#Melissa Archer

[laboulaie]

10 Great Vixens, Llanview Style

[maximumcollectorgardenerposts]

Melissa Archer

[stoneoferech]

Melissa Archer

[psychuan]

actually fuck it i'll do it now.

What is the character’s go-to drink order? (this one gets into how do they like to be publicly perceived, because there is always some level of theatricality to ordering drinks at a bar/resturant)

Psy: Easy enough to answer, a gin and tonic since it's the only alcoholic beverage I drink. But there's still SO much Variety in Gins and Tonics. If you're asking me to nail down specifics, a floral gin, with like chamomile and lavender, and citrus undertones, with an Elderflower tonic and a slice of citrus fruit. With ice. So refreshing.

Melissa: I like to get cocktails. Not the over decorated ones, with sparklers and stuff but if it's brightly coloured and full of alcohol and sugar I'm all over it. Although if I actually want to get drunk I need the ones specifically formulated for synthetics, which usually have something in them to give them a charge.

What is their grooming routine? (how do they treat themselves in private)

Psy: I don't really have one? Get up, brush teeth, off we go. I do shower pretty regularly though. And I always use something that smells nice. Like Shea Butter and Coconut.

Melissa: Grooming for me includes all that plus I like to brush my fur, or rather get Psy to brush my fur. I also prefer baths to showers, personally, largely because I'm able to heat the water myself. Also being robotic I have to make sure I do semi-regular Mechanical maintenance, which I guess would be classed as grooming. You know, things like popping my eyes out to clear up the dust and stuff off the glass.

What was their most expensive purchase/where does their disposable income go? (Gets you thinking about socio-economic class, values, and how they spend their leisure time)

Psy: Most expensive stuff is the standard, you know. Car, computer, etc. But also Melissa. But the hobbies I spend money on are TTRPG things! I can't stop collecting dice. I like the way they go clickyclack.

Melissa: My most expensive purchases were actually my drone and my camera! At least once you factor in all the lenses. My camera is actually an old film camera, so getting the film and chemicals take a lot of my disposable income. But I love to take photographs.

Do they have any scars or tattoos? (good way to get into literal backstory) 

Psy: My pawpads are actually covered in little scars where I keep nicking or cutting myself while I'm metalworking. I'm good at my job but I'm pretty clumsy. I also have a scar over my left eyebrow and one under my right knee, both from when I used to skateboard. Again, kinda clumsy. Tattoos none, won't show up on my fur and also I like how my stripes look as it is. I DID have a piercing in my ear but it keep annoying me whenever I flicked my ear. Which I do a lot.

Melissa: No, no scars. My synth flesh is pretty resistant to cuts, but anything that would cut it won't heal and needs replacing, so those panels just... Get replaced. I do have little like, "seams" in my fur where the panels of synth flesh meet and the fur doesn't quite line up. They're only really visible if you look closely though. I like 'em either way. No tattoos, can't get them, won't take to the synth flesh. Piercings uhhhh... Not yet but maybe? Can't get my ears done because they're like tapered cylinders rather than being a plane with folds, and also because they're full of sensitive electronics.

What was the last time they cried, and under what circumstances? (Good way to get some *emotional* backstory in.) 

Psy: I'm actually super emotional recently and I don't know why so i cry at anything that gives me nostalgia. I watched Robin Hood again recently and fucking cried. It's not even a sad film! I guess anything with like, strong, sincere emotion gets me going?

Melissa: I listened to Pyramid Song by Radiohead for the first time. Shot me right through. So ethereal and haunting.

Are they an oldest, middle, youngest or only child? (This one might be a me thing, because I LOVE writing/reading about family dynamics, but knowing what kinds of things were ‘normal’ for them growing up is important.)

Psy: Only child. Still get on with my parents. See them every so often. They were uh... Very surprised when I rocked up one day with Melissa in tow.

Melissa: Yeah that wasn't particularly fun. I mean they like me now, I hope, but there was a lot of uhhh... non-fun questions to answer. Also, I'm an only child. Unless you count the other size frames I've built since being awakened? They're not active on their own but I can transfer into them. I also made some like tiny little automaton versions of me that kinda toddle about but they're just mechanical, no brains in them.

Describe the shoes they’re wearing. (This is a big catch all, gets into money, taste, practicality, level of wear, level of repair, literally what kind of shoes they require to live their life.)

Psy: I don't wear shoes. Digitigrade, see?

Melissa: Same, also digitigrade, but Psy neglected to mention that they MAKE digitigrade footwear, he just doesn't like to wear them. Goddamn hippie.

Describe the place where they sleep. (ie what does their safe space look like. How much (or how little) care / decoration / personal touch goes into it.)

Psy: Well before Melissa arrived the bedroom was just a place with a nightstand and some wardrobes and my bed. All I do in there is sleep.

Melissa: There's photos of us together in there now. And I changed the lighting in the room, too, so instead of a single fitting with a bulb we've got RGB spotlights. Also I got us a smaller bed because we don't need a Cali King! We sleep spooned up together! He CERTAINLY didn't need it when single!!!

What is their favorite holiday? (How do they relate to their culture/outside world. Also fun is least favorite holiday.) 

Psy: Anywhere snowy. And like, thick snow. Not a little dusting, but like multiple feet deep. Ideally in a little modern cabin with a fireplace to snuggle up in front of in the evenings after a long day of snowboarding.

Melissa: Yeah snow holiday here too. The colder temperatures help processing speeds. Neither of us like tropical holidays.

What objects do they always carry around with them? (What do they need for their normal, day-to-day routine? What does ‘normal’ even look like for them.)

Psy: Notebook, pen, and tarot cards. I don't do tarot readings for like fortune telling but I've found this thing that lets me come up with TTRPG stuff using tarot cards. It's got options for Single, Three Card, and Celtic Cross draws, and it' sreally useful. So every time I get a moment, I'll just make some notes.

Melissa: A camera. Like a proper one, not my phone. You'd expect that as a synthetic organism my eyes would work like that but they don't have the same ability to capture aspects of a scene as a camera does. I can't fiddle with like, depth of field and exposure without impairing my own vision.

So my problem with most ‘get to know your character’ questioneers is that they’re full of questions that just aren’t that important (what color eyes do they have) too hard to answer right away (what is their greatest fear) or are just impossible to answer (what is their favorite movie.)  Like no one has one single favorite movie. And even if they do the answer changes.

If I’m doing this exercise, I want 7-10 questions to get the character feeling real in my head. So I thought I’d share the ones that get me (and my students) good results: 

What is the character’s go-to drink order? (this one gets into how do they like to be publicly perceived, because there is always some level of theatricality to ordering drinks at a bar/resturant)

What is their grooming routine? (how do they treat themselves in private)

What was their most expensive purchase/where does their disposable income go? (Gets you thinking about socio-economic class, values, and how they spend their leisure time)

Do they have any scars or tattoos? (good way to get into literal backstory) 

What was the last time they cried, and under what circumstances? (Good way to get some *emotional* backstory in.) 

Are they an oldest, middle, youngest or only child? (This one might be a me thing, because I LOVE writing/reading about family dynamics, but knowing what kinds of things were ‘normal’ for them growing up is important.)

Describe the shoes they’re wearing. (This is a big catch all, gets into money, taste, practicality, level of wear, level of repair, literally what kind of shoes they require to live their life.)

Describe the place where they sleep. (ie what does their safe space look like. How much (or how little) care / decoration / personal touch goes into it.)

What is their favorite holiday? (How do they relate to their culture/outside world. Also fun is least favorite holiday.) 

What objects do they always carry around with them? (What do they need for their normal, day-to-day routine? What does ‘normal’ even look like for them.) 

[1tuffprincess]

Watch "Jared & Natalie-Always Be My Baby" on YouTube

Dynamic Couples

Jared & his firecracker Sparky

[sneerymcbride]

"who could ever leave me darling who could stay" best archer around

[lung-worm2023]

In Ygng/Ygng!darkness archer and Melissa (Ash in another universe) are in a band together and in Ygng it’s new music but because Ygng!Darkness is set in 2117 and Ygng is set in 2058 Archer and Melissa’s band is what 50’s music is to us in Ygng!darkness.

Although they are Neptunes fav.

[chrisnaustin]

If only I were she!

[laboulaie]

Soap Opera Digest (2010)

[maximumcollectorgardenerposts]

Melissa Archer

[psychuan]

gosh we're so fucking pretty!

a couple of chibi commissions done for @psychuan!

[dr-spencer-reids-queen]

The Internet Is Forever: Part One

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~2.6k

Summary: A man is going around killing women in their homes and filming it for all to see. It's heartbreaking to watch but you're determined to catch him before he can hurt anyone else.

Warnings: canon violence, canon language, canon talk of death, methods of kill

Season Five Masterlist

Author’s Note: I do not own anything from Criminal Minds. All credit goes to their respective owners. If there are any warnings that exceed the normal death/kills from the show, I will list them.

x

"The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place." - George Bernard Shaw

You're not required by your work to attend any more therapy sessions. Melissa signed off on your progress even though you were a bit sad to leave. She had created such a safe space for you to vent about your life and feelings. She gave you the option of attending sessions either through insurance or out of pocket which you might do. You don't need to be going multiple times a week or even once a week. Maybe you might do a bi-monthly thing.

You and Spencer are getting ready to go to work when you notice him staring at himself in the mirror by the front door. He got a haircut since his hair was getting too long but you think he looks sexy. You cap the thermos full of coffee and slide it into your bag before walking over to Spencer. He runs his fingers through his hair and tries to style it in a way that makes it look normal.

"Spencer, would you stop? You look handsome."

"What if they don't like it?"

You turn him to face you and reach up to touch it. He closes his eyes when he feels your fingers glide through his hair. You scrape your nails against his scalp lightly, and you grin when you see goosebumps on his arms.

"It doesn't matter if they do or not. I think you look sexy."

"My hair was getting too long."

"I know. I don't mind this at all. As long as your hair isn't longer than mine."

'It wasn't that long," he chuckles.

"Again, you look very handsome." You tighten your grip on his hair and lightly tug it. "Plus, it's still pullable."

"Don't start something you can't finish," he growls.

"Come on, we're going to be late," you laugh.

Everyone is already in the briefing room when you get to work. He nervously plays with his fingers so you take his wrist and run your hand over his pulse point. He slides his hand into yours and squeezes it tenderly. You let go of his hand when you walk into the briefing room.

"Well, hello," JJ says.

Everyone looks at Spencer in confusion.

"What, did you join a boy band?" Hotch asks.

"No?"

"Isn't he handsome?" you grin and kiss his head.

"Alright, this is Dorris Archer who is the third woman to go missing in Boise, Idaho this year. With her are Paula Renmar and Samantha Rush. They went missing roughly two months apart," JJ says.

"Okay, so what are we looking at here? Late twenties to early thirties and all living on their own, but two of them were in committed relationships. It looks like they lived in normal suburban houses that can give the unsub privacy."

"The differences are more striking than the similarities," Spencer says about the looks of each woman. "There are different hair colors and different body shapes."

"What do you know about his MO?" Hotch asks JJ.

"That's why we were invited in. The abduction sites are pristine. There is no DNA besides the victims, and there are no signs of forced entry or a struggle. The victims aren't reported missing until two or three days after they're abducted."

"Two or three days? Women like this don't just vanish without someone noticing."

"Yes, which is why I asked Garcia to dig into their lives."

Speaking of, Penelope walks into the briefing room at the right time. She gives Spencer a confused look but doesn't comment on his hair.

"When I took a look at their online activity, I could easily see how the unsub is doing it. It's through their social networking sites. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and just about everything else. If it's a social media network, they were on it. If you look at each of their last posts, they all say the same thing. They were all going out of town, on a business trip, or on a vacation. However, when you look at the time and date stamp on each of the photos, they were posted the morning after they went missing."

"The unsub posted them," Hotch says.

"Social network apps are an easy way for an unsub to target his victims. These women were especially open. They posted everything from what they were having for dinner to where they were going on dates."

"So, this unsub friends his victims and then uses that as a cover once he takes them? That means he can hack into their accounts. He's excellent with computers, then."

"That definitely profiles as patient and organized," Spencer says. "He's obsessive enough to remove all forensic details but also patient enough to wait two months before abductions."

"He can afford to be. He gets three days to do whatever he wants to these women. That means we need to assume these women are already dead. The question is what he does do while he has them?"

You continue the conversation on the plane.

"So, if this unsub is using social networking apps to find his victims, can't we use that to find him? If these women each had a hundred friends following them, then the unsub would pop up on each of their lists, right?"

"The detective in charge, John Fordham, looked into their groups. Everyone checked out."

"Social networking sites are surprisingly insecure. Facebook recently tried to update all their privacy settings, and in doing so, they made everybody's profiles viewable."

"Can somebody explain to me the appeal of these sites? 'Eating sushi tonight. Yum.' 'Boss is keeping me late at work. Grr.' Whose life is so important that we'd be interested in this kind of detail?" Rossi asks.

What a boomer. You have to hold your laugh in but you lock eyes with JJ who only smiles.

"I don't know. I guess that's the running joke, right? Nobody is, but we'd all like to believe there's actually an audience out there that wants to follow our every move. some sites even have a GPS feature built in. You can tell exactly where someone is every time they post a new comment."

"This is telling us how he's finding them, but it's not telling us how he's getting into their houses," Hotch says.

"At the very least, I believe that he has copies of their keys. Dorris had a home security system installed, but the disable code was entered at 1:56 AM. He knew that, too. He also found a way to deal with her dog. A German Shepherd she adopted from the pound last year went missing the night that she did," JJ explains.

"So, this guy's gotta be in and out of the house well before the night of the disappearance. He comes up with some ruse and talks his way inside. Once he's familiar enough with the house, he knows he can come back and kidnap them without disturbing anything."

"What about the people who come into your house that you don't consider a threat? Home repair guys? Dog walkers?"

"Detective Fordham looked into that, too," JJ says. "No one even came close to being a killer."

"Okay, Morgan and Prentiss, start with the last abduction sites and see if anything points to his MO. Dave, you, Reid, and Y/N go back over the women's lives. Start with their friends on the social networking sites. If this is how the unsub is finding them, maybe they're connected to him without even realizing it."

Once you land in Boise, you meet with Detective Fordham at the police station.

"Thank you for coming," he says after the introductions. "We can really use your help."

"Did you find anyone willing to talk to us about the victims?"

"The problem wasn't who to bring in. It was who not to."

Looks like you're doing interviews. The man you're with is Dorris' boyfriend who is eager to give any information that might be important.

"Thank you for coming in, Nate. We just have a few more questions about your girlfriend's disappearance. Did Dorris ever mention letting someone in her home?"

"Like who?"

"We're just trying to figure out who would know the code to her home security. It must have been someone she trusted with the combination."

"No," he shakes his head. "She was smart. She took precautions. That's the whole reason she got Bruno, her dog. She trained him for like six weeks."

You sigh and take out her crime scene photos.

"I know these are going to be hard to look at, but do you see anything different?" You lay out the photos for him. "Maybe something he might have done to get himself inside?"

Nate has a hard time looking at the photos but he is confused rather than sad. He comes across a picture of a bookshelf that's only filled with photographs of her and Nate. There are three shelves with two pictures on each shelf.

"No, this isn't right." He points to a picture of them that's on the top shelf on the right. "This is when we first started dating. It should be on the left, not the right."

"She wouldn't have rearranged them?"

"No. She arranged them in a certain way to tell a story. It was how we fell in love."

You step off to the side and call Derek who is at her house with Emily. You explain to him about the misplacement of the photographs. If he rearranged them, he must have put something behind them.

"Do you see it?" you ask.

"Yeah. It looks like he tried hanging something on the wall behind it. There's even a little bit of residue left over."

"Morgan," Emily calls out.

"Let me call you back." Derek hangs up the phone and walks over to Emily who is on the small landing on the stairs. "What is it?"

"I found something on here, too."

"What would he try to hang on this part of the wall?" he asks.

"Well, from here, I have an unobstructed view of the second floor and down the stairs."

"It's the same thing down here. You can see the entire entrance." A light bulb went off in his head. "Cameras. He put up cameras."

You, Spencer, and Hotch head over to her house once Derek and Emily request your presence. He quickly explains the discovery of the holes and the theory of the cameras.

"We think this is what he's using to spy on his victims. They're small, they're cheap, and they're easily hidden behind photos, books, and plants. The footage they record can then be transmitted anywhere to a website of your choice and even your cell phone. He can toggle between cameras to see everything that's happening in the house."

"How many did you find here?"

"Five. Upstairs, downstairs, bedroom, and even the bath."

"A ruse might get him in the door but it doesn't buy him enough time to put five of these up."

"Right. That's why we think he starts with one camera facing the front door. That tells him when it's safe to enter the house, when she comes and goes, when the dog-walker comes, and what the combination to the house is."

"It fits his MO. If he learned their every detail on social networks, he would be just as obsessive in his surveillance," Emily explains. "Once he learns their routine, all he has to do is pick the lock, put up the rest of the cameras, and he got their whole life at his fingertips."

You stand on the landing and look at the front door. The unsub's energy is all over the place. He's been here more than once like Emily theorizes.

"What does he do with the video? Does he keep them?" Spencer asks.

"If he's a voyeur, yes."

"Voyeurs are rarely violent, though. Their excitement comes from spying without the object knowing they're being watched. By abducting his victims, he's removing the outlet of his sexual release. He must have some other agenda with these cameras."

"He might be sharing the footage with other people. We need to have Garcia dig into surveillance and illegal video websites," Hotch says.

Spencer sees a picture on the fridge of Dorris and Nate which he takes down.

"I'm going to take this with us."

"Why?"

"We originally profiled that there wasn't any facial similarity between the victims, but I'm not so sure that's true. I want to compare Dorris' picture with the other victims."

You four head back to the police station where Rossi is talking to Penelope over video chat.

"With the videos the unsub took, it looks like he posted one of them online which I can use to nab him."

"If he puts it on the web, can't you track that back directly to his computer?"

"Normally, yes. Normally, I can get you the network he's using in seconds and get the physical address of his modem. This guy is different. "Do you guys know what a proxy server is?

"It's an internet relay," you say from behind Rossi who jumps slightly at your presence.

"Precisely. Kids use them to get around blocked sites. Now, usually, one proxy is plenty but this piece of work is using dozens of proxy servers. He's bounced his signal off of China, North Korea, Russia, and South Africa."

"Garcia, can you trace him back to Boise?" Hotch asks.

"Of course, I can. That's exactly what I'm doing but time is the unfortunate ingredient I need." Something comes across her computer that you can't see. "It looks like one of the proxy servers archived what he was streaming on the night of Dorris' disappearance."

"Can we see it?"

"Pulling it up now." Penelope's video chat moves to the left of the screen and another screen pops up on the right so you can still see her and watch the video at the same time. The unsub is wearing a ski mask to hide his identity as he enters her house. He immediately types the code into the alarm panel to disable the alarm before it goes off. He takes something out of his pocket just as Bruno walks up to him. "Oh, please don't hurt the doggie."

He doesn't. He feeds it a treat and lets it out of the house. Now that he's alone, he slowly treks up the stairs as if he is making a show for himself.

"Well, Prentiss and Morgan were right. He knows the house, and the dog knows him. How many trips inside the house would that take? A dozen?"

The camera changes the angle to show the entire upstairs floor and the stairs. He reaches the top of the stairs and heads to Dorris' bedroom. The camera switches the angle so that it looks like it's a POV camera.

"See that? The camera's attached to him. It's his point of view so he can relive it over and over again," you say.

The unsub grabs Dorris' throat and starts strangling her. She immediately wakes up and starts struggling but the unsub has a deathly grip on her. Penelope immediately looks away from the screen, not wanting to see that.

"Can someone tell me when it's over?"

"Not yet." When Dorris takes her last breath, the camera changes to one he stashed in her bedroom. "Okay, he's done." Penelope turns back around to watch the unsub fix her hair like he's caring for her. He wipes a stray tear from her cheek. "He's tender to her. She means more to him as a corpse than as a living person."

"Garcia, we need to find the unsub's network. Even if it's a rough area, it'll help narrow the geographic profile."

"Sir, that's what I'm trying to figure out. There is something else kind of huge you need to know about." She goes into the code of the video and shows a piece of the code outlined in red. "Do you see this line of code there?"

"Yeah."

"It allows the user admin, and in this case, the unsub, to set up a chat room. People were watching this on the night of the murder."

"We thought he was posting these after the fact. He's not. He wants people to experience it with him. He wants an audience. He has fans."

x

Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary​​​​​​ where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

[thousandfireworks]

Authors whose books you have to avoid because they are problematic.

Abigail Hing Wen.

Alex Aster.

Alice Hoffman.

Alice Oseman.

Alison Win Scotch. ‘Terrorism is never acceptable. Not in Israel.’

Allie Sarah.

Amber Kelly.

Amy Harmon.

Annabelle Monaghan.

Anna Akana.

Aurora Parker.

Benjamin Alire Sáenz.

Brandon Sanderson. Islamophobic.

Carissa Broadbent. Said that hamas is doing violence against innocence.

Chloe Walsh. Siding with Israel in the name of humanity.

Christina Lauren. Believe that Israel is the victim. A racist, also Islamophobic.

Colleen Hoover.

Cora Reilly. Travel to Israel despite criticism.

Danielle Bernstein. Islamophobic.

Danielle Lori.

Deke Moulton. Said hamas is terrorist.

Dian Purnomo.

Eliza Chan.

Elle Kennedy.

Elyssa Friedland.

Emily Henry.

Emily Mclntire.

Emily St. J. Mandel. Admiring Israel.

Gabrielle Zevin. Wrote a book about anti-Palestine. Mentioned Israel multiple times without context on his book.

Gregory Carlos. Israeli author. A zionist.

Hannah Whitten.

Hazel Hayes. Reposted a post about October 7th.

Heidi Shertok.

Jamie McGuire.

Jay Shetty. ‘Violence is happening in Israel.’

Jean Meltzer.

Jeffery Archer. Wrote a book with a mc Israel operative (mossad) in a positive and anti terrorist light.

Jennifer Hartman. Liked a post about pro-Israel.

Jen Calonita.

Jessa Hastings.

Jill Santopolo. Said that Israel has right to exist and fight back.

John Green.

Jojo Moyes.

J. Elle.

J. K. Rowling. Support genocide. Racist. Islamophobic.

Kate Canterbery.

Kate Stewart.

Katherine Howe.

Katherine Locke.

Kristin Hannah. Support Israel. Shared a donation link.

Laini Taylor.

Laura Thalassa. Islamophobic.

Lauren Wise. Cussed that Palestinian supporters would be raped in front of children.

Lea Geller. Thanked people who supports Israel.

Leigh Dragoon. Islamaphobic and anti Asian racist rants on Twitter and threads

Leigh Stein.

Lilian Harris. A racist. Blocking people who educates about colonialism in Palestine and call them disgusting.

Lisa Barr. A daughter of Holocaust survivor. Support Israel.

Lisa Kennedy Montgomery.

Lisa Steinke.

Liz Fenton.

Lynn Painter. Afraid of getting cancelled as a pro-Palestine and posted a template afterwards.

L. J. Shen. Her husband joins idf (Israel army).

Mariana Zapata.

Marie Lu.

Marissa Meyer.

Melissa de la Cruz.

Michelle Cohen Corasanti.

Michelle Hodkin. Spread false rumors about arab-hamas. Islamophobic.

Mitch Albom. ‘We shouldn't blame Israel for surviving attacks or defending against them.’

Monica Murphy. Siding with Israel.

Naomi Klein.

Navah Wolfe.

Neil Gaiman. Suggested Palestinians unite with Israel and become citizens.

Nicholas Sparks.

Nic Stone. Talked nonsense that children in Palestinian refugee camp are training to be martyrs for Allah because they felt it was their call in life.

Nyla K.

Olivia Wildenstein. Blocking people who disagree with Israel wrongdoing.

Pamela Becker.

Penelope Douglas.

Pierce Brown.

Rachel Lynn Solomon.

Rebecca G. Martinez.

Rebecca Yarros. ‘I despise violence’ her opinion about what's happening in Gaza. Blocking people who calls her a zionist.

Rena Rossner.

Renee Ahdieh.

Rick Riordan.

Rina Kent.

Rivka (noctem.novelle).

Rochelle Weinstein.

Romina Garber. ‘These terrorist attacks do nothing to improve the lives of Palestinians people.’

Roshani Chokshi. Encourage people to donate to Israel.

Samantha Greene Woodruff.

Sarah J. Mass. Her book contained ideology of zionism.

Stephanie Garber. Promoting books by zionist author (Sarah J. Mass)

Skye Warren.

Sonali Dev.

Talia Carner.

Tarryn Fisher. Said ‘there was terrorist attack in Israel.’

Taylor Jenkins Reid. Posted a video about genocide.

Tere Liye. Rumoured to have ghoswriters to write his books and never give credit to them.

Tillie Cole.

Tracy Deon.

Trinity Traveler (Ade Perucha Hutagaol). Rumour to wrote book about handsome Israelis.

T. J. Klune.

Uri Kurlianchik.

Veronica Roth.

Victoria Aveyard. ‘Israel has the right to exist.’ quote from her about the issue.

V. E. Schwab. Shared a donation link and video about Israel.

Yuval Noah. ‘Israel has the right to do anything to defend themselves.’

Zibby Owens.

[russenoire]

i just finished fullmetal alchemist 2003...

and i have words about this.

while both series have lovely scores, courtesy of michiru ooshima here and akira senju for FMAB, FMAB's OPs and EPs are almost all far too good to skip, ever. (if i have to hear pornograffiti's 'melissa' one more time, i will scream.) both series rely pretty heavily on slapstick humor to leaven the surrounding darkness, and the massive chip on edward's shoulder about his height, grating in brotherhood, also wears on my patience here.

i liked this story's approach to alchemy and how it works. but the creators' vision of homunculi here, where each homunculus arises as a result of a single alchemist's hubris and becomes their sin to answer for? i prefer it a little more than the admittedly more cohesive explanation of a single being splitting off aspects of himself.

we get to spend more time with scar and maes hughes (my favorite character; i adore his hazel eyes in this adaptation and hearing the late keiji fujiwara's silky pipes voice him twice is a joy). i still can't decide which kimblee i like best.

both fullmetals are examples of satisfyingly meaty storytelling and full of awesome animation. i suspect a dislike of canon divergence behind a lot of the hate for the first series, and a preference for deeper character study and pathos behind hate for the second.

i'm usually wary of adaptations continuing after creators run out of source material myself, but the story shō aikawa and seiji mizushima constructed out of whole cloth offers up a feast of philosophy, character study, mindfuckery and intricate military-political intrigue. and for the most part, it holds up under its own weight.

here scieszka, winry and rose are more instrumental to the story's plot. dante the cursed shapeshifting genius alchemist is a brilliant addition to the story, as is archer (more on him below). lust becomes an almost sympathetic character, what with having loved and lost multiple times as she manipulates mankind into seeking knowledge while being only a tool herself. alphonse is a formidable alchemist and a prodigy in his own right. here that's not just hinted at; both boys could have passed the state alchemist exam with ease. i loved seeing the elric brothers use alchemy to squabble with each other, not just fists and limbs. and edward... he's a double amputee, but his prosthetic limbs work well enough to rid him of any real functional impairment (bless winry's fantastic engineering!). i'm not going to get into the fucked-up implications of that in this post, but i will say that FMA '03 makes his disability much clearer. we see how painful attaching his automail limbs is, repeatedly. a character pries them off of him at one point and he's almost helpless until he can get them back. it's now obvious why he wears gloves most of the time.

the brutality and pervasive racism of the military dictatorship running amestris is given far more focus here. (edward himself gets checked on his own racist assumptions quite a few times.) we see more of the armed forces in the act of genocide, not just flashbacks in haunted soldier memories. officers openly call people savages; kimblee is sent in as an exterminator because of his amorality and solipsism; shou tucker's sick research is allowed to continue, even though the military already has a more efficient method to make chimerae. while making the situation the elric brothers left behind in liore worse, the shady lt col archer sustains what would have been fatal wounds. he gets rebuilt into some sort of robocop hybrid sentient killing machine with no qualms about gunning down his own men. rose is traumatized to mutism raped by the military for having led a rebellion and still leads her people.

whether this feels heavy-handed to you may depend on your tolerance for darkness and cognitive dissonance; i'm still processing how i feel about it. both takes on arakawa-sensei's story present their main and supporting cast as capable of cruelty and kindness, but FMA '03 foregrounds that evil a bit more alongside the good. it made the kindness less palatable for me, in a good way.

also i spoiled myself a bit by watching the conqueror of shamballa before finishing this series. when i learned that mizushima-san is a huge fan of hideaki anno's work, FMA '03's 'inconclusive' ending made even more sense.

[smolsleepyfox]

Powerwolf Tournament update

The winner of the cover tournament is found!

Congratulations to

Army of the Night by Amaranthe for best Powerwolf cover song!*

The winning podium:

1. Army of the Night (Amaranthe)

2. We drink your blood (Saltatio Mortis)

3. Demons are a girl's best friend

4. Night of the Werewolves (Unleash the Archers)

5. Blood for Blood (Melissa Bonny)

Winning songs averaged at 61% percent of the votes. On average, 34,7 people voted on a poll, with the highest participation being 52 votes (the album round for Communion Lupatum 2) and the lowest being 18 votes (album round Missa Cantorem 2).

* If you're wondering why the last polls say semi-finals: I genuinely expected a more complex result that would require a tiebreaker as final round, but Demons are a Girl's Best Friend was knocked out decisively against both opponents. So like. Tough luck I guess.

[katrinahood]

Do you have any voice claims for your favorite CC characters? If so, what are they (if you're comfortable)?

I do have some voice claims for some CC characters! Here are some of them!

James Savage: Glenn Howerton

Amy Young: Melissa Fumero

Yann Toussaint: Terry Crews

Hannah Choi: Kym Hoi

Daniel Lambert: Marc Alaimo

Karen Knight: Kate Mulgrew

Jezebel Lopez, Gloria Hayes: Kimberly Brooks

Jack Archer: Andy Samberg

Carmen Martinez: Stephanie Beatriz

Isaac Bontemps, Ray Parker: Andre Braugher

Diego del Lobo: Jon Curry

Thaddeus Mulroney: Frank Welker

Martin Meunier: Corrine Kempa

Catherine Kelly: Shohreh Aghdashloo

Sirius Atwood: Marc Evan Jackson

Uriah Haddonfield: Hugh Laurie