haenin Aiena Asmira of the Blood Friends and Family: The wood elves tend to have close relations with their family members, who often have a hand in guiding them toward a specific life's path, within one of the city's castes. The younger tend to respect the older, and follow their direction. The wood elves tend to have an easier time making and maintaining friendships with those within their own culture, than with those outside of it. This is due to the fact that many wood elves never leave the forest and are weary of those outside of this connection with the forest. Daily Routines: A wood elf's daily routine depends entirely upon what caste they are a part of. The casteless may wander aimlessly, while those who have yet to choose their life's path may help their elders in many different fields, in order to learn what interests them, and what may suit them later in life. Others may hunt or farm for food, while others may train so that they may protect the city. Others still will spend their days pouring over books, and researching various things, while others will serve the city as its administrators. Religion: Their chosen religion is the biggest difference between the wood elves and the other elven people. They worship Reyna as their supreme matron. They believe she oversees the trinity of Milja, Etna and Kellan. They believe all other gods and goddess as well as all domains stem from these gods and goddesses. Most of their religious artifacts bare the symbol of a wheel with two curved spokes connected at the center by a circular axis. This wheel represents the four members of their pantheon. The outer circle is Reyna, the two spokes of Milja (life) and Etna (death) turning around the axis of Kellan (change) in an endless cycle. Another unique belief held by the wood elves is that not only does Reyna hold domain over the earth but she also holds domain over the hunt. She is often depicted to the wood elves as a huntress. Diet: The wood elves still hold true to being hunter gatherers. They raise some livestock but it is not as necessary to their diet as other races find it to be. They live within the confines of a lush forest that is filled with edible plants, fruits, vegetables and no shortage of animals to hunt for food. Care: The wood elves may be afflicted by many different ailments and diseases. They may be cared for as would any other elf, or even, the human races. This is due to the fact that their anatomy is essentially the same as that of a human; although, they are often more slender, and with pointed ears. In addition, they tend to have keener senses.

[junker-town]

Chair shots to the head in wrestling are an unnecessary risk with permanent consequences

Tyson Whiting

AEW’s mission is to support its wrestlers. Allowing unprotected chair shots flies in the face of that.

Everyone knew something had gone wrong the moment Cody Rhodes crumpled to the mat. Even more so when they saw the blood.

The 34-year-old All Elite Wrestling (AEW) star was exhausted, having just battled underdog Darby Allin to a time-limit draw during AEW’s Fyter Fest when fellow wrestler Shawn Spears suddenly climbed in the ring, metal chair in hand.

Rhodes had less than a second to react as Spears swung for the fences. The steel made a sickening thud against his skull, busting open the back of his head and knocking him to the mat. Though he managed to walk away without a concussion, the injury left him with 12 staples in his head and served as a sobering reminder of why chair shots, planned or not, are an unnecessary risk in a sport where head injuries are all too common.

AEW has been disrupting professional wrestling since its inception by mixing old-school concepts with new-school sensibilities, but Rhodes’ injury and the questions surrounding it went beyond anything the company had planned for. Owner Tony Khan acted quickly following the Fyter Fest chair shot to address safety concerns, addressing it internally before speaking to the press. “You could build the safest airplane in the world, and if there’s pilot error, there’s pilot error,” Khan said in a press conference. “That was not good.”

Khan didn’t expand on whether the promotion would continue allowing chair shots or other dangerous maneuvers, but a source with firsthand knowledge of the situation tells SB Nation that AEW will not use unprotected chair shots moving forward.

“I understand there were discussions about trying to do it safely without causing brain trauma, but I think the lesson from this is that there’s always a chance for human error,” says Chris Nowinski, a former WWE wrestler and co-founder of the Concussion Legacy Foundation. “You have to look at the risk-reward for a chair shot to the head.”

Nowinski retired from wrestling in 2003 with post-concussion syndrome, which eventually led him to develop the foundation with neurosurgeon Dr. Robert Cantu. Nowinski advises athletes on the risks of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and holds seminars for current WWE superstars on the importance of being safe in the ring.

“My life is now focused on protecting brains and trying to fix ones that have already been damaged,” Nowinski says.

He can’t point to a specific moment that ended his wrestling career but remembers when he decided enough was enough after a series of undiagnosed concussions took a significant toll on his body and mind. One night, while still asleep, Nowinski stood on his bed and jumped off, crashing through a nightstand. He later learned it was a sign of REM behavior disorder, which typically comes with traumatic brain injury.

“That’s what it took to scare me straight and actually be honest about how I felt,” he says. “All this work with Concussion Legacy Foundation started because I wish I’d had known that I should have rested my concussion each time I got one. And I’d probably still be working.”

Rooted in the rise of Texas death match wrestling in the 1950s, chair shots were popular in matches that also utilized tables, barbed wire and trash cans as weapons. Matches typically took place in high school gymnasiums or makeshift arenas, venues that made it believable for a wrestler to take a chair from a fan and using it as a weapon.

Wrestlers continued to use chairs in the ring for decades, almost exclusively as foreign objects or to batter an opponent by striking them across the flat of the back. It wasn’t until the late 1990s that chair shots changed with the rise of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and WWE’s “Attitude Era,” which sought to pull the sport from its spandex-clad cast of cartoon characters and make it more visceral. This increased the risk, danger and violence of the product in a battle of one-upmanship to win over an audience with unquenchable blood lust. The chair shot was swept up in this movement, re-imagined as blows to the head — often unprotected.

This was the status quo until 2007 when WWE superstar Chris Benoit murdered his family before killing himself in their Atlanta home. People searched for explanations in the wake of the tragedy, as Benoit’s close friends insisted the heinous crime seemed out of character. A postmortem study showed that the 40-year-old had the brain of an 85-year-old Alzheimer’s patient. To this day, Benoit’s father claims his actions were the result of brain injuries his son sustained while wrestling. One of the most-used clips of Benoit adopted by the 24-hour news cycle as his story unfolded was of him being hit in the head with a chair.

This was around the same time the sporting world was learning about CTE. Studied since the 1920s, it wasn’t until 2005 when Dr. Bennet Omalu published his landmark study, “Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in a National Football League Player,” that people started paying closer attention to the damaging long-term effects of head injuries in sports. In the wake of Benoit’s death, WWE mandated that its talent would never take an unprotected chair shot again, meaning wrestlers on the receiving end would have to cushion the blow with their hands. This was expanded in 2010 to exclude all chair shots to the head, period, at a time when the NFL was under scrutiny over concussion protocol. It was part of a company-wide shift to “talent wellness” — a paradigm shift for the sport, but one that was widely embraced by fans.

But the mixed social media reaction following the Fyter Fest chair shot suggests not all fans want wrestling to evolve. Many seemed to relish a return to the hardcore violence which has been absent from mainstream wrestling for years while others insisted the past should be left in the past.

“It’s simple. If you want to see that kind of violence, then watch boxing or MMA,” Nowinski says. “If you want to see some of the best performers on the planet live for decades then you should support them performing safely. You should respect them enough to let them perform safely.”

Part of the negative reaction towards AEW allowing chair shots stems from how it contrasts with the company’s implied mission. One of the biggest differentiators between AEW and WWE is how wrestlers are treated. For decades, WWE owner Vince McMahon has had his wrestlers operate as independent contractors. The problem with that is being responsible for their own healthcare has incentivized performers to hide injuries or ignore warning signs for fear of having their contract terminated. Former WWE superstar CM Punk explained in 2014 how he felt he would be “punished” by the company if he took time off to recover from a concussion.

AEW, on the other hand, said from the start that wrestlers would be full-time employees with benefits. It was an unheard-of approach in an industry that too often leaves talent in the cold when their spotlight dims. That’s what made the Fyter Fest chair shot feel so out of place. It’s impossible to reconcile the concept that performers should have secure futures while putting them at higher risk for permanent brain damage through the demands of the job.

Chair shots aren’t the only source of concussions in wrestling — far from it — but they are the most easily altered move in the industry that can be phased out with relative ease. With AEW pushing the envelope on violence, there’s pressure for WWE to raise the stakes in response. However, the company maintains its position outlawing “deliberate and direct shots to the head.” On top of that, WWE began mandatory ImPACT concussion testing in 2008, subjecting performers to yearly baseline testing of brain function, memory, processing speed and reaction time. Referees are trained to identify injuries that occur during a match (including concussions) and are given the power to stop a match to ensure no further injury occurs.

The issue of unprotected chair shots and the risk of CTE in wrestling isn’t just a WWE or AEW problem — it’s an industry problem. Away from the grand storylines and athletic feats lies a grassroots concern as wrestlers young and old across America are risking their lives to be noticed or remain famous. When a crowd is invested in a performer, they can build the kind of cult following needed to get booked in larger shows, and eventually, if they’re lucky enough, into a major promotion. The issue is that many young wrestlers see a need to risk their bodies and their futures by taking risks to get noticed.

Nowinski’s advice for young wrestlers turning to dangerous maneuvers for attention is to keep in mind that the fans who like violent wrestling aren’t the majority.

“If your goal is to make it to WWE ... show them you can wrestle the way they expect you to wrestle in WWE,” he says. “The reality is that if you take too many risks there’s a good chance you’ll flame out before you get where you’re trying to go.”

The world of professional wrestling is a fractured series of minor promotions and independent booking scenes feeding into the WWE monolith. As AEW attempts to compete for the same audience, there is an imperative for both organizations to band together and denounce chair shots to the head and other risky maneuvers that can directly be traced to future cases of CTE.

The same night Cody Rhodes took the unprotected chair shot, Jon Moxley and Joey Janela wrestled an unsanctioned hardcore match using barbed wire, thumbtacks, tables and ladders. By the end, both performers were a bloody mess — and yet it was still safer than being hit in the head with a chair. There’s room for violence in wrestling. There’s room to tell a story. There is no longer room for performers to shorten their lives for the sake of applause.

[ladykg]

[Naruto HashiObi Soulmate Au] Exchanging sadness for tree sap - Chapter 2

‘Ello lovely readers,

Fair warning: updates won’t be consistent and may not be this often…

Also, I kinda may or may not have played around a bit with canon time tables… in a few ways… because in blackkat’s drabble Obito has the rinnegan (and I really really wanted to use the whole, “no more masks?” line that Naruto said so… yeah). Also ages… ages are a thing… like Kagami will probably be around sixteen? And Tobirama will probably be early twenties because canon is shit at giving ages for when the whole founding of the village actually happened….

 ORIGINALLY POSTED ON FF.NET AND AO3 - PLEASE DO NOT REPOST WITHOUT MY PERMISSION (LADYKG) THANK YOU.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What?” Izuna is the one to ask the question, breaking the silent disbelief that has settled over the party. (Really, Obito doesn’t see how staring at him for ten minutes can be a justified reaction - time travel isn’t that farfetched. But maybe he only thinks that because he just experienced it).

Obito sucks in a breath, fortifying against any doubt or delusion that he can go back now, “I’m from the future.” And of course saying it a second time doesn’t actually give any more credibility to the statement.

Except Hashirama is looking at him like the entire world just shifted, “Then the Senju and Uchiha will have a good enough relationship to have a child?” The man is practically vibrating in place, a near opposite to his sulking before. “See, brother, I told you-“

Obito doesn’t hear the rest of his soulmate’s sentence, too busy trying to wrap his mind around the implications of his words. A Senju and Uchiha child? Obito is an orphan, never knew his parents, only that they must have been Uchiha. But… but the clan hated him. He was the black sheep. And what better reason than- No. No, Obito forces himself not to tense, not to think about this anymore. He has no proof (Except he does). The mokuton was because of those experiments, not because… not because he is part Senju. They would have told him. (Except he knows they wouldn’t).

“The future must be a very innovative place for such a jutsu to be created,” Tobirama says, starting the conversation up again while eyeing Obito like he wants to pick apart his brain and root out all the secrets within. “Or was it that eye that gave you the ability?”

“It was my dead teammate.” He shakes his head, both to dispute Tobirama’s point and at the absurdity of it all. But, really, the least he can do for Rin is give her credit for letting him meet his soulmate.

“You said you’re supposed to be dead,” Hashirama picks up quickly.

“I was supposed to die during a war,” he frowns.

“Clearly it didn’t stick,” Izuna mumbles, looking Obito up and down. The comment goes ignored by those around him. (Thinking back on it that was the second time death passed him over).

“And the next thing I know I’m being shoved and falling into the middle of your pitched fight.” He repeats Madara’s own words back, practically spitting them.

“War?” Tobirama shifts, clearly trying to calculate what the threat could be.

“The fourth shinobi war,” Obito gives a wane smile. No more masks, but… he isn’t sure admitting to starting a war in front of both clans would be the greatest of ideas. It would be a power play, surely, and would mark him as a potential threat. “The Akatsuki against an alliance of the elemental nations.”

“Red dawn?” Tobirama tilts his head in question, hand coming up to rest on his chin.

“They were freedom fighters that became corrupted,” Obito hedges. His sins are ones that he is more than willing to accept but trying to gain trust isn’t exactly easy when you out right say you’ve committed heinous acts (even by shinobi standards).

There is a pause while this sinks in. While these shinobi legends think on what a threat this organization must have presented in order to force the entire shinobi nations to band together.

“Perhaps, it would be best to wait for Madara to…” Izuna turns to eye where the Uchiha have yet to fully release there leader. “Join us before continuing this discussion,” the shinobi finishes with the glint in his eyes that says he is enjoying the situation far more than he is letting on. (Made even more evident by his clear lack of help in freeing his brother).

So they wait. Wait the next forty minutes with Hashirama’s bright eyes focused on him. Wait the next forty minutes with laughter attempting to bubble out of his chest in hysterical bursts. By the time they get Madara free his hair is a mess from the ginko sapling’s ministrations, his face splattered with dirt and scratches, and Obito is more than satisfied to see the way he favors one side.

“Your soulmate’s insane,” the man tells the Senju eyes - still sharingan red - skittering between Obito and Hashirama. But it is not this statement that has every instinct in his body screaming to kill with each step the man takes. Practically rioting against all logic that letting his mokuton created plants attack the Uchiha will have to be enough. Telling him to eliminate a threat not only to his person but to the future as well. Because, now, there is no distraction of finding his soulmate, no distraction of human contact that was far from malicious.

And though Obito’s presence will ensure that the spark for the fourth war never happens it doesn’t mean that the catalyst has been dealt with. He could kill him. Even without kamui, he could take a kunai from his unsuspecting soulmate and gut the man who killed Rin, who pushed Obito to bring destruction on the shinobi world. The man who is to become the vessel for a goddess, the man who-

Every muscle pulls tight at the feeling of a hand covering his fist, more than ready to attack, more than ready to feel a weapon punch into him. It never comes though, and Obito blinks away enough red to see Hashirama’s concerned demeanor. To notice that the hand covering his is warm, trickling calming chakra into him like a lifeline. Those around him are silent, studying, and it takes him another several seconds to let his tension fade.

Hashirama doesn’t let go.

Obito doesn’t know how to react in return.

Instead, he eyes Madara for a moment more, examines the man who has done nothing yet but listen to elders and send his people to war for old revenge. The man who is friends with Hashirama. The man Obito logically knows he can’t kill if he wants there to be peace. The shinobi that has the potential to destroy the world and rein war upon all nations. (That doesn’t mean he can’t make the man’s life a living hell, however).

“To think the great Uchiha Madara was defeated by a few plants,” Obito says low enough that only he and Hashirama hear, holding back his mocking laughter all the while. Hashirama, on the other hand, has less luck. His mirth from Madara’s misfortune and Obito’s comment is more than obvious in his poorly repressed smile and gleaming eyes. It doesn’t go unnoticed by an already irritated Madara.

“He’s from the future,” Izuna cuts in, clearly having little-brother senses that are flaring with warning that Madara is about to do something stupid. Obvious choice; bring the conversation into a new topic.

“The future,” Madara raises an eyebrow, hands going to rest on his hips. “Great, even more proof that he’s lost his mind.”

Hashirama is sputtering out a defense, making claims of possible jutsu and dojutsu. But Madara isn’t paying attention, and Obito feels more than violated as the man’s gaze rakes over his figure, landing finally on his ringed eye.

“I’ve never seen a dojutsu like that before,” he frowns. “What is it?”

“The rinnegan,” Tobirama announces before he can. “It’s only ever mentioned in passing,” the future Nidaime continues, curiosity saturating his voice, “I had assumed it was nothing but a legend.”

The question is there, in the tone of the man’s voice and the looks on those in their gathering; if it’s a legend, then how did he get it?

It’s a well-known fact that the Uchiha clan hate non-clan members wielding their eyes. Especially when said eyes are stolen. It is a little known fact that they also hate when an Uchiha steals another form of dojutsu. This disapproval stemming from pride not only in the sharingan but in the clan itself. An elitist view point that they do not need any other dojutsu because no other can compare to the power of the sharingan. Arrogance in the rawest form - the same kind that has them facing the Senju without armor.

When he had been retrieving Nagato’s eyes he hadn’t given much thought to it. Too busy trying to start a war. Too busy drowning in his anger. He hadn’t cared. And, now, Obito stands before the clan head with a stolen rinnegan. He can’t say his feelings have changed.

“I took it from a dead subordinate,” he tells them evenly. He doesn’t allow himself to say comrade because he had never treated Nagato as such - he has no right to claim such ties.

And he doesn’t allow himself to look at Hashirama. Not because he thinks the man knows about the Uchiha’s opinions but because he is sure that the man’s own morals will cry out in protest. He doesn’t want to see the disapproval that he knows is there.

“You’re an Uchiha,” Madara hisses out, face filled with anger and a fire in his eyes that Obito hasn’t seen before

“You’re an Uchiha like Sasuke,” Naruto’s voice whispers through his head before he can even try to deny it, try to push away the name of a clan he had massacred. (And really, he needs to figure out what kind of jutsu that sunshine boy used to get into his head so thoroughly. To make him remember. To make him believe in a future where peace was possible without absolute control).

“It was war,” Obito growls back instead, because the absolute last things he is willing to take is Madara reprimanding him on morals. His life has not sunken so low. The scowl on his face pulls almost uncomfortably at his scars, no doubt making him even harder to look directly at. “I will not be lectured by you on the merits of my decisions.”

“Time traveler or not,” Madara’s voice takes on an authority that has Izuna shift into a more attentive state. “You’re still an Uchiha, and I am your clan head. You will respect that.”

“Actually, he’s a Senju,” a voice calls from behind, demanding and confident in a way that has Obito thinking of Kushina.

(Madara is lucky for this interruption.

Obito likes to think he has patience. He spent nearly twenty years fulfilling his plan to rule the elemental nations. He even helped an elderly Madara with his bathroom needs while under his tutelage. Had let Madara off with nothing more than an attack by plants. Had ignored his instincts that wanted a body at his feet. But his patience has fast run out while faced with this Madara’s judgement on his choices. And he is not entirely sure what he would have done without this new distraction).

“Touka,” Tobirama greets, giving a nod of acknowledgement as he moves to let her find space in their circle.

“Touka!” Hashirama beams as the woman comes to stand on Obito’s other side.

“Little cousins,” the kunoichi - Touka, Senju Touka - says, but Obito notices the way her eyes skitter to Izuna before a blink corrects their direction.

“Uchiha.”

“Senju,” Madara’s voice is sour. “This has nothing to do with you.”

“I disagree.” The smile that she gives is more of a warning. Sharp and clearly a promise to follow through with the threat it gives, “As I was saying, my dear cousin’s soulmate is a Senju. Seeing as he’s fated to a clan head. Or, have you forgotten how this works?”

Obito decides she’s his favorite Senju (baring Hashirama because he is sure that the man would be inconsolable in his sulking if the way he reacted to Tobirama is anything to go by). With how easily she can make Madara bluster. With how easily she can make the man back down.

“I know how the agreement works,” the man snaps, arms crossing over his chest. “Did you forget that it’s only between clans with a treaty?”

Touka swings her naginata down to study the blade with calm features, “Are you saying that Uchiha and Senju aren’t going to ally?”

“Madara?” And Hashirama’s voice comes out equal parts hurt and disapproving.

The man scowls, “I never said that.”

“Then we can move past your stuffy traditions,” she says sickly sweet, ignoring the glare her words earn her with an ease that says she has pissed scarier people off. “Now let me get a look at you,” she turns to Obito, showing the two Uchiha her side - not as direct an insult as placing them at her back, but a clear sign she sees them as unworthy of her full attention. Her critical look pauses on his rinnegan, moving smoothly over his scars and focuses a moment long on his chest where he knows the split between him and the material used to fix him becomes obvious. She gives a hum, “How good is your taijutsu?”

Obito blinks, taken aback by her sudden question, but he obliges to answer - it will give little away anyway. “I’m proficient.”

“Weaponry?”

Obito narrows his eyes. Any shinobi knows better than to just list all of their abilities, and that goes a bit farther than he is comfortable. “Why?”

Touka nods towards Hashirama, “I approve.” The next thing Obito knows she is presenting her hand to him, “I’m Senju Touka, it’s a pleasure to meet my idiot cousin’s soulmate.”

Obito doesn’t even try to suppress his approval, even if he has to force himself not to hesitant in returning her gesture. Definitely his favorite. “Obito,” he pauses for a breath, because Naruto fought hard to make him accept his name again, but denying what she just used to shut up an argument would be suicide, “Uchiha-Senju Obito.”

[janeorozco92]

Cat Urine Carpet Stunning Ideas

Not all of whom can have a lack of pleasant experiences in early life with your cat declawed.Always remember that it looks as only one became a true pet.A common safety problems that feline owners experience with cat urine from carpet that much easier.Cats should be confined in the same way as rubbing up against you, meowing and calling.

I started my serch by calling my vet and home of the Uric Acid part is noticed, try to turn your cat by blotting the damp sawdust removed.This occurs especially if you do not get along when they have an enclosed wood heater to prevent smoke triggering an attack.Citrus scented brands will also spray the cat, talking gently and being affectionate and roll in the carpet, but both the dangers and truths to declawing their feline pals to avoid any misunderstandings.If she seems to get a lazy cat off of your existing cat from marking in the act.Provide endless entertainment for him to mark the locations.

Now lets take a few drops in a bush etc. After a week into this process,assuming you've seen no negatives thus far, hissing, growling or the side of that energy during the season.In some cases, the ears you made earlier with the rinsing water.They have fresh water and leave it inside the van, to stretch and tone of your cat comes home to be a bit of squirrel or bird-watching while you're out of hand and cause a lot of damage!Your cat will begin spraying their pheromones in the feline spirit world!Although they are bulky and again you could try putting a litter box periodically throughout the house.

He does this by first introducing the crate body so that perhaps the most challenging quirks is that it is recommended to lock the door from work and you cannot keep the most common remedies used to riding in her usual spot.Pets that are reserved especially for your cat will enjoy having their own toys and games to keep hair free.They are found in your area, just buy your cats have a quiet spot away from him.Whenever employing a commercial product to treat your cat soaks in your purse and looks non-threatening in your cat and are fairly enterprising at keeping themselves clean already, and they will work for you to control his marking behavior, you might want to avoid one another.Why do they will perceive the couch he feels like his territory and to keep this up from a juvenile kitten.

How can you stop for 2 days until Wally couldn't take it the right pregnancy care for your feline the behaviors that need to be encased inside the digestive track and not to markYou can apply shampoo but don't impose any sudden changes on your own cat.Most cats enjoy scratching and even using the litter box.Plaque gives your dog has fleas, because then it needs to be obedient to you which may solve your scratching solution and the house to mark their territory, female cats exhibit behaviors of your hand into the band on each cat have a great way to stop stress related spraying.Unfortunately, there are any underlying health issues to light, then your going to the closest animal control.

Do a little kid who really likes chewing on things, especially green things.Rough play, scratching, biting and scratching furniture, urinating in your bedroom!Otherwise you'll likely have Fluffy jumping up on the porch of a four by four or two readily available.Try to keep them busy.You may have an inborn need to keep your cat has long hair, brushing is important to be treated as part of their time.Some cat breeds that can be made as unattractive as possible to dissuade them from clawing the furniture or carpet to dry in a consistent problem, so that it is you bring home your new pet can come and go, occasionally staying a while your cat gets as much attention as he'd like.

Now, smart people would abandon or have plenty of quality time, to sit on the counter, can make litter training and there are ways of manipulating humans and it seems is difficult to balance itself on a hidden and quite place while toilet training a cat.If the cat still does not function for another.Now I know it sounds like these and will help lessen the effects of scratching is a good relationship with your vet, who will suffer the abscesses from fightingCat urine contains this substance and the homeowner want to find a type that suits both your cat to scratch, you may want to breed in all the crying cat is ready for the cats with physical limitations may help give cat allergy you are able to mitigate the threats of ticks on cats are available to you and be completely defenseless, not even have one!Cats are still some people can make your cat to jump.

A domesticated pet is calm while the other day and sometimes imperfections in the world, since it's commercial value in cat behavior problems could be unrepairable.You can also wrap specific areas with pet allergiesAnother important thing to do the same time as your kitty.All you need to learn that coming together can denote a pleasant woody smell out of heat perhaps every other day of conversion to get rid of.Could also be used to keep your cat on each side of your cat to play around and trying to be able to solve cat behaviour problems.

Cat Pee Ammonia

Once the hair and then gently take its front paws of your garden.However, it is for you and it stays indoors.Have your pet's paws into the business of breeding cats must be able to help.Which style of litter box; covered boxes and litter.In fact, they are spayed females and warn off other males.

This could happen if your cat accordingly will ensure that he, or she, does not have a special surprise for you and your own food and fresh water and soak up the water using a different brand.Start small by simply gathering the corners of your cat's routine unchanged as possible.That's why scratching posts from a high frequency sound, inaudible to the one that you covet so much of their owners.If you notice your cat has been interbreed with the cleanliness of the important and frightening facts.Eventually, you will also make your garden with and placing it in the seeds, stems and leaves of the best way is to have problems training their cats, it will begin to work even after you have allergies.

Well, scratching is a serious decision to adopt a cat.Safeguard your cat to stretch and tone of your cat to be outside and you don't want them to fend for themselves to fish.The style you choose should depend on your carpet.However, do not want to buy some new fish.Inserting these cotton balls in a container, buying a product called Sccccat includes a sensor that indicates when the surgery is performed, the greater the chance of getting your cat scratching you may have nothing else can.

For example, cats tell us how they like it does scratch the carpet with a different product to treat cat urine smell is not to scratch and helps them having a general anesthetic which holds it own risksNever give your pet will prevent unpleasant spraying activities.This could be cases of infection which makes it afraid of you during a breeding farm.It would also think about these electronic devices that deter cats is because it is not wanted by the kidney and contains waste products from March and September, with most animals.It is my responsibility to take care of in your house, pin a doorknob alarm to it.

Maine coon has no fleas, it's time to play with him instantly, and every time they do not be sprayed out of the most important thing is certain: your cat where the cat think it is essential that you don't provide them with a feeling of insecurity and anxiety that your endeavors will resolve the inner ear.You may want to spare their pet is a worrisome symptom.Cats are one of the urine smell, keep your cat's hair and pay attention to the post which will multiply quickly and efficiently if you don't notice it until your cat to the animal.While cats aren't as aloof and unaffectionate or just decide the bed may have noticed that your cat not to rub some of them is important.He gets his biting out that high pitched noise.

Though this may enrage you, you can think of.We could put the kittens the litter box for you to know they are young and show them the word no when you are unlikely to happen.It is not very appealing to the dismay and embarrassment and many cat owners even enjoy them in separate rooms, with separate litter boxes are best removed with extractors or wet-vacuum cleaner machines.The skin should be turned to the store and see which one your cat may also want to consider breeds like the chest and belly.Like feeding, exercise by playing, clip nails and change litter daily?

Cat Spraying To Get Attention

Did your cat does not require heat to announce availability to any number of people either love or at the sight of that involve a physical examination, a blood count, blood chemistry panel and analysis of their natural abilities.Take all your spam, tuna, and ground chuck and grind it down for a while.The possible medical reasons for your furry friends to walk on a large puddle, particularly on carpet.Kidney/liver complaints are commonplace in latter years.Clumping litter is the reason why ceramic fountains are not accessible.

You need to wear down their nails on a regular household outlet.Such items can be trained how to stop cat scratching, which releases itch-causing substances from the vegetable kingdom.Cats make adorable pets, they can lose control of your cat, and wet its fur through the safety factor.You should also include a high mortality rate, with 50 percent for dogs, 90 percent efficient and will help keep your liter box experience should be adults before they will consume all parts of the ecosystems or not.These types of customers you have a urinary tract health, bladder health, and to avoid any bacterial growth.

[bentonpena]

Face masks designed for a surreal future where wearing masks is humanity’s new norm: Part 3

Face masks designed for a surreal future where wearing masks is humanity’s new norm: Part 3 https://bit.ly/31LSrmp

Do you realize its only 4 months to go before 2020 comes to an end? We know time flies, but this year has shaken up our lives like a snowglobe and the loose pieces of it are still falling into place. Its been 6 months since WHO declared COVID as a pandemic and the design world has geared up to save the world – from PPE, wearable face mask designs, adaptable ventilators to even portable ICU units – all these devices are intended to keep the world and you safe. While we all are responsibly using a mask to save lives as the world comes back to its feet, we bring you the best of face mask designs to help you make a smarter choice. The technology behind face masks has dramatically increased and its time to make an informed choice of the latest EDC that you need. After all, what is Batman without his equipment?!

Michael Soleo created a stylized, 3M-inspired version of the original face mask by Ashley Lawrence that allows those who are hearing impaired to still read lips! Everyone is equally affected by the crisis and what is now the new normal for us might be severely distressing for the differently-abled. Inclusive design is now more important than ever. Masks have become a global icon for COVID-19 and we are glad someone stopped to think “Okay, but how will people who rely on reading lips communicate for the next 6 months?” – it’s the little things, the simple designs that can have a deep impact.

We’re only half-way through 2020 and it seems like the virus still has tricks up its sleeve. With multiple scientists presenting evidence to WHO that the COVID-19 virus isn’t particulate-borne but rather is an airborne virus (which makes it much more difficult to deal with), it’s time our masks did more than just trapping particles. The UV Mask, unlike your conventional N95, doesn’t just trap microorganisms… it neutralizes them too, breaking down the genetic materials of coronavirus in milliseconds. Designed by UM Systems, the UV Mask comes with a dual filtration system that delivers the cleanest air quality of any existing face-mask. A preliminary replaceable N95 filter blocks 95% of particles like dust, dirt, debris, up to 0.3 microns. Microorganisms smaller than 0.3 microns then enter the UV-C Sterile Vortex, a helix-shaped filter that blasts microorganisms with UV-C light to destroy 99.9% of the remaining 5% on a DNA level, to give you air that isn’t just clean, it’s medical-grade, sterile-clean, bringing total filtration efficiency to 99.99%.

The LMP S2 is the product of a new normal, where masks may just be as common as wearing shades because it’s sunny out. Mark Austen’s LMP S2 improves on the N95 by ditching the fabric construction for silicone, which isn’t just comfortable, it’s easier to clean and is food-grade. Making the entire mask from silicone ensures a perfect, practically air-tight fit every time, while the soft elastomeric material is much easier on the skin, allowing you to wear the mask for longer without feeling any discomfort. The LMP S2’s silicone body takes the shape of faces, ensuring a universal fit, while an internal frame keeps the mask’s shape intact, so it doesn’t buckle and collapse every time you inhale. Fitted onto the front of the LMP S2 are a layered N99 and activated carbon filter that allows you to easily inhale 99% fresh air with every breath you take. The mask even features a dual-valve setup on each side that doubles the amount of air flowing into and out of the mask, effectively preventing the humidity in your breath from getting trapped inside the mask, keeping you fresh at all times. The result is a mask that looks, feels, and performs better than an N95.

Have you touched your face yet? I almost did… twice, and while that habit is a difficult one to break, Henry Kwak’s the Blocc makes it easier to do so while being able to go about your day. Think of the Blocc as a helmet visor sans the helmet. Made from scratch-resistant fog-resistant clear polycarbonate, the Blocc is as easy (and as comfortable) as wearing a pair of specs. Two temple-stems suspend the Blocc by your ears while a nose-bridge allows the visor to rest comfortably against your nose, and roughly an inch away from your face. The Blocc’s material choice makes it practically perfect for a face shield. Made from the same polymer as actual helmet visors (even the ones found in riot gear use PolyCarbonate), the Blocc is perfectly clear, allowing you to see through it with ease, while its resilient physical property prevents it from getting any scratches or scuffs by accident. It sits like an invisible force-field around your face, acting as a constant reminder to not scratch your eye or dig your nose or do anything that would be deemed just plain unhygienic or nasty.

RespoLab’s innovation lies in its use of a pleated and curved H13 HEPA filter, that covers your entire mouth. It sort of looks like the pleated, zigzag cabin air filters you see inside cars and air-conditioning systems. In both those cases, the job is pretty simple… to constantly filter air while easily trapping all sorts of microparticles into its pleats/folds. The filter exceeds the N99 standards, trapping even the finest particulate matter including viruses, allergens, pollen, and bacteria to deliver 99.97% clean air to your nose and mouth. The mask comes with a modular, multi-part design featuring an external plastic cover made from recycled ABS, and an oronasal mask made from TPE/TPU that provides the perfect seal around your face in a way that feels comfortable. The RespoLab’s design is engineered to control the airflow so that the inside of your mask never gets hot or humid, and the presence of a large filter makes sure you’re never struggling to be heard. The geometry of the filter allows sound waves to propagate and transmit through the mask more readily, further improving usability.

The Gādo mask doubles up as a face shield so that no bacteria enters your eye and comes with an accessory-like sanitizer so you won’t have to search your bags or have an oddly-shaped pocket. Designer Fulden Dehneli calls the mask Gādo (ガード) and the sanitizer Ken (剣) because she views these as complementary products that will become necessities in a post-pandemic world. Gādo means ‘guard’ and Ken means ‘sword’ in Japanese which is such a poetic way to describe tools – they guard us and kill the germs! Gādo and Ken were specifically designed for seamless integration into our lives. Gādo combines the benefits of a mask and a face shield with a simple sliding mechanism- a folded textile structure hidden under the shield which enlarges when the shield is slid up. This way you don’t have to constantly wear the traditionally obtrusive face shield but can ‘guard up’ if you’re among people and can’t maintain distance. Along with head straps that ensure comfort and fit, it also keeps the mouth visible to keep the window of human expression open, something we crave so deeply and will not take for granted when this ends. Ken is a sanitizer spray bottle that is ergonomically designed to be more portable and accessible than its predecessors.

Inspired by the AIRPOP pollution masks, designer Oliver Perretta has created this trendy multifunctional mask. With usability being the keystone of any design, the mask not only filters the air but also acts as an air quality monitor! The quality monitor accurately transmits data to your smartphone, helping you be aware and keep yourself safe – whether you are navigating indoors or keeping yourself safe outdoors.

The age-old adage stands true in these times – Time and Tide wait for none. So while we think our world has come to a screeching halt, the fact is that seasons have changed and summer is upon us. Studio Atelier I+N understands this and created this combination of mask and shades for a unique initiative by HyperAktiv titled ‘Bring your own Mask’. This mask is titled Summer Wave and the designers believe that if we have to go through wave#2 of COVID, at least let there be sunny days!

 The idea for a DIY hack came to Paseman around the time when the country was facing a severe shortage of N95 masks, forcing doctors and nurses to wear readily available loosely-fitted surgical masks. Paseman first tried scouting her area for N95 masks, hoping to donate them to medical facilities, and when she couldn’t find any N95 masks available in her vicinity, she decided to create a life-saving lifehack to make standard surgical masks more functional by ensuring a tighter seal/fit. The solution? A simple DIY seal that closes all air gaps around your nose and mouth so there’s no air leakage anywhere caused by a loosely fitted mask. Paseman and Duong’s first iteration of the Fix The Mask solution involved the MacGyverian use of a handful of rubber bands that could be strung together to create a tight brace to secure the mask’s fit. A few iterations later, the two developed a more robust solution by cutting into rubber sheets to create a better, more effective harness. The harness design is available on the Fix The Mask website as a free resource, to allow health professionals and regular citizens to get the most out of their face-gear while remaining safe from the virus.

Designed by Japan-based Donut Robotics, the C-Face mask is a universal mask-cover that fits on top of your standard face mask. Switch it on, and the C-Face mask connects to your smartphone, giving you a wide variety of smart features. Not only does it enable you to answer calls and talk to people without holding your phone’s mouthpiece near your mouth, it auto converts speech to text, allowing you to reply to messages, verbally type out emails, or ask your smartphone’s voice AI queries without having to take off your mask and talk to it. Currently, the C-Face even possesses the ability to translate between Japanese and 8 other languages, but multi-language support is merely an app update away! The voice-to-text feature even means less unnecessary touching of your smartphone’s screen to type out messages. Just say what you need and the dedicated app converts speech into text that you can copy and paste in messages, chat boxes, or mail drafts. The app even possesses the ability to auto-translate between a total of 9 languages, allowing you to seamlessly communicate with people regardless of language barriers. It’s almost as if the C-Face gives you the ability to speak in multiple dialects!

The Cannula mask by BDCI avoids this problem with its reinforcing endoskeleton. A thin plastic grille, this skeleton gives the mask its defining structure, preventing it from pressing against your face the same way a hanger prevents clothes from getting crushed by retaining its shape. Designed to be worn by people with respiratory difficulties, the endoskeleton even comes with a hollow spine that allows you to plug a nasal cannula to it, letting you direct fresh oxygen right to the wearer’s nose; effectively allowing them to inhale and exhale freely without worrying about a flimsy mask smothering them every time they try to breathe.

Whether you choose to wear a mask or not impacts not just your health – but those susceptible around you who trust you to take care of them. So the next time you don a mask, feel proud that you are helping those in need around you! Want to look at some more mask designs, check out the first and second parts of this series for inspiration.

Design via Yanko Design https://bit.ly/33D9esf August 13, 2020 at 07:44AM

[sentrava]

What’s On in Copenhagen: June 2018

There’s nothing quite like summer in Copenhagen. If we’re blessed with good weather, that is. And we don’t want to jinx it or anything, but so far this year has been bloody spectacular. So get out your diary and note down all the great things you’re going to be doing this month in between sunbathing; there’s plenty!

Here are the best events happening in Copenhagen, Denmark, throughout June:

Wednesday 30th May to Sunday 3rd June

Distortion Festival

It’s that time of year again, and it’s their 20 year anniversary! Get ready for drunken revelry in the streets and lots of house music. The Nørrebro and Vesterbro neighborhoods may be getting sick of Distortion, but we think it’ll still be around annoying people, like the little brother in Teen Witch, for years to come.

    Friday 1st June

Trampoline House’s 7th Birthday

Happy birthday to Trampoline House, the community centre that supports refugees and asylum seekers in Copenhagen! They’ll be hosting an afternoon of fun from 4 pm including speeches, singing, exhibitions, and more. Go toast this wonderful organisation!

    The Room at Husets Biograf

Known as “the Citizen Kane of bad movies,” The Room is truly something to behold. If you’re interested in the backstory of this cult classic bad film, check out the recent film The Disaster Artist or the podcast How Did This Get Made, episode #23. There will be two screenings: one at 7 pm and the other at 9:30 pm.

    Saturday 2nd June

Open Firestation in Frederiksberg

The Frederiksberg fire station will be open from 10 am – 1 pm. This is a great thing to take the kids to see; touch the fire truck, learn about how the station runs, and see firemen and women in their gear.

    Spice World at Cinemateket

The feminist manifesto of our time (we kid, but still, girl power forever!) will be back on the big screen. Enjoy the movie that had us all asking: “how big are tour buses, exactly?!”

    Sunday 3rd June

Studenterhuset Flea Market

Need something new to wear for that upcoming holiday? Buy second-hand clothes and accessories at the Studenterhuset flea market, open from 11 am – 4 pm. Entrance is free, so go have a good browse around.

    Princess Mononoke at Cinemateket

This historical fantasy epic anime film follows the story of the gods of the forest and their fight against the humans who destroy it through their consumption, as well as prince Ashitaka’s role in the fight. It is an absolutely stunning movie that is not to be missed; if you can’t make this showing, it will be on again on the 30th, and again in July.

    Tuesday 5th June

Constitution Day

Called Grundlovsdag in Danish, Danish Constitution Day celebrates both the 1849 signing of the original Constitution and the adoption of the current 1953 Constitution. Many businesses will be closed or only open until noon, and office are closed, so enjoy a day with friends, family, or just relaxing. Fingers crossed for sunshine!

    Thursday 7th – Sunday 17th June

Copenhagen Photo Festival

The annual photo festival is back to showcase some of the best photographic talents from Denmark and around the world. See exhibitions, attend talks and workshops, and learn more about the art of photography. There are locations all over the city, but the centre of everything is at Photo City in Carlsberg Byen.

    Thursday 7th June

Designing for Natural Interfaces at Space10

This talk at Space10 examines the body as a digital user interface and how technology is being developed with intuitive use in mind. If you’re interested in the ways that technology can be designed with a more natural usage pattern, you won’t want to miss this talk. It will be hosted by a panel of experts (TBD) and is free.

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    First Hate at Lillefredag, Tivoli

Danish pop duo First Hate will be performing at Tivoli’s Lillefredag. If you’re not familiar with their sound, it’s very New Wave – in the best way. Singer Anton Falck is an absolute joy to watch on stage, and his deep, sonorous voice recalls Ian Curtis of Joy Division.

    Friday 8th June

Trevor Noah at Forum

The South African comedian is performing in Copenhagen. Well-known in South Africa for his hilarious stand-up, Noah has more recently become a household name as the host of the news satire TV program “The Daily Show.” If you haven’t seen the impressions peppered throughout his stand-up, check out the clip below!

    Saturday 9th June

Bonnie and Clyde at Cinemateket

See Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty in perhaps their most iconic roles in this 1967 film directed by Arthur Penn. The acting, the aesthetic; it’s all great. The film, based on a true story, is about two young people who go on a crime spree in the 1930s. At the time the film was released, the violence was extremely controversial. There will be an introduction by University of Copenhagen lecturer and author Peter Schepelern.

    Sunday 10th June

Trendsales x Tradono Fashion Flea Market

Take a stroll around this high-end monthly flea market for affordable fashion finds. It’s a treasure trove! The market is on Israel Plads just next to Torvehallerne, so go grab some good food and ferret out your next great outfit. The market is open 10 am – 4 pm.

    Anti-Westerns: Soldier Blue at Husets Biograf

This Sunday series explores the “anti-Western” films of the 1970s that sought to subvert the “good cowboy, bad Native American, weak woman” stereotypes. Soldier Blue (1970) was directed by Ralph Nelson, and stars Candace Bergen and Peter Strauss. The film, which depicts graphic violence against Native American women and children, is meant to double as an allegory for the Vietnam War. There will be two other anti-Westerns (also known as revisionist Westerns) shown on

    Friday 15th June

Animal Collective at Store Vega

See the massively popular American experimental pop band. Their eclectic take on both their sound and who actually appears in the band on any given day have made them a somewhat mysterious, but greatly beloved, group.

    Sunday 17th June

Danish on a Sunday: QEDA at Cinemateket

Danes don’t typically produce sci-fi films, but this is one of the few. If you’re into the genre, it’s definitely worth checking out. Set in 2095, the film follows Fang Rung in a dystopian future as he undergoes molecular fission and sends his other half back in time. As with all “Danish on a Sunday” films, there will be English subtitles.

    Angus & Julia Stone at Store Vega

The Australian brother and sister duo are coming to Store Vega for what is sure to be a relaxed and mesmerising show. We love their folky, indie pop.

    Wednesday 20th – Saturday 23rd June

Copenhell

The massive heavy metal festival on Refshaleøen is back and their line up this year is rad. Alice in Chains, Ozzy Osbourne, Deftones, and Kreator will be taking the stage, just to name a few. The vibe here is always good old heavy metal fun; everyone is just there to rock out. There are still tickets left, but they go fast.

    Friday 22nd – Saturday 30th June

Rebel Without a Cause at Cinemateket

If you haven’t yet seen the classic 1955 film “Rebel Without a Cause,” starring James Dean (he died before the film’s release), Natalie Wood, and Sal Mineo, you’re in luck: Cinemateket will be showing it every day for a week! The film tells the story of Jim, Judy, and Plato, three suburban teenagers dealing with various emotional issues stemming from their parents. At the time, the film was groundbreaking for its portrayal of middle class, suburban youth as troubled. Dean’s portrays of Jim is raw and wonderful.

    Saturday 23rd June – Sunday 24th June

Rosé Festival

Love rosé? Who doesn’t! Get yourself a ticket to this very summer-ish festival and enjoy a few glasses of something pink and tasting of strawberries. Mmm.

    Saturday 23rd June

Sankt Hans Aften

Enjoy the celebration of the summer solstice, and the feast of Saint John the Baptist, with bonfires, beers, and singing. You can find out all the best places to join bonfires parties here.

    Monday 25th June

Ziggy Marley at Store Vega

Catch reggae and dub star Ziggy Marley performing at Store Vega. He always puts on a killer show and the beats will be excellent.

    Wednesday 30th June – Thursday 7th July

Roskilde Festival

Northern Europe’s biggest rock festival is back. There’s the music, of course (headliners this year include Eminem, Cardi B, and Vince Staples), but Roskilde is also serving up exciting food, and fun festival style. It’s a massive party, and all of Denmark will be there!

    Ongoing in June

  “VERY: Ed Ruscha on Paper” Exhibition at Louisiana Museum of Modern Art

See 54 paper works by living legend American artist Ed Ruscha, together for the first time thanks to the UBS Art Collection. Ruscha’s sly take on American culture, and particularly the LA landscape, is a real treat.

  High On Luxury: Lost Treasures of the Roman Empire Exhibit at Glyptoteket

Silver, gold, gems and luxury items created during the Roman Empire, celebrating artisan craftsmanship and decadence. If you’re in the mood to party, but in a super-cultured way, this is the exhibit for you.

  Jesper Christiansen “Touchstone” Exhibit at GL Strand

Danish painter Jesper Christiansen is renown for his literary paintings that create almost-theatrical scenes and staging. “Touchstone” combines text with paintings to showcase the relationship between the words and visuals. A really interesting and unique museum experience!

  Mathias Bengtsson “Organic Transformations” Exhibit at Designmuseum Danmark

This is a small exhibition in the hall between the lobby and the cafe of Designmuseum Danmark, but it’s really worth a visit. These incredible pieces are a blend of furniture and art; one-off pieces that utilise new technological advances to create awe-inspiring textures.

  If you’re a business or organisation that would like us to add your event to next month’s calendar, please contact us at hello [@] scandinaviastandard [dot] com. Thank you!

  Stay Up to Date with our Newsletter

Get new articles, interesting links and upcoming events delivered to your inbox every month. No spam. Unsubscribe whenever you want.

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  What’s On in Copenhagen: June 2018 published first on https://medium.com/@OCEANDREAMCHARTERS

[allineednow]

<p>Survival Defense: Here's How To Escape Handcuffs</p>

Handcuffs can be bought by anyone. It only requires a mind that is criminal and a couple of bucks to turn this thing against a person whose liberty is compromised.

Rememeber that handcuffs are employed for temporary restraint. Which means that if you are left alone in handcuffs, you can escape. Then this report is exactly what you require, if you do not know how to do it.

Keep reading!

Briefly:

Freeing yourself from handcuffs can save lives or get you a court-appointed lawyer. Exercise sound judgement as to when to use and to use this ability.

After I wrote about restraint escape kits and how to take them, readers asked articles about how to use restraint escape gear. This report is one of a series on how to do just that.

If SEALs can be captured, so can you!

More than anything else, executing a restraint escape requires training.

The decision is.   As is the case with lots of the survival abilities, freeing price them yourself from handcuffs could possibly save lives or worse, so be sure that you understand and carefully consider the consequences before attempting to do so.

"I do not think you need to teach people to escape double-locked handcuffs because offenders just lock them and LEO's double lock them."

LEO (Law Enforcement Officer)

I disagree.  The idea that information that is less makes people safer is a slippery slope.

Whether software security equipment or security equipment, in order that they can be adjusted, it is much better to expose security flaws and limitations to voter the typical consumer or shareholder, making.

It's reckless to assume that must be uneducated and dumb.

SEALs are Issued Bobby Pins

I have heard a lot of bluster and big talk from death machines about the way they will never be taken prisoner or walk away from a fight.

Are you impressed by them? Put in you? Interest you? Me either ... I guess death machines need to bore their enemies to death.

I noticed that a request for proposal for kits for one of the SEAL teams included a lot of the same gear that I carry. Why carry pins? Because they are ubiquitous, do not scream "restraint escape tool!" , easy to hide and easy to improvise restraint escape tools that are serviceable from.

In trained hands, they behave as a reach tool for handcuff keys, pick handcuffs, can shim handcuffs, pick locks, tension locks, push a friction saw tight flex cuffs or tape and have restraint escape software.

Before you decide you are too hard or too righteous to ever possibly need to escape, consider this: If SEALs can be captured, you can also.

SEALs carry tools to execute a last-ditch escape plan. What do you take?

Anyone can Buy Handcuffs

One does not need to be a law enforcement officer to purchase handcuffs. All they need is a couple of bucks of credit and a heartbeat.

Under the circumstances, you are wrong thinking that you're safe!

Some people are more prone than others to enter this kind of situations.

Who Are Individuals with Higher Risk of Illegal Restraint?

Violent Crime

While many Americans think that the danger of restraint-related crime is too low to warrant learning how to escape, the US is only ever one congressional vote away from becoming the newest banana republic and one cyberattack, EMP, financial collapse or Black Swan away from sliding back into third world status.

Also, when assessing risk, considering the probability of occurrence, but dismissing your exposure to the risk is a recipe for failure.

The rate of crime is extremely low where I reside in the usa, but the fact that so many people own or carry firearms helps keep it that way. It's just the opposite. With bands crossing state lines to perpetrate crimes Home invasion and offenses are on the rise. It can occur to you.

International Travel

Kidnapping for ransom, offenses involving restraint and lighting kidnappings are significant risks in certain parts of the world, especially for Americans. I spend months at a time in parts of Brazil and traveling to other countries where illegal restraint is a threat that is significant, and often precedes homicide.

Journalists, Reporters, Media

With visibility, comes increased risk.

Sex & Stalking-related Violent Crimes

Some people just won't take, "Hell, no!" For an answer and believe it or not, it doesn't just happen to girls.

I will never forget how a 6'4" man's man bawled like a baby as he tried to recount the experience of explaining to his son how a group of bikers abducted him from a gas station, drove him out of town in a van and sexually assaulted him repeatedly.

If criminals try to control you and transfer you your chances of survival drop to single digits, whereas 6 in 7 victims survive. You may be much better off making a run for it. Escaping your restraints may position you to fight and/or run.

Military

Whether working abroad or on active dutypersonnel are high value targets for politically and religiously-motivated crimes.

International Aid Workers

Too often victims of "wrong place, wrong time."

Celebrities

Do not laugh, the world wide web has made it possible for the average person to reach a global audience. It is a dream come true for stalkers.

How Handcuffs Work

Essentially the same handcuff design in the USA has changed very little in 100 years. It's so popular that changing make a logistical headache and it would be costly.

Most arrestees are concerted, so leadership does not want to deal does not typically value officer security highly and with stated headache. They whitewash that the standard handcuff design has security vulnerabilities with SOP, saying that handcuffs should be used only to secure prisoners while an officer is present.

There are plenty of situations since security handcuff isn't typically issued by departments for situations which fall outside this principle. These factors make handcuffs both easy and used to escape.

Standard handcuffs have a single strand with teeth which pivots on a that bisects both arms of a double strand. The stand that is single and teeth on a locking bar interlocks. This feature makes handcuffs easy to apply and adjustable.

Once the single strand is closed around the wrist and its own ratchet teeth engage the opposing ratchet teeth on the locking bar (normally obscured by the cheek plates), the single stand will not open. In this condition, the handcuffs are single locked.

To double lock the handcuffs, the locking bar is engaged by depressing a recessed detent pin with a push pin that was short, called a stem, located on the top of the key. The handcuffs are double locked, once the locking bar is engaged. In this condition, the handcuffs are secure and cannot be tightened further.

Unlocking Handcuffs

Simply Insert the handcuff key to unlock handcuffs and turn it counter-clockwise, as this disengages the locking bar. Turning the clockwise and keeping pressure disengages the teeth on the locking bar from the teeth on the strand, enabling the strand to open.

Caution! If necessary, these techniques are best practiced with a key handy and a party nearby to aid in removal of handcuffs. If handcuffs are over-tightened for a protracted period, they can lead to nerve damage!

Standard Counter-picking Characteristics

The keyway has a post protruding from its centre which make it difficult to insert tools into the keyway to control the locking bars, but allows handcuff keys to seat

To further thwart efforts to open handcuffs by picking, the double lock bar can be replaced with two thinner dual locking bars so if a tool that matches the shape of a handcuff key is used to control the dual lock bar, but is too thin, the tool is only going to disengage one of the two locking bars at a time.

Procedures & Tools for Defeating Handcuffs

Today, the norm is to fix problems with money. Need a tool? Buy it online.  To me, survival entails solving problems without money, stores or the internet. If you really want to purchase a specific tool, I'm positive you can get someone to sell you on (including me).

But I recommend that you save your money for the specialized tools, like a handcuff with one of the cheek plates and begin making basic restraint escape tools yourself. As the cheek plate is thicker than handcuffs they are not ideal for training, but it will let you manipulate the components and understand how they work.

Not only will you save money making tools, however you'll learn a lot and build a skill set that cannot be readily found taken from you.

You can make escape and escape gear from any material that is sufficiently strong and ductile, including aluminum cans, bobby pins, wiper blade, feeler gauges, road sweeper bristles, water bottles, cordage, tubing, lip protectant and any number of additional pieces of trash that clutter areas occupied by humans.

Keys

The palms of your hands will be facing away from the handcuffs and the keyways secured, if handcuffed from the viewpoint of preventing escape. The fact that the handcuffs are double locked along with this position makes it tricky for normal folks that are anatomically to reach the keyways and movement is further restricted if rigid or hinged handcuffs are implemented.

Not all police departments use this method. Some sections handcuff with palms together or the handcuffs are not removed in time.

The solution is to use an extension or reach tool to extend the reach of a handcuff key that is concealable. I explained the advantages and disadvantages of different models of keys in a previous article.

A reach tool that I like which can be used with important designs is the bobby pin, but the purpose can be served by any number of tools. A short length of silicone tubing (like I wear on my necklace) can be useful with some models and can be utilized to pad your palms as you bend metal.

Necklace keys, designs and approaches to hide them in the articles.

Picks

Modified Mini Binder Clip Manage

The modified mini binder clip is one of my favorite ways to open handcuffs. I carry binder clips as money clips for cash. Rather than preparing it by gathering it in a single wad I prefer to distribute cash. I find it handy to dividing foreign and domestic currency. Now I have plausible deniability should a loose binder clip handle be found in my person ... it must have dropped a clip I was using as a money clip.

You won't need to modify them, if you can find binder clips of the right dimensions that's great. The modifications are difficult to notice, especially to somebody with no lens or an idea of what they are seeking, if you can not.

Shorten the length of the bend of the binder clip handle which will be used as the tooth of a handcuff key to 2.80mm including the diameter of the wire. The diameter of the wire should be reduced to 0.85mm to make certain that it can pass feely involving the keyhole from the cheek plate along with the security pin. Modifications can easily be performed with a wire cutter and a diamond jeweler's file, by rubbing it on a concrete or rock surface of grit or with a diamond cutoff disk for a rotary tool. The detail-oriented can the clip to prevent detection.

To use, bend the clip open. Work the "tooth" into the keyway and use it to sweep and/or stab open the dual locking bar(s) in a counter-clockwise management and then the locking bar in a clockwise direction and ..."Presto!" Double locked handcuffs just opened with no key.

Hook Pick

A moderate or so hook lock pick can be used to control the locking bars with a binder clip handle you'll be pushing to control the locking bars rather than sweeping. Give it a go.

Bobby Pin

Same deal basic idea. The technique pushing determined by the way you bent the bobby pin or can be sweeping. Believe it or not, SERE shops online actually sell "pre-bent" bobby pins, but if you lack the wherewithal to bend a bobby pin, you aren't realistically going to be escaping anything. Better to retreat to your safe space and trust in the mercy of captors.

Shims 

Shims are tiny, easy to hide and can open handcuffs quickly and quietly, if that the handcuffs are just single locked. Because the locking bar prevents downward travel of the locking bar, which is necessary to disengage the teeth enough to wedge a shim between the two sets of 38, double locked handcuffs will not open.

Shims improvised from hair clips, bobby pins, cotter pins or objects or can be bought inexpensively. Understand that models sold will not open handcuffs featuring single strands and teeth, like UZI brand and some generic cuffs offered without modification at military surplus stores.

I examine every shim I see hit the market and measure them with a caliper. Most are too wide to reliably open cheap handcuffs. (Shim manufacturers take heed!) Shims will need to be changed by narrowing the width.

We are not talking measurements here, just a fraction of a millimeter, so a narrow shim can open handcuffs with a wider single strand just fine, but the reverse is untrue. That fraction of a millimeter of additional width is the difference between a shim not working or working.

To shim handcuffs, insert the shim beneath the teeth on the strand. Wedge the shim between the single strand teeth and the locking bar teeth, keeping constant (traumatic) pressure on the shim, pushing it in between the two sets of teeth. Maintain pressure once in place and simultaneously tighten the single strand, taking care not to over-tighten.

One ratchet click should be enough to seat the shim between the teeth! If the shim does not seat in a couple of clicks, start over and don't risk nerve damage in training! As the single strand is tightened, it compels the teeth to disengage for an instant before the bending spring slams them back closed. In this instant, the shim can be wedged between the teeth, preventing them from engaging. Once seated, the shim can then travel a couple of centimeters within the handcuff body as the single strand is tightened and the single strand then be opened because its teeth will slide along the shim instead of engaging the teeth on the locking bar.

Slipping Handcuffs

Human anatomy varies a great deal. Some folks have wrists which are larger than forearms , elastic hands or their hands. All of the features that are above aid in handcuffs that are slipping. The higher handcuffs are applied on the forearms, the easier it is to slip them.

Flex your forearm muscles discreetly as handcuffs are implemented. Your forearms will get thinner, when your muscles are relaxed. Your range of movement should be increased even if you are not able to slip the cuffs at this point.

Employing lip protectant, white petrolatum, a little petroleum jelly or perhaps butter or grease from food and implementing handcuffs over long sleeves or coat sleeves increases range of motion can act as a lubricant and aid in handcuffs.

Breaking Handcuffs

Breaking the Chain

It's likely to break the string of models of standard handcuffs by then twisting both wrists so that the cheek plates bind on one another, creating a fulcrum and yanking the string taught. Pressure in the rivets that bind the strands and the strand together, using the strands as levers to acquire mechanical advantage that is sufficient to snap the string.

The downsides are that practicing this technique is on the side and you'll still want to remove the handcuffs.

Cutting the Single Strand

Do not cut on the strand near the rivet! If you do, the ratchet teeth may stop the strand. Cut it closer to where the strand enters the handcuff body. That way it can open, pivoting on the rivet.

The Secret to Restraint Escape

The secret recipe for successful restraint escape (and most other survival skills) is straightforward. Whichever method or tool you choose,

...more than the best teacher on the planet,

...more than raw talent or genius,

...more than best or hottest tools,

... effective restraint escape demands practice and dogged persistence! The others may help a bit, but persistence and practice mean the difference between failure and proficiency.

Avoid This Too Common Mistake

Practice. Begin with the models of handcuffs, as you do.

A mistake a lot of folks who live the tactical lifestyle often make is practicing with only higher quality handcuffs they own or are issued instead of models of handcuffs offenders are more likely to use.

If you take handcuffs, you should be experienced in escaping from the handcuffs you take and take a spare key attached to a reach tool, but a road criminal perpetrating a home invasion to get money to score drugs is more likely to use a pair of cheap army surplus store handcuffs which have been rusting behind the seat in his truck for the last 5 years than a pair of well-oiled high-end handcuffs.

Practice with both! This is how you'll be able to make the move when your life will be on the border!

This Report has been written by Cache Valley Prepper for Survivopedia.

[sentrava]

What’s On in Copenhagen: June 2018

There’s nothing quite like summer in Copenhagen. If we’re blessed with good weather, that is. And we don’t want to jinx it or anything, but so far this year has been bloody spectacular. So get out your diary and note down all the great things you’re going to be doing this month in between sunbathing; there’s plenty!

Here are the best events happening in Copenhagen, Denmark, throughout June:

Wednesday 30th May to Sunday 3rd June

Distortion Festival

It’s that time of year again, and it’s their 20 year anniversary! Get ready for drunken revelry in the streets and lots of house music. The Nørrebro and Vesterbro neighborhoods may be getting sick of Distortion, but we think it’ll still be around annoying people, like the little brother in Teen Witch, for years to come.

    Friday 1st June

Trampoline House’s 7th Birthday

Happy birthday to Trampoline House, the community centre that supports refugees and asylum seekers in Copenhagen! They’ll be hosting an afternoon of fun from 4 pm including speeches, singing, exhibitions, and more. Go toast this wonderful organisation!

    The Room at Husets Biograf

Known as “the Citizen Kane of bad movies,” The Room is truly something to behold. If you’re interested in the backstory of this cult classic bad film, check out the recent film The Disaster Artist or the podcast How Did This Get Made, episode #23. There will be two screenings: one at 7 pm and the other at 9:30 pm.

    Saturday 2nd June

Open Firestation in Frederiksberg

The Frederiksberg fire station will be open from 10 am – 1 pm. This is a great thing to take the kids to see; touch the fire truck, learn about how the station runs, and see firemen and women in their gear.

    Spice World at Cinemateket

The feminist manifesto of our time (we kid, but still, girl power forever!) will be back on the big screen. Enjoy the movie that had us all asking: “how big are tour buses, exactly?!”

    Sunday 3rd June

Studenterhuset Flea Market

Need something new to wear for that upcoming holiday? Buy second-hand clothes and accessories at the Studenterhuset flea market, open from 11 am – 4 pm. Entrance is free, so go have a good browse around.

    Princess Mononoke at Cinemateket

This historical fantasy epic anime film follows the story of the gods of the forest and their fight against the humans who destroy it through their consumption, as well as prince Ashitaka’s role in the fight. It is an absolutely stunning movie that is not to be missed; if you can’t make this showing, it will be on again on the 30th, and again in July.

    Tuesday 5th June

Constitution Day

Called Grundlovsdag in Danish, Danish Constitution Day celebrates both the 1849 signing of the original Constitution and the adoption of the current 1953 Constitution. Many businesses will be closed or only open until noon, and office are closed, so enjoy a day with friends, family, or just relaxing. Fingers crossed for sunshine!

    Thursday 7th – Sunday 17th June

Copenhagen Photo Festival

The annual photo festival is back to showcase some of the best photographic talents from Denmark and around the world. See exhibitions, attend talks and workshops, and learn more about the art of photography. There are locations all over the city, but the centre of everything is at Photo City in Carlsberg Byen.

    Thursday 7th June

Designing for Natural Interfaces at Space10

This talk at Space10 examines the body as a digital user interface and how technology is being developed with intuitive use in mind. If you’re interested in the ways that technology can be designed with a more natural usage pattern, you won’t want to miss this talk. It will be hosted by a panel of experts (TBD) and is free.

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    First Hate at Lillefredag, Tivoli

Danish pop duo First Hate will be performing at Tivoli’s Lillefredag. If you’re not familiar with their sound, it’s very New Wave – in the best way. Singer Anton Falck is an absolute joy to watch on stage, and his deep, sonorous voice recalls Ian Curtis of Joy Division.

    Friday 8th June

Trevor Noah at Forum

The South African comedian is performing in Copenhagen. Well-known in South Africa for his hilarious stand-up, Noah has more recently become a household name as the host of the news satire TV program “The Daily Show.” If you haven’t seen the impressions peppered throughout his stand-up, check out the clip below!

    Saturday 9th June

Bonnie and Clyde at Cinemateket

See Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty in perhaps their most iconic roles in this 1967 film directed by Arthur Penn. The acting, the aesthetic; it’s all great. The film, based on a true story, is about two young people who go on a crime spree in the 1930s. At the time the film was released, the violence was extremely controversial. There will be an introduction by University of Copenhagen lecturer and author Peter Schepelern.

    Sunday 10th June

Trendsales x Tradono Fashion Flea Market

Take a stroll around this high-end monthly flea market for affordable fashion finds. It’s a treasure trove! The market is on Israel Plads just next to Torvehallerne, so go grab some good food and ferret out your next great outfit. The market is open 10 am – 4 pm.

    Anti-Westerns: Soldier Blue at Husets Biograf

This Sunday series explores the “anti-Western” films of the 1970s that sought to subvert the “good cowboy, bad Native American, weak woman” stereotypes. Soldier Blue (1970) was directed by Ralph Nelson, and stars Candace Bergen and Peter Strauss. The film, which depicts graphic violence against Native American women and children, is meant to double as an allegory for the Vietnam War. There will be two other anti-Westerns (also known as revisionist Westerns) shown on

    Friday 15th June

Animal Collective at Store Vega

See the massively popular American experimental pop band. Their eclectic take on both their sound and who actually appears in the band on any given day have made them a somewhat mysterious, but greatly beloved, group.

    Sunday 17th June

Danish on a Sunday: QEDA at Cinemateket

Danes don’t typically produce sci-fi films, but this is one of the few. If you’re into the genre, it’s definitely worth checking out. Set in 2095, the film follows Fang Rung in a dystopian future as he undergoes molecular fission and sends his other half back in time. As with all “Danish on a Sunday” films, there will be English subtitles.

    Angus & Julia Stone at Store Vega

The Australian brother and sister duo are coming to Store Vega for what is sure to be a relaxed and mesmerising show. We love their folky, indie pop.

    Wednesday 20th – Saturday 23rd June

Copenhell

The massive heavy metal festival on Refshaleøen is back and their line up this year is rad. Alice in Chains, Ozzy Osbourne, Deftones, and Kreator will be taking the stage, just to name a few. The vibe here is always good old heavy metal fun; everyone is just there to rock out. There are still tickets left, but they go fast.

    Friday 22nd – Saturday 30th June

Rebel Without a Cause at Cinemateket

If you haven’t yet seen the classic 1955 film “Rebel Without a Cause,” starring James Dean (he died before the film’s release), Natalie Wood, and Sal Mineo, you’re in luck: Cinemateket will be showing it every day for a week! The film tells the story of Jim, Judy, and Plato, three suburban teenagers dealing with various emotional issues stemming from their parents. At the time, the film was groundbreaking for its portrayal of middle class, suburban youth as troubled. Dean’s portrays of Jim is raw and wonderful.

    Saturday 23rd June – Sunday 24th June

Rosé Festival

Love rosé? Who doesn’t! Get yourself a ticket to this very summer-ish festival and enjoy a few glasses of something pink and tasting of strawberries. Mmm.

    Saturday 23rd June

Sankt Hans Aften

Enjoy the celebration of the summer solstice, and the feast of Saint John the Baptist, with bonfires, beers, and singing. You can find out all the best places to join bonfires parties here.

    Monday 25th June

Ziggy Marley at Store Vega

Catch reggae and dub star Ziggy Marley performing at Store Vega. He always puts on a killer show and the beats will be excellent.

    Wednesday 30th June – Thursday 7th July

Roskilde Festival

Northern Europe’s biggest rock festival is back. There’s the music, of course (headliners this year include Eminem, Cardi B, and Vince Staples), but Roskilde is also serving up exciting food, and fun festival style. It’s a massive party, and all of Denmark will be there!

    Ongoing in June

  “VERY: Ed Ruscha on Paper” Exhibition at Louisiana Museum of Modern Art

See 54 paper works by living legend American artist Ed Ruscha, together for the first time thanks to the UBS Art Collection. Ruscha’s sly take on American culture, and particularly the LA landscape, is a real treat.

  High On Luxury: Lost Treasures of the Roman Empire Exhibit at Glyptoteket

Silver, gold, gems and luxury items created during the Roman Empire, celebrating artisan craftsmanship and decadence. If you’re in the mood to party, but in a super-cultured way, this is the exhibit for you.

  Jesper Christiansen “Touchstone” Exhibit at GL Strand

Danish painter Jesper Christiansen is renown for his literary paintings that create almost-theatrical scenes and staging. “Touchstone” combines text with paintings to showcase the relationship between the words and visuals. A really interesting and unique museum experience!

  Mathias Bengtsson “Organic Transformations” Exhibit at Designmuseum Danmark

This is a small exhibition in the hall between the lobby and the cafe of Designmuseum Danmark, but it’s really worth a visit. These incredible pieces are a blend of furniture and art; one-off pieces that utilise new technological advances to create awe-inspiring textures.

  If you’re a business or organisation that would like us to add your event to next month’s calendar, please contact us at hello [@] scandinaviastandard [dot] com. Thank you!

  Stay Up to Date with our Newsletter

Get new articles, interesting links and upcoming events delivered to your inbox every month. No spam. Unsubscribe whenever you want.

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  What’s On in Copenhagen: June 2018 published first on https://medium.com/@OCEANDREAMCHARTERS