#not even for swan queen back in 2015

[ouatnextgen]

Masterpost

Hello five people who will look at this blog!

Here is a general overview of what's in this AU and some of what's changed in canon. I won't be re-explaining the entire show (I don't hate myself that much) but when it becomes relevant and/or I have an idea, I will put it here. Like I said in the description, let me know if you need anything tagged

If you have any questions about this AU, the characters, the ships, please ask me! My dumb brain can't remember everything I've come up for from this AU, and answering questions helps me cement everything in my head.

I will use "#the season 7 rewrite" and "#the next gen verse" for my stuff, "#other people's ideas" for other people's stuff, and "#adjacent" for stuff that won't really fit into either category.

This is a queer friendly space. This AU includes trans and non-binary characters, characters in same-sex relationships, aromantic and asexual characters, and queer M/F presenting pairings. If this bothers you, leave and come back when you're a better person.

Mega Change: Hope and Alice are now twin sisters, and Alice takes on more of a role like Rapunzel in Tangled. More on that below.

Ships: Since shipping is...what it is, I decided to lay out all the main ships that show up in this AU, either Next Gen ships or canon. Don't like, don't read ect, ect

Captain Swan

Snowing

Rumbelle (potentially past, I'm workshopping a bit)

Belle X OC (potentially)

Outlaw Queen (past for a bit, but Robin's coming back, don't worry)

Glass Believer

Curious Archer/Mad Archer

Cygnet Scholar (Hope Swan-Jones x Gideon Gold)

Sleeping Prince/Prince Squared (Neal "Leo" Nolan x Philip II)

There are some other ships as well, but these are the main ones. I might make a post of all the ships eventually, because making up ship names for this fandom is really fun.

Rewrites: This section's gonna be a doozy, so I'm splitting it into three sections; Timeline, Character, and Plot

Timeline *sounds of crying come from the distance*

Timeline and ages are two of the worst documented things in this show. I'm not even going to try with the older characters, but for the younger characters, an attempt was made, starting with Lily's birth and abandonment in 1982, Land Without Magic (LWM) Time.

My AU takes place twenty years after Season 1, so around 2031 LWM Time.

Some of this is headcanon, and most of this is probably wrong, but this works for me, so don't correct me and make this even more complicated than it already is plz.

Timeline:

1982: 

Lily is born to Maleficent and Zorro

1983: Storybrooke’s Creation

Emma is born to Snow and David (October 22nd)

~eighteen years later~

2001: 

Henry is born to Emma and adopted by Regina three weeks later (August 15th-September 1st)

~six years later~

2007: 

 Roland is born in the EF to Robin Hood and Marian (February)

~four years later~

2011: Season 1 (October-December)

Henry is ten

Alexandra is born to Ella and Thomas (October 29th)

2012: Season 1 (January-February)

          Season 2 (February-???)

          Season 3 a

2013:  Season 3 b

Neal Nolan is born to Snow and David (May)

Philip II is born to Philip I and Aurora (July)

Season 4 (November)

Season 5 (December)

Robyn Hood is born to Robin and Zelena (December)

2014: Season 5 (January-??)

          Season 6

Gideon is born to Belle and Rumplestiltskin (March)

2015:

Hope and Alice are born to Emma and Killian (April)

Alice is kidnapped by Gothel (May)

~seven years later~

2023: 

Benjamin is born to Snow and David (January)

2024: 

Charles is born to Thomas and Ella (February)

Arabella is born to Philip I and Aurora (August)

2025: 

Lucy is born to Henry and Jacinda (August 15th)

~five years later~

2031: Twenty Years Since Season 1

Character: I am not a huge fan of the multiverse, let me just say that now.

Trying to retcon everyone I liked from Season 7 into the same universe as the rest of the show was daunting (I'm looking at you, Jacinda) but the way I see it is this: Like the show said, there are so many different versions of fairytales out there, but there are also similar fairytales that have nothing to do with each other except common tropes (like Allerleirauh and Cinderella for instance.)

So maybe Alice Liddell and Alice Jones can exist in the same universe, because while they both are called Alice and went to Wonderland, they have totally different stories.

(This entire block of text was mainly about the whole Jacinda/Ella and Ashley/Ella situation)

Alice Jones (mega rewrite incoming): Alice is the twin sister of Hope (older by thirty minutes), and is the daughter of Emma and Killian. She is the new Savior. Gothel kidnaped Alice when she was a month old, and raised her in a tower in the Enchanted Forest for twelve years, just like Rapunzel in Tangled.

When Alice was twelve, she overheard Gothel saying that she was kidnaped, and was able to use her powers to escape. She tried to portal home, but ended up in Wonderland, because her favorite book was Alice in Wonderland, and so she considered it 'home.'

Alice lived in Wonderland for four years, until Will and Anastasia found her and took her to Storybrooke, where she was reunited with her family.

I also thought the whole "hey look at my Guardian OC, they're even more powerful than saviors and they can't be affected by dark magic and they have unlimited power and-" was suuuper dull. So, Alice is a Savior, just like her momma. And this way, it creates a dramatic irony that Gothel, who took Alice to save her own skin, ended up taking the Savior who is destined to destroy her.

Gothel: tbw

Regina: So, it's been a while since I've seen some of the later seasons of OUAT, but as far as I remember...Regina never wanted to be queen, right? Obviously she regrets not being a good queen to her people, but becoming queen was always what Cora wanted for her: Regina herself just wanted to be loved.

So I found it kind of odd that, at the end of Season 7, Regina became the queen of every realm. As cathartic as it is for Regina to receive the title of "The Good Queen" rather than "The Evil Queen," I kind of feel like this is a hollow attempt to give Regina her Happy Ending (after A&E killed her actual Happy Ending off, of course.)

I really feel like the best ending for Regina would be for her to remain Storybrooke's mayor. She can still be a leader and make up for her mistreatment of her people, and I feel like she can do that even better as mayor; she can hear them out and take their criticisms much easier as mayor than Queen. Additionally, being the leader of a smaller town means that the love of her people means something more. Ruling over millions of people from several realms doesn't exactly give anyone the warm fuzzies, yah know?

AND being mayor would give her more freedom and self-expression away from her mother's influence, so that way, she could have her cake and eat it, too.

Snow and David: I have to say, the later seasons (even the seasons I actually liked) did Snow SO dirty--and no, this isn't about the Lily thing. I won't turn this into a rant, but just know that that is my position as of now.

Snow and David still have their farm, but Snow is Queen of Misthaven now. She operates mostly out of Storybrooke (for plot reasons) and she, Regina, and the other rulers of the Kingdoms regularly team up and advise each other. Neal (Leo) is their heir, as Emma turned it down.

Jacinda: Here's where it gets complicated.

Jacinda is SUCH a pretty name, I always thought it was kinda sucky that it was Ella's "cursed" name. So in this AU, Jacinda is her real name. Original Cinderella (Ashley) gets to keep Ella because 1) She was here first and 2) Ashley is a way lamer name than Jacinda.

After much thinking and stressing, I have decided that Jacinda and Ella are still both Cinderella...sorta. Jacinda's story will be reminiscent of the Grimm's version (with some OUAT twists) while Ella's will be based of Perrault's version. The only things I'll switch are the shoes, since Jacinda's whole ship with Henry kind of revolves around GLASS slippers. (In the Grimm version, they were golden slippers, which I will give to Ella instead)

To make things simple: Jacinda never gets a Fairy Godmother, there's a pear tree involved, no pumpkin coach, there are three balls, birds, and glass slippers.

Ella has (had lol, thanks Rumple) a Fairy Godmother, a pumpkin coach and animal coachmen, a single ball, gold slippers, and the nickname Cinderella.

Does it make sense? No.

Is it important to my Next Gen Verse? Also no. So I ain't stressing it.

Jacinda's and Ella's Families: Another easy one. Ella gets the Tremaine name (she was here first, and her story aligns better with the Disney movie) while Jacinda's is changed to Belfrey.

Also, I thought that the whole "Rapunzel is also Lady Tremaine" thing was dumb as all hell, so that just straight up doesn't exist. To keep it simple, I used Victoria and Ivy for Rapunzel and Drizella, and just shortened Anastasia to Ana, because there are both an Anna and an Anastasia in this universe.

Many other characters remain the same: Tiana and Naveen, Facilier (except his and Regina's thing), Hansel turning evil for no reason (I thought that was hilarious) and a few others who don't matter.

I will add more to this post as I think of things.

#the season 7 rewrite #the next gen verse #ouat next generation #ouat next gen #cygnet scholar #sleeping prince #prince squared

[whmsycal]

PLEASEEEE I DID A THING! I DID MY FIRST THING!

#RATCHED #MILDRED RATCHED #GWENDOLYN BRIGGS #SARAH PAULSON #CYNTHIA NIXON #i can't believe i created this #i never create stuff #not even for swan queen back in 2015 #that's how much this ship means to me #i can't do fancams for shit so i just edit normally #which is just film style #i don't get putting my tag on it because it's not my body of work #but this video is and i really love the end product #all rights to ryan murphy and giving us lesbians #also sarah and cynthia are the real ones #PERIODT!

[wefoundloveunderthelight]

Stacy’s Favorite Completed Captain Swan AU Fics

I have mentioned before that reading Captain Swan fics has kept me going through this pandemic and has lightened my mood through the election.  I thought I would take a moment to mention some of my favorite completed AU fics.  

I have to really thank all the lovely fic writers on this list for continuing to write about this beautiful couple long after the show has left the air. As a former Glee Fanfiction writer, I know the struggle of getting in the chapters, waiting for comments, and hoping with that sick feeling in your gut that people will like it. These writers are very lovely and have created great stories that I have loved reading!

I will work on my WIP list later on but wanted to start with my favorites that are completed stories!

Completed Modern AU

These Nights Never Seem To Go To Plan

Author: stophookingatmeswan

Summary: When Emma Swan meets Killian Jones, he's a mix of sass, sex and hot mess. As their lives start to intertwine professionally, they're drawn together personally but their pasts keep getting in the way. A Captain Swan Police AU.

Completed: 2016-12-089

Chapters: 21

An Inconceivable Secret

Author: itssarahndipity

Summary: Ten years after giving away her illegitimate son, Emma Swan feels unexpectedly ready to be a mother. Little does she know she’ll soon meet her chosen sperm donor and quite possibly fall in love with him. Of course, why bother telling him she’s pregnant with his child? That would complicate things, surely…

Completed: 2018-10-03

Chapters: 21

your case or mine

Author: miamoretti

Summary: Detective Emma Swan is one of Boston Homicide's finest. Killian Jones is head of the FBI team who swoops in to take jurisdiction when multiple homicides sharing similarities with her current case pop up out of state. But they'll have to learn to work together to lure out their killer when they're required to go undercover. As a married couple. CS Cops/Undercover/Fake Marriage AU.

Completed: 2020-08-15

Chapters: 30

your wonder under summer skies

Author: LetItRaines

 Summary: Summer in Storybrooke, Maine means one thing for its residents: tourist season. This year, for Emma Swan and Killian Jones, it means relationships ending and friendships changing all the while they attempt to figure out just what their relationship is. It’s somewhere straddling the line between friends and lovers, and there’s no guarantee of a soft landing if they fall into new territory.

Completed: 2020-06-04

Chapters: 18

The Naked Truth

Author: brooke2broch

Summary: Captain Swan AU. Emma Swan, investigative reporter for the Globe, has arrived in Storybrooke, Maine, in the middle of a heat wave to do an undercover exposé on small town political corruption. The temperature gets even hotter when she meets the dashing mayor — and subject of her story — Killian Jones. When his political rival Regina Mills sets Emma to the task of finding the truth, she unwittingly puts her in the path of something darker and more dangerous than anyone ever expected. Although Emma has been in sticky situations before, something about this town, her newfound friends, and the confounding mayor have her edgy. Because for once in her life, Emma may have found something worth staying for.

Completed: 2020-11-27

Chapters: 23

With You I Have Everything

Author: OnceuponaSwan

Summary: Emma Swan is looking to start over with her son Henry. Boston seemed as good of a place as any to escape her ex-boyfriend. After receiving an officer job at the Boston PD, she feels drawn to the police chief, Killian Jones. Both too stubborn and broken, they embark on a romance that can only get trickier as the secret gets out.

Completed: 2017-09-18

Chapters: 17

The Convenient Groom

Author: searchingwardrobes

Summary: Killian Jones just happens to be there when Emma Swan gets the phone call that changes everything: her fiance is leaving her at the altar. The thing is, it also could mean the end of her career. Convenient that Killian has nothing better to do that day. Convenient that he’s secretly in love with her. Not that Emma has to know that.

Completed: 2020-01-18

Chapters: 14

Dark Gray

Author: colormyheartred

Summary: Killian Jones operates a lighthouse in the middle of nowhere, preferring a life of isolation, until one day a woman and a baby wash up on his little island and change his life forever.

Completed: 2020-10-01

Chapters: 18

Devastation and Healing

Author: Jrob64

Summary: Sergeant Killian Jones has had more than his share of tragedy in his life. When he’s injured in an IED explosion, he’s assigned to a physical therapist named Emma Swan. While she tries to help him heal physically, can they help each other heal emotionally?

Completed: 2020-08-28

Chapters: 24

Catch Me If You Can

Author: LetItRaines

Summary: 298 days. That’s how long Killian Jones was away from a baseball field. It’s less than a year, only part of a season for him, but it might as well have lasted a decade as he alternated between physical therapy and spending an excessive amount of time sitting on his couch.

But then he came back and won the World Series.

It’s something no one saw coming, and it’s certainly not something anyone who knows about his arm would predict. Now it’s a new season with new possibilities, and anything could happen. On-field reporter Emma Swan will be there to cover it all even if she is not his biggest fan right now.

Asking her out live on-air will do that.

Completed: 2020-01-29

Chapters: 40

Completed AU

A change in the wind

Author:

nowforruin

Summary: As Emma’s twenty-eighth birthday approaches and Henry becomes more and more distant, Regina decides trusting in her wicked abilities will no longer do – Emma Swan must be stopped from ever reaching Storybrooke. Lucky for her, a certain pirate would do just about anything for revenge. AU, Captain Swan.

Completed: 2015-04-12

Chapters: 24

Strangeness and Charm

Author: bluestoplights

Summary: Killian Jones is a pirate captain down on his luck after a falling out with the Evil Queen. Emma Swan just found out she is the Savior. Their shared goals bring them on an epic quest to liberate the kingdom once and for all. It's a lot easier said than done.

Completed: 2016-07-28

Chapters: 24

The Princess and the Pirate

Author: riddler42

Summary: When the notorious Captain Hook returns to the seas of Misthaven, Emma Swan - personal bounty hunter of Queen Snow and Prince Charming - takes it upon herself to hunt him down. She soon discovers, however, that she's not the only one. They must work together to escape their mutual enemies, but can they learn to trust one another before it's too late?

Completed: 2015-06-28

Chapters: 22

Their Way By Moonlight

Author: profdanglais

Summary: A new curse has fallen on Storybrooke and this time Emma is trapped inside it, deliberately separated from Henry and anyone else who might help her break it. But what no one knows –including her own cursed self– is that she and Killian have the ability to share their dreams, and are working together in secret to find a way to break the curse and rescue the town from a new and dangerous foe.

Completed: 2019-02-05

Chapters: 20

Walk With Me (I Think We'll Find A Way)

Author: Elizabeethan

Summary: Killian Jones travels across realms to find Emma and Henry in New York after receiving an anonymous message about a new curse. When he finally tracks her down, he makes a bold move and greets her at her front door, but before he can even attempt to convince her to come back to Storybrooke with him, he’s met with a surprise that will change his life.

Completed: 2020-11-07

Chapters: 9

Stacy’s Recommended Fics and Stuff

You are all amazing!!! Thank you!

#stophookingatmeswan #elizabeethan #profdanglais #riddler42 #bluestoplights #nowforruin #LetItRaines #Jrob64 #colormyheartred #searchingwardrobes #OnceuponaSwan #brooke2broch #miamoretti #itssarahndipity #captain swan #captain swan au #captain swan fics #Thank you for being amazing #profdanglaisstuff #stacysficstuff

[let-it-raines]

Walking the Baseline (Year 2012)

Chapter Summary: He’s seen her around. Of course he has. They walk in the same circles, play at all of the same combined tournaments, and they have mutual friends. It’s not until they both win the Australian Open and start talking over Instagram that Killian Jones gets to know Emma Swan. He doesn’t expect one message to turn into more, and he certainly doesn’t expect to find himself knowing who Emma is when she’s not got a racket in her hands. 

Even more, he doesn't expect to let her know who he is off the court when that's a secret he holds close to the vest.

Rating: Teen-ish. 

a/n: I told you guys I had more Walking the Baseline coming, and I meant it! I did not expect you guys to be so excited about this universe, but you’re always blowing me away! So, here’s their story for part of the year 2012, four years before the events of Walking the Baseline and the RIO Olympics. 

You do not need to have read the original one-shot to understand. If you haven’t, well, that just means you’ll be surprised with the ending of this collection 😂

Found on AO3: 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 (Part One) | 2016 (Part Two)

-/-

2012.

“You look nice, Swan.”

She’s standing in front of him in a pair of long white paints and a matching white shirt that bares her midriff. Her lips are painted red, her blonde hair long and curled. It’s different to how he usually sees her, but the same can be said for him as he adjusts his jacket sleeves. They spend their lives in athletic wear with sweat an almost constant companion. They do not spend their lives dressed up like this.

“Same to you. How are you not dripping in sweat?”

“Oh, I bloody well am. It’s hidden under the jacket.”

Emma laughs and flips her hair off her neck. “Damn Australian summers. Been trying to kill me since I was eighteen.”

“But now you’re the queen of the court. Congratulations, by the way. That was a damn good match.”

She smiles and adjusts her trophy as he does the same, the flashes of photographers surrounding them and the water behind them. They’ve both done their individual photographs but are now doing promotion for the tournament and Nike, their clothing sponsor. Killian has the beginnings of a long flight today, and Emma has an even longer one to America. He believes she lives in Florida, but it could also be New York. Maybe California. He’ll ask Ariel if she knows, because he already knows she will have the answer to every question he asks. His manager knows everything there is to know about everybody. Somewhere in that brain of hers, Ariel Fisher has a file on Emma Swan that Killian has never bothered to ask about.

It’s not that he’s never been intrigued. She’s a damn good tennis player and a successful one at that. He’s watched her rise to the top of their sport for years now, and while they’ve done a few photo shoots and charity matches together, they’re never talked much outside of a professional capacity. He knows her brother is her coach and she’s close to Ruby Lucas, another player, and he’s read a little about her upbringing. That’s something she keeps close to the vest, but he gets it. He does the same thing. That isn’t the easiest when you’re on the world’s stage like they are. Now, everyone has to know the details of personal lives of athletes, and it makes staying private difficult when you have to brand yourself to get sponsors. Killian would rather run for five hours over doing an interview, especially now that he’s given twenty interviews since the championship last night.

It’s media overload in every way.

“Congratulations to you. I may have slept through half your match, but what I saw was good.”

“Thanks,” Killian laughs, scratching his chin. “I’m terrified that if I sit down, I won’t be able to get back up.”

“Oh, that’s definitely a risk. David had to slide me out of the bed this morning. I’m only wearing this because I was too lazy to shave. I was pretty sure I’d have to have help.”

He bites his tongue to keep from making the comment he wants to make and turns back to the camera, smiling and nodding, following the rest of the instructions. He and Emma are quickly pulled in different directions to finish out their obligations, and before he knows it, he’s on a plane, flying away from Australia. It’s been a month since he’s been home, and Oxshott has never seemed so good even if there is no one at home waiting to greet him.

-/-

Killian grabs a sweater from the shelf, pulling it over his shoulders, and heads downstairs where he fixes himself a cup of tea and settles on his couch, his television playing in the background. It’s been a long day. His first day back training after a week break nearly killed his knees, but that’s over now. He’s put in his time on the court and at the gym, and no one is going to bother him for the rest of the day. He’s muted Ariel’s name in his phone, and if she really needs him, she’ll call him from Eric’s phone.

God does he hope she doesn’t need him tonight.

Nemo better not either because Killian does not want to see his coach’s face again until early tomorrow morning.

Despite his sweater, he’s still chilled. Going from an Australian summer to a British winter is quite the adjustment. It’s nearly as bad as the jetlag.

Killian’s phone dings in his hand, and he dreads what message he’s surely gotten. He expects it to be Ariel from Eric’s phone, but it’s an Instagram message.

@EmmaSwan: Whoever said @KillianJones was photogenic needs to take a serious look at these photos.

He looks at the photographs, and it’s a series of horribly awkward faces he’s made. He remembers this moment of the shoot. A bug kept trying to fly into his mouth, and at one point, it succeeded. Emma looks great in them, laughing with a bright smile, and she’s right: there’s no part of him that’s photogenic there.

@KillianJones: So you’re saying there are people out there who think I’m photogenic?

Her reply comes instantly.

@EmmaSwan: Well, there were! ;)

Killian laughs and then clicks on her profile, scrolling through. She has several pictures from her win, a few training videos, but mostly it’s pictures of her with some of the women she’s friends with on tour or her brother and sister-in-law. His page is so different in that it’s made up of a majority of tennis photos. He doesn’t share much about his personal life there because there isn’t much to share lately, and when there was, he didn’t want the world to know who he was dating. They did, of course. There were few ways to hide it all when he had photographers literally hiding in bushes, but he imagines if it was a relationship he truly held sacred, he would find a way to keep it hidden away.

Milah was the last person he would have wanted that with, but she was a fan of the attention. She still is if what he sees around is any indication. She married some older man who is worth millions, but other than that, Killian tries not to keep up with her. Some days it goes better than others, but being disconnected from the world does help.

Social media definitely doesn’t.

And after looking at Emma’s profile a little more carefully, he realizes her profile is more private than he thought. In some way, every photo that has a person in it relates back to tennis.

Killian exits out of the app and goes to the link Ariel sent him of all the photos from his shoot with Emma. He clicks on it and tries to find one where she looks bad. It takes awhile, damn gorgeous woman, but he eventually finds one where the wind blew her hair in front of her and she’s making an awful face. It’s perfect, and Killian quickly saves it and a nicer photo to his phone before uploading them to Instagram.

@KillianJones: @EmmaSwan, if only your serve was as big as your hair.

@EmmaSwan direct messaged you.

@EmmaSwan: My serve stats are better than your serve stats.

@KillianJones: Lies.

@EmmaSwan: Okay, well, my hair is also better than your hair.

@KillianJones: Eh, I wouldn’t say that either.

@EmmaSwan: My ass is better than your ass.

@KillianJones: Now, I will fully agree with that.

@EmmaSwan: Isn’t it, like, midnight in England? What are you doing up, old man?

@KillianJones: Watching TV and having a cuppa. Truly exciting times here.

@EmmaSwan has added a picture to this chat.

It’s a shot of her legs, her feet resting on the court. There’s a pool of sweat underneath her, and he is not jealous. It’s February, and while he knows she lives in south Florida – he did ask Ariel – it shouldn’t be warm enough for anyone to sweat that much unless they put in a massive amount of effort.

He must be getting old for this game if just thinking about that makes him want to retire, but there’s no way in hell that’s happening anytime soon. He told Liam he would play until he no longer had a passion for the game.

That hasn’t happened yet.

@EmmaSwan: I’m making my mark on this court. I cannot wait to be in my pajamas watching TV tonight. If I can get up from this chair.

@KillianJones: I’m sure you can slide home in that lovely pool of sweat.

@EmmaSwan: Honestly, I have thought about it.

@EmmaSwan: I’ve got to practice my shitty serve, but I’ll think of smacking your face every time I do it. I’m sure my numbers will be higher than ever.

@KillianJones: Anything I can do to help.

-/-

“How do you eat your strawberries?”

“With my fingers,” Killian says, arching his brow at such a ridiculous question.

“You’re supposed to say with cream.”

Killian spins around behind him, and he immediately sees Emma Swan walking toward him. He hasn’t seen her in months as the tours haven’t had a joint tournament since Australia, but they’ve been chatting pretty regularly over Instagram. He’s never liked the app, but it’s one of his most used ones now.

“Excuse me, lass?”

“You’re doing a promotion for Wimbledon, idiot. They want all of us to say we eat our strawberries with cream.”

“I actually don’t love the cream.”

Emma mock gasps, covering her chest with her hands, before stepping up to him and giving him a quick hug he’s sure is for the cameras surrounding them. “Well, they should kick you out of England for saying something like that.”

“Believe me, they’ve tried, but I chained myself to the ground to keep it from happening.”

“I’m sure we could find you a place here if we had to.”

“Your place?” Killian jokes.

“In your dreams, Jones.” Emma widens her smile before turning to the camera. “I’d eat my strawberries with cream, just in case you want to use me for the promotions instead of this shameful excuse for a Brit.”

“Actually,” the producer behind the camera says, “we have a game that we’d love for the two of you to play together if you want. We usually don’t have two of the bigger names up here at once.”

“What’s the game?” Emma asks.

“It’s basically beer pong.”

Emma tilts her head back with laughter and claps her hands together. “Oh, I’m good at this. You’re going down, Jones.”

“Nice to see your competitive spirit doesn’t die off the court.”

“It never does.”

Emma shrugs and walks over to where they have a ping pong table set up on the roof of this building. Killian gets to travel a lot of beautiful places for his job, and while he doesn’t get to explore a lot of them, he does get to take in the view. He’ll never get over the oasis that is Palm Springs with its mountains going as far as the eye can see with palm trees and lush vegetation filling in so many other gaps. There’s a hell of a lot of desert, but considering Killian only goes between the tournament and his hotel, he doesn’t see that. For him, it’s all about the oasis.

“You ready?” Emma asks as they settle at opposite ends of the table. “It’s going to be a challenge to beat me.”

He winks and leans forward, hovering over the cups of water. “I do so love a challenge.”

-/-

“I mean, I wouldn’t say that you had a bad reputation.”

Killian rolls his eyes and toes his trainers off, kicking them across his hotel room in Monte Carlo. He pulls his phone away from his ear and puts it on speaker so he can change clothes while Emma talks.

“Then what would you say, love?”

He imagines she shrugs, and if he wasn’t disgustingly sweaty despite his shower at the club, he’d video call her instead of this. “I would say you had a colorful reputation.”

“For fuck’s sake, that’s the same thing.”

“No, no, it’s not,” Emma sighs. “It’s…”

“Swan, I was on the verge of getting all my sponsorships taken away at the age of twenty-two. I’d barely gotten started, and I nearly fucked it all up by drinking too much and being enough of an idiot to do it in public.”

“And now you’re England’s poster boy for all sports, so at least from a publicity standpoint, it’s all okay.”

She’s right. He knows she’s right, and he appreciates being talked down after an awful contract negotiation with one of his sponsors and what will surely be an equally awful conversation with Ariel later. They decided that they suddenly had issues with some shit he pulled six years ago, and he’s tired of having to explain himself to people.

His fucking brother died, and Killian didn’t handle it well. How is anyone supposed to handle that, let alone a twenty-two-year-old whose only family was that brother? It was too much, and while he didn’t tank his career, he did derail it, drinking and sleeping around and making horrible choices for his body. There are times when he still wants to do that, but he knows better now. His grief is private, and the world will never see it again unless it’s on his terms.

“My brother’s life was taken because of a drunk driver, and, you know, I’d give up all the sponsorships to have him back. I’d give it all up. And I know I did a piss poor job at dealing with my grief by getting drunk just like the man who killed him, even if I never got behind the wheel, but what was I supposed to do? It hurt too much to not be dulled.”

The other end is silent, and he focuses on his own breathing. It’s heavy now, and he can feel his heart thumping. He hates this feeling. He hates talking about his past, and he damn well hates having to talk about Liam like this.

He’s got no fucking clue why he’s talking about it with Emma, but she called right after the meeting and he spilled his guts out of frustration.

“I never met your brother,” Emma says so quietly he can barely hear her, “but if he was anything like mine, I can guarantee that he’d be proud of you for getting through it and continuing to move forward. Life sucks, Jones, and we all deal with those sucky moments in different ways. I, for one, eat massive amounts of icing and candy. I have an entire stash in a drawer in my bathroom so David can’t find it and scold me for it.”

Killian huffs and reaches up to yank his shirt off before falling back on the bed. He tugs on his hair before blowing it off his cheek. He needs a haircut.

“You keep icing in your bathroom? That seems unsanitary.”

“I promise it’s very secure.”

Killian hums and more silence falls between them. He doesn’t feel the need to fill it, but he does anyway. “I live alone, so I think I may not need to hide my icing stash. I’d have to get one first.”

“Cream cheese is the way to go. It’s, like, two dollars and all the calories are so worth it.”

“Have you ever considered making it at home?”

“I would give myself food poisoning. I can’t really cook.”

“No?”

“Absolutely not. Never learned how to do anything past the basics, and I’m not home enough to try. When I do, Mary Margaret always takes over so I don’t get food poisoning.”

“Where are we together next? Rome?”

“Madrid,” Emma sighs, and he hears a dog bark in the background. He’s sure she doesn’t have a dog, but maybe someone she’s with has one. Or she’s walking around her neighborhood. He never did ask what she was doing. Instead, he immediately started bitching about his sponsor meeting, and then they ended up here. Most of their conversations veer off track, so it’s nothing he isn’t used to. “I get there Monday.”

“I think the same unless I lose early here.”

“You best not. I have money on you.”

“Well, that’s a good way to get yourself suspended.”

Emma laughs, and Killian stretches out on the bed, flexing his feet. “Well, if you don’t tell anyone, I think I’ll be okay.”

“I swear I shall not say a word. Also, Swan, I don’t think we’ll have access to a kitchen in Madrid, but when we get to Rome, I’ll cook you something.”

“If I’m in Rome, I’m not wasting a dinner on your cooking.”

“We can eat two dinners then,” Killian suggests.

“I like that idea.” The dog barks again in the background, louder this time. “I have to go. My neighbor’s dog is walking over this way, and I have to give him my full attention.”

“Bye, love.”

“Talk to you later, Jones!”

The phone goes silent, and Killian closes his eyes. It’s been a rough day for a myriad of reasons, and all he wants is to sleep. His call with Emma has calmed him, as they usually do, but that’s something he often doesn’t like admitting to himself.

Getting involved with Emma would be complicated, and Killian isn’t sure he can do complicated anymore.

His phone buzzes, and he opens one eye to look at the message.

Ariel Fisher: I’m coming to talk to you because you stormed off.

Ariel Fisher: I have the key to your room, so make sure you’re dressed.

Ariel Fisher: I’m bringing dinner, so I know you at least kind of want to see me.

Killian Jones: I’m in the nude, and I’m not changing for you.

Ariel Fisher: It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.

Killian Jones: That is your fault for walking into my bathroom without knocking.

-/-

Killian wins in Monte Carlo, and it feels good to have a trophy for the first time since late January. It’s only April now, and he’s only played three tournaments since Australia. Yet, he had higher expectations for himself for this year. It’s a great year by anyone’s standards, but Killian has really focused on his training this year. He wants another record year like two years ago, and if he keeps this momentum going, maybe he can do that.

That year, he’d worked off the motivation of heartbreak. This year, he’s trying to work off the motivation of doing something for himself.

Whatever keeps him in the game.

Whatever keeps him loving what he does like Liam asked him to do.

-/-

The thing about Killian’s job is that he’s constantly surrounded by bloody people. From when he’s playing a match to doing press to sitting in the living room of the houses and apartments he rents for some tournaments when he doesn’t want to stay in a hotel. Sometimes the only times he has to think are when he’s on court, which is ridiculous because that’s when he’s surrounded by the most people and is supposed to be focusing on his plan for the next point.

Tonight, Killian had planned on having Emma over for dinner, but Ariel, Eric, Will, and Rob have all shown up and are sitting on his couch watching the television and he’s desperately trying to get Emma to pick up her phone before she arrives. He’s sure Nemo and Al could show up any second by the way things are going.

“Hello?”

“Swan!”

“Hey, I was just about to get a car from the hotel to your place. Everything okay?”

Killian sighs and massages his fingers over his forehead. “It seems my team and my mates have decided they’re spending the night with me, so if you want to stay at the hotel, I would understand.”

“Oh?”

“Aye. Of course, you can still come if you want.”

“Is there still going to be food?”

“Absolutely, but I don’t think I’ll be cooking it.”

“Then I’m coming,” Emma laughs. “Would you mind if I brought some people over as well? I can pay for their dinners.”

“The more the merrier,” Killian says, even if that is not how he intended his night to go. “See you soon, love.”

Killian walks back to the living area and settles down in an armchair, bracing himself for the onslaught of questions he’s about to get. “Emma Swan is coming over for dinner. She’s bringing people with her. I don’t know who yet, but I know she is.”

Slowly, everyone turns and stares at him, and Killian is already dreading everything about tonight.

“Why the fuck is Emma Swan coming over?” Will asks as everyone else nods. “I didn’t even know you knew her.”

“How would I not know her?”

“Oi, you know what I meant! You know her, but you know her in a way that has you say hello in the hallways, not that you invite her and her mates over to take our food.”

“You were not invited here tonight, Scarlet.”

“I am always invited.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Ariel sighs, holding her hands up between them. “I need more of an explanation. How did this come about? Are you dating Em – ”

“No, A. Bloody hell, no.” Killian stands from the chair and straightens out his t-shirt. “We got to talking about food one day, and I casually invited her over. Believe it or not, I can have other mates besides you lot.”

“Your personality says otherwise,” Rob teases, and Killian rolls his eyes.

“Alright, alright. What should we get delivered for dinner? A little bit of everything?”

“I still have so many questions,” Ariel tells him.

“I have no more answers. I’m going to order food. You guys can keep watching the match.”

“Isn’t this who you play tomorrow?” Rob asks.

“Mhm, but Nemo will take enough notes and give them to me, so I don’t have to watch the match too closely.”

Killian walks away from the living room and goes through the contacts in his phone for the restaurants he likes, and once he settles on one, he orders several meals for delivery, chatting with the owner and promising her he’ll be in to see the entire team before he leaves Rome.

There’s a knock on the door, and Killian glances out the kitchen window. He can see Emma, Emma’s brother, and her sister-in-law. He was expecting Ruby Lucas and Anna Jergenson, but he shouldn’t be surprised. Her family is nearly always with her.

Ariel gets to the door before he does, hugging and greeting everyone. She knows David and Mary Margaret from constantly working with Mary Margaret over management collaborations, and while this is a large industry, there is always going to be overlap amongst certain people.

“David, nice to see you,” Killian says, walking into the room and taking David’s hand before kissing Mary Margaret’s cheeks. “Mary Margaret, beautiful as ever. Hey, Swan.”

“What? Am I not as beautiful as ever?” she jokes as she embraces him. “I got all dressed up for this. I’m wearing leggings that don’t have any holes in them.”

“I thank you for your effort.” He pulls back and winks. “I’m sorry for the slight change of plans, but I guess I’ll give you food poisoning another day.”

“Can’t wait.”

Killian guides them into the living room, where it’s a mess of greetings and jumbled conversation, and Killian settles himself back in the chair in the corner, watching everyone talk. They’re in the middle of one of the busiest stretches of the season, and it’s nice to have a night where he can relax. He has a match tomorrow and possibly even more depending on how tomorrow goes, but he tries to forget about those. That’s something Killian is still working on. Liam was the one who usually made him forget, and while his mates, many of them under the same pressures, do a damn good job, there are rarely times when his mind doesn’t race with the possibilities of how everything good in his life can slip away.

Killian rents this house in Rome every year because it was Liam’s favorite, so this week is always a particularly difficult one when everything reminds him of his brother.

When the food arrives, Killian spreads it around the kitchen and gets out a few bottles of wine. He won’t drink tonight, but others might want to. They fill their plates and settle back in the living room, the match that was at the forefront now in the background as Rob and Will take the piss out of each other for how badly the mangled the Italian language while asking for directions earlier today.

“I didn’t grow up speaking two languages! I’m still learning!” Will grumbles.

“You trained in Italy for most of your childhood.”

“I have no excuses for Italian, I know. I do speak French pretty well.”

“Oi, and none of us have to wonder why that is,” Rob laughs.

“You’re all wankers.”

“Why does Will know French?” Emma asks him from her seat next to him.

“His girlfriend is from France.”

“Ah,” Emma sighs, picking up a piece of ravioli and putting it in her mouth. “This is delicious. Much better than whatever it was you were planning on cooking.”

“I’m going to prove you wrong one day.”

She shrugs and puts her plate down on the coffee table next to her glass of wine. “If you say so. Where’s the restroom?”

Killian points to the hallway behind the kitchen. “Second door on the right.”

Emma nods and stands from her seat, walking away toward the bathroom. He gets a notification on his watch that he’s got a text from Nemo, and it looks like a long one. Sighing, Killian moves away from the conversation and down the hall to his bedroom so he can text Nemo back. It’s an analysis of his opponent for tomorrow, and Killian skims through it. He’ll read it more in the morning since his match isn’t until the afternoon, but if he doesn’t text Nemo back now, he’ll call until Killian does. The man is a damn good coach, but he can also be high-strung.

The bedroom door clicks behind Killian as he closes it, and at the same time, Emma leaves the bathroom. The two of them are nearly pressed together in the close quarters of the hallway, and Killian aligns himself against one wall while Emma does the same with the other. Still, he can feel her foot brush against his, and he is close enough to see the freckles on her face.

Those freckles are what have himself tilting closer, his breath intertwining with hers, and for every movement he makes, Emma makes an equal one, the voices in the background fading away as Killian focuses on the flutter of Emma’s lashes and the subtle twitch of her lips. He mirrors her, curling up one corner of his mouth and teasingly tapping his lips.

“Please,” she laughs, “you couldn’t handle it.”

“Perhaps you’re the one who couldn’t handle it.”

Emma studies him as heat swirls around them and tickles up his spine, pulling him closer to her. He watches her, waiting to see if she’ll do something, but he expects her to make a joke, to turn away like she sometimes does when things get a little too serious between them when they’re talking in person instead of over the phone. She doesn’t always do that, not when he’s the one sharing, but when it comes to her, she’s more guarded, holding everything deep within.

Emma Swan is constantly subverting expectations, however, so when she pulls on the collar of his shirt and tugs his mouth to hers, he takes a moment to reciprocate.

Bloody fucking hell.

Emma is kissing him.

And she’s damn good at it too. Killian reaches up to thread his fingers through her hair, pulling and tugging until he can take a little of the control back from her. She’s a demanding one, and while he can’t say he minds, he would like a little control too. Her lips are soft, and she tastes of wine and the spices of her ravioli. He could get lost in it all, especially when she moans in response to him backing her up against the wall. Her back arches, and Killian rolls his hips as Emma’s kiss teases him. The friction is fucking amazing, and it would be so easy to take a few steps to the right to his bedroom and…

Suddenly, Emma pulls back, lingering in his space, breath hot against his skin, and Killian can feel a smile tugging at his kiss swollen lips.

“That was – ” Killian mutters, leaning in to kiss her again.

“A one-time thing,” Emma quickly tells him, shoving at his chest until he backs away, a mountain of space between them. “I’m going to go back to the living room. Actually, I think I need to go home. I have an early training session tomorrow.”

“Swan – ”

“Thank you for dinner. It was great.”

Then she’s gone, blonde hair falling away, and Killian can’t move from his spot, standing there with his fingers against his lips. He listens to her tell David and Mary Margaret she’s ready to go, listens to her telling everyone goodbye, and then she’s gone, the front door shutting behind her.

What the hell just happened.

And when did he fall halfway in love with Emma Swan?

Fuck.

“What happened to your hair?” Ariel asks when Killian gets the strength in his legs to walk back to the living room.

“Nemo,” he lies. “His analysis for tomorrow had me tugging on it.”

Ariel studies him like she doesn’t believe him, but then she’s back to drinking her wine and talking to Eric, her life going on as normal even when his isn’t.

-/-

He gets blown out of the water in his match the next day.

He can’t compartmentalize his thoughts, putting the personal behind him and the professional in front of him. That’s been the key to all of his success. No matter what’s going on in his personal life, he can always lace up his trainers and take the court, leaving all of that behind him.

Today, it’s like everything that’s happened to him in the past decade has come flooding back, and Killian wants nothing more than the floodgates to stop.

-/-

Emma doesn’t respond to any of his texts.

He pretends it doesn’t bother him as his team leaves Rome and flies to Paris, immediately preparing for Roland Garros. Killian can fuck around at other tournaments on occasion, but he can’t do it at a major. There are only a handful of those to go around, the importance of them will never be lost on him.

Even if sliding across the clay is the last thing he wants to do right now.

“Smaller steps,” Nemo yells from his place on the sidelines. “You’re going to fuck up your ankle if you run like that.”

Killian adjusts his footwork and keeps moving, sweat slicking down his back as the crowds around the practice courts fill in while more players keep showing up. When he sees long blonde hair in her trademark braid three courts over, his step nearly falters.

It doesn’t.

He can’t.

If Emma is going to put distance between the two of them, he’ll let her. He had a life long before he began talking to Emma Swan, and he’ll have one if she never talks to him again.

He’s a liar if he says that his world would be anything other than miserable for awhile.

-/-

Killian crashes out in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros, and he immediately puts it behind him, bracing his shoulders for a month of grass court tournaments in his own country, where the pressure is always highest.

Sometimes it can be suffocating, but he has to do it.

-/-

“Okay, now that you’ve answered all of our questions, we want to show you a little video clip,” Chris McKendry tells him while Killian adjusts the mic resting on his ear.

“It’s never good when you tell me that, Chris.”

She laughs, as fake as always, but Killian goes along with it. “I promise you’ll enjoy this one.”

A producer for ESPN hits play on the video, and Killian keeps his eyes glued to the screen even as someone slides several bowls of strawberries and cream in front of him. The video of he and Emma from California plays on the screen, all of the promotional work the two of them did that day after she took the piss out of him for his answer to how he ate strawberries and cream. Killian forces a smile on his face, not allowing the cameras to see him slip, because this is what he does now. He’s a perfectly polished PR machine. If he’s going to show emotions other than happiness, they’re going to be either on the court or behind the scenes with no cameras rolling. They are certainly not going to be here.

“So, Killian,” Chris laughs as the video rolls, “we thought it would be fun to bring you some strawberries and cream with a spoon to eat them.”

Killian chuckles and takes the spoon, scooping up a large helping of the strawberries and cream and eating it. It’s not bad. He doesn’t like it, but it’s not the worst thing he’s ever had to eat because someone has asked him to. And the faster he plays along, the faster he can get out of here.

“I think I’ve got it right now,” he jokes, “though I know my last answer went viral because I failed all of Britain with it.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that, but we are giving you this chance to redeem yourself so you can have this crowd behind you for the fortnight. With your draw, I think you might need it.”

“Draws don’t always hold up, but nevertheless Chris, I’m ready for the challenge.”

“You always are.”

-/-

She’s fucking incredible to watch.

She moves with grace but with incredible power underneath her feet and determination set between her brows. Her play gets better with every match she plays, and Killian is mesmerized by it even if he’s been avoiding her matches over the past few weeks. But now she’s on Centre Court, and her match is playing on the screen above his bike where he’s cooling down from his match. There is no avoiding it, and he can’t say he wants to at the minute. He’s obviously a glutton for punishment.

He’s seen her draw, knows that it’s just as difficult as his, and while she might not win here, the Olympics are just around the corner on these same courts. He can’t imagine her not winning at least one of the two.

Then again, he is aware of his bias, but he is also aware of Emma’s skill.

Killian grabs his phone and takes a picture of her match, posting it on his Twitter, which Ariel has told him he has to use more since he “needs to interact with people online.”

@KillianJones: She’s graceful like a swan but also just as vicious. What a match to watch on my cool down. @Emmaswan is the type of player every kid should try to emulate when they pick up a racket

It’s an olive branch.

If she doesn’t take it, Killian will be fine. He may have fallen hard and fast, but that doesn’t mean Emma did. She is free to take things at her own pace, whatever that may mean for the two of them.

-/-

@emmaswan mentioned you in a tweet.

Killian swipes across his screen and opens Twitter, where he sees a picture of yesterday’s match. It’s from high above in what is obviously a private room, but it’s still clearly him on court, pumping his fist after a big point, the crowd standing all around.

@EmmaSwan: @KillianJones, I don’t think any of these people like you. You should try to get them on your side.

He laughs and falls back on his couch. He’s not well liked in a lot of places, but in his home country, he knows that as long as he’s winning, he has the country behind him.

No pressure.

@KillianJones: @EmmaSwan maybe you could help me out. How do I get the crowd to like me?

@EmmaSwan: @KillianJones cook them a home-cooked meal. It’s the way to everyone’s heart.

Killian nearly drops his phone. She’s joking. She has to be. This is the first time he’s so much as talked to Emma in weeks, and she either doesn’t realize the magnitude of her words or is sending him a clear message.

Emma has never cared much for subtly.

He closes out of Twitter and texts her, hoping he’s not fucking up the olive branch she took by snapping it in half.

Killian Jones: I’m making salmon tonight. It’s just me here tonight. I promise. Do you want to come over for dinner?

Emma Swan: How good is your salmon?

Killian Jones: It’s good.

Emma Swan: I’ll be there.

-/-

Emma Swan walks into his home like she belongs there. She steps inside his front door, removes her trainers, and easily walks to him in the kitchen, propping her hip against the counter while he prepares dinner. They talk, mostly about work, and Killian tries to act as unaffected by her presence as possible. The last time they were this close to each other, he had Emma pressed up against a wall. It’s been over a month since then with very little communication, and Killian constantly feels like a bucket of ice has been dropped over him.

He still doesn’t believe she’s here when he is clearly having a conversation with her.

They eat dinner on his couch, the television turned low in the background, and the conversation stays stilted. If Killian is honest, he wants to sink into the cushions and have this night be over with, but he knows better. Either this night firmly cuts the ties between them, or it ties the string back together.

He knows which one he wants, but he dare not speak for Emma.

“This is really good,” Emma says as she scoops up some of her remaining salad. “Thanks for cooking.”

“Thanks for coming over.”

“It’s a really nice place. I bet it must be nice to be able to stay home for a month while still working.”

“Yeah, it is.” Silence falls between them again, but it’s not comfortable, not like it used to be. “Look, Swan, I – ”

She holds up her hands and places the plate in front of her on his coffee table before twisting around and crossing her legs under her on the couch. “Don’t.”

“Pardon?”

“Don’t say it. Don’t apologize for doing something wrong when I’m the one who made out with you and then ran away. I fucked things up between us, and I don’t know how to fix it.”

“Do you want to fix it?” he suggests, knowing the line he walks is thin.

Emma shrugs, sheepish smile on her lips. “I don’t know. I don’t – I mean, I like…you’re…we’re…I don’t know, Killian. I am obviously not the most emotionally aware person, but I care. I care about my family, my friends…you. I care about you. Like, a lot, which was unexpected.” She leans forward and buries her face in her hands, all of her words coming out muffled. “I don’t know how I can do this without messing things up between us where we’ll be avoiding each other while having to walk the same circles.”

Killian arches his brow and stifles his laugh. He shouldn’t be laughing. This isn’t funny, but there is something comical about it.

“What I’m hearing is that you fancy me.”

Emma peeks out from behind her hands, and she glowers at him. “Seriously?”

Killian shrugs and leans forward, grabbing her hands and slowly intertwining their fingers. “I have no bloody idea what I’m doing either, and I don’t mean to upset you Emma. I really don’t. But we make quite the team. I think it would be foolish not to try, but I’ll do whatever you want.”

“That’s really fucking unfair to make me make the decision.”

“If I did, you would find a way to turn it around on me.”

She digs her nails into his palm, but he doesn’t flinch. “Asshole.”

“I would agree with that assessment most of the time.”

Emma rolls her eyes, but there’s also determination there, green, blue, and gold all mixed together to create the emotions hidden just below the surface. “We don’t tell anyone. Like, no one. I don’t like my private life to be public, and if we tell other people, it’ll become public. I’m already risking a hell of a lot possibly being with someone who I’ll have to see on tour if things get fucked up, so I want a safety net even if this doesn’t solve every issue.”

“You’re a romantic.” She parts her lips to protest, and he squeezes her hands, leaning forward and lingering in her space, closing half the gap. “But I agree with you, wholeheartedly. I was with this woman, and – ”

“We don’t have to talk about our pasts right now. I’ve got a match at one tomorrow, so we sure as hell don’t have time to get through everything. I’m also not entirely sure I trust you with everything yet.”

“You shouldn’t,” Killian half jokes as his lips ghost over hers, “but I hope to earn it.”

“Good,” Emma whispers, wrapping her arms around Killian’s neck and pulling him those final few inches toward her until her lips are softly gliding over his, pulling him under as pleasure trickles up his spine.

Good. This is all damn good.

They have no idea what they’re getting into, but Killian can’t wait to figure it all out.

-/-

-/-

tag list (you can be added/removed at any time: @qualitycoffeethings​ @mrtinski​ @klynn-stormz​ @scarletslippers​ @jonirobinson64​ @snowbellewells​ @therealstartraveller776​ @thejollyroger-writer​ @sherifemma​ @galaxyzxstark​ @galadriel26​ @idristardis​ @karenfrommisthaven​ @teamhook​ @spartanguard​ @searchingwardrobes​ @jamif​ @shireness-says​ @ultimiflos​ @nikkiemms​ @onepunintendid​ @bluewildcatfanatic​ @superchocovian​ @killianswannn​ @carpedzem​ @captainkillianswanjones​ @mayquita​ @mariakov81​ @jennjenn615​ @onceuponaprincessworld​ @a-faekindagirl​ @scientificapricot​ @xellewoods​ @ultraluckycatnd​ @stahlop​ @kmomof4​ @tiganasummertree​ @singersdd​ @tornadoamy​ @cluttermind​ @lfh1226-linda​ @itsfabianadocarmo​ @iam2307​ @capthamm​ @ilovemesomekillianjones​ @kktabjones​ @jonesfandomfanatic​ @ouatxxxxx​

#walking the baseline #walking the baseline series #cs fic #cs ff #cs fanfic #captain swan fic #captain swan ff #captain swan fanfic #Captain Swan

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

Eudyptula minor

By J. J. Harrison, CC BY-SA 3.0 

Etymology: Good Diver

First Described By: Bonaparte, 1856

Classification: Dinosauromorpha, Dinosauriformes, Dracohors, Dinosauria, Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoromorpha, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostaylia, Ornithothoraces, Euornithes, Ornithuromorpha, Ornithurae, Neornithes, Neognathae, Neoaves, Aequorlitornithes, Ardeae, Aequornithes, Austrodyptornithes, Sphenisciformes, Spheniscidae

Status: Extant, Least Concern

Time and Place: From 12,000 years ago until today, in the Holocene of the Quaternary 

Little Penguins are known from the coast of Australia and New Zealand

Physical Description: Little Penguins are some of the most adorable penguins alive today, and the reason is clear: they’re smol! Little Penguins range in size between 40 and 45 centimeters in length, and none weigh more than 2.1 kilograms. They are a blue-grey on their backs and white on their bellies and necks. They have very small flippers, which can be entirely blue or blue only in the center with white banding around it. They have short little tails and small feet, which are formed into lightly orange flippers. Their beaks are short and round, and either light in color or dark depending on the population. The juveniles tend to be a somewhat duller color than the adults, but usually very similar overall. 

By Magnus Kjaergaard, CC BY 3.0 

Diet: Little Penguins feed mainly on fish that form schools in the pelagic zone of the ocean (rather than closer to the coast). They’ll also feed on cephalopods and crustaceans. 

By Francesco Veronesi, CC BY-SA 2.0 

Behavior: These nocturnal penguins will capture their food via pursuit-diving, mainly swimming around schools of fish in tighter and tighter circles until finally - woosh! - they dive into the middle and grab as much food as they can. In shallower water, they do pursue the fish more directly. They can dive as deep as 50 meters underwater, sometimes more - including 69 meters deep. They go up to 62 kilometers away from the nesting and sleeping colony sites, though they can usually only go a fraction of that in a single day and longer distances are reserved for multiple day trips. Females tend to forage more than the males. They feed alone, though they do forage in groups. They are extremely noisy in their colonies, making a variety of trills, brays, growls, grunts, yelping, trumpeting, and wailing sounds to one another. They do not migrate, but do stay near the breeding colony extensively during the moulting and nesting season. Juveniles will leave the colony for a large amount of time, but do eventually return to breed where they were born. 

By Phillip Island Tourism, CC BY-SA 4.0 

Little Penguins begin breeding in July and continue through December, though it varies from colony to colony and from year to year. They tend to stick to one nest site for their whole lives and are also fairly monogamous, though they do divorce from their partners around 76% of the time. If they are unsuccessful in raising any chicks one year, the next year they are more likely to divorce than not. The nests are made in a little bit far apart from one another in the colonie, usually a burrow in the sand lined with plant material. Usually two eggs are laid in the nest and are incubated for a little more than one month by both parents. The chicks hatch extremely fluffy and greyish-brown; they then molt to look dark brown and grey another month later. At this time young birds will form creches together for two more months, hanging out and learning from each other. They then fledge and become juveniles two more months later. They become sexually mature at two to four years of age, and can live for up to 20 years (though shorter is more common). The chicks and nesting colonies tend to feed at dusk. 

By Mark Nairn, CC BY 3.0 

Ecosystem: Little Penguins live mainly in sandy and rocky coasts, usually near the bases of cliffs and in sand dunes. They will spend most of their time in temperate to sub-arctic marine waters, many miles offshore. They are preyed upon by cats, dogs, rats, foxes, lizards, snakes, ferrets, stoats, seals, and some other ocean predators. They are mostly affected by introduced mammalian predators at this time. 

By fir0002, GFDL 1.2 

Other: While Little Penguins are, overall, doing alright and are even common in terms of population  management; however, a number of human-created threats are affecting certain colonies and bringing many of them to the verge of collapse. Uncontrolled hunting by domesticated dogs and cats are major causes of colony destruction, as are oil spills, fishing interactions (including being caught in nets), human interference and development, as well as cullings by humans attempting to manage populations of other birds. As such, Little Penguins are of major interest for ecological groups in order to preserve their populations in light of these threats. Fossils of this species are known from its current range from the recent ice age.

~ By Meig Dickson

Sources Under the Cut 

Baird, R. F. 1992. Fossil avian assemblage of Pitfall Origin from Holocene sediments in Amphitheatre Cave (G-2), South-western Victoria, Australia. Records of the Australian Museum 44:21-44.

Banks, Jonathan C.; Mitchell, Anthony D.; Waas, Joseph R.; Paterson, Adrian M. (2002). "An unexpected pattern of molecular divergence within the blue penguin (Eudyptula minor) complex". Notornis. 49 (1): 29–38.

Bethge, P; Nicol, S; Culik, BM & RP Wilson (1997) "Diving behaviour and energetics in breeding little penguins (Eudyptula minor)". Journal of Zoology 242: 483-502.

Boessenkool, S., J. J. Austin, T. H. Worthy, P. Scofield, A. Cooper, P. J. Seddon, and J. M. Waters. 2009. Relict or colonizer? Extinction and range expansion of penguins in southern New Zealand. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 276:815-821.

Carroll, R. L. 1988. Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution 1-698.

Chiaradia, A., Forero, M. G., Hobson, K. A., and Cullen, J. M. (2010) Changes in diet and trophic position of a top predator 10 years after a mass mortality of a key prey. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 67: 1710–1720.

Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017.

Flemming, S.A., Lalas, C., and van Heezik, Y. (2013) "Little penguin (Eudyptula minor) diet at three breeding colonies in New Zealand". New Zealand Journal of Ecology 37: 199–205.

Fordyce, R. E. 1991. The Australasian marine vertebrate record and its climatic and geographic implications. In P. Vickers-Rich, J. M. Monaghan, R. F. Baird, T. H. Rich (eds.), Vertebrate Palaeontology of Australasia 1165-1190.

Grosser, Stefanie; Burridge, Christopher P.; Peucker, Amanda J.; Waters, Jonathan M. (2015-12-14). "Coalescent Modelling Suggests Recent Secondary-Contact of Cryptic Penguin Species". PLOS ONE. 10 (12): –0144966.

Grosser, Stefanie; Rawlence, Nicolas J.; Anderson, Christian N. K.; Smith, Ian W. G.; Scofield, R. Paul; Waters, Jonathan M. (2016-02-10). "Invader or resident? Ancient-DNA reveals rapid species turnover in New Zealand little penguins". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 283 (1824): 20152879.

Littlely, Bryan (10 October 2007). "Fur seals threat to Granite Island penguins". The Advertiser. p. 23.

Martínez, I., Christie, D.A., Jutglar, F. & Garcia, E.F.J. (2019). Little Penguin (Eudyptula minor). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Numata, M; Davis, L & Renner, M (2000) "[Prolonged foraging trips and egg desertion in little penguins (Eudyptula minor)]". New Zealand Journal of Zoology 27: 291-298.

Rawlence, N. J., A. Kardamaki, L. J. Easton, A. J. D. Tennyson, R. P. Scofield and J. M. Waters. 2017. Ancient DNA and morphometric analysis reveal extinction and replacement of New Zealand’s unique black swans. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 284:20170876.

Rodríguez, A., Chiaradia, A., Wasiak, P., Renwick, L., and Dann, P.(2016) "Waddling on the Dark Side: Ambient Light Affects Attendance Behavior of Little Penguins." Journal of Biological Rhythms 31:194-204.

Saraux, Claire; Chiaradia, Andre; Salton, Marcus; Dann, Peter; Viblanc, Vincent A (2016). "Negative effects of wind speed on individual foraging performance and breeding success in little penguins". Ecological Monographs. 86 (1): 61–77.

Simpson, G. G. 1946. Fossil Penguins. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 87(1):1-100.

Tennyson, A. J. D., and P. R. Millener. 1994. Bird extinctions and fossil bones from Mangere Island, Chatham Islands. Notornis, Supplement 41:165-178.

Tennyson, A. J. D., J. H. Cooper, and L. D. Shepherd. 2015. A new species of extinct Pterodroma petrel (Procellariiformes: Procellariidae) from the Chatham Islands, New Zealand. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 135:267-277.

van Tets, G. F., and S. O'Connor. 1983. The Hunter Island Penguin, and extinct new genus and species form a Tasmanian midden. Records of the Queen Victoria Museum, Launceston 81:1-13.

Wallis, Robert; King, Kristie; Wallis, Anne (2017). "The Little Penguin'Eudyptula minor'on Middle Island, Warrnambool, Victoria: An update on population size and predator management". Victorian Naturalist. 134 (2): 48–51.

Wiebkin, A. S. (2011) Conservation management priorities for little penguin populations in Gulf St Vincent. Report to Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board. South Australian Research and Development Institute (Aquatic Sciences), Adelaide. SARDI Publication No. F2011/000188-1. SARDI Research Report Series No.588. 97pp.

Williams, Tony D. (1995). The Penguins. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.

Williams, M., A. J. D. Tennyson, and D. Sim. 2014. Island differentiation of New Zealand’s extinct mergansers (Anatidae: Mergini), with description of a new species from Chatham Island. Wildfowl 6:3-34.

Wood, J. R., K. J. Mitchell, R. P. Scofield, A. J. D. Tennyson, A. E. Fidler, J. M. Wilmshurst, B. Llamas and A. Cooper. 2014. An extinct nestorid parrot (Aves, Psittaciformes, Nestoridae) from the Chatham Islands, New Zealand. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 172:185-199.

Worthy, T. H. 1998. A remarkable fossil and archaeological avifauna from Marfells Beach, Lake Grassmere, South Island, New Zealand. Records of the Canterbury Museum 12:79-176.

Worthy, T. H., and J. A. Grant-Mackie. 2003. Late-Pleistocene avifaunas from Cape Wanbrow, Otago, South Island, New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 33(1):427-485.

#Eudyptula minor #Eudyptula #Penguin #Little Penguin #Dinosaur #Dinosaurs #Bird #Birds #Birblr #Palaeoblr #Factfile #Little Blue Penguin #Fairy Penguin #Aequorlitornithian #Ardeaen #Piscivore #Water Wednesday #Quaternary #Australia & Oceania #Blue Penguin #paleontology #prehistory #prehistoric life #biology #a dinosaur a day #a-dinosaur-a-day #dinosaur of the day #dinosaur-of-the-day #science #nature

[feuilly-cakes]

Twilight: Life and Death - 3* review

I want to start off on a good note, so I'll say this: I enjoyed this book. It was interesting to read and see all the changes, and there are some parts I actually love that are unique to this book. It's written differently than Twilight, with clunkier storytelling due to the POV and a few instances of Stephenie Meyer stating the obvious by showing and then immediately telling us what we've just seen like we collectively share one braincell between us all, but overall it was a fun read. Beau is his own character separate from the original character of Bella, Edythe is her own character separate from Edward, and from this point on I'll be referring to things in canon Twilight as 'Bella's twilight'. This all being said, there were some issues I found with this book too, and I'll discuss them at the end. Spoilers beyond this point Let's get into it! Beau Swan is bitter and sarcastic, has blue eyes, and self esteem so low it's digging holes. He chose to move to Forks but is also not happy about it. He's uncomfortable and confused that Charlie takes care of him by putting snow tires on his jeep, to the point he is still baffled by it when he nearly gets hit by a van. He's also observant, noticing pretty much everything about Edythe saving him, from her stopping the van with her bare hands to him being dragged out of the way, and the way she lifted the van didn't escape him either. After everything goes down as it did in Bella's twilight, Beau is convinced Edythe is playing a huge joke on him by talking to him at all. This is his character. Edythe is softer than her counterpart. She smiles more, is more relaxed, and swears apparently. We see her through Beau's eyes so we get to see her smaller than him and cuddling into his chest while at the same time having the strength to kill him with one slap. He thinks of her as Royal's little sister at one point. It's both adorable and amusing, and I genuinely want to read more stories where the mysterious vampire is a girl because of this. I'm all for genderswaps being pretty much exactly the same person no matter the gender, but this was such an interesting dynamic. To see how each character is different because they were socialised differently and have slightly altered life experiences was fascinating. There were a few things that changed that I have big opinions on: - Lady wolves. My opinion is Yes and also Wow. - The Port Angeles scene has Beau almost getting shot by people who thinks he's a police officer. In my opinion this scene didn't need to change like that, as we know being followed by creepy men is less common an experience for men but it still happens. Edythe rescues him and is fully intending on going after them until Beau convinces her not to. It's a huge difference; where Bella was seen as incapable of looking after herself for even a short time by Edward, Edythe intends on leaving Beau to his own devices while she goes on a rampage. - The whole plot with Taylor is different and hilarious. Instead of allowing her to continue to spread rumours about him taking her to prom, Beau publically and loudly 'breaks up' with her and tells her to stop using him to make Logan jealous. It's a wicked thing to do and I just about peed myself laughing. I do annotate my books and that page has QUALITY ENTERTAINMENT all down the margins. - The Queens executing Aro and Caius and becoming better rulers than them made my day. More things I didn't know I needed. - Beau's reasoning for leaving Charlie and fleeing to Arizona was honestly so much better than in Bella's twilight. He actually gives a reason for his leaving and isn't needlessly cruel. The reasoning itself is heartbreaking. The thought of these characters actually having the conversation he said they had made my heart hurt because it could never have happened, Edythe can't have plans to settle down and get married and have kids for obvious reasons, and that is when I realised I shipped it more than I shipped Bella and Edward. In this, Edythe takes over Rosalie's story to an extent, but without the bitterness. - On a happier note, Archie explains to Beau in the Phoenix hotel room that he's already seen them as best friends and some of the things they will do together, and then there's this interaction: '"We're friends?" I asked, my voice full of wonder. "Best friends," he told me. "Someday. It was nice of my favorite sister, don't you think, to fall in love with my best friend? I guess I owe her one."' If heart eyes emoji was an emotion, I am that emotion when reading this back. This didn't happen in Bella's twilight, at least, not at this point. I love a genuine friendship. - The whole ending is changed too. I liked it. It was a bit infodumpy but I didn't mind it, and the sadness Beau felt at leaving his family was not nice but nice to read. It felt more real and the stakes were higher than Bella's twilight. And now onto the negative stuff Most of the offensiveness was not fixed from Twilight, so we get creepy insinuations about children and that joke about suicide, plus the comment about "superstitious natives". Also, if anyone was wondering, the 'watching your love interest sleep' thing is not less creepy when it's a girl doing it. You're welcome for this knowledge. Unfortunately, Stephenie Meyer took all her offensive remarks from Twilight and added to them. Using OCD to mean perfectionism is not appropriate. Cleaning the house isn't OCD. Tidying the cupboards when they're messy isn't OCD. This is a personal rage of mine that I carry with me, but for anyone who doesn't know this: being neat and tidy is not in fact a serious mental disorder that causes intrusive thoughts, panic attacks and often unintentional self harm. Do not conflate the two. Also in the same vein, it is not an OK thing for your character who is psychic and explaining how that works to say "It's hard to explain without sounding slightly schizophrenic..." This book came out in 2015 so there is no excuse for this. All this is to say that Stephenie Meyer has not changed one bit, you can enjoy problematic things as long as you acknowledge the problematic elements, and stop using mental disorders flippantly and as the butt of jokes. Thanks for coming to my TedTalk.

#twilight renaissance #twilight #stephenie meyer #book blogger #book review #Books and Literature

[celticheartedfangirl]

My OUAT Rewatch -- S4E22 and 23 -- Operation Mongoose, Parts 1 & 2

Link to Rewatch Review and Ranking archive

Bobby looks about as done with this season as I am.  I know Michael Socha was done with it -- literally -- but we’ll get to that later.

This is gonna be long.  So have a seat, pour yourself a drink or seven, and get ready.  I’m not holding back . . . . . . 

First of all, I debated about whether I should review this as one or two episodes.  I decided to go with one, and will do this going forward with any episodes that have the same title and are part 1,2, 8 million, whatever.  Trust me, at times it SEEMED like 8 million.

First thing I want to address is a bunch of fandom wank nonsense that came out of this episode -- namely the idea that RUMPLE wrote the story.  Let me make this perfectly clear:

Rumple DID NOT WRITE THIS STORY.  Isaac did.  Rumple told him what HE, personally, wanted.  Isaac took it from there.  Rumple didn’t write Isaac as a famous douchebag author, and he sure as hell wouldn’t have given fucking ZELENA a wedding in the story, he’d have killed her off in a painful but well-deserved death.  Ditto Hook.  So if you still actually think Rumple wrote this story, my recommendation to you is that you back out of this post now.  And you should probably stay off my blog in general.  Because frankly, I think you are wrong and stupid and we are not compatible in any way.  Got it?

Looking at YOU, some RUMBELLE FANS who actually did this shit:

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/118193570842/i-am-stunned-to-see-some-rumbelle-fans-bitching

Okay, so there’s THAT.  Next . . . 

So this episode was A&E’s attempt at META.  And frankly, they SUCK at it.  It didn’t come off as funny, it came off as making fun of the fans.  No spoilers, ha ha ha .  . . . . . . for those not in the know, back when the show was airing, Adam’s go to answer to fans on Twitter was #nospoilers.  So the whole Isaac so thing was basically a dig at the FANS.  

So there’s THAT.

The entertainment media was shitting all over Rumbelle before the finale, which pissed me off enough to make this post:

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/118484723732/when-and-why-exactly-did-rumbelle-become-the

And this comment:

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/118467157702/ouat-finale-your-burning-relationship-questions

And then there’s THIS:

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/118658755342/omg-ae-dig-the-knife-in-why-dont-you

Yes, in case you weren’t clear, dead is DEAD (we’ll revisit this thought in S5), Neal ain’t coming back, suck on it all of you who don’t like that!  Love, Adam and Eddy.  

Also, in other bullshit news, regarding who taught Henry to sail a ship:

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/118655893997/henry-no-your-father-taught-you-that

And THIS:

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/118660507567/what-the-fuck-they-left-rumple-on-the-floor-but

Revisiting May 2015 me is making current me stabby.  And I haven’t even mentioned the entire town of dumbasses herp-derping around and partying at Granny’s while Rumple is dying and could be a meat suit for the ultimate evil of all evils any second now.  Morons.  

Let’s talk about the stuff I DID enjoy . . . . 

Evil Snow was a riot!  

Bandit!Regina was fantastic.  

And this guy:

Gotta love Knight!Rumple!  

Also, I will admit . . . . . Hook was more useful in useless mode in the AU than he’s ever been in Hook mode outside of the AU.  Does that make sense?  

So there’s all of that.  Overall this 2-part thing was part good stuff, mostly hot mess, and a lot of middle fingers waved to the fans from the writers.  But tally comes later.  NOW is the time to address the Michael Socha issue:

Right about now, dearie.  Will Scarlett is gone.  You will never see him or hear about him again.

(Side note:  Made an error in my last review.  I honestly did not remember AT ALL that we saw Lily again in this episode, both in person form or in dragon form.  Which tells you how much of an impression that made on me.  Anyhoo, my bad.  I goofed.  NOW she’s gone for good.)

So what was the deal with Will Scarlett anyway?  

Well . . . . nobody knows.  We’ll probably NEVER know.  You see, Will Scarlett was one of the breakout characters from the spinoff Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, and when that got canceled, someone -- really not sure who -- thought it’d be an awesome idea to plunk him onto OUAT.  

There were many schools of thought on this, the primary one being that ABC wanted him for something and wanted to keep him on contract.  That was 2014.  I’m typing this in 2020, and there’s still no Michael Socha show on ABC.  So that was a load of horse shit -- or else Socha told ABC to fuck off and hightailed it back to England.  My money is on the latter.  

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/115784240042/honest-question-why-did-they-bring-will-onto

But the issue isn’t even that they didn’t do fuck-all with Socha -- it’s the LIES that these assholes (they being A&E) told.  So here’s where my receipts come in.  You ready?  Got your popcorn?

First of all there’s this lovely article -- Will is mentioned by all of it is just glorious in general:

https://oncecrazy.tumblr.com/post/118843079631/the-26-things-the-castwriters-promised-would

What is so HIGHlarious about all of this is that almost all of the articles that existed about the whole Will Scarlett thing -- no longer EXIST!

The highlight is Zap2it -- which is a now defunct fan site that A&E liked to go prattle to.  

So Frick and Frack promised us we’d find out how Belle & Will got together.  I have this:

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/424464333605771793/#

And I have this:

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/113163777872/once-upon-a-time-belle-and-the-knave-are-a-new

I also have a bunch of people I KNOW can confirm they saw this interview full of bullshit before it got erased.  Please show yourselves!  

But fear not -- I have an ACTUAL receipt from Mr. Socha himself:

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/140658788782/apparently-michael-socha-got-screwed-over-by-ouat

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/140624375357/hes-a-good-bloke-i-saw-him-at-the-comic-con

I’m grateful someone had the idea to type it out, because sadly the link to that article was DELETED, which makes me think Socha got in trouble for that interview.  Because shortly after that, a more watered down interview with him was posted in its place and THAT is still up:

https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a785951/michael-socha-confirms-once-upon-a-time-exit/

Interesting, no?

Whatever the case -- Socha got royally fucked over by OUAT, for no good reason.  His character was a plot device.  What a waste and what an insult to the man who just wanted to work.  Fuck these assholes.  

So anyhow, there are the receipts, and we are now at the end of the clusterfuck that was Season 4.  

Speaking of clusterfucks . . . . onward to Season 5.  

Lord, give me strength . . . . . 

Points tally:

40 points to start

10 points for Rumbelle kiss

10 points for Rumbelle hug

5 points for Swan Queen

3 points for Papafire, at least it got mentioned

5 points for Belle in character

5 points for Rumple in character

5 points deducted for Hook

5 points deducted for Zelena

I really can’t justify adding or deducting anything bonus.  Just get me out of this season, please and thank you.

Total points:  68

Follow #celtichearted OUAT ranking tag for more to come!

#celtichearted ouat ranking #operation mongoose #anti hook #anti zelena #anti ouat writers #ouat criticism

[unfolded73]

A comment on another post by a recent Schitt’s Creek mutual got me thinking about fandom lineage. For any recent followers, or for any followers who are like, why was I following this person again?, here’s mine:

Pre-internet (or pre-me realizing fandoms existed on the internet): In the 1980s, Santa Barbara, Ghostbusters, Moonlighting, and a very short-lived show starring Parker Stevenson called Probe (which in retrospect was a Doctor x companion-style 2-hander and also omg in googling to try to remember what the hell this show was called I realized that all of it is on youtube. fuck me, it’s not gonna hold up at all, is it?) In the 1990s, Star Trek:TNG (yes, I am *very* excited about Picard, thanks for asking), The Simpsons, MST3K, Babylon 5, and Farscape. Farscape might have been the first show where I started to realize internet fandom existed. I remember downloading fan-videos and maybe reading some John x Aeryn fic. (Man, I need to rewatch Farscape*.)

2001-2003: Buffy x Spike, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. My first foray into fic writing, but please don’t go looking for it. It’s bad. Mainly I watched fandom drama and ship wars (hey, I shipped Buffy and Angel too in their time - it’s all good) playing out in yahoo groups, so it was also my first exposure to how toxic fandom can be. Also fell down an Angel x Spike and Buffy x Faith rabbit hole on occasion, back when it seemed ooh, so subversive. 

2007-2011: Ten x Rose and Ten2 x Rose, Doctor Who. Livejournal was my haunt in those days. Made leaps and bounds of improvement as a writer in this fandom, and made some long-lasting friendships. I also played around in the shallow end of the multishipping pool, and I read and wrote a bit of Ten x Jack, Jack x Ianto, Ten x Master, Ten x Queen Elizabeth (before the 50th anniversary special, yuck), Ten x Rose x Jack, and of course the thing that I and my coauthor are moderately famous for, Ten x Ten2 x Rose. Tried to hang on into the Moffat era but eventually bailed from both fandom and the show. Loving Jodie Whittaker though! Even wrote one gen fic about her and Graham last year!

2013: Pepperony, Iron Man/Avengers. This hardly warrants a mention, but I did read fic around the time of Iron Man 3, and I only mention it because I was inspired to write grief-fic for this ship just a few months ago. 

2014-2015: Ben x Leslie, Parks and Recreation. I debated about putting this on the list, because I never wrote any fic or participated in fandom culture other than to read a few fics, mainly by one author who somehow managed to capture the right silly/sexy balance. Mostly I rewatched the show a lot and soaked in that sweet, sweet serotonin. 

2016-2018: Captain Swan, Once Upon a Time. Never have I shipped something so intensely from a show that I didn’t particularly even like most of the time. Also dabbled in Millian, Curious Archer, and Knightrook, which apparently makes me a fake fan in some corners of fandom. *shrug* Didn’t care then and care even less now.

2018: Starmora, Guardians of the Galaxy. Look, I need hours and hours of TV episodes to sustain myself in a fandom, so I only dabbled here when the angst of Infinity War inspired me. But I consider my interest in this temporarily suspended, ready to rise from the ashes when James Gunn finally gets around to making GotG3.

2019: Ashburn, Star Trek: Discovery. I was only starting to really get into this when the show writers seemingly abandoned this ship permanently. I wanted to stick with it, maybe throw canon out the window and live in a fanon world where this ship is still sailing the high (subspace) seas, but I just didn’t have the mental fortitude for that. Which is probably why...

2019-????: David x Patrick, Schitt’s Creek. I started watching this because a couple of mutuals from Captain Swan fandom were posting cute gifs, and I felt like I needed another Parks and Rec-like warm and squishy show to get a serotonin hit from. Boy, did I ever. My descent from “aww, aren’t they cute” to writing fic was 9 days (seriously, I just checked tumblr and my google drive version history to get that number), and I had to drive from Chicago to South Carolina in the middle of that. I fell hard, and I’m pretty sure I’ll be here for a while.

No, it has not escaped my notice that there is a marked uptick in the frequency  here. I think that’s probably tumblr, and the fact that you can see a mutual is into a thing and then follow them down into the same hole. Which is cool, I like that. I also am certainly aware that I’m mainly a het shipper, but that’s because I tend to be rely very heavily on canon. Unless I see it portrayed on-screen, it usually doesn’t occur to me to ship something. What can I say, I fundamentally lack imagination.

* ETA: Ok I just checked the dates and Farscape ran 1999-2003? So I guess it overlapped with Buffy? I don’t remember it that way at all. Huh.

#about unfolded #fandom lineage

[girlwithaheadamongclouds]

I got tagged by @vintagesimstress. Dzięki Ania! I haven’t done it in a while so here it goes.

Rules: answer 21 questions, then tag 21 people you want to get to know better.

Nickname: I never had one. My name is quite short so maybe that’s why?

Zodiac: Leo

Height: between 155 and 160 cm

Last thing searched: ts4cc lol

Favourite musicians: I’m too old to fangirl over singers or bands. I mostly listen to whatever’s on the radio or on my ipod playlists. I used to love rock, metal or punk but I’ve never been a part of any subculture. However, I do have a soft spot for Linking Park, Korn, Metallica, Slipknot, etc. I also love listening to classical music, good soundtracks from movies, tv shows, games and even Bollywood, and wrestling themes. And I could listen to anyone with a good English accent forever. Oh, and Lana del Ray.

If you had a time machine, would you go back in time or visit the future? Being born in the wrong era is the story of my life. I’d go back in time to see all of my favourite historical figures and then I could die happily.

Do I get asks? I used to. Now, I’m scarcely even here.

Following : 391 people

Would you rather be rich or famous? Rich. I’d love to build myself a castle and live there peacefully. Fame is not for me.  

Amount of sleep: Never enough.

What I’m wearing: Everything black. Although, I’m not an emo or a goth. I just like black a lot. And I’ve got lots of black clothes left from the two mourning periods that have happened during the last couple of years. Honestly, everything in my wardrobe is either black or all kinds of blue with rare green/purple/grey colour accents.

Dream job: I don’t have one and that’s why I’m never satisfied with what I do.

Dream trip: A tour around European castles, palaces, and royal gardens.

If you were an animal. What would you be? A dog, a horse or a bird. Preferably a bird cause it’s free and independent. A raven, maybe?

What are some of your favourite books/films/shows/games/etc.?

Books: I’m a bookworm. I love to read. Actually, I mostly read biographies of my favourite historical people. Aside from that, I read historical fiction, fantasy, horrors, and thrillers. I adore Agatha Christie and American gothic, so authors like E. A. Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne. But I also love good old Shakespeare and his tragedies as well as modern drama, Chekhov, etc. And fanfiction. Who doesn’t read it? My favourite book is Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Honourable mentions go to: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky; A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin, A Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind and Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.

Films: There are so many so I’ll name those I feel most nostalgic about: Gone with the Wind (1939); Ivanhoe (1952); Sleeping Beauty (1959 animated); Anne of the Thousand Days (1969); Sissi (1955); Trędowata (1976); Noce i dnie (1975); Clash of the Titans (1981); Steel Magnolias (1989); Dracula (1992); The Swan Princess (1994 animated); Braveheart (1995); Jumanji (1995); Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995); Matilda (1996); Anastasia (1997 animated); Practical Magic (1998); The Parent Trap (1998); Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998); Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (2000); Gladiator (2000);  Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001); The Fast and The Furious (2001); Troy (2004); Van Helsing (2004); Kingdom of heaven (2005); Casino Royal (2006); 300 (2006); Pan’s Labyrinth (2006); The Wolfman (2010); Sicario (2015).

Shows: I mostly watch everything historical, Game of Thrones, Legend of the Seeker or vampires and zombies. No comedies, doctors or layer dramas. For anyone interested in historical tv series, I’ll try to list them periodically: Tut (miniseries 2015)Hercules; The legendary journeys (1995-1999); Xena Warrior Princess (1995-2001); ROME (2005-2007); Starz’s Spartacus (2010-2013); BBC’s Merlin (2008-2012); Camelot (2011); The Mists of Avalon (miniseries 2001); Viklngs (2013-2020); The Last Kingdom (2015-); The Pillars of the Earth (miniseries 2010); The Lion in Winter (TV movie 2003); BBC’s Robin Hood (2006-2009); World Without End (miniseries 2012); Labyrinth (miniseries 2012); Marco Polo (2014-2016); The Hollow Crown (miniseries 2012); Medici: Masters of Florence (2016-); Da Vinci’s Demons (2013-2015);The Borgias (2011-2013); Borgia (2011-2014); The White Queen (miniseries 2012); The White Princess (miniseries 2017); The Spanish Princess (miniseries 2019); The Tudors (2007-2010); Reign (2013-2017); Muhteşem Yüzyıl aka The Magnificent Century (2011-2014); Muhtesem Yüzyıl: Kösem aka The Magnificent Centuruy: Kösem (2015-2017); Versailles (2015-2018); Black Sails (2014-2017); Outlander (2014-); The Frontier (2016-); Крепостная aka Love in Chains 2019); Poldark (2015-2019); Victoria (2016-); Ripper Street (2012-2016); Penny Dreadful (2014-2016); Dracula (2013-2014); The Crown (2016-)

Games: TS4; Crusader Kings II; Hitman; Tomb Raider games; Assassin’s Creed games; God of War games and The Last of Us.

Play any instruments? Unfortunately, no. ;-(

Language(s): Native: Polish; Second: English; The rest: Russian, Spanish and Latin. Self-learning: Hindi and Turkish

Describe yourself as aesthetic: …”A solitary maiden whose only friends are dogs, flowers and her companions-books”

I TAG @sifixcc, @theroyalsims, @pandorasimbox, @kellymarie69, @miraraeblog whose yt royal series is my fav pastime nowadays and anybody else who’d like to participate :)

#21tag #about me #sifixcc #theroyalsims #pandorasimbox #kellymarie69 #mirareablog

[sailor-cresselia]

Zi-O 35: *chuckles* I’m in danger

(Using the RiderTimeFansubs version today) 

Now... it’s show Rider Zi-O Inoue time. 

(I’m out of opening jokes guys.)

-

Now that is a Black Widow if I ever saw one. Seriously, lady, you’re creeping me out. I am literally 33 seconds in.

Lady, er, sorry, Yuko, I don’t know what you were convicted of, but. Um. You’re not really giving off the impression of someone who is exactly going to be… okay if you go outside.

I will give Hora kudos for not shoving the watch into her chest, though. Good call. And apparently Another Kiva gets to summon the Real Kiva’s… support? I don’t actually know what those three Fangire are to Kiva, but. Yeah. I’mma go with either ‘support’ or ‘retainers’ for now.

Flip-cut to 2008, with… Woz… creeping on 2008 Yuko. This Is Fine.

Woz. I know you somehow make it into the Gaia Library in FOREVER. I know you don’t get much to do in FOREVER. I have not seen FOREVER yet, that’s next on the agenda.

BUT YOU DON’T GET TO SAY KEYWORD. YOU JUST DON’T.

(But still, kudos for the possible nod to the film having just gotten it’s home release, that’s clever.)

A quick note on the opening. Nothings changed in a few episodes, not since we got Trinity. But I can’t help but be uncomfortable with the fact that they still have the last scene with characters be the section with Zi-O and Geiz back to back, and then turning around and clashing.

It’s right up there with Cross-Z Charge staying in the OP for Build through the entire season, but Cross-Z Magma never making it in.

Keeping something that was relevant, but became quickly outdated. I’d say they should have swapped this segment somehow by at least the end of the Another Zi-O Arc, if not before. … Nah, end of Another Zi-O would be the best place. I was thinking that after Geiz gave Sougo his belt, and that whole shindig, but there was still an amount of animosity after that for a while.

OH NOOO MY HEART! THEY’RE ALL GETTING ALONG AND FAWNING OVER JUNICHIRO’S APPLE PIE! It’s too cute, help!

But really, all four are immediately smiling, and it’s adorable. Woz kind of seems like he’s lost all of his stoic traits from even two arcs ago, though.

…oh no, Sougo’s Space Case tendencies transferred to Woz when they started using Trinity.

That’s the only answer. Sougo’s been increasingly competent, and both him and Geiz are getting better at talking to people… and Woz has become comic relief. Oh no personality blending nooooo…

But that is exactly the right set of reactions to Sougo saying he’s been in love. A+ to Tsukuyomi pointing out that he’s ‘like a kid.’

Sougo: Of course I’ve been in love! :)

Geiz: Oh god you’re telling us about it. End me now…

...HUH. Just realized. Junichiro wouldn’t know about this, would he? Kiva – and thus our past segments – were in 2008, but Sougo came to live with his uncle in 2009. So Sougo’s parents were still alive at this point.

2008 Sougo didn’t have friends, either.

Tsukuyomi and Geiz looking on in confusion, Junichiro messing with his nephew (while also confused) and Woz… continues eating pie. I’m worried about you, dude. Character Decay’s not a good thing.

And we have a customer, interrupting story time!

OH WOW! He’s here to get a watch fixed! That’s a first from a non-Time Traveler! The only people bringing in actual time pieces have been Woz and Mondo – you know, Quiz, remember him?

(Customer thinks the shop may have become a cafe – fair, given the scene he’s just walked in on – and Uncle’s stuck in cat-pun mode. Whoops.)

(I’ve started Decade, and the apparently recurring ‘I thought this was a cafe’ joke from there with regards to the Photo Studio just popped into my head. Nice.)

Yuko is. Scary. She wants to take over the world to change the laws.

:casts a nervous glance over at the Kiva and Ryuki arcs of Decade:

Hora’s got a point – the only female Another Rider was Amane, as Another Blade, and she was selected by Hat!Woz. But… looks like Hora’s still in the ‘looking for a new King’ state. Even Heure seems to have moved past that. Last arc, he was trying to find Hibiki, not a candidate. Interesting.

Customer is a lawyer, and knows that he can’t always be the ‘gallant hero’ that Sougo seems to think lawyers are. After all, he couldn’t help ‘that pretty lady.’ But he’s forgotten something at the counter, and Sougo – good boy that he is – rushes off to follow and return it.

YUKO. STOPPED A CAR. WITH HER FOOT. IN HEELS. AND A TINY SKIRT.

:siiiiiigh: Did we really need that pan shot along her leg? Did we?

No. No we didn’t.

And we didn’t need Yuko being a CREEPER to her former lawyer – aka Customer. She’s got a… really sensitive nose. That’s really creepy, especially since she’s using it to unnerve literally everyone around her. It’s not even an Another Kiva thing – she was doing this to identify the exact wine her former boyfriend had in the cold open.

Yuko Kitajima, okay, so that’s her last name. And her doing this ‘ah, yes, it’s that aroma’ trick is what lets her lawyer know it’s her. So she’s done this for a long time.

Another Kiva has some nice touches – roses at the lapels of her cape, where the chain attaches, the stained glass aesthetic.

HOWEVER. I’m NOT here for the eyes. That bright piercing blue is both unnerving AND doesn’t go with the rest of the look! Not to mention the eyes on her shoulders! NO NO NOPE NOT HERE FOR THAT.

...When did Zi-O drop the ‘dial’ eyes, anyway? Definitely by Another Zi-O, I know that… but the Future Another Riders had them, too. Then again, the years have all been ‘2019’ for the last few arcs. Blade, Hibiki, and now Kiva definitely have said 2019. Huh. Wonder if it’s something to do with that.

Another Kiva: I’m going to be queen, and this world will be ~mine~.

Sougo: Queen? :o

SOUGO! THIS IS NOT THE TIME! DO NOT APPRECIATE THE COLORS! YOU ARE UNDER ATTACK!

Ooh, hey, she’s even got a version of Kivat-Bat on there! Nice!

Sougo, please at least put on one of your armors. Like. Any of them would do, right now. Build would be good! You can tank hits really well in that one! Decade’d be better! But just something to give you defense! This is four on one you fool you are outnumbered

AND NOW you are also outgunned, because she can turn her Summoned Fangire Replicas into their weapon forms. Delightful.

And after getting hit by the hammer, sword, and gun, Sougo’s knocked right the hell out of his transformation. Whoops.

Yuko. Yuko don’t – don’t stand over him like that, what are you doing? No, no, don’t do the chin thing, Sougo’s already a wreck, we don’t need him losing sensibility already! Don’t leave the braincell to Geiz! Nooooo-

Hora: So, a queen, huh?

Yuko: How dare a servant talk to me.

OH MY GOODNESS WOW

Hora’s not having this. Just. Teleports out of the way of Yuko trying to slap her. Good call.

YUKO. FRICKING. Kicks up a manhole cover. THROWS IT LIKE A FRISBEE at Hora.

Hora just TURNS HER HEAD to dodge. All she gets is a cut on the cheek – HORA YOU’RE LUCKY TO BE ALIVE OH MY GOD.

Hora’s gonna do a violence.

(Hey, Heure, back when we met Swartz, you told him not to treat you like a child. So… what’s with you two getting ice cream? That’s. Weird. And creepy.)

HEURE. HORA.  GET OUT OF THERE. BOTH OF YOU. YOU CAN DO SO MUCH BETTER THAN THIS.

Cut to evening in the shop.

I can believe this lady did a murder. She certain plans to do some murders now.

The day of the crime she’s ‘falsely’ accused of was April 10, 2015. Just felt like noting that.

(And noting that that fits right in with when a Roidmude could have taken someone’s identity. And noting that we haven’t seen Drive yet.)

(I know there’s like, zero chance it’s connected. Why would they link two different arcs like that? That is, aside from Fourze and Faiz, but that was different.)

(But, you know. Just saying.)

She’s almost definitely going after people who got her imprisoned, there’s no maybe about it. And, er, I can actually understand why Sougo would relate to that, what with. You know. The whole ‘demon king’ thing.

Except that he thinks she couldn’t have done it, because she was his First Love. Woz is all “suggestive raised eyebrows” while Geiz and Tsukuyomi just. They just want the inanity to end.

I fucking LOVE how everyone keeps making cat puns / noises with regards to this story. I mean. Really. She scratched you under the chin, dude. That’s weird.

(Nya.)

Weirdo guy in a coffee bar, insulting the coffee but still coming here, because the waitress is pretty. “Yay.”

Also, he’s got this fancy ring on. That’s probably significant, since P-Bandai’s releasing a ring for one of the Kiva characters. They had Amane wearing the Chalice themed necklace, too, so-

OH LOOK Weirdo’s eyes lit up gold when he was talking about ‘seeing a vision of the end of the world’! And his reflection is a blue wolf! You know! The one from Kiva! That the ring is modeled on! Okay!

Right! Legacy Characters! I somehow forgot that they’d try to bring someone from Kiva back!

Cut to Yuko being creepy at a pier, going after the Chief Prosecutor in her case, right up until Sougo and Geiz arrive.

Sougo’s got one question for you. (Just one? Sounds fake, but okay.)

Sougo: “Why do you want to be a queen?”

Yuko: “To correct the laws of this world, to enforce those correct laws.” (all said with an angry face)

Sougo: “So… it is to help people, then?” (confused)

Geiz: “Oh, for f- That’s not how you should go about it! This is just revenge!”

Geiz has the Trinity brain cell today, and he’s making good use of it!

Oh-ho-hohoho- Hora’s PISSED. She chose poorly. She’s gonna get some revenge of her own.

And now Yuko’s gonna do a violence, because all of them are ‘guilty.’

Geiz transforms, but Sougo doesn’t get that far.

No, he’s just gotten into some weird flashback to 2008.

So, a woman – possibly Yuko, I’m not sure, and ‘Tetsuya’ in one of those swan boats. And then it jumps to 2015. With a (presumably) dead female body… and Tetsuya standing over her.

Right. Sougo’s got time powers independent of the belt. He’s only ever looked into the future before now.

SOUGO! I don’t really care what sort of crisis of faith you’re having, you need to go help Geiz! He’s in a four on one, in an even less ideal location than you were! GO HELP HIM!

What’s this? Something’s going weird up in the sky. First to notice is Swartz, who looks up at the ripples of light. Then Tsukuyomi. (“The two of us aren’t so different after all.”)

And then Garulu. The one on the dock. Who I’d thought was a copy. But, um, maybe not. Maybe that’s the actual one? The real one was talking about a ‘vision of the future’ earlier, after all. But what about the other two Fangire? Are they the real ones? How is Another Kiva summoning them, anyway?

Geiz is knocked out of his transformation – and Sougo didn’t even get to activate his own. He never finished turning the belt before noticing a meteor streaking down the sky. The same one that Garulu was seeing in the coffee bar.

I don’t know WHAT that is that just hit that cliff face, but I don’t like the looks of it.

It – it’s alive? Is it an egg?

No no no NOPE it’s a space egg. It’s got a dude inside. It’s got a kitbash Rider inside. And he’s just blasted everyone down.

Everyone except the very noticeably absent Swartz.

Another Kiva tells him to stop – she is the law here.

But Ginga is from deep space. He doesn’t care about your Earth Laws. He’s going to blast you off of your cliff, too.

(I’m sorry, but I’m having a little trouble taking Ginga seriously with that UFO on his helmet.)

“Alright, let’s go!”

“WAIT NO! WAGA MAOU, STOP!”

“ASK US BEFORE YOU USE TRINITY, DAMNIT!”

Turning into a watch is not fun times.

“There is only one law. Everything dies.”

Yoooo I can take Ginga a little more seriously with those barriers. Yoooooo this guy is WAY overpowered.

Seiji Takaiwa is a god of suit acting~! Making just the little adjustments to show which loser is in control of Trinity moment to moment takes timing.

Also, the only person who can talk is the one in control? That’s. Unfortunate. For them. It’s HILARIOUS for us.

(Tsukyomi, I’m sorry, you don’t deserve to have to deal with these three.)

Nothing they throw at Ginga is working. He’s kicking everyone’s ass. Ass, singular, because bodysharing.

HOO BOY. We have our second female Another Rider… and she doesn’t get to be the main threat in her arc, either. Come on, Toei. … Let’s blame Inoue for this one. He’s here, after all.

Looks like Woz gets a Super mode in Ginga.

Well. At least he didn’t get completely shafted in the power-up regard, once his Character Decay set in.

Justice for Alain. (He! Deserved! Better! Yuujo Burst should have been IN SHOW damnit! Not relegated to the STUPID GOD AWFUL SPECTER V-CINEMA!)

(IT’S NOT EVEN HIS OWN SPECIAL! IT’S MAKOTO’S! IT COULD AT LEAST HAVE BEEN IN THE ‘LEGEND OF HERO ALAIN’ SPECIALS!)

(Yes I will always be salty about how Alain got treated.)

Well! Until next time!

#kamen rider zi o #sailorcressy says

[chelseawolfemusic]

Chelsea Wolfe Interview // MusicRadar.

Full article via MusicRadar

“I’ve been able to do some really cool stuff, despite being undefinable and an outcast,” Chelsea Wolfe tells us.

It’s a strange, especially cruel double-edged sword that the more different you are as a musician to anyone else around at the time, the harder you can become to ‘market’ and gain some reward for that talent. And as compelling as Chelsea Wolfe’s music is when you take the time to listen, and it really is incredible work, there’s no escaping that the Sacramento artist’s five albums to date explore wildly diverse ground that’s difficult to label in traditional terms.

Despite an undeniable but gradual rise that’s seen her solo band play on all manner of varied bills, she remains more a cult figure than we think she should be.

“I think it makes it more difficult for any artist to break through when you can’t be put into a simple box,” she tells us backstage in Bristol on a European tour supporting industrial behemoths Ministry.

“It’s easier to ‘sell’ someone if you can be like, ‘Oh she’s an acoustic singer-songwriter from California’ or whatever. But that’s not really all I am, I have all these different sides and influences, from doom-metal and old country, to trip-hop and I bring all those things together in my own way.

“I think it’s more difficult to get certain opportunities because some people just don’t know what to do with me, but at the same time it’s been really cool because since we can fit into a lot of different worlds we’ve got a lot of different opportunities to play at festivals we wouldn’t normally fit on, because someone saw something in us.”

Wolfe’s last two albums, 2015’s Abyss and 2017’s Kurt Ballou-produced Hiss Spun find her in an undeniably heavy era for an artist who also has a whole acoustic folk compilation under her belt (2012’s Unknown Rooms). They mix dark, dense and abrasive sounds with mesmerising tones and ethereal hooks to stunning effect on a journey into Wolfe’s world, with guest guitarists including Russian Circles’ Mike Sullivan and Queens Of The Stone Age’s Troy Van Leeuwen threading through the maelstrom.

There’s a lot to talk about and celebrate here, but the beginning feels the best place to start with Chelsea…

Going right back, were your musical tastes eclectic from a young age?

“Yes, definitely. Mainly because I grew up with a country musician as a father so there was old country and blues, from Johnny Cash to Led Zeppelin - they were one of my early influences through my father. And then my mum had really good taste too; she’d listen to Joni Mitchell and Bonnie Raitt, so there’s a female folk and blues artist influence from her. I was lucky to have a lot of really cool influences.”

Vision quest

You’ve followed your instincts as a musician, but have there been times when that has been difficult?

“Not really because the label I’m on, Sargent House, are very supportive of what the artist wants to do and their vision. So there’s never been this push of, ‘You should try to do this’ or some radio-edit version. I’m not saying that’s out of the question because a lot of bands have done that and been successful doing that.

“I think I have such a lovely audience who are supportive of what I want to do, I don’t think they want me to become more commercial; they want me to just be me and that has become the biggest blessing as an artist because, as I’m writing, I feel the support coming at me from all sides and it makes me want to do my own thing and want to give the authentic version of myself as an artist.”

You were in a band before you went solo, did you have to strike out alone to find your identity?

“I think so. I started as a singer-songwriter with an acoustic guitar and my voice. Then I was putting together my first record that had folk songs and rock ’n’ roll songs and I met Jess Gowrie, who is my current drummer, and we formed the band called Red Host for a few years in Sacramento where we’re both from. And that was heavy rock, hard-hitting songs and it was a lot of fun, but I just knew I had so much more in me and I wanted to be able to do different genres and bring them into my own style. So I had to just fly free for a while to find my own voice and my own style.

“Jess and I unfortunately didn’t talk for a number of years but once we reunited a few years ago it was very clear our musical chemistry wasn’t finished and luckily we started writing songs together again and that became Hiss Spun.”

It seems like it’s been a more traditional, word-of-mouth thing with people discovering your music. Does it feel like it’s been quite a gradual build for you?

“Totally, yes. I mean we’re on year seven of pretty continual touring and that’s obviously a very old-school way to gather a following and we’ve seen the growth from small clubs to some cool theatres. So it’s definitely a gradual growth and a lot of people tell me, ‘Oh I heard about you from a friend or someone recommended it.’ I don’t get a lot of press that other musicians might get. I don’t really know why, maybe because I’m like this weirdo and they don’t really know what to do with me! But it’s been cool doing things in a more organic way.”

And those kinds of fans tend to stick with you, they’re often loyal…

“It seems like it. I see a lot of the same faces at shows and I recognize them from really early shows.”

Who have been influences on the heavier side of your music?

“Queens Of The Stone Age were a big influence for myself and my drummer, Jess. Bands that we’ve played with have ended up influencing us a lot; Swans, Sunn O))), Russian Circles even. I think playing with all these heavy bands is a reason I started going in a heavier direction for Abyss because after [third album] Pain Is Beauty I kind of imagined that I would go back to acoustic but then we were doing all these tours with heavier bands and I thought, ‘That looks like so much fun.’ I wanted to write some heavy songs that are fun to play and that I could really lose myself in.”

Is the acoustic guitar still part of your world?

“Oh yeah, I’ve actually written a ton of acoustic songs in the past year and I’ll probably focus on that next. I just follow my musical intuitions and instincts. For the last couple of records I’ve really wanted to make heavy music but now I think something in me is pulling me back to this more minimal acoustic folk, which are really kind of my origins as a musician.”

Abyss and Hiss Spun featured guest guitarists - with Russian Circles’ Mike Sullivan and then Queens Of The Stone Age’s Troy Van Leeuwen. They obviously felt like the right players to contribute to those records, but how much direction did you give them or is there a trust there from the start?

“I think it’s a bit of both. Somehow it comes together in the right way where I know this is the person I want to play on the record with these songs, and then some of the songs I’ll be like, ‘Do your thing and let’s see what happens.’ But there will be a song like 16 Psyche where I really left space for Troy and I knew that I wanted him to write a big lead part over the breakdown/bridge, whatever you want to call it, towards the end of the song. It was kind of a back and forth situation where he would play something and I would say, ‘Focus on that part.’ It was really cool to have a great player put so much trust in me as I was putting so much trust in him.”

Flooring it

On Hiss Spun there’s also more of a band-in-a-room dynamic than ever before, is that reflective of the creative process?

“Yes, I wanted this one to be more collaborative and more as a band. So we did a lot of jamming together, Jess and Ben [Chisholm, bass player and guitar] and I. Also we’d bring in different lead guitar players to add some flourishes. But a lot of it was just the three of us jamming out. The traditional rock ’n’ roll process of songwriting, and also Ben wrote a lot of the guitar parts. There’s more of his vibe and his influence there, which is cool.”

Do you find in that context there are more happy accidents with things that happen in the moment?

“Yes, totally. I can completely understand why there are people who just jam in their garage with friends and don’t ever play shows or anything. That’s really the most fun part - having some drinks and jamming with your friends. Coming up with these cool ideas. That’s even more fun to me than playing live so, yes, I think a lot of happy accidents come out of that.”

Are some of what sound like electronics on Abyss and Hiss Spun actually guitar? Do things start to blur between those worlds?

“Probably yes, because Carrion Flowers, a song that I would consider to be an electronic song, is actually a bass part that’s run through some pedals into speakers, recorded from there and then run through even more pedals. So we kind of make our own electronic sounds and we like to sample things a lot.

“Even just upstairs there’s a crazy old fan that’s making some really cool patterns so I recorded that and I’m sure I’ll use that in a song later. Ben and I are always collecting weird sounds that we’ll put into MIDI or Ableton, twist it around or top little parts of it and make a totally new beat.”

What’s the strangest sample you’ve ever captured?

“I think the strangest one so far is probably the track Scrape, which is the final song on Hiss Spun and the final song in the set too. Our friend was working at a recycling centre and I think we asked him to take some samples of weird sounds. So he sent us the sound of the tractor scraping bottles up off the floor and it just had that natural rhythm and that ended up becoming the basis for Scrape. I know people might not imagine using the floor of the recycling centre but it really worked out well.”

There’s this relationship between beautiful and quite unsettling sounds in your music, is that difficult to balance, or is it just subconscious for you now?

“I think it’s become subconscious for me. It’s something I’ve always done, whether it’s putting a prettier melody like a softer vocal part over something super-heavy, I think it makes the front of house sound guys’ jobs intensely frustrating because you have this wall of sound with this whispery vocal over it but I don’t know, it’s just what I do.”

#Chelsea Wolfe #MusicRadar

[darkspellmaster]

She-ra and the Princesses of power, Thoughts for Season 1.

It’s been over a week since this show has aired, and I guess I can write this now. This is pretty much my thoughts during the Episodes as I watched them. Please note this is my impressions and not meant as a full on review of the show. 

Thoughts under the cut. 

Episode 1

So basically Adora and her team are being fed false info regarding the Princesses and Queen Angella. Why am I not surprised by this at all. 

So are all the cadets kidnapped or was this a volunteer thing? Like are there Horde recruiters that go to the villages and are like “Yo kids, wanna serve Lord Hordak, come join the Horde for having adventure and making new friends...” Seriously where did these cadets come from. 

Also is that Leech? We’re missing his hand suckers. 

So we have a Lonnie and a Kyle and a...? Who’s the third green guy? Does he have a name? I’ll have to look at the credits? 

Is Kyle supposed to be Mantanna? He’s put in all the gag moments. 

Hey at least they show they care for one another, so points on that. 

Also, I like Lonnie, why couldn’t we have Lonnie over Catra? 

Catra is late...so how did she get in the room before the others did? Seriously someone please explain this to me because it seems like a plot hole right there.

Anyone else feel like she’s a rejected design of someone’s 2015 Thundercat’s OC character? I feel like she’d fit right in there. Also I’m guessing she’s a Magicat, so probably we’re gonna see Kittrina and the Queen of the Magicat’s at some point.  

So Catra puts Adora in a hole, bet you anything it’s going to foreshadow something. 

“You know nothing is to low for me,” -Yeah we are setting her up to be a bad guy with lines like that. 

Their dynamic reminds me of an older sister (Adora) and a jealous younger sister (Catra) who is always in the older sister’s shadow and seen as lesser due to it. 

Okay so Adora stands up for her against Shadow Weaver, and shows empathy for Catra, We also see empathy being displayed for Kyle, even if they seem to mock him. So that brings up a point that Weaver may be leading these kids to believe that they can’t show the empathy that they have. 

Wever’s not wrong, she’s going about it way the wrong way, but she’s not wrong in regard to Catra letting the others do the heavy lifting for her. She’s still a bitch for what she’s saying. I really don’t like this take of her. 

I’m getting Starscream vibes off of Catra, someone very smart and cunning but also her ego is going to be her downfall because she thinks she’s better than anyone. 

Placing bet’s here, Shadow Weaver intends to use Adora as a weapon against Hordak and to take him down. Not sure how but it’s clear that’s what shes’ doing here with her comments to her. 

So can I call her Shadow Palpatine? Because that’s who she reminds me of. She’s making Adora into her Anakin. 

Given the “I raised you and found you as an orphan child” is probably a total fabrication, I don’t by that at all. Someone kidnapped her, but I don’t know if it was Weaver or Hordak in this case. Unless Skelator just up and became Rumplestikin and forced Randor and Marlena to Emma Swan her from Eternia. Which would be weird. 

Hello, Dream Works, Disney is calling to get Mother Gothal back. (Man, if I wanted to watch Tangled, I would watch Tangled.) 

So Glimmer reminds me of another character from another show that I can’t think of where the young girl tends to disobey their parents and it makes it all about them and their issues and...the whole relationship with her and Angella reminds me of Duke and his brother from the GI Joe movie in the 1980s. 

Also, if you’re daughter isn’t old enough to act like a noble in your court, she’s not old enough to lead a battle. 

Angella sounds more like Adora at times than Adora does. 

Okay scratch that...we have a Little Mermaid moment here mixed in with Nani and Lilo from Lilo and Stitch. 

Glimmer acts like she’s 12, and probably designed to appeal to the tweens that are like ‘Parents don’t get it” mind set. 

Okay so how the hell does Catra know how Shadow Weaver got the power stone from Hordak? Was she listening at the doors and such? How does she know about any of this? I would think that Shadow Weaver would cover this all up. 

So we know that Catra is bitter towards Weaver and will probably end up doing something to pay her back, and she’s jealous of Adora, which means anyone that is her friend going forward has a big target on their backs. Got it. 

Yup Catra is Starscream. Thanks for that reminder show. And basically an older sister with bratty younger sister dynamic going down here. Good on them for at least getting that in order. 

Catra, you know you don’t have to shove her away from running the skiff, she didn’t need you to do that. 

And now they are fighting like some sisters will when they are close in age. 

Catra is way to reckless and clearly meant to show immaturity of the two girls. She’s reminding me a lot of Ben Solo, looks like a teen but acts like she’s way younger than that emotionally. 

Did you need to have that aside break the forth wall? Could we not have had her look down or up, why at the camera? (Note: This never happens again, so why do a 4th wall joke here? And time stamp is around the 11:30 mark in this show.) 

So Adora finds the sword in the ground wrapped in Vines. How long has it been there? Also it gives her flashes, cool at least were sort of taking from the original with that aspect. 

Catra pulling her by the hair. Ow! Why? Are you trying to show how immature and mean she can be? What was the point of her pulling her by the hair, why not by the scruff of the neck or the shirt like a cat would? 

Diary writing, or at least the way the diary is being written in, positive in that it at least gets her feelings out. I still think she’s only 12 or 13. 

The moment with Glimmer and Bow outside reminds me a lot of a Harvey and Sabrina moment from the old DiC cartoon in the 2000s. And why do I feel like Glimmer would fit right into that era’s shows? 

Bow and Glimmer yelling is going on too long for my taste. Why doesn’t he shoot her a tin can phone or something useful? 

If she can teleport why not do that earlier and make the joke work. It took to long for that joke to land. 

Bow is older than Glimmer. The way he treats her and looks after her makes me think he and Adora are around the same age roughly. They are the older siblings to Catra and Glimmer’s younger siblings dynamic. 

Oh god make it stop with Glimmer and her mom’s fighting! Please! 

So Adora sneaks out and Catra doesn’t hide the fact that she’s gone by you know, stuffing the bed, or doing other things to cover for that? Maybe getting the others involved to help out to cover? Show she can be a decent leader? No? Well okay then. 

Oh god, why the screaming! That is not funny or cute. That is like something a toddler would do, and these two are not toddlers! 

So the more I see of Light Hope the more the design reminds me a lot of the Sorceress. So Light Hope =program by the Sorceress? 

Cool Bow grew up in the woods. Where at? Can we meet his dads? No? Not even gonna talk about it? Okay then. 

Devastation at 12  o’clock. Not bad showing the ruins. Kind of pretty in a depressing way. 

Yay at least we’re getting the “Evil Horde” talk in some form. 

So according to Glimmer the Horde just appeared on Etheria. So does that mean that they were from space first? or are they from Eternia and got poofed there some how? Doesn’t really seem to imply if Hordak targeted this place, or if it was a chance thing. Betting anything Shadow Weaver helped him take over as in the original one. 

So can we call Bow the Hawkeye/Green Arrow of the She-ra crew? 

Maybe I missed something but how did Adora get out of the ropes? 

Also what kind of bug is that creature? Is it normal or is it a mutant? How does anyone live around here anyway? 

So Mary Elizabeth McGlynn  (Aka, Major Makoto Kusangi) is doing the voice direction here. Well that explains why that aspect is really done well. 

Episode 2

Okay, so the Intro is very 2000s in that Winx Club/ W.I.T.C.H. sort of way. (W.I.T.C.H needs to come back too by the way. Good comic as well.) Not digging it as much as those show openings. Maybe it’ll grow on me? 

Slap stick, Bow runs into doors, news at 11. 

Well interesting, so she’s blurting out Eternia and can read First one’s stuff. Huh. Might be tying more into New Adventure’s of He-man than I thought. 

Also we’re showcasing that she’s from Eternia with this, so....

So are the Princesses Living batteries? Does not having magic kill them or something? I’m kind of confused by this? And where does this recharge thing come from? 

Glimmer better get better as this story goes on, or she’s ending up on my “Annoying character” list. 

Weaver still has a way to watch over things. Only we’re doing it like Mum-ra. Somebody really liked the Reboot of Thundercats. I get they want to use magic with her, but a tracking device I would think would do better. For a group that uses tech, they really don’t use a lot of it. 

So Weaver is shown to be a threat, good on them, but yeah there’s some Darth Sidious BS going on with her that I really don’t like very much. Palpatine wasn’t this dumb, even if he was an ass. 

Party in the forest, okay cool. Though can anyone tell me what these guys are supposed to be? Animals? Mutants, Furries? What? 

Yeah that outfit looks bad, no one would want to wear that at all. 

Why is it so shocking that she’s never been to a party, never had a birthday, etc? They’re living in the Fright Zone, of course there wouldn’t be fun.

 Also no, horses would not be used in this world apparently there because Tech, so how would she know what it is? Though I would think that in her training they would have at least mentioned them? 

Good on Adora for at least going to face down the Horde and realizing that this is not a good situation. 

Catra in a tank? Okay? 

So Catra knew that they were being manipulated this whole time and didn’t say squat to Adora? Some friend she is. Seriously she’s giving me bad flashbacks to a really possessive friend I had in chldhood. 

Oh god. Why? Catra’s pretty much needs a co-dependent -terrific. She’s pretty much become every evil sympathic crazy anime villain rolled into one. Sob story, check, poessive, check, has a need to be in power to overcome those that hurt her, again check. I feel like I’m watching a weird version of Pretty Cure with this. 

So Catra is that Jealous younger sister that wants to take over trope. Got it. 

Yeah she’s pretty much a selfish brat at this point and several anime tropes rolled into one, and I swear I’ve seen her be for in regard to this sort of character arctype in Pretty cure or shonen shows. I just can’t point to where.  So Catra tries to get Adora back by being an ass to her and pointing out that she knew they were evil and all that. Yup all the marks of a magic girl arch rival right there. 

Also magically going away ropes when Glimmer pulls the sword. At least she saved her. 

Really we’re calling it Horsie? Can’t we give the damn thing a name? 

Hey She-ra, Sailor Moon and Pretty Cure called, they want their transformation sequence back. Also is it just me or are they taking music cues from Winx and Witch here mixed in. Yeah also someone really really liked Sailor Moon’s transformations. I mean...it’s not shot for shot, but you can see the influence there. 

So people saying that old She-ra couldn’t hit people with her sword, this one just smashes the ground with it...I have no words. Not a bad thing, it’s just weird that people keep saying that Old She-ra didn’t fight and this one does, but it’s clear that this one is smashing things like the hulk, same way He man did. 

Well points on the Betrayed look from Catra. That at least is something. Side note...was it just me or was there some frame rate animation when she took Bow off the horse? Also, I guess this is a nod to catra taking Bow down back in the old show early on? 

So we’re just leaving the mess? Not gonna use any magic to clean it up huh? 

Episode 3

Once more  Angella doesn’t seem like a mother figure and seems more like an older sister. They fight way to much in this show. 

Adore is reminding me of a character in a Nick show, but I can’t place it. 

So they leave a person who has no skills about being in a fancy place, in a fancy room, alone to practice with a sword. Yeah this is going to work out well. 

Can we name the damn horse already? He has a name it’s Spirit. Can we not give him that name? 

So why isn’t he talking yet? This form means he can talk. Can’t remember if he talks when he’s not in unicorn form. 

Well what do you know, you got a laugh out of me show, good job. 

So she transforms him by accident and scares the hell out of him. Good work Adora.

Yeah is that Solider supposed to be Double Trouble? 

Also, why did you not change shirts? I’m sure Glimmer had some sort of other shirt or something in her wardrobe. Sure it would be big but having a huge Horde mark on your back, yeah that’s a bad idea. Also it’s not a tattoo, you can remove it. 

So she got chased by a mob. I get people don’t like the horde, but how do they know she’s with them. It could be that she was an escaped prisoner that was being held captive...this show...I swear. 

So she’s down in the water now, and still getting shot at. Where are the guards? 

Anyone in the mood for a little Into the Woods moment here? 

So add onto Catra’s issues the need to be superior to others. Yeah someone has a love of Starscream. 

So this is Madam Razz? Oh what the ever living loving fuck! No seriously, like yes I know Madam Razz in the original was goofy, but she also showed a lot of intellegence, even when she couldn’t get a spell right, and in some cases the results were a lot more terrifying than what she had planned. Hell she turned people into sheep, internal screaming commence. 

Who the hell is Mara? (Edit: Looked it up. So either this Mara is Mara Jade from Star Wars who was the wife of Luke Skywalker and was once part of the Empire as a Hand (assassin) who was sent to kill Luke, but later became a smuggler of sorts, trained herself to become a jedi, and later studied under Luke and eventually married him and they had Ben Skywalker. Or...this is a nod to the Mara character from the New Adventures of He-man who replaced Teela as main girl.) 

So Madam Razz is Maz from Episode VII. Oooookay. She doesn’t need to be. 

I’m not a fan of Razz’s voice. Too much Edna Mode. Also where the hell is Broom? Like she has a broom but it’s not Broom. 

More hints of Eternia. Either give her the back story or don’t! Stop playing with it. 

Catra has a lot of anger issues it seems. 

And Shadow Weaver likes to play games. I surprised that Hordak hasn’t killed her by now. Must be hard to get good helpers on Etheria. 

Is that supposed to be Grizzor? I feel like all the cool mutants have been removed for generic baddies. Like they didn’t want to tell a adventure story and wanted it to be a high school drama. 

Can we please give her a spell, and not just have her go “Razzle Dazzle”. Yes that is part of her catch phrases but not all she says. 

How does she know Mara anyway? She doesn’t answer the questions. 

Thank you Swifty for calling the name Horsie a stupid name. Also how does she talk to the Animals? 

Alright so...honestly I know the first series was fast on getting Adora as part of the crew, the difference was that it was He-man speaking up for her, or rather Adam and he’d proven to be someone that knew his shit. Bow I can understand trusting, Glimmer...eh...it seemed a bit fast of an acceptance. I would have thought they would have done something a bit more in this case, just to be different than the original. Oh well. 

So...Hordak is hot. Who’s with me on this one? 

Hey at least he stands up for Catra and knows she’s at least trying. Though that may come back to bite her in the ass later. Also it mirrors his views on her earlier when Weaver was saying that she let Adora get away. Apparently Hordak doesn’t think too much of Adora leaving, or he’s got something larger planned that no one knows about. 

Episode 4

So why is it that everyone in the castle seems to trust her so damn much? Or is that just for Glimmer’s sake? 

Adora...it’s a bed. You slept in one before. How is it that you think you killed it? Broke it is a better word. Not killed it. 

So given the design of the king...does this mean Hordak’s been turning people into the Mutants? I guess that would be a cool twist other then “Well he’s dead.” 

And at least Angella shows that she’s still wondering about this girl. Good on that part. Although she seems more bitchy then she should, but still glad to see less trust on Adora right now. She could be a spy. 

So small complaint here, why are we making Netossa and Spinnerella a joke? Seriously they are the only real couple on the show and you make a joke out of it. 

Apparently we have a tangled reference here with the way Adora looks at the picture of the King and Queen. 

Okay so Angella doesn’t trust her daughter, but she’s totally fine with the girl that was, less then a few moments ago, considered not trust worthy, giving an idea and then her okaying it? Yeah.. um...shouldn’t that have been the reverse? And why are they not taking the other two along? 

Catra is still being a lazy selfish brat, no new news here regarding her character. 

So Hordak is the one controlling the stone? Huh...is he like an Ozai? 

Perfuma seemed to have a moment of “Hot guy” sort of reaction to Adora. Good on them...that’s about the only ship I can take in this series outside of Her and Bow so far. 

So Perfuma has a bit of a mask going on. That’s a nice change compared to her more ditzy self in the original, but she was very innocent there. So far she’s been the most interesing and likable character, outside of Bow and Adora. 

Okay so -Ahem...FUCK YEAH HORDAK! He’s the ONLY thing keeping me interested in watching this so far. 

Shadow Weaver probably wants Adora due to the fact that she knows about her being connected to Eternia and is planning on using her to get them back into that dimension, or she’s going to try to take over and kill Hordak with her...one or the other. She’s still an idiot. 

Also betting she’s the one that did the Kidnapping of Adora over Hordak. *sighs* 

Also Hordak is Magic. 

So what are we going for here with Perfuma’s people? Valley, surfer, Cali beach heads? Guru style? What? 

Hey what do you know...I got a laugh out of Perfuma! Good job show. 

Not a bad message but one that was delivered weirdly. 

 Episode 5 

(Side note...gonna limit the pictures because I’m getting tired.) 

Glimmer is still annoying -same with Angella. I don’t get the reason for putting them in this relationship. 

So we have  Pirates of the Caribbean -at worlds end, with the music and design. Gotcha. 

Also is this supposed to be the Star War’s Cantena? Yup it is. 

So this is Sea Hawk huh? Wanna be Han Solo...seriously? Okay then...

*Watches the two interact* Yup, in any normal show this would imply that this could be a romantic interest with them arguing like that. This isn’t a normal show so I don’t know if they are just playing up the idea of rivals to crushes. 

Probably will be an option for a romantic interest outside of Bow...or she could be single, I’m cool with that. 

Could you please stop affecting your voice? It’s annoying Sea Hawk. 

Can I call him Lance Solo? He reminds me of Lance early on in Voltron. 

Okay yeah we’re digging into Star Wars here because man he’s calling them kids and has some sort of Kessel Run. 

Gonna guess a year older than Bow and Adora...

So Shadow weaver needs Adora for some reason. Could we be a bit more specific here. 

Wow Scorpia looks a hell of a lot like Shiro. Jeeze! Seriously I had to double take when I saw her. She’s a hugger. Horray. 

Song needs to burn, there is no melody to it. I really tend to like music in shows, but this is not even close to the better songs I’ve heard in other shows. Even songs from Steven Universe, which I don’t watch a lot of, tend to have better melodies than this. I’m hoping that this was more meant as a gag. 

Can we please stop with the dumb jokes here. They are starting to wear on me. Yes I get it he’s not that good at what he does. Yes I get it he wants to give them an adventure...but this set up sucks. 

Don’t like Mermista’s voice. I have always disliked the “Whatever” teenager trope. The relationship here needs work between them. Why does she not like him? 

Where the hell is he from? He burns his boats and this is okay? 

Wow, he can be serious, can we get more of that from him? 

So Adora is trying to help and Catra ends up belittling her and calling her dumb. My oh my she is a catch folks. Either she goes completely dark or she get’s saved in the second season because right now she such a uttler bitch...

Gah, Catra is really really annoying in this episode. She reminds me of the 90s stereotypical younger sister types. Gah...

Hey what do you know...Boat burning works for something. Not much, but something. 

Liking the guys in the background on the ship. Can we have a show about them...please? 

Awww Adora actually warmed up to Sea Hawk. 

Episode 6

Okay so people are working for Entrapta, that’s good? 

Oh Shit she’s Doc Oct. Well that explains everything I need to know about her. 

So I feel like she’s acting like a DiC cartoon villain. Just can’t get into her all that much. 

Why are we making Adora kind of dumb in this one? 

Cool Bow’s all about the tech stuff, and is behaving way more mature than the other two. 

If you’re going to have a trap like that, at least have a near fall. 

Ugly zombie robot done better in Star Wars honestly. I was more “What the hell” in that moment than scared. Hey maybe they should have watched the Episode in Transformers where Optimus lost most of his face, or the removed TMNT 2000 series where Baxter Stockman fell apart. Literally. 

Entrapta...please stop. 

Also She-ra can get drunk apparently. Or sick, whatever you want to call it. 

Well the shit she’s playing with is going to be in season 2, and that looks like crap Evil lynn works with in He-man from time to time. 

Okay so Bow does a good job leading...yay for that. 

Her parents probably died and she replaced them with Robots. 

I could say she’s an odd version of Wheel Jack, though that would mean the staff would have had to have watched Gen 1 transformers. 

The maze bit goes on a bit too long. 

Well that’s Horde prime shit that was used before in the comics. So someone was paying attention. 

The more I watch of Entrapta the more I get Vibes of Doctor K from Power Rangers RPM. Though she’s less weird than this. 

Okay make that she reminds me of Doctor Whiley from Megaman. 

Hey at least everyone realized Bow is the smart one here. 

Episode 7

So Adora in ep 6 wasn’t worried about being infected now she’s on edge over it? 

Shadow Weaver is fucking Mum-ra from Thundercat’s 2015 with all the shit she’s doing and how sh’es behaving. 

Credit for Sandra O for doing Castaspella. Good choice for this character. 

Everyone likes Bow. 

Also, she knits sweaters, that’s sweet. She seems like a decent sister. 

Lunar Lenses? Where have I heard that before. May be something from New Adventures of He man again. 

So we do have Light Spinner as Shadow Weaver. But no teacher? Booo. That was the best part of that story. Also can we tell the story when she was turned? No...man, come on...it’s important. 

Creepy Shadow Weaver. She’s really becoming more like a stalker than anything else. 

So what the hell is with the weird noises Adora is making when she’s trying to relax? 

So really we are heavy in the mother figure aspect of this character right now. Though honestly this bothers me as Shadow should not be scarier than Hordak. She wants to own Hordak and dominate him...(well who wouldn’t but that’s beside the point). 

Not sure how I feel about this change. Shadow’s known for being very loyal as she really didn’t have any place to go and blames the others for her fall. 

Someone was watching the Labyrinth 

So Catra calls Bow the heart. Is she implying that she thinks Adora likes Bow?  (If Catra x Adora is the Rey x Kylo of all this does that mean that Bow x Adora is the Finn x Rey of She-ra?) Or does she think that he’s the glue of the group? or is it just a nod to his shirt? Confused by this line

Episode 8

So it’s a ball and not a Prom. Could have just called it that in the title. 

Scorpia needs to get a better friend than Catra...go hang out with Lonnie. She seem’s cool. 

Okay Fuck you Catra. You’re manipulating the hell out of this girl. She opened up, told you that the other girls came off as uncomfortable around her and then you use her for your weird vendetta against Adora? Get past it, move on, she ain’t coming back. 

Also, okay so the Horde crashed in Scorpia’s kingdom and they gave Hordak the stone. Probably out of fear more than anything else. 

So are they trying to hint at Bow x Glimmer or are we still on siblings not hanging out anymore. Plus side for Bow’s line about change being good. 

Hey what do you know Adora made me laugh. 

Hey...why throw that line out there about Sweet Bee and Peekablue, what was the point? 

90s Make over music. Joy...

Scorpia dresses better than Adora...that’s all I’m gonna say. 

So Frosta is canonically 11. Okay...does that mean the rest are only in their early teens? 

Perfuma is Starfire. Please, for the love that is all holy, stop talking like Kori. 

Chuckles Austen? WTF? You do not put the twitter handle of your EP on your show. That is not cute. it’s Charles or Chuck, not Chuckles. Ugh. 

So Catra’s whole scheme is to kidnap bow...oookay. Weird.

Adora is Dipper, seriously that’s who she reminds me of in this episode. 

And Frosta also reminds me way to much of Toph. 

More of the high school drama with Glimmer being jealous of Bow. And the whole thing is reminding me of the Northern water tribe look. 

Can we take a moment to consider Adora is strong enough on her own to Lift Perfuma up, and she’s taller than her. 

Also that dance between Catra and Adora was a threat dance. I think there was something similar in a Star wars book. 

If Catra cares so much about Adora, why let that shit fall on her? Seems hypocritical of her. 

Hair pins don’t work like that! This is the umteeth time I’ve seen someone do that...they are not like that. 

Fight needs work, it was not as good as the one with Adora and Weaver in previous episodes. Also a lot of animation was off for the background characters. 

What was that look for? Like “Surprised she saved her?” She’s a hero, it’s what she does. 

I’m sorry but that end song sucked. Can we never use that again. 

Points for capturing Bow and Glimmer. 

Episode 9 

Shadow Weaver being a bitch...

Wow how did everyone get there that fast? I’m confused. 

Cute with the figures, but can we not fight over who is what on the board. 

Energy prison like Steven universe. 

YUCK the flushing toilet on Mermista was not funny! That was gross and you can’t hear that. 

Robot scrap collector is cute

Plan seems to be working....and then it’s not. Sea Hawk you are an idiot. 

Lot’s of Animation errors in this one. 

How is her mask working? 

Hey what do you know, Sea Hawk actually did something kinda right? 

Perfuma still proving to be the best here. 

Ball from incredible, inspiration? or round ATATs? 

Can we change Lonnie for Catra. I am begging you at this point show. She’s a lot more interesting. 

The fight with Kyle talking is amusing and the writer did well with the visual gags here. 

Sea Hawk throw is acutally funny I laughed. 

Good scene with Bow and Adora. Only to be followed by Catra being a Ben Solo. 

Alright points for Glimmer getting out and punching Shadow Weaver. Entrapta’s death and the return of the sword were all well done. Though with Entrapta’s death I felt there needed to be more time with them before hand to feel weight. 

Mourning of Entrapta was a good moment, but it would have been better if this was like the last episode of the season maybe? 

Episode 10 

How does being together mean falling apart? 

Strong mourning with Perfuma. She’s becomeing the break out of the characters for me. 

Glimmer annoying again with the Hug scene and not wanting to talk about glitching. 

I HATE this dynamic between mother and daughter. 

Can we get more Hordak please? 

Over all thoughts of this episode was that Catra was playing too much with Entrapta. She shouldn’t have fallen so easy for it. Hoping for Scorpia and Entrapta to be friends. Catra and Shadow manipulating one another to turn around and show Angella and Glimmer making up was done well, but I hate the way they got to that. Catra was still annoying in this episode. 

Episode 11

So the thing with the robot, Emily, starting to bug me. Watching Light Hope makes me think that someone was trying to mimic what Clone wars did in the past, and honestly I think this doesn’t need to go on the route of the Jedi. 

Can I say that Catra in her own way is reminding me way to much of Abu from Aladdin here. The whole thing with Catra and Adora was foreshadowed in episode one, and she seemed like a brat in the past too. Thing that bothered me with this is that it’s not explaining how these two got there. Also some animation errors. 

Shadow Wever is Eric from PotO and Scar from the lion king rolled into one. I really thought the fight was done well but the end result sort of sucked. I don’t think there’s a chance for Catra to get redeemed with this. 

Episode 12

Light Hope reminds me of Jem’s synergy. Also her way of doing things annoys me because it’s trying way to hard to be a mix of all classic shows without doing it’s own thing here. 

Swift wind has become Starlight’s rejected cousin. Why is he talking now? What changed? The magic? Is Etheria cybertron? 13 princesses, well if you know the old show, outside of one, you know exactly who they are going to be. Imp’s a recording device, and the Rune stone can hack the planet?

I want more hordak, and Swifty saved the day cool. Catra lost her compassion, and Shadow weaver is going to come back. 

Episode 13

Finally we get some action from Netossa and Spinner. Jeez. 

Glimmer was hording weapons. 

Over all the last episode was good. Though I would have liked to have seen Hordak do something. Right now he’s just there and I want to see how strong this guy is. 

#spop #spop spoilers #she ra #she ra and the princesses of power #catra #adora #bow #princess glimmer #hordak #scorpia #perfuma #sea hawk

[idasessions]

Famous Muses & Groupies in Rock Music Pt. 21

MUSE: Winona Ryder (born Winona Laura Horowitz)

Winona was born on October 29th, 1971 in Winona, MN to authors Michael D. Horowitz and Cynthia Palmer. Her godfather and close friend of Michael is radical psychologist Timothy Leary. When Winona was 7 years old, the Horowitz family moved into the Rainbow commune in Mendocino County, CA where the kids were home schooled and lived without electricity. In 1983, Winona began attending the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco two years after her parents relocated them to Petaluma, CA. While she was performing in local stage productions, Winona also would send video auditions and screen tests to Hollywood for potential movie roles. This led to her landing her first studio film, Lucas (1986) and very quickly Winona became a teen movie queen in the late 1980s and early 1990s with Heathers (1989) and Mermaids (1990). As an adult, she continued success with Night on Earth (1991), Reality Bites (1994), The Crucible (1996) and Girl, Interrupted (1999). She was nominated for an Academy Award twice: first for Best Supporting Actress with The Age of Innocence (1993) and second for Best Actress with Little Women (1994). Winona has also consistently been an icon to middle school goth girls all over the world because of her character Lydia Deetz in Tim Burton’s cult classic Beetlejuice (1988); and because of her real-life preference for dark make-up and black clothes. Her career quickly took a dive in 2000 when she had a string of flops released and developed an alleged pill addiction that caused her to have an unprofessional reputation on film sets. This then led to an infamous, bizarre shoplifting scandal in 2001. Since 2009, Winona successfully rebirthed her public image with supporting roles in Hollywood features like Star Trek (2009), Black Swan (2010), When Love is Not Enough (2010) and Turks & Caicos (2014); as well as prominent parts on the series “Show Me a Hero” (2015) and “Stranger Things” (2016- ).

Besides being one of the most recognizable starlets of the late 20th century, Winona also has a rep for dating quite a few musicians back in the day. Her most famous relationship was with fellow Burton collaborator Johnny Depp when they were in a highly publicized romance from 1989 to 1993. Their time together included co-starring in Burton’s Edward Scissorhands (1990) and then becoming engaged the same year. Winona also claims she lost her virginity to Johnny, and of course, after they broke up, Johnny famously changed his tattoo ‘Winona Forever’ to just ‘wino forever.’ After Johnny, Winona grew an association for courting and inspiring many dudes in the alt-rock scene. As her former friend Courtney Love once crudely put it: “You’re no one in rock music until you’ve feuded with me or fucked Winona Ryder.”

Winona’s first rock boyfriend was Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum from 1993-1996. The two were apparently very into each other and quickly moved in together after meeting on the set of MTV’s “Unplugged.” Dave had a cameo in Winona’s movie Reality Bites, while Winona appeared in Asylum’s music video for ‘Without a Trace.’ Even though they were a public item, Winona also described their relationship as more of a friends-with-benefits situation than a traditional romance in a 2002 interview with W magazine.

Her second rock beau was Stephan Jenkins of Third Eye Blind very briefly in 1997, who suddenly left her for fellow Hollywood starlet Charlize Theron. Winona then dated movie star Matt Damon from December 1997 to summer 2000, and managed to be pretty lowkey with their relationship, so there aren’t any juicy stories on them surprisingly. During August 2000, Winona showed up at the Witnness Music Festival in County Mearth, Ireland as indie-alt star Beck’s plus-one. The couple had a brief hookup, with Winona rumored to being the basis on some of his 2002 album ‘Sea Change.’ (But Beck himself has said the album was about former girlfriend Leigh Limon.) In 2001, Winona began dating singer-songwriter Pete Yorn right after his first album ‘musicforthemorningafter’ debuted. Yet only a couple of months later Winona’s shoplifting incident occurred, and Pete bailed.

In 2003, Winona robbed the cradle a little bit when she had a passionate fling with 23-year-old Bright Eyes frontman Conor Oberst, who was 8 years younger than her. The pair was kind of a surprise when a year earlier Conor was quoted saying “I don’t think I would date Winona Ryder, she’s kind of old. I like Natalie Portman.” So maybe he was joking? Their courtship also included some paparazzi pics of the couple showing PDA. Blake Sennett of popular indie band Rilo Kiley ended up being Winona’s final musician boyfriend from 2007-2008. Like Conor, Blake was a bit younger and was rumored to be Winona’s second fiancé, but he denied it. Apparently Winona was very disappointed when he broke up with her. Since her rock love affairs, Winona also dated filmmaker Henry Alex Rubin and has been engaged and living with entrepreneur Scott Mackinlay Hahn since 2011.

Fun fact(s): The song ‘Rollerskate Skinny’ by Old 97s was written about Winona after lead singer Rhett Miller went on a date with her in 2000. Matthew Sweet’s track ‘Winona’ was also named after her.

#Winona Ryder #muses #Johnny Depp #conor oberst #blake sennett #beck #dave pirner #pete yorn #musesandgroupiesseries

[motifsinthecity]

Favorite Albums: 2018

30 | Arctic Monkeys | Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino (Domino) 29 | Cardi B | Invasion of Privacy (Atlantic/KSR) 28 | Joyce Manor | Million Dollars To Kill Me (Epitaph) 27 | Candy | Good to Feel (Triple-B) 26 | Jesus Piece | Only Self (Southern Lord) 25 | Low | Double Negative (Sub Pop) 24 | Vein | errorzone (Closed Casket Activities) 23 | Sleep | The Sciences (Third Man) 22 | Logic | Bobby Tarantino II (Def Jam/Visionary Music Group) 21 | Death Cab For Cutie | Thank You For Today (Atlantic) 20 | Fucked Up | Dose Your Dreams (Merge) 19 | The 1975 | A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships (Dirty Hit/Polydor) 18 | Curren$y, Freddie Gibbs, The Alchemist | Fetti (Jet Life/ESGN/ALC/Empire) 17 | Black Thought, 9th Wonder, Salaam Remi | Streams of Thought (Vol. 1 & Vol. 2) (Human Re Sources) 16 | Alkaline Trio | Is This Thing Cursed? (Epitaph) 15 | Blood Orange | Negro Swan (Domino) 14 | Travis Scott | ASTROWORLD (Cactus Jack/Epic/Grand Hustle) 13 | Noname | Room 25 (N/A)  12 | Zeal & Ardor | Stranger Fruit (MKVA) 11 | Freddie Gibbs | Freddie (ESGN/Empire) 10 | The Armed | ONLY LOVE (No Rest Until Ruin) 9 | Pusha T | DAYTONA (G.O.O.D. Music/Def Jam) 8 | Vince Staples | FM! (Def Jam) 7 | Beach House | 7 (Sub Pop) 6 | mewithoutYou | [Untitled] / [Untitled] EP (Run For Cover) 5 | Foxing | Nearer My God (Triple Crown) 4 | boygenius | boygenius EP (Matador) 3 | Turnstile | Time & Space (Roadrunner Records) 2 | Nine Inch Nails | Bad Witch (The Null Corporation/Capitol) 1 | Deafheaven | Ordinary Corrupt Human Love (Anti-)

I've been thinking a lot recently about the meaning distance can afford us.

In many ways, distance creates the attachments that ground us in this lifetime. Distance defines our relationships to a multitude of persons, places, and things--perhaps even with ourselves, the persons we were, and the persons we might be. While we often measure our lives in relation to the material possessions and the status others hold, it is often the distance we must travel, both figuratively and literally, that dictate our ability to connect with others during our lives.

I found this theme of distance and meaning continually emerge as I listened to Deafheaven's latest offering in 2018, aptly titled, Ordinary Corrupt Human Love. At 7 tracks, the San Francisco five-piece continue to evolve their black-metal-by-way-of-shoegaze sound, which serves not only as an artifact to their place among their musical peers, but as a testament to how far they've traveled since their inception. Deafheaven's journey is indebted, in part, to the buzz Ordinary… has garnered regarding its aesthetic composition. That's because few bands in recent memory have been tied so closely to the duality of their sound, from the oppressive nature of metal to the sway and drift of shoegaze. Even Pitchfork joked it was the best Smashing Pumpkins album this year. However, such a narrow read brings a swath of opinions. Many a think piece have covered whether Deafheaven's brand of extreme music is "metal" enough, "pretty" enough, or simply authentic enough. Indeed, the chasm is wide in the hyper critical expanse of 2018's internet, but Deafheaven have never been interested in formula--they relish residence in the in-between--and the road to Ordinary… is littered with the pitfalls of expectations, ones they've judiciously set aside.

This is because the seeds for Ordinary's… lush mix of driving metallurgy and art rock can be found all throughout the bands prior releases; yet it's assembled here with a new sense of impressionistic romanticism. Four of the songs off Ordinary… orient listeners with the group's more traditional arrangements, where chiming melodies give way to frenzied guitar, thunderous drums, and rapturous solos. Ordinary… offers two strong contributions to these types of mainstay compositions, from the stutter-stop ascension and gossamer suspension of "Honeycomb" to the slashing and spiraling glory of "Glint." On both these songs, Deafheaven provide vibrant and electrifying arrangements that capture the extremity of the human condition. Guitarist Kerry McCoy offers invigorating and euphoric guitar melodies that seem to embody everything from pleasure, to pain, to sorrow, to joy, all married by George Clarke's impassioned and throaty howl. Again, the duality of Deafheaven's sound is only interesting as a surface observation. The real richness comes from the confluence of their influences, which render these songs with force and vitality.

While "Honeycomb" and "Glint" provide us with the familiar Deafheaven blueprint, the band's growth is certainly on display elsewhere on Ordinary… "Near" effectively breaks up the record with its shimmering glow and reverb-heavy drift as Clarke sings "Thought I saw you there/Wishing you were near…" There's a warmness to "Near" that's tender and firm, an evocative oasis in an otherwise dizzying record. Another strong standout is "Night People," a somber, gothic chamber piece, where Clarke duets with the resident queen of doom folk, Chelsea Wolfe.  Both Clarke and Wolfe's mournful harmonies come together over dusky piano and cavernous drums, contemplating eventual decay with mournful couplets, such as "And the black sand of your body slipped through…" and "I found myself at your side…" in what might be someone's penultimate moment in this lifetime. In some ways, the tenderness of "Near" and "Night People" represent complimentary meditations on dealing with distance. "Near" focusing on the longing we attach to the future, while "Night People" explores the agony of loss as our loved ones leave this life without us.

Indeed, the idea of distance is inescapable on Ordinary… If Deafheaven's breakout work Sunbather (2013) was about the disintegration of the self, and New Bermuda (2015) centered around the savagery and oppression of locality, then Ordinary… revels in the elegance of decay, a function of time and the inescapable truths we face as we are transformed by life's kiln. The band touches on this cycle of birth and death--how the world can throw our trajectory into far out places--on the album's closing track "Worthless Animal." Here, Clarke's rasp juxtaposes the innocence of a new born fawn:

When a fawn Stumbles into the road Honeydew high And deep in afterglow Mind swarming Mind small Honeydew high Transforming the soul

With the slaughter of a feral dog:

Then search to pin the legs Of the stalking dog That lends its teeth To sticky, sad bedlam War cries quake through lurching light

I bury a blade between its ribs Bear hug the soft canine frame Then smear ash Then smear the ash on its brow

Set against a "November Rain" by way of kraut rock guitar phrasing, "Worthless Animal" glistens like an unending ocean, holding close the beauty and tragedy that often shade life's mysteries. Deafheaven carefully hold the intimacy of innocence alongside the horror of our choices to show us the points between them aren't so far away--that a lifetime is simply a blink in an instant, a star in the sky, the distance between us. Ultimately, maybe distance serves as a function not just our relationships to persons, places and things, but to time and attachment as well. By this, I mean that we are all spending the time needed to find away to let go of that which no longer suits us, to ultimately transform our relationships to things, and become who we were always meant to be.

In the steps of many artists before them, Deafheaven settle on the notion that the only way to bridge the distance between ourselves, who we are, and other people, is through the imperfect ways we love one another. The band displays this on the immaculate "You Without End," which features airy guitar slides, angelic piano, and half-step drums, set against a whisper silk spoken word poem delivered by Nadia Kury. Indeed, "You Without End" is as vivid as the daydream it describes:

He pained, shifting his attention toward the mirror across the road Back into his daydream The spliff burned his fingers the second he drank, and he tossed it toward the gutter The smoke burned into his eyes, blinding him As he blinked through the tears, the pain began to recede Back down the promenade and homeward bound, as he approached the intersection of Brooklyn and Lakeshore, a flock of geese burst from the darkness and flew, shrieking into what was left of the evening.

Kury's evocative words give way to McCoy's dizzying and soaring guitar work, which erupts in dissonant ecstasy as Clarke exclaims:

Let it go as it grows on forever And let it go Let it go as it grows Breathe it in Let it go as it grows on forever And we breathe it in And we breathe it in And then the world will grow And then the world will grow And then the world will know Of all true love, true

"You Without End" is a reminder that time doesn't have to dull our spirit where love exists as a possibility for more. The way we bridge the gap between ourselves, the way we traverse the distances we face in this lifetime, they lend us purpose and meaning for ourselves and those we meet for as long as we know them. A connection like love is rooted firmly in the transformations we make in life, with and for others, and the extraordinary experiences we often face through ordinary means. What Deafheaven have done is provide an incredible statement on the power of love, that against all odds and in the face of all kinds of distances between us, we can endure with each other, without end. All we need is our ordinary, corrupt, human love.

[cat-sophia]

Happy 35th Captain Swan Day!

the men they want to beHello My Friends!

@alexandralyman​ is talented and brilliant writer and i think most of you, my friends, know her fics. I love her stories so very much! And not only her MC - last week i rediscovered so many wonderful, amazing one shots that i read long ago and read even more for the first time. She wrote so many and every story, every verse she create is perfect!

Alex - thank you for all fics you write, thank you that you share them with us! I love words you create, historical times you show us - everything you write is brilliant and reading your stories makes even the worst day better! Thank you! <3

Beyond the Horizon -  AU: When Princess Emma's ship is captured by the Jolly Roger and Captain Killian Jones, she offers herself as a hostage for ransom if he will let the ship and the other passengers go. With Emma, Killian remembers the honour he once held dear, and Emma catches glimpses of the gentleman Killian had been. Against all odds, the pirate and the princess begin to fall for each other. 

Between Heaven and Hell  (Tumblr AO3) -  A Hook/Emma angel/demon AU. They hide in plain sight, the servants of heaven and hell. The angels and the demons, who can save your soul or damn it. They stand on opposite sides, they are the bringers of light and the agents of darkness, they are enemies in an eternal war, but what happens when an angel and a demon are inexplicably drawn to each other? 

I love this two MC - and i think most of you read them too - if not - i strongly recommend you to do so! (warning - highly addictive)

(bonus - read all one shots she wrote for this two stories - perfection!)

I also love her other stories:

Love Potion Number Nine -  After defeating the Wicked Witch and returning to the Enchanted Forest, a prince arrives with the goal of winning Emma's hand in marriage. He attempts to snare her with a love potion, but Hook intervenes and winds up activating the potion himself, causing Emma to fall in love with him. The effect is temporary, but it's going to be a hell of a ride until it wears off.

Two amazing WIP:

Faster, Higher, Stronger (Tumblr) -  Crown Princess Emma of Misthaven is considered the best hope for the tiny European country to win their first ever medal at the Summer Olympics, but due to security concerns her parents have sent her to Rio with two ex-British Special Forces private bodyguards, Liam and Killian Jones.

Liner Notes (Tumblr) -  CS rockstar/actress AU. Killian Jones, lead singer of the band Crimson Flag, has been burned in the past by love and turned his heartbreak into a hit album, Hook. But with his new single, I Still Do, he's ready to proclaim to the world that he still believes in love. All he needs is an actress to appear in the song's music video and he has just the one in mind - TV star Emma Swan.

hips don’t lie -  CS modern AU fic. Emma and Tink are used to their friend Ruby’s crazy ideas, so when she signs them all up for belly dance classes they don’t bother arguing and just go with it. Part 1 Part 2

Her perfect one shots:

Every Page is a Story (The Tales of Us)  ff.net collection of various Captain Swan themed one shots and drabbles.

*Canon and Canon Divergence*

CS drinking rum in New York City Serenade

Slow Dance (Tumblr)  Snow White has planned a large royal ball, but Emma just wants a night alone with her pirate. After all, it's not the dance, it's the partner that counts. (written after s3)

Killian buying Emma flowers

Enjoy The Ride -  What if Killian hadn't been in the cabin when Emma and Past!Hook came back to the Jolly Roger?

Killian and Emma after his heart is back

Forever Home  - Captain Swan fic with a Newfoundland puppy in the snow

Keep the Flame Lit - CS and Neverland

After 4a finale

Can’t Sleep - A little CS, post-Camelot ball drabble

Bed of Roses - CS after kiss in the middlemist field

at my worst, you are my best -  Killian gets split in two by Jekyll’s potion

Cleansed (Tumblr) -  After Killian's return from the Underworld, he and Emma go back to the house together to change and enjoy a little reunion in the shower before heading back out to face the newest threat to Storybrooke.

Anchor -  AU of the tavern scene in The Jolly Roger

My Kiss is Poison But My Love is True -  Hook's lips are cursed but hers aren't. Angsty smut set after "A Curious Thing".

Lives Never Lived (But Not Forgotten) (Tumblr) -  A little bit of canon divergence where Emma and Deckhand Hook had one night together in Isaac's version of the EF. He doesn't remember her, but he's the only one in this world who wants to.

Touch -  Killian with both hands on the date, written before the ep aired

gimme shelter - story set just after the end of season five

Now You See Me - Emma notices that Killian has to hold his cell phone away from him to read it. Emma thinks he might be farsighted. Killian ends up getting glasses.

skinny dip - CS and Neverland UST

"Swan! You're depriving me of a romantic gesture."

want, take, have -  domme!Emma smut (in canon)

mirror, mirror -  CS fic with Emma on one side of the mirror and Killian on the other…so here’s a little bit of angsty separation. Canon divergence where only Emma gets sucked into the mirror realm by the Evil Queen.

let slip your secrets, my darling  - written after 4a

*AUs*

Secret Agent Man -  Kingsmen inspired AU - Part 1 Part 2

Captain Duckling runaway bride AU

Put Another Coin in the Jukebox Baby (and dance with me) - Smutty Bartender!Killian AU.

CS street kids AU

Snowflakes and Starlight (Tumblr) - pure Lieutenant Duckling fluffiness. A princess with diamond stars in her hair, a smitten young Lt Jones, and a royal winter ball.

Lieutenant Duckling smut Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

A Dream of Spring on a Winter's Night (Tumblr) -  A wintery, melancholy Enchanted Forest AU, where Captain Hook is stuck in port during a snowstorm and whiles away the evenings at the Lone Swan tavern.

counting down (the weeks, the days, the hours) (Tumblr AO3) -  He counts down the time left until he's eighteen and can finally leave, join the Navy like his brother and get out of this damn town. She waits to age out of the system so she can live near the beach and finally have a real home. Lieutenant Duckling modern AU.

Falling through Time (and into your arms)  -  an Outlander AU -  Emma Swan-Cassidy has somehow managed to time travel from 2015 back to 1785 while in Ireland with her husband Neal. Everyone around her thinks she’s an English spy and she’s been forced to marry Killian Jones for her own protection. She wants to return to her own time, but she can’t deny her attraction to the gallant young Irishman.  

in this corner - CS boxing AU

pickup lines -  The standard “strangers meeting in a bar and hooking up AU”

fallen skies -  A little post apocalyptic CS AU

playing footy - CS AU inspired by Colin playing football

edit: @alexandralyman​ fics i read after i made this post:

christmas tree lot - a fluffy, christmas captain swan AU

compass rose - canon, future CS baby fic “He gets another tattoo the week after they bring their daughter home from the hospital.”

swordfight david versus goliath and the men they want to be -  canon, future CS, Captain Charming 

gifts of the magi - Canon, future CS

#Happy Captain Swan Day! #cs fic rec #cs fic #cs ff #Captain Swan #cs crew #cs family #cs fandom

[celticheartedfangirl]

My OUAT Rewatch -- S5E11 -- Swan Song

Link to Rewatch Review and Ranking archive

Me getting through this episode . . . . . . . 

So . . . . this is gonna be LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG.  I have time, I have opinions, and I’m not holding back.  Under the cut for length and just a heads up there WILL BE BELLE CRITICISM UNDER HERE.  When I get to that point I will strike out all of the Belle critical stuff like this.  It doesn’t mean I don’t MEAN IT -- I just want to give those who can’t handle Belle being dragged the opportunity to easily bypass that section.  

Are we ready?

Me AFTER I watched this episode, BTW . . . . . . 

So, honestly, as has been the case since this arc crap started, this is a rushed, sloppy, choppy, hacked up episode with a bunch of shit going on, it’s clearly a hot mess of shit, there are OBVIOUS deleted scenes we never saw and never WILL see, and I can totally understand why so many just flat out noped the fuck out of this show at this point.  Because it really is NOT enjoyable and frankly, even knowing what comes, it still makes me stabby.  

But I have to find a way of plodding through this here, so let’s do a point by point order of things, in no particular order:

1.  So Hook murdered his dad and left his little brother an orphan.  Whatta guy!  Honestly, here’s the thing -- all the anti-Rumple folk bitch about how many people he killed, and really I don’t think his body count is higher than Hook’s.  Rumple kills when he’s pissed off, and almost always in a heat of the moment thing (see: Milah, the dudes that used to bully him as a spinner, Tamara).  He doesn’t just go off killing to kill for thrills and funsies and murder trinkets.  Hook has admitted ON SCREEN to killing dozens -- and this was as a mortal with no dark curse whispering in his ear 24/7.  What’s HIS excuse?  

2.  OMG, Emma really just got completely destroyed at this point, didn’t she.  I found a VERY GOOD meta on the destruction of Emma Swan and why CS is such utter bullshit so I thought I’d share it here:

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/134225913047/lana-ny-swanmills-cs-is-literally-so-terrible

3.  Slight fun side note -- DON’S Mess with OQ, yo!  

From the OFFICIAL Once Upon a Time Twitter!  Happy Endgins!  

Okay where was I . . . . this is what happens when I scroll through late 2015 me . . . ahem . . . 

4.  This would have been the perfect way to keep Zee the fuck off the show forever.  Just saying . . . . . . 

5.  Side note 2: some fun times with December 2015 me live blogging this shitfest . . . . . 

http://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/134695062042/any-wagers-on-them-cutting-that-scene-of-belle

Yup . . . they cut it . . . shocking, right?

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/134695563322/so-hold-up

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/134694787487/that-was-literally-the-worst-writing-ive-seen

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/134704968232/rumple-moving-the-darkness-didnt-even-make-sense

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/135222506932/friendly-reminder-that-killian-was-a-dead-man

6.  Post-episode Adam Horowitz being an absolute DICK to fans on Twitter -- just follow our vision, FUCK your vision, you hack! (Bonus points for a hijacking of this post by some asshole CS fan):

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/134802058737/rumplegasm-mybittersweetblasphemy

7.  The AMY MANSON saga:

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/134756133022/amy-manson-deleted-her-retweets-of-ouat-negativity

There are also BTS somewhere of Merida marching Arthur out of Storybrooke that were filmed for this episode.  Remember . . . at the end of The Bear King, Merida promised she was coming for Arthur.  Did that ever happen?  Of course not.  HACKS.  Also Amy did PRESS for this episode and so it’s clear they never even TOLD HER that her scenes for this episode were CUT.  So there’s also that.  HACKS. 

8.  Check out the Lily Sparks review of this episode because it is EVERYTHING:

http://www.tv.com/news/once-upon-a-time-swan-song-review-headed-to-hell-in-a-handbasket-144942941967/

I want to point out specifically, on page 3, what she says about Rumple taking back the Dark One powers:

And then Emma heard all the Parseltongue and followed the sounds to the pawnshop and Rumple was like, "LOL okay you got me, I totally performed a quick spell that somehow cleaved apart the Excalibur and became the Dark One because eff everybody invested in my character. I essentially have a multiple-personality disorder and no one on the writing staff gave me the memo about not trying to convey a genuine struggle while I was playing Rumple these last three years." I'm sorry but this twist was so lazy it infuriated me. I can't believe that shit made it out of a first draft, let alone through studio and network notes.

Which, sadly . . . . . . brings me to Belle and Rumbelle.

9. Belle’s theme song:

Yeah, it’s not gonna get better from here . . . . 

So damn . . . . Belle really was kind of a bitch in this episode, huh?  I mean . . . . at the TIME I was happy for the hugs and kisses and sex but watching it again just . . . DAMN . . . . . 

Also, “For the first time ever you were selfless” GTFO of here!!!!!

For the first time EVER????  GTFO, what kind of shit writing is this???  How did Emilie even deliver that garbage fire of a line with a straight face, and how did Bobby even react to it without a lot of cursing?  Or maybe he did.  We do know that they wanted Rumbelle to bang on the bed in the shop and Bobby put his foot down on that one and they literally created a bedroom set for that 30 second scene because Bobby wasn’t gonna have them film the post-coital scene in the shop.  

So yay for Bobby?  

10.  I wrote this post regarding this episode IN DEFENSE OF RUMPLE -- still stand by every word (there is Belle dragging and I mean DRAGGING in this post -- you’ve been warned):

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/177022910487/in-defense-of-rumpelstiltskin-in-s5e11

11.  In closing -- A SUMMARY:

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/135191267572/summary-of-ouat-finale

Here have some fan art:

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/135246399887/retrogrlfan-there-is-no-reason-for-this

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/135223382862/retrogrlfan-more-pink-rumple

Points tally:

40 points to start

20 points for 2 Rumbelle hugs

20 points for 2 Rumbelle kisses

5 points for Swan Queen

20 points deducted for BOTH OOC Belle and Rumple nonsense

10 points deducted for Hook & Zelena

Full 25 deducted and I want to give bonus for the Rumbelle sex but . . . . this episode just doesn’t deserve it.  

Total points: 30

Moving on .  . . are we ready?

Follow #celtichearted OUAT ranking tag for more to come!

#celtichearted ouat ranking #swan song #anti hook #anti cs #anti ouat writers #ouat criticism #belle critical