#and things like lost episodes and broadcast interruptions were my FAVORITE

[area51-escapee]

I LOVE CREEPYPASTAS SO MUCH yes even the Bad ones. Like yeah that story was written like shit I don’t mean to be an asshole but. It was. It was no literary masterpiece by any means. But it was still a very formative piece of my middle school years.

[stardancerluv]

Being a Good Friend

Part Twenty Two

Summary: Alex and reader’s life after Scotland.

Note: Broke some major canon with this...but left it open for more. Please don’t kill/hate me!

6 Months Later

The sun was brilliant in the clear blue sky; under the blanket the sand felt warm. You sighed happily as you looked down at Alex, he had dozed off contently beside you. It was a beautiful day in paradise.

As you looked down at the gentlness of his sleep filled face, you could still remember your last night in his flat.

*****

Alex had lingered on the window seat that final night the two of you spent there. A lingering melancholy tried to grasp onto him. It was time to say goodbye to the ghosts of friendships that blossomed and came to an end in that flat.

It had been a cool, rainy night. With only the sofa remaining, the two of you cuddled and dozed waking in time to watch the dawn a final time before taking a cab to the airport.

That morning, was when the two of you got to start a new life. In order to explain all the money you both sold anything that wasn’t terribly crucial for your new lives. It had been rough but was a good idea considering Alex had still managed to squirrel away quite a bit from that man Hugo’s suitcase.

A final touch in beginning a new life, Alex did something drastic. He trimmed the lion’s mane of his hair. With tears prickling your eyes, you ran your fingers through it a final time. Alex, did promise that once he got a better feel of where you and him had had settled in Brazil, he would grow it back.

The two of you had settled into a wonderful complex that was not far from the beach. You two could walk their whenever you wanted. Alex and you enjoyed that very much. Being in this paradise compared to cold, rainy Edinburgh it was like living in a dream.

You considered yourself lucky that the complex, you moved in had been great! They welcomed the two of you warmly, dishes and blankets were a plenty. Tonight Alex and you had been invited to a lantern festival you were beyond thrilled.

*****

The gentle scent of the ocean and suntan-lotion tickled his nose. Blinking, he looked up to find you reading. You face was gently focused, as you hair.

With a smirk curling his lips, “Does it mention anywhere in their that the mum and dad turn into zombies?”

You smiled at the suddenness of his voice. Putting the book aside you smiled down at him. “Hi sleepy head.”

He met your eyes, “Hi love.” He purred. Turning to look at your gently growing tummy, he smiled. “Hi baby.”

You giggled. “They moved, at this time they know when daddy and mommy talk to them.”

He chuckled. “Well then,” He cleared his throat. “Be good to your mum. Tonight, we’re going to a special ceremony.” Moving just so, he pressed a kiss to the side of your tummy.

“You told them.”

“That’s what my job is!” He chuckled.

Sitting up, Alex rested on his elbows and looked out at it all. Finally things were looking up. You and him had left with little to no fuss.

It had taken some time but he finally found a paper he could work at. At the moment, he was just happy at the idea of you being there waiting for him. You wouldn’t have to look for a job just yet.

He liked the idea that he was taking care of you and the baby. That really had come as kind of surprise. That baby had been tough, going through those last violent moments with David and the trail. He pressed his lips together, Alex was relieved it was over.

*****

Later that night as he lounged on the bed and watched you silently chose a flower from a bouquet he had surprised you with earlier. He watched as you effortlessly slipped into a dress he felt was as lovely as you.

“My lovely girl.” He smiled as you jumped a little.

“How did I not see you there as I walked out of the bathroom?”

He chuckled. “Because I am just that good.” Smiling he drew you close. “Excited for tonight?”

You nodded. “I am. I’ve always thought these kind of things were so wonderfully special and I am excited that we can go to one.”

“Me too.”

As the two of you walked down to the beach, he reached out and interlaced your fingers. He was thrilled that you and him had been invited to the lantern festival.

He made sure to grab one of the bigger lanterns. You and him were unstoppable. Anything was possible for the two of you, well actually the three of you now.

Catching your eye, loving how yours twinkled. “Make a wish.”

“I will.”

Soon the two of you together then released it. He held you close so together you could both watch as your lantern joined the others and floated to unbelievable heights.

Later, that night cuddled close to him you fell asleep watching a Portuguese game show. Alex, turned it down for a moment as he looked down at you in their otherwise silent flat.

His eyes drifted over your features, slowly down all the curves that made up you till he reached your growing tummy. He had always been revolted by the idea of kids. They irritated the fuck out of him. Nothing about them was appealing. They were loud, messy and demanding. Yet, when you told him, something came over him.

Perhaps it was you, perhaps it was knowing that you and him made that little thing. Yet what really pulled in him was the fact this little baby had survived that entire episode where David had lost his mind and almost killed him. A determination came over Alex, he wanted to take care of it and make sure it had a good dad in him. He pressed a kiss on your tummy.

“You got me for life, kid. He whispered. Turning back to the tv turned the volume up, he was eager to find out who won.

“We interrupt this broadcast to share some startling news.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” He whispered, he was annoyed but switching the channel he noticed it everywhere.

He finally settled on the English news, maybe if it was that important he better watch.

“Famous globetrotting criminal Juliet Miller has broken out of jail with the help of her lover Rose.”

“Oh fuck.” Alex carefully sat up straighter in bed as he felt as if someone poured ice cold water down his back as his attention was fixed on the television.

“It is believed that she is out there looking for the 2 million in pound sterling, she insisted during the trail that she didn’t have. Or maybe she just wanted to be reunited with her lover.”

The fellow newscaster broke into her male counterparts monologue. “Roberto, just maybe she is out there searching the globe for the roommate, she felt wronged her. Former reporter, for the Glasgow Times Alex Law.”

They showed a picture of him.

“Fuck.” He mumbled, more then ever was he glad that he had cut of his hair short.

His phone buzzed and the message read.

Boss: Law. Story from Scotland. Come in a few hours to cover in detail. Best to Y/N.

With his stomach rumbling he replied.

To Boss: E Claro. (Of course)

He was sick with unease, as he glanced down at you still sleeping. Snapping off the tv, he held you closer and kissed your temple. It would be ok, it had to be.

******

A few hours later, having barely slept Alex ventured to the corner store where had managed to find his favorite brand of cigarettes and a bottle of whiskey.

Talk about old habits dying hard, he thought bitterly. They certainly were back. How was he going to tell you.

Once back at the flat on the balcony, he twisted the cap off and took a large gulp. He was on his second cigarette while pacing back and forth; when you woke up and found him on the balcony. How would he tell you?

*****

Yawning, and stretching under your light cotton robe, a concerned look was over your still sleep cloaked face. “Alex, what’s the matter?” As you began to make your way over to him.

He stubbed out the cigarette, exhaled skyward before coming over to you. “You should sit down.” He gripped your hands.

“Alex.” You wiggled. “You’re grip is hurting me.”

That woke him up. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

Sitting beside you on the sofa, he wavered a little realizing how the whiskey had hit him on an empty stomach. He centered himself the best he could.

“Alex,” You drew his face over so you could look at him. “You’re worrying me. What's the matter?”

Taking your hand he kissed your palm, exhaling he got his nerve.

“Juliet escaped.”

@mac-n-cheesie @dance-like-russia-isnt-watching @rentskenobi @brookisbi @johallzy @darling-i-read-it @professionalclown @chogisss @calcifvr @i-love-scott-mccall @stardust-and-starlight @the-mandalorian-clone-lover @unfilteredmoonchild @sithonis @xbrex

[darawonplease]

trauma. ch1.1 - i’m doomed

Dara rewatches her infamous confession to SECHSKIES leader Eun Jiwon. She finally decides what to do when a message ruins her plans.

characters. Eun Jiwon x Sandara Park, CL, Park Bom

A.N. In the following chapter I refer to two different shows Dara has appeared on. The links to those videos are in the titles of the two shows that are mentioned at the start).

chapter 1 - i’m doomed, part. 1

[dara pov]

I turned on the tv with reluctance, a frown appearing on my face. I intended to avoid that very episode of Hun Maen Jung Eum since it first aired, but there I was, the curiosity of knowing how the scene I shoot was broadcasted on national tv being a valid reason to tune in on MBC’s channel.

[...]

“Dara had a crush on someone for 22 years…”.

The MC read through his script; my back tensed as soon as I heard my name called. In all honesty I didn’t expect the production to bring this news up.

“…that person is the one sitting beside her---”

“Here it is”. I thought, resting my sulky face on the remote I had in my hands.

“--- Eun Jiwon”. The MC revealed with a huge grin on his face.

I saw myself smiling on the tv screen but at the time I wanted to crawl in a hole in the ground and disappear forever.

“When Sandara was offered to be on Hun Maen Jung Eum she agreed without hesitation. She said that she liked three people on this show: JeA, Joonhyung and Jiwon”. Stated the MC while flipping the pages he held in his right hand.

“Woo~”. The people I mentioned smiled out of content, appearing pretty pleased by my statement.

I gulped as the MC continued to read the interview I had prior to filming, I felt instant regret. I should’ve known better then. Of course, they saw my confession for Jiwon-oppa on Video Star, the episode in question aired a couple of months before shooting Hun Maen Jung Eum.

I remember the day I was casted on that talk show so vividly. I had just started to appear on variety shows and winning a spot as host was one of the biggest accomplishments of that year.

-

“Sandara-ssi, we’re glad to let you know you’ve been casted as a fixed host on the program, congratulations”.

“Ne! I’m grateful for the opportunity given to me, I won’t let you down!”. I closed the call; a sudden burst of energy took over my body as I started doing my “victory dance”.

“Yay~ I’ve been casted Wonjun-ssi~”.

I jumped up and down while holding both of his hands.

“Isn’t It a great day to be Sandara Park’s manager-nim?”. I flashed my best smile and started dancing again, my limbs waving all over the place.

“It’s great Dara-ssi”. He hid his perplexity as to why I was acting like that behind a sheepish smile.

JJangmae-oppa was known for being 2NE1’s manager. YG ent. fired him right after the group disbanded, as we all had our own personal managers. JJangmae-oppa wasn’t just monitoring us, he affirmed himself as an older brother figure, cherishing us when YG sajang-nim scolded our group for not being pretty enough, for not being successful enough. Jjangmae-oppa saw us as people and not products, that’s why, seeing him disappear from our lives so suddenly, left a big hole in our hearts, firing up the resentment towards the unfairness of the decision made by the company.

-

The legendary sunbae-nim, Tony Ahn, member of H.O.T. was invited as guest on the first episode I hosted of Video Star; thinking back it was such a smart move on the production team part to cast me, knowing the relationship I had with Tony-oppa. Milking it created quite a stir, in fact.

Our ambiguous friendship became the main topic soon enough. The guest list included people in the friends circle me and Tony-oppa shared so they knew how to tease and prompt him into revealing what was his stance when it came to our relationship.

“When Dara got drunk, she had the silly idea of putting the bottle’s cap on her eyes, we all happily laughed about it”. JeA-eonni suddenly became a dispenser of embarrassing scenes, and I was the protagonist of them all. Who knew that she’d share other awkward stories about me later, on Hun Man Jung Eum too.  

“Do you know what he said to me? He went - Don’t make her do those things!”.

Tony-oppa clapped his hands, embarrassed.

“I didn’t even tell her to do that!”. JeA-eonni was clearly upset as she stood up from her seat to directly complain with Tony-oppa, who sat right beside her.

“So - he must care about Dara a lot”. Commented Sook-eonni, glancing at me.

He defended himself – “I had such great fantasies about her, I thought it was impossible for her to think about doing so on her own”.

“He really doesn’t know how to date, as he got older, he even became more fearful and shy, he limits himself to observing only - so I told him that if he keeps observing he’ll lose her”. JeA-eonni was obviously determined to unveil every detail of the story.

Hyejong-eonni joined in the mission of collecting every piece of evidence that pointed at Tony-oppa being interested in me.

“That that’s why I suspected him and Sandara! He actually wanted to ask her out, but he lost his timing and Dara reacted passively at it, so you just ended up being friends”.

“Tony-ssi, are you observing Dara-ssi right now?”. Narae filled her role as host, interrogating him like a detective.

“She’s just a girl friend and there is no I way I could develop anything other than that. That is not what I thought when I first met her, who knows what might happen; that’s what I thought” – He replied with honesty.

“Then why did you keep watching her slowly and didn’t go for it right away?” – JeA-eonni spoke up again, interrogating him. She could pass as a host because of the fiery desire to uncover the truth.

A short sigh left Tony-oppa’s mouth. - “At that time, we didn’t have any occasion to meet”.

“So, you guys didn’t have any connection”. Concluded Sook-eonni from the host panel.

“There was documentary about her in Korea back then – I somehow managed to watch it and noticed she was good at singing and dancing, she was also pretty and charming – I made up my mind and wanted to producer the singer Sandara Park”. He revealed proudly, I didn’t know he had such high regards for me as an artist.

He went on saying: “But then an article came out – Sandara signed a contract for YG entertainment”.

“I thought he had been observing her for just a month but it’s been already 15 years!”. Exclaimed JeA-eonni, talking to the cameras, furrowing her brows.

“He is like the man in Old boy”. Eana-eonni commented, poking fun at Tony-oppa. He crossed his arms and laughed off, dumbfounded.

“This oppa really loves you Sandara!”.

I slightly felt uneasy as they kept pushing in that direction, I kept dwelling on how I should react without hurting his feelings as I, unfortunately, didn’t reciprocate.

Narae interrupted the laughter that filled the room until then.

“I don’t know if I should say this right now….”.

The atmosphere on set suddenly changed, a chill danced up my back not knowing what she was going to say.

“...well, Sandara has another man in her heart”. She stated with total seriousness.

“Ack-…” murmured Tony-oppa, with a disappointed look on his face.

“We also know about that”. Commented all the female guests sitting the other side of the room.

“Dara-ssi likes…. Eun Jiwon-ssi!”. Narae slammed her hand on the table as she looked away from the guests. She sure knew how to create a commotion.

I was taken aback, hearing his name all of a sudden made my heart flutter, but I didn’t hold grudges at Narae for revealing it, I somehow felt better because of the burden taken off of my chest.

A multitude of voices quickly started to overlap one another across the room.

“Eh?!  Do you still do?”.

“I knew it!”.

“Yes, she does!”.

“Stop hurting him and say the truth!”.

Tony-oppa’s ears became red, he remained silent at the sudden revelation.

Jiwon-oppa was the leader of another legendary boy-group I loved in my teen years, SECHSKIES. It was a known fact that H.O.T and SECHSKIES were rival groups back in the day. Fans used to scramble with one another for their favorite singers. It sounded funny to think the feud didn’t stop with the music.

“Will your fans fight again for this?”. Hangbo-eonni joked, trying to defuse the situation.

“Leave the girl – there was a SECHSKIES song that went like that!”. Narae referred to the song “Chivalry” perhaps, but I remember the lyrics differently.

“How could I leave you like this?”. Hangbo started to sing SECHSKIES Road Fighter, playing around.

Tony’s soul left his body as he turned on his seat, trying to fleet the situation by facing the wall behind him.

“But Jiwon-oppa doesn’t know about this though – this is the first time I’m saying this”.  I stated looking around the room.

“Ah- is that so?”.

“Since when have you been watching him?”. Sook-eonni’s eyes lit up with interest as she asked me for further information.

“…since 1997”, I muttered before bursting in a fat laugh, my cheeks becoming more and more red as we kept talking about the man I’ve been admiring for such a long time.

“The important thing is if she still likes him even now”. Commented Park Sohyun-ssi.

“Well… recently we’re in the same agency… - I’ve also been to their concert last time and he was so cool”.

I didn’t know how affectionate I sounded before re-watching this scene after the episode aired. My eyes filled with love and admiration as soon as I started to talk about him.

“He looks so tsundere!”. I finished my confession on that note, contented with my own honesty. The thought of him made my heart pit-a-pat hard.

JeA, Hangbo and Eana-eonni turned their backs away from Tony and created a small girl gathering where they started to whisper to one another.

“Tell me something about it”.

“She really likes him”.

“You didn’t know it?”.

“I knew it, but I thought she already put away her feelings”.

I was so relaxed and contented when confessing on that occasion. It was perceived as an innocent crush, something to laugh about during lunch. It only looked like I was a big fan, not a big deal at all.

But on Hun Maen Jung Eum, right beside him? I felt my heart sinking deep. I hated the thought of coming across so insisting and foolishly adoring of him – right in front of him. Revealing how much I payed attention to him recently made me look so hopelessly in love with him. Which I was not.

-

I shook my head and payed attention to the program that was being broadcasted on my tv.

The MC kept reading - “Joonhyung-oppa and Jiwon-oppa have different meaning for me”.

Everyone burst out laughing at my straight forwardness.

The Sandara on the tv started clapping her hands, uselessly trying to hide from the impending embarrassment.

“Joonhyung-oppa feels like a senior while for Jiwon-oppa…”.

“Please don’t say it…”. I begged in front of the tv over and over again, even if perfectly aware of what was going to happen soon after.

“...he really is like a man to me~”.

The guests gazed at me at once and screamed in disbelief, it was a commotion.

“Can I really say something so burdensome?”. The me on the screen blurted out while covering her face with her hands, as if that could prevent the sense of regret from manifesting.

I remember my stomach turning on itself, cold sweat was pouring down my forehead. I tried to control those violent reactions happening inside of me but failed miserably.

“I shouldn’t say burdensome things”. I uttered again while looking away.

“It’s not~”. I could see on my screen that Jiwon-oppa was averting his eyesight while saying so, with a sheepish smile on his face.

JeA-eonni then intervened revealing her testimony too. I realized only then that she knew so many things about me, making her a perfect snitch on the variety shows we participated together.

I was surrounded by my own embarrassment and couldn’t flee in any way. No matter where I looked, there was no way to avoid meeting someone else’s derogatory glare.

“We had finished a schedule together and were at the salon-…” She started, guiding everyone’s attention towards herself.

“…I told Dara I had a schedule with Jiwon-oppa” – She went on.

“Ah ~ Isn’t our Jiwon-oppa perfect?”. She mimicked me perfectly, from the high-pitched tone to the gestures, my jaw dropped to the ground at how accurate it was.

The studio filled with laughter again, so I just got along with the guests’ reaction and chuckled with them.

“Eonniii, why did you reveal that? I thought we were frieeends~”. I whined at the screen, throwing myself on my leather couch. The weight of my words appearing on my chest.

“Wow! Your vocal impression of her is exactly the same!”. Jiwon-oppa jumped out of his seat and exclaimed pointing at JeA-eonni.

“No but, seriously”. She continued.

My only ally was aspiring against me, strength escaped from my extremities, all I could do was witness my own self being torn apart in front of my crush, on national tv no less.

“Dara said that since he changed his hairdo, he looks younger than recent idols”. could feel my heart sink. I didn’t realize how childish my words sounded until someone else said them.

Various text appeared on the screen “Sandara who seems blinded by love”.

“WHY WOULD THEY WRITE SOMETHING LIKE THAT, AIGOO!”. I protested again, slamming my feet on the couch repeatedly.

I pointed at my tv, complaining about something I couldn’t change. I hid my face behind a small pillow, but I could still view the scene happening in my head, even with my eyes closed shut.

The hosts and guests gave mixed reactions. There were some oh’s and eh’s.

“Isn’t this an exaggeration?”. Jiwon oppa turned his head and referred to me, raising his eyebrow.

At the time I fled his confused gaze creating a wall with my hands in between us. I could not look at him normally, go figures if I had the gut to glance at him in a situation like that.

It was all or nothing, I gulped hard and quickly collected my courage – or what was left of it. What I could do was just go with it and confess altogether before other embarrassing testimonies popped out from nowhere.

I wouldn’t stop blurting about him for years, every time his name left my lips, I witnessed irked expressions on my friends’ faces because of how repetitive and annoying I got. I wouldn’t have been surprised if they had prepared other 50 testimonies to demonstrate my total and earnest adoration for him.

“Because he is next to me… I don’t know if I can say this…”. I muttered, keeping my hand-walls between him and me. My cheeks flushing by the minute.

I didn’t get to see his reaction while filming, it was the first time for me to actually watch how he behaved in that situation.

He looked straight in front of him, covering his mouth with one hand and listening attentively to what I was going to declare.

Joonhyung sunbae-nim smiled from to cheek to cheek like a pleased father, earnest to hear about my crush on Jiwon-oppa.

“And why do you like Jiwon-hyung?”. One of the hosts stood up and asked, raising his eyebrows in confusion.

“What do you like about him?”. Repeated another female host, her eyes sparkling with great interest.

“Well… he’s handsome”.

“Where did I get the guts to say that in front of him? eottokeeee?”. I facepalmed, feeling second-hand embarrassment for the Dara on screen.

Jiwon-oppa looked away, his cheeks turning red like two big tomatoes as soon as he heard my praises. An innocent smile popped up on his lips, showing the two front teeth he usually tried to hide behind his hands. He kept fidgeting as if he did not know how to put himself. His reaction was similar to the one you’d have when someone sings you “Happy birthday”. All you can do is just witness it and be grateful, even if it’s super-embarrassing.

“Ah~ but last time, from the Pom Saeng Pom Sa era he was like this, he had a tsundere charm”.

I basically repeated what I’ve revealed on Video Star. I refused to unveil more than what was already known to the public, what was revealed was already enough.

“But in real life he’s really kind…” I finished, emphasizing on the word kind.

I knew because of the You tube date that took place a year prior. Even if he looked cold and uninterested on the outside, he was quite comforting and soft-spoken once you got to know him.

am i really saying this out loud?

I felt dumbfounded, my body wanting to explode under the constant pressure I experienced throughout the conversation.

The MC spoke up, “Did you know about her feelings?”. He asked directly to Jiwon to keep the hype up.

I finally had the strength to look at him, anticipating his response. I was curious as to how he’d react.

He sat up, reuniting his hands, and looked around the studio.

“Well...uh”. He stuttered.

He rotated his whole body towards the MC who was questioning him - “22 years sounds like an exaggeration, but… when SECHKIES reunited, she came to the concert and cheered for us”,  he indicated me with his left hand, avoiding turning my direction.

“I also really like 2NE1, because of that, I also felt really nervous and fluttering feeling…”. He finished on a high note, not giving any hints and directing the topic elsewhere, perfectly gaining control over the conversation.

“YAH, it’s weirder because you are saying it so gently!”, lamented Joonhyung sunbae-nim jumping out of his sit and pointing at Jiwon-oppa.

“YOUR TONE IS WEIRD!”. Shouted the male host.

Jiwon-oppa was known for his straight-forwardness and bold way of speaking. Him suddenly being soft-spoken caused agitation on set.

“I’ve had enough!” I whimpered. I reached for the remote to try to turn off the tv.

“YOU’RE SO STUBBORN, DAMN REMOTE”.

I hit it against the arm of the couch until the tv finally turned off.

“I gets more embarrassing the more I watch it…”, I murmured under my breath, the scene kept playing in my head in loop, line a broken record.

I got up and glanced outside my window, I really could use some fresh air to calm myself up. It was a chilly night of August, there wasn’t much movement on the street in front of my apartment.

did I really manage to say those things?

I moved towards the kitchen as I craved a big cup of green tea, maybe that could have helped with calming my nerves.

I stretched my arm to get a hold of the teabags in the cupboard on my left and patiently waited for the water to boil. The only sounds that could be heard in my flat were the ones coming from the water bubbling up in the boiler and my long and deep sighs.

I shook my head hoping to erase my memories but the mocking laugh and mixed reaction from that one episode echoed in my ears.

I was used to narrate over the top stories adding my own flare to them, it became my trademark. I was Sandara Park, the former member of 2NE1 and the one in charge of portraying absurd stories in my cutesy way.

That was different. I could already see the whole world looking down own me. The riot in my stomach was just a sign of how affected I felt because of that matter.

A week had passed from the original airing date of the episode, but I still had a hard time overcoming that river of thoughts that washed me up like a giant tsunami.

~ brbrbrbrbrbr~ tic ~

The boiler had accomplished its work. I sat on a stool in front of the island counter and started to pour the water in my red mug. It appeared as a regular mug to the eyes of strangers, but it had meaning to me.

-

Chaerin had gifted it to me when she returned from L.A. to visit. It was a hard time for her, she wouldn’t tell me at first so I invited her to stay over at my house for a couple of days; only the thought of her going through a difficult time alone made my heart shutter in a million pieces.

I started to use the mug any chance I could to demonstrate her that I appreciated her thought, a small smile would appear on her face whenever she saw me sipping from it. That same smile was like a minuscule gap in the enormous wall she was trying so hard to build around herself.

We sat right there, in front of the counter, when she revealed her honest thoughts. Her voice started trembling as she confessed to me that she wished to leave YG ent., the agency we worked together for the past 13 years. Small teardrops would fall onto the counter, forming a small puddle. I squeezed her for an unreasonable amount of time, feeling her body shudder against mine every time she sobbed. Her warmth against my skin it’s what I reminisced when sipping a hot beverage out of that L.A. red mug.

She then returned in the U.S, far from the mistreatment she received in the motherland. I couldn’t blame her because she was right. She had every right to do so and so did I. The difference between us was that she was stronger than me.

My home suddenly looked like a big cage where a lonely rabbit hops in search for an exit that doesn’t exist.

i am that rabbit.

Dadoong meowed, as if wanted to talk back to me.

“You’re not alone as long as I’m here”, something like that. Or maybe he was just hungry, that was probably the case.

I kneeled on the wooden floor and started caressing his smooth fur. “Mian~ I almost forgot about you, my cutie~”. I whispered to him.

“meowww~”. He responded closing his small like buttons yes.

“I hope that means that you’ve forgiven me haha~”.

I replenished his bowl with cat food, the sound of his paws on the wood was quite adorable. I smiled looking at him eating peacefully.

I stood up and took the mug, blowing on the hot tea to take it to a reasonable drinking temperature.

With the corner of my eyes I noticed a couple of notifications popping up on my cellphone’s screen. I slowly but steadily got towards the couch, trying hard not to tip over the tea. There was a small coffee table in front of me where I had placed my cellphone prior. I left the mug on it and picked up the phone.

I hummed – “mhh- I wonder what they’re saying about me on SNS”.

I scrolled through the news of Naver, the infamous Hun Maen Jung Eum confession being in second and third place in the “most researched” list.

“ Sandara Park Admits To Having A Crush On SECHSKIES’s Eun Ji Won For The Past 22 Years ”

I pressed on the article and started scrolling down to look at the comments beneath it.

[+510 – 2] Aww he looks so flustered, so cute ~

[+ 436 -29] Does she not know he’s a divorcee?

[+386 – 5] I hope they start dating after this~ ㅋㅋㅋ

[+203 – 76] I wonder how awkward it is between them now

[+105 – 2] Isn’t it obvious that he doesn’t like her?

[+57– 46] She is such a boring person, no wonder he doesn’t take interest in her.

[+48 – 9] ㅎㅎㅎ she confessed to have dated many celebrities and now claims to be in love with Eun Jiwon for 22 years, what a b*tch

 “Ahh, i would’ve been better off without reading this huhu~”.

The malicious comments pierced right through my confidence, unveiling all my insecurities.

It is the harsh reality, one can’t possibly hope to be liked by everyone, still, those words were like salt on an open wound. I already felt vulnerable, as if someone stole my umbrella during a storm. All the opinions were painful waterdrops cascading on my head. A few do not hurt you but one after another they lead you to madness.

I’ve had been in this harsh industry for over 10 years, but I admitted to being still too vulnerable mentally to sustain the weight of words spouted at me.

A tear travelled lonely down my cheek as I threw the cellphone down on the couch, disappointed.

I already knew he perceived me as a hoobae and not as a woman, I was aware of that. That was exactly why I was so bothered by how I came off on tv. I disliked the idea that he would think of me as a delusional fool.

I sniffed and wiped off the tear with the long sleeve of my checkered pajama.

I enjoyed admiring him from afar, supporting him without being an annoyance, liking him without the risk of getting burned. I fangirled over him with all my girl friends, as if I were a 15-year-old again but deep inside I knew my liking to him had gone a bit further than just an innocent teen crush.

I knew he had divorced too; I was crushed at the thought of him suffering like that. Witnessing the love of a lifetime whiter with his own two eyes. How could people judge him for that?

love is not easy.

nothing is.

For work I was often surrounded by handsome celebrities who wouldn’t hesitate to confess their crushes on me, I’ve always managed to keep my cool and stay professional but there I was, my hands would tremble anytime Jiwon-oppa appeared in the same room, my body flinched anytime he’d touch me, even if inadvertently. I couldn’t control the redness from expanding on my cheeks when he talked to me.

behave self.

It wasn’t news that I dated a couple of celebrities since my debut, I even revealed how we met for dates on the same episode I confessed to Jiwon-oppa. It was thrilling to hide from the reporters, every relationship felt like a spy movie.

Those romance weren’t exactly k-drama worthy. Most of the times I was just a price to be won, I knew it deep down. It wasn’t anything more than a way to fill the silence in my flat with the pounding on the walls. No matter how many times I tried to convince myself that they loved me as much as I did, I was only a side event for when they were lonely.

Looking back, I wasn’t proud of my behavior. He gave me attention and I conceded him my body. I could feel his warm skin against mine, but when placing my ear to his chest, I didn’t hear his heart thumping. Relationship after relationship, the result didn’t change. Blinded by need for company I kept making the same mistake over and over again.

Bom-eonni once found me crying after one broke up with me. Reason being, he had enough of our relationship. He wasn’t wrong, it was me who expected it to be more than it actually was and ended up being disappointed.

“You’ll get hurt, please stop”. I remember her squeezing me until I implored her to stop, that eonni always ignored my weak build every time she embraced me.

“Dara don’t do this. Please”. She begged on the phone countless times because seeing me hurt like that was torture for her. She started to stay over at my place in case the man I was seeing decided to harass me.

I put a hold on dating after that, I gained control of my vulnerability for once.

Silence returned in my flat.

the life of an idol is quite lonely.

~parararing parararing - parararing parararing ~

“Dara-eonni ~ are you busy? how are you doing?”.

It was Chaerin-ah who called me.

“Hi Chaerin-ah ~ I’m doing fine… have you eaten yet? Don’t worry, I’m just chilling - I feel so tired.... ah~”.

“Honestly, lately I’ve lost my appetite”.

“How come? Force yourself to eat, even just an apple”.

I suddenly reminisced our trainee days. I was so thin compared to the other members; YG sajang-nim decided to put them all on a diet. I still felt guilty; there was nothing I could do because that was just how my body was built. I offered myself to diet alongside them, not to make them feel lonely but Bom-eonni whined at me – “You’re already so skinny, what’s the use of dieting Dara-yah?!”.

We were dubbed as ugly girl group, YG sajang-nim was the first one to call us that.  The pressure of being pretty weighted on us whenever we made a public appearance beside other girls groups or ate something that had more than 200 calories.

She ignored my advice and went on - “How do you feel?”.

“Uh? Me? I’m just fin-“.

She interrupted me – “Come on! Dara-eonni! Bom-eonni told me about you and Jiwon sunbae-nim!”. Her tone seemed pretty serious.

Moving to L.A. made it harder for Chaerin to get a hold of the news regarding entertainment in Korea. That was probably why she heard about it from someone else and got upset.

I really didn’t want to talk about that matter. I already wanted to bury myself under 6 feet of dirt and I did not want her to feel second-hand embarrassment because of my actions.

“Ah~ Chaerin-ah... I didn’t know what to do so I just went along with it... huhu~ Is it that bad?”. I asked, full of anticipation.

“It’s ok eonni, really. He’ll think of it as a joke and you’ll both laugh about it when you two will meet again”.

I really hoped that was the case; we acknowledged each other but didn’t have any opportunity to develop our friendship.

“Huhu Chaerin-ah~ Are people going to think I’m a crazy lady that keeps a Jiwon-oppa shrine in front of her bed? I read so many malicious comments…Will he avoid me after this?”.

“I knew this would bother you, that’s why I called - Dara-eonni, you should’ve told me sooner, you know I’m here for you”.

She was right. I was bothered, but I hated asking for help. Opening up became so much harder since we all moved out from the dorm we shared. If we had secrets to reveal, we would invade Bom-eonni’s room to gossip between ourselves. We used to sit on the floor to whisper about crushes and things we witnessed during music shows.

Everything I did made me reminisce the time I spent with 2NE1; I forever cherished the warmth that came being so close with the members.

“Ah~ Chaerin-ah~ Thanks for calling me”.

-

I sipped the green tea that was waiting for me on the wooden coffee table, my brows furrowed as my lips touched the cold beverage.

“Even the tea became cold… huhu~”.

I slumped back on the couch. All I wanted to do was to avoid him, as if he was pestilence himself, I didn’t want for things to get weird - I wasn’t ready to enter YG’s building only to have Teddy-oppa or Jiyong make fun of me in front of him.

~ ting ~

I remembered the real reason I actually searched for my phone in the first place; I had to check the notifications.

“Dara-ssi, I’ll fetch you tomorrow at 10 o’clock to escort you to the agency”. It was manager-nim who wrote a couple of messages to remind me of my schedule for the week.

I felt dumbfounded as I remembered Suwon-oppa telling me that Sechskies were starting to record tracks for their future comeback that day. There was no way I could avoid him when we worked in the same workplace.

I drowned my face in the pillow sitting on my couch and heaved a long sigh –

i am doomed.

 next chapter.  ⋆  masterlist. 

[guyinlovewitheremika]

Episode 52 (3p2 ep 3) thoughts

Going through S3Part2 again, I’m realizing that, just like during the initial broadcast, the 3rd episode is honestly probably my favorite of the action focused ones? Maybe it’s partially due to lowered expectations as ep 1 and 2 were at best alright, and at times kind of disappointing, but I just can’t help but feel like this particular episode just does so many things right for me  First of, the way RBA+Marco flashback is integrated here is just wonderful. Literally reusing the exact sound and footage from ep 13 set the stage perfectly. On top of that, the lighting and background art feel as close to those old Trost episodes as they could’ve. It’s just such a seamless insert into this now old piece of snk canon.  The whole Marco thing is well done in general. And sure, most of this, if not all of it, was already animated for season 2 and the lost girls ova, but the animation and voice acting are just really good here, period. The flashback also comes at the right time storywise--reiner’s “demise” is a significant enough event to allow a break, and also makes it easier for the viewers to emphasize with their side for a moment, a sentiment that carries over into the next scene, as rbz get ready for the upcoming fight.  Bertholdt’s last thoughts are concern for Reiner, then we cut forward to him being dead, some soldiers cheering, his former friends crying. The whole situation sucks and you just kind of feel bad for everyone. It’s not the marley arc, but its the closest snk could do at the time in terms of telling the conflict from both sides. Bertholdt’s and Armin’s confrontation works for the same reason--on an emotional level you kind of feel for everyone here, and it beautifully leads into the conclusion of Bertholdt’s character arc. Obviously, this is just the manga being good, this doesnt have much to do with the adaptation, and its not like this episode adds anythin in terms of original content, its the consistency with which is translates the manga here that I love so much. A lot of this has to do with music and the way it carries the mood of the episode forward. Where episode 51 attempts at exciting action got constantly interrupted by expository flashbacks and the music to match them, 52 has a well thought out natural progression.  What I mean by that is this: In the flashback set during season 1, we only hear season 1 music, which puts us more in that timespace and situation. The Reiner Bertholdt Zeke conversation parallels season 2 a lot and is also the first time R and B really got to talk together since then--and the track that accompanies them is a melancholic background piece from season 2. Finally, as we return to current time, as soon as the moment of respite of the SC is interrupted by Reiner’s scream, the heavily edited version of Before Lights Out starts playing--a track we haven’t heard at all at this point; it sounds edgy as hell and immediately kicks in all the tension befitting the implication of the tiny barrel floating over the wall.  That tension continues on and on as both sides prepare for battle, and is only interrupted by Armin’s and Bertholdt’s screaming contest covered in musical silence, giving their argument enough space to easily let us pick up on their voices almost breaking.  As Armin and Bertholdt come face to face, close to killing each other, the muted, emotional arrangement of what’s pretty much the warrior theme starts playing, again paralleling season 2, followed up by what has got to be one of the coolest musical edits in the show, as the cue suddenly explodes in the heavily electrical vocal arrangement of the same melody as Mikasa angel of death Ackerman appears behind him looking fucking amazing and ready for murder.  And just as the music ramps up, so does the editing, as we get a quick cut fast moving sword fight aided by 3dmg and all of a sudden the tension built throughout the whole episode explodes as Bertholdt ascends to nuke the place. The last two minutes may once again be expository, but the music as well as the visuals of an enormous colossal titan setting the whole place on fire really keep that tension going.  It’s just good stuff Part 2 in my opinion really struggled to maintain tension and excitement throughout its first half, as a lot of the action looked often awkward and stilted, and a lot of editing and musical choices left only worsened those symptoms. But among all these stands this episode. Descent may not have particularly outstanding animation, and even in terms of writing its not the strongest offering this season, but its level of consistency and natural progression make it stand out to me so much more than I’d expect.

[sous-le-saule]

The first fanfic I ever wrote

The lovely @akhuna01 tagged me! Thank you so much! 

I wrote my first fanfic, Tout ce qu’on ne dit pas, in february 2016, a few weeks after I finished Good Omens. This is not the first fanfic I published, though, since I wrote three other stories while editing that first one.

Since it’s in French, I’m posting @lunasong365‘s beautiful translation, with her kind permission.

And since it’s almost 7k word long, I’m just posting the first chapter.

@maniacalmole @improbabledreams900 @not-a-space-alien I’d love to read your first fanfic!

Summary: Some things are more comfortable when they’re left unsaid. But strangely, sometimes, they don’t want to remain hidden.The first part imagines an incident that happens before the Antichrist’s birth, the second one is a reinterpretation of canon.

Pairing: Aziraphale/Crowley

Rating: teen & up

Crowley awoke with a start. He’d fallen asleep during an episode of “The Prisoner,” which continued to flicker on the television in front of him.[1] Peering into the darkness of his apartment, it took a moment to realize what had woken him from his slumber. He eventually identified the sensation, both familiar and disturbing, that was hammering his temples: something demonic was happening. Not in the immediate vicinity, but close enough for his acute sense of territory to convince him to get up and put on his coat.

[1 -  He claimed that his professional responsibility required him to regularly check the quality of products he’d helped create, but he himself had succumbed to the addictive nature of series for which he’d whispered the idea to producers for this very reason. Since the invention of television, humans spent more and more time vegetating in front of the tube and less time reading. And they became easily irritated at the idea of missing an episode of their favorite show. However, programs were still too tasteful. Not enough sex. Or humiliation. Crowley was working on a project to sequester and film 24/7 people chosen for their lack of culture, good taste, and especially, modesty. He was investigating the idea, but felt that the world was not yet ready.]

He muttered under his breath as he walked toward the Bentley. "They could notify me when they send someone on a mission to my jurisdiction. A little respect, yeah? And anyway, why didn’t they give this mission to me?" He really hated the times his radio or television broadcast was interrupted to transmit orders from Hell (when would they finally trust his creativity, dammit?) But, hey, a demon has his pride. He relaxed, thinking it was maybe just one or two young demons sent to showcase their ability through some rite of passage: burst water pipes, disappearance of express parcels and urgent mails, simultaneous nightmares to wake children up screaming all over the city[2]. He still wanted to get to the bottom of it.

[2 -  It was however a little early for this third possibility because, as everyone knows, this kind of thing has to happen between 4 and 5 a.m., early enough to mess up your night, but too late for you to fall asleep again.]

With his vehicle carelessly stopped in the middle of Piccadilly Circus, Crowley leaned recklessly out the window as he attempted to locate the origin of the evil feeling. Soho. Shit.

At this late hour of the night, it was easier than usual to cross London at 160 km / hour. Crowley discreetly parked the Bentley halfway up the sidewalk a few doors down from Aziraphale’s bookstore. The front door had been forced open and was slightly ajar. Ohshitohshitohshit.

And like an idiot, Crowley had not brought the holy water stored in his safe.

~*~*@*~*~

Aziraphale fell heavily to the ground, breathless, muffling the cry of pain caused by the deep lacerations his opponent’s claws had just inflicted on his arm and his side. He threw a desperate look towards the dagger he had dropped, now several meters away from him. Things were not looking good. The demon who faced him displayed his considerable teeth in a predatory smile. Taking great care to avoid the weapon that had reduced his two associates to an unrecognizable mess of flesh, his opponent strengthened the grip on his own rune-carved blade and approached the angel. Aziraphale struggled to get up.

The demon suddenly hesitated, and Aziraphale understood why when he himself perceived a second demonic presence. He immediately recognized the familiar aura of Crowley, which boiled with intense feelings. Rage. Fear ... Love?

“Back off, asshole. Nobody touches my angel.”

The first demon, twice as big as Crowley, turned to keep his two opponents in his field of view. He relaxed slightly when he saw that the newcomer was not armed.

“And how do you think you’ll stop me?” he asked Crowley with a sarcastic smile. “I have not been ordered to kill you but, please, give me a good reason to do it.”

“Other than spouting clichés, what the hell are you doing here?” said Crowley in an allegedly confident tone (fooling nobody).

“Believe it or not, the Big Guy is not too satisfied with your results lately. It seems that you’ve been hanging around with a certain angel too much and that has softened you. But you know how it is; nobody likes to waste time holding job interviews and training a new field agent. So I'm here to eliminate your distraction.”

“Uh ... what if I voluntarily promise to work overtime?”

“That’s already going to happen, smartass. Now, get lost and let me have some fun. Leave me to finish this and nothing more will happen to you than the doubling of your quotas.”

Crowley had used this pleasant little chat[3] as an opportunity to search the back room for a potential weapon. Two blades similar to the one held by his opponent were buried to the hilt in the mutilated bodies of their former owners, but they were out of reach. Crowley's gaze lingered on the dagger adorned with angelic ciphers (since when and where has Aziraphale been hiding that?) lying between him and his adversary.

[3 -  When would people – or demons - learn not to have an extended monologue instead of carrying out their plan? Doesn’t anyone watch TV?]

They both knew: no demon could touch such a weapon without being disintegrated; just like the assassins’ blades were designed to annihilate angelic creatures. Game over: do not pass go, do not receive a new body. The demon looked down on Crowley with amusement, as if challenging him to seize the dagger. Then, seemingly dismissing him as inconsequential, he again began to move towards Aziraphale.

The latter had made use of this brief respite to recover and gather what little strength he had left. Disarmed, Aziraphale had no choice but to attempt to ward off his enemy, but he had already tried this option before the fight started and had failed, as if he’d been blocked by a barrier. Maybe the odds were better now that he’d gotten rid of the other two? Anyway, it wasn’t like he had another alternative. He hoped that Crowley would take advantage of the interruption to escape without doing something stupid.[4]

[4 -  Here we see irrefutable proof of angelic optimism.]

“Return to Hell, Demon!” chanted Aziraphale in a muffled voice, using an ancient incantation while suddenly projecting his angelic aura toward his opponent. The demon staggered and gasped, but did not disappear.

“Too weak!” chuckled the creature, raising his blade to deliver the final blow.

With nobody paying attention to him, Crowley ended his internal debate[5] and rushed toward the weapon dropped by Aziraphale. 

[5 - That we could transcribe more or less as follows: 

“Just turn around and walk away. Don’t get involved!”

“If you hold the blade right, maybe you’ll have enough time to plunge it into his back before in turn being disintegrated.”

“This is the worst idea you’ve ever had and that’s saying something…”

“Oh, shut up!”]

The angel saw him from the corner of his eye and couldn’t restrain his shout.

“Crowley!”

The assassin turned, but before he could comprehend what had happened, his flesh began to crack and collapse upon itself, leaving behind only a small reddish and steaming pile. Crowley released an incredulous cry of victory, before remembering what he was holding and throwing the dagger far from himself with a frightened yelp[6]. Stunned, he contemplated his untouched palm.

[6 -  If you ask Crowley, he’ll obviously say that demons do not yelp. So as not to embarrass him, Aziraphale will refrain from mentioning all the times he’s witnessed otherwise.]

~*~*@*~*~

A groan from Aziraphale restored Crowley’s priorities. He knelt beside the wounded angel, whose side and arm, both deeply lacerated, were bleeding profusely.

“It will be ok, angel, it will be ok…”

“I know it will,” replied Aziraphale calmly with a faint smile. “Could you stop panicking for two seconds and get me a clean towel? I have to stop the bleeding until I regain enough strength to heal myself.”

Crowley disappeared in the kitchenette, muttering that he was not panicking, and returned with clean towels with which he compressed the angel’s injuries. The demon had also brought a bottle of gin, from which he took a swig before giving it, without a word, to Aziraphale, who did the same.

“Thank you, Crowley.”

“ 'Told myself you would need a drink.”

“I meant: thank you for ...”

“Don’t mention it.” Embarrassed, Crowley abruptly cut him off.

“It was particularly stupid, you know.”

“You moved particularly fast from gratitude to criticism, I think,” Crowley pointed out with an offended snort.

“You could have been disintegrated. You should have been disintegrated,” said Aziraphale, frowning. “You could have escaped...”

“And get stuck dealing with your successor, who would have been overly ambitious, like all beginners? You want me to remind you how zealous you were at the beginning, when you were trying to discorporate me every time our paths crossed? Thank you very much, but I am quite satisfied with our Arrangement.”

“In short, you protected your interests ...”

“Exactly!” exclaimed Crowley, relieved. Even if, on second thought, Aziraphale’s smile implied a quite unsettling go-on-you-can’t-fool-me.

“And how will you explain this to your superiors?” asked the angel.

“Explain what? These three can’t serve as witnesses. And if someone ever did look into the matter: they attacked an angel, they were killed by an angelic weapon. End of story. They will think twice before sending someone else. By the way, you haven’t lost your touch,” added Crowley admiringly, pointing to the remains of the first two assassins. “I must say I sometimes tend to forget the guardian of the eastern gate hides under the guise of a harmless bookseller.”

“I guess the same went for them,” said Aziraphale distractedly, focused on healing his wounds.

The lacerations were closing gradually as a soft golden light emanated from the angel, evidence of the divine power at work. Crowley stepped away to a cautious distance.

“Well, you’ll have to replace the carpet.”

“Mmhmm. Could I take advantage of your kindne… er… would you mind making us some tea, while I finish this?”

A few minutes later, they faced each other across the small table in the kitchenette, two steaming cups in front of them. Aziraphale’s penetrating gaze looked directly into Crowley’s eyes, as much as the sunglasses allowed:

“Is there something you want to talk about?”

Crowley displayed his most impassive expression.

“Not really.”

As the answer didn’t seem to satisfy his counterpart, he continued, with the fast delivery and the reluctant tone he always used when forced to say little demonic things:

“Well, I'm sorry you got dragged into that.”

“It's not your fault,” said Aziraphale, reaching across the table to pat the back of Crowley’s hand. “I even have to admit I'm rather proud: if I affect your job performance, it means I’m doing mine properly.” The demon looked at their hands with an astonished air, before he hastily withdrew his to safety under the table. “What I mean is ... don’t you wonder how you were able to use my dagger without damage?”

“I have no idea... just lucky? Maybe it’s too old to hurt me? Somehow the dagger knew I was trying to defend you? Honestly, I don’t know and I don’t care. It worked, and now it’s over.”    

“This weapon was designed to disintegrate any demon which it touches, and, as you saw, it works perfectly well.”

“Apparently not.”

“Apparently,” corrected Aziraphale, “something has sufficiently either altered or hidden your demonic nature enough to deceive the dagger.”

The angel obviously expected a question from his counterpart, but Crowley, unwilling to push the conversation further in this direction, merely indifferently drank his tea. Aziraphale sighed and hesitated, then said softly:

“I'm able to sense these kinds of things, you know. When you arrived, you felt...”

“When I arrived, I felt the immense annoyance of a guy obliged to get up in the middle of the night to come and save your ass. That’s all.”

Crowley’s cup hit the saucer with a loud clink.

“Oh, please. When you grabbed my weapon, it was out of...”

“Ssstupidity, as you said.”

Crowley pushed his chair back and stood up. Pushed to the limits by his attitude, Aziraphale couldn’t hold back a low blow:

“And since when exactly am I your angel?”

Seeing Crowley’s cheeks flush, he regretted his words instantly. He didn’t even know demons could blush.

“Aziraphale, you’re fantasizing,” replied Crowley coldly. “You must rest; the fight must have really taxed you.”

“Crowley, I...”

But the front door had already slammed. Alone with his lukewarm tea, the angel stared into space and whispered:

“Aziraphale, you fool, you could hardly have handled this worse.”

Keep reading on ao3

[acsversace-news]

★★★☆☆

One of the things I remember most vividly about the hunt for Andrew Cunanan was watching his final showdown on television. The regular broadcast was interrupted as the police went into a houseboat and found his dead body, and I just remember someone on TV saying “houseboat,” “houseboat,” “houseboat” repeatedly. That is the one detail about this story that always stuck out to me.

I’ve always wanted to live on a houseboat, ever since MacGuyver had one. But being from the landlocked part of Connecticut, it was never a reality. That’s probably why I imagined the houseboat where Andrew killed himself as being more like a sailboat, like the one where he hid before he got caught by that sunburned lady looking for her friend Antonio. It seemed cramped and gross in my mind. Of course, that wasn’t the reality at all: He was in some old queen’s fantasy world of a house boat and it was like the ‘70s come to life, complete with wicker furniture and a nearly campy interior. It had a giant television projector – cutting-edge technology at the time – and, if American Crime Story is to be believed, a closetful of nice clothes that miraculously fit Andrew. This all made me totally rewrite the narrative of how I had imagined Andrew’s final hours.

Still, this finale limps toward the finish line. Maybe that’s because I was one of the viewers who watched the police close in on Andrew back in 1997, so I already knew how this story ends. But looking back, I feel like the most interesting parts of this series were frontloaded into the first few episodes. Even those of us who followed the story knew little about Cunanan’s earlier crimes or his motivations, so shining light on those aspects of his life was an interesting choice – not just because of this story, but because of the time in general.

Now that we’re focused on Andrew’s final head-shaving, dog-food-eating days in a houseboat, there isn’t much more exposing left to do, save for a few heartbreaking moments with his parents. I’ll never forget that image of his mother Mary Ann, smoking a cigarette with a blanket over her head and illuminated only by the television. What happens with his father Modesto is also heartbreaking: When Andrew reaches out to him, he tells Andrew that he’ll come back to the U.S., even though there are charges against him, and he will take him back to the Philippines and get him to freedom and safety. Andrew waits by the door with his clothes packed and calmly reading. (How do you select a book when you’re on the run and it might be the last one you ever read?) Modesto never shows up, but Andrew does see him on television talking about how he’s selling the rights to his son’s story and exploiting their phone call for his own gain. For the final time, his father has failed him.

Perhaps my favorite moment in the finale is Andrew watching Marilyn Miglin hawking her perfume on television. “I imagine going back in time and telling [my mother], Here is something I made for you, the kind of perfume my father would give you for your birthday as a way of saying how special you are,” she says, as if speaking directly to him. Here she is, creating the same kind of narrative of rewriting reality, of rewiring the past to make the future electric, that Andrew mastered. She is using it to make the fortune that Andrew craved, while all he could do with his gifts was destroy. We would hope to see some empathy in Andrew for what he did to Marilyn’s husband, but we never see that. Instead, we see something close to awe.

I’m not sure if Andrew actually watched all of that coverage of the manhunt, but it sure makes sense that he would in this show, given what we know about his character. It also makes sense that he would go from laughing about it (as the cork on his champagne pops) to absolutely loathing it (as the media coverage paints him to be something that he didn’t think he was).

What’s odd is that, no matter how much of a monster Andrew was, the coverage and the hunt were so much worse than we could imagine. After all, hasn’t that been the point of this show all along? The worst offender is the wanted poster with Andrew’s face, which also shows mockups of what he might look like dressed as a woman. (Not that it matters, but it looks like VHS cover art for a bad made-for-television movie starring Marilu Henner as a police officer searching for a serial killer in a drag bar.) Even though he never had a penchant for drag, the FBI just automatically assumed that a gay man would either disguise himself as a woman or actually want to live life as a woman. This idea that the police’s homophobia made them ineffective at catching Cunanan was lightly considered in the opening episode and I hoped it would be picked up more subsequently, but it seems to have lost steam just as the series did. Save for this one moment, it’s a shame it wasn’t a bigger focus.

The Versace side of the drama is a little lackluster, too. I felt especially bad for Gianni’s boyfriend Antonio, who was shut out by the family, ignored by the priest at the funeral, and generally mistreated by everyone because he couldn’t (or didn’t) legally marry. But what happens between him and Donatella — her shutting him out of the homes and his promised allowance — seems less about him being gay and more about Donatella not liking him, so it’s a different narrative that doesn’t necessarily explore the homophobia of the time.

Meanwhile, it feels like “Alone” brings all of the guest stars out of hiding so they can each get one little turn onscreen again. We not only see Marilyn, Antonio, and Donatella, but also Andrew’s junkie friend Ronnie and all of the prominent detectives from the case. (You know, the detectives who seemed like they’d have a more active role after the first episode.) After Andrew kills himself, we’re left to wade through all of the drama with the rest of the players. The worst of it, without a doubt, is Antonio trying to kill himself out of grief. Although the real Antonio did admit to depression following Versace’s death, he is still alive and well. Leaving the audience with him collapsing in a maid’s arms seems deceptive at best and a bald-faced lie at worst.

The scene that really wrapped up the whole drama – for me, at least – was Andrew remembering his meeting with Versace. We find out that they never had sex, and that Gianni was the one man who didn’t fall into Andrew’s advances because he knew it would cheapen his dreams and ambitions. When Andrew tells Versace all about his desire to be special and how he’ll convince the world of it, his reply is, “It’s not about persuading people you’re going to do something great. It’s about doing it.” That one line separates what makes these two men different.

Whether or not we like it, though, they are inextricably linked because Andrew will forever be piggybacking off of Versace’s greatness. In the final images of the season, Donatella mourns over Gianni in his own mausoleum while we see Andrew’s tiny placard amongst a million similar ones in a public resting place with no one there to remember him. The show’s closing statement seems to be that Versace is ultimately greater, a true individual who was loved and whose accomplishments will withstand the test of time, while Andrew is just some nobody who tried to find greatness with destruction. However, this message seems at odds not only with reality, but with the case that the show itself made by trying to find the humanity in Andrew.

[papermoonloveslucy]

LIZ’S INFERIORITY COMPLEX

February 3, 1951

“Liz’s Inferiority Complex” (aka “Liz Develops an Inferiority Complex”) is episode #117 of the radio series MY FAVORITE HUSBAND broadcast on February 3, 1951.

This was the 19th episode of the third season of MY FAVORITE HUSBAND. There were 31 new episodes, with the season (and series) ending on March 31, 1951.  

Synopsis ~ After messing up a joke, bombing at bridge, and lousing up George's breakfast, Liz develops an inferiority complex.

Note: This program was the basis for the “I Love Lucy” episode "The Inferiority Complex" (ILL S2;E18) filmed on September 6, 1952 and first aired on  February  2, 1953.  Much of the dialogue is repeated verbatim from the radio program. 

“My Favorite Husband” was based on the novels Mr. and Mrs. Cugat, the Record of a Happy Marriage (1940) and Outside Eden (1945) by Isabel Scott Rorick, which had previously been adapted into the film Are Husbands Necessary? (1942). “My Favorite Husband” was first broadcast as a one-time special on July 5, 1948. Lucille Ball and Lee Bowman played the characters of Liz and George Cugat, and a positive response to this broadcast convinced CBS to launch “My Favorite Husband” as a series. Bowman was not available Richard Denning was cast as George. On January 7, 1949, confusion with bandleader Xavier Cugat prompted a name change to Cooper. On this same episode Jell-O became its sponsor. A total of 124 episodes of the program aired from July 23, 1948 through March 31, 1951. After about ten episodes had been written, writers Fox and Davenport departed and three new writers took over – Bob Carroll, Jr., Madelyn Pugh, and head writer/producer Jess Oppenheimer. In March 1949 Gale Gordon took over the existing role of George’s boss, Rudolph Atterbury, and Bea Benaderet was added as his wife, Iris. CBS brought “My Favorite Husband” to television in 1953, starring Joan Caulfield and Barry Nelson as Liz and George Cooper. The television version ran two-and-a-half seasons, from September 1953 through December 1955, running concurrently with “I Love Lucy.” It was produced live at CBS Television City for most of its run, until switching to film for a truncated third season filmed (ironically) at Desilu and recasting Liz Cooper with Vanessa Brown.

MAIN CAST

Lucille Ball (Liz Cooper) was born on August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, New York. She began her screen career in 1933 and was known in Hollywood as ‘Queen of the B’s’ due to her many appearances in ‘B’ movies. With Richard Denning, she starred in a radio program titled “My Favorite Husband” which eventually led to the creation of “I Love Lucy,” a television situation comedy in which she co-starred with her real-life husband, Latin bandleader Desi Arnaz. The program was phenomenally successful, allowing the couple to purchase what was once RKO Studios, re-naming it Desilu. When the show ended in 1960 (in an hour-long format known as “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”) so did Lucy and Desi’s marriage. In 1962, hoping to keep Desilu financially solvent, Lucy returned to the sitcom format with “The Lucy Show,” which lasted six seasons. She followed that with a similar sitcom “Here’s Lucy” co-starring with her real-life children, Lucie and Desi Jr., as well as Gale Gordon, who had joined the cast of “The Lucy Show” during season two. Before her death in 1989, Lucy made one more attempt at a sitcom with “Life With Lucy,” also with Gordon.

Richard Denning (George Cooper) was born Louis Albert Heindrich Denninger Jr., in Poughkeepsie, New York. When he was 18 months old, his family moved to Los Angeles. Plans called for him to take over his father’s garment manufacturing business, but he developed an interest in acting. Denning enlisted in the US Navy during World War II. He is best known for his  roles in various science fiction and horror films of the 1950s. Although he teamed with Lucille Ball on radio in “My Favorite Husband,” the two never acted together on screen. While “I Love Lucy” was on the air, he was seen on another CBS TV series, “Mr. & Mrs. North.” From 1968 to 1980 he played the Governor on “Hawaii 5-0″, his final role. He died in 1998 at age 84.

Gale Gordon (Rudolph Atterbury) had worked with Lucille Ball on “The Wonder Show” on radio in 1938. One of the front-runners to play Fred Mertz on “I Love Lucy,” he eventually played Alvin Littlefield, owner of the Tropicana, during two episodes in 1952. After playing a Judge in an episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” in 1958, he would re-team with Lucy for all of her subsequent series’: as Theodore J. Mooney in ”The Lucy Show”; as Harrison Otis Carter in “Here’s Lucy”; and as Curtis McGibbon on “Life with Lucy.” Gordon died in 1995 at the age of 89.

Bea Benadaret (Iris Atterbury) was considered the front-runner to be cast as Ethel Mertz but when “I Love Lucy” was ready to start production she was already playing a similar role on TV’s “The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show” so Vivian Vance was cast instead. On “I Love Lucy” she was cast as Lucy Ricardo’s spinster neighbor, Miss Lewis, in “Lucy Plays Cupid” (ILL S1;E15) in early 1952. Later, she was a success in her own show, “Petticoat Junction” as Shady Rest Hotel proprietress Kate Bradley. She starred in the series until her death in 1968.

Ruth Perrott (Katie, the Maid) does not appear in this episode, although she is mentioned. 

Bob LeMond (Announcer) also served as the announcer for the pilot episode of “I Love Lucy”. When the long-lost pilot was finally discovered in 1990, a few moments of the opening narration were damaged and lost, so LeMond – fifty years later – recreated the narration for the CBS special and subsequent DVD release.

GUEST CAST

Alan Reed (Dr. Auerbach) is probably best remembered as the voice of Fred Flintstone. He started his acting career in 1937. He played a cafe owner in “Lucy Visits the White House” (TLS S1;E25) first aired on March 25, 1963. In 1967, he made an appearance on the Desi Arnaz series “The Mothers-in-Law”. He died in 1977 at the age of 69. 

Bea Benadaret (Iris) played Betty Rubble on “The Flintstones” with Reed.  The character was likely named for comic actor Artie Auerbach. In 1938, he announced plans to marry Cleo, Lucille Ball’s cousin. Ball intervened because she was underage, but the couple later married anyway.  Like most psychiatrists on TV and radio, Reed speaks with a German accent, no doubt inspired by Sigmund Freud.  On the television version of “The Inferiority Complex” the psychiatrist was played by Gerard Mohr and the character’s name was Dr. Henry Molin.  

THE EPISODE

ANNOUNCER: “Let's look in on the Coopers. It’s evening and they're entertaining George's boss, Mr. Atterbury, and his wife Iris. Dinner is over and the group are now in the living room.”

They discuss what a wonderful meal Liz prepared for them. Mr. Atterbury ate a 17 oysters! He's even got a joke to accompany the oysters, about a deep sea diver and a mermaid, but Iris won't let him tell it in mixed company.

LIZ: “Iris, this company isn’t mixed, it’s married!

Liz decides that she'll try to tell one instead, but she's not very good at telling jokes. She cannot decide whether it is about a man or a woman - or a restaurant or a cafeteria.  Liz can’t remember the punch line, but George impatiently interrupts and tells the joke for her. 

GEORGE: “The woman said I’ll take two pork chops and make them lean. And the waiter said ‘yes, ma’am, which way?’” 

Everyone agrees that Liz can’t tell jokes. She dissolves into tears. 

To change the subject, they decide to play bridge instead. Nobody wants to partner with Liz.  This fuels her feelings of inferiority. 

At breakfast the next day, Liz confesses that she’s not so bright and that she doesn’t do things well.  The breakfast is undercooked, so George tells her to talk to Katie. Liz is in tears again - it is Katie’s day off and she has prepared breakfast herself. She can’t tell jokes, she can’t play bridge, and now she can’t cook. She challenges George to name one thing she’s good at.

GEORGE: “You’re very good at....  Well, your wonderful at... You’re really great at, uh...” LIZ: “Waaah!” GEORGE: “What are you crying for?” LIZ: “I can’t think of anything either.”

Later, Iris drops by and find Liz in bed, depressed. Iris refuses to believe that Liz is a failure.  

IRIS: “You can...  Well, for one thing you’re the best at.... Well, you’ve always been tops in...” LIZ: “Those are the same ones George came up with.”

Iris says that at the very least that there isn’t another person in the world who gets their hair the color Liz does! George comes home from work and is surprised to find Liz still in bed.  He takes Iris aside and says that he will take Liz to a psychiatrist.

At the psychiatrist's office, Dr. Auerbach (Alan Reed) examines Liz. 

DOCTOR: “Lie down on the couch.” LIZ: “Why?” DOCTOR: “I dunno. That’s what they do in the movies.”

Liz can’t find anything interesting about herself to tell the Doctor, so she ask him to tell her something about himself. It isn’t long before he is the patient and she is the therapist. 

In the television version, Ricky convinces the Doctor to pretend to be an old friend, and brings him home instead of Lucy going to his office to provide his ‘treatment’.  Ricky gets jealous of the Doctor’s attentions, but Lucy reminds him it is all part of the “Treatment, Ricky!  Treatment!” 

Later, George invites the Atterburys over to tell them the results of Liz’s exam.  The Doctor suggests they try to restore her confidence by building up her ego.  George tells them that whatever Liz does, they should ‘lay it on thick’.  

MR. ATTERBURY (gushing): “Liz!  Dream girl!” 

Earlier, George also called Liz ‘Dream Girl’.  In 1947, just prior to starting “My Favorite Husband,” Lucille Ball starred in a revival tour of the Edgar Rice play Dream Girl.  

Everything Liz says or does, the others break out in laughter and compliments.  Liz is emboldened by their enthusiasm and keeps telling story after story - until the entire room is nodding off from boredom and it is 2:30 in the morning. 

Liz finally tells them to give it up - she heard George on the telephone with the psychiatrist and she’s been on to their scheme the whole time.  Why did she let them go on for so long?

LIZ: “Because this is the first time in my life I’ve gotten to be the center of attention for the whole evening and I liked it.”

End of Episode

[akiharashizuka]

Yu-Gi-Oh Vrains episode 28 thoughts

Final Commander of the Three Knights

Ok, it seems I misunderstood something last week. I really thought that when Ai disappeared with Yūsaku’s duel disk, it was, at the same time, confirmed that he sent the card data to Shima. However, this wasn’t the case. Ai only admitted that he and Roboppy did some modifications to the duel disk and made use of the stolen data to find Shima. For me it was enough to conclude that Ai was the culprit. And this episode brings more evidence, but we’ll get to that.

First off, Shima’s reaction to finding out that Playmaker didn’t send him the card was just on point. But I liked how long it took him to finally say it. I admit that at first I was a bit annoyed, but it wouldn’t have been as funny if he didn’t take his time xD 

Link Vrains is reminding me of an MMORPG more and more, with this equip item. I wonder if anyone can use it, or Shima had to spend some good money on it.

As for the duel...the moment I saw that Faust is using Insects, I kind of lost interest. That’s just not my cup of tea. There are some exceptions (like the Naturia Monsters), but it’s not the case here.

That’s some reckless driving there. Luckily, the street was empty, but Yūsaku is in the back of the truck...without a safe-belt. Guess it’s a good thing that while being in Link Vrains, you can’t feel or hear anything from the outside world.

It might not be very important, but Kusanagi seems very willing to rescue Shima. Even though he doesn’t know him. He might have heard about him from Yūsaku and Ai, but that’s it. I’m guessing it’s because his brother was kidnapped and ended up traumatized by that, Kusanagi doesn’t want anyone else to go through that. Including Shima who was just kidnapped and kind of turned into an Another.

That looks creepy.

I may not be a huge fan of the deck theme, but I like how it works: turning opponent’s monsters into a certain type and powering up by the amount of Monsters of said type on the field. I’ve seen cards that do similar stuff, but not as effective as this.

That reaches a new level of terrifying, at least for me. Imagine just being surrounded by so many bugs in real life.

On another note, this part kind of reminded me of Shinji from Arc-V and his Bee deck.

Throughout this duel, it seemed like Faust was very eager to win. He was simply focused and used powerful strategies one after another. Part of it was for his fallen comrades. Another reason is related to this flashback.

If I recall correctly, the data from SOL stated that Kogami worked alone, but it looks like this wasn’t the case. Why Baira and Faust weren’t mentioned might be because Kogami chose to take all the blame himself. This is just a guess though, with no basis, for now. 

It’s clear that neither of the two were very comfortable with what they were doing. They only showed Yūsaku, but they were actually watching other 5 children suffer like that, so it’s definitely a horrible sight. Kogami is stone-faced, for some reason, so I can’t really guess what he’s thinking. Maybe that’s just how he is, not showing his emotions.

Faust also confirmed that the Lost incident is what lead to the creation of the Ignis, something that a lot of people (including me) were speculating xD

The scene with Playmaker obtaining the card from the Data Gale was fantastic. I think it looked way better than the usual Data Storm. must be because of the colors.

Speaking of which, Powercode Talker has my favorite design out of all Code Talkers. And that shade of red is part of the reason why I like it so much. I think it looks very good. Also, how fitting to fight insects with fire (since it’s a Fire Attribute) xD 

So, only a water and an earth Code Talker are missing to have a complete set.

Ai is getting even more suspicious. Aside from sending the data to Shima and changing the subject whenever it is brought up, he was quick to interrupt Faust when trying to warn Playmaker. And I truly believe that he had something important to say. Something that Ai knows and doesn’t want Playmaker to fond out, for a reason or another.

Hmm, well Yu-Gi-Oh had introduced a goofy character before that later turned out to be an important villain (Vector), so it could be a possibility that Ai is evil.

I still find it funny how different their interaction is compared to real life just because Shima doesn’t know that Playmaker is Yūsaku xD I mean, it’s still the same person and doesn’t act any differently, but Shima still gets annoyed by Yūsaku, but shows so much admiration for Playmaker xD 

Well, this time Playmaker encouraged him, so it’s justified.

How come Shima doesn’t question why Yūsaku came to rescue him. Or, better said, how. Because that match wasn’t broadcasted, there was no one around to hear him and not even Shima himself didn’t know where he was. I’m not really sure about this, but I believe Yūsaku said that he doesn’t access Link Vrains. Or that’s what Shima believes. Anyway, with that or not, it’s still curious how Yūsaku found him.

I think he must have realized as well, since he awkwardly answers “No” when Shima asks him if he came to save him xD

We also find out that Faust planned to release Shima as soon as the duel was over, no matter the outcome. There’s also that moment from earlier, when he thinks about what was Faust trying to say. Moreover, he is starting to figure out that Ai sent the data to Shima. Or, at least suspect him. Adding what he had found about Baira from the previous episodes, I like where this is going. 

I left the scene with Revolver walking out of the room with the coffins because of this. That scene indicates that he will most likely make a move soon.

And now, we have this mysterious person taking the hidden camera in Baira’s apartment and checking what it has recorded. I think this is Revolver because, if you look at his hand, there’s the triangle mark we saw on Revolver’s hand. Didn’t notice that the first time I watched the episode, but when I was re-watching it to take screenshots, it stood out. Other guesses were Specter (cause silver hair), or a new character, but that mark hints towards Revolver.

Next episode will be another recap most likely...Just when my schedule was getting free...I’m really not a fan of having a recap every 8 episodes (if I counted correctly) because it’s way too soon. At least they add some new stuff in these episodes, and some build-up to what’s coming next.

[daleisgreat]

G1/RoH Supercard (of Honor XIII)

Welcome to my annual Ring of Honor (RoH) blog for their annual Supercard of Honor show. 2019 was a wild year for RoH. They started the year losing access to Matt and Nick Jackson, Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega and all three members of SCU (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky) as they all departed after their contracts expired at the end of the 2018 to help launch All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Before that it was known that those seven wrestlers would be leaving, RoH collaborated with New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) to announce a special live PPV they would be airing on WrestleMania weekend: G1 Supercard. G1 is a recurring PPV special for NJPW, and I am presuming Supercard is short for the Supercard of Honor PPV special that usually transpires during WrestleMania weekend which is why I am covering this PPV and treating it as Supercard of Honor XIII. There is another big reason I wanted to cover this show…. That is because this joint venture between NJPW and RoH emanated from the ‘World’s Most Popular Arena’ Madison Square Garden. This was a shocking announcement because going back several decades WWE had the exclusive rights to MSG and the last other promotion that ran a show in MSG was back in 1960! WWE tried pressuring MSG and briefly got them to remove the show from their schedule….that was until the owners of RoH, Sinclair Broadcasting, called up WWE and informed them they own roughly half the FOX TV affiliate stations that would be starting to air SmackDown on FOX within several months and have control of what time to air WWE’s new flagship show and that was reason enough for Vince McMahon to back off and G1 Supercard wound up running as scheduled during the 2019 WrestleMania weekend from MSG.

NJPW and RoH have been lending talent to each other for years, but this is one of the first times they evenly split a card 50/50 for each promotion’s matches. When the tickets originally went on sale, it was shortly before the much hyped independent All In PPV put on by most of the Elite (at that time consisting of Cody, Omega, Young Bucks, Marty Scurll and Adam Paige) that RoH lent a lot of their talent for. The show wound up being a huge success and all the buzz for All In presumably was the catalyst for G1 Supercard selling out in under a day of tickets officially going on sale. By the time the G1 Supercard rolled around all of the Elite, save for Marty Scurll, departed RoH a few months earlier leaving a huge void of headline guys for RoH. The NJPW half of the card delivered with exciting match-ups, while the RoH half stuck out with a lack of top level talent. The PPV had two pre-show matches that are included as bonuses on the DVD. The first match saw Jenny Rose & Oedo Tai overcoming the handicap match odds and defeating Hung Kimura, Sumie Sakai and Stella Grey when Tai got the pin with a 450 in a bout that saw a lot of nonstop energy to get the crowd rolling. G1 Supercard will be the first PPV I can remember that had a 30 person Rumble match in a pre-show they billed as the ‘Honor Rumble.’ It was also the longest pre-show match I can recall at 49 minutes. Entrances were sped up at approximately 30 second intervals to keep up the tempo which made it enticing to see who would walk out next. Both RoH and NJPW stars competed and I only recognized roughly half of the competitors, but it was fun learning some new faces. Colt Cabana was on commentary for the night but took a breather to compete in the Rumble when Yano invited him to take his spot. Other faces I recognized were Justin Gabriel now going by PJ Black, Beer City Bruiser, Delirious, Kenny King, Cheeseburger and a trio of Asian wrestling legends in Haku, Great Muta and Jushin Thunder Liger.

I do not care how aged Haku is because he still looks like one of the baddest guys on the planet I would not want to mess with. I have no idea how active Muta is, but he was not at all agile and seemed very careful with his movements. Liger could still go, but he was in the midst of his retirement year tour and it was apparent his best days were behind him. The end of the Rumble saw it looking like it would come down to Liger and Muta, but then Kenny King pulled the ‘ol hide under the ring trick card and emerged to toss Liger and Muta out to win it all. That was a fun crazy Rumble with the frequent entrances and it brought back memories of that bonkers Rumble match on a 2000 episode of Thunder with all kinds of unique entrants that were AWOL in that time of uncertainty for WCW and also marked the last appearance of Macho Man in WCW. The start of the actual PPV saw a ‘winner takes all’ match with two titles on the line in RoH’s TV Title and NJPW’s Never Openweight Title. Jeff Cobb beat Will Ospreay here to walk away with both belts in a bout that did not fail to deliver a ton of insane spots. Dalton Castle was the RoH champ on a previous SoH PPV I covered here, but now his stock has dwindled as he lost to Rush in 15 seconds here after three straight Shotgun Dropkicks. After Castle collected himself, he turned and obliterated his eccentric seconds, The Boys. The RoH Women’s Title was on the line next and saw Kelly Klein beat Iwatoni with an Airplane Spin slam in a decent bout. I had no idea TNA/Impact Wrestling’s The Beautiful People were still a hot commodity after their countless stop-n-go runs in that promotion, but when Velvet Skye and Angelina Love walked out after the match and attacked Klein the announcers put it over as the biggest thing ever to happen to their women’s division.

DJ/Hip Hop artist Mega Ran came out for a musical performance next, the song is a decent catchy beat for the DVD menus too which is a nice relief from the generic basement-rock that dominates most other RoH releases. Anywho, Bully Ray interrupted and harassed Mega Ran and laid out an open challenge that turned into a six-man tag with Bully Ray, Silas Young and Shane Taylor taking on Flip Gordon, Juice Robinson and Mark Haskins. This was a surprisingly a fun weapons brawl with lots of creative spots. The finish saw Ray fall victim to the Wassup Headbutt and the Gordon hitting the 450 for the win. The IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title was on the line next in a triple threat between Bandido, Dragon Lee and Taiji. In a bout that I will remember as having a sick tower spot, it saw Bandido capture the gold after hitting a variant of a driver-pin combination. Another winner takes all titles match transpired next for both the RoH and NJPW tag team titles in a four way between The Briscoes, Guerillas of Destiny, Evil & Sanada and Brody King & PCO. RoH contributed some production dollars for PCO’s electric (literally) entrance that saw him get the Frankenstein electric chair treatment in a thrilling visual. Speaking of production dollars, this is easily the best looking RoH show I have ever seen, especially compared to the first couple of SoH shows I covered here. The Guerillas of Destiny walked out with all the tag gold when they hit their double powerbomb finisher on Brody for the victory. RoH caught a lot of heat for running a ‘worked shoot’ segment after the match ended with the wrestlers formerly known as Big Cass & Enzo running out and attacking the Briscoes after the match before they got escorted out, but RoH never officially acknowledged it on camera and after all the negative reception it got did not request feature services from Cass & Enzo so I will link to this fan footage of the run-in instead.

A third promotion contributed a match to G1 Supercard with Revolution Pro having their British Heavyweight Title on the card with Hiroshi Tanahoshi challenging Zack Sabre Jr. for the championship. I only remember Zack’s excellent work in the Cruiserweight Classic from a few years back so it was great seeing him again, doubly so since he was accompanied by another old favorite of mine I have not seen in over a decade in TAKA Michinoku. This bout saw a heavy emphasis on heavy duty technical and submission wrestling which was a breather from the spotfests that dominated the rest of the card. I want to re-emphasize ‘heavy duty’ because both Tanahoshi and Sabre did a superb job at conveying how much they laid into each other with a sick submission Sabre Jr. kept amplifying in unbelievable ways that I cannot even describe until Tanahoshi convincingly tapped out. Thinking about this now I would rank this as my favorite match from the night! The tenth contest of the night saw the IWGP Intercontinental Title on the line between Naito and Kota Ibushi. I recognize both guys from the handful of NJPW Kenny Omega matches I tracked down after hearing a ton of buzz for and also recognize Ibushi from his Cruiserweight Classic run too. This match delivered, and had a great NJPW produced video package too. Both guys delivered a lot of intense neck and head spots, and Ibushi wound up winning after a rising knee strike in another match that was close to my favorite for the night. The RoH World Title was on the line next in a triple threat ‘Ladder War’ between Marty Scurll, Matt Taven and Jay Lethal. Lethal was hyped going into this as having the title the most number of days compared to all other previous champions….but I could never buy into him as a top level guy, and I recall despising Matt Taven on previous RoH shows and Scurll I have bad memories of his match against Castle last year where he spent eons trying to find a weapon under the ring so I did not have a vested interest in the bout. It was a solid match with a few unique spots and saw Taven winning the title after fighting off Lethal in the end, but I felt rather ho-hum coming out of this, and apparently so did the crowd watching their tepid reaction to Taven’s title win.

The headlining main event saw Jay White defend his IWGP Title against Kazuchika Okada. I love how NJPW produces their video packages, and this one got me amped up going into the main event. The duo told a great story, and White’s manager, Gedo found clever ways to get involved. I recognize Okada from another Omega match I saw that I believe went to a time limit draw, and this match also went on a while going just over a half hour before White fell victim to the RAIIIIIIN-MAKERRRRR Lariat with Okada capturing the IWGP Title. I saw online reception noting the weak RoH half of the show, and compared to the New Japan offerings, they definitely were a couple notches below, but RoH still had a couple of really good matches like the TV Title and bout and Bully Ray’s open challenge was the perfect refresher for this long of a card. I will give big ups for the Honor Rumble, Tag Titles and IWGP Title matches, but my two favorites that blew everything else away on here was the Zack Sabre/Tanahoshi and Naito/Ibushi matches. More than anything I came out of the G1 Supercard wanting to get more into NJPW, but with so much other wrestling out there to keep up with, I will probably only be picking and watching the occasional match or two a year that generates a ton of buzz. Collectively, I will give G1 Supercard a strong thumbs up and recommend to track down, especially seeing both promotions operate in a big time atmosphere like Madison Square Garden made the event truly special and standout like few other cards from RoH history. Past Wrestling Blogs Best of WCW Clash of Champions Best of WCW Monday Nitro Volume 2 Best of WCW Monday Nitro Volume 3 Biggest Knuckleheads Bobby The Brain Heenan Daniel Bryan: Just Say Yes Yes Yes DDP: Positively Living Dusty Rhodes WWE Network Specials ECW Unreleased: Vol 1 ECW Unreleased: Vol 2 ECW Unreleased: Vol 3 Eric Bishoff: Wrestlings Most Controversial Figure Fight Owens Fight: The Kevin Owens Story For All Mankind Goldberg: The Ultimate Collection Hulk Hogans Unreleased Collectors Series Impact Wresting Presents: Best of Hulk Hogan Its Good to Be the King: The Jerry Lawler Story The Kliq Rules Ladies and Gentlemen My Name is Paul Heyman Legends of Mid South Wrestling Macho Man: The Randy Savage Story Memphis Heat NXT: From Secret to Sensation NXT Greatest Matches Vol 1 OMG Vol 2: Top 50 Incidents in WCW History OMG Vol 3: Top 50 Incidents in ECW History Owen: Hart of Gold RoH Supercard of Honor 2010-Present ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery Scott Hall: Living on a Razors Edge Shawn Michaels: My Journey Sting: Into the Light Straight Outta Dudley-ville: Legacy of the Dudley Boyz Straight to the Top: Money in the Bank Anthology Superstar Collection: Zach Ryder Then Now Forever – The Evolution of WWEs Womens Division TLC 2017 TNA Lockdown 2005-2016 Top 50 Superstars of All Time Tough Enough: Million Dollar Season True Giants Ultimate Fan Pack: Roman Reigns Ultimate Warrior: Always Believe War Games: WCWs Most Notorious Matches Warrior Week on WWE Network Wrestlemania 3: Championship Edition Wrestlemania 28-Present The Wrestler (2008) Wrestling Road Diaries Too Wrestling Road Diaries Three: Funny Equals Money Wrestlings Greatest Factions WWE Network Original Specials First Half 2015 WWE Network Original Specials Second Half 2015 WWE Network Original Specials First Half 2016 WWE Network Original Specials Second Half 2016 WWE Network Original Specials First Half 2017

[briangroth27]

iZombie Season 3 Review

Full spoilers...

iZombie's third season started off with a personal game-changer after Clive (Malcolm Goodwin) learned Liv (Rose McIver) and Major (Robert Buckley) were zombies. I thought that would be the extent of this year's changes, but I was way off. I liked that the season premiere somewhat functioned as a recap/primer for the show after such a long hiatus, but it was great to get back into the cases (and brains) of the week by episode 2. I enjoyed all the episodes, but I especially loved the twist resolutions to the mysteries in “Wag the Tongue Slowly” and “Eat, Pray, Liv.” I liked that Liv, Clive, Ravi, and Peyton all got to investigate the main plot from different angles over the course of the season, even though they didn’t initially know it. It felt a little like Liv was excluded from big portions of the main arc for a lot of the season because of her need to be tied to the cases of the week, but this balanced the leads’ involvement in the run-up to Discovery Day. The threads that led to the public reveal of zombies were really well-developed and came together perfectly. I’d heard the season finale would “reboot” the series, but man…I didn’t expect this! I loved that the writers were willing to be so daring as to change everything by outing zombies to the world and even making Seattle a zombie-run city. There’s no going back now, and the show will be healthier for it.

Liv Moore As always, McIver gave an acting tour de force. Her ability to incorporate different character traits from the brains she eats into her baseline Liv personality is outstanding and it’s a shame she hasn’t gotten more awards recognition for this role. If they ever recast Rogue in the X-men films, they should absolutely ask McIver. The gossip, father, and dungeon master brains were among my favorites this year, but the pre-school teacher brain was easily an all-time top five brain: that was hilarious and included many of my favorite comedic Liv moments of the whole series!

I liked that the brains didn’t always give helpful visions—a fun twist to the show’s formula—or made Liv forgetful: I was really worried the scatterbrain causing Liv to constantly forget to get the materials Ravi needed would make Major’s rapidly deteriorating condition even worse. If it did have an effect it wasn’t commented on, but I loved that they explored the negative effects of brains. Liv getting visions of having sex with Ravi (Rahul Kohli) thanks to eating the brain of his dead ex Katty Kupps (Christina Cox) was super awkward. Drake’s (Greg Finley) ghost appearing thanks to the Weckler (Gordon Woolvett) brain was a fun way to interrupt her relationship with Justin (Tongayi Chirisa), dig into her psyche, and force her to confront the dangling emotional threads from Drake’s death. I liked that Liv and Justin’s first date included eating the brain of a daredevil (Robert Ri’chard): that was a sweet and fun zombie twist on couple bonding. The brains made things even worse for Liv’s personal life as, just as she’d gotten a taste of a normal relationship with Justin, she cheated on him with Chase Graves (Jason Dohring) thanks to Kupps’ brain. I liked that it wasn’t black-and-white that she cheated on Justin due to the brains’ influence on her and thought that was an interesting development. With so much else going on at the end of the season, I understand why this didn’t get a bigger moment, but I wanted to see them at least try to work through this fact of their zombie existence. I liked Justin, but once he called the guards at the Fillmore-Graves packing facility on Liv, I lost all interest in them salvaging that relationship.

Even though Ravi invented a cure that worked, I didn’t think Liv would take it—the show would be over—but I was intrigued to see if they could make an arc out of a temporarily-cured Liv. I’d still like to see that someday, particularly in the zombie-run Seattle. It could be a cool way to make her the underdog again, though Major’s already done the “human pretending to be a zombie” arc this year. I absolutely loved that Liv and Ravi shared the last scene of the season; her agreeing to scratch him to test his zombie vaccine was perfect, touching, and funny! Their platonic “I love yous” were great; their friendship is one of the best parts of the show and I’m glad it’s been so prominent over the years.

I liked Liv’s development over the course of the season and enjoyed her getting to have a normal relationship after Drake last year. It’s great that the show has allowed her to truly be friends with Major, even under the influence of a paranoid brain: it’s healthy to show that exes can be friends if they respect each other. With Clive in on the secret, it was awesome to see her finally able to be open and honest with all the people closest to her. Liv’s begrudging alliance with Blaine (David Anders) to keep zombies under wraps was also a fun development of their antagonistic relationship. I hope next season puts Liv into a leadership position as one of the veteran zombies in town: she deserves a chance to not have to hide herself anymore and she has the experience to be a leader in the zombie community. Liv being out about her zombie status would create the perfect opportunity to bring her mom (Molly Hagan) and brother (Nick Purcha) back for more family drama. Liv coaching Johnny Frost (Daran Norris) through the announcement that many of Seattle’s residents had been turned into zombies was a great moment and I hope that trajectory continues. On a side note, that scene was the most serious I’ve ever seen Norris act and he absolutely nailed the weight of the situation; that was simply stellar. The comparison of becoming a zombie to a person contracting a disease—that those people are still your friends and loved ones—harked back to the beginning of the show, where Liv was essentially a woman who used her illness to help others after it derailed her life plan. I’ve always loved that metaphor, and Liv taking that experience and becoming a guide to the city’s new zombie population would be a powerful way to elaborate on it. 

Ravi Chakrabarti My least favorite part of Season 2 was the Ravi-Peyton-Blaine triangle (I wished both Ravi and Peyton (Aly Michalka) had more of their own subplots than this), so I wasn't super happy it continued into Season 3. Ravi came off as very unlikable in “Eat, Pray, Liv,” and I was hoping the love triangle would be resolved before he got worse. So, I was glad it ended relatively early on. I don’t mind that he made mistakes with Peyton, but I definitely wasn’t on his side here; even if Blaine was faking, Peyton was right to admonish Ravi about constantly trying to say he was bad and derail that relationship. It wasn’t a good look on Ravi, but nothing says characters always have to be perfect and it didn’t ruin his character for me. I was just hoping that plot would end sooner rather than later, and that he’d get some perspective and growth out of it.   

On the other hand, I loved Ravi's undercover work with the militant zombie truthers once Liv couldn’t safely infiltrate them! Getting him out of the lab and into the field—and into danger—was great and I loved seeing him interact with the truthers. That group felt like a smart parallel to real-life hate groups and Don E (Bryce Hodgson) getting captured by Harley Johns (Andrew Caldwell) and nearly broadcast online as a full Romero zombie was a great climax to the arc! The arc also introduced Rachel (Ella Cannon) to the show and I didn’t see her using Ravi to out zombies to the world at all! I wanted to like her and was sorry she was just in it for the story. Kohli was great at playing the spy and feeling the sting of betrayal after Rachel’s true intentions were revealed, but his scenes with Major, about to lose his memory after taking the cure, were some of his finest work on the show to date.

I was hoping they’d expand on Ravi’s expertise in zombie science beyond his experiments with the cure, so developing a zombie vaccine after offering it up as part of his truther cover was a great angle and I hope it leads to him being something of a zombie doctor next year. With Major getting a big role with Fillmore-Graves, I was hoping Ravi would get something similar in a bigger lab, so perhaps zombies becoming public knowledge and him being the preeminent zombie expert will lend itself to that. It’d change the CSI dynamic of the show, but maybe it’s time for Liv to take over the M.E. lab and move Ravi up the science food chain somehow. Perhaps he could lead a Seattle branch of the CDC specializing in zombie affairs. Experimenting with the memory serum and the creation of the blue brain juice was a fun way to change up the visions as well. It was cool to finally see Liv’s vision expression and the affect it had on zombie visions was a great way to play with the concept. I’d love to see more of this sort of experimental zombie science next season and I’m sure that Ravi’s zombie vaccine is going to be a huge part of that. I think it will work…but maybe not the way he’s expecting. While it would be really cool to have a zombie-“Hulk” Ravi, I think the vaccine will fail to turn zombies back into people, but will permanently vaccinate people from becoming new zombies. That will create a massive problem for Chase’s zombie paradise, creating a divide between the living and the undead “species.”

Clive Babineaux I loved Clive getting in on Liv’s secret this season and his reactions to her eating brains—and knowing how they affected her—were gold. I’m sure it was a blast for Goodwin to finally get to play reactions to what was really happening with Liv’s wildly shifting personality and he did an excellent job with that development. Moments like Liv, Clive, Ravi, Major, and Peyton playing Dungeons & Dragons were a lot of fun and couldn’t have happened as purely even last year. Clive’s germophobia was another fun running gag and I liked how it rolled into his reaction to the city-wide vaccinations that triggered the zombie outbreak. The Clive arc I liked the most was his quest to avenge the deaths of Wally Tuttle-Reid (Mataeo Mingo), his mom (Caitlin Stryker), and his uncle (Michasha Armstrong); the show did an excellent job of making me care about them and Clive’s connection to them using flashbacks in just one episode. Wally and his mom were very likable and well-established, and I’m sorry we (and Clive) didn’t get to spend more time with them. I was impressed by how well all the actors involved in those scenes made me care for them. I also loved that exploring detrimental brains, like Liv’s scatterbrain experience, allowed Clive to showcase his detective skills and solve the case of the week on his own. While I wasn’t a fan of the resolution to the case that brought Dale Bozzio (Jessica Harmon) back into Clive’s life—the Russian hacking seemed too far outside this show’s realm of criminal activity—I liked that they got back together. It’ll be great to explore a serious relationship between a human and a zombie; whether Clive and Bozzio can make it work should be very interesting (and a relevant parallel to real-life couples in which one partner has an incurable illness). They seem happy, but for how long? Is he going to be able to stand by her? Will his germophobia get in the way, or is this a way through it for him? Will he get infected accidentally? How would that change his dynamic with Liv? And will his role as a cop bring him into closer concert with Fillmore-Graves now that they essentially run the city?

Major Lilywhite Robert Buckley only got to play one Brain this season, but it was a great one! Liv and Major on dad and teenage daughter brains, respectively, was an awesome change to their dynamic, bolstered by hilarious performances by both actors! Not only was it good to see Major affected by a brain, but I liked that he didn't enjoy getting visions: it gave us some nice variety in zombie reactions to needing to eat brains. Major finding a place to belong with Fillmore-Graves was a cool arc and a nice rebound after the Chaos Killer plot. I really liked that he found a true brotherhood there: even after his status as a cured zombie was revealed and he was forced out, the friends he’d made still truly cared about him. The cure/memory loss portion of Major’s arc was particularly sad and showcased some of Buckley’s (and McIver and Kohli’s) finest acting on the show to date. I loved his trip back home to see his parents, his final night with Liv, and Ravi’s aborted speech. I was interested to see what reboot Major would be like, but I preferred the happier twist that he ended up OK. I was also expecting a downside to the cure, but I suppose he’d suffered enough just waiting to take it and thinking he was going to lose himself completely. I liked that he and Liv spent the night together before he took it and I thought he definitely still felt something for her, so I was surprised he was so cool about her dating Justin (and that things weren’t weirder between the guys). I know Major and Liv weren’t able to be together again since he’d been cured, but they’d also just slept together and neither one of them really got a moment to process their moving on so quickly. I suppose that goes back to the two of them genuinely supporting each other in their relationships, but I wish we’d seen them have a conversation about it. His rebound relationship with Shawna (Sarah Jurgens) was a smart way to remind us of just how alone the Chaos Killer made him; I liked that she crystalized the isolation of his life, both by initially presenting as being attracted to him for his notoriety and then by further ostracizing him by cashing in on it. In fact, his isolation worked so well that, along with being booted out of Fillmore-Graves, I would’ve been content with Major and Natalie (Brooke Lyons) leaving town together. I liked her and their relationship, and this felt like a natural point for him to depart the series. Her death (and the explosion in general) was unexpected, but I thought it was a waste to kill her and the rest of Major’s friends rather than an unavoidable tragedy (and it was odd Liv and Co. were waiting at Ravi’s house watching the news instead of being at the explosion site, searching for Major and Justin’s bodies). However, Major choosing to turn back into a zombie because he had nowhere else to go was a great, sad moment. It’s also an interesting parallel to Vivian Stoll (Andrea Savage) scratching herself to stay by her husband’s side. I’m sure the season’s closing moments—Major and Justin preparing to open fire on a group of anti-zombie humans attacking a brain transport—are going to propel his character into a completely new direction next year. I can’t wait to see if he’ll regret siding with the zombies or if the humans’ actions will convince him he’s on the right side!

Peyton Charles I liked that Peyton was firm with Ravi’s inability to accept her past with Blaine. However, I didn't think Peyton needed to apologize to Ravi when the truth about Blaine’s amnesia came out; even though he was right about Blaine, she didn’t have anything to apologize for. I'd like her to get back to being Liv's best friend in the coming year; though Liv helped her by eating Weckler's brain, there wasn't much chance for them to hang out and it would've helped to center Liv in a bit of normality. Like Ravi, I’m glad Peyton got a meatier subplot this season. The Weckler case felt awkwardly abrupt in its initial episode, so I liked that it was designed that way and Peyton spent a good deal of time pulling at that thread. Getting to see her as a lawyer—and eventually bringing her into Baracus' (Kurt Evans) mayoral circle as his Chief of Staff—were great uses of her role and development of her career. I can't wait to see how that thread continues next season as she helps keep the peace in Seattle. It seems like she’s set up for the most involved plotline of her time on the show now that she’s at the center of the zombie government and I can’t wait to see Michalka play with that!

Blaine DeBeers I liked memory-loss Blaine and wouldn't have minded if he'd stuck around in that form. While at first I thought he was probably lying, the show (and Anders) convinced me he’d truly lost his memory before long (I was sure the memory loss was real up until he took Ravi’s memory booster). I definitely bought his reluctance to try that serum for fear of reverting back into the criminal he’d heard he was, and I was sorry he’d lied for most of the season. I’m not sure I believe him about his feelings for Peyton or the chance to reshape his life being real, but if they choose to explore that to some extent next year, I’d be on board. Making Blaine a lounge singer of all things was an unexpected development, but I liked it. Maybe next season he should open a piano bar (with ample room for dancing, given the zombie flash mob!) called Dead Beats.

I was interested to see where Blaine’s antagonistic relationship with his father Angus McDonough (Robert Knepper) would go, but unfortunately I thought it fell a little flat. Angus initially seemed more intimidating than Mr. Boss (Eddie Jemison), but he eventually came off as sorta one-note. Plot-wise, Angus seemed to plateau with the establishment of the Scratching Post zombie speakeasy (a cool bit of world-building) and I’m surprised he wasn’t a bigger deal for the rest of the characters. I guess I expected more complexity and evil scheming out of him (having Blaine shot notwithstanding), but locking him in a well and periodically giving him chunks of brain was a great, twisted moment of revenge on Blaine’s part. I also expected more from Boss’ return, but his new position as Blaine’s international broker for brains should be fun, if the Discovery Day events haven’t rendered this plotline inert. I guess Seattle will still need brains, though, and it’ll be great to see the Blaine/Boss relationship inverted. I’m definitely interested to see where Blaine goes in this new world order!

Fillmore-Graves First of all, what an awesome name! This show and its puns have been consistently fantastic, and this is no exception. I loved that they provided another twist on the brain mythology with their brain-blends that didn’t produce side-effects; that was a clever evolution of zombie food. I thought we could’ve spent some more time with original FG head Vivian Stoll, but I liked what we got of her. I did think that both she and Chase should’ve had a bigger response to learning there was a zombie cure, though, given it could either eradicate their “species” or solve their problems completely, depending on how they looked at it. It makes me wonder if Fillmore-Graves operatives stole it from Ravi: their non-response to Major suddenly being human again would make sense if they knew a cure wouldn’t be an issue for long. I don’t think they want to be human again.

I knew Fillmore-Graves was behind the deaths of Wally’s family and Katty Kupps the whole time (minus a brief, last-minute thought the Weckler murders could actually be Baracus), but I didn’t suspect Carey Gold (Anjali Jay)! I wish we’d known her better, but Baracus just trying to cover his indiscretions would’ve been underwhelming and Chase Graves would’ve been too obvious. I liked the twist that Chase—who I was absolutely prepared to hate, since Dorhing seemed to be doing something similar to his slimy Logan Echolls from Veronica Mars—was a cad, but was also truly trying to create human/zombie peace and essentially got forced into following through with Gold’s plan since it was so popular among the F-G zombies. Initially I thought Fillmore-Graves was staging zombie murders to justify the existence of its military force, but I didn’t see Discovery Day being the endgame. I thought the Weckler case plot would lead to Fillmore-Graves blackmailing/controlling public officials, not to them turning nearly everyone into zombies. The flu outbreak was definitely an unexpected plot point on the road to Discovery Day, but it was a genius Trojan Horse move. Chase’s plan to supply Seattle with brains is ambitions, but I wonder how long it’ll last. Will he be forced to turn to illegal channels like Blaine, or will he be in conflict with those “unofficial” sources of brains? Will the rest of the nation continue to agree to let Seattle be a zombie city, or are we looking at a war here? How big could that get?

  This was a great season! I'm excited that we're fully into a post-zombie world and can’t wait to see what it brings. The long wait for Season 4 is going to be rough! 

[dramyhsturgis]

Halloween Countdown 2017,  Day 18

Now it's list time! Here are my picks for the spooky podcasts you don't want to miss this Halloween.

In no particular order...

*  Welcome to Night Vale: It's TheNerdyBlogger's fault that I'm addicted to the Welcome to Night Vale podcast (and its wonderfully weird related books, as well). This is a twice-monthly podcast in the style of community updates for the small desert town of Night Vale, featuring local weather, news, announcements from the Sheriff's Secret Police, mysterious lights in the night sky, dark hooded figures with unknowable powers, an omnipotent Glow Cloud (All hail!), and cultural events. Think Lake Woebegone meets Stephen King. Just for kicks, I’m decorating this post with quotes from the podcast.

(Note: I also recommend checking out the other podcasts from Night Vale Presents, as well!)

* Astonishing Legends: This podcast's mission is to take a look at legendary, strange, and unusual events from history and interview people who’ve had close encounters with the unexplained. Hosts Scott and Forrest strive to bring you everything that’s entertaining about those stories and remind you that it’s okay to laugh at scary stories -- and, respectfully, even the people that tell them. That said, this is a serious and skeptical podcast. Put your headphones on, settle in for your commute, and get ready to experience a show like nothing you’ve ever heard before. I discovered this podcast while looking for more analyses of the Dyatlov Pass mystery, and I was hooked. My favorite series of episodes thus far focuses on the Somerton Man mystery. If you could have drinks with the Lone Gunmen, I'd expect the discussion would sound a bit like this podcast. (That's a compliment, if you were wondering.) Right now they’re covering the Bell Witch. (Too cool!) You remember the Bell Witch, right?

* The H.P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast: In each weekly podcast, Chris Lackey and Chad Fifer discuss a specific H.P. Lovecraft story – what it’s about, how it reads, why it may have been written and what other works of art it’s influenced. Since concluding Lovecraft’s stories, they’ve been covering other weird fiction that inspired the author, mostly those referenced in his essay "Supernatural Horror in Literature." They regularly have talented guest readers and contributing composers for their music sections. The majority of the Lovecraft episodes are free. Three of the four monthly episodes are now subscription-only, but they are well, well worth the modest cost. And October is for werewolves! * Saturday Frights: TheNerdyBlogger put this on my radar, and I'm grateful! Each week the co-hosts discussed a particular horror movie or horror-themed TV episode from the Retroist Vault for your listening enjoyment. Unfortunately, the show is no longer in production, but there are still 63 episodes in the archive that are well worth your time and guaranteed to put you in the Halloween mood. 

* Interference by Eric Luke: Another of my brilliant former graduate students, April, suggested this to me, and it's sublime. Don't miss this! The podiobook unfolds in twenty-four episodes, and then it's done. Described as "an experiment in audio horror" (oh yeah!), here's the tantalizing blurb: "SOMETHING wants in. To your head. Through this audiobook. Ethan, a digital sound engineer in Los Angeles, becomes aware that his life is unraveling when the audiobook he's listening to reveals his deepest, darkest secrets, escalating until the narrator addresses him directly, threatening to destroy him from within. Vivian, a single mother running an antique store in San Francisco, listens to her audiobook to distract herself from missing her young daughter, but is shaken when the narrative is interrupted by her daughter's voice, faintly calling for help. Ethan and Vivian are drawn together as they fight to solve a generation-spanning conspiracy that begins with a boy listening to the Orson Welles broadcast of War of the Worlds in 1938 and evolves through the latest innovations in digital technology..." I love how the individual weird tales link together into a spooky, intense, and deeply humane conclusion. * Rippercast: The Whitechapel Murders Podcast: This is a treat for those of you who are interested in the history of forensics, true crime, Victorian England/London, etc. A roundtable of author/academic presenters, co-hosts, and special guests discuss topics related to the Whitechapel Murders, Jack the Ripper, Victorian British history, true crime, and whatever else suits their fancy. Lately the podcast has been sharing the monthly scholarly talks recorded at the London meetings of the Whitechapel Society 1888 and at various international conferences focused on related themes, as well as the “10 Weeks in Whitechapel” series. If you want to hear the latest in research from those who literally wrote the books on their respective topics related to Jack the Ripper's times and context, you'll want to listen. * Kat & Curt's TV Re-View: This podcast began with brilliant bloggers Curtis Weyant and Katherine Sas introducing Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Doctor Who to each other, watching one episode of each per week, sharing fannish delight and critical analysis. Curt, a long-time Whedon devotee and scholar, introduced the show to Kat, and analytical Whovian Kat acquainted Curt with the Doctor. Now Angel and Battlestar Galactica have been added to the mix. Join Kat and Curt for a journey through time, space, and Sunnydale as they battle demons, aliens, and the inscrutable process of creating quality narrative television.

* Tales to Terrify: This weekly audio magazine is one of StarShipSofa's siblings in the District of Wonders. I'm terribly saddened to say that we lost our friend and comrade, author and host Larry Santoro ("the Vincent Price of podcasts!"). He is greatly missed. But the podcast continues to soldier (lurch? stagger? insert your scary verb here) on in his memory. It includes the best of contemporary horror fiction and nonfiction. It was my distinct honor to represent TTT last year at the Hugo Awards Ceremony, where it was a finalist for the Best Fancast Award. (In addition, have narrated three haunting stories for this podcast. Follow the links to hear my reading of “After the Ape” by Stephen Volk, my reading of “Jewels in the Dust” by Peter Crowther, and my reading of “Payback” by P.D. Cacek.)

* Lovecraft eZine Podcast: This is the podcast version of the wonderful and weekly live show produced by the incomparable Lovecraft eZine. Listen as stellar guests discuss cosmic horror, weird fiction, Lovecraftian horror, the Cthulhu Mythos, and related topics.

* Pseudopod: One of the oldest horror podcasts and still one of the very best, Pseudopod presents fine short horror in audio form weekly. Do not miss this podcast! * MonsterTalk: This is the science show about monsters — a free audio podcast that critically examines the science behind cryptozoological (and legendary) creatures, such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and werewolves. Hosted by Blake Smith and Dr. Karen Stollznow, MonsterTalk interviews the scientists and investigators who shine a spotlight on the things that go bump in the night. The episode airing dates average out to mean a new show once a month, sometimes more. (Thanks to ankh_hpl for introducing me to this great show.) * Classic Tales: Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, Wilkie Collins, Arthur Conan Doyle, Mary Shelley: what's not to love? This is a fantastic weekly podcast featuring B.J. Harrison's unabridged readings of great — and often haunting and Halloween-friendly — fiction. * Atlanta Radio Theatre Company: Founded in 1984, ARTC is a staple at venues such as Dragon*Con and has a standing program year-round, performing adaptations of works by authors such as H.P. Lovecraft and H.G. Wells live. ARTC podcasts its fantastic productions. * Skeptoid: This podcast shines the lights of logic and reason into the dark shadows. Each weekly episode focuses on a single phenomenon — an urban legend, a paranormal claim, etc. — that you may have heard of, and it explains the factual scientific reality. To put it another way, we the listeners are Fox Mulder, and Skeptoid kindly serves as our Dana Scully.

And here are some more recent lists for you!

* 13 Creepy Podcasts Just in Time for Halloween

* The Best Spooky Podcasts to Get You Ready for Halloween

* The Top 10 Scary Podcasts to Get You in a Spooky Mood

 Now it's your turn. What other spooky podcasts do you recommend?

[ladypjmoon]

BTS FF Reads for August

Greetings Readers!!!

Here’s my BTS FanFiction Recommendations for August!!!  

This is the last long-ish reading list for the summer as university terms begin later this month for the majority of the US.  I hope you all had a fantastic summer and were able to create happy memories with family, friends and maybe even a love interest!!!  

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01)   Title: Blow Me Like Your French Horn

Ship:  Jikook

Author:  by ohdizzy

Link:  http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/5742976 

Summary: In which Jimin undergoes a transformation from Cinnamon Roll to Sinnamon Roll and Jeongguk is a little too ompetitive, a little too tsundere, and a little bit too moony-eyed for his own good.  (A tale of red converses, sandpit wrestling, shitty best friends a little too obsessed with playing Cupid, emotional constipation, existential crises, and that one body roll Jimin does that makes Jeongguk re-evaluate his life)

“i see that you adore playing your loud ass trumpet at random moments in the middle of the night, well fyi i happen to be a master at the French horn so fuck u i challenge you to a brass off” AU

My Review: Wow, I adored this story—it’s packed with fun, mischief and mayhem...but the ‘feels’ are definitely here too!  Jungkook is emotionally constipated and entirely to competitive with his new neighbor and we follow their relationship from age 7 into college.  This has fantastic dialog and a healthy side of Taegi so enjoy!

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 02)   Title: don't be like a prey (smooth like a like a snake)

Ship:  Jikook

Author:  by sugacravings

Link:  http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/10749690

Summary:  “what do you mean, me?” jimin asks dubiously, blinking up at the village leaders. he sees taemin scrunch his eyebrows in worry, and minho grimaces.  “out of all the qualifying youths, hoseok is immediately a no,” kibum pipes up. “he’s scared of garden snakes. and tae...well, tae would just get lost.”  jimin tries to think of a way to defend his friends’ honour but comes up empty.  

(a red riding hood au except not the original plot and gay)

My Review: Here’s another Jikook story with a very loosely related Red Riding Hood, fairytale theme.  All the BTS members are in this one and it’s a solid plot, well written and quite funny in places.  There is implied smutt but it’s not graphic or pwp by any means.  

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 03)   Title: In The Same Boat

Ship:  Vmin

Author:  by pornographicpenguin

Link:  http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/11221653

Summary:  "You want to what?"

"Dock," Jimin says.

Taehyung blinks. "You mean like...with a boat?"

My Review: Holy fuck this is some fabulous shit!!! There’s a fuckton of sexual tension packed into these 9 pages and it’s not all smut—there’re some serious sparks and feels between these two...you literally taste it, lol!!!  You will fall in love with this story!!!          

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 04)   Title: just stay here (forever, if you want)

Ship:  Taegi

Author:  by Indigofingers

Link:  http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/8257759

Summary:  "My roommate is drunk and won't open the door, can I sleep here tonight?"  Or, Yoongi doesn't let people sleep in his room but can't turn Taehyung away. Invites him to stay, even.

My Review:  This Taegi story is your basic feel-good plot on crack.  I’m a sucker for anything Yoongi—but a soft, grumpy hyung is my personal favorite...and this story oozes Yoongi fluff so check it out!  

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 05)   Title:  Love Me Across The Universes

Ship:  Taekook | Vkook

Author:  by Kavbj

Link:  http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/7784662

Summary:  It starts and ends with Jungkook chasing after the boy he sees in glass windows and passing reflections.  It starts and ends with Taehyung.

My Review: This is a very powerful plot that will sneak up on you.  I found it enthralling—but I will warn you up front, the author did not wrap the ending up with a nice, neat little bow on top—so if you don’t like teary goodbyes, you’re having an emotional week or just a little short on sunshine...then you might want to pass on this one.  

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 06)   Title: Of Spiced Honey and Apples

Ship:  Yoonmin

Author:  by tinycloverspot

Link:  http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/7252357

Summary:  One month of separation across a seemingly infinite sea and Jimin was finally back in Yoongi's arms.  Jimin was finally back home.  Or: Jimin comes home and they have filthy sex yeah that's a better summary XD

My Review: And here’s a short Yoonmin story—straight up ABO smut.  Jimin is great as a sexy, possessive alpha—so grab some ice for your drink...it’s about to get a little hot!  

__________

 07)   Title: One Minute English

Ship:  Vmon

Author:  by rosiex

Link:  http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/9622331

Summary:  Sometimes you don't need words to understand each other.  Or: Namjoon goes to Seoul and meets a handsome stranger.  Just a very short fluffy piece inspired by the Rapmon 1 minute English lesson on the latest Vapp broadcast.

 My Review: Here’s a sweet little 5-pager that will absolutely melt your heart—this is full of fluff and feels with a picture-perfect ending too.  You will want to download this one and read it over and over again!!!

__________

 08)   Title: Boys who Talk Shit

Ship:  Yoonmin

Author:  by internetpistol

Link:  http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/6535498

Summary:  When Yoongi enrolled in BTS (aka Boys who Talk Shit) Boarding School, he wasn't really expecting to be the only 'straight' (to be read sarcastically) guy in a room of seven geniuses (aka children aged five to ten, honestly). Plus four pet spiders. Yes, plural.  Chaotic episodes in A Place of Love and War, where Yoongi learns all about True Love via Park Jimin, Music and Marriage. Sort of. Brain bleach and ear plugs are strongly recommended.

My Review:  An amazing story, well written and fantastic characters!  This story has humor, great dialog and plenty of action to keep you entertained—you’re gonna wish there was a sequel to this one, ngl!!!

__________

 09)   Title: Can't keep my hands to myself (no matter how hard I'm

trying to)

Ship: Taekook | Vkook

Author:  by sunshineandpixiedust

Link:  http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/6020827

Summary:  

6:00 | tae hyung

What are you wearing?

or: Taehyung and Jeongguk starts to sext as a game. Jeongguk will not lose.

My Review: Here’s a cute Taekook story that starts off with some sexting—but don’t worry, there’s huge helping of Taekook smut! Spoiler alert...this is a bottom Jungkook (yassss!)

__________

 10)   Title: Resonance

Ship:  Taekook | Vkook

Author:  by rix

Link:  http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/9538235

Summary:  Jungkook wonders if the fact that soul-focused battle techniques make people horny as hell is just something the professors politely ignore. Or maybe he's just weird.

My Review: This is a soul eater au so make sure you read the author’s notes if you’re not familiar with the au.  This story is lit—it’s got action, drama, romance and humor so enjoy it!

__________

 11)   Title: You're My Angel

Ship:  Sugakookie

Author:  by katesicle

Link:  http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/11426052

Summary:  Jungkook's tattoos don't mean anything in particular, except how Yoongi gets when he's frustrated, and needs to do something with his hands, or when Yoongi wants to practice a new design style, or how Jungkook keeps Yoongi with him during long months apart from each other. Okay, so the tattoos mean something. Jungkook's just not sure what.

My Review: Three pages of feels!  This is quick read and it’s seriously an awesome little story.

__________

 12)   Title: all of your sides are good

Ship:  Vmin

Author:  by knth

Link:  http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/5040898

Summary:  “I’m serious,” he whispers before slipping into slumber. “You have to do whatever I want. No ifs or buts about it.”  

It's Jimin's birthday and Taehyung has to do whatever he wants. (Or where Jimin doesn'tknow what he wants, is what Taehyung wants too.)

My Review:   Here’s a fantastic Vmin story for this month! This one has it all—heart and with the added benefit of smut between friends so it’s a definite winner for your summer love enjoyment!

__________

 13)   Title: kiss and cry

Ship:  Sugakookie | Yoonkook

Author:  by darling

Link:  http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/8632942

Summary:   it makes sense, perhaps, that yoongi's music only sounds right in the hands of someone

who loves it just as much as he does.

My Review: Thanks to darling I fell in love with Sugakookie and I don’t think anyone writes this ship more justice! This is a Yuri On Ice-themed story with a f*ckton of feels and mental imagery from one of the best writers out there...in my opinion—so give it a go and see what you think!

__________

 14)   Title: Soulmate? No, Thanks.

Ship:  Yoonmin

Author:  by Bookworming

Link:  http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/5891656

Summary:  

Min Yoongi has been waiting to have his first colour dream since he was 17 because a dream in colour is the dream of your soulmate, whoever they are. In a world where all humans have only black and white dreams the only colour dreams one gets are those of their soulmate, if they have one. Soulmates get each other's dreams in colour and can speak to them through those dreams, a privilege Yoongi has coveted for a long time.  Yoongi has also coveted his best friend Kim Seokjin for a long time but unfortunately for

Yoongi, Seokjin's soulmate loves sleeping and occupies his mind in a way Yoongi never does.  

Park Jimin made the worst mistake of his life by getting drunk and driving himself home one day before his 17th birthday. When he wakes up, things have changed drastically, the biggest change being the sexy voice that interrupted his first pleasant dream in a LONG time.

My Review: This is a beautiful story that starts out sad but don’t worry, there’s a happy ending!!!  It’s a soulmate au where both Jimin and Yoongi are in love with their best friend—both of whom find love (and soulmate) in other people over the course of the story.  The plot will make you cry, roll your eyes and cringe from second-hand embarrassment (mostly Yoongi) but it’ll leave you smiling in the end...I promise!!!        

__________

 15)   Title: The Angel In You

Ship:  Jikook

Author:  by bangtansunyeondan

Link:  http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/10476954

Summary:  “I’m his ex boyfriend who knows that you’re a piece of shit. If you ever speak to him like that again, i’ll fucking kill you.” The guy with chocolate brown hair spoke in a voice so low and threatening.  Jimin swallowed the lump in his throat. “We’re done, don’t try and contact me. I can’t stand your insults any longer. Goodbye.” Jimin walked off, feeling his face burn at all the

stares he was getting. ***

Jimin turned around, not realizing he was crying until the guy’s look softened and tried to wipe his tears away but Jimin pushed his hand away and sniffled. “Listen, thanks for defending me and all, but I don’t know who you are.”  The guy looked at him with a small frown. “I’m Jeon Jungkook, now you know me.”

or

very loosely based on ‘my current partner is a huge asshole and i need a reason to break up with them so will you pretend to be my possessive and violent ex’ au

My Review: Honestly, this story will leave you breathless from the feels!  Jungkook comes to Jimin’s rescue and he can’t help but fall in love with the younger boy. They decide to take things slow since Jimin just got out of an abusive relationship...but the chemistry between them makes this difficult.  There’s no smut but the makeout sessions are well written and get quite heated leaving the reader wanting more and although sexually frustrating...it’s a great read!!!

__________

 16)   Title: Hai Shi Shan Meng

Ship:  Taegi

Author:  by handintheshot

Link:  http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/11079393

Summary:  Yoongi soon realizes that what people love the most about witch burnings is the noise. There’s something about the wails of terror and pain that really rile the crowd up, because yes they deserve to die so painfully and slowly. They deserve their own slice of Hell on this earth. Yoongi deserves this piece of Hell.  As roars of pain rip from Taehyung’s throat, something animal laces with his guttural noises. Everyone can hear it, Yoongi is sure. It’s neither demonic nor angelic, just primal, and it strikes as much fear in the crowd as it does anger. All it strikes in Yoongi is ache.  And soon he cannot see the charring skin of his love, cannot hear the cries that sound like they belong in the heart of the jungle.  As the fire grows with blinding light, he hears those words whispered and flooded into his brain.  We’ll meet again, my love.

-OR Three instances in where Yoongi holds Taehyung's life in his hand, and the only thing Taehyung can tell Yoongi is "We'll meet again, my love."

My Review: This Taegi story is an incredibly interesting love story.  We follow the couple’s love story through two historical episodes which they’re both forced to remember in their present day lives.  This is a very unique and intriguing concept with a touch of smut that gives it some grit.  I really enjoyed this story so I’ll be checking out the author’s other fics as well.    

 __________

As always, let me know if you’ve read any great stories or have a favorite author—I’m more than willing to read (most) BTS suggestions...so, send me the link and I’ll check it out!!!

See you all next month and you can reach me at any of the following sites!  

AO3:  http://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyPJMoon#posting

AFF:  http://www.asianfanfics.com/profile/view/1282319

WP:  https://www.wattpad.com/user/LadyPJMoon

TMB:  https://ladypjmoon.tumblr.com/

TWT:  https://twitter.com/ladypjmoon

 ^___^  PJ

[jae-bummer]

My Idol: Part Eleven

My Idol From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

My Idol is a South Korean competitive reality dating game show. It currently airs on Wednesday nights on Jae-bummer’s blog. First broadcast in 2016, the show offers the opportunity for a lucky fan to go on seven blind dates with seven idols. The idol plans the date with the show throwing in specific missions to complete during the day. At the end of the initial dates, the show opens up an audience vote to decide what three idols will move on to the second date.

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 9 - Part 10 - Part 11 - Part 12 - Part 13 - Part 14 - Part 15 - Part 16 - Part 17 - Part 18 - Part 19 - Part 20 - Part 21 - Part 22

You had left Seunghyun slack jawed and confused, excusing yourself from the table and powering down flight after flight of steps. By the time you reached the sixth floor you were lightheaded and emotional, attempting to guide yourself through a veil of tears. As you continued down, your mind and your heart screamed, completely in a battle with themselves. You wished you had never even signed up for this stupid show. You felt like you were being consumed by fire from the inside out. What a pretty disaster this had all become. 

You could just barely see the exit, one more set of stairs between you and your escape. You rushed down the steps, not taking heed of your movements. You knew as soon as your foot had missed the stair that you were in for a rude awakening. Your stomach dropped and there was nothing you could do as you began to tumble downward, blacking out as soon as your body hit the floor.

You opened your eyes slowly and groaned from the pulsing white lights. Loud beeps and mechanical noises erupted around you. You blinked repeatedly, trying to process the situation. Your eyes shifted across the room, coming to terms with the fact that you were laying in a hospital bed, covered in wires and blankets. Your gaze staggered across the room, taking in things of importance, but halting once they met a hunched figure wearing a grim expression. 

“It’s still my date you know." 

You closed your eyes, exhaling a hiss through your teeth. "I can’t do this anymore, Seunghyun." 

You looked up wearily to Sweaty and Armpit who has appeared as if they moved by magic. The little green light blinked on their recording devices, neither looking conflicted with their actions. You should’ve read that contract more closely. 

Your face moved to analyze Seunghyun. He looked tired…and disappointed. You took a deep breath, trying to recall exactly what had happened, but only remembered a fuzzy picture. You remembered running from your commitments, running from him. You were lost and didn’t know how to find a way out. You were hardly concerned about your physical status, but more concerned about your mental state. 

"You have to,” Seunghyun sighed after a moment of silence. “If not for yourself…than for us." 

You tilted your head and furrowed your brows, causing an instant pain to radiate through your skull. You made a mental note to remain as still as possible as you looked at Top. 

"You should get some rest,” he sighed. “The nurse said you’re fortunate to not have cracked your skull. You have a sprained wrist, some internal bruising that will heal with time. Your saving grace was that you passed out before you completely hit the floor. Apparently when your body is limp, you’re less likely to break bones because you aren’t trying to catch yourself." 

Seunghyun stood, hovering near the door as he looked back at you. He gave a brief nod before clutching the handle. 

"Seunghyun,” you whispered, trying to process the new information. You weren’t ready for him to leave just yet. “What do you mean…?" 

”…none of your bones-“ he began slowly. 

"No, no, I got that part,” you croaked. “But what do you mean by…doing it for “us”?”

Seunghyun chuckled bitterly, leaning against the door jam. “For such an intelligent girl, you can be such a fool." 

"Ex-excuse me,” you whispered. 

“You’ve seen the show, the guys-" 

"We can’t discuss the other episodes,” you interrupted. 

“I don’t give a damn about what a piece of paper tells me that I can and can’t discuss,” Seunghyun grumbled. “You’ve watched these episodes Y/N, you know these men are infatuated with you…myself included." 

His words hit you like a swift smack to the face. In the weeks you had spent on My Idol, you had attempted to convince yourself that most of the men’s actions were for production, simply a way they acted before cameras. You had never really considered that they were developing feelings as deep for you as you had subconsciously been doing for them. You had gone back and forth on their individual merits, cataloging every memory they had given you in your mind.

You had thought about what would happen after the show, shrugging it off as a simple experience with a new array of celebrity friends. But this show…my idol…could really end with two people falling in love…and a public relationship with a musician. The simple thought of it made your blood run cold. You felt nauseous as you looked at Top’s handsome face. 

"Seunghyun…” you trailed, trying to shake the tears from your eyes for a second time today. 

“I’m anticipating the next episodes,” he nodded. He took a few quick steps, crossing the room and appearing at your bed side. He placed a gentle hand through your hair, allowing you to nuzzle his palm as his fingers grazed your cheek. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to contact me." 

"But I can’t-” you began. 

“Do I have to repeat the whole disregarding a piece of paper speech again?” He chuckled. He patted your cheek gently and smiled.“Don’t give up on us just yet." 

”Is she crazy? she’s dating idols?!”“Maybe that fall will knock some sense into her!”“Ungrateful brat”“She’s not even that cute”“#votemr.kimintothefinaldate” 

You grumbled to yourself, slamming your laptop shut before sliding it to the opposite side of the couch. 

"If it sounds so great maybe you’ll get selected for next season.” you spat to no one in particular. “Jerks." 

You checked the clock on the wall, pulling yourself to your feet. You were already tired and the day hadn’t even begun yet. Admittedly you were emotionally exhausted on top of the visible bruising that had now appeared on various parts of your body. You adjusted the brace the doctors had wrapped around your wrist a week or so ago and sighed. Only two more dates, and then the midseason voting. You tried to keep your thoughts carefree, just as the newly appointed My Idol counselor had suggested, but it was admittedly tough. The incident on last week’s episode had made it’s way across the cover of every tabloid and you were nervous that it would effect the next idol you would meet. 

You tried to put on your bravest persona to conquer the day. Going from a nameless face in the bustling crowds of Seoul to a character on a reality television series was not for the faint of heart. You were constantly left questioning yourself and the whole process. You were scared. Not just of the notoriety and fame…but of falling in love. 

And not having that love reciprocated. 

This was a new fear that you hadn’t prepared yourself for initially. It had never really even begun to cross your mind until you had had the conversation with Seunghyun as he stood in the door of your hospital room. The whole situation felt surreal now as you looked back, but the feeling was eerily permanent. 

You gathered your things, checking the time again as you made your way to the door. You were to meet your date at the cinema at three o clock. 

Or at least that’s what you had thought. 

You pulled on the handle of your front door and dodged, just as a strong hand nearly punched you in the face. 

“Holy shit!” he gasped, springing backwards and covering his hands with his mouth. “Sorry! For the language…but more importantly almost hitting you. I was mid knock, and couldn’t stop the muscle memory, and I had to connect with the door, but I almost connected with your face instead. Did I mention I’m Sehun? Because I’m Sehun. Oh Sehun from EXO. I assume you’re familiar with EXO?”

You chuckled, nodded,and tilted your head as you looked up at the handsome man before you. Initially meeting your date was one of your favorite parts of My Idol. It was refreshing to see their different personalities and the relationships you would form. You remained cautious with Sehun though, especially after your mild emotional breakdown. 

“Uh…” he trailed, scratching the back of his neck. His nervous energy radiated from his body and you couldn’t help but smile sadly to yourself. “Should I like…shake your hand…or?”

“We can bow,” you chuckled, giving him a small nod. “I’m Y/N.”

“I know,” he nodded with a smirk. “Oh!” HIs eyebrows shot up as he began digging through his pockets, smiling as he finally found what he was looking for. “I know like…every guy so far has gotten you flowers, so I thought you had more than enough of those, so I thought I’d give you this!” 

You took the small paper gingerly from his hands and bit your lip. “Uh…Sehun, this is your photo card…”

“It’s collectable,” he nodded proudly, sticking his hands deep in his pockets as he began to rock back and forth on his heels. 

“Right,” you nodded, trying to stifle a laugh. “Thank you?”

“Oh, it was no problem,” he smiled. “Just a little something to remember me by.”

“How could I forget,” you whispered, sticking the card into your bag. “Shall we?”

Sehun placed his hand awkwardly on your lower back as he ushered you through the door and into the cinema lobby. You looked up, making brief eye contact before he looked away, his cheeks a bright crimson. For someone so confident on stage, you were surprised by how shy he was. 

“I picked a scary movie,” he nodded, biting his lip as he searched your face for any sort of reaction. “I’m not necessarily good with jump scares, but my arms are open if you need protection.”

“Is that right?” you croaked, thrown off by his greasy comment. It made you grin that he was beginning to loosen up and actually start flirting with you. 

“Nope, I’m just saying that to lure you into a false sense of security,” he laughed. “So when the monsters attack, you have no one to run to.”

Your eyes grew wide, nearly falling over at Sehun’s abrupt use of sarcasm. You had heard that he was sassy, but hadn’t expected for the mood to shift so quickly. On the way to the movie theatre, he was a nervous mess, stumbling over his words as he tried to provide a comeback for nearly every tease you threw at him. He seemed to have reached his own element now, completely at ease with you after only a train ride. 

“Well now I’m disappointed,” you nodded, regaining your wits quickly. Sehun was sharp, so you had to focus to be able to keep up. “What a pretty face to run to.”

“Glad you’ve noticed,” he grinned. “But my face looks like a Picasso painting when compared to yours.”

You looked down, smiling at the floor. Sehun’s compliment had caught you nearly as off guard as his sarcasm had. Maybe this date was what you needed to reassure yourself that you belonged on this show. 

“I’m going to grab a popcorn and soda…two straws?” Sehun asked, tilting his head. He wiggled his eyebrows. “Or shall we share one?”

“How scandalous,” you chuckled. “Two straws is fine.” 

Sehun nodded before turning on his heel and walking toward the concessions stand. You spun as well, hugging your arms, and smiling to yourself. You bit your lip as you looked around, silently pleased with how the date was shaping up. 

The emotion was short lived though as you furrowed your brows, noticing what seemed to be a familiar frame by a standee near the door of the lobby. He was half hidden behind a large cardboard cutout, advertising a new children’s movie to be in theaters this fall. You squinted, taking in the figure who wore a baseball cap and a black mask tight around his mouth. The face behind the mask looked at you with wide eyes, before shoving sunglasses onto his face, and spinning around. You stomped the few feet over to the man, dressed completely in black, and tapped on his shoulder. 

“Jay,” you hissed. “What in the hell do you think you’re doing?” 

To be continued…

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 9 - Part 10 - Part 11 - Part 12 - Part 13 - Part 14 - Part 15 - Part 16 - Part 17 - Part 18 - Part 19 - Part 20 - Part 21 - Part 22

[purelyfrivolous]

Before throwing last year into the mental trash bin and letting ourselves get lost in looking forward, I thought it’d be good to stop and reflect on the things in 2017 that weren’t terrible.

Unfortunately it’s true that – while a grouping of 365 days can be neither good nor bad, as they’re just days – many uncomfortable and unfortunate things did cover last year in a bit of a deep fog. On a personal level, it was one of the darkest periods of time in my entire life. BUT, there was light and there was hope. AND WE MADE IT.

The death of my father and the worsening of my mother’s cancer brought me closer to my family and made me realize, deeper than ever before, that we cannot take anything for granted. The sudden passing of a former color guard student, in whom I saw so much of myself, caused me to take a look at my mental health and begin reaching out instead of turning in towards myself. The onset of a deeper-than-normal depression and a heightening of my anxiety led to a reevaluation of my priorities and allowed me to take a step back to regroup. Following my gut and doing what I felt was right instead of what I felt was required of me turned into one of the best summers of my life, full of laughter, growth, and joy – which, sandwiched between the difficult beginning and end to the year, was made even sweeter.

And, there’s no getting around the fact that the world is a little unhinged. That can sometimes make getting out of bed in the morning even more challenging. There are reasons to get up, my friends. There are things that are worth it and there always will be, if we make sure to continue looking for them.

So here I am, writing this post (the first of three) with some of my favorite things from 2017. This one is dedicated to some odds and ends as well as the two current books that I read last year. The next will feature the music that kept me going, and the last will contain the movies and television that made an impact on me.

Without further ado, here are a few of my favorite things that 2017 had to offer (in no particular order)!

Turtles All The Way Down, John Green & Little Fires Everywhere, Celeste Ng

The Voice & Addison Agen

“Call Me Mother” on SYTYCD by Mark Kanemura

Football?!

Santa Clara Vanguard, “Ouroboros”

Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us

Museums

Theater (and NYC!)

The Lonely, Swimming Pygmy Sloth from Planet Earth II

“The Hilarious World of Depression” Podcast / John Green / VlogBrothers / NYT Article

The Costumes and Production Design of Film and Television

Turtles All the Way Down & Little Fires Everywhere

Of the 20 books I read last year only two of them were released in 2017. They both ended up being phenomenal. John Green‘s Turtles All the Way Down was released this fall when I was amidst the darkness of losing my former student to suicide and dealing with my own inner demons. It was a little beam of light that helped illuminate the path forward. While the plot is sometimes head-scratchingly strange (the Tuatara, anyone?), it is the honesty with which Green brings OCD and anxiety to life through the main character, Aza Holmes, that sticks with me. There were moments while reading this book that I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone else understood a little part of my brain that I’d long believed no one else could. As Aza falls into her “though spirals” and picks away at a literal open wound she paints a picture of what it’s actually like to live mental illness on a day to day basis. I identified so strongly with this young woman that whatever issues arose in the plot didn’t matter. John Green is a brilliant writer and for those who often feels lost in their youth, still trying to find themselves, he is a kind of comforting truth. Turtles is a sometimes difficult read but it is one that will stay with me for a very long time.

If you escaped 2017 without seeing Celeste Ng‘s novel Little Fires Everywhere somewhere, you’re possibly a hermit. It was everywhere: Amazon’s “best novel of 2017,” New York Times Bestseller, Goodreads Readers’ Choice Award winner for Fiction, and the top of numerous other “best” lists. I’m naturally inclined to avoid such items as they surely cannot live up to the hype. For some reason I was drawn to this book nonetheless, and it did not disappoint. The titular fires became, for me, two of the central characters’ spirits. Along the way you’re introduced to a couple of women with spunky personalities that are unpredictable and endlessly interesting. Two families collide in surprising ways and there is an exploration of family dynamics that creates numerous meaningful moments. This novel isn’t exciting in an eventful plot kind of way but after a slow ignition, the metaphorical flames burn bright and enrapture.

The Voice & Addison Agen

I’d given up on The Voice after Season 4 for numerous reasons, most importantly the mammoth time commitment to catch each of the many hours that were broadcast each week over multiple nights. Occasionally I’d hear something I liked or a name would pop up on social media and I’d take note again for a second, but I’d largely moved on. For some reason I had to see what Jennifer Hudson was going to bring to Season 13, so I reluctantly tuned in. What a fulfilling choice that ended up being. The talent this past season was astounding. It is rare for me to watch a reality competition of any kind and like more than a small handful of contestants, but I constantly found myself loving a majority of the performances week after week. A core group stood out from the beginning – Chloe Kohanski, Brook Simpson, Noah Mac, Davon Fleming, and youngster Addison Agen – and astounded with each song in their own unique ways. It was the last in that list, 16-year-old Addison, that seized my attention. As with an actor that I’ll mention later in the list, Addison’s performances did something to me. She hit a nerve that cannot be explained. While she was on stage I couldn’t take my ears and eyes away. She, unlike many of the the most seasoned performers in the world, feels the music and conveys those emotions to her audience. She lives the notes. I truly believe that there is an enormous career ahead of her if she gets the right people around her and makes the kind of music she began leaning into throughout the course of The Voice. (“Tennessee Rain” is a legitimately wonderful track!) It is rare that someone comes along with the entire package – the voice, the stage presence, the songwriting skills, and the adorable and genuine personality. Watch out for this one. She is a superstar.

“Call Me Mother” on SYTYCD by Mark Kanemura

So You Think You Can Dance was another show that I’d sadly given up on following but found my way back to in 2017. The format had changed a bit since I’d last watched and I’d found it to be more exciting and than ever before. The all-stars brought so much to the show (I will watch Robert Roldan dance anything, anytime, forever) and the choreography was off the charts, not to mention the immense talent of the Season 14 contestants. The highlight of highlights however was a group number during the Top 8 episode that was choreographed by SYTYCD alum Mark Kanemura to the song “Call Me Mother” by RuPaul. Talk about a convergence of favorite things! Kanemura is a staple in my daily social media life with his hilarious Instagram antics (and obsession with Carly Rae Jepsen) and RuPaul is one of the most amazing humans on the planet, so when this number began my heart paused as to not interrupt the magic of it all. The unique choreography style that Kanemura has doesn’t always land, and his Gaga-dancer-days show up in certain moments, but this was the rare convergence of right song/right time/right moves/right performers. It all just worked, and it did so because of the bold (brave?) choices that Kanemura makes. He’s a person filled with unbridled energy and in this case his “go big or go home” style made for a hugely entertaining success. #YouRideThatTrainGurlllll

Football?!

Immediately following the dance number above, this seems an unlikely entry in the list. It’s as surprising to me as it is to most of my family and friends when I say that one of my favorite things from the last year was sitting down and voluntarily watching professional football. I’d avoided watching sports on television for most of my life, hiding out in my room while my father and brother took in game after game, but a joke interest in the Seattle Seahawks turned into a legitimate love of the NFL. I became a “fan” of the Seahawks because I liked their uniforms. My favorite color combination (my “wedding colors” as I’m annoying known to say) is bright green and navy blue and the northwestern vibe of the logo is an interesting departure from the mundanity of the rest of the NFL logo lineup. I watched a few games and began paying a little more attention to their coach and some of the players, and ended up finding myself getting more invested than I’d anticipated. I’d become a legitimate “12” and picked up a “backup team” along the way, too (Go Panthers!). It turns out that there’s a lot to appreciate in the game – and the athleticism, strategy, and philosophy behind the sport aren’t really that far away from my alternate universe of marching band & drum corps. Who knew?!

Santa Clara Vanguard, “Ouroboros”

Speaking of that alternate universe, one of the things that gave me immense joy in 2017 was the show “Ouroboros” by the drum and bugle corps Santa Clara Vanguard. The mythical snake-eating-it’s-tail idea was turned into an impeccably designed, cohesive, exciting, and original production that was performed at an unbelievable level. The uniforms (with their supper body serpent detail and scale-effect circular pattern), the musical selections, the gorgeous flag designs, the ridiculously effective choreography and movement, and those brilliant props! It all coalesces into one of my favorite drum corps shows of all time. Second place has never looked (or sounded) so good.

Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us & Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid’s Tale

As with Addison Agen earlier in the list, there is something unexplainable about the actor Sterling K. Brown and the performances he gives. A standout in The People V. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, he burst onto the scene and began picking up awards at every turn, but it is his stunning portrayal of “Randall Pearson” on This Is Us that establishes him as one of the best actors working today. I can’t pinpoint what exactly he does that makes me feel the way I feel when I watch him on screen. He, like Addison with music, strikes that nerve. He finds layers within a character and he manages to bring them all forward. A look, a tear, a monologue…he breathes life into the story and elevates it in a special way. Each week I tune in and find myself with tears in my eyes, saying, “I love him so much.”

Similarly, Elisabeth Moss astounds in every single second of her time on Hulu’s accolade-stealing hit, The Handmaid’s Tale. The show is a masterpiece (episode four is one of the most gorgeous, haunting, brilliant episodes of television I’ve ever seen) but it is vaulted into the atmosphere by the central performance of Moss as “June Osborne / Offred.” It is not an overstatement to say that she can command a scene and say paragraphs with only her eyes. She is beyond gifted as an actress and there is no denying that she is also one of the best in the business.

Museums

During my time at Iowa State University this past year I began looking more closely at museums and expanding my already large interest in art and exhibitions. I began the year with an internship on campus at the Textiles & Clothing Museum. It was a wonderful experience that forever changed the way that I look at museums and the objects they contain. With more knowledge of the behind-the-scenes process I developed a deeper appreciation for a good museum and all that it can offer. On the surface museums offer a place for the public to explore the treasures of the world and expose us to animals, paintings, sculptures, clothing, science experiments, and minerals that we otherwise would never get the chance to view. But they are so much more. They are institutions of learning for the most educated individuals doing research and for children on class field trips, and everyone in-between. They are a form of artistic expression in their own right, each having a specific vision and mission statement, and each working to enrich the world in a different way. Over the course of the year I made stops at many superb places including: The Des Moines Art Center (“Drawing in Space” was a phenomenal), the Metropolitan Museum of Art (what can you say other than WOW?), Cooper Hewitt (so unique and interactive – the future of the small museum!), The Museum at FIT (a tour with the curator of “Paris Refashioned, 1957-1968” was so enthralling that I came back only hours later to tour the whole museum), MoMA (Seeing Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night in person was so moving that I walked away to avoid crying in public), The Field Museum (an interesting look at the history of the tattoo was a highlight), the Joslyn Art Museum (gorgeous building!), the State Historical Museum of Iowa (where I kept gravitating back towards “Hollywood in the Heartland“), as well as Taliesin (Frank Lloyd Wright’s home and studio in Spring Green, WI.), and the zoos (Which are considered museums! Fun fact!) in Des Moines, IA., Madison, WI., Indianapolis, IN., and Chicago, IL. (Lincoln Park).

Cooper Hewitt, NYC

Joslyn, Omaha

State Historical Museum of Iowa

DSM Art Center

Theater (and NYC!)

I love theater. I especially love musicals, but anything on a stage will do. I attend a handful of productions each year but this year I outdid myself. Aside from the shows on national tours (Mamma Mia!, Fun Home, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nite-Time, Something Rotten!, Shaping Sound Co. (dance), and The Color Purple) my husband and I went all out during our vacation to NYC in March and in one week we saw 6 more productions! The Glass Menagerie was our first-ever play on Broadway and it featured Sally Field, Finn Wittrock, Joe Mantello, and Madison Ferris. The sparse staging and unique direction from Tony Award-winning director Sam Gold made for a polarizing production that ultimately failed to win over many of the critics and the most ardent theater-goers. Overall it was an unforgettable experience and quite the way to kick off our week in the city. Sunday in the Park with George was such a draw for us that we moved our trip back a few days so that we could catch the show before it closed. We couldn’t have made a better decision. It’s hard to describe how it felt to be sitting in that theater watching Jake Gyllenhaal and Annaleigh Ashford sing some of the most incredible songs ever written for the theater. I wasn’t a super fan of Stephen Sondheim, though I had enjoyed Sweeney Todd  and Into The Woods, but this experience changed everything. Like Menagerie, there was a minimalist approach to the set design so the music and the performances were even more exposed than usual. I had expected to be distracted by Jake, being such a ginormous movie star, but I found myself unable to take my eyes off of Annaleigh. They were both remarkable (!!!) but there is that “something special” about Annaleigh and she was captivating. The whole show moved me so much more than I had expected. It was absolutely one of my all-time favorite theater moments.

Broadway Backwards was a last minute splurge for us in an attempt to avoid the unexpected cold and snow that accompanied a surprise winter storm during our “spring break” trip. While technically not a Broadway show, it was a stage production that took place in the area and had numerous Broadway actors, so it counts! Josh Groban, Cynthia Erivo, Julie White, Sierra Boggess, John Glover, Andrew Rannells, Santino Fontana, Carolee Carmello, Kathleen Turner, Andrew Keenan-Bolger and Jay Armstrong Johnson, as well as many other, performed songs written for the “opposite gender.” It was a once in a lifetime BLAST. We loved every moment of it. Then, there was the real reason we had made the trip to NYC: Dear Evan Hansen. I can’t say anything other than it instantly became my favorite musical of all time and Ben Platt’s performance will forever be seared into my mind. He was beyond words. I honestly cannot describe it without getting worked up and babbling endlessly. If you have not seen it, you must find a way. Even without Ben in the lead, it must not be missed. Seriously.

The same day that we saw D.E.H, we scored cheap tickets at the last minute for The Great Comet. It was the most complete theater experience I’ve had. From the moment you walked through the front doors into the lobby area you were transported to another time and place. The dilapidated walls adorned with Russian propaganda and the harsh fluorescent lighting in the “bunker” catch you off guard but, more importantly, they create a contrast that becomes apparent when you finally enter the main theater. Inside it is a velvety-red Swarovski fantasy. With 20,000 Swarovski crystals on the (gorgeous) starburst chandeliers, and another 110,00+ on the costumes, the entire room sparkled nearly as bright as the comet at the heart of the show. The immersive staging took everything up a notch and created an experience unlike any other. I didn’t always follow the famously complicated story line nor did I enjoy ever tiny aspect of the musical’s book, lyrics and score, but my goodness, what a production! Lastly, we finished out our week in Manhattan with a show that we had planned to see a year before when it first opened, Waitress. A change in plans meant that we had to wait to see Sara Bareilles’ heartwarming, hilarious, brilliant music come to life on stage. It was worth it. Christopher Fitzgerald and Drew Gehling made me laugh so hard I was in tears. Jessie Mueller demonstrated why she is one of the best on Broadway. We got to see the show again when it came to Des Moines on tour and it was just as wonderful the second time around. I wish I could bottle the feeling I have when I leave a theater after watching a show and keep it on hand for when I need a little boost in life. It is my therapy.

***OH! And, Caroline Rhea sat directly in front of us (a few rows behind Josh Gad) and took a selfie with us. So, basically, the BEST DAY EVER.

CAROLINE RHEA!

The Lonely, Swimming Pygmy Sloth from Planet Earth II

By far the weirdest entry in my list, this little guy stole my heart and I smile every time I think about him. A Pygmy Sloth is shown looking for a mate on an episode of Planet Earth II, and it is must-see television. It is narrated by David Attenborough and that spectacularly written script is key to the cuteness factor of the video (sadly the video below does not contain that narration). We learn that he hears a female across a body of water so he swims his little self across, only to find that the object of his affection already has a baby and is unable to mate. It. Is. So. Ridiculously. Adorable. Do yourself a favor and watch the entire series, which is astounding, and get the full version of this slothiest-sloth thing that has ever been.

“The Hilarious World of Depression” Podcast / John Green / VlogBrothers / NYT Article

The phenomenal book of John Green’s that I talked about at the top of this 3000-(and counting)-word post tied in with a set of other things that were extraordinarily important to me this past year. John appeared on a podcast that I’d fallen in love with called “The Hilarious World of Depression.” It solidified my appreciation for that podcast and made it something that I look forward to on a weekly basis. There’s something to be said for hearing people talk openly about the things that society has told us we should be ashamed of. I have spent my whole life feeling like my anxiety and depression were secrets that I had to mask and pretend didn’t exist. With this podcast you’re able to see that funny, famous, “important” people also have these issues, and we shouldn’t shy away from discussing them. It is only through bringing these things into the conversation that we will begin to remove the stigma, and possibly save lives.

John and his brother, Hank, also have a YouTube channel called “Vlogbrothers,” and I have grown to love their quirky uploads that explore a vast array of topics. Recorded as messages to each other, Hank and John shed light on different subjects but, more importantly, show us who they are as human beings. They are open and genuine, both qualities that aren’t currently overflowing in the social media world. It’s refreshing. Again, seeing them deal with their demons makes it just a little bit easier to deal with my own. Speaking of which, the last random part of this entry in the list is an article from the New York Times that came into my life at that darkest of dark times. It was called, “Why Are More American Teenagers Than Ever Suffering From Severe Anxiety?” and I had never read anything that discussed certain parts of my past in the way that this piece did. I missed a very large chunk of elementary school when I got sick at school and subsequently could not go back. I had a meltdown and became so afraid that I’d get sick again that I refused to leave my house. It was a terrible experience, working with someone to help me get in the car…then drive to the school…then get out of the car…then go into the school…each as their own step, over multiple days. I’d always held that somewhere deep within me, ashamed and absolutely convinced that my experience was complete unique. This article, published 24 years after my struggle, finally showed me that what I had gone through had a name – emetophobia. They describe it in this article as, “a fear of vomit that can be so debilitating that people will sometimes restrict what they eat and refuse to leave the house, lest they encounter someone with a stomach flu.” It turned out that I wasn’t crazy, and other people had dealt with similar things. I found myself in so many of the people described in the piece. It rang true and gave me the courage to finally reach out and begin my journey towards a life in which my mental health no longer controls me. It will be a struggle, but I’m grateful for this assortment of authors, podcasters, and vloggers that have already made it easier.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/11/magazine/why-are-more-american-teenagers-than-ever-suffering-from-severe-anxiety.html?mtrref=www.google.com&gwh=299DF44B0602F2616509623F61F4A9D7&gwt=pay

The Costumes and Production Design of Film and Television

Lastly, some of my favorite things this past year were costumes and sets in television shows and films. As an apparel-minded person I’ve always been drawn to costumes but my interest in the production design, cinematography, and the overall design of the entertainment I consume is new. I’ve opened my eyes to the whole product instead of just focusing solely on what the characters are wearing. The costumes have more purpose now and they are more meaningful because they exist within a complex world that has layers of meaning. Each detail comes together to tell the story and that makes for a richer viewing experience. Some highlights of the year were: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (which I have discussed briefly here), The Shape of Water (a bit about the production design here), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (even though I did not care for the film itself), The Crown, Wonder Woman, Beauty and the Beast, The Greatest Showman, Will & Grace, Riverdale, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Schitt’s Creek.

The Perfect Pink (©Amazon)

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel ©Amazon

Sally Hawkins & Richard Jenkins in The Shape of Water

“Sally Hawkins in a scene from Shape of Water. The window arch was directly inspired by one in 1948’s The Red Shoes” ©Kerry Hayes/Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.

GotG Vol 2. “Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki)” – Photo: Film Frame/Marvel Studios

GotG Vol 2. “Mantis”

Elizabeth and Philip – The Crown ©Netflix

Princess Margaret – The Crown ©Netflix

Wonder Woman

Beauty and the Beast 2017. Designs by JACQUELINE DURRAN – Photo ©EW

Rebecca Ferguson – The Greatest Showman

Hugh Jackman and the cast of The Greatest Showman

Fendi Jacket from Will & Grace

Will & Grace Christmas Episode ©Chris Haston/NBC

Riverdale ©Diyah Pera/The CW

Scene from The Handmaid’s Tale ©Hulu

Costumes from The Handmaid’s Tale ©Chris Chapman

Schitt’s Creek

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Faves From 2017 (It Wasn’t Completely Terrible!) Before throwing last year into the mental trash bin and letting ourselves get lost in looking forward, I thought it'd be good to stop and reflect on the things in 2017 that weren't terrible.

[watchingthesuperbowl]

Notes taken during Super Bowl XIX

PREGAME

Is this an ABC broadcast? I think that's the voice of Frank Gifford. Yep, this is the first ABC Super Bowl.

These two teams were 29-3 in the regular season, 33-3 overall. Best combined records of any two Super Bowl teams.

FIRST QUARTER

Niners return opening kickoff. Harmon goofs, steps out at the six.

Oops.

First play, quick pass to Freddie Solomon, Montana hits him in the numbers and he drops it.

Wendell Tyler has a run and a catch on the first three drives. Thankfully I won't have to listen to Tom Brookshier mock him for playing through injuries this time, like I did for Super Bowl XIV.

Methodical drive here, classic Walsh/Montana 49ers football. Short passes to the outside, occasional running plays to Roger Craig and Wendell Tyler.

Niners have to punt as Mike Wilson drops what would have been a first down near midfield.

Don Meredith: Niners are showing nerves early with dropped passes and Harmon stepping out of bounds.

Great throw from Dan Marino on the first play of the Dolphin drive. 25 yard pass to running back Tony Nathan gets inside the San Francisco 40.

Now the Miami offense is moving. Woody Bennett runs up the middle for a first down at the San Fran 27.

Either Joe Theismann (doing color commentary) totally interrupted Meredith in the middle of a thought or this game is edited.

Marino completes a pass to Clayton on third down, but it's short and they'll have to try to kick a field goal.

Uwe von Schamann was 9-for-19 on field goals in '84, 2-for-12 from 30 yards or longer. Miami didn't even try a field goal in their last four regular season games.

This is how you lose your job.

Uwe nails it. A 37(?) yarder. 7:24 left in the quarter, 3-0 Miami. von Schamann's teammates are excited for him - a bunch of congratulatory pats on the butt and head.

Ah, cool, this one is from Channel 4 in the UK as well. (Last year's was too.) Tom Flores and John Smith are in the booth with...someone. A host of some sort. Same host as last year. Smith was the kicker in the famous Patriots/Dolphins snow plow game.

Flores: Expected a bit more from San Francisco on the first drive, but otherwise nothing on the first drives was surprising.

Tomorrow on ABC: The inauguration of President Reagan.

Niners are run-heavy on their second drive. Gifford points out that Miami struggled to contain the run during the regular season.

Cutaway shot: A large video board for replays.

Third and 7, Montana back to pass, flushed from the pocket, and runs for around 20 yards. Down to the Miami 33.

Next play, Montana goes deep to Carl Monroe, a 5'8" running back, who catches a perfectly thrown ball in stride and gets into the end zone. 33 yard touchdown and it's 7-3 San Francisco. Monroe fumbled almost immediately after he got into the end zone. That could have been incredibly embarrassing.

ABC goes to Tom Landry for analysis of the touchdown pass. Awesome. Landry's the coolest.

Marino looking great early. Zips one into the chest of Mark Clayton across midfield. Dolphins go no-huddle hurry up, the first time I can remember seeing this in a non-desperation part of a Super Bowl.

Next play, perfectly thrown ball to Duper at the first down marker. Suddenly Miami is at the Niner 37. Then another outstanding throw to Clayton, down to the 23. More no-huddle hurry-up, now a throw to tight end Dan Johnson, who would have scored if not for a stumble.

First and goal from the 2, Marino rolls right and hits an open Dan Johnson for a score. It's just. that. easy. A super-impressive drive by the Dolphins. Don Meredith says we're watching the offense of the rest of the 80s and the 90s if the NFL doesn't change any rules. He's right, for better or worse. Anyway, von Schamann hits the extra point and it's 10-7 Dolphins late in the first quarter. 0:45 left.

Gifford talks about Johnson being sick during the week and not being sure if he could play. What they didn't know then, but what we know now, is that Johnson says he was taking 1,000 Vicodins a month (!) during his playing days to stay on the field. Gifford says Johnson lost 25 pounds as a result of an intestinal problem. You know what slows down intestines? Opiates. Just sayin'.

Cutaway: Fire juggler.

Promo: After the game, the premiere of a new Aaron Spelling series, MacGruder and Loud. It lasted 14 episodes. Channel 4 attempting to remove ABC promos from broadcast with mild success.

More like “canceled and forgotten.”

Montana: 6-for-8 with two drops. Now 7-for-9 with two drops. Roger Craig catches a pass and runs it to the San Francisco 47.

That's the last play of the highest-scoring first quarter in Super Bowl history (up until this point). 10-7 Miami.

Channel 4 goes to Tom Flores between quarters. He breaks down the two touchdowns. Says San Francisco wanted to get three receivers into the same side of the field against the zone.

SECOND QUARTER

Renaldo Nehemiah goes deep on the first play of the quarter and Montana can't get the ball there. Nehemiah was a world-class track and field athlete. Lined up in a three-point stance. I'm mildly surprised to see receivers line up this way as late as January '85.

Third down, Montana deep to Nehemiah again, incomplete again. Max Runager to punt.

Miami drive: Run for a loss of 4 (great defensive play by Fred Dean), incomplete pass, incomplete pass, punt.

Meredith: Dolphins were 22-for-47 on third and ten or longer in '84.

Gifford describes Miami punter Reggie Roby as "fun to watch". Roby was unquestionably one of the best punters of his era, but are any punters actually "fun to watch"?

First play of the next drive, Montana can't find an open receiver so he pulls it down and runs for 17 yards. I'm impressed by Montana's mobility. He was one of my favorite players at the time, but I remember him these days as a great passer who could move a bit when he needed to, but not much more than that.

Suddenly the Niners are down to the Miami 8. Montana to Craig up the middle, touchdown 49ers. 14-10 San Francisco.

Channel 4 to John Smith to discuss the touchdown. He's a kicker, you guys.

Cutaway shot: Guy with a goofy hat.

This guy right here.

Good return of the ensuing kickoff. Fulton Walker takes it out to the 30.

Doesn't matter all that much. Dolphins go three and out on this drive. Marino underthrows Nat Moore on third down.

Excellent return by Dana McLemore on the punt. 28 yard return out to the 45. San Francisco again starts with good field position.

Gifford: 18 of these players will be in the Pro Bowl next week. As opposed to now, when nobody who plays in the Super Bowl goes to the Pro Bowl.

Niners matriculating the ball up the field. Montana to Russ Francis, down to the Miami 30. First down. 8:20 left.

Now another great throw underneath to Francis, down to the 10.

2nd and 6, Montana can't find an open receiver so he pulls it down again and gets into the end zone. 21-10, 6:58 left in the half.

Gifford: They're warming up Montana's MVP car already.

Super Bowl XIX’s goofy hat game was strong. Maybe it’s hard to see right away, but that’s a referee puppet on that dude’s head.

ABC graphic: No team has ever won a Super Bowl after trailing by more than 7 points during the game.

Miami offense is suddenly ice cold. Marino is a bit erratic and the Niners' defensive line is getting penetration. Roby punts again.

Total yards this quarter: 49ers 100, Dolphins 2.

Second down, Montana to Solomon inside the 15, Solomon appears to make the catch and take a couple of steps and then fumble. It's ruled an incomplete pass. A blown call. Miami had recovered. Lyle Blackwood.

San Fran drive continues. Down to the 12.

Montana so far: 13-18, 167 yards, 2 TD.

Harmon runs it inside the 10 for a first down. First and goal., just outside the 5.

2:10 left, clock rolling, Roger Craig takes an inside handoff and plows into the end zone. 28-10 Niners and we aren't even to the two-minute warning in the second quarter. Meredith says there could be trouble in River City. With a capital T and that rhymes with D and that stands for doom.

Miami has it to thart their next drive at their 15, 1:56 on the clock, three timeouts.

Decent drive going. Marino completes a few passes, gets out to the Dolphin 40. 1:05 left, they call a timeout.

Landry: Shula needs to calm his players down at the half, get their confidence up, tell them everything will work out in the second half. Gifford rhetorically asks if the players would actually believe that. Landry smiles and says nothing.

Dolphin no huddle two-minute offense is working again. They're to the San Francisco 42. 0:48 left in the half. Marino seems to be getting into a rhythm on these quicker drives.

Great, great pass from Marino to Joe Rose inside the 15, down to the 12. Dolphins call timeout after a 30-yard pickup. Rose was surrounded by three defenders. 0:33 left, ball at the 12, one timeout.

Dolphins have to burn their final timeout on second down. Marino swing pass to Tony Nathan, who's decked by Keena Turner immediately after making the grab. 0:20 left, third and 11 from the 13.

Theismann: If you don't score on this play, you have to kick a field goal on fourth down. (I guess there's a difference between 18 points behind and 15, but not as much as there would be if two-point conversions were a thing.)

Ronnie Lott makes a good play on third down to knock it away from Mark Clayton in the end zone. It looked like pass interference and face guarding to me, but perhaps the rule has changed since then. Uwe von Schamann kicks a field goal. 28-13. Gifford says it's not face guarding because Lott wasn't waving his arms and trying to block Clayton's vision.

This seems like pass interference. Lott’s back is to the quarterback.

0:08 left, Meredith wonders about an onside kick. You can almost feel Theismann glare at him incredulously while Joe says they'll just squib it. They squib it. Niners center Guy McIntyre picks it up and kneels for a second or two before deciding to run with the ball. He fumbles and Miami's Jim Jensen recovers. A spectacularly dumb move by McIntyre to try to run, but what was he doing even being on the field? If you're the Niners, I think you put the hands team out there and you don't even try to return the kick. They didn't and it blew up on them. Miami is in field goal range with 0:04 left.

This was ill-advised.

von Schamann for a 30 yard attempt. Got it. 28-16 at the half.

HALFTIME

Tom Landry: Shula had to have gone into the locker room and said we're back in this, let's play the way we've played all year and we've got a chance.

Landry: Shula will have told Marino that he doesn't have to do everything himself, let the team do it together.

ABC graphic: Marino is the youngest QB to start a Super Bowl. (23 years old)

THIRD QUARTER

Dolphins get the ball to start the second half. Decent field position after Walker returns kickoff to the 26.

Marino underthrows an open Mark Clayton on second down. Could have/should have been a first down.

Meredith: San Francisco had their fifth DB in on second down, six DBs on third down. Miami goes three and out after a coverage sack. Niners take over near midfield after an okay punt and a decent return.

ABC graphic: Niners have won their last 24 games when leading at halftime, including postseason.

San Francisco gains about three yards on a reverse to Earl Cooper. Cooper was a starting running back three years ago in Super Bowl XVI, is now playing as a TE.

Montana scrambles again, converts another long yardage situation. 12 yard run gets San Francisco inside the Miami 20.

Montana has 60 yards rushing, a new single game Super Bowl record for a quarterback.

Niner drive stalls at the Miami 10. The Wersching Machine comes on to try a short field goal. 27 yard kick is good, it's now 31-16 San Francisco. 10 minutes or so left in the third quarter.

That was Ray Wersching's fifth career Super Bowl field goal, a new record. It seems like there are a lot of records falling, but I guess there have only been 18 and a half Super Bowls played.

Marino sacked twice on the next drive. Three and out again, punt again. Meredith says the Niners' 6 DB defense is causing problems for Marino.

Flores: Dolphins haven't been able to contain him because when the pass rush gets through up the middle, they lose contain on the outside. Meanwhile, back-to-back sacks against Marino will take a mental toll on the Dolphins' offensive line.

Gifford: Niners have scored on their last four possessions.

First play of this drive is a perfectly thrown pass to Wendell Tyler in the open field, a big gain to the Miami 30. One play later, Montana to Francis inside the 20. Montana is shredding this defense.

Third and 10, Montana has all the time in the world to find someone, gets it to Roger Craig coming across the middle. He gets into the end zone completely untouched. It's 38-16 now, the Niners have scored on five consecutive possessions, and Craig has set a new Super Bowl record with three touchdowns in one game.

Ray Wersching squibs the kickoff. At this point, they'd rather give Miami 5-10 yards at the start of a possession than give Fulton Walker a chance to take a kickoff to the house.

Flores: It's gonna be a long night for Miami. The offense isn't moving the ball and the defense can't stop Montana. Says this game is a rout.

San Francisco running a 4-1-6 defense. The four linemen are beating the Miami OL and the defensive backs are giving Marino fits.

ABC graphic: Niners have tied the Super Bowl record for most points in one game (38).

Dolphins driving now. Big run up the middle by Tony Nathan. Tom Holmoe makes the tackle. Gifford makes sure to enunciate that name. Dolphins are to the San Francisco 28.

And that drive is over. Marino is "looking for six" says a slightly less-well enunciating Gifford, but Eric Wright picks it off and lands in the end zone. He's called down at the 1.

Meredith: Great defensive play or underthrown pass? Theismann: Great defensive play, and if the ball had been thrown a bit longer, Wright wouldn't have gotten to it. Joe does not want to criticize a quarterback, which makes sense given his Super Bowl XVIII performance.

Third and 1 deep in their own territory, Bill Walsh does a Bill Walsh thing: Play action pass to a wide open Freddie Solomon over the middle. Moves the chains, keeps the clock moving. Third quarter is nearly over.

Third quarter is, in fact, over. Niners have the ball near midfield.

FOURTH QUARTER

Third and 8, Dwight Clark has a step on his DB, but Montana misses him by a hair. Max Runager on to punt, just his second punt of the day. Dolphins take over at their 22.

First play of the Miami drive, the Niners' line blasts into the backfield and Marino just falls over and concedes the sack. He's not crazy.

Next play, Marino rolls and zips a ball to Mark Clayton. Nice move after the catch gets them to the 35.

A couple plays later, Marino to Cefalo gets the Dolphins to midfield. No-huddle offense is moving the ball, though I guess San Francisco is fine with that, up four scores with ten minutes left.

Marino has 38 pass attempts, a new one-game Super Bowl record.

Marino overthrows Clayton deep on third down. Roby on to punt.

Dana McLemore muffs a fair catch attempt and Miami falls on it. Vince Heflin with the recovery. The Dolphins have the ball at the San Francisco 21. 10:52 left on the clock.

First play of the Miami drive, Marino throws into the end zone, picked by Carlton Williamson. Not a great throw, but we've reached the point in the game where the Dolphins have to take chances.

Flores: Marino threw across his body on the interception. A sign of frustration.

San Francisco runs a reverse on first down. So much for conservative offense. Solomon rushes for five yards.

Niners just keeping the ball on the ground now. Getting five yards at a time, keeping the chains and clock moving.

8:00 and counting left in the game. Ball at the San Fran 45.

Second and ten, Montana goes deep to Dwight Clark. Makes a nice falling catch at the Dolphin 22.

Now Montana looking for Solomon in the end zone. Just barely overthrown. Interesting to note that, up 22 points in the fourth quarter, they're chuckin' the pigskin with the starters still on the field. And nobody's whining about running up the score.

Cutaway: Tony Nathan has a sad.

Montana has set a new Super Bowl record: 330 yards passing in one game.

Cutaway of Marino. Gifford says he'll have many more big games. Suggests that one of them is next week's Pro Bowl. This is not something that would have consoled Marino.

San Francisco still chewing clock. Fourth and short at the Miami 2. 3:00 left. Niners have a decision: Go for it or kick a field goal? They give it to Craig up the middle who gets nothing. Turnover on downs with 2:46 left on the clock.

John Smith, channel 4: Second half belonged to San Francisco defense, generally a maligned group but Bill Walsh says his defense is just as good as his offense.

Dolphins throwing and running a no-huddle. Might as well. They get out to their own 25 before the two minute warning.

Flores: Expected this to be a much closer game, didn't expect the Niners' defense to be able to stop Miami, but they got it done.

Theismann points out that San Francisco doesn't mind Miami doing this, that they're actually doing the Niners a favor by running clock with passes up the middle.

Channel 4 host: I'm sure we'll see Marino back on a Super Bowl field soon. Well, about that....

Channel 4 host: Marino was arrogant and/or cocky in the press conferences leading up to the game. Wonders whether that was a factor. IIRC, the same host said exactly the same thing about the losing quarterback last year as well.

Cutaway: Bill Walsh on the sideline, smiling. He knows what we all know: This thing is over.

Last play of the game is a shotgun snap dropped by Marino, who then falls on it with 10 seconds left. Rest of the clock ticks away with no plays run.

Final score: 49ers 38, Dolphins 16

Another strong contribution in the hat department

POSTGAME

Flores: There's nothing quite like winning a Super Bowl, the feelings, the togetherness, all the sacrifices you make as a team to get to this point.

Flores: It's a shame that the team that lost this game is classified as a loser. These are the only two teams that had an opportunity to win this game.

Flores: Thought it would be a 28-24 type game, never thought San Francisco would tie our record with 38 points. Niners executed well, just played good solid football.

John Smith: Miami doesn't have a running game, which helped San Francisco defense. The versatility of the 49er offense was something the Dolphin defense couldn't deal with.

John Smith: Told (former teammate) Russ Francis that he envied him. Now envy him more. Channel 4 host says he and Smith were at Francis's house during the week, saw a bottle of champagne. Asked him if it was for tonight, Francis said you bet it is.

ABC goes to San Francisco locker room. Joe Montana named MVP after setting new passing yardage record.

Al Michaels to Tom Landry: Everybody talked about 49ers offense, but how about that defense allowing one touchdown in three playoff games? Landry: That defense was the difference.

Landry: '84 Niners are one of the best teams I've ever seen on a single-year basis.

Commissioner Pete Rozelle: San Francisco set a new record. First team to win 18 regular season and playoff games in a season. "Here's the trophy." Hands it to Eddie DeBartolo.

DeBartolo: "We're the best. We are the best. And we'll continue to be the best."

Channel 4 blows off the rest of the locker room coverage to chat with John Smith. Thanks, guys.

Flores: We'll give it a good shot to be in Super Bowl XX. Hopefully I'll be down on the field and you'll be watching my team.

Channel 4 bumps out with an extended dance remix of 'Holding Out For a Hero' played over highlights.

[papermoonloveslucy]

CAROL + 2

March 22, 1966

Directed by Marc Breaux

Written by Nat Hiken and Charles Sherman

CAST

Carol Burnett (Herself) got her first big break on “The Paul Winchell Show” in 1955. A years later she was a regular on “The Garry Moore Show.” In 1959 she made her Broadway debut in Once Upon a Mattress, which she also appeared in on television three times. From 1960 to 1965 she did a number of TV specials, and often appeared with Julie Andrews. Her second Broadway musical was Fade Out – Fade In which ran for more than 270 performances. From 1967 to 1978 she hosted her own highly successful variety show, “The Carol Burnett Show.” Lucille Ball made several appearances on “The Carol Burnett Show.” Burnett guest starred in four episodes of “The Lucy Show” and three episodes of “Here’s Lucy,” subsequently playing a character named Carol Krausmeyer. After Lucille Ball’s passing, Burnett was hailed as the natural heir to Lucy’s title of ‘The Queen of TV Comedy.’ 

Lucille Ball (Herself) was born on August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, New York. She began her screen career in 1933 and was known in Hollywood as ‘Queen of the B’s’ due to her many appearances in ‘B’ movies. With Richard Denning, she starred in a radio program titled “My Favorite Husband” which eventually led to the creation of “I Love Lucy,” a television situation comedy in which she co-starred with her real-life husband, Latin bandleader Desi Arnaz. The program was phenomenally successful, allowing the couple to purchase what was once RKO Studios, re-naming it Desilu. When the show ended in 1960 (in an hour-long format known as “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”) so did Lucy and Desi’s marriage. In 1962, hoping to keep Desilu financially solvent, Lucy returned to the sitcom format with “The Lucy Show,” which lasted six seasons. She followed that with a similar sitcom “Here’s Lucy” co-starring with her real-life children, Lucie and Desi Jr., as well as Gale Gordon, who had joined the cast of “The Lucy Show” during season two. Before her death in 1989, Lucy made one more attempt at a sitcom with “Life With Lucy,” also with Gordon, which was not a success and was canceled after just 13 episodes.

Zero Mostel (Himself) was an actor, singer and comedian of stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of comic characters such as Tevye on stage in Fiddler on the Roof, Pseudolus on stage and on screen in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Max Bialystock in the original film version of The Producers. He won three Tony Awards for his Broadway appearances. His film debut was alongside Lucille Ball in 1943's Du Barry Was a Lady. He died in 1977 at age 62.  

John Harlan (Announcer)  

This is the second of a multi-year series of television variety specials starring Carol Burnett. The first special was aired in 1962, featuring Burnett and Julie Andrews “Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall.”

The special was sponsored by American Motors Corporation (AMC) which was formed in 1954 by the merger of Nash-Kelvinator and Hudson Motor Car. At the time, it was the largest corporate merger in US history. After periods of intermittent but unsustained success, the company was ultimately acquired by Chrysler and ceased operation in 1988. The first commercial in the hour-long program stars Sid Melton, who had appeared in three episodes of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.”  Although the AMC commercials are not included on the DVD release, some of the kinescope prints still retain the filmed commercials. The DVD does include, however, Carol Burnett's intro to two of the commercials. 

The inclusion of Lucille Ball was partly because CBS insisted on Burnett having an established co-star for the special, and also because Ball already had a contract with CBS for up to three specials (in addition to “The Lucy Show”) for the 1966-67 season, of which she would only produce one, “Lucy in London.”

The show was such a critical and ratings success that CBS rebroadcast it on January 15, 1967. It was released on DVD on May 17, 2016. In April 2016, MeTV broadcast the special for the first time in 50 years.

The original airing straddled TV's transition from black and white to color. While “Carol + 2” was shot and aired in color, kinescope prints exist in black and white as well. While “The Lucy Show” was shot in color from Fall 1963, it wasn't aired in color by CBS until fall 1965.

The day before this special aired, “Lucy, the Superwoman” (TLS S4;E26) was broadcast for the first time.

Lucille Ball and Carol Burnett first shared the small screen in 1960 on “The Gary Moore Show,” where Carol was a regular and Lucy a guest. In 1966 and 1967 Burnett guest-starred in two two-part episodes of “The Lucy Show.”  Both appearances were as Carol Bradford, who was at first Lucy's Los Angeles roommate. In their second teaming the two attended flight attendant school together. In 1969 Burnett played herself on “Here's Lucy,” and in 1970 she played another Carol, Carol Krausemeyer, a fellow secretary competing in a beauty contest with Lucy. In return, Lucille Ball guest-starred on “The Carol Burnett Show” during one episode of each of her first four seasons.

Coincidentally, Lucy, Carol and Zero all played Broadway's Alvin (now Neil Simon) Theatre in new musicals: Carol in Once Upon a Mattress (1960), Lucy in Wildcat (1961), and Zero in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962). Lucy and Zero were on Broadway at the same time in 1961; she with Wildcat, he with Rhinoceros. Carol and Zero were on Broadway at the same time in 1964; she in Fade Out – Fade In, and he in Fiddler on the Roof. Burnett's understudy in Fade Out – Fade In was Mitzi Welch, who wrote music for “The Carol Burnett Show” and the song “You're My Reason” for this special.

“Carol + 2” is also available as a bonus feature on the Time Life box set “Carol Burnett’s Lost Episodes.” It is also available on a stand-alone DVD release by Time Life. Interestingly, Zero Mostel is not mentioned or pictured on the cover, which is subtitled “The Original Queens of Comedy.” 

In the opening, Carol introduces Lucy and Zero, who laments that TV show chatter is so artificial.

Carol: “I would like to present a woman who has dazzled the world with her charm and talent, who has conquered every phase of show business, who is the first lady of television, and who wrote this introduction.”

After a commercial, Lucy comes out and starts to play “Swanee River” on the banjo, but is interrupted by Carol. A running gag throughout the special is Mostel or Lucy wanting to do a solo act, but being interrupted. Lucille Ball had a rudimentary knowledge of several musical instruments, but banjo was not one of them. She was miming to a pre-recorded track. 

Two years later, she would once again mime playing the banjo, this time with her daughter Lucie and Wayne Newton on a 1968 episode of “Here's Lucy.”

In the first sketch, "10th Anniversary," Carol and Zero play a bitter couple named Florence and Fielding Kissel who suddenly find out their marriage license is invalid. Whatever Florence says to him, he says “Shut up!” Whatever Fielding says to her, she snaps “Drop dead!”  

After discovering that they're single again, they find themselves madly attracted to one another, but when a second phone call says it was all a mistake, they revert to being miserable marrieds again.

During the sketch Mostel croons a bit of "You and the Night and the Music" by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz. The song debuted in the Broadway show Revenge with Music in 1934. He then launches into a bar of “The Night Was Made For Love” by Otto Harbach and Jerome Kern, written in 1931 for the Broadway musical The Cat and the Fiddle. Finally, Mostel sings a verse of “Some Enchanted Evening,” written by Rodgers and Hammerstein for their 1949 Broadway musical South Pacific.

After a commercial, the same characters return, but in a different mood. Florence is found gazing at her wedding photograph and sings the ballad “You're My Reason” by Mitzi Welch, while Fielding sleeps on the sofa. Welch composed all the special material for “The Carol Burnett Show.”  At the end of the song Fielding wakes up and quietly says “Shut up” and she lovingly says “Drop dead” as the scene fades.

After a commercial break, Zero Mostel sits at a grand piano and starts ad libbing a song with the odd lyrics “Millard Fillmore is dead and nobody came to the funeral.” Carol interrupts him and the scene transitions to the next sketch.

In the sketch “Goodbye Baby,” Alice (Carol) is saying goodbye to her sister Rita (Lucy) at a bus stop. Rita is about to leave on a two-week vacation to Miami but Alice won't let her sister leave without first hearing her infant baby say goodbye to his aunt. Alice's insistence and Rita frustration about missing her bus brings out the hidden animosity between the two sisters.

Alice: (shouting) “Jack the Ripper! John Dillinger! Machine Gun Kelly!”   Rita: “How did they get into this?” Alice: “Oh, they're just some of the others who were rejected by their aunts when they were eight months old.”  

Lucy's Brooklyn accent starts off strong, but then quickly fades out completely.

Zero takes the stage and starts to sing “The Road to Mandalay”, a song by Oley Speaks based on the poem by Rudyard Kipling. It was made famous by Frank Sinatra in 1958. Instead, Lucy and Carol slyly convince him to sing “If I Were A Rich Man,” a song he introduced in the 1964 Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick. Although Mostel had left the cast of the musical by this time, the original cast album was still very popular. 

In the sketch "What's Wrong with My Brother," Miss Cleaver (Carol) confides to her psychiatrist (Zero), that her brother thinks he's a frog.  

To Miss Cleaver’s chagrin, the psychiatrist seems more concerned about the symbolism behind her scratching her itchy nose, which causes her to go to great (comic) lengths to avoid doing so.

Once again, Lucy comes out and starts to play “Swanee River” on the banjo, but this time she is interrupted by Zero.

In the sketch “Bunny Club,” Carol plays Nellie, the wardrobe mistress at the Bunny Club. Zero plays Eddie, the club's bartender who Nellie is sweet on. After he abruptly leaves, she dejectedly sings a slow-tempo version of "Wait 'Till the Sun Shines Nellie" by  Harry Von Tilzer and Andrew B. Sterling (1905). 

For much of the song, Carol sings to her own reflection in a mirror. In the brief dialogue set-up, the word “Playboy” is never spoken, although clearly that is the inference.

Zero takes the stage alone in a spotlight to lush orchestral music and starts to sing in Italian. Naturally he is interrupted – this time by both Carol and Lucy.

In the final sketch, Carol and Lucy play Evelyn and Emily, cleaning ladies who work nights at a New York City Talent Agency. The pair vicariously live the lives of show business producers. The establishing shot of the front door tells us that it is the William Morris Talent Agency on the 34th floor of a skyscraper. The two charwomen are arguing over whether 'they' can afford Cary Grant for an upcoming picture.

Emily: “They expect to make this picture for three million. They're shooting in Panavision. They've got a six week shooting schedule. Two weeks on location in Utah.  If they bring this picture in for a penny less than five million four then I know nothing about show business!”

Evelyn says they're trying to talk Warner Brothers into making Joan of Arc with Jayne Mansfield.

Emily: “Jayne Mansfield as Joan of Arc! Man, would she take long to burn!”

Evelyn wonders if Cary Grant could do the picture if they offered him a capital gains deal like Emily came up with for Marlon Brando in Mutiny on the Bounty.

Evelyn: “It's a lucky thing we work at night. If anyone here ever heard us talking about our big deals they'd drop a net on us and cart us away to the palace for peculiars.”

There is a photograph of Vivian Vance hanging on the wall of the office. Vance made her last regular appearance on “The Lucy Show” in April 1965 in order to spend more time at home on the East Coast, although she would return for two guest appearances in 1967 and 1968. Vance did no acting at all in 1966, only making two quiz show appearances as herself.  

Emily: “Are you still going around with that doorman from the Paramount?” Evelyn: “Ralph and I are engaged.”   Emily: “Oh, brother!” Evelyn: “I know you don't approve of him.” Emily: “It's not him, Evelyn. But you know how I feel about show business marriages.  Just don't come crying to me when your careers clash.”

Both Lucille Ball and Carol Burnett were in show business marriages that failed: Lucy to musician Desi Arnaz and Carol to producer Joe Hamilton. The Hamiltons divorced in 1984 and the Arnazes in 1960. This show was also written in the days when cinemas like the Paramount had uniformed doormen to admit patrons.  

The sketch ends with the two charwomen doing a rousing song and dance number called “Chutzpah!”

Carol ends the show by calling out Zero and Lucy for a bow. Lucy and Carol are dressed in bright pink, an indication that color television was trying to make an impression. After a brief spot recognizing sponsor AMC, the trio sing “Bye Bye.”  

The DVD has a quick outtake of Carol saying goodnight to the studio audience asking them to watch when the show airs to “up the ratings.” 

This Date in Lucy History –  March 22

"Ricky's Hawaiian Vacation" (ILL S3;E22) – March 22, 1954

"Lucy and the Beauty Doctor" (TLS S3;E24) – March 22, 1965