#how jones is 'doing him right' as in 'doing right by conrad'

[catabasis]

“Am I doing him right?”

#asteroid city #wes anderson #jones hall #jason schwartzman #schubert green #adrien brody #margot robbie #filmedit #filmgifs #movieedit #moviegifs #asteroid city spoilers #i broke my heart – my own personal heart – making this #i have many thoughts and interpretations about these scenes #how they both can be read as jones processing his grief and going through the stages of grief #how jones is 'doing him right' as in 'doing right by conrad' #how conrad's memory and jones' grief are kept alive by the play #how conrad speaks to jones one last time through the actress and how thanks to that jones finds comfort and closure #i should make a separate post about this #mygifs #mygifs:film #mygifs:asteroidcity

[spaghetti-man99]

Okay, so after seeing Asteroid City a bunch of times, I thought I should probably write down my thoughts, so here they are

(warning this is kind of long)

Thoughts On Asteroid City:

“4th wall break”, or When The Characters Become the actors:

Woodrow constantly looks at the “audience” (the camera) during the film, this is because the understudy is playing Woodrow and is not used to the audience

“I still don’t say I forgive you”: at first I thought this was Midge saying this to Augie, but upon watching it again, it actually seems to be the actor Mercedes saying it to the director Schubert, who had written her an apology letter.

“Hey, do you feel any different?”: this is a stretch, but the day after the alien takes the asteroid, Midge asks Augie if he feels any different. He answers that he doesn’t, and asks if that’s odd, and Midge says that she also doesn’t feel any different. Now, taking into account Augie’s actor Jones’ (probably) very fresh grief and shock over the death of his lover Conrad (the playwright), coupled with the fact that he doesn’t answer with his line immediately (probably because he’s dissociating), this makes me think that Midge’s actor, Mercedes, is actually asking if he feels any different now that Conrad is gone, and Jones is in too much shock to actively feel anything

The Quickie Gridle: In the scene where Augie burns his hand on the Quickie Gridle (something that Jones had asked Conrad about at the beginning of the film, “Why does Augie burn his hand on the Quickie Gridle?”), it looks as if Mercedes is in actual shock when his hand hits the griddle. She asks him why he did it, and his answer is, “it’s unclear” because Conrad never told him why.

(there is probably a great deal more that I don’t remember, I might add more

Augie/Jones:

I was put onto this by @mummer, and after going to see the movie again with the idea that the movie is partially about Jones trying to process his grief, a lot of scenes were put into a different light and honestly I enjoyed it even more.

Obviously, we have the scene where he goes on his backstage rant (which I did not realize he did while they were doing an active performance and not just a rehearsal). It seems to be him searching for the meaning in Conrad’s passing (and also the meaning of life in general) in his play, but being ultimately told by Schubert that it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t understand the meaning, because he just has to keep going

“I feel like my heart is breaking, my own personal heart.” “Good.”: this comes across to me as Jones finally being able to get past his shock and actually feel something about Conrad’s passing through the lens of playing Augie and Schubert telling him that the pain is good and healthy

“Am I doing him right?”... “I think you’re doing him right.”: again, this could be a stretch, and it makes sense to interpret it literally, however… Jones is, again, actively grieving for a partner that could not be grieved in public. This could be his way of subtly asking if he’s doing it right, if he’s doing the play the way Conrad would have wanted, if he would have been happy with him and his performance, and Schubert’s answer of “I think you’re doing him right” could very well be an attempt to comfort him and saying that he is doing right by Conrad, that he would be proud of him.

“Use your grief.” Again, this could just be how the play was written, but if that isn’t some great advice for Jones I don’t know what is.

“I think you might have to try to replace me.”: The scene with the actress that played Augie’s wife and her quoting the dialogue to Jones, essentially speaking what has been going through his head since Conrad died.

Also I think it was extremely intentional that we get the news that Conrad died directly after the above scene.

Again, there are probably more that I forgot or have already been said somewhere else.

Misc.

(these are more just little things)

The way the cowboy Montana’s actor is not present in the beginning line up and is instead represented through a painting over the teacher June’s actor’s head

The little roadrunner puppet!! Which you can see being played with when Jones goes backstage

The little scene where the narrator just appears and then is like, “Am I… not in this one?” And then leaves and the actors go back a line of dialogue

The way we only see some of June and Montana’s relationship and only know they got together because the mechanic’s actor came out and told Jones

The picture of Augie’s wife being exactly how he described her in the little monologue

Augie’s laugh after he told the girls they weren’t orphans

“That business with the pipe and the camera and the eyebrow.” – Schubert to Jones

The scene with Schubert and his wife, I loved the way that even though Schubert is obviously torn apart by this, he still understands that his wife doesn’t love him the same anymore and lets her go

The memory game that the brainiacs play

Woodrow and his Grandfather have the exact same hairstyle

“I play him as a metaphor.” “For what?” “Well I don’t know, we never pinned it down.” – Jones and the actor for the alien.

The colors!!!

Basically all the times the brainiacs interacted

Where does Ricky's father sleep??? Where does Ricky sleep?? Cause they were not sleeping in the tent.

Montana's perfect, stereotypical cowboy speak

And so much more I might have to update this if I remember

#movies #asteroid city #wes anderson #movie thoughts

[astranauticus]

orv 🤝 asteroid city

stories about stories that left a surprisingly large impact crater in my brain

anyway some more (frankly far too extensive) thoughts under the cut for an au i dont forsee myself drawing for again (cw: mention of suicidal thoughts and lots of talk about death)

for anyone reading this who hasn't watched asteroid city: it's a movie documenting the making of an in universe fictional play called asteroid city written by conrad earp (kdj) directed by schubert green (hsy) lead actor jones hall (yjh) who plays augie, very emotionally repressed guy whose wife (lsh, kinda) just died and is trying to figure out how to tell his children about it. anyway jones shows up at conrad's house for auditions and the two fall in love, then conrad dies from a car crash 6 months into the shows run and jones is left to play a character mourning the death of his wife while irl mourning the death of his lover and it drives him up a wall trying to figure out if he's doing conrad "right" (hence 'i still don't understand the play')

anyway for this au like everything that happens in the movie also happens i think but the character motivations are a little bit different like in the movie conrad earp writes the play before he ever meets jones hall so we don't really know why it's Like That but i think in the au kdj is either like. having suicidal thoughts or just fully believed he wasn't gonna live for very long in the like cptsd symptom kinda way lmao. so like it's not really that he wrote the play to help yjh process his own death (i think if that were the case the message of the play would be way different lmfao) but it's more like he just had death and grief on the brain and was also writing stuff. and like the answer he arrived at was that he didn't actually arrive at anything in the end. sometimes tragedy just happens and there's no meaning to it you just kinda have to live with that. like i know this is not how the process of play production works but if there's one change to the original movie plot in this au i want to make it's that kdj still dies by car accident but before the script is 100% finished or after he's been talking about rewriting the ending or something because i think he also doesn't figure out an answer he's satisfied with in the end about like death and grief and mourning. like you just know that in kdj's ideal world his loved ones wouldn't mourn him at all if he dies because he doesn't want them to be sad because of him and maybe he still hasn't fully 100% internalised that he has people who would care if he dies. anyway i think yjh kinda understands like subliminally that kdj was trying to Say Something with the play he just isn't sure what because he's looking for An Answer like some kind of meaning to everything that's happened but the point is there isn't one and if there is kdj hasn't found it either lmao. and like i think hsy understood immediately like as soon as she heard the news of his death she's figured out what kdjs thought process behind the play was and like she's absolutely not holding it together as well as she appears but she also sees yjh driving himself insane every night trying to find The Meaning or whatever and like whether or not she even agrees with kdj aside this is the only way she can think of to help him get out of that hole bc she can't exactly tell yjh like 'the point is that there is no point you just have to live with The Everything' so she's just trying her best to make him understand on his own. idk i just need someone who's watched asteroid city to see this and tell me if ive gone completely insane LMAO

#omniscient reader's viewpoint #orv #kim dokja #yoo joonghyuk #han sooyoung #joongdok #art i made #my contribution to the time honoured jdj fanwork trope of kdj pairing yjh with lsh against his will #that one last hsy looks so much like qiao ling from lc what the fuck #took some liberties with the outfits and the poses bc #ok honestly for most of this i was just drawing whatever felt right based on my memories of the movie like i only looked it up near the end #so i can get all the lines right #and also. im not drawing that fuckin outfit margo robbie was wearing in that scene christ alive #god some of the anatomy is so wack

[justdecadentcollectiondestiny]

Asteroid City Details

"We saw a coyote get run over by a fourteen-wheeler and left him flat as a pancake."

So the roadrunner is left wandering aimlessly, with nothing to get chased by.

Augie lets out a half laugh/half cry when he says his children aren't orphans now "because I'm still alive." Undoubtedly a bit of Jones Hall's real grief seeping through.

Jones Hall explains to Conrad Earp that the reason he thinks Augie burns his hand on the quickie-griddle is because he was looking for an excuse for why his heart was beating so fast.

And he says this right after he broke Conrad's window, an equally impulsive and dangerous act.

That sounds like flirting to me.

Woodrow checks his watch to time how long it takes Clifford to jump off the roof after he asks if anyone dares him to do it.

The voice Midge Campbell uses when she's playing this character, a trans-atlantic accent

is her actress Mercedes Ford's natural voice.

"When Midge makes her exit in Act III, Scene Five, try having her say the line after she closes the door."

The scene this line refers to is most likely the emergency meeting, during which Jones walks offstage and that we don't get to see all of. So we don't get to see whether Schubert took his soon-to-be-ex-wife's note to heart.

Montana's actor, Asquith Eden's natural voice is a British accent, just like the real-life actor who plays him, Rupert Friend.

"One day I'll probably be discovered lifeless in an overflowing bathtub with an empty bottle of sleeping pills spilled all over the floor."

I'm sure I'm not the only person whose heart dropped when Augie looked over to Midge's window to this sight.

"You really did it. That actually happened."

When Augie burns his hand on the quickie-griddle, Midge reacts with extremely visible surprise, which is a bit out of character for her. She/Mercedes also glances to either side, off screen, as if checking with an offstage crew member or stage manager that the scene should continue. This may insinuate that Jones Hall really did actually burn his hand, and Mercedes' reaction was genuine.

The symbols used to inventory the asteroid are the same symbols on the wall of the hotel lobby.

While the girls are burying Augie's wife's ashes, his hand brushes against both Woodrow's and Stanley's. Woodrow takes his hand. Stanley does not.

#asteroid city #wes anderson #movies #dc destiny yells about movies #dc descants

[lixxen]

I wanna talk about this scene and one of my favorite theories and details in fics

Warning for talks of depression, suicide, and homophobia

(also like. I'm just talking about stuff I've seen other people talk about and like the idea of/agree with because it's interesting. Doesn't mean you have to agree. I'm talking to the void and I guess if you don't agree just like... Don't argue please lol)

One of my favorite head canons/theories for Conrad that I've seen people talk about some when it first came out is that he was depressed and his death wasn't an accident, but him committing suicide

This is what I remember people talking about and will see if I can find the posts about it later:

Being gay during this time was dangerous and society was very homophobic. Keeping that a secret would slowly wear down on your mental health and also could cause internalized homophobia

People found it ironic that Jones was playing a man who was grieving his dead wife when he himself was grieving his lover dying (which is why he pressed his hand into the griddle) and thought that it was Conrad talking to Jones later on down the road because Augie is literally Jones and Jones is Augie. Idk how it works but it just does in my brain so I get them

The talking about can't wake up if you don't go to sleep and Conrad having two hands on his shoulder as he stares forward could allude to him having thoughts of suicide, and this happens after he is announced to die (I forgot exactly how people explained it but it made sense when I read it. Makes the alien being there make sense)

The others didn't understand the play because it was Conrad's internal thoughts for parts and the characters wrote themself. Which. Is what happens. Idk. People said he was the wife.

(mostly joking) a cis man who isn't mentally ill or wasn't feeling that way couldn't write that play. That man had to be fucked up in some way

People write into fics that he'd drown himself in his work when he didn't need to. A lot of the nights he spent up and lone drowning himself in drinks and writing? Him trying to escape. Jones having to drag him away from the typewriter to come to bed? Wonderful. I will take 20 more

Idk. You don't have to agree, but that's what I remember people talking about and watching the movie I just agreed. Even before I read the suicide/depression ones and saw the movie my brain went "oh... What if... What if he... No. They wouldn't do that." Because the context is there. The themes are there. It's literally all there but never said if it was an accident or not. So seeing people talk about it and it being a reoccurring theme in the first fics for Conrad (especially in the Conrad/Jones tag) was reassuring that other people could see it

Idk. As someone who has depression and has had thoughts of suicide; writing my life away and throwing my grief and troubles into my personal writing or fanfic, it genuinely struck something close to my heart.

Especially seeing Jones then ask if he's doing right even though he was told he's perfect and probably was told he's perfect many times after. I could genuinely see Conrad change parts of the play to reflect his relationship and his mental health as he kept writing it. We know the play wasn't done when he met Jones; but just enough to know Augie would become Jones

Lawl. Anyways. Idk. This isn't canon but just a collective bunch of thoughts and head canons and theories I've seen so far

#asteroid city #jones hall #conrad earp #edward norton #jason schwartzman

[discount-limeade]

Slipknot: A Review

Part 2

(See Slipknot Vs. Batman For Iowa Era)

Conrad's Ratings On How Well He Thinks The Knot Members can Cook (+ What their favorite Poptart Flavor is)

#0 Sid Wilson

8/10

I actually REALLY fuck with Subliminal Versus hhh

No hair in the food. He's got a Tie on so he MUST know what he's doing. -1 for refuses to use the right noodles for the Dish. -1 Stares at you the Entire time you eat.

Poptart: Blueberry. He peels the Crust off.

#1 JOEY JORDISON

3/10

CANNOT COOK! -2 for does he LOOK like he owns a fucking pot OR a Pan. -1 Only has Ketchup and Half a Coke in the fridge. -1 he "Customizes" his Fast Food Orders. (BK BBQ Sauce on a Crunch Wrap Supreme ETC.) -2.5 for Asks you what you want then says no to every Option until you say what he wants. -.5 put salt in your Drink.

Poptart: Cherry or S'Mores.

#2 Paul Gray

10/10

Classic "Spaghetti Date" kinda Guy.

Homemade Sauce. Garlic Bread and Salad as Sides. No Complaints, he just knows what he's doing.

In a Not Spaghetti Setting, he will Cut your food up for you.

Poptart: Cherry. Toasted with Butter.

#3 Chris Fehn

6/10

Look at him Crackin MAD jokes in this Picture, love it.

-2 for "I love Cast Iron Pans Because you don't have to clean them". YES YOU DO. -1 Too much Salt. -1 can't make Eggs. Look at that picture, man looks like he FUCKS UP some Boiled eggs. But look again and Tell me He knows how to Fry one. Exactly.

Poptart: Berry Blast. Don't even know if that's a Real Flavor but it's his favorite FOR SURE.

#4 Jim Root

5/10

This is a Situation where I think that James, THE MAN, is actually a fuckin Superb Chef. This picture however, not Gonna Cut it.

-1 everything is Spicy as FUCK. Like Run To the fuckin Faucet For water, Damn Near Inedible For some Dishes. -1 for ONCE AGAIN I REALLY don't think this man Washes his Hands. It keeps me up at Night. -1 you made a Comment on a piece of his House Decorations and He Spit in your Sauce. -2 doesn't own Actual Plates or Silverware. Styrofoam Babyyy.

Poptart: Banana. Again, don't know if it's Really, but he looks like he likes That Fake Banana Flavor.

#5 Craig Jones

7/10

I think he'd be REALLY good at Grillin.

-1 for seasons Steak with Salt. Not exclusively but it's part of his Steak seasoning blend, it's just wrong. -1 Grill Brush Bristle in your Burger. -1 wears an Apron that has a print of some guys hairy Chest on it, that man is Wearing Speedos...

Poptart: None. Prefers Apple Toaster Strudels.

#6 Clown

5/10

It's Not that he CAN'T cook, he just doesn't.

-1 for Dirty Dishes. -1 for inappropriate Dinner Conversation. He is telling you about the Process of which This Specific kind of meat is Harvested.

(Personally I'd be Mad interested but Some people can't handle all that YK).

-2 for didn't shower before you came over. Nothing and Everything to do with Cooking. -1 His edibles are Kinda Weak.

Poptart: Cookies N Creme. Cream or Creme?

#7 Mick Thomson

8/10

Nah man, look at this fuckin, LOOK. Got me Gay As Hell.

-1 for the Opposite Cast Iron thing. He soaks it. Unforgivable Really. Now you have to season it EVERY TIME. -1 for He gave you a Mickey Mouse Spoon. -1 for he uses the Microwave A LOT. -1 butter butter butter, beer, butter butter. (This is how he keeps the Meat Moist.)

+2 for Dinner was Served on a Zoopals plate of your choosing.

Poptart: Cinnamon. The Superior Flavor.

#8 Corey Taylor

2/10

This is coming Out of pure Hatred for A post someone made. It Inspired me to make this Whole review. In this post, it was a Picture of the most UNDERCOOKED, UNDER SEASONED, WHITE PEOPLE LOOKIN CHICKEN THAT EVER EXISTED. And it was Some like, thing Where Corey was like, 'Made Dinner'. It was BEYOND foul. I know these Ratings are Based on the picture Provided but fucking -3 for That Post.

There is a Method Of Jacking off Wear you put soup in a Ziploc bag, then put it in a sock to make a Fleshlight. -2 for he served you the Sock Soup.

(I have never Tried this, spare me Please.)

-1 for look how dirty his hands are. Motherfucker doesn't even OWN a Sink. -1 for he Keeps sticking his fingers in the food to Taste it.

Poptart: Fudge. Toasted.

The End.

#slipknot #slipknot review #review #sid wilson #joey jordison #paul gray #chris fehn #jim root #craig jones #shawn crahan #mick thomson #corey taylor #cooking #biased #i'm sorry #about the soup sock thing #its not personal #if yall know what post im talking about please rblg this with it #grillmaster #grillmaster craig jones #can we start making craig normal? #vol.3 #vol. 3 the subliminal versus #the subliminal versus #slipknot volume 3

[n8-shaw]

{ JACOB ELORDI, 22, CISGENDER MALE, HE/HIM } Is that NATHANIEL SHAW? A JUNIOR originally from SAG HARBOR, NY, they decided to come to Ogden College to study UNDECIDED on an ATHLETIC SCHOLARSHIP. They’re THE BRUISER WITH A SOFT CENTER on campus, but even they could get blamed for Greer’s disappearance.

THE ESSENTIALS

Nathaniel Shaw hates rich people. Raised in a poor family, by an on-and-off single mother thanks to his absentee father, he had to work for every single cent he’s ever had. He dealt with this with bitterness and resentment, choosing to take it out by punching whoever pissed him off, getting into fights and trouble more often than not as he was growing up. With his athletic talents, it was enough to get him a scholarship to Ogden, but not enough that he’d ever get the chip off his shoulder about being the poor kid around the unbelievably wealthy. He’s over-sensitive, withdrawn, and tactless, but if you get on his good side, he may just allow you to share his weed and show that underneath that, he does have a pisces stellium, and does in fact have feelings beyond just letting them get hurt so he can start hitting people.

pinterest - muse tag

CHARACTER INSPIRATIONS

ryan atwood  (the oc) - billy dunne (daisy jones and the six) - nate macauley (one of us is lying) - marcus baker (ginny and georgia)-  jj maybank (obx) - william magnusson (skam) - tim riggins (fnl) - jess (gilmore girls) - johnny castle (dirty dancing) - the ninth doctor (doctor who) - roy kent (ted lasso) - patrick verona (10 things i hate about you) - diego hargreeves (the umbrella academy) - john bender (the breakfast club) - alex karev (grey’s anatomy) - conrad fisher (tsitp)

TV TROPES

BRUISER WITH A SOFT CENTER - dark and troubled past - the stoner - byronic hero - abusive parents - disappeared dad - fish out of water - scholarship student - the casanova - jerk jock - delinquents - book dumb - tall dark and snarky - sour outside sad inside - hidden depths 

OGDEN COLLEGE 2022-2023

Major:

Undecided - some classes he has been taking, beyond gen-eds are: ceramics/wheel-throwing, photography, literature classes, and avoiding anything to do with music thus far xoxo

Extracurriculars:

Swimming, Crew, Boxing Club

BASIC INFORMATION

FULL NAME: Nathaniel Shaw

NICKNAME(S): Nate, Natey (only from his younger sister, if anyone else calls him that, they’re consenting to be punched in the face)

DATE OF BIRTH: march 23rd, 2001

AGE: twenty-one

ZODIAC SIGN: aries sun, pisces moon, aries rising, pisces mercury, pisces venus (in retrograde), aries mars. have fun!

OCCUPATION: ????????????? part time pool boy, illegal street fighter. idk was this man does beyond that

HOMETOWN: sag harbor, ny/melbourne, australia

NATIONALITY: american and australian dual citizen

ETHNICITY: a white man?! no!.gif

LANGUAGE(S): english (barely)

GENDER & PRONOUNS: he/him

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: straight, to make him worse. but also it's sorta "straight"

RELIGION: definitely an atheist

POLITICAL AFFILIATION: i don’t think he has political opinions other than eat the rich

PHYSICAL INFORMATION

FACE CLAIM: Jacob Elordi

HEIGHT: 6′5″ 

EYE COLOUR: brown

HAIR COLOUR + STYLE: dark brown, worn like this (yes, the mullet, sorry).

ACCENT + INTENSITY: Australian - it comes and goes with how strong it is. He lived in Melbourne from age 3-15, so it’s definitely there, but it also is faded at this point, especially on certain words. it can come out stronger as well, and he definitely do be emphasizing it sometimes

TATTOO(S): a thin line around his left forearm, with a wave above it on the inside of his arm (going almost up into his elbow), coordinates of sag harbor and melbourne on the back of his left arm above his elbow, rowing oar along the outer bone of his right forearm, initial tattoo on the inside of his right forearm (gotten with all four siblings when his younger sister turned 18)

SCAR(S): probably a lot

PIERCING(S): one in each ear lobe - usually wears either a plain gold hoop in them

GLASSES: yes, but he doesn’t wear them 99% of the time. is this man just wandering around blind? very possibly

CLOTHING STYLE: honestly i imagine a lot like Jacob Elordi’s more lowkey style - something like this, this or this. Josh Heuston's style is very fitting too, like this, this, this or this. He also wears all the jewlery/rings/necklaces and often has his nails painted. and this pic is the ultimate nate style for me.

PERSONALITY

MBTI TYPE: INFJ

POSITIVE TRAITS: passionate, loyal, independent, honest, brave

NEGATIVE TRAITS: all of them. over-sensitive, short-tempered, aggressive, pessimistic, cynical, crass, withdrawn, resentful, impatient, reckless, (overly) competitive, attention seeking, tactless, brash, intense, aloof

GOALS/DESIRES: (suicide tw) literally nate barely even wants to be alive, so no, he doesn’t have any goals

FEARS: turning into his father

HOBBIES: ….smoking weed, contemplating the misery of his existence, punching people in the face, fucking bitches and getting money (except the money part because he’s poor), playing the guitar/lowkey fucking around with music production

HABITS: his habits include smoking a joint daily, punching whoever pisses him off, scowling when people speak to him……there’s probs more but that’s what i got tbh

SMOKES? weed, constantly.

DRINKS? most definitely

DRUGS? has dabbled....and will get worse if the plots i want work out

HOW THEY EMBODY THEIR TROPE:

Nate is the BRUISER WITH A SOFT CENTER because, at the end of the day, he is far more sensitive than he will ever let on. Everything hurts this Pisces moon, even as he glowers and glares, and yes, punches his way through them. He’s quick to react with anger - which often translates into violence - all while hiding how things are constantly hurting him. It’s easier to ignore it, because there’s nothing he can do. It’s just the hand he was dealt. And if he’s good at anything (which he still thinks may be debatable), it’s throwing a punch.

EXPANDED PERSONALITY:

Most of Nate’s personality is negative. Even what could be a positive trait (such as competitiveness, honesty, sensitivity, intensity….) he tends to turn it up to 1000 until it’s damaging. But honestly, most of it just negative to start with. He’s very withdrawn and broody, spends most of his time and interactions just glowering at people, and yet has an extremely short fuse, so will go from no reaction to swinging in the blink of an eye. he basically throws tantrums like a toddler, albeit a very large, 6′5″ toddler who actually knows how to fight.

However, he is extremely loyal if he decides someone is worth it - spoiler alert, most people aren’t - he will be there for them in the best way Nate knows how. Still tactless, but like, he tries his best. Basically his way of showing emotional support is being like so, uh, you wanna smoke a joint? Because at the end of the day, Nate is not very smart. Emotionally, or in a book smart sense. He can come off a bit of a himbo, just with his attempts to be charming and flirt with women (when he wants to). Plus he’s hot. And he knows it. And isn’t afraid to use it.

Speaking of women (ladies, please run), Nate likes to be pursued. He hates having to make the first move - probably due to of feeling like he isn’t worth it, more on that below - and he will flirt, charm, seduce, but when it actually comes down to it, he wants the other person to make that final leap. Some sort of validation or something. He likes when girls pay attention to him, and tries to coax it out of them. However, he also has a lot of resentment towards his mother for chasing after his father and bending over backwards to try to make things work, so he also loses interest as soon as a girl is too interested. And when he loses interest, he won’t say anything, he’ll just ghost or cheat. The only kind of confrontation Natey boi is good at is one that involves his fists.

His default way of connecting with people is…well, sex. Nate has no examples of a healthy emotional relationship, and he isn’t good at making friends, so typically, when a girl wants to get close to him, he fakes intimacy with his head between their legs, making them feel like they have him because he’s sleeping with them. Like he’s open and connected to them just because they boned. In reality, it’s just his way of avoiding the emotional intimacy he’s petrified of, because he knows it’ll come back to hurt him. The only downside to all that is the rare times he does want to emotionally connect with someone, he has no idea how to. All he knows how to offer is his body, really. 

Nate’s very dry, prone to swearing (he did grow up in Australia), and his sense of humor is very deadpan. If you actually talk to him, you realize there’s a lot of sarcasm in his cynicism, put the issue is that he’s extremely withdrawn from most people, and honestly doesn’t even see the point in having conversations with them. He also uses this to hide a lot of his fundamental insecurities - he genuinely feels like he’s not going to amount to much, mostly because he’s been made to feel that way. He acts brash and confident, but he really does struggle with feeling like he’s worth anything. It’s part of why he gets so over-competitive, because he wants to prove he’s good at something.

CONNECTION IDEAS

some wanted dynamics -

a childhood friend from australia (one day i will submit this wc to the main)

i still really would like nate to get into music, so someone to help encourage him along that path would be....amazing. he really loves music, but his father was a deadbeat musician, and since nate HATES him sm...he's gotta come to terms with that side of himself

in general, someone(s) who encourages his artsy soft boi side to come out

hamptons enemies - people who summared in the hamptons, dynamic would be dependant on muse. maybe people whose families he worked for (outside of the Morrison's?)?? Bonus points if they had a hot mom he could've banged !!

fight club - nate street fights for money, so ppl who participate or aware of that would be funsies

hook-ups/fwbs/ons's to help him get over the girls in his past since they are all no longer options rip

flirtationships - bc nate rarely makes the first move

the other man - nate has no morals, so if u need someone for ur muse to cheat on their significant other with...here he is

and as always - down to brainstorm and put nate into anything that would fit !!

RELATIONSHIP WITH GREER:

When the Shaw family moved back to Sag Harbor from Australia, where Nate’s mother grew up, they instantly realized they were not on the same class playing feel as everyone else. They had never been wealthy. Four children and barely steady incomes from their parents - when they were even together - guaranteed that. The kids all realized pretty quickly they were going to have to get jobs, especially now that their father was completely out of the picture. Nate ended up working for a few families who ‘summered’ (god, he hated that word) nearby, working as a pool boy. One of those families…yeah, you guessed it, was the Morrison’s. Greer took interest in the pretty Australian pool boy who was her age, inviting him along to join some of the parties she and her friends had, despite him being her family’s staff. No way was that going to end badly.

Also, they may have hooked up a time or two their senior year of high school. But that’s irrelevant.

FAMILY

FULL FAMILY PAGE

SOCIAL CLASS: lower class

FATHER: Luke Shaw

MOTHER: Ella Shaw, née Quentin

SIBLING(S)? 3 - older brother; Liam Shaw , older sister; Melanie Shaw, and a younger sister; Quentin "Quinnie" Shaw.

CHILDREN? do not let this man reproduce no matter what you do (also having children is also his worst nightmare, since the last thing he wants is to his father)

ABOUT NATE

FULL BIOGRAPHY

nate is the third out of four kids in five years to two highly incompatible people

his mom followed his dad back to australia when he was 3, only to call it all off 12 years later, and move back to sag harbor when nate was 15

nate took the move v hard in general, got into a lot of fights, briefly ended up in juvie after being charged with assault

couldn't pay for a lawyer, but the kid he was defending became his best friend (xoxo keys) and his father was a public defender and got the charges dropped, so he doesn't TECHNICALLY have it on his record

shortly after he got invited to an illicit fighting ring, which had money being given to winners and tossed around in bets by the rich kids who vacationed in the summer

that's how nate ended up hanging out with them and partying with them despite being poorTM

early in the fall his senior year, there was a back to school party where the house they were in ended up burning down - since nate was the only one who didn't have rich parents, who do you think took the fall? (hint: nate)

stanford stopped recruiting him & he broke up with his girlfriend at the time (actually, he just ghosted her, but that counts)

did he end up getting a scholarship at ogden in return for keeping his mouth shut? maybe (yes)

when he came to ogden as a freshman in college, he came in as an engineering major (why? no idea - think someone told him too and he was like, well, i have no hopes or dreams of my own, so y not), failed a bunch of classes, and then ended up switching to an undecided major for his junior year…so is he going to graduate on time? absolutely not. he is very much behind in his schooling.

SOME FUN FACTS

yes, nate has jacob's australian accent

he is basically ryan atwood and i regret nothing

he worked as a pool boy and mowed lawns and shit during the summer once he moved back to the Hamptons as a teen to make some extra cash, so rubbed shoulders with a lot of rich kids, which just made him more bitter about all of it

he did in fact sleep with several milf housewives while he was doing above jobs

plays the guitar and piano and likes to fuck around with music production in his free time - his father is a musician so his lack of acknowledging this/sharing this/actually allowing himself to enjoy it is due to his ~ daddy issues ~

deep down he is an artsy soft boi, and he just refuses to acknowledge that he loves music because of his father, and the fear that exploring that side of himself will just turn him into his dad. it's definitely something he needs to come to terms to still

he started taking more art classes this semester now that he is undecided and he signed up for a wheel-throwing class so he QUICKLY became one of those slutty shirtless wheel-throwing tik tok boys. his first successful pot he made he gave to rhia so she could plant things in it.

FALL SEMESTER TOUCHBASE

jesse threw nate under the bus, nate threw jesse under the bus, they kissed fought, the cops were looking at nate real sussy

so yeah from the very first sit down with the cops, nate was not making a good impression

he did get dragged outta the pool during a swim practice to be questioned

after their second interview, he is in their list of suspects :)

overall, nate is trying very hard to not be involved with greer or her disappearance at ALL because he does not want to be held responsible

he did overhear (with pippa) penny saying that she knew why greer left

oh also, he hooked monty and ollie up with a half built house to use as a drug base, thanks to his connects in the construction industry near ogden

he has those connects bc the summer between his freshman and sophomore years, he worked for nat's dad while they were dating. and nat's dad hates him. so nate said fuck u i'ma have my friends deal drugs outta ur house

#ogdenintro #muse

[ladywinsomes]

Kydia for the Ship Meme

PRE-RELATIONSHIP

How did they first meet? They met at a house party hosted by Heathcliff at his ancestral seat, Henstridge Hall. 

What was their first impression of each other? Lydia thought Kenneth was Heath’s most handsome Oxford mates, but at the time she didn’t think much beyond that.

Did any of their friends or family want them to get together? Lydia’s family, in particular Conrad, like how different Kenneth is than Heath.

Who felt romantic feelings first? Lydia believes she did, but it was probably mutual.

Did either of them try to resist their feelings? Not at all 

If you had told one of them that the other would be their soulmate, what would they think? Lydia would happily agree.

What would their lives be like if they had never met? Lydia would probably have waited years to settle down, and she would probably either be happy or disdainful.

GENERAL

Who initiated the relationship, and how did it go? Kenneth asked to call on Lydia and she insisted on meeting in secret, so in a way, they both did.

Did they have an official first date? If so, what was it like? Lydia counts every moment at the soiree as a date.

What was their first kiss like? Passionate, wanton, delicious.

Were they each other’s first anything (kiss, relationship, etc.)? Lydia likes to think Kenneth was her first everything. In most ways, the ones that count, that’s true.

What’s their height difference? Age difference? Kenneth has almost a foot on Lydia, and is seven years older.

What’s their relationship with each other’s families? Lydia adores little Malcolm, and treats him like he is her own. She also enjoys his family and he likes hers.

Who takes the lead in social situations? Lydia, because she’s a social butterfly and the mouthpiece of their relationship.

Who gets jealous easier? They’re both...passionate.

Who whispers inappropriate things in the other’s ear? Kenneth does in private and it brings Lydia to her knees, and Lydia likes to do it in public to see his face twist and his muscles tense.

LOVE

Who said “I love you” first? Kenneth

What are their primary love languages? Physical touch and words of affirmation. 

Who uses cheesy pick-up lines? Kenneth

How often do they cuddle/engage in PDA? As much as they can. Lydia likes to always be close to him/touching in some way.

Who initiates kisses? Lydia

Who’s the big and little spoon? Lydia is the little spoon but on occasion will lay right atop Kenneth

What are their favorite things to do together? Spend time with Malcolm and...other things.

Who’s better at comforting the other? Lydia is the ice to Kenneth’s burn.

Who’s more protective? Kenneth

Do they prefer verbal or physical affection? Physical.

What are some songs that apply to their relationship, in-universe or otherwise? Into My Arms- Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Begin Again- Taylor Swift, The Nearness of You- Norah Jones, This Year’s Love- David Gray

What kind of nicknames do they call each other? Lydia calls him Ken, My Marquess, balach mòr...

Who remembers the little things? Kenneth.

DOMESTIC LIFE

If they get married, who proposes? Kenneth, because Lydia is a lady.

What’s the wedding like? Who attends? Their families. Malcolm and Conrad are the best men.

How many kids do they have, if any? What are they like? They’re happy with just Malcolm, but they do get the little girl of Lydia’s dreams.

Do they have any pets? TBD

Who’s the stricter parent? Kenneth

Who worries the most? Lydia when the kids are young, and then Kenneth once they’re grown.

Who kills the bugs in the house? Kenneth (Malcolm)

How do they celebrate holidays? With their families, either in West Sussex or Islay.

Who’s more likely to convince the other to come back to sleep in the morning? Kenneth.

Who’s the better cook? Their kitchen staff. Lydia burns water.

Who likes to dance? Lydia likes dancing because it means she can be glued to Kenneth all night loing.

#answered

[freezegirl]

five times comforted:      ( five times the receiver comforted the sender ) 👀😭

5x // @anqael

01: "she's wrong, you know." kie tells nora as she sits down next to her. vee's got the flu so she's out for the count. though nora has promised to send her the important patch related updates. this, however, isn't a patch related update. "marcie. she's wrong about you. sometimes people who are threatened do this... this thing where they project their own insecurities and such onto others and from my vantage point, marcie millar acts like she's the queen bee of this school but she's five seconds away from getting devoured by her subjects, which reminds me of this great horror movie i've seen recently---" and the conversation moves on, ever so swiftly, from marcie to movies.

02: "i've got a weak mind too," kie admits and maybe it's cold comfort but it's comfort all the same. "that doesn't mean you're necessarily weak-willed. it just means you've got issues with keeping out telepaths and the like. as do i. i'd offer to practice but one) i don't know how we'd do that without involving your guy and two) i doubt you would like what you could find in there."

03: yep, that's the fifth time nora has groaned in the past thirty minutes. so kie gets up and inclines her head. "come on, up you get."

nora levels her with a look and kie merely stares back until nora groans once more and gets up: "seriously, what's happening?"

kie grins, then, and says: "a dance party. that's what's happening. it always helps me whenever i'm stuck on something." she gets her phone out of her pocket, opens spotify and hands her phone to nora. "here, you can pick the first song."

04: "conrad or jeremiah, who would you pick?" asks nora, and kie dramatically falls over on nora's bed, if only so she can groan into a pillow. "no! you did not just ask me that!" nora laughs and soon enough, kie is laughing too. "okay, bear with me here, i'll be honest with you: i know that nobody's with me on this and it'll never happen because girls like us never get anything when it comes to tv shows like that but i would pick jeremiah for nicole richardson - that pretty black girl from season one who was conrad's summer hookup - and i would pick conrad for aubrey."

"who?"

"that indian girl. one of his exes. she was comforting him at his mom's funeral in season two."

nora nods, then. "ah, got it. but what about belly?"

"i would give belly a girlfriend. like dara jones, that cute redheaded girl. i think she was also in season one as another debutante. anyway, pan belly rights, you know?"

nora nods once more and, later, when kie asks her how she feels, nora says she feels much better. and this time, it isn't a lie.

05: they keep going because of course they do. "cole walter or alex walter? and you can't say: give jackie a girlfriend this time around!" nora warns kie playfully. it's far too late for kie to drive back so it's been decided that she'll stay with nora for the night.

it'd be nice, having someone in the house, she'd said. and kie relates to that more than she can admit.

"i don't know," kie murmurs, "i watched it all the way through but i liked the family shenanigans and the blooming theatre boy and popular girl romance better. also farkle from girl meets world was in there and he got a boyfriend, which was so cute."

"kie," nora tries to go for stern but she ends up giggling. "out with it."

"alex walter," kie says after a long moment of silence, "if only 'cause he looks kinda like will---" that is, will stronghold. "---if you squint." a decisive nod, and then: "that tall blond guy looks a little bit too much like zach for my taste. even if his personality is nothing like his. no, cole walter would have to clean up his act, and fast, if he doesn't want me to push him off his high horse."

"wow, i never thought you'd be capable of such violence," nora gasps dramatically.

"i know," kie responds, "it's 'cause i'm only five foot three. it fuels my secret rage."

nora laughs and laughs and laughs and kie gives herself a mental pat on the back for a job well done.

#anqael #freeze girl / answered. #freeze girl / supernatural. #freeze girl / drabbles. #//also yes i saw a chance to allude to my own sky high fancast (which features those two actors from mlwtwb) and my opinions on tsitp xD #queue.

[megacross-ground-zero-rated-r]

I'm still flip-flopping on Eddie’s characterization and what I want this series to be. Whether Eddie or Nick will refuse to change as the world turns to a new age. I can see a very convincing case for both of them.

The grimdark elements- Transplanted characters fighting against the repressive environment they've found themselves in and Nick’s downward spiral- Are too depressing for me right now. I can't do them, and all the meta-horror and slow-build, mundane tragedy that comes with them, justice in this headspace.

What does cutting all that leave us with?

Interspersed through all of this: The strangest, dirtiest, kinkiest sex I could possibly come up with. Just to see if I could push my own limits. Oftentimes it is supposed to be kinda funny, but also hot and/or heartfelt. No idea, except incest and pedophilia, was shoved off the table as too out there. Too niche to possibly appeal to anyone. The VAST majority of dubcon and noncon will be as enjoyable experiences that quote-unqoute "doesn't canonically / in their real, waking life happen to the character", as in its dreams that they enjoy, fantasies, and Safe Sane Consentual roleplay, etc because I feel more comfortable with that framing. I'm not saying "real / hard" dubcon or noncon won't happen period, or the "softer" versions won't come with some mixed feelings. Not closing that door yet.

Eddie getting into a new relationship and discovering lots of new things about himself.

Conrad slowly realizing... Wait. Maybe I'm not crazy. This IS all happening the way I'm seeing it. Then the various relationships he persues trying to get over Nick, then being forced to go to Officially Sanctioned Therapy instead of relying on trusted allies like he has been. "I was doing JUST FINE, I don't know why you people are insisting on this, but WHATEVER. You know my conditions for showing up. DO NOT fuck with them."

The group he's gathered around himself and Billy deciding what they want out of this world. A bunch of big, headstrong personalities clashing with each other here.

Roger and Jessica going to Booker T Beaver, the world-renowned Toon Pysch, for couples therapy. Booker is seeing the majority of the main cast in some capacity and gets embroiled in their tangled web of personal drama.

The ghosts of Greasy and Wheezy looking for suitable bodies to inhabit.

Smartass finding a new crew to run with and setting his sights on becoming The King Of Clubs in LA. Might also be part of the community efforts setting up safe havens for transplanted characters to live in as they're adjusting. Always busy with somethin', this guy.

Attempting to unravel the phenomenon of random resurrection and see if it's tied to characters from other worlds being pulled here. Why do some show up as human and others as Toons? Why can some come back from the dead as they make the jump?

...And Jones and some other Antagontists causing minor havoc in the background.

***********

Even as Conrad and Nick feel like their entire reality is crashing down around them, they have very strong motivations pulling them. Conrad may change his immediate goal at the drop of a hat early on, but the core is still there: He wants to be free to roam and do what he wants, and be in control of himself. Even being with Nick takes a backseat. Safety? That isn't guaranteed, so it's secondary to making sure he doesn't get locked up.

Very quickly, he thinks he's done it. He didn't fuck up the fresh start handed to him on a silver platter. People like him. He's got a good, physical job that's perfect for the lifestyle he wants. We're all good.

Except...

He's gone through extreme parental abuse. He's been suicidal for literal decades. The Merc Brain constantly running calculations of How Do I Fight My Way Out Of This Room If Someone Pulls A Gun On Me... You can't just snap your fingers and shut that off. The fight is not over, and treating it like it is could potentially become VERY dangerous for himself and others if he gets trapped in the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the right combination of stressors.

Him and Nick have chronic mental health issues that're fucking exhausting to deal with on a day to day basis. They're trying as hard as they can. The question is how much do I focus on that with a lighter and softer tone? Just how much do they start cracking under the pressure? Are the people in their lives helping? Or are they just one more hindrance? Why or why not?

I will be writing more kinky shit this weekend.

If this series will be easier to publish as everyone having fun with fetishes, airing their shit with Booker, and lots of relationship drama, I will do that. I'm just sad to see the big, grand, tragic saga not work out.

#nsft text

[thaumcraftvibechecker]

reach DEEP within your local detective agency and you may find a friend and goth

Name: Zolin Latreille

Aliases: None

Aliases: None

Gender/Pronouns: Nonbinary (unaligned), they/them

Sexual/Romantic Orientation: Bisexual

Age: 25

Birthdate: 4/16

Occupation: Detective

Height: 5'9"

Build: Slim

Skin Tone: Pale

Hair: Two-tone black and purple (dyed, naturally black)

Eyes: Blue

Identifying Marks: Two-toned hair, piercings

Appearance: A person with a dark aesthetic to their clothes and an analytic look on their face. They never look 100% put-together, even when they try their best to look as such. "Perks of the job," they say. Zolin Prime is clearly extremely meticulous about maintaining the two-tone color to their hair--nobody has ever seen the dye on it look faded or the natural black roots visible on the purple side. Zolin Alt doesn't touch up the roots as often but wears a gray beanie so it's never visible that this is the case.

Personality: An intelligent and resourceful detective who cares a lot about actually solving mysteries and helping people. They're friendly (if a bit awkward) and believe themselves to be funny (whether or not they're right depends on present company). They are loyal to a fault to anyone who has proven to be a true friend and they don't react well to being tricked or betrayed.

Motivations: Curiosity, determination

Current Goal: Solve mysteries

Life Goal: Find Celen [Zolin Prime], become the greatest detective known to man [both]

Motto: "If you're still breathing, you're not beaten yet."

Best Quality: Fiercely loyal and determined

Worst Quality: Unbelievably stubborn and will jump on a spear for a person they met thirty minutes ago

Fears: Failure, abandonment/betrayal, deep water

Hobbies: Gaming, drawing, writing questionable poetry, buying goth clothes on the internet

Talents: Drawing, getting a perfect split dye, playing guitar

Skills: Problem solving, hacking, cooking, observation

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Group/Organizational Affiliations: The DANK-Tectives (Zolin Prime), SolveIT (Zolin Alt)

Family: Celen Latreille (older sibling)

Best Friends: Roberto and his entire family, Scotty Buckets (also father figure), Miss KC, Daniel, all of the DANK-Allies (per the finale, these consist of James Li, Jim Beret, Tedison Gibbs, Leo Chi, Kal, Mimi Diallo, Alec, Dave Martin, Julian Klein, and Hobo Joe) [Zolin Prime]; Homen Locksher, Ms. Tary, all of the other branch heads (Jim Tomsen, Gateman Walter, Kendra Jones, Stephanie Gameton, Angelo Draten, Trudy Wells, Julliet Dawson, and Conrad Markson), Benjamin Harton, Mina Jones, Lillian Artson [Zolin Alt]

Relationship Status: Single

Significant Other: None, but has their eye on someone

Other Relationships: Garrith (if James and the former master didn't kill him they will), Walter Buckets (even if he is dead they will dig him up and beat his corpse to a pulp for what he did) [Zolin Prime]; Ivan Lian (they hope he rots in jail), Kurt Samuels (he is dead to them and they won't hesitate to make him dead to everyone else if he ever does that again)

Secret: No matter how many times by how many people they've been told that this isn't healthy and they need to make peace with it, they're still pouring all of their spare energy into looking for Celen [Zolin Prime]; They're not handling the Structure incident nearly as well as everyone thinks they are [Zolin Alt]

Influential Memory: The day their parents died

Role Model: Scotty Buckets [Zolin Prime], Homen Locksher [Zolin Alt]

Crush: Julien Klein (Zolin Prime), Angelo Draten (Zolin Alt)

Source of Embarrassment: Not the most socially adept person out there, to put it mildly.

Source of Pride: They are phenomenal at what they do.

Backstory: Two of them, to be exact!

Zolin Prime: Lost their parents at age ten (two years after finding an injured Roberto on the beach and nursing him back to health), lived with a relative who farmed out most of the responsibility of taking care of them to their older sibling Celen. When they were sixteen, Celen took a study abroad trip to Paris and never came back. Haunted by both the fact that there was no body and no signs of where they might have gone and the fact that the last words they said to each other were in anger, they took advantage of their natural knack for investigation and threw themselves into detective work in the hopes that one day they could bring Celen home. They took an internship at the DANK-Tectives agency and used it to cover what expenses their scholarships didn't pay. A few months after they graduated, they grew restless with their lack of upward mobility and decided to take things into their own hands...

Zolin Alt: Still lost their parents, still lived with the relative, but never found Roberto (although they still have a deep desire to one day get a pet parrot) and never lost Celen, at least not in the sense that Celen is physically missing and unreachable (they're living out of the country, attending grad school in Paris). Went to school to become a detective anyway, since they enjoyed the thought of solving mysteries for a living. This particular version of Zolin exists because originally, Zolin Prime was not able to stop Detective Roberto from sacrificing himself to hold the lever down on the Time Matrix. When the spire exploded and killed him, it created a paradox: if the Detective Roberto from the 1800s mysteriously vanished and never made his way to a humble little New England beach where an eight-year-old baby bat goth was vacationing with their family, then Zolin would never have even gotten to the point of stopping Garrith's plan because Roberto's presence was essential to the success of so many of their cases, which means there would be no Roberto-Time-Tron, ergo no Roberto to hold down the lever, which would mean nothing would have killed Detective Roberto and he would have never disappeared in the first place, which--you get the idea. The point is, that paradox split the time stream and created two timelines: one where Zolin held the lever down, and one where Zolin and Roberto never met (and, it's possible, Roberto never existed).

Zolin Prime's timeline is the canon end--well, mostly. The paradox cemented them as a temporal anchor of sorts, since the stability of the two timelines now hinges on them, and as such the time stream takes very good care to never give anyone a reason to go back in time to save them. So when James brings the HQ crew back to the ruins of the temple to recover Zolin's body, everyone is surprised to find them alive. Comatose and badly injured, but alive. In Zolin Alt's timeline, Garrith fails for a different reason: Walter isn't getting the influx of cash necessary to hire all those dudes because Ivan is hiring dudes to steal all the expensive fence-worthy stuff for his own evil plan and also the DANK-tectives dissolved pretty early on because with Marvin gone (also poached by SolveIT in this timeline) and Scott stretched thin all by himself the money to keep the lights on just wasn't coming in. So nowhere to embezzle from. SolveIT suffered a similar fate in Zolin Prime's timeline, so Ivan isn't a threat there.

Maps Canon To Their Storyline: The DANK-Tectives series [link is to final map in the series but it has links to the whole series] (Zolin Prime), The SolveIT/S.I. Files series (Zolin Alt)

#oc tag: zolin #i havent actually finished si files yet but im getting there #minecraft oc

[ace-trainer-risu]

what are your fave diana wynne jones books that aren’t howl’s moving castle??

Oh whattt a lovely and fun question which I was definitely not secretly hoping someone would ask!!!! Yay!!

Hm okay so, not specifically in order, probably my top fave Diana Wynne Jones books would be:

Deep Secret! Deep Secret is not just one of my favorite books by DWJ but one of my favorite books full stop! It’s so good. Basically, the premise is that there is an infinite series of interconnected worlds, some of which have magic and some of which don’t, at the center of which is a vast interdimensional magical empire. Magic in the multiverse is overseen by an organization of magicians called Magids and there must always be a specific number of Magids in existence. When Rupert, a young Magid living on Earth, discovers that his mentor has died (ish) he becomes unexpectedly responsible for finding and training the next Magid, which is extremely inconvenient timing for him because the aforementioned magical empire is on the brink of civil war and chaos and its his job to stop it. And also almost all of this takes place at...a science fiction convention. It’s amazing.  I have read this book minimum four (probably more) times and every time it’s absolutely delightful and hilarious. I would like to go to the sci fi convention in this novel more than anything. It’s such a good read and its one of her few novels which is specifically aimed at adults, so I would EXTREMELY recommend it. Plus the romance in it is extremely good...not exactly enemy-to-lovers but more like ‘annoys-the-shit-out-of-each-other’ to lovers.  (**One note about this one...there’s a few very briefly mentioned side characters who are gender noncomforming and even tho they are actually portrayed very positively, it’s not necessarily ideal and 100% respectful (basically the protags comment on them being very beautiful and nice but also keep trying to guess their “real” gender). Additionally there’s a different briefly mentioned side character who is fat who isn’t portrayed very nicely. Both of these are brief incidents, just wanted to provide a warning for them)

Dark Lord of Derkholm - Okay this one is weirdly hard to summarize but it’s about this magical fantasy world which has been taken overy and is being used as a tourist destination by a non-magical world (heavily implied to be Earth) for people who want to role play at being in a classic high fantasy story, including fighting and killing THE DARK LORD...who is really just a random magician pretending to be evil. The inhabitants of the fantasy world do not enjoy this and are trying desperately to stop the tours, but unfortunately according to a magical oracle, their best hope of stopping the tours is this year’s Dark Lord, a hapless farmer magician named Derk, and his, um, eccentric family consisting of his glamorous wife, seven children (of whom five are griffins and one is a bard) and a simply improbable amount of magical animals. And also there is a very good dragon.  I think Derkholm is so great as a novel b/c it’s a very funny, loving but sharp, parody of high fantasy stories...but a lot of the time parodies only function as parodies but not as good stories in their own right, you know? But this novel completely functions as a story too, and in fact the first time I read at maybe age nine or ten, the high fantasy parody went completely over my head...but I still loved it. I also really love that this novel is very accessible to all ages, I think I enjoy reading it as an adult just as much as I did as a kid, which is rare.  For anyone who has read Howl’s Moving Castle but nothing else by DWJ and isn’t sure where to start, I think this is a great place to start. (TW: There’s a brief, non-explicit scene which has implied sexual assault.) 

Fire and Hemlock - This may be the most controversial one since it features a romance with a significant age gap where the two characters meet when one is a child and the other an adult. And I fully agree that that’s :/ and normally that trope is NOT my thing but it doesn’t come off at all creepy in this story imo, and if you think you can deal with that then this is a very weird, atmospheric, cool book about storytelling and fairy tales and growing up. The short summary (this is another hard to summarize one) is that as a child, Polly encounters and strikes up a friendship and correspondence with a young man, Tom, which mainly consists of the two of them jointly making up a silly, ongoing fairy tale type story...but things get weird when parts of their story start to come true in real life.  I’ve only read this one twice but it really stuck with me and in fact just describing it here...really makes me want to read it again!

The Chrestomanci Series - So all of the above are either specifically aimed at adults or a general audience whereas the Chrestomanci series is aimed at children, mainly a middle grade type audience. And tbh I started reading them as a kid (fond memory - I bought an omnibus of the first two with my allowance money...b/c it had a cat on the cover!) so I don’t know what it would be like to first read these as an older teen or an adult. BUT. Honestly they are really good and would be a quick read so I do still recommend them. There’s seven overall, with th seventh being a collection of short stories, and they’re only semi-chronological so the reading order isn’t vital. My recommended order (b/c this the order I read them in, haha) is Charmed Life, The Lives of Christopher Chant, The Magicians of Caprona, Witch Week, The Pinhoe Egg, Conrad’s Fate, and then Mixed Magic you can read whenever you want so long as you read it after Charmed Life and The Magicians of Caprona.  So the very core premise of it is not dissimilar to Deep Secret - there’s an infinite series of worlds/universes and there’s a magician, called the Crestomanci in this case, who is responsible for making sure magic isn’t abused across the multiverse. The Chrestomanci is an extremely powerful enchanter who has nine lives, and the novels are various semi-connected stories about the adventures of Chrestomanci as an adult and child. Chrestomanci is a title so it’s not always the same person, but for the majority of the stories it is the same guy and he’s...the best/worst...He’s this extremely handsome, charismatic, powerful enchanter who is very good at his job, loves his wife a lot, wears very beautiful clothes and makes, um, questionable life choices and is very annoying to everyone. I’ve thought about this very hard and I believe that he’s what happens when you take a fundamentally chaotic good person and make him do a fundamentally lawful good job; yes, he’s going to do it and do it well, but he is going to do it in the most chaotic, ridiculous way possible, and he IS going to die at an ALARMING rate, doing things that would not normally kill a person, such as playing cricket and trying to catch stray cats. He also, as previously mentioned, frequently wears very dramatic silk dressing gowns with elaborate embroidery, which the protag of Charmed Life finds deeply alarming.  It’s very odd to me how these books don’t seem to be well known, because the Chrestomanci books were some of my absolute favorite books as a child. I still have my omnibus editions of the first four novels and they are very worn and very beloved. And it’s so WILD to me that I don’t think I have ever talked to someone who also read those as a kid! Like I’m not saying those people don’t exist, I’m sure I just haven’t met them, but that’s so weiiirddddd to me. If I bring up Tamora Pierce or Garth Nix or other authors of weird, eccentric children’s fantasy novels to other avid childhood consumers of fantasy, people usually know what I mean, but Chrestomanci and its just..crickets. Is it b/c she’s British? Anyway all of the Chrestomanci books are very degrees of good, but if I had to pick a favorite, I think, controversial choice here, it would be Conrad’s Fate. Particularly in terms of recommendations to others, Conrad’s Fate works as a standalone and, unlike the other books in the series, it’s aimed more at a YA audience, so if you wanted to read a Chrestomanci novel without getting into the whole series, that’s a good way to go. It’s about a boy, Conrad, who is told that he has a terrible, possibly fatal Fate awaiting him unless he goes to work as a servant at a wealthy, and weird, estate neighboring his town, at which place he encounters things including color changing livery, an extremely annoying teenage Chrestomanci, and the greatest liminal space house EVER. It’s like a combination of an upstairs/downstairs Downton Abbey type social drama with bizarre fantasy shenanigans. How could that not be good??

Also as Honorable Mentions - A Sudden and Wild Magic and The Time of the Ghost. A Sudden and Wild Magic is fun b/c it’s one of her few works aimed specifically at adults and it’s (gasp) a little bit NAUGHTY which I was very surprised and delighted by when I read it. (This may seem like an unfair statement considering that Deep Secret fully has an orgy in it, but Rupert is so fundamentally unnaughty of a character that he completely unnaughtifies the whole novel, whereas Sudden and Wild Magic embraces being a (little bit) naughty.)   The Time of the Ghost on the other hand is weird and haunting and creepy and atmospheric. I only read it once but it’s one of those novels you just think about periodically and go “wait what the fuck that was a weird novel” (Also known as the “Garth Nix” effect) 

#the ask and the answer #i spent...too long writing this out but i love talking about her novels soo muchhhh #that i couldn't help myself!!!!!!!! #diana wynne jones #things you didn't care to know about veronica

[snowwhitelass]

New Outlander Game Coming – Talking with the Game Designers

By:  Erin Conrad, June 15, 2021

Gamers Corner, TV News

Outlander game, Sony, Starz Outlander, Variable Outcomes

Who wouldn’t want to dash around the Highlands with Jamie, trying to be his favorite, and rescuing him from trouble on the way? That definitely sounds like a fun time, even if all you can do is dream about it. Or IS that all you can do?

NO! Sometime this fall, a brand new board game will debut – Outlander The Series! Designed by the husband and wife team of Matthew and Ashley Killeen, the game will let you play with a bunch of your friends, meeting familiar faces along the way, and getting in and out of all kinds of scrapes. The game will be available for holiday shopping, so you can start to set up your Outlander game nights now. I had the opportunity to talk with Matthew and Ashley about the development of this new game, and learned some details.

From the game’s marketing information: “His fate is in your hands! Step through the stones of Craigh Na Dun and run through the Scottish Highlands with the handsome Jamie. The year is 1743, and the outlaw James Fraser is at your side as you navigate the thrills and dangers of the Highlands. Use your wit, reach the right locations, make the right friends, and gather the items you need, all while keeping Jamie out of the hands of the many who would do him wrong. The gallows await fair Jamie (or worse!) should you fail. Fulfill your destiny, and win his heart. Only then will victory be yours!”

Outlander is the Killeen’s first big franchise game. “From a business point of view, it’s something I always wanted to do,” Matthew said. “I enjoy games with an IP license attached, TV show or movie, and I have designed prototypes that might be good for Ghostbusters or Star Trek. I really wanted to get into that.” Ashley knew Matthew was interested in trying a licensed game, and said “I’ve been watching Outlander, you should make a game based on that.” Matthew hadn’t yet seen the show, so he said “you do it” – and she did.

Ashley didn’t get into the show until season three. “The first version (of the game) was based on the book, because I thought that might be the avenue to go. But it ended up being more layers to secure the book rights than TV. We heard back from Starz/Sony quickly, and the show and book were similar enough that I didn’t have to change too much from initial design. I swapped out characters and items that didn’t translate from one to another. Jamie still has same event encounters, the same enemies. It’s nice to look at both sides, to really put in all those little hidden tidbits from show. I’m hoping that fans of the show will enjoy all those subtle things that I’ve put in. But the other thing we wanted to make sure was that it was not dependent upon being familiar with the show, because the last thing you want is a game with Outlander masked on top of it that doesn’t play as anything on its own. And having a lot of friends who knew nothing about Outlander, how could I get them to the table?”

Matthew said, “One of philosophies for the board game stuff was that I’ve seen games that were maybe like a movie spin on top. Is this fun or exciting because of the game, or just because of the movie or tv show tie in? And one reason, the biggest reason why I got excited was when I first played it, I had never seen the show. I knew nothing about it. I had never seen the characters, and yet, I still enjoyed it. It was a good game.” Ashley added, “He has since seen the show.” Matthew continued, “That’s another thing that’s always bothered me. I feel like if a certain publisher or game designer makes something but doesn’t know the back story, that’s lazy. As soon as I found out we were going to do this, I watched the show. I know all my lore now. I was obviously able to play the game again once I knew the show and the lore, and it made the game play better.” “You understood my decisions,” said Ashley. “Exactly,” said Matthew. “Whether you know the show or not, it’s a good game.”

Ashley discussed their process: “I started December 2019. This past December, we were finally able to go forward. We got the contract from Sony in November. It was a long process! We got approvals for the design of the game, and access to the virtual library. We could figure out images that would go with the components we had.” Once they had that, Matthew figured out the graphic design for the game.

Was Sony/Starz helpful? Enthusiastic? Ashley said, “They were enthusiastic. They didn’t really have a board game. They had Destiny Dice, but that wasn’t the same thing.” (For my review of Destiny Dice, a game that came out a couple of years ago, click here.) I’ve had reservations about this previous game, so I asked how they overcame the failings of that one to make this new game. My concern with a platform like this is that the show is so big and layered – a group of women will come together over a glass of wine or three, and are they going to be able to figure it out easily enough to have a good time in an evening? Ashley feels that the new game will let us do that. “The idea behind this was that we wanted to bring everybody to the table – people whose board games lives consisted of Scrabble for their whole lives, and those who have played campaigning, like Mage Knights, epically, every week. We want to bring both those sets to the table. It should be intuitive enough once you’ve figured out the first turn order. It’s the repetition of that, it’s just your personal strategy that changes on what you choose to do, but the game play isn’t going to change on you as you go.”

She added, “But there’s enough in there that if you are an experienced board game player, you’re not sitting there bored waiting for the next thing to happen. That was our goal, as many people at the same table as possible enjoying it at the level they’re at. You can have the game player who knows nothing about Outlander, and you can have the Outlander fan who doesn’t play board games, and they will have a good evening. We also tried to be strategic about the length, because you don’t want to have just a tease of a game, because then you can’t be really invested and immersed in that world, but we also know, especially being parents now, you don’t have time to spend four hours on a game. That’s not going to happen any more. What’s a good length? If you can watch an episode of Outlander, you can play a round. So we wanted to find something that made sense. A lot of these pieces, once you apply a little logic to it, they fell together really nicely.”

This is the first “franchise” game the Killeens have designed. The fascination with board games started in 2004, and in 2011, Matthew began to design games as hobby. “I enjoyed playing, but in between then I was going to school and forgot about it. As school was winding down, I really got into it. I created an educational game called Witchful Thinking. We’re both teachers, and when doing practicum, the teacher (that he was working with) had kids doing games for math. but they were really boring, and the kids didn’t like it at all. I remembered I had a game that worked for this! I started looking at my business from a professional point of view, filling in gaps in the market. I wanted to bring people to a table they hadn’t been to yet. Witchful Thinking is a card game – witches brewing potions, teaching math – subtraction, addition, pre-algebra, and more advanced math. It was a great educational tool.” The company has more ideas – they have an upcoming Kickstarter for a game called Tennessee James, an Indiana Jones parody (learn more here). Matthew says that the company expects to bring out many more titles – “Between the two of us, we have a backlog of designs.”

When do they expect to have this out? Matthew said definitely for the Christmas season. “I am working with manufacturers right now, trying to iron out some of those details, but we’re going to be moving into manufacturing right now. It depends on how long it takes to do the mass production plus shipping, but I would estimate this would maybe in stores (or online retailers) by October. That’s probably a good estimate.”

Did they do a lot of testing? “We needed especially non-Outlander fans to play this game. The Outlander fans, it didn’t take a lot of convincing to get them to play,” said Matthew. “Even before there were pictures on the cards, they knew the board, they knew the characters. So even if you had a blank piece of paper that just said Murtagh on it, they know what it means. I wasn’t worried about the Outlander fans, and the game play is pretty intuitive, once you go through the steps. So once you’ve done a round, you can keep going around, no problem. So we were just like, ok, you don’t know what these names mean and where these places are, but you’ve got a bit of the information, are you on board? And so far the reaction has been, yes, I feel like I’m playing a game, even if they don’t know who Jamie is or anything like that.”

He continued, “The tall and short of it is that this that this has been play tested thoroughly. It’s not broken, and the most important part is that it’s fun.” Ashley added, “It’s a nice balance of cooperative, nobody wants Jamie to come to any harm, but you still want to be his favorite. So you can get a little catty, and that’s what makes the fun. You’ll be adding something a little stronger to your tea nights once you start playing that way.”

Matthew said, “One of my strategies for play testing is that I like to try different strategies each time and see what works and what doesn’t .Ashley laughed, “You played mean one time.” “Yeah, it’s my wife, I’ve got to play nice, right? But one time, I didn’t play nice, and I took a competitive edge, and it was awesome,” he said. So players, remember that!

“When I was working on Witchful Thinking, I was looking to put it into Walmart and Target. But they don’t want to talk to the independent company, they want to make sure they’re getting multiple products from the same distributors. So we want to make sure that the distributors that we get are also trying to get the game out there. I do have distribution in the US for Witchful Thinking, and they’re excited to take on this one.”

What was your favorite part of the game, as you play it, I asked? Ashley said, “I like the QuickSave. This is a component we have because Jamie is always going to move in a predictable pattern, and the three villains he’s trying to avoid – Black Jack Randall, the Redcoats and the Watch – those are all the Meeples that are going to be moving around. As you are collecting friends along the way, if you happen to be en route to an Encounter, you can use the special abilities from your friends. So maybe it’s Dougal who is going to be discarded, and that will be a Quicksave to put Jamie back in hiding, so the game’s not over, you haven’t captured him yet. I like that idea, the Quicksave. So you’re strategizing, not just for what’s going to give you a lot of Favor from Jamie to try to win his heart in the game, but where are these people going to help me if Jamie is in a pickle. Because he’s going to get himself in a lot of pickles.”

As he does on the show, I said! Ashley continued, “And as a designer, that’s a fun way for me to tie in the personality of the characters. There’s a reason why they have the values that they do. There was a little argument between us in the design phase, because I made Willie – Willie Mackenzie from the first season – he has this hidden kind of superpower that most of the time, he’s a bit weaker, but when the danger level’s up, he’s strong. Matt was criticizing that, ‘he’s a minor character, why is he so strong?’ But you haven’t been paying attention. Because when Jamie’s in Wentworth, it’s Willie who’s willing to go. So that’s his power, when things are toughest, he’s the one that can save the most. I was having fun finding those little nuggets, the lore, that fans love, and if you’re paying attention to how I’ve designed it, you’ll start seeing like why you get more Favor in some places, or more Wit, or why you have the saving abilities.”

The women playing will like seeing that, I agreed. “I think that we’ve got it so that your favorite characters, from S1 at least, this is just in the Highlands, you’re going to see them, I think they’ll do you proud,” Ashley says. “We’re still excited about it, even though it’s been a year and a half doing it, so I think that says something about it, that we can still be passionate about it, little choices like that, I think the game has life.” Ashley told me that she has ideas for additional Outlander games to follow each season, so this may go on for quite a while!

As their cute kids came into the room, I asked if game design was full time, or is this an extra job? Ashley said, “I’m a full time teacher, so I’m squeezing this in between the report card writing and the classroom stuff. With a bunch of changes with Covid, it’s made more sense for Matthew to stay home, so we decided to go all in, make this run for itself.” Matthew said, “I can speak from the graphic design standpoint – I didn’t design the gameplay, Ashley did that, but I offered suggestions here and there, it was her decision on things, and she made some great decisions. And between that, I did the playtesting and the graphic design in January and early February, I’ve put in hundreds of hours, not just with the graphic design, but also the business stuff too, figuring out social media posts, getting things approved by Sony, talking with the distributors. So this has been not just like a full time job, but overtime, I’ve put in some serious hours for this.”

Since this is the company’s first big license, I asked if is this something they want to continue. “Absolutely,” Matthew said. “And I knew that when I turned this into a hobby back in 2011. I enjoy making board games. I enjoying making movies, watching movies, reading books, all that stuff. I needed some sort of creative outlet. And this was it. I enjoy tabletop games, so I found a business that I’m passionate about. But I found over the years, since I am a small business, I had to learn everything. I can do the game design, I can do the graphic design, the IP stuff, social media, the PR, distribution. I have all those experiences, so if I can continue this, I’ll be very happy.”

Price point for the game should be $48.99 CA (US equivalent is about $40). And it will be available in the US, and more – Matthew says, “The territories we have with Sony are Canada, USA, UK, Australia and France. We’re a small family run company, but at the same time, this is a big license. So we want to do the fans proud, we want to do this IP proud, so we want to give the biggest reach that we can.” Ashley said, “We’re limited because we’re not the distributors, so once we put it in those hands, it’s really up to those stores that want to put it on their shelves. So until we know where they’re placing it, I can’t tell you ‘oh, pick it up here.’ ” Matthew agreed. “I have experience with all of that, so when I made Witchful Thinking and released that, I had a hard time getting distribution. So I went store to store, city to city, and I made those contacts myself. For me as a business owner, I’m not just one of those owners who throws money out and does it. I have experience in all these aspects. So when this game comes out, let’s say that distribution doesn’t have as far of a reach as possible, I’ll make it happen. With Covid especially, the online market is important.”

“From a business standpoint, we’re a new company,” Matthew said. “It seems that we’re very new to this but that’s not really the case. This game has been been in development for a long time, and between the two of us we have 20+ games in prototypes. So we definitely know how to make games, and make games fun. And the fact that we’re both teachers, I think makes it even better. Because as teachers, we have to know how to sell to an audience.” ” And explain the games,” Ashley added.

PRE-ORDER THE GAME RIGHT HERE! Three if by Space has the game available for pre-orders in our Collectibles shop!! Click here to go to the pre-order page!

#outlander board game #three if by space #sony #outlander starz #starz outlander #outlander game #scottish highlands #craigh na dun

[goofatron]

OC Personality Sheet

Tagged by: @skullharvester​ and @coraptedata​  Tagging: Anyone really lol

Trelane Powers

Alias: Trey, Lanny, Powergirl,

Gender: Female

Race: Black-White Biracial

Nationality: American

Age: 19 (in AU); 46 (in 2021)

DOB: May 12th 1975

Species: Human

Zodiac: Taurus; Rabbit (Chinese)

Abilities/Talents: Speaks like a million languages, can jerry rig even the most hopeless machines into working again, in tune with nature (speaks for the trees and all that), excellent marksmanship with her rifle (gift from her late father)

Alignment: lawful / neutral / chaotic / good / neutral / evil / true

Religion: A free spirit (doesn't actually follow any religious code)

Sins: envy / greed / gluttony / lust / pride / sloth / wrath

Virtues: charity / chastity / diligence / humility/ justice / kindness / patience

Languages: English, Spanish (mainly Mexican variant), French, Japanese, German, Chinese Mandarin, Italian, and Korean.

Family: Robert (Bob, Bobby) Powers (father; deceased); Olivia Jones (mother; left at birth); Louie and Joyce Mitchell (foster family after father was murdered)

Friends: Erick Rothstein; Donovan Ross

Sexual Orientation: heterosexual / bisexual / pansexual / homosexual / demisexual / asexual / unsure / other

Relationship Status: single / dating / married / widowed / open relationship / divorced / not ready for dating / it’s complicated

Libido: sex god / very high / high / average / low / very low / non-existent

Build: twig / bony / slender / average / athletic / curvy / chubby / obese / stocky

Hair: white / blonde / brunette / red / black / other

Eyes: brown / blue-gray / green / black / other (cursed with heterochromia)

Skin: pale / fair (but tanned) / olive / light brown / brown / very brown / other

Height: 5'5" / ~167cm

Weight: 120lbs. / ~54kg

Scars: One giant scar going down her back from left shoulder blade to right hip - a single swipe from a large grizzly bear she and her dad ran into on their property in Alaska. She still has the paw from the bear who nearly killed her and loves to brag about it.

Facial Features: Oval face, freckles all over, soft-Nubian nose, average-thick brows, big lips = big smiles :)

Tattoos: none (though Erick keeps pestering her about it)

Dogs or Cats? Dogs for all eternity. She has 2: a golden retriever named, Emily; a german shepard named, Vengeance. They’re the same age but she rescued them at different times.  

Birds or Nugs? birds cus she doesnt know wtf a nug even is???

Snakes or Spiders? snakes though she doesnt mind spiders as long as they stay in their spaces.

Coffee or Tea? bean water 

Ice Cream or Cake? ice cream. she likes to bite through it to freak out her friends.

Fruits or Vegetables? vegetables, as she grew up learning how to farm. Fruits can be too sugary for her if they’re from a Super Market. 

Sandwich or Soup? Soups, as they’re hearty and good for the soul <3

Magic or Melee? Why is ranged not a choice?? >:I

Sword or Bow? oh there it is! Bow if she had to choose, but if it ever were an option: Gun. Always Gun. Gunbow perhaps?

Summer or Winter? Evolved with the capabilities to survive Alaskan winters in shorts and a tank top in a cabin with no internal heating system.

Spring or Autumn? Spring brings out new life and that means new meat to hunt!

The Past or The Future? Preferably the future. She doesn't like to look back because for her, it’s more bad memories than good. 

Erick Rothstein 

Alias: just Erick. don't call him ‘Rick’. 

Gender: Male

Race: White

Nationality:  German-American immigrant

Age: 18 in AU; 45 in 2021

DOB: September 11th 1975

Species: Human

Zodiac: Virgo; Rabbit (Chinese)

Abilities/Talents: Beautiful singing voice; voice actor; bendable; double-jointed

Alignment: lawful / neutral / chaotic / good / neutral / evil / true

Religion: Agnostic if anything

Sins: envy / greed / gluttony / lust / pride / sloth / wrath

Virtues: charity / chastity / diligence / humility/ justice / kindness / patience

Languages: English, German, Spanish (as far as high school Spanish goes)

Family: Conrad Rothstein (Father; Incarcerated); Fernanda Brandt (Mother; Incarcerated); Alvaro/Louie Rothstein Mitchell(Paternal Uncle; Disowned runaway); Joyce Mitchell (Aunt by marriage); Kimberly Mitchell (Cousin); Chad Mitchell (Cousin)

Friends: Trelane Powers; Donovan Ross

Sexual Orientation: heterosexual / bisexual / pansexual / homosexual / demisexual / asexual / unsure / other

Relationship Status: single / dating / married / widowed / open relationship / divorced / not ready for dating / it’s complicated

Libido: sex god / very high / high / average / low / very low / non-existent

Build: twig / bony / slender / average / athletic / curvy / chubby / obese / stocky

Hair: white / blonde / brunette / red / black / other (ginger)

Eyes: brown / blue-gray / green / black / other

Skin: pale / fair / olive / light brown / brown / very brown / other

Height: 5'10" / ~155cm

Weight: 155lbs. / ~70kg

Scars: Do mental scars count? He does have scars on his back and legs all from a leather strap used by his parents. A few scars where his left kidney used to be when he got stabbed in the 90s after exiting a gay bar.

Facial Features: Oval and firm face, still got baby fat in some areas even in his 30s (lol), traditional Germanic pointed nose™

Tattoos: none (but he does want to get matching ones w/ Trey)

Dogs or Cats? Cats 100% as he is deathly afraid of dogs as they were used to torment him as a child. He does make an exception for both of Trey’s dogs, Emily and Vengeance however. 

Birds or Nugs? tf is a nug?? Birds, he guesses.

Snakes or Spiders? Neither (same reason as dogs)

Coffee or Tea? coffee 80% of the time. He’ll save tea for when he’s sick and on really chilly nights.

Ice Cream or Cake? Cake. His teeth are far too sensitive for ice cream unless it’s in the form of ice cream bars.

Fruits or Vegetables? he’ll consume fruit for days. hates green vegetables, only likes the colorful ones.

Sandwich or Soup? both. likes small sandwiches to dip into hot soup. gooood shit.

Magic or Melee? if he can use magic to fashion himself a guitar out of existance, he’s sure to win the battle through sonnets.

Sword or Bow? Why the violence? :c Why cant we all sing together? (he’s a bard at heart if it wasn't clear enough)

Summer or Winter? Summer is nice and warm; winter is numb and cold :c

Spring or Autumn? Spring! Though he does love the color changes that Autumn brings. Not so much the beginning of chilled air though.

The Past or The Future? Past? what past? there is not passst hahaha only the future with friends and new family :’) 

Donovan Ross

Alias: Donny, Don, D-man, Ross (school faculty)

Gender: Male

Race: Black

Nationality:  American

Age: 21 in AU; 47 in 2021

DOB: August 1st 1973

Species: Human

Zodiac: Leo; Ox (Chinese)

Abilities/Talents: 

Alignment: lawful / neutral / chaotic / good / neutral / evil / true

Religion: Christianity 

Sins: envy / greed / gluttony / lust / pride / sloth / wrath

Virtues: charity / chastity / diligence / humility/ justice / kindness / patience

Languages: English

Family: James Ross (Father); Roberta Wilson (Mother); Trixie Ross (Sister)

Friends: Trelane Powers; Donovan Ross; Elaina Heckathorne (Girlfriend)

Sexual Orientation: heterosexual / bisexual / pansexual / homosexual / demisexual / asexual / unsure / other

Relationship Status: single / dating / married / widowed / open relationship / divorced / not ready for dating / it’s complicated

Libido: sex god / very high / high / average / low / very low / non-existent

Build: twig / bony / slender / average / athletic / curvy / chubby / obese / stocky

Hair: white / blonde / brunette / red / black / other 

Eyes: brown / blue-gray / green / black / other

Skin: pale / fair (but tanned) / olive / light brown / brown / very brown / other

Height: 6'2" / ~188cm

Weight: 164lbs. / ~74kg

Scars:

Facial Features: baby fat all through childhood, then chiseled features with a square jaw in adult hood. Wide and slightly bulbous nose.

Tattoos: None

Dogs or Cats? Dogs, but only small or medium sized.

Birds or Nugs? uh, birds? the heck are nugs?

Snakes or Spiders? Neither!

Coffee or Tea? gotta be decafe, but either works

Ice Cream or Cake? why isnt pie an option? :c

Fruits or Vegetables? Veggies. He has to be careful w/ fruits cus he’s allergic to most citrus fruits and bananas.

Sandwich or Soup? A nice, big, fat sandwich to fill ‘er up B)

Magic or Melee? Magic. As big and athletic he seems, he’s more into using his brains than brawn.

Sword or Bow? Short sword if nothing else, maybe even a dagger as he can just pull it out quickly for some fast jabbing action.

Summer or Winter? despite being born in the dead of summer, he’s a wintery boy

Spring or Autumn? Autumn for the same reason as a lot of people. Loves the changes in both color and the air.

The Past or The Future? He always looks forward to a brighter future, but is fond of looking back on his past. He’s made some really good memories with the people he’s met. :) 

#oc meme #trelane powers #erick rothstein #donovan ross #my ocs

[qsdblogging]

10 More TV Shows You Need To See

This is the second installment of my recommendations of shows for you to add to your own lists. I watch a lot of television and I’ve got, what I consider to be at least, a wide variety of shows under my favorites. 

If you haven’t seen the first list, you don’t need to unless you want to see another list of ten shows you may want to check out if you’re looking for anything new to watch.

Warning, though, some of these don’t end the best way and may end up more as a disappointment. I’ll leave that up to you to decide.

I. Warehouse 13.

Pete and Myka, U.S Secret Service Agents, are deployed to South Dakota’s Warehouse 13 with a new assignment from an authority above and outside the government. 

Intrigued?

With the Warehouse comes assignments regarding objects that hold some sort of abilities that can cause people to do wild and crazy things. It’s their job to find the artifacts (as they all hold significance to history) and bring them back to the Warehouse for safe keeping.

Things get wild and some serious topics get handled, but the show isn’t alone. It’s connected to another on this list, Eureka. More on that when you get to Eureka.

Some familiar faces are Eddie McClintock who played a part in Bones, one episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Joanne Kelly who played a role in The Dresden Files television series, Allison Scagliotti who played roles in Stitchers, The Vampire Diaries, and Drake & Josh, Aaron Ashmore (twin brother to Shawn Ashmore, who has been in the X-Men movies alongside appearing in The Boys, and voicing Conrad in Man of Medan) from Killjoys, Lost Girl, and Smallville, and Jamie Murray from Castelvania, Gotham, The Originals, Once Upon a Time, Defiance, and Dexter.

I highly recommend, especially because the dynamic of the characters is really interesting and covers a lot. 

II. Eureka.

As mentioned above, this is connected to Warehouse 13. But only in the last two seasons of this show are the two connected. 

Eureka is a town full of geniuses and advanced technology that the government funds, and when a new sheriff comes to town, he’s exposed to all the daily occurrences the locals get up to. And maybe a couple instances of time travel that may or may not have to do with the connection.

The town is full of faces you may recognize. Colin Ferguson who has roles in Haven, The Vampire Diaries, and Maytag commercials, Erica Cerra who has roles in The 100, Supernatural, Deadly Class, and the first Percy Jackson film, Felicia Day who has roles in The Magicians, Supernatural, Con Man, The Guild, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Trevor Jackson who has roles in Grown-ish, and a couple Disney productions.

It’s a huge science fiction show and if you’re into that, give it a watch.

III. Alphas.

Now, like the two above is, Alphas is a science fiction packed drama. And it’s rumored to be connected, like be in the same universe, as Warehouse 13 and Eureka. It’s never been confirmed, but there is one character (same name and job) that plays a part in both Alphas and Warehouse 13, which is the stem for the theory. (Plus, some other ideas floating around). 

But Alphas focuses on a team that investigates people with supernatural abilities while they, themselves, have abilities. These powered people are referred to as Alphas, due to their nature.

Unfortunately, this show ends on a cliffhanger in its second season.

Yet, I still recommend giving it a shot because it truly is an interesting show and it’s got some people you may recognize. 

IV. Haven.

If you’re a fan of Stephen King’s “Colorado Kid”, you’ll most likely enjoy this show since it’s loosely based off of it. 

Set in the coastal town of Haven, Maine, FBI Agent Audrey Parker comes to town to find that the residents have dormant curses, or rather troubles, that can be triggered at any given moment. She, along with the Sheriff and the town’s black sheep, must deal with the troubles’ deadly effects. And a few things may be revealed about herself too along the way.

It’s pretty interesting and I enjoyed it quite a lot when I first watched it. I’m not the biggest fan of Stephen King, and the connection seems to barely be there, but I wouldn’t know given my dislike for King. 

I highly recommend giving Haven a shot, however, especially if you’re a crime and fantasy fan. 

V. Lost Girl.

Lost Girl focuses on the gorgeous and charismatic Bo, a supernatural being called a succubus who feeds on the energy of humans, sometimes with fatal results. Refusing to embrace her supernatural clan system and its rigid hierarchy, Bo is a renegade who takes up the fight for the underdog while searching for the truth of her own mysterious origins. (Taken from IMDB). 

Plus, there a lesbian romance or two. 

Now, the show itself is pretty strong holding in its own storyline and lore, but the last season does get a bit rocky feeling. It could’ve been better, and it definitely feels a little rushed, but it wasn’t too bad of an ending. However, it’s not a show that got cancelled before it could wrap things up and it leaves things pretty open-ended.

In my books, that’s a point. I highly recommend this is if you’re a fan of fantasy.

VI. Almost Human.

Unfortunately, this is one of the ones in the list that only has one season (that seems to be out of order and frankly I’m not entirely sure of the order myself, so rely on googling it yourself and hopefully you find the right order) and was cancelled not long after airing. 

BUT, it’s a good watch. It’s set in the distant future, where cops are assigned an android partner to protect and serve. Things get pretty wild and I’m quite sure there are some bombs involved at some point, but there’s a bonus to all the madness of Almost Human.

Minka Kelly and Karl Urban. Two incredibly beautiful human beings.

I highly recommend bingeing this single season show. 

VII. American Gods.

This shows feels very confusing. But it’s still a good watch. 

It centers on a recently released ex-con named Shadow Moon. He runs into a man full of mystery named Wednesday (and you’ll later come to find out who he really is, or you may already know given your knowledge on the book of the same name or just how well you know mythology) who seems to know more than Shadow about his own life and past. 

There are Gods, mischief, and a lot of crazy shit in this show. So far it’s on it’s third season as far as I know (I have to rewatch the first two before I pick it back up).

You should give it a shot, but I won’t blame you if you feel way too confused about the whole thing.

VIII. The Boys.

Now, there’s a lot of controversy regarding this Amazon Original Series, but honestly, I think everyone should at least give it a chance. I know a lot of Tumblr users were put off on trying to due to the advertisements on the site. 

If you don’t know what this series is about, it follows a group of vigilantes set on taking down the corrupt superheroes that are abusing their powers and status.

It covers a lot of ground. Murder, sabotage, terrorism, capitalism, and a lot more. Feminism and sexual harassment occur, but there are warning before each episode for what you may see in the contents.

Some familiar faces include Karl Urban, who’s known for his roles in Thor: Ragnarok, the newer Star Trek movies, Almost Human, Lord of the Rings, and more, Erin Moriarty from Jessica Jones, Laz Alonso from The Mysteries of Laura, Chace Crawford from Gossip Girl and The Covenant, and Jensen Ackles from Supernatural has been confirmed to be joining the cast for its third season.

The Boys is currently on it’s second season, being released on a weekly schedule. So, if you like superheroes and graphic content, this show might be it for you.

IX. Chuck.

Chuck is the result of when a twenty-eight year old computer geek inadvertently downloads critical government secrets into his brain, the C.I.A. and the N.S.A. assign two agents to protect him and exploit the knowledge, turning Chuck Bartowski’s life upside down. (Taken from IMDB).

This is one of the shows I cannot recommend enough to people. It’s the right mixture of action and comedy, plus a little romance. Spies, love, and murder, oh my! What more could you want? 

Plus, Zachery Levi plays Chuck. If you don’t know him by name, you probably would recognize him from some of his roles with the most recent being in Shazam!, Fandral in the second and third Thor films, voicing Eugene Fitzherbert (or Flynn Rider) in Tangled, and Heroes: Reborn. 

If Zachery Levi playing a lovable computer geek turned spy doesn’t interest you, maybe some more familiar faces will. 

Yvonne Strahovski from The Handmaid’s Tale, The Astronaut Wives Club, acting as Daenerys in a Princess Rap Battle on Youtube, and Dexter. Adam Baldwin from Firefly/Serenity, Bones, Angel, The Last Ship, and Independence Day. Brandon Routh who plays Ray Palmer from the DC Shows. Matt Bomer from Doom Patrol, American Horror Story, White Collar, Magic Mike, and True Calling.

X. Deadly Class.

Unfortunately, I have a truly bad streak with new shows. Deadly Class, like others that have been mentioned in these lists of mine, got cancelled and on a cliffhanger no less. However, that shouldn’t stop you from enjoying the action-packed coming-of-age story set in the 1980s. 

Following a new recruit for a high school training assassins, things get pretty wild when you pair death and teenagers. 

#deadlyclass #watchlist #tvshows #chuck #eureka #americangods #alphas #theboys #almosthuman #lostgirl #haven #warehouse13 #qsdblogging #qsdbloggingpopculture #qsdpopculture #findingqsd

[wellntruly]

I love Brass so fuckign much.

Anyway, it’s Season 3, babey! Greg has finally made the creds, with Doc Robbins coming along as well—good job honeys, make me proud. Day shift supervisor & enemy Conrad Ecklie does not appear in this whole season, but VIOLA DAVIS and MAHERSHALA ALI do, setting my current number at 2 for eventual Oscar winners hired for unnamed bit parts in CBS’s CSI. Meanwhile the cast of Lost is now tied with Desperate Housewives with 3 actor crossovers each, and though I did enjoy seeing folks like Eleanor’s mom from The Good Place or the dad from Even Stevens or that one actor from my rural hometown whose name even I don’t know, I think my personal favorite was lovely human special effect Doug Jones showing up in the season premier as simply an extraordinarily lanky poker player with one line.

Recurring asshat Hodges is finally introduced this season as well, first appearing in 3x11 and then not for a second time until 3x17. By just his third appearance in 3x19 everyone already openly hates him for always being so rude, as Sara puts it—“Curt,” Hodges corrects her—and by the time it seems he might have blown up Greg in the season’s penultimate episode, the whole squad is absolutely ready to FedEx him back to the LA lab. However, Hodges was of course not the one responsible for the lab explosion.

Nope, that was in fact CATHERINE, rather an intense end to another season of her and Greg playacting as if they have an open-secret affair, a vibe I still love so much. Literally just discussing processing an old DNA sample: “Age is irrelevant in our relationship.” / “Maybe so. But let’s face it Greg, you just don’t have the equipment.”

But I believe in my soul that after their fade-to-black heart-to-heart in Greg’s hospital room, these two…

will recover no problem. Especially since as soon as he’s back in the lab Greg is quietly processing sensitive DNA comparisons for her off the record. Man I really did not expect I’d get so invested in Greg & Catherine rewatching this show, but hey here we are!

I also continue to wonder about whether the SHOW expected to get so invested in Greg Sanders period. He’s a total outlier character as he’s the only one whose function changed over the first half dozen seasons. When CSI begins, Greg’s job, in a storytelling sense, is to provide horny DNA exposition and bother people. And he’s very good at his job. But after what I suspect was an accident in season 1, and then an experiment inspired by it in season 2, in season 3 they clearly decided to Just Dew It, and right from the jump begin to actively convert him into being a more put-upon figure instead of the one putting it on. It makes sense internally as a journey for the character, and from a production standpoint his growing up arc is always able to be assuredly moved along by what they discovered in that one unusual scene with an angry Grissom late in the first season, and confirmed with a literal field test in the second: putting Greg in a scary situation pays really interesting dividends. And not just for Greg, but the characters around him as well, and that’s REALLY valuable for writing. Particularly affected by changes in Greg are Grissom, Sara, and Nick, and that’s a big swath of the key cast right there. Oh and also: the audience. It’s GREAT fun or GREAT drama, depending on how far you take it, to put the comic relief through the wringer.

So that’s what they do in season 3, promoting Eric Szmanda to main cast and proceeding to take Greg from a shameless, cocky goofball to a tired, stir-crazy literal lab rat, from the beginning of the season with the hilarious HR nightmare where Grissom cracks the case by unconsentedly infecting Greg’s foot with a mildew-induced foot rash that only affects Norwegians (an episode I found I had a practically photographic memory of because the whole THING is that nutty), to being blown up in fucking lab explosion at the end, leaving his hands shaking on his print-outs. And throughout his trials both funny and traumatic, he still continues to try to avail himself to the CSIs to do more for their cases than just analysis work. Professional Model Greg. He would like to connect with you on LinkedIn. (Where he will then immediately send you a work-inappropriate meme.)

Catherine, eyeballing him in 3x21: “You being cagey?” Greg, wearing an actually well-fit striped button-down coordinated to the blue of his lab coat: “:) Trying to transition out of cagey.”

Godspeed You! Young Sanders

Continued Nickname Date: We get just a couple Nicky’s this season, still only from Catherine and Grissom and only in the first handful of episodes. We get one more G from Nick, and one Greggy from Catherine—surely a one-time thing. Warrick has gone from the #1 user of Greggo to most commonly referring to him in conversation as Sanders, which on him feels like an increase of respect. Warrick also takes to using Cath, particularly during and after the episode where she gets attacked at a scene and he elects himself her steady, emotionally checked-in protector (we loove it, we loove them). Grissom calls her Cath once too, and Sara even calls her Cat in one episode—the only other one to do that before was Greg and Catherine immediately called him out on it, but Sara she lets. Meanwhile, Greg uses Stokes exactly one time, and it is an instant red flag that he is mad—Nick took Archie out into the field instead of him. Finally, Grissom pulls an Arch at one point, wild, at another point calls Dr. Robbins ‘Albert’ (his name is Albert?), but the biggest deal is when he reflexively calls Sara HONEY as he worries over a deep cut on her hand after the lab explosion. I don’t think he notices he says this. Sara does!!

Soundtrack Corner: What makes me so mad about CSI: Crime Scene Investigation having an episode where they licensed both Missy Elliott’s ‘Get Ur Freak On’ and Radiohead’s ‘Everything In It’s Right Place’, is that these song choices are insane, expensive, and outrageously on-the-nose, and therefore frankly magnificent for this television program. It’s the same fun-having, “lol we’re CSI!” energy with which they’ll put their latest establishing shot of the Strip at a Dutch angle, or the ‘Fight Night’ episode where they MAKE A JOKE using the fact that we all know their MUSIC STING that always leads into the opening titles. I just LOVE episodic television formulas sometimes I really really do!!

Speaking of episodic television by the way, I’ve realized what I like about when the characters walk around the lab and all these extras are just milling around behind them going about their work, is that it is Star Trek.

A few other assorted things:

- The Los Angeles REALLY comes through in some of the locations this season, especially when they hit a stretch of the production schedule where the area was apparently experiencing a lot of rain. I know I didn’t write down every time it was raining and I still have five separate notes about it.

- There’s a case that involves someone putting venom from his pet snakes in someone’s coffee where Greg refers to the suspected snakes as “hoses”, and it felt like a slur from an alternate universe. Do people say...hoses??

- Sorry to just bury this in the middle here but in episode 3x19 ‘A Night At the Movies’ Nick Stokes name-drops the filmmaker Quentin Tarantino. EXCUSE EXCUSE?! !! Did they already know Quentin Tarantino was a fan when they wrote that line and it was like a hiii gesture? Did they not know and then later when Quentin Tarantino revealed he loved the series where they like *blush* senpai noticed us. What does it mean that Quentin Tarantino exists in the world of this show and also wrote & directed a two-part episode of it. FEATURING THE CHARACTER WHO REFERRED TO HIM.

Anyway speaking of cinema, damn okay this high contrast hazy heat shot with the mountains

Arty?!

Before he heads off not into the desert, but to Desert Palm to get his inner ear surgery in the S3 finale, Grissom partnerly tells Catherine: “Take care of the case,” and I 100% thought that was going to end “kids.” He really is everyone’s forensics dad, particularly the boys. Warrick makes multiple references to the Ancient Greeks this season, Nick keeps piping up with all sorts of information about birds—and Grissom calls them both out for just trying to impress him with their facts. Meanwhile when Grissom cuts off Greg’s latest little rambling presentation with “Greg, why are you always doing this?”, Greg simply responds like this should be perfectly obvious: “Because you make me nervous.”

Finally, to end where we began: gonna be honest, if I had to, as Sara does at one point this season, collect evidence from an uncooperative drunk criminal, I can think of worse backup than Jim Brass sitting next to me just reiterating everything I said at a gruff cop shout. Brass is ♡our asshole♡. He’s a jerk and sometimes to his nerds but usually on behalf of them, because the fundamental State of Brass is that he just doesn’t give a shit what anyone says or thinks of him. He’ll be the bad guy, he doesn’t fucking care. Someone will say to him, “I don’t like you,” and Brass just remarks unbothered: “Well I guess I’ll have to live with that.” Hot take but Brass is actually the funniest person in this show. He takes such quick-witted joy in following the letter but not the spirit of whatever angle a suspect wants to take with him. Brass to a professional dominatrix, conversationally: “Yeah I’d like to feel more secure in my role as a homicide detective.” God I lost it. There’s also this amazing bit in 3x10 where he’s telling Warrick about La Lluvia de Peces that I truly cannot even describe, it’s just this odd, disjointed little monologue capped by him walking off at the end and Warrick suddenly calling after him: “Wait what were you doing in Honduras?” BRASS.

#CSI #why is CSI the only thing right now I feel not only capable but *destined* to talk about