#Alicia Fox imagine

[helslastangel]

Pisces in the Houses, pt 1.

Pisces Ascendant (1H)

Seems dreamy; intuitive abilities are obvious to others. Sensitive to emotion in general - theirs and others. Goes with the flow and follows their instincts. Non-judgmental and accepting of many ways of being. Looks or seems younger than their age for a long time. Will not tolerate any disruption of their home & privacy. Often found in charts of actors, musicians and artists.

Pisces Ascendant celebrities include Michael Jackson, Ryan Gosling, Whitney Houston, Kourtney Kardashian, Alicia Keys, Gwyneth Paltrow, Bruno Mars

Pisces in 2nd House

Seems grounded, but often lose belongings. Focused on manifesting and achieving their dreams. Can be good at monetizing their skills and hobbies. Self-reliant, or try their best to be. Might live on a shoestring budget. Good at earning money but struggle with saving it. Self-worth fluctuates with assets or bank balance. May have a laid-back approach to finances.

Celebs with 2H Pisces: Matt Damon, Naomi Campbell, Megan Fox, Barack Obama, Nicki Minaj, Prince Harry, Zendaya, Carl Jung, Al Capone, Kaley Cuoco

Pisces in 3rd House

Excellent storytellers. May often be called on to speak on behalf of others. Likely sent by siblings to ask parents for permission. Persuasive people; may be the family spokesperson. In tune with gut instincts. Communication plays a significant role in their lives. Could be writers, professionally or as a hobby. Struggle to ground themselves. Always trying to escape. Passionate daydreamers with strong intuitions. I don't know why, but this placement reminds me of Floki from Vikings.

Celebs with 3H Pisces: Princess Diana, Oprah Winfrey, Anne Hathaway, Paris Hilton, Elizabeth Taylor, Kylie Jenner, Christiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Mother Theresa.

Pisces in the 4th house

Places a high value on family history. Might feel obligated to preserve heirlooms and family legacy. May enjoy looking into ancestry and family trees. Knows everyone at family reunions and easily spots a stranger. Needs a stable home environment to feel safe.May put a lot of effort into cultivating their safe spaces. Can be delusional about the people in their family and struggle to accept them for who they are, rather than who they imagine them to be.

Celebs with 4H Pisces: Bruce Lee, Elvis Presley, Nelson Mandela, Friedrich Nietzsche, Eminem, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Lawrence, Taylor Swift, Brad Pitt, Justin Bieber, Kim Kardashian, Björk, Bob Marley

Pisces in 5th House

Has a big soft spot for children. Can be childlike themselves in some cases. Wants to save everyone and be saved too. Motivated but indecisive energy. Extremely creative, but unfocused in their efforts. Can spend too much energy trying to figure out how best to spend energy. Enjoys many hobbies; may struggle to master any of them due to lack of focus. Does best with hobbies that allow for maximum creativity. Once they understand what they want out of life, their path will become clearer. Inner work is crucial to remove blocks.

Celebs with 5H Pisces: Frank Sinatra, Robin Williams, Katy Perry, Lana Del Rey, Harry Styles, Natalie Portman, Jim Carrey, Sigmund Freud, Charlie Chaplin, Halsey, Melanie Martinez, Stephen Hawking, Doja Cat

[submissiveebrat]

When you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything." He adds seconds later: "Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything." — Trump in a previously unreleased recording made by "Access Hollywood" in 2005, published Friday by The Washington Post and NBC News

"If Hillary Clinton can't satisfy her husband what makes her think she can satisfy America #MakeAmericaGreatAgain." — Trump tweeted in April 2015. He later deleted the post.

"It must be a pretty picture, you dropping to your knees." — Trump to a female contestant in 2013 on an episode of "Celebrity Apprentice."

"Did Crooked Hillary help disgusting (check out sex tape and past) Alicia M become a U.S. citizen so she could use her in the debate?" — Trump tweeted in September 2016. He was referring to former Miss Universe winner Alicia Machado, whom he publicly shamed for gaining weight when he owned the contest

"It's certainly not groundbreaking news that the early victories by the women on 'The Apprentice' were, to a very large extent, dependent on their sex appeal." — Trump wrote in his 2004 book, "How To Get Rich."

"All of the women on 'The Apprentice' flirted with me — consciously or unconsciously. That's to be expected. A sexual dynamic is always present between people, unless you are asexual." — Trump, also from "How To Get Rich."

"You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her wherever." — Trump in an interview with CNN in August 2015, referring to Fox News Channel anchor Megyn Kelly.

"Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president? I mean, she's a woman, and I'm not s'posedta say bad things, but really, folks, come on. Are we serious?" — Trump in a September 2015 interview with Rolling Stone, speaking about then-primary rival Carly Fiorina.

"It doesn't really matter what (the media) write as long as you've got a young and beautiful piece of ass." — Trump in an interview with Esquire Magazine in 1991.

"A person who's flat-chested is very hard to be a 10, OK?" — Trump in an interview with shock jock Howard Stern in September 2005.

"I saw a woman who was totally beautiful. She was angry that so many men were calling her. 'How dare they call me! It's terrible! They're all looking at my breasts.' So she had a major breast reduction. The good news: Nobody calls her anymore — nobody even looks — and not only that, it was a terrible job." — Trump to Stern in 2008.

Congratulations America, this is who is now president AGAIN. A misogynist, sexist, vile pig. Good Job. 👏👏

[book--brackets]

Summaries under the cut

Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman

The winter isn't ending. Nobody knows why.

And Odd has run away from home, even though he can barely walk and has to use a crutch. Out in the forest he encounters a bear, a fox, and an eagle - three creatures with a strange story to tell. Now Odd is faced with a stranger journey than he had ever imagined.

A journey to save Asgard, City of the Norse Gods, from the Frost Giants who have invaded it. It's going to take a very special kind of boy to defeat the most dangerous of all the Frost Giants and rescue the mighty Gods. Someone cheerful and infuriating and clever.

Someone just like Odd...

A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass

Mia Winchell appears to be a typical kid, but she's keeping a big secret—sounds, numbers, and words have color for her. No one knows, and Mia wants to keep it that way. But when trouble at school finally forces Mia to reveal her secret, she must learn to accept herself and embrace her ability, called synesthesia, a mingling of the senses.

Serafina by Robert Beatty

Serafina has never had a reason to disobey her pa and venture beyond the grounds of the Biltmore estate. There’s plenty to explore in her grand home, although she must take care to never be seen. None of the rich folk upstairs know that Serafina exists; she and her pa, the estate’s maintenance man, have secretly lived in the basement for as long as Serafina can remember.

But when children at the estate start disappearing, only Serafina knows who the culprit is: a terrifying man in a black cloak who stalks Biltmore’s corridors at night. Following her own harrowing escape, Serafina risks everything by joining forces with Braeden Vanderbilt, the young nephew of the Biltmore’s owners. Braeden and Serafina must uncover the Man in the Black Cloak’s true identity... before all of the children vanish one by one.

Serafina’s hunt leads her into the very forest that she has been taught to fear. There she discovers a forgotten legacy of magic, one that is bound to her own identity. In order to save the children of Biltmore, Serafina must seek the answers that will unlock the puzzle of her past.

Wildwood Chronicles by Colin Meloy

In Wildwood, Prue and her friend Curtis uncover a secret world in the midst of violent upheaval—a world full of warring creatures, peaceable mystics, and powerful figures with the darkest intentions. And what begins as a rescue mission becomes something much greater as the two friends find themselves entwined in a struggle for the very freedom of this wilderness. A wilderness the locals call Wildwood.

The Clique by Lisi Harrison

Enter Claire Lyons, the new girl from Florida in Keds and two-year-old Gap overalls, who is clearly not Clique material. Unfortunately for her, while they look for a new home, Claire's family is staying in the guesthouse of the one and only Massie Block—Queen Bee of Octavian Country Day School. Claire's future looks worse than a bad Prada knockoff. But with a little luck and a lot of scheming, Claire might just come up smelling like Chanel No. 19.

Meet the rest of the Clique:

Massie Block: With her glossy brunette bob and laser-whitened smile, Massie is the uncontested ruler of The Clique and the rest of the social scene at Octavian Country Day School, an exclusive private girls' school in Westchester County, New York. Massie knows you'd give anything to be just like her.

Dylan Marvil: Massie's second in command who divides her time between sucking up to Massie and sucking down Atkins Diet shakes.

Alicia Rivera: As sneaky as she is beautiful, Alicia floats easily under adult radar because she seems so "sweet." Would love to take Massie's throne one day. Just might.

Kristen Gregory: She's smart, hardworking, and will insult you to tears faster than you can say "my haircut isn't ugly!"

Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransom

Swallows and Amazons introduces the lovable Walker family, the camp on Wild Cat island, the able-bodied catboat Swallow, and the two intrepid Amazons, Nancy and Peggy Blackett.

Spy School by Stuart Gibbs

Ben Ripley may only be in middle school, but he’s already pegged his dream job: C.I.A. or bust. Unfortunately for him, his personality doesn’t exactly scream “secret agent.” In fact, Ben is so awkward, he can barely get to school and back without a mishap. Because of his innate math skills, Ben isn't surprised when he is recruited for a magnet school with a focus on science—but he’s entirely shocked to discover that the school is actually a front for a junior C.I.A. academy. Could the C.I.A. really want him?

Actually, no. There’s been a case of mistaken identity—but that doesn’t stop Ben from trying to morph into a supercool undercover agent, the kind that always gets the girl. And through a series of hilarious misadventures, Ben realizes he might actually be a halfway decent spy…if he can survive all the attempts being made on his life!

My Friend Flicka by Mary O'Hara

It seems Ken can't do anything right. He loses saddle blankets and breaks reins...but then comes the worst news yet: a report card so bad that he has to repeat a grade. How can you tame the dreamy mind of a boy who stares out of the window instead of taking an exam? Enter Flicka, the chestnut filly with a wild spirit.

Over the course of one magical summer, both will learn the meaning of responsibility, courage, and, ultimately, friendship.

Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson

AN ANCIENT RIVALRY REAWAKENS.

Everything I'd known about the world was a lie.

On my thirteenth birthday, I, Alcatraz Smedry ( yes, I got named after a prison, don’t ask ) received my a bag of sand . And then I accidentally destroyed my foster parents’ kitchen. It’s not my fault, things just break around me, I swear !

I thought the sand was a joke until evil Librarians came to steal it. You’re probably thinking, “Librarians are nice people who recommend good books,” but that’s just what they want you to think! It turns out they’re actually a secret cult keeping the truth from you―a hidden world filled with magical eyeglasses, talking dinosaurs, and knights with crystal swords!

Or so my Grandpa Smedry claimed when he suddenly showed up to rescue me. So now I have to go with him to invade the local library and get that sand back, before it's used to conquer the world. And Grandpa says how I keep breaking things is actually an amazing talent. There’s no way that can all be true, right?

Will I ever make it back home alive?

The Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton

Jo, Bessie and Fanny move to the country and find an Enchanted Wood right on their doorstep. In the magic Faraway Tree live the magical characters that soon become their new friends – Moon-Face, Silky the fairy, and Saucepan Man. Together they visit the strange lands (the Roundabout Land, the Land of Ice and Snow, Toyland and the Land of Take What You Want) atop the tree and have the most exciting adventures – and narrow escapes.

[thewhispersofishiasblade]

My Oc's Canon Pronouns And Sexualities

Denzel - They're bisexual and use any and all pronouns.

Alicia - She's bisexual and uses she/her pronouns but in the least cis way imaginable. Her gender is best described as "indescribable." or "Sure is a gender."

Sparrow - He’s aroace and uses he/him pronouns. He has no interest in relationships at all.

Valerie - She’s a lesbian who uses she/they pronouns. 

Matthias - He’s pansexual and uses he/they pronouns. He's on the ace spectrum as well.

Fox - She’s a lesbian who uses her/him/they pronouns. 

Silvana - She’s unlabeled and uses she/her pronouns. 

Mauve - He’s pansexual and uses he/him pronouns.

[littletroubledgrrrl]

The WWE/WWF used to hire these pretty blondes who had never had any wrestling training before joining the company like Sable, Debra, Torrie Wilson, Stacy Keibler, Sunny, Kelly Kelly, The Kat, Maryse, Terri Runnels and even Trish Stratus, and these women were really mostly only hired for their beauty (although Stacy and Torrie were in WCW before joining the WWF and wrestled a bit before then).

I've created my own wrestling original character who I've imagined looks like the woman in this gif, she has dark brown hair and I've imagined her being hired by the World Wrestling Federation because of her beauty despite that she has brown hair (although I've imagined Vince McMahon not wanting to hire her due to her brown hair, I've also imagined ditching her brown hair).

But then again, the WWE used to also hire women like Layla El, Alicia Fox, the Bella Twins, Christy Hemme, and Maria Kanellis for their beauty and these women didn't have blond hair (some of these women won the Diva Search, which was possibly rigged).

And ECW used to hire brunettes like Francine, Beulah McGillicutty, Kimona Wanalaya and Dawn Marie for their beauty and they treated those women like sex objects.

[buttercupbuck]

“the truth is, i was just doing it to protect myself.” “what's wrong with that?

[image description: 5 gifs of evan buckley from various episodes of 9-1-1.

gif 1: from season 5 episode 18. buck tells taylor, “i don’t want to keep on making the same mistakes.”

gif 2: from season 5 episode 14. a close up of buck and christopher’s heart drawings. on the left is the cartoon heart with a cheesy smile that buck drew, and on the right is the anatomical heart that chris drew. referring to the cartoon heart, eddie asks, “chris drew this?” buck responds, “that one’s mine. i misunderstood the assignment”

gif 3: from season 6 episode 1. in buck’s apartment, eddie (offscreen) says, “taylor moved out, what, four months ago, buck? you could have replaced the couch by now.” buck replies, “uh, well, maybe i don’t want to pick the wrong couch again.”

gif 4: from season 5 episode 17. eddie talks to may (offscreen) in his office at the dispatch center, saying “look, you hid in a place you knew, where you could feel safe...”

gif 5: from season 6 episode 1. buck sits down in the armchair he moved in place of his couch, a slight grin on his face.

/end ID]

[you-tolkien-to-me]

WWE / NXT Imagine:

Imagine dating one of the female wrestlers from either WWE or NXT. You are the most powerful couple. You both take on both male and female competitors. 

I don’t own anything but the imagine part. :P

[niazha16]

New Start

@vivalavonvon @dlcute @lavitabella87 @queenreignsempire @hoodgirl163 @simulated-heat @blackasacrow @lexis-the-stick-figure @virginiawolfwolf @hardcorewwetrash @hardykat @phatreigns  @beckybadlasslynch @24k-black-girl-magic-baby @sonjashuterbugjohnson

AN: Alicia Fox/OC... Not the best writer won't ever claim to be...

Takes place after 205 live... Alicia runs into an old friend

Avery's FC: Tyler Lepley

 Alicia was sitting in the hotel lobby waiting for her LYFT to come and pick her up and take her home. This had to be the 5th time she has been embarrassed and for what? She has been with WWE for 13 years and it seems like they have taken her for a joke, she was a champion at one point. She has been put in storylines that make her seem crazy. Then when the 4 horse women made their appearance on the main roster she knew she was going to be placed on the backburner. At least creative allowed her a victory over Sasha that one time.

She was at a point she didn't know if she wanted to stay with WWE or go and find another wrestling promotion to go with. Alicia looked up to see Noam making his way towards her with a smirk on his face with another girl on his arm. Poor girl did not have a clue. To be honest she did not want to work with him especially when the old tweets of his came out. She couldn't do much or she would be pushed further back or worse fire so she sucked it up. Noam walked up to her and Alicia took a deep breath bad enough he already embarrassed her in front of a live crowd and people watching on the WWE network.

"What do you want Noam? Haven't you done your damage already?"

 "Oh, Alicia Fox I haven't done anything yet."

 "You can leave me alone Noam. You have done your damage. Please go?"  

 "Uh no Ms. Fox see I am going to make your life a living hell as long as we are on the roster."

 What Noam and Alicia failed to notice is Alicia's childhood friend Avery had made his way into the lobby. Avery stood at 6 feet tall, had a tattoo on his arm, was muscular, had a fade as a haircut, and his beard connected to his goatee. His smile was to die for and he had earrings in both his ears. He was every women's dream especially since he loved cats and dogs and had both as pets. He and Alicia was friends up until college he went away to become a model and Alicia had went away to become a wrestler.

No matter what he always supported her, went to every show just to see her face, or see her do something she has talked about doing since they were children. He didn't like how WWE has been treating her but since they haven't been in contact he couldn't state his annoyance to her.

He was staying in San Antonio Texas for a brief vacation and he was in attendance of 205 when Noam lost.  Embarrassing Alicia afterwards, he heard as all the men in the audience cheered for Noam and he wanted to bash their heads in but he restrained himself. He watched Alicia cry and that broke him even though they have been apart for some time her crying broke his heart.

That is why he followed he Alicia to the hotel she was staying at just to make sure no jackass decided to harass her about being broken up with. He’s surprised Alicia didn’t notice him but that helped him because when Noam approached Alicia and started bothering her, he stood behind Noam with his arms folded against his chest.

“Yo, my man didn’t Alicia say leave her alone?”

Noam and Alicia turned to see where the voice was coming from and Alicia gasped when she seen a grown-up Avery. She hasn’t seen Avery since they both went their separate ways for their career paths. She knew Avery was pissed his arms was crossed and his jaw was clenched she knew if Noam didn’t move Avery was bound to knock all this teeth down his throat.

“And who do you think you are nigga?”

Yep, Noam had no problem saying that word even when he was paired with a black woman wrestler. Avery laughed showing his pearly whites before connecting his right fist with Noam’s face knocking him to the ground. The girl on Noam’s arm instantly screamed and ran while Alicia looked unfazed by Avery’s reaction.

“Now, I’m going to say this one time and one time only if you come near Alicia again I will come to whatever town y’all out and beat your annoying ass. Then I’m go to your boss and tell them how you are harassing women. Play with me if you want to.”

Avery stepped over Noam and grabbed Alicia’s bag with one hand and her hand with the other and walked out the hotel hobby. They walked to Avery’s car which was a candy apple red Ford Fusion, Avery popped the trunk and put Alicia’s bag in there. He then went to the passenger side and opened the door for Alicia making sure she was safely in before going to the driver’s side and getting in. Avery buckled himself in and put the key in the ignition and started to drive.

“You ever have gelato before?”  

“No, we went to Italy and there was this gelato spot there and we couldn’t try it.”

“Well come on you with me. I’m hungry as hell anyway there is this spot that serves Panini’s and gelato so we in luck.”

Even though it’s been some years it was like nothing changed. It took about 30 minutes to get to Southalamode. When they reached there, Avery parked the car getting out and going to Alicia’s side of the car opening it for her and helping her out. They walked to the entrance and Avery opened the door letting Alicia go in first and walking in behind her. They went to an empty table in the corner and sat down.

“It’s good to see you Avery. What you doing in Texas anyway? How did you know about Noam?”

“Good to see you to Foxy Mama. I am on vacation and I came to see the show as I usually do to support you and I saw what that ass did. So, I followed you to make sure you were all right and low and behold I’m glad I did.”

Before another word could be spoken a waiter came to take their order. Avery ordered a Mela Dai for Alicia and a IL Brigante for himself, 2Voss Waters, and 2 orders of Mexican vanilla gelato. Once the waiter got their orders he went and put it in so the cooks can start.

“Wait you come to all the shows I be at? Why?”

“To see my Foxy Mama. I told you when you left to become a wrestler and I a model I will always support you and I meant that.”

The waiter came back with their waters and told them it be about 15 minutes to 30 minutes until the food is done. Alicia and Avery nodded their heads and thanked the waiter.

“I always support you too. I be seeing you shirtless on television and in magazine articles and on magazine covers. You did good for yourself. Still got your cats and dogs?”

“Thank you as long as you proud of me that is all that matters to me. Yea, I still got them.”

Avery took out his phone, unlocking it, going to pictures and going to the album animals. He passed the phone to Alicia and she smiled seeing the videos and pictures Avery took with his babies, for him to be a big man he was a big kid with a soft spot for animals.

Alicia and Avery talked that whole night about what has been going on in their lives both professional and personal and when the food came they dug in. The paninis were to die for and the gelato was amazing, even though it started out bad for Alicia she was glad she ran into her old friend Avery.

 Again, not the best writer. Won’t ever claim to be. Excuse all the errors and stuff. Blah.

[lilred91]

Anyone know why Alicia Fox is out with the legends??

[xoprincessambb]

mixed tag team tournament wish list || raw teams

[seragamble]

Season 12 of SPN but Better

This is my rewrite of s12 in which the main changes are after Lucifer knocks up Kelly he fucks off back to the cage, the BMOL are actually scary, and the narrative finally interrogates how people who aren’t human are treated. Note: I use monster and non-human interchangeably here. (Thank you @autisticandroids for your help with this post.)

The season starts off the same. Sam is perhaps a little more suicidal during his kidnapping, having just lost Dean and fresh off of having to be around Lucifer.

Sam’s myriad of mental health issues pop up here and there throughout the season, after Lucifer and dealing with what Lady Bevell did to him. He does his best to make sure none of this is seen by his family, but Dean eventually figures it out.

At least two episodes where the A Plot is Cas and Crowley investigating a case.

“American Nightmare” is just the start of a theme we see throughout the season of Sam bonding with monsters/non-humans/the ‘other’. He becomes a resource for them and in turn connecting with them helps him feel better about himself.

Cutting the Hitler episode because that was seriously just… :l

Instead Aaron comes back and it’s just a fun episode

Samantha Smith is amazing as Mary but please just take a moment to imagine “Celebrating the Life of Asa Fox” if Mary’s actor was actually ~28

At the end of “LOTUS” Lucifer goes back in the cage 

The events of First Blood take place over two episodes so we can gets stuff like: 

Cas and Mary hunting together

Cas and Mary (separately and together) threatening people they think can help them find Sam and Dean

Dean and Sam (Sam especially) losing their grip on reality whilst in confinement 

Instead of the American hunters largely rejecting the BMOL many of them embrace them. Mostly thanks to the weapons they freely provide. The BMOL also import their idea of “Hey shouldn’t ALL monsters be dead actually.” This becomes a serious issue as we get to see that there are plenty of monsters who aren’t hurting anyone, but are now being hunted.

At the end of “The Raid” we get our first foreshadowing of what else the BMOL are doing when that hunter, who betrayed them to the vampires, is taken to an onsite facility full of various monsters in cages.

The boys have a case that ends up being hunters who fucked around by going after innocent monsters, and found out. It’s a not at all subtle allegory about two monster siblings, where the older sister killed a pair of hunters to protect her little brother. This is the tipping point where Dean finally has a major mental shift in how he views and treats monsters.

There’s also a case where they look into weird supernatural phenomena and it turns out to be the result of hunters disrupting completely (super)natural stuff. It’s an episode about a supernatural creature that has zero interest in killing humans, they’re just strange and otherworldly, and hunters persecuting them has caused a major local disruption in the world.

Instead of the BMOL having their students fight one another to death, they have them kill monster children. We get a flashback of Mick killing a crying werewolf boy.

After Mick has his change of mind about what the BMOL are doing they don’t kill him. Instead he is taken to the facility (seen previously at the end of “The Raid”). This is where the BMOL experiment on monsters, as well as dispose of humans by using them as test subjects. There’s a scene where we see that hunter from before get injected with something, go through a weird mutation, and dies.

The timeline has to be shifted around a little, but instead of Cas being off in heaven trying to find something to find Kelly (which lead nothing to the narrative and went nowhere) the BMOL just make it seem like that’s what he did, while really they have him locked up.

Their reasoning being that if a nephilim is going to be born they want to know all they can about angels, but also they just genuinely don’t see anyone who isn’t human as a person so why not experiment on them. The whole experience is really dehumanizing.

Ketch is there, and I would like to remind everyone about the line, “I do enjoy an angel,” which is a) haunting, and b) implies Ketch has dealt with angels before.

Remember how in “Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets” Cas can immediately identify that angel blade as being Benjamin’s? Ketch has a few and taunts Cas about what he may or may not have done to their owners.

They torture Cas/do a lot of medical experimentation. The torture is “extremely horny for no reason, shave your chest father of two it’s fanservice time”-y (thank u autisticandroids).

On the brighter side, Mick and Cas bond during their captivity because Cas deserves to have a friend who isn’t a Winchester. Also go ask @autisticandroids about this.

We see Mick question his long held beliefs about monsters and grow more as a character. He also gets turned into something, perhaps a Shapeshifter.

During this time we get to know various other monsters being held and undergoing experimentation.

Instead of Mary finding out Mick is dead she finds out about the facility. Same thing happens as in canon where they brainwash her. This time she’s just killing hunters who won’t fall in line with the BMOL, instead of all American hunters (which I feel made no sense).

Garth comes back at some point because of course he does. Why have an entire season about people who want to eradicate all monsters and then not bring back their one friend who would be most affected by this? His whole family and community are at risk of death if the BMOL have their way.

“Twigs and Twines and Tasha Banes” happens next season because I want Max and Alicia to be part of the attack on the BMOL and it’s better for their narrative if they disappear for a while before coming back after that episode. Instead they show up in a standard motw episode to drive home the fact that it’s fucked up to automatically consider witches to be evil.

One of the narrative points would be how the BMOL tolerance of witches is extremely conditional on them only using their magic for them, and the presence of the BMOL in America has led to an increasingly hostile environment for the Banes family.

The people the Winchesters recruit to help them attack the BMOL facility are a mix of monsters they’ve helped out, and hunters who respect them/didn’t fall in line/have noticed their friends getting murdered. 

The end result is the beginning of a new relationship between hunters and non-humans.

It might be odd after a season long narrative about not demonizing people just because they’re not human, to have the Winchesters still be all “Let’s forcibly abort this fetus,” but, with the added element of Sam dealing with his Lucifer trauma all season, I think it would make sense to have Dean be in extra Protective Mode™. That combined with Cas, fresh off of having to be rescued and feeling even worse about himself, decides to take the Kline issue into his own hands. The narrative follows along with canon. Since Lucifer isn’t around it’s AU!Michael who kills Cas and Mary tackles back through the rip.

Alternatively if you hate that and want something more domestic you can picture the following: with their newfound POV TFW rescues Kelly and takes her back to the bunker, promising they’ll take care of her child.

[thebestbookrecommendations]

The Woman in the Window - A. J. Finn

Anna Fox lives alone, a recluse in her New York City home, unable to venture outside. She spends her day drinking wine (maybe too much), watching old movies, recalling happier times . . . and spying on her neighbors. Then the Russells move into the house across the way: a father, a mother and their teenage son. The perfect family. But when Anna, gazing out her window one night, sees something she shouldn’t, her world begins to crumble and its shocking secrets are laid bare. What is real? What is imagined? Who is in danger? Who is in control? In this diabolically gripping thriller, no one—and nothing—is what it seems.

Read if You Like:

Thriller

Mystery

Suspense

Crime

Psychological Thrillers

Female POV

Unreliable Narrators

Recommended if You Enjoy:

B. A. Paris (Behind Closed Doors)

Paula Hawkins (The Girl on the Train)

Lucy Foley (The Guest List)

Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl)

Colleen Hoover (Verity)

Lisa Unger (Confessions on the 7:45)

Alex Michaelides (The Silent Patient)

3.5/5

[aliveandfullofjoy]

REVIEW: The Green Knight (Lowery, 2021)

Heavy spoilers below, if you want to avoid that sort of thing.

“I’ve seen things everywhere that bear not logic.”

Things feel off-kilter for practically all of David Lowery's handsome adaptation of The Green Knight. Almost instantly, the film pushes us into a world that is cold, dark, full of mysteries, and endlessly violent. It's contemplative, but only in the way that a scary story told around the campfire is. Much of the film's quirks in pacing or style seem to be primarily for mood rather than for story, which is entirely valid. Lowery is careful to lull the viewer into a bit of a distressed dream state: things are slow and pensive and confusing until suddenly everything sharply shifts into focus and you're only left with more questions.

All of that is to say The Green Knight is almost certainly going to be one of the most enigmatic films of the year. It's a tricky movie to nail down, as it catapults itself between multiple contradicting tones, just as its cinematography restlessly flips between vibrant and stunning colors and suffocatingly dark blackness. The entire film rests on Dev Patel's handsome shoulders, and his performance is something of a miracle. While the role of Sir Gawain clearly requires some significant athleticism, Patel's secret weapons -- as usual -- are his big, emotive eyes. In films as dissimilar as Slumdog Millionaire to David Copperfield, his eyes are able convey a world of hopes, regrets, and secrets, and this is no exception. His soulful, quiet performance as Gawain is the warm heartbeat at the center of the film.

He's magnetic onscreen. I could watch him roam the Irish countryside on foot or horseback for hours on end. Lowery is acutely aware of Patel's physical beauty, too, since basically every character he meets on his journey to the Green Chapel looks like they want to tenderly grab his face and kiss him on the mouth. Joel Edgerton actually does so, which is a lot of fun, but only after his wife (Alicia Vikander, in one of her dual roles) gives Gawain what might as well be described as an evil handjob. There's a lot of sexual tension in this movie, which is fitting considering it's all about Gawain's growth into manhood. The idea of fatherhood also haunts this movie. From Arthur's paternal advice at the Christmas feast to the almost "let's go play catch" quality to the Green Knight's final "off with your head," so much of Gawain's personal journey towards becoming a man seems defined by his lack of a father figure. Gawain's imagined future even centers around his would-be son's horrific death.

It's been almost two weeks since I saw the film, and most of what gave me trouble while watching it has faded from memory, and now I'm stuck thinking about the things I found compelling. There's a whole slew of strong performances, from Edgerton, Vikander, Sean Harris as King Arthur, Kate Dickie as Guinevere, and especially Erin Kellyman's brief performance as Winifred. Best of all, though, is Ralph Ineson's performance as the Green Knight: the combination of the all-time great makeup work all over his face, his heavy, woody voice, and his sad, sad eyes are utterly hypnotic. The soundscape in this film is to die for, too. The Green Knight is, among other things, a feast for the sense, from Patel's beautiful face to the fantastical imagery to the droning music. Also, I love the CGI fox. Sue me.

It's funny. When I sat down to write this review, I was planning on ending it with some spiel about how the things that didn't quite work for me didn't detract from an interesting film. I had some line cooked up about how there's a lot in this film to respect, if not to love. That might still be true, but just in writing all of this down, I feel a lot warmer on the film than I did even ten minutes ago. Maybe that's the staying power of a good story.

[ariyadaivaris]

[princeescaluswords]

Invisible Empathy Gaps

You know, as irritating as the majority of fandom can be, it can also be very, very enlightening.  Since many of the participants work from a position where they believe they can do as they please because they imagine that their actions have no real consequence, they tend to reveal things that in what they would consider a ‘real-world’ situation, they would take pains to hide.

Often, the problem when people like me talk about the phenomena of “minority pain being invisible” and “empathy gaps” is that they can seem very abstract to some people, who think it’s just about ‘liking’ someone.  They don’t want to think about racism, they want to enjoy what they want to enjoy.  But these phenomena do exist, and they can be shown.

Take Derek Hale.  Tyler Hoechlin is a very attractive white man and a fine actor, while Derek Hale as a character occupies a very popular niche in entertainment.  We frequently talk about his tragic backstory, but here’s the thing: all we know for the first ten episodes of the show is that his family died in the fire and we’re only told that.   We aren’t even shown how it was accomplished -- it’s still murky even three years after the show is over -- but we know bits and pieces. Sheriff Stilinski slowly puts it together that the murder victims were possible Hale arsonists.  We learn that Kate seduced and raped Derek to accomplish it.  But we don’t see even a brief scene of the fire until it’s burned into Scott’s brain in Episode 10.

Yet, that’s all that seems necessary.  Fandom instantly wanted to fold Derek to their breasts on the strength of these bits and pieces.  The point is we had no idea of the pre-fire relationship between Talia and Derek or Peter and Derek until Season 3; we have no idea of the relationship between Derek and Laura ever.  But the sympathy was immediate and overwhelming.  The cry goes: Derek Hale deserves nice things!

Compare that to fandom’s response to what Scott goes through in Season 1.  We watch the horror on his face as claws grow out of his fingers in the bathtub.  We watch him wake up in the middle of the woods with no idea how he got there and then chased by a deformed monstrosity.   We watch him struggle with the idea that he might have killed Allison and then he might have killed Garrison in the third episode.  We watch him pinned to the gymnasium floor by Peter in Night School.  We watch him writhing on the ground while memories of being burned alive get stuffed into his head.  We watch him coughing up black blood, dying in the middle of the woods.  We watch him see Allison, the girl he loves, react in horror to his transformation.

And what does fandom respond with?  He’s stubborn.  He’s sexually obsessed.  He should be grateful for the Bite.   Unlike Derek, we’re not told what happened to him; we see it happening before our very eyes.  The fandom’s reaction to the first season is finding the nearest white boy with which to sympathize: compare their reaction to Scott being exposed to their reaction to Stiles scared in the McCall Hallway after the moon-crazed werewolf he just taunted screams at him.

Empathy gap?  What empathy gap?

And it’s not just once.  Let’s take Season 5.   

By that season, Scott has been criticized thoroughly by the fandom to the point of nausea about his willingness to give people like Jackson and Deucalion second chances.  He’s been scolded for not dealing with Allison’s dark phase correctly and not executing Gerard on sight.  He’s been mocked for trying to save everyone and failing and castigated for getting others to do his killing for him (which he never did).  He counts Derek -- who beat him, manipulated him, and lied to him repeatedly -- as a mentor and a brother; he has hope for Peter; he trusts the mercenary Braeden; and he doesn’t share fandom’s racist distrust of Deaton.  But the moment Stiles is overwhelmed by fear that his self-defense killing of Donovan will be answered by his losing Scott’s friendship, the fandom went into a paroxysm of tear-laden empathy, even though we never ever saw Scott hate someone before, even to the people who threatened his family and tortured him.

No one criticized Stiles for letting his emotions overwhelm his common sense, no one put him to blame for not telling just Scott or anyone.   They recognized the power of the event and the way Stiles was handling it as a product of previous trauma (mostly the death of Claudia and the nogitsune possession).

And yet, at the exact same time, Scott mishandled the imbalance between Kira and her inner fox spirit.  Unlike Stiles’s hallucinatory possibilities, we actually see Kira’s fox spirit attempt to execute a downed opponent, operate independently of Kira, and speak through Kira’s mouth (because Kira doesn’t know Japanese).  Of course, Scott remembers being tortured and losing Allison at the hands of a fox wearing a loved one’s face.  Scott (and the audience) isn’t dealing with an imagined scenario.  It’s actually happened before and happening before our eyes.  

But the fandom literally believed that Scott concealing his fears from Kira (and the fox spirit inside of her) was a terribly shitty thing to do, even while Stiles was busy lying to the entire pack at the same time.   

Empathy gap?  What empathy gap?

The fandom demonstrably heightens their sympathy toward white male characters while simultaneously dismissing or just missing sympathy toward minority characters.   Talia and Laura have been painted as suspect in order to heighten sympathy for Derek and/or Peter even though there is scant information that they did anything wrong (Talia was supposedly a tyrant though no one even hints at that; Laura neglected and abandoned Peter even though Peter never even suggests it).   The Sheriff’s fraught relationship with alcohol has been turned into child neglect, child abuse, and outright alcoholism even though Stiles rejected that idea explicitly.  There’s not a single scene which even implies that Stiles had to take care of himself in the aftermath of his mother’s death.  

But when we have an actual alcoholic who literally confesses to endangering his child with his drinking and literally confesses to child abandonment and we see demonstrations of his neglect on the screen (”I’ll send a follow-up e-mail”), fandom falls all over itself to downplay that into a one-time event not worthy of sympathy.  

We can put that into the same category as Boyd’s sister Alicia or what happened between Mr. Tate and Malia that she ended up in Eichen House or Braeden’s post-murder-attempt relationship with Deucalion as things in which the fandom ... just ... seems ... uninterested.   As compared to, say, the burning question of who is Liam’s mom?

There’s a reason that people try to make the point that audiences tend to downplay and erase minority pain, sometimes to such a degree that you forget it actually happened.

BUT IT’S NOT RACISM.

[weekendwarriorblog]

The Green Knight Review: Lowery Proves His Cinematic Mettle, As Does Dev Patel

It’s hard to know exactly what to expect when sitting down to watch David Lowery’s The Green Knight, at least not from the visually compelling advance marketing, other than knowing that it’s an adaptation of a rather long poem from Arthurian legend called “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.”

Dev Patel of Slumdog Millionaire (and many other movies) plays Gawain before he becomes a knight, as the first act of the film sets up the overall story. It’s also one of the more enigmatic parts of the movie, as we’re cutting between Gawain with his lover Esel (Alicia Vikander), time with his mother as she does some strange rituals, and time spent in the court of King Arthur (Sean Harris.) It’s Christmas Eve and the Green Knight of the title comes to Arthur’s festivities to issue a challenge -- if a brave knight can step forward and merely touch the knight with his sword, he will… have the chance to visit the Green Knight in his own kingdom a year later to have that favor repaid. Gawain steps forward and slices the kneeling Green Knight’s head clean-off, which he picks up and strolls away, waiting for Gawain to get his due. No, there doesn’t seem to be that much incentive for doing what Gawain did.

It was pretty tough not to constantly be thinking of Monty Python and the Holy Grail while watching The Green Knight, maybe because I’ve seen that medieval comedy classic a few dozen times over the years. (Maybe it’s also ironic that another visionary filmmaker, Terry Gilliam, played the Green Knight in that film.)

Once Gawain is on his journey, the film becomes fairly episodic as he meets different characters and has different “adventures” of sorts, whether it’s facing a small group of brutal thieving brats, led by Barry Keoghan, or encountering the ghostly St. Winifred (Erin Kellyman), or the super-adorable fox that becomes Gawain’s companion for much of his journey. What’s interesting is the grey area behind many of these characters Gawain encounters where -- other than maybe Keoghan and the Green Knight himself -- it doesn’t feel like the people Gawain encounters are necessarily malevolent or trying to hurt or kill him. It’s the definition of an epic journey, though, because every encounter acts almost as a mini-movie within the glorious whole.

Casting Dev Patel might be the wisest and also ballsiest move by Lowery, as we once again see how the second act of Patel’s career has flourished along with his maturity as a human. Gawain is an incredibly complex character emotionally, and it’s not just the physical presence a noticeably swole Patel brings to him. Oscar-winner Alicia Vikander is probably at her most scintillating, whether it’s when she’s barely recognizable as the short-haired Esel or as the far more glamorous unnamed “Lady,” while Joel Edgerton is fairly witty as her counterpart “Lord.”

Most of The Green Knight you’ll watch not knowing what is real -- okay, it’s all fiction and fantasy, but you know what I mean -- and what is in Gawain’s head, because Lowery ably blurs those lines within every scene. As much as The Green Knight can be deemed as bonafide horror with plenty of ghosts and gore and such, it also offers the grand majesty of something like Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. In fact, if parts of the film reminds you of The Lord of the Rings then maybe it will come as little surprise that the original text of the poem by “Anonymous” was translated into English by none other than J.R.R. Tolkien. Lowery takes that corollary of an epic journey to the next level with many shots that would have fit right into Peter Jackson’s trilogy.

I usually do most of my talking about the crafts on a film in my reviews over at Below the Line, but it’s impossible to ignore some of the amazing crafts work on The Green Knight. In fact, I would say that to a single person, the people working with Lowery to bring this film to life are doing some of the finest work we’ll see this year. From production design to cinematography to costumes, hair and makeup to lighting and sound work -- every single scene feels so deliberate in its design and creation -- and then it’s all pulled together by another brilliant score by Lowery regular Daniel Hart. Sometimes you don’t even notice what is happening in the audio space because you’re so dazzled by the visuals, but when you really focus on the sound and audio, it’s another experience entirely.

I’m not sure I can say that I fully understood everything I was watching in Lowery’s artfully masterful magnum opus -- there are some moments more quizzical than others -- but it feels like Lowery’s strongest effort to date, as much as I enjoyed his incredibly emotional film, A Ghost Story.

The Green Knight is just an enormous epic, a truly cinematic voyage that pulls you further in as it goes along, and doesn’t give you a moment to even want it to let up. I’ll be especially curious to see how well it replays on a second viewing, but I cannot imagine watching this movie on a computer or television screen, so A24’s decision to delay the movie for over a year was a sound one.

Rating: 8/10

The Green Knight opens this Friday, July 30, with previews on Thursday night.