#sci darien

[fandom-from-a-different-timeline]

btw, just to be clear, JesRian shippers dni. also AnnHale-ers what are you doing

[deltadoodles]

My stylus is broken, so I thought putting my OCs onto Unknownspy's free bases that they just put out would be easy enough to do with my fingers.

This is Quartermaster (Blue, They/Them), Darien (Orange, He/Him), and Bit (Green, They/Them)

Never shown these guys off before, so I'm a little nervous, but I hope you like 'em. If you have any questions about them, I'd be happy to answer!

Link to the bases below:

[nerds-yearbook]

In 1949, a playboy CIA agent and his female assistant went to Alaska to investigate UFO sightings and also had to deal with Russian KGB Agents. ("The Flying Saucer", flm)

[rubykgrant]

The Grimmons family picture that started as a sketch, and then turned into a much more elaborate project (I’m just happy I fit them all in there, and all those arms don’t look broken or something). The first image is the original scan, and the scanner I have to use always washes-out the picture in weird ways... the second image is one I slightly adjusted and touched-up, making the shadows a little darker, and fixing some of the lines. Sometimes I just want to make something very soft and soothing, and after all the angst I put these guys through, a happy family life is unexpected and yet very welcomed. Heck, even when they get all domestic, they STILL are far from typical, but happy~

This is when the kids are 7 years old; they couldn’t settle down on Christmas Eve, so after several back-to-bed attempts, their fathers let them stay up watching movies with them, and they all just crashed in the big bed. This kids shall wake up to a mighty haul of gifts from their fathers, as well as the extended family of the Reds and Blues

For those who haven’t seen my Grimmons kids before, I decided to give them a whole gaggle of kids at once (for all the funny implications that holds as they figure out how to be parents). Because they live in sci-fi future times, Grif and Simmons had the option of combining their DNA, and allowing the sample to develop as any other infant would. It was possible it might not work the first try, so they did two samples at once, thinking at most they’d wind up with two babies... but both samples developed into twins. So that’s FOUR KIDS. The call Simmons Dad and Grif Pop. So many baby and toddler shenanigans ensue~

On the left is Grif, holding Daisy (with the longer hair), and Davis (with his arms all over the place. he’s also the one who shoved the covers down, being a little Kicky McGee. don’t worry, the house is well-heated, so they’re all still comfortably warm without the blankets). On the right is Simmons, holding Delilah (who has the thickest curls of the kids), and Darien (who makes a lot of the same faces as Simmons without even trying). Daisy and Darien are actually each other’s twins, while Davis and Delilah are the other pair of twins. Daisy has always been a little bigger than her siblings (even Dare), and Davis is the smallest. Del and Dare are both a little more chubby than the other two. Daisy is ironically very athletic while Davis has almost boundless energy (Grif and Simmons have no idea how they made kids like this, but it happened).

[alannah-corvaine]

★ ᴍᴜᴛᴜᴀʟ ᴄᴀᴛᴄʜ-ᴜᴘ ★

TAGGED BY: @ardberts

TAGGING: sorry i'm so self-conscious about tagging people, if you want to fill this out please consider yourself tagged.

LAST SONG: mr kitty - in your arms.

CURRENTLY WATCHING: idk i don't really watch a lot of tv anymore. i either loop the same 3 or 4 comfort shows or spend a lot of time browsing youtube.

THREE SHIPS: wolbert (xiv), vestige x darien (eso), rivalmanced sebhawke (da2)

FAVORITE COLOR: black, silver, indigo, royal blue.

CURRENTLY CONSUMING: the last slice of leftover pizza.

FIRST SHIP: probably yusuke and keiko, and with the recent live action adaptation of yyh im still in my feels over them.

PLACE OF BIRTH: new york (the state, not the city).

CURRENT LOCATION: the deep south, unfortunately.

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: the textbook cat lady stereotype.

LAST MOVIE: dune part 2. im not into sci-fi all that much but my dad is and our thing is going to the movies together. surprisingly i've enjoyed these movies more than i thought i would.

CURRENTLY WORKING ON: avoiding working on anything because every idea feels so daunting when you have no energy.

[multifandomsimagine]

Tag Games

Was going through my likes and found a few tag games that I completely forgot about so here they are now months late but still here lol Under a 'Read More' cause it's a bit long

Tagging anyone else who wants to be part of this! 

this or that - tropes edition

slow burn or love at first sight // fake dating or secret dating // enemies to lovers or best friends to lovers // oh no there’s only one bed or long-distance correspondence // hurt-comfort or amnesia // fantasy au or modern au // mutual pining or domestic bliss // smut or fluff // canon-compliant or fix-it // reincarnation or character death // one-shot or multi-chapter // kid fic or road trip fic // arranged marriage or accidental marriage // high school romance or middle aged romance // time travel or isolated together // neighbors or roommates // sci-fi au or magic au // body swap or gender bend // angst or crack // apocalyptic or mundane  

1st anime crush vs current anime crush from the same anime

I don't really watch anime (I read manga more) so I'm just going by the first three shows that pop up on my reading list

Hayato Kamitani -> Usaida Yoshihito (School Babysitters / Gakuen Babysitters)

Mamoru Chiba/Darien -> Haruka Tenou/Amara (Sailor Moon)

Giyu Tomioka -> Obanai Iguro (Demon Slayer/Kimetsu no Yaiba)

3 Characters Who Live Rent Free

How do I only choose three?

Wanda Maximoff (Marvel) - I don't remember how I was first introduced to Wanda but I've loved her ever since. Her character has gone through so much (not just in the MCU *cough cough* House of M) and it just makes my heart ache for her. She just wants to have a good life with her family and they just keep being taken from her. Why must she continue to suffer? Leave her alone!!! God I just want to wrap her up in a blanket and make sure nothing bad happens to her again

Rose Quartz/Pink Diamond (Steven Universe) - Rose is such an interesting character because I know she's so polarizing in the fandom. I think it's just so fascinating how we see her arc in reverse; at first, she's this character whose been put on this pedestal and described as this caring and loving figure and then we learn that she was Pink Diamond who was this selfish and childish authority figure. She's just such a complex and gray character which is why I think about her often

Andrew!Peter Parker (Marvel) - Andrew's Peter is my favorite of all the live-action Spider-Man. I love that they went in a different direction with his films by having his love interest be Gwen Stacy. Their story was so cute and I just love how passionate he was about playing Peter. My dork <3

Would You Rather

- musicals or plays

- lemonade or iced tea

- strawberries or raspberries

- winter or summer

- pandas or koalas

- beaches or forests

- planets or constellations

- pastels or neons

- diners or cafes

- unicorns or dragons

- gemstones or crystals

- hummingbirds or owls

- fireworks or sparklers

- sunflowers or hydrangeas

- brunch or happy hour

- sweet or sour

- Rome or Amsterdam

- classic or modern art

- sushi or ramen

- sun or moon

- polka dots or stripes

- macarons or croissants

- glitter or matte

- aquariums or planetariums

- road trip or camping trip

- colouring books or watercolours

- fairy lights or candles

- honey & lemon or milk & sugar

You've been asked out. The ninth recent picture in your camera roll is who asked you out

Thanks Bernie lol

[zabookreviews]

Book Review: Geekerella

I’ve always been a sucker for Cinderella stories. They’re the only romance books I ever read. Many people reduce Cinderella to a girl who sits and does nothing, waiting for a prince to come save her, but that’s not Cinderella’s story. Cinderella’s story is one of perseverance, and finding hope in hopeless situations. Any good Cinderella adaptation understands this, and Geekerella does.

Geekerella by Ashley Poston came out in 2017. The chapters alternate between our Cinderella, the sci-fi loving Elle Wittimer, and our prince charming, equally nerdy, teen actor Darien Freeman. At times the slang used and the references feel dated. Between the fact that Geekerella came out seven years ago and the rapidly evolving nature of online community spaces this is to be expected. Giving the nature of both charters the lack of these would be even more glaring. It adds a layer of authenticity to the charters.

Elle and Darien both struggle with the feeling of not controlling their own story. One relegated to a background charter in their own life, the other feels more like a puppet. On the surface it seems like the same struggle but it effects both differently. The sometime melodramatic way they sometime themselves and their surroundings reflect these separate struggles.

Elle’s step-mother tries to present an image of a picture perfect family. That means getting rid of everything her nerdy late husband left behind, and trying to force her equally nerdy step-daughter into a mold. Elle is left in a world that she thinks has been stripped of everything her father left behind. ExcelsiCon shows her different as she faces her grief and the older grief left by her mother’s death.

This is a lovely Cinderella adaptation, with a believable and beautiful love story and plenty of references to the classic tale.

[docrotten]

BLUEBEARD (1944) – Episode 179 – Decades Of Horror: The Classic Era

“I don’t smoke. But I always have matches with me. I find they frequently come in handy.” You never know when you or someone you’re with might want to signal someone by lighting a match. Join this episode’s Grue-Crew – Daphne Monary-Ernsdorff and Jeff Mohr with guests Michael Zatz and Gregory Crosby – as they discuss Bluebeard (1944), a film far exceeding its poverty-row origin.

Decades of Horror: The Classic Era Episode 179 – Bluebeard (1944)

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

ANNOUNCEMENT Decades of Horror The Classic Era is partnering with THE CLASSIC SCI-FI MOVIE CHANNEL, THE CLASSIC HORROR MOVIE CHANNEL, and WICKED HORROR TV CHANNEL Which all now include video episodes of The Classic Era! Available on Roku, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, AndroidTV, Online Website. Across All OTT platforms, as well as mobile, tablet, and desktop. https://classicscifichannel.com/; https://classichorrorchannel.com/; https://wickedhorrortv.com/

  In Paris, an artist hires portrait models, and after he finishes their portraits, he strangles them.

Directed by: Edgar G. Ulmer

Writing Credits: Pierre Gendron (screenplay); Arnold Lipp (as Arnold Phillips) and Werner H. Furst (story)

Produced by: Leon Fromkess (producer); Martin Mooney (associate producer) 

Music by: Leo Erdody (as Erdody)

Cinematography by: Eugen Schüfftan (uncredited); Jockey Arthur Feindel (camera operator) (director of photography) (as Jockey A. Feindel) (credit only)

Production Design: Edgar G. Ulmer (uncredited)

Selected Cast:

John Carradine as Gaston Morel

Jean Parker as Lucille Lutien

Nils Asther as Inspector Jacques Lefevre

Ludwig Stössel as Jean Lamarte (as Ludwig Stossel)

George Pembroke as Inspector Renard

Teala Loring as Francine Lutien

Sonia Sorel as Renee Claremont

Henry Kolker as Deschamps

Emmett Lynn as Le Soldat

Iris Adrian as Mimi Robert

Patti McCarty as Babette

Carrie Devan as Constance

Anne Sterling as Jeanette Le Beau

Harry Cording as Policeman (uncredited)

Frank Darien as Inquiry Judge (uncredited)

Bess Flowers as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)

Mabel Forrest as Woman (uncredited) (unconfirmed)

Eddie Hall as Paul (uncredited)

John Maxwell Hayes as Man (uncredited) (unconfirmed)

George Irving as The Duke of Carineaux (uncredited)

Ethelreda Leopold as Laughing Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)

Jeff and Daphne are joined by guest hosts Gregory Crosby and Michael Zatz, for a John Carradine extravaganza. Director Edgar G. Ulmer, along with Carradine, an accomplished cast, and a ringer for a cinematographer spin an effective and atmospheric tale about the serial killer known as “Bluebeard” with style, class, and unexpected charm. While on the fringes of horror, Bluebeard should not be missed. Check out what the Grue-Crew has to say if you need more convincing.

At the time of this writing, Bluebeard is available to stream from the Classic Horror Movie Channel, Wicked Horror TV, Amazon Prime, MGM+, Screambox, Tubi, and PlutoTV. It is also available on physical media as the standard Blu-ray format 80th Anniversary Edition from Kino Lorber.

Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era records a new episode every two weeks. Up next in their very flexible schedule, as chosen by Doc, is The Lost Continent (1968), the Hammer film that features blood beasts, torture pits, giant jaw-snapping mollusks, a floating death ship, crazed kelp monsters, and fiery destruction … at least, according to the poster. A couple of familiar faces will join the Classic Era Grue Crew: Bill Mulligan (Decades of Horror 1970s and 1980s) and Richard Klemensen, the publisher of The Little Shoppe of Horrors: The Journal of Classic British Horror Films and the voice you hear on the commentary for the Scream Factory Blu-ray of The Lost Continent.

Please let them know how they’re doing! They want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans: leave them a message or leave a comment on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel, the site, or email the Decades of Horror: The Classic Era podcast hosts at feedback@gruesomemagazine.com

To each of you from each of them, “Thank you so much for watching and listening!”

Check out this episode!

[fortunebookie-ph]

Geekerella

synopsis:

part romance, part love letter to nerd culture, and all totally adorbs, geekerella is a fairy tale for anyone who believes in the magic of fandom. geek girl elle wittimer lives and breathes starfield, the classic sci-fi series she grew up watching with her late father. so when she sees a cosplay contest for a new starfield movie, she has to enter. the prize? an invitation to the excelsicon cosplay ball, and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play federation prince carmindor in the reboot. with savings from her gig at the magic pumpkin food truck (and her dad's old costume), elle's determined to win... unless her sterpsisters get there first.

teen actor darien freeman used to live for cons - before he was famous. now they're nothing but autographs and awkward meet-and-greets. playing carmindor is all he's ever wanted, but the starfield fandom has written him off as just another dumb heartthrob. as excelsicon, draws near, darien feels more and more like a fake - until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise.

book details:

geekerella II once upon a con II ashley poston II 336 pages II paperback II quirk II romance, young adult, contemporary, retellings, realistic fiction

thoughts:

okay, this story was very cute. i really enjoyed all the references to popular fandoms- most of which i'm shamelessly a part of - and i kind of like how the author shows the toxicity of some of these fandoms as well. there is a lot of gatekeeping that goes on - almost subconsciously - within these groups and it makes it very difficult to draw people into it. then there are times that this book shows why it's sometimes necessary to do so.

the beginning of the book was a little rough, if you ask me though. i feel like the author was trying really hard to show that she knows the references to certain fandoms and so the first few chapters were just full of awkwardly placed jokes and easter eggs. sometimes they just straight-up confused me because they made no sense as someone familiar with the story she was referencing. this also led to the dialogue being a bit stilted overall and a bit unrealistic.

it's hard to make a cinderella story in the modern-day because a lot of the actins within the original story are unrealistic in a contemporary setting. there were a lot of moments where i thought, "there's no way someone would do that!" and then there were moments that i just couldn't relate to some of the characters. elle was kinda frustrating at times and she seemed like she was constantly having a pity party for herself. she was definitely a tomboy at times which i normally don't mind but she was kind of annoying about it. she had the "i'm not like other girls" type of attitude and seemed to judge other women when they liked girly things. i wouldn't have minded it if she grew from that eventually but it was kind of rewarded rather than admonished.

once we got further into the lead characters' lives, it got a bit more interesting and cutesy. i honestly wished something like this could happen in real life but i know i could never trust someone i only knew through texting and not meeting in person. i may have trust issues but that's another problem for another day. by the last part of the book i was excited for them to meet each other and the anticipation was absolutely killing me. that anticipation was probably the biggest redeeming quality of the book.

all in all, this was a fun book to read and i enjoyed it for entertainment purposes but it's not going to be my go-to recommendation. if you're in the mood for a quick and easy read, however, this would be on the list.

Rating:

3.91/5

[zerot0m-blog]

The Invisible Man

There once was a tale about a man who could turn invisible... I thought it was only a story, until it happened to me.

Okay so here’s how it works. There’s this stuff called quicksilver that can bend light. My brother and some scientists made it into a synthetic gland and that’s where I came in.

You see I was facing life in prison and they were looking for a human experiment. So, we made a deal: they put the gland in my brain, I walk free. The operation was a success...

But that’s when everything started to go wrong...

[dustedmagazine]

Kode9 — Escapology: Music From Astro-Darien (Hyperdub)

Astro-Darien is a historical sci-fi multi-media “sonic fiction” created by Hyperdub founder Steve Goodman AKA Kode9 in collaboration with visual artists Lawrence Lek, Silvia Kastel and Optigram. It is named for the Darien Scheme, an ill-conceived publicly funded plan to establish a colony and trading post in western Panama in the 1690s. Its failure put Scotland on the verge of bankruptcy and was a significant factor in acquiescence to 1707 Acts of Union that subsumed the country into the United Kingdom under the control of Westminster. In the past two years, the Scottish government has signed off on the construction of spaceports on the Shetland Islands and the north coast of Scotland. Many hope that in time these facilities can become a conduit for space tourism and perhaps colonization. Taking these threads as a starting point and in anticipation of the referendum on independence proposed for 2023, Astro-Darien ponders the lessons of the past in the context of a reimagining of the future.

On Escapology Goodman introduces more beat-driven elements into the narrative in the hope the record will stand alone as a more familiar Kode9 production. It is not always a comfortable union. Passages of club-based rhythm and mechanoid agitation are interspersed between and within more ambient narrative pieces replete with the sort of sinisterly anodyne announcements one hears on planes, trains and presumably the tourist rockets of Bezos, Branson and Musk. Hubris, greed and decay lurk and erupt throughout. “Toxic Foam” is full of rust and bubbling sludge eating its path through erstwhile pristine landscape and architecture alike. “In The Shadow Of Ben Hope” mimics rockets overhead and after the proverbial countdown, the tectonic rumbling of vertical lift-off. It makes for a disjointed aural experience, the frantic beats, the clank and squeak of distressed rivets giving way to sections of sci-fi optimism and on “Torus” for instance the kind of wildly propulsive, technically intricate orchestration associated with Carl Stalling and Raymond Scott. 

Kode9 fans will enjoy club ready tracks like “Uncoil” and “Lagrange Point” and as with his previous work, the mastery of dynamics and the production values are to rights but there’s a sense the music cannot carry the weight of its associations alone. 

Andrew Forell

[amazing-spiderling]

for the fic reader game: 👶🏻❤️‍🔥🥰🍭💔

👶🏻 First fic you remember reading?

It's hard for me to pinpoint exactly the first, mostly because it's been //checks watch// well over twenty years. Also there's a little fuzziness on the order of events, but I can get in the ballpark. The summer before my freshman year of high school I went to a sci-fi convention with a friend. I didn't have a ton of spending money, but I bought a spiral bound zine, which turned out to be a bound copy of someone's Quantum Leap fanfiction. Thing is, I know I didn't read it immediately, so I may not have read it until much later at which point I know I had read a lot of Sailor Moon fic. The first one of those I remember reading was basically the events of the "Doom Tree Saga" (the part of Sailor Moon R made specifically for the anime) except told from Darien/Mamoru's perspective. It was pretty laden with "misunderstandings" and mutual pining (with a dose of amnesia and all those other tropes that are so common to Sailor Moon) and I think maybe they got to kiss like once in the whole story. I printed it out (with some others) and kept it in a binder for future reading.

❤️‍🔥 Your favorite fic with a ship you have?

Can anyone truly have ONE favorite fic? is it not enough to have a library of favorites that you browse and settle into depending on your mood and whims?

Maybe, but I think if I HAVE to pick a favorite it's a Spideypool story called, "you grow old and you lose touch" in which Peter Parker adopts a young Miles after the boy gets stranded in his dimension. What follows is a great found family fic that has Peter growing up just as much as Miles is, while also strengthening his friendship (and eventually romantic relationship) with Wade. It is SO sweet and feels in character while simultaneously being better than anything Marvel could dare to put out, and I can't recommend it enough.

🥰 Your comfort fics that you can re-read several times and still love them?

For MGS (Snake/Otacon) the fic I came back to over and over again was "Sleep Cycle" which is a story about Hal having long bouts of insomnia and Snake helping him sleep by sharing a bed and letting him listen to his heartbeat. It's a 6 chapter medium burn (they're mostly just saving-the-world associates when it begins more than friends, even) but it was a story I could lose myself in when I was having trouble sleeping and it always helped me nod off. I think this can only be found by digging through the Wayback Machine archives, which has taught me the importance of saving backups of favorites.

Matt/Foggy has become a fantastic comfort ship for me so it's hard for me to pick just one, but "Weatherproofing" is another cozy one for similar reasons, with the added benefit of a cold and rainy setting. It's just easy to imagine that feeling of coming into a warm place after being chilled to the bone and slowly feeling the pain and cold seep out of your body.

For Spideypool, it's maybe not quite the same kind of comfort, but "We Give and We Give" is the story I read when I feel utterly wrung out by life and want to feel like someone cares that I'm trying my best and is willing to cut me a little slack so I can recover. If there's a character trait I superimpose on my faves it's "trying too hard and burning out" and this one gives me that "it's okay to chill out" vibe I need sometimes.

🍭 Favorite fic trope?

Same as when writing, mutual pining with that hurt/comfort vibe. The hurt can be part of the pining. >:)

💔 The angstiest fic you ever read?

HANDS DOWN it's "Repeat to Fade" which is another Snake/Otacon story. This one has so much going for it. Aside from being beautifully written in a dreamy way that carries you along the surreal chain of events, it is an utterly tragic story that combines a doomed romance with the trappings of an AI story. The short version is that Snake wakes up in a world he knows is simulated (and takes a lot of notes from the dueling scenery of Utena) and is forced to kill Otacon (again, in the real world mostly just a partner in world-saving-crime) over and over again. It becomes more and more difficult to do so, both as the AI learns how to fight and as he grows this wary appreciation for the virtual personality. I made the mistake of reading this one in a coffee shop and ended up crying over pastries. But at least I had pastries there, so it wasn't all bad.

[maxmcyfield]

Netflix’s GEEKERELLA Season 1: Once Upon a Con Trailer (released June 5th, 2021)

Geek girl Elle Wang (Peyton Chua) lives and breathes Starfield, the classic sci-fi series she grew up watching with her late father. So when she sees a cosplay contest for a new Starfield movie, she has to enter. The prize? An invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball, and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. With savings from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck (and her dad’s old costume), Elle’s determined to win…unless her stepsisters get there first. Teen actor Darien Freeman (Salim Faujar) used to live for cons — before he was famous. Now they’re nothing but autographs and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Carmindor is all he’s ever wanted, but the Starfield fandom has written him off as just another dumb heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, Darien feels more and more like a fake — until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise.

The two accidentally get mixed up in a phone number debacle that ends up in them connecting and falling for each other... over text. Part romance, part love letter to nerd culture, and all totally adorbs, Geekerella is a fairy tale for anyone who believes in the magic of fandom.

[the-bookie-monster-ph]

Geekerella, (Once Upon a Con #1), Ashley Poston

Synopsis:

Cinderella goes to the con in this fandom-fueled twist on the classic fairy tale.

Part romance, part love letter to nerd culture, and all totally adorbs, Geekerella is a fairy tale for anyone who believes in the magic of fandom. Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic sci-fi series she grew up watching with her late father. So when she sees a cosplay contest for a new Starfield movie, she has to enter. The prize? An invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball, and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. With savings from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck (and her dad’s old costume), Elle’s determined to win…unless her stepsisters get there first.

Teen actor Darien Freeman used to live for cons—before he was famous. Now they’re nothing but autographs and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Carmindor is all he’s ever wanted, but the Starfield fandom has written him off as just another dumb heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, Darien feels more and more like a fake—until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise.

Review:

I haven’t read a lot of YA books in my time that are explicitly romance focused, though most YA has a romantic aspect to it (one day I will write my platonic novel, one day). So I was expecting a very cliché fairy-tale retelling with lots of gazing into each other’s eyes and so on and so forth. I was, therefore, pleasantly surprised by how sweet this story was (without being sickly). I think levels of tolerance for romance is varied, so for some even this level may be unbearable, but for me, this felt like a good place to be.

This book has what I’ve referred to in my notes as ‘huge fanfiction vibes’ by which I mean you can see where the plot is going after about three chapters but you don’t mind because by that point you’re along for the ride. In part that is because this is a retelling (adding to the year of all the retellings) which obviously means you know how it will end, but I could see how Ashley Poston started writing through fanfiction. I know some people would take that as criticism, but personally, I believe some of the most passionate and engaging writers are those who write or have written fanfiction in the past. Overall, the effect this has on the book is that it’s a comforting and comfortable read, with a simple enough plot that the personalities of the individual characters can shine through. The ‘fanfiction’ feel also helps to cover the fact that the entire premise is not 100% realistic, something which some romantic novels just expect you to deal with. However, the way this book is written encourages you as a reader to suspend disbelief to a certain degree, to believe in fairy tales and in, if not the impossible then the improbable.

I’ve touched on characters but let’s go into a little more detail. Our protagonist Elle is, understandably, the star of the piece. What I loved about Elle’s character was that she was so passionate about Starfield without excluding others. Rather than keeping her information about the show to herself she brings a new friend Sage into the community and shares her love of the show. I don’t want to go into too much detail about that dynamic, because I’m saving it for a blog post where I tear apart Ready Player One but suffice to say this was a well-written fangirl for sure.

Another thing I think this book does well is gradually developing the characters and friendships without feeling rushed or fake (for the most part). I think this is perhaps best shown in Darien’s character. This could have been a very flat, one-dimensional character (as Prince Charming is in the original fairy-tale let’s be honest) but instead, he has his own development and growth within the story, a lot of it happening outside of the knowledge of Elle. I liked that both characters were fully realized, it made it a more satisfying romance to have both sides of the story.

Even the side characters were interesting and had important moments within the story. Of course, I loved seamstress Sage, but I also enjoyed the two sisters and the stepmother, these are characters who have been approached by many an author in a plethora of different ways, yet in this book, they felt much more than just generic evil or nasty women. Good characters make for a good book (even when those characters aren’t morally good).

This is a comforting book, it’s simultaneously incredibly simple and profoundly detailed. I would describe it as the reading equivalent of watching a familiar film where nothing can go terribly wrong and even if it does, it’ll all be fine in the end (mine is Mamma Mia, what’s yours?). If you’re the kind of person who likes a retelling and a romance then this is the book for you.

[rubykgrant]

Grimmons babies... but they got BIGGER~

(up-dated version!)

They’re about 14 here (imagine they’re taking a picture for the first day of high school for Grandpa Sarge). Some info about them below-

Since I’ve already got Tex and Church having their own synthetic human bodies that were created with the DNA samples of Allison and the Director, it isn’t too much of stretch to figure out other potential uses for this; trying to create a “perfect” clone that is identical to the person the sample is taken from is kinda impossible (they start to break down when the reach the age of the person when the sample was originally taken). One option is to let all the information within the DNA sample sort of randomize itself. OR, introduce another DNA sample to combine. Trans Simmons is basically a fact, but I feel like when he was younger, he nver thought ahead about starting a family one day (thus, no egg cells saved). Tucker could perhaps introduce them to some space aliens, but neither Simmons nor Grif are enthusiastic about going through the whole birth process. Adoption was also a thought, but because Simmons helped with the situation regarding Church’s body, he has some insight to how this works, he decided to bring up this option to Grif. So, they decided to try it for themselves. Grif’s DNA combined with Simmons... and two sets of twins were the result! Definitely more babies than they thought they’d get, but they were more than happy to take care of them all, and love their children very much~

Because they’re both nerds, Grif and Simmons were going to pick names inspired by various sci-fi authors and fictional characters... eventually, they settled on using the letter D, since it matches with thir firts names being Dick and Dexter (their friends and family suggested a few names, too). For official purposes, the surnames are Grif-Simmons, but the kids often shorten it to GS when they write it out. They call Simmons “Dad” and Grif “Pop”~

Delilah “Del” is gender-neutral (afab, but both parents were very understanding and accepting of all their kids), prefers they/them but doesn’t mind she/her. Del’s got all of the chill without being a total slacker; they’re more like the voice of reason, and the one who can get everybody else to calm down during a crisis. Not so much in a “take-charge” kind of way, but gives great advice. They play all kinds of video games (so do the other sibs, but each has something specific; Del is into EVERYTHING), and has a special gift with language/words (Del speaks 7 languages fluently, and knows how to translate/read even more). Del is also a horror movie junkie (even as a child, they somehow didn’t get freaked out by scary movies). Auntie Kai suggested the name Delilah (because she loved watching Gargyles with her brother and Simmons; the name just really stuck with her, for whatever reason)

Davis is Del’s twin bro, and he’s the kid who always has TOO MUCH ENERGY. Even before he could walk as a baby, he was jamming around and had to be watched constantly. He’s still runs on a natural sugar-high, but thankfully his parents knew how to help him out (a good combo of meds that help him focus, plus he’s learned plenty of activities that let him put his energy to good use). All the sibs are talkative, but Davis is the most chatty. He’s also the clingiest kid. He likes working on puzzles, as well as taking things apart/putting them back together, so he’s got a big collection of various machines he can work on. He also really likes music; listening to it helps him concentrate, and he usually sings lots of little songs. Grif picked the name out... and yes, he chose it because of Digimon

Darien “Dare” is agender (amab, but again; good parents), and also mostly uses they/them but is OK with he/him. Dare was the safety-kid when it came to his sibs, and always seemed to worry about the others if they weren’t all together. As they got older, Dare settled down just a bit... and ironically, was totally OK with taking risks (if everybody wants to go swimming, Dare will jump in the water first... out of a tree, or off a cliff). Basically, the one who nags the others to wear a helmet when they ride a bike, but when a crazy stunt is siggested, they’ll say “Sure, I’ll do it!”. With Grif as a parent, all the kids were no strangers to treats, but Dare has a fondness for food (they have specific flavors and textures they like. for example, Dare will pour some steak sauce into a small dessert bowl, and eat it with a spoon like soup). Uncle Donut loves all these kids, but Lou shares his interest in fashion. Locus didn’t know Grif and Simmons were paying attention, but he mentioned liking the name Darien... they liked it too, so they used it for a baby (Locus is embarrassed to admit his first crush as a kid was on Tuxedo Mask from Sailor Moon, and that’s why he likes the name haha)

Daisy is Lou’s twin sister, and she was always the biggest baby. As the sibs grew, she continued to be the tallest. She was motivated to be the one who could keep on being able to pick up the other kids no matter how old they were, so she became the most athletic kid too (nobody is sure how Simmons made a jock or how Grif made a kid with energy overflow, bit it happened). Most people don’t realize she and Dare are literally twins, and she gets a kick out of it when people assume she’s the oldest (she’s not; the other set are actually older by 1 hour, Del being oldest, born 4 minutes sooner than Davis). Although Daisy enjoys playing various sports, she’s just not super competitive (and it ticks off the other kids who are obsessed with winning). The only time she gets really serious is if somebody is actually in trouble. She’s the most out-doors-y kid of her sibs, often hiking and swimming, and her other hobbies include a rock collection (she can tell you their scientific properties, and also magical symbolism). I have an OC in my RVB story-line, who gets adopted into Red Team. Her name is Poppy, and she actually bonds with Simmons a lot, so he wanted one child to have a flower name, like hers~

[friendly-neighbourhood-librarian]

Geekerella - Ashley Poston

What I love about Cinderella stories is the moment when the girl who's just Trying Her Best finally gets everything she wants and deserves, in spite of the people trying to hold her back, and finally has someone in her life who actually sees her and values her and supports her — it's so satisfying!

Anyways.

Elle is a certified fangirl for the sci-fi series Starfield. Her parents met because of their love for the show, her father started the ExcelsiCon fan convention, and Elle herself has been writing fanfiction since childhood. Now that her parents are gone, Starfield is her way of keeping their memory close. So she is not thrilled when teen-heartthrob soap-opera-star Darien Freeman is cast for the leading role in the new movie reboot.

Darien, closet nerd and Starfield fan, took the role because it means something to him — but the passionate fandom seems to hate him, especially one blogger in particular. When he develops an anonymous text friendship with a Starfield fan, he feels like he can finally just be himself. Everything culminates at ExcelsiCon where Darien will be judging the cosplay competition and Elle will be competing.

It hits all the classic Cinderella tropes mixed with a love letter to fandom culture and why it's so meaningful. Good fun!

Once Upon a Con series: Geekerella | The Princess and the Fangirl | Bookish and the Beast

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