#i know i’m on the fandom websites but truly i will never understand this drive in people

[strixhaven]

i’m so baffled anytime i see people with alien ocs for the avatar movies. i genuinely cannot believe that anyone who watched those movies 1) remembers literally anything from them and 2) cares enough about it make their own characters

[ironmansuuucks]

Heyyyy, I'm new to the fandom (and tbh don't really understand Tumblr) so idk if this is the correct way to do this lol I ADORE your Dewey fanfics and would love one where Dewey and the reader first get together? Like first kiss story? I haven't read any yet. The rest is open to you ✨ Thank youuuu 💕

hello my lovely, welcome to this weird and wonderful fandom! this is honestly the best fandom i’ve ever been in, everyone is so so lovely and amazing and you’ll love it here!

this piece is super super SUPER cliched lol but it was fun to write and i hope you enjoy it!💕💕

Dewey was probably driving faster than he should have been. But he was high on adrenaline, and so were you. The street lamps flew past in a blur, illuminating the deserted, midnight roads. However the light pollution was little enough that you could still see the stars if you ducked your head and looked up at them from the van window. It was November. It was cold. Dewey had to scrape the van windscreen when the concert ended. His hands freezing from the ice.

The venue had been almost an hour away from the town you and Dewey lived in. which was fine. It just meant a longer time for you both to jam out in the van. The van was warm, and cosy, and Dewey must have replaced the air freshener as the woody smell of cinnamon filled the space. Your favourite.

The mix tape Dewey had on was impressive, and you had to mentally remind yourself to ask him for a copy as you belted out the lyrics to Paradise City by Guns n Roses. Again, your favourite.

Both of your ears were ringing and the after gig buzz was still coursing through your veins. You could hears Dewey’s rough, gravelly voice singing along to the song, sounding almost sore from all of the singing and shouting he had been doing. It was delightful. You could get used to that voice. It gave you butterflies.

The thing was, this was only your second date with the wannabe rockstar, and it just so happened that a band you both liked had been playing just outta town. Perfect.

You did know one another, but only really through friends of friends. This was the first time you had really spent time together. Just the two of you.

He seemed as though he had been having the time of his life. Or you hoped he was. You were. Those damn butterflies hardly left your insides, fluttering all night.

You didn’t know it yet, but the fluttering was also happening to him.

You couldn’t get your mind off of the way your bodies had brushed up against one another during the concert. Between the music filling your soul, and Dewey occasionally brushing up against your back or side, you were in heaven. The way his hair flopped as he moved his head along to the music made you want to run your hands through it, and the way his eyes seemed to delve into your soul when you caught one another’s gaze was intriguing. It felt good to have someone share such a passion for music. It was exciting. He was dreamy. And he had made you laugh all night. So much so you swore your ribs would be sore in the morning.

“yes I totally agree! Tea without cookies are boring as hell” you’d giggle at the randomness.

“yeah its like, website: we use cookies to improve our performance… me: same”.

“yeah I run a tight shipwreck” he would joke about his afterschool music club with the kids.

“no, a balanced diet is having a piece of pizza in each hand, y/n..”

“you know.. I say ‘woah’ to a lot of people.. and I think they misinterpret why..? they ain’t always good woahs”

 You got nervous as he turned into your street. You didn’t want to leave him yet. The night had been so fun.

Would he kiss you?

You shook your head to yourself a little. What if he had a crap night and was just being nice? What if he thought you were super boring and never wanted to see you. Internally panicking, you looked over at him and flashed him a quick, sheepish smile.

He returned.

His head was also spinning. Should I kiss her? What if she think’s I’m boring? She probably think’s I’m ugly. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.

The van pulled up with a jolt. The events of the night truly coming to a halt.

“here, I’ll get the door for ya” he hurried himself out the van and into the cold air to come open your door. You watched the way his breath could be seen in the cold, winter night, and the way he hunched his shoulder’s a little to stay warm.

He smiled at you as the door opened. His hand went to his middle as he half bowed as you stepped out of the van “m’lady”. You rolled your eyes, laughing at his goofiness. “why thank you good sir” you opted for a posh English accent, half bowing back at him. what on earth were you doing.

Dewey closed the van door and put out his arm for you. “would the good lady like a supportive arm so the good lady does not fall on the ice?” he now also opted for a posh English accent. “the good lady would” you returned, taking his arm and giggling away.

It felt therapeutic to be vibing with someone who had the same goofy energy as you did.

It also felt thrilling to have his body brushed up against yours again. His warmth was helping to fight off the cold. It was like -3.

You glanced up at him, your eyes glistening with excitement, and your mouth curling to the biggest grin, letting out a little giggle. Dewey admired the way your cheeks lifted when you grinned at him. and the way your cheeks were blushed from the cold was captivating and cute as hell. He was smitten.

He couldn’t help but smirk back at you as he walked you to your door.

The path seemed to never end. And it wasn’t a long path. You looked back down at your boots. “I honestly had the most awesome night tonight Dewey” you looked back up at him.

He swore his heart skipped a beat when those words hit his ears. A little bit relieved, but a big bit excited. “me too! The concert was amazing… and I suppose the company was pretty okay too” he winked at you as you arrived at your door, nudging you a little.

You chuckled, hitting his arm playfully.

“no seriously, I had an awesome time with you tonight.. and you-you look really pretty tonight” he smiled bashfully before he stumbled over himself.. “not that you don’t always look pretty.. you do!.. I uh..” he scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

You blushed, smiling at him stumbling. “thank you Dewey.. you look pretty good yourself” you ruffled his hair a little, relishing in the feeling of finally feeling it through your fingers. He chuckled.

The air felt awkward for a second. You looked into his eyes, before looking at his lips, then back up to his eyes. Was he gonna kiss you?

He felt so nervous. He swore his hands were sweating even though it was literally -3 outside. His heart was pounding in his chest. But still, his face inched closer to yours, and there was no other place he would rather be.

The butterflies had returned. This time in full force. So much so that it felt like they may just flutter out of your mouth. But still, your lips parted, and your head inched closer to his. You were both pretty close already. You feel his breath on your face. It was welcoming and warm, an enjoyable contrast from the cold of the winter.

You suddenly felt his warm hands on the sides of your face as he closed the gap between you, his top lip finding its place in between yours as both of your eyes fluttered shut.

It was so delicate. His lips barely brushed yours, softly, like butterfly wings and just long enough for you to inhale his breath, and feel the warmth of his skin. You had never gotten so lost in a kiss before.

Dewey swears his heart is skipping beats and he never realised how starving he was until he tasted you. He had kissed before, but it didn’t leave him burning the way this one did.

And then he parted. His hands falling from your face as his lips ghosted yours, his eyes opening. He admired the way you looked before you opened your eyes; so content and beautiful.

Opening your eyes to the handsome rockstar felt enthralling. His eyes dreamily gazing into yours. You wanted to do that again. So you did.

You pushed your lips to his again, without warning, without even really deciding to do it, but simply because you couldn’t have done anything else.

It wasn’t as soft. It was a little needier, a little more fiery. He opened his mouth, deepening it a little, allowing access. You could feel his scruff on your face now, tickling your skin. His hands brushed your hand, his fingers suddenly intertwining with yours.

Parting, you opened your eyes, admiring the face before you. Your smile grew as you watch him smirk.

“woah…” he breathed.

“I hope that’s a good woah..”.

@thewolfisapartofmysoul @texasblues @paxenera​ @heknowshisherbs​ @missihart23​ @geminiacally​ @go-commander-kim​ @gegehaddock​ @baby-beej  @hoodoo12​ @large-unit​ ​ @bugdrinkss​ @ssheinaa​ @demonwifey​ @beetle-herbs 

[onisiondrama]

(Note: I’m not repeating stories he’s told before and just putting them in parenthesis. I have a lot more videos to go until I’m caught up so that would save me a lot of time. If he gives details I never heard from him before, I will type those.)

“Should I Get A Divorce?” Speaks,  Oct 6, 2020

- This video is weird. He’s trying to make himself seem smart and insightful about marriage because his marriage is “successful”, while most people complain about their marriage. - There’s one part where he says people don’t understand you don’t have to be lied to or cheated on in a relationship. Which is pretty ironic coming from him. He shows a clip of an upset wife asking her husband what he’s doing with a woman in a bedroom. The husband and the woman are getting dressed. The husband keeps asking “Who?” “What?”, pretending the woman isn’t there. Later he shows more of the clip where the wife is still questing him. He keeps pretending he doesn’t know what she’s talking about. She looks in the bedroom again and the woman is gone. The wife looks confused. Love that gaslighting. Just like when Jamsey boi cheats. “I didn’t cheat. It was the other person who cheated on you, my spouse” “You said I can’t have oral or vaginal sex with your friend. You didn’t say anything about anal.” - In another part he says there are people who constantly complain about their s/o and they hide away in a man cave.. he says this while in his garage man cave. 😑 Which we know he spends most of his time in. Like, way longer than normal working hours.  - He says he used to look angry in his old Speaks videos because of his marriage at the time. That’s total crap. He only shows clips from videos where he used his old militant persona for videos like his anti-meat videos. He made plenty of mushy Speaks videos talking about how happy he was with Skye back then too. 🙄 - I think he made this video during his short guru / advise phase.

“gotta say goodbye for a little bit” Speaks, October 8, 2020

- Tells his viewers they can listen to this video without watching it if they like to listen to people talk, like Kai used to do. [This is definitely meant to be another guru / advise type video. I can tell by his tone.] - Says he’s married to Kai for almost 8 years. (How Kai found James story) Says he married a fan and had children with them. He says they now have an awesome dynamic, but he knocks on wood because people who are together 18 years still get divorces. Says you never know, things can suddenly fall apart. - Says it’s cool because at the time he didn’t listen to social standards. Kai was 17 at the time, but lied about his age. Most people would have said don’t go for the relationship because Kai lied and the age gap, even though it was legal. He listened to the law and his heart and now he’s in the happiest marriage of his life. - “F society.” If he listened to society, he wouldn’t know where he’d be or what relationship he’d be in. Says you have to follow the legal system or your life is ruined. - Says he was an air force cop at one point because he believed in justice. He doesn’t think he wanted to shoot people, but he excelled in the cop program. He says he met Magic Johnson in the cafeteria at Lackland Air Force Base. He barely knew who Magic Johnson was, but he thought it was cool a famous basketball player was there. James asked him if he could take a picture and he said yes. He says he took a picture of him like a reporter and not a selfie. He still regrets that. - Says he wants to talk about the future of this channel. Some people appreciate he’s been uploading every day, but he wants to focus on sites that aren’t shadow banning people or algorithmically demoting people. He feels like Youtube is king in letting negative opinions prevail, even if it’s invalid. If the engagement shows people are mad at you, Youtube used to go the harsh truth route. He says that was nice. He says he once made a fake meltdown video in response to a video Leafy made about him. He says it’s fun for him to make fake meltdowns. - He says he and Kai took a quiz today and found out Kai’s IQ is 136 and his is 129, so Kai is smarter than him. - After the meltdown videos, Youtube algorithm didn’t favor him as much. He says maybe it was because he said they were fake. - He says he has been thinking about websites and how they treat users. Says Twitter is one the best because they don’t care about what your opinion is. They just care about their rules. Says if people don’t like you on other sites, they will shadow-ban you and you’re done for. He says his reaction video to Leafy’s video got 1/6th the views Leafy did, so there was a bleed over of traffic. Now when someone says something negative about you, YouTube will only promote videos that agree with that narrative. Says if you only want to hear negative stuff about Joe Biden, you’ll only see negative stuff. He says it’s financially productive, but it’s not ethically productive.

[I just want to pause here and vent a second. Yes, James fell out of the YouTube algorithm, but he’s had plenty of chances to sweep back into it. Like when he was getting tons of views on those fake meltdown videos in January. The reason those viewers didn’t stay is because there is nothing good for them to watch. His Speaks videos are boring, long, rambling messes. He repeats himself, contradicts himself, talks about the same topics over and over. These videos are mind-numbingly boring. His comedy videos are extremely outdated. The characters, topics, and humor he uses are not going to get him anywhere anymore. Like is the Death Note fandom really that strong in 2020? That anime came out 14 years ago for Christ sake. His music is not particularly good or interesting. On top of all this, his reputation is complete garbage.

People just don’t want to watch Onision. If the algorithm tried promoting his Speaks videos, I guarantee most people are actively choosing not to click on his videos. The non-subscribers that do click probably regret it. He’s made ZERO effort into making interesting or engaging content. He’s ONLY been making Speaks content that either fuels his ego or defends himself using the same old arguments he’s used 100+ times before. He’s got to be in some kind of deep denial if he thinks his Youtube views are down because of the algorithm. 

There used to be a saying that whenever Onision’s fans grow out of him, there will always be a crop of young teens that start watching him. That’s not happening anymore. It’s not cool for the alt / loner kids to watch edgy Youtube videos anymore.]

- Says people only want to hear things they agree with, people want to take what he says out of context, blah, blah. I’m only 1/4th of the way through this damn video. - He asks why he’s busting his butt when there’s no chance for him to prevail on Youtube or anywhere. He says he’s on TikTok, OnlyFans, Twitch. [This video was from before his partnership was taken away on Twitch.] He says those are slightly less problematic because they are driven by human beings and not drama. - He says when you see him posting less to Youtube in the future, you’ll understand why. He says he wants to wait you guys out, 2 years, 20 years. (He tried to call out Shane story.) He says he had to wait a year or two until people admitted he was right about Shane. He says he has conflicting feeling about Shane because they had a personal friendship. Says Shane told him they were friends. - He says you guys seem to drive your narrative and agendas by emotion rather than science and facts. He can’t reason with them unless he picked a greater evil and wages war on that. You would have to join forces with him because the enemy of my enemy is my friend. He says he wouldn’t do that because he’s not interested in being a professional wrestler and making fake drama. - In time you will feel passionately about other things. You don’t actually care about anyone involved because none of you are consuming yourself with anything that is not pop culture. You’re only interested in things other people are pretending to care about. None of you would care if someone found three bodies in a basement. If they were not celebrities you wouldn’t care. You only want justice for things that will get you attention. - If someone builds their whole platform about anti-person they might get bored and become anti-you. That’s why you don’t want to be friends with dramatic people. - He says he was dramatic about things, but that’s because he did care about those things. He wasn’t talking about 3 bodies in the basement either. - Says a long time ago when a celebrity died, he pointed out 30 people were murdered and washed ashore in another country. No one was talking about it because they probably didn’t hear about it. Nobody actually cares about human lives. If you did, every second that a human dies you’d be tweeting about it. - (Sarah blackmail story.) He says in a number of words Sarah said she wouldn’t ruin his life if she slept with him, then went back on it. [Wow. He really morphed his original story. It used to be: One time she jokingly said she could ruin our lives. Later we wanted her to sign an NDA and she said only if she gets something out of it, meaning sex. James said it was “good vibes” that day and he perceived that as her being kinky. She also said it was just a joke in the “proof” clip he always uses. They signed the NDA, then James pressured / tricked Kai into having sex with himself and Sarah. Then Sarah later came back and he decided they should have anal while Kai was out of town because Kai didn’t say no genital to butt. He only said no genital to genital and no genital to mouth before he left.] He says he decided to no longer sleep with Sarah because it was toxic and he decided he would rather be ruined than be with Sarah. [I have a theory he stopped sleeping with Sarah because he was afraid of Kai finding out. If he was truly afraid of Sarah ruining his life, why did he make those videos about weed smokers and BPD that would piss her off? She didn’t speak about their relationship publicly until he started bashing her through those videos.] Says Sarah went ahead and ruined his life and you fell for it. - He keeps mentioning Joe Rogan. - He says others have said he built an empire, uploaded thousands of videos. He gave so much of his life entertaining people and making them laugh. It was so important to him. He changed a lot of lives for the better. Says if you look on Twitter before the drama, you’ll see a lot of people thanking him. Says he was a positive influence to millions of people. That’s a fact. It all came crumbling down because people lied. They’re all criminals he kicked out of his life. He tries to play hero and he was only right with Kai. Kai wasn’t playing victim, he was on his way to college to be a surgeon. Once he was in the process of having kids, he lost the taste to be in a surgery room. Instead he got a bachelor’s in psychology. Kai’s diagnosis of James is aspects of narcissism, but says he doesn’t meet the qualifications to be a full blown narcissist. - He is investing a lot of time in people who don’t listen and don’t appreciate his content. Social media is a drug that tries to take up as much of your time as possible to make advertisers money. He doesn't create content that lies to you or brainwashing you into thinking your opinion is valid. He doesn’t pander to you to make money. Says when he says he’s one of the most honest people on Youtube, the bar is low. OnisionSpeaks is snake poison because snakes don’t survive on this channel. They aren’t going to have a voice that isn’t questioned. Most snakes on Youtube don’t even know how to activate charities on their channels. - Says he had a conversation with Kai about someone who said they vote for the economy over people. Humans are divided between helping their neighbor and helping themselves. - Says he was never taken to court because he never did anything. He’s still posting to places that he thinks is beneficial to himself and his family. Why would he stop because people have a bad idea of him? You shouldn’t alter your life just because people have an opinion of you. If you quit it makes you look guilty. If you quit you’re either guilty or incapable of dealing with it. He says he’s used to dealing with abuse since he began social media. - He wants to create content and help people and make them laugh. He wants to be socially capable and experienced. His ambitions are aligned with what he’s doing. - He says he can’t forgive his father if what people say about him is true. Everyone else he can forgive. If you are at odds with him, he doesn’t have any hate for you. He understands people can hear the wrong narrative and make mistakes. Says we are both imperfect people and have gone through different things. Says if we went through the same experiences, we’d think the same. Says we aren’t so different.  - Says he’s going away and he hopes you watch all his videos so you’ll know a little bit about who he is instead of listening to what Youtube manipulates you into watching. Says his advise is to quit social media. He wouldn’t quit because he’s passionate about it.

[harringrovelove]

Something Solid: Part I

A HARRINGROVE SUMMER OF LOVE HEADCANON

At the beginning of summer, school’s out (finally!) and the gangs all together, constantly using every bit of freedom to hang out: swim at Steve’s pool, ride their bikes, D&D, watch movies- you know, getting to be kids in general. The first part of the summer is marked by Billy apologizing to Lucas (my theory is after the events of last season Billy realizes it’s up to him to not become like his dad and therefore starts making an effort to be different), being a protective brother to Max- something she finds at times annoying and at other times endearing in a way she has always wanted from her brother, and Billy slowly but surely being accepted by Max and her friends- especially El. She has been oddly supportive of Billy from the beginning- of course Max knows why. This leads to Steve and Billy, the natural chaperones, spending more and more time together. Awkward and barbed at first, this quickly subsides over, basically, it’s more enjoyable to be getting along than constantly arguing. Plus, because Steve doesn’t give a shit what Billy thinks, Billy’s antagonistic antics are usually unsuccessful.  

So Billy & Steve’s summer is spent together, at first by circumstance, sometimes swimming with the kids or even D&D- Billy was reluctant at first but is now well and truly hooked thanks to Dustin (Dustin & Billy have their own nerd-bonding when Billy lets Dustin borrow his small -and secret!- but coveted comic book collection). And when Steve & Billy aren’t chaperoning, they start doing their own thing together like playing basketball- turns out they make a perfect team when Billy isn’t antagonizing Steve. Surprise surprise, these two dummies actually enjoying spending time together when they both let their guard down.

Of course various Upside Down things occur (nothing truly major) that lead to Billy finding out the truth about Hawkins & El, who is slightly in shock at first, a little disbelieving, but lets face it, Billy’s seen his share of monsters and these Upside Down creatures are just another breed to him. These monsters, Billy thinks, are easier to deal with- they aren’t disguised on the outside like people can be...like Neil. He deals and proves strangely dependable to group and Max. (Although clearly Steve and Billy are finding kicking monster butt together both thrilling & therapeutic).

No real danger, but there’s some solid stray demo-dog take-downs where they both have each other’s back and come out on top. Of course when Billy and Steve fight together they are magically in sync, almost like a dance; a monster-ass-kicking dance.  The few times the kids & Nancy + Jonathan were present to witness the Billy & Steve dynamic it just kind of stopped them in their tracks, staring as the two boys demolished 4 demo-dogs together. When it was over, Steve & Billy, high on adrenaline, laughing and breathing heavy, looked over after high-fiving and noticed their friends staring, clearly clueless to how they appear: “What??” Billy and Steve say in unison. “uhhh, nothing, good jobs” are uttered as the group re-calibrates, no one sure how to explain it. Steve slings an arm of Billy’s shoulder, and vice versa as everyone heads to Hopper’s cabin for post-monster fighting ice cream and eggos.

For Billy and Steve, what started out as against-their-will bonding turns into real authentic friendship and then some: Billy confides in Steve the abuse he endures by his dad, and Steve admits to being haunted by the trauma surrounding the Upside Down and having to go home to an empty house every night. Billy gathers that Steve’s preppy rich-kid image couldn’t be further from the truth and Steve realizes that Billy isn’t the jock asshole he pretends to be.

Sometimes, when one can’t find the other, they know without question that they can find the other at the edge of the world (the rock quarry), and so will drive out and quietly keep the other company against whatever monster is haunting them that night. (It’s here at the rock quarry one night that Billy, unable to look at Steve, apologizes in a thick voice about that night at the Byer’s when he nearly beat Steve to who knows. And it’s here that Steve realizes that he’s already forgiven Billy, and even though Billy doesn’t think he deserves forgiveness, Steve makes it known…gently grabbing a now silently-crying Billy, holding him till he stops struggling and says “you’re my best friend.”)

And because I’m a slut for friends to enemies to would-be-lovers, these two are falling deep for each other without admitting it to themselves, let alone each other. And because Neil is Neil, he eventually gets angry about something random and takes it out on Billy- Billy gets cut/injured along his torso, and when he arrives at Steve’s (because going to his best friend’s house when he’s hurting is more comforting that he can bear to think, let alone say), naturally Steve has him sit with his shirt off at the kitchen table while crouching down to tenderly clean up Billy’s injury. Cue Steve feeling extremely protective over Billy + wanting to destroy Neil, and feeling heat in a way he can’t give words to because Billy is here, half naked in front of him, so close he can smell him and it’s dizzying. Cue Billy being frozen by the intimacy of being truly cared for by his best friend and feeling warm everywhere because having Steve’s hands actually touch him is awakening something (love!) in him that scares him.

“Guess this is what I get for being an asshole for all those years” Billy rasps jokingly to lighten to the mood. Steve stops breathing for a moment and maybe gets too intense, but he can’t help it, with Billy as he grabs his hand and makes him look in his eyes, saying shakily “This is wrong, Billy, what’s happening to you is wrong. But you’re not. You’ve done bad things, but you aren’t bad. Do you understand, Billy? You are not bad.” And it’s so intense that Billy can only dazedly shake his head yes as he tries to blink away the tears stinging his eyes. Steve nods briefly before going to back to cleaning Billy’s injury, and both are silently thinking I can do many things but being without you is not one of them.

This is the first night Billy stays the night- he sleeps in the guest bedroom right next to Steve’s and this becomes a frequent occurrence for Billy to stay over when he’s able to or can’t go home.  A few weeks later he’s sleeping over in the guest room (after the kids went home Billy & Steve drank Steve’s dad’s whiskey and played records and jokingly insulted the others taste in music) but gets woken up at some point in the night by Steve having a nightmare. When he rushes into the room- both of them in their little basketball shorts- Steve is already sitting upright on the edge of his bed, breathing heavy and mortified that he woke Billy up with one of his screaming nightmares. Billy crouches down in front of Steve, gently makes Steve look him in the eyes – they are so close they are sharing the same breath – and tells Steve he has nightmares too. Billy quietly tells him about his nightmares about his mom, his dad (doesn’t mention that losing Steve is now a feature in his nightmares now), and says, almost without thinking, that spending time with Steve helps his nightmares. That Steve can call him anytime he has one, anytime it gets too bad, that there’s nothing wrong with being scared of the big empty house and the monster that could be in the pool outside. That Steve is not stupid, and that he’s not bullshit. That Steve takes care of everyone all the time, and Billy gives a little huff of a laugh and nudges Steve’s knee when he says “so I’ll have to look after you”, trying to play it off like a joke and not like the promise it is. But Steve’s eyes glisten slightly in the dark as he softly says back “And I’ll look after you.”

Soft touches, shared glances, and brief blushing smiles become all too common between them in the weeks that follow (they try to rationally explain this away to themselves when they’re alone- that the other couldn’t possibly feel the same way, that they don’t want to lose the one real best friend they have by confronting feelings they’ve both never felt before). Of the short time periods they are not together- when Steve’s parents show up for a night or Billy has to stay home overnight because Neil- a void is felt by the other’s absence that both Steve and Billy start to admit (only to themselves, of course) feels painful in a way that nothing ever has before. That when they are together it feels right, feels solid. That the other feels like home. Like something they’ve never ever had before And it’s only when they are alone at night, in bed, thinking so loudly they are sure someone can hear them, will they acknowledge their biggest secret: that they are in love with their best friend.

END OF PART 1!

Part 2 coming shortly, but this is just a headcanon I would love for someone to take and turn into a full-fledged fic- that would be my dream! I just don’t think I can do it justice but if you want to take it on, just let me know, I would be thrilled! 

I had to re-write all this because it disappeared- honestly, I just don’t know how to Tumblr sometimes, but! this is the first thing I have creatively written for this website and it’s all because of my favorites who are my inspirations in this Harringrove fandom- you all are seriously amazing and beyond talented! I re-read your guys work consistently and it brings me such joy so I wanted to share my headcanon idea with you guys. Tagging my inspirations: @lymricks @toast-ranger-to-a-stranger @pizzacast @gothyringwald @flippyspoon @marsza @highon85 @lemonlovely @granpappy-winchester You guys are amazing!

[surflove808]

On Destiel and endgame hysteria

Sometimes I get fired up about some of the BS I see in this fandom and this is one of those moments.  This post will be a layercake of sentimentality, disappointment, anger and maybe a wee bit (a lot) of profanity.  So, you know. Back on my bullshit.

The show that we love, love to hate or hate to love, for better or worse, will see it's final curtain call at the S15 finale.  You don't need me to tell you how impactful it's been and how much it means to so many people for a variety of reasons that extend well beyond it's entertainment value.  All it takes is one scroll through social media to get a sampling of the reach of this little-show-that-could and by extension (and because of) it's cast, to see that it's beloved by so many.  And it deserves the praise, and the end deserves to be lamented - but like TFW has said over and over, and to paraphrase Frank Sinatra, they're doing it their way.  For that?  I'm happy.

The show has been described as a "juggernaut" and an "institution", and it is.  We all know the themes:  Finding *your* family, struggle, perseverance, dedication, making mistakes and not always learning from them (but trying), acceptance, the beauty in humanity even when all hope seems lost, redemption, and love... to name the big ones. Now about Love.  "Love" is not threatening to burn down houses if your ship isn't made canon.  "Acceptance" isn't threatening the cast, crew, producers and network with lawsuits if your ship isn't made endgame.  I saw a few posts like that today that had a very disappointing number of likes and reblogs and I'm kinda furious, to be honest.  You fucking twits.

As someone who enjoys the show, and respects the determination, sacrifice, hard work, creativity, and yes - Love -  that has been poured into this endeavor, I don't think I'm alone when I say -  JUST. STOP.  You whining, tantrum throwing, self-important, "wouldn't catch a social cue if it had a $100 bill attached to it and was tossed to you from 3 feet away", obnoxious, divisive children.  

Accept what the cast, the writers and Eric Freaking Kripke have told you?  No... can't do that.  Must hop from one lily pad of delusion to the next and have the gall to be self righteous about it.  And then pat yourselves on the back for being alternately clever, threatening and obtuse.  You're like the Donald Trumps of the SPN fandom.  You're not disliked because of your ship.  You're disliked because of your personalities.  Let that sink in.  No one is marginalizing you.  You chose to do this to yourselves AND your beloved ship via your words and actions.  You sunk your own battleship and now you’re pissed.  

I don't affiliate myself with any ship or the other factions of this fandom.... I don't get it.  I'm just a fan.  A fan of the story, the acting, the tragedy, the comedy, the characters and the character of the actors involved.  I don't know what a good "fan" is... don't care.  But I know what a bad one is.  A bad one thinks that they can take ownership of someone else's art just because they've "invested" in it. 

And I apply it to my own life in this way - Here I am doing my thing, putting my creativity out into the world... and what I create matters to me.  Every little bit.  I throw myself into the things I'm passionate about.  And not everyone is going to be thrilled with what I produce.  Some people will never see what I put out there, but word travels fast when you genuinely care about your craft.  I do what I do because it drives me, and always has.  And I do my best to stay true to MY story.  And the thought of someone trying to insert themselves into my story because they think they know my creations better than I do, makes me want to punch throats.  

And the thought of a group of people actually threatening me and the people I collaborate with because I'm not making their fantasy a reality??  Hey - get fucked sideways without lube, and throw some sand in there for extra discomfort.

I want you (and you know who you are) to have some accountability.  Please tell me in what scenario is your behavior warranted or appropriate.  Feel free to DM me.  I won't "out" you, and I'll never be abusive - I just need to know why.  (bullet pointing this because... reading comprehension)

1.  WHY is Destiel is the only representation you'll accept.  

2.  WHY do you think it's funny or "OK" to harass the creatives on this show constantly when you have absolutely no right to their story?  

3.  WHY do you think that pushing something so hard will get you what you want? 

4,   And lastly.... WHY is this so important to you? 

Can you possibly survive if Destiel isn't made canon?  Do you have other hobbies and interests that can fill your time?  Because some of ya'll are acting like this is the Be All End All of your existence and I'm here to tell you - it's really not.  If it DOES happen, it will be at the discretion of the showrunner and creatives, and I promise you it won’t be because they caved to the small, yet omnipresent faction of Destiehellers that have annoyed the ever-living fuck out of everyone attached to this show.  It’ll be on their terms.

The tantrum strategy stops working after age 4, usually....it just seems some of you are late getting the memo.  Thanks to your folks.  Well done.

Try to appreciate the show for what it is and always has been.  If your expectations are unreasonable and are buoyed by years of manips, misquotes and over-analyzation of brief "moments" between ANY characters, and you feel emotional enough about it to behave badly - it's time for a factory reset.  This show has never mislead you - you’ve bought into delusion and over-analysis and straight-up fiction pimped to you by fellow “fans” probably before you even watched your first episode.  It’s the weirdest thing I’ve seen.  And I’ve seen some shit. 

If you’re going to be angry... be angry at your friendly neighborhood Destiel dealer.  They chumped you to get more *buy* for their *supply*.  Them’s the facts.

That being said.... Can We Just Appreciate The Final Moments That This Amazing Cast And Crew Are Going To Give Us (and you know they will), And Let It The Fuck GO?  

You're welcome to block me (you probably should).  But before you do that, could you let this sink in a bit?  And if you see a fellow shipper being an entitled  douche - maybe hold yourself to a higher standard than they do themselves and don't perpetuate it/like/reblog it?  Because this behavior is well and truly a shitty way to treat the legacy of this groundbreaking show, and all those that are responsible for bringing it to life. 

In other words....Behave.  And have some goddamn dignity.

I’m not sure if I’m doing this right, but my response was so long.  Eh...whatever.  @jessiegail   I understand, and please allow me to elaborate. When I was scrolling through the Jensen tags (because the Dean and SPN tags have been overrun by a lot of people with zero respect for the character/show canon, so I stay away anymore.  That in and of itself should tell you something)... I was also sharing in the moment, and the news and wanted to see some SPN love and positivity. What I ran into almost immediately was, and I quote: "If they don't make destiel cannon (sic) for the series finale, I'll set their houses on fire. You've been warned." 87 people agreed with @moosewncstr on this sentiment.  Now... if it was one shitty person and people steered clear of any affiliation with them for threatening arson because they're completely off their fucking rocker.... that would be easy to ignore.  But 87 people??  That’s really, really bad. What I'm seeing and have been seeing, is a hive-mind mentality that doesn't care for acceptance. Doesn't care if it’s abusive. Doesn't care if someone gets their “feelings” hurt. And they absolutely Do Not Care if what they say incites the potential reality of violence, as long as they can force their ship down the throats of as many people as possible and Make It Canon.  

And by hive-mind, I mean - NO ONE in the Destiel camp seems to have the degree of autonomy (AKA:  Balls) required to rein in the bad apples in their bunch.  They either agree or stay silent.  So, because you can’t self-regulate, people like me with no concern or desire for your approval have to come in and tell you to knock your shit off.  You won’t.  But I feel better.  And maybe others will feel more comfortable to express their disapproval when shit like this rears its ugly head. Anyone who would think threats (just a joke...hahaha), are acceptable, and those who are in agreement can suck it. And i will not roll over and sing kumbaya with anyone who thinks this is ok. I'm generally careful with the headers and lead-in paragraphs to posts that are potentially inflammatory. A courtesy that is not extended by your brethren. You had ample warning that this post would not be kind to asshole shippers. I don’t think you are one of those people - but, if you’re defending this behavior, I can’t really empathize with you.  I also don’t want you to feel targeted.  This isn’t about YOU.  This is about endemic behavior that has become so toxic, it pretty much can’t be undone. As for paying anything forward, I do not owe people who act like this the time of day, much less a kind word. I have 2 choices:  I can stand by and pretend I don't see these things and block, block, block so that I can stay in my bubble. Or, I can take my own little stand on my own little blog and address genuinely disturbing behavior using language of my choice. What I will never do is threaten or abuse any individuals who question my logic. Downside is... you'll get a very long winded explanation. Go, be happy. Enjoy your ship. No one is telling you not to. I'm telling you right now, though - I can't and won't tolerate the bad apples. Best to block me if you're sensitive to the way I word my posts, but understand - I'm not promoting hate or abusive behavior - I'm fighting it. And I will continue to do so as long as I'm on this dumpster fire of a website, because I love this show and I believe all of the creative's, crew and fans deserve some fucking respect.

[its-love-u-asshole]

Pairing: Fushimi Saruhiko/Yata Misaki, Awashima Seri/Douhan Hirasaka 

Summary: Saruhiko would never admit to being inspired by...anyone really, but he's come to learn there are always exceptions.

Rating: T

Tags: fluff, established relationship, fushimi pov

Note: yooo ITS BEEN FOREVER!!! I assume this year will be the last sarumi fest, so I thought I should do at least a little something! I missed these two losers a lot, they're the pairing that brought me back to writing four years ago, and I owe the K fandom so much. I've met some amazing, lifelong friends, and whenever I remember my days in the fandom I just remember endless support and encouragement! I'm sad this will probably be the last K fic I'll ever write, but I'm also glad I'm sticking to my roots and delivering some plain old fluff ^^ (also seri and douhan pft I adore them) I hope you enjoy!

It starts with Douhan and Seri.

Saruhiko never would've expected it from them; out of all the people in his life who he's...somewhat comfortable calling friends, they're the two who annoy him the least. Sometimes they drag him to the gym or the mall, if for no other reason than to expose him to sunlight and fresh air...but even then, their words and the general cadence of their voices don't grate on his nerves.

He's...not entirely against being around them, is what he means.

Even when the two women began to date that didn't change, though he did avoid them during the first month. Back then, the intimate and subtle demonstrations of affection didn't compute in his mind. He couldn't make sense of them without feeling weird; a strange coiling would start in his gut and work through his body until he couldn't sit still. Like a code he couldn't crack or particularly rough work day, he couldn't figure out what it was about every delicate touch or private whisper.

It was uncomfortable, and he hated to admit that. He hated being bothered by things he didn't understand.

At least with large crowds or hot-blooded people, it was easy to explain away; they were annoying, simple as that.

Yet, like with a lot of other habits he'd clung to over the years, the instinct to shy away from understanding when it came to that level of intimacy began to be more trouble than it was worth.

There was just nothing to fuel it anymore, and besides...

Douhan and Seri simply embodied something he was grasping for, something he’d always been grasping for, though he refuses to admit it.

Back then, and now. Nothing has changed.

"I like you, Saruhiko!" Misaki says at the top of his lungs. It's too loud, the volume might make Saruhiko squint in distaste.

If it were anyone else.

Misaki had always been his exception, and he never liked to admit it.

Saruhiko's heart stops in his chest as he stares at his best friend, looking like a drowned rat on his doorstep. They'd met for dinner on the other side of town; by that time, it was a habit. No more distrust, no more fights...

Just a lightness Saruhiko never thought he'd feel again, something he's still not used to feeling.

And just when he thought he was okay with just that, just when he'd begun to ignore the nagging in his mind which always seemed to want Misaki closer and closer, the other decided to cross the distance entirely.

Saruhiko's honestly shocked the redhead was dealing with the same issues, but now there's no way to deny the possibility.

Because Misaki is here. He probably ran all the way back from his home at this ungodly hour because as always, he couldn't wait. He couldn't just...slow down.

And Saruhiko's completely powerless to do anything but cave.

When Saruhiko doesn't say anything for a while, Yata's rain-soaked features flood with red, and it’s not like that of his aura. "I-I mean, like-like you know?"

Yes, he does.

Shockingly he does.

Misaki is blushing for Saruhiko, and it's so satisfying and scary all at once.

"I probably always have but--I was waiting for you to get over yourself!"

Saruhiko almost laughs.

Of course. He could make fun of Misaki's shyness, his complete inexperience with anything resembling romance. How could he possibly know what he feels? How does he know Saruhiko deserves it?

Those are the instinctual questions which run through his mind, but they're not the last. Again, old habits don't necessarily fade away, but they lose some of their power, as all things do.

Saruhiko can't run from this, not this time.

He clicks his tongue after the longest silence in the world, and Misaki's fidgeting comes to an abrupt halt.

"Was that supposed to be a confession?" Saruhiko laughs, and for a moment, he sees the fear in Misaki's. The moment where he knows the expected defiance should be, the refusal. Saruhiko can't hold it against him, it's what part of him still yearns to do.

Yet, Saruhiko still defies expectation. "I bet I could do a better job."

It's a lie, his hands are shaking from how much of a lie it is. He's not sure what he's capable of these days, but when Misaki is looking at him like that...

He can't deny him anymore.

Misaki's eyes widen, the clear shock so priceless and satisfying, despite the uneven beating of Saruhiko's heart. Then, it's gone, replaced with a grin too bright and fiery. Lately, Saruhiko sees it a lot, but he'll probably never be used to it. Misaki scoffs, the challenge burning in his eyes. "Yeah? Prove it."

And in a matter of seconds, the doorstep is as empty as before.

Many would say he was just as bad as Seri and Douhan now. After that, things seemed to spiral. It’s been a year, but with Misaki, time seems to stretch on and on. His boyfriend has a habit of making everything they do together seem like the first time, it's a power Saruhiko has yet to understand.

But, otherwise, he's used to it now. He gets it, in a way. The intimate touches, the whispered words, he's familiar with them now, along with a hundred other small things which come with being with Misaki.

So, Seri and Douhan were no longer an issue.

For a year.

Unfortunately, here they are again, disrupting his normal stream of consciousness with a boulder, leaving him stranded and stuck without an ounce of knowledge of where to go next.

He watches from his desk as Douhan gets down on one knee, revealing a rose gold wedding band with opal in the center.

Why does Seri's desk have to be in his immediate line of sight?

Saruhiko's finger twitches as Douhan slides the ring onto Seri's finger; it's a fitting choice, given their different clans, he guesses. When it comes to accessories, Douhan always knows best. The opal reflects all the colors.

Douhan's normally neutral face is the same to any outside observe; but Saruhiko sees the gentle upward tilt of her lips, the shakiness of her usually precise hands.

It's overwhelming, but he can't look away.

Again, they've thrown him totally off center, and with what? A proposal?

Why does that bother--

He crushes the question like a glass bottle. He knows why, and he hates it. It's so pathetically vulnerable and unnecessary and yet...

He sees the way Seri blushes, the mistiness taking over her strict expression; Douhan is truly bold, coming to their place of work to make such a grand gesture.

The guys are already up and congratulating Seri loudly, but Saruhiko hears none of it.

Seri jumps into Douhan's arms and then green eyes meet him from across the room, like they know he's been watching. They always know.

Douhan gives him a knowing look, it doesn't even last a second, and then her focus is all Seri.

Saruhiko understands.

Yes, that's why the gesture bothers him, because unlike before, he does understand this. He just wishes he knew how to deal with it better.

The proposal bothers him for one reason and one reason only: he wants it.

Saruhiko wants.

And it never gets easier admitting that.

Beside him, his phone buzzes, like it tends to around this time. He knows exactly who it is before he picks it up, and it drives his new revelation home.

Misaki: Hey! We r still grabbing dinner yeah?!

Don't they always?

Saruhiko's eyes soften, he can feel it, and he can't do anything to stop them.

Saruhiko: We do every Thursday.

It doesn't stop him from being a bit of a smart-ass though.

He doesn't read the barrage of texts he gets after that, though the urge is there. His phone vibrates for a few seconds, some weak retort Saruhiko will no doubt tease his boyfriend for later.

Then, thirty seconds pass, and a reluctant buzz comes again. Saruhiko doesn't have to read it to blush, Misaki is so predictable sometimes.

There's about two hours until he's off work, not enough time for what needs to be done, but he pulls up a few websites anyways.

As far as rings go, there's a lot to weed through, some gaudy and some plain. He wrinkles his nose, and the light feeling in his chest doesn't leave him for the rest of his shift.

It takes him a while to realize it, but he finds he doesn't care what rings they have, all of them suit Misaki in Saruhiko's mind, and nothing will probably change that.

He doubts he'd try.

[vankoya]

uhm, not trying to sound rude here but if you’re not writing for us (which is understandable) or not for an audience (this isn’t), why do you even post it on Tumblr? Like, i don‘t get it, sorry. but you’ve had previous blogs and you already know how huge the audience is for your writings, and almost everyone in this fanfiction community is kind of ‚responsible‘ to make it enjoyable for the reader, if you get what i mean. if you’re doing this as a hobby and merely for you, i don’t get the 1/2

concept of publishing your stories onto a social media website. when every single constructive criticism is only answered with „This is a hobby. I am doing this for me.“ It is hard as a reader to get on your level and kind of find a connection. Especially the use of tags somehow shows that people want to gain an audience, it’s most likely not to categories the stories. as i’ve mentioned, i’m not trying to attack you. maybe i’m too dumb to get it. 2/2

All of my previous messages have been responded to rather sporadically and while I was busy, so they are somewhat all over the place. Now that I am sitting down and able to properly focus, I will try to clear up my perspective on this as eloquently as possible. Please read this in a calm tone, because I am not angry.

Long before I was even writing fan fiction, I was posting short stories and small pieces of writing to a personal Tumblr blog (completely unrelated to any fandom). Despite that a handful of my real-life friends were capable of seeing and reading those posts, since they were following that blog, I was writing/posting them for myself. I was never crafting them to suit somebody else. To me, that was generally the primary use of a blog; to document parts of your life, your thoughts, your creativity and hobbies. So the reason I started posting my fan fiction to Tumblr was because that was what felt natural to me, after having been posting my other stories to that personal blog for about three years. During those three years, I was not writing my stories down in a journal. I was writing them in a Tumblr text post and archiving them in an online journal; that blog. I hope that addresses why I began posting my stories here.

As for your: “Almost everyone in this fan fiction community is kind of ‘responsible’ to make it enjoyable for the reader,” comment, I guess I must be the percentage that is not completely the case. I genuinely think that is kind of... silly and borderline entitled. I have never read any fics on here with the thought: “I hope this is enjoyable for me, because it is fan fiction and so the writer has written this specifically for me,” in mind. I think I do somewhat get your intentions, if you are meaning it is because the majority of fics posted by the community are in second person perspective and/or reader-insert. Which is still, you know, not a good enough reason to say it is therefore the writer’s ultimate responsibility to make it enjoyable for the reader. I feel like most fic writers would not react nicely if you said that to them. 

Bottom line is that we do not owe such responsibility or enjoyment to anyone. We are just real people with real lives who are writing fics because we love writing, and we wish to share that fun with the rest of you.

Continuing on, this is a hobby, and I am doing this for me. When I say that I am writing for myself, I mean that I am writing fics for my own fun, and to work on my writing style. If I was writing for others, I would have requests open and be tailoring everything I write to the precise desires of those who are so insistent on me better suiting it to them. When I say that I am writing as a hobby, I mean that I am writing fics in the precise same way that I wrote those short stories for my personal blog all those years ago. When I answered an ask with: “I am not here to accumulate readers or notes,” I meant that having readers is a freaking wonderful bonus, but I could delete my blog right now, start on a clean slate, and be just as happy. When I also answered that ask with: “I am not here to cater to any particular audience outside of myself,” I meant that I am not here to alter my writing style so that it better suits a particular age group, reading level, etc. 

So yes, I am answering constructive criticism with such responses because 1. I am doing a double-major at my university for creative/professional writing, where I already receive a ton of constructive criticism from my tutors and peers, and 2. I consider this space as a free one where I write how I want, what I want, and as nothing more than a hobby. But the main issue with the “constructive” criticism I have received lately (save for the one about run-on sentences) is that none of it is necessarily constructive. The thing with constructive criticism is that it is not only meant to help you improve, but it is supposed to inspire you to do so. It provides you with new ideas and methods to orchestrate into your work, whilst simultaneously giving you the creative drive to pursue them. And I can tell you for sure, being told that I am trying to “pull off an ‘I am an author’ concept” is certainly not inspiring.

In regards to audience, what I am trying to say is that it was never my intention to have one. I am very clearly presenting my stories to an audience now. But I did not start posting my fics on my first fic blog, sugasmut, with the thought: “I hope somebody reads this,” because I never had that kind of thought when I was posting short stories on my personal blog. Though once I slowly started to gain a reader-base, I realised that hey, people actually enjoy my writing. From there, I never expected fic writing to become such a big part of my life, nor for this many people to join me in that. So yes, while my initial intentions of posting my writing on here remain to be true (a fun hobby that focuses on developing my style), I am now happily sharing that with the incredible readers who have become interested in my writings along the way.

Anyway, here is the core of this massive rant in a neat summary:

I started posting my fics on here due to force of habit from when I posted non-fandom short stories on a personal blog, back when I was a teenager; I never thought I would gain an audience, nor did I aim for that

I am writing for myself and as a hobby; by that, I mean I am writing for my own improvement and for my own personal enjoyment/fun (not the literal: “I am only writing for me and only I am allowed to read it!!”)

Although I am posting such stories online as a hobby, it is not a call for constructive criticism; I receive enough professional constructive criticism in my course that I am actively applying to my style

“Almost everyone in this fan fiction community is kind of ‘responsible’ to make it enjoyable for the reader,” is highly incorrect, please do not think like that

I love and adore my readers beyond comprehension, and I am truly honoured that they enjoy my writings, I respect them with my whole heart

[solisnumen]

EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.

I’m going to be as calm as I can be and simply talk to everyone once again. It doesn’t matter from which fandom you are. It doesn’t matter who you are and what you are doing. It happens everywhere and we may not know it as much as we want.

I’m turning twenty this year, so I’m speaking from my own experience. I’m not a saint nor I am a sinner. I’m not perfect and no one is perfect. There is no person who has only good qualities and nothing bad. Those people do not exist. With that, I speak as a human. And I speak to all people who may read it. There is no one mentioned as I’m speaking of everything that’s been happening in past few months. 

You can agree or disagree with me, it doesn’t matter to me. I’m here to have fun and not abuse my fun. You may call me all-knowing, get angry with me after this post, call me a heartless bitch. Once again, it’s your own opinion and you can interpret it as you wish.

People on this website tend to find haven and a place where they can have fun. However, there is no place on Earth that is 100% safe and there is no place on earth where all people will be happy. It’s impossible on its own as we all want our own things, and if you are only giving you all to everyone --- you will die mentally because you will be used without people even understanding it. Simply because you are kind, simply because they feel safe around, simply because they feel happy around you. We’re all succubus/incubus in our own way because we’re draining energy from others also known as emotions and we affect people. We affect each other and it doesn’t matter if we are talking to each in real life or here.

Words affect people. The power of words was what was driving people first and foremost. The most influential speakers have always been followed because they affected people; they made themselves look valuable, strong, independent, someone who could save others. With that in mind, you have to understand that everything you type may affect people. Your good and bad comments. Your critique and your behavior affect people.

We are all humans behind screens. And some people take this life seriously because they can’t find themselves in the real world. Sadly, that is the truth. Addiction to the internet life is a serious mental problem like any addiction, but some people find salvation within this web. Because it’s the only way they can feel happy. And don’t we all wish to be ‘happy’? Yes, of course. After all, deep down inside even the most twisted desires are born from a simple single wish to be ‘happy’.

And you know what is always standing between people both here and in the real world? The lack of communication. The intimidation. The fear. Some people put other people on a pedestal. Some people see themselves superior. Both of those are wrong. We are all humans, we are all here to live on and have fun. We are here to live on and get our happiness.

However, with this, we hurt each other because we don’t communicate enough. On the internet, the lack of communication is drastic, unhealthy, and hurtful. People don’t understand each other, they attack and get defensive. Some people are extremely sensitive to a variety of topics, but that sensitivity and emotional outburst will never help anyone. 

People need to calmly explain themselves and show how they are feeling. We must NOT send anon hate. We must NOT vague about people. We must NOT assume things before trying to understand the other person. We must SPEAK TO EACH OTHER because that’s how conflicts can be talked out and people can come to understanding. The power of words is immense, it’s basically a superpower that we were all given. It can be used for both good and bad things.

People need to understand that words do hurt. People need to understand that you are always responsible for what you are doing. Being toxic, isolate people, blame them… Only weak people are doing that. Only weak can be like that and it saddens me that people are turning that way because of bad experiences and because they think that it’s “alright” to speak such vicious things. I will tell you, it’s not alright. It’s not alright to vague post. It’s not alright to write anon hate. It’s not alright to abuse people with no evidence that they indeed are doing a bad deed. 

Teach people about what they are doing wrong. Teach people about how they can get better. Show people a better path to follow. Be better. Be stronger yourself. Be more open yourself. Be someone who can help other people not repeat their mistakes. Be someone who can explain what bad things other people are doing and what not to do. We are all humans and we are all doing mistakes. 

Yes, there are people who truly hurt others. Yes, there are people who do harm society. Yes, there are people who create such awful things and events that it makes me angry to be a part of humanity. However, we must accept that these things happen and we must understand that a lot of things happen in the world. Same double standards that appear in the real world and here. Mistreatment of people and characters.

So can we just chill out and speak to each other?

You are not showing yourself better if you are doing anything to hurt another person. You are not showing how smart you are by accusing someone. You are not better if you shit talking behind people’s backs. This happens EVERYWHERE: internet and real life. But we need to be better as people ourselves. We need to stop being so defensive and become a bit more open-minded. We’ve all been hurt. We’re all having our problems, but being childish and emotional never solved anything. Being ignorant and arrogant never solved anything.

Let’s all stand up again hate, mistreatment, manipulation of other people, inequality, double standards, and vague blogging. Those are bringing real-life harm as much as mental & cyber harm. We are better than this and we must be strong to overcome it.

If you are afraid to do so and speak out, find power in yourself because life is not easy and people are cruel beings on its own. 

If you are strong, help out other people because you will fall at some point and if you are being a douchebag, no one will help you get up when you will be weak. 

We must work together in order to find our happiness and live on. We all must work together in order to make ourselves better. You know why? Because world peace is a shit idea that will never happen, but we can make ourselves better and just have our opinions without hurting each other. We can argue but not lead other people to self-harm and doubting themselves.

Of course, things are never that easy. Of course, things will never be perfect and logical. It’s impossible, but can we all just try to be more open and talk to each other to solve problems? Can we just try to be less defensive, less (extremely) sensitive and think that everyone is an enemy? Yes, we have bad people in our lives. Yes, we had bad experiences. But that doesn’t have to turn us into the same kind of bad people (or even worse, God forbid!). You know why? Because we’re better than that. I want to believe in it.

Feel free to reblog. I think it considers more than just ‘fandom’ or ‘rpc’. It touches all of us both on the internet and in real life. 

[aion-rsa]

Did The Irregulars Need its Sherlock Holmes and Watson Connection?

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Warning: contains some plot details for The Irregulars

There are Sherlock Holmes purists in this world, but I’m not among them. You want to put Sherlock Holmes on a spaceship, or make him a quarterback, or a hedgehog, or a woman? Go for your life. Make him Elton John for all I mind. Just show me a Sherlock who uses genius powers of observation and deduction to solve unsolvable crimes in whatsoever context, with whatsoever number of claws, X chromosomes or Top 10 hits and we’re good. 

The cases are the thing. As long are there are brilliantly devised deductions delivered by a rationalist whose knowledge of the chemical make-up of a particular brand of cigar ash proves that yes, it was the uncle all along, then that’s Sherlock Holmes, whatever the wrapping.

Despite having all the wrapping, The Irregulars – the new Netflix series set in the Holmes universe – isn’t very Sherlock Holmes at all. Yes, it takes place in the late 19th century around 221B Baker Street. It has a case-of-the-week structure – at least to begin with. It features characters named Dr Watson, Mrs Hudson, Inspectors Gregson and Lestrade, as well as Sherlock Holmes and his brother Mycroft. It’s inspired by the Baker Street Irregulars, the network of homeless kids used by Holmes in the original stories to seek out information and run errands. All this, and still the final product isn’t particularly Holmesian.

To some extent, that’s because it’s not about Sherlock Holmes. It’s about the gang of teenagers hired by Dr Watson to help investigate a series of unusual happenings in London. Holmes doesn’t even show up until halfway through. When he does appear, he’s nursing personal pain and far from the Great Detective of reputation. 

New stories are expected to take liberties with established characters, but The Irregulars makes its Holmes so unrecognisable that you may question why he has to be Holmes at all. Given another name, Henry Lloyd Hughes’ chaotic, tortured character would function every bit as well in the story, without risking the disappointment of Conan Doyle fans who’ve turned up to see a new take on a beloved and familiar creation.  

The same goes for Royce Pierreson’s Dr Watson, here reimagined as a shadowy villain hiding a secret. Devotion to Sherlock aside, there’s barely a scrap of John Watson in him. Nor is there much evidence of Holmes’ distinctive deductions across the series. Come to The Irregulars expecting the Holmes universe and you’ll likely leave frustrated. 

That’s partly because the very genre of the series is at odds with the world created by Arthur Conan Doyle. The Irregulars is a supernatural show. It’s about a psychic girl who, along with her sister and friends, track down the super-powered culprits behind odd occurrences in London. Bird men, tooth fairies, hypnotic sirens, a shape-shifter, a Dr Frankenstein-like collector of body parts… It’s aiming to be a Victorian Misfits slash Buffy slash Stranger Things about a teenage Scooby Gang hired to investigate what is giving monstrous powers to ordinary people.

Read more

TV

How Netflix’s Irregulars fit in with Sherlock Holmes Canon

By Ryan Britt

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Netflix’s The Irregulars: Who Was the Real Prince Leopold?

By Louisa Mellor

Though a persistent presence in associated fan fiction, the supernatural genre is essentially in conflict with the Holmes universe. Despite Conan Doyle’s own well-documented interest in spiritualism and the search to communicate with the afterlife, his Holmes stories were set in a world in which every unlikely occurrence has a rational explanation. The cursed devil hound killing off aristocrats on a Devonshire moor moor? Just a dog and an inheritance swindle. The blood-sucking vampire in Sussex? All down to a jealous step-brother. Bringing monsters and alternative dimensions into Holmes’ world lessens his own superpower. As Holmes famously put it in that last story, “The world is big enough for us. No ghosts need apply.”

Even forgetting ghosts, The Irregulars is truly driven by something rarely prioritised in the Holmes universe: emotion. Above anything else, the series is about how its characters feel, how they deal with their feelings, and how they relate to each other. That’s why, after a patchy start that veers unevenly in tone between children’s drama and adult horror, it’s able to build to a satisfying conclusion filled with affecting emotional resolution. 

The Irregulars has its own mythology and empathetic approach to its monsters. None is an arbitrary villain. After investigation, they’re all found to be grieving a loss of some kind and warped by their new-found powers. Using telepathy to enter their minds and find the root cause of their pain, the gang comes to understand what drives them. These mysteries aren’t solved using rational observation, but its sort-of opposite: psychic power, or extreme, supernatural empathy if you like. It’s all about the heart, while Holmes is all about the head.

Why then, have a Holmes link at all? If the entire story of The Irregulars could have stood alone and lost nothing from dropping the Conan Doyle connections, why risk disappointing some?

We all know the answer to that. It’s the same reason we see ice cream vans painted with unlicensed approximations of popular Disney characters and cinema screens showing diminishing return sequels. Franchise recognition is where it’s at, and plays a huge part in getting TV shows commissioned, made and seen. 

Commissioners and audiences alike are comforted by familiarity. There are so many new titles on so many platforms that original stories can sink without being hooked to an existing fandom. The Irregulars story may work perfectly well with its Sherlock Holmes links removed, but the likelihood is, we’d never have seen it without them.

It may be useful to weld a new story to an old property then, but there are drawbacks. It forces the new thing into making a promise it often can’t deliver on. There’s undoubtedly an audience out there for The Irregulars, but it may not be found by looking among fans of Sherlock Holmes. Until viewers and commissioners – and yes, entertainment websites – prove more willing to take risks on entirely new creations, this won’t be the last time that an established fandom clashes with a new take on the thing it loves. 

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The Irregulars is streaming now on Netflix

The post Did The Irregulars Need its Sherlock Holmes and Watson Connection? appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[utopianparadoxist]

I can’t focus on anything enough to write about Homestuck today, so I’m gonna talk about something that matters a lot more instead. I know this isn’t like, part of My Brand, but Puerto Rico is part of who I am and why I’m here. And since I couldn’t be part of the day of action officially, this is what I’m doing instead. So here’s what it comes down to:

I can’t stop thinking about the Homestucks in Puerto Rico. 

And yes, it’s myopic to focus on a people suffering who happen to be part of a fandom. Everyone is human and nobody deserves this kind of suffering.  Puerto Ricans deserve help because they’re people, full stop.

But people weren’t designed for numbers to track this scale of suffering, and even having spent part of my life there, the devastation my little island is going through has been more than I can relate to, or even imagine. 

So it’s this particular memory that sticks out for me, and those particular people that stand in for the unfathomable many who are suffering right now. I’m going to tell you guys a story, and try to put the place I remember into the context of the Island’s current struggle, and the sorely lacking support of the American government. 

Then I’m going to talk about what we can do to help. 

I can guarantee that at least one of those things is something you can do. Even if you can’t do anything but blog about fandom and talk to friends online--and trust me, I get it if that’s where you are. There’s still something important I want you to consider trying. 

If you have the spoons and mental wherewithal, and you care at all about what I do here, or about Homestuck, or about the friends you’ve made and the people you’ve met through fandom, or about any story that has ever moved you to reach out and make a friend,

Then I hope you can find the time to read and signal boost this. No pressure. I know it’s hard and we’re all tired. Still, It would mean a lot to me. 

(A description of PR’s Capital city, dated Oct 10th.)

Upd8 culture isn’t something that all the fans here have been exposed to. Fans have gotten flashes of it like on 10/25 last year or, of course, with Hiveswap’s release. But back during the days of Homestuck’s height in popularity, we were all wired, all the time. 

An Upd8 could happen any second, and anything and everything could change with any upd8. This was the height of update culture, and it was like being on a neverending rollercoaster. It was a sense of communal excitement and thrill that made me feel connected to everyone sharing the ride.

(The Federal Emergency Management Agency fails to keep up with the Island’s food shortages.)

I went to a con with friends only once in PR, but while there, we hung nearby a Homestuck meetup. I didn’t really engage with them, but I did have MSPA Notifier on my phone, and it just so happened an update hit. 

I was the first to notice. 

(x) (Jason Maddy, Marine Vet’s Facebook Page)

I remember grinning and telling my (Non-Homestuck) friends to watch.  That was the first and only time I got to yell the word “UPD8” to someone else in person. The result was spectacular.

The explosion of yelling and the flurry of activity was too overwhelming to follow. Suddenly, teens were yelling and scrambling to get near the closest screen. The one who sticks out in my head is a God Tier John--pretty sure the outfit was homemade--pressing his tablet up against a wall.

(Trump throws rolls of paper towels at a crowd in a Hurricane relief center.)

For a good ten minutes, we watched as what was a pretty chill meetup beforehand talked and traded screens with fervent excitement.  My friends, exposed to nothing but my self-indulgent blather about the comic up until then, looked at me in bewilderment and asked: “What did you do?”

But of course, I didn’t do anything. I was just a lucky messenger. What moved me, what moved us all with the same joy and excitement, was a shared moment of love for a story. A common passion. 

I didn’t make friends with any of them that day, and I wish I had now. Really, I just wish I knew if they were alright. Any of them. 

I wonder if they enjoyed Hiveswap in the few days between the release and Maria, or if they got the chance to play it at all before the electricity grid collapsed. I wonder how many got off the island. How many have stayed behind. 

How many are LGBT, now cut off from access to what was my only lifeline on the largely conservative island? I think about the reports of sky-high rates of depression and PTSD pouring in whenever I can bring myself to listen.

I hope all of those kids are still alive and well. I should mention: All of these tweets and news reports are verifiably true. I can confirm them myself, because I hear the same thing whenever I manage to get in contact with anyone on the island. 

My family hears supplies are coming, but never seem to see them arrive. The woman who drove me to school contacted me today, saying the same thing. Wherever there’s contact on the ground, there are reports of inadequate support and desperate need. Food in grocery stores is near running out.

Everyone I know who is able making plans to leave. Everyone I know cries and hurts most for those who cannot make these plans. Those who are stuck. Those who will be left behind to survive the nightmare.

What can we do for them?

Of course, donating to verified and trustworthy charities is an option. For those of us who are able:

Donate to Puerto Rican Farmers.

The Hispanic Federation’s Disaster Relief & Recovery Fund.

Eco-Kit uses Amazon to distribute life-saving survival tools.

And More.

But maybe even more important than that is adding our voices politically:

Petition for Immediate Large-Scale Relief Package for Puerto Rico.

Use this handy Call Script to find and call your representatives.

We can also simply talk, learn, and educate. It goes without saying that this devastation is in part a product of climate change. But we can also talk about the Jones Act that slows aid to Puerto Rico. 

We can reckon with Puerto Rico’s long history of colonial subjugation by the U.S. And we can increase understanding of the massive debt crisis that threatened the island even before the hurricane.

I will continue to post about this when I am able and have useful information to spread, but it may also help to follow blogs such as @tumblricans if you’re able. 

But even if you can’t do any of this: Believe me, I understand. I know how hard and unbearable it all is. 

Even if you can’t do anything but talk to people online, try to keep your mind off it, try to focus on fandom and friends and whatever gets you through these days,

There’s still something you can do.

Choose to be kinder. Here, in this space that you share with so many progressives, coming from so many walks of life, that have all been hurt by this world through so many cruel and unusual punishments. Even if nowhere else.

Choose to be kinder here, in this nebulous place where many of us come to forget our sorrows and share our joys and pains with others. 

Try to remember that everyone has a story. That everyone has something they’re dealing with, and you have no way to know what it is. Try to choose kindness and compassion over instinctual judgment and ideological superiority.

Extend this kindness to creators as well as your fellow fans and users, because the people who make art for us are people who are struggling and trying hard just like me and you. 

Extend this kindness to yourself and your friends in your moments of weakness, just...remember to extend it to your perceived “enemies” on this website, too. In the grand scheme of things, they simply don’t exist. 

Fandom spaces on Tumblr and Ao3 are predominantly made up of lgbt women, and lean highly towards progressive sentiments besides. Wherever we turn to this hyper-critical behavior, we are making threats out of allies. It’s not necessary, and worse, it drives us apart.

Remember that ultimately, we are all in this together. The world is a scary place right now. There are people out there in the world who deeply and truly want to hurt us.  You can even find them online, if you really want to. 

But like...fellow fans invested in the progressive agenda? Creators making progressive art? They are not your enemies, and for the progressive agenda and anyone identified as basically any kind of minority, the shit is hitting and will increasingly continue to hit the whirling device. 

We all need support now more than ever, and it is really only going to come if we begin to choose to support each other. 

And that’s important work to do. Because the kinder we are, the closer we are, the better we can connect. The better we can organize. And the more good we can do for places like Puerto Rico or people like Rune.

Sometimes, making the world a better place is just a matter of being nice to each other. That alone could well have the power to change everything.

Thank you for reading all this. I love you. Keep rising.

[redlance]

Hi there.

Firstly, I apologise for the sheer length of this and most likely the waffle that is undoubtedly included in its content.  But I feel like I have to go right back to the beginning of my fan fiction experience to fully explain just how much your story “Experimentation” has resonated with me.

I’ve probably been reading fan fiction since the year 2000, which will indicate just how old I am.  I’ve read so many different stories, multi-chapters, one shots, across many, many different fandoms. 

I even write myself, nothing special.  I started writing in the year 2002, mostly out of frustration that I couldn’t ever find a decently written story that would grip me enough to stick with the idea.  It was around then that I discovered just how much of an emotional outlet that writing could be.  I also learnt that practice is the key to developing and finding my own voice.  It’s exciting and enjoyable to try to find that, to experiment with ideas, characters and words.  Yet, I also learnt that it’s bloody difficult. 

The hardest part is that you never know what sort of day you’ll have until you open up that Word page to start.  There are days where I can write all day, literally hours passing without noticing how long I’ve been sat at the laptop (those are the best days).  Sometimes, my fingers just can’t type quick enough to keep up with the run of inspiration that I’m having.  Then there are the other days.  The days where I struggle to write anything.  I’ve spent days in the past, rewriting the same sentence and ending up deleting it to start all over again. 

But I guess that’s the very nature of writing and perhaps, it’s even the underlying beauty that draws me to writing, time and time again. 

So, I completely understand just how much dedication that writing demands, particularly when inspiration seems to dry up.  I know how long some of the sentences take to finally settle on the page and that the poor backspace key has taken a hammering to make that happen. 

I appreciate that writing takes time, so much time.  I appreciate that writing takes time, so much time.  It’s often time that we optimistically think we can plan and measure in chapter lengths, but frustratingly turns into disappointing sentence lengths if we’re lucky.

But damn, that feeling once a chapter is completed.  The relief.  The joy.  The pride. 

Then there’s the vulnerability of posting it out there for the world to see.  Actually no, I’ve changed my mind.  The hardest part of writing, is putting it out there.  Posting it somewhere, where people can find it and read it.  That is by far the most difficult part of writing, because it’s like you’re putting a piece of yourself out there for someone else to judge.  It’s terrifying.

I hope I’m not offending you, when I assume that this is the same for you too?

So I also know just how important feedback is to someone and especially the backspace key on the laptop, because it makes all those swearing tantrums totally worth it.  It feeds the creative fire that you were so close to putting out.  It drives us to find more ideas and probably most critical of all, emboldens us with preservation to continue.  This is most likely the best reward a writer can ever get from feedback, whether it’s good or bad feedback.

Yet, while I hope this note does exactly that, I don’t just want to give “feedback”, or inflate anyone’s ego, I want to be honest.

This is without doubt the best story I have read in the 17 years I’ve been reading fan fiction. 

It even sounds utterly wrong to class it as fan fiction.  This is quality writing that deserves the top shelf of any upstanding bookshop. 

I found your story “Experimentation” considerably late into the game, only a few months ago.  I have since read it from start to finish, 4 times.  You can be assured that I will be going back for a 5th time shortly.

Why?  It has everything. 

Characterisation that is on point, realistic, truthful and consistent.

A healthy balance of dialogue to description.  It’s weighed perfectly between the two.  It’s not too overloaded with one or the other. 

Description that is realistic, engaging and utterly, utterly beautiful.  The way that you use words is memorising, truly captivating.  So much so that at times I completely forget that I’m on a fan fiction website and that this has been made available to me for free. 

Impeccable structure that shifts between Beca to Chloe’s point of view so smoothly, consistently and effortlessly.  It’s an absolute joy to move between the two characters and gain an insight into their thoughts and feelings about the same moment, yet the flow of time still moves forward at a steady pace.  It’s genius, plain and simple. 

It’s an incredible feeling to be able to immerse myself into a story so completely that I forget that there ever was a film about these characters.  Yet your words stay with me throughout the following day, has me genuinely looking forward to reading the next chapter.  I have felt something similar with other stories in the past, but never as acutely as this one has. 

I can’t name a single well known, famous writer that can come even close to the same writing skill set as you.  Your talent is just phenomenal and I simply can’t do it justice with words of my own.

So instead of getting frustrated at myself for not being able to find the words to describe just how good this story is, I’ll settle for the two I can find instead.

Thank you.

Thank you for writing this story.  For the time you’ve undoubtedly spent on planning and putting it together. For keeping the story up there long after the films have been released so that people like me happen across it years later. 

But most of all, thank you so bloody much for sharing your talent with the world. 

Best wishes.

I’m only posting this because I want to keep it forever and I don’t trust tumblr’s inbox to actually do that.

When messages make you so emotional you have to stop reading halfway through and take a breather.

[projectalbum]

Art is Resistance. 149. “With Teeth” (Halo 19), 150. “Year Zero” (Halo 24), 151. “Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D” (Halo 25), 152. “Ghosts I-IV” (Halo 26), 153. “The Slip” (Halo 27) by Nine Inch Nails

The 6-year gap between Nine Inch Nails studio albums saw the Internet become truly ascendant in popular culture, for better and worse.

Napster took a bite from the music industry and was put down like a mad dog. The Pirate Bay first unfurled its flag. Radio play and music videos were still the main avenue for displaying the wares of major label musicians to the general public, and success was still measured in units of CDs sold, but more and more people were becoming hip to the underground access provided by a DSL modem.

But the power of the Web to empower artists and connect them to their fans still evaded most of the recording industry; honchos and artists alike were largely clueless. Trent Reznor, the big ol’ nerd, was a notable exception. Posting on early message boards on Prodigy, embracing torrents, creating an online gateway for the band’s fans, leaking material from the archives, experimenting with an optional-pay release, even being an early adopter of Twitter— it was a white-hot fiber optic cable running through the life of the band. While this technological engagement didn’t always translate into sales (The Fragile was considered a financial disappointment), it was a 21st century incarnation of the connection between what the artist creates and how the audience consumes it, internalizes it, and hopefully finds some emotional release in it.

This uneasy alliance between organic emotion and technological chilliness is reflected in this era of Nine Inch Nails’ aesthetic, both musically and through the packaging. Where Downward Spiral and Fragile dealt in decaying earth tones, the releases starting with 2005’s reemergent With Teeth (#149) are shades of blue, black, ghost white, and slate gray, dirtied up by belching factory smoke, or distorted by broken pixels and lines of computer code. The songs are likewise colored by pulsating synth accents, digital distortion, hums and drones and beats. The instrumental stems for Reznor’s compositions were offered up to remixers both professional and amateur, so that even the boundary of artist and audience member became liminal. He had his carefully constructed versions of “The Hand That Feeds” and “Only,” but suggested that there were infinite alternate permutations to be created at the click of a button. For the once angry, brooding Prince of Industrial Rock, it was downright egalitarian.

“All The Love In The World,” a title that might suggest a big-hearted power ballad on a cornier band’s track list, is in Reznor’s hands an electronica-inflected paranoid dirge. Where crunchy guitars would have provided the backbone in the past, here woozy piano figures are the main melodic backup to the vocal, before shifting into driving major chords to signal minute 3’s complete tonal transformation. With its layers of harmonizing Trents, it’s completely unlike anything else in the band’s repertoire, but it was the perfect next course to stimulate my appetite. And then Dave Grohl’s superhuman drumming on “You Know What You Are?” kicked me through the door. The wailing chorus presented an aggressive musical release for me that I’d never had access to before.

“Right Where It Belongs,” the keyboard-driven closing track, is spooky and introspective, and one of the best songs in NiN’s catalogue. A stripped-down, electric piano and vocal version, originally exclusive to the Japanese release but eventually uploaded by Reznor to his website, captures that dark night of the soul uncertainty even better. This recording made its way into the end credits of my senior thesis film, at the point where it was obvious it wasn’t going to go anywhere and that I should at least put copyrighted stuff I liked into it. I also set a live version against grainy deleted footage from Pink Floyd - The Wall, a mashup I figure ol’ Trent would appreciate (the idea was to then do the reverse, matching “Hey You” to the visuals cut together for NiN’s stage show, but the result wasn’t as compelling).

I don’t have any supporting evidence, but Year Zero (#150) may well have been the first time I ever plunked down money for a physical copy of a NiN CD. Also lacking sufficient empirical backup: I’m convinced this speculative fiction about an increasingly plausible American dystopia represents some of Reznor’s strongest songwriting. Inhabiting characters like a brainwashed foot soldier, an underground Resistance fighter, a religiously-inflamed demagogue, even a judgmental alien intelligence, he moves away from the diary page introspection that could occasionally curdle into lyrics of questionable taste (Sorry, please don’t slip on all the tears I’ve made you cry).

The release of the album was notably attached to a labyrinthine “Alternate Reality Game” campaign, with in-character websites, USB drives hidden at concerts, and music videos with secret messages, adding plot strands and world building to the lyrics. (I missed the boat on all that, but the work that the same marketing company did for The Dark Knight was sure something to experience.) All of which would be near-impenetrable, if the actual music wasn’t so compelling. You don’t have to read the wiki pages to feel the apocalyptic beats and glitchy cacophony of “HYPERPOWER!,” “The Good Soldier,” and to pump your fist to the chorus of “Survivalism.” “I got my propaganda / I got revisionism” hits harder in a time, 10 years on from the album’s release, in which the most powerful voices in the U.S. government disregard reality on the reg, occasionally try to downplay the Holocaust. “Capital G,” a gleefully sociopathic near-rap by the forces of greed, could soundtrack one of Paul Ryan’s dead-eyed workout photoshoots.

“In This Twilight” and “Zero Sum” are the shattering two-part coda, in which the squabbling remnants of humanity face the end, whether by divine intervention or nuclear fire. The first juxtaposes crunchy, distorted percussion and fuzzed-out bass with perhaps the most perversely light and melodic vocal performance Reznor has ever delivered. He’s singing about encroaching extinction, but in a blissed-out religious reverie, optimistic for the afterlife. The character at the center of the closing track is not so sure: this is the End of this ridiculous human experiment, and we’ve brought oblivion on ourselves. “Shame on us / For all we have done / And all we ever were.” There’s the Nine Inch Nails nihilism we know and love!

Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D (#151) filters the previous album through Hip-Hop and EDM, to uneven effect. The collection of remixes never quite sustains the highs established by the first two tracks: Saul Williams’ fiery rap verses turn the instrumental “HYPERPOWER!” into a polemic against a legacy of American violence, “Gunshots by Computer,” while modwheelmood frees the vocals of “The Great Destroyer” from the squealing synth breakdown and creates a whole new paranoid anthem. While it’s also interesting to hear the Kronos Quartet reinterpret “Another Version of the Truth,” the rest is largely skippable. The physical set includes a DVD with the multitracks for the original Year Zero recordings, so you too can fuck with the raw materials! (I’ve been trying to remix things for years, and I’m awful at it, but it’s fun to hear the individual instrumentation.)

After freeing himself lyrically from his old methodology, the next release from Reznor eschewed words and melody completely. Ghosts I-IV (#152) is nearly 2 hours of ambient experimentation, a precursor to the Oscar-winning film scores with Atticus Ross (a few tracks were literally reworked for The Social Network, and several others continue to be licensed for film and documentaries). The buzzsaw distortions, dark piano chords, oddly organic synthesizers, and industrial beats identify it as a NiN record even in the absence of vocals. Though good luck recommending your favorite tracks, with titles like “26 Ghosts III” and “09 Ghosts I” not exactly sticking in the memory.

The Slip (#153), originally released free of charge, is more of a return-to-form. Arguably too familiar— it’s essentially With Teeth Part 2, but leaner and meaner. It’s not held in especially high regard, but it was there right at the outset of my fandom, and as such I continue to have a soft spot for it. I even bought the physical copy after years of listening to the decent quality MP3’s. “Discipline,” with its uncommonly funky bass line and high hat-favoring drum beat, is my number 1 “trying to sneak it onto a party playlist but not very successfully” NiN song. Along with the following track, “Echoplex,” the dark dance floor vibe is a preview of the sound Reznor and co would explore with How To Destroy Angels. “Lights in the Sky,” “Corona Radiata,” and “The Four of Us are Dying” create a kind of suite, insinuating and ethereal. I can understand if you bow out of that middle, 7-minute-and-33-second, ambient track before the library sample of fighting cats kicks in. But “LITS” is Reznor’s sparsest, prettiest piano lament, announcing the eminent “retirement” of Nine Inch Nails as a touring/recording entity.

Wave goodbye. They’ll be back.

[renmaru]

you know. sometimes i love something a lot so i need to scream about the things that piss me off about it. i don’t think this is a particularly negative post but it’s just like sheer frustration and if you dont get some satisfaction from articulating your frustration into tumbler dot coms longposts and destroying the capital of this website because you are not a gemini sun then like fair i guess feel free to disregard this. tonbokiris kiwame is cool go look at that.

now to the lukewarm tea ive been simmering for five years. the one thing i always think about all the time is that tkrb is a popular game despite itself. the piss poor gameplay with only the barest of bare QoL in the five years its been up, the seeming complete lack of direction and the frankly nonexistent worldbuilding is held up purely because of its attention to detail and reverence to the original culture and history of the swords combined with some very good character design and subtle but nuanced character writing that can be openly interpreted. just enough flavour to imply something larger but chickening out on actually making anything y’know. concrete. basically allowing the fans to draw their own conclusions. but even then a game like that would not survive cause there have been countless, hundreds of games with high quality and fervent attention to detail and respect for the source material that just died completely because they have such little to actually offer in terms of engagement. i think the main thing that bugs me about tkrb is that it has one of THE most creative, dedicated and strong fanbases of this genre of game who go out of their way to engage with any and all of the content and the devs seem kind of oblivious to this.

in comparison to modern gacha style games, touken ranbu releases barely any new content and frequently recycles content but somehow it’s still relatively popular with approx. 1mil active players daily but the maddening thing is that tkrb can reach much MUCH further. the fans are there, the curiosity is there, it’s just the game content is not fucking there. it does not put the effort into commissioning seasonal art, pushing new events with actual plotline/story content, creating promotional materials, tie-ins etc. but somehow its still in the top 5 comiket circles for nearly five fuckin years straight. here are your badley compiled receipts: c89(w2015), c90(s2016), c91(w2016), c92(s2017), c93(w2017), c94(s2018), c95(w2018), c96(s2019)

 it can launch itself from laughably low in the appstore ratings, hovering in the middle of the 200′s to TOP 30s in the appstore at the flick of a switch. what is this magic button that fucking quadruples revenue and skyrockets your app into the top 50 grossing apps? 3/4 of your characters getting static CGs that you cannot use at all anywhere in the game but will do a powerpoint transition and appear for 5 seconds at login. oh and like a few free mats i guess. and i kid you not it fuckin worked.

wanna know why that worked? it’s cause otherwise characters, especially fan favourites just don’t get anything at all. it’s like most characters outside of the very popular ones rarely get new art, new recollections, new anything outside of their kiwame upgrade which is more often than not years down the line and only recently, four years in, they decided to add alternate costumes but even then there’s a catch which has me feeling some kind of way.

and yes, i fully understand that tkrb is a multi-media franchise, i get that it’s got its fingers in so many pies like the stageplay, musicals, various manga anthologies, the animes, hell its even got live action but man, would it hurt to give some love in game? i’m not asking them to go full fgo route and commission the industry creme de la creme to make 6 full CE illustrations, lots of promo art and tonnes of new merch every single month. but the fact is for such a big franchise, reusing the same sprite art on nearly every piece of official merch, going so far as to add NEW costume art which is just the heads of the old default sprites edited onto new bodies? it screams cost cutting, it screams lazy, the path of minimum effort. it’s almost like the game itself and the original materials are an absolute afterthought at this point with only the most dedicated hanging on to it. i guarantee that the majority of people still playing tkrb are the committed day1 players and the actual rekijou cause it’s just painfully offputting to new fans, with other fans even going out of their way to specify the game is not integral to enjoying the series which sucks, but it’s true.

its a real damn shame to think that something you are so invested in is not particularly invested in itself. sometimes, just sometimes i wish they dev team for tkrb was more hands-on, more adventurous, more willing to listen to players, invest in the game and genuinely try and make the game the best it can be. i’m not asking for balls to the wall summer events, beautiful animated CMs from the likes of the industries best animators, i’m not asking for pages of supplemental lore compiled into books, character backstory novels or whatever i’m just asking for the lore and the characters that we love to sometimes occasionally be remembered in the actual game outside of like ... the two years between their kiwame and the vague possibility of a recollection. i want to feel like this game puts as much effort into itself as the fans do towards it.

it’s a painful truth but there’s one shining light which is that the fandom for tkrb is genuinely one of the most committed and transformative ones ive ever seen. i have never been involved with a fandom that varies so widely and puts in so much effort for these characters and this world. tkrb exists solely as a popular franchise due to the sheer legwork of the fans carrying it on their backs collaboratively. ultimately, tkrb is very very lore-light, there’s so much thats missing and the characters in-game rarely rarely interact with each other. the characters are contained solely in however many voice lines they get at implementation, their kiwame letters, and their updates kiwame lines and the only interaction they get with other swords is recollections or depending on the sword, the odd custom sparring lines.

but despite that there has been so much fan effort to explore everything in so many different varied ways, and amazingly there are certain tropes, relationships, lore etc. that have started off fanon and become canon. the fan community, especially the fanartists, doujins, writers, animators etc. being given a small indulgence by the anime is one of my favourite things about tkrbs relationship with its fanbase. that’s not to say that the fans dont give back in kind a hundred fold.

there’s so much i love about tkrb fans going out of their way to go SEE historical swords in japan, single-handedly reforging swords using crowdfunding and revitalising lots of small-town tourism having real world impact. shit makes me unbelievably happy. the stage plays and musicals are always met with warm reception and are always well attended and even though its hard to access, there are lots of western fans who have dived into a whole new MEDIUM that most of us arent really familiar with but out of their love for tkrb theyve done that. they have hosted the musical as far out as india and france, making tkrb a truly worldwide franchise and there theyve met full seats! as far out as india! then theres the fantranslators, who always have the drive the commitment and energy for the thankless work, the wiki always always is well maintained and they have new content up so fast, and there are so many people willing to help you out. even when crunchyr*ll got hanamaru s2 (i think) a week late and we were left without subs for the premier episode for a whole ass week, fantranslators who had never subbed before stepped up to translate a whole episode for FREE, encoding, subbing and timing it all despite never having done so just so others could understand the episode faster than cr*nchy themselves could. even, as well, it’s made so many history nerds out of a whole bunch of people, it’s created an appreciation for nihontou and japanese history that would otherwise probably never be in their orbit because of how inaccessible it is, especially in english. even on a personal note, i started learning japanese primarily so i could understand tkrb and the history behind it better and to read jp fanart/interact with fanartists.

 no matter what, i am forever warmed by how much i love tkrb and its fanbase and im glad that tkrb is still going strong, even despite itself sometimes and i hope that moving on tkrb tries new things, and becomes better for everyone.

[angelsandemons]

So it’s offically been about a year since I started this blog. I joined this fandom near the end of the show, so I’ve seen a lot of people come and go, but BOY did I not expect to get this fair. Even if things are slowing down now, I have an unreal 959 followers, several of whom are still active. And I plan to continue to be one of them, I ain’t going anywhere.  I’ve met SO many lovely people over the past year, I couldn’t possible begin to cover it all in a single post.

However...

There are some members of this fandom that have made an especially big impact on me. You guys have been a joy, an inspiration, and a pleasure to interact with both IC and OOC, so I want to say a few words about each of you now in one big, disgustingly mushy post.

What Dying Fandom? I Don’t See A Dying Fandom Look At These

@mynameisdopper: Compared to many on this list, I’ve known you for a relatively short time, but I already feel as close to you as I do most of my long-time friends. I love talking with you almost every day IC and OOC, I love the thought and insight you give your characters, including ones in other fandoms like @conniethejam and @rosefquartz, and I love the skill you put into your replies. And even despite that innate talent, you NEVER stop striving to improve. You also have a sense of humor that matches mine almost exactly, and that’s something I’ve learned not to take for granted over the years. But most of all, you have a heart of gold, all jokes aside, and I know you are going to do great things. I know you already have.

@pine-dexter: I still can’t believe it took me so long to find you, but every moment since has been a treat. I love hearing your take on Ford, I love exploring post-show scenarios and post-show AUs with you, and I love indulging extensively in our trashy ship together, be it via IM RP or simply exchanging horrible fanfics we’ve found. And of course, on the occasion we DO get to thread together, that’s always a pleasure. We need to do it more.

@llamanorthwest: You might be the youngest member in this section (not in terms of your actual biological age, but in regards to how long I’ve known you), but I’ve gotta say: I had high hopes for you because of our mutual friends, and you STILL surpassed them. Your take on Pacifica is really interesting, and your writing for her is a CONSISTENT joy. I’m still over the moon that you were willing to explore the LTOLOXA AU with me, and that you seem to get just what I’m going for with Bill.  Not to mention I love the art you draw for it, it gives me life. I can’t wait to RP more with you in the future. 

@widdleolgideongleeful​ as well as @leavethattomabel​: Your Gideon is top notch in all the ways, and you’ve gone above and beyond the source material in a way all roleplayers should aspire to. You’ve kept him IC while still adding a unique flare of your own, and it never fails to entertain. Your passion is contagious, and constantly fuels my drive to continue improving and exploring my own character in new and exciting ways. The same is true for your Mabel, but I’ve gotta say, like to be REAL honest with you here...your Mabel has taught me something else too. This is gonna sound kinda mean (hey you already knew I was a bitch), but the other big lesson your Mabel has taught me is to never judge a book by its cover. When I first came across your Mabel blog, I was THAT roleplayer: I saw your layout, I saw your huge icons, and I thought “this is someone who only kind of knows what they are doing, but ehh I guess I’ll give it a shot”. In time, of course, I discovered you were an EXCEPTIONAL roleplayer, and most if not all your design choices were very purposeful, especially on your blog layout. And rightfully so: I mean it DOES look like a blog Mabel would make. Finally, portrayals aside, you are often a joy to discuss things OOCly with, be it GF related or something in RL, you always carry that unique insight with you in whatever you do.

@flannelandchill​: Wendy can be a surprisingly hard character to nail down, if only because she’s very much portrayed from Dipper’s perspective in the show, and that’s an obviously skewed view. But when I read your writing for her, I don’t JUST see the super cool redhead (though that certainly is still there), I see the side of Wendy only briefly shown in canon: a girl who is stressed just like the rest of us. And I love, love, LOVE how you work those two together so seamlessly. I look forward to all our interactions, always, and your appreciation for my portrayal never goes unnoticed. Please continue to stroke my ego.

@captivatinginnocence​: From the very beginning, I could hear Mabel’s voice in your writing loud and clear. You have a masterful command of her tone and characterization, and you carry that to places I’ve never seen other Mabel RPers go. Seriously, do you know ANYONE else who explores her later years in life to the extent you do? As if that wasn’t enough, you are an AMAZING artist, and a very generous one too. I treasure each and every “doodle” you send my way, and love the care and effort you put into every aspect of your character. It’s always a pleasure to write with you, even if I might take a while to reply sometimes. Same goes for OOC convos about life too! And I’m super thrilled that you’ve decided to dip your toes into the SU fandom with @fantomshards recently too, bringing all that skill with you.

Dormant In Activity But Not In My Heart

@stanfordsixerpines: As my first Ford on this blog, you will always have a special place in my heart. Back when I still had a lot of shame about this billford ship, you were ready and willing to jump in the deep end with me, and never looked back. I love everything we’ve done together, and look forward to anything we might do again in the future.

@hillbillyisms​ as well as @stan-punches​, @soosquestion​, and a bunch of others honestly and every single one is worth a follow becasue this mun writes em: You are perhaps the oldest friend have on here, considering I met you back when I first started on Tumblr in the Legend of Korra fandom, and we are still in occasional contact. We’ve always been so in sync, to the point that the LoK fandom legit thought we were the same person for a while, and I still feel that connection with you now. Although you might not think yourself a success story, I have and will always see you as a victor over the massive shitstorm life has thrown at her, someone who came out a writer in all the ways, despite all the odds. And you continue fighting every day, all the while never falling short in the quality you produce, even if it has understandable lulls in output. You’re always worth the wait, and I’ll always be here ready to pick up where we left off.

@sweatersandsprinkles​: We’ve RPed quite a bit in my post-show verses, and have always talked very extensively OOC about new and exciting possibilities. I love the relationship our muses have formed with each other, and I love the darker directions you are willing to take those interactions without sacrificing the fluff. You are a constant reminder that one doesn’t HAVE to choose between cute and dark, you can have a weird medium. And isn’t that what RPing Bill is all about?

@illusionare​: Unicorn, most of your muses I know of are just as much a majestic bastard as your name implies (except for Mickey Mouse wtf), but YOU are a SWEETHEART. You are one of the few users on this website I would honestly unironically call senpai. You’ve been an inspiration to me ever since I followed you on @desbearer, and you continue to be as you come out of every hardship in your life a little brighter than you were when you went in. Both in real life struggles and roleplay ventures, you constantly make me think “well if she can do it, why not me?” You are an unapologetic meme, artist, and writer – a true gift to us all. Never forget that. And even though your Bill might be on the inactive list here, the little interaction we DID have helped me get over one of my biggest irrational fears: interacting with other quality Bill Ciphers. And we both know you have an unwavering dedication to your murder bear, so that’s pretty awesome.

The Cross-Fandom Treasures I Never Expected

@sandsofchaos​: Never did I ever think I’d find such a perfect match for Bill, dare I say MORE perfect than my in-fantom OTP.  I mean go figure it’s chaos herself, right? I don’t think I’ve ever had this deep a relationship with another muse outside the fandom I roleplay in, and I love every second of it.  As a mun, you are probably the other one on this list I can unironically call senpai, because I really truly look up to just about everything you do. Your writing is top notch ALL the time, and your dedication to your character despite an obvious lack of fandom is a constant reminder to me that all you need is a vision and a passion. In real life too, you’re an inspiration to me; whatever you might think of yourself, I see you as a successful woman I hope to be as I continue my life, and it’s a blessing to see first hand that I don’t need to give up roleplaying to do that.

@yellingmetatron​: We don’t talk AS much OOC, but you still need to be on this list because your character absolutely floors me, both in concept and execution. Like with Eris, this is a relationship I never would have dreamed of my Bill muse having, but it just fits SO WELL. Your dedication is inspiring, and again, even though we haven’t talked a great deal OOC, you’ve privately helped me work through some pretty difficult questions early on regarding my portrayal of Bill, and I’m forever grateful for that.

@familiarfortunefox: I’ve asked it before and I’ll ask it again: how do you make a quality RP blog for a fandomless wolf with no powers or special abilities, except maybe speech? It’s such a mundane concept, a lost cause, and yet you’ve tackled it anyway with great success. And the fact that you revived it just to RP with my human Bill? I’m still not over it. You’re also the first blog in literally YEARS that I have actively enjoy the autoplay for, so kudos for your taste there. I know I’ve been slacking on our roleplays, but know that you are in my thoughts nonetheless.

@thecaptainofcrunch​: Technically this is the same mun as the afore mentioned Dipper, but since I have a specific unholy cross-fandom ship with this FUCKING CEREAL MASCOT, I felt the need to mention it here. You are a meme Dean, a fucking meme, and I hate you for getting me to ship this. 

Now these were just some super special people that have had a special impact on me and/or this blog in particular.  This ISN’T an all-inclusive list of roleplayers I love and adore. But as you can see, this thing has already gotten PRETTY freaking long, so just know that if you aren’t on here, I still love you.

Although...

There are some RECENT arrivals I want to give a quick shout-out to because I got my eyes on you. I know what quality l👀ks like when I see it. Call me.

@tadsthename, @mystcriiious, @bruiiser​

And that’s about it! Oh, but one more thing: although this isn’t someone I’ve RPed with on this blog very much, she IS a big part of the reason I finally checked out Gravity Falls at all a little over a year ago, so a quick shoutout to @marelapis as well. 

[eddiejpoplar]

The House of KITT

There’s no sign announcing Don Colie’s shop just south of Roanoke, Virginia. He doesn’t need one. The driveway’s full of third-generation Pontiac Firebird Trans Ams, all black, all unusually clean, all with a telltale scanner illuminated in the front valance, the red lights sweeping back and forth. The scanner’s swishing sound calls up a hundred Friday evenings watching Michael Knight battle bad guys with his intelligent self-driving car. If you lived through the 1980s, you immediately know what you’re seeing. This is this house of KITT.

Mark Murdock’s One-TV KITT is as close to show-correct as possible. He uses a KITT app to allow the car to “speak,” though a true voice recognition program is the next upgrade.

Colie’s been building “Knight Rider” replica parts and vehicles for 20 years, fabricating everything you need to turn a 1982-1992 Firebird into the Knight Industries Two Thousand. It’s too simple to say that’s the only thing his company, Advanced Designs in Automotive Technology, does. The one-bay shop off a country two-lane is a full restoration and prop production house, all helmed by one man; fiberglass, electronics, paint, and interior work fall under his domain.

It’s hard to pin down exactly where Colie got started. He mocked up his first KITT dash in high school for a project, assembling an instrument panel from 2-inch furring strips, bits of wood paneling, and poster board. After graduation, he bought a 1982 Firebird Trans Am of his own and set about building the real thing, or as close as he could come.

“The very first dash I built was kind of my interpretation,” he said. “I was pulling everything off of a VCR, freeze-framing it. I located what type of LED they used, got the measurements for it, and then multiplied that so I’d know how long each bar graph was. Then I would take that measurement of a single LED and see how many I could fit between the rows so I would know how to space them. That gave me a general description of how big to make the overall display board.”

Years later, Colie met a friend who was close with original KITT designer Michael Scheffe, who generously lent him a set of schematics. Scheffe was the mind behind a number of famous vehicles from TV and film, including Doc Brown’s time-traveling DeLorean from the “Back to the Future” saga.

“I took the one-sixteenth plastic Ertl model and measured everything out in millimeters, then I scaled it up 1:1 and sculpted it on a car.”

Colie spent his early 20s working first in sales then in production at a prosthetics company, all the while modifying his own car. It wasn’t until he made his first bumper that he realized he might be able to make a full-time go of building “Knight Rider” replica parts.

Dante Colie, known as Don in the KITT car world, is a fiberglass master. “Everything I do is glassed and rolled by hand,” he said. “It’s a nice, strong product when it’s done.”

“I took the one-sixteenth plastic Ertl model and measured everything out in millimeters,” he said. “Then I scaled it up 1:1 and sculpted it on a car.”

He says this was the first truly accurate, show-quality reproduction bumper. Although there were other pieces floating around, some of which had been made from original molds, they were rough. These were props designed to look great whipping through an action shot, not sitting at a car show. This was in the late ’90s, years after the last “Knight Rider” episode and in the early days of the internet. When Colie began sharing photos of his car on a replica enthusiast website, he received a flood of requests asking him to build individual pieces. A business was born.

Now 48, Colie has perfected his craft. He does everything in-house, forming fiberglass bumpers, dashes, consoles, and switch pods for both the first version of the car and the final version used in season four. He also builds KITT’s unique steering wheel from scratch using a two-part urethane foam. Like all great fandom, the “Knight Rider” universe has its own language. Early cars are “Two-TV” models, so named for the two screens mounted in the dash. They also feature six foglights mounted in the lower valance. Later cars use four foglights and only have one screen in the dash. They are predictably referred to as “One-TVs,” which Colie favors for the cleaner design.

But the fiberglass and foam are a small part of what makes these cars special. A surprising number of the gauges and readouts work, including speedometer, tachometer, odometer, trip meter, oil pressure, water temperature, and estimated range. Colie builds his own printed circuit boards, starting with big, blank sheets of copper and finishing with fully populated boards; he solders each diode and processor by hand. Each board might take him up to two days to complete, and each dash uses a stack of them.

“By using all my own techniques, if I want to update something, I can just go to the computer, make my updates, and come out with a fresh board,” he said. “Every single board I make, I can make again a year later, two years later, or 20 years later. I have everything there that it takes to do it.”

Helpful, given that his replicas come with a warranty.

Colie invited two of his customers to join us for our visit. Mark Murdock and his wife, Melissa, drove their 1985 One-TV car up from Raleigh, North Carolina, and Chad Pulliam came north from Fayetteville, North Carolina, in his 1990 Two-TV machine. Pulliam’s a big guy hiding behind mirrored shades, and it’s easy to take his shyness for brusqueness. But he warms up, revealing a broad laugh once we start talking about the car and the show. His KITT was a father-son project that began eight years ago.

Although any third-generation Trans Am can serve as a donor for a KITT build, later cars first have to be backdated to 1982 specification before any further modifications can be made. Pulliam isn’t a stickler for show accuracy, but it’s clear he adores his KITT. It’s one of three TV cars he owns; he also has a General Lee replica and a KARR, KITT’s evil twin.

For Murdock, his KITT is the only one he’s ever wanted. A few years back, an on-the-job accident, resulting in multiple rounds of surgeries on both shoulders, brought his 32-year EMS career to an end.

“The doctor says, ‘You’ll never work again. You’re on a 30-pound weight-lifting restriction for the rest of your life,’” he said. “I told my wife, ‘I’m suffering through surgery after surgery. I want something out of this. I’ve always wanted a KITT, so when I get the settlement, I’m going to take part of that money and buy one.’ And I did it.”

Every electronic component that Don Colie makes comes through this tidy solder bench. A single circuit board could take him two days to complete.

But of all the things, why this? Why an aging, third-generation Trans Am with a body makeover and a new dash? Murdock says part of it runs back to his childhood, when he saw a KITT replica at a car show and had the chance to sit behind the wheel. But now, it’s about sharing the joy with other people.

“A lot of people love the show and love the car,” Murdock said. “It makes me happy to see them happy and to relive their childhood. Everybody’s got to get a picture.”

To that end, Murdock has made certain his car is 100 percent TV-correct, right down to the missing Pontiac arrowheads on the hubcaps. Both his car and Pulliam’s were partially completed when they came to Colie for interior work.

Colie will do turnkey conversions, starting at $55,000. The work is extensive and starts with a near-complete disassembly. It’s one part conversion, one part restoration, and he says the work can be done in six to 12 months depending on the donor’s condition.

Colie’s devotion is astonishing to see, a faithfulness to functionality and the original source material that likely explains why he’s been able to make a living at this. Wandering around his shop, looking at the bins of resistors and switches, it’s clear he could have done anything he wanted with his life. Everything he does here, he taught himself. In another life, he could have helped put men on Mars, ushered in our autonomous future, or simply made a tidy fortune building props in Hollywood. Instead, he dedicated his adult life to “Knight Rider.” When asked why, he doesn’t have a ready answer, talking around the question, explaining the steps that led him here rather than the motivations behind them.

Watching “Knight Rider” now, 32 years after the series finale first aired, it’s difficult to understand. The show is riddled with cheesy effects, questionable plot lines, and gimmicky stunts. Young David Hasselhoff comes across more as an obtuse goofball than a handsome man of mystery. It takes some effort to look past all that, to see what sits at the show’s core. It’s the same thing that hangs at the center of all good science fiction: genuine optimism. It’s the belief that with a little cleverness and the right car, there’s nothing we can’t overcome, no situation so bleak or so dire that we can’t triumph in the end. Who wouldn’t want to spend their days keeping that alive?

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