Night Vale Quotes 7/? Carlos the Scientist
{previous}
K2-SO: Rogue One? Yes I know them, especially *looks down at smudged writing on hand* Gym Irkso
“Kitty Kommercial” So many animals are waiting for their forever homes! Come meet them at Furkids headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia!
Furkids Animal Rescue and Shelters is Georgia’s largest no-kill animal rescue & shelters. Adopt. Volunteer. Donate.
VISIT FURKIDS.ORG to help animals in need!
Fandom: Tangled: The Series
Rating: Gen
Summary: For everything that has happened, Arianna should be afraid. Afraid for her life. Afraid for her kingdom. Afraid for her family. But she watches, closely, at the slight tremble in Varian’s voice, in the way he shields himself from her gaze, and can’t feel anything but sad.
Or, a Fix It-AU where Arianna is the mother Varian didn’t know he needed but deserved
CHAPTER I
For everything that has happened, Arianna should be afraid. Afraid for her life. Afraid for her kingdom. Afraid for her family.
But she watches, closely, at the slight tremble in Varian’s voice, in the way he shields himself from her gaze, and can’t feel anything but sad. He’s smaller than most village boys she meets, with buck teeth that he tries to hide and a lock of hair that reminds of her niece from far away. He’s a child, she realizes. A child. And younger than her daughter, at that.
Dangerous. Untrustworthy. Reckless. These are the words she has heard about Varian, the only words, in fact, that have come out of Frederic’s mouth. But she looks at the boy’s shaky frame, the dark bags under his eyes, the frenzied, paranoid look he has on his face. She stares and thinks reckless, yes, but also young. Naive.
Broken.
“Believe me I know, I’ve sunk pretty low, but whatever I’ve done you deserve it,” he seethes, blow torch firing away at whatever invention he’s created.
“Varian-” she tries, only to be shut out.
“I’m the bad guy, that’s fine-” she hears his voice breaks at the end, but he steels himself forward and continues to work. “It’s no fault of mine, and some justice at last will be served-”
“Please listen!” Arianna begs. The alchemist ignores her and hammers loudly at the machine. Everything feels like a haze, his words of anger and contempt drowned out by a ringing noise in her ears. The room spins in her peripheral vision as she struggles to think of something, anything, to say.
In front of her, Varian suddenly stops at the amber rocks, a yearning look on his face as he stares up at his only remaining family. There is something unreadable in his expression, something wistful and wanting.
You’ve lost someone, she thinks. You’ve lost someone, and God help me that is something I can understand.
“I know what it feels like!” Arianna shouts before can stop herself. Varian freezes, hand hovering over the amber prison. “Please, just-”
“Be quiet!” Varian scowls. He turns around, furious, but Arianna boldly stands up, feet carrying her as far as the chains would allow.
“You care, you care so much about the people you love that you’ll do anything to help them. I know what it feels like to lose someone you love. Believe, me, I know.”
“You don’t know anything!” Varian cries. His eyes screw shut, hands clench tightly at his sides. “You don’t understand anything. He’s all I have! He’s all I have left!”
“And what would he think of you now?” Arianna counters. “What would he think if he saw you threatening people’s lives, endangering innocents on your quest for revenge? How will this make things better?” She watches as he brings his hands to his face, shoulders shaking violently. There’s an urge, deep and powerful, that makes her want to go over and hold him tight, but she can’t. Not now. Not with her being so close.
“You were friends with my daughter, Varian. You still are, I think. She talked about you, about how smart and brave you were, how incredible your inventions could be. Varian, please, prove to me that you’re the same boy she talked about.”
“There’s no other choice!” Varian says. “I-I’ve done too much, I’ve gone too far to turn back.” He frantically rubs his eyes, desperate to keep her from seeing him too closely. “I need to make my Dad proud. I have to free him!”
“Listen to me,” Arianna pleads. She tugs on her chains and prays that she can get closer to the boy. “This feeling, this empty, awful feeling of despair. What you are doing will make none of that go away. It will only keep adding up until you can barely stand anymore. I would have done anything to see my daughter-” her voice cracks slightly, breath hitching on the last syllable. “-and I know you’re willing to do anything to free your father, but this isn’t the right way. This isn’t the answer to what you’re feeling.” She reaches out her hands with all the strength she can muster. “Varian, are you listening to me-”
“I-I-” he stutters, breathing becoming erratic. “I don’t know what to do,” he whispers, and in that moment Arianna sees the mask he’s built fall apart. “I don’t, I d-don’t-”
“Varian-”
“I want him back.” A strangled sob erupts from his mouth, piercing Arianna straight to her bone, and just like that, a dam seems to break. “I want, I-”. He wraps his arms around his body and bends over. She can hardly make out what he’s saying. “I c-can’t fix this. I can’t fix any of this-” he lets out another choked cry, grips the goggles on his head and throws them to the ground.
It’s agonizing to Arianna as she watches him. She remembers the pain, the suffering that went through Frederic’s mind when he realized there was nothing he could do to save Rapunzel. And it scares her as similar the two are in their pursuit of their goals.
She yanks at the chains, but they only seem to dig deeper into her flesh and the distance between her and Varian remains the same. She wants to speak, to shout, to tell him it will be okay, as he continues to sob. After realizing how useless trying to escape would be, she seriously considers throwing something over there to get his attention before a small chirp echoes from below.
Startled, she looks down at the small raccoon (Rudiger, she vaguely remembers from Rapunzel) and almost lets out a shout of joy when she sees the rusty key in his mouth.
“Thank you,” Arianna says, and she wastes no time in unlocking the chains. They fall to the ground with a loud thump, but the sound seems miles away as she goes to embrace Varian.
In hindsight, she realizes a second into the action, a dozen very bad things could happen. She could be hit. Pushed away. Splashed with whatever concoction he has in his belt. But to her relief, the boy melts into her touch with a pained whimper. She clutches him tighter, murmuring words of comfort that she hopes reaches his ears.
And it is in this moment, in this cold, dark room, that the burdens of the world seem to lift a little.
The rescue arrives a few minutes after. She sees them before Varian does, in the corner of the room, arms raised with their weapons, and despite the urge to run over and unite with her family, she stays stone-still.
Varian’s cries have begun to die down until they are nothing more than soft sniffles and shaky gulps. He looks up at her with a shocked expression, as if he can’t believe she would even consider helping him. In return, she gives him a warm smile and gently tucks back a lock of his hair.
“I-I,” he wipes his nose with his sleeve. Looks away. “I did, I did this-”
There’s nothing Arianna can say now. Because sometimes, no matter how hard you try, the only way to let people heal is for them to accept what they’ve done.
“I’m sorry,” Varian finally cries. Fresh tears spill from his eyes and he furiously rubs them away. “I didn’t want this. I promise I didn’t want this-”
“Varian, Varian-” Arianna brings him close again. “Listen to me. It will be okay. You know it will be okay.”
“I committed treason,” he gasps. “I took you. I’m going to be jailed. I can’t see my dad again.”
“Breathe, Varian,” she firmly instructs. “In and out.” Her voice carries over to Frederic and Rapunzel. They come out of the shadows into the shine of the small light, and she sees her daughter’s eyes widen in shock. Beside her, Frederic stands equally conflicted.
“I’m sorry,” Varian whimpers again. “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry-”
“Varian,” Rapunzel says.
With a lurch, The alchemist scrambles out of Arianna’s hold, legs kicking about as he tries to stand up. “R-Rapunzel-” he glances at the King in fear, then back at her. “I, I-”
“We’re not going to hurt you,” she says. “I promise.”
“I’m sorry,” he gasps, voice hoarse. “I didn’t want this. My dad-I wanted-” his back hits the table’s leg and a glass vial shatters next to him. “I’m so sorry-”
“I sorry, too,” Rapunzel says. She takes a small, hesitant step forward, arms reaching out just like Arianna did. “I’m sorry for breaking my promise. I’m sorry that your father is stuck in the rocks. I know we can fix this, though.”
“How?” Varian asks, and Arianna is struck by how young he looks now, head ducked in both shame and fear. “I don’t know what to do.”
“I don’t either,” Rapunzel admits. “But we will soon, okay? We just have to keep trying.” She holds her hand out to the alchemist in hope. “Together?”
There’s a pain-staking silence as a minute passes. Then two. Then three. But Rapunzel never once wavers, never once moves from that very spot, and a swell of pride erupts in Arianna as she witnesses her daughter’s kindness.
Finally, finally, Varian takes Rapunzel’s hand and allows himself to be pulled up. She immediately throws her arms around his neck, head buried in his shoulder. It is awkward at first, with him not what to do or what to say, but the alchemist slowly returns the gesture with an equal amount of affection.
There are no words, Arianna thinks, for the feeling that comes with being forgiven. And in the shadows of the prison, in the suffocating darkness that has trapped Varian for so long, she swears that her daughter’s hair glows with the promise of healing.
So I was taught a lesson in how to get rid of a migraine in 30 seconds and omfg listen my migraines don’t go away ever but I was shown what part of my body to touch and like???????????????
It’s witchcraft????????? Like I would be burned at the stake if I lived in ye olde days knowing that information?????
What the fuck??????
You know what strength is? Forgiving a person who wasn’t even sorry.
WARNING - PLEASE READ IF YOU HAVE A PEANUT ALLERGY AND LIKE TO SHMEAR MAKEUP ON YOUR SKIN TO MAKE YOU LOOK AS FLAWLESS AS YOUR PERSONALITY
I am one such an individual, and last night I was super pumped to try this concealer. Out of curiosity I read the ingredients and saw something called arachidyl behenate.
Anything with the root “arachi” such as “arachis oil” is probably peanut related. And, sure enough, I did some research and arachidyl behenate is peanut-derived. Which is the story of how I nearly smushed a deadly food allergen into my skin.
There’s a report here from last year that seems to indicate that some food allergens are neutralized when processed for cosmetics, but I’m not sure that applies for peanuts. And at any rate, they did indicate there was still a risk of a reaction if such proteins weren’t processed properly.
Now, I’m gonna say it outright - I’m not one hundred percent sure that a heavily processed peanut-derived chemical such as arachidyl behenate will cause a reaction. I’ve worn a lot of makeup over the years without checking the ingredients, so I could have easily used a product containing it without knowing. Still, better safe than sorry.
Alternate names for peanut products (anything with the prefix “arachi-” should be considered suspect):
beer nuts, earth nuts, goobers, groundnuts, groundnut oil, hypogaeic acid, katchung oil, mandelonas
A full list can be found here, another cosmetic-specific one here.
Here’s some articles on the subject:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11558642
http://www.national-toxic-encephalopathy-foundation.org/peanuts-in-cosmetics/
http://cosmeticsinfo.org/ingredient/hydrogenated-peanut-oil
http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/700482/ARACHIS_HYPOGAEA_(PEANUT)_OIL/
Stay safe, guys, and please signal boost for any peanut-allergic followers you might have!
I’m going to provide some links to get you started in terms of donation resources that are available at this time for regions affected by the hurricanes that have passed through or will be coming soon. Feel free to add on.
Houston:
Coalition for the Homeless
Houston Food Bank
LGBTQ Hurricane Harvey Disaster Relief Fund (to help homeless youth, seniors, people living with HIV, hate crime survivors, and those devastated by the storm)
SHAPE- Self-Help for African People through Education (Donations will allow SHAPE to assist with medical prescriptions, make emergency cash contributions, and more)
Flood Relief for Texas Children’s Hospital
Antigua and Barbuda:
Even though the Red Cross is Questionable, Ticketing, an app developed by Antiguans, is collecting donations in-app and all funds received will be donated to the joint efforts of the National Office of Disaster Services and the Antigua and Barbuda Red Cross. Download the app on Google Play and the Apple App Store
Habitat for Humanity of Trinidad and Tobago (for Barbuda relief)
Antigua and Barbuda citizen Jessye Romeo is raising funds for Barbuda relief out of London, UK
St. Martin/St. Maarten:
St. Maarten youth living in France raise funds for relief of the island
St. Maarten Relief Fund on Youcaring
Hurricane Disaster Relief for St. Martin/ St. Maarten on Fundly
The French and Dutch Red Cross organizations are seeking donations at this time for their respective territories on then island (do research on any organization you are curious/ wary about before donating, as the Red Cross track record isn’t so hot)
Haiti:
Action Against Hunger
Oxfam
Care.org
Hope for Haiti
Dominican Republic:
Oxfam
Outreach 360
Kinship United
Puerto Rico:
Cáritas de Puerto Rico
Americares
Asociación Puertorriqueños en Marcha
US Virgin Islands:
USVI Relief Fund on Gofundme
UNICEF
Florida:
Feeding Florida
Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida
Florida Keys Children’s Shelter
United Way of Miami-Dade
This is just a starting list. As said before, please feel free to add on.
Let me tell you about my panda mini-washer
As an apartment dweller, this is a game changer. My current apartment doesn’t have a laundry facility and the closest Laundromat about a 30 min bus ride which is just not practical. The mini-washer is a life saver
The panda mini washer hooks up to the sink, is incredibly lightweight (about 28 pounds, so light even I can lift it) and easy to use.
It has a surprisingly large capacity. The basket from the first picture represents about one and a half loads. The jeans took up a whole load while the rest filled the bin only half way.
Here’s the inside. The left is the washer the right is the spin dryer. Yes, it even drys.
Basically you shove your cloths into the washer, fill it up with water and let it go. I use my shower head to fill it up so it goes faster, the sink hook up took about five minutes to fill the whole tub, with the shower head is is down to a minute an a half. I do it in three wash cycles, a five minute rinse with baking soda, a five minute wash with soap and a three minute rinse with water. You have to drain and refill between each cycle so it’s a little more labor intensive than a traditional washer.
That’s the spin dryer. It’s about half the capacity of the washer so one wash takes about two loads to dry. The spinner is much more effective than I was expecting. A three minute spin gets my cloths about 90% dry. I hang them up to air dry for that last 10%.
The machine cost me about 150$. When you factor in two dollars for the bus, five for the machines (per week), the mini-washer pays for its self after only about six months worth of laundry.
I’m not great at expressing emotion, but I’m hoping you can tell how excited I am. Let me just say that the panda mini-washer is great and I highly recommend it to anyone currently using a Laundromat.
I live in a state of either “fuck yeah” or “fuck no” and there is no in between
A personal main blog for my own amusement and possibly future art
93 posts