#killian is a musician

[jrob64]

Silly Songs With Killian - a CS Modern AU One-shot

You can blame @sotangledupinit for this silly, but sweet, little story! She posted a prompt on Discord which caused my muse to jump to attention, and I wrote it in two days. If you're not familiar with the Veggie Tales videos, you'll still be able to enjoy this, but do yourself a favor and check out the songs on Spotify here. You don't have to be a kid to enjoy them and I guarantee they'll make you laugh!

Special thanks to Kit for making young Henry look even younger for the pic set, Mary for being my beta, and Krystal for being a second set of eyes for the Silly Songs lyrics and also for the pic set I created. It pays to have wonderful fandom friends!

Summary: After a frustrating and exhausting day, Emma Cassidy is relieved when her little boy, Henry, is entertained by a gorgeous musician at a restaurant, giving her a chance to sit back, relax, and enjoy the music (and the view!) It gets even better when the singer, Killian, sings some of Henry’s favorite Silly Songs from his favorite videos, Veggie Tales. 

Rating: T

Words: 3946

Also posted to Ao3 and ffn

*********

It’s been one hell of a day. It wasn’t supposed to be this exhausting, but of course my ex, Neal, had to complicate things.

I was looking forward to going wedding dress shopping with my future sister-in-law Mary Margaret and her other bridesmaids, sipping champagne and giving my input on each of the possibilities. It was going to be so much fun.

And then...remember the saying that was popular many years ago - shit happens? Well, Neal can be used interchangeably with shit - they’re one and the same.

It was his scheduled weekend with our three-year-old, Henry, which was one reason why Mary Margaret chose this day. Then on Friday, almost an hour after Neal was supposed to pick Henry up at my apartment, he sent me a text: Something came up. Can’t make it this weekend. Tell Henry I’m sorry.

Apparently he turned off his phone after sending it, because he didn’t answer any of my increasingly volatile texts - eighteen of them, to be exact - or phone calls. I had to sit Henry in front of the television so I could go into my bedroom to leave some choice words on Neal’s voicemail.

Fortunately (or unfortunately for my sweet little boy) Henry is used to being let down by his father. In the eighteen months since we called it quits, Neal has skipped out on more weekend visits than he’s kept. I guess being a lying piece of shit takes up way too much of his time and he can’t spare any for his son.

Also unfortunately, all of the people who usually babysit for Henry were unable to watch him. Most of them were included in the shopping trip, my brother David was busy because he was painting the living room of the house he and his fiancée just bought, and Ruby’s Granny was off bowhunting with her new beau. (Bowhunting with her beau has been a running joke ever since she left a week ago.)

So instead of enjoying a carefree day of shopping with Mary Margaret, Belle, Ruby and Elsa, I had to keep an active, inquisitive toddler entertained in one bridal shop after another. We were all relieved when he finally fell asleep in the third shop, until the manager woke him up by screeching about how he was going to drool on the green velvet upholstery. That cost her any business she might have had from us (though in all honesty, her gowns were all hideous and looked like something only the Wicked Witch of the West might wear.)

Eventually, Mary Margaret said ‘yes to the dress’ in the fifth shop late in the afternoon, then we all decided to get an early dinner at a nearby restaurant that serves kids’ meals and has outdoor seating. If Henry has to spend one more minute inside today, I think he might have a complete meltdown.

After placing my order and getting Henry situated with the provided coloring sheet and obligatory four crayons, I hear someone speaking into a microphone and look over to see a guy standing on a small stage with a guitar. A very, VERY attractive guy.

“Good evening, everyone,” he says, and my jaw drops at the sound of his British accent. “My name is Killian and I hope you enjoy the music tonight. I do take requests. Feel free to sing along or dance in this nice, open area in front of me.”

“Oh, wow!” Belle gasps. “He’s very handsome, isn’t he, Emma?”

My jaw snaps shut and I turn to look at her. Seeing her sly smile, I teasingly say, “Why are you asking me? We all have eyes, you know.”

“Yes, but we all have significant others, too,” Ruby adds, which is completely unnecessary but, sadly, also completely true.

While my self pity begins to set in, the guy - Killian - strums his guitar and launches into the Eagles classic “Take it Easy”. Henry, who by this point has scribbled all over the coloring sheet, somehow managed to break his crayon into at least four pieces and, judging by the color of his teeth, took a bite of it as well, looks up with bright eyes. Since I allowed him to kneel on a chair instead of trying to strap him into a booster seat, he takes advantage of it and hops down.

Before I can chase after him, he makes a beeline for the open space in front of the admittedly gorgeous singer and begins jumping around in what passes for a three-year-old’s version of dancing. I sigh and start to get up, but Mary Margaret stops me with a hand on my arm. “Let him go. He’s been very good all day and deserves to burn off some energy. Besides, he’s only a few feet away and we can see him clearly from here.”

It doesn’t take much convincing for me to heed her advice. If someone else can entertain Henry for a while, I’m not going to complain.

When the song comes to an end, Killian acknowledges the smattering of applause and plays the extremely recognizable first chords of “All Right Now”. Henry doesn’t miss a beat, throwing himself around like a rag doll while all of us at our table, as well as most of the other diners, laugh delightedly at his exuberance.

By the time Killian is in the middle of his third song, “Old Time Rock and Roll”, our food arrives and I face the dreaded task of dragging my son back to the table to eat. I nibble at my fish and chips until the song ends, then dash to the makeshift dance floor to cajole Henry. When he shows the expected resistance, Killian chuckles and helpfully says, “Go with your mum, lad. I’ll play a slow song that’s not as much fun for dancing.”

True to his word, he croons the song “Everything I Do, I Do It For You” as Henry acquiesces and comes back to his seat to shove French fries into his mouth as fast as possible. It might not be a good song for Henry’s style of dancing, but Killian’s smooth voice singing the beautiful lyrics is sending pleasant chills down my spine.

Another song with a slow tempo follows, during which my little man polishes off his fries. But when Killian starts “Footloose”, all bets are off and Henry is back on the dance floor with a chicken nugget squeezed into both of his chubby fists.

After we finish our meals, Belle, Ruby and Elsa leave to spend the rest of the evening with their boyfriends. Mary Margaret lingers, telling me she’ll stay to keep me company, because she’d rather not have to help David clean up his painting mess. We don’t want to take up a table, so we move to some empty seats along the edge of the patio from where we can still see my little dancing king.

“You’d think his battery would run down soon,” Mary Margaret comments.

“Are you serious? That kid is like the Energizer bunny, plus he’s been cooped up in stuffy dress shops all day. My money is on the singer wearing out before Henry.”

She’s uncharacteristically quiet for several minutes. When she finally speaks, she says quietly, “He really is very handsome and seems like a nice guy.”

Her statement is out of left field and I’m confused. “Who?”

“The singer - Killian,” she clarifies.

I narrow my eyes at her. “What’s your point?”

“No point. I was just making a comment,” she shrugs, all innocence.

I don’t believe her. Mary Margaret is the queen of set-ups and wears the crown proudly. She introduced Belle to Will, Ruby to Jefferson and Elsa, well, she introduced Elsa to Victor, but that didn’t work out very well. Elsa met Graham on her own.

“I’m not looking for someone to date, Mary Margaret. I’m still dealing with my idiot ex and trying to concentrate on raising my son not to follow in his father’s footsteps.”

“I understand, but…”

And it’s at this point I resign myself to the fact she’s going to spout some argument that’s going to weaken my resolve not to date.

“If Henry had a really good male role model in his life, it would help you in raising him to be a gentleman.”

“Seems to me David does a pretty good job of that, in case you haven’t noticed.”

“I know,” she sighs, “but between working, getting the house ready and planning the wedding, his time with Henry is very limited.”

“The house will be ready before you get married and the wedding is in less than five months. After the honeymoon, he’ll have more time.”

“Oh, but then we’ll have children of our own, and you know how much time that takes.”

“Is this your way of telling me you’re pregnant, Mary Margaret?”

‘’What?” she gasps. “No! I’m just saying…”

“I know what you’re saying and I hear you. If the right guy comes along, I wouldn’t be opposed to dating him, but I’m not gonna try to force something to happen.”

“Wouldn’t it be nice to have a date for the wedding, though?” she presses.

“Henry will be my date. He’ll be very dapper in his little tux.”

“But…”

“No buts, Mary Margaret. I don’t want to be set up with someone just so I don’t look pathetic at your wedding.”

We both fall silent as we watch Henry continue to dance in front of the bemused musician. Glancing at the time on my phone, I realize he’s been at it for well over an hour and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. It’s beginning to get dark and I know I’ll have to wrangle him into the car before too much longer for his bath and bedtime.

I feel a little sorry for Killian, though. Nobody else has taken him up on his offer to dance, despite his repeated invitations. In fact, most of the diners aren’t paying attention to him at all. I hate to take his number one fan home, especially when I’m able to sit back and relax while listening to some seriously good music.

“I’m going to take a little break and then I’ll be back,” Killian announces, lifting the guitar strap over his head.

“Well, I guess that’s my cue to take Henry home,” I say to Mary Margaret.

“I suppose so,” she agrees. “Let me say goodbye to him and then I have to be on my way, too. According to his text, David is anxious for me to see how the living room turned out.”

We both stand up and move toward the stage, but I stop in my tracks. Killian is squatting down in front of Henry, listening to him with a huge smile on his face. I don’t know what Henry is saying, and I’m not sure Killian will be able to understand it anyway. Henry has an extensive vocabulary for a three-year-old, but I listen to him with ‘mom ears’, which means I can actually decipher what he’s trying to say.

When we reach them, Killian looks up at us and whatever I was going to say flies right out of my head. From a distance, the man is handsome. Close up, he’s nothing short of breathtaking. Carefully trimmed scruff covers a jawline sharp enough to cut glass, his cheekbones would put every male model to shame, and his dark hair is swept back from his forehead with a few rogue strands hanging down enticingly. Even his slightly pointed ears are adorable.

But it’s his eyes that shut down the functioning part of my brain. To say they are blue is like saying the sun is a tad bit warm, and the way the waning light catches them makes them shine like sapphires. I’m aware that my mouth is hanging open like a fish on dry land, but I can’t seem to make it form actual words.

“Hello, Killian. We’ve been thoroughly enjoying your music tonight, even if we haven’t been showing it as much as this little guy.”

Thank God for the natural chattiness of Mary Margaret.

Killian reaches out to ruffle Henry’s sweaty hair, then stands up. “I’m very happy to hear that,” he says in that beautiful, lilting accent. “I was just telling young Henry here that I’ll play some special songs for him after the break.”

I finally find my tongue. “Oh, but I was coming to tell Henry it’s time to go home.”

My little con artist turns his baby browns on me. “Please, Mommy. I be a good boy, I pwomise.”

That’s just great. Now if I take him home, I’ll have to forfeit my Mom of the Year award.

Mary Margaret laughs. “Well, Henry and Emma may be able to stay, but I really have to go.”

Why did she emphasize my name so much? As if I don’t already know.

She hugs Henry and me, tells Killian goodbye, and winks at me as she passes by. Even without trying to set me up, she’s setting me up.

I look back at Killian, who finishes chugging a bottle of water and grins at me. Reaching out to take my hand, he shakes it and says, “It’s nice to meet you, Emma, and little Henry.”

“Nice to meet you, too, Killian. Thanks for entertaining my son tonight.”

“It’s been my pleasure. I love how uninhibited kids are, and how joyful.”

“Well, his day certainly didn’t start out joyfully at all.” I shouldn’t have said it, but I’m still boiling about what Neal did to his own son, especially when this stranger seems so happy to spend time with him.

“No?” Killian questions. “May I ask what happened?”

I glance down at Henry, not wanting to bash his no-good father in front of him. He’s happily lining up little stones he collected along the edge of the patio, oblivious to the conversation going on above him.

“He was supposed to be with his dad this weekend, but he canceled. Again. So Henry was stuck shopping for wedding dresses with us all day.”

“I see.” He ponders for a second. “Would that wedding dress be for the lovely lass who just left…or someone else?”

“Yeah, it’s for Mary Margaret. She’s engaged to my brother.”

“I’m very glad I was able to make Henry’s day better, because his dancing did the same for me.” We watch Henry play, babbling to himself. “He seems like a happy little lad,” Killian observes.

“I do my best, but as a single mom, I make a lot of mistakes.”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself, Love. All parents make mistakes. It’s a good thing kids have perfect aunts and uncles,” he says with a smirk.

“So, are you an imperfect father or a perfect uncle?” Am I really flirting with him right now?

“I have two nieces, so that would make me the latter.”

“Do you get to see them very often?”

“Aye, they live just a few miles from me, so I spoil them as often as possible. They’re my brother Liam’s girls.”

“Doesn’t sound like you’re originally from the U.S., if you don’t mind me saying.”

He chuckles again, rubbing his finger behind his right ear. “We were born in England and lived there until I was fourteen, then my father took a job here so we moved across the pond.”

“That explains the accent.”

He nods and checks his watch, blowing out a breath. “I should probably get back to my set. Will you allow young Henry to stay for a few more songs?”

I shrug my shoulders. “Sure. What’s another fifteen minutes in the grand scheme of things?”

A genuine smile splits his face. “Excellent! I think he’ll particularly like the next three or four songs I play.” He looks around and grabs a nearby chair from an empty table, setting it down beside me. “Won’t you please have a seat, Emma?”

“Such a gentleman,” I say, sinking onto the offered chair.

“Oh, I’m always a gentleman.”

Somehow I don’t mind him flirting with me.

He steps back on the stage, slips his guitar into place, and positions himself in front of the microphone. After giving me a wink, he announces in an overly accented, squeaky voice, “And now it’s time for Silly Songs with Killian. The part of the show where Killian comes out and sings…a silly song.”

I burst out laughing at the very familiar words. Henry is addicted to Veggie Tales, the wacky shows featuring talking fruits and vegetables. I love them because they teach good moral values; he loves them because they’re hilarious. His favorite part of every video is Silly Songs with Larry the Cucumber, which we watch over and over and over again. Apparently he conveyed this obsession to Killian.

Killian closes his eyes, somberly strums his guitar, and sings, “Oh, where is my hairbrush? Oh, where is my hairbrush? Oh where, oh where, oh where, oh where, oh where, oh where, oh where, oh where, oh wherrrrrrrre…is my hairbrush?”

Henry is jumping up and down like a kangaroo on a pogo stick, shouting, “Mommy! Mommy! It’s the Lawwy song! Keeyin is singin’ the Lawwy song!”

Wiping tears of laughter from my eyes, I look around at the half-dozen people at the tables, who are looking at the musician like he’s lost his damn mind. Bunch of sticks in the mud. Lighten up.

But Killian isn’t bothered by their response, or lack thereof. He smoothly transitions to another of Henry’s favorite silly songs. “Oh, everybody’s got a water buffalo. Yours is fast, but mine is slow. Oh, where’d we get them, I don’t know. But everybody’s got a water buffalo, oooooo.”

Henry is beside himself with excitement. He’s running around in a circle, waving his arms in the air in his best impression of a rabid chimpanzee.

Killian moves on to sing a few lines of “I Love My Lips” (I can’t help thinking I’m quite fond of them, too), followed by “The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything”.

By this time, the diners have relaxed, laughing and clapping along with the crazy tunes. Meanwhile, my son has finally worn himself out, collapsing in a small heap in front of the stage, looking up at Killian adoringly.

“...and we’ve never been to Boston in the falllllll,” Killian concludes with a flourish and takes a deep, dramatic bow.

I dig into my purse and pull out a twenty dollar bill. I always try to watch my budget, but I’ll skip getting a chocolate caramel latte for a few days to compensate. It’s worth it for what Killian did for Henry tonight.

Walking up to the stage, I drop the bill into the tip jar, smiling up at the singer. He’s between songs, so I say, “Thank you so much, Killian. You’re my hero for entertaining Henry tonight. It was great and he loved it, didn’t you, kid?”

Henry jumps to his feet. “I weally did, Keeyin! I love Lawwy songs!”

“What do you tell him?” I prompt.

“Thank you, Keeyin,” he says obediently.

“You’re very welcome, lad. I play here again in three weeks. Perhaps you can stop in and see me again?” He’s talking to Henry, but he’s looking at me.

“Can we, Mommy?” Henry pleads.

I know we probably can’t. This restaurant is all the way across the city from where we live, plus it’s pretty expensive. Mary Margaret footed the bill today, but twelve bucks for a kid’s meal is a little steep and I won’t pay it. I don’t want to say any of this though, because my tired son is walking a thin line between lingering happiness and an emotional collapse. So I use the parental standard, “We’ll see.”

Taking Henry’s hand, I say, “Thanks, again, Killian. Have a good evening.”

Something that looks like slight panic flashes through those gorgeous eyes of his and he speaks into the microphone, “I’ll be back in five, folks.” He slides his guitar around to his back and steps off the stage, placing himself directly in front of me. “Emma, if I may be so bold, and if you’re not already dating someone, would you consider going out with me?”

“Wh-what?” Apparently, getting asked out by the most handsome man I’ve ever laid eyes on renders me a bit stupid.

He lightly wraps his hand around my wrist and pulls me further toward the side of the patio for some privacy. “Even though we just met, I would really like to get to know you better.”

“But…but you don’t even know my last name.”

“What is it?”

“Cassidy.”

“Mine is Jones, so now we know each other a little better already.”

I stare at him, trying to think of a single reason why I should say no to him. “I…we…um…Henry and I, we…uh…we come as a packaged set.” That’s the way, Emma. Use your kid to try to scare him off. And you did it so gracefully, too.

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m really quite fond of your son. That’s not a deal breaker,” he states firmly. He still hasn’t let go of my wrist and now he’s rubbing his thumb over it. I find I don’t mind at all.

“I…”

“Mommy, potty!” Henry announces.

Oh, geez. Killian has to get back to his set and Henry has to pee. I’m running out of time.

Dropping Henry’s hand, I rummage through my purse, trying to find a pen. “Got a piece of paper?” I ask, mid-rummage.

Killian dashes to his guitar case and pulls out a piece of sheet music, returning with it just as I locate the elusive pen. He plants his foot on a chair and slaps the paper down on his knee so I can scribble my number on it.

When I finish, I lift Henry into my arms and take off to find a bathroom. Before disappearing inside the restaurant, I glance back at Killian. He’s still standing where I left him, a broad smile on his face as he grips the paper in his hand. Raising my free hand, I give him a little wave and he returns it.

After I’ve had time to think about it, I might regret giving him my number. Right now I just have to keep my kid from peeing down the front of my dress.

*********

A year ago, Killian Jones was my hero for giving me a chance to relax while he entertained my son. Five months later, he was once again my hero by being my date to Mary Margaret and David’s wedding. Today, he’s still my hero because he’s continuously proving that not all men are incomparable asses.

On the contrary, he’s everything I dreamed a man should be, once upon a time. Killian Jones is talented, intelligent, funny, considerate, masculine, caring, loving, passionate, and a great conversationalist, not to mention drop-dead gorgeous (if I didn’t mention that, it would be a crime.) He’s the total package and I’m head-over-heels in love with him.

Oh, and he’s a fantastic role model for my little boy. I usually hate to admit when Mary Margaret is right, but in this case, she was unequivocally correct. He and Henry absolutely adore each other and it makes my heart so happy. They do everything together - read books, play Star Wars with lightsabers, build block towers, climb trees, ride bikes, you name it.

And Henry loves singing silly songs with his soon-to-be stepfather. What more could a mother want for her son? Except, perhaps, a sibling.

Killian and I are working on that…and thoroughly enjoying every second of it.

*********

Thank you for reading. I hope it brightened your day!

Tagging: @hookedmom​​​​​​ @kmomof4​​​​​​ @cs-rylie​​​​​​ @qualitycoffeethings​​​​​​ @grimmswan​​​​​​ @wyntereyez​​​​​​ @the-darkdragonfly​​​​​​ @ultraluckycatnd​​​​​​ @paradiselady19​​​​​​ @xarandomdreamx​​​​​​ @motherkatereloyshipper​​​​​​ @julesep3026​​​​��​ @courtorderedcake​​​​​​ @lfh1226-linda​​​​​​ @pawshapedheart​​​​​​ @vampcoffeegyrl23​​​​​​ @tiganasummertree​​​​​​ @captainswan4life85​​​​​​ @bluewildcatfanatic​​​​​​ @eleveneitherway​​​​​​ @elfiola​​​​​​ @kday426​​​​​​ @julieenchanted-swans​​​​​​ @gingerchangeling​​​​​​ @andiirivera​​​​​​ @djlbg​​​​​​ @jonesfandomfanatic​​​​​​ @snowbellewells​​​​​​ @huntressandlioness1​​​​​​ @anmylica​​​​​​ @booksteaandtoomuchtv​​​​​​ @pirateherokillian​​​​​​ @cocohook38​​​​​ @ilovemesomekillianjones​​​​​​ @laschatzi​​​​​​ @zaharadessert​​​​​​ @jennjenn615​​​​​​ @yasbio2015​​​​​​ @lyssapup27​​​​​​ @nachocheese-itsmycheese​​​​​​ @singersdd​​​​​​ @mie779​​​​​​ @undercaffinatednightmare​​​​​​ @winterbaby89​​​​​​ @xsajx​​​​​​ @jackieorioncat​​​​​​ @teamhook​​​​​​ @bdevereaux-blanche​​​​​​ @soniccat​​​​​​ @searchingwardrobes​​​​​​ @jarienn972​​​​​​ @apiratewhopines​​​​​​​ @softkilly​​​​​​​ @goforlaunchcee​​​​​​​ @kymbersmith-90​​​​​​​ @captainswan217-blog

#csff #silly songs with killian #cs modern Au #one shot #jrob64 #art by jrob64 #captain swan fanfic #henry is little #anti-neal #emma & neal are divorced #killian is a musician #cs fanfic #silly songs from veggie tales

[kazoosandfannypacks]

I would like you to work on the OUAT Romeo and Juliet AU’s. Both of them. Thank you, love!!!

You got it! Here's a snippet of what I got written in the Captain Swan Romeo & Juliet & Boybands AU

 Three hours passed in a manner of seconds. Instead of following through on their plans to watch a movie, they'd spent the whole time just talking and smiling and enjoying each other's presence. Killian wasn't sure which he enjoyed more: hearing Emma tell stories about her life, or the look on her face as she listened to him tell stories of his own. Either way, the time passed all too quickly.

and then here's a snippet out of the August and Belle wip, which is set in the same AU, but tells Belle's side of the story.

 Most of the Buggies' music left much to be desired, in terms of composition. She didn't mind; she was mostly just listening for the lyrics, and those lyrics were a thing of beauty. For everything they lacked in ability and charm, they more than made up for in their keyboard-playing lyricist, August Booth. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't listening for the piano track in most of their songs, that she wasn't whittling down the list of his lyrics that she'd want a tattoo of, or that she didn't consider him attractive, or, at least, closer to her type than most musicians were.

kick-in-the-pants writer's game!

#kazzy writes #kick in the pants writers ask game #once upon a time #ouat #killian jones #emma swan #captain swan #beauty and the puppet #kazzy answers asks #belle french #august booth #cs romeo & juliet & boybands au #bato romeo & juliet & boybands au #otp: try something new darling #otp: road less traveled

[darerendevil]

For archive purposes: October, 2012

A lean, slight, tousled figure in a sailor-striped T-shirt and buckle-back trousers, Cillian Murphy walks into an upscale Japanese restaurant in downtown Manhattan. As he says hello, sits down, and looks around the room with his extraordinary ultramarine blue eyes, I form my first impressions: kind, gentle, sensitive, good-humoured, with no visible traces of the villains, psychopaths and other tortured souls he has played so convincingly on stage and screen. He also looks a little weary, and there is good reason for this.

“I’ve had kind of a crazy week this week,” he says in a mellifluous Irish accent with a rich grainy timbre. “I was in the Ukraine for a film festival. I’ve been all over America promoting a film called Red Lights, which I’m in with Robert De Niro. Yesterday was The Dark Knight Rises premiere here in New York, and this afternoon we fly to London for the next premiere. It’s all part of the job, I suppose, but it’s certainly not the reason why you do it.”

The waiter arrives with water and menus, and after some study, Cillian (pronounced Killian) decides on a salad of shitakes and market greens, followed by the sashimi. “I’m a vegetarian who occasionally eats meat and fish,” he says. “I like a drink too, but I won’t just now. I’ll stick with water.” I order the Kobe beef and ask the waiter to bring out a glass of red wine with it.

Some actors enjoy talking about themselves and their films, and they do it well. Cillian does not count himself among them. “I’m getting less hung about it, but when I started, the whole promotion aspect was an ordeal to be endured,” he says. “I just don’t have a great facility for it. I try to be interesting and spontaneous but it’s so hard when you get asked the question fifty or a hundred times over. You hear your little anecdotes going stale. Yes, it was fantastic to work with Robert De Niro, but you can only say it so many times, you know? I’ve always thought, just judge me on the work. What else matters? I’m an actor and that’s what I do.”

There’s an assumption in the media that actors are all competing in the same horse race for A-list stardom, and that an actor like Cillian Murphy, who seems poised on the very brink of it, with the perfect combination of looks and talent, must surely be yearning to get there. Journalists find it hard to accept when he tells them that that the only thing he cares about is the work, and the rest of it is to be endured. But this is why he avoids celebrity parties and keeps himself out of the gossip pages. He attends his own premieres, because he has to, but he won’t go to anyone else’s and he dreads the four-minute television interview on the red carpet.

Off screen, he lives a quiet, normal life that he likes to keep as private as possible. He’s married to Yvonne McGuinness, a visual artist, and they’ve been together since he was 20. They have two sons, Malachy and Aran, and shuttle between their house in North West London and the ancestral sod of County Cork.

“I’ve always felt that the less the public knows about you, the more effective you can be when you go to portray someone else,” he says.“For actors to reveal so much about themselves, and allow their personal selves to be owned by the media and the public, I find at odds with trying to lose yourself in a character. And that’s the thing I’m after. That’s what drives me. I’m 36 now, and I still have a real hunger for it.”

He thinks the desire to perform for an audience is something genetic, a personality trait that lives in the DNA, and it first expressed itself in his youthful attempts to be a rock star.“Of all the arts, music is still the one that affects me on the deepest level,” he says. “My parents were teachers, not artistic types, but there was always music in the house, and all four of us kids learned to play music. I was in a few different bands, playing guitar, singing and songwriting.”

One of those bands was called The Sons of Mr Greengenes, after the Frank Zappa song. They were offered a five-album deal by Acid Jazz records, but turned it down, because the deal was a swindle and Cillian’s parents disapproved of the music business. At the same time, Cillian recognised that he’d reached the ceiling of his musical talent, and would never be as good as he wanted to be. He went to law school in Cork “for no good reason,” and then one day he wandered into a production of Clockwork Orange staged in local nightclub.

“If your first theatre experience is a bad one, it’s unlikely you’ll go back,” he says. “But my first theatre experience was an extraordinary one. It was dangerous and sexy and electric, and just astonishing. I’ll always love music, but here was another form of live performance, just as exciting.”He pestered the theatre company, and after some starter roles, he was cast in the lead of Disco Pigs, a strange and brilliant play by Enda Walsh about a sick, twisted, obsessive relationship between a deranged boy and a slightly less deranged girl next door. The play was a huge success, touring for several years, reaching as far afield as Toronto and Copenhagen, and in 2001 it was made into a film. Pale, beautiful and androgenous, with outsized lips and impossibly blue eyes, Cillian Murphy looks as though he drifted down to earth from some other galaxy, or floated up from a cave kingdom beneath the Irish Sea. This ethereal, otherworldly quality has been a great asset to him as an actor, and many of his films have taken place in imaginary realms or the future.

His big breakthrough came in 2002 when he was cast as the lead in Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later, and required to fight his way through a post-apocalyptic London full of zombies. He went to outer space in Boyle’s Sunshine, and Gotham City for Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, in which he plays the sinister psychologist Scarerow. Nolan cast him again in Inception, as the target man for Leonardo DiCaprio’s team of dream-jackers.He’s also played a transvestite for Neil Jordan in Breakfast On Pluto, a creepy villain for Wes Craven in Red Eye, and a reluctant freedom fighter turned zealot for Ken Loach in The Wind Shakes The Barley, an epic about the Irish war of independence set in his native Cork. In all, he’s done 26 feature films, and while some of them haven’t turned out as well as he hoped, there are no bad or stupid films in his biography.

“You have to go in with good faith, and believe that this is best performance you’re ever going to give,” he says. “I’ve never done a film I didn’t believe in. I’ve never done a film for the money. Fortunately, I’ve been in some big budget films that were smart, and the money has given me the freedom to do small budget films and theatre that I’ve felt passionately about. An example is this movie Broken, which is a kind of version of To Kill A Mockingbird transposed to contemporary London. It’s a tiny, tiny budget film, and I’m just so proud of it. It’s such an emotionally brave piece of film-making.”Another example is Misterman, a one-man play that he performed earlier this year in Ireland, Brooklyn and London. Written by Enda Walsh, who got him started in Disco Pigs, and has become a close friend, it required him to play seven different characters imagined by the main character, and earned him the best reviews of his entire career. “It was incredibly exhausting and incredibly satisfying. Sometimes I was doing two performances a day. I don’t think I’ve ever been so tired, or so happy. It was very pure. It was all about the work. The commerce aspect was tiny, compared to when you make a film, and there was none of the waiting around.”

The waiter sets down two beautifully presented plates, one of sashimi and one of beef, and pours me a particularly delicious glass of Bordeaux. Seeing the expression of delight on my face when I taste the wine, Cillian says, “You know what? I’ll have a glass as well then. I do like my red wine.” Then the conversation collapses into silence, grunts,and occasional exclamations, as our chopsticks deliver one morsel of culinary artistry after another into our mouths. This restaurant, 15 East, was recently named one of the best in New York, and for both of us, it’s one of the best meals of our lives. “Absolutely sensational,” says Cillian, who is finding no problem at all drinking red wine with sushi.

When the plates are empty, I ask him what it feels like to become a character. Is it a genuine transformation, or it just a matter of dressing up and pretending to be someone else? “It’s not always the same,” he says. “Some characters are just a slight adjustment, and some are a great distance away from you. I like to do research. I was playing a professional debunker in this movie Red Lights about the supernatural, so I went and hung out with physicists and professional sceptics and magicians, to understand that community. Actors tend to know a lot superficially about a great deal of things.”

I press him again: what does it feel like when you’re in character? “It’s most satisfying on the stage,” he says. “If it reaches the point of being transcendent, where you’re not actually conscious of being on stage performing, because you’re only aware of the character and his world and his needs, well, that’s what you’re always aiming for, that’s the moment that theatre people are always chasing. It’s the ultimate rush, if you will, for an actor, when the self disappears completely.”

One glass of Bordeaux leads to another. The waiter asks if we want dessert, and Cillian says no thanks, and I order something called a Shiratama parfait of red beans, matcha jelly and green tea ice cream.When it arrives, it is multi-coloured and visually spectacular with many more ingredients, and Cillian says, “Wow, look at that. My goodness, I might have to get a spoon of that.”

We both dig in, exploring an extraordinary combination of flavours and textures, with gums, jellies, brioche, red bean paste and more. “Oh man, what’s that green stuff?” he says, mining the lower layers now. “I have no idea what that is. It’s got that gummy vibe going on again. Fecking amazing.”

With a drop more wine, Cillian gets talking with great enthusiasm about books and music. Have I read the Irish writer John Banville, one of his favourites? Do I know the seminal jazz album Bill Evans Live At the Village Vanguard? Cillian found it recently on vinyl, being a great admirer of Bill Evan’s understated piano playing, and firmly convinced that vinyl is still the best way to listen to music. He loves Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart, Van Morrison, Jack White, and the Irish writers Pat McCabe, Sebastian Barry and the late, great, mindbending Flann O’Brien. Cillian is signed up for the film version of O’Brien’s satirical postmodern comedy At-Swim-Two-Birds, along with Gabriel Byrne, Colin Farrell and Michael Fassbender, and he hopes it will go into production soon.

“I’m also hoping to do some telly,” he says. “The smart mid-budget movie, which has been my bread and butter, has been squeezed out quite a bit. People are very reluctant to take a chance on a smart $17 million movie. They’d much rather throw everything into a dumb $250 million movie. But you don’t find that in TV where the writing just gets better and better, and you’ve the opportunity to develop a character over many hours.”

When you’re interviewing an actor, it’s always difficult to know if you’re witnessing a performance or the real person, but I get the distinct impression that Cillian Murphy is not only a nice guy, but maybe even happy and fulfilled. Is this true? “Well, the insecurity is always there,” he says. “It’s a necessary aspect of being an actor, or a writer for that matter. You have to have that insecurity. I used to feel like a failed musician pretending to be an actor, but that’s less of a worry now. I’ve found my form, I’ve found the right outlet for my impulse to create, and yes, I’m pretty happy. I don’t believe you have to be a tortured person in order to make great art. It needn’t always come from a place of pain, although there seems to be a romantic view of that.”

When he was a boy, all he wanted to do was hang around with artists and creative people, but he was stuck in a school in Cork where rugby and academia were the only things people seemed to care about. “Now, weirdly, I’ve found myself in a position where all my friends are artists. It’s a good place to be, I think, and that’s a real source of happiness, especially when we collaborate on stuff.”His ambitions for the future are very simple. In theatre, film or television, in collaboration with the best writers and directors, he wants to make great art, and keep on making it. “I can’t remember which director said it, but he said it takes 30 years to make a good actor,” he says.

“Longevity matters. I’m 16 years in, just over the hump, and when I’m 50 I should know if I’ve mastered my trade, or failed gloriously.”When the dessert and Bordeaux are finished, I ask for the bill, and the waiter brings it with two complementary glasses of dessert wine and a tray of petit fours. “I’m a big fan of your work,” he says to Cillian.

“I’m a big fan of your restaurant,” says Cillian. “How fantastic. What a meal. I wish all interviews could be like this.”As we walk out pleasantly buzzed into the bright furnace of a New York summer afternoon, I notice that Cillian doesn’t appear to have a mobile phone. “I left it in a taxi yesterday,” he says.

“Within half an hour, someone had called my wife and made arrangements to return it. I’m going to pick it up now before I go to the airport. It gives you faith, man. My publicist has lost two wallets and a phone here, and gotten them all back, with none of the money missing. It’s not something people expect from New York, but there you have it.”

Then I see the waiter from 15 East running down the street towards us, and I wonder if he’s going to ask Cillian for an autograph. But no, by odd coincidence, the waiter is holding my mobile phone, which I must have left in the restaurant. “You see what I mean?” says Cillian. “It gives you faith. Alright, best of luck, and I’ll be off now.”

#Cillian Murphy #Interview

[sanityshorror]

hey!~ it's my bitrhday today, how would the hellcrew wish others a happy birthday?

Killian actually loves holidays and celebrating birthdays (plus birthdays are an excuse to take the birthday person to a strip club and get tons of coke (the drug) and hookers😭

Julius bakes a delicious birthday dinner and cake, will insist the birthday person have a self pamper day, and give only 2-3 gifts, but very meaningful ones. One of the gifts is always a really badass handmade leather jacket.

Kelly, like Killian, is a party mf. They'll contribute to making the party extra wild.

Vivi will manage to get the birthday person's favorite musician/band to put on a live and personal performance (Vivi has a lot of connections to the music industry and has played guitar in quite a few famous rock and metal bands).

Sullivan will do decorating and buy a crap ton of gifts.

Cian, he's another party mf. Prepare for extreme chaos.

Duvessa is the one to do the pampering

You'll have to ask @gracilissart about Seamus and Sera, and @scarfaxia about Devlin!

#hellcrew

[hannahhook7744]

'Right Where You Left Me....' Moodboards;

Enchanted Forest Name: Kiran Adil Hassan Mani Woodcock.

Storybrooke Name, if cursed: Corwin Tucker.

Nickname(s): 'Ran, Cor, Princey, K, Doctor Himbo, The Bumbling, and Kir.

Age during season 1 (minus the cursed years): 20 years old.

Enchanted Forest Job: Prince and heir to the throne.

Storybrooke Job: Medical intern.

Kingdom Name: The Kingdom of Linos.

Family: Reshmi/Vashti (Mother),

Raj (Father),

Amir/Aaron (Younger Brother),

Shahzad/Shawn (Younger Brother),

Penelope Devlin/Paisley Spinner (Fiancée).

Animal Companion(s): Shooting Star, Sunburst Heavens, and Swift Foot (Horses).

Theme Song: “Who I Am” by The Score.

Fairytale They're From: The Three Spinning Women.

Enchanted Forest Name: Penelope Guinevere Devlin.

Nickname(s): Pen, Penny, P, Pais, 'Ley, Lazy, and The Lazy Spinner.

Storybrooke Name, if cursed: Paisley Spinner.

Age during season 1 (minus the cursed years): 19 years old.

Enchanted Forest Job(s): Spinner (formerly),

Princess Consort/Queen to be.

Storybrooke Job(s): Seamstress.

Kingdom Name: The Kingdom of Linos.

Family: Gwenllian Devlin/Jean Spinner (Mother),

Ferdinand (Father),

Klotho/Karen (Adoptive Aunt),

Atropos/Annabelle (Adoptive Aunt),

Lachesis/Loretta (Adoptive Aunt),

Kiran Adil Hassan Mani Woodcock/Corwin Tucker (Fiancé).

Animal Companion(s): Flax (Cat).

Theme Song: "Everything I wanted" by Billie Eilish.

Fairytale They're From: The Three Spinning Women.

Enchanted Forest Name(s): Rowena Elladora Jones (Formerly Blithe).

Storybrooke Name, if cursed: None. She wasn't cursed.

Nickname(s): Ro, 'Wen, Winnie, The Forsaken Child, The Princess Who Never Smiled, R.J, Little Jones, The Queen of Strife, The Mother of Monsters, The Queen of Monsters, The Chaotic Sorceress, The Queen of Clumsiness, The Wild Sorceress, The Forbidden Child, R, Kid Pirate, Queen of the Outcasts, Queen of tbe Rejects, and The Pirate Queen.

Age during season 1 (minus the cursed years): 19 years old.

Enchanted Forest Job(s): Princess (Formerly),

Queen (Formerly),

Pirate/Fugitive (Formerly).

Storybrooke Job(s): Writer,

Mail Sorter at Storybrooke Post Office.

Kingdom Name: Rally (Formerly),

Strife (Formerly),

Storybrooke.

Family: Queen Pandora Blithe of Rally (Mother),

King Adam Blithe of Rally (Father),

Killian Jones/Captain Hook (Adoptive Brother),

Tempest Banks (Fiancée),

Warren Scarlet (Fiancé).

Animal Companion(s): Sweetpea (A Skeletal Moss Monster).

Theme Song: "Try" by Pink.

Fairytale They're From: The Princess Who Never Smiled.

Enchanted Forest Name(s): Warren Artemis Scarlet.

Storybrooke Name, if cursed: None. He wasn't cursed.

Nickname(s): Scout, Tree Climber, The Animal Whisperer, The Woodland Bard, The Tree Bugger, Tree Hugger, King Scout, The King of Monsters, The Father of Monsters, The Unlucky Boy, Scout Scarlet, Cuddlebug, The Hard Worker, Animal Boy, The Jack of All Trades, Tree Boy, Scouter, and The Honest Worker.

Age during season 1 (minus the cursed years): 21 years old.

Enchanted Forest Job(s): Thief (Formerly),

Handyman (Formerly),

Farmhand (Formerly),

Musician,

King-to-be/second in command of Strife.

Storybrooke Job(s): Storybrooke Pet Shelter Worker,

Musician.

Kingdom Name: Sherwood (Formerly),

Kingdom of Strife (Formerly),

Storybrooke.

Family: Lamia Scarlet (Mother),

Alaric Scarlet (Father),

Will Scarlet (Older Brother),

Penelope Scarlet (Older Sister)(Deceased),

Tempest Banks (Fiancée),

Rowena Jones (Fiancée).

Animal Companion(s): Shadow (Shapeshifting Cat Fish that can only turn into a cat/cat fish of varying sizes),

Rover (Beetle),

Ridden (Mouse).

Theme Song: “I tried to be perfect” by Sum 41.

Fairytale They're From: The Princess Who Never Smiled.

Enchanted Forest Name(s): Sylvester Boris Lucas.

Storybrooke Name, if cursed: Boris Lucas.

Nickname(s): Silver, S, Wolfie, Fangsie, Fang, Silv, Moondust, Starboy, Bongo Boy, and Spaceboy.

Age during season 1 (minus the cursed years): 21 years old.

Enchanted Forest Job(s): Defense guard.

Storybrooke Job(s): Waiter.

Kingdom Name: Misthaven (Formerly),

Kingdom of Strife (Formerly),

Storybrooke.

Family: Granny Lucas (Grandmother),

The Wolf (Grandfather),

Antia Lucas (Mother),

The Big Bad Wolf (Father),

Graham Humbert (Adoptive Brother),

The Dwarves (Pack),

Tiny (Pack),

The Charmings (Pack),

Quinn (Former Pack),

Adair (Former Pack),

Adalyn (Former Pack),

Adalyn's sister (Former Pack),

Tempest Banks (Pack),

Penelope Guinevere Devlin (Pack),

Kiran Adil Hassan Mani Woodcock (Pack),

Warren Scarlet (Pack),

Rowena Jones (Pack).

Animal Companion(s): None.

Theme Song: ‘Running With the Wolves’ by Aurora.

Fairytale They're From: Boy Who Cried Wolf.

Enchanted Forest Name(s): Tempest Atlantica Banks.

Storybrooke Name, if cursed: None. She wasn't cursed.

Nickname(s): Undine, Treasure, and Siren.

Age during season 1 (minus the cursed years): 20 years old.

Enchanted Forest Job(s): Siren Vigilantee,

Singer,

Queen of Strife.

Storybrooke Job(s): Storybrooke Canner,

Singer.

Kingdom Name: Atlantica (Formerly),

Kingdom of Strife (Formerly),

Storybrooke.

Family:

Nereida Banks (Mother),

Tidal Banks (Father),

Nereida (Maternal Aunt),

Myrddin (Maternal Uncle-Via-Marriage),

Melusine (Maternal Cousin),

Warren Scarlet (Fiancé),

Rowena Jones (Fiancée).

Animal Companion(s): None.

Theme Song: 'Drunken Sailor' by Aeseaes.

Fairytale They're From: Undine.

#ouat #onceuponatime #once upon a time #once upon a time fanfiction #ouat fanfiction #ouat fanfic #ouat ocs #ouat original characters #ouat moodboards #ouat moodboard #etc

[ouatnextgen]

Right Where You Left Me Moodboards

These are my versions of the moodboards for the OUAT fanfiction I'm co-writing with @hannahhook7744! Her version is here (https://www.tumblr.com/hannahhook7744/743787303227604992?source=share)

Name: Prince Kiran Adil Hassan Mani Woodcock of Linos

Cursed Name: Corwin Tucker

Other names: 'Ran, Cor, Princey, K, Doctor Himbo, The Bumbling, Kir (nicknames)

Age: Twenty

Face Claim: Karan Brar (young)

          Rahul Kohli (old)

Species: Human

Father: King Raj Woodcock of Linos (deceased)

Mother: Queen Reshmi Woodcock of Linos

Sibling(s): Prince Amir Woodcock of Linos

      Prince Shahzad Woodcock of Linos

Other Family: Penelope Devlin (Fiancée)

Occupation: Crown Prince (EF), medical intern (Storybrooke)

Home: The Kingdom of Linos, The Kingdom of Strife, Storybrooke

Favorite Color: Dark Blue

Song: Who I Am- The Score

Powers: None

Weapons: Sword

Name: Penelope Guinevere Devlin

Cursed Name: Paisley Spinner

Other names: Pen (primary nickname)

            Penny, P, Pais, ‘Ley (other nicknames)

Lazy (by her mother)

Age: Nineteen

Face Claim: Dakota Blue Richards (young)

          Daisy Ridley (old)

Species: Human

Father: Lord Ferdinand Fitzroy

Mother: Gwenllian Devlin

Sibling(s): None

Other Family: Kiran Woodcock (Fiancée)

Occupation: Spinner (EF), seamstress (Storybrooke)

Home: The Kingdom of Linos, The Kingdom of Strife, Storybrooke

Favorite Color: Light Blue

Song: Everything I Wanted- Billie Eilish

Powers: None

Weapons: Slingshot

Name: Rowena Elladora Jones

Cursed Name: None

Other names: Ro, 'Wen, Winnie, R.J, Little  Jones, R, Kid Pirate (nicknames)

             The Forsaken Child, The Princess Who Never Smiled, The Queen of Strife, The Mother of Monsters, The Queen of Monsters, The Chaotic Sorceress, The Queen of Clumsiness, The Wild Sorceress, The Forbidden Child, Queen of the Outcasts, Queen of the Rejects, The Pirate Queen (titles)

Age: Nineteen

Face Claim: Hailee Steinfeld

Species: Human

Father: King Adam Blithe of Rally

Mother: Queen Pandora Blithe of Rally

Sibling(s): Killian Jones (adoptive)

Other Family: Tempest Banks and Warren Scarlet (Fiancées)

Occupation:Princess (EF, Formerly), Queen (Strife), Pirate/Fugitive (EF, Formerly) Writer (Storybrooke), Mail Sorter (Storybrooke)

Home: The Kingdom of Rally (formerly), The Kingdom of Strife, Storybrooke

Favorite Color: Teal

Song: Try- Pink

Powers: Magic

Weapons: Cutlass

Name: Warren Artemis Scarlet

Cursed Name: None

Other names: Scout, Tree Climber, Scout Scarlet, Cuddlebug, Tree Hugger (nicknames)

  The Animal Whisperer, The Woodland Bard, The Tree Hugger, King Scout, The King of Monsters, The Father of Monsters, The Hard Worker, Animal Boy, The Jack of All Trades, Tree Boy, Scouter, The Honest Worker, The Unlucky Boy (titles)

Age: Twenty-One

Face Claim: Lou Wegner (young)

           Lucas Till (old)

Species: Human

Father: Alaric Scarlet

Mother: Lamia Scarlet

Sibling(s): William ‘Will’ Scarlet 

      Penelope Scarlet (deceased)

Other Family: Tempest Banks and Rowena Jones (Fiancées)

Occupation: Thief (EF, Formerly), Handyman (EF, Formerly), Farmhand (EF, Formerly), King-to-be/second in command (Strife), Pet Shelter Worker (Storybrooke), Musician (all).

Home: Sherwood (formerly), The Kingdom of Strife, Storybrooke

Favorite Color: Green

Song: I Tried to Be Perfect- Sum 41

Powers: Animal Magic

Weapons: Daggers

Name: Sylvester Boris Lucas

Cursed Name: Boris Lucas

Other names: Silver (primary nickname)

                         S, Wolfie, Fangsie, Fang, Silv, Moondust, Starboy, Bongo Boy, and Spaceboy (other nicknames)

Age: Twenty-One

Face Claim: Tom Taylor (young)

Jake Abel (old)

Species: Werewolf/ Vampire hybrid

Father: The Big Bad Wolf

Mother: Anita Lucas

Sibling(s): Graham Humbert (adoptive)

                    Red Lucas

Other Family: Granny Lucas (maternal grandmother)

Occupation: Defense Guard (EF), Waiter (Storybrooke)

Home: Misthaven (formerly), The Kingdom of Strife, Storybrooke

Favorite Color: Spacey Colors

Song: Running With the Wolves- Aurora

Powers: Wolf transformation, super strength, super hearing, super smell 

Weapons: None

Name: Tempest Atlantica Banks

Cursed Name: None

Other names: Undine, Treasure, Siren (nicknames)

Age: Twenty

Face Claim: Bethany Levy

Species: Siren

Father: Tidal Banks

Mother: Nereida Banks

Sibling(s): None

Other Family: Nerissa Banks (maternal aunt)

Myrddin Banks (uncle-in-law)

                          Melusine Banks (cousin)

Occupation: Siren Vigilante (EF, formerly), Queen (Strife), Cannery Employee (Storybrooke), Singer (all)

Home: Atlantica (formerly), The Kingdom of Strife, Storybrooke

Favorite Color: Bronze

Song: Drunken Sailor- Aeseaes

Powers: Mermaid transformation, hypnotic singing voice

Weapons: Harpoon, abalone dagger

#once upon a time #ouat #ouat original characters #ouat ocs #once upon a time oc

[tildeathiwillwrite]

My OC's in the Knights Radiant Quiz

@illarian-rambling did this thing recently where she took the Knights Radiant Quiz for her ocs. Thought it was cool so I'm doing it too lol.

The Legend of Orian Goldeneye:

Jas: Willshaper (81%). Considering what her motives are in the story, this tracks nicely. Killian: Skybreaker (78%). I feel he'd be more of an ancient order Skybreaker, operating within his own moral code with an understanding of how rules are imperfect. Orian: Edgedancer (77%). It kind of fits his personality, and he would love to slide around. Henrik: Skybreaker (74%) and Stoneward (74%). Man was born to be a Skybreaker, he's a garrison captain after all. Stoneward also fits him, as a soldier. Diana: Lightweaver (74%). She is a musician, her morals can be questionable, and she disagrees with Henrik about many things. Azura: Lightweaver (57%) and Elsecaller (57%). She is very much into the subterfuge aspect of the Lightweavers. She's also decent at tactics, a theme of the Elsecallers, and dreamshaping is somewhat similar to moving through Shadesmar. Morpheus: Elsecaller (63%). Very similar to Azura, but he's much more on the cautious side.

Tales from Valaria:

Octavian: Windrunner (77%). Like me! And it also fits his role in The Watcher and the Thief, though by the time The Hunter the Myth and the Cure comes around it's changed drastically. Draven: Willshaper (73%). He does what he wants, doesn't really care for rules but he does have his own moral code. Reese: Lightweaver (62%). I'm not too sure about this one, mostly because her morals align closer to a Willshaper or Edgedancer in my opinion. But she does tend to hide her true self from others. Luc: Windrunner (78%). Fits his morals and his job, he's quite protective. Hector: Windrunner (79%). Same as Luc, makes sense since he's Luc's mentor, but I'd say Luc has a little bit more Skybreaker in him than Hector. Damian: Edgedancer (70%). Bodes well for Caenum to have a heir that cares for his people. He was also willing to give up his freedom if it meant his captor didn't get what she wants, so he's fairly selfless. Kaira: Lightweaver (57%) (Also -20% for Bondsmith apparantly???). She's very good at deception, but that's the only thing that would be Lightweaver about her. Personally I think she'd be a better Elsecaller, due to her search for power. Rift: Elsecaller (54%). I don't know how he got this one, he has average wisdom and intelligence is his dump stat. But he would definitely make good use of Shadesmar (for "borrowing" purposes).

(Superhero Story):

Rowan: Elsecaller (74%). Makes sense, he's fairly cautious, he's the leader of the group (not very good at it), and he's willing to do anything to get what he wants. Victoria: Windrunner (63%). She definitely likes working in a team, and is really attached to and protective of those she cares about, to the point where she'd do anything to save them. Ollie: Truthwatcher (81%). Considering their powers make them a great spy, fueled by their natural curiosity, this fits. Sam: Stoneward (61%). She's the group's tank, the most reliable out of all of them, and fairly optimistic. Whisper: Elsecaller (70%). What is with my villains and getting Elsecaller? Is it because they all seem to be selfish bastards who do anything for what they want? (Nevertheless this does fit him).

#my ocs #my WIPs #the legend of orian goldeneye #tales from valaria #the watcher and the thief #thtmatc #superhero story #jasper katherine #killian cory #orian goldeneye #henrik bronze #diana ozborne #azura lazuli #morpheus tloog #tvf #octavian de silv #draven cozenson #reese takari #luc epsilona #hector epsilona #damian caenum #kaira ta'ruen #rift twatt #rowan ftdc #victoria ftdc #ollie ftdc #sam ftdc #whisper ftdc #forsaken: the doomed city

[sinterhinde]

Haraway, 1985

Donna Haraway’s concept of the cyborg is a radical archetype for emancipatory self-construction that models conscious reshaping of socially imposed identities. The cyborg represents the plasticity of our socially constructed identities: our ability to transcend the limits of prefabricated identities and overwrite oppressive, socially imposed roles. Understanding social construction through this lens gives social workers and clients the conceptual tools to deconstruct rigid identities—particularly those of gender identity—imposed by society. These identities are the subject of active political contestation; they are the product of economic, social, and cultural relations and institutions. The concept of the cyborg provides an emancipatory model that denaturalizes and destabilizes rigid essentialist binaries and instead recognizes the chimeric multiplicity of the individual.

Abstract by Nicholas D. Tolliver, 2022

https://academiccommons.columbia.edu/doi/10.7916/mar4-1k48

We are all cyborgs: How machines can be a feminist tool

By Nour Ahmad

Upon hearing the word “cyborg”, perhaps the first thing that comes to mind is a fusion of human and machine. Our imagination might even drift to an image of Frankenstein’s monster or a depiction such as Major Mira Killian in the anime Ghost in the Shell. A cyborg is actually just a hybrid — part mechanism, part organism. The cyborg, as a concept, is associated with scientist, innovator and musician Manfred Clynes, who deployed it in his 1960’s article Cyborgs and Space, where he argued for altering the human body to make it suitable for space travel.

We, thus, might perceive this concept as being in the future, far from the here and now. However, Donna Haraway, an American biologist and feminist, claims the opposite. She believes that we are all already cyborgs. More significantly, she posits that the advent of cybernetics might help in the construction of a world capable of challenging gender disparities, a proposal she made in her 1985’s essay titled A Cyborg Manifesto. 

How, then, would the notion of cybernetics make for a post-gender understanding of the world? And how would it be a tool for women to undermine the roles imposed on them by society? 

Cyborgs and human nature

The investigation into human nature has always been an essential pursuit for schools of philosophy and a basic assumption made by political ideologies. The answer to the question “what does it mean to be a human?” determines the orientation of a political movement or an ideology. Patriarchal societies have historically adopted an essentialist interpretation of human nature, so as to justify male domination over women. It makes the claim that each of the sexes has a specific role to play and, ultimately, considers the feminine to be secondary to the masculine and thus subjugates women. In such societies, predetermined sets of values and behavioural patterns are strictly enforced on both sexes.  

In A Cyborg Manifesto, Haraway explores the history of the relationship between humans and machines, and she argues that three boundaries were broken throughout human history which have changed the definition of what is deemed cultural or otherwise natural. The first such boundary was between humans and animals, and was broken in the 19th century after the publishing of On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin. As the biological connection between all organisms was discovered and publicised in this book, it served as a rejection of notions of human exceptionalism and superiority, turning the evolution of the organism into a puzzle. It also introduced the concept of evolution as necessary for understanding the meaning of human existence.  

The second boundary-breaking event relates to the relationship between machines and organisms (be they human or animal). As the industrial revolution arrived, all aspects of human life became mechanised. As human dependence on machines surged, machines became an inseparable part of what it is to be human; an extension of human capability.

As for the third boundary, it concerns the technological advancement that has produced evermore complex machines which can be miniscule in size or, in the case of software, altogether invisible. First came developments in silicon semi-conductor chips that now pervade all of life’s domains. As these machines are practically invisible, it is then difficult to decide where the machine ends and humans start. This machine thus represents culture intruding over nature, intertwining with it and changing it in the process. As a result, boundaries between the cultural and the natural became more and more intangible.

“…the advent of cybernetics might help in the construction of a world capable of challenging gender disparities.”

In this context, Haraway uses the cyborg as a model to present her vision of a world that transcends sexual differences, expressing her rejection of patriarchal ideas based on such differences. Because a cyborg is a hybrid of the machine and the organism, it merges nature and culture into one body, blurring the lines between them and eliminating the validity of essentialist understandings of human nature. This includes claims that there are specific social roles reserved for each of the sexes which are based in biological differences between them, in addition to other differences such as age or race.

You are cyborg!

Since first practicing agriculture, using tools to increase production and developing language and writing, humans have been able to boost capabilities and expand their potential. Today, the implantation of artificial organs has been a vital development in the field of medicine, while the smartphone, for example, serves as an extension of human memory, our senses and our mental functions as well. The advancements made in GPS and communication technologies allow us to be present remotely and even grant us the ability to exist outside of the limitations of our time and space frameworks. All these aspects of technology are an expansion of human beings and an augmentation of our physical and cognitive abilities.

Taking all of this into consideration, the cyborg seems present here and now. In an interview with Wired magazine, Haraway said that being a cyborg does not necessarily mean having silicon chips implanted under one’s skin or mechanical parts added to one’s body. The implication is, rather, that the human body has acquired features that it could not have been able to develop on its own, such as extending life expectancy. Indeed, in our current state, cybernetics exist around us, and in simpler forms than futuristic visions. Even maintaining our physical fitness is today cybernetic, from the use of exercise machines to the many food supplements available as well as clothing and footwear engineered for athletic activity. Moreover, the culture surrounding fitness could not have existed without viewing the human body as a high-performance machine whose performance can be improved over time.

On the other hand, a cyborg is “a creature of social reality as well as a creature of fiction” according to Haraway’s manifesto. The internet has brought about profound changes in human consciousness and human psychology. Virtual reality does not only surround us, but it also involves us in its own processes. The social dimension to technology plays a role in the construction of our identities, whether through online games, discussion forums or social media, where our identities can be as multiple as the online platforms that we use.     

Therefore, we can now say that we are all cyborgs, as technology “is not neutral. We’re inside of what we make, and it’s inside of us,” as Haraway formulates it. In modern life, the link between humans and technology has become inexorable to the extent that we cannot tell where we end and the machines begin. 

Cybernetics and feminism

Feminist issues lie at the heart of the concept of cybernetics, since the latter’s prospects erase major contradictions between nature and culture, such that it is no longer possible to characterise a role as natural. When people colloquially use the word “natural” to describe something, this is an expression of how they view the world, but also a normative claim about how it should be as well as a statement on what cannot be changed.

In this context, the cybernetics erase gender boundaries. For generations, women have been told that their “nature” makes them weak, submissive, overemotional and incapable of abstract thought, that it was “in their nature” only to be mothers and wives. If all these roles are “natural” then they are unchangeable, Haraway said. 

Conversely, if the concept of the human is itself “unnatural” and is instead socially constructed, then both men and women are also social constructs, and nothing about them is inherently “natural” or absolute. We are all [re]constructed when given the right tools. In short, cybernetics have allowed a new distinction of roles, based on neither sex nor race, as it provided humans the liberty and agency to construct themselves on every level.

“Because a cyborg is a hybrid of the machine and the organism, it merges nature and culture into one body, blurring the lines between them and eliminating the validity of essentialist understandings of human nature. This includes claims that there are specific social roles reserved for each of the sexes which are based in biological differences between them, in addition to other differences such as age or race.”

Therefore, through her notion of the cyborg, Haraway calls for a new feminism that takes into account the fundamental changes that technology brings to our bodies, to reject the binaries that represent the epistemology of the patriarchy —binaries such as body/psyche, matter/spirit, emotion/mind, natural/artificial, male/female, self/other, nature/culture. Technology is simply one of the means by which the boundaries between identities are erased. Cyborgs, in addition to being hybrids, transcend gender binaries and can thus constitute a way out of binary thinking used to classify our bodies and our machines and accordingly “lead to openness and encourage pluralism and indefiniteness.”

Haraway’s idea is based on a full cognisance of the ability of technology to increase the scope of human limitation and thus open opportunities for individuals to construct themselves away from stereotypes. And while Haraway describes A Cyborg Manifesto as an ironic political myth that mocks and derides patriarchal society, she still claims that cybernetics lay the foundation for a society in which we establish our relations not on the basis of similarity, but on harmony and accord.

(mediasupport.org)

#donna haraway #contemporary philosophy #american philosophy #queer theory #feminist philosophy #politics resource #politics texts #philosophy resource #philosophy texts #80s #90s #2000s #2010s #a cyborg manifesto #american writing

[snowbellewells]

Happy Birthday @hollyethecurious!!! ~*~

I’m sorry this is so late in the day, but I hope your birthday has been a wonderful one @hollyethecurious - full of all the fun, celebration and love you deserve! Your writing has brought SO MUCH joy over the years, and I wanted to celebrate some of my favorites of your works. As I looked back over them though, I had a hard time narrowing them down, there were so many that have been so good, so varied, and each one has taken us on a different adventure with our pirate and princess! You’ve been so much fun to get to know in fandom, and I can’t thank you enough for sharing your writing with all of us!!! 

Without further rambling, here’s a Birthday Top Ten List of Hollye’s Fics! :)

#10) Mix of One Shots: “Huzzah!” // “Teacher’s Lounge” // “Welcome to the Show” // “Yippee Ki Yay” // “Ghost in the Void” // “A FINE Friendsmas” // “Ballet (Mis)Steps”  I love every single one of these so much! I just really couldn’t leave any of them off the list. Some are funny, some are hot and steamy, and some just lovely and heartfelt, and all of them are unforgettable. If you’ve missed any of these along the way, treat yourself and check them out. 

#9) “Some Legends are Best Kept as Legends” This fic was originally written for the @cssns and has such an eerie bit of the spooky supernatural and a lovely hint of history mixed in as well. Maybe it’s the literature teacher in me, but I loved how Holly worked “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” in there too. This is a really intriguing take on CS and you won’t be able to put it down!

#8) “A Different Kind of Fun” This version of Killian as a musician is absolutely irresistible. This is the only unfinished WIP on this list, but you can still enjoy this playful band modern AU as is. I’ve never been able to get it out of my head - it just feels like such a natural iteration of both Emma and Killian, and their friends, and you won’t be able to read without getting into it too.

#7) “A Toast to What If” I was lucky enough to get to serve as a beta for this story, and I would get so excited for each new bit I got to look over. This story just got better and better with every addition. I love the movie that inspired this one for the @captainswanmoviemarathon​, but seeing it with Emma, Killian and the rest of the OuaT gang in the roles made it all the more lovely. The setting, the plot, and all of this one will draw you in and you won’t want to stop reading until you reach the end. <3

#6) “Avowed” This one is a short little story built of interconnected prompt drabbles, but I have always had a soft spot for it. I love the setup, the action and drama it kicked off with, then the twists and turns its plot took along the way. It’s another AU version of Emma and Killian Hollye has created that I can’t get out of my head, and it’s an exciting adventure to read along.

#5) “Varcolac: A Hybrid Tale” This MC is from the inaugural summer of the @cssns event, and it is still one of my favorites from that collection. I’m a sucker for anything werewolf related, but this has its own unique twist on that supernatural genre. I loved how Emma and Killian first met here and how they banded together to face danger. The drama and action get intense in this one and I loved every second! I really can’t say enough great things about this one, and if you’ve missed it, you have to check it out now!!!

#4) “We Make Our Own Fate” This AU MC is extra lovely because it mixes a lot of less common elements into a CS fic - we get to enjoy Killian with his sweet little Alice, some lesser used enemies along with a few of the usual baddies, and a take on Colin’s movie What Still Remains, and yet it still makes use of the relationships and characters we love from OuaT. I looked forward to every new chapter as this was being written, and it is still one of my very favorites!

#3) “Conviction” This fic gave us such an affecting alternate version of Emma’s character. You couldn’t help but have your heart go out to her - just like this story’s Killian did. This one also has a bit of a historical element to it (those seem to be some of my favorites of Hollye’s works) and I love that Liam and Graham, Ruby, Granny, Belle and Will all have parts in this too, which only adds the the enjoyment of it for me (some of my favorite supporting characters who don’t always get to be present). You’re not going to be able to put this one down!

#2) “Hope is the Thing With Feathers” This story is a collaboration fic Hollye wrote some years ago, but it has never lost any of its beauty and it is hard to top. I don’t even know how many times I’ve re-read it. I love the sweet way Killian rescues a young Henry new to Storybrooke, and how in turn Henry and his mother bring life back to this version of Killian too. I love how Smee (sort of) and Belle both make important cameos in this - they’re perfect! The bittersweetness and bits of melancholy in this one make the wonderful way the ending works out all the more amazing and unforgettable. 

#1) “What Lies Beneath the Mask”  I wouldn’t be surprised if Hollye is shaking her head and laughing at my predictability right now, because there was no way any other story but this one was going to be my Number One pick. This was the first story of Hollye’s I read, and it has never been anything but my undisputed favorite. The angst, the whump, the love story, the mystery, and the suspense -- all of it is top notch! I even have a print book version of this one! I read it so much that it was an absolutely necessary investment!! There’s a bit of Hunchback of Notre Dame, and a bit of Man in the Iron Mask in this, but it is 100 percent a CS masterpiece and celebrates all the things Hollye does so brilliantly in her writing. Just talking about it makes me want to get it out and read it again. If you’ve never read this, you HAVE to - as soon as possible!

** And that concludes my list! Once again, I hope you’ve had the very best of birthdays @hollyethecurious​ !!! ***

#fandom birthday #birthday fic favorites list #hollyethecurious fic rec list #happy birthday @hollyethecurious #cs fic list

[roppongi-division]

Kai Killian looked the two gifts that arrived at his household for his birthday

The first gift was a colorful lamp with the form of a wolf from someone he met often, another radio personality Ruka Shiina

"happy birthday to you sir big bad wolf! dad helped me a bit but it's completely homemade, happy birthday again!"- "Regulus"

The second gift is a briefcase that when opened reveals a portable mixer from one of Zakari's friend, the musician succubus Eden Yamamura

"happy birthday Mr vinlyee, honestly i didn't knew what gift you for this day, but after remember one of my talks with Zakacchi i decided for a portable mixer, enjoys your day, and say Zakacchi I said him hello"- "Ember", Succubus

Kai gave a small grin as he looked at the wolf lamp. He had always had a thing for wolves, so receiving a gift that had the concept of a wolf was a good thing for him. He had also heard much about this new radio personality that people had been talking about of late. Ruka Shiina. Kai didn't know much about them, but upon hearing rumors that they were entering the D.R.B., Kai made a note to learn more about them.

That was for a later date, however. Looking at the mixer that "Ember" had given him, the DJ knew just what he was going to do next: take this, along with the wolf lamp, into his music studio and try it out. Not giving it a second thought, he headed there, eager to hear the tunes and sounds that this unique piece of equipment was going to make.

#hypmic #hypmic oc #hypnosis mic #hypnosis mic oc #hypnosis microphone #private party #roppongi division #kai quinlan #ruka shiina #eden yamamura #happy birthday kai 2024

[petriform]

celebrating five years of "nothing is for sure," a Big Post! live set and streaming playback stats, the story of "albacore song," and more!

"nothing is for sure" is now five years old! i still consider this to be my most consistent non-concept album (if you want concept albums, i'm begging you to listen to "florence"), and it remains a mainstay of my live setlists! "the jacket" continues to be a part of my ~brand identity™®~ five years on, though i've retired the specific jacket that is depicted - performing in that in the summer was Not Great! (a current depiction would see a vest with way, way more buttons.)

i was curious to see what the play stats looked like after these five years, especially in comparison to how i've treated the material in live sets over the same time period. this is gonna be a long, wildly self-indulgent post, but if i can't nerd out about my own shit, how can i expect anyone else to? and hey, there might be insights applicable for other independent musicians somewhere in here, maybe! (maybe?) so here are the stats!

all told, "nothing is for sure" looks to have attracted over 30,000 streamed plays between the four services i queried. i... wouldn't have imagined that! i'm not going to compare these numbers to any other album of mine because assembling the data takes work and i'm lazy! maybe for the next album anniversary! these numbers aren't inclusive of the instrumental versions, by the way.

as far as the live numbers go, looks like i've played songs from "nothing is for sure" 39 times over 15* live sets since 2017. eventually i'll finish porting my setlists into an actual database for ease of analysis, but today's not that day.

*it's 16; i played a set in february 2020 (oof) for which i've lost the setlist. it's not accounted for in these stats or anywhere else.

initial takeaways from these charts:

i'm really overdue to perform "gone without!" (okay, and "delete!delete!delete!" too, but i feel like that one is inflated by being track 2.) i've been aware that people like this one a lot, whereas i personally prefer most of the other songs on the album. i couldn't tell you why that is. i aaaaaalmost played it for the first time the last couple of sets, but switched it up at the last minute because i felt (and still feel) like it'll be difficult to perform (the verses are fast and long).

on that note, i DO plan to play every song off this album live at least once, and i've been slowly chipping away at that goal. god help me when i try to pull off "punch buggy slug bug" live; it'll almost certainly be the first and last time. i think i'll save "over like rover" for last - it's only fitting, right?

dang, now i have it in my head to just play a set that's just the album front to back. pls book me to do this 🥺 (but ideally book me to do "florence" in full first)

i dunno why spotify likes "pace yourself" in particular but thank you spotify listeners

in retrospect it's curious that neither i or the listening audience seem to regard "ahead of your time" relatively highly given that's the Song That Says The Album Title

all that said, here are some...

fun facts about "nothing is for sure" live:

the first "nothing is for sure" track i ever played live was "killian is lying to you" in march 2017 at DNA Lounge in san francisco - over 15 months before the album's release

this was the only song from the album i played live before its release.

the most recent "nothing is for sure" track i've played was "albacore song" just this past month (may 2023) in san jose, in a set that also included "stay (wish on a star)," "k7 (k9 - k2)," and (for the first time ever!) "wilson phillips screwdriver”

i've got a lot to say about "albacore song" later!

since the album's release, i've never gone a single set without playing a song from the album.

since the album's release, i've never gone a single set without playing "stay (wish on a star)" specifically. this wasn't on purpose. it's in my top 5 most-played-live songs and is creeping up on a few that i no longer play often.

even if i'd never played “stay (wish on a star),” the bullet point prior to that would still be true.

i've had multiple sets post-"Dither Beach" where i failed to play anything from "Dither Beach" but still played stuff from "nothing is for sure".

tell me about the downloads! the $ale$!

okay. without getting too specific, compared to my other full-length albums on bandcamp, "nothing is for sure" is the:

2nd highest-grossing*,

4th most-purchased,

5th most-downloaded.

(if you're wondering what the top albums are for those rankings, "Don't Worry, You're Great!" is all of them. the way things are going (streaming going up, downloads and CDs going down), ostensibly, it'll be that way for a long time.)

the parameters with which i personally measure "success" for my own projects are complicated, but "nothing is for sure" was a success.

*album downloads on my bandcamp are name-your-price. digital gross is pretty much entirely what folks feel like paying. this figure includes CD sales; without CD sales, it'd be 5th.

okay so what did you mean about "albacore song"

so people who've attended my live shows will know about this, but people who have only listened online might not!

i first played "albacore song" in july 2018 at DNA Lounge; the first show post-album-release. cool! that was the one and only time i played it... until chiptune colleague piecesofeight spun up a mashup thereof with Madonna's "Like a Prayer" that struck a chord with me.

so as a nod to that, and in service to my (wavering) habit of doing at least one cover per set, i played "albacore song" once more - again at DNA Lounge, three years later - but this time, i swerved into a cover of "Like a Prayer" for a couple minutes, and then back into the rest of "albacore song."

thus began a tradition of me using "albacore song" as a medley-riffic launchpad for covers that i invoke wherever I can! i'd done (and still do) similar stuff (swerving covers into "Super Dog Park") before, but "albacore song" has gone from a played-it-once song to a recurring trojan horse of sorts for covers in my live arsenal - if you hear me go into "albacore song" these days, expect to hear Something Else before it's over!

this is the first time i've committed these to writing in one place, but here are the covers i've rolled into "albacore song" so far:

Madonna - Like a Prayer

The Catherine Warwick version of Pollyanna from MOTHER (twice)

M2M - Don't Say You Love Me (gotta repeat this one, it was fun!)

and they likely won't stop there! i've since thanked and gotten to meet piecesofeight in person (after having played a set that, ironically, was my first irl set to not include albacore song in years. oops!). you never know when someone or something will alter your course for the better in unexpected ways!

it turns out even less is for sure

those of you who have been around me for a while have known me to periodically release companion pieces to my full-length albums when there were songs that just barely didn't make it onto those albums (most recently for "florence").

the thing about the "nothing is for sure" sessions, though, is that i had a LOT of material in consideration. way more than any other album i've ever done. coming off of "Don't Worry, You're Great!" i was on fire, writing tons and tons. i've entertained the idea of doing the "nothing is for sure" companion piece before, but it'd be a greater task than usual due to how much viable material was in there to begin with.

but as you may have seen me announce, i'll be releasing an eight-track companion piece consisting of the best of those leftover projects titled "...especially any of this" before the end of the month! more "nothing is for sure" for all! this is the biggest companion piece i've ever released, so i'm excited! and... i've got my next album coming along on top of that! stay tuned!

tell me about it!

i can crunch the numbers for as long as i want, but there's no substitute for real feedback. so if you have something to say to me about "nothing is for sure," fire away! what did you like about it? favorite song(s)? ones you want me to play live more? ones that sucked? hey, the album isn't getting any newer or younger - i wanna know!

all in all, whether you were there for "nothing is for sure" when it came out or you've arrived since, i hope you continue to enjoy what i still consider one of my best albums and proudest achievements. thank you!

#chiptune #chiptunes #8-bit #famitracker #petriform #long post #chipmusic

[lorenlily]

AAAAAAAAHHHH ok

hi, feb anon here

you should 100% watch derry girls, it is so hilarious omg! as an irish/english person who is growing up in england, it is literally the funniest show i've watched recently! all three seasons are *chefs kiss* brilliant.

gilmore girls is also great! i do love rory and logan together, i just love logan in general. the more i watch the show, the more i come to think of him as rory's best love interest! you should defintly try it out! i won't say anymore on that so as not to spoil anything.

i am very frustrated rn because once upon a time has been taken off neflix and i don't have disney+ so i can't have the killian and emma content that i crave, but it's ok i'll find a way to watch their episodes :)!

my top three from rep are call it what you want, dress and getaway car

from evermore they are long story short, coney island feat the national and champagne problems (with special mention to evermore feat bon iver because i love it so much)

and from midnights it's paris, would've could've should've and labyrinth,

that was hard omg

i haven't read daisy jones and the six but i will have to check it out now that you've reccommended it, along with that fantasy series. i just bought shadow and bone, as i've seen a lot of love for the books and tv show so i'm gonna try and read that. have you read it? if so, what are your thoughts?

i am really excited for maisie peters second album, body better, to be released as i am obsessed with the lead single and love her music! i haven't listened to paramours album yet but i've been meaning to, same with gracie abram's discography. i'm gonna try to listen to all of gracies stuff before her next album release.

as for marvel, i used to like it a lot, but i think that was more because everyone else did and i wanted to feel included. now tho, the films just seem kinda lifeless. like there are so many filmos and tv shows being mass produced by them that none of it feels unique or authentic, and all the dialogue is just sarcastic and quick witted and kinda mean. idk, i'm just not really that into it anymore. i liked tom hollands spiderman films though, and i've been meaning to watch andrew garfields spiderman for a while.

and as you can see from this ridiculously long message i am a rambler too.

i don't really know what else to say about me, there's not a lot to tell. i like alice oseman and plants and taylor swift and most of my life centres around music and musicians and different media i enjoy.

umm, yeah, i wish i had more to say about me but there's just not really a lot.

what about you tho, any new medias or things coming out that you're excited for? anything interesting about yourself? any fun facts? i'm curious.

i hope you are having a lovely day and everything goes well and you have a nice time doing whatever you plan to do <3

hiiiiiiiii <3

yeah see marvel movies are mostly alright and very surface level but honestly they messed a lot of things up with endgame that it's made me lose the love i had for some movies. i've always loved the ant man movie and fantastic four is literally the only other project i'm excited for. I hate how they cancelled great shows so only disney+ shows remain and now everytime I watch something i just think about the potential they had lmao i could rant on it all day long....

toms movies are okay but nwh is the only goood one for me and i love the amazing spiderman movies the most!!

oh maisie i liked the music she made for the trying soundtrack (idk what the show is i haven't watched it) and i love songs her eps especially the list and daydreams and adore you and details. her album i only really loved and listen to outdoor pool and volcano but body better!!!! omg I love it so much and I'm excited for her new album I really love this sound

difficult has become my favourite gracie song so i'm excited for the new album and i really love how she's got great bops and really depressing songs (which aren't boring for me to listen to)

ouat is so good even when it's bad lol and it's annoying it got taken off netflix! derry girls i've been meaning to watch and it sounds so good!! lol gilmore girls got spoiled for me which idm i don't think i would've watched it but honestly my dash is mostly rogan shippers and i'd say they're correct too

djats i liked the style of the book and its inspired by fleetwood mac and the civil wars (both artists i've never listened to lol) and the band is supposed to be 70s rock which i have no idea what that sounds like so I'm excited for the music but from all the promo they clearly have changed some scenes from the book which kinda made me less excited but i'm still gonna watch it i just think the discourse about "ships" when it's released is going to be inssuferable lol i think mostly i'm excited to expand on a few of the side characters storylines more

i think like majority people i prefer the six of crows duology to the shadow and bone trilogy (its not bad just the other one is sooo good) and honestly the shows okay but the things i've heard about season 2 like joining both book 2+3 for the plot of the second season i'm just so confused about the direction but it's not long till it's released now (literally everything is releasing in march lol)

now onto taylor! your top 3s are so superior omg!!!! the coney island and labyrinth appreciation! you're literally after my heart!!! what rerecordings are you most excited for? do you have any unreleased tracks you would really like on some of the vaults!! the two lover tracks omg those snippets are soooo goood i really really want them released!!!!!

well now i've thought about it there's actually a lot of things i'm excited for this year!! creed 3 is coming out next month i love those movies! and john wick 4! across the spiderverse looks absolutely incredible! apparently there's a new insidious movie coming out this year (it's my comfort horror series lol) hafsah faizals new book a tempest of tea which is pitched as king arthur meets peaky blinders with vampires!!!!!!! it's alll the things i love! and it's the one book i'm most excited for!! speaking of peaky blinders the movie is filming this year and any behind the scenes crumbs i'm so ready for!! the pjo tv show its looking like its not going to coming out until next year but I'm anticipating at least a trailer since filming has ended and we're getting a new pjo book with percy, annabeth and grover again as well as the solangelo book called the sun and the star! also the little mermaid movie she's absolutely going to kill it!! and is it wishful thinking to say speak now tv (which my dream release date of this year would be september 1st! it's a friday 🙏) and so many other things but this message is getting very long lol

honestly same! i'm literally made up of the media's i consume lol my life is pretty boring and all i've done this year so far is get job rejections and get ill lmao but the biggest source of comfort in my life is my nephew's who i look after almost every weekend :)

and i guess another little thing about me is my dream would be to write a book i have so many ideas in my head but o can't seem to get them on paper, even just practising writing a scene i find hard to do. i think at most i just want to learn how to write. i don't even think it'd go anywhere like i don't think anything will be ready to publish or whatever but just for myself i think it'd help free up my mind if i got my ideas out of my head and fully thought out and wrote a book. what about you? what's your dream job or passion? is there anything new you're trying out or want to? anything you'd want to go back and revisit?

#we're quite a pair of ramblers lol #edit!!! daughter has a new album coning out in april and i'm planning to finally listen to the national before their new album comes out #lol my story with the national is so funny to me #edit!!!! the doctor who 60th anniversary specials omg how did i forget about them!!!!! #theyre bringing my excitement for dw back #what becomes of curious minds* #february anon <3

[kazoosandfannypacks]

Made a fun little AU Generator for fic writers! As an example of how it works, if your OTP happened to be named Killian and Emma, you'd get to write a fic where Killian is an athlete and Emma is a teacher.

Go crazy with this, and reblog with a couple of your otps and what occupation they'd have in the tags! If you write any fics based on this, feel free to tag me!

Image contains alt text, but since the font is hard to read, I'll post plaintext below the cut!

@kazoosandfannypacks

AU GENERATOR

Character's Occupation= First letter of their name

A- Barber

B- Tattoo Artist

C- Barista

D- Florist

E- Teacher

F- Single Parent

G- Ski Instructor

H- Bellhop

I- Camp Counselor

J- Musician

K- Athlete

L- Soldier

M- Detective

N- Con Artist

O- Doctor

P- Pilot

Q- Actor

R- Fitness Instructor

S- Cashier

T- Zipline/Rock Climbing Instructor

U- Carny

V- Millionare

W- Haunted House Actor

X- Night shift employee

Y- Dog Walker

Z- Arcade worker

#writer things #fanfiction #fic writer #writing prompts #captain swan

[killianlynch]

Hi Killian! :)

What type of music do you listen to? Do you have any favorite bands or songs?

Have a great day🩵

Heya sweet cheeks;)

I fuckin love music, honestly. For the most part, I listen to hard rock and heavy metal, but not exclusively. As far as my favorite musicians go, I'd have to say Buckcherry probably takes first place, Avenged Sevenfold is a very close second. My favorite songs, in no particular order: A Little Piece of Heaven, Black Betty, Richard Ramirez (SKYND), Lips of an Angel, Crazy Bitch, FMLYHM, Save Me, Fuck Away the Pain.

You have a great day too, babygirl ;)

#//rp blog #killian lynch #creepypasta #creepypasta roleplay

[awritingcaitlin]

writers self love day 8

for @writeblrfantasy’s prompt: music

Distinctive fiddling got her attention. Killian had gotten around to informing everyone that he was good at the fiddle, as further evidenced by the surprised looks of the other musicians.

Rinnie tapped her fingers on the bar and looked back over at the musicians she had just ordered whiskey to, Killian among them. She found herself studying Killian’s facial features. The harshness from the previous days was not there.

And it wasn’t simply because Killian was playing the fiddle. This was not the first—nor would it probably be the last—tavern Killian acquired a fiddle in. Rinnie was seriously considering just going and buying him one.

Surely he would have one at home though. And Rinnie really had no idea what to look for in a musical instrument.

Killian’s music was almost entrancing. He played with such feeling and he could captivate the crowd so easily. Rinnie swayed a bit to the tune. The woman with the flute figured out how to join into Killian’s jig. Someone, probably the fiddler, clapped along with the beat. The guitarist was knocking on his guitar on some sort of off-beat.

It was a tavern take on a Schmiedish war song. Not that Rinnie had ever heard it used in battle, but intellectually, she knew. It was beautiful.

This is one of the most self-indulgent scenes that I love so much. There’s music. He’s playing fiddle. She starts dancing. They start dancing.

#my writing #writing prompts #writeblr #writeblr community #writing community #cure for the queen #rinnie #killian #12 days of writers self love

[killorbekillian]

i went to a show tonight after work on a whim because i thought there was a different show that is actually happening next sunday, and when i got there i was super confused bc there was like one musician and 4 audience members and i was like wtf happened i thought there were 3 local bands playing, normally the scene turns out. BUT because there was only a handful of people it was actually a fun hangout sesh.

the artist had talked to the 4 people already there because they had traveled to see her from a city >2 hours away, and then i got there a few minutes before the show started and she literally looked at me in the crowd (”crowd”) and was like “thank you so much for coming. why are you here.” and then another person showed up during the set and she was like “oh my god, hello, who are you?” and the dude was clearly like. what the fuck is happening.

one girl from the group who traveled was singing along and the artist was like “you’re harmonizing? get up here” and they did a duet. afterwards I was like, “that sounded really good, and I don’t know anyone here so I have no reason to lie.”

we all went to the merch table afterwards and I said that 6 people was better than like 15-20 people because a small crowd is a bad turn out but a handful of people is a funny story and a chill hang out; it comes back around to being a good show. and the artist was like, “wait, shut the fuck up! that’s so true!”

apparently the cheapest vinyl option is “surprise colors” (i’m guessing it lets them use leftovers from other presses) so she said the albums were either going to be teal or “poop brown” so the 4 of us who bought vinyl were opening them and seeing what color we got. I got teal.

i lent her my work sharpie (because i was in my work shorts) to sign the albums and she wrote “Killian - thank you for being 1 of 6 people @ my show”

anyway, Al Olender, give her a listen. she’s also bisexual if that helps.

#killer filler