#pen aficionado!

[childoftheriver]

If you asked me to guess which one of them was the geekiest, I would not have picked Greg.

[timmurleyart]

Charlie’s. (mid 90s)🚬💨☠️🍂💀

[novlr]

6 More Writing Playlists for Scenes and Vibes!

If you love music, you’ll love these playlists! We’ve added 6 more amazing playlists to our already-growing collection.

From sweeping classical themes to write a royal court, some eerie tunes and soundscapes for writing a creepy carnival, vinyl classics for a vintage record store feel, pumping euro tunes for a European road trip, sea shanties for ocean voyages, and some vintage and modern French melodies for when you need a French bistro vibe, we’ve got you covered.

Writing a Royal Court

The pomp and circumstance of a Royal Court are palpable in this collection. This classical playlist is perfect for writing grand palaces, stately homes, balls, banquets, and court intrigues. Be transported to a world of nobles and chivalry where life is decadent and opulent.

Writing a Creepy Carnival

Creepy carnivals are staples of the horror genre, so we’ve put together this collection to help you write it. Whether your carnival travels the world, putting up stakes and causing mayhem wherever they go, or if you’re writing a static circus where visitors inexplicably go missing, then this is the playlist for you. Terrifying ringmasters, creepy rides, and eerie rituals – whatever your carnival holds, this is the playlist to write it to.

Writing in a Parisian Cafe

Sitting in a window of a cafe in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, watching the world go by, the young writer puts pen to paper. The characters who pass by them every day inspire and come alive. If you can’t people-watch, you can certainly imagine it! A mix of classical, acoustic folk, and French pop tunes, this collection will make you feel like you’re really there. So grab a croissant and a coffee and bring the Paris to you!

Writing a Vintage Record Store

Indie record stores have a vibe and are always full of interesting characters. There’s something special about them, and they’re always full of people who love music. This is a playlist for those who need to write a modern vintage feel. It’s a mix of tunes from the 1960s to the early 2000s – the kind of records vinyl aficionados would love a first pressing of. Get in the creative space to write about some of the weird and wonderful obsessive characters you’d find in an underground record shop in your favourite city.

Writing a Journey at Sea

Beware, me hearties, for here be dragons! Whether you’re writing an arctic exploration, an ancient sea voyage, preparations for a naval battle, or a band of intrepid pirates, there’s something in this playlist for you. With a mixture of modern folk tracks, sea shanties, and sea journey-themed instrumental pieces, this collection will conjure images of the salt spray on your face and the wind whipping your hair as you stand on deck, exploring unmapped places.

Writing a European Road Trip

Travel is always an adventure, but there’s something unique about a European road trip where you can fit so many different countries and cities into a small space of time. It’s a whirlwind of sights, tastes, and sounds, so this collection of tracks from all over Europe is sure to get you in the mood. From visiting the sights to sampling the cuisines, and nights out in some of Europe’s most infamous superclubs, this collection is sure to inspire you.

[zilabee]

Living The Beatles Legend:

After a lifetime of self-doubt over body issues and inveterate shyness, he simply couldn’t control himself. “Big Mal was a demon for sex,” Tony wrote. “[...] Like sacrificial virgins, a lot of the girls willingly accepted that they would have to do it with Mal to get to John, Paul, George, or Ringo, and Mal knew it.”

“A couple of newspaper friends put on a private show involving several prostitutes for our entertainment, one of them being very pregnant.” As Mal recalled, “It was a little unnerving to have these ladies performing before our eyes with each other in one room, with Brian, George Martin and Judy, and the rather more staid members of the press in the adjoining living room.”

“I was being entertained by a young lady late one evening,” Mal wrote, “when George rushes into the darkened room, stoned out of his mind, tearing the bedclothes off, shouting, ‘My turn next—come on, give us a bit!’” Mal gave way to the Beatle, concluding that “apart from that, I was the one that got screwed.”

By this point, [Lily] wasn’t just finding “silly groupie letters” in his suitcase, but also the occasional stray pair of knickers and other telltale signs of infidelity. She recognized that Mal was being seduced—and had been for some time—by overwhelming forces, impulses with which she could hardly begin to compete.

After her brother returned from the States, June recalled that “Malcolm came home knackered, absolutely shattered from that tour.” [...] Her brother and the Beatles were living in a “totally unreal world—an extraordinary, horrendous, wonderful, terrible place that they were all existing in during that period. And they were all damaged by it. They suddenly could have anything they wanted.”

After sharing a convivial dinner with Victoria’s father, who retired early, Mal (31yo) and Victoria (16yo) returned to the hotel and went up to the twenty-seventh floor. [..] “Mal was very sweet,” she recalled, “and we talked and we talked, and we sort of made out.” And while she was unable to meet the Beatles the next morning to do an interview, she exchanged contact information with Mal. And later that year, the letters from her new pen pal began arriving, elegantly adorned with “this beautiful British handwriting.” *

Eventually, Mal would develop a vital relationship of his own with the Scruffs, although he had his detractors—namely, Carol Bedford, a peripheral member of their scrum and a George aficionado who later claimed that Mal tried to put the moves on her. Apparently, Mal had continued to approach women in the Beatles’ universe in the same transactional manner in which he and Neil had “auditioned” willing fans during the band’s touring years. Another Apple Scruff recalled a similar instance when Mal’s attempts to cozy up to the Scruffs went terribly wrong. Apparently, he had crawled under one of the girls’ blankets and “touched something he shouldn’t have.” With that, the offended Scruff came flying out from under the blanket yelling, “Who do you think you are, Paul McCartney?” **

Since leaving the hospital, [Arwen (21yo)] had reared Little Malcolm in her cramped lodgings in West Hampstead. At some point, around the age of six months, he was put up for adoption, leaving her care lock, stock, and barrel, with Mal’s teddy bear as the baby’s only consolation. Mal’s diary would enumerate lunches and telephone calls with the young woman at various points across 1969, but eventually, Arwen chose to move on, putting the whole painful episode behind her. ***

[For his son's birthday] Mal made a cassette recording in which he offered his sincere wishes for the coming year. [...] But any goodwill Mal hoped to deliver was quickly undone that morning as Gary listened to the recording over breakfast with his mother and sister. To his incredible pain and embarrassment, the tape didn’t end with his father’s birthday greeting. Apparently, Mal had recycled the cassette, and as Gary and his sister prepared to go to school, they heard the unmistakable sounds of Fran fellating their dad. The boy’s only solace was the knowledge that his eight-year-old sister didn’t understand the sounds emanating from the tape player.

[..]for the first time, Fran found herself afraid of her boyfriend, whose darkness had never been more acute. It all came to a head one night when Mal, drunk to the gills, began threatening her with his Colt Woodsman pistol, at one point placing the gun against her head before discharging it into the washing machine. When he sobered up, Mal couldn’t have been more apologetic, swearing to mend his ways and be the boyfriend she deserved.

____________________________________

Another quote under the cut, with trigger warning for rape and attempted suicide - and a few notes about some of it.

____________________________________

June 1964 - New Zealand

At the time, the official story involved a twenty-year-old female fan who, having secreted her way into the hotel, chose to slash her wrists in Mal’s room after being unable to talk her way into the Beatles’ suite. Fortunately, police caught sight of the young woman through a window and broke down the locked door with a battering ram. She was subsequently taken to a local hospital and discharged that same day.

[There are then some bits about how Derek tried to ensure it didn't link back to the Beatles in anyway, and the way the press reported it as "Girl Tries To Die For Beatles", and someone else claiming she'd actually had sex with someone and then got 'hysterical' because she realised he wasn't going to get her in to see the Beatles... but eventually it cuts to the quote from Mal's diary below.]

“On arriving back at the hotel at two in the morning,” he wrote, “I was greeted by a crowd of police and detectives as the elevator doors opened at my floor. On verifying that I occupied a particular room number, they very solemnly escorted me there, where to my horror on opening the door, I found the bathroom and bedroom covered in blood. Apparently, what had happened [was] several people had gang-banged her in my bedroom. She was so distraught, she took a razor blade from my razor and slashed her wrists, but was discovered in time and recovered in hospital. Obviously I was a prime suspect, but I had the best alibi in the world—I was drinking tea with her mother.” ****

____________________________________

* Victoria was 16, and Mal was 31. He wrote with her for a few years and met up with her again several times, and there's a quote where she says she "thought she was in love with him", and another where she was surprised to find out he was married. He's a grown man with a family and it's creepy as fuck that he was leading on/grooming a 16 year old girl - although I think according to the book they never had sex.

** I've bolded a lot of the wording which fucks me the fuck off in that passage about apple scruffs, what a fucking weird piece of writing. Apparently apparently apparently - I don't even think he's using it to suggest it might not be true, I think he's just using it to make it sound a bit casual, oh turns out he was just treating them like shit like he used to! Oh he was just 'cozying up' ??????? The last bit also feels like the girl being able to fight her corner and tell him off is being used to suggest it therefore didn't matter - not to suggest that there were probably lots of other girls who didn't want his hands on them but didn't know how to say no. It's also quickly followed by a quote of another apple scruff saying he took care of them like a big brother and they all loved him. Which is fine. But teenage girls feeling as though the creepy guy who is being nice to them in order to take advantage is just being nice to them, doesn't mean much. It's creepy that he was trying to befriend the young vulnerable girls that idolised anyone who worked with Beatles, you've literally just said he was doing it in a 'transactional manner'.

*** The author used a pseudonym for Arwen - a young woman that Mal had an affair and a child with. He wrote in his diary when the child was born, and visited them, "gifting the boy with an oversize teddy bear from Harrods". Personally I think 'chose to move on' covers an awful lot of pain very glibly. Imagine having to give your baby away after six months, imagine what she went through. It is not a small thing that he carelessly got a young woman pregnant and then offered her nothing.

**** I think we all live in Beatles fandom knowing that the people we enjoy did awful terrible things, but sometimes it's good to confront how bad it was, even if we'll never know who was involved in this particular incident. Or how often it happened to other women. Whether Beatles were involved here or not, they were around this, they were inside it. They were influenced by and friends with horrible people. Imagine writing that in your diary like it's a good joke that you were having tea with her mum while she was going through that, and not how awful that would actually feel if you had a heart. The author adds that this incident affected Mal, saying, "His “demon” persona was still alive and well, to be sure, but there would be perceptible shifts in his outlook as the group’s touring days moved forward." I didn't really pick up on these, so I'm not sure how so.

[yandere-paramour]

Do you think Atalanta uses black pens and Noelle uses blue pens and sometimes they end up with the wrong pen. I feel like both of them are very commited to their aesthetics. (But not as much as their commited to their darlings aaaaaayyyy)

Do you think Noelle gets the wrong pen and pretends it's fine but itS NOT?

Do you think Atalanta gets the wrong pen and insists on redoing her paper work cause that's Noelles pen not hers?

Do you think they just approach each other silently and trade pens without a word when this happens?

And what color pen would Asteria use, or is she watching in mild confusion cause all pens are the same to her.

Unrelated but I think Vivien might be a glitter pen aficionado. Thats just the vibe I get.

You are absolutely right.

They are both so strict in the way they live their lives that getting the wrong pen would ruin their entire day. Noelle probably carries some of the perfect brand pens in both colors just in case someone needs her or Ata to sign something and offers them the wrong color pen. Both of them eventually learn to tell the strokes of different brands apart because they have to recognize each other's writing exactly.

They probably think of each other whenever they see the opposite pen color.

Asteria just uses any pen, this means nothing to her and she does not understand at all why her daughter is so strict about never using blue pens.

Vivien uses a rainbow of glitter pens and dots his I's with hearts.

[sergeifyodorov]

Hi do you have any blog recs! Not picky about teams, just new to hockey and trying to understand more of the nhl’s vibe!

HI OMG YES I DO!! welcome!!

@simmyfrobby <- bruins/wild/pens fan tho she prefers Narratives to teams most of the time. poetry aficionado

@saviorified <- oilers fan (connor mcdavid especially) + fabulous artist

@txstars <- stars fan

@stereax <- great w/ news updates + resources

@mad-komet + @bowiehorvat <- islanders

@teekays <- flyers, red wings, stars, sharks

@tofumilanesa <- sharks + TOP notch skating philosophy/Jock Understander

@3416 <- leafs

@domifucker <- leafs + ohl

@ticklefighthockey <- pens

ok stopping here so the list isn't 3 million ppl long. have fun!! stay a while

[nanowrimo]

Black Joy Is Revolutionary or Why Writing Black Doesn't Equal Trauma or Pain

It’s important to talk about what kind of stories get represented in mainstream media. NaNo Participant Kymberlyn Reed tells us why stories centered around Black joy are necessary. As a little Black girl who loved reading, it always saddened me that there was never a Babysitter's Club or Sweet Valley High series in which Black kids were centered (not sidekicks or best friends lacking a backstory) just having fun, going through typical teenage stuff and hanging out with cool friends. The fantasy genre, as much as I loved it, also seemed to have no place for Black people to had amazing adventures in far away worlds.

That's why — as a middle aged Blerd — I have been on an absolute roll with so many wonderful stories about Black people just existing and I think there needs to be MORE of them. There is room for Black joy in a society that devalues Blackness as a whole (while co-opting and/or misappropriating the aspects it finds marketable).

This isn't to say there's no need for stories centered around the very real issues of social justice. There's a reason Angie Thomas' The Hate U Give resonated with so many readers of all races (and why so many school districts are trying to ban it). However, not everything about Blackness is about pain and suffering.

And that's the problem. The idea of a single black experience — mainly centered around our suffering —has far too long dictated what people want to write and/or read about us. If there had been more books about Black mermaids in the past (despite the fact that many African cultures have myths about mermaids), people probably wouldn't be losing their minds over Halle Bailey right now.

Not every book about Black people needs to be a "teachable moment" for non-Black readers. Black people should not have to exist or expend unpaid emotional labor just to "teach." Our historical and current traumas should not be the only way to create "empathy.”

Black joy seems to upset people or has some of them believing it's not "authentic Blackness." One of my all time favorite romance authors — Beverly Jenkins — once received a letter from a white reader who was SHOCKED that Black people actually fell in love and had committed relationships! She long believed that Black people just had indiscriminate sex and children out of wedlock.

It took a historical romance featuring a Black hero and heroine to open this woman's mind.

Reading and writing about Black people doing the mundane (as we do everyday) in made up worlds shows us just being, that our skin in all of its glorious hues, is just a part of who we are. We have many intersecting identities, and limiting us to the "poor downtrodden Black person in need of saving" deprives us of our individuality.

Black LGBTQ have coming-out stories and meet-cutes.

Black girls can be princesses.

Black men can be cowboys (and in fact were some of the original cowboys).

Most importantly, Black people exist in every walk of life, even in places and spaces where the media at large ignores our presence. For example, there are Black surfers who teach free courses at The Inkwell, a historic stretch of beach located in Santa Monica, California.

When you read or write about Black people living fully, you are changing the narrative and in a lot of ways, changing minds. Not only that, but writing Black joy is fun too. It's inclusive and it's telling Black readers our stories matter.

All of them.

Kymberlyn Reed is an author who's been published in two countries--Germany and the U.S.  No, she doesn't speak a bit of German, but her writing "sister" does. 

She's been doing the NaNoWriMo thing for a long time now and will always be a pantser because her characters refuse to behave otherwise. She owns more books than clothes. She's also a lifelong Blerd, fountain pen and Japanese stationery aficionado, lipstick junkie, and an unapologetic metalhead who can do a pretty good death metal growl with enough absinthe in her system. Photo by Junior REIS on Unsplash  

[whoreviewswho]

Only One Race Can Survive! - The Daleks, 1963

Part I - The Mutants

Sydney Newman, 1986: "Being a real aficionado of science fiction, I hated stories which used bug-eyed monsters, otherwise known as BEM’s. I wrote in my memo that there would be no bug-eyed monsters in Doctor Who. And after a few episodes, Verity turned up with the Daleks! I bawled her out for it, but she said ‘Honest, Sydney, they’re not bug-eyed monsters – they’re human beings who are so advanced that their bodies have atrophied and they need these casings to manipulate and do the things they want!’. Of course, the Daleks took off and captured everybody’s imagination. Some of the best thing I have ever done are the thing I never wanted to do. It’s true! It’s worked out that way". 

Like most periods of the show's history, Doctor Who's inception was a tumultuous time behind the scenes. Script editor David Whitaker, in what would quickly become a desperate hunt for reliable writers and workable scripts, approached writer Terry Nation having seen some potential in his script for ABC TV's science-fiction anthology Out of this World. Despite having, by his now admission, no faith in the programme, Nation soon found himself out of work and committed to a six-episode serial that would air fourth in the season's run. 

Initially entitled The Survivors, Nation's original pitch to Whitaker was quite different to the story that eventually made it to screen but kept a lot of the same themes and allegory intact. Nation's serial originally featured three races; the Daleks, the Thals and a third species whose ancestors were responsible for the neutron bomb that devastated Skaro and had returned to the planet to make amends. The set-pieces were more extravagant in initial drafts and the Daleks less definitively villainous but producer Verity Lambert was impressed with Nation's work, offering him a seventh episode to allow greater expansion of his ideas. 

David Whitaker, 1979: "Terry Nation didn’t want to write for us, considering it rather demeaning that he’d even been asked."  Terry Nation, 1987: "I had no faith in the show. It was the old writer’s axiom, ‘Take the money and fly like a thief’."

As Nation continued to work, the programme's production elsewhere became more fraught. The two serials commissioned for writer Anthony Coburn required increasing rewrites, the initial first story that would become Planet of Giants was deemed unworkable and budgetary concerns had ensured John Lucarotti's epic Marco Polo would not fill the intended third slot. Much to the dismay of Donald Wilson and Sydney Newman, two of Doctor Who's three founding fathers, Nation's The Mutants suddenly became the strongest contender for the second serial. 

Verity Lambert, 1980s: “The crisis came when Donald Wilson saw the scripts for the first Dalek serial. Having spent so much time defending ‘Doctor Who’, he saw the Daleks as just bug-eyed monsters, which went against what he felt should be the theme of the science-fiction stories. There was a strong disagreement between us, in fact it went as far as Donald Wilson telling us not to do the show. What saved it in the end was purely that fact that we had nothing to replace it in the time allotted. It was the Daleks or nothing."

David Whitaker, 1979: "Actually, that Dalek story was educational in a subtle way – it showed the dangers of war, pacifism and racial hatred. It contained many admirable and idealistic truths in it, and it was also a jolly good adventure story."

To this day, Terry Nation is somewhat of a divisive figure in the Doctor Who fandom. On the one hand, we have the man who penned what is arguably Doctor Who's most important, formative and defining serial. He is the creator of, not just an iconic monster but, iconic worlds and the core spirit and characterisation of Doctor Who itself and its leading ensemble. Yet, on the other hand, we have a writer who made no bones about his disinterest in the scripts he was writing. It has not become controversial among fans to condemn Terry Nation as a lazy, even hack, writer. One of these things is probably true; Terry Nation was a very lazy writer. But to call him a hack? Not in my opinion. Terry Nation is a very simple writer, certainly. The man's approach to structure was very traditionally rooted in the sci-fi serial format, his style of dialogue would not seem out of place in then contemporary comic books and his plots could never be described as complex or involved stories. 

But why should any of these things be flaws? So, the man could write in the mould of classic sci-fi serials? Doctor Who was in the mould of a classic sci-fi serial and what Nation understood so well was that week-to-week structure that so many of his successors, and a good deal of his contemporaries, failed to get a hold of. Sure, Terry Nation serials are awkward stories to binge but they were never designed that way. Ever tried reading Oliver Twist more than one chapter at a time? It is horrible. Every individual chapter is truly an episode unto itself with great moments of character and action that effectively recap the story and move the grander plot forward. This is why, despite the unusual length of seven episodes, The Daleks still holds my attention for the whole runtime. Possibly more than any other writer's work on the original programme, Nation's episodes are consistently great to jump into just as single episodes. This also goes hand in hand with the very direct and simple dialogue really works as well. It is never subtle but it is always efficient and perfectly compliments the flavour of adventure serial that Nation consistently captured. Terry Nation is a good writer. Obviously. He is so good that even when he could not care less, and most of the time he did not, he could always deliver fun and beyond competent scripts.

Terry Nation, 1978: "It was quite a good eerie beginning and, at the end of it – the last frame of the picture – we saw a bit of a Dalek. We didn’t see a whole Dalek. And the phones started to ring. People saying, “Christ, what is that thing? A week later, the Dalek appeared."

The Daleks is a masterful blend of serialised action/adventure, thought provoking science fiction ideas and positively chilling horror that is well beyond the brief that Nation was given. From the moment it begins, this serial is unsettling. There is, of course, a brilliant dramatic irony baked into the premise that operates as both a clue to what is really going on and a genuinely compelling danger for our heroes. There is a school of thought that has concluded that The Daleks is too long but, again, I feel that this is a very contemporary mindset that somewhat misses what this story is going for. Say what you will about Destiny of the Daleks, for a not-at-all random example, but the first episode of this story, titled The Dead Planet, is not an exercise in killing time until the Dalek shows up to menace Barbara at the end. Despite what we know now, The Dead Planet does not have a reveal at the end. There is no frame of reference for the audience to project onto what is happening at all. Instead, the episode is a slowly rising crescendo of intrigue and tension that spans from the sparseness of a silent, dead forest to the gradually more claustrophobic and unfamiliar terrain of the city until Barbara gets cornered in an unknown corridor by an unknown terror. It is beautifully constructed adventure fiction that plays on the natural marriage of primal horrors, being the least creatures alive on the planet, and the imagery of contemporary nuclear warfare.

An Unearthly Child is a story defined by juxtaposition and survivalism which are both ideas that Nation picks up on beautifully in his story but he also brings themes of morality, identity and action. The Daleks is an almost biblical parable. With An Unearthly Child and The Daleks, the two core identities of the show appear to emerge. The former is a cynical and unrelenting programme that believes in unstoppable forces of nature that, no matter how hard we try to escape them or destroy them, will always be there at the core of our beings. With the latter, it is something more optimistic. A programme that is insistent, no matter how devastating the situation, that we can affect our destinies and help those around us to strive for better lives where we learn from our mistakes, can change and move forward. It is this version of Doctor Who, unsurprisingly, that the majority of the franchise believes in.

One thing Wilson did insist upon this serial was an experienced director whom he could trust to steer the ship and Christopher Barry was called in to take the job. Barry, however, was in the midst of other commitments leading to the unique situation where he only directed part of the story – episodes one, two, four and five. Richard Martin made his directorial debut with episode three and went on to direct episodes six and seven as well as the following serial and the Daleks' immediate next two appearances. Barry would also return to the series directing serials infrequently until 1979. As excellent as Martin's work in this serial is, and he realises some pretty spectacular imagery and visual effects for a little programme and with no experience, I could sing the praises of Christopher Barry all day. His choice of camera shots are incredibly dynamic throughout the episodes he helms with some particularly creative uses of angles and composition that really get the best out of these tiny sets. So many classic Doctor Who stories are hampered or even ruined by flat and uninspired direction (and eventually Barry will be the culprit of such a thing) but The Daleks, for my money, stands proud as one of the most cinematic serials of its era. 

The cast are all excellent with great moments to shine. William Russell is always on good form and one of my favourite moments of the serial is when he smashes Susan's flower. It's a brilliant and revealing character beat for him. Jacqueline Hill is great and has some epic girl bossing toward the end ("Do you always do what Ian tells you?" "No."). Carole Ann Ford sells the desperation of Susan's mini-quest very well but let ustake some time to single out for praise is William Hartnell who turns in possibly the defining performance of at least his first year in the leading role and steals every single scene that he’s in. Considering the overly aggressive and immoral characterisation of An Unearthly Child, it was not necessarily a given that Doctor Who would be a likeable character any way moving forward but this is the story that first truly defines him. He is still arrogant, selfish and perhaps a little morally ambiguous but he is also shown to be deeply passionate, delightfully witty and shows more than a handful of moments of genuine charm. I love how character driven the plot ultimately is with little more than the Doctor's selfish, stubbornness to please himself that puts the whole crew in danger. It is worth mentioning too how the fluid link saga things on the TARDIS' identity as a machine, in the literal human understanding of the word. Very rarely beyond this serial would the TARDIS actually be treated in this way by the narrative, as opposed to simply being a magical element that carries us from A to B. The Doctor's actions are cruel and self-interested but by the time he is encamped among the Thals and one can see his delight in getting to know their people and their science, he suddenly becomes such a fully realised person in ways that he was not before. The Doctor is a scientist and an explorer, not some vindictive wizard with indefinable motives. 

While the presentation, and perhaps core value itself, is a little dated, I also appreciate the Doctor's, and the rest of the main cast's, push for the Thals to be proactive as a peoples. It is a little clunky on the whole and comes off as a pretty pure endorsement against pacifism (though Ian's line "Pacifism only works when everybody feels the same" is a difficult claim to refute) but the nature of the message, insisting that standing up to oppressive forces and taking control of one's own life, is one worth conveying and an essential step in the development of the Doctor's morality. We are not entirely there yet, this is not a heroic character (indeed, he actively causes the Daleks to die), but this is the biggest leap we will get until the Daleks' next appearance.

Speaking of, let's get into the Daleks themselves. It is remarkable how close they are to being fully formed in their debut story. It disappoints me no end that this version of the Daleks, the calculating Nazi scientists allegory, is so ill-frequently represented in subsequent media appearances. The Daleks barely kill anybody at all in this script, largely seen just deliberating and experimenting in the labs of their cities, making the few uses of their weaponry a genuinely awesome shock for the audience. It is also a lot of fun seeing the original educational edict play out, for the only time with the Daleks; they cannot leave the floor of their city for they are powered by static electricity. 

The true unsung hero of this production continues to be Ray Cusick, the BBC designer who somewhat infamously took over from a young Ridley Scott who was too busy to take on the job. Before even getting to the main event, we should note that the production design all around is stunning on this story. All of the sets and costumes that are dripping in glorious futuristic aestheticism that would make Star Trek jealous. The Daleks look incredible and, again, it is too easy to take for granted how truly iconic they are. The most radical redesign in the entire barely strays at all from their original realisation here. Even watching them today, it is unbelievable watching them in action. Just how smoothly and freakishly the creatures glide around their home world. They are just so thoroughly alien and it was one of the best choices of the production that their true nature is never actually revealed. How is it possible for the Daleks to be so far from anything resembling humanity? It is left purely for the imagination and to great effect. While Nation was very keen on the image of a gliding creature, allegedly inspired by the the Georgian State Ballet, Cusick was the one who really created the visual identity of the Dalek creature.

Terry Nation, 1987: “Raymond Cusick made a tremendous contribution and I would love to be glib enough to put it into percentage terms, but you can’t do that. You start with something that’s a writer’s dream, that he’s put down in words, and amended, and added to in conversations. Something starts there... I think they may have given him a hundred pound bonus, but he was a salaried employee... The copyrights resided with the BBC and myself... he made a tremendous contribution. Whatever the Daleks are or were, his contribution was vast."

Ray Cusick, 1992: "Everyone was rushing around corridors saying ‘Oh, there’ll be Dalek films, Dalek soap, Dalek tea towels’, they thought there’d be lots of money. I was very friendly with Terry Nation and we appeared on a very famous show called ‘Late Night Line-Up’, and I remember asking him after the show ‘What about the films, Terry?’. And I never saw him again!"

As well we know, Terry Nation is not a subtle writer. In a lot of ways, Terry Nation's scripts seem to defy analysis. Funnily enough, this is something that he has very much in common with, a remarkably different Doctor Who writer, Russell T Davies – neither of them are particularly keen on subtext. As noted above and well documented at this point, there are parallels to be drawn between the Daleks and Nazi scientists. These cold and calculating survivors of a long and brutal war who skulk about in their underground bunkers, preparing to exterminate an entire race that poses no threat to them. As Ian describes them; "They're afraid of you because you're different from them" These are parallels that Nation was very intentionally drawing in his work (and would draw even more intently come Genesis of the Daleks)but there is a particular quote from Nation about his creations that I find deeply tantalising;

Terry Nation, 1978: “I can’t isolate one character [that the Daleks are based upon]. But I suppose you could say the Nazis. The one recurring dream I have – once or twice a year it comes to me – is that I’m driving a car very quickly and the windscreen is a bit murky. The sun comes onto it and it becomes totally opaque. I’m still hurtling forwards at incredible speed and there’s nothing I can see or do and I can’t stop the car. That’s my recurring nightmare and it’s very simply solved by psychologists who say you’re heading for your future. You don’t know what your future is. However much you plead with somebody to save you from this situation, everybody you turn to turns out to be one of ‘Them’. And there’s nobody left – You are the lone guy. The Daleks are all of ‘Them’ and they represent for so many people so many different things, but they all see them as government, as officialdom, as that unhearing, unthinking, blanked-out face of authority that will destroy you because it wants to destroy you. I believe in that now – I’ve directed them more that way over the years."

This is a deeply interesting and revealing excerpt, in my opinion. Nation was a child during the Second World War, a fact that he often mentioned in interviews and something that continued to permeate his work. It would be hard to describe him as anything other than a man with liberal political values, many of which are on display in The Daleks. That being said, it is incredibly easy to read The Daleks as a condemnation of Nazi fascism, totalitarianism and racial hatred. Perhaps not is too easy. Let us take moment to consider the politics of The Daleks as a condemnation of, not the Second World War but, the post-war climate and even more directly on the UK itself. After all, it is not without note that the Thals are of typically Aryan physicality and even had German names in earlier drafts of the story. In real-world history, we all know that it was not the Nazis who dropped the first atomic bomb – it was the Allies and, while the plight of the Thals has a great deal in common with the Jewish in World War II, it is not especially difficult to shift the lens of the Dalek allegory onto the 'good guys' watching the programme. When considering this with the above quote, there becomes something almost anarchistic about The Daleks. Nation's story is a survivalist thriller in many respects (with a lot of the natural horrors, of course, being directly resultant of man-made atrocities) but his self-confessed anxiety for the future perhaps fuels the story's optimistic insistence that when everything is torn down and destroyed, life will prevail and we can begin again, better than before. 

The Daleks presents strong ideals of community which makes perfect sense given the quote above. Nation's self-proclaimed fears seem keenly tied to isolation and that paranoia runs rampant in the terror of The Daleks. Take the sequence in The Survivors where Susan is racing back to the TARDIS on her own. The journey is horrifying and tense as she has no support or reassurance on her side. She is a young woman who is already dying and anything could be out to get her.The person who does find her, of course, is Alydon, a man from a kind, supportive and united community. The kind of community that could take on the Daleks. There are a lot of problems with this too though. The Thals are presented as, in Susan's words, perfect. They are peak physical performance, they look like humans and the villains, the irredeemable monsters, are physically inhuman.

Terry Nation, 1978: "[Survival] is a theme that’s actually gone through my work enormously...  I’m in that aeroplane and I’m waiting for the moment when they say, 'Can anybody fly this aeroplane?' – And I can’t, but I know that finally I’m going to be the one that has to do it."

On Saturday the twenty-first of December 1963, the fifth episode of the BBC's new science-fiction adventure serial, Doctor Who, aired in front of an audience of 6.9 million viewers. The episode was penned an up and coming Welsh comedy writer named Terry Nation and it was the first of seven chapters in a saga entitled The Mutants. Following a thrilling cliffhanger and the unexpected reveal of the serial's bizarre antagonists, something unexpected happened – Doctor Who suddenly became incredibly popular. Between episodes two and three, 2.5 million more viewers tuned in for the adventure with another 1.5 million accumulated by the serial's end. Doctor Who might have debuted four weeks earlier with An Unearthly Child but The Daleks, as it came to be known, is where the programme that has lasted sixty years actually premieres.

David Whitaker, 1979: "When it was shown, not very long after being recorded, we were, and I don’t mean this to sound smug, proved quite right."

Peter Cushing, 1970s: "I thought it was very good. Very well made."

David Whitaker, 1979: "The Daleks were a smashing invention, and I took to them at once. I would say they’re worthy of Jules Verne."

Verity Lambert, 1980s: "What was very nice, though, was Donald Wilson coming up to me after the Daleks had taken off and saying ‘You obviously understand this programme better than I do. I’ll leave it to you’."

Part II - Dr. Who and the Daleks

Terry Nation, 1987: "After the Daleks, I was for a short time the most famous writer on television. The press interviewed me, there was mail arriving in great van loads. There was stuff coming to my house that said ‘Dalek Man – London’, and I was getting lots of them. Almost all the kids wanted a Dalek, and nobody was quick enough... My God, was that to change! Within the year, there were Dalek everythings." 

As we all know, the Daleks were incredibly popular with the British public. In a manner cheekily compared to the Beatles, the Daleks dominated pop culture with all assortments of merchandise and spin-off material quickly emerging on the market. Between Nation and Whitaker's The Dalek Book, TV Century 21's comic strips (also credited to Nation), Whitaker's novel adaptation Doctor Who in an Exciting Adventure with the Daleks and any number of toys, costumes and promotional tie-ins, the impact and legacy of the Dalek serial was immediately felt. Nation was swiftly commissioned for a second serial, the decidedly less culturally penetrating The Keys of Marinus, and eventually asked for a sequel Dalek story but what could have been the most high-profile exposure for his creations that one could ask, strangely enough, came without much involvement from Nation at all. 

In late 1964, American film producer Milton Subotsky approached Nation and the BBC about purchasing the film rights to The Daleks. For a fee of £500, Subotsky secured the rights and set about producing Dr. Who and the Daleks. As well as co-producing with Max J. Rosenberg, Subotsky was also credited for the screenplay with not insubstantial uncredited contributions from David Whitaker. The film was one of ten theatrical efforts by prolific television director Gordon Flemyng and marks the first of only two times (to date) that Doctor Who has been adapted exclusively for the silver screen. 

Tom Baker, 1975: "There have been two Doctor Who films in the past, both rather poor."

I find Dr. Who and the Daleks to be a deeply fascinating cultural oddity but that fascination surrounding its existence ultimately fails to translate to the screen itself. Even if it was just rolled into production as a quick attempt to capitalise on the enormous success of the Daleks in yet another form of media, it is admittedly impressive how much of the picture really works. Bill Constable’s art direction is quite breathtaking at times, working beautifully with the luscious technicolor presentation. This is a gorgeous film just to look at and it really effortlessly realises the fullscreen, explosive world of the Daleks that previously only truly existed in the aforementioned comic books and annuals. I particularly love the latter sequences as our heroes scale Skaro's landscape amongst some gorgeous matte painting work. That being said, there is still something that speaks to me more about the 4:3 black and white glimpses offered in the TV version. The feeling of peering through your TV screen into these small corners of what feels like a larger, more dangerous world behind and beyond the camera is much more captivating for me than these much grander sets presented without ambition or flair.

Since I neglected them in my main review, let me quickly sing the praises of Peter Hawkins and David Graham as the voices of the Daleks. With the assistance of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop's Brian Hodgson, the pair created the unique electronic tones of the creature's voices using a ring modulator. Their voices are immediately recognisable and they put in great performances though it is clear, in hindsight, that the sound of the Daleks still had some work to do. Hawkins and Graham's initial Daleks are much more monotone than they would later become with the pair only later landing upon the rising pitch and angry tones that would truly define them. They are excellent in the film as well but, it has to be said, the story is not served by how many scenes they have of dialogue amongst themselves. Obviously it makes sense to showcase the full-colour, enormous Dalek props at every possible opportunity in your big screen Dalek film but there is just no way around the reality that Daleks rolling about and talking amongst themselves as slowly as it seems possible they could is not compelling cinema.

Worse than just looking at Daleks are the flaws of Terry Nation’s incredibly serialised storytelling being put on full display here. While the screenplay effectively trims the fat, save for the Dalek scenes, the general structure of this story does not work well as a single feature film. It is a similar problem that a lot of novel adaptations have where the filmmakers just cannot get the chapters to effectively translate to scenes and sequences. Dr. Who and the Daleks also has a bit of a bland core cast. Barrie Ingham is a good Alydon and Peter Cushing works magic with his dottery version of the Doctor but Roy Castle's doofus take on Ian leaves much to be desired and Jennie Linden's Barbara feels so surplus to requirements that she just gets folded into Susan's character and then a generic love interest. The film is entertaining but a bit of a lacklustre watch on the whole. It is not a poor or even unnecessary addition to the Doctor Who canon. This is as good a 90 minute adaptation of The Daleks that could possibly exist. It is just also true that the best version of that story is, regrettably, not this.

Roy Castle, 1990: "[I]t was quite unusual. Very unlike anything I’ve ever done... [The Daleks] were brilliant. I think if you’d said to the producer, you must get rid of the humans or the Daleks, he’d have got rid of us humans in a flash."

Peter Cushing, 1990s: "Those films are among my favourites because they brought me popularity with younger children. They’d say their parents didn’t want to meet me in a dark alley but ‘Doctor Who’ changed that. After all, he is one of the most heroic and successful parts an actor can play. That’s one of the main reasons the series had such a long run on TV. I am very grateful for having been part of such a success story.”

In 2024, the prevalence of Dr. Who and the Daleks in the greater story of the programme has dwindled but it is worth remembering just how significant an event it was. While not a critical darling, the film was a box officer smash in the UK and was often repeated on television over the following decades. For so many fans, Dr. Who and the Daleks was more readily viewed than great swathes of the television show itself. Even though The Daleks is the story that happened on television, it is not unfair to say that Dr. Who and the Daleks is the story many of us remember happening.

Part III - The Daleks in Colour

Russell T Davies, 2023: "I've got to beblunt, I've watched this, as a fan, ahundred times as a black and white show andI've never enjoyed it so much as in colour."

And so, we fast forward, to 2023 and the sixtieth anniversary of Doctor Who. Showrunner Russell T. Davies has made the entire back-catalogue available for streaming in the UK, three new specials are about to air and the boldest, most publicised attempt to bring the original series to the general audience since 2005 is taking place. Thanks to the work of fans such as Rich Tipple and Benjamin Cook, RTD spearheaded an all-new colorisation and re-edit of The Daleks down to a seventy-five minute length to offer an alternative "blockbuster" version for potential new fans. How many of the uninitiated took any notice of its appearance on iPlayer and sprucing on breakfast television remains to be seen but, nevertheless, Doctor Who: The Daleks in Colour arrived in our screens on the 23rd of November, 2023. 

The film in question is an interesting but flawed experiment. Certainly, the possibility of colourising the ancient history of Doctor Who has been a tantalising one for decades now and something many fans, myself included, have been eager to see. In and of itself, this is a fine thing to strive for and, in this respect, The Daleks in Colour is incredibly successful at it. The colourisation is breathtaking. Not only is the colourising itself incredible but the choice to eschew real world reference points for the sets, costume and lighting in favour of the most vibrant, almost psychedelic options that they could possibly think of is the correct choice. The entire production has a sense of 1960s pop and visual style that slots in seamlessly with then contemporary productions to the extent where it looks like this could always have been the plan.

What feels very much not like it was planned, however, is the runtime. On paper, chopping up the serial makes a good deal of sense. Seven episodes is a big commitment to somebody uncertain of the original show and with 1963 pacing being what it was, the decision to pare things down matches well with the mission statement. Alas, the editing in this film does not work but not because the idea is bad. Dr. Who and the Daleks has proven that paring down the script can lead to a generally well-received and, for many, preferential product. Yes, Dr. Who and the Daleks is, in many ways the elephant in the room. While the decision to choose the debut of the Daleks as a story to hook in new fans makes a lot of sense on paper, the fact that the Subotsky adaptation exists at all makes it a little difficult to justify.

The direct comparison is ultimately unfavourable and not just because of how many of the colour choices seem direct inspired by it. The Subotsky film's existence awkwardly lampshades the fact that what one is watching here is not an eighty-two minute feature designed to watched in one sitting. This is an almost three hour one awkwardly cobbled together with jarring new musical cues. Many of the technical choices employed such as speeding up the film, tightening up gaps in the dialogue and recording new Dalek dialogue to disguise swathes of cut material all amount to a very obviously cobbled together experience. 

Still, this experiment was necessary and this is a great little curio of the franchise but the awkwardness of the production and its core appeal as an alternative proves it unlikely, in my opinion, to ever actually attain its goal – enticing new viewers to watch the Hartnell era. What The Daleks in Colour is is an alternative to the original and a glimpse into an alternate history for a captive fanbase. It could have been an amazing leap forward but remains, instead, a noteworthy first step into uncharted territory.

But what of that original serial then? Well, in my opinion, The Daleks still holds up today as one of the best stories in the history of Doctor Who and a landmark moment in science fiction storytelling. But this is not for everyone. BBC television of the 1960s is certainly not for everyone; I watched this with my partner and we both did feel the length when watching the episodes in close proximity. Even so, I do strongly implore checking out the first two episodes in the serial for some of the most intriguing and moody sci-fi adventure storytelling you might ever see in Doctor Who. In December 1963, Terry Nation and the Doctor Who team created some wonderful episodes of television. And that was not the end of the story.

Terry Nation, 1987: "I don’t know to this day what the enormous appeal of the Daleks was. I’ve heard all sorts of ideas about it, but they were slightly magical, because you didn’t know what the elements were that made them work."

Sydney Newman, 1986: “Someone once told me that there was a question in Trivial Pursuit, ‘Who created Doctor Who?’. You turn the card over and it says the answer is Terry Nation! I wrote a rather stinging letter, demanding the destruction of all the Trivial Pursuits that had that mistake in them, hinting at some fabulous compensation that they should give me for demeaning my contribution to (laughs) world culture! I got lawyers and everything, but I didn’t get anywhere. They just said they would withdraw the card. I even wrote to Terry Nation for his support, and he sent me a very nice letter back.”

*This title would be adopted by fans despite not appearing on any documentation at the time. It became officially endorsed with the 2001 VHS release

[parknights]

Parknight imagines, miscellany 28: lost and found

They are absolutely screwed if they cannot find it in the office lost-and-found.

Well, technically, Knight knows, she's fine; her goose isn't cooked and neither is Torres' because they can keep track of their credentials. So can Parker, for that matter. But McGee? Was it Torres or Jimmy who mentioned this is the second…no, was it third?…time McGee's been in this exact same situation?

Either way, being down an agent, especially their most tech-savvy one, is really bad for the MCRT if the director learns of this, which is why Torres is outside, inconspicuously searching the parking lot; McGee is in the bullpen, checking every trashcan and desk drawer and nook and cranny a flashlight can reach; and Knight is in the back hallways, on the off chance someone wasn't thinking or didn't care enough to return McGee's creds to him directly. Hence, the lost-and-found box, around the corner from the vending machines.

Knight's never realized a lost-and-found box could be so full, though, especially for an agency full of investigators. Tired of sifting through cup cozies and bent letter openers, she picks up the box and upends it onto the floor. It's messy, sure, but it'll be much faster to search this way.

"Looking for something?"

She freezes, mid-crouch and mid-sort, because Parker cannot hide the amusement in his voice for the life of him in certain situations. Her cheeks flush for second, being caught, but then her face cools, imagining the penalty if McGee truly has lost his creds. "Um…"

Parker squats down on her right and appraises the lost-and-found box's offerings. "That is a lot of junk. Some fun knickknacks in here, though," he amends, picking up one of those souvenir pens with charms floating in water halfway up the barrel. He holds it out so Knight can see it's a King Kong-themed pen. Ah, makes sense for the Kong aficionado.

"Just—looking," Knight manages with a brief smile.

Parker quirks an eyebrow. He puts the pen down and reaches into his blazer's inner breast pocket, withdrawing a small, black, leather case. "Maybe looking for this?" he teases, flipping it open to reveal McGee's NCIS credentials.

The warmth rushes back to her cheeks, and Knight glances between him and the pile of belongings on the floor. "Where and when did you find it?"

"I noted you were all acting squirrely since first thing, and McGee doesn't freak out that wildly over any little thing, so." He shrugs. "I checked the obvious places not hit: men's room and break room. Found it maybe fifteen minutes ago stuck beside the fridge in the latter, easy enough to miss."

"Parker! Fifteen minutes ago?" She pulls a face. "You could've told us and stopped this already."

He shrugs. "Eh, Torres likes being outdoors, and McGee could stand to learn from this panic after misplacing his credentials yet again."

Knight shakes her head at him and brushes her hair back over her shoulder. She begins to collect the lost items back in the box. "As for me?" she prompts.

"As for you…" Parker smiles, that soft mischievous smile of his that makes his eyes crinkle, that reminds Knight that he's got a side to him she's pretty certain only she gets to see. "I heard the clamor back here. Thought you could use some help."

Knight eyes him, hearing amusement in his tone again. Nevertheless, she's happy to have his help—and his company—as a quiet highlight for an already chaotic day.

-follow for more imagines & Parknight fanworks & content-

[artemis-entreri]

[[ Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Review (Spoiler-Free)

I was fortunate enough to attend an early showing of the new D&D movie on March 19, 2023 for Amazon Prime members. As a huge aficionado of the official D&D setting, the Forgotten Realms, I was nervous going in, especially given the history of D&D movies. The movie’s trailer was spectacular, but there was the very real fear that the trailer showed all the best parts of the movie and didn’t leave much for the rest of it. It also didn’t help that the tie-in novels, The Druid’s Call and The Road to Neverwinter, were pretty subpar, which was super disappointing both given that the latter was penned by an author who’d written decent Forgotten Realms novels in the past and that these were the only FR non-Drizzt novels we got since WotC discontinued the novel line. The folks responsible for the high quality of the Forgotten Realms Wiki were very concerned, as was I, for a feature film that might besmirch our beloved world.

We needn’t have worried, as Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is, in a word, spectacular. It’s so engaging that it holds the attention of the single digit aged theatre attendees enraptured for the entire duration. Its funny moments had the whole theatre laughing. Its sentimental moments moistens the eyes of the most hard-hearted viewers. It brings classical D&D monsters brilliantly to life with the best of modern technology, while putting its own spin on those familiar creatures in really clever ways. Even the most predictable plot point manages to be a tear-jerker, through the exceptional employment one of the most basic strategies of effective storytelling: showing instead of telling. But most of all, for me personally at least, Honor Among Thieves’ greatest success is the bringing home of the core tenet of D&D: the joy and love of a found family, regardless of different histories. 

Those not at all familiar with Forgotten Realms lore need not worry, as points of significance are explained without being artificial. There certainly are elements that the most dedicated loreheads can nitpick, however the movie is so stellar that I and many others find those elements more than acceptable. It is the case that the movie feels like a generic fantasy movie that borrows bits and pieces from the Realms rather than being a dedicated D&D/FR movie, but this is more than understandable in order to have a wider appeal. However, all of this is totally fine, because, as one of the head editors of the Forgotten Realms Wiki (BadCatMan) so aptly puts it:

I gotta say, I was the person most primed for disappointment in the whole wide world. I documented it for seven years, and the movie isn't even that old. I researched and reported on the production, I scoured social media and LinkedIn for clues, just to get articles developed in time. I promoted it, I put the wiki's reputation on it. And then I read the godsawful novelisation that made it indistinguishable from garbage. The other books sounded little better, compressing and dullifying our Realms. I wearied myself out writing wiki articles. I was sick with nervousness all day. 

But the books lied. The promotion lied. It is not some big flashy blow-shit-up Marvel-style movie with a lot of wisecracking and jokes at the expense of the material. It is a classic fantasy adventure movie that treats it all with respect, runs with it, and has a little fun with it. It's not quite the quintessential D&D movie, nor a perfect Forgotten Realms tale. There's still a bit too much Hollywood moviemaking in it. But it may be as close as a movie will come.

There are gaping plot and lore holes in it, and some things are never explained. But it wouldn't be Forgotten Realms without that last mystery, that one loose thread to tug on. [...] And while the books made travel times non-existent and the Realms seem more compressed than the average open-world computer game, the movie has plenty of travel scenes and grand landscapes. Faerûn is as big and beautiful as we always imagined.

I myself teared up at every sprawling scene of the landscape. It meant so much to see a world I love to the bones brought to life. Honor Among Thieves certainly didn’t need to, but it more than pays homage to the scenes of the world. From the depths of the Underdark to the sprawling icy wastes of Icewind Dale, the movie honors the world, lifts it up high, and shows everyone that sense of wonder long time Forgotten Realms fans know in their hearts. 

My only regret is that my theatre did not have the Themberchaud popcorn bucket for sale (photos courtesy of Sheepy, who washed it out and is using it as a dice holder, from Ed Greenwood’s own Forgotten Realms lore Discord server, Greenwood’s Grotto):

It is unknown whether this dragon head will be available in US theatres. It seems that USA AMCs are getting a D20 popcorn bucket instead:

(Image from above is from: https://www.tiktok.com/@amctheatres/video/7210819695308688686?_r=1&_t=8ak5XP7se8w)

This movie will definitely do well enough such that sequels and spin-offs would also be profitable. We can only hope that they do as good of a job as they did with this premier.

For a comprehensive coverage of the movie, check out the Forgotten Realms Wiki’s article on Honor Among Thieves. If you’re interested in a detailed lore breakdown, be sure to visit the Wiki again at a later time, as that’s currently being worked on! 

The aforementioned BadCatMan is working on a, “detailed breakdown, personal critique, metatextual metagame overanalysis of the movie, though it is spoiler-free and focused on the storyline rather than the lore, though I cover lore later. It's not finished yet though. ” Check that out here! ]]

[heylittleriotact]

One of the Partners is also a fountain pen aficionado and is enabling my ink addiction halp 😭

[ryuzatodraws-archive]

Drug headcanons for the Papas

Nihil: did sooooo many psychedelics back in the day and even now

Primo: smoked plants you've never even heard of

Secondo: cocaine user. Party drug aficionado

Terzo: vape pen enthusiast

Copia: stoner. Loves weed

.

[theajaheira]

Fred/Gunn #25?

THIS IS VERY CUTE.

25. librarian/avid reader au

"More ballet books?" says the girl at the checkout desk. It's one of those things that would make Gunn bristle if it came from a dude, or maybe even also from a girl if she said it in the way that most people might, but this girl says it like she's just found out that puppies exist. "And this one's on Giselle! You're a man of taste, I see."

"Yeah, some buddies and I are going to see it--um--again," says Gunn, his cheeks heating up. Not the kind of thing he'd usually admit, but -- well, he likes her smile, and right now all he knows is that talking about ballet means she might smile more. It's worth a little bit of embarrassment if he gets to see her eyes sparkle. "Wanted a little more context. You have any recommendations?"

The girl gets up from her chair and dashes away. Nonplussed, Gunn stands, hoping, hoping -- and then she returns, arms full of books, a pen tucked behind her ear, and dumps the books down in front of him on the library counter. "So many," she says breathlessly. "I'm hardly a ballet aficionado by any means, but, well, I try to make sure that I'm well-versed in pretty much anything that anybody asks me about, otherwise how am I going to be an effective librarian? And I'm not completely up to date on all the things that I'd like to be, but I know a lot about ballet, and lethal weaponry in Ancient Rome, and poison dart frogs! Usually people don't ask about those things, and, well, you're the first person who has, and you've been getting lots of ballet books--um, not that I--I mean, I saw you getting the ballet books and I thought, hey, maybe he'd be helped out if the local librarian knew a thing or two about ballet books--but I'm not some kind of creepy stalker or anything, y'know, this is my day job, and oh my gosh why am I still talking?" she finishes, clapping her hands to her crimson face and dislodging the pen entirely.

Gunn catches it. He's pretty sure his smile can be seen from space. "I'm gonna read every single one of these," he says, "and I'm gonna come back and tell you what I think of all of them."

"I hope you like them!" the girl squeaks from behind her hands. Fred, says her nametag. Cutest name he's ever seen on a girl. Cutest face, too.

[tencrowns]

So I’m way behind on the @2024-grimoire-challenge, but I’m working on it! Kind of bullet journal style.

If you noticed I struggled with my pen and happen to be a fountain pen aficionado, I’m using a Kaweco Student and Jacques Herbin Garnet Rouge ink. I switched inks and refilled with a different red to see if that was the issue, but I would LOVE for someone to tell me why this nib dries up at the slightest provocation. None of the other pens I’ve tried do this, but I haven’t tried this ink in a different pen so I’m wondering if it’s just got a dry character or I need the nib tuned or SOMETHING.

[hecatemoon87]

This is Part 1 of an off the cuff miniseries. This was inspired by Tumblr's official Tom Hardy Aficionado @potter-solomons !! A fringe character, named Pierre Jackson, was played by Tom in the movie WAZ aka The Killing the Game. I have not seen it except for clips, but his character is very crazy, very aggressive and as Tom put it in an interview, a nutter. And because I am a MAJOR Freddie fan, and because Pierre's last name is Jackson, I went down the AU rabbit hole. Anyways, please enjoy.

Session 1

Date: February 3rd, 2022

Patient Name: Pierre Jackson 

Gender: Male

Age: 30

General Diagnosis: Sociopathic tendencies, further psycho analysis required.

Purpose of Visit: Court ordered

Psychiatrist: Elizabeth Corbyn

Pierre Jackson sat across from a beautiful, bespectacled raven haired, red lipped, curvy goddess in a quaint room with calming blue walls and green potted plants. He sat in a cushioned chair chewing on a toothpick.

“So, Mr. Jackson,” she said, opening a notebook and crossing her legs. Pierre’s eyes drifted down to her legs, thinking about how pretty they’d be wrapped around his waist. “This is your first session, so I’d like to set up some goals and expectations.”

Pierre glanced up and removed the toothpick from his mouth. “Goals and expectations, what the fuck does that mean?” 

“Well, we need to prove to the court you’re trying to rehabilitate yourself. I’ll need to show your progress through a kind of measurement. A goal could be, I don’t know, it could be that you want to stop drug use. An expectation is something I will expect of you during and after each session,” Elizabeth said. 

“Yeah, I don’t wanna do that,” he said, placing the toothpick back into his mouth. 

“Mr. Jackson, you can sit here with me and attempt to become a functioning member of society, or you can go to prison for five to ten years. Your twin brother, Freddie, had his first session yesterday and he’s made an attempt. You can at least do the same. Now, maybe we can start with your childhood,” she said, clicking her pen. 

“Maybe I’ll open up if you tell me something about yourself, baby,” he said, his dark blue eyes drilling into her. 

She shifted slightly in the chair, then scribbled something into her notebook. 

“What did you just write?” he asked. 

“It’s just part of the process. Fine, I’ll tell you something about myself,” she said. 

“You single?” he asked. 

“Um, yes, I am,” she said. 

Pierre growled with approval and chewed a bit more intensly on his toothpick. 

“What about you? Are you in a relationship?” 

“Nah, I don’t let any bitch tie me down,” he said. 

She frowned. It was a pretty frown though and only stoked the fire between his loins further.

“Perhaps we can discuss how you view women. You clearly don’t have a very nice perception of females,” she said, pushing her glasses up on the bridge of her nose. 

He liked how she looked like a sexy librarian, a flood of sexual fantasy began to fill his mind. 

“I like women. And if they’re fine, even better. Like you,” he said. 

“Mr. Jackson, liking women and respecting women are two different things,” she said, holding him in a firm stare.

“Oh, come on, girl. I respect women, but sometimes I just wanna rail a sexy bitch, you know what I mean?” he said, grinning. 

Pierre was very good at reading people. He and his brother, Freddie, were actually very good judges of character. They knew who they could manipulate, who they should stay clear of and who they could trust.

He could see her cheeks turning a rosy pink as he talked. He would push his limits with this woman. He was interested in testing her mettle. Something in his predator mind was signaling that this woman liked dangerous men. 

“Maybe we should start with a goal, hmmm? What do you want to achieve from these sessions, Pierre?” she asked. 

He liked how she finally said his name. His focus was on her lips, and he was thinking of all the devilish things he wanted her succulent little mouth to do for him. 

“I dunno, stay out of prison,” he said, again extracting the toothpick. 

“Of course, and I hope we can achieve that. But is there anything else you want to work on? Perhaps your attitude towards women? Society?” she offered. 

“Yeah, sure, whatever,” he said, uninterestedly. 

Elizabeth sighed and closed her notebook. She stood up and walked over to her desk. She wore high heels, a tight black skirt and a pretty red blouse. His eyes immediately went to her ass as she walked by him. 

“Mr. Jackson, I think I’m going to set up the same treatment for you as I did your brother,” she said, opening a drawer and extracting a prescription pad. 

“You mean stopping the fun drugs and starting the nutter drugs, yeah?” he said, annoyed she had returned to calling him Mr. Jackson. 

“They aren’t nutter drugs, it’s medication to assist in your rehabilitation,” she said, scribbling on the pad. “I will be giving you a weekly drug test as well. The court has clearly stated that if you test positive you will serve your court ordered psych evaluation in jail.”

“Yeah, I heard the fucking judge. Got it.” he said, standing up. He walked over to the desk as she tore the paper from the pad. As she handed it to him, he skimmed a finger over her hand causing her to pull her hand back in shock. 

He could see her eyes transition from fear to curiosity. She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and glanced away from him. 

“Um, so, get that filled and begin taking it as I’ve prescribed. I’ll see you back here in a week,” she said. 

“A week, yeah. See ya later, baby,” he said, giving her a long stare and then turning toward the door. 

Once Pierre left, Elizabeth exhaled deeply. She needed to get a grip, because her interaction with Freddie Jackson had also left her flustered. Both men were stubborn and dangerous.

Out of the twins, Freddie seemed more controlled while Pierre was a bit more unpredictable. Nonetheless, something about them was highly alluring. She honestly had never felt this way with any of her male patients, she kept it strictly professional, but something about these twins was gnawing at her willpower. 

She joking told herself she was developing a complex, something she coined "The Jackson Complex."

[chouhatsumimi]

Words from Nukoduke, vol. 1, part 2

Words in bold are particularly relevant to the story, and words in italics seem like they’d be worth remembering outside the context of the manga. Bold and italic together means they’ve probably appeared somewhere in Nukoduke more than once. Kinda long list but it's for a whole volume... actually it's too long for tumblr, so splitting into two parts.

捕食者 ほしょくしゃ predator [OH this one was in Reincarnated as a Slime!!] 被食者 ひしょくしゃ prey 凍える こごえる to freeze (of one's body), to be frozen, to become numb (with cold), to be chilled / congelarse お転婆, 御転婆, 於転婆 おてんば tomboy / chicazo, chica que se comporta como un chico おてんば娘, お転婆娘 おてんばむすめ tomboy, hoyden しっくり来る しっくりくる to feel right, to sit well with one, to be happy about, to suit to a T, to fit well together 甘党 あまとう person who prefers sweet things to alcoholic drinks, person with a sweet tooth / goloso, aficionado a los dulces 捩じ込む, 捩込む, ねじ込む ねじこむ to screw in, to thrust into, to push into, to shove into, to squeeze in (e.g. meeting), to protest (and seek rectification), to complain 錬成, 練成 れんせい training, drilling 堅物 かたぶつ straight-laced or stubborn person 流離 さすらい, りゅうり wandering (e.g. bird, exile, lifestyle), wandering alone in a strange country / errante, vagabundo 気が紛れる, 気がまぎれる きがまぎれる to be distracted from feelings of depression, boredom, tension, etc. 弾む, 勢む はずむ to spring, to bound, to bounce, to be stimulated, to be encouraged, to get lively, to pay handsomely, to splurge, to part eagerly with (money, etc.), to breathe hard, to pant, to be out of breath / rebotar, ser estimulado, estar animado, derrochar 道端, 道ばた みちばた roadside, wayside / a la orilla del camino 精肉 せいにく (good quality) meat, processed meat, small goods / mercancías generales, carne procesada, carne de muy buena calidad 和泉 いずみ Izumi (former province located in the southwest of present-day Osaka Prefecture) 真っしぐら, 驀地 まっしぐら, ましぐら, ましくら, ばくち at full speed, impetuously, precipitately, headlong / a toda velocidad 生け簀, 生簀, 生けす いけす fish pen, holding pond, fish tank, live well, live-box お強請り, 御強請り おねだり begging, pestering, pleading, coaxing [I've seen this come up so much these last couple days] 摘入 つみれ fish balls, fish dumplings 逆立つ さかだつ to stand on end, to bristle up, to be ruffled 良かれ, 善かれ よかれ all for the best, what is right 良かれと思う, よかれと思う, 善かれと思う よかれとおもう to wish to go well, to have good intentions 試飲 しいん sampling a drink, tasting 造花 ぞうか artificial flower, imitation flower, artificial flower making 内職 ないしょく side job (outside of one's main employment), side gig, side hustle, part job (carried out at home), home industry, (secretly) working on something unrelated to the class (or conference, etc.) one is attending / trabajo suplementario 雑貨屋 ざっかや general store 威嚇 いかく threat, intimidation, menace / amenaza, intimidación, amenazar, intimidar 殺傷 さっしょう killing and wounding, bloodshed 殺傷力 さっしょうりょく lethality, killing effectiveness 猫 ねこま cat [LIKE HAIKYUU, I GET IT NOW] 糠漬け, 糠漬, ぬか漬け, ヌカ漬け ぬかづけ, ヌカづけ pickles made in brine and fermented rice bran (esp. vegetables, also meat, fish, eggs, etc.) 額ずく, 額づく, 額突く, 叩頭く, 額衝く ぬかずく, ぬかづく, ぬかつく to kowtow (to bow from a kneeling position such that the forehead touches the ground), to prostrate oneself, to give a deep, reverent bow 目まぐるしい めまぐるしい hectic, bewildering, bustling, dizzy / febril, agitado, confundido, mareado, aturdido, desconcertante, héctico 男前 おとこまえ, オトコマエ handsome man, man's looks, good looks, manliness / hombre guapo 最早 もはや already, now, no longer, not any more / ya, ahora 現役 げんえき active duty, active service, student taking (university) entrance exams while still enrolled in school, student who passed their university entrance exams on the first try / servicio activo 赤飯 せきはん red rice (beans and mochi) for auspicious occasions / sekihan (arroz con judías rojas) 書き下ろし, 書下ろし かきおろし writing something on commission, newly written text