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alwaysahiccupandastrid · 6 months

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I watched TBOSAS today (Sunday) and I’m sadly not very well (bad cold or flu), but I wanted to try and make a little post to appreciate the film/give my thoughts.

I saw the first three Hunger Games movies on opening weekend during my teens - the only one I didn’t watch at the cinema was Mockingjay Part 2, because it coincided with my GCSE mocks and some other stuff I had going on. I saw the first one twice at the cinema, once on opening weekend with one friend and then a second time with my then-best friend a few weeks later; I saw CF and MJP1 with my younger sister on opening weekend because it’s one of the few series we both love and so it’s one of the few things we can both enjoy together. My point is that I’m a huge THG fan, have been since I read the first book in late 2011 when I was 13 - I even still have my Mockingjay pin that I bought in March 2012 from Waterstones that I still wear!

Anyway, I read TBOSAS during lockdown, my sister bought the book and let me read it after she did, so this has been one of my most anticipated movies of the year!

!Spoilers below!

I was ill when I watched it and I’m even iller now but I’ll try to remember as much as I can

I LOVED IT

I’m glad they made Coriolanus Snow hot because I felt so conflicted watching him and that’s EXACTLY what was needed for the character, he’s got this beautiful exterior but he is POISON inside

Rachel Zegler was AMAZING by the way, I’m not her biggest fan by any means but I say fuck the haters

Hunter Schafer as Tigris was AMAZING casting, she really needs to shine away from Euphoria because damn she was so good in this film

Just in general casting ATE in this movie; Viola Davis, Peter Dinklage, Jason Schwartzman etc

Tigris was spot on: “I wouldn’t sing a note for you” and pointing out that Coryo needed to get Lucy Gray’s trust in order to help her win

Arachne Crane deserved death, idc 🤷‍♀️

NO ARACHNE FUNERAL LIKE THE BOOK?!?

The fact that the tributes were just dumped in a zoo and put on display like animals?!? Compared to six and a half decades later where the tributes are glammed up and treated like royalty, even allowed to train before entering the arena??? I love how starkly different it is

I won’t lie, Lucky Flickerman stole the film whenever he was in the scene 😭😅 absolute scene stealer?!?

Lucky trying to cancel his dinner reservations on night 1 of the games because “this is taking longer than I expected” 💀

Also telling one of the mentors not to puke on the floor after their tribute was killed?!?! Iconic really

“Those drones really are not very good” - PLEASE 😭

You can definitely tell Lucky is an ancestor of Caesar lol

The bow and arrow when Coryo enters the arena?!?! 👀🏹

Coryo killing Bobbin was BRUTAL. He could have stopped after the first hit, that was self defence - but he carried on and kept hitting him. It was definitely a huge moment

I obviously knew Wovey wasn’t going to survive, but god DAMN it 😭 DID THEY HAVE TO MAKE HER SO SWEET AND LIKEABLE?!? She just wanted to go home, and those were her last words before she was killed by the snakes 😭

Coryo really cheated just so Lucy Gray could survive, and it still has me questioning whether he cares for her or if it is just to do with the Plinth prize? 🤔

“What are the Hunger Games for, Mister Snow?” And all I can think about was him explaining in the original HG movie why there’s a Victor, why they don’t just kill 24 kids at random:

THE SNAKE SCENE IN THE ARENA WHERE LUCY GRAY SINGS?!? ASDFGHJKL THIS IS CINEMA

The Games felt so much more primal and sad, like you could tell all of them were just trying to survive, even Coral who seemed to target Lucy Gray ruthlessly but then before her death made the comment that it can’t have all been for nothing…

The fact that Gaul didn’t want to call an end to the games even though Lucy Gray was the final survivor, and it was only when the other mentors were chanting to let her out, to call it, that she finally did it…

I nearly lost my shit during the first hanging scene because I suddenly remembered that THIS was what the Hanging Tree song was based on; “they strung up a man they say who murdered three” “dead man called out for his love to flee” etc. And that is EXACTLY what happened, right to a tee: the man protesting his innocence, calling for his love to go…

Listen I may be REALLY off, but the meadow where Coryo and Lucy Gray met up again… is it the same meadow from the final scene in Mockingjay P2 with Everlark and their kids?!?

It probably isn’t but it reminded me of it idk

THE KATNISS PLANT - FORESHADOWING 😭 “it’s not ready yet” “things change fast” ASDFGHJKL

SEJANUS PLINTH YOU HAVE ALWAYS DESERVED BETTER 😭 knew it was coming but I was so sad

The scene where they hang Sejanus was so chilling, because the birds (i think they were Jabberjays and not Mockingjays but I could be wrong?) repeated his blood curdling calls for help as he was hung, like I was so haunted by it afterwards

No wonder Coriolanus Snow hates the fucking birds, Jesus Christ

THE CABIN AND WOODS SCENES?!?

The absolute tonal shift when he finds the guns, when Lucy Gray remarks that she’s the only loose end as if it’s a taunt, a challenge etc.

Coriolanus running through the woods, screaming “AFTER EVERYTHING I HAVE DONE FOR YOU?!?” - it just SCREAMS toxic relationship quite frankly, like whether you believe there was any genuine love at all or not, it just screams how toxic the relationship was between them. It was doomed from the start frankly

I was so concerned that the film would make it clear whether or not he killed Lucy Gray, but thankfully they left it ambiguous just like the book. Did one of his bullets hit her? Did she fly free?

It’s so interesting that Lucy Gray and her games were completely and utterly wiped, there was no trace of them - but her songs, her art, survived even after she disappeared. Songs like the Meadow song and the Hanging Tree survived and were passed on through District 12, becoming part of their culture - Snow couldn’t destroy that, no matter how hard he might have tried

Someone on Twitter made this comment and I agree:

Also YES, I noticed that Tigris called him “Coryo” until their last scene together, and then it was “Coriolanus” 😭 and also the fact that she warned him not to turn into his father, his father had hate in his eyes… and then at the end, she sadly tells him “you look like your father, Coriolanus” 😭

The small little hints of the man Coriolanus Snow is in the original series though??? The roses, the Katniss plant Easter egg, etc. And then there’s the fact we see glimpses of what later became his preferred method of killing his enemies - poison. He put poison in the compact and gave it to Lucy Gray, and then he poisoned Casca Highbottom… it’s just so fascinating to think of who this young 18 year old becomes later on, the way he changed over the course of the next 64 years and how those changes came directly from what happened in this story.

Ending the film with Donald Sutherland’s delivery of “It’s the things we love the most that destroy us” from the original movies?!?! FUCK YEAH I WAS THIS CLOSE TO SCREAMING

Honestly it’s got to be VERY hard to play a younger version of a Donald Sutherland character, but especially this one because that man KILLED the part in the films, but I think Tom Blyth did a really good job and I could definitely see hints of the older Snow being included in his performance, like I could genuinely believe it was the same character?

The fact that 64 years later a dark haired girl from District 12 wearing a mockingjay pin and singing songs once sung by a girl he thought dead absolutely fucked his life up?!? We love to see it. It’s like Lucy Gray gave him a middle finger lol

I’ll be honest, as soon as we left the cinema I said to my sister “the only thing is now I want to watch the original four Hunger Games movies” 😭

That’s all I can think of right now because I’m very feverish, I’ve got work in the morning and it was also a long film so there was a LOT going on, but I absolutely LOVED IT. The Hunger Games has truly been the only franchise that has a prequel that has been nearly universally loved and accepted by the fans, Suzanne Collins is truly amazing.

#the hunger games #thg #tbosas #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #the hunger games: the ballad of songbirds and snakes #coriolanus snow #lucy gray baird #tom blyth #rachel zegler #hunter schafer

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viisbubble · 6 months

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TBOSAS has made me so obsessed with The Hinger Games and I’ve literally only read the 1st book and that was years ago. But I just need to rant about how amazing this series is (and about Snow) because I’ve read so much about this now. Disclaimer: this is a very disorganized ramble about my thoughts of TBOSAS and the Hunger Games in general as I have collected through various internet analyses. If I’m misinterpreting anything, please please tell me. I just wanted to get this out there because TBOSAS has me in a chokehold.

Honestly I loved Snow as a character. I loved how Collins portrayed him because he was a total psychopath from the beginning, but there were also so many chances for him to change. Like sure he has trauma, but Tigris is living proof that they could’ve been kind.

I think the book portrays how cruel or a person Snow is better than the movie, which paints him in a more sympathetic light, but I think both interpretations are equally valid.

I remember one post I read talking about how Snow is an unreliable narrator due to his inability to understand his own emotions. Snow is portrayed as smart and analytical in the book because that’s how he views himself. It’s also shown in how he, and the reader through snow’s eyes, believes Sejanus to be stupid when he really isn’t. I’d like to think that Coriolanus truly cared, but that he refused to believe that he’d care for people below him like Sejanus and Lucy Gray, due to his upbringing.

Coryo was too obsessed with himself to see the bigger picture, and that is ultimately his downfall. His rush of power when he killed Bobbins (the tribute, idk I might be misremembering the name) makes him believe that all humans are savages that find joy in violence. He’s too self absorbed to realize, despite being proven wrong multiple times throughout his presidency, that he might be the exception and not the rule.

TBOSAS made me cry because Coryo, Sejanus, and Lucy Gray could’ve had a good future, but it was also an impossible dream. They all had dreams they wanted to achieve, it’s just that Coryo’s obsessions won out. But also, I don’t think his and Lucy Gray’s relationship would’ve ever worked. Coryo needed power and to return to the capitol, and Lucy Gray wouldn’t have given up her freedom, her dream, to go to the capitol with him. But it’s so tragic because their all so young. Coryo and Sejanus are barely adults, and Lucy Gray is 16-17. And I can’t help but be sad because I believe that in a world without the hunger games, they all could’ve lived on happily.

Even though Snow made choices that demonstrated his lust for power, I still think he’s ultimately a product of his environment. The pressure of his father, their family’s legacy, and DR.Gaul we’re large parts in him becoming the antagonist he is.

I read in a fanfic (https://archiveofourown.org/works/51604627 please please read it’s so good I cried so much) that the capitol eats their young, making cruel children crueler and killing the kind ones, and I think that summarizes the tragedy of the story beautifully.

Honestly I just want them to be happy.

#tbosas #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #the hunger games #the hunger games: the ballad of songbirds and snakes #coriolanus snow #sejanus plinth #lucy gray baird #president snow #they’re just children

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iviarellereads · 1 year

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Gideon the Ninth, Bonus Content, Naming Systems

(Curious what I'm doing here? Read this post! For detail on The Locked Tomb coverage and the index, read this one! Like what you see? Send me a Ko-Fi.)

The final Gideon the Ninth paperback bonus content: "A Little Explanation of Naming Systems".

First, the official explanation that your last name in the Nine Houses is not a family name, it's an arithmonym.(1) The first name is sometimes used to indicate family connection: the "hark" in "Harrowhark" is intentionally shared with her father, "Priamhark", and is a tribute to an ancestor of the Tombkeeper line. Thus, names like "Jeannemary" and "Coronabeth" derive from "heirloom name particles." Different Houses assign names in different ways.

Many Houses are also fond of referential diminutives (Mortus to Ortus).

Siblings, even twins, do not generally share last names, though sometimes they share parts of them. The Tridentarii being an exception, their shared name may indicate something about their parents' hopes for their children.(2) There are exceptions, such as the three Asht brothers who were definitively not triplets.

Names do not change with marriage. Non-necromancers pick which of the couple's houses to settle and affiliate themselves and their future children with. Necromancers do not marry outside their Houses, so stay affiliated with their native one. There are some additional rules imposed by certain Houses, such as, if a child is born with a Sixth parent, that child is automatically and irrevocably of the Sixth,(3) "which can prove a legal nightmare".

Here we switch to a note that not all names are included in the pronunciation guide that follows, "due to their appearance in the Bible or elsewhere (the Second, the Fifth, Isaac, Silas)."(4) Also, Muir says she's included some meta-notes to explain some of the jokes and references in her names, but adds:

You don't have to read these. Put your thumb over them if you like.

Harrowhark Nonagesimus: Harrow to rhyme with arrow. Noh-nah-GUESS-i-mus, with the last i like "bitter", and mus just this side of "moose". Harrow is named explicitly for the harrowing of Hell, and hark is an ominous word "that always precedes an awful time, in the old sense of "awe.""

Gideon Nav: nav like navigator. There are many reasons behind Gideon's name. The prophet "who really messed up the Midianites" is one. "Gideon is a prophetic name: someone named their own demise in her."

Ortus Nigenad: "ORT-us. To rhyme with tortoise, unless you pronounce tortoise "tor toys," in which case it doesn't." NIGH-ga-nad, with the hard G. Ortus is in reference to his father Mortus, but "Ortus by itself is the Latin for "rising." Is this hilarious or sad?"

Pelleamena Novenarius: Pelly-AM-enna, not ah-MAY-nah. Noh-ven-ARE-ee-us, with the same "oose" sound as Harrow's. Named for Peleus, the father of Achilles.(5)

Priamhark Noniusvianus: PRY-am-hark, three distinct syllables, with the h audible. NOH-nee-us-vee-AHN-us. "You should have the trick of the "us" sound by now. If you don't, it's fine, nobody cares, it's a random name in a novel about bonermancy."(6) Priam is a character from the Iliad, "famously a dad in a city about to go splat."

Aiglamene: Eye-GLAM-en-ay. From the French "aigle", the eagle.

Crux: rhymes with "sucks", means "cross" which has several layers of humour attached.(7)

Aisamorta: EYE-sa-mor-tah. "Aisa" is a Greek word related to destiny.

Lachrimorta: LACK-ri-mor-tah. From Latin "lacrima" (tears, the kind that well and drop from the eyes).

Glaurica: GLAU-ri-kah. Ri from "ridicule", not "reed".

Judith Deuteros: DEW-ter-oss. The Biblical Judith beheaded the general Holofernes,(8) in the deuterocanonical(9) Book of Judith. Also, the "Book of Deuteronomy is a very didactic(10) text."

Marta Dyas: DIE-ass, and Muir apologizes for not having a better way to explain. Marta, like martial, of war. "The Second House names are serious business."

Ianthe Tridentarius: Ee-AHN-thay, Try-den-TAR-ee-us.

Coronabeth Tridentarius: Cor-OWN-a-beth. Corona like a halo.

The twins were originally to be named Cainabeth and Abella, which Muir says was so unsubtle she "might as well have just gone with "Goodtwin" and "Badtwin." And it's not even accurate! It should be Badtwin, and Lessbadtwin."

Naberius Tern: Na-BEER-ee-us, this time "us" as in "fuss". TURN, like wishing he would turn and walk out the door. "Naberius is one of the demon princes of Hell. Will this mean anything significant later on?? (No.)"

Jeannemary Chatur: JOHN-mair-ee, with a soft, French "j" but definitely Mary, not Marie. Cha-TOUR, not chatter, "though that'd be appropriate." Jeannemary is "a Biblical car crash"(11), but Jeanne is specifically a reference to Jeanne D'Arc.(12)

Isaac Tettares: Tett-AR-ez, not "tett-aries". Isaac foreshadows Jesus's death in the Bible, by bringing the wood for his own sacrifice up a mountain. Here, Isaac foreshadows Gideon's death, by doing the brave thing. "I might as well have called Jeannemary and Isaac "Don'tgetattached" and "Deadsoon.""

Palamedes Sextus: Pal-AM-a-dees, and Muir had a comparison but removed it.(13) SEX-tus with the "us" as in "bus". Was briefly named Diomedes, "Athena's favourite goodboy in the Iliad," but that would've taken away Gideon's "stupidest joke in the book."(14)

Camilla Hect: last name to rhyme with "wrecked". Camilla's name was chosen to complement Palamedes's, as the necromancer and cavalier pairs who love each other often share a syllable or sound. In their case, "am", and in the case of Abigail and Magnus, the "g".

Dulcinea Septimus: Dul-sin-AY-a, not dul-sinn-eya. SEPT-i-mus, Sept like September, and the moose returns.

Note: "Dulcinea" is the famously illusory persona assigned to the prostitute Aldonza in Don Quixote: a case of a woman you want to exist, but who really doesn't. In this essay I will"(15)

Protesilaus Ebdoma: Prot-eh-sil-OW-us, prot not prote. EBB-do-mah, ebb like the tide and doma like domain. Protesilaus was the first to die at Troy, and is the first to die because of the Lyctor trials. ""Johnny Quickdeath" would've also been a good pick."

Silas Octakiseron: Ock-ta-KISS-er-on, rather than keys-er-on.

Colum Asht: COL-um like "column", "asht" like "ash" with an extra sound on the end. Colum refers to Columba(16). The Asht brothers have the names of sacrificial animals: Colum ("dove" in Irish), Ram (like the sheep), and Capris (goat). Muir feels bad for meta-misusing the Asht bros so much that she couldn't even manage to make a reference to how "Capris" shares a name with a style of trouser.(17)

Incidental names and terms:

Matthias Nonius: Mah-TYE-us, with a hard T. NOH-knee-us. "As in, no knees for us." Absolutely a Redwall reference.

Cytherea: KITH-er-AY-a, a reference to Aphrodite.

Lyctor: LICK-tor. "In order to facilitate "Lyctor? I hardly touched her," stand up routines in the Nine Houses. Lyctor related to "lych" and to Lictor, Roman emperors' bodyguards.

Canaan House: KAY-nan.

Secundarius Bell: Se-cun-DAR-ee-us.

Drearburh: DREAR-burr. Drear like dreary, burh as a variant of burgh.(18)

=====

(1) From the Greek root "arithmos" (number) and "nym" (name). (2) My guess is, it was a way to force them to be perceived closer, to more effectively hide Corona's lack of aptitude for necromancy. (3) If they generally assign childbearing pairs in-house because of a shallow gene pool, it makes sense they'd formally instate such a rule to bring in as much depth as possible. (4) It would've been easy to say "names missing are probably pronounced the way you think they are" but I love "the Bible or elsewhere". (5) Any thoughts on what this means for Harrow's arc? (6) I think bonermancy is something quite different but I am deeply amused nevertheless. (7) In case anyone's curious, I count: --Cross as in angry, which Crux often is --Cross as in a dishonest contest or match, which is more what Harrow did than Crux, but I think bears mentioning --Cross as in to confront someone antagonistically, like he did to Gideon early on --Cross as in to betray, as in placing the bomb on the shuttle (8) This has been the subject of a great number of pieces of incredible art. Search "Judith and Holofernes" for more. I assume you don't need a gore warning if you've made it this far in the read. (9) Deuterocanonical - belonging to the second canon, or in plainer words, a group of Biblical books which some of the Christian denominations (mainly Catholic and Orthodox types) accept to be part of the Old Testament, but the Protestant denominations call apocrypha (to oversimplify: not real enough). (10) Didactic - intended to teach or educate, particularly with regard to morals. (11) You've got Jeanne as the feminine French form of "John", Mary is both the virgin mother and Mary Magdalene, one of Jesus's disciples and the first witness to his resurrection, occasionally said to have been Jesus's lover. Sometimes called a prostitute, but this seems to stem from a very odd interpretation by Pope Gregory I in 591 CE. (12) You might know her as Joan of Arc. (13) I still say "calamities" is pretty close, but a "deez nuts" joke wouldn't have gone astray here imo. (14) I think you mean BEST joke in the book, but that's opinion for you. (15) Yes it cuts off there, that's the joke. (16) An Irish missionary who spread Christianity in Scotland. (17) Pronounced very differently, but legit. (18) "burh" being much more likely to be pronounced corectly by Americans, is my guess, in addition to Muir enjoying using antiquated variants and synonyms.

#the locked tomb #tlt #gideon the ninth #gtn #gideon the ninth spoilers #gtn spoilers

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lonesomedotmp3 · 1 year

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this is so embarrassing <3 but would you happen to maybe possibly have a merlin (2008) fic rec list beloved mutual..... not nearly enough fic writers get it like my beloved mutuals do

i can assure you that is absolutely not even close to as embarrassing as it is to have devoured any and everything the merlin fanfiction world has to offer. i have read aus that you would not believe. i have been subjected to characterisations and headcanons that would make anyone else instantly close the tab. i have read authors with such a poor clumsy grasp of british slang i could weep from embarrassment. yet i persevered. for MONTHS. and here is what me (and beth <3) have managed to scrounge up after all of that. please use everything i've just said as context that we were NOT in our right minds reading these. proceed with caution

tributes - the! hunger! games! fic!!!! iconic legendary spectacular THEE revolutionary turnaround for the merlin fanfiction game and for the horrors generally. do NOT go in overhyped tho me and beth went in like haha what a cool weird au and then it caught us off-guard that it wasn't written terribly. also good for something longer and about much more than just merlin and arthur. it's fr like watching the show again for better and for worse. it's got camp whimsy it's got our main duo acting like complete freaks it's got this constant suffocating sense of inevitable tragedy... slayed!

history books forgot about us and in dreams - by the hunger games writer so u know it's actually written well!! don't read their other stuff tho just trust me. my memory of the first one isn't great but i remember feeling with both that finally FINALLY someone Got the finale like me + beth did. short but just rlly solid satisfying follow-ups to the show.

the court of avalon - freya + arthur best friendism in avalon realest shit ever said!!! makes me go fucking crazy fr. YES this has way too much magic lore bullshit to it and i don't careeee they're my friends.... and FINALLY a proper post-finale fic where they don't just freeze arthur in time for 1500 years...

to the point of fear - slay little mordred character study!!!!

the world i built for you - the disir fix-it!! smth i have always wanted due to being sooooo Normal about that episode (arthur's matrix. if u even care). not perfect but worth a read for sure!!

long title and also long title - i rlly like established relationship fics. sorry for being cringe and boring some crimes can never b forgiven etc.

like clouds in starlight widely spread - ok the rest of these i'm going to copy/paste from my list for beth sorry <3 but if i've already written a little deseription for each one why give myself more work yk. anyway: sad and wistful and A Lot as someone who was about to move out of my hometown when i read this. if i said it chapter two vibes. actually that doesn't mean anything ignore that. at one point arthur goes "are you trying to tell me something?" and merlin responds with, "i'm always trying to tell you something." which uh. he really is huh. it's whatever though.

fundamental imperfection - merlin and arthur as writers, gets their first meeting right (arguing and being dicks, then immediately becoming obsessed with each other). don't remember much else except the sequel is unfinished heavy angst and i cried like three times. don't read that (+ HIGHLY positively peer reviewed by beth. tell us a story about love!!!)

as long as we have we - i know you've read that fake marriage christmas fic which i love a lot (maybe it has problems but it's just so endearing...) and this is the same vibe. or well it's christmas and it's sweet so

(and said xmas fic: no matter how far away you roam <3)

tintagel - i don't know how i feel abt merlin and arthur in this but the parallels made to ygraine and nimueh are just too insanity inducing to ignore. my price is my life yours is to bear witness.... they wrote that in 2009!!!! insane

ok that's a lot + it's the best merlin ff has to offer. which is still not that great but. enjoy!! + b thankful you do not have to go into the hellscape that is the merlin ao3 tag...

kingdoms - i have no memory of this tbh but i wrote 'yeah.' underneath the bookmark so it's gotta have something

sorry edit one more I forgot - merlin and arthur are exes and arthur is just soooo weird and sad and repressed about it. also peer reviewed 🫶 (X) and also check out beth's merlin fanfiction recs tag if for some insane reason u want more. ok bye 🫂

#<3 #ask tag #finalgirlbrasso

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bookgeekgrrl · 1 year

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My media this week (8-14 Jan 2023)

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

🥰Neverwhere (London Below #1) (Neil Gaiman, author & narrator) - listened to the (very excellent) BBC audio drama of this a few years ago but it'd probably been 20 years since I actually read it. doing a mini book club with a bff!

🥰 This symmetry is not without meaning (aesc, pearl_o) - (pt 4 of TLBT series) 63K, cherik age difference AU, just another great story of them working out their relationship (plus some very good sex)

🥰 Flight Risk (Ayes, itskleo) - steddie rock star/bodyguard AU, fun characterizations, really enjoyed!

🥰 'Lucky Lives' Omegaverse (Tsuki) - 210K, original fic, 4-part series, interconnected dystopian omegaverse romances - very likeable characters with some great worldbuilding details; I would happily read more stories in this universe. I read this in like 2 days. Sometimes the heart wants what it wants!!!

💖💖 +208K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

The Code (randomizer) - Galaxy Quest: 3.5K - Yuletide 2022; a love letter/meta message to fandom in general

NYC Health Code, Article 161.19 (monicawoe) - Venom, MCU: Venom meets All Caps, 5.2K - allCaps meet Venom and more importantly, VENOM'S CHICKENS

I Got You Babe (monicawoe) - Venom, 3.5K - how Venom got its Sonny & Chery

you can take the heart from your chest to use as a compass when you are lost (fragilecapric0rn) - Stranger Things: Steddie, 29K - craigslist missed connections AU with all the found family at thanksgiving in a cabin

a slow morning (wearing_tearing) - Stranger Things: Steddie, 325 - basically a 325 word ode to Steve Harrington's chest hair and I AM HERE FOR IT

Pursued by Bear (Zenaidamacrouras1) - MCU: shrinkyclinks, 19K - shrinkyclinks, UFC & Shakespeare convention fic with lots of quotes and queer theory! (yes, inspired by that tweet)

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

Uncoupled - s1, e3-8

Knives Out (with commentary)

Big Eden

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

ICYMI Plus - The Untalented Mr. Ripley

Desert Island Discs - Cate Blanchett, actor

Off Menu - Ep 120: Miriam Margolyes

Off Menu - Ep 76: Claudia Winkleman

Happy Sad Confused - Ke Huy Quan

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Chicago Bridge Houses

Switched on Pop - Too Fast? We’re Curious: The sped-up remix phenomenon

Happy Sad Confused - Neil Gaiman, Vol. II

Shedunnit Book Club - The Advertising Adventures of Dorothy L. Sayers

Vibe Check - The House of Cards Is Gonna Crumble

ICYMI Plus - Who Is Alix Earle And Why Are People Mad at Her?

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - The Mail Rail

99% Invisible #520 - Mini-Stories: Volume 16

Weather Geeks - Lightning In Lake-Effect Snow

Films To Be Buried With with Brett Goldstein - Fern Brady

Into It - Harry & 'M3GAN' (Plus: What's Taylor Garron Into?)

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Berkeley South Asian Radical History Walking Tour

Renegades: Born in the USA - Race in the United States

Of Mice And Men And Monsters - Ch. 0: Prologue

Of Mice And Men And Monsters - Ch. 1: Frankenstein - Part 1

Off Menu - Ep 92: Sue Perkins

Renegades: Born in the USA - American Music

Renegades: Born in the USA - Traveling the U.S. & Finding Home

You Must Remember This - Porno Chic and The Brief Heyday of X Ratings (Erotic 80s Part 1)

It's Been a Minute - What's worse than heat damage? Hair discrimination

Off Menu - Ep 109: Nicola Coughlan

ICYMI Plus - RuPaul’s Drag Race Has Finally Logged On

Hit Parade Plus - Thinking About Tomorrow Edition

You Must Remember This - 1979: Bo Derek and 10 (Erotic 80s Part 2)

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

If I Were A Carpenter [Various artists] {1994}

The Duran Duran Tribute Album [Various artists] {1997}

Duran Duran [Duran Duran] {1981}

Rio [Duran Duran] {1982}

Seven And The Ragged Tiger [Duran Duran] {1983}

Notorious [Duran Duran] {1986}

Big Thing [Duran Duran] {1988}

Liberty [Duran Duran] {1990}

Duran Duran (The Wedding Album) [Duran Duran] {1993}

Thank You [Duran Duran] {1995}

Medazzaland [Duran Duran] {1997}

Pop Trash [Duran Duran] {2000}

Astronaut [Duran Duran] {2004}

Red Carpet Massacre [Duran Duran] {2007}

All You Need Is Now [Duran Duran] {2011}

Paper Gods [Duran Duran] {2015}

FUTURE PAST [Duran Duran] {2021}

Doo Wop

The Roots of Rock & Roll

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sisididis · 1 year

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Tag Game To Better Know You! Send this to people you’d like to know better!

I was tagged by @reallunargift. Thank you!

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What book are you currently reading?

None at the moment. Last week I finished Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex, and boy, I’m taking a break from reading for a bit.

What’s your favourite movie you saw in theatres this year?

I thought Elvis was pretty good! I enjoyed Austin Butler’s acting, and I loved Doja Cat’s tribute to Big Mama Thornton in Vegas.

What do you usually wear?

At home, I wear the same sweatpants and baggy tops I’ve been wearing for years. Outdoors I like to wear comfortable clothes and shoes with a little heel. I like sporting warm colours, mostly red and yellow, because one can’t be sad while wearing them. : )

How tall are you?

I’m 161 (and yes, I take pride in that 1 cm).

What’s your Star Sign? Do you share a birthday with a celebrity or a historical event?

Scorpio! I share the same birthday with Nadia Comăneci.

Do you go by your name or a nick-name?

Sort of! When I came up with my username, I thought it would be cool if I doubled the first two letters of my first name and middle name, but no one calls me Sisi in real life. My family and friends call me Silvia or Silvi.

Did you grow up to become what you wanted to be when you were a child?

Growing up, I wanted to become a singer, and was pretty serious about it. I took canto lessons and studied piano until 8th grade. Nothing came of it, which is fine! It’s the memories that count.

Are you in a relationship? If not, who is your crush if you have one?

I’m not, but @lordmeowdemort accused me two weeks ago of being in a parasocial relationship with WRS, because I often share his stories on IG.

What’s something you’re good at vs. something you’re bad at?

I like to think I’m a good people reader. And I’m bad at making decisions.

Dogs or cats?

Both, although I think dogs are more generous with their affection.

If you draw/write, or create in any way, what’s your favourite picture/favourite line/favourite etc. from something you created this year?

This drawing.

What’s something you would like to create content for?

Hetalia!

What’s something you’re currently obsessed with?

Hetalia! x2

What’s something you were excited about that turned out to be disappointing this year?

Hmmm...probably this year’s lack of snow. Ten years ago, this time around, I would have trudged through the snow on my way to school. :( I’ve learned not to expect any snow at all.

What’s a hidden talent of yours?

I’m not sure if this counts as a talent, but I’m pretty good at guessing where people are from based on their accents.

Are you religious?

I can’t answer definitively. I’ve gone through periods of deep devotion followed by periods of lukewarm belief. Then followed by periods of devotion again. I fluctuate often.

What’s something you wish to have at this moment?

I wish my uncle was home for the holidays this year. :’)

I’m tagging @lordmeowdemort, @bunny-banana, @caaryys, @lindonwald, @electric-onion and @portu-cale.

#thank you again for tagging me Lunie!#my entries

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drwilfredwaterson · 9 months

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Sorting Through Love and Hate, Truth and Lies, Being Cherished and Blessed or A 5 Generation Curse: Freewill Choices Have Nanosecond Returns on Investment. What Will You Sow? What Will You and Your Children Harvest for 5 Generations or A Thousand? Part 1/20.

"There are so many different ways that someone can be beautiful. For me, I think that when I meet someone and there's that magical thing about them that makes them unforgettable, it's that they're sincere and honest and whoever they are, be that funny, happy, sad, you know, going through a rough time, sarcastic, I think that these personality traits that come through when somebody is really sincere is what makes them beautiful." - Taylor Swift

"Real life is a funny thing, you know. In real life, saying the right thing at the right moment is beyond crucial. So crucial, in fact, the most of us start to hesitate, for fear of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. But lately what I've begun to fear more than that is letting the moment pass without saying anything. I think most of us fear reaching the end of our life, and looking back regretting the moments we didn't speak up. When we didn't say 'I love you.' When we should've said 'I'm sorry.' When we didn't stand up for ourselves or someone who needed help. Words can break someone into a million pieces, but they can also put them back together. I hope you use yours for good, because the only words you’ll regret more than the ones left unsaid are the ones you use to intentionally hurt someone. What you say might be too much for some people. Maybe it will come out all wrong and you’ll stutter and you’ll walk away embarrassed, wincing as you play it all back in your head. But I think the words you stop yourself from saying are the ones that will haunt you the longest. So say it to them. Or say it to yourself in the mirror. Say it in a letter you’ll never send or in a book millions might read someday. I think you deserve to look back on your life without a chorus of resounding voices saying ‘I could’ve, but it’s too late now.’ There is a time for silence. There is a time for waiting your turn. But if you know how you feel, and you so clearly know what you need to say, you’ll know it. I don't think you should wait. I think you should speak now. Love, Taylor" - Taylor Swift - (2010 Speak Now liner notes)

"…And there's something to be learned from waiting all day for a train that's never coming. And there's something to be proud of about moving on and realizing that real love shines golden like starlight, and doesn't fade or spontaneously combust…" - Taylor Swift (2012 Red album liner notes)

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not." - Dr. Seuss - The Lorax.

Dr. Seuss' The Lorax - Taylor Swift Featurette (2012) "A model airplane, this time…"

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Published: February 16, 2012 (47th day) Duration: 2:12 (132 seconds) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vn15KLfmRg 6vn15KLfmRg vnKLfmRg fgklmnrv 6+7+10+20+30+40+80+700=893. 893+6+15=914. 914+132=1046. 1046+47=1093.

Strong's Concordance #1093 belo: tribute, excise (on articles consumed), to remove with surgical precision. Original Word: בְּלוֹ

Let It Grow (From "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax")

13th of Av, 5778 = Wed, 25 July 2018 י״ג בְּאָב תשע״ח Parashat Vaetchanan

Parashat Vaetchanan / פָּרָשַׁת וָאֶתְחַנַּן Parashat Vaetchanan is the 45th weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. Next read on 17 August 2024 / 13 Av 5784. Torah Portion: Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11 Vaetchanan (“I Pleaded”) opens as Moses describes his pleading with God to be allowed into the Land of Israel. Moses warns the Israelites not to pursue idolatry and recounts the giving of the Ten Commandments. The portion also contains the Shema, a declaration of faith and a central text in Jewish prayer. (Hebcal.com)

TANAKH (Jewish Publication Society, Hebrew-English): Pages 386 and 387: Deuteronomy 5:1 Moses summoned all the Israelites and said to them: Hear, O Israel, the laws and rules that I proclaim to you this day! Study them and observe them faithfully! Deuteronomy 5:2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. Deuteronomy 5:3 It was not with our fathers that the Lord made this covenant, but with us, the living, every one of us who is here today. Deuteronomy 5:4 Face to face the Lord spoke to you on the mountain out of the fire-- Deuteronomy 5:5 I stood between the Lord and you at that time to convey the Lord's words to you, for you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain--saying: Deuteronomy 5:6 I the Lord am your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage: Deuteronomy 5:7 You shall have no other gods beside Me. Deuteronomy 5:8 You shall not make for yourself a sculptured image, any likeness of what is in the heavens above, or on the earth below, or in the waters below the earth. Deuteronomy 5:9 You shall not bow down to them or serve them. For I the Lord your God am an impassioned God, visiting the guilt of the parents upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth generations of those who reject Me, Deuteronomy 5:10 but showing kindness to the thousandth generation of those who love Me and keep My commandments. Deuteronomy 5:11 You shall not swear falsely by the name of the Lord your God; for the Lord will not clear on who swears falsely by His name. Deuteronomy 5:12 Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy, as the lord your God has commanded you. Deuteronomy 5:13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, Deuteronomy 5:14 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; you shall not do any work--you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your ox or your ass, or any of your cattle, or the stranger in your settlements, so that your male and female slave may rest as you do. Deuteronomy 5:15 Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God freed you from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the sabbath day. Deuteronomy 5:16 Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may long endure, and that you may fare well, in the land that the Lord your God is assigning to you. Deuteronomy 5:17 You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. Deuteronomy 5:18 You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. You shall not crave your neighbor's house, or his field, or his male or female slave, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor's. Deuteronomy 5:19 The Lord spoke those words--those and no more--to your whole congregation at the mountain, with a mighty voice out of the fire and the dense clouds. He inscribed them on two tablets of stone, which He gave to me. Deuteronomy 5:20 When you heard the voice out of the darkness, while the mountain was ablaze with fire, you came up to me, all your tribal heads and elders, Deuteronomy 5:21 and said, "The Lord our God has just shown us His majestic Presence, and we have heard His voice out of the fire; we have seen this day that man may live though God has spoken to him.

Let It Grow (From "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax")

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Published: July 25, 2018 (206th day) Duration: 3:18 (198 seconds) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blaNCikESpQ blaNCikESpQ abceiklnpqs 1+2+3+5+9+10+20+40+60+70+90=310. 310+198=508. 508+206=714 (7x100+7+7).

Strong's Concordance #714 Ard: to wander; fugitive; a descendant of Benjamin, bronze, Earth. Original Word: אַרְדְּ

TANAKH (Jewish Publication Society, Hebrew-English): Page 1810: Daniel 3:12 There are certain Jews whom you appointed to administer the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; those men pay no heed to you, O king: they do not serve your god or worship the statue of gold that you have set up." Daniel 3:13 The Nebuchadnezzar, in raging fury, ordered Shadrach, Mesach, and Abed-nego to be brought; so those men were brought before the king. Daniel 3:14 Nebuchadnezzar spoke to them and said, "is it true, Shadrach, Mesach, and Abed-nego, that you do not serve my god or worship the statue of gold that I have set up? Daniel 3:15 Now if you are ready to fall down and worship the statue that I have made when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, zither, lyre, psaltery, and bagpipe, and all other types of instruments, [well and good]; but if you will not worship, you shall at once be thrown into a burning fiery furnace, and what god is there that can save you from my power?" Daniel 3:16 Shadrach, Mesach, and Abed-nego said in reply to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter, Daniel 3:17 for if so it must be, our God whom we serve is able to save us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will save us from your power, O king. Daniel 3:18 But even if He does not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your god or worship the statue of gold that you have set up."

John 4:22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.

It Starts With Us. It Ends With Us…

Here are some of the top selling print books of the year so far (January 1, 2023 - July 17, 2023), according to Publishers Weekly and BookScan. To see the full lists, head over to Publishers Weekly.

ADULT:

Spare by Prince Harry (416 pages) (1,179,379 units)

It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover (336 pages) (884,797)

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover (376 pages) (881,820)

Atomic Habits by James Clear (320 pages) (625,270)

Verity by Colleen Hoover (336 pages) (572,626)

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (400 pages) (521,797)

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (400 pages) (484,267)

Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover (336 pages) (444,706)

Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover (338 pages) (430,192)

Happy Place by Emily Henry (400 pages) (415,684)

Source: https://bookriot.com/bestselling-books-of-2023-so-far/

Colleen Hoover holds the number 2, 3, 5, 8, and 9 spots on the best selling books list of 2023 thus far. Fans of Colleen Hover are willing to invest the time to earn the funds, then invest those funds in those 5 books, and then invest the time and effort to read a total of 1,722 pages of her creative output.

The Jewish Publication Society's Hebrew-English TANAKH is 2,023 pages of Abrahamic scriptures that are the accurate, uncorrupted foundation of the authentic life and teachings of Jesus Christ. If hundreds of thousands of Colleen Hoover fans are willing to dedicate themselves to 1,722 pages of pleasure reading, then how many hundreds of millions of those who would like to be the true students of the authentic life and teachings of Jesus Christ would make a similar investment in 2,023 pages of accurate, uncorrupted Abrahamic scriptures that are undeniably and irrefutably the true and liberating foundations of their Christian faith?

Jesus Christ spoke of the Hebrew TANAKH scriptures when he spoke of the cornerstone that was being rejected by the Roman-loyalist traitors in the Roman-occupied Israeli government and the corrupted Abrahamic Temple of the Almighty Abrahamic G-d and the Hebrews of Israel. He said that the Hebrew TANAKH would cause everyone who rejected and cursed it to trip, fall, and be crushed by the actual Hebrew TANKH scriptures that He came to validate, redeem, and fulfill.

Yes, Jesus Christ was also speaking of Himself, but His entire life, ministry, death, and resurrection was, by His own words, was to validate, redeem, and fulfill the Hebrew TANAKH scriptures at any cost to Himself. And so he was, and still is, the living embodiment of the Hebrew TANAKH scriptures that admonish all readers and witnesses that all who misuse the Name of the Almighty Abrahamic G-d will never be forgiven, all who curse the Hebrews and the Almighty Abrahamic G-d will be cursed, and all who bless the Hebrews and fear, respect, and glorify the Almighty Abrahamic G-d will be blessed.

Investing in 1,722 pages of some of Colleen Hoover's best creative output could be enjoyable, but it can't and won't free parents, their children, their children's children, their children's grandchildren, and their children's great-grandchildren from the 5 generation curse of the antisemitic, genocidal, ethnic cleansing, antichristian/satanic, adversarial war-of-attrition, and psychological warfare against all Abrahamic faiths, Sunday "Lord's Day."

There are no shortage of those who would like to be considered the true students of the authentic life and teachings of Jesus Christ who take offense when they're called part of the "Great satan" and literally goddamned, biblically-illiterate, misled, and delusional heretics. That moment of offense should immediately cause those people to embrace the cornerstone of Jesus Christ and the Abrahamic scriptures (the Hebrew TANAKH) that He lived, taught, and died by and for, but it usually doesn't.

The next most important question is: "Why don't the accused students of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ simply open the Christian Holy Bible and validate their belief system and lives to and for the other two Abrahamic faiths?"

The obvious answer begins with the fact that the corrupted and edited "Old Testament" of the Christian Holy Bible delegitimizes the entire "New Testament" of the Christian Holy Bible because it condemns the entire life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as being as "old," "worthless," and "outdated" as the Abrahamic scriptures (the Hebrew TANAKH) that Jesus Christ came to validate, redeem, and fulfill on the behalf of, and for the redemption and salvation of, all Hebrews, Israel, and all who would be the true students of the authentic life and teachings of Jesus Christ.

The "New Testament" of the Christian Holy Bible can't be taken as it is until, and unless, a true student of the authentic life and teachings of Jesus Christ validates and redeems the entire Christian "New Testament" against a Hebrew-approved modern translation of the Hebrew TANAKH.

The "good news" is that the majority of Jesus Christ's life and teachings in the Christian "New Testament" are nearly identical to many of the scriptures of the Hebrew TANAKH. At some point, and I have no idea at this moment how I might manage to find enough time to to do this, I'll probably end up miraculously finding a way to compile all of that and post it here, but I can't advise anyone who might find this blog to hold their breath until that miracle happens. Instead, I'd encourage anyone who might find this blog who'd be interested in that very interesting Christian journey and adventure to simply purchase a copy of the Jewish Publication Society's Hebrew-English TANAKH for themselves and compare the actual uncorrupted scriptures to the New International Version of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Here's a quick comparison between the Jewish Publication Society's Hebrew-English TANAKH and the New International Version of the Christian Holy Bible:

Psalm 1:6 (JPS Hebrew-English TANAKH) Page 1413 For the Lord cherishes the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked is doomed.

Psalm 1:6 (NIV) For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

Psalm 1:6 (KJV) For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Cherish: (Jewish Publication Society, Hebrew-English TANAKH) 1a: to hold dear : feel or show affection for 1b: to keep or cultivate with care and affection : NURTURE 2: to entertain or harbor in the mind deeply and resolutely (Merriam-Webster)

Watch over: (New International Version Christian Holy Bible) 1: as in supervise; to be in charge of (Merriam-Webster)

Know: (King James Version Christian Holy Bible) 1: to perceive directly : have direct cognition of 2: to have understanding of (Merriam-Webster)

During the Roman occupation of Israel, before they tortured and murdered Jesus Christ and destroyed the Second Temple of the Almighty Abrahamic G-d of Israel and the Hebrews, the terms "watch over" and "know" accurately described what the Romans and Roman-loyalist traitors subjected Jesus Christ and His apostles to.

Those terms are found in the so-called "Old Testament" that was translated from Hebrew and Aramaic by co-conspirators of the people who actually tortured and murdered Jesus Christ, destroyed the Second Temple, committed massive genocidal and ethnic cleansing war crimes and crimes against humanity against Israel and the native Hebrew population, and created the antisemitic, genocidal, ethnic cleansing, and antichrist/satanic Sunday "Lord's Day" that led to the implosion of their empire 55 years after its implementation.

In contrast, "cherish" is the term the Jewish Publication Society's Hebrew-English TANAKH uses to describe how the Almighty Abrahamic G-d of the Abrahamic faiths loves, embraces, holds dear, and nurtures all who keep His commandments, loves and blesses the Hebrews, and all who fear, honor, and glorify the Almighty Abrahamic G-d of the Abrahamic faiths.

All true students of the authentic life and teachings of Jesus Christ immediately recognize "cherish" as being 100% consistent with the reason Jesus Christ was sent, the reason and ways that Jesus Christ shared the love of His ABBA Father and laid down His life for His Father, Israel, all Hebrews, and all who would believe in Him and His ABBA Father, the Almighty Abrahamic G-d of the Abrahamic faiths. And that's why every true student of the authentic life and teachings of Jesus Christ needs to have a Jewish Publication Society translation of the Hebrew TANAKH, compare it to the closest Christian Holy Bible translation, the New International Version, and ignore the blasphemy of the "Old Testament" of the Christian Holy Bible entirely; because the "New Testament" can't exist in the same book as the "Old Testament" that completely and intentionally invalidates it.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16 doesn't state that G-d gave Jesus Christ as a Passover sacrifice to prove He is supervising and in charge of humanity (New International Version Christian Holy Bible).

John 3:16 doesn't state that G-d gave Jesus Christ as a Passover sacrifice to prove He is watching humanity and knows what everyone's doing (King James Version Christian Holy Bible).

"Cherish" is the only accurate and acceptable translation that matches John 3:16 of the "New Testament" about the authentic life and teachings of Jesus Christ; but it's not found in either of what's considered to be the two most respected and accurate translations of the Christian Holy Bible; it's only found in the Jewish Publication Society's Hebrew-English TANAKH.

Friday night to Saturday night is the only weekly seventh-day Sabbath for all who would be the cherished and righteous true students of the authentic life and teachings of Jesus Christ, because Jesus Christ, His apostles, and all of His followers and believers kept the seventh-day Sabbath holy every single week. And isn't it interesting that those suffering under the 5 generation curse of the antisemitic, genocidal, ethnic cleansing, antichrist/satanic Sunday "Lord's Day" were, and still are, unable to accurately translate the same original Hebrew scriptures that Jesus Christ studied, lived, taught, and died by and for; yet the Hebrews who keep the seventh-day Sabbath holy and keep the commandments of the Almighty Abrahamic G-d of the Abrahamic faiths can and do translate the Hebrew TANAKH scriptures accurately so they're a perfect match for the Christian "New Testament"?

The simple, obvious, and undeniable answer is: Psalm 1:6 (JPS Hebrew-English TANAKH), Page 1413: For the Lord cherishes the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked is doomed.

Revelation 12:5 She gave birth to a son who was to rule all nations with an iron rod. And her child was snatched away from the dragon and was caught up to God and to his throne. Revelation 12:6 The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days. Revelation 12:7 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. Revelation 12:8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. Revelation 12:9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. Revelation 12:10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. Revelation 12:11 They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Revelation 12:12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.” Revelation 12:13 When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. Revelation 12:14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. Revelation 12:15 Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. Revelation 12:16 But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. Revelation 12:17 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.

Who is able to accurately translate the Hebrew TANAKH scriptures so they perfectly match the Christian "New Testament" of Jesus Christ? The Hebrews, and only the Hebrews, because the Hebrews are the ones keeping the seventh-day Sabbath holy and keeping the commandments of the Almighty Abrahamic G-d of the Abrahamic faiths. Every nanosecond of every night and day is a perfect opportunity for those who would be the true students of the authentic life and teachings of Jesus Christ to choose to be known by Jesus Christ and sorted into His flock via the narrow pathway and gate offered exclusively by the true Christian foundation of the Hebrew TANAKH.

John 4:22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.

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wine4thewin · 3 years

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Okay, finally finished Dune and would now like to have the 5 hour version, please.

Very much so pleased with the movie, but oooohhh I feel like so much more was probably fleshed out and got cut (extended edition?! and you know there’s going to be one. Right? Right?!)

Random thoughts:

*people who haven’t read the book are gonna be possibly lost 🤣 Dune is complex as heck and this movie doesn’t hold hands at all, nor does it even scrape the surface of the book, which is 700 pages…

*A lot of character story details seemed left to be understood by those of us who are reading/have already read the book. Would have loved more Gurney & Rabban backstory. Or even Leto & Jessica. Maybe just some more on the relationships in general? The book somehow dives so deep into each one even before people go bye bye, especially Dr. Yueh…who is important and they don’t really…flesh him out much…and only talk about his motivations in one horrifying line.

*Leto Atreides literally lands on Arrakis and thinks, “this place is an absolute Sh$t Show and I’ve been sent to my death with my whole House because the Emperor wants my name buried.” I think it’s sad no one knows this unless they read the book 😭

*We didn’t spend much time with the Harkonnen’s. Why? Every scene they had was stunning, grotesque, and captivating. I was so upset when a scene with them would flash away, because I wanted more. Plus, creepy BDSM spider creature that understood the human language, omg, was that intended to be Dr. Yueh’s wife?! When he offhandedly says, ‘They pulled her apart like a doll?!’ -not in the book but oh, this haunts me

*Beast Rabban and his Big Mad walk in scene “uuunccle the Emperor is takin’ our moooonnneey planet, it’s not FAIR” and the Baron Harkonnen “be quiet, you are not informed” 😂

*Sardaukar elite. Okay. Could we have spent like, 10 minutes on that scene on their planet? The sounds, the creepy chanting, the voices, the creepy blood temple…could we have spent more time looking at this horrifying scene? I felt like it was a glimpse and gone, but I want to know more and yes, that’s totally morbid of me. Idc!

*also, no Feyd?

*We all hear Lady Jessica referred to as wife and concubine, but to me, the only thing that matters is when Leto sorrowfully tells her “I should have married you” and what a tribute to their book!relationship😭💕

Anyway. Stunning visuals. Wild, crazy sounds. Fascinating characters that I would have liked to spend more time with before they died…

Spoiler, so many people 💀

#dune film #dune movie #movie thoughts #dune thoughts #dune #dune spoilers #house harkonnen #house atreides #dune 2021 #frank herbert dune

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ivegotalongmemory · 3 years

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im back on my hunger games bullshit after several years for some reason so it’s time for a ramble i guess??

I noticed in the film, that on the board, we can see that the boy from District 4 is 12 years old (I haven’t read the books in several years so I’m not sure if it’s the same in the books or if an age is even mentioned at all, I don’t think it is.) Now, in the books District 4 is considered a career district, and it really annoys me that they dropped that in the films. I wish they kept 4 as careers in the films AND kept the boy tribute as a 12 year old because they could have raised so many interesting questions.

For the sake of this, let’s go with the book and let’s go with the idea that District 4 are a career district and that the boy is 12 years old.

There are so many things in the series that we don’t get much information on, and the other districts is something that we have practically nothing on except their numbers, industries and general status in Panem. So it’s up to us to fill in the gaps (yay!)

I think all 3 career districts are at different levels of career-ness, if you will. We know District 2 are essentially the Capitol’s lapdogs. I would assume they have the most extreme training program and probably have volunteers every single time without fail. They have the strongest “glory in the games” mindset of all the districts. Essentially they’re the most pro-games. (We could get into a whole discussion about how sad it is that the Capitol essentially groom districts to believe that the games are good and that their is honour in training their children to be murderers, but that’s a whole other post)

I believe District 1 is mentioned to be the wealthiest District, which makes sense because of their indsustry, but is also interesting because I imagine them to be a little less career-y than 2. I’m assuming this because we know District 1 eventually rebelled, whereas 2 did not, likely due to their loyalty to the Capitol. I also imagine that, based on what we know of the Victors from 1 (Cashmere and Gloss specifically, and going off the assumption that they were both prostituted by Snow) there was probably some underlying rebellion there, but it needed an awful lot more than the other districts to actually cause a full district rebellion due to their wealthy position and closeness to the Capitol. As a district, I imagine 1 were a lot more hesitant to rebel due to the risk of it all going wrong. Obviously, District 1 are still very much lethal careers, and I would imagine they also had volunteers every single year without fail. They also likely had a pro-game mentality, just a little tiny bit less than 2, in my opinion. The fact that 1 rebelled is a big factor in showing the difference between 1 and 2, because it implies that the people of District 1 were more easily swayed than those in 2, which then makes you question to what extent were they really dedicated to the games?

Now, District 4. It’s up to the individual reader, but personally I think we can’t just brush 4 off as being “not really careers”. I think a lot of people like the characters from 4 (Finnick, Mags, Annie, etc), so they automatically ignore the career aspect of their district, because it makes their faves have flaws. 4 is a wealthy district. Maybe not on the same level as 1 and 2, but still wealthy and still favoured by the Capitol. Personally, I imagine the order of district wealth goes something like 1>2>4>other districts. On the other hand, I think the order of career-ness looks more like 2>1>4. Regardless, they’re the most favoured districts of the 12.

It gets a bit tricky because I believe in the books it mentions that 4 was one of the first districts to rebel. This raises the question of “why would a career district be the first to go against the Capitol?”

I imagine that in 4, the people are relatively pro-games, but no where near the level of, say, District 2. Out of the 3 career districts, District 4 is the least career-y (I do not have a better word, sorry). That being said, they still likely have a pretty positive outlook on the games, whether that’s because they perform well and have an above average number of victors, or something else, who knows. Regardless, they’re wealthier than most of the country, and lead better lives than most. They’re going to have strong ties to the Capitol to an extent, hence them earning a position as Careers.

In terms of training and volunteers, I imagine District 4 is a lot less strict with their training. Obviously, you’re going to get some who want to volunteer and therefore train and enter themselves in the games for the pride and glory, but I would guess most of the kids have some degree of training out of sheer practicality. They’re lucky enough to live in a district where they have the privilege of being able to train, so why not use it to their advantage so that they can be prepared? It just makes sense. The means are there, so use them. I imagine in 1 and 2, the training programs are a lot more organised. Perhaps the kids are forced, maybe they’re not, who knows? I imagine there’s some kind of selection process to decide which of the kids is the best of the best and should volunteer. Now, 4 might have something like this too, but I imagine there’s a little less pressure on the kids to volunteer.

Now let’s talk about ages. I’d estimate the age of most careers to be between 16 and 18. Ideally, careers would be 18 because by then they’ve maxed out their training and have the best possible chance, but anyone from 16+ could be deemed acceptable because they’d have a good few years of training under their belt. There’s a few exceptions to this: Clove is 15 (at least in the films). I imagine this kind of thing is common in 2. Younger ones would be extremely confident in themselves and would volunteer before anyone else. Finnick was 14. There’s debate about whether or not he volunteered. It could have gone one of two ways: either, he was ridiculously arrogant/confident and volunteered, or he was reaped and no one volunteered because they thought he would have a good chance. Personally him volunteering makes more sense, since I don’t imagine a career district letting their younger teens go in when there are older, more experienced ones with better chances, but hey, it’s up for debate and honestly I’m not sure what option I prefer.

I imagine 4 would have a lot of volunteers, but I fee like there’d be a split between careers that want it for the “glory” and ones that volunteer in place of a younger kid who was reaped. This FINALLY brings us back to the initial point of that 12 year old boy in the games. How did he get there? We have a few possibilities:

-He could have volunteered. Perhaps he wanted to be the next Finnick Odair. However, I think this is highly unlikely. A 12 year old has never won the games, and likely never will. Everyone probably knows this, so I highly doubt a 12 year old would be stupid enough to ever volunteer thinking they would win.

-The option that I like the most is this: District 4′s career mentality is slowly deteriorating. We know 4 is rebellious. We also don’t know when exactly the idea of careers began, but it must have been going on for some time. Possibly, District 4′s outlook on the games changed over time. I imagine 4′s tributes are in a tricky situation. They’re careers, which gives them an advantage over the other districts, but they’d also probably be the first tributes that the careers from 1 and 2 would turn on. I imagine 4′s tributes usually get quite close to the end of the games, but are quite often taken out by 1 or 2 when the career pack inevitably falls apart. The District 4 curse; almost but not quite victors every year. If 1 or 2 didn’t exist, 4 would be at the top. The people of 4 have seen their kids get so far but not quite far enough every single year for so long, that they would probably slowly start to develop a hate for the games. I imagine that, had there been no rebellion, District 4′s career program would have eventually collapsed, maybe 10/20 years in the future. They would still have trained, but I imagine there would eventually be almost no volunteers.

This brings us back to the poor 12 year old. If we assume District 4′s pool of potential volunteers gets smaller each year, then maybe by the 74th games, this kid just got reaped and no one volunteered, which is pretty sad. However, would a district like 4 really let a 12 year old get reaped and not intervene? It seems unlikely. So it really makes you wonder, what the hell was going on there? Were they so fed up with the games that they just let a 12 year old be reaped, because they knew it would cause upset, since it’s mentioned that no one ever likes seeing a 12 year old in the games? Was it a way to stir rebellion even more? Who knows? But I think it’s a really interesting thing to explore because there’s so many possible paths to go down. I know the books are all from Katniss’ POV, and therefore they’re about her, but Suzanne Collins really could have given us so much about the rest of Panem, but nooo, we have to do it ourselves.

#this got so long i'm sorry #it started as one thing and then ended up turning into a full blown career analysis #the hunger games #career tributes #district 1 #district 2 #district 4 #if someone reads this whole thing i'll be shocked

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katnissmellarkkk · 3 years

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Okayyyy here comes the next chapter ! Number .... lemme look. Okay, number six! 🥳🥳🥳

And yes, my thoughts as usual will be a messy, very Everlark-biased and full of typos. Letsss gooooo 🥰🥰🥰

Is this the first time Katniss and Peeta have been to their floor or is this just the most opportune time to explain and introduce the Tribute Center living quarters?

Also why are they called tributes anyway? That word suddenly seems weird to me after nine years... 🤔🤔🤔

“I've ridden the elevator a couple of times in the Justice Building back in District 12. Once to receive the medal for my father's death and then yesterday to say my final goodbyes to my friends and family” .... 😶😶 so only good memories and connotations to elevators then, huh?

“The walls of this elevator are made of crystal so that you can watch the people on the ground floor shrink to ants as you shoot up into the air.” My mind is just imagining the elevator in Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone’s Spider-Man movies 🤗.

“It's exhilarating and I'm tempted to ask Effie Trinket if we can ride it again, but somehow that seems childish” this is so cute and innocent omg. Katniss, like I said in my last chapter blog, still has some childlike innocence left in her 🥺🥺🥺. I’m a sad.

Also excuse the unnecessary extra gif use but 🤭🤭🤭

Oh wow, so Haymitch hasn’t been around since they were on the train? No wonder neither Katniss nor Peeta fled they could trust him for basically the entirety of the first book. 😐😐😐

You know it’s bad when Effie being around feels like a blessing to Katniss. Girl has more restraint than me, I’d have ripped off this woman’s janky wig by now without remorse. 🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️

Effie acts like they’re her purebred show dogs. I know I know how is this news, that’s a blatant fact. The movies really softened her up tho for the general audience. And I bleed the movies and books together more than I should 😔😔😔

Well at least she’s made herself useful, trying to get Everlark sponsors ... even if it’s ultimately to benefit herself above anyone else .... 😤

Effie calling Twelve barbaric while she’s preparing them for the slaughter isn’t even ironic it’s like literally just brainless. Johanna probably had the nickname floating around for a lot of people before she officially knighted Katniss with it 😭

“Everyone has their reservations, naturally. You being from the coal district.” Is this how they refer to Twelve? So basically if a district makes a better item, it’s a more worthy one in the Capitol’s eyes? So essentially, if District Eight made like diamonds or pearls or whatever then it would be more worthy? So are the districts assigned their numbers (one, two, three, four, etc) based on their order of importance to the Capitol’s lifestyle? I always thought it was based on their distance in relation to the Capitol? Okay so I didn’t really pay much attention to these facts previously when I read these books ok look away I’m an idiot

Omg 😭😭😭😭 Effie is such an idiot. But the coal turns to pearls thing is my favorite line from her only because it serves as the cutest inside joke when Peeta makes a callback to it in Catching Fire and Finnick is just like “why are these two teenagers so stupid who did I ally with? 🥵😳🥵😳🥵”

“I wonder if the people she's been plugging us to all day either know or care.” After reading Songbirds and Snakes, I’m sure they don’t have a clue, boo. 😑😑😑😑 although not everyone was an idiot back then ... maybe Snow is putting lead in the drinking water?

“But don't worry, I'll get him to the table at gunpoint if necessary.” I know she’s trying to help and I know we say this kind of thing today, but considering this is two kids she’s well aware will be heading into a death match this is just bad wording I know surprise surprise 🙄🙄🙄😬😬😬😬

“Although lacking in many departments, Effie Trinket has a certain determination I have to admire.” Katniss really does see the best in people. What’s sad, y’all, is I think Katniss unconsciously really tries to like people and that’s why she has her guard up so high. Because the softer you are, the easier people will step all over you. Terrible phrasing here, Samantha, I’m so sorry to any of my readers ... okay now that sounded arrogant, implying I have readers 🤭🤭🤭🤭🤣😅🤣😅🤣😅

“My quarters are larger than our entire house back home.” Omg? I mean, yes, I knew this already obviously no duh but like also. Just the fact that three people live in a space smaller than a bedroom and bathroom arena is saddy sad sad. Also do they have indoor plumbing in the Seam or is their backyards just full of—okay, I’ll see myself out. 😶🤭😅🙃

“The shower alone has a panel with more than a hundred options you can choose regulating water temperature, pressure, soaps, shampoos, scents, oils, and massaging sponges.” I’m just imagining a Spongebob scene ngl.

I’m sorry there’s so many gifs this time around it’s probably taking us out of the reading headspace I’ll never do it again 😩😩😩😩 I talk like I have a class of people listening to me 🤭🤭🤭

“Instead of struggling with the knots in my wet hair, I merely place my hand on a box that sends a current through my scalp, untangling, parting, and drying my hair almost instantly” I need this someone invent this NOW my brush is yanking out my hair 😔😩

“I program the closet for an outfit to my taste.” ‘Yes, Alexa, I’d like a hunting jacket, some boots and a green shirt. Yes, it can be brown.’

“You need only whisper a type of food from a gigantic menu into a mouthpiece and it appears, hot and steamy, before you in less than a minute.” I like this idea because it means that Peeta could order hot choccy to comfort Katniss after her nightmares in Catching Fire from the comfort of her their own bed. 🤗🤗🤗 also I want this for myself. The bad people are giving my greedy self ideas look away everyone 😬

“I walk around the room eating goose liver and puffy bread until there's a knock on the door.” 🤢🤢🤢🤢 Of everything you could have chosen, child, this is what you decided on? Someone help my girl and her rotten tastebuds now.

“Effie's calling me to dinner. Good. I'm starving.” Baby, you were just eating. She’s so nutritionally messed up. 😔😔😔

Katniss trying wine 🥳🥳🥳 she’s so funny, trying to find a way to improve the taste 😅. She’ll make a good taste tester for her baker husband one day.

Hahahaha Katniss not liking the feeling and judging Haymitch for always being tipsy. Also this is sad because she ends up addicted to morphling later one which is far worse than a little wine.

I’m glad to know Baked Alaska survived the apocalypse 😅🥳

Katniss just constantly trying to decipher the recipe of every meal and how to recreate it reads cute on a surface level but it’s actually so tragic because everything to this girl is based around food. Like even more than is typically noticed. They really should have given a hint at this in the first movie. Good thing she marries a man who can always keep her full.

I’m just forever side-eyeing you, Gare Bear.

That’s Gary Ross for the confused kids in the back.

Why does Katniss yelling mid-sentence, “oh! I know you!” add to her innocence? 🥺 it’s because she was overwhelmed by all the food and new luxuries she’d never even been able to imagine ... and also this is pre her first games so she’s still got some childhood left in her 😩😔

I wonder how Lavinia felt seeing Katniss volunteer and knowing she’d be her Avox? I wonder if she, like Cinna, somehow volunteered to be her Avox?

I mean ... talk about convenient placement that this specific girl was assigned to Katniss’ district—oh wait, y’all, I just caught myself. She’s from Twelve. She was assigned to Twelve’s tributes because she’s from there, duh. I’m such an airhead omg just call me Effie.

Don’t you actually dare.

“When I look back, the four adults are watching me like hawks.” Meanwhile, Peeta is just like 😬😬😬 eating his dinner.

Actually, ngl, this could be such a reach and it probably is but like maybe Peeta sensed a confrontation coming and, because of his implied upbringing, he naturally becomes silent or makes himself invisible when trouble starts looking like it’s gonna arise. 🥺🥺🥺 I don’t know why I say these things I’m just hurting my own feelings but ya know the drill. I thought it so I said it.

Why is Effie yelling at Katniss for saying she knows the Avox girl like omg overreaction much? And I know, the sky is blue 🙄🙄🙄 she’s prejudiced against basically everyone, I know, I know

Rip her wig off, Katty Deen 🤗🤗🤗

Oh I stupidly forgot that Avoxes are supposedly known by everyone to be traitors or criminals. So I suppose this isn’t Effie’s worst offense but I’m keeping a tally anyways

Katniss is blaming her stuttering on the wine but my girl just has social anxiety 😔😔😔

Peeta coming in with a save 😭😭😭 he’s already trying saving his girl 🤧

Alsoooo the unspoken friendship, the covering for the other and teaming up against the adults, is still riding high and going strong here 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰 look away, y’all, the shipper comments are coming in strong

Also why is this the first real interaction with Peeta in this chapter yet? My baby needs more page-time 🤭🤭🤭

“Delly Cartwright is a pasty-faced, lumpy girl with yellowish hair who looks about as much like our server as a beetle does a butterfly.” Now why did Katniss just tear Delly to shreds for no reason at all 😭😭😭 this was a surprise assault on the poor girl 🙃🙃🙃🙃

“She may also be the friendliest person on the planet - she smiles constantly at everybody in school, even me.” Okay not to tie absolutely everything back to Peeta ... but to tie absolutely everything back to Peeta ... this description of poor, sweet Delly is actually indicative of Peeta’s character? Since Delly, we find out in Mockingjay, is Peeta’s childhood best friend, her personality being this sunny, kind, good-natured person tells us Peeta has always probably been somewhat like her and perhaps not as much like the other town kids Katniss implies to be stuck up or snooty. Maybe Katniss is just shady and deflects onto others 🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️.

Also the fact that she gives this like ... mean description of Delly but saw Peeta as popular, even though surely Delly and Peeta spent time at school together, implies further that Katniss did indeed harbor a secret crush on Peeta even before the reaping. A very mild comparison of his on her though, of course 😅😅😅

“It must be the hair” “something about the eyes too” their piggybacking on the other’s comments really is just chiefs kiss 😘🤗🥰🤧 FYI I know the saying is chefs kiss but I made the typo once a long time ago and decided to add it forever to my brand 🤗🙃🥳

Also though this Everlark interaction is reminiscent of when two kids get caught by their teacher goofing off in class and covering for each other 🥰 only it’s a lot more deadly stakes

“A few of the other couples make a nice impression, but none of them can hold a candle to us.” She’s so modest 🤧🤧🤧 her narration here and during the Tribute Parade just has the vibes of ... well .... sorry in advance

Haymitch’s comment “Just the perfect touch of rebellion. Very nice” leads me to think he and Cinna and maybe Portia were always in cahoots about the rebellion even before Katniss and Peeta came along and well ... lit their match on fire 🥁🤗🤣🤭

Katniss is like “rebellion??? Rebellion where??? What’s that you old people speak of???” And yet, girlfriend goes out to the woods and hunts illegally every day of her life 🤣🤣🤣🤣.

“But when I remember the other couples, standing stiffly apart, never touching or acknowledging each other, as if their fellow tribute did not exist” too lazy too look it up but there’s a quote from Ballad about Lucy Gray and Jessup being distinguished by their visible friendship too that set them apart from the other tributes.

Either Suzanne thought of drawing a nice parallel showing what a failed Everlark attempt looks like, because I firmly stand by the fact that without their real feelings behind their act, even Katniss’ unconscious ones, they wouldn’t have pulled it off, or Suzzie just reused her own content. I prefer the former but I think it’s probably the latter 🤭🤭🤭

“Now go get some sleep while the grown-ups talk." I know Haymitch is being facetious here but this quote reminded me of the fact that the movies would have hit differently if they’d cast actual sixteen year olds in the roles.

“When we get to my door, he leans against the frame, not blocking my entrance exactly but insisting I pay attention to him.” This is such a flirty, high school boy pose, you cannot convince me otherwise 😭😭😭

Also I definitely feel like Peeta is getting more and more confident here because he’s oblivious to Katniss’ inner monologue as much as she is his actually we all are his sadly and he probably thinks she’s starting to like him 🤧🤧🤧

“So, Delly Cartwright. Imagine finding her lookalike here." 🤣 He honestly cracks me up idk why this line isn’t even special or that great. He’s just so ... subtly nosy / funny. Which brings me to that quote from Mockingjay where Katniss talks about his sense of humor because it’s one of the things she loves most about him 😭😭😭

But he’s like, “I can keep a secret, Katniss, tell me who that tongueless chick is to you 😬”

Katniss stop talking about debts, friends cover for the other all the time 🙄🙄 I know it’s in her character stop yelling at a fish for swimming that’s not a real phrase I know that too

Okay first of all, they’re about to share a secret 🥰🥰🥰🥰. My shipper goggles are on tight and obstructing my vision. I know this and am proud 😬🥳🤗

And secondly, “Maybe sharing a confidence will actually make him believe I see him as a friend.” Hey, butthead, you two are already friends. She doesn’t even recognize that the girl who constantly sits with her, talks to her, eats with her and trades with her is her friend either though, I’m shocked she calls Gale her friend

Does Peeta get to know Cinna too? I don’t think so but it’s mentioned now a couple times in this chapter alone that Peeta has interacted with Cinna. Katniss never interacts or has a conversation with Portia.... then again, is that even surprising? Katniss isn’t ... what you would call ... social. Hashtag relatable.

Awww, they’re communicating so effectively together 🥰😭🤧🥳

Also rooftops belong to Everlark only 😍😊😉 I mean, seriously, Katniss never goes up on a rooftop with anyone else. Besides Haymitch in the first movie but we ignore.

“Electricity in District 12 comes and goes, usually we only have it a few hours a day.” Earlier she said the Seam didn’t often have electricity, in particular, so either she’s not specifying her section of the district anymore or Suzanne is backtracking.

“But here there would be no shortage. Ever.” I’ve had two power outages recently so clearly the Capitol isn’t based on us currently today then 😐😐 I’m just joking ok

“I asked Cinna why they let us up here. Weren't they worried that some of the tributes might decide to jump right over the side?” .... boyfriend, where does your mind go sometimes? Peeta’s darker than we realize, y’all 🤭🤭🙃🙃

“He holds out his hand into seemingly empty space. There's a sharp zap and he jerks it back” between this and Catching Fire, Peeta is addicted to getting shocked by forcefields 🤧🤧🤧

“I wonder if we're supposed to be up here now, so late and alone.” If this was a romantic drama or comedy, that line would have meant something a lot more fun 😒😔😬😉😏

“On the other side of the dome, they've built a garden with flower beds and potted trees.” Is this meant to resemble Snow’s grandmother’s garden???? Like he had them put a garden there to like ... put a piece of his Grandma’am in the games? Idk this made zero sense it was a stupid thought

Two people in a garden at night, with wind chimes, sounds romantic in any other context. 🥺🥺

Ummm does everyone in the entire district know Katniss and her father used to hunt together?

Oh nevermind, Lavinia is not from District Twelve. My bad, guys. I should go up and edit my previous thoughts but that’s a lot of work. 😅😅😅

Katniss, stop being so hard on yourself. You and Gale were kids. 😣😣

Ummm, Katniss for a girl always complimenting Peeta’s storyteller, you’re pretty good at painting a picture yourself...

Peeta noticing she’s shivering 🥰🥺

He gives her ... his jacket 😭😭😭😭 such a romantic troupe Samantha, get over it there’s literally children dying

Oh wow, Lavinia was from the Capitol originally. Hmm, it is sus now that she got District Twelve this particular year.

But also 🤧🤧🤧 “he secures a button at my neck.”

His hands .... are .... often .... at her .... neck .... 😶😬 .... look away, y’all

Oh wow, Katniss is over here thinking, “who’d leave the Capitol if they were from here???” And Peeta’s like instantly, loudly, without hesitating, “well I would 🙋🏼‍♂️”

Hot take, y’all ready? Peeta was a bigger rebel than Katniss from the start. At least internally.

Awww, Peeta is so jealous 😭😭😭😭 and kind of nosy 🤭🤭🤭

Katniss : “me and Gale are not related” Peeta : “😬🙃😭😩😶”

“I'd set out to tell her I was sorry about dinner. [...] my apology runs much deeper. [...] I let the Capitol kill the boy and mutilate her without lifting a finger. Just like I was watching the Games.” I feel like this is actually a good comparison though, because of you grew up in a society where you have to watch kids die, your whole entire life you’ve watched it in a glorified television show, you would be really desensitized to it...

“You don't forget the face of the person who was your last hope.” Here she’s talking about Lavinia but it applies to Peeta too. Katniss was Lavinia’s last hope and she feels like she let her down but Peeta was her last hope once and he came through. And, as she said in chapter one, she’ll never forget him for it. And for other things too. Later on. 😏

Of course my last bullet point was focused on Everlark 🤣 is anyone surprised you shouldn’t be we all knew who this post was written by right? 😅

And once again, if too made through this marathon, congratulations 🥳🥳🥳🥳 maybe next chapter I’ll talk less not likely though so don’t count on it 😅

#thgagain #not even gonna reread this so it’s for sure littered with typos 🥳🥰😅🤭😬🙃😭🤗😏😶

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jamilelucato · 4 years

Text

If I Could Tell Her [G.W.]

Pairing: George Weasley x Slytherin!Diggory!reader

Summary: Based on the song If I Could Tell her from the musical Dear Evan Hansen; Cedric’s younger sister mourners her brother and George tries to comfort her.

Musical Hogwarts || Hogwarts Masterlist

A/N: It’s a sad fluffy fic that I can promise will have a part 2 and a 3! it’s all planned out — it depends on how many people will want it.

Words: 1.900+

whole series here

*gif not mine

You were standing next to the monument some Hufflepuffs had put on for your brother. Your seventh year at Hogwarts had only just begun, but you felt like you should be already home.

Cedric Diggory Forever a hero; forever missed.

The writing made sense — your brother was the hero type, probably why he died defending Harry Potter. Some students had left some flowers around the marble plate, appearing to be a tombstone, which made no sense, since he was buried next to your house back at Ottery St Catchpole in Devon, England.

It was weird missing Cedric because you two had never been close. He was one year older, but that was not the reason — when you finally came to Hogwarts, you got sorted to Slytherin, which only proved how much different Cedric and you were. Total opposites. Besides, he was the family’s favourite, the family’s golden boy. You were just the other one.

“He thought you were awesome,” you heard a voice say from behind.

It kinda scared you, but thankfully, you didn’t jump. You turned around; George Weasley starred down at the fake tombstone as if he was reading it and not talking to you.

George was a beautiful boy you knew since a baby. He and his family lived in the same region as you, so more times than often, you two had to sit through dinners together, but there was no more to it.

From all the seven children that Mr and Mrs Weasley had, the closest to you was Ginny, who generally visited you when back at home. But, during school times, many of them just ignored you.

They were, after all, perfect Gryffindors who had a reputation to protect.

So, yeah, having George talking to you while next to the tribute to your brother was rather odd.

He finally looked at you.

“He thought I was awesome? My brother?” you asked, unable to say anything else. The Weasley boys were closer to Cedric then you — they shared such a passion for Quidditch that, although you also played the sport, your passion could never be compared — but it was weird that Cedric could’ve mentioned you to any of them.

“Definitely!” George affirmed, enthusiastically. Something about you being sceptical made him wonder that maybe you and your brother weren’t that close.

“How?”

“Well...” George coughed, trying to get some extra time to think about what to say. You were right about being suspicious — Cedric had never mentioned you to George or his older brothers.

That didn’t mean, however, that he didn’t know unique things about you.

In fact, George paid attention to you every time he could. Something about your voice, your hair, your eyes... he couldn’t point out exactly what but you always got his attention.

As a kid, he thought that maybe at Hogwarts, you two would be close — but then you got into Slytherin, and later on, you became a beater. The same position as him, yes, but you couldn’t be farther to him than before.

He saw that you were still waiting for him to explain what Cedric thought about his little sister. He gulped.

“He said there’s nothing like your smile — sort of subtle and perfect and real,” George said, his voice a bit shaky. You seemed not to notice; focusing on the new information, George could be spitting on you that you wouldn’t care. “He said you never knew how wonderful that smile could make someone feel.”

It was nice listening to Goerge talk. He had a calm voice, way different from his brothers. Even Fred, who was his twin, had a different tone — always loud, never gentle. George seemed to be the most patient of the family — probably because he lives in the shadows of six siblings.

You knew how hard could be living under someone shadows — you loved Cedric, you missed Cedric, but even now that he was gone, his shadow was still there over you.

“And he knew,” George continued, soaking in the sudden courage, “whenever you get bored, you scribble stars on the cuffs of your jeans.”

With wide eyes, you gaped at him. You didn’t think someone could’ve noticed that.

“And he noticed that you still fill out the quizzes that they put in those teen magazines,” when George mentioned that old habit of yours, you almost laughed.

George knew about the magazines because of many dinner nights at the Diggorys when he had to fetch Ginny from y/N’s room. He thought it was a cute habit of yours.

“But he kept it all inside his head,” he added, noticing you were about to ask why Cedric never said those things. “What he saw he left unsaid.”

You looked away from the red-haired’s empathetic face and stared for the last time at the tribute. You needed to put an end to it— you had already grieved over the summer, and you did not want to turn into your parents who appeared unable to get over it.

“And though he wanted to, he couldn’t talk to you; he couldn’t find the way,” George went on. His gesture made you emotional — none of Cedric’s friends seemed so committed to showing you how great your brother was. “But he would always say ‘if I could tell her everything I see’.”

George was rambling and he knew it. There was a reason why he avoided talking to you — you made him nervous. And right at that moment, he was almost passing out. You were interested, and he was lying to your face. Cedric didn’t talk much to him or Fred — he preferred Percy — but even so, George doubted he could’ve mentioned y/N.

“‘If I could tell her how she’s everything to me’,” George sighed. He should stop rambling and free you from him. “‘But we’re a million worlds apart, and I don’t know how I would even start’.”

That new information you had just heard filled your heart with hope. Perhaps Cedric did like you. Perhaps he tried to be closer, but he just didn’t know how to. It wasn’t like you made it easy — you avoided him at all costs.

“Did he say anything else?” you asked, with hope in your eyes.

George raised his brows, “A—about you?”

Oh, that was it. Cedric talked about you but not that much. What were you thinking? That he spend whole afternoons with the Weasleys telling them how much special his sister was?

You started walking away from the fake tombstone, leaving George behind. “Never mind, I don’t really care anyways—”

“No, no, no—just, no, no—he said—” George gulped; he needed to organize his thoughts and fast. “He said so many things; I’m just—I’m trying to remember the best ones. So, um—”

You slowed down, letting George follow you around the school.

The tribute was just a walk away from the Courtyard; a couple more steps and you’d be hearing the students.

“He thought you looked really pretty, er—” George stopped right away. What was he thinking?? Brothers don’t say their sisters are pretty! “It looked pretty cool when you put indigo streaks in your hair,” he corrected himself, hoping you wouldn’t have noticed.

That caught you by surprise, making you stop at your tracks. Those indigo streaks were horrible! It was a blessing you did it in the summer, so it had time to dye out in time for school. But if Cedric thought they were cool...

“He did?”

George smiled. So you didn’t notice him reformulating the phrase.

He was losing you again — you fastened your steps. He started thinking what to say next and then he remembered when he saw you at the Yule Ball with Blaise Zabini.

“And he wondered how you learned to dance like all the rest of the world isn’t there,” he said, staring at you just so he could see you blush. And you did. “But he kept it all inside his head; what he saw he left unsaid.”

“I should’ve...” you gulped, “I should’ve said something.”

George pulled his brows together. “If he could tell you... I’m sure he wanted to.”

You tilted your head, unconsciously, and kept walking. You couldn’t turn back time. It was your fault, and you knew. Merlin, probably even George knew it by now.

“You were everything to him,” Goerge stopped you, holding your pulse. You looked down at his touch — it felt like being electrocuted.

Not by lightning because that would’ve hurt but like touching something you shouldn’t. It was different but welcomed.

“But we’re a million worlds apart,” you sighed when George finally let go of you.

You didn’t want to look at him. He was gentle, patient, but he didn’t understand. He and his family were together all the time; they were close, they were friends. You and Cedric were never like that.

Besides, George said it himself — Cedric wanted to be close. But you, you never wanted Cedric’s “pity”.

“He wondered...” George went on. It was enjoyable talking to you, even if it was about something so morbid. You two used to talk as kids and George had forgotten how delightful it was. “But what do you do when there’s this great divide?”

George reached for his mouth, covering it with his hand. What was he doing? That was too much. He had already pointed out things about you that Cedric probably never knew, but now he wasn’t even trying to pretend those were Cedric’s words.

Thankfully, you weren’t looking. Your eyes wandered at the group of Hufflepuffs standing next to a pillar. If you didn’t overthink it, you could still see Cedric there.

“He just seemed so far away,” you muttered.

“And what do you do when the distance is too wide?” George had accepted he was screwed — he was only waiting for you to be mad at him.

“It’s like I don’t know anything,” you said, waving your hand in Cho’s direction, who was passing by with some books close to her chest. She waved back, with a weak smile. You knew she was in pain too, but it was ironic because, before your brother died, you had no idea they were dating. Being honest, you didn’t even know who she was— shame on you for that.

“And how do you say ‘I love you’?”

George panicked when you turned your head at him. He had crossed the line, and you knew it.

Except you didn’t. You looked at George with a sad smile, thinking George was right. Even though you gave your brother the cold shoulder, he still loved you. He died loving you.

“But we were a million worlds apart, and I didn’t know how I could’ve even started,” you sighed. “I wish I could tell Cedric I love him too.”

George gave you a sad smile. “ He knows.”

You reached for George’s hand and squeezed it lightly.

“Thank you, George,” you said. “This talk... I didn’t know I needed it, but thank you.”

George blushed and didn’t have time to react when you got on tiptoes — Merlin, do the Weasleys’ kids ever stop growing?— and kissed his cheek. If he wasn’t red before, he sure was now.

“See you around, George.”

He watched you walking away, still unable to react with what just happened.

Fred reached his twin sneakily.

“Lost her again, huh?”

George finally moved, staring at his twin. “I can’t say it now.”

“Yeah, I know,” Fred pressed his lips together. “But don’t take this as an excuse. Take your time, but please, hit on her.”

George rolled his eyes — his twin was never the romantic gentleman.

“Or I will,” Fred added, trying to provoke his brother. It worked — George punched him in the arm.

“I’d like to see you try,” George said with a smirk and walked away.

#george weasley #george weasley x reader #george weasley x slytherin reader #george weasley x diggory reader #george and fred #Fred and George #Fred and George Weasley #fred and george imagine #musical #hp #harry potter #hogwarts #fanfic #dear evan hansen #if i could tell her #fred weasley #fred weasley x reader

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earbuds-and-hightops · 4 years

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An Open Letter to Supernatural

[ Spoiler warning for 15x20, obviously ]

I understand that a well-contemplated complaint about this ending cannot be made without first reading the original, pre-COVID, script of 15x20, but in the long run, the initial plan is not what will be remembered.

What will be remembered is what this show created. What it became beyond two brothers driving around the country, hunting monsters. Characters were introduced and developed, and in that, Sam and Dean Winchester become so much more than two kids living on the road. In the past 15 years, the cast, and thus the family, grew to something that would be unimaginable to those who started this project back in 2005. Not only did the characters and their stories become meaningful, but the show itself grew into, well, a family. The fans who have kept this show alive since Day 1 have come together to form what I believe is the greatest community in pop culture.

What hurts the most is that this finale did not do any of that development justice.

The finale (and consequently the episodes leading up to it) reverts back to the story between only Sam and Dean. While some see this as an ode to who they are--their brotherhood and familial bond being the heart of their values and the root of their characters--I cannot help but see this as a rejection of their experiences this past decade and a half.

What’s worse, episode 15x18 confirmed one of the most pure and powerful and goddamn beautiful romances that television will ever see. This story of an angel who abandoned his family and the only beings he’s known for thousands of years, all for one person. I knew from the instant the screen faded to black on November 5 that the story of Castiel will always be remembered, even if his feelings were unrequited. Castiel will always be remembered.

And then there’s Destiel. I was genuinely impressed that this show would even grow to include a queer angel, more importantly, a queer character in a leading role. The queer-baiting and the “bury your gays” trope both make this confession and its lack of acknowledgement that much worse (and is worthy of an entirely separate open letter for another night). It matters less if Dean does or doesn’t reciprocate these feelings and more that it’s wrong that he completely ignores it. Cas’s love confession, this beautifully tragic and tragically beautiful emotion coming from a being who wasn’t supposed to feel emotions at all, is something that, unfortunately, will become a secret that dies with Dean Winchester.

It’s truly a shame that the writers of this show let that happen.

We haven’t even touched the fact that Castiel’s death was an act of sacrifice to save Dean. Dean’s limited reaction and lack of mourning* tears apart this phrase that has become pivotal to the entire show and fanbase: “Family don’t end in blood.” While it would be a lot to ask that Dean rescue Cas from the Empty and resume their cycle of rescue and resurrection, I think it’s only fair that Dean take the time to fully accept Castiel’s actions and words for what they mean instead of simply moving forward as if they never happened.

What’s more, Misha Collins is one of the greatest and kindest people in this world, and he’s poured his heart and soul into Supernatural, just like everybody else. He’s spent 12 years on this project, and the final two episodes hardly mentioned his character. He didn’t deserve this. It’s heartbreaking that his last credit on this show will be a prank call from someone trying to impersonate him, and not something that pays tribute to such an important character and important actor**

The most devastating part of this ending is what happened in 15x19. Pardon my French when I say that that episode, the ultimate climax of the season and latter half of the series, was a piece of dog shit. It’s incredibly frustrating to invest in 15 years worth of television and look forward to this ultimate battle between two average boys and God the Almighty Himself and to instead watch a 6-minute long fist fight on the beach with the only dialogue being variations of “seriously guys, stay down.”

My issues with 15x19 lie less in the storyline that was chosen and more in how they were presented. I am completely on board with Jack taking God’s power and eventually becoming the new God, but the episode was far too quick to have any real meaning, and, as stated before, Castiel’s sacrifice, which allows Sam, Dean, and Jack to do what they do in 15x19, is hardly mentioned.

Most fans agree that 15x19 was far too quickly paced. The plot with Michael and Lucifer was questionable to begin with, but should have been an episode on its own if it were to be perused at all. Michael’s story in particular could have been fleshed out to reiterate this theme of overly loyal sons and their fathers, as well as their relationships with less loyal siblings, but was instead reduced to about 20 minutes of screen time.

Though this is less important, Lucifer’s plan to make a new Death felt like a cheap cop-out just to close the storyline with Death’s book, but we can finish that discussion another day.

The general fan reaction to this atrocity of an episode was that this was meta, and according to Becky, the ending was supposed to be dog shit. This, along with the untouched storyline started when Cas died, gave fans so much hope that the finale would be this amazing piece of art that puts Supernatural in the history books.

While it’s obvious that an hour cannot perfectly tie up every single event and arc with a pretty little bow, it can at least...try. Any finale should, at minimum, pay tribute to what the show started as (which 15x20 did well) and what it became (which 15x20 failed to do miserably).

In addition, a reference to character back in season 1 is incredibly frustrating when recurring characters with actual, well, character go unnoticed. I mostly reference Eileen here, but this also applies to Jody and Donna. Nobody even mentions the other wonderful friends who have helped Sam and Dean along their journey to Heaven. If family doesn’t end in blood, then why doesn’t it extend to include Castiel, Jack, Mary, Rowena, Charlie, Kevin, Jody and her girls, Donna, and so many others?

Dean’s death was sad, I’ll give them that (and honestly, I was expecting it). However, considering that this man has defeated apocalypses, killed Death, and taken down God, his death via nail in the wall was incredibly anticlimactic, and something that could literally have happened at any point over the 15 seasons. While Dean’s death was obviously not my ideal ending, I think it could have worked if it were done properly, and in this case, it was not. That said, I do appreciate that Sam did not try to bring Dean back, as that would indicate literally no growth at all.

Dean’s funeral was...pathetic, to say the least. Sam being the only person there was depressing considering that Dean had lots of other close friends (and you’d think that Jack would pay his respects, but apparently not), however, this is likely a scene that was impacted by COVID and the availability of some of the cast, so I will not dwell on that scene.

Dean’s time in Heaven complicates matters even more. Firstly, Bobby confirms that Castiel is no longer in the Empty and has been in contact with Jack. I would have loved to see this reunion; Cas is essentially Jack’s father, and I would have loved to see how their upgrading/remodeling of Heaven brought them closer together. I understand that the writers were trying to focus this finale story on the brothers, this goes back to my earlier point that you cannot simply ignore everything that that this show has grown to include. Bobby’s explanation also begs the question of why Dean had no intention of seeing Cas (or Jack, for that matter) again now that he has the opportunity.

Secondly, Dean’s instinct to go directly for the Impala was very in-character, however, the editing implied that driving was all Dean did until Sam died. As we know, Sam dies of old age, likely (completely guessing here) upwards of 40-50 years from Dean’s death, and that is a very, very long time for Dean to simply driving around the mountains. It would have been nice to see Dean reunite with other family and friends who are also in Heaven, however, again, COVID restraints.

Sam’s ending was similar to what I and a lot of other fans imagined (not necessarily wanted, but predicted) it to be: kids and a wife, living a normal, monster-free, life. I hate to believe that he doesn’t end up with Eileen (to my recollection, his wife was a blur in the background, and it is unclear if she was meant to be Eileen) however that might just be my bias and appreciation of Shoshannah Stern. While I’m glad that this storyline gave Sam the room to grow and develop without his brother, it also completely ignores everything that he’s been through this past decade and a half, and that is something that should not happen. Sam grew and changed so much since he left Stanford and leaving that life, the life of a hunter, behind feels very counterintuitive.

Let’s not even discuss the wig that Jared wore. It reminded me of the Cain wig that Rob wore in the Hillywood parody.

What shocked me the most at the beginning of this episode was the lack of a “The Road So Far” compilation. I hoped for the full song with a recap of all 15 seasons, or, at minimum, the typical single-season recap. “Carry On My Wayward Son” is such an important part of the show and the culture of the fan base, that it seems almost sacrilegious that the season finale not begin with this song and a memorial to the events in the past season (or series).*** I’m very happy that it was included at all, but I was shocked when Neoni’s cover took over.

No disrespect to Neoni; those girls are incredibly talented and I love their music, however, a series finale of a 15 season long show does not feel like the place for a cover when they already have the rights to the original, and the original is so iconic.

Lastly, I want to acknowledge Jensen Ackles’s reaction to this conclusion. At a con panel about a year ago, he said that he needed to be talked into agreeing to this script by Erik Kripke himself, because the ending just wasn’t sitting right with him. So many fans took this to believe that he was homophobic and afraid that of Destiel becoming fully canon, and he got so much more hate than he deserved, because ultimately, he was right in his first opinion. This isn’t the way this story should have ended. Jensen explained that he had been “too close” to the story, and that it took a more holistic view from a step backwards (the audience’s perspective, as he puts it) to agree on this ending, but honestly, nobody knows Dean Winchester better than Jensen, and he knows what’s best and what would be the best way to finish this character’s arc. I think fans and Jensen alike agree that this wasn’t it.

I sympathize with all of the cast and crew members who disagree with how this show ended but are bounded by contract to support this show no matter what. Especially Misha and Jensen.

Over all, I believe that Supernatural will go down in history (in internet communities, at least) as one of the greatest shows ever. While I do agree that the writing quality in terms of both dialogue and plot declined as years passed, the community, the family, that this show created cannot be ignored because of a poorly written/planned ending. I think that the fandom will collectively let go of this disaster of an ending that we were given and will, just like Sam and Dean, write our own stories. I have full faith and confidence that Supernatural will not be represented by this finale episode, but by the beautiful stories, amazing characters, and the family that this show created and what the fans have chosen to do with it.

Sincerely,

A Fiercely Frustrated but Fiercely Loyal Fan

* I do not count that last clip of Dean crying on the floor as mourning. In my mind, that was a reaction, not an emotional healing and overcoming, if that makes sense. I argue that if Dean were to fully mourn and process everything (like Sam did in 15x20) we would have seen at least a bit of that on screen.

** This is where I would have loved to see some of the original scripts. I hope that the writers initial intentions were to have Misha more involved in these last two episodes than what was likely a voice memo created in 10 minutes tops at Misha’s house.

*** The strange montage at the end of 15x19 makes so much more sense. I still would have preferred that montage at the beginning of 15x20. This also shines light on the video that Misha posted. What would we do without him :)

#supernatural #spn #spn season 15 #spn finale #spn 15x20 #an open letter #no beta we die as men #destiel #deancas #dean winchester #sam winchester #castiel #jack kline #erik kripke #robert singer #andrew dabb #that god awful finale #i spent 4 hours drafting this

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awed-frog · 5 years

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Stuff I Never Learned In Uni and Now I’m Gonna Sue:

When he was young, Plato used to wear a ridiculous earring and everybody made fun of him behind his back. Also his original name was Aristocles: ‘Plato’ (= Broady) is a nickname his trainer gave him because he was so stupidly buff.

Aristotle was fond of flashy clothes and flashier rings and spent ages doing his hair.

Socrates used to turn a stick into a pretend horse to amuse his children.

Alcibiades and his friends once got high on stolen Pythia’s herbs and risked the death penalty.

Plutarch literally said “Sex is nice, but have you tried reading Aristobulos?” (his books are now lost, btw, and that goes on my list ‘things to be furious and sad about’)

Empedocles, a vegetarian who won the Olympics, made an ox out of frankincense and myrrh and sacrificed it as a tribute to the gods instead of a real animal. Pythagoras also sacrificed an ox-shaped cake to the gods when he discovered that hypotenuse thing.

Sophist Anchimolus happily survived on figs and water, but people avoided him at the baths because he just stank so much.

Philoxenus and Gnathon the Sicilian used to blow their noses over the best dishes of a buffet, so that other guests wouldn’t eat them first.

The philosopher Crates was called ‘the Door-Opener’ because he had this habit of randomly walk into people’s houses and offer them unwanted and unsolicited advice.

Alcibiades once sent Socrates a gigantic cake for sex-related reasons, and Socrates’ wife was so mad she threw it on the floor and trampled it.

(As a reminder, Alcibiades tried everything he knew to get into Socrates’ pants but the guy just. never. shut. up. and Alcibiades would usually fell into a stupor and sleep.)

Many statues had little umbrellas on their heads so birds wouldn’t poop on them.

A guy once invited King Philip (Alexander’s dad) for dinner, but forgot kings usually travel with dozens of people. When Philip realized his host was embarrassed because there wasn’t enough food for everyone, he discreetly told his companions to leave room for cake. People ate very little in expectation of a glorious dessert, and so there was enough for everyone.

“Dreaming about cakes without cheese is a good omen, but cheesecakes signify deceit and trickery.” (Artemidorus, who totally wasn’t pulling things out of his own ass)

Proving nothing ever really changes and time is an illusion, Plutarch complained that the guides at Delphi would bore everyone to death by reading every single inscription while their audience baked in the sun.

“If a cucumber is bitter, just throw it away...Don’t go and complain Why do such things exist in this world?” (Marcus Aurelius, unproblematic fave; also filed under ‘does it spark joy?’)

Wine jars had a piece of wood inside it, so the mice who fell in could climb back out (a Most Civilised custom imo).

“Those drunk on wine fall on their faces; those drunk on beer fall on their backs.” (this from Aristotle, I dare hope from personal experience)

Empedocles once attended a party where the host told his guests they could either drink or be drenched in wine. The next day, he had the man executed. “This was the beginning of his career in politics”.

Alexander put collars on a number of deer to determine how long they lived. When they were caught, more than a hundred years later, they had not aged a day. (*stanning intensifies*)

A good method to stop children from crying: fasten a sponge on a jar of honey and give it to them. Probably also doubles as a good method for making their teeth fall out.

Several people tried to pass laws against children’s tantrums.

A flying pig once devastated the Ionic city of Clazomenae.

Greek divers had snorkels so they could stay longer underwater.

“The students nod to each other about charioteers, or mime-actors, or horses, or dancers, or about some gladiatorial fight; some just stand there like a block of stone, others pick their noses...Anything is preferable to paying attention to their teacher.” (Libanius, #bless; he also complained that students would rather handle snakes than touch their textbooks)

Aristotle made fun of Herodotus for saying a black man’s semen must also be black.

When Gelon, the future tyrant of Syracuse, was a boy, a wolf came into his classroom and stole his writing tablet. Gelon ran after him, and as soon as he’d stepped outside the school there was an earthquake: all the other children and their teacher died.

Archimedes once built a big-ass ship for king Hieron of Syracuse. It had a gymnasium, gardens, a library, a seawater pond full of fish and mosaics detailing the entire Iliad.

There was a rumor Sophocles died when he tried to recite his Antigone and couldn’t stop for breath because he never used commas. (#KarmaIsABitch)

In Sparta, all the girls and young men who were unmarried were locked together in a dark room. The men then grabbed a girl, and whoever they grabbed, they had to marry. Lysander, the famous Spartan general, was fined for abandoning the girl he caught and scheming to marry a prettier one.

Crocodile dung was considered an essential ingredient in face masks, but dishonest sellers would often present starling dung as crocodile’s.

There were beauty contests in several cities, both for men and for women. Some cities also held modesty contests for women.

The only valid reasons for being late at the Olmypics were illness, shipwreck and capture by pirates.

Pythagoras was shocked by how women lend each other clothes and jewelry without paperwork or a witness to the transaction.

Demosthenes refused to pay the prostitute Lais (a man) half a million dollars to sleep with him, declaring “I don’t buy regret at such a high price”.

Bald men made money by allowing people to break pots over their heads for fun.

In Southern Italy there was a breed of sheep whose wool was so valuable, shepherds put leather jackets on them so it wouldn’t be ruined by bushes and thorns.

The Gauls used to throw letters on funeral pyres so the dead could read them in their next life.

In Sparta, every year boys were whipped for an entire day on the altar of Artemis. Some died, but the ones enduring it most gracefully received the highest honors.

Plato once gave a public reading of his treatise On the Soul and Aristotle was the only person who stayed until the end.

The statues of unpopular politicians were thrown in the sea or turned into chamber pots.

Apsethus the Libyan trained some parrots to say ‘Apsethus is a god’, and the Libyans, impressed by the miracle, started to worship him. Then a Greek came along and trained the parrots to say ‘Apsethus put me in a cage and forced me to say Apsethus is a god’ so when the Libyans heard that, they seized Apsethus and burned him to death.

An idiot named Marcus insisted in running a race in full armour. He was so slow, at midnight the stadium authorities locked everything up because they mistook him for one of the statues. When they opened up again in the morning, they found he’d finished his first lap.

Athens was plagued with gangs of rich kids running around and stealing the offerings left for the gods. One of them was called The Hard Dicks.

Some many men died in the Peloponnesian War the city of Athens made polygamy legal. Euripides thus had two wives, but wasn’t happy with either of them.

A character in one of Euripides’ plays argued that wealth matters more than morality and the audience got so mad Euripides had to come on stage and beg them to wait for the end of the play - promising the guy would be revealed as the villain and meet a dreadful end.

When Rhodopis, a beautiful prostitute, was taking a bath, an eagle stole her shoe. It carried it all the way to Memphis and dropped it on the lap of Pharaoh Psammetichus, who immediately ordered the whole country to be searched for the owner of such a beautiful and shapely shoe. When Rhodopis was found, he married her.

In Elysium, the fortunate dead enjoy checkers, horse riding, gymnastics and playing the lyre.

[Source: various Greek authors, collected by J.C. McKeown in A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities. Also available: Ancient Medical Curiosties and Roman Curiosities.]

#ancient greece #greece #history #classics #antiquity #til #trivia #philosophy #athens and sparta #cinderella #cheesecake #aristotle #plato #euripides #so this book was a nice find #i left out a couple of ghost stories #but #i'll try to make that post about magic #later today

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hutchhitched · 4 years

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Social Commentary in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

I haven’t written a lot of meta about The Hunger Games trilogy. When I first read them, I devoured the entire set in three days before I was part of tumblr or writing fanfiction. My own metas were in my head and part of things I taught my classes and discussed with my friends, but not something I generally put on my blog. I don’t know why. (I do have a meta about Peeta’s hijacking that I’ve been meaning to write for a while. Maybe once I’ve finished this book. Hint: It has to do with George Orwell’s 1984, which I used in my classes last year and was performed at a theater in Houston right as the pandemic hit.) I don’t know if reading this book when I’m a decade older and after a really rough few years of my own has anything to do with it or just that I’ve been exposed to so much by being in this fandom, but I’ve got a lot of thoughts about The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. I’ve only read Part 1 so far, but here are some observations. (It’s long, but at least read the last one—even if you have to skip to get there.)

Spoilers below:

Reaping day is July 4. We already knew it was during the summer, so that’s not a huge stretch. What intrigues me is the symbolism of July 4 for Americans since it’s Independence Day. For those of you who aren’t American or aren’t sure why that struck me, here you go. Independence Day represents the day the Declaration of Independence was signed (although, it was actually two days later, but whatever). The Declaration of Independence was issued 14 months AFTER the beginning of the American Revolution in April 1775 at the battles of Lexington and Concord and was not the cause of the Revolution as so many believe. Penned by Thomas Jefferson (at least colloquially), it famously discusses the celebrated (but sadly, not practiced) phrase that “all men are created equal.” That’s the phrase that’s trotted out and waved about, but the Declaration is mostly about tyranny and the role of government. In fact, the Declaration doesn’t start with “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” Instead, it begins with this: “When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another…” In other words, the Declaration of Independence does indicate that all humans are created equal. It also discusses what the government is supposed to and not supposed to do. Having Reaping Day occur on July 4 is a brilliant jab that adds an entirely new level to what Independence Day means and how it’s celebrated—with lots of flag waving and fireworks and BBQ (and very little knowledge of what the document itself actually says).

Which brings me to Sejanus Plinth. Bless him. He’s the voice of compassion and reason in part 1 as he speaks up about treating other humans with respect and dignity, about the humanity of those in the districts, as he feeds the hungry, as he challenges the inhumanity of the Games. In short, he’s the Peeta Mellark voice from the final council of the tributes in Mockingjay. I have no idea what’s going to happen to him in the rest of the book, but he’s the humanity I’m craving as I read. A note on his name: Sejanus was a close friend and ally of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. Sejanus worked to improve conditions in the Empire and served as a proxy to Tiberius when he was absent. He was strangled to death in 31 AD/CE. His last name is what makes me stop and want to hug Collins. Four years ago, I had no idea what a plinth was. I’d never heard the word, but I was the prop mistress for my church’s summer musical, and it was on the list of things I had to find. I googled it and found out it’s a base on which a statue (or something else) is displayed. In Mary Poppins, it was used as the base for a statue that came to life and talked to the characters in the park. In other words, it’s a place on which someone can take a stand and deliver a message—a platform, if you will, of the character’s compassion and humanity.

I don’t remember if we got that Tigris was Snow’s cousin in the original trilogy or not. What I do remember is that she was a former stylist who Snow thought was no longer useful and had her removed from the Games. I haven’t figured out yet how I feel about her in this book, but her banishment and desire to see Snow destroyed are even more intriguing to me as a result of her inclusion as his relative. I would not have pictured her as a Snow before reading the new book. I’m still waiting to be convinced. “Snow comes out on top” is awesome. I wish I could write half as well as Collins.

There’s so much Holocaust imagery in this book, it’s terrifying. The cattle cars, the inhumane treatment of the tributes, using a veterinarian to treat the tributes instead of a doctor, the numbers, the cages, the rats, separation into districts and restrictions on travel, the hunger and starvation. Ugh. I’ve spent the past several years studying the Holocaust with some of the leading Holocaust and genocide scholars in the world both here in Houston and in Israel. I’ve traveled to Germany and Poland to see the death camps and headquarters of the Gestapo and Nazis and so on. The Games themselves are genocide, by definition, as an attempt to reduce the population of undesirables by targeting the children so they cannot reproduce. Hearing Survivor stories always reminds me of how Collins discusses Victors. There are no winners, only survivors. Survivors have never forgotten the Holocaust, nor should they. It’s what helped so many of them find compassion and humanity and forgiveness (and equally what causes such despair and depression in so many, as well). During my time Yad Vahsem in Jerusalem last summer, one thing was repeated over and over and over. The real triumph for Survivors aren’t the children; they are the grandchildren and then the great-grandchildren. In Panem, there can’t be too many grandchildren if the children are killed before they reach child-bearing age. (There’s also something in there about Snow being raised by his grandmother, but I’m gonna let that one rest for now.)

In one of the seminars from last summer at Yad Vashem, a scholar of Holocaust music taught us about the role of bands and singing in the camps (all levels, from death camps down to prison camps). First, there are some achingly gorgeous songs (the lyrics of one which were preserved on a child’s shoe in the death camp of Majdanek). Second, she asked us what we thought were the purposes of songs and music in the camps, and we all gave the standard answers—an attempt to distract themselves, holding onto humanity, finding beauty in the midst of horror, and hope. As a faithful fan of The Hunger Games and the saying “Hope is the only thing stronger than fear,” I was just as astounded as others when she said, “There was no hope. People died in death camps. They were starved and covered in shit and piss and lice and filth. They wanted revenge.” I don’t think revenge is what music represents in this book or in the original trilogy, although I think that argument can be made with the use of the Hanging Tree song in rebellion in the movies, but I can’t get that woman’s statement out of my head when I read this book. Not everybody has hope. Katniss didn’t when she first volunteered. I think there’s something to that.

Lucy Gray Baird is not Katniss. I haven’t exactly figured out who she is, yet, but she’s not Katniss in the first part of this book, which I think some people were hoping she was (as an analogy, obviously). Her flirtations with Snow are fascinating, and her outgoing and peculiar behavior at the reaping in District 12 was my first indication that the title was not as clear cut as Snow=Snake and District 12 female tribute=Songbird (alluding to Katniss). She puts a snake down the dress of the daughter of District 12’s mayor. She also sings. Is she both? Is she the songbird only? If so, then why the snake? And Snow doesn’t appear to be the snake either. My bet’s on Dr. Gaul. She’s a piece of work. Or maybe it’s Clemmie. Interested to see where that goes, too.

Lucy Gray’s insistence that she’s not from District 12 is fascinating. She insists she’s Covey, which by definition is a group of birds. The Covey are a group of traveling performers, who were stopped in District 12 and not allowed to leave. Trapped birds—interesting. Also, besides the Jews, the Roma/Sinti were targeted during the Holocaust. This group was commonly and derogatorily referred to as “gypsies,” people who moved about frequently and were suspected of crime, stealing, and a myriad of other issues. The Roma and Sinti immigrated into Central and Eastern Europe from India. If Katniss and others in District 12 are descended from Lucy Gray, then that covers the non-white argument about her ethnic makeup. I have no idea if that was Collins’ intention, but it makes a lot of sense in my brain.

As for Snow, he’s not a villain in this book. At least he’s not yet. So far, he’s the hero (or maybe anti-hero is better), but he’s definitely not the villain. Since we’ve read The Hunger Games, we know he’s the ultimate villain later, but he’s not so far in this book. He’s got ambition and cunning, but neither of those are ultimately villainous. He mourns his mother. He loves his cousin and grandmother. He’s proud of his father’s military service. He’s sad about his friends who die. He’s interested in, if not attracted to, Lucy Gray. We know what he becomes, so it’s hard to read about him as a person with hopes and dreams and struggles. Why? Because it humanizes him, and when he’s humanized, it’s harder for us to say, “He’s evil, and that’s why he did those things.” This is much the same way people blame the Holocaust and World War II on Hitler. “Well, he’s evil, so of course he did that.” Or how we dehumanize gunmen in massacres—“Well, he was clearly a sick individual, so he shot up the place.” Please don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying these crimes are excusable (in real life or in Collins’ works). What I am saying is that knowing Snow was a child shaped by war, hunger, poverty, and loss makes it harder for us to distance ourselves from this “evil” person. His characterization is uncomfortable because it makes us face that we could also do terrible things in specific contexts. Evil people are rarely born. They are almost always made, which means any of us could be a villain. That is what’s really terrifying.

A couple of other notes before this gets way too long for anyone to read.

The role of the government: Sejanus argues it’s the government’s job to take care of its citizens. This is an argument that’s raged in the US (and other countries) for a long time. The question is how do governments take care of the citizens? By feeding them and giving them health care and making sure everyone has enough? Be protecting them with a huge army? By allowing broad civil liberties (e.g., choosing whether to wear face masks during a pandemic)? By instituting restrictive liberties (e.g., gun control, wire taps, screenings at airports)? It’s a really interesting point Sejanus makes early in the book. Not surprising not everyone agrees.

Mention of the three other book titles (almost): The Hunger Games are mentioned several times. There’s a reference to something that “really catches fire.” And then there are the jabberjays. There are no mockingjays yet. Probably because there is no mockingjay yet. Seriously, Collins is brilliant.

The role of war: War is not good for those who live through it. Snow is traumatized by the war, as are the rest of the Capitol’s citizens. It makes most have little empathy for those in the districts who rebelled against them. War has destroyed the city. It’s weakened the economy. It’s destroyed the Snow’s fortune. And then it also leads to the Hunger Games. This book is anti-war just as much as the original trilogy is. It is not anti-soldier, but it is anti-war.

The role of children: Suzanne Collins lives in Connecticut, right? Yes, she does. You know where? Sandy Hook. More specifically, Newtown. Where children were shot to death in their classrooms by a gunman a few years ago. A ton of gun control people thought the slaughter of children would be enough for gun control to be implemented in the wake of that mass murder. It did not. Since then, there’s been a meme that’s circulated (taken from a tweet) that says, “In retrospect Sandy Hook marked the end of the US gun control debate. Once America decided killing children was bearable, it was over.” On page 60 of the book (right at the end of chapter 4), Snow insists the Hunger Games are to show how much people care about children when Dean Highbottom asks what the purpose of the Games is. And then there’s a paragraph in which Snow wonders if people really do care about children. He concludes that children don’t seem to be quite as important as we claim they are. I don’t think that’s a coincidental commentary on Collins’ part.

So, that became a lot longer than I planned, but wow. This book is fascinating, and Collins is a genius. I’m so ready for more. Part 2, here I come.

Hey, @everlarkedalways, does this count?

#tbosas #tbosas spoilers #balladspoilers #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #spoilers #book spoilers #long post #hunger games meta #meta

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tabletoptrinketsbyjj · 4 years

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Um, hi! Is it okay if I request a few items? Specifically some items that can be found in the Feywild or fey enchanted/cursed? Sorry for the trouble.

Sure I take requests :) Here is a variety of items that are generally related to fey.

A cup-hilted rapier crafted by the fey and decorated with a fantastic depiction of the Wild Hunt. A bearer grasping the handle is flooded with the energy of a predator on the hunt: excitement, hunger and bloodlust. When wielded in combat, the wielder can hear the bellowing sounds of a hunting horn blasting in the distance, rousing him into a murderous frenzy.

A cold iron scroll tube containing a signed parchment, entitling the bearer to one unspecified favor or service from a local fey princeling. Knowledgeable PC’s will know that although the favor doesn’t seen to have a catch or price, nothing is ever truly free with the fey.

A fey made tome bound in sheet of smooth bark gilded in silver entitled “Lexicon of Stealing Mortal Babies”. The text is a guide to obtaining newborns from humans with tricks. The book is written in sylvan and the pages are transparent sheets, made from giant insect wings with text painted on.

A sealed glass vial filled with the dried and shredded mushrooms from an entire fairy ring.

A strange flute of rubbery blue fibers interspaced with five holes. If played as an instrument by one skilled enough, it can replicate the unearthly music of fey creatures.

A jagged amber rob with a dead fairy sprite entombed within.

A discrete brownish book the size of a deck of cards without decoration or title. Its contests reveal themselves to be a Changeling training manual and guidebook on how the fey train the supernatural shapeshifters to infiltrate humans, live among them and carry out their nefarious goals.

Weeping Willow: A foot tall willow sapling in a glass bottle that survives indefinitely while sealed in the glass. When the glass is broken, the sapling can be planted in the ground and begins to grow at twice the normal rate for a willow tree. This specific plant is a magical species known as a Weeping Willow. Instead of drawing water from the ground by its roots it to sustain itself, it instantly teleports freshly shed tears from sentient creatures into itself. The moment a sentient creature cries within the Weeping Willow’s range of effect (A 500 ft radius centered on the tree), the tears immediately vanish and are used as sustenance for the tree. Knowledgeable PC’s are aware that the actual origin of this magical species is not well known and most stories believe it to have been the helpful but misguided attempt at a comforting gesture by a minor god or fey creature. Legend has it that the creator saw that sentient creatures always seemed to cry when they were sad and thought that if the willow took away their tears, they wouldn’t be sad anymore. Other stories believe the willow to be a form of foul parasite that thrives on suffering and sadness. Those stories portray a trickster fey or petty demon who sows seeds of Weeping Willows which subtlety encourages anguish within its area in order to feed on more tears. Regardless of it’s origin, Weeping Willows are fairly rare and are usually found in places where tears are commonly shed as those are the only places where it can survive. Adult Weeping Willows can be located in places of great or recurring misery such as war memorials, hospitals, hospices, orphanages, graveyards and prisons. Whether its effect on the creatures in it’s radius is a blessing or a curse is up to each person to decide on their own.

A sealed glass vial filled with pure spring water taken the Feywild.

A brass bell that always stays highly polished and resembles the sound of strange laughter when rung. It is rumored to open doors to the Feywild.

Pillow of the Sleepless Fey: A comfortable pillow which appears to be designed for a child. Stitched into one side is the name Nodwick. If a creature sleeps upon this pillow during the night, small fairies will come to him and will extract 1d6 teeth while the user sleeps. The miniature fey will sprinkle generous amount of fairie dust in the user’s mouth which instantly heal the wounds and take away all pain associated with the process. Upon awakening, the user is filled with a supernatural vitality which causes him not to require any sleep or rest for a number of days equal to the number of teeth lost plus one. If the fey are prevented from removing the teeth for any reason, the user is not affected by the fairie dust and does not receive any benefits.

Caustic Talon: A scimitar made entirely from rare, enchanted ironwood and blessed by a fey spirit in the form of a forest dragon. The fey creature’s personal style manifested itself on the weapon and the blade retains the grain of the ironwood, its dark grey and deep brown streaks are now lined with brilliant streams of emerald acid that slither between the grain of the wood. Deep green dragon scales run along the spine of the blade, turning into leaves as they meet the hilt. The vine-wrapped handle spirals down to the dragon-headed pommel, its face locked in a fierce snarl. When the weapon is swung, the acid in the blade can be heard sizzling in anticipation of landing a hit, but the caustic liquid never spills its power in waste. Half of the damage dealt by the scimitar is considered acid damage while the rest is normal for its type.

Fey Pillow: A silvery cushion which sparkles in the moonlight and always feels cool to touch. When used, the creature will hear the whispers of the fairy king while they sleep. In the morning the cushion will produce a small crystal that contains the creature's dreams which may be watched on it's reflective surface. There is a 5% chance that the crystal's dreams belong to a prior owner of the cushion. The crystals the pillow produces melt into fresh dew after 24 hours.

A letter from an unknown sender that simply reads, “I told you so!”. The return address is plainly labeled “Feywild”.

A sealed glass vial filled with magically preserved, High-Elf Pipeweed. Knowledgeable PC’s will know that this hemp originates from the forest courts where it has been impregnated with the deep magic of the Feywild. When the smoke from burning it in a magical fire is inhaled, it may grant arcane visions of the future or the past, and as such is favoured by oracles and soothsayers. Under the effects of antimagic it merely produces a light-headed feeling and a desire to eat apples.

A steel flask with a safety latch attached. A sloshing liquid can be heard inside. The flask contains a delicious fey honey.

A wooden scroll tube containing a parchment scroll, sealed with wax that is an invitation to the Yew-Lord’s banquet. Knowledgeable PC’s will recognize the title of the Yew-Lord, as a powerful Arch-Fey.

A pan flute carved from the bones of a unicorn which when played, do not make the slightest sound to most creatures. Only fae and fairy kin creatures can hear the tortured sounds of the unicorn’s spirit and they will often seek revenge for their fallen kin.

Crosswind: An ancient longbow originally gifted to a forest ranger who had pledged his life and service to a fey lord. The weapon is made of a light wood and is rather thick, rounded, and has stylized etchings of wind, that are filled-in black. Pink roses and vines are carved along the front and sides of the bow and it is found with a deep leather quiver containing a dozen white arrows fletched with hummingbird feathers and tipped with an unknown green stone. The bow is strung with a string plucked from the fey lord’s own harp and a musical note rings out each time the weapon is used. When fired the bow releases a strong gust of wind that blows along the arrow’s wake and slams into the target. Whenever an arrow loosed by the bow hits a creature of medium size or smaller, the target is pushed back five feet from the blast of wind. —Note: A medium creature is typically no taller or longer than eight feet.

Minor Weapon Enchantment; Bumbling: The emblem of a fairy circle is gilded in silver on the weapon’s grip. The entire weapon is a masterpiece of flowing graceful design, delicately ornate scrollwork and is a tribute to those who made it. Running along its length is a poem written in iambic pentameter, penned in Sylvan, the language of the fey. Those who are able to read it, discover it is not much more than a limerick disparaging the mortal humans and extolling the virtues of the fair folk. The verses have particularly harsh words to say about the incompetence and clumsiness of humanoids and how that in contrast, the fairy peoples are naturally adept in all ways. Any non-fey creature who wields the weapon finds that they are slightly less proficient than usual at completing their normal everyday task, as if the poem was a warning rather than boast. The weapon is treated as a +1 but while the weapon is being wielded and for one hour afterwards, a non-fey wielder suffers a penalty of -1 on all of his skill checks.

A massive cloth and leather banner emblazoned with the unified crests of ten different fey courts.

A bone signet ring displaying the symbol of a large spreading tree. Knowledgeable PC’s will recognize the image as the symbol of the Yew-Lord, a powerful Arch-Fey.

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