#this is a breakdown about god and fathers and all *that* jazz

[a-wild-things-rambles]

having the same music taste as your father is fun!

but watch out!

[ikeep-forgetting-mypass]

If the relationship Jason had with the bats before was rocky, then dead god is it rockier than an avalanche now.

The other bat kids are furious with Bruce; Dick, Barbara and Stephanie barely being restrained from strangling the man to death. Barbara pulls out completely, Bruce saving the man who paralyzed her and killed Jason and allowing Tim to be shot? Yeah, no tech support for him anytime soon.

Dick has had enough. You thought their arguments during Dicks rebellion were bad, they have nothing on the blood curdling screaming matches that followed the minute they had returned to the Cave. Steph goes on the attack the minute she sees the man in the bat suit, with only Cass being able to stop her.

Damian is still reeling from what Danny said, wondering if it would be different if he was in Tim's place? Would his father save him, or the clown? And if he would save him, then why didn't he save Timothy?

ALFRED nearly quits, dead stop. That's how bad it is.

The YJ? Well, after a lot of grovelling and pinkie swears, fully integrate themselves on Danny's side, Kon being by far the most apologetic due to his own past. Kor'i is also joining them the second she hears about it, no questions needed. She and Jazz look similar, (fiery red hair, technically being aliens and having been in a relationship with a Bat Boy (Jason and Dick)) and get along very well.

JLA Dark? They're all having a mental breakdown. Both Zatara's (she AND her father) and Shazam nearly fainted, Dr. Fate nearly had an out of character conniption and Constantine immediately cut any and all ties to the JLA, and he and Deadman rushed in favor of helping destroy the GIW. Deadman is particularly hurt and offended, since hes. Well it's in his name.

Safe to say, this might cause a war to break out. A civil war against the heroes, and an all out war between the GIW-JL and Danny's faction/the Ghosts.

The way that I’m brainrotting over a DCxDP crossover with a Danny who’s a vengeful villain rn

Like, let’s just say that the GiW finally get into contact with the JL. They need help neutralizing a threat, you see, and they’re on their last limb trying to keep civilians safe.

They have video evidence! They have studies to back their claims! The JL have to help them!

Unfortunately, the JL believe them. They join a fight against Danny, and defeat him due to being far more experienced than he is. Danny is locked away and experimented on by the GiW.

That would CHANGE a person. Your heroes turning against you and seeing you as a monster, being experimented on for who knows how long, not knowing if your friends and family are safe.

Danny gets out due to a simple mistake on the GiW’s part; having Blüdhaven as part of their transport route.

Of course the trucks were attacked, they’re government property!

So now, whoever decided to raid the government transport trucks (the Penguin or something) has a ton of experimental weapons with no idea how they work, and a heavily traumatized teenager.

Danny knows how they work. Danny can be useful! They won’t throw him out if he’s useful! And so, now Danny is working for the Penguin, altering the ectoplasm weapons to make them work on humans.

It’s a good deal for both parties. Danny gets to neurotically imprint on the Penguin like a small baby animal, and the Penguin gets a brilliant mind who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals.

But eventually, Danny finds out what happened to his family in his absence.

Jazz is in Arkham. Not as a psychologist, but as a “patient.” Apparently, she snapped and completely destroyed the house, leveled a few blocks of Amity Park, and conducted organized attacks on government bases (mostly GiW) for months.

Sam and Tucker helped her, eventually splitting once Jazz was captured. Sam travels to areas of extreme pollution, completely overgrowing them with her plant powers. Currently she’s in the Amazon rainforest, engaging in an ongoing feud with logging companies. Sam is winning.

Tucker faked his death, and Danny has no idea where he is. He only knows that the death wasn’t real because of a code that the three of them made together, just in case.

Ellie’s trapped in the Infinite Realms. Danny had a failsafe in place so that if she was ever cornered by the GiW, she would be sent to her haunt in the GZ. However, with the portal destroyed, she can’t come back. Danny just hopes she’s okay.

His parents are now top GiW scientists. They’re traveling the country giving speeches. They’re working on a battery powered by ectoplasm, but apparently started “having difficulties” around the same time that Danny escaped.

None of it is fair. None of it is right.

The Justice League destroyed his life, the lives of his friends, and they’re doing as good as ever. The GiW is respected, and his parents are happily working away for them.

Danny takes up some of his more experimental weapons and breaks Jazz out of Arkham. She’s a little different now, colder and more quiet, but she still loves him all the same. It’s an unimaginable comfort to him to see his sister again.

He can’t use his powers anymore. He’s so used to associating them with pain that even transforming into his ghost form is enough to take him down for hours.

However, he understands ectoplasm more than anyone else in the world. He knows how to use it in virtually everything; how it can become a weapon, how it can be used as a supplemental ingredient in poisons and nerve agents, how it can twist and distort the mind if applied correctly.

He doesn’t care what happens to him. He’s going to take down the GiW, and destroy the lives of the JL members who helped lock him away, just as they did to him.

No matter the cost.

[razwantstoloveherself]

Serene

Ya girl accidentally married a fucking covert narcissist, gaslit herself into thinking “hmmm I guess this is aight” for 4 years, got into an affair and was in denial about being in an unhappy marriage for months, then I found some SHITE on my husband’s phone, then my work partner screamed at me, my parents triggered the shit out of me when I finally had the balls to say I wanted a divorce (to the point where I had to slap myself a few times to prove a point but NOOOOOOO it wasn’t working because I did get my divorce but I was putting zero energy into myself and instead on the affair partner who I tried breaking up with 500 times), and yeah, things were bad. I was cutting myself again. A lot. Full on splitting into BPD rage, all that jazz. I was acting like I never went to therapy.

So anyway one morning this person (we’ll call him A) said something triggering (fuck me I was running on zero sleep for about 3 days and I was completely dissociated, I forgot what he even said) and I remember my oldest brother texting me just at that moment asking me if I’m up to hang out. I said not really, kinda having a mental breakdown. I left out the bit where I said I want to kill myself out of compassion, how nice. He sent a shocked fat cat sticker, and asked what happened and how he can help. I asked him to send me to Serene.

WELP Serene was rehab. I thought it was a psychiatric care facility, but nah their specialty is rehab. It was a Saturday. They took me around for a tour. My parents weren’t in the country, but I decided to admit myself. Shamim mentioned later that he saw me around.

I remember my brother telling me that he thinks it would be good for me. I remember video calling my parents and I remember how supportive they were - god, I remember my father telling me that I’m strong for acknowledging that the way I was coping clearly wasn’t working out and that I knew I needed more help. I asked him to repeat it again. It meant a lot.

I came in a few days later, it was a Wednesday. The intern, Sara showed me around and told me how the system worked. I remember them taking away my benzos, sharp objects, phone, a bunch of stuff. Not my pin though even though I told her that I cut myself with pins. Fucker. She introduced me to everyone. Said no pressure or obligation to attend everything. I have an inability to say no so I did it anyway. Then I went to bed and hated myself for doing something I didn’t want to do.

I cried my first night and scratched myself. Went downstairs to the nurse station and asked for nail clippers, said that I couldn’t sleep. They gave me a Ritalin. I remember there were people still up and chatting next to the nurse station when I was there - they didn’t ask. I think in general uhhh suicide is an awkward topic to talk about.

Aight, parking stuff that I wanna chat about further:

R, Pat

Cant say no convo

DOC

Journaling

Shyen fucker

Halfway point

Shaf :’)

Waleed’s validation

Milo’s vibes

What I realised about myself

Remembering - tokens

Banana cigs lol

Self harm vibing

Shafiq telling everyone to take care of me before he left

Naufal

Shahid

David the mole <3

THE CONFESSION AAA

THE LAST DAY AAAAA

[fangirlingpuggle]

So a couple more half asleep random thoughts on my latest DP AU where Danny accidentally calls CW dad and then no one believes he’s not actually his dad (Link here)

Mainly Fright Knight. He hears Phantom called CW father and he starts thinking about kid running into fights with the odds stacked against him, ridiculously stubborn and noble, completely protective over the land he’s claimed to protect and winning through determination and force of will and suddenly is remembering what Pariah was like when he was younger and before the madness took hold and is 1000% sure Danny is Pariah and CW’s biological kid no one will convince him otherwise and after his mini breakdown that he literally tried to kill his prince he decides it is his duty to protect Phantom at all costs. He shows up and swears fealty to him and Danny is just like ‘wtf wtf wtf’ and tries explaining that he called Clockwork dad on accident and oh god he’s embarrassed enough about calling his sort of mentor dad but

Danny: Look Clockwork is not my dad and Pariah definitely isn’t

Fright Knight: Yes they are

Danny:...I-what no no they are not

Fright Knight: They most definitely are my prince

Danny:...

It’s a lost cause trying to explain they’re not Clockwork has shown the ancients the actual timeline they still don’t believe him.

Fright knight is not only super protective of Danny, Dash literally doesn't know what him but he ended up though a wall last time he tried to mess with Danny (Danny is torn between fuck you almost killed him and fuck that was amazing) but also very concerned about the future ghost kings education he finds out Danny is struggling and goes apeshit in the ghost zone like ‘ALL OF YOU WILL STAY ON THIS SIDE OF THE PORTAL OUR FUTURE KING NEEDS TO DO CALCULUS’ he also is deeply concerned his prince does not know about ghost zone lore so Danny ends up getting ghost history lessons....Jazz gatecrashes them, she is taking all the notes (She’s also heard about Pariah and CW relationship and is very invested)

Also he starts teaching Danny more fighting and Danny wants to argue and should be trying to convince everyone he’s not the ghost zone prince...but he’s sword lessons and it’s super cool.

He’s kinda just getting used to that when the ancients show up with presents to see their Nephew. Danny feels super awkward and is just very glad Jack and Maddie are still in the basement having an existential crisis and looking over all their life's work to busy to come upstairs and see all of the most powerful ancient ghosts of the infinite realms having tea around the table.... at least he gets to hear embarrassing stories about Pariah and Clockwork.

Clockwork shows up as well Danny is awkward as hell around him at first because haven’t really interacted since he pulled the ultimate accidentally calling your teacher dad move.

CW: I wouldn’t bother trying to keep explaining it to them Daniel just accept fate

Danny:...uh why is it for the best timeline

CW:No. They’re just to stubborn to accept anything else.

CW: In all timelines all trying to explain does is lead to a headache

He also not so subtly says that well he also sees Danny as a son and that he wouldn’t mind having that bond... it’s the weirdest most roundabout way to adopt someone.

Pariah shows up and instead of the dramatic reunion he and CW slide just into how they were before Pariah went crazy aka the most mushy romantic couple of all time, like able to kill you with a thought but to busy getting lost in each others eyes to think about it.

The observants are actually super happy Pariah is back because they totally shipped it they spent centuries observing these twos ridiculous pinning and romance and then Pariah went crazy and sunk their ship and so they are super happy to have their ship back they are sitting back watching eating popcorn watching this surprise child plot twist gasping and with their own cork board of conspiracies like ‘OMG THAT’S WHY CLOCKWORK SAVED HIM YES DOTS CONNECTED’

Bonus: Vlad bursts in to do evil plan he’s been plotting and... there is the fight Knight all the ancients, Clockwork and Pariah all just sitting there...he just very slowly walks backwards out of the house...Fright Knight still tracks him down and kicks his ass.

Bonus bouns: Dani. The zones find about Dani and lose their minds more nobody even questions how they could have 2 kids of different ages at all, they’re all like you control time weird shit happens but for sure that’s your kid.

Vlad: I made them that’s a clone of Daniel

Ghost Zone: ha right nah that’s Pariah and Clockworks kid

Vlad*Eye twitching*

Dani finds herself scooped up by Fight knight calling her the princess of the ghost zone and that her fathers have been looking for her and she’s confused but also like...ok and just rolls with it.

[takamakisu]

Alright lads it's time for more rants from Jazz because as always, I have a lot to say. Gonna talk about Makoto's characterization in Scramble.

So. I do like how she's not nearly as prominent as in the base game and everybody gets more of a chance to shine. Her and Futaba being super in the forefront admittedly had me kind of tired of them. I really like Makoto's sisterly relationship with Akane as well; being able to relate with having a father in the force and not really having him around. (Gee Makoto, how come Atlus lets you have TWO little sister figures?) That being said, I do have issues with some of her writing.

For one, she's SO snappy to Ryuji. Holy shit. And it's for really trivial things?? Like when Akane was streaming, Makoto commented that she was like that as a kid, and Ryuji replies "You were a streamer as a kid?" to which she tells him "I'm gonna hit you" and he freaks like "WAIT NO." Beach trip when they're eating Makoto comments she tries not to eat too much on trips because she's worried about gaining weight. Ryuji tells her she'd have more power in her punches if she did which like.. absolute king. Literally he just "even if you do gain weight it'd just make you stronger" and she AGAIN threatens to hit him. Ugh. She basically takes Mona's role in antagonizing Ryuji and it's really upsetting to watch.

Then they brought back the dumb "Makoto gets scared and has an emotional breakdown, clinging to Joker" gag. That wasn't funny the first time and bringing it back is really annoying because it's like they're shilling shumako yet again (nothing new i suppose). Makoto being scared of the dark is literally just used to make her look cute and scared and it's not actually plot relevant or used to develop her character at all. (What WAS funny though, was Makoto telling Zenkichi that she and Joker were "just friends". I guess Atlus decided "y'all can't get along about romance so we will not give you any" KABSJSJSJ) Makoto has literally killed a god, her screaming for Sae over getting scared by a soda can is a liiiittle ridiculous.

Worst thing though was the hot springs scene where she beats up the boys after a misunderstanding. You'd think that after all they've been through, she'd be willing to believe them when they said it was an accident, but nope! Seems she learned nothing after beating up Ryuji in base game. I'm more willing to give this scene a pass because it's OOC behavior for the sake of humor, but man...

Jack Frost scene when everybody was goofing off she tells them to "stop being idiots let's get back home". God Makoto, they're kids. YOU'RE a kid. Let them have some fun, for gods sake. .

So basically she's better in this game in that she's not nearly as Important™ and she does have some genuinely good dynamics with Akane but in a lot of ways she's actually even worse than base game: she's a lot meaner and for what?

Makoto, take a nap.

[punkscowardschampions]

Grace & Ava

Grace: I'm here in your postcode so like hmu if you need help Grace: after being a babysitter FOREVER kids crafts are TOTALLY my thing Ava: There's glitter on everything Ava: I'm going to have to pay to get their house professionally cleaned after this, I swear Grace: before you do I have to bring the boy over & 'accidentally' cover him Grace: cos he literally will not decide on a costume Ava: Yeah, he's crap at costumes Ava: I don't think I've even seen him in the obligatory devil horns Ava: mess up the hair, probably Grace: I mean, if my hair ever looked that good that'd be so relatable Grace: 😍😍 Ava: n'awh 😏 Ava: I'm glad someone appreciates the effort he goes to with the bleach Ava: god knows what I'm going to wear, the standard Halloween ideas aren't really applicable for a kid's birthday Grace: I love him but I hate him Grace: his eyelashes are better than mine as well Grace: right?! if his mum sees me in a lbd & cat ears she'll hate me more than she already does Grace: we could do joint costumes of a 🔪 in our backs though 🙄😂 Ava: What's she like? Grace: so rude Grace: she NEVER talks to me but the judgement is REAL 👀🔪 Grace: poor & a reformed hoe!? not in her house, honey Ava: and you didn't even homewreck her son's marriage so Ava: this is gonna be fun Grace: but I will if she tries to marry him off to some beautiful, rich, virgin or whatever Ava: I don't think they're that old school 😂 Ava: only if he managed to get a virgin pregnant Grace: don't even Grace: it's literally the one thing that would maybe score me points with her & I can't talk about it Ava: as satisfying as it'd be to throw out when she's being the most judgmental Ava: not worth it Ava: but you are gonna come, right? Ava: James wasn't sure Grace: yeah, I'm not trying to have a breakdown at her dining table soooooo Grace: of course we are, he practically begged me onto a flight to not have to go alone Grace: his sister has like 5 kids & Teddy can't deal with any of them Grace: what happens when you 👰👴 I guess Ava: Yeah Ava: I heard Ava: I just want them to have a good time Ava: James and the kids Grace: they will Grace: you've done amazing so far setting it all up Ava: there's nothing I can do to jazz up the guestlist Ava: it's bad enough that she might show but we can't plan for it Grace: Teddy thinks she will & Jay will have a meltdown, that's why he's totally dreading it Ava: I don't think she will Grace: idk but he's convinced Grace: he says she LOVES to make an entrance & bring drama Ava: Potentially Ava: I think she doesn't care enough about the kids, but that she doesn't intentionally want to hurt them Ava: just James Ava: there are better ways, after all, her parents are going to be there, they'd stop her before she could really do anything Grace: 🤞🏽 cos that does make sense Grace: & we all want you to be right, no offense to the bae Ava: If she's going to come back, she will, it'll have to be faced Ava: whether we're wearing cat ears or not Grace: yeah but like a 👶🎂 is not it Grace: even she must know that Ava: None of this is Grace: how's James? Ava: he's doing good Ava: considering Ava: it's a lot Grace: mhmm Grace: I'm avoiding Rio & Buster rn for a reason Ava: Yeah, he's mad at me Grace: 🙄🙄 Grace: don't even worry he's mad at everyone for everything Grace: except Ri, duh Grace: like you said, it's a lot Ava: well it's kind of special circumstances Ava: he thinks I've picked a side Grace: cos it's that simple Grace: he's so extra & that's coming from me Ava: Maybe it is Grace: he wishes it was Grace: but it's not you & James vs him & Ri Ava: It's not that Ava: I just Ava: I don't think I agree with what he wants Grace: you want Jay to stay where she is Ava: Yes Ava: I think he's only thinking about himself Grace: well yeah, when isn't he? Ava: It's different Ava: it's two lives he could ruin Ava: three, Mattie too Grace: he's always done exactly what he wants however many lives it could ruin Grace: literally all you can do is keep trying to get through to him Ava: Yeah, that'll work Ava: like you said, he'll do what he wants Ava: but James won't just let her go, and if it goes to court, how has he proved he's a decent father? Ava: he's not acknowledged her, the possibility Ava: it wouldn't be as cut and dry as he wants it to be Grace: nothing is ever that cut & dry but ugh try telling Buster or Ri that Ava: Exactly Ava: isn't having Venus when they shouldn't enough Grace: don't even get me started Grace: it's such a mess Ava: it isn;t fair Ava: James raised her, stepped up Ava: had to deal with Chloe Ava: no one has the right to take her away now Grace: exactly Grace: they love each other Grace: you can't just break that bond like it doesn't exist Ava: for one that doesn't Ava: I don't want to pick sides, I love him, he's my brother Ava: but I can't say I'm okay with it right now, when I'm not Grace: he's being a selfish idiot rn though, you can say it to me, babes Grace: she's got a whole family here Ava: I know it's fucked, that Chloe told him he wasn't the dad Ava: but I can't get over that she told him he was Ava: you don't just Ava: why did he trust her the second time and not the first Ava: how could that be for anything but selfish reasons Grace: it's literally cos he wanted to Grace: & he's totally fixated on the wrong things, what does blood matter anyway? Grace: Billie's my sister not any one of the kids my dad had scattered across Dublin Ava: Maybe Rio said she'd leave him? Ava: but still, then he made his choice Ava: ugh Ava: I hate it Grace: me too Grace: everything is so Grace: fucked Grace: always Ava: how was your birthday anyway Ava: did you and Teddy do something nice? Grace: he did spoil me cos he knows my birthday is the literal worst & I tried not to brag TOO hard on socials Ava: Good Ava: you're only 16 once Grace: it's so weird Grace: being her age Ava: I thought about that Ava: on her birthday Ava: that she'd have only been 20 Ava: it seems so long ago, somehow Grace: like unless I die too now, I'm gonna be older than her Ava: they could take Libi if they want another child so bad Ava: alright, that was bitchy but nan and granddad won't be around forever either, I know they're not old old but Grace: they tried that already, so not really that bitchy Grace: god, she looks so much like her I actually can't breathe sometimes Ava: It's crazy Ava: and how big she is already Grace: did you see the 🎃 patch pics? It's wild, she's even dressed like Edie as a kid Grace: calm down nan Ava: I know Ava: I wish she had to chance to know her Ava: and her dad, of course Grace: yeah, I wish I'd known her better & I had way longer than Libi Ava: Like Billie's mum Ava: it's just sad Grace: idk maybe you get to 90 & you're still like I wish....whatever Grace: but like you said, it's unfair & I hate it Ava: It's never going to be something you can make peace with Ava: well, I don't think Ava: her life wasn't finished, it had only just started Grace: I don't think I wanna make peace with it anyway, it's not okay & none of us should just be okay with it Grace: but I can't cry rn so Ava: Me either Ava: I have too many sandwiches to make Grace: are you at home? I'll come over Ava: I'm at his but you can come over Ava: help me load up the car Grace: 👌🏽 omw Ava: You can have a cake pop early Ava: don't tell Jay Grace: 😂🤫 Ava: or more aptly, don't tell James she's already conned me out of two Grace: he'll definitely be able to tell when she's climbing the walls Grace: unless you've made a really convincing 🕷 costume too Ava: I know, I know Ava: it's bad Ava: but I don't think a little bit of excitement would actually hurt right now Ava: she's got to carry it, it's not like Mattie really has much of a clue what's going on yet Grace: & you don't want her feeling jealous & left out that you threw her baby sister such a great party Grace: that's the worst Ava: Yeah, she had hers in the Summer and it wasn't the best time, obviously Ava: I've tried to make sure she feels involved anyway Grace: Teddy can't believe how good you are with her, speaking of jealousy 😂 Ava: Kids pick up on your awkwardness, don't they Ava: like animals Ava: he just needs to fake it 'til he makes it Grace: mhmmm Grace: I told him it'll get easier the more time he spends with both of them, but you know what he's like Ava: Yeah Ava: at least no one is going to accuse him of trying to be their mother 🙄 Grace: 🤞🏽 she won't say it again in front of everyone 🥳🎁 Grace: awkward Ava: it's so patronizing Ava: it's not as if Chloe was a massive help Ava: he's done it himself this whole time, basically Ava: they don't need a mum Grace: she was literally the opposite of helpful Ava: at best she looked after them in the loosest sense of the word when he was at uni or work Ava: but 9/10 they'd end up with her parents so it wasn't as if she could be relied on Grace: are her parents coming? Ava: yeah Ava: I don't think they can even believe that she's done this Ava: gone Ava: I've met them a few times, dropping or picking the girls up, they're nice enough Grace: who'd wanna believe that about their family tbh Grace: but it's good that they're sticking around even though they probably wanna die if they've always been there Grace: the girls need that normality rn Ava: I'm sure they feel awful Ava: though James' family are blaming no one but him so they don't need to worry about judgment Grace: ugh I would kill Teddy if he sided with them Ava: I don't know if James knows he doesn't Grace: really? Grace: 🙄 boys never talk Grace: I'll talk to him, he knows how to show it even if he doesn't wanna say it Grace: they can go to the pub or whatever Ava: Yeah, I like, try not to comment or get involved Ava: know what it's like to have family drama Ava: but that's the feeling I've got anyway, it couldn't hurt them Grace: rich people need a bigger shove to open up, no offence Ava: 😂 it's a class issue, really Grace: in his family there's that whole stiff upper lip thing that I thought was totally not even a thing for the past however many centuries Grace: it's crazy, okay Ava: I know Grace: thank god he's the youngest or his mum would be coming at me to produce an heir Ava: you aren't good enough stock, obvs Ava: 🙄🙄 Grace: & she's only basing that off my 2 jobs & sexual history Grace: if she knew I was actually infertile she'd be giving him constant sti checks & changing the locks Grace: 😱😱 Ava: If you aren't titled and can't trace your family back to the dark ages, then they don't wanna know 🤷 Grace: so weird Ava: just how they are Ava: posh people Grace: yeah, it's wild, you should've seen the look I got when I said you were making sandwiches Grace: the boy does nothing for himself I swear Ava: he doesn't Ava: I've known him long enough Grace: Janis hated him on sight so at least you do actually know him Ava: doesn't really surprise me Grace: she only has 😍 for working class baristas so Ava: all my family hate James so you're doing better than me Grace: they just hate him for you, I've been there every other time Grace: they'll have to get over it & used to him eventually Ava: none of yours were married with two kids Ava: but still, yeah, they will Ava: or they won't, it's not like it's illegal so they can't do anything Grace: he's divorced now & literally deserves to be happy Ava: his happiness isn't their top priority Grace: yours should be though Ava: it is Ava: in that they think it's a mistake and I'll regret it Grace: if it is it's your mistake to make & regret to live with Grace: I've got 100000s Grace: 🤷 Ava: I can see their point, and what they're trying to do, without agreeing with it Ava: because I'm not as immature as they wanna say so Ava: it is what it is Grace: 👏🏽 Ava: I've got to do some homework, when you get here Ava: you don't mind do you Grace: it's fine Ava: it's due monday and I've barely started Grace: as long as Teddy doesn't ignore me for homework too Ava: awh, how could he Grace: idk maybe you're a better influence than me Ava: i'm not going to turn the party into a study sesh, don't worry Grace: 😂 I didn't bring any homework so I'm not worried Grace: I could probably cope with Jay's but I won't be telling her Ava: ✌ Ava: I highly doubt she'll wanna do hers either Grace: she can help me get him in the 🥳🎁🕺🎊 mood then Ava: 🤞 Grace: 🙏🏽

[incorrigiblyhuman]

—    BASICS :      DR.  LEONARD  HORATIO  MCCOY.

▸     IS    YOUR    MUSE    TALL    /    SHORT    /    AVERAGE ? :    average  at  5′10″,  but  he  slouches  and  leans  a  lot  so  he  tends  to  look  smaller  than  he  is.

▸   ARE    THEY    OKAY    WITH    THEIR    HEIGHT ? :    shoot,  yeah.   he  found  out   partway  through  the  first  five  years  that  he’s  a  micrometer  taller  than  jim  kirk  and  he’s  been damn  pleased  about  it  ever  since.

▸  WHAT’S    THEIR    HAIR    LIKE ? :    chestnut  brown,  kept  short  and  trim,  and  downright  silky.   the  only  part  he  really  styles  is  the  sideburns,  which  are  neat  little  points.

▸ DO    THEY    SPEND    A    LOT    OF    TIME    ON    THEIR    HAIR     /    GROOMING ? :    nah,  it  lies  neat  all  on  its  own,  he  doesn’t  usually  comb  it  with  anything  other  than  his  hands.   which  is  why,  after  away  missions  on  windy  planets,  he  always  looks  a  little  more  haggard  than  most  folks,  because  his  hair  goes  everywhere  and  sticks  up  all  over  the  place.

▸  DOES   YOUR   MUSE   CARE   ABOUT   THEIR   APPEARANCE   /   WHAT    OTHERS    THINK ? :    not  really.   outside  of  regulation  uniforms  and  all  that  jazz,  he  considers  his  work  to  be  his  primary  focus;  he’s  a  doctor,  dammit,  not  a  beauty  queen.   that  said,  grey  hairs  are  a  bit  of  a  sticking  point  for  him,  and  if  he  sees  a  few  he’ll  take  a  little  more  time  in  the  morning  to  smooth  them  down  and  out  of  sight;  they  always  make  him  think  about  how  old  his  daughter  must  be  now  if  he’s  going  grey.

—    PREFERENCES.

INDOORS    OR    OUTDOORS ? ▸   outdoors,  he  loves  to  bask  in  the  sunlight  or  nap  in  the  shade  of  a  nice  tree.   fresh  air  does  a  man  good. RAIN    OR    SUNSHINE ? ▸   sunshine. FOREST    OR    BEACH ? ▸   beach,  but  a  little  ways  up  from  the  water. PRECIOUS    METALS     OR    GEMS ? ▸   both,  honestly.   he  knows  a  lot  about  the  symbolism  of  gemstones  and  would  choose  those  as  a  gift  before  anything  silver  and  gold,  but  most  of  the  objects  he  values  ---  his  wedding  band,  for  one  ---  are  made  of  precious  metals. FLOWERS   OR   PERFUMES ? ▸   flowers.   he  loves  the  natural  world. PERSONALITY    OR    APPEARANCE ? ▸   personality.   you  can  dress  up  a  shit  as  pretty  as  you  like,  but  it  won’t  change  the  smell. BEING    ALONE    OR    BEING    IN    A    CROWD ? ▸   being  in  a  crowd.   he’s  a  lonely  man  with  a  head  full  of  unhappy  thoughts  and  memories,  he  greatly  prefers  being  surrounded  by  friends  and  familiar  faces,  or  idle  chatter  from  strangers. ORDER   OR    ANARCHY ? ▸   somewhere  closer  to  order  but  a  bit  of  both;  as  much  as  he’d  love  to  have  some  peace  and  quiet  where  everybody’s  playing  nice  and  doing  what  they’re  told,  sometimes  a  little  anarchy  is  necessary  for  the  good  of  society.   or  the  soul. PAINFUL    TRUTHS    OR     WHITE    LIES ? ▸   painful truths. SCIENCE   OR    MAGIC ? ▸   science,  goddammit,  he’s  had  enough  of  magic.   (  but  if  you’re  listening,  god,  maybe  just  leave  a  few  miracles  at  the  door.  ) PEACE    OR    CONFLICT ? ▸   peace.   but  some  friendly  conflict  here  and  there  ain’t  amiss. NIGHT    OR    DAY ? ▸   day,  preferably  sunny  and  warm. DUSK    OR    DAWN ? ▸   dusk,  right  when  the  first  stars  come  out. WARMTH    OR    COLD ? ▸   warmth. MANY   ACQUAINTANCES    OR    A    FEW   CLOSE   FRIENDS ? ▸   a  few  close  friends,  but  why  not  both? READING    OR    PLAYING    A    GAME ? ▸   reading,  he  likes  to  unwind  with  some  new  ideas.

—    QUESTIONNAIRE.

▸      WHAT    ARE    SOME    OF    YOUR    MUSE’S    BAD    HABITS ? :    he  has  a  tendency  to  unknowingly  substitute  aggression  for  passion  in  conversations,  and  lash  out  at  perceived  slights  before  knowing  all  the  facts.   he  thinks  with  his  heart  more  than  his  head,  which  leads  to  a  lot  of  social  gaffes  and  interpersonal  conflicts.   his  sleep  schedule  is  completely  erratic,  even  more  so  when  there’s  a  problem  that  needs  solving  or  a  patient  who  needs  treating.   also,  he  chews  on  his  stylus  pens  when  he’s  mulling  over  reports,  and  it  drives  the  nursing  staff  up  the  wall.

▸   HAS    YOUR    MUSE    LOST    ANYONE    CLOSE    TO    THEM ?      HOW    HAS    IT    AFFECTED THEM ? :    he  blames  himself  every  day  for  the  death  of  his  father.   it  makes  it  difficult  for  him  to  face  his  mother  in  person  whenever  he  gets  shore  leave  back  on  earth,  because  whenever  he  sees  her  smile  at  him  it  reminds  him  of  how  she  looked  at  the  funeral,  and  the  expression  on  her  face  when  they  both  read  about  the  discovery  of  the  cure  at  the  same  time,  sitting  at  the  same  dinner  table,  and  looked  up  at  each  other.   it’s  the  event  he  thinks  of  whenever  he  has  doubts  about  his  abilities  as  a  doctor,  whenever  he’s  facing  someone  in  agonizing  pain  ---  but,  conversely,  it’s  also  the  memory  that  drives  him  whenever  he’s  facing  down  an  illness  that  no  one  has  ever  seen  before,  a  problem  that  seems  to  have  no  solution,  whenever  the  odds  seem  to  be  against  him.   it’s  the  memory  that  makes  him  insist  that  there  has  to  be  an  answer,  and  the  memory  that  drives  him  to  find  it.

▸   WHAT    ARE    SOME    FOND    MEMORIES    YOUR    MUSE    HAS ? :    playing  cowboys  with  his  cousins  at  the  annual  family  picnic,  listening  to  his  dad  play  guitar  on  the  porch,  joanna’s  first  birthday,  his  time  spent  with  nancy,  quiet  nights  in  the  ship’s  observation  lounge  watching  his  friends  beat  the  hell  out  of  each  other  in  three - dimensional  chess.

▸   IS    IT    EASY    FOR    YOUR    MUSE    TO    KILL ? :    no.   not  at  all.   he  avoids  it  entirely  unless  given  no  choice.

▸   WHAT’S    IT    LIKE    WHEN    YOUR    MUSE    BREAKS    DOWN ? :    self - loathing,  self - deprecating,  self - doubting,  tearful  and  messy  and  just  collapsing  in  on  himself  in  a  spiral  of  depression  and  a  lifetime  of  regrets.   it  doesn’t  matter  what’s  brought  on  the  breakdown,  the  past  is  where  his  mind  always  goes  to.   when  he’s  in  a  bad  mood,  everyone  around  him  knows  it,  so  he  usually  shuts  himself  up  in  his  room  and  gets  very,  very  drunk  to  let  it  all  out  in  privacy;  he  doesn’t  like  to  break  down  in  front  of  other  people,  because  what  kind  of  a  morale  booster  is  it  to  see  the  man  who’s  in  charge  of  taking  care  of  you  bursting  into  tears  over  his  fourth  glass  of  whiskey?

▸  IS    YOUR    MUSE    CAPABLE    OF  TRUSTING  SOMEONE WITH  THEIR LIFE ? :    yes,  and  aboard  the  enterprise  he  does,  frequently.   he’s  very  selective  about  where  he  places  his  trust,  and  doesn’t  often  extend  it  fully  to  anyone,  but  he  trusts  james  t.  kirk  absolutely,  and  in  life - or - death  situations,  he'll  follow  anyone  who  thinks  they  can  get  everyone  out  in  one  piece.

▸ WHAT’S  YOUR  MUSE  LIKE  WHEN  THEY’RE  IN LOVE ? :    soft.   he’s  a  deeply  caring  and  compassionate  man,  his  sharp  edges  and  blunt  nature  are  shields  that  he  puts  up  to  keep  people  from  taking  advantage  of  that  kindness  or  just  hurting  him  in  general;  once  those  walls  go  down,  he  is  constant  touches  and  secretive  smiles  across  the  room  and  shocking  smoothness  and  bringing  coffee  before  you’ve  even  thought  to  ask  for  it.   leonard  mccoy  is  a  shirt - off - his - back  kinda  guy,  lets  you  steal  his  sweaters  with  only  token  grumblings,  memorizes  your  schedule  so  he  knows  when  to  surprise  you  with  dinner,  gets  shy  being  thanked  for  his  affection  and  says  it  was  nothing.   everyone  around  him  knows  when  he’s  in  love,  because  he  just  glows  with  warmth  and  compassion  and  generosity.   and  it  also  helps  that  he'll  talk  endlessly  about  the  person  he’s  in  love  with  without  any  prompting.

TAGGED  BY:  stolen  from  @sagaiisms​ TAGGING:  anyone  who  wants  to!

[cowgirlontheloose]

Hello Central, Give Me Heaven

Hello Central, give me Heaven

For I know my mother’s there…

And you’ll find her with the angels

Over on the golden stair...

How did Bluegrass get a hold on a clan of middle class Scottish Presbyterians in rural Quebec during the 1950s? I’ve long wondered why my brothers and I, my son, a sprinkling of nephews and now my two granddaughters — the eldest who is aiming for a science degree at university — fell under its high lonesome spell.

I can’t speak for my brothers, but Bluegrass has been a godsend for this repressed black sheep girl-child growing up in the miasma of “Father Knows Best” and “I Love Lucy”.  Where else could I safely wallow in lyrics such as  …Get that dust off the Bible and redeem your poor, poor soul. Plus Bluegrass brings death to the conversation with every breath, something that White Anglo Saxon Protestants prefer to ignore until far too late. I’ve always admired those who address elephants in the room. Go tell that ball room lady/ All dressed in worldly pride/ That death’s dark train is coming/ Prepare to take a ride.

Before the Hamilton clan met Bluegrass, however, came the rock n’ roll revolution. My hormones exploded. Hello Bill Hayley, Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis! In a tossing sea of ponytails and tinkling charm bracelets I shrieked at Elvis during “Jailhouse Rock" in Ottawa’s jam-packed Capitol Theatre. Goodbye to music charts topped by crooners Perry Como and Doris Day. Farewell to Dad’s stack of blues and jazz records:  Billie Holiday, Cab Calloway and Woody Herman.

My girlfriend Joanie and I jived in our living room caroling:  …we’re gonna rock, rock, rock till ba-rod daylight…  Mum observed, her face a blank. Our two hounds rose from their snooze and left the room. Upstairs my older brother, Ian, a Johnny Cash wannabe, whaled on his guitar, moaning “…his earthly race is over and the curtains round him fall, We’ll carry him home to Dixie on the Wabash Cannonball.” Then there was Dad, quite likely downstairs soaking up a chunky stack of 78 rpms. I can see him now, a long leg cocked over one arm of his favourite chair, rustling through the newspaper to Glenn Miller’s  “Tuxedo Junction”:  Feelin’ low, rockin’ slow, I want to go right back where I belong…

My father had a 4-string Silver Belle banjo which he never played. He was sheepish about it; said he’d only played when he was courting Mum. He wore a straw boater then and a bow-tie too. “Well, it worked” he said, waggling his hands like some vaudeville gigolo.

My younger brother, Derek, showed no musical leanings whatever until the day he vanished into his room with the Silver Belle and a Pete Seeger record on learning the banjo. He taped  “Do Not Enter” to his door and was incommunicado for six months. My friend Jane still remembers listening to him struggle through “Darling Cory” played to a dangling phone receiver. 

“No wait — I gotta start again. Wait! Listen to this!” 

But one day he emerged, purchased a 5-string long necked banjo and wowed us all with his Scruggs 3-finger picking style. 

Our friends were soaking up Bob Dylan, Joan Baez or The Brothers Four, but we fell like miserable sinners, my brothers and I, to the down-home delivery and heartache harmonies of Bluegrass. We gloried in graves in the valley, Memphis trains, bootleg likker, burdens and lonesome souls. We worshipped like hungry hounds at the feet of Bill Munroe, The Greenbriar Boys and Flat and Scruggs. We need a whole lot more a’ Jesus and a lot less rock n’ roll.

My mother, whose middle name was Cultured, did her best to steer us right. Had she been a Bluegrass lover, she would have played Vince Gill singing Come to Jesus today, let him show you the way/ You’re drifting too far from the shore…   Instead she put Beethoven or Mozart on our stereo player, then served up bacon and eggs to my brothers and I at our glossy dining room table. Morning sun spattered rainbows from glass prisms in a girandole on the sideboard while we sat like lumps, barely awake. We rolled our eyes.

My Presbyterian ancestors I suspect viewed all emotions with narrowed eyes. The notion of long-gone generations of Elizabeths and Johns stomping along to “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” or “Rollin’ In My Sweet Baby’s Arms” seems a stretch. Yet according to many sources, including Bluegrass aficionado Pastor Fred Martie of Missouri’s KJAB 88.3 Christian Radio, that soulful Bluegrass energy lurks in my DNA. The Irish and Scots who came to America in the 1600s brought the roots of Bluegrass with them. So did the African American slaves. Over centuries the two traditions entwined, evolved, but it took Kentuckian Bill Munroe’s musical genius to braid those tangled roots into Bluegrass. In 1939, he swerved away from traditional country music with his group The Bluegrass Boys. They sang hard-driven harmonies accompanied by mandolin, banjo, fiddle, guitar and bass. When Earl Scruggs joined the band in 1945 with his innovative banjo-picking, classic Bluegrass was born.

I am now pushing 80 and Bluegrass still rambles round my soul.  I’m a long-gone Christian, lapsed dabbler in Hinduism, a Buddhist groupie and a traveller in Western mysteries plus friend to Tarot archetypes (call me The Fool) along with a heavenly host of gods, goddesses and deities. 

Like Walt Whitman, I am large; I contain multitudes. 

I’ve had epiphanies and train wrecks with all of it. Yet running like a mountain echo throughout has been Bluegrass, especially the gospel tunes. There’s nothing like it to soothe this wandering soul:  …Sometimes it’s dark, sometimes you’ll swear you’re blind/ But I believe that we'll be all right/ As long as you keep on/ Lookin’ for the light.

Or as some Bluegrass tenor named Slim or maybe Doc nailed it:  I’m just a pilgrim on this road, boy,/ This ain’t never been my home.

[etjwrites]

Tedenbarr of Have Lath

Hello Writeblr Community! I guess I've never really introduced myself or my writing, so here we go!

I'm Esther T. Jones, I'm in my midlate-20's, I love cosplay, gardening, and music, (I studied classical & jazz flute and piano in college) and I’ve written one two novels! A third is on the way!

The first novel is called “Tedenbarr of Have Lath,” is aimed at Upper Middle Grade/Young Adult Readers, and has all the classic elements from a medieval adventure story. (Official Summary.)

You want swordfights? Got 'em. Bandits? Got those too. Knights? Yep! Pirates? A driving force. Kings and nobles, and common folk and slaves? Castles and Dungeons? Secrets and Betrayal? PLOT TWISTS!? All. Right. Here. And of course, horses. All the horses!

Let me tell you about some of the characters:

Tedenbarr (Teddy) – the titular hero. Blond, blue eyed, 20 years old at the start of our story. He lives on an island of slaves named Have Lath, and is desperately in love with a free woman. Despite having reached almost to adulthood, he can be painfully naïve and tends to live in the epic poetic saga of his world that he has memorised line for line. He also loves animals.

Keira (Pronounced Kay-ee-rah) – Curly red hair, green eyes, speaks in a rich brogue. Tedenbarr's fiancée; secretly of course, her aunt would never approve of her marrying a slave boy. About 19. Her father disappeared on one of his travels and never returned. When Tedenbarr also disappears during a routine voyage, amidst rumours that the Black Sailed Pirates have returned to the Sheana Sea, she fears the worst.

Lach – A boy of about 15/16, he is Tedenbarr's best friend on “The Sailing Prison.” Together they work to escape the pirates boarding the ship, but get separated, and Tedenbarr alone makes it to the shores of the Eastern Kingdom. His face, along with all those who went down with the ship, plagues Tedenbarr at night.

Black Crow – Leader of the notorious bandit group living in the Linkwood Forest. Tedenbarr encounters his second in command, and right hand man – Light-Fingers (also known as Amiri of Caro) – in a series of events that take place before our story starts (detailed in chapter five in a flashback).

Shai Ten – Leader of the Resistance in the capital city of Aistes. He hails from one of the desert tribes in the Eastern Kingdom. After his cousin sold herself into slavery to buy them food for a year, and subsequently died an untimely death, he threw himself into the makings of an uprising to try and better the lives of the citizens of Aistes.

King Elymas Oglath – Feared by many, hated by most, loved by none. The sole remaining member of the Oglath family after the deaths of his brother and nephew, he rules with an iron fist. His most recent headache is the return of the Black Sailed Pirates, thirsty for revenge because he drove them out of the Sheana Sea 15 years ago on charges that they murdered his nephew.

The Pirates – a terrifying menace, no ship in the King's Navy can outrun them, and they aim to sail up and down the coastlines of the Sheana sea, leaving destruction and ruin wherever they go. Their ace in the hole is their ability to set the sea on fire, hence the burning cutlasses emblazoned on their black flags and sails. Their ship is named Fraecana, after the spectral goddess of the underworld that many people in Tedenbarr's world believe in.

There are many more characters, but those are the figures that are a constant during Tedenbarr's travels, either at the forefront as he interacts with people, or in his thoughts, or as a looming presence in the background.

Tedenbarr's world is filled with people who believe that there are greater forces at work, and though Tedenbarr himself doesn't put too much stock in the fables and legends that he can recite by heart, here is a little bit of what people believe:

The goddess Myrna rules the sea, Fraecana the underworld. Ferra is a demigod, a trickster and fleet of foot, always getting himself and mortals into trouble. The clashes between himself and Agon – the heroic human king at the centre of the Agon cycle – are legendary.  Shirye is the patron god of forests and hunters.

Shrines exist all across the Kingdom of the West. They are dark, unpleasant places, thick with incense, and attended by greedy cultists who delight in swindling poor superstitious people out of what little money they have. Lach's mother fell victim to one such scheme.

Let's talk places!

Aistes – Capital city of the Kingdom of the West. Currently hiding a long forgotten secret, and the centre of what promises to be a bloody civil war between rich free-folk and poor slaves/servants.

Cal-Cah Mountains – an imposing mountain range in the Kingdom of the East that is very dangerous to navigate due to the bandits that often waylay merchant caravans and lone travellers.

Dirca Desert – a hot, dry expanse that marks the borders between the Kingdoms of East and West. Also inhabited by bandits, and very easy to get lost in.

Dolphin Bay – a secluded little retreat close to the major villages of Slern and Bajai. It's also the first place that Tedenbarr dares to think he could be more than a slave.

Have Lath – Tedenbarr's home. Only outcasts, soldiers and their families, and slaves live here. The island helps protect the mainland from the savage storms of the North Seas.

Linkwood Forest – the domain of yet another band of outlaws, wanted throughout the Western kingdom for crimes against the House of Jor, and against the Monarchy. Not even travelling along the King's Highway is safe anymore with those rapscallions lurking behind every tree and shrub.

Old A'an – a fabled, long abandoned underground city where an ancient civilization used to live. Tedenbarr has always dreamed of visiting, but no one he knows has an inkling of where Old A'an might be located.

Sarenji – a major port town, and one the Black Sailed Pirates have their eye on after attacking Tedenbarr's cargo ship.

Slvyn Reigh – a minor point of interest in the middle of the Sheana Sea. Legend has it that Agon once went head-to-head with the sea goddess Myrna in a fierce but good spirited competition atop a small, stony island, and the peculiar rock formation is all that now remains.

Whew! That was a lot! Please enjoy perusing the moodboard (which also contains some out of context spoilers – I'll leave it to you to figure out what they are). Let me know if you would like to see a more detailed breakdown of some of the main characters, as well as the many secondary and even minor characters that I didn't mention here. Tedenbarr of Have Lath is available from Amazon in both paperback and ebook form (do you have Kindle Unlimited? Congrats, Tedenbarr of Have Lath is now yours, free!) and I'd be more than thrilled to answer any questions you want to shoot my way! This story is my baby, and I love talking to readers about it!

[renegadeproductions]

**AUDITION NOTICE**

Production name: ROCK OF AGES  

Book by Chris D’Arienzo, Music Supervision by Ethan Popp

Producers: The Renegade Arts Co.

Audition date 1: Saturday January 19, 5pm-10pm

Audition date 2: Monday January 21, 10am-4pm

Call backs: Saturday January 26, 5pm-10pm

Deadline to submit: Friday January 18

Email applications to: renegadearts@outlook.com

Contact name: Staff

Contact phone: 604-685-0435

Engager Website: www.renegadeproductions.net

Director: Chris Adams

Choreographer: Nicol Spinola

Music Director: Kerry O’Donovan

Producer: Jim Buckshon

The songs of Journey, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard and other artists underscore a tale of big dreams in Hollywood. Soon after hopping off a bus from the Midwest, aspiring singer Sherrie Christian immediately finds herself in trouble. Coming to her rescue is Drew, a bar-back at the legendary club the Bourbon Room. With stars in their eyes, the young lovers chase their dreams, but rock god Stacee Jaxx threatens to tear them apart.

Performances will run from June 27 - July 6, 2019 at The Metro Theatre 1370 SW Marine Dr. with a one-week holdover option closing on July 13th.

All cast will be paid an honorarium, increasing if the show is Held Over. Any Equity members will be contracted under the DOT Policy.

Please submit a headshot and resume to renegadearts@outlook.com

Please note any conflicts with auditions/callbacks or the run at this time.

All auditions will be held at Renegade Productions Studio A 3030 E Broadway Vancouver

Rehearsals will begin @ May 19th and rehearsal times will be decided based on casting and will be held at Renegade Broadway.

Please bring two contrasting songs, at least one should be in a rock/pop style. Bring sheet music in the correct key and in a binder. Accompanist will be provided for you.

Dance Audition will consist of 80’s jazz and contemporary style movement, please bring appropriate dance shoes and dance attire.

Please expect to stay up to 2 hours.

Please let us know if there is a specific part you are interested in.

Renegade is an equal opportunity company and encourages submissions from actors of all cultural backgrounds.

Casting Breakdowns

DREW - An appealing, good-guy rocker with great, easy comedic timing, a boyish charm, vulnerability, and a very strong rock tenor voice. Drew works at the legendary Bourbon Room hoping and waiting for his dreams to come true. He finds an instant attraction to Sherrie, the beautiful new arrival from the Midwest, who encourages him to go after his dreams.

SHERRIE - An ‘all american’, pretty, fresh faced, innocent Midwestern girl stepping right off the bus into a new world to pursue her dreams of stardom. Strong comedic timing, strong rock belt, good movement ability. Should be comfortable in revealing/skimpy clothing.

LONNY - The narrator of the piece, charming, mischievous, welcoming, vibrant personality; a guy who would be fun to spend one drunken night with. Strong, honest comedic timing/improv skills and strong rock vocals.

DENNIS DUPREE - Classic older stoner type guy who runs the famous Bourbon Room club. Torn about whether he should sell the club to Hertz, a German businessman. Very strong comedic timing. A laid back, easy going dude real dude. Bari-tenor rock vocals.

STACEE JAXX/FATHER - A sexy rock star. Decided to leave his successful hair/metal-rock band to try it solo. Self important, confident intriguing in all the wrong ways, the ultimate bad boy; he is all about sex, drugs and rock-n-roll. Great strong comedic timing and strong rock tenor voice.

JUSTICE/MOTHER - A strong female presence, an easy sensuality about her; once a performer, she now operates a strip club where Sherrie winds up working. Takes on the maternal role for the girls that work for her. Strong, soulful vocals and belt needed.

HERTZ KLINEMANN - An attractive older German male. Uptight, cold, intimidating businessman trying to buy up the Strip to develop it. The bad guy of the piece. Strong comedic timing and baritone vocals.

FRANZ KLINEMANN - Hertz’s son, young German male. Works for his father but not by choice. Pressured and intimidated by his father. Shy, gentle with a big heart. Strong vocals and comedic timing.

REGINA - A fun, hippie type, earthy girl who fights against the attempted take over of The Strip. Strong comedic timing, belt vocals and comfortable in revealing/skimpy clothing.

MAYOR/JA'KEITH/ENSEMBLE - A strong older character actor with good comedic timing to play numerous roles, strong rock tenor and strong dance/movement ability. US for Dennis/Hertz/Lonny.

JOEY PRIMO/ENSEMBLE - A young male with the rocker sensibility, strong rock tenor and strong/dance/movement ability, US for Drew/Stacee/Franz.

FEMALE ENSEMBLE - Six of the sexiest female singer/dancers around. Sassy, beautiful. Must be comfortable in very skimpy/sexy clothing. Strong dancers proficient in jazz and contemporary, comedic ability, and strong vocals. 1 Female Ensemble to play Constance. Others to play character roles as needed plus US principal female roles.

[nukenai]

Saw Bumblebee tonight.

hi this is the movie i’ve been waiting for my whole life. i got into transformers with the 07 movie and, obviously, this is the only movie to get close to giving me the feeling of that, and guess what, it surpassed it. it had a bit less of an impact only because there were less actual transformers in it - which is fine - it’s a different kind of movie. nothing wrong with that.

but it’s the kind of movie i needed now. I know it’s fucking lame to talk like this but like. fuck, Charlie is an extremely good character and someone I needed. her dad died. My mom died. Her whole family has moved on and shit and she really has not. though I still have issues with my family and no robot best friend, I’m maybe getting to okay-land. I literally almost had a nervous breakdown at this line:

"Ever since my dad died I feel like I've just been a drain on people. Everyone wants me to act like nothing happened but I can't!" 

It’s. so incredibly real to me and my situation. Transformers, specifically TFP, played such a huge part in me being able to cope with my mom’s death. New episodes were airing while she was wasting away in the hospital. A Ratchet one was airing while I was visiting her once. When I met Jeff Kline, I got to briefly tell him that TFP really helped me cope with losing my mom, before i burst into tears and he gave me One Piece tissues.

I feel like nothing but a burden to my family, and that I drain them. I have received zero emotional support from any of them. For a very long time, while my mom was beginning to get sick, I was alone in taking care of her. Her boyfriend helped progressively more as she got sicker. He died of pancreatic cancer a couple years ago, a long while after he had lost contact with my family basically. He got along really well with my dog. He visited once and I brought Striker up after he said, “He probably won’t remember me.” He did. I miss them both so much.

My version of Charlie’s diving I absolutely believe is horseback riding. My mom learned to ride when she was a teenager but had to stop because she was so allergic. It broke her heart. When I wanted to learn, I was originally going to learn english, like she did, but the barn people were rude to us, calling me “a little too old to learn” when I was fifteen. So I wound up learning Western. All of that came to a halt after my stepfather stole my horse and sold him. It took me years after I lost my mom to get on a horse again. And then I went and bought my own horse.

Everyone in my family has been nothing but negative about me and Rain. No one supports me! No one shows any interest in my riding, ever asks how my horse is, or anything. Not even my father. But it’s everything to me. Getting Rain, doing something so ‘stupid’ has helped me to recover so much more than anything else has. So fuck you, family :)

Anyways, the movie. What a brilliant movie. More focus on the relationship between Bumblebee and his person - and a person who doesn’t treat him like shit, and isn’t an insufferable piece of garbage. I saw myself in her so goddamn much. (I love the Smiths, as a sidenote).

Shockwave was not actually voiced by Corey Burton, but you could’ve fucking fooled me because hearing him made me burst into fucking tears and start shaking. I was so happy Ratchet got one line. And fuck yes, Ravage was awesome. And Arcee!! holy fuck Arcee

Cliff........jumper......... lmao.......... god fuckin damn it.

No Jazz subtracts 900 points but the movie itself gets a million, so.

It just... I have so many emotions about it. It was like this movie was made from my heart. How fuckin gay is that for me to say. “yes nuke we know you’re a robotfucker”. Listen............ listen.

I’m getting there. I’m getting to a place where I’m better. I’ve been feeling very, very badly for a good few months, especially this last... little bit more than a month and a half. It’s been very rough.

But I hope, from this point, I’m on an upswing. Feels a bit like it.

[dweemeister]

The complete list of films featured on this blog’s 2022 “31 Days of Oscar” marathon

To all my followers, thank you for allowing me to present this annual marathon of Oscar-nominated films to your dashboards, as I do every year. This year, the films were grouped by decade (a different decade every day, with an emphasis on the 1927-1929/1930s through the 1970s). These thirty-one days are the most exclusive, but most accessible this blog gets during the year - and I hope you enjoyed what you saw.

What follows is the exhaustive list of all 420 (stop laughing!) short- and feature-length films featured on this blog over the last thirty-one days for the 31 Days of Oscar marathon. This number breaks the record that 2016′s marathon sent (410). But that count remains only a fraction of the 5,019 films that have been nominated for Academy Awards since 1927.

Of those 420, 53 were short films (a record for a “31 Days of Oscar” marathon on this blog). 367 were feature films.

BREAKDOWN BY DECADE 1927-1929: 7 1930s: 35 1940s: 61 1950s: 64 1960s: 57 1970s: 45 1980s: 25 1990s: 31 2000s: 31 2010s: 27 2020s: 38

Year with most representation (2021 excluded): 1962 (ten films) Median year: 1966

Time for the list. 62 Best Picture winners and the one (and only) winner for Unique and Artistic Production that I featured this year are in bold. Asterisked (*) films are films I haven’t seen in their entirety as of the publishing of this post. Films primarily not in the English language are accompanied with their nation(s) of origin.

The Adventures of Don Juan (1948)*

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

Air Force (1943)*

Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974)*

Alice in Wonderland (1951)

All About Eve (1950)

All About My Mother (1999, Spain)*

All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

All That Jazz (1979)*

Amarcord (1974, Italy)

America America (1963)*

An American in Paris (1951)

Anastasia (1997)

Ánimas Trujano (1962, Mexico)*

Anna Karenina (2012)*

Annie Get Your Gun (1950)

Antonia’s Line (1995, Netherlands)*

The Apartment (1960)

Around the World in 80 Days (1956)

The Artist (2011, France)

The Awful Truth (1937)

Babette’s Feast (1987, Denmark)*

The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947)*

The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)

The Barefoot Contessa (1954)*

The Battle of Algiers (1966, Algeria)

The Battle of Midway (1942)

Battle of Neretva (1969, Yugoslavia)*

A Beautiful Mind (2001)

Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Beep Prepared (1961 short)

Being There (1979)

Ben-Hur (1959)

The Big Country (1958)

The Big Snit (1985 short)*

Black Narcissus (1947)

Black Orpheus (1959, Brazil)

Blithe Spirit (1945)*

Born Yesterday (1950)*

Bound for Glory (1976)*

Boyz n the Hood (1991)*

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)*

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

Broadcast News (1987)*

The Broadway Melody (1929)

Broadway Melody of 1936 (1936)*

The Brothers Karamazov (1969, Soviet Union)*

The Burmese Harp (1956, Japan)

Butterflies Are Free (1972)*

Bye Bye Birdie (1963)

Cabaret (1972)

Calamity Jane (1953)

California Suite (1978)*

Camelot (1967)*

Canary Row (1950 short)

Captain Blood (1935)

A Cat in Paris (2010, France)

Chariots of Fire (1981)*

Chicago (2002)

Children of a Lesser God (1986)*

Chocolat (2000)*

The Cider House Rules (1999)

Cimarron (1931)

The Circus (1928)

Cleopatra (1963)

A Clockwork Orange (1971)

Cold Mountain (2003)*

Closely Watched Trains (1966, Czechoslovakia)

Coquette (1929)*

The Cove (2009)

Cries and Whispers (1972, Sweden)*

The Crime of Father Amaro (2002, Mexico)*

The Critic (1963 short)*

Cromwell (1970)*

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000, Taiwan)

The Cowboy and the Lady (1938)*

Cyrano de Bergerac (1950)*

Dances with Wolves (1990)

Dangerous (1935)*

The Dark Angel (1935)

Day for Night (1973, France)

The Day of the Locust (1975)*

Days of Wine and Roses (1962)

The Deer Hunter (1978)

Derzu Uzala (1975, Soviet Union)

The Defiant Ones (1958)

The Departed (2006)

Designing Woman (1957)*

The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941)

The Devil Strikes at Night (1957, West Germany)*

Der Fuehrer’s Face (1943 short)

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972, France)*

Disraeli (1929)*

The Divorcee (1930)*

Dodsworth (1936)

Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

Donald’s Crime (1945 short)*

The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics (1965 short)

Easter Parade (1948)

8½ (1963, Italy)

Encanto (2021)

Ernest & Celestine (2012, Belgium/France/Luxembourg)

Exodus (1960)*

The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021)*

Fanny and Alexander (1982, Sweden)

A Fantastic Woman (2017, Chile)*

Fiddler on the Roof (1971)

Field of Dreams (1989)

A Fish Called Wanda (1988)*

The Five Pennies (1959)

Flee (2021, Denmark)

Flower Drum Song (1961)

Forbidden Games (1952, France)*

49th Parallel (1941)

A Free Soul (1931)*

The French Connection (1971)

From Here to Eternity (1953)

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966)

Gandhi (1982)

Gate of Hell (1953, Japan)

Gates of Paris (1957, France/Italy)*

Gentleman’s Agreement (1947)

Geri’s Game (1997 short)

Gigi (1958)

The Glenn Miller Story (1954)*

Glory (1989)

The Godfather (1972)

The Godfather Part II (1974)

The Godfather Part III (1990)*

Going My Way (1944)

Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)

Gold Diggers of 1935 (1935)

Gone with the Wind (1939)

The Good Earth (1937)

Good Will Hunting (1997)

Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939)

The Graduate (1967)

Grand Prix (1966)

The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

Great Expectations (1946)*

The Great Lie (1941)*

The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

Green Grass of Wyoming (1948)*

Gulliver’s Travels (1939)

Hamlet (1948)

Harlan County, U.S.A. (1976)

Harvey (1950)

The Harvey Girls (1946)

The Heiress (1949)

House of Flying Daggers (2004, China/Hong Kong)

How Green Was My Valley (1941)

The Human Comedy (1943)*

Humdrum (1999 short)*

Ida (2013, Poland)

I’ll Cry Tomorrow (1955)*

The Illusionist (2010, France)

In the Heat of the Night (1967)

In Which We Serve (1942)*

The Informer (1935)

Interrupted Melody (1955)*

The Irishman (2019)

It Happened One Night (1934)

The Jazz Singer (1927)

Jerry Maguire (1996)*

Johann Mouse (1953 short)

Ju Dou (1990, China)*

Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)

Julia (1977)

Julius Caesar (1953)

Keeper of Promises (1962, Brazil)*

The King and I (1956)

The King’s Speech (2010)

Kitty Foyle (1940)*

Knife in the Water (1962, Poland)*

Klute (1971)*

Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)

Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)

Kung Fu Panda (2008)

La La Land (2016)

La Strada (1954, Italy)

Lady Be Good (1941)*

The Last Emperor (1987)

The Last Picture Show (1971)

Laura (1944)

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Leaving Las Vegas (1995)*

Les Girls (1957)*

Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)

A Letter to Three Wives (1949)

The Life of Emile Zola (1937)*

Lincoln (2012)

The Lion in Winter (1968)*

The Little Matchgirl (2006 short)

Little Women (2019)

The Longest Day (1962)

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Lost Horizon (1937)

The Lost Weekend (1945)

Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955)

Lust for Life (1956)

Madame Tutli-Putli (2007 short)*

A Man for All Seasons (1966)

Man on Wire (2008)*

Mank (2020)

Marty (1955)

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)*

The Merry Monahans (1944)*

Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983 short)

Midnight Express (1978)

Mighty Joe Young (1949)*

Million Dollar Baby (2004)*

Minari (2020)

Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

The Missing Picture (2013, Cambodia)*

Mississippi Burning (1988)*

The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021)

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

Mrs. Miniver (1942)

Mon Oncle (1958, France)

Monsieur Lazhar (2011, Canada)

Monster’s Ball (2001)*

Moonbird (1959 short)*

The More the Merrier (1943)

Mouse Trouble (1944 short)

The Muppet Movie (1979)

The Music Box (1932 short)

The Music Man (1962)

Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

My Fair Lady (1964)

My Gal Sal (1942)*

My Grandmother Ironed the King’s Shirts (1999 short)*

The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello (2005 short)*

The Naked City (1948)

National Velvet (1944)

Naughty Marietta (1935)

Network (1976)

Never on Sunday (1960, Greece)*

Nights of Cabiria (1957, Italy)

No Country for Old Men (2007) 

No Man’s Land (2001, Bosnia and Herzegovina)*

No Time to Die (2021)

Now, Voyager (1942)

An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)*

Oklahoma! (1955)

The Old Man and the Sea (1999 short, Russia)*

Oliver! (1968)

The Omen (1976)*

On Golden Pond (1981)

On the Waterfront (1954)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)

Ordinary People (1980)

Pan’s Labyrinth (2006, Mexico)

Paperman (2012 short)

Parasite (2019, South Korea)

A Patch of Blue (1965)

Patton (1970)

Paul Bunyan (1958 short)

Persepolis (2007, France/Iran)

Pete’s Dragon (1977)

The Philadelphia Story (1940)

The Piano (1993)*

Picnic (1956)*

The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)

Pieces of a Woman (2020)*

Places in the Heart (1984)*

Planet of the Apes (1968)

Plymouth Adventure (1952)

Predator (1987)*

Pride and Prejudice (1940)*

The Prince of Egypt (1998)

Princess O’Rourke (1943)*

The Producers (1967)

Pulp Fiction (1994)

The Quiet Man (1952)

Raging Bull (1980)

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Rain Man (1988)

Rashômon (1950, Japan)

Ratatouille (2007)

Raven’s End (1963, Sweden)*

The Razor’s Edge (1946)*

The Red Balloon (1956 short, France)

The Red Shoes (1948)

Reds (1981)*

Rejected (2000 short)

Revolting Rhymes (2016 short)

Richard III (1995)*

The Right Stuff (1983)

A River Runs Through It (1992)

Roma (2018, Mexico)

Romance on the High Seas (1948)

Room at the Top (1959)*

Rooty Toot Toot (1951 short)*

Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954, Japan)

Saraband for Dead Lovers (1948)*

Sayonara (1957)

Schindler’s List (1993)

The Secret in Their Eyes (2009, Argentina)*

Sense and Sensibility (1995)*

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)

7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964)

Seven Samurai (1954, Japan)

Shaft (1971)

Shakespeare in Love (1998)

Shampoo (1975)*

Shane (1953)

The Shop on Main Street (1965, Czechoslovakia)

Shoplifters (2018, Japan)

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1931)

The Snake Pit (1948)*

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

The Solid Gold Cadillac (1956)*

Some Like It Hot (1959)

Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)*

Song of the South (1946)

The Sound of Music (1965)

Spencer (2021)*

Spider-Man 2 (2004)

Splendor in the Grass (1961)

A Star is Born (1937)

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

Star Wars (1977)

The Sting (1973)

A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

Strike Up the Band (1940)

Summer of ‘42 (1971)*

Sun Valley Serenade (1941)*

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)

The Sunshine Boys (1975)*

Superman (1941 short)*

Superman (1978)

Sweet Bird of Youth (1962)

Sweethearts (1938)*

Swing Time (1936)

Swooner Crooner (1944 short)

A Symposium on Popular Songs (1962 short)*

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013, Japan)

Talk to Her (2002, Spain)*

That Hamilton Woman (1941)*

That Obscure Object of Desire (1977, France/Spain)*

This Land is Mine (1943)*

Three Colors: Red (1993, Poland)

Three Little Pigs (1933 short)

3 Misses (1999 short, Netherlands)*

Through a Glass Darkly (1961, Sweden)*

Thunderball (1965)

Timbuktu (2014, Mauritania)

The Time Machine (1960)

Titanic (1953)*

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

Tobruk (1967)*

Tom Jones (1963)

Tom Thumb (1958)

Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom (1953 short)

Tootsie (1982)*

Toy Story (1995)

Toy Tinkers (1949 short)

The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021)

Travels with My Aunt (1972)*

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945)

Tulips Shall Grow (1942 short)

Tweetie Pie (1947 short)

12 Years a Slave (2013)

The Twilight Samurai (2002, Japan)*

Twin Sisters of Kyoto (1963, Japan)*

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Two Women (1960, Italy)*

Vengeance (1958, Spain)*

The Virgin Spring (1960, Sweden)

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)*

Waltz with Bashir (2008, Israel)*

War and Peace (1966, Soviet Union)*

WarGames (1983)

We Can’t Live Without Cosmos (2015 short, Russia)

West Side Story (1961)

The Westerner (1940)

When the Day Breaks (1999 short)

When We Were Kings (1996)*

When Worlds Collide (1951)

The White Helmets (2016 short)

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)

Wings (1927)

Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (1977 short)

Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom (2015, Ukraine)

Wolfwalkers (2020)

Woman in the Dunes (1964, Japan)*

Woodstock (1970)

The Worst Person in the World (2021, Norway)*

Wuthering Heights (1939)*

Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

The Yearling (1946)

You Can’t Take It with You (1938)

Z (1969, Algeria)

Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

All fifteen nominated short films for the 94th Academy Awards (2022)

All ten nominees for the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 94th Academy Awards (2022), including the winner, CODA

[dontcallmecarrie]

“...if Maria saw what the world did to her son in canon we’d probably be dealing with a rerun of the Time of Knives. [Especially after Civil War.]” Omg, I need this fic. Or, as an alternative, LTTR!Maria lands in IM1 while Tony is captured and books it to Afghanistan.

can’t promise a full fic, since I’m struggling to keep the 2 WIPs I have under control [no, LTTR, you don’t need an extra chapter, work with me here!], but I can give you an idea of how it’d go down. [Yes, it’s very self-indulgent, but considering I write for stress relief, sorry not sorry.]

Really, it depends on exactly when and where she crash-lands. For maximum ‘Time of Knives Pt. II’, you’d have Maria stumbling out of a shadowy corner in that bunker in Siberia, but I can guarantee she’d still raise hell regardless of where she landed. 

After all, even if this is another universe, that’s still Maria’s son. Her son, who’s keeping it all together via sheer willpower to keep from shattering despite the world doing its level best to break him, and…well. Let’s just say Maria would not take that lying down.

In LTTR, we saw what happened when people’ve tried to hurt her son, in the past [read: she doesn’t leave a body when in mama bear mode]. The only reason Howard didn’t go the same way was because he was family, the father of her child, and even then that only meant he got a warning instead of vaporized on the spot. 

aka Maria Stark has No Chill where her family’s concerned

So, really, it shouldn’t have been a surprise when, in this hellish universe where her son’s hurting and nobody cares, Maria went full-on Terminator on everyone. Screw subtlety, screw social conventions, screw everything— if no one else was going to do it, then looks like it was up to her to put the fear of Elder gods [or whatever deities were knocking around in this reality] into those who dared hurt her son.

…and that’s the story of how Team Cap gets summarily hunted down by a specter with eyes like a dark planet lit by no sun that stalked them wherever shadows roamed. A specter that haunted them in both their dreams and in reality, lurked in the corners of their eyes and in general made the Slenderman seem downright tame, even as it dragged them back to the Raft with its own bare hands. 

Tony’s the one that talks her down from inducing nervous breakdowns, but that doesn’t mean she can’t keep up the nightmares, right? 

At least, for the ones who deserved it, like the woman who’d tried to break her son’s mind, or the man who’d left him for dead in Siberia after breaking his heart metaphorically and very nearly literally. [This ‘Bucky’ person, she’d let off with a single nightmare, after having seen the train wreck that was his mind. Tony’s intervention hadn’t even been necessary, there.]

…again, Maria has Absolutely No Chill where family’s concerned

and once that’s done and the onlookers are going ‘holy shit’ [T’Challa in particular is just seeing this go down, and the shivering, wild-eyed people curled up in the prison cells flinching every time a light flickers, and he does not want to know], Maria packs up and does her level best to take Tony and the handful of people he cares about with her because if this universe wanted a Tony they should’ve treated him better, damn it all!

Especially if this Tony was working so hard to keep the world safe. No, this world didn’t deserve him at all—it could burn, for all she cared. If this hell dimension didn’t want him, well, her Tony wouldn’t mind having an older brother, and there was plenty of space in the mansion. 

Maria’d take him and his tiny patchwork family with her when she went home, is what I’m saying. [Also: she’s so jazzed about having grandkids, you have no idea. Even if this Tony’d choked slightly when she’d referred to them like that.]

tl;dr: LTTR!Maria in post-CACW canon = RIP, world. 

Because Maria’s normally pretty laid-back, but any threat to her family means she will not hesitate to raise hell and seeing a version of her son who’s so close to breaking is like slamming into any buttons she had at 70 mph.

And, since this is mamabear!Maria we’re talking about, ethics and morality are secondary to her rampage, because she pulls no punches where family’s concerned. She honestly could not care less about how Tony’s loss will affect that world, and if she’d known that his disappearance from it would put it at risk when Thanos arrived she’d still do it again in a heartbeat, simply because of how he’d looked when she’d found him. 

I’m honestly not sure if this universe’d survive Thanos, actually. Because with Tony gone, no one’s aware of the threat he poses, and now they’re minus another line of defense. It won’t be until after Thor arrives with his warning, or, worse, when Thanos’ ships are in range, that everyone’ll realize that oh, shit, Tony was right. [Unexpected bonus, though, in that now everyone’s minus an Infinity Stone. Oops?]

Tony, meanwhile, is safely in another dimension with Rhodey and Vision and Pepper and chatting with Jarvis and just generally having a much easier time of it. Maybe he’s in Night Vale, maybe he’s not, but either way he’s recovering and has a supportive family who cares about him.

[thebookishgoddess]

THE HIDDEN ORACLE (THE TRIALS OF APOLLO #1) BYRICK RIORDAN - 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

How do you punish an immortal? By making him human. After angering his father Zeus, the god Apollo is cast down from Olympus. Weak and disorientated, he lands in New York City as a regular teenage boy. Now, without his godly powers, the four-thousand-year-old deity must learn to survive in the modern world until he can somehow find a way to regain Zeus’s favour. But Apollo has many enemies - gods, monsters and mortals who would love to see the former Olympian permanently destroyed. Apollo needs help, and he can think of only one place to go … an enclave of modern demigods known as Camp Half-Blood.

Review type: Breakdowns and spoilers

                        “How do you punish an immortal?                                        By making him human.”

Uncle Rick has done it again. He never fails to impress me with his action-packed stories and witty humor. I thought that after Blood of Olympus that his Greek myth stories are done for. Thank the gods that it isn’t. I was so happy when I found out that the PJO/HOO (now PJO/HOO/TOA) fandom is still alive thanks to our ever-amazing author. And yet again, it’s still a good read as ever.

Apollo is a very, very, very pretentious god. That’s quite obvious in this book. There are a bit irritating lines to it, but I don’t expect less from a vain god and how Rick would portray him. Some gods truly are self-centered. Anywho, I still liked Apollo here. Not as entertaining as Percy would protrude or Leo would execute, but still just as good and decent. His character development here is actually amazing. I know a thing or two about losing something or having something important to you be taken away, so the whole five stages of grief jazz in Apollo’s case is a dust to dust.

Now the new character here, which happens to be Meg, a not-so surprising daughter of Demeter (just based off when she conjured up Peaches the karpoi, I already knew), was okay. I don’t particularly hate her, and I don’t particularly like her. She’s a whiny 12-year old and at times a bit annoying when she needs a lot of things up to speed. I can’t blame her, though. It would really have to take Apollo’s demo video for new campers to get her in line. I do like how she brings a certain dynamic to the story, and how she’s able to tame the great god Apollo. Sorry, Lester Papadopolous. She should be able to do that, though. After all, she and Apollo are bound to each other, no thanks to Apollo’s bloody punishment of being tied to serve someone as a mortal. Overall, she’s a good character and I don’t expect much from her except the high hopes that she doesn’t mess everything up especially after that huge plot-twist came to light.

Side characters here are great! I loved the new demi-gods. I expected to hate them, since I got so used to the old ones (like Clarisse, Connor, Travis, Chris, etc.) that I dare not accept new characters to come in. But I actually really loved them. Especially Apollo’s kids, Kayla and Austin. I really would love to see more of them in the future. The only side character I found greatly odd here was Rhea, the mother goddess (aka the Olympians’s [Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Hestia and Demeter] mom). The way Rick portrayed her felt really off. Let me put it this way. Hippie mom. Yeaaaaah, nope. I did not like that at all. I’d expect the Titan mother to be this classy lady, like Audrey Hepburn-ish. I guess that’s always been my vision for Rhea in Rick’s world (seemingly because I wrote a fanfic verse of Rhea), and Rick shattered it. But that’s not such a big deal.

Best thing that ever happened here was Leo and Calypso. OH MY GODS YASSS. I love Leo and he’s honestly one of my favorite characters in the series. The fact that yes, he’s still alive, and is now one of the important parts of Apollo’s trials makes this series ten times better because… Leo.Overall, this was an amazingly great read. Only took me two days to finish. It’s still action-packed, more or less. Not as exciting as the first installment (PJO) but I hope that’ll develop overtime. I highly recommend this to literally everyone who wants to see what happened after Blood of Olympus. THE FANDOM IS NOT DEAD YET. PRAISE THE GODS!

                 “That’s the nice thing about being human.        We only have one life, but we can choose what kind                                     of story it’s going to be.”

[sandcastles-hedestroys]

1-70 I want to know it all in great detail

I see, the key to getting asks is to passive-aggressively tag your friends.

01: Do you have a good relationship with your parents?

Anyone who has ever known me in real life knows I absolutely do not. I have an alcoholic, compulsive liar for a mother and an absent father, plus some grandparents who are so convinced that they are my actual parents that they would probably kick me out if they learned I refer to them as my grandparents. Fun times.

02: Who did you last say “I love you” to?

Either my dog or yours lol. I don’t like telling people I love them. That’s something to be shown through your actions, otherwise the word loses its meaning. 

03: Do you regret anything?

I don’t even know where to start with this one. I’ve regretted basically every major decision I’ve made, and I probably shouldn’t be allowed to think for myself. If I had to name a few things that I regret right now, I would say I regret spending my spring break being so bitter. I really did have a good time, but I would have enjoyed myself more if I hadn’t tried to make it about me. My other big regret at the moment is cancelling my campus residence app. I screwed myself out of a guaranteed place and now I’m stuck with a bunch of drama and uncertainty. Also, there’s a friend that I’ve had for years and there were times when I was pretty horrible to her and she stuck with me despite it. I wish I had been mature enough at the time to be the person she needed in her life, instead of causing drama.

04: Are you insecure?

Extremely. I have a lot of insecurities about my body, mostly my face and hair, but a lot of my family in underweight and it was kind of instilled in me, that to be attractive I had to be underweight, like I remember when I started high school I made it a goal to stay below 110lbs until after graduation. I was still growing so that goal was as unrealistic as it was unhealthy. I’ve struggled with disordered eating since I was like 12. Other than that I can be really insecure about asking for the things I want and need. One of my biggest fears is people seeing me as selfish.

05: What is your relationship status?

I’m a single Pringle! I was in a relationship for a few months, but I got dumped because I consistently put my friends before her, which is funny because I’m in the middle of some conflicts with friends over not talking with them enough. I’ve been on a few dates and stuff since then, but I’m in a bad place right now mental health wise, so being single is probably for the best rn. 

06: How do you want to die?

This is kind of dark, but I don’t really care how I die as long as I’m in control of how it happens. If there’s a really wild and interesting story involved that would be even better. 

07: What did you last eat?

I’m munching on some green chili peanuts with a crap ton of Diet Coke. I’m at home right now so I’ve been eating way more than usual.

08: Played any sports?

I used to do ballet, gymnastics, contemporary and jazz, as well as various ballroom dances. I’ve blocked most of it out and lost a lot of my flexibility, but I would love to return to ballet at some point. I miss gymnastics too, but I’m too tall for it lol.

09: Do you bite your nails?

I’ve always been weirdly prideful of my nails and the thought of biting them has always freaked me out, like my nails are my babies. Keeping them nice is a big deal to me so my chompers can stay the hell away lmao

10: When was your last physical fight?

I’ve never actually been in a physical fight. The closest encounters were last semester, when my old roommate got a concussion from a crazy person that used to live with us, and a few years ago when I let a friend slap me.

11: Do you like someone?

I’m assuming this means like like. I’m not super interested in dating right now, but there have been people that have sparked my interest recently.

12: Have you ever stayed up 48 hours?

I am smol and weak. My fragile shell of a body would actually start to disintegrate if I tried this. I’ve only made it to 24hrs once and my body like completely shut down.

13: Do you hate anyone at the moment?

I don’t like using the word hate for the same reasons I don’t like using the word love. There are people that I will not associate myself with and there are people in my life that I don’t feel any positive emotions towards, but there isn’t anyone that I could comfortably say I hate. 

14: Do you miss someone?

There are a lot of people from my life a few years back that I really miss, but I have to remind myself that I was a different person then, and some bonds are meant to be broken. I also really miss a lot of the friends I have at school. I take them for granted until we’re apart and then I feel all hallow, like part of me left too and that really sucks.

15: Have any pets?

I have a Chihuahua-weiner mix. He’s super old and he doesn’t have a tail and his name is Bob. He’s great. My aunt’s dog is basically my dog too, and he’s a pit mix. His name is Chester and he is actually a giant teddy bear. My friends have a doggo too, her name is Gwen and I am her aunt. She is the most talented and amazing fluffer who deserves the world.

16: How exactly are you feeling at the moment?

I’m at that weirdly numb point right now where emotions are like a foreign concept to me. I’ve been super stressed and I have a lot of pretty serious decisions at the back of my mind that I can do nothing about at the moment. I’m super behind on my schoolwork and with all this stress, I know I can’t catch up. It’s super frustrating and there’s been a lot of drama amongst my friend group, making me feel like I can’t really trust anyone in my life right now. My age has been preventing me from doing so much recently and since my birthday is around the corner, even the people who claim to understand have been super condescending about my anger over it. There have also been a lot of deaths recently in the city where I go to school, and I’ve learned that death is a bit of a trigger for me, so that hasn’t been fun. I feel like I’m one serious breakdown from being there myself and that’s super scary. 

17: Ever made out in the bathroom?

Somehow, no.

18: Are you scared of spiders?

When I was little I was really afraid of spiders and would go out of my way to have them killed. I had intense breakdowns whenever I thought a web touched me. Now, I regret having hurt innocent creatures and I think spiders are really cool. Leave the land crabs alone!

19: Would you go back in time if you were given the chance?

Yeah, knowing what I know now, I think that it would be cool to try and get myself to the point where I am now, but without a lot of the drama.

20: Where was the last place you snogged someone?

My dorm room lol. 

21: What are your plans for this weekend?

I’m taking a greyhound back to my college town on Saturday, and Sunday I’m returning to my normal schedule. I’m not looking forward to that eight hour bus ride.

22: Do you want to have kids? How many?

I’m kind of a lone wolf, and I really want to travel so kinds aren’t really in the picture, at least not until I’ve gotten my doctorate. Even then I would either adopt or use a donor, and I wouldn’t have more than two. 

23: Do you have piercings? How many?

Right now only my ears are pierced, but I plan on getting my septum done in May, followed by a double medusa. I also really want dimples and a brow done. Eventually I’d do my nipples and stomach as well.

24: What is/are/were your best subject(s)?

I’ve always been geared toward the liberal arts. I love all things involving art, history, and languages. I low-key have always enjoyed math too. I’m working on my bachelors in comparative cultural studies with minors in queer studies and museum studies. I want to carry that on to a masters in gender studies and a phd in Buddhist art. After that I’d like to go back to school fo economics and eventually obtain a masters in economic history.

25: Do you miss anyone from your past?

I miss people from my past when I’m unsatisfied with the people currently in my life. I have to remind myself that they aren’t around anymore for a reason and that it’s more important to work on the relationships that are relevant. Dwelling on the past does more harm than good. 

26: What are you craving right now?

Some love and affection? I’m not craving anything really. I could just use some peace and quiet.

27: Have you ever broken someone’s heart?

Yes. I’ve broken an ex’s heart when I ended the relationship. I was unhappy, to the point where I cheated. This was also the point when I started to question if I was actually a lesbian. I dumped him and never told him why. I broke my friend’s heart when I led her on, but then rejected her because I was in love with someone else (who did something similar to me). I broke my aunt’s heart when I told her I felt like I don’t have a family. I broke my biological mother’s heart when I made it clear that I didn’t want her in my life. I’m pretty good at the whole hurting others thing. 

28: Have you ever been cheated on?

It’s very possible, but if someone did, they never told me.

29: Have you made a boyfriend/girlfriend cry?

I can’t name a specific time, but I’m sure it’s happened.

30: What’s irritating you right now?

What isn’t irritating me right now? Oh my god. 

31: Does somebody love you?

I’ve had a lot of people tell me they do, but I have a hard time feeling it most of the time.

32: What is your favourite color?

I love every color, and I don’t like making colors feel left out, so my favorite changes a lot. Right now it’s yellow, because yellow is a bright, warm, happy color. I also really like pink. The pastels of both of those are 10/10

33: Do you have trust issues?

I legit don’t even trust myself. The only person I honestly trust 100% is my aunt. I have really bad trust issues, but I also overshare a ton. My life is a cycle of sharing my life story and then panicking. 

34: Who/what was your last dream about?

The other night I went to sleep while drunk and I had this wild dream where I met someone, learned his whole life story, flirted and eventually fell in love with him, came out to him, saying I’m not sexually attracted to guys (he came out as ace too so it was perf), and then he was hit by a car, causing irreparable brain damage. I woke up right after, but that dream will haunt me.

35: Who was the last person you cried in front of?

My aunt. I was updating her on my life in college, and it’s been less than ideal.

36: Do you give out second chances too easily?

I’m a huge believer of forgive but don’t forget. I used to be so bad about grudges that I would be angry even after forgetting what I was upset about. I guess I have the opposite issue here.

37: Is it easier to forgive or forget?

Forgive. Like I said above, I might forgive you, but knowing what someone did before will always leaving me searching for instances of them doing it again. Trust issues who?

38: Is this year the best year of your life?

It’s only March and I already know that it will be one of the worst years of my life. Ugh.

39: How old were you when you had your first kiss?

I think I was thirteen. I didn’t know how I felt about guys at the time and I almost puked in that poor dude’s mouth. 

40: Have you ever walked outside completely naked?

I have, and it was terrifying. Midday skinny dipping wasn’t one of my greatest ideas.

51: Favourite food?

Avocado on toast with a poached egg on top, muffuletta, yellow curry, and eggs benedict are my top ones.

52: Do you believe everything happens for a reason?

Absolutely. I didn’t really believe this until my roommate’s big fight last year. So much happened in one night, that wouldn’t have happened if we had done things even a second later. It was wild, but it was like there was so much pent up negative energy that the universe needed to release, and it found a way to make that happen.

53: What is the last thing you did before you went to bed last night?

I put some food away.

54: Is cheating ever okay?

The thing about cheating is that it’s when you go out of your way to do something with someone else when you know it would hurt your current partner. It’s something that happens when you aren’t happy in your relationship, and in a lot of cases it can be a cry for help. It is hurtful and a sign that a relationship isn’t meant to be, but cheaters shouldn’t always be villainized.

55: Are you mean?

I can be, but I try not to.

56: How many people have you fist fought?

None, lol

57: Do you believe in true love?

Not really. There are so many people that we have things in common with or who exist on the same wavelength. We might find someone that makes us happy for a long while, but nothing is permanent.

58: Favourite weather?

I love hot, sunny days when you can leave windows open, wear shorts, and only drink things with ice. 

59: Do you like the snow?

I lived in Alaska for over nine years before moving to the Sonoran desert. I moved to Northern Arizona for school, and when I saw snow again, it was as an adult who only saw the negative aspects of it. I hate being cold.

60: Do you wanna get married?

I don’t see myself ever being married. I would have to really love someone if I were to actually settle down and start a life with them. Right now I really only see it as something that would tie me down.

61: Is it cute when a boy/girl calls you baby?

I honestly hate baby as a pet name. It freaks me out. The only pet names I find cute are the unusual ones, like once when an ex accidentally called me cornbread.

62: What makes you happy?

Getting my nails done, binging my favorite show (Archer), travel, doggos, wandering around in stores with my music blasting so I can feel like I’m somewhere away from my problems, seeing people impressed with food I made, completing a project and being proud of my work, etc.

63: Would you change your name?

I hate my birth name, but I’m also afraid I’ve been conditioned to feel that way by my grandparents as a way to attack my bio mom. Because of that, I’ve been going by my middle name and various nicknames. Most people close to me call me Abby, but my favorite thing is to be called Lynn. I’m pretty hesitant to legally change it though.

64: Would it be hard to kiss the last person you kissed?

Yeah, the last person I kissed kinda sexually assaulted me, and I’d like to avoid that.

65: Your best friend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do?

Reject them as nicely as possible. Dating would be bad for me right now, and I’m pretty sure I’m not sexually attracted to men.

66: Do you have a friend of the opposite sex who you can act your complete self around?

I don’t think I have a best friend, period. I don’t think I’m entirely myself around anyone through. Different people will bring out different parts of my personality.

67: Who was the last person of the opposite sex you talked to?

Not sure tbh. 

68: Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with?

My aunt. The conversation we had about my life at school was pretty emotional.

69: Do you believe in soulmates?

No, for the same reason I don’t believe in true love. Life is too impermanent for there to be someone our soul fits with perfectly. There is too much change for something to be predetermined like that. 

70: Is there anyone you would die for? 

Anyone who has ever been somewhat nice too me. Honestly though I would be willing to die for a lot of people. The thought of anyone else having to suffer really sucks and if I can save them from that, I would.

[musicgoon]

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