#Sydney is the apprentice

[gravedangerahead]

pre-history au!!!

This is the result of reading The Dawn of Everything — which is a really great look at the immense variety of social configurations that existed in pre-history — while having Sydrian brain worms. So it's a hunter-gatherer AU. I always get pretty emotional about how humans were always humans, yk?

In what continent does the story take place? I don't know. When exactly in the really broad timeline of prehistory? Look, back when there were vampires, ok? Adrian says in The Fiery Heart that he has no idea where exactly vampires fit in human evolution and with this fic you can keep wondering lol

Sydney and Adrian come from different but intersecting groups

With Adrian I'm imagining a society where Spirit and spirit guidance has a known role, and where dreams have social importance. He still has the downsides of spirit but he has a better defined role.

With Sydney I enjoyed thinking about how a character who is so defined by being extremely intelligent would work in a society without writing and still be just as smart and capable. I thought about her love of stories and knowledge and witchcraft. I thought about the huge diversity of languages that existed then, even within one group. Her protectiveness and loyalty. Her curiosity. And her wish to travel.

And some romantic fluff. A lot of romantic fluff.

This is probably the one I thought about the most and the longest. Which does not actually mean that I wrote that much. It's just short of 25 hundred words long

I almost posted a section of it involving Malachi Wolfe that I was proud of immediately after writing, but decided against it lol

Also, I kind of didn't name any of the characters. It feels weird to have characters called Sydney and Adrian and Eddie in a prehistoric setting. It makes it a bit complicated

[tatttoosworld]

30 Small Matching Tattoos for Married Couples

Getting small matching tattoos as a married couple is a beautiful way to express love and commitment. These tattoos not only reflect your unique bond but also serve as a permanent reminder of your journey together. Below, you’ll find 30 inspiring ideas that can help you choose the perfect small tattoo to match with your spouse.

[funnel-webbed-au]

Movie Night

Nezha sat on the couch while the movie rolled on, almost unable to hear it over the droning sound of the ceiling fan. Frankly, he didn't care too much, either. The film was old and held historical inaccuracies so severe that he couldn't bring himself to give even a fraction of a flying fuck.

But it was the sound of a whip cracking to spur forth the horses that pierced the veil. MK and Mei turned to Nezha, confused as to why he'd suddenly sat up so straight. The way the Deity clenched the couch cushions at his sides so tightly that they expected him tear them rose alarm bells in both of their heads, and the two friends processed them in dramatically different ways.

Maybe the sights and sounds drew his interest, but that panicked bead of sweat on his face couldnt have been good, nor were the way his breaths were so shallow and fast. They were uneven, as if he couldnt breathe at all, and was struggling for air.

MK didn't know much of Nezha's story, and felt it rude to pry. However, if the situation brought this much stress to his friend, he wasn't going to sit idly by. MK reached for the TV remote and pressed pause while Nezha got himself together. The Dragon and the Stone Monkey could only wait, biding their time.

He could almost feel the whip against his skin all over again, those harsh, metallic edges to the segmented metal more than enough to break his skin. His dazed expression didn't do the appalling memories he was left with any justice. Nezha could have sworn he felt his own ichor rolling down his back from the force of the celestial chain whips that had been used to punish him, thoroughly inspired by the same punishments some militaries used.

Some sick part of him missed the harsh metal against his skin, while the rest of his being simply froze, zoning off as the static overwhelmed his senses. It was like his skin was on fire, yet he felt no pain. It was like his eardrums had burst, and yet they didn't bleed.

MK finally took a leap of faith, setting his hand on Nezha's shoulder in an attempt to get his attention. In an instant, the ancient Deity had MK subdued with his armillary sash, wrapped up tightly on the floor. Mei stopped before she could unsheathe her sword, examining the Lotus Deity briefly.

Those panicked breaths had to be indicative of fear.

“Yang Nezha." Mei stated flatly, calling the ancient Deity by his current, legal name. It seemed to snap him out of whatever it was, and he staggered back as mist filled his vivid pink eyes.

"I... I'm sorry, Xiaotian. I do not understand what-" Nezha stopped as MK and Mei both rushed to hug him. The pressure was familiar, something that tore at his heartstrings despite his best efforts to keep himself composed.

Mei reached up to wipe the Deity's tears, then squeezed his cheeks, prompting a noise of protest. "Why didn't you tell us this movie would upset you, dumb-dumb?! I would have changed it to something else! We've all been through enough, especially you." Mei let go and stepped back, rubbing her arm while Nezha processed the entire sequence of events, and the fact that MK was still clinging to him.

When the tremors died down and Nezha's mind calmed, he took a moment to get his bearings. Right, right... he was still in MK's apartment, not on a blood-soaked battlefield he'd been forced to stain further.

"...yeah. I think we should watch something else. For all of our sakes."

"So, what do you want to watch, big guy?" Mei replied, remote in her hand.

Nezha smiled weakly.

This was home, alright.

[meeghanreads]

August 2024 TBR

Hello friends!! Welcome to the August 2024 TBR. A post where I will attempt to take my best guess at what I will feel like reading for the month of August. I am pretty sure that I failed miserably from my July 2024 TBR post. I finished ONE book, and started ONE other. Of which I’m currently about a quarter into. So, 1.25 books out of 12. That’s only JUST 10%. I am absolutely killing my Goodreads…

[fazcinatingblog]

disappointing that thunder(clan) pulls out this 175 crap against renebabes.

[cherryc1nnam0n]

I'm bored and I don't wanna write something so have this rant about the (fictional) men I love and why

Hello people

This is Cherry speaking and today I am presenting top men that I love and why are (most of them) them all serial killers who wear masks and are dead? We'll find out here

1. Brahms Heelshire

I mean just look at him, skrunkily wall boi who has never showered, the man with a mask that makes him look so fuckable and submissive and he fucking whines?! Ngh, so hot

I need to lick those man titties with all my might and ride him until his legs give out

But unlucky for me he's dead as fuck so yikes, he's not dead in my mind or in my blog

2. Billy Loomis

Crazy Ghostface boi who can rearrange my guts any time he wants and breed me all he wants mhm mhm

I fucking love Billy because look at him, he's a psychopath but he looks so hot while being it

Who wouldn't love this man??

But again, another one dead, killed by Sydney (fuck you Sydney), but not before leaving his offspring but we won't talk about that now

3. Eddie Munson

The exception to being a killer because he was framed it's my beautiful boi Eddie <3

I love this boi with all my heart and he can touch it with his dick all he wants <3

I fell in love with him when I saw him on Stranger Things 4 and I haven't since then <3

But my boi was eaten alive by a swarm of feral bats and bleed to death in Dustin's arms but he's still alive in my mind, and Tumblr's mind <3

4. Mark Hoffman

My crush from Saw since I watched the movies when I was 6

I have always loved older men for some reason so yeah (daddy issues)

He's not a good apprentice from John because he kills people and doesn't give them the chance of survival but I still love him <3

But as all of them, he was tied up on the original room from Saw and left to die there

It's presumed he's dead because people only survive 3 days without food so he's probably dead as fuck like all of them bois in this list

Still, he's still alive for me so he can breed me all he wants <3

5. Ethan Landry

Another Ghostface crazy boi who died a virgin (not in my mind if you know what I mean)

He was killed in an awful way but he's still hot and submissive and breedable and oh my gosh he's so hot

I am literally obsessed with him and you'll see my latest likes are all Ethan so yeah, fuck me (Ethan) I guess

6. Billy Hargrove

My asshole of a boyfriend who was too weak in spirit to fight off Vecna and died thanks to it

I love him <3

He's my favorite boi that can hit me and fuck me all he wants until I fry and he won't even stop by then so mmmmmhmmm

But again, ded as fuck lol

7. Hannibal Lecter

Cannibal daddy can eat me alive whenever he wants, I have excess skin so he can have all he wants mmmm

He's so pretty and sophisticated and so mmmm

I love him and he can eat me all he wants and breed me too

(I don't remember what happened to him if he died of not but yeah)

8. C!Technoblade

My pig boi who is a genocidal and an anarchist will always live rent free on my mind

(Along with his creator Alex, RIP Techno, we miss you a lot)

But on the DSMP I headcanon he had a lovely wife and two kids who loved him a lot and now they're alone and sad </3

But he's alive in my own AU so it's fine

I love my pig boi

9. Jim Hopper

I mean look at him, he screams DADDY in all his forms

I love hunks for some reason and he's one of them

He can have me whenever he wants

Only exception to being dead lol

Man titties

But anyways. That's everyone I can name off the top of my head so if you until here have a nice day and I love you <3

[mrs-stans]

Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong Talk Becoming Donald Trump and Roy Cohn in The Apprentice

BY TAYLOR ANTRIM PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANTONIO YSURSA

Jeremy Strong and Sebastian Stan (both in their own clothes) play Roy Cohn and Donald Trump in Ali Abbasi’s The Apprentice, in theaters this Friday, October 11.Photographed by Antonio Ysursa

You may have heard something about The Apprentice—the Donald Trump biopic that premiered at Cannes to great fanfare, and not a little controversy. Was director Ali Abbasi’s 1970s set film, starring Sebastian Stan as Trump and Jeremy Strong as his mentor, the New York attorney and ruthless power broker Roy Cohn, too sympathetic to the striving, scheming characters at its center? (Maybe not: After Cannes, Trump’s lawyers threatened to sue.) Certainly when you watch The Apprentice, which opens in theaters Friday, it’s impossible not to be astonished, and enthralled, by the performances of Stan and Strong, who turn real-life hyper-polarizing figures into fascinating antiheroes.

But make no mistake: The Apprentice is a warning. This is a movie, written by the journalist Gabriel Sherman, that will leave you chilled. Here is the story of Trump’s rise, the lessons he learned from Cohn, and a portrayal of power at all costs—what it drives a person to and how it corrupts.

Vogue invited Stan and Strong onto The Run-Through with Vogue to talk about their performances, how the film came together, and why Americans should see it before the November 5 election. Below, read an excerpt of the conversation Vogue.com editor Chloe Malle and I conducted with the two actors in the podcast studio.

Photographed by Antonio Ysursa

Taylor Antrim: We have three weeks until the election and I want people to know why they should go see this movie. A lot of people have Trump fatigue, and The Apprentice is two hours of being deep in his company.

Jeremy Strong: This movie is very loaded, right? It’s hard to talk about it in a non-partisan way... But I think the movie has as much in common with Midnight Cowboy, or Boogie Nights, or even, like, Scarface. It's more those things than it is some political polemic.

You know, I read something the other day by this journalist who lived in Chicago, Sydney Harris, who said, “History repeats itself, but in such cunning disguise that we never detect the resemblance until the damage is done.” And I guess I feel that the stakes are so fucking high right now in a way that they have never been, maybe since the American Civil War. And so it’s worth understanding where Trump came from and what he really is and believes.

Antrim: I also want to make sure people understand how radical this movie is, that it makes you participate in the humanity of people that you may feel you can write off. You know, like, we may understand that Trump is a monster. Or we understand that Roy Cohn was a monster, but the movie makes you participate in what they were like as human beings.

Strong: There’s a reason why it makes people so deeply, profoundly uncomfortable to relate to them that way. It’s much easier to be like, Well, they’re monsters…why would I want to feel anything or have any empathy or understanding? And I guess I find that really interesting.

Antrim: Sebastian, what was going through your mind when you were asked to play Trump? Because I would imagine that a lot of actors would just say no, or be scared of this, or be like, Are you crazy?

Sebastian Stan: I guess I had enough people saying maybe that this movie wasn’t a good idea, that it started to sound to me like a good idea. And then I think it was more, okay, well, if the right person can come and play Roy Cohn, then it’s really going to be exciting—and obviously then we found Jeremy. The director, Ali Abbasi, being Iranian, and growing up in Copenhagen, and being an outsider, having that lens on this—that was what was interesting to me. He wasn’t playing for the blue or the red team, he was looking from the outside in, and I think we were too far in the trenches on our own over here.

Photographed by Antonio Ysursa

Photographed by Antonio Ysursa

Chloe Malle: Did you have any sense from the beginning that a movie about Trump would be controversial, dangerous, difficult to get out there

Strong: Totally. I mean, you know that you’re playing with fire—how could we not know that? But I don’t think that had any impact on how we approached it as artists. I think we related to it as a piece of work and as a film about these two guys and their relationship.

Malle: It had trouble getting distribution coming out of Cannes, and then Trump’s lawyers threatened to sue. Did you anticipate any of that?

Stan: Of course, it seems kind of predictable that way. But I didn’t anticipate how hard it was to get the financing.

Strong: Also, if I’m being honest, I think I expected the movie to get scooped up out of Cannes. But then everyone was frankly scared to touch it. I think they were afraid of litigation and repercussions and afraid of Trump, and so now it’s opening this Friday on 1,500 screens or something like that, and I do think that this is something that is imperative for people to see.

Antrim: What I resonated so much to is that the movie is not a piece of propaganda, or it doesn’t have a particularly straightforward message, to me. I mean, it was actually a quite discomfiting film to watch for that reason.

Strong: I like to believe that we all have instincts towards other human beings. And I think if you watch this film, it’s not just learning about Trump as it is about learning about ourselves through him.

Antrim: That was definitely my experience of it. [To Stan:] And I find it interesting that your character, Trump, is someone you empathize, if not sympathize, with in the beginning of the movie. I’m thinking about when he's knocking on doors, collecting rent, that kind of thing.

Stan: A lot of people didn’t know that he did that.

Antrim: And then by the end of the movie, Jeremy, your character, Roy Cohn, is this incredibly tragic figure.

Strong: Yeah, in this case, the apprentice sort of eclipses the mentor, which is what happened historically. But I think, you know, what was exciting and challenging about this is to take these two monolithic people and say they’re not monoliths. They’re human beings with a history and a past, who made choices, and different things shaped them, and let’s examine what those things were.

Antrim: Tthe transformation that Sebastien achieves in this movie is uncanny. It’s physical. It’s verbal. It’s the way he moves.

Malle: And you make him very appealing.

Stan: I mean, look, if you go back to the Oprah show that he did in 1988, when she had him and Ivana on the show. I mean, he’s very seductive. He’s very convincing. He comes across strong. He comes across as protective of the country. I mean those are qualities that we still see today. And I think even when you dial further back, right, you’re talking about someone that came in with ideas and I guess what I was thrown by was just the amount of potential that I felt like he had at a certain point. And I don’t think there’s any fault in admitting that, because by admitting that then you can kind of see what the turnout was—and that is tragic, in some ways

Malle: Jeremy, I want to know what the most surprising thing about Roy Cohn was for you. Because I was very excited to see his frog collection.

Strong: I mean, the frogs are really a stunner. He had a room full of frog figurines and stuffed frogs and, you know, a Mickey Mouse sign on his door that said “Roy.” He had a kind of arrested development. He was very infantilized, even in his adulthood. And he lived in a consequence-less universe. He is a grab bag of surprises. And a kind of terrifying one. So you might talk about him as this monster, but for Roy, he was, like, going to Le Cirque, eating his Bumble Bee tuna that they kept for him there. He was going waterskiing most days of the year on the Hudson River.

Malle: Really?

Strong: He was at Studio 54. Like, he was pumped. And he was a brilliant lawyer, and he represented everybody. And everybody went to his parties on 68th Street. And he was capable of the utmost ruthlessness. And mendacity and brutality and remorseless destruction of people’s lives.

Photographed by Antonio Ysursa

Malle: I loved the fashion in the movie. Were you involved in those decisions?

Strong: Roy was incredibly vain. You know, he did 200 sit-ups every morning. He basically starved himself. He weighed himself every day. He maintained his weight. I knew exactly what he weighed. And it’s interesting how much you can lose the character if you are in the wrong cut of a suit. He had these Dunhill suits that fit a certain way that accentuated a certain kind of muscularity that he thought of as his most defining feature—not that he was a muscular guy, but his kind of bellicose thing.

Malle: I have to say, at Vogue.com, we are big fans of your outfits. We think that you have excellent style. The youth at Vogue.com are big, big fans of Jeremy Strong’s red carpet looks.

Strong in a custom velet tuxedo and ribbon bow tie from Loro Piana at the 2024 Tony Awards. Photo: Getty Images

Strong: I mean…Thank you. It’s just accident and chance. I’m very intuitive, you know? I’ve gone through phases where, like, there was a time where I only wore gray for a couple years. I only wore navy.

Malle: A couple of years!?

Strong: I only wore navy for a couple of years.

Malle: Good grief, okay.

Strong: I had a period as a child where I wore neon only.

Antrim: Oh yeah, I had one of those too.

Strong: You know, we all did. But I appreciate and love clothes. And then the rest is kind of like guided by instinct.

Malle:. Sebastian, how would someone dress if they were playing you in a movie?

Stan: Just by wearing…black, I guess. Michael Fisher is my stylist. I tell him sometimes that I don’t know if those sneakers work, but other than that… Sometimes I’m like, really, Michael? I mean, you saw the whole pink thing that I wore two years ago at that Met Ball? I mean, that’s not what I would have worn, ever.

Stan wearing Valentino pink at the 2022 Met Gala. Photo: Getty Images

Strong: I thought that was kind of dope.

Stan: I mean, it was great, but my mom, still to this day…she’s got a neighbor from Italy and she’s like, You look atrocious. How could you do this? Anyway.

Malle: Well, we’re still talking about it!

[scotianostra]

January 26th marks Australia Day.

Scots played many key parts in the story of Australia, we were convicts, soldiers and governors; orphans, free settlers and gold hunters; bushrangers, merchants and immigrants.

Although it is sometimes said of nineteenth-century Sydney that it was an English city, in contrast with the more Scottish city of Melbourne, people of Scottish origin have played important roles in the development and life of Sydney. They have been there from the very beginning.

For hundreds of years Scots have packed up their families and their belongings and sailed to Australia to start a new life.

When Australia needed workers between 1832 and 1850 about 16,000 Scots became ‘assisted immigrants’. They boarded chartered ships, like the 50-ton ship Stirling Castle, chartered from Alan Kerr and Company, Greenock, alongside skilled stonemasons, engineers, carpenters, blacksmiths and even professors. In the same period more than 20,000 Scots travelled to Australia as unassisted immigrants.

The majority of Scottish emigrants were from the Lowlands but around 10,000 Highlanders boarded chartered ships to Australia between 1837 and 1852.

The 20th century continued to see Scots migrate to Australia. In the 1920s Scots stonemasons helped to build the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Scots miners from Lanarkshire, Fife and Ayrshire worked in coal mines in New South Wales in the '20s and '30s. In 1929 Alexander MacRae, originally from Loch Kishorn in the Highlands, first produced the famous Australian swimming ‘cossie’ - Speedos.

In 1930 MacRobertson Chocolates created Freddo Frog. Macpherson Robertson, the founder of ‘Mac Robertson Steam Confectionery Works’ that later became simply MacRobertson Chocolates, was the son of a Scottish carpenter. He spent many of his early years in Leith and became an apprentice at a confectionery company. When his family moved back to Melbourne he started making sweets in his mother’s bathroom.

Robertson became a great philanthropist as well as a hugely successful chocolate maker. He sponsored the MacRobertson Air Race from London to Melbourne, and financed a combined British, Australian and New Zealand expedition to the Antarctic. A part of the Antarctic was named ‘Mac Robertson Land’ in his honour.

Today Freddo Frog is the most popular children’s chocolate in Australia.

After the Second World War thousands of Britons set sail for Australia. Between 1947 and 1981 more than a million Britons took advantage of an assisted passage scheme introduced by the Australian Government. Around 170,000 Scots left the country of their birth to become ‘Ten Pound Poms’ and start a new life Down Under.

During the past 24 hours there have been protests in Australia as part of a campaign to move Australia day to a date more fitting to the indigenous people of the country, names they give to January 26th include Survival Day, Invasion Day, Day of Mourning.

Gammeya Dharawal man, Jacob Morris, said there isn’t one emotion that fully captures the day.

"It's a day of teaching. It's a day of celebrating as well. We're not up there celebrating the Union Jack, we're celebrating us," he says.

But the day also reminds Jacob of the treatment of First Nations people throughout history.

"Anger … that is still what is felt today and that comes from the sadness, trauma and the hurt," he said.

[sydneberkelaar]

Get to know about me!

Name: [REDACTED] Pseudonym: Sydney Berkelaar

Age: 15/16 Pronouns/Gender: cis, female she/her Nationality: Dutch-Australian, mate. Language: English Australian, broken Indonesian, exactly one word in Dutch

Favs: Colour: Purple - dark sparlky - and green - light mint Food: Chips. SV chips, thins, deepfried, oven fried, crackers, don't care. Game (card/board): Dutch blitz Game (computer): Character AI + Minecraft

Things I enjoy/blog/whatever/fandom/shit Books: Rangers apprentice -> Brotherband Percy Jackson HoO -> ToA -> MCGA Fairytales for Wilde Girls Harry Potter -> especially Maruaders Countdown to countdown TV shows: Carmen Sandiago Annika Brokenwood BLUEY Hazbin Hotel Renegade Nell

Youtube stuff: 3rd life/last life/double life/hermitcraft/x life/empires 1+2 - grian, scott, katherine, gem, little bit of pearl CrazyCae, HollynRagland, Raine Emily

Musicals/music i enjoy: Alexander Hamilton The greatest showman Melanie Martinez Lauren spencer smith EPIC the musical Fat funny friend (this legit describes me, so.)

Ships!: PJO: Solangelo, Valgrace HP: Wolfstar, Moonwater (regulus x james) RA, BB: hill/whorace, stephan x jesper Mincraft series: scarian, scott x jimmy, gem x pearl, smalletho C2C: Lilliris HH: Radioapple, Huskerdust, Chaggie, Nifty x no-one

Blogs: @hadeslegacyhephgirl -> PJO: SOlangelo + Valgrace (soulmate au)

@hermitcraftshitpost -> hermitcraft/minecraft: scarian

@whiskers-the-ferret-octonaut -> octonauts: kwaso

@epicsfanshitposting -> Epics the musical: Odysseus x Polities

[beoneofus]

🎬💉

Okay but I think these would work well mixed together

Do we also request a character? If so can I request Stu Macher? Thx and I love ur work:)

“ I am more than just a copy of you. ”, “ you're just like him. ”

3.17.23

partially edited

hi!! thank you so much <3. I hope you like this, I really am rusty with writing stu and I got really lazy, but I tried to best him. hopefully I did this justice.

++

pairing┋stu macher x fem! reader

warnings┋angst!! swearing. gore, blood mention. cruel stu. mention of billy. reader being very emotional. gun shot mention, stabbing mention.

summery┋stu tries to kill you and fails. but that doesn't mean he didn't leave you traumatized.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

it should've been obvious.

the horrendous jokes. the description of gore without hesitation. freaking sydney out without any remorse or consideration to her feelings. the shared looks between the two when something bad would come about. the aggression from them both, in general.

It should've been obvious that stu and billy were complete, utter psychopaths. randy pointed out various signs that billy wasn't right in the head and was completely suspicious when it came to the on-scene evidence of being a murderer; horror movies being the incentive to this whole ordeal. and if you played careful enough attention, it was underlined in bold red that stu was his little apprentice.

the blonde had been billy's lap dog from the start so you, as his girlfriend, could've realized at some point that he'd follow the brunette into some scheme such as sociopathism. could have; but didn't. you had feelings of uneasiness around stu multiple times, from the dangerous gleams he'd get in his eyes to the grins he always gave billy when the guy would get just a little too obvious.

you blamed yourself. for not being able to stop stu, and for getting into this situation. If you could have just been a bit smarter, maybe you and sidney wouldn't be in such a predicament.

back pressed to the hallway door that led into the kitchen, you had a hand slapped over your mouth to filter your panicked breathing. tears were brimming the corners of your eyes as you squeezed them shut, too far into the pit of denial that this was even happening, that you didn't even bother to peal them open. hearing your boyfriend and that asshole taunt sidney, spilling that they literally killed her mother in cold blood made you sick to your stomach. you… you need to move, and help her, but the throbbing stab wound in your side was gratefully preventing you from leaping at such a chance.

it hurt, so bad. just knowing you had a hole in your body weakened your state. you weren't all that confident to begin with, so this? It took you back several steps. how the fuck were you going to help her? you'd probably only drag her down and get you both killed.

but no. you could not think that way.

trying your best not to let out a sob, you sucked in your lips; biting down on them while you removed your hand from your mouth. your other hand, which was drenched in blood from holding your side, shakily moved away to lift upwards. you gripped the collar of the jacket you wore and slowly pulled, removing your arms from the sleeves.

once you took it off, you wrapped the article around your waist and tied it tight. It was the most shitty support right now for your wound, but it's the best you had.

swallowing thickly, you carefully looked around the room for anything to use as a weapon. quite frankly, anything can be a weapon, but you needed to consider your choices here considering stu had a gun and billy had a knife.

the best option was one of the pictures hanging on the wall. a plan had already formed in your head, surprisingly quickly. so, slowly, you moved away from the door and side stepped towards the wall.

looking behind you to make sure no one was heading your way, you failed to realize a creak in the floor sounded from the opposite corner that rounded the hallway. by time you looked towards the picture, stu was standing there, drenched in his own blood with the red liquid dripping from his lips.

you instantly froze in fear. just what the fuck were you to do? the gun was in his shaking hand, and a crucial grin was twisted onto his face, and the picture was a little too far from you to just grab and chuck at him. even if you did, he could still shoot you.

“ suuuuurprise, baby! ” his words slightly slurred due to the blood loss, but he still managed to have his usual pep; eyes dramatically widening and hands curling to pump up. “ I didn't think you were still alive. but it looks like ya’ actually escaped billy. ”

“ I.. ” you winced, the throb in your side returning. “ I wouldn't let that dick take me down, stu. ” you were trying your best to sound confident but it's pretty obvious, by your shaking tone, that it wasn't looking too good.

stu giggled wickedly at this, before pausing in a speedy second. he placed a hand to his mouth, eyes wide once more in a mocking manner. “ oh really? you wouldn't let billy kill you? ” his hand moved, so he could slowly lower his head, a menacing smirk showing. “ I think that's a liiiie, baby! and you know how I feel about you lyin’ to me! ” sick, cackling laughter left him; blood flying off of his lips from the messy way his mouth formed words. “ I think you deserve a punishment for that, don't you think? ”

you gulped, before eyeing the brass candle holder on the mini table that stood not too far from you. you were quick to dive forward, and take it in your grip; swinging your arm back to throw it at the males head. “ fuck no! ”

surprisingly, stu managed to move out of the way while you ran. It rammed against the wall behind him, leaving quite an ugly mark. It left him dumbfounded for a moment, but then he gathered himself and whipped his head around to the direction you ran in. clicking his tongue and tsking to himself, he grinned crazily once again. “ not a smart move, y/n! ”

you had bolted straight to the door, hand out stretching to fly towards the handle. you were so close to grabbing it, but a gun shot rang out. a gasp, followed by a blood curdling scream left you, before your body barreled towards the door full force. you slide down against the wood, falling down with a sharp ‘ thump! ’.

a bullet was now lodged into your leg, stuck right down into the bone marrow; you could feel the shit. a gaping hole was in your calf, making you sob and grab at your leg like a hurt child. god did it burn. It felt like a million fire ants were biting you, electricity shocking all the way up to your thigh. even the stab wound didn't hurt this fucking bad - probably because billy didn't get to stab you too deep.

but, fuck, this? It felt like the room was spinning. you could feel your body heating up by the second.

“ see, y/n? ” stu slowly walked over, shaking his head with an overly-dramatic frown on his face. It looked as if it was greatly forced, which it was. “ you made me hurt you, baby. I reeeeally didn't want to, but- ” he sighed. “ I had no choice. you tried to run. ”

“ y-you're fucking sick! ” you screeched, hiccuping out. nothing could detract you from the tremendous pain you felt. “ god, stu, what the fuck! why are you doing this?! ”

his frown instantly flipped upside down. “ why? ” slowly, deeply, he chuckled. “ you wanna know why? ” falling into a fit of low giggles, while slowly turning; scratching his head with the tunnel of the gun. “ well, it's simple really. it's fuuuuun, ” he dragged out the word, turning his gaze to the ceiling. It's as if he was thinking. but then, his gaze shot to you. “ and I can't stand you! ”

over the pounding in your ears and the fact that you were becoming practically numb, it was hard to make out what stu said. but you did, sadly, and it made you freeze up. the grip on your leg loosened, causing it to fall completely limp. “ what? w.. what did I ever do to you? ” more tears brimmed your eyes, the light in the room reflecting off your tears, making it seem more drastic. “ stu… I loved you. w-why the hell do you want to kill me? everyone? ”

“ didn't ya’ listen, babe? ” he snickered. “ it's fun. It fills the thrill in my life. ” pausing, he looked down to the blood stained floor. “ and uh, I'm sensitive. I fall under peer pressure easily. ” shrugging, a side grin slipped onto his lips. “ but y'know, I'm glad billy dragged me into this. It made me realize just how much I want your blood on my hands! ”

your body violently trembled. you could only sit, staring at stu with disgust and disbelief. you don't ever remember doing anything so bad, that stu thought killing you was the only option to filling the angry urge in his heart. I mean, how sick did you have to be? but then again, this man did just say he was killing everyone else for fucking fun.

“ you're crazy… ” you rasped, no longer finding it in you to scream and cry. you just felt empty at this point.

“ really?! ” he faked a gasp. “ what a calfastrophe this is! ” a wide, eye crinkling smirk curled onto his face. this seemed to happen a lot. “ get it? cause your calf is bleeding out? ”

this was no laughing matter to you, which is why you glared, at least the best to what you could muster. vision rather hazy, zeroing in and out, you couldn't see very well. this was very bad considering you needed to get away from him. with a bullet in your leg, stab wound in your side and now vision failing - the odds weren't looking too good for you.

‘ shit.. ’ you thought, lowering your gaze. ‘ this was not the way I imagined going out… ’

stu was stalking towards you by now. you had tried to move, to possibly boost yourself with your leg that wasn't injured, but to even move the other one it hurt like no tomorrow. you were hissing through your teeth with every nudge - there's no way you were making it out of there.

but then both you and stu heard the door that led to the kitchen, slam open. both of you immediately whipped your heads in the direction, only to see billy frantically looking around. It seems as if sidney got away from him.

“ where are you, ya’ bitch?! ” he screamed, anger coating his seething breathes. he was beyond pissed. to let that little cunt get away from him - what the hell was he thinking? “ come oooout, sidney! don't fucking make this harder than it has to be! ”

that's when he spotted you and stu. his gaze moved from his apprentice, onto you, making him realize your pathetic state. this caused him to smirk, before he began walking over; knife wagging back and forth in his hand. “ well, look at this. looks like you actually did something right for once, jackass. ”

billy stopped beside stu, only to harshly gesture towards his gun. “ well, what the hell are you waiting for? kill the bitch! ”

upon demand, stu's smile dropped. he was no longer amused - instead, now getting annoyed with billy. “ I was going to, billy. you interrupted. ” he gestured towards you for dramatic effect - his specialty.

narrowing his eyes at stu, he did the famous dad-point-and-stare - but with his knife. “ fix your fucking attitude. ” he then swirled around, stopping up to you, before lifting his foot and stomping down on your injured leg. suddenly you found it in you to scream again, this one house-shaking; fresh tears leaving past your eyes.

“ f-fuck! STOP! ”

“ SHUT UP! ” billy shouted, spit flying. his ankle twisted, putting more pressure onto the wound. you were gurgling on your sobs at this point.

“ now stu- ” with a sadistic look in his eye, billy turned his neck towards said blonde once again. “ kill her, or I fucking will. ” finally, he picked up his foot. a nasty, huge, purple welt was forming around the entirety of your calf. your breath was coming out in uneven, shaking huffs; lips trembling. saliva leaving your mouth. you were an entire mess and looked so pathetic. but really, you could care less.

stu was left staring billy down, his own eyes squinting into a glare. he said nothing though, because he knew the brunette had the upper hand.

“ fi- ” a sudden bang in the kitchen made both males look towards the area. they stared for a moment, before billy took off; stalking towards the source and banging his fist into the wall on the way there. “ come out, you little whore! I'm gonna slit your fucking throat and leave you to bleed out aaaaaaall over the floor, bitch! ”

but his chatter came to an end. someone slammed open the door of the closet in the hallway and threw themselves towards billy, stabbing him with the tip of an umbrella. they did it once… twice.. before billy was grunting out; wrestling the person.

you could only guess it was sidney. she took ahold of him, and swung him to the floor. while stu watched, astonished and amused, you took it as your chance to scoot towards the door. biting your lips to prevent even more screeching, your shaky palm reached up.

again, no use, because the blonde turned towards you.

“ ah, ah, ah- ” he chuckled goofily, walking towards you. “ I don't think so, princess! ”

you were so angry now. all the pain, the suffering you're dealing with just sitting there taking not only the torment, but the constant hit after hit they gave you mentally. that stu gave you mentally. you couldn't take it - but, here you were, doing nothing. dealing with a gun and stab wound looked easier in movies, but fuck… It wasn't. not at all.

“ get away from me! ” you barked, belligerence in your heavy tone. “ you're so fucking sick, stu, and I refuse to die by the hands of an idiot like you! ”

“ idiot? ” his smile dropped, as he parked his feet right in front of your figure. he looked taken back by what you said. you knew he wasn't lying when he said he was sensitive - it was true. you knew this, you are - were his girlfriend, after all. “ I'm - I'm no idiot. ” his tone was wobbly… which was pretty rich, considering the predicament.

scoffing, you swallowed down the pain you were dealing with. “ yeah, you are. billy was right - you never do anything right. ”

gritting his teeth, stu took ahold of the gun and grabbed the barrel; spinning it until a click was heard. “ uh huh. and you know what else he was right about? ”

you didn't reply, only staring with shaky eyes. but he looked at you, jaw rotating with a grind. “ I said, do you know what the fuck else he was right about?! ”

“ ... no. ” you spoke out, quietly.

“ you are just like me! ” his voice cracked, tears punching the corners of his eyes now. stu was absolutely insane with the look he bored; smile lifting shakily, with anger. “ a copy of me. we're just like each other, y/n. that's why I liked you so much… ” his smile fell. “ and that's why I can't stand ya’ now, baby! ” a manic, unhinged ring of laughter left him. “ which is whyyyy! I'll have such a good fucking time, putting a bullet straight through your. damn. skull! ”

you seethed on the inside, outwardly shaking. did he really just compare you to him? “ I'm nothing like you! ” you cried out, almost choking on her words. “ I.. I am more than just a copy of you, stu. I'm my own person. I'm sane! ” you swallowed, coldness and hatred clouding your orbs. “ you… you're not. ”

“ hey, stu! ” you and stu had managed to block out the fight in the back, as you two had your own assortment; drastically arguing, discussing matters that were pointless. it was enough just for sidney to knock billy out, and now, she was trying to capture the blondes attention to potentially end him.

he fell for it - turning around, only to see his best friend out cold. stab wounds coating his chest from the umbrella, with blood everywhere.

eyes flickering onto sidney, stu sneered. “ you bitch! ” he ran towards her, but she was faster. she ducked, dodging him just by a few hairs, before clumsily running away from him. he followed her like the gullible fuck he was.

stu tried to shoot the dark haired girl, but missed. just as she flew out of the way and he marched towards her, she grabbed the nearest item, and threw it at his head. managing to finally knock him down.

the gun flew out of stu's grasp, and he fell. hand moving to grip his now aching forehead.

“ you fucking- ” he looked up, only to meet sidney's gaze. she smiled tightly, not letting him finish his sentence, before she pushed the tv above him right onto his head.

the sound of buzzing electricity could be heard, followed by muffled yelling and gargling. the tv electrocuted his face, frying him from the inside. you held your breath at this, eyes wide, but thankful sidney killed the son of a bitch.

she breathed in, heart racing. “ it's… finally over. ” sidney huffed, her eyes slowly moving towards the gun stu had. walking over, she bent down and picked it up; hand shaking from the pain in her arm, and the trauma she just endured.

it wasn't long before randy ran into the room. “ r.. randy? ” you wheezed out, eyes finally drooping shut. “ I thought.. you died. ”

“ holy shit, y/n! ” the male ran over to you, immediately cringing at your mangled leg. nonetheless, he crouched down beside you. “ shit, we need an ambulance immediately! ” his hands were worriedly, anxiously running through his hair. “ oh my god. I didn't think stu had it in him to be this fucking brutal. billy, I can see- he always struck me as crazy. but stu? god- ” randy continued to ramble, cracking a grin out of you. but, it was only seconds later that your head pulled forward from you passing out. hair framing your face.

“ oh- fuck. sidney, she passed out! ”

“ don't worry. ” sidney limped towards you both. “ the police and ambulances are on their way. ”

the sound of drowned out, irritating beeping filled your ear when you finally came to. hushed whispering and the clinking of metal, and the thumping of plastic on plastic hit your ears as well, so overbearing that you groaned; rotating your head, furrowing your brows. where the hell…

stu. billy. they tried to kill you…

It all came back instantly. the killings, the ghostface mask, the blood and the pain. your eyes opened instantly, but immediately shut from the blinding light hitting you.

“ geez… turn it off. ” your voice was very dry, as was your throat. but, it looked like you speaking is what needed to be done, given it alerted the people in your room.

“ y/n! ” you heard the voice of your older sister, relief and worry in her tone. the scraping of her shoes against the floor, until they were right next to you, informed you she was now beside the bed you laid on. “ oh my god.. thank god you're awake. ”

after managing to open your eyes, you gestured towards your throat. after dealing with such shit and being asleep for who knows how long, you were parched. your sister instantly understood and handed you a glass of water that was on the bedside table.

you drunk it gratefully, gulping down every last drop. “ I honestly thought I died.. ” you gasped out, your eyes trained on the styrofoam in your grasp.

“ not quite yet. ” another voice butted into the conversation. once you looked up and spotted a white coat, you assumed it was the doctor. “ you lost a lot of blood and nearly your leg.. but you weren't close to dying. unless, of course… ” she cleared her throat to dismiss the thought. “ the bone in your leg has cracked a fair amount, but we managed to get the bullet out safely. we did minor surgery, and you won't be walking around for a few months. you may have a permanent limp as well, but besides that, everything looks good. ”

“ what about my stab wound..? ” you tiled your head to the side in curiosity. by the smile you were offered, you assumed it wasn't too bad.

“ nothing major, ” she adjusted her stethoscope. “ the knife just dug deep enough to stop blood flow from one of your veins, but with some stitches and the unclogging of a blood clot, everything is fine. ”

“ thank god… ” you muttered, looking away. If something serious had happened you would have a huge freak out. your heart was already racing from everything, so bad news was the last thing you needed.

“ I'll leave you girls alone. ” the blonde nodded to you both, before turning and exiting the room. silence confined you both, before your sister spoke up.

“ they're both dead. ” was the first thing she spoke of. “ sidney… sidney managed to kill them, so you have nothing to worry about any longer. ”

“ ... good. ” your tone was dead. I mean, how else would you respond to that? “ those motherfuckers are rotting in hell now. they deserve it. ”

“ ... you know, you're just like him. ”

you paused, recalling what stu had said to you. It's like the memory of what he commented burned into your brain and was slowly playing back, much like a recorded audio. “ who? ”

“ dad. ” you let out a breath of relief. if she would've said what you thought she was gonna say, you'd possibly lose it. “ how so? ” it was only appropriate to ask what she meant.

“ you're brave, y/n. and strong. ” her hand grabbed yours, squeezing it. “ I just… if I was in your shoes, I wouldn't be talking like you are now. I'd be traumatized. ”

dryly, you chuckled, rolling your neck so that you face her. you looked in your sister's eyes with seriousness. “ I am. It's just hard not to act normal. I don't… feel myself anymore, at least not right now. ” you pressed your lips together. “ but, I can't just stop functioning. ”

slowly, a smile formed on your sister's face… “ you're right.. I'm just glad you're alive. ” tears were brimming her waterline.

“ yeah… ” you looked away, thoughts clouding your mind. “ I am too. ”

[castleaudios]

Here's some more trio/group costumes since I know can't stop thinking about it even though it's currently 1:50 am but who needs sleep 😂;

-Jill Valentine, Carlos Oliveira and Tyrell Patrick from Resident Evil 3 (Up for interpretation)

- Clyde, Luke and Rani from the Sarah Jane adventures (Up for interpretation)

- Any power rangers (Rose, Abby and Dear)

- Tom, Jerry and Spike from Tom and Jerry (Beth, Ro and Claire)

- Tweedie pie, Sylvester and Granny from Looney Toons (Knight, Genevieve and Ro)

- Captain Price, Ghost and Soap from COD (Seer, Knight and Ranger)

- Jigsaw apprentices from Saw franchise (Beth, Claire and Seer)

- Among us crew members (Up for interpretation)

- Ghost face killers (Billy and stu) and Sydney from Scream (Beth, Claire and Knight)

There will be more in the future probably just a heads up 😂

These are fantastic!! Especially the Ghost Face killers, that's a personal favorite of mine

[findmeinthespacebetween]

Descendants Fan Cast

( Parents )

( reposted from my main blog now that I have a descendants specific sideblog, with some characters that I forgot the first time! ) – I’m not recasting anyone from canon, just live action casting for Wicked World & Isle Of The Lost characters!  If I’ve forgotten anyone, or if there’s any interest in parent-casting, lmk because I had a lot of fun doing this!  Special shoutout to @humaudrey​ for helping me decide between a couple of options!

Feel free to use any of these ideas if they help you!  I’d appreciate credit but it’s not really necessary, but if you do use them please tag me or send me a link so that I can see what other people come up with!

I have my own collection of descendants characters ( part 1 / part 2 / desktop ) so some of my castings were based around my own collection of descendants kids (not reusing faces I used for mine & wanting them to work as siblings to some I’ve made) but without further ado, here we go!

Ally; daughter of Alice ( Skylar Samuels )

Anthony Tremaine; son of Anastasia Tremaine ( Ross Butler )

Arabella; niece to Ariel ( Emily Rudd )

Ariana Rose; niece to Aurora ( Jessica Sula )

Artie Pendragon; son of Arthur ( Joel Courtney – alternate: Jordan Fisher )

Big Murph; pirate ( Will Poulter )

CJ Hook; daughter of Captain Hook ( Madison Iseman )

Claudine Frollo; daughter of Claude Frollo ( Josephine Langford )

Clay Clayton; son of Clayton ( Froy Gutierrez )

Diego De Vil; nephew to Cruella De Vil ( Justice Smith )

Eddie Balthazar; son of Edgar Balthazar ( Tanner Buchanan )

Freddie Facilier; daughter of Dr Facilier ( Letitia Wright )

Gaston “Trois” Legume the Third; son of Gaston ( Rudy Pankow )

Gaston Legume Junior; son of Gaston ( Joe Keery )

Ginny Gothel; daughter of Mother Gothel ( Alexa Demie )

Hadie; son of Hades ( Asher Angel )

Harold “Harry” Badun; son of Horace ( Aria Shahghasemi )

Harriet Hook; daughter of Captain Hook ( Samara Weaving )

Herkie; son of Hercules & Megara ( Tyler Posey )

Hermie Bing; daughter of the Ringmaster ( Madison Reyes )

Jade; niece to Jafar ( Fivel Stewart )

Jason “Jace” Badun; son of Jasper ( Diego Tinoco )

Jordan; daughter of the Genie ( Maitreyi Ramakrishnan )

“Li’l” Li Shang Jr; son of Mulan & Li Shang ( Ludi Lin )

LeFou Deux; son of LeFou ( Ty Simpkins )

Mad Maddy; granddaughter of Mad Madame Mim ( Peyton List )

Reza; son of Agrabah’s Astronomer ( Avan Jogia )

Rick Ratcliffe; son of Governor Ratcliffe ( Noah Schnapp )

Ruby Fitzherbert; daughter of Rapunzel & Flynn Rider / Eugene Fitzherbert ( Sydney Sweeney )

Sammy Smee; son of Smee ( Jack Dylan Grazer )

Sophie; apprentice to Yen Sid ( Millie Bobby Brown ) 

Yzla; daughter of Yzma ( Isabella Gomez )

Zevon; son of Yzma ( Alberto Rosende )

[funnel-webbed-au]

Prowl

Tag List: @skellebonez, @caxycreations

Riley's Notes: Here's how MK found out. >:) Summary: Sydney goes looking for prey, and targets someone he used to love. Fortunately, that someone has a trick up his sleeve, although not a very flashy one.

Sydney perched on top of the roof of the two-story building, a nice distance off of the pavement below. Sure, this wasn't entirely his element, but getting the chance to leave his lair and scout for potential prey wasn't something he'd just let slide.

The darkness of night gave him a significant advantage courtesy of his photophobic eyes... it made it all too easy to see the delivery boy scurrying through the streets on his scooter, headlights completely off. Who needed them when they had gold vision, after all?

Xiaotian sighed as he bolted through the night streets. Of course there was always someone that ordered this late. It made his blood boil, but it wasn't like he could do anything about it. It was what it was.

And he was easy prey, since he wasn't watching the rooftops. Sydney licked his lips, eager to fill his belly with something more substantial than what the other spiders typically gave him.

It was nice to sink his fangs into prey.

Sydney jumped across the rooftops in perfect sync with the scooter, keeping up easily. MK still hadn't noticed yet, but that didn't matter. He'd find out he was being hunted soon enough.

Something crashed into MK's scooter.

The driver squealed, struggling to right the vehicle before it could crash. With both hands on the steering wheel, he managed to stabilize it. He raised his head back to the road... only to lock his golden eyes with the soulless, lime green quartet of a spider demon. Xiaotian's blood ran cold, and the scooter crashed straight into the side of a concrete apartment complex, leaving cracks in it.

The two were flung from the scooter, stunned briefly, and when MK opened his eyes, the first thing he saw were the four glowing green eyes of the spider that had attacked him. He scrambled to his feet, summoning the Monkey King's staff as he did so, then gripped it firmly with both hands, more than ready to fight back. Sweat rolled down his cheek nonetheless, as those four eyes made his skin crawl.

Why did it have to be spiders.

MK could barely make out the figure, but could sense his powers from where he stood. The mixture of deadly toxins and Celestial ichor in the other being's blood brought MK pause, but it faded as he saw the spider bare their fangs. Caustic venom dripped from them, but what really stopped MK in his tracks was the hungry growl of the spider's stomach.

He swallowed hard. Well, it was better for him to go hungry than get eaten by this guy, right? MK fished out his late night snack out of his pocket, a small package of beef jerky. "H-here... eat th-this, not me." He offered the package to the spider that had accosted him, and as Sydney approached, MK couldn't help but shake.

It was better than nothing, and maybe his head would clear a little once he'd eaten something. Sydney used one of his four claws to tear open the package, then shook the toxin off of his claws, not wanting to sully the taste of his food with it. MK sat near the spider while he tore into the jerky, shivering at the sight of those vicious fangs.

Before the spider could finish, his pointed ears twitched and he put his hand on MK's phone. The absence of the pain in his stomach cleared his head beyond the single notion of food and to hunt something, just enough to keep him from moving as suddenly as his instincts wanted.

"Hm?" The shorter individual tilted his head, confused as to what the spider wanted, until the spider tapped on the cigarette jack on his phone, where MK's headphones would connect if they were wired. The Stone Monkey's eyes widened, and he handed his headphones to Sydney after turning the volume down a few notches.

The music caused the spider's eyes to widen. It felt... familiar, something he'd heard before. The notes from the guqin strings cleared the fog from his head.

In an instant, Sydney snatched MK's phone, and as MK grappled with him to get it back, the spider turned the flashlight setting on, causing its owner to pause. Sydney closed his eyes tightly as he turned the device around to point it at himself, but still hissed as the light burned his eyes.

MK froze.

"...Nezha?"

[intriguingpeoplebyangelafloyd]

JOCK ZONFRILLO

JOCK ZONFRILLO

4 August 1976 – 30 April 2023

Scottish Chef & TV Host on Masterchef Australia

            Jock Zonfrillo (Barry ‘Jock’ Zonfrillo) was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His mother’s family is Scottish, and his father is from Scauri, Italy. He was married numerous times and has four children.

            Zonfrillo started working in kitchens aged 12 as a part-time dishwasher where his sister was working as a waitress. He started learning to cook after the restaurants chef had a motorbike accident. He left school aged 15 and started an apprenticeship and was name Young Scottish Chef of the year, aged 16 in 1993. He went on to become a sous-chef and then a cook. He worked in Scotland, London and Australia, and worked in Gordon Ramsay’s Aubergine restaurant. He immigrated to Sydney in 2000

As a teenager he started using heroin and sold drugs to fund his addiction. In 2000, he quit using heroin and went cold turkey and remained clean since. In 2002, he set fire to the pants of an apprentice chef Krammer because he was working too slow. Krammer, sued him after suffering burns to his hand and was awarded damages in 2007. Zonfrillo was declared bankrupt after Kramer took him to court stating that Zonfrillo ‘didn’t pay me a cent’, Zonfrillo was fired from his position. He went on to selling kitchen equipment, opened his own restaurant in Adelaide, South Australia, ran a food truck selling Italian food as well as opening a bar. His businesses closed in 2020 due to voluntary administration due to unpaid debts; Zonfrillo had to sell his family home in Adelaide. In 2016, he started The Orana Foundation, to preserve Indigenous Australian cooking techniques. In 2021, he started selling, ‘worry beads’ bracelets with skulls on them for $500 each. That same year he released his memoir, Last Shot.

            In 2014, Zonfrillo started working as a host of cooking programs and became one of the judges on MasterChef Australia in 2019 after appearing on the show previously as a guest chef.

            Zonfrillo, 46, died after being discovered deceased at a hotel apartment in Melbourne’s inner north. He had been battling bowel cancer since 2021 and had been enduring treatment for the disease.

            The 15th series of MasterChef Australia 2023 debuted just one week after his death. The series premier was delayed to the chef’s death. Network Ten revealed it would be going ahead with the airing of the program with the blessing of his family.

#jockzonfrillo #masterchef #masterchefaustralia #masterchefau

[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