#like wizard on the side of a music van

[headspace-hotel]

music has the following genres

Musical equivalent of a wizard mural on the side of a van with one guitarist to play electric guitar super fast, one tenor to be like "oooowhoaoahwoaho," and one guy who sings only in bestial growls

music with album covers that are always like motion blurred pictures of someone wearing converse and holding a daisy or something and the whole album is just a guy who sounds like he's about to fall asleep singing lyrics like "i should have known it could be you when it was the last summer and i put the bandaid on your wrist while you dyed your hair and your pink lemonade tattoo but i was never enough for you..." through this misty auditory haze that simulates slipping into a coma

[CRACKLY 1930's RADIO ANNOUNCER VOICE] "And when you, sleep, are you, kept awake? Because of the Horrors." (white noise machine solo)

[Computer blooping and bleeping] [Girl singing] "Oheah, I wannna fuck yoour body, hbut I've got this dark animal in Side meh" [More computer blooping and bleeping overlaid with the girls voice saying "Inside meh—Side meh—" over and over again]

[vykodlak]

This Guy Bothering You, Queen? Vol. II

My original This Guy Bothering You, Queen? (aka music that feels like being a wizard or perhaps some type of guy with a big sword spray painted on the side of a van) was one of the first playlists I shared on here and for that reason I want it to remain an untouched time capsule, but lately I've also been getting the urge to expand on it - so here's Vol. II, now with 100% more songs with the word 'Cimmeria' somewhere in the title

[bestmusicalworldcup]

The Best Snubbed Musical World Cup

The Best Snubbed Musical World Cup is a tournament to determine the best musical excluding those that won the Tony Award for Best Musical. Submissions are now closed! The final list of musicals in the Best Snubbed Musical World Cup is below.

& Juliet 1789: Les Amants de la Bastille 21 Chump Street 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee 35MM: A Musical Exhibition A New Brain Ablaze The Act Adamandi Aida Alice By Heart Allegiance An American in Paris American Idiot American Psycho Amélie Anastasia Anne & Gilbert Annie Get Your Gun Anything Goes Anyone Can Whistle The Art Of Pleasing Princes Assassins Back to the Future the Musical Bandstand Bare: A Pop Opera Be More Chill Beauty and the Beast Beetlejuice The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas Big Fish Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson Bonnie and Clyde Bran Nue Dae Bright Star Calvin Berger Carousel Carrie Chess Chicago Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Cinderella (Rodgers & Hammerstein) Clown Bible The Color Purple Come from Away The Count of Monte Cristo Death Note: The Musical Dogfight The Dolls of New Albion Dracula Dreamgirls The Drowsy Chaperone Elisabeth Émilie Jolie Evil Dead: The Musical Falsettos The Fantasticks Finding Neverland Firebringer Fly by Night Frankenstein The Frogs Funny Girl Ghost Quartet Godspell Grease Groundhog Day The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals Gypsy Hair Hans Christian Andersen Heathers Hedwig and the Angry Inch Holy Musical B@man! Hoy no me puedo levantar The Hunchback of Notre Dame In Transit Into the Woods Jagged Little Pill Jane Eyre Jekyll & Hyde Jesus Christ Superstar Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat La Légende du roi Arthur The Last Five Years Le Roi Soleil Legally Blonde The Light in the Piazza The Lightning Thief Little Shop of Horrors Lizzie The Lord of the Rings Love in Hate Nation Love Never Dies The Mad Ones Made in Dagenham The Magic Show Magic Tree House: The Musical Mary Poppins Matilda Mean Girls Mentiras el musical Merrily We Roll Along Miss Saigon Mozart! Mozart, l'opéra rock Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 Newsies Next to Normal Notre-Dame de Paris Octet Oklahoma Oliver On the Town On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio & Gloria Estefan Once on this Island Once Upon A Mattress Ordinary Days Parade Phantom (Yeston & Kopit) Pippin The Pirate Queen Preludes Pretty Woman The Prince of Egypt Priscilla, Queen of the Desert The Prom Ragtime Rebecca Ride the Cyclone The Rocky Horror Show Roméo et Juliette: de la Haine à l'Amour Sarafina! The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1964) The Secret Garden The Scarlet Pimpernel Seussical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers She Loves Me Show Boat Shrek the Musical Sidd Singin' In the Rain Six Soldaat van Oranje Something Rotten Spies are Forever The Spitfire Grill SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical Starry Starship Sunday in the Park With George Tanz der Vampire / Dance of the Vampires Tarrytown The Threepenny Opera / Die Dreigroschenoper Tick Tick Boom Timéo The Trail to Oregon! Tuck Everlasting Twisted Urinetown Waitress West Side Story Wicked Wiedzmin The Wild Party (Lippa) The Wizard of Oz (1987) The Woman in White Wonderland You're a Good Man Charlie Brown

[sailtomarina]

Hello, neighbor

Hermione adored the flat, small and “historical” as it was in one of the oldest buildings of Diagon Alley, because it not only looked out onto her beloved Flourish and Blotts, but also because it afforded her close access to both sides of her muggle and magical worlds. The building’s magic revealed its age in occasional fits of energy where the showers gushed soap bubbles instead of water and the shared hallways sported wallpaper from bygone eras. Regardless of the unpredictability, she wouldn’t give up her place for anything in the world.

Until someone moved in next door.

Courtesy notices informed surrounding flats of the new lease and move-in dates. This in itself wouldn’t have been a problem since magic ensured ironclad noise cancellation. What was an issue was the owner’s obvious lack of awareness for available square footage.

Anyone normal would have magicked furniture straight into the flat, preferably exactly into their predetermined spots. There wouldn’t be any need for moving vans, blanketed lifts, and workers hauling in box after box. But this occupant obviously didn’t reconcile the available space with their belongings. The hallway outside of Hermione’s door was crammed full of crates, oak side tables, and authentic Tiffany lampshades. Items flowed out her neighbor’s open door all the way down the hall to the lift, and more continued to appear with little ‘pops’ wherever they could fit.

Today happened to coincide with the release date of Walter Hammervite’s third novel in his ThestralRising series, and Hermione had plans to pick up her reserved copy and spend the entire day reading. Unfortunately, the hall was crammed so full, she could barely squeeze out her door much less make her way to the lift. The only available path was one that required sliding over tables and under what looked to be brand new quidditch brooms towards her neighbor’s door.

This isn’t actually how she planned to introduce herself, but they left her very little choice, didn’t they?

Rifling around her pantry and extracting a dusty bottle of red wine from Godric knows how long ago, she decided to present her gift and kindly ask they clear the shared space as was only appropriate. Wielding the bottle like a wand, she ventured forth through the obstacle course until she arrived sore and slightly out of breath at the doorway.

“Excuse me? In anybody home?” With a bookshelf blocking most of the entrance, she resorted to knocking lightly on the door frame.

“I’ll be there in a moment!”

Was that…but no, it couldn’t be, could it? There’s no way he would live here of all places.

Hermione could hear scuffling and light thumps underneath the music that blared out into the hall just as rudely as the furniture.

“Merlin’s left bollock! This piece of shite shelf…just, can you squeeze through and give a hand?”

The familiar voice encouraged Hermione forward despite her misgivings, and she placed the bottle inside the shelf before pushing through the cramped space into the flat. As she popped into the small opening, she finally came face to face with the voice on the opposite side of the bookcase.

“Malfoy?”

With a complete lack of surprise at her identity, he nodded acknowledgement and waved a hand helplessly at his situation. “As much as I’d love to say ‘Hello, neighbor,’ I think we can both agree there’s a bigger issue on hand.”

“Yes, that being your complete arseheaded miscalculation of how much shit you have—”

“I’ll have you know these are priceless heirlooms, Granger—”

“—and this shit is blocking me from a book whose release I’ve been waiting months for!”

“Well, what would you have me do? I haven’t lived on my own since Hogwarts.”

“Oh, I don’t know, how about using magic like the wizard that you are, and handling this mess?”

He gaped at her momentarily before shaking his head in frustration. “I’m still on probation, Granger. I have another six months before they return my wand.”

Oh, bollocks.

They stood awkwardly in silence for a minute before she reached back into the case and surrendered her wine. “I meant to give this to you as a housewarming gift to welcome you to the building, but now I have a better idea.” Closing her eyes, she brought to memory the spells she needed before waved her wand in a tight pattern, shrinking everything in the hallway down to fist-sized versions of themselves. She continued rotating her wrist, sending it all into neat piles.

“That’s a neat trick, Granger, but how does that help me?” Malfoy raised an impressed eyebrow at her spellwork while simultaneously crossing his nicely muscled arms across his chest. Not that she noticed.

“Now, you give me a tour of your flat and we determine what you actually want to keep and what needs to be returned.”

“I thought you had a book to retrieve?”

“I do, but I also refuse to live a single minute more with an impassable hallway and you obviously require assistance.”

He scoffed at her statement. “You’re not the only witch I know. I could always ask Pansy or Blaise.”

Tilting her head at him, she waited a moment before calling his bluff.

“Alright, then. I’ll leave you to it. There better not be any more heirlooms blocking my doorway when I get back.” She turned to leave and was halfway to the lift before she heard her name.

“Granger!” He leaned out the door, nervously chewing on his lip and blonde hair mussed.

“What?” She didn’t fully turn around to face him, keeping the pressure on.

“How about you come over after you get your book?”

“…”

“I mean, I would like it if you came over and helped…I’m asking you to help me.”

“Why me?”

He stepped out fully into the hallway and faced her, hands now tucked into the back pockets of his slacks. “I’m trying to start over,” he admitted, “and I’ve wanted to apologize to you for a while now.”

Hermione likewise faced him and really, thoroughly looked him over. She should have noticed earlier, but he was wearing completely muggle clothing—worn white sneakers, trousers and a button-up shirt not completely wrinkle-free. Most notable was his expression. She couldn’t recall seeing him so open before, not since early Hogwarts days when she’d see him laughing with his friends at the quidditch pitch before…well, before everything. Before Voldemort. Before “mudblood”. Before all the events that had robbed them of their childhood. He looked tired, but nearly free of all the weight of his upbringing. She might even dare say hopeful.

“Do you like to read?”

“Excuse me?”

“The book I’m getting is the third in the series. If you’re into fantasy, I can lend you the first book and we can talk about it later.”

His grey eyes widened slightly at her offer and he stood a little taller. “I do like reading, if you remember that bookshelf from earlier.”

She smirked at the reference. “I’ll be back in a bit, Malfoy. When I return you better have a detailed list of your belongings ordered by priority.”

“How am I supposed to remember everything I have when you shrank half of it?” He beckoned at the pile in the corner.

”If you can’t remember it, then it obviously isn’t important enough to keep, is it?” She spun back around without waiting for a reply and disappeared into the lift.

He laughed in agreement and looked back at his mess of an apartment. “Well, I guess that’s taken care of.” Waving his hand wandlessly, he summoned parchment and quill and at further gesturing an itemized list started writing itself. He turned to the bottle on the counter and corked it to let it breathe. “Next step, neighbors to friends.”

[limerental]

limerental's themed self-rec lists

read my old fics, you cowards! these are majority witcher fics, because i have an illness.

silly goofy modern au

how long we were fool'd - jaskier/yennefer(&geralt)

married neighbors yennskier, suburban dad!geralt, modern witchers, little kid ciri, aroace geralt, relationship misunderstandings, borzoi roach, supernatural mystery, some canon-typical violence, found family nonsense, and my own clairvoyance in writing yennskier husband-wife but it was spring 2020

(don't) poke the sleeping dragon - jaskier/yennefer/geralt

a retelling of bottled appetites but it's a nerdy fantasy music festival, copious drug use, yennefer's sick wizard van, unicorn edibles, golden dragon dildos, outdoor sex, geralt getting pegged and double penetrated, a dialogue only threesome, accidental yearning old friend geraskier tenderness, and someone once told me they wouldn't read this fic because yen had her tits out in the summary and i will always remember that criticism for the rest of my life

as if you were a mythical thing - yennefer/geralt

old married couple, dom/sub dynamics, sex unicorn mention, geralt is very vanilla but loves his kinky wife, and he's too autistic about horses not to ruin ponyplay with horse facts

this one might hurt

long on the road & how light carries on - geralt/jaskier (eventual geralt/regis in the sequel, plus many platonic relationships)

the 80s trucker/hitchhiker au that got away from me, vietnam vet trucker geralt, aging hippie musician jaskier, AIDS crisis, terminal illnesses, dealing with mortality, falling in love, road tripping, copious american geography, period-typical queer community issues, and then... life after loss, aging, grief and mourning, queer and traumatized family dynamics both found and otherwise, finding love again, and watching the sun set on a life well lived

in dark and twisted braids - fringilla &/ yennefer

aretuza school days slumber parties, girlhood crushes, pining, unrequited love, i shook a sorceress and intergenerational trauma fell out, the inherent adolescent horror of making lasting decisions about your future when you are barely 18 but even worse because there's war and violence and permanent alterations to your body and forced sterilization and your little schoolgirl crush on someone you thought was a friend ends in betrayal and bloodshed and you end up on opposite sides of the war and she never even looked your way or thought about you and--

then send down the storm - aiden/lambert, lambert/geralt(/yennefer)

witcher roadtripping, just guys being dudes, horse stuff, winter at kaer morhen polyamory but different, ~trauma~, the mortifying ordeal of accepting you deserve more from life and also of being known, but it's too late (or is it?), grief and mourning and loss and love that was worth its loss, and also, the character death(s) are largely temporary.

aw that just ain't right :/

the witch in her tower - eskel/yennefer(/geralt)

dark fic, fairytale elements, hurt no comfort (mind the tags), morally dubious heartbroken yennefer, pining and years of yearning for geralt eskel, unrequited love, non-consensual mind control during sex, flashbacks to messed up witcher child abuse and violence and cruelty, the inherent horror of mutated and manipulated little boys becoming men who think they can't or shouldn't love paralleled with the inherent horror of enchanted and manipulated little girls becoming women who-- you get it.

the flesh calmly going cold - geralt/jaskier

this one's gross for real, a hunt gone wrong, hurt NO comfort, major character death and it's gross and tragic, gore, necrophilia, organs lovingly described (and jizzed on), basically it's just like that scene in twn where filavandrel exploded but if francesca humped his goo after. sorry.

blood of the covenant (water of the womb) - geralt/&renfri, geralt/stregobor

supernatural pregnancy body horror as revenge, ......pregobor, black sun princess trauma and curses, apocalyptic monster fetus imagery, it's about women and violence against women and evil men suffering for inflicting that violence mostly, and also the evils of standing by and watching evil happen. also, yes stregobor is magical yucky bella swan pregnant and then bad stuff happens to everybody.

[eligobrrrrr]

Hi! I'm gonna return the favor because I wanna hear some fun facts for your OCs, too! I'll ask it here so you can mention any of the OCs you wanna talk about, not just BG3

Omg this took longer than I wanted SO! As a challenge to myself I tried to write a fun fact of most of my characters (both D&D and BG3), some are missing due to them being generally underdeveloped

(The * means I have already played this character in a campaign, oneshot, or in bg3)

Ace Goldstring*

My beloved lightfoot halfling, college of spirits bard, sorry about getting you involved with Xanathar and the Zhentarim. So he has teal eyes with the ghost inside as a side effect of him being a spirit medium, if he wasn't his eyes would be brown like the rest of his family.

Davhomin Siannodel Brightwood*

The first one to be made and my dearest boy whom I apparently just like to put in situations. He has a garden back in his house in Silverymoon that he loves very much and gets worried about when he has toi go far for an extended period of time, usually other members of the church of Ilmater take care of it or sometimes his dad does.

Enoch Hume

Half-elf (drow) wizard. Student of Strixhaven, Quandrix School, very very tired he needs some sleep so much, one of his counsellors is a shifter werecat(mechanically a weretiger but I just wanted to make it a calico cat) for the theory side of the school.

Heinrich von Wenninger*

Ah yes, my dhampir vampire hunter. He has a cane, it was from his old teacher whom tragically passed away, he still carries it around everywhere as a memento, the cane is also quite interesting, it's part of the gothic trinkets list from Curse of Strahd/Van Richten's Guide, so the tip can generate sparks, instead of it being magical I made it like it is a small mechanism that with enough force could generate a small fire (and that definitely didn't come back to bite me in his oneshot/j)

Icarus Nephus

My scourge aasimar, sunsoul monk whom is basically a greek demigod (child of Apollo). He knows how to play the flute quite well, he learned to do it back in his monastery in Elturel. I also change his name slightly depending if I'm talking in English or Spanish (Icarus/Ícaro)

Nolan

They're the amneciacTM character, meant to be given to the dm and see what chaos unfolds, the few things I have stablished is that he has stitches and an odd scar in their chest powering their wild magic and is mortally afraid of mirrors.

Professor Meadowheart

Teacher in Strixhaven, Quandrix School, he's known to give one of the easiest classes for the first year students and one of the hardest for the last year students. He's also Enoch's counsellor embodying the substance part of quandrix. He has a raven familiar and definitely isn't conflicted about that (Shadar Kai that basically escaped the Shadowfell).

Yín Lóng/Argentum*

My silver dragon whom was cursed to be in human form. Loves loves loves books, they canonically have a library in the abandoned temple that they live in, also the story hook for their adventure is that someone stole one of the books, a very dangerous one so they're going to retrieve it (+ being stuck in human form and trying to transform back).

Thurak*

Half-Orc Wild Magic Barbarian. I have made reference to this several times but I never get tired about talking about it, he has a broken lyre cus he tried to play music and failed. On a fun fact related to his backstory, he actually doesn't know how to speak orcish and is actually still learning common.

Mayhem*

My tiefling monk, child of a cambion and grandchild of an incubus (Inherited being able to switch between a male and female form). Used to stealing people when they were younger then became part of the same monastery of Icarus in Elturel, Mayhem arrived first then Icarus did, Mayhem was dragged into Avernus while Icarus was in Baldur's Gate. They're besties.

Sergil*

Seldarine Drow (Technically an Aevendrow) gloom stalker ranger. He a lil bitch, a lil shit/pos, he doesn't know who Drizzt Do'Urden is and at this point he's too afraid to ask.

[crowparties]

not me once again in xyx brainrot thinking about camping i am so violently ill

robo deep in the xyx tag talked about how xyx likes radio plays and would go on roadtrips w his family and im like just sitting here wondering how they managed to make xyx even more my type

idk how to do READ MORE on mobile forgive me

he rents out a camper van for you both. you sit on the passenger seat, feet kicking. “is there anything i can do to help?” you ask, shifting your weight to turn and face him.

he tweaks your nose, his eyes crinkling at your pout. “don’t worry love, it’s all set. i’m just checking on the power supply and battery. we’re going to be off grid for two days. i just want to make sure.”

“i didn’t know you were a car guy, xyx.” you tilt your head to get a better look at him. he laughs, “it’s not my first rodeo. we have an old VW camper back home, it’s parked further out back, so it makes sense you wouldn’t have seen it during the holidays.”

you turn back, and watch him work through the passenger mirror. when he slams the compartment shut, he eyes the contorted visor and strikes a pose. “can’t get enough of me doll, can you” a pleasant flush runs across his face when you answer genuinely. you have no right to be that adorable.

this is what the drive is like: radio plays and informative podcasts that you two spent the past few nights carefully curating. one of xyx’s hands is on the wheel, while the other is entangled in your own. you’re absentmindedly running circles on his hand, eyes closed, taking in the sunlight. there is a map in your side compartment, and a camera in your lap.

(and he’s seen you in many fits, but this feels different. this is not the glitz and glam, or the sweats and beadhead, or the business casual paired w a kiss out the door. it’s not just everyday casual, it’s your shoulders slacked, the way the sun kissed your hair, and most importantly the small smile graced across your lips. and its terrifying and comforting all at once, how he wants this moment forever. it’s different than you hugging him from the back of a motorcycle, but welcome and beloved all the same).

you don’t know much about camping, but he’s ecstatic to teach you. by the end of the night you were able to light their stove properly and set about preparing the meal the two of you brought. it’s thrilling to work in such a small space, shoulders bumping absolute no leg room. the van’s back doors are fully open, along with the side door allowing for maximum airflow. music is softly playing from the mini speakers you brought, and he takes small notice of the way your body sways to the beat of the song. (later that night he spins you around outside, it’s no soft tempo jazz or upbeat club music, but something valuable all the same).

he loves to see what you take pictures of. an oddly shaped tree, a rock that looks like a wizard hat, a strange bug thats a common pest you haven’t encountered yet. there’s something nostalgic about it, something about it that makes him want to show you the world if you’d let him.

that night when you both are curled up staring at the stars through the starlight. he presses a kiss to your temple. “hey, doll?”

“yeah?” god, your sleepy voice is adorable.

it doesn’t escape his notice that your hand is already reaching for his, at the sound of his voice. “how about when we both get home, we give my folks a call about bringing the old VW camper out of retirement?”

he squeezes your hand, grinning as he feels you return the gesture. yes, you’d like that very much.

[bloodbank4050]

2020 look back: a musical compilation of events

(Each number is a significant event in the year!):

Prologue-

“Lead into Demise” Kingdom of Sorrow

“Jackboot Jump” Hozier

January –

“Disco Inferno (Australia Version)” The Trammps [OR “You Cunt” Once Human]

“I Quit” Hepburn

"(Kill Me) Ce Soir" Golden Earring [OR “WW3 Blues” Bob Dylan]

"Impeach the President" The Honey Drippers [OR “Die” Badflower]

"Sportstar" Alex G

February –

“The New Plague” Gwar

“A Woman In a Man’s World” Chaka Khan

March –

“It’s the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine)” R.E.M

"Don't Stand So Close to Me" The Police

"Stock Market Blues" Hank Williams Jr.

April –

"Unemployed" Tierra Whack [OR "Young, Dumb, and Broke" Khalid OR “I Can’t Hug My Mama” Beth Hatchett Norwood OR “Rx (Medicate)” Theory of a Deadman]

“Another One Bites the Dust” Queen

“I saw Elvis in a U.F.O” Ray Stevens

“Locust” Machine Head

May –

"Party in the U.S.A." Miley Cyrus [OR “American Idiot” Greenday OR “Another brick in the Wall part 2” Pink Floyd OR “Disaster Party” Magic Giant]

"Lord of the Hornets" Robert Calvert

“We Didn’t Start the Fire” Billy Joel [OR “Breathless” The Corrs]

“Mr. Spaceman” The Byrds

‘Tutti Fruitti” Little Richard

June –

“Disco Inferno (USA Version)" The Trammps [OR “I Predict a Riot” Kaiser Chiefs]

"Take Me to Church" Hozier [OR “Sympathy For The Devil” The Rolling Stones]

July-

“Killing in the Name Of" Rage Against the Machine [OR “God Save Us All (Death to POP)” Sum 41 OR “Fuck Tha Police” N.W.A. OR “Bat Out of Hell” Meat Loaf]

"Mothers of the Disappeared " U2

"Rocket Man" Elton John

“Nowhere Man” The Beatles [OR “This is America” Childish Gambino]

“Hamilton” Lin Manuel Maranda

“Please Mr. Postman” The Marvelettes

“Robot Man” Connie Francis

“For What It’s Worth (1967)” Buffalo Springfield

August-

“eXplosion” Anitta, Black Eyed Peas

"Wildfire" DeTrek

"Ramblin’ Man" The Allman Brothers Band

"Zombie Zoo" Tom Petty

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" Nirvana [OR “California Love Remix” 2Pac ft. Dr. Dre & Roger Troutman OR “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard” Paul Simon]

“Rock You Like a Hurricane” (x2) Scorpions

“7 Shots” Volbeat

“Wakanda Forever” Heiakim

September-

“Notorious B.I.G.” Biggy Smalls

“Superbug” King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard

“Sinking Ship” Cake

“I’m Going to Venus” Adam Brand

“1 Sided Love” BlackBear

“Down with the Sickness” Disturbed

“1040 Blues” Robert Cray

October-

“You give me Fever" Peggy Lee

“Runnin’ With the Devil” Van Halen

“Fly on the Wall” Bobby V

“Somthin’ Bad” Miranda Lampert

“The Hopeless Housewife” Bad Religion

“Masturbation Blues” David Allen Cole

“Live and Let Die” Paul McCartney & Wings

“Blue Moon of Kentucky” Elvis Presley

November-

“Wires” The Neighborhood” [OR “Impeach God” Dethklok]

“Four Seasons” Vivaldi

“Here Are Many Wild Animals” A Camp

“I Lost on Jeopardy” Dr. Demento/ Weird Al

“Vaccine” George Lynch [OR “Uncivilization” Biohazard]

December-

"Telescope” Arti Manchinii

[asidesandbsides]

Starts With M, Part 5

The Moody Blues - The Story in Your Eyes / Melancholy Man

This sounds like a well-loved record, but I get it. "The Story in Your Eyes" drives forward with a lot of musical intensity and romantic drama. Compelling stuff! "Melancholy Man" is a spooky dirge, as you might well have guessed. It sounds pretty clear by comparison with the A-Side, but hazy and haunted by design.

The Moody Blues - Question / Candle of Life

This disc is actually very clear, you can hear a lot of subtlety in the guitar and bass that doesn't always come through in these old records. "Question" is a good song, both before and after it completely changes direction at the halfway point. "Candle of Life" is another spooky tune, like sitting in a wizard's parlor.

Van Morrison - Brown Eyed Girl / Goodbye Baby (Baby Goodbye)

Kind of sounds like I'm listening to this at the bottom of a mineshaft, perhaps with an old transistor radio. I joke, I joke. A classic song, of course, that obviously got played a lot back in the day. I've never heard the B-Side before, but it is fairly soulful and rad, and the sound is a little clearer than the other side.

Anne Murray - Danny's Song / Drown Me

Just a touch shy of clear as a bell, and a lovely tune. The B-Side is less compelling, but that may just because I know it less well. That's how it is sometimes.

[fandom-junk-drawer]

The Witcher Headcanon (Modern AU) - Geralt's Van

Geralt has a thing for vintage stuff, so Yennefer wasn't a bit surprised when he came home from a contract with a barely running 70's model Chevy full size custom van.

It had been thrown in as a bonus by the man who'd hired him after he noticed Geralt eyeing it. It had been a convenient way to get the old vehicle off his hands.

It was sh*t brown, with the classice yellow, orange and red stripe design on the sides. Or it would be, if not for the patches of faded paint and rust.

The inside was just as worn: a heavily stained backseat that pulled out into a bed. Ratty old under seat box speakers, and a small wall mounted liquour cabinet.

The interior was done in rotting wood paneling, and the floor was covered in puke green, very worn shag carpeting that was so matted down, it couldn't have been fluffed back up with a rake.

There were even two broken old milk crates that looked as if they had been used as extra seating. And of course it smelled like stale alcohol, the cigarette ash, illegal substances, and incense. Perfectly normal for a "Shaggin' Wagon"

Yennefer thanked all the gods that it didn't have the traditional artwork on the side involving dragons, unicorns, wizards, and naked fairies.

She said as much when she'd first seen it and questioned Geralt's decision making capabilities.

Geralt had named it 'Roach'. Yennefer called it The Creeper Van, and Jaskier made all kinds of drug and sex jokes about it. Ciri refused to be seen in it, or even in its general vicinity.

Geralt began slowly restoring it between contracts. The day finaly came when he and Jaskier tore out the entire interior. Yennefer had never seen so many cockroaches, or heard Jaskier scream so loud.

She'd straight up cackled when both of them had fallen out of the van and scrabbled on the ground in a panic, swatting at themselves and screaming. Everybody's gangster until the cockroaches start flying.

Geralt had redone the interior in a cabin theme, complete with full rustic wood interior, faux wolf fur blankets on the bed, and dark brown shag carpeting. And of course string lights.

He'd added a few vintage tin signs, some truly hideous vintage plaid curtains, and a chair made out of half of an old whiskey barrel.

Geralt spent a few weeks trying to decide how to have it repainted. He had kind of grown fond of the original paint job and wanted to just have it redone.

Yennefer had suggested he should paint it white with a picture of Pedobear on the side so he could keep with the classic Creeper Van theme.

Jaskier hadn't been any more helpful with his suggestion of a tie-dye Magic Mushroom theme.

Ciri had suggested lighting it on fire and rolling it into the nearest body of water.

She was apparently still mad at Geralt and Lambert for trying to pick her up from school in it.

It was embarrassing enough for your Dad and Uncle to pick you up in a lame, old a** van, but did they also have to be blasting Dragula? Not that she had anything against the song, it was just that...why did they have to be headbanging???

At least Jaskier had a cool motorcyle and would let her pick the music!

Geralt ignored his friend's unhelpful suggestions and took the van to be repainted. Yennefer had, inspite of herself, been unable to keep from smiling. He'd gone balls to the wall.

He'd kept the brown with the stripes, but on BOTH sides was the obligatory airbrushed scene. Yennefer shook her head fondly as she examined the scene.

A massive, fierce golden dragon roared from a mountain top, while a sexy sorceress ( who bore a striking resemblance to Yennefer), sat astride a rearing white unicorn (he couldn't leave out their inside joke) with flaming hooves and ligthning bolts shooting out of its horn. Two snarling wolves with glowing eyes bristled at the unicorn's feet. There was also a tiny, naked fairy sitting on the sorceress's shoulder.

Yennefer tried to hide her smile. The fairy on the left side of the van was delicate and beautiful. The fairy on the right side was also delicate, but her face looked like the artist had used this side of the van for practice. Her face was not exactly feminine...

"I see you included the naked fairy." Yennefer remarked

Geralt: *smug hm*

It kind of looks like Jaskier

No it doesn't!

Ciri *completeing her walk around of the van* Why does this fairy look like Jaskier?

IT DOES NOT!

Jaskier had laughed his a** off when he'd seen it.

So had Geralt's brothers, and Right Side Fairy was officially named 'Jaskier'.

Roach became Geralt and Jaskier's mobile Man Cave. They never had to worry about finding a place to sleep when they were traveling on the Path.

Even Ciri warmed up to it, and found it was a nice place to hang out and listen to Jaskier work on new songs. The sound system Geralt had installed under the backseat/bed was top quality, and the string lights made it feel like a cozy little backyard bar.

Geralt did get pulled over a few times, not for drug searches, but for photo ops from admirers. It wasn't evey day you saw a restored vintage rolling rumpus room.

But there was one time Geralt got into trouble in the van. He had a bad habit of pulling over when he saw Jaskier walking in town and picking him up.

He'd been driving around downtown with Lambert, when he'd seen Jaskier coming out of the recording studio. He'd pulled over, and Lambert had whipped open the sliding door and dragged a startled Jaskier inside.

They'ed almost been arrested when bystanders called the police, thinking they were witnessing a kidnapping. Yennefer had portaled over and spoken to the cops just in time to save their backsides. She never let them live it down.

[daigina-3]

I can not stop thinking about Eddie Munson and Will Byers getting to know each other and initially Will is intimidated by him and honestly doesn’t WANT to like him- this is the guy whose party Mike joined, Mike who was so worried about party loyalty, and who didn’t even TELL him he joined another party right after he moved and so did Dustin and Lucas, when just last year none of them wanted anything to DO with D&D (or Will)- but the second time they meet or so, Eddie finds Will alone on a porch or something and they chat and Eddie lets Will talk about previous campaigns he’s run and when he talks about the ideas he had for that last campaign- the one where he wore those stupid wizard robes and he Lucas and Mike never finished- Eddie LIGHTS. UP. He thinks the ideas are genius, he asks questions, he even says he thinks the wizard costume idea is cool- although Will knows if he saw it in real life, no he wouldn’t- and Eddie invited him to talk about D&D, DM to DM.

And Will goes home with Eddie and Max after school one day- Max flipping them off playfully as she hops out of Eddie’s van and runs across the road to her house. And Eddie pulls out maps and books and when Will breaks out his binder full of sketches and notes Eddie LOSES. HIS. SHIT. Eddie has always sucked at drawing, music and story telling was his thing, and he is in awe of Will’s talent!! There’s a few sketches at the back, one each of previous characters the OG party had played. And Will takes out the one of Mike’s character and as he’s explaining Mike’s role in the campaign, Eddie GETS IT.. his “oh” moment.

And he realizes it wasn’t just D&D that made him wanna be nice and buddy buddy with this kid- he didn’t have to make all this effort, he could have let Wheeler’s friend just be and stay quiet on the sidelines like he seemed prone to do. But Eddie felt bad for the kid and wanted to reach out a hand and now he thinks he must have seen something of himself in Will Byers and it’s crystal clear now. Eddie’s loud, faux confidence with his jewelry and his hair and Will’s insecure, stooping frame look so different on the outside but they’re two sides of the same coin.

Artists, passionate creatives who throw themselves into their work to escape crushing reality, escape feeling different and like they’re on the outside looking in their whole life. Like they don’t deserve the one thing everyone takes so much for granted. They just dealt with it differently- Eddie leaning into the weird and using it as a shield and a wall of safety and Will, trying so hard to blend in until he just disappears from sight. And Eddie doesn’t know if he can do anything for this kid, if he can really make the fear- or the insecurity or the feeling of balancing on a tightrope that any of your closest friends might cut at any moment- any better for Will. But he knows he’s in it for good now. Him and his dumb, bleeding heart that bleeds the same red as Will Byers’.

And Will’s sitting on that couch talking strategy for hours, until Max comes over waving ten bucks around saying her moms at work and left money for pizza and Eddie’s rifling through a couple VHS tapes from Family Video and Will chips in for a two liter of Pepsi and they’re all sitting around Eddie’s trailer watching Labrynth and Will feels so comfortable and so safe, something he never thought he could feel in Hawkins, and he has no idea about all the good things to come, and the relief, and the community, and the tears. But he will.

[marbleheavy]

I did Nico so here are some Will Solace headcanons that have bouncing around my brain for a while now

He goes through a sweater phase where he wears almost exclusively slightly too big, brightly colored, knit sweaters with thick collars and cinched sleeves

He read that fact about how if your tongue sticks to a rock it’s actually a bone, and now he licks every rock he finds because “What if it’s the bone of a dinosaur? What if I’m licking part of a T-Rex right now?” (and Nico just lets him do it even though he knows they aren’t bones)

REALLY into pinkie promises. Like, he takes them so seriously. Pinkie promise > swearing on the Styx

He takes a lot of chaotic self timer pictures and always ropes everyone else into them. They always end up looking like an album cover and he looks like he’s the lead singer. It’s not even that he’s always front and center, it’s just the way that he’s holding himself in every picture. When he gets his own apartment or house or whatever, he makes a collage of them all and he has every one of his friends choose a picture and write what the name of the album would be on it.

Going off of that, he is really into crafts but specifically memory crafts (does that make sense???). He makes keepsake boxes and friendship bracelets and so many things because he feels like it doesn’t matter if those things actually look good because the most important part of them is the memory attached.

He uses either 🤠 or ✨ (sometimes 🤪) in almost every text and uses them to convey any emotion. Rachel is the only one who ever understands exactly what he means.

A million friendship and bead bracelets just all the way up his arms. Probably some silly bands too.

He carries a backpack with him almost all the time and it somehow holds every possible necessity but always looks nearly empty. Obviously a first aid kit, but also like snacks and a hat and sunscreen and a million pens and the list goes on and on. It’s kind of in a mom friend way but more of a thing where someone sees “i need x item” and Will just hands it to them wordlessly without even stopping his sentence.

He adores the face masks that are supposed to make you look like an animal but they’re mostly just scary. They make him giggle like a toddler. (Imagine him and Nico with the fluffy headbands with the ears and then the face masks and Will just absolutely losing his shit)

Hozier!! Will loves Hozier!! Also country music (but he has a whole spiel about new age, american exceptionalist pop country because he h a t e s that). Also, and this is the really important one, 80s music but the really synth-y stuff (see my 80s cover band au for more details)

His ideal outfit is a chunky sweater, a jean jacket, jeans that don’t match the jacket, and rain boots. He loves rain boots. He’s got multiple pairs and at least one of them have frogs on them. If he can’t wear rain boots, flip flops in the summer and vans in the other seasons (He’s definitely got a pair of these yellow Vans)

He dresses like a dad but a dad that was born in the 80s and is also three years old

Will has at least three flavors of chapstick on him at any given time

Will Solace with a gun is wonderful, truly. I would like to add to this by introducing the concept of him wearing the side holsters on either this legs or his arms. He wants to go on quests so he can live his dreams of being a cowboy with thigh gun holsters and a hat and boots and all of it. (Also, Nico with knives strapped to his thighs and Will with guns) (Also, also, there’s a Cards Against Humanity card that says “Shooting a wizard with a gun” and that screams Will Solace)

Will is very much a “Let’s not resort to violence” person but in a way where like, Person A tries to punch B and Will is like “hey, we can talk this out” but then B doubles down and says something really out of line and Will just backs up and is like “You know what? Never mind, you do what you need to do” (And also in a “Let’s not fight… except for Nico because isn’t he so pretty with his sword?)

speaking of pretty, Will l o v e s to be called pretty. It makes his sweet summer child heart go brrr

He is obviously very into nicknames and terms of endearment but calling someone “Hon” or “Sweet pea” is always passive aggressive (that’s less of a Will thing and more of a Southern thing)

I would like to bring up the licking rocks thing again because I really do just believe it with my whole heart

For a while, the idea of Will’s grandparents (obviously Naomi’s side) being French has been bouncing around my head and I really do love the idea of Will speaking French fluently but not at all formally. It’s a lot of slang and has a Texas drawl mixed in with it but it’s definitely French (and it definitely makes Nico melt). He will just deadpan look at someone and go “Quoi?” and he counts the infirmary inventory stock in French but only up until sixty, then he switches to English (soixante-dix can suck it, sorry if you’re french but like, just make a new word. there’s no need for me to have to do math while already counting. don’t even get me started on anything in the 90s. quatre-vingt-dix-sept?? excuse me??)

Will and Persephone being buddies!! They just get along well and very much understand being summer people in love with anti-sun people and just, ugh, family dinners in the Underworld and Will always, always brings a gift for her. Will and Nico come in and anyone can hear Persephone yell “Is that Will? Is Will here?” and Will just grins and calls back “Yes ma’am, and I brought you some brownies from my Mama and some of the flowers from her garden”

Also, Nico knows all the deities and Will brings them cookies because they’re a team like that

He either plays soccer or lacrosse but either way he’s very good at it and it’s honestly intimidating (jock will solace <3)

Not to say Will isn’t his fair share of chaotic, but he’s friends with a lot of very chaotic or at the least eccentric people (Cecil and his pranks, Lou Ellen and her pig balls, Rachel and herself, Nico and himself, etc.) so he’s very good at turning on the Southern charm and just smiling his way out of any situation so he can get himself and everyone else away without any consequences

I think that’s all for now!! If you have any additions, please feel free to add them on, I love seeing other people’s ideas!

[mst3kproject]

Stunt Rock

I need something with a different kind of bad.  I'm tired of cheap monsters, no-effort day-for-night, and obvious dialogue.  I need something that sucks with ambition. I need... a vanity project.

Stuntman Grant Page (playing himself) arrives in Hollywood for his new gig on the show Undercover Girl, starring Monique Vandeven (playing herself).  There he's met by his cousin Curtis, who happens to belong to a rock band called Sorcery (playing themselves), and several threads ensue: Monique wants to do more of her own stunts, but her slimy agent won't let her and it's questionable whether she understands the dangers involved.  A reporter named Lois becomes infatuated with Grant, but worries his line of work will get him killed.  And Grant himself has some ideas for the band's stage shows... ideas that could revolutionize rock and roll!

Now, the thing you need to understand about Stunt Rock is that none of these things are actually a plot. Any of them could have been.  We could have seen Monique take too many risks and get hurt, possibly leading to a lecture from Grant and some soul-searching over what she really wants her career to be about.  We could have seen Grant and Lois get together, break up, and get together again, with either her coming to terms with his career or else him finding a safer one.  We could have seen Sorcery hit the big time thanks to incorporating stunts into their musical magic act, only to forget where they came from and need Grant to take them down a peg or two.  These are just ideas my brain tossed out during the viewing, places I might have taken this movie... but I'm not the one who wrote it.

Instead, the movie is actually a double vanity project.  It's meant to be Grant Page's step up from stunt work into actual acting, as well as Sorcery's introduction to a wider audience.  The entire point of putting this on movie screens is to showcase their talents, and that doesn't really require a story. What it requires is a spectacle, and that's what Stunt Rock attempts to give us.  Everything in this movie looks like something you'd paint on the side of your van.

So instead of having things like a plot, the majority of this movie is made up of two things: stock footage and Sorcery concerts.  The former is b-roll stuff and some behind-the-scenes from other movies Page has worked on (The Man from Hong Kong and Gone in 60 Seconds are both referenced by name), which I have to admit, does give you an appreciation for the intricacy and danger involved in stunt work. The latter is... well, Sorcery concerts.  The band's schtick is they get on stage and play, while a dude dressed as the Devil from a 70's comic book and a dude dressed as Merlin from that Mexican Santa Claus movie duel it out for the audience's souls with sleight-of-hand and pyrotechnics.  I have to admit, if I'd been a teenager in the 70's I probably would have thought that was fucking awesome.

The band look like they ought to be a collection of quirky, entertaining types, but since the members are just playing themselves rather than trying to be characters, they end up coming across pretty dull.  Absolutely nothing is made of the content of their lyrics, which describe battles with the devil and human sacrifices.  None of them are actual satanists, but nor do they seem interested in the shock value that bands like KISS go for. Rather, the songs are just a soundtrack to their magic show, which is also a sort of stage play in which a man has to pass a series of tests before being named King of the Wizards.  The writers could have used this to say something about how rock music uses traditional concepts of evil to get knee-jerk reactions, but they aren't interested in thinking about stuff like that.

The only members of the band who really stand out as characters are Curtis, who doesn't have much to him but is the only one with significant dialogue, and the One in the Hood.  The latter is their sound mixer, who is never seen without a balaclava.  He (I think it's a man) wears several different hoods in different scenes, one of which has sequins on it.  Another is a loose velvet one which is the object of the movie's only funny joke.  At a party, a belligerent drunk tells the sound mixer that it's dumb to wear the hood all the time and demands that it be removed... only to find that of course, there's another hood under it.  I knew it was coming, but the man's reaction still made me laugh.

Since this movie is supposed to set up Page as a bankable actor, it's a little odd that it never actually asks him to act.  He talks about his work in the sort of bland voice one might use while giving a TV interview (as he does at several points), but he's never asked to express any real joy, angst, fear, or anything else that might require acting chops.  The lack of any story means there's just no place to put such things.  Even stranger, and actively counterproductive, is what Curtis says when he introduces Grant to his bandmates:  he outright describes him as “a lousy actor”.  If the movie then went on to show the opposite, that would be one thing, but it never does.

Instead, it showcases his stuntwork.  Much of this is stock footage, but there are also scenes shot specifically for this movie.  While filming episodes of Undercover Girl, Page does things like falling from a water tower and getting thrown through the window of a burning van.  We are given enough background information on how the stunts are done to understand that they're dangerous, but we are also under no illusions that Stunt Rock will kill off its headliner.  Other escapades appear to be entirely gratuitous, serving to establish his character as somebody who goes ziplining on fire for fun.  This tells us a lot about what kinds of movie roles Page hoped would be coming his way – let's say he probably wasn't hoping to play Hamlet.

During several of these sequences the movie is at obvious pains to show us Page's physique.  He is introduced to us dangling from a rope wearing only a pair of speedos.  Later we seem him escaping the hospital by climbing out a window, and the camera looks right up his gown.  We also get to see him getting wired up with blood packs under his shirt to simulate bullet wounds, and smeared in fire-repellent jelly.  I can only imagine the reaction of Mike and the bots.

Movie stunts and rock concerts are theoretically exciting things to see.  Sorcery's first concert performance that we watch is kind of fun, as there's a little story with the guy dressed as Merlin and his fight with the devil.  Some of the stunt stuff is also interesting, as we see how things are all set up and accomplished as safely as possible.  The problem is that there's entirely too much of this, and no narrative to give it any meaning.  The first of Sorcery's performances is fun, but they do eight entire songs over the course of the movie and it wears out its welcome pretty quickly. Likewise, movie stunts are cool when they feel dangerous and we know something's at stake, but in this context they cannot carry the film. There's not much sense of danger when we are told Grant is in the hospital after being injured in a stunt, but we then see him climb out a window and down a wall as he hurries to be back on set for his next scene.  The stunts are not part of the story, so the only thing anyone's risking is a second take.

What Stunt Rock most reminds me of is an xkcd comic which posited that the perfect action movie would be one in which we don't need to follow any story or get to know any characters, just ninety minutes of ass-kicking.  This is a funny joke but probably wouldn't work, and Stunt Rock illustrates why: after a while, even what seems like the coolest shit in the world starts to get kind of boring and repetitive unless there's a story there to tell us why we should care.  Ninety minutes of this with no plot whatsoever feels like an eternity.  The climax of a movie should feel like everything preceding was leading up to this.  Stunt Rock's final fusion of music, magic, and action is just a bunch of stuff we've already seen.

At the end, nothing is resolved because there were never really any conflicts.  Monique's desire to do her own stunts led her to fire her agent, but we don't get a sense of her career trajectory changing and we never see what effect this has on filming of Undercover Girl (I like how the word 'undercover' is in the title of this show, and yet Monique's character wears a gold lamé jumpsuit that belongs in a circus or on a NASCAR track).  Grant convinces Lois to go to a party with him, but I don't know if this counts as them making up because they didn't exactly ever fight to begin with.  And the audience seems to enjoy Sorcery's final show, with Lois declaring that 'stunt rock' will catch on, but that's where the movie ends.  None of this really seemed to mean anything while it was happening, and we aren't told whether it meant anything now that it's over.

It didn't mean much for Grant Page, who never became a movie star, though he did go on to play some smaller roles.  It didn't mean much for Sorcery, who you've probably never heard of.  Monique Vandeven did go on to be a successful actress and director, but Stunt Rock was no more than a blip in her career.  I don't dislike this movie, which had plenty of fun or interesting moments, but it does fail at pretty much everything it set out to accomplish. Honestly, Stunt Rock barely manages to be a movie at all.

[fallout-drabbles-n-stuff]

Hey there! What kind of car do you think the FO4 companions (and Maxson) would drive, and what kind of driver would they be?

(This is most definitely Pre-war or Modern! AU, so this'll be fun)

Cait:

•No car here.

•Instead, Cait drives a dark gray Harley Road King- outfitted completely with skulls and matching gloves.

•Fucking terrible to be on the road with.

Curie:

•Drives a rather cute, white Audi TT.

•Has several notebooks littering the glove box. Random coloured pens, EVERYWHERE.

•Probably has one of those infuriating ty beanie babies sitting upon the dash, staring into your soul with those inhuman beady eyes.

•Okay driver....

Danse:

(I've mentioned a long time ago that in my Pre-War AU, both Danse and Gage are some country bois..well here you go)

•Drives a hella nice, red, lifted Ford F-250 King Ranch. He loves it, but he usually just uses his "baby" to help haul things around.

•Take the love his canon counterpart has for his power armour and apply it to this Danse's truck.

•Has a sticker of his respective branch (I'm think Danse would be a marine or army man..idk) that he is too proud of and hangs his dog tags on the mirror.

•Stupidly strict about following all rules of the road.

Deacon:

•Ever seen one of those creepy vans with a painted tiger and wizard battling on the side? That's Deacon's.

•The back is renovated with a whole ass couch, tapestries and a funky disco ball.

•Calls it "the party wagon"

•Drives however he feels like.

Gage:

(Yee haw..)

•Drives an absolutely massive, dark gray, lifted 2019 F150 super duty. Has modifications on this bitch so expensive and wonderful that even Danse would shed a tear.

•Has a skull sticker on his back dash, a rifle behind the front seat, and brass knuckles in his glove box. Man is just waiting for a fight. Even the fucking antenna cover is shaped like a bullet...

•If you want to see your life flash before your eyes, ride with him. Uses the shoulder as a lane to pass people, thinks the speed limit is a mere suggestion, and is willing to ram someone for cutting him off.

Hancock:

•Thanks to his funds, he drives a pretty nice black Range Rover with fancy red interior.

•Advent drunk driver but somehow never gets caught.

Macready:

•Drives an old, yet dependable, 2004 Nissan x-terra. Boy, does that thing make him so close to cussing because of that thing. Duncan always laughs at him when that happens.

•It periodically stalls, but it's still faithful when he needs it....

•Mediocre driver..until someone cuts him off.

Piper:

•Drives a 2013 convertible, bright red, mustang!

•Blasts music and drives fast af when it's safe...but is strangely the safest one to ride with out of everyone else.

Maxson:

•Mr. Maxson, or rather the Maxson family is ridiculously rich..lemme just put that here first.

•Drives a badass, black Mclaren P1.

•Terrible driver.

Nick:

•Drives an astonishing cream coloured vintage Cadillac.

•Smells of smoke and coffee and the inside has cigarette ashes and littered newspapers.

•Drives waaaay too slow.

Old Longfellow:

•Does his boat count? Because he isn't really supposed to be driving that thing either but shit, it's better than getting caught driving his car with his suspended license having ass. Don't drink and drive, kids.

Preston:

•Drives a cactus green Ford Bronco. Freaking adores that thing too.

•Has a little rubber duckie that wears glasses perched up on the dashboard. It's name is Steven and he is considered Preston's good luck charm. Laugh all you want damnit.

•Frequently causes traffic jams because he'll let everyone out in front of him.

Sturges!:

•ooooh boy.

•This man loves his several cars, but his main one is a very sexy light blue '68 chevelle that he affectionately refers to as "sweetheart".

•He built the thing up from the ground practically,

•Has a relatively unhealthy attachment to that car and will beat someone up over sitting on it.

•Extremely careful driver...unless he is drag racing in one of his other babies, then it's game on.

X6-88:

•Also doesn't drive a car.

•Instead drives an all black CBR 1000RR Honda motorcycle.

•Has blue LED lights under the bike. Show off.

•Gives zero fucks about traffic rules and primarily drives at night.

[thenightling]

I love Gaslight fantasy

I love Gaslight fantasy.  Gaslight fantasy is also known as Gaslamp fantasy.  And before I go any further, no I am not “Confusing” the terms.   Gaslighting as a term comes from a 1940s film called “Gaslight” where a man tricks a woman into doubting her perceptions of reality.   The concept of “gaslighting” as a verb to mean this didn’t exist until that film.   The title of the film was named for the object, “gaslights” which were common in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

This has nothing to do with “gaslighting.”   I should not have had to explain this but... Tumblr...  

There is a new genre of fantasy / Gothic horror fiction called Gaslight fantasy.   This genre can be compared to High Fantasy, Gothic Horror, and Steampunk in many aspects and yet it is wholly it’s own entity.   

Gaslight Fantasy is a genre where a fantasy world resembles our world’s Victorian era but the supernatural such as monsters and magick are known to be real.  It bears a lot of elements of Gothic Horror and many examples of Gaslight Fantasy also fit the genre of Gothic Horror but unlike the term “Gothic Fantasy” which feels like an attempt to circumvent acknowledging that Gothic Horror is a form of Horror, Gaslight Fantasy can exist in tandem with Gothic Horror as descriptors for the same property.  As a result it is a new sub-genre I welcome as opposed to “Gothic Fantasy” which feels like a term invented by those embarrassed of liking horror.  

Example: Barnes and Noble slapping “Gothic Fantasy” across the cover of their leather bound versions of The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, and H. P. Lovecraft, as well as Dracula, and Frankenstein.  Those are all Gothic Horror and the use of “Gothic Fantasy” feels like a term for those ashamed of the horror aspect or don’t realize horror can be more than just gore and jump scares. 

Further note: Frankenstein is often considered the first science fiction novel but Victor found the secret of life while reading the works of Agrippa and Paracelsus, a self-proclaimed alchemist and sorcerer.  Also Victor was studying metaphysics, not biology.  The Frankenstein monster is often considered (in fantasy-loving circles) to be a “Flesh golem with a soul.”  Psuedo-intellectualists seem to chafe at the idea that Frankenstein is a horror story and prefer to call it science fiction because there is still this incorrect ant antiquated notion that horror is low brow and cannot contain romanticism or emotional, spiritual, and moral explorations. 

Even The Shape of Water, which can easily be mistaken as a remake of Creature from the Black Lagoon and Revenge of The Creature (But with a happy ending for The Creature) is often called “Supernatural romance” instead of Horror even though there are scary moments, atmosphere, violence, death, supernatural elements, and other things usually associated with the horror genre. 

The same thing happened with Silence of the Lambs, which was branded “Thriller” when it got its Oscar nomination.   It seems the Oscar nomination might be why The Shape of Water isn’t classified as horror either.

Director Guillermo del Toro (though a clear lover of Gothic Horror) seems reluctant to classify his own films as Gothic Horror even though Crimson Peak is clearly paying homage to Mario Bava’s Black Sabbath and Hammer Horror films.       

It’s the cultural resentment of Gothic Horror that makes me dislike the term “Gothic Fantasy” but I am willing to embrace the new idea of Gaslight Fantasy that can exist within Gothic Horror or side by side with it, in the same story. 

Though it’s still a relatively new genre I do love the refreshingly new concept of Gaslight Fantasy as a reimagined Victorian era that isn’t just full of zeppelins, steam engines and gears (like the typical superficial Steampunk tropes) but also supernatural creatures and or magick being common place.   Not to mention so many fantasy stories are set in a pseudo-Middle ages Europe-esque land like in Game of Thrones and The Witcher, that it’s clever and different that the fantasy world doesn’t look like the late dark ages but instead the late nineteenth century, just to give it a different aesthetic and atmosphere while retaining a sense of wonder and historical nostalgia, though blatantly and deliberately inaccurate.    

  Examples of Gaslight Fantasy include: Amazon Prime’s Carnival Row - Set in a nineteenth century style city where humans, faeries, werewolves, Franeknstein-style monsters, trolls, fauns, and centaurs co-exist.   This is probably the first true, mainstream, gaslight fantasy and the best example of the genre.  It deals with Jack the Ripper style murders in a slum inhabited by magical creatures.  It’s a lot like Penny Dreadful but Penny Dreadful pretends to be set in our world where most people do not know the supernatural exists whereas Carnival Row is not quite our world and people know about most of the supernatural creatures who reside there.  

Dolls of New Albion - Dolls of New Albion is described as a steampunk musical, is set in a world where human souls can be summoned from Elysium (Greek Heaven) and inserted into semi-mechanical dolls.  The fact that the afterlife is treated as a common knowledge fact in a world that just resembles ours in the Victorian era, and human souls can be inserted into doll-like bodies indicates to me that this actually drifts into Gaslight fantasy.     

The movie Van Helsing- Though this film is what I would call Goth Action (Gothic Horror merged with action) the film Van Helsing is very much what I would consider Gaslight fantasy. Set in what looks like our world’s Victorian era and even using real-world place names there are distinct differences, such as The Vatican behaving as a secret monster hunting organization instead of just the Capital of the Catholic Church.  Similar can be said about the setting of Castlevania that is distinctly another world even though it resembles ours and has our European place names though that one is set in the fifteenth century.

Howl’s moving Castle - Though bearing Steampunk elements, the common knowledge of magick, in a setting that is not quite our world, and reminiscent of the Victorian era of our world, or even the Edwardian era, makes Howl’s Moving Castle very much a Gaslight fantasy.

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - Though easily considered Steampunk or Gothic Horror, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen bears some fantasy elements mixed with the horror and the resemblance to our world is dubious at best. 

Stardust - The film and novel by Neil Gaiman deal with a wall that separates the human world from the realm of Faerie and a young man’s journey where he meets a fallen star in humanoid form, and his own long lost mother.  In this world the barrier between the human world and the realm of magick is a known and tangible fact.

Discworld - The Discworld books by Terry Pratchett are set in a fantasy world known as.. the Disworld, supported by four elephants riding on the back of a giant turtle, the Discworld pays homage to and parodies fantasy tropes in a pseudo-Victorian / Edwardian setting.  The setting includes witches, wizards, Death incarnate, ghosts, golems, faeries, and so on.

His Dark Materials - His Dark Materials (i.e. The Golden Compass) is set in a fantasy version of the Edwardian and provides a stark commentary about religion and society.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - A very odd British mini-series and novel about two competing men who work with magick in what looks like late eighteenth century or early nineteenth century England but it’s really its own fantasy setting.  The subplot deals with a dark faery known as The Gentleman and his schemes.

A study in Emerald - Another one by Neil Gaiman, this is an alternate universe version of Sherlock Holmes’ story A Study in Scarlet, but a version of late Victorian England where Lovecraftian Old Ones have taken over and nothing is quite what it seems.  Anno Dracula - Anno Dracula is an alternate universe version of Victorian England set after the events of the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker but if Dracula had won and married Queen Victoria.

Beauty and the Beast - The 1740 novel by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve. Though nearly a century before the Victorian era this does fit much of the criteria of the Gaslight Fantasy.  There’s political intrigue with faeries, and unlike the Disney film, the novel is not set in France. It’s a fictional land that just resembles eighteenth century France.  And there are other fictional kingdoms such as “The Summer Isle.”  

Pinocchio -  The original novel by Carlo Collodi was set in a surreal, fictionalized version of early 1880s Europe and featured anthropomorphic animals, faeries, self-aware tree bark, and heavy handed human to animal transformations to represent the metaphor of becoming a jackass.   

Ravenloft - The Gothic Horror portion of Dungeons and dragons.  Where Dungeons and dragons already featured elves, dwarves, and wizards Ravenloft contains vampires, Flesh Golems (Frankenstein-style monsters) and werewolves.

Castlevania - Not so much the Netflix Castlevania series... yet but parts of the Castlevania video games franchise count as Gaslight fantasy.  Castlevania begins in a fantastical version of fifteenth century Wallachia (Romania) where vampires, demons and various other monsters are known to be real.   Later installments in the game are set in that world’s version of the nineteenth century.  Though place names match our own it is very clearly not our world as teleporting castles, vampire warlords, and entire towns being wiped out by vampire armies never made it into our own history books.   There are also some steampunk-esque historical inaccuracies in technology and science.  Castlevania is most assuredly a horror themed franchise but it also fits the criteria of Gaslight fantasy.

[star-dragon-art]

can’t fucking BELIEVE I forgot to post Moonbeam here.

Hi, this is my Wildemount oc. He is a drow named Moonbeam (it’s a nickname he chose himself.)

When he was a wee bab, he was picked up by a giant fucking bird in Xhorhas, birdnapped from his family, and carried over the Empire’s borders. Some Empire soldiers saw the bird, and noticed it was carrying something that looked humanoid. They managed to make it drop the child it was carrying.

Moonbeam at this point was a useless baby who couldn’t tell them who his parents were, he could only say “goo goo ga” but in undercommon. So the soldiers were just taking turns taking care of this lost baby and trying to find where the fuck his parents were, but they never could find them.

So it ended with one of the soldiers adopting him. Moonbeam spent his life growing up in a tiny speck of a town in the Empire, all of the locals knowing exactly who he was and bein chill with it. He was their resident mysterious sky drow baby with a severe aversion to birds.

Moonbeam took to music, particularly the guitar. Likes to vibe, smoke weed, be a bard.

He also is consecuted. However, he has no concept of what consecution is. When his memories started coming back to him from his past life, he thought it would make a good comic, so he started drawing comics about the cool wizard he thought up and kept thinking up very specific details about his life.

This wizard was known as the High Wizard, because he, like Moonbeam, liked to vibe, smoke weed, and do magic. The High Wizard looks like a wizard airbrushed onto the side of a van.

The town is quite a fan of these comics, always eager for the next installment of the story.

Moonbeam also remembered dunamancy, the luxon beacons, and consecution through this process of writing about his past life, but he was thoroughly under the impression that they were simply things he made up for his cool story about his cool wizard oc.