#Brewster Brewster High School

[taddixon-blog]

Watch as this soccer referee get hit with a ball point-blank rage. Lived to tell the take. No harm no foul. Play on. After drop ball.

[majorshatterandhare]

GPTim would really like the Thrilling Adventure Hour/Welcome to Night Vale crossover, well, up until Croach fixes things. But the NV citizens hate the moon *so* much that they make it disappear, but not in their time in the future. So there’s moon destroying and time travel.

On a related note: Aurora would *hate* the TAH/WtNV crossover since the NV citiz-

[mariacallous]

On Oct. 29, 1920, the temperature in Detroit reached a high of 60 degrees, and the Detroit Free Press reported that “Northwestern High’s football eleven” was preparing to face Eastern High School the next day for a much anticipated Saturday matchup at the Joyce athletic field. 

Julia Esaw had not yet arrived in Detroit to enjoy the game and the pleasant weather, but the longtime member of People’s Community Church was born on that day — more than 100 years ago.

And this past Tuesday, on Oct. 29, the same Julia Esaw celebrated her 104th birthday in Detroit.

“If you could see my face now, you would see a great big smile,” Esaw announced by phone at 3:27 p.m. on her birthday, a day that was fittingly even warmer in Detroit than the day she was born.

Asking the exuberant centenarian to take a second call by FaceTime so that her beautiful smile could be seen was not an option. That’s because Esaw was in a rush to quickly take in the sun and 76-degree warmth that radiated at that moment near her Detroit home, not far from her beloved People’s Community Church — 8601 Woodward Ave. — before she was to be whisked away to a secret location for a family birthday celebration.

A 104th birthday is a rare occurrence. But Esaw says that from a very early time in her life she came to expect good experiences in Detroit.

“Detroit has had a lot to offer and I have no complaints,” said the 1939 Cass Tech graduate, who came to Detroit with her family when she was 2 years old from Columbia, Mississippi.

During the afternoon of Monday, Oct. 28, with vivid recollection, Esaw reeled off some of the early Detroit streets she lived on, including High Street, Division, Brewster, Hedge, Trowbridge and Taylor. However, it was a discussion about a destination that Esaw visited recently that brought out an excited tone a little more than eight hours before her birthday. That destination is 2978 West Grand Blvd., home to the Detroit Department of Elections, where Esaw dropped off her absentee ballot with a vote cast in the 2024 presidential election for Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. And Esaw left no doubt that even with all of the history she has seen during her long lifetime, the opportunity to cast her vote for Harris — the first Black woman to head a major party’s presidential ticket — holds a special place in her heart. 

“I’m happy and it makes me feel great!” declared Esaw, who was born just 72 days after the ratification of the 19th Amendment which legally guaranteed women the right to vote.

Then Esaw went on to explain that her happiness this election season is tied to progress she has witnessed during her lifetime.  

“After high school, I wanted to study to be a dietitian. But as a young Black woman, there was no place here that I could go to get the training and my mother didn’t want me to go away,” lamented Esaw, who says she still owes a huge debt of gratitude to two “tough” teachers in Cass Tech’s home economics curriculum that prepared her well for life. “Blacks didn’t have the same kind of power we have today. But if we all get together now, we can put her (Harris) on the top seat.”

Although Esaw was unable to pursue a career in health care, her journey as a beautician actually began in close physical proximity to a prominent Detroit health institution. 

“I started as a beautician at the Streamline Beauty Shop on Forest and it was right across from Women’s Hospital (now Hutzel Women’s Hospital),” said Esaw, who was married to the late Tuskegee Airman Burkes Esaw Sr. “Because we were so close to the hospital, I had more white trade (clientele) than Black. It was the same thing for many years when I was running my own shop.” 

In the roles Esaw carried out as a beautician, block club president, wife and mother of four children who were taught at home to value education and healthy eating, she says race was not a barrier to success. But Esaw’s recollection of a revered Detroit landmark — the old downtown J. L. Hudson Department Store — may be a bit different from what is recorded in many history books. Esaw explained that there was a time when the shopping experience for Black customers at J.L. Hudson, which grew to be the tallest department store in the world during its heyday, was mostly relegated to the basement level due to a Northern version of Jim Crow.

Esaw’s earliest memories of Hudson’s were shared without a hint of bitterness in her voice and with a tiny chuckle thrown in because, as Esaw went on to explain, she has never accepted a “basement” view of life due to her faith. And because of her faith, Esaw says the fact that a Black woman (Harris also is of Southeast Asian descent on her mother's side) has a very legitimate chance to become the nation’s first woman president is not really a big surprise to her. 

“I was always taught that we (Black people) were God’s children too,” said Esaw, who noted that she starts each morning with a bowl of assorted raw fruit that she prepares for herself. “God made us and we’re somebody, too. And we can do anything that anyone else can, including being president.” 

And in an equally succinct manner, Esaw laid out what she would expect from Harris as president. 

“I want to see her reach out and touch everybody, because we’re all God’s children,” Esaw stated. “And then I would like to see us all work together as a team.” 

Next to Esaw as she spoke from home on consecutive afternoons beginning Oct. 28 was her only daughter and constant companion, 72-year-old Berneta Esaw, a retired Detroit Public Schools math teacher. Berneta Esaw was with her mother when she dropped off her election ballot, and she also was by her mom’s side on Oct. 12 at the Detroit Golf Club when Berneta Esaw’s 1969 Cass Tech graduating class held its 55th reunion, which Julia Esaw used as an opportunity to celebrate the 85th anniversary of her own graduation from Cass.

Berneta Esaw says she is holding out hope that there are other living people that will come forward who graduated from Cass Tech in or around 1939 to allow her mother to enjoy a reunion experience to the fullest. But in the meantime, Berneta Esaw is more than happy to share lessons for living a long, fulfilling life — which she has received with love directly from her mother. 

“Mother doesn’t look anywhere close to 90 — most people start at 70 when she asks them how old they think she is. But she has worked hard to look like that,” said Berneta Esaw, who has grown accustomed and accepting to people that want to hug and touch her mom when they become aware of Julia Esaw’s age. “Living with mother, you knew you were going to get your fruit in the morning, and salad with lunch and dinner, because mother knows that when you eat fresh, raw fruits and vegetables the body works better. 

“Mother is a blessing, and I feel blessed that I was born to two parents who were extremely knowledgeable and intelligent, and they gladly passed down their knowledge to my siblings and me, and others in our community.”  

[brokehorrorfan]

The Faculty will be released on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray on December 17 via Scream Factory. The 1998 sci-fi horror film is directed by Robert Rodriguez (Sin City, From Dusk Till Dawn).

Jordana Brewster, Clea DuVall, Laura Harris, Josh Hartnett, Shawn Hatosy, Famke Janssen, Piper Laurie, Bebe Neuwirth, Robert Patrick, Usher Raymond, Jon Stewart, and Elijah Wood star. Kevin Williamson (Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer) wrote the script.

The film has been newly restored in 4K from the original camera negative, approved by Rodriguez, with Dolby Vision. Special features are listed below.

Special features:

Interview with Special Makeup and Creature Effects Artist Greg Nicotero (new)

Interview with Production Designer Cary White (new)

A group of small-town high school students, including an introverted photographer and a charismatic drug dealer, begin to suspect something's off with their teachers. After realizing the faculty is, in fact, under the control of mind-controlling alien parasites, the kids are outnumbered and endangered. Now they're in a fight against an invasion against not only their school and their town, but also the entire world.

Pre-order The Faculty.

[gh0stlyb34r]

Welcome to my blog !

About me ! ; the basics

name ; saint , logan , johnny

big age ; 19 ('05)

little age ; 2 - 5

pronouns ; he / they / star / it (+more!)

gender / sexuality ect. ; gay , trans , ace , poly(?)

links at end of post!!

pronouns page | strawpage

About me ! ; my interests

games ; call of duty , overwatch , valorant , hogwarts legacy , jedi fallen order , jedi survivor , red dead redemption 2 , roblox (royale high , dress to impress + more!) , fnaf , poppy playtime , indigo park , forza horizon , resident evil 4 , good pizza great pizza , animal crossing new horizons , mario kart 8 , mario kart wii , just dance , the last of us , detroit become human , spiderman , little nightmares , buckshot roulette

movies / shows / musicals ; star wars , harry potter , marvel , x-men , deadpool & wolverine , the greatest showman , grease , hairspray , moulin rouge , phantom of the opera , annie , hamilton , les miserables , arcane , criminal minds , swat , titains , the batman , high school musical , heartstopper , heathers , young royals , ghostbusters , beetlejuice , into the woods , mean girls , the umbrella academy , nimona , descendants , lemonade mouth , stranger things

youtubers ; pezzy , grizzy , bigpuffer , elasticdroid , gtlive , game theory , warn , aspen , frogger , flats , dawko , ethan nestor , smii7y , blarg , thedooo , beaplays , coleydoesthings , filmcooper , dechart games , hthaze , james marriott , willne

musicians / bands ; taylor swift , hozier , noah kahan , james marriott , mcr , twenty one pilots , p!atd , billie eilish , sleeping at last , the smiths , fleetwood mac , the cranberries , laufey , mitski clairo , paramore , bruno major , depeche mode , chappell roan , novo amor , taylor austen dye , maya hawke , frank sinatra , 1d , 5sos , feels like july , florance the machine , djo , sleep token , lily allen , ghost , lady gaga , gerard way , daughter

misc ; books , lego , monster high , collecting , cds , dvds , posters , flowers , pins , halloween , fall/autumn , deco pacis , colouring

DISCLAIMER ; I do not support the actions of my faves! I hold them all accountable! I do not support JKR , noah schnapp ect!!!

About me ! ; My faves

celebrities / authors ; pedro pascal , oscar isaac , hugh jackman , ryan reynolds , erik j brown , ali hazelwood , tom holland , gerard way , aiden gallagher , kit connor , andrew garfield , ewan mcgregor , hayden christensen , carrie fisher , eddie remain , tom hiddelston , josh hutcherson , david harbour , wynona rider , aaron tveit , matthew gray gubler , maya hawke , natalia dyer , thomas gibson , padget brewster , aj cook

characters ; viktor , jinx , vi , ekko , simon 'ghost' riley , john 'soap' mactavish , kyle 'gaz' garrick , captain john price , keegan p russ , robin buckley , spencer reid , steve harrington , emily prentiss , aaron hotchner , penelope garcia , james potter , remus lupin , sirius black , loki , logan howlett , scott summers , rogue , marc spector , steven grant , obi-wan kenobi , anakin skywalker , luke skywalker , han solo , leia organa , ben hargreeves , luther hargreeves , five hargreeves , newt scamander , theseus scamander , din djarin , wade wilson , danny zuko , ben florian , flynn rider , aziraphale , crowley , nick nelson

My rules ! ; do not interact

nsfw , abdl/ddlg (and variants) , racist, homophobic , transphobic , ableist , zionist , edsh , n@zi , trump supporters , anti agere , anti petre , dsmp/qsmp fans (mainly dream team & wilbur fans)

My rules ; boundaries

when using pet names or gendered terms, keep them masc or gn NO FEM TERMS

DO NOT flirt with me , whether that is as a joke or platonicaly

keep all asks SAFE FOR WORK

more...

Links ; other blogs

writing blog ; @b4bywr1t3s

caregiver blog ; @royaldaycare

Links ; requests and master list

request info / master list / whitelist

Links ; credits

dni banners ; one , two , three

consent banner and dividers ; @kodaswrld

My tags ;

ghostlyblog ; normal posts + asks

ghostlyboards ; moodboards + stimboards

ghostlymedia ; agere media + other photos/videos

🐾 . lo's fictional cgs ; fictional characters that I see as cgs/my cgs

🐾 . lo's fictional faves ; my favourite fictional characters

[masterj]

i'm kinda new to the chuggington fandom. i used to own the episodes on dvd but idk where they went. anyway! I figured it'd be cool to hear the thoughts of someone invested in the show, to get a new perspective on it, so i myself could become more invested! do you have any thoughts you'd share to an amateur train appreciator??

OMGOSH 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀WELCOME ABOARD!!!!! 🚅🚄🚈🚃🚂🚂🚂😄😄😄

I've been into the show since 2011-2012 I think... pretty sure before Cars 2 came out- or maybe after... memory's a bit rough in that area. I was first exposed to the show by my younger cousin who watched it on Disney Junior, or at the time, Playhouse Disney, and also had the DVD Let's Ride The Rails, which I now own, playing in my auntie's van one morning on our way to school. I would later track down Disney Junior myself to find the show.

It was pretty much the main reason I've hung around Disney Junior. As a kid who loved trains because of already being a Thomas The Tank Engine fan, it just to captured my interest so quickly and I was hooked.

I'd say the characters and designs are mostly what I love about Chuggington. While there aren't really antagonists in the show they all have their own quirks and distinction from each other which balances it out well.

Wilson is both my favorite to draw and favorite overall. While I haven't gotten to making my own scripts for my planned fanseries yet, his ADHD personality is just pure spirit animal energy when I look at how he's characterized by the show and by myself. I also relate to him to an extent in some areas. He's practically my son lol

The episodes are mostly well written, and miles better than Thomas was at the time... (*COUGH* SHARON MILLER *COUGH*)

Chris McHale's music for the show some of the most unique I've ever heard and the fact we don't have more of the show's score available in high quality than we do is a crime.

Production slowly went to hell since Season 3 onwards, due to investors pulling out for unknown reasons, resulting in S3 being cut from 26 to 14 episodes, Season 4 being rushed and strictly formulated towards the advanced training agenda, (but the episodes were not by any means terrible) and S5, while better than S4, was entirely funded by TOMY resulting in only 10 episodes. After that, Ludorum Entertainment was on the verge of bankruptcy resulting in the show being on hiatus for five years until Herschend Entertainment purchased them, but things weren't that much better.

Season 6 or Tales From The Rails is sadly where Chuggington truly dropped in quality due to Herschend's low budget and their inexperience with the show. Many characters and locations were written off and a number of the voice actor recasts were not too great. Not to mention occasional mischaracterization (mostly Brewster), continuity errors and overall rather shifty writing quality. The merchandise also plummeted in quality and the pandemic caused several delays, and this whole disaster ultimately led to Season 7 being cancelled as of November last year... 😔

While Season 6 was a failed comeback and is NOT fit to be regarded as canon to the first 5 seasons, it still has a decent number of episodes that are good to okay enough at best, and I do plan on rewriting the misfires of season 6 at some point.

Despite all the hardship this show faced, production, performance, and reception-wise, Chuggington is still very much an enjoyable and mostly solid series. I commend both Ludorum and Herschend for not going down without a fair fight and I've very much grown to love the show just as much as Thomas.

To the point where Thomas content is not my top priority anymore and hasn't been for some time now, seeing as thousands of people do Thomas content already while Chuggington content is very scarce and slow going, even with more people finally appreciating and warming up to it, since there's far worse out there nowadays... media ain't what it used to be so good f---ing luck... 😑

With all the moping and mourning aside, thank you so much for joining us, you don't know how much it means to me to have another person hyperfixating on this underated and criminally disregarded series, but it's important to remember that you don't choose the hyperfixation. The hyperfixation chooses you >:3

I am an artist, editor and headcanon writer, and slowly pushing to write up my own fanseries which takes place after S5, and I even have my own roster of original characters and locations in progress, one OC I've already revealed, and another that was actually created by a Tumblr buddy of mine, @lomotunes2008.

So make sure you follow my art account, @masterjarthub - with notifications on, cuz I may pump out surprises over there!

But for until then, welcome to The Chugger Cult! 🚂🚄🚅🚈😄😄😎😎

Enjoy your stay. 😊

[nicki-lewis903]

I saw this film in my high school English class over ten years ago and it was one film I couldn’t exactly forget. Years later when I was hunting down another film I found this dvd in the store and never looked back. It’s one of the films I recommend to people who enjoy dark comedy or slapstick films. It has some jokes that are dark in tone but delivered so well it’s impossible not to laugh. Whether being charmed by the sweet unassuming aunts, intrigued by the silly brother who thinks he’s Theodore Rosevelt, enchanted by our lead and his love interest or fearful of the brother who returns with a plan to take over the household.

Arsenic and Old lace is a 1944 film that was originally filmed years prior but sadly studio distribution halted it for a while and it was until he was in the trenches of WWII that director Frank Capra heard a nearby soldier yell out “Charge” and run towards the enemy like the Teddy character in the film.

The premise of the film is Mortimer Brewster, played by Grant, visits his aunts after marrying their girl next door and their minister’s daughter. When he comes home however he discovers a secret kept by the two old ladies under the guise of a good deed. The brother who the neighbors fear helps to cover evidence as he knows no better, and once Mortimer learns this he feels he can get this situation under control if he can get his brother locked away. But things get even crazier when his other brother comes home with an accomplice. Mortimer and his aunts are not living in fear of brother Jonathan and what he’ll do, while Mortimer is struggling to cover up this family situation and keep his newlywed wife safe.

The brother Jonathan is played by Raymond Massey who was done up to look like Boris Karloff who originated the role on Broadway, Karloff wanted to play in the film as it would open more doors for him in a comedy but the producers of the play refused to part with him because he was the big draw. Josephine Hull, Jean Adair and John Alexander were the only cast members from the play who appeared in the film. Peter Lorre plays the accomplice Dr Einstein.

The film recently was released by Criterion Films and given a spot in the library of congress. Having this means prints of this film will be around for years to come and future generations to see. It’s absolutely worth watching around Halloween as that’s when the events in the film take place.

[illdowhatiwantthanks]

HOT 100 HCs: Emily Prentiss

Friends. Colleagues. I am starting a new thing (but not ending any old things, don't worry babes). I'm calling it HOT 100 Headcanons. Basically, I've created playlists for characters that include all the songs that they love and/or have shaped them in some way. I take cues from the canon characters (for example, canon Emily was a rocker in high school, so her playlist includes quite a bit of rock).

I don't know if anyone else will enjoy this or care about it and, frankly, I don't care. I really enjoyed making it, and I really do believe it's doing deep dives like this that help you really get to know a character (or your HC of them, anyway). Enjoy, if you're into that kind of thing!

HOT 100 HCs: Emily Prentiss

Note(s): When I think of the Criminal Minds characters, I always think of them as being Elite Team-age in the present. If Paget Brewster’s age roughly equals Emily’s, then Emily joined the BAU when she was 36/37. If we move the Elite Team timeline up so it starts in 2024, she’d have been born in 1987. That’s the date I work from when calculating these Hot 100 Lists.

(Also, the first parentheses is the date the song was released. The second is the age Emily was when it was released.)

Nat King Cole, “Nature Boy” (March 29, 1948) (N/A)

Emily’s grandfather didn’t have tapes or CDs at his chalet in the French Alps, but he did have a turntable, and Nat King Cole was one of his favorites to spin. Now it always reminds Emily of him. She still likes to spin Nat King Cole and dance with you in the living room.

2. Édith Piaf, “Milord” (May 8, 1949) (N/A)

Another record straight from her grandfather’s house. They listened to a lot of Édith Piaf, but this was her favorite as a little girl. She thought it was funny, and it helped her learn how to do uvular trills, since French wasn’t her first language.

3. Juliette Gréco, “Sur les quais du vieux Paris” (October 1951) (N/A)

Little Emily didn’t get to go to Paris much, mostly just as a stopover on the way to her grandfather’s. But whenever her grandfather brought her back to her mom, he’d take her around Paris for a day, and she always thought it was the most magical place in the world.

4. Georges Brassens, “Je Me Suis Fait Tout Petit” (February 2, 1956) (N/A)

Her grandfather played classical-style guitar and loved the work of Georges Brassens. He often played it and sang for Emily. Georges Brassens was a significantly better singer than her grandfather was, but sometimes Emily wishes she had a recording of her grandfather instead of Brassens. Nevertheless, listening to it still reminds her of sitting with him on the hillsides while he played.

5. Léo Ferré, “L’affiche rouge” (February 1961) (N/A)

Another favorite of Emily’s grandfather. He was a star of French chanson, a folk music tradition driven heavily by lyrics, almost like poetry put to music. Her grandfather would sometimes read her the poems first and then play her the songs afterward.

6. Marie Laforêt, “Marie douceur, Marie colère” (1966) (N/A)

One of Emily’s first favorite rock songs. She heard this version long before she even knew who Mick Jagger was and, to this day, she could defend in a dissertation-length essay why Marie Laforêt’s lyrics are better than the original.

7. Jacqueline Taieb, “Le cœur au bout des doigts” (1967) (N/A)

A dancing-in-the-living-room standby for Emily at her grandfather’s.

8. Patty Pravo, “La bambola” (May 1968) (N/A)

Emily didn’t discover this one until she lived in Italy, but it’s a perfect sad song, great for dramatically belting in your room or in the car. Which is exactly what she did for months after the asshole of a boy who knocked her up dropped her and she had to go through the abortion process almost alone.

9. Maxime Le Forestier, “San Francisco” (1971) (N/A)

One of the “newest” records her grandfather owned. He only conceded to buying it because Maxime Le Forestier covered so much of Georges Brassens’ work. He ended up loving it. Emily’s first instinct is still to pronounce “San Francisco” like Le Forestier does in this song.

10. Meat Loaf, “I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)” (October 21, 1977) (N/A)

Inexplicably, Meat Loaf is one of the only English-speaking artists that Emily’s grandfather liked.

11. Lio, “Le Banana Split” (November 1979) (N/A)

Her grandfather hated this song so much, but she loved it, so he bought it for her anyway. Teeny baby Emily could not get enough of the word “banana,” in any language.

12. Grover Washington, Jr., “Just the Two of Us (feat. Bill Withers)” (1980) (N/A)

Emily’s mom loves Bill Withers. One of Emily’s best memories of childhood is dancing to this song with her mom. Now her favorite memory is dancing to it with you at your wedding.

13. Yazoo, “Only You” (August 16, 1982) (N/A)

A regular on Emily’s mom’s boom box when Emily was young.

14. Metallica, “For Whom the Bell Tolls” (July 27, 1984) (N/A)

Discovered during *Emily's teen rock era.*

15. Madonna, “Into the Groove” (July 15, 1985) (N/A)

Emily’s mom is a big Madonna fan, so there was a lot of Madonna in little Emily’s house.

16. Siouxsie and the Banshees, “Cities in Dust” (April 21, 1986) (N/A)

Discovered during *Emily’s teenage rock era*

17. Berlin, “Take My Breath Away” (May 13, 1986) (N/A)

Top Gun was Emily’s mom’s favorite movie for a solid decade of her childhood, so Emily was very familiar with the music. This song was her favorite.

18. Alannah Myles, “Black Velvet” (March 14, 1989) (1)

Emily will tell you that she remembers being young and trying on her mom’s makeup in front of the mirror to this song.

19. Metallica, “Enter Sandman” (August 12, 1991) (3)

Discovered during *Emily's teen rock era.*

20. Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (September 26, 1991) (3)

Didn’t discover Nirvana until her teen years, but Nevermind remains one of her favorite albums of all time.

21. Lara Fabian, “Je Suis Malade” (1994) (6)

Tiny little Emily heard this in a café in Paris with her mom and begged her mom to buy it on vinyl so she could bring it to her grandfather’s. Her mom obliged, mostly to shut her up, and Emily spent all summer listening to it. It was the first song that ever gave her chills. She still knows every word, still loves to belt it in the car, and still swears up and down that Lara Fabian’s version is better than Celine Dion’s.

22. Tori Amos, “Cornflake Girl” (January 31, 1994) (6)

Emily’s mom went through a real Tori Amos phase. Little Emily genuinely thought this song was about cereal and asked her mom to play it over and over again.

23. Beck, “Loser” (March 1, 1994) (6)

Little Emily loved the slide guitar and that the song said “loser,” which her mom did not let her call anyone.

24. Bush, “Comedown” (December 6, 1994) (7)

Emily was late to discover a lot of ‘90s and 2000s rock because it was hard to access non-mainstream American music abroad, but when iTunes came around when she was 13 or 14, she spent an ungodly amount of her mom’s money buying songs and albums, including this one.

25. Collective Soul, “December” (March 15, 1995) (7)

Discovered during *Emily’s teenage rock era*

26. April March, “Le Temps de l’amour” (October 20, 1995) (8)

Another favorite from her French summers. A sneak peak of later punk rock Emily.

27. April March, “Chick Habit” (October 20, 1995) (8)

Emily lords it over every gay she knows that she knew this song from the original album and not from But I’m a Cheerleader. But she does love But I’m a Cheerleader… This was her favorite CD for a solid year or more.

28. The Smashing Pumpkins, “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” (October 23, 1995) (8)

Discovered during *Emily’s teenage rock era*

29. OMC, “How Bizarre” (January 1, 1996) (8)

A favorite track on Emily’s favorite CD, Now That’s What I Call Music! 3.

30. Backstreet Boys, “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” (May 6, 1996) (8)

All the kids knew this one, in any country Emily visited or lived in.

31. Khaled, “Aïcha” (November 1996) (9)

Emily’s mom was the U.S. ambassador to Oman for a few years during Emily’s childhood. Emily learned Arabic quickly and tried very hard, as she did in all the places she lived, to fit in seamlessly with the people around her. So, of course, the songs she sang and danced to with her friends were the ones popular in Oman at the time.

32. Third Eye Blind, “Jumper” (April 8, 1997)

Discovered during *Emily’s teenage rock era*

33. Rachid Taha, “Ya Rayah” (August 5, 1997) (9)

Another favorite of Emily and her friends during her time in Oman. They even had a little choreographed dance they did all together.

34. Will Smith, “Miami” (October 3, 1997) (9)

Tiny Emily genuinely thought she was the baddest little bitch in the world for knowing all these lyrics, despite having never been to Miami or a club or anything.

35. Britney Spears, “...Baby One More Time” (January 12, 1999) (9)

Honestly, what ‘90s kid didn’t have a formative moment with a Britney Spears song?

36. Buena Vista Social Club, “Chan Chan” (September 16, 1997) (9)

Emily was an adult when she discovered Buena Vista Social Club, but they’re one of her very favorites on vinyl now. She started listening to them while she learned Spanish in college.

37. Green Day, “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” (October 4, 1997) (9)

Discovered during *Emily’s teenage rock era*

38. Hakim, “Wala Wahed” (1998) (10)

Emily’s mom was transferred to Cairo in 1998, where Emily had to start over again–but thankfully not with a completely new language. She really liked sha’bi music, and her best friend’s dad played drums in a jeel band.

39. Less Than Jake, “All My Best Friends Are Metalheads” (January 1, 1998) (11)

One of Emily’s earlier alt finds. She loved it.

40. Cher, “Believe” (October 19, 1998) (11)

Another favorite of Emily’s mom’s. On repeat in little Emily’s kitchen in Cairo.

41. Alaa Zalzali, “Akli Tar” (1999) (11)

Emily was obsessed with this song and the whole album because it combined two languages she knew and loved: Arabic and French.

42. Crazy Town, “Butterfly” (November 4, 1999) (12)

Emily loved this song so much, and she jokes that looking back it should have been a huge flag that she was gay.

43. A Perfect Circle, “Judith” (January 1, 2000) (12)

*Emily’s teenage rock era*

44. Anastacia, “I’m Outta Love” (February 29, 2000) (12)

Even Emily’s hard little rock heart still loved a pop anthem.

45. Pascale Machaalani, “Nour El Chams” (June 25, 2000) (12)

All the girls in Cairo wanted to be Pascale Machaalani. Think of her as the Beyoncé of Emily’s preteen years.

46. Rage Against The Machine, “Renegades” (December 5, 2000) (13)

One of the first rock songs Emily discovered and fell in love with. She still knows all the words.

47. Staind, “Outside” (May 22, 2001) (13)

*Emily’s teenage rock era*

48. System of a Down, “Toxicity” (September 4, 2001) (13)

*Emily’s teenage rock era*

49. Noir Désir, “La vent nous portera” (September 11, 2001) (13)

Even when she lived in the Middle East, Emily still spent summers with her grandfather in France. As always, he’d let her have a day in Paris when she flew in, and she always visited a music store to buy all the new French alt albums she could find.

50. Hoobastank, “Crawling In The Dark” (November 20, 2001) (14)

*Emily’s teenage rock era*

51. Saliva, “Always” (January 1, 2002) (14)

Emily’s mom considered sending her to therapy because she listened to this song so much.

52. Seether, “Driven Under” (January 1, 2002) (14)

*Emily’s teenage rock era*

53. Seether, “Fine Again” (January 1, 2002) (14)

*Emily’s teenage rock era*

54. Sum 41, “The Hell Song” (January 1, 2002) (14)

*Emily’s teenage rock era*

55. Mango, “La rondine” (July 9, 2002) (14)

Wildly popular while Emily lived in Italy. Think of him as the Peter Gabriel of Italian music.

56. Chevelle, “The Red” (October 8, 2002) (14)

*Emily’s teenage rock era*

57. Audioslave, “Cochise” (November 17, 2002) (15)

Italy Emily was baby rocker Emily, but she wasn’t very external about it because the Catholic church was not a fan.

58. Evanescence, “Bring Me To Life” (March 4, 2003) (15)

Another song that was on repeat for Emily post-abortion. Sweet baby Emily was so depressed and honestly really needed to go to therapy. She wouldn’t say she likes the song now, exactly, but it brings her back to a specific time and place that were very formative for her.

59. Linkin Park, “Lying from You” (March 25, 2003) (15)

A classic teenager Linkin Park moment.

60. The Darkness, “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” (July 7, 2003) (15)

*Emily’s teenage rock era*

61. Three Days Grace, “I Hate Everything About You” (July 22, 2003) (15)

Emily will tell you that this song is what she felt like most of the time in Italy, trying really hard to fit in, trying to like boys, really liking girls, all-in-all having a terrible time.

62. Jet, “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” (September 15, 2003) (15)

Emily jokes that this one also should have been a dead giveaway that she liked girls.

63. Keane, “Somewhere Only We Know” (May 10, 2004) (16)

She will never admit it, but this song still makes her cry.

64. Seether, “Remedy” (January 1, 2005) (17)

Emily is a little embarrassed about liking Seether so much, but she really does.

65. Negrita, “Rotolando Verso Sud” (January 21, 2005) (17)

A favorite of Emily’s after she and her mom moved back to the States in 2004. She felt very out of place, which makes sense considering she’d grown up across several countries. She found a lot of comfort in listening to music in her other languages, since she didn’t really get to hear it spoken anymore.

66. Negramaro, “Estate” (February 7, 2005) (17)

By this point, Emily's deep in her rebellious rocker phase. Because it’s Emily, her dramatic rocker music is in several languages, though.

67. System of a Down, “Lonely Day” (November 22, 2005) (18)

Technically not a teenager anymore, an adult. But now her music taste is pretty solidly set on rock (with some variations here and there).

68. Rihanna, “SOS” (April 10, 2006) (18)

Not usually a big pop fan, but she has a huge soft spot for Rihanna. Particularly this song because she says that’s how obsessive she is about you. It always makes you laugh.

69. AFI, “Prelude 12/21” (June 6, 2006) (18)

She’s a drama queen, she just won’t admit it.

70. My Chemical Romance, “Teenagers” (19)

*Emily’s adult rock era*

71. Fall Out Boy, “Thnks fr th Mmrs” (January 1, 2007) (19)

Yes, even Emily likes listening to Fall Out Boy sometimes.

72. Avril Lavigne, “Girlfriend” (April 17, 2007) (19)

Okay, but who doesn’t love Avril Lavigne?

73. Linkin Park, “Given Up” (May 14, 2007) (19)

Adult Emily still loves Linkin Park. It’s nostalgic now.

74. Vampire Weekend, “A-Punk” (January 29, 2008) (20)

*Emily’s adult rock era* (but make it less dramatic and depressing than usual)

75. Max Gazzè, “Il Solito Sesso” (February 29, 2008) (20)

Sure, she’s in college, but she still loves Italian music and keeps up with her friends from Italy. Plus, she’s starting to accept that she likes girls, and the girls love it when she speaks Italian.

76. Katy Perry, “I Kissed a Girl” (June 17, 2008) (20)

Loves this song for very obvious reasons. Plus, when this came out there wasn’t really much queer girl music and Emily was in her feral, fresh-out-of-the-closet baby lesbian era.

77. Halestorm, “Mz. Hyde” (April 9, 2012) (24)

Oof. Big ol’ crush on Lzzy Hale.

78. Superheaven, “Youngest Daughter” (April 5, 2013) (25)

Once a rocker, always a rocker.

79. Indila, “Tourner Dans Le Vide” (February 24, 2014) (26)

Emily is a huge fan of Indila because her music sounds like a combination of French and Arabic, and it reminds of her childhood.

80. Highly Suspect, “Lydia” (July 17, 2015) (27)

Big fan of Highly Suspect.

81. K. Flay, “Blood In The Cut” (April 17, 2017) (29)

Hearkening back to her dramatic-ass punk-rock youth.

82. Polo & Pan, “Cœur croisé” (May 19, 2017) (29)

Emily loves Polo & Pan. They’re her go-to for international air travel. Something about their music just feels like whimsy and adventure to her.

83. Pomme, “Ceux qui rêvent” (October 6, 2017) (29)

Emily is a dramatic French woman at heart, and you love her for it.

84. Beck, “Dreams” (October 13, 2017) (30)

Beck? Of course she loves Beck. She’s loved Beck since “Loser” came out when she was six.

85. Death Cab for Cutie, “Northern Lights” (August 17, 2018) (30)

For when she’s in her feels.

86. Muse, “Pressure (feat. UCLA Bruin Marching Band)” (November 9, 2018) (31)

It’s Muse. Duh.

87. Alice Merton, “Roots” (January 29, 2019) (31)

Loves this because (a) it’s a fun song and (b) she really relates to the lyrics.

88. Vanille, “Suivre le soleil” (June 7, 2019) (31)

Her go-to for when you’re driving on vacation in the French Riviera. Coincidentally, you don’t know that she’s ever been more attractive driving a convertible with a sun hat on blaring French music that she knows all the words too while treating you to a vacation on the Mediterranean Sea.

89. The Black Keys, “Go” (June 28, 2019) (31)

The Black Keys lean a little blues-rock for Emily usually, but their music is just so damn catchy. Plus, you love them, and that makes her love them.

90. Harry Styles, “Watermelon Sugar” (December 13, 2019)

Loves this song for one reason and one reason only: she heard it was about eating a girl out. She hasn’t heard Billie Eilish’s “LUNCH” yet and, honestly, you’re afraid to show her.

91. The Strokes, “Why Are Sundays So Depressing” (April 10, 2020)

She loves The Strokes. And, also, she thinks Sundays are depressing because she knows she’ll have to leave you and go back to work the next day.

92. cleopatrick, “THE DRAKE” (March 11, 2021) (33)

A current fave. Plus she likes that their Spotify artist description is just “guitar band.” She thinks that’s hilarious.

93. Halestorm, “Back From The Dead” (August 18, 2021) (33)

Emily is, through and through, a Lzzy Hale girl. She was 21 when their first album came out and had a massive crush on Lzzy.  Didn’t know if she wanted to be her or be with her. Lowkey still doesn’t know. You tease her about it relentlessly.

94. Muse, “Will Of The People” (June 1, 2022) (34)

Muse, because duh.

95. Madelline, “dopamine - Version Française” (May 12, 2023) (35)

Still a sucker for French pop all these years later.

96. KennyHoopla, “YOU NEEDED A HIT//” (May 19, 2023) (35)

KennyHoopla brings her straight back to her 2000s rock roots, and she’s obsessed.

97. Mother Mother, “To My Heart” (September 15, 2023) (35)

A new discovery for Emily, but she’s really into them right now.

98. Mammothor, “Inside Out” (December 15, 2023) (36)

*Emily’s adult rock era*

99. St. Vincent, “Broken Man” (February 29, 2024) (36)

Emily loves St. Vincent. She’s not much of a concert person, but you did take her to see St. Vincent for her birthday once and she was over the moon.

100. Doña Manteca, “Tengo una Debilidad” (May 10, 2024) (36)

You found them on TikTok before their album came out and sent it to her. She pre-ordered their album on vinyl, and it’s her favorite thing to dance with you to right now.

[juanabaloo]

Top 5 sapphic movie recs? :)

Thanks for the ask! In order, from 5 to 1: D.E.B.S. (2004) - Lucy and Amy Mosquita y Mari (2012) - Yolanda y Mari - the one movie i would show my kid self (if i could time travel) Bound (1996) - Violet and Corky Imagine Me and You (2005) - Luce and Rachel Saving Face (2004) - Wil and Vivian - the one movie I would save from a fire (if i could only save one)

[captions top to bottom: Lucy and Amy with guns drawn in D.E.B.S. Yolanda and Mari hanging out in Mosquita y Mari. Violet reaches out to hold Corky's hand in Bound. Luce laughs as Rachel fishes her wedding ring out of the punch in Imagine Me and You. Wil looks at Vivian's hair and then stares longingly at her face in Saving Face.]

Highly reco all of these! More spoiler-free ranting, worksafe gifs, and trailer links under the cut. (one mild SPOILER ... but good news: none of these women die, like not even a little bit!!)

starting the list at Number Five: D.E.B.S. (2004) is Comedy, rated PG-13, and a campy delight. I buy the chemistry between Lucy (L below) and Amy (R ), and it's a cute enemies-to-lovers story. It doesn't take itself too seriously. And as the gif text says: Charlie's Angels but it's actually gay!!!

Best to watch: when you want something campy with some fun spy action scenes. Kissing plus. Also: Jordana Brewster!

D.E.B.S. (2004) trailer

Number Four: Mosquita y Mari (2012) is an unrated Drama (PG-13-ish IMO) that's one of my all-time faves*. Mari (L below) and Yolanda (R ) are high schoolers and they are INTO EACH OTHER. You can practically see the vibrations in between them. It's about two Chicanas and it touches on family and money and immigrant stuff. (*If I could go back in time and show my kid self one movie - out of all the movies in the world - it would be this one.) There is a lot of intimacy between them, but there's nothing explicit.

Best to watch: when you want to reminisce about high school and that friend you had feelings for. Grappling and holding hands and snuggling. Also: gorgeously shot scenes that set the mood, even with no dialogue.

Mosquita y Mari (2012) trailer

coming in at Number Three: Bound (1996) is a Heist movie, rated R, and amazing. The directorial debut of the Wachowski sisters. Chemistry for MILES between Violet (L below) and Corky (R ). Also a strong crime/thriller/heist plot, aside from all the chemistry. I don't find the violence to be THAT explicit but that's my opinion.

Best to watch: when you want to see a very sexy heist movie and don't mind some violence. Rated R for a reason (both sex and violence). Also: Jennifer Tilly and her voice! Gina Gershon in a white tank top! Both of them in leather jackets!

Bound (1996) trailer

Number Two: Imagine Me and You (2005) is a Rom-Com that's rated R, and super cute. It's love at first sight but there's some angst. Rachel (first gif below, L) is trying to resist her attraction to Luce (R ). I feel like this movie doesn't really deserve the R rating. Anyway, it's cute and fun.

Best to watch: when you want some decent angst, but a happy ending. Lots of intense making out. Also: British accents! a flower shop! Dance Dance Revolution! Piper Perabo and Lena Headey!

Imagine Me and You (2005) trailer

and at the top of my list at Number One: Saving Face (2004) is another Rom-Com that's rated R, and it's PERFECT TO ME. If I could only grab one movie to save from a fire - out of all the movies ever made - it would be this one! It's childhood friends - who reconnect as adults - to lovers. Vivian (L below in the first gif) is a dancer while Wil (R ) is a doctor, technically a surgeon. There's family and immigrant stuff, and they are both Chinese-American.

Best to watch: when you want angst with a happy ending, with some good mother-daughter stuff too. Flirting, making out, intense making out, hand holding, and yes a bedroom scene. Also: authentic Mandarin! a comforting mother-daughter relationship! a race to the airport scene!

Saving Face (2004) trailer

Lightning in a bottle stuff here, seriously. Lynn Chen (who plays Vivian) had never been in a feature film before. Michelle Krusiec (who plays Wil) had never had a lead role before. Alice Wu wrote AND directed the movie, and this was literally her FIRST MOVIE. You would never guess any of that watching this movie. They all knock it out of the park!!

Any questions about any of these movies, send in an ask!

[mercurygray]

Merc, what kind of Historical Military Man gets the wheels turning for you? What are the markers of 'Oh, that one, that one is now mine'?

Nat, I'm going to be honest, this question provoked something of an existential crisis. so I went back through, like, 20 years of fandom favorites to see if there's a pattern.

Spoiler: there isn't, apart from a perennial need to be different. This is kind of long .

2001 (ish) - Lord of the Rings is coming out, and you are either a Legolas or Aragorn girl. I am deep in my 'not like the other girls' phase and decide Boromir is actually the superior choice here. (This leads me to watch A LOT of period dramas that are probably not appropriate for for me at this age, including Clarissa and Lady Chatterley's Lover.) It also leads me to the Sharpe books, which are great and awesome. Richard Sharpe doesn't necessarily do anything for me as a character, but that gets me into Hornblower, which gets me into the Aubreyad, which leads me to read a lot about the Napoleonic Wars in high school. Cliff-diving into a different historical period is now something I do every single summer.

I also spend about 5 years (2008-2013) writing a 225,000 word fanfic in which Boromir doesn't die.

2010-2015

Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens) is really only in the army a brief while but who can say no to the blue eyes and the absolute vibe he has going with Mary?

During the Downton phase I decide to raid the library for other period dramas, again, and watch The Forsyte Saga. Soames Forsyte is not a man you love, but Damian Lewis has A Face and I know he was on Band of Brothers, which the library perennially never has a copy of.

2011

I finally watch Band of Brothers in its entirety my senior year of college and am a little disappointed I appear to be missing large parts of the story. (Future rewatches will explain that this is actually a feature of the show, not a bug.) My recollections of this are hazy, but I'm fairly certain my favorite character the first time I watched this was Lewis Nixon (Ron Livingston). He's dark-haired, he's funny, he's an absolute mess with a trust fund. Dick Winters (Damian Lewis) also has one hell of a face. He's a red-head, he's in charge of everyone else, he doesn't say much, and he is tall. I know there must be fic for this show but am also very, very sure it is shippy in a direction I do not want to read, so I do not go looking for it.

TURN - 2014-2017

Ben Tallmadge (Seth Numrich) is the guy to watch on TURN: he's a lieutenant, he's tall, he struggles with rules, but the entire fandom is also crazy about him and the leading queen bee in the OC end of that fandom is a real pain about it, so I decide I will not be writing for him no matter what it costs me to hold off admitting I want to. However, in the next episode we meet his best friend, Caleb Brewster (Daniel Henshall) who is short, bearded, dark-haired and chaotic. The moment he comes onscreen I love him. Sadly, no one is reading fic for him and this project is abandoned.

In Season 3, we meet the Marquis de Lafayette. Historical Lafayette is a tall, awkward redhead in need of a father figure who makes up for war experience with boundless enthusiasm. His letters home are adorable. Show Lafayette (Ben Wiles) is tall and enthusiastic. I love him anyway and I make it everyone's problem for, like, a year.

2016-2017 - Mercy Street

Henry Hopkins (Luke Macfarlane) is a military chaplain in a hotel-turned Union hospital in Alexandria, Virginia. He's tall, he's a little tortured, and he has a knack for putting others first. Wrestling with some past choices, his romance with Emma Green, the privileged daughter of the family who owned the hotel, is sweet and full of pining. I write so much fix-it fic for them it's not even funny. (I love this show because the female characters I love come pre-installed. Please watch this.)

2016 - Dunkirk

I see this movie three times in theaters and love it more each time. Collins (Jack Lowden) is a blonde RAF flyboy with a very adorable face. (Tom Glynn Carney is also a face I like but he's on a backburner for a bit.) I write a lot of fic about it and affectionately refer to this as my first Planes Go Zoom phase.

2020

Two weeks into the pandemic I decide rewatching Band of Brothers is a good idea and buy the book and the DVD set from my local secondhand bookshop like I am doing a drug deal in a parking lot. Two weeks after that I am writing a fanfic for Dick Winters (Damian Lewis) because I am a loon who likes men in charge and painfully slow burns.

2021

Still in the middle of a pandemic I decide to watch The Pacific, because I make good decisions, apparently. Hoosier Smith (Jacob Pitts) is a taciturn, wise-cracking friend of Leckie's who is joked about as being the pretty one. He is. Andrew Haldane (Scott Gibson) is quiet, unassuming, and in charge, and played college football for Bowdoin. Very dad energy. Extremely charming. Dead in three episodes as history intended. Fix-it fic incoming.

2022 Top Gun Maverick comes out. Jake "Hangman" Seresin (played by Glen Powell, who I loved in Hidden Figures and The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Society) has a jawline you could cut something with and an attitude. My friends think I am mental. Second Planes Go Zoom phase coupled with Devotion, which comes out shortly after.

SAS Rogue Heroes comes out. I have been really looking forward to seeing Tom Glynn Carney in something else and he delivers. Mike Sadler is blond, extremely good at his job, not capable of suffering fools, and far too attractive for the desert.

2024

We do not even make it out of trailer season before I realize I still have a Thing (TM) for Callum Turner's face, which I have known since he was Theseus Scamander in Fantastic Beasts. Watching The Boys in the Boat before this all starts doesn't help - he has regrettably blond hair but thighs for days and shoulders you could hang the universe on. John "Bucky" Egan, is tall, dark-haired, incredibly generous spirited and nominally in charge. I want all of it. The rest of the fandom does too. I try to make peace with that and write anyway. Third Planes Go Zoom phase.

[historia-vitae-magistras]

Character Profile — Ireland

Character Name: Éire. The Republic of Ireland, the Island of Ireland. Brighid Kelly, Brid Ó Ceallaigh, Bridgie, Aunt Bridgie, Auntie, Mum, Mam. Imbolc or St. Brighid's Day is the spring festival in ancient times and under the Catholic Church and she kept it for that reason. The night will end.

Age: Late 30s, modern day.

Height: 5''8/173cm

Physical Description: Brighid spent the most time with their mother and shared her looks the most. Her circumstances have changed in innumerable ways, but Brighid carries herself like the druid and warrior queen her mother raised her to be. Not hunger, hardship or her reduced place in the world ever bent her back, and now she stands free and tall in her own right. Very fair, she's got a smattering of freckles across her body, a sharp face with what can bee an otherworldly beauty to her. Her people populated much of her brother's children, and her looks have added a slightly ethereal look to them in the right light or surreal circumstances, resulting in both Alfred and Jack being mistaken for changelings.

Eye colour: Green. But not only the green of her isle but the churning blues and greys of the sea. Her eyes can't quite decide what colour they want to be and will vary on her clothes and the lighting.

Hair colour/style: Red. Hibernian gold was a red gold metal, likely mixed with copper, from Ireland in ancient times, and her hair is that exact shade. She has always worn it long, often bound up with ribbons, a snood, or just braided. It's curly, especially when she can care for it in modern times.

Personal Appearance/Style: In the modern day, she likes fine things. Irish-made linens and wools, and like most nations of her age, she doesn't like artificial products. Deprived of much of her dignity for much of history, she takes much pride in her appearance now and wears nice jewelry and clothes for most occasions. She wears many wool sweaters, high-waisted trousers and boots out in the country and still tends to wear a nightgown to sleep out of habit.

Verbal Style: Speaks English with her Irish accent and refuses to do otherwise. Speaks Irish in all the surviving dialects and some that are no longer alive.

Level of Education: A thousand years ago, she was the most educated person in Europe, with Irish monasteries and nunneries preserving much of European knowledge. But in the intervening centuries, stripped of much of her cultural knowledge and education increasingly only available in English, she felt somewhat behind in technology because she was trying to fucking survive, but always made a point to seek out new information when she could and probably taught a hedge school herself in the 18th century. From Alfred's independence, she kept a close correspondence with him. When she became independent in her own right, it was with a lot of American capital and encouragement, as well as infusions of cash from American institutions; she became one of the most educated countries in Western Europe and the world again by the end of the 20th century.

Occupation: These days, she works as an Irish teacher, sometimes even in the preschools when she's in a maternal mood, but she is also a diplomat, political activist, businesswoman and

Past Occupations: Weaver, farmer, nun, abbess, governess, union organizer, activist, labourer, teacher, social worker, factory worker, tailor, charwoman, cobbler, laundress, dressmaker, milliner, brewster, distiller, embroiderer, dyer. You name it; she's probably done it to survive.

Skills, Abilities or Talents: She's incredibly talented at all things textile. Embroidery, weaving, springing, making flax and fleece in to linen and wool. She's skilled at navigation and boats, but on a smaller scale than her brother or nephews, and prefers to stay closer to the shore. She's also incredibly musically and artistically gifted with her Celtic influence found across the world. Fiddle, harp and her voice are her favourites but she can just about play or sing anything put in front of her.

Admirable Personality Traits: Friendly, passionate, blunt, welcoming, warm, affectionate and witty.

Negative Personality Traits: Angry, moody, depressive, stubborn, and impatient but she has literally no reason not to be those things considering her history, christ.

Sense of Humor: Playful, subversive, a bit twisted, and loves a good use of word play or a pun.

Physical/Mental illness or affliction: She's been through so much, and it shows in her body. She's had problems with her digestive tract for decades, anemia, and a lot of trauma. She's remarkably well-adjusted, considering her history. However, her friends and her brother's children still get phone calls in what should be the dead of night for Brighid, and it is usually the morning for him because she's having a bad day. She'll call Alasdair more often than the other two of her brothers and Alfred, but her relationship with Alfred is a lot more of her giving him advice than him comforting her. A lot of the time, she calls Jack at the asscrack of dawn for him to wake him up and maybe accidentally hears a confused, sleepy "Mum?" like he's still small enough to cradle in her arms. But they talk a lot. She was probably the first of her siblings to go to therapy, second in the family only after Matt.

Hobbies/Interests: Reading, embroidery, knitting, hiking, shinty, hurling. She's getting more fit these days and more able to do exerting activities. Baseball was largely taken from a game called rounders, and she'll throw a ball around, but also dearly loves hurling and Gaelic football.

Favourite Foods: Brighid doesn't have a single favourite food. Bread, cheese, smoked salmon, boxty, barmbrack, soda bread, stew, colcannon and champ, spagbol, meat and veg, steak and chips, toasties, tikka masala, fish and chips. She was thrilled when Jack learned how to cook Greek and Italian and wanted to show it off, and she's always down to have some beers and go absolute ham on some pub food with Alfred.

Most important personal item: I don't think, with her insane history, she got to keep anything personal her entire life. But I think she has a set of very nice emeralds that Alfred gave her when she first came to America that she's incredibly fond of. A lot of her best jewelry is from Alfred.

Person/friend close to character: She's fairly close to her brothers all things considered, but things are certainly easier with Rhys and Alasdair than with Arthur. Two thousand years of fuckery isn't exactly water under the bridge, but it's not exactly brought up in every conversation, either if only because Brighid is tired. She's very close to Alfred, which I'm only recently exploring, but the sheer amount of Gaelic songs about America and Australia gives me fucking emotions. Her situation got so much less desperate after Alfred intervened at certain points, and I think he probably even gave her an allowance anonymously because she deserved so, so much more than his people or the United Kingdom was giving her, and he's very fond of her. Jack's her baby boy in every way, except he calls her his aunt most of the time because Arthur sorted it that way.

Brief family history: She was born to Brigantia/Brittania in the pre-roman period, she's not exactly sure how old she is, but she's older by at least 300 years than Alasdair and more like 500 for Rhys and Arthur. Her relationship with her siblings is difficult, to say the least, but she especially shares close linguistic ties with Alasdair. Her brother's children are also very important in her life, with Alfred forming an incredibly important part of her life, politics, history and economy. Things are occasionally difficult between her and Alfred, but generally, it's a good relationship. She's emotionally closest with Jack, feeling stronger maternal feelings with him than his brothers because of her role in both his earliest years and him being the most Irish nation outside of Ireland.

Most painful experiences in the character’s past: Where in god's name do I even start? When they buried their mother in the late ancient period, maybe the 4th century for her as a person? The famine would probably be the worst, how it hollowed her out for generations, the hell on earth of being rolled onto a coffin ship and burning with fever in a shed in Toronto before Matt and Alfred can finally get her to America. She's seen famine, plagues, invasions, and everything in between.

Their Song: The Voice by Celtic Woman

[byneddiedingo]

Laura Harris, Shawn Hatosy, Josh Hartnett, Clea DuVall, Elijah Wood, and Jordana Brewster in The Faculty (Robert Rodriguez, 1998)

Cast: Jordana Brewster, Clea DuVall, Laura Harris, Josh Hartnett, Shawn Hatosy, Elijah Wood, Salma Hayek, Famke Janssen, Piper Laurie, Christopher McDonald, Bebe Neuwirth, Robert Patrick, Usher, Jon Stewart, Daniel von Bargen. Screenplay: Kevin Williamson, David Wechter, Bruce Kimmel. Cinematography: Enrique Chediak. Production design: Cary White. Film editing: Robert Rodriguez. Music: Marco Beltrami.

Two premises are key to The Faculty: that adolescents see adults in authority as alien figures, and that high school is an instrument for instilling social conformity. The former has been the stuff of movies since Rebel Without a Cause (Nicholas Ray, 1955). The latter is in evidence today in the efforts of states like Florida and Texas to remake education along conservative ideological lines. Unfortunately, Kevin Williamson's screenplay and Robert Rodriguez's direction don't take either premise seriously enough to make more than a raucous but routine sci-fi/horror movie out of the material. The result is exactly as the Criterion Channel describes it: "The Breakfast Club meets Invasion of the Body Snatchers." John Hughes's 1985 movie put a Jock, a Brain, a Criminal, a Princess, and a Basket Case together in detention and explored the interaction of disparate high school stereotypes. The Faculty's misfit crew is a little more complex: Stan (Shawn Hatosy), the Jock, wants to quit the team, and Zeke (Josh Hartnett) is both Brain and Criminal: He concocts his own drug (unfortunately called "scat") in his lab, selling it out of the trunk of his car, and he has an off-the-charts IQ. Elijah Wood's Casey is bullied the way Brains typically are in teen movies, and Clea DuVall's Stokely is more of a goth-punk rebel than a Basket Case. Jordana Brewster's Delilah is an overachieving Princess, both editor of the school newspaper and captain of the cheerleading squad. They are joined by a New Girl, Marybeth Louise Hutchinson (Laura Harris), a transfer from Atlanta to their Ohio high school who comes complete with a somewhat cloying Southern accent. If The Faculty had kept its focus steadily on this group as they uncover the fact that their teachers have been taken over by an extraterrestrial organism, the movie would have had more coherence and suspense. Instead, it opens with the revelation that something is clearly causing the teachers and the principal to go mad and murderous. The principal (Bebe Neuwirth) is attacked in her office by the coach (Robert Patrick), and when she tries to escape, her way is blocked by a teacher, Mrs. Olson (Piper Laurie), who suddenly turns from meek to menacing. After missing work for a day or so, the principal returns as if nothing had happened. Meanwhile, other teachers have been showing personality changes that begin to spread into the student body. It's not long before the movie begins to invoke the other half of its inspiration, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Don Siegel, 1956; Philip Kaufman, 1978). Williamson, whose screenplay for Scream (1996) was full of allusions to other horror films, can't resist making the source for The Faculty explicit, so when his teenagers cite the movie themselves and use it as a guide to fighting the alien, The Faculty becomes too meta for its own good. There's enough to enjoy in the movie, including good performances by most of the cast. Hartnett is particularly good in the role of a guy who's embarrassed by his own intelligence. It's fun to see Jon Stewart, who plays a science teacher, in one of the acting performances he likes to make fun of. But when it comes to making good on its key premises and developing a real satiric edge, The Faculty has to be called a missed opportunity. 

[bodyhorrorbeatdown]

Body Horror Beatdown, Match 22, Round 1

Vote for your favorite:

Propaganda under the cut.

Society

The rich have always fed off the poor. This time, it's for real. "The SHUNT"

"They Live! as a high school movie. Also the protagonist turns a guy inside out. Also buttface."

The Faculty Six students are about to find out their teachers really are from another planet. (synopsis) "To the students at Harrington High, the principal and her posse of teachers have always been a little odd, but lately they've been behaving positively alien. Controlled by otherworldly parasites, the faculty try to infect students one by one. Cheerleader Delilah (Jordana Brewster), football player Stan (Shawn Hatosy), drug dealer Zeke (Josh Hartnett) and new girl Marybeth (Laura Harris) team up with some of their other classmates to fight back against the invaders."

[bethie-crossing]

🍓 New Animal Crossing Ideas 🍓

I predicted some things in horizons let’s hope these happen too lol, my main want is more progression!

Island types: choose between a classic walled in or “forest” island, a tropical island, a snowy island, a desert island, like Happy Home Paradise! You can still pick the hemisphere. Because there’s many types, you can have multiple saves but you have the same character (to avoid online issues etc)

Transport: arrive by train, taxi, boat, water plane, or bus, depending on the type of island you pick! You can use a bike and cart when doing deliveries for Nook

You can buy and use a bike of your own as you progress, you can add a cart & a hand basket, very customisable, add decorations like flowers, bell or horn, & lights, lanterns! You can also buy & customise a caravan! (Stationary?)

Camp ground: tents and caravans overseen by Harvey, you can do cute outdoor activities like roasting marshmallows, pitching and chilling out in a tent, & cloud watching / stargazing! Celeste comes by sometimes with a telescope, you can invite her to the museum this way!

Villagers interests & hobbies: learn about villagers favourite foods, items, activities, dream job, etc. There is special dialogue when their related favourites are mentioned or with what they interact with, maybe you can encourage them to pursue their dream!

You can also invite them to do activities and mini games (they can say no if you have low friendship or are sick or enraged)

Activities: meet-ups (e.g inviting to hanging out in a certain area), and mini games, you can invite animals to do these in dialogue or letters (for later dates), you invite friends to do these via the NookPhone

Odd jobs: work for Tom Nook to pay off the first debt, Brewsters coffee job in New Leaf returns, working at Able Sisters!!! Offering styling to villagers, unlocked with Labelle? Shine shoes at Kicks? Put together bouquets requests with Leif! Cook and serve at the restaurant / café! Design shops and animals homes!

You’re payed in bells and special items. Animals can also work odd jobs depending on their interests. Doing odd jobs can increase friendship with NPC characters

Shops: Tom Nook upgrades to Nookingtons, Able Sisters has a top floor where the sister live that you can visit when you gain friendship with them, Auto Shop from Pocket Camp to buy Bikes etc, restaurant, school(?), and hospital are customisable & furnishable (happy home paradise), Gracie Gracie, Kicks, Re-tail, shampoodle, theatre (dr shrunk), Katrina fortunes, HHA, dream suite also returns

In the theatre, you can obtain emotes from Shrunk and buy cinema food & drinks. Villagers with a theatre interest will also do short performances on stage which plays when you sit down, you can leave at anytime.

Villagers with a film interest will showcase or act in “films” (depending on their preference for acting or filming), similar to stage performances. If you have high friendship, you can be invited to join in on these!

The Hospital building is where you will go when you fall off your bike or faint, villagers will also go here for the same reasons as well as extended sickness (can happen if not given medicine). Gulliver can be found here if you don’t find him on the beach the day before. If not new NPC, possibly Luna or Leilani runs it

Shop functions: other than odd jobs, you can order food and drinks, buy a custom bouquet, and be styled by your villagers and NPCs, return of post office to send letters and gifts

Tasks: NPC / special characters and villagers can ask for more things like craftable items and foods, shop items like paper for letters, and obtainable clothing and accessories

Personal interests: you can set your own faves (in the scrapbook) which you can mention to villagers and NPC when relevant, they can give you items based on these and share their opinions in dialogue and letters

Collecting: stickers and stamps, medals (achievements), gyroids (you can give these to Brewster), crafting recipes, bugs & fish

Scrapbooking & letters: type or hand write letters and draw on them, as well as your scrapbook. You can decorate both with stickers and stamps! You can also send letters to special characters like Isabelle!

The Scrapbook is where you can see a calendar, planned events, interests, friendship levels, collections and recipes, achievements (medals), saved letters and photos! Custom designs also

NookPhone: you can use the phone to call or message villagers to locate them (sometimes they ignore you!) or make meet-ups, friends list & messaging, online shopping, and take photos! (All the Social things)

Event planning: events from other games return but you can also make your own! There are templates but you can do custom events, also set optional tasks to do at these events

Rainbow day - basically a pride parade, similar to festival, face paint & colourful outfits, a proud atmosphere, can march along a selected path

Beach party - take part in beach activities and mini games with animals and friends (sunny warm days only), vacation juice crafting recipe obtainable

Valentines Day - craft chocolate to give to animals or encourage them to give to others, high friendship villagers can also give you chocolate! Kaitlin can teach you to make chocolate related recipes on this day

Friendship levels: you can progress from small talk and exchanging letters with animals, tasks, exchanging gifts, meet-ups, being invited over and inviting them over, getting their photo, photo booth photo together (customisable), can hug them or ask for a hug

Friendship levels also apply to animals, your villagers will gain friendship with other villagers! Most will inform you if they have a best friend, but more polite villagers will only talk about who they’re not friends with / might dislike at a high friendship level

Crafting: instead of recipe cards you can read books (take one a day) in the Museum Library (Celeste runs it as well as the planetarium), or are given certain types of books by villagers with the relevant interest or NPCs - Tom will give you some to start out (furniture) and also sell all skill books

Cooking & baking: so many more recipes and you can do relevant mini games if you choose to do so! Giving a villager their fave food homemade will avoid them getting sick when it’s cold! It will also make them feel better after taking machine if the medicine doesn’t heal them the first time

Many cake options for birthdays and also event themes. You can also learn to cook from Franklin, he stops by occasionally to sell food at events! Joan and Daisy Mae will teach you turnip related recipes. Katie’s mum, Kaitlin, will teach you baking recipes and icing piping at her night class (at the restaurant or café)

More fruits & ingredients: all the New Leaf fruits return plus strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, red and white grapes, black currents. You can also make pasta. When sending food items they appear as a cake box or delivery box and open like a wrapped gift

Online & other stuff: Tortimer Island returns! A new plaza area for players? Shows featured player custom designs, showcases player homes and customised houses, you can auction items, race bikes with friends!

Custom designs: shirts, jumpers, hoodies, dresses, shorts & trousers, skirts, shoes, hats, face paint & accessories. You can change the length and style of each item!

I have more ideas probably but I can’t think of the rest rn, I might draw some concepts :]

[danielleitloudernow]

Hey, @thewillowtree3 thanks for the tag!

Original post here

ARE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? My dad, actually.

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Umm…end of September, beginning of October last year. I…kind of had a mental breakdown after my sister ended up on a vent in a hospital and finding out my brother's treatments weren't working, and my MIL getting the big C diagnosis. It was a lot.

DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Only the furry kind.

WHAT SPORTS DO YOU PLAY/ HAVE PLAYED? Does running my mouth count? I used to play roller derby. Sometimes I golf, but it's rare.

DO YOU USE SARCASM? All the time.

WHAT'S THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Whether or not they're dickheads, honestly.

WHAT'S YOUR EYE COLOR? Brown, because I'm so full of shit.

SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Either or, as long as it's good.

ANY TALENTS? I guess that depends on who you ask. Writing, cooking, telling people to go to hell in a way that they look forward to it…

WHERE WERE YOU BORN? The middle of nowhere, Utah.

WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES? Writing, reading, gaming, cooking. I'd like to learn how to draw.

DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS? Two cats. They're assholes.

HOW TALL ARE YOU? Short. But I guess I'm average? 65”

FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL? That's been a while ago. Like, high school? Or college? High school was math and science, maybe theater, possibly Shakespeare. College? Definitely Gender and Sexuality.

DREAM JOB? Unless I can get paid to do nothing? I'm a medical laboratory scientist and that's pretty damn cool.

@blackbird-brewster @girl4music @jenny-from-the-bau @pagetprentissishot and anyone that sees this the wants to play (no pressure) TAG! You're it!

[ubeetlebum]

The signs as old-ass kids shows.

Aries: The gutsy frog. Frog with anger issues sealed in a t-shirt. It would have conquered the world already if it wasn't for the fact that it is, well, sealed in a t-shirt, which belongs to a high school student. Instead, he gets him in constant trouble.

Taurus: The Mozart Band. Four classical music nerd kids LARP 24/7 about being their fav composers. (💥Flash warning)

Gemini: Heathcliff. Garfield's evil twin, basically. He bullies dogs and topples trash cans for fun. He also has a hot girlfriend unlike Garfield.

Cancer: Stories of Maple Town. Sylvanian Families x Animal Crossing vintage crossover.

Leo: Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego. A thief that wears red, tells you everything you need to know. I think it got a reboot recently.

Virgo: Once upon a time... Life. Whatever this had going on.

Libra: Punky Brewster. Coolest girl in Chicago, meets grumpiest old man in Chicago. Together they fight the cold-hearted bureaucracy foster care system. Also she has a puppy. And mismatched sneakers.

Scorpio: Dennis the Menace. Suburban kiddo terrorizes his neighborhood. Still makes himself look like an angel in front of the right people.

Sagittarius: Willy Fogg. Furry British rich lion makes a crazy bet, takes his butler on a trip, while the police tries to arrest him for a robbery he didn't commit and gets a girlfriend who he saved when she was about to get burned alive. Nothing boring in the life of this gentleman.

Capricorn: David the gnome. Everyone's dad. Looks after everyone and fights trolls.

Aquarius: Pippi Longstocking. Coolest girl in town, is rich, doesn't go to school, lives alone with a monkey and a magic horse, her dad is a pirate and can fight the police on her own. Mums banned their kids from watching this cause they considered her an awful role model. Kids thought she was the coolest.

Pisces: Muppet Babies. A bunch of toddlers having very vivid collective hallucinations all day long in a nursery.