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haldenlith · 2 years

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Warframe x Destiny 2

Okay, since I’ve kind of, on and off, compared the two, my brain got thinking on a “What If xyz Destiny 2 Character was an Operator in Warframe? What frame would they use/main?”

So here we go!

This will be excluding a lot of the new frames because I’m just not familiar enough with them. So that means we’re excluding everyone added after (and including, because I only know him vaguely as Gotta Go Fast frame) Gauss.

I also might have gone in and done custom appearances too... (Fashion frame, the true endgame.)

I’ll start with my D2 OC, Hal.

Hal: Inaros

At first, I was going to say Rhino or something, given Hal’s beefy build and tendency to just charge in and not often die (mm, yes, delicious almost 100 Resilience). But then, I realized, wait, he’s not just a Warlock, he’s a DEVOUR Warlock, and there’s one frame that ticks both the “eat your enemies and regain health” and “never die” boxes. That’s the Sand King himself, Inaros.

Gotta love the Ramses helmet looking a bit like Nezarec’s Sin.

Crow: Harrow

You know, you’d think, with his bird theme, I’d immediately say, oh, Zephyr. I’ll grant you, it’s not a bad choice. However, think about Crow’s whole character arc: it’s ultimately been about redemption and penance for past sins. There is a perfect frame for that, though the religiousy theme doesn’t fit, the idea of penance fits. Harrow. It also works in that Harrow tends to be something of a support and protection frame, while also being able to do damage. Another good suggestion would be Ivara, for her mechanics (they’re very Hunter-y). Maybe Crow would main Harrow, but would have Zephyr and Ivara back in his Orbiter for if he needs them?

Ikora: Nova

So, initially I was going to say “Saryn”, but then I remembered that sheeeee got kinda nerfed, so she doesn’t deal out damage like she used to, and she doesn’t have very good survivability. Then I realized there’s another frame that works for our Warlock Vanguard: Nova. Ikora is supposed to low-key be the most powerful warlock in at least the entire system of Sol (yes, stronger than Osiris), so a frame with incredibly high DPS would be appropriate for her. There’s also Mesa, but I feel like her theme doesn’t fit as well, being a Gunslinger frame. Also, come on, the name. Nova. It’s perfect.

Zavala: Hildryn

Big Shield Woman for “GET BEHIND MY SHIELD” Titan. Memes aside, I do think Hildryn is good for Zavala. She can take a lot of damage and still stay standing, while also protecting her allies. Very appropriate for our Titan Vanguard Dad. There’s not much else to say, honestly.

I don’t have Hildryn so I can’t do customizations to suit Zavala.

Cayde-6: Mesa

Also why Ikora didn’t get Mesa, because I was going to give it to Mr. (Dead) Gunslinger, Cayde. At first, I considered Mirage, given her trickster theme, and Cayde was certainly a trickster, or Ivara because of her kit, but ah, the theme of Mesa just fits too perfectly, along with her general kit and damage. Also, just look at that fabulous hat with her Prime version. Cayde would wear that fancy ass cowboy hat if he wasn’t doing a cloak.

I also don’t have Mesa because I hate grinding Alad V, and I have terrible RNG with farming Prime parts.

Saint-14: Rhino

Big chonk frame that offers some small amount of support to his allies (increases their damage), but is ultimately about charging in, head first, and wrecking face. This is very much the sort of frame you run in and headbutt things to death with. Also I feel like Rhino’s big Stomp ability is very Saint-ish. Angrily stomp the ground so hard you send your enemies flying into the air.

And an honorable mention:

Uldren Sov: Excalibur Umbra

Okay, so, I almost went with Equinox, because of the dual thing. Why? Well, when I think of Uldren, I think of co-dependent, unfortunately. As much of a badass as he was, he... required having another half, which was Mara. He fell to pieces when that other half wasn’t there. So, it’d have to be a frame that works in some dual-dependent sense. Equinox’s kit doesn’t really fit, though. Or, rather, only the Day form fits. Sure, one could go “Oh, but the Night Form is Mara,” buuuut this is a singular frame used by a singular operator. Also, I... don’t think Mara would play pacifist support. SO! I went with Excalibur Umbra.

Excalibur because he’s just an all around good frame to run into a fray on his own and be a badass, plus his Exalted Blade ability performs essentially the exact same as the sword that was dedicated to Uldren, Black Talon. However, it has to be the Umbra version, not just because the whole “edgy tortured existence” thing (although that too), but because Umbra is unique in that, when the Operator steps out of it, it can act on its own, unlike other frames which are basically just... weapon suits, at the end of the day. Umbra is, in essence, dependent on the Operator, in spite of being able to move on his own.

As an addendum, I’d really pick Stalker, but Stalker is unique and not a Warframe, technically. That said, Stalker is 100% an irritating bully to every Operator and Warframe out there. (No, Stalker, I don’t feel like fighting you today, please get out of my mission, ugh...)

(I used the Zato helmet because it’s so damn extra and I don’t have any of the other fancy helms. Also, careful not to get cut on that red/black EDGE.)

#haldie rambles #destiny 2 #warframe #long post #when two worlds collide #I mean they already collided when Warframe gave D2 a shoutout when it came out #anyway that's all I could come up with #I pondered on Osiris #but I couldn't decide on a frame

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winchest09 · 4 years

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The Bunker Party - January Debrief

Hey my darlings!

So, The Bunker Party was back with a bang for the first month of 2021 and it was so nice to see so many wonderful and beautiful faces, new and old, on the stream. I have so much stuff to share with you, my fingers will ache once I’ve finished typing it all.

The stream was just amazing. It was filled with fun, laughter, and so many of you sharing your love for all things Supernatural. Seriously, SPN does have THEE best fandom and I’m so glad to be a part of it.

6 hours we were hanging out for! To see so many beautiful faces, hear so many lovely voices and to spend time with all you guys was just a dream! The support from everyone for each other, the love in this fandom; I can’t express how much I adore it.

I love holding these events and as I mentioned last night, the next one will be in February (date to be announced) and I’m already looking forward to seeing so you all again.

So…to the debrief!

Below you will find:

Everyone who joined - their tags, what’s coming up fic wise and their masterlist.

Announcements, News and links to Patreons and Etsy shops!

Challenges to join - we have SIX!

Blogs who want to help with your writing

Graphics and Icons

Fic & blog recs

You are the guys that make it the live stream what it is, and we can never thank you enough. So below is a list of everyone who was on the chat yesterday accompanied by their masterlist and a little blurb of what they have coming up soon! For your reading pleasure and in no particular order…

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@waywardbeanie: Shelli has come so far in the matter of a few months. From being a reader to now a series writer! She has one series under her belt already and is well on her way with her second on, Life on Tour. She is ALSO planning her third, which we may have had a sneak peak too last night and I am BEYOND excited.

You can find her masterlist HERE

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@deanwanddamons: Sian has come so far in a year! She has several series on the go, so many oneshots and I already know her plans for her next series. There are more plans for The Show Must Go On, Mechanic and Mistletoe and others. OH, I am excited!

Her masterlist can be found HERE

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@jensengirl83: Brandy is such a sweetheart and we adore her. She’s still under the year mark for writing but that doesn’t stop her from nailing it. With one series completed, a ton of oneshots under her belt, she’s now working on her second series and is smashing it.

You can find her masterlist HERE

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@whatareyousearchingfordean: Alex is nailing it at the moment with her fictions. She’s currently posting Happiness Continued (the sequel to Happiness Begins) which is nearing it’s end *sobs* BUT we were spoiled to some spoilers and information about what’s coming next. Ohhhh we have two more series on the way and they are juicy! Head over to her blog to find out one of them, she’s announced it already ;)

Her masterlist can be found HERE

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@superfanficnatural: Mert has took some time away from the writing world but nothing could keep him from showing his fantastic self on our livestream. He’s has finally gotten back into his writing thanks to much encouragement ;) and is chipping away at the next add for his series The Choice. We’re super proud of him.

He has some other series in the works, a couple of collaborations that he’s got under his belt too…

Go and give him some love, his masterlist can be found HERE

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@soaringeag1e: We adore Meg and she is a regular on our stream. She has such an extensive list of SPN fanfiction that it’s a treat for your eyeballs!

She is currently working on her series Escape and we have been treated to hearing about some of her new series that she has coming out very soon! Fake Dating anyone? YES PLEASE. Head over and get yourself signed up if you’re not already!

You can find her masterlist HERE

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@thinkinghardhardlythinking: Saira is absolutely nailing it when it’s coming to writing at the moment and her words are out of this world. She’s recently been sucked into the Royal AU and is writing a Knight!Sam x Reader fic and it is TO DIE FOR.

She’s such a sweetheart. Please show her some love and support <3 You can find her masterlist HERE

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@janicho88: This lovely lady is working on some absolute winners at the minute. “Falling for You” and “Fire, Fur and Mistletoe” to name just a couple! She is one of the kindest and supportive souls that you will ever meet. Definitely one to check out and read!

You can find her masterlist HERE

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@downanddirtydean: Lydia was new to our stream and I cannot say how much I enjoyed having this beaut on there. She is working on some AMAZING pieces at the moment. Holidate being one of them! Fake Dating anyone? UHH YEAH! She also has over 30 smutty oneshots... You can find her masterlist HERE

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@carryonmywaywardcaptain: Jordan was another new face to our stream last night and it was so nice getting to know her. She told all about what she is currently working on. “Miles of Memories” is a best friend to lover AU which sounds absolutely incredible. If you’re not checking her out already, what are you waiting for?

You can find her her masterlist HERE

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@sams-sass: Chelsea was new to our stream and the award for the first Sam girl to grace our screen has been awarded. She is an absolute sweetheart and with what we heard about her works, her idea and what she’s got coming up...I AM SOLD. She has told us that she is currently working on “Secrets in the Snow” and we are EXCITED.

She is a creative genius and I’m living for it.

You can find her masterlist HERE

@flamencodiva: Vanessa is still in the process of reposting everything she had lost back onto her blog and she is slowly but surely, getting up to date. We have been told what is coming up, more “What He Lost, What He Found” as well as “The Hunters Encyclopaedia”. She is also working on some wonderful new series’ behind the scenes and we may have been teased to a collab that will be coming your way soon!

Check out her masterlist HERE

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@that-one-gay-girl: Sydney is such a kind soul and an absolute beaut, and we were so happy to see her on our stream. Even though she is a fairly new writer, that hasn’t stopped her from bashing out some fabulous pieces of fiction! She has a completed series under her belt and is currently working on the next chapter of “Oh, Baby” as well as “A Hero’s Journey”

You can find her masterlist HERE

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@deangirl93: Our first Aussie that has graced our stream and what an abolute babe she is. For a new writer, she has come so far in the matter of months. She has her first completed series “Life Lessons” under her belt as well as some phenomenal oneshots. We’ve also been told about her works that are coming up... Demon!Dean or Dean Smith anyone? ;)

You can find her masterlist HERE

@anathewierdo: Ana is such a darling and we always love having her on the streams. She’s currently reposting her fic Call of the Ocean which is a collaboration with Flamencodiva. Not only that, she’s also working on a Princess Diaries AU, a Serial Killer AU and many more!

You can find her masterlist HERE

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@emoryhemsworth: This beaut has had a couple of busy months but she is currently working on her series called “Losing Sleep” as well as plotting her amazing TWD crossover fic which we cannot wait for!

Check our her masterlist HERE:

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@anaelsbrunette: We loved having Yas on our stream and she told us all about the juicyness that she’s got coming our way. She is concentrating on darker stuff at the moment but we have also been told that she has a Mafia AU that will soon grace our screens...keep your eyes peeled!

Check it out and give her some love.

You can find her masterlist HERE

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@impalawrites: Pala joined our stream for a while and it was lovely to hear her voice and for her tell us what’s going on in her writing life. She has recently changed her blog name (she was impala-1979) and now she is focusing on not just supernatural but many other fandoms too!

She has many, many more goodies on offer and is doing wonderfully!

You can find her masterlist HERE

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@defenderrosetyler: Ali came back to our stream and we loved having her. She currently has a couple of oneshots available on her masterlist for both Sam and Dean! She is definitely one to keep an eye out for! She’s a total sweetheart too!

You can find her masterlist HERE

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@wonder-cole: Such a sweetheart and a wonderful person. New to the stream this time and we loved having her. She told us all about her amazing ideas and what she is writing at the moment. In the works there is going to be a Son’s of Anarchy crossover, Michael!Dean and a male reader fic AND a Bi!Reader and Charlie fic.

*squee* We are excited.

You can find her masterlist HERE

@katelynw93: Kate is a new writer to the supernatural fandom but she is doing so so well! She has a bunch of stuff for both Sam and Dean and her writing is just AMAZING. She is definitely one to go and check out!

You can find her masterlist HERE

@chocolateheart: Marcie is a little ray of sunshine and her writing always gets me hooked. She has no series as of yet but I have heard of what she is cooking up and I am excited! She has some fabulous fluffy and sexy oneshots though that you should definitely check out!

You can find her masterlist HERE

@anotherspnfanfic: Another wonderful new face to our stream this time around and were so happy that she joined us! Again, this wonderful writer has an amazing list of oneshots but no series as of yet. She is definitely one to be checking out!

You can find her masterlist HERE

@440mxs-wife: Another new beautiful face to our stream! It was so nice to have her join us and we have found another little hidden treasure trove of fictions! Her masterlist covers more than just Sam and Dean, we have fics for Cas, Gabriel and Ketch too!

You can find her masterlist HERE

Me: Well, Life for Rent is completed! My new series “Hello, Sailor” is in progress and I’m about to finish my mini series “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”. I have also just posted a smut filled oneshot called “Do Not Disturb” and I have plans for many more stories! Seriously...my idea doc is screaming at me! Ahah.

My masterlist can be found HERE:

HONORARY MENTIONS

Now, these guys are regulars to our livestreams and/or do a hell of a lot to support other people within the supernatural fandom. So it’s only fair that we give them a shout out and to share the love with them too!

In no particular order:

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@smol-and-grumpy: Nat has such a juicy masterlist and can I just mention that since our last livestream, she has completed quite a few other series and is now posting two new ones! A personal fav of mine is “Legally Yours” IT IS CERTIFIED GOLD.

You can find her masterlist HERE

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@talesmaniac89: Our darling Tales is taking a hiatus at the moment but her blog is still worth checking out. She has some amazing series and such a long list of fics under her belt as well as SO MANY GRAPHICS. She’s an absolute sweetheart and I adore her greatly.

Check her out guys, her masterlist is HERE

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@katehuntington: Kate is also taking a hiatus at the moment but again, it’s a blog definitely worth checking out. Her writing is exquisite and the imagery she paints is just wonderful. Ride with Me anyone? She also has an OFC Fic too!

Her masterlist can be found HERE

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@atc74: Ang is such a wonderful supporter to new and old writers alike on tumblr. I am always seeing her reblogging peoples stories and offereing words of kindness and positivity. Not only that, she has a wonderful masterlist of her own fabulous creations too!

Her masterlist can be found HERE

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To the upcoming writers & readers…

@abuavnee, @winchesterxfamilybusiness, @adoptdontshoppets, @zooaliaa, @carolinabeauty6298, @akshi8278 & the few nonnies we had!

Sabrina: We know that you’ve dabbled with some writing already but if you need us for anything, idea bouncing or anything, just hit us up, you know where we are <3

Abu: Girl, your first of writing blew me away with how poetic it was and it was so nice to put a face to a name yesterday. If you ever need help with writing, give us a message!

Karen: Your support to all of us writers is just phenomenal and I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to leave such wonderful comments. We appreciate you so much <3

Zoe: Even though you’re not a new writer, you’re new to tumblr and we were so intrigued about the fic idea you already have posting to wattpad right now. Welcome to the family babe!

MJ: Again, your support to all of us writers is just the best. Thank you for taking the time to read through our stuff, it means the absolute world.

Akshita: Another fabulous reader who offers wonderful support to all of us writers. Thank you so much for all of your comments and your kind words.

We want to thank all of you for your constant support, your feedback, your words, your reactions to what we write. Your likes, your reblogs, your asks. We appreciate every single thing you do. So thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We love you. Also, remember guys - we’re all here to love and support you! My inbox is always open if you want to talk about anything and everything. Even if you wish to start writing…give any of us a shout. We’re here to help! Thank you for joining the chat and we hope you had an amazing time <3 Please spread the love and show your support to all of these amazing people, go follow and give them some love!

We’ve got some goodies for you!

We want to bring to everyone’s attention once again, the wonderful organisation that is Ficfasers, an international fundraising group of authors and artists who love Supernatural. They offer thank yous to people who agree to donate to Random Acts by creating stories/art, crafts, and more for winning bidders and ticket buyers!

Again, this is amazing and it’s something that so many of us can get involved in. We’ve been told an event is coming up around the holiday period so watch this space!

Want to write for Charity?

Check out their tumblr HERE

and their website HERE

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Follower achievements!

Join me in congratulating these amazing blogs as they have surpassed or are close to a follower milestone!

@waywardbeanie is closing in on 600 followers! @downanddirtydean has passed 500 followers!

@superfanficnatural is closing in on 900 followers! @jensengirl83 is closing in on 900 followers! @deangirl93 is closing in on 500 followers!

Congratulations guys!

If you’re not following them already, head on over and show them your support!

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Want to be the first to read new chapters of your favourite fics?

Some of our fabulous livestream participants have Patreon!

For a small fee a month, you get personalised drabbles, oneshots and MORE as well as first dibs on new chapters before ANYONE else! Please consider giving them your support.

The links for each authors Patreon is below: @cockslut-padalecki - Find hers HERE

@flamencodiva - Find hers HERE

@soaringeag1e - Find hers HERE

@impalawrites - Find hers HERE

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Want to support new creators and get your hands on some SPN Merch?

We have two etsy shops to share with you! Both of them make some amazing things and are definitely worth checking out if you’re wanting to treat yourself.

@downanddirtydean has a wonderful little shop full of supernatural goodies like scrunchies and stickers! You can check it out HERE & @that-one-gay-girl has a little shop where she offers custom portraits and I have been told that some Spn goodies are on the way too! Check it out HERE

Oh, IT’S CHALLENGE TIME. This month, we have SIX challenges for you to get involved in!

First of all, we still have @janicho88 100 follower Christmas themed challenge! It ends on the 31st January but there are still spots left!

Check it out, HERE

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Secondly, we have @wonder-cole‘s 100 follower celebration too! This challenge is pretty unique as she has taken the things her 11 year old has said for the prompts!

You can check it out, HERE

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Thirdly, we @deanwanddamons 2K follower and 1 Year blogiversary challenge! She’s taken some inspiration from the movies and come up with some quotes, the challenge is open until the 1st February!

Check it out, HERE

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Fourthly, we have @downanddirtydean‘s 500 follower celebration! She has come up with a list of 50 prompts to tickle your pickle and to make it juicer, she’s added in a giveaway of prizes that she makes herself!

Take a look and enter the challenge, HERE

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Fifthly, we have @carryonmywaywardcaptain‘s Supernaturally Marvelous challenge! This challenge has a list of songs, AU’s, Dialogue prompts and more to choose from!

Check it out, HERE

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And last, but certainly not least, we have @flamencodiva‘s Writing Challenge which she holds every few months to help when you get that dreaded writers block. Who knows, maybe her prompt will spark a wave of inspiration!

Check it out, HERE

Need a graphic? Header, banner, divider?

Our gorgeous @talesmaniac89 is available to create whatever you would like! She’s the creator behind our banners for this post and numerous other masterlist across the board. Give her a message!

Struggling with some smut?

@superfanficnatural has offered his services to be the person you can go to if you need to hash out certain words, feelings and perspective. He is the perfect person to give you an insight to the male POV when it comes to sex so if you’re writing Destiel or a chapter from the guys POV, Mert is there to help!

Need help finding that one gif?

@emoryhemsworth is your go to girl! Seriously, you tell her you want a gif of Dean in a specific place, wearing a certain outfit, she will find it for you in no time at all. She’s a diamond as she’ll also credit the creators!

Struggling to find that one word? Or even a title?

@atc74 is your guru! She is perfect for getting you unstuck and if you’re struggling with a title, she can also help on this front! I always struggle with a title, and a summary so I know i’ll definitely be hitting Ang up if i get stuck!

Lost a fic? Need help to find it again?

@spnfic-search-blog is the blog to go too! Send an ask and they will dedicate their time to try and find it for you!

Need a new aesthetic? Line divider? We got you! Our fabulously talented @talesmaniac89 has drawn up so MANY supernatural themed line breakers, headers and more for your free usage!

Just look at some of these!

She has a few posts full already!

We’re talking dividers, headers, banners, gifs and icons!

Check them out HERE!

Give them a like, a reblog and please THANK HER if you use her work. She’s the most kind hearted, loving soul and a few words go a long way <3

Blog Recs!

@smol-and-grumpy - Nat is such a kind soul, always wanting to make others smile, others wanting to go the extra mile for her followers. She holds giveaways just as a thank you for reading her work and above all else, her writing is just out of this world. She deserves so much love and credit for what she does.

@crashdevlin - I don’t think a livestream has gone by where this lady’s fics have NOT been recommended. Whenever Crash’s name is brought up on stream, so many people love her work and freak out and it’s so lovely to see. So here’s to you Crash! Well done <3

Fic Recs!

True Loves Kiss

@carryonmywaywardbucky

Pairing: Non Yet, eventual Sam Winchester x Reader

Summary: When word of a cursed prince reached your kingdom, your king knew exactly who to send to try and wake him up. The king treated you like the daughter he never had, so question never crossed his mind when he gave you what he hoped would be your final mission.

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My Brother’s Girl By @cockslut-padalecki

Pairing: Sam Winchester x Reader, Dean Winchester x Reader

Summary: When Dean returns from Purgatory, he hopes to be reunited with his long term girlfriend Y/N and Sam after five long years without them. But when he shows up at Sam’s door unable to locate her, Dean realises he doesn’t need to look much farther to find her.

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All The Good Girls Go To Hell By @cockslut-padalecki

Pairing: Step Dad!Sam x Step Daughter!Reader, Uncle!Dean x Niece!Reader

Summary: When Sam marries into Y/N’s family he naively believes she’s a little princess incapable of putting a step wrong. But once he comes face to face with evidence that proves she’s far from angelic which also implicates his own brother in her misdeeds, Sam finds himself battling against his own moral judgement.

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Corrupted By @cockslut-padalecki

Pairing: Lawyer!Sam x Reader.

Summary: When Sam inadvertently chooses to work instead of spend time with Y/N, she decides on a little revenge to show him what he’s missing… however she massively underestimates Sam and his power to put her in her place.

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Crimson Leaves By @waywardrose13

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader

Summary: The dead have risen. Amid a global pandemic that causes the dead to prowl the Earth, a leader of a small camp in North Carolina fights for survival. Y/n Y/l/n was certain of three things: One, only a bite would turn you. Two, the brain must be destroyed in order to completely kill the thing. Three, trust no one. When a stranger is brought to her camp half alive, Y/n must make the decision to throw him to the walkers, or let the mystery man heal within the gates. As Dean Winchester recovers from a zombie attack, he worms his way into the camp, and eventually into Y/n’s heart. Love is a dangerous game, especially when it’s played with the dead.

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Flashes By @our-jensen-ackles-love

Pairing: Jensen Ackles x Reader

Summary: Playboy Jensen Ackles is hurting his television show’s image. Every time he promised to get his act together, it’d last for about a week before pictures emerge of him half-drunk with some broad on his arm. Fed up and desperate, his agent decides their only hope to save some face is to write up a contract with a nobody girl who could use the money while getting to play the role of Jensen’s girlfriend. It was only for a year and it was only for the photos. But feelings don’t always follow the rules, do they?

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Icarus By @savior-adriana

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Demon!Reader

Summary: She was a succubus – a sex demon, held captive by the Winchesters and despite Sam’s desperate attempts to stop his brother from giving in, Dean loses the battle against his need for her.

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Frozen By @watermelonlipstick

Pairing: Sam Winchester x Reader

Summary: Sam and the reader get stranded on the highway during a snowstorm.

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Dean’s Jeans By @watermelonlipstick

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader

Summary: A late summer afternoon on your cul-de-sac with Dean, Sam, your daughters, and their cousin DJ.

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Till Death Do Us Part? By @amanda-teaches

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader

Summary: At a work party with your best friend, Dean, you panic when your new boss asks if you’re couple. Lying to protect your promotion, you wind up fake engaged before you can take it back. When Dean agrees to go along with your lie for a weekend retreat, you end up finding something neither of you had bargained for: love.

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Broken By @atwistoffate

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader

Summary: The man you love is about to marry someone else. This is how the worst day of your life begins.

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Blue or Red By @atwistoffate

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader

Summary: Can two people who broke up be friends again? Just friends?

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It Was You By @jerkbitchidjitassbutt

Pairing: Jensen Ackles x Female Reader

Summary: Jensen and Y/n are childhood best friends. When his agent informs him that his image could use some improvement for a role, will she help him? Or will her feelings get in the way?

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Not Losing You By @luci-in-trenchcoats

Pairing: Mechanic!Dean Winchester x reader

Summary: The reader is pulled over on the side of the road when a man suddenly appears and proceeds to collapse in front of her. Little does she know, that may be a good thing for them both…

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By My Side By @luci-in-trenchcoats

Pairing: Bodyguard!Jensen Ackles x Reader

Summary: While at home one night, the reader, an actress, is almost kidnapped and at her friend’s suggestion she hires Jensen as her bodyguard. After a rocky start, the pair begin to get along and tensions ease when they think the threat against her has subsided. But as things at home get better, the reader’s family comes to town and all Hell breaks loose…

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With All My Heart By @torn-and-frayed

Pairing: Jensen Ackles x Reader

Summary: N/A

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Protector By @fictionalabyss

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader

Summary: N/A

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La Petite Mort By @percywinchester27

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader AU

Summary: The reader has just shifted to a new flat and boy, someone on the floor has a really banging sex life! The passionate moans have been keeping her up for several nights in row and enough is enough! Reader has her suspicions, but is it really the green-eyed hottie from room no. 307?

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You’re Home By @acreativelydifferentlove

Pairing: Alpha!Dean x Omega!Reader

Summary: After years away at college, you have finally returned to your home town. In order to settle back into the community, you have to seek permission from the Head Alpha. What happens when you see his son for the first time since presenting as an Omega?

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A Gentleman’s Agreement By @stusbunker

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Benny LaFitte

Summary: N/A

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Stolen Crown By @roonyxx & @jay-and-dean

Pairing: Dean Winchester x reader / Knight!Dean x reader

Summary: What happens when she is sent in a world that isn’t hers, but with very familiar faces ?

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Ablaze By @ellewritesfix05

Pairing: Firefighter!Dean x Doctor!Reader

Summary: Y/N Y/L/N’s life is simple — work, books, and saving lives. But when a handsome firefighter comes to her hospital in need of care, her life gets turned upside down as she quickly falls for the green-eyed hero. Will being with him prove to be what was missing from her life?

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No Forgetting You By @ellewritesfix05

Pairing: MOC!/Demon!Dean x Reader

Summary: Being Dean Winchester’s girlfriend is no easy task. Through thick and thin, (Y/N) remained fighting monsters by his side. But what will happen when Dean becomes one of those monsters? In this story, the Reader is faced with difficult situations and decisions that will turn her once-perfect life upside down.

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Mess is Mine By @supernaturalfreewill

Pairing: Sam Winchester x Reader

Summary: Fic based on ‘Mess Is Mine’ by Vance Joy originally requested by anonymous! You might not want to read this when you’re home alone or sitting in the dark. Just FYI. It’s kinda creepy

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White Picket Fence By @negans-lucille-tblr

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader

Summary: Dean finally gets his American dream life. A perfect wife, big house and the perfectly obnoxious neighbors beyond a white picket fence. But what goes on behind closed doors is far from suburban.

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Other Fandom Recs!

Sunrise By @wkemeup

Pairing: bucky x reader (veteran!bucky x librarian!reader)

Summary: After an explosion takes his arm and his only sense of belonging, Bucky is discharged from active duty and sent back to civilian life. Left with a storm of unchecked guilt, Bucky is content to live out the rest of his days in the hollow comfort of the dark. This is, until Sam drags him down to the local VA and he meets you. (Modern AU)

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I think that’s it!

Phew! I hope you all enjoy this recap! Thank you so much once again to everyone who joined the chat, we had 6 hours of laughs and I cannot wait to do it again. I’d appreciate it if you could share this to spread the love of the fics and authors on here!

Keep an eye out for the next date for our next livestream! It will be in February. If you guys have any idea’s or want something included, let us know. If you want to be tagged when we announce, let us know!

See you next time!

xox

#the bunker party #dean winchester fanfiction #sam winchester fanfiction #supernatural fanfiction #supernatural family #dean winchester x reader #sam winchester x reader #rec post #share the love #spread the positivity #thebunkerparty #love you guys #winchest09

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therealsaintscully · 4 years

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My list of X-Files inspired BBC Sherlock fic prompts

I recently finished reading @88thparallel‘s fabulous “Written in Ashes”, a BBC Sherlock fic inspired by the X-Files episode Demons. I’m a huge X-Files fan myself, and the idea of adapting an XF story into a Sherlock one sent me down a rabbit hole. I decided to compose a list of ideas, all up for grabs, for X-Files plots that can be adapted in interesting ways to a BBC Sherlock casefics.

Below you’ll find a list of X-Files episode with their original description, and some suggestions based on my knowledge of the two shows of what makes the plot an interesting one to write. As I mentioned, these ideas are PROMPTS, suggestions - feel free to write them. In fact it’ll be my honor! Let me know if and when you do (I might even create a collection for them in AO3).

Ice (1x07) - Mulder and Scully investigate the death of an Alaskan research team. Isolated and alone, the agents and their accompanying team discover the existence of extraterrestrial parasitic organisms that drive their hosts into impulsive fits of rage. Cool plot points you might enjoy writing: extreme nature adventures (mountains, snow, remote research facilities); isolated together with strangers in a distant location (Ice was supposed to be a bottle episode); a lot of suspense as Mulder and Scully’s trust in each other is put to the test (a handgun showdown), physical inspections rife with sexual tension, ooo!

Darkness Falls (1x19) - Mulder and Scully are called in to investigate when a team of loggers disappear without a trace. Initially suspecting eco-terrorism, the agents find themselves trapped by a seemingly ancient menace lurking in the woods. According to Wikipedia, “Chris Carter was inspired to write this episode based on an interest in dendrochronology (sic? that’s how it’s spelled in wikipedia), a subject that involves analyzing annual growth rings found in non-tropical tree species.” An interesting topic to develop! Cool plot points you might enjoy writing: Just like in Ice, opportunity to write magnificent nature descriptions; also like in Ice, Mulder and Scully have to fend to themselves against the ‘others’; wonderful quotes such as “Rugged manly-men. In the full bloom of their manhood.” and “Come on, Scully. It'll be a nice trip to the forest." A Three Garridebs moment could work here!

Pusher (3x17) - Ah, Pusher. An early Vince Gilligan classic! Mulder and Scully’s assistance is requested for a case involving a man, who goes by the pseudonym "Pusher", seemingly capable of bending people to his will. The suspect uses his mysterious abilities to manipulate Mulder into a dangerous end game. Cool plot points you might enjoy writing: Many parallels can be found between Modell and Eurus and or Moriarty; the game of cat and mouse in hopes of luring Mulder as the end game is quite similar to the TFP/TGG; the final game of Russian roulette with Mulder at the end is a classic MSR scene which could be lovely to write for John and Sherlock (Gillian is amazing with that One Tear™ while she threatens Modell); an opportunity to instill a fear of a very specific shade of blue in your readers; a chance of a sequel, since Modell returns with a vengeance in Kitsunegari.

Jose Chung's From Outer Space (3X20) - Mulder and Scully hear, and promptly investigate, a story about an alien abduction of two teenagers. Each witness provides a different version of the same facts. Within the episode, a thriller novelist, Jose Chung, writes a book about the incident. Cool plot points you might enjoy writing: Humor! Lots and lots self-aware, meta-type inner-jokes humor as an observant book writer describes Mulder/Sherlock’s many weird traits.

Avatar (3x21) - Assistant Director Walter Skinner is accused of murdering a prostitute, Mulder and Scully investigate to determine the truth behind what happened. Cool plot points you might enjoy writing: A fine chance to turn Skinner into Sholto or one of John’s other army friends (Skinner discusses trauma from his days in Vietnam in this episode, which could be adapted to Afghanistan). John Asks for Sherlock’s help on behalf of Sholto/said friend and there’s a thrilling prospect of some good old jealousy :) *After writing this I kinda fell in love with this idea and I might attempt writing this, but I’m absolutely not claiming this exclusively! If you like the idea go ahead!

Paper Hearts (4X08) - Another Vince Gilligan episode, my go-to one these days for when I miss the show and need a good dose of Mulder and Scully. I can go on and on about why I love this episode but I’ll spare you from that right now ;) Mulder and Scully find that a child killer who Mulder had helped to apprehend several years earlier had claimed more victims than he had confessed to; and in the resulting investigation, learn that the killer is now claiming to have killed Mulder's sister Samantha. Cool plot points you might enjoy writing: The Alice in Wonderland theme in the episode is somewhat reminiscent of the Hansel and Gretel theme from TRF so Moriarty could be one way to go; another way to go is have Eurus as a villain in a TFP plot fix-it (if you find the Sherrinford plot exaggerated), with Sherlock’s hope of finding Victor’s body by the end of the game.

Zero Sum (4x21) - In the episode, a case Mulder is asked to investigate is covertly covered up by the agents' boss Walter Skinner, who has made a sinister bargain with The Smoking Man. Scully is missing in this episode (Mulder cites her cancer treatments; Gillian Anderson was filming something else at the time). Cool plot points you might enjoy writing: A wonderful opportunity for a Lestrade-as-Skinner story! (and you’re given a fine chance to write a Lestade naked with nothing but pants situation); Mulder is a bit lost without Scully in this episode so that’s added background Johnlock angst; the story can happen when John is away, either during his honeymoon or after Mary dies.

The Pine Bluff Variant (5x18) - This is an underrated episode which I quite like, personally. Scully grows suspicious of Mulder when she thinks he may be helping a terrorist organization. Scully begins to wonder if he is now a traitor to the FBI. It is eventually revealed that Mulder is working as a mole in the group, and he is trying to stop them before they are able to use a biological weapon—that may have been created by members of the U.S. government—which causes rapid degeneration of human flesh. Cool plot points you might enjoy: alternating POVs between Sherlock and John; a lot of tension between John and Sherlock while John is suspicious; Mycroft recruiting Sherlock to appear as a traitor.

Triangle (6x03) - What can I possibly say about Triangle that hadn’t been said before? Cool plot points you might enjoy: An AU-within-AU opportunity - a chance for John and Sherlock to meet in a WW2 era, saved by rebel-Nazi Lestrade, Sherlock’s irregulars are The Lone Gunmen, a kiss, a punch, “You’re my one in five billion” (remember when there 5 billion people on this planet?) :) If you do write this, please make sure present John and past John pass each other by and get a strange, tingling sensation as a result! It’s one of my favorite scenes in the entire show.

Dreamland I & II (6x04 and 6x05) - Mulder and Scully visit Area 51. But when the agents witness the flight of a mysterious craft, Mulder and a member of the Men in Black switch bodies, unbeknownst to the others. In part two, Scully begins to suspect that her partner's strange behavior is more than it appears to be, while Mulder fights to return his life to normal before it is too late. Cool plot points you might enjoy: Humor, humor and more humor. Mostly Morris Fletcher trying to bed John (=Scully) who promptly pulls a gun on him. That should be an awesome scene to write in and of itself. And let’s not forget “Lately, for lunch, you've been having this six-ounce cup of yogurt, plain yogurt, into which you stir bee pollen because you're on a bee pollen kick even though I tell you you're a doctor and you should know better.“ as well as “I’d kiss you if you weren’t so damn ugly.”

Tithonus (6x09) - Another underrated episode. I think it deals with the theme of death’s inevitability rather beautifully. Scully learns that she, but not Mulder, is being given a chance to prove her worth at the FBI, and—paired with a new partner—she investigates a crime scene photographer with an uncanny knack for arriving just in time to see his victims' final moments. What she does not expect, however, is for Death to play a role himself. Cool plot points you might enjoy writing: John exploring on his own, for one reason or another, attached to another investigator (things happen!); this episode further explores a theory referred throughout the show since Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose, that Dana Scully is immortal (she seems to avoid death in this episode as well). It’s an Appointment in Samarra sort of story.

Monday (6x15) - Mulder and Scully are stuck in a deadly time loop. It’s a story that writes itself! Cool plot points you might enjoy writing: Sherlock or John having a really bad morning, over and over again.

Alpha (6x16) - Mulder and Scully investigate several killings blamed on an Asian dog called the Wanshang Dhole, thought to be extinct. Mulder and Scully join an obstinate Sheriff, a seemingly eccentric hunter, and a reclusive canine expert to find it. However, there is more mystery to the expert than meets the eye. Cool plot points you might enjoy writing: I enjoy this episode because it has some gentle but obvious MSR moments. Scully is suspicious (and low-key jealous) of Karin Berquist’s involvement in the case and it colors her opinion of the investigation. A key quote in this episode, preformed softly and beautifully by Gillian, is: “She's enamored of you Mulder. Don't underestimate a woman. They can be tricksters, too.”

The Unnatural (6x17) - This is a weird ass episode, let’s admit it. This is DD’s love story to baseball and it’s silly and sometimes boring/slow. BUT, it has lovely MRS moments. Cool plot points you might enjoy writing: The structure of story within a story (Mulder retells his time spent with Arthur Dales who tells him the story of Josh Exley) is interesting enough. The opening and closing scenes are lovely as well of course!

X-Cops (7x12) - Mulder and Scully are interviewed for the Fox reality television program Cops during an X-Files investigation. Mulder, hunting what he believes to be a werewolf, discovers that the monster terrorizing people instead feeds on fear. While Mulder embraces the publicity of Cops, Scully is more uncomfortable about appearing on national television. Cool plot points you might enjoy writing: It’s your chance to write a Sherlock crossver fic about an X-Files crossover episode. If that’s not cool, I don’t no what is.

Hollywood A.D. (7x18) - Let’s admit it, Hollywood A.D is not a good episode, as funny as it is. This episode was one of the first signs the show had lost its edge, possibly because they thought this would be their truly-this-time last season. However, it IS funny and gave rise to fans claims that by this point, Mulder and Scully were Definitely Sleeping Together. Wayne Federman, an entrepreneurial Hollywood producer and college friend of Walter Skinner picks up the idea for a film based on the X-Files, however Mulder and Scully find that the level of realism in their fictional portrayal is somewhat questionable. Meanwhile, during the filming of the movie, Mulder and Scully research the mysterious "Lazarus Bowl", an artifact that supposedly has the exact words that Jesus Christ spoke to raise Lazarus from the dead recorded on its surface. Cool plot points you might enjoy writing: Lots of inner-jokes and crack humor, many fluffy moments, the chance to imagine who’ll play Lestrade, Sherlock and John in a BBC Film, Lazarus could refer to The Fall(!), which could be the plot to said film.

The X-Files: I Want to Believe - Mulder and Scully have both left the FBI, but when an FBI agent is mysteriously kidnapped, and a former priest who has been convicted of being a child molester claims to be experiencing psychic visions of the endangered agent, they reluctantly accept the FBI's request for their paranormal expertise. I know, I know. Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t like it either at first, but a) compared to the revival seasons, it’s not that bad and b) in terms of established relationship angst, it’s a fucking goldmine. Cool plot points you might enjoy writing: A chance to write a post-recent-retirement fic for Sherlock and John, with a lot of tension in their established relationship based around John’s reluctance to return to their lives as investigators. IWTB has quotes like “This isn't my life anymore, Mulder. I'm done chasing monsters in the dark.” and “This stubbornness of yours, it's why I fell in love with you.” So there! Don’t dismiss the idea so quickly!

Wow, this turned out longer than I expected! I hope you liked them, and even if you don’t write anything - I definitely enjoyed this exercise.

My finished fics are ready to be read on AO3 :)

#bbc sherlock #sherlock fic #sherlock fic prompts #x-files #the x files #sherlock/x-files crossovers #john watson #sherlock holmes #dana scully #fox mulder

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constitutionalweasleymonarchy · 4 years

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hi!! so glad i found your tumblr, i read your fics and loved them! especially "one of arthurs boys' im obsessed :) For some reason I really loved the scene with charlie and the girl!! just a question: do you know any writers like you? Im basically searching for more weasley family and especially percy stuff haha

Hi! I’m sorry it took me a while to reply -- it’s been a busy week. Thank you so much for your comments. I’m really happy to know you’ve been enjoying Must Be One of Arthur’s Boys -- it’s become very dear to me.

So, Weasley fic recs! Here are several, and if I know myself I know I’m inadvertently leaving out a lot of wonderful writers and fics, but I’ll do my best to recollect my favorites. (Percy recs at the end because I have a few specific ones.)

MOLLY/ARTHUR and NEXT GEN:

First of all, one of my OG inspirations and fave writers is the author startwearingpurple+ on AO3 (but she went by momotwins and WeasleyTwinMom on the old HPFF site). Many years ago she wrote a novel called The Unsinkable Molly Prewett+, which blossomed into a whole Molly/Arthur series+ that includes not only Molly/Arthur fics but also some wonderful stories fleshing out her OC’s from Unsinkable. Molly/Arthur is a woefully underdone ship, but to be honest it’s hard to compete with hers! I have basically accepted her Molly and Arthur as canon, and it made my own Arthur-centric fic that much more challenging because I had to make sure I wasn’t just co-opting her headcanons. Unsinkable is fabulously fluffy, and its sequel and other associated works are a bit more mature but also delightfully romantic. I swoon so hard for her Arthur, I love the depiction of 1960′s Hogwarts and magical Britain, and her OC’s are beautifully characterized as well.

Startwearingpurple also writes a bunch of next gen Weasleys as part of her Rose Weasley: Bounty Hunter series+, and I recommend those, as well! (Dad!Percy makes a few appearances in her Molly- and Lucy-centric fics.)

AND, bonus, since you like Arthur’s Boys, she has written a missing moment/ companion one-shot to my Ginny-centric chapter in that fic -- her one-shot is titled Permission+ and it’s lovely!

ALL WEASLEYS, including PERCY and RON:

I would be remiss if this list didn’t include FloreatCastellum @floreatcastellumposts, who has authored an impressive number of canon-compliant fics, many of which are Weasley-centric -- especially their Slice of Life One-Shots+, which concern the lives of canon characters, post-canon and into the next generation. But they also have a Missing Moments series+ set during canon events, and they really nail the characterization of (as far as I can tell) everybody. I haven’t read all of them, but I particularly enjoyed a couple of Ron-centric one-shots, Envy and I Have Seen Your Heart. They’ve got a couple of Percy-centric fics, as well. Their writing retains the style and charm of the source texts.

MOAR RONNIEKINS!

Cambangst+ is an exceptional writer, and his stuff isn’t necessarily Weasley-centric, but what I do want to comment on is his fantastic treatment of Ron. Specifically, I have been following his most recent novel After Destiny+, which is only published at HPFanficTalk. It’s about all the main characters -- most specifically the trio + Ginny -- moving forward in the immediate aftermath of Deathly Hallows. Let’s be real, canon Ron can be difficult to write, and so many people make him into a caricature of himself (even if they mean to portray him positively), but cambangst is not only fair to Ron by respecting his character and acknowledging his strengths -- he also recognizes and depicts Ron’s flaws and weaknesses, but not in an overblown way. He retains that sympathetic and relatable quality that always endeared Ron to me. Cambangst also writes a fantastic Bill.

WEASLEY TWINS:

1917farmgirl+ is a lover of the Weasley twins, and I’d recommend taking a look at any of her stuff, but especially The Ungrateful Dead+ and Passports Required+, which are wonderfully clever and original and will leave you with the best kind of Fred-related heartache.

PERCY (my love, my life, perfectly imperfect in every way):

As for Percy, I’ve come across a few specific works that I really love. Right now off the top of my head I can’t think of many other writers who have a large body of Percy-centric work, but I can definitely get you started with a few specific fic recs (I also must admit to you that I don’t read nearly as much fic as I would like, especially when I’m on a roll with writing, so I myself am always down to receive Percy fic recs!):

Percy Take the Wheel+ by KittySmith @corwynnasmith -- I hate to say that I am not nearly as far into reading this as I would like to be, but the chapters I have read, I’ve loved. It’s a sad premise, but a wonderful portrait of the Weasley kids and their dynamics, featuring a three-dimensional Percy solidly based in his canon characterization. The love and respect the author has for Percy really come through in this.

Scorose+ has written a few Percy/Audrey fics, and I especially adored An Old English Tradition+, which features a lovably dorky Percy stuck under some mistletoe.

Reflector+ by Calebski -- Okay, I’m a Ron/Hermione shipper deep in my soul, and this is a Percy/Hermione, but damned if it isn’t a gorgeous romance (more gentle, quiet romances, please!) and a thoughtful, compelling characterization of Percy in love and finding his way in life.

Sinnersandsapphics has a series featuring (among other characters) bi and poly Percy, called the Polyverse+ on AO3, except over at HPFanficTalk she has posted additional Percy-centric fics and renamed it Percycule+. Her fics are thoughtful and funny, and her Percy is delightful and shipped with both Oliver and Audrey. He features in What Landon and Peters Missed, Odd Weasley Out (on hiatus but hopefully she’ll update soon!), and The Healing of Alicia Spinnet.

I’ll reblog and add more recs if any others come to me! Thank you for giving me this opportunity to shout about wonderful writers and spread the Weasley love. <3

#hp fic rec #weasley family #weasley fanfiction #percy weasley #ron weasley #hp fanfic #weasley twins #percy x audrey #percy x oliver #ron x hermione #percy x hermione #fred weasley #arthur weasley #arthur x molly #hp next gen #poly ship

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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Space Sweepers and the History of Working Class People In Space

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This week saw the release of Space Sweepers, Korea’s first big budget special effects space movie extravaganza. There are a lot of interesting things to say about this movie, but one of the things that makes it stand out is it’s an excellent portrayal of people in space who are skint.

See, I hate to break it to you, but you’re probably never going into space. Unless you’re a highly trained technical specialist (well done!) or a billionaire (pay your taxes!), your best shot at seeing Earth from space within your lifetime is the development of realistic-yet-cheap VR headsets.

And the thing is, a lot of the time this holds up in sci-fi as well. Space travellers are either living in a post-scarcity utopia, are part of the military, or are some kind of genius scientists.

Even where we see supposedly salt-of-the-Earth relatable types, like Han Solo or Mal Reynolds, their scruffy outfits and roguish ways can’t quite cover for the fact that they own and live in the equivalent of a massive luxury yacht or private plane. Serenity may look like a rust bucket, but it’s far from the equivalent of a white van, and while Mal is constantly complaining about the costs of fuel and repairs, that doesn’t change the fact that he seems to own the ship outright, and in “Oxygen” he appears ready to buy the ship for cash.

As for Han Solo, leaving for a moment his humble origins and that he won the ship in a card game, within the Galaxy Far Far Away the ratio of space travellers to non-space travellers doesn’t seem that different from the one on Earth. Yes, there are lots of smugglers and Tie-fighter pilots and interplanetary bounty hunters, but for every one of them there are millions of Tusken sand raiders, Jawa scrap merchants, moisture farmers and Corellian street rats. Spacecraft might come and go from the spires of Coruscant as regularly as buses, but the population density is such that most people on that planet will be lucky to see sunlight, let alone the stars.

Meanwhile, back in the real world, the chances of an ordinary person getting into space even in the foreseeable future vary between Willy Wonka Golden ticket level lucky, or truly dystopian. On the one hand, Elon Musk has announced the first all-civilian mission to space, led by billionaire Jared Isaacman (so, not what you’d call an everyman), two seats given to people who have won a place by donating to St Jude’s Hospital (it probably won’t be one of the smaller donors), and finally, one lucky front-line health worker.

But Elon Musk wants to colonise Mars, and sadly billionaires still need people to clean the toilets, so Musk has other ideas for how ordinary people might get into space. Unfortunately that idea is indentured slavery, demonstrating that the most prescient science fiction writers of our generation are the writers of first-person shooters.

This is why, outside of post-scarcity-fully-automated-luxury-space-communism, and the military, science fiction is always oddly quiet about money. With a few honourable exceptions.

We Just Work Here

The first and most obvious reason why any ordinary working-class person would end up in space is “they’re paid to”.

Pretty much the codifier of working-class people in space is Alien. The crew of Nostromo aren’t scientists, they’ve not got The Right Stuff. Nobody on that ship is getting a high school named after them. The crew of the Nostromo are basically truck drivers who venture off the highway and run into something nasty. Yes, ironically they show a great deal more competence, professionalism and intelligence in encountering an alien threat than the actual scientists in the prequel movie, but the first conversation these characters have when they come out of hyper sleep is about money. From the outset, these are people in a place of work.

It’s a model that set the format for gritty-industrial-working-class-people in space movies going forward for better or worse. Event Horizon just lifts Alien’s aesthetic completely for the rescue ship Lewis & Clark, as does the videogame series Dead Space, like Alien, set aboard a mining ship.

Away from the horror genre, Outland sees Sean Connery play sheriff in a final frontier mining town that could have taken place in the same world as Alien.

And of course, Red Dwarf, which not only made good use of the Alien aesthetic, but also cast the colony commander from Aliens as their Captain, to tell the story of chicken soup repairmen in space.

Across all of these stories, and of course the aforementioned videogames, the life of the blue collar space traveller is an unpleasant one, exploited by a company that not only controls your life while you work, but also owns all of your food, water and air. Indeed, it’s not rare for them to go further. In Moon, another film where the spacemen-to-earthmen ratio seems not far what it is now, Sam Bell’s employer decides to save the cost of training employees and ferrying them back and forth from Earth to the Moon by taking one employee and filling a cellar full of his pre-programmed, short-lived disposable clones.

Space Sweepers

Public Transport

But maybe you don’t want to work for “the Man”, not an unwise call given the Man is probably trying to feed you to something horrible in the hope of creating a new bioweapon. One surprisingly under-utilised method of getting into space is public transport.

In The Fifth Element, Bruce Willis plays a special-forces-operative-turned-cab-driver who, as part of his cover, wins a ticket to go on a space cruise. Although looking at the sets and the extras in this movie, as well as the packed-in-as-tightly-as-we-can apartments back on Earth, one gets the impression this is not an option open to the majority of working joes.

Perhaps the best example of this is in the shockingly under-loved 2018 flick, Prospect, featuring future Mandalorian Pedro Pascal.

In Prospect, the spaceship is little more than a rotating framework filled with cargo containers in front of a massive engine. The father and daughter prospecting team are on board a lander that resembles nothing so much as an old Apollo Lunar Lander on the inside, and as the mothership approaches their destination the ship doesn’t even stop, it just releases the lander, tells them when the ship is going to be passing back that way and warns them the line is being terminated, so there won’t be another ship passing that way.

This is a model it would be fantastic to see more of. The landing module is small enough that it’s entirely plausible that even these not-very-well-off characters could buy, hire or rent one. Rather than having the freedom of the space ways like Mal or Han, their travel options are entirely restricted by what destinations are profitable for large shipping companies and whether they’ll let you tag along. And while on the surface the aesthetic looks a bit Alien, in truth it feels far more like it’s cobbled together from relics of the actual space age.

Borrow Your Way Into Space

And finally, of course, there’s the Elon Musk solution. Borrow your way into space. One of the early places to use this idea was Gateway, by Frederik Pohl. Frederik Pohl in particular is fantastic at writing science fiction worlds where people actually have to worry about money. In Gateway and its sequels humanity has discovered Ancient Aliens left a space station nearby, stocked with a lot of spaceships. Being alien technology, humans can’t control the ships accurately, they’re limited pretty much to pressing the “Stop” and “Go” buttons, and when the ship flies off it might land on a world of fabulous riches, or it might chuck you into the heart of a star.

Prospectors who want to try their luck in these ships have to take out a loan to get to the station, and throughout the novel the protagonist is constantly aware of how many credits are in his account.

Which brings us back around to Space Sweepers. At first glance the Space Sweepers set-up might seem similar to that of the Millennium Falcon or Serenity – an extremely “used” looking ship run by a rag-tag bunch of misfits. But the first time we see the protagonist, Tae-ho, he’s in a pawn shop. As soon as he gets back to the ship we learn the crew are still paying off the cost of the ship, as well as the costs of repairs and parts.

We see an awful lot of “Space sweepers” throughout the film, junk collectors gathering up salvage from Earth’s orbiting collection of derelict spacecraft and defunct satellites. But these people don’t seem like roguish space pirates, the impression they give is more akin to app-based gig workers.

This is compounded by another issue – that to work in space you need a visa, with citizenship limited to the wealthy few who are able to afford a place on the deluxe orbiting space habitats.

Everything in Space Sweepers is driven by money, whether it’s Tao-Ho’s attempts to raise enough money to find his daughter, the robot, Bubs, and her attempt to get a humanoid body that reflects her gender, and of course, the $2 million reward for “Dorothy” which drives the whole plot.

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Often space-based sci-fi is about the fantasy of freedom, of exploration. Even shows like Star Trek give us characters whose job isn’t much more than to fly around having adventures. But there is rich storytelling to be done about the people who have to clean the space toilets.

Chris Farnell’s novella series, Fermi’s Progress, is about a ship whose FTL drive vaporises planets, and features at least one space traveller who isn’t a scientist, super soldier or billionaire (although to be fair the other three characters are exactly that). You can find part one here.

The post Space Sweepers and the History of Working Class People In Space appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/375jTzb

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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edda-blattfe · 5 years

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hello!! did you have any new headcanons for blue/rook since the game came out? (or just rook- you can pick) i really love your blog and your oc,, any time you post im like 👀👀👀👀👀

Holy....thank you so much!!!!! The feeling is mutual, you’re artwork is so beautiful and clean and don’t even get me started on how fabulous your ocs are!!!!! I’m honored!!!

Hm, how about both?

Rook Headcanons

(Really wish I could understand what he’s saying while in the home menu, I’m sure it’ll get translated later)

- After reading the “Leona’s weakness” personal chapter and finding out he’s a member of the science club, I’m absolutely certain that he keeps a list of lethal substances! This isn’t an entirely new headcanon considering there was a similar one in the academic headcanons, but the new info just added so much more potential to expand on it! ☺️ He probably has them written down on the spare page of a textbook.

- Also has an ongoing list of everyone’s weaknesses for future reference. Still missing Malleus’s and Leona’s data.

- Like Leona and Ruggie, Rook is from Afterglow’s Savannah..but he’s the only one who uses French expressions in everyday conversations. There’s three reasons this could be. #1. Rook comes from a different part of the country where colonization took place (like the northwest portion of Africa which was colonized by the French, go figure). #2. His family is originally from another country where French was the dominant language, thus he could be bilingual. #3. He’s a drama kid who wanted to stand out during his first year at NRC so he decided to use French in everyday language and it just stuck. I’m in favor of the last explanation.

- His VA can sing and Rook enjoys the theater, you better bet he knows a few musical numbers off the top of his head! He’ll break out in song at the drop of a hat! It gets on Vil’s nerves, especially because the vice dorm leader is so damn good at singing!

- Has a stash of portfolios full of photos he’s taken around the school.

- Rook is awefully protective of Epel...like, might actually go after anyone who tries to touch a hair on his underclassman’ s head sort of protective. 😅

Blue x Rook Headcanons

- The guy who likes theater was able to tell this person was only pretending to be a student. Could not have planned this any better if I tried! Rook sees his game with this “fox” (as he refers to them) as a chance to hunt some truly elusive prey. He doesn’t even know how elusive it really is!

- Rook goes through just about every “reveal” spell and potion in the books with no success thus far. This is due to the streangth of the spell Blue is using.....I mean, she is a fairy with an emense amount of innate magical prowess....and he’s using high school level references. Gonna have to up his game.

- Since Blue has nothing better to do most days, she ends up hanging around with the hunter pretty often which leads to some really nice discussions between them. At some point she lets it slip that she’s not all that familiar with “common culture” (how she refers to human culture), including the performing arts. Of course our Rook can’t let an opponent/friend/whatever the hell they are go on without such crucial knowledge! Like always, Blue is happy to learn and returns the favor by giving tips on how to use higher magic (just another way of saying magic the teachers are too scared to place in the hands of students).

- Rook definitely introduces his fox to his friends early on. Floyd thinks their game sounds like a lot of fun....Vil, on the other hand, is a little concerned considering the types of magic this stranger is sharing with his friend. Then again it’s not really his problem so he’s not going to rat them out. Epel would be fine, if fox would stop gushing about how precious he is and treating him like a child all the freaking time!

- They still do the mom/dad act to Epel. This is merely fact.

- Has an unspoken agreement not to pry into one another’s personal lives unless the information is volunteered. They're both perceptive and will change the subject if it seems either of them are uncomfortable with it.

- When Rook does finally discover who his fox is he’s not prepared, like at all! He knew they had to be a powerful and somewhat experienced magic user, maybe an older student from their rival school or something; just not a fairy something. Well, not that kind of fairy anyways! Like Crowley, he also expected them to be male- not that it mattered much, it just never occurred to him to question it. And then there’s the subject of age which I’m not too sure of at the moment, bear with me please! He needs a little time to process, which Blue understands and patiently gives.

#twisted wonderland #rook hunt #twisted wonderland oc #blue x rook #rook x blue #thank you for letting me gush!!!#i’m sorry for not wriing more lately!

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quarantineroulette · 4 years

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2020 Releases that I listened to more than once / stuck with me in some way.

Excuse my pessimism, but 2020 was a year in which finding solace in music was of little use to me. I also had less time than ever to listen to music. I spent the worst of the pandemic displaced and with limited internet access, then moved to another city and switched careers, two changes which I still haven’t fully comprehended. I also spent 98% of my free time feeling too anxious about the future as a whole to do any sort of listening, focused or passive.

Things eventually got settled enough that I could at least check out what various music publications were fussing about in their year-end round ups. Not the most ideal avenue for discovery, but this has been a hard, tiring year and, despite some very promising releases and trends, I still feel a bit hopeless. I can’t even really be bothered to do any sort of ranking or make things even with a “20 for 2020,” so instead here’s a summary of some music that stood out to me. I can promise there are at least 15 releases mentioned - you can do a “choose your own adventure” and rank them as you wish.

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Without a doubt, the only 2020 record that truly elevated me to a place where I stopped stressing out about things was Protomartyr’s Ultimate Success Today. These guys are by far my favorite band right now and their fifth album gave me so many new reasons to love them, from the propulsive “Michigan Hammers” and its stock footage masterpiece of a music video to elegant closer “Worm in Heaven.” Saxophonist Jemeel Moondoc, cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm and multi-instrumentalist Izaak Mills were deployed on most tracks and, rather than merely serving as a garnish for songs, their contributions added as much tension, heft, and brutal beauty as Protomartyr’s core members. Add in Half Waif’s Nandi Rose guesting on the Very Sad “June 21,” and you have one genuinely faultless release. In a similar vein, Algiers released their third and arguably strongest full-length, There is No Year, back in January and it served as a powerful, prescient (the title alone!) and just plain awesome reminder to keep fighting in even the darkest of times.

This year I occasionally found myself praying for disco and I’m pretty sure Doja Cat’s sorta Chic-inspired “Say So” was the song I listened to the most in 2020 (yes, shame on me for a million different reasons). But little did I know 2020 was such an abundant year for mirrorball-indebted releases. Kylie Minogue’s Disco was a given, but what especially thrilled me were Roisin Murphy’s Roisin Machine and Jessie Ware’s What’s Your Pleasure? Murphy’s outstanding “Murphy’s Law” especially sounds like a lost classic from the ‘70s, while Ware’s titular “What’s Your Pleasure” is as fitting a Donna Summer tribute as any you could come across in the past 40 or so years. Ware’s record became slightly less cool when I realized she’s a podcasting mom who is friends with Adele, but What’s Your Pleasure?’s irresistible procession of Great Pop Moments solidifies it as one release I’ll keep coming back to.

(Bonus: if you favor a no-wave / post-punk spin on disco, then look no further than Public Practice’s Gentle Grip).

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Ware and Murphy have been particularly prevalent on many of the major year-end lists, but I still carry a bit of skepticism about such things. Therefore, discussions such as this sub-Reddit (sorry) thread on regional picks has been useful in thinking outside the US and UK-favoring ranking systems (although there’s still a lot of anglo shit listed there as well). I’m hoping to listen to more releases from oft-overlooked countries thanks to some of these Redditors’ suggestions, although I’ve already spent a bit of time with Einsturzende Neubauten’s Alles in Allem and remain Team Blixa (if such a team exists). Despite my aforementioned trepidation, The Quietus’ list did compel me to check out the wonderfully somber offerings of Closed Circuits. This Portuguese artist describes himself as “Leonard Cohen being bothered by Coil,” and if that doesn’t entice you, I fear you may be a lost cause.

This year we moved to Philadelphia, which means...A lot of things, but relevant to this summary, we found ourselves driving past some provocative graffiti stating “Make America Nothing Again” numerous times. Eventually I put two and two together and gave Nothing’s The Great Dismal a listen. Having not expected much beyond the clever marketing, I was pleasantly wowed by the quartet’s moody post-shoegaze offerings. I can barely discern any of the lyrics, but on vibe alone, The Great Dismal perfectly captures the heavy despair that permeated 2020. Add in Korine’s gloom-pop The Night We Raise and I can confidently say that Philly’s music scene is in good hands.

I might have lied a bit at the start of this post - in saying I didn’t listen to music throughout 98% of the pandemic, I’m overlooking the many car rides spent revisiting Fontaines D.C.’s brilliant 2019 debut, Dogrel. While it didn’t impress me quite as much, this year’s A Hero’s Death was a mostly worthy successor, interspersing a few tranquil moments among the band’s more confrontational offerings. Not all of those moments worked for me, but these new directions were enticing enough for me to officially consider Fontaines a Band To Watch, if that’s still something people say. Oh yeah, and the video for the title tune slams.

Speaking of music videos, I don’t usually rely on this medium for discovering bands, but that changed this year with Dehd. The trio’s videos are vibrant, conceptually clever, and relentlessly fun. Thank goodness that the music lives up to Dehd’s visual knack, with Flower of Devotion at times recalling The Jesus and Mary Chain and Roy Orbison in equal measure (especially on the stunning “Letter”). Emily Kempf’s versatile singing reminds me of everyone from Jana Hunter of Lower Dens to Carla Bozulich of The Geraldine Fibbers, yet it’s still bracing enough that every word she sings sounds utterly gripping. Who knows when gigs will happen again, but Flower of Devotion rocketed these folks to the top of my post-Covid gigging wishlist.

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Sparks is one act I can happily say I’ve seen numerous times. They are never ones to disappoint but, nearly 40 years into their career, the Mael brothers owe us nothing. Yet A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip is somehow an instant classic. It’s nothing short of astonishing that, at 75, Ron Mael can crank out a song that is equal parts insanely catchy, effortlessly humorous and deceptively sad, but he yet again nailed this trifecta with “Lawnmower,” to name but one. Russell Mael’s invincible vocals are in full effect throughout, particularly on the straight up lovely “Pacific Standard Time.” I would never even entertain the idea of using the term “pop / rock juggernaut,” but if it was regarding Sparks, I would at least not dispute it.

(PS, special shout out to another singular duo of relatives, Prima Primo, who this year released my favorite song about Madonna since Sparks’ very own Madge tune, featured on 1988′s Interior Design.)

Finally, this list would absolutely be incomplete if I didn’t give mention to Bob Dylan’s fabulous Rough and Rowdy Ways. More than ever, 2020 felt like a year rife with stupid decisions, stupid actions and praise for mediocrity. A return to form from perhaps the greatest lyricist of all time is something many of us probably didn’t know we needed, but boy am I thankful for it (not as thankful as I would be for a second stimulus check, but still - next best thing). Dylan also gave us the fun bonus of having Fiona Apple guest on the outstanding “Murder Most Foul,” and of course Apple’s own Fetch the Bolt Cutters both featured her dogs as percussion and further solidified her place in the socio-political songwriting canon. Maybe there is something to be said for music after all!

#year in review #best of 2020 #protomartyr #algiers #roisin murphy #jessie ware #einsturzende neubauten #closed circuits #nothing #korine #fontaines d.c.#dehd #sparks #prima primo #bob dylan #fiona apple

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uncloseted · 4 years

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what do you think about "political correctness" in tv shows? i think it kinda stifles representation ironically bc im a minority but whenever i watch a show displaying my culture i feel like theyre whitewashing the reality out of fear of offending ppl :/

I feel like I should start here by saying that I’m not a huge fan of “political correctness” as a movement in general. I am (of course) all for people improving themselves, learning how to interact with people who are different than them in a respectful and empathetic way, and supporting minority communities, but oftentimes I feel like “political correctness” leads to a culture where saying the right thing is more important than doing the right thing, and where people are shamed for imperfectly trying to learn. I would much rather see someone screw up while trying to understand than someone parroting other people’s views without understanding what those viewpoints mean and why they’re important. You guys know that I am all for authentic self-improvement, figuring out what you truly believe, and then fighting for it. I think that’s what we should be striving for instead of saying things we think our culture wants to hear.

Moving to your actual question, the thing about representation in TV is that TV isn’t real life. What I mean by that is that every choice you make when you’re writing a TV show is within your control, and every choice you make when you’re writing a TV show contributes in some small way to the way our culture views of different groups of people. The more you see a point of view represented in media, whether that’s about race, gender, sexuality, or even silly things like what a college party looks like, the more you internalize, consciously or not, those points of view and expect them to be true. You show up at your first college party and expect there to be red solo cups, because they’re in every college party scene ever. And the red solo cups are there, because the people throwing the party knew you were going to expect them. And so I do think that writers do have an obligation to be aware of the consequences of how they’re depicting the world, because there are consequences.

For example, I’m part of the LGBT+ community. For a long time, our representation in media was limited to villains (because of the Hayes Code- if you’re curious, check out Jessica Kellgren-Fozard’s video on the subject here). Later, as the world got more “progressive”, our representation in media became “promiscuous, unfaithful people that die at the end of the movie”. While it’s true that some LGBT+ people are villains, or slutty, or die a tragic death (and are even more likely to die a tragic death than straight people, given the AIDS epidemic and increased rates of death by suicide among LGBT+ people), when you write a character for whom that’s true, you’re perpetuating those stereotypes. You’re contributing, in a small way, to the perception that LGBT+ people are deviant and untrustworthy, or are people that don’t deserve happy endings.

Skins series 7 is a great example of this. Skins in a lot of ways handled its LGBT+ characters well. It allowed them to be full people outside of their sexuality, while not shying away from exploring their sexualities or the unique difficulties that come with being a sexual minority. Naomi and Emily even got a happy ending in series 4, which was huge for WLW viewers at the time, because they so rarely saw themselves reflected in characters who get to be happy. But then the writers killed off Naomi in series 7, and that really hurt, because it felt like a reiteration that LGBT+ characters will always be miserable and die at the end.

It’s really important for people to see themselves reflected on TV, because it’s really important for people to see that there are options for themselves. If you never see LGBT people who are allowed to be in happy, loving relationships, or women who are scientists/astronauts/engineers, or whatever it might be, it’s hard to imagine that those things are a possibility for yourself.

It’s also important for people who aren’t minorities to see minorities represented in all different ways in media. When LGBT+ people started being represented on TV (not to harp on the LGBT+ thing, but since it’s my community and part of my cultural history, I feel like it’s something I can speak about...) there was a huge upswing in acceptance because people realized that LGBT+ people aren’t really all that different to them. They realized that LGBT+ people are just people who frequently do boring, people things. That was a huge step towards straight people tolerating the LGBT+ community. Now that being LGBT+ has become more acceptable, we’re starting to see media that celebrates our cultural differences instead of trying to highlight how “normal” we are.

Queer Eye for the Straight Guy vs. Netflix’s Queer Eye is a great example of that. In the original Queer Eye, it was very much about, “we’re just like you”. In Netflix’s Queer Eye, JVN can be shown on TV as his fabulous, high-heeled, skirt wearing, gender non-conforming self, I think because we’re at a place culturally where we now understand that many LGBT+ people are “just people”. We live in a world now where LGBT+ representation includes everything from Brooklyn 99′s Raymond (the boss of the precinct) and his husband Kevin, a very straight-edge, “normal” interracial gay couple, to Brooklyn 99′s bisexual Rosa Diaz, who’s fearless and tough, to the cast of Queer Eye to Naomily to Choni from Riverdale to Mitch and Cam from Modern Family to Titus Andromedon from Unbreakable Kimmy Schmitt to Jules from Euphoria. But if your only LGBT character in the whole show is a promiscuous villain who dies (or if the only character in your show that dies is LGBT+, or the only promiscuous character is LGBT+, or everyone gets a happy ending except for your LGBT+ character), to me it feels like in a small way, you’re driving progress backwards by introducing that depiction of LGBT+ people back into the world when we’re not quite clear of that reputation yet. Regardless of how well the story is done, the number of LGBT+ stories that end in tragedy is substantially higher than the number of LGBT+ stories that get a happy ending, so writing a tragedy is picking at a cultural wound that hasn’t quite scarred over yet.

Finally, I think when it comes to how you represent minority characters, the question of “what is the point your media is trying to make” becomes important. If your goal is to include minority characters because you want to improve representation, that’s different than if you’re including minority characters to make that minority more understood/accepted by culture at large, which is different than if you’re a minority yourself and you want to speak to the issues your community faces, and all of those are different to when minorities are included for the sake of appearing “inclusive” or “woke”, without a lot of thought going into how best to contribute to the conversation. All of those require different approaches and different ways of writing the characters.

The bottom line is, I absolutely think you’re right. There’s a lot of minority representation on TV that erases cultural factors of the minority experience in favor of being palatable/above reproach. Unless that’s being done with the intentional goal of making a minority group seem “just like the majority” to improve acceptance, it’s a misguided approach at best and harmful at worst.

I think the solution is just to include more minorities in the writer’s room. One of the reasons the characters in Skins and Euphoria feel like they have such real, accurate portrayals of what it’s like to be a person who’s part of a minority (whether that’s in terms of physical or mental health, sexuality, gender, race, etc.) is because they included people who are part of those minorities in the writing of those characters. Jules’ story is shaped by Hunter Schafer’s own experiences. Rue’s struggle with drug addiction is informed by showrunner Sam Levinson’s struggle with drug addiction. By having people in the writer’s room who live that experience and can say “this is what it’s really like”, it’s harder to fall back on stereotypes or erase indicators of culture.

#Anonymous #effys-closet #effys closet

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papel-creativo · 5 years

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Nature's Lullaby - Isaac Lahey x Reader (P.1)

Summary: (Y/N) is new in Beacon Hills and somehow got caught up in the supernatural world, being one herself, an elemental. After the threat of Peter Hale passed, new things are coming, and in the middle of it, there's Isaac Lahey.

Life isn't easy in Beacon Hills, between the supernatural and all the problems that comes with being a teenager in high school, any girl would be Eichen House at this point.

A lot of things have happened this year, she was new in Beacon Hills, Scott, her co-worker at the vet, is now a werewolf, the Argents are hunters after the supernatural, Derek and Peter, and she somehow got caught up in the middle of it.

“Hi (Y/N)” Allison and Lydia approach her. The girl think the only reason they talk to her is because they feel sorry that she always seem lonely.

“How are you?” Her eyes are set on Lydia, that appears after being lost in the woods for days... Naked. Also being bitten by Peter, at that time the alpha, before the wood thing.

“Feeling fabulous” She comments like nothing she just went through happened “Why don't we all get to class?”

“I'll catch up” (Y/N) waves them goodbye, and heads to her locker.

The halls are crowdy with people, the school semester is finishing, and spring break is near, at long last. She was ready to spend her week painting and playing music. As (Y/N) switches her books for her classes, his locker neighbor shows up.

“Hi” She murmus awkwardly, Isaac usually never pays her much attention when they cross, usually lost in his own world. The girl sees him almost every day at the cemetery where he works, while she's visiting her parents grave.

“Hi” The boy doesn't even look at her, stressing over his grade in chemistry, where he was currently failing “Crap” He throws his textbook and test in his locker.

“Is everything okay?” Isaac notices that (Y/N) is blushing, playing with her fingers. At the curious eyes of him, (Y/N)'s stare avoids him, too shy to look at the boy in the eye.

“It's chemistry” He smiles at her “I'm failing and-” Isaac's too ashame to tell her that probably his dad is gonna hit the crap out of him once he finds out.

“Oh” She is good at chemistry, (Y/N) thinks “If you need...” What's the word?

“Help?” She nods “Would you do that?”

“Yes” Their eyes connected, she has never been so close to admire his blue eyes, deciding that his were worth painting “If-If you want, I mean, it's not like I'm a good teacher or anything, but”

”Yeah, I would like to” Isaac stops her rambling “Thank you” Derek was right after all, his life is getting better “I have to get to class”.

“Me too”.

“Let's go” The new werewolf is tall, taller next to her, she notices while she walks with him. (Y/N) from the first time she saw him though that he was cute, very, but never found the courage to talk to him until now, only awkwards wavings and goodbyes.

After all classes comes to an end, Scott and Stiles rushes towards her.

“(Y/N), what's up?” The boys were in their lacrosse uniform, and before she could even respond, Scott and Stiles were are either side of her, dragging her by her arms to the field.

“Where are we going?”

“Scott said that there is another werewolf” Stiles explains her while the group approach the bleachers.

“What? Like right here? In the team?”

“Yes, and we need backup” The werewolf responds.

“Me?” The lacrosse team is getting ready for the new game, and as she's drag by the two boys, her stare finds Isaac, who's too busy stretching, he's definitely worth painting, she thinks, and not just his eyes. She gets back to reality when the pair sit her in the bank “Why me?”

“With your superpowers and everything, we need you. Besides, you're part of the team now”. Stiles pats her shoulder.

“What do I do?” If a teen is a werewolf, it means that Derek is trying to make a pack, so probably he is going to do it again, and the group definitely doesn't need more werewolfs, specially teens, loose to kill innocents in the full moon, or end up dead because of the Argents.

“If things got out of hand in the field...” Scott starts.

“You cool things down” Stiles and Scott left for practice.

The plan's that Scott as the porter gets to knock to the ground pretty much every guy who runs to make a score. After the fifth guy on the ground, (Y/N) didn't notice Jackson leaving the field.

“What are you doing here?” It took her a couple of seconds to note that he's talking to me.

”Just watching the guys practice” Before she can say anything else, the commotion catches her attention. A player is on the ground facing Scott and everyone is watching the sheriff and police coming to the camp.

“Don't get yourself into stuff that you'll regret, cous” He's grabbing her shoulder, impeding her to get to Scott and Stiles. Their aren't exactly family, Jackson was adopted and her connection with the Whittemore was distant, but they were the only ones who accepted (Y/N) at their home after her parents died.

“Who was that?” The girl asks when she reaches the boys.

“Isaac Lahey” He's back is facing the field, but she wouldn't mistaken his curly hair.

“Can you hear what they are saying?” Stiles asks, referring to the police and Isaac.

“His father died last night” (Y/N) had never liked Mr Lahey, but she can imagine what Isaac must be feeling.

“Is he a suspect?”

“I'm not sure”

“What do you mean a suspect” She asks with indignation “His father is dead, Stiles!”

“Yeah, and he's also a werewolf” She almost doesn't believe him, but Scott's scent doesn't lie, specially when it's about other werewolf, or any other supernatural.

“If they think he's a suspect, they can hold him 24 hours in a cell” Stiles looks at his friends, worried.

“On a night of full moon”. Scott says in defeat.

“It's not going to hold him in, and this is his first full moon, which means-”

“Nothing good”.

#isaac lahey x reader #isaac lahey #imagine #isaac lahey imagine #teen wolf imagine #teen wolf

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seeaddywrite · 5 years

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stars, hide your fires: chapter four

this chapter wouldn’t exist without @soberqueerinthewild‘s cheerleading, handholding, willingness to let me rant at her about my plot holes, & assistance with the word ‘soldier,’ which really shouldn’t be this hard to avoid. also, big thanks to @lire-casander for her cheerleading, assistance with middle names, & general fabulousness.

the plan is to upload chapter five by Thursday evening :) thanks for reading this crazy adventure of mine.

AO3 LINK

chapter index: 1 || 2 || 3 || 4

It’s frighteningly easy to get a meeting set up with the oldest of Alex’s brothers. Charlie responds almost instantly to the email he sends requesting a face-to-face, and surprises everyone by saying that he’s already in Roswell, and would love to see Alex the next day at 0900. His presence doesn’t bode well for the secrets they’re trying to keep; Charlie’s a sniper in the Air Force Special Operations Task Force. He’s rarely stateside, and for him to be in Roswell either signifies that he knows something, or that there’s something else going on that Alex doesn’t know. Neither option makes Alex particularly optimistic, but he can’t allow it to change anything.

Going in the next day isn’t ideal. Alex had been hoping for longer to research and develop his narrative, but there’s no stalling now. He’d been the one to request the meet -- it’ll look suspicious if he asks to postpone now, which is the last thing he needs. Charlie always had a soft spot for Alex when they were kids, but Alex knows better than to think that will matter if he gives the slightest reason for Charlie to doubt his sincerity. While Charlie may have smuggled him snacks when their father locked him in his room, and brought painkillers to the shed when Alex hid there after a beating, he’s still Jesse Manes’ son. There’s no such thing as the benefit of the doubt in that world.

And, well -- Kyle had said it best, the evening before, when they’d finally settled down to review files and put together a game plan. “Aren’t any of you Manes guys normal meatheads?” he’d demanded, thumbing through Charlie’s file with increasingly anxious fingers. “Look at this! Charles A. Manes. Air Force Silver Star Recipient three different times. Sniper. Special Operations Task Force. Best known for taking out thirteen armed terrorists in a shoot-out by himself -- this is the guy you think has a soft spot for you? Seriously? What if he’s already talked to Flint and decides to shoot you on sight?”

At the time, Alex had waved off the concern and pointed out that none of Jesse Manes’ sons could ever be average. Not if they wanted his approval. Charlie was Spec Ops, Hunter was an ace pilot, and Flint was head of Research and Development in several major projects. They were all brilliant in their fields -- but Alex had the distinct advantage of being the only one who’d given orders. The rest of them, as he’d once accused Flint, are sheep. They’re exceptional as long as there are directives in play; without them, they’ll fall like marionettes with their strings cut.

At least, that’s Alex’s hope. As he stands in the middle of the bunker he’d requisitioned from Jesse Manes all those months ago, face-to-face with a brother he hasn’t seen in close to a decade, he’s not so sure. Valenti may have had a point, after all. Charlie looks nothing like the young man Alex remembers from brief visits between deployments; where once there’d been a liveliness to his dark eyes, there’s now only a cool, calculating stare. Age seems to have wiped away all traces of similarity to their mother, and Alex feels an uncomfortable wave of deja vu. Staring Charlie down in this bunker bears way too much similarity to the day he’d played the same game with their father and come out on top.

Sandy colored hair, shorn in military style that hides the greys just beginning at the temples, posture so ramrod straight that it looks painful, and features that may as well be carved out of granite -- Charlie’s entire appearance screams ‘Jesse Manes’ son,’ and Alex can’t help but wonder if he’s made a mistake, expecting any measure of softness from this man.

Just as he’s psyching himself out, though, Charlie steps forward and slaps Alex’s back in greeting. It’s as close to real affection as any of the Manes boys get, and, paired with a cool smile, it signifies that things are going even better than Alex could have hoped for. “It’s good to see you, kid,” Charlie tells him, glancing around the underground headquarters as if he was reacquainting himself with a space he hadn’t seen in a while. “You’re looking pretty good for a guy who got on the wrong end of an IED not so long ago. I’m impressed.”

Alex can’t help but stand a little straighter as Charlie looks him over, the response as automatic and ingrained as jerking awake at the first ray of sun on his face or jumping to attention when he hears the order. He’s spent a lot of time on base acting as if he’s still got two legs -- pity isn’t something he can tolerate, and at first, there’d been no escaping it. It’s not pity that he’s worried about with Charlie, though; he just doesn’t want to give away any weaknesses. His missing leg is something that can’t be helped, nor can his brother’s knowledge of the injury, but he can damn well be sure that it’s made clear that the prosthetic doesn’t slow him down.

“Sorry I couldn’t get back Stateside when you lost the leg,” Charlie continues, still scrutinizing Alex from all sides. “I tried, but I got shipped overseas two days later. Did you get my letter?”

It’s so far from the suspicious welcome that Alex had been bracing for that he’s momentarily speechless.

“I -- uh, yeah, I did,” Alex says when he pulls himself back together, and nods jerkily. “I meant to write back, but -”

Charlie shakes his head, a bizarrely affable smile on his face. “Don’t worry about it. You had more important things to worry about.” He moves around one of the temporary tables Alex has set up in the bunker, his every step infused with the sort of deadly grace that Alex could never hope to emulate. Charlie glances at some of the carefully-selected files spread out on top of the table. He never pauses long, but the laser-focus of his gaze tells Alex that he’s cataloguing every detail for later perusal.

It’s part of the plan, for Charlie to see the work Alex has been doing, to believe he’s as dedicated to protecting the world from aliens as the rest of the men in their family, but he still has to clench his fists in the pockets of his jacket to stop from fidgeting. There’s nothing about Michael or the Evans’ twins in the contents of those pages; Alex refuses to endanger them further, even though Max and Guerin had both told him to use whatever he had to in order to get the information he needed. There are too many ways for that to backfire, though, and he refuses to risk it. There are other ways to earn his way into Project Shepherd than by throwing his people under the bus.

“So,” Charlie says, after another moment of rifling through the files. “Dad decided to read you in, huh?”

This is where it starts to get tricky, and Alex feels every muscle in his body tense. It’s an effort to maintain his nonchalant facade, but he manages it. “I had to hack into his databases first,” he tells the other man honestly. “But, yeah. Eventually.” He’s talked through his story with Kyle and Guerin at least twenty times the night before, and he’s prepared for anything Charlie might ask. Anxiety ebbs away as he slides into the well-rehearsed cover, and Alex feels himself becoming steadier, more dangerous -- more of the man who’d survived Baghdad and ten years of active duty service.

“You know Dad would never trust me voluntarily. That hasn’t changed.” It’s no use pretending that Jesse had a magic change of heart about Alex’s ‘weakness.’ No one would be fooled. So the narrative isn’t so different from the truth, at least to begin. “But since I figured out the truth, even he can’t deny how useful I can be. At the very least, I can shore up your cyber defenses, because it took me less than half an hour to break in and get all of the intel on the Project’s servers. His access password was ‘password,’ for Christ’s sake.” There’s no pride in his tone, just matter-of-fact honestly and scorn for Jesse’s computer illiteracy.

“And then I found out about Caulfield, and I wanted to see it for myself, you know? I thought Dad was crazy, but if there was proof …” Alex lets the thought trail off deliberately, knowing that sometimes less is more when it comes to this sort of story.

The mention of the off-books base makes Charlie’s expression darken, just enough that Alex notices. He leans back against the wall, arms crossed over his chest in a way that makes his muscles stand out in stark relief against his brown t-shirt, and Alex’s jaw tightens momentarily. If Charlie thinks things like overt displays of physical dominance are enough to scare him, he’s got another thing coming -- after growing up in a house with their father, Alex is pretty much desensitized to anything that Charlie could possibly try.

“And then you went to Caulfield,” he prompts expectantly, eyes narrowed shrewdly. It’s a standard interrogation tactic employed by the military: don’t give away any of the answer when the question is asked. Use prompts rather than specifics. Lets the detained person say what’s really on their mind, take the answer in the direction they want -- and usually, they’ll implicate themselves.

Alex isn’t that stupid. He blinks wide, guileless eyes, and nods slowly. “Yeah. Then I went to Caulfield.” He leaves Kyle out of the story for now. Flint knows, so it’ll come up at some point, but Alex isn’t eager to bring his friend into the tale, and it’s not really relevant at the moment, anyway. “I had to see them for myself, Charlie. I mean, aliens? It sounds like something out of a fucking Star Wars movie, not real life. I needed to see it. So I went.”

As he speaks, Alex is careful to maintain that careful air of naivete. The act balances on the knife’s edge between uselessness and innocence, and he needs to stay just on the side of innocence. If he takes it too far, Charlie will write him off as foolish and unhelpful, and that’s the last thing he wants -- but it’s important he play the awed younger brother just trying to follow in the family footsteps. That’s his ticket into the game.

Charlie nods, his expression no less guarded. “And?”

Christ, he’s not making this easy. Not that Alex had expected him to -- but it would have been nice.

“And it’s hard to deny the truth when you’re standing right in front of them,” Alex says bluntly, letting some of the incredulity and fear he’d felt in that place seep into his expression. It feels odd, to be so calculating of his every movement and facial tic around someone that’s supposed to be his family, but he doesn’t let that stop him from doing it anyway. “Dad’s right. You’re all right. There are fucking aliens invading our planet -- and I want to be part of trying to stop them.”

Silence echoes in the space between the two men, and Alex doesn’t look away from Charlie, doesn’t give him the chance to think that he might be lying. Instead, he lets that announcement sink in for a moment, then continues: “I know you’ve heard Dad saying that I’m weak for our entire lives, but I’ve served three tours on active duty, and did my time on the ground, just like the rest of you. I signed up to serve and protect my country, and I’ve done it. That’s part of who I am, now, and I can’t just ignore the alien threat. Dad may not like it, but I’m part of this family, too. Protecting people is in my DNA just as much as it is yours -- I want to be a part of Project Shepherd. I want to help.”

The lies taste like ash in his mouth, and everything integral to Alex’s being rebels against the idea of being just another Manes sheep with no free will of his own. He’s had literal nightmares about that, about what he could have been capable of if his father had been able to crush his will. But he knows what Charlie wants to hear -- it’s the same thing all of his brothers have wanted to hear for his entire life. They want him to be one of them, another nameless airman in the generational parade, want him to stop asking questions and fall in line. And, most importantly, Alex knows what Charlie will be willing to believe. He’s learned from experience that people remember their first encounters with a person more than anything else. And to Charlie, Alex is always going to be the little boy determined to follow in his big brother’s footsteps, desperate for approval and in need of protection and advice.

Charlie shifts his weight on his shiny, black boots, and looks at Alex steadily. “We’ve already got three people trying to run things here, Alex,” he says carefully, and the omission of ‘kid’ is either a sign of respect, or a signal that Charlie is trying to distance himself from Alex. Guessing which is dangerous, so Alex doesn’t try. “And even if I say yes, Dad’s not likely to be happy about it when he gets back. He’s been pretty clear about not wanting you onboard for a long time.”

He appreciates that Charlie doesn’t try to pretend that Jesse Manes gives two shits about Alex. It’s easier that way, with at least some honesty between them -- and Alex has always hated it when someone tried to tell him that his father does care about him. Fathers who love their sons don’t break their bones to show it. They don’t spend years attempting to reshape their souls with their fists, like it’s nothing more than clay on a potter’s wheel.

Alex snorts. “Dad’s never wanted me around, Charlie. That’s not news to me. But you said ‘when he gets back,’ right?” He’s walking the razor’s edge, now, and knows that if he over or under sells the act here, this is as far his mission will go. “If he’s not here, you’re running things.” It’s not a guess; Alex is no stranger to chain of command, and Charlie’s the highest ranking of the brothers by virtue of age, at the very least.

“I’ve been stateside for three days, Alex,” Charlie says with a sigh, running a hand over his shorn hair. It’s the first sign of stress that he’s shown since arrival, and it’s enough to tell Alex that he’s getting somewhere. Charlie wants the extra help, wants to have another person to depend on -- it’s a fair bet he’s got access to Alex’s personnel file, too, and knows that Alex has the skills to actually be helpful.

In other words, Alex has got an opening, and he’s going to exploit it.

“And I’ve only been in Roswell for less than twenty-four hours. Dad fucked off somewhere without any warning months ago, and Flint and Hunter have taken on most of the responsibility here. I can’t just read you in without talking to them first. It wouldn’t be right -- especially since Flint is pretty damned sure you purposefully blew up Caulfield with Kyle fucking Valenti.”

The words don’t particularly surprise Alex; of course Charlie and Flint would have been in contact in the last six months if they’ve been working together. To make matters worse, Flint likely would have contacted Jesse as soon as it happened. Alex can’t be certain, but he’d be willing to be that intel is why Jesse showed up in Roswell despite Alex’s warnings and tried to kill Kyle, around the same time Max brought Rosa back to life. So no, he’s not thrown off by the fact that Charlie knows more than he let on initially -- but it’s still irritating to have it thrown back in his face.

Alex narrows his eyes and crosses his own arms over his chest, keeping his weight perfectly centered on his legs to hide the ache that’s started in his bad knee from standing and posturing for so long. “Flint thinks I blew up a secure facility and nearly killed myself on purpose?” he asks, acid dripping from the words. “No wonder he’s been stuck in R&D for ten years. He’s clearly got no fucking common sense.”

Charlie quirks an eyebrow in an expression that Alex recognizes from looking in the mirror. “So you didn’t blow it up on purpose?”

“I didn’t blow it up at all!” Alex says, the anger in his exclamation genuine. He’s not willing to take all of those deaths on his conscience, not even in a lie. “Some security protocol went off and the whole damn base self-destructed before I could do much more than stare at an old woman through the glass door, and get some insane story about a cancer-causing alien that sent Valenti off the deep end.” He sits slowly at the computer desk and tapped out a short sequence on the keyboard. On the monitors, the security footage of Valenti Sr. being shoved into the alien’s containment unit and, presumably, contracting brain cancer. Alex watches steadily, refusing to waver now. “If I’d realized that Valenti was going to find out our father murdered his, I would’ve left him in Roswell.”

Talking about something that is still causing Kyle so much pain in such a cavalier fashion makes Alex hate himself. He wants to scream when Charlie just nods, his lips twisted in disdain, like Kyle’s reaction to realizing his father had been murdered was somehow pathetic instead of justified. Thankfully, Alex doesn’t have to work very hard to hide his reaction; both he and Charlie are looking at the screens. “My guess is that he cracked one of containment cells, trying to get at the one who gave Jim the tumor, and it sparked the self-destruct.”

Guerin hasn’t been mentioned thus far, and Alex knows Flint had no idea of his presence at Caulfield, so there’s no hesitation as Alex rewrites the truth to fit his needs. It would be stupid, if he didn’t know for a fact that Guerin’s not on any surveillance footage from that day -- Alex had been sure of that. He’d torn his way through the cyber defenses of whatever server the video had been backed-up on without any finesse and erased everything, practically daring them to trace the data trail back to him. It hadn’t been smart, but Alex hadn’t been in the right headspace to be smart, back then. Not after witnessing Michael losing his mother a moment after finding her. Not after their near-escape from a deadly explosion. Not after being shoved out of Michael’s life and losing the only sense of family he’d ever known for his best friend --

At the time, Alex had almost hoped they’d come for him.

But Guerin is safe, for now, because of that stupidity, so Alex can’t bring himself to regret it.

Charlie’s brows furrow as he digests that explanation, and Alex can see his certainty waver. In that moment, Alex goes for the throat -- figuratively, of course. “Charlie, please,” he says, closing the video on the server and spinning his chair back around to look at his brother head-on. “You and Flint and Hunter are the only family I’ve got left. And you know I can be useful. None of you have the tech skills that I do, or the inside knowledge of Roswell. I’ve been here for months. I still have roots and connections here that none of you do. I can help. All you have to do is let me. And when Dad gets back, I promise, he won’t be able to deny that I’ve done good work.”

As he speaks, Alex is eight and standing in the kitchen of the house they all grew up in, begging a twenty-year-old Charlie to stay home after their mother had finally had enough and left. Then it’s Charlie, coming back on leave and swinging a six-year-old Alex around while he laughs. Or Charlie, smirking as Alex proudly smashed a guitar over Flint’s head at twelve, or the man in uniform, boarding the plane to take him back to the Middle East with a small smile over his shoulder just for Alex, who’s fifteen and cradling a broken wrist against his chest. It’s almost easy to want Charlie to believe him, to want to truly be on his brother’s side -- because despite everything he knows about Project Shepherd and the horrible things his brothers have done, a small, childish part of Alex is always going to want their acceptance.

But as much as Alex cherishes the memories of Charlie’s kindness, he hates the feelings of helplessness and impotence they evoke more. Since enlisting, Alex has built his life on the pillars of control and logic, his own sort of power, to make up for the lack in his childhood, and stepping into this situation has cost him all that work.

But this is for Michael, for Liz and Kyle and everyone in that group who’d come to mean something to him, and for them, Alex will allow his foundations to crumble, if that’s what it takes. This is only shaking them a little -- and tonight, at least, Alex has the promise of returning home to the one person who always makes him feel safe and stable.

“I’ll talk to Flint and Hunter,” Charlie says after a long, fraught silence.

Alex can read the answer in his eyes, though -- he’s convinced the man that he can be trusted, and he’s done a good enough job that he can be sure Charlie will persuade the others one way or another. The calculating, ruthless part of his mind that Alex tries to keep locked down is pleased at the ease with which he manipulated Charlie -- the rest of him, the human parts, just feel cold.

“I can’t guarantee anything until I talk to them, and I’d be thinking of some specific ways to show them you’re worth the risk,” Charlie continues, and Alex’s stomach sinks. Proving his worth to an anti-alien task force is going to involve doing a lot of shit he doesn’t want to think about, he’s sure -- but that’s a problem for another day. He made it through today’s set, and Alex has every intention of taking the whole match. And he’ll have some time to plan, now -- if Hunter’s still in Afghanistan, as his records indicate, there’s no way Charlie will have a response for him in the next day or even two. Alex will make damn sure to take advantage of that time.

“Thanks, Charlie,” Alex says with a smile that rings false to himself, but would fool anyone who didn’t know him well -- which, ironically enough, described his brother perfectly.

“Don’t thank me yet,” the older man says with a grim twist of his lips, and for a moment, Alex wonders why he looks so unhappy. Is he really that worried about selling the idea to Flint and Hunter, who hang off of his every word? Or is this fear of their father -- reluctance to go against his will? Alex doesn’t know, but he wishes Charlie would stop looking at him with those pitying, worried eyes. It’s making it harder to keep the smile on his face.

To the younger brother’s unending surprise, Charlie pushes away from the wall he’s been leaning against and moves closer, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “Take a couple of days of leave and think this over while I reach out, huh? This isn’t like the other ops you’ve been involved in. It’s not something you ever get to walk away from. Just -- remember that. Consider your options. You never wanted this life, kid, and you’ve already lost enough.” Dark eyes, so close in color to Alex’s own, sweep over his body to linger on his bad leg, and Alex shivers despite himself.

Shock jolts like electricity down Alex’s spine at the thinly-veiled warning, and he opens his mouth to ask why Charlie is suddenly so worried about his choices -- or maybe to deny that he wants anything but the mission? Alex isn’t even sure. But Charlie is already walking away by the time Alex pulls himself together enough to speak. “I’ll call when I’ve got an answer for you,” he says over his shoulder, deep voice echoing off of the cavernous walls of the bunker as he begins the ascent to the surface.

Alex stays seated in his desk chair long after Charlie disappears, staring at the blank wall in front of him. Doubt and insecurity encroaches on him, flickering like shadows in the corner of his mind, and for the first time, Alex allows himself to wonder if he’s gotten in over his head. For a long, dark hour, he lets his mind conjure one possible scenario after another, each one growing darker and darker, and all ending in the death of everyone he cares about. What if Charlie’s warning was a hint that they know his plan? What if his brothers are three steps ahead while Alex is lagging behind? What if they’re going after Guerin and the others as he sits here feeling sorry for himself? What if he loses the few parts of his soul that the war left him with?

Eventually, Alex can’t take it anymore. The walls of the bunker are closing in on him, and if he doesn’t leave this place soon, he’s not sure he’ll be able to pull himself out of the spiral Charlie’s warnings had started. It’s so stupid that he’s reacting this way -- but he’s been running on caffeine and adrenaline and sheer stubborn determination for the last thirty-six hours, and now that the immediate threat is past, everything else is crashing down on him at once. The burden he’d taken on. The responsibility he’s shouldering. The fact that to succeed in this mission, he’s going to have to send Charlie and the rest of his biological family to prison.

Usually, when he has moments like this, Alex finds himself sitting behind the bar at the Wild Pony, or in the middle of Liz’s living room, or even with Mimi DeLuca in her little apartment. Being alone had never been particularly good for Alex’s mental health, and he knows that none of them would turn him away.

But there’s only one other place he wants to be right now, and it’s not with any of them -- and for once, Alex is pretty sure that he won’t be turned away.

Drawing in a deep, determined breath, Alex stands slowly, finds his equilibrium, and points himself toward home.

#stars hide your fires #malex fic [at least it will be]#multi chapter

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eurosong · 6 years

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ESC 2018 vs 2019 - Semi-final 2

Good afternoon, folks! A few days ago, I took a look at the songs of Eurovision 2019’s first semi-final, comparing them with songs from the same countries in 2018 and sharing my verdict on which year was better and why. Now it’s the turn of semi-final 2! Again, I try to see as much good as possible in each song and I mean no offence to anyone who disagrees with these opinions.

· Albania – 2018 – Albania had always been a bit of a bête noire for me at this contest, because they would so often pick fabulous songs at their long-running Festival i këngës national final, only then to completely mutilate them musically and (with the help of Bing translator, lyrically) in the revamp. Last year, that trend hopefully came to an end in the most glorious fashion when Eugent Bushpepa didn’t make any major change to Mall, one of the songs that most impressed me in this era, a soaring, moving, poëtic cri de cœur of a song. This year, they have also opted to neither translate nor musically mutate. I like their 2019 song a lot, but it’s a Scafell Pike to last year’s mighty Everest.

· Armenia – 2019 – as a glossophile who always advocates the use of national languages over English, I have some respect for Qami, the only song Armenia ever sent entirely in their language. Respect, but no love, because I found it merely ok and rather repetitive. I thought this would be a second year in a row that I’d be underwhelmed by Hayastan, but whilst this year’s offering cannot shape up to the majestic Fly with me, it’s become an earworm and I enjoy the fiery defiance of Srbuk’s lyrics and the incorporation of traditional instrumentation into something otherwise decidedly contemporary.

· Austria – 2018 – I seem to be one of very few people rating this year’s gentle, stripped-back but impassioned Austrian entry. It more than tilts its cap in the direction of Kate Bush, but I am down with that. However, it would really take some doing to beat last year’s Austrian song, Nobody but you, in my estimations – a worthy winner of the jury vote and probably the ESC’s best ever gospel-infused song for my money.

· Azerbaijan – 2019 – I’m not as won over by this Azeri effort as many people that I know. I was expected something rather different from their snippet (a word I wish I will never hear again given the amount of them this year). It’s not bad by usual standards though, and is certainly a class above Delete My Heart and its bizarre computer-generated lyrics last year.

· Croatia – 2018 – Last year’s Croatian song was a rather lame reimagining of Sam Brown’s Stop. I didn’t like the original and I sure didn’t fancy the semi-skimmed version that much either. Having said that, Franka, all is forgiven. Your song is a delight compared to the demonic screeching of this young budding ego ironically wearing (fluffy) angel wings. I thought Jacques Houdek had unleashed enough hell with his Maa fwenn/Moy frennddd but it was nothing compared to this abomination. It’s so bad that it almost scares me how bad it is.

· Denmark – 2019 – Another one where I go against the grain is Denmark. I never got the hype for Rasmussen, whose song sounded like a soundtrack for some 90s direct-to-video movie about Vikings. The only thing is that they managed to make even Vikings feel lame. It all seemed a little OTT and gimmicky to me, and the amount of repetition and the cliché pitch shift both annoyed me. On paper, this hyper-sweet Danish song should also grind my gears, but in a subpar year, I’ve actually grown a fondness for it. Maybe the Frenchness of it all was what won me over. I hope they’re not actually going to sway side to side on a big chair in the actual final, though.

· Ireland – 2018 – Two decent songs in a row from Ireland and it’s difficult to choose between them, even though neither set my world alight. I still think the staging of last year was rather cynical – two enamoured lads who had little to with the song about heartbreak, but did seem to win over some folk who otherwise would have dismissed it as a boring ballad. Seeing it live, it was quite moving, and I was able to put this incongruousness out of mind. This year’s entry has rather less artifice and a low-key charm, but I have to go for ’18 as having more depth as a composition.

· Latvia – 2018 – Despite never having reached the heights of Aminata who pulled them up from the non-qualification doldrums, I’ve enjoyed every subsequent song from Latvia, even though the standards of Supernova have dropped since the Riga Beaver stopped delighting us in the ad breaks. This year’s Latvian song is delightfully low-key, the kind of thing I imagine hearing on the radio late at night, driving in the rain. At the minute, though, I have to say I still prefer the sultry, tempestuous Funny Girl – though Esamiba would have topped both.

· Macedonia – 2018 – Macedonia, perhaps the country at the contest who least has received their dues despite some excellent songs, is a perfect illustration of how difficult these 2018 vs 2019 choices can be. Their entry this year, “Proud”, is touching and impactful on first listen, but I’ve seldom sought out to listen to it much since then. On the other hand, I was absolutely obsessed with last year’s “Lost and found”, bewitched by its changes in style and tempo. Unfortunately, the live version of 2018 was an absolute clusterfuck; it felt as though someone had been deliberately tasked with ruining their qualification chances, and that casts a shadow over the song in retrospect. I wouldn’t be surprised if 2019 is a more effective song on the stage, but for the time being, I prefer 2018 musically.

· Malta – 2019 – There is absolutely no contest here for me. This is the first song sent by Malta that manages to hold my interest since “Tomorrow” way back in 2013. It’s more daring and contemporary than I ever imagined would be their choice. In a different universe from the screechy “Taboo.” It’s also refreshing to have a Maltese song that doesn’t try to get brownie points from their message.

· Moldova – 2018 – A truly plague vs cholera choice. 2018’s bizarre Kirkorov-spawned ode to the ménage-à-trois versus this year’s painfully, painfully dull ballad-by-numbers with rhyming-also-by-number (rhyming say with stay, never with forever. Troolee jeenyuss.) I have to go with 2018, which creeped me out, but at least was kind of interesting in its own weird way, and its staging showed ingenuity despite limited resources.

· Netherlands – 2018 – I’m sure for a lot of people, this choice is a no-brainer, but for me, it is very much a difficult choice. I really loved “Outlaw in ‘em”, Waylon’s country style is up my street and, whilst I still think “Thanks or no thanks” would have been a cannier choice, I appreciated one of the few moments last year in which one could rock out. “Arcade” is a different beast entirely, so comparisons are odious. Both are stirring, but OIE is riotous and defiant, whilst Arcade is poignant. It’s hard to choose just one, but I have to go for the one I’m more likely to have on repeat, last year’s song.

· Norway – 2019 – Oh, Norway. For a few glorious years, with Margaret Berger, Karl Espen and then especially Mørland, they were the coolest thing going out of the Nordics – but how the mighty have fallen. I haven’t really liked a single one of their entries since then and once again, I am faced with a choice between two unsavoury options. Their entry this year sounds like Aqua went into the woods for a spiritualistic retreat, came back, wrote a shitty b-side about the experience and then decided not to release it, only for some Norwegians to find it about 20 years later and pass the song off as their own. Everything about it makes me cringe on an almost existential level. It appals me that the “come on barbie, let’s go pardy”-style joiking is being compared to JHF who actually representing joik in a classier way. I say all this, and yet, this year’s offering is still not ás bad as 2018’s “That’s how you write a song”, a “children’s TV show theme” song whose cosmic irony would be funny were it not so tragic.

· Romania – 2018 – I didn’t think this would be such a tough decision when I found out the results for Selecţia Naţionala, and was absolutely amazed that the public had only 1/7th of the result, and that the juries had catapulted a song that only picked up 3% of the televote (Laura Bretan, the televote winner, got a 42% share, in contrast) on the back of a rather dubious live performance. I’m still not sure why Ester puts on a vocal affectation that makes her sound like she’s having a tantrum, but somehow the song’s dark ambiance and the hilarious video won me over. It still can’t compare to last year’s emotional, underrated effort which brought to mind departed friends.

· Russia – 2019 – Sergey’s return is a little pompous and will certainly be wrapped up with unnecessary staging frills; that being said, it’s a decent song, which is more than I can say about the truly ghoulish “I won’t break,” whose only virtue for me – being slightly better than the hideous and ungrammatical “Flame is burning” – was removed when I saw that impossibly bad staging, confining their singer almost embarrassedly into the background.

· Sweden – 2019 – For the first time in a few years, Sweden have sent an artist and song that I don’t find completely objectionable. That isn’t to say that I don’t find any objection at all – soul is not really soul when it is so heavily manufactured, and I cannot help but feel that they’ve taken more than a fair amount of inspiration from both Austria of last year and Bulgaria of 2016. Nonetheless, I can bear it a lot better than Dance you off.

· Switzerland – 2018 – For once, I actually had a little bit of hope for Switzerland, who have been going through the motions with some turgid fare for the last number of years, with the only exception for me being Hunter of Stars. Going internal made me feel they had something exceptional, and I guess they thought they did, but for me, instead they brought a thinly veiled male take on Fuego and little more. Last year’s effort also didn’t impress me much, a dirgey bit of trust fund faux-rock (frock?), but I’ll take it over the Chernobyl levels of radioäctive smugness exuded by this latter Swiss attempt.

And as for the automatic qualifiers:

· Germany – 2018 – When I heard that Barbara Schöneberger, she of the eyes that are bigger than Lake Baikal and seems permanently traumatised, was coming back after a year’s absence as host, I joked that I was amazed she was given back the gig given that every year she’s been in charge, there’s been an abject failure and the one edition where she was absent, Germany managed to get a fantastic result. I feel they’re back to their losing ways with Sister, a song performed by a group called S!sters who have only known one another for a few months if that. It’s one of many songs this year with decent verses but a horrible chorus. It’s supposed to be a celebration of sisterhood, but it feels moreso like these two want to scratch the other’s eyes out whilst they stand there, wailing at one another. There were things that annoyed me about last year’s German entry too, particularly the large section in which he merely said “whoahaoaoaoa” as if he’d run out of ideas for lyrics, but it was otherwise a stellar, well-written effort. In another league to these imaginary sisters.

· Italy – 2019 – Italy is one of the very few countries where I prefer 2019 to 2018, 2018 to 2017, 2017 to 2016 and 2016 to 2015! They just get better year on year. I adored “Metamoro” and still consider their song a huge highlight, one of the best of last year and of recent years. It’s incredibly difficult to choose between them and Mahmood’s Soldi, but he somehow managed to win me over even more with his anthemic, autobiographical song which has a contemporary edge but also the timelessness and quality of San Remo orchestral compositions. My number one this year so far.

· UK – 2019 – Eurovision: You Decide got even drearier than usual this year. Whilst other countries like France increased the number of songs from which their viewers could choose, BBC cut their choices down to three, got two sets of people to perform each song in a different style pastiche and then didn’t even allow the viewers to choose which rendition they preferred. We ended up with a bog-standard “X factor winners’ single”-style song that SVT told John Lundvik not to perform for them. It has the edge because it at least “hey muvva, bruvva” lyrics or random Casio noises in the background like Surie’s song. She really deserved more.

#esc #eurovision #esc 2019 #eurovision song contest #opinion #eurovision 2019

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derekklenadaily · 6 years

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Synopsis/Review of Derek’s Solo Concert at Feinstein’s 54 Below

Monday night on January 18th, I had the opportunity to go to see Derek’s solo debut concert again but this time, it was at Feinstein's 54 Below in New York City. The place was bit larger than Cafe Carlyle and the place had an old-kind of feel to it with copper tin tiled ceiling and small lamps lit aglow at the booth at the back of the restaurant. We had to arrive at 5:00 and the show started a little bit after 7. Derek arrived in his gray pin-striped suit attire with a casual gray shirt and dark pants. He opened the show by singing ‘Some Kind of Time’ by Pasek and Paul’s Off-Broadway Dogfight, then he greeted the audience, thanking us for coming. In a prelude, before singing a beautiful mashup of “Go The Distance” (Disney’s Hercules)/“Out There” (Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame) He told us about the memories of him growing up, watching a lot of Disney’s films and singing their songs with his younger sister, Lauren and brother, Dillon. Before he got to sing “Lady” by ‘Styx’, Benjamin stopped him because he had something for all of us to see; with the simple click on two television screens - suddenly, a clip of America's Most Talented Kid appears with Dave Coulier as a host. A young 14 year old Derek comes out onstage, he had a neck length long hair and wearing buttoned down shirt and black pants, giving that 90's vibes to it. And I gotta to say that he seriously had the pipes at that age! Goodness! And what was very sweet that we could see his family members including younger siblings in the audience, Dillion and Lauren holding poster signs saying "Go D!" or "Derek Klena rocks!" During the clip, I took a quick peek over to the stage and under the dim lighting above Derek as he stood next to Benjamin, I could see his adorable reactions; laughing and blushing. After his segment ended, he sat with his mom Lynn and the host Dave, while the kid judges (Daryl Sabara - 'Spy Kids', Scarlett Pomers - 'Reba' and Bobb'e J. Thompson - 'So Raven') gave their review. They gave positive accolades about his segment and Scarlett pretty much had heart eyes emoji look on her face the whole time. After that, Derek continued on his journey with his performing, giving us an insight of his small, baby starting steps to his career; by doing regional shows in LA, battling back and forth whether to stay in baseball for UCLA or continue on to become a performer, getting the golden ticket in American Idol which he end up making it to Hollywood Week. He sang “Come Home” by ‘One Republic’.

Last September, Derek married his longtime girlfriend Elycia who he met during the first week of college. He sang a mash up of Maroon 5′s “Sunday Morning”, “Your Song” by Elton John and “She’s Got A Way” by Billy Joel to her. It was really sweet! Before singing “Goodbye” from Catch Me If You Can, he told us the story where Marc Shaiman heard him sing this song and asking Derek to send a recording for as Aaron’s standby before coming to Broadway. Went off to sing “Dreamer in Disguise” from Carrie the Musical which was lovely to hear! I feel like this song is a bit underrated on the Carrie the musical score. Then he introduced about his time on Dogfight with Tony Winner and a great friend of Derek’s Lindsay Mendez. For the upcoming piece from Dogfight, Benjamin collected a girl who sat behind me, named Abby. During that song, it was really sweet to watch and she did a fabulous job reading/acting as Rose while he sang "Come To A Party"! As he tells us about the decision of whether going back to school or continue to pursuing with performing - he goes into sing “Dancing Through Life” from the show. Then he went off to talk about his Broadway debut in Wicked as Fiyero, doing the special tenth anniversary of it, and his life-long friendship with Lindsay who was Elphaba. A sudden memory comes up when Derek went up to the director, Joe Mantello on how he should have his haircut for the character Fiyero. Short or long? Joe replied, “Bieber, baby.” Then the production still of Derek as Fiyero came on the television screens. He had his long bangs swifted to the side, like the younger days of Justin Bieber. He had Fiyero's one of infamous outfits; green shirt with dark overalls while holding the lantern in the mist. Suddenly, a head of Justin Bieber appears next to Derek's Fiyero to show us the comparison in between the two. It lead him to sing the Bieber medley, which was really great to watch him to sing that again and having fun, swinging the microphone around and dancing a bit on stage.

After that, he talked about his run in Bridges of Madison County with Kelli O’ Hara and Hunter Foster as his parents in the show, which couldn’t be any better than that. He goes to sing Steve's solo piece which placed in Act Two in the show, “It All Fades Away”. Next, he talked about Anastasia, he talked about how it was an embarrassment of riches, working with the creative team, Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flahtery, Darko Tresnjak and Terrence McNally who wrote the book. Also, working with the cast of Anastasia especially the main lead actress Christy Altomare (Anya/Anastasia) who he called a 'Wonder Woman'. With that note, he suddenly gave us a special surprise to all of us in the audience; he announced Christy's name and invited her to join Derek onstage. "My face hurts from smiling so much! Your singing and acting is insane! You heal the soul!” Christy praised after watching him. Derek went 'Awww!' and hugged her in thanks. Christy and Derek reminisced their audition day for the Hartford run; Derek said that Christy was there earlier in the day (she had auditioned before), she told him that she had to come back to audition to read and sing with her "old boyfriend", meaning their respective roles as lovers, Sue Snell and Tommy Ross in Carrie. They both sang "In A Crowd of Thousands" as their audition duet. Derek said that he didn't know the lyrics as much as Christy did. But, thankfully once the creative team saw them, they knew Derek and Christy were it. So, when they sang "In A Crowd of Thousands" for us, it was so incredibly beautiful and magical to watch them in front of me because it was like going back to the Broadhurst and seeing them on stage as Anya/Anastasia and Dmitry all over again. On that little stage, it was not Christy and Derek, they became their characters. Their chemistry was just sparking so vividly - there's nothing like it on stage. But offstage, you can tell their friendship is so very special and unique after knowing each other for so long.

One of the highlight/favorite parts of the concert was Derek giving such a small inspirational speech about how you may stumble in life, you have to grow and learn from certain experiences. And one of his most known quotes, “Seize every opportunity” is the most important part when going through an experience, because you never know where, when or what will lead you. For him, it went from doing regional theatres, television singing competitions to BWW's random review that got his foot in the door to New York City to do auditions then performing in shows on the Great White Way. This led to “You Learn” from Alanis Morrisette's Jagged Little Pill (the musical is coming to this fall on Broadway), and I can't get enough of listening/watching his acoustic rendition of it on Feinstein's/54 Below's Facebook, it's absolutely gorgeous! For the finale or encore; Derek sang songs from “Always Remember Us” from the recent film, A Star Is Born was lovely to listen to again which was and “You Will Be Back” from Hamilton the Musical which led him to ask the audience to sing with him and show off his silly side once again.

I was so glad that I got to enjoy Derek's solo concert again! I thought he seemed alot more comfortable and relaxed than the concert at Cafe Carlyle. It was absolutely enjoyable, funny, intimate and personal all at once as he shared with us audience about his life experiences and career. If you want to see or follow more updates on Derek, you can follow him on social media: on instagram: @Derek__Klena, on twitter: @derekklena And if you want to follow us to keep an update on his projects and career, we are on twitter and tumblr: @DerekKlenaDaily | tumblr.com/derekklenadaily

Sincerely, Dani One of the admins of DerekKlenaDaily

#Derek Klena #Feinstein's/54 Below #54 Below #review/synopsis #Christy Altomare #txt #ours**#dani**

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catsaar · 6 years

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GET TO KNOW ME

TAGGED BY @magnasimblr (thank you! I think haha)

Traits: Cat Lover, Creative, Non-Committal

1. What is your full name? Sara 2. What is your nickname? Don’t really have a nickname, well people tend to use my last name for that but not going to spill that here 3. Birthday? June 21 4. What is your favorite book series? Game of Thrones 5. Do you believe in aliens or ghosts? Aliens yes, ghosts nah. 6. Who is your favorite author? Jack Kerouac 7. What is your favorite radio station? Radio? Radio? What? Gimme Spotify 8. What is your favorite flavor of anything? Salty things 9. What word would you use often to describe something great or wonderful? Cool 10. What is your current favorite song? Sometimes I have no music periods for a short while, currently going through one of them 11. What is your favorite word? Bishdafaken, courtesy of @lordkiribatisims and yaaassss 12. What was the last song you listened to? 6Lack - Switch 13. What TV show would you recommend for everybody to watch? Bojack Horseman, Fargo, How to make a murderer, Love, Idunno I watch a lot of different things 14. What is your favorite movie to watch when you’re feeling down? Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind 15. Do you play video games? yaaaassss 16. What is your biggest fear? my place being burned down with my cats in it 17. What is your best quality, in your opinion? I’m an empath 18. What is your worst quality, in your opinion? I can be lazy 19. Do you like cats or dogs better? obvi cats, but I like doggos too 20. What is your favorite season? Summer 21. Are you in a relationship? to quote @magnasimblr *runs away* 22. What is something you miss from your childhood? having no responsibilities 23. Who is your best friend? Matthias 24. What is your eye color? Blue/grey 25. What is your hair color? Pink 26. Who is someone you love? my cats Lowie, Lucky and Arya, my mom and stepdad and my best friends 27. Who is someone you trust? my mom, my best friends 28. Who is someone you think about often? my cats, yeah I’m that crazy cat lady 29. Are you currently excited about/for something? not easily excitable anymore, I guess seeing the end of my depression 30. What is your biggest obsession? my cats I guess, seeing as they keep returning in my answers 31. What was your favorite TV show as a child? Buffy 32. Who of the opposite gender can you tell anything to, if anyone? my bff Matthias 33. Are you superstitious? Nope 34. Do you have any unusual phobias? being in large crowds. 35. Do you prefer to be in front of the camera or behind it? def behind 36. What is your favorite hobby? my cats (duh), traveling, the sims 37. What was the last book you read? don’t remember, it’s been a while 38. What was the last movie you watched? I think that was Doctor Strange, it’s been a long time, been more into series 39. What musical instruments do you play, if any? unfortunately none 40. What is your favorite animal? do I still have to say? CATS 41. What are your top 5 favorite Tumblr blogs that you follow? so many, but I guess, @budgie2budgie @whiisker @a-kind-red @mellocakes @simmerberlin Don’t be offended if I didn’t name you you’re prolly in my top 10 42. What superpower do you wish you had? flying 43. When and where do you feel most at peace? at home, in my trusted couch 44. What makes you smile? my friends, my cats, reddit discord bs, the sims, animal gifs 45. What sports do you play, if any? none at the moment. 46. What is your favorite drink? Orange juice 47. When was the last time you wrote a hand-written letter or note to somebody? this summer 48. Are you afraid of heights? no I managed to overcome that 49. What is your biggest pet peeve? people smacking while eating 50. Have you ever been to a concert? oh boy have I 51. Are you vegan/vegetarian? vegetarian 52. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? I never figured it out 53. What fictional world would you like to live in? San Myshuno with Calum and Pandora 54. What is something you worry about? The future and climate change 55. Are you scared of the dark? Nope 56. Do you like to sing? yes but you don’t want me too 57. Have you ever skipped school? once 58. What is your favorite place on the planet? hmmmm hard one, San Francisco I think 59. Where would you like to live? where I live iz good 60. Do you have any pets? I think that’s pretty clear by now 61. Are you more of an early bird or a night owl? night owl fo sho 62. Do you like sunrises or sunsets better? sunsets 63. Do you know how to drive? even tho I have my license, I haven’t driven in 12 years so I don’t think I can anymore, also I hate it 64. Do you prefer earbuds or headphones? earbuds 65. Have you ever had braces? Yes 66. What is your favorite genre of music? I’ve gone through so many styles and I still like em all but atm feeling hiphop. 67. Who is your hero? Hunter S Thompson 68. Do you read comic books? not anymore 69. What makes you the most angry? inhumanity 70. Do you prefer to read on an electronic device or with a real book? real books for the win 71. What is your favorite subject in school? psychology 72. Do you have any siblings? I have an adopted sister. 73. What was the last thing you bought? food 74. How tall are you? 177 cm 75. Can you cook? Yesss 76. What are three things that you love? lol you gonna make me repeat it, my cats! And since I have 3 that will do for this answer 77. What are three things that you hate? ignorance, sexism, racism 78. Do you have more female friends or more male friends? more male friends, one of the homies 79. What is your sexual orientation? straight, altho probs bordering to asexual 80. Where do you currently live? Belgium 81. Who was the last person you texted? my friend Chloé 82. When was the last time you cried? last Thursday 83. Who is your favorite YouTuber? Safiya Nygaard atm 84. Do you like to take selfies? no thanks 85. What is your favorite app? Spotify and Tumblr 86. What is your relationship with your parent(s) like? love my mom and stepdad, my bio dad is a big nope 87. What is your favorite foreign accent? a Frenchman speaking English 88. What is a place that you’ve never been to, but you want to visit? Australia 89. What is your favorite number? 4 90. Can you juggle? no 91. Are you religious? o no 92. Do you find outer space or the deep ocean to be more interesting? outer space! 93. Do you consider yourself to be a daredevil? definitely but not atm due to my depression 94. Are you allergic to anything? only to a certain lip balm that sets my lips on fire 95. Can you curl your tongue? yes 96. Can you wiggle your ears? no 97. How often do you admit that you were wrong about something? if I’m wrong, I’m wrong 98. Do you prefer the forest or the beach? beach 99. What is your favorite piece of advice that anyone has ever given you? believe in yourself 100. Are you a good liar? yes but only white lies 101. What is your Hogwarts House? I’m going to offend someone but I never got into Harry Potter sorry 102. Do you talk to yourself? best convo ever. 103. Are you an introvert or an extrovert? normally an extrovert, ENFJ 104. Do you keep a journal/diary? nah 105. Do you believe in second chances? yes, but strike three and you’re out 106. If you found a wallet full of money on the ground, what would you do? I have before and left it at the front desk of the place I was at 107. Do you believe that people are capable of change? yes and no 108. Are you ticklish? no emotions 109. Have you ever been on a plane? yes, I lost count 110. Do you have any piercings? no, the ones in my ears grew close a long time ago 111. What fictional character do you wish was real? Bojack Horseman 112. Do you have any tattoos? yes, 4 113. What is the best decision that you’ve made in your life so far? just go with the flow and do 114. Do you believe in karma? hmmm undecided 115. Do you wear glasses or contacts? glasses, but only when I need to see far 116. Do you want children? o no no no 117. Who is the smartest person you know? Idunno, I think most of my friends are pretty smart 118. What is your most embarrassing memory? let’s not go there 119. Have you ever pulled an all-nighter? too many times 120. What color are most of you clothes? black 121. Do you like adventures? yes altho I have calmed down quite a bit 122. Have you ever been on TV? yeah 123. How old are you? 35 looking like 27 and never growing up 124. What is your favorite quote? "the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes “Awww!” - Jack Kerouac 125. Do you prefer sweet or savory foods? savory

I tag @artemisa02 @mangostefan @lovearound5am @simsontherope @toffeetip @lordkiribatisims (if you’ve already done this I’m sorry I’ve seen so many pass by I don’t remember) Also don’t feel like you have to cus it’s a lot.

#tag game #simself #catsaar

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justreviewingokay · 6 years

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D.C. Beetlejuice Review

Let me cut to the chase. I know what you’re gonna ask, is Beetlejuice “good”? Now I have a very complicated answer, but I will say this: if a Tim Burton styled stage show is what you’ve always wanted, then should probably be off to see it as soon as you can. Hold your sandworms, I’m not done yet. Beetlejuice may be a visual masterpiece, but it is also a work in progress. If you’re looking for more than high caliber Broadway comedy actors and half-baked humor, it may be better to wait and see what the move to the Winter Garden Theatre has in store for us.

Now for the complicated answer. If spoilers aren’t your thing, turn back now, for the surprises of Beetlejuice are extremely rewarding.

Making it Beetlejuice’s given job to usher the dead into the netherworld is an excellent addition to the character, except there isn’t very much character to begin with. The opening makes the blind mistake of relying on the audience already knowing who Beetlejuice is. A newcomer to the show might find him confusing or vague. “The Whole Being Dead Thing” is an explosively entertaining number where BJ bashes some funeral goers. Cutting in half way is Lydia mourning with “Invisible”. Although the long arm gag is good and the bus driver costume from the film is much appreciated, the big B is introduced all too soon. The buildup is killed rather quickly and consequently, the anticipation. Alternatively, since the scene starts off with a dirge, Lydia could plunge right into “Invisible” with Beetlejuice popping out of the casket and delivering the brilliant line “a ballad already?” The audience cheers as he climbs out and begins “The Whole Being Dead Thing”, uninterrupted. Act One’s pacing is quite tangled, so this jumpy establishing song is important. Alex Brightman is an absolute tour de force and does his best with the often immature dialogue. It’s obvious that Brightman is doing a good job of balancing the voice, but it’s still a bit much when he’s singing. His vocal talents are betrayed in this respect and some of the lyrics are hard to understand because of it.

The Maitlands are brilliantly portrayed by green clad Rob McClure and Kerry Butler, known for Something Rotten! and Little Shop of Horrors, respectively. “Ready, Set, Not Yet” is funny, but far too frantic to be endearing. Contrary to the writers’ belief, Adam and Barbara can be thoroughly lame and likeable simultaneously. In the following scenes one could argue that too many pelvic thrusts are performed. The scene progression is quite choppy, with so many reprises that one wonders if the song ever ended in the first place. “Fright of their Lights” has a weird 1980’s sound and it has a great joke where Adam informs BJ that they can still hear him, with BJ responding “Well that was a soliloquy, so you’re the one being rude.” BJ’s interactions with them are typically crass, but not in a clever adult way, an almost childish mentality instead. Many of the jokes end with an unnecessary “F You,” which often feels like it’s only there to keep children out of the theatre.

The show really begins to pick up when the Deetz family begin to move in and Lydia sings “Dead Mom,” easily one of the best numbers. Sophia Anne Caruso plays the iconic goth girl in a way that doesn’t leave you cringing at all. As the show progresses, Lydia upstages everyone. An odd thing to note though, Lydia comes downstairs to dinner wearing a yellow dress to confuse her dad, which is exactly what Wednesday Addams does in the Addams Family Musical.

Slapstick is the name of the game, considering BJ himself isn’t given many witty lines in the first act. The sight gags are what work best, so you’d assume that the iconic Day-O scene would be the hit. Instead of ascending to a new level of ridiculousness, it stays at relatively the same length. A puppet roasted pig is added to the song which is funny by itself, but they didn’t stop there. The pig’s male organ begins to invade Delia’s personal space. Leslie Kritzer (a delightful scene stealer) appeared to be having troubles realistically interacting with it, awkwardly thrusting herself into the pig’s appendage for the remainder of the song. Even though it garnered some laughs, initially it was a distraction from more clever effects such as the shrimp hand. This is a perfect example for most jokes in the show; something clever is undermined by something vulgar. They say a funny person can make a good joke, but a comedian can take it to the next level.

Act Two is significantly better than the first, giving the ghost with the most just the right edge. “That Beautiful Sound” is my personal favorite, showing off the comedic prowess of Beetlejuice and Lydia as a pair, only seen before during “Say My Name.” Casting actual teenagers as the girl-scout and Lydia was a great move, considering the big concern among fans after the misfires in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

“Children We Didn’t Have” is a wonderfully somber piece, (beautifully sung I might add) but would have made a larger impact if the audience had learned to see the Maitlands in a more positive view throughout the first act. If any song is to be removed, I hope that this one survives instead.

Otho’s lines aren’t too brilliant, but luckily for them, they’ve got Kelvin Moon Loh to deliver. Brief as the character is in this version, Kelvin’s comedic talents make the scenes memorable. His days on SpongeBob SquarePants especially prove that he deserves a bigger spotlight.

“Everything is Meh” by Boy Inferno is quite brilliant considering… well… boy bands are dead. The netherworld has a well-designed look and the characters are quite faithful to the film, including Mrs. Juno Shoggoth exhaling smoke through her neck, Miss Argentina, a shrunken headed hunter, (the effect works surprisingly well) and that one guy who appears to have been run over. “Running Away” has a nice tune to it and its enjoyable right up until the “woah-oh’s” start off. This trope feels almost anachronistic and quickly evokes the desire to attempt Miss Argentina’s “little accident” on yourself. It does end up being a good moment though, with character development for Lydia and Charles.

The ending is hilarious and pretty unexpected. Beetlejuice’s exit is somewhat delayed though; every time you think he’s done, he turns around and delivers another cheesy one-liner. BJ being carried off into the netherworld was quite enough. Even though it doesn’t really make sense, (does Lydia somehow have a karaoke record?) it is indeed surprisingly pleasing to hear the cast sing “Jump in the Line”… and the levitation effect is flawless.

In fact, probably the best aspect of the show is special effects and scenic design. David Korins has done an absolutely astounding job of fulfilling Tim Burton’s vision, all while presenting his own take. Michael Curry’s puppet design is not to be missed, with smooth movement and grand scale. Enough cannot be said about the visual aptitude of Beetlejuice.

The music by Eddie Perfect is ironically not… perfect. Sorry. Rock and Roll style ballads may be a good choice for the musical, but a few things it still lacks. Remnants of Danny Elfman’s original score are always welcome and can be heard during some cues. After all, the music is half of what makes Beetlejuice feel like Beetlejuice. Thankfully, the keys and trumpets are pretty prominent in Perfect’s score, which helps greatly to set the tone. It’s important to mention that one thing is missing… strings. Violins are either utilized very little or are nonexistent. Sound design should be looked in to, most of the time the music overpowers the voices or the voices hide the music. Even though I have no hearing problems whatsoever, the lyrics were frequently hard to understand. (I do realize that this could entirely be the National Theatre sound system’s fault) When you come down to it, the music needs beefing up. Giving it a fuller, more orchestral sound to complement the rock instruments is the exact way to accomplish this. (See Hans Zimmer, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Kansas, or Foreigner with the David Eggar Orchestra)

Overall, Beetlejuice is a spectacular show with immense potential. That fact is, frankly, quite enough to satisfy considering it could have been a huge misstep, similar to the fate of Moulin Rouge. With the fabulous cast and crew carrying it through, Beetlejuice could be an absolute Broadway hit in the making.

We’ll see at the Winter Garden Theatre on April 25th, 2019.

#Beetlejuice #Lydia #betelgeuse #TimBurton #Broadway #Theater #Theatre #Musicals #Netherworld #Spoopy #BeetlejuiceMusical #StrangeAndUnusual #AlexBrightman #RobMcClure #kerry butler #KelvinMoonLoh #TheBox

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