Elayna's ramblings

This was on The Sentinel Fic Finder community [https://sentinelficfind.livejournal.com/] on LiveJournal. I didn't interact much with Alyjude but I do recognize the name. Sharing here for The Sentinel and Stargate fans who may wish to hear the sad news.

Sad news -- the passing of a great TS creator
I am sharing this information on all TS sites about the passing of Alyjude, a long-time contributor to our fandom. If you don't know her, or want to learn more about her, check out this amazing Fanlore page.
https://fanlore.org/wiki/Alyjude

On this site [SentinelFicFind], the "alyjude" tag shows up on close to 100 entries and she wrote a number of episodes for the Slash Virtual Season project. Click on the link and check it out. It's an amazing coordinated effort by a group of dedicated fans to continue where canon left off.

You can find many of her stories at AO3 here: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alyjude_sideburns
She wrote prolifically for The Sentinel and Stargate fandoms. Because she also wrote for a lot of challenges, her work is scattered throughout the fandom. She organized many challenges as well. For a number of years she organized and ran a charity auction to raise funds for the Moonridge Zoo, a wild animal rescue organization which was one of Garett Maggart's favorite charities. Many fans came to the Zoo on Sentinel Day when Garett showed up to entertain his fans and play with the animals. (I've seen pictures. He was fearless!)

Aly had been in poor health for many years, but that didn't dull her spirit or imagination. She continued to be involved in the fandom, writing or creating art for various projects and challenges, including for the yearly The Sentinel Secret Santa challenge, where she wrote a short story just last month. She left an impact on many lives and a legacy of TS stories and art (including my icon). Aly will be sorely missed. Rest in peace, my friend.

From their DreamWidth: "fandomtrumpshate is an online auction of fanworks that generates donations to progressive nonprofits that are working to protect marginalized people. Over the course of the last 9 years we have raised over $430,000 for a range of amazing organizations."

FTH covers many different fandoms, varying each year by what creators and craft bazaar folks are offering, and also support a variety of important causes. They are a great DW to follow, to think about being a creator/craft bazaarian, or to look at the auction offerings and maybe bid. Bid high, bid often! They've just announced their schedule for the year, it's time to check them out!

I went to the Stargate movie with minimal expectations. It premiered in October IIRC, which is not a time for a movie expected to be a blockbuster. But it starred Kurt Russell, who had been a favorite since his The Computer Who Wore Tennis Shoes days, and James Spader instantly captivated me as Daniel Jackson, and it was a solid fun action film.

Again, I had little expectations for the series. Richard Dean Anderson was just some guy who starred in a show I didn't watch. But it was on HBO IIRC, which I had at the time, and I'll give most sci-fi series a try. Michael Shanks did well as Daniel, Samantha and Teal'c were good characters, and I really enjoyed it until 5th or 6th season or so, and the constant mucking about with the cast members.

I was a little burned out on Stargate SG1 by the time SGA was announced, and seriously contemplated not watching it. But I'd been really amused by David Hewlett as Rodney McKay in his SG1 appearances and decided I'd give it a try. I wasn't immediately grabbed, it was The Storm/The Eye that really made me fall in love with the show and McShep.

Though again, cast changes, and bringing in Jewel Staite as Keller and having her scold Rodney a lot, ugh. But I still loved my McShep and was highly annoyed when SGA's cancellation was announced in favor of SGU. I did watch the trailers for SGU but it seemed dark and depressing and none of the actors convinced me to give it a try. I watched Rodney's one appearance and found the plot stupid, pleased that I hadn't bothered.

The first time I saw an announcement for the reboot, it was either Dean Devlin or Roland Emmerich, TPTB for the movie, who was going to be the showrunner, and they were returning to immediately after the movie, wiping out all the TV history. I still like O'Neill and Jackson as characters, and I can appreciate why someone might like a new start, but this didn't excite me.

The newest announcement is that Martin Gero will be the showrunner. He was involved with the TV show, so perhaps he'd be less inclined to wipe out all that history, but who knows? Anyone might want a clean slate.

So... I feel pretty ambivalent, actually. If a new show brings interest to the previous ones, and new rewatches, residuals for the actors, maybe a new infusion into the fandom, etc., that is excellent, truly excellent. But I'm not banking on General Sheppard making guest appearances, so that diminishes my excitement.

When I have loved Stargate, I have loved it. I rewatch the movie occasionally, those first four seasons of SG1 were consistently excellent, I adore so many of the SGA eps. But it's also definitely had some jaded/yeah whatever, I'll see how it goes reactions from me. I hope the new show happens! I hope I love it! I hope it doesn't wipe out the TV history and we see cameos from many of the previous characters! Fingers crossed!

But, well, we'll see.

Starting out lazy this year, copying from TheWayne's DreamWidth:

"[PLEASE post on your LJ account(s) and communities, if you have such, so as many people as possible know about this!]

It looks like the Putin government is getting ready to lock their social media sites in to Russian posters only and to require social media credits. Dream Width is doing what they can to smooth transferring LJ users over, and there are other sites that are LJ clones, but I can't name them. I think Insane Journal was one, I have no idea if they're still around. I moved to DW nine years ago this January and have no particular problems with it, and I would expect that Europeans would have no issues with payment.

This Bluesky post explains what's going on, and comments dig deeper and discuss alternative archive methods.
https://bsky.app/profile/rahaeli.bsky.social/post/3mbebi2xfxc25

This LJ post explains things - in Russian. Google Translate should handle switching it into the language of your choice.
https://ru-news.livejournal.com/80899.html

Happy new year indeed."

I moved to DW many years ago, but I've always kept my LJ as I had one of those forever accounts. I haven't posted there in years but mainly keep it to read a few communities over there. I'll have to see if I can find any of those communities on DW. I don't think I deleted all my posts there, it's probably time.

I'm normally not one for the villain, I don't need to know the tragic backstory that drove someone to be bad, give me the hero.

But then... there's Hans Gruber, truly one of the great villains in modern cinema. He's intelligent, organized, focused, educated, with the ability to both dissemble and be vicious. He knows what he wants, to be filthy rich, and he has planned brilliantly to achieve his ambition. (If it wasn't for that meddling cop!)

I didn't see Die Hard in the theater. I hadn't yet realized my love for action movies and Bruce Willis was some guy on a TV show I didn't watch. But I heard such good reviews, I watched it... IDK when or where, but before the sequel came out two years later. Maybe rented the DVD from Blockbuster?

Alan Rickman walked onto the screen and owned every scene, I loved him, and I loved that movie.

I recently showed it to my sister and a nephew, and I was amused by his reactions. "Oh, he uses his real voice for Snape." Um, yep. Rickman has a great voice, silkiest as its most menacing. And "Is that his real hair? Then Snape's hair must be dyed." Hmm. Yeah, actually Snape's hair must be a wig, men usually can't grow their hair that long multiple times for one role over several years.

So yeah. Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber is my fave movie villain, someone I love to watch be bad and get his comeuppance.

I'm almost done! I'm gonna finish on time! I'm gonna do some faves. And next year I'm gonna finish without having to frantically cram the last week of the year! Ha ha ha. Maybe.

Rumor has it that Red, White & Royal Blue was written by a slasher after the orange felon's election in 2016, her fantasy response of what the world should be like. The book was recommended to me by slashers, but I hadn't got around to reading it before the movie came out. Usually I would read the book first, but my zoom movie group picked it so we all watched together.

It's a delightful film about the secret romance between the son of the female American president and the British prince. Both men are good-looking and charming, their initial antagonism, the building attraction, and their eventual relationship all very fun.

The British prince is played by Nicholas Galitzine, who I've seen in several other roles (also the prince in Amazon's recent Cinderella), and has recently bulked up to star in He-Man. He is an up and comer I expect to keep enjoy watching.

I won't say the movie is perfect, though right now all I remember of our mild critiques is Uma Thurman's Texas accent is bizarre.

I read the book afterwards, also enjoying it very much, and actually I'd recommend that order. The book has a lot more detail, more on the secondary characters of the sister and the assistant who is trying to keep the relationship quiet, that I think I would have been disappointed to not see in the movie.

It's on Amazon Prime and only available there afaik. Red, White & Royal Wedding is in pre-production. I'm very pleased to see a gay romance being so successful it spawns a sequel. It's about time.

I don't know that it was written by a slasher but it certainly feels like it. Not quite enemies to lovers, more like forced grumpy acquaintances to lovers. Very fun!

A friend is searching:

I'm trying to find a Sentinel AU in which Jim and Blair first meet while Blair is working as an elf for a mall Santa. Jim is grounded by Blair's voice, even though Jim has no clue about the Sentinel stuff yet, and is also charmed by a story about a magic feather that Blair invents on the spot to calm an anxious child.

It sounds cute, but I've only read Sentinel XO fics. Anyone recognize it? It sounds very cute!

I have seen The Nutcracker more in the last few years than the entirety of my life before the pandemic, I think. I've become closer to a friend who goes every year without fail. (I may need to break away from this, 'cuz it's enjoyable, but I don't actually need to see the same show Every Single Year.)

I have idle thoughts about a Nutcracker AU because my mind tends to drift off and fanfic everything.

Like... Victorian America and a big house and a party, like the ballet. Only the kid isn't a young girl and the daughter of the house, but Steve Rogers and he's the orphaned son of the nurse who saved the lady of the manor. So the family feels responsible for him, but also, he's so scrawny and sick, they figure they're helping him spend his last few years peacefully.

And the nutcracker isn't the treasured gift but sorta an 'oops, we need a present for this kid.' Steve doesn't realize this, he's ecstatic, admiring the painting of the object. He's artistic and appreciates fine woodworking. He goes to bed with his nutcracker clasped to his breast. It's Victorian times, so he wears a white nightgown that hangs to the middle of his calves. He dreams that the nutcracker comes alive. Picture Bucky with the white ballet tights clinging to the sculpted muscles of his thighs, wearing a blue-gray satiny shirt that matches his eyes with silver epaulets on the shoulders, the Winter Soldier nutcracker.

The two dance around the living room, by the huge Christmas tree festooned with sparkly ornaments, the only light the moonlight shining in. Steve feels so wonderful, as he leaps into his nutcracker's arms and is caught and swung around. His white nightgown floats around his thin legs, catching on his partner's tights.

Different possible endings: the Mouse King or a sorcerer? Transform Steve into a nutcracker, tall and proud. In the morning, the family find both nutcrackers and are perplexed, did Steve steal one from somewhere else? If so, why did he leave both? Did he run away? They place the nutcrackers together on the fireplace mantle and eventually forget about the orphaned child that they didn't really want, but every Christmas Eve (full moon?), the nutcrackers come alive and Steven and Bucky dance around and have adventures with the fairies. That feels sorta old-fashioned fairy tale ending, mysterious and romantic but a little sad.

Or Bucky transforms into a person, and in the morning, Steve wakes, wondering why he's so warm, and rolls over to see Bucky cuddled in bed with him. He invents a story about a strange, lost boy, and the family is a little 'sigh, another one?' but accept him. And the two grow up and are happy together for the rest of their lives.

New cat is suddenly molesting me as I try to type this, I think she wants dinner early.

Would anyone like a gift membership for the Substack Non-Boring History?

https://annettelaing.substack.com/

I have three to give away, Substack has reminded me.

I think I need your name (or a name anyway) and the email address where you want to receive the newsletters. I'll mark comments to be screened in case you want to give me one you don't normally associate with your DW.

I was feeding the cats their wet food this morning, and paused for a second, and remembered to split it into three. I've recently lost two older cats, one unexpectedly, the other after a lingering illness. I've gone from having four for many years, to briefly five, and then back to four and now to three.

Loss makes me think of Data's quote: "As I experience certain sensory input patterns, my mental pathways become accustomed to them. The input is eventually anticipated and even 'missed' when absent."

I remember watching that episode and thinking it was an interesting way to justify an android having emotions, but I have reflected back on it often over the years when dealing with grief, and how much routines can increase loss.

My mom was the worst, because I was very close to her and we often did things together. She was gone and I missed her but also so many... we both watched these shows and discussed them the next day, who do I talk about them with? Do I go clothes shopping by myself or can I find a friend who will be as encouraging as she was?

Maybe that sounds heartlessly practical or self-absorbed? This person is gone and how does it impact my life? But I've lost people like my paternal grandparents where I was very sad but also, they lived three hours away, our getting together was semi-regular but also sporadic. It wasn't tied to any particular activity except Thanksgiving, and then we continued going down to see other relatives in that city. For me, it's a different type of grief when it's not tied to routines. It's just this general sadness rather than coming up to event and knowing you have to do it alone. Or find a replacement.

I guess my situation is sorta the reverse of Data's, he found routines built emotions, while I'm dealing with absence requiring new routines to be built. But still, I find that quote to be poignantly relevant. Data was a wise man.

My nephew has already found a new kitty for me, but he still has a month to be weaned. So we'll see. Maybe I'll go back to fourths on the wet food in January.