#I took shannon's inspiration for most of these

[thatssomuchlove]

Fic-O-Ween Day 10

Characters by the lovely @lumosinlove and fest organized by @noots-fic-fests!!

Prologue for a Stardust AU (a sort of hodge-podge of book and movie) featuring the one and only Ramsey O'Hara:

Ramsey’s scrap of sanity was getting pretty threadbare. He loved his son dearly; he loved his wailing and crying son so dearly, but he was going crazy. He knew that losing his wife in childbirth was just as tough on his baby as it was on him (he hadn’t loved her like the storybooks say, but it was a practical match and they really were very good friends), but god he just hadn’t had a break in over a year. That’s why Ramsey had written to his sister to come stay with him for a little bit. He needed the company, he needed the help, and he desperately needed the pot of tea she was making for them in the kitchen. Alex had quieted down by the time Shannon brought their teacups to the sitting room where Ramsey was bouncing him in his arms. He breathed a quiet word of thanks to his sister before sitting down in his armchair with one arm around Alex where the baby was now sleeping on his chest and the other raising the tea to his lips.

“Ramsey, darling, you look exhausted,” Shannon started.

“Ah, well I can’t imagine why,” Ramsey responded before taking a sip from his teacup. She just gave him a look over the rim of hers.

“How about I take him for a bit? You need some fresh air,” his sister suggested.

Ramsey clutched Alexander a little tighter. The boy may wear him out, but he needed Alex as much as Alex needed him, if not more. His child was the last piece of his wife that he had left, and sometimes letting him go felt impossible.

“I am perfectly capable of putting him down,” Shannon added with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes, all right.” But Ramsey was slow to get up and hand Alex over. He really was such a sweet baby. Those huge brown eyes framed by dark red lashes could bend Ramsey’s will on anything, and he felt their pull even while they were closed peacefully. He grabbed his coat then bid them goodbye with a kiss to his sister’s cheek and his baby’s soft, sweet-smelling head. Right before he was out the door, he turned back to the people that mattered most in his life. “Thank you, Shannon.”

She just smiled and waved him off, and Ramsey stepped out into the cool autumn night air and shut the door softly behind him. He looked up at the stars, fainter in the glow of his porch lamps, and chose a direction. After passing the last house on the lane, he almost stopped dead in his tracks when he felt an urge—the first in a long time—to whistle a tune. Ramsey also felt himself being inexplicably drawn to the wall that inspired the name of his town. It was one of the rare Market Days at the beginning of November. He had rented out one of the rooms in his house to a curious man in a black silk top hat because the inn always filled up very fast, and it was considered rude if the townsfolk did not offer up their homes to the visitors—for acceptable payment of course (though what was considered acceptable varied greatly with this strange lot; Ramsey was currently being paid both in coin and the promise of his and his progenies’ Heart’s Desire). He was only comfortable leaving Shannon alone in the house because he knew that his mysterious tenant always stayed out in the Faerie Market all night. Ramsey had never been to the Market, as he had moved from Ireland less than three years ago. Escaping the growing food scarcity, he started working for sheep farmers in Wall to send money back to his family. He became good friends with the farmer’s eldest daughter; and very quickly, he and Daisy were expected to marry, so they did. They had Alex a year into their marriage, and just like that, she was gone. His in-laws generally took care of Alex while he was working, but he still hadn’t expected to have the time nor the energy to see the Market. However, something about this opportunity that would end tonight and not come again for nine years was suddenly irresistible.

When Ramsey emerged from the tree line to see the wall guarded by none other than Mad-Eye Moody himself, he was surprised to find no one passing through either way. Still, he nodded to Moody and attempted to go through the crumbling gap in the wall before his chest bumped into the cane that Moody had thrust out in front of him.

“You can’t pass through the wall, O’Hara,” Moody said in his rough, gravelly voice.

“Why but it is a Market Day,” Ramsey responded with his eyebrows pinched together.

Moody stared at him hard, “yes, but I only let people through midday to dusk. It is not safe over there after nightfall.”

“Oh,” Ramsey knew that Moody was not someone who could be bargained with. “Well… that sounds rather final. Better just go home then, I suppose.” Ramsey turned around to make it appear that he was heeding Moody’s warning, but that last strand of sanity had finally snapped.

“Good,” Moody started walking back to his seat off to the side of the gap. He wasn’t fast enough to stop Ramsey when the young man suddenly turned back around and sprinted towards the wall, leaping through the gap and not stopping to the shouts of “wait!” and “O’HARA!” that followed him into the forest on the other side of the wall. Ramsey knew that Moody would not leave his post, but he didn’t stop running to catch his breath until he was well into the trees.

The Faerie Market lay outside the town that served as a magical counterpart to Wall. He could hear the hawking of wares and music from instruments he could not identify as he moved closer to the orange glow filtering through the forest. Ramsey did not want to look like a tourist, but he felt like his eyes held the same naïve wonderment as his son’s when he finally entered the Market. Some of the stalls were already closed up as it was past normal hours, but there were still plenty of people selling wild things like parts from animals he had never heard of and bottles of swirling clouds and sweet-smelling food (that he knew very well not to take thanks to his Maimeó). He felt almost in a trance as he wandered the winding rows of stalls until sharp awareness flooded back as he beheld the most beautiful woman he had ever seen standing behind a table of small glass flowers that chimed delicately. She had long curly auburn hair hanging loose over bare shoulders and past the neckline of her blue dress with ruffled skirts. Her violet eyes and pointed ears alerted his brain that she could be dangerous, but his heart told him that it didn’t matter.

She caught him staring, “See anything you like?”

It was then that the man with the black silk top hat passed by, though Ramsey did not notice his presence or whisper of a debt being paid in full.

“Definitely,” Ramsey breathed. He could not stop looking at the woman, and when she smiled in response, he lost all higher brain function. He averted his eyes to the flowers and stammered, “they- they are very lovely,” and he picked up a violet that seemed to sing as he held it, “how much?”

“We don’t take money at this stall.”

Ramsey cocked his head, “what do you take?”

“I could take the pattern of freckles on your cheeks… or your memories of the rain. I could even take your ability to smell fresh baked bread or the spice of autumnal air.”

Ramsey put down the flower, feeling a little out of his depth, but he would give up quite a bit just to keep talking to her.

“What is your name?”

She smiled sadly, “I no longer have a name,” and she held up her skirts just enough to show a silver chain tied around her ankle, “I am a slave, and the name I had was taken from me by the witch-woman who owns this stall.”

Ramsey tried not to let too much of his horror show on his face, “And you are her slave forever?”

“No, not forever. But the conditions in which I gain my freedom are not so easily met. My mistress lured me out of my father’s lands and caught me many years ago. I dream of the day that I can return to them as a free woman.” The young woman, who had been looking out unseeing into the middle distance, returned her gaze to Ramsey, “Will you buy a flower from me, young master?”

“My name is Ramsey,” he told her, having been enraptured by her sad tale and forgetting that one must be careful with names in the land of Faerie. He gave the table another look and picked up a white snowdrop that he knew Alex would like. “And what would this cost me?”

“That one would cost a kiss, just here on my cheek,” and she tapped it coyly.

Ramsey grinned at her, “oh that I will pay gladly,” and he kissed the soft skin of her cheek. He felt the overwhelming desire to linger and continue breathing in the inviting, magical scent of the woman, but he pulled away and searched her unusual violet eyes.

“Will you stay awhile? My mistress will not be back for some time,” she asked.

The quickness with which Ramsey started nodding made him pause, “I feel as if I am under some sort of spell.”

Her laugh was even more wondrous than her smile. “You are under no spell, pretty boy,” and she led him to sit in the grass between the painted caravan and her table of wares.

They both looked up at the stars in the clearing between the trees, and Ramsey could not help but remark on the unidentifiable difference to the ones he saw mere hours ago on his side of the wall, “these stars, they seem like… more.”

The woman beside him (she was so close, but he could feel the inches between them so distinctly) hummed melodically and asked, “What are your stars like?”

She looked at him as he struggled to name the difference, “They are beautiful.” He met her gaze and his breath caught, “But everything feels so much more alive here.”

“What about you? Do you feel more alive?”

He didn’t tell her about the challenges he was facing back home—grief, loneliness, homesickness—but he had a feeling she knew anyway. “I think I do,” he whispered and brought a hand to the cheek that he had kissed. He leaned in, and she brought her mouth to his. The desire that Ramsey had felt from that first kiss on her cheek multiplied tenfold, and it felt only natural when she led him through the small door of the yellow caravan.

~

When Shannon scolded him and told him she was this close to forming a search party at the late hour that he finally returned to his home, Ramsey made up some story to placate her and quickly fell into bed (but not before placing the snowdrop carefully on his bedside table), utterly exhausted and strangely content.

~

Nine months later, Ramsey received a surprise in a basket delivered by Moody to his doorstep after hearing a knock at dinner time. The surprise had a little bit of fuzzy red hair and startlingly familiar chocolate brown eyes when he opened them to peer up at Ramsey curiously.

Moody stated gruffly, “This was left at the wall for you. It says his name is Finn.”

All Ramsey could do was stare at the man, and then at the baby.

“Dada! More, peas,” Ramsey heard from where Alex was seated in his highchair at the dinner table.

“One second, a leanbh,” Ramsey called back to Alex before taking the basket from Moody. He told the man thank you and received a grunt in response before closing the door and heading back into the dining room. He set the baby and basket onto the table and picked up the piece of paper that had “Finn Callahan O’Hara” written in looping cursive. There was also a letter and a small package addressed to Finn tucked into the side of the basket that he did not touch.

“What dat?” Alex asked, trying to peer over the edge of the basket, and while there was no written confirmation, Ramsey knew. He knew that he was going to do this again. But he didn’t feel as alone this time. He had Alex, he had his sister, and he had the people in his community, like Iva and Marius, who were always willing to help.

Ramsey gently lifted Finn into his arms and held him so that Alex could get a good look. “This is your little brother Finn,” Ramsey said to Alex and watched his eyes go wide. He then turned to the baby, who had reached out his hand at the sight of the toddler. “Finn, this is your big brother Alexander.”

At least it was going to be easier to get Alex to believe the stork story now.

[wikiangela]

✨ Fic Writing Review 2023 ✨

Words and Fics

192,761 words published to ao3

2 fandoms (911 and MCU - mcu was like one fic tho lol)

Most recent drop: I wanna spend my forever like that (911, 8.6k, G)

Longest fic: For a holiday (and forevermore) (911, 95k, M)

Top Fics by Kudos

For a holiday (and forevermore) (95k, M)

I can't love you any more (than I do now) (2.6k, G)

I'd marry you with paper rings (3.4k, G)

me, you, our kid and a dog (4.7k, G)

me and you only equals love (6.6k, E)

My fandom fic events in 2023

I don't think I took part in any this year :( maybe next year haha

Upcoming Events and Projects for 2024

well, right now I'm working on a few wips im hoping to get done in the next few weeks/months (depending on time and inspiration lol):

the alive shannon fic - this is my main focus and i hope to maybe finish it sometime next year but who knows hah (I barely started, it's gonna be a while)

buddie coffee shop au - ive been working on this for so long and it's lowkey on hold now but istg i'll finish this

buddie cheating fic

the natalia fic

married buddie smut

another smut I haven't mentioned yet but it's waiting until i finish married buddie smut

bi eddie fic

and probably some more oneshots lol

but tbh, we'll see where the next year takes me, I can't plan too much bc it never works out haha

rules & tags below the cut

tagged by @exhuastedpigeon @underwater-ninja-13 @hippolotamus @jesuisici33 @jamespearce9-1-1 @theotherbuckley @steadfastsaturnsrings @rainbow-nerdss <333

Rules: Feel free to show whatever stats you have. Only want to show Ao3 stats? Rock on. Want to include some quantitative info instead of stats? Please do this. Want to change how yours is presented? Absolutely do that. Would rather eat glass than do this? Please don’t eat glass but don’t feel like you have to do this either.

no pressure tagging: @malewifediaz @thewolvesof1998 @eddiebabygirldiaz @honestlydarkprincess @spotsandsocks @loserdiaz @lover-of-mine @disasterbuckdiaz @monsterrae1 @jeeyuns @housewifebuck @giddyupbuck @hoodie-buck @spagheddiediaz @daffi-990 and whoever else wants to <3

[shelandsorcery]

High Intensity Comic Work

So my first round of art school was a fine art degree. And I didn't really know a lot about art careers and I wasn't really sure what I WANTED to be doing, but I did kind of chafe against the "comics aren't art" vibe some teachers had. And then Shannon Gerard came and talked. And Shannon's gone on to do a lot, a LOT of really cool stuff (http://shannongerard.org) but her talk was about, or at least mentioned, how she was doing comics as part of a cross-disciplinary masters, by making them with lithographic prints. Which is, I think, a real flex. Like, it's one thing to draw a comic, and another thing to draw it backwards, soak it in chemicals, and then, one page at a time, pull the right amount of successful prints from the stone, before you could draw the next page. It still boggles my mind. Just fuckin incredible. And her process did two things - it elevated the medium to something the more traditional fine art faculty would engage with, and it also used the then popular genre of autobio/confessional comics, which probably also helped get fine art profs to connect with the project. So my memory of her talk is prettttty faded, but what it did was give me permission to be a real shit about bringing comics back into my fine art work. Clearly I just needed to use more punishing mediums! So I did. Did I have anything to say WITH those comics? No. Would that stop me? Also no. So, in my final year of art school, baby artist shel decided to paint and etch comics of the most banal shit you can think of.

I did a BUNCH of these, and if you think these painted ones are... slow and meditative....

Wait'll you see the blood, sweat and tears I poured into intaglio prints of empty spaces:

These were etched and aquatinted into copper plates, printed by wiping ink into every crevasse in the metal and then wiping all the excess ink off the face, then squeezing them through a huge heavy press, one print at a time.

That said I do still like these haunted window views inspired by taking the subway up past Yorkdale station every day for school. But oh my god the LABOUR it took to make these. Was that the secret to making them fine art? I do not know, I just know I gave it a real good try. I even screenprinted a deconstructed journal comic, god help me:

Anyways, the last piece I made this way was also the first fine art painting I ever sold, and it was titled "waiting" and it was a journal comic about doing my first Canzine alone when my teammate ditched. Painted in layers and layers of acrylic, across six canvases.

Did I use these as livejournal icons for years after? Yes. Anyways now when I feel like I'm being a bit of a try-hard, I at least know where I learned it. Oh my gosh okay I did make ONE more of these, the year after I graduated. It's very angsty.

Read the full article

[brandnulife]

RIP, Shannen Doherty (1971-2024)

"Shocked and saddened to hear about the passing of my friend Shannen. She was a force of nature and I will miss her. Sending love and light to her family in this dark time." - Jason Priestley

"I am still processing my tremendous grief over the loss of my long-time friend Shannen, the woman I have often described as one of the strongest people I have ever known. Our connection was real and honest. We were so often pitted against each other but none of that reflected the truth of our real relationship which was one built on mutual respect and admiration. She was courageous, passionate, determined, and very loving and generous. I will miss her and will always honor her deeply in my heart and in my memories. My heart breaks for her family and Bowie." - Jennie Garth

"Shan. My sister… You loved me through everything. You were a big part of my understanding of love. I’ll miss you more than I know how to process right now. Thank you for the gift of you." - Brian Austin Green

"Fuck them… is what Shan would say if I told her I felt pressure to have to summarize via social media a 36-year relationship and the grief I feel for a fire who’s flame went out too soon.

I was 15 when Shan and I met. I was the boss’s daughter with no voice and she was the star with a big voice. She took me under her wing. She gave me the belief I had a voice and was worthy. We became fast best friends. We were each others wing women, true confidantes, support systems navigating bad relationships, roommates of sorts at times, travel buddies, and so much more. She always stuck up for me. Always had my back. Always believed in me when I didn’t or couldn’t believe in myself. We were young. We let a lot of outside and inside influences influence our friendship. In a world where we often don’t get to make up with the childhood friendships that formed so much of the adult you become, we got that chance. I’m grateful @theshando and I got to go back in time as adult friends and remember why we truly loved each other to begin with. To reminisce. And, to iconically laugh again like we used to. No one could make me laugh like that. Core laughs!

She was a rebel in an era when most women didn’t feel comfortable being strong. She never tried she just was. She empowered sexiness, strength, 2 fucks given, empathy, and all topped off with wicked humor! Her sardonic humor was one of my faves. And, no one made a frito pie like Shan!

Shan… I’ll carry the torch on. Take on my power! And, I’ll stay rebellious for you. Love you with all my heart. Always. 🖤💔" - Tori Spelling

"Shannon was so young and so courageous. By sharing her journey she has helped so many. My heart goes out to her family and I know that Luke is welcoming her with open arms." - Gabrielle Carteris

"Shocked and saddened by news of Shannon Doherty’s death. What a journey she has been on! Gone too soon. Throughout, she stayed true to herself and gave us an example of courage and perseverance in facing her own death. May she rest in peace." - Carol Potter

"It’s no secret that Shannen and I had a complicated relationship, but at its core was someone I deeply respected and was in awe of. She was a talented actress, beloved by many, and the world is less without her. My condolences to all who loved her." - Alyssa Milano

"Shannen Doherty had the heart of a lion. Passion for craft is often mislabeled as trouble. Shannen was passion. I met her in the ’90s and was awed. Getting to really know her later in life, a beautiful gift. This woman fought to live. Shannen knew how to be a star because she was one since childhood. Her work ethic inspiring to the end. Shannen’s great love for directing, for acting, Holly, her friends, her parents, dog and her beloved fans was legendary. Our lives had been intertwined in a unique way. We laughed at dark forces who wanted us to hate each other, instead we chose love and respect. A soft-hearted badass as there ever was. A force of energy that will live forever in hearts. May angels and God carry her to the holy kingdom where she is healthy, young, and wild forever. Rest now warrior, we will never forget you, dear sister." - Rose McGowan

"Beautiful Shannen. What a warrior. Fierce talent, passionate actor, friend, advocate. She fought. My heart goes out to her family, her beloved mama, her doggy, her friends who loved her equally fiercely as she loved them. God, I’m sorry for this loss…. Rest in peace, Shannen. - Finola Hughes

"We created a special television couple for the ages. My heart goes out to your family. Rest in peace, Shannen, rest in peace." - Ted King

Very sad to hear about the passing of #ShannenDoherty. I watched and was a huge fan of 90210. And, of course, I’ll always love #Charmed, @cw_charmed both the original and reboot. My thoughts are with her family…." - Rupert Evans

"RIP, Shannen Doherty. I met her during the Full House days. She was lovely and had a beautiful smile. Today, I’ll also think about the women in my life who all succumbed to cancer - my mom, my sister, Sharon, and my niece, Shannon, who all were so strong and so beautiful. #RIPShannenDoherty #RIP" - Dave Coulier

"You showed me what strength is. You taught me to be fearless and live with purpose. To know your value and stick to your determinations. Forever loved! Truly heartbroken." - Brian Krause

"Crushed💔 I will miss you, Shannen. I got you, Sis. We just got each other. I am so glad we were cast together for a pilot back in 2004. We hit it off right away and friends since then…I was supposed to do your podcast… I was so looking forward to that… You fought so hard babe, and now it’s time for you to rest. I know you’re dancing in the sky." - Holly Robinson Peete

"RIP, Shannen Doherty. Grew up watching you in so many iconic, meaningful movies and shows. Was beyond honored and humbled and grateful that you were a part of our most special episode of #Riverdale ever. Thank you forever.💔😰💔😰🚀" - Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa

"@theshando 💔🙏" - Antonio Sabato Jr.

"My better half of 31 years. There is a hollow in my chest and I can’t seem to catch my breath. A part of me is missing even though I know exactly what you would say to me right now. I know exactly what you would tell me to do right now. I know your undying spirit will live in me and my kids who you loved as your own. They will walk with your sense of purpose and pride. They will be truthful and stand up for what is right. No matter what and zero fucks given. Your fire will live on in them and the many other Charmed ones you helped raise. A fierce fighter till the end. My most ardent champion. My loyal protector. My best friend. You taught me the meaning of family. You were and will be forevermore my sister. I love you." - Holly Marie Combs

"How do you possibly find the right words to sum up 30 years of friendship? I keep reminding myself it only hurts this much because there was so much love. Thank you, for all your kind words and support. I love all the messages about how @theshando was important to you. So let’s honor her. More than anything, Shan loves animals, especially dogs. In her memory let’s support our favorite animal charities. Whether that’s donating money , stopping by your local shelter and just offering cuddles and walks to animals housed there or even just tagging them in the comments so other people can learn about their work. I know that would make our girl happy (and illicit that deep-throaty laugh we all loved) 💔 💔💔" - Sarah Michelle Gellar

"This is the first photo I ever took of Shannen and the last photo she sent to me of us. I’ll never be able to fully articulate our relationship or what she meant to me in a social media post so I’m not going to bother trying... I can say I will miss her laugh, her wicked sense of humor and fiery spirit most of all. I’m truly heartbroken but will continue to honor her by living as she lived - with passion beyond measure, with unwavering loyalty to family and friends and most importantly, with bravery, no matter how insurmountable the challenge or obstacle appears to be.

🖤 LOVE YOU FOREVER, SHANNEN 🖤" - Drew Fuller

"Dear brave beautiful friend, may you rest in the peace of God 🕊️ We are heartbroken by the news of your passing … My deepest condolences to your beloved Mom and to Chris . All of us who were fortunate enough to know you and love you and call you friend will miss you terribly . You were a bright light in all our lives. Rest in Peace, dear Shannen 🕊️ 🙏#shannendoherty" - Roma Downey

"I worked with Shannon a few years ago on a film called The Fortress directed by my friend @jamescullenb I didn’t know her well. She was humble, funny, and professional. My sincere condolences to her family and friends. She was a talent and a fighter. May she rest in peace." - Sean Kanan

"FOX mourns the loss of our friend Shannen Doherty. We're grateful for the talent and light she brought to FOX, especially through her role in Beverly Hills, 90210, which cemented her place among television royalty. Shannen's legacy will be remembered and celebrated forever." - FOX Television Network

"Deeply saddened to hear of Shannen’s passing. I treasure my time working with her on 90210. She always brought her huge talent, her wicked sense of humor, and her big heart to every moment. My heart goes out to her wonderful family and friends. She will be sorely missed." - Jim Eckhouse

"I am absolutely heartbroken over the passing of Shannen Doherty. When I was first diagnosed with breast cancer I remembered how she bravely let the world into her journey and I reached out to her. We became instant friends- which I honestly couldn’t comprehend at times because watching her on ‘Beverly Hills, 90210’ was everything to me when I was 10. (Shannen Doherty as Brenda Walsh is and was and will always be an icon.)

We bonded through a shared battle and a desire to help other women. Looking back on the last text she sent me just a couple months ago, she asked how I was doing and if she could do anything for me…. True to form, Shannen was offering her support even though she was in the final stage of fighting this horrific disease.

Cancer is really fucking scary and Shannen faced it with such dignity, strength and grace.

I’m sending all of my love to her mother who was her best friend, hero and champion every step of the way.

Fly so high, my friend. 💔💔💔💔" - Olivia Munn

"I grew up watching Shannen Doherty, and years later I got the amazing chance to work with her in Mallrats and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Loved her in Charmed, a favorite of mine. Truly sad that she is now gone, may you rest in peace 💔" - Jason Mewes

"Long before any other pop culture figure “broke the internet” @theshando singlehandedly shattered it in the early 90’s. This is an incredible accomplishment considering the internet as we know it didn’t even exist yet. I (and the rest of the known universe) used to watch “the girl from #heathers” every week on @beverlyhills90210. I usually did so while jockeying the register at @quickstopgroceries - so it was ironic that the film I’d eventually make there would lead to #shannendoherty. @malcolm.ingram is most responsible for Shannen being in #mallrats. When I told him my next flick was essentially “Clerks in a Mall”, Malcolm insisted “Then you gotta cast Doherty! She’s an American icon!” That she was, and so much more. Shannen was a true talent and she became a good friend, but lest anyone forget, she was the only reason Mallrats got green-lit in 1995. That’s because Shannen was one of the most famous people on the planet - and the fact that she picked Mallrats as her first follow-up to 90210 *made* that movie happen. I cherish the memories of Shannen walking her German Shepherd around the @edenprairiecenter every morning, or whenever she’d gossip and giggle between takes. At the junket for Rats, we established a ritual we kept up for years, where she wrote “dick” over my half of our @filmthreat cover while I wrote “bitch” over her pic. But while Shannen was no shrinking violet and she gave as good as she got (particularly to the paparazzi), she was never anything but sweet to me. I told her back in December when I was on her podcast that I felt like the girl I used to watch on TV at Quick Stop was there to welcome me when I got into show business. Fuck… She’s died way too soon. I already miss you, Do-Do. Thank you for going to the Mall with me - and for thirty years of friendship. My Canadian pal was right: you are (and always will be) an American icon. #KevinSmith - Kevin Smith

"Gone too soon! I didn't know Shannen, but I knew a lot of her friends and I was a huge fan growing up. From Heathers to 90210, she had my respect for her talent and choices. She will be missed but her influence will carry on. Rest well!" - Melissa Joan Hart

"I had the great pleasure of working with Shannen Doherty a few years ago in Canada- she was smart and funny, and super talented. Then later I happened to run into her on a night I received some of the worst news of my life and she was there for me like a rock. I also consulted her on dog rescue issues. She was a strong, beautiful human being and I am thankful for the times we shared on this earth. Rest in Peace." - Mira Sorvino

"RIP @theshando 🕊️💔

When I first booked 90210, I remember walking on set on the first day and feeling a bit nervous, especially during the drug scenes. But Shannen was always so supportive and encouraging, instantly putting me at ease. She made the experience truly special. ❤️ Working with her was such a gift." - Jessica Lowndes

"We lost a beautiful soul and member of the Lifetime family today. Shannen Doherty’s legacy of strength and resilience will forever inspire us. Rest in peace." - Lifetime Television Network

"Shannen, I was a huge fan of yours before we worked together, and an even bigger fan of yours after. I’m so happy to have had that time with you and still have this sweet note you wrote me. Now you rest. Condolences to your friends and family. This ICON will be truly missed🙏🏽🕊️ #ShannenDoherty" - Reagan Gomez

"She was a warrior and inspired us all. She taught us how to be brave in the face of fear, and how to start a new life, even when the end was in sight.

I was inspired by #shannendoherty when we met while I was still hosting @thetalkcbs. She had a peace in her eyes that I admired. She never gave up living or fighting for her life, even though you could see she had come to terms with her own mortality. The courage it takes to be able to see your own ending while living your life with passion and your warrior spirit front and center is not easy… I wish her eternal peace, that she rests easy now, knowing she inspired so many of us.

Rest in Peace. #ripshannendoherty Thank you for your courage and for sharing that strength with us all. @theshando" - Carrie Ann Inaba

"Very sad about the passing of Shannen Doherty. She was an extremely cool gal and a force. Really enjoyed getting to work together. She was a total pro. And, in our conversations, I always felt the fighter she was and showed herself to be in the years after. Very admirably so.

I hadn’t seen her in a handful of years, but, when we ran into each other last, we reflected on the unique adventure we had filming in New Zealand. We shot there for over a month on a film called Kiss Me Deadly. It was the first gay spy film, and we had a great time doing it. (I also remember, as a big Indiana Jones fan, geeking out that we were working with John Rhys Davies. I can’t recall now whether it was as impactful for Shannen. :))

There were plenty of fun facts and moments, but my one of my favorites was discovering her secret passion for World of Warcraft. (It’s been mentioned out there in the world at this point.) It was a hugely popular online interactive role-play game at the time. I remember being impressed that she brought her separate gaming computer all the way to NZ to play it. She was leading a mission with a team of folks from around the world who had no idea that it was actually @theshando leading them because she was using her online handle. Although she said she suspected that some might be cluing in. Among her many other qualities, it was a unique, fun, and little known aspect that I found really endearing. (Especially as a fellow fantasy fiction and role play gaming aficionado.)

Rest in peace, Shannen. And thank you for sharing your journey so openly with the world. You made it better for doing so." - Robert Gant

[spotsandsocks]

@elvensorceress Hi Jen, Happy birthday my lovely. I hope the day is fun and kind to you, bringing many good things your way.

I’ve just scribbled down a little offering to lay at your feet as a gift, inspired by your wonderful talent and gifts to the world of Demi!eddie fics. I’ll tidy it up and send to ao3 too as a gift to you but for now please forgive any typos or errors. Hope you enjoy this mini ficlit. You’re so inspirational I even have a title without having to think about it so please enjoy 683 words of 💕🌸An Unexpected Love🌸💕

There he goes again, walking past with a smile and for fuck’s sake this time a wink.

It’s really not fair. He shouldn't have to suffer like this. Except Eddie knows life isn’t really meant to be fair. If it was he wouldn’t be having a prolonged existential crisis about his best friend.

And if life was fair it wouldn’t be getting worse.

He’s never been one to lose his head over a pretty face, male or female. He’s never understood that instant burst of attraction or the sudden desire that seems to take over some people. Sure some people look nice enough, pretty eyes, kind smile, technically attractive in all the right ways that people tend to agree on the concept.

Buck looked absolutely normal the first time he met him. Nothing special, just a guy, a stroppy frat boy type guy actually, then he became a nice guy, pleasant looking, a good partner and then he became a fucking miracle, something he never thought he’d have in his life. A friend, a partner, someone to have his back and he looked like every desire Eddie didn’t know he had.

It took years but one day he’d looked and he’d realised that Buck was the most beautiful person he’d ever seen and he keeps getting more attractive too, year after year the more special he becomes the more attractive he gets.

Right now, he’s fucking gorgeous and Eddie wants him in a way he’s really not used to. He remembers feeling like this with Shannon at the start but it didn’t last as long, all their problems washed the feelings away.

He’s wanted Buck for so long now and it shows no signs of stopping. Sometimes he thinks he’s used to it. Sometimes. Except he forgets; when he’s away from Buck for a little while he forgets how much he likes his face and so when he sees him again he has to go through this whole fluttery business of taking in his face remembering all over again, how much he loves him, wants him, feel his heart skip and his stomach flip. It’s really quite unfair, he’s far too old and sensible for this kind of thing.

Buck’s on the other side of the room right now looking fucking edible and smiling at him with a look in his eye that been getting more obvious.

Eddie stares back, god he’s staring right back and he can’t hide it anymore. He doesn’t even want to.

Buck cocks his head, holding his eyes and his smile twists, and then he chuckles softly and he blushes!

God Damn it he’s blushing and that is too much. One man can’t be allowed to be that pretty and not get kissed.

Buck looks like he wants to get kissed. Like he wants to get kissed by Eddie.

Eddie stomach flips on a cocktail of desire and hope and love. Shit he’s far too old for this nonsense. Buck’s looking at him like he’s waiting, has been waiting for something forever.

So Eddie’s feet decide enough is enough and that he’s far too old to wait any longer either. He crosses the room towards an unexpected love that came into his life and stayed and now he gets to have and keep it forever.

It’s hard to believe he got so lucky but he did because Buck is moving too. His friend, his love, knows him so well that he sees the decision on his face and just like he always has Buck knows just what he needs and meets him halfway.

They reach each other in the middle of the room and his beloved idiot smiles with his lip caught between his teeth and says hi.

Eddie’s never wanted anything more and he can have it.

He reaches out and pulls Buck close with a sigh of relief and Buck leans into the kiss with very satisfying enthusiasm and just like the first day he looked at his best friend and realised he was unexpectedly in love with him the world changes and becomes a little bit better

[simillionaire]

007 Creative Agency – Greg Burgess (Graphic Designer), Shannon Knight (Creative Strategist), Chester Estrada (Art Director), Estelle Williams (Creative Producer), Patrick Ellis (Copywriter), Viola Flowers (Account Manager).

In celebration of entering my creative agency bag, I felt inspired to create the team of a small digital agency. Top row (left to right): Greg is a timid but vibrant graphic designer. He started his career producing digital social content for pennies and eventually met Estelle online. She took a chance on him, and his talents have flourished since. Shannon is Estelle's best friend and former roommate. She was employee 2, lending her unique perspective on brand development to the establishing projects of the agency. Chester is the most recent hire on the team, and undeniably grossly overpaid (thought he would argue that he is making a humbling amount). Not only is he one of the most cutting-edge and remarkable creative minds in the brand space, but his level of professional recognition has brought undeniable traffic to the agency – making his occasional outbursts and odd requests minor in the grand scheme of things. Bottom row (left to right): Estelle is the founder of the agency, taking the courageous leap towards unionizing after 5 years in-house at what she thought was her dream job. Not only did she convince some of the company's hottest talent to jump ship and join forces, but she also has built one of the most dynamic up-and-coming agencies in just 3 years. Patrick was one of the early members of the team, leaving his dream job alongside Estelle to invest in her dream. This comes as no surprise to anyone who has witnessed their passionate banter and existential discussions that could last hours if you let them. Starting out as a meek and kind intern, Viola was the first person to make Estelle realize the impact she's made in the design space. Viola's blind adoration for the agency not only stroked Estelle's ego but has remained a constant reminder of the community her agency has created beyond standard client relationships. In her two years at the agency, Viola has scaled from part-time intern all the way to full-time account manager.

WCIFs coming once I reach 250 followers on Tumblr

[manyfandomocs]

OC Introductions

Alright here's some new OCs plus a bonus one that conceptualized as I was writing these out whoops (and I'm gonna tag @daughter-of-melpomene since Dolly knew about a little about Aimee and gave me literally all 4 FCs for the 911/911 Lone Star ocs)

OUAT

Aimee Grimard (Charithra Chandran FC), Gabriella Lang ship. Known as Elisabeth Barbot in the Enchanted Forest, her father was a merchant that angered the Evil Queen and her home was burned down and his ship was lost at seat. They had to move to the countryside and work on a farm, where she explored in the woods and found a deserted castle where she met Suzanna. In Storybrooke, she lives and works on the docks, helps out at Granny's and does storytime sometimes for Mary Margaret. When the curse is broken, she remembers Gabriella but Gabriella doesn't remember her

9-1-1

Rowan Buckley (Jake Borelli FC), Josh Russo ship. A cousin to Maddie born a year after Daniel, he also wasn't a bone marrow match. So when his parents died and his aunt and uncle took him in just after Daniel passed, he was also sworn to secrecy to never talk about him. He and Buck weren't very close when they were young as their parents focused more on Rowan as the replacement son for Daniel and Rowan was always very unsure how to be around his cousin, Maddie was pretty much their in between. When he was 18, he left home to go to college for pre-med (inspired by everything that happened with Daniel) and moved to Los Angeles, only really talking to his parents and occasionally Maddie until those talks stopped too. Then when he transfers hospitals, he meets Firefighter Buckley for the first time in years.

Kaeden Duan (Harry Shum Jr. FC), Evan Buckley & Eddie Diaz ship. Born and raised in San Francisco, he spent most of his childhood raising his little sister since their parents weren't around like, at all. She lived with him as soon as he was 18 though he was training to be an EMT at the time. Then Alyssa got into college in LA and he moved with her, which leads to him meeting the 118

9-1-1: Lone Star

Mariana Diaz (Jaina Lee Ortiz FC), Marjan Marwani ship. Though her brother Eddie was always her hero and she missed him while he was in Afghanistan, she knew he was having problems. Especially after Shannon left him and Christopher. So, she encouraged him to leave Texas. Screw their parents. And Mariana, she threw herself into her work after that. Fighting fires, that's what she was good at. And then Owen Strand calls her. Her captain knew him and when he was looking to rebuild the 126, he recommended her transfer. So she accepted.

Melody Lau (Melissa O'Neil FC), Paul Strickland ship. Ever since she was young, Melody knew she wanted to help people. But her family couldn't afford to send her to college so, she looked to the police academy. She passed with flying colors, her only issue was getting employment. Melody started applying anywhere she could, and Austin was the only one that accepted with enough time for her to move. She quickly became friends with Carlos Reyes, and soon meets the 126

The Bright Sessions

Lucas Bramwell (Cody Christian FC), Caleb Michaels ship. A Class B, Level 6 Atypical, he has the ability to control plants. He's been with Dr. Bright for about six months now after being recommended by Agent Green, he does go to school with Caleb but neither have realized the other is an atypical or a patient of Dr. Bright's as he typically stays away from sports and they only share a couple of classes. After he meets Chloe when he's touring her college, he slowly gets more involved in what the AM is really doing and with Caleb

Aurora Decker (Danielle Campbell FC), Samantha Barnes & Mark Bryant ship. A Class C, Level 8 Atypical, she has the ability to turn invisible. She's a recent patient of Dr. Bright's after she saw her ad, Aurora has always had a hard time controlling her ability which has caused her to have problems in her job. She meets Sam with Dr. Bright's plan to sneak into the AM and they grow closer while on the road trip to look for Mark.

Billie Foster (Alexandra Daddario FC), Robert Gorham Damien ship. A Class A, Level 5 Atypical, she has the ability of clairvoyance. An older patient of Dr. Bright's, she's helped her get her level down a lot and while Billie probably could get away with stopping her sessions, she's almost afraid to for reasons she doesn't say. She meets Damien when he's waiting around after her session to see Dr. Bright and though Billie didn't like him at first, he kept finding her and talking to her

Laurence Mercer (Tyler Hoechlin FC), Robert Gorham Damien ship. A non-atypical that works for the AM under the name Agent Poirot, he gets moved from DC to Boston to work with Agent Green and through that he unintentionally meets Dr. Bright. But it's through an accidental meeting with Chloe at a coffee shop that he ends up meeting Damien, who initially dislikes him and Laurence tries to keep a distance, but it doesn't quite work for the two of them

[ninja-muse]

April was not a good reading month but wow, was it a writing month! I spent a lot of my home-based reading time working on my current WIP instead, so I’m trying not to have regrets about how much I didn’t read. I also didn’t truly manage to read anything off my physical TBR, but I’d wanted to reread The Goblin Emperor since I finished it the first time and so technically that’s off my TBR now?

My main bookish achievement this month, besides reading The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi, was pulling off another Indie Bookstore Day at work a couple days ago. I had help, my coworkers are awesome, I wasn’t organizing or running it alone or anything, but it’s still a lot of work to put together a party while handling the regular bookstore day-to-day, and then there’s set-up and twice the customers on the day and the tear-down which took all of yesterday…. I did unhaul a bunch of my unread ARCs for a book giveaway as part of this, which I’m very glad about. That’s really going to help my end-of-year stats, I think. (I also unhauled a few of my read ARCs that I was keeping for … some reason?)

And I accidentally bought two books. A Long Day in Lychford was a planned buy, but I got a gift card from my parents for Easter, which went impulsively towards The Gashlycrumb Tinies, and then yesterday I bought some bookish things for a little one and somehow the Pratchett bio found itself in my stack. No idea how that happened. 😅 No regrets, either.

May is going to be a lot like April, I think, or at least it hopefully will involve more writing than reading when I’m home. I’d like to ride the inspiration as far as it’ll take me, after all. It’s also going to be like April in that I’m waiting for the library to come through with a lot of my holds. I’m tag-teaming on a few of them, with physical and e-book reserves. I have no idea what I’ll read when I’m done the ones I’m working on now.

And now without further ado, in order of enjoyment…

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi - Shannon Chakraborty

Amina, mother, retired pirate, signs up for one last job. She should have known better.

8/10

multiracial Muslim protagonist, Indian secondary character, Middle Eastern secondary characters, Muslim and Hindu secondary characters, 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (gay, gender-questioning), Muslim author

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen - KJ Charles

Days after Gareth ruins his chances with a charming stranger, he finds himself elevated to an estate in the country—and threatened by smugglers a few towns over. Fortunately (or not), the head of the local smugglers is very familiar….

7/10

🏳️‍🌈 protagonists (gay), Black British protagonist and secondary character, African-American secondary character, 🏳️‍🌈 secondary character (not gendered)

warning: child abuse and neglect, mild sexual assault

Once Upon a Tome - Oliver Darkshire

A Millennial offers a behind-the-scenes look at rare bookselling.

7/10

🏳️‍🌈 author

Tasting History - Max Miller

A cookbook featuring historical recipes reworked for a modern kitchen.

7/10

🏳️‍🌈 author

Episode Thirteen - Craig DiLouie

A ghost hunting show is the first to investigate the most haunted house in America. It’ll be fine.

7/10

African-American secondary character, 🇨🇦

Eight Strings - Margaret DeRosia

Franco escapes his childhood home to apprentice as a puppeteer and reunites with an old friend, which might mean hope for the future—or his destruction.

7/10

🏳️‍🌈 protagonist (trans man), 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (lesbian, sapphic), 🏳️‍🌈 author, 🇨🇦

A Sleight of Shadows - Kat Howard

Sydney sacrificed much to destroy the violent House of Shadows and rebalance the Unseen World of New York—but it looks like the House may not be entirely gone.

6.5/10

African-American secondary character, Latina secondary character

Picture Books

We Don’t Lose Our Class Goldfish - Ryan T. Higgins

Penelope Rex has to look after Walter the goldfish but he scares her.

Grandad’s Pride - Harry Woodgate

When Milly finds a rainbow flag in her grandad’s attic, she learns he hasn’t been to a Pride since before Gramps died—so she finds a way for him to have one.

🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (the whole spectrum), 🏳️‍🌈 author

Reread

The Goblin Emperor - Katherine Addison

Maia suddenly finds himself Emperor of the Elflands and must find a way to be true to himself while navigating thorny court politics.

🏳️‍🌈 secondary character (gay)

Currently reading:

Magisteria - Nicholas Spencer

A history of the interactions between science and religion. Out in May.

The Sinister Booksellers of Bath - Garth Nix

The booksellers of Bath must rescue Merlin after he’s trapped in a map—which might mean taking on an unknown Entity.

🏳️‍🌈 main character (genderqueer), Black British secondary character

Stats

Monthly total: 7+1 Yearly total: 44/140 Queer books: 4 Authors of colour: 0 Books by women: 4 Authors outside the binary: 0 Canadian authors: 2 Off the TBR shelves: .5 Books hauled: 3 ARCs acquired: 7 ARCs unhauled: 14 DNFs: 0

January February March

[chaosandwolves]

Tell me about My Hollow Fortress please? 💕🦛

Hello lovely!

Ooohhh yes! I was actually so proud of that one but then - like so often- I lost the momentum and it's hard to get back into it. (one of the most annoying things about ADHD tbh)

So my document says it's inspired by this fic by @evcndiaz

I gotta be honest, I'm gonna have to reread that first so I can't tell you much about that fic rn.

This wip is basically about Eddie and how, throughout his life, he has built these walls around him and only ever done what people expected him to do.

And I went with this image of a fortress he's built that he keeps repairing whenever there is a dent.

And Chris and the 118 make it all crumbling down. And, of course, Buck

The fic is full of metaphors surrounding this fortress and programming.

I really tried to choose a small snippet but I couldn't quite decide so here is a bigger part of the WIP

Eddie does all these things for others, wants all these things for others, builds all these things...

For others.

But not for himself, never for himself. How could he? How could he? When the only time he allowed himself to build something for himself;

when the only time he dared to follow his heart without it having to pass all the checkpoints in his head;

when the only time he could taste the feeling of "home" on his tongue;

when the only time he dared to take and to live and to breathe;

when the only time "together" was a feeling and not just carefully carved out hollow scripts and instructions;

When the only time he allowed himself all that, it was not only ripped from him but he was also the reason for all the pain that followed.

So for Eddie the next steps were crystal clear.

He built himself up again, locked himself in a perfectly, rule following form he could shape and mold as needed. Built it like a responsive program, with clear instructions and predictable responses. He could rewrite the script every time it was needed. He learned how to smile in a way that wouldn't show how little it reached inside him.

Sometimes, sometimes Shannon put a dent or a little crack into his form. And sometimes he would allow himself to feel the warmth and light coming through, just for a few moments, before he took his bucket of clay to repair the damage.

It was good. He was doing well. Doing what he had calculated the world was expecting of him.

But then… Then the unforeseen variable hit him and his sculpture started to crumble and in his panic, he couldn't keep up the repair, couldn't find a solution. And everything was filling up with black smoke and he couldn't breathe and so he ran.

He ran far far away and sought out the only place he knew where he could still pretend to be in control, pretend to follow the caring love he was supposed to feel in his bones but that he had disposed of outside his fortress.

Where he didn't have to think about the programming anymore, could hand over the script to someone else to have time; time to rebuild and form and mold.

And it worked. Partially. Cause war is one big unpredictable variable.

But it was fine. Eddie learned how to mend the irreversible damages the war left him with. He couldn't close the cracks and the dents but he could put another layer of clay on top. It's fine.

And then.

Then Christopher was there and Eddie wanted to scream. This was not supposed to happen. There was suddenly this massive hole right above his heart and Christopher filled it with light and laughter that reached inside his shell and crept into his skin and reached for his heart.

It wasn't fair. Eddie had so carefully collected all the instructions and built them into his program, wrote the script.

It was the perfect plan.

But Christopher took his pen and broke it. He took the access to his coding and Eddie was left with only the data he had collected to this point and wasn't able to adjust everything accordingly.

So he kept adding layers of clay around the hole he couldn't close.

But slowly, slowly, slowly the warmth crept inside his bones and the memory of breath in his chest and laughter in his heart brushed the outer skirts of his existence.

And just as he was pushing it away he choked at the thought that his son would one day live like this and the next mission appeared in front of him like an order.

So he took Christopher, brought him to safety, away from everything that had helped Eddie to build his hollow castle.

That was probably the best decision he ever made and he decided that if his broken program doesn't provide him with a script, he will filter it through Chris, make it work for his son to make sure that he could keep laughing and breathing with his entire being.

That was his most important mission, standing above all else.

When he met the 118 it was easy to run his programs and do all the things. Following orders on a daily basis again made it all so much easier.

It gave him time to guard the hole and thicken his walls.

But he didn't notice that the clay was melting faster than he could keep reapplying it.

The walls of his bunker grew thin and started to crumble bit by bit.

And Christopher wasn't the only one any more who threatened his fortress.

The 118 is family.

Family like Eddie had always wished but never gotten an instruction for. So he couldn't stop them from appearing at his door steps and bringing light and peeking through the cracks.

And Eddie found himself minding it less and less.

The tension in his shoulders eased, the ache in his arms started to lighten as he didn't have to apply the clay anymore in every free second he had.

And then

Buck

...

And for a second, for a second he stands in the burning remains of his castle, stands in absolute darkness, knowing that the light is gone forever.

But then Chris is there, alive and breathing.

Chris tells him everything. How Buck saved him, how he saved even more people, how Chris fell into the water.

For a second he wants to be angry at Buck. Wants to to take this as a reason to reinforce his fortress.

But then he remembers Buck's face, hears his voice, feels his despair.

And he knows it in his bones that Buck saved Chris, that Buck would do everything for his son

And then then he was shot and everything crumbled down.

He was stripped of all the walls in an instance. They were torn down and ripped apart and there was nothing he could do about it.

He desperately scrambled for the burned pieces of his script, for the broken bits of his programs and he tried, he tried and tried to hastily rebuild and he stepped away from Buck who brought all this damage and ache and longing which was just too much too much too much too much.

[babygenius]

Inspired by this post

Anyway so my name is Welsh. It is one so easily anglicized that for the longest time I didn’t realize that we were pronouncing it the anglicized way and not the correct way.

There is literally nothing hard about my name. Nothing. You wanna know how I know? People can say Rihanna. It is child's play to add an 'n' at the end (Rhiannon). Literally so easy.

Yet, my entire life, I have put up with people saying Rihanna, and when I correct them and say "No, it's Rhiannon" they continue to say rihanna. At certain points, depending on how long I was going to know this person, I would just give up, because it wasn't worth my energy.

Every time someone couldn't pronounce my name, they'd say "Oh well can I just call you this? I'm going to call you this." Which is how I wound up with the dreadful nickname "Rhi" on both my swimming and basketball teams in middle school.

My first job, my boss couldn't be bothered to get my name right, so she laughed and said, "I'm just going to call you Ray!"

Out of the many nicknames people had assigned to me, I didn't hate this one, and I decided to go with it because it was easiest. Because at this point I still thought "I should make it easier on both myself and others and give them a shortcut".

My first semester in college, whenever a professor or student took too long to pronounce my name correctly, I'd let them get away with Ray. (I also use it as my internet name, but that's not because people can't get my name--most of the time--and is a different matter for me all together). This need to give people a shortcut lasted two years, until my spring semester of freshman year I said, "Y'know what? Fuck this."

Now I only use it if they're going to be acquaintances of a day at most.

At my job last summer I introduced myself to a patron and had to correct her, at which point she threw up her hands very exasperatedly and said, "Oh I don't understand what's with all these new-fangled names!"

I very cheerfully said, "Oh, it's not new! Rhiannon is a Welsh deity and has been around in some form for hundreds of years!"

She was a very sweet lady, seemed very surprised at this fact, and we both continued on our day. This type of interaction is not uncommon for me.

Last fall semester, my physics class had a substitute. (I would later find out that the reason he wasn't teaching the class in the first place was because he'd been suspended from teaching.) The entire class, he made a joke out of not being able to recall a simple name. The others found it funny, and while I didn't find it the epitome of humor I still laughed.

I answered a question, he asked for my name. (Worth noting is I had emailed this professor over the summer to talk to him about getting into his class, before the instructor was switched).

"Rhiannon."

"Rihanna."

"No, Rhiannon, just add an 'n' at the end."

"Rihanna."

I sighed and said, "It's like 'Shannon', just with a 'Rhi'." That, combined with the idea of 'Rihanna' is usually enough.

"Shannonrhi."

The class laughed. Now you're just being deliberately obtuse, I thought but didn't say.

After class had finished and everyone had left, I went up to him and reintroduced myself, mentioning that I was the student who had emailed him over the summer.

"Oh!" He said, remembering. He gave a very sheepish laugh and said, "Sorry about the whole name thing--" and I thought that was that and everything was done--"obviously if you were a minority I would have..."

I froze for a second, completely taken aback. Now, yes, I am ridiculously white, and afforded the privileges of that, but that's not the only type of minority that exists???

ALSO

EVEN MORE IMPORTANT

You shouldn't strive to get people's "difficult" names right only when they're a visible minority and you're worried about the cry of racism

You should strive to get people's names right because it's basic fucking decency and etiquette and it's rude otherwise.

When I visited Scotland in 2020 not a single person over there ever struggled with my name or got it wrong. I kinda miss that, honestly, because it's so fucking draining to wonder when you introduce yourself if you're going to have to capitulate and give them a nickname because you're too tired to deal with this shit today, or if you're going to be seen as the "stubborn" one who won't let people be wrong about something so basic as a name and move on.

I will leave you with one last story before my tl;dr. When I graduated eighth grade, we walked in a procession as a teacher announced our full names in alphabetical order. The teacher announcing for my section of the alphabet had never had me in class before, yet she looked at my name and asked me "How do I pronounce this?" She had no difficulty with my first name, and was mainly hung up on my middle name, which is Irish. I told her, she said it correctly. In the times leading up to graduation, whenever she felt like she'd forgotten or just wanted to make sure, she'd ask me again, and I'd tell her again, and she'd say it correctly again.

During one of the practices, another teacher said my name completely wrong. She even messed up my last name, which is pronounced phonetically and is a common enough last name that she's heard it before. I will admit that even I laughed, but only because up until that point? She had said my name correctly every other time. So when she messed up, everyone stopped their walking to raise and eyebrow at her and laugh, and she facepalmed and said, "Yeah, I don't know how that came out that way, sorry." And she said it correctly, and everything continued.

I felt very seen by both of those teachers, who didn't try to laugh it off and say that it was "just too hard" or "too unusual" or "oh it doesn't really matter, does it?" It was very nice.

For obvious reasons, I insist on knowing how to pronounce everyone's names, and I do not settle for a nickname unless they genuinely prefer the nickname as it is their chosen name.

TL;DR: learn how to pronounce people's fucking names correctly because it's basic courtesy and you sound stupid when you insist on not affording certain people that courtesy just because you've never heard that name before.

[prosperdemeter2]

Let’s go perspective flip or behind the scenes for “history collapsing in it’s wake” ?

Oh my GOOOOOD, you've awoken the deep love within me. I would have done the perspective flip but gosh I love rambling about these stories like a NERD.

I threw this together really quick before therapy shsjjs

history collapsing in its wake was so much fun to write in, truly, the most heartbreaking way. I got to play with so many POVs that I hadn’t explored yet - with Athena, Bobby, and again with Maddie (I actually had originally planned to write something from Sophia’s POV too but when I tell you this story took over I mean it took over). This story was meant to be an examination of Buck’s relationship with secrecy and Maddie but it very quickly became an exploration of Eddie’s relationship with his family as well and the way Eddie’s conversations with Adriana would go from 1-100 so quickly was so intriguing to write. 

More below the read more so people can avoid it if they want to. 

We’ll look at Wednesday from chapter one, as an example. When Adriana and Sophia join Buck, Eddie and Chris for dinner. 

The big starting point to put Eddie on uneven footing is that Adriana said she wasn’t going to come when he first brought it up to her at the airport. Why wasn’t he shocked? The invitation was always there, Eddie had never retracted it. In fact, the entire series, I tried to constantly show him reaching out to her and Adriana shutting him down. And a big part of this installment specifically is Eddie deciding if he even wants her in his life if she can’t bring herself to be supportive, or at least respectful, of the rest of it. It was sort of an examination of the “I love you, but I don’t like you” narrative so many of us have heard over the years in unhealthy relationships. 

As for Buck’s ADHD in this series, it’s there but I tried to keep it mostly subtle? In part, that was because I don’t have ADHD, I don’t want to inaccurately represent what he’s going through. In another, it’s because if you subscribe to that headcanon of him (in my opinion), it’s not the biggest thing about his personality. It’s in the little things, like him getting distracted, his info-dumping, the way it’s linked to his depression. It’s not anything that Eddie pays much attention to because it’s just part of the man he fell in love with. But it’s there, for example, in the following passage: 

Buck pushed himself away from the counter with a small laugh, his book upside down on the kitchen table and his phone screen side up on top of the cover. He had been reading, Eddie remembered, sitting at the kitchen table with his feet up on a different chair, Eddie’s last name stitched into the left shoulder of the sweatshirt he had tossed on that morning, reading intently until Hen had texted him a TikTok. And then he had been scrolling, the repetitive noise soft and his small laughs a balm to Eddie’s nerves.

I was trying to put in little tidbits of Adriana and Eddie just clearly not understanding each other. As I said in the first one of these you asked for (lmao), I pulled a lot of the Diaz sibling relationship from the one I have with both of my sisters. I’m not quite the Eddie in this scenario (there are some clear differences) a lot of what Adriana does, a lot of the way she acts, is based off of the way I’ve seen my middle sister act around our oldest. 

Eddie didn’t really have any reason to be nervous and yet, here he was, fidgeting like he was twenty years old with Shannon pressed close into his side, a sonogram squeezed in between his hands, begging Adriana not to say anything until he had a moment to catch his breath (she hadn’t said anything, but she had threatened to three months later when Eddie still hadn’t said anything to their parents and he hadn’t waited to see if she was the type to follow through on that threat).

Adriana inspires this inherent nervousness in Eddie. Evidenced by above, she kept his secret about Christopher before he was born, but she held it over him the entire time. I pictured it working like her constantly reminding Eddie like he forgot, not allowing him to really have time to digest it himself by asking him every few days if he had said anything yet. She used the excuse of “helping” and refused to see it as anything other than that. 

Eddie notes several times that the house was clean. That things were in their place, that the food was in the oven, etc. He’s so scared that he’ll accidentally give Adriana something to criticize because she always finds something to turn her nose up at. 

It’s interesting only because of the stark contrast in how he views Sophia. The biggest difference: Sophia isn’t just his little sister, she’s his best friend. She’s the first person he told about liking Buck, and that was after her being in LA for a few hours. He trusts her with every aspect of his life, of Christopher’s life and yet he’s so protective of her that he doesn’t want her to get dragged into whatever is going on between him and Adriana. Her things were in his house, she would have let herself in, when she did let herself in, it was to give him a hug and say hello. Sophia is great, because even when her and Eddie clash they don’t push each other far away. 

“She’s in a mood,” Sophia whispered, and reached into the pot to dip her finger into the mashed potatoes. She popped them into her mouth with a bright smile on her face. “Estaba peleando con Vince en el auto.” 

Eddie’s eyebrows shot up. “She told you that?” 

“No,” Sophia rolled her eyes. “She always does that thing with her mouth when they’ve fought, though.” 

The moment Sophia comes through the door she warns Eddie about Adriana’s mood. I wanted it to be inferred here, at least a little, that Adriana also sees Sophia as someone she’s close to. Unfortunately, Sophia is very stuck between the two of them. Eddie and Adriana clashed a lot when they were younger, and Sophia was the natural peacekeeper. It’s not a comfortable role to fit into, and it’s one that around the end of this installment and the next, Sophia learns to step out of. But the whole reason why she ended up in LA was because she didn’t want to potentially live a life where Eddie would have died and she would have been absent. She wanted a relationship with him, versus Adriana who did it all out of an obligation she viewed by their DNA. Moreover, Sophia made an effort with Eddie’s relationship with Buck. Beyond the entire homophobia thing, Sophia talked to him. She joked with him. She respected his place in Eddie and Christopher’s life. 

 I absolutely projected on Sophia hard being the youngest of three myself, but I just adored her so much as the series went on. 

Please, if you want a specific scene let me know and I'll go crazy on it 😅

[wontonsoupho]

THEN GOD

MADE THEM BLUE

© Artist the Author 2022

SYNOPSIS

This series was inspired by GOD HIMSELF , my personal life , my own spiritual experience , and journey of self. The people , places , and events that occur are loosely based from things I have witnessed or partook in; or are inspired by the lives of those whom surround me in which I love dearly. I wrote this series to have conversations about those uncomfortable and controversial topics , in hopes of bringing darkness to the light so that people can heal their hidden traumas. I’d kindly advise you NOT to steal any of my work as it is protected legally binding underneath Copyright Law with THE ARTIVERSE PRODUCTIONS and Wattpad Corp. — Artist the Author

GENRE : URBAN DRAMA / FICTION

LEADS : DAVE EAST X SHANNON THORNTON

SETTING : MACABRE , GEORGIA (fictional city in the belly of ATL)

“YOU DROVE ME AWAY and then they TOOK ME , only GOD can save me now.”

THEN GOD

MADE THEM BLUE

Has anyone ever heard of the saying ,

‘FATE HAS A FUNNY WAY OF WORKING ITS SELF OUT?’

On the dreary morning of October 14th , 1999 , sixteen year old Prodigy of The Arts , Goapele Scott was officially declared missing fourty-eighty hours after she was nowhere to be found within her self acclaimed hometown of Macabre , Georgia. Sources say that she was last spotted in a heated disagreement with longtime family friend Georgia State University's Star Basketball Player seventeen year old Xodus Casanova.

The two not only knew each other very well , but also allegedly concocted a plan to run away together which led authorities to believe that the Elite Division I Power Forward had involvement in Goapele's disappearance-however , that could not be any further from the case. Twenty long years , never ending pain , severe strife , and many tears later she mysteriously returns opening Pandora's box.

Two worlds collide after demons from their pasts force them both into a whirlwind of mayhem. Goapele and Xodus were two traumatized souls , but by the power of truth , God made them BLUE.

The question is , WILL THEY SURVIVE LONG ENOUGH TO WATCH IT COME INTO FRUITION ?

STARRING | LEADS

SHANNON THORNTON (circa 2019-present) as GOAPELE SCOTT

THE ANGELOU FROM HEAVEN

“I bet you NEVER thought you’d SEE ME AGAIN huh?”

DATE OF BIRTH : SEPTEMBER 22ND , 1985

HOMETOWN : BROOKLYN , NEW YORK

PHYSIQUE : 5 FT. 3 IN. — 127 LBS

DAVE EAST (circa 2016-present) as XODUS CASANOVA

GOLIATH REINCARNATED

“Our lives are like the fucking LIVING TESTAMENT Xo , can’t be surprised that it’s so damn treacherous.”

DATE OF BIRTH : MAY 23RD , 1984

HOMETOWN : QUEENS , NEW YORK

PHYSIQUE : 6 FT. 7 IN. — 253 LBS

FEATURING | SIDES

lela rochon as MAYOR CASANOVA

missy elliot MAMA QASIM

sonía braga as MAMA SOSA

jazzy amra as KAGOME

ava mcclure as NANI

faith jaggernauth as CHITTY

amil whitehead as MOTHER MACABRE

bia as PRINCESS

lola brooke as FLOJO

demetrius flenory jr. as KASPER

skepta as MAC 3

bandhunta izzy as DRAEKO

sebastian mikael as CHÖSEN

VISUAL AESTHETICS & CLOSING REMARKS | CINEMATOGRAPHY & AUTHOR’S NOTE

Hello my favorite heauxs!—and to those of you who don’t already know me I hope you’re enjoying your experience in the Artiverse. I want to start off by saying that my name is Artist Oriental , and I’m just an anomalous child of The Most High here baring gifts and fruits to give to the collective. For the past decade and a half I have been perfecting the craft of storytelling , and I’m at a point in my practice where I’m focused on broadening my horizons and expanding the audience I’ve been blessed to entertain and edify. From filling up notebooks all day long in class to hundreds and thousands of reads on Wattpad , my love for the art of literacy has never faded. Throughout the years I’ve been a breathing witness to the evolution of Artist as a person , creator , and soul—and may I say she’s come a mighty long way. As I grow older and enter my quarter century milestone , I find more and more that my work is often a reflection of my peculiar perception with the perfect blend of my eccentric imagination. With that being said; GOD WILL BE PRESENT IN ALL OF ARTIST THE AUTHOR’S CONTENT. I will not denounce the reality that I know to be true , experience , and choose to express. If that is unsettling for you my world may not be tailored to your liking , therefore feel free to roam at YOUR OWN DISCRETION. You can expect that the majority of work coming from me is more than likely to have some sort of spiritual aspect in it. There will also be lots of poetic vibes and a great deal of strong adult themes that usually hold HEAVY CONTROVERSY. At times my writing can get crude and dark , I tend to hound in on the gruesome details because I want readers to feel every raw emotion , but don’t be alarmed you’ll always be forewarned. Within The World of Artist have the opportunity to find all types of experiences from different genres like Urban Fiction all the way to Sci-Fi , so it’ll be hard not to get immersed. I chose this series as my debut piece because of how much it means to me at a soul level , and it further exhibits the growth I’ve had since deciding to master the element of literature. It’s also in hindsight my first ever official screenwriting piece which makes me all the more excited as I am intimated. Please take your time trekking through the universe I’ve created , and know that when you’re here things normally are vague and obscure at a first glance; sometimes it may feel a bit riddling to latch onto—but I promise you all there is a method to my madman ways. I’m gonna finish off with saying a big thank you to GOD for invoking divine favor upon everything that I am , Nothing would exist to be if it weren’t for my Guide and I’m standing under that irrefutable truth. All praise goes to The Most High , forever and ever. Remember that everything you need or desire is already within you; Create the World that’s Yours. Until next time my little Jezebels , be the influence not the influenced. — Artist the Author

Copyrights © Artist the Author 2022

[unfortunate-arrow]

𝐻𝒫 𝒲𝑜𝓂𝒶𝓃 𝒜𝓅𝓅𝓇𝑒𝒸𝒾𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝒲𝑒𝑒𝓀

Day Three: I Got It From My Mama (talk about a mother of an OC that you love and why) of @endlessly-cursed’s HP women appreciation week

→ The mother of Cian, Ryan, Cara, Sara, and Conor, Ailis Ciara O’Donnell née Lynch is probably my most fleshed out mother, as she’s been around the longest. She’s a Ravenclaw, a healer, and a tragedy. She died when her eldest son, Cian, was nine and when her quadruplets were nearly a year. But Ailis remained in her children. She was there in Ryan’s smile, in Cara’s warmth, in Sara’s compassion, in Conor’s reserve, in Cian’s eyes.

→ The mother of William, Shannon Imogen Devlin has, perhaps, the roughest go of it. She went into her affair with a clear mind, knowing that the viscount was never going to marry her and left of her own accord, penniless and pregnant without the protection of marriage. But Shannon was going to do whatever it took to protect her child and she named her son after her late father and oldest brother. She’s not a mother for very long, but she does her best in a world that’s not kind to unwed mothers.

→ The mother of Edmund, Minerva, Walter, Eliza, Nan, Cordelia, Penelope, and Billie, Alice Anne Kennedy née Fortescue was, unsurpsingly, inspired by Violet Bridgerton. A single mother of eight after losing her husband quite suddenly and being pregnant with eighth at the time. That’s sort of where the similarities end though. Alice doesn’t feel the pressure to urge her children into marriage… possibly because she’s got her hands full with the eight of them following their own chaotic paths to love. At about 23, Ned’s about five seconds from breaking up an engagement. Minerva spends half her life hating her future husband’s guts. And that’s only her eldest two.

Honorary mentions:

Mai Whitten → mother of Darcy, Thea, and Clary and aunt to Jack and Benedict

Moira Pembroke → mother of Max, Caitlin, and Aoife

Lydia Battersea → mother of Harris, Marcus, Simon, and Hermione

Maeve Kelly → mother of Ronan and Niamh

Elizabeth Fitzgerald → mother of Sawyer and Huck

Gabriella Valdez → mother of Elias, Camila, Cisco, Amada, and Joaquin

[aalinaaaaaa]

for wip q&a game: Court of Tears from The Locales 👀

Hi, Feather! Thank you so much for the ask :D

The Court of Tears is a long-standing faerie court nestled within the suburbs of South Arobyre. It's named after the lacrymose nature of the current Lady, and its existence predates all of its surrounding area, which humans have named in tribute to the court. (Carrig an Siadhán* — translated from Gaeilge as 'Mount of the Faerie Court').

Originally, this place was the height of Helinda's second-most northernly court, but then after the Treaty was drawn, power and influence leached over into North Arobyre.

As time went on, it became more detached and insulated, due to a string of petty slights against the ruling classes of North Arobyre and some of the neighbouring courts. Potentially as a result of this, more and more humans were being allowed to settle in South Arobyre, eventually surrounding the court whole.

In addition, this court and its denizens were beholden to the Cailleach in the area. Tributes were paid to her, whether in the form of grains, wine or mere prayer or contemplation. In turn, the Cailleach would influence the weather to be favourable and the lands to be plentiful.

Furthermore, the tradition for the local courts near Arobyre and around the northern part of its province (Jontille) is to seek the blessing of the Cailleach for anointing any new leaders of the Courts.

While all the leaders gone before have honoured the Cailleach, the current Lady has not done so. She sealed the previous Lord with her silk, for she detested his lack of urgency on the fact the court was losing land. When the Cailleach came around to offer a chance of recognition (meaning that the Lady would have to adhere to the Cailleach's terms), she pledged to only do it if the Cailleach would do something about the humans who surrounded her court. But the Cailleach refused to recognise her, because she had a duty to the life of the land, including the humans who had shown up.

The result, other than an ongoing spate between the Lady and the Cailleach, was that the Lady of the Court of Tears put a curse on the River Restrieva, meaning that anyone who crosses it from North or South Arobyre will owe a debt to the Court of Tears or face death.

In the current day, it's the thorn in the side for the greater part of South Arobyre, due to its charging of a 'refrain tax' in exchange for keeping within its borders.

—

*Fun fact, when I was naming South Arobyre's city districts, I took inspiration from actual Irish towns, as fun easter eggs. In this instance, it's a reference to Carrick-on-Shannon, a small town in County Leitrim.

[emaandcas]

Creativity:  Adobe Photoshop Poster Making (November 2023)

The poster is based on books Binding 13 and Keeping 13 which are first two book of the series Boys of Tommen. Despite how to poster looks, this was one of the most emotional books I have read till this day.

The stereotype for romance books is that they are always light to read, easy and do not require a lot of emotional processing, but that is not correct. Books that were inspiration for this poster were emotionally heavy. Story takes place in early 2000's in Cork Ireland. Books revolve around bullying, child abuse in the family, physical abuse, depression, death and a lot of other emotional themes. The main character is a 15-year old girl Shannon who with the help of her friends and her new boyfriend Johnny is trying to survive in her abusive home. The poster is based on the scene where her boyfriend asks her to be friends, as it was told in the book, after he accidentally hit her with a rugby ball in the head when she was running across the field when the school's team had practice. Although, this book is heavy on the emotional parts there are also other funny scenes and "cute" ones as well as in this poster. In the left bottom corner of the poster it is possible to see the name Gibsie. He is the main side character, Johnny's best friend, who also struggles with dyslexia and depression, but is known as the "golden retriver" of the group.

The design of the poster is not something significant, the tool I mostly played was the pen and it took some time for me to get used to it. Since I am designin posters on the laptop, using a mouse to write in curive took a lot of erasing. Some lines did not fit into my idea and some were just generaly awful. The most fun part of this poster is figuring out what do I what their signatures to look like. The ones I deciden on are what I this describes their personality the best as a character.

[new-sacramento-ca]

Kensington Park Apartments in Sacramento, CA

Are you searching for one bedroom apartments in Arden Arcade nowadays? If that is the case, then you start by checking out the website of Kensington Park Apartments. Their website is informative, well-designed and user-friendly. In that case, it would be easier for you to navigate the important pages. Basically, the said apartment units have landscaped views and vaulted ceilings. Besides, each spacious Kensington Park Apartments home is thoughtfully designed with your comfort in mind. If you’re curious about the design, check out the Gallery page on their website. Lastly, the community of Kensington Park is ideally located in Arden Arcade, putting you at the center of one of Sacramento’s major shopping areas.

Sacramento, CA

To create a travel schedule, you should try different approaches. If you’re making one now, you can check out these Eventbrite posts. Most of these activities are perfect for first-time visitors. First, there will be Shannon McCabe's 15th Annual Vampire Ball at Harlow's in Sacramento this coming Saturday, October 28, 2023, at around 8:00 PM at Harlow's Restaurant & Nightclub. Second, the Sacramento Halloween Party - Haunted Monster Hotel is scheduled on Saturday, October 28, 2023, at around 9:00 PM at Sheraton Grande Sacramento Hotel. Lastly, you can also opt to attend the Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) this coming Monday, October 30, 2023, at around 7:00 PM at Crest Theatre.

California Automobile Museum

Have you been to the California Automobile Museum in Sacramento, CA recently? First and foremost, the California Automobile Museum is an automobile museum located in Sacramento, California. Those who love cars will surely be delighted in the said place. Aside from that, it has a collection of more than 150 classic cars, race cars, muscle cars and early models displayed throughout 72,000 square feet of museum space. Moreover, the mission of the California Automobile Museum is to preserve, exhibit, and teach the story of the automobile and its influence on our lives. In other words, you’ll learn new things if you visit the museum.

Sacramento woman's business aims to teach underserved communities about financial trauma

There are many inspiring news reports in Sacramento, CA. In a recent news article, the topic was about a Sacramento woman’s business. Reportedly, Kumar's journey to financial success took years. Aside from that, her "ah-ha" moment came when she was a newly divorced mother with a six-month-old. Kumar said, "I was grocery shopping, buying diapers and milk for my son, and my card kept declining.” She added: "It was so hard to hold back my tears. I promised my day, that day will never ever repeat in my life." As a result, she took her passion and aligned it with a purpose, that is teaching others about something called financial trauma.

Link to maps

California Automobile Museum 2200 Front St, Sacramento, CA 95818, United States Get on I-5 N from Front St 4 min (1.0 mi) Continue on I-5 N. Take I-80 E to Watt Ave in North Highlands. Take exit 94A from I-80 E 11 min (11.1 mi) Follow Watt Ave to Kings Way in Arden-Arcade 6 min (2.3 mi) Kensington 3644 Kings Way, Sacramento, CA 95821, United States