#my greek mythos series is still my absolute favorite

[darkestspring]

Will you please do a part 2 of jace kidnapping reader and making her his wife!

Love your writing! 💕

PART I || PART II (you are here!)

Jace was fully aware that was he was doing would start a war, that it was wrong, to anyone who had a single braincell but he didn't care. He didn't care about the arguments his mother made, about the arguments his grandmother made, both in Princess [NAME]'s behalf. He had been in love with her since he could remember.

"Why should I restrain myself? He argued in return. "I have adored her since I was a child. She is the only one I want to marry and yet, I have been denied of what I wished the most? Targaryen's take what they want, so I did just that."

Daemon hid his smile behind his hand as he soothed his wife. "The boy is right, Targaryen's take what they want."

Rhaenyra was at a loss of words for what to say to both her son and her husband and she dismissed Jace as she felt her own headache coming on. She needed to settle this situation as soon as possible with Alicent.

When Jace entered the chambers that his beloved princess was temporarily staying in, she didn't turn to even look at him, her gaze firmly on the castle she had always been in that stood in the distance.

Her mind was still struggling to grasp the situation at hand.

'Not a prisoner.' Jace's voice in her mind contained so much adoration that it made her sick. 'My wife.'

That was worse. If she was a prisoner it would have been better but his wife? The wife of the boy who had followed her around incessantly and bullied her beloved brother? she would rather cut out her own heart.

"my love." Jace breathed out, walking closer to her only to stop when she turned to glare at him.

"You may hold me hostage, you may forcefully believe me your wife, but do not call em your love, you know nothing of love." She hissed, raising from her place.

"I do, you have always awoken such feelings in me."

she wanted to laugh until she cried and she felt nothing but numbness as she let him hold her hands, letting his thumb run over her knuckles with such tenderness.

"You- You cannot keep me here. My brothers won't stand for this. Nor will my mother, the queen!" She ripped her hands out of his. She desperately wanted to understand what he was thinking. Why would he do this? Why now? Why....?

No matter how much she thought about it, she still couldn't understand him.

"I know, but none of that will matter anymore when we get married. We will be bound by fate, as we have been since we first met." His voice was so soft, so fond.

"It's not fate, it's your own doing." her voice was weakened, like she was fighting off his words to reassure herself.

"Whether it was fate or my own doing matters not, sweet girl." His thumb ran across her cheek. "I will be your husband and there's nothing your brothers or your mother can do about it. Targaryen's take what they want, regardless of the costs, and I will."

Her fate had been sealed on that sunny day when they had first met and nothing could undo it, after all there's nothing more dangerous than a Targaryen in love.

[scarlettriot]

Stood Up

Pairing: Sero/F!Reader

Summary: When you find your dating making out with someone else at a Halloween party, Hanta swoops in and reclaims your evening, rekindling an old flame.

Contains: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Demisexual Reader, Astronomy/Greek Lore Nerd Sero, Old flame

Warnings: 18+ Below the cut, Minors DNI! Swearing, Demi Problems, Praise/Smidge of Degradation, Name-calling (slut & whore), Pet names (Love, good girl, pretty girl), Car Sex, F Masturbation, Oral M Receiving (Road Head) I think that's everything

A/N: This took me much longer than I expected. It's also my first time writing Sero. Given the season, I decided to add a touch of Halloween and costumes to this one.

If you'd like to read other's in the Stood Up series, here are the links:

Stood Up - Bakugo - WC 3,502

Stood Up - Kirishima - WC 3,612

Stood Up - Kaminari - WC 2,461

Word Count Starting Below: 3,494

Denki Kaminari's annual Halloween bash was in full swing by the time Hanta had arrived. He'd come straight from patrol, wrapping himself up in his own tape making a half assed mummy costume for himself. Not like anyone would notice with the flashing colored lights, loud music, and abundance of liquor.

However, Hanta didn't even make it up to the double glass front doors of Denki's home. Not before doing a double take at the very familiar pirate that ran by him.

"Y/N?" You stopped allowing him the chance to catch up to you, "Holy shit, it is you, when the hell did you get back?"

Three years you'd been gone, working in America. Time differences and busy schedules made it so the two of you barely kept in touch. It was a shame, Hanta thought, considering how close the two of you used to be.

"I- uh- just a few weeks now. I heard you were helping out with the disaster relief after that storm."

It had to be his eyes playing tricks on him, the funny colors of the dancing lights were what made your cheeks look wet, right? Those couldn't have been tears.

"I was, yeah, but I got back yesterday. I didn't know-"

"Get the hell outta here!" His head snapped back towards the front of the house, just in time to see Eijiro, dressed in an impressive werewolf costume, literally throw someone out of the party. The guy drunkenly stumbled off, Eijiro walking over towards where Hanta was standing with you. "Y/N, you good?"

You nodded while Hanta tried to piece together what'd happened. "Sorry, it took me a second to find the bastard. Do ya wanna come back in? I'll make sure he leaves."

"No, Eijiro, thanks though. I'm just gonna head home."

The wolfman frowned but understood. "We'll have a smaller party for ya! Just the gang as a welcome home! You know Denki will look for any excuse to throw a party." He turned his gaze on Hanta. "A mummy, really?"

"You've been a damn werewolf for the last two years! You don't get to give me crap."

Eijiro poked the fuzzy pointed red ears carefully set into his spiky hair. "Mina and I worked real hard on this costume... seemed like a waste to only wear it once."

"We both know you haven't just worn those once, big man."

That got a chuckle out of you while all Eijiro could do was shrug and try to hide a shit-eating grin.

He asked you again if you'd like to stay and once more you said you were going to just head home. It was when you specifically said you were going to be walking home that Hanta spoke up offering to drive you back to your home since it was Halloween and people were creeps.

You were a damn pro hero but he still didn't feel right about just letting you walk home alone.

When you agreed he told Eijiro he'd be back soon and walked over with you to his car.

>>><<<

A part of you missed the old station wagon Hanta used to drive, not that this BMW he now drove wasn't absolutely amazing, you just sort of missed the comfort of the old car.

He waited until he'd reached the end of Denki's long, winding driveway to finally speak. "So, you wanna tell me what happened back there, or am I just supposed to pretend like Kiri didn't kick someone out on your behalf?"

"You could probably just ask Kiri and he'd tell you."

"I could, but, I'd like to hear it from you."

You knew you could tell him, there was nothing you couldn't tell Hanta. There was once a time when the man knew every single detail about your life. Sure, time and distance had put a strain on that relationship but you were back now. There was no reason why you couldn't at least start rebuilding what you and Hanta once had.

"Y/N, if you don't wanna say anything-"

"I was just casually seeing this guy. You know me and dating, how we don't always work out." You said abruptly and he quit talking, "And so, we weren't like official but we said we'd go to this party together. Well, I got here and went looking for him and found him making out with one of Hawks' sidekicks. I got a little upset when he noticed me and, well, he just said he found someone better."

Hanta actually stopped the car, pulled off to the side of the road, threw it in park, and looked right at you because he knew what found someone better meant exactly. You'd used those words in high school when that guy from Shiketsu that you'd been seeing got pissed off that you wouldn't put out and ended it with you. You went to his dorm crying because he 'found someone better', is what you told him. It took him a few hours to get the truth out of you.

You'd always been the kind of person to love with your entire heart but sexually, you'd confessed that you felt different from all the other kids your age back then. Not having the same urges and desires that everyone else seemed stricken with.

"Hanta, it's fine, really. Kiri heard the whole thing and, well, you saw what happened."

"Doesn't make it right! So, you went on a couple dates with a guy, that doesn't mean he just gets to expect you to put out for him! Even if you weren't demi, no one gets to just assume they deserve sex."

His lips were pressed in a narrow line, nostrils flared once in annoyance. He was usually so calm and laid back that you thought it rather cute when he got overprotective. "It's alright, Hants, really."

He still gave you a look that said he disagreed but then shook his head, dropping the subject for now at least.

"Still like those late-night drives?"

"I love them."

"Good."

Hanta waited for a car to pass and whipped the car in the other direction.

It wasn't long before he had the windows rolled down, conversations filling in the blanks of lost time, in between belting out choruses of your favorite songs. Minutes slipped by the further he drove, you lost track of both time and kilometers, letting him tell you all about the ridiculous antics the group had been up to.

Eventually, you caught the scent of salty air and even in the dark, you had a pretty good idea where Hanta was going. He followed a winding road, making two left turns and then a right leaving you on a stretch of road that paralleled the ocean.

You let your head fall against the seat, eyes falling shut and inhaling that wonderful smell you missed so much. Hanta had just one hand lazily on the wheel, his elbow resting out the open window, a relaxed smile was illuminated in soft orange lights off his dash.

You let your head roll onto his shoulder, not as easily done without the bench seat in his station wagon but it worked nonetheless. "Thanks."

His free hand came to rest on your knee, "Anytime."

He turned the wheel, pulling over and parking in front of a small beach access that you guys had found at 3 in the morning five years prior. Hanta kicked off his shoes, leaving them in the car to avoid them being sand-filled and you did the same with the knee-high boots purely because you longed to feel the sand between your toes.

The wooden planks were worn, parts buried beneath the sand until eventually, none remained. Breaking waves flooded your ears and you made a run for them! Before you could reach the lapping water though, tape had wound around your middle and yanked you backward.

"Not happening!" Hanta said firmly. "Last time I let you talk me into late-night swimming we didn't have a change of clothes either and we both got so sick! I think I might have actually died without Bakugo's soup!"

You chuckled, remembering being nineteen and curled up with Hanta on the sofa in the living room of the apartment you all shared for nearly a week. The sniffles didn't cease for almost three weeks.

"Okay, okay, no swimming." You flopped back down into the sand, his tape still attached meaning the cellophane hero was pulled down with you. "Tell me about the stars then, Hants. Who's out tonight?"

Astronomy was a hobby of Hanta's you learned about after moving into the dorms your first year. It wasn't uncommon to find him out on the roof most nights, laying on his back and looking up into the clear night sky littered with twinkling stars, usually with a joint pressed between his lips. It became almost a habit for him to grab you on his way up, pulling you along because you were more than happy listening to him tell you about each constellation and the stories behind them.

It was around this time of year, in your final year of high school; somewhere between him recalling the greek mythos of Aries and Sagittarius that you noticed your heart beating a little faster. You realized something had shifted between the two of you, and, holy shit, was this what it felt like to have a crush! When the hell did that happen?

You'd entrusted everything to Hanta back then, and now, laying in the sand shoulder to shoulder while he talked about Draco, that familiar feeling stirred again. You remembered what it was supposed to be like when you weren't forcing it for some random guy. How simple it was supposed to be.

You inclined on an elbow and he stopped mid-sentence. "Eh, everything alright?" You nodded but he looked anything but convinced, mirroring your position and asking you again.

It was easy for you to lean forward, to brush your lips against his for the first time in three years. And, when you pulled away, he looked about as shocked as he had the night you'd done it when you were eighteen.

"You- you still like me?"

When you left for America, you'd both agreed to put a pause on your sort of relationship. Free to date and screw whomever you pleased because three years was a long time and it just seemed like a fair decision to make. The realization that he might now have someone else special in his life dawned on you...

"Yeah but I totally understand if things are different now and I shoulda asked- oof!"

He kissed you so hard you toppled back into the sand, quick pecks, one right after another, ending them with a long one that nearly left you breathless.

"I didn't know how to bring it up. I didn't want to make you feel awkward about things or make you think I expected something. I thought that maybe since we didn't talk for a while your feelings might have changed."

"I can say with confidence they haven't."

"Thank fuck." He groaned and captured your lips in another searing kiss.

It was easy to lift his shirt off, the shreds of tape that remained were now covered with gritty sand that clung to your fingers as you traced the chest and torso you knew so well. Gliding over defined muscles, lingering on old scars and mapping out new ones he'd collected in your time apart.

His own hands were busy flicking open the brass fastenings of your corset, huffing about it being so much more difficult to get to your chest and something about it being very unfair.

By the time he'd undone the last one, bright headlights shown across the beach. "Shit."

Giggling ensued from the walkway and you both sighed, at least it wasn't the police or a hero patrol. Hanta gathered his shirt and ran back to his car with his hand in yours.

"I thought our days of being caught were over."

"At least it wasn't Mr. Aizawa this time."

A chill ran down your spine remembering the night and the lecture you'd received when your teacher had caught Hanta sneaking out of your room early one morning.

"So, uh, do you still plan on going to Denki's party?" You asked innocently enough but Hanta knew you far too well.

"I think I'm gonna miss it this year." His hand found a home on your upper thigh. "Apparently, you and I have a lot of catching up to do. Lost time to make up for and all that."

"Too bad you don't have that old station wagon anymore. If you did, we wouldn't have to wait to get back."

Dark eyes glanced over at you not so subtly parting your legs.

"I dunno. It's not too often I travel in the backseat of my own car but I've been told it's pretty roomy. Lots of legroom."

Your hand ran over your legs, dipping down to lightly brush your more sensitive parts, thankful you opted for the thin pair of black leggings rather than the dark skinny jeans. Your fingers danced again and this time you let a soft moan pass your lips. "Eyes on the road, Hants."

"That's a little hard to do when I've got you spread out in the passenger's seat." He grabbed your free hand and pressed it against the bulge in his pants. "You've got me distracted, filthy little woman."

You appreciated him testing the waters, a subtle way of checking if you liked those nicknames he used only in private with you, giving you a chance to protest if your likes had changed. They were one's that only felt right coming from him and you were eager to hear more.

Forgoing your own high, you leaned over the center console as best you could, undoing his belt first, followed quickly by his zipper letting his strained cock be free.

His grip tightened on your leg when you kissed the tip of him. "Just like old times, huh?"

A chuckle turned quickly into a moan, taking him in your mouth, pushing yourself further on his cock, fighting your gag reflex to get him down your throat. Hanta reclined his seat further, giving you more room to work with.

Your legs clenched tighter with every groan you pulled from him, wiggling your hips in the seat, letting a hand fall back between your own legs. There was an attempt of a moan around his cock when his fingers coiled in your hair. "Such a good slut. Keep fuckin' goin'." He let you continue at your own speed, needing to focus as best he could on the road rather than what you were doing but, damn, you were making that increasingly difficult.

He wasn't stopping you though. He rarely did. You'd sucked him off on countless drives before and only stopped when- "That's it." He lifted you off him by your hair at the same time he pulled off the road. There was a convenient turn-off, hidden by overgrown brush you noticed before he shut off the headlights.

Hanta took you by the chin, smearing drool. "Backseat, pretty girl." He reached into the glove box and pulled out a foil wrapper, "What do you say we test out that legroom?"

He wait to watch your smile grow wide before crawling into the back because he had to be the first to go if this had any chance of working. Once situated, pants under his thighs, he patted his lap for you to climb over.

You slid easily onto his lap, hands traveling up and over his shoulders, kissing hard while you rocked your hips against impossibly hard length.

There was so much comfort in the familiarity of him. It wasn't awkward to fall back into rhythm with Hanta, to remember that he loved the feeling of your nails dragging down his chest. And he was just as eager to get your shirt off, reach your breasts he'd missed so much, and get his tongue on your nipples.

Your head tipped backward, loving the pace he set, hips bouncing creating the perfect tug on your nipples between his teeth.

"Love, if I promise to buy you a new pair, can I rip these damn leggings? They're just so thin and-"

"Please." Your breathy moan had him smirking and with a single grunt the leggings were ruined, cool air from the vents had only a moment to touch your bare ass before Hanta's hands reclaimed it.

There was no way he hadn't felt your arousal before ripping your clothes off, you soaked through your panties and leggings, you knew that, but that didn't stop him from commenting on how soaked you were now on his fingers. "Want me inside you, whore? I think you do."

You nodded with a whimper and he slipped a finger in. "Hants, noo- I- I want your cock, please."

"You're gonna take my fingers like a good little slut first." You clenched at the words falling from his mouth. "So fuckin' tight you can barely take a finger. How'm I supposed to fit in here if you can even take a single finger? Need you to loosen up, alright." He pushed another finger in, scissoring the two inside you.

"This gonna make you cum? You need this bad, don't you? Tell me. Tell me how bad you need to cum."

"I want it. Please, please, I need it. I'm so close," You babbled and ripped the foil open with his teeth, rolling it with one hand on his cock. In an instant, his fingers had been replaced with this dick. Sticky fingers on your ass helping you ease down on him with a hiss.

"Fuck," Hanta let out a throaty chuckle, "You still fuckin' feel the absolute best." He dropped a kiss between your breasts, letting you adjust to his girth. "Perfect. Good girl. Such a fuckin' good little slut."

He wasn't about to last long. Not once you started bouncing up and down on him, your tits right in front of his face.

"Couldn't even wait for me to get you home, had to fucking tease me in the damn car." He held onto the fat of your ass, pulling you along him and slamming you down hard.

"Kinda pathetic how desperate you are. Fuck. Kinda hot too."

When the top of your head bumped the roof of the car, he scooted lower, trying to give you as much room to ride him however you pleased.

"What do you need? You wanna cum, don't you, pretty girl, what do you need?"

"Faster, faster please."

Hanta shifted even lower, making you grab onto the two headrests while he thrust his hips up into you at a rapid speed. His thumb on your clit was the additional stimulation you needed to fall over the edge. Nails clawing at the black leather as he continued to moan below you now chasing his own release.

You stayed poised above him, using every last bit of strength to stay upright until his mouth was rambling and his cock pulsed inside of you. Fingers bruising your skin before holding your pelvis snuggly against his.

He was bent in a way that looked entirely uncomfortable and yet he still smiled so widely. Reaching up to brush hair out of your eyes, "You okay?"

"Perfects, Hants. A little sore but I'm sure you are too." He moved off his lap, letting him slip out of you with a groan, "Is your neck gonna be okay?"

"I'll be fine. Having you back, love, is more than worth a little bit of a neck cramp."

As he tied a knot in the condom, depositing it into a plastic bag he had tucked away under his seat, Hanta raised a brow, "Love, really, are you alright? Please, tell me if I hurt you at all."

"No! I'm good, why?"

"You're sitting silly."

You were sitting a little odd, perched on your knees rather than sitting on your ass because the leather was chilly and you told Hanta as much making him laugh. "Wait, I think I can help." He leaned back to the front of the car, flicking a button making it glow. Once he tucked himself back in his pants he hopped out of the car and you could see him rummaging in his trunk through the rear window.

"I keep forgetting to take this out from our camping trip a couple months ago. Guess it turned out to be a good thing." He laid the blanket down over the passenger's seat, declaring that should help a bit.

You wrapped the now toasty warm blanket around your bottom half while Hanta drove back towards the city, your head on his shoulder, his hand on your thigh.

"So, shopping tomorrow? I believe I owe you a pair of leggings..."

"It's a date."

[theaviskullguy]

Parchment what is your favorite book? Or a series or book that really impacted your life

Oooh, okay, this has multiple answers

-The Warrior cats series

This book series was my LIFE growing up, and I still really like it! I don't write shit for it like I used to, but I have a few warrior cat OCs I love such as Blazepelt, Jaywing, and Ambereye! I also made my own four clans and I really love them. and yes ill talk about them if given the chance

-Wings of Fire

DRAGONS!!!!! i love them!!! I still collect the books and am up to date on them (i need to get caught up to Warriors still). I don't have as many ocs for that as I do Warrior cats, but Carnation of the Rainwings is amazing, i love him

-The Symptoms of Being Human

the book that transed my gender. Seriously. I read about it and realized that... i really vibed with Riley. Sometimes I felt more masculine than others. i thought i was gender fluid, turns out im just trans. that's the book that transed my gender

-The Heroes of Olympus series

This kickstarted my obsession with Greek Mythos. I realize that it isn't the best place to get started on it, but I absolutely love the concept behind it and it got me into studying different Mythologies. Also again, i have ocs for it

[oddyssea-a]

RPC POSITIVITY WEEK DAY 1 & 2

DAY 01: favorite portrayals of a character in your fandom [ Since I’m technically fandomless I’m just gonna do this for muses who fall into the ‘adventure’ category or fall into the ‘Greek Myth’ category uvu ]

@baagha ( Ajay Ghale / Far Cry 4 ): OK! SO listen I’ve only seen glimpses of the Far Cry characters, primarily because I’ve never had the chance to come around and play it myself but from what I have seen of Far Cry 4 & what I’ve heard about the game itself I THOROUGHLY enjoy Ajay ok?? Like it’s always so tough to write muses who are the player controlled character because it could be really tough to make them your own still but I absolutely adore this portrayal. Ajay has a really great personality and he strikes me with that adventurous spirit that I think really fits the Far Cry Franchise ( mostly 3 & 4 as I recall ) and I just love how well Ajay seems to fit into the adventure scene <3. He meshes excellently with Karter and over all he’s an awesome character who I am thoroughly enjoying seeing on my dash

@storyfound ( Elena Fisher / Uncharted Franchise ): I want to first point out that I absolutely LOVE Elena Fisher in literally every sense of the word. She is the kind of character who is still a bad ass but manages to be a relatable kind hearted person. I’ve always enjoyed Elena’s excellent chemistry with the ENTIRE cast of Uncharted and finding someone who does her justice is honestly wonderful. Elena is also amazing because I always believed that motherhood suited her! This portrayal genuinely makes me happy for all the best reasons. Elena maintains her quick wit & skill that made her strong but also manages to capture her more endearing and motherly side without having to sacrifice either one for the other. It’s a wonderful balance and I adore seeing her on my dash to be honest.

@vindictiveolympianqueen ( Hera, Queen of Olympus / Greek Pantheon ): Now HERA is especially wonderful in my opinion because of a GREAT DEAL of reasons. The first of which being that she, I’ve found, is rather under appreciated by general media. Thus far the only two instances I’ve seen her is in the game ‘God of War’ which likely falls more akin to her ACTUAL personality & behavior in Greek Mythos, and then we have Hera from the ‘Hercules’ Movie by Disney which admittedly IS a children’s film thus she’s sorta watered down I feel? Either way, this blog makes me so SO SO Happy because you get the best of both words with this portrayal. She’s got her VICIOUS and ‘vindictive’ side but she’s not just CRUEL like I feel God of War made her, she is still that MOTHERLY figure that we got in Hercules and it really makes her an all around more well rounded muse I think and I thoroughly pleased to see someone giving Hera the justice & attention she deserves :)

@maourljoss ( Apollo / Greek Pantheon ): The thing I’ve always loved about Greek Gods is that with a modern touch on them there’s a lot of creativity to be had especially since MANY gods are often left out of media due to the focus being on a set few! That being said Harley’s interpretation of Apollo is perhaps the only one I’ll EVER really love to be honest considering she maintains a lot of APOLLO as a character while still giving him twists that make him interesting and unique feel to him when writing with him. He feels NEW but still familiar and I think that’s what I honestly love most about him! 

DAY 02: favorite portrayals of a character in another fandom

@seesgood ( Caroline Forbes / The Vampire Diaries ): When I was still into TVD I remember vividly ADORING Caroline for the sole reason that both as a character & as a person she made SENSE! She had valid reasons for many of her reactions and in general she just made more sense to me than some of the other characters in the series ( albeit that was more of a personal opinion than anything ) but LIA does such an amazing job capturing every essence of Caroline right down to the simplest of quirks. Caroline is a genuinely complex and interesting character because she was ‘human’ in MOST senses of the word ( obv she’s a vampire soooo LOL ), but she felt real and Lia is literally ASTONISHING with how well Lia manages to bring all those fantastic elements and even some added ones to give Caroline that same GENUINE feel and I just cannot express how much I love this blog ok!!

@southsidelover ( Toni Topaz / Riverdale ): From the moment Toni Topaz made her first appearance on Riverdale I have ADORED her to absolutely no end. She’s genuinely my favorite character on the show and Z is like some sort of Toni Topaz master since everything about this portrayal SCREAMS genuine true blue Toni. I adore her so much because she’s smart & witty but is a genuinely kind and caring person and stands as a DIRECT antithesis to the idea that the Southside Serpents or South Siders in general are LOWLIFE CROOKS. Toni is the type of character that I would kill to have on EVERY show because she’s so excellent! She has her flaws but she is a genuinely well rounded character who even manages to add representation in a graceful and meaningful way! I LOVE TONI TOPAZ guys seriously like this blog is a fave.

@ofangelicblood ( Jace Herondale / Shadowhunters ): So I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know a whole lot about Shadowhunters ( I could never really get into it whole heartedly tbh ) BUT I am already enjoying this blog thus far! From the convos I’ve had with KC & what I’ve learned about him I am thoroughly enjoying the depth that is being given to him thus far! I really enjoy the sort of internal conflict that seems to come out in each reply, as though he’s fighting an internal battle which always add a sort of extra sense of conflict from the character that makes them a lot more interesting to see / interact with! On top of that his personality is one that staunch & disciplined which is A BEAUTIFUL complement to Karter’s chaotic & otherwise dubiously aligned personality which has made out chats / interactions SO FUN thus far and I absolutely cannot wait for more stuff between us!

[jacobpaulnielsen]

The Black Parade

Prompt: Write a 1,000-word album review of a record you’ve never heard in a genre you’re not familiar with.

I’ve always really, really hated emo music. The huge guitars and undeniable hooks are the same things that made me love a lot of bands, so I’m not entirely sure why I have such a distaste for it. The genre is famous for songs about depression, self-loathing, and heartbreak. None of these topics are out of place on a Neil Young, Smashing Pumpkins, or Radiohead record; all people that have been important to me at one time or another. And yet, something about this genre has always rubbed me the wrong way. I can't really put my finger on it. So for this assignment, I decided to challenge myself and do a deep dive into The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance.

Initially, my reaction to the album was less than stellar. I tore the album apart. I actually wrote, "On The Black Parade, My Chemical Romance tried their best to strike the right balance of music just edgy enough to appeal to suburban teens but not rebellious enough to actually provoke forward movement." Bold words coming from someone that's never sold a record, let alone written a song.

I wanted to do some research on the band before I really started writing the review in earnest, and it seemed like Life on the Murder Scene, the 2006 documentary on the band was a great place to start. I’m glad that I did. The film really changed my perception of the band and the album. I came to find out that MCR has the same narrative as the bands that were subjects of VH1's Behind the Music series. Like their predecessors, the band was plagued with the pressures of fame and drug addiction. It’s a Classic Rock story. It’s Rocket Man and Almost Famous and all of those other legends that follow the same classic rock mythos that inspired us to want to take over the world when we were kids.

So on this review, I challenged myself to find out how The Black Parade fits into the mythical schema of what's been dubbed "classic rock," because - like it or not - it does.

With 2006’s The Black Parade, My Chemical Romance created a Classic Rock masterpiece. Considering that Classic Rock as a genre mostly stopped progressing in the early to mid-80s, this might be a strange concept. However, the elements that make Classic Rock so pervasive in American music are all found on this record, too. It’s not a stretch to say that My Chemical Romance is the natural evolution of established and accepted Classic Rock artists like Kiss or Alice Cooper. MCR fans would probably shudder at the idea of their favorite band being lumped into the same category as bands that their parents listened to, but the similarities are striking: mythical lyrics, dramatic stage shows, power ballads, and - most importantly - mystery. Their image of a goth band gone punk evokes the same feelings that captivated teenagers when Kiss released Destroyer in 1976. And the image worked - their major-label debut was certified platinum just a year after its release. In his book Twilight of the Gods, Steven Hyden defines classic rock as “a particular era of music signified by bands who may or may not be shitty”. This definition is important if we’re going to consider The Black Parade for Classic Rock canon. There is a definitive line that can be drawn between Classic Rock as a genre and a classic rock album. The Velvet Underground & Nico is a classic rock album, whereas Bad Company is a Classic Rock album. Furthermore, there are recurring themes within the Classic Rock genre that appear throughout all of the essential Classic Rock albums. Let’s take a look at three of those essential elements of Classic Rock and see how The Black Parade measures up.

Grandiose Lyrics About Heartbreak, Love, Death, and Youth

“Carry on my wayward son There'll be peace when you are done Lay your weary head to rest Don't you cry no more”

Kansas. The band responsible for hits such as “Point of Know Return,” and “Dust in the Wind,” are one of several bands that came to embody Classic Rock. Given this definition and the ambiguous use of their music in Will Farrell movies, Kansas could very well be the defining Classic Rock band. Despite how “shitty” (as Hyden so lovingly puts it) Kansas is, we love them to this day. According to Louder Than Sound, Carry on Wayward Son was the number one song on classic rock radio in 1997. Since then it’s logged more than two million downloads.

But why?

These aren’t politically conscious lyrics. There’s no hidden meaning here. There’s no call for peace or change. These are just lyrics that, quite simply, feel good to sing out loud at a concert with fellow fans. The words just create this feeling of belonging. The same is true for the (almost) title track of The Black Parade. This is a song that was made to be played in front of a crowd.

One of the great things about Classic Rock is that the lyrics really seem to be made for the fans. They’re the right words sang in the right cadence. That’s it. These are words that just sing well. As a result, it’s really the fans that interpret the lyrics and ultimately take ownership of them. So when you take these lyrics from “Welcome to the Black Parade,” it’s obvious that Gerard Way didn’t actually have this conversation with his dad at a parade. Real people don’t talk like that. But damn those lyrics do make you feel some kind of way, don’t they?

Call to Arms

The Call to Arms is a song that asks the fans to get together and stand for something. It’s a song that says “let’s go take over the world.” A true Call to Arms, as it relates to the Classic Rock genre isn’t a zeitgeist, but the opaque lyrics do have a sense of urgency about them. More than any other song, these are the ones that give the fans a sense of identity and community. It’s a war cry. It’s a song that you would put on your workout playlist or you’d hear at a hockey game. It’s Immigrant Song, Seven Nation Army, and We Will Rock You. In the case of MCR, it’s Teenagers.

Teenagers, it’s probably the best example of a straightforward Classic Rock song on the album. Guitarist Ray Toro begins the song with a typical E minor blues riff before the whole band locks in with Bob Bryar’s classic beat and the song erupts. On the Live in Mexico DVD, their touring keyboardist even accompanies them with a very Stones-y piano part. And is that a cowbell Bob is playing during the breakdown? It’s a testament to the band’s bravery that they wrote a song like this in the first place. It’s a testament to their talent that it actually worked; it’s a staple in their set fourteen years later.

The Concept Album

It started in 1967 with Sgt. Pepper and it still continues to this day. It’s not surprising, given Gerard Way’s love of comic books and horror films, that he was drawn to the idea of a concept album. Originally titled The Rise and Fall of My Chemical Romance, this record opened up a whole world of possibilities for MCR. Given how the concept album lends itself to a particularly theatrical nature (see The Wall), it suddenly made sense for My Chemical Romance to integrate theatrics into the live performances supporting the album. Donned in black marching band uniforms and makeup for the tour, the live performances of songs from this album were like a marriage between David Bowie and Alice Cooper.

True Classic Rock artists are not merely people. They are Greek Gods. I’m finishing this post on the heels on Neil Peart’s death, of which Taylor Hawkins wrote “Neil Peart had the hands of God. End of Story.” Peart isn’t the first Classic Rocker to be compared to God, nor will he be the last. The genre is absolutely drenched in mystique, folklore, and larger than life stories of how the Gods came to be and the creations they made. Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil. Paul McCartney died and the Beatles told us about it. Led Zeppelin recorded their legendary fourth album in a haunted mansion. Not unlike their heroes, My Chemical Romance has draped all that they do in as much mystique as the 21st century can allow. Not unlike The Spiders from Mars, My Chemical Romance often performed under the name The Black Parade. And not unlike Kiss, the band performed in costume. The cryptic announcements surrounding MCR’s reunion shows and the impending new album has caused hysteria among their fans. It can’t be more clear that their vast and devoted fanbase considers them absolute superheroes - and that’s really the whole of what truly makes a band a Classic Rock band. If classic rock was what you were looking for in 2006, you could find it alive and well with My Chemical Romance.

[ancient-trees]

Reading Meme

(Sorry for taking forever on these, guys...!  I got tagged for a lot of memes at once, and this one is long. I apparently have a lot of things to say about books... who knew?) 

Tagged by @theticklishpear​. Thank you again!

(Tag-ees, btw, don’t feel obligated to read my long rambly answers if you just want to copy/paste the questions.)

1. Which book has been on your shelves the longest?

I have a picture book of St George and the Dragon whose illustrations are BEAUTIFUL (it’s this one). Technically hasn’t been on MY shelves longest - a while ago I found it in our shelves of books from when my brother and I were kids and repossessed it because I love the art so much.

2. What is your current read, your last read and the book you’ll read next?

Currently in the middle of Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire. Also in the pile are The Edge of the Sea by Rachel Carson (whom I love) and Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter by Thomas Cahill (which is ...okay, but more of a slightly-more-opinionated refresher on what I learned in college than anything new). I’m also most of the way through a reread of Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman (one of my favorite books). 

Last thing I finished was Shadowheart, the last book in Tad Williams’s Shadowmarch series. (It’s not without its problems, but overall I really enjoyed that series. It’s got the ensemble-cast-and-unlikely-heroes thing going on.)

I’m not sure what’s next. Fiction might be American Gods by Neil Gaiman or Aftermath by Chuck Wendig... or I might need to keep going with the series and track down the second October Daye book. We’ll see when I get there.  Nonfiction - been meaning to start The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt by Toby Wilkinson or Writings from Ancient Egypt (translations from original sources, by the same). But I also have a book about pirates off the coast of Virginia my mom got on a recent trip to Jamestown... and a book about the Silk Road I happened upon in Barnes and Noble the other week, which MIGHT have edged its way to the top of the list... (this is why I’m all for brick-and-mortar bookstores. Search algorithms are great, but they don’t accomplish quite the same thing as wandering the shelves.)

3. Which book does everyone like and you hated?

Ehh, I’m not sure what “everyone” likes, but a lot of the series my high school friends loved I could never get into. I remember really liking the first Wheel of Time book, but got bored of the series pretty quickly after the first one. Same with Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth. I tried to like Dragonriders of Pern, but didn’t get far with that one either. And I hear the series gets better after the overenthusiastic-Tolkien-fanboying of the first book, but I really didn’t enjoy The Sword of Shannara.

Oh.. and I never read any Discworld JUST because in high school I knew a guy who EXTOLLED ITS VIRTUES TO THE HEAVENS. Constantly. Now that I’ve learned more about the series and the author I will definitely have to read some someday, though.

(I’m not a big fan of most “~Literature~” either, Pear.)

4. Which book do you keep telling yourself you’ll read, but you probably won’t?

I don’t know. My TBR list is pretty ridiculous, and anything’s possible, so I hate to relegate anything to “probably won’t read” status. Finishing A Song of Ice and Fire might be close. I received the whole series as a birthday gift from a friend (long before the TV show existed), read the first two back-to-back at a time when I really wasn’t in a great place, and got burned out on the grimdark rocksfalleveryonedies of it all. I did enjoy the books, and I’ll probably dive back into it someday, but it’s not really high on my Fun Things to Read list right now.

I also come home with an armload of unexpected finds every time the local college has a charity used book fair... most of which end up sitting on my shelves for a long time, still unread...

5. Which book are you saving for “retirement?”

Nothing really, but I’ve got a big stack of novels from Japan that I’ve been saving for “once I’ve brushed up on my kanji” - since reading is excruciatingly slow when I have to look up every other word. I’m being optimistic and not putting them under the “probably won’t read” heading, though.

6. Last page: read it first or wait till the end?

noo, wait till the end! I will confess that sometimes I’ll flip ahead if I’m at a really slow point, or I know I don’t have time for another chapter but can’t quite bring myself to put the book down yet... but I’m trying to get better about it. I always regret it when I accidentally spoil the book for myself.

7. Acknowledgements: waste of ink and paper or interesting aside?

There should ABSOLUTELY be acknowledgements. The ones that involve stories or interesting background info are cool, but even the ones that are just lists of names 110% should be there - they’re for those people, not the reader, and after all the sweat and tears that go into putting a book together they deserve that place of honor.

8. Which book character would you switch places with?

When I was a kid this question would always trip me up - it would be so cool to be a character in the books I read and have awesome adventures... but at the same time, being in a book-world would mean giving up all the other book-worlds... unless you had access to an interdimensional library and spare time for reading while you weren’t busy saving the world...

If I’m being honest, though, I’d probably end up being Ged from A Wizard of Earthsea. I can relate pretty intensely to a lot of his journey.

9. Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life (a person, a place, a time)?

Quite a few books remind me of a certain school librarian who was always ready with a recommendation and frequently asked the student library aides what books the library should add to their shelves. She was really cool.

10. Name a book you acquired in some interesting way.

My copy of the first Harry Potter book was given to me (right after it was first published in the US) by a good friend whose last name happened to be Potter.. along with a message that said “Wow, Harry Potter has such a cool name! I wish I had a cool name like that! OH WAIT...!”

I also seem to inherit a lot of manga from friends who want to free up shelf space.

11. Have you ever given away a book for a special reason to a special person?

I give books as presents a lot, so nothing specific really stands out. For some reason I keep losing copies of The Silmarillion to people I lend it to who never return it...

Come to think of it, I gave a copy of Howl’s Moving Castle to one of my students in Japan before I left - since she’d been doing extra English language work just for fun, and she was a fan of the Ghibli movie.

12. Which book has been with you to the most places?

I don’t know, offhand. This might be more a Question #9 story, but I remember reading Shadowmarch during downtime between classes in the teachers’ room of my schools in Japan. The other teachers kept exclaiming over how HUGE the book was (~800 pages in mass-market paperback). In Japan novels are pocket-sized - words in Japanese take up less space to print than English, they use thinner paper, and they separate books into Part 1/Part 2 etc if they’re too long.

13. Any “required reading” you hated in high school that wasn’t so bad ten years later?

The Hobbit, actually. I’d read it probably in middle school/jr high or so and thought it was kind of silly and childish. Then when it was assigned representing the fantasy genre in high school lit class, I was annoyed enough that I didn’t bother rereading it - just skimmed it well enough to answer test questions. Once I’d read The Lord of the Rings and gotten into the Tolkien mythos I could appreciate The Hobbit a lot more.

14. What is the strangest item you’ve ever found in a book?

In used books and library books I’ve found bookmarks, old receipts, the usual stuff... I think I found a pressed flower once or twice. A friend of mine used to hide money in her books (to be found as a surprise for herself later, after she’d forgotten about it), so once in a while I’d borrow one and find a random $10 bill or so in it. (I left them there, of course!)

15. Used or brand new?

Either one. New is good for supporting authors, but my town has a really good used book store that I’ll check for older series.

And Book Off (huge Japanese used book chain) is a thing of beauty. So much manga is published so quickly over there that people don’t tend to hang onto their tankobon copies once they’ve finished reading them (they don’t have the space to keep them all), so you can get a ton of books for really cheap. I spent way more shipping them home than I did buying the actual books.

16. Stephen King: Literary genius or opiate of the masses?

I haven’t read much Stephen King, apart from The Gunslinger (which I wasn’t really a fan of at the time) and his On Writing.  I admire his work ethic, at any rate.

17. Have you ever seen a movie you liked better than the book?

I think there have been a few, but I can’t think of them now. I grew up with the Neverending Story movie, so I was a little thrown off when the second half of the book continued in such a different direction, but I liked them both. The book doesn’t have quite the same place in my heart that the movie does, though. And I enjoyed the Shannara Chronicles TV show a lot more than the first book in the series (see #3 above), but I haven’t read the specific books the show was based on, so I can’t really say there. (Though “Elessedil” still makes me cringe every time I hear it...)

18. Conversely, which book should NEVER have been introduced to celluloid?

oh god. The Scifi Channel Earthsea miniseries had me laughing-slash-crying within the first five minutes, it was such a garbage fire and breathtaking masterpiece of missing the point. I remember having a similar reaction to Disney’s version of The Black Cauldron, though that was a much longer time ago, and that was less bewildered rage and more a disappointed “what did you do to my Prydain?? And what is this talking schnauzer?”

19. Have you ever read a book that’s made you hungry, cookbooks being excluded from this question?

Not that I can recall. For some reason reading about Tom Bombadil’s always makes me want bread and honey, though.

20. Who is the person whose book advice you’ll always take?

Hah, I don’t know. The friend who gave me the Harry Potter book was a huge influence on what I read as a kid, but I lost touch with her a long time ago, so I don’t know what she’s reading these days.

Tagging: @possiblyelven, @taskitron, @whitherling, @arionwind, @december-soulstice, @byjillianmaria, @eggletine if you guys want to do it!

[alyruko]

Thank you all for the comic recs! I’m collating them here for future reference and because I know a couple other people were interested in the responses! I have a lot of reading to look forward to 🙂

gameofsuperheros said:If you want to read a good Wonder Woman comic I absolutely love The New 52 Wonder Woman the first volume is called blood. It's a must read if your a lover of Greek mythology like I am. Also your Wonder Woman drawing was so cute :)

jeremygant

I like like the new 52s, the artwork is fantastic!

Awesome! I love greek mythos and good art is always  👍

And thank you! 

transdolphin said:The Wonder Woman runs by George Perez, Greg Rucka, and Gail Simone are my three faves. If you want the most recent stuff, read Greg Rucka's second WW run (started in 2016. The first two trade papers are out) 

almavivadreams

Anything by rucka! The hiketeia, rebirth series, etc. I also recommend azarellos run of the new52 and Gail Simone's the circle

saulgood24

Look up Rucka and Pérez omnibuses. Gods and mortals will seem familiar to you if you've seen the cartoon ww movie. And yes rebirth is a good starting point :)

Oh hey I already love Rucka’s work on Star Wars, so I can’t wait to read his WW comics! The other two names I’m not as familiar with but they were recommended a lot, so I’ll definitely look them up! 

azm0n

Wonder Woman written by gail simmone, Wonder Woman monsters and gods. Wonder Woman the Odyssey ( i don'tknow if this one is good, i just like that she wears a leather jacket XP)

Sounds fun  😆 Thank you for the titles!

athertonian

Wonder Woman Year One (NOT Earth One) would be a great start! It's part of rebirth and it's her origin story, the trade is out!

Cool! Thanks for the clarification. I don’t mind starting in media res, but in a new fandom, origin stories are always welcome! And I buy most of my comics digitally now but I still get trades of my favs so good to know

flafflewaffles

I also recommend The Legend of Wonder Woman! It will feel really familiar as the origin story and it was what I started with :) Great read

Awesome, thank you :)

leh2393

Not a comic rec, but if you've never watched the animated Justice League and Justice League Unlimited series you should. I grew up with that version of Wonder Woman and she reminds me so much of how they're writing Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman. As for comic books, check out any of Phil Jimenez's run. I remember I read them a long time ago when I use to go to the library every other day...God's of Gotham was one of my favorites because of how her relationship with Batman was written. :)

avoyagetoarcturus

you could watch the 1970s wonder woman tv show, it's really cute and funny

gayalexstrasza said:If you wanna get into wonder woman I'd first recommend the 2009 wonder woman movie. It has a few issues but overall it's great

I haven’t heard of any of these shows, I’ll have to look them up! Thank you for the recommendations!

[femslashrevolution]

It ain't that deep, bro. It's just important.

This post is part of Femslash Revolution’s I Am Femslash series, sharing voices of F/F creators from all walks of life. The views represented within are those of the author only.

So, this may catch some folk by surprise considering how ridiculously queer I am, but, fun fact: your humble author didn’t actually learn that queer people existed until she was in high school.

(This is relevant. I promise. Hang in there.)

I’m not kidding. I was sitting behind this girl in a creative writing class, my first week freshman year of high school. She was telling a story to another student, and in the course of it made a joke in which she pointed out how incredibly bisexual she was.

It was like I got struck by lightning.

I’d gone to a catholic school from kindergarten through eighth grade. And Holy Family was actually one of the more progressive, kind-hearted schools in the area. I know now that most of the teachers didn’t actually believe the official Church doctrine on the subject of The Gays. So instead of telling us that homosexuality was a sin, they just…never brought it up. If they never mentioned gay people, they wouldn’t have to toe the line and say we were going to hell!

Aaaaand the end result was that I literally was never informed that liking girls was like…a thing? You can do that? That’s an option?!

Mind you it still took me like another six months to figure out why I’d had such a powerful reaction to that realization. Because, you know, obviously I wasn’t gay or anything. You can feel free to insert a mental laugh track there, I’ll wait.

I bring this up because to this day, I remember that lightning-strike sensation. The birth of a whole new universe, fresher and wider and better than the old one, right behind my eyes. I swear to god the colors were brighter that day.

In the months and months between that moment and the moment when I was willing to admit even to myself that maybe, possibly, like girls just a little, I started reading femslash. I read a lot of highly questionable het fics too, obviously, because I was fourteen and look shut up we’ve all made mistakes.

I’d be lying if I said femslash was what helped me realize I was gay as all hell, because it wasn’t.  I handled that just fine on my own, thanks. The fics themselves weren’t actually the catalyst, it was just that I realized I was seeking out f/f pairings and, hmm, you know, maybe there was a reason for that. Really, femslash didn’t start to mean much to me, or connect me to a community, until I started writing it. And…oh, man. That was the watershed. That really was where I came into my own.

I was seriously unprepared for the level of gratitude femslash authors can receive.

Thing was, I wasn’t even really…doing much, from my perspective. I was just…writing fic, like always. I’d watched the Star Wars prequels and fell in love with what was to me the obvious femslash pairing–seriously, watch Phantom Menace and tell me with a straight face that Padme’s handmaiden isn’t in love with her. And I’d gone looking for fic only to discover a massive pile of nothing. That’s thankfully changed a little since; I like to think I kicked off the Padme/Sabe renaissance. But for a decent chunk of time there, I was the only person writing that pairing on the entire Internet.

Let me tell you–that was a trip and an half.

And the response was…pretty average, as AO3 goes. It wasn’t like I became an instant celebrity or anything. But people got so freaking excited, to a degree I had never expected. I think I’m a decent writer, I’m pretty used to people liking my stuff–but people, when they read the Padme/Sabe fics, were freaking out. They overflowed with enthusiasm, they tripped over themselves talking about how invested they were in this pairing now. Overwhelmingly, responses fell into two categories: “I’ve shipped them for years, I thought I was the only one!” or “I’ve never even considered this, but now I can’t stop.”

That’s the moment. That, right there, is the thunderbolt.

It’s why I work so much with what are, on the surface, kind of done-to-death tropes. 5+1 fics. Sith AUs. Humorously snowballing miscommunications that result in Hijinks And Shenanigans™. Dark AUs. Single-point canon divergence “what-if” fix-it fics. Coffeeshop AUs. My flagship Padme/Sabe piece is, loosely, an Arthurian mythos AU. Hell–my current project, because apparently I hate myself, has turned out to be a series of ~20k oneshots for a different Star Wars femslash pairing based on the plots and settings of Disney movies, just for fun.

Now to my credit, I do pull twists on the tropes! I adapt them, I explore variations, sometimes I subvert them entirely because some tropes are pretty unhealthy relationship models; but the fact is, my playground is tropes and AU settings. The latter is because I, as a writer, really enjoy stripping both plotlines and characters down to their core. (What are the really essential elements of this story that I can use to transplant the plot into a Galaxy Far Far Away? What are the core personality traits and features that these Star Wars characters would keep, their turn of phrase–things that will make them instantly recognizable even if they’ve been relocated to 17th-century France?) But the tropes, that’s something that for me is an integral part of why I and a lot of other people read and write femslash.

I do it for that lightning-strike sensation. That moment where someone stumbles across a Beauty and the Beast AU, or a faerie tale, or a story about defying fate to escape an arranged marriage, or something else they’ve seen a million times–except this time the protagonists are queer women, and nobody questions it, and they connect to the basic premise in a whole new way.

Sure, the characters’ love may be forbidden–but it’s forbidden for the same reasons straight people get to have forbidden love. Because one of them is a commoner, because they’re Sith and their masters are rivals. Because the Jedi Code forbids it. Not because they’re queer. Never because they’re queer.

(Mind you I’ve also written some Meg/Christine stuff, wherein the problem is ABSOLUTELY that they’re queer. There’s a place for that. But you’ll notice, if you read my Phantom of the Opera fic, that Mme. Giry figured it out ages ago and, while she might worry, she never disapproves. We face enough examples in the real world of parents rejecting their queer kids. I don’t feel a need to include it in my fic.)

And for a lot of people, these are just fun fics about their favorite pairing. That’s great in and of itself; we’re all starving and scrabbling for crumbs, and my readers are honestly the sweetest and most appreciative people I could ask for. If I just make them happy, hey, my job’s done. But every so often, I get a review or a private message and I can see that thunderbolt realization. I can see their universe opening up.

We can be fairy tales too?

We can have soulmates, these archetypal stories I grew up loving can be about me? We can change each other for the better, we can be heroes, we can be murderous self-indulgent evil-is-sexy Sith, we can be the ones charging the dragon?

We can be genre fiction–stories about assassination attempts and royal duty, intergalactic politics and Greek mythology and dramatic rescues that have nothing to do with the sexuality of the protagonists? We can just…be there because we are?

We’re allowed to do that?

That’s an option?

About the Jo:

Blog | AO3 | RP/etc

22-year-old Psychology major; cis, very white, extremely queer, terrible Cherry Coke habit. In a continuing blood feud with the continent of North America, will bore you by talking about dogs and/or various other animals if you give me half a chance, and I reject the false Star Wars/Star Trek dichotomy. Star Trek is for hope, Star Wars is for stabbing Nazis in the face, and both are Good.