girlofprey

Did I ever tell you about my favourite David Platt/Coronation Street AU? I probably didn't, so here it is. My favourite Coronation Street AU is inspired by/stolen from the film Irresistible, starring Susan Sarandon and Emily Blunt, which I caught on TV last night. These are SPOILERS, but essentially it's about a woman whose life starts falling apart after a younger woman, who works with her husband, comes into it. She suspects the woman is messing with her, stalker-style, and it turns out she's right - because the younger woman is the daughter she gave up for adoption years before, who had to grow up in the care system and never forgave her mother for it. And also just wants her mother back. There is another twist, but it's not part of my AU and I won't reveal it here.

So my favourite Coronation Street AU is the one where instead of trying to have an abortion when she was pregnant with David, Gail just decided to go away somewhere Martin wouldn't find out what she was doing, have the baby, and give it up for adoption. And then 18 or 19 years later, David turns back up on the street, keeping his identity a secret so he can spy on Gail and her family, avoid being rejected again and fuck with mercilessly without them realising who's doing it or why. While being equal parts furious with Gail - especially when he finds out about Nick and Sarah - and desperately, almost ferally affection-starved and aching for any scrap she might throw his way.

When I first thought of this AU, I was so enamoured of it I carried it through to an "adoption" and "Gail and her family are EVIL" AU - I don't know why the Roberts-Tilsley-Platts appeal to me as a crime family, but they do. So David would have deal with the fact that they were worse than him but not quite as twisted, and them constantly harping on about how important family was to them, when he was living proof it wasn't true. And then I carried it on to an "adoption", "Gail and her family are EVIL" and "superpowers" AU. I don't know why. I was very into superpowers for a while. What was nice about that scenario though was that if you're saying superpowers are hereditary and fairly rare, then Gail's evil superpowered family would be cursing their bad luck to have gotten into this inexplicable feud with a crazy teenage boy who ALSO has superpowers - without realising that the fact he has superpowers is essentially the point, and really ought to be a pretty big clue.

I love David Platt.

We had Chinese takeaway tonight, and I had a duck meal that was cooked in Hot Chilli and Garlic. Now my tongue won't stop feeling dry no matter how much water I drink. My mum claims water won't help with chilli, only milk will do. I hardly ever drink milk and am not planning to now. Hmph.

And tomorrow, I might be having an appointment with a guy, but I'm not entirely sure. Before my holiday I got picked up by a new mental health service, and met the Worker I'm going to be having. We were supposed to be meeting on Tuesdays, but obviously I couldn't while I was on holiday, and I told him the Tuesday after I came back might not be good either, which turned out to be a good thing since we came back at about midnight last Monday. He said something about how he might be able to see me on Friday, and would call me in the week. I did receive a call on Thursday, but unfortunately my phone died as I tried to pick it up, and I hadn't completely unpacked still so I didn't get my charger out until way later. When I did set it to charge, I didn't have any missed calls listed, so I couldn't try calling the number back, and I didn't have any messages. And no-one's called since then. So technically speaking, he's meant to be coming to the house tomorrow. But he hasn't called to say he is, or when he's coming if so. So I might be seeing him? Who knows. All I can think is that I should probably get up early tomorrow morning, and call the service to see if they know if anything's happening. I find it hard to believe he'd come round without actually speaking to me, or even leaving a message. But I find it equally hard to believe he'd just not bother and miss two appointments. So we'll see.

And I am all caught up with Welcome To Night Vale now. My favourite characters, other than Cecil, are Hiram McDaniels, whose name for me is like the man with the tan jacket's face, I can never remember it without looking it up, no matter how striking I think it is everyone time I read/hear it. And also Tamika Flynn. All hail Tamika Flynn.

( Spoilers for the latest episode )

I went into Wakefield today, after an appointment with my employment coach woman, and I found an item that's almost as amazing as the swordgun - the knuckleduster-bag. I tried one, and the rings genuinely do make it easier to hold the bag, and also, to punch someone in the face. One day, my friends, I plan to amass a whole arsenal of these. I will be so multi-functional it hurts. Someone else.

Anyway. I am still around, I've just been distracted by appointments and things, and catching up on TV. I've caught up with Scott and Bailey and Horrible Histories and sort of with the Apprentice, but not really much else. Thanks to 4 On Demand, I'm all caught up with Hollyoaks though. And I kind of want to punch Barry M in the face. Sadly, that isn't possible. But still. I'm sure no-one on my flist cares about Hollyoaks, but even so - welovehollyoaks.com posited a while back that a new female character Liberty was actually a robot, and it always seemed pretty plausible, but I have to say after last week, I don't think it's even in doubt. Also, if she's a killing machine, it makes her friendship with (unknown to her) teenage murderess Theresa even more understandable. Anyway. I'm going to stop talking about Hollyoaks now.

I've also been pretty distracted lately by getting into X-Men: First Class a little bit. I'm not exactly proud of this. And I've also managed to fall into the trap I usually do of shipping a little-known pairing and getting into a bunch of kink memes. However, I've decided to be a grown-up about it this time instead of whining about it. But. Hmph.

Today I was planning to go to the cinema while I was in Wakefield, and I was pretty much planning to go see X-Men First Class again. I had a bit of a dilemma about it, because on the one hand I wouldn't mind watching it to get some characterisations a bit more sorted in my head and watch Kevin Bacon again, but on the other hand I don't really want to give any more money to a really quite racist and quite sexist film. But in the end I decided to cave. But I was foiled anyway, because it doesn't seem to be on anymore. Making way for the new blockbusters, like Transformers and Green Lantern and stuff. I've managed to find some other times it's on at a local cinema though, so I'll probably go see it again then. I also want to go see Bad Teacher, which stars Cameron Diaz, and which at first look I assumed would be about a guy being a bad teacher and trying to get with Cameron Diaz, or him trying to get with Cameron Diaz who's a bad teacher. But apparently no, it's about Cameron Diaz, being a bad teacher and kind of a loser. In shades! And!! I then found out that her co-star is Lucy Punch! <3<3<3 So. I'm up for that at some point. Just not really today, especially when the next showing was an hour after I got to the cinema. I also kind of want to see The Green Lantern, partly because my dad is really into the Green Lantern and wanted to go see it with me before he started hearing all the bad reviews for it, so I got kind of psyched up to want to go see it, and partly because having heard all the bad reviews for it, I kind of want to see if it really is that bad. I've heard some reports to the contrary. But anyway. I don't really want to go see it enough to go immediately, or (again) wait an hour until it was on after I got to the cinema, or pay 3D prices to go see it. But possibly. At some point.

If anyone's interested, the pairing I like (or am interested in) from X-Men First Class is Charles/Shaw. Which is a tricky one because [sort of spoilers], and [other spoilers], and on the kink meme, even the fics that get written about Charles/Shaw tend to either start with Charles/Erik, end with Charles/Erik, or be a mere plotpoint in a larger Charles/Erik story. But I don't care. Mostly I've been having a lot of Charles/Shaw plotbunnies along the lines of a Labyrinth AU, and they make me quite happy. Even though most of them I tend to get for situations after the events of the plot/film (of Labyrinth), which feels like a new length to go to for one of my little pairings, even for me. Still. I quite like them anyway. Also, Shaw just works incredibly well as the Goblin King, and that's just a fact. Fact.

( Strictly )

Other things I have been doing in my life, apart from watching Emmerdale:

• Watching Coronation Street. The thing I love most about David's current court case/possible epilepsy storyline - aside from watching David freak out and worry and pass out occasionally - is that he's having massive friction with his mum over it, he's bonding with his gran because she's on his side and believed him all the way through, and his mum and gran are having massive friction over it...and his brother Nick, who lives on the street, is nowhere to be seen. I don't think I've seen David have a single scene with him since it all started. At one point someone asked Nick how David was, before they found out it might be epilepsy, and he said David was in bits over it all. That was it. He doesn't seem to care if his brother tried to kill his best friend, if his brother was about to get charged and possibly sent down for attempted murder, or if his brother has epilepsy or possibly something worse, like a brain tumour. It's kind of amazing.
  
  ( This paragraph is about Maria and a bit of Tony/Maria )
  
  
  It's Halloween tomorrow, and it's seeming more and more likely that Coronation Street aren't going to make me that 'Ghosts of dead characters haunting people on the street' episode I wanted. Sigh.



• I have been watching Hollyoaks and Hollyoaks Later, and I didn't really want to watch Hollyoaks Later because I don't even love Hollyoaks that much and it sounded like it was going to be all about footballers and possibly have a gang rape in it. But then it turned out that Mitzeee, who is a character I've heard good things about and quite liked when she was onscreen and hasn't been onscreen much lately, was going to be in it, so I tried to watch it when I could. Happily, there wasn't a gang rape, and especially since Mitzeee seemed slightly in danger of being involved, she wasn't gang raped. But oh my God, dudes. She's - so beautiful, I'm actually finding it hard to look at her sometimes. Not in the way I used to be with Michael Bluth, where I actually had to look away from the screen, but where I find myself focusing on just one part of her face, like her hair or her eyes or her teeth. She has AMAZING teeth. And I don't even care about teeth. This is her:
  
  
  
  Isn't she amazing? And she has a beautiful accent. And, unless I'm massively lowering my standards because I'm watching Hollyoaks, she can act. I think I'm a little bit in love with her. Oh my god.



• I have been to two Halloween parties in the last two days, with my nephews. They put on some quite nice dos for Halloween in my home town, and the kids seemed to be enjoying themselves. So hurrah.



• I'm kind of irritated with my dad at the moment, because he shut the car door on my back while I was trying to strap my oldest nephew into his seat tonight. After, I thought, huffing about having to take my youngest nephew over to the side of the car where his seat was, rather than just putting him in the back and leaving him there. And then he didn't even bother to strap him in. But I'm sure that irritation will pass. Ow.



• I saw the film RED/R.E.D. ( Spoilers, some pretty big )



• Other things probably, but I have to go and watch Casualty now.

So. My interview is tomorrow. My mum came down on Friday, and I currently am in possession of a new, grey interview suit, mostly bought at Marks and Spencers. In fact I think completely bought from Marks and Spencers. I have washed my white/cream bra to go under my white shirt, although I haven't hung it up to dry yet (I'll do it very soon, honest). I have two problems, one is that my smart work boots that I took to be reheeled yesterday seem to have either been worn down or given a smaller heel that I remember them having, but I've tried them on and I can walk in them, and they don't look particularly weird or anything. So that's alright. The other is that I'm meant to have printed off a health questionnaire they sent with my notification about the interview, and to have it filled it in and with me at the interview tomorrow. However, I don't currently have a printer, and the print shop I normally use was, when I went down to it on Saturday, both closed and appeared to have turned into a photocopier sales and servicing shop. I'm going to have a look for any other print shops in Nottingham, and if there aren't any I guess I'll just have to look through it, jot down any answers I need, and explain everything tomorrow at the interview and ask if I can get one and fill it in before I go. Hopefully they won't think that's weird.

Other than that, I have the rest of the night to read interview tips and techniques, have a shower, read back through my personal statement on the application probably, and get a decent night's sleep. The only thing worrying me now, aside from the whole Job Interview thing, is that I just realised I'll probably have to put down about the counselling I'm having at the moment. Hopefully that won't sway things, or not too much. Anyway, fingers crossed, mostly. My mother got upset on Friday because she realised I'd bought an interview shirt that was white, and an interview bag that was sort of off-white. I'm not convinced that that's the kind of thing that will swing it, but in any case, as I say, fingers crossed.

Anyway. OTHER AUS TONY AND MARIA COULD STAR IN: a historical sort of AU where Tony is a warrior/knight from Scotland after the English sort of take over it, and he mostly hates the English, but comes to England looking for work or something anyway, and ends up meeting the young noblewoman or queen Maria, and starts working for her, and they FALL IN LOVE.

Or, an AU where they're professional dancers, and he is the very driven and technically accurate sort of dancer, and she is doing it mostly for the love of dancing, but isn't particularly successful. Tony loses his partner at about the same time Maria's partner and perhaps boyfriend leaves her, and maybe Tony sees her training or something, and they become dance partners. Maria is not quite as driven as Tony, and her confidence has taken a bit of a knock after her partner/boyfriend left her, and Tony starts getting frustrated. Eventually he just asks her, "Maria - what's your favourite dance?". And she's like, honestly? The jive. And he is not particuarly impressed because he's more on the ballroom side of things, but he asks to see her jive anyway. AND SHE IS GREAT AT THE JIVE. And properly loves it more than she thinks she can't do it. And he's like, "Well - okay". And then they start putting together a jive routine, and Tony's not quite as good at it as Maria, but he pushes himself because he's that kind of dude, and eventually he learns to loosen up a little bit and they start to do a really great jive. And they still do the jive routine, but from there he moves her on to doing the quickstep and getting really good at it, and then into getting better at other ballroom dances. And they also start to branch out into other Latin dances, and going into competitions and things, and also start to fall in love, and eventually they do a rumba to Chasing Pavements by Adele, which the people on Strictly REFUSE TO DO, and they realise they properly are in love and get together, and WIN THE COMPETITION. And stuff.

I fell so in love with the first idea I got to thinking that given that Maria in Coronation Street grew up helping to run her parents' kennels and loves dogs, and that this was probably one of the few hobbies that could be carried over into a historical AU, I actually spent some of last night researching dog breeds, particularly the ones from England and Scotland. I didn't realise how recently Golden Retrievers and Labradors had started existing as a breed. Although I kind of got the feeling that they were sort of "modern". Anyway, I slightly fell in love with English Mastiff, and the Scottish Deerhound. But I've clearly also given the dancing AU a bit of thought.

I know I'm banging on about Maria and Tony quite a bit. But I do really love them.

Anyway. I also saw the second episode of Misfits last week. ( Misfits, up to 1.02 )