darnedchild

[darnedchild]

Christmas knife shopping for my dad - "He likes knives. Maybe we should get him a knife again for the seventeenth billion year in a row? Something pointy maybe? I don't know. I know nothing about knives, just pick a shiny one and we can go. It's the thought that counts, right?"

Christmas knife shopping for my dad after binge watching ten seasons of "Forged in Fire" - "They all have a nice pattern but I'm really liking that twisted damascus over there. On the other hand, that clip point is going to be harder to keep sharp, versus the ladder pattern drop point. On the other other hand, at this point in his life, I don't think he's actually going to do anything specific with it anyway, and I'm pretty sure I'm overthinking all of this and now I've got a headache. Let's just get a pointy shiny one and we can go. It's the thought that counts, right?"

[darnedchild]

Hey, I haven't really been online much lately but I really need to know ...

Has that giant straw yule goat thing been set on fire yet this year?

[darnedchild]

KXVO - The Pumpkin Dance (Christmas Edition!)

[darnedchild]

Okay fanfic writers, your mission, should you chose to accept it, is a filthy 100 word drabble, for any pairing, to be posted on Thursday, in time for American Thanksgiving.

Ready, set, write!

[darnedchild]

[darnedchild]

It's Halloween. Also known as the night my husband has to break out my anxiety meds just so I can hand out candy while he's out with the Demon Spawn without having a panic attack and curling up in my closet with sensory overload.

I love the IDEA of Halloween and costumes and candy and scary movies. But I dread the interacting with people and loud noises and talking and eye contact making part. But someone has to do it while my husband is supervising the Demon Spawn, and that someone is, apparently, me.

[darnedchild]

The Monster Squad (1987)

[darnedchild]

KXVO Pumpkin Dance (Original Taping, Unedited)

[darnedchild]

It’s that special time of year again! (Ps please unmute)

[darnedchild]

Has anyone else ever seen a series called "Blackpool" with David Tennant?

[darnedchild]

We literally only stopped wearing masks three weeks ago.

My son and I are the only people in our entire extended family who have not had COVID.

Even when my husband had it; we quarantined the hell out of our house and everyone made their own food and I slept on the sofa for two weeks so my husband could be in a room by himself. And I managed to keep my son and I from catching it.

My son only went to school for 10 days before coming home with a fever and cough and the news that the parent of one of the kids in class has COVID and I swear to the lord above and the little baby Jesus that if he has COVID while the three of us are trapped in this single hotel room together I am going to... probably stomp my feet like a toddler and regret all of my life decision ls that lead me to this point.

On the other hand, it could just be a cold and/or allergies (I am also currently experiencing allergy issues) and I could definitely be overreacting.

[darnedchild]

I have more of an opinion question for you. When fans of things hear about misconduct happening on sets/behind-the-scenes are they allowed to still enjoy the thing? Or should it be boycotted completely? Example: I’ve been a major fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer since I was a teenager and it was currently airing. I really nerded out on it and when I lost my Dad at age 16 “The Body” episode had me in such cathartic tears. Now we know about Joss Whedon. I haven’t rewatched a single episode since his behavior came to light. As a fan, do I respectfully have to just box that away? Is it disrespectful of the actors that went through it to knowingly keep watching?

I have been precisely where you are, right now. In fact, we were just talking about this a few days ago, as it relates to a guy who wrote a ton of music that was PROFOUND to me when I was a teenager. He wrote about being lonely and feeling unloved, and all the things I was feeling as a teenager.

He grew up to be a reprehensible bigot, and for years I couldn't listen to one of the most important bands in my life anymore.

But this week, someone pointed out that he was one member of a group that all worked together to make that thing that was so important to me. And the person he was when he wrote those lyrics is not the person he is today. And the person I was when I heard those lyrics doesn't deserve to be shoved into a box and put away, because that guy is a shit.

This is a long way of saying that Joss sure turned out to be garbage. Because of who I my friends are, I know stuff that isn't in the public, and it's pretty horrible. He's just not a good person, and apparently never was a good person.

BUT! Buffy is more than him. It's all the actors and crew who made it. It's all the writers who aren't Joss. Joss is part of it, sure, and some of the episodes he wrote are terrific.

At least one of the episodes he wrote was deeply meaningful to you at a moment in your life when you'd experienced a loss I can only imagine. The person you are now, and the 16 year-old you were who just lost their dad, are more important than the piece of shit Joss Whedon revealed himself to be.

His bad behavior is on him. He has to live with it, and the consequences of it.

16 year-old you, who just lost their dad, shouldn't have to think about what a shit Joss Whedon is for even a second. That kid, and you, deserve to have that place to revisit when you need to go there.

I can't speak for the other actors, even the ones I know. But I will tell you, as an abuse survivor myself who never wanted to be in front of the camera when he was a kid: it's really okay for you to enjoy the work. The work is good and meaningful, and if nobody is going to watch it because of what one piece of shit did two decades ago, what was it all for?

I'm not the pope of chilitown, so take this for what it's worth: I believe that when some piece of art is deeply meaningful to a person, for whatever reason, that art doesn't belong to the person who created it, if it ever did. It belongs to the person who found something meaningful in the art.

If it feels right to you to put it away and never look at it again, that's totally valid. But if it brings you comfort, or joy, or healing, or just warm familiarity to bring it out and spend some time with it, that's totally valid, too.

I've written a lot of words. I hope some of them make sense and are helpful to you.

[darnedchild]

I have been living in hotel rooms with my husband, son, and three cats for over a month now. I know the I'm one of the lucky ones in that we've got savings to live off for awhile as my husband looks for a full-time post-retirement from active duty job and it will only be a few more weeks before we'll be able to move into a rental house... but I am so burnt out.

I have no alone time, I'm with one or both of them nearly 24 hours a day. Our current hotel is gross, taps drip, possible mold in the bathroom, far too small for three people and three cats, it smells, and I feel so guilty complaining when I know at least I have a roof over our heads and beds to sleep in.

I just needed to vent because I'm currently sitting in a booth of a burrito place desperately trying not to cry for no reason other than I'm lost and I really just want to crawl to my parents and beg them to let me live in their basement just so I can say I have a home.

[darnedchild]

Tips for writing those gala scenes, from someone who goes to them occasionally:

Generally you unbutton and re-button a suit coat when you sit down and stand up.

You’re supposed to hold wine or champagne glasses by the stem to avoid warming up the liquid inside. A character out of their depth might hold the glass around the sides instead.

When rich/important people forget your name and they’re drunk, they usually just tell you that they don’t remember or completely skip over any opportunity to use your name so they don’t look silly.

A good way to indicate you don’t want to shake someone’s hand at an event is to hold a drink in your right hand (and if you’re a woman, a purse in the other so you definitely can’t shift the glass to another hand and then shake)

Americans who still kiss cheeks as a welcome generally don’t press lips to cheeks, it’s more of a touch of cheek to cheek or even a hover (these days, mostly to avoid smudging a woman’s makeup)

The distinctions between dress codes (black tie, cocktail, etc) are very intricate but obvious to those who know how to look. If you wear a short skirt to a black tie event for example, people would clock that instantly even if the dress itself was very formal. Same thing goes for certain articles of men’s clothing.

Open bars / cash bars at events usually carry limited options. They’re meant to serve lots of people very quickly, so nobody is getting a cosmo or a Manhattan etc.

Members of the press generally aren’t allowed to freely circulate at nicer galas/events without a very good reason. When they do, they need to identify themselves before talking with someone.

[darnedchild]

I just want to go home, and I don't even know where home is anymore.

[darnedchild]

Beauty and the Beast Modern AU poll

Best "Beast" option -