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allhailthegodofbugs · 10 months

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Brimley Necrosafari to Close After 55 Years in Business Citing Budget, Safety Concerns

Brimley California – July 22, 2023. The beloved and sometimes controversial Brimley Necrosafari is set to close this September due to difficulties maintaining the park and the creatures, according to long-time Necrodirector Peter Bhurghg. “We tried everything we could, but the pandemic regulations wiped us out. ‘Oh you’re spreading plague,’ they said. Ridiculous. Unless you’re talking about the Plague Draken, which does bring every disease.”

Although the Necrosafari is mainly held outdoors, patrons would sleep in enclosed luxury tents and spend evenings enjoying a formal dinner and sharing stories of the hunt over cigars and Tombwine. Some say Necrodirector Peter Bhurghg’s refusal to alter the model led to difficulties. “He’s an old school guy, in the sense that he has existed since the 1300s,” said one mysterious floating oracular head, who wished to remain anonymous. “We talked about maybe sharing stories through Zoom instead, or doing the formal dinners outdoors, but he just wasn’t having it.”

Amid repeated refusals to follow Covid 19 regulations, the Brimley Necrosafari found itself with legal bills piling up and fewer state and federal grants than normal. “They had money for ‘public health’ but they don’t have money for Luxury deathabomination trophy hunting? What is happening to America? What is happening to the American Nightmare?” Howled Bhurghg.

“Dream,” he added. “I meant American Dream.”

But budget considerations were only part of the puzzle, according to the Extremely Reasonably Concerned Parents Association. “We’ve had sixteen people die on the Necrosafari in the last month, three of them children,” said Ruth Baker, local parent. “Beheaded by the Scythe Thing, eaten by Skull Mantises, gored by the NECROBOAR. It’s absurdly dangerous. They don’t even have path markers, and you have to get your own silver, large-bore ammunition, which leaves people vulnerable to fakes.”

Indeed, infamous local entrepreneur Walborg Shrupe was forced to pay a fine of 15,000 dollars after a protracted and contentious trial last year after it was revealed his bullets were not pure silver, but merely brass with a silver-colored spray paint. “Caveat emptor,” he famously said, before paying his fine in pennies and disappearing to the Philippines in a solid gold helicopter.

“The whole community still bears scars from that trial,” said district attorney Kate Vance. “When will the Scar Curse end?”

“Yes, we’ve had a few deaths,” Peter Bhurghg admitted. “But they were all the results of patrons failing to follow sensible precautions.” He then tore his face-meat asunder, revealing his true undead form and shot scarlet lightning bolts from his fingertips.

“If you can’t hire a haruspex to tell your omens before the hunt – stay home!” He went on to say. “It’s simple!”

Some Brimley residents expressed regret over the decision. “I think it’s sad,” remarked mayor Janet Vimmmmm. “I used to go to the Necrosafari when I was a child. I bagged my first wraith when I was seven. Shame about Great-Uncle Walter though.”

Others have voiced displeasure that the already difficult local job market may soon be flooded with former park employees. “Can you imagine the Scythe Thing working as a cashier at Bath and Body Works?” said Lila Cohen, local ne’er do well. “I can. I have nightmares about it.”

In the meantime, the Black Cloth Society has announced a blood drive to save the park. “We will be collecting blood,” said Society President Balrock Rune. “Keep your doors unlocked.”

“It’s the end of an era,” said a relieved Ruth Baker. “A dark era, full of terrors.”

The Brimley Necrosafari will close on September 30, 2023. In the meantime, they have announced that spots are still available at a discount for their May Hunt. As ever, patrons are required to bring their own large caliber weapons, silver bullets, rune charms, and napalm-salt explosives. Tickets are “first come, first serve.” Discounts are available for children and seniors. For more information, call 1-800 DEAD ONES or follow the Brimley Necrosafari account on Twitter at [email protected].

#unreality

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sincericida · 6 months

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ANDREW GARFIELD

and his friend/stylist Warren Alfie Baker - Scarosso

#andrew garfield #my babey is so beautiful #andrew in jeans #my beloved #events #warren alfie baker #scarosso #video #peter parker #spider man #the amazing spider man #tasm #tasm peter parker #tasm peter #andrew peter parker #andrew peter #sincericida

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denimbex1986 · 6 months

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'In contemporary fandom, canon is king. This is not a jab against an admiration of an ordered continuity and worldbuilding, the necessary aspects of creating a story to be lost in. But what goes beyond it—a yearning for raw, wiki-able data and facts that can be collated and held in amber, where interpretation gives way to a singular thesis—often threatens to override it. Which is why for Doctor Who, a show that has spent 60 years growing and changing and writing over and under itself, its latest shock is less about breaking its own world, but rather setting itself free.

It did so in the final act of “The Giggle,” the last of the three special episodes released over the last few weeks to mark Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary. Starring David Tennant not as a returning incarnation of the Doctor, but a new, fourteenth face, audiences came into the specials expecting one thing as their only guarantee: by the end of the third special, David Tennant’s latest Doctor would die, and transform into Ncuti Gatwa’s 15th.

Which he did... of a sort. Mortally wounded by classic villain the Toymaker, the 14th Doctor’s regeneration began just like every other contemporary imagining of the process has, inspired by Who’s long history—coalescing orange-yellow energies coursing through the Doctor’s body, preparing to explode in beams of radiant, transformative light. But here, they didn’t. Instead, the glow faded, and the Doctor, with the help of a push and a pull from his friends Donna and Mel, somehow split into two co-existent beings: the 14th Doctor and the 15th Doctor, together in one place.

“I’ve Bigenerated,” the 15th Doctor explains to his past self, confused onlookers, and the audience alike. “There’s no such thing. Bigeneration is supposed to be a myth, but... look at me.” It’s unquestionable in this, or any moment that comes after, that Gatwa is anything other than the definite article, although there have been valid concerns of the optics of making this choice with the transition from one of, if not the, most beloved actors to ever take on the role to the first Black, openly queer man to play it.

But the episode clearly establishes that this is the Doctor’s future staring right back at themselves—Time Lord rehab out of order, as 15 puts it later, imploring his past self to go on the journey of healing that has lead to his own currently revitalized lease on life. From the 14th Doctor’s future, his continued existence is not seen in so much as cheating death but once again, getting to see his own future reflected back at him. Ncuti Gatwa is the Doctor. David Tennant is the Doctor. It’s just that for the first time in Doctor Who’s long history of regeneration, we saw a version of the process that was less about physical death and rebirth, and more about divergence in time itself.

Part of understanding that divergence has been made all the more universal to Doctor Who beyond just this specific moment, thanks to returning showrunner Russell T. Davies. Speaking on a supplementary commentary track released to accompany “The Giggle,” Davies offered his own interpretation of what Bigeneration means:

“My theory... I think what with Peter [Davison] having been in, with with Colin [Baker] having been in, I think down the timeline, they all seperated. They all went like that, all the Doctors came back to life, with their original TARDISes, the gift of the Toymaker. They’re all traveling out there, I’m calling it a Doctor-verse. I want to create a future where, you know, Sylvester McCoy survived [the 1996 TV movie] and has an adventure! One of the things about [the first 60th special] “The Star Beast” is to get [David Tennant] back and get Catherine [Tate] back, we have to jump through so many hoops. Which is a great story, but it’s just like... ‘why can’t you just arrive and step out the TARDIS?’”

It wouldn’t be the first time recently that Davies proposed such an idea, either. In Tales of the TARDIS, a special anniversary miniseries cutting down classic Doctor Who episodes with new interstitials from returning Doctors and companions, it’s floated by the various Doctors that there are, in the universe, many intertwined timelines—timelines where, unlike the ones we saw onscreen, incarnations of the Doctor survived their regeneration stories and kept going, offering an explanation as to why Doctors can return looking older than when we saw them “die.” An interpretation then, as Davies put it, that realities can now intersect where all these Doctors, regardless of where they are in their own personal journeys and what we understood to be the end of those journeys, can come back. In one single moment, every Doctor becomes the Doctor forever, versions of themselves echoing out across time and space. It’s huge!

But it also isn’t. Because that’s all it is: an interpretation. None of these details, about what Bigeneration is and isn’t, are sourced from within the primary text itself—Doctor Who, the television show—and perhaps it should stay that way. In fact, part of what makes “The Giggle” so freeing is that all it makes actually explicit about this process is simply what our base understanding of what it is in the first place already was. The Doctor changes faces, and goes on forever. All we’ve added is that those faces can go on forever too, in whatever way we or the show might one day want them to. It might contradict things said in the past; in another 60 year’s time should we be blessed with both a livable planet and the continued health of Doctor Who, a new writer could completely upend “The Giggle” altogether and bring us back to our prior understanding of it all. Or they could do something completely different all over again! We don’t have a logical, scientific, biological breakdown of how the process works, right now Bigeneration is a vibe, a feeling. It is, as the Doctor himself puts it, a myth, and the whole point of myths and their persistence is that the story is retold and reinterpreted by different texts and perspectives across eons.

That’s the magic of Doctor Who, that’s the point of it: it carries on and it grows and it changes, all the time, forever and always. I don’t want to explain to you, reader, what Bigeneration is, because Doctor Who doesn’t want to right now either. For every once in a while, in a very long while when the wind stands fair, Doctor Who simply just ask us to have our own view on something, instead of treating its story as a series of definitive, immutable facts. On its own 60th birthday, it gives us this beautiful gift: to be free to imagine what might be for ourselves.'

#Doctor Who #60th Anniversary #Tales of the TARDIS #Russell T. Davies #Ncuti Gatwa #Bi-generation #David Tennant #The Giggle #The Toymaker #Donna Noble #Catherine Tate #Bonnie Langford #Melanie Bush #Peter Davison #Colin Baker #Sylvester McCoy

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vallygirl285 · 2 years

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Okay so I wouldn’t spend the money that fan conventions….especially Creation but I use to love going to cons back in the 80s and 90s. Below are my top 10 favorite actors I got to see, and these aren’t in a particular order.

#10 Tom Baker

The man may be a little eccentric, but he is fun to listen to on subjects that really matter to him. I remember I gave him a rose (versus the Dr. Who toys others had for him) at the meet and greet which was a very fast-moving line and he smiled at me and literally began talking to me about his garden. I swear if the handler wasn’t there to move the line along, he would have continued the conversation because he was genuinely so happy to discuss his love of gardening.

# 9 Jon Pertwee

Yup there are several original Dr. Who(s) on this list. This man was truly fascinating and definitely what you would call a renaissance man. He didn’t discuss it, but I would have loved to hear him discuss his military service during WW2 and if you’re not familiar with his military service here’s a link for

# 8 Peter Davison

Heh I got to see Peter Davison while he was still the Doctor(I think his last episodes aired in the UK at the time) and honestly he was so different than Tom Baker and Jon Pertwee. The other two men were both very funny but still a little more reserved and formal. Peter Davison not so much.

Oh, my he has a wicked sense of humor, casual and had a little more ‘no hold barred’ attitude. He had no problem talking about the problem the first two seasons of Dr. Who that he did and that they seemed to have waited until his last season to give him some decent stories (which I completely agreed with).

# 7 Rick Baker

I have to admit I went to his panel because it was sweltering out and the AC in the convention sellers area wasn’t working so we went into the hall and heard some laughter coming from one of the smaller rooms. We poked our heads in it was blissfully cool so we decided to sit in on the panel.

There weren’t many people in the room, so it was actually kind of informal but seriously this man was fascinating. His love of special effects make up was inspiring and Mr. Baker was also one of the more charming and delightful speakers I’ve ever seen.

I still think American Werewolf in London had amazing special effect make up.

# 6 Jonathan Frakes

I saw him in 1993 and he was so funny from the moment he came out to What a Man by Salt N Pepper to jokingly calling Deep Space Nine Deep Throat Nine.

I wish I could remember more but seriously the man could do stand up, I never stopped laughing during his whole panel.

# 5 John de Lancie

A true renaissance man. He isn’t for everyone, and I don’t agree with everything he says but he didn’t shy away from controversial topics, and I respect his intelligent and thoughtful responses. I was always a little surprised he never ran for public office.

# 4 Janet Fielding

I always felt bad for Ms. Fielding because she was one of the companions that fans didn’t warm up to.

There was a point back in those days after Elizabeth Sladen left that fans compared the other companions to Sarah Jane which was so hard because she was such a beloved character.

Plus Ms. Fielding definitely dealt with some pretty obvious sexual harassment on and off set but she was also so sweet to the fans even when they would repeatedly ask about her ‘boob tube’ costume.

Seriously I still can’t believe how professional she was. The woman is just a class act…unfortunately can’t say the same for a couple of her costars and the pervy fans she dealt with.

# 3 Nichelle Nichols

There are few people I would say left me completely star struck, and meeting Nichelle Nichols was it.

I know she is hailed as an inspiration for young African Americans girls in the sixties (and obviously she was) but she was an inspiration to all young girls in the 60s and 70s and I wish people would say that more.

I grew up in the 70s where the female role models on TV were housewives or if they were working women they were normally nurses or teachers. There were a few female cops or military officers.

She was the woman who could do what she wanted and as far as we were concerned she was equal to her male counterparts on the show.

Plus, when she spoke about the point, she thought about leaving the show and Dr. King spoke to her sent literal chills down my spine. I have to post this part from her biography where she spoke about the encounter:

“You cannot and you must not,” she recalls him saying. “Don’t you realize how important your presence, your character is? ... Don’t you see? This is not a Black role, and this is not a female role. You have the first non stereotypical role on television, male or female. You have broken ground.

“... For the first time,” he continued, “the world sees us as we should be seen, as equals, as intelligent people — as we should be.”

I still feel blessed to have met this amazing woman!

#2 Paul Darrow, Michael Keating, Mark Ryan, and Michael Praed

I know that’s four people, but I went to a small Blake's 7 and Robin of Sherwood con twice back in the 80s and these four men were just the bomb.

They were all laid back and the con was in hotel where there wasn’t much around, so you pretty much spent the whole time inside and these men hung with the fans.

You would go to the restaurant for breakfast and if they came in they would stop by your table to say hello, ask if you were having fun. If you were in the bar they would sit down and have a drink with the fans.

Security…what’s that…this con I swear didn’t have any and the wranglers were only around during actual events to keep things moving. Free time nobody told you to give the guests space…hell they sought the fans out and hung out with us. Just the chilliest con I ever went to.

Actually, the first time i went Michael Praed wasn’t a guest but the next year he came, and I believe him when he said he came because Mark Ryan told him what a blast the con was.

Oh, and when he did the con, he was still on the original Dynasty which average about 20 million viewers an episode. So seriously an all-around awesome guy who was completely down to earth.

# 1 William Shatner

Yup Captain Kirk!!! My nieces husbands are both Trekkies and think I’m the bomb because I got to see everyone from the original show (except Leonard Nimoy sadly) and I swear their mouths dropped open when I told them I saw Shatner.

Bill Shatner just makes me giggle like a schoolgirl. I will say he is definitely someone who has his tongue firmly planted in his cheek when it comes to mocking himself.

Hell, he’s had a second career playing up this and did some of his best work. Watch Boston Legal if you don’t believe me. Him and James Spader were wonderful together.

And yes, I know he's not politically correct, but I don't care...he's CAPTAIN KIRK.

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docrotten · 4 months

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THE VAMPIRE LOVERS (1970) – Episode 206 – Decades Of Horror 1970s

“Mircalla?” “Marcilla?” “But that girl is a guest in my house. Her name is Carmilla. And my daughter is dying!” Looks like “Anagrams ‘R’ Us” is at it again. Join your faithful Grue Crew – Doc Rotten, Chad Hunt, Bill Mulligan, and Jeff Mohr – as they cover the last film standing from Doc Rotten’s and The Black Saint’s favorite 70s horror films, Hammer’s The Vampire Lovers (1970)!

Decades of Horror 1970s Episode 206 – The Vampire Lovers (1970)

Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel! Subscribe today! And click the alert to get notified of new content! https://youtube.com/gruesomemagazine

Decades of Horror 1970s is partnering with the WICKED HORROR TV CHANNEL (https://wickedhorrortv.com/) which now includes video episodes of the podcast and is available on Roku, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, AndroidTV, and its online website across all OTT platforms, as well as mobile, tablet, and desktop.

Seductive vampire Carmilla Karnstein and her family target the beautiful and the rich in a remote area of late eighteenth-century Germany.

Directed by: Roy Ward Baker

Writing Credits: Tudor Gates (screenplay); Sheridan Le Fanu (story “Carmilla”) (as J. Sheridan Le Fanu)

Adaptation by: Harry Fine, Tudor Gates, Michael Style

Art Direction by: Scott MacGregor

Selected Cast:

Ingrid Pitt as Marcilla / Carmilla / Mircalla Karnstein

Pippa Steel as Laura (as Pippa Steele)

Madeline Smith as Emma Morton

Peter Cushing as General von Spielsdorf

George Cole as Roger Morton

Dawn Addams as The Countess

Kate O’Mara as The Governess (Mme. Perrodot)

Douglas Wilmer as Baron Joachim von Hartog

Jon Finch as Carl Ebhardt

Ferdy Mayne as Doctor

Kirsten Lindholm as First Vampire (as Kirsten Betts)

John Forbes-Robertson as Man in Black

Shelagh Wilcocks as Housekeeper

Harvey Hall as Renton

Janet Key as Gretchin

Charles Farrell as Landlord

Graham James as First Young Man

Tom Browne as Second Young Man

Joanna Shelley as Woodman’s Daughter

Olga Anthony as Village Girl (as Olga James)

Can you believe that in over 200 episodes we have yet to cover Hammer’s The Vampire Lovers (1970)? Well, now is the time! Featuring Peter Cushing and Ingrid Pitt, this Roy Ward Baker classic is likely beloved by many Monster Kids growing up with Famous Monsters of Filmland and their many coffee table monster movie books as it was featured often in those beloved tomes. The film also stars Pippa Steel, Madeline Smith, Kate O’Mara, George Cole, Jon Finch, Ferdy Mayne, Dawn Adams, Harvey Hall, and John Forbes-Robertson. Hammer not only kicks off the 1970s but also their Karnstein trilogy with fangs, blood, and ample nudity. The Grue Crew share their thoughts on the film, the cast, and the trilogy.

The Vampire Lovers is the last of the twenty films that Doc Rotten and The Black Saint chose as their ’70s favorites back in 2013, an event that led to the creation of the Decades of Horrors 1970s podcast. The two episodes were edited for video and rereleased in 2022. Below are links to those two landmark podcasts and episodes on the other two films in the Karnstgein Trilogy.

TOP 10 HORROR FILMS OF THE 1970s, Part 1 – Episode 160

TOP 10 HORROR FILMS OF THE 1970s, Part 2 – Episode 161

LUST FOR A VAMPIRE (1971) – Episode 196

TWINS OF EVIL (1971) – Episode 110

At the time of this writing, The Vampire Lovers is available to stream from Tubi, Freevee, and Flix Fling. The film is available on physical media as a Collectors Edition Blu-ray from Scream Factory.

Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror 1970s is part of the Decades of Horror two-week rotation with The Classic Era and the 1980s. In two weeks, the next episode, chosen by Doc, will be Scream and Scream Again (1970) from Amicus, sporting the horror trifecta of Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, and Peter Cushing. Well, they are all three in the movie.

We want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans: comment on the site or email the Decades of Horror 1970s podcast hosts at [email protected].

Check out this episode!

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i-lovethatforme · 2 years

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MJ meets Peter again and starts to fall for him. Only problem: she has a fiance.

"You haven't picked the cake yet?" Brad sighs, the annoyance so palpable MJ almost hangs up the phone. It's not like he's helped her at all. She's chosen the flowers, his suit, the majority of the guest list even though they're mostly his guests.

"No," she says, chewing her bottom lip as she walks towards the bakery.

She's pretty sure wedding planning is supposed to be fun but she's not entirely sure what they're even getting married for anymore. She guesses the deposits are paid and people are ready - so it just - makes sense.

Besides, it's not like these lingering doubts were at the forefront of her mind before she met Peter. They were there, obviously, but she had shoved them so far down she managed to convince herself she was happy. That life and love were just a little hard, it was effort and far more compromise than she was used to.

But she and Brad have been together since she was eighteen. When she went to MIT with a confidence she doesn't remember having in high school but she wanted to use it. And she had so much love, just pouring out of her and no one to give it to. And Brad was right there.

She vaguely remembers him from the trip to Europe but honestly, that whole portion of her mind is a little fuzzy. Brad say sit's all in her head. He's probably right. Still, she kept the black dahlia necklace she managed to trace back to Venice in her jewellery box even when he convinced her to throw it away. Something about another guy buying her jewellery. But MJ doesn't even know where it came from - and she's definitely never had anyone love her enough to get her something that special.

"For fuck - Michelle, sweetheart," he says, the effort he has to take to be calm around her should send warning signs down her spine but she can't really be anything but excited right now as she sees the sign for May's Bakery up ahead.

"Can you just pick one today, okay?"

She sees Peter behind the counter as she walks up to the store. His back is to her and she wants to walk up behind him and wrap her arms around his waist and see how he reacts. She wants to lean closer than she's allowed when she's at her tasting. She kinda wants to taste him.

"Sure."

Brad hangs up before she gets a chance to tell him she loves him back. Oh well.

The bell dings but Peter doesn't immediately spin around but she doesn't mind, his hair is fluffy and she likes to watch his back muscles move under his shirt.

"Hey, MJ," he says, his voice full of a happiness no one else ever directs at her.

"Hey," she replies, feeling nervous as always when she first walks in. It always leaves, sort of, there's always a base level of nerves around him. Like she's on a first date even though the most they ever touch is his fingers on the back of her hand when he passes her a cupcake.

It's silly because it's not like Peter ever thinks about her. Maybe in a, fucking hell please don't make me bake another cake, kind of way. But he definitely doesn't think about kissing her, or telling her he might be falling in love with her, or telling her to just call off her wedding and be with him.

That would be insane.

Peter turns then, his smile wide and his face covered in flour and frosting and her heart thumps in her chest. Fuck, he's so pretty. She stifles down a laugh and he pouts at her.

"What?" he asks, his eyes dancing in the warm light of the bakery.

"Nothing," she replies, her hands up in mock surrender. "You're just covered in half the cake I'm meant to be tasting."

"Oh," he laughs, his hand rubbing over his cheeks but he misses it.

"It's just -" she starts, rolling her eyes when he tries to shake it off like a dog. "Come here, loser."

He bounds over, and when he stops in front of her he's closer than he's ever been and he smells like sugar and vanilla and she wants to kiss him so badly she might just die.

Instead, she wipes her thumb just under his bottom lip, feeling his intake of breath more than she hears it.

"There," she whispers, her hand lingering against his face while he swallows.

"Thank you," he mutters against her thumb. She should move away now, that would make the most sense. It would be the better thing to do and yet she can't look away from him. The look in his eyes that she can't place yet feels so familiar. The way he looks like he wants to tell her something.

In the end, a car horn jolts her and she steps back, taking a deep breath as Peter runs to get another selection of cakes that she's going to love as much as the first. She could have picked any of them by now - but thankfully, she's the only one that knows that.

"Sorry," she says, sitting down in her usual spot. "I know it's annoying to have to redo things - I just - I don't know what I want."

"I don't mind," he replies. He places the cakes down and goes to grab two cups of tea. Earl Grey. Her favourite. "I can make whatever cake you want."

"I'm meant to be making a decision today," she says, though the thought of not seeing Peter again until he brings the cake on the wedding day makes her feel sick. She can't tell if it's the thought of not seeing him for a few weeks. Or the thought of seeing him when he's not the one she's marrying.

"But the lemon cake looks so good as well," she says, peering into the display cabinet. "I guess I could try that one today."

"Nope," he says quickly, running his hand through his hair.

"What?" MJ laughs. The cake is for sale so it would only be making things easier for him.

"That one is - er it's stale."

"You don't sell stale cakes!"

"It's for a customer," he replies, shrugging.

"Peter -"

"You have to come back," he says, his fingers tapping against the tabletop. "I'll make you another one. But you have to come back."

She looks at him, the way his eyes are wide like he didn't mean to say that even though he had ample opportunities to stop. The way his entire body is angled towards her, as hers is to him. The way his chest heaves as she watches him. The way his eyes drop to her lips.

"Okay," she breathes. "I'll come back."

#ask game #spideychelle #petermj #baker!peter my beloved #jssc prompt #noone telling me it said window and not wedding i see x #ask

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tired-eyes-cold-as-ice · 3 years

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MERCER'S BOULANGERIE

Chapter III. - Bonnie

Summary: A relaxing day off... until it's not. Alex owns a bakery and thinks he’s got everything he needs until a gorgeous skateboarder crashes into his life and turns his whole world upside down. A story full of sweet pastries, yearning, and a lot of sadness… with a happy ending of course. Read on AO3, 3.1k taglist in the reblogs <3 Chapter Warnings: none

Alex really tried his best to sleep in every Sunday since it was his only proper day off. Unfortunately, his body was used to waking up at ungodly hours of the morning, so by the time it was six, Alex was wide awake with no hope of falling back asleep.

Rolling out of bed with a deep and unhappy groan, Alex took a moment to stretch his arms above his head before heading out of the room and making a bee-line straight for the coffee maker in the kitchen. Once the little machine was up and running, Alex leaned back against the counter and closed his eyes. The quiet rumbling of his coffee maker was the only sound in the apartment and Alex couldn’t help but smile.

He was still getting used to the silence in the mornings. And, well, the evenings. Silence in general. It was strange not waking up to Luke complaining intentionally loudly in the kitchen over someone finishing the milk and not replacing it. It was strange falling asleep without hearing Reggie practice one of his country songs in the shower. It was strange to walk into the living room and not find the two guys screaming at each other over Mario Kart, and while Alex certainly appreciated it, it still felt weird that he didn’t have to go banging on Luke’s door every ten minutes and tell him to turn his goddamned music down.

He was still adjusting to living alone—it had only been a couple of months since he’d moved out of the apartment he shared with Luke and Reggie since they’d started college after all—but he’d be lying if he said wasn’t already getting pretty used to having a space that was just his. His best friends stayed behind in their apartment and they lived close enough for Alex to be able to come over as often as he wanted to (and he took full advantage of that), but it was nice having his own place to escape to where Alex could just exist.

The apartment wasn’t lavish by any means. It was fairly small but thanks to the two large windows in the main living area, the place felt open and welcoming. The main room consisted of a small but comfortable kitchen (with an oven, thank God) and an area with a sofa and a couple of bean bags which Luke had lovingly christened as “the chill zone” when he and Reggie came over for a house-warming hang out. (Alex still wasn’t sure where Luke kept finding those damn bean bags but at this point, he was too afraid to ask.)

The most recent addition was a low, retro-looking armchair Alex had found at a yard sale about a month ago which now served as a window seat the baker took refuge in most mornings while his brain slowly woke up.

The coffee maker announced it was done with a soft beep which Alex also took as a signal to open his eyes and finally get some coffee into his system. He added a splash of milk before taking the first sip and a soft, content sigh escaped his lips once he brought the mug up to his mouth. Heaven.

After a couple more seconds of just enjoying the warmth of the mug in his hands and the sweet scent of coffee in the air, Alex made his way through the open space to the make-shift living room area and sat down in his little window seat, glancing down at the city below him.

One positive aspect of waking up way too early was that everything was still calm and peaceful. No people rushing to get to work just yet, no traffic jams filled with angry drivers. Just the occasional runner or dog-walker, and Alex had the time to take it all in as he slowly sipped his coffee, head resting against the cold glass of the window.

He allowed his eyes to slip closed for a moment, lulled by the sounds of the street below. Just as Alex found himself slipping back into the land of dreams and sweet unconsciousness, something warm and fuzzy brushed against his ankle and he had just barely enough time to open his eyes before he had a lap full of Bonnie. The cat didn’t waste a second before she was all up in his face, nuzzling up against his cheeks and nose, purring happily.

Letting out a surprised laugh, Alex carefully set his mug down so that both of his hands were free to give Bonnie all the attention she deserved.

“Morning, sweetie, did you sleep well?” he mumbled quietly against her fur as he scratched between her ears, chuckling softly when Bonnie let out an affirmative mrrrep in response.

“Mmm, I’m glad,” Alex smiled, sighing softly when Bonnie decided to settle down in his lap, clearly extremely pleased with herself. He was hoping to get up at some point but that wasn’t happening any time soon with a cat asleep on his legs so he just reached down for his coffee and went back to watching the streets below, using his free hand to gently stroke Bonnie’s long, soft fur.

Alex wasn’t entirely sure what breed she was, but she looked like a ragdoll with her cream white fur and dark spots around her eyes and on her tail. She had bright blue eyes that were always filled with wonder, a tiny pink nose, and there was a small cut in her right ear which was already there the day he found her. She was the most beautiful and loving creature Alex had ever seen.

A little gift from the heavens.

---

“Okay, one… two… three!” Alex yelled and both Luke and Reggie simultaneously dropped their hands from their eyes to look up at the freshly installed sign over Alex’s new bakery.

Even though his friends had helped him a lot in the months leading up to the grand opening, Alex had somehow managed to keep the actual name of his bakery a secret. He wanted it to be a surprise, a little reward they could look forward to as it was only being installed the day before opening, although he knew there was nothing he could do or say to thank his friends enough for all their support and the work they had put into Alex’s dream.

All the walls they’d painted, the pieces of furniture they’d moved, the months they covered Alex’s part of the rent so that he wouldn’t have to dip into his bakery savings. Alex was eternally grateful and made sure to remind Luke and Reggie every single day just how much he loved and appreciated them. He tried his best to help out at the music store whenever he could, he baked them cookies every other day in the shitty barely-functioning oven their apartment came with, he did almost all the chores around the house which nearly drove Reggie nuts but Alex couldn’t help it. He needed to repay them somehow.

Studying their faces as they took the sign in, Alex couldn’t help but blush a little. The name was, admittedly, a little silly.

Merci, one of the first and simplest French words he’d learned as a child, as well as a little play on his last name. The word itself was written in a beautiful script font that distantly resembled his mother’s handwriting. Underneath that was Mercer’s Boulangerie, in the style Alex remembered seeing all over France whenever he visited with his family when he was little. The text itself was white on a pink background, just dark enough for the letters to be clearly legible, and there were a couple of simple swirly decorations around the name itself to tie everything together.

It was a little cheesy but the sign looked beautiful nonetheless, and seeing it actually hanging above his own bakery made Alex a little emotional.

“Dude, that looks rad!”

“Alex, that’s so cool!”

Both Luke and Reggie exclaimed at the same time with bright smiles on their faces before smothering their friend in hugs and sloppy cheek kisses which Alex gladly accepted for once.

They must’ve stood there for minutes, all wrapped up in each other’s arms in the middle of the sidewalk, before Alex was finally released. He immediately noticed that Reggie’s eyes were glistening with tears which led to Luke cooing softly as he wiped them away from his cheeks, and to Alex rolling his eyes at his two idiot friends as he began walking towards the store.

“Come on, you guys, I wanna give you a tour. I know you helped with the moving and such but I spent all of yesterday decorating and putting up some new art and I really want you to see,” he called after them with an amused smile on his lips, before turning to unlock the door. The boys were by his side in an instant and both of them ran in excitedly as soon as Alex opened the door, earning them yet another one of Alex Mercer’s world-renowned eyerolls.

He was just about to follow them in when he heard the tiniest little meow from the ground. Alex looked around in confusion before his eyes landed on the small, shivering kitten that was slowly and cautiously approaching him.

The tiny creature was staring at him with its big blue eyes and Alex’s heart melted right there and then. Without hesitation, he quickly shrugged off his pink hoodie and crouched down, holding out a hand for the kitten. He waited patiently for the little bundle of fluff to reach his hand and sniff away at it a little, and when the kitten gently nuzzled its head against his fingers, Alex knew it was safe to carefully scoop it up into his arms and wrap the still shaking animal in his hoodie.

The kitten let out a little squeak as it sniffed the unfamiliar fabric, looking up at Alex warily, but it didn’t take long before the little creature got comfortable and began purring quietly. The baker sighed in relief and adjusted the fabric around its head before walking inside.

“Finally, dude, what took you so long? We want our tour!” was the first thing Luke said, before actually turning around and noticing Alex holding his bundled-up hoodie in his arms. “Um, whatcha got there, buddy?”

Reggie didn’t even bother wasting time with questions and immediately ran over to Alex, gasping dramatically when the little kitten blinked up at him from the folds of the pink fabric.

“Oh my God! Alex!”

“Guys, I’m sorry, it just came over to me outside and it’s just so small! And, and it was shivering and scared and I couldn’t just leave it there—” Alex started rambling, careful not to jostle the kitten too much, but was cut off by Reggie holding up a finger to his lips, eyes glued on the small animal in Alex’s arms. By that point, Luke had also made his way over to Alex’s side, all three of them absolutely mesmerized by the little creature.

“It’s so tiny,” the guitarist observed.

“I think it’s a girl?”

Alex’s guess was met with an approving nod from Luke and a nondescript hum from Reggie.

“She looks like one of those French chocolate things your mom always gave us when we came over, all bundled up like this…” added the bassist after a moment as he stroked the kitten’s head with his finger.

Alex raised an eyebrow questioningly, finally tearing his eyes away from the kitten to give Reggie a confused look.

“A bonbon?”

“Yeah!”

“You could call her Bonnie.”

---

Much to Bonnie’s dismay, Alex did eventually have to get up.

With the aid of caffeine, his brain had finally caught up with the rest of his body being awake and told him to go be productive. Bonnie granted him an annoyed little mewl after being woken up and nudged off his lap, but it didn’t take long before she was back on the chair and curled up in the spot Alex had just been sitting in, determined to continue her nap.

Sighing quietly, Alex downed the rest of his coffee, put on some music, and got to work.

Even though Sundays were his days off, Alex still had chores to do around the house since he pretty much ignored them during the week and as much as he tried not to, he always ended up letting them pile up until the very last minute. However, since Sundays were indeed his only days off, at least he was determined to finish everything as quickly as possible.

In just under three hours, Alex managed to take out the trash, sweep and mop the floors, clean out Bonnie’s litter box, clean his own bathroom, dust off any surface visible and he even managed to do a bit of laundry.

It was half past ten and the drummer was back in the kitchen, munching on a slice of clafoutis he’d brought from the bakery the night before as he waited for the water to boil so that he could get started on making himself some well-deserved high carb lunch. Bonnie joined him in the kitchen soon after and the two had a lovely—albeit a bit one-sided—conversation about how their respective weeks had been while Alex cooked his pasta.

Truly roommate goals, Alex thought to himself once he’d finally sat down to eat, watching Bonnie scarf down her own lunch in the form of a chicken paté while purring happily in-between bites. He finished his own spaghetti carbonara and sorted out the kitchen before making himself comfortable on the couch to scroll mindlessly through social media for a while and maybe nap a little in an attempt to kill time and relax before he had to go meet Luke and Reggie at the store for band practice.

They didn’t get to play much these days. All three of them were focused on their respective businesses more than their big break as a band, but that didn’t mean they’d lost their love and passion for Sunset Curve. Every once in a while they’d book a gig that would relight that fire inside of them and remind them just how much they needed this in their lives.

They had regular jam sessions fairly often since Luke and Reggie were always at the music store where the instruments were just begging to be played, but they rarely had a reason to actually practice. This was one of those rare times, though. They had a gig coming up at a local bar and the band was… rusty, to say the least.

There was a small studio space right above the music store. They’d nearly lost it when Luke and Reggie decided to take over the business after the previous owner announced his retirement. With the studio space included, the store would have been way over their budget and it seemed like they would be forced to let it go until they actually told Alex about it and the drummer immediately offered them the remainder of his bakery funds to cover the additional costs. Both Luke and Reggie were against that idea at first, but Alex was dead set on his decision.

“It’s the least I could do,” he told them, truthfully. Luke and Reggie had sacrificed so much for Alex’s dream; there was nothing the drummer wouldn’t do to help his brothers achieve theirs.

---

Practice ran much later than expected.

Partially because the guys were, indeed, pretty rusty and had quite a few kinks to work out in some of the more difficult songs and harmonies. For the most part, though, it took them so long to get anything done because Luke and Reggie were constantly getting distracted by one another to the point where they’d stop playing because staring at the other one’s ass took up too much of their brains’ capacity.

Alex was certain there was a bruise forming on his forehead from where he’d smacked it too many times to count at the sight of the two.

Their mutual pining wasn’t just annoying, though. It also made the session extremely stressful because they suddenly had way too much to do with not enough time. The anxiety slithering through Alex’s veins was already dangerously close to bubbling over just from playing the drums for the first time in a while, and his friends being dumb idiots did not help one bit.

By the time he made it home, Alex was a jittery mess. It was way too late, meaning he wouldn’t get nearly enough sleep before he had to get up the next morning. There was so much to do the next day at the bakery, there was so much to do before the gig, it was all too much.

His brain was running too fast as the drummer struggled to process everything that happened that evening. The wind outside was too cold, but his body felt too hot. The key in the lock was too loud, but the apartment was too quiet. Too many thoughts were rushing through his head and all Alex could do was let out a pathetic whimper as he slid down to the floor of his suddenly too small apartment and pulled his knees up to his chest, struggling to keep his breathing in check.

Just as he could feel himself slipping away, something warm and fuzzy started rubbing up against his legs. The silence in the apartment was suddenly broken by Bonnie’s soft purrs and short, quiet meows, almost as if she was asking Alex if he was okay. The drummer reached out a shaky hand to stroke her soft fur as Bonnie crawled on top of him, forcing Alex to stretch out his legs and let her into his lap. Once in place, Bonnie bumped her head against his chin with a content little chirp and nuzzled her pink nose against his cheek, still purring up a storm.

Alex let out a shaky breath as he stroked his fingers through her fur, trying his best to focus on just how soft it felt, how warm her whole body was, and how unusually heavy she felt on top of him.

Warm, soft, heavy.

Real.

“Thank you, sweetie,” he murmured, leaning down to press a kiss to the soft spot between Bonnie’s ears, earning him a soft meow in return.

You’re welcome.

Alex let his head fall back against the door and closed his eyes, waiting patiently for the anxiety inside his chest to slowly simmer down.

Monday was going to be rough.

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queerprayers · 2 years

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Hello! Do you have any christian songs and artists to recommend?

Beloved! Yes I do! Thanks for asking! Here's a lot of music I love from lots of genres.

some of my Spotify playlists:

current season playlist: advent (I'm working on organizing my Christmas playlists and will share them soon. I don't listen to Christmas music before the 24th, though.)

my in-love-with-Jesus playlist: Yeshua my beloved

my super disorganized song dump: queer Christian vibes

my leftist mix: can I interest you in some Christian Socialism

a trauma/confusion-inspired mix: weird relationship with Christianity

Contemporary Artist Recommendations

Semler—the ultimate queer Christian music icon. They've topped Christian charts multiple times, and make music about being gay, loving their wife, and finding God.

Sufjan Stevens—a classic. the ultimate "is he singing about God or his boyfriend?". has entirely too many weird Christmas songs.

LGBT choruses (compilation)—there's a lovely tradition of queer choruses—most famously The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus. Not usually specifically Christian, but do hymns/Christian choral music.

Peter, Paul & Mary—a group I grew up with that inspired my love of folk and of justice.

Judee Sill—fun bisexual mystic folk-rock from the 70s

Trey Pearson—Christian pop artist who came out in 2016.

The Many—justice/love focused group with indie pop and gospel influences. (x)

All Sons & Daughters—more worship folk, purposefully unpolished.

Page CXVI—want to make hymns "accessible and known again." named after a page from The Magician's Nephew. (x)

Julien Baker—for my indie sad girls.

Vicky Beeching—a classic worship artist who came out in 2014

The Liturgists—part of the art collective of the same name. They also have a podcast.

Liturgical Folk—exactly what it sounds like. Absolutely lovely.

Poor Bishop Hooper—currently working on folk settings of all the Psalms. I also love their Advent/Christmas album.

Albums/Song Shoutouts

Seranade is a pop compilation by various queer artists, collected by the organization Beloved Arise.

The Mountain Goats is one of my favorite bands, and they've made a lot of work inspired/informed by Christianity. Check out their album The Life of the World to Come and their song "Cry for Judas."

The Oh Hellos' album Dear Wormwood has some great rennaissance-fair-vibes Christian bops. They did "Soldier, Poet, King," for the Tiktok-users out there.

"Maybe There's a Loving God" by Sarah Groves has gotten me through a lot of doubt-filled moments.

"Jesus! (A Communist Disco)" is exactly what it sounds like.

"She Keeps Me Warm" by Mary Lambert—which will be familiar to anyone who's heard that one gay Macklemore song—is absolutely beautiful. I don't cry on Sundays anymore. She and her wife are both Christian <3

I heard "VBS" by Lucy Dacus live, and it healed something in me. For the Vacation Bible School survivors.

Musicals/Soundtracks

I wasn't really a theater kid, but only because I was never good enough to audition... Here are some musicals and soundtracks that give me religious feelings.

Spring Awakening is a coming-of-age rock musical about teenagers discovering sex in a strict religious environment. (Warning for suicide, abortion, and sexual content.)

The Prince of Egypt is my favorite religious movie, and the soundtrack could wake me from a coma.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (soundtrack) (Broadway cast) is a great Disney movie, and has been made into a Broadway show. It's about a corrupt church and deals with sex/race/disability issues. Not perfect, but amazing for what it is, which is a kid's movie. I especially recommend the song "God Help the Outcasts." (Warning for normalized use of the word g*psy and for vague discussion of sexual violence.)

Bare is kind of a camp Catholic school musical? That's the best way I can describe it. Never went mainstream, and insanely long. Full of bops nonetheless. (Warning for drug use/overdose.)

Jesus Christ Superstar (Broadway cast) (TV cast)—the classic Andrew Lloyd Webber musical of Jesus' last week, told from the perspective of Judas. I've never enjoyed the movie, but the NBC event slapped. Widely criticized, heavily secular, and my Holy Saturday tradition. (Warnings (obviously) for suicide & torture/execution.)

Fiddler on the Roof is Jewish, not Christian, but is famous for a reason. The prayer songs feel so familiar even though I haven't really been around Jewish music—they just feel like home.

The Prom is centered around a lesbian couple trying to go to prom together. Recently made into a very cute Netflix movie. Deals with with Christian homophobia, especially "Love Thy Neighbor."

Liturgical/Classical/Choral/Hymns:

I grew up with the hymns in the 1978 Lutheran Book of Worship, and one of these days I'm gonna make a playlist of my favorites. (Here's the best one I've found.)

I also grew up around classical musicians, and there are a million pieces I could recommend, but here are my staples.

Lutheran Daily Prayer (Evening/Morning)—the daily liturgy that I'm familiar with. Simple and beautiful.

Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles are an order of nuns who never fail to make me weep.

The National Lutheran Choir does so many beautiful hymns.

Choir of King's College, Cambridge—absolutely unparalleled Christmas albums.

Music of the Passion of Jesus Christ / The London Fox Players

high church hymns (playlist)

Bach's Passions

Rachmaninoff's Vespers

Vivaldi's Gloria

Pergolesi's Stabat Mater

de Monte's Mass Si Ambulavero & Motets

Mozart's Requiem (I think this is my favorite choral piece of all time)

Alright, that's what I got for you today! Happy listening! Everyone reading: drop your recommendations in the replies! No judgement, just vibes.

<3 Johanna

#asks #idk if i have any relevant tags?#hymns #music

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