#✦✧ winter anderson // info ✧✦

[randomfoggytiger]

Seasonal Color Analysis: Gillian Anderson (UPDATE)

My first analysis of Gillian was close, but flawed.

I mistook her Medium Chroma for High Chroma, which shifted her results (wrongly) from Light Summer to Bright Winter. Both seasons share a Cool Hue; however, Bright Winter’s luminosity is derived from its primary High Chroma, while Light Summer’s is pinched from its High/Light Value. 

I have ELLA RAY STYLE's and Christine Scaman's YouTube videos to thank for eloquently explaining the differences. Highly recommend their channels: Ella breaks down color analysis based on the science of color, and Christine analyzes hair color and skin tone based on her expertise (and has a video on Gillian, as a matter of fact.) Ella is more updated than Christine, in my opinion; but I’m listing both, just the same~. 

THE DIFFERENCES

I’ve already discussed the difference between Chroma and Value (and Hue) here; but I’ll include a quick summary for this dissection’s sake. 

Hue is the color of one’s skin tone: is it primarily warm or cool-- yellow or blue in undertone? Or neutral; and what kind?  

Value is the lightness or darkness of one’s Hue. (Any skin color can have a light or dark value to it, post here.) Higher Values usually have lighter or more "translucent" hair, allowing light to pass through it, as well as finer or sparser brows. (High Value tones look great in lighter colors such as cool pure white, warm ivory white, and other lighter colors. Deep colors near the face tend to drag down and dominant the "presence" of the outfit, making it appear as if the clothes were wearing the person rather than the other way around.) Lower Values usually have darker or more "opaque" hair when in direct lighting, as well as darker or bushier brows. (Low Value tones look great in darker colors such as navy blue, pure black and deep brown. Light colors near the face give them an exaggerated pale, tired appearance.) Medium Values are underserved in both very High Value (light) and very Low Value (dark) outfits; and look best in "medium" colors such as grays, lighter browns, and camel colors.

Since Medium Value is neither strongly High nor strongly Low Value, it will naturally place itself in third position in the primary/secondary hierarchy that determines one’s Seasonal Color Analysis (no matter what the Hue or Chroma ratios are.)

Chroma is the measure of how bright and clear or muted and soft a color is. High Chromas have a brighter, clearer appearance-- with very little brown or gray pigmentation in their skin tone-- and a "dewy" or bright skin texture. Their darker brows usually have a deeper coloration; and their irises are usually "richer" and clearer with defined "edges" next to the whites of the eyes. (Supposedly, this gives Higher Chromas an "alert and eye-catching expression.”) Low Chromas have a desaturated or muted appearance-- with a prominent gray or "ashy" pigmentation-- and a "matte" or softer skin texture. Their finer brows usually have a "sparser" appearance; and their irises have a softer, blurred "edge" next to the whites of the eyes. (Supposedly, this gives Lower Chromas a "softer gaze" and more "delicate charm.") Medium Chroma is midway between the two: not too “rich” or striking, but not too blurred or softened. 

Since Medium Chroma is neither strongly High nor strongly Low Chroma, it will naturally place itself in third position in the primary/secondary hierarchy that determines one’s Seasonal Color Analysis (no matter what the Hue or Value ratios are.) 

Now, what does this have to do with one Gillian Anderson? 

MY MISTAKE

I mistook Gillian’s High Value for High Chroma. 

In my original post, I covered that Gillian had a High Value and Cool Hue-- meaning, she does best with lighter, less dark cool tones. But I mistakenly bled her High Value (the “light” quality of her skin) with that of High Chroma (the bright or “clear” quality of her skin), skewing her results in the Winter, not Summer, direction.  To be fair to myself, I was unaware that Medium Chroma existed; but, now that I do, here we are. 

Black and white photos are an incredible hack for testing the skin's Values. Photos that have sharply defined contrasts between the white and black spaces are more likely to be Low Value; photos with very little differentiation between the different shades are more likely to be High Value; and photos with some black, some gray, some white spaces are more likely to be Medium Value. In the example above, GA's eyebrows aren't washed out, her iris aren't popping out in extremis compared to the whites of her eyes, her hair isn't too light or starkly black compared to her skin, and her skin isn't stark compared to the shadows surrounding it. Hence, she's Medium Value (just like David Duchovny.)

TESTING AGAINST MY ORIGINAL HYPOTHESIS

Bright/Clear Winter has primarily High Chroma, secondarily Cool Hue; while Light Summer has primarily Light/High Value, secondarily Cool Hue-- meaning, I faultily assumed the “lightness” in Gillian’s skin was due to a very clear, very bright chroma rather than a lack of darkened mixture in Value.

How do we test the difference?

Broadly, Summer and Winter are Cool seasons differentiated by their saturation: Summer takes Winter's palettes and mixes it with gray, appearing more muted or "desaturated" compared to its twin.

So: does a "grayed down" palette suit Gillian?

To illustrate, I edited a photo of her (in as close to natural lighting as possible) with her skin tone hues swatched next to her left.  

As you can see, there is a lightness and coolness to each hue; but they lack a sharpness and a dynamic punch. In effect, they've been muted. Softened. "Grayed" from an original, "pure" intensity.

(The above photo, by the way, is also a perfect example of a Light Value outfit: harmonious in light tones-- nothing darker or brighter or lighter or differently accented than any another element.) 

When overlaying this same photo with Bright Winter swatches (left), it’s easy to see how overpowering that Season’s brightness and clarity is-- especially in comparison to Light Summer’s swatches (right.) 

And, again: 

Gillian is overpowered by Bright Winter. While its strong, sharp clarity gives this palette the ability to play around with darkness-- allowing Bright Winter the leeway to be able to pull off deep, cool black and navy-- its depth is too deep for GA to follow without “shadowing” her undereyes and prominent facial features. 

Light Summer, by contrast, perfectly complements the lightness (and lack of depth) in GA’s skin tone, removing the dark shadows under her eyes and giving her cheeks a luminous flush. 

CONCLUSION

I’m going to go back to all the old fashion posts and update the information there (with pictures); so, expect the timeline to be flooded with reposts as I announce the edited versions. 

Thanks for reading~

Enjoy!

[fluentmoviequoter]

Skepticism

Requested Here!

Pairing: Tim Bradford x fem!(NFL)football player!reader

Summary: Tim is skeptical about the first female NFL player. When he shares his opinion with you, he doesn't realize that you are the woman he's talking about.

Warnings: fluff, Tim gets embarrassed and apologizes a bunch, flirting

Word Count: 2.1k+ words

A/N: Bodyguard Tim👀 If this reads like Eric Winter talking about sports in He Said, Ella Dijo just remember that he's Tim Bradford. They're pretty much the same.

Masterlist | Tim Bradford Masterlist | Request Info/Fandom List

The history of the NFL has changed forever! The first female player has been drafted into the NFL, in the Los Angeles Rams’ 13th pick.

Since the moment your name was called at the NFL draft, your life has been turned upside down. Being the first female player in the league has resulted in unending news coverage, mixed praise and backlash, and unescapable attention. People know your name now, and as you prepare to change your life forever by putting on a Rams jersey, you can only hope that the skeptics are wrong about you and what you’ll do on the field.

“Dinner tomorrow!” Lucy yells at Tim. “Be there!”

“I will,” he replies. “Unfortunately.”

“Be nice,” Angela chides.

“You can always back out and stay home to watch the game,” Nolan points out.

“If they’ll start showing the games again,” a nearby officer interjects. “Everything on ESPN has been about the chick that got drafted. Even during the games, she’s all the commentators can talk about.”

“There’s a girl in the NFL?” Lucy asks. “Finally!”

“Wait, who?” Tim inquires. “I stopped watching the draft before it was over, but how’d I miss that?”

“You must’ve been very busy,” the officer replies. “She’s everywhere, man. Football got ruined. They can’t leave anything sacred.”

Tim doesn’t add to the misogynistic view of his colleague but knows that he has some research to do. Football history has certainly changed, but Tim won’t decide on how he feels about a woman playing professionally until he learns more for himself.

“The Rams, man,” the officer laments.

The moment Tim arrives home after his shift, he turns on ESPN. SportsCenter is on, and he’s unsurprised to see a woman’s name projected behind the men at the desk.

“No, John, what we’re failing to consider is her history,” Rocky Boiman points out. “Her college playing record is better than the twelve male drafts ahead of her.”

“The point remains that a historically male-dominant sport is supposed to be male-dominant,” John Anderson argues.

“If we take the gender out, the size difference, everything except how well these people play, she blends right in,” Tedy Bruschi states. “Regardless of whether or not she should play, she can play, and she does it very well.”

“I’ve been watching her in action since her senior year of high school,” Rocky adds. “If anybody has what it takes to be here, we’re looking at her.”

“Until she gets hit,” John comments. “There may not be regulations against female players, but statistically, she is more likely to be injured.”

“Then she would’ve been injured in college,” Tedy interrupts. “At the end of the day, this comes down to one of two things. Either you don’t think women should be in the NFL, for whatever reason, or you’re ignoring the facts and judging her prematurely. I will end with this, if you think this woman should quit before she starts, you’re going to be proved wrong.”

The SportsCenter logo appears on the screen before Sarah Barshop of the Rams and Matt Bowen, an analyst, begin reviewing your stats and playing history. You played in college, but your stature and your above average statistics alone don’t convince Tim. Not because you’re a woman, but because he’s seen better odds. He’ll never say that you don’t deserve a spot on the team, but he won’t believe that you can make a difference to the team until he sees it. If you can prove it at all.

“They’re talking about you again,” your friend says.

You look up from your playbook diagram and smile. The men on SportsCenter have been talking about you every chance they get. It’s not just them, though, everyone with a pulse and an ounce of interest in football has an opinion of you.

“Still arguing about if I’ll get my collarbone snapped in the first game?” you guess. “Or have they moved on to female hormones?”

“Most of them are defending you. Your stats are all they seem to care about,” your friend explains. “Maybe you will have a fan base bigger than me and my cats.”

“But you’re all I need.”

“That and a Rams paycheck.”

You laugh and return your attention to the book before you. You’re entering a new world with a lot to prove, so you’re going to be ready for anything.

“Hey, we should go to dinner tomorrow night. We haven’t had time to celebrate with all of the interviews and everything.”

“That sounds great. Just don’t pick a sports bar.”

Tim looks away from the football game to check his watch. He’s got half an hour until Angela, Wesley, Lucy, Nolan, Nyla, James, Wade, and Luna are supposed to be here for dinner. Although Tim doesn’t remember whose decision it was to meet for an “end of the hardest week this year” dinner, he agreed to come. When he arrived nearly an hour early because he had nothing better to do, he found a seat at the bar and got invested in a game.

The restaurant isn’t busy, but the bar is nearly at capacity. It seems that everyone who wasn’t arrested this past week is now here, watching football and listening to updates on you. Every chance the announcers and reporters get, they bring you up. Tim refuses to change his opinion until he sees you in action. Your highlight reel has become an hourly regular on ESPN, but you’ll have to get through training and into next season before any of it will truly matter.

“What do you think about it?” the bartender asks as he wipes the spot beside Tim.

“I think we won’t know until we see her play,” Tim answers. “If we see her play.”

“My boss is convinced she’ll lead them to the Super Bowl, but I don’t think it’ll be that straightforward.”

“It never is,” Tim agrees.

“I also think it’s a little strange they don’t show her face. She was at the draft, but everything since then has been her in her uniform or at least her helmet.”

Someone yells for the bartender, and he nods at Tim before he walks away. It is strange, but Tim assumes that they’re trying to maintain the public image of you as a football player, and not just a woman.

As you enter the restaurant, you receive a text from your friend. Running late, so don’t have fun until I get there. You shake your head at the short message and ask the hostess for a seat at the bar while you wait. She points you toward the entrance, and you focus on finding a seat and avoiding any unnecessary spills as you navigate the crowded area.

“Excuse me?” you ask a man seated at the bar. “Can I sit here for just a few minutes?”

He turns toward you and nods, and your responding smile isn’t only gratitude. The man is incredibly attractive, you realize. As you sit on the stool beside him, you notice his attention is on the television screens over the bar. Several of them are broadcasting college football games, yet you see your name appear in the closed captions.

“Which game looks the best?” you ask him.

“Penn State and Missouri game isn’t bad,” he answers.

“Missouri’s better, I assume.”

“Aren’t they always?” he asks lightly.

Penn State’s coach calls a time out and you ask the bartender for a glass of water as the screen changes to the commentators. One of them mentions a play you made in college, and you roll your eyes. You don’t mind the attention, but they’re taking what should be about the players playing now and making it about you. The man beside you scoffs, and your smile grows.

“It never ends,” he mumbles under his breath, and he spins his bottle in one hand.

“Tired of hearing about her?” you ask.

“I mean, I don’t want to sound like every other man in this city, but, yeah, a little.”

“I get that. Skepticism isn’t a bad thing; you can have an opinion.”

“I’m just not sure I can have an opinion until she starts playing. Yeah, her college history was good, but she’s not in college anymore.”

“Right,” you agree.

“There’s a reason there hasn’t been a woman in a sport that intense. Injuries would be detrimental to her and the team,” he points out. “Not to mention the fact that we’ve only seen the good, every time someone tries to mention something she can’t do well, they get cut off with don’t judge her because she’s a woman.”

“Not that I don’t agree with the injury thing, but, I mean, women have been playing rugby for years and it’s just as intense.”

“Yeah, but that’s with other women. Seems like there’s just too much at stake for one girl to make history in the NFL. She hasn’t even proved anything yet other than the fact that women can be drafted.”

“And you don’t think she can prove more?” you ask. “Skeptical that she makes it through the next part?”

He lifts his glass and shrugs, which you take as a firm yes.

“I played football in high school,” he adds. “And I feel like I can see talent when it’s there. She has talent, I’m not arguing that, but I don’t see NFL-worthy talent yet.”

Someone says your name, and you turn. It’s a college-aged girl, and she smiles shyly as she asks for a picture. You immediately agree and slide out of your seat to hug her and take the picture.

As you pose with her, you notice that the man beside you is staring at his bottle with his lips pressed together. Maybe you should have introduced yourself the moment your name came up, but you wanted to hear the truth. And the fact that he didn’t just say no, she can’t do it gave you a boost of hope that you can. Skepticism is better than complete doubt.

“Sorry,” you tell him as you return to the stool beside him.

“No, I’m sorry,” he replies quickly. “I probably should have recognized you, but what I said- I mean, you’ve got talent, and I shouldn’t have said that you didn’t. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” you interrupt with a laugh. “I needed someone to be honest to my face for once.”

“You’re getting plenty of direct negative opinions,” he points out. “And I’m sorry.”

“Now you’re apologizing for every other football fan. Seriously, it’s no problem, no hard feelings.”

“But I-“

“You’re a cop, right?” you interrupt, gesturing to the badge on his hip. He nods, and you answer, “Truth and justice is your thing. You made some good points, too. I’ll use ‘em in my training to prove all the other skeptics wrong.”

“Which I believe you can! Seriously, though, can I buy you a drink or something? Anything to make it up to you?”

“Make what up?” you question, smiling as you lay your hand over his forearm. “I forgive you if that’s what you need to hear, but you didn’t do anything worth apologizing for.”

You move your hand to offer a handshake and properly introduce yourself. He inhales deeply before he shakes your hand.

“I’m Tim Bradford,” he says.

“And you’re a cop, I play football,” you finish. “Now that we know each other, can I ask what you’re doing here alone?”

“Guy like me in a place like this?” he jokes. “I’m waiting to meet some friends from work.”

You nod and say, “I’m meeting a friend, too. A little celebration of sorts.”

“Can I ask a personal question?”

“Sure,” you agree.

“What made you get into football? Why it over any other sport?”

“Bear Bryant,” you answer seriously.

“Really?” Tim questions with his eyes narrowed.

“You’ll have to watch my ESPN special to find out. That or we could do this again another time, without the accidental meeting.”

“People are going to think you’re in this sport just to meet men,” Tim replies.

“Who says I’m not?” you tease. “But, seriously, you’re great, and I bet you could tell me how to win a Super Bowl.”

“You’re the football pro,” he points out. “I’m just a cop.”

You nod and look away, disappointed by his implied rejection. Suddenly, though, you remember what your agent told you.

“Well, if you don’t want to go on a date… I do need a bodyguard on my security team.”

Tim’s eyebrows raise as he turns in his seat to face you. “Are you serious?”

“I am.”

You look away when your friend calls your name, and you wave at her before you stand. Stalling at Tim’s side, you add, “Think about it. I’d love to flirt with a bodyguard.”

“I will,” Tim promises softly.

“Come find me if you decide tonight.”

You smile at Tim and grip his arm kindly in place of a farewell. Tim Bradford believes in you and is considering your offered position of bodyguard, so you know you can get a Super Bowl ring this year. No matter how skeptical everyone else is.

[mistysconcilium]

mistysconcilium's advent calendar!

⛄️ info: each day til christmas there will be a fic posted. on each advent sunday a longer fic will be posted! some days have holiday themed prompts, and the others will be a surprise (either holiday or regular). the last fic, on christmas, is a total surprise!

comment which days you want to be notified for!!

1st advent: madison montgomery

dec 2nd: kyle spencer ⛄️ ice skating

dec 3rd: zoe benson

dec 4th: winter anderson ⛄️ snow storm

dec 5th: michael langdon

dec 6th: tate langdon ⛄️ christmas sweaters

dec 7th: chanel no.5

2nd advent: peter maximoff

dec 9th: montana duke

dec 10th: jimmy darling ⛄️ tree farm

dec 11th: brooke thompson

dec 12th: james patrick march ⛄️ secret santa

dec 13th: chanel no.3

dec 14th: kit walker⛄️ christmas market

3rd advent: zoe benson

dec 16th: madison montgomery ⛄️ gingerbread house

dec 17th: chanel oberlin

dec 18th: peter maximoff ⛄️ snowball fight

dec 19th: kyle spencer

dec 20th: violet harmon ⛄️ christmas movies

dec 21st: luke cooper

4th advent: winter anderson

dec 23rd: chanel no.3 ⛄️ mistle toe

dec 24th: surprise!!

!!: some days or prompts might change since it’s a while until december actually starts! but most will probably stay the same!

love, elisabet

🔖; @lisboncy @angel-decoy @purple-cinematic @fear-is-truth @andiloveher @dearlizzies @sparklysage @urmomsg1rlfreind

dividers in order: @animatedglittergraphics-n-more @issysh3ll @cannibalim

[spacesapphi]

YIPPIEE time to bring in my ideas for Jas' parents and talk ab the kind of ppl they were when it comes to my writing! I haven't finished drawing them in my style yet, but I have picrews here as a very basic idea of what they would look like !

Their names are Amelia and Jason Anderson and I think ab them so much.... Ty to my moot moonferry for helping me figure out names for them!!

ANYWAYS more pieces of info below the cut for em :3

Amelia

- went to college as an education major, wanted to specifically work as an elementary school teacher!

- genuinely believes in the concept of magic (which TBF is real in Stardew) and will defend her belief to death

- she was so excited to have a daughter so she could dress her up in cute costumes and outfits, Jas was about 3 months old on her first Halloween and she had the most elaborate fairy costume on Earth

- Was put off by Jason's flirting at first bc she completely misunderstood his relationship with Shane and genuinely thought those two had a thing for a bit, even though they didn't (Def walked up to Shane like "hey just wanted to let you know your bf is hitting on me 🫤" "MY WHAT???")

- once she found out she was wrong, she finally reciprocated Jason's flirting and asked him out for their first date

- Took the film class she met Shane and Jason in initially because it was the only available class of a credit type she needed. She's happy she took it in the end

- Both of her parents passed, and like Shane, was raised by her aunt. That aunt passed away while she was in college though :(

- got into gridball to be a supportive gf to Jason at first, but soon became a huge enjoyer of it and the Tunnelers specifically!

- very much the level-headed and chill one in the relationship, she keeps Jason down to Earth

- loves storytelling, and was great at it. She had a genuine gift for doing different voices and making the books she read sound fun. Her students loved it

- like Jason, is fairly tall, standing at 5'10

- Jas looks JUST like her, just with Jason's hair color. Everything else is like an exact duplicate of Amelia though

- loves jewelry, specifically fun and funky earrings! She has a decent collection of them

- an amazing cook, she just generally has the knack for it! She can look at pretty much any dish and know what she needs to do to make it

Jason

- he was a visual arts major, like Shane! He genuinely wanted to be a movie producer one day

- He was also on a gridball scholarship like Shane, and while it was a big passion, he didn't plan on going pro with it

- a very goofy and funny guy, flirted with Amelia using the corniest pick up lines (they worked though so he considers it a win)

- TOTAL WIFE GUY he loves Amelia very much and would do anything for her

- also a total girldad, he was so excited to find out he was having a daughter, like running down the street cheering excited

- his family disowned him after he came out as bisexual, so he really doesn't have anyone. This fact also helped him bond a lot with Amelia and Shane,, given that all three of them didn't have much family in life.

- he absolutely has a motorcycle and would take Amelia on scenic drives for their dates. She thought it was so romantic!

- he is VERYYYY tall, like 6'4

- very close with a lot of the guys on the varsity gridball team. He's a total social butterfly and has an easy time connecting with a lot of people

- he helps Amelia get out of her shell, just like she helps him stay more grounded

- tried to play a love song for Amelia on guitar for one of their dates. He does not know how to play guitar. She thought it was cute anyways :)

- was very nervous the first time Marnie invited him and Amelia over to the ranch for Winter Star. Since she looks more "traditional" and is religious it reminded him of his family and he was initially worried she'd be like them. She thankfully is not and is a very understanding and accepting person (Shane had to go "dude she helped pay for my top surgery what the hell are you worried about")

- worst cook on earth, he pours cereal into a bowl and it lights on fire (/j but he's BAD at it)

- dormed with Shane in college, they got up to so much stupid antics while rooming together /pos

BONUS height chart for the trio. Shane is so short bro

[suedesongs]

These Are The Suede Songs 001: Early Recordings

Suede’s early trajectory is often described, especially by the band themselves, as “the world’s longest overnight success”. Four years of slogging the toilets of London, from playing humiliating gigs to, on one occasion, nobody at all, to appearing on the front page of Melody Maker, may sound quick, but in musical terms can feel like a lifetime. This was during the era of musical trends coming and going in rapid succession, a little like fashion microtrends today. Within those four years, Baggy and the Second Summer of Love, The Stone Roses and Spike Island, raves and ecstasy,  made way for American grunge - precisely the opposite, and amongst this cultural shift, quietly grafting their way, were Suede. 

Whilst there aren’t a great deal of surviving bootlegs or demos from this era, I still felt incredibly compelled to cover what I could find in a dedicated post. Research was rather fruitless at times, and I found much of the writing on this period of the band’s career to be marred (cough) by the insistence of male writers to throw all of their energy into a somewhat troubling obsession with what is perceived as the infamous Anderson-Frischmann-Albarn “love triangle”. I took to Twitter (or, blegh, X) to vent my frustrations, and received a reply from my friend Tasha who, much more eloquently than I, expressed how Justine Frischmann is viewed as merely an object in an interpersonal drama, rather than a fleshed out musician in her own right. Are women doomed to simply be accessories to their male counterparts? I find this disheartening when Frischmann is so integral to not only the Suede “story”, but, in my opinion, to what would go on to become the sound we all know, and love.

My analysis will frequently include my personal opinions, and should not be taken as definitive. Where necessary to the discussion of the songs, tidbits of info may be provided in order to “set the scene”. This series should not be used as a biography, but instead an exploration of a body of work. It will be by no means objective. I’m a massive Suede fan. I’ve travelled up and down the country for gigs, queued from as early as 6am for a coveted barrier spot, my cat is (in a roundabout way) named after an obscure Bloodsports-era B Side. I’m a self-professed fangirl. Having said this, I’ll do my best to not let this get in the way. And with all of the preliminaries seen to, we begin with,

Just A Girl (Anderson/Frischmann)

Though credited to Anderson-Butler, this light, airy folk ballad is reportedly the oldest surviving Suede tune, dating far before Bernard Butler joined. The version that appears online, and on the deluxe edition of the debut, is likely a home demo recorded by Brett Anderson and Justine Frischmann. 

Anderson, in his memoir Coal Black Mornings, explains the titular girl, “north of England way”, is a Middlesborough-born Chemistry student called Emily, with whom he shared a flat on Daisy Bank road in Longsight, Manchester, in the year after he moved from Haywards Heath to the rainy industrial Northern city. ‘Just A Girl’ really couldn’t be set in any city other than Manchester. It describes the beginnings of a fond friendship, perhaps more, distinctly against the backdrop of a harsh, wet winter, overlooked by grey skies and red-bricked former warehouses. It’s the first, blushing, awkward flushes of young love. It’s leaving your University lectures at half past three when it’s already pitch dark. It’s when you say something you shouldn’t to the person you fancy after a few drinks. It’s huddling under the covers to stay warm, the excitement of closeness and companionship. 

I typically have a complete, and near visceral, aversion to anything, musically or otherwise, that can be described as “twee”. Just A Girl, I feel, does undeniably dangle its harmonies and lyrical depictions of turning the page of one’s favourite book perilously close to the jaws of this accusation.Yet, I simply cannot bring myself to dislike it. Whilst musically competent, if a little naive, it’s sweet and genuine, and for that, it’s rather lovely. 

There are already some allusions to Anderson’s later lyrical themes; the combination of love and tragedy as he laments how “it could have been so different if we’d only had more time”. Anderson, as we’ll explore, is rarely one to write a straight love song. No matter how they may seem, there is always a thread of tragedy, or drama, which underpins the affair and protects against it veering into saccharine territory. 

For a few years now, I’ve cited the “ashtray eyes and bootlace ties” line to be a direct harbinger of some of Anderson’s later lyrics, most likely thinking of 2011's ‘Brittle Heart’,from his solo album Black Rainbows. However, this is in fact, lifted from Ian Drury’s ‘Sweet Gene Vincent’, more directly alluded to with Anderson and Frischmann lamenting how “Sweet Gene Vincent was never that good”.

According to Anderson, on regular rotation on the turntables of himself, Frischmann and Mat Osman around this time, were a band called The Lilac Time. Quoted in David Barnett’s comprehensive biography, Love And Poison, he describes them as “quite light, leftfield pop sort of thing (...) lots of major seventh chords”, and this influence is abundantly clear on ‘Just A Girl’, and would have possibly done even more had it made it to the studio around this time. 

Frischmann’s, when she and Anderson met, record collection was largely comprised of folk music. In an irritating display of arrogance, Anderson insisted that these records would “no longer be listened to '' with him now in the equation. This decision would, of course, prove seminal in the trajectory of Frischmann’s music career in Elastica, as Anderson introduced her to spiky post-punk, however I find this to be rather ironic considering the undeniable folky nature of this particular song.

‘Just A Girl’ would later be re-recorded by Anderson and Richard Oakes, possibly around 1994, though reports of this vary, but not released to the public until a B-side was required for the single ‘Attitude’ in 2003. More on that (much) later, of course. 

Natural Born Servant (Anderson-Butler) 

‘Natural Born Servant’ is the actual first song in our timeline to be written by Anderson-Butler, and sees Suede as close to flirting with Baggy as they ever would. 

As a result, this one comes across as rather trite, not to mention overlong, clocking in at six minutes and twenty seconds. 

During my initial re-listen in my research for this project, I found myself incredibly puzzled as the chugging, Madchester intro spluttered into a half-hearted groove, before realising I’d gotten it entirely confused with a later track, ‘Be My God’. Frischmann shows herself a competent backing vocalist, possibly more so than Anderson. One YouTube commenter, possibly humorously, alludes to him “doing a Phil Oakey”, and there is indeed a resemblance. Anderson’s, however, is more naive, though he can certainly carry a tune and his voice is pleasant and sweet, possibly to the song’s detriment, when one considers the subject matter. 

Much like a large proportion of Suede’s work, ‘...Servant’ sees Anderson dallying with sexual imagery, and more specifically, BDSM imagery. This attempt, however, whilst enjoyable enough, is surprisingly sexless. It’s almost a feat in itself to write about sex in such a decidedly virginal manner, but I’m glad this was a theme he stuck with throughout his lyrics and it hints at greatness yet to come. More interestingly, however, is the use of sexual imagery as a commentary on class struggle. “You’re a natural born servant/this is the time to open your eyes”, can be viewed as a submissive accepting their place, or a working class individual gaining class consciousness and becoming aware of their oppression in society. 

I must say, I’m glad that this was as far as Suede’s relationship with Baggy really went, at least in the recordings I could find and actively listen to. It’s common to speculate of a song like ‘...Servant’ being indicative of a type of “alternate universe” Suede, but I couldn’t disagree more with this. Suede and Baggy just doesn’t work, and they would have always found their sound one way or another. 

Justice (Unknown, possibly Anderson-Frischmann-Butler) 

Surprisingly, this is the only song of this lot that I find myself drawn to the YouTube search bar to listen to out of choice. It’s almost certainly my personal favourite of all of the pieces we’ve covered here.I even found myself lip syncing to the chorus as I wrote this very paragraph! Oddly, I can’t find too much to say about it. It’s a sweet little, possibly even catchy, slice of Jangle pop. One of the thousands of happy-sad breakup songs of the late 1980s and very early 1990s. Anderson likens it to Aztec Camera’s ‘Oblivious’, which is a far, far better citation than the endless Smiths comparisons I once myself fell privy to, which have since become a cliche.  

We again hear Anderson’s vocals not quite having come into themselves yet, there’s a hint of insecurity and hesitancy. They’re so far removed from what we understand as his vocal styling, that one YouTube commenter on the version I found asks if Butler sings vocals. There is present, however, a deep understanding of melody and an undeniable hookiness. I can see myself going back to this one for the odd listen. 

Wonderful Sometimes (Unknown, possibly Anderson-Butler) 

Gary Crowley, the geezer-ish presenter of the Sunday Afternoon show Greater London Radio, was the host of Demo Clash; a competition held each Sunday on the aforementioned radio station. As the title suggests, this was a show where London bands would send in demos, that would go head-to-head in a public vote. As pointed out in Love and Poison, however, this would largely amount to a game of “who has the most mates”. Anderson would later show dismissal, if not outright disdain for ‘Wonderful Sometimes’. In Dave Thompson’s Suede The Next Life, First Time Around, he describes the song as “shit (...) nothing to get interested in. (...) [GLR] was a little local station, and we’re talking about London where everyone’s in a band.” Still, it would end up on a compilation cassette called What The World Is Waiting For compiled by Adrian Gibson, programmer at Powerhaus on Liverpool Road, N1. 

According to the Discogs listing, the idea was to showcase ten up-and-coming bands who were performing at the venue during this time (from a title like that, go figure). There was additionally a launch night at The Powerhaus, and Gibson was interviewed by Crowley to promote the gig. 

As for the song itself? ‘Wonderful Sometimes’ contains a few witty one-liners, “you couldn’t liven us up with a cattle prod” and “i’ve heard of happy ever after / it was just a joke but you could die laughing” particularly stick out. Personally, I quite enjoy “Do I just love you ‘cause you look quite good”, but that’s because, as a young-ish woman and a passionate fan, this is an accusation I’ve had levelled at me in the past, and I know I’m not the only one! 

‘...Sometimes’ is viewed by many as the holy grail of early Suede recordings, but for something so revered, it’s a decent enough piece of music, but it’s nothing special, even in the context of the other songs we’ve covered. Musically, I try to avoid Smiths comparisons, but here it’s unavoidable as the whiff of William, It Was Really Nothing and even some base notes of Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now, is enough to give you a migraine. Butler’s playing really is more Marr-ish than Marr, but drenched and sadistically drowned in a wah-wah pedal at times, eliciting a comparison to Fool’s Gold, though, mercifully, this is over much sooner. 

More excitingly is a noticeable shift in Anderson’s vocal styling, now carrying slightly more confidence and having something of a personality. Here, he’s sounding almost like Robert Smith of The Cure, minus the “Robert Smith-isms”. A deliberately but self-consciously Sussex drawl (The Cure, and Smith, were from up the road from Haywards Heath in Crawley), and a slight nasal intonation. 

Ultimately, I don’t so much understand the hype around this one - the reviews on RateYourMusic are unanimously positive, but it’s a jolly tune and, likely because of that, decidedly un-Suede.

[counterintuitivecomics]

[VD: Comics, zines, and anthologies by Kimball and Laurel cover a dark table. K (pale hands, orange nails) and L (smaller pale hands) leaf through 8 comics/zines and 2 anthologies. End VD]

My partner @earnestattempts (Kimball Anderson) and I (Laurel Lynn Leake) are queer and disabled comics creators, and we want to share our work with you!

We made a short video showing off our weird artsy comics, and talking about stories that honor marginalized lives as inherently meaningful. Also about committing to disability justice and making more of our work free and accessible! To that end, we're offering some limited discounted slots for the pricier tiers too.

🌿 Kimball &/or Laurel Posts Tier: Never miss either of our behind-the-scenes posts, unless you only like one of us! We don't mind :P You also get access to an ever-increasingly captioned archive.

💭 Counterintuitive Releases: We mail you 4-6 printed comics every year, and share digital releases with you first. Plus posts!

📮 Monthly Mailers: Kimball sends you an exclusive experimental zine in the mail every month, plus you get the Counterintuitive Releases.

🐚 our free patreon post tag 🌱 my tumblr comics page & comics tag 🎐 kimball's tumblr comics tag 🎨 kimball's website 🐌 my digital shop 🍃 kimball's digital shop 👾 my comics shop 🦉 kimball's comics shop

Thanks for reading/watching! 🧡 Longer vid description under the cut.

[Longer VD: Comic books cover a dark table, while Kimball (pale hands, orange nails) and Laurel (smaller pale hands) point to their own names. They both do a silly finger wiggle as their voiceover introduces “Counterintuitive Comics”. L leafs through “Me Me Me”, where a noodle-armed Poly Morphous sobs against lush watercolors. K shows "Unfolding", a large greyscale comic featuring paper folded to reveal text and paintings. L flips through roughly sketched diagrams in her “Super Secret Mock-up COVID-19 info zine”. K shows “Holding Out”: Social Security letters, wobbly colored pencil forms resting in bed. L opens metallic “Suspension” to show scifi trappings and character focus. K pages through small, wide zine “Winter”, with a character walking in darkness. L opens artsy risograph-blue “L3no2”: comics about anxiety and depression paired with scrawled, smeared text. K opens anthology “CBA: Uncomics” to their section: broken pencil panels and halting words floating over digital, painterly textures. Then L’s: colored pencil and marker abstractions of magazine layouts melting into unparsable forms. L opens K’s anthology “Inaction Comics” to K’s pages: soft digital figures seeking reassurance and reclining on a couch. A sharp-toothed watercolor version of L writhes in self-hatred on her pages. Finally L flips through “Poly Morphous #5: Sick of Being Sick” (mini with teal cover, pink pages, pencilled comics). She makes a heart shape with her hands. End VD.]

This is our first time figuring out video descriptions - we welcome feedback!

[losingherface]

Her Voice In The Night Part 1.

Info: After the outbreak happened, Reader has been hiding away in an old, abandoned castle where she spends most of her time in fear and preparing for her death. Abby Anderson, the small town leader’s daughter, is forced to bring reader back into town and most importantly, into safety.

•

•

Pairing: Abby X Fem reader

Warnings: none

•

Your boots had been muddy and stacked away on the little stool blocking your doorway. You only left this room to go downstairs and raid the kitchen for anything. All you had was an overwhelming amount of ingredients for bread and wine. The well behind this castle kept you hydrated.

You felt like the only one in this once beautiful, lively and peaceful town. You sat at your window, near your easel, reminiscing about the horses and little women at their vegetable stands selling their produce. What you’d give to have it all back…

So you begin painting and painting. Today on your agenda, the mountains, Coated in your long strands of hair, replacing the thick snow that would come in the Winter.

After painting, you lied down for awhile. Your body getting hit by the bright sunlight. This was your life now. Too scared to go out and risk being attacked and dying slowly as a monster, too afraid to look for help, afraid you’re being too naive.

But the sun was going down, you knew what you had to start doing.

As you reached the bottom floor of this castle, your lantern in one hand, a shovel in the other.

Every night you spent bolting down wooden pieces to any window that was able to reach. This killed you every time, especially when you’re nervous and think something infected is behind you the entire time.

By the time you were finished, you felt the familiar breeze of the night as you quietly walked back up to your safe haven.

The tub. Wooden and secluded from the rest of the room, boarded with multiple locks only you could easily unlock and lock.

At this specific time of every night you forced yourself to bathe. Even if there were things you had to do. This was the only time of day where everything, mentally, would be silent and you needed that a lot.

While you rested your head on your knees that were pulled close to you, you heard a sound. A quiet, urgent sound. Your head popped up and a million questions went through your mind.

The soft noises you heard seemed like another person was looking around.

How could any infected reach you?

You thought to yourself and also repeated the day in your head to figure out if you truly left the castle locked like you thought.

Slowly, you try to get out of the tub but the water was enough to give you away. You grabbed your towel nearby and cautiously opened the door.

Your breath was shaky, this was the moment you died. Or maybe it was an animal.

The movement of the unknown presence in your room stopped. This gave you the confidence to launch out with your bat that you hadn’t used in years and stashed away on the outside of the bathroom.

It was a woman, but this didn’t stop you from swinging at her leg. Her screams for you to stop slowly began to overpower you.

“Stop! Stop it!” The young woman shouted as you kept swinging and missing.

“STOP IT!” The woman grabbed that bat from you and threatened you with it. The room had gone silent, only the two of you staring at each other.

The woman was taller than you and much more fit. Her hair was a darker, dirty blonde that was tied into a french braid and she was dressed in typical militant armor. She had sweat and dirt covering her body as if she’s been looking for a sanctuary for the longest.

You on the other hand, were clean, gripping and pulling your towel up.

“Who the hell are you? What do you want?” You panicked and screamed again, scanning the room for any item you could use.

“Will you listen to me?” She pleaded. She dropped the bat and showed her hands, reassuring you that she wasn’t there for any problems.

You let your guard just a bit to allow yourself to listen to what this strange woman had to say to you.

“Are you y/n?” You didn’t answer her. She reached into her back pocket slowly and pulled out an old paper.

It was a terribly drawn map of the town hours and hours away from this castle.

“Who sent you?” You said.

“My father. He wants everyone in town….and you’re the only we’re looking for. They said you’d be here.”

“How do they know?”

“You used to garden for my father, yes?” She says, walking over to sit down somewhere, you allow her too since there was some familiarity between the two of you. But no one could be trusted.

“Your father….?”

“Jerry. I’m his daughter, Abby. He used to be a surgeon, never had time to garden so he hired you. You never left town until outbreak day.”

“Okay? Why does he care?”

“He has a proposal for you back in town. A good one. One that’ll keep you safe, and sheltered. No infected.”

It sounded good. Like something you needed but you were still hesitant. You decided you were not leaving.

“No.”

“No?” She says shocked. “Why not?”

“I like it here.”

“Your windows are sealed shut. You’re afraid!”

“Isn’t everyone afraid? I’m not going into town, we could easily be killed on the way there.”

“Well I walked nearly three days up here to this shitty castle and nothing ever killed me.”

You didn’t answer her, hoping this could be an answer and she would give up and leave.

“…could I at least take a bath before I head back.” She asked politely. You took a look at her and the filth she was covered in. You stepped to side, allowing her in the bathroom.

•

What felt like about forty-five minutes, Abby came out of the bathroom fresh and clean. She smelled like mint, you found yourself staring at her still slightly wet abs. Abby adjusted her shirt and pulled it down before putting her shoes back on.

You glanced outside, it was pitch black out there.

“You should…stay the night.”

She smiled at the offer.

“Really?”

“Yea. I guess. I would feel terrible if something happened to you….so stay.”

“Thank you, Y/n. I’ll be out of here before you wake up. Just….think about it tonight.”

You nodded and fixed the bed for her. Strangely enough, you and her would have to share this bed tonight. You laid down facing the opposite direction and felt the bed dip a bit.

You hadn’t felt that familiar dip in years. It made you reminisce on the feeling of your past partner getting into bed. You shed a tear a bit at the feeling of having someone next to you at night.

How were you able to keep going?

Abby fell asleep beside you, but you were still wide awake, something inside of you hoping she would never leave.

•

•

A/n: mixing zombies and gothic medieval castles :p

[sweeter-innocence-fics]

You Brought Your Worst and I’m Right Here - Chapter Four: Was it just a summer fling?

Pairing: Gale of Waterdeep x female Tav

Work Summary:

After an explosive falling out between Gale and his academic adviser, Mystra, Tav is left to pick up the pieces.

Modern/College AU.

Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Epilogue

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 1699

Read on AO3.

Masterlists.

Taglist: @mrs-kai-anderson @ang3l1te @missryerye

Taglist info

Previous Chapter

Notes: all the usual warnings, plus arguing/shouting and general mental health stuff

---

A year ago

The chessboard was set. It was a Saturday night in the winter of their third year, all of their friends were out celebrating the end of exams, and Tav and Gale were sitting across from each other, chessboard between them.

Tav hadn’t much liked chess before she met Gale. Even still, he usually won, because she didn’t have the patience to think through every move as carefully as she knew she should.

But she liked playing with Gale. His eyebrows drew together in concentration, and when the games were close, she catch a glimpse of his tongue poking out from between his teeth. It was precious.

She took a sip of her hot chocolate, eyes intent on his face. He didn’t notice. He was far too focused on the game.

They had a longstanding “loser pays for dinner” agreement, but Tav wasn’t worried. Gale never made her pay more than her fair share, even when he should. She knew he came from a pretty well-off family, so it was no skin off his back.

Decisively, he moved a bishop, taking one of her knights. She watched his fingers wrap around the elegantly carved little wooden horse and put it to the side. Her eyes followed the movement of his hands as he wove his fingers together, resting his elbows on the table.

He had strong, dextrous hands. Not for the first time, Tav wondered what it would feel like to interlace her fingers with his.

He cleared his throat, and her eyes darted to his, startled, like she’d been caught. There was an amused expression on his face.

“Your move,” he said, gesturing at the board.

“I know,” she said, voice coming out a little strained. “I’m just… contemplating my options.”

“Of course. By all means.” He sat back in his chair, that smug little smile on his face. If he were anyone else, she would probably want to punch him, but somehow Gale managed to make smug look charming.

She stared back at the board. Her stomach grumbled.

“Hungry?” he said. “We can order now, if you-”

“No, I’m fine.” She was starting to realise that perhaps chess was a bad idea. Her last exam of the semester had been yesterday, and her brain was very tired. Perhaps that explained why she was feeling more impatient than usual.

She took her move, fully aware that there were surely better moves that she hadn’t even considered. Sure enough, in two more turns, Gale was check-mating her. He didn’t even take a moment to bask in his victory like he usually did.

“Now can we order food? I’m famished,” he said. He was grinning at her in a way that made her empty stomach do a little flip.

“Fine. But after dinner, we’re playing Settlers of Catan.” Now that was a game that Tav had a better shot of winning.

“Fine by me.”

*

Now

Tav heard Gale’s voice before she saw him. Her heart leapt into her throat at the sound of the front door closing. He was home.

She strode over to her bedroom door, and then hesitated. Would he even want to see her, after she’d avoided coming to visit? Did she even want to see him?

Distantly, she heard Wyll saying something, and then a laugh. That was good. At least he didn’t sound miserable.

Her hand was resting on the doorknob. Her other hand went to her pocket, pulling out her phone. There were no new messages, but maybe she should check her emails? She scanned through her messaging apps, and the next thing she knew, she was scrolling through twitter.

She perched on her desk chair. She wasn’t fully sitting down; she would get up and go downstairs in a moment. Just as soon as she’d finished reading this thread.

When the knock came at her door, startling her, she realised that it was getting dark in her room. Her lips curled into a frown as she got to her feet and switched the light on. Before she could talk herself out of it, she opened the door.

Gale was standing in the hallway outside of her room. When their eyes met, he smiled at her uneasily. All of the things that Tav should’ve, could’ve, still could say rushed through her mind in a torrent that made it hard to catch hold of any one string of words.

“I love you” and “I’m sorry” and “you scared the ever-loving shit out of me” availed themselves of her, but all felt too crass or too honest. She had to protect her heart, because no one else would.

“Hey,” said Gale. “Tav. It’s good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you too,” she said stiffly. “I’m glad you’re…” Alive. “… okay.”

“Yeah.” There was a pause. Tav was finding that her eyes were happy to settle anywhere but on his face. She fixed her gaze on a painting hanging on the wall behind him. “How are you?”

“Oh, you know. I’m okay. Been busy, you know?” She braced herself. “Sorry I couldn’t come and see you in the hospital. It was… all a bit hectic, with coursework, and stuff, you know?”

Gale swallowed. “Of course. It’s fine. You don’t need to apologise.”

They were both lying, and they both knew it.

“Are you coming down for dinner?” he asked. “Karlach and Lae’zel are both coming over to celebrate my release.”

“Of course. I’ll be down in a minute.”

For the first time, Gale smiled. “I’ll see you downstairs.”

*

It had been four days since Gale had come home, and Tav hadn’t been alone with him since the first evening when he’d come and knocked on her door. She would disappear up to her room as soon as she got home from classes, emerge at mealtimes (Wyll was pretty insistent that they all try to eat dinner together, where possible) and then go back to her room.

Every so often, she could feel Gale’s eyes on her during dinner, but she staunchly avoided his gaze.

And it wasn’t that she wasn’t trying. Sometimes, she would make a concerted effort to make conversation with him, but every word felt stilted and forced.

It didn’t help that she was sleep deprived. She slept fitfully, plagued by nightmares of Gale’s limp body and vomit-stained sheets. It was all she could see whenever she closed her eyes.

She was alone in the kitchen when he cornered her. Her heart plummeted as he walked into the room.

“Tav. Hey,” he said, looking nervous.

“Afternoon,” she said, opening the fridge, just so that she would have somewhere to look.

“Can we talk?”

It took every ounce of her self-control not to visibly blanche. “Sure.” She still wasn’t looking at him.

“Are we… okay? It feels like things have been… weird between us.”

Tav watched as the fridge door gave a little shudder. She couldn’t make sense of what she was seeing, until her eyes traced a path to her trembling hand that was curled, vice-like around the handle of the fridge door. She laughed – wet, throaty – at the absurdity of it, blinking back tears.

“Are we okay?” she repeated, stifling another hysterical laugh. She released the door, letting it fall shut. “Of course we’re not okay, Gale. You tried to kill yourself.”

She turned to look at him, then. His eyes were wide, his mouth slightly open as if he was about to say something, but no words came.

“I thought I’d lost you.” Her shaking hands came up to her face to rub away at the tears that were streaming down her cheeks. “I found you, did you know that? I found your unconscious body and I was scared that you were already dead. I thought I was going to live the rest of my life with you on my conscience because I couldn’t save you.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” he said, so softly that she almost missed it.

“I know that,” she snapped back at him, taken aback by the harshness of her own voice. “And all I could wonder is why you never talked to me. Why you never told me what was going on with you. Why you wouldn’t let me help you. You spent months pushing me away and leaving me to worry what I’d done wrong. And now you wonder why I can barely look at you?” She was almost shouting now. Her voice felt wrong to her own ears. Still, Gale was just staring at her. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

“It hurt, Gale,” she said, much quieter now. “You hurt me and scared me and I don’t know how to forgive you, and I feel guilty because I know how hard this must be for you, but that doesn’t make me any less angry.”

“Is everything okay?” Wyll’s voice from the doorway made her jump. He stepped into the kitchen, looking from Gale to Tav and back, concern in his eyes. Astarion followed behind him, although his eyes stayed fixed on Tav.

She swallowed. She looked at Gale. He looked devastated, staring back at her with his big brown puppy dog eyes.

“Tav,” he said, and that made her hackles rise again. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

His apologies hit her like a blow to the chest. He was the one who needed help right now. What was she doing shouting at him and making him feel worse about himself? The last thing he needed was for someone to push him back towards the edge.

A sob shuddered through her and she stepped backwards, her back hitting the fridge. Gale reached for her but she shook her head, and he drew back.

“I don’t want you to apologise,” she said. Her voice sounded high and weak. “I just want you to be okay.”

She couldn’t look at any of them as she walked past them. Her feet carried her back to her bedroom, where she drew the deadbolt across and shut the curtains. In the dark, she stripped off her bra and jeans, leaving her in just a t-shirt and underwear, and then crawled into bed.

Next Chapter

[shinygoku]

Captain Scarlet Headcanons

A man stands in the gloom of an alleyway, lit up only by a yellow tinted spotlight. He’s tall, dark and handsome, and his striking red and black uniform give him quite the presence. The latest in the line of Anderson Heroes and the one tasked with enduring the most gruesome of settings and personal circumstance.

Also he’s gay and autistic, good for him!

Welcome to my Headcanons for Paul Metcalfe, aka Captain Scarlet.

I’m primarily drawing straight from the one true canon source; the 1967 Television Series, with some supplementary tidbits from the Haynes Manual and bonus material from my DVD set. I’m not counting from tie in novels, audio only stories, or comics, as they’re lower in the hierarchy and hard to come by, but if they’re any good then they shouldn’t contradict anything I have here ;D

This is a long post, so I’ll put the cut up here. Great to read when you’re sitting down with a nice drink and/or snack~

CANON INFO

Paul Metcalfe will be born in Winchester in 2036 and the series starts in 2068, making him 31 with change (as his DOB is in December and Ep 1 sure don’t look like Winter) when he’s killed and Mysteronised. That’s really quite sad, but of course, this is a series about a war…

With his December the 17th Birthday, he’s a Sagittarius. The prophecy aspect could allude to the occasionally remembered Mysteron Sense he has? Key traits mentioned include (Positive) Idealism and generosity, and (Negative) pronounced impatience and being shockingly blunt. These all fit nicely with our man in red here.

I ain’t sufficiently interested in Military crud to rehash it or try to put my own spin (I had to look up what a commission is in that context and I still only half get it!), same applies with Academic stuff, so for both them I’ll let the bio provided in the Haynes Manual cover it lmao

“Background: From a long-serving military family. Trained at West Point Military Academy. Following completion of degrees in technology, history and mathematical application at Winchester University joined World Army Air Force as private, rising rapidly to colonel through inspiring capacity to command and military professionalism. Having noted qualities of leadership, strategic thinking and dedication to duty, approached by Spectrum selection committee to become leading field agent. Commission accepted immediately.”

Yeah, the main characters of Anderson shows go real hard on the expansion pack pasts, I’m unsure how hilariously over the top it is compared to the 5 Tracy Boys but they weren’t shy about making the leads Cool and Experienced!

Also from the Haynes manual, instead of Personal Interests like most’a the other cast members, there’s a Special Note. It strikes me as a bit more cold and impersonal than what the Show has, and take it with a slight pinch of salt, but I’ve got it transcribed as written:

“After reconstruction by Mysterons following death in car crash and subsequent fall from tall structure, replica accepted as serving officer having completed extensive tests revealing capacity for retro-metabolism and loss of Mysteron influence.” 

Well anyway, that covers the Canon info, it’s limited but pretty interesting for what it’s worth. Below is another short bio, this one from my DVD set (the info presumably having been provided in Annuals prior).

HEADCANONS 

As ya can see in the Marital Status section, he’s Single. I shall make the bold statement too that he’s gay but possibly isn’t consciously aware of that …yet? He can see when a girl is pretty but he doesn’t React much to it, and none of the interactions he does have with ladies is romance coded. In fact, when Linda Nolan pretty strongly implies attraction he literally says: “Thank you. Let’s go, Adam!” –  I really think he didn’t Twig her intent and then he’s instantly getting Blue’s attention instead XD ~ But he does have stronger and more diverse interactions with other guys, especially Blue ;3

I think he’s autistic but good at masking – even before being Mysteronised his resting face is very unexpressive and his seemingly sincere bidding of good luck sounds quite flat. Other factors include the above mentioned focus on professionalism but deviating when his principles are challenged or things aren’t going to plan, plus how he spends free time in a quiet environment and mostly hanging out with Blue when given the chance. Also, again his canon Good At Academic angle. I expect he thrives fairly well in the pseudo military environment as it provides structure, routine and clear rules (Though he will disregard those when he’s being particularly spicy!).

Can be stubborn and impatient (noticeably uses a louder voice when re-asserting something), and isn’t the best at hiding his thoughts. Otherwise seems to have a stiff upper lip and good nerves. Slight hints of arrogance on occasion but strongly principled. He’s got a dry and sardonic sense of humour.

Mostly very professional but he’s not “on” all the time. Sitting at his Boss’ desk with his feet up on the desk as he Vibes is the oddest example, yet it doesn’t feel shockingly out of character. I’ve noticed he sits weird in many scenes too, sometimes his ankle rests on his knee, propping his feet way up on White’s desk, or sitting in a chair sideways (can file under gay / autistic traits / omg he just like me fr), and states in Spectrum Strikes Back that he enjoys the quietness of nature with less people around too (he’s SO real !!) Like when he needs to cool off in White as Snow it’s the little flower house on the Promenade Deck he picks to gaze out into the blue yonder.

I like the idea that Agent Blake from the Secret Service is his grandfather (Meta: the Captain Scarlet puppet was reused for the role), personally I see it working better as him being Paul Metcalfe’s Maternal Grandpa. As for the Paternal line, that’s where several generations of Military dudes comes from :T –  At least the Blake personality may explain where Scarlet got the history and maths nerd interests, Blake does have that bookish vibe rather than a strong presence.

Seeing how his Mysteron Sense manifests as Nausea, I think he gets motion sick more easily than a Pilot and Guy who drives Armoured Tank-Cars Backwards ought to… so he wears Pressure Bands to alleviate the sickness response (but the Mysteron Sense may bypass that, being psychic rather than motion based). I know it’s in part due to the puppets but he sure seems to prefer wearing high necked, long sleeved shirts, be it uniform of civvies (And well, 60’s fashion be like that too lol, maybe he’s a smidge Trendy!).

MYSTERONISATION & RETROMETABOLISM

Ok, so as one of the first to be Mysteronised, it feels like the Mysterons were themselves experimenting with how their duplicates were going to be. Black seems to be forcibly possessed with his personality overridden, and both Brown and Scarlet are killed in a car wreck fireball to be copied. 

While Brown was used to be a suicide bomb, Scarlet was used to try to take the President alive instead. Scarlet’s second death was from being shot in the chest and then falling maybe 10,000 feet (idk distances. It was REALLY really high!) to a presumably gory landing. However, after they get his remains back at base, they’re shocked to discover him showing signs of life again and his body reverts to his as-new form after the first Mysteron Reconstruction, but instead of being a pawn of the Mysterons, this time Scarlet is back to his original body’s personality, and that’s how he stays thereafter. I theorise that as he was an early draft, the Mysterons didn’t have the expectation that the healing factor they installed would be that potent, nor did they put in a way to Keep their programming after said death. That, or they did want to have a worthy opponent in their ongoing war of nerves… But yes, Scarlet remains completely unique as both a Reconstruction (effectively a clone of Paul Metcalfe [re]born at 31 with all his memories before the explosion-death intact), but also one with free will and unlimited healing powers that bring him back from death multiple times.

The Mysterons presumably don’t install a healing factor into the Mysteronised Drones thereafter, though they are harder than normal to kill, with High Voltage Electricity being the only surefire to kill them, and presumably would permakill Scarlet too. They are also unable to be X-rayed, instead being opaque on such photographs.

But yes, the grisly central premise of the show is that even though Scarlet can indeed be killed, he won’t stay down forever. Though he’s Indestructible, that’s from the healing power repairing injuries and reversing death rather than a Superman-esque bulletproof skin (the opening of the show features this only for brevity lol, the episodes themselves stick to the rules). Nope, it’s even explicit that he feels the pain of injuries and dying each time! That’s rough, buddy! 

A much lesser side effect of being a Mysteronised Clone is the “Sixth Sense” Mysteron sensing response that the writers sometimes forget about, where Paul feels nausea when another replicant is nearby.

The healing power is called the same term that the Mysterons use to recreate destroyed matter: Retrometabolism. And now I’ve recapped the origin and summary, I wanna dig in to the headcanoning part that they show sadly didn’t make enough time for… >:3c

🟢👁👁🟢

Here’s how I think Retrometabolism works for Scarlet specifically: In the event of injuries, the wound in question will get healed pretty quickly. The smaller the wound, the faster it heals, but even something like a broken leg or bullet wound will still leave no scar tissue or residual effects after the process is complete. However, if he’s been killed, then the Retrometalbolism probably focuses first on his most major organs to get his body restarted as swiftly as possible, with lesser injuries coming afterwards. 

I also imagine if the cause of death was something like being shot, the Retrometabolism will also force the bullet out, assuming it got stuck in his body. If he was poisoned, it would purge and/or neutralise this before getting his body back online. If he had brain damage from either the direct cause of death (hello, Operation Time!) or as a side effect of his brain being starved of oxygen, that damage will be waved away all as part of the package. It also seems he’s immune to disease, a hypothesis actually observed in Place of the Angels. I think he must also be immune to the harmful effects of Radiation, or at least that the death and rebirth would cleanse any lingering sickness.

However, the more grisly his death, the longer it will take to heal. I reckon the only way to speed up the Retrometabolistic process would be for surgical intervention to essentially do as much clean-up as possible so the Retrometabolism can ‘focus’ on the regeneration part. For this reason I think being riddled with bullets would probably be a simpler process than the times Scarlet is caught in an explosion, or some of the potentially-canon situations shown in the end credits which vary from a stock Pulp hazard (Dynamite, being thrown out of a speeding car, threatened by a cobra) to honestly quite nightmarish (the walls of spikes, the swamp/quicksand, being about to be run over by a tank, the impending inferno as he trips on a burning beam….), and the end credit scenarios offer an underrated facet of Spectrum.

It’s easy for bad faith takes to dismiss the dynamics of Scarlet as “the guy who always dies” and the other Spectrum officers as being surplus to requirements, but that’s a reductive and daft way of looking at it. Instead why don’t we focus on how much interest and (for lack of a better term) variation in strategy it offers when one member can offer to make the riskiest plays, in the safety not of having regenerative powers, but the assurance that there’s backup to retrieve him and look after him while he’s completely helpless. Like, in the Shark picture, I think the threat is much less the toothy fish, but instead that Scarlet is doomed to be stuck underwater, maybe ready to return to life but without outside assistance unable to do so without drowning all over again. There would be a lot of trust and courage needed in these situations, not to mention how deeply unpleasant it is for humans to be around a dead body that may also be in quite a state, so it’s a strange sort of sweetness that Scarlet has all this back up when needed.

I also feel it’s worth mentioning my headcanon on the mysterious case of the Two Scarlets - OG Human who is perma-dead and the Mysteron version with Retrometabolism. First of all, while it happens entirely unmentioned and offscreen, I expect Spectrum New York dug around the crash site a bit more after reporting Brown’s corpse and then found Scarlet’s. This body is presumably in a morgue, perhaps cremated or buried but perhaps not. Presumably it’s Scarlet’s call to make…

I don’t think there was any personality change at a core level between the Scarlets, though if he got more moody or distant or whatever I don’t think anyone can hold it against him! But in part of their accepting, embracing even, of Mysteron!Scarlet, I feel like his Self would remain how it was, with the caveat of the new tactical routes opened by the indestructibility. 

And, while the headcanon train chuffs along, I guess I can wonder how long Retrometabolism will last with the Scarlet we know and love? Will repeated use ever cause it to fade, or is it as unshakable like the movement of planets? Will it prevent him from aging, each death reset bringing him back to 31 physically, or will it see him into twilight years? If the Mysterons were defeated, would the power be taken away with them, or eased off as their influence fades like a memory? It may depend on how the Mysterons were to be beaten, or come to a peaceful agreement. If they could strip it from him, then their keeping it active for their recurring counter may add fuel to the idea they’re playing a game and need specific pieces to always be in play.

In that regard, I only have questions. But puzzling out and solidifying my interpretations of this fine fellow has been a lot of fun, and even after I finish editing this, and after I’ve posted it, something else is sure to occur to me to mull over! This show deserved to be longer, but everything it gave me is cherished, and at the heart of that is this autistic gay king. He’s intriguing and, of course, indestructible!

🌈🚀🌟

[hiveruled-moved]

character info sheet.

name. Kai Joseph Langdon

name meaning. The name Kai has Welsh origins but means different things in other cultures. Most often if you look it up it gives the Hawaiian meaning; 'The Sea', but in Welsh origin it means 'Keeper of the keys and earth'

alias( ses ). Divine Ruler (by cult members only), Councilman or Councilman Anderson.

two pictures you like of your character.

three headcanons you never told anyone.

( ** There really aren't many if any headcanons I've never shared with people, I've had Kai for 6 years as a muse in total. But I'll recycle some really old ones from my first blog fgbfdhbg )

i. Kai knows how to play piano...or knew how to play piano at one point I should say. He hasn't touched one since he was in high school. ii. His handwriting is awful. Like good luck reading anything he's ever wrote on paper, even he has trouble deciphering it sometimes (example below of how I wrote it once and I still think it's neater than what he'd do.)

iii. This is kind of implied canon more than a headcanon but who cares. Kai changes out the rose on his parents bedroom door frequently, even adding some other flowers his mom liked sometimes.

three things your character likes to do in their free time.

i. Play video games like Mortal Ko.mbat, Ca.ll of Du.ty, GT.A, etc.

ii. Browse and post on redd.it / 4c.han / tw.itt.er because he's one of Those.

iii. Explore abandoned buildings.

three people your character loves.

Winter Anderson - His little sister, practically almost like a daughter in his eyes in my personal headcanon. Kai helped raise her since they were both kids and their mother suffered from mental illnesses and sometimes had trouble putting her attention on them and taking care of her abusive husband at the same time. Regardless of their differences and everything they've been through, they've stuck by each other's sides. Even though they shouldn't have. It would've been better for Winter in the end at least if she hadn't.

Julie Anderson - His mother whom he holds at a higher regard than she most likely deserved. But Kai was always a momma's boy and definitely Julie's favorite child out of the bunch, you'll never catch him admitting anything negative about her. He'll say that she did her best despite the situation. Kai just wishes he could've stopped her from aiming the gun at her mouth that night. Losing her like that broke something in him that never did recover.

Jon Stark ( @perzysprumia ) - His childhood best friend. Honestly these two are the trope of they're a similar character with one of them getting corrupted over time. Jon is someone he was always able to turn to and entrust the true nature of his home life with. Though, it was fairly easy to do so when Jon actually lived with the Anderson family at one point. Kai has always had a difficult grasp on romantic love, wasn't sure if he ever felt it a day in his life. Until Jon returned, until he devoted himself to him and the cult despite not agreeing with the murder aspect of Kai's movement, despite Kai not being the man he once knew. Kai is undoubtedly in love with him, but it doesn't mean its healthy for either of them.

two things your character regrets.

i. Killing Winter and Vincent. More-so Winter than Vincent since he discovered she didn't actually betray him so he basically killed her for nothing. As much as he believes it was necessary with his older brother, looking back after he's gone, he really wishes he had him around to give advice. ii. Not killing Ally. He knows it was a mistake to trust her, but his own curiosity to push on people's fragile mental states and manipulate mixed with his paranoia and delusions at the time really just made him cling on to the idea that maybe just maybe Ally was a good person to have on his side. That Ozzy may in fact be his son despite him knowing he wasn't. And despite him literally encouraging her wife to torment and leave her smh.

three phobia's your character has.

i. Failure, more specifically not leaving behind or doing anything to be remembered for. ii. Open / deep water or drowning, this is something that makes him uncomfortable more than fearful, but it isn't really a factor in most cases. iii. Being betrayed by those closest to him. He has major trust issues.

Tagged by: @langdhon <3

Tagging: anyone that sees this and wants to do it, you're tagged now!

[conservatoryrrs]

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[maggiexsommers]

Introducing Maggie Sommers!

&. BASICS 

Full Name: Margaret Elizabeth Sommers

Nicknames: Maggie, Mags, Magpie

Age: 40

Gender & Pronouns: Female, She/Her

Sexuality: Bisexual

Date of Birth: March 25, 1989

Place of Birth: Omaha, NE

Hometown: East Haven, VT

Time in East Haven: Since 1997

Neighborhood: Primrose Heights

tw: death, alcoholism, pregnancy, stabbing, overdose

&. MORE BASIC INFO

Languages: English, ASL

Education: Bachelor’s degree in English

Occupation: Author

Drinks: Sober since January 14th, 2022

Smokes: Rarely

Drugs: Weed occasionally 

Allergies: Citrus

Conditions: Migraines

Accent: American

Timeline: here

&. PERSONALITY

Zodiac Sign: Aries

Likes: Writing, spending time with her loved ones, coffee, stargazing, bonfires

Dislikes: Dogs, deep water, mushrooms, loud chewers

Love Language: Words of affirmations, acts of service, quality time, physical touch, receiving gifts

Habits: Squinting when focused, playing with her rings

Hobbies: Writing, reading, singing

Fears: Losing anyone she loves, deep water, not being good enough

Five Positive Traits: Ambitious, creative, protective, adaptable, & charismatic

Five Negative Traits: Stubborn, opinionated, reticent, brazen, & stoic

&. APPEARANCE

Height: 5′8″

Hair: Brunette

Eye Color: Brown

Tattoos: None

Piercings: Ears, tongue (as teen)

Aesthetic: here

&. FAMILY INFORMATION

Parents: Anna Sommers (deceased, estranged), Jeff Sommers (father), Deborah Sommers (stepmother)

Siblings: TBA Sommers, Noah Sinclair (paternal half-brother)

Other Relevant Relatives: Nora Sinclair (sister-in-law)

Relationships: Abe Wilson (ex), Viktor Pierce (ex), Mike Anderson (husband, deceased), Brady Levitt (fiance)

Children: Audrey (8) & Grace (4) Anderson, Freddie (1 year) & Bella (14 years, stepdaughter) Levitt

Pets: Nyx (black cat)

&. BIOGRAPHY

Maggie was born backstage at one of her parent’s concerts for their band, Sommer & Winter. Not long after, she got a baby brother and the two were basically raised on a tour bus going all over the country as well as overseas.

When she was thirteen, her dad could see the toll it was taking on not just her, but her brother as well. He wanted to settle down with the kids and stop going around, but her mother didn’t want to do any of that. She liked the attention of it all. So the two divorced and her dad took them to East Haven where they could build a normal life.

She loved going to school and finally feeling like she she was living a normal life. After graduating high school, she went to university and got her degree in English and after, she started writing on a book. Years later, she got it published and over the years, has made a five book series that even turned into a Netflix show that she helps write for.

During one of the publicist parties, she met Mike Anderson and the two started dating. Before too long, they got married and had two kids, Audrey and Grace. Tragedy struck when Mike was killed while on a business trip in New York City and she was heartbroken.

Maggie got deep into her grief and started to drink to help her cope. For a bit, she was able to hide it well, but soon became more and more noticeable. Almost three years later and after her mother passed from alcohol poisoning, she decided to go to AA and get clean.

While she was working on this, her anger would tend to come out, but this was how she met her now boyfriend, Brady. The two fought over a tree branch and then started hooking up with each other. By May of 2022, she found out she was pregnant and over the months he moved in with her and they started dating. They had their son, Freddie, and are now raising her kids, his daughter, and their son together in Primrose Heights.

Things have definitely progressed over the year since they had their son and in September of 2023, Maggie proposed to Brady on his birthday and he said yes.

&. HEADCANONS

Maggie’s book series is based on a story she made up for her brother during their nights on the tour bus. The characters are loosely based in people she knows in her life; the main character being a form of herself.

Despite being happy to be going to school like a normal kid, Maggie did skip classes as a teen and could be found smoking under the bleachers.

The last time Maggie ever saw her mom was at the age of twenty when she went to one of her concerts. She tried talking to her, but it ended in a fight and she left. She stopped all contact then and didn’t go to her funeral.

[horrificks-a]

𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓  𝐀𝐑𝐄  𝐘𝐎𝐔?

a knife

cruel hands held you and shaped you in to what you have become. a razor-shape blade, both wound and knife. they butchered you and called it love. they taught you that only someone who is willing to rip you apart and swallow is someone to call home. maybe that is why you love pomegranates.

a photo album

you have never been able to be left unchanged by the people around you. you carry them wherever you go - their thoughts, their feelings, their opinions. you don’t know how to stop becoming the people you bring home. you don’t know who you were before the hands of others touched you. if someone where to crack you open, who would they find inside?

tagged by: @noblecide​

tagging: whoever wants to do it!

[weclassybouquetfun]

Disney's D23 Expo is taking place this weekend and it's a orgy of content. The offerings from Disney and its holdings so far are:

-New footage from ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMNANIA starring Paul Rudd, Kathryn Newton, Evangeline Lilly, Randall Park and Jonathan Majors. It opens Feb. 17th.

-Friday the late Chadwick Boseman became a Disney Legend and Saturday saw D23 attendees watching footage from BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER. It opens Nov. 11th. On hand was director Ryan Coogler, Leticia Wright, Angela Bassett, Winston Duke and newcomer to the fold Tenoch Huerta who will portray Namor the Submariner.

-First footage of the CAPTAIN MARVEL sequel THE MARVELS starring Brie Larson, MS. MARVEL's Imani Vellani and Teyonah Parrish who returns as Monica Lambeau.

-We have new recruits to CAPTAIN AMERICA: NEW WORLD ORDER.. Joining Anthony Mackie is Shira Haas (who was stunning in Netflix's UNORTHODOX) and Tim Blake Nelson who reprises his villain role from THE INCREDIBLE HULK. Reprising their roles from the Disney+ series THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER is Carl Lumbly and Danny Ramirez. The team reports for service in May 3, 2024.

u-We have director for FANTASTIC FOUR in GAME OF THRONES director (and former child actor) Matt Shakman. The reboot flames on in Nov. 8, 2024

-Casting info the new HAUNTED MANSION. Winona Ryder, Hasaan Minaj and Dan Levy are joining Rosario Dawson, Lakeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Jamie Lee Curtis and Jared Leto (voice only, as far as being reported).

-THUNDERBOLTS casts up. The film is slated to close out Phase 5 on July 26, 2024. Joining Sebastian Stan is BLACK WIDOW's Florence Pugh, David Harbour and Olga Kurylenko; THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER's Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Wyatt Russell and ANT-MAN AND THE WASP's Hannah John-Kamen.

*People are already gearing up to ship Yelena and Bucky. Yucky must not happen!

MORE ON D23

-Harrison Ford and Phoebe Waller-Bridge was on-site to excavate the trailer for INDIANA JONES 5 which will serve as a final bow for the 80-year old Ford. The film also stars Mads Mikkelsen, Toby Jones, Boyd Holbrook and Antonio Banderas.

- LOKI series two got a trailer and a newcomer with Ke Huy Quan joining Tom Hiddleston, Sophie DiMartino, Owen Wilson and the already announced, Rafael Casal.

*D23 presented the opportunity for Ke to reunite with Harrison Ford. In a recent interview on THE KELLY CLARKSON show, Ke revealed he knows how to swim thanks to Ford.

-Also revealed: Footage from AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER, sneak peek and title for the LION KING prequel. MUFASA: THE LION KING, which will roar into theaters in 2024. Teaser trailer for the live-action THE LITTLE MERMAID starring Halle Bailey. TLM wades to the surface, summer 2023.

Also a look at the live-action SNOW WHITE starring Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot.

-Disney+ fare teased was HOCUS POCUS 2 - which is the origin story of the Sanderson Sisters (airing Sept. 30th) stars Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, Tony Hale, Sam Richardson and this babe,

Hannah Waddingham bringing her witchy ways.

Other Disney+ offering is:

-WILLOW: A new trailer for the reimagining of the 1988 fantasy classic was shown, and Christian Slater was revealed as a cast member. He joins an ensemble that includes Warwick Davis, Joanne Whalley, Ruby Cruz, Erin Kellyman, Ellie Bamber, Dempsey Bryk, Amar Chadha-Patel and Tony Revolori.

-Fifteen years after Giselle and Robert found their happy ending in ENCHANTED comes DISENCHANTED. Joining the returning cast (Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, Idina Menzel and James Marsden is Maya Rudolph.

-PETER PAN & WENDY with Alexander Molony as Peter, Ever Anderson (daughter of Mila Jovovich), as Wendy, Jacobi Jupe (younger brother of Noah Jupe in his feature film debut), Alyssa Wapanatâhk  as Tiger Lily, Jim Gaffigan as Smee, Yara Shahidi as Tinker Bell and Jude Law as a Hot! Captain Hook.

This wasn't the only Disney project Law repped at D23. Law is in the Marvel universe thanks to CAPTAIN MARVEL, Disney Classic universe with PETER PAN & WENDY and now he joins his pal Ewan McGregor 

in the STAR WARS universe with Jon Watt's series SKELETON CREW about a group of kids who are trying to find their way home after being lost in space.

Is not Disney without animation so there was info about Pixar films ELIO, INSIDE OUT 2, Disney Animation's WISH with the voicework of Ariana DeBose and Alan Tudyk. And STRANGE WORLDS featuring the voicework of Jake Gyllenhaal, the best Twitter troll Jaboukie Young-White, Gabrielle Union, Dennis Quaid and Alan Tudyk.

-Announced: The casting of Shakira Barrera in IRONHEART starring Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams. Don Cheadle reprising his role as Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes in AMOR WARS.

-Shown: The full trailer for SECRET INVASION starring Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Olivia Colman, Emilia Clarke, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Carmen Ejogo (whose ex-husband Jeffrey Wright voiced The Watcher in Disney+'s WHAT IF?) , and appearances by Don Cheadle, Ben Mendelsohn and Martin Freeman.

The audience was treated to a live performance from the spoof "Rogers" musical from HAWKEYE. Very fitting as there was a special look at ECHO, the HAWKEYE spinoff starring Alaqua Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio, alongside Devery Jacobs, Graham Greene, Cody Lightning, Tantoo Cardinal, Chaske Spencer and Jacobs' RESERVATION DOGS costar Zahn McClarnon. 

D'Onofrio was also on hand with Charlie Cox to discuss the triumphant return of Matt Murdock in the upcoming DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN. Production will begin in 2023.

-Trailer for WEREWOLF BY NIGHT, aHalloween-themed special starring Gael García Bernal as Jack Russell who is not a terrier but a werewolf apparently. It's set to howl on Disney+ on October 7.

Just as father and son Kurt and Wyatt Russell are in the Disney fold, and buddies Pedro Pascal (whose trailer for series 3 of THE MANDALORIAN was shown) and Oscar Isaac are, Garcia Bernal joins his friend Diego Luna who was on hand to discuss his series ANDOR where he reprises his ROGUE ONE role of Cassian Andor.

*Many people think Luna and Garcia Bernal met making Alfonso Cuarón's Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN, but they are childhood friends and costars

whose parents worked together in theater. Their parents were rehearsing and doing costume design for a play while Gael was born and were still doing the play when Diego was born.

Other LucasFilm wares revealed like TALES OF THE JEDI, an animated anthology series, so a Disney Junior animated series STAR WARS: YOUNG JEDI ADVENTURES and STAR WARS: THE BAD BATCH whose second season is pushed back from September 28 to January 4, 2023.

-While no word on when the BEAUTY AND THE BEAST spinoff GASTON AND LEFEU will begin production (star Luke Evans promises it will happen), Disney will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the animated film with a special -featuring live and recorded performances - will star Josh Groban as the Beast, Joshua Henry as Gaston and Rita Moreno as the narrator. The choreography will be done by the master, Jamal Sims.

There was also info on the PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS series, the NATIONAL TREASURE series NATIONAL TREASURE: EDGE OF HISTORY, an original series titled AMERICAN BORN CHINESE, a long-from series IWAJU which is described as a love letter to Lagos, Nigeria; comedy series THE MUPPET MAYHEM, series two of THE PROUD FAMILY: LOUDER AND PROUDER, new movie PROM PACT, the original series THE SANTA CLAUSES with Tim Allen returning, short-form series ZOOTOPIA+ and John Stamos was on hand to tease series 2 of BIG SHOT. He also took the time to talk of the last time he spent time with his late FULL HOUSE costar Bob Saget - the two went to Disneyland.

[chikoritacheezits]

Here's another ref sheet for Can't Buy Happiness, this time for Hazel's best friend, Andromeda (Annie) Anderson. Age: 11 Gender: Female Likes: Drawing, anime, manga, Winter, cats Dislikes: Astronomy, large crowds, her former toxic friend To counterpoint Hazel's outgoing nature, Annie is a lot more shy and reserved, with Hazel having to frequently (and wholesomely) motivate her. She looks up to Hazel a lot, as she did save her from her former best friend Sophie, who treated her like dirt. But onto hobbies, she's a talented artist, mainly drawing her favorite anime characters, and obsessing over this Sailor Moon like show. When she's with people she trusts, she can talk for hours about this stuff. Despite being quiet in school, she's really smart and gets good grades. She's especially good at science, as her parents have a very huge astronomy background, much to her dismay. She knows a lot about it, unfortunately to her. Artist: https://irkenwhisper.tumblr.com/ Series Info: https://twitter.com/ChikoritaCheez/status/1554938613011566597

[thnxforknowingme]

Miles To Go (5/12)

Written for the Klaine 3-2-1 Prompt Bang 2022, art by @datshitrandom

Pairing: Kurt Hummel/Blaine Anderson

Rating: Mature

Notes: More info about the fic here.

All Chapters | Read on AO3

Chapter 5: Colorado, Part 2

Kurt was sweaty and exhausted and certainly sunburnt, but he felt like he was on top of the world.

The trail outside of Denver that he’d chosen had wound around a mountain peak, bringing him higher in elevation with each step. Now he stood at the highest point of the hike, surrounded by thirsty evergreens and scrubby underbrush and the greatest view he had ever seen. He’d been up to the top of the Empire State Building, and his view of Mark Twain National Forest had been stunning, but this was in a category all of its own.

He could see snow-topped mountains, rocky plateaus, plunging canyons. The sunlight sparkled off of distant bodies of water. To the east, the landscape evened out into a wide valley that extended to the horizon, blanketed by civilization. The air was warm and dusty and alive in his lungs.

The Rocky Mountains were a substantial departure from the plains that he’d been traveling across for so many days. Everything about this new landscape felt monumental - both physically huge and worthy of awe and respect. Kurt had never been outdoorsy, but maybe if he’d grown up in a place like this he would have warmed to the idea more.

He found a boulder to sit on and continue admiring the view while he drank some water and reapplied sunscreen. While most of his trip involved him being by himself to a certain degree, nothing highlighted his solitude more than hiking. He’d only passed a few people on the trail, and unlike when he was driving, he didn’t listen to music or have anything to entertain himself. It was just him, his thoughts, and nature.

As he made his way up the mountain, he’d found his mind consistently circling back to the previous night, and to Blaine. He’d gone into this trip with few expectations of what it would be like, but he certainly hadn’t anticipated waking up in bed with a man whose last name he didn’t know. It wasn’t the kind of thing he was generally inclined to do, let alone while in the middle-of-nowhere Colorado.

Kurt had only had one boyfriend before - Adam, the handsome NYADA senior who had taken Kurt under his wing immediately when he’d started school. Kurt had figured that moving to New York would open up dating possibilities that had never existed in Lima, but he hadn’t expected to have an actual boyfriend within three weeks of moving to the city.

Adam had been sweet and funny and supportive. Kurt was sometimes intimidated by Adam’s age and worldliness (although Adam constantly dismissed this, pointing out that he’d also lived in a small town most his life, never even visiting London until he was looking at universities). Adam was always reassuring and kind when it came to Kurt’s inexperience, though. 

Adam’s company and affection were intertwined with all of Kurt’s memories of that first semester. While he was being overwhelmed by NYADA’s rigor and turning New York into his new home, he was also experiencing the incomparable rush of infatuation and navigating the reality of being in his first relationship.

Then, after a few months of romantic bliss, Adam sat Kurt down and explained that he’d been accepted to a graduate program at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, and that he’d be returning to England in the spring. It was the kindest breakup that Kurt had ever heard of, but it was still a breakup. Kurt spent the winter break wallowing in misery, missing Adam’s steadfast attention, the constant compliments and physical closeness and inside jokes that had defined their relationship. He was overwhelmed by the unfairness of it, devastated by the rescinding of care and affection that he’d grown used to.

In hindsight, his anguish seemed so trivial. That pitiful heartbreak had since been so thoroughly eclipsed by the grief of Finn’s death, the profoundness of a real loss.

When Kurt returned to New York in January, Santana had taken one look at him and insisted he needed to get laid. Kurt brushed her off at first, but when she’d procured a fake ID for him and given him a pep talk that was only half made up of insults, he agreed to go to a gay club with her.

He’d been surprised by how much he enjoyed it - being in a place explicitly for other queer people, losing himself to alcohol and music and camaraderie, noticing that other men seemed to pay attention to him and like what they saw. He went out with Santana a few times before he actually acted on the ‘get laid’ plan Santana had set out. Flirtatious glances with another guy became close dancing, which became kissing on the dancefloor. “I’m Owen,” the man had said, mouth right against Kurt’s ear so he could feel Owen’s lips brush his skin.

They ended up in a bathroom stall where their frenzied making out escalated, hands pressing and mouths gasping and clothes pushed aside, wrapped in each other desperately. After they’d both come, Kurt leaned back against the certainly filthy wall, boneless and full of adrenaline.

It had been fun, and he was glad for the experience, but he hadn’t really been interested in repeating it. Kurt had gotten a sinking feeling when Owen disappeared back into the crowd, and he had to pull himself together to find Santana and go home and fall asleep in his bed, alone. He’d realized that sex felt better when it wasn’t just about sex - when it was a way of connecting with someone else, when you could laugh and tease, when you knew what your partner was like when they weren’t turned on.

But Blaine - he hadn’t been able to resist Blaine. He felt, in a sense, that they did know each other. They’d clicked so immediately, finding so much to talk about, things they had in common or could playfully disagree on. Kurt contemplated the new contact in his phone, the fact that he could text Blaine whenever he wanted. Once this trip was over and he was in a more stable headspace, he thought he’d really like to talk to Blaine more. Even if they didn’t live in the same place, he had the feeling they could be friends.

*

In the evening, Kurt headed into Denver proper to grab dinner and get gas before retreating to his campsite. He pulled into a Sinclair station and was just putting the pump into his gas tank when a large truck turned into the lot.

A U-Haul truck.

With a white flower on the side.

“No way,” Kurt said to himself.

The U-Haul parked at the pump diagonal to him, and Kurt watched as the driver’s door opened and Blaine hopped out. He stared, jaw slack, as Blaine swiped his credit card and tapped on the screen a few times. Finally, Blaine glanced in his direction, then did a double take.

“Kurt?” he asked, his eyebrows shooting up.

Kurt shook his head in disbelief. “Blaine.”

Blaine laughed. “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world…”

Kurt grinned at the reference. “I can’t believe this,” he said, gesturing vaguely between them.

The wind picked up, intensifying the smell of gasoline and tugging on the tips of Blaine’s hair. His smile was bright and delighted, and Kurt thought he was maybe even more attractive than he remembered.

“I was just about to park the truck and find something to eat,” Blaine said. “You want to get dinner together?”

Part of Kurt wanted very badly to say yes, to fall back in with Blaine and have a repeat of the incredible previous night. Something held him back, though.

“Sorry,” he found himself saying. “I really do have to get to my campsite.”

“Oh,” Blaine said, his voice twisting with disappointment. “Okay, well. Safe travels, then.”

With fortuitous timing, the gas pump in the Navigator clicked off, giving Kurt an excuse to turn away from Blaine’s crestfallen face.

“You too,” he said as he returned the pump to its slot.

“Bye, Kurt,” Blaine said softly.

Kurt offered a small smile. “Bye, Blaine.”

And he got in the car and drove away.

*

Camping felt particularly lonely that night.

Kurt tossed on his sleeping pad, unable to get comfortable and fall asleep. Maybe he’d become spoiled, spending three nights in a row in hotel beds.

Or maybe he just couldn’t ignore the guilt gnawing at his stomach every time he remembered how Blaine’s beautiful smile had dissipated so quickly when Kurt turned him down.

It was just that this trip was supposed to be about Finn, and finding closure, and Kurt having time alone to process the mess his life had become. It felt wrong to instead make it all about himself, to change the goal of the trip to spending time with a boy who had gorgeous eyes and good taste in music and a very talented tongue. This should be a pilgrimage, not a hedonistic jaunt across the country.

Blaine was attractive, smart, and kind. If Blaine wanted company, Kurt was sure he would find it without him. Kurt closed his eyes, and began to count his breaths to try calming his mind and bringing on sleep.

*

The next day Kurt headed north on Interstate 25. He took a brief detour into unincorporated farm land beyond Fort Collins, because there was a town there named Buckeye. Calling it a ‘town’ was actually very generous - it was more of an intersection between two county roads where the farmhouses were slightly closer together than they had been for the previous ten miles. There was a century-old schoolhouse still standing, a registered historic site, but nothing else of note. He pulled over to take a photo of the BUCKEYE COMMUNITY BUILDING sign outside of it to send to his dad, then got back on the road.

Half an hour later he was just about to reach the Wyoming border when he heard a loud honk.

He glanced at his rearview mirror. Behind him, close but not tailgating, was a U-Haul truck. Its window was rolled down, the driver’s arm stuck out and waving wildly.

Kurt could not believe this.

He focused on the road in front of him again just in time to see a sign welcoming him to Wyoming pass by. He was heading north right now, why on earth would Blaine be behind him? Or had he managed to catch the attention of a different U-Haul driver?

The truck honked again, and when Kurt looked in the mirror he saw that it had turned on its right blinker. There wasn’t anywhere to go on the right, but Kurt thought he understood what it meant. He flicked on his blinker to indicate that he got the message.

After a couple miles there was finally an exit, and the U-Haul followed Kurt down the off-ramp. The only buildings along this exit were several large warehouses advertising firework sales. Kurt drove over a cattle grate and pulled into the mostly-empty parking lot of Pyro City Fireworks Super Store.

The U-Haul parked behind him, and Blaine was getting out at the same time as Kurt. “Are you stalking me?” Kurt asked, speaking loudly to be heard over the wind that was ruffling his hair.

“I’m not,” Blaine said, pausing at the front of his truck. “I promise.”

“How did you even know it was me?” Kurt demanded.

Blaine shrugged. “Black Navigator, Ohio plates…I figured chances were high.”

Kurt looked away from Blaine, not wanting to meet his eyes for a moment. He was confused and frustrated and overwhelmed. It was like the universe was dangling Blaine in front of him, mocking him with something lovely that he knew he couldn’t have.

“Why are you here?” Kurt asked, turning back to face Blaine. “You should have stayed on 70 if you’re going to Los Angeles.”

“I was taking your advice,” Blaine said, his tone soft. “Seeing more sights. I was going to make a detour up to Devils Tower.”

Kurt barely held back a groan of annoyance. “That’s where I’m going,” he admitted.

Blaine raised an eyebrow. He took a few steps forward, but stopped a couple feet away from Kurt. “Are you okay?” he asked.

Kurt looked down at the ground, crumbling asphalt beneath his shoes. The short answer to that question was no, and the long answer involved a lot of personal information that he certainly wasn’t going to divulge. “I don’t know,” Kurt said.

When he mustered the courage to look back at Blaine he saw that his face was concerned, and - maybe hopeful. Blaine opened his mouth, paused, and then spoke. “Look, if you want me to get back in the truck and drive away and never talk to you again, I’ll do it,” he said. “But I have an alternative idea.”

The sun beat down on them, and Kurt squinted at Blaine’s hazel eyes. “What’s that?”

Blaine’s lips curled into a smile. “Let’s travel together.”

Kurt blinked at him, feeling surprise overtake his frustration. “What?”

“We’re going to the same place,” Blaine said. “And we keep running into each other. I think that’s a sign.”

“Or you’re a stalker,” Kurt said, but his tone was joking this time.

“I resent that accusation,” Blaine replied with a grin. “But really, Kurt, I -” he looked down, seeming to gather himself as cars rushed by on the highway behind them. “I didn’t expect this trip to be so lonely. And I’m trying to - to recognize when I actually want something, and go for it.” He met Kurt’s eyes. “I like you, and traveling together would just be an excuse to get to know you better. It’s up to you, but I’m game if you are.”

Kurt bit the inside of his lip, staring at Blaine and trying to sort through the emotions swirling in his chest. He considered all the ways he’d rationalized turning Blaine down in Denver, the reasons that this trip shouldn’t involve other people, that it should be sacred and purposeful.

But he also couldn’t ignore how grateful he’d be to share this experience with someone else. Having Blaine by his side might make the challenges easier to bear, and the triumphs all the more special. He also wanted to get to know Blaine, to see that bright smile and discover more about the fascinating boy behind those honey-brown eyes. He didn’t really believe in signs, but the fact that they’d run into each other three times, in increasingly unlikely circumstances, seemed like an improbable gift that he shouldn’t give up. The randomness of the universe had brought him to this moment where a beautiful boy was asking to spend more time with him. Who was he to turn away from that?

Finally, he said, “I don’t want to say goodbye to you yet.”

Blaine’s gleeful smile was almost blinding in the sunlight. “Good,” he said. “Come on, let me buy you lunch.”