#also everyone SHOULD know two: their own & gritty

[zetterbabe]

5 Second Challenge

#jack eichel #connor mcdavid #brady tkachuk #cole caufield #clayton keller #josh morrissey #troy terry #matty beniers #seth jarvis #mario ferraro #charlie mcavoy #THE NO BALL QUESTION... fellas pls #also everyone SHOULD know two: their own & gritty #I can forgive not knowing a third but cmon #the batman question was so easy too #*xp #THIS HAS LITERALLY BEEN PROCESSING FOR AGES IN ANOTHER TAB BUT APPARENTLY WAS READY IN MY DRAFTS? IDGI #I also had everyone tagged... I'll update this later game is on my b

[gurugirl]

The Ranch Hand | cowboy!harry

2.5k word preview below the cut

Your boyfriend, Jessie, sat down a bucket of beer on the table you were sitting at and pulled his stool up as you grabbed a cold one for yourself and twisted the cap off.

You didn’t know the band that was playing but they sounded pretty good, especially for a Friday night with a cold beer in your favorite little rowdy country bar.

Jessie hated the bar. He was more into cocktail joints with white tablecloths and live classical piano. The kind of place you had to dress up to go into. You didn’t blame him. He didn’t come from where you came from. You two had only a couple of things in common.

The first was that you were both from wealthy families. Your dad was a rancher and he owned half the county. You’d never hurt for anything. Jessie’s family ran the county and were all involved in politics. He went to some fancy school in a different state and only came back because his father wanted him to step into the role of prosecuting attorney.

The second thing you had in common was that you lived in the same town.

That was probably where your similarities ended. You liked Jessie. Mostly. He was usually pretty nice, if not boring, and your parents liked him so that was a plus. In fact, they set up your first date with him and it was easier to just keep things going to make your mom and dad happy.

“You look uncomfortable,” you spoke as you kept your eyes on the band and Jessie struggled to pull the metal cap from his bottle.

“I’m just… there’s peanut shells all over the floor and everyone’s staring at us.”

You laughed and shook your head. You were gonna have to break up with the guy. He couldn’t handle you and you knew that was the truth. He hated getting his hands dirty and even though he looked like he should be able to remove a bottle cap, it wasn’t the first time you had to do it for him.

Taking his beer you looked directly at him and twisted the cap off, dropping it to the floor before handing it back to him.

“I never drink beer. Not used to taking caps off…” he spoke as he took a sip. Shitty excuse.

You noticed that some of the workers from your dad’s ranch were in the bar. Probably causing trouble. The guys who worked for your dad could be rough around the edges but they were always nice to you. Just a bunch of cowboys looking to make ends meet. They all had a place to stay on the ranch at the bunkhouse provided and they were also paid pretty well. So on almost any given Friday and Saturday night, you could find some of them at the bar picking up local women, dancing, fighting, drinking…

This was your scene. This was what you enjoyed most. The rough and gritty. Salt of the earth. Phonies were quickly sniffed out in a place like this. It was why people were staring at Jessie.

You took another gulp of your beer and then you caught sight of one of the ranch hands already looking at you from across the room. Harry. He was very easy on the eyes. He’d been working at your dad’s ranch since he was 19. He’d earned a spot of trust with your father after all his years of hard work and now he had quite a lot of responsibility given to him. He had his own small cabin out of the way of the bunkhouse. He made a lot of financial decisions for your father as well. Negotiated prices for cattle sales, went to auctions to buy large equipment, handled the daily goings on of the newbie ranch hands, and did all the hiring and firing. But he also still worked his ass off. He’d pick up slack when the other workers needed help or couldn’t do the job. You imagined he was at the bar to keep the guys in line and make sure they didn’t land themselves in jail.

You and Harry were close from the beginning. You always went out of your way to meet every new worker that came on but Harry was a little different because he’d been around for almost ten years. You certainly favored him over all the others.

“Why’s he coming over here?” Jessie whined as Harry walked through the crowd with his eyes on you and a mischievous grin on his face. You just knew he was bout to do something to piss Jessie off, which was easy to do.

“Cause he’s comin’ to say hello.” You smiled at Harry as he tipped his cowboy hat to you, stepping between you and Jessie, and reaching in to grab a bottle of beer from the bucket your boyfriend bought.

“Uh, that’s ours,” Jessie sat up straight in his stool as he watched Harry uncap the bottle and take a swig, ignoring him completely, jade eyes still on yours.

Harry placed his elbow on the table and leaned in close to you, those handsome green eyes running over the features on your face, “Hi.”

You felt yourself heat up and kept your eyes on his, “Hi.”

You would have forgotten all about Jessie but then…

“Excuse me. Is this for real? That’s our beer,” Jessie reminded the cowboy.

Harry rolled his eyes and stood up with his hand on your shoulder, softly squeezing before he looked at your boyfriend, “Sorry about that bud,” and then he looked back down at you, “Okay if I have this, sweetheart?” He lifted the bottle of beer upward.

You nodded, “Of course you can have it, Harry.”

Harry’s grin widened as he took another drink and Jessie stood up to move in front of Harry. Maybe in an attempt to intimidate him? You weren’t sure exactly. But one thing you knew was that Harry would put Jessie down in the blink of an eye. Jessie wasn’t a small man but Harry was scrappy and liked to get dirty. Didn’t mind a scuffle when the moment called for it either. You’d seen him put a lot of men in their place.

“Next time you ask before you take.” Jessie pointed. You snickered to yourself. It was a good attempt at least.

Harry laughed and dragged his eyes down your body before he tipped his hat again and walked right into Jessie’s shoulder, making him stumble into the table. Harry looked back in faux surprise at Jessie and then at you with a wink before he went back to where he’d been before with the other guys.

Okay, so maybe Harry was a bit of a dick. But he’d never been rude to you. And you liked him, unfortunately for Jessie. Harry was not a fan of your boyfriends. He’d made that clear since Jessie started coming around four months ago.

“You just let him take a beer like that?” Jessie gestured toward where Harry had gone.

“I did. What’s the problem? I know this bucket wasn’t expensive so you’re not hurtin’ for the money.”

He took a deep breath and looked off toward where the cowboys were drinking, “Do you like him, Y/n?”

You pursed your lips to the side in thought as you watched people line dancing and stomping on the peanut-covered wood floors in their cowboy boots. Now you didn’t really need to think much about that question. Because you did like Harry, and he liked you the same. All the stolen kisses and sneaky moments you two had… it’s just that that could never happen out in the open. Your dad would never go for it and Harry might lose his job if your parents ever caught wind of anything happening between you two. So you’d always kept your distance because that was the most practical option.

But you couldn’t lie and say you didn’t like the man. Anyone with two eyes could see how handsome he was.

“Sure,” you shrugged and looked at Jessie.

“Like him, like him?” Jessie looked back toward you across the table.

“Why are you worried about it, Jes? Even if I did, it’s not a good match. My dad would kill him.”

He shook his head and watched the people on the floor dancing with their big, shiny belt buckles glistening under the shoddy lights, the strum of guitars, and a twangy voice singing an old Garth Brooks song.

You got up and waved when you saw your friend Chelle. She was among those dancing and you weren’t going to miss it, “You coming with me or not?” You looked back at the dud sitting on his stool with a scowl.

“Go on ahead. I’ll be right here.”

You rolled your eyes. There was only so much more you could take of Jessie. If he had even shown an ounce of something that looked like fun you might want to stick around longer. Hell, if he even would have just stood up to Harry about the way he had been very clearly flirting with you in front of him (rather than get so worked up over the beer Harry took) that could even be something for you to think about. But the man wouldn’t dance with you, he wouldn’t ride horses on the ranch, he wouldn’t go to rodeos, and he most certainly didn’t want to do anything that could sully up his nice clothes once in a while. Stepping over peanut shells was his limit. If it weren’t for your parents you’d never have considered him in the first place.

“Y/n!” Chelle pulled you in next to her and you began moving yourself in line in a weave; right, back, front… You always felt like an idiot when you joined in on line dancing but that was part of the fun. Everyone looked like hillbillies and idiots out there and it was a blast.

The music, the atmosphere, the raucous noise from everyone laughing, singing, shouting, stomping… your country girl roots were in full bloom that night. And beer after beer then a couple shots of whisky probably did you no good but you were going to enjoy your night with or without your boyfriend who did not move from the spot where you left him. Part of you, at one point, hoped he’d just go. He was uncomfortable and not having fun. You knew the only reason he was there was to keep an eye on you to make sure you didn’t do anything dumb.

And the later it got the more wild the bar became. More people filled in the small space, the music was louder, some of the lights at the edge of the room were dimmed, and the line for the bathroom grew longer.

“He gonna sit over there watching me all night?” You heard Harry from behind you as he moved in step, a bottle of beer in his big hand you noted as you turned to look up at him.

You laughed, “Probably. He’s jealous.”

Harry licked his pink lips and tampered what you knew was a big grin, “Oh yeah? Why’s he jealous?”

You both did a clumsy pivot turn together and you just smiled up at the handsome cowboy and shook your head.

There was no need to answer Harry. He knew what was going on. He knew you liked him just the same as he liked you. It had always been something secret between you two but it was obvious to almost everyone around. Except for your father. That was one time when you were both on your best behavior.

“Surprised you’re still here. Don’t you have an early morning tomorrow?” You asked.

He nodded, “Sure do. Just keeping an eye on everything going on here is all. I’ve got a responsibility for most of the people in this bar right now.”

“Oh yeah? All the guys seem to be doing okay. No one’s getting too crazy tonight it seems,” you looked around at the other workers, and most of them were two sheets to the wind but they were tame and having fun.

“Still my responsibility. Plus you’re still here.”

You grinned, “That I am. Figured I’d close the place down tonight.”

Harry laughed, “You usually do anyway. Always have been like one of the boys. Just as rowdy as the rest of us.”

You loved it when you got to talk to Harry. Loved how he looked at you and how he’d say your name. Loved how so many times you’d done just this and it felt exactly like what you wanted.

Another shot of whisky at the bar with Harry and you started to feel woozy. Your world was spinning but you were still having too much fun to call it a night.

“I should take you home,” Jessie appeared, taking you by your shoulders and pulling you away from Harry. For a short time, you’d forgotten he was still there.

“No, I think Harry’s gonna take me home.” You looked up at Harry.

“That’s right. Was just about to take her home.” Harry spoke as he stepped in closer to Jessie.

Jessie laughed and you felt his firm grip moving you away but you were too drunk to really put up any kind of fight.

“Nah, just stay here with the rest of the drunk cowboys. I got her.”

Harry followed you and Jessie out the front of the bar as Jessie opened up the passenger door of his nice car.

“You gonna be all right sweetheart?” Harry ducked down to ask you before Jessie could close the door – Harry blocking the space so he could look at you as he reached up for your face and softly turned your head to look at him.

You nodded, “It’s fine. I just need to go to bed.”

“That’s enough. She’s fine,” Jessie closed the door.

Your memory was only clear in bits and pieces as Jessie drove you home. You remembered him berating you for acting like a clown and then when he brought you to your room the memory of him kissing you and taking your hand to cup over his crotch was vivid. You remember telling him you had to go to sleep but he was angry at you. You could feel that too. You remembered his anger and how he shoved you down into your bed before he was hovered over you.

But then you remembered being on your knees in front of your toilet and expelling the contents of your stomach furiously. Jessie’s words rang in your ears about how you were gross and just as nasty as all the cowboys on the ranch. How he didn’t want to fuck you anyway when you were drunk.

You woke up on your bathroom floor and Jessie was long gone.

NOTE: This is a 15k+ Patreon-only one shot. If you'd like to read more consider signing up!

xoxo

#harry styles #harry styles smut #harry styles x reader #firstpost #harry edward styles #harry styles fic #harry styles fiction #harry styles fanfic #cowboyrry #harry styles fan fic #cowboy!harry #harry styles fanfiction #ranch hand harry #harry styles x yn #harry styles x you #harry styles one shot #harry styles imagine #harry styles angst #harry styles fluff

[sapphic-agent]

I know that this isn't a problem unique to MHA, and this isn't even a new complaint within the fandom, but the way the series deals with trauma (physical and mental) is off-putting.

Eri endures years upon years of isolation and abuse? Well, all she needs is a song and dance, and now she's smiling! Because of this, she's completely and 100% recovered from what all Overhaul put her through!

1A endures villain attack after villain attack after villain attack? Well, we've offered them counseling, not that they've been showing signs of burgeoning PTSD or anything, so they really don't need it!

Izuku mentally and physically pushes himself past his breaking point during the Dark Izuku arc, going without food, sleep, and ignoring his unhealed injuries? Obviously, all he needs is for 1A to drag him back by force and make him take bath! He's 100% good as new now!

I've already complained enough about Bakugou's bullying, so I won't rehash that.

Sir Nighteye repeatedly disregards All Might's boundaries in the name of protecting him from a horrible future, using two teenagers as a means to an end in this regard? It's okay! He had a point all along, and he truly cared!

Aizawa, Present Mic, and Midnight lose an incredibly close friend in a freak accident during their school days? Midnight's feelings aren't even explored, Present Mic neglects his own grief in favor of Aizawa, and Aizawa uses his grief as an excuse to be an asshole to everyone around him and play God with his students' futures, with NO ONE calling out his behavior as what it is.

I think the overarching problem with MHA is that Horikoshi simply doesn't know how to handle the subject of trauma or how victims can be affected by it.

It think it's why characters like Izuku, Todoroki, Eri, etc. don't feel like real people sometimes. Because if he actually focuses on their trauma, he also has to make them more complex and complexity can be very ugly. If he keeps them surface-level (Izuku being friendly/saving others, Todoroki being blunt/dry, and Eri being a cute kid), he doesn't have to get into the nitty gritty of their characters.

It would also mean making it about 20x harder to redeem Bakugou and Endeavor.

If we had more than vague flashbacks of Endeavor abusing 5 year old Todoroki, beating Rei and pushing her into insanity, and willfully neglecting Touya as his mental health deteriorates more and more, he would be seen as a lot more than simply overzealous and misguided ambition that got out of hand. He would be seen as a monster. Horikoshi has to keep flashbacks of the Todoroki family surface-level or Endeavor's redemption wouldn't have been nearly as well-received.

And of course we've gone over Bakugou. He has to saturate Bakugou with comedy or the shit he pulls would come off a lot more disturbing. If every scene with him was like the Battle Trials, he wouldn't be looked upon nearly as favorably. He wouldn't be funny or endearing (he isn't to me anyway, but I'm talking about in general), he would just be deranged and violent.

There's also the fact that Horikoshi tries his best to keep things lighthearted. I think it's because he's more comfortable doing so and it explains why Dark Deku was so disappointing. To shroud the story in a darker tone- especially with a character he tries to keep light and cheery at all times- really didn't work for him.

I think the proof is in him keeping so many characters alive when they should have died. He is unable to write the affect characters like Gran Torino and Bakugou dying would have on Izuku which is why he couldn't commit himself to killing them off.

Problem with Aizawa is that no one (Horikoshi included) sees a problem with his behavior. He's justified in his "tough love" and is seen as such a good teacher. Although for Midnight and Present Mic, I feel as though he just doesn't bother giving them any depth at all. Midnight only exists for perverted jokes and Mic is simply supposed to be a contrast for Aizawa (a prop really). He actually did start to give Midnight depth and character, but it was only like five minutes before killing her off😐

(It would have been nice if Midnight being an R-rated hero was a product of society. Her being sexualized her whole life because of her quirk/appearance and just deciding to embrace it because it was the only way to reasonably become a hero has always been my headcanon. Her civilian clothes aren't revealing (not that that really matters) and when it comes to being a hero she's very sweet and encouraging and so unlike what we see usually. When she was being interviewed about her costume, she actually started to give a really good answer before Horikoshi decided to make a cat fight out of it. That really sums up the story as a whole, it starts off really deep and intricate before eventually being interrupted by juvenile jokes and unnecessary situations)

I really wish we could have seen more of Eri's recovery. I feel like her trauma is really overlooked/ignored outside of being a plot device to be saved by Izuku and Mirio. I think the light novel of Aizawa having Bakugou of all people watch her is proof of that. Why on Earth would he take the chance that Bakugou- someone who has repeatedly dismissed others' trauma, attacked those weaker than him, and been insensitive to others' feelings, and has a destructive quirk- could trigger her? Why use Eri- an abused, traumatized kid- as a tool to make Bakugou better? But sure, Aizawa is such a good teacher, right?

(Seriously, what the fuck?)

Someone needed to tell Nighteye to shut the fuck up. This doesn't really contribute anything to this post, but I needed to say it. There's literally nothing good about him (HE STRAPPED HIS SUBORDINATE TO A TICKLE MACHINE TO FORCE HER TO LAUGH)

#anti bakugou katsuki #mha critical #bnha critical #ask #anti aizawa shota #anti enji todoroki #anti endeavor #anti sir nighteye #tw child abuse #tw trauma

[wigglebox]

NYCC The Winchesters - 1x01 screening, panel

Good morning/afternoon/evening people! 

So I had to take a break from art in order to write down my first impressions on things for the prequel pilot and the subsequent panel after. 

Note that I haven’t had any time to watch any interviews the folks did before the screening/panel, so this is just me writing what I experienced in ~*the room where it happened*~. The bulk will be behind a read more! 

** Note, I try to avoid mega spoilers but I do go into my impressions of the pilot and my emotions with it, AND I do outline the characters. I try not to get into the nitty gritty since y’all will mostly be seeing it tomorrow anyway, but if you don’t want even a HINT of a spoiler, just don’t read it lol. 

The tldr; I loved it, it has so much to expand on, and I can’t wait to start speculating with y’all again on something SPN based. 

—

I won’t lie, I was nervous.

Not because I didn’t think this show wouldn’t do a good job, because it’s made it this far — which is a lot considering the last two attempts at a spin-off were dead in the water. I was more or less nervous of the audience reception.

Living in one's own head as a Supernatural fan makes you and your goldfish bowl of friends in your Twitter GC and Discord servers, have a set of parameters of what makes a good Supernatural episode or not. But not everyone else shares those parameters that you have convinced yourself are right.

And I was nervous because, given those parameters, I had to keep reminding myself that this isn’t Supernatural. It is its own thing. It’s its own form, own show, with a connection to the main show. These are new characters, even if we knew the older versions of two of them already. Everything is still basically brand new.

My nerves came from a mixture of anticipation, fearing audience reception after the year and a half wait we had to think about this show, and not knowing if I or the audience can see this show as its own individual self and not just another Supernatural episode.

Suffice to say after like, the first five minutes those nerves were gone.

The Pilot

I’m going to get this out of the way before I continue. Pilots aren’t ever perfect. Even Supernatural’s pilot, which is a pilot that I consider to be top-tier, has some clunkiness. 

Pilots can drag, or pilots can speed — there’s rarely an inbetween. The Winchesters pilot seemed to be a little fast paced, trying to introduce the premise of the show a little too quick. The pacing of events and understanding and dialogue kind of felt like this should have been a two hour episode and not the 40 minute one we’re going to get. 

And, some of the dialogue, just like in its predecessor, was indeed clunky exposition. 

But I’m saying this as someone who yes, understands that’s what that was — but also someone who doesn’t take this into account when it comes to what makes a pilot successful. In fact, I never expect perfection in pilots. 

The Winchesters pilot has a lot riding on it. Not only is it the third attempt at a spin off, but it’s having to perform two duties where the original Supernatural pilot only had to do one.

The Winchesters pilot has to both grab old fans, and intrigue new ones. The original Supernatural pilot just had to attract new fans and build up a new world.

So, given that The Winchesters has to do a little extra work, and given that it’s a network pilot, a pilot in general — for me — the fast-paced nature of the episode doesn’t really affect it negatively for me. I expected it, and I’m sure others did as well.

A successful pilot for me is 1) am I interested in this world/characters 2) did you make me ask enough questions to come back next week?

And, The Winchesters scored on both of those accounts!

The episode opens up with its standard cold open where you mostly see a character you have no idea who they are, doing something that’s going to launch you into the next 45 minutes of adventure with the main characters. But, this cold open also has to launch us into the entire season. It’s the first-ever cold open for The Winchesters and it worked very well.

I’m not going to get too much into plot, to keep this spoiler free, however I will say in my head I described it as the Scooby Doo Avengers. When I say Scooby Doo I don’t mean campy, zoinks, goofy monsters of the week — but that there is this team, that is clearly already close, willing to do what it takes to figure something out. And... they have a van lol. 

In the group there is tension already from the get go, which I love. By group, I mean Lata [Latika but Lata is her nickname], Mary, and Carlos have already known each other.

Small spoiler, but at once point Lata tells, not asks, Mary “You’re still mad at me.” Carlos and Mary have tension and unresolved past things that they gotta talk about at some point probably. And John blends in with them rather effortlessly. I will say I’ll be keeping my eyes on John and Lata right now.

But all four of them had a chemistry that already worked. Not like “Oh we all love each other here, no problems at all!” kind of chemistry, but chemistry where you can tell that interactions aren’t being forced. Almost like they’ve been acting together for years by that point, even though they hadn’t.

That was another thing I enjoyed about this core four, the fact that they’re each their own characters but they’re also not standing out too much from each other. That they both don’t blend into each other, but also they’re not so over the top it feels like a caricature.

Here are my first impressions of the characters:

Lata is a book nerd, clearly the “brains” but she’s also rather timid, nervous about hunts, and finds her satisfying success when it comes to what she’s learned on the page rather than hunting down a monster. She’s softer-spoken, and I can see her being the more level-headed grounded one of the group. However, I can also see where her self doubt can get the better of her, and her fear, and given a conversation she has with Mary in the van — I have to wonder if something bad happened in the recent past that made her like this.

Mary is the kind of Mary I felt like we got with Sam Smith. Marching forward, doing what she has to do, almost “going through the motions” of being a Hunter. She already voices her desire to walk away from this, and it’s hinted in that conversation with Lata, something went wrong recently that caused a big upheaval in her life. But that’s kind of a plot point that can be saved for when you watch it Tuesday. Of all four of the characters, it felt like I knew Mary the most because we got later-seasons Mary for a hot second. However, you can see how Meg Donnelly brings her own understanding of the character to the table. I am so very interested to see where she goes throughout this series.

Carlos will be the problem child (affectionate). When the role was first cast, and you got his description, you saw JoJo getting cast, and then seeing him in the trailer, folks already pinged on him being the fandom favorite and I can see that. He’s sharp, witty, already has some one-liners, and I can easily see him causing but also solving problems for the group. One thing that gets me is that he comes across as almost stubborn, not willing to admit when he’s wrong, so I can imagine that comes back into play. That indication comes with a small conversation with Lata over something that happened in the past. It’s played off as a “ha ha,” but if you think about it deeper, you’re seeing someone who knows what he wants and likely will do what he has to do to get it. There are definitely two Alphas in this group, Carlos and Mary, and I can see them butting heads at some point.

And now we’re at John.

When this prequel was first leaked onto Deadline in June 2021, folks (save for myself and a few others that were on my timeline and Discord) immediately rocketed to their feet to voice their displeasure at John being a focal point.

Accusations of trying to twist the narrative and make excuses for John’s behavior in Supernatural-Prime (neglect, child abuse, etc.), or that the constant reminder that John and Mary’s love story was manufactured so how on earth could you have a story about it — or just the attitude in fandom that’s been in there since I’VE started, back in 2013, that John Winchester is an Asshole.

But, a few pointed out that indeed we don’t actually know anything about John aside from his father, Henry, “walking out” on him and his mother, and… that was it. The flashback episodes we had with Matt Cohen’s John were that of a story that we kinda already figured. “In the Beginning” was more about Mary and showing Dean how that deal was made, and “The Song Remains the Same” served as a lesson for Dean and Sam to understand that they “can’t escape fate” with their bloodline. 

Nothing’s really known about John at all, especially before 1973. 

That being said, I really have to spend this portion completely cheering Drake’s John on because holy moly. 

Drake has, and will continue to have, an uphill battle trying to get the most hardened Anti-John folk on board (a struggle Matt Cohen didn’t have to have as much I think). But, given the life that he’s brought to John in this pilot alone, I don’t think it’ll be too much of a struggle. 

I joked that with them casting Drake that “it’s almost like they want us to love and adore him” but I’m not even joking anymore. I adore him. 

Indeed, it’s important to note that this John is not the John we wind up with in the main show. And the cast and everyone involved knows that and have stated as such in interviews. They’re not erasing or rewriting anything. 

The truth, for me, is far more tragic:

The John in the pilot is likable with an almost puppy-like innocence, looking to get answers but also someone dealing with trauma himself as someone who went into the Vietnam War way too early and suffered the consequences of that. I won’t get into specifics, but there’s a touching moment when he’s describing what he saw and what happened to a dear friend and I almost cried. 

You have a kid, and yes I’m calling him a kid, suffering from this trauma in a way that you see twice in the episode, while also someone keeping his head held high while following orders and the motions from his new group of Scooby Doo hunters that he stumbled into. 

When asked how he found someone so fast, John remarks that’s what he does because he was in the Marines. So we get little glimpses of that. 

His ending moment after the final climax of the action was so adorable I wanted to squish his cheeks and yes, I know that’s weird, but he was so proud of himself. 

But, in my opinion, it also demonstrated something that I think may or may not come back — and that’s that he did what he did down there in the tomb almost a little too easily and without freaking out. And was excited to tell his new friends about it.

John in this show I think will become someone that even the most reluctant watchers may come to find they really like. 

And to me, that’s making him automatically, from episode one, one of the most tragic characters. 

Already in the pilot, I was mentally screaming for John to turn back, don’t investigate, don’t do any of this, because we know what’s waiting for him down this path.

I have to mentally make a line in the sand to separate Drake from Matt from JDM because there’s no way I can continue going with The Winchesters and not completely support and adore John and his efforts to understand the Men of Letters and also being with his friends.

With characters out of the way, I’ll mention we don’t get much with Ada or Millie, however I can’t wait to see more of them in the future and what they have to offer. Millie seemingly already knew about the Men of Letters and Ada — in my head when she was first announced as a character I saw her as a Bobby character, just the know it all that can be their “save us because we don’t know what else to do!” character. However it feels like she can, and likely will be, more than that. 

As for the plot of the episode, this is where my “Is a pilot successful” requirement is filled for “Are there enough questions to keep me coming back.”

The answer is, holy shit yes. 

Particularly two things, which I can’t wait to speculate on when the episode airs. One involves John and his letter with the Men of Letters star on it, and the other of who the big bad is for the entire season. I’m so excited to speculate with people on that.

But also, this hunters world in the 1970s is so different to me than what we were first introduced to in 2005. They don’t have cell phones, they don’t have GPS, they don’t have computers, they don’t have quick ways of communicating with each other. They will have a network, sure, but its the 70s. They also don’t have access to THEE Men of Letters bunker, at least for now, which holds a lot of information as well. 

So I have questions about those too. 

I didn’t want this show to just be about “hey let’s do a case study on John” and it doesn’t feel like it’s going to be that. I don’t mind that, but I also wanted this show to stand on its own.

And it’s clear that they’re looking at it in a way that will provide an actual story that can get folded back into Supernatural-Prime.

The Panel

After the pilot screening, there was a 30 minute panel with Danneel, Jensen, Meg, Drake, and Robbie and holy wow.

I wish I could convey to anyone reading this, especially anyone who had any doubts over anything, just how much this group cares. 

Like, it’s not even just in their words saying it, but you can feel it, and I wasn’t even in the front row. It was this like, almost electrical current in the air that could reach you and make you truly, fully, 100% understand that they’re not doing this just for kicks. 

They’re not just tossing aside whatever they want, that they’re not just doing this as a cash grab or anything — but that they’re a team of creatives that really truly wholly believe in this world that the main show created and wanted to explore that more. 

They do treat the existing material with respect, and that they’re not going to just throw all those 15 years of blood sweat and tears down the drain.

I remember in the months following the Deadline leak, folks online kept stamping their feet about canon this and canon that. We haven’t had much press until just recently about it therefore come comments that would be made at a Supernatural convention by Jackles from time to time would have to suffice, but still didn’t convince many.

I think at the time also, when the Deadline leak happened, a lot of opposition I saw came from younger fans, or newer fans, who started season 12 and onward (or even after the show ended) and didn’t quite understand just how monumental it was that Robbie was brought on board.

Robbie stopped writing for the show in season 11 and I wanted to take an informal survey of fandom asking them if they truly understood the word that he did. Some folks don’t pay attention to who writes what.

His episodes I find tend to be some of the most gif’ed episodes on Tumblr or most talked about episodes in general. Any one of his episodes you’d likely find up in any fan’s top 10 list. He’s given us Charlie, Eileen, and even had a hand in bringing Chuck back both in Fan Fiction and in Don’t Call Me Shurely.

For many folks who were in fandom before Andrew Dabb took over some time in season 11, Robbie was easily one of the top three writers for many people.

And there’s a good reason for that. Between writing snappy dialogue and getting characterizations down really well, he’s also seemingly a master at these unconventional episodes. He’s had more normal ones like Goodbye Stranger, 8x17, and First Born (9x11) among others, but he’s also done Baby, Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo, LARP and the Real Girl, Bitten, Fan Fiction, Meta Fiction and the like.

He’s written episodes that were great for character showcasing while also having unconventional storytelling apparatuses as well. My favorite one of his episodes was Time After Time, 7x12.

Suffice it to say, them grabbing Robbie for this project really stood out to me, which is probably why when Deadline first leaked the project, I wasn’t upset. To me, if Robbie was involved, then that’s really all I needed to feel secure in knowing that whatever, or however, they were going to tell this story, he’ll have fun figuring it out.

And I can’t even begin to describe how much it really does come across how much Jackles cares. 

It’s very very easy for someone with that amount of talent to just peace out from a 15-year show that ended, a show that likely made taking other roles nearly impossible, and just go on to do bigger things. 

But the fact that he stuck around and that even before the show wrapped in Sept. 2020 (due to the pandemic) he was already starting on this? That means a lot to me. Like, no matter what he does, he seems to want to keep one hand on his roots and that can only benefit us because you don’t do that unless you really believe in it and care about it.

It’s also hilarious to me that in these press interviews, he’s basically being outed as THEE biggest SPN brain rot stan and, he’s not alone there. We have jackets, dude!

So yes, up on stage, with them answering questions and describing the process, how they’re viewing this — you can tell there’s a reverence they have for the material and understand truly how much time, energy, blood, sweat, tears, smiles, sadness, chaos had gone into the main show.

--

The pilot was good, it was something that would keep me interested with the characters they presented and the premise of the rest of the season to come. It established that we’re not in 2005-2020 anymore, it established a kind of big bad that we’re not used to seeing*, and it had enough easter eggs that satisfied my little Supernatural heart but not over doing it.

*This is something I can’t wait to speculate about.

On a personal note, I’ve been excited since that night, and had felt almost like I was in limbo for the last year and a half waiting for this moment and it was so satisfying seeing the pilot and understanding that my excitement and enthusiasm wasn’t misplaced in the slightest. 

I went into this with the question of “Will I be disappointed in all of this hype that I’ve helped build up for this, both in my head and outwardly?” And the screening and panel shot back: “Nah you’re good.” 

So I can’t wait to rewatch this Tuesday night, and then I can’t wait to watch it the following Tuesday, and again, and again. 

I’m excited for The Winchesters to grow its wings and fly! 

#long post #spnwin #the winchesters #spn #supernatural #nycc22 #i left out a lot of spoilery things #and still can be kinda spoilery so keep that in mind!

[lachiennearoo]

Seirei AI: An Anime Remake Pitch

HELLO EVERYONE!!

I am currently seeking a collaboration with any interested studio in hopes to make an anime remake. I know they are all the rage these days in the industry, and as I am a big fan of them, I'd like to try my hand at one I've been working on for a long time

Here's the pitch: a long-form movie project centered around remaking the Japanese anime/manga/dating sim series "Date A Live". In this remake, the romance and sexuality will be mostly put aside to give more space to action and grittiness. The basic story is mostly the same: A young collegian named Shido Itsuka must stop the spacequakes happening all over the world by using his abilities to help the Seirei who cause them. However, it will not be done in a sexual or romantic way (although Shido will still be in a relationship with Tohka by the end). Instead of kissing the Seirei to "seal their powers", he will simply touch them to connect with their minds and gain their trust (there will also obviously not have any "loli" content, and the young characters will be treated like they were normal children)

The story is planned to have much more action and drama, be a bit more gritty, but still retain the cuter charming elements of the show (Kotori's lollipops, Tohka's love for food, Yoshino's back and forth with Yoshino, etc...)

Whether the movie would be animated or filmed, or whether it will have multiple parts or not, is still to be determined with the potential team. I am working on a lot of things right now for it, but for now here's some of the concept art that I've made for it

Please, share this around, and tell everyone you know about it. I really hope that I can make this a reality  

ALSO: Here is also some of the "novelisation" of the story that I've started doing.

Have fun reading! I hope to be able to finish it in maybe one or two months (if I keep up the pace that I have right now)

EDIT: I've been told that the writer's guild is on strike, and thus I should not be catering to big companies. I understand that.

If any indie studio or freelance artist would like to help me with this, however, I'd be happy to get their help!

#art #anime #japan #DateALive #SeireiAi #netflixanime #netflix #animeremake #scifi #sciencefiction #movie #conceptart #netflix series #netflix movie #animated movies #movie production #quebec #fanfic #fanfiction #concept art #indie artist #indie movie #weeb #weeaboo #otaku stuff #otaku #manga anime #animeart #weeblife #animefanart

[hopetorun]

Weird writer ask game - 🐺💣👑🔔🏛️

🐺 Build a NHL starting line up (3F, 2D, 1G) based on a really weird criteria for comedic effect (e.g. guys with names that sound like Dylan).

please be glad i didn't choose a starting lineup of guys with names that could or do lead to sex-related nicknames. anyway here's guys with two first names.

nick paul - robert thomas - jack quinn

matt roy - dennis gilbert

devon levi

💣 Blow it up: pick one NHL team. Change its name, mascot, logo/colors. Tell me why you chose the new elements.

okay chicago is the obvious choice here but i don't feel like being obvious. the chicago nhl team should rebrand in real life. actually they should probably be folded in real life. but that's not a fun meme answer. my second thought was the flames, because they didn't rebrand when they relocated and now have a team name that has nothing to do with their location, but it's been decades and has led to local and affiliated spinoff names (the heat, the inferno, rip to them both).

all this to say: im rebranding the jets. i don't like the military so they get a new theme. i think they could really lean into the north thing, since they do it in a lot of their marketing anyway. i know fuckall about winnipeg but idc. i think a cool tundra animal would be the move here. it's a bummer the moose are already their ahl team or obviously i'd pick that but maybe the grizzlies. yes that's already an nba team but it's fine, the jets are also an nfl team so it's a wash. mascot is a grizzly bear obviously. named northy or something to lean into the far north of it all. they can call the arena the den.

colorswise ... ooh the jets colors suck. imho. they're way too muted! brighten up that maroon, maybe go all the way into purple. a kind of reddish purple maybe, and then brighten up the blue. yellow as an accent? i am NOT a color theory gal, we're hoping this is something. please do not tell me if it isn't

👑 If you could add an award to the NHL awards, what would it be and who would be its inaugural recipient?

there are lots of good and serious awards that should be added but EYE think that we should add another really arbitrary poorly defined one like the lady byng. what does it mean to be gentlemanly? we won't be defining that.

so in that vein: i think there should be a reverse lady byng. a grittiness award. a sandpaper award. i think the arguments about it would be really funny. brady tkachuk is a strong contender, sure, but maybe he takes too many penalties. sandpaper, yes, but is he leaving his team shorthanded too much? can you be gritty without getting penalized? who's a good example of that? i am simply here for the endless trivial discourse. anyway i think brady is the inaugural recipient despite the objections. i am taking name suggestions for this award.

🔔 Who is an NHL player you are convinced you can best in a physical altercation?

i think i could take johnny gaudreau. i'm taller than him and i weigh more than him and he gives me more would not hit a girl vibes than some of the other little guys. and i do think i would need the edge of him being reluctant to hit a girl because they are all extremely fit.

🏛️ Here, have a soap box. What is one thing you feel really strongly about that you think everyone should know?

ooh i've got awards on the mind so! i think people should be more thoughtful about the distinctions between most valuable player and most outstanding player! if you don't have both awards then sure i can understand the conflation but the nhl does have separate awards for those things and i think letting them be meaningfully different would be a lot of fun. give the ted lindsay to cmcd every year except for like once every four years when auston matthews or nikita kucherov gets it, but an actual debate every year about which player was the biggest individual difference maker on their team would be compelling. setting my own biases about last season's awards aside, i think that opens the door for more acknowledgement of season-changing goaltending performances (shesterkin in 21-22 perhaps). the hart and the lindsay don't need to be so closely tied! let them be different things!

oh also while we're on the topic it is beyond stupid that it's basically impossible to win the hart unless your team makes the playoffs. "oh the team didn't make the playoffs how valuable can that player really be" idk chucklehead, there are math people who can approximate a player's value in standings points, probably. do i trust their math? not entirely. but i trust it enough to know that argument is bunkum.

#sorry for having real sports thoughts on my sports fanfiction blog #my toxic trait is i actually have real sports opinions that i feel serious about #ask meme

[kazoosandfannypacks]

College au spring break trip and/or Sabine meets Grogu for the WIP ask game, please?

🏫 college au spring break trip

This is one of my AUs that I wish I'd finished— technically, it could qualify as finished, if I want it to have an unhappy ending with loose ends, but who wants that?

This fic, of course, takes place in my OUaT college AU. I haven't worked out every single nitty gritty of this au, but I know a lot about who's roommates with who, who hangs out with who, and a lot of the character dynamics. In this story, Emma and her roommate, Elsa, decided to go on a road trip together for spring break. Unfortunately for Emma, who isn't the biggest fan of huge groups of people, Elsa invited Mary Margaret, who insisted on bringing David, who wanted to bring Robin and Killian, and then Will found out about it and August and Belle and Ruby ended up tagging along too, along with Regina, all crammed in a rental van for a few hours.

When they finally get to the hotel they're staying at, everyone is exhausted, especially Emma and Killian, who, though they don't know each other very well or hang out very often, end up falling asleep together on the couch during a movie night that night.

I don't have too much plot worked out past that, but I've loved playing around with the characters in a modern au, and doing silly little things like implying that Will Scarlet is a tumblr user and that Robin Hood never pays for streaming services and instead just pirates whatever he wants to watch. This is also part of the AU where Will and Belle are exes who tolerate each other but are always being snippy and sarcastic toward each other, and August, despite being rivals with Belle and often bickering with her, cares about Belle more than he lets on, and goes out of his way to be as subtly spiteful and rude to Will as possible.

💚 sabine meets grogu

This one came about from me having a little empty space on my shelf covered in Grogu figurines and putting my Sabine Wren funko pop there, which lead me thinking about how, if Ahsoka had continued to train Sabine, then Grogu and Sabine would've undoubtedly met at some point in the Mandalorian/Book of Boba Fett.

In this story, Sabine isn't with Ahsoka when she meets Grogu the first time, because Ahsoka didn't want Sabine coming along on (or even knowing about) a finding-the-map-that-leads-to-Thrawn-and-Ezra mission, worried that her feelings might get in the way, and if they failed or came upon another dead end (there'd been lots of those in the last decade) she didn't want Sabine to be disappointed and weaken her already-a-little-shaky relationship with the light side of the Force.

However, Sabine does come along with Ahsoka when we see her in the Grogu storyline from BoBF. Grogu, who has been missing his dad Din a lot, is instantly drawn to the Mandalorian Jedi apprentice. Sabine isn't usually the kind of person that children are naturally drawn to, so she's really confused by this tiny green youngling who has been clinging to her shoe since she got here, but as soon as Ahsoka explains Grogu's story, Sabine understands.

But when Sabine learns that Grogu had to decide between his family and his training, she's obviously very ticked off, more upset with the Jedi order than any Mandalorian has ever been, and ends up telling off Luke Skywalker to his face, giving him a very large lecture on the importance of family to a Mandalorian, and how when you have a family, you should do everything you can to hold onto them, because you never know when you're gonna lose them, and how it's just not fair for Grogu to have to decide between the two. Luke, however, quickly realizes that Sabine isn't upset at him, nor is she really upset on Grogu's behalf, as much as she's projecting her own unhandled grief over everyone she's lost onto the situation.

I'm still not sure how this fic will end, but Grogu and Din will be reunited, and I might have Ahsoka tell Sabine about her already-formulated plan that'll bring them closer to finding Ezra than they've been in a long time.

Thanks for the ask!!!

🖊 send me the title of one of my wips and i'll tell you about it!

#once upon a time #captain swan #star wars #sabine wren #grogu #kazzy writes #kazzy answers asks #kazzy's kazootuals #otp: try something new darling

[thekristen999]

Throwback Thursday:

I haven’t been able to partake in any of the WIPs games becasue I’ve been swamped by RL for a while. (I promise to catch up with everyone’s work!)

However, there’s been a new crop of gifs circulating regarding the shooting and I thought I’d re-post my epic coda. (I also have a lot of new followers who might have missed it the first time)

This is a gritty, no-holds-barred look at Eddie’s physical recovery and his and Buck’s shared trauma of the events of that day, including they’re paths toward healing.

Tagging a few people whom I think might enjoy this :)

@shortsighted-owl​, @spotsandsocks​, @elvensorceress​   @ajunerose​ @andavs​

Trying Hard to Remember, Trying Hard To Forget    

Summary:            

Eddie doesn’t remember the shooting and Buck is haunted by it. As they struggle with their feelings for each other, Eddie and Buck grapple with the realities of trauma recovery and the understanding that everyone heals at their own pace. Coda to 4.14.

@ronordmann​ Did a wonderful cover

…

Eddie felt like he was inside nothing. His eyelids were so damn heavy it was impossible to peel them open. So, he drifted.   

“Patient is forty-five hours post op. He was removed from the vent two hours ago and his respiration rate is ten and continues to improve. BP is still hypotensive at 80/50. His last unit of O-Neg was this morning at 0500.”

“Keep him on humidified O2 and let’s get his crit up….”

…

“Mr. Diaz?” A man in a suit and tie stood beside him. “I’m Detective Reynolds and this is Detective Soule. We’d really like to ask you some questions.”

Eddie stared at the man and took a shallow breath on his oxygen. He tried saying something, make any type of sound, but his lips felt like rubber bands and refused to move.

“His eyes are open,” Detective Soule said.

“Yeah? And do you see the size of his pupils?” Detective Reynolds waved his hand in front of Eddie’s face. “Mr. Diaz? Can you understand me?”

Soule shook his head. “I still think this is a dead end. Sergeant Grant already ruled out a military link. Diaz was an Army Medic, not exactly in a position to make many enemies.”

 “Now, I know what you’re thinking: what about when you get out of the Army?” The recruiter leaned back in his chair. “You’ll have more training than your civilian EMT-B counterparts and you’ll know a lot about trauma. You might not be as good at deciphering between EKG rhythms, or whatever,” he said, flapping his hand. “But you’ll just be a few certifications away advanced civilian EMS services.”

 “What about the rest?” Eddie asked, flipping through the brochure.

 “Medics go through the same Basic Combat Training as everyone else. Then they go for military occupational specialty training.” The recruiter clapped Eddie on the back. “Don’t sweat it, Diaz. It’s a 16-week course, and then people will call you Doc.”

“I was…wrong….” Eddie licked his lips, breathing hard and still unable to draw enough air into his lungs.

“Wrong about what? Mr. Diaz?”

Eddie should have asked that recruiter what it was like to treat a twenty-one-year-old with a sucking chest wound in the back of a moving jeep. Or how much adrenaline it took to carry a wounded solider  toward a helicopter while trying to avoid a road-side bomb.

“Mr. Diaz?”

“No one called me Doc….”

“Excuse me,” a woman in scrubs hurried over like a thunder cloud. “This is the ICU, and you need to leave.”

“We need to ask–”

“I will have you both escorted out. Mr. Diaz is in no condition to talk to the police yet.”

 Why did he need to talk to the police?

Eddie felt his pulse jump.

“Mr. Diaz?” The woman stared down at him; her face obscured by a blue mask. “Eddie?”

“Yeah?”

“On a scale of one to ten, what is your pain level?”

Was he in pain? Eddie thought maybe he should be, but he couldn’t remember why.   

“What…” he took another difficult breath,   “…happened to me?”

“You were injured on the job.”

..

Read the Rest on Ao3

#repost #buddie #buddie fic #evan buckley #eddie diaz #throwback thursday #kristen999writes

[destinygoldenstar]

Character Death In Ninjago

This video explains why permanent deaths need to happen for the audience to care about the story going forward. As always, support the creator. (Tw: There’s some Walking Dead clips in this video. That’s a bloody show.)

So I am personally very mixed on this discussion.

On the one hand you have a kids show with restrictions on what they can get away with. And at the end of the day, it’s a toy commercial, and killing off a main character would be losing profit. AND different shows have different priorities than others. My Little Pony is a praised show that keeps everyone you care about alive. The Owl House didn’t kill anyone you’re routing for now that I think about it. (Except Flapjack. RIP) And for people who say Ninjago should be super gritty and edgy, are forgetting what the shows priorities are. And if you really want that, that’s what fanfiction is for. And I am no stranger to that. I’m the writer of Total Drama Danganronpa Island. A gritty fanfic where two thirds of the cast die horrifically.

We’ve all had a phase. This show does NOT need to be Batman to be good. A show does not need to be dark to be good.

HOWEVER, when the narrative stakes call for it, and you have SO MANY FAKEOUTS, eventually you have to pull a trigger on a character, beloved or not. This is why at one point or more, there should have been a death. A character does not come back.

Does it need to be gruesome? No. Are fake out deaths bad? No. Season 3’s fakeout death is one of my favorite fakeout deaths of all time because it’s a natural point for the character, and impacts everyone around them, even after they are revealed to still be alive. But there’s a limit to using fake out deaths before they become cheap and nobody buys it anymore.

Now, YES, this show DOES have permanent deaths. Like villains. But you want them gone. There’s also the Royal Family getting assassinated. Mystake never comes back. But you don’t remember these because they are very inconsequential to the story.

If you’re gonna resurrect a character from the dead, that’s fine, as long as you know there’s a purpose for it. Ninjago actually does this very well. Zane’s fakeout (his FIRST one, and no other one) works because it’s s logical step in his character conflict of identity, and the death impacts the other characters, giving them a new perspective on their own dynamics and priorities, plus it benefits Zane’s character in giving him a crisis of a new identity. Garmadon fakeout works because there’s a permanent consequence that is his relationship with his family. That’s dead. Forever. There’s no getting this perfect parental figure back.

It’s a great way for fakeout deaths to work, if there is a permanent consequence. That’s why bringing Nya back was a bad call in my opinion. There were no permanent consequences. Imagine if the ninja couldn’t bring her back? Imagine if they had to grapple with the fact that their grief consumed them and put them in prison, and they had to accept the fact that the girl they loved is gone?

But of course that wouldn’t happen because Nya is a part of the main group. I love Nya as much as anyone, but I wanted her sacrifice in Seabound to stick, because it was a wake up call for the story, personally.

There’s a line when it comes to pulling off fakeout deaths, and when you need to decide to let a character go. Zane and Garmadon, I can excuse. Nya? This should have been permanent OR had a permanent consequence. But okay, the main six ninja have plot armor. Fine. I understand that.

What about the side characters? They’re not safe. Unless you count Pixal as a seventh ninja, she’s not safe. Wu’s not safe. Now obviously, don’t kill characters Willy nilly. Kill them because it makes sense for the story.

Dragons Rising is out, and five of the six ninja are side characters now. Their plot armor is used up. Someone might die. Who knows? Someone could pull a Han Solo.

But is one of my biggest problems with Sailor Moon. Books and shows alike. Every season has the main characters pull fakeout deaths.

EVERY. SEASON. And by Stars, I just don’t buy it anymore.

Like oh, this evil Sailor Guardian assassin is dusting off guardians left and right? And it wants me to believe they’re staying dead?

Yeah nice try. (this is a problem with ALL versions of the story.)

If you’ve seen Sailor Moon, you know what I’m talking about.

In Book 5 of the Sailor Moon comics, there’s a death that choked me up when I first saw it. That’s the death of Sailor Pluto.

She was a likeable side character who was close to Chibi Usa. She had her own goals and dreams of one day leaving her post and seeing the world. Her only chance at seeing it being through this kid.

But when the child she loves turns to the dark side and is about to end the universe, Pluto breaks a taboo of her responsibility and freezes time to save everyone.

And the penalty is death.

She dies with no regret, and the kid watches, full regret over what her actions of jealousy and envy had led to. She obtains her dream of unlocking her powers and following the footsteps of her mom, but the one person she wanted to see that happen isn’t alive to see it. It’s a REALLY heartbreaking chapter.

SO OF COURSE WE BRING PLUTO BACK IN THE NEXT STORY ARC.

This is for… pretty much no reason, as she doesn’t do anything, and you can very easily write her out with nothing changing. Because there’s no consequences to it and the story acts like it never happened, that character death is ruined.

Would the story have been better if the character stayed dead? In this case, yes, as it grounded Chibi-Usas character. Bringing Pluto back removes her consequences altogether.

Then there’s season one of the show having the Sailor Guardians die in the penultimate episode. I read the books before I saw the show, I knew they weren’t dead, as this doesn’t happen in the book. That was just there for drama.

It was well directed and impactful drama on its own, admittedly. But still drama.

I WOULD talk about a certain Polentina, and how her resurrection was done so lazily, then they did nothing with her character and killed her AGAIN a season later. Making the entirety of her life and death pointless. And how this show does have a very good permanent character death that is very well executed and is one of the best moments of the show because of how well done that is. HOWEVER, I won’t because most people HATE it whenever I talk about that show. So therefore, you won’t get my support if you push me away. (I might try again one day, but I just feel very uncomfortable with it from how uninviting others viewers are)

On the other hand, death doesn’t make a show good. There is merit to an uplifting show where everything turns out right in the end. If done right.

So how do you guys feel about character deaths in Ninjago? Is this too much to ask? Am I being unreasonable?

#Youtube #ninjago #ninjago nya #nya smith #nya jiang #sailor moon #sailor pluto #ninjago zane #zane julien #tw death

[saltygilmores]

Thoughts While Watching Gilmore Girls, Season 2, Episode 9, "Run Away Little Boy". Part 2

You can read my previous reviews here.

If you have to keep repeating something out loud like this, it probably isn't true. Every time Rory or Lorelai say Rory's relationship with Dean is "a really good thing going right now", God plucks a whisker off a kitten. TWWGG= We Make Weird Metaphors.™

The Time Traveler hath returned (after a stop for a quick shave, apparently). I forgot to add that in the middle of all this DL/Rory/Dean drama, Lorelai went on her date with TT and had fun but twas not meant to be but she was happy to discover she could Date Casually ™ after Max.

A crystal clear Tomatos Sign spotting! Lorelai to Rory, who is stifling laughter: What? Say it! Rory: Nothing, I always wanted a little brother. Lol. And we have another scene for the Rory's Bizarre Food-Related Habits Hall of Fame. Rory picks up her burger and walks out of the diner without putting it into a to-go box. Is this the neatest burger ever that doesn't drip grease or ketchup? Like the time she walked out with a piece of French toast in her hand with no syrup dripping down her uniform? Luke's Diner Motto: Do You Think We're Made of To Go Boxes Or Something? Carry Your Own Food.™

I kind of look like Lorelai right now after the suffering this episode has put me through. Lorelai apparently talked about Luke on her date with Time Traveler or at least has mentioned Luke on some other occasion. Time Traveler even knew about Rachel. STOP. EVERYTHING. A MIRACLE HAS JUST OCCURED IN STARS HOLLOW! LORELAI PAID FOR HER FOOD!

Luke In My Gritty Gilmore Girls Reboot titled "The Hollow": "You are hereby banned from this establishment. Get the fuck out."

God, Dean is so creepy. And not to say I'm an expert on Shakepeare, but Tristan reciting Shakespeare was...wow. That was some of the worst line reading I've ever heard, ChadMIchaelMurrayDietLogan.

The lips are getting reaaaal thin!

While looking straight at Dean, making Rory panic that he's about to tell Dean about their kiss, but he turns it around and pretends he was just talking about a scene from the play. Sneaky, disgusting, an absolutely vile piece of dog shit either way.

Honestly if I were Rory the sweet release of death would be preferable to being alive and having to suffer these two Butts With A Capital B.

Let's all Take Five and have an Ancient Cellphone Break.

Lips are realllly thin. Practically invisible.

I don't know how much longer I can tolerate this shit stain talking to Rory like this. How is this the fourth or fifth time I've suffered through this show? Why am I doing this to myself? Am I that masochistic? I'm in pain. Dean is such a piece of shit that I am concerned for Jared Padalecki himself, in the same way that Milo Ventimiglia's mother thought he had suffered some kind of unspoken childhood trauma because he played dark villains so believably. Are you ok, JarPad? How are you this believably awful?

This is horrible. I want to shut it off. There are 9 minutes left in the episode. Ugggggggggh. Poor Rory. PUNCH HIM! PUNCH HIM! YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO! The next episode is the Bracebridge Dinner. My second favorite episode and a shining beacon of of light, joy, minimal drama, and Jess galore in his ugly brown winter coat. You can do this, TWWGG. You can do this.

Oh my god my blood is just BOILING right now.

Portrait of the author.

Let's take turns. Something should absolutely fall on your head, but also, I really need something big to fall on mine right now. I would welcome the sweet, sweet unconcious state where when I wake up this episode is over and I'm watching The Bracebridge Dinner. (Context: Lorelai is annoyed because everyone is calling her a pedophile). (Because of her date with the Time Traveler, not because she's absolutely having an affair with 17 year old Dean Forrester). Luke is grumpy with her for going on a date with this guy. Jealous or something. Whatever. I'm tired of these men. Sure, Jess has not made any appearance in this episode yet. But with 5 and half minutes left to go, my pain and suffering is about to be rewarded in other ways. With one tiny scrap and one medium scrap to gnaw on and one big, big juicy hunk of meat. Justice, thy name is Amy Sherman Palladino! (and Chad Michael Murray leaving for another TV show). The small scrap:

Lane's face while she's watching Henry. My girl is feeling things. Stirring, yearning, Un-Christian things. The medium scrap: Paris taking Diet Logan's part as Romeo to Rory's Juliet. Sweet. And the big one:

DIET LOGAN IS GONE!!!!! GONE GONE GONE GONE!!!!!!!! WHO CARES WHY!!! HE BROKE INTO A SAFE OR SOMETHING WHO CARES!!! GOODBYE!!!! *PUNTS HIM IN THE ASS*

Look at Dean creeping again in the background!!! But I'm so happy we're back down to only one clown instead of two!!!! Wait, there's still Christopher. Still two clowns left. God damn it. #ClownMath He's getting shipped off to military school lol he'll be eaten alive probably lol BYE

Don't let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya #BYE "Take care of yourself Mary." Ahahah I won't have to hear anyone call Rory a stupid nickname again because I'm not watching this show past season 4 ever again and I won't have to suffer through Full Calorie Logan calling her "Ace" yay!

Ahhhh. *breathes in* Everything just feels...a little more right once more.

A sea of confusion.

Dean: Did you and Paris actually kiss or was that just a stage thing? Shut up. The episode ends on a sweet little note of Luke & Lorelai talking about how they can rely on each other. Not even a drop of Jess in this episode. Not even a shot of him in the background cleaning the counters. Nothing, zip, nada. But... BRACEBRIDGE DINNER NEXT!

#gilmore girls #rory gilmore #lorelai gilmore #gilmore girls season 2 #Run Away Little Boy #Diet Logan #Dean Shitface Forrester #No Jess #Not a Drop of Jess Whatsoever #that episode put me through hell #Denise Rewatches Gilmore Girls #Paris Geller #Paris Gellar #Lorelai pays for her food #Miracles #Rory's Weird Eating Habits

[loverofallthingssmart]

PLEASE UNLEASH your hadestown demons!!!!!

unleash my hadestown demons is right this is a BEAST thank you very much ive satisfied the brain worms by dumping all my thoughts under the cut

first off. the beauty of live theatre allows for so much nuance and beauty to demonstrated so i cant even begin to cover all the things that could make me insane its so wonderful i love live theatre everyone should watch at least one live theatre production i believe it will solve at least one problem they have

the tragedy of it all!! its a sad song but we sing it anyway, in hopes that we hope that orpheus doesn't turn. but he will. bc he loves eurydice so much so he went down to the underworld to save her.

guys. the repeated, cyclical nature of everything. its an old tale from way back when and its a sad song but they sing it anyway. the point of hadestown is the HOPE of it all wait theres an article (https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/theatre/anais-mitchell-hadestown-west-end-broadway-b1134613.html) regarding mitchell's thoughts on orpheus that make me insane im gonna paste a quote here:

"If Hadestown has a moral, she says, then it’s “you have to try, you have to have hope, not because success is a given – it’s not. Orpheus fails. We heroicise” – here she breaks off to apologise that jet lag has led to her making up words – “we heroicise Orpheus not because he succeeds but because he tries, and that endeavour alone is worthwhile. How to live, and not merely survive, is to believe things could change.” ARE U KIDDING ME OURGHH

which brings me to the topics of like. climate change and capitalism that the play discusses its so good. the fact that there's no spring or fall, only summers and winter because of persephone's absences, how "is it true" is just a song abt labor protests red carnations are a symbol of love and passion yes, but in germany theyre a symbol of the working class protest. its SO important hades has just created an industrial revolution, has built a wall, has workers work forever, "why we build the wall" is soooo incredible "hey little songbird" "chant" all the songs that take place IN hadestown itself are sooo gritty so despondent in a way its insane.

theres another article that discusses sm of it AND discusses like portrayals of persephone that i REALLY like. im gonna paste it here PLEASE read it it has so much good stuff from a classics person regarding it and OURGH too good

orpheus's "to the world we dream about" but then also "the one we live in now" like oh.okay. im NORMAL….

if u noted every single lalala in hadestown it would be 6 min long. the leitmotif oh i am so normal actually.

okay im not rlly a music person i call myself music adjacent bc my two closest friends r music ppl LMAOJDHJS but like. the first time u hear eurydice say "i do" i.e what you say to seal a marriage is after she tells orpheus she signed the papers. she does not say "i do" in the entireity of wedding song, where they talk abt their nuptials. she says "i do" in informing orpheus she cant come up with him. that she chose this life (or death i guess) of her own doing. isnt that vile….

in wedding song she goes "is he always like this" and hermes responds but then in "a gathering storm" she asks the same question to no response.. idk what's there but something is there.

hermes being the narrator thats involved in the play is SOOOO delicious for my brain, the way he switches between a character involved in orpheus and eurydice getting together, invested in their relationship to a all-knowing narrator who knows the end bc he sees this every time.

there's this sense that only orpheus and eurydice do not know they r in a repeated play. which heightens their love at first sight, the "i feel like i know u but ive just met you" OHHHHH my god.

the original nytw script having orpheus say "ur early. i missed u." directly paralleling hades and persephone but in a different context because OHHHHMYGOD and not even that but the fact that mitchell took it out bc she believed it engaged the brain when the moment should only directly engage the heart. so she had the lovers say each other's name. one last time. im soooo normal

also this is bc one time i was thinking abt hadestown and mitski's remember my name played so . just that song in the context of hadestown is SOOOO bc like. like. how eurydice couldn't rmbr herself when she became a worker but orpheus went down to save her and she remembered.

when he turns back and says.

"it's you" "it's me"

^ are you fucking kidding me. the sort of disbelief the happiness the love the incoming grief im inconsolable.

when orpheus turns back, eurydice says his name w so much joy SO MUCH JOY she is not upset at him. "what was there to complain of, except that she'd been loved?" <- quote from metamorphoses

like yes we wish orpheus doesnt turn around but at the end of the day, orpheus is still the trusting guy he was in the beginning. EURYDICE on the other hand KNOWS how cruel the world is and chooses to trust orpheus anyway. but. "it's a tragedy" and doubt creeps in. part of the tragedy lies in the fact that eurydice, "all ive ever known is to hold my own" eurydice runs after him w open arms, chooses to trust him, chooses to follow the trial, and he still turns around. BECAUSE he loves her ohhhmygod im so normal

obligatory mention to the fact that orpheus could never finish the song he was working on because it was a duet. like okay lol. im fine im normal hahahahaha are u fucking kidding me.

hades and orpheus are mirrors, there r two relationships in the musical obviously and it is clear theyre mirrors of each other even w/o the original script line but like.

hades gives orpheus the test that he himself goes through every spring. hades is the villain of the story yes but he is not evil. he gives orpheus the same trial, sees that if orpheus can judge him for losing faith in his wife through the course of their relationship, let's put his romantic nature to the test. let's see if he can feel the absence of his love and keep going. and he cant. bc orpheus has never had to learn how to fend for himself. so when u take away his support system, when u take anyone's support system, how is he, how r we supposed to succeed?

just. the song "how long" encapsulates hades and persephone's relationship SO WELL. "the girl means nothing to me." "i know. but she means EVERYTHING to him" the fact that this is the first time we persephone REFUSE a drink bc shes had enough oh were SOMBER somber the way the whole song just parallels itself and every verse GOD.

the love was there. the hope was there. its a sad song. its a love song.

every single time before they leave. every time they're on stage, eurydice is in front of orpheus. he trusts that she is before him and she never doubts that he is there. it is when their positions change, him in front and her behind that he bends. it is then that doubt comes in.

those r just the like the thoughst of the music and themes itself we can talk abt the ppl and the live play now:

so first. can we talk abt this we need to talk abt for reeve carney's last show the original orpheus his last show he didnt turn back. he and eurydice lived they passed the trial. sorry that makes me so insane bc like. imagine u play orpheus. doomed to a lifetime of looking back at ur lover and your final show, u finally get to stay. oh im very normal i just love the nuances of live theatre!!! what a send off!!!!

THEN we can talk abt how eva and solea play PERFECT eurydices, full of grit and used to the cruel nature of the world. and how lola tung i feel is a DECENT singer but shes not a eurydice shes so light and soft but idk. who am i to say.

also the soundtrack is just SO incredible so is the set design there's not a single ounce of stage space that is wasted like there are so many nuances like i cant even talk abt all that there is my FAVORITE musical for SOOO many reasons ough.

yeah i think that's it. this took me MULTIPLE hours and i feel drained abt talking abt all this. WOW i love hadestown not normal amounts. i can't die before i see this live its one of my goals i just need to see it live on broadway.

#putting this in #2 am ramblings #bc i invested too much brainpower and time into this LAMSODJHHDFJSK #anyway. yeah <3 that's all. there r so many more nuances you could have w every decision made onstage for each production and it saddens me #that i cant know them all. but theres a beauty in that as well. #hadestown #orpheus and eurydice #guys orpheus and eurydice are actually my second favorite greek myth LSMSNBDGHSUJHD but god theres just so much. OURGH

[a-tale-of-legends]

The last post made me really think now: what is a champion in the pokemon universe. What they can and cannot do. What power do they have.

Obviously, these questions have different answers depending on the region. Kalos' league is not the same as Kanto's. The culture is very different, so the leagues are probably as well. But fundamentally what does a champion do. What does the league do. I'm gonna jump around a bit but bear with me.

There's the pokemon league. And then there should be The Pokemon League. The pokemon league are the gyms the elite 4 the champion ( to an extent). The Pokemon League is the ones actually running that shit. Do you really think the Champion is in charge of organizing the gyms? Especially when champions can come and go as please? No! There hasn't been a single canonical pokemon champion in the main series games that have ever been stated to have influence in how the gyms work. Not saying that there isn't any influence, there the champion. I feel like they are a bridge between the gyms and elite 4 and the ones running it. The only one that has ever been stated to have direct influence on the gym challenge is Geeta, and that's only because she's the chairwoman.

Now earlier I said there should be The Pokemon League, aka the ones that run the league itself and handle all the nitty gritty stuff of that, but outside of Galar and Paldea we don't really see that. I know in the manga, it's explained more, and I definitely know fan works have run with this piece of world building ( so I'm not the first one who thought of this lol. If anything these pieces of world building from others inspired me a lot), but in the main series games only Galar and Paldea ever really mention something other than the champion at the top of the league. And again, different regions have different cultures and ways of handling their own leagues in my opinion.

Also, on another note: The Pokemon League. What the fuck. *points to Giovanni, and Malva* how the fuck did you allow this. I mean. I understand these two had their affiliation with their evil teams a secret ( I think. Malva definitely), but after the fact when everything is exposed???? Malva openly says she was a part of Team Flare???? And you're still gonna keep her in a high ranking position???? Seriously?????

Now going aaaallll the way back to the initial question: What does a champion do. I think it's rather simple on paper: protecting their region is their utmost priority. That's what the league is for, a line of defense against anything bad happening ( which literally happens every other year). They are also the face of the region. Leon was a great example of this. While I don't think being champion isn't 100% political ( again, that's what the league is for).....it kinda is when you're the face of the region. Everyone is watching you. You also have to make sure the league ( gym leaders elite 4) and probably more importantly The League ( the ones running this shit), look good. And if you mess up on that.....oof. That's just me, of course.

Okay! That's a ramble. Later!

#r rambles #legendverse #should i tag pokemon world building? #eh sure #pokemon worldbuilding

[exigencelost]

I wish to issue a thank you to everyone who aided me in last year’s cocoa making experiment. I would @ some of you in this post who offered particularly invaluable guidance but that seems frankly hostile. So I shall just hope that you know who you are.

I have finally landed on a cocoa making system that is consistent enough for me to integrate into muscle memory while also allowing for daily flavor variation. Here is, as much as anything can be said to be final, my final cocoa process report. Disclaimer: I know nothing about cooking. This is a personal trial and error derived process and does not represent “best practices” of any kind.

The first stage of making cocoa is to decide what flavors you want to include. I draw from the following pool of flavors: cinnamon, cardamom, clove, orange peel, black tea, vanilla, ginger, cayenne, chile powder. I’m probably forgetting something.

A note on flavorings: for the purposes of cocoa, flavorings divide into two categories: steeping and powders. Steeping flavors include whole spices, orange peel, and tea. Powders include powdered ginger, ground cinnamon, cayenne, and chile powder. Then there’s vanilla which is its own animal.

Clove and cardamom should always be steeped as whole spices because they do not dissolve into milk well in powder form and can make your cocoa gritty. Ginger should always be a powder. Cinnamon can go either way.

Some flavor combinations I have found particularly appealing include: Cardamom with ginger. Orange peel with black tea. Cardamom with clove and cinnamon. Cinnamon with vanilla is of course the classic standby.

Flavor quantities I tend to use:

Cardamom: 1-3 pods. 3 pods is extreme and should only be implemented if you really like cardamom. Also possibly only if your cardamom is a little old which mine might be at this point. Start out with 1 pod is what I’m saying. I mostly use 1 if I want a spice medley and 2 if I want the cardamom to be the star player.

Clove: 1-2 cloves (what is the unit for cloves??). Again you can use 3 if you feel like confronting god but I don’t like clove enough to do that. I usually use 1.

Cinnamon: Maybe 1/2 inch of a cinnamon stick? I’m bad at length measurements and cinnamon varies in width anyway. Or a teaspoon of ground cinnamon.

Vanilla: a teaspoon or a splash

For stuff with heat (ginger, cayenne, chile powder) don’t take advice from me, because I’m a coward about heat. I add the tiniest possible pinch of cayenne or a scant quarter teaspoon of chile powder. With ginger I’m a little bolder, I like ginger.

Second stage of making cocoa is assembly. Gather the following items on the counter:

1) your flavor selections for today

2) Unsweetened cocoa powder (you will use 3 tbsp)

3) brown sugar (you will use 1 tbsp)

4) Milk or your preferred milk replacement (you will use 1 cup)

5) Salt

6) Measuring spoons

7) A glass cup measure or a jar with a cup measurement marked on it. (This needs to be heat safe and should be capable of holding at least a little bit more than a cup of liquid)

8) The smallest pot you own

9) A mortar and pestle (a cutting board and a blunt object can stand in)

10) A whisk and a tiny silicon spatula thing if you’re fancy. A spoon can serve both purposes.

11) A little bowl for your powders

12) A mesh tea ball steeper thingy.

13) A simmer plate if you have one

The third stage of making cocoa is milk. Measure a cup of milk, using your jar or glass measure. Pour milk into the smallest pot you own and put it on one of the medium heats. Higher if you have limited patience and decent awareness of your surroundings, lower if you have a great deal of patience and limited awareness of your surroundings. (The higher the heat the faster the milk froths and you want to catch the milk as soon as it froths.) 

While you’re bringing the milk to froth, prepare your steeping flavors. For whole spices, this means crushing them a little bit in a mortar and pestle. For orange peel, take an apple/potato peeler and shave off a little bit of peel from the orange. Put all of the above in the mesh tea ball and stick that in the milk. For black tea just plop the teabag in the milk or if you’re using loose leaf put it in the tea ball with the spices. 

When the milk starts to froth, immediately reduce it to low heat and stir with whisk. If you own a simmer place stick it under there. 

Leave this to steep for, I am not kidding, like ten minutes. Longer is fine. Do other things. Do the rest of your cocoa prep (the powder stage) and some of your cleanup, or start assembling the rest of your meal. I am of the opinion that the longer things steep the better, and if you find it’s too much flavor, add less flavoring next time, not less steep time. Spices are expensive get as much as you can out of them. This might be terrible cooking practice for some reason I’m not aware of but it’s what works for me and what I believe in my heart.

Stir occasionally while steeping.

The fourth stage of making cocoa is powders. While your steeping flavors are steeping, assemble your powders. Measure 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder and 1 tablespoon of brown sugar into your little bowl. Add a pinch of salt and any powdered flavors: ground cinnamon, ginger, cayenne, chile powder, etc.

At this stage you can also add vanilla (a splash or a teaspoon) into the jar/measuring cup, if you are a person who tends to forget things, which I am. Ideally you add vanilla at the end when the heat has been turned off and everything is over. But I can’t do that because I forget so I do this.

The fifth stage of making cocoa is alchemy.  This is where it gets weird and elaborate. When the steeping flavors are done steeping, pour most but not all of the hot milk out of the pot into your glass measuring cup or jar. (This is why it needed to be heat safe.) Stick the teaball into the jar along with it; this way you get a little bit of extra steeping time.

Add your powders into the pot with the little bit of milk that’s still in there. Learning how to eyeball how much milk you should leave in is a process of trial and error. Whisk the powders into the milk. If you’ve got a silicon spatula thing you can use it to scrape every bit of powder out of the bowl.

If you have exactly the right amount of milk, the powders will dissolve easily into a paste that does not look grainy or gritty. If you’re short on milk you can add a splash more, but if you have too much milk, for complex physics reasons, the cocoa powder will not dissolve immediately or well and you’ll have to stir for much longer. Sorry that I simply do not have a milk measurement to offer you.

When the powders have dissolved into a smooth syrup, pour the rest of the milk back into your pot, removing the teaball, and whisk together. If significant time has elapsed during the alchemy process and your milk has cooled, turn heat back up to medium to bring the cocoa to desired temperature.

If you didn’t add vanilla during the Powders stage, because you had faith in yourself and your ability to remember it here, and if your faith was indeed founded, you can add vanilla now when you turn off the heat.

The sixth stage of making cocoa is cocoa.  Pour your cocoa! If you have a tiny silicon spatula thing you can use it to scrape every bit of cocoa sludge off the sides of your pot, which will make your cocoa more delicious and your pot easier to clean. Put pot in sink and fill it with soapy water immediately because this will make the difference between a quick wipe down later and a tedious scrubbing session.

#cocoa discourse

[howlingday]

Team RWBY & JNPR in the DC universe, who do you think would be who (e.g ruby as the flash, phyrra as wonder woman)

---------------------------------------------------

Another one, huh? Well, I suppose I should spruce up my thoughts... or not.

Batman - Weiss Schnee

I tried. Really, I tried, and I tried, and I tried, but billionaire superhero vigilante who uses technology they own and develop with their company CANNOT fit anyone other than the Ice Queen. Just switch Bat with Dust and know that I'm an idiot for saying that.

Wonder Woman - Blake Belladonna

When I thought about this one, I needed an island princess to act as an ambassador for all faunus kind. When you put it like this, and add a sword and rope to her personal choice of weapon, there's no other option.

The Flash - Ruby Rose

Aside from superspeed, Ruby also fits Flash in other regards. She's a wiz with guns, much like Barry's analytical mind, and is the comic relief of her team (as pointed out by Coco in After the Fall).

Aquaman - Sun Wukong

After reading what I've read so far in Before the Dawn, I can't help but feel the man caught between two different worlds can't fit anyone else better than the man caught between two different cultures.

Martian Manhunter - Lie Ren

Their general attitudes in the group just meld together really well. They both feel like such outcasts compared to the rest of the group, but thinking so is such a disservice to them that you have to ask why that is.

Shazam - Oscar Pine

Oscar fits this well, especially when you consider Ozma and Shazam are so alike in their choice of successors. Now, if only I could make an acronym for OZMA.

Booster Gold - Jaune Arc

A man sneaks his way into a world he doesn't belong to after stealing technology and tools that don't belong to him, and ends up becoming the greatest hero you've never heard of. And then he walks into a mirror of himself.

Constantine - Emerald Sustrai

Gritty, cynical con-man trying to do good in a chaotic world full of psychopaths and demons, meet gritty, cynical thief trying to do good in a chaotic world of psychopaths and Grimm.

---------------------------------------------------

As for Superman, Green Lantern, Yang Xiao Long, and Nora Valkyrie? I couldn't find a good fit. All the others made sense to me, but when I tried to find comparisons between everyone else, I kept coming up short.

I could put Pyrrha as Superman, since both of their deaths shook the franchise, but even that felt like a stretch.

#submission #dc #the justice league #justice league #rwby #weiss schnee #ruby rose #blake belladonna #lie ren #jaune arc #emerald sustrai #oscar pine #sun wukong #yang xiao long #nora valkyrie #pyrrha nikos #rwby au #my submissions

[onekisstotakewithme]

mashnoir because I'm hungry for more and also sperm donor!

i will... do sperm donor first so I can post mashnoir below the fold (since it'll have spoilers for post-ch 6).

anyway the gist of sperm donor (which I set aside to work on president CJ) is that during season 5, shortly after the supremes, a whole bunch of events conspire to make CJ think about kids and the having of them, and she starts considering using a sperm donor. guess who the number one candidate might be. (it's danny).

I had a lot of fun writing it because it was a lot of the day to day political stuff that ASorks excelled at. I had to do like six years of research for the like 12k I had of it.

Snippet (featuring my favourite, CJ + press corps banter):

“Have you changed your stance on your right to adopt?” “Okay,” CJ says, as Katie grins at her. “Just, right out of the gate, that’s what you’re going for?” Katie raises an eyebrow, but Mark holds up his pen beside her. CJ looks between the two of them, before saying, “… Mark?” “Will you be adopting a boy, or a girl?” “Do you two rehearse this act, or…?” Katie and Mark both laugh, exchanging a look, before CJ asks, “Do either of you have a real question?” “Does this law favour younger parents?” “No. Typically the kids who are adopted are younger, generally infants and small children. The older you get, the more likely you are to age out of the system. The Federal Adoption Opportunities Act is designed to streamline the process of getting more kids out of the foster care system and into families that want them, with a focus on getting older kids into foster families and eventual adoption. Chris?” “Will there be any studies conducted on the effects and outcomes associated with adoption, or is that considered a state matter?” “It is one of the requirements of the bill that adoption outcomes will be studied at length, and recommendations will be made to Congress once those studies take place. Steve?” “Do you know who’s dressing up as the Easter Bunny this year?” “You know what? I don’t, but that’s a great question. If any of you see Toby Ziegler around today, you should tell him to do it. That’s a full lid, everyone, thank you. Have a good night.”

as for mashnoir... was literally cackling and kicking my feet over the plot twist in chapter six. the real question of why did i add more chapters... the answer is because I want more interactions between the three of them. Did I maybe pick a more mundane version where I could've written something more gritty (Hawk sleeping with both Hunnicutts and them putting a hit out on each other?). sure. but i'm enjoying subverting the noir twists and turns ;)

also a love letter to your favourite state of maine will be in this fic.

anyway this bit from chapter eight:

Hawkeye should feel relieved, now that the whole scheme is out in the open – now that he’s a co-conspirator in a mercy killing instead of a co-conspirator in a murder – but he doesn’t. If he thought the weight on his soul and his conscience would be eased by the knowledge that he’s easing a dying man’s suffering, that was blown to hell with the knowledge that he’ll be leaving a child without a father. Worse still, he genuinely likes BJ, despite barely knowing him, and the loss of it tears at him. And given this madcap little scheme that he’s hatched of leaving a proper paper trail for any enterprising Barton Keyes-in-training, he’s only contributing to his own suffering by putting himself in close proximity to BJ on a regular basis. The first of these appointments falls in late July, the dead of summer, on a day so hot that there seems to be a permanent haze hanging over Boston, hot enough that the only flowers not wilting are the wax ones sitting on the nurse’s station.

(yes this is the start of chapter eight, don't @ me, I've been pulled in 1000 directions for the past week).

many twists to come. maybe not many. twists to come :)

#thank you sarah!!!! #i love talking about my silly ww wips #the west wing wiply

[precambrian-sea-pancake]

New Wings of Fire Roleplay Server!

Here’s the description:

Welcome to Wings of Fire: Untold Stories!

About Us: We are a 16+ literate to semi-lit role play server. The RP Takes place before Arc 1, during the Great War. Canon characters and OCs are allowed!

- We have have fun emojis

- We offer a lot of creativity when making characters despite being a canon centric server

- We are beginner friendly! The staff are experienced RPers who love introducing people to the hobby. We are more than happy to help you improve in both role playing and character creation

- Scavenger OCs are allowed, as well as canon ones!!

- It’s open to all fans. You don’t have to be an expert on the series to join nor have read all the books. We can fill you in on lore but given the time the RP takes place, don’t worry if you haven’t finished Arc 1.

- We offer various events both in RP and outside of RP. Battles, festivals, arena fights, and even D&D style campaigns will be present as we grow. There will also be raffles and prizes in these events. We want everyone to win something cool!

- We have a channel dedicated to the amazing WOF fan games on Roblox (which are free), and will have game nights on them.

- Server boosters will be rewarded for boosting and can win special perks for their OCs.

- We are a very accepting and accommodating place. Every member should feel comfortable and included. Our top priority is to make sure everyone is having fun. We will take all suggestions seriously and make sure stress and anxiety are reduced.

- We plan to explore the history of the Dragon World. Explore ancient ruins and uncover secrets to questions we have all wanted answers to.

- Explore a more mature and gritty take on the series.

Plot:

Server Plot:

“The death of Queen Oasis was a shock to everyone. For the first time, a Queen had been killed by a scavenger. From this one incident, Pyrrhia would fall into a brutal war with nearly every tribe involved.

It seems as though the fighting would never end. Even the hope brought on by a prophecy could only do so much.

War brews conflict beyond what one would expect.

Skywings using prisoners for entertainment.

The Nightwings taking control behind the scenes.

The Rainwings blissfully ignorant to the bloodshed beyond the forest.

Things are even worse on the continent of Pantala.

Queen Wasp has her claws wrapped around everything, even the minds of her own subjects. Dragons don’t like being oppressed, and many are planning to dismantle the Hivewing dictatorship. Meanwhile the leafwings have split into two separate tribes, that of the Poisonwings and the Sapwings.

While we all know how it ends, so many stories of this time have gone untold. It’s time to shed light on the dark times.”

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