#Oz {Nothing To Fear} {Main Verse}

[chaosmultiverse]

“Y’know all this talk about future selves, and alternate selves reminds me of a plot point in homes-” 

[powerbottomblake]

RWBY and Masculinity

I love RT’s, and specifically RWBY’s take on masculinity so much. The show subverts all expectations wrt their male characters and their development, which is why the male viewers experience major cognitive dissonance between what they expect and what story is actually being told (and then have the gall to call it bad writing). Under cut because this has gotten so long so fast.

The two main male characters - Sun and Jaune - are subvertions of genre/medium staples.

Jaune specifically hits all the beats of the typical male self-insert in a harem anime: he’s catapulted into a world he knows nothing of, instantly establishes 3 different dynamics with 3 different female characters/archetypes - Cheery, Ice Princess and Hot Tall and Earnest - one of whom he immediately sets his eyes on, he’s surrounded by women that are a whole lot more powerful than he is (and arguably THE most powerful one is instantly drawn to him), he’s essentially powerless and dealing with self-esteem issues and is nondescript enough to be a vehicle for any male viewer to project themselves onto. Which is why you have a good chunk of Jaune’s fandom from V1 being the embodiment of the Venn diagram intersection bewteen weebs and incels like That, and why there’s so much harem fanfic revolving around Jaune. 

CRWBY have heavily drawn from anime when making rwby so I don’t think this was coincidental; they laid out the groundworks to subvert a specific trope. Male fans, however, bought into the facade and kept waiting for Jaune to essentially steal the spotlight, be the focal point of several love interests and get a power up that’ll let him be their own power fantasy to boot, but CRWBY took his character in the very opposite direction. 

Jaune makes a lot of mistakes but what defines him is how earnestly he learns from them and redeems himself. He apologizes for lashing out at Pyrrha as a result of his own feelings of inadequacy and powerlessness when bullied by Cardin and then accepts her offer to teach him, sincerely taking instruction from her and then taking inspiration from her strength. Once he realizes his seduction skit with Weiss is not only ridiculous but wrong, he instantly changes his approach and prioritizes Weiss’s wants and needs over his, giving her space and knocking sense into Neptune so that Weiss can have her “ideal” date. Jaune doesn’t get embittered about being essentially rejected and most importantly he doesn’t let it affect his relationship with Weiss. Both of them become actual friends from that point on, and we get to see Jaune develop a certain measure of emotional intelligence starting that moment, which becomes part of his skillset and is shown to be part of what makes him a good leader. One of the best examples is how he and Ruby team up in V6E1 to get the hunter on the train to turn the turrets off. Jaune heals the hunter’s wounded arm and gently assuages his fear, in clear contrast with Qrow abrasively manhalding an injured and panicked man and expecting him to comply. The writing essentially puts down the show of arms and props up Ruby and Jaune’s approach; Jaune specifically is the example of masculine leadership the writing looks favorably on.  

And that’s the kicker here: Jaune’s strength comes from his set of soft skills as opposed to traditionally portrayed masculine strength, which usually careens into toxic power fantasy land. His whole arc in V1-3 is about learning to shed any distorted notions of chivalry and strength and knowing that his end goal shouldn’t be to become a hero for the sake of it or to live up to societal expectations, but to do what he can and as good as he can for the sake of everyone. Jaune is a good strategist and he knows how to make the best out of everyone’s powers. He’s there to enhance how people use their semblances together. His big power-up, his semblance reveal is basically him getting confirmed for a cross between a cleric and a paladdin (DnD players amongst us please correct me if I’m wrong): he is the ultimate support, acting as a healer and an amplifier to everyone around him, and that’s why he’s a good leader. His power on his own loses its entire meaning: Jaune takes strength from the people he loves and endlessly, earnestly gives back to them, never once stealing the spotlight in combat because that’s not his role and that’s okay.

And as for Jaune’s romantic prospects, think Forever Fall established once and for all that Jaune’s already found the One and I don’t think we’ll see him get any other love interest, especially now that arkos parallels oz/salem and with how vehement CRWBY are about lancaster being platonic. 

Now Sun. I want to tackle a specific expectation I’ve seen from male fans and that’s about him becoming more significant to the plot by coleading/leading the new White Fang movement...which would be hijacking Blake’s storyline. Blake is the one with drive and a cause, she was literally born inside the movement and has since seen it get derailed AND was the one to reclaim it from Adam and give it a new vision, as opposed to Sun who apparently wasn’t even aware of the systematic oppression Faunus had to deal with on a daily basis outside of Vacuo. So why is Sun, who has exactly 0 qualifications for this job and no interest in it, still expected to get it by a good chunk of his fans? Aside from the pervasive misogyny permeating fandom culture, there’s a specific trope media has served to us for decades now and that’s of a Semi-Competent Male Hero with his Hyper-Competent Female Side-kick (Vox published an article about it a few years ago and I really recommend checking it out), where a male character who’s semi good at best and not nearly as well-versed into whatever field he shares with his infinitely more competent female sidekick somehow walks in and saves the day and most of the time the female sidekick also, unsurprisingly doubles as a love interest. Time and again, male characters get rewarded for being half as good as their female counterpart at best AND they get the girl most often than not. 

But Sun’s whole character is, again, the very opposite of this. Sun never outweighs Blake on her own narrative (as is literal common sense) and shouldn’t be expected to. Sun actually gets schooled into the Faunus cause by his more competent female counterpart, Blake acting as his mentor and introducing him to the fight and why it matters. Blake and Sun basically reenact the plotline of Journey to the West (Sun quite literally references it by calling it a “Journey to the East”) a story whose main character is the legendary monkey king Sun Wukong, who’s the mythical figure Sun’s based on. Sun’s arc about finally knowing the cause and fighting for the right reasons happens thanks to Blake’s guidance - which Sun earnestly complies with and never questions because he knows she’s the expert and he doesn’t usurp that spot from her - and never overshadows her own narrative. Quite the opposite, it builds up to her own arc as a future leading figure of the WF and face of the Faunus cause by having her politicize someone who has no real stakes in this fight even though they should have.  

And then even his endeavor with Blake as a love interest falls through, with their relationship getting entirely recontextualized in V4-5 where their dynamic gets rebuilt as a friendship. Incidentally, that’s when it finally starts actually developing, instead of being stuck in the V1-3 limbo of mutual fleeting attraction where they’re constantly missing each other’s cues because they literally do not understand each other on a fundamental level. V4-5 is when Blake understands Sun isn’t what she needs in a romantic partner, but she does need him as a friend and ally. And Sun, whose premise falls in line with the Nice Guy trope, actually subverts it: he never makes Blake’s emotional journey about him, never expects anything in return and gracefully bows out of the narrative (for the time being) without ever pressuring Blake into acknowledging or returning his feelings. He doesn’t agonize over the initial attraction not going anywhere and doesn’t expect to be rewarded for being a decent person; again Blake’s feelings and well-being are his priority because that’s what good friends do. Their relationship developing into a steady friendship is never a point of conflict between them, and it’s actually lived as a positive event for both. 

And then, to top it off, CRWBY parsed together every bit of toxic masculinity and wrapped it into a power fantasy package and named the end result Adam Taurus, who’s the absolute worst abusive piece of shit. Adam is every single thing bad about men as a power structure: abrasive, entitled, controlling, takes violence as an indication of power and doesn’t take kindly to his leadership/vision being questionned. It’s not really coincidental that he steals the power seat from a woman and acts like he deserves it in any way. But male fans were so starved for their power fantasy fix and traditionally masculine cool calm collected and complicated male character that they were ready to minimize/outright ignore the abuse he’s put Blake through and just how awful a human being he was just to be able to hard project onto him. And CRWBY’s answer to that is basically this:

TL;DR: RT says if your masculinity isn’t humble, nurturing, supportive, compassionate, selfless and earnest then we don’t want it.

[corkcitylibraries]

Ireland Reads | 10 BorrowBox Picks for Children and Young Adult Readers

by Jordan McCarthy

The Ireland Reads day offers the perfect opportunity for every kind of reader to celebrate the magical gift of reading. Regular readers, new readers and those who are about to rediscover the wonders and joys of reading, can enrich their lives during a time when our daily routines need it more than ever.

While our libraries may be closed, the online resource, BorrowBox, is one of the real gems being offered by libraries during lockdown. More and more readers are using the platform which has thousands upon thousands of wonderful eAudiobooks and eBooks.

And better yet, this online service, like all the others offered by Cork City Libraries, is free to all library members. If you haven’t yet joined, you can do this for free at www.librariesireland.ie/join-your-library.

Whatever we choose to read or listen to this month, we know that we are nourishing our health and wellbeing in doing so. The possibilities a good book – or magazine, comic, newspaper or whatever you choose to read - can bring to our lives are endless.

“If you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right book.” – J.K. Rowling’

Below are ten of the top picks currently available on the Children’s and Young Adult section of BorrowBox. Like all great kids’ books, they will prove gripping and engaging for many adult readers, too.

So, squeeze in a read this month. You can find out more about the Ireland Reads initiative by visiting irelandreads.ie. And don’t forget to pledge your reading time!

  Long Way Down  by Jason Reynolds - Young Adult

(Available on eBook and eAudiobook)

‘‘Now

I’m wishing I would’ve

laughed more

at his dumb jokes

because the day

before yesterday,

Shawn was shot

and killed.’’

This remarkable Y.A. thriller is set over the course of 60 seconds. Written in lyrical, verse-like prose, it tells the tale of a revenge-seeking William, whose brother has been shot dead.

But when Will sets out to get his revenge, some ghosts from his past appear in the elevator on his way down to the ground floor.  Will he go ahead with his murderous plan?

There’s a sense of urgency in this fast-paced novel, though he soon realises; it is a ‘long way down’ from the 8th to the ground floor.

  Hero On A Bicycle by Shirley Hughes – Children (10+)

(Available on eBook and eAudiobook)

‘‘He stopped and slung his bicycle against a nearby wall to get his breath back and consider the situation. At that moment someone came up silently behind him and clapped a strong hand over his mouth.’’

Set in Florence, Italy during World War II, this is historical fiction at its finest. The Allies are closing in on Nazi-occupied Florence and 14 year-old Paolo has been taking secret bike rides late every night to beat the boredom of life under curfew. He misses his dad – an anti-Fascist who is in hiding - and rues the fact that he is too young to join the military.

However, when Paolo receives a frightening message on his way home from one of his late-night treks, he suddenly becomes involved in the thick of the action. Can he become the hero during his hometown’s greatest time of need?

This is an excellent novel, which captures one family’s struggles during war.

Not suitable for younger children, some upsetting themes.

   Zom-B; Underground  by Darren Shan – Young Adult

(eAudiobook)

‘‘Can you hold on to your humanity when you're a monster....’’

This fantasy-horror, dystopian novel by the ‘Master of Horror’ is book two in the Zom-B series.

B Smith is the main protagonist in this story, which is set during a zombie apocalypse. When she wakes up in a laboratory-style military camp, ‘B’ learns that she has become ‘Zom-B’.

Can she meet the demands of her captors or is she doomed?

Will she be a monster forever?

  The Dog Who Lost His Bark by  Eoin Colfer – Children

(eAudiobook)

‘‘In his short doggy life, Oz has suffered at the hands of BAD PEOPLE. Somewhere out there, he believes, is an AWESOME BOY – his BOY. Maybe when they find each other he will learn to BARK again ...’’

Patrick comes from a very musical family and he has wanted a pet dog for a very long time. When he rescues an abandoned puppy on his summer holidays, he calls him Oz, and so begins a strong friendship between a boy and a dog – at least that’s what we hope!

Oz is a nervous little creature and he can’t bark, or at least he doesn’t bark when he moves to his new home. Will he ever bark again? Maybe the musical family will be able to get him barking again!

This heart-warming children’s tale, from the creator of the Artemis Fowl series, shows how important music can be in the healing process.

  Rugby Spirit by Gerard Siggins - Children

(eAudiobook)

‘‘A new school, a new sport, an old mystery ... the first instalment in Gerard Siggins’ beloved and bestselling Rugby Spirit series.’’

Eoin Madden is the grandson of a legendary Irish rugby player. When he starts a new school in Dublin, leaving behind his GAA playing days in Tipperary, his rugby adventure begins.

In Casterock College, rugby is everything! But Eoin has never even held a rugby ball before. And the bully, Richie Duffy, is making his life even more difficult. Can Eoin make an impact in his very first season on a school rugby team?

This is one for fans of sport and fiction. It provides lots of insight into the game of rugby, too.

   Once by Morris Gleitzman – Children

(Available on eBook and eAudiobook)

‘‘Once I saved a girl called Zelda from a burning house.

Once I made a Nazi with toothache laugh.

My name is Felix.

This is my story.’’

Once is the first book in Morris Gleitzman’s Felix and Zelda series. Set during the Second World War, this novel is a tale of hope, friendship and survival.

Felix is in a Catholic orphanage in Poland in 1942. The son of Jewish booksellers, he fears that the Nazi’s are burning Jewish books and believes that his parents’ store could be next.

The young Jewish boy departs the orphanage, longing to find his mum and dad, and to warn them about the Nazis. Felix soon discovers that his hometown has changed utterly. A race for survival ensues.

Not suitable for younger, some upsetting themes

   Sabrina; Season Of the Witch by Sarah Rees-Brennan – Young Adult

(eAudiobook)

‘‘To be a witch is to kiss the moon.’’

Inspired by the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, this fantasy novel is a prequel to that Netflix series. It is the story of what went before the "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" show.

Sabrina is half-mortal, half-witch. Before she turns 16, and becomes full-powered, she realises how scared she is of joining the dark side and leaving her mortal life behind.

Can she discard her boyfriend Harvey, and her other mortal friends? This is her origin story; a spooky adventure for fans of the Sabrina series.

   Ultimate Football Heroes; Rashford  by M & T Oldfield - Children

(Available on eBook and eAudiobook)

‘‘When the referee blew his whistle, Marcus started his well-practiced penalty routine:

Four little shuffles to the left,

then short steps forward to try to fool the keeper, and then BANG!’’

The Ultimate Football Heroes series is a biographical story of the life of a star footballer. It charts the rise of some of world football’s biggest names, from the playground to the pitch.

Marcus Rashford is one of the most exciting players in the English Premier League. The Manchester United star has been one of the standout stories over the last year, with his campaign to keep free school meals available for children in the UK.

In Rashford, we learn about the life of Marcus – from when he would watch Man Utd playing on TV as a baby, to scoring important Champions League goals for the Red Devils.

A fast-paced story, full of action, it is one for all the family to enjoy. Others in the series include Kane and Delli Alli, which are available on BorrowBox.  

   Slam! You’re Gonna Wanna Hear This by Nikita Gill – Young Adult

(eBook)

‘‘Poetry is the language of Fire, Fury and Freedom,’’ says Nikita Gill.

Slam! is a collection of poems performed at ‘slams’, or spoken word competitions. It features established and emerging voices, with themes such as home, kin, protest and desire among those in the collection.

Slam! highlights the importance of poetry for the times we live in. It provides an ideal introduction into modern poetry and is a terrific publication.

   The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien – Children

(Available on eBook and eAudiobook)

‘‘In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.’’

J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic fantasy novel is the prequel to his Lord of the Rings saga. Tolkien wrote the story for his own children before it was published into a worldwide bestseller. First published over 80 years ago, it continues to be enjoyed by young and old.

This otherworldly tale features the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, who has been recruited as a burglar by Gandalf for an epic quest. Expect trolls, goblins, dwarves, elves, giant spiders, and the dragon, Smaug, as Bilbo and the gang make their way across Middle Earth in search of treasure.

[littlemisssquiggles]

Pinehead Headcanons: Oscar’s One Unique Rose and Companion For Life

I’m keeping this one short but sweet. So apparently Miles Luna just tweeted out that he’s currently reading ‘The Little Prince’ as part of an alleged array of books he’s reading simultaneously. I’m hoping that one of those books is also ‘The Marvellous Land of Oz’ to spark some ideas for potentially seeing some more classic Oz characters receiving counterparts in the RWBY-verse (*coughsJackPumpkinheadcoughs*).

Anyways, I’m excited to see that the Little Prince is a book Miles is reading since, naturally, it might be a teeny weeny teaser that we could potentially be seeing elements of the Little Prince reflected in RWBY, particularly for Oscar’s story.

 That being said, the main element from the Little Prince that I want to see the most used for Oscar’s story is him realizing that Ruby is his one true rose. I’ve been singing this song ever since I first heard the theory of Oscar being inspired by the Little Prince. 

Ruby Rose is destined to be the rose that Oscar falls in love with. The one he becomes responsible for. Devotes himself to. His unique rose. 

Personally, I would love it if we got a potential Rosegarden moment where Oscar quotes his line from the Little Prince to Ruby:

“…There might be millions of roses in the world but you’re my only one, unique rose…”

What if…there becomes a moment in V7 where Ruby is disrespected by someone who makes he feel ugly and unattractive? 

To add more insult to injury, what if this person even goes so far as to tell Ruby that she isn’t special. That there are millions of other pretty flowers who are far superior than her. 

These words hurt Ruby dearly. However at the same time, it provides a window for Oscar to profess his true thoughts on Ruby. Instead of referring to Ruby as another rose in a garden of many, Oscar tells her that she is unique to him since when he looks at Ruby, she’s the only rose he has eyes for or…something along those lines.

Apart from this nod to the Little Prince, another potential Rosegardening moment I’d love to see for V7 is o one where Ruby promises to be Oscar's closest companion; vowing to him that she will always stand by his side, not just for his days as Oscar Pine but for all of his lifetimes if more are to come.

I want Ruby to assure Oscar that even if he fears that he will lose himself entirely to the Merge, become someone else and momentarily forget who he is---Ruby won't forget the real Oscar. 

As a matter of fact she promises that even if Oscar forgets himself, Ruby Rose will always remember him and will be right there to remind the 'new him' of who he was and who he still is in Ruby's eyes.

Because similar to how Ruby will be the most unique rose to Oscar, I think it would be as equally endearing and cute if Ruby tells Oscar that he will always be Oscar to her.

She will always see him as Oscar and regardless of what happens with the Merge, he will always be Oscar in her eyes.

 I think this is something that Oscar needs to hear at the moment. I’m not quite sure what angle the CRWBY Writers are playing in respect to Oscar and the Merge. Personally I’m still sticking to my headcanon that the Merge is meant to make Oscar whole again rather than erase him completely. 

I still strongly believe that there is something very unique about Oscar that will make his experience with the Merge different than past Wizards before him.

I’d still like to think that Oscar is the re-embodiment of Ozma’s original form that he never reclaimed after he first came back inside Diggs’ body and that he is destined to fuse with Ozpin---the current version of Ozma’s soul---to truly revive Ozma in Modern Remnant. 

Because by my headcanons, I think Oscar is Ozma. I just really like the idea of Oscar thinking that he’s going to lose himself all together but the reality is that he will be made whole because there’s more to who he is---he’s more than just another life for Ozma to live. He’s even more than the gentle small farm boy he was introduced as. 

He has a legacy that dates him back to a period when Remnant first began. A legacy that is rightfully his. And what makes this all better, is that after Oscar learns the truth of who he really is---that he is the original Ozma---he then gets to make a choice. A choice he believed he didn’t have anymore. 

He gets to decide whether or not he wishes to continue living as Oscar or reclaim his original name as Ozma. And in the end, Oscar choses to continue living as Oscar; acknowledging that Ozma was his past and that his future is to live as Oscar. Not just for himself but for the people who see him as just that.

 I just really, really LOVE the Oscar is Ozma Pinehead headcanon.

 Resuming talk on Rosegarden, I just really would love for these two smaller, more honest souls to acknowledge and voice that in spite of what others say, they are unique to each other.

In a world of other beautiful roses, Ruby is the most special to Oscar because she has shown him qualities about herself that has left Oscar both inspired and entranced by her (and he better goshdarndiggity say that at some point in V7). 

And on the flipside to that, despite being the current life in a lifetime of countless men who have sacrificed themselves for humanity time and time again, to Ruby, Oscar is one of a kind. 

He isn’t just one in many. He isn’t Ozpin. He is his own person. Despite being a like-minded soul, Ruby doesn’t see Oscar as Ozpin. 

As a matter of fact, it’d be great if Ruby says that she sees Oscar as nothing like Ozpin. Instead he’s like her because unlike anyone else on the hero squad, Ruby fully understands the pressure that Oscar feels.

Not just as the youngest and smallest member of a group of more experienced warriors. Not just as the new kid who has to form bonds with strangers he’s never known before. But also as someone whose been bestowed with an ancient power that connects them back to a God. 

A power that makes them a threat in the eyes of an immortal enemy who will stop at nothing to put an end to them. Out of everyone on that team, Ruby probably knows how Oscar feels the most which is why she will ensure that he has someone who understands him (or at least wants to understand him) to be there for him.

Ruby promises to be Oscar’s companion. 

Not Ozpin’s. Not Ozma’s. His companion. Someone he can trust. Someone he can depend on always. Someone who believes in Oscar and who he can believe in too. 

Someone Oscar can proudly call his ‘friend’ or even his ‘best friend’ if he wants.

I would love to see Ruby become like a keeper of Oscar’s smile of some kind. Someone who looks out for his best interest. Protects him. Ensures he’s safe and happy. Makes him feel safe and comfortable. Someone who’s embrace and touch he cherishes. Lifts him up when he needs it. Encourages him to showcase the greatness inside of him. Even help him to forge longlasting bonds with others. I want to see Ruby become a crowning member of Oscar’s Inner Circle.

Similar to how Ozpin had Glynda, Qrow, Ironwood and Lionheart---his alleged four pillars-----I’m banking on Ruby along with Jaune, Nora and Ren becoming Oscar’s pillars. 

JNR will be Oscar’s team and his surrogate family while Ruby will remain as his closest, most trust confidant (and potential love interest).

She will be his right hand . His unique rose that will stand by him through thick and thin just as how he will stand by her always. 

And please…for all that is good, please let these two kids have a heart to heart moment where we get to see Ruby make this proclaimation to Oscar.

I just want Ruby to  tell Oscar 

‘…Your nothing like Ozpin! You’re like me because you and I share a power and responsibility that seperates us from everyone else. And yeah, that sucks. But at least I have you and you have me so please, just let me be here for you…!’

Or something like that. I just…need the series to establish how important these two kids will be to each other because there is too much evidence (that I just spent two pages in MS jibberjabbering about) to support this becoming the case.

I figured that V7 will be the season where the audience might potentially see the Rosebuds closer than they’ve ever been before. We might even see hints of a beauitful sweet romance sparking between them to parallel how Fairytale first fell in love after escaping the Lonely Tower.

I still think this will be the case. I’m just curious to know if the trailer might drop any hint of that.

A scene where Oscar is being emotional and Ruby is comforting him? …Or perhaps... a voice over where Oscar sounds frustrated, unsure of what to do anymore and in need of help and then we get Ruby’s voice assuring him that all will be ok. Something to set the stage for the next chapter of their budding friendship.

It’d be nice if we do get something from the trailer for the Rosegardening Rosebuds. Then again, RWBY trailers have rarely shown much to munch on other than what we can expect for like the first few episodes of the new season. Nevertheless, I wonder if we will get something for the Buds. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Beyond that, I think I’ve talked enough. That’s all I gotta say for now.

~LittleMissSquiggles (2019)

[armsdealing]

charles derane’s apocalypse verse notes.

basics.

codename: hawthorne -- this is a name/nickname he will occasionally use when he does not feel like going by his actual name. height: six feet four inches weight: 274 lbs (formerly 295 lbs) transportation: 2001 Dodge Ram - Black (looks)

appearance:

standing at 6’4”, charles is massive in size and along those lines, incredibly imposing in posture – straight and ready unless otherwise required. not only that, but his build packs 274 lbs of muscle/fat that he’s had even before the outbreak and he’s been very careful to maintain at all possible costs. while it’s true that he had the weight lost typical of survivors, he remains hefty and able to endure and perform physical tasks with ease. this is a skill developed from childhood, and charles has formidable dexterity and control of his body, moving through the environment with the speed necessary to outrun even the most feverish of zombies or fight them with melee weaponry. he has very broad shoulders and thick biceps and forearms, muscular legs, and a solid stomach and chest, even if it lacks tone. despite all this, he’s able to remain graceful, movements characterized by their stealth rather than flaunting his physical appearance with noise and clumsiness. when needed, his walking might as well be referred to as an experienced hunter’s prowl, used to both rural and urban scenarios to explore and navigate.

slightly sharper features have been the main toll taken by a lack of steady food source. the biggest change remains in his head, though; charles actually is incredibly survival-driven and apathetic toward anything that won’t ensure said survival. he doesn’t care about anything or anyone but himself, and he will make a point to show it. needless to say – he won’t be very friendly.

due to a lack of efficient razors, charles sports an unkempt dirty and bloody beard that he only maintains at bay with a knife but otherwise leaves to grow as extra protection in harsh temperatures. this makes a good job at covering the lower half of his face, filling out the spots where body fat or muscle lacks. his hair is messy, but consistently kept short by comparison – and surprisingly soft to the touch if ever actually touched. but it’s true; he neither is nor looks friendly, and if ever forced to speak, it’ll be in the form of gruff mumbles and a desire to keep the conversation as short as possible. there is no discernable accent in his voice, save a very rugged pitch and texture born from disuse, and the only hint at coming from somewhere is a shortening of words typical of the southern american dialect – found in his closest post-apocalypse allies, the beckett family.

tics are bound to be picked up if too much time is spent around him. while at first glance you won’t see nothing but a very large man you’d want nothing but to get away from, there is a cleverness to his eyes that makes it noticeable he is very aware of what happens around him and what happens to you. he will pick up on movements, expressions, with nigh perfect accuracy – and know the very moment you’re reaching for the gun tucked on your side or planning to propel forward for an offensive. he reads people before ever coming close to them, which is an important point to keep in mind – while he has no problem whatsoever with violence and even, at this point in his background, with killing, charles would rather keep things distant, and he’d rather you left him in peace. he tends to look around himself when idle, unconsciously even, as a remnant of situational awareness, and so coming from behind is nearly impossible.

on that same vein, other minor habits include adjusting and readjusting his pack and its straps; a lot of his supplies are in that bag, and he makes sure to check regularly that everything is in place and he can move without fear of losing it. he twists his neck and rolls his shoulders, cracks his knuckles when it is necessary, and might scratch his cheek and beard. when he speaks, he might sigh occasionally, and grunt even more so, nod and shake his head and gesture directions rather than mention them, clench his jaw when he doesn’t like how an exchange is going, raise an eyebrow when he’s questioning you, shrug to disregard your questions, purse his lips when he’s being thoughtful. people have met him and not heard him speak even once because of his taciturn nature, keeping to commands that he does need to elaborate on and that is it. when forced to speak at greater length, expect hostility and a sharp sarcasm that might take you off guard.

clothing wise the apocalypse does not allowfor anything but light packing, and his shirts are comfortable and visibly worn, sometimes torn. he has no attachments to any particular piece of clothing – with the exception of his jacket and his steel toe combat boots, and will not hesitate to switch clothings the second he sees an opportunity to do it. ever present is the pack strapped to his back along his shotgun, however. he will go for the comfortable and things that will last him, most commonly henleys or plaids, western cut. nothing colorful and in fact, probably dirty. long sleeves are preferable, given most deaths to zombies being due to an exposed limb. he does not care about how he looks under any normal circumstances, and how he looks like – like the lone survivor he is – isn’t his primary concern. if he ever cleaned up, he’d be much more handsome.

when found in close quarters to him, the smell of forest will be practically a staple, along with with sweat and grease, scents that have followed him. occasionally, smoke may be added, when he’s been near fire. such is the case with gun powder or blood, the latter which he washes away when he has the opportunity to.

skin deep, it is surprising that he does not sport any tattoos of note or at all. he has never been interested by the idea. what he does have, though, is scars in spades, some – many – dating back to his very childhood, teenagehood, and pre-apocalypse adulthood. his knuckles are very scarred, as are his arms and legs, with an assortment of prints left by experiences that range from simple falls to glass to blades. in his very face rests a cut on the bridge of his nose, and another on the left side of his cheek/jaw that leaves a thin scratch in his beard devoid of hair. another quite visible scar going across his right eye that took some eyebrow with it. 

INVENTORY | WEAPONS (8)

aluminium baseball bat. found in his truck.

glock g17. found on his person. (spare ammo? yes)

smith & wesson 629. concealed on his person. (spare ammo? yes)

smith & wesson model 59. full magazine. in his backpack. (spare ammo? yes)

winchester fixed blade knife. in his backpack.

mossberg 590 mariner. holstered in his back with a strap. (spare ammo? yes)

remington 700pss with leupold mark 4 scope. in his truck (5 rounds. fully loaded. spare ammo? no)

makeshift blade. (looks) concealed on his person.

INVENTORY | ITEMS (12)

(1) backpack (looks). usually on his person or the back of his truck. very worn looking and dirty.

(5) cigarettes. lucky strike. kept in their package, inside his backpack.

(1) canteen (looks). water. normally full. inside his backpack. 34 oz.

(1) flask (looks). empty.

(1) zippo lighter (looks). on his person.

(1) leather journal (looks). inside his backpack.

(1) swiss blade (looks). on his person.

(1) duct tape roll. inside his backpack.

(1) first aid kit: (1) sterilized needle, (3) aspirins, (10) band-aids, (2) gauze, (1) surgical tape, (1) small bottle of rubbing alcohol. neatly pressed in a small bag (looks). inside his backpack.

(1) compass (looks). usually in his pocket.

whenever possible he has a map of whichever location he’s in.

he tries to keep a jug of spare gasoline in his car whenever possible.

BASELINE INVENTORY | CLOTHES & ACCESSORIES (8)

steel toe combat boots (looks). worn.

2 extra pairs of shirts. 

jeans (looks) very worn, as well as torn.

canvas coat (looks) worn.

leather jacket (looks). 

spare underwear.

one spare pairs of socks, besides the ones he wears, in his backpack.

BASELINE INVENTORY | FOOD & EDIBLES (9)

2L water canteen. usually full. ** (looks)

(2) goya black bean cans. **

(1) b&m baked beans**

(2) chicken bouillon**

(1) progresso chicken noodle soup.**

(1) jar of peanut butter’s co.*

(2) hard tack packs.*

(1) fruit snack.*

* kept in backpack ** kept in car.

BACKGROUND / VERSE NOTES.

this information will be used interchangeably for any apocalypse/zombie themed scenario that presents themselves. hence i didn’t write about a single specific storyline.

charles is a rover and this is by choice. however, he does have alliances, most notably with the o’connell compound located in garnet, montana (click here for more information on it -- when i post it that is :^)). 

charles usually acts as though he has no set role; however, this is false: his job is to track other settlements and map out other places of the united states to see how they’re doing, then relay this information back to the compound -- hence the journal he has on hand. he usually winds up there once every two to five months, depending on how far he wanders off. he will also hunt down rare supplies, and outline “no-go” zones, either because the place is swarmed or because the settlements are hostile. 

this information is normally used with the purpose of establishing communication between the settlements, if charles deems it useful and favorable. this goes back to whether he finds the settlement in question trustworthy and reliable. not all of them cut it. 

otherwise, he will never disclose the existence of the o’connell compound. you could set fire to his leg and he wouldn’t do it. 

exceptions are only if he finds you alone and you’re a child. he will try to take you back to the compound so you’re safe.

in this verse charles is 49, and still a father. cael derane is 20 and living in garnet. he’s a trained medic and occasionally will tag along for specific situations.

charles is unfriendly and does not like to work with others but he is pragmatic first and foremost and if you present yourself useful then he will consider forming an alliance for however necessary he deems it. again, the presence of children and young (his kid’s age, basically) people does a lot to sway him. he is very fatherly.  

[shireness-says]

Took My Soul, Wiped It Clean

Summary: Killian generally loves Storybrooke and its close-knit feeling, is happy to be raising his family here, but those close ties also often mean that everyone is sticking their nose into everyone else’s business. Can’t a man keep any bloody thing to himself? Rated T for language. ~5.5K. Also on AO3. A sequel to “If I Could See Your Face Once More”.

~~~~~

A/N: I’m back, with more of my 5B divergence! And fluffy this time. I’d recommend reading “If I Could See Your Face Once More” before this, but I suppose it could stand alone as a fluffy thing. Title taken from the same Kodaline song as the first, “All I Want”. Super thanks to my super beta, @snidgetsafan.

I do add in a non-canon character in this installment. Though he’s pretty much just mentioned here, he is important later in this ‘verse, and is taken from literature. I’d love to hear your guesses about who he is, and what I’ve got planned! I’ve got a lot in my head for this divergence ‘verse, so if you ever have questions or ideas that you want to see, just shoot me a message.

Tagging those from the first: @thejollyroger-writer, @profdanglaisstuff, @captainsjedi, @ultraluckycatnd, @superchocovian, @snowbellewells, @killianjones4ever82, @wellhellotragic, @ohmakemeahercules, @let-it-raines, @lifeinahole27, @kmomof4, @scientificapricot, @spartanguard, @courtorderedcake, @justanotherwannabeclassic

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

~~~~~

His daughter is meticulous.

It’s a ridiculous word to ascribe to a toddler, he knows, but that’s the only one he can come up with. She eats her macaroni one silly shape at a time and watches her feet take every step and says each of her words very carefully, like she wants to get every sound right instead of just chattering away. They hear her practicing words in her crib at night sometimes over the baby monitor. It’s adorable.

Fatherhood is more than Killian could have ever imagined when Emma first told him she was pregnant. It’s more than he imagined when he found out they were having a girl, or when Charlotte was first placed in his arms, still damp and squirming and perfect. It’s the greatest, best responsibility of his life, waking up every morning and trying to be everything his daughter thinks he is, because it’s obvious to anyone with eyes that she adores him. Daddy’s girl, Emma says.

(He’s fine with that.)

Killian is a little terrified some days, because the truth of the matter is that he’s not certain he’s as much of a hero as his daughter believes him to be. He’s lived an awfully long time, and done some terrible things in those years, and it terrifies him to think that his little girl might find out some day and lose that gleaming trust she has in him. In the meantime, he’s doing his best to be the best man he can be - gentle and kind and honorable, the kind of man he may have once been, hundreds of years ago.

That’s a worry for later, though. Right now, he’s more worried about picking up his little girl from her grandparents’ for a lunch with Emma and an afternoon out.

The door has barely opened before Killian hears her little voice, pitched even higher in her excitement as she shrieks out “Papa!” Gods, but he loves that, loves the way she lights up like the brightest star when she sees him, and all because of him.

“Well hello, my little bean,” he coos, stooping to scoop her into his arms, already bundled into her winter coat and mittens and hat. She’s no longer bean-shaped in the least, but the nickname had stuck, even after she was born. “Did you have fun with Grandma and Gramps and Leo this morning?” If the change of clothes is any indication - they definitely didn’t send her off in this fluffy skirt this morning, though the striped tights are a nice touch - it seems like they might have. A messy morning, at the very least.

“Yeah,” she responds with that toothy smile he so loves, reaching to press her little hands against his cheeks so his face scrunches up - a favorite game of hers.

“We did finger paints,” David explains. “They’re still drying right now, and her clothes too, but Snow and I will bring them the next time we come by the house.”

“Thanks, mate,” Killian smiles back. Sometime in the past few years, between monsters and death and children, he’s grown quite close to Emma’s father, their former animosity nothing more than a distant memory these days. “Maybe you guys could come around tonight. In the meantime, the little lass and I have a very important lunch date.”

David’s eyebrows rise in what must be anticipation. “Are you going to…”

“Aye,” Killian quickly responds before the other man can finish. Talking about it will only encourage his nerves, and he’s trying his hardest to avoid that right now.

“Good luck, then,” David replies, reaching out to clap Killian on the shoulder. Before he can say anything else, though, a loud cry echoes through the house. “Listen, I’ve got to go check on Leo and the twins so that Snow can keep sleeping, but…”

“We’ll call you,” he promises.

“Great. Okay, then, we’ll talk later. Bye, Princess!” As soon as grandfather and granddaughter exchange waves, the door closes, Charming hastening back down the hall into the rest of the house and his own child’s crisis.

“Do you want to go see Mama, my Charlie girl?” Killian asks as they climb back down the porch stairs.

(Henry had come up with the nickname, claiming that Charlotte was far too frilly and fussy for such a calm, curious, and unshakeable infant. It had stuck, mostly because it suits her. Charlie. By this point, Snow is the only one who still calls her Charlotte.)

“Yeah. Mama now,” she agrees, nodding decisively. She sounds absolutely determined - and absolutely precious.

Charlie ends up being put back down once they reach the pavement of Main Street, just as always. She’s a fiercely independent thing, his little lass, and he’d been expecting it; lately, he always factors extra time into wherever they’re going so that she can toddle carefully along to her heart’s content. She’s a little star in her own right, too, garnering all manner of waves and little bows as they slowly make their way down the sidewalk. Storybrooke has rather swelled in population since his return from the Underworld; Merlin had ultimately returned the citizens of Camelot to their home by joining all the realms together, once and for all. Later, the population of the Land of Untold Stories had been brought into the chaos when the Dark One had attempted to attack Storybrooke and sweep away his wife and unborn son, opening a gaping portal between the two dimensions in the process. Ultimately, his attempt had been unsuccessful, the Dark One being destroyed by the combined forces of Emma, Regina, Merlin, and just about every other magic wielder in a variety of realms, from Maleficent to Elsa to the fairies, but the Untold Stories residents had stayed to try and move their own tales forward. Killian likes most of their new inhabitants, possibly excepting the relocated Lost Boys, but it is always a little bit of a shock to walk down the street and see Vikings and airship captains and everything else under the sun, all trying to pay homage to himself and his daughter as members of the royal family. While each individual realm has their own government, they’re all under the overarching rule of Queen Snow and King David as rulers of the United Realm - a unanimous decision by the various heads of state. Storybrooke is technically a democracy with Regina as its mayor, though no one had actually run against her in the last election. Killian doesn’t think that it was a matter of fear, for once in her life, but rather every one of the townspeople recognizing that they had no desire to deal with all of the bureaucracy of local affairs and the diplomacy required to deal with every realm from Arendelle to Camelot to Oz - not to mention, dealing with the dwarves. Especially not dealing with the dwarves. Regina seems to be the only person who actually thrives on that much paperwork and the minutiae of local government, and so they’re all happy to let her.

(Killian’s own family had expanded with the arrivals from the Land of Untold Stories, his very angry and long-lost half brother and said brother’s adoptive father. Nemo had been delighted at the opportunity to become a little family; Liam had been less excited. Part of that is likely due to Nemo needing to be hospitalized for the injuries that drove them to the Land of Untold Stories in the first place, injuries he’d sustained the last time both surviving Brothers Jones had met, the other due to the death of Brennan, their father, also at Killian’s hands. It’s all a mess, and they’re still trying to come to terms with the whole thing. For the moment, they’re all operating under a truce. It helps that both men adore Emma, and especially Charlie; after Henry had insisted the submarine captain watch the animated movie of his namesake, Nemo had been the one to gift their daughter upon her birth with the stuffed fish that had become her very favorite. Killian will never understand how the other man can be so tickled by his cinematic reincarnation. Regardless, he’s willing to do whatever it takes to keep the peace if it means Charlie gets to grow up being doted upon by Uncle Lee and Baba Nemo.)

By the time they finally make it to Granny’s to pick up lunch, they’ve had to fulfill the routine of up and down and up and down several times over. Charlie is a curious little thing, though her natural caution and methodicalness keeps her from wandering out of sight, his little girl almost as careful about checking that he or Emma is in sight as they are. Still, he swoops her up once the white fencing of the diner is in sight, tickling her sides until she giggles just before they walk in the door. Granny smiles at them both - well, mostly Charlie, the widow Lucas still gruff with everyone but her expanding gaggle of pseudo-grandchildren - as Killian deposits her on one of the red vinyl stools.

“The usual, Captain?” She asks, fixing him with a piercing look over the top of her spectacles. Every time she does so, Killian finds himself grateful that it’s only Ruby who’s susceptible to the full moon; he wouldn’t want to meet Granny in wolf form, not one bit.

“Yes, please.” It’s nice, having established himself so firmly in this town as to have a usual order at the local diner - a grilled cheese and onion rings for Emma, a BLT and fries for himself (mostly so Emma can steal them - she likes having options), and a bowl of macaroni and cheese for the little lass. Today warrants a little something extra though, he thinks. “And a generous slice of that marvelous chocolate cake as well, if you don’t mind.”

Granny snorts a laugh as she finishes writing out their order on the ticket, sliding it through the order up window so the cook can get started on their order. “So today’s the day, then?”

Killian stiffens at the words. “I won’t pretend to know what you’re talking about.”

Granny rolls her eyes at that. “Sure you don’t. I don’t know if anyone’s ever told you this, Captain, but you’re a terrible liar. Unlike your girlfriend,” she makes sure to emphasize the title, “you only get dessert on very special occasions. Do you have something to celebrate today, Hook?”

His cheeks are noticeably burning red, but Killian still keeps his silence.

“Suit yourself,” Granny shrugs, mercifully taking pity on him. “Now hand over the little angel, she’s got to pick out the noodles.” It’s always Charlie’s favorite part, and despite the older woman’s teasing earlier, Killian feels a rush of affection at the gesture.

“I do it,” Charlie pipes in. She’s got that determined set to her eyebrows - just like her mama’s, really - and is already scooting to the edge of the stool to try and get herself down.

“Oh no you don’t,” Granny replies, much to Killian’s relief. Let her be the bad guy here, not that Charlie will put up the same fuss with the Widow Lucas as she would at home. “If you’re going to go in the kitchen and pick your noodles, you’ve got to let me carry you, little missy.”

Charlie doesn’t look happy about it, but the promise of fun shapes wins out apparently as she holds up her arms and willingly lets the older woman pick her up. As soon as the bow ties and corkscrews and whatever other kinds of pasta are in sight, she’ll doubtless forget any frustration about not being allowed on her own two feet.

Killian is so busy watching his Bean as she’s carried away that he doesn’t even notice Ruby coming to lean herself across the counter from him, sporting a grin so wide it might better be described as bared teeth.

“So, you got a plan?” she quips. Damned wolves and their damned hearing.

“There’s no plan,” he all but growls back. Killian generally loves Storybrooke and its close-knit feeling, is happy to be raising his family here, but those close ties also often mean that everyone is sticking their nose into everyone else’s business. Can’t a man keep any bloody thing to himself?

“Oh, that’s no good,” Ruby replies. Obviously, she hadn’t picked up on the hint to drop it that his tone had carried. “Women like when there’s a plan, you know, you really shouldn’t ask her —”

“Maybe my plans are none of your damn business!” Killian bursts out, only the memory that this is the middle of the lunch rush keeping him from shouting the words in Ruby’s face.

It doesn’t faze Ruby, however. “Oh, so that means you do have a plan,” Ruby replies smugly, crossing her arms across her chest. Somehow, the smile stretches even wider. Killian just glares back. “Alright, keep your secrets,” she finally concedes, hands raising in surrender. “I’m just trying to help you.”

“I’ll let you know if I need it,” he growls out. Granny walks back through the door with Charlotte at that moment, blessedly distracting Ruby. Killian takes the chance to check his mobile telephone (he long since knows that it’s a cell phone, or just a phone, but it still makes Emma laugh to hear him act confused about the devices); happily, there’s a message waiting from his Swan.

E: Are you and Bean still coming by the station with lunch, or should I meet you at Granny’s?

K: We’ll be there soon, love - just picking up the order now. We’ve a surprise for you.

In only a few more minutes, their order is ready to go; except for cooking noodles, everything else in their meal is pretty quick. With Charlie already swinging his hand back and forth, he gratefully accepts the bag Granny offers onto his hook; one of the few things that have changed in the timeless diner since his arrival after the First Curse is that paper bags with handles are kept around especially with Killian in mind so that his only hand can be left free. Now that he has their lunch in hand, the nerves suddenly make themselves known in a way that they hadn’t previously. On the surface, this is just another lunch, but Killian knows very well that this is a lunch that could change everything.

Some of those nerves must show as he exits the diner and nearly runs into Robin.

“There’s my favorite Jones!” the other man crows as Charlie happily latches onto his legs in a hug, tweaking her little ponytail. Turning his attention to Killian, though, Robin is less complimentary. “Are you alright, mate?”

“Fine, just a little stressed,” Killian replies shortly.

Robin nods knowingly, and Killian thinks he might be about to let it go. Until the thief speaks, that is. “Ah. So today’s the day then?”

“Does everyone in the bloody town know?” Killian demands, rolling his eyes in a move Emma would swear he’d picked up from her (she’s not entirely wrong). If not for the heavy bag on his hook, he’d probably have thrown up his hands dramatically as well, but he doesn’t think the onion rings would respond well to such treatment.

“Well, we’ve been expecting this for a while,” Robin explains. “How old is the little lass?”

“Twenty months.”

“Right, so a few months before that. We’ll call it an even two years - that’s how long we’ve been waiting for you to make a move. Though I will say, it doesn’t help that one of the dwarves owns the jewelry shop.”

“Of bloody course,” Killian mutters, mostly to himself. Gossips, the whole lot of them.

Inexplicably, Robin still smiles and leans around the cute little leech still suctioned to his legs to clap Killian on the shoulders. “Look, you don’t need to worry. It’ll all be alright.”

“Easy for you to say,” Killian mutters back. Robin’s living some kind of idyllic life, with a wife and children and a seemingly endless supply of confidence. Killian has been around a little too long to maintain that type of optimism.

Robin shrugs. “Maybe. Still, you and Emma are one of the most solid couples I know, even without throwing True Love into the mix. I think, deep down, that you’re just as confident nothing can shake that. Have a little faith, yeah?”

“I’ll do my best,” Killian replies, smiling weakly. It’s the best he can manage at the moment, when his stomach is trying to tie itself into an intricate series of sailor’s knots.

“Good luck, mate.” With a final squeeze of the shoulder, Robin starts trying to peel Charlie off his legs. “Feel free to send Henry over tonight if need be. Charlie too, of course, Vera would love to see her.”

“I’ve already set up for the lass to spend the night with Nemo and Liam, but thanks for the offer, mate. We’ll have to arrange for the girls to have a play date in the coming week regardless.”

“Indeed. Well, again, good luck, and let us know how it goes!”

The sheriff’s station is conveniently only two blocks away, making for an easy trek that even his daughter’s little legs can handle. Another decided plus of going to Granny’s; they’re close enough to their ultimate destination that he generally can just let her walk instead of trying to juggle carrying both their lunches and his toddler at the same time. Today, though, they stop at a bench a block away from the entrance of the station, where Emma can’t yet see them. Tugging on Charlie’s hand to make sure she stops, he carefully rests their lunch bag on the bench before extricating his own hand from her tiny grip to reach into his jacket pocket for the little velvet box.

The ring box.

Robin is right, in a way - this has been a long time coming. But in all the emotional upheaval of his return from the Underworld and their daughter’s impending arrival, marriage hadn’t taken priority. They already knew they were true love, about to raise a teenager and an infant together and committed in every way that counts; a wedding was just a legal formality at that juncture. Some might have argued that Emma’s pregnancy with Charlotte was a compelling reason to get married, but Killian actually found it more of a reason not to. He loved her - loves her - and has always seen marriage in their future, but vainly, he doesn’t ever want it to seem like they got married because of their impending child. After Charlie was born, they’d been so busy and exhausted and consumed with just making it day to day with two kids, one of them a baby. A wedding hadn’t been logistically possible at that point, at least not the way they or her family would want to celebrate it. No, as much as they love each other, waiting had been the right decision.

Now, though… now, there’s no longer any reason to wait. Now too, Killian finds himself yearning for that kind of commitment, to pledge themselves before all and sundry and cement things in a way he has trouble describing. Consciously, he knows that nothing will change with a white dress and a signed paper and a pair of rings, but that doesn’t stop him from dreaming. Emma and he had talked about marriage together before and established that it was something they both want in the future; now that things are finally starting to calm down and settle back into a routine in their lives, it finally seems that the moment is here.

(There’s the point, too, that they’re starting to talk about another baby, and Killian knows that if they welcome another child, they’ll be thrown right back into that cycle of happy exhaustion and put off getting married for another several years. On the less romantic side, it’s better to stage a wedding now, when they both have the time to commit to it.)

Charlotte is obviously confused by this unexpected pause in their path, a deviance from the usual routine. “Mama now,” she tells him - not the question another child might ask, but something more akin to a reminder, like her father might have forgotten that they have an appointment to keep. It’s just another manifestation of that meticulousness that he finds so adorable - the way she likes to know the plan and stick with it.

“In a moment, sweetheart, we’re just stopping here for a minute,” he assures her before producing the little ring box. “You see this, little love?” Charlie nods solemnly, reaching out a little hand to stroke along the soft green velvet. “This is a very special gift I’m going to give to Mama. Now, do you think you can keep it safe for me until it’s time to give it to her?” With any other child, it’d be an insane idea, but he knows his daughter.

And his daughter is meticulous.

(Besides, they’re only a block away; he’ll keep an eye out, but doesn’t anticipate any problems. She’s a careful little thing, after all.)

Charlie’s nodding eagerly anyways, a precious smile running across her face at the prospect of helping with the surprise. “Yeah! I do it!”

“Thank you, sweetheart,” he praises, pressing a quick kiss to the soft hair on the top of her head. Quickly, he unzips her little parka to get at the miniature leather jacket she wears underneath, so much like Emma’s and his own, to tuck the box into the pocket where it will hopefully be more secure. Hats and gloves and all matter of outerwear get shoved into the pockets of her winter coat, creating so many opportunities for the ring to be disturbed;  hopefully there will be less chance of that happening inside.

After resecuring all her layers, they continue their trek to the station, and walk through the front door only minutes later. Emma is alone in the office today, something of a rarity. Though David may have stepped down in order to pursue life as a farmer, returning to his sheep and to rule the United Realms alongside Snow, only helping at the station when absolutely necessary, the sheriff’s department has acquired several new deputies in the meantime, in order to deal with the increase in population.

Mulan had been the first person Emma had approached after her father had made his intention to leave known. The warrior had been a natural choice for her impressive skill set and level-headedness, and it had worked out well that the woman in question was a bit at ends after Ruby had left for Oz and a life with Dorothy. A deputy position granted her purpose and some sense of roots, and she’s flourished here, becoming Emma’s trusted right hand.

Dorothy had been an easy choice too, though she’s less available, forced to split her time between Storybrooke and tamping down trouble in Oz. The principality of Munchkinland supposedly operates as a democracy, one in which Ms. Gale holds no elected position, yet somehow she’s still the only one who can settle the frequent disputes that erupt between different factions. Killian would swear that it’s an entire population of dwarves, some distant cousins of Leroy and Doc and all the rest with all the trouble they manage to kick up.

Emma’s last deputy, Fitz, had been more of an unexpected addition - a former army colonel who had arrived with the other migrants from the Land of Untold Stories, looking for some kind of new purpose and to escape the long shadow cast by his cousin. Killian had been suspicious of the other man at first, but he’s more than proved his worth in the past two years, especially in aiding with the defeat of the Dark One by protecting Belle. It helps that the other man is one of the most amiable, easy going people Killian knows, armed with an easy smile and a self-deprecating sense of humor. Killian had worried that the former colonel might bristle as having to play deputy after so long as a leader in his own right, especially as a man from another time and society now under the command of a woman, but truthfully, Fitz just seems delighted to be surrounded by three strong women bossing him around. Now, Killian counts the other man as a friend, one of his regular drinking buddies alongside David and Robin.

Today, however, he knows that Emma is alone at the station - Killian had made sure to check the schedule last week and seen that Dorothy is off, Mulan is tackling a self-defense presentation at the elementary school, and Fitz is handling patrol. If all goes well, he can have an uninterrupted afternoon with Emma and their little lass.

Emma looks up at the sound of their footsteps, and immediately breaks into a wide smile when she realizes who’s there to see her. “Hey, you,” she greets, the affection obvious in her voice. How far she’s come from the skittish, closed off woman Killian had met in the wasteland that’s left of the Enchanted Forest; how far they’ve both come, really. Killian certainly wasn’t anything like the caring family man and loyal friend that he’s become back at the beginning.

“Hello yourself, love,” he smiles back, bending to kiss her. “Are you having a good day so far?”

“Eh. You know. Hit or miss,” Emma replies, simultaneously bending to hoist Charlie into a hug. As excited as their little girl had been to see her mother when he had picked her up from the Charmings’ an hour ago, now she’s more anxious to wiggle her way back down to the floor and run over to the bottom drawer of the file cabinet where they keep a handful of toys for her. “What am I, chopped liver?” Emma mutters. Even if she’s rolling her eyes, there’s still a smile on her face. They do manage to find a bit of humor in the frequent caprices. “Anyways, yeah, it was fine. Mostly dealing with paperwork, really. Leroy and one of the Vikings had a little bit of a spat early that I had to go referee, but that’s kind of just Tuesday. Not a big deal. You?”

“Uneventful so far.” Hopefully not for long, since he’s showed up with a ring and a question. “I finished with the docking fees this morning, then turned the office over to Mr. Smee for the afternoon and went to pick up the Bean.” While Killian serves as an additional standby deputy in the Sheriff’s station if need be, much like David and Robin, he’s actually found employment as the town’s harbormaster. It’s not always the most interesting job - mostly, he manages the monthly docking fees, though his position also involves inspecting the occasional imports from other realms and monitoring the office radio in case anyone gets into trouble or runs out of gas on the water - but it’s steady and dependable and lets him feel like he’s doing something productive, maybe even something good. The hours are a plus, too, as is continuing to be the boss. Killian still doesn’t take orders well from anyone but Emma.

“Is that lunch I see?” Emma asks, almost demands, zeroing in on the bag still hanging on his hook.

“It is indeed,” he replies, setting the sack on her desk. “Your favorite - grilled cheese and onion rings.”

“God, I love you,” she declares, leaning up for another kiss with a happy smile on her face.

And all of a sudden, the moment is here. It’s as good a lead-in as any. “Well, I’m very glad to hear that, love.” Gods above, he doesn’t think he’s ever been so nervous - not before that first date, not when he was standing in front of her door in New York. Maybe when their daughter was born, but that’s a slim thing. “Charlie, sweetheart, can you bring me that gift for Mama?”

“That’s right, I get a present!” Emma teases. That doesn’t last long though, her laughing tone giving way to a gasp as Charlotte rounds the corner of Mulan’s desk, her parka already shed and wrestling the ring box out of her little pocket. “Is that…”

“Aye, love.” Killian runs his hand along Charlie’s hair as she reaches him before plucking the box from her hands. “Good job, little love,” he murmurs with a smile. Now is the moment though, so he turns back to Emma and sinks to one knee as he props the little box open. Nestled inside is a ring that he thinks is perfect for her - somehow both sturdy and delicate at the same time, with a white gold band and two smaller round diamonds flanking a larger oval-cut diamond, a medium size that stands out without being ostentatious. He’d seen it in the window of the jeweler’s and just known it belonged on his love’s finger. Some things are simple like that; falling in love with Emma had been.

“It’s been a long, winding road to get here, my love, but I wouldn’t want to walk it with anyone else,” he begins. Hopefully the tears starting to glimmer in her eyes are a good sign. The soft smile on her face and the happy crinkles around her eyes certainly suggest so. “When we met, I couldn’t think of anything but my own revenge - but you made me want to be better. You still make me want to be a better man, for you, for Charlie, for Henry, every day. You’ve given me the most precious gifts of my life in your love and our children, and no matter what the future might hold, I just want to face it together. I may not be a perfect man, but I can promise you this: I will always, always be by your side.” Killian takes a final deep breath - it’s the moment of truth, so to speak. “So, Emma Swan, woman of my dreams and love of my life… will you marry me?”

It feels like he waits for her response for an entire lifetime - no, a whole eternity, even if it must only be seconds. But then her smile widens and Emma sinks to her knees, bypassing the ring in his hand completely to grasp his face between her hands and stroke along his cheeks with her thumbs as her delicate fingers curl around his neck, behind his ears and into his hair. “Yes,” she breathes, tears slipping from her eyes as she nods. If there was ever a moment the word emphatic was created to describe, this is it. “Yes. Yes! Of course I’ll marry you, my pirate.”

They really probably should worry about the ring in the box - namely, slipping it on her finger where he hopes it’ll never move again - but that seems like such a secondary concern when Emma’s kissing him for all he’s worth. Somehow he finds both his arms wrapping around her back to pull her closer, his hand still clutching the little green velvet box as Emma’s tongue slips into his mouth. Kissing his fiancée doesn’t feel wildly different from kissing his girlfriend yet, but he’s sure that given the chance to say that word a few more times - fiancée! - he’ll change his mind. For now, he’s more concerned about lips and tongues and the positioning of noses and the way Emma’s lovely breasts press just perfectly against his chest.

“Yes,” she tells him again as they break apart, and one more time as he finally works the diamond ring past the knuckle of her fourth finger. It’s nearly a perfect fit; just a small spark of magic is required to tighten the band to her exact specifications. It seems fitting for their relationship, somehow, which has been infused with the magic of Saviors and True Love since the very beginning.

Charlie choses that moment, of course, to tire of searching through her toy drawer and wander back over to see what her parents are up to. “Mama sad?” She asks, his clever girl noticing the tears still glistening in Emma’s eyes (and probably his own too, if he’s being very honest).

“No, baby, happy,” Emma laughs. “Mama is just very, very happy, and it’s spilling all over the place.” Killian understands that perfectly; he’s so happy, he feels like he’s overflowing with it.

There are worse complaints to have.

Soon, they’ll have to turn their attention to all kinds of wedding planning and spreading the news to their friends and family, but he’s happy for the moment to instead focus on having a nice lunch with his daughter and fiancée at the former’s urging (“Eat now?”). Both his girls are very excited about the chocolate cake, and the sooner they finish their entrees, the sooner they can dig into dessert.

After all, Granny was right; they’ve got a lot to celebrate today.

[sanguinarysanguinity]

Fic-Writer / Vid-Maker Meme

Tagged by @educatedinyellow and @gailbsanders, thank you!

Author/Vidder Name: sanguinity

Fandoms You Write For: Lately it’s mostly book!verse Hornblower and ACD!Holmes (although the ACD!Holmes is largely behind the scenes with a long-form WIP that I’ve been focusing on). I also write for assorted small Holmesian fandoms as the whim or prompts take me, and I used to write fairly prolifically for Elementary, before that show wore me into the ground with how persistently they don’t care about Joan Watson. I’ve written a fair bit of Strange Empire, some Doctor Who / Torchwood, and quite a few one-offs in random fandoms, from the Oz books to Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Fandoms I Vid For: Mostly one-offs or small batches that overlap with the fandoms I write for: Holmesian multiverse, Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles, plus a number of rarer Festivids-qualifying fandoms like The Middleman or Noah’s Arc. 

Where You Post Fic: Most of it is on AO3, excepting some three-sentence and five-sentence fics that I’ve never collected. 

Where You Post Vids: Variously Vimeo, YouTube, and DailyMotion, depending on who threw a fit about what copyrighted music the week I posted it, but all my vids are listed at AO3.

Most Popular One-Shot: “The Sincerity of Dust,” a BBC Sherlock Mystrade flash-fic I banged out one morning and which then went on to eat Cleveland. It has 1400 kudos and is working on 14,000 hits. Its nearest rival is “Score: Q to 12,″ an Elementary flash-fic featuring Sherlock and Joan playing Calvinscrabble, which performed modestly on AO3 but cleaned up on tumblr to the tune of 1700 notes.

Most Popular Multi-Chapter Story: “Holocene Park,” an Elementary case fic featuring dinosaurs under the streets of New York City. If I’m remembered in the Elementary fandom for anything, it’s probably for this or Calvinscrabble.

Most Popular Vid: “Something Good (Will Come From That),” my Holmes/Watson multiverse vid. It has 10K plays, the AO3 page has 2.5K hits, and the tumblr page has almost 800 notes. It escaped my corner of pseudonym-based AO3-centric fandom and has made the rounds of the Sherlockian scions on Facebook, as well as being rec’d on non-fannish websites in French, German, and Japanese. For a little while there it was making me anxious with how popular it got -- at the height of its popularity, I was worrying my mom was going to email it to me. After it hit it big I almost completely stopped making things for a while, because I was pretty sure that nothing else I made would be even half that good ever again. Happily, that turned out to be a stupid reason to not make things, and so I started making things again.

Favorite Story You Wrote/Vid You Made: Yeah, sorry, no, my brain burns out on “favorite” questions, especially ones that have no criteria. I’ll just refer you to my Fic/Vid Speed-Dating Score Card, which can be construed as a list of my favorite works on various axes, and is still fairly accurate despite being a year old. (Scariest nowadays is probably “Tea for Two,” a Moriarty-centric story from this last round of Holmestice.)

Story You Were Nervous to Post: “Any Service Required,” which is dark Bush/Hornblower porn. I always feel hideously exposed when publishing porn -- I’m nervous about posting it even in the best of cases. But what with this being dark-fic, I was half-expecting the self-appointed morals police who get prescriptive about “healthy” relationships to show up and make a stink. Or along similar lines, I was fearing that followers who are used to a certain kind of thing from me will look at this one, think it base trash, and lose respect for me over it. I’m happy to say that nothing like that has happened so far, and while readership has been light, I’m fine with that: I’d rather a story have a small readership who is genuinely into it than a large readership who isn’t, and I’d like to believe that this story’s small readership is mostly due to people taking a look at the tags and making good decisions about the kind of thing they enjoy reading. 

How Do You Choose Your Titles: BY ANY MEANS I CAN MAKE WORK. My preference is to grab a meaningful phrase from the text, but I’ll also use quotes and popular phrases, sometimes straight-up and sometimes with a twist, if it seems a decent fit for the story. Ideally, a title will speak to some deeper truth about the story, but when push comes to shove, I’ll settle for a title that is short, clean, and memorable: basically, anything that I and others can remember without having to look it up all the damn time. (This is my main problem with people using lines of poetry or song lyrics as titles: they tend to register in my brain as generic word salad, and in many cases I couldn’t say without looking it up what the title actually was, let alone what it had to do with the story.)

Do You Outline: For long or complex stories, sure, yes. If there are many scenes or multiple chapters, I tend to jot down a few lines listing out the succession of scenes or chapters; for “The Next World,” whose main body is a long and rambly conversation, I had an outline that listed out every twist and turn of that convo. The outline for “Langstroth on Bees” (WIP, currently 58K) is a monster of a thing, listing out the internal timeline (five years of current action plus another ten of backstory), various promises I’ve made that I need to deliver on, assorted events that I want to remember to include, and rough ideas about where chapter breaks should maybe fall. Given that I’ve been working on that story for five years now, often with breaks from it of nearly a year, that outline has saved my ass. I guarantee you that without it, I would have picked up this story at some point, tried to remember where I was going with it, come up with nothing much, and shelved it permanently. If anything, I really should outline more often -- I have a few long-standing drafts in my WIP folder that I just... don’t remember where I was going with that. I remember that I did have a destination in mind, yes, but what exactly? WHO KNOWS. Btw, my outlines are living documents -- I revise them often, as my understanding of the story develops. In fact, revising the outline is one of many tools for understanding where a story is going and what is still needed to bring it together.

How many of your fanworks are…

Complete: 92 stories or story collections (I have a few AO3 “stories” that are actually collected ficlets from tumblr or Sherlock60), and 26 vids and vidlets, 

In-Progress: Nothing published to AO3 -- it makes me crazy to have a partially-published WIP. My drafts folder has 36 partially completed stories in it, and there are probably a half-dozen vids that I started but haven’t finished.

Coming Soon: Four? For various values of “coming soon.” I have two Hornblower stories that are mostly done (one for the Tegmore verse and another for the Kraken verse), and I’ve been working steadily on “Langstroth on Bees” in the hopes that I’ll finish it this year. And I’m signed up for Remix Revival -- whatever I do for that will probably be the very-most-next thing.

Do You Accept Prompts: Yes! Although I have only a 1/3 to 1/2 completion rate on prompts -- I do hope that no one minds that too terribly! But I’ll actively solicit prompts from time to time -- to celebrate something, or if I’m having a shit day and want to turn it around -- and some of my best stuff has come from prompts people have given me. I never ever guarantee filling them (see my above mentioned completion rate), but if someone wants to prompt me something, my ask box is open. Even if the prompt never gets filled, I still get a warm flutter of “They want to play with me!” from it.

Upcoming Story You Are Most Excited to Write: “Langstroth on Bees,” a 58K-and-counting Holmes/Watson retirement fic that I’ve been working for five years. I added a solid 13K to it this month, and have maybe 20K left to go -- I’m hope-hope-hoping to have it done this year. But I’ve gotten far enough into it that “Langstroth” has finally begun overlapping the territory covered in “From Allegany,” and by the end of this chapter I’ll have passed it entirely. Then I’ll be in unwritten territory, wheee! (Speaking of titles, I never really intended to call this thing “Langstroth on Bees” -- that’s just a working title for my drafts folder. But enough of you now know it by that name that I think I’m going to have to stick with it? So I’m desperately trying to figure out how to justify it. ONE OF MANY THINGS TO DO IN THIS DRAFT.)

Tag Five Fanfic Authors to Answer These Questions As Well: @beanarie @quipxotic @phoenixfalls @xserpx @amindamazed And of course anyone else who wants to play!

[warenerd]

100 Days of Graphic Novels

Subtitle: “Working 70 Hour Weeks and Commuting Means Reading But Not Writing.”

I am trying for more accountability, but, when my idiotic work schedule gets even more idiotic, sometimes it’s just my judgmental calendar of doom that’s keeping me on track. Also my cat. He judges me - harshly.

Look on my missing leg, ye Mighty, and despair!

Ahem. Anyway. So many books:

Day 1: The Umbrella Academy vol 1: The Apocalypse Suite Day 2: CatStronauts: Mission Mars Day 3: Apannine War Diary Day 4: Alex + Ada vol 1 Day 5: Alex + Ada vol 2 Day 6: Visitations Day 7: Another Day of Life Day 8: Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller vol 1 Day 9: Punisher: Welcome Back, Frank Day 10: Scarlet Witch vol 1: Witches’ Road Day 11: Jessica Jones vol 1: Uncaged Day 12: Infidel Day 13: The Deep Blue Good-by Day 14: City of Illusions Day 15: Mockingbird vol 1: I Can Explain Day 16: Ms. Marvel vol 1: Best of the Best Day 17: X-Men Gold vol 1: Back to the Basics Day 18: Kaptara vol 1: Fear Not, Tiny Alien Day 19: Eclipse vol 1 Day 20: Defenders vol 1: Diamonds are Forever Day 21: Hellcat vol 1: Hooked on a Feline Day 22: Chosin Day 23: Elektra vol 1: Bloodlines Day 24: They’re Not Like Us Day 25: Multiple Man vol 1: It All Makes Sense in the End Day 26: Captain America: Sam Wilson: Not My Captain America Day 27: A Russian Journal Day 28: Iron Patriot vol 1: Unbreakable Day 29: Divinity Day 30: Jessica Jones: Alias vol 1 Day 31: Tales of Suspense: Hawkeye and the Winter Soldier Day 32: The Fuse vol 1: The Russian Shift Day 33: Jessica Jones: Alias vol 2 Day 34: Into the Tunnel Day 34: Jessica Jones: Alias vol 3 Day 35: A-Force vol 1 Day 36: Edge of the Spider-Verse Day 37: Descender vol 1 Day 38: Descender vol 2 Day 39: Black Panther: World of Wakanda Day 40: A Farewell to Arms Day 41: I’m Not Leaving Day 42: Green Arrow: Year One Day 43: Daniel’s Story Day 44: Aurora’s Motive Day 45: Jessica Jones vol 4 Day 46: Symmetry Day 47: Afar Day 48: Morning Glories vol 1

Day 49: One Way Ticket

           A math professor at a nearby university related her escape from WWII to England. Interesting not just for the political trials and hoops through which she had to jump to get herself and her family out of Europe, but also for the way that retelling, rather than primary recording, has influenced the main thrust of the story. Also: illustrated. Adorably.

Day 50: The life of Captain Marvel

            I’m not saying I hated this book – I’m just saying that I’m opposed to it on a cellular level.

Day 51: Captain Marvel vol 1: In Pursuit of Flight

            Did I need a mind-bleach of what I’d read the day before? Yes. Yes, I did.

Day 52: The Boy Who Reversed Himself             True story: William Sleator was my favorite author for about a year in middle school. I read every one of his books that our libraries had, and then I read them all again. Six or seven times each (to the shock of absolutely no one who knows me). This book has forever changed the way I consider catsup. And it wasn’t nearly as racist as I’d expected, flipping back through. Hooray?

Day 53: To Fight Alongside Friends

            My best friend roped me into doing an online werewolf game based in WWI. I role-played as Charlie May, the author of this diary, and refused to respond with anything but direct quotes from his book. If nothing else, I entertain myself.

Day 54: Operation: Broken Wings

Day 55: My War Diary

            This one is by Dov Yermiya and is about Lebanon from June 5 – July 1, 1982. I have about six books within easy reach called “My War Diary.” This could prove problematic later. (Also, despite writing about Waltz With Bashir in grad school and for my dissertation, I still don’t know enough about this conflict)

Day 56: Descender vol 3 Day 57: Morning Glories vol 2 Day 58: The Drowned and the Saved Day 59: Jessica Jones: Pulse

Day 60: Zlata’s Diary

            I read this when sitting in the jail on a Friday night. There’s nothing quite so jarring as reading a firsthand account of the absolute disruption of life (and childhood, in a lot of ways), while listening to drunk sorority girls sob on their phones to their mothers and then scream about their Uber.

Day 61: Captain Marvel vol 2: Down Day 62: Avengers: The Enemy Within Day 63: Captain Marvel: Higher, Further, Faster, More Day 64: Captain Marvel: Stay Fly Day 65: Captain Marvel: Alis Volat Propiis Day 66: Carol Danvers vol 1: The Ms Marvel Years

Day 67: One Week in the Library

            Please give me more weeks, Image Comics. Please.

Day 68: The Troop

            Noel Clarke, I love you, but this feels like well-trod ground at this point.

Day 69: Bitch Planet

            I legitimately squealed, out loud, when Kelly Sue DeConnick was on screen during Captain Marvel. High pitched. And then, because I have no game, I whacked my BFF on the arm and whispered (er, “whispered”?) “THAT WAS KELLY SUE!!” No one else was impressed by my mad comic knowledge, but, eh.

Day 70: Jessica Jones vol 3: Return of the Purple Man

           Guess which superstar never read volume 2? That’s right - THIS superstar.

Day 71: Mr. & Mrs. X

            Basically, I love Gambit. I’m okay with Rogue, but I’ve lived in the Deep South for too long to be completely okay with the extremes of character. And I also don’t really like Deadpool. At all. Despite all of that, I still enjoyed this.

Day 72: Secret Avengers vol 1: Reverie

            Unlike this, which did NOT get better with age. Ooooof.

Day 73: Avengers AI vol 1: Human After All

Did I buy this simply for this picture of Vision holding a kitten? Yes. Do I regret that? No.

Day 74: Tet Day 75: Iron Fist: Rage Day 76: Zero vol 1: An Emergency Day 77: Faster than Light

Day 78: Descender vol 4: Orbital Mechanics

            I sent my BFF a copy of Descender because it’s gorgeous. Because she has even worse impulse control than me, she bought all of the other volumes and has already finished the series. I can’t even be mad.

Day 79: Lost Dossiers: Super Spy

            AKA: This would have made way more sense had I realized that this was a supplement to another work… which I don’t yet own. Womp womp womp. Maybe tomorrow I’ll read the From Hell companion, just for kicks.

Day 80: Carnet de Voyage Day 81: Hype Day 82: Dancer Day 83-85: Day 86: Wonderful World of Oz

Day 87: Port of Earth

            Know what I love about Zack Kaplan? He creates immersive worlds that aren’t just one thing – there’s not just one neat storyline wrapped up by the end of the trade, and there isn’t just one type of story at work.

Day 88: Material Day 89: Captain America: the 1940s Newspaper Strip Day 90: Peter Panzerfaust vol 1: The Great Escape Day 91: Cowl vol 1

Day 92: Ministry of Space

            That ending, though.

Day 93: X-Men Gold vol 2 Day 94: The Winter Soldier vol 1: The Longest Winter Day 95: The Winter Soldier vol 2: Broken Arrow

Day 96: Graphic Classics vol 22: African American Classics

            I yelped when I saw that Afua Richardson, Personal Hero, had worked on this. I have a panel from her illustration of Langston Hughes’ “Rivers” (done for NPR), and it is one of my very favorite things.

Day 97: New York: The Big City

Day 98: A Wexford Childhood

            You would think that a memoir covering 1915-1930 might touch on some rumbling of war. You’d be wrong. But, it was an interesting view of the changing world, nonetheless.

Day 99: Winter Soldier vol 3: Black Widow Hunt

            Brubaker, why must you hurt me so?

Day 100: X-Men Rarities

            There are few things that bring me such joy as the stiff pages of a 90s era Marvel trade – and, when those trades include comics with Chamber? I am so in. Now, someone explain to me how they always smell like cigarettes and wet dog, regardless of origin, and I’ll be all set.

[kindcstguardian]

MISC.

Name. Oz Age. 19 years old Voice. Cryaotic Monster type. Anthropomorphic personification of fear Gender. Genderfluid ( He / They ) Sexual Orientation. Bisexual demiromantic. Languages. Korean, Arabic, Spanish & English. Height. 177cm Weight. ? Specialty. ? Likes. Sweets, reading, observing, drawing Dislikes. Liars, extremely emotional creatures

Habilities.

Shadow manipulation:

his shadow, in a way, is still part of him and therefore he is capable of manipulating it without trouble, either to make it bigger or smaller—to cease existing, too.

Shapeshift:

The current shape he possesses is one he chose at free will entirely which means his physical form is irrelevant and Oz can change it whenever he wants. This also means, as well, he is perfectly capable of turning into someone else.

See everyone's fear:

Given he's fear itself, it isn't strange for him to detect everyone's fear within a first glance though he would never use that against anyone unless extremely necessary or under dangerous circumstances.

Mild-mind control:

As stated above, Oz can perceive everyone's fear no matter how good or bad they can be at hiding their emotions—it's impossible to escape from him. He doesn't like to hurt anyone but if angered enough, he'd start making that creature picture their worst fear inside their minds ( he could also shapeshift into it ).

Verses.

Main verse./ Monster prom.

「 V00 ; Oz ┊ ⁱ ʲᵘˢᵗ ʷᵃⁿᵗ ʸᵒᵘ ᵗᵒ ᵏⁿᵒʷ ʷʰᵒ ⁱ ᵃᵐ 」

 Takes place in the game, a quite crazy one.

Hotel Transylvania.

「 V01 ; Oz ┊ᵉᵃˢʸ ᵗᵒ ⁱᵍⁿᵒʳᵉ ʷʰᵃᵗ ʸᵒᵘ ᵈᵒ ʷʰᵉⁿ ʸᵒᵘ ˡⁱᵛᵉ ⁱⁿ ᵃ ᵇᵘᵇᵇˡᵉ 」

In need of a vacation after prom—one he went on his own and spent his time with friends—Oz is still making up his mind at what he wants to be in his future. All of his friends had an AIM to go for…except HIM.

No dreams, no perspective of his future…Maybe a gap year is all he required before focusing on studies.

The Nightmare before Christmas.

「 V02 ; Oz ┊ ʷʰᵃᵗ ˢʰᵒᵘˡᵈ ⁱ ˢᵗᵃʸ ᶠᵒʳ? 」

Halloween, everlasting Halloween—clearly nothing wrong with that! That’s, literally the place he has always lived in and he didn’t quite know where else to go since it was PROHIBITED to go into the forest.

He’s actually in charge of helping with fire effects, though.

Monsters Inc.

「 V03 ; Oz ┊ ᶠᵃⁱʳ ᵖˡᵃʸ 」

If anyone would have told him that his future was to scare / make children laugh—then Oz himself wouldn’t have bought it and probably he’d have slapped his knee. However, that’s exactly what happened and the pay was good therefore he didn’t complain.

Still, Oz doesn’t scare / make children laugh—he’s a scaring / laughter assistant.

Monsters University

「 V04 ; Oz ┊ ᴰᵒⁿ'ᵗ ʲᵘˢᵗ ˢᵗᵃⁿᵈ ᵗʰᵉʳᵉ, ᵈᵒ ˢᵒᵐᵉᵗʰⁱⁿᵍ 」

His future was unknown and thus, he still went to college without a goal in mind. But he picked a career choice he thought was fitting, an art professor.

Monsters vs. Aliens

「 V05 ; Oz ┊ᵗʰᵉʳᵉ'ˢ ᵃ ᵖᵒʷᵉʳ ⁱⁿ ʷʰᵃᵗ ʸᵒᵘ ᵈᵒ 」

Wip

The Corpse Bride

「 V06 ; Oz ┊ ᵍᵒⁿⁿᵃ ˢᵗᵃⁿᵈ ᵇʸ ʸᵒᵘ 」

One thing he was told as a child, he wasn’t like anyone else and therefore, it wouldn’t be strange for him to scare others so he didn’t leave outside the four walls of his house. Besides, his mother had died shortly after giving birth to him and holding him as a baby thus, it was time to go to their new home where trouble wasn’t known—where the dead resided.

Both being monsters, his father and him, didn’t have a hard time fitting in with a bunch of deceased people; however, this process took four long years due to needing some sort of paperwork done in order to live down there.

Undertale.

「 V07 ; Oz ┊ ʸᵒᵘ'ʳᵉ ᵗʰᵉ ʲᵘᵈᵍᵉ 」

Oz currently lives in the capital, he’s living in a shared apartment but his flatmate is never around because neither of them matches schedules so it appears as if he is living on his own.

His soul is a JUSTICE type and he specializes in shadow and orange attacks albeit it’s strange for him to even be part of a fight.

Ralph breaks the internet / Wi-fi Ralph

「 V08 ; Oz ┊ ᵖᵃʳᵗ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉ ᶜᵒᵒˡ ᵏⁱᵈˢ 」

Monster Prom became a popular game in no time and even had an update that came sooner than expected—everyone is a bit of a superstar for the time being though fame might brush off soon.

Oz generally likes to interact with other characters and he actually became curious about exploring other games but he doesn’t want to become Turbo, so he’s content enough with simple interaction between others.

Fandmless interactions.

「 V0? ; Oz ┊ ᵃ ˡⁱᵗᵗˡᵉ ᵇⁱᵗ ᵒᶠ -̴͓̉-̸͙̊ ⁱⁿ ᵐʸ ˡⁱᶠᵉ 」

He’s just your regular monster in a world full of humans and…other monsters.

「 𝓲𝓬 ; Oz ／ ᵈᵒⁿ'ᵗ ˡᵉᵗ ‘ᵉᵐ ˢᵉᵉ ʸᵒᵘ ᵇʳᵉᵃᵏ 」

「 Oz ／ CRACK 」

「 Oz ／ INQUIRY 」

「 Oz ／ VISAGE 」

「 Oz ／ MUSINGS 」

「 Oz ／ HEADCANONS 」

「 Oz ／ ROMANCE 」

「 Oz ／ IC BLOGGING 」

Romantic tags.

✘ ˢᵗᵃʳʳʸᵇᵘʳᵍˡᵃʳ · OzPolly ♡（ ᶠᵃˡˡⁱⁿᵍ ⁱⁿ ˡᵒᵛᵉ ʷⁱᵗʰ ᵗʰᵉ ᵒⁿᵉ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ᶜᵒᵘˡᵈ ᵇʳᵉᵃᵏ ᵐʸ ʰᵉᵃʳᵗ ）

Friendship tags.

✘ ˢᵗᵃʳʳʸᵇᵘʳᵍˡᵃʳ · Oz &&. Vicky ／ （ ᴵ ʷᵒᵘˡᵈⁿ'ᵗ ᵇᵉ ᵗʰᵉ ᵒⁿᵉ ᴵ ᵃᵐ ᵗᵒᵈᵃʸ ⁱᶠ ʸᵒᵘ ʰᵃᵈⁿ'ᵗ ᵇᵉᵉⁿ ᵃ ᶠʳⁱᵉⁿᵈ ᵒᶠ ᵐⁱⁿᵉ ）

✘ ˢᵗᵃʳʳʸᵇᵘʳᵍˡᵃʳ · Oz &&. Mavis ／ （ 'ᶜᵃᵘˢᵉ ᵗʰⁱˢ ⁱˢ ᵒᵘʳ ʷᵒʳˡᵈ ᵃⁿᵈ ʷᵉ ᵍᵒᵗᵗᵃ ᵐᵃᵏᵉ 'ᵉᵐ ʳᵘˡᵉˢ ）

[chaosmultiverse]

🚼🚼 for oz and damien mayhapst?

Teles/Deep Water

Teles was taken from Thalassophobia to become a child for Oz and Miranda, they are made from semi soild 'water' that can take many forms including a Abyssal Merfolk & humanoid form they use the most, sometimes though when in higher parts of the water humans or other monsters would see they will use a form closer to what a fictional siren is.

They are a very quiet and polite person, prone to stay to the side. This is many because they would rather observe and study people to either know how to win them over or destroy them.

Eric

Local sea child found bitting people. He has zero patience for people being rude so will bite, he also bite people for affection.

He are probably pretty clingy to those they care about and are prone to be very defensive of their relationships.

He also can make underwater, because no one has told him yet that is not how that works.

[nebelkrahe]

REALLY  LONG  CHARACTER  SURVEY.

     RULES.  repost ,   don’t  reblog  !    tag  10 ! good  luck  !      TAGGED BY.  @taleinspired​ !!! friend!!      TAGGING.   no one BECAUSE THIS IS SO LONG IM SCREAMIN. 

BASICS.

FULL  NAME :   qrow branwen NICKNAME :   dusty old qrow, old man AGE :   early forties in main verse BIRTHDAY :   haven’t decided ! ETHNIC  GROUP : welsh NATIONALITY :   born in vale,but grew up outside the kingdom with a group of bandits LANGUAGE / S : english     (     welsh in certain verses     ) SEXUAL  ORIENTATION :   pansexual  ROMANTIC  ORIENTATION :   demiromantic RELATIONSHIP  STATUS :   verse-dependant     (     single in canon     ) CLASS : lower middle class HOME  TOWN / AREA :   the island of patch, just outside of the kingdom of vale CURRENT  HOME : an apartment in vale given to him by ozpin, though he tends to wander wherever he is needed PROFESSION : full-fledged huntsman ; a member of the guardians with ozpin, glynda goodwitch, and james ironwood ; spy ; teacher at signal academy ; best uncle in the whole world!

PHYSICAL.

HAIR :  black with graying streaks due to age EYES : a light red, similar to his twin sister’s NOSE :  it holds a prominent place on his face, and though the show doesn’t depict it as larger FACE :  round ,    her cheeks rosier & chubbier as a child. LIPS :  not particularly notable  ;  just lips my guy COMPLEXION : extremely pale white. BLEMISHES :  none to note. SCARS :  several, all of his body from his many encounters with the creatures of grimm TATTOOS : several! i haven’t decided yet, but i will let you know HEIGHT :  somewhere between 5′10″ and 6′ WEIGHT :  around 200 lbs BUILD :  tall and lanky FEATURES : constant 5 o’clock shadow & generally hairy body ALLERGIES :  none. USUAL  HAIR  STYLE : usually has bangs hanging in his face with salt-and-pepper coloration USUAL  FACE  LOOK : neutral USUAL  CLOTHING : this mess lmao

PSYCHOLOGY.

FEAR / S :  losing the last of his family     (     ruby, yang, and tai mainly  /  perhaps even raven if the moment is right.     )     ; dying alone, being alone ASPIRATION / S :  to keep his family safe ; to live up to ozpin’s legacy POSITIVE  TRAITS :  honest, caring, childish  /  playful     (     at the right time, of course     )     ,  cool under pressure, focused NEGATIVE  TRAITS :  reckless, depressed, defensive, sarcastic MBTI :  ISFP-A " THE ADVENTURER  “ ZODIAC :   scopio TEMPERAMENT :  sanguine SOUL  TYPE / S :   warrior. ANIMALS : crow ! VICE  HABIT / S :   addicted to alcohol. FAITH : he has a rough time with his faith ; though he does believe in a higher power, he is unsure whether or not form it takes, or how he should worship  /  honor it GHOSTS ? :  absolutely ! AFTERLIFE ? :   no REINCARNATION ? :  after learning of the maidens, definitely ALIENS ? :  no  . POLITICAL  ALIGNMENT :   democratic  /  extremely liberal ECONOMIC  PREFERENCE :   money??? would be nice ??? SOCIOPOLITICAL  POSITION :  low middle class EDUCATION  LEVEL : college  /  full huntsman training

FAMILY.

FATHER :  [REDACTED] branwen     (      presumed dead     ) MOTHER :  [REDACTED] branwen     (      presumed dead     ) SIBLINGS : raven branwen     (     twin sister EXTENDED FAMILY :   ruby rose, summer rose, yang xiao-long, taiyang xiao-long, ozpin NAME MEANING / S :  qrow was originally named for his mother’s love of birds, but the tribe which adopted him and his sister tended to associate with his bad luck HISTORICAL  CONNECTION ? :  both the scarecrow from the novel the wizard of oz by  l. frank baum and the character bran the blessed from the ancient welsh  /  british storybook the mabinogion

FAVORITES.

BOOKS :  anything historical-- he enjoys war novels as well MOVIE :  action, comedy     (     family dramas always makes his eyes wet as well lmao     ) 5  SONGS :   take a whole playlist ! DEITY :  nike or bellona HOLIDAY :  valentine’s day lmao MONTH :  november SEASON :   summer and fall PLACE :  old gothic courtyards and churches WEATHER : calm fall air SOUND :  a bird’s caw SCENT / S : gunpowder, alcohol TASTE / S :  the sharp sting of alcohol FEEL / S :  a good pat on the shoulder ANIMAL / S :  birds ! NUMBER :  69 lmaq COLORS :  red, black, and gray !

EXTRA.

TALENTS : master scythe-wielder, he can drink most people under the table BAD  AT :  talking to people in a professional & appropriate manner TURN  ONS :  daddy kink, voyeurism, other stuff that is. sinful. TURN  OFFS : extreme violence, anything having to do with scat HOBBIES : sightseeing, reading, making up stupid jokes TROPES :  cool uncle, dark and troubled past w his sibling, the alcoholic, etc.  AESTHETIC  TAGS :  here is his aesthetic tag on my blog & here is the pinterest board i have for him <3 QUOTES :  my favorite bc there are so many:  " KID, GET OFF THE GROUND, SPIT OUT THE BLOOD AND BARE YOUR TEETH; GO DOWN A SAVAGE-- GO DOWN FIGHTING. "

FC INFO.

MAIN  FC / S :  joe manganiello ALT  FC / S : nah OLDER  FC / S :   he old LMAO YOUNGER  FC / S :   haven’t decided ! VOICE  CLAIM / S :  vic mignogna GENDERBENT  FC / S :  FUCK THAT SHIT LMAO. get this cis nonesense outta here. give me my transman qrow instead

MUN QUESTIONS.

Q1 :   if  you  could  write  your  character  your  way  in  their  own movie ,   what  would  it  be  called ,  what  style  would  it  be filmed  in ,  and  what  would  it  be  about ?           A1 :  ‘ a dusty old crow ‘  and it’d be an action movie and it’d be 10x better than rwby and strq-centric !!! Q2 :   what  would  their  soundtrack / score  sound  like ?         A2 :  soft acoustic guitars and bass to harsh violins & electric guitars during action scenes.     (     also !!! 70′s/80′s music     ) Q3 :   why  did  you  start  writing  this  character ?           A3 :  because i am a ho(tm) for the edgy old men characters Q4 :   what  first  attracted  you  to  this  character ?           A4 :  his voice tbh? i love the gravely voice Q5 :   describe  the  biggest  thing  you  dislike  about  your  muse.           A5 :   nothing tbh? i hate that he is grossly hairy and  Q6 :   what  do  you  have  in  common  with  your  muse ?           A6 :   barely anything tbh. well. the mental state, gayness, and need for alcohol at every moment of the day lmao Q7 :   how  does  your  muse  feel  about  you ?           A7 :    i would like to think he’d take care of me like he takes care of ruby n yang. like a nice dad figure that would probably protect me from myself better than i ever could Q8 :   what  characters  does  your  muse  have  interesting  interactions  with ? A8 :   everyone ??!! because qrow is. unpredictable tbh. it’s what i love about him Q9 :   what  gives  you  inspiration  to  write  your  muse ?         A9 :   the afore-link playlist. just thinking about him throughout the day lmao Q10 :   how  long  did  this  take  you  to  complete ?           A10 :   like three hours why tf is this so long jesus fuck

[hctchered]

RULES. repost, don’t reblog. tag ten. TAGGED. No one TAGGING:  Anyone who feels like doing it

BASICS.

FULL  NAME.   Claire Esther Hatcher NICKNAME.   Doc, Hatch, various other ones probably AGE.   22 (in 1944) BIRTHDAY.   August 19th 1922 ETHNIC GROUP.   White European, Ashkenazi Jewish NATIONALITY.   British, American LANGUAGE / S. English, a little French, a few phrases German (for war purposes), a tiny bit of Hebrew (mainly post-war) SEXUAL ORIENTATION.   Bisexual ROMANTIC ORIENTATION.  Biromantic RELATIONSHIP STATUS. Verse dependant - either single or in a relationship with Mick McCarthy CLASS.   Working HOME TOWN / AREA.  Cambridge, United Kingdom/Portland, Oregon, United States of America CURRENT HOME.  Portland, Oregon, United States of America PROFESSION.   US Army combat medic

PHYSICAL.

HAIR. Blonde EYES.  Blue with some grey NOSE.  Pretty narrow with a slightly up-turned tip?? FACE.  Kinda oval shaped I guess? Just look at her face, tbh LIPS.  Bottom lip is fuller than upper, kinda small-ish I guess? Again, look at her face tbh COMPLEXION. Relatively pale, but with a light tan BLEMISHES. Birth mark above her lips, on the left side. Another on her left hip SCARS. Too many, tbh. Lots from when she was a kid, multiple on her hands, arms and legs from the war. A big one on her upper left arm after being hit my shrapnel TATTOOS. A Star of David on her wrist (right, I think I said) with something that looks like and M in the middle (made post-war). An eagle on her back for the 101st that she made as a dare during a free weekend at some point during training. HEIGHT. 5′5″ WEIGHT. Idk BUILD.   Kinda slender, but still kinda strong? Look at Eliza, tbh FEATURES. Kinda sharp lines on her face, but relatively softer-looking body.  ALLERGIES. Sheep wool, which she’s really pissed off about USUAL HAIR STYLE.  Usually just left to do whatever, with a few pieces pinned back to keep her face kinda free of them USUAL FACE LOOK.   Scowling, or looking kinda annoyed and/or concerned USUAL CLOTHING.  Uniform during the war, post war usually something comfortable like jeans or normal trousers and like a shirt or t-shirt. She’s really not a dress person, tbh.

PSYCHOLOGY.

FEAR / S. Losing people, failing to save someone, being the only one left ASPIRATION / S.   Saving people, getting better at her job POSITIVE TRAITS.  Determined, selfless (in many ways),  NEGATIVE TRAITS.  Reckless, easily angered  MBTI.  ENTP ZODIAC. Leo TEMPEREMENT.  Choleric SOUL TYPE / S. Performer and Hunter ANIMALS. Eagle VICE HABIT / S.   FAITH. Catholic Christian/None/Judaism GHOSTS? Probably not AFTERLIFE? No REINCARNATION? No (even though I love those kinds of AUs lmao) ALIENS? No POLITICAL ALIGNMENT.  Not sure ECONOMIC PREFERENCE. Not sure SOCIOPOLITICAL POSITION. Liberal, probably. Not sure tbh. Claire really isn’t a politics person at all. EDUCATION LEVEL.  Low - only went to school up to age like 13

FAMILY.

FATHER.  Harold Hatcher MOTHER. Devorah Hatcher (née Lecuyer) SIBLINGS.   Harold “Harry Hatcher (b.1917) and James Hatcher (b.1919) EXTENDED  FAMILY.   Avigail Lecuyer (aunt), George “Georgie” Lecuyer (cousin, RAF bomber pilot, killed in 1944), Natanel Lecuyer (grandfather) and Esther Lecuyer (née Astruc, grandmother) NAME MEANING / S.   Claire: clear, famous Esther: star (in Persian) Hatcher: topographic name for someone who lived by a gate, from Middle English hacche (Old English hæcc) + the agent suffix -er. This normally denoted a gate marking the entrance to a forest or other enclosed piece of land, sometimes a floodgate or sluice-gate.

(I’m yelling I love that tbh)

HISTORICAL CONNECTION Claire is a traditionally French name, and Claire’s mum very much wanted to name one of her children something’s French. Esther is her grandmother’s name, and also a very important person in Judaism, and Devorah wanted to keep that connection, despite having converted from Judaism. 

FAVOURITES.

BOOK. Peter Pan MOVIE.  The Wizard Of Oz 5 SONGS.   (Going to do ones that kinda remind me of her again) Streetfight - Smallpools, 30 Seconds - Vinyl Theatre, Settle Down - The 1975, When That Man Is Dead And Gone - Glenn Miller, Run - Hozier DEITY.   None/the Jewish God HOLIDAY.  Rosh Hashanah  MONTH.   May SEASON.   Spring PLACE.   Downtown Portland WEATHER. Warm with a gentle breeze SOUND.  Rain on roof SCENT / S. Anything other than death and blood, tbh TASTE / S.  Coffee FEEL / S.  Soft hands on skin, water running over hands ANIMAL / S.   Cats, dogs NUMBER.  None COLOR.  The colours of the sunrise/sunset

EXTRA.

TALENTS.  Singing (a little bit), being salty/sarcastic, getting drunk BAD  AT.   Respect, listening, cooking, drawing, writing (nicely) TURN  ONS.  A lot of things TURN  OFFS.  Not a lot of things tbh HOBBIES.  Drinking, smoking, making sure her men are safe TROPES.  The Drunk Medic™ AESTHETICS.   Blood on snow, bruised knuckles, cocky smiles, dirty uniforms

FC INFO.

MAIN  FC / S. Eliza Taylor ALT  FC / S. - OLDER  FC / S.  - YOUNGER  FC / S. Sophie Nélisse VOICE  CLAIM / S.  Eliza Taylor’s American accent, but with some British in there

MUN QUESTIONS.

Q1.   if you could write your character your way in their own movie, what would it be called, what style would it be filmed in, and what would it be about? A1.  I would love to either see her in her canon setting, following what it would have potentially been like for a female medic if they would have been allowed in the US Army. Or like something where she’s the leader of like a biker gang or something, all in leather and looking fierce af.

Q2.   what would their soundtrack / score sound like? A2.  Similar to the Pacific Rim soundtrack probably, or TRON Legacy-vibes

Q3.   why did you start writing this character? A3. I had just rewatched Band Of Brothers and was home alone just hanging out for a week and I came up with a very basic character idea what I started working on and then made a blog for. Claire has obviously changed A LOT since then, but her basic version was a Band Of Brothers that pretty much right away turned fandomless, because I preferred that idea.

Q4.   what first attracted you to this character? A4. So many things... I love the idea of women in WWII and doing more than what they did, and I just wanted to explore writing a character that was one out of very few women doing something that has always been very male-oriented.

Q5.   describe the biggest thing you dislike about your muse. A5.  Oh man... She’s just so crazy reckless and just won’t care about her own life or safety, if it means she can save someone else.

Q6.   what do you have in common with your muse? A6.  Not that much, I don’t think. I mean, when I started out we had nothing except our gender in common, but writing her has kinda made me grow and I’m a lot more outspoken and stuff than I used to be? I also won’t stop talking about fighting people so... there’s that too.

Q7.   how does your muse feel about you? A7.  She probably hates me, let’s be real here.

Q8.   what characters does your muse have interesting interactions with? A8. I’ve loved all her interactions with Mick in the past, they’re so amazing. But right now, @hxllbilly and Claire are being two of my faves, and I’m really loving what I’ve either done or planned with @imhohenschloss . But tbh, I love most of the things I’ve done so far and I feel like most things are interesting, even though I do have my favourite threads. 

Q9.   what gives you the inspiration to write your muse? A9.  So many things, but war movies and shows always sparks some muse. Same does music and just a lot of things. She’s one of my strongest muses, tbh.

Q10. how long did this take you to complete? A10. 24+ hours, haha. Finishing this during Eurovision voting lmao.

[changterhune]

RED DESERT Re-IMAGINED by Cathode Ray Tube

I first discovered the film Red Desert on a cold winter’s day after watching several documentaries. It seemed like a perfect addition to the day’s viewing as well as expanding my knowledge of Italian new wave films which is woefully inadequate. 

Red Desert is the story of a woman trapped in her own mind’s terror following a car accident. The bleak industrial landscape of post-war Italy is reflective of her fractured mind and nervous state. As we follow her through the film her situation becomes more and more troubled especially after meeting “L’uomo” played by Richard Harris. It ends inconclusively with our main character in no better place than when she started which is about as much as you can expect from an Italian art film. 

It’s gorgeously filmed with each scene framed beautifully. The landscape is as much a part of the film as the actors. Monica Vitti is as stunning as she is skilled at her portrayal of a woman slowly going mad. The color is vivid even when so many scenes are of the bleak industrial landscape of early 1960’s Ravenna, Italy.

Someone much more versed in film could say so many things about it better than I can so if you want to read more about it check out these fine write-ups:

Criterion: https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/1491-red-desert-in-this-world

Film Stage: https://thefilmstage.com/a-closer-look-at-michelangelo-antonionis-red-desert/

The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/dvd-of-the-week-red-desert

Red Desert is a spacious film both visually and aurally. There’s lots of landscape even in the cramped, industrial passages. There’s sparse dialogue for the most part. And the soundtrack is virtually non-existent but for some passages of exquisite electro-acoustic synthesized warblings of Vittorio Gelmetti. I fell in love with it immediately and watched it a few times over. And the more I viewed it I noticed certain things about the film, how the soundtrack was for one thing so sparse as to be nonexistent. The more I watched I was intrigued by the idea of creating a score for it. 

Sacrilege, I know.

And yet… I couldn’t stop myself. So, I began to imagine who might create a soundtrack for it and what they’d do. Then again if anyone’s going to do it I suppose it’d have to be me, right? 

Not gonna lie: it takes balls to dare and re-score a classic film with an already renowned (if extremely minimal) score. As I wrote in the liner notes for the Bunnyhead OST on Component Recordings (LINKY) I love soundtracks. It’s always been a dream of mine to score a film all by myself. So taking a classic film and creating my own score is the next best thing while also highly unorthodox (and possibly illegal though I claim fair use in this case).

Re-imagined soundtracks are nothing new, of course. Queen, The Grateful Dead, Cabaret Voltaire, and Jack Dangers of Meat Beat Manifesto to name a few have taken on re-writing the scores of classic films. And I wanted to go somewhere different and weird with Red Desert (as if those two words weren’t already firmly embedded in the descriptions of the film). Eventually I settled on this highly unlikely but very amusing premise:

What if Richard H. Kirk and Rammellzee were to steal a time machine then go back to 1970’s Dusseldorf, break into Kraftwerk’s infamous Kling Klang studio and record the score for Red Desert 

Sure, I know, The Simpson’s already did this. Or was it an episode of The Sopranos? No? Well, after that well it practically wrote itself. 

Not. 

But it gave a me a framework to start from. It was an interesting challenge to create music to fit the tone of the film and various scenes. For instance, a long time ago I read an interview in The Wire with Jim O’Rourke where he talked about interpreting what “gestures” or sounds might mean spooky, sad, scary, happy, etc. based on social agreement and common fears, phobias, etc. I often think of that but especially when I was composing music for Red Desert.

Then I expanded on these ideas further by incorporating some different versions of my existing material which I felt worked well with the film. I tend to think most of my music is the score to scenes of my life, anyway. What was even more interesting was some of the original files for tracks were lost so either I had to re-write them entirely which yielded new tracks or worked the older versions into the score.

For the purpose of this collection I’ve chosen the full versions of songs as opposed to pieces of them (“cues” as they say in the biz). There’s so much happening in these that one would never get to hear otherwise so enjoy the full monty (This also means if you want to try and view the film whilst playing the soundtrack alongside it ala Wizard of Oz and Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon you’ll be out of sync and playing the movie a few times over)!

In a few places I’ve left the original score intact out of respect for the director and composer as they are critical to the film as a whole. That may seem a little odd but then so am I. 

Overall it’s been an interesting experiment which I hope others will enjoy. Call it sacrilege, call it defamation. I call it a loveletter to film and original scores. 

Here is as good a place as any for acknowledgements so without further ado, thanks be to:

- Deftly-D for wanting to put this out on Voidstar and believing in the insanity of this project. 

- My pal Jay for hearing me out despite being a diehard fan of the original film as is without some yahoo messing it up with his beep-bopp-boop soundtrack.

- My wife Alice and my kids Sophia and Ellen for enduring multiple viewings of my rough cuts of the film with my score. Not easy considering it had no subtitles and is entirely in Italian. 

- Robert Galbraith for his excellent mastering work.

Be well and rock on!

- CRT

August, 2020

Scarborough, Maine, USA, Earth Planet

[empathystricken]

𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑹𝑨𝑪𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑺𝑯𝑬𝑬𝑻.

Repost,  don’t reblog

BASICS.

full name. Cody Blaine Striker nickname.   C, Vulcan, Vuld gender.  cis male height.   5’ 11” age.  40 (main verse) zodiac.   Aries spoken languages.   English, Spanish.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS.

hair color.  Brown eye color.  Hazel skin tone.   Tanned skin voice.  Inflective, typically speaks lazily, calm and even toned when not excited.  dominant hand.  Right posture.  Upright but slouched slighty, shoulders back, head back looking down his nose.  scars.  One on his left temple from a fight in school, gunshot wound scar on his right side, and a burn scar on his left leg. tattoos.  He has a tattoo of a bird on his ankle that Christy drew as a child. birthmarks.  A small brown mark on his left thigh, similar to his brother’s most noticeable feature(s).   His long hair, or the way he carries himself. 

CHILDHOOD.

place of birth.  Southern United States birth weight.  6 lbs, 9 oz birth height. 17.69 in manner of birth.  Natural first words.  “Da”  siblings.  One, younger brother, Benjamin Striker parents.  Both alive until he left for college parental involvement.  Distant parents, borderline neglectful. His father traveled and focused more on work than his family, and his mother felt she couldn’t raise sons as a woman, and therefore distanced herself from the boys.

ADULT LIFE.

occupation.  Restaurant Owner, Head Chef, self declared ‘crime bitch’ current residence.  LA (verse dependent) close friends.  Jakob Nolen Wagner, a friend met in college who is heavily involved in the criminal underground. relationship status.  Single financial status. Upper Class driver’s license.  Has one; Legally obtained and is in date. He also has... A few fake IDs. criminal record.  A few arrests as a teenager for petty crime (vandalism, trespassing, one minor assault charge that was dropped) but nothing since then, despite his.... behavior. vices.  Cigarettes, Whiskey/ Alcohol, Occasionally uses other drugs (Adderall, Cocaine, Pot, etc.) 

SEX & ROMANCE.

sexual orientation.   Bisexual romantic orientation.   Biromantic preferred emotional role.  submissive  |  dominant  |  switch   preferred sexual role.  submissive  |  dominant  |  switch libido.  Far Above Average turn on’s. Biting, blood (sadomasochistic tendencies), agreed upon power play, communication, much more. turn off’s.  Lack of communication, excessive degradation from specific people, poor hygiene, etc love language.  Physical Touch relationship tendencies.  Tends not to seek out romance, but falls easily. Extremely loyal. 

MISCELLANEOUS.

character’s theme song.  Gambling Man by The Worst Cover Band of the World hobbies to pass time.   Arson, chess, cooking mental illnesses.   Anxiety. Depressive symptoms. Issues with morality and the like. Abandonment / Attachment issues. physical illnesses.  Mild asthma from smoke inhalation fears.   Losing his family, death, disappointing anyone he has come to hold on a pedestal.  self-confidence level.  ★★★★☆ | Being at a disadvantage or something suddenly going not according to plan can make this waver some. vulnerabilities.  'Daddy issues’ that arise when he holds a male figure high. Recklessness in general. Reckless protectiveness. 

Tagged by:  @frcmshadcws Tagging:  

[chaosmultiverse]

@superbeaucoupdevisages​ answered:

@chaosmultiverse

 "...Bro? Can I just say that like...You're too good for this world? We don't deserve you? That you have earned a spot among the few select that are allowed to wear my jacket with permission? Because all of that is true. You ain’t even gotta do that shit, but the fact that you want to is the biggest bromantic thing ever."

On his face, Oz looked very very flustered but in his chest he couldn’t help but feel a little guilt mixed with a other feeling, one harder to name, but he pushed them aside, Brian was talking about the them he knew not... The the past.

“Brian?! I- Um- It’s not that big a deal, I just wanna help you out more, you do a lot for me and the others so... Um you didn’t need to say all that but... Thank you, it’s awfully sweet of you to say...” Oz looked to the ground, one hand rubbing his other arm.

[chaosmultiverse]

🧍- @fullcfphobias (Oz v Oz showdown of the century)

"Whoa did I miss something, why are we fighting? Is everyone else having showdowns with alternate versions of themselves??" Oz like many times felt a little lost.