Entries feed for grand_sophy

This cap is from 4x13 "After School Special".
Click to see the full-sized cap.

New episodes with the Boys & Baby begin tonight!

• Headaches & sleepiness...gee, thanks body.
  
• SPN Perfectly Timed Credits: 10x03
  
• Video & Caps: SPN S15 - Last Ride
  

Happy SPN Thursday everyone! *hugs*

The lovely Erica Carroll as Hannah in "Soul Survivor".

// Click images to view at full-size. //

So on the weekend Jeffrey Dean Morgan married Hilarie Burton. The two have been together since introduced by their respective friends co-stars Jensen and Danneel. The ceremony was officiated by Jensen (!!) and JDM's current costar and BFF Norman Reedus.

To top things off Jeff, Jensen and Jared then got MATCHING FREAKING TATTOOS. They appear to be a stylised crown - with three points. The top also looks a bit like a W ! (You can see it on the picture below taken of Jared at ACL) On the post JDM said " Hilarie and I weren't the only ones joined for life. Jared, Jensen and myself will forecer have a bond that is both special and permanent."

     

Oh, boy! Our first real look at the last season!



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Well, I have obviously not caught up on Supernatural in time for the FINAL SEASON PREMIERE AIRING TONIGHT, so I'll be hoping to catch up (including s15 episodes) by the winter hiatus. *crosses fingers*

In the meantime though, and since this is the final season, I thought I would bring out a blast from the past (for me at least)



This is the icon I made back in early second season I think (though it may have had a different day then) and every SPN airing day, I would change my default icon to this annoying flashing orange mess, with the idea that all the places I left comments with my default icon would become little billboards for Supernatural. (Yeaaah, I don't think it ever really drew anyone new to the show either.)

ANYWAY. I am posting this now, in case anyone wants to use it during the final season. DW, LJ, Tumblr, Twitter, wherever. (Just don't sell it, LOL)

Enjoy the hell out of the episode tonight. I'll keep at this 'catching up' business and squee with y'all live (or a reasonable facsimile) hopefully after the winter hiatus.

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Challenges
Schedule announcement at wincestbigbang
New Drabbles Every Weekend challenge at spn_bigpretzel
Posting guidelines at spneldritchbang

Fanfic: Sam/Dean
The slightest bit of light and I can see you clear by amypond45 (RPF crossover, Sam/Dean/Jared, NC-17)
Binaural 1-9/31 by charliebradbury (R)

Fanfic: Other Slash
Scentless by anyscia (Dean/Castiel, NC-17)

Fanfic: Gen
There's Your Moral by jpunkin (teen)
When the New York Times said "God is dead and the war's begun" by caranfindel (R)

Recs
J2 vid rec by raloria

Fanart
FBI agents by merakieross (Sam/Dean)

Screencaps/Pictures
Video & Caps: The Cast Of 'Supernatural' Reads A Winchester Bedtime Story by raloria

Meta
Discussion: Season 15 -- Of Humans, Monsters, and the End of an Era at spn_darkside

Miscellaneous
Poll: Favorite 9th episode by bratfarrar
Name That Cap Challenge 6 - Final Challenge Results by raloria

The OTW has a long history of preserving fandom; help us continue our work. Follow the link to learn more and donate today: https://otw.news/1d0f0

1) I was reminded of the scene in Firefly where Simon says, upon seeing Jayne's statue, that this must be what going mad feels like. I watched the 2003 Hulk movie by Ang Lee and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. So I went to Wikipedia to see what had been said about this trash fire of a movie and read the following:

"Hulk grossed $245 million worldwide, becoming one of the highest-grossing films of 2003. The critical consensus on Rotten Tomatoes calls it an ambitious and stylish film that focuses too much on dialogue at the cost of action. " ( Collapse )

2) Speaking of trash fires thanks to producers who didn't respect the canon and figured fans would buy anything: a review of Trek tie-ins with a dispiriting but unsurprising discovery. As time has gone on, fewer women have been hired for these books. (Thanks to Satsuma for the link) ( Collapse )

3) "Consumer Reports examined 787 consumer cable bills from 13 top cable providers and found that while the average user paid around $156.71 per month for cable TV, users in reality paid $217.42 a month once fees were included."

What's more:

"The report is quick to highlight how some of the bullshit fees (like the "regulatory recovery fee") are named in such a way to trick the consumer into blaming government. "

This is literally the reason why we cancelled our cable, because I was so incensed by this deception:

"The study found that in 2015, Comcast started charging consumers a $1-a-month Regional Sports Fee and $1.50-a-month broadcast TV fee ($2.50 per month). By 2019 those fees had ballooned to $18.50 a month, or a 600 percent increase in just four years."

Think about that. You could pay for one or two streaming services a month for that same cost.

4) My first thought was of the habit of fans to search via kudos on AO3.

"Based on these results, Australian researchers proposed the first model (dubbed the MusicLab model) to explain how content becomes popular in cultural markets — why a few things get all the popularity while most get none and (most important for us) why showing the number of downloads can be so detrimental."

5) And in contrast, a great use of AO3 as a cultural landmark. I love seeing all the different fandoms going by.







Comments at Dreamwidth .

[Unknown LJ tag] posted: All the transformative fandom panels at Worldcon

The power of representing ourselves in fanfiction
CCD: Wicklow Room-2
When they don’t see themselves on the page or on the screen, fans often reimagine characters, or find space in the canon for representation that wasn’t originally there, by creating their own head-canons of gender, sexuality, race and (dis)ability. Our panel talks about the power of representing ourselves by rewriting beloved characters, and discusses some of their favourite head-canons

What fanfiction can teach genre writers
CCD: ECOCEM Room
Fanfiction’s popularity continues to grow, tapping into the special creative connection between authors and fans. What is it about this literary nexus that is so fascinating and stimulating for fans? And what might authors have to learn from fans who write it?

The importance of the fanfiction community
CCD: Wicklow Hall-1
As we can see from the Archive of Our Own – managed and maintained by its creators and readers and
supporters – fanfiction isn’t just about the written works, but also about the community surrounding them. What can the fanfiction community offer that other areas of fandom can’t?

Fanworks in YA
CCD: Wicklow Hall 2B
Fanfic, fanart, cosplay, and more: how do YA fans engage with their favourite works? How do YA fans engage in fan culture? And is there a distinctly ‘YA’ fan culture?

Ship ahoy!
CCD: Liffey Room-1
Shipping is the desire to have two (or more!) characters end up in a – usually romantic – relationship. What do shippers mean by an OTP, a sailed ship, or a sunk ship? Our panellists will define niche terms, explain why the joy of shipping isn’t relegated to R- or X-rated slash fic, and share and compare their favourite genre ships.

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This cap is from 1x07 "Hook Man".
Click to see the full-sized cap.

Winchester Wednesday! Look at those smug young things!

• Had a pretty unintentionally lazy Tuesday. Bleh.
  
• Video & Caps: The Cast Of 'Supernatural' Reads A Winchester Bedtime Story
  

Have a good Wednesday folks. *hugs*

I'd listen to any of these guys read me a bedtime story! *g*



:: Cap Size: 1280x720 :: Cap Total: 95 :: Sample Caps: 14
:: No hotlinking, please! :: Credit me, raloria when taking/using/re-posting :: Comments are LOVE! ♥

View all the caps on SlickPic HERE.
Download a zipped folder of all 95 Caps: EW SPN Cast Reads Caps by Raloria.zip - 49 MB

// Click to see caps full-sized //

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It’s been a while since I updated this journal – and it seems like all I ever blog about these days is family stuff, so I’ll just give a brief update on that and then move onto other subjects.

The main family news is that my Big Sis and her Hub brought their children home to live two weeks ago today, and they are now in the process of bonding as a family. It hasn’t been without its ups and downs, as you’d expect. The children have had disrupted little lives, Miss E in particular, so understanding that this is forever will take a lot of time and patience, while forming a true familial bond is something that can’t be rushed but rather will grow gradually over time. They’ve all had colds. Little G came out in spots and is now on antibiotic for a bacterial infection. Miss E is quite jealous of Sis’s time and attention and has started talking about past trauma beyond what was noted in her file – and has proved to be obsessively tidy in a way that is also indicative of past trauma. The smaller of the two dogs has become very protective and keeps stressing herself out trying to watch over both children at the same time, which is aggravating her epilepsy. But on the whole they are doing okay, still cocooned within the bonding bubble that is required of the first few weeks together as a family.

As for me, I think I’m only now beginning to fully understand just how stressed and depressed I’ve been all this year – well, for longer than that, really – with everything that’s been going on. I won’t go into any of the more personal ins and outs, but one effect of this is that I haven’t been able to do a lot of the things I usually do to relax, like write or attempt any other creative endeavour. No matter how much I want to work on a project, my brain just won’t do it – keeps shorting out from worrying about too many things, it’s a struggle to focus on anything, never mind attempt to be creative.

So I’m trying to be really gentle with myself and not place any demands on myself at all. I’m letting all my creative projects just sit and percolate – they’ll still be there waiting, when I feel better.

Instead, I’m doing a lot of comfort-TV-watching. If the brain doesn’t want to do anything, take it off the hook for a while! Gentleman Jack and Good Omens have been two new shows that I really enjoyed this year, although I have mostly retreated into the comfort of re-watches.

But I think I must be beginning to feel at least a little bit better, because I’m getting quite excited about the new Star Trek: Picard show, which is due to air for international viewers on 24 January on Amazon Prime – and it feels like an age since I felt this sort of enthusiasm for anything, so this has come as quite a relief.

I wasn’t expecting it – I certainly didn’t feel like this when Discovery came out. I didn’t even attempt to watch that until two seasons had already aired, although I’ve seen it now and enjoyed it, for the most part, while agreeing with those critics who’ve suggested that making it a prequel didn’t do it any favours. Picard, though – TNG was the Star Trek of my youth. I grew up watching it. As a teen, I collected tie-in novels with my pocket money (still have one or two favourites I couldn’t quite bear to part with when I got rid of the rest to free up shelf space). I followed TNG, DS9 and Voyager from start to finish, when they were on TV, although I never took to Enterprise.

I hadn’t given the franchise much thought for years, though, once it went off the air. Doctor Who was my thing – I started collecting DVDs of the Classic series almost as soon as they started to be released, back when it was the only Doctor Who that existed, no ‘classic’ about it, because the reboot hadn’t happened yet. With Star Trek, I was content to let it be a thing I’d enjoyed at the time but then moved on from when it was over. I looked at the DVDs from time to time over the years but didn’t want them quite enough to justify the investment. I caught random episodes now and then in re-runs on cable, but that was it.

Then I treated myself to a Netflix subscription last Christmas as a pick-me-up. And Netflix has all seasons of Star Trek ever – including Discovery, which was when I finally got around to watching that. After a while, I started dipping in and out of both TNG and Voyager to refresh my memory of those – and I picked those two as the least serialised, so that it wouldn’t matter if I was only watching the odd episode now and then, and it wouldn’t matter how long it took to get through all the seasons or even if I never made it very far at all, there was no pressure, it was just for fun. Comfort viewing of the kind I’ve been craving all year, safe and cosy and nostalgic.

But then this new Picard series started to be talked about, and casting details started to come out, and snippets of information about characters and plot. And I got interested, and then more interested, and started to wonder if it would be possible to get through all seven seasons of TNG before it airs, rather than going into it relying on 20-30-year-old memories – and actually found that target motivating rather than intimidating, which I am taking as a good sign.

Comic-Con panels and trailers back in the summer and again this week have provided more snippets of information about what to expect, including returning cast members from TNG (and Voyager) and first sight of the new crew, who are very much not TNG 2.0 – this is, it is clear, going to be a very different kind of show, with very notable undertones of Firefly, ragtag team of misfits on a totally unauthorised mission, which has got my interest well and truly piqued. And with all that, my TNG re-watch kind of stepped up still another gear almost without my noticing, while Voyager pretty much fell by the wayside – even though a character from Voyager is going to be in the new show, with important backstory that would probably be useful to bone up on. Only so many spare hours in a week, after all.

I’m halfway through season four now, so I might make it! Seasons one and two were a bit of a slog, but seasons three and four are excellent, I'd forgotten how much! And I'm having lots of fannish thoughts, and following all new information that becomes available, trying to piece together as much as I can from what has been released, and it really does feel like forever since I felt this enthused and interested in anything new, so I'm really hoping this is the start of being able to pull out of the doldrums at last. I've found in the past that when I can't be creative, writing analytically about something that interests me is a good way of keeping the brain ticking over in the meantime, but haven't even managed that this year - so beginning to at least think analytically, piecing together available information for a new show to try to figure out what to expect from it, that's got to be a good start, no? And maybe, in time, the rest will come...

This entry was originally posted at https://llywela.dreamwidth.org/1046462.html. Please feel free to comment either here, or there using OpenID.

The OTW is pleased to present its updated 2019 budget. Follow the link to learn where your donations are going: https://otw.news/f3568

This cap is from 11x06 "Our Little World".
Click to see the full-sized cap.

The HAIR! So tousled, so magnificent!

• I don't have much to say about Monday. It was a Monday. lol
  
• SPN Name That Cap Challenge 6 - Final Challenge Results & Winner!
  

Have a good Tuesday folks. *hugs*

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The Forgotten Promise
idol season 11 | week two | 430 words
Living rent-free in your head

x-x-x-x-x

In the woods behind the house
(the secret woods, the ones you always forget),
there are mysteries beneath the branches,
under stones, around the corners,
unseen treasures just waiting to be found.

You move mouse-quiet, feet too soft to make a sound.

The path snakes its way to the edge of a shadowed lake,
where whispers below the water call your name
(you must pretend you cannot hear them).
The air is wrong here, dank and heavy,
the pall of a graveyard in the night.

(You creep back in silence, too cautious for full flight).

The trail ahead grows clearer, green leaves stirring
in the barest hint of wind. You listen.
The trees sigh. Snapping twigs and distant rustling
prick your ears (your skin), then quickly fade.
They only betrayed what you already knew:

In its hidden heart, the forest listens too.

You steal toward the glade, stepping carefully
over the uncertain ground ahead. Searching
left then right, you see only the forest itself.
But an alluring scent seeps out from the gloom,
its odor woodsy and green and somehow true.

You track it to the murky depths, a choice you may yet rue.

Peering through the foggy mists, you glimpse—
yes, there—a glint of light. It draws you near.
Breath held in tight, you stretch your arm out
toward the branch that blocks the view. So close now,
you can almost touch it, almost reach, but then—

Those teeth, oh god, those teeth! What have you found?

It growls and turns, but you are already running
fast and hard, down the path and through the bushes
with no clear thoughts but Away, away, away!
You didn't quite see—but it was big, you are certain—
and if you are caught, you will not survive.

This is all that matters now, this fight to stay alive.

You leap and crash through the underbrush,
leaves and cobwebs snagging on your face,
and witch-like moss fingers pulling at your hair.
The woods are darker now, so dark you cannot see.
How can you escape, can you even find your way?

The monster will not forget you. You are its only prey.

Breath raging and lungs aching, still you run.
Your heart pounds, a frantic bird inside your chest.
You hear it coming, the beast there behind you,
gaining fast and much too close, oh god, so close.
Your legs are tired and slow, the beast is at your neck—

You are not the first to have this dream,
nor the only, nor the last.
You never remember just exactly how it ends…

--//--

If you enjoyed this story, you can vote for it along with many other fine entries here.

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So The Boy and I decided that this fall/winter we're going to do the 5 Peak Challenge, and yesterday we kicked it off by hiking North Fortuna.

I've avoided mountain hikes in the past because I'd get tired way to quickly as soon as I hit even a small incline. But I figured, hey, I've been going to the gym regularly for six months now and feeling much stronger, so that should help. And it definitely did -- I made it up to the summit with only a couple of rest stops, and my legs felt good and strong throughout the hike. Unfortunately, the one thing you can't improve by going to the gym is your heat tolerance.

It didn't actually start to bother me until after we'd come back down the mountain and were more than halfway back to the car. But then we hit this final uphill stretch, not very steep but really long, with no shade at all. The temperature was close to 90F by then, and I faded pretty rapidly. By the time we were approaching the end of the trail, I was all ready to go that's it, I'm done, I'm not moving another step. But The Boy was all, c'mon, you know you'll be really embarrassed if we have to call for a rescue when you're, like, two hundred yards from the parking lot. Which was perfectly true. So I pushed through to the end of the trail, and then The Boy poured about a quart of Gatorade into me and I felt fine again. Lesson learned, though -- next time I'm wearing shorts or lightweight pants instead of jeans and carrying extra water.

But hey, it was still a great hike with awesome scenery, and we have the pics to prove it.

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