#also... angel neil is at like 3/5. like it's not Quite as done but... it's getting closer. there's just a few more Arcs to it.

[stabbyfoxandrew]

just realized arson neil is like... at the 3/4 mark now. D:

[vinxwatches]

watching good omen season 1

ep 1 pilot

haven't seen a lot of it, mostly that people like it, that it's made by people people really like and that it's gay (or at least people make it gay) so you know, good pick for me. and i just watched to animations/animatics on youtube with bad endings and bad endings fuck me up, so hopefully this is happier. intro is a fucking banger. also god has a fem voice? nice. accurate skin colour for the earliest humans. not surprised, but appreciated. making fun of theology and great banter? i love it.

ominous picnic basket. oh... actually quite biblically fitting it seems. i REALLY hope they don't expect me to remember these names too well. many of the characters seem fun though.

of course the american politician says bs like "a regular y chromosome son". which i'm sure has not been tested as you 1: don't know the gender yet. 2: phenotype does not denote genotype.

i wonder who and how they'll figure out who has the wrong baby. "i don't recall what horror of history we had a lunch over, but i do recall what we had." the BEST dynamic.

will they even figure out they got the wrong one? ok, i know that working with an actual 5 year old would be a nightmare... but that kid is like 12.

well done making both heaven and hell look like shit. do you want grime overpopulating or empty, liminal, office spaces?

brilliant end of episode 1.

ep 2 the book

damn the forces of hell are so bloody rude and evil. and so many quick jokes.

question: what are the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse supposed to be in christianity? both biblically and in modern belief? they are separate from devils and angels.

i love a witch that also uses an ipad in her rituals.

"sorry, right number" seriously the humour in this show is so brilliant. i really hope the story is able to match it.

ep 3 hard times

a black knight shrugging is way too funny. i love these two. just two old friends helping each other out, it's just that that's diametrically opposing one another. the angel doing some tempting, the demon some miracles. and upper management doesn't care.

awh, they are just so cute together.

excuse me you are playing intro now? 28 minutes in? that's not an intro. that's a bloody intermission!

they really succeed at making heaving seem so extremely bad. extremely wide shot or extreme close-up. it's so incredibly uncomfortable.

the prime minister has a nice flat chested fucker in his bed.... good for him if he's not cheating.

"mend it all"/"end it all" whispers. really neat.

ep 4 saturday morning funtime

of course he was condemned for nothing more then asking questions.

ah, they got rid of pestilence to replace them with pollution. it's a good change, but feels pretty pre 2020.

oh no, i find his death so sad. he had a love, why kill him? i know the apocalypse is coming but still.

i still really hope that the presidents son turns out to be trans to just break the things he said at the start. then again it wouldn't really work as it's not the kids he said it about. idk, i guess i hope of screen son turns out to be trans to spite the person that'll never know... yea i'm holding out hope for something that doesn't matter.

azi being send to heaving is SO bad. his bookshop possibly burning down is emotionally worse. it was going to be the last episode of the day. but i started watching because i couldn't deal with bad endings, so i guess i'll have to watch one more.

ep 5 the doomsday option

Azi going full rogue (finally).

man that's the most obvious cold reading ever.

the guard reads a neil gaymen book. cute.

sir... your car is... more then a little on fire.

ep 6 the very last day of the rest of their lives

are we doing a flash back episode for the last episode of the season?

oh, please let him rebuild the car just like i want the bookshop rebuild?

the way to defeat the end of the world is to believe and stand (and i hope work) for a world that wouldn't end. a bit on the nose but very nice.

and of course with Terry Pratched being involved death is not to be defeated, just not hastened along.

a kid not doing the one thing they were supposed to do.... there's a trans/gay message in there. also That's Just What Kids Do! you wanted an 11 year old to do what they were told? that's the first part of the problem.

for a TV series that's a pretty good satan. oh that is SO clever. kind of time fucking, but not really so long as you never introduce time travel so it's only true from now on. oh, is it a nicer ending then i though? YES IT IS! \o/

it "ends" as it starts: with a garden and an apple. ok, make it more explicit why don't you.

oh, you subtle bastards. i love it. other scene's now make more sense too, oh how i love it.

ok, yea it makes sense people go wild over this as it's really bloody great.

[asoulwithadream]

I have a few things I would like to discuss about the new season of Good Omens. I'll unfortunately have to excuse any spelling errors or uncontrollable and un-intelligible babbling, my hands are shaking out of fear shock and adrenaline is going to be the end of me.

We'll have to begin with the elephant in the room. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCKING FUCKITY FUCK FUCKS NO WAHOOS FROM ME THAT WAS NOT TICKETY BOO AT ALL. NEIL GAIMAN I DEMAN CONPENSATION FROM THE IMMENSE PAIN I HAVE HAD TO ENDURE IN THE PAST MINUTE OF JUST PURE SELF REFLECTION????????????????? HELP ME IM GOING TO START CRYING AGAIN AS IF I'M NOT DOING IT RIGHT NOW.

This was supposed to be a comedy. This was supposed to be the funniest Armagenope and the even funnier sequel. This was supposed to be quiet, gentle and romantic. WHY. AM. I. CRYING

Doctor Who is canon in this universe you know why? When he was selling the 1965 draft there were very clear TARDIS noises in the background....... I think the Doctor might have gotten the coordinates wrong. Must have been freaked out seeing a ginger version of himself through the window with Michael fucking Sheen.

HOW DID WE GET INEFFABLE BUREAUCRACY SO FUCKING EASY???? I SWEAR IT WAS A JOKE SHIP HOW DID IT HAPPEN BUT THEY PULLED THIS FUCKING SHIT AFTERWARDS LIKE NOT EVEN TWO FUCKING MINUTES AFTER. IF FUCKING GABRIEL AND BEELZEBUB CAN FUCKING DOING IT, GIVE US OUR QUIET GENTLE AND ROMANTIC ENDING FUCKWADS.

"I forgive you." That's it. That's number 5. I hate the number 5 now.

Every day it's a-gettin' closer, I want to sit underneath a bulldozer. I don't think I'll be managing to live henceforth I quite think I will die now. Give me coffee or give me death you say? I pick the latter.

You can NOT say that Crowley isn't fucking Raphael now. YOU CAN'T. "For one Prince of Heaven to be cast into the outer darkness makes a good story. For it to happen twice makes it look like there is some kind of institutional issue." CROWLEY COULD ALSO ACCESS THE FILE- DUDE HE IS RAPHAEL HE WAS AN ARCHANGEL YOU CAN'T YOU ACTUALLY CAN'T YOU CAN NOT

Speaking of Crowley as an angel that opening scene I swear I was actually going to cry that was so sweet and oh my god if he had just KNOWN he is RIGHT I stand for CROWLEY. He deserves his rights, however I don't think he really wants to go back to Heaven now WWAAAAAH WHY DID I REMINDS MYSELF OF THAT.

Michael Sheen and David fucking Tennant. Hah. Well DONE. APPLAUSE. HAH. HAHHHHHHAHHAHAHAHH.

EVEN THE FUCKING KISS WAS SAD AND HOW AZIRAPHALE REACTED IM JUST I WAS ACTUALLY CRYING. I WAS PHYSICALLY SCREAMING THE ENTIRE TIME "GO AFTER HIM LIKE THOSE AIRPORT THINGS CATCH HIM BEFORE HE LEAVES GO GO GO GO GO SAY NO SAY NO PLEEEEAASSSEEEEE"

If Crowley says being smitten by Gabriel is a bad thing, he wishes he would have had Gabriel instead of Gaiman as his punisher.

All in all, I very much loved the season beside the incredibly unbearingly heavy angst that fingers at my eyeballs, scratches at my neck and burns my intestines. Can't wait for season 3!!!!!

[floveslondon]

Things I noticed/thought while watching GO S2 (again) Episode 5

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

Episode 4

Zira giving away books! After he specifically asked Crowley over the phone the day before to not sell any books, let alone give them away.

‘Maggie and Nina are counting on me’ But they aren’t are they? You want to make them fall in love with eachother so Heaven doesnt suspect you anymore, and you both can go back to the somewhat free life you had after Armagedon’t. So you’re doing it for Crowley and you. I think he’s justifying his fantasies, and believing those all too well himself.

Crowley’s thoughts after the magician says no: 4oh, go on then, give away ANOTHER book, I dare you’

Crowley in a fez and acting silly, glad we saw that, because it shows that there is still a lot of Angel!Crowley left <3

Crowley is so done with his husband when speaking French.

Mr Rossignol = mr Nightingale 😭

‘But you understood me’ I can only hear Lady Mary Crawley from Downton Abbey when he says that (also, Crawley!?!)

‘Only because for 250 years you’ve been wittering on about the plume of your imaginary taunt’ 🤣

Does Nina say ‘Bravo’ because she is reminded of her own relationship, because they do bicker quite a lot?

Poor pookie looks like he has been hit over the head, either because he hasn’t realised he loves Zira before this, or because he didn’t realise how obvious it is that they like each other. Oh to live in a world where anybody can love anybody…

That line ‘Smitten, I believe. You’re being silly’ The first part made me smile like an idiot, and then the second part gave me butterflies. The money I would give to watch this series again for the first time.

C+A in a heart on the blackboard <3

‘When you told my only friend to shut his stupid mouth and die…’ Goosebumps every time, damn David

Crowley testing if Jim/Gabriel really is telling the truth, because even if Gabriel was thick, he would still know that jumping out of a window is a bad idea. And now Jim was more than willing to jump to be able to help.

It hurts, my head isn’t built for that I know, do it anyway! Crowley how do you know that? Because you heard it from someone else, or because they wiped your memory when you fell, and had to do a lot of very painful thinking to get some of it back? I would bet on the latter…

Ooooh when they show the matchbox I can hear a fly buzzing!

‘Wait and see.’ NEIL FUCKING GAIMAN I am in your walls. Just kidding, I love you really, this is just perfect in its weirdness

Zira just sneaking a long glance at his thin dark duke, his body is fully turned away after e few seconds but he’s still looking, even though Crowley isn’t looking and is nearly out the door

Such a nice touch that people’s clothes change as they enter the bookshop, yet Zira and Crowley remain unchanged. Neil has said that there was a whole outfit planned for Zira, but Michael felt like he would keep on his normal clothes. Many people have also mentioned it is because even if the meeting is supposed to be a fantasy for Maggie and Nina, it shouldn’t have to be for them.

The exchange between Crowley and Maggie is weird, but I can’t put my finger on why…

Ms Cheng looking around before she enters the bookshop is so ominous, I don’t like it. Is she noticing the demons approaching, or is it something else?

Both Crowley and the metatron (next ep) mention the weird name for the coffee shop

The miracle for the clothes and the feeling better and knowing the dance works on Nina and Maggie, but when Zira wants to make them forget all about it, it doesn’t seem to work. Why is that?

Zira again shutting Crowley down, let him speak!

In my head, if it weren’t for the legion of demons outside of the bookshop, Crowley would be blushing so hard when being dragged to the dance floor and while dancing with Zira

I hope we get to see Crowley and Zira do the full dance, including holding hands and getting very close to each other <3

So cute that Zira only loosely holds hands with other people, but every mm of his hand touches Crowley’s

Majestic Jim is majestic, that suit and coat sure are something

‘That arch- traitor Crowley’ Archangel Crowley, is that what you meant Shax?

I want to know Zira’s suggestion!

Maybe Zira’s miracles don’t work on them because Nina and Maggie have too much love for Zira, and love is way more powerful than miracles?

Why does Crowley specifically call for Nina whether or not she’s coming? Why not Maggie too? Or just say ‘Everybody ready?’

Look at the rug in the bookshop and then go look at the rug when Crowley is cleaning up in the next episode. Here it is mostly red with a white border, in the next episode it is all white! I doubt it’s a continuity error, why did they do that 🧐

Episode 6

[doodleswithangie]

season one done!!! i’m just putting my really long scattered thoughts under the cut here before i move on to season two

right out the gate, during the intro sequence with god i was like, ah, somehow this is not the tone i expected but it is right up my alley

the garden of eden scene is a really good establishing introduction aziraphale and crowley and what i assume are the themes of the show (heaven and hell and humanity and "how funny would it be if i did the good thing and you did the bad thing" "it wouldn't be funny at all!")

side note #1 i have only ever read aziraphale so now i can pronounce it correctly in my head

i won't speak too much on the plot other than i like how all the plot threads and parties progressed independently and then interconnected at the end, i'm always a fan of that - how each group feels like they could carry their own show (and tbh i'm surprised good omens is more of an ensemble piece than solely focused on aziraphale and crowley).

the kids were great, how they had their own coming-of-age adventure that goes horribly wrong. (i spent far too long trying to figure out if adam naturally grew up to be demonically evil or angelically good but instead he was incredibly human - rude but kindhearted but naughty but caring)

the witchhunters arc was interesting, the parallels between the two couples (obviously) and them to aziraphale and crowley, anathema's dedication to her family's mission vs newt trying to find any sort of direction in his life (yeah the romance was a bit clunky but i'm not that hard to please if there are cute moments - and i just thought of this but the contrast of newly discovered love and old tentative love and ancient comfortable love and the intimacy of all of them idk)

side note #2 jack whitehall being in this was actually the first thing i knew about this show, back when i saw the first series trailer in a movie theater. i did pause the show to see if anyone else also thought he was quite good in this against-type role.

idk what i thought aziraphale and crowley's dynamic was going to be (solely based off of years of passively seeing them on tumblr) - probably more bickering or abrasive or not even friendly as is typical for the opposites attract trope? but instead it truly is domestic gentle long-lived friendship.

also them as characters! aziraphale's belief in this bureaucratic heaven at odds with his love for humanity and earth and its indulgences. crowley's disinterest in hell's proceedings at odds and his love for humanity and earth and its innovation.

cleaning the stain - very cute in how it establishes crowley will do anything for aziraphale and they both know it (but also in hindsight - and i don’t think anyone else has this interpretation so i could be reading way into it bc it’s 5 am - it could foreshadow aziraphale later wanting/tbh expecting crowley to be the one to kill the antichrist bc it’s not befitting for an angel but this time crowley outright refuses? idk i think there are parallels between this convo and the bandstand but again it is 5 am and maybe i am shane madej connecting the dots)

the wall - nothing that hasn’t already been said before but i love how unphased aziraphale is

episode 3 was so good in showing their changing relationship throughout the centuries, i could go on about all of them.

"fraternizing" - i still can't tell if crowley was so angry bc aziraphale was purposely downplaying their relationship to each other, bc it's clear at this point it's more than just an arrangement, they're actually friends. also, this is the start of a pattern i've sort of noticed, in which they argue and fight and split up bc they're not telling each other the whole truth.

the briefcase - the delicate swelling music focused on aziraphale focused on crowley, and i was like, "did he just fall in love? or is he realizing crowley is kind? or that they're actually best friends?" and then a week later i learned neil says michael says this is the moment aziraphale falls in love with crowley.

"you go too fast for me, crowley" - THE WAY I GASPED, MY BREATH LEFT ME, I CAN'T IMAGINE HOW THE CONTEXT CHANGES IN LIGHT OF S2

the bandstand - crowley defending their friendship (see "fraternizing"), aziraphale citing the heaven/hell divide, crowley not believing aziraphale for even a second ("i don't even like you!" "you do!" so quick!) bc he knows aziraphale doesn't mean it

"you're so clever! how can someone as clever as you be so stupid!" - again this is not the dynamic i expected!! crowley respects aziraphale, he admires aziraphale, this isn't a backhanded compliment, it's pure frustration grounded in love

the bookshop fire - BRUTAL

"do something or-" (holds up flaming sword) "or i'll never speak to you again!" - a bait and switch? but also the latter threat being what pushes crowley to push past the pain into action

the body switch - the transformation scene is one of the first things i saw on tumblr way back, but i never knew why they switched bodies, so seeing the build up and the climax of the failed punishments was so good. and i just learned it was added for the show!! so that’s really cool.

side note #3 - i just learned this week that they hold hands on the bus, which kind of feeds into what i suspected in that they switched places on the bus (idk if anyone else drew that conclusion but yeah it could also be sweet acting choices)

david tennant as aziraphale as crowley (pre-park bench) - doesn't slink around and somehow has a gentler but firm voice except when he goes all out in the tub and is allowed to be flippant and wild

michael sheen as crowley as aziraphale (pre-park bench) - his expressions in heaven, i can't even describe them but it was so calculated as subdued with underlying distain and disgust and anger and looked out of place on aziraphale’s face

the ritz - incredibly sweet, incredibly romantic, full circle moment to the garden in there being a little bit of a good thing in crowley and a little bit of a bad thing in aziraphale and their whole beings loved wholly by the other

i wonder if i had watched good omens at the time of premiere, i would've been able to read the romantic scenes as intended or if i would've initially leaned more towards deep loving friendship (which they also have let's be clear). my thoughts would've changed once i learned about neil and terry and david and michael's intentions, but it's interesting to watch scenes that you suspect might've been the subject of debate pre-season 2, or scenes that get recontextualized in light of season 2.

anyways, i'm just thinking out loud now. i wanted to type all this out (as many thoughts as i can verbalize anyway, some were just feelings) so i can refer back to this after i finish season 2, which i vaguely know the plot of and little scenes here and there and obviously know the big ending, but i'm excited to finally watch it in full!!

time to start good omens (as in season 1, episode 1) wish me luck

[phoneybeatlemania]

omg so according to keith badman, guests at george's 1974 end-of-tour party included john, may, neil, and an independent YOKO…. may pang also says paul was there bc him and john and george all hugged <3 and linda + olivia were both around so presumably they were at the party too! but why... why.. was yoko there……………… i can find NO information on this so i am shouting into the void just in case anyone's read anything bc i think his book is fairly reliable? but he doesn't cite his sources so >:(

Hiya anon!

This is interesting! I hadn't heard of this until now, but I had a look through Badman's book, The Beatles Diary: Volume 2: After The Breakup 1970-2001, and this is what I came across:

Thursday December 19 [1974]

[Georges] opening night at Madison Square Garden fails to sell out, leaving ticket touts outside the venue with red faces. They had originally planned to sell the $9.50 tickets for $25; instead, they are forced to virtually give the tickets away, making a loss of almost $5 on each. Ravi Shankar returns to the show. Paul and Linda, currently in town for the dissolution of The Beatles’ business entanglements, watch the show in heavy disguise. John’s son Julian also attends the show, accompanied by Ringo’s manager Hilary Gerrard. A planned appearance on stage by John fails to materialise because, earlier in the day, he refused to sign the “Famous Beatles Agreement” forms, which were due to be signed by all four ex-Beatles at midnight tonight. According to May Pang in her book Loving John, George, over the phone, tells May to tell John: “I started the tour without him and I’ll finish it without him.” (Ringo, meanwhile, remains in London to sign the papers, refusing to come to America and therefore avoiding a subpoena from Klein.)

Friday December 20  [1974]

Hilary Gerrard again takes Julian to see George’s concert at Madison Square Garden and John meets with Lee Eastman to discuss the “Famous Beatles Agreement”. Later, John, along with May Pang and Neil Aspinall, attends a party celebrating the end of George’s tour at New York’s Hippopotamus Club. Yoko, arriving separately, is among the guests in attendance.  

John recalls: “George and I are still good pals and we always will be, but I was supposed to sign this thing on the day of his concert. He was pretty weird because he was in the middle of that tour and we hadn’t communicated for a while because he doesn’t live here. I’ve seen Paul a bit because he comes to New York a lot, and I’m always seeing Ringo in Los Angeles. Anyway, I was a bit nervous about going on stage, but I agreed to because it would have been mean of me not to go on with George after I’d gone on with Elton. I didn’t sign the document on that day because my astrologer told me it wasn’t the right day, tee hee! (John will finally sign the papers on Friday December 27 at Disneyworld in Florida-see entry.) 

“George was furious with me at the time because I hadn’t signed it when I was supposed to, and somehow or other I was informed that I needn’t bother to go to George’s show. I was quite relieved in the end because there wasn’t any time to rehearse and I didn’t want it to be a case of just John jumping up and playing a few chords. I went to see him at Nassau and it was a good show. The band was great but Ravi wasn’t there, so I didn’t see the bit where the crowd is supposed to get restless. I just saw a good tight show. George’s voice was shot but the atmosphere was good and the crowd was great. I saw George after the Garden show and we were friends again. But he was surrounded by the madhouse that’s called ‘touring’. I respect George but I think he made a mistake on the tour. Mistakes are easier to spot if you’re not the person making them, so I don’t want to come on like ‘I know better’,’ cos I have’t done that…one of the basic mistakes seemed to be that the people wanted to hear old stuff. George wasn’t prepared to do that, and I understand him. When I did that charity concert at Madison Square Garden, I was still riding high on ‘Imagine’ so I was OK for material. But when I did ‘Come Together’ the house came down, which gave me an indication of what people wanted to hear.”*

Following the Hippopotamus Club party, John visits George in his hotel room where they are interviewed separately by the KHJ Los Angeles radio station for a one-hour special.

*Source: John Lennon: Rock On!, interview w/ Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 8 March 1975

For your question about why Yoko was there, John and Yoko apparently began seeing each other again (as in, in the flesh) following Johns Madison Square Garden performance with Elton John. Badman wrote:

Thursday November 28th.

Following the show, John and May attend a special party at the Pierre Hotel, where guests are treated to mind-bending illusions by Uri Geller. Incidentally, John and Yoko have always insisted that John did not know that Yoko was in the audience. However, according to May Pang in her book Loving John, not only did John know well in advance that Yoko was attending but he had also reserved Yoko’s tickets and that she had phoned him more than once to complain about the location of her seats.

So I don't think it's that weird that she ended up attending the Hippopotamus Club party in December? I mean, it doesn't seem like the plan had ever been to completely split from one another given that they never seemed to have made any efforts to divorce.

[artyphex]

Tagged by @crit20lesbian (thank you!!) 

1- why did you choose your URL?

When this blog started I was really into Good Omens (still am! just quieter about it but that’ll change as we get closer to season 2) so I wanted a URL that referenced Good Omens but was also neutral enough that I could switch fandoms without it being weird. “Feathered-serpents” is meant to be referring to the angels and snakes in Good Omens but also the feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl because I’m a mythology slut. I love this deity so much and he’s ALWAYS made to be a monster in Western media when he’s!! A god of art, wind, and knowledge!! And created humanity!! He’s so cool Aztec mythos is SO COOL 

2- Any side blogs?

Not really. I used to have a Flight Rising side blog but it’s been abandoned for awhile. Been thinking about making a Dragon Age sideblog but I basically just use Twitter for that so this is what we get 

3- How long have you been on Tumblr?

10 years. Since I was 13. Technically 11 if you count when I made a blog in 2010 but didn’t know how to use tumblr since it’s not user friendly and just let it sit there for a year until I figured it out. 

It’s certainly done something to my development. Dunno what. But something 

4- Do you have a queue tag?

No. Everything you get is live 

5- Why did you start your blog in the first place?

I’ve had a series of blogs over the years, leaving older ones by either switching fandoms after I’d built too much of a niche in one to change my whole blog or by deleting the accounts cause I was swearing off tumblr and we can all see how that worked out. This one is my fifth main blog and I made it cause the fourth one got shadowbanned for no reason! Yay! 

6- Why did you choose your icon/pfp?

There’s this amazing comic by the artist @hollow-head of Aziraphale and Crowley’s drunken debate from the book and it contained a panel with Aziraphale in a little rocket ship as Crowley explained interstellar bird travel. I thought it was cute and asked if I could use it and they said yes and even sent me a version with a white background. I love it and I’m never changing it 

7- Why did you choose your header?

I really like the book Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman it’s DEEPLY weird and I’m still waiting for an adaptation. There’s an illustrated version which is beautiful and my header is the scene where the main character first enters the Underground world. I thought it was cool! 

8- What’s your post with the most notes?

The fucking. Stupid female aliens post I made in a rage after hearing that female aliens were barely included in the game Mass Effect because the artists “Didn’t know what that would look like” 

Like five seconds after I made this some dude reblogged it with “takes more than a voice and pronoun change but aight” after calling me a “puritan who hates women” on a separate post for expressing my approval of a scene in that same game being changed where a woman is confiding in you about her tormented childhood while the camera is just. Glued to her ass for no reason 

(he also reblogged and disagreed with me on like. many Mass Effect posts. It was deeply strange. I did not know him. He’s blocked now) 

9- How many mutuals do you have? Not sure but quite a few! I’d say about half the people I follow are mutuals as I tend to follow people I see in my notes a lot 

10- How many followers do you have?

1,577 but the number tends to go up and down constantly and also a good amount are probably porn bots 

11-How many people do you follow?

279! 

12- Have you ever made a shit post?

That’s all I do here 

13- How often do you use Tumblr each day?

That’s between me and god 

14- Did you have a fight/argument with another blog once?

Not really. If someone is annoying me or if they just post too much content I don’t like I’ll just block them. Usually it’s not even because I think they’re a bad person I just don’t wanna see their Eliasfucking posts in the TMA tag I’m sorry it’s too much* 

*(that’s an example i’m not referring to anyone specific) 

15- How do you feel about “you need to reblog this” posts?

Usually avoid unless I think it’s very important 

16- Do you like tag games?

Yes but I will usually forget to do them unless I do it RIGHT AWAY (like this one) 

17- Do you like ask games?

Also yes but I tend to forget to respond to those too. I will do the WWDITS/TMA prompts you all sent I will do them I just get overwhelmed by things I enjoy 

18- Which of your mutuals do you think is Tumblr famous?

We’re all in pretty niche corners so I don’t think any of us are “famous” but I am mutuals with some really cool artists. That’s fun! 

19- Do you have a crush on a mutual?

Platonically <3

Oh god now I have to tag people uhhhhhhh @alexiley​, @dudeiwannasleep​, @annabelle--cane​, @ghostbustermelanieking​, is that enough? that feels like enough (no pressure!!) 

[anangelcalledinquisitor]

For the fanfic writers questions. 4,5,9, 15?

Oh, exciting! Hmmm, let's see....

4. Are there any writers that inspire you?

So like, authors, there's quite a few, but most especially Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, I always feel inspired when I'm done reading stuff from them! For fanfic authors, I have a couple, the first being the love of my life, @thewordsmithofhell who inspires me whenever I write, be it original or Fanfiction. <3

5. What’s the fic you’re most proud of?

That's going to be a tie between To Trust a Scorpion (Word of Honor, YeXie) and Save You, which is a Supernatural fic between original characters, and that set me off on my romantic endeavor with my darling, as it is a love story between an angel and a demon and only kind of has any of the main cast in it.

9. Which character(s) do you find most difficult to write?

JIANG CHENG omg I feel like I can never write him correctly, and that people judge me for it x.x I love him as a character, I just never feel satisfied when I write him.

(Also, Jin Guangshan, Wen Ruohan, and Zhao Jing, but just because I don't LIKE to write them, I get kinda the heebie jeebies)

15. What’s the weirdest fandom you’ve ever written for?

Hmmmmm... that's a good question. I mean, technically any of the fandoms might be considered weird? I mean, I just wrote for The Untamed and Word of Honor seemingly out of nowhere after writing a lot of original stuff for a couple of years? I wrote for Dragon Age: Inquisition, Supernatural... I did also technically write Digimon fanfiction, so maybe that was the weirdest? But that was 20 years ago and it did not survive (thank god).

Thank you for the ask!!

[vreugd-madelon]

Good Omens Review

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman is a 391 page Supernatural Urban Fantasy Stand-Alone novel released in 1990. I also listened to the audiobook on YouTube. It’s narrated by Martin Jarvis .

According to The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (the world's only completely accurate book of prophecies, written in 1655, before she exploded), the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. Just after tea... People have been predicting the end of the world almost from its very beginning, so it's only natural to be sceptical when a new date is set for Judgement Day. This time though, the armies of Good and Evil really do appear to be massing. The four Bikers of the Apocalypse are hitting the road. But both the angels and demons - well, one fast-living demon and a somewhat fussy angel - would quite like the Rapture not to happen. And someone seems to have misplaced the Antichrist...

I rate this book 3/5 Stars.

I read this book in one day, during the 24 hour readathon of the Magical Readathon - Orilium and only because of the audiobook. If I hadn’t had it, it would’ve taken me a significant longer to read instead of around 11 hours.

The story is every interesting. Ominous and gritty at times while at others relaxed and cheerful in a weird kind of way. Plot feels predictable.

Characters are very well done. I do really like the 4 bikers of the Apocalypse, of which Death is my favourite but I do like War as well. I can’t choose between Aziraphale and Crowley, they are both very eccentric and funny and weird.” I have a slight dislike towards Adam and the Them, because they’re supposed to be 11 years old, but they feel much older. Like 14-16 years, which is a lot.

I do like the footnotes at the bottom of some of the pages. It gives some hilarious jabs and comments at times while also giving some background info to certain things.

Do you have any questions? Send me an ask here on Tumblr or tweet me. Are any books that you want to recommend? Be sure to let me know! If you wish to support me, you can buy me a coffee!

[terryballs]

My favourite Doctor Who writers

10. Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman is one of the most talented people to ever write for Doctor Who. Of course, talent alone is not enough - Douglas Adams, Alan Moore, and Naomi Alderman all miss out on this list. What makes Gaiman special is his fairytale, fantasy approach to the show. He has big ideas, full of heart, and I am always delighted by them.

Why isn’t Mr Gaiman higher up on the list? Simply because he has only done four stories. One of them, “The Doctor’s Wife”, is an all-time classic, while the others are at least good. With a couple more stories, Mr Gaiman would surely be higher.

9. Paul Magrs

Coming in at #9 is one of the most important writers of non-televised Who. Paul Magrs has written nine Big Finish Main Range stories (most notably “The Peterloo Massacre”), three Companion Chronicles, and two Eighth Doctor Adventures, including the exceptional “The Zygon Who Fell To Earth”, as well as a huge number of spin-off adventures.

It’s in print where Magrs really flourishes, though. It’s quite hard to get across just how influential Paul Magrs has been. Firstly, his three books in the Eighth Doctor Adventures range - The Scarlet Empress, The Blue Angel, and Mad Dogs and Englishmen - are hugely ambitious metatextual delights. These stories introduce Iris Wildthyme and the Smudgelings to the Whoniverse, and have each inspired their own spin-off series, collectively called the “Magrsverse”. Iris’s parody of the Doctor is a rip-roaring delight whenever she appears - and as you know, she’s famous for it - and will prove a lasting legacy for Mr Magrs.

I suppose, at this junction, I should mention Lawrence Miles, who has had a similar influence, but I just don’t find to be quite as good a storyteller as Magrs.

8. Rob Shearman

You probably know Rob Shearman for “Dalek”, the first good New Who story. What if I told you that “Dalek” is Shearman’s worst DW story?

The titles of Shearman’s audio plays are enough to send shivers up the spines of those who have heard them. There’s “Jubilee”, the loose inspiration for “Dalek”, which explores the Daleks as fascist iconography. There’s “The Holy Terror”, where the Doctor and Frobisher the Penguin Shape-Shifter have a similarly horrifying experience with a religious cult. There’s “The Chimes of Midnight”, possibly the definitive Eighth Doctor story, and “Scherzo”, itself perhaps the most experimental story in Doctor Who history, and “Deadline”, in which the villain is Doctor Who itself.

Like many of the writers on this list, Shearman has an eclectic back catalogue full of obscure oddities. But few people have quite his capacity for knocking it out of the park.

7. Chris Chibnall

It’s true that Chris Chibnall’s work before becoming showrunner is inconsistent at best. “42″ is bad and “The Hungry Earth” is uninspired. “Dinosaurs on a Spaceship” is a fun romp, while “The Power of Three” is a great story that is let down by the ending which had to be re-written hastily due to unforeseen production issues. And Chibnall’s contributions to Series 11 range from “fine” (”The Woman Who Fell To Earth”) to “bad” (”The Battle of Ranskor Av Kolos”). But in “Pond Life” and “P.S.”, Chibnall shows that he knows how to write affecting character beats.

It’s in Series 12 that Chibnall really takes things up a step. His stories become sprawling and ambitious: globe-trotting thrillers crammed full of ideas. He’s still occasionally guilty of trying to throw too many ideas in, but his love for the story really shines through. There’s barely a weak moment in Series 12, and that’s largely because Chibnall himself steps up to write or co-write hit after hit after hit. It all culminates in the epic three-part finale, “The Haunting of Villa Diodati”/”Ascension of the Cybermen”/”The Timeless Children”, a hugely ambitious story that crosses space and time and pulls together disparate elements from the history of Who. It’s a million miles from “The Battle of Ranskor Av Kolos”: a fan-pleasing story that is truly epic.

6. Vinay Patel

Why is Vinay so high? Good question. Thinking about it, I can’t really justify this placement. Patel reliably produces great stories - “Demons of the Punjab” alone marks Patel out as a great, and to follow it up with “Fugitive of the Judoon” shows that it wasn’t a fluke. But Mr Patel has only got four stories to his name - the aforementioned TV stories plus “Letters from the Front” and “The Tourist” - so for similar reasons to Mr Gaiman, a high position is difficult to justify.

So instead, let’s give this position to Terrance Dicks. Mr Dicks has a bit of a reputation as more of a “jobbing” writer than someone like Chibnall or Shearman, Terrance Dicks was, first and foremost, a script editor. Yes, he co-wrote “The War Games” and was the sole writer for “Horror of Fang Rock”, but he’s best remembered for script editing the Third Doctor era (and part of the Second Doctor era), as well as producing an absolute mass of Target novelisations. But that’s not all - Mr Dicks has written original novels (VNAs, EDAs, and PDAs alike), Quick Reads, audio stories, two stage plays, and even the Destiny of the Doctor video game.

Sure, Mr Dicks didn’t burn as bright as Mr Patel. But his contribution to the Whoniverse is unparalleled.

5. Nev Fountain

Comedy writer Nev Fountain has written several of the very best Doctor Who stories. For some reason, these stories tend to centre around Peri (Fountain is married to Nicola Bryant). “Peri and the Piscon Paradox” is the best Companion Chronicle by far, due to a combination of great acting by Bryant and Colin Baker and Fountain’s sizzling script. “The Kingmaker” is an outrageously funny historical with incredible dialogue and multiple ideas clever enough to carry a whole story.

Frankly, those two alone should be enough to convince anyone of Fountain’s brilliance. But there is so much more - “The Widow’s Assassin”, “The Curious Incident of the Doctor In the Night-time”, “The Blood on Santa’s Claw”, “Omega“... if you like Doctor Who, make yourself familiar with Nev Fountain.

4. Robert Holmes

More than anyone else, Robert Holmes is responsible for the esteem which the Fourth Doctor is held in.

Holmes first wrote for the show all the way back in Series 6, with “The Krotons”. He wrote the very first Third Doctor story, “Spearhead From Space”, in which he also introduced the Autons. They reappeared a year later in “Terror of the Autons”, which introduced Jo Grant and the Master. In “The Time Warrior”, Holmes introduced the Sontarans, a pastiche of imperialism.

It was in the Fourth Doctor era that Mr Holmes really made his mark. He took over from Mr Dicks as script editor. In his own right, he wrote “The Deadly Assassin” and “Talons of Weng-Chiang”, but he also turned “The Ark In Space”, “Pyramids of Mars”, and “The Brain of Morbius” into usable stories, even appearing in “The Brain of Morbius” as the Doctor.

After stepping back from script editing, Holmes returned as a hack to write stories like “The Caves of Androzani” (probably the most popular story in Classic Who) and “The Two Doctors”, before dying shortly after his 60th birthday.

3. Jamie Mathieson

Putting Mr Mathieson above Mr Holmes really shows my bias towards New Who, but honestly, I’d rather re-watch “Mummy on the Orient Express”, “Flatline”, or “Oxygen” than any of Holmes’ stories. Mathieson is very inventive and extremely good at maintaining pace and tension. I’m sure we’ll get more stories from him in the future, but the ones we have so far should be used as inspiration by anyone wanting to writing exciting Who.

2. John Dorney

It is hard to exaggerate Mr Dorney’s contributions to audio Who. He may lack the external fanbase of Mr Gaiman, the influence of Mr Magrs, or the legendary status of Messrs Dicks, Chibnall, and Holmes, but make no mistake, Dorney is exceptional. In almost every range he tries his hand at - Lost Stories, Novel Adaptations, Third Doctor Adventures, Fourth Doctor Adventures, Fifth Doctor Adventures, Dark Eyes, Doom Coalition, Ravenous, Time War, Companion Chronicles, Short Trips, Jago and Litefoot, Missy, UNIT, Diary of River Song... Dorney reliably writes the best story in the set.

In particular, Dorney’s stories are notable for the way they focus on character drama. Look at stories like “A Life In A Day” or “Absent Friends” for particular examples of stories that use sci-fi concepts to draw emotion out of characters, particularly the stoic Liv Chenka. Other highlights of Dorney’s include “The Red Lady” and the “Better Watch Out”/”Fairytale of Salzburg” two-parter.

1. Steven Moffat

What more is there to say? Moffat is truly exceptional, reliably writing the best stories in TV Who for several consecutive years. The classics are too numerous to list, but the stand outs amongst the stand outs are “Blink” and “Heaven Sent”/”Hell Bent”.

Some of Moffat’s best work comes away from TV. The minisodes “The Inforarium” and “Night of the Doctor”, the novelisation of “Day of the Doctor”, the short stories “Continuity Errors” and “the Corner of the Eye”, and lockdown stories like “Terror of the Umpty Ums” are Moffat deep cuts which deserve to be held in the same regard as his great TV stories.

Moffat’s imagination lead to him creating multiple iconic monsters - foremost amongst them, the Weeping Angels and the Silence. Moffat emphasised the use of time travel within the stories themselves; other themes in his work include memory, perception, paradoxes, identity, sexuality, and responsibility. He is, without a doubt, the greatest Doctor Who writer, and I am so lucky to have lived through the period where he was active.

[neighbourskid]

2020

What a year, huh? Surely not anything anyone has expected to happen when we woke up on this day a year ago. I certainly haven’t. I’m not even sure, now, where to begin to sum up this year like I’ve done years prior. But then again... I may just as well just dive right into all the media I consumed this year, as I have done every year. I haven’t kept track as detailed as I have last year, but my year was definitely punctuated by pieces of entertainment that have come into my life.

Continuing on from 2019, my obsession with Good Omens was still going strong. Which was ideal, since I was gonna spend the first half of the year writing my Bachelor thesis on it. The intensity of the obsession may have waned a bit since, but I still love that show and book dearly and hold it close to my heart, and I don’t think that will ever stop. But while Good Omens was certainly an overall theme throughout my year, there were some other things that actually stood out.

With January came new episodes of Doctor Who, and having returned to that particular bandwagon the year prior, I was all about that. Jodie’s second season finally brought what I had longed for in her first--a darker kind of Doctor. She wasn’t quite as bubbly anymore, you could finally see some of the depths in the character that I loved so in the previous regenerations, which made me love Peter’s Doctor so incredibly much. In this season, I felt, Jodie was finally becoming the Doctor. Overall, that season catered to me personally every single episode. So many of the time periods they visited were of people I loved, and the introduction of Sacha Dhawan as the Master was absolutely....well, masterful. Sacha is brilliant in that role and I am utterly stunned by his talent. Although both John Simm and Michelle Gomez brought things to the Master that I liked, it’s Sacha’s completely unhinged take on it that made me finally like the character. He’s a madman and I love it.

The next major thing was The Good Place. I tend to have a talent of getting into shows just as they either ended their entire show, or the final season is just coming up. It’s happened quite a bit, and it was the same with this. I finally binged the show early in January and it would end its final season at the end of the month. True to form, I was completely obsessed with it for about a month, before I only occasionally thought about it again. But, thinking back now, I get this incredibly fond feeling for this show, and I remember that the finale absolutely wrecked me and I basically ugly sobbed through the entirety of it. Also very true to form, actually. I want to rewatch it again some time, but honestly preferably with someone who has never seen it before. Which, obviously, is a difficult thing to do given, well, everything.

Next up is something that surprised me a lot. In the middle of having to write my BA thesis, my procrastination thought it would be a great idea to rewatch and catch up on the entirety of Criminal Minds. And so I binged 15 seasons of that instead of writing my thesis. Which, coincidentally, had also just aired its final season not long before I started my binge in March. Rewatching this, I realised just how little I took in of the actual, like, stuff in the show when I first watched it as a teen. Although I mostly cared about the characters and their found family this time around--although I do find the cases really fascinating most of the time too--I noticed just how much I am not watching this for the fact that they are in the FBI. I was hyperaware of how often they shot at people before doing anything else, how many of the suspects died before ever being questioned or being brought in, and it made my skin crawl. I am aware how fucked up the criminal justice system is, and especially in the US, how the police functions and how incredibly glorified they are in the media. But rewatching this show, I realised how little I actually paid attention to anything when I was younger. Big yikes. Still, I remembered my love for these characters, and I really enjoyed that rewatch a whole lot. Found family will always get to me.

Once I finished writing my thesis and handed it in early in July, I then found my next momentary obsession: Community. The show had finally come to Netflix earlier in the year and a friend of mine had watched it then. I remember watching that pilot episode back then and being completely uninterested in watching it. The comedy felt like it wasn’t quite up my street, the characters were entirely unlikeable, and I especially disliked Jeff who the show was more or less centred around. I binged Criminal Minds instead, but then decided to give it another try. And, well, I watched it twice through without taking a break to watch something else in-between. Ironically, and maybe actually unsurprisingly, Jeff ended up being my favourite and I found myself relating a lot to him and his arc throughout the series. I even found myself writing some short ficlet-like things in the notes app on my phone. I made an attempt at starting a third watch, but I guess then the month was up, and my brain decided it was time for something else. My hyperfixations usually tend to die out after about a month. Which is why my complete devotion to Good Omens was a pleasant surprise. I did, however, end up watching quite a bit of Joel McHale and Ken Jeong’s The Darkest Timeline podcast throughout August. 

Early in September, while already preparing for the new term at uni, and my first semester in my Master’s studies, I then turned to New Girl. Friends of mine had seen it and recommended it, and I remember watching probably the entire first season on TV while I was in San Diego the first time around back in 2016. Or at least I think it was the entire first season. Either way, I binged that whole thing, realised through Nick Miller that the go-to character I am drawn to and tend to project on in any piece of media is usually what I like to call “the garbage man,” which Nick is a prime example of. And although I spent a month watching the show in-between starting university again and volunteering at a film festival, I didn’t spend much time afterward thinking about it and moved on to other things rather quickly. I enjoyed watching it, that much I remember, and I’m pretty sure I cried at the finale because it was done wonderfully, but seeing as another month was up, my brain was probably like “okay fine that’s enough”.

I then spent most of fall and early winter watching every single bad Christmas movie available on Netflix, which was quite fun. In that moment of festivity, I also watched a movie I found absolutely brilliant and fell in love with immediately. It’s a beautiful movie called Jingle Jangle, it has a magnificent soundtrack and is absolutely incredible. I had no idea Forest Whitaker could sing and he completely blew me away. If you haven’t seen it already, I highly recommend it. It doesn’t matter that Christmas is already over, it’s beautiful either way.

By the time December finally rolled around, I was already over the whole Christmas thing, to be honest and I turned away from festive movies or shows, and eventually ended up finally picking up a gem I had heard much about and had been meaning to watch for a while. A show which, as it were, also aired its final season earlier this year. This little show is Schitt’s Creek. I will be going on about what this show means to me probably in another post at length, but for now just let me say: if you haven’t seen it, find some place to watch it, and put this beautiful show in your eyeballs. I am on my second run through already (although I’ve seen the second half of the show a second time already while watching it with a friend on their first run through), and it brings me so much fucking joy. It’s a gift, this show. And it will likely stay with me for a very, very long time.

That’s about it for the big things. I also watched a whole lot of other stuff, including entirely new things, or just newly released seasons of things I was already watching. Here’s what I can remember off the top of my head:

Charlie’s Angels (2020). The Night Manager. The Witcher. Dolittle (2020). The Librarians (rewatch). Harley Quinn (2020). Sonic the Hedgehog (2020). The Chef Show (S1 part 3, S2 part 1). Avenue 5. Money Heist (part 4). The Good Fight (S4). Brooklyn Nine-Nine (S7). DuckTales (2017 reboot). Frankenstein live. Staged (2020). Hamilton. Sense8. Julie and the Phantoms. The Boys in the Band. One Night in Miami. Enola Holmes. Supernova. His Dark Materials (S2). Happiest Season. The Great Canadian Baking Show.

I also got some reading done in-between what I had to read for my thesis in spring, and then for regular university courses in fall. Here’s some of what I can remember:

Anthony Horowitz, The House of Silk. Ramona Meisel, Sunblind. Donna Tartt, The Secret History. Good Omens novel and script book. Matt Forbeck, Leverage: The Con Job. Keith R.A. Decandido, Leverage: The Zoo Job. Greg Cox, Leverage: The Bestseller Job. Greg Cox, The Librarians and the Lost Lamp. Greg Cox, The Librarians and the Mother Goose Chase. Greg Cox, The Librarians and the Pot of Gold. Neil Gaiman, Marvel 1602. Christina Henry, The Lost Boy. Neil Gaiman, Norse Mythology. John Green, An Abundance of Katherines. Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Aurora Leigh. Maria Konnikova, The Confidence Game. 

Having mulled over all this entertainment I consumed in 2020, there are also some non-tv or book things I need to point out. As many, many other people around the globe, I have also spent a large amount of time this year on my Nintendo Switch, playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons. It is a game I have waited for since the Switch was first announced, and I fell in love with it from the moment the first trailer dropped. It has brought me great joy in this weird fucking year, and I have more or less consistently played it since it came out in March. I ended this year with the in-game New Year’s Eve celebration and I feel like that summed up this year quite neatly and appropriately.

This year also brought with it another game very close to my heart: Super Mario Sunshine. With their release of Super Mario 3D All-Stars in September, Nintendo finally brought my all-time favourite Mario game to my all-time favourite console, and I played the entire game through in the first week of owning it, in-between university courses and volunteering at the film festival. Also contained in that package was Super Mario Galaxy which I have also played through in its entirety since. All that’s left for me now is Super Mario 64, which I am excited to play through in the coming year.

And to round off my year of entertainment, there are two more things I would like to mention. First, David Tennant Does A Podcast With..., which released its second season this summer. It is one of the only, if not the only podcast I keep up to date with and listen to immediately whenever a new episode drops. I’ve loved the first season dearly, and David came back with some incredibly fantastic guests for the second season as well. I can’t wait for what the podcast will bring in the future, but I will wait patiently until it is time. I can highly recommend it for everyone who likes interesting conversations between lovely people who clearly adore each other a whole lot.

And finally, while this year brought a whole lot of bullshit with it, it also gave me something I never thought possible and did not even dare to imagine in my wildest dreams. My all-time favourite show announced that it would be rebooted with the same main cast (minus one), a new wonderful member, and involvement of the original creators, and even started filming already in summer. Leverage is coming back. I still cannot believe it. I hoped for a movie, always. That maybe one day, they might bring the gang back together, for one last job, just one more encore. But to get a whole new tv-show with Aldis, Christian, Gina and Beth returning? With the addition of Noah Wyle? I can’t wrap my head around it. I am so excited for this. I predict that I will ugly sob through the entirety of the pilot episode, if not the first season, and will have to rewatch every episode because of it, but I have no doubt that it will be brilliant and wonderful.

True to form, I have now gone on about tv shows and movies for far too long, and haven’t really said anything about this year at all. 2020 was fucking weird. And I don’t think 2021 will be much different quite yet. I wrote an entire BA thesis in 2020. I successfully finished by Bachelor’s degree and started my Master’s studies and even got some excellent first grades in as well. I was lucky enough to be able to see some friends and family throughout the year, and even celebrate my birthday with a small circle of friends. I’ve become closer with friends, shared experiences I wouldn’t trade for the world, and, I think, maybe also grown a bit as a person.

I started this year excited to finally be able to start taking testosterone in February, and to finish the first part of my studies by summer. Although I did both of these things, they didn’t happen quite how I imagined them, but I am glad that I could do these things nevertheless.

2020 was a hell year, for sure. But there were some moments in there that I wouldn’t want to lose.

I’ve tried very hard to not be optimistic about this upcoming year, and rather take a more realistic, even pessimistic approach. But I can’t help but be hopeful. Hopeful that this year will be kind to us, and if it isn’t, that at least, we’ll be kind to ourselves and each other. It won’t be easy, and not much will change, I think. But we have to approach the coming time with kindness and compassion. That’s where I’m at currently. And I think that’s all for now.

Be well, friends, and take care.

[passionate-reply]

Created by @tremblegay and I wasn’t really tagged by anyone to do it, but I thought it looked interesting and took it upon myself to do it. I suppose I did originally see this on @pozzima‘s blog and they wrote that anybody could do it, so I have permission, kinda.

1.  A SONG THAT REMINDS YOU OF SUNSHINE.

JOHN FOXX - “ENTER THE ANGEL”

John Foxx’s 1985 album In Mysterious Ways is suffused with sunshine from the get-go, and this song was the lead single and clearly the most accessibly sunny of the bunch. It’s easy to imagine it as the mood music for when the one you love most enters the room, or is sighted from across some distance...

2. A SONG THAT YOU’VE CRIED TO.

PET SHOP BOYS - “JACK THE LAD”

Pet Shop Boys frontman Neil Tennant has remarked that the duo create quite a lot of “happy-sad” sounding music, and “Jack the Lad” seems like an excellent example. Released as a B-Side to their well-remembered hit “Suburbia,” its use of historical perspective and reassurance that “we all fall, even Jack the Lad” made it a mainstay of my pervasive teenage frustrations.

3. A SONG THAT MAKES YOU FEEL WARM.

ULTRAVOX - “I CAN’T STAY LONG”

Today I learned I don’t listen to a lot of very “warm” feeling music, despite being one of those people who always feels cold in everyday life. But this track, on 1979′s Systems of Romance, gives me that sort of sense. “I’d like to glide, in the long green light of a July afternoon”...

4. A SONG THAT MAKES YOUR HEART ACHE (IN A GOOD WAY).

THOMAS DOLBY & RYUICHI SAKAMOTO - “FIELD WORK”

Thomas Dolby is the guy from “She Blinded Me With Science” or whatever, but he also wrote an absolutely beautiful ode to the glories of inquiry into the workings of our world. The scientists of the world deserve this sort of anthem, if you ask me. When I was younger I actually dreamed of becoming some sort of scientist, and this song reminds me why. It fills me with the urge to work hard and experience things and learn.

5. A SONG THAT MAKES YOUR HEART ACHE (IN A BAD WAY).

HEAVEN 17 - “LET’S ALL MAKE A BOMB”

There are any number of songs I could have chosen that deal to some extent with major real-world issues, but I went with this one because it strikes me as especially...”achy.” It’s a rather forlorn dirge that leads me to imagine what sorts of activities I’d be up to if I knew I was about to die. I mean, one does always need a contingency plan.

6. A SONG THAT GETS YOUR BLOOD PUMPIN’. A SONG THAT MAKES YOU FEEL ALIVE. THE MUSICAL VERSION OF A PEP TALK.

BILL NELSON - “QUIT DREAMING AND GET ON THE BEAM”

This might seem like a surprisingly slow-paced song for this question, but it does work on yours truly like a pep talk. I mean, just look at the name! Whenever I’m tempted to lie low or not pursue something that will take some hard work, the words of Nelson drift through my mind: “People who do things are people who get things done!” I couldn’t have said it better myself.

7. THAT ONE SONG THAT MAKES YOU TRANSCEND REALITY WHEN YOU’RE DRIVING AROUND ALONE AT 3 AM.

KARL BARTOS - “NACHTFAHRT”

I’ll let you guys in on a little secret--as much as I like Numan’s “Cars” and Kraftwerk’s “Autobahn,” I actually, uh, can’t drive. (At least Neil Tennant is also a grown adult who never bothered learning either, so I have some company.) Since I can’t really relate, I’ll give you a song that makes me at least try to imagine such an experience: one of my favourite tracks from the solo work of ex-Kraftwerker, Karl Bartos.

8. YOU KNOW ALL THE WORDS TO THIS SONG BY HEART.

ABC - “4 EVER 2 GETHER”

Hard decision--I know the works to almost every one of my ~700 songs by heart. Well, except for the instrumentals. So I went with something that seemed especially fun, lyrically. I know I’m just about the only person who’d describe themselves as some sort of “huge ABC fan” but can we appreciate Martin Fry’s positively wicked lyricism for a minute. “The Twelve Disciples might kiss and tell”...

9. A FAVOURITE SONG FROM WHEN YOU WERE A KID.

GARY NUMAN - “BERSERKER”

Also a hard decision, since music has been extremely important to me for pretty much as long as I can recall! Well, that, and my taste hasn’t changed a whole bunch since I was younger. So here’s a song I definitely remember hearing as a kid, and having my mind utterly blown by it, hahaha. Wait a minute, you’re telling me it’s possible for music to sound like THIS? Maybe I’m still a little amazed...

10. A SONG YOU BELT AT THE TOP OF YOUR LUNGS.

VISAGE - “LOOK WHAT THEY’VE DONE”

What better diva to idolize than Steve Strange, the grand dame of the New Romantics? The sheer drama of this song is beyond infectious. Oh, to be so beautifully despised...

11. COCAINE, IF IT WAS A SONG.

CABARET VOLTAIRE - “L21ST”

A song with quite a lot going on, sonically, despite kind of an innocuous name. I love this sort of busy, industrial clang-and-bang sound. “Keep it up!”

12. A COVER OF A SONG, THAT YOU THINK IS BETTER THAN THE ORIGINAL.

PETER BAUMANN - “STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT”

As you may know, I’m pretty much interested in a single genre of music, so there are tons of covers out there like this, that take a song from some style that isn’t “dark synth” and reinterpret it that way, and to me it’s more or less a brand new track, hahaha. But I picked this one because I think it’s very fun: Peter Baumann, originally of Tangerine Dream, tackling an oft-covered tune made most famous by Frank Sinatra.

[kolbisneat]

MONTHLY MEDIA: August 2019

The cool winds of fall are picking up and so wraps up another month of the year 2019! I dunno I’ve been writing these for so long now that I’m having trouble coming up with good intros.

……….FILM……….

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019) I had no idea that this was the film’s true name and ho boy. Perhaps not as silly as some of the better Fast movies, but still a lot of fun. I also couldn’t get this tweet out of my head while watching it.

The Babysitter (2017) Fairly standard B movie stuff. It had a few genuinely funny moments, questionable writing, and a brisk 1.5 hour runtime. It could’ve been better but, in fairness, it could’ve been a lot worse.

……….TELEVISION……….

Bachelor in Paradise (Episode 6.01 to 6.08) I think I like this so much because it feels like the television equivalent of fanfiction: a bunch of characters from separate stuff you already know smushed together into a wild and unexplainably fun set of circumstances. It makes watching the seasons of Bachelor and Bachelorette all the more worthwhile.

Neon Genesis Evangelion (Episode 1.04 to 1.06) Clearly I’m sloooooooly chipping away at this and the show, itself, is a slow burn. I imagined that each episode was going to deal with an Angel (maybe a formula more like Power Rangers?) but it’s great that entire eps are dedicated to battle aftermath and preparations when a new threat appears. Good stuff.

……….READING……….

The Rook by Daniel O’Malley (Complete) This was presented to me as a sort of “Men in Black but British and with magic” and I think that’s a good fit. Though I’d maybe add that it’s as if it was a magical Bond movie only we follow an amnestic Moneypenny. It’s rare that I read through a book so quickly and would catch myself casually thinking about it during the day. Highly recommend.

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman (Complete) This feels like it was written to be made into a film, but maybe I’m reading too much into it. A lot of seemingly random plots and characters all culminate in the grand finale and it felt appropriately cinematic for a comedy about the apocalypse. Plus it has Pratchett’s version of Death that I love with all my heart. So great.

Animal Man Vol. 1 & 2 by Grant Morrison, Chas Truog, Doug Hazlewod, & Tom Grummet (Complete) There’s something about Grant Morrison’s work that never quite works for me. His high-level stuff is interesting, but it feels disconnected in an alien way. Maybe that’s why he’s a good fit for Superman. Writing a ground-level everyman hero doesn’t seem to mesh all that well and it hard to hook into the plot. Alongside Swamp Thing in the late 80s/early 90s, it was really a time for activism and environmentalism in comics, wasn’t it? It’s interesting that Animal Man shifting to be a vegetarian is a major shock and plot point. Anyway I appreciate that it’s well-written but it’s not for me.

Orc Stain by James Stokoe (Complete) I’m conflicted on this. On one hand, the art and world-building and characters and story are all great. Like really really fun (also rather “adult” in that it’s graphic and lewd, but still super fun). On the other hand, this volume collects 5 of 7 completed issues, so it doesn’t tell a satisfying story. As I understand, the 7 are of a planned 10, but that the remaining 3 issues still aren’t done after years so I kinda feel like we won’t get a conclusion to this. So while I want to suggest you check it out, it’s only with the understanding that this isn’t going to tell a complete arc.

Dr. Slump Vol. 1 & 3 by Akira Toriyama (Complete) Simple, juvenile, fun. I really loved reading this but admit I could tell you maybe...3 of the plotlines from the collection? It’s silly and kinda slice of life and funny and occasionally inappropriate (I try to take it with a grain of salt given translation, cultural differences, and the fact it was published in the 80s). Wait there was a cartoon of this and it makes perfect sense! Reading this felt like watching cartoons as a kid. Plot lines jump around and resolve at breakneck speed, consequences are nil, and the humour is fast and loose. Okay great we figured it out together and I intend to read more. Also the library didn’t have volume 2.

……….AUDIO……….

Infest the Rats’ Nest by King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard (2019) I tend to prefer King Gizzard’s more upbeat and succinct efforts, so this is right up my alley. The narrative is fun, the songs are thrashy but still very much King Gizzard tracks, and they were great live.

……….GAMING……….

Maze of the Blue Medusa (Satyr Press) The group is getting deeper into the maze and so the threats and intrigue are growing! They’ve met a few key players in the labyrinth but I don’t think they quite know how to interact with them. Maybe that’s on me. 

A Red & Pleasant Land (Lamentations of the Flame Princess) It’s been awhile since the party adventured through Wonderland, but now that they’ve attended the Hatter’s party, they’ve learned a lot more about what they’re up against and (maybe?) what the stakes are. Also they stole a piglet and then promptly returned said pig after threat of ambush.

And that’s pretty much it! As always, I’m keen to get any of your recommendos to stuff to read/watch/hear/play and have a great weekend!

[vateacancameos]

Chapters: 1/1 Words: 2263 Fandom: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Aziraphale & Crowley (Good Omens), Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens) Characters: Aziraphale (Good Omens), Crowley (Good Omens) Additional Tags: Autumn, Post-Canon, Fluff, Domestic Fluff, So much fluff your teeth will ache, Gen or Pre-Slash, we'll be getting into slash territory in the rest of this series, adorable Aziraphale, cranky crowley, but not really, he's too busy having heart eyes to put in the effort, Footnotes, gross overuse of footnotes, my footnotes have footnotes, buckle in people Series: Part 1 of Ineffable Seasons

Summary: Aziraphale coos all over autumn and Crowley tries to pretend he doesn't find it adorable.

Story:

Aziraphale takes a deep breath, a smile on his face, his whole being practically glowing. It’s disgusting. Crowley glances away so he can’t be pulled further into the entrancing vision in front of him. But he looks back as soon as his best friend begins speaking.

“Oh, isn’t it glorious? The crisp temperatures, the smell of falling leaves. Jumpers and cider. And pumpkins.” At this final word, Aziraphale breaks his beatific pose—hands clasped in front of his chest, the sun hitting behind him at just the right angle to give him a halo—Hela,[1] did this angel have no shame—to crouch down and pick up a pumpkin in front of him. He holds it under his arm and throws another smile at Crowley, which has Crowley sighing and rolling his eyes to once again protest this whole silly endeavor. How he’d let himself get roped into this inane activity, he’ll never know.[2]

[1] Crowley, tired of trying to figure out which entity to use when he experiences feelings, has recently started using made-up gods instead, starting with the gods of the underworlds. He hasn’t found one that works yet, but he’s willing to try them all if necessary.

[2] It certainly has nothing to do with the strategically sweet and pleading face that had greeted him when he’d entered the bookshop to pick up his favorite angel[3] for lunch.

[3] The only angel he even deigns to like, in point of fact.

“Seriously, angel?” Crowley asks, sliding his sunglasses down just far enough to allow Aziraphale to see the disbelief in his eyes. “Autumn is terrible. Now winter, that’s the best season. Everyone harried and worried about money. Slushy rain and wet socks. Furnaces that stall or overheat. People stuck in their houses wearing terrible jumpers, forced to interact with family members they hate. Shoveling snow, if you live in a place that has that. Yeah, winter is a good one …” He lets himself grow nostalgic, remembering his favorite winters past.

“Oh pish. I’ve seen you light up like a child when seeing Christmas light displays. The closest you get to Scrooge is as him on Christmas morning, buying up roasted meat for the poor children of this world,” Aziraphale argues with a fond eye roll.[4]

[4] Let the reader note that, in fact, the closest Crowley gets to Scrooge is when David Tennant voices Scrooge McDuck on the DuckTales revival, including a great Christmas episode that employs meta jokes that reference Doctor Who, another popular show David Tennant played a part in. This author suggests you check out both shows if you have not yet done so. She’ll wait for you to get back. Okay, back now? Good. That was fun, wasn’t it? 

“That’s not– Ngh– I do n–. Stop it right now, or I’ll shove you into the back of the Bentley and take you right back to your bookshop, no cider and certainly no pumpkins.”

Aziraphale’s mouth drops open, and Hades help him, Crowley can’t tell how real or manufactured the look is. The angel often does an amazing impression of being completely innocent, but there are times that his naivety is real.

“You wouldn’t dare. You’re too–”

“Bless it,[5] angel, if you say nice–”

[5] Sometimes Crowley forgets and falls back on old curses and blesses. He’s been using them for millennia, after all. 

[read the rest under the cut or over at ao3.]

Aziraphale shoots him an exasperated look. “Of course not. I was going to say you’re too invested in teasing me for my every autumnal exclamation today to back out now.” He raises an eyebrow in challenge.

Dear Persephone, he’s right. From the moment Aziraphale had asked for a ride to the autumn festival/pumpkin patch monstrosity,[6] Crowley had been coming up with ways to tease him for his love of the season and all its trappings.[8]

[6] Complete with corn maze, cider, too many games involving gourds, and a—he can’t believe he’s even thinking of it—a hayride. Really, humans are far better than he is at inventing pure misery.[7] 

[7] Let the author again note how amazing she thinks autumn is. That being said, hayrides are itchy, dusty, and bumpy, and you’re stuck sitting far too close to excitedly screeching children. She doesn’t blame Crowley for hating them. 

[8] Just wait until Aziraphale turns the tables at Christmas. 

Crowley acquiesces with a flop of his hand that he knows Aziraphale will read as both “Fine, fine, you caught me, I want to tease you,” and “Fine, let’s go look at these gourds you’re so interested in. Did you by any chance spend too much time in the New World back when it was still new?”[9]

[9] It was only new to the dumb, egotistical Europeans, though. It was plenty old to the native peoples of that continent by the time the Europeans showed up. 

Aziraphale beams, gently placing the pumpkin back on the ground and dusting off his hands and jumper.

“Did you buy that jumper just for today?” Crowley asks as they begin strolling through the pumpkin patch/festival/field of torture. “I don’t think I’ve seen you in one before.”

Aziraphale somehow smiles even more brightly. Crowley is glad he’s wearing his sunglasses.[10] The angel pats the fuzzy, cabled, oatmeal affair covering his upper body. “Do you like it? I saw it in a window display and it just called to me. And it was right after the weather began to turn, and I just had to try it on. And then it was so soft and warm, I couldn’t not buy it. It’s like being wrapped in a hug.[11] I thought today would be the perfect time to debut it. It might get regular rotation with my jacket this autumn and winter.”

[10] To shade his eyes from the terrible angelic brilliance, of course. It has nothing to do with hiding his reaction to said smile.

[11] Crowley would love to be wrapped in a– nope. Nope. That thought will not see the light of day.

“Mm hm,” Crowley responds, quite brilliantly. “Oh look, the cider booth.”

“Oh! Cider? That sounds lov–”

“I’ll just get one for you, shall I?”

He hopes Aziraphale will find another squash to coo over, but he feels his presence next to him as soon as he’s queued up, but he’s cheerfully quiet. They wait in comfortable silence for the people in front of them to get their ciders, Aziraphale’s wide eyes taking in every aspect of the event, and Crowley softens. He enjoys teasing his best friend—doesn’t think their friendship would have survived without it, and truthfully Aziraphale can give as good as he gets, so he doesn’t feel guilty for it[12]—but he also does genuinely enjoy seeing Aziraphale enjoying himself. That smile can have Crowley walking on air for days, even when it isn’t directed at him. It’s the reason he asks the angel out to lunch so often, despite himself being the type to drink his meal rather than eat it. There’s nothing better than watching Aziraphale eat. Or find a new book to fall in love with. Or … yes, even enjoy this absolutely awful season they currently find themselves living in.

[12] Not that demons ever feel guilty. Crowley makes a single exception for back in the beginning and the thing with the humans and the apple. But they don’t talk about that.

They finally make it to the front of the queue, where Crowley asks for one cider, extra cinnamon, for Aziraphale, and one mulled wine[13] for himself.

[13] Which the vendor is surprised to find she has, despite winter still being a good few months away.

They start strolling again, and Crowley lets the angel choose the direction, following along, like he always does, as he always will do.

“I don’t understand it.”

“No surprise there, angel. You may be smart, but sometimes daily life confuses you.”

“Oh hush, you,” Aziraphale admonishes with no heat, patting Crowley’s arm, which has unknowingly been tucked into by Aziraphale’s non-cider-holding hand. That’s been happening a lot lately, but Crowley’s not about to call attention to it, lest it stop. “What I meant was, you said mere months ago that—and I quote—‘I like spooky.’ At the old satanic hospital in Tadfield, if you remember.”

“If I remember? As if I could forget any part of that God-forsaken[14] week.”

[14] Yeah, he means that appellation there. Do you hear that, God?[15]

[15] Yes, She hears that. The author (and Crowley) would do well to remember that the game She plays is complicated and ineffable, thank you very much.

“Well, anyway. That’s beside the point. The point is, you like spooky.” Here, Aziraphale punctuates his words with more arm pats. “And autumn is when Samhain[16] occurs. You can’t have spooky without autumn.

[16] Pronounced saah-wn. Not Sam-hain, like they said on Supernatural that one time, which shows how little research TV writers sometimes do. This author is not stupidly obsessed with this fact. At. All.

Crowley rolls his eyes. “Most spooky these days is over-manufactured swill sold to the masses for profit. It’s torture porn or silly ghosts. None of it frightens me.”[17]

[17] Except the current U.S. president. Now that shit’s scary.[18]

[18] Head office tried to give him a commendation for that whole debacle, but he noped right out of that one.

“Torture porn?” Aziraphale asks, a disgusted and confused wrinkle in his brow.

“Yeah, porn is a term current humans use to mean anything over-indulged in, but it has nothing to do with sexual acts. Well, most of it. Like, torture porn, food porn, space porn.” Aziraphale looks more disturbed the longer Crowley speaks, so he waves it away. “Never mind. I’m just saying, none of that manufactured spooky does anything for me.”

They come to a booth with caramel popcorn, and without even looking at his angel, Crowley signals for a bag, handing it over to Aziraphale as he counts out the correct number of coins. Aziraphale sighs happily and begins munching on it immediately.

“You’re just a stick-in-the-mud,” he says, going back to their conversation.

“Excuse me? I’m the stick-in-the-mud, Mr. I’ve-worn-the-same-jacket-for-one-hundred-and-eighty-years?”

“You’d do well to remember your car is ninety years old.”

“Practically new compared to your old smelly coat.”

Aziraphale’s jaw-drop this time is definitely not feigned. “You take that back. You said it looked good on me.”

“Yeah, in 1840.”

Aziraphale looks truly hurt. “It’s my favorite,” he says quietly, and Crowley relents. He can’t not, when he’s up against that face.

“It’s a nice coat, angel. But it’s good seeing you in something else for once.”

“Thank you, my dear. But the point is, you have no room to call me a stick-in-the-mud. Autumn is wonderful, and you can’t take that away from me.”

Crowley tries and fails to hide his smile. “How’s the popcorn?”

“Perfect!” Aziraphale says, the glow coming back to him. “This is all perfect. The weather could not be more beautiful or autumnal. I can smell spices and caramel and corn husks. The pumpkins look a particularly brilliant shade of orange this year. There are happy people all around. It’s lovely.”

Crowley looks around, seeing a particularly fiendish child twirling his unaware sister’s hair around a candied apple—who he silently cheers on—a small toddler screaming their head off when their parental figure offers them a pumpkin, a couple fighting near the corn maze. The stench of city and human beings is far too strong to be drowned by the sweets and spices, though it does fight for dominance with the moldering leaves blanketing the ground. And though the weather is nice now, he can see a storm building in the distance. They’d do well to hurry through the rest of the festival before they get caught in a chilly downpour.

But He won’t suggest this. He’ll follow his angel as he coos at the children posing for pictures with goofy scarecrows, as he bounces over to the candied apple vendor for a (non-twisted-in-hair) treat, as he begs with his soulful eyes for a hayride. He’ll follow his angel to the end of the world. He’s already done so, and he’d do it all over again if he had to. He’ll let them get caught in the freezing, miserable rain because Aziraphale is too taken with the pumpkin carving contest to notice the darkening clouds, though he will miracle them dry as soon as he’s able. He’ll follow his angel back into his shop, lugging the bag of things Aziraphale didn’t have enough arms to carry himself, and too big of eyes and stomach to not buy.

Aziraphale will light a fire, make two cups of whiskey-spiked chai, and wiggle his way into his favorite chair in the back room. Crowley will follow, landing on the sofa that has molded to his angles and long legs. They’ll talk about Poe and Mary Shelley. Crowley will talk Aziraphale into watching Young Frankenstein. Then Aziraphale will beg to be allowed to read aloud “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar,”[19] and Crowley will concede it’s just a little spooky. Though only just a little.

And though he won’t say it out loud, Crowley will think that maybe, just maybe, autumn isn’t so bad, when you’ve got your favorite person by your side.

[19] Read it here. 

[lilyvandersteen]

Puppy Eyes Chapter 20

This is little bit of smut, and a whole lot of schmoop! Complete with tiny puppies :-) Enjoy!

Thank you so much to everyone who sends me feedback - you’re wonderful and you spur me on to keep writing :-)

This story is also on AO3 and on Fanfiction.net.

The other parts can be found here: Prologue - Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 - Chapter 10 - Chapter 11 - Chapter 12 - Chapter 13 - Chapter 14 - Chapter 15 - Chapter 16 - Chapter 17 - Chapter 18 - Chapter 19

Chapter 20: A Family

When Blaine woke up that Sunday, he spent his first waking moments grinning at the ceiling, reliving the highlights of the day before.

He’d never really gotten the whole ‘big deal’ about sex. During puberty, he’d of course woken up regularly with jizz in his pyjama pants, but he’d never felt the urge to fantasize, or watch porn. When he jacked off, he did so quickly and efficiently, without thinking of anyone in particular.

And then Kurt had come along, and Blaine had started having those dreams. Waking up hard and rubbing against Kurt. And yes, thinking of Kurt whenever he masturbated, however guilty he felt about that.

Suddenly, he found himself wondering what it would feel like, having sex. When he pictured it, he saw himself with Kurt. It made his dick harden instantly, and provided better and longer orgasms than he’d ever had before.

The fantasies were nothing compared to the real thing, though. Wow. Kurt was as new to this as Blaine was, but you’d never be able to tell. Kurt’s every touch set Blaine’s body aflame, and the sounds he made turned Blaine on no end – so sexy!

Blaine let out a happy sigh and slipped out of bed without disturbing Kurt. It was half past five in the morning, but Blaine was wide awake already, as usual. He knew Kurt would be getting up soon, too, to walk his doggy clients. He glanced at his love, hidden under the comforter. A tuft of tousled hair was the only thing visible, and all he could hear was a rhythmic snuffling that proved Kurt was still deeply asleep.

I should let him sleep. We stayed up too late yesterday.

So Blaine took Kurt’s phone with him to the kitchen, and silenced the alarm as soon as it went off.

Blaine dressed quickly, looked for Kurt’s keys and plastic bags for the clean-up, and put leashes on the poodles, who didn’t seem to care at all who took them for a walk as long as they got one.

He led the poodles help him remember where to go to pick up Snowball, Summer and Titus, and then headed to the park with the lot of them.

When he came back with the poodles, he gave them food and water, and then went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for himself and Kurt.

There wasn’t anything left in the fruit bowl, and there wasn’t much in the pantry or in the fridge, either, but he found all the ingredients for a cheesy Sunday loaf, so he made the dough, kneaded it and left it to rise.

He went to check on Kurt, who was still dead to the world, and decided to walk to his own apartment to go fetch some more groceries to tide them over until Monday. Plus his laptop for all the essays he still had to grade. Thanks to Kurt, he hadn’t lost another week to being a dog, but that didn’t mean he could slack off the whole weekend.

The loaf was nearly done, spreading a delicious smell of melted cheese through the apartment, when Blaine finally heard Kurt stirring.

Blaine filled a mug with coffee and took it to the bedroom.

Kurt was no longer buried under the covers. Now, his entire face was visible, and he was turning this way and then the other.

Not long now until he wakes up…

And yes, a few minutes later, Kurt’s eyes blinked open, and Blaine fell a bit deeper in love still as he looked at his adorable sleep-rumpled angel.

Kurt yawned and stretched, looking so much like a kitten waking up from a nap that it made Blaine smile.

Blaine hastened to offer Kurt coffee, knowing that Kurt wouldn’t be up for conversation until he’d had his daily dose of caffeine.

And yes, as Kurt drank, his half-mast eyes opened fully, and he started questioning Blaine.

Blaine didn’t pay much attention to what Kurt was saying, though, because he found himself distracted. The comforter had slipped off Kurt when he sat up, and now he was sitting there drinking coffee in all his naked glory. No wonder Blaine’s throat went dry and he couldn’t stop staring. Unf.

All too soon, the mug was empty, and Kurt escaped to the bathroom. Blaine took the mug back to the kitchen and checked on the bread. He decided to switch the oven off but leave the loaf in it, and then headed to the bedroom again to air it while they had breakfast.

Before he could open the window, though, he felt Kurt hugging him from behind, his breath hot in Blaine’s ear when he told Blaine off for wearing too many clothes. Well, that was easy to remedy…

Blaine was about to strip when he had an idea. He’d let Kurt take his clothes off. Yes.

Five minutes later, he was so on edge that he rued the thought of giving Kurt the reins. Clearly, his love had a mean streak, to tease him so.

But then Kurt took him in his mouth, and Blaine lost any train of thought and just surrendered to hot wet bliss the likes of which he’d never experienced before. He tipped over the edge embarrassingly fast, but felt so amazing that he didn’t even care. All he thought of was of kissing Kurt, and then paying him back in kind.

Kurt made the most amazing sounds while Blaine worked him over with his hand and his mouth. His back bowed off the bed, and he threw his head back, keening. Blaine couldn’t keep his eyes of Kurt, and felt himself growing hard again. He hollowed his cheeks and took Kurt’s dick a bit deeper, still, and Kurt choked out his name and came all over Blaine’s tongue.

They lay on the bed facing each other and grinning, and Kurt noticed Blaine’s half-hard dick and took it loosely in his fist, which only made it grow, of course.

“You’re insatiable!” Kurt giggled.

Blaine kissed his nose. “Only for you, beautiful.”

Kurt’s stomach growled, and they both laughed.

“Hold that thought,” said Kurt. “I don’t know about you, but I’ve worked up quite an appetite.”

Kurt tore into the pull-apart bread with relish, and told Blaine he’d never eaten anything so delicious.

Blaine laughed at that. “That’s your hunger speaking. But I’m glad you like it, beautiful.”

After their late breakfast, Kurt tugged them to the sofa, and Blaine followed him eagerly, thinking they’d continue where they’d left off, but when he cupped Kurt’s face to kiss him, Kurt took his hands and shook his head.

“No, sweetie. As much as I love kissing you, I know where that’s going to lead us, and I really think we need to talk.”

Blaine’s good mood evaporated in a fraction of a second, and only left dread in its wake.

“You’re… You’re breaking up with me?” he asked, his voice faltering.

Kurt squeezed his hands. “What? No! No, not at all. Why would you think that? No! I just feel like we need to discuss where we stand. As a couple. And what we have in mind. For the future. We need to be on the same page.”

Blaine sat up straight and gave Kurt his full attention. “Okay.”

“So… What are we?” Kurt wanted to know. “Are we boyfriends?”

Blaine nodded and beamed. “Yes.”

Kurt smiled back at him. “I’m just asking because somehow, we’re full-on planning a wedding already. So you still mean to propose to me one of these days? We’re not going to pretend that it happened already and skip that stage?”

Blaine shook his head. “No! No. I… I have plans.”

“Good,” said Kurt. “Don’t make it a big production, please. Don’t break out in song in a restaurant or at school or something. I wouldn’t like that at all. And you could lose your job over it if you did it at school. So… keep it a private moment. Just for us. Okay?”

“Okay,” Blaine promised. That fit his plans perfectly anyway.

“The next thing is, where are we going to live?”

Blaine frowned. “I thought…”

“You thought I’d move in with you permanently?”

Blaine shrugged. “Well… Yes.”

“Hmm.”

“What’s wrong with my apartment?” Blaine asked, puzzled.

“It’s not your apartment that’s the problem here,” Kurt explained. “It’s that I’d feel like a kept man. I don’t want you to be my sugar daddy. I want us to be equals in this relationship.”

Blaine wanted to protest that they were equals, but stopped to think. Yes, Kurt was right.

“Do you want us to look for another place together?” Blaine offered.

Kurt beamed at him. “Yes, please. Though we can wait until I’ve found a job, after graduating, and have saved up some money.”

“Oh, R/GA will want to keep you,” Blaine prophesized. “You’ll see.”

Kurt grinned. “I hope so. I love working there. Okay, next thing we need to discuss: pets and children. Do you want any? And when?”

Blaine exhaled slowly. Wow. Kurt didn’t pull his punches, did he? He brought up the big questions all at once. “Uhm…”

Kurt laughed. “You weren’t expecting me to bring that to the table just yet? But I need to know, sweetie! I can’t marry you without knowing we think alike on those matters. They’re way too important.”

“True.”

“I’ll go first,” Kurt offered. “I’d like to have children one day, but not yet. Not for another ten years or so. I would like to have a dog, though. I’ve spent years walking dogs belonging to other people, and as much as I’ve enjoyed that, I want one of my own. One that I don’t have to bring back after every walk, or say goodbye to when my dog-sitting assignment is over. I want one for keeps.”

Blaine beamed at him. “Same.”

“Any preference?” Kurt asked.

“Mmm…”

“Okay, that’s not so important right now. We can discuss it later. Now… Who do you want to invite to the wedding? I’m graduating in May, so I guess it won’t matter much if you invite your colleagues. Or do you think it could still get you into trouble?”

Blaine shrugged. “The only colleague I want to invite is Paula, and she knows about us. Always has.”

Kurt nodded. “Right. I’d like to invite Maizie and Neil and Elliott. They’re all graduating this year, too, so I don’t think me inviting them will cause any problems. And then there’s Rachel, who used to be my roommate. And Mercedes, my best friend from high school.”

“I’m looking forward to meeting them,” Blaine said.

Kurt took a deep breath. “And I want Trent as my best man. Please. I know he’s your best friend, but he’s been my rock the past year. Seriously. I don’t know what I would have done without him and his pep talks.”

Blaine opened and closed his mouth a few times without any sound coming out.

“Please,” Kurt repeated.

Blaine bit his lip. “Well, I could ask my brother, I guess. Though he’s obnoxious. No. No, I’d better go with Ashton. It’s bad enough that Cooper will come to the wedding and make it all about him again.”

“What?” Kurt laughed. “He wouldn’t!”

“Oh, trust me, he would. It’s Cooper.”

It came out rather bitter, and Blaine looked away, trying to keep his feelings under control.

“Is that why your brother was never there for the holidays?” Kurt asked. “You don’t get along?”

Blaine hesitated. “It was mainly the dog curse. But we don’t get along very well, no.”

When the list of invitees was drawn up, Kurt wanted to know if he could design the invitations.

Blaine smiled. “Sure you can. Knock yourself out!”

That was enough encouragement for Kurt to whip out his sketchbook and start drawing, humming happily.

Blaine took advantage of Kurt’s abstraction to make a few phone calls for his afternoon plans, and then marked essays until it was time to walk the dogs again.

“Beautiful?” Blaine asked, when they’d returned all the dogs to their homes. “Can I take you somewhere?”

Kurt, who was crouching between the two drinking poodles and petting them both, looked around with a sweet smile. “Sure, honey. They’re all set now.”

Once outside, Kurt hooked his arm through Blaine’s. “So where are we going?”

Blaine grinned and tapped Kurt’s nose. “Not telling just yet. You’ll see when we get there.”

Kurt pouted for six blocks, but when he saw they were heading to the Manhattan Animal Care Center, his face lit up. “You want to go pick out a dog?”

Blaine smiled at him. “They took in a pregnant dog a while ago, and now there’s a nest of puppies. They’re not old enough to be adopted yet, but they’ll be looking for a forever home around the time your dog-sitting assignment ends. So I thought we might get acquainted with the puppies, and maybe choose one to adopt.”                       

“Oh my God, yes!”

Kurt skipped up the steps so fast Blaine had to run to catch up with him, and a few minutes later, they were cooing at a proud mama and her four adorable tiny fur-balls. Three of them were dark brown, but the fourth was lighter in colour, with patches and spots. And when it blinked its eyes open as Kurt petted it, they were blue.

“That’s the only girl,” said Eileen, the volunteer who’d accompanied them. “She’s just the sweetest thing.”

“She is!” Kurt agreed, and then he whispered to the pup, “Yes, you are, aren’t you? Such a sweet little darling.”

“She has your eyes,” Blaine pointed out, and Kurt laughed, startling all the pups, who whimpered and squirmed.

“Oh, shhh, sorry, babies,” Kurt comforted them, stroking their backs until they were calm again.

When they left, Kurt told Eileen they’d definitely adopt the girl pup, and maybe one of the boys, too.

She smiled at him. “I’m so glad they’ll have a good home. I can tell that you’re a natural at handling dogs. You’ll have to wait another four weeks, though. We’re not putting them up for adoption until they’re eight weeks old.”

Kurt nodded. “I know. In the meantime, can we come back and visit them?”

“Of course you can!”

On the way back home, Kurt had the hugest smile on his face.

“They’re adorable, aren’t they?” Blaine asked.

“They are,” Kurt agreed. “But it’s more, like, we’re gonna be a family. It’s… yeah. It’s a really good feeling.”

Blaine pulled Kurt close and kissed his temple. “The best.”

K&B

Blaine stayed at the poodles’ apartment with Kurt the next weeks, and as often as they could, they went to visit their dog family at the animal shelter.

They went on dates, too, every weekend. Blaine took Kurt to Alice’s Tea Cup, to the zoo, to the Met, to the ice-skating rink and to a restaurant with a breath-taking view of the Empire State Building. The one day that it stormed too much to go anywhere, they made cupcakes and decorated them. That ended with complete chaos in the kitchen, more icing on the two of them than on the cupcakes, and Kurt collapsing into a giggle fit when Blaine explored all his ticklish places.

Blaine loved how Kurt soaked up every new experience and turned it into inspiration for his designs, and he loved how Kurt noticed and appreciated all the little delights in life. Most of all, he just loved Kurt. It became even harder for him not to follow Kurt around like a puppy in class, and Paula kept telling him to tone down the heart eyes.

When the 14th of February arrived, Blaine once again silenced Kurt’s alarm and walked the dogs in his place. He made Kurt a fruit salad and heart-shaped waffles with whipped cream and hot chocolate with a heart in the foam, and brought it to bed on a tray.

As it was a Friday, they both had class, but they agreed to meet up at the animal shelter in the evening.

Blaine went to the shelter earlier than agreed upon, accompanied by two guys from Stephanotis. Eileen winked at him and whispered, “It’s all arranged. You can borrow Room 206 for your plans. Good luck!”

When Kurt arrived an hour later, the room was transformed into a place straight from a fairy tale. There were green boughs and flowers hanging from the ceiling, interspersed with fairy lights. The men had also built a tiny rock formation with a waterfall, and in the middle of the room was a wrought iron table with matching chairs, and on it two of Blaine’s finest china plates, crystal goblets and silver cutlery. The food was in a picnic basket next to it.

Kurt’s mouth fell open when he saw everything. Then he noticed Blaine, down on one knee and holding two of the puppies on his lap, wearing a pink and a blue bow respectively, and he clapped a hand over his mouth.

“Blaine!”

It came out a little hoarse, and Blaine could see that Kurt was blinking away tears.

“Kurt. My wonderful, beautiful Kurt. I’ve known you for two years now, and every day I fall more and more in love with you. If you’ll let me, I’d like to do so for the rest of my life. I promise to cherish you and believe in you and support you in everything that you do. I promise to listen to you and work with you as team and make you my number one priority. I want us to be a family. With children, one day, yes, but starting with these pups for now. What do you say?”

Kurt, now fully crying, nodded.

Blaine held out the girl pup to him, showing the ring that was tied to her bow. “Will you marry me, please?”

Kurt took the pup in his arms and let out a sound between a laugh and a sob. “Yeah. Yes.”

Blaine beamed at him and pecked him on the lips, deftly undoing the bow and slipping the ring onto Kurt’s finger.

After another quick kiss, Blaine asked, holding out the other pup, who had a key tied to his bow. “And will you move in with me until we find a place of our own?”

Kurt nodded again. “Yes. Yes, of course. Oh, Blaine! This is…”

Blaine carefully put the pups back into their basket, and then gathered Kurt into his arms to kiss him until he stopped crying.

“I’m… not sad!” Kurt clarified between kisses. “Just… overwhelmed. This is… so much.”

“I know, beautiful,” Blaine reassured him. “I know. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

[thesportssoundoff]

Manny Machado To The Yankees Maybe? Well...

Joey

July 12th

There's been a lot of scuttlebutt around Yankeeland about the reported increased interest into All Star SS/3B Manny Machado. This has been met with either tremendous applause from fans or angry derision from fans. The weird thing is that it's a 50/50 split between the Yankee fanbase itself, not even from a "throughout the major leagues" standpoint. Yankees fans either LOVE the idea of adding Machado or HATE the concept which is really strange given the way this fanbase almost always comes to a consensus pretty quickly. To lay out the opening a bit, I'll do my best to present what both camps seem to be saying:

For Machado:

-It's the chance to add yet another all star player at a position where the Yankees don't necessarily have a "need" for an additional player but would probably benefit greatly for improved play.

-It's the chance to further fortify a strength and dare teams to get through this lineup four times in October with a juiced ball (let's be real here) without suffering significant damage.

-It opens the door to moving Andujar or even Didi to potentially improve your squad down the road.

Against Machado:

-This team needs pitching!

-We love Andujar and Machado is just a minor upgrade over him!

-Machado wants to play SS and this team has a collection of players who can play shortshop.

-Why trade for even MORE offense?! Did we mention this team needs pitching?!

In the interest of giving myself a break from solely taking MMA and boxing, I've decided to go ass first into this whole Machado to the Yankees rumor and conjecture to give my own thoughts and opinions on the matter. Am I for it? Against It? Well....

1- Even if you don't get him, getting involved is a damn good thing.

Let's start there.  The mere presence of the Yankees and their top 3-5 farm system forces teams to be honest in bidding for Manny Machado. If the Red Sox, Dodgers, Brewers, Phillies and the such want to make a move for him, having the Yankees involved helps make them pay for it. Giving those teams competition reminds me of when the Yankees sat down with Carl Crawford for the sole focus of getting the Red Sox to up their bid on the player. Sometimes if you're going to be painted as the asshole of the MLB, it's okay to actually BE the assholes of the MLB. Teams aren't going to be sympathetic to your cause so might as well give them a reason to hate.

2- It's not JUST that he makes the line up better.

The upgrade over Andujar with Manny Machado on offense is not as large as you'd think. Even if Andujar is very much a Starlin Castro 2.0 (a guy who isn't going to walk much, K's a bit more than you'd like probably and will live on those hot streaks where he goes XBH crazy), that's a very valuable type of player and he's putting up damn good numbers. Adujar's .279/.313/.495 115+ OPS is not that big of a steep endless decline from Machado's .314/.383/.573 163+OPS. Manny's better offensively by a large margin but he's having an outlier-y season. It's defensively where this team would gain a serious step up. Machado has historically been a very, very good defensive third basemen while Andujar's defense was what prevented him from playing much last year. This year he hasn't been the world's biggest butcher but his lack of range and slow feet have been well discussed. In an argument suggesting Andujar be shopped at the deadline, RiverAveBlues painted a pretty stark picture:

"That’s a long way of saying if you hit the ball at Andujar, he’s going to make the play. Hit the ball anything more than a step or two away from him in either direction, and he’s probably not going to make the play. Does that mean he won’t make those plays forever and ever? No, of course not. Andujar could improve his reads and first step and range. Young players are known to get better, after all. That said, Andujar is something of a defensive liability. His value is tied up heavily in his bat, specifically his power and ability to make contact since he never walks."

http://riveraveblues.com/2018/07/three-reasons-yankees-make-miguel-andujar-available-trade-deadline-174411/

The Yankees are already carrying one so-so defensive infielder with Gleyber Torres (who to me is fine defensively despite what feels like the usual lapses from a dude who has been a SS/3B his whole life) and a catcher who is having a really poor year defensively. Throw in so-so work from Greg Bird and Neil Walker and this infield could use somebody who could shore up some of the holes it has. That's why it's not just Machado batting 3rd/4th that makes this a smart move.

3- You can't trade for what doesn't exist.

Fun with numbers! Here's five pitchers, names removed:

A- 4-4 78.2 IP 4.00 ERA 2.96 SO/BB ratio 6.05 IP per start 1.206 WHIP B- 10-5 105.1 IP 4.44 ERA 3.38 SO/BB ratio 5.85 IP per start 1.177 WHIP C- 5-7 102 IP 4.11 ERA 2.32 SO/BB 5.67 IP per start 1.294 WHIP D- 4-5 86.1 IP 4.80 ERA 2.91 SO/BB 5.86 IP per start 1.286 WHIP E- 4-8 103 IP 4.28 ERA 2.72 SO/BB ratio 5.72 IP per start 1.359 WHIP

A is Sonny Gray at this time last year B is JA Happ C is Tyson Ross D is Matt Harvey E is Cole Hamels

Those are the four most realistic trade options since the Mets probably aren't moving their big 3, The Angels aren't going to move Garrett Richards now with his injury and MadBum is destined to be stuck in San Francisco. The top four options on the market are all pretty much a step below what Sonny Gray was and the key here is that outside of Harvey, the likes of Happ, Ross and Hamels have all been trending down recently. With Gray, he was streaking going into the trade deadline (his final ERA pre-trade would be in the 3.43 range). They THOUGHT they were getting what they need now; a guy who could start in the playoffs and slide behind developing ace Luis Severino. They thought Gray would be at worst a solid #3 and unfortunately it just hasn't panned out that way. Chances are there's no real upgrade available above what they believed they were getting last year. Their investment in Sonny Gray WAS the chance to get the lock down long term rotation help---and it went bust. It happens sometimes.  Any pitcher they're getting is probably worse than Sonny Gray, a perceived ace in his mid 20s who was believed to have the stuff to win in New York. It just didn't work out.

The Yankees need a guy who could be a solid #2/3----but that guy doesn't really exist in this market. There's no help to be had in this barren wasteland of faded aces and reclamation projects. JA Happ is the top pitcher available and would you feel comfortable with him starting game 3 of the ALDS vs the Indians or the Astros? I'm not quite sure. Happ would absolutely help you in terms of having a proven established guy in the rotation instead of Domingo German or Jonathan Loaisiga. The reality is the Yankees need what doesn't exist which means they can either create a starter (with Justus Sheffield from the minors) or hope that they can find a way to manufacture offense to outscore teams early and ride the bullpen late.  Or hope that Masahiro Tanaka and Sonny Gray suddenly get back to being good.

4- I'm not up for a rental

If you're giving up pieces for Manny Machado, it can't be for a rental. Obviously for tax purposes, the Yankees want to be able to stay under that 189 million dollar number so they can't agree to a deal this year. That said if you're giving up pieces for the best 3B in the game then you better have a clue as to where he fits in going forward. If that's as your 3B or SS of the future matters of course but you better ensure you leave a long term idea as to whether you'll have the player long term.

5- Whatever they do, it can't be out of panic.

Seriously. The Yankees are 3 1/2 of Boston with plenty of games to go, they have the best record in the league against good teams. They've beaten Houston and Boston and Cleveland with an as is squad. They'll get back Gary Sanchez and Gleyber Torres soon with the hopes that Torres can continue his All Star play with better health while Gary Sanchez can try to regain some of the form that made him a feared bat in 2016 and 2017. They JUST got back Masahiro Tanaka who probably will help solidify the rotation some. They own a tremendous bullpen and there's help in the farm system. I want them to try and grab one more impact bat; either at 1st, 3rd or even out at LF. I'd like for them to grab the best lefty arm they can to solidify this bullpen finally. I'd even be really happy if they could get an upgrade over Domingo German. The reality though is that any move they make has to be done for something resembling a long term vision. A Jaime Garcia type doesn't do much of anything for this team, a rental who isn't a difference maker just adds another body to the squad. I understand a 40 man roster crunch is coming shortly but I'm not concerned about that because you can ALWAYS find ways to get that cleaned up (Bryan Mitchell, Callum Smith, Garrett Cooper and Ronald Herrera all dealt). Make the moves that fit the long term vision this team has had over the last three years. There's no need for filler deals.

In the end? I mean how could you NOT want to be in Manny Machado? You're trading for a peak prime all star who can play 3rd or short. You're improving your line up AND helping yourself into October. He's a monster with RISP, he's coming into his own as a power hitter and he wants to be here. He's not THE difference between going to the WS and not but I feel a hell of a lot better about Judge-Machado-Stanton with Sanchez, Bird, Didi and Gleyber sprinkled in than I do otherwise. I also feel as though he, all things being equal, is clearly better than just grabbing a mediocre starter. If the market doesn't have arms? Make teams score 8 to beat you.