#Laura Parr

[niconuva]

[meiloorunsmoothie]

how did you first get into Jeremy Jordan

good question—and one i very recently asked myself when the inevitable "how did i become this person" reflection happened 🫣.

i think there were many different factors (most of them not that good) that caused me to dive into obsessive mode so hard (and so quickly)—and it's definitely a "i see it now, but i couldn't back then" kind of situation. however, i'll spare you from those details XD.

the simple story is that, similar to you, i watched tangled the series and instantly fell in love with varian.

i love him

funnily enough, varian was the reason i started watching the show to begin with (coupled with the fact that i love tangled, and rapunzel, and eugene, and pascal, and max, and- 😆). i actually listened to the tts songs before watching the show 🫣 because my sister had gotten hooked on it years before. however, i only listened to the songs with mandy moore and zachary levi 🫣🫣 (cause i was like "who are these other random people, i want rapunzel and eugene"). then one day i listened to "through it all," in which varian has one line (plus an "eh" which i love now, but couldn't tell was him when i first listened XD)—and i was instantly just like: who's that.

have i listened to this one line on loop? you bet.

so i started watching the show—and loved varian from episode one—so naturally, i decide to look up the voice actor. it was jeremy....surprise. except...i didn't actually become obsessed right then. if anything, i was a little weirded out that this tiny boy was voiced by a 30-something year old man 😂 (but it's voice acting, so i was just like: wow, he did a great job 🤩...i'm going to go resume loving varian).

okay and then he sang. i knew he was good from his one line in "through it all", but wOW. adfasjkjaskfjd, on repeat forever and ever.

yes he was

that's not when i became (jeremy) obsessed either XD.

okay...and then a bunch of life stuff/circumstances kind of collided, and let's just say that i was feeling extremely lonely while also struggling with grief. i think there was about a two week period of this before i started actually bouncing back, and i had just reached the end of s1. now tts was doing a good job with bringing much needed happiness in my life, but...s2 had a very noticeable varian-shaped hole in it 😒.

that's when i turned to jeremy jordan youtube. it started off (the first hour) pretty mild—just some of his disney medleys, or the greatest showman video, or just the ones with millions of views—but it very quickly turned into a full out jeremy jordan youtube spiral™️ XD.

i must put this in your face again

i think in part, i latched on so quickly because jeremy and i are actually very similar people in general. i think at the point of extreme change that i was in at the time, it was just nice to "know" someone who was like me—and it definitely helped that there was easy access to extensive jj content. on a slightly different note, this is absolutely the reasoning behind the fact that if i had a chance to see jeremy live, i would choose one of his concerts over, say, gatsby—i am obsessed with jeremy jordan as jeremy jordan XD (hello akp).

literally me (i grew up in california by the way XD)

anyways, fast forward ~3 months, and i joined tumblr 😆...and we all know what happened after that. honestly, not a bad decision in my mind (at least so far), despite being very anti-social media my whole life. i've gotten to chat and obsessively geek out with so many great people, and i'm just so grateful for that 💕.

i've still only watched s1 of supergirl...and many youtube clips

[joshuasumter]

My latest poster for Spider-Man and The Incredibles, featuring a fraction of younger Supers alongside Peter Parker/Spider-Man and the Parr Kids (Violet, Dash, and Jack-Jack)

Peter Parker/Spider-Man

Violet Parr

Dash Parr

Jack-Jack Parr

Miles Morales/Spider-Man (Kid Arachnid)

Gwen Stacy/Spider-Gwen

Anya Corazon/Spider-Girl

Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel

Doreen Green/Squirrel Girl with Tippy-Toe the Squirrel

Patriot/Rayshaun Lucas

Quake/Daisy Johnson

Inferno/Dante Pertuz

Miss America/America Chavez

Ironheart/Riri Williams

Lockjaw

Humberto Lopez/Reptil

Sam Alexander/Nova

Nadia Van Dyne/The Wasp

Lunella Lafayette/Moon Girl

Devil Dinosaur

Casy Calderon

Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler

Laura Kinney/X-23

Stepford Cuckoos (Celeste Cuckoo, Irma Cuckoo, and Phoebe Cuckoo)

Surge (Noriko Ashida)

Magma (Amara Juliana Olivians Aquilla, aka Aliston Crestmere)

Wiccan (William "Billy" Kaplan-Altman)

Speed (Thomas "Tommy" Shepherd)

Amadeus Cho/The Totally Awesome Hulk

Kate Bishop/Hawkeye

Cassie Lang

Cloak and Dagger

[vaspider]

So I guess Laura Loomer is lining up to be Trump's Catherine Parr?

[bitter69uk]

Recently watched: MaXXXine (2024). Tagline: “She’s gonna be a star no matter what it takes!” MaXXXine, of course, represents the hotly anticipated concluding chapter of the juicy elevated horror trilogy beginning with X (2022) and the prequel Pearl (2022) by director Ti West and leading lady Mia Goth. I’ve been yearning to see this one for what felt like an eternity. Its trailer (soundtracked by the Laura Branigan classic “Self-Control”) was so tantalizing it tormented me! We watched MaXXXine last weekend and it was - OK! I felt like I was willing it to be better. Of the three films, MaXXXine is definitely the slightest and flimsiest entry. Maybe my expectations were unrealistically high and the remarkable Pearl (which I consider a modern masterwork) set an impossibly high bar for this follow-up. Anyway, there is still much to enjoy. Set in 1985 Los Angeles, MaXXXine unfolds against a backdrop of satanic panic paranoia, the rise of Tipper Gore’s censorious Parents Music Resource Centre, Ronald Reagan’s presidency and the Night Stalker’s reign of terror. Goth returns as driven, burning-with-ambition porn starlet Maxine Minx. Now 33, she knows it’s now or never if she’s ever going to transition from skin flicks into legit cinema (well, a low-budget slasher movie entitled Puritan II in this case). “In this industry, women age like bread not wine” she laments. But just as stardom finally seems within Maxine’s grasp, her friends start getting gruesomely picked-off one by one by a serial killer … MaXXXine boasts an authentically scuzzy, grungy discount bin VHS vibe. The soundtrack pumps with 80s tunes (ZZ Top. Frankie Goes to Hollywood. “Obsession” by Animotion. Kim Carnes’ “Bette Davis Eyes.” John Parr’s theme tune to St Elmo’s Fire. And yes, Laura Branigan). Aficionados of 1980s trash cinema will revel in West’s references to the likes of Savage Streets (1984), Brian De Palma’s Body Double (1984), Vice Academy (1989), Angel (1984) and Avenging Angel (1985). Goth is a riveting, singular presence and one of THE great actresses currently working (The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw aptly called her the Judy Garland of horror). MaXXXine is a pulpy, grisly down-and-dirty summer thriller – just don’t expect another Pearl!

[sixcostumerefs]

Happy (belated) Pride Month 2024!

Happy pride month post, 2024 edition. Slightly late this year but better late than never!

As always, I'm featuring actors who have identified themselves as having an LGBTQ+ identity or relationship, but this list is certainly not comprehensive. There are likely other closeted actors and/or actors who are out but may not have explicitly stated their queerness clearly enough for me to feel comfortable including them. As identity is a deeply personal (and potentially unsafe) topic, I try to err strongly on the side of caution in who I do or don't include. And just like in past years, this post only includes actors who are currently with the show or joined the show/had a new contract since my 2023 post, even if they're not currently involved.

Pictured: Claudia Kariuki (emergency cover, West End) Kelsee Kimmel (Seymour, Canada) Ruby Gibbs (Seymour, Breakaway 6.0) Jenny Mollet (alt A/B/S, Broadway) Meg Dixon-Brasil (swing, West End) Chelsea Dawson (Howard, Australia Tour) Lou Henry (Howard, UK and International Tour) Taylor Sage Evans (alt B/H/P, Boleyn Tour) Danielle Mendoza (Cleves, Boleyn Tour) Cydney Clark (Cleves, Breakaway 6.0) Zelia Rose Kitoko (Cleves, Australia Tour) Harriet Watson (emergency cover, UK Tour) Meghan Corbett (Aragon, Breakaway 6.0) Carlina Parker (alt A/C/P, Boleyn Tour) Aryn Bohannon (alt B/S/H, Boleyn Tour) Laura Dawn Pyatt (Boleyn, UK and International Tour) Gabriela Carrillo (Parr, Broadway) Amelia Atherton (Parr, Bliss 7.0)

——————————— junka_0.0; Joan Marcus; _ruby_gibbs; jenny.mollet (unsure of origin); Pamela Raith; sixthemusicalau, but unsure of origin (possibly James Morgan); Pamela Raith; taylorsageevans; Joan Marcus; ccsweatheart22; sixthemusicalau; Johan Persson; ceghanmorbett; carlina_parker; Matthew Sewell; Pamela Raith; Joan Marcus; thetheatrelifestyle

[andiatas]

Royal Reads: Jan-Mar 2024

Note: Some of the following links are affiliate links, which means I earn a commission on every purchase. This does not affect the price you pay.

Kateryn Parr: Henry VIII's Sixth Queen by Laura Adkins (Mar. 15, 2024) // Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I: The Mother and Daughter Who Changed History by Tracy Borman (new paperback version published Mar. 7, 2024) // Messalina: The Life and Times of Rome’s Most Scandalous Empress by Honor Cargill-Martin (Mar. 14, 2024)

House of Lilies: The Dynasty that Made Medieval France by Justine Firnhaber-Baker (Mar. 28, 2024) // Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story. by Robert Hardman (Jan. 18, 2024) // Sisters of Richard III: The Plantagenet Daughters of York by Sarah J Hodder (Mar. 15, 2024)

Power and Glory: Elizabeth II and the Rebirth of Royalty by Alexander Larman (Mar. 28, 2024) // The House of Dudley: A New History of Tudor England by Joanne Paul (new paperback version published Jan. 9, 2024)

Young Queens: The Intertwined Lives of Catherine De' Medici, Elisabeth de Valois, and Mary, Queen of Scots by Leah Redmond Chang (new paperback version published Feb. 29, 2024) // Marcus Aurelius: The Stoic Emperor by Donald J. Robertson (Mar. 26, 2024) // My Mother and I by Ingrid Seward (Feb. 15, 2024)

Queen Victoria and her Prime Ministers: A Personal History by Anne Somerset (Mar. 28, 2024) // Young Elizabeth: Princess. Prisoner. Queen. by Nicola Tallis (Feb. 29, 2024) // Edward II: His Sexuality and Relationships by Kathryn Warner (Mar. 15, 2024)

[six-costume-refs]

Why do North American actors have to have the costume but not the same hairstyle?

Well, the same costume design can be fit to different actors’ bodies without any design change. Actors’ natural hair will always have a lot more variance. The same hairstyles can’t be altered to different hair as easily, the hair colors that are flattering or look natural on one person won’t look the same way on another, etc etc. It just introduces far more questions about what should/shouldn’t be standardized than costumes do. And actors have broad diversity in hair color/texture/type, which stands to be erased by standardizing hairstyles/wig design in a way that body diversity can’t be erased by costumes.

Differences in costumes are also going to be more noticeable than differences in wigs/hair design, on average. Think about Laura Dawn Pyatt vs Ellie Jane Grant’s Boleyn costume - that difference is noticeable even to someone who has only ever seen marketing for the show. Meanwhile on Broadway Hailee Kaleem Wright and Kristina Leopold have very different wig designs for Aragon, but that’s not going to be noticeable to the average audience member (+ each design feels natural and flattering on them)

Ultimately it just comes to the core intent of that costume rule: not wanting understudies to be treated as “lesser than” any of the principals. Historically, shows haven't always treated their understudies equally, sometimes giving them noticeably significantly lower quality costumes or not even giving them costumes of their own (instead having them share with principals or other understudies). The whole intent of that rule is to require that shows can’t take those shortcuts and instead treat their understudies fairly. In Six’s alt costume system, the alts do get very cool costumes so fair treatment isn’t really the concern, but it’s still a general rule that has to be fairly applied equally across all Broadway shows.

But ultimately that concept of fair treatment doesn’t really apply to wig design. Historically (and even now) many shows have standardized wigs, in style/color/texture. But most of the time that intent hasn’t been about fairness; it’s been about making the differences in appearance between principal and understudy as subtle as possible so that the audience won’t realize an understudy is performing. As Broadway is learning to embrace both their understudies + more diversity in race/ethnicity/appearance more broadly, there’s less focus on making understudies conform to a standardized look (and wigs as a big part of this). Hamilton is really a gold standard example of this: they’ve embraced giving all their principals and understudies wigs that generally match their natural color/texture and even some individualized styles and design. North American Six is also slowly learning to do this, with the newer Cleves and Parr looks and Leandra Ellis-Gaston’s Boleyn braids. Ultimately most of these shows are still following some general guidelines on shape/style for different roles, but ultimately there’s still focus being put on giving each actor a wig that’s individually suited to them even within those guidelines.

Note: all of this is AEA rules (US) and rule specifics only apply to certain tiers of productions.

[ultimatemilvesbracket]

THE MILVENING HAS BEGUN

That's 114 contenders! Amazing job everyone!

we got 323 submissions and labored over every single one until approximately 2am, which is why this bracket looks so fucking incomprehensible. (shoutout to tumblr user asparagoos for creating The Milves Rubric and user pastramis, who plays fantasy football and knows brackets.)

anyway, full match-ups are below the cut. starting tonight (3/30) we'll start with uhh the upper left-hand chunk today, then make our merry way down the list three times a day until the first elimination round ends. the top scoring milves will not appear until the second elimination round, aka when this bracket is legible.

milf lovers grab your therapist's number!

ROUND 2 / BRACKET 1

Regina Mills (Once Upon a Time) vs. Marge Simpson (The Simpsons)

Queen Clarisse Renaldi of Genovia (The Princess Diaries 1 & 2) vs. Olivia Crain (The Haunting of Hill House)

Barbara Howard (Abbott Elementary) vs. Ambessa Medarda (Arcane)

Helena "HG" Wells (Warehouse 13) vs. Taissa Turner (Yellowjackets)

ROUND 2 / BRACKET 2

Catelyn Tully Stark (A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones) vs. The Black Fairy (Once Upon a Time)

Penelope (Greek Mythology, The Odyssey) vs. Siobhan Sadler (Orphan Black)

Xenomorph Queen (Alien Cinematic Universe) vs. Goldie O'Gilt)

Bella Goth (The Sims) vs. Jean Milburn (Sex Education)

ROUND 2 / BRACKET 3

Cersei Lannister (A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones) vs. Valka (How to Train Your Dragon 2)

Queen Calanthe (The Witcher Netflix) vs. Nancy Botwin (Weeds)

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 1

Marge Simpson (The Simpsons) vs. Ella Montgomery (Pretty Little Liars) WINNER MARGE

Queen Clarisse Renaldi (The Princess Diaries) vs. Peggy Bundy (Married With Children) WINNER CLARISSE

Sarah Jane Smith (Doctor Who, Sarah Jane Adventures) vs. Olivia Crain (The Haunting of Hill House) WINNER OLIVIA CRAIN

Barbara Howard (Abbott Elementary) vs. Stacy's Mom (Fountains of Wayne) WINNER BARBARA

Ambessa Medarda (Arcane) vs. Jacqueline Carlisle (The Bold Type) WINNER AMBESSA MEDARDA

Helena "HG" Wells (Warehouse 13) vs. Flemeth (Dragon Age) WINNER HG

Taissa Turner (Yellowjackets) vs. Janet Van Dyne (Antman and the Wasp) WINNER TAISSA

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 2

Patty Hewes (Damages) vs. The Black Fairy (Once Upon a Time) WINNER THE BLACK FAIRY

Milah (Once Upon a Time) vs. Penelope (The Odyssey) WINNER PENELOPE

Siobhan Sadler (Orphan Black) vs. Norma Bates (Bates Motel) WINNER SIOBHAN

Gerri Kellman (Succession) vs. Xenomorph Mom (Alien Franchise) WINNER XENOMILF

Alex Blake (Criminal Minds) vs. Goldie O'Gilt (Ducktales 2017) WINNER GOLDIE

Bernie Wolfe (Holby City) vs. Bella Goth (The Sims) WINNER BELLA

Elizabeth Jennings (The Americans) vs. Jean Milburn (Sex Education) WINNER JEAN

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 3

Valka (How to Train Your Dragon 3) vs. Ana Servín (Madre Solo hay Dos) WINNER VALKA

Matriarch Benezia (Mass Effect) vs. Queen Calanthe (The Witcher Netflix) WINNER CALANTHE

Julie Cooper (The OC) vs. Nancy Botwin (Weeds) WINNER NANCY

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 4

Ana Amari (Overwatch) vs. Aunt May (Spider-Man MCU) WINNER AUNT MAY

Joyce Byers (Stranger Things) vs. Queen Ramonda (Black Panther) WINNER JOYCE

Admiral Kathryn Janeway (Star Trek: Voyager) vs. Nalini Vishwakumar (Never Have I Ever) WINNER JANEWAY

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 5

Carol Newman (The Santa Clauses) vs. Bette Porter (The L Word) WINNER BETTE

Addison Montgomery (Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice) vs. Sabine Cheng (Miraculous Ladybug) WINNER ADDISON

Laura Roslin (Battlestar Galactica) vs. Mrs. Brown (Paddington 1 and 2) WINNER LAURA ROSLIN

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 6

Yennefer of Vengerberg (The Witcher 3) vs. Carminha (Avenida Brasil) WINNER YENNEFER

Camila Noceda (The Owl House) vs. Sarah Alder (Motherland: Fort Salem) WINNER CAMILA

Wynne (Dragon Age) vs. Melissa McCall (Teen Wolf) WINNER MELISSA

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 7

Mon Mothma (Star Wars) vs. Carol Peletier (The Walking Dead)

Helen Parr (The Incredibles) vs. Seven of Nine (Star Trek: Picard)

Abigail Pent (The Locked Tomb) vs. Medea (Greek Mythology/Euripedes)

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 8

Queen Elinor (Disney's Brave) vs. Caroline McKenzie-Dawson (Last Tango in Halifax)

Evelyn Wang (Everything Everywhere All At Once) vs. Takhisis (Dragonlance)

Annalise Keating (How To Get Away With Murder) vs. Maureen Robinson (Lost in Space)

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 9

Gemma Teller (Sons of Anarchy) vs. Celeste Wright (Big Little Lies)

The Fairy Godmother (Shrek 2) vs. The Smart House (Disney's Smart House)

Marcia Roy (Succession) vs. Martha Rodgers (Castle)

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 10

Pyrrha Dve (The Locked Tomb) vs. Danielle Rousseau (Lost)

Olivia Benson (Law and Order: SVU) vs. Linda Flynn-Fletcher (Phineas and Ferb)

Morticia Addams (The Addams Family) vs. Maeve Millay (Westworld)

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 11

Melanie Cavill (Snowpiercer) vs. DCI Amy Silva (Vigil)

Beverly Crusher (Star Trek: The Next Generation) vs. Lucille Bluth (Arrested Development)

Abby Bartlett (The West Wing) vs. Laura de Mille (Doom Patrol)

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 12

Alicia Florrick (The Good Wife) vs. Ellie Torres (Cougartown)

Zelda Spellman (The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) vs. Lisa Lisa (Jojo's Bizarre Adventures)

Tsunade (Naruto) vs. Jules Cobb (Cougartown)

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 13

Katherine Hastings (American Auto) vs. Esme Cullen (Twilight Series)

Abby Griffin (The 100) vs. Letty Ortiz (The Fast and the Furious 9)

Jocasta (Greek Mythology) vs. Joss Carter (Person of Interest)

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 14

Julia Sugarbaker (Designing Women) vs. Eve Fletcher (Mrs. Fletcher)

Chrisjen Avasarala (The Expanse) vs. Marion Lavorre (Critical Role)

Tiffany Valentine (Chucky) vs. Jodie Mills (Supernatural)

[tveitertotwrites]

An opinion to be rated: The Uk Six boots are better than the US boots

10000% AGREE!

While it is a small detail, The UK (and Australia and possibly NCL) boots in my opinion are 10x better. The US (and Canada) boots look like it has tape on it for the big silver buttons/gems on "base" (the black part of the boot), where as the UK has little rhinestones on the "base" (Which are in the same colors as the heels and the straps for the principals and super swings, and the heels for the alternates). The boot by itself (so no rhinestones/buttons/whatever) is the same as they're both made by LaDuca but I don't like the difference in materials for the boot itself from the heels and the straps.

Also I get that Six in the UK has a crystalizer who does the rhinestones for their boots, while I think the US has LaDuca themselves do it, but I think they should do the same as the UK (whether or not they use the same person)

Photos of the different styles below

UK VS US Aragon Boots

UK Boots: Nicole Louise Lewis

US Boots: Gerianne Perez

I feel like the smaller rhinestones look nicer both up close and far away.

UK VS US Boleyn Boots

UK Boots: Laura Dawn Pyatt

US Boots: Zan Berube

Again, I feel they look nicer and tie the boot together more

UK VS US Seymour Boots:

UK Boots: Crystalled By Jane (the person who puts the rhinestones on the boots)

US Boots: Jasmine Forsberg

UK VS US Cleves Boots

UK Boots: Ellie Jane Grant

US Boots: Olivia Donaldson

UK Short Boots: Crystalled by Jane

While the UK knee high boots also have what looks like tape, I feel it is way less noticeable compared to the US and has the smaller and multicolored rhinestones. and i couldn't find any US Cleves short boots (as all of them were alternate boots), but they look the same as the other US boots (just red and white/silver).

UK VS US Howard Boots

UK Boots: Lou Henry

US Boots: Aline Mayagoitia

While I do like the pinks of the US Howard boots (dark pink and light pink) more than the UK Howard Boots (Pink and Coral), i still like the Uk more simply because of the boot.

UK VS US Parr Boots

UK Boots: Crystalled by Jane

US Boots: Gabriela Carrillo

While again I like the US heel and strap design (Blue and Black? diamonds) better than the UK (blue and gray), I still like the actual boot more.

UK VS US Alternate (Alt) Boots

UK Boots: Leesa Tulley

US Boots: Cassie Silva and Kelsee Kimmel

Because the Alts wear the same pair of boots for all their covers, the heels of the boots are not colored like the queens (the straps are interchangeable for their costumes), the UK has a light gray/silver (to me the better option) and the US has a darker gray (which in some photos/videos makes it look black/nothing there at all). and then obviously I think the rhinestones look better than what the US has.

[janedances]

WE cast change predictions?

Aragon: Danielle Fianmaya

Boleyn: Ebony Clarke

Seymour: Katie Ramshaw

Cleves: Chloe Pole

Howard: Jaina Brock Patel

Parr: Emilie Louise Israel

Aragon/Cleves: Honey Joseph

Boleyn/Howard: Hannah Lowther

Seymour/Parr: Anoushka Chadha

Super Swing: Laura Bird

Super Swing: Mathilda Bonnevier

Extra Predictions: Carly Dyer, Lydia Frazer, Catherine Cornwall, Bayley Hart, Chrissie Bhima, Fallon Mondlane, Bobbie Little, Georgia Iudica Davies, Vivian Panka, Viquichele Cross

[sebastianravkin]

Fuck book banning 2024

30 Banned Books You Should Read (from Bored Teachers, linked below).

From picture books to classic literature, here we go. . . .

1. Where the Wild Things Are

By Maurice Sendak

Where the Wild Things Are is a childhood classic and Caldecott-winning picture book about a young boy named Max who sails to a far off land and becomes king of the wild things. While he is sent to his room for wreaking havoc in his wolf costume, Max returns from the land of his imagination to find a hot supper waiting for him.

Why it was banned: Supernatural elements and dark, disturbing imagery; psychologically damaging because a boy is sent to bed without supper.

2. In the Night Kitchen

By Maurice Sendak

A boy named Mickey is asleep in his bed when he’s suddenly transported into the Night Kitchen, a land where bakers obsessively bake the morning’s cake. At one point, Mickey falls into the batter. He loses his pajamas along the way and is depicted nude in a few spreads, until he escapes the kitchen in a plane made of bread and wakes up in his own bed.

Why it was banned: Nudity

3. Strega Nona

By Tomie DePaolo

Strega Nona leaves Big Anthony alone with her magic pasta pot, and soon Anthony unleashes a magic he cannot control. Luckily, Strega Nona – literally, Grandmother Witch – returns to sort out Big Anthony’s mess.

Why it was banned: Positive depictions of witchcraft

4. And Tango Makes Three

Written by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell and illustrated by Henry Cole

Based on a true story, And Tango Makes Three describes two male penguins named Roy and Silo, who are a bonded pair. A zookeeper gives them a motherless egg, and together the two penguins hatch and raise a chick named Tango.

Why it was banned: Positive depictions of same-sex family

5. Where the Sidewalk Ends

By Shel Silverstein

Shel Silverstein’s irreverent poetry and his signature artwork are practically modern classics. They are funny and an easy introduction to poetry for elementary school students – even my high school students still read these poems!

Why it was banned: Rebellious poems that undermine parental authority

6. Heather Has Two Mommies

Written by Leslea Newman and illustrated by Laura Cornell

Heather has two mommies, but she learns that families come in all shapes and sizes when she and her classmates draw pictures of their families and no two are the same.

Why it was banned: Same-sex parenting and homosexuality

7. I Am Jazz

Written by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings and illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas

Jazz Jennings knew from a young age that she had a “girl’s brain in a boy’s body.” I Am Jazz chronicles Jazz’s story as a transgender individual.

Why it was banned: Depictions of a transgender child

8. The Family Book

By Todd Parr

The Family Book is a celebration of the different varieties that families come in – two parents, one parent, same-sex parents, grandparents, pets, and more. This book celebrates the differences that make us who we are.

Why it was banned: Depiction of same-sex families

9. Captain Underpants

By Dav Pilkey

Captain Underpants is a bestselling series of graphic novels for children about a superhero named Captain Underpants and his creators George and Harold.

Why it was banned: Offensive language, partial nudity, glorifying misbehavior by children

10. Walter the Farting Dog

Written by William Kotzwinkle and Glenn Murray and illustrated by Audrey Colman

Billy and Betty love their dog Walter in spite of his odorous problem, but Dad says they have to get rid of him. One night, burglars break in and Walter gets to save the day!

Why it was banned: Excessive use of the word ‘fart’

11. The Hate U Give

By Angie Thomas

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter is the sole witness of the police shooting that kills her friend Khalil. She finds herself caught in a firestorm as Khalil’s story blows up into a national debate. The Hate U Give – THUG for short – has won just about every award a book can win.

Why it was banned: Inappropriate language and sexual situations

12. A Wrinkle in Time

By Madeleine L’Engle

In this book that won the Newbery award, Meg, her brother Charles Wallace, and her friend Calvin travel across the universe in search of her missing father, an astrophysicist. The book is a coming of age tale that is truly about a battle of good versus evil.

Why it was banned: Being too religious, not being religious enough, depictions of witchcraft and the supernatural

13. Perks of Being a Wallflower

By Stephen Chobsky

Charlie, the wallflower in the title, stars in this coming-of-age story as he tries to navigate the sometimes-tumultuous waters of adolescence. The book is raw and real.

Why it was banned: Language, homosexuality, scenes that sexually explicit, and depictions of drug and alcohol abuse

14. Looking for Alaska

By John Green

Protagonist Miles Halter leaves for boarding school and meets Alaska Young, a bold, tortured girl like he’s never met before, whose fate at the end of the story impacts Miles forever.

Why it was banned: Offensive language and sexually explicit descriptions

15. The Outsiders

By S.E. Hinton

The Outsiders is one of the iconic classic banned books. It tells the story of Ponyboy and his fellow “Greaser” brothers Darry and Sodapop. The greasers are at war with a rival gang called the “Socs,” and one day things go too far.

Why it was banned: Offensive language, depictions of drug use, gang violence

16. The Giver

By Lois Lowry

The Giver is the first in a series of often four banned books called The Giver Quartet. It depicts a dystopian world of conformity in which only one man retains all of society’s memories and emotions. Twelve-year-old Jonas is selected to become the next Receiver of Memory, and with this new assignment comes a world of realization that Jonas is hardly prepared to receive.

Why it was banned: Depictions of infanticide and euthanasia in a dystopian society

17. Speak

By Laurie Halse Anderson

Melinda starts her freshman year completely ostracized after she called the cops on a party that got out of hand during the summer. She shuts down, only finding a small respite in art class. Eventually, the reader learns that something happened at the party that changed the trajectory of Melinda’s life. Once her secret is out, she recovers her voice and learns to always speak up for herself.

Why it was banned: Profanity, sexually explicit content and depictions of drinking

18. Forever

By Judy Blume

Forever is a book about a committed high school couple deciding to have sex. Specifically, the teenager girl protagonist, Katherine, decides to lose her virginity to Michael. Eventually, their relationship fizzles, leaving Katherine contemplating the nature of love.

Why it was banned: Descriptions of sexual intercourse and discussions of birth control put this on the list of frequently banned books.

19. The Golden Compass

By Philip Pullman

This is the first in a fantasy trilogy for teens that is set in a world where humans each have animal familiars known as daemons. Protagonist Lyra, an orphan girl, is concerned about the mysterious disappearances of children in her town. When she learns the disappearances may be connected somehow to her scholarly uncle and a strange phenomenon known as Dust, she sets out to solve the mystery. 

Why it was banned: Promotion of atheism and denigration of Christianity

20. Cut

By Patricia McCormick

This short book is about Callie, a girl who cuts herself and is sent to a treatment facility, where she falls mute and refuses to participate in rehabilitation. It’s an intense and powerful read.

Why it was banned: Depictions of self-mutilation

21. The Glass Castle

By Jeanette Walls

The Glass Castle spent seven years on the bestseller list, which speaks to the power of this memoir. Walls writes about her upbringing in the hands of a brilliant father who turned destructive when drinking and a mother who didn’t want the responsibility of motherhood.

Why it was banned: Sexual situations, depictions of abuse and alcoholism

22. The Kite Runner

By Khaled Hosseini

A novel of searing power, The Kite Runner follows Amir, a man who was raised in Afghanistan and becomes a successful writer in the United States. The death of his childhood friend at the hands of the Taliban prompts Amir to return to the land of his childhood, where he must face the memories that haunt him.

Why it was banned: Sexual violence, religious viewpoint, offensive language

23. To Kill A Mockingbird

By Harper Lee

A classic taught in many schools today, To Kill A Mockingbird is a coming of age story set against a vicious trial in which a white woman falsely accuses a black man of rape in the deep South.

Why it was banned: Profanity, racial slurs, discussion of rape

24. The Catcher in the Rye

By J.D. Salinger

Holden Caulfield is, at sixteen, jaded by society, by adults, and by the world around him. He explores the bowels of New York City and its characters in a story that ultimately examines the loss of innocence required to grow up in this world.

Why it was banned: Profanity and sexual scenes

25. Beloved

By Toni Morrison

Beloved is an unflinching and important read that explores the atrocities of slavery from the perspective of Sethe, a woman who was once a slave and is now free, except for the memories of the hideous things she was forced to experience.

Why it was banned: Racial and sexual violence, infanticide, language

26. Slaughterhouse Five

By Kurt Vonnegut

Billy Pilgrim, a World War II prisoner becomes “unstuck” in time and relives scenes from his life over and over again. The theme Vonnegut develops centers around the depravity of war.

Why it was banned: Sexual situations, profane language, content deemed immoral and anti-Christian

27. Animal Farm

By George Orwell

Animal Farm is an allegory about the dangers of totalitarianism. In it, a cast of farm animals set out to great a utopia, but their dream becomes a nightmare when the subtle temptation of power becomes too much and tyranny reigns supreme.

Why it was banned: Political commentary that could encourage unrest

28. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

By Maya Angelou

Angelou writes a memoir about her indomitable spirit, from the loneliness she feels when her mother sends her to live with her grandmother to the experience of being raped as a child. She writes about how she found herself within the pages of books written by great authors, which led her to become one of America’s greatest poets.

Why it was banned: Offensive language and portrayals of child rape, racism, and violence

29. Of Mice and Men

By John Steinbeck

George travels with Lennie, a man with a heart of gold and the mind of a child. They look for work in depression era California, while dreaming of their own chance at the American Dream.

Why it was banned: Profanity, racial slurs, violence, depressing themes

30. The Handmaid’s Tale

By Margaret Atwood

This dystopian novel takes place in a post-democracy world ruled by hyper-religious totalitarian regime that has enslaves women and forces them to bear children.

Why it was banned: Sexual overtones

[boricuacherry-blog]

Among those asked to undergo the voluntary DNA tests were young men who frequented a disco called Le Sabbie Mobili (Quick Sand) near the field where the dead girl's body was found. These included Damiano Guerinoni whose DNA was very similar to that of the killer, who was by now nicknamed by police "Ignoto Uno" (Unknown One). This young man was unquestionably a close relative of the killer. Ironically, his mother, Aurora Zanni, had even worked for several years as a daily help for the dead girl's family. So police began to investigate his family. His father is one of 11 brothers and sisters. It was via this route that they arrived at the dead bus driver - one of his uncles - Giuseppe Guerinoni.

In September 2012 they went to the house of his widow, Laura Poli, in another small town near Bergamo called Clusone - 30 km northeast of Brembate di Sopra, in the foothills of the Alps. Clusone boasts one of the most impressive surviving external medieval murals: "The Triumph of Death" executed in 1485 by Giacomo Borlone de Buschis. Its inscription declares: Non e omo cosi forte, che da mi non po' schapare (No man exists strong enough to be able to escape from me.)

It was in Clusone - nearly two years after Yara's disappearance - that they made their first breakthrough. "Finding the marca da bollo on the driving license in the house of the bus driver's widow was a significant step forward," says Lieutenant Colonel La Russo. "It connected the killer with a real person at last - even if he was dead."

Giuseppe Guerinoni, who had died in 1999 aged 61 had three children with his wife who were quickly excluded as suspects. He was "a strong man able to live each day in symphony with his vital spirit," an old friend Antonio Negroni would later tell the press. It was clear, then, that he must also have had a child - a male child - out of wedlock and that this child was the killer.

Guerinoni's widow was no help. She was in the dark about her dead husband's extra-marital activities and, like all the major protagonists in this saga, she has declined to talk to the media. There was a total absence of old-fashioned clues as to the identity of the murderer; the only way to catch him was via modern science. The police reconstructed a biography of Guerinoni's private life and of every single woman he had ever known.

The magistrate on duty was Letizia Ruggeri, 45, a tough former policewoman, now Chief Investigator, who had earned her stripes fighting the Cosa Nostra in Sicily. Ruggeri's team searched orphanages and homes for "fallen women." They tested single mothers and women who had left the mountains for lower Bergamo. They came up empty-handed. The woman they were looking for, they realized, was probably neither single nor "fallen," but hidden behind the walls of a marriage. Divorce was only legalized in Italy in 1970 - until that time many couples had stayed together despite infidelities.

"We were met by a wall of silence, the kind of omerta that you associate not with the north of Italy but with Sicily and the mafia, but in the end we got there by means of patient, painstaking legwork," says La Russo.

It proved especially difficult for investigators to penetrate the mountain villages - Ponte Selva, Parre, Clusone and Rovetta - where they were looking for clues and leads. Some Italian journalists spoke of the "cocciutaggine," or pig-headedness, of the Bergamo Alps - a caricature which only served to antagonize the already defensive locals. "The people here," says Piero Bonicelli, the editor of Araberara, "were irritated by the stereotype of highlanders closed in on themselves. The word 'omerta' was even used, which implies [the silence of] Sicily and the mafia. It was deeply offensive."

This wariness towards outsiders owes much to the region's history. The city has always been a strategically important citadel, one of the last redoubts before the flat, fertile basin of the river Po. The Bergamaschi are used to seeing off invasions. Just a few miles west of Brembate di Sopra is a small town called Pontida, where in 1167 the Lombard League - the alliance of northern Italian cities which joined together to resist the German Holy Roman emperor, Frederick I - was formed. The Oath of Pontida still exerts a symbolic power today. It's frequently evoked by the separatists of the Northern League to rally sentiment against outsiders: against the perceived indolence and corruption of southern Italy or, more commonly now, against immigrants from developing nations.

Bergamo is also much closer to Switzerland than Naples, so the Bergamaschi are more generally reserved. "It's in the spirit of mountain people to disdain gossip and not to repeat nonsense," says Bonicelli. Bonicelli, a fan of the fictional detectives Maigret and Montalbano, also says, though, that the investigation was "lacking the traditional, human element: the sort of person who goes into a bar in the village...and puts someone at ease so that something slips out." Locals felt there was something cold about this investigation, with its invasive demands for DNA samples. And it was changing the atmosphere in these small communities. People thought, says Bonicelli, "that the murderer was here, amongst us. So there was a sort of - not panic, but fear."

The setting was part of what had fascinated the Italian public about Yara's disappearance. The province of Bergamo seemed to represent two different sides of the country. Where Lower Bergamo, towards the plains, is fashionable, well-connected and industrialized, Alpine Bergamo is agricultural, remote and deeply traditional, a close-knit place which nurtures suspicion, even superstition. Some locals talk, without irony, of this being a land of streghe, of witches, who steal or poison young children.

They located a former colleague of the bus driver, Vincenzo Bigoni, who told them: "Yes, he was a ladies' man and lots of young women traveled on his bus to and from work. One, at least, he got into trouble." But he was either unable or unwilling to reveal to police the name of that woman. He now risks prosecution for 'false testimony,' which is a crime in Italy as there is no right to silence there.

The police tracked down the woman from her DNA. Police identified 532 who the dead bus driver had known in his life with whom he could have had sexual relations and who were still alive. They DNA tested them all.

These women included Ester Arzuffi, now 67. Like all the other women identified by the police as women that knew Guerinoni, she consented to a DNA test without protest. Her DNA was a perfect match for that found on the dead girl - perfect in the sense that she is the mother of the killer, or so the investigators believed. "She has the female part of the DNA of Ignoto Uno," explains Portera.

Arzuffi had been a neighbor of Guerinoni's in Ponte Selva in the late 1960's. In 1966, aged 19, she had married Giovanni Bossetti, from Parre, a nearby village. Bossetti was a man whose tough life had turned him inwards: he had been orphaned young and suffered from psoriasis, arthrosis and depression. Arzuffi seemed very different: an outgoing, good-looking woman, she wore short skirts and dyed her hair. She got a job at the textile factory a few miles away in Villa d'Ogna, and took the bus every day. Arzuffi had left Ponte Selva in 1970, but continued the affair with Guerinoni, giving birth to twins.

Arzuffi has been married to the same man - Giovanni Bossetti - since 1967 when she was 19 years old. These days she and her husband also live in Brembate di Sopre. The couple have three children: two twins (a boy and a girl) born in 1970 - Massimo Giuseppe and Laura Laetizia - and a younger son - Fabio. The father of all three, everyone assumed, was her husband.

But the DNA tests revealed that the father of her twins is not her husband, but the dead bus driver Guerinoni. In other words, her eldest son - Massimo Giuseppe Bossetti - stood accused of being the killer. (Through leaks in the investigation, it was also discovered that Fabio had a different father too).

The police soon arrived at Bossetti, an apparently happily married 43-year-old carpenter who has three children aged 13, 10 and 7, and whose only quirk seemed to be a passion for sun lamp massage parlours.

One Sunday evening in June 2014, the police set up a roadblock near Bossetti's home in Mapello, a village a few kilometers from Brembate di Sopra, and flagged down his car. He was with his wife and three children. They breathalysed him, and he passed, so they let him proceed. But they now had his DNA on the breathalyser tube which they swiftly sent off to the lab for analysis.

There was a match between the DNA on the breathalyser and the DNA found on the girl's clothing. To be precise it showed 21 compatible markers (16 to 17 are normally considered enough). This means that the police, and their forensic experts are almost completely sure that he is the killer. He also has blue eyes, which the DNA found on the dead girl reveals her killer has. Bossetti had also passed through Brembate di Sopra the night of the murder on his way home from work.

A white Iveco truck, similar to his, was filmed by security cameras at the Shell petrol station opposite the gym in Brembate di Sopra at around 6pm and 10 minutes later by the video cameras of the Banca Credito Cooperativo near the girl's home. Bossetti went to the town frequently though to see his brother and his accountant, and had passed through it that night, he says, to avoid heavy traffic on the more direct route.

A few days later, the police arrested Bossetti at the building site where he worked. Bossetti's mother, Arzuffi, has spoken only once to the media - to the Corriere della Sera - when she denied having an affair with the bus driver but admitted that she had known him as a young woman.

Investigators discovered plenty of circumstantial evidence. Bossetti had frequently hung around Yara's house; he parked his car in Via Don Sala, behind the gym, and ate at the Toscanaccia pizzeria at the end of her road. He had gone for regular UV showers at a tanning shop nearby. His internet searches were troubling, using search words which implied a compulsion for pubescent young girls.

Meanwhile, three families dealt with devastation from the case. Guerinoni's widow has been forced, in the autumn of her life, to come to terms with her husband's infidelity and the existence of his other children. Meanwhile, just as he was diagnosed with terminal cancer, Giovanni Bossetti became the nation's most famous cuckold, learning at the same time as the rest of the country that none of his three children are his.

The marriage of the accused, Massimo Bossetti, had also come under strain: since his defense sought to portray him as a family man, two people came forward to claim that they had affairs with his wife. Bossetti's twin sister also had to come to terms with both her brother's fate and the fact that the man she thought was her father is not biologically related to her. Her mother, Ester Arzuffi, still denies she's ever been unfaithful to her husband.

[thequeenofmyownscreen]

Twenty-four things I noted about the The Mighty Nein Reunited Part 1 “Unfinished Business” :

May I suggest the unofficial title of this one-shot : The Mighty Nein : Horny On Main

Can I first just say that everyone looks so hot. And by that, I mean the cast AND their character with new art (Yasha's hair oh my god)

Veth is ready to open her kids camp, which may or may not be a front for money-laundering quote-unquote "blood-money" from the Gentleman. I LAUGHED SO MUCH, IT'S SO ON PARR

Marisha is describing Beau as exhausted from work and ready to go home to Yasha and very respectful of work/private life boundaries. Liam, coming for Marisha's throat : "Have you started role-playing ?"

MARTINA STEWARD i love Ashley with all my heart

Oh my god I have missed Jester & Fjord's relationship so much, I love how Laura and Travis's banter is done.

I loved the prequel of the adventure so much, just slices of life of the Mighty Nein.

Love that Caleb finishes his lectures with good philosophy and a barely veiled critique of the Academy ways : "Make time in your studies for history or you will be doomed to repeat it. History is littered with sharp-minded individuals like yourselves who bit off more than they can chew, and it somehow always comes back to bite them in the butt !"

Travis choosing to play Fjord still having no dignity cleared my skin, cleared my crops, etc etc. Marisha, wheezing : "Even the NPCs are hazing you !!"

the popcorn SAM WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS

oh my god I thought for sure Jester was going to die again

WELP. WHAT AN INTRO !!

YEAAAAAAAAAH THE CREDIIIIIIITS I'VE MISSED THEM SO MUCH. longest prologue ever, but worth it

the envoys of Uk'otoa : "Where is the traitor ?? Where is the key ??" Fjord's face :

Fjord sacrificing the key to save Jester's life (and Travis doing it to move the story ahead), is something that can be so very juicy.

Jester and Sendings, a gift for the ages

oooh my god, tears, tears of laughter, Sam you cheeky bastard. "Veth is coming, too." SHE SURE IS !!

I love that Fjord and Jester are in a relationship, and Kinglsey is just casually observing them be awkward and in love on the side, eating popcorn.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand more tears of laughter as Marisha double-downed of that. I blushed so hard. Oh my god, that was graphic and great, I am in awe.

Zadashian in the streets, Xhorassian in the sheets ? I need that apron NOW

"Should we contact Caduceus ?" "...Naaaaaaaaah, he was sort of useless most of the time". Poor Caduceus. At least Yasha is in kind-of-contact with him

I love how Jester described her and Fjord's house, it's basically an art studio that they began to transform into a house, but they're not enough around to completely transform it.

Amazing shenanigans of Beau, Veth, Kingsley and Yasha just taking off from their respective eagles and just do amazing acrobatic shit amongst the tree jungles.

Caleb, renamed 'Ceagle' when he was an eagle, now Caleb again : "Oh... I can't tell if my back hurts from the fall, or from Beauregard kegeling me like a vice for the entire trip." Beau, very proud of herself and her vibrant sexual life : "Sorry, I got a good grip." (Bonus Travis, exasperated by the lesbians : "... okayyyyy...") (Bonus Matt : "This is a horny episode. And that's saying something !)

The Mighty Nein being obsessed with one random monkey and feeding it and then of course the monkey is following them loudly and distract Beau enough that they fall into a poisoned fungus trap : honestly, so on brand.

[drinksattheendoftheworld]

I'm very late to this but thanks to @spanishcastlemagic for tagging me in this!

I don't use Spotify very often so I don't have an On Repeat playlist, but here are ten from my Recently Played:

Surrender - Laura Pausini

Jane - Jefferson Starship

Sister Christian - Night Ranger

Countdown - Lindsay Buckingham

Roll With the Changes - REO Speedwagon

Take Your Time (Do It Right) - The S.O.S. Band

Mandinka - Sinéad O'Connor

Spanish Eddie - Laura Branigan

St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion) - John Parr

I'm in Love With You - The 1975

I'm not going to tag anyone in particular but for real, I hope some of my mutuals see this and decide to do it for themselves!

[mercurygray]

2022 Fanfic Year in Review: mercurygray on AO3

Thank you for the tag @tortoisesshells, @shoshiwrites, and @captainkilly (who tagged me in a similar ask)! May I be blessed to be in such august writing company always!

Total Completed Works: 9 complete works + 2 drabble collections

Word Count: 18,413 words for various small things + another…40,000 words for TDS? Say 58,413. Plus a lot on tumblr that I don't have a count on.

Fandoms I’ve Written In: Vikings Valhalla, Dune, Top Gun: Maverick, Becoming Elizabeth, House of the Dragon, Band of Brothers. Wow, I guess I'm doing pretty good on that score.

Looking Back, Did You Write More Fic Than You Thought You Would This Year, Less, Or About What You’d Expected?: I had a goal for myself to post a chapter of TDS every month, which I've more or less accomplished. Everything else after that was just a bonus!

What’s Your Own Favorite Story Of The Year?: To Call Her Name. I really liked Jessica Raine's performance as Catherine Parr in Becoming Elizabeth and I wanted to celebrate that and no one read it but I didn't care.

Do You Have Any Fanfic Goals For The New Year?: FINISH TDS. Or I should say, finish TDS in a way that is sustainable for me, enjoyable for the readers, and remains true to the characters I've spent all this time building up. So no pressure.

Most Popular Story Of The Year?: Waited For and Wanted, which I managed to publish in a timely fashion and caught the HOTD zeitgeist. It has 272 kudos and 66 bookmarks, which might be the most popular one-shot I've ever written.

Story Of Mine Most Under-Appreciated By The Universe, In My Opinion: A Man of Simple Tastes was just as good as Waited for and Wanted but it was finished a few weeks after the show ended and the short event horizon on fandom meant a fraction of people read it. Which was a huge bummer. I have a third idea in this 'series' from Rhaenyra's perspective that I just haven't found the headspace to finish.

Most Fun Story To Write: Four in the Afternoon. I love that AU and that was a new look on it, for me.

Most Unintentionally Telling Story: …Dick and Joan made it all the way to chapter 43 without combusting, I think that says everything it needs to.

Biggest Disappointment: I launched a lot of OCs this year and I'm still angry that Laura Simpson (my Top Gun Maverick OC) landed in an already crowded field and didn't gain too many friends. I thought One Minor Detail was hilarious, but she never seemed to pick up much traction.

Biggest Surprise: I wrote struggle homeward for a prompt on the now defunct Loose Lips HBO War prompt meme, and people kind of liked it! Also how fast Waited For And Wanted racked up those kudos, which was WILD.

Tagging anyone who wants to brag a little bit this year!