#thought about making this one Ben

[saintaviator]

hey, bye.

[imjustavenuxwithaboomerang]

no yeah i really love how every core 4 member got a real happy ending....except for ej

nini is happily pursuing music in la with her moms' full support

ricky is dating gina, a girl he calls "home". he's finally becoming more at peace with love and how to show it. he's learned how to not run from his problems. his parents are getting back together (???) and his drama teacher wrote such a good letter of recommendation that he was accepted into a community college

gina becomes a literal movie star and was able to change the filming location of her second movie, without any consequences, to salt lake so she can physically be with ricky, the boy she finally got to date after crushing on him since the day they met. she has a permanent home to call her own now. her mom finally showed up to an opening night and she was finally able to portray gabriella

and then ej...is alone (in a wildcat sense) at college, financially cut off from his family, working multiple jobs to afford it. he spends most of his season 4 screentime guiding and helping others (ricky, gina, miss jenn, madlyn) instead of an actual storyline and a lot of his lines were about how he's made mistakes and has to live with them

[tunastime]

HOW ABOUT.... 77 >:3

oh shepherd. ohhh shepherd. 77 is shark week and its really a shame that shark week is so low considering that everything everything was my top artist of 2023, narrowly beating glass animals and usurping their 5 year streak. so um this is about ben and tom to me smiles

(668 words)

It’s a busy night.

That bodes well for Tom, who makes his way through the halls of the lab, following stripes of color through the bright white light. He makes his way through groups of testificates, blocking out questions and chatter, putting his mind away from whatever they could be working on. He wasn’t focused on that, tonight. He wouldn’t be asked about his trip. Not that he would be in the first place—that’s what he got for being good at his job. Nobody asked questions. Well. Xephos asked questions. But his questions were always to the point, and they were always a wrap around to the answer he was expecting, so as long as Tom was on his toes, he could answer them without saying anything at all. 

Nevertheless of all of that, he slips his way through the halls of the lab, and through a few access doors, and to a room, where he stands for a moment, fishing for his keycard. When he swipes, the door slides open, letting in a bar of light. He steps in quickly, light disappearing for a short moment, until the lamp beside the bed clicks on.

In white-yellow light, Ben looks awful.

It’s not that he normally looks good, either, which is unfortunate, but he looks exhausted. The lines of his face grow darker in the low light, especially as he blinks awake, scrubbing at his eyes. Tom feels a sharp pang through his chest as he realizes he’s woken him, but the relief etched across Ben’s face as he locks eyes with him diffuses the guilt almost instantly.

“Hi, Ben,” Tom says, a smile worming onto his face.

“Tom,” Ben sighs, leaning back on his hands. His shoulders seem to relax almost immediately as he settles, as Tom steps more into the room. He sets his coat and clipboard on the nightstand, ruffling through the pockets as he does. He holds out a bundle of napkins for Ben. Ben cups his hands, holding the bundle for a moment before Tom gestures for him to open it. 

“What is it?” Ben asks, tilting his head. The corners of his mouth lift up just so as he looks up at Tom. Tom’s still grinning, eyes squinted behind his glasses. He gestures again.

“It's for you,” Tom says. Ben snorts, rolling his eyes as he unfurls the napkins in his palm. Inside, Tom’s saved bread and cheese, crushed together from being shoved into his coat pocket, but largely still edible, and no small portion either. Ben’s face lights up, eyes flicking from the food in his hands and Tom’s face.

“You’re serious?” Ben asks. Tom nods, folding his arms as he comes to sit on the end of the bed, giving Ben enough space to stretch out his legs. Ben tears into the bread, almost famished, sighing as he chews. He smiles at Tom through his food, as if he’s holding back a laugh, and that alone sets a warm thing turning in Tom’s chest.

“Thank you,” Ben hums, swallowing with some difficulty. He reaches for the glass of water at the bedside, taking a small sip. Tom kicks himself—next time. Next time, tomorrow, or the day after, or two days from now, he’ll bring a whole canteen of water. He’ll sneak him away. He’ll make sure he actually gets clean, that he gets rest, a warm meal. Anything he can sneak to him. Anything that the testificates, that Xephos won’t miss.

Until then, Ben eats, savoring the food like he’ll never get a chance to eat again. Even in the white light, his face regains a bit more color, warm in the high of his cheeks. Tom laughs a bit under his breath, the motion shaking his shoulders. 

“Of course, Ben,” he says, furrowing his eyebrows. “What else am I good for?”

Ben laughs, a solid sound from his chest, and Tom laughs with him. He’s not sure when he decides it, but he knows now, more than ever, that he’s leaving. And he won’t be leaving without Ben beside him.

(spotify wrapped ask meme)

[tenebrous-academic]

I’m finally allowing myself to emotionally invest in Coach Ben. This man is not only surviving in the wilderness he is thriving in it.

Personally, I think he deserves to dabble in some arson. Just as a little treat.

[in-death-we-fall]

Wham, Glam, Thank You Mam…

Kerrang 910, June 29 2002

The unmasked Joey Jordison’s Murderdolls are not Slipknot Mark II. Can you imagine the Clown wearing make-up and stack-heels?...

Oh Kerrang, we absolutely can... but that's not the point here

Words: Joshua Sindell Photos: P R Brown, Lisa Johnson

(drive link)

In a dimly lit room at the Sunset Marquis hotel, five heavily mascara’d men in black leather, each with immaculately back-combed hair, pose and purse their lips for a photographer’s lens. Only a single white curtain against the window protects their pale skin from the outside sun’s piercing rays. Last night’s expedition to famed strip club Crazy Girls has left some of them feeling bleary and achy, but, as the band Junkyard once sang so sagely, ‘That’s life in Hollywood’. Yes, this is LA, the home of all things tawdry and torrid, where giants in spandex so famously used to stride down the Strip. But this is not 1986. These events are happening in June of 2002. And one of these pouting prima donnas happens to be a member of Slipknot.

Murderdolls are the new baby of Joey Jordison – Slipknot’s diminutive drummer – but in stark contrast to his unrelentingly intense day job, their music is a trashy pastiche of glam-rock, New York punk circa 1977, schlock-horror, and heavy metal. Jordison has swapped his mask for make-up and his sticks for a guitar, and has created a band that embody practically everything you don’t ever hear on the radio these days. Alongside him are Static-X guitarist Tripp Eisen, singer Wednesday 13 who previously fronted the Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13 and two friends of Tripp from LA – bassist Erik Griffin and appropriately-named drummer Ben Graves.

Just one listen to the Murderdolls’ debut album will be enough to have a legion of Slipknot fans chomping on their home-made boiler suits in confusion. Cheesy songs about grave robbing? Tributes to ‘The Exorcist’’s possessed devil-doll Linda Blair? Zombies? Mad scientists? Ghouls? What the hell is going on?

Jordison, barely five-foot-five even in his new stack heels, allows himself a sly smile.

“This is so far removed from Slipknot that it’s actually the best thing about it,” he says. “When we play, it’s just so fucking funny. We’re very serious about not being serious.”

To change gears from the testosterone-filled, uncontrolled anger of ‘Iowa’ to the sexually charged grind of Murderdolls is certainly something of a role-reversal. Butt Tripp Eisen, who, like Jordison, is also on shore leave from his day job, finds the turn-around almost hilarious.

“It’s kind of like being bisexual,” he jokes. “You’re doing a guy for now, but you’re not giving up on the ‘girl’ thing.”

The seeds of this project were sown years ago, in the mind and garage of Joey Jordison, under the name The Rejects. This was long before Slipknot and nu-metal’s all-conquering domination of the rock scene. The Rejects would eventually morph into Murderdolls, and to Joey, this is no mere side-project.

“I just feel that there’s no point in doing anything that’s even remotely similar to Slipknot,” he reasons, seated at a small table inside the cool, dark hotel room. “For me, it’s a chance to play guitar, which I played long before I played drums.”

Murderdolls began to become more than just a figment of Joey’s imagination three years ago when Slipknot toured with New Yorkers Dope, who had Eisen in their line-up at the time. The two bonded over a mutual love of such bands as Manowar, The Ramones and The Plasmatics.

“I had spent my whole life being kind of a glam guy, but also digging the heavy, heavy music,” says Tripp, a soft-spoken man with dreadlocks that sprout from his head like drooping asparagus. “It’s rare to find someone who can relate to both, and that’s what drew me to Joey. He’s into Slayer and Twisted Sister with equal intensity, and there’s not many people like that.”

To Tripp, there’s not all that much difference between the two. Both metal and glam are escapist and theatrical in nature, and he points out that Mötley Crüe and Slayer both used pentagrams on their albums.

Together, during the off time from their respective bands, Joey and Tripp dug up some of Joey’s old Rejects songs and dusted them off. They discovered a voice in North Carolina native Wednesday 13, and he brought several of his own songs with him. Then, after the album was finished, the band’s line-up was completed by Griffin and Graves.

The record itself is an absolute blast. Roaring guitars, skull-rattling drums and sneering, screaming vocals, all set to fast-paced tunes of terror and turmoil. Imagine the Ramones, the Misfits and the Dead Boys wearing long-haired wigs and goofing on love, lust and comic books. Add to the mix a soupçon of Marilyn Manson, plus a few screaming metal electric guitar leads, and stir. What pours out ain’t pretty, but it will certainly raise some eyebrows.

Joey couldn’t be more excited at the prospect of his Slipknot fans lending Murderdolls an ear.

“Not to take anything away from Slipknot, because I love that band and I’m still very much in it. But playing the guitar is not the same as playing the drums. Wearing make-up and trashy clothes is not the same as wearing coveralls and a mask.”

But what is to become of that famed Slipknot ‘mystique’? Won’t it forever be ruined by the fact that Joey is the first of them to go mask-less? Joey downplays the importance of his decision, saying that the internet has basically removed whatever secrecy Slipknot had tried to maintain anyway.

“We meet and talk to the kids without our masks every day,” he points out. He also says that Slipknot’s singer Corey Taylor and guitarist Jim Root will soon be performing sans masks in their own side-project, Stone Sour.

“I’ve said this a million times before, but wearing the masks is what the music ‘made’ us do,” says Joey. “It was not to just hide our faces. After knowing what Kiss looked like without their make-up for so many years, when I went to see them on their reunion tour, I didn’t give a fuck if I knew what they looked like under their make-up. When I saw them in make-up, I said, ‘That’s fuckin’ Kiss’.”

Scheduling the Murderdolls sessions and upcoming tour was never an issue with Slipknot either. All of the nine members decided that their loving maggots could allow them a few months’ rest, and many of them are pursuing solo projects.

“It was a mutual decision,” says Joey, “It wasn’t like we all needed the time away from one another. I told them that I felt that this stuff was worthy of being put out on a record. I think that it’s worthy for people to see it live as well. I’ve been spinning upside-down on a drum riser for the past 10 months, and now I’m going to go jam with this other band for a while, and they were totally cool with that. They knew from the start, even before the first Slipknot record, that I was going to do this, so it was no surprise to them.”

As for the other members, this much is known. Tripp Eisen says he’s still very much a part of Static-X, who are just about ready to wrap up their touring scenario for 2002 and will immediately begin writing their third album. Singer Wednesday 13, recruited to replace Rejects singer Dizzy, is an aficionado of ‘80s glam acts like Pretty Boy Gloyd and Tuff, and claims, quite horrifically, to have the soundtrack albums to every one of Sylvester Stalone’s movies – including ‘Over The Top’ and ‘Rhinestone’. Wednesday, who speaks in a warm southern drawl, plays a big role in the band’s theme and sound. He explains the song ‘Dawn Of The Dead’.

“I’ve always loved that movie,” he says, “and I thought, ‘How great would it be to have a Quiet Riot, ‘Cum On Feel Tha Noize’-type chorus for a song like that?’.” The singer described the sound of Murderdolls as a “Frankenstein monster we stitched together.”

The two newest members are Ben and Erik, friends of Tripp’s from LA. They do not play on the record, and both were struggling musicians who felt left out by the onslaught of post-grunge blandness and down-tuned rap-rock. Secretly, they wished they’d get hired to play just this kind of balls-out rock that just didn’t seem to exist outside of their old CD collections. They were working in shops on trendy Melrose Avenue when Tripp gave them a call.

“Once we all agreed that Nikki Sixx was God, we knew they were the right guys,” observes Wednesday.

Joey is loath to describe the band’s sound as metal or punk, though clearly it has elements of both, as well as some of the more frenzied moments of Marilyn Manson’s catalogue. In particular, ‘Dead In Hollywood’ truly sounds as if the God Of Fuck was somewhere in the mix, lending a helping shout. As it turns out, Joey asked the man himself to contribute, but not on any of the songs that have turned up on the record.

“Marilyn’s a friend of mine and we’ve always helped each other out,” says Joey. “I played some guitar for him and hooked him up with a remix, which he just recently used on the ‘Resident Evil’ soundtrack. He said that he’s going to sing on one of our songs now.” Unfortunately, what with his own deadline looming shortly, Manson’s tracks – either ‘People Hate Me’ or ‘Nineteen Seventy 666’ – may have to wait until after the release of the new Manson disc.

If all this sleaze and disorderly conduct sounds a little backward thinking, it is no accident. Even Trip agrees that the ‘Dolls pay tribute to a bygone time.

“I feel that kids today don’t know about what we grew up on, and I think that we’re trying to bring the whole package to them. The Union Underground and Sinisstar are similar in the respect that they’re bringing trashy rock back, but we just feel like we can do it better.”

Wednesday speaks with an endearing confidence that borders on pride.

“Nobody’s done it to the extent that we will,” he brags. “There were bands like Buckcherry and Beautiful Creatures who were doing the whole Guns N’Roses rock thing, but nobody’s done it at the level that we’re going to.”

Without too much Slipknot business to attend to, aside from the upcoming Reading and Leeds appearances this summer, Joey is clearly basking in his new-found freedom. Returning from the bathroom after applying his make-up, he jokes that posing for photos in Slipknot is so much easier than this current Murderdolls shoot. “You just throw on a mask and make hand gestures!”

Joey says that he’s looking forward to sharing his band with the world, and playing guitar live.

“I think that we’re original, but we’re not trying to reinvent the wheel,” he muses. “I think that in Slipknot, we broke down a lot of doors. I’m very proud of that, and I’m very fulfilled there. This is just another way to keep the glass full.”

Murderdolls release their debut album, ‘Beneath (sic) The Valley Of The Murderdolls’, on August 19 via Roadrunner.

Doll Parts

Joey Jordison’s guide to his new bandmates…

Ben Graves Joey: “Again, Tripp found him. Does he look like Twiggy Ramirez? Absolutely no comment.”

Wednesday 13 Joey: “He and I wrote all the music and the lyrics together. It’s fun when we’re singing about grave robbing. It’s much more tongue-in-cheek than anything Slipknot’s ever done.”

Erik Griffin Joey: “Tripp brought him into the band. I saw a video that Tripp did of them jamming, and he looked right for the band.”

Tripp Eisen Joey: “When we met, we instantly knew that we had the same taste in music. I really love his leads on the album. Live he’s great, and he’s a great friend.”

[the-eclectic-wonderer]

Oh my god I completely forgot about that ex-girlfriend line. Spent all the past few episodes thinking that we still didn't know who the voice on the ham radio belonged to, and instead we'd known all along. I'm a fake fan smh how could I miss it???

[shallowseeker]

I'm putting Lisa and Ben into my Wayward daughter fantasies.

You don't understand! At the core of her heart of hearts, Lisa thinks she would "never bring her sister back from the dead." But Jody? Jody knows. Jody is burdened by wisdom born of her experience, and...

And Jody's afraid of ever being granted the opportunity. Like Dean, Jody is rightfully afraid of that kind of power.

There's a painful parallel that could happen there, a delicious Lisa-and-Jody arc with respect to, "What if it's your child?" No one truly knows how they would act in that situation.

///

I'm warming up to Jody the more I think about how the most interesting thing about her is that her wisdom wouldn't prevent her from making reckless, emotional decisions, and that's the delicious part--the contrast!

Jody knows that if she was in the crosshairs, she could be played like a violin, and that's terrifying. No wonder she feels like, "she lost before she ever started" when it comes to the girls.

Another interesting bit about her knowing that overprotectiveness wouldn't work with Claire... and not being able to help falling into it anyways (13x03 via @spnscripthunt-inactive)

///

I love this unaired bit from Jody, too.

///

Jody says to Alex at some point: "Whatever you want from me, I'll give it. If you want, I'm here. But what you've been through the last 48 alone, losing your entire family, everything you've ever known or loved -- no one can understand that."

Jody knows the loss. She knows too what desperation could lead a person to do when faced with the opportunity to reunite.

I wish I could find the line about her saying she's afraid of what she'd do if faced with the opportunity to get her family back. I always lose the nifty script search. ToT But the more I think about this, the more I like it.

You can't understand some things until you go through them. In some ways, you learn that you don't want to be understood, because being understood means someone else going through that!

///

I just think you could build painful Jody-centric episodes centered wholly around her conveying powerfully astute wisdom... and then not being able to help but do the exact opposite!

[zerothisnero]

Haha whoooh Jean character ref sheet! haha yea whoooh!

[afrenomes]

I think it’s time my family stop calling people whose last names are Shapiro as just their last names and instead call them by their full names and/or titles

[nostalgia-tblr]

can't reblog that poll about 'how do you boil water' still too traumatised by how many people default to using the microwave. i rarely even drink tea and i have an electric kettle for such occasions as a friend visiting or attempting to save energy by boiling water in the kettle before transferring it to the hob for pasta-making.

[minimitchell]

ben definitely explained the situation to callum and callum said ‘i’m not getting involved in that. but here’s my badge. go scare her off, babe.’ and i for one love that energy

[pilots-and-protons]

Ok I’ve been reading a ton of Tom Paris related fanfic lately (with many different pairings), and I just need to talk about two Big Pet Peeves I have regarding certain uh, “tropes” - especially in older fanfic (from the 90′s and early 2000′s).

Head’s Up: I’m not trying to pick on anyone or start shit, I just really need somewhere to vent about WHY these two specific things bother me, so it’s going to be under the cut. This is my side-blog and I literally made it just to scream into the void about Tom Paris and Star Trek, okay?

Just be aware that I’m going to be talking about my own personal opinions and I don’t know how to NOT be intense about my autistic special interest (AKA any aspect of Star Trek). So don’t read unless you don’t mind hearing my thoughts about other people’s writing/character choices in fanfiction, and I definitely don’t want to hear anyone arguing with me because that’s not why I’m here. 

Anyways if you’re fine and dandy with that, then by all means you’re welcome to read more. Or don’t, I don’t really care.

Ok so there are two specific things that I noticed appear rather often in many Tom-centric fanfics, and they really bother me.

ok there’s also the prison rape thing, but that’s a whole other can of worms

ANYWAYS, my issues are:

#1: Taking the blame for Caldik Prime away from Tom

#2: Conflating Tom Paris with Nick Locarno

To explain the first one, I’m talking about there being multiple fanfics (from many different authors), where either:

- We’re given a reason why Tom wasn’t actually at fault for the accident (there was something unknowingly wrong with the ship, he was an undercover agent and it never really happened, etc.)

- The author tries to soften the blow by explaining why Tom messed up (he was emotionally compromised, for example, because his mother had died, or some big fight/problem with his father had just happened, etc.)

- Or the author tries to say that Tom never wanted to lie about the accident in the first place (he was unconscious/too wounded and his father lied for him, he was coerced into lying from either indirect or direct pressure from his father, etc.)

And personally? I have a problem with all of these. A huge foundation of Tom’s character is that he messed up in the past - big time. It’s something he had to learn from and grow. It affects so many aspects of his character - like wanting to offer support to Seven because he knows what it’s like to want to put your past behind you. And, at least in my own personal opinion, it’s why he’s the one that finds the error in “Timeless” - because he’s not willing to put other people’s lives at risk ever again.

But not once does Tom ever try to push the blame for this mistake on anyone else. The very first thing we hear about it from his own mouth is to tell Harry that yeah, it was his fault and he shouldn’t have lied about it. He knows this, he accepts this, and is even prepared to put up with the backlash for it (which, as we see from the original Voyager Doctor and Cavvit, is probably pretty common).

I understand that people probably felt bad for Tom or maybe just wanted some extra angst, but it feels so wrong to remove this from his character. It negates the growth he goes through - getting rid of the chip on his shoulder, learning to trust people and open himself up. It also negates the good aspects that came from something awful - he did tell the truth in the end, even though it ruined his Starfleet career. That shows what kind of person he really is, to have owned up to his mistakes even though, in his own words, he would have gotten away with it if he hadn’t.

Now for the second issue: meshing together Tom Paris with Nick Locarno.

I’ve seen fanfics where the people who died at Caldik Prime were Tom’s friends (this is sometimes also a reference to Pathways, which I don’t find canon either). There were fics where Tom blamed the accident on one of the dead officers like Locarno did in “The First Duty, and I’ve even seen someone referencing the Kolvoord Starburst as the reason why Tom’s accident happened. In some ways I get it, because we don’t know hardly any details about Tom’s past history so I can understand why many people decided to mesh the two characters together - especially because Locarno was the initial starting point for the idea of Tom Paris. 

The thing is, it bugs me - both because Nick Locarno’s character was much nastier than Tom’s, and also because canon explicitly contradicts this possibility.  

First of all, Locarno was expelled from the Academy - but Tom was thrown own of Starfleet. He had already graduated and was even serving aboard a Starship at some point before Caldik Prime. These are canonical facts that we know, and probably came from the writers intentionally deciding to separate the two characters. Second, there isn’t a single reference to Tom’s relationship with the people who died at Caldik prime other than his own reference of “those three dead officers” - not his friends, not cadets. Even as bitter as he is in the first season, Tom Paris doesn’t seem like the type to be that detached if he had gotten his own friends killed. 

But also, Nick Locarno did not confess to what he did. And that is such an important distinction between the two. Tom fessed up - Nick Locarno was caught, and the only semi-decent thing he did was convince the higher-ups to spare his team the full punishment. It's also implied that Nick Locarno used his position as team leader to pressure the rest of Nova Squadron into trying a very dangerous and banned maneuver in the first place - to boost his own ego. And when things started to get dicey, he blamed the accident on the cadet who had died, to save himself and his team.

Tom Paris never did any of those things, and it feels pretty damaging to his character to lump the two in together. There is no canonical evidence to suggest that Tom was trying anything dangerous, that he blamed anyone for the accident, or anything like what we know Nick Locarno did. All we know for sure is that it was a pilot error and that he lied, falsifying reports. But he makes it clear to Harry that he would have been home free if he’d just stuck to his lie. Nick Locarno was, if nothing else, facing a mark on his permanent record and a group of Academy officials who clearly thought he was lying already, but just couldn’t prove it. If we can go by Tom’s own words, he was facing much better circumstances, but chose to come clean anyways - because of his own conscious. Because deep down, Tom is a decent person and we see that throughout the rest of Voyager.

Personally, I think the best description of the character’s differences came from Robert Duncan McNeill himself - when he said that Nick Locarno seemed nice on the outside, but was a terrible person on the inside. Whereas Tom Paris had made mistakes and pushed people away, but deep down was a good person (I’m paraphrasing, but you get the point).

So yeah, both of these tropes bug me - one because it tries to make Tom into a less flawed person (maybe to seem more likeable somehow?), and the other because it turns him into a much more selfish and unlikeable character when there’s no reason to.

Anyways I just needed to get that off my chest.

[carbonateddelusion]

THAT REMINDS ME- I need to draw another entry for the explanation posts.. I think I'll give a rundown on the two (three? sane AU Eddie isn't really his own thing) versions of Edgar and how his relationship with The Main Antagonist Dude (Eli/Jack) impacts the narrative

I'll definitely need some input from Ben for Elijah's portion, though

[evilkitten3]

kinda fascinating how many people in the notes immediately saw this and decided this post was pro-israel. i've said this before and i'll say it again - criticism of israel is not antisemitic, but a lot of you are.

i keep seeing the increasing amount of antisemitism in leftist circles and as a jewish leftist i don't really like it. i don't like when people refuse to listen to jews when they speak about antisemitism.

nobody is immune to bigotry. just because you are a leftist (or claim to be one) it doesn't mean it's impossible for you to show microaggression.

[mundaneandmagicalcreature]

.