#I ship Danny and Richard so hard

[wildbluesorbit]

Danny lost in Japan🤭❤️‍🩹

[rottingghosty]

Haunted Grief | DC X DP

ive read one too many damian & danny are twins fics and where he dies and its giving me ideas and i’m a simple person who must indulge in the pea brain. errors as usual

this is very badly written. i’m going to be busy a lot this month (i live in a town where an event is BIG and a lot of people come) so i’ll try to post as much as i can but i cannot promise.

damian is surprisingly hard to write btw.

☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️

Damian knew that his twin brother would frown at him if he was still alive, he is well aware Daniyal would disapprove of his methods and the treatment he gives Drake. He can feel Daniyal’s hand settle on his shoulder, his head near his ear as he spoke.

“You must be kinder akh, he is an ally.” Daniyal mumbled as his blue eyes narrowed in annoyance and Damian couldn’t help but feel his lip quirk in response. Daniyal still looked the way age as when he had died. The age that Damian had been shipped off to his father.

Instantly his humor disappeared. His brother would’ve thrived in this manor. He would’ve been able to be a son, he wouldn’t have the expectations placed on him that required Daniyal to disassociate to complete the assignment. He wouldn’t have been punished for defying the wills of his Grandfather who wished to snip the bud of weakness in Daniyal so those would not take advantage of it.

Yet despite everything, his akh will never understand what it would mean to be in a family that loved like it was as easy as breathing. Damian is sure that his twin would’ve thrived. He’d bloom under the freely given affection of Richard, the effortless way Drake seemed to understand and crack cases open and such, under Cain’s silent but beautiful moves that Daniyal would desperately try to match. To be seen in such a deadly but enticing manner as he struck fear into those who harmed others.

Thomas and Daniyal would be daytime heroes, would bond over school perhaps or even the antics of the family.

There’s so many ways his twin would have been able to breathe, to flourish is wings and fly freely if they hadn’t been snipped and his corpse at the bottom of the Lazarus Pit from an attack that lost him against the wishes of his Mother and Grandfather. Many believed that the Al Ghuls simply gotten rid of him, killed off the weak link in a staged attack.

Before he was a Wayne, he was an Al Ghul who held his dying brother in his arms after taking an attack meant for him. It had happened quickly, his memories purposefully blurred to protect his own mind from the tragedy that dealt a suffering blow to the Al Ghul family. Nobody spoke of Daniyal. In the League, he did not exist.

Nobody knew his desperate attempts to bring back his akh, watching as the pit bubbled and claim his sibling’s body as its own. Watched for hours hoping for Daniyal to reappear from the waters, the come up for air and complain about how it was disgusting and how he needed a bath and for Todd to read a story to him in compensation for protecting Damian from an assailant when Todd was supposed to be Damian’s protector.

“You’re too cruel, he may not be blood but he is still family. Just like Jason.”

“Tt. Drake should be better then.” He says as he looks away from the injured form of Drake sitting on the medical bed in the Batcave, his teeth aching from how hard he clenched his jaw when they’d hurried to get to him before he passed out somewhere where anyone could find him.

“He is good enough, his brain is interesting. I’ve never seen someone as smart as Father before. He is our brother, just like Dick.”

Damian huffs in disgruntlement at his brother’s words. Daniyal always did enjoy seeing the way people’s brains worked, the way he soaked up information akin to a sponge. His hands always preferred to build and dismantled than to take the life of others.

“Why must I be lectured by your ghost?”

Daniyal’s ghost gives a smile. Damian knows if he tells others that they’d say it was a hallucination. He knows it is. Yet he can’t fathom the fact of it, he prefers to keep it quiet in his own mind. He would rather keep this image of his brother close lest he forgets what Daniyal had looked like, what he sounded like. How he was like.

He’ll let his own brother haunt his mind and thoughts forever if it meant he had a part of him in his life.

“Because you are still punishing yourself for something that wasn’t your fault. Akhi, forgive yourself one day. That is all I ask.”

Damian clicks his tongue and turns away to head up to the manor, leaving behind the figure of Drake and his brother’s ghostly image that stares with saddened eyes.

Forgive himself? Never. Because Damian is selfish in the cruel way he punishes himself.

[prettypaprika]

The Hockey RPF Reclist (that no one asked for)

I swore I was going to do this (probably seven years ago), but time has no meaning, so I've finally put together a list of my absolute favorite hockey RPF fics.

You're like--that's awesome, Paprika! What can I expect to see in these recs? I'm apparently allergic to committing to a limited number of hockey RPF ships, so lots of different pairings. Also, a vast amount of these are on the older end (RIP me). You'll probably see a lot of slow burn angst with a happy ending, as that is my emotional catnip. (feel free to send me your own recommendations for revisiting estranged intense relationships, angsty codependent relationships, deep uncertainty and unresolved tension even in established relationships)

With no further ado, and roughly grouped according to newest player era (or in reverse of when I first read it):

Connor McDavid/Leon Draisatl - Scoring Effects by Helenish - I don't want to say too much about this one, because I feel like it's best to go in blind, but it's a slight AU where Leon is playing for Tampa and he and Connor meet. (also, insert screaming noises, this fic makes me feel a little feral)

Nolan Patrick/Travis Konecny - In From the Cold by makeit_takeit - Much like Nolan, in this story, I too learned a lot about the Canadian petroleum industry in the reading of this fic. Nolan is playing for the Oilers and Travis works at an oil feed. This fic is so angsty and so good and...despite it being 70k words, I've reread it multiple times recently.

Nic Dowd/Tom Wilson - No Contest by makeit_takeit - Tom has a very small dick (in this fic) and Nic is incredibly into it. This series manages to be both very porn-y and also very sweet? To be honest, I love everything that makeit_takeit does, so I recommend their entire oeuvre.

Jack Eichel/Connor McDavid - every corner of this house is haunted by Idday - Content warning: this fic deals with parental death. Definitely not a fic for everyone, but I love this story which is about continuing to show someone love in all the little ways that someone needs help during a crisis.

Zach Hyman/William Nylander - i'll know it at the hook by LottieAnna - I love enemies to lovers and this is a perfect example of this. Zach Does Not Like Willy and he is not subtle about it.

Dylan Strome/Connor McDavid - so collect your scars and wear them well by addandsubtract - This is one of my absolute favorites. I've re-read this one so many times over the years. Connor leaves the NHL after being injured and turns up where Dylan is living in Arizona, while he's playing for the Coyotes. I love how soft and slow burn this fic is.

Kyle Dubas/William Nylander - Sublimation Point by leavethebes -Kyle has taken a leave from the Leafs and William is slowly going crazy as he tries to figure out what's going on with Kyle. Angsty, slow burn, and I love it.

Kyle Dubas/William Nylander - stay the course and its sequel, depending how you feel about baseball by theundiagnosable. I love these two fics. They've got everything, slow burn, amnesia, angst, such good chemistry.

Danny Briere/Gabriel Landeskog - Standing on the Shoulders of Ordinary Men and its sequel, Cold Fusion by SoniaVice. I recced this previously--it's easily in my top five hockey rpf fics. It hits me so emotionally hard (in a good way!). It's also 260k words.

Tom Wilson/Michael Latta - one-to-one inverse by Rest - This is an AU where Tom and Mike meet while working for the same company. It's told in reverse chronology and I just love the story and the structure.

Mike Richards/Jeff Carter - Natural Selection by Lake (beyond_belief). I love this AU (canon divergence? is that what it's called for real life) where Mike doesn't end up going into the NHL and is instead a teacher in Canada and he and Jeff connect.

Mike Richards/Jeff Carter - Wants and Needs by StormDancer - Angsty and set in the future (when it was written) where Jeff and Mike reconnect years after Mike's left the NHL. They're both working through some stuff.

Kari Lehtonen/Johan Hedberg - As You Unfold by hollycomb - Takes place prior to Kari and Johan being on the Thrashers and during the time that they were both on the Thrashers. It's a super intense fic as they work through their feelings about each other while they're also competing for the same spot.

Sidney Crosby/Claude Giroux - ANTONYMS FOR lost by jamiemoriartys - I love that this fic looks at Sid and Claude at the end of their careers playing together. They're older...still working through some things...but great together (eventually).

Tyler Bozak/Phil Kessel - only the game fish swims upstream by TheDukeofAvon. Tyler and Phil are together and outed. They both work through it at different paces. I love that this is about messy reactions and struggling to be ok with something that is really hard (but that you're also expected to be effortlessly ok with).

Sidney Crosby/Alex Ovechkin - Heart in Hand by salifiable - This has got to be one of the definitive Crosby/Ovechkin fics out there (the definitive fic for me). It's angsty, it's slow burn. I love it.

Andrew Ladd/Ryan Kesler - Knocking Me Dead by beatperfume. I feel like Kesler/Ladd was one of those OG hockey rpf ships and this one just...stuck with me. It is an AU where Andrew Ladd is a prostitute (so warnings for dubious consent of that variety), and I just...love it.

Dan Giradi/Ryan Callahan - All the World is Green by Honeymull. This is a college, always girls AU, and I think that the chemistry between Dan and Ryan is off the charts.

Patrick Kane/Jonathan Toews - Tour de Force by thehoyden. This isn't a pairing that I would purposeful seek out now, but this fic holds a very special place in my heart. I love fics where people are secretly hiding another profession, like writing, and this does that so well.

Patrick Kane/Jonathan Toews - Never Face the Music (When It's Dire) and its sequel, You Could Be My Ever After by notamagnet. Patrick Kane is not a professional hockey player and he's not doing great, living in Chicago, just trying to get by when he meets Jonathan Toews.

Jeff Skinner/Eric Staal - If Heaven's Hypothetical by impertinence and shoemaster. Another fandom classic--Jeff runs away and is homeless in Raleigh where he meets Eric Staal.

[dykejugheadjones]

phoebe, she/her, i watch good movies and shitty tv shows, love love love music!

i am currently obsessed with yellowjackets, ethel cain and supernatural!! die hard sam girl and dean crit. have finished it <3 will always always always be a shauna defender

i do NOT ship destiel.. nor do i like the ship that much. i tolerate it i guess?

hate hate hate hate season 8 and most of season twelve. i love jack, rowena & kevin <3

Not a jackie fan… apparently an unpopular opinion now. favs are shauna, Tai and Nat. Shauna defender shes so beautiful <3

other shows i like are House md, 13rw american horror story, attack on titan, riverdale, eva, the oc, buffy and most shitty tv shows

i am also a BIG resident evil fan…. will always be obsessed with claire <3 fav fames are biohazard, re2r, re3r and re0.. early games 4 life

i love horror movies, particularly Heretic, get out, sleepaway camp, texas chainsaw massacre, the exorcist, scream movies, saw movies, X trilogy and etc

i also like movies in general, personal favs are donnie darko, to die for, broadway danny rose, being john malkovitch & the royal tenebaums

i occasionally write supernatural fic but tend to write more about my ocs. i also do amv edit things of sam.

i love reading books and i read a lot! mainly 20th century american novels i guess.. i like Salinger short stories, The awakening by chopin and LOVE Richard siken poetry… so good

i like a bunch of music but mainly Ethel cain, nirvana, alex g, Hole, the smiths and creepy music from the 60s & earlier. guilty pleasure for french indie pop music too…

fav somgs are dust bowl & homecoming (demo), televangelism, Golden age, inbred, unpunishable, punish, nettles, ptolemaea, august underground, vacillator and dog days

mainly listen to ethel

listening to:

» [dust bowl] - ethel cain «

3:10 ———————————〇───── 4:03

⇄ ◃◃ ⅠⅠ ▹▹ ↻

[owmylasagna-blog]

Hi! Edd AND Eddy 5, 12, 14, 25 :3

Thanks!! Sorry I wrote up an entire long answer and then uuuhhh my phone died 🤡 so let’s do this again!

5. What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

Not necessarily the songs of all time but recently it’s been

Edd:

Eddy:

And hell why not shipping music:

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

Quickly, let me preface this section with the fact that I myself am white.

From the jump I’ve always thought Edd was not white, or mixed race, and had parents that were either first or second gen immigrants. And that it’s not very apparent in canon because his family assimilated really hard. I always felt this helped to explain a bit of his cultural sensitivities while at the same time adding some more depth to the intergenerational dynamics. Previously I’d imagined him as Filipino/white and more recently I’ve written him as mestizo/korean/white. I like seeing lots of other takes on this in the fandom throughout the years, like somewhat recently eddbedandeddy’s post that he could be MENA like his VA or gettingfrilly mentioning they see him as racially ambiguous. Recently the phrase “ancestral fruitcake” has been incessantly plaguing my mind (‘Tis the season/ is or is this not a hilarious stand in for the f-word slur please discuss among yourselves people) but that to me indicates that at least one line of his family is hwite.

Keeping on theme, I really cannot resist coding Eddy’s family as stereotypically dysfunctional Italian American (and let me elaborate on my opening statement by stating this identity IS my circus my monkeys 🙈). Memelzebub described his parents as Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman in the movie Matilda and I agree hard on that!

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

Okay I looooove playing dress up with these guys so let’s get into it. I envision these more as they get into their teens and older.

Edd: a bit of grandpa (chunky thrifted sweaters), casual 90’s/00’s streetwear (long sleeve quarter zips, sneakers), specialized outdoorsy gear (like 100 pocket cargo pants, swishy pull over rain jackets) and he’s always kinda cold (puffer vests, layers, etc) uhhh and he still wears outrageously colored and patterned socks. I like to imagine he’d expand his hat selection. He prefers to dress practically and comfortably.

Eddy: SO MUCH STYLE POTENTIAL. He likes fashion so I could see him playing up lots of styles and having lots of phases through his teens and into adulthood. Other than 70s inspired fashion, I’d be lying if I didn’t shout out butch lesbians as a fashion inspiration. In high school I often imagine him wearing more casual 00’s clothing - baggy jeans and long jorts and skater sneakers and polos and bowler shirts. And then as he gets older he leans into more “slutty 70s” men’s fashion. I think for loungewear he has a huge selection of dramatic robes and kaftans like some old Hollywood diva.

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

Edd: idk this is classic but I had a crush on him as a kid. What can I say. Now I don’t have a crush on him but find him incredibly interesting and complex and fun to think about (: I think I always liked that he was a big nerd with sort of odd interests because I related to it. Now I relate most to his unmedicated anxiety 🙃

Eddy: also classic response, I found him grating and annoying during the original air time. But I didn’t flat out hate him or anything. I found his voice interesting and he was funny! Now I love love love Eddy. I only watched BPS in like 2013 and man did that really shift things for me in terms of being emotionally invested in this pink cube. What a guy!

[watasemasaru]

Bonus Round cause ily ;p

Toby Ziegler, Will Bailey, CJ Cregg

i love you 2 ⁽⁠⁽⁠ଘ⁠(⁠ ⁠ˊ⁠ᵕ⁠ˋ⁠ ⁠)⁠ଓ⁠⁾⁠⁾

Toby, Will, CJ

How I feel about this character

my scalp is itching he makes me insane he's so ouuuughhhhh

he's my girl, he's babygirl baby

CLAUDIA JEAN MY BELOVED MY TESORO

All the people I ship romantically with this character

my oc shasta shizuka days

my oc ian hibiki days

danny concannon, andy wyatt, and some hardcore flirting from my oc dahlia eiko days

My non-romantic OTP for this character

CJ Cregg, Will Bailey

Donna Moss

Toby Ziegler, Leo McGarrey

My unpopular opinion about this character

I actually do think it was in the realm of Toby™ to have leaked the shuttle leak, just the writing was pathetically weak and almost felt intentionally shit. There should have been a classic Bartlet/Toby showdown on a grand scale. It should have been The Final™ screaming match of the Bartlet presidency for the two of them. Not...that. And I don't think it was him covering for CJ either. While it's plausible, I feel like that's an excuse to put the fault on CJ because fans (and Richard, sorry love) don't want to fault Toby, even when he deserves it

I don't think Will ruined the show. I think the show ruined Will. They built up this earnest, out of left field, happy accident miracle maker idealist and then shackled him to....Bingo Bob. They—they Bingo Bob'd Bingo Bob so it makes it unbelievable that Will would ever see Bob Russell as a real contender for the presidency. Will is a guy that continued to campaign even when his candidate died! He got a dead democrat elected in orange county! Bob Russell never illicits anything that would energize anyone to put in that kind of effort. Not even Will

I feel like the IS CJ G-G-G-GUH-GAYY!? storyline was stupid and trite. I feel like...she ended up with that because she's a woman on a man's playground. Like oh you're in politics you must be a dyke *hard fart noise*. It's high school level writing. If anyone needed to be under scrutiny of being gay it's Josh look at his bombed out relationships, where was the elbow in the side snickering "hey have you tried men Josh?" (though i do see cj as bisexual, just in canon that plot point was dumb). AND I LOVE THE JACKAL GODDAMMIT IT'S CRINGE AND CORNY AND FUCKING FUNNY.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

I wish he had been able to be there and see Bartlet through to the end. It was really hollow without Toby.

I wish he never left communications, there was something about Will that really clicked with Toby that I enjoyed more than Sam

I wish we got to see her brothers, The Long Goodbye was such a gut punch and it really made me want to see more of her with her family. I wish she and Andy got to interact more. Considering how close she and Toby are it feels natural that there'd be a closeness with Andy too.

[iam-siriuslysher-lokid]

Hi! I've been taking a break from the internet because I need to study + work and barely had time for other things and now that I am slowly coming back to tumblr and to fandom stuff...

here's what ive been up to:

The Sandman - watching the whole thing took me 2 weeks and im still obsessed. Everything I MEAN EVERYTHING IS PERFECT. The cast are all beautiful and gave good performance. The series gave me like it's a lovechild of Harry Potter, Doctor Who, Sherlock and Good Omens and im eating it all up. SEASON 2 RENEWAL WHERE ART THOU?

The Rehearsal - watched this bc I was hyperfixating so much on The Sandman and I wanted to finish some of my IMDB watchlist. Found this on my recommendation instead and got intrigued bc it has a high rating 8.2 and man MY BRAIN AND MY SOUL AND MY EMOTIONS ARE ALL OVER THE PLACE WHEN I FINISHED THIS SERIES. My mom watched with me and so she's been questioning a lot of things since we finished it.

Allu Arjun - I am still continuing my Tarak and RC watchlist and someone so kindly recommended me Allu Arjun films. I started with Pushpa 1 and it's just *chef's kiss*. WHY ALL TELUGU MEN SO HOT? YALL BLESSED SRSLY

SS Rajamouli - Idk if someone shares my sentiment towards this man but I'm falling hard for him. gahd he's the ultimate dilf dilf dilf in my list and it's about time it has to be said. and ofc, ive been following his interviews in TIFF.

Nathan For You - a show I decided to watch bc I cannot get over The Rehearsal (bc both are from the same writer/creator). Watching this show, made me realized, I haven't laughed a good laugh since the covid shenanigans started and my lack of social skills cannot even complement that.

Nathan Fielder - oh man! Since I saw The Rehearsal and Nathan For You, of which the shows he created and written, there is something about Nathan I cannot truly point out clearly but for me he was so attractive and sexy and his like ultimate boyfriend material - it's really not about his physicality or looks IT'S THE WAY HE THINKS! He's like the Sherlock Holmes in our current reality and it's a dream of mine to have him. Idk why but i feel my awkwardness and his truly match and his comedic stance is so relateable like I want to see Richard Ayoade and Nathan Fielder in one room for god's sake. Also Tom Scott (from YouTube) like all of them I WANT ALL OF THEM FOR MYSELF. >>> If you want to read more to that, here's the article link: Why Is Nathan Fielder So Sexy? (thecut.com)

Community - I think I can call myself a comedy show enthusiast but if there's another term for that then yeah I am that! So I just finished my rewatch of B99 and I went ahead to start Community and oh man - this series is hilarious. I still prefer The Office or Parks and Rec or other BritCom shows but it's refreshing to watch something new. Also I'm crushing so hard on Abed Nadir (Danny Pudi)

That is pretty much it! Next thing might be my GOT watch bc I want to watch HOTD so bad but I have to watch the og series first. Planning to also get into LOTR:ROP as I loved the book and the films (LOTR and The Hobbit) so I might alternate them so I can keep up.

PS. For all tagged posts, I am silently reading them and I truly enjoyed all the new Tarak/RC shipping. Loving the RRR fandom as we keep expanding! Miss you all too :3

(I really need to go back to work but I'm here creating a tumblr post)

[captainshyguy]

not to be a little melancholic but i've been thinking a bit about all the people that have come and gone in my general social circle like. not just irl, but online too. the close friends, who eventually left, and the ones on the outskirts, but were always there. at least, for a time. the people you never quite talked to, but were in your bubble, in your life, if just for a bit. the people who will only be icon, words on a screen to me. the people who will forever be 14 in my memories, because its all i have of them 

its just...its weird yknow? not even getting into social circles from school, friends you grew apart from, friends of friends of friends in your class that you had an odd connection with

but online its like. i’ve been in a few online communities in my time. the penguins of madagscar community on fanpop, one for the same fandom on deviantart, the agents of shield one here, then the maze runner, then star wars, then mario, then star wars again...i’d say ‘and hollow knight now’ but lets be honest, i haven’t made....many friends or even mutuals through it solely X]

i guess my point is like. all of these communities were different people. and over time, whilst i’ve generally stayed put (until i was physically the last one left, and jumped ship, like fanpop) people just. they left yknow? maybe it took a couple of months, maybe a couple of years, but they did, and its such an almost...odd thing to experience

im not saying people cant leave, not at all but it just made me think how many people i’ve known, how many i’ve been friends with, how many existed in my orbit. how many i only have pieces of. and i guess...how many people’s orbits i was in. the person i was in the past lives on through each and every one of then, and i have no idea what stuck. what’s their ‘luke’ memory, their takeway. heck, some of them wouldn't even have it by that name. 

one thing im glad about in a way is like. from each of the communities that like. meant something to me, i managed to grab a few people almost. a few that also dug their heels in, a few that are still in my orbit, however close or far, but they’re there. they’re posting actively or somewhat actively and i know where to find them. and thats nice 

it just makes me wonder sometimes yknow?? how many people currently in my circle, currently in my orbit, will eventually leave one day? who will stop posting, who’s icon i simply will never see again.

i do hope, with all my heart, that all the ones that i fell out of touch with are doing well 

(im musing about specific people under the read more, WILL get long kjdfhnd) 

from my primary/secondary school i dont have anyone exactly. the closest i have is one guy i was pretty fond of but not like. romantically. i follow his youtube and whilst i dont really watch the videos seeing his face pop up every now and again is nice. but man i do think back on those secondary school friends. funnily enough by the end whilst i liked my “official” best friends i honestly ended up more fond of others. sarah, priya, shriya, zarah, zi yu, kyle. danny, introducing me to treasure planet, hiding away with him and his friends to watch films in forgotten rooms when it was near the end of the year, then liam, of course, man..its weird he was my best friend in the first few years when i moved there, then we got put in different classes so we just didnt see eahc other much. but that fondness was always, always there. god, and jake....i wonder if he thinks back fondly to the two of us pretending to be transformers. i wonder if im still jazz to him. god, and then sophia, just, not even hanging out but having our little ‘hot buttered toast’ song. i hope thats the memory she has of me. (i haven’t even listed everyone from this part, and i couldnt! it was a 7-8 year period of my life! right during my brain developmental stages!!)

its weird i was in love with ryan for nearly three years. a lot of those memories are soured knowing one of my friends spread it around school and everyone secretly knew, (and looking back i was way out of his league like, morally lol) but still. maybe once or twice a year i’ll dream about him, and for a brief moment, im there, sitting with him in geography as he shows me magic tricks, during that period i do genuinely think he liked me too (before it wore off for him lol) and im still in love. 

from college, man....ewan was like. i have a feeling he was leading me on since he had a girlfriend lmao, and was just flirting for fun bc he saw i was shy and was trying to get me to react, but it never felt like bullying yknow? i dont think he was actively trying to make fun of me. so i dont know, it was nice, it felt nice and it still kinda does. 

khairun.....im so glad i still have her. i’m still a little gay for her. i remember sitting with her on the bus, riding for hours as we were on the geology trip, and she would ramble about the game of thrones video game and she’d squint so happily and her eyes would sparkle. she talks about dark souls now and i only see her messages, but i can still feel her enthusiasm. or tanisha and fatima, my other geology friends, my maze runner friends. seeing the scorch trials with fatima in the cinema. joking about newt and thomas with tanisha. sitting around the table with my actual friend group, in the big lounge chair reading the tolkien dictonary, joking about the flash with bindiya. sleeping around maddie’s house and playing would you rather. 

heck, i didnt even touch on teachers!!! teachers i connected with so much on a genuine level!!! mrs chambers, mr hauge, mr wrght, miss lloyd, mr hutchinson, miss petra, mrs young! mrs mohammed, mr santa maria, mr longdon, miss langley, mrs maize, miss davies. i know with teachers, the kids must start to blur together at a point. but i just....i hope, at least. with those first two, they’ll remember me, just a bit. i keep having dreams where im in my old school, and i try to find them., i’ve found mr hague a few times. but until about a month ago, whenever i got to geography, miss chambers was never there. im glad i finally found her. 

then fanpop...lexii, having the same birthday as me, talking with kait and roleyplaying as penguin ocs in high stakes situations. dating dylan fkjdngjdh, rigging the club’s presidential election. its weird, i dont have a lot of memories from this time. just....just people? people posting their ocs, people drawing ech others ocs. kaitlyn, anya, kait, dylan, lexii, imaneasel, mya, peacebaby, madascargirl, kate, starslight, imogen, tressa, sammi, crystal, cc, syliva, jasmine, hikari, amber,  yellow, steff, lilly, blue, richard, monique, sharpey, hannah, icicle, ratking, cian i- god, there was so many of us. theres more, i can think of more names. there was so many

anya did what i did pretty much and went to deviantart then kinda dug her heels in and didnt leave, though i don think she’s more active on toyhouse. and yet, i still see her art there, so its nice. having her throughout the years has been nice, watching as both of our art improves. she’s always been a bit ahead of me. then cian i’ve been talknig with pretty much every day for about 6 months now, thats been nice 

and then here, man! the agents of shield fandom! man! i dont remember a lot of names honestly besides the ones who stayed, and sam. i hope sam’s okay. y’all who stayed, who are still mutuals, the hm....five of us i think? though the one ofy’all i was closest to isnt around as often X[ but still. im happy y’all are here 

some of y’all that have been around long enoguh will know i was best friends with kacie for a while. from....i think that was my brief stint in the dan and phil fandom. she. well. she’s okay, the last i heard of her. but my overtalking screwed that up i think. my last message from her, a few years later, was amicable at least. i still feel awful about that if i think on it too hard

i think i only picked up ronan from the maze runner, at least, that i talk to, yeah, right, there’s two others that are still about but i dont think we’ve ever held a convo X] 

and u current peeps! from mario, star wars and.....im not quite sure where for some of you! i love u all! especially y’all that have been around forever, just, liking each others posts every now and again., i dont know how many people you all follow, but i follow less than a 100. i might only be a blip on your radar, but i like seeing y’all, genuinely. thank you for being in my orbit. i hope i’m a comforting or at least. nice reliable presence in yours, for as long as we all stick around.  

[juniorjules]

Heyyy I got tagged to do this thing by @bestfriendsweekly so here goes

Top 3 ships

Troy/Abed is definitely my #1. But I also love jeff/britta and annie/britta. I also have erased everything except community from my brain.

But I also really ship Dana/Rachel from MQ

Last movie I saw

I watch sooo many tv shows it’s hard to remember but I’m sure it was something of Danny’s. Probably The Tiger Hunter or Road Trip. One of those.

Currently reading

Mostly fanfic but I just started a book called “in watermelon sugar” by Richard brautigan

Currently craving

WEED WEED thats all I care about just WEED but quarantine has really put a serious weed drought on my whole town.

I’m just gonna tag @pudisoup and @squidsareprettycool 👌🏻

[ladykateofledfordpark]

The Most Amazing Person (Parker x MC)

OMG this took so long to edit. I still haven't really finished, but I don't have any patience anymore. So I hope this is good enough. XD

This one-shot is dedicated to @pbmychoices! Hope you like it! =)

And thank you, @kinda-iconic and @choices-fam for your support! ^-^

If anyone wants to be tagged, comment below! Just don’t forget to specify if you want to be tagged in all my fics, or only specific ships! =)

Pairing: Parker x MC (Harper)

This story includes:

Talk about trauma and murder

Fluff 

Summary: A few weeks before Harper leaves for school, she goes over for a romantic dinner at Parker’s house.

Word count: 1953

______________________

It felt like ages since Harper finally had time to relax. The last attempt on her life left her reeling, and it was still nearly impossible for her to let her guard down. She would wake up multiple times every night, every movement of Thumper a step of an intruder, every shadow a looming figure. She already made sure Richard Sutcliffe will never bother anyone again, but history taught her that nothing was ever certain. As far as she knew cult lackeys could still be hiding, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Richard’s ghost wasn’t an absurd theory either: if Josephine came back, who said he couldn’t do the same?

Harper’s only comfort was the marlinspike under her pillow. Every night she would take it out from its hiding space and hold it, her hand firn and the weapon ready to strike. In the moonlight it would shine like a beacon, warning any who dared come near. It was beautiful as much as it was deadly: the perfect weapon to kill anyone who dared harm the Vance family.

Harper didn’t know for how long she would sit in her bed, eyes alert and shoulders stiff. Sometimes it would be solely for minutes, while other times she would sit there for hours. Once the erratic beat of her heart slowed down she would force herself back to sleep, ignoring her shaking body. Everything’s fine, she would whisper to herself, everything’s fine.

And maybe everything was fine. Danni’s photographs were gaining more and more popularity, the demand growing the more time passed. Her smiles were much more common, her success in ClickIt the reason behind it. Tom was as excited as anyone could possibly be for his return to Hartfeld, talking animatedly about all the unique experiences waiting for him there. Imogen was finally free to find herself without the added weight of her parents, and she flourished now more than ever. Parker himself proved to be just as talented as Harper knew him to be, leading the police the way Pine Springs deserved.

As the time to leave neared, Harper found herself spending more and more time with Parker. He may have been much busier than his predecessor, but luckily for Harper, Pine Springs was a small place, leaving him more available than one would’ve guessed.  She loved entering his office in the morning, holding warm coffees for the both of them, and seeing his brilliant smile. It was the highlight of her day, and by the way Parker showered her with affection- she was sure it was the same for him.

But somehow he still managed to catch her off guard when he casually asked if she wanted to eat dinner at his place. The offer was long overdue, considering Parker saw her house more than a month ago, but she still hesitated before giving a yes. She never reached this stage before, but this was the first relationship where she really felt safe. She could never turn him down.

That was how Harper found herself at the entrance to a vast house. It wasn’t exactly the size of a mansion, but neither was it as small as a cottage. It's security was more upkeep than the Sutcliffe's mansion, warning her that one small step could kill her on the spot. Harper frowned as she scanned the exterior. This building was hauntingly beautiful and yet strangely empty, like a memory from the past. Was she sure this was the right place?

She squinted at the address written on the house, and compared it with the one Parker sent her. Once she was sure that was the right place, she smoothed down her dress and pressed on the intercom. At first there was only static, but then Parker's familiar voice sounded from the device. “Harper?”

“I'm outside.”

Even without seeing him, Harper sensed the smile in his voice. “I'm coming.”

She didn't have to wait long before a tall figure opened the door and walked in her direction. Parker smiled at her, the twinkle in his eyes stronger than all the light of all the streetlamps combined. He was always radiant when he saw her, but now he stopped mid stride. “Harper, you look-”

She shrugged, a small grin on her face. “I wanted to surprise you.”

Parker shook his head. He walked toward the keypad, which was in safe distance from the entrance, and absentmindedly entered the code. “If I knew you were dressing up I would have done the same.” He frowned as he looked down at his everyday clothes.

The light on the keypad pulsed green and the gate slowly opened. Harper hesitantly walked inside as the gate closed behind her with a metallic grinding noise. The crunch of the grass beneath her feet was almost deafening in the silence, but that didn't erase her smile.

She stopped once she reached Parker, and a small smile rose to her features. “It's fine, Parker. You look good in anything.” She scanned him once again, admiring how his tight shirt hugged his torso and the way his pants hung on his frame. Somehow Parker managed to pull off even the most simple clothes- something that was no small feat.

Parker smiled as he gently snaked an arm behind her waist. His brown eyes appraised her sea green dress, admiring the way it shone in the weak light. He turned so she was facing him before he lowered his head, his breath fanning her mouth. “And you, Harper, will always be the most beautiful girl in the world.”

Harper wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled. “Really?”

Parker pulled her so almost no space stood between them. “Even if all the others would wear the fanciest dresses while you would wear a potato sack.”

He cupped her cheek, his eyes shining in affection. “Even then you would be too good for me.” His eyes met her own before his gaze flitted to her lips. He leaned in, his lips brushing hers, before he backed away and cleared his throat. His warm hand found hers and he gently pulled on it. “Let's go inside.”

Somehow, the Victorian seemed even emptier once they entered. Everything was more advanced than Harper had ever seen: the door closed itself, the windows opened without waiting for a command, and a tiny screen blinked on with illegible writing. Warm air encased her, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She could swear that she could smell all the metal, even if it was hard to pinpoint exactly where some of the hidden technology lay.

Parker pulled her closer, a weak smile to his lips. “Abe wasn’t the type to spend his riches on big and fancy houses. Since he was the only one who lived here, he prefered to keep his house as modern as possible. Once we grew close he had more reason for such a big house, but he was never the generous type. Even I visited him only a few times.”

Parker shrugged nonchalantly, but his hold tightened on Harper’s hand. “He was always more of a loner. Sometimes I managed to break through and see a bit more of him, but never enough. I saw his fatherly side mostly at the station, but even then he still had his walls. I guess he just never wanted me to come close enough to find out everything he was hiding.”

A bitter laugh escaped him, and Harper’s heart sunk. She squeezed his hand, but his eyes still stared ahead. He was drowning in a sea of grief, and she didn't know how to fix it.

They passed through a vast living room, which was cluttered to a fault. Old clothes lay on the floor, thrown haphazardly in a careless mess. Police accessories were strewn around, while some albums lay open, revealing hundreds of pictures, all of them of Kelley: some were in color, while all the rest were in black and white.

Parker scratched the back of his neck. “Sorry about all this,” he cleared his throat and shifted his gaze, “ever since Abe died...” he trailed off, a faraway look in his haunted eyes.

“It's alright.” Harper smiled. She knew from experience how traumatizing death could be, and she didn't expect Parker to fare any better than he was already.

Parker sighed. “Somehow, even after everything he did, I miss him. He���s still the man who saved me all those years ago. Still the guy who took me in and turned me into who I am today.”

She squeezed his hand, and he shot a grateful smile her way. “Hey, it’s okay. I get it.”

It was hard to fathom how many of their group lost their parents in the bloody fiasco. Imogen was now all alone, barely coping with the nightmares of the horrible deaths she witnessed. Parker lost his only father figure twice: when he realized that the man who raised him wasn’t who he thought he was, and when Abe was murdered with a spike to his throat. Harper already lost both of her parents at the bloody crime scene Richard left in their home, and Josephine almost stole Arthur too.

She tightened her hold on Parker’s hand. A cruel string connected the three of them, tying them in a bond that would never break. Harper wished she could take all their pain away, but she knew better than that. Living in illusions wouldn’t help, but she could help them regain their strength. That way they could stand taller, and be stronger in their fight against the world.

Once they reached the kitchen, Parker hurried to prepare the ingredients. He didn't look at her as he emptied the fridge, though she could make out the slight blush to his cheeks. “I'm sorry you had to see the living room like that. I would've organized it, but there was something at work today that-”

Harper laughed, and Parker's eyes met her in question. “What's so funny?”

“I already told you it's okay. Why are you so worried?”

Harper walked toward the ceramic table, which was already piled with different ingredients. She could feel Parker's gaze on her, his warm brown eyes filled with adoration. Her whole body tingled as she reached for the cutting board, waiting for his answer.

“Harper… you're the best thing to ever happen to me. You know that?” Her hands froze and her pulse quickened, knowing he wasn't done. “I want to be the best I can for you, but then you come to Abe's old house, see the messy living room and watch me at my most vulnerable state. I guess that I'm just worried that maybe this is too much for you.”

Harper turned so she was facing him, a smile on her face. “Parker, since coming here I escaped crazy cultists, fought undead monsters and was almost killed more times than I can count. Somehow, through all of that, we stuck together. Do you really think that seeing a bit of a mess will make me run away?”

Parker's eyes shone, and in that moment Harper knew that he was the most beautiful person in the world. He walked toward her and stopped when they were only inches apart. “You're the most amazing person in the world. You know that, right?”

She took hold of the lapels of his shirt and pulled him so their lips were nearly touching. “Stop being so humble. You're the only person who would hurt himself before he would hurt others.”

“I guess we'll just have to see who's right, won't we?”

His lips brushed hers, and an unbidden smile rose to Harper's face. “I guess we will.”

[abirdonalilactree]

Tag game shipping edition

I consider myself tagged by @greenapricot . Thanks ;)

First ship you ever read a fic for: I'm not sure, if it was Sharon/Andy (Major Crimes) or Timmy/Russel (Rules of Engagement). I feel like that was such a long time ago. But I'd like to add that both ships became more or less canon...

First ship you ever wrote a fic for: J.Barnaby/B.Jones (Midsomer Murders)

Ship you write most now: J.Barnaby/B.Jones (Midsomer Murders) but I also wrote a bit of Lewis/Hathaway (Lewis) quite recently, although no one was allowed to read that yet. Ok, I actually have it all outlined. It's going to be a 3 Part series. ...coming soon on Ao3 and fanfiction. net. XD

Ship you read most now: That's hard to tell. It's probably quite close between Lewis/Hathaway (Lewis) and Thiel/Boerne (Tatort Münster)

Newest ship: Morse/DeBryn (Endeavour)

Rare ship you want to read more of: Are there even any fics at all with Danny (New Tricks) in them? *dramatical sigh*

Your taboo ship: Myka/Pete (Warehouse 13) They are best friends and it just feels so wrong and they have no chemistry in that way at all and it just makes me mad. Why did they make this canon? WHY?

They never met in canon ship: None.

Your unexpected ship: Mycroft/Anthea (BBC Sherlock) It just sorta happened after accidently reading some extremely well-written fics.

The ship you always forget to give love to: I'm equally obsessed with all my ships.

Your most romantic ship: Martin/Louisa (Doc Martin) They. Are. So. Cute.

A ship you are embarrassed to ship: *cough* phan *cough*. Don't ever talk to me about this. I. feel. horrible. Forgetthatyoureadthis.

Ship your OC with a canon character: Elyas and John? Audrey and Ben? It was supposed to feel cringey...

Your sexiest ship: Will/Hannibal (Hannibal)

Your most tragic ship: Camille/Richard (Death in Paradise) I cried so damn hard.

So many ships and I couldn't even put all of my favourites on this list. :/

I'll tag @theslytherinof221b , @astargatelover and @sicknessglory Do it if you like to, if you haven't done so already and I hope you'll have as much fun as I had.

And I'm also tagging everyone else, who wants to do this.

[prinzenhasserin]

AU Exchange

Dear AUex creator!

I am very excited about most AUs, especially if they feature alternative explanations and use the canon dynamics to add something different, so if one of my tag combinations lead you towards an idea, I'd be pretty stoked to receive it, even if you don't use my prompts.

My AO3 name is Prinzenhasserin, and you can find some more of my exchange letters here.

In the grand scale of canon divergent AUs and setting change AUs I happen to love both! And if you want to combine the two, I'm also happy to receive them :D

If you want something more to base your ideas on, here's a non-exclusive list of things I like:

General likes:

loyalty

odd couples!

found family, dysfunctional families that nevertheless love each other

historical stories for same-sex pairings that aren't unhappy but that fit with the society of the time (so like, spinster ladies living together; bachelors-for-life)

cultural differences! age differences! height differences!

heists, rescue missions

character driven narratives

dragons, fairy tales, magical realism, urban fantasy

Space AUs

competent characters

people not realising they’re the most competent at their job/hobby

people failing their way to success

happy endings, earning your happy ending, open yet hopeful endings

cynical humour

mutual pining

everything is better in suits, corsetry, fancy dresses

Identity shenanigans (secret identities, mistaken identities)

Blatant Lies

Enemies becoming friends and/or lovers

outsider POV

epistolary, poetry, unusual narrative formats

orange/blue morality (that is, not entirely human morality); grey/grey morality

non-verbal expressions of affection

DNW: 

breaking up requested pairings, 

permanent death of the requested characters (if they come back from death, they shouldn’t come back wrong but they can be ghosts), 

pregnancy as a main plot point

Legally Blonde

Fanfiction (Medium)

Elle Woods

Group: Vivian Kensington/Elle Woods

ALL: Starfleet Academy AU

ALL: Space Opera AU

ALL: Regency-Inspired Science Fiction AU

All: Space Privateers AU

ALL: Hyperspace test pilot AU

ALL: Character comes into an inheritance with strange conditions

ALL: Organized Crime

ALL: Marriage of Convenience AU

DNW: breaking up requested pairings, permanent death of the requested characters (if they come back from death, they shouldn’t come back wrong but they can be ghosts), pregnancy as a main plot point

STARFLEET ACADEMY

- so I really have wanted a Starfleet Academy AU for Legally Blonde for years now. There are a few really awesome picture sets here https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/cosmically-blonde, if you want the inspiration...

- otherwise: Elle Woods goes into Starfleet with her great SAT scores ("what, like it's haaard?") I can give or take the romantic subplot of the first movie (but I really ship her with Vivian Kensington, who can come from a family of starfleet captains, or engineers or whatever)

- I take even just a snippet of her application! or the way she gets accepted. or how her sorority sisters react to her wanting to go to Starfleet?

SPACE OPERA AU

- I'd love the entire plot translated into a space setting! Space law Harvard, why not. (I hope there's at least a few aliens, and space affirmative action, but I'd also take plenty of robots)

- really, go wild.

REGENCY-INSPIRED SCIFI

- does Elle have to  go to space-Harvard to get back her boyfriend, and then it turns out she really wants to go to space-Harvard instead, and there's a comedy of errors because apparently it isn't explicitly forbidden for women to go but there's not really any space for her?

- also good: her parents not understanding why she needs to get her boyfriend back/to go to space-Harvard, but supporting her anyway

- Vivian Kensington who dreamed to go to space-Harvard feeling betrayed that someone like Elle got in on a whim; and then slowly realising how she was hiding her hard work behind a facade and slowly falling in love with her with added SPACE REGENCY, somehow, idk

SPACE PRIVATEERS

- the boyfriend dumps her to go space pirating like his parents always wanted for him, and Elle gets a commission of war just so that she can hunt him down, and then along the way decides she rather wants to stick with pirating (because it's more lucrative, and also she has fun doing it)

HYPERSPACE TEST PILOT

- Elle follows her boyfriend to hyperspace test pilot academy, only to find hyperspace test piloting much more interesting than him.

- if this involves tentacles in any way, or transformations into cyborgs to pilot hyperspace ships, I'm game

ORGANIZED CRIME

- Elle's parents belong to the mob, and Elle studies law to become a mob lawyer? i'd buy this if her enthusiasm for fairness was a front, but I'd also buy this if there's a corrupt government and the mob is the slightly better option-- or if the boyfriend was actually in the mob, and Elle joins to get him back, and takes over while she's there, that works too

- (I have no problem with either assassination or murder, but I'd rather not see the longterm consequences of drug addiction though if you want to mention it that's fine.)

MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE

- Elle or Vivian need a scholarship and/or a dorm room and the one they can get is only open for married couples, and Vivian/Elle agree and then they fall in love (or not)

- if you want to add more or different tropes, really, I'd love it

Character comes into INHERITANCE WITH STRANGE CONDITIONS

- yes please.

- Elle needs to marry before she can get her trustfund/access to her property? or exorcise the ghost, and she talks it into leaving instead?

- or maybe it's Vivian whose wacky aunt wants her to experience life to the fullest, and she needs to go on a roadtrip to Vegas with a friend, and Vivian only has Elle since she dumped Walther?

Ocean's 8

Fanfiction (Medium)

Debbie Ocean (Ocean's 8)

Group: Lou Miller/Debbie Ocean

ALL: Space Pirates AU

ALL: Regency-Inspired Science Fiction AU

ALL: Regency AU

ALL: Character comes into an inheritance with strange conditions

ALL: Marriage of Convenience AU

Oh god, don't remind me of these twos sexual tension! (Except please do.) I loved all the outfit changes, the sheer outrageous gumption of doing the heist like they did (but tbh, also the sheer outrageous way Debbie lived her entire life, so if you rather want to focus on that, that'd be great too)

I know I did not want you to break up requested pairings, but I don't mind if the Debbie/Lou thing is tumultuous and fucked-up? Like say, sleeping with whoever Richard Armitage played. I like them best at their grumpy movie-selves, but any other dynamic is great also.

I'd love to see how that translates into a different setting, like say space pirates, or a regency inspired AU, or a combination of both :D

SPACE PIRATES

- how does Debbie built her crew? how does the MET gala translate into a space setting--casino planet? rich tourist spot? a fundraising drive to fund the museum of culture in outer space?

- are any of the women aliens that Debbie hired with abilities that lend themselves well to subterfuge and theft?

- Debbie and Lou in a small space craft, sharing their bunk because they needed to fit in Daphne Kruger into their ship and there are no other bunks left?

REGENCY AU

- Debbie playing up her "I'm only a woman, what could I have done"-look, and robbing the entire aristocracy blind-- tbh, I'd love an appearance by her brother Danny if only to have someone appreciate her genius properly. (And so that she can tell him to stop stealing his marks, probably)

- what's her usual trick to get money fast? does she sell powdered mummy? fake glass as diamonds? does she have an empire of shell companies that lure in investors by promising stuff? selling islands that are either uninhabitable or don't exist?

- Debbie and Lou settling together with a house full of riches and a harem of young admirers after their biggest con?

REGENCY-INSPIRED SCI-FI

-YES! i don't know quite what I want from it-- the thumbing at class differences? the problems with authorities Debbie is going to have?  a Debbie/Lou relationship that is really most blatant and very private at the same time?

- aliens! in corsets! and suits!

Character comes into INHERITANCE WITH STRANGE CONDITIONS

- Debbie gets an inheritance from Danny, but first she has to get back at someone/steal a diamond/bankrupt an enemy

- or! it leads to Debbie finding out about the curse put on her family, that their love-life will always lead to them getting caught, and before she can marry/move in with Lou, she has to take care of the curse

Crossover Fandom

Fanfiction (Medium)

Group: Buffy Summers (BTVS) & Anakin Skywalker (SW) & Ahsoka Tano (SW)

Group: Buffy Summers (BTVS)/Ahsoka Tano (SW)

Group: Cher Horowitz (Clueless)/Elle Woods (Legally Blonde)

Group: Jane Marple (Miss Marple) & Hercule Poirot (Poirot)

Group: Jyn Erso (Rogue One)/Amilyn Holdo (SWST)

ALL: Character makes an SO up and SO turns out to be real person

ALL: Character comes into an inheritance with strange conditions

All: Space Privateers AU

ALL: Space Florist AU

ALL: Time Travel

STAR WARS/BUFFY

Star Wars has slowly sucked me into its sphere again, and I just think pairing Ahsoka (and Anakin) with the Vampire Slayer who defeats Evil sounds like the most fun. I don't care if they meet because of Time or Dimension Travel, or whatever, or because Buffy manages to open a pocket dimension in Sunnydale-- though I would rather read space adventures than Anakin Skywalker in a coffeeshop, trying to fend off vampires.

Does Buffy make up an alien she has fallen in love with, and then Ahsoka stumbles out of the pocket dimension and is exactly how she described her, headtails and all?

Or maybe it's the other way around, and Ahsoka gets a talisman from her grandmother for a summon when she desperately needs help, and she uses it (when she leaves the Jedi Order? during a fight she almost looses?) Buffy comes out of it?

Or maybe, instead of making Ahsoka and Anakin join the Clone Army, the Senate gives them a letter of marque with which they travel through the galaxy, fucking up slavers, and finding Buffy who coincidentally is also fucking up slavers?

Or maybe an AU in which Anakin didn't become a jedi for whatever reasons and instead became a space privateer, hunting slavers, and he finds both Ahsoka and Buffy and they become a team?

Or perhaps Anakin starts a flower business with his mother, except they run into trouble with the flower smuggling business, and while he's being interrogated somewhere Buffy rescues him (because real flowers in space is where the money is at, obviously)

CHER HOROWITZ (CLUELESS)/ ELLE WOODS (LEGALLY BLONDE)

- Character comes into an inheritance with strange conditions: either one of them! they have to find a macguffin! they need to marry to get the deed to the property! they find out that their great-grandmother was an alien and need to do some quick intergalactic diplomacy!

- or! there's Cher and her father is really worried about her since she broke up with Josh, and so she makes up this awesome lawyer that only exists in her brain, except then she meets Elle...

- look, in my mind Space Florists are really in demand-- the 1% like to have extravagant things, you see, and importing real flowers from far off corners of the universe is probably the most extravagant thing ever. There's an entire smuggling industry around getting fresh flowers fast and fresh to where they need to go. If you want either one of them to own a flower business, that would be interesting! or, Cher is an environmentalist who tries to curtail the flower industry, and Elle is the lawyer helping her?

- Space Privateers!

Jane MARPLE & Hercule POIROT

I feel like they would not like each other at all. Or maybe they would, but they'd despair of each other's affectations, and would only barely be able to talk with each other before getting annoyed by the other. Or perhaps, they might even be acquaintances who met during their adventures, and were suspicious of the other's motives until they found out about their investigations-- of two different crimes that maybe turn out to have the same perpetrator?

- I'd love Jane as an immortal being, but I forgot to request something for that, but I'd also love her as a timetravelling hero who is quite happy to be seen as just a tottering old woman. Does Poirot notice her real self?

- Poirot gets notice of an inheritance from a woman who he never met, who thinks she has been murdered, and then he starts seeing her everywhere... (she could be a ghost? or it's part of the inheritance? or maybe she leaves a diary) This is against my DNW, but I'd like it anyway.

- space privateers

- space florists are the people the most crimes happen to in space; it is Known (I'd love an AU in which for some reason they have a space flower business together! or maybe there's a case a space florist is involved in, I'm really not fussy :D)

Miss Marple

Fanfiction (Medium)

Jane Marple (Christie)

ALL: Character comes into an inheritance with strange conditions

ALL: Character is slowly turning into an eldritch creature

ALL: Forbidden magic exists that can be used to raise the dead

ALL: Space Florist AU

ALL: Space AU

ALL: Organized Crime

ALL: One character is a dragon

INHERITANCE WITH STRANGE CONDITIONS

- Miss Marple inherits a dragon hoard, because what the dragon hoards is... unsolved crimes? small-town happenings? detectives? and the dragon feels like Miss Marple is the ideal recipient of that hoard

- Miss Marple's great-great-grandmother happened to be an eldritch creature, and sometimes it skips a few generations, but now that her grandmother vanished, Miss Marple has to deal with it instead

- Miss Marple inherits money, but she needs to solve a murder to get to it

SLOWLY TURNING INTO AN ELDRITCH CREATURE

- Miss Marple's great-great-grandmother happened to be an eldritch creature, and sometimes it skips a few generations, but now that her grandmother vanished, Miss Marple has to deal with it instead

- There's always been a Miss Marple at St. Mary Mead's. Sometimes, there needs to be a new one.

ORGANIZED CRIME

- Miss Marple knows who murdered all of the people because she's the one arranging all the hits and bringing her contesters into jail is a nice plus.

- or! Miss Marple is a fixer who is hired to bring light into the mob's many betrayals, and she does so because it reminds her of the cutthroat nature of her knitting circle and the mob boss asked nice and politely, not like the local inspector.

RAISE THE DEAD

- Miss Marple likes to chat with dead people, and that's how she knows so much about murders. Of course, since she's a nice old lady, and necromancy isn't exactly on the up-and-up, she doesn't mention that.

SPACE AU

- Miss Marple is from a small town in Coruscant, or wherever, and solves space crimes.

SPACE FLORIST

- So I do know that Miss Marple doesn't have a job, canonically. But it would be really funny if she had a flower business in space, and everyone always underestimated the trouble florist have. But there's many additional dangers to the flower trade in space: some people (aliens) like to send each other flowers from far off worlds they know are poisonous to breathe for that species, some people get high on flowers, and trading flowers involves some serious money (so there's a lot of smuggling of poisonous, maybe illegal flowers going on)

- either way, i'd love adventures involving space flower trade

Grace and Frankie

Fanfiction (Medium)

Group: Grace Hanson/Frankie Bergstein

ALL: Regency-Inspired Science Fiction AU

ALL: Space Florist AU

ALL: classical musicians AU

Grace and Frankie: Grace and Frankie marry each other

All: Character has a secret identity

ALL: Organized Crime

ALL: Character comes into an inheritance with strange conditions

REGENCY SCIFI

I am here for it, and if it involves my favourite old lesbian couple, then even better!

SPACE FLORIST AU

Grace and Frankie are obviously still living on a beach somewhere, but instead of investing in a dildo manufacturer, they invest in a local flower shop--maybe one with sex pollen to encourage the sex drive of older women? 

CLASSICAL MUSICIANS AU

Grace and Frankie feel like they need to collaborate now that their husbands are collaborating, and their respective fields compliment each other well, so it would be ideal (since their husbands were their usual collaborators) but Frankie’s approach is so free-style, and Grace’s approach is so very technical and they need time to arrange themselves.

THEY MARRY EACH OTHER

I don’t care for when, only that they do. Would also read an AU, in which they married each other instead of their husbands :D

CHARACTER HAS A SECRET IDENTITY 

- Grace is secretly a superhero? or perhaps a voice actress for romance novels that Frankie likes to read

- Frankie was the girl Grace slept with in college, but only one of them knows

- One of them is a mob boss

ORGANIZED CRIME

yes please.

INHERITANCE WITH STRANGE CONDITIONS

- Grace and Frankie have to marry to fulfil the conditions!

- Grace and Frankie have to fulfil a ridiculous request, and fall in love?

Naruto

Fanfiction (Medium)

Group: Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto)

Group: Yamanaka Ino/Haruno Sakuro

Group: Maito Gai | Might Guy/Hatake Kakashi

Group: Nara Shikamaru/Uzumaki Naruto

Group: Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto

ALL: Time Travel

Naruto: Uzushio wasn't destroyed

Naruto: Sasuke is possessed

Naruto: Sakura is a necromancer

ALL: Character's love interest is actually a tentacle monster

All: Space Privateers AU

ALL: Canon Character can see ghosts

ALL: Character comes into an inheritance with strange conditions

I really love these characters and I’d love anything about these freeforms. (And I hope to add more prompts tomorrow, but feel free to not use them!)

TIME TRAVEL

yes! time loops, groundhog scenarios, dimensional hopping, making the past work out differently, fix it fics -- I’m not so much a fan of dark endings, but Sasuke travelling back in time to, idk, murder Itachi, and failing, and becoming something resembling a human being with feelings would be great too.

UZUSHIO WASN’T DESTROYED

I’m still bitter we didn’t get a story line about the Uzumaki clan. Or like, the diaspora of the Uzushio people. Or like, anything about the village it had been, and why nobody remembers it.

SASUKE IS POSSESSED

look, it’d be cool? also, it’d explain a lot.

SAKURA IS A NECROMANCER

how will this change the way Team 7 operates? does Orochimaru want to kidnap the entirety of Team 7 (and does he succeed?)

CHARACTER’S LOVE INTEREST IS ACTUALLY A TENTACLE MONSTER

I don’t care who, but omg, yes please. (You can’t tell me that this doesn’t fit the wacky Naruto worldbuilding, come on, there’s ninja that fight with bubbles. and paper. and fucking Kisame with his shark dicks)

SPACE PRIVATEERS AU

Instead of ninja getting their permit from the daimyo, they’re pirates who get their permit from a shadowy government?

INHERITANCE WITH STRANGE CONDITIONS

yes please! does Ino have to prove herself in mind arts? does Sasuke get a ghost sword he can only use to restore people back to life, but only if he first manages to climb a mountain? does Naruto inherit a ton of money, but only if he travels to Uzushio?

CHARACTER CAN SEE GHOSTS

Sasuke is haunted by the people he killed. Naruto is haunted by a lot of red-heads who teach him pranks, and like to see him eat ramen. Kakashi sees the people who he killed, and they generally seem to prefer his dogs. Sakura’s ghosts teach her stuff she wouldn’t normally know. Or something else, maybe?

Harry Potter

Fanfiction (Medium)

Group: Regulus Black/Harry Potter

Group: Sirius Black & Harry Potter

Group: Nymphadora Tonks/OFC

Group: Nymphadora Tonks & Regulus Black & Harry Potter

Group: Remus Lupin/Sirius Black

HP: Regulus Black lives

HP: Tonks becomes Lord Black

HP: Sirius survived the battle in the Department of Mysteries

HP: Time Travel

HP: Harry is the Master of Death and thus immortal

HP: Sirius never goes to Azkaban

HP: Sirius is exonerated after POA

ALL: One character is a time traveler from a different era

ALL: Character comes into an inheritance with strange conditions

ALL: Marriage of Convenience AU

HP: Voldemort's end is early and anticlimactic

I love the magic, and I love cracky takes on this. I have read so many HP time travel AUs and tropey magical crack, but I cannot get enough of it, and there’s especially always a lack of my favourite characters, even though there’s so much fic already.

REGULUS BLACK LIVES

Basically, what it says. Does he time travel? Does Kreacher manage to go back to save him? Does he schlepp himself out of the cave and wakes up with a case of amnesia?

TONKS BECOMES LORD BLACK

So, I really think that this is an underused trope, because it would be so great-- the House of the “Always Pure”, gloomy Grimmauld Place with bubbly, pink-haired Tonks as its figurehead? Sign me up.

Perhaps she inherits because Sirius is in prison, and everyone else presumed dead, and her mother is the oldest? Or there’s a loophole for metamorphmagi to inherit? (Does she need to prove that she can morph a fully functional dick?)

Also great would be Tonks opening her house for Harry for the summer. Or tricky ministry politics by the Malfoys who want the Black House for themselves?

SIRIUS SURVIVES; SIRIUS NEVER GOES TO AZKABAN; SIRIUS IS EXONERATED

Pretty self-explanatory. Does he time-travel? Does he kidnap Umbridge and torture her explain that she’s overstepping her bounds? Does he make Crouch eat it? Does he rescue Harry from the Dursleys/boredom/Mrs Figg?

INHERITANCE WITH STRANGE CONDITIONS

Omg, really. This is the opportunity to go really wild. I hope there’s lots of magical circumstances, and perhaps vows or magical traditions. It’s kinda canon, too, with Dumbledore and his snitch, book, and deluminator, but I’d also appreciate a story in which they have to fulfil someone’s last will.

MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE AU

yes please! Tonks needs to prove that she intends to raise children, and finds a friend who needs a place to live so they can cheat the Black Inheritance Rituals, or something? I read this for contrived reasons, or for friends just living together, or for slowly developing romance, but all pairings I asked for are great for this!

Star Wars Sequel Trilogy

Fanfiction (Medium)

Group: Ahsoka Tano & Leia Organa & Luke Skywalker (SWST)

Group: Amilyn Holdo/Leia Organa/Jyn Erso (SWST)

Group: Ahsoka Tano & Luke Skywalker (SWST)

ALL: Space Pirates AU

SWST: Leia did become a Jedi and goes after the New Order herself

SW: Luke turns to the Dark Side and Leia has to learn her powers and bring him back

SW: Leia and Luke raised as Jedi

ALL: Robot Revolution

SWST: General Leia Organa time travels back to the Tantive IV at the start of ANH

ALL: Canon Character can see ghosts

I'm requesting all these things under the Sequel Trilogy, because I really like things set in the future, and I'd love to see the continuation of the OT-- if you want to set it during the ST that's great! But I'm also interested in the 30 years between OT and ST.

SPACE PIRATES

So, the new republic took time to built probably, and I can see every single of the requested characters taking the time out of their busy schedules to start (and finish) a war with any of the pirates blocking the trade routes (and trading slaves); possibly even without permission from the New Republic.

Or, if you want to recreate the Trilogy with a space pirate dynasty, instead of a Jedi dynasty, that would be grand too.

- ‘Canon Character can see ghosts’, ‘Leia becomes a Jedi and goes after the New Order herself’, and ‘Luke turns to the Dark Side and Leia has to learn her powers to bring him back’ are pretty self-explanatory, I feel? but to reiterate, I’d love all those groups, together or apart.

ROBOT REVOLUTION

I'm all for droid rights, and I feel like the droids are definitely under-utilised in their usefulness of bringing down the New Order. Or the New Republic. Or sneaking into ships and casino's to retrieve stuff.

- General Leia Organa time travels back to the Tantive IV at the start of ANH

Does General Leia try to resurrect the New Republic? Is her younger self aware of her? Does she steal a flotilla for herself and wage war on slavers/the order/politicians who blackballed her when she was younger? Maybe she sacrifices herself to take out the Death Star leaving her younger self more time to get the rebellion going?

LUKE AND LEIA RAISED AS JEDI

look, I'm not sure this request makes entirely sense within the sequel trilogy, but what would the far-reaching consequences be if Luke and Leia had been raised as Jedi? would they have had a relationship with their father's padawan? would Leia have noticed Snoke? would she have been tempted to go dark, or have gone dark, and what kind of impact would that have made on Luke? would he have felt as responsible as with her son, or would he have dragged her back the same as what he did with his father?

Star Wars Prequel Trilogy

Fanfiction (Medium)

Group: Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader (SWPT)

group: Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker (SWPT)

Group: Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker (SWPT)

ALL: Robot Revolution

ALL: Different First Meeting - Captured by Slavers

SWPT: Force Ghost Qui-Gon trying to influence events

SWPT: Qui-Gon survives the battle with Maul

ALL: Time Travel

ALL: Space Florist AU

All: Space Privateers AU

ALL: Hyperspace test pilot AU

SETTING AU

(Space Florist, Space Privateers, Hyperspace Test Pilot, Robot Revolution)

Any of these sound great, and I love any of those with or without them being set in the Star Wars universe (but they could conceivably all be set there too!)

TIME TRAVEL

I like spontaneous time travel, or closed loops, or dimensional hopping, or going back into the past!person, or force ghosts influencing the past, or groundhog-day scenarios

DIFFERENT MEETING CAPTURED BY SLAVERS

-Yes, please. This could also be combined with space florists, space privateers, hyperspace test pilots or robot revolution, depending on who was captured and who freed them, and where this happened. What if Padme gave Anakin a letter of marque? or the opportunity to go to space pilot academy? what if Anakin started the robot revolution by trying to rescue Padme (or Obi-Wan?) from slavers? what if Padme gave Anakin (and Shmi) a flower business to manage after she was rescued by Anakin?

or maybe Padme is the one to rescue Anakin? and sets him up with her family's flower business because he has no other skills?

FORCE GHOST QUI-GON INFLUENCING THINGS; QUI-GON SURVIVES

Dude, wouldn't it be great if a force entity could tell them who the Sith in the senate was? I always thought so, and I'd think Anakin would appreciate Qui-Gon's help with both Obi-Wan and Padme too. Or simply with not, you know, going dark-- or successfully freeing all the slaves, and the clones, and Shmi and while we're at it a robot revolution would be cool too (or just one of these things, I'm simply very greedy :P)

Qui-Gon actually teaching Anakin the way of the force (and possibly doing something about Shmi) would be great, too. Or simply seeing the change alive!Qui-Gon had on future!Anakin

Gentleman Bastards

Fanfiction (Medium)

Group: Locke Lamora/Jean Tannen

ALL: All Characters Genderswapped

ALL: Ocean's 8 AU

ALL: Ocean's Eleven-esque heist

It'd be so cool. Jeanne Tannen, the big-hulked butch who could break Locke Lamora in half? Yes please. You could also swap every single character in the entire series--I'd love to read it. Would also read it as an Ocean's 8 Fusion, or an Ocean's Eleven-esque heist, or like, simply chilling out after canon things happened.

(Sadly I forgot I could request art, because this would be very awesome to look at, but I'm equally ecstatic about having actual descriptions of Locke being a little shit but also a woman.)

[thenightling]

Soundtrack for reading Neil Gaiman’s Sandman

I don’t know if anyone else has this habit but if I like something well enough, be it a book series, fictional character, or even TV show, I will create a folder on my computer of Mp3s of songs that I feel fit the story, either literally or by mood.  Somtimes it’s as easy as matching Fred Saberhagen’s Dracula books with Frank Wildhorn’s Dracula the musical, or Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (novel) with Frankenstein a new Musical and Richard Campbell’s Frankenstein a metal opera.  Or Goethe’s Faust Parts 1 and 2 with Kamelot’s Epica and the Black Halo.  And sometimes it’s a little more complicated.  This one is of the “Little more complicated” status.

I tried looking up playlists inspired by Neil Gaiman’s Sandman and... Most were too emo or worse. They were tired, cliche, early 2000s screamer Metal or garage Goth bands that sound like something you’d hear at Hot Topic at ten AM.   I like Power metal, but not Metal that sounds like someone trying far too hard to sound demonic for no apparent reason.

My selection might be more maudlin and eclectic but here I go...

Song List:

Track 0 (Because I don’t feel like renumbering them) Morpheus in a Masquerade by Cain’s Offering.  This one is a bit of a cheat since I’m fairly sure it really is based on Neil Gaiman’s Sandman and reflects a lot of it but it’s a good song nevertheless.

1. Morpheus by Kevin Lewis (available on Sound cloud and possibly misspelt as Morpheous) - I don’t remember how I found this song but it’s literally about Sandman Morpheus during his captivity and his eventual revenge on Alex Burgess for continuing his imprisonment decades after Morpheus’ original captor (Alex’s father) had died.

2. Enter Sandman by Metallica

3.  Dark Side of the Glass by Lori Yates

4. Tales from the Crypt theme by Danny Elfman - Pretty much any scene having to do with The House of Mystery

5.  Horror in action by Kayak - Cain and Abel but mostly Cain.   

6. House at the End of the Street by Lauren Scheff for The House of Mystery

7.  In our Haunted House by Andrew Gold for Cain and The House of Mystery

8.  Almost Human by Voltaire - for the character Lucifer.  This one might be a cheat since it literally IS about Lucifer.  

9. It’s the Fear by Within Temptation

10. Scary Monsters and Super Creeps by David Bowie

11.  Strange Magic by ELO

12. It’s a Kind of Magic by Queen

13. Princes of the Universe by Queen 

14. Feathery Wings by Voltaire - Sound of her Wings (issue 8 of the storyline Prelude and Nocturns)

15. Sweet Death by Voltaire This one is a bit of a cheat as it’s literally about Death from Sandman

16.  Fate’s Wide Wheel by Scott Bakula (From Quantum Leap) for Morpheus

17.  Jack’s Lament by Danny Elfman (Jack Skellington from Nightmare before Christmas actually has a LOT in common with Morpheus when you really think about it).

18. The Endless by Razed in Black.  This one is literally based on The Endless from Neil Gaiman’s Sandman

19. Lucifer’s Angel by Rasmus - Season of Mists

20.  Dreams to Dream by Linda Ronstadt

21.  Mr. Sandman by the Chordettes

22. Dreamweaver by Gary Wright

23. Dream lover by Bobby Darin 

24. Dream a little Dream of me by Doris Day

25. Welcome to my Nightmare by Alice Cooper

26. Gimme by Alice Cooper (The music video features a nod to The Corinthian from Sandman)

27. Nightmares by A Flock of Seaguls

28.  Angels by Within Temptation - For Morpheus saving Calliope and getting revenge on her tormentor.   

29. Dreamlover by Mariah Carey

30. Learn to be lonely by Andrew Lioyd Webber and performed by  Minnie Driver for Morpheus at the start of Brief Lives

31. The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead by The Crash Test Dummies (particular version) - for Mervyn Pumpkinhead.  It doesn’t really fit except for the title but I felt that he needed a song.

32.  Morpheus’ Lullaby by Matthew Keegan-Phipps  This is not a favorite but it IS about Sandman.

33. Sister named Desire by Tori Amos.   This song is literally about Desire from Sandman.

34.  Come Little Children (Kate the Great version, originally from Hocus Pcous) for baby (pre-Dream) Daniel

35. Sweet Morpheus by Inkubus Sukkubus

36.   Underground by David Bowie

37. As the World falls down by David Bowie

38.   Within You by David Bowie

39. Tear in your hand by Tori Amos.  This song actually mentions Dream and Neil Gaiman.  

40. Dream Warriors by Dokken 

41. Let us Burn by Within Temptation - For The Kindly Ones

42. Unforgiven by Metallica - For Lucifer

43. Unforgiven by Lemuria.  Originally by Metallica this really fits Lucifer, particularly the TV show version (if you like the scene in season 2 when Lucifer plays the piano version, this version is for you)

44. Eternal Flame by The Bangles for the Lucifer TV series incarnation (I’ll only do a few of these since there are so many songs in the show already).

45. Sinnerman by Nina Simone for Lucifer (TV series version)

46. All along the watchtower by Jimi Hendrix for Lucifer (TV series version)

47. God Thinks by Voltaire for Lucifer 

48. Right before my eyes by Sir Elton John for any male on male ships you might have such as Morpheus and Lucifer (Cough)

49. Demon’s Fate by Within Temptation

50. Stand my Ground by Within Temptation for Morpheus when facing off against The Kindly Ones

51. The Dreamers by David Bowie

52. Who wants to live forever by Queen

53. Forever by Queen (Instrumental version of Who Wants to Live Forever?)

54. Heart of Darkness by Lori Yates (The refrain is “The end of an Endless Night”)

55. Destiny’s Edge by Lori Yates

56. Pure Imagination from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

57.  Touch the Night by Lori Yates

58. Black Rose by Lori Yates for Nuala

59.   Changes by David Bowie for Daniel-Dream)

60. Morpheus in a Masquerade by Cain’s Offering.  This one is a bit of a cheat since I’m fairly sure it really is based on Neil Gaiman’s Sandman and reflects a lot of it but it’s a good song nevertheless.

[the-master-cylinder]

SUMMARY Ship’s engineer Andrew Braddock (York) and two other men are floating in a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific following the wreck of the ship Lady Vain. One dies at sea. After seventeen days at sea, Braddock and the other man land on an island, where the other man accompanying Braddock is promptly killed by animals. Braddock is nursed back to health in the compound governed by the mysterious scientist “Dr. Moreau” (Lancaster). Besides Moreau, the inhabitants of the compound include Moreau’s associate, Montgomery (Davenport), a mercenary; Moreau’s mute, misshapen servant, M’Ling (Cravat); and a ravishing young woman named Maria (Carrera). Moreau warns Braddock not to leave the compound at night.

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Moreau welcomes Braddock as an honored guest and willingly shares his fine library, but there are some strange goings-on. One day Braddock witnesses Moreau and Montgomery manhandling a chained creature who is clearly not quite human, and the island is home to more than just this one recites the laws Moreau passed on to them. Moreau explains that they are, in fact, the hybrid products of his experiments upon various species of wild animal. Braddock is both shocked and curious. Moreau explains that he is injecting the animals with a serum containing human genetic material. At times, the human/animal hybrids still have their animal instincts and don’t quite behave like a human which sometimes enrages Moreau, feeling that his experiments haven’t worked successfully. That night, as Braddock is reeling from learning the truth, Maria goes to his room where they have sex. It is implied that this is intended by Moreau.

The following day, Braddock takes a rifle and leaves the compound, determined to see exactly how the hybrid creatures live. He enters a cave and finds several of them (all male). Just as he is surrounded by them and about to use the rifle to defend himself, Moreau appears and restores order. The Sayer of the Law (Richard Basehart) is the only one of Moreau’s experimental beasts who can speak; Moreau calls on him to utter the three laws (no going around on all fours, no eating of human flesh, no taking of other life) aloud to the other creatures. This reminds them that they must not attack Braddock.

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After the Bull-Man (Bob Ozman) kills a tiger, Moreau intends to take it to the “house of pain”, his laboratory, as punishment. The Bull-Man panics and runs. Braddock finds it in the jungle, badly injured, where it begs him to kill it rather than return it to the lab. Braddock shoots it, angering the man-beasts, as Braddock has broken the law of killing.

Convinced that Moreau is insane, Braddock prepares to leave the island with Maria. Moreau stops them and straps Braddock to the table in his lab. He then injects him with another serum so that he can hear Braddock describe the experience of becoming animalistic. Caged, Braddock struggles to maintain his humanity. When Montgomery objects to this treatment, Moreau shoots him in cold blood.

Outside the compound, the angry man-beasts turn on Moreau because by killing Montgomery, he has broken the very rule he expected them to follow. He is killed at the compound’s gate while trying to whip his attackers into submission. The man-beasts, now overpowered by their primitive natures, go on a rampage to try and break into the compound and destroy the house of pain as the Sayer of the Law states “There is no law.”

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Braddock, still struggling to remain human, Maria, M’Ling, and the still-coherent and benign beastfolk servant women stave them off and engineer an escape through the compound. Eventually, the man-beasts break-in and the compound is burned. In the chaos, the wild animals which Moreau kept for his experiments are turned loose and a battle ensues between them and the hybrids. Most of the man-beasts are killed by the animals or consumed by the fire, the Sayer of the Law’s throat torn out by a tiger, the Bear-Man tackled off a roof by a black panther, and the lion-man is mauled by a normal lion. During the final escape, M’Ling risks his life to save his companions from a lion and both fall into a pit trap.

Braddock and Maria manage to float away in the lifeboat that Braddock arrived in, but are followed by a Bear-Man (David Cass) who is one of the last man-beasts. After a battle with each other, Braddock kills the Bear-Man with a broken oar. Sometime later, they see a passing ship, and the serum has worn off, returning Braddock to his full human state as Maria looks on with catlike eyes.

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PRODUCTION In December, however, producers Sandy Howard and Samuel Z. Arkoff descended upon the small island resort of St. Croix in the Virgin Islands with dozens of cast and crew members, tons of equipment, and a menagerie of wild animals. There, in the lush rainforest of the island community, a new $7.25 million adaptation of THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU was filmed in its entirety. The period piece, set in 1911, stars Burt Lancaster in the title role. The young hero, enduring yet another name change to Andrew Braddock, is played by Michael York, and Richard Basehart steps into the role essayed by Bela Lugosi.

Although the producers, and director Don Taylor, insist that the picture is not a remake of the 1932 production, it does retain many of the elements of the earlier adaptation, including a female lead in the person of Barbara Carrera as Maria. An added twist in the new version finds Moreau, distraught that his creatures invariably revert to animals, attempting to conduct his humanizing experiments in reverse on Braddock.

Lancaster & Taylor

“Right around that point, Burt showed up in Cannes, and he tore the place apart just walking down the street the people went ape, because he’s an old star. and I guess they don’t get many old stars there anymore. That convinced us that we should use Burt. But even he had some hesitation, so I went and I talked to him. He said, “You got a problem with the script.” I said, “Yeah, but what picture have you done lately that didn’t?’ We did have a problem with the script, and we did a serious rewrite on it that…didn’t work, unfortunately. But Burt was very good, because he was secure with me: I took care of him, watched him. That’s my whole theory of directing: security. Give the actor security and, to a great degree, let him go. Sometimes you’re able to do that completely, like I did with Burt and sometimes you’re not-that’s when you get into trouble. Burt worked very hard.” – Don Taylor

SPECIAL EFFECTS Highlighting the film are Moreau’s grotesque “humanimals,” created by the makeup wizardry of John Chambers and Dan Striepeke, who had earlier worked together on the PLANET OF THE APES series and numerous other projects. Working from sketches and models, Chambers and his crew made casts of their actors’ faces and then elaborated upon their facial structures with clay. The clay was then used to make molds from which foam rubber appliances were made that were affixed to the skin and then blended to match the still-visible portions of the actors’ faces. In this manner, a boarman, bullman, hyenaman, lionman, bearman, and the wolfish Sayer of the Law were created. Human features derived from a goat, lynx, ram, badger, and baboon were also designed in mask form for less prominent roles. An orangutanman was developed, but when the producers objected on the basis that it might look like a PLANET OF THE APES rip-off, some more hair was added and it was redubbed a slothman.

The two men recognized that the makeup would lie somewhere between the Primal Man concept and the Planet of the Apes concept. The mechanics had already been licked in these previous films, but the concept would take some doing. They worked with Sandy Howard in developing the creatures. Although they studied the original film version of The Island of Dr Moreau, which was titled Island of Lost Souls (1933), they felt that they could offer much more than could have been done in 1933.

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Concept art created by Mike McCracken for the The Island of Dr. Moreau. Several paintings, drawings, maquettes were created for the designs of the creatures.. the “Humanimals” as they were called. The pre-production started in 1975 with John Chambers, Danny Striepeke and McCracken. Mike created pencil sketches of the characters first, drawings were then selected and from those selections he created more fully developed illustrations in oil and acrylic on canvas and on illustration board.

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After illustrations were selected McCracken sculpted numerous maquettes of those characters, from those maquette he then sculpted all of the prosthetics. A makeup test done in early 1976 of the Lionman, the Boarman and Hyenaman to show the producers Samuel Z. Arkoff and Sandy Howard how the makeup designs would look. They loved them and based on that successful makeup test a revised script was written to include more Humanimals.

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Striekpeke went to the Islands first, doing makeup on Burt Lancaster and Michael York and others. Chambers remained back at the lab with his crew preparing enough appliances. The requirements changed continually up until the last moment.

Surprisingly, the trouble with Dr. Moreau, according to director Don Taylor, was the makeups. “I inherited something that I couldn’t do anything about,” he says, “and that was the appliances that had been made chins, noses and foreheads for all these man-animals. The idea was that these animal men should have been grotesque half human and half beast. But they were all Disney, cuddly. You wanted to kiss ’em. I couldn’t make any grotesquerie out of em at all.” – Don Taylor

The first makeup on Michael York was created by Dan Striekpeke. He created a sunburnt, blistered, dehydrated look brought about from the shipwreck Michael survives. York becomes the first specimen that Dr. Moreau attempts to transform from human to animal, the norm being from animal to human.

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Chambers had created appliances so that he could subtly transform York into a wolf without the audience realizing it.  Chambers and his staff prepared as many as three separate makeup designs for each creature, varying in degree as to human and animal components. “For example,” Chambers explained, “at one point you see the bullman with little nubs where his horns start, and then later you see him with great big horns. But that presented a problem because you couldn’t identify him. I said to Don Taylor: ‘How are you going to identify them, unless you say, “Look, the bullman has changed.” You gonna put baseball numbers on them?’ So we had to throw out the intermediate steps, except in two or three cases. We showed Mling being dragged and taken back to the House of Pain to be rejuvenated, or whatever. And the same with the lionman. We take him from 70% lion and make him 15%. But you see him being taken away and then brought back out to the cart – you know it’s him. And they put a colored patch on his shoulder that was his baseball number.”

Rick Baker’s Lion Man test makeup (Rejected)

Chambers did anticipate problems with the appliances and the moisture, particularly because some of the action required fighting scenes in the water. Special adhesives were used, and the problem never arose. Chambers was quite proud of the teeth he designed and created. They were veneer and tamped right in. Despite the fighting  with the actual animals, there were no broken real teeth, and the actors could talk with them, too.

Early Version of Boarman by Mike McCraken

One scene called for the Bullman to be attacked by a real Bengal tiger, and Striekpeke created a fiberglass helmet from a mold of Bob Ozman’s head. It was outfitted with straps and a protective covering. The production staff had been advised that when an animal attacks—provided he does become “wild’’ enough to do so—he could snap at a head or neck in an attempt to crush the skull. Because they were going to train the tiger to bite one of the Bullman’s horns off anyway, they felt every possible precaution should be exercised.

Yes, of course. I’ve done simple martial arts kinds of things. But, as an example of what I said earlier, it was during the shooting of The Island of Doctor Moreau that my karate training truly became useful to me. Because I’d learned a few things about balance, eye contact and the importance of not showing fear, I was able to work with the big cats more effectively. It made me feel good when I knew that what I was doing, how I was controlling the tiger’s actions, would save or even make a shot. A human being can’t compete with that kind of tremendous power. And, that’s something that young people should realize about karate; there are real, human limitations. However, on the movie, it was knowing how to get the cat’s attention, by looking at him a certain way. I used a kiai on one shot to scare the cat and make him attack. Sometimes the attacks became real. It was my martial arts training that told me not to show fear. A good elbow strike, or back fist came in handy at those moments, too. – Bob Ozman/Bullman

  However, York, taking “dramatic license,” wanted to do the part dramatically and physically rather than with appliances. Striekpeke did a beautiful job in creating an effective makeup using highlights and shadows and a little hair. The makeup, combined with York’s performance, achieved the effect very successfully.

The other actors who are seen (or not seen, actually) as the Remaining key mutated creatures all had to be expert stuntmen. The script called for a battleroyale between the new species and Wiwir four-footed counterparts lion, a tiger, a boar, a bull and a hyena. Most stuntmen refuse to work with exotic animals, so these were selected on the basis of their association with animal behavior training by Ralph and Toni Helfer, animal experts who own and operate Enchanted Village in Buena Park, California.

Bob Ozman, who plays the half-man, half-bull creature, owns a karate school and has always worked with animals, which made him a natural for the film. However, in comparing his acting stint to his other encounters with wild animals as a trainer, he comments, “I found it more of a challenge and much scarier than any of the outrageous and so-called dangerous stunts I’ve ever performed before.”

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The tiger did try to bite Bob Ozman, who was playing the Bullman, on the back of the neck, and another time a fang just grazed his eyes. Both times the helmet was the lifesaving factor. Striekpeke had to repair it after the first encounter, which is some indication of how severe the attack was. At other times, the tiger would slash at a hand, tearing off a foam-rubber glove.

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Makeup calls varied from three a.m. to four a.m. It took four hours per person to make them into a Humanimal, mainly because there were so many appliances involved. The Wardrobe Department helped a great deal with other parts of the costumes such as fur jackets. Although the makeup could probably have been completed in three and a half hours, Chambers and Striekpeke insisted on an allowance of at least four, and the cameras were never held up.

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In spite of his star status, actor Richard Basehart also had to respond to that incredibly early call, for his part was to play the leader of the humanimals, a wolf by birth, the “Sayer of the Low.” In the film, he attempts to maintain the human half of his follow creatures and to void the animal instincts that smolder within. As an example of the technical care lavished on the movie, Basehart wore special contact lenses to simulate wolf eyes, since he was frequently seen in close-up shots. He also had a hump built onto his back, because he stands too erect otherwise to represent one of the man-beasts.

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RELEASE/DISTRIBUTION Reportedly, several endings were shot, including a couple of shockers in which Braddock, after escaping the island debacle with the now-pregnant Maria whom he loves, suddenly discovers that she is not what he thinks, but rather the pinnacle of Moreau’s unorthodox experimentation. In one ending, she begins to revert back to her former feline form, and in another, she gives birth, not to a child, but to a tiger kitten. Presumably, sneak preview responses will dictate which ending makes it into general release.

CAST/CREW Directed Don Taylor

Produced Skip Steloff John Temple-Smith

Written Al Ramrus John Herman Shaner

Based on The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells

Burt Lancaster as Dr. Paul Moreau Michael York as Andrew Braddock Nigel Davenport as Montgomery Barbara Carrera as Maria Richard Basehart as Sayer of the Law Nick Cravat as M’Ling The Great John L. as Boar-Man Bob Ozman as Bull-Man Fumio Demura as Hyena-Man Gary Baxley as Lion-Man John Gillespie as Tiger-Man David Cass as Bear-Man

CREDITS/REFERENCES/SOURCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY brightlightsfilm.com martialartsentertainment Starlog#11 Starlog#165 Cinefantastique v06n01 Cinefantastique v05n02

The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977) Retrospective SUMMARY Ship's engineer Andrew Braddock (York) and two other men are floating in a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific following the wreck of the ship Lady Vain.

[ahouseoflies]

The Best Films of 2019, Part IV

Part III, Part II, Part I PRETTY PRETTY GOOD MOVIES

62. Shazam! (David F. Sandberg)- One of the most comic-booky movies to come around in a while in the sense that it seems to be in fast forward for the first third, using shorthands because it has too much story to tell. I am sad to report that Shazam! has no Movie Stars in it, and I didn't realize how essential those were to the superhero genre. There is a cagey standalone quality to its modest bets though. I like that it's anchored in a real place and isn't afraid to be a little too scary for kids. I would see it mostly as a product of potential though, for a funny Jack Dylan Grazer, for the filmmakers, and for the studio. As a student of weird billing, I have so many questions about Adam Brody getting awarded fifth lead for a bit part.

61. Fighting with My Family (Stephen Merchant)- Dwayne Johnson as producer feels like the auteur here, since the formulaic story has more to do with his combed-over, please-everyone persona than with Stephen Merchant's more messy, improvisatory style. I couldn't care less about the time spent on Jack Lowden's brother character, but I was impressed with the physical part of Florence Pugh's performance. This is a movie you've seen a hundred times, but it hits most of its marks skillfully. 60. Spider-Man: Far From Home (Jon Watts)- This is a movie in which a spurned tech innovator uses drone projectors to stage a battle in which he defeats an elemental water monster to save Venice. The best sequence is one in which a boy tries to trick his friends into letting him sit next to the girl he likes on a flight.  59. John Wick: Chapter 3- Parabellum (Chad Stahelski)- What a criticism it is to claim that the filmmakers give in too much to fanservice, especially since I don't know what that word means anymore if something like this is the monoculture. So they gave us, the audience, what we wanted, and I was upset that it was two hours and ten minutes? Seriously though, have you ever eaten too much ice cream? 58. Fyre (Chris Smith)- An interesting yarn that gets at the foolishness of Internet influencing better than anything else that I've seen. I was surprised by how distant many of the subjects seemed, as if only the Big Bad Billy was responsible for any misleading. And I was grateful that, despite the level of criminality on display, it was still as funny as the tweets were at the time. The film lacks shape though, and it would be nice to have somebody smart on hand to answer questions. Can someone explain to me why it's so important that the island used to be Pablo Escobar's? Why should I want to be like Pablo Escobar? 57. Leaving Neverland (Dan Reed)- Part 1 works because of the striking similarities in the parallel stories, as well as the subjects' perspicacious understanding of their own emotions and childhood psychology. So Part 2 gets extremely frustrating when these men, who have already proven how articulate they are, seem puzzled by the obvious psychological problems they have as adults. 56. Diane (Kent Jones)- This movie is kind of good when it's purely slice-of-life, before it declares what it is. It's very good once it declares itself as a routine of self-flagellation, a sort of Raging Bull for women with multiple recipes for tater tot hotdish. It's a little less good when it speeds up and goes back on that thesis near the end. For the record, I think Mary Kay Place is fine. I don't get the critical adoration.

55. Rocketman (Dexter Fletcher)- If the choice is Bohemian Rhapsody or this, then I'll take this every time. Unlike the former, Elton John's life doesn't present an obvious high point in the second half or easy conflict for the first half. As a result, the relationships within John's family seem broad with manufactured conflict. (His birth father's hardness isn't that far off from Walk Hard's "wrong kid died.") But there's an authenticity here that's refreshing, a respect to the unique friendship between Elton and Bernie and a respect for the transformative power of the music. That sincerity extends to Egerton's generous performance, which nails the self-effacing Elton John smile. So there are some biopic structural problems that can't be helped, but if only to admire the '80s fits that Elton gets off, attention must be paid. 54. Triple Frontier (J.C. Chandor)- A useful example for differentiating between tropes and cliches of the action drama genre. For someone who gets less amped than I do for dudes meeting in a shipping container to have a conversation about how "now is the time to get out," it's probably full of cliches. For fans of hyper-masculine parables about getting a team together (that are also sort of meta-commentaries on their lead actor's fallen star), it's full of tropes. 53. The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (Mike Mitchell)- The plot is nearly incoherent, and the sequel isn't really satirizing anything like the first one was. But the jokes come at a Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker clip. A character in a car chase saying, "It's like she knows my every move" before a cut reveals he's been using turn signals? That's some Frank Drebin stuff. 52. Long Shot (Jonathan Levine)- Jonathan Levine has carved out an interesting directorial space for himself, with a career far different from what I imagined when I saw and loved The Wackness, a film to which I'm a little afraid to return. Levine is making, at the highest level possible ($40 million budget?), the types of movies that we claim don't get made anymore. A one-crazy-night Christmas comedy, an adventure comedy, and now a political romantic comedy, all with top flight Movie Stars. Long Shot seems like a rare opportunity to put Seth Rogen and Charlize Theron together and do something special, and what we come out with is...cute. For every good decision the film makes--what a supporting cast, all playing rounded characters--it makes a bad one--leaning too heavily into Rogen's patented "I don't really know what we're yelling about" delivery. The music is uninspired, but the presidential satire is pretty clever. The rhythm of the film is jagged and doesn't really cut together, but the script is very fair to the Theron character. Even in the general tone of the film's politics, it declares a few ideals, but those positions are still too neutral and obvious. I had a good time, but in a more capable director's hands, this experience wouldn't feel like math. 51. Isn’t It Romantic (Todd Strauss-Schulson)- So frothy that it almost doesn't believe in itself, especially near the end, but I found myself laughing a lot. Regarding the gay best friend, I'm very interested in the space of politically incorrect humor that is acceptable only because the work has built up self-awareness in other areas. That's a difficult negotiation, but this movie balances it. 50. Yesterday (Danny Boyle)- There's one twist that stretches the moral center of the film, and two minutes later there's a twist that's probably just a bridge too far in good taste. Other than that, this is a really cute Richard Curtis script, and it's nice to hear "Hey Jude" on movie speakers. 49. Ready or Not (Radio Silence)- Short and spicy, despite one or two too many twists. I'm in the front row of the Adam Brody Revival, but I appreciated the movie more as an exercise in the paranoid misery built into wealth. I wish I could have written the line down, but Alex says something like, "I didn't realize how much you could do just because your family said that it was okay," and that's the whole film. If you can, see it without watching the trailer first.

48. The Laundromat (Steven Soderbergh)- Mary Ann Bernard is a Steven Soderbergh pseudonym, but what if he did hire an outside editor? What if someone saved him from himself? It's hard to believe that Meryl Streep is the heart of the film--if the film's thesis is "The meek will inherit the Earth?"--if we go on a twenty-minute detour to an African family and a ten-minute detour to China. I laughed quite a bit, and I admire the audacity of the ending. But this is a movie that knows what it's about without knowing how to be about it.

47. High Flying Bird (Steven Soderbergh)- As a person who can cite most NBA players' cap figures off the top of my head, I should love High Flying Bird, a movie about a sports agent who tries to topple the system during an NBA lockout. Instead I liked it okay. It takes an hour to kick into high gear, but once it does, some self-contained scenes are powerhouses, and the writer of Moonlight was always going to provide an emotional kick that is sometimes absent from Soderbergh's work. Like Soderbergh's Unsane from last year, High Flying Bird is shot on an iPhone, an appropriate form given that the execution is a do-it-yourself parable that takes place mostly inside. Soderbergh is a man who has always tried to trade the ossified system of moviemaking for experimentation, so most reviews have pointed toward the meta quality of capturing a character doing that same thing in another medium. Like most of his post-retirement work, however, I find myself asking one question: "Would anyone care if this were made by another director?" 46. Piercing (Nicolas Pesce)- Good sick fun with a taste for the theatrical. I saw twist one and twist three coming, but twist two was ingenious. It ends the only way it can, which is okay. 45. Booksmart (Olivia Wilde)- At first the film is hard to acclimate to, stylized as it is into a very specific but absurd setting, counteracted by a very specific and realistic relationship. The music cues are all awful until the Perfume Genius one, which is so perfect that it erases the half-dozen clunkers.But it's smartly funny, funnily warm, and warmly smart. The screenplay does some clever things with swapping the protagonists' wants and needs at crucial times. Molly will have an obvious drive that overrides Amy's fear, and then a few scenes later, there will be an organic reversal. 44. Joker (Todd Phillips)- Joker presents more ideas than it cogently lands. I don't disagree with Amanda Dobbins's burn that it feels more like a vision board than a coherent story. Still, its success kind of fascinates me. This dark provocation, shot on real locations, has way more in common with Phoenix entries like You Were Never Really Here than it does with the DCEU. In fact, the comic book shoehorns feel like intrusions into a story about a guy who likes to Jame Gumb skinny-dance. Dunk on me if you want, but I think it's most eerie and affecting as a portrait of mental illness. Whereas Joker is a criminal mastermind in Batman lore, this is a guy helpless enough to scrawl into a notebook, "The worst part about having a mental illness is pretending to people that you don't." And that idea gets borne out in a scene in which he's pausing and rewinding a tape to study how a talk show guest sits and waves like a regular person. It's rare enough to see a person this mentally ill depicted on screen; it's even rarer to see someone this aware of his own isolation and otherness.

[dmitri-smerdyakov]

Walter x Daniels - Headcanons (Part 2)

@walter-daniels

Okay, guys, so some of these headcanons are a little bit NSFW…not too graphic, but…it’s mentioned.

(PART 1 HERE – Not necessary to read, but it might help!)

*

As the days become weeks and weeks become months, Daniels starts wearing Walter’s hoodies – she used to wear a lot of Jacob’s clothes, and she still does sometimes, but now she takes comfort from being buried in one of Walter’s grey hoodies that smell of him (and she didn’t know that androids could have smells, but Walter’s is a nice one)

Unlike David, who tried to create fauna, Walter grows flora – plants. He has his own little section near the cabin he shares with Daniels, growing plants for consumption and because they had to aesthetic of the area. He creates new variations of plants and flowers – and he wonders if this means he’s like David, a chilling thought. Daniels assures him he’s nothing like David – she has nightmares of David and his rough touch, of his hideous creations, but Walter calms and protects her.

It doesn’t take long for the colonists to notice that they’re in a relationship – and not all of them are exactly approving of it. While Walter is a friendly and useful synthetic, that’s all he is to them: a robot, a machine, a tool – the idea that the captain who lost her husband is in a relationship with a machine is unnatural to many of them. Tennessee is the only one who expresses the slightest bit of acceptance – and it’s merely a knowing grin and a wink at Daniels.

One of the colonists, a builder named Richard, has had a bit of a thing for Daniels since they landed; his ex-wife was one of the ones who had died during the neutrino burst that killed Branson and many others. A few widowed colonists had gotten together out of loneliness, and Richard thinks that it’s likely he can get with Daniels because they’ve both lost spouses. Daniels, of course, puts off his requests for dinner or spending time together as politely as she can, but it grates on her just a bit.

When it’s found out and spread among the colony that Daniels is in a relationship with Walter of all people (“if he can really be considered a person,” Someone snorts), Richard the builder is not happy. He’s aggressive in nearly everything he does, overconfident and cocky – so he approaches Walter while the synthetic is tending to the colony’s crops one afternoon. Walter just frowns when this man starts firing snarling insults at him, seemingly unfazed – he’s not programmed to feel upset really, though something starts to nag on him in the back of his circuits.

Daniels, on the other hand, is angry when she comes along to see how Walter is doing; she’s only an inch or so shorter than Richard (she’s always been tall, and it suddenly seems to come in handy) and she has no trouble in shoving him away. “I’m not interested!” She snaps, and the fire in her voice sends this man practically running.

Later that night, in their cabin, Daniels is attempting to teach Walter how to make carbonara sauce (unsuccessfully) when he quietly questions if this is really what she wants. (“Yeah, I like this stuff, I guess,” She shrugs off, not understanding. Walter frowns and says, “No, I mean us.”) He reminds her that she is a human and he is not – while he does feel some things for her that an android shouldn’t necessarily feel, perhaps she would be better off with someone who can reciprocate like she needs. Forgetting about the cooking, Daniels disagrees; “I want this,” She reiterates, voice hard and firm, “If this isn’t what you want, then I don’t want to force you – you don’t have to be with me if you don’t want to.”

It’s the first kiss that Walter initiates, and it takes her back because she didn’t know he wanted her this much. When they separate, she slightly breathlessly, Walter tells her with no uncertainty that, yes, he does want this too – it’s not just him serving her or her emotional needs, but he also does want to be with her. There’s no way he’s lying, and after that kiss she’s quite sure he’s telling the truth anyway.

(The sauce is inedible when they go back to cooking, so it’s just cold spaghetti and left-over bread – but Daniels can’t bring herself to mind)

When people say things about them in front of Tennessee that are less-than-courteous, he loses his shit; he’s loyal to both Daniels and Walter, he would protect them both because they’re not just fellow crew but his friends. He’s on their side, and Daniels is extremely thankful for that because even if she doesn’t care what the colonists think about her relationship, it’s nice to have a friend siding with her.

Of course, Daniels is only human – bearing in mind she spent several years in hyper-sleep and now two years on Origae-6, it’s literally been years since she last had sex. For a short time, she finds herself missing Jacob even more because she misses that intimacy – as much as she has grieved and learnt to heal, she still misses him and wishes he was still here.

She can’t admit this to Walter for some reason, but she lets it slip to Tennessee that she kinda misses getting laid; his only reaction is to grin, wink, and quip, “So…not anatomically correct then?” Her cheeks burn, and she just hisses that she doesn’t know, he’s always fully-clothed and she’s never bothered to ask.

(Fuckin’ Tennessee, she thinks irritably that night as she lies in bed wondering if Walter has such parts – it makes a heat burn in her belly that she attempts to ignore but can’t)

A week or so later, things get kind of heated after supper (his cooking is improving, much to her relief) and she finds herself wanting – and it slips out, “Walter, can you…? I mean, do you…? I mean…shit.” Walter misunderstands and says that, no, he cannot “shit” – she hurriedly amends and asks if he has “certain parts”. It takes a moment for it to click and he asks if she means “does he have male genitalia”; she nods, face burning bright red. He confirms that, yes, he does have male parts – though he’s not exactly sure why, if he’s being honest…perhaps to make A.I.s closer to humans anatomically and therefore easier to accept/trust, he muses.

They go over the semantics of it; yes, he does suppose that he could have sexual intercourse with her, he’s not too sure if he’ll be pleasured exactly but there are sensory receptors there as well as all over his body so perhaps he might, and he’s never thought too much about it – he’s a synthetic and he doesn’t exactly have sexual needs like humans and other creatures do. He affirms that he will do his best to make sure she’s satisfied either way (she would be far more satisfied if he was too, she thinks but doesn’t say)

There must have been an ulterior motive when Weyland-Yutani created these androids because holy shit, is it amazing – it’s perhaps the best sex she’s had (even if it took a short time for him to learn and adapt his technique properly). To her delight, Walter looks rather pleased by it too – he doesn’t think he’s short-circuited or anything, but it did feel rather good for him.

The next day, Daniels goes to meet Tennessee – he takes one look at the grin on her face, the spring in her step, and cheers aloud that she got laid, much to the shock of everyone around.

(“Geez, Danny, I think I might need to get me one of them,” He jokes, correctly assuming that the experience was enjoyable)

After that, Walter actually starts spending entire nights in the bed with her – and he’s warm, of course (laptops and other equipment get heated, so it makes sense that he does too), a firm body for her to sleep next to. She doesn’t feel alone – it’s not even sex, though the nights that happens are great, it’s just his presence next to her.

As the years pass, it becomes increasingly obvious that Walter is extremely good with the children in the colony; he plays dolls with the little girls without question when their fathers will not, he watches over football and basketball games with a medi-kit at the ready in case a child falls, and sometimes sweet treats for them all if he can. (chocolates aren’t exactly a common thing on the planet, but when the colonists find ways of making it then he makes sure he has some stowed away for the children). When the children gets sick, he easily assesses if they need a colony doctor or if it’s an ailment best combatted with tea and rest – it cuts the time-wasting by a lot.

When she had been in cryosleep, she had dreamt of Jacob making his plans for their new life*; it had been assumed that, eventually, they would have children someday. While not particularly maternal, it had still been a part of her plans and something she had been looking forward to. She finds herself watching the children, particularly when they’re around Walter, her heart aching in her chest.

Walter notices the lingering looks and stares, how she quickly looks away, and asks her about it one night; “I have the parts,” He reminds her carefully, “But I can’t give you that. I cannot procreate.” He asks if perhaps she would be happier with someone who can give her children, someone who actually has the ability to procreate: he worries that this means she will miss out on something she wants in life, something necessary or natural to humans. Daniels doesn’t care – she and Jacob would have had children, granted, but it’s not the most important thing in this world to her. She’s just happy with his companionship really.

A few days later, Daniels remembers something important; there were over a thousand embryos on the ship, and not all of them have been used (many couples are having their own children naturally) – most are still frozen and in cold-storage somewhere. She tells Walter that they don’t need to be able to create a child the usual way because they can adopt one of the embryos that had been on the ship…she wants to adopt one of the embryos with him.

Walter, however, begins to argue as logically as he can; an android cannot be a parent, he tells her, he cannot because human children would benefit from a human father, particularly if they share DNA (that is what he has concluded from reading multiple studies anyway). He tries to argue that an android such as himself would not be a fit parent for a human child.

By this point, Daniels has had enough and snaps at him just a bit; he’s being ridiculous, his whole argument is “a load of shit”, and she’s seen how he interacts with the children on Origae-6 – they adore Walter, they adore him and love him like he’s some kind of uncle or friend. Equally, she’s seen how he has a fondness for each and every one of the colony’s children – he loves how they’re so different and so easily fascinated by the things he says.

After this, Walter cannot think of a decent argument – she’s right, and nothing he comes up with in his head even sound logical in response. Then Daniels deflates a little, calms down, and tells him that she won’t force him – that’s the last thing she wants. She merely thinks that it would be a good idea, that it’s something they would both love and take care of; it has to be a mutual agreement, not her ordering him to side with her. He says that he will consider it.

A month passes and they don’t speak of it; one night, they are in bed together – Daniels is just about to drift off, wrapped around her lover as he silently reads with one arm around her, when she hears his voice in the darkness. “You were right…I would like for us to have a baby, should you still agree”. She’s so astounded that she jolts up, completely awake, and he has to repeat himself – and then she’s kissing him, a laugh bubbling out of her chest because this is the best news she’s heard in a long time.

(“Usually couples are married before they begin procreating,” He muses the following morning as they discuss things, but she just rolls her eyes.)

It takes some time – despite the fact they’ve been together for years and their relationship is now accepted, it takes some convincing for the doctors to agree to go through with it. (And, admittedly, everyone knows that Tennessee wouldn’t be afraid to kick some ass if it meant getting it done). Then there is the other matter of actually getting it to work – it’s not easy to implant embryos, it can take a few tries, and it does take a few months before it finally happens.

(Walter is relieved when it does, mostly because he doesn’t like knowing that Daniels is upset every month when it doesn’t work, that she’s worried she’s missed her chance even if she won’t admit it)

Things do not go smoothly. At all. Walter has to look after Daniels when the bleeding starts, as she’s sobbing from pain that’s both physical and emotional; the doctors cannot do anything, and even he knows from his research that there’s nothing to be done. It’s not this that bothers him the most – it’s the fact that Daniels, the woman who has lost so much already, must lose this too…she is plagued with loss, and even he sees that this is unfair.

They wait a few months before giving it another try, to make sure that time has healed the worst of the pain; it takes just two more tries before the doctors smile and congratulate them once more.

Walter gave great advice to the other women who had been pregnant – but with Daniels, who has already had a loss, he maybe overdoes it slightly. She rolls her eyes fondly because she knows he’s trying to help, but she can still walk, thanks very much; she’s not going to hurt herself or the baby walking to the greenhouses either, and she certainly doesn’t need him to carry her when she’s only a month or so along.

When she gets bigger, she does admittedly take him up on that offer – she really dislikes how her feet have swollen and how she’s all puffy and fat. Walter says nothing, saying that he does not associate these things as unattractive but merely as a sign of late pregnancy – perfectly normal, he assures her. (“I know it’s normal, but I still hate it!” She groans. Tennessee has to hide his sniggering at the sight of her waddling and complaining, but she doesn’t take it to heart)

Her water breaks shortly after midnight in early-December and it’s chaos; she argues that she doesn’t want to go to the main town in the colony where the doctors are, that it would be far more poetic and natural if she gave birth in the cabin (a part of her feels it’s what Jake would have wanted, admittedly). She regrets this within the space of twenty minutes.

Walter doesn’t take her anguished screams too seriously – he’s seen birthing mothers in the colony exactly two-hundred-and-eleven times in the past several years, and it’s not new to him. He coaxes her gently, constantly checking her cervix and the position of the baby so that he can be ready to catch them – thankfully the baby is indeed head-first and not breech, because he’s not sure that he can deal with such an event alone or without the proper medical equipment.

The baby is born and it screams and cries and flings it’s limbs about in the cold air. Daniels is so relieved that the baby is safe that she doesn’t notice Walter cutting the chord or even the after-birth because the baby is okay. Before he hands her the baby, Walter swaddles it expertly and announces that it’s a boy.

Tennessee visits the following afternoon, the news having spread at this point after Walter was spotted taking baby supplies, and Daniels thinks he’s the one about to cry. “You’re Uncle Tee now,” Daniels comments, smiling at him, and Tennessee honestly doesn’t want to put the kid down.

It’s Walter who suggests that they name him Jacob – she’s so shocked that she can’t help but ask why he thinks they should give their son that name. He just says that it would be to honour the man who was once the captain, the reason Daniels even went on the mission anyway – a way for her to honour her late-husband. Perhaps it’s not what would be considered traditional or normal, given their situation, but she agrees whole-heartedly.

Amusingly, Walter is the one who suggests another baby two years later: “Studies have shown that children who grow up with siblings are more likely to develop efficient social skills” and even though the thought of being puffy and waddling again makes her cringe she still finds herself agreeing.

This one is a girl, tiny and somewhat quieter than her brother; Daniels suggests the name ‘Maggie’, after a dear friend. Furthermore, the baby girl takes to her Uncle Tennessee immediately, even when he’s choking up after hearing her name.

Honestly, Daniels and Walter are just very happy together on Origae-6 and no one will convince me otherwise.

*

*this is actually something that occurs in the novelisation, and children are mentioned in that section:

“it was something she looked forward to. A bit of mutual countenance inscribing. Part of me in your face, part of you in mine. Living together, growing together. Wife, husband, and eventually, children.”

So I think it’s safe to assume that Branson and Daniels might have had children, should all have gone well…

“Maggie” is Faris’ first name, I’m assuming? I mean, in the film Daniels says to Tennessee, “Maggie’s gone” so I’m assuming that’s her name in some capacity.