#So idk which one to tag 'cause this is set in Britain

[fumblingmusings]

While I do see the appeal of usuk, I can't really see it. There's a generational resentment from the USA, there's a inferiority/superiority view from england. Idk, looks strange. I have siblings, that's how we behave with each other. But it's cool, just think the special relationship is mostly based on power and convenience nothing else.

Historically rusame doesn't work. I mean yeah, friends at first but then ideologies wreck it. How do you see those two? Historically I do enjoy my porteng and frain but for america it makes sense Canada or alone. I feel there's a quite lack of compromise in USA part. They want to take and their freedom is more important than any sort of relationship.

Woah woah woah I think you sent me like five ship asks in a row so let me just go through them one by one if that's okay! I'll do the France x Spain headcanons in its own ask but here let me run through some ship talk. As I should not need to clarify - I have my preferences certainly, and there are some ships which I cannot stand for one reason or another, but I have never been fussed about trying to un-justify why a pairing wouldn't work. Justify why it would certainly yes yes, but I am not your mother or any figure of authority and I am a big fan of the tag filter and block button, I encourage it with me if it keeps your dash hot take free. Crack ships, historical ships, human aus... whatever floats people's boats! Personally I am a big fan of unhealthy relationships that claw their way into functioning, so that will inform my understanding of the characters. That ain't for everyone.

So!

There's a generational resentment from the USA, there's a inferiority/superiority view from england

That's what makes it great :D

But it's cool, just think the special relationship is mostly based on power and convenience nothing else.

Again, that's kind of the point for me - how do you reconcile two people who are in a metaphorical open marriage of convenience with the fact that maybe they have genuine feelings which are distinct from any political role they play, knowing that they themselves aren't political players. They can potentially have a history that runs directly contradictory the the popular narrative of international relations: what does that look like? I think a lot of people employ that dynamic within Hetalia ships - personally I use it with US UK the most, but they're all party to it.

I have siblings, that's how we behave with each other.

That's cool and I can understand that angle! I have a brother and sister too and we get on like so painfully normally fine, so I always am a bit ???? when it comes to depictions of dysfunctional siblings in media. And that's the crux of it. Of course I see them as fraternal at times. It's really down to the story that the author - Hima or otherwise - wants to tell. The characters are immortal spirits. Tell interesting stories with them, the dynamics are intentionally left vague because it's fun to fill the gaps!

Historically rus ame doesn't work. I mean yeah, friends at first but then ideologies wreck it. How do you see those two?

I think it works in the 19th Century because Russia was often quite friendly with the US, particularly during the Civil War, but only in regards to the Russian Empire A) Liking 'strong' centralised government over federalisation B) It is a land based Empire who does not want a precedent set for splinter sections of the country declaring independence C) Russia hates Britain. America for much of the 19th Century is a bulwark against Britain (and by extension Canada). It was never a particularly important or course changing relationship outside of Alaska, but I can see historic cause for saying you could make something up. A lull of near nothing between WWI and WWII of course. After that it's the tension of MAD etc...

Personally. I am not a fan. Not a huge fan of Ivan in general so... I skip it. But yeah, once Alfred supplants Arthur as the 'real' enemy, any chance of happiness fades. Unless you aren't bothered about something as trivial as happiness in a ship and enjoy carnage. Not for me personally but!!

Historically I do enjoy my port eng and fra in but for america it makes sense Canada or alone. I feel there's a quite lack of compromise in USA part. They want to take and their freedom is more important than any sort of relationship.

Again I am not a fan of Canada and America... genuinely I think it's cause they are just too visually similar (for some I hear that's a perk...). But with every America ship you're gonna have fucked power dynamics. Doesn't matter who it's with. The eb and flow of influence will shift and depend on the other party certainly - some may be more openly defiant only to get shot down in flames, others may choose to try and be subtle only to find that Alfred doesn't do subtle. That's the fun in his ships I find. Can you have him in a romantic relationship where the scales tipped in his favour make everyday life just so utterly dysfunctional it's not worth the trouble?

[magic-magpie]

It’s Always Been You

Yoooo, I wrote another fic! I’ve been hampered down lately by college and crap, so I haven’t been able to write as much because I’m constantly hella tired. But I saw the sappy prompts list I just reblogged, and I got an idea that I actually managed to see through to the end! Whaddaya know... Anyway, it’s UsUk as always (UsUkUs, really... there’s rarely a seme/uke dynamic in my fics - I don’t tend to like it), and around 3,728 words, give or take a couple. Also, please keep in mind that I have never been to one of these kind of parties. And I know that plenty of popular people don’t get wasted at every party. To be honest, I’m just using Mean Girls as my referencing point, and other accounts of parties I’ve found on the internet. And Mean Girls was fine to use in terms of age, because can you believe that Regina George was sixteen?! THAT’S MY AGE. ...Pfft, I’m a loser. Like I didn’t already know that.

Alfred Foster Jones was popular.

All throughout his life he’d been one of the popular kids. Friendly, optimistic, good-looking, smart, sporty, rich, American – he was the literal formula for universal popularity. When he’d started college he’d managed to form a plethora of friends on just the first day. A week later, everybody knew of Alfred F. Jones. Even if you weren’t in a single one of his classes, you still knew who he was. Boys wanted to be him, girls wanted to be with him – from day one he’d been the very definition of popular.

That’s why Arthur Kirkland simply couldn’t fathom why he’d never dated a soul.

Arthur and Alfred had met when they were seven, on the first day of junior school. Arthur had been reserved and introverted, but Alfred had managed to worm his way through his shyness, and they’d quickly become friends. All throughout primary and secondary school they’d remained best friends, and now that they were in college they were still that close.

However, although they were best friends, they still had their popularity differences. It was almost laughable – Alfred the Popularity King was best friends with Arthur the Social Reject. Alfred was the one who people wanted at their parties, who people wanted to be friends with; Arthur just got the token invite because everyone knew that excluding him would lead to Alfred refusing to associate with you.

As a result of Alfred’s popularity, he’d been asked out multiple times. Sometimes he’d get asked out thrice in a single day. Plenty of the time it was by people who just couldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer.

But in spite of all these offerings, Alfred had never dated anyone. He’d never accepted a dating proposal, never kissed anybody (even in games of Spin the Bottle he point-blank refused), never done anything romantic or sexual in the slightest. It baffled Arthur, quite honestly. Even Arthur had had his first kiss (just in a game of Spin the Bottle he’d been token-invited to; it was slimy and awful – the feeling was only exacerbated by the fact that Alfred was right there watching him make out with someone. That wouldn’t be a problem if Arthur wasn’t head-over-heels in love with him.), yet Alfred had yet to be kissed. For the longest time he’d thought that popularity went hand-in-hand with an active sexual life, but Alfred was living proof of the contrary.

He’d asked Alfred about it, a few times. It wasn’t that he had a problem with Alfred being single (hell, his chest hurt every single time someone asked Alfred out, and there was always that sick feeling of what if he says yes), he was just curious as to why Alfred always rejected them. The answers he’d received had been rather wishy-washy; things like ‘I don’t know them well enough’, or ‘They’re not the type of person I want’. He’d never elaborate, because he always changed the subject to something much more mundane and trivial. And Arthur never pushed him.

“I’ll be seeing you there, Al!”

The pretty brunette sent Alfred a wave and a flirty smile before walking off to go find her friends. She’d left an invite to her Halloween party in his hands, and a token-invite in Arthur’s. He couldn’t help but scoff at it. Already, people know how to get Alfred at their functions.

“You gonna go?” Alfred asked, popping a piece of gum in his mouth and offering one to Arthur across the table, who took one and shrugged.

“I don’t go to these things without you. Besides, it’s you they want, not me.”

“I want you there,” Alfred insisted, blue eyes wide in that sincere way that made Arthur fall deeper in love. “Hell, if I’m going to a party I want a friend. Who else would I talk to about physics and shit?”

“Somehow,” Arthur said with a laugh, “I don’t think you go to parties to discuss physics.”

“So are you going?” That was the thing about Alfred. He’d never go unless Arthur said he was going. And Arthur knew that Alfred did truly like these parties and enjoyed revelling in his position as Popularity King, so it was that Arthur agreed to attend.

“Cool!” Alfred said, then he started bouncing up and down excitedly. “Oh oh oh, what should I dress up as? What about Superman? Or Captain America? No wait wait wait – we should totally go as Batman and Robin! Dude, this idea is priceless! You be Robin, and I’ll be Batman!”

“I am at least ninety-percent certain that you’re supposed to dress up sexily, if the movies are true in what they portray,” Arthur said. Although you look sexy any way you dress. Alfred drooped, until he seemed to think of another thing that brightened him up.

“But Batman is sexy! I mean, have you seen his abs? Defined, or what!”

“Batman is not sexy!”

Alfred scoffed. “Yeah, tell that to Selina Kyle.”

“Anyway,” Arthur made to steer the topic away from Batman’s abs, “we’ve got the rest of the month to think about it. Right now, we’ve got to focus on this Chemistry shit.”

On the gloomy night of October 31st, Arthur and Alfred approached the door of the girl’s house (her name was Courtney, they’d checked). They were still dressed as Batman and Robin, but it was more of a casual cosplay. As in, they had asked others who were attending, and just came in regular shirts and jeans, except Alfred’s shirt had the Batman logo, and Arthur’s had Robin’s. Alfred had been decidedly miffed by this turn of events, but what could they do?

Already Arthur could hear loud, thumping music from behind the door. He cringed – unbearably loud volumes were never fun for him. It sounded as if this was going to be the largest party they’d ever attended.

“Ready?” Alfred asked. Arthur grit his teeth and nodded. With a smile, Alfred pushed down on the handle and opened the door to what could only be described as mass chaos.

Loud music pulsed through the lobby, making the whole building vibrate in time with the song. The house was packed with bodies writhing and grinding against one another, drinks in hand, drinks spilling to the floor. The pungent smell of sweat permeated the air, and Arthur immediately wished he hadn’t said yes to this party. None of the others he’d attended had been this charged.

“Al, you made it!”

Courtney made her way over to them (dressed in a skin-tight catsuit), smiling that flirty smile that made Arthur’s skin crawl. He knew exactly what smile that was – he’d seen it countless times. It meant she was trying to charm Alfred into being hers.

Arthur hated it so because he was scared that, one day, it would work.

“Oh, hey!” Alfred greeted cheerfully, although Arthur could tell even he was having to strain his voice to be heard. “Nice party you’ve got here!”

“Want a drink?” She offered him, completely ignoring Arthur. “Or a dance?”

Now was the time for Arthur to slink away. Alfred had never done anything sexual before, but that was when there hadn’t been any alcohol. Now that drinks were added into the mix... he shuddered to think of what possibilities were open to the Popularity King.

Arthur didn’t want to be there to see them.

He left Alfred to party with Courtney and the rest of the popular crew, and weaved his way through hordes of writhing teenagers until he arrived at the drinks table with a relieved sigh. Partying was something he’d never be comfortable with, but drinking? He had three alcoholics for older brothers - becoming used to drink was something that had just happened down the line. And anyway, the alcohol didn’t seem to be anywhere near as strong as the stuff his brothers had given him – it was just spiked punch. He could handle that easily. So he poured himself out a glass and downed it, enjoying the warm, fuzzy feeling that spread all over his body.

Wonder what Alfred’s doing, he mused. Probably finally getting some popularity action, he thought glumly. Although Arthur hated it, he’d understand. The house was filled with pretty girls and handsome boys, and Alfred had the pick of the litter. Why wouldn’t he go and kiss the living daylights out of someone?

The image of Alfred grinding up against people that weren’t Arthur had him downing another glass of drink.

Honestly, Arthur thought crossly, get it together. You’re sixteen, he’s sixteen, everyone in this house is sixteen, seventeen, or eighteen. Sooner or later he’s going to find someone pretty to screw – he may very well be that one kid who loses their virginity at a party. Just because you like him doesn’t mean that you can get nauseated by the thought of him fucking someone who isn’t you. It’s going to happen one day. Get over it.

Arthur dreaded the moment when Alfred stopped refusing kisses in Spin the Bottle, when Alfred started dating people, when Alfred started taking full advantage of his prerogative as Popularity King.

With nothing else better to do, he filled up his glass again and decided to wander around. Of course, this proved incredibly difficult; all around him people were unable to keep their hands off one another, people were dancing like the house was a nightclub, people were forming mass crowds around doorways and such. It was at times like this where Arthur was grateful for his Social Reject status – not a single person called after him, allowing him to slip out of crowds undetected. He searched for a relatively-empty room to sit down in and take a breather from the chaotic energy of the party, but his quest came to no fruition. The lobby was packed, the living room was, the kitchen was - hell, even the stairs were. It was with great difficulty that Arthur managed to squeeze up the stairs, only to be met with more people.

And this scene was dirtier.

Guys and girls all making out with one another, loud moans coming from the bathroom and bedrooms, articles of clothing strewn about everywhere, the musky scent of sweat and sex heavy in the air. He sighed, stepping over shirts and stumbling over shoes until he reached a door. With the din of the party quickly becoming unbearable he slipped into the room without a moment’s hesitation.

“Hey – look – stop, dude – please -”

“Oh, come on, it’ll be fun.”

Arthur froze.

He knew that voice.

He whirled round to see Alfred beneath Courtney on the bed, her hand underneath his ruffled shirt and an almost predatory smirk on her lips. At just that moment the two of them noticed him in the room, for their heads simultaneously snapped to him.

“Oh, it’s you,” Courtney said dismissively, looking irritated. From the looks of it, she’d been drinking far too much of the punch. Arthur, rooted to the spot, dared not look at Alfred, terrified of what he’d find. Did Alfred have that red flush of someone intoxicated like Courtney did? Was Alfred’s hair all tousled and messed up in that way that indicated an intense make-out session? Would his big blue eyes be lidded with desire for someone who wasn’t him?

The thought of it made him want to vomit.

“Would you leave already?” Courtney hissed impatiently, not a trace of the girl who’d given them invitations a month ago. Pointedly not looking at Alfred, Arthur nodded wordlessly. Still stunned by what he’d just seen, Arthur turned round and made to open the door again, but stopped when Alfred called out to him.

“Artie!”

His tone wasn’t normal. It wasn’t cheery, happy, sunny. It was... panicked.

Arthur spun round to look at Alfred, and he did not see someone thoroughly enjoying being underneath a girl. He was red, but it wasn’t the warm flush of alcohol. Alfred’s golden hair was messed up, but in the way that indicated a struggle, not a make-out. His blue eyes were wide and seemed to be almost pleading Arthur to help him.

Incensed, Arthur strode up to Alfred and forcefully pulled him up and off the bed. “Sorry,” he spat at Courtney, who was scowling herself, “Alfred’s got somewhere to go.”

And with that he marched out of the bedroom, down the stairs, and out of the house. It had been surprisingly easy, as if the partygoers had sensed that Arthur was, at that point, a seething mass of rage, and had parted like the sea had for Moses. Except Moses hadn’t been possessed by barely-suppressed anger.

“HOW DARE SHE!” Arthur exploded once they were out. “SHE FUCKING ALMOST USED YOU FOR SEX!”

“You can chill, dude! We’re out now,” Alfred said. Arthur would have ‘chilled’, except the little laugh Alfred gave was shaky and his smile didn’t fully reach his eyes.

“I’m going to fucking kill her on Monday,” he spat, balling his hands into fists. “She’s in my English class, isn’t she? I’ll fucking murder her.”

“She was drunk, she didn’t know what she was doing! She’s actually nice, y’know.”

Arthur stared at Alfred, perplexed. “How and why are you defending her?! She doesn’t even like you properly, she’s just another one of those fucking jerks who want to shag the Popularity King!”

“I know, okay?” Alfred’s voice was rising too. “Look, it’s freakin’ hard being popular! It practically forces you into being cool with all this crap!”

“But you’re not cool with it!”

“If it wasn’t for you I would be!”

Silence.

The wind blew the light drizzle of rain in haphazard directions, and the sound of blaring music could still be heard faintly, but the two of them were oblivious to it all. Alfred’s eyes widened, stance defensive, a deer caught in the headlights.

“...And what does that mean?” Arthur ground out. He went on the offensive, but inside he was preparing himself for the worst – Alfred’s realised that you’re holding him back from being part of the popular crowd and he’s finally decided to do away with the Social Reject.

“It’s you, okay? It’s always been you!” His arms were out to the sides, palms exposed, looking incredibly vulnerable and open. “I’ve never dated anyone because I want to date you! I don’t want to freakin’ go around making out with whoever wants me because it won’t feel right because it’s not you!”

Alfred breathed heavily, eyes wide and shining. He was staring imploringly at Arthur who stared right back, stunned.

Alfred liked him.

It had to be a joke.

But it couldn’t be a joke, not when he was looking like that.

“W-what?” He managed to stammer. From the light of the streetlamp he could see a flush on Alfred’s face, and somehow he knew it wasn’t because it was chilly.

“I’ve – I’ve liked you since Year Seven. I always rejected everyone because, well, I was stupidly waiting around for you to – to ask me out,” Alfred gave a little scoff, “even if there’s no chances of that happening.”

Arthur was still struck dumb, so Alfred continued. “Why d’you think I didn’t answer any of your calls or texts after you made out with that girl in that Spin the Bottle game last year?”

“Y-you told me you’d lost your phone!” Arthur said, managing to find his voice again.

“I did... Kinda. I don’t know, I just-” he sighed, and finished in a quiet voice, “seeing you kiss her like that was bad enough, but the thought of talking to you properly, I – I really did try, but I just kept remembering how you kissed her, and I – I broke my phone. So I did lose it. Kinda.”

“That’s...”

“Dramatic?” Alfred smiled ruefully. “Yeah. I didn’t mean to break it, I just chucked it against the wall and it shattered... Remember how I was grounded for a month? Yep. It wasn’t ‘cause I snuck out to that party. Y’know, I actually didn’t sneak out. So that lecture you gave me back then? Totally wrong.”

“Well,” he quickly searched for something normal to say, “you still deserved a lecture.”

“Yeah, I guess. But hey, I got my cool new phone afterwards! I think Mom took pity on me... she hates unrequited love and all that crap.”

Alfred heaved a sigh, then lifted his head to look Arthur in the eye. With a jolt, he realised that Alfred’s eyes were sparkling with something that looked dangerously like tears.

“So, there. I tried to stop liking you, I really did. But at the same time, I... I didn’t want to stop. It’s like –“

“Both a blessing and a curse,” Arthur finished. “Trust me, I know.”

Alfred’s jaw dropped. “Wait, you like someone?! Is it that girl you made out with? You told me it wasn’t her, but still-“

“It’s you, idiot.”

God, the expression Alfred made was just adorable. His big blue eyes became as wide as saucers, practically sparkling, and his mouth formed a perfect ‘o’.

“Wait, you’re serious?!” His utter disbelief was evident, making Arthur chuckle slightly, even if he felt himself heating up.

“There is absolutely no need to lie in this situation, so of course. For quite the while, actually,” Arthur said, smiling slightly. Surprisingly, it had felt good to get it off his chest, even more so because his feelings were reciprocated. Honestly, he was still trying to get his head round it... Alfred reciprocated his feelings. Alfred liked him back.

“Okay okay, so,” Alfred said, “you like me, and I like you.”

“That would, er, be correct,” Arthur replied. A wide grin stretched across Alfred’s face, making Arthur’s heart skip a beat.

“Then, well, why aren’t we dating?!”

Arthur locked eyes with Alfred, and suddenly he felt his own lips stretch into a gloriously elated grin. He had the wonderful sensation of floating on Cloud Nine, all the negativity from the party destroyed by the pure positivity in the form of Alfred’s love.

“Would you like to start?”

Next thing he knew, Alfred had tackled him into a gleeful hug, arms tightly wrapped around him. As a result Arthur stumbled backwards and was just saved from crashing down by Alfred’s impressive strength, and he just suddenly started laughing because all of this was just too perfect. He still had the feeling that he’d wake up in bed and this would have all been a wonderfully vivid dream, but he hoped to God it wasn’t.

“Holy shit you’re my boyfriend, Artie! Boyfriend!” Alfred squealed excitedly. “That means we can go on dates and hold hands and wear each other’s clothes and spend Valentine’s as lovers and kiss and-“

“And share a blanket and watch movies and sit in front of the fireplace and roll around on the snow and I-“ Arthur’s smile turned softer, “I’ve dreamt about this for so long.”

Arthur held onto his boyfriend tighter, and they swayed on the spot under the sky full of stars. He rested his head on Alfred’s shoulder, revelling in the intimacy he’d desired for years.

“Do you want to come to mine for our first, well, date, if you will? I’m sure my mother won’t object to a sleepover, and we can watch movies,” Arthur suggested, then hastily added, “But if you want to return to the party, we can! I know you like them and all.”

Alfred laughed. “What, and risk you smashing Courtney’s head in with a chair? These guys at college might not know it, but you’re freakin’ dangerous when you’re angry!”

“That was one time, Alfred!” Arthur huffed. “And the fucker deserved being hit in the face for what he said about my brothers.” He’d received a three-day suspension for breaking the boy’s nose. Honestly, Arthur was lucky he was one of the most intelligent students in the year (the other being Alfred) – any less intelligent, and he would’ve been expelled. The school had been desperate to get rid of him, but desperate to have him at the same time. Truth be told, he had fun exploiting the system every so often.

“Yeah, he was acting shitty. I gave you a cookie for beating him up, d’ya remember?” Alfred said with a grin.

“Of course I remember – it was one of your father’s cookies. His are brilliant.”

“I’ll tell him that. Dad gets super-happy whenever anyone compliments his cookies. Like, you wouldn’t believe how happy he gets! I remember, once his boss ate one and said it tasted hella good, and he wouldn’t stop talking about it for days! And Valentine’s Day at mine is always cool, ‘cause he makes cookies for Mom and I eat half of them ‘cause why not?”

“I believe they’re for your mother only, idiot,” Arthur mock-chided with a roll of his eyes and a reluctant smile. “Anyway, putting the topic of cookies aside, would you like to return to the party?”

“Nah,” Alfred immediately said, “I mean, I like parties and crap, but hanging out at yours sounds like more fun. Oh oh oh, can we watch a horror? It’s Halloween, we have to!”

Feeling rather elated with the fact that Alfred had chosen him, Arthur replied, “Of course! Although, it has to be British.”

“Nah, dude! American horror films are the best!” Alfred objected, and they argued over which country’s horrors were better in that wonderful bickering for bickering’s sake way that Arthur loved.

“How about we decide when we go home?” Arthur suggested. “It’s starting to rain again.”

“Yeah, good idea,” Alfred replied, and they set off. Out of nowhere, he squealed, “I’m just so excited! We’re gonna have a sleepover and watch horrors and-”

“We always do that, anyway,” Arthur pointed out with a laugh.

“Yeah, but now we’re dating, and so we can cuddle up and hug and kiss and do all those things that I’ve wanted to do for ages!”

“Fair point,” Arthur said, barely containing his own excitement. “Please tell me we’ll be sharing a blanket.”

“Holy crap yes!” He turned to Arthur, and even in the rain Arthur could see that his eyes were almost twinkling and sparkling, like they held all the stars in the universe. “This is going to be the best first date ever.”

Smiling warmly, Arthur slid his hand into Alfred’s, and together they walked back to Arthur’s house – not as friends, but as lovers.

[therightprometheanfire]

Tag Game

I got tagged by @nerdygingerandproud, y’all!

1. Relationship status:  Single

2. Lipstick or chapstick: Definitely lipstick. I have one in a light pleasant pink and another in a dark red and that last one especially is one of my favorite things.

3. Three favorite foods:  Hmmmm. Burgers (particularly this burger joint back home in VT is just... fucking incredible, my dudes), strawberries, aaaaand I’m gonna go with the steak that my brother makes, because when I was still at home and he was working at the grocery store and tired all the time, he learned what the cheapest cuts of meat in the store that still tasted good were, so he’d bring home five dollar cuts of meat that he’s so good at cooking, and idk, I’ve been missing it a lot lately

4. Song stuck in your head:  this is a weird pull, but when I went home last weekend my brother and I rewatched the Simpsons episode “Homer’s Barbershop Quartet”, and there’s this bit where Jasper’s singing to the tune of “Theme from a Summer Place” but instead of the lyrics he sings “it’s the theeeeeeme from a suuuuummer plaaaaace, from a summer plaaaace, it’s the theeeeme from a suuuummer plaaaace”, and on and off ever since it has been going in a goddamn loop in my brain

5. Last movie you watched: if documentaries count, an American Masters on Edgar Allen Poe. It was only okay: they were bending over backwards to excuse how Poe was kind of a dick (although he’s not a dick in all the ways we commonly believe him to be, which the documentary was pushing pretty hard, he still married his thirteen year old cousin, so)

6. Top three shows— Classic: I always went more hardcore on classic movies than classic TV shows and my brain is a garbage fire in general, so these will probably be the ones that I remember (some of these I haven’t even seen in ages but remember loving dearly), BUT: Monty Python, most of the early SNL stuff, and The Twilight Zone. I haven’t watched enough Star Trek OTS to call it a favorite, but I’ve seen enough that I like and appreciate it a bunch.  Recent: The Good Place, Brooklyn Nine Nine, and American Experience. Really, any PBS documentary is good with me.

7. Books I’m currently reading:  I haven’t been reading as much as I have been listening to audiobooks, so for audiobooks I’m working on The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore and Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War by Mark Harris. The physical book I’m trying to finish is Queer City: Gay London from the Romans to the Present Day by Peter Ackroyd. Queer City is very well written, and pretty interesting, but it advertises as being a history including gays, lesbians, transgender folk, and that it is not very good at it. It’s mostly a history of gay men, and also some lesbians, and a very small amount of trans folk. As a gay male history of London, it’s exceptional, but as far being an all encompassing queer history book, it definitely falls way short of the mark.

8. Last thing I googled:  "queer city book”, because I couldn’t remember the full title or author, and it’s on my bookshelf but I do not have the vision necessary to read the author from here and my comforter is very warm.

9. Time: 5:52 pm

10. Dream trip: God, dudes, I want to travel so bad. I think I answered one of these recently talking about how my next trip I wanted to be to NYC, and that is still true, but as far as dream trip, fuck, man. I would love to do a road trip across the US because I’ve always wanted to do a road trip, but for one thing that costs money, and for another a loudmouthed queer woman traveling on her own across the country is... probably not a good thing to be doing at the moment. But I also really wanna go to Britain. I’m really interested in English and Irish history and would love to travel to see historical landmarks (yes, I would be that tourist), I’ve been a Shakespeare nerd since I was about seven or eight and I’ve always wanted to see a production at the Globe, I have friends in Britain I’d love to see (looking at you, @dont-offend-the-bees and @lavellington).

11. Anything you want:  Gosh. Well, okay. I’d like for the world to not be such a fucking nightmare, and if the US weathers Trump, I would really like for liberals and the left to not dust off their hands and go “yay, we fixed it!”, because getting rid of Trump will not mean “we fixed all the problems that led us here”, and we still have a lot of work to do with racism and misogyny and transphobia and homophobia. Getting rid of the asshole at the top of the system does not mean we have fixed the problems inherent in the system.

That, obviously, is the big one. On a smaller scale,  I’d like to be able to set up a both at craft shows, for one thing, I love crochet and I’d love to be able to showcase it to a bunch of people and have a bunch of people buy my stuff (and definitely validate my yarn habit). I would love to get a book published- I have a couple long term book plots churning, but I think an anthology of poetry and short stories would be good for me. I want to lose some weight cause even though I actually really like being fat, I have arthritis, and the less weighing on my joints, the less I’ll be in pain. Kind of foiling that last wish, I really want a plain untoasted bagel with a smoked salmon schmear from the cafe about eight minutes from me.

All right, I’ve definitely fuckin talked enough, let’s get tagging. I’m supposed to tag fifteen people, but I always struggle with hitting the exact number, so I’m gonna do my best and if y’all feel like doing it, go for it.

@dont-offend-the-bees, @klaudiart, @princessparadoxical, @punkpuppydragon, @singlemaltantiseptics, @lavellington, @elijahwoodnot