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cocochannel00 · 3 years

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The Azoff Family: A Case Study on one of the Music Industry’s Most Connected Families

(ft. a breakdown of the Grammy voting process and problems)

This is very long so I will try and split it up into categories for everyone (sorry I got carried away- I spent like 2 hours writing this) but enjoy!

*Disclaimer: I want to preface while the majority of this is based in research, some parts may be speculation. I don’t know the family personally so I can’t tell you what goes on behind closed doors but I can tell you how parts of the entertainment/music industry work. I’ve had 5 internships in the industry (one in marketing at one of the big record labels) and the rest of my work is publicity (what I enjoy) and events and a former advisor used to run in the same circles as Irving Azoff (and he spilled some tea last year) I’m not out here to diminish the hard work of any artists or their teams, I’m simply here to showcase parts of the industry that aren’t always shown.*

Please also see: Story Time: How Fan Pages Directly Impact Columbia Records Decisions and Harry Styles Image

IRVING AZOFF: NEVER STOP THE GRIND

Let’s begin with the great business man himself Mr. Irving Azoff Irving Azoff is the literal posture child for connections and power in the music industry (he was also inducted into the 2020 rock and roll hall of fame class which is like a huge fucking deal for a manager to be inducted so you know he's the real deal)

In conclusion, I love Irving Azoff and his drive.

Irving Azoff: Early Years Run Down:

He came up middle class (dad was a pharmacist, mom a bookkeeper) in Danville, Illinois

He dropped out of college to run a small Midwestern concert-booking empire and managed local acts in the era

Opportunity came knocking and he got the chance to manage the Eagles and the rest is history

He's one of the best negotiators and has negotiated business on behalf of stars like Stevie Nicks, the Eagles, and Jimmy Buffet

Azoff has been an incredible manager and his drive to always advocate for his clients while basically not giving two sh*ts about what people think of him has gotten him the incredible reputation he has today.

All of Irving Azoff’s Major Job Positions:

Former President MCA (major label)

Former CEO of Ticketmaster and executive chairman of Live Nation Entertainment, the behemoth formed from Ticketmaster’s merger with Live Nation.

In 2013 he and Cablevision Systems Corp. CEO and New York Knicks owner James Dolan formed a partnership, Azoff MSG Entertainment (Currently still CEO)

----> Azoff also ran the Forum in Inglewood under Azoff MSG Entertainment after MSG purchased it in 2012 (it was sold in 2020 to the owner of the Clippers) — why do you think Harry played the forum for the Fine Line show? Azoff connection

Azoff MSG Entertainment encompasses all of the other companies including Full Stop Management, Global Music Rights (performance-rights org), and the Oak View Group (arena developing company)

He also is the co-founder and manager of the lobbying group Music Artists Coalition, a group that helps lobby for artists-rights issues such as royalty rates, copyright issue and healthcare insurance (see he's not all bad)

Essentially what I'm getting at is this man knows anybody who's anybody. He's the man you want on your team to help promote your music, plan your tour, and get you on that Grammy nom list.

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JEFFREY AZOFF: THE CHILD OF NEPOTISM

So for those of you that don't know, Jeffery Azoff is Harry's current manager and the son of Irving Azoff (the third of four kids). He's currently a partner at Full Stop Management, the company owned by Irving and the one artists such as Harry, Haim, the Eagles, Kings of Leon, and Meghan Trainer are signed to.

Jeffrey graduated from the University of Colorado's Leeds School of Business and started working fresh out of college at his father's old Management company (Frontline Management) working under Maroon 5's manager Jordan Feldstein (the only way you get that kind of internship/job as a 21 year old fresh out of college is if your family or family friends gives it to you). He worked here for 5 years.

Direct Quote from Irving Azoff to Jeffrey (really tells you a lot): "Listen carefully, because I’m going to say this one time. You have a phone and you have my last name. If you can’t figure it out, you’re not my son."

After working for his father, Jeffrey moved on to the talent agency CAA (Creative Artist Agency) where he worked for roughly 3 and half years before joining his dad in forming Full Stop Management in 2016.

While he was at CAA, Irving moved over clients like Christina Aguilera and the Eagles to the talent agency to help with tour booking instead of doing it internally through LiveNation (he was CEO).

Even though I'm sure Jeff has had to work somewhat hard to get to where he is (or at least to mess up his dad's work as he doesn't seem like the type to take laziness well), the door into the industry and every job was basically handed to him on a silver platter.

Not to mention if you watch episodes of keeping up with the kardashians (like myself) you can actually see Jeff hanging out with kendall and the rest of the fam at their Palm Springs house (you know you're a nepotism kid if you have an in with the Kardashian crew). Invite me next time Jeffrey!!!

Think of the Azoff's as the mafia family of the music industry, you don't mess with the mafia

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THE GRAMMY AWARDS: STUDENT COUNCIL ELECTIONS ON STEROIDS

Ok so here's where we’re going to get into a bit more of the speculation/grey area. I don't need to tell you that award shows are corrupt (See the Golden Globes Emily in Paris scandal) and the Grammys are not an exception. Think of the Grammys as one big student council/government elections where despite the fact the teachers tell you six times to vote for the best candidate, you're still going to vote for your friends even if they aren't the best.

A simplified break-down of Grammy voting:

1) Recording Academy voting members (artists, producers, musicians- anyone involved first hand with the creation of music; All voting members must have been producers, performers or engineers on six or more tracks of a commercially released album (or 12 or more digital tracks) and record labels will submit nominations in various categories to the grammys (songs need to be released commercially between October 1 of the previous year and September 30th of this year). You can also become a voting member by either winning a grammy or being endorsed by a current voting member (hint hint)

2) Once received, the recording academy with have the academy of trustees and its reviewers organize them and approve any changes to the 30 categories/fields (aka they can add new categories or remove old ones; so no best ukulele album of the year -- this is where things get funky)

There's speculation that during this stage when these special groups of 8-10 people are organizing genres, there's an "unwritten rule" that you need to be careful what album you green light (especially for famous artists) if you don't want them to win) (Rob Kenner said this- he used to be on one of these committees). Famous people tend to get more votes from clueless or lay Academy members that don't know the specialized categories or don't care enough to listen to songs that aren't radio trending.

3) After the nominations occur, Voting members begin their first voting. Members can vote for the four general categories of record of the year, album of the year, song of the year and best new artist and a maximum of 15 categories, all within their areas of expertise. Now the interesting thing is that while these are the guidelines there is literally nothing stopping them from voting in whatever categories they want (i.g. a rapper voting in the opera category despite not listening to opera). Theses ballots are all tallied and the top 20 entries are determined in each category (funky moment #2)

In 12 of the 84 categories those top 20 go to the ballot and it's done; for the rest it’s not like that. 59 categories including the big four go to a "nomination review committees" (identities are protected so they can't get lobbied... sure) who take a look at the top 20 and narrow it down to 7 or 8. (these are the special committees the Weekend talked about when he was snubbed). They're supposed to choose the nominees "based solely on the artistic and technical merits of the eligible recordings" which lets be real if that was the case Watermelon Sugar (along with most of the others in the category) I don't think would have been nomimated as they are very generic pop (none of them are special... sorry to the WM lovers out there).

This committee is basically held to THE HONOR CODE SYSTEM... I mean tell me when the last time the honor code system worked in literally any scenario (literally wtf). Don't take my word for it though the former CEO of the Academy Deborah Dugan (a queen) filed a complaint against the Recording Academy basically claiming that the nomination review process was rigged (she was fired after 5 months on the job).

Quote from Deborah Dugan "Members of the board [of trustees] and the secret committees chose artists with whom they have personal or business relationships... It is not unusual for artists who have relationships with Board members and who ranked at the bottom of the initial 20-artist list to end up receiving nominations."

These review committees can also exploit there power by adding up to two nominees that don't appear on the top 20 list to the final voting ballot (except in the 4 big categories - which watermelon sugar that one wasn't nominated for)

They also have craft committees for like non performance stuff (like album notes, engineering and arranging) that don't even get voted on by the academy voting members

4) After all of that fucked up mess, the grammy's decided is ok, the ballots go back to the voting members for the final vote. Deloitte (an accounting firm) then counts all of them, seals them in envelopes, and delivers them to the Grammy award show.

** The Grammy's just announced this year they're removing the "secret committees" so let's see how things shift in the next couple of years**

So obviously I'm not saying this to discredit Harry's nomination or his win as Fine Line was in the US top 20 albums for the majority of 2020, however, we must acknowledge privilege. Harry has a big name to him and a huge following, and while all of that shouldn't be taken into account, it does. He also has the Azoffs, a very well connected family with friends in lots of places that would be able to put in a good word here and there to get support behind Harry. Harry won best pop solo performance for Watermelon Sugar in a category with Doja Cat, Justin Bieber, Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, and Dua Lipa. Look at the names there, the songs (ya'll can try and remember them cause I'm too lazy to write it out) and tell me that those top names with all of the music produced didn't get there through some connections.

Do with all this information what you will and if you are interested in learning more about the entertainment industry on your own Endeavor (owners of WME, a big talent agency like CAA) is hosting a free online program called the Excellence Program to help guide the future generation of industry executives. The program is a-synchronous and starts on July 12th. Highly recommend giving it a go if you're interested!!!

Alright ya'll that's it. Feel free to message me with your thoughts!

Extra Sources if you'd like to read:

https://www.vice.com/en/article/pkdndn/how-grammys-voting-actually-works-and-where-the-alleged-corruption-lies

https://www.grammy.com/grammys/awards/voting-process

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2020-11-05/irving-azoff-eagles-manager

https://celebrityaccess.com/caarchive/jeffrey-azoff-exits-caa-to-launch-new-management-company/

https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/features/grammy-awards-secret-committees-945532/

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/grammy-awards-eliminate-secret-committees-voting-changes-1163887/

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sortasirius · 4 years

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what makes you think the writers want deancas? not trying to be an asshole, i'm just genuinely curious as to why you think that. i know berens' episodes are pretty heavy with subtext so i can see why you'd say that he wants it, but i'm not so sure about the rest of the writers/dabb. it seems like meghan isn't a huge fan either, given her "they twisted it so fast" tweet :/ of course she's a very new writer (think she's only writing one ep this season?) but still

OKAY this is a great question, welcome to my dissertation.

I’m going to address the end of your question first. Meghan is actually DeanCas positive, she has been for quite a long time. She actually, a few years back, posted a picture of her reading a literal book about Destiel and captioned it “writing reading” or something like that.

This whole thing just comes out of a boiling over of tensions because of how nasty fandom twitter can be. Like I said here, I think this has just gotten blown out of proportion, they shouldn’t have posted all this randomly disparaging stuff, but also like...can you blame them? The fandom is a lot, we always have been, and they’re probably also under a gag order not to talk about the finale, and are annoyed that people keep asking.

So nah, Meg is not anti Destiel.

To the first part!! So let’s take a look at the show runners since Cas has been around.

Seasons 4 and 5: Kripke

Seasons 6 and 7: Gamble

Seasons 8-11ish: Carver

Seasons 11ish-15: Dabb

So starting with Kripke. Okay, yes, I will be the first to admit that we have some pretty incredible Destiel moments in these seasons, but it’s less directly written into the plot and much more from Misha and Jensen’s uhhhh ~chemistry~. The only times it was directly written into the script was when the episode was handled by someone like Edlund (“On The Head Of A Pin,” “The End,” “My Bloody Valentine”). And you have to remember, if in season 5, there are moments here and there where you’re like huh that’s suspiciously romantic dialogue, remember that Cas took Anna’s place. Anna was supposed to be endgame for Dean, but due to a myriad of issues and Misha’s general greatness, Anna was replaced with Cas.

Onto 6 and 7. Hmmm. Gamble. 6 and 7 are my two least favorite seasons and that’s no secret, and that’s not only due to the plain old weird shit in the overall storyline, but also that homegirl killed off Cas in s7 and then Bobby like four episodes later. (Also it ALWAYS rubbed me the wrong way they couldn’t have Baby in that season lol). We still had some great DeanCas moments, but again, it wasn’t really written into the overall arc (until they had to change the end of season 7 because of tanking ratings and bring Misha back lol, anyone remember the fact that Dean kept Cas’ jacket and would randomly dream of him? Yeah.). But we still had those moments, those distinctly romantic moments, probably the best example in these two seasons is from Edlund again, specifically “The Man Who Would be King,” I wrote a little about that here.

We move onto Carver, who gave us, at this point, the most overt DeanCas season with season 8 (season gr8 is a better name imo), and this is the first time Dean and Cas’ relationship is directly written as an arc of the season. I mean, you have everything in Purgatory, Dean “seeing” Cas everywhere, the fact that he felt so guilty that Cas stayed in Purgatory that he manipulated his own memories to think that he was the one that failed Cas, because he couldn’t comprehend that Cas would want to leave him, and let’s not forget Dean snapping Cas out of Naomi’s hold on him in “Goodbye Stranger.” It was a very obvious shift, not enough to alert the general audience, but more than enough for most of us in fandom.

It’s also important to note that this is when Andrew stopped co writing with Loflin and started writing his own episodes (”Hunter Heroici” anyone?) I like Loflin fine, but Dabb was able to stretch his legs a little bit more once he stopped co-writing, and we also began to see some DeanCas themes in his solo episodes.

In any case, them and their issues being a big part of the seasons continued with Carver, and Berens entered the scene, his first episode (”Heaven Can’t Wait”) is one of my favorites, with human Cas and the fanfiction gap and Dean and Cas just generally being awkward and funny and sweet. This is Bobo’s FIRST episode, remember that. He comes right out of the gate with it.

Also in Season 9, this is when Dean takes the Mark of Cain, and the Cas/Colette mirror is born, so obviously, Dean and Cas are the fabric of the season once again. This is also the season where Metatron says Cas is “in love with humanity,” and then immediately refers to Dean as Humanity so uhhhh yeah.

Onto season 10, Dabb and Berens continue with their greatness (I could write pages on the DeanCas date in “The Things We Left Behind” alone). And then we have one of the best scenes in the entire show in “The Prisoner” where the Cas/Colette mirror continues and Dean, driven by grief and pain and rage and the Mark, still doesn’t kill Cas. He still can’t kill Cas.

Season 11 is important because it takes choice away from both Cas and Dean, and shows us, as the audience, how much losing each other takes out of them. We saw in season 10 how much losing Dean takes from Cas, but what about Cas losing Dean? Dean loses his choice with his connection to Amara this season, and loses even more when Lucifer reveals he’s been possessing Cas, and plays on Dean’s connection to Cas like a mockery. It’s also worth noting that, similarly to season 8, Dean breaks out of the connection with Amara when he’s worried about Cas, and that’s something that even SHE is surprised by.

But then season 12, the beginning to the Renaissance. This is when we get the writer’s that become important for what Dean and Cas are today, and, truly, why I believe they want canon Destiel as much as we do.

This is the first season with Dabb’s writers: Davy Perez, Meredith Glynn, Steve Yockey, and of course Bobo all come in with their incredible talents and gave us episode after episode of good content. “Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets” is probably my favorite, probably the best example of what I’m saying. An episode where Dean is called out by an enemy directly, told to “roll the dice” on Cas’ life. And Dean won’t, it’s not even really a hesitation. And this comes from a character that has known Dean for ten seconds. I also wrote more in depth about this episode here. There are also some.....distinctly domestic details we get this season, specifically in “The Future” (written by Berens and Glynn) with the mixtape. The most tropey of tropes mixtape. Yeah, I’ll just leave that one here.

And then season 12 ends with Cas’ death, but also with the parallel between Sam and Dean with Jess and Cas. Sam literally has to drag Dean away from Cas, just like Dean had to drag Sam out of his burning apartment in the pilot. The episode drives it home in every way that it can: Dean is the one left kneeling by Cas’ body, while Sam goes to find out what is upstairs. Dean is the one who stares at the sky, finally broken. This isn’t a random thing, this is Dean’s whole arc, it’s the entirety of the beginning of 13. Dean’s pain, his anguish, his anger.

Season 13 starts with them burning Cas, with Dean, who has begged God to bring him back, who has split his knuckles punching a door, standing, staring at Cas’ pyre with brokenness on his face.

I mean.....

Anyway, season 13 is where it gets interesting (well, I think all of this is interesting but I’m a writer nerd so). So Cas comes back from the Empty in “Advanced Thanatology” written by Steve Yockey, and then a wombo combo of “Tombstone” by Davy Perez next (”Brokebacknatural” as the PR said at the time). Listen. This is the part that SPN crossed a line that they couldn’t come back from. With Cas being Dean’s “big win,” the fact that Dean and Cas watch movies together, “I told you, he’s an angry sleeper. Like a bear.” Talked about it here.

This is where, in my opinion, the network stepped in, but the damage was already done. They had already established that Cas was Dean’s big win, that Dean’s poor coping was not due to Mary’s disappearance, but solely due to Cas, and that Dean and Cas have more married energy than anyone else. The network had nixed blatant canon at this point, and they writing room had been pushing the boundaries of what the network would allow.

After these episodes, we see a marked drop off of DeanCas heavy scenes. They’re still there, still a part of the fabric of the season, but not as...obvious as it had been in early season 13.

And this continued through season 14, we’re back to scraps of Destiel scenes here and there, but to me it always felt like there was something bubbling under the surface, something distinctly unsaid in the themes of the season, even after the walk back of obvious “Dean and Cas are in love” scenes.

And then we get to season 15, which, y’all know I talk about all the time. What’s important here is that Bobo and Glynn are both executive producers, calling more of the shots than ever before. Additionally, it’s important to note that, though they only co write occasionally, Glynn and Berens refer to each other as “work husband” and “work wife.” Each episode has just turned up the volume, and, not for the first time, but certainly the most obvious, Dean and Cas ARE the season. Sure, they’re trying to beat God, they’re trying to finally find peace, defeat the final big bad, but really? This season has been about Dean, and Dean’s relationship to Cas.

And not only do we have obvious and clear Destiel in nearly every episode, but we have episodes like “Last Call” which canonize bi!Dean (wrote about that here).

And, maybe most importantly so far, we have “The Rupture,” the breakup, and “The Trap,” Dean’s confession (both written by Berens). And here’s the thing. These episodes feel connected, but also feel like they’re missing something. Beren’s last episode is 15x18, “The Truth.” We’ve all spec’ed about what could happen in this episode, and I think *I* know what it’s leading to. But for it to be leading to that, it means that the network has to have approved what we’ve all been waiting for years for.

Who got this change to happen? Who got the network to change their minds? It wasn’t us. It was them. I am fully convinced that Dabb and Berens quite literally put their careers on the line for Dean and Cas. They believe in them, they’ve shown that from the beginning, but the only thing standing in the way was the network, never allowing them to take the final step.

So, to answer your question: I think the writers want canon DeanCas because they’ve already shown us that they do. Take a look at their episodes, at Dabb’s, at Beren’s, at Glynn’s, at Perez’s, at Yockey’s. They’ve been telling us what’s going on with Dean and Cas for years.

Sure, I’m not in their heads, I guess I don’t know for *sure* that this has been their thought process, but if we put it all together, from the marked shift when Dabb fully took over in s12, to the change right after “Tombstone,” to the new shift, the blatantly romantic shift in season 15, what else is there?

I’ve said for a long time that we, the SPN fandom, are beyond lucky to have the writer’s that we do. They’re all going to go on to have prolific careers and we were lucky to get them at the end of our little show. I give them a lot of credit for what we have in the show today.

Just remember, they’ve been telling us in all of s15 who Chuck is. He says he’s the writer, right? But a writer who doesn’t have control of his characters? A writer who wants to do the same ending over and over because it “works”? That doesn’t sound like a writer, it sounds like a network exec.

They’ve been showing us what they want for years, and the way s15 is going? I think they may have convinced the network to let us have it.

#supernatural #destiel #spn #my writing #anyway yeah i love these writers #welcome to my essay lmao #spn writers #anonymous #lilly answers

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daxby · 3 years

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The Case for the Sussexes

Note: Everything that I’ve used is from a source. This is highly opinionated but backed with facts and conclusions.

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Now, before I start this rant, I know that a lot of Cambridge fans, dislike Meghan Markle, however there is a difference between being a true Stan of Kate, and leeching on to Kate, simply because you want to “stick” it to Meghan. You can be a Stan, but your whole account should not center on hate.

Rant time :)

There are some people who dislike Meghan Markle, for one reason or another. While, everyone is entitled to their own opinions. The issue is where they are getting their info from. humans have always come up with their own conclusions from other sources through their own thoughts from other people, however when the person you get your opinions from have bias it would also make you biased as well. Now, I know there are a big chunk of people who dislike Harry and Meghan and will continue to dislike, regardless but for those who are open minded. Cheers!

Today we will debunk tabloid myths, family lies, money paps, and a list of other reasons people have used for their dislike of the Sussexes

If this gets enough likes I will do one on Kate.

- The point is to show the manipulation of many.

The Antis

The antis, as seen above are people who dislike Meghan for a number of reasons, I will try to put every reason why the Antis dislike Meghan while giving my own opinions.

1. Getting rid of friends

This is one of the biggest reasons Meghan Markle receives hate to this day. But, it mainly boils down to one person Meghan Markle’s ex- best friend Ninaki who claims that Meghan mailed her rings to Trevor. Ninaki also has been on record stating “All I can say now is that I think Meghan was calculated — very calculated — in the way she handled people and relationships. She is very strategic in the way she cultivates circles of friends. Once she decides you’re not part of her life, she can be very cold.” Now, I don’t know all about Ninaki and Meghan’s relationship, but I can make inferences and judge based on my research.

If you don’t know Ninaki (pictured above) was Meghan’s ex best friend or childhood friend. Ninaki gave an interview to the Daily Mail. Now I personally don’t know what ended their friendship. But, what we do know is that Ninaki, was paid for her interview with the Dailymail. Now, fast forward, Andrew Morton (Royal biographer ) is writing a book on Meghan, he goes to L.A, to dig up dirt, Ninaki is not mentioned in this book. Now, you may wonder why I brought Morton in this conversation, but it shows a number of things.

1. Ninaki wasn’t offered money, by Andrew Morton. (Likely)

2. Morton didn’t ask Ninaki for an interview (unlikely)

3. The DailyMail personally sought out Ninaki or vice versa and that’s why she gave the interview. (Likely)

You may, be wondering what the point I’m trying to make is. If Ninaki wasn’t going to receive money from the Dailymail would she have given an interview? And why would she personally give an interview at a time when Meghan is about to walk down the aisle? The timing is weird, Meghan and Trevor divorced in 2014, and according to Ninaki this is what ended their friendship. Now, I don’t know about you guys but if my best friend that I knew since childhood divorced her husband I would definitely, take the side of my best friend. So Ninaki decides after a SINGLE conversation with Trevor, she was so disgusted by what she learned that she ended their friendship? No confronting of Meghan to get her side of the story Ninaki’s behavior of taking the side of Trevor, is not only weird but seems off, Ninaki is either leaving important information out, or she is covering up something. Not only that, Meghan is your childhood best friend and you took the side of HER EX-HUSBAND AFTER ONE CONVERSATION. Either, Ninaki did something wrong that ended the friendship , and she left this important info out. Or, Meghan and her had a falling out. EITHER WAY, IM GONNA SAY she’s proably lying, about why their friendship ended. I WILL TAKE NINAKI IS LYING FOR 300, Alex.

2. Bad relationship with family members.

One of the main things, that the Antis do is try to act that because Meghan has a bad relationship with her family that it’s somehow her fault, and that they’ve been there for her through thick and thin. And that she has caused her family a lot of harm. So she should pay it back, or whatever. Anyways...

I’m gonna analyze each family member, and basically talk about them, and their relationship with Meghan.

1. Samantha Markle

Oh Samantha, oh precious Samantha. If you don’t know, Samantha as seen pictured above is Meghan Markle’s half-sister, she is known for her trashing of Meghan, and for her rude comments about her. Since, Meghan and Harry’s relationship started she made money off riding her Sister’s coatails and acting like her and her sister were once “close”, however Samantha you cannot lie to detective @daxby . She has basically help start the anti-Meghan movement, because it brings them joy knowing that the Sister of Meghan trashes her, regularly.

Now you may be wondering what Samantha that’s done, well she’s basically a hypocrite and a liar.

There are only three photos of Samantha and Meghan together. and she thinks that their relationship was “close”. They haven’t spoken in a decade, but there relationship was “close”.

Why I have a bone to pick with Samantha is mainly because she is hypocritical.

Mainly, I don’t appreciate Samantha changing her tune, constantly.

Samantha acts like she wants Meghan to look after their Dad. But doesn’t want to look after Thomas herself. Samantha’s own children won’t talk to her at all.

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Some People act like Meghan doesn’t get along with any of her family members. As much as the antis like to dig and find information about Meghan’s life and twist that information to fit their own narrative. How come they never dig deeper to find, out how Samantha has acted towards her sister.

This article Interviewed Samantha’s daughter Noelle she basically says how her mother dislikes Meghan ever since she was born. That her mother has bashed her constantly.

So only when Samantha saw an opportunity to money gran from her sister. She wanted to be friends. She wanted to hang out.

So Samantha has never talked to her sister in more than a decade. Then all of a sudden she wants to be friends when she finds out she was engaged to Prince Harry.

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Another dumb thing the antis accuse Meghan of is not being kind to her family members at all.

Note: This is not the full version and I wasn’t planning to post this because I thought it was cringe I did this last spring but should I continue this I know a lot more about the royal rota, the institution, and other things. I can also do a deep dive into Kate as well (which will be fair) .

#meghan markle #royal fandom #prince harry #megxit

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g3nosarchive · 3 years

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ok i genuinely think a lot of other people have this problem but stop inserting yourself when xyz issue is mentioned. when someone is telling you that a person, a celebrity, some franchise is harming their identity or anyone’s identity as a minority, or part of a certain race or religion or anything shut the fuck up and accept it.

they do not need to know your emotional attachment to said thing, your disbelief, your horror, your personal experience - we didn’t ask for all that. we know just how bad it is, cus yk it harms us maybe? we’ve already gone through the cycle of being angry and indignant and now we’re here trying to get you to understand in the hopes that as a friend you do what you’re meant to do when you became friends with us. we are not your constant ball of anger to use whenever you find something that’s “crazy, unbelievably, shockingly” once again, a hate crime, when you decide you want to feel angry and care about it.

more under the cut bc i talk too much

by doing that, you’re making an issue that you didn’t even know about suddenly yours. ask yourself, what is the purpose for telling anyone all that? to get them to sympathize with you personally so you can get a pass because you didn’t know? of course you don’t know, of course you’re unaware, that’s the whole reason why you’re being told in the first place. do not water down the issue or even try to play the ‘everything has some issue like this so there’s no point in going this far’ card. especially as a white person. the reason why you don’t know primarily is because it doesn’t affect you and it doesn’t cross your mind.

when you watch a show with a black character, you don’t care about how off the character design is or how stereotypical and borderline racist the comedy gag surrounding said character is. when you listen to your favorite white music artists or watch your favorite movie with a majority white cast, white staff, white team, and white theme, you don’t care to analyze just how outdated and stereotypical the way that token asian character is portrayed. some of y’all don’t understand and will never understand the mental struggle and awareness forever plugged into the brain of lgbt and/or poc, especially black people when we consume anything, when we go anywhere, when we meet new people, to constantly catch those micro aggressions and know what to avoid.

so when someone tells you insert classic hot mess is racist and you should stop supporting it, one of the worst things you can do beside outright rejecting it is to defend it and insinuate that we don’t know what we’re talking about, that we need 30 different sources to prove it all, that you don’t think (for example taylor swifts dream colonized africa mv) is bad. you try to say the thing or person that is actively promoting all this homophobia, racism, transmisogyny etc needs to be kindly educated, is trying their best, will learn soon enough, just wasn’t educated, will do better in the future (esp looking at u kpop stans). does their apparent regret but refusal to properly apologize actually matter? the damage has already been done.

that in itself is a privilege i could never have. i don’t even try being a fan of any major white celebrity or any kpop group because i guarantee if i search up their name with ‘racist’, ‘sexist’, ‘homophobic’, ‘transphobic’, ‘cultural appropriation’ behind it something or some image is bound to show up. you will all say “oh they haven’t done anything yet” but when it comes out that they did, they have, and they do not care about who it affects, suddenly it’s a bombshell dropped on you out of nowhere.

it’s not that hard to spot these things actually. if your fav is constantly putting themselves against people of color, saying shady shit about non cishets while being a cishet themself, saying one thing and doing another, or has been silent when their voice was expected to speak up, shouldn’t you notice? y’all will reblog all these posts but in reality only 10% are actually reading and listening and actually digesting this information for future use.

and i think the thing that pisses me off is this is all from personal experience where i’m speaking from. over the past 2 days the amount of times if i’ve heard about the “tea that dropped w meghan markle” is ridiculous and annoying. a girl texted me and i sat there and i realized that she does this on a daily basis to fuel my anger and get me to validate her own useless anger. of course i knew about it and i wasn’t surprised at all - she’s still a black woman.

almost every black blog on here, when they get big enough, deals with some sort of weird shit surrounding their blackness. if you get big on speaking about issues you are now this emotionless token ‘smart black person i can actually trust’ to use as your replacement for google. this is not to say asking questions is bad, but it is so easy to pull up some of the shit you guys ask for. some people get called slurs directly, targeted for being too black or not black enough, attacked for their features and etc and someone mentioned this before but the only people that care in those situations are other black people themselves. white people will have blm in their bio but turn the other way the minute some anon starts acting up in their mutuals’ inbox, calling them a dark1e because they felt confident enough to post some selfies. and then you get sad when we dont go to you for any kind of support?

i’ve stated sometimes that asking me questions on issues and things is okay, but one of the main reasons i say that is because whether i say it or not, i’ll be asked questions and expected to know everything and i am your personal walking encyclopedia and ofc it’s natural for me to have all this information in my head, as if i didn’t research it myself. but then i think about the numerous amounts of people that specifically say not to ask them this shit because it really does tire you out, that they don’t want to have to deal with this in any space but they still get them.

and then the ones that don’t even know themself so people will use them as an example and say “well this person didn’t know and they’re ‘marginalized identity’ so it should be fine for me too”. good god just apologize, show that you really care, change your behavior and move on. do you think it was fun being asked the statistics for george floyd’s and other black peoples death in class? that you were being inclusive and giving me a chance to show off my intelligence, to prove to others that i really had something up here and you were my greatest star eyes white friend that gave me that chance? i cant close my posts like this properly but i want you to think about that shit and actually ask yourself if you’d do that. a lot of you will read this and think “i’m not that type of racist” “i don’t have those deep seated prejudices in me” yes you do. you just haven’t been called out on it.

for all the shit ive dealt with above, if i’ve ever talked to you about this before dont come to me to apologize i do not need it and you are not the only person i’ve received this from. i guarantee you that there’s about 20 other people i’ve thought about while writing this post considering i’m a black person in the real world, so keep your guilt to yourself an deal with it

white people don’t add on to this

#important #antiblackness #george floyd #death mention #ok to rb #more than ok but #here it is 😇#ill rb this everyday if i have to

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cassiabaggins · 4 years

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Where There’s A Will Part Three

A/N: Okay so I said I wasn’t gonna write another chapter for this Friday, but I got inspired, and if I had stopped the executive dysfunction would have ruined everything so it’s 3:23 am and I am sorry and my eyes hurt from looking at my laptop screen even if the brightness is down all the way... :/ I am a fool.... I did cry a lil writing parts of this...

Parts: one, two

Taglist: @legolaslovely @strictlynofrills @d3-iseefire @i-am-still-bb @fridayfirefly @floralfi

Warnings: slight language

Rating: T

Summary: Will finds out about Fili’s old band

“What are you listening to, kiddo?” Fili asks. Will is sitting crosslegged on the ground, with headphones on, Kili’s iphone in his lap. He doesn’t respond, so Fili reaches down and tugs lightly at the top of the headphones. “Buddy?”

Will looks up at him, pausing the video. “Hi, Dad.”

“Are you holding up okay? Not too bored, right? We don’t have much longer, I’m almost done.”

“Okay!”

“What are you listening to?”

“Kili said you guys had a band when you were younger. He showed me your guys’ songs on YouTube.”

“Oh no,” Fili says.

“You guys were good! Why did you stop?”

“Uh, there was a conflict of interests.”

“What?”

“We had a big fight.”

“Why?”

“I don’t remember buddy, it was a long time ago.”

“How long?”

“I don’t know, something like ten years ago.”

~Ten Years Earlier~

“What are you doing?" Kili asks, dropping his backpack down on the kitchen table. Fili doesn’t even bother to look up from his laptop.

"Take a wild guess."

"Homework?"

"College applications."

"Around here?"

"New York."

"What?! Why?”

“Because that’s where Meghan is applying.”

Kili makes a face. “Ugh. Meghan.”

That makes Fili look up, and he fixes his younger brother with a glare. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t like Meghan.”

“Yeah? Well, it’s a good thing I’m dating her, and not you.”

Kili crosses his arms over his chest, glaring down at his brother, looking much too petulant for his fifteen years. “You don’t have time for me anymore since you started dating her! She always has to come along to everything, and now you’re gonna move away to go to college with her?! What about me?”

“What about you?” Fili says callously, “my life doesn’t have to revolve around you, you know.”

“Oh, but it can revolve around your girlfriend, huh?”

“God, shut up! Don’t you have homework or a hobby you can do instead of distracting me?”

“I mean, I thought we were gonna practice tonight, but you’re clearly too busy.”

“Clearly. Get lost.”

Kili huffs and gets lost, stomping up the stairs, and Fili hears a bedroom door slam shut, the whine of an amp turning on, and then the house is filled with discordant guitar chords. Fili glares at the ceiling. What a brat. He works for another fifteen minutes, but Kili’s jamming only gets louder until the windows are practically vibrating in their sills.

“SHUT UP!!!!!” Fili roars, slamming Kili’s bedroom door open. His brother spins around on his desk stool, guitar still on his knee, and makes direct eye contact with him and strums another obnoxious chord. “Are you kidding me?” Fili splutters. “Shut up! I’m trying to work!”

“You aren’t my dad,” Kili says.

“Yeah, if I were Dad, I would have smashed that stupid guitar by now!”

Kili jumps up. “Shut up! Dad liked my playing!”

“No one likes your playing, Kili,” Fili says, knowing perfectly well he’s going too far, and also far too angry to stop. “They’re just being nice.”

“Shut the fuck up!” Kili shouts, “Get out of my room!” He storms over and slams the door in Fili’s face.

Fili kicks the bottom of the door, mumbling rude things under his breath, and wanders back downstairs.

Mom doesn’t get home until the sun has set. Fili is still at the kitchen table, doing homework now (meaning he’s texting Meghan with his math textbook open in front of him) and eating cereal. It’s quiet upstairs, Kili hasn’t touched his guitar in hours, nor has he emerged from his room.

“Where’s your brother?” Dis asks, affectionately ruffling Fili’s hair and bending to kiss his head.

“In his room.”

She sighs. “Again? It’s been almost a year since…” she trails off. “I thought he was back to normal. He went to school, right?”

“Yeah,” Fili says, reluctant to tell his mom that it’s his fault Kili has holed himself up again. “He even went out with friends after classes.”

“That’s good! He’s acting more like himself, then. What happened between then and now?”

Fili shrugs one shoulder noncommitedly. “I dunno. I’m not his dad.”

“Fili,” Dis says, sitting down beside him at the table. “What happened?”

He looks away from her. “He thinks he can dictate where I go to college, now. He hates my girlfriend, hates that I play sports, hates that I have friends other than him… he needs to realize that my life doesn’t revolve around him and his happiness.”

“Oh, sweetie,” Dis murmurs, “he’s just scared of losing you like we lost Dad.”

Fili blows out a breath. “What, so I can’t go to college on the off chance I’ll die or something? That’s not fair!”

“Of course not, love, but you know how Kili is. He’s just clinging to you because he needs stability. He needs a constant.”

“Can’t he cling to you? Or Thorin? Or Frerin? Or literally anyone else?”

“Well, a fifteen year old boy is hardly going to want to tell all the things he’s feeling to his mom, and Thorin is gone all the time, and Frerin… well… he’s not exactly fit for being a dad.”

“Neither am I! I’m seventeen! I have my own damn life! I don’t want to spend it fathering my little brother!”

“You don’t have to father him, Fili. Just be there for him.”

“Well,” Fili glares. “Maybe I don’t want to. I lost my dad, too, you know!” He stands with a jerk, gathering his homework into his arms and storming up to his room.

The next day dawns annoyingly bright, and Fili goes to school alone. Kili still hasn’t emerged from his room, and he can’t quite bring himself to care, still simmering with resentment. There’s a baseball game that night, and they crush the opposing team, and Kili isn’t in the bleachers, and Fili almost misses him. Only it's hard to miss your little brother when you have a very pretty girlfriend cheering for you instead.

Three months later, Fili graduates summa cum laude from high school, the top of his class and earns a baseball scholarship to a college in New York, the same college Meghan has chosen for herself. The two of them spend long nights that summer, planning their futures, away from families and responsibilities, doing their own things and becoming their own people. And Fili barely spends any time at all with Kili, and he feels far less guilty than he should. It all comes to a head one day in August.

"Fili!" Kili slams open his brother's bedroom door. "Wake up! Guess what?!"

Fili groans and rolls over, glaring at his brother. "What?"

"Guess!" Kili cries, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet like an excited puppy. "Guess! Guess!"

The older brother sighs, covering his face. "I don't know, Kili, what?"

"I got us a gig!" Kili blurts, "well, potentially. Maybe. They'll pay us and everything, like I showed them the recordings we made last summer and they liked it enough to pay us!"

"A gig? For what? Who?"

"Bombur! At his cafe! You know how he dies live music sometimes! I asked him and he said we could play for their music night next month! Isn't that awesome! We're like, a real band now! With fans and things!"

Fili puts his head in his hands. "Kili, I'm leaving for college at the end of this week."

Kili stops moving. "Since when?"

"Since always! Me and Meghan planned this ages ago, we're heading out on Friday! I can't be here for your 'gig'. I have a life!"

"Were you ever going to tell me? Or were you just gonna leave and never come home?"

"I told you, you didn't listen! Now you're guilting me!"

"You didn't tell me! You're just going! Just like everyone else! What about our band?"

"What about it? It's not even a real band! It's not like we're going to be famous or anything!"

"We could if you practiced once and a while!"

"Oh, so it's my fault?"

"Yeah! You always have something going on! Like a game or homework or a date! You never spend time with me anymore!”

“I have a life, Kili, one that doesn’t revolve around my fifteen year old brother and his inability to make friends beside me!”

“Shut up! I have friends!”

“So hang out with them! Have them be in your band! It was your idea, anyway.”

“I don’t want them to be in our band! It’s ours!”

“Says who? I’m sure Frerin would be happy to take my place!”

“I just want something to share with my brother!” Kili shouts. “Just me and you! I don’t want Frerin to be in it! I want you to!”

“Well, maybe I don’t want to be in the band anymore!” Fili snaps.

“But Dad said…”

“Dad said what?”

“He said we should start a band! It was his idea! Not mine!”

“Yeah, he did, but he’s gone now. I don’t want to be in your band and I don’t want to be your replacement for Dad!”

Kili’s face screws up. “You can’t replace Dad. Dad actually cared about me. Unlike you.”

“Yeah,” Fili says sarcastically, “you got me! I hate you! I always have!” He spits the last part out with a bit more vehemence and sincerity than he means to and Kili catches it, his brown eyes filling with tears. “Oh, you’re gonna cry now?” Fili spits, “real mature.”

“I hate you!” Kili yells. “I hate you, I hate you, I hate you! I never want to see you again!”

“Fine! Me neither!”

“Fine!”

Kili slams the door with a thundering crash and Fili flops back against his pillows, covering his eyes. The back door slams with the same vigor as his bedroom door, and peering out the window he spies Kili sprint across the backyard, hop the fence, and disappear into the woods. There’s a telltale painful burning in the back of Fili’s throat, the kind he always shoves way down because he hates crying so much. Because if he cries he won’t stop. He grabs a shoe off the ground and throws it across the room as hard as he can. It hits his trophy shelf and knocks a few down with a loud clatter.

Fili and Kili don’t talk for the rest of the week. They avoid each other like the plague, and Dis is far too stressed with bills and keeping the garage afloat that she barely even notices. On Friday, Meghan and her parents show up bright and early, and Fili and Frerin load his stuff into the uhaul they rented. Uncle Frerin and Mom are there to see him off, but Thorin is travelling again.

“Where’s your brother?” Meghan asks, tossing her ponytail over her shoulder. Fili shrugs.

“I dunno.”

“He finally stopped following you around? He’s so needy. It’s a good thing he’s cute.”

Fili fixes her a glare, and she giggles, pressing a kiss to his lips. “Don’t worry, you’re my favorite.”

Dis comes out then, before things get any more interesting, with a soft sided cooler. “I packed you two snacks for the road. I know you guys bought some, too, but this is like sandwiches, so you have actual food. I feel bad I can’t do more

“Don’t worry about it,” Meghan’s dad says, taking the cooler from her. “It’s really no trouble, we were going there anyway and it’s good to have another driver, too.”

“I’d offer to come,” Dis tells them, “but I’m so busy now, and my job…”

Meghan’s mom, a chubby, sweet little woman, laughs and waves her hand. “Oh, don’t worry, hon, it’s no trouble at all. Your position isn’t easy, we’ll see Fili safely there.”

“I’m so glad you two are coming with. When Fili first proposed this idea to me, I was wary. Two eighteen year olds taking a cross country road trip? Fili’s awfully responsible, but he’s not that responsible, you know?”

“I dunno, I think he’d be fine,” Frerin says, knocking Fili’s shoulder with his. “He’d probably only hit a few pedestrians.”

Meghan’s mom laughs again. Fili zones out of the conversation, glancing up absently towards Kili’s bedroom window. He catches sight of his brother’s too long brown hair as he turns away, and debates going up there to say goodbye. To apologize. But then Meghan wraps her arms around his waist and rests her chin on his shoulder and he gets distracted.

They all load into the car, Fili giving his mom one last hug. She reaches up and cups his face. “Be smart, and be safe,” she tell him. “I love you to the moon and back, okay?”

“Okay. I love you, too.”

“Make sure you call me when you arrive safely, okay? And text me if anything goes wrong. If you need to come home, you can, I’ll buy you a plane ticket, no questions asked. I promise.”

“Mom, I’m not gonna make you buy me a plane ticket if I get homesick or something, geez. And I won’t get in trouble. What, do you think I’ll turn into a partier and call you in a few months because I got pregnant or something?”

Dis swats him lightly. “Don’t be ridiculous. Get gone.”

Fili laughs, hugs his mom and uncle one last time, and climbs into the back seat beside Megan. He leans out the window to wave as they pull out of the driveway, looking up to the Kili’s window, just in case. It’s empty, and Fili is left with that burning feeling in the back of his throat once again.

~Present Day~

“Fili!” Kili sprints into the Garage, leaping over Will, who’s seated on the ground near the door, still using his phone to listen to music. Fili looks up from the guts of a chevy truck.

“Yeah?”

“We got a gig!”

“A gig?”

“Yeah!”

“What’s a gig?” Will asks, wandering over and handing Kili back his iPhone. Kili pockets it, putting his hand on the boy’s head and wobbling him around. “A gig is a live performance for a band.”

Wili giggles, grabbing Kili’s hand. “Like a concert?”

“Yeah, kinda.”

Fili frowns. “I’m sorry, Kili, I’m not following you. At all.”

“I was just talking to Bombur. You know how they have those music nights at his cafe?”

“Yeah, I’m aware.”

“Well, the band for this week’s fell through, and they already have things all planned and they need a band to play and he asked if we could.”

“We haven’t played for an audience in years, though,” Fili says nervously. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“C’mon,” Kili wheedles. “It’ll be fun. Mostly just people around town, people we know. It’s highly unlikely we’re gonna be laughed off stage. You can play your cajon and I’ll play my guitar and sing. Like old times.”

“C’mon, Dad!” Will says excitedly, “You’ve gotta! I want to see you play!”

Fili looks down at Will, then at Kili, the both of their brown eyes wide and hopeful, and sighs. “I’m gonna regret this, but fine. Fine.”

Kili whoops excitedly, scooping Will into his arms and spinning him around. “You hear that, little guy? You’re dad and I are a real band now!”

Frerin pops his head out the the office. “Hey! Kili! Get to work! I don’t pay you to mess around!”

“You don’t pay me regardless!” Kili laughs, setting Will down and jogging over to his uncle. “Guess what?”

Will reaches over and takes Fili’s hand. “Can I come to the gig?” he asks.

“We’ll see, kiddo,” Fili says. “We’ll see.”

#fili #kili #will #frerin #dis #thorin oakenshield #where theres a will theres a way #where theres a will #wtawtaw #my writing #fic #fili fic #mechanic fili #mechanic Kili #single dad au #single dad fili #single dad!Fili #single parent au #fili friday

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maxgrayarchived · 4 years

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The Walking Dead & Queer Representation

How many horror movies and tv shows can you name with queer protagonists? The Walking Dead has been on air for ten years now, and given its genre, it has a surprising amount of queer characters. The numbers themselves are nice, but when writing any minority, it’s important to have tact.

As an avid fan of The Walking Dead and a member of the queer community, I’ve taken it upon myself to break down how the show chooses to represent queer characters and what they’re doing right and wrong.

First, a few disclaimers:

This post contains spoilers for seasons 1-9, including major character deaths. I won’t go over anything that happens past season 9.

Queer people are going to die. This is a zombie show. People die in every episode. It would be pandering for all the queer characters to stay alive throughout the entire show.

I am a pansexual transboy. The characters I’m talking about are assumed to be gay, cisgender boys and girls. Notice that my experience differs from theirs and if I say something that counteracts something a lesbian or a gay man says about the characters representing their identity, you should listen to them and not me.

I like the word queer. I think it’s a great word and I’ll be using it a lot. Since almost nobody’s sexuality in confirmed in this show I use it a lot to avoid pan/bi/ace erasure. If you don’t like that word, be prepared for it now or accept that this post is not for you.

Finally, this does NOT include things from Fear the Walking Dead. Fear the Walking Dead is… such a different show in so many ways, especially in LGBT+ representation, and that’s going to require a whole ass different post (how did they fuck up that show so bad).

Let’s get down to it!

Introductions & Coming Outs

Tara:

We meet Tara when the Governor wanders into her and her sister’s apartment building after seeing her niece, Meghan, in the window. She immediately puts herself between her family and a potential threat with a gun in her hand. She doesn’t take any of the Governor’s shit, and her first priority is making sure he knows that if he does anything to hurt her family, he’ll pay for it. Once that’s all out of the way, though, she lets a friendlier side of her show and jokes around with him.

Our first introduction to queer characters in the show is done well. There’s nothing about her that would ‘tip off’ to the fact that she’s a lesbian, and she’s her own, fleshed out character.

We find out she’s a lesbian after she and her family leaves with the Govorner. They’re walking down a street with trees lining each side, and she starts to complain about it reminding her of an ex-girlfriend and a date they went on. This is dropped so casually that I didn’t even notice it in the first watch.

It’s later confirmed she’s a lesbian (instead of pan/bi/etc) when Eugene hits on her and she says, “Yeah, I like girls.”

She comes out (the first time) in such a casual way that I’m hesitant to even call it a coming out. If the Governor wasn’t there, and if we weren’t watching, it would just be a girl complaining to her sister about an ex.

Alisha:

This is my only time mentioning Alisha because that’s how minor of a character she is.

We meet her when Tara’s sister, Lily, is stitching up her palm after Alisha “got cute with her knife” and cut herself. Tara is watching from a bit away, and starts flirting with her by talking about weapons. Alisha asks if she’s always this full of shit, and Tara says, “Yes, I am.” It’s a really cute moment. It’s not overtly sexual, it’s not predatory, it’s not weird, it’s just two girls flirting with each other.

This is a great way to casually slide in a gay relationship. It’s not made to be a big deal, it’s just another relationship in the story. Before they mentioned that Tara was gay, now they’re acting on that, instead of pussying out like other shows do.

Aaron & Eric:

I’m putting these two in one category because, when we met them, they were together.

Our first impression of Aaron is when he comes up to Maggie and Sasha, unarmed, when they’re alone. He puts his hands in the air and asks to speak to Rick, saying that he’s a friend and he has good news. When Maggie and Sasha bring him back to the barn they’re holed down in, he tells them about his community, Alexandria, and welcomes them all to come home with him. He gives us no reason to distrust him (despite the very obvious ‘this is a stranger and generally strangers either try to rob, eat, or kill us’) and is, all and all, patient and understanding of the group’s distrust.

We meet Eric approximately twenty five seconds before one of the cutest kisses in the show. He sees the panic on Aaron’s face and quickly tries to calm him down, explain his injury and that it’s not a big deal, and that Maggie fixed him up, and he likes her, and- And then Aaron, in a fit of overwhelming concern and relief, rushes up to him and interrupts him with a kiss.

One of the cutest kisses in the show.

Eric then teases Aaron for being worried about him, we get some domestic goodness when Eric gives Aaron a license plate for his collection, we’re rewarded with this face:

and, all in all, it’s a good scene. It’s cute, it’s realistic, we can see how much these two care about each other, and Rick’s reaction will make me laugh until I die.

Denise:

When we first meet Denise, she is a scared, overwhelmed new doctor. She does her best to lower the bar and expresses concern that she isn’t actually capable of being the doctor of Alexandria.

At one point, Denise almost has a breakdown from stress and tells Tara that her patient’s condition is too fatal, and Denise isn’t capable of saving him. Tara tells her that being afraid if just something she’s going to have to get over. A little while later, after Denise manages to stabilize her patient’s condition and save his life, she goes over to Tara and kisses her. That’s how we learn she likes girls. Her and Tara continue a romantic relationship after that, and it’s all really cute and sweet.

Jesus:

For those of you who don’t watch the show, quick disclaimer… “Jesus” is the nickname of the character Paul Rovia. We are not talking about Jesus Christ. Just to be clear.

Our first impression of Jesus is… Kind of fucking awesome. So far our queer characters have been, by and large, absolute dorks. When we first meet Jesus, he scams Rick and Daryl, snags their keys without them noticing, and steals their truck full of food and supplies. After then he puts up one hell of a fight during his and the duo’s back and forth (unfortunately, none of them are badass enough to save that big truck from sinking to the bottom of the lake. Good job, guys). He even saves Daryl’s life during that very same battle. Jesus continues to do badass things during his introduction, but you probably get the gist.

Jesus’s coming out is so far my favourite in the show. In the season after he’s introduced, he’s having a talk with Maggie, admitting that he’s never really fit in with anyone. He thanks her for making Hilltop feel more like a home. He says, “I’ve always found it hard getting close to anyone- Neighbors, friends… Boyfriends.” Unlike Aaron and Eric, it’s a very casual coming out, mentioned only to someone he’s come to really trust and admire.

I think the way Jesus expresses his sexuality is a very important distinction from the way Aaron and Eric express theirs. Aaron is glad to mention it any time it’s relevant- For example he has a talk with Daryl when they’re alone about being outsiders, telling Daryl (who’s having trouble acclimating to his time in Alexandria) that it does get better. He references his romantic relationship with Eric and how, paraphrasing, some otherwise really lovely boys and girls will say the most hilariously offensive things. Jesus’s sexuality is a much more personal thing to him.

Both of these characters are valid, and there is nothing wrong with the way either of them choose to express their love. There needs to be more pieces of media that have queer characters that differ in this way.

Magna & Yumiko:

Magna and Yumiko are introduced towards the end of the ninth season, so I don’t know very much about them. They’re part of a small group of survivors who are looking for a settlement that’ll take them in. Magna is very distrusting, especially of Michonne. She’s impulsive, and paranoid. Yumiko, as a foil, is calmer and more rational. She’s defensive about Magna (and the rest of her group) and protective. They have the potential to make a really good team- They balance each other out well.

We learn that they’re together when they agree to split up so Magna can help the main group with the current crisis, and Magna kisses Yumiko goodbye. There were times before it was confirmed that they hinted at their relationship, for instance when one of them had their head in the other’s lap in the background of a shot and were talking quietly. When talking to Michonne, Yumiko tells a story about Magna with a fond smile.

I think, so far, they’re in the clear.

Personality Diversity

It seems obvious, but it’s important to make each character different. A lot of cishet people (and even some queer people) when writing queer characters for the first time seem to get fixated on whatever they think are ‘queer qualities.’ Every queer character they write ends up being the same one. Let’s go over the ways each queer character on The Walking Dead are their own, and can’t be lumped into the same.

Levels of capability:

Denise was an objectively weak character. She had been hidden behind the walls of Alexandria the entire apocalypse, had never killed a walker, and didn’t even know how to fight. But she died trying to be better. She asked for Daryl and Rosita’s help, people much more capable and experienced than her, and she risked her life for the good of the community.

The other queer characters are all very capable of taking care of themselves, to various extents. Tara started in a bit of a rough spot. She was better off than Denise, though, in that she knew how to shoot a gun and, being out with the Governor, she quickly grew first hand experience. Eric didn’t have as much experience, but, like Denise, he was ready to step up when they needed him. I would put Aaron on the same combat level as Tara. I mentioned Jesus’s badassery- He’s on par with Rick, Daryl, and Michonne in my opinion. As for Magna and Yumiko, they specialize in teamwork.

Strong suits:

The show also, in my opinion, did a good job at not making them the Token Gay Characters because they each have their own strong suits. Tara is extremely determined and good at giving tough love when someone else is willing to give up. Jesus is clever and savvy (firecrackers in a trashcan?). Denise was a fucking doctor (pretty much). We don’t know much about Yumiko and Magna, but I’m sure they’ll have their own strengths as well. Each character has a specialty that’ll come in handy in different situations.

Nuance:

I mentioned before that a lot of our queer characters have been pretty dorky. In my opinion, they’ve done a good job at leveling that out with Jesus, Magna, and Yumiko.

I’d also just like to take a minute to mention Tara’s fashion. I feel like they HAVE to have a lesbian on costumes, because the way Tara dresses is just a detail that you’d only think of if you’re involved in the queer community.

Look at all those fucking flannels.

Deaths

With any character, killing them is a big decision and should not be taken lightly. Sure, there are some deaths that seem relatively minor (Carter’s death when the hoard from the quarry split into two, for example), and there are deaths that are HUGE (Glenn), but each and every one served a purpose. Killing characters off for shock value or for blood or just to keep things exciting are all signs of a bad or inexperienced writer.

It’s also important to remember what this post is about- How they’ve been representing queer characters. Death is a HUGE part of that, it could make or break their entire score. Death is a sensitive subject in the queer community due to the countless hate crimes that resulted in the deaths of queer people that went unresolved and unacknowledged. In most genres, killing queer people off at all is seen as a no-no (we’re murdered enough in real life). But, as I mentioned earlier, in a show set in the zombie apocalypse, people are going to die, and that includes queer people. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have tact.

Denise:

Denise’s death is the easiest to see why it’s necessary. Let’s break it down.

Denise died the exact same death that Abraham did in the comic books. Why is this important? Because that gave Abraham the opportunity to be there when Negan was introduced, which is when he actually died, which Sasha saw, which pinned all of Sasha’s (and Rosita’s) anger on Negan. That led to a HUGE plot point, and Sasha’s own eventual death and the almost-victory of Rick Grimes and the almost-death of Negan! And even though all didn’t go fully to plan, it still created the distraction that was needed to begin the war, which drastically changed the course of the series. That’s why Denise died. So that Sasha could distract Negan and give Rick and his group the upper hand in the war.

I was SO sad when Denise died, but from a writer’s standpoint, it’s a death I can appreciate.

Eric:

I’m not saying Eric’s death was pointless, because it didn’t feel pointless, but I can’t exactly pinpoint the reason. However, we don’t always get to know that right away or have it be obvious. I’m inclined to do a pass on this one.

Now, onto the death itself. It was… So goddamn sad. In a fight for freedom from the Saviors, Eric was shot. Aaron immediately gets him out of the battle and brings him to a quiet place. Eric convinces him to keep fighting, because he knows that they need Aaron, saying “I can die here just fine on my own.” They say they love each other, and they kiss, and Aaron runs back to the fight. When Aaron gets back, Eric has turned and is wandering off in the distance. Another Alexandrian keeps Aaron from running after him, and comforts him.

And, I’m adding this because I think it’s important, when Aaron gets back to Rick and the group, Rick is holding a little baby named Gracie (let’s not get into how he found this baby). He needs someone to take her back to the Kingdom, so she’ll be safe… And Aaron takes her. He says, please, I have to, let me take her. Aaron adopts a little baby girl.

I personally think the death was done very well. Queerness aside, it was STRONG. It was so emotionally powerful. Aaron’s friend being there to help him and keep him from doing something stupid, him putting his mourning into doing something good (taking care of Gracie), and ESPECIALLY Eric himself telling Aaron to go, that there are more important things to be done. Emotionally speaking, it might be my favorite death in the series. It hurts, but I think it was done so well.

Jesus:

Jesus’s death was fucking stupid.

Like, I know, blahblahblah, it was important to the plot, we need to be mad at the Whisperers, we needed a reason to fight, blah fucking blah I’m still not over it. I fucking hate Jesus’s death. I WASN’T expecting it, and I’m fucking annoyed.

The biggest reason I’m annoyed is because I was waiting for them to reveal Aaron and Jesus’s relationship. I’ll talk more about why that bothered me later, but the reason Jesus’s death was awful, was because it’s inextricable from this fatal flaw.

Tara:

I’m writing this after seeing Tara’s death for the first time pretty recently. I’ve only seen it once, and the problems I have with the death aren’t the death itself at all. In fact, I think, queer-wise, it was done pretty well. I mean, it happened with a whole bunch of straighties, you know? It’s not like they put a bunch of queer kids’ heads on pikes, she was the only queer one. So I hesitantly say it was alright.

Eric, Jesus, & Tara:

This is an important part that bothers me a bit. I’m not sure how serious it is, because I very well could just be being sensitive, but… Jesus’s death happened VERY suddenly, and then right after that we lost Tara. And Eric’s death hadn’t happened too long before, either. Especially when, in comparison to the straighties, we have such a small cast of queer characters, to lose so many of them so fast… It was kind of exhausting. I’d love to hear other queer fans’ thoughts about this and if you think I’m being overdramatic, or if you feel similarly.

What Did They Do Wrong?

Before closing out the post, let’s sum everything up and give some final thoughts.

Jesus’s death and his relationship with Aaron:

I was absolutely devastated when Jesus died, and not in the good way. I accidentally read a “spoiler” that said Aaron was Jesus’s boyfriend, so I was waiting for that to be revealed. Every time Aaron and Jesus were in danger, I wasn’t scared at all, because I thought they can’t die without revealing that first.

And, I mean, after that six year gap SO many straighties were revealing their relationships. Not a single gay relationship? Not a single fucking one? I was waiting for Jesus and Aaron to reveal their relationship and instead, one of them died.

And it wasn’t just the spoiler that did this. My sister didn’t know this spoiler, and she thought they were going to get together, too. But it wasn’t just “oh there are two gay guys in the same room they HAVE to get together.” We’ve both seen scenes with the two of them together in previous seasons, and neither of us had ever thought they were going to get together. After that six year gap, Aaron and Jesus had chemistry. It seemed like they purposefully set them up just to kill one of them.

No trans characters:

It’s been ten fucking years PLEASE give me a trans character. Or, and I know, this is crazy, but maybe a couple. Unless of course the zombies have a particular taste for transies and we were all killed off at the start.

I would KILL for a transguy character who can’t bind and doesn’t pass, but all the good characters are calling him by the correct pronouns anyway and it’s not a big deal.

Please. Add some trans characters.

Missed opportunities:

My best way of explaining this is calling back to a minor character, a man who got bit after the hoard from the quarry split in half. He’s talking about his wife, how he wants to get back to her and say goodbye. He could have easily been talking about his husband.

Some people might disagree, saying that since he’s bit and he’s going to die, that this would be a really bad idea, but… I don’t think so. There’s enough major queer characters in the show to balance this out, and, I mean, come on, it’s a show about zombies. People die every episode. This gay man just happened to be one of them. We don’t even meet his wife! It would be so easy.

I think it’s a weakness that their only queer characters are major characters, because background characters are part of what reminds you that there’s a whole world out there. It’s part of the immersion. If we never meet any queer background characters, it makes the major characters outliers. I realize this is nitpicking, but it’s been ten fucking years. I’m not going to take the time to tally up every single character, major and minor, in The Walking Dead and label them as assumed straight or confirmed queer, but we can all guess what that list would look like.

What Did They Do Right?

They made sure to always have at least one queer character:

We’re missing our queer characters in the first two seasons, but once we have Tara, we have at least one queer character to look up to in every single season. Some cishet people might think this is pandering, but it’s a very important part (NOT the entirety) of avoiding the Bury Your Gays trope.

Every time they killed a queer character, there was a reason:

They’re not just slicing and dicing.

Personality differences:

They’re all their very own character, and there’s not any “queer traits.”

Coming outs:

They were all in character and done realistically.

They didn’t queer-bait or introduce a gay character just to kill them:

Every queer character so far has had a decent shelf life. For major characters, let’s keep it that way.

xxx

Talk to me about this! I want to know what you agree with me on, what you don’t, whether you’re fans of The Walking Dead or not.

Question/s of the month:

My first question is for people of colour, both those of you who are fans of The Walking Dead and who aren’t: How do you feel about how the Walking Dead chooses to represent people of colour? Go crazy, ramble as long as you want, I really want to know!

My second question is a request: Please recommend me movies and tv shows in the horror genre specifically that have queer characters! Whether it’s done well or not, I want to see them all (I’ve already seen It: Chapter 2 and I love American Horror Story).

Let me know what you think about this series, please! I want to do one on the horror genre as a whole and The Good Place, so if this is well received, I’ll get started on that!

Reblogs > Likes

Writing Ramblings

Adding my zombie apocalypse wips tag list:

@nemowritesstuff @sidhewrites

#the walking dead #twd #horror #amwriting #amwriting horror #i love horror #queer #we need diverse books #diversity #blog post

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alj4890 · 4 years

Text

Prompt Request/Rachel Green Quotes Prompts

(Chris Winters x MC*Shannon Wright) with the prompt: "I'm doin' good, baby. How you doin'?" As requested by @krsnlove

(Chris x Shannon) A Choices Red Carpet Diaries/Pixelberry HWU fan fiction.

Masterlist

A/N Took this idea from one of the diamond dates you can have with Chris in the HWU app.

Tagging a few who I know enjoy RCD fics, LOL @krsnlove @lilyofchoices @moodyvalentinestories @trappedinfandoms @desireepow-1986 @flyawayboo

Unnamed Doctor, Number 1

"Hey there." Chris flashed his thousand watt smile when Shannon got into the passenger seat of his jeep.

Her own striking smile grew when he picked her hand up and kissed the back of it.

"Welcome back." She couldn't help but feel giddy when he kept her hand in his. "How did the rest of the shoot go?"

"It went well." He maneuvered through the traffic. "Only a few more scenes to shoot here and I will be free for a few months until the next project."

She relaxed as much as she could in the leather seat. It still seemed surreal dating a movie star, especially the very one she had fantasized about the last few years or so.

Chris squeezed her hand. "How's your search going?"

"I've done a few commercials and a pilot for Netflix." She shrugged and averted her eyes. "Not exactly what I thought would happen after graduation, but at least it's a start."

"Perhaps my surprise will help in that area." His bright blue eyes twinkled. "I'm taking you to the studio with me."

She perked up. "Really? I can't wait to see an actual movie scene filmed."

"You won't have much of a chance." His smile grew at her puzzlement. "I talked the director into using you as one of the doctors in today's medical scene."

"Chris!" She leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"Hey, no distracting the driver." He teased. "At least wait until I'm at a stop sign so I can take advantage of it."

She laughed and pressed a lingering kiss to his cheek again. "This is one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me since I came to Hollywood."

He looked into her eyes and quickly pulled into a deserted parking lot. "Shannon, you can't look at me like that." He slipped his hands in her hair and kissed her. "I had so many plans to kiss you senseless after the shoot, but you had to upend every one of them."

She giggled in the midst of his kiss. "With just a look?"

He grinned against her lips. "Don't tell anyone, but I am that easy when it comes to you."

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "So if I were to ask for another kiss?"

He closed the last couple of inches and kissed her again. After a few moments of enjoying the feeling of having her in his arms again, he reluctantly pulled away. "This is why I said I was going to kiss you after the shoot." He grumbled. "We can't be late to the set if I'm to get you into makeup and wardrobe on time."

Once at the studio, Chris kept Shannon's hand in his as they walked toward soundstage eight. He couldn't wipe the smile off his face as he watched her excitement grow with each step.

He tugged her close when he stopped outside of a trailer. "I have one more surprise."

"Oh?" She tilted her head back and focused on his mouth. "And what might that be?"

"Shannon." he cupped her face and lowered his lips to hers.

"Chris! There you are!"

The couple broke apart. Meghan Prescott came hurrying up. Her smile was a touch strained. "Is this the one you talk about all the time? What's her name?" She tapped a perfectly manicured finger against her dimpled cheek. "Sherry?"

"Shannon." He corrected. "And yes, this is my Shannon." He kept his arm wrapped around her waist. "This is my costar, Meghan."

"Nice to meet you." Shannon said holding her hand out. "I loved your movie, Citizen D."

"Aren't you precious?" Meghan said in a syrupy sweet tone, ignoring the hand held toward her. "Of course, Chris has proven to me countless nights while we filmed in Thailand that he only picks the best out of everything."

Shannon tensed. Countless nights? He didn't say we were only dating each other. I only assumed we were.

Meghan noticed her rival's smile dim and pressed on. "Chris, Jim wanted me to tell you that we will film the big love scene first and then the hospital one."

"Thanks Meg." He smiled and turned away. "I'm going to get Shannon to makeup and then I'll see you on the set."

"If you want to practice," she crooned. "I'll be in my trailer." She smiled invitingly at him and hurried off.

"Shannon?" Chris tried to get her attention.

"Huh?" She snapped her eyes back to his ridiculously handsome face. "Sorry. What were you saying?"

"Don't you want to see your next surprise?" His smile hadn't dimmed in the least.

"Meg wasn't it?" Her tone held a hint of the sarcasm she was holding back.

He laughed. "No. I've got something better than that." He opened a trailer door and barely dodged the blonde flash that barreled out.

Shannon took a couple of steps back then squealed as she hugged Addison. "Why didn't you tell me this was the studio that hired you?!"

"I wanted it to be a surprise!" She exclaimed while jumping up and down with her. "After Chris told me his plan, I wanted to be the one to dress you."

"Now I know I'll look gorgeous." Shannon hugged her again.

Chris cleared his throat. "Waiting for the attention due to the handsome hero who planned all this."

His teasing smile grew tender when she walked back into his arms.

"Thank you." She said before pressing her lips to his. "I don't know what I did to deserve this special treatment, but I am very grateful."

He held her closer to him. "If you would stop being so you, I wouldn't be tempted everyday to do something special."

Addison broke them apart. "Time is limited people. You two can kiss anytime. I only have minutes to create a masterpiece."

Chris reluctantly released her. "I guess that's my cue to run through the scenes with Meg." He winked at Shannon. "See you soon, beautiful."

"Yeah." She mumbled. “See you soon.”

Addison yanked her into the trailer and got to work. "Hmm? You'll be a doctor out in the jungles of Thailand. Would you wear glasses?"

"Addi? Do Chris and Meghan practice together often?"

Addison paused in piecing together a casual yet striking set of clothes. "I'm not sure. They are the two main stars, so yeah. I would think they do."

"Oh." Shannon plucked at the fringe of a nearby shawl. "They have a romance scene to shoot and I--"

"AHH! I forgot about that." Addison handed the outfit to her friend. She snatched up two garment bags with Winters and Prescott written on the tags. "I'll be right back!"

The trailer door bounced a couple of times before shutting.

Shannon's joy seeing Chris again and finding out his surprise had all but disappeared. She wasn't quite sure what their relationship was. Since meeting in Miami, their time together had been a whirlwind of sporadic dates followed by numerous phone and video chats while he was away on location.

Now, she would be present to see him film a love scene. She had seen all his previous movies and the love scenes had been a vital source of imagining her own fantasies with him. But now, she was actually getting to know the man that acted in those scenes.

He was so much more than a mere fantasy.

How could she stand to see the one who continuously swept her off her feet kiss and possibly be partially nude with another woman? And not just any woman, but People Magazine's Most Beautiful?

"Ugh." Shannon finished dressing and dropped her head on the vanity. "Why did this have to happen now?"

She lifted her head up and stared at her reflection. She thought her brown hair and brown eyes were nothing spectacular. Her golden tan skin and slightly taller than average height were nothing to write home about.

She honestly didn't see why Chris or anyone else for that matter found her beautiful.

She turned around when he returned. His eyes drifted down the hunter green tank top that hugged her curves. The khaki shorts revealed her long legs. He looked up at her lovely face and smiled. "Wow. I would become a hypochondriac if you were my doctor."

She laughed and shook her head while slipping the white lab coat on. She picked up a stethoscope and slung it around her neck. "Seriously Chris, do I look okay?"

"Okay isn't even a part of the language anymore." He sauntered up and wrapped his arms around her waist. "You look perfect."

She blushed and lowered her eyes. He nudged her chin up and kissed her.

When his tongue teased her lips apart, she jerked away. She was reminded of his upcoming love scene and wondered if he had come directly from practice.

His blue eyes crinkled at the corners. "What's wrong?"

She gave a half shrug. "Nothing much." She bit down on her bottom lip. "How did your rehearsal with Meghan go?"

"Fine." He lowered his head to kiss her again. "I've missed you these last few months."

"I missed you too." She dodged his lips and eased out of his embrace. "I--"

"Shannon?" He rubbed the back of his neck. "Did I do something?"

"No, why?" She asked.

"You're not even looking at me and you seem repulsed by my touch." He leaned against the vanity and pinned her with his steel blue gaze.

"I'm not repulsed." She began to explain, trying to think how to carefully phrase what her worries were yet still sound like a well trained actress.

"But--" he started to say.

"Did you film the big love scene yet?" She interrupted, cringing at her jealousy peeping out.

His stance eased with realization. "No. Not yet." He walked over and pulled her back into his arms. "And I didn't practice it either."

"Oh." She mumbled. "Is it a kiss or something more type scene?"

He paused in rubbing his hands up and down her back. "It's a scene that leads to the beginning of sex yet is interrupted by gunshots."

"Hmm. Interesting." She tried to keep her mouth closed and focus on the kisses he was dotting on her skin. Her curiosity got the better of her. "Just how far into sex are we talking here?"

Chris groaned softly against her neck. "We're in the middle of unbuttoning shirts with lips locked." He lifted his head. "It's all an act. I don't feel any attraction to Meg."

Shannon rolled her eyes. "I know it's part of the job." She squirmed in his arms. "I've never..." She trailed off. With his continued silence, she felt bound to continue. "I've never dated an actor before."

"Really?" He smiled down at her. "Good thing we're not dating."

Hurt flashed across her face. Not dating! She tried to move out of his arms. Then what was this? Just some...some...she didn't know what to call it!

Chris held tight to her. "Shannon, you know we're serious, right? I mean, I wasn't the only one to feel that connection, was I?"

She stilled. "Connection?"

His bashful, dimpled smile formed. "I think I was pretty obvious in how hard I fell for you the night we met." He shrugged while urging her closer. "I considered us serious from the moment I knew your name."

"You did?" Her tender smile appeared. "That's so sweet."

He pretended to be embarrassed by such a compliment. "Please. Me? Sweet? With you? Never."

She couldn't contain her bubbly laughter. " I suppose I feel the same."

"You suppose?!" He clutched his chest while sinking to the floor. "Oh. My shipper heart that only beats for Chrannon. It's--"

"Chrannon?" She repeated.

"You're ruining my award winning near death scene that needs a doctor. Stat." He grumbled.

"Chrannon." She mumbled once more. "I would have thought Wrinters but to each his own."

"Stop talking and tend to your patient." He growled. He closed his eyes and fell on the floor.

Shannon smothered her laughter while kneeling beside him. She listened to his heart and checked his pulse. "Oh no! This poor man has succumbed to philophobia."

He cracked open an eye. "What the heck is that?"

"The fear of falling in love." She explained, gently brushing his hair off his forehead.

"I'm not afraid anymore." He murmured.

"Then you don't need ten cc's of kisses?" She began to stand up, only to be pulled back down.

"It couldn't hurt to administer that." He breathed against her lips. "Just as a precaution."

She grinned and lowered her head, kissing him in the manner she dreamed of while he was away.

After a few heated minutes. She propped her chin on his chest. "How are you feeling now?"

"I'm doin' good, baby. How you doin'?" He replied in a flirty tone.

She chuckled while getting up. "I'm much better now."

Chris couldn't keep his proud smirk from forming.

"Ready to go on set?" He asked, holding his hand out to her.

She laced her fingers with his. "I am."

He opened the trailer door and led her to the soundstage entrance.

#choices chris winters #chris winters #chis winters x mc #chris x shannon #pixelberry hwu #choices rcd #rachel green prompts

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theonyxpath · 5 years

Link

Aye, right now we’re becalmed on the Acid Sea! But we know that if we can get closer to Waterdog Port, we can catch the great winds that blow and sail right in! We just need yer help to get there!

In other words: our Pirates of Pugmire has a little more than a week to go and we are 81% funded. So anything you can do to spread the word about this excellent supplement to both Pugmire and Monarchies of Mau would be just the push we need to set us sailing to “funded” and beyond! Just click here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/pirates-of-pugmire-a-realms-of-pugmire-tabletop-rpg

While we were at UK Games Expo, we must have handed out hundreds of cards with the Pirates of Pugmire Kickstarter info and url, and we had the great pleasure of talking to folks about it, and Pugmire and Mau, too! And then we directed them to our sales allies at Leisure Games on the other side of the hall. They actually brought more Mau up from London on Saturday because interest was so high.

Which is always great to hear!

There was also a lot of interest in Scion 2e, with a nice number of satisfied KS backers letting us know they loved their books – including one backer who came over pretty much to give us hugs just because she didn’t want us thinking all the backers were as mean as the ones posting in the Kickstarter comments. Most appreciated!

But I think there were more folks there interested in getting the two Scion books than there were backers, which at the time wasn’t possible although we directed them to all the places they could order them. (We later found out that one of our Retailer backers from the kickstarter did have the books there, but I think they were gone almost immediately). So that was fantastic in that it bodes well for the in-store sales for the books that started last Wednesday.

We just never know if a successful Kickstarter has hit most of the potential audience for a project, or if there are enough folks wanting to buy out there to justify the extra print run. It’s certainly looking good for both Scion books so far, both in stores and on DTRPG where the books are #1 and #2 sellers as I write this!

When we weren’t talking to attendees, the booth was a hub for meetings, both planned and unexpected (Hi, DaveB!), and where Eddy and Matthew were recording the Onyx Pathcast UKGE Edition. If you listen to last Friday’s edition, you can hear our latest incredible idea for an RPG: Thomas the Tank Engine and the Trainsformers.

Although completely impossible due to licenses and the basically goofy idea that it is, we left it in because despite the premise, the whole conversation demonstrates the sort of free-form brainstorming we do when examining new ideas for projects. I won’t say it is well-worth the listen, but its good to have that process recorded somewhere!

When not at the booth, most of our crew were GMing/SGing various games, and in particular the debut of our first Onyx Path convention tournament set of games. Throughout Saturday our gang ran Chronicles of Darkness sessions for a handful of the game lines under that umbrella brand, and the players of all of those sessions voted for which player in their game they thought should advance to the final.

You probably read about that last week, but what was particularly gratifying to me was how the players leaving the rooms were excited talking about their games afterwards, which is great, and then when we sat down together to compare notes how the Storytellers were raving about the players and how excellent the sessions were, which is fantastic!

All-in-all, a superlative trip. Hip hip, and all that.

While we were exploring Merrie Olde Englande, it seems that a few projects were teased here as well. For example, I noted that Dixie posted this on the blog when she filled in so very well for me last week (Thanks, Dixie!):

Time to reveal just what this is, and I’m gonna do it! It is the logo for the community content brand for all of our game lines that use the Storypath System. We’ll be releasing the formats, templates, and rules, for each line as it get released, so naturally we’re starting with Scion 2e. Then, as the Trinity Continuum, Dytopia Rising: Evolution, and They Came From Beneath the Sea!, etc, are released we’ll open up that line in the Storypath Nexus.

Expect the Scion Storypath Nexus to be opened once we are done with this month and into July. You’ll be able to post your Scion ideas on DTRPG: characters, adventures, sourcebooks, tips, etc, and set a price and get paid for it by adoring Scion fans everywhere!

Also in July, and at a different Community Content site – this one being the Slarecian Vault for Scarred Lands – is the dramatic start of a mega-adventure series!

Vengeance of the Shunned is a collaboration between nearly two dozen creators which includes:

A 10-part adventure path that takes the characters from levels 1-15

8 side quests to allow additional advancement, flesh out the campaign, and show the impact of these terrible events on the Scarred Lands

A collection of creatures, new and old, optimized for 5e

A gazetteer detailing important locations featured in the campaign

An overview of the Scarred Planes with guidelines for how they function in the 5e rules

We’ll be passing on more news about this project from the creators in the weeks to come!

Finally, I teased something something about keeping your eyes open on June 13th, and I just want to underline that once again. Not going to tell you where to look, but keep an eye on our social media. We’re trying something very different for us as a way to lead into something in July that a lot of you have been asking about, so we hope you get a kick out of it.

The kick part was not a clue, really, just a figure of speech. Although, I guess you could apply it to…

Many Worlds, One Path!

BLURBS!

Kickstarter!

Our Pirates of Pugmire Kickstarter is nearly 81% funded, and we’re going for the last week Big Push!, so swing over to our ship and check it out!

Pirates of Pugmire is a chronicle sourcebook for both Pugmire and Monarchies of Mau. It’s usable in either game, or as part of a joint experience. Some highlights include: * Two new species for players to enjoy: lizards and birds * Six new callings, including two for dogs and two for cats * Rules for building, sailing, and sinking ships * A trove of new allies, enemies, and treasures * Information on Waterdog Port and Port Matthew * “Going on the Account,” a chronicle of three new adventures, taking characters from 1st through 6th level

You can also hear Eddy discuss the writing and design of Pirates of Pugmire on the Onyx Pathcast on your favorite podcatcher, or here on : https://onyxpathcast.podbean.com/)

ONYX PATH MEDIA

Onyx Pathcast art by Michael Gaydos

This Friday’s Onyx Pathcast is the second Scion 2e Actual Play with Matthew, Eddy, and Dixie!: https://onyxpathcast.podbean.com/

And Here’s More Media About Our Worlds:

This week’s Onyx Path News was a bumper live edition, as Matthew talked about new releases, Kickstarter, and the UK Games Expo in some depth: https://youtu.be/9te69TM7pP0

For all your Satyros Phil Brucato and Mage: The Ascension needs, our roving Mage developer has been interviewed by both the Symposium Podcast and Mage: The Podcast crews in recent months. Check his content out at the following links: https://symposium.podbean.com/e/the-symposium-podcast-episode-4-the-evolution-of-ascension/ https://symposium.podbean.com/e/the-symposium-podcast-episode-5-how-to-become-a-writer/ https://magethepodcast.com/index.php/2019/04/13/gods-and-monsters-with-satyros-phil-brucato-hiromi-cota-james-sambrano-and-isabella-price/

Gods and Monsters with Satyros Phil Brucato, Hiromi Cota, James Sambrano and Isabella Price

Red Moon Roleplaying recently concluded their Scarred Lands actual play but have recently started up a new V5 one here: https://www.redmoonroleplaying.com

The Story Told Podcast published a superb overview of Changeling: The Lost, as well as an interview with Meghan Fitzgerald, AND the next part of their Dragon-Blooded actual play for Exalted: https://thestorytold.libsyn.com/

Occultists Anonymous haven’t stopped with their Mage: The Awakening actual play, which you can find here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list… but if you’re just after the latest episodes, these links will also work: Episode 19: Blood on the Windhttps://youtu.be/4R33Ar-Abe4 The cabal takes on the werewolf pack leader! Episode 20: Take a Breathhttps://youtu.be/kNJ-Efu3FIc The cabal deals with the fallout of their fight

Fandible‘s excellent They Came from Beneath the Sea! actual play concluded after two stunning parts we really recommend you check out: http://www.fandible.com/they-came-fro…

Caffeinated Conquests are still going with their amazingly fun Gauntlet of Spiragos campaign for Scarred Lands: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…

And of course, the ever-fantastic Devil’s Luck Gaming continue to run one of the best Scarred Lands actual plays around today on their Twitch channel: https://www.twitch.tv/DEVILSLUCKGAMING

Please check any of these out and let us know if you find or produce any actual plays of our games!

ELECTRONIC GAMING

As we find ways to enable our community to more easily play our games, the Onyx Dice Rolling App is now live! Our dev team has been doing updates since we launched based on the excellent use-case comments by our community, and this thing is awesome! (Seriously, you need to roll 100 dice for Exalted? This app has you covered.)

ON AMAZON AND BARNES & NOBLE:

You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle (from Amazon) and Nook (from Barnes & Noble).

If you enjoy these or any other of our books, please help us by writing reviews on the site of the sales venue from which you bought it. Reviews really, really help us get folks interested in our amazing fiction!

Our selection includes these fiction books:

OUR SALES PARTNERS:

We’re working with Studio2 to get Pugmire and Monarchies of Mau out into stores, as well as to individuals through their online store. You can pick up the traditionally printed main book, the screen, and the official Pugmire dice through our friends there! https://studio2publishing.com/search?q=pugmire

We’ve added Prince’s Gambit to our Studio2 catalog: https://studio2publishing.com/products/prince-s-gambit-card-game

Now, we’ve added Changeling: The Lost 2nd Edition products to Studio2‘s store! See them here: https://studio2publishing.com/collections/all-products/changeling-the-lost

Scarred Lands (Pathfinder) books are also on sale at Studio2, and they have the 5e version, supplements, and dice as well!: https://studio2publishing.com/collections/scarred-lands

Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Try this link! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Onyx-Path-Publishing/

And you can now order Pugmire, Monarchies of Mau, Cavaliers of Mars, and Changeling: The Lost 2e at the same link!

On Sale This Week!

This Wednesday, we’re releasing PDF and PoD versions of both the Tales of Excellent Cats fiction anthology and Adventures For Curious Cats for Monarchies of Mau on DriveThruRPG, and Tales will be available on the Amazon and Nook epub stores!

CONVENTIONS!

Gen Con: August 1st – 4th Save Against Fear: October 12th – 14th GameHoleCon: October 31st – November 3rd We’ll also be back at PAX Unplugged later this year!

And now, the new project status updates!

DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM EDDY WEBB (projects in bold have changed status since last week):

First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep)

M20 Victorian Mage (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Geist 2e Fiction Anthology (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2nd Edition)

Exalted Essay Collection (Exalted)

Trinity Continuum Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum Core)

Wraith20 Fiction Anthology (Wraith: The Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition)

One Foot in the Grave Jumpstart (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2e)

Dragon-Blooded Novella #2 (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Exigents (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Terra Firma (Trinity Continuum: Aeon) Titanomachy (Scion 2nd Edition)

Crucible of Legends (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Many-Faced Strangers – Lunars Companion (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Redlines

Monsters of the Deep (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)

Tales of Aquatic Terror (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)

Scion: Dragon (Scion 2nd Edition)

Kith and Kin (Changeling: The Lost 2e)

Masks of the Mythos (Scion 2nd Edition)

Scion: Demigod (Scion 2nd Edition)

Second Draft

Tales of Good Dogs – Pugmire Fiction Anthology (Pugmire)

Dragon-Blooded Novella #1 (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Across the Eight Directions (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition core rulebook (Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition)

City of the Towered Tombs (Cavaliers of Mars)

TC: Aeon Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Legendlore core book (Legendlore)

Development

WoD Ghost Hunters (World of Darkness)

Oak, Ash, and Thorn: Changeling: The Lost 2nd Companion (Changeling: The Lost 2nd)

M20 The Technocracy Reloaded (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Creatures of the World Bestiary (Scion 2nd Edition)

Heirs to the Shogunate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Scion Companion: Mysteries of the World (Scion 2nd Edition)

Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)

Chicago Folio/Dossier (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Let the Streets Run Red (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Cults of the Blood Gods (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Heroic Land Dwellers (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)

TC: Aeon Ready-Made Characters (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Manuscript Approval

Trinity Continuum: Aberrant core (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Pirates of Pugmire (Realms of Pugmire)

Hunter: The Vigil 2e core (Hunter: The Vigil 2nd Edition)

DR:E Threat Guide (Dystopia Rising: Evolution)

DR:E Jumpstart (Dystopia Rising: Evolution)

Editing

Memento Mori: the GtSE 2e Companion (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2nd Edition)

Night Horrors: Nameless and Accursed (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

Spilled Blood (Vampire: The Requiem 2nd Edition)

Lunars: Fangs at the Gate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Post-Editing Development

M20 Book of the Fallen (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

V5 Chicago By Night (Vampire: The Masquerade)V5 Chicago By Night Screen (Vampire: The Masquerade)

CofD Contagion Chronicle (Chronicles of Darkness)

Witch-Queen of the Shadowed Citadel (Cavaliers of Mars)

Distant Worlds (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Scion Ready-Made Characters (Scion 2nd Edition)

Dark Eras 2 (Chronicles of Darkness)

Indexing

ART DIRECTION FROM MIRTHFUL MIKE!

In Art Direction

Contagion Chronicle

Dark Eras 2

M20 Book of the Fallen

VtR Spilled Blood – in the worx.

Trinity Continuum Aeon: Distant Worlds – AD’d.

Trinity Continuum Aberrant – Sketches coming in.

Hunter: The Vigil 2e

Ex3 Lunars

They Came From Beneath the Sea – final art notes in.

Ex3 Monthly Stuff

In Layout

V5: Chicago

Trinity Core

Trinity Aeon

CoM – Witch Queen of the Shadowed Citadel

Proofing

WtF Shunned by the Moon

Signs of Sorcery – At WW for approval

DR: E

Scion Jumpstart

Aeon Aexpansion

C20 Cup of Dreams – This week.

Ex 3 Monthlies – At WW for approval

Scion Ready-Made Characters – 2nd proof.

At Press

Dragon Blooded – Deluxe Printing

Dragon-Blooded Cloth Map – printed and being shipped to Studio2

Dragon-Blooded Wallpapers – Going out to backers

Dragon-Blooded Screen – Printing

The Realm – Reviewing errata

Trinity Core Screen – Printing

TC Aeon Screen – Printing

Trinity Core Digital Screen and Reference – Going out to backers

Trinity Core Wallpapers – Going out to backers

TC Aeon Digital Screen and Reference – Going out to backers

TC Aeon Wallpapers – Going out to backers

Tales of Excellent Cats – PDF and PoD versions available Wednesday on DTRPG!

C20 Player’s Guide – PoD files uploaded

Adventures for Curious Cats – PDF and PoD versions available Wednesday on DTRPG!

Geist 2e – Gathering Errata

Book of Oblivion – Putting in errata

Trinity: In Media Res – PoD files uploaded

Blood Sea: The Crimson Abyss (Scarred Lands) – Advance PDF files getting uploaded

Today’s Reason to Celebrate!

It’s still Pride Month so this gets a double week listing! This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, so let’s remember Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, Brenda Howard, and all the other activists throughout the years who made Pride possible. Happy Pride to all our LGBTQIA+ fans and freelancers, and I hope any celebrations you attend are amazing!

#Onyx Path Publishing

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notsodarkacademic · 6 years

Text

2018 summer film & tv bops that i watched + my opinions

FILMS

to all the boys i’ve loved before (6/10): it was pretty cheesy and exactly what i expected to come out of a contemporary teen book adaptation. i liked the actors in it and the representation, but otherwise, it wasn’t that unique concept-wise. it felt like i was watching a movie i had already seen before or like i was watching an old wattpad story come to life. i hadn’t read the book beforehand so i went into it thinking that it’d focus more on lara jean’s letters being sent out and her own personal development rather than a fake relationship that turns into a real one. it was just overall a little too unrealistic and cheesy for my taste.

the big sick (9.5/10): hilarious and fresh. i actually laughed out loud during this movie. the relationship between kumail and emily is so cute and their families are even cuter.

eighth grade (9.5/10): i LOVE bo burnham with a passion and his movie did not disappoint. it was realistic and brought me back to the weird and uncomfortable eighth grade feeling. i’m glad that kayla didn’t necessarily do anything monumental, but started to learn how to deal with her own issues.

baby driver (10/10): i’m kinda biased towards this movie bc i’m in love with ansel elgort AND lily james. setting my crushes on them aside, i loved this movie a lot. it was exciting and had just the right amount of everything. it’s in my top fave movies now so yah. go watch it bc it’s really good and lives up to the hype.

ex machina (8/10): tbh i don’t know what i was really supposed to learn from this movie, but i’m sure there was a lesson in there somewhere. beautiful to watch in my opinion.

emo the musical (7/10): i watched this movie bc i thought it’d be kinda cringey and funny, but it was surprisingly good for what i was expecting. it’s definitely a self-aware movie. definitely gave me some dear evan hansen and be more chill vibes even though they’re all very different. good movie for when you kinda just need to watch something while doing something else.

leave no trace (8/10): really cool story. i got annoyed with the daughter’s voice at first, but eventually just got use to it. i thought it’d focus more about them actually living in forest park, but the rest was interesting too. the ending was kinda weird and most of it felt weird tbh, but still a good movie.

anna karenina (7/10): first off, anna is kinda annoying and vronsky is literally way overrated. i liked the side story with kostya and kitty better. however, i thought the transitions and how to story was told was super intriguing and made watching anna turn into a mess a little more enjoyable. i do sympathize with anna for some parts of the movie, but ultimately, i think that she got the fate that she chose for herself. i did like the look into russian society and the role of women in the male-dominant world. overall, it was visually beautiful and had unique storytelling, but anna and vronsky’s love story wasn’t enough to make me root for them.

anne with an e (8/10): started this thinking it’d be kinda boring because it’s just about farmy people back in the day, but damn.... farmy people got a lot going on. the stories are intriguing and most of the show is pretty wholesome and sweet. anne can be a little annoying, but what 13 year old isn’t? gilbert is my man and i love him. i also love cole a lot. all the characters are well-written and have their own nuances. this show also deals with big issues pretty well like racism, sexism (kinda), LGBTQ+ issues, and more! seriously

series of unfortunate events (7/10): this show is obviously geared towards younger kids, but it wasn’t any less enjoyable because of it. the show is clever and has a unique charm to it. this show is pretty perfectly cast and has good comedic timing that isn’t kiddish. i especially enjoyed all the references to difference works of writing.

dear white people (10/10): this show is so so so good. idk even know why i love it so much, but the characters are all so amazing. i was really sad when i finished season 2 bc i binged it and didn’t have anything to watch anymore.

i am not a robot (8/10): skeptical about the concept of this show at first, but it turned out to be really cute and good. i also am a fan of chae soo bin (loved her in cheer up and strongest deliveryman). yoo seung ho was also cute in this show and i’m glad that being a rich person wasn’t his only defining character trait. all the side characters were phenomenal, even the ones that i got annoyed by sometimes.

my only love song (k-drama) (6.5/10): if you haven’t noticed yet, i tend to watch things with my faves actors and actresses in them. i only watched this k-drama because gong seung yeon and lee jong hyun were in it. it was an ok drama. the story wasn’t the most interesting and it felt slow at times. the buildup to on dal and su jeong’s relationship was almost non-existent which was weird. i still liked it for the most part, but wish it were done better.

suits season 8 (usa) (8/10): i’ve been really enjoying this new season. tbh idk why everyone hates katherine heigl, but she’s doing pretty well in suits. i need harvey and donna to just get together already bc if they don’t, i will sue. i miss mike’s character and his relationship with harvey, but i also feel like his story’s ending on the show made sense. even though she’s a great actress, meghan markle’s character honestly was one of my least favorites so i didn’t really even feel like there was anything missing from the show when she left like i do with mike.

the package (k-drama) (8/10): super beautiful to watch since it’s set in france. the characters in the tour group ensemble are so interesting to watch. their stories each slowly unfold throughout the show. it was lighthearted and playful while also dealing with big life issues and it was all done so beautifully.

judge vs. judge (k-drama) (9/10): literally one of the best plots in a k-drama that i’ve seen so far. there’s always a twist every episode and the story is crafted so well. the romance in this drama is very subtle, but the plot is amazing. has a different feel than other k-dramas, probably because it doesn’t have a romance as the main plot point. seriously could not recommend this drama more, especially is you like crime dramas.

super tv season 2 (8/10): tbh i liked season one a tiny bit little more bc it focused on suju more rather than other groups trying to promote, but this season was good too. it was fun seeing suju interact with other groups. my fave episodes were the last two when they went on vacay with ryeowook.

ducktales (9/10): i like watching cartoons as a therapeutic type thing bc cartoons are less serious than live action things most of the time and they’re simpler than real life. ducktales has been a solid one for me lately. it’s a cute show with a good plot. there are definitely a bunch of filler episodes that have nothing to do with the big mystery, but those ones are still pretty fun to watch. if you feel like being nostalgic and just more like a kid, watch ducktales.

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fragilelcngs-blog · 6 years

Text

INTRODUCING…. me.

hey, babes !! my name’s dee, and i’m very new around here. i’m twenty-three, live in the est, and use she/her pronouns. i’m a moody aquarius, chaotic neutral, and infp for those of you that are into literally anything that will tell you about your personality like me. i’m legit so painfully shy but i’m so down for plots, threads, and ships of all kinds so please bring me whatever your little hearts desire !!! i’m so stoked to be here and write with y’all it’s INSANE, and my ims are ALWAYS open for screaming about plotting, sharing headcanons, or making friends !! i only have two triggers that i feel should be mentioned and those are anything involving heavily graphic or explicit mentions of self-harm or pedophilia. otherwise, i’m good to go but please let me know if i miss something and don’t tag or give a content warning for any of your triggers !!!

INTRODUCING…. the muses.

HEATHER VINCENT, phoebe tonkin, ( 26 ) + screwtape by cane hill.

JANIE FOLEY, holland roden, ( 21 ) + disco tits by tove lo.

CARCOSA LUSK, lucy hale, ( 23 ) + ain’t no grave by johnny cash.

MICKEY ST. CLAIR, lynn gunn, ( 24 ) + soon be gone by boots.

VERONICA ST. CLAIR, carlson young, ( 21 ), + hotter than hell by dua lipa.

EVE RAYNER, holland roden, ( 27 ), + when the levee breaks by led zeppelin.

VALERIA PADILLA, eiza gonzalez, ( 27 ), + down by stone temple pilots.

MOLLY STARRETT, madelaine petsch, ( 22 ), + ultraviolence by lana del rey.

BRITNEY STARRETT, katherine mcnamara, ( 20 ), + come as you are by nirvana.

NIKKI FREY, maggie lindemann, ( 19 ), + baby i’m dead inside by kopps.

INTRODUCING…. wanted plots.

oh wOW alright so i’m gonna be basic for a second and tell y’all that i fucking love angst. i mean, fluff’s great and all, but my heart truly lies with the gritty, toxic, dysfunctional, and fucked up. i’m also a huge fan of anything having to do with crime so if you ever wanna do any crime plots come my way !!! it’s also no secret that i’m a very big fan of age gaps ( obvs not with minors because GROSS ). but seriously, give me everything. friends or exes or enemies to lovers, two toxic people that know they should walk away from each other but can’t live without the other, criminals on the run, any kind of criminal or bad influence with pure characters that have hearts made of gold, characters that go through something horrible together and become each other’s lifeline because they’re the only ones that understand, secret and / or taboo relationships, slowburn and unrequited love, exes that reconnect under literally any kind of circumstances, etc. i’ll link some good examples of my favorite plots so you can get a feel for what i’m describing !!!

x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x are all some ( hopefully ) pretty good examples !!

i’m also always down for plots away from the romantic side of things. i LOVE giving my characters ride or dies, enemies, exes, family, or anything else you can think of. the more unique the connection the better !! legit one of the best relationships i ever played out in an rp was between carcosa and another girl. totally platonic, but it was such a rich and fucked up dynamic that was full of toxicity and power struggles and manipulation and backstabbing, but also drunken benders and risky adventures and late night confessions, and those were easily some of the funnest threads and plotting sessions i’ve ever had. so please, like i said, give me all of the connections.

INTRODUCING…. the favorites.

i’m totally gonna break this down into quick lil sections because i have a lot of favorite things lmao so here you go !!!

SHIPS

tbh i have so many favorite crackships so pls don’t even get me started on those ?? but i love both f/f and m/f ships and have absolutely zero preference when it comes to which one we do. i’m also a huge fan of poly ships and i’ll never say no to having multiple ships/plots/threads with the same person. i’m very much a multi-ship kinda gal so as long as it’s cool with my writing partner(s) i tend to assume each ship is in it’s own little verse unless otherwise discussed. though i’m totally down for and love ic drama so don’t be afraid to approach me about ships existing in the same timeline !! i’m a fan of everything from the sickly sweet and fluffy to the fucked up, toxic, and angsty so just give me all of the ships because tbh i’m a slut for ‘em.

FACES

alright so some of my favorite faces to play are holland roden, lucy hale, phoebe tonkin, eiza gonzalez, madelaine petsch, katherine mcnamara, dove cameron, halsey, emma greenwell, maggie lindemann, emmy rossum, madison davenport, lynn gunn, vanessa morgan, carlson young, deborah ann woll, and maggie siff. some of my favorite ladies to play against are zoey deutch, lindsey morgan, kat graham, vanessa morgan, dua lipa, eliza taylor, adelaide kane, candice patton, dove cameron, arden cho, chloe bennet, vanessa hudgens, danielle campbell, ashley benson, margot robbie, blake lively, ginny gardner, angelina jolie, emeraude toubia, meghan markle, and zoe kravitz. some of my favorite fellas to play against are charlie hunnam, jon bernthal, dj cotrona, charles melton, manny montana, oscar isaac, andy biersack, andrew lincoln, chris evans, bob morley, garrett hedlund, tom hardy, jason momoa, tyler posey, michael b. jordan, frank grillo, jeffrey dean morgan, dom sherwood, jensen ackles, skeet ulrich, and froy gutierrez.

EXTRAS

just for fun, here’s a mismatched list of some of my favorite things across the board !! snakes, glitter, the colors purple, teal, and black, dogs, iced coffee, horror movies, outlaw bikers, drag queens, classic rock, vinyl records, bath and body works, geodes, mexican food, pulp fiction, the moon and stars, tattoos, neon lights, iasip, succulents and cacti, richard siken, candles, myths and folklore, metallic lipstick, sons of anarchy, and concerts.

INTRODUCING…. future plans.

tbh i hope to get a lot of things out of this group. i’m hoping to find a safe space to let my creativity run wild and a home for my muses where they can constantly grow and develop through interactions with other characters, in-depth plots, and my own exploration the more i write with them. i’m also hoping this will be a good opportunity to make friends, since i’m very much a loner and some of the best people i’ve met have been through the world of roleplaying. i definitely want to push my muses and challenge myself to be a better writer here, and i hope to help out those of you that are seeking the same things in your journey !! i’m already planning on adding some more muses in the very near future ( because i have ZERO impulse control ), and as far as future plans for plots go i want EVERYTHING. romantic, enemies, exes, familial, platonic, and literally anything in between. i would definitely love some slowburn ships where our characters don’t just fall in love overnight. i’d also be so down for exploring the dynamics of age gap relationships. not just the taboo aspect of them but like the differences in generations, the potential repercussions, the ups and downs and the times where they’re not sure if they can make it work.

INTRODUCING…. why i said fuck it.

i mean who hasn’t felt like saying fuck it to the rpc ??? i’ve been rping for several years, about six of those years have been on tumblr and as much love as i can have for this community at times, most days it’s just fucking exhausting. i feel like it’s mostly become a very toxic, judgmental, and honestly shallow place. i hate the expectation groups put on members these days with activity checks and whatnot because honestly who even has the time to write every single day ????? or y’know sometimes we just don’t feel like it ?????? i know for me personally between my mental health and irl responsibilities i just don’t have the time or energy to be on every two days. and plus a lot of them are cliquey af or die in a week or are riddled with petty drama so i tend to avoid them altogether. i joined the indie community in hopes of rping on my terms and while i def feel like that was a step in the right direction, it’s still a very exclusive community at times and i’ve had difficulty fitting in. there’s still a lot of ugliness towards female ocs or muns that exclusively play females and tbh i’m over it ??? i decided to give this group a try because i love the idea of the indie format but in a group, making it easier to plot with people and put yourself out there. tl;dr i decided to say fuck it because the community’s gone downhill and i needed a change.

#fckit:task001 #( dee you gangly uncoordinated b*tch / ooc. )#i have to censor my own ooc tag bc otherwise my posts don't show up in the tags rip #anyway i'm def gonna do the second task and get my intro posts up for my muses in the next couple of days #in the mean time it's so nice to meet y'all and i'm v excited to write with you!!!

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gokinjeespot · 3 years

Text

off the rack #1315

Monday, March 1, 2021

Hi folks. Long time no write.

I have been mostly isolating at home during the pandemic trying to keep myself and my family safe from Covid-19. I do go out and walk around our neighbourhood to get fresh air and exercise. I don't wear a mask outdoors like I do when I absolutely have to go into somewhere other people will be, like the drug store or my dentist's office. I get anxious when people come too close to me masked or not, but I also get angry when there is plenty of space to keep a safe distance and people don't move away. I have verbally admonished someone for being too close but have decided that I will keep my big mouth shut from now on and just get away from them myself. I don't know if I can keep my trap shut if I was confronted by the guy my brother did at work. This young guy came into the liquor store wearing a mask with a swastika on it. That would make me very angry. Angry enough to confront him? I don't know. I would like to be brave enough to ask him "are you for real with that mask?". Or "are you a Nazi?"…"you know the Nazis lost, right?". My brother would not serve him. It could have been worse though. That racist could have gone through his check-out without that ugly symbol on his mask and he wouldn't have known he was serving a bigot. I think it's better when you see them coming.

My thanks to Doug for lending me his comic books to read.

Daredevil #26 - Chip Zdarsky (writer) Marco Checchetto (art) with Mike Hawthorne (pencils) Adriano Di Benedetto (inks) Marcio Menyz (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). This book may have been put into Doug's sub my mistake but it gave me a chance to catch up with what's happening with the Man Without Fear. This is part 1 of "The Black Kitchen" which ties into Marvel's "King in Black" mega event. Knull is now on Earth and is wreaking havoc. Kinda reminds me of the "Maximum Carnage" event back when I was reading on the regular. Here we have Venom symbiotes running amok in Hell's Kitchen. What I found interesting was the current situations of the main characters. Matt is in prison after being convicted of murder. He can still wear his mask to conceal his secret identity inside. Not true to life but hey, it's comic books. Elektra is now protecting Matt's turf as Daredevil and she's got super scary horns. Wilson Fisk is still mayor with Typhoid Mary as his head of security now. The big shocking ending is that symbiotes get into the prison and one bonds with Matt. Another symbiote bonds with Mary and she attacks Elektra. This sets up overwhelming odds for the good guys as any good comic book will do. Stay tuned.

Action Comics #1028 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) John Romita Jr. (pencils) Klaus Janson (inks) Brad Anderson (colours) Dave Sharpe (letters). Bendis closes out his run on this title with so much schmaltz you're going to need a shovel to get through it. Jimmy Olsen is the new owner of the Daily Planet. What the nique? Conner Kent goes to the farm team. Jonathan Kent goes back to the future and the Legion of Super-Heroes. I don't know if a new art team is going to come on board but I sure hope so.

Detective Comics #1033 - Peter J. Tomasi (writer) Brad Walker (pencils) Andrew Hennessy (inks) Dave McCaig (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). The art on the first page with Batman and Robin tumbling in the foreground with flashback panels behind gave me goosebumps. It's why I will always love reading comic books. Batman beats Hush by giving him a good old fashioned beat down. The rest of the Bat Family is saved and Bruce can take a breather. Now that the Wayne fortune is lost to him I'm curious to see where Bruce ends up after he moves out of the mansion.

Batman/Catwoman #2 - Tom King (writer) Clay Mann (art) Tomeu Morey (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). The jumping back and forth in time is a little confusing for me but I really like this Black Label story. The relationship between these lovers is more than complicated especially where the Joker is involved.

DC kicks off 2021 with a plethora of comic books taking their characters 10 years into the future with their "Future State" event. Doug decided to check out the following.

Future State: Superman vs. Imperious Lex #1 - Mark Russell (writer) Steve Pugh (art) Romulo Fajardo Jr. (colours) Carlos M. Mangual (letters). The story opens with a meeting of the United Planets inner circle. They are debating the inclusion of the planet Lexor which is lorded over by Lex Luthor, the supreme anal pore that we all know and loathe. Lois Lane is Earth's representative and she votes to reject Lexor's membership until Superman lobbies to allow his arch foe's planet to join so that the poor inhabitants don't suffer from Lex's villainous ways. It's a morality tale of Unity, Progress and Compassion.

Future State: Robin Eternal #1 - Meghan Fitzmartin (writer) Eddy Barrows (pencils) Eber Ferreira (inks) Adriano Lucas (colours) Pat Brosseau (letters). In this future Gotham City the Bat Family has been decimated. Bruce is dead, Dick is in Arkham and Jason now works for the law enforcement agency that killed Batman. No mention of where Damian is. I have a feeling that the son of Bruce will show up later as a big surprise. Tim's the last man standing and he's vowed to continue the tradition of keeping Gotham safe. Too bad he doesn't live long fighting against the super cybers. The last panel reveals why this book is called Robin Eternal. Hint: the Lazarus Pits are involved.

Superman: Worlds of War #1 - This $7.99 US anthology of four stories starts off on Earth and ends up on Warworld.

"The Many Lives of Clark Kent" by Phillip Kennedy Johnson (writer) Mikel Janin (art) Jordie Bellaire (colours) & Dave Sharpe (letters) is my favourite one simply because I loved the art so much. This is where we find out why Superman is missing from Earth.

"Time and Effect" by Brandon Easton (writer) Valentine De Landro (art) Marissa Louise (colours) & Dave Sharpe (letters) features the new Mister Miracle poking around Warworld. Why? We don't know. Guess we'll find out if we keep reading.

"Midnighter: Future State" by Becky Cloonan & Michael W. Conrad (writers) Gleb Melnikov (art) Jordie Bellaire (colours) Travis Lanham (letters) has Midnighter running around creating a bloody mess everywhere. It could have just as easily been Lobo or Wolverine in this piece.

Finally "Do Not Go Gently" by Jeremy Adams (writer) Siyam Oum (art) Hi-Fi (colours) Gabriela Downie (letters) features the new Black Racer trying to free the slave labour on Warworld. Unless you're a Jack Kirby Forever People fan you wouldn't care.

As a fan of Mikel Janin's art I would have felt ripped off having to pay for the three fillers in this comic book just to have his work in my collection.

Future State: Catwoman #1 - Ram V (writer) Otto Schmidt (art) Tom Napolitano (letters). Selina is still Catwoman ten years down the line as she attempts to rescue Gotham City citizens being transported to a reformatory by train. Similarities to Nazi behaviour is an easy way to make the bad guys evil. All the previous Batman related Future State books say that Batman is dead but this one has a surprise at the end. Hey, it's Bruce in shackles.

Future State: Dark Detective #1 - Mariko Tamaki (writer) Dan Mora (art) Jordie Bellaire (colours) Aditya Bidikar (letters). This title blows the whole Bruce/Batman is dead plot device clear out of the water. I can see why the bad guys controlling Gotham City wants the populace to think that, but how are they going to keep up the charade when Batman is clearly running around fighting crime? I like that Batman has lost the cape in this one. This $5.99 US book has a back-up story by Matthew Rosenberg (writer) Carmine Di Giandomenico (art) Antonio Fabela (colours) & AndWorld Design (letters) that I liked even more than the feature. It follows Cole Cash AKA Grifter as he tries to dodge the law. He gets arrested and meets up with Luke Fox AKA Batwing and a whole lot of fun ensues. The Huntress showing up at the end makes this more appealing.

Future State: Dark Detective #2 - Mariko Tamaki (writer) Dan Mora (art) Jordie Bellaire (colours) Aditya Bidikar (letters). This issue explains how Bruce Wayne/Batman "dies" and how Bruce continues to fight crime. I was disappointed that the back-up story didn't follow up on Grifter and Huntress but was a different story about Jason Todd/the Red Hood now working for the bad guys as a bounty hunter capturing masked vigilantes. It starts with him bringing in the Vigilante and ends with him teaming up with a ruthless Ravager to stop an old school Red Hood gang leader stealing from the rich to give to the poor. Rose has no qualms about killing their bounties but Jason brings them in alive, that's why their nickname is "dead or alive". Har. I like Jason's Akira bike.

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ellalovertay · 4 years

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According to my birth certificate, I turn 18 this year. It's weird because I am now a legal adult and can do legal adult things… whoa. Through 18 years of my life I've had many ups and downs, mistakes and accomplishments and laughs and tears. So as my “kid” years come to an end and my adult years pave the path ahead of me, I thought I'd share some lessons I've learned before reaching 18. Because it's 2020 and sharing is caring.

I've learned (and am still working on) accepting that it is okay not to be okay. When people ask you “how are you doing” there is nothing wrong with the response of “I'm not doing so good.” I know how hard it can be to express honesty and feel vulnerable but that’s human emotion, it's good. There is nothing wrong with not being okay, and you are allowed to experience that, it shouldn't be something that is feared. Next time you feel like that, say, “I'm not fine right now but I am going to be fine soon.”

I found what makes me happy. Like not just a, “Oh yeah I’m great today” kind of feeling, but a lifelong happiness feeling. I've been writing songs since I was 9 years old and in the past 6 months, songwriting has been the only thing keeping me on my feet and putting a smile on my face. Lyrics from other artists (shoutout to Taylor Swift Selena Gomez and Halsey) have always spoken and resonated deeply with me. So when things in my life started going downhill, I wrote my own lyrics. I hope one day people will experience my lyrics and they will be able to help someone like they helped me.

Trust is important. In any type of relationship with friends, family, pets etc, trust is key. A lot has happened in my life recently. Over the course of 6 months I've completely lost my trust in everyone and everything. I'm slowly working on building it back up again and learning how I can trust... but that is easier said than done.

It's okay to be confused about what's going to happen in the future. I have changed what I want my job to be at LEAST 5 times since 9th grade. Some examples include a marine biologist, a BAU member in the FBI, a criminologist, and a neurologist. Of course all of these things strike interest in me and make me happy, but I can't see myself there in 10 years. I've learned music is important to me and I want to study song/lyric writing along with vocals and music industry in college, with hopes to become a singer/songwriter.

Halsey has KILLER music. I knew around 3 of her songs before her album “Manic” dropped. I stayed up for release, downloaded the whole thing, listened to it and fell in love. Then tour tickets dropped, I got early access and I bought them in english class. She is really phenomenal and I love her dearly.

Some people in life will backstab you, others will stand by your side. But true friends will talk sh!t about the backstabbers and want to kick their asses for you. I've found that person and I'm so glad that she is in my life. And for once in my whole life, I feel like I have a best friend who won't just drop me.

I’ve learned you don't owe anybody an explanation. If someone asks,” How are you” and you say, “Not good” you are not entitled to state why. That is for you and your mind to know. If your best friend asks “do you want to come over/” and you say “no” Guess what… you DON'T owe them an explanation as to why! Don't ever feel pressured to explain things to people about yourself or situations you're in.

I'm literally a spot on Libra. My star sign is SO COOL! Up until June I never cared about my sign or horoscope, but when I found out the Libra symbol was the “Scales of Justice…” I read up on some stuff. I was SHOCKED by how much I fit my sign. Example being: we get irritated when people ask us stupid questions... Like if that isn't me then what is???

Being 18 means I get to vote! With everything going on in the world right now i've taken to educating myself as much as possible before november. I'm undecided (edit: not anymore😆) and excited but scared.

When your parents say, “Don't talk to strangers online” don't listen. I've made some of my best friends online (through Taylor, omg shocker) and I don't know what I would do without them. So here's a toast to my real friends: Vivian, Ella, Emily, Jordan, Delaney, Megan, Shannon, Sophie, Lauren, Brooke, Addison, Lexi, Hayley, Ry, Mikayla, Liv, Meghan, Rachel, Kaylee, and so many more <3

I've learned that everything happens for a reason. When I got confirmed, the idea that “everything happens for a reason” really stuck with me. The belief only grew stronger after I attended Kairos in November 2019. I truly believe God has a plan and everything happening in my life is going to end up being a part of some greater, master plan. God gives the hardest battles to his strongest warriors and just know that the shadows can’t last forever. Storms help the flowers flourish, and afterwards comes a rainbow.

My mom is a warrior.

Taylor Swift. That's it. That's the tweet. Very long story short I’ve listened to Taylor since fearless in 2008. Thanks mom! In 2012, when “RED” came out, I memorized lyrics and wanted concert tickets. The same thing in 2014 with “1989.” It wasn't until “reputation” in 2017 that I understood the “fandom” and became a full on swiftie. Fun fact: I have a stan account on twitter, tumblr and instagram where her management team follows me! Taylor has helped me through so many hard times. Her and her music have made me laugh, smile, cry, and dance. She is one of the only constants in my life and she treats her fans like her best friends. I have made so many friends through her that I can't wait to meet. And one day, I will meet Taylor Swift.

I can play instruments! I learned the ukulele when I was 12 because Tess was learning guitar. I hated it. I felt so trapped and the instructor was sooo mean. I wanted to play chords and sing Taylor Swift. Nope. He had me playing strings to old folk music. Long story short I quit.About 2 years later i picked it back up from the depths of my closet and taught myself strings. I got bored and put it away. On july 25th 2019, I picked it back up and this time, I fell in love. I quickly learned chords and by september, I was writing my own music. I thought to myself, “guitar cant be that hard” so I went and took tessa's guitar. I hated it. It was way to big and my hands were far too small. Then, a few months later I tried again. No change. Quarantine was now here and I was bored out of my mind. So… guess what I did on March 19th 2020… learned guitar and fell in love. Now, I'll play until my fingers bleed. Guitar and Ukulele make me so happy and the moral of the story is that if at first you don't succeed, try and try again.

Karma is real. If someone does something sh!tty to you, it will come back to bite them in the butt. Trust me.

I am tiny. Sadly, I'm done growing and I've been done since 8th grade. I'm forever 5 foot ½ inch- the ½ is VERY important. Also my foot size is forever a 4. Basically it sucks. I can't find any shoes that aren't pink, sparkley, have a 1 inch heel and glow up. With that being said s/o to Nordstrom rack for carrying my size.

I've learned to take in every moment. You never know when you won't be able to do the simplest things. Everyday we take so many things for granted. So just let every second of everyday sink in and let it resonate with you because there will never be another moment like that one.

I learned that I am allowed to format my own opinions. The beliefs that I have and I value don't have to be the same as everyone else's beliefs: especially my family and friends. I have come to the realization that I view situations in a different light than those around me and it's 100% okay for me to speak my mind. As a young girl I am allowed to grow up and base my social, personal and political opinions on what I believe is right and wrong, not what other people push me to believe.

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ivanfuller · 4 years

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2020 Concert #7: Roger Street Friedman and Meghan Cary

This guy!! I absolutely love Roger Street Friedman’s voice, songwriting, guitar playing and stories, but more than anything else, I love his HEART! It’s huge and was built to carry us through these difficult times. It’s been over two years since I last saw him and I’m so grateful that I was invited to attend this really cool and intimate house concert last night.

What a great way to experience two fantastic singer-songwriters! About 30 guests were crammed into the living room of Meghan Cary and Peter Farrell’s home for a real treat. I found myself in the front row center, two feet from Roger and his band, so it wasn’t possible for me to get any video, but I’ve posted the beautiful music video from my favorite Roger song, “Everyday,” below for you to see what I’m talking about. His music exudes positivity and hope in a world blighted by despair. He’s not going down without a fight to spread some light and THAT’S what puts a big ole smile on my face. He brought his band with him (after traveling up here from a concert last night in Richmond, VA) and they work so well together and seem every bit as compassionate as he is. He’ll be back in Philly in March and May, so I hope that if you’re wherever he is, you’ll find a way to catch some of the magic.

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And then there was our host for the night, Meghan Cary, joined by her husband, Peter Farrell, and fellow singer-songwriter, Marion Halliday. They performed a short set of greatest hits. I’ve known Meghan (and Marion) for a little over a year now, but never seen them perform! I’m so glad that I finally did! Meghan channels a lot of Melissa Etheridge in both her looks and style, while also bringing a lot of her own heart-felt, incredibly sincere and really beautiful music front and center. I became an instant fan! Like Roger, it’s all about finding hope in the darkness. Like in this story she told when introducing “Sing Louder.”

She has a musician friend who lived in an apartment building with an elderly woman in the room above hers. This woman played her piano every day and the sound would always flow through the ceiling into the apartment below. The musician friend became friends with that woman, who wouldn’t die until she was 103 years old. All her family and other friends were gone and she said she wanted her new friend from downstairs to have her piano when she died. When that day inevitably came and the movers came to clear out the apartment, the young downstairs musician went up to her old friend’s apartment to tell the movers that she was given the piano. They wouldn’t believe her without something in writing, which she didn’t have. So they said they couldn’t let her have it. As this woman sat in her apartment trying to figure out what to do so she could get the piano she was gifted by her friend, she heard the sound of a piano bouncing down the stairs, end over end. When she went outside to see the damage, the movers were putting a cardboard sign on the piano saying that it was free for the taking! Out of the darkness and sadness of this story, Meghan knew she had a song that needed to be written, but she wasn’t going to let the negativity of the story win the day. Instead, she wrote “Sing Louder,” using a line that the elderly piano player used to tell her friend. “When you don’t know the words to a song, sing louder!”

I hope you enjoy this video from that song’s recording session. We all sang loudly in Meghan’s living room last night...in honor of the story, of hope, of community and of love!

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sleepykittypaws · 4 years

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A Christmas Love Story

Original Air Date: December 7, 2019 (Hallmark) Where to Watch?: Hallmark will replay it multiple times this season, and for every season in perpetuity.

Will say, right off the top, that I’m a little uncertain how to review this one, because, for most of the movie, I enjoyed watching Kristin Chenoweth, whom I adore, play a retired Broadway star turned children’s choir director, and flirt with a rather listless, but still dimply, Scott Wolf. Chenoweth has sharp comedic energy, a penchant for breaking out in song and this movie, though oddly shot in small town North Carolina, is based in New York City and features a (quelle scandale!) divorcee as the lead—both Hallmark rarities.

When she’s writing the original song that should have already been done, and shares a line with her pianist, he’s like, ‘Great, is there more?’ And Chenoweth, with perfect comedic timing, goes from gleeful to deadpan and just says, ’No.’ …That was a genuinely funny moment that made my whole family laugh out loud. Not something that happens all that often in a made-for-TV Christmas movie.

It also had actress/producer Jennifer Aspen doing double duty and playing Chenoweth’s on-screen cousin, a fun insider nod to the fact that Aspen’s first big role was on Wolf’s Party of Five, and she also starred with Chenoweth in the short-lived, but much-loved, CGB. Easter egg TV series reunion!

They also threw in family pictures of what I’m 99% certain is Wolf’s real-life wife, Real World alum Kelley Limp, to sub for his on-screen deceased wife. Because there had to be at least one dead spouse in this. After all, it is a Hallmark movie.

And, in what I’m sure is a total coincidence, but still cracked me up, Chenoweth’s character receives an alert on her phone of a winter storm that says “stay inside,” so she’s “forced” to stay overnight with Wolf and his son and help decorate the tree. They didn’t say it was Winter Storm Meghan, but Dead Wife’s name was Megan/Meghan, and since this one was shot before any of the Lifetime ones, I’m fan waving this as the beginning of the whole mess; A cross-brand winter storm disaster! (Later, Wolf’s son just goes to a friend's house and they’re like, ‘See ya,’ having forgotten all about this super dangerous storm, apparently.)

After being disappointed by many of the Hallmark Hall of Fame offerings in recent years, this one was looking pretty good, despite some quibbles like, Why did director Eric Close cast himself as someone who wears unflattering three-piece suits and says lines like (and I am not making this up), “You were always jamming out to Megan’s records,” as if he’s 100? (Close is only one year older than Wolf in real life, FYI.)

Also, like, what’s up with Wolf’s huge, gorgeous house? It’s clearly quite large, yet there’s no place to put the Christmas tree except for smack dab in front of the TV, which they’ve just thrown a red cloth over? This is the weirdest/cheapest/laziest set design choice ever and it bugged me to no end. Oh, and, this dad’s love of giant, creepy nutcrackers as home decor seems like a dealbreaker to me.

Why does Chenoweth sing the original song at the end? I mean, duh, I know why Hallmark Channel has Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth singing in their movie. It just doesn’t make sense to the plot that the children’s Christmas choir aren’t the ones performing this very important original song they’ve said several times is what provides their group’s funding. Plus, that kid is a fine singer, but can’t even come close to keeping up with Chenoweth—though, to be fair, what non-pro could?

Know that it’s search optimization that caused Hallmark to select the utterly generic A Christmas Love Story title, but this was filmed as When Angels Land, and it really shows, as so much of the signage, and even the name of the original song, are that.

And, then, there’s the less petty nitpicks, like how one of the extra-long, Hall of Fame story ads from Hallmark cards, talks about how you can “change a heart” by “sharing love," specifically depicting a gay couple’s wedding (still from ad below), yet Hallmark Channel won’t make a queer Christmas romance. Which is it Hallmark, do you #CareEnough to “change the world,” as the ad advises, or not?

There was even a moment where the son is struggling to tell his dad something and, if this were not a Hallmark movie, I’d have put money on this boy with the Broadway dreams trying to come out to his father. But, nope.

Where the movie took a turn for me was when Chenoweth reveals to Wolf that she gave a baby up for adoption when she was young. I knew right away—Wolf had earlier called his son a “gift,” without using the word adoption—that it would turn out the too-tall choir kid Chenoweth had been mentoring was actually her biological son. That’s a slightly predictable, but fine, twist, especially as Chenoweth is an adoptee herself, who has found her birth mother…But, what killed the whole movie for me, and actually made me angry, is that in that moment, after Chenoweth’s incredibly personal reveal, Wolf, in his big speech, never says to her, ‘And I know this, because my son is adopted.’

Now, I’m not saying he had to put two and two together right then (because, in reality, what are the odds?), but to not share that VERY relevant fact with someone who had just bared their soul? C’mon, movie! As an adoptee myself I felt angry, especially as the son later says of his adoption, ‘It was never a secret.’ Because, you know, sure seemed that way on the street.

That the movie manipulates the moment to protect a “twist” that’s already easy to see coming, angered me as a viewer, as well as an adoptee.

The rest of the movie I was just annoyed about why Chenoweth wasn’t angry that her new love interest hadn’t revealed to her he was an adopted parent, at the same time she told him she had given a child up for adoption. Not, cool. Not, respectful. Not, honest.

It retroactively makes their entire relationship creepy. The son kept setting them up for romance, all the time knowing that Chenoweth was his bio mom. Those moments now read like a gross replacement program of his mom who passed away…Or at least it did to this adoptee who also lost my real mom young, and found my bio mom much later in life.

Obviously, this one cuts a little close to home for me, so well aware I’m far from objective, but even trying to see this in the best possible, most sentimental, and Chenoweth fan light, can’t get past that huge, utterly unnecessary plot stumble.

Also, Hallmark, stop trying to work twists into your Hall of Fame movies. They’re always groan-worthy.

Final Judgement: 2 Paws Up

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thotyssey · 7 years

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On Point With: Charles Busch

A native-born playwright of considerable success both on and off Broadway, Charles Busch captured our hearts and funnybones with material that hearkened gently back to to a time when stories were told with a glamorous sheen and a heavy hand... yet their comedic appeal remain timeless. Soapy melodrama, hilariously earnest dialogue and fabulous fashions are his bread and butter, and his most famous leading lady has always been Busch himself. Now bringing a new cabaret show about growing in in 1960′s New York to town, Charles sits down with us to talk about his incredible life and career, the people and things that influenced his own work, and the queens of today whom he’s inspired.

Thotyssey: We’re so honored that you’re talking to us, Charles. Let’s get right into it! This summer at the Pines, you performed a show called Naked & Unafraid. Was that literal?

Charles Busch: Whoa!!! I was not actually "naked." It was metaphorical in that I was performing my cabaret act NOT in drag. Of course, what I call "not in drag" would be considered "full drag" by some. That's funny that you thought I was actually nude. People are doing that sort of thing now, and I think it's very cool. But for me, I'm happy with myself from the neck up and the waist down. In between, I need some work.

You are known largely for writing comedic plays that pay homage to the melodrama and style of movies from the 40s through the 60s, and for starring in them as the female lead. It’s a very enjoyable experience for audiences that are fans of that era of film, but as younger generations become farther removed from that period, do they respond differently to your work in that genre?

Good question. Well, my audience has certainly aged with me, but there are SOME gay people under thirty who watch TCM and love classic film. I may be delusional, but I like to think that my plays and performances are funny in themselves and not totally reliant on a knowledge of old movies and stars. But a familiarity with that type of star certainly adds to the experience.

I've never actually done a parody of a specific movie. It's always an homage to a movie genre, and usually one so obscure that it's a given that 90 per cent of the audience has never seen any of those movies. It doesn't seem to be a problem. Funny is funny.

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I was raised on the film versions of two of your best known works where you play female characters, Psycho Beach Party and Die, Mommy, Die. Were you happy with the adaptation process in these cases?

Both films were great experiences for me, particularly Die, Mommie, Die. I loved every minute -- and I mean every minute -- of making that film. Every day I couldn't believe my incredible good fortune at being able to star in my own movie and get to play all those wonderful scenes: love scenes, suspense scenes, mother love scenes. I suffered real withdrawal when the filming was over. I would lie on the sofa, replaying the entire movie in my head over and over.

Needless to say, I would kill to make another film. Both Psycho Beach Party and Die, Mommie, Die were basically handed to me and put together very quickly. Now I'm in the position of trying to get a movie made, and it's been very frustrating. One week it sounds like we're about to start shooting in a month, and the next week the entire movie has fallen a part.

Will we ever see a film adaptation of your first stage hit, Vampire Lesbians of Sodom?

Years ago, there was some talk that evaporated. However, these days it's looking optimistic for movies of both The Tale of the Allergist's Wife and The Divine Sister.

There’s a rumor that Lauren Ambrose of Six Feet Under fame may take the lead of a My Fair Lady revival! Lauren got her breakthrough as Chicklet, the heroine of the Psycho Beach Party film (a role you originated). What was it like working with Lauren during that early period of her career, and do you think she’d make a good Eliza?

I think Lauren would be a wonderful Eliza. She is a trained opera singer, and has great comic and dramatic skills. We haven't stayed in touch. But I like her a lot, and she was a joy to work with on Psycho Beach Party. We were very, very fortunate to have found her. She carries that movie with great authority.

You’re a native New Yorker. Can you describe the NYC that you grew up in, and were exploring, during your early creative years? Were you going to the bars and clubs, off-Broadway, etc.?

Oh honey, New York in the late seventies and early eighties was so much fun. Sex in the seventies was the best sex in the history of the world. I was in my twenties, and while I was too much of a hypochondriac and broke to get into drugs or alcohol, I adored going to the baths and back room bars. Orgies! I would leave the bar with seventeen gentlemen callers. It was my only experience enjoying the physical camaraderie of men. Sex was a great sport, individual and group. We thought "what's the worst that can happen to you?"

As far as my creative life, I was full of hopes and dreams and gritty determination to carve out a career in the theatre. I think the older men I dated found me a bit exhausting, when they'd take me to the theatre and afterwards I'd be shaking my fist. "That oughta be me up there!!"

Did any drag queens in the city influence your look and performance style? I know that famous female impersonator Charles Pierce was an inspiration. Charles Pierce was hysterically funny and terribly glamorous, and that certainly intrigued me. I was very influenced by the work of a brilliant actor/ playwright/ director named Charles Ludlam, who had his own theatre company, The Ridiculous Theatrical Company. Before I saw him, I had no idea that I could have a career creating my own theatrical universe. His plays employed drag and camp humor, and film and theatre history references. His plays were wildly funny but also at times poignant. He was dazzling, and changed my life forever.

One of our city’s top queens today, Paige Turner, credits working on an early production of yours as an inspiration for her own drag. She’s gonna be a reality TV star soon! I adore Paige Turner. She is a true original. Paige in her boy alter ego has had a very full career as an actor/ singer/ dancer in plays and musicals. Many well known drag performers seem to have been in my plays early in their careers. My plays seem to be a halfway house for young actors who become drag stars.

Tale of the Allergist’s Wife was a hugely successful production that ran on Broadway in 2000, which many consider your first foray into “mainstream” playwriting. When you were writing that, were you conscious of how different it was from your previous work? Did you intend it to be different?

I had actually had something of a commercial success five years earlier with a very mainstream comedy called You Should Be So Lucky. It was conveniently forgotten when The Allergist's Wife moved to Broadway and the narrative about me was streamlined into "East Village drag queen writes Broadway comedy." Everyone has a publicity narrative, and the simpler the better.

I'm beginning to think that the only difference between "downtown" and "mainstream" is the size of your publicity budget. If the Broadway play A Doll's House Part Two or even Dear Evan Hansen were done below 14th Street with very little publicity, they would be downtown. Conversely, if some very obscure avant garde piece was produced on Broadway and had subway posters and TV ads, it would be considered mainstream.

There are so many great works of yours that we can talk about (Our Leading Lady! The Third Story! The Divine Sister!), but then this would stretch into the longest interview ever. Is there any one work of yours at this point that you are the most fond of, or have the happiest memories attached to?

I'm very sentimental about a play of mine called The Lady in Question that was first done in 1989. It was the apogee of the work we were doing with my theatre company Theatre in Limbo. It was a beautiful and rather lavish production, and we all loved each other and were so proud of the work we were doing. And it was the last show we did with the original company before we lost two of our great colleagues, Bobby Carey and Meghan Robinson, to AIDS.

Do you think that Hollywood lost a little bit of its flavor when actors, writers and directors moved towards more “realistic,” grounded storytelling? It seems like even in these outlandish comic book blockbusters today, there is an attempt to tell the story like it is really happening, and that the superheroes and villains are these real, multi-layered people.

That's a very good point. I'm often asked to compare today's stars with the great pantheon of stars of old Hollywood. It's not really fair, since the actual technology influenced story telling and style. The stars of the past were seen in silvery black and white, and in a highly stylized world. It's an entirely different art form, and a different kind of actor is required.

Whose take on Joan Crawford did you enjoy more: Fay Dunaway’s in Mommie Dearest, or Jessica Lange’s in Feud?

I love both. I think Faye Dunaway's performance defines the word "brave." So audacious and committed. I've never seen any actor convey such undiluted rage. However, I also appreciated Jessica Lange's more vulnerable Joan. You must remember that Mommie Dearest was an adaptation of Christina Crawford's book, and Christina had a definite point of view of her mother which was definitely not sympathetic; whereas Ryan Murphy in Feud wanted the audience to see more facets of Crawford's character, and what prompted her more outrageous behavior.

As I’m writing this, I’m watching this goofy “psychedelic” movie called The Big Cube on TCM from 1969, where this heiress and her evil boyfriend are trying to poison the heiress’ poor stepmother Lana Turner with LSD. It’s ridiculous fun, and I never heard of it before. Have you ever seen this?

It's one of the great truly bad movies. Lana Turner's array of blonde wiglets alone makes it a camp semi-classic. It was actually one of the many movies that I was evoking in Die, Mommie, Die. It was very interesting in the sixties and early seventies, when Hollywood was taking the old genres and trying to be more hip and putting in references to LSD and sexual promiscuity, but they couldn't really pull it off without looking silly and exploitative.

This is a good segue to discuss My Kinda 60’s, your new cabaret revue that’s coming to Feinstein’s for four nights starting Tuesday, October 17th! You’ll be telling stories about growing up in the 1960s, plus covering songs from the stage and the pop charts of that decade. What inspired you to do this?

I love the intimate quality of cabaret. My act is a combination of music and true stories of my life in a very conversational way. I love the music of the sixties. It's the decade in which I grew up. This show is all about my childhood and coming of age in the sixties, when I was raised by my indomitable Aunt Lillian in Manhattan against the background of that fascinating decade. All of my shows are personal, but this one is very much a dual portrait of my Aunt and I. My musical director/ arranger Tom Judson and I have put together a very eclectic and fun collection of songs.

What’s your favorite song to do in this show?

We loved singing duets, and we're doing a very cool arrangement of the Henry Mancini film theme song Two for the Road.

Also oddly enough, the Glenn Campbell song By the Time I Get to Phoenix. Every performer hopefully brings something unique to a song. And for me singing it, it can be read as a gay man who has led an inauthentic life and finally has left his girlfriend to become his true self, and how painful that decision is for both of them. I haven't changed a single word. It's just interpretation and the audience creating their own subtext.

Are you mad at hippies for not fulfilling their promise of creating world peace and harmony, or is that an unfair expectation of anyone?

That would expecting far too much. The hippies made their mark. They did influence the gay rights movement. They did influence the civil rights movement and the women's movement. Let's not discount the influence of the counter culture.

What’s something about 1960’s pop culture that should inspire younger people today?

Well, it was the beginning of every movement that we're still fighting for today; gender and racial equality. A relaxation of gender roles. Rebellion against government authority. These song,s and hopefully my personal stories, should not seem like something redolent of the past and sweetly nostalgic. These are cool, tough songs that could be written today.

Would a Melania Trump-inspired character in a future, theoretical Charles Busch production be a villain or a tragic heroine?

Well, you're talking to someone who has always felt great sympathy for Marie Antoinette. She does seem like someone who signed on for one thing and got in way over her head. I would not like to be Melania.

Piggybacking from that -- you’re famous for writing about nostalgic eras, but do you ever want to tackle the gritty reality of times like this in a play, script, etc.?

I have written contemporary plays, ya know! Not all of my plays are based on classic film. Some of my more recent plays, Olive and the Bitter Herbs and The Tribute Artist, were very much about life in NYC today, and how real estate forces so many life choices onto people. I'm not a didactic or issues-oriented political writer. If I attempted something like that, it would come off fake and pretentious. A creative artist has to have the insight to know what they personally have to offer.

So, what else is coming up for you?

I've written a new play that we'll be doing for a very limited run this spring called The Confession of Lily Dare where I age from a sixteen year-old convent girl to an old crone. Gotta get it done now, while I can still put off the sixteen part. No wisecracks, please.

In closing: OMG. when will we be seeing you judging on RuPaul’s Drag Race!? These queens out there need to go through the Charles Busch musical theater challenge!

Start the whispering campaign. Start it now! I would love to appear as a judge, It's such a fun show, and RuPaul deserves all of those Emmys. World of Wonder, sign me up! I think I have something to offer those girls. I would be encouraging, loving but tough.

Thanks so much Charles, and have a great show!

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Charles Busch’s stage show “My Kinda 60′s” runs from October 17th through the 21st at Feinstein’s. Check Thotyssey’s calendar for other scheduled appearances, and follow Charles on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and his website.

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