#and seeing the fandom rally and all the fun moments we found along the way in a shitty situation none of us wished to be in

[bizarrelittlemew]

i was hoping to make a post like this under happier circumstances, but here goes.

as some of you know, everything with the cancellation and renewal campaign has happened right on top of the worst part of my mom's cancer treatment (plus the show was cancelled on my actual birthday 💀). i won't go into details, but it's been tough. lots of ups and downs, mostly downs, luckily ending (for now) on as much of an up as circumstances allow. the whole thing has been weirdly tied to the cancellation for me, kind of amplifying every feeling. the grief got mixed up, and there was so much of it - mourning the loss of the kind of future i thought i'd have with my mother and the time we might not get, mourning the end of a show that means so much to me and is such a big part of my life. different types of grief, sure, and of different magnitudes, but in one big ugly swirl. i sort of had a breakdown right at the start of february, and it was because of news about my mom, but it morphed into my brain telling me everything i'd ever written was shit and wanting to delete it all. stuff like that, spilling over.

anyway. i was holding off on writing this post to see if the show got picked up by someone else. but i still want to say it. because what also spilled over was the support and community from this fandom, and being in this space (despite the rough times and high emotions) helped me through it, because of all of you here. whether we talk regularly, or you left a comforting reply or simply a like on one of my posts about having a hard time (i tried to keep them few), or wrote a nice comment on a fic, or said something funny or nice or insightful in the tags of a gifset, or was active here (or on twt) in any way, talking/sharing/creating stuff about the show - THANK YOU.

you all helped me through all the ups and downs, and i am so grateful. thank you for being here, listening, distracting, helping me feel some joy despite the horrors. i love you and i love this incredible show and all it has brought and will continue to bring and inspire, and although it should go without saying, i'm not going anywhere. just do me a favor and give yourself a big ol' hug from me, and know that you made a difference for some random guy on the internet (but in reality for many more, and for this fandom as a whole, just by being here and being you) 💕

[koorinohebi]

6, 30, & 38 !

@ramenthings

Munday Asks - Open and accepting

6. is there any other muse in this fandom you’d like to RP?

Oh wow, do I ever.

I actually have other characters in the fandom that I RP like Nohara Rin (who I have to get posts done for.), but there's probably 2 characters whom I want to try RPing again, try to see if I can do them justice. Back then, when I picked them up, there were very little information to be had so I had to go with what we know and see of them from both anime and manga. That time, back in the early 20's, I dont believe canon-divergence was a very common thing because the moment you stray away from the meta, you're automatically persecuted for being out of character even when you technically arent. RPing these days is great because you have more liberty to take your character where you want them to go based on your headcanons and interpretations without them being less of who they are. Because people are more understanding that a difference in interpretation doesnt necessarily make the character OOC (unless it's really apparent that they are. And people can tell.)

So going back, these two characters are-- well, I guess you could say they are actually three:

Pein, Nagato, and Konan.

I had the chance to RP both Pein and Konan back when forum RPing is a thing. Nagato wasn't a thing then so we just knew Pein as this orange haired Akatsuki leader who was out there trying to gather all the Bijuu. Because there was so little to go by, I really feel like I didnt do either of them justice so I hope to be able to play them again some day, albeit after more research. But first and foremost, I want to try and RP Nagato because I do find his character interesting. I like the way he interpreted how the concept of pain makes a person grow, and how he sacrificed everything for that ideal, and ultimately in order to protect those who meant the world to him...which eventually branched out to the citizens of Amegakure.

Lol, apparently I also like characters who carry deep trauma and who gets lost along the way, so there's that aspect.

30. what are your favorite RP tropes to play? (angst, hurt-comfort, etc…)

Angst is definitely at the top here. In my private roleplays with friends, as well as in my fanfic writing, I do give Kiomi a lot of angst...mostly because my main interpretation for her which follows the anime/manga timeline deals with her having A LOT of regret. Having ran away from herself, deciding to let cowardice fester in her heart, she's stuck in a limbo and can't move forward. So she does a lot of things to try and recompense thinking that it'll bring her peace, but it doesnt. She can't let go of the past, she cant forgive herself, and so she ends up pretending that she's alright with how things turned out. Lies however can only go so far. Which is why, which is why, which is why, I do enjoy my current dynamic for her in terms of her interaction with Kashin Koji. (I'll definitely write a drabble at some point.) Because he helps her make sense of herself. Life lessons part two at the hands of someone a little more unforgiving. She has a hard time lying to him because he calls her bluff and bullies challenges her to quit being such a wuss. I really do hate the fact that this girl often gets bullied into action, but I found her morale is boosted when she's rallied to a cause by a rival or someone who thinks rather little of her. Because she's a pretty sore loser at the core, so she ends up working her butt off to prove them wrong. In this case, she doesnt want Kashin Koji’s approval, she just wants him off her back.

I also like fluff, but it's very hard to RP that with Kiomi because she's so... eh with her emotions when it comes to people. Which is where the slow burn tropes come in. I enjoy building relationships for Kiomi so that everything feels more organic for her. Almost everything with her starts with a lie, and eventually, depending on how things pan out, becomes a truth. It also gives me more drama to work with when she realizes she's grown attach to someone. I do enjoy it when she learns about her own feelings, how that side of her that got buried with her family comes rushing out the surface. Because despite everything, she's a pretty good girl. Just raised in less forgiving circumstances that doesn't afford her the luxury to be kind all the time.

Frenemy tropes. As much as I love giving Kiomi good friends who she share intimate, almost familial bonds with... I really like toxic friendships that starts from being enemies to eventually being comrades with mutual benefits (nothing sexual, she's gonna run). Like for example, how her odd, normally one-sided rivalry with Sasuke turned out to them becoming friends somewhere in Boruto's generation. I say friend, but she has never ever given up on her quest to defeat him (which she hasnt been able to accomplish at all), but at least it's evolved to "I'll beat you up one day!" from, "I'll kill you!". They're at a level of comfort where Kiomi can jab a sarcastic joke at Sasuke and she doesnt end up getting barbecued by him. I'm 100% certain he thinks she's a nuisance, but at least one whom he can sort of leave his back to. (Of course, Sasukes whom I do not know do not need to share this interpretation if we do interact, unless they too agree to it. But one thing is always constant with Kiomi, and that she will always have hate and envy for him because of being Orochimaru's favorite.)

Top of my head these three are my favorite tropes.

38. what’s the best inspiration for your muse?

Jiraiya and his teachings inspired her so much the real her got dragged out.

Kidding aside, this is a good question. She doesn't really find a lot of things to be too inspiring, but if ever one existed, then it's probably anger and fear. The self loathing she feels for not being good enough inspires her to do better so that she'd be good enough to be someone's first choice. Because ultimately, she just wants to be useful in order to feel like she earned her place within her lord's ranks. And at the start of her adventure, because she owes Orochimaru her life, all she really wanted was to be the perfect shinobi tool that’d serve as his sword and shield no matter the circumstance. Alas, not so.

The fear of having to go through the things she experienced as a child inspires her to grow stronger so that she'll never have to go through it again (but she does). She dislikes loss, that's why if Kiomi can help it, she wont form too many attachments that can hinder her judgement (but she ended up gaining them anyway). She believes that being an emotionless tool is the best course of action (but she still has so many emotions that she cant keep under wraps). This girl has quite a bit of contradiction, which is fun to play out because it leads to her true personality showing, the one at least, that's not always shrouded in lies.

[orestes-hungry-and-pylades-sober]

Les Miserables Stonewall AU

Just hear me out for a moment: Les Mis AU taking place in 1969 Manhattan. June, if we want to be specific. Why June? Stonewall.

So my school does these trips every few years that are always a big deal. A really big deal. As in, a month in the Galapagos Islands. It got canceled cause of covid but still, y'all get my point, right?

I also came across these two amazing drawings the other day. I don't know either of the artists so if you do, please let me know so that I can credit them. Not my art

The art and the trip gave me the idea. Because look, pretty much the entire fandom ships e/R. And then there's Courf and Ferre, and everyone else. I'll list them all later.

So we end up with les amis in Manhattan during the Stonewall riots and protests. Obviously, they're going to get themselves caught up in it, right?

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There are two ways I might want to go with this. They're both good and they could both work out well but I'm not sure which one I'd rather use.

    1) they're just all students at the same university who happen to be going on the trip together. Obviously, some of them would already know each other (like R has been completely in love with Enj for years) but realistically, you don't know everyone who goes to your school

    2) all of them are part of the drama/theatre club. This one might work out in the sense that they're all going to Broadway to watch a performance or perform themselves (Phantom maybe?), and that the theatre club has become an accidental hidden magnet for closed queers. Tbh that's what it's like at my school and why I'm in drama.

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And here are basically all of the character roles.

Enjolras - Social equality/civics minor. He hasn't yet decided if he wants to pursue a higher degree in the same field or try something else. Often in detention or something because he gets into fights all the time. If he sees a bully picking on a kid, he will not hesitate to kick the bully's ass into next week. He's that one person that you'd go to if you had a problem, kinda like a school vigilante. A girl being harassed? Talk to Enjy and the man will never bother her again. He organizes a bunch of rallies and protests for what he believes in. Should've probably been suspended or expelled a while ago, for all the people he's hurt, but the teachers and school board know why he does it and know that he keeps the other students safe. Still manages to get really good grades, as long as he gets a bit of help from Ferre or Courf (and they're glad to help him study or smth)

Grantaire - slightly sketchy fine arts and music double major. He's a composer and his music is beautiful, and so are his paintings, but while he's amazing in those classes, he's just barely scraping by in the more 'academic' classes he's taking. Everyone knows him as 'the problem kid' but not in the same way as Enjy. R gets into fights and stuff too, but not exactly for good reasons. Has a drinking problem and has turned up to class drunk on a few occasions. Always carries around a sketchbook. He's completely in love with Enjy, and while the two of them aren't exactly friends, Enj likes him a lot more than most of the other students, since he's actually taken the time to get to know Grantaire personally rather than just as 'that one drunk problem kid who's about to flunk out.' Really sarcastic and sassy.

Combeferre - (y'all, I said his name with the E at the end kinda like 'ferreh' for so fucking long before someone decided to say it rhymed with Javert). Philosophy minor, lit major. He's probably on the student representation board. That one kid that manages to be a total nerd who literally corrects the dictionary for fun yet is still one of the coolest kids in the school. Everyone seems to think he's cool and composed and calm, and they're not wrong, but he's mentally screaming the loudest of all of them when it comes to finals or something. He's a bit of a perfectionist and knows it, but he's also used to being able to easily pass his classes. How do I describe this... he's outwardly composed but internally a mess. A lot of kids known as 'the smart one' who are overachievers and have teachers who praise their work, etc, are. Internally screaming 24/7. Believe me, I know what it's like.

Courfeyrac - he's the only mutual friend of everyone in the group. He's a literal ray of sunshine and always will go out of his way to say hello to someone and ask how they're doing that day, and check up on someone who's looking down. He's really good with kids and people in general. Might run a tutoring group or something because I've always thought he'd make a really good teacher. (Just imagine Courf as an elementary school teacher or something. Carrying little kids around on his shoulders, helping them with art projects, and hanging them up all over the classroom. He'd be kind and patient and funny and everyone would love him. Just- elementary teacher Courf). Best friends with Combeferre. Probably Jvj's aide or TA or something.

Marius - I think we all know him. He just Pontmercys his way through university and has a massive crush on this one girl who sits across the aisle from him in one of his classes. She's pretty and brave and smart and outspoken, and he admires her. Eponine, his good friend, sees this crush and convinces him to talk to her. He has a brilliant idea to ask her for help with homework and just botches up the entire thing and kinda embarrasses himself, (cue Eponine facepalming in the background) but she thinks it's sweet, and they end up becoming friends.

Eponine - honestly I don't know what I want to do with her. I know she's another student on the trip, but I only have the vaguest ideas of how she fits into the group, and even that is more of a vibe, rather than something I can put down in words. Used to have a sister that her parents often abused and used. Ponine did her best to shelter Cosette from their parents, but she didn't always succeed. However, she was able to get help and get her sister taken away. Their parents turned on Ponine instead. Her little brother ended up running away, but she wasn't able to. Eventually, she stops going home at night, sleeping at school instead. Professor Valjean found her outside his classroom one time when he finally left at like 2 in the morning after being stuck there grading papers. He ended up taking her home with him.

Cosette - Eponine's "sister". I will insist on these two getting along and being best friends, regardless of how you want to interpret their canon relationship. Imma just call them sisters, since they were raised that way. Eventually, she's taken away from the abusive household she lived in as a child. Soon she was sent to be fostered with a man who later became a university professor. Much to her surprise, she was reunited with her sister in a class and found out what had happened to Eponine in her absence. She quietly brought the issue up to her adopted father.

Valjean - history prof, and the supervising teacher for the trip. I call him Jvj and pronounce it sort of like 'Jivvy' and yes I know that's not even how it would be said and that it's weird af but I will live and die by that nickname. He's that one professor that everyone loves. While he never brings it up, his house is a second home to Eponine and Gavroche, ever since he found Ponine sleeping on a bench outside his classroom (Cosette may or may not have set this up so that he would find her), and now he has three children instead of just Cosette. By the end of the trip, he ends up with like 20 students who all treat him like he's their father.

Javert - ex-military school dean. He's coming on the trip as well because the school's two biggest problem students - Enj and R - are going on the trip and he doesn't trust Jvj to keep them in line. Everyone knows there's some sort of drama between him and one of the history professors, but no one can figure out the story between the two of them.

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Oh well look at me, totally ignoring the thing I said about them all not knowing each other. Welp. And yeah, I know I'm not being the most brick-accurate when it comes to their personalities or whatever, but I'm trying to keep the main feel of each of them while modifying it in a way that works for what I'm trying to write. And look if y'all want to make suggestions about roles for the other amis please go ahead cause I only really have theories for a few of them.

So anyway on to the actual plot.

They all settle in and the next day, they're kinda just let loose in the city to explore. Look we all know that Grantaire is probably going to try to find a bar or a pub or something. The thing is... he ends up at the Stonewall Inn. For y'all that don't know, it was a bar that mainly catered to members of the LGBT+ community. For the first time, he's kinda like 'there are... other people like me? I'm not some sort of a freak for being a man who's in love with another man?' and all that. Through some turn of events, Enj and R (maybe even a group of them?) end up there the next night. I remember reading this thing about since how common police raids and in order to avoid undercover police (*glares at Jav*) there were all sorts of safety measures in place and to be allowed in, they had to 'look gay' and you can bet R takes full advantage of the fact that he's there with Enj to get in.

The police conduct a surprise raid on the bar, and it explodes from just a regular thing into a massive deal, with a massive crowd of spectators. It quickly becomes more and more heated and eventually violent. They fight back against the police because you know neither of them would ever go quietly. Enj and R end up getting arrested together before everything goes insanely out of control, and if anyone else from their group was there, they manage to get away. In prison, Enjy talks to R about the whole deal. Through that conversation, they discuss the LGBT+ movement (though I can't remember if it was called that at the time) and Enjy eventually admits he's not straight, and one of the reasons he ended up becoming the School Vigilante is because he used to be tormented for it, and taught himself how to fight back. He refuses to let anyone else go through the same suffering for it. His protection soon extended to anyone being bullied and picked on, not just fellow queer people. The two of them decide that something has to be done, and this is the start of something massive. Enj tells R that he'll be going back whenever they get released, and Grantaire agrees to go with him.

Jav and Jvj come and negotiate for the release of the two of them since they're visiting French students and all that. When they get back to the place they're staying, I imagine they get a massive yelling-at from Ferre and Courf and Ponine. None of them know the full story, only that the two of them were caught in a bar and got arrested. I'm not sure how old all of them are in this... they're all over 18 in the novel (if I've done my math right) so they weren't arrested for being underage, so there are all sorts of rumors flying around about the two of them.

The next day, someone, I'm not sure who, overhears the two of them discussing what happened the night before, though they've both agreed not to mention anything personal about each other, in case that exact situation of being overheard occurs. However, the person who listens in on them goes to the rest of the group and talks about the protests, and eventually come to the decision that yes, what's happening is a massive deal, and they kinda all want to be part of it? Even if not all of them are part of the community, like Marius and Cosette, they're all very supportive allies and agree to join in these protests. Enj and R try to sneak out when they're confronted with the rest of the students. The two of them think the others are going to try to stop them until Courf steps up and says "like hell we're letting you do this alone,"

They all meet up before the Stonewall, joining a crowd of over a thousand people, surging against the police cordons. The bar itself has smashed windows and looks like someone tried to burn it, but it's still defiantly staying open. R gets his hands on a bunch of rainbow spray paint and joins in a group grafitting walls and buildings. Is grafitting even a word? Grafitti-ing? I dunno. But I had to look up when spray paint was invented and began being used and now I can tell you all about the history of aerosol. Being a writer, right?

They stick around for the rest of the week, joining in various rallies and protests at night, participating in the actual point of their trip during the day. Jav and Jvj obviously know what their students are doing, but they’ve both decided to not mention it at all.

One morning after the group has been out all night, they all escape the chaos and catch rides to Central Park? Maybe? I’ll have to see if that’s even possible. More research, yay!

Anyway, probably Central Park. I don’t really care how improbable it is rn. And we just get a series of shots of all the couples together who’ve found each other.

Enjolras and Grantaire, Courfeyrac and Combeferre, Joly and Bossuet, Bahorel and Feully, Maruis and Cosette. I’m going for lesbian or ace Eponine. Maybe both? If anyone else has suggestions, please lemme know.

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The only problem is, will I ever get around to actually writing this? No, probably not.

Sorry for the long post! Look I get that people feel weird leaving long replies or whatever but I promise you it's totally okay. More responses = me being more likely to actually write this, please and thank you! I'll probably come back to this someday and see if I can update it and add even more ideas and stuff to it, because I feel like I could turn this into a pretty cool fic, if anyone's even interested in it. Thank you so much, everyone!

[teenybeanielinguine]

Outlander Season 5 - A Girl Can Dream

 It’s been a little over two weeks since the Season 4 finale... and DAMN, the withdrawal is hitting me hard.  I’ve rewatched all my favorite scenes, re-read all my favorite passages, and scoured Tumblr for every piece of fanfiction available.  But nothing seems capable of filling the Outlander-shaped void in my heart.

Since I clearly have nothing better to do (not true; there are A LOT of other things I should be doing), I’ve decided to grace you all with my unsolicited thoughts (no need to thank me).  Season 5 has no announced release date, but I’m not known for my patience, so I’m hopping on the crazy train a little early.  Destination: The Fiery Cross. (Spoilers ahead.)

About The Fiery Cross

I’ve read quite a few posts that label Drums of Autumn as the pivotal point in the series.  I respectfully disagree.

DoA felt like the next step in a gradual evolution.  It’s true that Bree and Roger gained their independence from the J/C plotline in DoA, but DG had been prepping us for this divergence for quite a while.  Claire was our only narrator in Outlander, and while she remains the only 1st person POV, other characters have been quietly adding their voices to hers.  Roger joined her in Dragonfly in Amber, followed by Jamie and John Grey in Voyager, and we finally get Brianna in Drums of Autumn (that’s RIGHT: in the main books, we hear Roger’s POV before we ever hear Jamie’s).  Because of these constantly expanding POVs, DoA just felt like a natural progression, rather than a huge departure from the status quo.

The Fiery Cross, on the other hand, feels like a turning point.  Not only is it the first book to not get a newly added POV, but the story starts to get a little... unpredictable.

All of the books have a fair amount of twistiness and unpredictability, but our characters have pretty clear goals in each installation so far: get back to the stones, save Jamie from Black Jack, prevent the Rising, prevent Culloden, make Brianna believe the truth, find Jamie after 20 years, rescue Young Ian, establish the Ridge, warn Jamie and Claire about the fire, rescue Roger...  I know I’m generalizing here, but you get the point.  Our heroes all have clearly defined end goals, and they’re putting all their energy into achieving them, despite the twists and turns that DG throws their way.  The characters may not always succeed, but you, the reader, always know where the story is headed.

By the start of The Fiery Cross, the goals are a little broader, more nebulous.  There may be unrest in North Carolina, the American Revolution may be looming in the distance, but basically the Fraser family just wants to live in peace on the Ridge.  That’s it.  No daring rescues, no dramatic reunions; they just want some peace and quiet.  Of course, they aren’t going to get it, because this is Outlander-verse, where Murphy’s Law is on steroids.

So the Frasers play it by ear, taking on every new challenge as it comes.  There is no clear path forward, they just have to react as best they can to the events around them.  In consequence, the reader gets a series of smaller meandering stories, with the distinct feeling that something bigger is happening in the background.  I personally love this, because I have no clue what’s going to happen next, so when something big happens, it takes me completely by surprise.  And you get to see the characters just exist in day-to-day life, which is the best.  Some of the characters still have personal goals (spoiler alert: Stephen Bonnet definitely did NOT die in that explosion), but the pursuit of those goals isn’t driving the story nearly as much as in past installments.

This is all to say that, while Season 5 is going to have to hit some major plot points, there is (in my opinion) a fair amount of breathing room for interpretation, and lots of fun to be had.  I’m fascinated to see the show tackle this new challenge.

My Wish List for Season 5

When I say “wish list”, I don’t mean to imply a series of demands.  I have no creative control over the adaptation, and I’m not listing these wishes in the vain hope that someone on the production team will notice.  This is just for fun, and I will be perfectly content if none of these make it into the show.  Also, not all of these are pulled from the book; some of them are just things I would love to see.

So here are my top ten wishes, in no particular order:

Roger the Fangirl.  In the midst of all the Roger-hate this past season, the OL fandom has forgotten one crucial fact: Roger is the ultimate J/C shipper.  This romantic idiot is the whole reason that Claire went back in time to find Jamie!  You’d think Jamie’s fists would have beaten the ship right out of Roger, but if last season proves anything, it’s that Roger doesn’t give up easily.  He’s gonna keep shipping like his life depends on it, and there are some really cute moments in TFC where he fangirls over how adorable Jamie and Claire are together (also, Jamie is going to become his new idol).  I suppose it would be unrealistic to hope that he and Murtagh form a fan club next season...?

Brothers and Sisters.  Am I the only one who wanted to scream when Brianna and Fergus were right next to each other in the Wilmington jail and they didn’t acknowledge each other?  By the end of S4, we don’t even know whether Fergus and Marsali know about Bree’s existence (I mean, Fergus helped capture Bonnet, but he and Marsali didn’t say a word about Bree), and that frustrates me to no end.  The books skipped over the getting-to-know-you stuff too, which is crazy considering that they are siblings (adopted or not)!  I would kill for a scene where Jamie and Claire are struggling to explain why they have a fully-grown daughter, as well as some bonding time between siblings.  Bree and Marsali are definitely going to get along, cause badass women stick together.

The Snake Bite.  The snake bite incident (aftermath included) is one of my favorite sequences in TFC.  It brings Roger and Jamie closer together, it shows the courage of the Fraser women in a crisis, and it rallies the entire Ridge community in their worry for Jamie.  I suppose it’s sadistic of me, but I loved watching everyone freak out when they thought Jamie was going to die or lose a leg.  And then the 20th century women come to the rescue!  An entire episode dedicated to that whole plotline would be amazing.

Grannie and Grand-da.  Claire and Jamie are not only adorable as grandparents, they’re relatable AF.  They might love their new grandson to pieces, but that’s not going to stop them from being honest about the realities of childcare.  Jamie in particular is hilarious; he builds an entire house at top speed to get away from the screeching baby (and his newly reunited parents), and then he compares Bree unflatteringly to the white sow (not to her face, of course; see Chapter 30 for a good laugh).  I’d love to see that side of Jamie and Claire next season.

Wolf’s Brother.  We might have said a tearful goodbye to Young Ian in the S4 finale, but we haven’t seen the last of him.  My guess is that he’s going to make a dramatic reappearance in the S5 finale, but I really hope we see him before then.  Showing Young Ian’s time among the Mohawk would give Outlander a chance to showcase the amazing First Nations actors that appeared in S4 (Braeden Clarke, anyone?) as well as explore how Ian slowly blends his Highland upbringing with Mohawk customs.

Claire the Science Nerd.  So far all of Claire’s medical expertise has been utilized in life-or-death situations, but establishing a medical practice on the Ridge gives her the opportunity to geek out over plants and experiment in reproducing 20th century medicine in the 18th century.  Over the course of TFC, she gives genetics lessons, performs two tonsillectomies, and produces penicillin (among other things).  This passion for her craft is one of the reasons I love Claire so much.  And her nerd moments aren’t always serious: one of my favorite scenes in the book features Claire and her microscope giving Jamie a hilarious lesson in reproductive biology.

Fraser’s Ridge.  We didn’t get to see much of the Ridge community in S4, although Jamie did allude to the farmers who contributed the grain to make whisky.  The community is comprised of a growing array of Scottish immigrants, and the drama they bring to Claire and Jamie’s lives wavers between amusing and disastrous.  I don’t think the show will have time to explore the entire cast of characters, but I’m hoping to see Thomas Christie and his children introduced, at least.  I’ve always found Tom Christie a strangely compelling character; his children, on the other hand, are nothing more than a necessary evil.  I also really hope we meet the twins, Josiah and Keziah Beardsley (Lizzie’s story is about to get really interesting).

The MacKenzie Bloodline.  Despite all the time-traveling she’s been doing, Claire has yet to meet any of her ancestors (that we know of...  DG might be holding out on us).  Roger, on the other hand, is not going to be so lucky (if you’ve read all eight books, you’ll know that Roger runs into his ancestors A LOT).  By the end of S4, I’m not sure Jamie is aware that his daughter is married to Geillis Duncan and Dougal MacKenzie’s descendant, but I wanna be there when he and Murtagh find out (a perfect opportunity for some good dialogue and tension).  And while Roger may be able to explain his ancestry to Jamie and Murtagh (both of whom are fully aware of the existence of time travel), he’s not going to be able to give the same explanation to Jocasta.  In the beginning of TFC, there’s a really great conversation between Jocasta and Roger where Jocasta is kinda fishing around for clues about Roger’s family.  Roger, of course, can’t tell her that he’s actually her great-great-grandnephew (give or take a few ‘great’s).  My hope is that the show includes some version of this conversation and continues to play around with Roger’s MacKenzie heritage (and all its implications).

Future Talk.  With three time-travelers in the family, there’s bound to be some discussion of the future.  Especially with the tension mounting in North Carolina and Murtagh aligning himself with the Regulators.  I am yearning for some deep discussion between Jamie, Murtagh, and the travelers about the events to come.  I have a hunch that either Claire or Bree has already informed Murtagh about the American Revolution, based on a comment he made to Jocasta about a “different ending”, but I want to see it actually played out on screen.  The interplay between the characters who know the future and those who don’t is fascinating to me, and I want more of it.

Jamie the Protector.  Jamie’s protective instincts have had some disastrous consequences this past season, but he is going to redeem himself next season.  Early on in TFC, Jamie claims Roger as the “son of his house”, and he proceeds to stand by that claim throughout the book, especially in the aftermath of Roger’s wrongful hanging at the hands of Governor Tryon.  This time, Jamie’s protective feelings aren’t going to result in a beating, though it’s a close call.  I love this shift, from Jamie beating Roger to Jamie protecting/avenging Roger; it’s a very satisfying development.

Bonus: Geese.  Brianna and Roger may have a child together, but they have never lived together as a married couple.  They also don’t have very much experience being in a serious relationship (S4 showed us that they really don’t know how to argue properly).  However, they have both grown up quite a bit since their hand fasting, and you get to see them learning how to coexist in Chapter 33 of TFC.  It’s a great scene, where Roger’s just come back with the militia, and he and Bree have a meaningless fight because she hasn’t had it easy since the militia left.  But they resolve their argument peacefully as Bree vents her frustrations to Roger and gives him a drawing of some geese as a Christmas present.  A really wonderful everyday moment.

There are, of course, more things I’d like to see, but these are my favorites.  I thought I’d list them out now, since this is going to be a LONG Droughtlander, and I am sure to get obsessed with something else eventually (the new A Discovery of Witches show looks promising).  Also, I’m going to temporarily forget about Season 5 if Bees comes out first.

What are your wishes for Season 5?  If you choose to respond, please be kind and respectful.

[blogdience]

The Last Hoorah

Welcome back to weekly blogs!!

Why do audiences consume what they do? What needs are audiences searching to satisfy based on the media they are searching to consume?

Audiences interact and engage with media for many different reasons and use media to fulfill many different needs depending on a user’s emotional well-being or a goal at a said moment in time.

For instance, many students may turn to their social media accounts to connect with friends or to keep up on the latest news every two minutes; to satisfy what needs exactly?

                       The need for escape or distraction from work.

We have all done it, student or not, media content is used as a constant distraction, although at times we may use media content to further excel our knowledge, such as digging for videos or articles to learn more on a topic.

For this particular theory of Uses and Gratifications, I want to focus on a little app I love and continuously use to satisfy my needs as a consumer of media; YouTube.

YouTube is a platform filled with videos to satisfy many needs of its users. Whether an audience member needs a good laugh, and informative learning video, or a good playlist of songs to match their mood, YouTube offers it all.

It makes me think about the particular YouTube videos I watch and reflect on why I choose to watch the videos I do and what need I am trying to fulfill.

I have always been interested in crime and the psychology and the mystery behind a criminal’s actions. I believe my fascination for it all came from my father and his career as a Peel Police detective in organized crime. 

My Dad in his full Peel Police get-up as him and my mom head to his retirement ceremony. 

First time ever seeing him wear this suit, he was always in jeans and plain t-shirts going to work!

It is something that always intrigued me, partly because the “behind the scenes” of criminal activities are only shown in movies or other fictional forms. I think the idea that humans can do such awful things, and the excitement of trying to solve something so extreme, fascinated me growing up and continues to do so. I went back and forth for years thinking of all the ways I could become a detective or deal with murder or missing people’s cases without starting as a boring ticket or traffic officer. 

Now I realize for all jobs, as drake says, you need to start from the bottom.

I have been watching true crime YouTube videos for years. When I say true crime, the videos I watch are solved and unsolved murder cases, as well as, missing people or solved abduction cases. I would think of it as a topic I am extremely interested in, however, I am not in school studying. Therefore, I turn to these videos, whose creators usually have a background in criminology, to fulfill my “needs” or interest in such topics.

Two of my favorite YouTubers who I religiously watch are Bella Fiori and Kendall Rae.

As discussed in the lecture on October 10th, Gratifications can be broken down by the MAIN acronym.

           M-modality

           A-agency

           I-interactivity

           N-navigability

I watch their videos via YouTube on both my phone and laptop; whichever is most convenient at the time that I want to watch. This is referred to as mobility. No matter where I go, I am satisfied that YouTube is available as an app via my phone or on my laptop via Safari.

As much as I love watching videos on YouTube, I also love creating videos on YouTube. I have mainly only created travel and fun vlog videos, but this is an example of agency. I consume YouTubes content but turn into a prosumer when I share my own content.

Enjoy...

When I watch YouTube videos, I do not often comment or like the video. However, there are users who do feel the need to leave their opinion, like or dislike the video or take it a step further and mimic, mock or turn it into a meme. 

Such as Rebecca Black's song “Friday”, that Professor Good showed in the lecture on November 14th, 2019. 

In the instance of the true-crime videos, as I mentioned earlier, Kendall Rae sells merch where 100% of the proceeds goes to the organization called “Thorne” where they help find victims, limit crimes, and raise awareness for sex trafficking. Audience members who purchase, design the t-shirts, leave suggestions, or share, are interacting with the creator’s content. Interacting with media content this way gives the audience members a chance to give back and feel fulfilled in doing so.

Lastly, most social media users do not just have one form of social media. I personally find myself following and interacting with the YouTubers I watch across other social media platforms. 

Different platforms of social media allow audiences to interact with media is various different ways based on what the platform offers. However, when texts get spread across different platforms it can cause a telephone effect. News or scandals can get misinterpreted or easily spread like wildfire. Not only that but with many different platforms of media allows for many different opinions.

We live in a digital day and age where “cancel culture” is huge. If one thing is misinterpreted or decoded in the wrong way, audience members can turn a person’s world upside down within hours.

In recent news, Don Cherry, a long-time Canadian Icon, shamed Canadians who do no purchase poppies during the month of remembrance for Canadian soldiers. For those who missed the live Coaches Corner episode, where Cherry “misspoke” by referring to immigrants as “you people” instead of addressing it as “everyone”, the video can be found on almost every social media platform… 

However, here is a video from City News Toronto’s YouTube channel…

The whole scandal started when Don Cherry was mentioning the poppy. A widely known symbol throughout Canada that reminds its nation of all the fallen soldiers who fought for our freedom and the ones that continue to do so.

That nights broadcast of Hockey Night in Canada was broadcasted to millions, not just in Canada, but all of America too.

How an audience interprets Don Cherry’s message is based solely on each individual audience members personal experiences and upbringing. For instance, immigrants and people of color were mainly offended by Cherry’s comments. Defending themselves, many of “those people” who immigrated to Canada, who claim that they do wear a poppy and support the Canadian vets were extremely offended by the comments made. Of course, on the contrary, those who were on Cherry’s side either kept quiet or were majority white Canadians who were born and raised here.

In this instance, those who came to Canada felt attacked by Cherry’s comments and those who were born and raised in Canada agreed with his comments. 

For instance, I am a twenty-year-old female, born and raised in Canada, and I grew up in a very hockey-oriented family which led to Don Cherry being on my television set every Saturday night. From my perspective, what Don Cherry was attempting to say was correct and everyone, whether born here or not, should be wearing a poppy in remembrance. I do not agree with how he spoke and the words he chose to use to get his message across. However, I may interpret Cherry’s comments in that way because of my background and how I was raised. 

While many people have their thoughts and opinions, I think in this case especially, the audience member’s background and demographics directly affect how you respond to the comments made by Cherry and your reaction to the news of him being let go after 38 years of Hockey Night in Canada.

However, times are changing, rights are changing, and in this social media, cancel culture day and age, comments such as Don Cherry’s do not always fly.

Fans were furious when SportsNet announced they were letting Don Cherry go. The buzz around it all hit home for many Canadians and others who grew up with Coaches Corner every Saturday night tuning in to see Don’s many crazy suits. Cherry became a Canadian icon for a reason, he became a part of the hockey audiences Saturday night viewing routine. 

Often, hockey fans become very immersed with the games they watch, especially if it is their favourite team playing. Don Cherry would give his professional hockey advice based on his evaluation of the first period. The part that made Don Cherry so popular, is his straight to the point, uncensored opinions. Cherry, aside from his hockey sense, is known to be unapologetically himself and I believe that is what fans loved about Coaches Corner. When Coaches Corner appeared after the first period, at least in my hockey household, everyone would stop and listen to Don Cherry’s thoughts on how the players, coaches, or refs were performing.

The firing of Don Cherry disrupted many Saturday night hockey rituals.

The week following Cherry’s firing, conversations throughout fans started circulating. Fans began questioning who Cherry will be replaced with or what will now fill the Coaches Corner broadcasting time after the first period.

Fandom is “associated with cultural tastes of subordinated formations of the people, particularly those disempowered by any combination of gender, age, class, and race” (Fiske cited in Sullivan, p 193).

Fandoms can hold great power when they rally together. 

For instance, Don Cherry got fired due to audience members complaining and writing into SportsNet.

On the contrary, fans of Cherry and Coach’s Corner are currently rallying together, and earlier this week protested outside of Rogers (Owner of SportsNet) headquarters in Toronto.

Whether or not Cherry gets brought back, the voices of fans are very powerful and are heard.

For instance, the city of Toronto, while awaiting Kawhi Leonard’s decision on signing with the Raptors, tried to sway the basketball star to stay with Toronto by offering “Kawhi and Dine” restaurants where Kawhi and his family would be able to eat for free. A multi-million-dollar penthouse was also offered to Kawhi for free along with many other things. Fans of Toronto and all of Canada was making an outcry for Kawhi to stay and as a result companies and real estates offered up insane deals if the athlete signed with the Raptors.

Not a bad time to be Kawhi...

Meet mini Brooke...

This is me when I was in grade four and did my very first speech on my favourite hockey player Sidney Crosby. That same year I got a Pittsburgh Penguins jersey with Crosby’s number as well as a hat.

In the lecture on November 7th, Professor Good listed on a spectrum the types of fandoms from the most passive to the most active. From passive to active the continuum went as follows; Consumer, enthusiast, fan, petty producer.

As a young fan of Sidney Crosby and always begging my parents for Penguins merchandise, I would definitely put myself in the consumer category. I would also consider mini Brooke to be an enthusiast as well as a fan because those pictures were taken moments before my dad recorded me saying my speech and later emailing it off to the Pittsburgh Penguin team.

Arguably, I could be a producer by making a fan letter and video of my speech to send to Crosby. Weeks later I got a response from the team and a signed Crosby hockey card.

Some fandoms, for instance, take their support and turn themselves into producers such as creating fan pages, blogs or YouTube accounts dedicated to the content they are fans of.

Sullivan mentions Intellectual property and discusses the challenging question of when users of digital media create content who exactly owns the content that is being generated? Should content creators, regardless of the size of their following, be given credit or payment for the refurbishment of their work?

Jack Denmo is a Canadian YouTuber from Hamilton, ON who started creating videos interviewing young adults within the bar atmosphere of Hess Village. He has a subscription of 414,000 people on YouTube and 29,500 followers on Instagram. Just recently the television station French TV aired Jack's videos on their program. One of Jacks' follower's videos recorded the feature and sent it to the YouTube Creator. 

Jack responded by posting it on his story asking French TV “Where're my cheques, boys?”.

Content creators, especially YouTubers, produce content and post it on a public platform where it has the potential to be scooped up by big companies or stations such as French TV to then be used as television entertainment for their audiences without any payment given to the original creator.

Many of us are working for these large companies for free and our audience attendance and participation are sold to advertisers. Many blog websites or social media sites would not be able to support themselves if audience members did not actively, but passively, work for them. 

Sullivan coins this term as “Crowdsourcing”. This means that companies rely on content creators and audience members to create content for them. 

For instance, many companies such as Frito-Lay did a competition with its consumers, challenging them to come up with their next chip flavour. While consumers went to work inventing and working with different flavours to create the next Lays flavour, Frito-Lay sat back and let the consumers do the work. 

On a smaller scale, I previously mentioned the YouTuber Kendall Rae and the Thorne initiative to raise awareness around sex trafficking. The t-shirt designs that are sold are to raise money for Thorne are created by Kendall Rae’s audience members. This is another example of Crowdsourcing because Kendall Rae’s fans are putting in work and effort to create a design to be sold. These fans and contributors are of course unpaid.

As you can see, audience consumption, creation, and how audiences interpret the content that they consume is extremely powerful and can sometimes raise tricky questions. 

Audience experiences and interpretations of the content that is consumed can lead to the careers of people, such as Don Cherry, to be jeopardized and “canceled”. In a generation where fans can easily make their voices heard, it ultimately has a huge impact on certain media content and what is produced to appeal to what fans want. It becomes a sticky situation also when content creators are not getting correct recognition for the work, they put into the content they create. 

At what point should an online content creator get paid and given proper ownership of their content?

As well as, who has the power in today's society? The media or the audience?

If you ask me, from the examples I have talked about within this blog, it is evident that the audiences of today's media content hold extreme power. Media companies want to satisfy the needs of consumers and will go to lengths such as changing plot lines or firing popular segment hosts, such as Don Cherry, to avoid the possibility of being canceled by overbearing audiences. 

Today, Transmedia makes news and opinions of audience members spread like wildfire. Once the headline of something breaks loose, almost every social platform is booming with the opinions of its audience members. We live in an inescapable society, where thoughts and opinions are strongly being shared. Audiences, now than ever before, have the tools and access to make their concerns known and stand for their beliefs, thus, putting power now in the audiences hands.

Thanks for reading!!!

References

Sullivan, J. (2013 or 2020). Media Audiences: Effects, users, institutions and power (1st or 2nd ed.). Sage Publications Inc., New York, NY.

[scribbleandscratchh-blog]

Shout

Fandom: Riverdale

Type: FanFic, Mini-Series

Pairing: Some Jughead/OC, Archie/OC, and Reggie/OC

Warnings: Just a set-up for some angst, this chapter at least!

Note: This will probably be around ten chapters, just a little fun idea that popped up after a dream. There will be both canon events and some deviation here, just a forewarning.

Count: 1,435 words, without notes.

Her fingers drummed against her hip and her eyes darted from side to side, the bright green of her irises nearly matching that of the grass she stood upon. The football field was alight, pole after pole of high grade light bulbs shined down on all those who gathered, excitement thick enough in the air that you could practically taste it. She wasn’t focused on the taste of excitement though, no. She was too busy looking for him. In all reality, he should have been easy enough to find, despite the steadily growing crowd that milled about the bleachers and sidelines of the football field. That crown shaped beanie was always a dead giveaway, and the tousled waves of raven colored hair that stubbornly peeked out from under it were ones that she could always pick out. Side to side, the emerald chips of her eyes swung, but still she couldn’t seem to pinpoint his form anywhere, lurking or not. Each minute that passed, the inexplicable paranoia she had been fighting against for the greater half of a day swarmed within, threatening to drown her in thoughts that made her very heart ache with its every beat.

“You should have seen them, Kathryn. Too close.” There was a pause, then lips smacking, a fresh layer of lipstick applied. “His cheeks were flushed, her gloss was smudged. You need to do something about this, now. Then we can go get pedicures at The Red Door.”

“The Red Door is in New York.”

“Your point?”

Cheryl’s words had lashed against her consciousness, a hint of mockery mixed in with pity and disdain. She knew though, her cousin was trying to protect her in the single most effective way she knew how. Harsh truth presented in a snarky manner was Cheryl Blossom’s trademark, and after the loss of her twin brother Jason, she was more in tune with the in’s and out’s of her cousin’s life than she ever had been.

That included her secret, kind-of-sort-of-friends-with-benefits relationship she shared with one Jughead Jones.

Kathryne Elisabeth Blossom fell in love with Jughead Jones during the Christmas break of their seventh grade year. She met him the year before, having moved from the suburbs of Connecticut to Riverdale upon her uncle’s demand that his little brother Christopher, her father, return home to help govern the Blossom Estate. She happened upon him on her first day, shortly after meeting Betty Cooper in her honors mathematics class. She hit it off with the blonde girl who then wore a pair of pink framed glasses, and willingly followed after her to lunch, where she found herself introduced to Archie Andrews, Kevin Keller, and of course Jughead Jones.

It wasn’t long after that Kathryne became a constant member of their small group, never entirely comfortable playing sidekick to her queen bee cousin Cheryl, though she always had a soft smile ready and waiting for her overprotective, more brother than cousin, Jason. Despite her fiery haired cousin’s shrill protests about ‘the company she kept’, her friendship with Archie, Jughead, and Betty was one she cherished. They always stuck together, even with Cheryl’s meddling ways, and it wasn’t long before the strawberry blonde found herself infatuated with her raven-haired counterpart.

Betty Cooper was the first person she told about her feelings. Apparently, that was a mistake.

“Katy!…Kat?”

She didn’t hear him.

“KAT!”

His warm hand wrapped tightly around her upper arm and she gasped sharply, stumbling backward into his strong chest when she lost her balance, the pads of his football uniform stiff against her back. She looked up to find hickory colored eyes peering back at her, flashing with both concern and confusion. They were framed by wayward strands of deep red, most of them refusing to stay in place even though he had slicked them back multiple times.

“Archie…” She murmured softly, her gaze pulling from him to return toward the bleachers, aware that she was safe in his hold.

The newly appointed varsity football player furrowed his brows, dark eyes flicking from the petite form of Kathryne Blossom, toward the increasingly massing crowd, then back again. She was pale, her typically ivory hued complexion turned pallid, almost a sickly ashen color. She continued to fidget anxiously with her fingers, even though Archie had pulled her in toward his chest, a twinge of protectiveness coursing through his veins as he glanced around, searching for whatever might have put her so on edge.

Jason was still dead, she was still a Blossom, and a killer was still on the loose.

He licked his lips, angling her body away from the crowd as he bent at the waist ever so slightly, his voice nothing but a mutter. “Kat, are you alr-”

“Have you seen Jughead?” Kathryne interrupted him, her voice sharp, strained. “Or B-…Betty, for that matter?”

The name had stuck in her throat, nearly choking her. It couldn’t be true, her blonde best friend would never, not after knowing what she knew for as long as she had known it.

She looked up a moment later to find that Archie had relaxed just the tiniest amount, his dark eyes scanning the group of people all gathered for their second pep rally, all in preparation for the football game that coming Friday. He made a humming noise low in his throat when he came up empty, just as she had, before giving a slight shrug and latching on to her hand, guiding her back toward the entrance of the high school that waited behind the steel and metal benches.

“Last I saw, Betty was at The Blue and Gold offices, something about pictures for the front page. C'mon…are you sure you’re okay?”

Archie’s voice was soothing, easing the mounting panic that left her limbs shaky and her mind whirling. Despite the fact that she was closer to both Betty and Jughead, the other redheaded member of their group had always looked after her. That trait had only increased ever since Jason’s death had been ruled a homicide. She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, her green eyes shining up at him for a moment before resuming their search amongst Riverdale’s finest.

“Yeah, yeah I’m-” Kathryne groaned, rubbing her fingers across her temple. “Okay, I’m not fine. It’s just, Cheryl said something this afternoon, and I know that I should be careful considering the source but…she seemed to really believe what she was saying.”

He glanced down at her, politely maneuvering the duo through the masses, lips forming a slight frown. “What did she say?”

Kathryne worried her bottom lip with her teeth, the words required for answering her friend almost physically burning in her throat, and she swallowed thickly against the urge to gag on them.

“Jughead…Betty…you know-”

Archie choked on his next breath, a mixture of a scoff and laughter combining to form the oddest noise she had ever heard come out of a teenage boy. He shook his head, the idea so preposterous that his tone was almost chastising as he peered down at the smaller redhead, pausing in his steps as they reached the back of the bleachers and the border of Friday night lights gave way to shadows.

“Kat, that’s crazy! I mean, I don’t know about Juggie,” He laughed, rubbing her fingers in his. “But Betty? She would never do that to-”

The warm feeling that had begun to spread as he spoke to her, calming her sudden bout of fears, slowly began to taper off as his voice died out, trailing into a mumble of incoherent words and sounds. His fingers suddenly tightened around her own, almost to the point of pain as he squeezed them in his large, warm palm. She glanced up in question, catching sight of the scarily stoic expression that had taken over his features, leaving his usually soft looking smile in a firm, hard line. The hickory brown of his eyes blazed with something along the lines of fury, an emotion she wasn’t sure that she had ever managed to see upon the redhead. And somehow, judging by the appearance of the gaping pit that had suddenly grown in her stomach, she just knew.

She knew that if she turned around, she’d find what she feared. She knew that if she turned around, Archie would be wrong and Cheryl would be right. She knew that if she turned around, everything would change.

But she did it anyway.

That’s a wrap! If you liked it and want to be tagged, feel free to shoot me a message! I’m excited to see where this goes. Also, no hate to the Bughead fans, they’re cute! This is strictly for this little splurge of writing!

[dyreatic]

Aqours 1st Live - Pre-Live Reflections

Thank you, Aqours.

I have to admit, it was sort of a rocky start. I wasn’t even into Love Live when the original key visual of Chika was released. I didn’t know you existed until weeks after I watched the Love Live Movie, when I was looking around for more information about this series that had just captivated me. I sort-of stumbled upon you? ...or something like that. I think I just happened to run across a page in the wikia with a link to “Aqours”, so I clicked it out of curiosity, and discovered a whole new group with none of the girls I was used to seeing. Who were these 9 new girls? Inferior copies of μ’s? ...was what I thought. And so I just threw you to the back of my head with no second thought. But somehow I returned to you sometime in December, after Final Live was announced. I figured, you were going to replace μ’s in the future, so maybe I should at least try listening to what you had so far. I listened to the whole of your first single… but I felt absolutely nothing. And back to the back of my head you went.

And then I tried once again, by tuning into your 1/11 Niconama. I was still in love with μ’s lives after watching them, so I was hoping to be able to watch you live. I didn’t, but I have to admit, it was a completely new experience. And I was mesmerized. But unfortunately, your predecessors still occupied my mind, and nothing much proceeded from then. Third time unlucky.

But then, Final Live happened. I saw a world far greater than the Love Live I had enjoyed from within the comforts of my room, and I wanted more of it. I joined the /r/LoveLive Discord, and saw my gateway to that world. No longer did I have to wait for leaks of songs, or discover news maybe days after it was announced because I was cooped up in my own shell; I would be part of the discovery as it happened. I became part of the frontline for Aqours discoveries, and I was really amazed at how fun it was.

And then, AX and CharaExpo happened. You went overseas, and I saw and experienced firsthand the excitement of a group of people at those events. Everyone was so cheery, eagerly making plans to meet up, and the environment was just really welcoming in the server. I can’t forget those days of waking up at 4:45am, going out to CharaExpo and finally getting to see three of you live on stage. And most of all, meeting Shukashuu. I actually chose to meet her over a pretty petty reason (because AX didn’t get her), but I don’t regret it at all. And it was thanks to seeing all three of them on stage then I went and dove fully into your fandom, and I’ve been getting deeper ever since.

The anime was airing around that time, but I think the best part about it was that I was enjoying it not by myself, but watching it live along with the rest of discord. By itself, the anime was nice, but with everyone, it became great. But of course, the best part of the anime was that it brought along with it the 1st Live announcement. We heard the songs, saw them animated, but the culmination of all that was to see them performed live on stage by all the seiyuu. And so, we started waiting. For us in Japan or SEA, it was just a matter of time before we could watch them live. But for everyone else in NA or elsewhere, it was a battle to convince companies to give them a chance to watch them.

Watching from the sidelines, I saw as the Americans and Canadians all pleaded earnestly to various companies about an NA Live Viewing. I saw their hopes rise and fall with every response, or lack of response. With every little hint that someone at NA noticed their efforts, they jumped and cheered, and with every “seen” or “we have no plans”, their spirits fell. And from the sidelines, I nudged them on, rallying others who might not have known about their efforts to get their desires heard as well. But time passed, and it slowly looked like the dream was dead. First was the major countries, then Australia. Then came the news that China had been downgraded. And Indonesia’s failure. And then Philippines succeeding with only a week to go. There was no more hope.

...and then everything changed on Saturday morning JST. The bomb was silently dropped; but the aftereffects were felt. And all the Americans were finally saved from the pit of despair, all thanks to the US Live Viewings. All their hopes and smiles returned, and I felt relief, knowing that I would join them in just another year. I guess that’s my future now, huh.

Aqours, you’ve turned me dreading from going back to the prospect of having to wait out a few years before I could watch you live again to comfort in the fact that you’ve reached out to all of those in America and welcomed them into your arms. Thank you.

Thank you, Ruby and Aiai. You look like a crybaby on the outside, but you showed me that even someone who looks weak could still be someone who others could rely on. I didn’t have much feeling towards you at first, but as I watched your antics and realized that maybe, you were the onee-chan after all, I grew fond of you. And if there’s anything that all of us can relate to, it’s your love for idols. Ganbaruby!

Thank you, Mari and Ainya. I was never really fond of characters who used English phrases as a running gag, but somehow, I grew to really like you. And that was even before the anime, where you showed your caring side, hidden deep beneath that playful exterior of yours. And most of all, it was all thanks to you that I dipped my feet into translations and am here right now, spreading all of Aqours’ appeal together with ONIBE. Shiny~

Thank you, Hanamaru and King. School Idols were truly a “Mirai-zura!” moment for me; I had no idea there would be something that would be able to drag me this deep down and give me so much fun with all the people I’ve been able to meet. I was just someone who stuck by myself, reading books, playing games, all alone, thinking that I would never be able to enjoy anything to the level that I saw all the hardcore fans for any series did, but here I am today, having turned into one of those people. Ohana… Maru!

Thank you, Yoshi- I mean Yohane and Aikyan. There’s a part within all of us that desires for fantasy to be real, but we’re also grounded by the fact that there’s a real world. And I think you were able to capture that side of us and the struggles with wanting to escape from our struggles and the judgement that others have placed upon us perfectly. It’s not as easy for us to find an answer as it was for you, but even so, I can still look to you as an example of someone who overcame that challenge and truly realizes the difference between reality and fantasy well. Ohayohane~

Thank you, You and Shukashuu. Meeting you in real life left me with a sense of awe, and even though I didn’t give you a chance to say much I could still feel all your energy and passion. There’s a running joke that You can do anything (except Chika), and with that smile and energy, maybe that’s true after all. Keep that energy up! Yousoro!

Thank you, Dia and Arisha. I didn’t like the way you carried yourself at the beginning, or how you sounded like you were looking down on everyone else, and I guess I still don’t really like that part of you, but discovering that you were a hidden idol fan, and maybe even the most hardcore out of all of Aqours, gave me a new appreciation for who you are. There are many of us who are loud but are only barely into the fandom, and some of us who keep our hobbies quiet but in reality are really hardcore, and I think I can really see the challenges that the latter group faces when dealing with the former in your interactions with the rest of Aqours. Diahoo!

Thank you, Kanan and Suwawa. I once loved to joke that your fanbase was like an empty theater, but within me I was also supporting you. Your lines were sparse, and so you were the mysterious girl that everyone just made fun of because no one knew you well enough, but after I learned more about you, I realized that you were pretty cool! It was like you could carry yourself in a collected fashion, yet you still fell prey to Mari whenever she decided to tease you. Ja, hagu shiyou!

Thank you, Riko and Rikyako. You grew out of my initial impression of “slightly inferior Umi/Mimorin but still best”, and I realized that you had a completely different charm compared to them. Others might call you boring, but I think that it’s just a part of you that fits you very well, and I won’t let what anyone else thinks of you affect that. Keep on making those funny faces and memes, and don’t be afraid to defend yourself if you ever get teased!

And finally, thank you, Chika and Anchan. All throughout our lives, many of us want to be more than just “normal”, and we see all the leaders and pioneers as extraordinary people who we aspire to become. But you are normal, just like us. A normal girl, able to be found anywhere, with dreams and aspirations towards an extraordinary group. And in spite of that, you became our beloved leader. You have carried our hopes and dreams for these two years, and even though you started from zero, you pushed through with the mere hope to become one. From the rural areas of Izu, you have reached the grand stage of Yokohama Arena in Tokyo. And just like us, the smiles of school idols are what have got you to this point. Leader, just as how you have led Aqours all the way up until now, please do your best tomorrow! We will continue to support you and spread your joy to many more people in the world! Kan kan… Mikan!

Now all that’s left is tomorrow.

[shadowsong26fic]

Random crossover snippet

So, I swear I am actually working on, like, Actual Projects (i.e., the next Precipice chapter should be out this weekend; plus I’m poking at some other stuff that’ll be up later, etc.)

But, in the meantime, it’s been a while since I shared anything from the Epic Crossover RP of DOOM, so here we go!

For those of you who don’t know, this started life three and a half years ago as a Star Wars/MCU crossover, generally based in the same AU as Precipice. It has since expanded to include eleven total fandoms because we are Dorks.

Obviously, while several key plot points are the same, there are some things that have played out differently in the RP than will in the fic, both because of the actions of people from one or more of the other canons and because we Felt Like It.

Anyway, some context is actually necessary for the bit I’m sharing here - this is a bit less than a year after Endor, and the postwar government is about to make Official Contact with Earth and reveal that Star Wars is, well, an Actual Place even if not 100% as portrayed in the movies. Anakin has slipped over early, because he wants a chance to see what this place is like before the hell timeline, as he refers to it, becomes something he can’t avoid.

Naturally, shenanigans ensue, and he has here run into the main characters of Person of Interest [link to wikipedia] as they’re dealing with a number of the week, which is where we join him now.

    The safehouse looked like a safehouse; generic furniture, shelf-stable food, motel art on the walls. John put his gun on the table and went to a particularly hideous abstract painting, lifted it off the wall, and opened the safe behind. Good, more ammunition. There were probably more guns around somewhere, too. Not that the other man needed any.

    The number--Cris Boyd, twenty-eight years old, con artist; taking the situation much more seriously now that bullets had actually started flying--was curled up in one of the chairs, staring blankly at a slightly-less-hideous painting on the opposite wall. The stranger had stayed near the door, leaning against the wall with his eyes half-closed.

    "What--" she stopped, cleared her throat. "What happens now? Who are you people?"

    "Concerned third party," John said. He did enjoy that explanation.

    The stranger smiled faintly. "Guess I'm a fourth party, then," he said. "You two okay? I didn't see either of you get hit."

    "I'm--I'm fine. I think," Ms. Boyd said, then looked up at John.

    "Fine," he said, and meant it for once. "You were timely."

    "Right place, right time," he said. "Guess I'm just lucky that way."

    "I don't know that I would call it luck," John said, and reached into the safe once more, looking for another phone. His had been smashed, and of course Shaw had gone somewhere else, so Finch must be having fits.

    "Yeah, there's probably another word for it," the stranger said, opening his eyes and pushing himself away from the wall at last. "But I'm glad I could help. Any idea who the shooters were?"

    "I think Ms. Boyd could tell us that," John said, giving her a steady look.

    "Um," she said. "I don't..." She fidgeted in her chair a little bit. "I talked my way into an office building, a couple days ago. I needed something for a client. But there was a secure floor that wasn't on the building specs, and..."

    "And you couldn't resist taking a look?" Aha, a phone. He pulled it out and pressed start; battery dead, of course.

    "I didn't touch or take anything," Ms. Boyd said. "Not that there was much of anything to take. At least not a lot that was portable."

    "Did you see anything in particular? Company name, what they might've been working on?" the stranger asked.

    "Bunch of servers, mostly," Ms. Boyd said. "And I overheard two guys talking about something they called Calliope."

    Oh, great, this again. John prevented himself from rolling his eyes. "And who did you try to sell that information to?"

    "No one."

    "Huh," New Guy said. "Busy guy, No One. Everyone wants to sell him things, and he wants to sell to everybody."

    "He's also everyone's only enemy," John said, in the same casual tone.

    "I mean it," she insisted. "I haven't contacted any buyers."

    "Yet?"

    "...yet," she admitted.

    "Look," John said, "you probably didn't think you were doing any harm, and you might not have been, except to yourself. Who else knew you knew this?"

    Ms. Boyd looked away. "I may have mentioned my side trip to my client. To explain the delay."

    "Who are they?" The phone beeped; charged, finally.

    "I can't tell you that," she said.

    "Because you don't know, or because you have a Policy?" New Guy asked.

    "People won't hire me if they know I'll give them up," Ms. Boyd said. "I can't give you my client's name."

    "They tried to kill you," John said. "There's a point at which the contract is broken."

    "I don't know that for sure," she insisted. "Maybe the Calliope people had better security cameras than I thought."

    "They didn't," John said, with absolute certainty. He synced his earpiece to the phone and frowned a little when he didn't immediately get Finch fussing in his ear.

    "Something wrong?" New Guy asked.

    "Maybe," he said. "Doesn't matter yet."

    "All right," he said, dubiously.

    "So...so where do we go from here?" Ms. Boyd asked. "Assuming whatever doesn't matter yet doesn't start mattering."

    "You tell us your client's name so we can take care of the threat on your life," John said. "And by we, I mean myself and my associates. Presumably the gentleman over there has his own plans."

    "I can help," he said. "I'm here anyway."

    "There you go," John said, gesturing at New Guy. "He'll help too."

    "I can't give you the name," Ms. Boyd said. "Maybe--maybe if we could get our hands on Calliope's security feeds--"

    "Bad idea, unless you're a really good slicer. I don't think we should bring anyone else into this mess," New Guy interrupted.

    "No need for that," John said. "My associates already have them."

    "What? How?" Ms. Boyd asked, half-rising from her chair.

    John merely gave her a flat look, and turned back to New Guy. "There are several other people involved already who we can turn to." Assuming he could get in touch with them.

    He nodded, taking that in stride. "Great," he said. "We could use the backup. Is this one of your rally points?"

    "No, but there are some." If all else failed he'd take them to the library, though Finch wouldn't like that.

    New Guy nodded again. "I don't know the area like you do, so your call when to move," he said. "...does this place have cameras? Be nice to get a better look at what's outside."

    John tried to imagine a place that Finch had designed lacking cameras, and utterly failed. "There are, but I don't know how to access them yet."

    "Let me see what I can find," New Guy said. "I used to work with machines a lot when I was a kid."

    John shrugged. "Be my guest," he said, and then the earpiece kicked back in. "--ese? Mr. Reese!"

    "Got you," he said, with more relief than he was willing to admit.

    "Who?" Ms. Boyd asked, while New Guy started examining the walls; probably looking for hidden panels or something along those lines.

    "Shh," John told her, and listened to Finch fuss at him for a solid thirty seconds before he broke in. "As touching as this is, I have our number and an unrelated person here."

    "Hah!" New Guy said. "Found it." He produced a multitool from--somewhere, and began opening a panel behind another one of the awful paintings. "Also, hello to your associates."

    "Unrelated person says hello," John said, and then, "He's looking for the cameras." A pause. "Finch says connect the red leads."

    "Thanks," he said, then, after a little more fiddling, got them up and running. "...okay, there's someone hanging out on the corner down there. Not sure if they're with the shooters from earlier or unrelated, but they're definitely armed, whoever they are."

    "Finch?" John asked. "No idea on our end either."

    "Great," New Guy said. "He's covering the main exit. I don't see anyone around the back, but if he's not alone, he may be herding us there. I can see a couple places in that alley where I might set an ambush. If I wanted to. Thoughts?"

    "You won't need to," John said, leaning forward to watch. This was going to be fun.

    Sure enough, a suppressed muzzle flash off in one corner said the problem was under control.

    "Okay, heading out the back, then," New Guy said. He switched to the front cameras; the guy out there was on his phone. "...probably sooner rather than later."

    "Wait for it," John said, and had the pleasure, a moment later, of watching Fusco football-tackle the guy in front and send his phone skittering across the concrete.

    "I stand corrected," New Guy said, and grinned at him. "Your team's good."

    "They're all right," John said, and went out to help Fusco zip-tie the one in front. Shaw showed up a moment later, not a hair out of place, eyeing their number and New Guy in a vaguely predatory way.

    "I still have no idea what the hell is going on," Ms. Boyd said.

    "People were shooting at you, and other people tried to help," New Guy said. "That's about where I am. Hi."

    "Hello," Shaw said. "You are?"

    "I'm--uh," he said. "Owen. I’m Owen. Concerned...fourth party, I think we decided? There was shooting, I couldn't not get involved."

    "Owen," Shaw said. "Sure. I'm Shaw."

    "Nice to meet you," he said. "Glad you and your partner out front found us."

    Shaw snorted. "He's not my partner."

    "What am I, then?" John called to her.

    "Lesser wannabe," she shot back.

    "So," Ms. Boyd cut in, "so the people hanging around outside were the same group? Or just coincidence?"

    Owen shrugged. "I'm guessing different--guys out back didn't respond the right way to Shaw. Not as well-trained. But they could just be a lesser backup team."

    "They're idiots," Shaw said, "but you're probably right. Seriously, how many people did you sell this to?"

    "I didn't sell it to anyone!" Ms. Boyd protested.

    "Earlier, she told us she hadn't had a chance yet," Owen clarified. "But I don't suppose you've done some unrelated work for a local syndicate or anything?"

    "N--" Ms. Boyd stopped, and corrected herself. "Not...recently, anyway."

    "How recent is recent?"

    "Six months ago," she said. "But I did the job, handed over the property, and got paid, so that should all be settled."

    "I love how you hit should," Shaw said. "Who was it for?"

    "I can't tell you that," she said.

    "It's like you want us to leave you to die," Shaw said.

    "My clients hire me because I'm good at what I do, and I'm discreet," Ms. Boyd said. "I don't give out their names."

    Shaw put a hand up to her ear, and then said, "Oh, okay. Well, it's not them."

    "We know who it is?" Owen asked.

    "One of them, anyway," Shaw said. "Called in a favor. Elias says hi."

    "Uh," Ms. Boyd said. "Right."

    Owen just shook his head and went back to the cameras. "Are we planning on staying here, or moving?"

    "I'm staying here until someone tells me where to go next," Shaw said, and gave Ms. Boyd a pointed look.

    "What are you looking at me for?" she said. "I told you, I can't name my clients."

    "Nice knowing you then," Shaw said.

    "You already know it was the Calliope people shooting at me," she said.

    "It's not that simple," Owen said. "Big scary projects like that have a lot of moving parts. Besides, if your syndicate friends are also after you..."

    "Can't help you unless we know where to go," Shaw said. "Got at least five clients killed."

    "Well, I don't know where to go, either," she said. "I didn't sell the information about Calliope to anyone. I don't know who's shooting at me."

    "Somehow I doubt that," Shaw said, dryly. "Somebody wants you dead."

    "Maybe someone other than Calliope," John said, reentering the conversation.

    "That's...the only thing that's been unusual in the past year," Ms. Boyd said.

    "Any chance someone from longer ago than that might've tracked you down?" Owen asked, eyes still on the camera feeds. "Former client, ex-lover..."

    "No, I don't think so," she said. "Not any exes, for sure."

    Shaw snorted, and turned to John. "So I vote we take this guy-" she hitched a thumb at Owen, "and leave."

    "Take me where?" he asked, looking up. "I mean. If there's more shooting, I'm happy to help, but I'm...sort of new in town."

    "I dunno," Shaw said. "Bar?"

    "Shaw," John said.

    "What? You heard her, she can handle herself."

    "That's not what--" Ms. Boyd said, then stopped, and took a breath. "Look. I get that you're trying to help, and that the people shooting at me actually--but my clients are private for a reason. And half the time, we use code names anyway."

    "Look," Shaw said. "You want help, you gotta help us. You're not doing that, I assume you don't want help. I got better things to do."

    "It's not that I don't want help," she said. "It's that I have a life I need to get back to when this is over, okay? Wasn't easy building up my client list. I don't wanna ruin it."

    "People don't tend to notice us," John said, feeling that it was probably time for the bad cop bit to end. Not that it was a bit for Shaw.

    "And like I said, I'm not from around here," Owen said. "Not like I'd recognize any of the names, or could do anything with them even if I did."

    "Bet Finch knows 'em all anyway," Shaw muttered.

    "...the guy who sent me into the building, where I ran across Calliope," Ms. Boyd finally said, after another moment's thought. "I don't know if this is his real name--it's all anonymous bank transfers, you...seem like the kind of people who know how it works."

    Owen arched an eyebrow. "Something tells me that the account number is a good place to start?"

    "Yep," John said. Shaw held up her phone, ready to text. "What's the name?"

    "The name he gave me was George Read," Ms. Boyd said. "Like I said, I'm not sure it's real. Account number...uh. I have it in my phone. ...which is broken."

    "Anywhere else?" John asked. "Is the SIM card intact?"

    "I have a safe in my apartment," she said. "If we want to try and get there. As for the SIM card...I don't know." She pulled the phone out of her pocket--the screen was cracked, probably beyond repair. "I think I landed on it while we were running."

    "Just a minute," Finch said sharply in John's ear. "George Read? Can she spell that?"

    "Can you spell George Read?" John repeated, obediently.

    "George is like how George is always spelled," Ms. Boyd said. "Read has an 'a' in it. R E A D."

    "...I feel like that means something," Owen said.

    Finch swore in his ear. "Delaware signer of the Declaration of Independence."

    "Well, fuck," John said.

    "Ooh," Shaw said. "I'm getting the shotgun. Those Vigilance guys are wiggly."

    "Vigilance?" Ms. Boyd said. "Great. Just great. I just outed a privacy terrorist."

    "If it's not his real name, you haven't outed anyone," Owen said, half-reaching for something at his waist, as if on instinct, then frowning faintly and resting his hands on the table instead.

    "Is he in this picture?" John asked, noting Owen's movement and filing it away for the moment. He held his own phone out to Ms. Boyd.

    She scanned the photo. "Him," she said. "I may not get real names, but I've got a good memory for faces. That's Read."

    "His name really is George," Finch said in John's ear, "but not, obviously, Read."

    "We know who he is already," John told Ms. Boyd, ignoring Finch.

    "We're shooting at him already," Shaw said, brightly.

    "So," Ms. Boyd said, "the guy who just happened to be on hand when either Vigilance or whoever started shooting at me...is already fighting Vigilance? That's a hell of a coincidence."

    "Not really," John said.

    "Groups like Vigilance," Owen said, "will find a reason to fight just about anyone who isn't one of them. Sooner or later. I don't know much about this group in particular, but I've dealt with people like them. And I can't see Mr. Reese or Ms. Shaw falling in line with people like that. So, if they've met, they've fought."

    "Yeah," Shaw said. "Plus, no offense, we don't care about you."

    "Shaw," John said again. "We will keep her alive."

    Shaw rolled her eyes. "Obviously but we weren't stalking you or anything. I heard your name for the first time today. We didn't care about you before today and after we save your life we will stop caring about you entirely."

    Ms. Boyd stared at her. "That's...is that supposed to be comforting?"

    John sighed. "Just... don't pay attention to her. What she's trying to say is that it isn't a coincidence because we are fighting Vigilance, and you just got caught in the middle."

    "Right," she said. "Okay."

    "It does seem odd," Owen said. "That Vigilance would hire you to break into a building holding something like Calliope, but not into those specific offices. ...I'm not asking you to tell us what you were hired to steal, but is it possible that Read and his people were using you as a way to test Calliope's security systems, so they could make a move of their own?"

    "Sounds like them," Shaw said. "Slippery bastards. I should get the grenade launcher instead."

    "No grenades when the number is in the room," Finch said. "Miss Shaw, please take Ms. Boyd to Ms. Morgan, and then return to the library. Mr. Reese, please bring your... new acquaintance there as well."

    "Really?" John said, feeling his eyebrows rise. "You sure?"

    "Quite."

    "Are we moving, then?" Owen asked. "...if it's somewhere you don't want me to find again, you can blindfold me, if it would make you more comfortable."

    "We're moving," Shaw said, pointing at Ms. Boyd. "You're not. Stay put."

    "I gave you the name," Ms. Boyd protested.

    "You're going somewhere safe," Shaw told her. "I'm the escort. Get your stuff."

    "Right," Ms. Boyd said, looking somewhat less than thrilled as she grabbed her purse. "...do you guys still want my phone, or since you know who Read is, are we good?"

    "We're good," John said.

    "We don't care about you anymore," Shaw said.

    "Right," Ms. Boyd said. "You mentioned." She shoved her phone back in her purse. "I'm ready when you are, I guess."

    "Enjoy Zoe," John told her. "If she offers, say yes, it's fun."

    Shaw rolled her eyes again. "Come on, Fusco's coming."

    "...wait, did he mean--" Ms. Boyd started, then stopped. "Right. Okay. After you."

    "She seems nice," John said, to no one in particular, and then, after they'd departed, turned to Owen. "We are going somewhere, though."

    "I figured," he said, and smiled briefly. "Glad you're interested in letting me keep helping."

    "Mm," John said, reasonably sure that' wasn't at all what Finch wanted from the man, but not particularly willing to disabuse him. "The blindfold will look odd."

    "True," Owen said. "...you could put it on me once we get to the car?"

    "We're not taking a car," John said. Finch had provided him with a motorcycle for this number, for reasons that escaped John, but he was not about to complain.

    "Right," Owen said. He hesitated for a moment, as if considering something, then shook his head. "Sorry, I'm out of other viable options. Even if a full-face helmet wouldn't probably also stick out, I really hate them, they make me claustrophobic."

    "You will have to wear a full-head helmet," John said, "for safety reasons, but it is at least clear glass."

    "So, a bike, then," he said. "Okay. Yeah, clear glass, I can do."

    John raised his eyebrows at him. "Good, because we don't want to be pulled over."

    Owen winced. "Yeah, let's...let's not do that. And, uh, sorry that blindfolding probably won't work, but if it helps, I'm probably not going to be in the city very long?"

    John had had some inkling of that. "Why won't it work?"

    "Because you said it would look odd?" Owen said.

    "Briefly."

    "All right, then," Owen said. "Blindfold it is. Ready when you are."