#is it bad that I love a fictional character as much as I love Nathan Drake because it's bad

[paceypeternathanslawyer]

Over the years I have found that actors who are great friends for real life have the best chemistry onscreen. You can't manufacture that kind of chemistry. It's just natural. The physicality. The effortless comfortability they have around each other. The fire chemistry. These couples are James Lafferty and Bethany Joy Lenz from One Tree Hill who were great friends for real and are still close to this day. They've been to many comic cons and the chemistry is still on full display at these events (Nathan and Haley), Joshua Jackson and Katie Holmes from Dawson's Creek dated for real life and remained friends even after breakup. Josh said that Katie was his closest friend on set (Pacey and Joey), Jaleel White and Kellie Shanygne Williams from Family Matters were friends onset and Kellie recently said how she had a crush on Jaleel. They recently were reunited in an interview and their chemistry is still fire (Steve and Laura), Tom Welling and Erica Durance from Smallville were great friends. I love to hear Tom talk about Erica because there's clearly so much respect and love between them. They really loved to work with each other (Clark and Lois), Kennedy McMann and Alex Saxon from Nancy Drew are great friends. I don't know much else about their relationship. I just know that Kennedy has said they are close friends and also Kennedy is a big supporter of the Nace ship. I've also heard of little improvs and story ideas that they came up with for Nace so they clearly are very simpatico (Nancy and Ace), Erin Moran and Scott Baio from Happy Days dated on and off through the years (Chachi and Joanie), Rachel Brosnahan and Luke Kirby from The Marvelous Mrs Maisel are amazing friends. And this is another situation of two actors who really support each other and have a huge amount of respect for each other (Midge and Lenny) what all these couples have in common is that they are friends and/or romantically involved. One or both of the actors in each ship are major supporters or shippers of their characters together, they all have had amazing chemistry all through the years even after the shows ended, they all respect each other as actors and each other's talents, they all have fire chemistry that remained strong through the entire run of the shows, and insane physicality where they are so comfortable with each other and and great at adding little physical intimacies to their fictional relationships.

Some chemistry you can sort of manufacture. You can create the long looks, the stolen glances, the yearning, the jealousy. But then there's the upper echelon of TV couples that just have it all. They have all these things but the chemistry endures past the yearning stage 💖

Then there are some couples who maybe weren't overly close. They either hated each other or just got along but weren't super close and those couples mostly have that manufactured chemistry and I'm not saying that it doesn't take talent to do that. It takes acting talent and some of it is genuine. Also this chemistry is not bad. I love the long looks and the stolen glances but these types of couples need long ass slowburns because some of that naturally goes away when they get together like the yearning and stolen glances for instance. They don't have those crutches to fall back on and all they have is that little bit of genuine chemistry. I do wanna clarify that I have always hated when writers make couples on and off unnecessarily. Give them the slowburn but keep them together once they get together you cowards lol

There are other couples with insane chemistry who are close for real life but I had to end this post sometime but they exist and those are special ships to be sure! 💗

[thatpunkmaximoff]

Book Two of...

Story: 3 out of 5 Smut: 5 out of 5

I still can’t wrap my mind around these college kids being so lethal. I know it’s all fictional, but it’s just a little too much.

Don’t get me wrong, the story and smut is still entertaining, but it’s just not my cup of tea. I’m sure lots of you will enjoy it though.

Each character is enjoyable up to a certain point. There were many times I hated each character, but they redeemed themselves. Mostly.

And while I said that this wasn’t really my cup of tea, I still wanna read book three. I need to find out about Crystal and House Tartarus.

Now here are my rambling thoughts…

* Oh shit. I just realized that Lana is Felix’s little sister 🤦🏻‍♀️

* This fraternity rivalry is ridiculous. Like why does the Phantom Society wanna hit back at the Skull and Serpent Society? You guys fucked around and found out, and now you’re pissy?

* “Now make your choice, little kitty. What’s it going to be? Keep your secret or your body?” // “Secret.” // “Good choice.”

* Damn. Kai really took out his frustrations on Lana. Felix is gonna rage if he ever finds out.

* Wow. Kai’s keeping this a secret from his boys 👀

* Ew. Jason’s a lousy fuck.

* Damn. He really did lick her like a lollipop 😂

* As of right now, I like Kai, hate Nathan, and don’t trust Milo.

* Nathan wanting Milo to record everything Kai does to Lana so he can extort her is pissing me off. Felix should have killed him in book one.

* *sighs* I don’t know how I feel about these guys.. I like Kai well enough, but the other two suck. And don’t even get me started and Lana’s badassery. It’s just too much.

* Nathan’s really pissing me off. Kai got her to agree to be your fuck toy and you still wanna extort her for money? Fuck you, dude. I hope Kai kicks your ass when he finds out.

* “Are you going to tie me up again? Use me like your friends did!” // “No…” His knees slowly cave in on him, and he sinks to the cold, hard stones right in front of me. “I want to submit. To be punished, to be hurt… to be used. Command my body. I am yours.”

* Damn. Milo really is twisted. I only love him when he’s not being Nathan’s little bitch.

* Fucking Nathan extorting her for 2K and Jason abandoning her the moment he saw the pic. Fuck both these dudes.

* “It’s a matter of life or death.” // “Then die.”

* Wow. Lana actually had a semi-vulnerable moment with Nathan and Milo, and Nathan had to go and ruin it. I almost feel bad for Milo.

* Fuck. Jason knows. Jason knows and he’s gonna blab. If not him, then definitely Crystal. Lana is so fucked.

* Oh no. Poor Milo.

* Damn. Lana straight up murdered all those people when three guys couldn’t do it 😂

* Well fuck. Lana got recognized and now they’re gonna be after her. Is this where I start to really love the boys? The touch her and die vibes coming in?

* Lol Jason’s bitch ass got what he deserved. I can’t believe he told Felix everything. Fuck that dude.

* Why do I have a feeling this Caleb dude found that folder of Lana’s pics on Nathan’s laptop and is gonna use them for his gain 🤦🏻‍♀️

* Nathan’s parents ain’t coming out of prison. Damn. Oh well.

* Fucking called it.

* And now she’s been kidnapped. Awesome.

* So if Caleb didn’t send the pic, who did?

* Oh shit. It was Crystal. Accidentally, but still.. fuck.

* Damn. So Crystal got taken and now I gotta read book 3 to find out what happened to her 😒

[rosemarygrey]

I've been following the Team Lucabeth Reactions after the season Finale this year and quite Frankly They may claim that the reaction was the same from Team Nathan but I am sure that is was not this bad. Some Team Nathan fans sure were rude and insulting to the writers and hallmark powers that be, but I don't remember them going so far as to insult the actors and workers who have nothing to do with the storylines and there was especially not this creepy extra hate against mike hickams actor Ben Rosenbaum. I called out any team Nathan fan who were rude then for there rudeness and I would plead with Any team Lucas fans to apologise for there bullying too. these are people who are doing a Job and it is cyber bullying to berate them saying you wish them in hell or dead. You say you wish them in hell and that they are sinning yet if you read the beautiful word of God you would know that All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and Jesus came to save us from our sin and clense our minds from anger bitterness envy and strife and cultivate love peace and kindness in our hearts. I feel sad for you people who must be hurting so much inside that you want to hurt others too, and I pray that God will come into your heart and heal the wounds and scars you carry and make you whole again. I highly recommend you to read the Voyage of the Dawn treader by C.S.Lewis and see the change in the fictional character Eustus when he opens his heart to let Aslan(a representative of Jesus )heal him. The healing hurt him but it was a good pain, like taking out a thorn he said. It is hard to be healed but you will feel so much more free and be happier for it. God bless us Everyone as tiny Tim says in a Christmas Carol (another story I would recommend to hurting people.)

[aurorawest]

Reading update

The Winter Spirits: Ghostly Tales for Festive Nights - 5/5 stars

I bought this solely for the Natasha Pulley story, "The Salt Miracles," (I WOULD READ A WHOLE BOOK ABOUT FLINT AND THE SAINT, MX PULLEY), but every story was really good. My kind of spooky.

Seriously though, I wanted so much more of "The Salt Miracles." How was it a queer love story despite not being a love story or queer? God I love Natasha Pulley.

Henry Hamlet's Heart by Rhiannon Wilde - 5/5 stars

Really lovely YA romance set in Australia. The yearning is impeccable. Also, I hate myself for saying this, but it's historical fiction—it's set in 2008.

Handmade Holidays by 'Nathan Burgoine - 3.5/5 stars

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin - 4/5 stars

Not an easy read. The main character, David, is despicable, but in large part because he lives in a society that expects rigid adherence to gender roles. One thing I found really interesting was repeated emphasis on the fact that David won't act, he waits for someone else to do it for him—he acknowledges that if Joey had asked him to stay, he would have, that if Giovanni had asked him to stay, he would have. And then Hella tells him that as a woman, she has to wait for men to tell her things, but David doesn't tell her he's gay, he waits for her to figure it out herself. Hella makes this into an explicitly gendered dichotomy, which is interesting with David constantly fretting about not being a man because of his queerness.

Queer classic, people should read.

Merry & Bright by Joanna Chambers - 5/5 stars

They Hate Each Other by Amanda Woody - DNF at pg 2

Contained the following absolutely baffling author's note, which I quickly became so resentful of that I stopped reading.

Against the Stars by Christopher Hartland - 4.25/5 stars

Near-future sci-fi where everyone gets one 44 second look into their future. Fairly dark for YA. Also thematically relevant to my MCU fic.

Mistletoe & Mishigas by MA Wardell - 4.25/5 stars

This book was lovely. I loved Theo so much. Sheldon is very annoying but also very lovable. And it's nice to read a Hanukkah romance!

Haunted Hearts by K Sterling - DNF at pg 2

Did anyone edit this?

The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia - DNF at pg 21

Wanted to like this one but it just wasn't very well written. You ever read books where it's obvious the author spent too much time on their wOrlDbuILdiNg to the exclusion of actually writing a good book? Yeah.

Between Shadow and Flame by CT Bryce - DNF at 26

Editors? Hello?? Seriously, I feel like people are writing manuscripts on their phones and uploading them directly to Amazon from there.

The Power of the Dog by Thomas Savage - 4.5/5 stars

Oddly I found this to be not as difficult of a read as Giovanni's Room, in my private game of Ranking Queer Classics Against Each Other. Obviously Phil is an awful man, but in the end I felt bad for him, tbh. Phil is like, a really catty twink wrapped in layers of toxic masculinity and repressed homosexuality. And then Peter is a sociopath. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to sympathize with Peter? I didn't think I was, but then I scanned Annie Proulx's afterword and it seemed like she thought we were supposed to? Obviously you feel worst for all the people Phil just heedlessly tears to ribbons because he's a maladjusted asshole. I think the thing is, there were just enough glimmers where Phil acts like a human being that I was like, maybe you can be saved! Ah, tragedy.

Anyway, good book, 10/10 would recommend. (and no, I haven't seen the movie)

[readingbooksinisrael]

Mid-Year Book Freakout 2023

1. Best book you've read so far this year

Well, I reread Spinning Silver/Naomi Novik again… But besides rereads I really loved two non-fiction books: Treaties, Trenches, Mud, and Blood/Nathan Hale. It’s a graphic novel with the characters being represented as animals, so I was really nervous at first that it would make light of something tragic but it didn’t at all, and I think the illustrations emphasized the horrificness while still being appropriate for its intended audience (4th graders). (It also finally convinced me to pick up Maus.) 

The other was The Light of Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler’s Ghettos/Judy Batalion, which was an extensive following of a number of women resistance fighters in the ghettos, which is a subject that I hardly know about.

2. Best sequel you've read so far this year

It absolutely has to be Ribsy/Beverly Cleary, the last in the Henry Huggins series. I was nervous because it follows Ribsy the dog rather than Henry the human, but it was great. I liked the look at all the different families (except one) and Ribsy’s perspective. It nearly made me cry even/exactly when the good things were happening.

Also, special mention to The Chalet School in Exile/Elinor M. Brent-Dyer for acknowledging the murder of Jews by regular citizens back in the first year of WW2 when that’s something plenty of people refuse to admit to this day. (Though maybe it was easier then when it was an enemy country.)

3. New release you haven't read yet

All of them lol. I’ll choose six notables (one for each month):

The Dos and Donuts of Love/Adiba Jaigirdar--I loved Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating so much! I’m so excited about this I’m nervous

The Luis Ortega Survival Club/Sonora Reyes--I love a story about messed up experiences in high school

The Home for Wayward Girls/Marcia Bradley--See above

The Mimicking of Known Successes/Malka Ann Older--I heard it described as a Sherlock Holmes type mystery in space, and I’ve really wanted to read something by this author for a long time but this was the first book that really caught my eye

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride/Roshani Chokshi--It is my favorite sub-genre (fairy tale retelling) of a fairy tale that I find really interesting (Bluebeard) by an author I already know I enjoy

Sorry, Bro/Taleen Voskuni--Jews often feel that they have a lot of common with Armenians (for good reasons) so I’m really interested to read this story of someone claiming both her culture and her sexuality (even my mom was interested and she tries to not be homophobic but she winces at bi characters)

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

Delicate Condition/Danielle Valentine. This absolutely sounds like a book that is going to make me cry.

5. Biggest disappointment

Catherine, Called Birdy/Karen Cushman. This seemed like a book that would be right up my alley--historical, mg, epistolary, rebellious and funny main girl character--but it just fell flat for me in so many ways.

6. Biggest surprise

Leave It to Beaver/Beverly Cleary surprised me by actually being pretty good, which you don’t usually expect for a novelization of a tv show. It wasn’t her best work, but I do want to read the rest of the series.

And, then, one I saved for here, Top Secret/John Reynolds Gardiner. This was recommended me as a funny, gross book and it was that (admittedly, a bit light on the grossness but what was there was good), but it also very much talked about repressing creativity for bad reasons and I loved that.

7. Favorite new author (debut or new to you)

A.J. Sass. I read Ellen Outside the Lines in one night and immediately put two more of their books on my tbr.

8. Newest fictional crush/newest favorite character

Just the one? Well, Ead Duryan from Priory of the Orange Tree/Samantha Shannon is exactly the type of character I love; but have you read about the angel/Uriel Shtetler from When the Angels Left the Old Country?! It thinks in such an interesting way about things and so it changes in a very odd way. (Also, it becoming more ‘human’ doesn’t make it stop using it/its pronouns!)

9. Book that made you cry

Ribsy, I’ve mentioned, but I don’t think any other book made me cry.

10. Book that made you happy

I reread The Girl With the Silver Eyes/Willo Davis Roberts to see if it still held up after over a decade since I first read it and it absolutely did. It acknowledges that grown-ups can make mistakes while trying to help children and that children have the right to defend themselves from that as well as actually evil adults. Also, read this fanfiction of Katie as an adult.

Riding Lessons/Jane Smiley also made me happy because it didn’t attempt to pathologise a kid whom I think would be pathologised today.

Tagging @ninja-muse @bookcub @opalescentswan @books-are-portals and @gigilberry (Only if you want to, obviously.)

[elena-fishr]

PSA

If anyone enjoys reading fantasy, one of my fav series has two free novels to read!! https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/71578/the-riyria-chronicles !!

I just want to share because this series and it’s characters have brought me so much joy plus it’s never a bad thing to find and share free books :D and if anyone wants to talk about Hadrian and Royce IM HERE I love Riyria lol

Like Nathan Drake, these thieves have amazing banter and adventures together <3 so if you miss that kind of thing it’s here in a fantasy setting

Royce and Hadrian are a duo that are two sides of the same coin, but one side is a lot more tarnished than the other :s

Hadrian’s heart is golden while Royce is like a cold dark shadow but they’re BFFs!!!! They’re the best at what they do (which is another trope I like, professionals doing what they excel at even if it’s breaking the law lol) they can take impossible jobs and pull it off in exciting ways

[doglyfag]

fighting poison ghost :P

[Fighting]: What’s one thing that you and your f/o can’t seem to agree on? Do you often debate the topic or choose avoid it? - oohh lord LOL we talked about this over the weekend irl but i think the way mac talks about some things is something that umm it takes a long time for nathan, harley, and him to come to even grounds with. just because of how mac gets very set in his habits when they're like rewarded in any way and is constantly around people who reaffirm those bad habits to him by laughing or agreeing (ie the gang NOT us). mac has a good heart and nathan and harley can see that, so they choose to debate this kind of thing often i think because they know they need to pushback against what his friends are like reaffirming to him are okay things to say

[Poison]: Who’s the better caretaker in your relationship and how do you help each other when one of you is sick? - hmm this is really hard because harley is the one who takes care of both mac and nathan. basically. so. LOL but between just mac and i i would say that nathan takes care of mac more than mac takes care of nathan. when mac is sick i think nathan usually makes sure to pick up extra hours at the factory so harley can stay home from his job and take care of mac and they won't miss too much of the income from having two guys out of work, which ig sounds really um sad LOL but i think its realistic and thats always important to you and i, that our relationship is realistic with mac. i think when nathan is sick mac is like a sad puppy laying in bed with him whenever he can despite nathan and harley's warnings both that doing that will probably also get mac sick LOL

[Ghost]: Has your f/o ever helped you get over a fear? Have they ever pushed you out of your comfort zone? - this is really hard because well irl i would say loving mac has helped me overcome umm the fear of people think i am cringe or weird for loving a fictional character so seriously outside of kin reasons! so that's definitely a push out of my previous comfort zone and overcoming that sort of anxiety, but as for like other things... well i'm scared of pretty much everything in the world so i'm sure one day there will be something (: i'm also sure he's done the same for nathan on many occasions, like pushing him to try a food he wouldn't otherwise or going somewhere he wouldn't have before

[strawberry-selfships]

HII OSCAR I hope you’re doing well!! I know we don’t talk one-on-one all that often but I saw that you picked up Giles from BTVPS pretty recently! My mom and sister have loved that show for as long as I can remember and although I haven’t seen much of it myself it has a sort of nostalgic premise to me. What about Giles made you fall for him? :3c

HIHI I HOPE UR DOING WELL TOO!!!!! AND THANK U FOR THE ASK!!!!! <3

ppl have actually been telling me id like giles for the past THREE YEARS (i checked) so . it was only a matter of fate and time for me and him

i guess the biggest draw has always been his actor, who i know for playing another one of my romantic f/os, nathan from repo the genetic opera :3 <3 and ive been with him for also like three years or so

i also do have a general draw to fictional school staff, idk what it is abt them but i always tend to selfship with them, not even always romantically . i jsut really like fictional school staffs

and i um . unfortunately i like british characters . i'll come to terms with it for u .

all three of those were prerequisites tho!!! so ofc i was down horrendous for him after one word was uttered from his mouth . but now as i watch the show im realizing like,,, hes so cute, hes stern yet flexible, and despite it hes real concerned and caring,, and sweet,, and smart,, and unafraid to stand up for himself and those he cares for,,,, and its just sooooooo comforting to me hes become such a huge huge Huge comfort to me . like ive been going thru it Real Rough Bad lately . so hes been my main solace thru it all and its just made me more and more attached ;w; i love him soooo much,,,,, so so much ;w; <3 he means so much to meeee silly librarian

[vole-mon-amour]

Some of my LIS2 choices. I did my best and mostly went with my gut, even though some walkthroughs did affect my choice. Some choices I didn't even know were available, and some, like Daniel helping Sean with carrying water in ep3, I missed. He offered help, but I didn't ask him to use the power, so he didn't.

Overall, some decisions didn't matter. For example, I didn't tell that abuser next door that we're staying at our Grandparents', but he still called them that later and didn't even flinch, like it was normal. Some decisions, like in s4, still lead to the same outcomes, which really felt like Telltale—absolutely useless and annoying.

Mushroom's death, by the way, was still unnecessary. The way the game forces your hand to do one choice or the other sometimes (why is hetero romance "right" and same sex romance is "bad"? Why does Cassidy see that the heist is hella dangerous and a horrible idea, while Finn gets greedy and goes, "Dude, your brother asked me to, I didn't force him"? Hello? Who's the adult here?)

I would've loved to romance Finn just for the sake of telling him that "I like some boys" and "I like you" and the overall "I find you cute", but fuck, man. You're blaming a nine year old? You see his power and that's your immediate chain of thoughts and actions? Again, no wonder you've been to jail at such a young age already.

Episode 2:

Episode 3:

Episode 4 (i HATE this episode. Such a waste of the players' time and possibilities):

Episode 5:

First and foremost, Arthur and Stanley are the best. Love those dudes. Might be my fav characters here. Go, you old gays. <3

Honestly, not the worst ending, but could've been better. Would've loves to see both brothers in Mexico, protected by a gang or something.

On the other hand, Daniel loved Sean enough to make the way for him, tell him, "don't go back for me" and "hope you're happy in Mexico".

I understand why I got this ending. I tried to teach Daniel not to be a complete asshole, so he refused to hurt any more people; I tried to enjoy my own journey, so we didn't get a brotherly bond up to 100%. I tried to teach him about not talking about his power with the others & that annoyed him. I'd be such a horrible parent/older sibling. Getting annoyed at Daniel, a fictional kid, is bad enough. I'm glad I'm an only child.

Also, fuck Karen. Just because she FINALLY helped her kids doesn't erase her actions. She could've totally use her head and not get married and have kids. It wasn't society, parents or whatever. She made her choice. And to write her a heartfelt letter, "sorry for getting you involved, it's not your problem"? Hello???? She abandoned them? She's their mother, after all (or at least she claims to be)? It's her duty? That's shitty parenting right there. I wish Sean could've told her waaay more in both ep4 and ep5. It's just not realistic the way they actually scripted it.

Overall, I enjoyed this game more than the first one, but I still felt too old for the game? The first 5 hours (so 2 episodes) felts like 20 hours and gave me a horrible headache. I hate first LIS with their problems and parties, and the choices that don't matter, and fucking Chloe that pissed me off sooo much. I gave LIS2 a chance because the brothers reminded me of Sam and Nathan. For a while I imagined them on the road, since they have been on the run as teenagers, too. Then I got used to it, but Daniel was still annoying. I will never love kids, that's for sure.

The way people kind of expect you to sacrifice Arcadia Bay? Lmao, no. Also, I'm glad we didn't have to deal with Captain Spirit nonsense too much. I would still have appreciated if it wasn't there at all, I couldn't even play the demo because of how much the kid annoys me (again, not a fan of kids), but I'm glad it was only for one episode. And I'm glad I could push past the weed, party, booze problems at the very start of the game. That is not my thing at all.

I am glad I am done with the game for now. Maybe I'll go for collectibles later, but I honestly doubt it. They don't even give achievements for different outcomes, which is a shame.

[bisexualnathanyoung]

Me rambling about fictional characters

I didn’t realize how much of a privilege it was to have a blorbo that was so loserfail because 99% of the time when someone would insult Nathan or misinterpret him, I would just be like “yeah he’s kinda an asshole I can see that,” but now whenever someone has Bad Opinions about either Gale Dekarios or Lucien from ACOTAR, I’m internally like NO YOU DON’T GET IT YOU MISUNDERSTOOD EVERYTHING

Like I love a character that’s very lovable but also a little bit of a bitch, but I guess Nathan was enough of a bitch where I was like “yes there are Problems” which is why I had to write an entire fanfiction series about him. Idk something special about loving a show and hating it at the same time. But I also had the advantage of Misfits being very old and people not usually sharing their opinion about it, so I didn’t usually have the urge to fight people.

[monstermaster13]

TftW: Caddyshacking.

Subtitle: Love For The Unappreciated.

Tom Everett TF/Were-Aykroyd scenario.

~~~~~~

There is a common misconception that sometimes authors seek out to punish others for no specific reason when it comes to their fiction and Nathan was no exception, he was sometimes accused of this but really he was just as capable of doing it to himself just as much and as such often found himself in some peculiar situations. And now he was experiencing his own stories that actually were happening to him, in a little piece I liked to call ‘’Nobody’s Fool Moon: A Were-Aykroyd Tale’’. It had only been one year since he created the ‘Were-Aykroyd’ a personality created using his wild imagination and based on his dreams, he didn’t know why and how but since then the character had become a major influence in a number of ways, the character/persona was always there. Nathan hated to admit it, but since becoming the Were-Aykroyd he admitted that having dreams about his inner 'Aykroyd' being let out via transformations into Dan Aykroyd and his characters were oddly entrancing and that he wanted it, he attempted to resist every time but sometimes he just gave in to the transformation and let 'Dan' take over him, sometimes he'd go under as 'Dan' emerged, and sometimes he'd talk like he was one of Dan's characters.

Sometimes he didn’t know why it happened but he’d wake up feeling a little bit confused and increasingly more nervous with each time that this happened, he was worried, not just worried, petrified, of what would happen to him. With his Were-Aykroyd powers sometimes being unpredictable and sometimes resulting in him turning someone even if he didn’t mean to, or in some cases winding up with a few new friends without knowing it, he was terrified of ever letting his Were-Aykroyd side out out of fear he wouldn’t be able to control it, granted he could..sometimes, but other times, the ‘Aykroyd’ side always got out and always managed to get the upper hand.

It was October 21st, 2021 and luckily Nathan never forgot to check his lunar calendar, however…unlike most Werecreature stories, the Were-Aykroyd didn’t just come out at full moon, but almost every night. You see, with Were-Aykroyds, the victim doesn’t just turn into Dan himself but into characters of his and it’s a different one each night. The previous night Nathan had found himself morphing into Mike Webber from the short lived sitcom Soul Man which wasn’t to be confused with the Cedric the Entertainer sitcom or the infamously bad 80’s movie, the night before he was Roman Craig. He wondered what was going to happen to him on this very night.

He was looking through the movie channels on his video player on his computer, when he saw Caddyshack II playing. ‘Ugh…my least favorite Aykroyd movie, it’s even Dan’s own least favorite. Why would the movie channel play this movie other than to mock me for being a fan of Dan.’ That’s when he heard the voice of his ‘Were-Aykroyd’ persona echoing in his mind. ‘Now come on buddy, you know you must watch it…’ ‘But it’s awful and Aykroyd’s character is annoying.’ ‘But don’t you love Dan? Of course you do.’

“I suppose you’re right.”

‘Of course I am and even though you don’t like the character, you might find that you’ll grow to like him.’ ‘How though?’ ‘Just listen to me…a good Were-Aykroyd always listens and always gives new things a chance.’ Those words entered his mind and wormed their way in, making him actually want to give Caddyshack II a chance. He had survived much worse in terms of bad movies, he had survived Rhinestone and even Ghosts Can’t Do It and Epic Movie. Surely Caddyshack II couldn’t be that awful, right? He might have been tempting his own fate but he really couldn’t help it really, it’s just that those words hypnotized him and conditioned him.

He watched the movie even though he hated it, and that’s when he saw the moon’s light reflecting off the screen…he felt an odd sensation going through his body as his stomach gurgled as if he had eaten something he shouldn’t…’ugh…I don’t feel good. I can feel it happening.’ ‘It’s only a matter of time until you change.’

“I can keep you at bay.”

“During the day at least…but at night, you’re mine.”

‘I know, but I wish I could control my Aykroydian urges sometimes…’ Nathan always had trouble with his Aykroydian urges and the dreams were fueling them even further, he couldn’t help but help think of seeing Victoria, the halloween loving prankster transform, and that scene in general…all the Were-Aykroyd transformation scenes in his dreams, oh how sometimes he wished that the transformation was happening to him in the ones in which it happened to someone else, he couldn’t help but remember Grocer appeared to him…specifically it was his Were-Aykroyd alter-ego, ’but out of all the characters of Dan’s to take after why did it have to be Grocer? Couldn’t it be Mike Webber or Elwood, or even Beldar?’ ‘Well I suppose if I didn’t choose to appear as a less psychotic Aykroyd character you would have gotten those, but as such you take after me.’ ‘How?’ ‘We’re siblings, and siblings copy each-other.’

He remembered another scene, the first dream he had of turning Were-Aykroyd and how relieved he was when it turned out to be just, only for his relief to turn into shock/horror when he found out that he had been bitten/bite-kissed, and that’s when he saw the Were-Aykroyd from the dream looking at him. He panicked…’no, way…I have to be dreaming again, I have to be dreaming, I have to be dreaming.’ ‘This is no dream, now you’ll become like me.’ He tossed and turned and saw that the Were-Aykroyd from his dream had the exact same blue eyes as Vic from the 1981 film Neighbors. And then he witnessed his first dream induced transformation into a Were-Aykroyd…’oh no…this is no dream, this is really happening!’, he screamed in a way which mirrored the iconic scene from Rosemary’s Baby.

Those scenes were permanently in his mind along with his first Were-Aykroyd transformation, he always dreaded and feared his Were-Aykroyd transformations, he always had the picture in his head of them being painful/horrifying ala An American Werewolf In London or something Cronenbergian, he recalled having a vision once in which he was looking in a mirror and he saw pieces of his face falling off and peeling off to reveal the Were-Aykroyd underneath in a manner that seemed like The Company Of Wolves’s iconic transformations.

“Now now, don’t be afraid of those dreams, it’s natural to dream of becoming a Were-Aykroyd since you are and so am I.”

“But sometimes I wish I could control..”

‘I know, you wish you could control the Aykroyd within but sometimes you can’t help but fall under my power.’ Nathan felt uneasy as his arms slowly began to bulk up, his skin lost imperfections as a couple of tattoos materialized on them…’my arms!’, his arms did also gain a few dirt splotches on them. ‘Your changes are already beginning, look.’ His stomach gurgled once more as it broadened, hairs slowly growing on it…the hairs darkened while his chest and torso contorted in the process, growing to support his body. His chest slowly sprouted brownish hairs on it, he groaned.

“I’ll do anything, please…”

“Now, don’t you love this though? You’re a good Were-Aykroyd aren’t you?”

Those words wormed their way into his mind once again as he saw his rear slowly pumping up, he attempted to resist his transformation but couldn’t help but simp over himself as his jeans slowly turned into a pair of camo pants that fitted his rear, hs legs broadened as his feet slowly enlarged, two of the toes on both feet sticking together and gaining a webbed appearance, giving him his Aykroydian feet. His blue top slowly altered to become a camo top and jacket as a pair of gloves materialized on his hands which enlarged. ‘No…I cannot be…i’m turning into Tom Everett?’ ‘That’s right you are.’

“But why him? Out of all the Aykroyd characters to turn into, why him?”

‘You know how unpredictable your Were-Aykroyd powers can be.The Were-Aykroyd side, i.e me, can take on many forms of Dan Aykroyd characters, I just so happened to select this one for you.’ Now you may think that when someone does a fic that is about some poor sap being transformed it’s mostly a hate-fic, but I assure you it is not and besides, you have issues if you think almost every one of these type of fics is a hate-fic, it is not like authors aren’t capable of torturing themselves. Nathan hated himself more than those types of people hated him, in fact he tortured himself frequently in some of his own fics just to know how it felt like.

Sometimes whenever he did something like kill off a character of someone else’s he would cry and act like he murdered someone for real, he felt guilty, he felt like he was a murderer. He wasn’t perfect, yes he could be a vindictive little creep at times or a jealous type, especially when someone he loved spent more time with someone. Jealousy ate away at him sometimes and he could never cope with loss.

That’s why he enjoyed the idea of being able to transform and become someone else, because he could lose himself in whoever he was becoming. As much as hated what was happening to him, he actually did enjoy the process of transforming, and being a Were-Aykroyd did help him throughout 2020. He examined himself once more..’there we go, look at you, don’t you feel better?’ ‘Uh…Mr Were-Aykroyd sir, I still don’t feel good…i feel weird.’ Nathan responded, but he gasped with shock when he heard that his voice deepened and altered, altering a bit to sound like Tom’s. ‘Hey, that’s not fair, what have you done to my voice?’ ‘Hush now, we know that’s what you sound like.’

“No it’s not, I don’t sound like Tom Everett.”

“Oh but you do, listen to you.”

Nathan panicked, and he didn’t know what to do…by this point he was already close to becoming extremely like that character, hearing that character’s voice come out of his mouth horrified him but he couldn’t resist simping over himself. He was a simp for Dan Aykroyd, that much was true and even in the worst of roles…Dan found a way to get into his heart. He examined his appearance, as he felt alien. His brow and forehead altered with the latter enlarging as his eyebrows thickened and his eyes widened, one turning from brown to green and the other remaining brown.

Black smudges that resemble war-paint like you’d see on a football player painted themselves on his face as his nose slowly broadened, developing a cleft in the middle as his features contorted, his lips became a bit more kissable as his features slowly warped, becoming Aykroydian, now making him look exactly like the character he was turning into…’Oh my dark lord, look at me…i’m…ugly.’ ‘You’re not ugly, you’re sexy. You’re an Aykroyd character, you’re a Were-Aykroyd like me, you’re sexy.’ ‘But look at me, i’m one of the least likable characters Dan has ever played.’

“Least likable?”

‘I’ve never seen anyone who actually likes Caddyshack II. Well okay, i’ve seen a few people who like that movie but still…’ ‘Are you saying that Tom Everett isn’t a likable character?’ ‘Oh no no…I don’t hate that character, I just don’t understand how anyone could love a character as dumb and annoying as he is.’ ‘All Aykroyd characters are lovable though, and sexy…look at you.’ ‘But…’

He held his head, attempting to keep his Aykroydian traits contained, true he did look kind of nice like this. ‘Admit it, you really like this.’ ‘Well you’re kind of right there, I do like it…I just don’t know how to feel about it.’ ‘Maybe this will help you.’ Nathan coughed for a little bit and as he did, his voice slowly altered itself like it did before, becoming exactly like Tom Everett’s voice. ‘My voice…nooo, I want my old voice back please.’

“A good Were-Aykroyd always approves of his changes.”

“I guess you’re right…”

‘Of course I am, you’re a good Were-Aykroyd. You’ve been away from me for a long time and that made me worried that you had forgotten me. But luckily you never forget me, after all I am a part of you and always will be.’ ‘Now why would I forget you anyway? You’re my alter-ego, I permanently have Were-Aykroyd powers because of you manifesting all through last year.’ ‘Exactly, even if you’re someone else, your half Aykroydian dna will always lead you back to me.’

“Absolutely.”

“I was wrong to doubt you, Mr Were-Aykroyd.”

A couple of minutes later Nathan’s personality merged with Tom Everett’s, he was still himself but he was a Were-Aykroyd with hypnotic powers that just so happened to be in the form of Tom Everett, true he tended to act like the character but he was still himself. ‘You know I was thinking.’ ‘Yes?’ ‘That maybe you should introduce yourself, and your Aykroydian brethren to that new attendant.’

“You mean Otho Fenlock?”

“Yes, him.”

‘But Mr Were-Aykroyd, I don’t think he’d approve.’ ‘But he definitely would…Otho could do with some love and affection. He’s a character who barely gets any attention in terms of Beetlejuice merch.’ ‘That’s true. Apart from the Kenner figure and the Minimates figure, he gets left out…poor guy.’ That’s when Tom Everett spotted Otho himself, Otho was examining an artifact.

“Mr Fenlock…”

“Yes? What may I do for you?”

“I heard that you are an underappreciated character.”

‘That’s definitely true. But I sort of have my own group of admirers too.’ ‘I know the feeling.’ ‘Oh really now?’ ‘Yes, my name is Tom Everett. I am an unappreciated character too, in many ways. Nobody likes the movie I'm from except for a few people and well some people find me annoying.’ Otho looked away for a bit, blushing as if he was being flattered, he always did enjoy being flattered and he never had any problems being generous in return. The interior designer definitely felt shocked to find that Tom liked him and even more so when Tom hugged him and kissed him. ‘Oh my…someone really likes me, I don’t think i’ve felt this way before.’

“There’s more where that came from.”

He didn’t know how to feel about this…he felt a rather unusual sensation surging through his body as he underwent a metamorphosis, a metamorphosis which gave him Aykroydian traits and made him half Aykroyd-like in terms of his appearance and mannerisms but also kept some of his usual traits like his snarky personality and deep Glenn Shadixian voice and baritone mixed in with Aykroyd’s voice. Otho was now half Were-Aykroyd because of Tom Everett’s kiss transferring his powers into him.

“Oh my…what have you done?”

“Oops…I forgot to warn you that I might be contagious.”

“So now i’m half…Aykroyd?”

“Well yeah, but don’t you worry.”

Otho felt a little bit confused about this, on one hand it felt good to be loved but he was half Were-Aykroyd now and he still was partially himself, he felt like attacking Tom but he didn’t do that since he respected him a bit more, Tom had been kind to him and didn’t treat him like he was a pain in the behind. And so he walked off for a while and continued looking around. Delia did however stop by to ask Tom if he had seen Otho though. ‘Mrs Deetz, your friend went over in the apartment room next door to look around. He’s really nice.’ ‘Thank you.’

And thus with that Tom Everett continued searching around and he looked out the window, seeing the moon so bright and beautiful made him feel at peace, and that was not just because of his Were-Aykroyd traits, he just in general was relaxed by it. He later invited the other Aykroyd characters over and they had a lovely night hanging out together. As for Otho, he eventually did turn back to normal afterwards but he did find it difficult to explain to Delia and Charles about what happened to him earlier.

Thus comes the little moral of the story, sometimes you have to realize that authors of this type aren’t the uncaring monsters that they are sometimes viewed as being, yes they can be pricks sometimes and sometimes without knowing it, even if they do ruin somebody’s reputation in written form or some form or anything, they’ll always feel bad for it and they are capable of experiencing the pain that some of their supposed subjects go through, heck the best authors try their own hand at experiencing it themselves.

And also an additional part of this moral indicates that sometimes it helps to transform yourself in order to get into the mind of your characters and know how they feel and how it feels for them. And remember this my friend, being weird isn’t so bad, being Aykroyd-like is great too, remember, we’re all special in our own unique way. It doesn’t matter what species you are, be true to yourself and you cannot go wrong.

[nowritingonthewall]

What are your must see oscar things that new fans should watch?

Hi Nonnie,

Welcome to the Oscar fandom, please take a seat, have some cookies & some brownies and a hot beverage of your choice 🥰

Oh my, I am afraid the only correct answer to your question is: All of them!!! Oscar is such a talented and skilled and amazing actor and his filmography covers so many different characters and there isn’t a single role in which he doesn’t shine, even if the rest of the movie may not.

It’s literally impossible to choose (and of course, the answer may be highly dependent on your personal preferences), but I am going to try anyway 😊

Since you said that you are new to the fandom, I am going to assume that you discovered him via his incredible performance as sweet and adorable Steven and that you haven’t seen any of his other roles yet. So…

This may be extremely slightly biased because I love him so much, but I have to start with Poe Dameron! I know, I know, the Star Wars Sequels are probably among the most hated movies of this century and sadly the fandom can be a very toxic place. However, once you get past that (and the homophobia and the racism and the misogyny and all the missed opportunities, yeah I am sorry, it really does sound bad, doesn’t it), Poe is one of the most lovable characters you’ll ever meet! People keep saying that all Oscar had to do was to have great hair and look insanely hot pretty (which he did, of course) and the movies certainly don’t come close to displaying even a fraction of his acting abilities, but I’d say that a lot of what made Poe such a warm and caring and lovable character can actually be attributed to what Oscar brought to this role! And speaking from experience, you certainly don’t have to be a die hard Star Wars fan to enjoy the movies (I’d even say that it might actually help to approach them without any expectations)! Plus, the Poe fans on tumblr are literally some of the nicest people in the galaxy! I am so sorry, I’ve started to ramble, I’ll try to keep it shorter from here on.

Santiago ‘Pope’ Garcia (Triple Frontier): You may have noticed the fans on tumblr lovingly calling him Santi during the Moon Knight press events, which already shows how much the fans love this character. Frankly, his beautiful booty alone should have won all the awards, given how hard it was acting in this movie. At its core it’s a heist movie about five total idiots former soldiers that’s actually really fun to watch. And even if you don’t immediately fall in love with Santi, there are several other men to fill that void. Plus, we get to see Oscar acting alongside his space sister Pedro Pascal!

Llewyn Davis (Inside Llewyn Davis): Sweet and grumpy folk musician Llewyn. Oscar himself said that this role made him feel like he was being re-born. It was certainly the first movie in which he could really flex his acting muscles and boy, did he rise to the occasion! Plus, we get to hear him sing AND show of his incredible guitar skills, which would actually be enough of a reason to watch this movie.

Nathan Bateman (Ex Machina): This is kind of a classic even beyond the Oscar fandom and the famous dancing scene would make it worth watching alone. Apart from that, I think that it’s an excellent psychological thriller with fictional elements that aren’t even that fictional at all. (Plus, if you’ve seen Star Wars, you’ll get to see Poe and Hux again.) And once you have realized that Nathan isn’t the arsehole that he pretends to be, you’ll be glad to find out that there are a lot of wonderful writers on tumblr who are incredibly talented at exploring his softer side! *glances totally inconspicuously towards @writefightandflightclub*

Mikael Boghosian (The Promise): This is probably one of Oscar’s hardest and most heart-breaking movies to watch because it deals with the Armenian Genocide. Oscar’s character is the very definition of a good and decent man and you can tell how everyone involved really cared about the absolutely devastating human tragedy that made up the heart of this film, instead of just using it as a background to move along the love story.

Peter Malkin (Operation Finale): Similarly as hard to watch (though for entirely different reasons) as The Promise because it explores the aftermath of the Holocaust. It is based on the real life events surrounding the capture of Adolf Eichmann and Oscar was absolutely fantastic!

Leto Atreides (Dune): I have to admit that I haven’t read the books, so I can’t personally say how true the movie was to the original material, but the cinematography alone is simply breathtaking! The people who were most disappointed with this movie were probably the ones who expected this to be some kind of homage to Star Wars, which it definitely is not! No matter how many General Poe fantasies may come out of watching Duke Leto in action. If you know the story, you’ll know that the ending is devastating but Oscar as Leto was beyond amazing!

Abel Morales (A Most Violent Year): This movie is intense and Oscar’s acting is as well, even if we don’t actually see a lot of action (I am sorry, this will totally make sense once you have watched this movie).

Rydal Keener (The Two Faces of January): Rydal is definitely one of Oscar’s more underappreciated roles. He is an actual sweetie who just happens to have made the odd not-so-good choice in his life. And the scenery of the movie is really beautiful!

William Tell (The Card Counter): There are many fans of Oscar who didn’t like this movie, but even if it may not be your cup of tea, I can only encourage you to watch it at least once, because Oscar’s acting was so incredible! (A word of caution, though: there are several scenes that are very violent and may be triggering or disturbing to some people.)

Jonathan (Scenes from a Marriage): Not a movie but a mini series that’s based on the famous series by Ingmar Bergman. This one kind of split the fandom. Some loved it, others hated it. While I can’t compare it to the original series, I can say that it is definitely very painful and heart-breaking to watch. And the acting by both Oscar and Jessica Chastain was out of this world.  

Nick Wasicsko (Show Me a Hero): Speaking of mini series, Show Me a Hero is an absolute must-watch! If you happen to know the story of Nick Wasicsko, then you’ll know that the ending is utterly heart-breaking. Oscar was so amazing (I am sorry, I am kind of saying that about every role that he played) and he more than earned winning the Golden Globe for his performance!

Richard Alonso Muñoz (The Letter Room): A short film that was directed by his wife Elvira and also features his brother Michael – basically a family production. Richard is literally one of the sweetest men on this planet and I’d say it is absolutely impossible to not fall in love with him.

Uhm, okay, I’ve tried to keep it down to his larger roles and the list is probably way too long already, but if you happen to really fall in love with Oscar and his acting, you definitely should check out some of his smaller roles:

Michael Perry (Won’t Back Down)

Reeves (10 Years)

Orestes (Agora)

Sgt. Kane (Annihilation)

Evgeni Kolpakov (W.E.)

And my very dear Outcome 3 (or as his fans like to call him: David) (The Bourne Legacy)

I am sorry, I really tried to keep it short 😆 If you’re actually still reading, I hope that you have a most lovely and amazing day 🥰

[altervera]

I’ve just finished the last book of the Half Bad trilogy and... oh my god, I’m so angry, I’m furious, I’m fuming... what a shitshow it was, what a total sheer idiotic shit, I hate it so freaking much I don’t remember hating a piece of fiction so much, but here I am, hating Half Lost’s guts... I mean... there is fiction that is bad and it doesn’t make you mad, you just quit it. But this? This is the worst kind of fiction, it’s like fire in madman’s hands, he beckons you with it, he warms your icy limbs, but then he starts giving you burns, tortures you, watches you scream, enjoys it, and eventually puts you on fire.

The story had so much potential... the world, the magic, the characters, the main idea. But all of it... wasted. There are so many stupid, utterly stupid plot holes and writing choices I’m... lost for words. Now I’m gonna get into details so if you haven’t read the books but still want to (i don’t recommend. save yourself some time and brain cells), and don’t want spoilers, then stop reading.

So, Nathan got all those gifts, strong gift, each of them alone could give him a huge advantage. But instead of practicing them properly he does what? chases some effing amulet!! Yes, it’s cool, makes you invincible, big power, but you already have huge power, idiot!! the power no one else has. just learn how to use it properly!! And he learns, oh he does... He learns to stop time... very, very useful gift, isn’t it? Yeah, but how does this idiot use it? Well, he doesn’t. He uses it once to get away from a stupid argument (that he started because he threw a tantrum), impresses everyone, makes them go “wow, nathan can stop time” and then never uses it ever again. ever. he tries, yeah, fails, then later tries again and succeeds but it doesn’t work the way he needs so it’s useless. what was the point of him learning how to use it when at the end he can’t use it to save anybody? right, there was no point. like in majority of this book (and the whole series). It would be so much more interesting and logical if he was looking for Ledger so they taught him to access his gifts and master them faster. Then even the final fight would be more impressive and spectacular.

But ok, he gets the amulet and then explores its weak points and even finds some: he still can be trapped, suffocate if there is no air, and his mind can be controlled. So, they discover all of those and do what? Ensure those things won’t happen? Get some additional protection from them? No. They do nothing. Absolute fuck all. Also, they guess Soul doesn’t want to kill Nathan but control him, they heard about the secret potion, and, again, did NOTHING about it. And guess what happens at the most crucial moment of the story? If you think nathan gets trapped under some magic dome without air access and then gets hit by magic that controls his mind (by simply walking into an office of a guy who he knows is brewing a potion to control him, and sniffing some stuff), you’re absolutely right. But don’t u worry, he gets free before you have time to worry. So, what was the point of discovering the weaknesses? No point. What was the point of nathan being captured and mind-controlled for a second? No point, just so we the readers don’t get bored (i the reader didn’t get bored but the annoyance also not the kind of emotion i enjoy). 

And the ending.... oh, that fucking ending. First of all, during the whole book, when nathan was training his multiple strong gifts and getting the invincible amulet for his precious self I was like... ok, but what about Gabriel? You worry about dying, losing war, but there is this lad who you love and can’t see your life without, the boy who can transform into other people and can fight i guess but in a normal human way this boy is pretty effing vulnerable. (also, his gift is so damn useless, really... it serves its purpose in the beginning of the series and then never put into use ever again). He can easily die in a random fight not to mention a freaking raid on the enemy den. Also, if hunters knew how close he and nathan are (which they didn’t really hide) then he could be used against nathan. if he was captured, nathan would do whatever they say to save him. (that actually would be interesting plot twist, not very original but at least more logical). But that idiot of a halfblood didn’t think about it once, no, not a single time in his mind there was a thought like “hey, the love of my life can die any moment and he only has a transformation gift as a protection which is not much so maybe I should do sth to protect him, maybe stick to his side, keep an eye on him, maybe give him some protection potion”. but NO HE DIDN’T DO A SINGLE THING TO PROTECT GABRIEL. only when it is late but even then this stupid moron didn’t use an ounce of his stupid brain and thought that the bullets will ricochet from him (THEY HAD DONE THE TEST THEY KNOW THE BULLETS DO IT) and hurt other people (also, i don’t understand the physics here. how come that nathan was between gabriel and jessica but bullets ricocheted behind him?? aren’t they supposed to ricochet into general direction of opposite side they came from???) I’m so mad at this idiot i don’t even feel sorry for him in the last chapters where he goes mad and grieves gabriel (ok, i do, but angrily). but i feel terribly sorry for gabriel (and by sorry i mean I'm heartbroken, my heart was ripped from my chest) he was perfect, he was kind and compassionate and caring and sweet and gentle and cheeky and funny and many many more. He deserved the world and not this stupid ass ridiculous absolutely pointless death (no, really, what was the point of him dying? All 3 books are full of angst, the hero suffers all kinds of terrible things, why not give him ONE good thing he can keep, huh?) And i could forgive many faults of this series but not the ending - it’s too cruel, too stupid, and too pointless. 

[gra-sonas]

Have you caught your breath yet?

Talk about one hell of a cliffhanger! Roswell, New Mexico Season 3 Episode 13 left viewers with a plethora of questions and SHIRI APPLEBY! That's right, the OG Liz was on-screen, and the reveal gave me goosebumps!

Here is part two of my conversations with EP Christopher Hollier and Michael Vlamis, which takes a closer look at the finale and peek at what's ahead.

There was a tremendous amount of information dumped on the audience throughout those two hours, with Roswell, New Mexico Season 3 Episode 12 being the softer of the two, with a greater focus on the quieter moments between characters.

Hour two was heavier on the action but still gave us some beautiful scenes as well.

When asked about the importance of including those moments into a science-fiction show, Hollier remarked, "It's very important. We always break from a place of character, right? And we were also looking too, like what are all of our final battle moments?

"Because if Jones is so big and bad, then someone might not come out of it. What are the things that you want to say that are left unsaid so that you understand what you're fighting for? Explosions have to matter. We always joke. But that being said, we also wanted to challenge ourselves with a big father-son fight.

"And so we actually shot that even though it's only three minutes' worth of time, it took us two nights to shoot that. And it took us several weeks to actually map it out, storyboard it, discuss it. And so we wanted to do both. We felt like the episode's not complete unless people were crying and gasping."

And I think he accomplished his goal, alright.

There were also some cool pairings in the hour (and throughout the season), like Max and Alex, that fans will undoubtedly love. Much as they loved seeing Rosa and Michael hang out earlier in the season.

As Hollier told it, "I love that as well. And part of that was born out of the pandemic and getting actors in and really looking at the great people we had and being like, "How can we give them something new and how can we keep this fresh?"

"And one of the ways to do that is to do these pairings. Like for example, Amber Midthunder had never stood in the junkyard for a scene before. So, we're like, "You know what? We're going to put her there, and we're going to give her some work to do with Michael."

"So that was one of our favorites. We loved watching Kyle and Isobel interact with each other. You mentioned Alex and Max. It came up in the room. I'm like, "Those two guys have never had a scene together. We got to give them one."

"That was one of my favorites as well."

Both hours were framed around one singular focus, which was to finally break the bond between Jones and Max so they could eliminate Jones for good. And in the end, the good guys got their wish.

Though, is this the last we'll see of Jones? By far the best villain the show has seen to date, and played to perfection by Nathan Dean, Hollier spoke about whether there was ever a plan to keep the dictator past this season.

"Here's the thing. He is so fun, and Nathan crushed it playing it. I know it's tiring doing that. And also, we as writers, and I think the audience, even though he's delicious, will want something new. He was great for what he was.

"Again, we might not have seen the last of him. We do tell a lot of flashbacks, and we do jump to the home planet. So, for those people that are big Jones fans, you might get to see a little bit more of him, but he's not the main villain of next season."

That climax with Jones was also a bit of a labor of love for the cast who got to all film together, with Hollier remarking, "We spent so much time last year being away from each other.

"It brought such joy, I think, to our actors and selves to be able to do scenes like that. So hopefully, that translates to our audience wanting to see them together as well."

While Jones didn't make it through the finale, many of our couples ended the season in a great place which was a considerable departure from the end of Roswell, New Mexico Season 2.

When asked about that departure, Hollier replied, "We had two goals when we said this, that we, given what was going on in the world, we didn't want to end in doom and gloom. We wanted to end with people happy.

"We wanted hope ultimately to win out. And so that was important for us as a message to put through, as our world is very complicated. So that was the goal. The other thing that we wanted to do is we wanted to give the audience and ourselves other places to write to.

"Just because you fall in love and get that that person to stand with you doesn't mean that things are easy, doesn't mean that you're built to go the distance. And so, it gives us a whole new section to open up complications for each of those couples, and we would get to root for them in different ways now."

For Liz and Max, their journey was always at the forefront for the writers.

"It was really looking at our poster couple first and saying like, "Where have we left and what have they wrestled with for two years? And if they really are going to go the distance, how do we get them to ask those tough questions and grow towards each other? They need to grow up and then to each other."

"So, that's where we started. And then we also started with a little romantic comedy fun of like, let's delay that kiss until episode 13."

Fan-favorite couple Malex got to walk away together on their own terms, and it was a moment many years in the making. Speaking about their reunion this season, Vlamis was excited to go on this journey with such an available scene partner in the other half of Malex, Tyler Blackburn.

I think it's so cool. I would've loved to have more scenes with him in the first six episodes. I mean, we didn't even get together, we didn't even have a scene till episode 3. But I think that probably just kind of created a little bit more hype. But I mean, I've loved it so much.We've gone through every emotion.

"We've gone through every scenario that a breakup or relationship, in general, could go through. We've gotten to play just so many moments in my life are put into Roswell. So many real-life moments are put in on-screen when I'm with Tyler, and I know he's doing the same, and Tyler is available as any actor can be.

"So we're literally just on this rollercoaster of, oh, we love each other, but we hate each other right now. Or we fully love each other right now, or we're just friends right now, but we protect each other, and we're safe around each other.

"Every side of the spectrum, I mean we even had a freaking three-way, you know what I'm saying? Like they give us everything, it's insane."

For Vlamis, he watched this season right along with us each week, thanks to a trusty antenna. And he spoke humbly about watching the prior season while in the middle of shooting Season 4.

"Oh, you know what, I love it. I know some actors are a little hesitant to watch themselves. I'm not going to lie; I'm the complete opposite. I think I find so much joy in watching myself and seeing what works, what doesn't work.

"Oh, on that day, I related this scene to this memory of whatever, and oh my God, it's working so well. Or, oh, I did this, and it's not, you know. Like you get to learn so much. I can watch something objectively and totally. I can watch something as a viewer.

"But it's fun because I like watching myself too because on the day I do the take, I do every scene so different that sometimes I think they get a little annoyed that everything's so different, but I love it because when I watch the episode, it's so cool to see what they picked.

"And I would say a lot of the time they picked something that I did that maybe wasn't in the script. But the writers, they set the platform for me to get to that point. I always hit the words, but sometimes they let me go have a little bit of fun, and whether they let me or not, I just do it. And sometimes it makes the episode.

"It's just really exciting to know that when I sit down to watch something, I'm as surprised as the viewers because I did the take ten different ways, and I have no idea what it's going to be. So that's such a thrill. And when you're watching, for me, it just creates hype. Every Monday, I've watched it live with my antenna.

"I went to Best Buy, and I bought a $35 antenna, and that's how I'm watching the show every week. So, it's really special for me to have Roswell to look forward to, to watch every week while filming, because I'm such a fan of the show."

Well, the fans, along with Vlamis, were surely blown away by that final frame, which sets up a plethora of questions and possibilities as we head into the hiatus.

As for THAT moment and what's ahead, Hollier teased, "I'm excited for people to react. I think they're going to have a great reaction to that moment and not really be thinking about it or seeing it coming.

"And then I would remind the audience that the very first image and the first window into any story often isn't where that story goes. So, I'm excited for people to speculate for a few months of what they think is happening and let them come back and see how we turn that whole thing on its head."

Well, if that isn't a doozy of a tease!

I didn't ask Vlamis for any season 4 teases as we were running well over time, but I did ask him what he was most excited for the fans to see in the finale, and this exchange is too pure to not post in its entirety.

What are you excited for the audience to see in this finale coming up?

Vlamis: Oh man, honestly, I'm so excited to see the scene where my stomach gets stapled. I'm so stoked on that scene. I'm like, did they leave it in? Like, is it in there? Like, is it awesome? You saw it.

I'm not going to lie. I closed my eyes a little bit when I watched it.

Vlamis: I remember one take, there's no way they did it, but you know, that's a big wound. She needed to staple me a couple times, probably, to close that.

I think they only show one, but yeah.

Vlamis: Okay. Okay. So, on the day when she stapled me, I yelled. She did it, and then I yelled, "Again!" like super loud. I was just hoping to God like because it would be so funny if they put that in there, but I'm sure it just, you know, there's time constraints.

All right. We don't need an extra "again," we don't need another staple in the stomach, but I actually am also really excited for the face-off scene in the bunker with Jones and Michael. When Michael all of a sudden starts basically overpowering Jones. I think that is such an amazing moment.

Yeah!

Vlamis: They sent me the scenes last night to watch before these, but you know, we shot till midnight, and then I jumped on a plane to come to a wedding. I got like two hours of sleep. So, I haven't even seen it.

I'm so excited to see it. But remembering just the beating Michael Guerin takes in these episodes is unbelievable. And I mean, I just cannot wait. The guy's a machine. He should have been dead like 80 times.

The thing that I know is going to be probably the most tweeted about, the most talked about, is taking that bandana off and holding Alex's hand and right in front of his dad's statue. And I hope they left that scene exactly how I think they're going to leave it, which I'm sure they did.

Lance Anderson, the director, knows what he is doing. And that's just a huge moment. That's been building for three seasons.

Yeah. It really has. It turns out beautifully.

Vlamis: It's kind of our first date. Oh, great! Great. Yeah, in the same spot where I saw Forrest get off the bus and kiss him.

The whole season comes full circle.

Vlamis: It really does. It truly does.

[eldritchcryptids]

Jodi and nathan plsplsplspls i adore them so much

okok so

nathan is a 14 year old kid in the protector au who has a pretty clear obsession with marble hornets. he is blissfully unaware that marble hornets is like. A Real Thing That Happened in that universe, so he goes about it as if its just a fictional webseries. He's an avid tim apologist.

He can and will talk to anyone about it if they give him the opportunity to, this is how quinn and daisy get access to the series and inturn how nathan finds out that "holy shit, marble hornets was a real thing", which like. straight up turns his world upside down.

here's an ask i answered on how he got access to the entries

and here's the first post/story nathan was ever mentioned in (hes not actually in this, but it is the story that led up to him getting introduced)

ok so now with jodi, i can't really. go too indepth with explaining her bc the goal is to like. make her story into a comic, and her character is very tightly intertwined with the plot, so i gotta keep a lot of things close to the vest to avoid spoiling stuff. (no matter how much i want to bc i love her very much)

but yeah, jodi is just constantly going through it, as you can see by just. scrolling through her tag, she had a best friend who suddenly just. disappeared one day which royally fucked her up, and thats all ill say abt the plot.

But heres some non spoilery fun facts bc i can't really say much abt her ahegdj:

she loves animals (primarily her dog benji, who was a rescue)

she's a very untrusting person (i.e there's only been 2 people she's ever really trusted)

she works at a book store and has a bachelor's degree in english literature

she's a lesbian, what a surprise

most of her childhood she was considered a "bad apple" because she often got into fights, this only worsened after amber's disappearance

[ziracona]

Oh BTW what are some things, if any from history/mythology that you wish FGO included?

I would like more diversity in general, but also they make a lot of religious figures and gods heroic spirits for other religions, but the closest they’ve done for Buddhism was Sanzang and I want equality there. Too late for Normal Armor for All means it’s time for Skimpy Armor for All equality is equality. We haven’t had much Norse either despite a whole Lostbelt, but we have had so many gods and suped up spirits tbh I am unsure if I want that, like, the most compelling recent addition was Antonio Salieri. Maybe it’s time to focus on the way personal belief in a spirit affects them instead of 8 divine spirit combo characters. I’d like to see a lot more about characters with Innocent Monster too, and ones who are fictional have had very little story outside of Kojiro’s aside in UBW about how much that fucks you up, and I’d love to hear more. I’d like to see a lot of relationships develop too. I’d like to see Nightingale and Dantes more, see Emiya, Ishtar, and Cú on a team, see Alter Emiya stuck with Ishtar somewhere, see more of Outlaw Squad, see Karna and Arjuna given an arc that’s not the same one as always, see Medea taken seriously like in UBW instead of a joke, see David given ANY screen time to deal with Romani like wtf why didn’t he get major billing in arc one??? See David and Sheba interact, see more of Antonio and Amadeus, Fran and Moriarty. Love to hear more about Hessian Lobo like he was easily one of the coolest characters??? Literally never getting over how this random beheaded hessian soldier’s ghost was tied in death by an outside force to the legend of a wolf who hated humans for killing his mate, and they were trapped together as a phantom spirit and had no reason to be anything but bitter and angry, but when you’re beating the wolf to a pulp the headless corpse of a man scrambles off it and tries without a face or a voice to beg you to leave it alone and not finish it off. How an adopted stray left it’s owner to find him and curl up with him while he bled out. Like holy shit. Uhhhh, I like the kind of emotional ones too: Voyager, Van Gogh. The concept alone there is sweet. I’d like to see them do a non-human well again like. I love Danzo and I love robots but they literally can’t write inhuman characters without making them robots wtf is going on. Stop making Greek gods robots. They’re gods. You used to be able to write Fran and Nursery and shit what the hell happened to the character creation team. Or like. Actually give us a literal robot if you want to do robot humanity narrative so bad but I’m begging you to stop making all the Valkyries and Artemis just AIs like literally begging. Gods are inhuman but you write them different and it’s so fun and not actually hard like just do the assigned work jfc. Please.

If you mean more like what specific characters would I like to see, that’s harder. Personally I’d love a Lucifer if well done because I love a good Sympathy for the Devil character (P5 just gave and gave and gave to me). I’d like more animal spirits like give me Balto, or Laila. If they do more gods like they’ve been I would very much like Bast because she’s always been a favorite. Uhhh I’m a sucker for the personal connections so I would love it if they quit doing alters of existing people and gave us their family members or friends instead I mean the DRAMA. Mmmm tasty. There’s almost no Americans and that’s fine but like it’s Geronimo, Billy the Kid, Tesla, and every American president through Obama in a body with Edison and the 20th Century Fox lion so if they wanted to make it just slightly more normal they could add like Nathan Hale or Deborah Samson or something. Uhhh, from a gameplay perspective, we’ve got interesting and talented supports, but Iri is the only white mage and I’d like to see them play with more range on defense. So I would personally like Lister or some other doctor with highly specialized defensive skills and to play with the defense only mechanics more in the back line. Like team evades are great but I’d love to see someone with a skill to revive a party member but like with a massive cooldown or stun penalty to balance that. Idk I’d just like to see more complexity. Maybe it’s luck based called like ‘Defibrillator’ and it doesn’t always work, like guts but can be used after they’re downed and at any point. I do quite enjoy the specialized skills like how Katsu does little for support unless you’ve got a lineup of Nobunaga and he suddenly becomes the bullet chain in their galtling. An ability to swap formation, or switch the cooldown from one character with another (‘blood transfusion’) could be cool for a doctor. White Mage with 30,000hp, +5 to attack, who can revive downed party member and allocate NP or cooldown among them, or swap formation. Skill where damage he takes is taken by the frontline member with the most HP instead. Or NP that analyzes the enemy skill set and warns before stuns or rapid ult charge. Or can cast small passive buffs like debuff cleanses the way story characters do, but even when in the back line. Lol Romani Archaman build. Uhhh I’m off topic, characters let me think. I personally loved Amelia Earhart as a kid so I guess part of me keeps hoping she’d be added too. I kinda enjoy when unnamed, or less important or well known people get caught up by a twist of fate like the hessian though. I like weak normal people doing their best in an impossible situation.