#She really sells Agatha’s drama

[ciderjacks]

should I finally get around to watching Agatha all along I love gay women and murder and assholes

PLEASSSSEEE DO ITS SO GOOD.. I have rly low expectations when it comes to marvel shows and mcu in general bc. I mean. yeah. but it’s rly good Agatha is such a Character. Tbh I’ve never seen a female character like her in anything before, and so that’s exciting to me too.

the only thing is if u do watch it u also. Kind of have to have watched Wandavision for it to make sense. But both series are only like 9 episodes and 40-30 min episodes

[anki-of-beleriand]

Bad Liar ch. 17

Summary: Life is about lessons, and Wanda has been learning some harsh facts that had define her life and taken her to a place in which she was given a second chance. Then, all of a sudden, she meets you, and she realizes why it's easier to lie to yourself than to accpet what's right in front of her.

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff/ Female!reader - America/Kate - Mentions of past Vision/Wanda - past Natasha/Reader - Some Female!Reader/Carol Danvers - Mentions of Natasha/Maria being married

Warnings: Slow burn - Enemies to friends to lovers - Mentions of abusive relationships - Toxic relationships - angst - drama - mentions of abuse - violence - mentios of abused and sexual assault - idiots in love - violence - suggestive themes - drama - angst - fluff - top!reader - dom!reader - bottom!Wanda - switch!Wanda

Author's note: Life is settling down after what happened, America is growing up and ready to face the consequences of what happened. Wanda is letting go of the past while Reader is just being her showing Wanda happiness and love it is possible.

So sorry for the late posting, guys. Life was a little harder this week that what I was used to, and something happened that really got me anxious and a little bit...I mean, I was not in a good place, but hopefully everything is better now and here is the new chapter! Just one chapter to go and this story would be over. I hope you like it because I made it with my heart!

Please rmemeber English is not my mother tongue so forgive my grammar, spelling and funny mistakes, hope you like this one.

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 - Chapter 10 - Chapter 11 - Chapter 12 - Chapter 13 - Chapter 14 - Chapter 15 - Chapter 16 - Chapter 17 - Chapter 18

Chapter 17

The promise of the future

You never thought that going back home would be so difficult for you or even America. The place had been tied up and changed after the incident, with different furniture and painting you had allowed America free reign on her imagination to make the necessary changes into the living room.

The world had not stopped turning around, the news was still rolling on the TV and people were enjoying the weekend of the new year. You stood by your sister's side with a hand on her shoulder, America tensed lowering her gaze furrowing her brows before turning to you.

“What do you want to do?” Her question came with a trembling voice, she sighed, shaking her head while looking away from you.

You turned to look at Wanda's place then back at yours.

“I was thinking about vacations.” You hugged America, winking at her, “we could ask Tony about the cottage he had in Italy.”

America offered a shaky smile, “Italy?”

“Yeah, we could get away from this place for a while and then…get a new house.”

America chuckled, stepping away from you. You waited, ever since the both of you left the hospital America had tried to evade the topic of what had happened while she was under the claws of Agatha and Vision. The young woman scratched the back of her neck, with her eyes sweeping around the front yard. Her teeth playing with her lower lip, her feet taking slow steps towards the front door only to stop midway before turning to you.

“You don’t have to.” She finally said frowning, “it was difficult but not the end of the world, I…Hope offered her help, and I acceded to see a friend of hers that could be of help.”

You nodded curtly taking a few steps closer to her, “you know that even though we grew here we are allowed to leave, right?”

America snorted hugging you tightly, she knew it. She knew you would do everything in your power to make sure she was comfortable and that whatever traumatic event she had gone through could be healed and forgotten. Selling the house and even offering a vacation was your way to make things easier for her, but America had already talked this through with Christine and Hope. She had been scared, but more than that, she had felt powerless to help Kate, to help the twins and even to help Wanda.

“I know that, and perhaps in the future when I go to college you can think about it.” She replied shrugging, “I know you’re dying to get that Villa near Tony’s place, because you had always wanted a huge house with a pool and a bigger playroom.”

Your eyes glistened over with your lips curling into a content smile at the mental image these words evoke in you. America rolled her eyes, but she too could imagine the same; it was something she wouldn’t say no to when the both of you were ready, not because a bad experience marked their lives and they were doing it because of that. She had felt powerless to help the people she loved, but America would be damned if she allowed that man and that freaking woman to govern her decisions from now on.

“I want you to be comfortable, and happy.”

“I know, Y/N, and I am.” America nodded towards the house before pointing a finger at you, “come we need to get everything ready before we pick Wanda and the twins up.”

You watched as your sister went inside the house with the same determination she did everything else. Hope had already told you of the conversation the both of them held while you were unconscious, America had been angered by the whole situation and it took her a while to understand that there was no one else to blame but Vision and Agatha.

Kate had been the one to convince America to go to therapy for a while, just to perhaps let go of the growing fear and darkness the situation itself had created in both of them. You were thankful that America had always surrounded of good friends, and that you had always had someone by your side as well. Everyone seemed understanding, and while the situation was still fresh in your minds, you knew you would be okay.

“Come on, slowpoke!!” America screamed from inside the house, you rolled your eyes and followed her thinking about what would happen once Wanda was out of the hospital.

_____________________________

Wanda glanced at her reflection with a critical eye.

She scowled openly to the bruises around her neck and face, the paleness of her skin and the tiredness behind her eyes. She had spent the first weekend of the year in the hospital, waiting for the doctors to clear her up and sent her home while you and America took care of the twins while coming every day to visit her.

It had been hard.

While you had offered her the best end of the year and had been keeping your word of being by her side. Wanda couldn’t help the nightmares at night, when she was alone with her thoughts and the shadows of the past trying to crawl back inside her heart and mind. She placed a hand on her chest, holding tightly the sudden oppression threatening to cut of the air from her lungs. She clenched her jaw refusing the tears in her eyes, or the thoughts of fear that had creeped out once more. She had tried to hold onto what Hope had been teaching her in the therapy sessions, while also holding onto the bright side of her life.

Billy. Tommy. You. America and her students.

Wanda let out a shaky sigh before turning around and leaving the bathroom, you straightened up offering a half smile while holding up the bag with Wanda’s clothes.

“I put everything away, ready to do laundry duty as soon as we get home.” You walked towards her giving her a once over wiggling your brows, “you look nice.”

Wanda rolled her eyes, her lips curling slightly.

“You’re such a sweet talker,” she leaned in kissing your cheek, “it will get you everywhere.”

You blushed with your mouth hanging opened at the cheeky wink Wanda sent your way stepping out of the room, you snorted running to catch up to her.

The ride home was filled with music; Wanda kept her eyes out of the window watching the world pass rapidly through the window while you drove down the highway before taking the long way home. You caught the small smile adorning Wanda’s lips when you made the right turn, she sighed leaning back against the seat letting her eyes drink into the trees and the forest surrounding the road while watching the blue sky right above her head.

Wanda knew she needed to get home, Billy and Tommy were waiting for her. And life had to keep going, but something inside her stirred with fear and memory. She tried to keep away the words Vision had said to her, the feeling of his breath and hand on her, everything that the man had imprinted on her. Wanda clenched her eyes closed trying to erase those memories while replacing them with the beautiful sight in front of her, and the songs playing on the radio.

You creased your brows noticing the sudden change in Wanda, your eyes glanced at the road lighting up when you caught side of the road sign you usually dismissed when driving down that highway. You looked through the mirror before turning left, Wanda frowned turning to you slightly confused.

“Where are we going?” She asked softly, you smiled at her driving just a little faster until there was only one single road taking you deeper into a forestry area.

“You will see.”

Wanda opened her mouth to reply, her heart almost leaving her chest when she realised you made a turn she was not familiar with. For a brief moment she thought how foolish she had been. As long as she was with you everything would be fine, but the memories were not so easy to dismiss and she decided that at the moment she needed the comfort your warm stare usually brought to her.

The driving didn’t take far too long, soon you were turning left then right and then another right until you drove into an open space leading to a great cliff. Wanda opened her eyes glancing at the open sky with growing clouds approaching the city, she leaned forward until she saw the sight of the big city down into the valley. You stopped the car turning off the engine while resting comfortably on the seat, your lips drawing a small smile.

“Is this the place you used to bring your girlfriends?” Wanda asked at your side, you couldn’t help but laugh shaking your head.

“No, I never brought anyone here.” You confessed shrugging, “this was my little secret, I used to come here to think from time to time. Just me, it was comforting. I thought you may appreciate it.”

There was something stirring with deep affection in Wanda’s heart, the young woman snuggled on the car seat this time around turning completely so she could face you while still have her eyes take into the amazing view spreading before them.

“I don't know how to continue,” she all but whispered to you, her eyes glistening with the deepest of her emotions flickering in her green eyes, “I keep on thinking of my mistakes, the secrets I kept…I should have told you the dangers he posed to me and you.”

Silence filled the car, your eyes never leaving the sky above your heads. You pressed your lips together, your hands resting on the wheel, playing a soft tapping with your mind working on what to say. Wanda closed her eyes, looking away from you the afternoon falling slowly with the tension building up around the both of you.

“One day at a time, Wands, there is nothing much we can do.” You shrugged, lowering your head, still looking everywhere but at Wanda, “I didn't expect you to tell me everything right away, but I suspected as much. This was not your fault, Wanda. And this doesn't mean I love you any less.”

The word love rolled out of your tongue with such an easiness, Wanda couldn’t help but gasp with her eyes opening wide and her lower lip trembling slightly. You snorted shaking your head while leaning in your face just a few centimetres away from hers.

“You’re not used to hearing such words, are you?”

“No.”

Wanda leaned closer, her eyes fluttering close for a moment before she allowed your eyes to lock with hers. You lifted a tentative hand to cup her face, tenderness was quite evident in your features and Wanda allowed the warmth of your body to bring a soothing calmness she was not familiar with.

“I love you, Wanda.” You whispered only for her to engrave those words in her heart, “perhaps it is too soon, but for some reason, I just love you. I feel in love with you, and I don’t think there is nothing I can do against my feelings for you but make sure you feel loved, the way you deserved to be loved.”

Wanda swallowed down her words and tears, she offered a tentative smile before closing the gap between the both of you her lips dancing shyly with yours. Her heart beating fast, almost escaping her ribcage while she melted under your hands; you didn’t need to say anything else for her to know you certainly did love her. And she knew soon she would be ready to say those same words to you.

“It will take time, but you will heal.” You winked at her, your fingertips brushing against her cheek and jawline until your brows creased finding the marks on her neck.

“Some marks take time to…fade away.” Wanda mumbled slightly mortified by her wounds, she tried to lean back and hide away from you until her breath caught on her throat with her eyes growing big and her body tensing completely.

She felt the contact of your forehead against hers, the gesture was comforting and it made her experience an emotion she was not completely familiar with. Wanda’s heart fluttered affectionately surrendering to your gaze. She opened her lips ready to speak, but her words got tangled in her throat leaving her unable to express what she really wanted. What she really felt.

It didn't matter, though.

You were still there offering the same reassuring smile, and the same comforting touch. Wanda had to wonder how you did it, how was it possible for you to offer so much without asking for anything in exchange.

“We never got to have the date I planned.” Wanda said all of a sudden, you leaned back with amusement gleaming in your eyes.

“That's right,” you cocked your head wiggling your eyebrows, “and I got curious about it, what did you have planned?”

Wanda dipped her head with her lips curling into a tender smile, she straightened up on the seat glancing outside the window. 

“It's a secret, I guess I just have to plan it all over again so we can go.” Wanda sighed, still looking away from you. “Of course, if you want to…I mean, if you still want to go out. With me.”

The last part was said in a broken whisper, Wanda shifted on the seat creasing her brows while making sure her eyes were glancing at the city. The light of the day was soon fading away, and the city was starting to light up the artificial lights. 

“I would love nothing more than to go out with you, Wanda.” You replied with a tender smile on your lips, Wanda shivered trying to smile at you but failing.

The old insecurities were still there and you knew the work Wanda had done in the last couple of months had been shaken but the recent events. You could see her self-doubt, her uncertainty and the lost stare she gained after leaving the hospital. The bruises were pretty much visible at the moment, the pain was still pulsating through her body and Wanda was just trying to hold onto her sanity and her own determination to not fall into desperation. 

You lifted a hand slowly, your eyes seeking out those green eyes of Wanda. After a moment of hesitation, Wanda finally lifted her face looking at you expectantly. Her eyes flickered to your hand, then to your face.

“I was thinking…” Wanda winced, her throat sore and dried bringing discomfort to her voice.

You let your arm lifted for a moment before dropping it to the side to grab the bottle of water you brought early in the day.

“Thank you.” She mumbled almost dropping the bottle of water when you tenderly brush the spot on her neck. 

Her breath caught on her throat, trembling lightly with a mixture of emotions tingling through her body. Her face heated up, following with your eyes the movements of your arms and your own expression while mapping out the dark bruises on her neck. 

“Y/N…” your name left her lips tenderly, with some uncertainty that called your attention.

You frowned, stopping any movement from your hand, your eyes flickering from the bruises to her face.

“I'm sorry, did it bother you? I just…”

“No, no it's just…”

You broke into an easy smile that Wanda returned without losing her blush. She bit her lower lip, without any doubt behind her gestures she grabbed your hand placing it on the left side of her neck. 

“You surprised me, that's all.” Wanda sighed looking away for a moment before continuing. “I'm not used to such tenderness.”

You tensed lightly, your eyes flashing with anger before they softened lightly. Wanda offered a crooked smile, this time around she let go of your hand embracing herself.

“With you, everything is…different and sometimes I just can't believe this is happening.”

“May I try something out?” You asked suddenly, Wanda narrowed her eyes at the sudden flush showing on our face. Your fingertips trembled, with your lips pressed together while your eyes travelled from her face to her neck then back again.

“What are you going to do?” Wanda couldn't help the tone of wariness and curiosity; she tilted her head and your eyes gleamed strangely falling on her neck.

“Just something to show you how you should be treated, how you should be cherished.”

It was the husky tone behind your words what made Wanda tremble, she swallowed down her trepidation with a tingling void taking home in her abdomen. 

You waited patiently, your fingertips never leaving the soft skin of Wanda's neck. For a moment, Wanda just thought of her possibilities, of what exactly you were planning. Then her eyes went to your own bruises, to the wound on your hand and arm and she softened lightly. If there was anyone she trusted more than herself, that was you.

“Okay, you…you can try it, would I…I mean, is it dangerous?” 

You snickered, shaking your head, this time around there was a glint of mischief in your eyes. Wanda felt her stomach do a flip, and soon she let out a gasp while her hands clenched into a fist with her eyes fluttering close to the sensations you were creating with your mouth.

She never imagined you would lean in to place your lips on her pulse point, nor that you would start leaving open-mouthed kisses that went to draw the marks left on her neck. Wanda was not sure what to do with her hands, her body went rigid but her lower stomach and her heart were tingling over with an emotion she was not familiar with. 

You let your lips mapped out her skin, brushing lightly while letting your free hand cup her face tenderly. You wished to let Wanda know she was loved that not all touches directed at her were meant to harm or to mark, that she deserved the tenderness you were trying to show. 

You didn’t know what got into you, the only thing you knew for certain was that Wanda needed love, she needed to understand how wonderful she was. How she deserved happiness, and that no number of wounds or injuries from her past should get in the way of her new life. And thus, without any thoughts in your mind you leaned in to kiss away her neck your lips dancing tentatively on the bruised skin.

Wanda trembled under your touch, she let her hands wrapped around your arms her lips parting slightly while her body ignited with a fire she was no familiar with. Just as you started you finished it, leaning back with your heart hammering against your chest, your cheeks flustered and a timid smile adorning your lips.

Wanda was not in a better state, she was trembling with her face completely red and her breathing erratic. She could not hide her lust, nor the complete affection those green eyes shot at you as soon as she opened them.

You opened your mouth to speak, but whatever you were going to say was cut short by Wanda kissing you harshly. You welcomed her in your arms, allowing the passion she was trying to contain while kissing her back with the same need she was showing.

The afternoon finally gave way to the night, and while you allowed Wanda the control of the kiss you could feel her tears wetting your face. Until she could not continue and allowed herself the relief of your arms, unable to say what she had been trying to tell you for a very long time.

I love you.

______________

Wanda held onto the blanket, her eyes dancing around her room while the silver light of the moon sneaked into the room. 

The nightmare was still fresh in her mind, the shadows of the past haunting her in her sleep. Wanda let out a sigh putting the blankets away before sitting up, she was no longer tired and sleep was not an option, her eyes fell on her mobile showing the hour.

4 a.m.

The silence of the early hours of the day was deafening to her ears, Wanda turned around and decided a trip to the kitchen was a good idea. She put on some sweatpants, a hoodie and left her room with the memory of her nightmare dancing around in her mind.

The morning came with light snowing, the new year had come and gone bringing with it a world of possibilities Wanda never thought possible before. She grabbed the mug tightly around her hands, her eyes watching the snowflakes fall on her backyard. 

Wanda blew some steam out of her mug, her mind soon bringing over the memories of the day before. Your words, your smile, your touches; last day she had experienced a deep affection and protectiveness she had never felt before. The passion you had ignited in her with your kisses and your tenderness had made her soul tremble with want, but she had not dared to move forward and confessed what you had done so freely.

I love you. I'm in love with you.

Wanda couldn't help the smile breaking at the memory, without a single doubt she felt the veracity of those words whenever she was close to you. Whenever you went with her, or helped her children, or you simply were yourself. 

The young woman wished she could say it back to you, that she wasn't so afraid to be open and confessed the love she was feeling for you. Wanda wished things were easier, but she was still afraid. She had failed not only once, but twice and now that she was freed of her past, she was afraid of messing up a third time.

“You couldn't sleep either?” America crossed her arms putting the heavy coat closer to her body, she glanced at Wanda from her yard not really sure if her presence would be welcomed by the older woman.

Wanda glanced at America with eyes wide open, she tilted her head shrugging lightly.

“Not really.” Wanda all but replied with an effort, she hesitated for a moment before adding, “I have a nightmare.”

America made a face nodding, “yeah, me too.”

Wanda could see the indecision in America's face, she lifted her mug before patting the spot beside her. America tilted her head and for that moment Wanda could see the same gesture you did when you were weighing your options. The young woman turned to her house before stepping closer and moving past the side door to Wanda's yard. 

The snow kept on falling, America sat down furrowing her brows while watching at the sky. She could feel the eyes of Wanda on her, and the memory of her harsh words resounded in her mind. Before going to you, America had made sure to share her thoughts with the redhead, she made sure to let Wanda know America was not happy with what had happened. 

“I'm sorry.” America finally said huffing while turning to the shocked woman. 

America shifted on the spot furrowing her brows.

“Back in the hospital I just…I was stressed out, and finding out about this man and my sister, I was…”

“I know, I understand.” Wanda replied, placing a tentative hand on top of America's one. “You don't have to apologise.”

America shook her head frowning deeply, “but I do! Look I was unfair, when I was trapped in my house and then when I got to the hospital, I was partially blaming you for everything.”

Wanda winced ready to speak but America was firm on her explanation. She put her hand on top of Wanda's making sure to be as open as she could with her expressions.

“Y/N is the only family I have left, and I love her dearly. She has sacrificed so much for me, I just couldn't bear the thought of her suffering or losing her in any way.” America huffed, shaking her head with her eyes taking in the visible wounds on the woman before her.

“I never thought how much you and Billy and Tommy suffered all this time.” America confessed; Wanda tensed not wanting to interrupt America in the middle of her rant. “And after I got to see him, and everything I heard afterwards. I was not fair to you, I'm sorry I screamed at you and…that I was mad for something you couldn't control.”

Wanda shook her head offering a tiny smile to the young woman sitting beside her.

“There is nothing to be sorry for, America, I understand why you did it and I never hold it against you.” Wanda huffed, turning to see the snow fall, “I'm also sorry you and Kate had to live that, I wish things had been different. That he…”

America nodded curtly, and Wanda just shrugged.

“I guess right now he is where he must be, and he won't be hurting me or my children or even you and your sister anytime soon.” Wanda took a long sip from her tea, she glanced at the clear beverage before offering some to America.

The young woman grabbed the mug in her hands, she placed her elbows on her knees shivering lightly while glancing at the frozen ground.

“You really make my sister happy; you know?” She whispered pursing her lips a little.

“She makes me happy, and sometimes I just think I don’t deserve it.” Wanda cleared her throat wincing lightly when the old pain came bothering her again, “I never got to take her out, you know?”

“I know, I bet she would have loved the date you planned out for her.”

“You think so?” Wanda inquired with a hint of doubt in her voice, America nodded enthusiastically her lips curling lightly.

“You guys should really try it this time around, I mean now that everything is back to…” America was about to say normal, but the truth was nothing was normal anymore. Things were different, but they didn’t feel normal.

Wanda leaned back with hint of determination gleaming in her green eyes, she smiled lightly nodding to herself.

“Then, you should help me out.” Wanda turned to America who had her brows raised and eyes slightly opened. “I mean, I will have to plan it all over again, but this time around I want it to be perfect for her, I want to…”

Wanda didn’t finish her thought, but for America there was no need to. America could see the affection there as well as the will to offer you a perfect date. Silence fell between the both of them, no more words were needed it and America could see how little by little her family had grown in such a small amount of time.

She wished upon the falling snow for everything to finally fall into place and happiness to be possible again.

This time around, she also wished for Wanda, Tommy and Billy to be part of that happiness and to allow you and her to be part of that family.

_______________________________

Time passed slowly with the recovery of the wounds and the unstoppable meetings with Hope.

Wanda realized the nightmares were back, and she had to face the ghost of her past and her present while finally speaking about what had happened during those hours in which Vision had come back to her life. Hope was always patient, telling the young woman that the progressed she had made was still there but that the current fear and uncertainty she was feeling was just natural and in a matter of time she would let go and move on.

Wanda wished it was easier, and faster.

As of late being closer to you had been easier yet allowing you a single touch was difficult to experience. A part of her, the one that sound eery familiar, told her she didn’t deserve your affection much less the tenderness behind your touch. Wanda was afraid that her insecurities would finally push you away and she would be like at the beginning, alone.

“You have to be patience as well, Wanda,” Hope tilted her head smiling softly at her, “Y/N would never get tired of showing you her affection, and she knows and understands what you and your children are going through. You have told me of the conversations you both held regarding this situation.”

“Yes, but I just…” Wanda passed a hand through her hair, she turned to the window watching as the cold sun of winter sneaked through the clouds, “I’m just afraid she will get tired eventually, that I won’t be able to change this.”

Here she pointed to her chest, clenching her fist while growling lowly. Hope observed the young woman for a very long time, this was not a new discussion and in the last two weeks had been the main topic around their sessions.

“How is going with the planning of the date? Have you gotten what you need?” Hope asked trying to divert the topic to something that would ignite the flames of hopefulness in Wanda.

Wanda stopped her frustration giving way to a tender smile, her eyes softened nodding lightly.

“Yes, actually this time around I got America and her friends helping me out with the planning,” Wanda chuckled taking a seat, “they really are good teens, and I just need to pay the last part and I will be able to finally get her to the date I promise.”

“She will love it, you know that, right?”

“You think so?” Wanda pursed her lips resting her chin on her hand, “America told me she really loved this, and I just…God, she had been so good to me and my children, and I just…”

Hope waited for Wanda to continue but the other woman merely trailed off shrugging. Wanda wanted to be perfect for you, she wanted to make sure that what she was doing for you was enough to let you see how much she loved you. Wanda wanted to make sure that she was the right person for you, that in this new adventure she was enough.

“You are enough.” Hope commented offhandedly, ignoring the stare coming from Wanda, “but you need to start believing it yourself and giving yourself the chance to experience this.”

“I know.” She mumbled letting her hand rubbed her neck, “I’m really trying, you know? I don’t want this to consume the time I could spend with my children, with Y/N and with my new friends.”

Hope shrugged offering a comforting smile, “we have seen your efforts, Wanda. Don’t sell yourself short because this is not moving at the speed you want it, be patient and persistent. That’s the secret.”

Wanda sighed breaking into an easy smile when her eyes fell on her mobile and a new message appeared on the screen. Hope chuckled recognizing the name, and her eyes went to the clock on the wall. Right on time.

“I guess this is it for today, isn’t it?” Hope said chuckling when Wanda nodded putting the mobile away.

“I don’t know how to thank you for your help.” Wanda stood up waiting until Hope got to her to wrap her into a comforting hug.

“Nonsense. At the end of the day, Wanda, you are my friend as well and the important thing is for you to be and to feel safe.” Hope winked at her nodding to the door. “Now go, I bet they are waiting for you.”

Wanda nodded turning around and leaving the practice. Hope shook her head making her way towards the window where she could see you were standing right on the sidewalk with Tommy and Billy by your side grinning widely holding some posters on their hands. Wanda put a hand on her mouth, laughing before hugging her children while leaning into your embrace as well. Hope smiled tenderly watching the scene with fondness, you really were pretty much in love with the woman and your every action was to ensure her happiness.

Time was all you and her needed. Of that, Hope was completely sure.

The cold of winter came crashing against Wanda, but whatever coldness she was experimenting was soon forgotten when the warm of your hug and the arms of her children engulfed her completely.  She couldn’t help but smile when you planted a single kiss on her lips, and her children snickered calling out to her with posters in their hands.

“What are you guys doing here?” Wanda took the first poster that Billy had made, it was a drawing of their home decorated with many toys and colours representing her, Tommy, America and even Y/N.

“Y/N thought you missed us, and we decided to come and invite you to some snacks.” Tommy said also presenting Wanda with his own drawing. “And, she said you need support.”

“And thus, they did this for you.” You continued grinning, “this is mine, but of course not as good as theirs.”

In your you had written a single declaration of beauty and love in Sokovian, Wanda softened at the words and the drawings not being able to take her smile off of her face. She breathed softly when your lips found hers, her laughter breaking the moment when she heard Tommy and Billy making gagging sounds.

“Ugh, no, mommy!” Billy grabbed Wanda by her hand shaking his head, “come on!! I’m hungry!”

“Me too!”

You chuckled wiggling your brows while winking at Wanda, “come, America is waiting for us and then, once we have them distracted I will kiss you again.”

Wanda flushed but she decided she wouldn’t wait, instead of letting you go she grabbed you by your hand and placed a singe kiss on your lips. You blinked away your shock, while the twins merely snickered covering their mouths.

“Now, where are you taking me guys?”

“We’re going to the park!” The twins screamed running towards the car, you smiled at Wanda who merely blinked confused at you.

“The amusement park.” You clarified scratching the back of your head, “they have this new carnival and I thought you guys would like it.”

Wanda let her eyes wandered to her children then back at you, her heart shrank under your stare and the innocent happiness behind her children. She nodded stretching her hand to grab your right hand in hers.

“We’ve never been to one, so I’m pretty sure we would love it.”

“Good, then let’s go!”

__________________

The park was located it in the southern part of the city.

Winter was the perfect time to bring forth the ice-skating rinks, the place was filled with families and friends enjoying the falling afternoon light and the bright lights from the different attractions. Wanda felt her heart jumped anxiously when she lost sight of Tommy and Billy only to see them talking animatedly with Kate and America.

It didn’t take too long for her to see the familiar faces of her students, and some of your friends walking around the place while sharing a good time. You intertwined your fingers with hers, smiling softly at her while leading her to the closest food stand. You glanced around seeing as America shook her head while negotiating with the twins, Wanda leaned closer to you offering the same tender smile she reserved for you.

“This is amazing.”

“You liked it?” You asked softly, Wanda nodded squeezing your hand reassuringly.

“I do.”

“Good, I was thinking of doing something different with you and the twins, I know as of late you have been stressing out and they haven’t slept well.” You lowered your gaze to the menu, sensing as Wanda tensed by your side.

“You knew?” She turned to America then back at you, your lips broke into a crooked smile shrugging.

“I suspect as much.” You sighed pointing at the combo for a hot dog and soda, “this one look fine, what do you say?”

“It has been difficult but, nothing we can’t deal with.” Her tone of voice had improved since new year, but sometimes you could catch the scratching of her throat and the fading wound Vision had left on her.

“You know I’m here for you and the twins, don’t you?” You faced the young woman, this time around forgetting all about the food and focusing your attention on Wanda.

Wanda shifted letting go of your hand, she felt the cold breeze of the afternoon sneaked inside her clothing. She shivered missing the warmness your hand was providing, though if she were to be honest with herself, it wasn’t your hand. It was you. All of you.

“I know.” Wanda lowered her gaze, her arms wrapping around herself. “Sometimes it’s just difficult for me to know…to actually realise I’m not alone. And that…”

She trailed off when a young man came from behind the counter asking for your order. Wanda observed with care just as you asked for her favourites, while also making sure to ask for Billy and Tommy’s favourites. You knew them so well, Wanda wondered why she had never noticed how attentive you were, how much you knew about them without any difficulties.

You need to let go, and give yourself a chance.

Wanda had already had this conversation before, and she had already fought over with herself against the uncertainty that these new emotions and this new relationship might bring to her life. With a softening heart she sneaked her arm around yours leaning closer to you, you lifted your brows surprised by the gesture but smiling smugly at her closeness.

“Which one is your favourite?” Wanda asked all of a sudden, you furrowed your brows pursing your lips before speaking.

“I like it spicy; you know? No pineapple because, yuck,” Wanda chuckled taking into your every word, “and I like all the sauces I can get my hands on.”

“So basically, a hot dog that may kill you in the near future or get you an upset tummy?” Wanda commented shaking her head, you rolled your eyes shrugging.

“Come on, is not that bad!!”

Wanda snorted but she could not say anything else for Billy and Tommy came right there, both of them were quite excited talking at the same time pointing to a different set of attractions they wanted to try over. You smiled fondly just as Wanda tried to negotiate with her children, America chuckled lifting her arms when both of them pointed to her while pouting. Soon the food was brought over, and you decided it was time for you to intervene.

“Okay, okay, I have a proposal!” Everyone turned to you, your good arm lifting above your head before pointing with your head the table filled with food. “We are going to eat first, then we will go to the Carousel, then we will move onto the bumper cars.”

Billy and Tommy cheered high fiving while hugging you with smiles on their faces, Wanda chewed on her lower lip glancing at those rides before turning to you. You winked at her leaning forward while lifting a single finger.

“Then, we will go to the Ferris Wheel to see the lights show from the park, okay?”

“Yes!” The twins then proceed to drag you to the table eager to start eating and go to the different attractions.

Wanda and America stayed behind grabbing napkins and helping with the beverages.

“They really are happy.” Wanda stated glancing at her children then back at America.

“They really are, are you?”

“I am.” Wanda shrugged smiling softly, Kate came right at that moment helping around while turning to Wanda.

“My mom just called me, she told me everything is ready and that if you confirmed her right now she would get everything ready for Friday.” Kate grinned when Wanda opened her eyes excitedly.

“You mean it?”

“Yep, I know Y/N would love her so…”

“You just have to say the word.” America pressed over smiling as well. Wanda turned to you where you were sitting with the twins helping them around while also allowing them to help you with the food.

Wanda felt her heart beat a tad bit faster, shrinking with pure emotion at the familiar scene she had gotten to witness in the last couple of weeks. She turned to the two teens nodding excitedly.

“Yes, tell her I take it.”

America squealed excitedly hugging Wanda before turning to an equally excited Kate.

“She is going to love it, you will see.”

Wanda surely hoped so, for the only thing in her mind was to make sure you also experience the love, affection and happiness she had felt with you from the moment the both of you met. From the moment, the both of you gave the friendship a chance to grow into something else.

Wanda Maximoff had never had such a wonderful time before.

She was dragged by you or America or even her children around the park to try the different attractions. She got to experience the adrenaline of the roller coaster, while also gave in the excitement of the bumper cars while laughing alongside you.

You were by her side at all times, without being overwhelming it was as if you knew what it was she needed and you were right there to make sure she got it. Wanda admired the easiness in which you and the twins soon found a common ground and they sought you out for comfort or confirmation of what to do next.

Whatever doubts that came after the incident, or whatever reluctance Wanda felt when around you were soon forgotten and she just gave in standing by your side with a beating heart and a tingling body whenever you brushed your hand against hers or your lips found hers when alone.

In the end, and after going through all the different stands holding games with prizes everyone ended up on the Ferry Wheel.

“Come on guys, you can go first.” You nodded to your sister and Kate, winking lightly while America just rolled her eyes.

“Let us take Billy and Tommy…” Kate started but you shook your head placing your right hand on her shoulder.

“No, this is for you guys, go and snog my sister when you get to the highest point,” you chuckled when Kate blushed looking away while America looked mortified, “you guys have been taken them with you most of the day, so it’s only fair. Go.”

Wanda was standing back with Billy and Tommy furrowing her brows when, after a moment of discussion America and Kate finally went inside one of the passenger cars. You stepped back joining Wanda who was trying to hold back the twins that were waving happily at America and Kate.

“I think we shouldn’t eat those candy apples,” Wanda snickered when the twins talked amongst themselves excitedly.

“Oh, come on, those are quite delicious, and I don’t mind them being this hyperactive.”

“You don’t?” Wanda blinked a couple of times stepping forward, waiting until the car stopped and the door was opened for you and the others to go in.

“No, I actually think it’s kinda cute.” You blinked at her before calling for Billy.

“Come here, little guy, you’re sitting with me, and Tommy is sitting with Wanda.” You pinned them with your eyes, your face transforming into a mask of pure seriousness. “I need you to be well-behaved because while this is fun, we need to make sure it is also safe, okay?”

“Yes, Y/N.” Both of them said at the same time, Wanda cocked her head lifting a single eyebrow impressed.

Soon the ride started with classical music playing through the speakers, you looked outside with Billy pointing out the different spots. You leaned forward answering his questions, while also telling him and Tommy about a past you had experienced with America and your parents. Wanda leaned back hearing the sound of your voice and the question of her children while taking in the scene.

“Woah, look mommy!! This is so pretty!” Tommy said pointing right outside the car where the lights show was being played near the skate rink.

“It is, it looks really pretty.” Wanda mumbled glancing at you and noticing you had your eyes on her.

“It is just beautiful.” You replied as well, smiling tenderly at her before turning your attention back to the outside world.

“This is the best day ever, Y/N, thank you.” Billy said softly turning to you and giving you a tight hug.

You returned the hug softening your features while feeling your heart skipped a beat under the display of affection from the little boy.

“I’m glad you like it, Billy.” Your voice was loud enough for him, Tommy and Wanda to hear you out, “I just want to make you enjoy the beautiful things in life, if you guys allow me to do so, I will be more than happy to show you the world.”

Wanda wrapped her arms around Tommy, shaking her head while her eyes filled with tears.

“How about you let us show you also the beautiful and fun things in life, and we share those experiences with one another?” Wanda replied glancing at you, the silent invitation there.

You chuckled nodding, “I would love that.”

Wanda nodded turning again to the world outside the passenger car, her heart leaping with happiness at the moment she was living with you and the twins. Suddenly, in the midst of such peaceful moment Wanda came to the realisation that everything she needed, whatever she had been looking for was just there, sitting right across her loving her children and her without asking nothing in return.

And for that, she loved you without any reservations.

For that, she promised herself to make sure you were happy, the way you were making her and her children happy.

____________________________

Final chapter: The date Wanda planned finally comes to be, there will be smut, and happily ever after.

[neroushalvaus]

Top 10 favourite characters from any fandom

I was tagged by @limalepakko , thank you! Since I have recently listed male characters here (or you know, in August, but we all know time hasn't been a thing for many moons), I took the liberty to list characters in general this time. I also went with which characters feel right at the moment, so does not show all my favourites. I also try to keep these short. (edit: okay so these are not remotely short, I will post a list first and have the explanations be under the cut, read if you want to hear my ramblings c': )

1. Fantine, Les Misérables 2. Javert / Jean Valjean, Les Misérables (yes i am cheating) 3. Carrie "Big Boo" Black, Orange Is the New Black 4. Jane Marple, Agatha Christie's Marple 5. Aunt Lydia, The Handmaid's Tale 6. Bridget Jones, Bridget Jones books & movies 7. Rock Lee, Naruto 8. Sarah O'Brien, Downton Abbey 9. Marilla Cuthbert, Anne of Green Gables / Anne with an E 10. Sister Monica Joan, Call the Midwife

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1. Fantine, Les Misérables

I love Fantine with all my heart. I remember reading Les Mis for the first time and her story sending chills down my spine. Her character development makes me so sad, from a girl who falls hard and fast and won't deny anything from her lover, to a woman who is so beaten down by society that she can't do anything but laugh at her fate. But I love how she doesn't lose her pride or her fighting spirit and how she still has the guts to spit in Valjean's face when she sees him after being arrested. And I love how all she does is for her daughter and how despite selling "the gold on her head and the pearls in her mouth" she is content, because all that matters to her is that Cosette will live.

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2. Javert & Jean Valjean, Les Misérables

I was really trying to limit this list to one character per fandom, but alas, I am but a weak little person. Thus, I am cheating already. The thing is that when it comes to Les Mis characters, Fantine, Javert and Valjean are the eternal top 3 for me, but I'm never quite able to say who I love the most. Last time I picked Javert for the male character meme because I love the symbolism and critique of society his character embodies, but let it be known that Jean Valjean is the best character in all of literature and I will fight you on this. The original soft on crime icon (aside from Jesus Christ but they're the same and you know it). Valjean's character journey is such a complicated one from an ordinary man (no worse than any man) to a person, who had been shaped by society and criminal justice system to be a very dangerous man, to someone you could compare to a saint if you wanted to... To an ordinary man, who would do anything for his daughter. He has so many character-defining moments, the biggest ones being in my opinion the trial of Champmathieu and letting Javert go instead of killing him. I just love Jean Valjean so much and could speak about him for hours.

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3. Carrie "Big Boo" Black, Orange Is the New Black

Hopping away from the Les Mis hole and into a OITNB hole. I was debating on whether I'd put Boo or Pennsatucky on this list since I love them both so much, but I've been feeling so much love for my angry butch king that it had to be her. First of all, I'm just so happy to see butch lesbian representation where the butch identity is not just a joke. I know OITNB sometimes uses Boo questionably, but in general she is a nuanced character and one of the most interesting ones in the series in my opinion. I'm so sad they forgot all about her on the last seasons. I love everything about her, how she has trouble with feelings besides anger and often deflects serious stuff through humor, how fiercely protective she is of those she loves (boosatucky otp forever fucking fight me), how proud she is of her butch identity ("i refuse to be invisible")... Also, not to express attraction, but... Mama I'm in love with a criminal. And not to be a slut for how characters view religion/spirituality/God, but the relieved smile she has in one of her flashbacks when she says "there's no God... there's nothing", like you can't just do stuff like that and expect me not to love the character to bits.

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4. Jane Marple, Agatha Christie's Marple

Last time I listed Poirot and was a bit frustrated I couldn't list Marple, but now it's time to right that wrong! I love this little old lady so much. I love Agatha Christie so much for just going "you know who is the person who knows everything that's going on in a community, and thus would make the perfect detective for a detective story? the nosy old woman". As she is introduced in The Murder at the Vicarage: "Miss Marple is a white-haired old lady with a gentle, appealing manner — Miss Weatherby is a mixture of vinegar and gush. Of the two Miss Marple is much more dangerous." She is so likable and witty, you can't help but love her. My favourite portrayal of her is by Geraldine McEwan, she looks so gentle but has such a sharp gaze. I would spill all my secrets to her any day. I also am compelled to tell you that when I was a child we had a costume party at my school and I dressed up as Marple and learned some old lady things in English (it was before third grade so I didn't know much English back then) just for the occasion (such as "thank you, my dear", "what a lovely necklace you are wearing" or "there has been a murder"). Teacher might have thought me rather morbid but I remember that day being quite good.

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5. Aunt Lydia, The Handmaid's Tale

The Handmaid's Tale is such a great series and a book and Aunt Lydia is such a great character. The way she's capable of being absolutely cruel and vicious, but how she is also protective and caring in her own way. One of my favourite scenes in this series is when Serena Joy (my other favourite, can you tell) tells Lydia to "remove the damaged ones" from a line of handmaids and Lydia tries to argue with her. Sure, she is responsible for some of the punishments these women are now "damaged" by, but she truly believes those punishments were for a greater good and now the handmaids deserve their place with the others as much as anyone else. It is chilling and the character is such a dark shade of morally gray, but I can't get enough of it. The actress who plays her, Ann Dowd, has so interesting thoughts about her, like here. I just love this character so much I could scream.

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6. Bridget Jones, Bridget Jones books & movies

I'm mostly talking about the movies here because Renée Zellweger's performance is iconic. Plus the movies are what made me love this character first. But I'll give it to the books, they're one of the few books I've laughed out loud while reading. Anyway, how do you even begin explaining the love I have for Bridget Jones... I love how she is a character so many people can relate but who would be a comic relief side character in some other story. Yes, yes, it is really bad that she is constantly described as fat when she really is not, but when I was growing up she gave me hope that people who are viewed as fat and/or unattractive by other people can be admired and appreciated, and they don't have to be super talented at everything and highly intelligent and some kind of a super smooth social butterfly to "make up" for what they "lack". And also that they can have standards (i once dodged a bullet by rejecting someone by pretty much subconsciously quoting Bridget Jones so..). I also love how the comedic tone of everything does not dismiss Bridget's feelings. For example in some other movie we maybe would concentrate on how "stupid" Bridget was to trust that Daniel was in love with her, but in Bridget Jones we concentrate on how Bridget was hurt by Daniel cheating on her, how he is the one who did wrong. Idk I just love Bridget Jones so very much can you tell.

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7. Rock Lee, Naruto

Aka the boy who would have kicked Madara in the balls if Kishimoto had any sense of drama and good storytelling. I think I robbed Lee by not putting him on the fav male characters list. You know that post that goes like "gays be like 'these are my comfort characters', 1 literal ray of sunshine, 2 war criminal" etc? This child is the sunshine. I've been reading and watching Naruto again ( @hapanmaitogai is my sideblog for that nonsense) and I'm so ready to adopt Lee and/or Gai. Rock Lee is just such an earnest character, he has a goal he will give anything to achieve and he's the one true underdog in this manga. I love how he's so kind and polite (it's not so clear in English but in the Finnish translation he speaks as formally as he does in Japanese, he uses singular polite "you", calls Sakura "Sakura-neiti" = "Miss Sakura" etc... i love one polite boy). Also, he has the best fights in the series. Like Lee vs Gaara is a Classic, but we simply can't forget that time Lee absolutely crushed Sasuke in just a few minutes, or that time he politely asked Kimimaro not to kill him while he drinks his medicine. The best boy. I love that boy so much.

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8. Sarah O'Brien, Downton Abbey

Last time it was Thomas' turn, so now I must talk about the snakiest snake, the queen of weaponized handmaidenry, Miss O'Brien. She is such a great character especially in the first two seasons (I obviously love her on season three as well but Julian Fellowes really tried to make it hard by not explaining her actions at all, didn't he. Well, luckily I am ready to stuff the gaps with my headcanons). She has some of the best comebacks in the series and brings some needed realism in some conversations. I also love how she uses her position as a lady's maid for her advantage and how she is proud of her profession despite being highly aware of the power structures in the Abbey. And then there is the soap. That is such a good character moment, because for a character who always plans ahead, who is ruthless and cunning and intelligent... I don't think O'Brien thought about the soap thing at all before she left the room ("Sarah O'Brien, this is not who you are" hit me like a train). Just once she did something with nothing but anger motivating her and that became one of the defining moments of her character. And one of the defining things of the future relationship between her and Cora. That's why I find the Sarah/Cora ship so interesting, because there will always be the undercurrent of bitter regret. Also Sarah O'Brien and Thomas Barrow are the greatest brotp and Fellowes was a coward for driving the smoking scheming gay best friends apart, and

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9. Marilla Cuthbert, Anne of Green Gables / Anne with an E

I'm not saying L.M. Montgomery is entirely responsible for me having a fondness for strict, older women who first act unkind but have a heart of gold, but she most certainly did not help. Between characters like Marilla Cuthbert and Elizabeth Murray, how can you not fall in love with the type? It's been a while since I read the Anne series, but I really love how Marilla's character has been adapted into the Anne with an E tv series. Geraldine James looks like she was born to play her, she has me in tears so often. She has the ability to portray someone like Marilla, who is a very hard and stern person but feels deeply for her loved ones. I was watching the episode that dealt with Matthew's heart attack and Marilla berating her brother while hugging herself like she was trying so hard to hold herself together absolutely destroyed my heart.

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10. Sister Monica Joan, Call the Midwife

It was a tough choice between her and Sister Evangelina. I just love these nuns very much. Sister Monica Joan is such a lovable and wise character. She is so knowledgeable of many subjects, from the Bible to astrology, and I feel like her unspecified memory problems and confusion are handled very tastefully. I also love how she's such an important part of her community despite not working as a midwife anymore. She is such a kind woman and gets visibly upset when others are treated poorly. And how could I not mention her saying "I do not believe in weeds. A weed is simply a flower that someone decides is in the wrong place", like... I love her so so much.

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I won't tag anyone, but if you read this and you want to do this, consider yourself tagged and you're no allowed to mark me as the one who tagged you!

[brentwatchesmovies]

Brent’s Top 10 Movies of 2019

Scorsese is probably my favorite living filmmaker, but I’ll be honest, when I heard that Scorsese was making this movie, and *how* he was making it (heavily digital de-aged actors) I was a bit skeptical. De Niro and Pacino haven’t been turning in interesting performances in quite awhile, and Pesci came out of a decades-long retirement for the movie as well. On top of that, the first trailer released did little for me. All that to say I was an idiot to doubt the master.

Scorsese returns to the crime genre that he re-invented many times over the years, this time with the eyes of a man in his 70’s, looking back on his life and career. The movie is very long, but in my opinion, it needs the length. The viewer needs to *feel* the totality of a life, and as is his intent with The Irishman, the *consequences* of this specific life. The final hour or so of this movie feels like a culmination of Scorsese’s career in many ways. The energy and entertainment of a crime/mob epic, with the fatalism and philosophical leanings of a movie like ‘Silence’. It’s a 3.5 hour movie that I’ve already rewatched, and actively want to again, so that alone ought to speak volumes.

Harmony Korine made one of my favorite movies of the 2010’s, the neon-soaked and often misunderstood ‘Spring Breakers’, so I was already in the bag for whatever he did next. When I heard it was a freewheeling stoner comedy where Matthew Mcconaughey plays a guy named ‘Moondog’ costarring Snoop Dogg, I reserved its location on my top 10 list.

This movie doesn’t have the empty heart at its core that defines Spring Breakers, opting instead for a character study about a ‘Florida man’ poet after his life pretty much falls apart. It’s basically plotless, stumbling from one insane, borderline hallucinatory sequence to the next, but I just loved living in the world of this movie. Beach Bum almost feels like a deliriously fun VR simulation of hanging out with Matt McConaughey and his weirdo friends down in the Florida keys. This is one that probably won’t pop up on many top 10 lists but I really adore, and will surely rewatch it a dozen times in the years to come.

Let the record show, I’ve been a huge fan of Bong Joon-ho since I first saw his monster movie/family drama ‘The Host’. Some time later, he went on to make ‘Snowpiercer’, one of my favorite movies of the last decade. All that to say, I think Parasite is probably his best movie, and a true masterwork of thriller direction. It also has his usual brand of social commentary and a script filled with darkness and humor, following a South Korean tendency to juggle multiple tones throughout, sometimes all in one moment or scene.

Parasite also follows a big 2019 trend of commenting on class and social dynamics between the rich and the poor. I think that’s part of why it’s done incredibly well at the box office (especially for a Korean language film), the fact that people can relate in a huge way, regardless of which country your from. Parasite is one of the most entertaining movie viewing experiences I’ve had this year and I’d recommend everyone check it out.

If you were to ask me what the funnest movie-going experience I had in 2019 was, I’d have to pick Rian Johnson’s ‘Knives Out’. Hot off making one of the best Star Wars movies ever made (don’t @ me) Johnson decided to make a passion project in the vein of classic Agatha Christie style murder mysteries, and the results are a total blast. Filled with clever twists and turns, weaponizing the structure of murder-mysteries against the audiences expectations, it stays one step ahead of you the entire time.

Aside from the clever mystery of it all, it’s the actors performances and chemistry that really sell this thing. Jamie Lee Curtis and Toni Collette are expectedly great per usual, and Daniel Craig is having the time of his life as Mississippi private-eye Benoit Blanc, but the heart of the movie is relative newcomer Ana de Armas. She brings an emotional weight and anchor to the movie that always keeps you emotionally invested amidst the terrible, money hungry backstabbing by the other heightened characters. I hope everyone sees this movie and Johnson is able to give us another Benoit Blanc adventure somewhere down the line, I’ll be there opening day.

Nobody makes an upbeat, feel-good movie like Ari Aster does! After last years light and breezy ‘Hereditary’ (which I liked a lot but didn’t totally love) he’s back with a completely riveting and emotionally draining (not to mention horrific) masterpiece. What I connected to most in Midsommar is the journey of Dani, played incredibly by Florence Pugh. The way the film portrays the relationship between her and her dog shit boyfriend played by the (usually) charming Jack Reynor keeps you invested in every twist, perfectly paced out over the movies admittedly long runtime.

I won’t get into spoiler territory, but where this movie goes in the end is what makes this a fully 5-star movie for me. After putting you through hell, like Aster loves to do with bells on, Midsommar ends in a euphoric, psychedelic orgy of music and violence that I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Midsommar rules so hard and I can’t wait for whatever twisted thing Aster cooks up next.

One of my increasingly favorite brands of movies is a finely crafted, primo slice of dad-movie cinema, and James Mangold has made one with Ford v Ferrari. The story chronicles the partnership of ex-racer and designer Carroll Shelby and racer Ken Miles as they work to make a Ford that can compete in the 24 hour race of Le Mans. Bale and Damon are a blast to watch bounce off each other and the race sequences are pretty damn thrilling, combining (what I expect is) a solid amount of great VFX with practical racing to great effect.

I also didn’t expect it to have as much to say about the struggle to create something special by passionate people and not committees while also inside the very machine that churns out products on an assembly line. Just a random note, this original movie was just put out by 20th Century Fox, now owned by Disney but that’s completely unrelated and I’m not sure why I’d even bring that up??? Anyway, I love this movie and dads, moms and everybody else should check it out.

If you saw my list last year, then it must appear like I’m some diehard Mr. Rogers fan. I don’t really have many memories watching his show as a child, but what the documentary ‘Won’t You be my Neighbor’ and this film by Marielle Heller have in common is a shared fascination of his immense empathy and character. It’s only right that America’s dad Tom Hanks should play him, and I was surprised at the end that I was able to get over his stardom and accept him as Rogers. He’s not doing a direct impersonation, and I think it’s all the better for it, instead opting for matching his soft tone and laid back movements.

On a pure emotional level, this movie was a freight train. It didn’t help that the movie covers a lot of father stuff, from losing your own to becoming one yourself (2 big boxes on the Brent bingo card). Heller’s direction is clever in its weaponizing of meta/post-modern techniques, such as one incredible fourth wall break in a diner scene. It literally breaks down the barrier between Mr. Rogers, we the audience, and the films intent to make us feel something.

I cry a lot at movies, that much is well known, but it’s rare that a movie makes me weep, and this one did. Even thinking about scenes right now, days later, my eyes are welling up with tears thinking about the messages of the movie. Mr. Rogers and his lessons of empathy and emotional understanding have rarely been as vital and important as they are right now in our world.

Robert Eggers first film ‘The Witch’ from 2015 is one of my favorite movies of this decade, possibly of all time, so my hype for his black and white, period piece two-hander ‘The Lighthouse’ was through the roof. Even with sky-high expectations, it still blew me away. With dialogue reminiscent of The Witch in its specific authenticity to its era, to the two lead actors giving all-time great performances, It was one of the most entertaining film viewing experiences I had this year.

There’s something about both of Egger’s movies that I really keyed into watching this one: his fascination with shame and the liberation from it. Where Witch was from the female perspective, Lighthouse literally has two farting, drunk men in a giant phallic symbol fighting for dominance. It’s less a horror film than his first, but still utterly engrossing, demented and specific to his singular vision. I can’t wait to see 20 more movies from this guy.

This is another big movie of 2019, like The Irishman, where you can see the director looking inward, at what his films mean and represent. It initially caught me so off guard that I really didn’t know how to feel about it, but after seeing it again, it’s one of my favorites of the year, and probably Tarantino’s filmography overall. More akin to something like Boogie Nights or Dazed and Confused, letting us live with and follow a small group of characters, it mostly doesn’t feel like a Tarantino movie (until the inevitable and shocking explosion of violence in the third act, of course).

‘Hollywood’ is the most sincere and loving movie Tarantino has made, interested in giving us a send off to an era of Hollywood and artists that have been lost or forgotten (Some more tragically than others). In the end, the movie functions similarly to ‘Inglorious Basterds’ in it’s rewriting of history to give us catharsis. “If only things could have worked out this way.” Luckily in movies, removed from the restrictions of reality, they can. And once upon a time in Hollywood, they did.

Uncut Gems probably tripled my blood pressure by the time the credits rolled. A slice-of-life story about a gambler/dealer in New York’s diamond district, the movie follows Howard Ratner, played by Adam Sandler in easily the best performance of his career. Ratner is basically addicted to living at the edge of a cliff, being chased by violent debt collectors, juggling a home life and a relationship with an employee, and fully relying on risky sports bets to stay afloat. It makes for a consistently tense and unique viewing experience, expertly directed by the Safdie brothers.

Something that might not work for everyone but that I personally loved, is the chaotic way in which the movie is shot. What feels like loosely directed scenes, with characters talking over each other and multiple conversations happening at once, adds an authenticity and reality lacking from most other movies. It’s more adjacent to Linklater (thanks to Adam for the comparison) or Scorsese’s earlier films (also fitting, that he’s a producer on this). Following Howard Ratner as his life descends into chaotic hell was one of the best times I’ve had watching a movie this year.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

AVENGERS ENDGAME

DOLEMITE IS MY NAME

BOOKSMART

JOHN WICK CHAPTER 3

THE FAREWELL

AD ASTRA

[bazzybelle]

Carry On Countdown - Day Four

Notes: So, I love Fleetwood Mac. They’re one of my favourite bands. So when I saw this prompt, I HAD to write a fic inspired by the song “Dreams”, written by the brilliant Stevie Nicks and performed by Fleetwood Mac (You all need to listen to the “Rumours” album. It’s musical ingenuity at its finest). The title and lyrics in the fic are taken from the song “Dreams”.

Thank you again to @carryonsimoncarryonbaz for the Beta-Read. 

Finally, to the Americans that follow me, Happy Thanksgiving (fellow Canadians / non-Americans, Happy Thursday)! Hope you all have a good day, and if you’re having a tough time (because of family drama / bullshit), I send you love and support.

Love to you all. 

Day 4 Prompt: Dreams

Title: Have you Any Dreams You’d Like to Sell?

________________________________________________________________

PENELOPE

These airplane seats are impossibly uncomfortable. No matter how much I fidget and readjust, I cannot get into a position where something isn’t digging into my stomach, or my hip, or my thighs. It’s almost enough to assume that airplane companies have some sick vendetta against individuals who do not fit the perfect Western standards of beauty. 

Wankers. The lot of them.

I look around to see if my friends have settled down as well. I am the only one who is sitting amongst strangers. Lucky me, I think, sarcastically.

Agatha and Shepard are sitting a few rows ahead of me. I do not envy her at all. In fact, she may give me an earful once we arrive back in London for saddling her with Shepard. The man is absolutely relentless. I can only imagine the thousands of questions he will no doubt be asking Agatha. I am silently wondering how long it’ll take Agatha to beg me to exchange seats. I had not intended things to work out this way, but the seats assigned to us were the only ones left on the flight back home. Since we were on this flight illegally (as well as technically kidnapping a Normal -- although he more than gave consent to come along to London), it was best to stick to our original seats.

The group was not happy with me when I told them I was smuggling Shepard into the UK. Simon, while actually getting along well with Shepard, was worried that I would get into more trouble with the Coven: “It’s just that. We’ve already broken a lot of rules. And isn’t this kidnapping?”

Baz felt it absolutely necessary to be a smartarse. Trying to repair his cool mask after the trauma we had just experienced. Typical of a Pitch.

“Adopting Normals, are we Bunce? Your mother will be so thrilled.”

“Well his personality is a lot more palatable than the vampire I adopted last year!”

“You slay me, Bunce. You truly do”, Baz had responded with a sneer.

Speaking of which, I turn my head to a few rows behind me, to where Simon and Baz are sitting. Although they were seated next to each other, both of them looked like they wished they could be sitting anywhere else. Baz is sitting next to the window, staring at the landing strip, a melancholy look in his eyes. Simon is sitting in the aisle seat, completely preoccupied with whatever is going on in his head. I sigh angrily to myself. Those impossible boys will be the death of me. I do notice Simon turning to look at Baz, maybe reaching over to him. I shake my head and turn back to my seat.

Nicks and Slick, there may be hope for those idiots, yet. 

I may give them a difficult time, but it’s truly because I care about them. For both of them! Simon is my very best friend. I love him as if he were one of my brothers. All I want is for him to be happy in his life. His whole life has been about sacrifice and suffering. He’s never been allowed to have anything for himself. For once in his life, he has a reason to be happy and hopeful for the future. I just want him to allow himself to be happy. To allow himself to accept being in love and to be loved back. 

And Baz does love him. Any fool could see that he is utterly devoted to Simon. Stupidly devoted, but devoted nonetheless. And he is a good man, and an absolutely brilliant magician. I wish we had become friends earlier on at Watford. That hard outer shell that seems to envelop every member of that pompous family is just that -- a shell. Inside, Baz is softer than any one of us, always looking at Simon as if he’s the center of his world. Simon is my best friend, but I also care about Baz and it has been very difficult to watch him suffer because neither one knows how to talk to the other. 

They need to figure their feelings out. I had hoped that this trip would not only help Simon, but that maybe it would help them as well. My initial hope was that Micah and I would settle our own issues and we could all travel together, demonstrating that nothing is ever lost. Even the most hopeless situations could be fixed. 

I was wrong. I was so incredibly wrong. I tug at my jumper, trying to not think about the last time I saw Micah. How foolish I was to think we could fix our relationship. Micah had signed off on our relationship a lot sooner than I did. I want to stare out the window longingly (take a page out of Baz’s book), but I am stuck in an aisle seat. Instead, I pull out my mobile, pop in some earbuds and start to listen to some music. 

The deep bass and thumping drums of “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac starts playing and I groan to myself. Of course this song starts to play as I begin to contemplate my failed relationship. 

“Now here you go again, you say you want your freedom. Well who am I to keep you down?”

The thing is, Micah NEVER told me he wanted his freedom from me. He never once expressed that he was finished with us. He never gave me the option to fight for us. He decided on his own that this relationship was dead. I suppose that’s why breakups are so horrible. Most of the time, it really takes one person to decide to end things, while the other is left blindsided and unprepared to deal with the emotional aftermath. This whole trip was a series of Penelope Bunce being unprepared for everything. 

If you had given me a chance to fight, Micah, I would have fought. I can feel the tears beginning to fall down my face once more. The poor passenger next to me will think I’m absolutely batty. Maybe I am absolutely batty. I am crying tears for a boy. A boy that broke my heart. I wrap my arms around my waist and close my eyes. Morgana, I am pathetic. Where is your fighting spirit, Penelope Bunce!?

“Thunder only happens when it’s raining. Players only love you when they’re playing. Women they will come and they will go. When the rain washes you clean, you’ll know. You’ll know.” 

The plane starts to move, leaving the gate. It won’t be too long now before we take off, leaving all of this ugliness behind. I don’t think I ever want to come back here. I think we will all be better off if we leave America well enough alone for the remainder of our lives. I say goodbye to Micah in my mind. 

Goodbye Micah. I am sorry that I checked you off a list. I am sorry that I was too thick to realize that we were over a long time ago. I am sorry that you did not feel it necessary to inform me that you were done. 

I am sorry FOR you, Micah. 

I am sorry for you, that you were too cowardly to be upfront and honest with me. 

I am sorry for you, that you felt it better to give up on us instead of fighting for us. 

I am sorry for you, that you have resigned to live your life in mundanity. 

“Now here I go again, I see the crystal visions. I keep my visions to myself. It’s only me who wants to wrap around your dreams and have you any dreams you’d like to sell?”

Maybe I did check him off. Maybe I did decide that we had an established relationship and that there was nothing else to worry about. Maybe I was wrong in assuming that any relationship could be so certain. But that’s how it’s supposed to be, right? You meet someone, you get married, you start a family, end of story! You don’t have to worry about being in a relationship once your relationship is settled and secure! Once your relationship is settled, you can focus your time and energy on other pressing matters. 

And there it is, I suppose. 

“Dreams of loneliness, like a heartbeat drives you mad. In the stillness of remembering what you had, and what you lost. And what you had, and what you lost.”

I did take Micah for granted. I did assume that he would just always be around to wait for me. Wait for me to finish Watford. Wait for me to help Simon finish a quest; Wait for me to finish making sure that Simon is whole again. I mistakenly believed that he’d wait forever, and that was not fair to him. 

At the same time… Erin. Baz was right when he told me that Micah was a coward. I assumed Micah would wait for me; Micah assumed he was free to date other girls, while still messaging me. Maybe this was for the best. After all, after the first night in America, I had stopped thinking about Micah. Even when I thought I was about to die in that vampire vehicle, Micah never once crossed my mind. Now, if I truly loved him the way that Baz loves Simon, wouldn’t I have thought more about him? Would I have made more of an effort to be with him? Who’s to say, really? That did not give him an excuse to hurt me like he did. His actions were unfair to me and caused me pain. He chose to accept the grey-area of our relationship as a reason to be unfaithful, and that was wrong.   

“When the rain washes you clean, you’ll know. You’ll know. You will know. Oh, you’ll know.” 

“Penelope. We are in the air. The seatbelt sign is off. Can we PLEASE switch seats. Your Normal is driving me mad!”

I snap out of my depressing thoughts as Agatha has begun to nudge my arms. I look at my watch. 40 minutes was enough to break her. I sigh and unbuckle my safety belt. I suppose spending eight hours next to a chatty Normal is better than being alone with my thoughts. 

“I was hoping you’d last longer, honestly. And he isn’t my Normal!”

I take one last glance outside as the plane leaves the American skies behind. 

Goodbye Micah. I wish you well in your life. I shall be alright in mine.

[alwaysdowntohidewithyou]

“Most parents will be familiar with the experience of being ignored by their teenage offspring. Tormented by my daughter's incessant loud singing around the house, I've lost count of the number of times I pleaded: 'For God's sake, Florence, please put a sock in it.'

Of course, she didn't take a blind bit of notice. Just as well, really. My daughter is Florence Welch, of Florence And The Machine.

She is 22, lauded as the next big thing and her debut album Lungs has been sitting at No2 in the charts, behind the late Michael Jackson.

She has won the Critics' Choice Award at the Brits and was this week nominated for a Mercury Music Prize. She's even been on Radio 4's Woman's Hour, for goodness sake, not to mention Jonathan Woss.

This has all happened in the space of a couple of years, and it takes some getting used to.

Florence was born into an Anglo-American middle-class family. Her mother, Evelyn, is an American art historian and I worked in advertising. We lived in South London, we took holidays in Cornwall.

There was music in the house and there were books. There were performers and musicians on both sides of the family. I took Florence and her younger sister Grace to violin lessons (ouch) but it wasn't their passion.

Because of her mother's work, Florence did have an early exposure to Renaissance painting, which may have had an influence on the somewhat visceral world view expressed in her lyrics. As a child, she was particularly fascinated by Mantegna's Circumcision Of Christ, and by various paintings of the martyrdom of St Agatha, who had her breasts cut off.

Florence, always a difficult sleeper, was often as an infant encouraged to nod off by being wheeled around the sitting room in a pushchair to the accompaniment of loud music.

Her earliest subliminal influences include The Smiths (whom she found highly soporific) and Syd Barrett (less so). We also tried works by The Soft Machine, REM, The Go-Gos.

One evening a few years ago when I was passing Florence's bedroom I heard her shouting out: 'That's amazing, I'm having a bloody epiphany.'

I poked my head around the door and saw her sitting on the bed with a huge pair of headphones on. She had, it appeared, just listened for the first time to Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit.

People have asked whether there was a moment when I realised that Florence had a gift. There was. It happened during a performance of Bugsy Malone at her school, Alleyn's, in Dulwich. Florence was ten or 11 and she was playing the lead female part of Blousey Brown.

At school productions, parents are usually interested only in the efforts of their own offspring, but when Florence sang, the whole audience was suddenly fully engaged. I remember thinking: 'Cripes, she's got a voice - this is serious.'

It wasn't just her perfect pitch - she had the essence of phrasing and timing which makes a good singer great.

On the basis of her phenomenal performance she was co-opted to sing a rather obscure and difficult Gilbert And Sullivan song at my father's memorial service at St Bride's in Fleet Street in 1997.

My father, Colin, was a journalist and satirist who had been deputy editor of the Daily Telegraph and a parliamentary sketchwriter for the Daily Mail, so the great and good of Fleet Street were there. Florence sang brilliantly in front of scores of weeping crumblies.

After this she became something of a fixture at funerals. When I recently gave her a hard time about the dark quality of her lyrics - the first song she wrote was called My Boy Builds Coffins - she said: 'You made me sing at funerals. What do you expect?'

Florence spent her later teenage years in a mysterious group called the Toxic Cockroaches. Her mother and I, by now divorced, probably did not pay enough attention.

Having won a place at Camberwell School Of Art, she sang with a band called Ashok.

On one occasion she called me from Greenwich, angling for a lift home. Her band, she said, weren't there but there were some others around who she might play with. I turned up and watched her sing two songs, which were phenomenal.

No, she said afterwards, she hadn't rehearsed. No, she had had no idea what she was going to sing when she got on stage. This stunned me then and still stuns me now.

Florence and her bandmates were 'spotted' by an old-school music manager and there was talk of a contract. 'Don't sign anything until we've had a chance to have a look at it,' we implored. 'Yeah, yeah,' said Florence - and went ahead and signed it.

That's where it all could have gone off the rails. She was 19 and miserable, in the wrong band, life signed away, career over before it had begun. Despite my misgivings, I became a bit of a rock dad, and phoned a friend who was a music lawyer.

It turned out the contract was only binding on Florence as part of the band, so all she had to do was resign. After that we paid a bit more attention.

Florence engaged her present manager, Mairead Nash, one half of the achingly fashionable Queens Of Noize club night promoters, by trapping her in a club washroom and singing an Etta James song at full volume. Their partnership has worked pretty well so far.

Once established in her own right, and aided and abetted by Mairead and the 'thunderous' Machine, Florence's progress has been swift and spectacular.

Last year I was the one driving Florence and a two-man Machine around Europe in her stepmum's camper van, following in the wake of the MGMT (another popular band) tour bus - all for the princely sum of €75 a gig.

This year it is a professional driver, Florence, a five-piece Machine and a road crew in their own tour bus.

I still go to some gigs, but my small part in this drama is, to a great extent, over. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and my early days as de facto tour manager are a great source of envy to my fifty-something chums who would give their eye teeth for the chance to go 'on the road' with a band, man.

There are, of course, alarming aspects to the whole thing. I have witnessed Florence clambering up the gantry at Glastonbury in 6in heels and I have seen her being passed around the audience at a gig with Pete Doherty.

Indeed, I shared a light ale or two with the rock and roll Rimbaud and found him to be quite charming, if a trifle vague. I must admit, though, a report that he had proposed to Florence earlier in the evening did cause a momentary attack of the vapours.

It is all exciting. But a word of warning to any potential pop stars and their parents: it is also expensive. Florence has received reasonable advances, but had to use them to pay for a lot of the band's running costs.

Florence will, we hope, make some money, but only if she sells a lot of CDs and gets film tie-ins - and after she has repaid her advances.

I may have to wait for quite a while for that bungalow in Weybridge that all rock stars seem to buy for their parents.

The fact that Florence has become public property can invade one's life and conversation. We do have evenings within her extended family where all mention of the 'daffy diva', as I call her sometimes, is forbidden.

Her sister Grace is at Sussex University, and so is able to get away from the all-embracing tsunami that Florence's life has become.

Florence's 15-year-old brother, JJ, thinks it's all pretty cool, and finds the connection with a pop star a good way to develop conversations with girls.

I do occasionally feel a twinge of unease about this whole extraordinary thing, and I remember the first time I felt it. It was more than a year ago and Florence was playing a gig in an inexplicably fashionable joint in Hoxton, Hackney.

Practically every A&R man in London was there. As I watched Florence putting her heart and soul into the performance, I glanced round at the audience.

There were the fans, wild-eyed and transported by the experience. And there were the A&R men, with quiet, thoughtful faces. They weren't here to enjoy themselves, they were taking care of business, and the business was my daughter. That's just the way it is - no worse than any other business, but it was a sobering thought.

It was also at this gig that one of the A&R men who knew that I was Florence's father turned to me with a quizzical expression as she launched into another of her perverse, Gothic tales of death, dismemberment, and bloody revenge.

'I know what you're thinking,' I shouted, 'but I can assure you she had a perfectly normal upbringing.'”

-Nick Welch, 2009 (x)

[guardianreadersofthegalaxy]

Dom’s mini Who reviews - the great episodes

The Doctor’s Wife – This has such a weird off-kilter vibe that I’d love to see more of. Aunty, Uncle and House are all so creepy and Surrane Jones genuinely acts like she’s not used to her own body. Add to that Amy & Rory’s horrific journey through the TARDIS and you’ve got the peak of Series 6.

The Fires Of Pompeii – I love episodes based around moral dilemmas. Donna is definitely the highlight. The location filming all looks great even if the Pyrovile CGI’s a bit rubbish. This takes the historic romp template and injects it with tonnes of actual drama.

Gridlock – Some quality Bladerunner-inspired production design and a great turn from Ardal O’Hanlon. I could take or leave the Face Of Boe stuff. The standout moments are the two musical scenes, particularly the last one. Tennant & Agyeman really give it 100%.

Last Christmas – The tone’s a bit muddled and the dream twist is done way too many times, but this succeeds as a sci-fi horror mindf*** and as a sweet Christmas romp, even if the two don’t pair well. The cinematography in Clara’s dream is particularly fantastic and I love 12 driving the sleigh.

Lie Of The Land – Easily the best of the Monk episodes. This draws on the series 3 finale but has just enough to feel unique. The action scenes are fun and Pearl Mackie does a great job. Missy’s cameo is also a highlight. The Monks don’t have much personality but they get the job done.

Love & Monsters – So underrated. At the time, the idea of a Doctor-lite episode was groundbreaking. And it’s a really sweet story that’s an allegory for fandom. It gave us dancing to ‘Mr Blue Sky’ way before Guardians 2 and it even furthers the Series 2 arc of, well, Love & Monsters.

The Pandorica Opens/ The Big Bang – PO is masterclass at building a compelling mystery. The ‘Under Henge’ set is so Indiana Jones. The monster teamup is a bit rubbish but it’s a hell of a cliffhanger. Then BB is just running around a museum. Smith tries to sell it but it’s a weak, if inoffensive, finale.

Silence In The Library/ Forest Of The Dead – Most credit should go to the production team and Murray Gold. The Matrix stuff in FotD with Colin Salmon is brilliant and stops you getting bored of the library setting. The concept of River Song is cool, if overexplained. It’s a tasty ending.

The Shakespeare Code – This set the standard for historical romps. Dean Lennox Kelly has tonnes of charisma and balances the comedy and drama nicely. You can tell writer Gareth Roberts is having a lot of fun with the quotation gags. I love a witch, me.

The Sontaran Stratagem/ The Poison Sky – I’m not a fan of this episode’s colour palette and the settings are dull. 10’s anti-war messaging is a bit overdone. Even so, this does a great job as a Pertwee era invasion story and the Sontarans are a credible threat. I want my last words to be “Sontar? Ha!”

The Sound Of Drums/ Last Of The Timelords – SoD is a tense urban thriller, even if the Master’s prime ministerial antics are pretty unrealistic. The time jump in LotT is a great way to approach a finale, even if it breaks the momentum of the 2 parter. LotT feels like a dry run of Turn Left.

The Time Of Angels/ Flesh and Stone – Both parts start very strongly, establishing the angels as a deadly threat, before devolving into wandering round a cave and a forest respectively. Smith is at the height of his powers and Murray Gold gives the angels a really unsettling electronic theme.

The Unicorn & The Wasp – This is just loads of fun, particularly the poison sequence, and about as funny as Doctor Who gets. The creature concept’s a bit unimaginative but I’ll forgive it for how it justifies putting Agatha Christie in an actual murder mystery.

Vampires Of Venice – A historical romp with a love triangle twist. Love triumphs in the end with Rory sword fighting a vampire with a broom. The climax with the Doctor flipping a switch in a poorly CGI’d storm is pretty naff but the music’s great. And Helen McCrory looks hella sexy.

[nicholaspopkey]

A letter to Caro

Dear Caro,

Hoping to respond in some adequacy to your beautiful letter (see below), I’d first like to point out the irony of two millennials writing to each other in this ancient yet digitized form of correspondence. While you and I have exchanged postcards in the past, does this fact exempt us from having to put pen to paper to create letters? Does this posting count as a letter, or is "letter" just a label?

Thoughts coming to me now, hardly relevant. As for teaching me the word tenido, I couldn't thank you enough. It made me think of 'he tenido,' which of course means 'I have had.' It was funny to me, because a tenido is something I have never had. My references for the softness and satisfaction of such a settee come from fond memories of blanket forts I made as a kid. The euphoria of collapsing onto your plush daybed in its enveloping coziness! 

Your letter felt like a childhood memory focusing soft to sharp. I could listen for ages to your descriptions of rainy days, their 'heavy sheets' and the 'cold seeping in,' as well as more stories from your past detailing your appreciation for precipitation.

I understand your frustration with a lack of female representation in both required and popular reading. I agree that female authors should be prioritized and celebrated just as much as male authors. Unfortunately, opportunities to become an author continue to abound much greater for men than for women. It was powerful to read you come to the realization that even your own list of favorites would be majority male if stretched out long enough, since the numbers are so far in their favor. The goal you made to try and discover more female authors is commendable and should be pursued. 

As it turns out, Agatha Christie, like Sylvia Plath, had a husband who put her through very difficult circumstances. Her disappearance, motivated by her adulterous husband asking for a divorce, was seen by the public not as a reaction to an unhappy relationship but, rather unfairly, as a publicity stunt. Murder On The Orient Express is now at the top of my list. On the same list of best-selling fiction authors, I stumbled upon Barbara Cartland, another woman I didn't hear about growing up. She was a famous romance novelist who holds the Guinness World Record for most novels published in one year.

My dad stocked the fridge with a Costco-pack of kombucha. It was a really sweet gesture, because he knows I love this bohemian tonic. Normally I'd wonder as to how I could finish them all by the time I go back to L.A., but I'll be here until the 29th, so I know it's enough time. He's enlisted my help moving furniture around the house as he redesigns his study. My dad has a pet rat named Monty, who originally belonged to my sister. She couldn't take him with her from Boise to Santa Barbara, because her roommate didn't want to live with a rat. This roommate is quite another story altogether. As she gears up to move out, their relationship sputters with drama and turmoil. Monty climbs around in a cage in my dad's living room next to the lawyer's bookcase, filled with his rarest anthologies. 

So far I've seen my mom twice. Today at the bookstore we shared a cappuccino, then ended up sitting in her rental car discussing gift ideas, the lighter side of some extended-family dynamics, and plans for ten years from now. We're driving to Tetonia, ID on Saturday to visit her mother, my grandmother. My sister will also be there, although my aunt, who recently had her first successful art show in fifteen years, will be staying in Boise to paint. She said the sales from the show disappeared pretty quickly, so financial burdens must be weighing heavily on her at the moment, although she happens to be working a lot, as well as making art. I’m happy to be home. Looking forward to hearing back from you.

With love, 

Nick

@carolovesapples

______________________________________________________________________

RE:

Dear Nick,

I have set my timer for one hour, and I am beginning by writing you this letter. I’ve brought out all the fluffy blankets in my apartment (I have three, total) and folded them neatly in a tendido on the floor. A tendido, in case you weren’t aware, is a pile of blankets, usually folded in half, which act as a makeshift mattress so you can sleep on the floor comfortably. Quilts, comforters, and sleeping bags can also be used. Air mattresses do not count, as they too closely resemble an actual bed. So here I am, sitting on my tendido in front of my bookcase. It is raining, and I’ve been watching tv all day. I’ve opened my blinds and the windows so I can hear the rainfall outside. It’s lessened now to more of a trickle, but just a second ago it was really “coming down out there”! 

I recently watched the movie Paddington, in which a rare bear from Darkest Peru travels to London and finds a home (much like I intend to do, one day). In preparation for his journey to England, he learned 107 different ways to say, “its raining!”, one of which is “perfect weather for ducks”, which is my personal favorite as ducks are my favorite animal. So, here in Los Angeles, it is perfect weather for ducks, and for that reason I am sitting down on my tendido in front of my bookshelves perusing three books: 

1. On Filmmaking, by Alexander MacKendrick

2. Notes on the Cinematograph, by Robert Bresson, a French director, and

3. How to Win Friends and Influence People, by the one and only Dale Carnegie.

It’s not really about the books, of course. It’s about the rain. When I was little, on rainy days we used to open the garage door and the back of my mom’s minivan, and we would sit in the trunk and watch it come down. My dad would make hot chocolate, and we’d watch the rain, pouring down in gray sheets on our little street. Rainy days have always been my favorite days. They’re the best days for reading, when the cold seeps into the house and you curl up with a book and fluffy socks and a bag of hot Cheetos. They’re also great for writing, because as anyone who has ever listened to Florence + the Machine knows, water is one of the most poetic concepts there is. And then there’s photography, of course. The lighting on rainy, gloomy days has always been my favorites. In fact, every time I’ve traveled to a new place I’ve loved, it’s been raining. New York, Boston, Park City, Minnesota, London. I feel at home in the rain. It’s a familiar comfort. Maybe it was the novelty of a rainy day in Southern California, but they have never ceased to feel special to me. Additionally, rain means I can wear my rain boots and step in puddles, and my yellow raincoat, and I can feel as close to Paddington Bear as I ever will. If you take away anything from this letter, it should definitely be that Paddington Bear is my new hero. 

I’ve an announcement. It is this: in between ending the previous paragraph and starting this one, that I took a quick break because it occurred to me that I still hadn’t read your post on “The Mind’s Free Market” and now having done so I am feeling: very proud, and impressed, and quite frankly, rather envious. But mostly proud and impressed, those are the important emotions. The envy is a thing I feel often when I encounter good writing. It is a good sort of envy, one that pushes me to be better. The thought process goes like this: I’ll read something that resonates (or hear it), and my mind will be blown that the author could so perfectly capture the thought or feeling that their writing evoked in me. Perhaps I am putting the cart in front of the horse here: I am reacting to what is written and marveling at how the author created that reaction in me, when in reality, I will react however I will react and then attribute it to them. They couldn’t have known I would think one way or another about it, but the important part is that any good writing will pull from you some sort of emotional reaction. 

Side note: Yesterday I was hanging out with a friend who didn’t know who Sylvia Plath was, and that made me simultaneously sad for both him and the American education system. To expand: why is it that the majority of writers we study in middle school and high school are mainly men, if not all? I am trying to think about it and I cannot remember a single female writer we read before I went to college. I know why it is, of course, as the accomplishments of men have always been much lauded over the accomplishments of women in any field, but it is still incredibly frustrating. 

As I finished typing, Maya Angelou’s name came to mind, but so far no others. I remember reading Hemingway and Fitzgerald and of course Shakespeare, and Albert Camus’s L’Étranger. We did read Agatha Christie in seventh grade and she remains one of my favorite authors to date (I am looking at five different novels of hers on my shelves as I type this). But we focused so much more on the male authors that no one remembers the few women we did study. I’ve mentioned Agatha Christie’s name on several occasions to various different people and nine times out of ten, no one knew who she was, which is absolutely ridiculous, especially because she is the world’s best selling author, tied only by William Shakespeare. AND as if we needed any more evidence of the women’s accomplishments being downplayed over mens, in any online list regarding the world’s best selling author you will find Shakespeare’s name listed above Christie’s even though they are both estimated to have sold from 2-4 billion books, Christie having written 85 before her death to Shakespeare’s 42. Additionally, “Agatha Christie” comes before “William Shakespeare” alphabetically, and unless someone can show me evidence that Shakespeare has sold more that Christie I see this as a great affront and a deliberate attempt to downplay women’s accomplishments in favor of a man’s. 

Update: I have looked and found that on Christie’s website it IS stated that she is outsold by only the Bible and Shakespeare, so the point is valid, but I spent a full ten minutes on my rant about their rankings so I’m leaving it in with this correction. I still would like to see empirical proof however, that Shakespeare has definitively sold more than Christie. If you subtract the number of people who bought Shakespeare solely as a class requirement, I’m sure her number would overshadow his, but I am biased. Anyways, the few people who did remember who Agatha Christie was only did so because of the remake of the film adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express that came out last year, but lets face it, it never stood a chance because the original starred Lauren Bacall and Ingrid Bergman and Albert Finney, and the remake stars Johnny Depp, who hits women. 

In closing, we should incorporate more female authors and writers into our curriculum. I’d heard of Virginia Woolf in when I was in school, but we never read her in class. We spent a week or two on Emily Dickinson. We were never read the Brontë sisters, nor Jane Austen. And they’re the more well known authors. 

Anyways, when I read Plath or García Lorca or any of my other favorite poets and authors I always feel a yearning to be able to articulate my thoughts and emotions the way they do. I will conclude this letter with a list of some of my favorite authors writers, and lyricists, in no particular order. 

Agatha Christie

Florence Welch

Sylvia Plath

Maggie Stiefvater

Mary Oliver

Albert Camus

Robert Frost

Kurt Vonnegut

Alex Turner

I have many more but I’ve arrived at an almost even number of men and women and sadly I know that if I continue there will be more men than women on my list and that makes me sad. One of my goals will be to discover more female authors in my reading. Many of my favorite female authors are young adult novelists and honestly I think they’re amazing. 

In conclusion, please read a novel by Agatha Christie. I recommend Murder on the Orient Express, Mysterious Affair at Styles, or They Do It With Mirrors, although really, you can’t go wrong with any of her titles. Additionally, please watch Paddington, it is an amazing heart warming movie. 

With love,

Caro 

@nicholaspopkey​

[sokosaturneandthecandylife]

oups i shitposted again about mcl

Hey, @vae-eldarya : you asked me to write one : New vs old route but since i don’t really know them i report it for later!

Instead…

if you missed the first part : http://sokosaturneandthecandylife.tumblr.com/post/174439095543/how-i-think-it-happened

—————

Lysander : I wonder why Nathaniel hasn’t come back, yet…

Kentin : Don’t worry! He’ll be fine!

Armin : Yeah!! It’s we’re talking about Nathaniel. He’s super serious! Nothing bad will happen to him, i’m sure!

Lysander : If you say so…

——————————————————

Beemov : They took it well

Castiel : Oh yeah, they look totally pleased, it’s not like I wasn’t happy to see my face is on pikachu collage… That’s not rock’n’roll

Lynn : Well. Well. Sure they took it well, they turned us into memes!

Beemov : Exactly! I though it would be worse! Like sending hate.

Lynn : Because they aren’t? Online hate. Online hate : everywhere

Beemov : This time i though they would send IRL hate. Like…dropping bombs or knives. Anyway! Where’s our rookies?

Castiel : behind the Beta door. They’re waiting.

Beemov : Ok, Gladys bring them. And be careful around the moonlight prototypes, they bite.

Castiel : Who’s Gladys? The rainbow Ryo from devilman series?

Lynn : They use a weird cristal projection technology, i don’t really know how it works.

Beemov : Haaaaa!! Here they are, bonjour, bonjour, sit down, how are our news ikemen going?

Hyun : We’re fin…

Beemov : SHALL WE BEGIN?

Hyun : …thanks

Priya : It’s not really polite to cut someone who’s speaking.

Beemov : I couldn’t care less about what you think, the only thing that matter is what YOU think.

Lynn : Me?

Beemov : Gladys.

Yes, you! After all, you’re the heroine. You first impression count. What do you feel about them?

Lynn : I’m nice to meet them and i look forward to know them better.

Beemov : NO, NONONONO, Noooow, of course you look forward to blahblahblah…Stop being that nice!WE SELL DRAMAS.

What do you perceive about them! Their apparence, here’s their description, tell us, the truth.

Lynn : Owww…Hmm…

Rayan : Come one, don’t be shy, it’s not like…

Lynn : I find you scary.

Rayane : Euh, is that so?

Lynn : Yeah, you look scary. You’re pretty yeah, but also pretty old. I’m sure it’s super cool to listen to your class and all, but seriously « Likes : philosophical conversation » what are you expecting from a dating game, please? Plus, what’s with the « struggles to hide his tortured self » lmao if you tried to touch me against my consent, i call my dad…He’s probably your age and…Brrrr, don’t even wanna think about it.

Hyun ¨keroshane worried look* : Rayan, you’re ok?

Rayan : *white hair appears*

Beemov : excellent! She’s like this with all of them at first, but when she’ll be used to, everything will be perfect! Positive things, maybe…???

Lynn : Hmmm…he has a beard. Wich is cool. I was tired of dating high school boys. And what’s forbidden is always fun. So, when the times come we can bang in the auditorium! Plus he’s arab. A clever, arab. And he’s not a terrorist,or a football player, or a gucci ghetto brat. That’s a miracle in the french media!!

Priya : Oh…Even if it stopped, his hair won’t turned brown again…

Beemov : That’s EXEPTIONEL! They wanted a mature one, they’re he is. Great, next!

Lynn : Priya…You’re great, everyone loves you, was gay for you. I knew you from long ago , and I was jealous at that time because you seemed to be a better version of me. More realistic, more resulted. Hope that didn’t change! I’m pretty happy I can date a girl. Still, you’re the only one but…That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. Duh…Still they’re a long way down.

Priya : Waw, Candy, that’s kinda cool!

Lynn : Yeah, but don’t let me be misunderstood. Since, they decided to include a lesbian romance in the game, i hope they will deal with it correctly and not mess it up. I like you, and I want our story to be a sincere one. Ok?

Priya : Yeah…we’ll try to do everything correctly.

Beemov : Hm, Hm…Let’s talk about Hyun!

Lynn : Hyun, Hyun…How to pronounce your name. That’s korean, isn’t it?

Hyun : Yeah, It’s pronouced Hyun.

Lynn : Thanks god, we’ll never know it… Just like for Armin. And for Morgan. Fantastic.

From which side?

Hyun : Euh…From ….

Lynn : I love K-pop, i saw BTS at the billboard last week, are you proud?

Hyun : Euh…I don’t really see the…

Lynn : Do you watch drama? Wich one is you’re favorite?

Hyun : Actually, I prefer Mov…

Lynn: I loved Boys Over Flowers, are you rich?

Hyun : That’s…A bit impolite and…

Lynn : ANNEYSEO

Huyn : Please

Lynn : GAMSAMDYDA

Hyun : please, stop

Lynn : OPPA SAREANGAE

Hyun : Stop

Lynn : KIMCHI

Hyun : shut the fuck up you racist bitch

…

Lynn : See, « unfailing support ». He’s not even capable to handle Koreaboo…Do you realize, that’s the reason why they choose you. Because they’re seers. They want to play on the Hallyu wave. You know what it means? People will play only because you’re the asian guy they dream of.

Beemov : Hmm… Gladys, report that to the moderators. Koreabos are still a flaw.

Hyun : Ah…Sorry that i wasn’t good enough. It pissed me off. You were being rude.

Lynn : I know. Happy to see that you’re not THAT calm. But, you’re look cute and nice! And honestly i don’t know why they choose you for that archetype…You’re not rich, neither arrogant. A god? Hmm…

But, you’re involved with coffee so I suppose it’s enough!

Hyun : Sorry for calling you racist bitch.

Lynn : It’s ok…I’m used to. Actually, I’ve been a basic white cis-het girl all my life so, it feels new to me. To take care about those things. Thoses details that are so important because they defined the uniqueness of the individuals. They don’t look like it, but they try to do it. And, I’m trying to be a better person. And i’ll go with my time! So my wardrobe, please…

Beemov : Speaking of wardrobe, Gladys, did you finish?

(Castiel comes out from behind a curtain)

Castiel : So, what do you think?

Lynn : LmAO OMFFFF you look like a 2010 emo kid from skyblog, Kentin was right.

Castiel : Euh, hey…Lynn!!

Lynn : AHAHA LOOKS LIKE A TOKIO HOTEL MEMBER AHA HOW GREAT, YOU EXHUME THE CONCERT’OUTFIT ROSA MADE 5 YEARS AGO, I CAN’T STOP LAUGHING

a TiE PLSsSs So sKYrOCk!!

Beemov : Don’t you think it suits him????

Lynn : AHAahahaha, Hmm aha, i like the tattoos. Is it Lysander’s one? So cute. And, the hair. And the grumpy face.

Castiel : Ahaha shut up, idiot, in 7 years you change juste like 2 times.

Lynn : It’s because i was perfect ahaha back then, wich wasn’t your case.

Castiel : Tsss

Lynn : Look at me, i’m a bad boi, a play in my garage when my parents are gone. I have a dog called Démon. That’s excellent.

Castiel : Stop making fun of me. I’m not that ridiculous?

Lynn : Do you like it?

Castiel : Yeah. A lot.

Lynn : Then I like it too. It suits you. Punk garbage.

Beemov : Well, well. The beta is ongoing that’s great, everything is fine. Candy,…

Lynn : It’s Lynn.

Beemov : Talking about changing. And in 4 years thing happen so…

Lynn : I just realized..They’re like 4. Isn’t someone missing?

Beemov : HEY LOOK AT THIS FLAT CHESTED SHOULDLN’T WE MAKE SOME PROPORTION CHANGE.

Lynn : W-Whaaaat? What kind of change?

Beemov : Just, trust us ;)

Gladyyyyys.

——————————————————

Nathaniel : 2 days have passed since they put me here, with you all, i feel bad for them.

Louis : You should’t, in the Beemov’s plaaaaaan

Louis, Agatha, Kiki, Dake, … : they use us sometimes they doN’T!

Nathaniel : Oh pleaaaase make it stop, i can’t handle this anymore.

??? (in a dark corner) : Here, take that.

Nathaniel : a blue…pill???? And what I have to do?

??? : It kinds of…Helps bad vibes disappear

Nathaniel : Ok, medecine? thanks…?

??? : Lance. It’s. Lance.

Nathaniel : …Ok…Then, thanks Lance.

Lance : You’re welco…NO DON’T EAT IT…

Oh shit.

[translationandbetrayals]

Milky Holmes' Rise to Fall, or How to Find Hope in Troubled Times

Milky Holmes reminds me of Žižek. And while it might seem quite nonsensical to tie this sentence together, it’s also something that gives us light about the times we’re facing.

Milky GODS

Always controversial, the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek does have some interesting things to say. But even though he’s mostly known for his approach of leftist politics, the analysis of his that has stuck with me the most doesn’t relate to politics, or at least not directly. It’s his commentary about the animated film Kung Fu Panda, produced by Dreamworks. He has referred to the film a couple of times while highlighting something that has now become sort of a recurrent topic of his mythos. The idea of faith. This idea, also explained by him in the form of an anecdote about a scientist (Niels Bohr) who didn’t believe in charms, yet used to put one in his house just because he was told “it would work, even if he didn’t believe in it”, is essential to Kung Fu Panda and to Dreamworks as a whole (even if Žižek doesn’t directly acknowledge it). While the film works as a parody of Chinese martial arts films, and spends part of its runtime satirizing Chinese philosophy, in the end these principles are embraced, as Po’s wu wei defeats Tai Lung’s ambition (and we can say the same about the way Shrek and Megamind relate to fairy tales and superhero fantasy, just to cite other examples). 

But what does any of this have to do with Milky Holmes? What is this Milky Holmes, even? And as many of you might not be familiar with this long running multimedia franchise, it wouldn’t do harm to recapitulate its history. To understand Milky Holmes, we must first understand its seeds, which are in Broccoli and Bushiroad, two Japanese companies which were both founded by a single man, named Takaaki Kidani. Kidani started Broccoli in the late ‘90s, which first worked as a doujin management company for events, then expanding itself through Gamers, a goods store directed towards the otaku market. Gamers was immortalized and popularized through the Di Gi Charat franchise, produced by Broccoli and extremely massive through the late 90s and early 2000s. Spanning various anime adaptations, numerous manga, and lots of merchandise, the now classic characters were a boom within this same otaku market, and part of this success even crossed overseas, as you might see if you venture into old anime archives.

This really handsome dude is Takaaki Kidani

Now the success of Di Gi Charat probably wasn’t just because of the mascot made designs, though of course that had a part in its popularity. Aside from the already obvious fact, the Di Gi Charat franchise, at least in its first animated adaptation, had a pretty good sense of humor and irony. In a way, it was mocking the very own otaku it was targeted towards, and while it sure wasn’t the first to do so, this style of self-deprecating and sometimes grotesque or even infantile humor the series subjected its viewers to was something special. And while Di Gi Charat had quite the acid tone, it wasn’t without its share of tame and even heartwarming moments. It was moe, marketable of course, but there was something else as well. This series had a heart.

The heart of the show has a name and it’s Puchiko

It’s this spirit that Milky Holmes, more than 10 years after the creation of Di Gi Charat, held as its foundation as one of the star projects of the then recently started Bushiroad, founded after Kidani left Broccoli. Learning from his success in Broccoli’s projects such as the aforementioned Di Gi Charat, and also the media franchise Galaxy Angel, Milky Holmes was thought of as a multimedia project from the start. In the case of Milky Holmes, radio dramas, a manga, a PSP video game, an anime adaptation, and, perhaps most importantly, a seiyuu/idol unit were launched. I say most importantly because it was the disbandment of this unit that signaled the end of the franchise as a whole. In January’s 28th of 2019, Milky Holmes gave their final live performance at the Budokan, in fact ending the decade old franchise.

The end of Milky Holmes

On the anime side of things, the last installment was Psycho no Aisatsu, a crossover special episode featuring the main character of the Cardfight!! Vanguard franchise, a trading card game series for kids that was also created by Bushiroad. It was the symbolic pass on the torch to a younger, still profitable franchise in Bushi, that hopefully might keep the spirit of the Milkies alive. But we must not be sad for what has ended, as this franchise will always stay there to be revisited, even for people who never got to experience it when it was still active.

And it’s because of this that I have not forgotten about Milky Holmes, even though it has been years since it ended. I feel especially partial to the anime, particularly its first two seasons, and the 2016 movie: Milky Holmes' Counterattack (and what a movie is that one). One common thing about these three is that all of them feature Makoto Moriwaki as a director. And I feel she’s the one who better captures the spirit I mentioned above when talking about Di Gi Charat. It isn’t the only way to understand the series: there’s the video games, that might be seen as the source material; the Alternative OVAs, that are a closer adaptation of the games; and the two other anime seasons, which are completely different to anything else (and most people don’t seem to like); but Morikawi’s interpretation is the most interesting one, at least to me.

Now, you might be tired of so much anticipation and context, but it’s important to understand the background of this director to realize what she brought to the franchise (because yes, it’s a she) to, as I believe, perfect it. Makoto Moriwaki has mostly made a career out of directing children’s anime, more specifically anime for girls. Series such as the Sanrio based My Melody and PriPara have been directed by her, along with some Jewelpet seasons and even some Doraemon episodes. But a sort of black sheep among all that family friendly content is the raunchy adult comedy Ebichu, which, in spite of its cutesy visuals reminiscent of Hamtaro, is a series mostly targeted towards older women, full of jokes about adult life that, of course, involve a lot of sex.

it means a dirty word, if you didn’t realize

The Milky Holmes directed by Moriwaki is a middle ground between those two poles. On one hand, the cynicism, irony, and hidden sexual references in an outwardly kids friendly series, and on the other, the fantasy and the hopeful nature of magical girls and idol anime. And this dichotomy is also highlighted when we understand the target of this series. Despite its looks, Milky Holmes is not directed towards children. It’s not a kids show, but rather, a completely otaku business. It was broadcasted as shinya anime at 11 pm, it has its share of adult humor, and of course, the moe characters are exactly that, there’s no ambiguity there. It’s made to sell merchandise, discs and BDs to fat weirdos. But it’s quite interesting how the show treats its own audience, because if we’re to take Milky Holmes as an otaku product, it isn’t simply cynical.

Yes, that there is a ****plug

We have talked about Milky Holmes as a product and as a media franchise, but let’s review the series itself. To those who don’t know, Milky Holmes is set in a fantastical time and space called the Age of Great Detectives. In this world, Great Detectives and their eternal rivals, Gentlemen Thieves, are in constant struggle. They’re aided by their Toys, special powers whose name might be an irony on Bushiroad’s own status as a company.

A fascinating part of the Milky Holmes franchise for any crime or detective fiction freak is that most of the character names are taken from legendary detectives and criminals. There’s the 4 Milky Holmes members, which are respectively: Sherlock “Sheryl” Shellingford, the always energetic and optimistic leader (named after the most famous detective of all); Nero Yurizaki, a greedy, egotistical bokukko (named after the gluttonous Nero Wolfe); Hercule “Elly” Burton, a shy girl who has the most awareness inside the Milkies (named after Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot); and Cordelia Glauca, the shoujo-esque dramatic and delusional member of the crew (named after Cordelia Gray, the only character of the four that is originally female).

From left to right, unlike your Japanese mangos

They battle constantly against the Gentlemen Thief Empire, led by the intense and prideful Arsene (after Arsène Lupin, the French gentleman thief also recalled by the Monkey Punch character); and completed with Twenty, a narcissistic nudist that weaponizes his erect nipples (based on Menso Nijuu, a villain from the Ranpo Edogawa canon); Stone River, a prude warrior with a samurai pride (based on Goemon Ishikawa, the outlaw hero from Japanese folklore, also referenced by Lupin III); and Rat, who’s victim of everyone’s forgetfulness (based on Kozo Nezumi, a folk hero from the Edo period).

Twenty, Arsene, Stone River, and Rat

There’s also a third party in discord, that can either work as ally or enemy depending on circumstance (much like in your typical detective story) which is of course formed by the cops. The G4 is the “elite” patrol of law enforcement whose effectiveness also depends on plot convenience, and their leader (and child genius with infinite amounts of IQ) Kokoro-chan’s (named after Kogoro Akechi, the famous Ranpo Edogawa detective) mood. The other members are Tsugiko Zenigata (after Heiji Zenigata, a Japanese legend), a somewhat tomboyish girl voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro; Hirano Hasegawa (after Heizo Hasegawa, from the Onihei Hankacho novels), a traditional Japanese girl who is a master of combat; and Saku Toyama (after Kagemoto Toyama, a historic character made legend), the technological expert of the gang.

She just keeps it going up

Don’t call her Kokoro-chan, she’ll get angry

However, the main source of conflict (and comedy) in the series is that, despite being quite powerful and capable as detectives with the aid of their toys, the Milkies are pretty much nothing without them. Dame dame (useless), is something they’ll often have to hear, as they constantly struggle with the loss of their toys at the start of almost every new installment (save for Futari wa and TD, in which they weren’t the main characters because of this exact reason). Nonetheless, in spite of how hard they might fall, how much they can be humiliated and degraded (and they sure will), and basically turn into dumb slapstick cartoons, they will always stand up again, never losing hope even when taking a detour, or when they’re becoming farmers instead.

Milky farmers

In this acknowledgment of the cyclical and absurd nature of their misfortunes, made explicit in the movie by the (unintentional) use of words by Sheryl: “it’s rise to fall”, the philosophical implications of the series are unlocked, at least from the Moriwaki iteration of it. It’s an absurd reality, in which no matter how high one can be, one can always fall to the lowest of the low. Yet, when you have fallen, there’s nothing else you can do but go up, try and hope for the best, never giving in to life no matter how discouraging or absurd it might become.

It’s existential philosophy, right inside a moe anime, and one can’t be anything but thankful of someone who is giving such messages inside a work that could conform to just offering a product for profit. Instead, what Milky Holmes is doing is to tell its audience that no matter how hard their lives might get, no matter how repeatedly they might hear that they’re useless, that they’re dumb or hopeless, they must never give up. It’s quite beautiful, even more so when you’re aware of the darker sides of the otaku and the stigma and social alienation a lot of these people face in their country. And so, Milky Holmes might be a ray of light amidst a rabbit hole of isolation, which can be relatable to most of us as we face the current pandemic. A sign that even if we can’t see it, there’s hope at the end of the tunnel.

Yes, she’s saying that when they’re in prison

Closing on a hopeful note, I’ll let you in on a cool fact. Do you know who directed the Milky Holmes movie alongside Moriwaki? I will give you some lines to guess, if you think you’re smart detectives.

… 

… 

… 

… 

… 

… 

… 

… 

Yes! It was Hiroaki Sakurai, who, coincidentally (or not), was the series director for most of the Di Gi Charat anime versions since its first installment in 1999. It’s really cool how everything circles back to a now almost prehistoric franchise, but it also circles back in a less symbolic way. 2021 seems to be a new year for Di Gi Charat, as the franchise is getting a revival as “Di Gi Charat Reiwa”, a new generation of the series which contemplates lots of merchandise and, most importantly, a new anime series, helmed by no other than the same Hiroaki Sakurai. Here’s hoping for a revitalization of this lively spirit, a hopeful affirmation of the disgusting manchildren we all have inside.

Promotional image for this era’s own Charat

Salvador González Turrientes

Links and additional sources of information:

Žižek on Kung Fu Panda 

The Milky Holmes article from the English Wikipedia 

Wikipedia list of the Milky Holmes characters (in English)

Takaaki Kidani's article (in English)

Takaaki Kidani’s article (in Japanese)

Di Gi Charat's Wikipedia (in English)  

Hiroaki Sakurai's (in English) 

Makoto Moriwaki's article (in English as well) 

The news of the Di Gi Charat Reiwa anime (from ANN) 

[12izzy3]

Webcomic Recommendations No One Asked For:

I......... Spent 2 hours putting together a list of my webcomic recommendations, with summaries and reviews, because I was reworking my blog... And really I don’t think anyone ever goes directly on to my blog proper, so it feels kind of foolish to have that there where no one will see it, so I’m actually going to post it as well:

Webcomics are honestly just so tight, and there’s such a vast variety of them that there’s something for everyone, if not a few somethings for everyone! I’m personally all about indie games, but if there’s another indie market that I feel like the internet has created a space for it’s comics. After I started writing this I realized I have a uh… Lot of recommendations. Also, I may be an idiot for not using the author’s own summaries???

Regularly updating:

KILL SIX BILLION DEMONS - A comic about a college girl, Allison, given mystical powers beyond her understanding, and thrust into a celestial world filled with angels and demons, where the lines of good and evil are blurry at best. With the help of friends she meets along the way, she must navigate her new powers, and save her boyfriend from forces that would destroy existence. Kinda dark thematically (with very rare and minor gore), but a great comic if you love action, fantasy, and fantastic art. One of my favorites.

AWFUL HOSPITAL - Another one of my favorites. After her child becomes terribly sick, and doctors tell her that there’s nothing that they can do, a mother wakes up in a mysterious, otherworldly hospital. She must navigate this confusing and sometimes horrifying hospital to save her child and get home, and on the way, she makes many odd friends and unknowable enemies, and learns that her child’s sickness may be part of something larger. This comic is funny, has cool action, a unique format, and lots of great, though ghastly, character designs.

GUNNERKRIGG COURT - A coming of age story about two girls, Antimony and Kat, as they try to find their place in each other’s lives, and the two clashing worlds that surround them, the massive technological complex that is their school and home, Gunnerkrigg Court, and the forest across the river, where magic and fantastic creatures thrive, under the watchful eye of the trickster god Coyote. Another great one for if you like fantasy, but is usually a lot lighter, with a peak of intensity about equal to… Like, Scooby Doo on Zombie Island, I think. I’ve only gotten into this one pretty recently, but it’s good.

PARANATURAL - After his family moves to his dad’s old home town, Max discovers that he has magical powers, and becomes part of the Paranatural Activities club at his school, a group of students and their adviser who all have magical powers, and use them to protect the populace from ghosts, as well as investigate the many magical mysteries of the town. This comic is great, and mostly focuses on action and comedy. The art is a very colorful cartoony style, and the characters are drawn very… fluid, rubbery. The best way to put it is that the artist has really put a lot of effort into making characters consistently as expressive as possible, and that good old Disney/Looney Toons/Tom & Jerry stretchiness makes for very good visual comedy.

HOUSEPETS! - Another one of the earliest webcomics I ever read! Housepets is… largely a comedy comic, following the lives of anthropomorphized pets in a small neighborhood. They go on adventures, and live the fun yet complicated lives of an open society of people with unbelievable amounts of free time. However, sometimes there are bigger drama/adventure arcs, which are really good! A lot of the times amazing art or cool action are what draw me into adventure stories, but I just think the plot of this comic can be really good and surprisingly deep for a humor comic. And it’s still loose enough, and in the newspaper comic style that you can usually jump in very often (not every strip, mind you but in pretty small arcs) without feeling like you’ve missed a ton. Long too, lots to read, recommend.

STAND STILL STAY SILENT - SSSS is a comic that takes place 90 years after the end of the world. A zombie-like virus with strong mystical qualities has wiped out not just human, but much of the world’s mammalian life. In Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Finland, and Denmark), in spite of the virus, society continues to exist, and most people live normal, happy lives. Our comic follows a research team, formed on a hairstring budget to travel into the infected zone, collect information on the virus and state of the fauna there, and, secretly, to collect books to sell back home. A great fantasy adventure drama that updates very often, and has really good art.

CUCUMBER QUEST - In spite of order this is actually the last one I’m writing, and I’m tired, so I’m going to copy the book one summary from Amazon:

What happens when an evil queen gets her hands on an ancient force of destruction? World domination, obviously. The seven kingdoms of Dreamside need a legendary hero. Instead, they’ll have to settle for Cucumber, a nerdy magician who just wants to go to school. As destiny would have it, he and his way more heroic sister, Almond, must now seek the Dream Sword, the only weapon powerful enough to defeat Queen Cordelia’s Nightmare Knight. Can these bunny siblings really save the world in its darkest hour? Sure, why not?

Cucumber Quest is good, the art is colorful and bright, all of the characters are relatable and real, including the villains, there’s cool adventures sequences and plot, and it’s a very fun comic. There’s humor and love and struggle in the comic, and it’s very well done.

GIRL GENIUS - Girl Genius follows Agatha Heterodyne, up and coming mad scientist, on her many adventures to save herself, her friends and the world if it’s along the way. It’s hard, however, competing with an entire world of mad scientists, as well as the Heterodyne legacy, one filled with chaos and bloodshed up until recently. I like Girl Genius a lot. It doesn’t move through the story very fast, but there’s a lot of solid world building, and more importantly, very intriguing sci-fi action and adventure happening inside of that world! I’m also pretty sure they do a radio show or podcast or something with additional Agatha adventures on top of the comic.

SUPERNORMAL STEP - After leading a life as a drifter after the death of her father, Fae is pulled into an alternate world where magic is real. There, she tries to find her place in life, master the magic that the world around her runs on, and get home to plain old earth in one piece. Lots of cool action, every character has really got their own style of magic. I can honestly tell you that it’s good, but I read it over such a long period of time that it’s got a pretty vague impression in my head.

ATOMIC ROBO - Robo is a skilled an dedicated scientist. He’s also an atomic robot built and raised by Nikola Tesla. Atomic Robo follows the titular character on the many adventures of his life, from WWII to the present. As the head of Tesladyne Industries, Robo is dedicated to researching the outlandish, the weird, the impossible! And when the world calls on him, he and his Action Scientists defend it from giant monsters, cosmic anomalies, and mad science. Atomic Robo is great if you love action, robots, monsters, humor, and velociraptors duel-wielding uzis. Highly recommended.

DUMBING OF AGE - As the title would imply, Dumbing Of Age is a pretty standard coming of age comedy! Starring a wide cast of likable and complex character, DoA follows a group of college freshmen as they learn more about themselves, and grow beyond the bubbles that they were raised in. I think the underpinnings of the comic are pretty strongly on humor, but there’s a lot of drama, and conversations about meaningful things too. There are lots of varying depictions of drama, depression, anxiety, and the ways people deal with pressure, and fear. But there’s also a lot of love and friendliness. It’s a good comic, and probably the only solid slice-of-life on my list.

MANLY GUYS DOING MANLY THINGS - This comic follows The Commander, a bio-engineered super soldier sent back in time to run a temp agency. This particular temp agency specializes in reintroducing particularly brutish video game, comic, and movie protagonists back into normal polite society. Duke Nukem isn’t much of a man for customer service, however. Later on the comic drifts more toward Commander’s personal life. (So slice of life, but with a buff, and actually surprisingly sensitive and forward thinking, super commando from the future.) Has been in a bit of a slump in terms of updates recently, but they still happen.

GRRL POWER - Sidney, a slightly hyper nerd who works at a comic shop, stumbles upon an artifact that gives her a variety of superpowers. After being exposed, she becomes a member of the government’s brand new super hero organization. This comic is a lot of fun, with some cool superpowers and super fights. Lots of humor, very consistently, in any given scene. Sadly, it is a bit fan service-y, though in the grand scale of things it’s not the worst offender (though definitely the worst you’ll see on this list).

SWORD INTERVAL - This is a pretty new one for me, but it’s great. At some indeterminate point in the past (potentially as far back as the civil war, if not farther), the earth became exposed to monsters and magic in ways that it wasn’t before. Humanity still exists and survives, but plagued by supernatural forces. Our main character is Fall, a very new monster hunter, who after years in witness protection, has decided to track down and kill the Hierophant, the powerful monster that killed her parents. Sword interval does a lot of really cool fantasy stuff, with new takes on classic monsters, and magic and monsters in settings that we don’t often see them in, out in the open in present day. It’s something I wish we could see more. Good action and art, particularly character design.

BACK - Abigail is back. From the dead? From a very long sleep in a box underground? She doesn’t know either. She doesn’t know a lot of things. What she does know is that she’s got two guns, is nearly indestructible, and is prophesied to go north to the capital and end the world. With the help of the young cleric Michael, who supplements her absolute lack of all knowledge and common sense, Abigail fights her way through the kingdom, and past the kings many superpowered deputies. Back is cool, back is funny, and sometimes has some good action. I wouldn’t consider it one of my favorites, but it’s a comic I started and I’ve kept up with, so that’s saying something.

MARE INTERNUM - Not very long yet, and I only recently read it, but Mare Internum is really good. I don’t want to spoil it too much, honestly, especially because it’s so short, but it’s a sci-fi adventure comic about being trapped, underground, on Mars, and finding life there. The art is great, the story so far is well written, and the dialogue is good. I really don’t want to spoil it, but there are some great concepts in it and you should read it.

OPHIUCHUS - A very new comic about an ancient stone guardian who is whisked away to another, far off world. Here, he is employed to help two of this world’s denizens defeat the blight that has corrupted and destroyed their once almost utopian world. The art for this is really good. The comic is not currently long enough to comment on much else, but it seems interesting, sci-fi with a touch of fantasy.

Slowly Updating:

AVA’S DEMON - Ava’s Demon is about a girl, Ava who has spent her entire young life haunted by a ghost that torments her, before finally making a deal. The ghost, Wrathia, will help her become a normal girl, with friends and a normal life, but first, Ava must track down the ghosts of Wrathia’s most powerful allies, and help her dissolve the massive interplanetary empire that is TITAN. Ava’s Demon is amazing. The story is good, but I think the comic’s greatest strength is absolutely stunning and polished art. Strong recommendation.

THE PROPERTY OF HATE - RGB is a self-described monster, a sharp dressed man with a TV for a head. However, he’s looking for a hero to guide on a quest. RGB whisks our young protagonist, the Hero, to a world that exists beside our own a world completely fueled and inhabited by our creativity, our stories. RGB protects the Hero from these dangers, guiding her on a mission unknown, through a world that, although mystical, seems to have lost its hope.

HE IS A GOOD BOY - Slow but large updates. This comic follows the life a sentient acorn, Crange, after the death of his parent (a tree) to a lumberjack. Crange is kind of a bit of a loser, and stumbles around his world of sentient rocks and bugs getting into all sorts of trouble and hijinks. These hijinks almost always result in someone’s death, which Crange is impressively unphased by. HIAGB is fantastic, in my opinion. The art is great, the humor is great, especially the visual comedy, and the story is good. However, it gets real dark, and gory. But if you’re fine with that, it IS a (dark) comedy comic, and a good one.

THE LAST HALLOWEEN - One Halloween, the darkness opens up, and monsters pour out from the seams between our world and theirs. Approximately 7 billion monsters, in fact. Mona, a young girl and horror fanatic finds herself thrown into a world of chaos and horror, on the run from her own monster, and forced to look for a way to save the world, with the help of ghosts, zombies, vampires, and even monsters themselves. In spite of the fact that this comic can be VERY dark, I think one of its big hooks is humor and likable characters, on top of great art and plot. I really like it. This comic maybeshouldn’t be on the slow update list, but the artist is just picking up speed after a long hiatus, so…

ROMANTICALLY APOCALYPTIC - The apocalypse happened, and Charles Snippy missed it. Humanity was wiped out in a war against it’s own, ever-present AI, and Charles Snippy, a scientist/tour guide without the implants made it out alive, only to wander alone this is until he meets Zee Captain, an ever positive, gender question mark, maniac who wanders the wasteland with their insane assistant Pilot. Snippy, Captain and Pilot wander the wasteland, facing off against monsters, raiders, and the laws of physics in a mind warping and illogical adventure.

On Hiatus:

DERELICT - Like a surprisingly large number of comics on this list, in Derelict, the world has ended. A strange Miasma travels the world, killing billions, and bringing with it gargoyle-like monsters who fear the daylight. However, the world goes on, in a small, broken way, and our story follows a scavenger in this new world.

HELVETICA - So, you die, and then what? Well, life goes on. This is what Helvetica learns, after he dies and reemerges into an afterlife that seems shockingly similar to the world of the living, with work, pressure, responsibility, danger, and just plain old boring life. Except everyone is a skeleton. Helvetica is very resistant to accept this new life in death. This one is pretty short so far, and hasn’t updated in a while, but it’s good.

VIBE - Hasn’t update in a year and a half, but what’s there is good (Honestly, it’s super sad it hasn’t update, I like it a lot). Vibe follows Baron, a young shaman, a spiritual master who is able to expel negative emotions (bad vibes) from the human body. Only those emotions then become monsters, who a shaman must fight to complete the process! With the help of his Loa (they’re like familiars), he navigates life as a teenager, and his increasingly complex and dangerous life as a shaman. I really like this comic. There’s a lot of very cool and dynamic action, and the artist makes great use of a ton of bright colors.

THE ABOMINABLE CHARLES CHRISTOPHER - This one hasn’t updated in about a year, but what’s there right now is good. Charles Christopher is a Sasquatch, living in the woods on the edge of society. Though he himself is fairly soft, and simple, the wilderness around him is full of anthropomorphized animals who go about shockingly human social and professional lives. The comic follows Charles Christopher as he interacts with the world of these animals, and becomes tangled in a vast spiritual quest.

POWER NAP - Hard to know exactly where to put this one. It’s currently VERY slow updating. Power Nap takes place in a world where the majority of mankind is reliant on a drug that allows them to live 24/7 without sleep. However, there are those who are allergic to the medicine, who live their lives out of sync with their peers, protected by the government, but effectively second class citizens. However, in a sleepless world, over-saturated by virtual reality, the human subconscious has found ways to seep into reality.

THE FANCY ADVENTURES OF JACK CANNON - I want to start this out by saying this comic is probably dead, without a 100% resolution. However, it’s currently 492 pages, and a LOT of the storyline covered in that span was resolved. Such that, if they’d wanted to, I could’ve seen the author wrapping it up. I digress. Jack Cannon is about a kid moving to a new school, where he finds the bullies are able to hack reality. Somehow immune to hacks, Jack fights the bullies, and in doing so, puts himself on the stage of a worldwide battle against hackers. Lots of really cool action in this, one of the first few webcomics I read.

Complete:

HOMESTUCK - If you’re here, you are probably at least aware of Homestuck. It’s about a bunch of goofy awkward teen friends who get sucked into a cosmic (video) game, with the fate of the universe at stake, but you know, they’ve still got that teen angst. Time travel is involved. It’s a very long, fun, and dramatic comic which is heavily influenced by RPGs and point and click adventures.

THE ADVENTURES OF DR. MCNINJA - The pressures of being a doctor AND ninja are immense, but on either front, you can trust that Dr. McNinja is the man for the job. Born into an Irish ninja family, Dr. McNinja longs for a life where he can do medicine in peace, but finds himself constantly pulled into a string of action packed adventures, fighting giant monsters, bandits riding velociraptors, and dueling radical interdimensional kings. This one if fairly long, a bit over 1800 pages, but it’s really good and well done. Again, there is a lot of both action and humor (I’m big on that), with some surprisingly meaningful and well-done story arcs in spite of how silly the premise is.

REMIND - This one is about a girl who lives in a lighthouse on the edge of a town whose main draw is the “Lizard Man” legend that her own father made up. However, after her cat one day starts walking on two legs and talking, claiming to be one of many said lizard men, they both go on a journey to discover the truth. This one was OK. The story and sci-fi elements are both alright bot not great. But it’s not super long, so if you have the time, maybe read it.

[keziacole]

tagged by @bumbleblossoms​ - thank you! 

Tagged Rules: Answer these 92 statements and tag 20 people.

THE LAST:

1. Drink: Coffeeeeeee

2. Phone call: My partner, just as they left the dentist. :( 3. Text message: Motherbot 2.0 4. Song you listened to: Been Caught Stealing – Jane’s Addiction 5. Time you cried: Uh… some point in the last couple months, I guess? Not sure when, but it was at something related to dogs. Honestly, I did most of my crying last year, during The Year From Hell, and I’m still a bit dried out.

6-92 under the cut. :)

HAVE YOU:

6. Dated someone twice: As in getting back together again? Nooooo. 7. Kissed someone and regretted it: …yup. Often. Sometimes not until a long while later, though!   8. Been cheated on: Not to my knowledge. 9. Lost someone special: Yep. 10. Been depressed:  Eh, I’ve never been diagnosed with depression, so no, I don’t think so. Situationally really fucked off with things? Yes. 11. Gotten drunk and thrown up: Once. Story time, everyone! 

So, I generally have a really good alcohol tolerance and a cast iron stomach (not necessarily for good reasons, but hey), but I did once go to a party that ended very badly. I was about 17, had recently been diagnosed with CFS, and was on a heavy painkiller regimen. I drank when I shouldn’t really have done so, because bullshit and All the Emotional Drama, BUT… I did not know that my friend’s asshole brother had spiked my drink. (He was a peach. Gave his 14 year old brother acid once just to point and laugh at the result. Fuckin’ hated that guy.)

At some point in the evening – somewhere after the sham marriages, interpretative dance, and someone putting someone else through a table, because teen parties – I realised I was wayyy more wasted than I should have been, despite the painkillers, and I ended up spending all night hallucinating and throwing up, plus feeling horrific for about three days afterwards. 

Moral of the story: if you spike people’s drinks, you are a gigantic bag of toe lint and should suffer mosquito bites on your asshole for a thousand years. The end.

LIST 3 FAVORITE COLORS: 12. Purple 13. Red 14. Blue

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU:

15. Made new friends: Not yet. Befriend me, tumblr, you’re my only hope.  16. Fallen out of love: No, though I have watched my relationship with at least one family member crumble into dust. Does that count?  17. Laughed until you cried: At least four times a week. Which is one big reason why I’m marrying that motherfucker.  18. Found out someone was talking about you: Yes. See 16. 19. Met someone who changed you: Not yet.  20. Found out who your friends are: Yes, sadly. It sucks when you realise how effectively someone has manipulated the people around you.  21. Kissed someone on your Facebook list: Nah, I don’t really do the FB thing. I should, I guess?

GENERAL:

22. How many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: See above. I kind of have a profile, but I only use it to message people I’m related to who are freaking obsessed with Facebook and won’t communicate any other way. Ugh. So… most of them? I guess?   23. Do you have any pets: One dog – Hector, a grumpy and elderly terrier - down from two resident mutts and a boatload of fosters. Older dog died last year, and I’m not in a position to foster right now, which sucks, because I miss having a house full of beasties, not to mention making a difference. 24. Do you want to change your name: Already have done/am doing! I have no real interest in keeping up with more than 80% of the people I’m related to, and I never liked my birth name, plus this is easier to spell and dictate to people, and isn’t known by the abusive assholes in my life. So, yay! 25. What did you do for your last birthday: Ordered pizza and watched favourite movies with my partner. We did The Blues Brothers and shit-talked the progression of police militarisation in the US over the past 30 years, and it was incredibly fun, despite the fact we’re 3000 miles apart right now. Also, they remembered my birthday, which is more than can be said for over two-thirds of the people I’m related to.  26. What time did you wake up: 9am, but in my defence I was up until 3 last night. 

27. What were you doing at midnight last night: Talking shit with my partner, knitting an afghan, and watching foster kitten cams and reviews of awful movies together, because these are good ways to help someone who has a dental appointment in the morning try to stay calm. 28. Name something you can’t wait for: Getting my current backlog of work finished. Sooo clooose…. Promised myself a movie and gaming binge when I’m done. 29. When was the last time you saw your mom: Last week. 30. What is one thing you wish you could change in your life: Either having enough money to fix all my problems (yes, in this case, money most certainly can do that), or just being on the same continent as my partner, so we didn’t have this immigration thing to worry about. Not having a debilitating illness that fucks everything up would be pretty awesome, too.  31. What are you listening right now: Freddie King 32. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: Yep, many Toms. All the Toms. Well, like, five plus. 33. Something that is getting on your nerves: Not knowing whether or not the electrician is going to show up tomorrow, which will mean I need to move the paintings and quilt top I currently have all over the sitting room floor. I’m not done piecing that thing yet. Grr. 34. Most visited website: Lots. Mostly Google, Politico, Reuters etc., but I’m living on eBay right now because I’m trying to sell off a bunch of DVDs, books, and vintage glassware. …Does anyone want to buy some vintage/antique glassware? 35. Mole/s: Yep. I had one removed from my back once. Turned out to be benign (phew!) but I got an interesting scar out of it. 36. Mark/s: I still have a faint surgery scar on my elbow, but it doesn’t look as Frankenstein-y now. Most of my scars have faded, but I still have some weird idiosyncrasies from things that have been broken or busted up. 37. Childhood dream: Writing was always my main thing, but also acting/directing. Illness took that away. Other than that, I always wanted to live somewhere rural with lots of animals, and be happy.  39. Long or short hair: Long. Lots. It’s huge. Send help. I like both on other people.  40. Do you have a crush on someone: Not right now. Give me ten minutes and a new Fet profile to stalk and I’ll get back to you... 41. What do you like about yourself: I’m a creative dynamo and I don’t stop until I fall down. I’m also proud of the fact that I’m a pretty compassionate and patient person, and I like the fact I’m slow to really anger. Someone told me recently I’m a very stabilising influence, and that was nice to hear. I feel like life can use more of that.  42. Piercings: Ears (two left, three right), nose (left). More on the way, maybe, when I can justify it.  43. Blood type: ???? I should check. I know the NHS won’t let me donate blood because of my medical condition, which blows.  44. Nickname: Zia. Some people call me Kez. One person is allowed to call me Admiral Fuckface McAsshole III.  45. Relationship status: Open relationship with my primary partner, technically speaking. Poly is good, but my planner is too cluttered for anarchy.  46. Zodiac: Aries w/ Aquarius moon, Virgo ascendant. I also have Mars and Venus in Taurus, so mooooo. And yes, I did used to do natal charts for beer money. I read palms, too. I’d still do it if asked nicely.  47. Pronouns: They/She. I don’t mind feminine pronouns, because I’m incredibly cis-passing and most people will assume “she”, plus I can live with being labelled female if it’s a binary choice, but I see myself more as a person than a gender, so I love that neutral pronouns are being used so much more now.

FWIW, I considered whether or not I was trans for a hot minute when I was a younger teen, because I used to love passing as a boy when I was a kid (until puberty at nine. Boo.), but for me it was the difference in how I was treated when I passed as male that mattered. It was the difference between “Oh, isn’t he confident and intelligent?” and “Hello, sweetie, don’t you look pretty today?” that affected me, not a real sense of dysphoria, so I decided the problem wasn’t really in how I presented, but in society itself. I have yet to really find a satisfying way of rectifying that, but I think we’re all making progress as a society. It’s very slow progress, sadly.   

48. Favorite TV Show: I don’t watch that many series, but Star Trek (especially TOS and DS9), X-Files (S1/S2), Game of Thrones, old mystery adaptations (all the Agatha Christie ever), Stranger Things, Better Call Saul, Breaking Bad… can’t think of anything else right now, but there are some. 49. Tattoos: One black and grey dotwork spiral goddess on my arm, next one coming soon (watch this space, now I’ve found an artist!) 50. Right or left hand: Ambidextrous. Yes, I can write with both hands. Sometimes, I switch in the middle of the sentence. No, it doesn’t look the same. I can also operate light switches with my toes from a standing position.  51. Surgery: I fucked up my ulnar nerve a couple of years ago by blacking out and falling on some stairs. It was melodramatic, and I lost the use of my left hand. Had surgery to correct it. I was awake but a bit sedated, and spent most of the time talking to the cute anaesthetist about chastity cages. Because... sedated? Yes. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Sadly, he did not call, though I’m pretty sure he did a lot of googling when he got home that night.  52. Hair dyed in different color: Always, since I discovered Olaplex, which means I can actually bleach my hair without it completely frying. Most recently, I’ve had a mermaid fantasy in turquoise, green, and purple, but it’s faded a lot. Not sure what I’ll do next. Maybe orange, or neon yellow again. 53. Sport: I can’t do much without turning blue and blacking out, but I’ve always enjoyed tennis, badminton, swimming, and equestrian stuff. Is hiking a sport? Hiking’s fun.  54. Do you use sarcasm a lot: Um... 

55. Vacation: Last one was to see my partner; next one will be too. So, the woods of NEPA. Hiking out with some granola and my favourite human, and spending a few days playing with shelter pitbulls. <3 Otherwise, I’ve never really been on holiday. I went on a school trip to Germany once where I nearly got arrested and, when I was seven, I went to Malta and there was a hurricane. I remember wedging wet towels into the window frames and hoping we didn’t die, because we were on the twelfth floor and there was nowhere else to go. 

I did go to Norfolk with my mother for four days after her breast cancer diagnosis. Macmillan, a cancer charity that is very worthy of support, granted her a short break. There was a lot of playing dominos and trying to convince her she wasn’t actively dying at that precise moment.

56. Pair of trainers: Converse. All the ratty old Converse low tops in the world. 

MORE GENERAL:

57. Eating: I have the house to myself right now. It’s awesome. I’m celebrating with homemade shiitake tofu stir fry, wontons, vegetable udon… and doughnuts. Not in the same bowl, though. 58. Drinking: Rum. 

59. I’m about to: Finish a short story, close out an editing project, format a print galley (again. Goddamnit, Adobe.), and try to finalise the running order of a poetry collection. Maybe send some emails, maybe eat the rest of those wontons.   61. Waiting for: The dizziness to go away, usually. 62. Want: The time, space, peace and quiet to focus on my work, and my health to cooperate long enough for that to happen. 63. Get married: As soon as possible, which basically means when we can afford it, because immigration, legal wrangling, and a ton of other bullshit. It’s a headache, but if there weren’t so many technical hurdles it would already be done.  64. Career: I write and make stuff. I’m doing it under a new name now, which is daunting, because it means starting over again, but I’ve spent the past few years doing a lot of genre fiction and being told my original work is “too original”… but I’m ready to say “fuck you” to that and see what I can carve out for myself. Come on, internet: don’t prove me wrong, ‘k? 65. Hugs or kisses: Ooh, tough. Yes? I guess hugs if I have to pick.   66. Lips or eyes: Eyes. 67. Shorter or taller: I honestly don’t care, though I do very much enjoy short subs. Pocket rockets are adorable. 68. Older or younger: It really doesn’t matter. 70. Nice arms or nice stomach: Arms, I guess? Doesn’t really matter. It’s all pretty to look at, but who really cares? Arms are best for hugs. 71. Sensitive or loud: Sensitive. I don’t like too loud. 72. Hook up or relationship: Define the terms, yo. I’d say relationship, but the definition of “relationship” can be open to numerous things. 73. Troublemaker or hesitant: Um… possibly a bit of both, but more hesitant, probably.

HAVE YOU EVER:

74. Kissed a stranger: No. 75. Drank hard liquor: Yup.

76. Lost glasses/contact lenses: I once dropped a contact lens down the back of a gas fire and spent three hours getting it out with Vaseline on a paperclip. My vision is awful and I wore very expensive gas permeable lenses at the time. 77. Turned someone down: Yup. 78. Sex on the first date: Nothing wrong with it (and nothing wrong with sex being the date), but it’s not for me. 79. Broken someone’s heart: So they said. 80. Had your heart broken: Yes, but not how you might assume. 81. Been arrested: Nope. 82. Cried when someone died: Yep. 83. Fallen for a friend: A couple of times, with varying degrees of success.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:

84. Yourself: I try to, because few other people often do. (*the world’s tiniest violin plays*) 85. Miracles: Yes, sometimes in the form of coincidences, surprises, or the results of hard work. I believe in inverse miracles, too, when things go catastrophically wrong for no apparent reason. Or, as we call it at my house, Tuesday. 86. Love at first sight: Yes, in a way. Potential for love at first sight, I guess? I’ve usually found I know the moment I meet someone whether that’s a thing that’s going to happen or not. 87. Santa Claus: YES, DAMN IT. Okay, maybe not a literal dude in a red suit, but as a personification of the generous spirit of Non-Denominational-Winter-Solstice-and-Festival-of-Lights, he works. (I’m an eclectic neo-pagan/hedgewitch, but my most loved time of year is the whole October-February period, so I start celebrating Yule/Christmas around December 1st and don’t stop until Twelfth Night. I will take ALL of your symbolism, ALL your traditions, and – most importantly – ALL your festive foods and embrace them. In my belly. Thank you.)

88. Kiss on the first date: Probably. Unless it’s a baaaaad first date. 89. Angels: Again, not so much the literal sense, but it’d be nice to think there are positive presences looking out for us. I’d be very concerned about the serpent-like pillars of fire, though.  

OTHER:

90. Current best friends name: Aside from my dog, that’s my partner but they don’t like their details shared, so SHHHH IT’S A SECRET. 91. Eye color: grey-blue-thing 92. Favorite movie: You can’t just ask a person that at the end of the thing like it’s a simple question…! So. Many. Movies. Depends on the genre. The Blues Brothers, Priscilla: Queen of the Desert, Gattaca, Silence of the Lambs, Re-Animator, Die Hard, Stand By Me, Sleepaway Camp, Alien, Lady in a Cage, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, TRHPS, The Great Escape… those are movies I can watch a billion times (and have done). Honorable mentions, depending on my mood, go to things like Basket Case, Caramel, An American Werewolf in London, Exterminating Angel, Secretary, Gran Torino… I could have done 92 questions just on the most popularist movies I like!

tagging: I’ve been away for a few days and I don’t wanna tag people who’ve already done it, so if you’re reading this and want to do it, consider yourself tagged! <3

[brawltogethernow]

Neutral Element - There He Go

Installment Masterlist

Characters: Zeetha, Krosp, Klaus & friends; Length: 1k

“Date Ideas” through “Welcome” actually belong next to each other. These next few (at time of publishing) do not. Trifling concerns like logic don’t get to dictate when I publish things!

Having confirmed that Zengil, Daughter of Chump, is A.) alive, B.) being treated by Jägers in a bar, and C.) apparently as safe as she can be in spite of B., Zagreus takes off at a brisk trot in a completely different direction.

“Um, Zag?” asks Krosp in his little kiddy voice, scampering to keep up. “What are you doing?”

Zag slows down obligingly. “Gil is a smart girl,” he says. “She can take care of herself. Agatha asked me to make sure she was okay, and I’ve done that.” He stops properly, rocking on his heels and waving his hands around. “Somebody,” he says, “needs to watch out for Agatha, and I’m the perfect one to do it. But I can’t do that right now. I’ll be honest with you, cat, it’s starting to get to me. But I can, can’t I? There are Wulfenbach troops all over this town, her town. If I —”

“Don’t you dare,” says Krosp, grabbing him by the baggy pant knees and looking like he’d have gone for Zag’s lapels if he wouldn’t have to leap through the air to do it. “If you’re going to try any political maneuvering you’re going to clear it with me first.”

Zag blinks at him, taken aback.

“I’m an expert at that kind of thing, you know,” says Krosp, tail twitching. “Designed for it.”

Zag thinks this over, tugs back his legs so Krosp lets go (then shakes them extra to unsnag his claws), and then obligingly kneels down to put himself in dignified collar-grabbing reach. Without missing a bit, Krosp twists his weird little hand-paws around Zag’s shirt and levels a severe stare at him.

“Whatcha got in mind, cat,” says Zag.

“Between my brains and your political position?” says Krosp, drawing himself up haughtily and letting go.

“Oi,” says Zag.

“— We should be able to execute a maneuver that’s not a total disaster. Easy.” Krosp decisively smacks one paw into another paw. A-do-ra-ble. “It’s practically a sure thing.”

 *

“Well, that didn’t work!” says Zag cheerfully, jogging away from the troops pursuing him at a bounding lope with Krosp slung under one arm.

“It — it wasn’t a total loss,” says Krosp, who’s covering his eyes with his paws as they jog along like that’s going to help anything. “It’s going to get around that you’re with Agatha now. Unless your father publicly disowns you, that might make some of them hesitate before acting against her. A few seconds of hesitation can be crucial. Could you bounce less when you run?!”

“Nah!” says Zag. “Sorry, kitty-cat.”

“That’s Majesty to you, vassal of my vassal!” He actually takes a paw away from his face to blindly shake one tiny fist. Then he peeps up through his other fingers at Zag. “Will the Baron do that?”

It takes Zag a second to realize what he’s talking about. “Disown me? I… No, I don’t think so. He hasn’t already, even after Sturmhalten, so that ship has probably sailed.”

“Are you sure he hasn’t just been too sick to get around to it since Sturmhalten?” Krosp asks openly dubiously. Tactlessly jaded, is Krosp.

“Pff, please! That would not be enough to stop my father if he wanted to do something. The man is a machine.”

“He was really beaten up, Zag,” says Krosp. “Even the Baron —”

“Trust me.” Zag clears a wall with an unnecessary forward flip that makes Krosp scream. “If he doesn’t want to stay put, you cannot make that man stay put.”

 *

“What do you mean, some of the troops saw him?!” roars Klaus, lunging from his hospital bed. Tubes and electrodes yank and snap free like props from a violent third act revivification in a street drama. The Baron’s face flushes burgundy under wan violet bruising, and his massive hands scrabble a finger’s-reach from the cringing messengers who brought the report as medical technicians pile on to shove him back into the bed. “What did they do?” he demands. “Who was he with? How is my son?”

 *

“‘It’s practically a sure thing,’” Zag mewls in a mocking sing-song, then nudges Krosp playfully as the cat hunches into a sulk. “Hey, look, that stand is selling some kind of twice-fried tuna ball thing. You want in on that?”

“Obviously,” mutters Krosp into the golden piping of is coat collar. He remains basically a pair of eyes and little pointed ears in a high collar while Zag orders two fried tuna things (and also a fried banana thing because why not) and hands Krosp his, and then emerges and basically unhinges his jaw to dramatically swallow it.

 *

For a sick man, the Baron is very active. He reaches out to snag one of the people trying to usher him back into his bed with no sign of acknowledging their goal, but with a distinct vibe of yessss, handy materials.

“Prep the medical transport device,” Klaus hisses, lifting the tech several inches off the ground by his shoulders and briefly not seeming to require any kind of support at all. “And don’t tell Sun.”

 *

“Y’think she’s ‘wake by now?” Zag muses with his mouth full.

“She will be by the time we get back if we stop for many more snacks,” says Krosp, but is clearly enjoying trying fried-mouse-onna-stick too much to be really peeved about this. “Also, no, are you crazy? She’ll need days of recovery. I’m not sure we even need to go back.”

“Dunno,” says Zag conspiratorially. “She seems like the sturdy type to me.”

“Do you just underestimate everybody’s recovery times?”

 *

The figure that has been watching the proceedings in the room unpeels itself from a shadowy corner. DuPree is armed, but for her that’s basically a state of being. “Hey, now, Bossman,” she says, shoulders squaring. “Normally I’m all for wanton destruction, but I am supposed to keep your sick butt here.”

“…This isn’t going to be wantonly destructive,” says Klaus. "...By design.”

“Even more reason I shouldn’t let you do it!” exclaims DuPree, gesturing with the weapons she has in each hand.

Klaus looks at his bodyguard consideringly. “Ye-es… Captain DuPree, I’m sorry about this.”

“What? Sorry about wha — Hey!”

 *

When Sun finally gets back to the Baron’s room, his patient is missing. Klaus’ bodyguard is handcuffed to the bed, which explains why the path there was paved with shouting.

“Goddammit,” says Sun, irritated but only having managed to scrape up the briefest instant of surprise. “I was only gone for twelve minutes. What is the damn fool doing now?”

“He’s going to fetch Zag or whatever,” says DuPree. “— GET ME A KEY!”

*coughs*

Joke that didn’t cut it:

“…This isn’t going to be wantonly destructive,” says Klaus. Innocently, but not innocently enough. With subtlety begrudgingly gained through years of grouchy politicking, he does not repeat, “Wantonly,” for emphasis.

[mysteryshelf]

BLOG TOUR - Bear Witness to Murder

Welcome to

THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF!

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Bear Witness to Murder (A Teddy Bear Mystery) by Meg Macy

About the Book

Bear Witness to Murder (A Teddy Bear Mystery) Cozy Mystery 2nd in Series Kensington (May 29, 2018) Paperback: 288 pages ISBN-13: 978-1496709653 Digital ASIN: B075C38DMD

As autumn air settles into the quaint small town of Silver Hollow, there’s nothing more popular than Sasha’s teddy bears—and murder in cold blood . . .

Silver Bear Shop and Factory manager Sasha Silverman is cozying up to the fall season by hosting Silver Hollow’s Cranbeary Tea Party, the opening event of the village’s Oktobear Fest—a too-cute celebration themed around teddy bears. She barely has a moment to agonize over the return of her former high school rival, Holly Parker, whose new toy and bookstore in town could spell big trouble for the Silver Bear Shop and her cousin’s small bookstore . . .

But when Sasha discovers Holly’s shop assistant dead with a knife plunged in her body, the unpleasant woman suddenly looks like a real backstabber. So does Sasha’s ex-husband, rumored to have rekindled the fiery extramarital affair he once had with the victim. Now, before a gruesome homicide case takes the fun out of both the Fest and her personal life, Sasha must identify the true culprit from a daunting suspect list—or risk becoming as lifeless as one of her stuffed bears . . .

Character Interview

  Can you talk about living in Silver Hollow?   While I grew up in Ann Arbor, my dad opened the Silver Bear Shop & Factory while I was in college and getting married, so I didn’t actually move there until after my divorce. That’s when I began managing the shop – and fell in love with the small town “easy” atmosphere, got to know a lot of my friends who also moved there or married into families living there. It’s less hectic than Ann Arbor, less traffic, and more off the “beaten path” — everyone seems to hear about things that happen, no matter how much you may not want news to travel, but it’s all part of living in a community that cares. So I do enjoy it.

What is it like working at the family business, Silver Bear Shop and Factory?   I enjoy setting up special events and conducting tours, selling bears, and keeping an eye on my Uncle Ross who supervises at the factory, and his ex-wife who is taking over office duties for my sister Maddie. Aunt Eve set up the accounting system, so I only have to catch her up on the technology, thank goodness! It’s not hard work, but time-consuming. We put in a lot of extra hours during our holiday season, and I’ve even filled in for packing/shipping whenever we have super large orders. Call me a Jill-of-all-trades!

You already experienced being part of a murder investigation once – did you ever think it would happen to you a second time?    NO way! Especially in such a small town as Silver Hollow. There’d only been one “crime of passion” death in the community ( before last month, when our sales rep was killed), so Will Taylor’s murder really affected us all at the factory. And another? Wow. Any death is traumatic for family and friends, but deliberately killing someone takes a twisted person. Murder is a nasty business!

Is there anything about you people might not know you think would be fun to share?Well, everyone knows how much I love (love, love, love) cookies. I love dogs (more than cats? Hmm, not sure). I love eating kettle corn while watching a classic movie – My Fair Lady with Audrey Hepburn, Bringing Up Baby or North by Northwest with Cary Grant, and I love comedies of all kind – films, plays, books. I read cozy mysteries, but prefer historical fiction – mysteries or dramas like Ken Follett’s series, Sharon Kay Penman’s English Kings historical books, Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall, or The Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly. Something meaty to read. I love history!

About the Author

Award-winning mystery author Meg Macy lives in Southeast Michigan, close to Ann Arbor, Chelsea, and Dexter — the area she chose for the setting of her new “Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear” cozy mystery series for Kensington. She is also one-half of the writing team of D.E. Ireland for the Eliza Doolittle & Henry Higgins Mystery series; two books have been named Agatha Award finalists. Meg’s first published book, Double Crossing, won the 2012 Best First Novel Spur Award from Western Writers of America. She’s a graduate of Seton Hill University’s Writing Popular Fiction program. Meg loves reading mysteries, historical, and other genre fiction, and also enjoys gardening, crafts, and watercolor painting.

Author Links: www.megmacy.com Meg Macy on Facebook Meg Macy on Twitter

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    BLOG TOUR – Bear Witness to Murder was originally published on the Wordpress version of The Pulp and Mystery Shelf with Shannon Muir

[londontheatre]

Lenny Henry in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui at The Donmar Warehouse

The Donmar Warehouse today announces full casting for Bruce Norris’ new translation of Bertolt Brecht’s satirical masterpiece The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, directed by Simon Evans with design by Peter McKintosh. As previously announced, Lenny Henry will make his Donmar debut as Arturo Ui, he is joined by Michael Pennington, who recently played the title role in King Lear at the Royal & Derngate Northampton, as Dogsborough. Other casting includes Philip Cumbus, Lucy Eaton, Tom Edden, Lucy Ellinson, Simon Holland Roberts, Louis Martin, Justine Mitchell, Gloria Obianyo, Guy Rhys and Giles Terera.

Chicago! A city of jazz and gangsters, prohibition and poverty. Amongst the murk of the Great Depression, there’s room for a small time crook like Arturo Ui to make a name for himself.

Ui and his henchmen just want to look after you, to offer protection for workers, for jobs, for businesses. Nothing to fear. But a little bribery here, some harmless corruption there, and soon something much more dangerous takes hold.

Brecht’s satirical masterpiece about the rise of a demagogue will be given a new translation by Pulitzer, Olivier and Tony Award-winning American playwright, Bruce Norris. Lenny Henry makes his Donmar debut as Arturo Ui. Making theatre accessible to as many people as possible remains at the heart of the Donmar’s mission. The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui has tickets available throughout the run via KLAXON TICKETS: a new allocation of tickets, starting from £10, being made available every Monday for performances two weeks later. Tickets will also be available across the auditorium at every price band.

The Donmar’s new YOUNG+FREE scheme, which provides free tickets to those aged 25 and under will also continue throughout the season, with releases for tickets on the last Friday of each month. YOUNG+FREE is made possible thanks to donations from Donmar audiences via PAY IT FORWARD. The Donmar has now received almost 2,750 donations alongside their partnership with Delta Airlines, which has enabled the venue to allocate almost 5,600 of these free tickets so far to those aged 25 and under.

Audiences can sign up to receive information about tickets on the Donmar’s website http://ift.tt/QGnINs Philip Cumbus (Clark/Prosecutor) makes his Donmar Warehouse debut in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. Philip has made multiple appearances in productions at Shakespeare’s Globe including Comus, The Inn and Lydda, The Lightning Child, ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore, Macbeth, Much Ado about Nothing, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Romeo & Juliet and The Merchant of Venice. Other theatre credits include First Light (Festival Theatre), The Importance of Being Earnest (UK Tour and Vaudeville Theatre), Moon Tiger (Theatre Royal Bath and Tour), The Norman Conquests (Liverpool Playhouse), The Master Builder (Chichester Festival Theatre) and The Crucible (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre). Philip’s television credits include The Rebel.

Lucy Eaton (Dockdaisy) makes her Donmar Warehouse debut in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. Lucy’s theatre credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Southwark Playhouse), Almost Maine (Park Theatre), Win Lose Draw (Waterloo East) and The Duchess of Malfi (Old Vic).

Tom Edden (Announcer/Ragg/Sheet/Actor/Butler) makes his Donmar Warehouse debut in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. Tom’s extensive theatre credits include Amadeus (National Theatre), Doctor Faustus (Duke of York’s), Peter Pan Goes Wrong (Apollo Theatre), Measure For Measure (Young Vic), Les Misérables (Queen’s Theatre), Oliver! (Sheffield Crucible) and One Man, Two Guvnors (National Theatre) for which he won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor, and was nominated for a Tony Award and Outer Critics’ Circle Award. Tom’s television credits include Upstart Crow, The Woman in Red and Dr Who. Film credits include Star Wars Episode VII – The Force Awakens, Cinderella, The Wolf Man and Mr Turner.

Lucy Ellinson (Giri) makes her Donmar Warehouse debut in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. Lucy’s theatre credits include Grounded (Gate Theatre), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (RSC), Mad Man (Plymouth Theatre Royal), Money: The Game Show (Bush Theatre), Trojan Women (Gate Theatre), Oh The Humanity! (and other good intentions) (Northern Stage/Soho Theatre) and Fib (National Theatre). Television and film credits include New Tricks, Underworld: Dublin Gangland and Really.

Lenny Henry (Arturo Ui) makes his Donmar Warehouse debut in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. He made his West End acting debut in the role of Othello in the Northern Broadsides production at the Trafalgar Studios. His portrayal won him critical acclaim and the London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Newcomer. Other theatre includes Fences (on tour and West End), Rudy’s Rare Records (Birmingham Rep and Hackney Empire) and The Comedy of Errors (National Theatre).

Lenny has been a comedian since the age of 16, finding fame as a comedy impressionist on 70’s TV talent show, New Faces. Other television work includes TISWAS, Three of a Kind, The Lenny Henry Show, Hope & Glory, Lenny Henry in Pieces, Chef! and the Saturday night BBC1 show, The Magicians. He has completed many sell-out live stand-up tours in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. On radio, Lenny worked for three years as a DJ on BBC Radio 1. He has also worked extensively for Radio 4, starring in the comedy Rudy’s Rare Records, he wrote the Radio 4 play Corinne Come Back and Gone and presented the series Lenny and Will.

Simon Holland Roberts (Butcher/Judge) has previously appeared at the Donmar Warehouse in Artistic Director Josie Rourke’s production of Saint Joan. Theatre includes Cyrano, All My Sons, Hamlet, Arms and the Man, Aristocrats, Glengarry Glen Ross, The Taming of the Shrew and Arden of Faversham (Theatr Clwyd), Of Mice and Men (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Assembly 13 (National Theatre Wales), Love’s Labour’s Lost, Othello, Sex Strike, Edward IV, Henry VI, The School for Scandal, The Comedy of Errors and Sweet William (Northern Broadsides), Sheepish (Manchester 24:7), The Tempest (Northern Broadsides, New Vic Stoke, UK and China tour), The Man with Two Gaffers (Northern Broadsides, Theatre Royal York and UK tour), Richard III (Northern Broadsides, West Yorkshire Playhouse and UK tour), Sea of Silence (Quicksilver), Man is Man (Steam Industry). Television credits include All at Sea, Da Vinci’s Demons, Stepping Up, Coronation Street, Hollyoaks, Shameless, Eric & Ernie, Accused, The Street.

Louis Martin (Bodyguard/Caruther) makes his Donmar Warehouse debut in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. Louis’ stage credits include Future Conditional (Old Vic), Love’s Labour’s Lost, Last Days of Troy (Shakespeare’s Globe) and A Witness For The Prosecution (The Agatha Christie Theatre Company).

Justine Mitchell (Public Defender/Betty Dullfeet) has previously appeared at the Donmar Warehouse in Michael Grandage’s production of King Lear. Justine’s extensive theatre credits include The Plough and the Stars (National Theatre), For Services Rendered (Chichester Festival Theatre), Love For Love (RSC), Man – Three Plays By Tennessee Williams (Young Vic), The Rivals (Arcola Theatre), Mr Burns (Almeida Theatre), Gastronauts (Royal Court) Detroit and Children of the Sun (National Theatre). Television credits include The Suspicions of Mr Whicher II, Harry and Paul, Doctors, New Tricks and Wild At Heart. Justine has also appeared on film in The Stag, Imagine Me and You, Citizen Verdict, The Honeymooners, Goldfish Memory and Conspiracy of Silence.

Gloria Obianyo (Flake/Hook) makes her Donmar Warehouse debut in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. Gloria’s stage credits include The Wild Party (St James Theatre), The Grinning Man (Bristol Old Vic) and Jesus Christ Superstar (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre).

Michael Pennington (Dogsborough) has previously appeared at the Donmar Warehouse in The Cosmonauts Last Message to the Woman He Loved. Michael’s most recent theatre credits include King Lear (UK Tour), She Stoops to Conquer (Theatre Royal Bath), A Winter’s Tale (Garrick Theatre), Richard II (RSC), Dances of Death (Gate Theatre), Judgement Day (The Print Room), Sweet William (Michael has also appeared in numerous productions at Chichester Festival Theatre, including Anthony and Cleopatra, The Syndicate, The Master Builder, Collaboration and Taking Sides). Michael has appeared on television in Endeavour, Father Brown, Silent Witness, Holby City, The Tudors, Lewis, Walking the Dead and The Bill, and on film in The Iron Lady and Return of the Jedi. Together with director Michael Bogdanov, Michael founded the English Shakespeare Company in 1986 and is an honorary Associate Artist.

Guy Rhys (Givola) has previously appeared at the Donmar Warehouse in Artistic Director Josie Rourke’s production of Saint Joan. Most recent theatre appearances include Pomona originating at the Orange Tree Theatre, and subsequent National Theatre/Manchester Royal Exchange revival. Other theatre credits include Jason and the Argonauts (Unicorn), Bird (Sherman Cymru and Manchester Royal Exchange), Wendy & Peter (RSC), Rafta Rafta (Bolton Octagon) and Mother Courage and Her Children (National Theatre).

Giles Terera (Roma) makes his Donmar Warehouse debut in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. Giles’ stage credits include Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Hamlet, Death and the King’s Horseman, The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other, Troilus and Cressida, Candide, Honk!, The Darker Face of the Earth, Mind the Gap and Walk in the Light (National Theatre), The Tempest (RSC). Other theatre credits include The Book of Mormon (Prince of Wales Theatre), Pure Imagination (St James’ Theatre), The Merchant of Venice (Globe Theatre, International Tour) King John (Globe Theatre & UK tour), Don’t You Leave Me Here (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Up on the Roof (Chichester Festival Theatre), Six Degrees of Separation (Sheffield Crucible) and Generations of the Dead (Young Vic). Giles has appeared on television in Horrible Histories and Doctors, and on film in The Current War, Muse of Fire and London Boulevard.

(All other characters will be played by members of the company.)

THE RESISTIBLE RISE OF ARTURO UI By Bertolt Brecht Translated by Bruce Norris Friday 21 April – Saturday 17 June 2017 Press Night Tuesday 2 May 2017 Donmar Warehouse, 41 Earlham Street, Seven Dials, London WC2H 9LX http://ift.tt/QGnINs

http://ift.tt/2mkC7Gq LondonTheatre1.com