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theimmaterialplace · 3 years ago

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holding on | emily prentiss x reader & spencer reid x reader | ch. 1: prologue

Summary: Emily is an easy person to love, even if you shouldn't. This becomes apparent when she leaves you after two years of hiding your relationship, if you could call it that, with just a text. It's not long after that you are alerted with news of her death and you break down completely. Confiding in Spencer, the one to introduce the two of you, seemed like a good idea at the time but it becomes something more. You slowly begin to heal and then one day you see her, alive and well, and every feeling you have for her comes back to you. You're met with both your present and your past and you don't know what to do.

Contains: female!reader, bisexual!reader, friends with benefits/ hidden relationships, mentions of death, angst, hurt/comfort

Word Count: 2k

A.N: I like making things complicated and messy so here we are! I hope you enjoy whatever the hell this is! Also, this is first time writing for cm so sorry if the characterization is off; we’ll get there eventually!

masterlist | read on ao3

I want to be the power ballad that lifts you up and hold you down

I wanna be the broken love song that feeds your misery

And I can wish all I want, but it won't bring us together

Plus I know whatever happens to me

I know it's for the better

- Phoebe Bridgers, "Waiting Room"

It’s not uncommon for you to wait on Emily but even this is a new level of tardiness you’ve never encountered with her. She’s nothing if not kind and always alerts you when she’s on a new case or has to reschedule. It worries you to say the least.

You really shouldn’t care this much for her but mistakes are supposed to be made. It’s just that you can’t even begin to consider Emily a mistake but if she is one, she’s the best mistake you’ve ever made.

Sometimes, you think she looks at you with something akin to adoration in her eyes and it takes every bit of your control not to look at her with that same exact look. She’s a profiler, after all, and you’re typically one to wear your heart on your sleeve but she made herself very clear in the beginning.

Your agreement was simply just a friends with benefits situation, no feelings involved. That lasted for a while, truly. You had managed a little over a year with her before you realized that the feeling in your stomach was the fluttering of butterflies. It had frightened you but you decided that she was worth it, even if the decision might come back to haunt you.

Twirling the wine of glass in your hand, you contemplate calling her but decide against it because you don’t want to seem desperate. It may be an accurate description but you weren’t going to show that. Ignoring the waiter who’s been shooting you knowing looks for the past hour, you decide just to leave. You call the waiter over and ask for the check. He just nods at your words; his eyes filled with pity and it pisses you off more than anything,

It’s not that you care that you got stood up because you understand that her work is demanding. It’s more that you’re worried for her because she’s been inactive and short in her recent messages. You hadn’t received a good morning or good night text in days. It makes you wonder if she’s finally gotten sick of you. You’d like to believe that she would at least grace you with a text informing you of this decision but you’re not the best at predicting her.

Emily is a very closed off person and you respect that, you do. It’s just sometimes you wish she didn’t compartmentalize every part of her life into tiny, separate boxes. She likes to pretend that you and Spencer aren’t friends, even though it’s how you were originally met. She tells you that no one needs to know and at the beginning, you were okay with this but lying to Spencer is something you wish you didn’t have to do.

You have to pretend not to know every little bit of Emily she shares with you that she also shares with her team and try not to focus on every little detail he shares about her that you don’t already know. You feel a bit guilty but you figure that she wouldn’t really mind. The only thing that would make her annoyed, never mad because she says anger is useless, is if you mixed her personal life with her work life. You understand to a degree but you also wish that you didn’t have to hide.

Clearly, you were too far gone for her. You always had to take a step back and remember that you weren’t in a relationship with her. If only she didn’t make it so easy to love her. When this ended, you were going to end up heartbroken and that was okay with you. You had accepted that a long time ago but now that you’re actually faced with the inevitable, it scares you.

Emily Prentiss was not the first woman you were with but she’ll be the one to always haunt you. She’s shaped you into the person you are today without even knowing it. You’ll never regret your decision to be with her but you’ll always be left with the “what ifs”.

Lost in your thoughts, you don’t notice the man who sits across from you and it’s only until he coughs that he brings you back to reality.

He’s handsome in a rugged sort of way. If you weren’t so enamored with Emily, he surely would have fired something in you but as it is, she is the only one able to cause a spark in you.

“Hi, I saw you here and couldn’t help but notice how you’re alone. Such a shame since you seem like such a catch.” His voice fits him well and he has a nice smile despite its crookedness.

“Ah, my date couldn’t make it. I guess he got busy with work or something. It happens to the best of us.” His eyes narrow the slightest bit at use of “he” and you wonder why. He’s the one hitting on you, after all. It’s gone as soon as it comes and he’s back to those kind eyes.

“Oh, he’s one of those. Well, I know when I’m unwanted when I hear it. Have a lovely night…” He shoots you one last smile and gets up and leaves the restaurant. The waiter shows up and you pay immediately and get into your car as soon as you can.

It’s only when you arrive at home do you see it. You have one new message from Emily and it brings a smile to your face until you see the contents.

Emily <3

I think it’s time we called it quits.

Don’t contact me anymore.

Goodbye.

At first, you feel nothing. You reread it and reread it until it’s practically ingrained into your vision. You knew it was coming but seeing it actually made it real and before you know it, you’re crying.

You feel like a fool because you’ve known that this was just a casual thing for her. It doesn’t make it any easier to accept. Perhaps what hurts the most is her demand to not contact her anymore. You would have been fine, loving her at a distance but remaining friends. Emily cutting you off completely had never been a possibility in your mind. It almost makes you want to laugh though because although you’d never thought of it, it’s such an Emily thing to do. You just never thought it’d be something to happen to you.

A fool, you might be, but better to have loved than to have not. It’s like you had thought earlier, Emily would never leave you, even if she had in person. There would always be reminders of her in your life; in the interior design of your home, in the music you listened to, in the movies and books you had shared together, and in the hidden, ignored corners of your heart.

It hurt. God, did her short messages pain you but you’d seen it coming. You had time to accept it but that did nothing to quell the tears that fell down your face or the sobs that wracked your body.

You cry yourself to sleep, still in the dress she bought you, the one she said you looked your best in and always brought out her coyness to the fullest.

When you wake up, you’re thankful it’s a Saturday because you can’t imagine facing anyone today. The most you want to do is get drunk on every bottle of wine you own, which is quite a few. You hope it’ll be enough to keep your mind off of Emily.

You go to the bathroom and you can’t help but wince at the image you make. Your makeup has run all over your face and you look like la llorona with the mascara and eyeliner running down your cheeks. Your lipstick is smeared beyond comprehension and overall, you look like a mess, not even a hot one at that.

You look like the stereotypical girl who has just gotten heartbroken and so you scrub it all off until your skin is clear of the previous night’s emotions. You change into something comfortable, throwing the dress into the hamper rather than the trash because you can’t bear the thought of throwing away things from her. Maybe it’d be the smart thing to do but you can’t.

You’re in a sort of limbo and you’re unsure of where to go from here. You’ve accidentally built up your life around her and now that she’s gone, you’re left with nothing but yourself.

It’s only a week later that Spencer shows up to your place, looking worse for wear. He looks like you did on that day when Emily broke up with you but worse. His eyes are bloodshot and his nose is bright red against his pale complexion.

“Um, could I come in?” His voice cracks and he only shrinks further into himself and you nod at him, opening the door to accompany his skinny frame.

You guide him to your couch and place the cup of tea you had made for yourself into his hands since it seemed like they needed something in them with all the twitching they were doing.

You sit in silence, knowing that whatever he had to say would eventually come out.

His tea has stopped steaming when he finally speaks up. “Today, my colleague was taken by the person she had been chasing after. We found her and apprehended the person she had been chasing but… But we were too late. By the time we had gotten there, she was already wounded and she was pronounced dead two hours, thirteen minutes, and twenty seven seconds ago. She’s dead and I never got to say goodbye.” With his proclamation, his tears begin again and you take the cup from his hands.

“May I hug you, Spencer?” He nods and that’s all it takes for you to take him into your arms. He sobs into the crook of your neck. It’s hard to connect the image of the nerd you know and care for to the man who’s breaking down in your arms. You rub soothing circles on his back and try to keep up with his words but they’re too quiet and unintelligible to your ears.

The both of you sit there like that for a while. It could have been five minutes or an hour but you can’t tell and you bet he can’t either.

When he finally runs out of tears, he whispers something so quietly that you think you’ve misheard him.

“I never got to say goodbye to Emily.”

Emily . She’s his colleague. He had said she in his retelling of the events. It takes your breath away and you have to stop the tears from coming on because you’re not supposed to care for her, not like this. Not in front of anybody, especially not Spencer.

She’s dead. Emily is dead. It’s a truth you don’t want to accept. It makes you glad that Spencer is still hidden in your neck because you’re sure your face can only show the agony you feel over such a reveal.

Your worst nightmare has come true, it seems. You don’t want this. Anything but her leaving you permanently. She can’t be dead, not the woman who’s changed you so irrevocably and made you feel like life was worth living.

You could accept loving her in quiet, away from her, but not at the cost of her death. You can’t deal with this, not when Spencer needs you so push it away. You shove the pain and agony down until you’re numb.

You’re supposed to be nothing but an acquaintance to her. She hadn’t even loved you. You shouldn’t feel like your heart has been ripped violently from your body and that your soul will always have an Emily sized hole left in the wake of her death.

You focus on Spencer so that you don’t break down and you’re grateful that he doesn’t notice your little episode. You can’t confront this in front of anybody. It’s better to deal with your grief in private, just like everything else you did with Emily. It made sense for the last thing you’ll ever do for her to stay quiet and watch from afar.

#emily prentiss x reader #emily prentiss x female reader #spencer reid x reader #criminal minds fanfiction #criminal minds #emily prentiss fanfiction #spencer reid fanfiction #my writing #holding on

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musictrash0426 · 4 years ago

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Killing Stalking

My name is Elizabeth Stevens, I’m 17 and it is one month until my senior year of highschool. Most of my friends are going crazy trying to plan out their futures. However, unlike my peers, I've known what I've wanted to be since I was 13. I want to be an artist, my parents fully support my decision which is nice. They have bought me plenty of professional quality supplies since my 14th birthday when they saw all the hard work I put into my art. I've even started selling prints of my work on Redbubble. I also have quite the following

Overall I live in a pretty good neighbourhood. It has great people, including my best friend Kai who lives a few streets over. My family and I live in a pretty large house. It has three floors which is a little big if you ask me. There are only the three of us living here, me, mom and dad. But with that being said my parents gave me the entire basement on my 13th birthday. They also helped me set up every room down here the way I want. Not much has changed, even after being down here for four years..

When you come down the stairs you are greeted with my lounge area. Where we have a couch, tv, game system, large bookshelf and some other things. Next we have my room where I have a fairly minimal look. I have a large bed, large dresser, a walk in closet, and my vanity where I do my makeup. The next room is probably my favourite; it's my art studio. Like I said my parents have supported me over the years so I have a lot of supplies. Honestly I couldn't be more grateful for them and everything they’ve given me. I have a full easel, desk, and a lot of supplies, markers, colour pencils, paint (water, acrylic, oils), alongside my new drawing tablet.

This morning when I got up, I went to my art room and started sketching. I've gotten into this habit as it helps me get into a creative mindset, along with getting into drawing for the day. Once I stop doodling I start to make a list of the things of supplies I had recently run out of.

As I was about to leave, I asked my parents if they needed anything. My mom told me to get her a drink from Starbucks on my way home as she knows I’m planning on going there anyways.

I get into my car and drive to the art store. Luckily this store is only 10 minutes from my house. I walk into the store and look for the supplies on my list. While going through the store, grabbing the things I needed, I decided I also wanted to try out a new paint while I was here. I got some winsor and newton acrylics in red, blue,yellow, sienna, black and white along with some mixing pallets. I also got a canvas as I want to make a large painting later.

My mom texted me asking if I could pick up milk and eggs. So I ran into the supermarket and picked up the few things she wanted. I then went to starbucks, got both my parents, and myself a few drinks, and went home.

I got out of my car balancing shopping bags on my arm,the drinks in my hand and I went inside. I put the milk and eggs in the fridge, gave my parents their drinks and made my way down to my art room to put my supplies away. I started brainstorming ideas of what I want to paint and I finally came up with a concept I liked. I open my sketchbook and I start to draw the rough copy of the picture before blowing it up on the canvas and painting it. While I am drawing out the picture I'm watching lavendertowne’s creepypastas series as it's one of my favourites on youtube.

In my concentration, I lose track of time, and before I know it it’s 4:30 pm. My mom walks to my art room saying her and dad are going on a trip for the next week. So I get the house to myself, which is cool. I've been home alone before. “Elle, you can have Kai over to stay for the week if you want.” mom said. “Also I transferred some money into your account so you and Kai can just order some food if you guys get hungry.”

“Thanks mom,” I say “ I love you.”

“Love you too sweetie.”

I walk upstairs with mom as her and dad are about to leave. I hug them goodbye and tell them to have a safe trip.

I decide to take mom up with her offer and invite Kai over for the week. Lately I haven't been wanting to be home alone. So I called him and he said he’d be over in 10 minutes.

I grab a glass of water and wait, before I knew it there was a knock on my door and it was Kai. I give him a hug and he smiles.

“It’s like we haven't seen each other in a while.” Kai teases me. We saw each other yesterday and I called him late last night because I just wanted to talk to someone.

Kai has literally been my best friend since we were both in diapers. Our moms grew up together so it was bound to happen that we would too. He’s my biggest support system, he’s one of the only people who know how I got into art. I watched a lot of anime growing up, I still do, and the art style is what got me into wanting to be an artist.

“Have you started a new piece yet?” Kai asked

“Yeah I have! And I just finished the rough copy” I say.

“Can I watch you work on it?”

“Of course you can silly,” I say with a grin. I show Kai the canvas to let him gauge what I’ve been working on.

“It looks really good!” But his face saddens a little bit. “Are you doing alright?” I give him a confused look. “You tend to draw horror pieces when you're trying to get yourself into a better place.”

Horror pieces are my favourite to draw. I don't have an explanation for it, but I've always liked them. Maybe it's because I loved horror shows growing up but who knows. I look back at all my works and Kai’s right. I tend to do these pictures more when I'm not the best headspace.

“You really know me, at this point it's mostly subconscious” I laugh “I was also watching creepypasta videos so the idea could have come from that. Anyways, what do you think about it so far?”

“I love it of course!” Kai says

I work on transferring it onto the canvas and after about 2 hours the pencil sketch is laid out. Once that's done we decide to go to the movies. We went and saw whatever Kai wanted to see. He picked some rom com which I wasn't mad at as I enjoy these types of movies.

After the movie we went to a sushi place for dinner. I wasn't that hungry so I got the rest of mine to go. Then we went to the supermarket to get some candy and pop for tonight. We decided that we were going to stay up quite a bit of the night so I can work on my artwork and we can just talk about life and stuff. We pull into the parking lot and head inside. This store is open 24/7 so we have plenty of time to get our stuff, but still it is 11:30pm and something makes the air feel very eerie tonight.

After walking around the store Kai and I look at eachother and we both feel like something is off because this uneasy feeling Kai and I hurry up and grab what we wanted. Kai and I decided to pick up Sour Patch Kids, gummy bears and some chips. We then went into the drink aisle where I picked out Dr. Pepper, and ginger ale. Kai picked out diet Pepsi and cream soda. We picked out the four flavours that we both love. We then decided to get a tub of cotton candy ice cream. As we were turning there was this lady who crashed her cart into ours as we were on our way to check out. I looked up and noticed that it was the same lady that had been in each aisle with us, which honestly didn’t make any sense as we just went to the isles we needed.

We check out of the store and head back to the car. After putting everything in the trunk of the car, I look up and see the same woman still there. What the fuck?

“Hey Kai, can you take the cart back please?” He nods and I get into the car and lock it.

I hear a knock that startles me and I look up. It was just Kai. I unlocked the door and he got in. “Wanna tell me why you had the door locked Elle?”

I look over and the woman gets into the car next to us oh great my horror brain made something out of nothing. She was also probably having a movie night with some of her friends.

“It’s nothing Kai, I think I’m just psyching myself out.”

“Okay.” With that we drove back to my place right in the nic of time too as it just started to rain. We shut off all the lights and lock the doors and windows upstairs. We head back down to my studio and I set up everything to begin painting.

I wanted something in the background while I was working so I put on Another. Kai and I have already watched it a few times but we didn’t want to start something new since I wouldn't be able to give it my full attention. Also it's a horror anime so it will put me in the mood for my painting.

I looked down at the outline I drew; it was a girl who had gone psychotic and had a knife in her hand. My plan is to add blood to her once the painting is completely dry, but first I start by painting the eyes. When they are finished they look very dead and already mentally gone inside. I take a break and lay my head on Kai’s shoulder.

“Tired?” he asks me.

“No, I just wanted a break.” We continue watching the anime after two more episodes. There was a bang of thunder and a flash of lightning, I looked out the small window and saw what looked to be a figure of a woman. I looked back to get a better look but she's gone. I must just be seeing things.

I brush it off then get back to my painting. About an hour later I finish painting the skin and I see another flash out of the corner of my eye. I think to myself how odd that is because there was no thunder. I brushed it off as the volume of the show probably just covered the sound. I decided to be done with painting for the night, so we moved out into the lounge area and continued watching Another. There was another flash and in the window we saw her. The woman from the supermarket was in my window.We were going to call the cops then with another flash she's gone.

We decided we couldn't take anymore horror tonight so we put on Ouran Highschool Host Club a few hours later we were on the episode where a character named Tamaki was trying to figure out his friend Haruhi’s biggest fear. When we see a flash of lightning in the episode, it also flashes here, and we see her silhouette again and she vanishes with the lightning once more.

Creeped out we went to my room and lay in bed, I cuddled into Kai because honestly I was shaking and needed comfort.

In the morning Kai and I woke up to banging on the door. I checked the time and it was 8:30 am. We got up and checked no one was there, but there was an envelope that said Elizabeth Steevens and Kai Kalua I brought it inside.

“Ummmm Kai?”

“Yeah?”

I turn the envelope to show him. We were both scared and didn't know what to do. We opened it and there were at least 40 photos of us, starting from when we were coming out of the movie. There were photos of us at the sushi restaurant, the grocery store, and the worst ones of all the ones that were taken looking into my house. Ones of us in my art room, in the lounge, and ones of us asleep in my bed.

Panicked, I call the police and they tell us to come down to the station. Since neither of us knew the woman's name they said there was nothing they could really do for us except to have us tell them if something else happens. Some help they were, I thought.

Kai and I went back to my studio and I continued working on the piece. This time our show of choice was Miria Nikki. As I was painting the hair I saw another flash and considering what happened last night we decided to go to my parents office and check the security cameras and lo and behold she's there on the property.

“Kai whats that in her hand?”

“I don’t know,”

I looked closer and saw that it was a knife. We once again called the police and this time they came, but hearing a car must have scared her. They came inside and asked to watch the cameras with us. Only this time she was at the back door that's connected to the kitchen and of course I happened to leave it unlocked…

“Oh Elizabeth, Kai, come out come out wherever you are..” The woman sang out menacingly. Her voice rang through the house loudly causing me to look to one of the officers for advice

He nods for Kai and I walk out.

“There you two are,”

“Do we know you?” I ask, genuinely confused as to who this woman is.

“Yeah I don't know who you are either.” Kai said just as confused.

“I'm Chloe. I am in your art class.” She says.

We were both confused; we don’t remember having ever seen her before. Our art class had six people in it, us two, three other of our friends and some weird girl who doesn't talk to anybody.

“... you’re the weird girl in our class aren’t you?” Kai questions.

“What did you call me?” She asked with a defensive tone.

“What did you expect him to say, you literally refuse to talk to us. Then whenever the teacher praises my work, you get angry. Besides who goes around taking pictures of people in their own house! That is fucking creepy.” I say

“I get angry because you always get the spotlight! Give someone else a turn.”

“Elle gets the attention because she actually shows her artwork, you just sit in the back of the class and do nothing. If you want attention why ignore us when we try talking to you? What is your problem? And why do you have a knife?” You can tell Kai is starting to lose patience with the situation, as his questions get increasingly aggressive.

“So I can get rid of my competition,” she smiles sweetly.

“What competition? There is no competition Chloe” I ask

“What competition? I have liked Kai forever!” Chloe says frustrated, slightly getting closer to the two of them with the knife.

Kai puts one hand out towards her, while using the other to pull me back with him a couple steps, creating distance between her and I before he speaks again.“I will never like you. Besides there is only one person I like, and hate to break it to sweetheart but it's not you.” This makes me curious who Kai was referring to.

“Then who is it then?” she asks angrily

That's when Kai kissed me. I kissed him back, albeit slightly flustered. This caused Chloe to become enraged, she came towards us with the knife and that's when the cops came out and told her to put the knife down. She complied and dropped the knife as she didn’t realize that the police were here.

One of the two cops took her away as the other came and told us they were going to hold her and do a mental assessment on her. He also checked to see if Kai and I were okay. After we tell him we are he also leaves, leaving Kai and I alone to deal with this new revelation.

“Do you actually like me? Or were you just saying that to get her to stop…” anxious about the answer since I have liked Kai for a while, but didn't want to make things awkward with him.

“Elle I have liked you for a while but I didn't want to lose you.” Kai says as he pulls me closer to him.

I don't know how to respond, all my mind was telling me was ‘kiss him’. I pull him in by his shoulders to another kiss, quickly dispelling doubts either of us had. Kai placed his hands on my waist and melted into it. He pulls away and leans his forehead against mine, just holding me. For the first time in a few days I felt safe.

“Kai?” I ask in a quiet tone almost a whisper.

“Yeah sweetheart?”

“Can you stay while my parents are gone?” I don’t feel safe enough to be home alone, and you wanted to stay in the comfort that he gave you.

“Of course I can angel.”

#anime #alone #creepy #artist #high school #home alone #horror #oneshot #senior #stalker

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dafukdidiwatch · 4 years ago

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I’m actually pissed that this is a decent movie.

Overview: Arctic Researchers/Scientists stumble on Nazis who live in the center of the earth who have survived by replacing their dying tissue for living ones in a bid for immortality.

And in order for me to talk about this film, I have to talk about this:

Fucking Sky Sharks.

I hate that movie.

I hate it So Much.

I bought it from a Walmart for $10 so what a waste of movie.

The first like, 10 minutes was the movie dragging on showing everyone in the plane in the worst way possible. An old swedish man watching shitty CGI sci-fi porn. A weird gang turn priest man which I for sure might have been the main character but had the weirdest backstory that goes no where and does nothing. Some drunk guy wanting to flirt with a stewardess and the joke is that she wasn’t a super model 20 something. So after going On and ON THEN the sharks come in to show how epic they are.

And they also suck ass. I couldn’t give a shit about the CGI this is a movie about nazi sky sharks I walked in not expecting quality.

Oh yeah, Nazi’s. Forgot to mention the Nazis. Because, you know, they made the sharks. And are also zombies who rose again to take over the world. And our first look is a female blond haired officer killing people in the longest and dullest way possible. Like, there is only so many ways you can decapicate a bunch of people with wires.

After that, move into the “plot” with random ass girl #1 and random ass girl #2 where girl #1 is also in the Antarctic (shocker) and finds a boat, goes in by herself without help/backup, finds out the zombies are not only in there, but also shark tanks because this is where they were raising the sharks.

So to recap: In the COLD NEGATIVE FROSTBITING SNOW COVERED DREADNAUGHT the nazis are not only alive and NOT freezing, but the great white sharks are also alive and NOT freezing. You can say bs science, I say bs movie.

Oh and you know what the sharks feed on?

Misogyny.

God this movie hates women so much. First, multiple porn shots/sexual harassment jokes on just the plane alone (again, first 10 minutes). Then the “sexy” female zombie commander because that’s what was in the Nazi Military: Women. Not saying shit about history or anything, just saying that I know a fetish when I see one. And the Random Ass Girl #1? The reason why she was at the boat in the first place is because she was on a solo rescue mission to help some researchers who found the boat. A Guy and A Girl. The Guy was like, killed normally or shot or something I couldn’t give a shit about. The Girl was stripped naked, hung upside-down by her foot, bare naked ass shown to us, as she is fed to the shark tank.

Yeah, real women friendly.

It also doesn’t help that when Random Ass Girl #1 gets stabbed with, I guess zombie venom for ReAsOnS, she has a shower scene where it shows her being affected and poisoned under her skin....but also how Hot she is by having it shot on her boobs, check, body stretching and curling to show ALL of her body. While under a show that’s in the middle of the fucking room like it’s Hannibal Lector’s bathroom.

And you that that would be the reason I hate this movie but it isn’t dammit. The movie was dull as hell. I’m only talking about the Misogyny for so long because it was the only thing that was actually worth mentioning. I didn’t give a shit about anything else!

The acting is bad and just monotone across the board. Apparently RAG#1 and #2 are like, rich spies from a super rich family corporation which took me a full as 20 minutes to realize. And they have no idea how the fuck to plot a movie! Finding out the sky sharks were because of Dear Old Granddad, results in THREE! SEPERATE! FLASHBACKS! EACH MORE BORING THAN THE LAST!!! I have no idea how you made working with NAZIS dull as shit but this movie found a way. Instead of having the history set in the beginning of nazis doing shit as a teaser to explain later, he just tells his fucking life story of how making Sky Sharks would save the Third Reich. And I Couldn’t Give A Shit.

It got so dull and bored that I literally fast forward through the entire movie to find interesting parts. Spoiler: there was none. Not even with more sharks like eating the world could it entertain me. I just fast forwarded to the very end, and only watched 30 minutes of a 90 minute movie. God I hate Sky Sharks.

So WHY am I bringing it up? Well, it really did set expectations and a bar for Nazis at the Center of the Earth. They both have rediculous titles that you can’t take seriously or expect “great things” from. They both deal with nazis, zombie-ish nazis, genetic research, scientists in the Arctic, and Nazi’s hiding in the Arctic. That is a lot, and I just watched Sky Sharks like 2 weeks before so this was very recent and absolutely in my head.

Which is WHY this movie was a very pleasant surprise.

We start with seeing Nazis doing action pact Nazi shit escaping for science! It even has that Wilhelm scream, but the movie has plot and vision. It didn’t make the nazis seem any more than being just army soldierd and has decent action and sets expectation for the rest of the movie.

And that’s like the big difference between this and Sky Sharks: The Treatment of the Nazis. The nazis here were treated, in my view, as powerful and dangerous. They are meticulous, uncaring, cold and distant. The head Nazi is actually Dr. Mengele, he is in this movie, and he is just so apathetic to everyone.

All the Nazi’s faces were covered in mask so you couldn’t see their faces, making them inhuman. And the first Nazi face we do see is Dr. Mengele as he just, slowly cuts the face off of a person. Methodically. Meticulously. He doesn’t even talk, doesn’t react as the person begs. Just does it. And was going to do it to the girl as well but because she kept talking science, he allowed her to live.

But it was close.

In the beginning it feels like two different movies because it cuts from two researchers who got kidnapped by Nazis surviving their own horror movie trying to escape, and the rest of the researchers being in a Survival Rescue Movie trying to find them. I honestly wanted to see more of the Nazi part because that was the more engaging section. It was filmed, framed, shot as a tense horror movie, where you don’t know if she will live or die.

I also want to approve of the lack of misogyny. Like, first, the Nazis are equal treatment terrible to everyone. They shot one of the researchers who wandered in because he was Jewish. (”I’m non-practicing” lol love that line). Second, the scenes that they did were filmed in a way to highlight the horror but not the sexiness of it. The guy and girl strapped to the table, they are both naked. We don’t see the whole naked body, just enough to establish it while censoring the rest. You see Dr. Mengele looking over them, but there isn’t sign of lust. He is viewing them both as just experiments (which also adds to the horror aspect but I digress). One of the girls ends up being thrown to the Nazi Officers to be raped and killed, but we don’t see that. She doesn’t have a shirt, but it isn’t films as a “sexy” moment, the camera doesn’t move or linger on her body. It is just a straight shot, where she tries to cover herself up. When they close in on her, crawling towards her, the camera focuses more on their approach than on her while at a distance. This is scary, but it isn’t sexualized. Which I approve and is a WAY PLUS from Sky Sharks.

This movie has an odd budget too. There is a lot of CGI. And it isn’t good. Not at all. It works to show things happening like CGI tanks...CGI snow/ice. CGI Robots and lasers. They don’t hide it at all. But then, they also have amazing makeup budget because the “ripping face scene” was amazing physical effects it looked so real. The Nazis are obviously frankenstein stitched up monsters, but they are well done in makeup and design. Like all the close up shit is amazing to look at.

Overall: It was an Alright Movie. Yes, there is plot. There is tension. There is fear trying to survive with the nazi. Bad CGI, and a bit campy at the end, but nothing to detract from the actual movie. It was a fun movie.

#dafukblog #Dafuking Films #week 41 movie #sky sharks #nazis at the center of the earth

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misssophiachase · 5 years ago

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Blame Taylor Swift for distracting me from my other stories (which are still being updated I promise). Eleven parts - eleven songs. Hope you like it.

Invisible String

Famous singer Caroline Forbes returns to her hometown for a funeral and to face demons from her past, not expecting someone familiar to return and throw the confected world she's created upside down. Based off songs and lyrics from Taylor Swift's Folklore. On FF and AO3

Chapter one: the 1

Mystic Falls, VA

The large, antique mirror was always one of her favourite pieces of furniture in the house. Her mother had been an avid collector of rare, antique pieces and this was one of her most treasured finds.

Liz told her as a child that mirrors possess magical powers.

They don't lie.

Looking at herself today, Caroline knew that much was true. She barely recognised the woman staring back at her.

Her knee length, black, Chanel dress was modest but stylish and her blonde tresses were pulled back into a low chignon at the nape of her neck with a pair of simple, pearl earrings her only accessories.

She looked every bit the grieving ex-girlfriend, her publicist had made sure of it. The problem was, only half of that statement was true. Ex-girlfriend, yes, but grieving she wasn't quite sure.

Caroline walked to the nearby bay window, looking down at the beach below.

Her large mansion sitting atop the cliffs overlooking the sea had been an impulse purchase five years earlier. She'd bought it for her mother initially. But Liz always maintained that she preferred the small house on Mulberry Drive where she'd raised Caroline and it had remained vacant ever since.

She couldn't bring herself to sell it, if anything it was a veiled reminder to the residents of Mystic Falls who she'd become and just how much some had underestimated her worth. Petty, yes, but Caroline felt it was justified all the same.

She faltered, seeing the long stretch of sand below. It always reminded her of him. The lazy summer days that passed while they played in the surf and built a myriad of sandcastles, some even taller than Caroline. He was like that, always had to be the most competitive. The best.

But also so loving and kind, his unconditional support like a warm hug that she'd craved for too long before he arrived in town. He was everything she needed and that feeling had never abated, even after all this time.

She looked away and shook her head, determined to push those particular memories deeper inside. This trip was about her ex-boyfriend, not the boy with the dimples who rescued her and what they could have had, what they could have been. Caroline repeatedly told herself that their story was destined to be captured like a snapshot in time, nothing more.

After all, some of the greatest movies of all time were never made.

He'd gone on to become one of the hottest and most sought after actors in Hollywood, his recent nomination for an Academy Award his latest accomplishment.

Sure, she liked to pretend she didn't keep tabs on his life but that would be lying. Every time she saw him photographed in magazines and at movie premieres, his arm around the latest girlfriend, Caroline couldn't help but wish it was her.

But they'd had their chance and there was too much history between them to ever salvage what could have been.

"Caroline, you ready?" she turned to face her publicist and best friend from the doorway. "Are you sure you're going to be okay?" She nodded, her invisible mask now firmly in place, determined to hopefully get through this day unscathed and as quickly as possible.

Then she could get the hell out of Mystic Falls and never come back again.

1 week earlier...Empire Field Mile High, Denver CO

"Thanks everyone, you've been amazing, good night!" Caroline yelled into the microphone, waving at the heaving crowd for the last time.

Whether it was a small dive bar at the beginning of her career or the giant stadiums she'd graduated to, Caroline didn't think she'd ever tire of the feelings it evoked. Caroline didn't think she'd be here, let alone doing something that she loved. She'd been singing since she was a little girl sitting on her mother's lap but never thought she'd be singing her own songs for the masses.

She was discovered in one of those very dive bars at the age of nineteen. It was her first regular gig and although the clientele were either non-existent or questionable, Caroline was just grateful to have a steady job for three months.

When the handsome and immaculately dressed brunette (although she wouldn't admit that to him now) had entered the bar, looking completely out of place, she was mid-song. She could remember the cover song like it was yesterday, Breathe by Sia.

Just after her set, he'd produced one of those impressive-looking business cards before approaching her on stage. Enzo St John was his name. His demeanour was poised, his manner and unexpected British accent extremely polished.

"I'm going to make you a star."

If she wasn't so starving, desperate and facing eviction from her Santa Monica studio, Caroline probably would have scoffed at his cliched terminology. But she wasn't that much of an idiot.

And he did make her a star. As evidenced by her steady climb up the music charts, sold out concerts and complete make-over from small town girl to multiple grammy award winner and current 'it' girl if nights like this playing in Denver were anything to go by.

"You knocked it out of the park!" Enzo yelled, trying to be heard over the loud cheers from the manic crowd in Denver as she walked off stage.

"You do realise this is a football stadium, right?" She asked, taking the towel one of the stage hands had kindly provided.

"I don't understand." The way his forehead creased in utter confusion was enough to prove that very point.

"Of course he doesn't," her agent interrupted their conversation. "Enzo doesn't realise he's used a baseball metaphor because all he cares about is his beloved soccer."

"I'll pretend you didn't just commit blasphemy by calling football that dreaded word, Bennett," he huffed. "Bloody Americans."

"We love you too, Lorenzo," Caroline teased, throwing the towel she'd just used at him teasingly. "Now, what's next?"

Bonnie and Enzo looked at her mouths agape. Only Caroline Forbes, America's sweetheart, would be this hardworking. Her schedule was hectic enough but Caroline always took it in her stride and strived to do more and be better. Her mother had taught her that from a young age and she hadn't forgotten since.

"Ah, I don't know, maybe go back to the hotel and sleep, darling," Enzo responded, finally finding his voice. "This tour is only going to get crazier and you need to rest."

"Even Kat would recommend that and we all know how much she loves a good after party," Bonnie joked.

She was an agent at premiere talent company CAA and had recently come on the road for a few weeks. Caroline had met her and publicist Katherine Pierce not long after Enzo. The three were a packaged deal even if they did fight like siblings. Being an only child, Caroline actually relished in their incessant bickering.

Caroline weaved her way backstage and into her makeshift dressing room. Her finale outfit was meant to not only sparkle but also to stand out. Which was great but comfort definitely wasn't an overall factor in its design.

After an obligatory swig of Evian, she began to change. A knock at the door wasn't wholly unexpected, hence the screen she was standing behind. Usually, it was one of her personal staff needing to discuss various matters. Caroline was someone who didn't like to be alone, especially with her thoughts, so would never discourage company.

"Care," she heard her publicist call out. "You decent?"

"Come in, Kat," she said, albeit muffled by the top she was removing.

"Amazing show, as usual," she smiled, closing the door behind her. "How are you feeling?"

"Invigorated," she grinned. "Performing live is the best high anyone could ask for."

"Well, I'm glad," she began slowly,"because I have some news that I thought you should know." Caroline didn't like the sound of that, it was just like when she'd been informed her mother had passed away in the line of duty three years ago. She suddenly felt sick, holding onto the screen for some much- needed balance.

"News?"

"From your hometown," she added. "I wasn't sure if you already know but given your response I assume not."

"Just tell me," she snapped. Caroline knew it was uncalled for given she was just the messenger but there was something about the mention of Mystic Falls that had the tendency to throw her into a spin.

"I'm sorry," Kat soothed. "Your, uh, I mean, uh, Damon Salvatore has passed away."

Caroline felt the precarious sense of balance she had slowly slipping away, all the way onto the floor. It was only when Kat scooped her up and led her towards the couch that she finally processed her words.

Damon.

Dead.

"How?" She managed to bite out as Katherine force fed her some water.

"Motorcycle accident," she offered, brushing the hair from her forehead. "He collided with a vehicle on the interstate. It was instant."

Caroline closed her eyes. She'd always wondered what it would feel like to hear those words but it didn't register like she'd imagined. She'd wished so many bad things on him too many times. She thought there'd be a sense of relief or freedom.

But all she felt was nothing. Not sad, not angry, not shock or disbelief. Just nothing.

Besides Kat telling her she was "so sorry" and continuing to rub her back, the silence in the room was deafening.

"How do you, of all people, know that?" She croaked, sitting up and looking at her friend imploringly. They'd never met. Damon was nothing but a revised memory she'd concocted for her public image.

The typical small town girl with the high school sweetheart angle and her management team had eaten it up. If only it was true.

"Those rabid vultures at TMZ somehow got a hold of it, want to know if Caroline Forbes is attending his funeral in Mystic Falls."

"Well, given you just told me…"

"I know, like I said vultures," she hissed. "I'm not even going to justify their heartless request with a response. Can I get you anything, sweetie? Tissues, water, a really big bowl of chilli fries with extra ketchup?"

Caroline snuggled back into Katherine's embrace knowing exactly what she wanted. She wanted to forget, even if it was just for one night. "I need a really big bottle of tequila."

Caroline winced from the memory, thinking that tequila truly was evil and that she wouldn't be touching it again anytime soon.

Fast forward a couple of days and Caroline was here preparing for Damon's funeral. They'd only arrived late the night before so as to avoid the welcome circus. Her team had accompanied her to Mystic Falls in a show of support and she appreciated it, even if they didn't know the full story.

Given every media outlet knew about his death via TMZ, Caroline figured if she didn't go along with it then they'd know her backstory wasn't exactly what she'd sold them and that couldn't happen.

She'd worked too hard to get where she was and her past wasn't going to return and ruin that.

#klaroline fanfiction #klaroline fanfic #folklore inspired #klaroline #invisible string #misssophiachase #chapter 1 #the 1

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miraizu · 4 years ago

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Open Book - 3. Sanguine Troubles

Open Book Ship: Chrollo Lucilfer/Reader Part: 3/?? [PREV] | [NEXT] Word count: 2,107 Warnings: None. Synopsis: Everybody has to make a way of living. Some are hunters, some are thieves, some are just regular civilians trying to enjoy their lives. You? You're an informant, and in York New City, a city that never sleeps, you're about to find out just how much of a commodity that really makes you.

With the strange influx of new customers, something you could only attribute to the mafia auction that was currently going on, you had decided to take the day off. Sure, you needed to make money, but you also needed groceries, and wanted to scour the street markets in hopes that you'll find something you can use for your own shop. The vendors down there all knew you by name - you showing up to search for items wasn't exactly anything new.

Making sure the door was locked behind you, you had started to walk leisurely, the sun beating down brightly today. It wasn't unbearable - paired with the cooled air signalling the start of autumn, it was a perfect September day. Looking at the small paper list in your hands, you mentally decided you would do groceries last and hit the vendors first. You were not going to be lugging fruit around all day with the sun like this.

Neatly folding the paper into fourths and pocketing it, you easily made your way to the street vendors. Despite it being earlier in the morning, the streets were already bustling. Business men, in a rush on their way to meetings; families with screaming kids, complaining how it was too early; groups of younger adults, all unaware that a majority of the stalls were overpriced to prey on tourists like them. As per usual, you saw all the same types of people, nobody in particular standing out to you. A bummer. A part of you was really hoping you either ran into Chrollo, or got to see the blond from a couple days ago to get his information.

Your morning shopping went by without a hitch, although it was quite uneventful. A couple of paper grocery bags on each arm, various produce and other foods stacked precariously in the bags, you carefully weaved through the crowds on your way home. Grocery shopping at the stalls down here had taken a couple of hours, and the noon rush was just starting to near it's peak as lunch time loomed near.

"The bounty is huge! If we can capture a couple, we'd have enough money to get Greed Island!"

Ah, that was a familiar voice. Stopping in your tracks, you peered in the direction of Gon's voice, seeing Gon, Leorio, and Killua walking down the sidewalk. They hadn't seemed to notice you yet, and you hummed, falling in step with them.

"What bounty?"

Your sudden appearance startled Leorio, and all three looked over at you in surprise.

"Oh, it's [Y/n]!"

You nodded in acknowledgement at Gon's astute observation, and repeated your question. The three exchanged looks, clearly debating on whether they could tell you.

"Not here," Leorio said, his face serious. "Can we talk about this at your shop?"

Curiosity peaked, you weren't about to turn them away. The four of you walked back, and you locked the door behind you and, after a moment of hesitation, led them upstairs to your studio. You weren't a fan of having people in your space, and clearly not used to guests, your studio apartment was a bit messy, but none of them commented on it. Gesturing to the small coffee table, you skittered on over to the kitchen, prepping a pot of tea for your impromptu visitors.

After a moment, you brought back four cups of white jasmine tea. After another moment, you pulled a package of cookies out of one of the grocery bags. Immediately, Gon and Killua began to snack.

"So what bounty?"

You weren't one for small talk, skipping straight to the point, and seeing as how both Gon and Killua's mouths were stuffed, Leorio was the one to fill you in on the situation.

"They put out bounties recently," he started, and you nodded, bringing the cup up to your lips to drink your tea. "All of the Phantom Troupe - each member is worth a couple billion jenny alone."

At the mention of the Troupe, the cup had slipped out of your hands, spilling hot tea onto your legs. A momentary lapse in composure, you grimaced and cursed in your native language underneath your breath, hastily setting the cup down. It burned. Your pain tolerance wasn't the best as it was, but burns were always the worst.

Aware of Killua's shrewd gaze, you chose to ignore it for the time being in favor of excusing yourself to go change clothes in the bathroom quickly. Your thighs were both irritated and red, but it wouldn't blister. You were just being a baby.

Coming back out in new clothes, you apologized.

"You know the Phantom Troupe."

This came from Killua, and you could feel the atmosphere of the room grow tense. Your expression went still, the only change being the thinning of your lips. He wasn't really wrong, but not quite right, either. You knew of the Phantom Troupe. Having been raised in Meteor City, the Phantom Troupe were heroes. Legends. But did you know the Phantom Troupe?

Well, you knew one member, considering you two had grown up together.

You weren't going to say that, though, especially if these two were after Troupe members. Instead, you lied with ease, your voice icy. "Almost everybody knows the Phantom Troupe, kid." Your words were delivered sardonically, but none of them were completely placated yet. You continued on. "However, I don't know them, if that's what you're getting at, and I don't have any information on them. People ask about them all the time, but I refuse to involve myself in any of their business. It'd be suicidal."

The most effective way to lying was sprinkling the lie with a bit of truth, and that was exactly what you did when you spoke. It worked, at least for Gon and Leorio as the former slumped and looked disappointed. Killua was still skeptical, but you had a feeling that part of that was just his overall personality.

"Aw, man," Gon sighed, leaning his head back. "I was really hoping you'd have information on them, [Y/n]!"

Ruefully, you smiled. "Sorry, Gon. I can only give you advice - and that's to be careful." You let out a sigh of your own, your thoughts once again flashing towards the blond from before. You opted to say nothing about him, despite his constant reappearance in your mind. Already feeling socially exhausted for the day - the true woes of an introvert - you went to go take your grocery bags to the kitchen with the intent of taking care of them all.

All three seemed to get the hint that you were done with conversing today, and they stood up. "Thanks for the tea and help," Leorio said. 'Help'. You literally did nothing, honestly, but nodded nonetheless, not wanting to comment on it. You silently led them out, bidding them 'goodbye' before locking the door again. Going back upstairs, your mind was preoccupied as you started to put away your groceries. You had about enough time to have a quick lunch before you opened for the afternoon, although you honestly wanted to be lazy for the rest of the day.

You also sort of needed to make money, though.

With groceries taken care of, you made a sandwich to eat before finally dragging yourself downstairs, unlocking the door and flipping the sign to open before you began to move items around to make the displays seem better. As much as your store got traffic during the auction, people weren't genuinely interested in antiques that had little value. It was more of a tourist attraction. Few customers actually bought stuff, but money was money, and you still had rent to play on both the shop and your little studio apartment.

With your back turned to the door, you had been carefully sorting through a collection of antique books when the bell rang, signalling a customer.

"I'll be with you in a moment."

Making sure the books wouldn't fall, wanting to make sure that the book titles could be seen, the customer didn't say anything. For a moment, you thought that they had left, but right before you could turn around and check, a hand reached out right by your head to pull one of the books out carefully, making sure to not disturb the other books.

You hadn't sensed the person from behind, so the close movement and proximity had startled you as you turned around hastily. Face-to-face with you was Chrollo, the man from yesterday. Although, face-to-chest would be more accurate, considering the height he had on you. For a moment, you lost your composure, eyes widened as you looked up. His gray eyes were piercing into your own, and you saw how his lips quirked upwards, as if he wanted to smile but wasn't entirely sure how.

"I apologize." His voice was as smooth as ever, and he didn't draw back. "I didn't want to disturb you."

You felt like that wasn't quite the truth, but didn't comment on it. Usually, you'd have no qualms about pushing people away who got into your personal space, but you couldn't deny the fact that you were getting an inkling of a crush on him.

Snap out of it, [Y/n], you scolded yourself inwardly. You are a grown woman who doesn't have time for feelings like these. Besides, you're only attracted to him because he seems like a mystery to you.

Nonetheless, you found yourself averting your gaze, your jaw set nervously. "Next time you should give somebody warning. Not everybody likes their space invaded."

You refused to look back to see what his expression was as he, thankfully, backed up. "My apologies."

His voice made you melt, not that you would show it. When he had backed up enough, you went around to the counter, keeping your face stoic so you could keep up your stone-cold reputation. If people thought you were growing soft for somebody, nobody would treat you with the fear they should.

Clearing your throat, you attempted to fully regain your composure. "Is there anything I can help you with today, sir?" You couldn't say his name, considering he himself hadn't introduced himself, and you weren't stupid enough to make that slip-up. You were far too used to keeping secrets and an oblivious facade up. After all, that was the best way to get information; people tended to tell you more if you acted like you didn't understand anything, you were quick to find out.

Chrollo seemed more interested in the book, running a finger along down the spine before going to put it back. "I'm fine, thank you."

If it were anybody else, they would have missed it, but you were no stranger to thieves. As Chrollo put the book back, you saw him slip something else into his pocket in a flash. Even you, with your trained eyes, had almost missed it, and your gaze of disinterest turned into a glare of disdain. Pretty or not, nobody got away with stealing from you.

He had started to walk out when you called out to him. "Hold it."

He didn't turn around, instead just glancing over at you from his shoulder as you walked around the counter. "You have something of mine. You either pay for it, or leave it here."

He gave you an actual smile this time, and you could have sworn your heart stopped for a moment. This man was seriously too perfect looking to be real, and it honestly made you a bit angry that somebody this breathtaking could exist. Especially when that breathtaking person was trying to steal from you.

Chrollo's hand went into his coat pocket, drawing out a small rusted globe, about the size of a baseball, before tossing it to you. It was strange - the globe actually wasn't worth much. A lunch at the local cafe would cost more than the globe, and there wasn't anything special about it, so why would he try stealing this of all things? It was literally useless.

Catching the antique item deftly, you narrowed your eyes thoughtfully, regarding his figure. Was he stealing just to steal? Or...

Your eyebrows raised in surprise. "Were you... Testing me?"

Your eyes met his again, his smile still there. His eyes seemed knowing - you didn't like it. Without responding, Chrollo had turned his head back straight, heading towards the door.

"I'll see you later."

And with those somewhat foreboding and ominous words, Chrollo Lucilfer had left your shop - this time, thankfully, empty handed, leaving you with a 5 jenny globe and more questions than answers.

What a truly enigmatic man.

#hxh #hxh fanfiction #hunter x hunter #hunter x hunter fanfiction #chrollo lucilfer #chrollo lucilfer x reader #open book #fanfic #fanfiction #x reader #reader insert

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popculturebuffet · 5 years ago

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Jake Reviews Amphibia: Handy Anne and Fort in the Road

It’s finally here... the second time i’ve said that in three days but hey, Amphibia is back! After a years hiatus due to the show being shoved out in a month to get it on disney plus faster (Yet they STILL don’t have wonder over yonder so I can finally watch season 2. God damn. ), one of the best new shows of a year stuffed with them is back! I was excited about this one from the start. A great premise, a gravity falls pedegriee, and the wonderful Brenda Song, who I had a crush on when I was younger despite not really watching the first suite life that much, though I will admit what I saw was pretty decent and had a wonderful cast especially song and Phil Morris as Mr.Mosby.. it was just overshadowed by i’ts two leads being really sterotypical (the cool but dumb hustler and the stick in the mud nerd) and I was more of a nick middle schooler anyway so I barely touched it. Granted if I could go back in time and trade which shows I watched i’d trade it for Zoey 101 in a heartbeat, another show with awful leads but the rest of the main cast was really good concidentally.

Anyways I did watch more of on deck to kill time and absolutley hated it. Seroiulsy the show really sucks: Zack and Cody were turned into basically worse versions of Zack Morris and Ross Gellar, worse because while their just as douchey as those two, Mark Paul Gossler and David Schiwmer can actually act and Cole Sprouse could not yet. I do say yet since Cole Sprouse has grown because he wasn’t half bad in the one season of riverdale I watched. Riverdale, what happens when you have the entire writers room snort a line of coke and then tell them to write the most insane archie fanfiction they can and stitch the results together. Just with Archie alone from what i’ve seen in read he’s started a vigilante posse ala homer simpson, nearly joined hte mafia, been framed form murder, had the local cheerleaders do a number for him while he played prison football, escaped prison to hide in canda from both his former mafia boss whose also his girlfriend’s dad and the cult based on a DnD knockoff, got mauled by a bear and LIVED, and now is a superhero apparently. WHy I haven’t gone back to at the very least review this clusterfuck is a mystery. But the point is the twins were really terrible at the time, and if the fact Dylan’s only major role recently is in the sequel to After, that film based on self insert one direction fanfiction, which somehow got a sequel while Birds of Prey probably won’t because god really does hate me. So it was bad and she deserved better, got better with the social network but hadn’t done much i’d seen, so a new cartoon starting her in her elment and in a great show for once had me pumped. And.. my faith paid off. The show is beautifully animated, ahs a wonderfully morbid and fully fleshed out world, top notch voice acting (including BIll Farmer who is so unreconizable as hop pop I thought he was voiced by charlie addler), great jokes, action and storytelling. Just a slam dunk that left be jonesning for me. And now in one of the best weeks for animation in a while, more is here. I do mean that: 3/4 of disney’s major animated shows returning and close enough finally airing it’s a good time. When we last left our heroes: Hop Pop buired the box that brought anne there and lied to her about it which even a year later I think is a terrible decision.. one made for understandable reasons as he clearly knows something more about it than she does, but one that’s bound ot backfire whens he finds out her new grandpa lied to her and betrayed her. The plantars also spent the season preparing to leave wartwood. Soon after, Anne was forced to finally stand up to her manipulative, if to my utter shock still caring about her and possibly being into her? I mean it’s not like I haven’t seen the “villian whose overcompensating for a terrible past and likes manipualting people redeemed and ending up smooching the somewhat reckless but good hearted heroine” before.

Anyways Sasha ends up nearly falling off a giant tower, Anne tries to save her, with the rest of her new family pitching in, and Sasha, realizing just how terrible she’s been just.. let’s her self fall, only saved because Grime caught her. And just remembering that sequence god dman.. the fact they actually got the rights to lean on me for it really dosen’t help. But the day was saved and while Anne had a huge bundle of trauma, the family was ready to finally set out soon. And now a year later i’ts time. Now i’ve gotten all the personal stuff out of the way, let’s hop to it and see what the new season has to offer. Full review with spoilers under the cut!

Handy Anne

So the Plantars are finally setting off. We don’t touch on the Sasha thing much, just a quick bit at the begining to show that while Anne is insiting she’s fine it really traumatized her. I do like kids shows starting to show more that sometimes heroes just DON’T bounce back after something like this, especially young ones. While it’ isn’t nearly to the extent of Steven Universe spending an entire season having his lack of thearpy and unresolved issues slowly destroy him, it’s still nice to see. But the main thrust of the episode is it’s vacation time brother!

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Yup after a few episodes of build up last season with the valley clear, Hop Pop has bought a suprisingly nice and affordable wagon (As Polly excitedly explains someone died in it) so they can finally set out to hopefully find Anne a way home. Their going to Oregon! I mean To newtopia, the beating heart of Amphibia: a bustling metroplis built on knowledge where they can hopefully find a way to get Anne and friends back home, while Anne hopes to find Marcy. The rest of the kids are also excited just to get out of the valley for the first time. Everyone’s pumped.. but Anne starts to worry when she finds out Hop Pop has asked his friend Chuck, the “I grow tulips” guy from the bug ball episode last season who I forgot about but was reminded why I love him and am glad to have him back, to watch the house as given Amphibia is hard enough to surivive on a good day, let alone if your a stationary building. And Chuck dosen’t insprie confidence so Anne decides to fortify the house. And her reasoning.. is actually really sweet and shows how much she’s grown: Instead of like most times where her impulsivness is the reason shenanigans and life thretaning situations happen here.. she’s hit with the hard relization her new family is basically risking everything, their home, their farm, their chuck, to help her get home.

So Anne decides to armor up the house, getting a fuck ton of shovels and a ton of suplies from the blacksmith guy who suprisngly for once DOES have what she needs for her veggies, to the point his not backtracking weirds anne out, and gives her a tub of goo. This can only end well! Meanwile the rest of the family pack. Polly having maybe 3 possesions gets done quick, Hop Pop is being anal reteitive as always with his ascots (hilariously done and Bill Farmer really is the MVP of this series), while Sprig’s gone half insane just picking out which slingshot to take as he never left, which polly of course exploits. But things natrually go wrong as the goo creates veggie monsters the family fights (with sprig even calling fight time because this is normal to them at this point) the next mornign and then one colosus that destroys the house... and Anne’s anger and heartbreak over it .. awakens something. See something I hadn’t heard about and didn’t notice at the ebgining of the series was anne’s eyes flashing blue while fighting the mantis in the first episode. Many couldn’t tell if it was leading somewhere or just an animation error. Here though her eyes go bright blue in close up with it being clear this is part of her.. the question what is it and why? Just what power does she have now? And will it save the world or destroy it? Questions for later Anne saves the day, an admits she screwed up but Hop Pop is understanding: He’s touched by her actions but also explains their not just doing this for her: their with her all the way and any sacrifice is worth it. And I like that part of hop pop: while he can be overbearing, just see next episode.. he does genuinely mean well and has genuine wisdom, something they sometimes forget with grandparent characters in animation. He’s crotchety and a stick in the mud, but he’s still throughly nice and understanding and it shows here: He’s going to get his daughter back whatever it takes.. almost. Hop Pop calls on chuck who in a whilrwind of tools and tulips fixes the place.. and proves to be every bit the legend I thought him. He sells tulips and he’s great. We’ll miss you chuck. But as they get ready to leave Anne brings up the box and Hop Pop, remembering what he did, hastily says it’s better with their contacts. WHich again just seems short sided: while he is trying to protect her, especially since next episode confirms there was some sort of apocalypse once so odds are her being connected to it might not be the best, he can’t dance around her connection to it forever, and hiding the fact some apolcaypse was caused by it is only going to backfire when some vilian reveals it or anne finds it out for herself. Taking her to a place full of infomration where he’ll now have to work to hide the truth is just asking for this to backfire. Not bringing it is one thing, dangerous people could still get the box and use it for their own ends.. we’ve seen female newt sabertooth in the promos and we’ve met Grime. But not telling her is just setitng himself up for a big and deeserved fall soon. But with that settled our heroes set out!

Final Thoughts I: Overall this was a good start to the season: my one real complaint is the town didn’t really see them off or anything, so the large and loveable supporting cast is just.. absent unless the series returns to wartwood at some point and it would’ve been nice to see them once last time. Even star vs, as bad as season 3 was, knew we wouldn’t be seeing most of the earth cast for a whie and had marco have a meaningful sendoff before he left. But.. given how tight the phacing seems to be this season judging by episode titles alone, and they only had 11 minutes here. I do think it could’ve been in hte next episode, but it dosen’t ruin a decent, fun start to the season really rooted in character stuff. Not the series finest 11 minutes, but still really good and a good way to start us off.

Fort in the Road:

First off your welcome for that episode screencap. Now this one’s also simple, but ends up having a rather sizeable revelation nestled inside. The Plantars are going down the road and while the kids want to you know explore, see places, actually enjoy the trip especailly since Sprig and Polly have never been anywhere else before, Hop Pop, being hop pop, instead just wants them to sit and be quite and follow his rules. I mean it is hte grind but you can at least make it FUN for htem; Just look at this guy.

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It took an episode longer than I thought to refrence the trail to oregon given this season is about a wagon trip, but I’m glad to do it .. and do it again. I will fit pays to be an animal in here somewhere I swear it. WE’ve got time left in the road trip. Anyways this goes down terribly, though some rules like not posing dramatically as it smacks of hubris and never ends well. But understandably the kids are annoyed about it: Anne can’t even compallin because i’ts not in the rules. So naturally as Hop Pop should’ve seen coming at the first opprotuunity Anne fakes being cart sick and they run off to see a weird looking ruin with Hop Pop chasing them and leaving the cart to polly because that can’t end well but he’s on a short time. And this is where the season drops a 10 ton atomic bombshell. Anne being kinda magic in the last episode and it being fully part of things now is intresting and shocking.. but this is miles ahead of it and casts Hop Pop’s actions: Turns out whatever the clamamity box did set techniology in amphibia back to a little above the dark ages. I mean they have full light thanks to lightning bugs, but their still leagues behind.. but were once up to at least mid 2000′s levels of technology. The machine seen requires a disk to stop, but it’s still far beyond what I expcted from this world. Naturally Hop Pop shows up furious, then gets stuck on the assembly line with the kids deseprate to save him, with spirg ending up doing sow ith the rule book. Also we get Anne’s wonderful repsonse to Sprig asking what a disk is: “I don’t know! i’m from another dimension not the 90s!” They surivive, the factory blows up and the kids apologize and agree to go back to the boring way things have been going.. but Hop Pop thankfully realizes he’s been a bit overbearing and actually gives a good reason why: He’s never taken then out of the valley before and simply got overprotective. This is his family after all, all he has left of his kid and all he really has left beside Sylvia and the farm. It’s understandble he’d go a bit overboard. But Hop Pop decides to compromise a bit in a nice moment: while the impalment fields are obviously a non starter, he does get the kids ice cream (Anne even admits at this point she dosen’t pick the bugs out anymore), and they genuinely enjoy the trip while Sprig (in a hilarious bit of lampshadng as he does it repeadtly) wonders jsut what they were making.. and as I spoiled it was robots.. one of whom is now following them. Wether this means new doom or the plantars getting a new robot family member I don’t know i’m hoping for the latter. Everyone needs a vision in their life. Final thoughts II: While having a bit of an obvious conflict with an obvious resolution the character work combined with the MASSIVE plot bombshell really make this enjoyable and I hope to find out more about just what the hell happened and what these robots are for. Just another good solid episode and an excellent duo to start the season. Next week: Things take a turn for the western and Anne learns to hunt and more about the glow. And with the glow you need to grow to glow... until then i’ll likely have mor ereviews on this channel, I recently reveiwed all of season 1 of close enough if your curious, and until next time.. play us out Willie!

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I love what i’ve seen of this throughly stupid movie. Bye ya’ll!

#amphibia #handy anne #fort in the road #season 2 #brenda song #bill farmer #the suite life on deck #disney channel #disney xd #disney plus #anne boonchuy #hopidiah planter #sprig planter #polly planter #sasha #lord grime

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jellidile · 5 years ago

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A Home For Two (Michael Myers x Reader) Chapter 1

This is the beginning of the longest fic I’ve ever written, brought about by my own shitpost thoughts.

The reader is gender-neutral. Enjoy

Michael yawned as he slowly woke. He was going to do his daily ritual of just enjoying the silence of his home… But there was walking from downstairs. Michael sighed, how long would it be before people just stayed out?? It wasn’t like Judith was haunting the place. Hell the only thing that really haunted the Myers house was him. Slowly creeping to the top of the stairs he listened to the sounds below,

“Oh! Sheriff, good morning!”

“Well, good morning stranger. Can I ask what you’re doing?”

“Moving in! I bought this house recently.” Michael stiffened. Someone bought the house? Michael kept peering. This wasn’t right… No one was interested in buying the Myers house. It was a bad house. Michael Myers go to hideaway. This was some sort of joke. But as he kept looking there were boxes piled in the doorway,

“Mind if I help you then? Just to welcome you to town.”

“Sure!” Michael retreated to his room silently. He grumbled to himself. Normally he would’ve just killed anyone brave enough to trespass onto his property. But this was different. This person lived here now. If they died people would definitely suspect him, or at least something in the house. Sighing he looked out the window and to the very run down shed in the back. It wasn’t comfortable but it was somewhere he could hide. Slipping out of the window silently he crept onto the roof and out to the shed. The shed was messy and filled with pointy objects but it was better than sleeping outside. Settling into the farthest corner of the shed Michael grumbled and fell asleep.

When Michael woke, it was to crickets and overall silence. Creeping out of the shed, there wasn’t any movement from the house. Much to his surprise the window he’d left the house from was still open.

Crawling back through Michael was doubly surprised to see the old mattress he’d been sleeping on replaced, with his- oh fuck… He’d left his extra clothes under the bed. He internally cursed to himself. Looking again Michael noticed they were devoid of the usual dirt stains from being stored on the floor. They were also neatly folded with a note on top,

Hi! To whomever these belong to, I thought I’d wash them for you. I understand it’s pretty sudden of me to be moving into this abandoned house. Sorry!

Michael paused, tilted his head and reread the note. An apology?? To him. Michael Myers. Sighing he sat on the mattress and lied down. He practically melted when his back hit the plush fabric. So he had to admit, this was pretty nice. He was content to just enjoy the plushness of the mattress slowly letting his eyes close. It couldn’t have been more than two minutes, but when Michael opened his eyes, gentle sunlight was flooding into his room. His muscles tensed as he shot up. What in the hell was wrong with him?? Angrily he got out of the bed, grabbed his clothes and left the house.

Back in the shed Michael tapped his foot angrily. Had you come in?? Did you see him? Every so often he peeked out of the shed. But for hours there was no movement. Finally around noon he saw something. In the window of his room you appeared. He couldn’t tell what you were holding but when you looked out of the window he could see you smiling.

You left only a few minutes later and for the rest of the day didn’t enter the room. Michael grumped as night fell and though he was sure the house didn’t have electricity, he waited till all the dim glows he could see were gone. As he clambered back into his room there were blankets on the bed, and another note.

I thought you might like these. Mystery stranger.

Michael huffed. Surely if you found out who he was, you’d rethink being so nice. But… what if you continued to be nice? Michael scoffed, no, you wouldn’t. Living with Michael Myers is something teens said they’d rather do then some other equally bad situation.

Quietly he opened the door. It didn't squeak, Michael had figured out how to move silently around the house weeks ago. Padding through the house he heard your gentle breathing come from the room his parents had used. He decided to leave you alone for now. You weren't causing him any trouble and he didn't feel inclined to end your life just yet.

The door to his sisters room held his attention though. Cracked open the slightest bit, there was a gentle glow. Peeking inside, Michael found a small shrine of sorts. Perhaps a vigil was a more apt name? Either way there on the windowsill was a picture of Judith. Hazy memories of his sister filtered through. She was nice enough. Maybe a little absorbed in her boyfriend. Michael liked Judith. Not that sentiments did much now.

Blowing out the candle he headed downstairs. Tarps lay over new furniture and paint supplies were scattered everywhere. Though it was dark Michael could sort of tell what the new colour was. Either a blue or white. He liked it.

In the kitchen, there were still a ton of boxes. It seemed you hadn’t gotten around to unpacking here yet. But all was not lost. There was food on the counter. A small package of cherry tomatoes, it was already open, and in Michael’s eyes. Fair game. Popping a few in his mouth he peered out of the kitchen window. Although he was creeping around in the middle of the night, he felt halfway normal. Eating real food than the sad excuse they had at Smith’s Grove, and just being free in his own house… Kind of his own house. Speaking of food, Michael was delighted to be eating something. The last time he’d eaten he couldn’t remember but he was about two hours away from eating another dog. The tomatoes he decided, tasted much better. Looking to his side he spied a container of grapes.

His mouth watered, grapes were good. He couldn’t remember how he knew that. He just did. Childhood maybe?? No, focus, he thought. Grapes. Slinking over to the container he could tell it would be too loud to open the container.

There were holes in the top but the grapes were too far down and Michael could barely get his finger out. He grumbled, resigned to opening the container. Slowly he pulled the plastic lid up from the rest of the container. He was as gentle as he possibly could when-

POP

Of course the damn thing had to make one of the biggest noises Michael had heard in a while. Hissing he snagged as many grapes as he could before leaving the house through the back door. As he left he could hear you stirring upstairs.

In the shed Michael ate his grapes halfway focussed on seeing what you would do, and halfway focussed on marvelling how much better grapes were compared to dogs! Michael cursed Loomis, if he could ever get his hands on that rat… He’d show him who the real evil was. Leaning against the wall of the shed, his body shivered. It would be winter soon… Glancing back at the house he thought about the blankets waiting for him. It seemed you wholly okay, with some strange unseen roommate. At least… you were. Michael would wait a few hours to see if you’d called the police thanks to his midnight grape theft.

But when no police came Michael stole away into his room. Locking the door he slipped into bed and for the first time in a long time. Slept soundly through the night. Warm in the sheets his boots neatly placed at the foot of the bed.

When he woke he heard the doorknob jiggle and he quickly hopped out of bed and placed his full weight at the door. He heard you gasp from the other side before sighing,

“I was wondering who locked the door. Good to know you actually exist.” Michael breathed heavy unsure of what to do. Quietly he heard shuffling and a plate being placed on the ground,

“Not big on talking? That’s okay. I know this is probably weird… I guess it’s just nice to not be so lonely… I’ll get you a notepad soon so you can talk back if you like.” Michael sat awkwardly with his back to the door. You were acting like you’d known him for months. Like this was just another day,

“Can I slip something into the room? I won’t look at you or anything. Just a gift.” Michael hesitated. But… You hadn’t tried anything so far. Slowly he unlocked the door and cracked it open a bit. Slowly you pushed a bowl of grapes in and quickly retreated, closing the door for him. With a gentle click he locked the door again. He heard you laugh,

“Next time, maybe don’t open those at midnight.” Quietly he took the bowl popping a grape in his mouth. You continued on about most anything,

“See, I like this house. Last time I was here, it was cold and lonely. But on day one here, it was almost alive. I guess when someone has made a house their home, everything brightens up huh?” Michael huffed. What would you do if he opened the door? Run, scream, beg for your life?

But...none of that seemed quite right. This was the first time he’d ever heard your voice for an extended amount of time. But from how you spoke, and mentioned how weird you must be… Michael couldn’t help but wonder what you would do. Maybe you would be startled, after all it wasn’t lost to Michael that he was incredibly tall. But perhaps… You’d be alright with him. He heard you groan,

“Well, I’m off to work, but maybe you’ll be around later?” Michael stayed quiet. You laughed,

“Oh, and you’re allowed to look at the rest of the house while I’m away. You don’t have to just eat at midnight.” Michael listened to your footsteps fade away and creak down the stairs. The door closing rattled the house slightly. Michael sat motionless thinking of everything you had said to him.

He could almost agree that it was nice to have company.

#michael myers x reader #Michael Myers #Halloween #fanfic #slashers

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thejosh1980 · 4 years ago

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Update #21 – 1 week at “The Ocean Shores Resort”

A week ago we left quarantine in Adelaide!!!

It's been another week of mixed emotions, but I have to say, for the first time in months, they've been mostly on the positive side of things.

Last Tuesday, we left the hotel without too much hassle. They'd given us a basic breakfast the night before to have first thing and they called us down early; luckily we were ready and down the stairs we went. Before you know it, we were in the hotel reception taking our masks off!

Adelaide and South Australia are COVID free, so no masks, no problems.

The checkout was quick (the big bill comes in a few weeks!!), the staff were awesome and the police informative. They all understand that quarantine is not easy on anyone, and they were patient with our questions and worries. We had won the jackpot of quarantine hotels: Pullman Adelaide and the staff helped make our stay tolerable.

Jumped in a taxi (with masks on cause we really weren't sure yet how to behave in the outside world) and off to the airport. We had to leave the hotel by 07:30, because another bus of incoming “Covicts” were coming in that morning. Our flight was at 11:50 up to Brisbane, so it was yet another waiting game to check in and fly. But first... coffee! (we actually bought a coffee from a coffee shop! Amazing!! It's the small things...).

The flight was about about 2/3's full, no masks.

Landing in Brisbane we had to do a border check, show our papers, explain where we had been and all that. The check was there to stop anyone who may have COVID from coming in without quarantining. Each State has slightly different rules, and they do change from time to time, depending on hotspots and COVID numbers. Because the flight was from Adelaide and we left the hotel directly to the airport, we made sure we had no problems entering Brisbane (Queensland). We definitely didn't want any chance of another 14 day hotel stay!!!

Our original plan was to fly into the Gold Coast airport, which is only about 35 minutes from Mum, but there were no flights on our leaving day, so we had to fly into Brisbane (which is 2 hours from Mum's). My cousin picked us up (bloody legend!). We were hungry, and we went directly to Yatala pies. This was the moment I started to realize we were almost home. The taste of home! (Yatala Pies is a well known bakery south of Brisbane, a regular stop for many).

My cousin could drive us as far as the QLD/NSW border. Once there, we walked across the border and Dave picked us up on the other side. A little complicated, but sure enough, the plan worked.

The whole experience felt like something out of the movies. Not that it was all “Hollywood”. It was more like: I can't believe this is finally happening. I wasn't really in the moment. Yet.

As we were getting close to “The Ocean Shores Resort” (which is the name we have for my Mum's house) I still didn't feel calm...

Anyhow, we arrived, and if you've seen our IG or FB Story on the day, you'd know that when I knocked on the front door, we had actually surprised Mum (a little early), and she couldn't find the front door key to let us in!! So our reunion started off with a scream and eventually a laugh!!

Mum did cry, but we all expected her to cry more... ;) Honestly, I think we both had cried too much the past 2 months, it was no longer needed. It was all about joy and happiness.

After meeting and hugging Alex (some more tears) we entered the house to find Mum had a “welcome home” sign and our picture up on the walls (lots of me and Alex, can't go wrong with that!!).

It was surreal.

A quick house tour for Alex and we settled down. Lots of chatting and catching up to do, and a roast dinner!

We'd made it.

The next morning (Wednesday), a son's work is never done and I was up early to take Mum to school. She's part of the support unit inside the primary school, working with kids with Autism.

Even though her eyesight is deteriorating, Mum can still work. Driving a car; that's out of the question. Reading the “use by date” on a packet of chips is almost impossible. Keeping an eye on children in the playground, developing their social skills or helping them with their school work (considering the text is usually quite large and the pictures bold) Mum can still do really well.

I've learnt she has figured out ways to cope with her eyes. She has a great memory, so once she's told something, she can remember it really well (like recipes for cooking etc). She's still a keen bargain hunter when it comes to shopping. I enjoy learning that she's kept her life as close to “normal” as possible, making small changes to the bigger things to keep her independence.

But it's those small things that are hard to do alone, which is why I'm here...

After dropping Mum off, Alex and I spent the morning of our first full day in Brunswick Heads. This is the town I lived in from the mid 80's until late 90's. I went to primary school here, learned to surf here, and know the old names of the shops (the hair dressers is now a surf shop, the butcher's is a cafe, the ice cream shop is a real estate agent and the bank has recently closed). Lots of changes for me, lots of new things for Alex.

We also went down to the beach, the south wall of the Brunswick River, where the river meets the ocean. We watched some waves. Taking in the salt air (I don't think I ever realized how salty the air is here until now).

It was a relaxing day.

But I still wasn't quite “here” in my head and heart. Leaving Dresden back in July, only to be delayed for 7 weeks, then another 2 weeks in quarantine, was going to take sometime to overcome.

Time to pick up Mum from school... Home... Unpack a little, dinner, chatting and a little TV.

Thursday morning, it was time for another radio interview. To finish off the 3 part story with ABC North Coast Radio I did another live interview with Joanne Shoebridge. I'm always nervous doing these kinds of things, even though in the music world, I've had to do interviews, they were never quite as personal as this.

After we dropped Mum off at school Thursday morning, we drove up to the Cape Byron Lighthouse and luckily got a park up close to the top.

I wanted to introduce Alex to the area as much as I could, without overwhelming her. Brunswick Heads, Ocean Shores, Mullumbimby and Byron Bay all played a big part of my childhood, and I wanted her to at least know these villages a little bit as early as possible. We'd covered Brunswick Heads and Ocean Shores a little, so now it was time for Byron Bay.

Bring on the whale watching!!

Within minutes of leaving the car, we could see whales jumping out and swimming around the cape. It was a wonderful morning. I'm so glad Alex got to see them (in fact I can't remember the last time I saw whales so close to the shore). They migrate each year around September/October, so it was perfect timing.

It was a special day for Alex...

The sun was shining, the whales were in plain sight and the tourists were kind enough to stay away from Byron Bay. COVID does have its benefits. Fewer people in these tourist spots isn't always bad (although I am quite aware the economy is suffering. The borders are opening up next week and it'll be very busy then).

Back into Ocean Shores, picked up Mum from school. Home... Dinner.. Chatting... Some TV...

Friday was the first day we had to do “stuff” in regards to living here permanently, and that was banking. So after dropping mum off at work, we drove into Mullumbimby “The Biggest Little Town In Australia”. I went to high school here.

Basically Brunswick Heads and Mullumbimby are like Neustadt in Dresden. You can't walk down the street without seeing someone you know, stopping and chatting. It happened in Brunz the other day, I literally parked my car, and lo and behold an old high school friend came out of the video store to say hi... Or in Mullum, as we arrive at the bank I see an old friend who used to teach me rock n roll dancing (yeah, I can still cut a rug)... and even inside the bank, I said hi to a fella from my high school year, we hadn't seen each other since 1997.

It's a small world...

The banking took a bit longer than expected, after much back and forward we settled on our new bank accounts and how to arrange things going forward. While I've had an account here since I was very very young, I cancelled most of my stuff when I left in 2002, so now it was time to set up shop again, especially since I had my wife with me and we have a future to work towards...

We walked the street of Mullum, grabbed a coffee and we let the country hippy vibe soak in. Alex commented on how many folks don't wear shoes here and she can't believe how many new coffee shops there are for her to try (there's a lot more than when I was a kid).

Picked up Mum from school... School holidays for 2 weeks! Yippeee!!

Home... Dinner... Chatting... some TV...

Over the weekend we sorted out things around the house. Set up better internet Wifi around the house, the pool is in good condition after the winter sleep, cupboards got cleaned out and we unpacked and the car was washed (first time I've hand washed a car in over a decade!).

Sunday I watched Mark's live stream (from his front porch in upstate New York) and I felt inspired (he does that to me). So I am considering live streaming next week. I have a guitar and good internet, so why not? I just have to find time to practice ;) I'm thinking net Sunday evening here, which would be Sunday lunch time in Germany. If I don't get to it this Sunday, then maybe next Sunday... I'll keep you posted.

Overall the weather has been warm, often over 20 degrees. But the mornings are still quite chilly, with frosty dew on the golf course out back. It's not bad for coming out of winter...

Today, Monday, we went “up the coast”, to Tweed Heads.

First thing we tried to exchange my German license for a mandatory NSW (State) license, unfortunately I gotta wait for some back checks, no idea what I did 19 years ago in Melbourne, but they wanna check it out. So onwards to shopping...

Yes!!! We bought a coffee machine! Finally we can wake and with a press of a button get ourselves a cup of joe. It's the small things....

Helped mum with the grocery shopping. She knows her stuff. She knows where everything is in every shop, but sometimes she just needs me to reassure her what is actually written on the box or package!!!

So that's basically our first week...

We are settling in well. Alex and Mum get on like a house on fire. I often can't get a word in edgewise and I'm always outvoted!

I still miss Germany and I still miss Europe... (I always will). I miss a lot of the “past life”, but that's just cause Australia has moved on without me these past 18 years. Each day here I get a little closer to that homey feeling I used to have as a teenager (when I didn't know better).

In hindsight, the past 3 months wasn't too bad... We survived... But that's easy to say now...

When we were in the middle of it, it was really tough.

It was really hard packing up our lives into boxes. It was emotionally draining saying goodbye after goodbye to our wonderful friends. Playing my goodbye show was one of the musical highlights of my life, even if it was one of the saddest.

Then we were ready to leave...

As you all know, that didn't go according to plan.

That's when the really bad feelings crept in. You know it's one thing to know you gotta pack up and say goodbye to leave (you are prepared for that)... It's another when you're ready and the world says “nope, not yet”... and again and again that build up and let down was happening, and until the last 2 weeks in Germany, we had no idea why!

As some of you know, I'm not really good at spontaneity. I'm not good when the plan changes... It was tough... But...

When we took control of the situation and booked new flights, it helped a lot. We were back in control.

Quarantine was a difficult time, it got a little dark there. It brought with it, it's own set of challenges and a steep learning curve. I, for one, learnt a lot about pressure. I put too much pressure on myself. Since we arrived here, I have tried my best to relax more, in my own way at least. My to do lists are shorter...

Alex and I had already figured out how to survive the German lockdown, the packing up of our lives and clearing out the apartment. Then we had 2 months at her parents stuck in “limbo” and then 2 weeks stuck in a room together. Our marriage is really new, and we survived that without any damage to our relationship. Sure, we both have a few personal scars, but nothing a little love and tenderness wont fix. I'm proud of her, Alex has a lot of patience for me!

I'm really happy I am here to help Mum each day. Those small things will slowly become bigger things, but for now, it's great to be able to do “stuff” with her. That was always the plan, to be here in time, before things got really bad.

We've been posting often on our IG and FB stories, so I hope folks have seen the day to day happenings. I'm sure we'll continue with that, keeping you up to date visually.

I think I'll end these FB journals here, and switch over to Tumblr full time. The idea being that if you'd like to continue to read these long “new life” chronicles, I'll still post a link here when I do update there... Confused? Me too! ;)

Thanks everyone for your messages of support and love. We are very lucky, we have the best friends.... You guys rock! You're awesome! We love you.

Love

Josh and @dauntlesscoffee

#travelblog #australia #byron bay #whale watching #coming home #covid

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xwaywardhuntress · 6 years ago

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I Like Her.

Summary: Imagine coming back to the bunker to see John Winchester alive, only to accuse him of being a fake but then later after hearing the story of how he came back, you and John have a nice talk about one of his sons.

Pairing: Dean x reader

Warnings: None that I can think of. Necromancy? Lol, just kidding. If you haven’t watched the 300th episode yet, possibly spoilers?

Words: 1,400+

Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural. This is fanfiction only. Please do not redistribute my writing on other sites, horrible or not. Thanks!

“Dean! Sam! I’m back!” You yelled as you closed the bunker door behind you. You made your way down the stairs to place your duffel bag on the war room table for now. You had just got back from checking out a lead on an object similar to god’s hand that Sam and you had been hoping would help in getting rid of Michael from Dean’s mind. Unfortunately it led to a bust and also a small case of werewolf on the loose. What was supposed to be short had turned into a long 3 days.

Hearing multiple footsteps approach, you turned around as a smile formed on your lips. First to you was the tall giant who gave you a welcome back hug, “Welcome back, Y/N.” Sam said.

Pulling away from Sam came the next pair of arms that you had been anxiously waiting for this whole time. Dean.

“Welcome back, sweetheart” Dean said as he tightened his arms around you. Before you could return the squeeze, he had you at arm’s length. “You didn’t get hurt or anything? Tell me what happened.”

You chuckled at his questions, “I’m fine, Dean really. Maybe some scratches and bruises but nothing I-uh….wait a second.” Your eyes had landed on a familiar face, a face you had only seen from pictures, never in person seeing as they were supposed to be dead.

Dean followed your line of sight which was set on John Winchester. Your hunter instincts clicked on as you tried to get past Dean before he held you back. “Who do you think you are that you can take that face?! Huh?!” You yelled at what you thought was a John Winchester imposter.

Dean pushed you back, holding you by the arms so you couldn’t escape while Sam moved his father to another room so the two of you could talk.

“Hey, hey, calm down, babe. It’s really him.” He said as he gently guided you to sit down in a chair.

“Are you sure? Did you run all the tests?” You asked taking a seat.

Dean chuckled, “Of course, sweetheart.” He continued on to tell the story about the mythical pearl he and Sam had found. They had thought it would be the answer to all their prayers about getting rid of Michael in Dean’s head. Instead, it brought back John Winchester.

Mary and Dean had insisted on having a family dinner with John’s return and as much as you insisted that you should probably take no part in it and keep it simply Winchesters-only, Dean refused your idea and had left with Sam to buy the dinner ingredients. This left you with Mary and John.

Knowing that time had not been kind to Mary and John Winchester, you thought it would be best to go to yours and Dean’s shared room to give them some much needed time alone. About 10 minutes into reading a book you had recently picked up for some fun reading, a knock on the door frame caught your attention. Looking up, you saw it was John Winchester.

Setting your book aside on the bed, you stood up. “Mr. Winchester.” You awkwardly said, not too sure if you could call him by his first name. You had heard stories from Dean and Sam about John, some good and some bad. Overall, from their stories, you could tell John cared deeply for his family, even if at times Dean and Sam seemed to have questioned it.

John smiled at you. “You can just call me John. Mind if I come in?”

“Of course.” You smiled back, but then remembered your first encounter with him. “Uh about earlier, sorry about that. I thought -“

“You thought I was a shapeshifter or something. If I were in your shoes, I would’ve thought the same thing.” He laughed.

You grinned at his comment. At least he didn’t find your accusation offensive.

John began walking around the room, making his way to the desk that had some photos up. He picked up the photo of Mary and a young Dean. “Dean’s room?” He asked with his eyes still glued on the photo.

“Uh yeah.” You answered, still a bit awkward. Now that you thought about it, had Dean told him about you two? He probably might’ve found it weird for you to be in his room if he wasn’t aware of the history.

You grabbed the book off your bed and was about to speak about heading out when John turned towards you, the picture frame not in his hand anymore. “So based off of earlier, you’re a hunter too, huh?” He asked leaning against the desk.

“Yeah, with the tragic back story and everything.” You said, regretting it as soon as it left your mouth. “I mean, not that every hunter has a tragic back story. Then again, your family’s story wasn’t that great. But I mean, here you are now and Mary…so maybe the tragic backstory was supposed to happen to get this kind of happy ending or maybe…”

“Y/N.” John interrupted, which you thanked chuck that he did. You were nervous and rambling was one of the results, unfortunately. “You don’t have to be nervous. I’m not going to interrogate you or anything. I just want to get to know the girl that has one of my boys wrapped around her finger.” He chuckled.

You froze realizing Dean had talked about you two to him at some point.

John continued, “I actually do have one question.” He paused for a moment. “Are you in love with Dean?”

It was such a simple question that you already knew the answer. A warm smile appeared on your face as you found yourself relaxing thinking about the green-eyed Winchester. You answered him with two simple words, “I am.”

After that, things became less awkward. You started to exchange stories about Dean, sharing what you loved about him, how when you first met, you kicked Dean’s ass, even if he would deny it some times. Then the banter you two had for a couple of years before finally getting together, thanks to Sam pushing you two to reveal your feelings for one another.

John could see how much you loved his son through the way you talked about him. It reminded him of Mary and himself a bit.

The conversation came to a stop when Dean appeared. “Here you two are. Babe, my mom was wondering if you’d make some pie for tonight? I got the ingredients too, just in case.”

Your face lit up at the sight of him as you smirked, “You don’t need to use your mom as an excuse, you know. But, for your mom only, of course I’ll make it!” You joked as Dean rolled his eyes. “I’ll get started on it now.” You hugged John, which surprised Dean but in a good way, as you told John you two would finish the stories some time later. As you walked up to Dean, you noticed some slight bruising on his face. A simple task of getting groceries seemed to have turned into some sort of brawl. “You’re going to have to explain to me later about your face.” You said to him as you pecked him on the cheek and made your way to the kitchen.

Dean just smiled at you like he was innocent, but he knew that conversation would be happening once Y/N saw him.

Once you were out of sight, John had walked up to Dean placing a hand on his son’s shoulders. “I like her.”

Dean smiled at his father’s approval as he reached into his pants pocket and gripped the small box he had bought before the Michael fiasco, showing it to him. “I do too, a lot.”

John’s smile grew. “I am incredibly proud of you. I was going to tell you I’d kick your ass again if you let that one get away.”

“Woah, woah old man, I let you kick my ass earlier. I knew it was you all along.” Dean rebutted.

John wrapped his arm around his son and pulled him closer laughing as they both began making their way to the kitchen to see Mary, Sam, and Y/N all preparing food while laughing as well. This would be one hell of a Winchester dinner, even if one of the participants wasn’t exactly a Winchester yet and one would have to leave at the end.

#dean winchester x reader #dean x reader #dean winchester #supernatural #supernatural imagine #spn fanfic #john winchester

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doomedandstoned · 5 years ago

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Conan Bring Cold Blackened Violence to France

~By Clem Helvete~

For the penultimate show of a European tour that lasted over a month, CONAN played the Westill Festival in Vallet, France. For the occasion, I reached out to Jon and asked him if him and Dave (who was playing bass on this tour) would have a minute to answer a few questions. Although they were both quite tired from a month of hopping from one city to the other, they still managed to make time to talk about the tour, Blackskull Services, guitars, pedals, and amps. We nerded out about gear for a bit, right before Conan went on stage and literally blew up the PA. And I literally mean literally...

So, how did the tour go?

Jon: We’re two shows from the end now, and I could probably still go on a few more shows. I’m a bit tired but we’ve been out a whole month. We’ve been to fifteen countries or more all across Europe. So, it’s been good.

Dave: The tour was great. I haven't done anything like this for 25 years when Fudge Tunnel was touring. The whole thing was fine though, well organised and we had Un and Sixes from the USA along on all but the last two shows so we all made a lot of friends.

Dave, how did you end up playing bass in Conan to occasionally replace Chris?

Dave: I got to know Jon a little via Facebook, as he's a big fan of my old band Fudge Tunnel. Last year he asked me if I fancied filling in on bass for a couple of shows while Chris got married. That went OK, and he asked me to do a few more shows that Chris couldn't make due to his producing commitments. Then earlier this year he asked if I could do a whole four week european tour. Chris and his wife just had a baby, so I'm like "maternity cover" this time out.

Does it bring a different vibe to Conan to have Dave on bass?

Jon: It is a tiny bit different and it’s interesting. Dave and his band have alway been idols to me, so being on stage with him is really great. We’re very comfortable playing and working together, and we get along great. So, it’s brilliant.

You toured with Un and Sixes, which are two bands who have releases on Jon’s label, Black Bow Records. In addition, the whole thing was booked through Blackskull, right?

Jon: I released the first Un album on CD and digital and I think Translation Loss has picked them up for the subsequent release. I distributed Sixes’ more recent album in Europe.

Between Black Bow records, Blackskull Services and Conan, which is a very active band, how do you manage all of this?

Jon: With some difficulty, but it’s fun. I enjoy it, so I keep busy with it. I don’t do everything on my own. Blackskull is myself and my other half, Sarah. There are other people who work within Blackskull, who do the booking. On this particular tour Marie, who does some of the booking with Blackskull, handled all of that. So I can’t take any credit for that really. The tour is going really well and that’s because of Marie, really. She’s been really good at booking everything.

You basically started the booking agency and the name Conan has gotten some momentum, to say the least, over the last few years. It feels like you’re giving back by helping smaller bands.

Jon: I always get asked for advice, and I’m not an expert on everything by any means, but there are a lot of ways that you can help bands get over some of the hurdles, particularly in the early stages. That’s really why it was set up, just to help bands move forward. Obviously there are more serious aspects of what we do, such as negotiating with labels, booking tours, all the transactional things that we do. But on the other hand, we’re here for advice and guidance. I wish I had someone like this when Conan was starting out. There are certain things that we probably wouldn’t have done if we had the correct advice. So you can pass on your experience to other bands and we decided to make a business out of it.

Can you tell us about the bass and guitar you're using in Conan?

Dave: Up until this tour I had been borrowing Chris's Dunable Thunderclapper, which is a beautiful instrument. Conan plays in drop-F and his bass was custom made with that in mind, longer scale etc. As we were going away for a lot longer this time I put something off my own together. It's a P-bass body which I stripped down and re-finished. I put in a DiMarzio DP122 pickup and upgraded the wiring. it has a Gotoh bridge which I set back an extra inch to lengthen the scale. The neck is a fairly cheap jazz style thing which I got on eBay. To make a bass that plays in drop-F you need to use extra thick strings, Rotosound Dropzone+. The thickest string is a 175 and it still flops about and slaps on the fretboard.

I believe Jon started out playing Gibsons and then moved on to EGCs for a while, is that correct?

Jon: The first guitar I started using in Conan was by a British company called Gordon Smith. I had an SG and I recorded the first two albums on that. Over time I’ve used different guitars, I used to have an early ‘80s silverburst Les Paul custom. It’s a beautiful guitar but I didn’t really like the way the strap is bent at a sharp angle the way I wear it. There was once or twice where it actually popped-out of the strap pin. Not cool on a guitar that’s worth about £2,000. Around that time I had an Electrical Guitar Company all aluminium, which is a bit trendy I guess. They are great instruments, but I didn’t want to have two guitars that are worth so much money on the road. I sold that and I ended up noticing Dunable Guitars from Los Angeles, so I bought a couple from him. I have a Dunable R2, I have a Flying V, and I have another guitar that’s being made for me at the moment. It’s like a reverse body clone of a Guild S200. I’ve always loved the shape of this guitar, but not necessary all the switches that are on it. So I wanted that shape but with something more traditional in terms of options, just two pickups, tone and volume.

What about the scale?

Jon: These are not baritones, they are Fender scale [ed. 25.5”]. I’ve always had the Fender scale. The Gibson Les Paul obviously isn't a Fender scale, and the Gordon Smith was also a Gibson scale [ed. 24.75”].

Do you find the Dunables more comfortable to play due to the scale or is it more of an overall thing?

Jon: I find the overall comfortable enough and they hold the tune a little bit better.

Which is important since you guys are way down-tuned.

Jon: Yes, we’re dropped tuned to F. So it’s important that the strings are tight enough so they sound clear enough when you’re playing. So, that little bit of extra length on the neck definitely helps.

What string gauge do you use?

Jon: The bottom one is a .8 and then I go through to 14 I think. Right now I’m using Ernie Ball heavy gauge strings. They do an 8 strings set, which goes from 80 to 11. I use the first four wound strings and then I don’t remember what the 2 thinnest strings are. I don’t really worry about changing them because I don’t really use them when I’m playing. The other day, I replaced all my strings and just did the first four because they’re the only ones I use, like a poor man’s Max Cavalera.

Dave, I assume your rig is a bit different from what you were using in Fudge Tunnel. Are you trying to get close to Chris's sound or are you really just going for your own thing?

Dave: In Fudge Tunnel I used a very different sound. Much more top end, and standard tuning. So I mostly used Marshall solid states or Ampeg SVTs with Fender Jazz, Musician or Rickenbacker. When I play in Conan, I try to make it sound good to my ears. Chris is a producer and has much better ears than me, so it probably doesn't sound the same. He also has a much better beard.

I believe you are using an Orange OB1-300 and QSC RMX 850a (I could be wrong on this one) both rack mounted. Can you tell us a bit about this pairing and how it came to be ?

Dave: My Orange amp is an OB-500, which I really like. It's ridiculously loud and a bit more reliable than a full-on tube amp. The power amp is there just to run the Peavey cab, which is a 1x18. It's Conan's cab, and it's just there for the low end (there's a lot of low end). As far as I know all the speakers are stock. The 8x10 is one that we bought on the road, towards the start of the tour in Copenhagen. The one we brought over was a little worn out, and I managed to blow three of the speakers (oops!), so we upgraded. All three bands were using the 8x10 every night so it had to be done.

I saw that the guitar rig you’re using on this tour is different from the one that you’ve been using for a while now. Can you tell us about your current touring rig?

Jon: Very early on in this tour there was a signal problem with it. I haven’t tried it since so maybe it was my cables. But because of that I’ve switched it to two old Peaveys amps. I’ve had these Peaveys in the studio for years now and I’ve never really used them, but I had to bring them out of retirement for this tour. I actually had them fully overhauled and serviced just before we started the tour. I must have had some sort of premonition or something, like I knew this was going to happen. I started using them in Hamburg, which was only the 4th or 5th show on this tour and I’ve got two shows left and so far it’s been good.

I have the Hilbish rig at home and I’ve got the Peaveys now that all of a sudden have caught my attention, but I’ve just taken delivery of a valve rig made of a separate preamp and a power amp.

Are you going back to tube amps?

Jon: I’m just going to try it and see. I’ve got another band, Ungraven, in which I want to run two full stacks with two 8x10s. For that set up, I’m going to run two full stacks with this new rigs if it sound good. It’s a Mesa Boogie Studio preamp, the same one that Kurt Cobain used, and that is going to be run into a Mesa Boogie 295 power amplifier. This is a stereo power amplifier and each channel is 95 watts. That’s all tube. I’m interested to see how that sounds, I think it’ll sound cool. Then I’ll use the Hilbish or the Peaveys through 8x10s. I’d rather use the Hilbish if I figure out what’s wrong with it. That rig could run two 8x10s very easily so that’s what I’d rather use.

What made you decide that you would switch from tube to solid state? This is not a very popular move within the doom scene.

Jon: On our last album I used the Hilbish rig in which I ran a Boss HM-2 clone. I’m not using that pedal live right now, but I’ve been using it quite a lot. I don’t really know why people would have an issue with solid-state. Some of the coolest albums were recorded and played live with solid-state amps. In Crowbar Kirk uses the Orange solid-state 100 watts head, Jimmy Bower from Eyehategod uses a Randall solid-state. Buzz from the Melvins uses the exact same Hilbish rig I have, it was through him that I’ve heard of this amplifier. I like the versatility of it, I love solid-state.

Speaking of amplification, do you have any issues with volume restrictions? France and Belgium are known for having fairly low limitations.

Jon: It has been an issue in some places. Yesterday in France we were a bit louder than they would have liked. It was around 109 decibels and their limit was 102 or 103dB. Some of the shows it’s a little bit of a restriction but nothing too crazy. We played at this place called Fundbureau in Hamburg, which is actually a techno club, and the PA in there is for techno. It was the most powerful PA we’ve ever played through. Our sound guy is good at making us sound good while respecting the dB restrictions, but when he’s let loose on a loud PA it’s awesome. The sound in this venu was crazy. When we were playing the floor and the stage were vibrating all the time. After the set my feet were tingling. I’m not sure if I enjoyed how it felt but it sounded amazing.

Gear is an important component of your sound, so how do you make sure you have the gear you want when touring the US or Asia for example?

Jon: In America we’ve got our own cabs and I’ve got two Hilbish rigs out there. Friends of ours in a band called Serial Hawk in Seattle keep all of our gear in a storage room. We have a bass rig and two guitar rigs out there. We have three 4x12s and an 8x10. So when we go in America on tour it’s all there for us. It costs us less than we spent renting gear on the first two tours. So it makes sense. Rather than spending a fortune renting it I’d rather have some consistency. A lot of bands use Orange amps, and they’re great amplifiers. If I ever have to rent it, I’d rent Orange for sure. I like owning what I use. I can maintain it myself and I know that nobody abused it a week before. Touring through Asia, we played Japan one time and I just used two Marshall JCM 900 full stacks and on bass we used an Ampeg and an 8x10. Australia and New Zealand we just rent whatever’s there. Last time we went over it was Marshall. But if we can specify what we use, we just go for a cleanish sound and two full stacks. So Marshall can do, Orange would do.

Basically a loud pedal platform.

Jon: Yes, my pedalboard comes with me no matter where we play, so I know that’s always consistent. For distortion I’m using a Fuzzthrone, which is a really high gain Big Muff. It works really well for Metal, it works really well for slow, drony parts. I’ve got it dialed in quite well. Although, when I change my strings it sounds a little bit brighter than normal, so the last couple of shows was a struggle to get the feedback swell the way I like it. As long as it’s a clean sounding, loud amplifier I can probably sound quite consistent through them.

So let’s talk about your pedalboard. You’ve worked with Dunwich Amplification for the Fuzzthrone, how was that?

Jon: It’s a Fuzzface stacked up on a Big Muff tone, but I just told him what my favorite sound was and he made it, but louder and with more power to push the amplifier a little bit more.

You tried out prototypes?

Jon: Yes, he sent me a prototype, then I used that and he sent me the real thing. Since then I’ve had three or four different ones and they all sounded the same. He’s a great pedal builder. Right now I’ve got a Fuzzthrone and I’ve got a Nihilist, which is an HM-2 clone. It’s the same pedal I use on the album. The one I use right now has a clean blend, I think it would make for an amazing bass distortion pedal. I don’t use the clean blend for guitar, though.

I’m guessing your pedalboard hasn’t really changed since what you showed in the video you made a few years back.

Jon: Yes, it’s the same thing.

c/o The Doom Doc (2017)

What about bass effects?

Dave: My pedalboard is pretty simple. I use a T-Rex power supply, MXR bass compressor, Boss tuner and a SansAmp bass driver. There's also a Boss Bass Overdrive just in case the SansAmp dies.

I saw on social media that you picked up Ground FX pedals. Are you using them on this tour?

Jon: No, when we played in Hamburg we went to my friend’s music store and we stayed just above it. This music shop is like a treasure trove. He has amazing instruments in there. I got to play on a late 60s Fender Jaguar and he’s got loads of cool Hiwatt, Orange, and Roost amplifiers. My friend Christian, who runs a festival called Droneburg, told me a friend of his made a couple different pedals and wanted me to try them. So I got one which is a bass distortion and one that is like a Sunn Model T preamp. I tried them out there and it sounded cool, but I wasn’t using my gear. So I’m going to try them once I go back in the UK and see if I can maybe use them on a record.

What piece of gear would you say is at the heart of your sound?

Dave: The modified bass is essential, along with unusual amounts of volume and drive. I wouldn't want to go "unplugged" in Conan.

Jon: Without a doubt the Fuzzthrone. I’ve been using that since Blood Eagle. I love how it sounds and it makes me play a certain way. It’s taken a new lease of life with these Peaveys that I’m using now, which I didn’t really expect. I love how it sounds. It’s a simple pedal and I have my sound dialed in so it stays pretty consistent no matter what amp I use it with.

You don’t play around much with pedals in studio then? Aside from the HM-2 clone on your last album, would you say that you don’t really stray from your sound?

Jon: I used the HM-2 clone mixed with a fuzz pedal. I didn’t use the Fuzzthrone on the last album at all, I used a Meathead [ed. by D*A*M]. I like mixing things up, maybe on this new album I’ll use the Fuzzthrone because it sounds pretty cool at the moment.

Is the new album ready to go?

Jon: Yes, I got some songs written. We just need to rehearse them a little bit and get them ready for the studio.

It’s impressive how active you guys are. It is something a lot of musicians can look up to.

Jon: It’s something I’ve always been interested in since my mid teens. Writing music has always been a goal of mine. Performing kind of took over and became a thing all of its own. I’ve never had any idea of what it would be like to go on tour, I’d never thought for a minute that we’d do that. We tour quite a lot, we’re very lucky. I don’t have a day job holding me back, neither does Chris. He runs his own studio so he’s flexible. Johnny is also very flexible with his work, so the three of us are lucky. It’s like the stars have aligned most of the time. When Chris isn’t available we can call Dave, which is great.

Thanks again to Jon and Dave for their time and for being so friendly and accessible after driving around Europe for a month. It goes without saying, but Conan played loud and hard and I’m very much looking forward to their next show in our neck of the woods.

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#D&S Interviews #Conan #London #England #Doom #Metal #Clem Helvete #Westill Festival #Vallet #France #2019 #Doomed & Stoned

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noonetosmilefor · 5 years ago

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a soft, stay at home ask game

send me some numbers and i’ll share my answers to the below! 💐🌻

thank you for asking me these, @uneven-odds. <3

your favourite playlist (made by yourself or someone else) - my sports playlist on spotify. the songs motivate me so much.

how many houseplants in your room, and what kinds are they? - mostly orchids and a few succulents and aloe vera plants and a cactus. so, overall 5.

your favourite “grounding” activity (anything that involves using the hands/doesn’t involve “spacing out” or escapism - something like gardening, knitting, dancing, cooking) - baking.

an account on social media whose posts make you smile - riccardo simonetti’s instagram acoount ( @uneven-odds knows what i’m talking about haha )

5 tv shows that cheer you up - currently mr. robot (weird, i know), himym (LIKE ALWAYS!), also hannah montana atm (lol), hsm (not a tv show tho but idc) and stranger things.

how you get relaxed when you’re struggling to sleep - reading.

your favourite board game - monopoly.

if you were going to write a non-fiction book on any topic, what would it be? - cats.

a quote that you would consider getting tattooed or putting in a frame - “I think I'm going through denial, it's been a while, but it's clear when it hits me.” (i’m so in love with this whole song and lyric)

something you’ve created in the last year that you’re proud of (a playlist, a piece of art, some writing, a craft hobby, a social media account, etc) - i crafted something for my kitchen and i love it!!

a tip or hack you’ve learned that makes cleaning or tidying easier - structure! it’s so much easier if you have a plan and do one thing after the other.

if you could make a candle that smelt like anything, what would you pick? - roses.

the last so-bad-it’s-good joke you heard - my best friend wanted to celebrate her mom’s birthday but couldn’t since the whole lockdown is going down here and i told her “Tja, das ist wohl MIT ABSTAND die beste Party.” (hard to translate) and i was so proud of this bad joke haha.

an artist (of any kind) whose work you look forward to seeing - alec benjamin. bought a ticket yesterday to see him in july in vienna. but well, no concerts til the end of august. fml.

the last tv episode that made you laugh out loud - the hannah montana episode with the jonas brothers in it. I LOVED THIS EPISODE and it makes me laugh everytime.

how you wake your body up when it’s feeling tired, achy or needs a stretch - go for a walk.

a bath, shower, beauty or toiletry product that makes you feel revived, or that you always re-order when it’s running out - the almond milk & honey body butter by body shop.

a book series you can always escape in - harry potter.

the sport or exercise you enjoy the most, and what’s helped you get better at it - hit workouts. i concentrated on doing it right rather than doing it fast.

a skill you’ve picked up in the past few years - i learned to cook way better.

a youtube video you find useful, entertaining or relaxing - coldmirror’s videos are my safe place.

if you were going to dye your hair any colour of the rainbow, what would you choose? - violet.

the book you just finished and what you thought (no spoilers!) - the 6th book of the ice and fire series (6th book from the german row obv). i really loved it. a lot of arya’s story so of course i loved it haha.

describe the most wacky, weird and wonderful at-home outfit you’ve put together - a black t-shirt, my sweatpants and fluffy socks.

a game you’re playing that takes your mind off things - animal crossing: new horizons. it’s such a relaxing game.

the film you watched most recently that you could watch again and again - extremely wicked, shockingly evil and vile. i loved this movie, holy shit.

your favourite flavour and brand of tea - lemon/ginger tea and yogi tea.

a good-will story you’ve heard on the news that’s made you feel hopeful - that people like cashiers finally get the recognition they deserve!

a favourite easy recipe: 5 ingredients or less, or takes less than 30 min to make - flour, sugar, eggs, milk and butter. et voilà, there you have kaiserschmarrn.

a song that makes you want to have a boogie round your bedroom - literally the whole new all time low album wake up, sunshine makes me dance, ngl. i love almost every song and even though i’m so happy, i’m sad i’m not able to see them live this summer..

#about me #asks #asked #personal

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atinywriting · 6 years ago

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Ghostly Friend | Jongho Ghost AU

Synopsis: Jongho has been alone as a ghost for so long. But just as he’s about to give up on trying to get someone to see him, finally, you come along and you can see him!

Word Count: 1,453

Being dead had to be absolutely the most boring and loneliest thing to be for Jongho.

He sighed, pouting as he wondered throughout the house. Another family driven out again and he was alone. Again. It wasn’t his fault—

Wait. Jongho paused in the hallway, remembering all the things he did. Randomly slamming the doors for attention, purposely jumping around on the creaky floors, smashing fruit into pieces...

Okay, so maybe it was his fault. But, it wasn’t his fault he just wanted someone to finally see him. For someone to pull him out of this eternal boredom. For someone to just be there with him.

The sound of the front door opening downstairs suddenly snapped Jongho out of his thoughts. He walked to the window and peered outside. There were three people, someone around his age and what seemed to be their parents moving a few boxes in. Jongho frowned, sighing and drifted up towards the attic. Maybe. He thought. Maybe he should just stop trying. After all, he was only going to be invisible and keep scaring everyone off forever.

You looked up the house and took a step back, taken aback by the sight. Was someone behind the window? But within another blink of the eye, they were gone again in a flash.

“Uh, Mom? Do I have a roommate or something?” With a shake of her head, you asked another question. “Remind me, how did you buy this house for me again?”

“Oh, the family said they wanted to sell the house but couldn’t find anyone to buy it. They seemed really desperate, considering they lowered the price very low. Supposedly it’s haunted but ghosts aren’t real, so there is no real danger.”

Alarms of death flags rang throughout your body. You froze, mouth falling wide open as you stared at your mother in disbelief. “Mom, that’s like the start to almost every freaking horror plot in the universe.” Your eyes shifted back between your mom and dad. “You’re both sending me to my death in the most horror story way ever.”

You dad sighed, shaking his head, “You’ve been watching too much horror movies lately. And a movie is just a movie, not real life.”

“Oh, come on!” You groaned, face palming. You wildly waved your hand up and down at the house. “Family moves out. Old house is rumored to be haunted for years. House is sold to people who don’t believe in the supernatural. Then everything horrible in a horror movie plot happens!”

“You’re being paranoid. Have you ever actually seen a ghost?” Your dad inquired.

Your mom hummed in agreement. “And, didn’t you say you wanted to move out to be closer to your university so you didn’t have to drive for an hour? I also do recall you screaming, “Freedom!”, when we told you we found a place for you to move.”

You stiffened, trying to think of a counterpoint. But, nothing came to your mind.

Fuck. You cursed inside your head. Everything they both said was true. You’d never had actually seen a ghost before. Everything would definitely be more convenient for you if you lived here. And, there was definitely no house that was this cheap. There was no bad, other than the existence of ghosts if they even were here.

“Fine.” You sighed, holding up one finger. “One week. If nothing bad happens, I’ll stay. And, for future reference on what to put on my gravestone.” You stared at your parents seriously. “Put on, ‘I died like a stereotypical horror character. It’s your fault for not listening to me.’”

“Duly noted.” Your mother said dryly, rolling her eyes playfully.

As you waved at your parents and they drove off, a sudden thought came to your mind. Wait, what if mom and dad bought this house just to kill me off for being a bad child? You shook the thought off. Okay, that was probably reaching a bit much.

You took a deep breath, turning around to look over at the entire house again. It honestly looked pretty nice for a supposedly haunted house. But then again, the overall neatness of the house was probably there to lure you in a false sense of security. You walked into the house, eyes darting around and making sure to leave the door open. Surprisingly, the door didn’t close by itself like in every horror story.

Maybe if I just act friendly to the ghost, it won’t kill me? Loud creaks came from the stairs as you walked up.

“Hey, Mr. or Miss Ghost?”

Jongho froze for a few seconds, before lifting his head up. Did he just hear what he thought he heard? He stood up, more concentrated on the voice below him than before.

“I saw you behind the window earlier.”

He did hear correctly! His nonexistent heart raced faster and jumped.

You reached the middle of the hallway. “And uh, just letting you know I’m living here now. So... please don’t kill me?” You crossed your fingers as you continued on. A sudden flash of white appeared from the ceiling, landing in front of you, making you jump back. “HOLY FUCKING SHIT!” You began to scurry away, but he grabbed on to your hand tightly. You struggled against his hold, but fell to your knees.

“Wait, wait, wait! I’m not going to hurt you!”

At the words, you stopped struggling and slowly turned your head back, eyes dilated with fear. “You’re not going to kill me by tearing my limbs off, ripping my intestines out and riding me like some sort of meat sled down a mountain?” You asked in a small voice.

“Wait, what?” Confusion flashed in his eyes then he frantically shook his head. “No, no, no! I’m not going to tear your limbs off, rip your intestines out or turn you into a meat sled. But...” His eyes shined with hope. “You can actually see me?”

“I mean, I’m talking to you now, aren’t I?”

Tears of sheer joy dropped from his eyes. “Finally!” He screamed.

He let go of your hand and your entire body fell to the floor. You sat up, seeing him bounce all around the hallway, randomly slamming doors open and close, and— Wait. You blinked, squinting your eyes. Was your brain processing this correctly?

“Let’s get it! Drop the beat, YOOOOOO!”

“Are you... are you seriously Fortnite dancing and doing the Milly Rock? How old are you?”

But you were ignored as the ghost continued to laugh almost maniacally, dancing around the house and randomly singing high notes out of nowhere.

This. This is not what I thought having a ghost haunt me would be like, you thought to yourself as you stared at the energetic spirit.

He finally stopped after several minutes, looking somewhat sheepish as he approached you. Your eyes traveled up and down him, finally getting a good look at him. Dark splotches of blood and slit holes (perhaps stab wounds) decorated his clothes.

“Sorry for just leaving you on the floor like that.” He held out his hand. “I’m Jongho, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too.” You grabbed his hand and pulled yourself up. “But seriously, how recently did you have to die to know Milly Rock and Fortnite?”

“Over 40 years now actually?” Jongho looked down at his fingers, trying to recount the years. “Also the last family that lived here had kids and I just learned by watching them because it looked fun.” A sudden realization came to Jongho and he snapped his fingers. “Oh! Since you just moved here, I could help you.”

You tilted your head. “Really?”

Jongho nodded eagerly. “Come on, I’ll show you how to clean floors in a more fun way.”

He passed through the floor and you rushed down the stairs. As soon as you reached the floor, there Jongho stood tall with a broom held out in his right hand and left hand at his waist.

“I’m going to show you how to do the driving dance,” Jongho declared. “First—“

You held up your hand. “Hold on.” It was at this moment, you knew what to do. You reached into your pocket, grabbed your phone and pressed call.

“Hey mom?”

“Yes, sweetie?”

“Forget the one week thing. I adopted the crackhead ghost living here as my dead BFF and I am living here forever. Bye, love you.”

Before she could say anything, you hung up and grabbed another broom from the kitchen. You stood in front of Jongho, left hand on your waist and broom held out with your right hand. “You were saying?”

And that’s how the beautiful friendship between you and Jongho blossomed.

#ateez #ateez imagines #jongho #ateez jongho #choi jongho #ateez scenario #ateez imagine #kpop imagine #kpop imagines #jongho x reader

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badbookreviewclub · 5 years ago

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Waiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a Cuban Boy - A Book by Carlos Eire

Please note, this will be different from other reviews as I have a deep love for Waiting for Snow in Havana. In this review, I do critique the book a bit, but it’s more a general summarization of the book. I don’t have any spoilers in it (not that you really can have spoilers for a memoir), but I do highly recommend that you read this book. I’m trying out writing a good book review for once, so please do let me know what you think. Waiting for Snow in Havana is an immersive tale of lizard hunting, Cuba-shaped clouds, and adventures someone could only have in Cuba as a young and rambunctious boy. Carlos Eire takes the reader on his own memory-filled trip that twists emotions and gives the reader a look into the life and thoughts of a young Cuban boy, who was brought into America as a refugee after Fidel Castro became dictator. As a result of these being Carlos Eire’s memories of his time in Cuba and even a little bit of when he was first in America, the book can be a bit disorganized at times and comes off as a stream-of-consciousness style of writing. And yet, it works magnificently. This style benefits the book and gives overall better imagery throughout. Waiting for Snow in Havana is not the typical autobiography and that only makes it all the more wonderful to read. Carlos Eire grew up in Cuba before being brought to America through Operation Peter Pan. His mother joined him in America about a decade later, though it was through much struggle on her own part. In the United States, Eire went on to get an education and graduated from Yale with a Ph.D. in 1979 in religious and early modern European history. He ventured out of his normal zone of comfort writing about early European history to write his memoir, Waiting for Snow in Havana, which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction in 2003. Carlos Eire gives the reader an insight into how Fidel Castro’s revolution affected families and the people that it was supposed to help. Eire’s grandfather had been in a horrible car accident and had broken his leg so badly that it could not be fixed. As Eire puts it best, “He was the kind of guy the revolution was supposed to help (pg. 364).” Fidel Castro had taken the little bit of money that his grandfather had saved up and turned it into nothing around the same time that he had broken his leg. And yet, Eire’s grandfather still had to stand in line like everyone else, in tears because he had lost everything yet again. Eire comments a couple of times throughout the book saying, “The state owns everything—excuse me—the people own everything (pg. 220).” Rephrasing it the way that Fidel Castro put it as well as the way that it actually appears to be, this dual perspective is unique to Eire’s writing. Although Carlos Eire makes it clear at the beginning of the book that he has a deep dislike for Castro, possibly even a hatred, he does let the reader know that in the beginning, he was in awe of the soon-to-be dictator. “Anyone who was against Batista must be good, I thought… Anyone who treated human beings like lizards couldn’t be a good president (pg. 180).” In the second part of this quote, Eire is referring to how Batista, the current president, tortured people before he was overthrown. Eire also compares this action of torturing people to how Ernesto, his adopted brother, tortured lizards by frying them with electricity. After Castro took over though, Eire’s opinion of the dictator quickly soured. When making a school project, Eire compares the propaganda that was repeated over and over again, from radio broadcasts and television to a scratched record when he had to make a school project for the Agrarian Reform. Eire later comments that people would turn off their televisions and radios so as not to hear the speeches, but the speakers on the utility poles quickly rid every house of silence. The reader also gets an insight into how the lives of everyone, specifically the lives of the wealthier changed, not just how his own opinion changed. Eire’s life may not have differed much after the forced take over until the forced currency change, considering that his father was a judge. Eire tells some of the stories he heard from other children and stories of what he saw on television. Fidel Castro’s revolutionaries would arrest rebels and prominent figures in Cuban society who could contradict Castro or become a threat to his dictatorship. Then, the revolutionaries would line them up against the wall, shooting them live on television for all to see. The spectators would shout ‘paredón,’ or ‘up against the wall’ over and over again before the revolutionaries finally shot to kill, torture, and maim. Eire’s own cousin, Fernando, was arrested and put through this torture over and over again, though Fernando eventually was released from the prison alive. Carlos Eire recalls one story he heard from two girls of their father being dragged from their home by revolutionaries. These two girls had seen their own father “dragged from their house weeping and screaming, ‘Please don’t kill me, please don’t!’ He had soiled his pants on the way to the paredón, and begged for his life until the split second when the bullets ripped into him (pg. 219).” Their father was taken to the paredón simply because he had worked as a mayor under the Batista regime. Despite Eire’s emotion-twisting stories of Cuba, there is more that could have been done to make Waiting for Snow in Havana a more satisfying read. Although the book is explained from a child’s perspective, it does not give much insight into how it felt as a young boy to move to the United States as a refugee. Eire does not go much into his emotions of what it felt like to have to leave his mother. He does not detail how it felt to be split apart from his brother so soon after landing in their new home. He does explain how hard it was to be an immigrant and refugee in the United States, but it feels as though it is all from a logical perspective. It stands out from the rest of the book with its lack of emotion. It would have also been incredibly interesting to see how Eire’s life changed in America in comparison to his brother. He hinted vaguely at it throughout the memoir, but to have a chapter dedicated to that would have elevated the book to an unbelievably amazing degree. Nonetheless, Waiting for Snow in Havana is a book that the reader will find themselves not wanting to put down and a story that saddens them when it is finished. Waiting for Snow in Havana deserves its National Book Award and so many more. As the reader moves through the pages, they will find themselves in Havana, right next to Eire as he plays with his friends, seeing things from his own perspective. Eire is an absolutely astounding writer and it shows in his storytelling abilities. At the end of it all, the reader will find themselves looking for Cuba-shaped clouds and firecrackers with the red paper to launch lizards into orbit. Overall I would give the book 8/10 stars. I highly recommend that anyone who likes history, memoirs, or even just having a beautiful picture painted in their mind read Waiting for Snow in Havana. It’s beautifully written and Eire pulls you into his writing. Before you know it, the book will be over and you’ll have found yourself longing for more. I recently discovered the Eire wrote another memoir called Learning to Die in Miami: Confessions of a Refugee so when I get the chance, I will be buying and reading that one. It will probably be a while until I can, considering I made a promise to a very good friend of mine that I wouldn’t buy more books until I get through the ones that I have bought (13 so far, six of which are terrible books, so wish me luck). If you are interested in purchasing Waiting for Snow in Havana, you can find it here.

#review #good book #entire book #good review #waiting for snow in havana #carlos eire #still taking that break

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betsynagler · 6 years ago

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I steal pens.

I'm not entirely sure when I started doing it, but I'm pretty sure it happened at a hotel. Of course, the pens in hotels are kind of meant to be taken, so it’s not really “stealing,” they're free advertising because they have the name of the hotel on them. Plus, they're never very good pens to begin with, they are always your most basic ballpoint, plus they obviously come from some place that uses the cheapest plastic and smallest inkwells, because, again, they're not so much meant to be writing implements as tiny, disposable billboards. So I have never really felt that bad about taking them home and using them as long as they last, which, considering how seldom I need to hand-write anything these days, can be quite a while. But this is why, if you ever meet me, and you ask to borrow a pen, there’s an excellent chance you’ll get one from a Hampton Inn.

But I will occasionally also take pens from other places. Like if I'm at work on a commercial, and they have a box of pens there for us to fill out our timecards, and I recently lost the one I keep in my bag, maybe I just won’t…give this one back. Why does this seem okay to me? Well, they have a whole box, I know they’re not going to need them all. I also know that the people out of whose pocket the pen money has come are not the people I’m working with on the day, nearly all of whom are freelancers of one sort or another — so basically, nobody I meet on job is going to be hurt if I take the pen. The only entity you could say is being “hurt” is the production company that hired us all for that job, but they can generally afford to lose a 50¢, or 30¢, or 8¢ pen, depending how large the bulk office supply box they bought is — and it’s always a bulk office supply box, which also shows the scale of spending on what we do, that they will just buy a whole box of pens for one two-day job. Money is not really an object for these companies the way it is for me, because even when they plead poverty and beg us to work for lower rates and nickel-and-dime us on rentals and understaff the camera department, they nearly always can somehow afford to buy rafts of Starbucks coffees and gourmet donuts for the clients. On top of that, I see the people who do own these companies on set sometimes, when they show up for half an hour to shake hands and then drive off in their Porsches or Lexi (yes, they’re always midlife-crisis-aged men), and there definitely seems to be something disproportionate there in terms of how much they make and how much my crew colleagues and I make, and who’s doing all the work. So in some small way, I feel like I’m redressing a huge imbalance between me and the 1%; I’m not taking pens from people, I’m taking them from The Man. And when I take pens from other places — I’m at a store and someone asks me to do a survey and I need a pen so I just don’t give it back, or I find one someone dropped on set and I don’t try to figure out who dropped it and return it, I just pocket the thing — I have a similar list of justifications for why it’s okay to just take them. And if those don’t work, I can always tell myself, It’s just a pen.

When I was younger, and I had less stuff, I took more stuff, to the point that some might say it crossed a line into actual theft. In my 20s, when I worked in an office part-time, I would take home office supplies, not just pens but Post-It notes, sometimes even entire legal pads. Again, I knew the people who owned these companies, and they had cars with drivers and private bathrooms with phones built in their offices (something in the pre-cell phone era that said you thought your time was so valuable you couldn’t even stop working to take a shit), so I was pretty sure they wouldn’t care about me taking this stuff, and if they were the kind of stingy assholes who would, they deserved to lose office supplies. Plus, everyone else who worked there did it, as has everyone else who’s ever worked in an office. And this last was also the reasoning behind why I felt it was okay to take glasses from bars as “souvenirs,” especially when my roommates and I needed glasses: it was just something that we all did back then, when we weren’t enough money to buy the things we needed. Our other “stemware” was cups that came free with drinks at sports or holiday events, and our furniture was stuff we found on the street and milk crates covered in fabric, as if that made them look less like milk crates. Once you’re taking things from somewhere that’s not your place of work, though, you can't pretend they're some sort of salary bonus as justification. Like, why did we consider it okay to steal from service establishments, but not okay to shoplift the same items from stores? Was it a calculation that lost or broken glasses are just a cost of doing business at a bar? Was it just because we thought we wouldn't get caught, or because if we did, we thought they’d let us off the hook because we were young women drunk on their alcohol? And was it just the souvenir factor that made it more likely that I’d take something from a bar in another state or country than at home, or was it because I was less likely to identify with the owners of a place so far away that I knew I’d probably never visit again, even though they were still human beings for whom that business was their livelihood? Basically, did we just think it was okay to do these things because we thought we could get away with it and not feel guilty?

I guess what I’m wondering is, how do we decide what’s wrong, and who we think it’s okay to hurt when we do it? And I believe the answer, unfortunate as it is, is that so much of this stuff is social. I stole what I stole when I was younger because other people did the same thing, and I took their justifications as my own (possibly adding on a few for good measure because I think too much). Now, when I take pens, there’s some part of my brain that considers not just how taking the pens will affect the party from whom I’m taking them, but how other people would react to it. On some level, knowing that I can sit here and tell you that I sometimes take pens that don’t belong to me, and that you probably won’t condemn or even think less of me for it, makes it okay for me to keep doing it. Is my conscience that flexible? Apparently so, and in case you haven’t noticed, yours probably is too. Humans are rationalization machines. Even if someone’s religion or spirituality or ethical code makes them “adhere” to some inflexible collection of words they believe someone (like God or the founding fathers or a group of likeminded pirates) gave them, they still seem to find the means to be extremely interpretive of those words when it comes to their own actions — perhaps even more than the rest of us. Because once it becomes about obeying words rather than policing one’s own actions through truly considering for yourself what’s right and wrong, then it’s just a question of creatively manipulating the words, or overwriting them with other words from the same source, or just deciding that the fact your group has the words makes you better than everyone else, and therefore justified in doing whatever the hell you want. Which is called “exceptionalism,” and also, “hypocrisy.”

Often, what you think is good for you is going to hurt someone else, so at some point we all have to consider the line between our own personal priorities and theirs. In the United States, where we often prize individual liberty higher than anything — sometimes, indeed, in a very inflexible code type way (I’m looking at you conservative bloc of Supreme Court justices) — there are many instances where the “them” we think we’re more important than is our community, or country, or basically the rest of world, and that calculation that can lead to some pretty wackadoo results. Somehow, many Americans seem to think someone's individual right to own an AR-15 outweighs the right of everyone else not to be murdered with one. Others seem to think it's more important that individuals get to choose not to vaccinate their kids rather than ensuring dangerous diseases don't spread to everyone else’s kids. And overall, it seems like we don't see it as the responsibility of American society to reform people who commit crimes, or fix the problems that led to those crimes, for our collective betterment, instead choosing to place that responsibility on the shoulders of one person — as if they exist in a vacuum. Is America greater because of school shootings, measles outbreaks, and mass incarceration? Because I would say those are among the defining characteristics of our culture right now.

And if anything, it feels like the line is moving in the wrong direction. Having a president who can be counted upon to always put his needs and wants above everyone else’s is frightening, because his lack of giving a shit about anyone else and the lack of giving a shit of everyone in government who follows his lead has devastating consequences for policy. Add to that the social animal bit, so that their behavior and language sets the example for huge swaths of this country and the world about what is considered okay to do to other people, and the ramifications become even more horrifying. I see it so often in what their supporters say on Facebook and Twitter — matching each other so exactly it’s like one voice bouncing straight out of the Fox News echo chamber — that what Trump says isn’t nice but it’s honest; that what he’s doing is helping “America”; that we need to put “us” first and stop caring about “them.” But once you start to build the list of who the Right seem to consider a “them” that it’s okay to hurt for your own sake -- immigrants, muslims, prisoners, addicts, poor people, people of color, LGBTQ folks, women who want control of their bodies, Jews, “libtards” — you might start to realize how many of “us” are included in their “them,” because basically everyone’s “them” is somebody else’s “us.” I guess the question is, at what point does “us” just basically mean “me”? And what kind of a sad, selfish fucking person do you have to be to think that’s the way you want to live?

Look, I’m not perfect. I steal pens. If there’s a free seat on the subway, I’m going to go for it as long as I don’t have to push an elderly person or a child out of the way — I mean come on, caring about the world doesn’t mean I stop being a New Yorker! But I try to help people who are lost, I always tip at least 20%, and I don’t cut into the exit lane line off the BQE. I actually used to do that, until I realized I was being an asshole, and so I stopped — because even if we are great at justifying the bad things we do, doesn’t mean we have to keep doing them. We can do better. In the past couple of years, I’ve donated more money and time to good causes, made videos and podcasts to promote change or get people to think, and I really try to help and listen whenever I can, because I know that it’s more necessary. If the world is getting more selfish, then those of us who want to make it better have to work harder to be less so. I’m not a saint, or a buddhist, or even a vegan, but I pay attention to where I draw my lines. And I find it hard not to wonder how many people in this country right now simply keep telling themselves, It’s just a pen.

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booksbookandmorebooks · 6 years ago

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Homecoming - The Cinematography.

Hello my lovelies I’m back with my first post of the new year! i thought id start it off with something a little different. When looking at how much I upload and how sporadic my posts seem to be lately I started thinking about what else I do with my time (besides reading) and well, honestly my only other hobby is that I tend to binge watch a lot of shows. In the past month I have binged watched Alias Grace, The OA and shamefully quite a few more including the show I’m here to talk about today, homecoming. So, I thought why not incorporate my passion into my blog. So, from here on out this blog will not only be dedicated to books that I love it will also include my reviews on the recent shows I have been watching. I really hope you enjoy this little change up and enjoy my reviews.

So without further ado let’s get started!

This show is about a young woman known as Heidi (Julia Roberts) who we initially see harassed by a department of defence official. Who is extremely interested in the time she spent employed and head of the project formerly known as home coming. A facility described and branded as a a type of institute focused on helping former soldiers transition back to civilian life after their service and help them adjust. While jumping between the present day and a series of flashbacks we see our characters realise that not only have they been lying to the people around them they have also been lying to themselves and now is the time to face up to the truth and the repercussions of some very questionable choices.

Stats:

Title: Homecoming

Genre: Psychological thriller / Drama

Release date: 02.11.2018

No. of episodes / seasons: 1 Season – 10 Episodes

Episode duration: 25-30 minutes.

Main cast: Julia Roberts, Bobby Cannavale, Stephan James.

Rotten tomatoes rating: 98%

So to start off with this show is not exactly your normal stero-typical show. If anything, the first half of episode one I was unsure if this was something I would actually enjoy. It all seemed a little too out there but I pushed through and once I had finished episode one I was hooked. The main issue I can see people having with it would be the odd shots and the odd pacing. These are one of a few topics I will be discussing and analysing below. While these factors can be a little daunting and seem a little pretentious, when you really look at them, they become so interesting to watch unfold. You can really let your imagination run with this series, it feels more like an art form in some senses than just a show. Instead of it being a throw away show that is trying to appear edgy, it genuinely provides the audience with this feeling of uneasy and eeriness throughout. This series not only stuck with me for the storyline and the shocking twists but also because of the intensity of emotions you feel when watching. When talking about this with a friend I realised that this show is more addictive due to the anticipation of what experimental shot or method we would experience next, more than overall enjoyment of the show.

In this post I will mainly be talking about the methods ,themes and the many approaches the director and producers have used to create this show and how they in turn, translated to me personally.

One of the most common shots we see for the first half of the show are these downward angle shots, now im not massively into my media studies so there are most probably a fast amount of terminologies I am missing but bare with me. These shots tend to make you feel like you are watching an animal in a maze. You get to see the characters from a bird’s eye view and watch them wind their way around their surroundings. When watching this I couldn’t help but feel the characters, any characters involved in this method were puppets being watching and manipulated, Even the bigger characters who we initially believe to have power and control are being used. Almost like animals in a testing lab. This is confirmed for me when in the episode the camera pans out to reveal the design of the building our series mainly takes place in. It is a big building with huge celling to floor walls of glass. Almost like an observatory, furthering my theory of observation through testing, a theme we know towards the end of the series is very important to the story development.

Another very important feature in this series is the change in aspect ratio and how its used to differentiate the two time periods that the show is set in. (past and present) the use of this method while a little jarring at first (it had me checking the tv and the app when I watched it) is so clever because when jumping between two different time periods it is so easy to confuse the audience and risk the chance of the storylines becoming messy and convoluted but with this it was almost impossible not to follow. We see the present depicted with two black sections of either side of the screen and the past in full screen view. Now as I mentioned, this method while clever isn’t something that you would necessarily deem as clever. You may see it like I did at first, something there that has no real meaning, it is just to further the weird feeling this show creates, that is until episode eight. Contained in one scene that I won’t spoil for you; a particular character has a huge revelation and the director not only shows the severity and shocking nature of this through the use of facial expressions and music but the aspect ratio we have been used to seeing in the present is used to demonstrate the character being bought into the light. We see that in her moment the camera shot widens and the present is left in full screen mode. To symbolise that her character is no longer in the dark and she can finally see the bigger picture. Something that when it happened I had to take a minute to appreciate it. It blew my mind that how such a simple change can really impact the feeling that you have when watching a show like this.

While on the subject of time differences I want to also mention a more common method but one that proved just as effective. In the shots of the past the colours are all desaturated and have this sad melancholy feel to them which really do help show the vast dullness of our main characters present life. Especially when compared to the flashbacks. The bright lights, the white walls and open nature of the building our main character is working in, the fake over the top smiles everyone sports, the over helpfulness of Heidi when compared to the reclusive and reluctant (almost isolated) whisper of a person we now see. Simple yet, very very effective.

Now as I mentioned, after to talking to some friends that have watched this show the biggest problem most people seemed to share was the pacing. I often heard it referred to as an issue and while I can understand it from their point of view I have to very strongly disagree. This was not an issue for me, this show was not meant to be rushed. It was supposed to burn slowly and gradually to help you grow as a viewer alongside the characters. If this show was rushed the audience would most definitely feel robbed. A piece of art like this is not something to be watched flippantly in one sitting and be disregarded upon a pile of throw away trash tv. This is really something.

I feel the shows pacing is intentionally slow because it mirrors the story and the story telling method. The relationships are gradually built through therapy sessions, a method of help that is used to slowly help the victim. All those subtle sighs, glances and twitches that help define a character are lost if not handled with care and time. You’re not only watching these people, you’re growing with them. It’s a way to engage the audience without them knowing it. Hooking and drawing you in. it captivates you and on reflection once I finished this show, I was fascinated by how it managed to do such an amazing job at that.

Not only that, but at this pace you are provided with enough time to form your own opinions and feelings towards these people, their choices and their pasts, instead of being provided with a set narrative. This way your feelings are not dictated to you, you’re not presented with the black and white ideal of good and bad, in fact this show often tends to blur those lines. Making peoples seemingly bad decisions almost justifiable. We are provided with on numerous occasions scenarios that show not only the redeeming qualities of a person but their flaws and we are able to form our own views on them in our own time. Something that wouldn’t be possible without a slow burner.

I really could continue analysing this show because there are just so many amazing factors. From music to the close-up face shots or the intensity of the volume that changes so frequently but I will stop, I have to at some point. All my friends are bored of me talking this show up, so I suggest you go and watch it yourself. You can only learn so much from a review after all. But if you are looking for something that will leave you speechless and stay with you for weeks after, I can’t recommend this highly enough, if that’s not enough the amazing talent of Julia Roberts should at least tempt you a little. I really hope you enjoy the show and can start looking for your own explanations and feelings towards this alien methodology! Until next time have a great week!

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