#and some flashbacks of Agatha's trauma

[shutupineedtothink]

Post Ep 6 Theory: Billy Is Casting Agatha as the Villain

Well I really have no business writing theories at this point since I’ve been wrong multiple times but like maybe I really got something this time, you know? Isn’t that the point? Can’t I be right one time?? My Capricorn stellium is raging at having all these theories disproved. And I love it at the same time. 😅

Whatever. Potential spoilers under the cut.

So I’m fully on the “Billy magicked the Road” theory, he is Wanda’s son after all and tbh there’s just too much evidence to ignore it at this point. I won’t go into all of it, House of R pod does a great breakdown in their episode 6 review, check that out if you’re interested. The basic points are: Billy created the Road probably subconsciously, Agatha knows it, she’s trying to figure out how he did it and what his goal is, and also get her power back and not die from the Seven. Cool.

My theory is an offshoot of the Billy theory, and speaks to where he and Agatha are going to end this season (aka coven two). Ready? Ok.

Soooo if we take as fact that Billy conjured the Road, because he can’t control his magick and more broadly because he has some shit to work through (again, same as Wanda) then how do we explain Agatha’s trial within that framework.

Why was the trial to “punish Agatha?” If Billy, subconsciously or not, is in control of everything that happens on the Road, why do that?

Well, subconsciously, he’s angry at Agatha. Whether he’s actually angry at her specifically or just angry about what happened with the hex, it doesn’t really matter. He has a lot of suppressed anger that needs somewhere to go. And who’s the closest available probably evil witch? Ya girl, Agatha Harkness.

Someone he saw as his friend, possibly, in the hex. Someone who fought his mom and tried to take her power. And someone who ultimately, by disrupting the status quo, led to his literal world being destroyed. By that logic, I’d want to punish her too.

Billy, in his (probably subconscious) magic-fueled rage, grief, and sadness over what happened to him, his family, and his life, took all of that and blamed it on Agatha. In his fantasy of his own hero’s journey on the Road to find his brother, to get his family back, he has (spell)casted Agatha as the villain.

So when Agatha “can’t control” her power in episode 5, siphoning Alice, it’s not because she has issues with her own control of her powers. It’s because Billy was making her do it (again, probably subconsciously). She essentially blacked out at that moment, and turned into the evil witch Agatha Harkness. And when she comes to, she seemingly has no idea what she’s done.

So when she says she couldn’t control it, she’s not lying. But it’s not because she’s never been able to control her powers. She’s probably had control of them for centuries. It’s because in that moment, Billy was writing the narrative, not her. And then he confirms it to her face — you’re lying, you want power, that’s all you’ve ever wanted. Essentially saying, you’re the villain here not me not my mom.

And then it clicks for her, what he’s doing, subconsciously or not. And she turns on the evil villain persona herself to take back the narrative from him. And we get, you’re so much like your mother. Creating the Road, creating this whole story to serve yourself and the narrative you want to believe. Making me the bad guy. Undertones of fuck you.

Okay great, so where does this leave us now and how does this play into the show as a whole? I think the question the show is asking, as it relates to Agatha’s character, is who really is Agatha Harkness? Is she the villain? Is she the hero? Is she both, or neither? Is she her reputation, as Lilia reads in ep 2, or is she more than that? Can she be more than that? Can she be good?

Now here’s where it gets real juicy y’all, because as much as Billy has made Agatha the villain in his hero's journey, he's also made her the Guide.

He goes to her to lead him down the Road. He's constantly asking her questions and trying to learn from her. On some level, maybe a more conscious level, he does idolize her. He wants to see her as a witch to look up to. He even wants her love. Just look at his crestfallen face when she says she didn't put the sigil on him in ep 4.

She's the Yoda to his Luke, the Dumbledore to his Harry, the Moiraine to his Rand. And once again, subconsciously he knows it. And he wants it.

He says in ep 6, I don't know if I ever needed you (a mouthy teen if I ever heard one), but then his power immediately fizzles out. She calls him out on it, all that power and no access without a temper tantrum. He needs her. He needs to learn. Again, in this version, she has control over her powers normally, just not in her trial. So she can provide that knowledge.

He went to her to lead him down the Road. And she's been subtly teaching him this whole time. (Once vengeance is unleashed, you can't reel it back in. It's about selflessness, Teen.)

Now for her part, I don't know if she realizes she's mentoring him. But she definitely cares about him, as we saw at the end of ep 4. Again, partly a reaction fueled by Nicky, but I think she's been at least 80% sure it was Billy this whole time. So she genuinely cares for him too.

If I had to bet, I'd say Agatha very much knows the different parts she's playing, the villain evil witch, the guide, and somewhere under even that, the real Agatha.

She's just playing along, some times more willingly than others, because she needs to see where this goes. And she doesn't necessarily want to break his baby brain in the process.

It's almost the more subtle version of her leading Wanda through her memories in WandaVision. She's guiding him along the Road, partly to see what he can do and get her powers back if possible, but also for his own good.

So prediction time, where does this leave us in the finale.

I won't speak to the remaining trials, but I'm thinking there has to be a big showdown between Agatha, Billy, and Rio.

If we're going for Agatha becoming her most true self, and Billy seeing her for who she actually is, my money is on a reversal of the Agatha stealing Alice's power scene.

Rio's going go to after Billy, and Agatha, to save him, is going to start siphoning his power. It's going to look like she's killing him, being the evil witch of her reputation. But then she's going to stop (because she's been capable of control this whole time), taking just enough power to get her purple back. He has more than enough to spare.

Also fun fact, Wanda's power (red) -> Billy's power (blue) -> Agatha's power (purple). Do I want this to happen just because the colors make sense... maybe.

Ultimately, Agatha and Billy become a team, a coven two, a master and apprentice. They both see each other for who they are, imperfect, powerful, but capable of good. Rio is fended off/bargained with somehow. Maybe Agatha offers up her own soul in his place but Rio can't do it. Idk that's all wild speculation.

Point being, this is all about self-discovery, self-actualization, and deconstructing false narratives you have around others, and in Billy's case, around his own life. Dealing with your trauma to become a more whole version of yourself.

And as with WandaVision, dealing with grief and loss, but in this case, also finding a companion, a familiar, a family you never expected beside you All Along. 👀

What do you think? Can you believe I wrote this the day before ep 7 drops?? 😂

[talksabouttheshows]

Agatha all along finale thoughts

I wondered why I had such contradictory feelings about the finale (with it being wonderful and exciting and shocking and absolutely great in it's own way but still at the end I just felt like something was missing)

And it's the lack of resolution the lack of depth and truth behind Agatha's story

I especially wanted to see in that flashback how she changed over the years and in particular AFTER Nicky died

not that centuries ago she already was this same Agatha we see at the beginning of the series

But then again maybe the truth is that in real life we too often find ourselves with unresolved feelings and unchanged personalities (including ours') and despite how unpleasant — that's just how it is

[scarlethexelove]

Agatha X fem! Reader that has a sexual trauma, like avoid sex and is afraid she lose Agatha for fon't have sex, please?

Help You

Pairing: Agatha Harkness x Reader

Word Count: 1087

Warnings: A little bit of angst, fluffy, talks of sexual assault, Soft Agatha, Panic attack.

Pt 2

A/n: This was a nice little fluffy one to write. I loved having Agatha so sweet and caring. Hopefully you like it.

NO ONE IS PERMITTED TO STEAL, COPY, OR REBLOG MY WORK AS THEIR OWN

The only sounds that could be heard in the room is heavy breathing as your breath mingles with Agatha. You’re sitting in her lap as the two of you make out. Agatha leans back in connecting your lips once again as her hands grip your hips. She nibbles your lip causing you to gasp into her mouth giving her the chance to slip her tongue back into your mouth. You moan into her mouth as she takes dominance over you, moving your hips on her lap. 

You have been dating Agatha for the past 4 months. The furthest you have ever gone with the older woman is making out. Always stopping her before it goes too far. She has been patient with you but you're scared that her patience is running out and soon she will leave you. 

Agatha’s lips move to start kissing your neck and the grip on your hips tightening. Panic starts to rise in you as she continues. Your breathing picks up. “A-Agatha.” You try to get her attention but she keeps kissing your neck sucking harshly. Your hands start to shake. “Agatha.” Your words come out more frantic, but she still doesn’t notice your panic. You can feel tears starting to run down your cheeks. “A-Agatha please s-stop. Stop, I-I can’t.” The panic rises further as your whole body shakes. Flashbacks of your past flash in your mind. 

Agatha finally stops pulling away with concern in her eyes. She now sees the frantic look in your eyes and the tears streaming down your cheeks. Her hands cup your cheeks, having you look at her, but you're looking right through her. “Sweetheart.” Her voice is soft. She has never seen you like this. You don’t speak and you’re breathing fast. “Baby please.” Agatha’s voice laced with concern. 

This finally snaps you out of your thoughts, your eyes blink and look at her. “I-I’m sorry.” You whimper. Agatha shakes her head. “Breathe with me baby.” She has you mimic her breathing. In a short time your breathing returns to normal and your tears stop. Agatha smiles softly at you as you calm down. 

The room is silent, Agatha’s hands never leaving your face. “Do you want to tell me what happened?” Agatha asks you. You shake your head. “You're going to leave me. Which I understand. I’m broken.” You whisper and look down. Agatha’s hands drop to your sides and gently rubs in a soothing motion. “You're not broken baby. I just want to know how I can help? Please let me help.” You want to tell her but you shake your head again. “Please look at me Y/n.” You slowly raise your gaze to the woman. She is smiling at you, still gently rubbing. “I love you.” She pecks your lips. “I-I love you too.” 

You let out a shaky breath before you speak. “I was assaulted a-and I haven’t been able to, to you know since.” Some tears slip down your cheeks. You don’t like to talk about what happened to you but you know you would have to tell her at some point. One of her hands moves to cup your cheek again, wiping the tears away. “Oh baby girl I’m so sorry.” You can’t help how you nuzzle into her hand as she gently tries to comfort you. “What can I do to help you?” Agatha asks you. “Y-You don’t wanna leave me?” You ask her. She shakes her head still smiling at you. “I love you sweetheart and I can see a life with you. I want to help you.” You're shocked by her words. You feel the same way but you expected her to run like everyone else. “What if I never want to have sex?” You ask her. “I don’t care about that. As long as I have you that is all that matters to me.” 

Since the start of this you're finally crying happy tears. She accepts you for you and you never expected to find anyone that would accept you. She kisses you again and pours all of her love for you into a single kiss. She pulls back leaning her forehead against yours. “I love you so much.” Your heart swells more the more she reassures you. “I love you too.”

“Can I ask you something?” Agatha asks you which you pull back and nod your head wanting her to continue. “Have you gone to therapy? I’m not asking because I want to fix you in any way but I think it could help you.” You look down at her words and shake your head. She hooks her finger under your chin and makes you look back at her. “Would you consider it?” She continues. You contemplate her question. You hadn’t thought about it. Still scared to relieve what happened to you all those years ago but you understand where she is coming from. You give a small nod. “I think so.” Agatha beams at you and pulls you closer to her. “I’m proud of you baby girl. I will be here with you every step of the way. Even if you never want sex I will still be here with you.” You smile and lay your head on her chest as her arms wrap around you tightly. 

“I’m sorry I never told you. I was scared of you leaving. Being disgusted with me.” You mumble. If she could Agatha’s hold on your tightens. “None of it was your fault. I’m sorry that I didn’t notice anything wrong. I’m just glad you talked to me now.” She kisses the top of your head. “Thank you.” You look up kissing just under her chin. Agatha smiles at your gentle kiss. “No need to thank me baby girl. I am here for you. I love you and always will.” 

You never expected for someone to want to stick around with you. Not to think that you were disgusting and broken. Someone who doesn’t want to fix you but to help you even if it won’t bring you closer to having sex. You are hopeful that you will eventually let her in fully and be ready. The first time that you have felt that you would ever want to in the future. Hopeful that therapy will move you close to that. This wasn’t what you expect of the day or even at the start of this event but you are thankful and ready for what the future holds for you and the love of your life.

[error-intheraine]

Agatha All Along

Ep 5, Oct 10 2024:

HOLY FUCKING SHIT HOLY SHIT WE WERE RIGHT HE IS WANDAS KID THE SIGIL BEING MESSY TO PROTECT HIS IDENTITY ‘we don’t like to say her name’ AND THEN HES SO MAD THEY JUST WANT POWER AND THEN HE MIND CONTROLS THEM AND THE CROWN GROWS ON HIS HEAD JUST LIKE IN WANDAVISION W/ WANDA AND ALSO ‘a lot happened to me at 13 too’ AGATHA WAS UNDER WANDAS CONTROL FOR 3 YEARS SO BILLY WOULD BE 17 AND HE IS AND WHEN HE WAS 13 THATS WHEN WANDA AND VISION DIED AND WESTVIEW WAS UN MIND CONTROLLED AND I THOUGHT HE DISAPEERED IF HE’S ALIVE IS WANDA ALIVE OR DID HE COME FROM A DIFFERENT MULTIVERSE TO FILL JN A SPOT IDK I THOUGHT HE WAS DEAD IS TOMMY DEAD TOO??? IF TOMMYS THERE WILL THEY BECOME A DUO IS HE GONNA KILL ANYONE ELSE CAISE THE IMLY ONE WHO WAS REALLY NICE TO HIM WAS ALICE W/ THE BROOMS AND ‘you know, I miss the eyeliner, but the hair’s kinda cute’ AND HE WAS THERE FOR HER FLASHBACK AND SHE JUST GOT OVER HER GENERATIONAL CURSE AND IS RECOVERING FROM HER TRAUMA AND THEN SHE TRIED SAVING AGATHA AND AGATHA KILLED HER AND THEN THE END BEING ‘YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN’ THAT SLAPPED SO HARD I LITERALLY ALMOST SCREAMED HOLY SUOT AND THE PARALLELS AND VISION IS GETTING HIS OWN SHOW WILL BILLY AND/OR TOMMY BE IN THAT WILL THE FULLY WHITE VIS BE IN THIS AND LIKE PULL BILLY OFF THE EDGE OF DESTRUCTION? IF RIO IS DEATH THEN WILL BILLY FORCE HER TO LEAD HIM THERE TO GET ALICE AND THEN FIND TOMMY VIS AND WANDA WOULD VIS EVEN BE THERE BECAUSE HES AI BUT ALSO HE IS A PERSON AND HE CAN DIE BUT WOULD HE BE IN THE SAME PLACE WILL WE GEG TO SEE MORE OF HIS BOYFRIEND WILL IT BE A WANDAVISION SITUATION WHERE HE’L TRY HIDING IT FROM HIS BF AND WONT WORK OR WILL HIS BF BE LIKE A CAHRCATER (I don’t think so cause gay and marvel) ALSO ‘an agent of Mephisto’ WHO IS FROM THE MARVEL UNIVERSE BASED ON GREEK MYTHS IF NORSE MYTHOLOGY IS REAL THE. GREEK MYTHOLOGY ORPHEUS???

OK LIKE 15 min LATER LOOKED ONLINE YEAH SO BILLY MOGHT NOT BE 616 BILLY SO MAYBE THATS WHY HE CANT TLAK AND LIKE AND THIRTEEN HE GOT TRANSPORTED AND HIS HAIR TURNED BLACK OR SOME SHIT AND ALSO THE REASON HE KEEPS FINDING THE CLUES

A. Already walked the witches road in a different universe/multiverse (not 616)

B. The gatherer of the coven walks the road, he gathered the coven it was never Agatha’s it was his

ALSO WHY WAS AGATHA PROTECTING HIM MAYBE SHE THOUGHT HE WAS HERS UNTIL RIO AND THEN SHE REALISED HE WAS WANDAS AND WAS LIKE OH SHIT THAT MAKES SENSE ALSO DOES TEEN KNOW HIS MOM IS WANDA HOW LONG HAS HE KNOWN WTF I CANT BELIEVE I HAVE TI WAIT ANOTHER FUCKING WEEK ALSO THE FINALE IS DEF COMING OUT ON HALLOWEEN ALSO WHAT IF WANDA IS AT THE END OF THE ROAD AND NOT DEAD J DINT THINK BILLY KNEW HIS MOM CAUSE AGATHA TRIED KILLING HIM AND BIS MOM SO LIKE YEAH

OK MEW THEORY FROM TWT HOMY SHIT WHAG IF THE WHOLE EPISODE WAS A VISION BECAUSE IN EVERY EP LILIA BLURTED OUT A VUSION AND SHE DIDNT THIS TIME PROBABLY BECAUSE WE WERE IN HER VISION ALSO SVERYINE WAS WEIRDLY OOC AND STRAIGHTFORWARD MAYBE IT DIDNT HAPPEN YET AND LIKE MAYBE BEGINNING WAS BUT I THINK GATAHAS TRIAL BEING THE SHORTEST IS DUMB SHE WOULD FAVE SO MUCH MORE AND MAYBE HER WORST FEAR IS HER MOM IDK TRAUMA BUT LIKE WHAT IF IT WAS A VISION THAT WOULD BE FUCKING CRAZY HAHA WHAT IF RIO WAS THE ONLY ONE IN CHARACTER THEY ALL TURNED ON AGATHA SO FAST MAYBE THE VISION CUT OUT FLUFF WHICH IS WHY ITS SO SHORT OR MAYBE TEEN WAS MANIPULATING EVERYONE OR LILIAS VISION OF THE WORST OUTCOME OF THE ROAD ‘save Agatha’ , Alice, don’t’ SO LILIA CAN STOP THEM FROM HAVING ALIVE DIE SAVING AGATHA AND BILLY DOESNT KILL EVERYONE ALSO WHAT IF IT WAS ACTUALLY TEENS TRIAL BECAUSE 80’s SLEEPOVER HES WEARING SAME KIND OF T SHIRT AS HE DID IN WANDAVISION AND WNADVISOON HE WAS AGED UP IN THE 80’s EPISODE AND LIKE THIRTEEN AND MAYBE HEA EVIL AND MANIPULATED EVERYONE INTO THINKING IT WAS AGATHAS FAULT SO THATS WHY BUT HE WIULDNT KILL ALICE MAYBE THAT WASNT PLANNED BUT LIKE THE DOOR ONLY OPENED WHEN HE SAID NICHOLAS SCRATCH FSR WTF

TWT IS MAKING ME CARZY WHAT IF BILLY WAS CONTROLLING IT THE WHOLE TIME SO THATS WHY TRIALS ONLY START WHEN HE DOES SOMETHING AND WHY HE WAS ABLE TO GET AGATHA OUT OF HIS MOMS SPELL AND WHY THE KIGHT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE ROAD WAS BLUE LIEK AAAAAAH AND HES THE FIRTS ONE INTO THE ROAD AND THE DOOR ONLY OPENED WHEN HE RAN DOWN MAYBE THE NEXT EPISODE WILL HAVE A DIFFERENT TITLE

ALSO LIKE BILLY CONTROLLING THEM THE WIO TIME BUT THIS EPISODE THE ONLY PERSON WHO TREATED HIM AS AN EQUAL (Alice) DIED SO HE JUST WENT FUCKING INSANE AND FERAL

[witchkillr]

do you ever think about how agatha watched billy grow up. she was literally with him almost from birth, looked after him, watched him when his mother was struggling, kidnapped and held him hostage and then met him again years later when he didn’t remember a thing but idolised her, somehow, some cosmic way. and she didn’t know then, but she suspected — this was the little boy who sat on her couch and said he liked it there because her mind was quiet, unable to control his power, innocently grateful for the reprieve she offered in the course of betraying his family.

she tried to distance herself, and it almost worked, but the trick of it is this: her son, too, had power he couldn’t control at that age. her son, too, had dark hair and big eyes and knew more tragedy than someone that young should ever have to hold. she suspected, but there were several possible explanations, and as she worked through them he was unfailingly, naively sweet in the same way he had been that day in her stolen westview home. it hadn’t broken him, not yet.

even when he nearly died, he didn’t break, but agatha did. not entirely, not irreparably, but she cracked — she was caught caring in the throes of a trauma flashback and forced to reconcile the fact that it doesn’t matter who he is, whether he’s nick or billy or someone else altogether. agatha does not want him dead.

he isn’t hers, but it doesn’t matter. it’s good to see him again, even in the midst of all his familial baggage and volatile, teenage emotions. he’s finally starting to let go of the naïveté and come into his own as a survivour — as a witch — and she is proud of him. (this coexists with other, more complicated feelings: the fact that she is painted as the monster, for example, in order to break him out of his picturesque worldview. she is a monster but she wasn’t in that moment. in that moment she was a starving animal, and he doesn’t believe her, because he is sixteen and two things cannot be true at once.)

she doesn’t know how to be a good mother, but she knows how to teach. so that’s what she’ll do.

[thenerdofthegroup]

And if I said Agatha fits ‘the family jewels’ album by marina and the diamonds perfectly?!?!? Then what

Are you satisfied- obvious. Always wanting more. Wanting to be the best. Be perfect. Seen as a freak by others due to wanting control

Shampain- Agatha is a metaphor for addiction. This song is all about the terrible side of drinking and addiction. Perfect again

I am not a robot- one of my personal favs (I know I’m autistic don’t). But this perfectly goes with a few scenes where Agatha… she isn’t the same as others. It’s very clear that even in moments of vunerability she can’t switch of that survival. That non human emotion does not come naturally but she does try. The campfire scene where she awkwardly chuckles, still one of the best scenes ever imo, proves this. She is an outside to everyone. Women, witches etc she is outside. Like a ‘robot’ looking in

Girls- right now. Agatha is not a good person. She mocks women. She uses their insecurities and their trauma against them to get what she wants. This whole song is about mocking other women and the societal expectations on them. Agatha doesn’t give a shit. And she will mock anyone that does. If someone thinks she’s ugly, dead. Someone thinks she’s fat, torture. They don’t matter so seeing others feel it is another digging point for her to get under others skins. I know what I’m trying to say but I don’t think it’s working… let’s just say we all know what I’m trying to say

Mowgli’s road- indecision. At every point she could choose to connect and to finally trust others again or keep down the path of ‘survival’. It’s also a very childish and ‘Disney like’ song, which you could link to her childhood. At 18 she had to decide whether she could keep taking abuse or finally kill. Which path to take each time…

Obsessions- the much darker side to her. I personally feel she has a few… mental quirks and this song is about depression, anxiety, ptsd and ocd. I think a lot of what she has been through and exhibits in the show can be linked to these or other mental disorders. But under the charm and bubbles there is a deeply broken person who never wants to feel it. Rio is right. She is a coward. And she runs away from those feelings. Obsessed with perfection and power to escape them

Hollywood- this song is about idolising people. I think this can be applied to both power and her always reaching for it OR about people like Wanda, Billy and Rio. She can never reach their levels of power but she wants it. She needs it. She wants to be them, wants to have that control. She doesn’t idolise them personally say but she wants to claw her way to that pedestal of power

The outsider- I mean… this is obvious. She is THE outsider. She doesn’t fit with witches, humans, gods etc. she is outside of it all. The campfire proved it to me. The Nick flashbacks made it obvious. Always alone, always the outsider. Note my favourite line is how she screams ‘I’m a fucking wildcard’ and Agatha would scream that too. So yes this song to me is one of the closest related

Hermit the frog- her going absolutely batshit insane. But on a more serious note it’s about her becoming worse and worse and spiralling in a terrible relationship. Now, some people argue Rio was this for her, and maybe you’re right. But I don’t see it that way. Agatha was going to kill. They are evil mistresses together. There are nuances to it that I do agree with but this isn’t about that. This is about the darkhold. She moved from one relationship (her and Nicky) and sunk into the darkhold out of pure grief and was abused by it and her mind became worse. That’s at least what I headcanon. That her mental health got dreadful. But it was a toxic pull. She knew it was bad for her but she couldn’t stand the pain and dealing with it alone without a buffer anymore (again guessing because the show with fake title of DARKHOLD DIARIES DIDNT SHOW HER AND THE FUCKING DARKHOLD) *cough cough* anyway. Nick could also be her ‘glass balloon’

Oh no- terror of failing. That’s obvious. This whole song like satisfied screams her. Because she’s a perfectionist. She cannot fail. Failure is the worst thing for her. This song just screams Agatha to me. “Because I feel like I’m the worst so I always act like I’m the best”

Rootless- disconnected from everything. It’s about relocating and that’s what she does. She has no ties to a place, people, anything. She has nothing to connect with (apart from Rio). She is isolated from everything because she has nothing to connect to.

Numb- and if I said Agatha is depressed and masks it with about 1000 masks… but really this whole song is about being numb to everything. And that’s what she is. She feels nothing to death (the action… have to specify now), numb to pain, numb to a lot. Or at least pretends to be mostly. But I think she is numb to a lot due to all the pain she has been through and this song definitely encapsulates that

Guilty- this songs about killing a dog… soooo. Just kidding it’s about family issues. Perfect. To single out one line perfectly “I was just a kid and all I really wanted was my father” swap out father with mother and boom, sad Agatha childhood

Family Jewels- Agatha to a tea. “Ooh, don't you find it strange? Only thing we share is one last name. Did I beat you at your own game? Typical of me to put us all to shame” I can even imagine teenage Agatha screaming this at her mum. Abusive parent who hates her and pushes her away? Tick. The child taking and having to live with the shame of being the stain in the family name? Tick.

God I could write essays about this, most will wood songs and so many other songs that relate to her. My god…

She is just perfect

Thank you for coming to my TED talk. Here is a photo of ghost Agatha doing laundry for listening

[snow-in-the-desert]

Dramione Recommendations

Ok so, 2020 has been A LOT but on a personal note one of the most surprising things to happen was me discovering Dramione fanfiction and becoming unashamedly obsessed with it. I really didn’t see that coming but I’m here now and I’m here to stay. 

I think I started reading in the Dramione fandom around mid July last year?? (In all honesty I’ve lost any true sense of time’s progression at this point so I could be well off the mark with that) And I’ve decided to compile a list of all my favourite fics I’ve read so far. Why? I really just want to gush over all the amazing writers I have found through this fandom because y’all deserve it. 

Side note: If any of the authors actually sees this post just dm so I can buy you coffee or post you writing supplies or something idk I feel like that’s the least I can do for all your amazing work x

Remain Nameless by @heyjude19-writing

Ok I have to start with RN because this fic is pretty much the sole reason I decided to create an account with A03 or a tumblr or just decided to get involved with this fandom at all. 

I headcannon this story hard. But I think even if you aren’t a fan of Dramione you should just read this because it is so unbelievably good and well written and poignant and Draco’s sarcastic personality in this is truly a thing of beauty in this - I relate to his inner monologue’s on a deep personal level. 

I could rave about this story any time, any day of the week, just ask me. In fact, maybe I’ll just start a HeyJude19 fan club to fulfill that urge.

There are so many elements that I love but for the sake of brevity, RN is a beautifully told story of Draco and Hermione finding love and healing in a post-war HP setting. Heyjude19 had the very special ability of making me want to simulatenously laugh, cry and swoon with the power of her words. Just stop what you are doing and go read it now if you havent already, ok?  

I also really enjoyed reading Bells on a Hill, Beers, Potions and Unwise Notions and A Shift in Focus, if you are looking for smaller fics, definitely give these a go. They are all funny and heartfelt stoires that will make your tippy toes wriggle with glee. 

The Rights and Wrongs Series by @lovesbitca8

The Right Thing To Do, All The Wrong Things and The Auction are the holy trinity of Dramione writing. I have christened it thus, so mote it be. And frankly I’m not interested in any other opinion than that one, thank you very much!

After reading this series I don’t think I’ll be able to look back on the orginal HP books without thinking of Hermione’s and Draco’s memories of their time at Hogwarts in these fics as anything other than strictly cannon. 

So many things to love about this series but I think one of the major highlights was Hermione and Draco’s use of occlumency. LoveBitca8 created such beautiful visuals with how occlumency works as a magical practice and seeing Draco and Hermione so devoted to eachother to the point of safeguarding their inner most feelings to protect eachother was unbelievably romantic and poetic. 

Also the smut is divine ;)

Manacled by @senlinyu​

My heart will never be the same after reading this story. Like I actually can’t think about this fic without getting a lump at the back of my throat. I have never felt so emotionally ruined after reading anything, compared to the likes of this fic. Just please, please read it. To badly quote HP, reading Manacled will make you suffer but you’re going to be happy about it.

The flashbacks are a rollercoaster in of themselves but the way Hermione inadvertently refers to them when she is still in a state of memory loss was so heartbreaking to read. My heart still aches for them both. Also its a truly satisfying to see Draco and Hermione written in a way were they are both so fiercly protective of one another. They make my insides go soft. 

I also really enjoyed Snow Fall, Now Is A Gift and All You Want by the author but to be honest anything written by Senlinyu is always thoroughly enjoyable and worth a look. 

The Erised Effect by @adaprix​

Ada is QUEEN of dramione smut but ‘The Erised Effect’ is top tier. Its equal parts funny, romantic, sentimental and oh so sexy. Ada really knows how to build and build on sexual tension and doesn’t disappoint on the final delivery. I’m a big admirer of her writing style and just veraciously read whatever she posts but ‘The Erised Effect’ is just golden. A must read. (Also Pansy’s sexual fantasy in this story is a visual I don’t think I’ll ever be able to remove from my brain so thanks for that Ada)

Also quick side note: Adaprix’ stories were the first I read when I was looking into this fandom and it was enough to get me hooked on the pairing from the get go so I have that to thank Ada for too. I remember devouring all the stories she had posted to A03 and when I was done I was like... now what am I supposed to do with my life?? And that’s basically when I began to look deeper into the fandom and thus the course of my life in 2020 changed for the better. 

Some other stories I love by her are Break for Me, All My Sins, The Big 4-0, The Fucklust Series and The Flat in Bath. 

Clean by @olivieblake​

This 6th Year AU where Draco and Hermione work together on a class assignment and end up falling in love had me feeling all kinds of ways when I read it. I almost don’t know where to start but I think one of the stand out things for me was how immersed I felt in reading it. 

Hogwarts is captured really well, you get a good sense of class atmospheres, character nuances and behind the scenes of events that happen in HBP but from a Draco and Hermione’s perspectives. It’s well executed and intricate tapestry of a fic. With an excellent plot twist ending! 

Also Hermione and Draco’s relationship in this is equal parts fluffy and smutty and it just ticks all the right boxes that you want to see for those characters ;)

Breath Mints / Battle Scars by @onyx-and-elm​

The angst in this one is just *chef’s kiss*

God I love this fic. The way Draco is portrayed is very true to his defensive and tetchy character in the original books but he is also given so much more depth. The way his diary entries are written are just so well executed. It’s a true testament to the author’s creative writing skill. And I LOVE how even though Draco is clearly in such a messed up place, he still has a basic level of self respect and dignity that he won’t tolerate being used or undervalued in his relationship with Hermione. 

Yep, I really love Draco’s characterisation in this one if you can’t tell.  But Hermione is also well written too. Her stuggles and trauma of returning to Hogwarts after war is described in a believable and grounded way. And my heart definitely ached for them both. I just wanted to wrap the pair of them in a big fuzzy blanket and tell them that everything will be alright. 

WANDS OUT! by @persephonestone​

This murder mystery / Dramione / Theo x Harry / AU crossover is everything I didn’t know I wanted until I read it. I felt like I was picked up and plonked right into an alternative dimension where all the characters of HP are just living it up in an Agatha Christie novel. 

It’s a funny and clever story that I found refreshing to read amongst all the other fanfics that are usually cemented in the HP timeline or universe. Theodore Nott in this fic is perfection he should be written like this in every fic from now on in my opinion. I couldn’t stop giggling any time he had a scene in the story.

And the ‘only one bed’ trope in this fic is 10/10. I don’t want to give spoilers but ohmygod. It hits all the right notes. 

The One With Technical Difficulties by cassielassie 

Cassielassie has an excellent three part series of Dramone called ‘The One with...” but I have to give special credit to this story in particular for one main reason. ELEVATOR TROPES. I can’t get enough of em. I think I have my early childhood viewings of NCIS to thank for my obsession with elevator tropes they just do something to me that simply cannot be explained with mere words. The palpable sexual tension of being in a broken down elevator with an ‘enemies to lovers’ pairing, a heated arguement breaks out followed by a discovery of mutual feelings and a romantic embrace...

Eugh. It gets me everytime. And this fic is no exception. I loved it for all the reasons I’ve already stated above but also for the attention to detail in Draco and Hermione’s careers makes this one particularly immersive. The dynamics between them established in this one-shot are convincingly portrayed and the chemistry between them is so undeniably hot. 

The Light is No Mystery by @masterofinfinities​

Yooo if you want to read a dramione fic that is a deep dive into Pureblood culture and Post-War recovery but is also a perfect allegory for discrimination and today’s political landscape of moral grandstanding for votes then look no further than this one. 

This story has a bit of everything. Intrigue, mystery, ptsd and recovery, enemies to lovers / secret relationship, government conspiracy and humour, to name a few. I eargerly await every update to this story and am anxious to know how it ends!

The Eagle’s Nest by HeartOfAspen 

Finally! A fic that gives me the Ravenclaw representation I crave. I think I could recommend this fic on the lore depicted of Ravenclaw house alone. ‘The Stacks’ and Rowena Ravenclaw’s own ‘come and go room’ are just such cool details that I could see being real in the HP universe. 

This fic is so cosy and makes me feel like I’m just popping back into Hogwarts for another year. You get to see all the usuals like prof. Mcgongall, Nearly headless Nick, PEEVES, Hagrid, as well as learn more about minor characters from the other school houses. The story follows Hermione going to her day to day classes and there are interesting concepts about magic and alchemy that are explored. 

Draco and Hermione’s relationship in this one is of course very fluffy and heartfelt. But it’s the attention to detail that really makes this fic outstanding and the experience of reading it feels fleshed out and true to HP universe.

A shorter fic by HeartofAspen that I recommend is one called Set in Stone, it has an adventurous, Indianna Jones vibe to it, that I am so down for. 

Teachable Moments by @purplesugarquills

In this fic Hermione is an innocent little virgin determined to learn everything about sex. And Draco Malfoy is her tutor. If that isn’t enough to get you on board then I don’t know what is. Both Heartfelt and Steamy. PurpleSugarQuills writes smut so well but it’s the progression of their growing attachment and the nervous treading of new uncharted waters of romantic relationships for both of them that just adds a whole other level of feels to the story. Also chapter 9 is like reading poetry - its so good. Eugh just give it a read if you haven’t already.

Les Pèlerins by @pacific-rimbaud

This story is high art. It’s transcendent. Reading this story feels like the emotional equivalent of standing around a hundred glowing fairy lights, sipping hot cocoa and being wrapped in the loving embrace of a s/o. I can’t speak my praises highly enough or even become passably coherent in my words when I try to articulate a review. 

From the very first paragraph I felt like I was just whisked away on a Parisian holiday and I’ve never even bloody been to Paris but damn it if this story didn’t make me feel like I was there. The writing style is just so tactile and intense it’s like I could feel the cold winter air brush against me as I read it. Eugh I just completely fell in love with the story and the writer. 

New Year’s resolution. Read everything PacificRimbaud has ever posted online. 

[peach-and-bugs]

❤️Fallen Star - Wanda Maximoff x fem!Reader (she/they pronouns)❤️

Marvel canon divergence 

❤️Chapter 1❤️ Ch 2

Fanfiction master list

Summary: You don't remember much of what happened during the experiments, or before them honestly. Your mind seems to be protecting you from that somehow. You've been on your own for a year now and you can't recall what normal life used to be like. Now, everything is mixed up and you've somehow been taken in by a group that calls themselves the Avengers.

It's a good situation, but it still has its challenges. However, you don't expect the quiet girl that never talks to you but is always around for some strange reason to be one of those challenges. 

-❤️-

(y/n is a former HYDRA experiment that was assumed to be a failure when she encountered the mind stone, but what HYDRA didn't realize was that they were given the ability to morph her inner being into the form of light, aiding in her accidental escape. Now, after a year running from people who had no clue they should be looking for her, y/n has been taking in by the Avengers.)

Warnings: implied amnesia, talk of corpses, flashbacks of trauma, experimentation

Word count: 1353

Extra notes: large sections of italics are flashbacks

A/N: Surprise! Here’s a Wanda x Reader! I actually started this one before Passing Notes, (my Agatha x Reader, if you didn’t know) but it took a backseat after I got really invested in Passing Notes. I don’t know how fast this one is going to update or how long it will be, but it will probably move slower than Passing Notes. I can see myself working on this when I hit a wall with other fics, so this is kind of a backup in a way? I’m still excited to see how ya’ll like it though, so leave your thoughts in the comments or my asks! ❤️

-❤️-

Everything is fuzzy. In your head, it's all blurry, like a static television. Continuously, you know that something’s missing. You know you had a family, a childhood, and you like to think that it was a good one, but it's lost. You have bits and pieces that you can somewhat recall, but they feel like pieces of a puzzle, just not the puzzle you’re working on.

You recall fundamental things, which is good, you assume. You know your name, y/n. You know your age, 25 (although you could be off give or take a few months. You don’t know your birthday.) You liked to read and enjoyed music as a child, you just don’t know what kind it was. But that’s about it. You know there's more in there, in your head, but it's locked up. 

Now, all you really remember is Hydra. Your time there hadn’t been long. A year, maybe two. There was a reason you were there. Of course, the reason why is locked in the memory vault, as you've been calling it. You’ve been trying to stay optimistic but that's hard when you’re not sure if you're an optimist or a pessimist naturally. 

Hydra had been a dark time for you. You assumed that it had been for most people involved with them. Hydra had said they were looking to fix the world. They thought they were, but it was the wrong way to do it. You understood this, but in your position, you had no choice but to comply with their demands. There had been lab work, testing, needles, blood. All those types of things that you would see in human testing. You realized once you escaped that you had just been a lab rat the whole time. It was a disgusting realization.

Your escape was a whole other story. It’s the clearest memory you have, but you rarely attempt to recall it. It’s the one thing that you wish you could forget, but can’t. You especially can’t forget it on nights like this. Nights where it's raining hard again, where dirt roads become mud and everyone is stranded in their homes. So you find yourself shivering as you trudge through the cold, trying desperately to forget like you forgot everything else when your memory plays like a film. 

-*-

“Test subject thirteen A, please state your name and status,” a voice called over a crackly intercom as you had been guided into the testing room. Your hands shook. Your skin was covered in goosebumps as freezing air swirls around your bare legs. You walked on open grates, minding your balance as the metal sent another chill shooting through your spine. Looking up, you were met with a glass wall that must have been a two-way mirror. They see you, but you don’t see them.

“Um, y/f/n y/l/n. Volunteer…” you murmured as the hair on the back of your neck started to stand on end. The word “volunteer” bothers you now as the memory plays out. You recall the lump that formed in your throat before you said it. 

“Alright, Miss y/l/n. Please approach the scepter for us and touch the stone,” you had been instructed. You’re not getting out of here, not alive anyway. No one who has entered has come out alive. You wanted to cry. Cry because you were scared and you weren't ready. You didn’t want to die, not like this. Not in your early twenties as some test subject, you recall thinking as you shakily approached the scepter. 

With a shaking breath, you swallowed back the tears that blurred your vision at the moment. After that, it all went black. 

-*-

You recall watching as they got rid of you. They threw your body into the mud just outside of the compound. You expect that they assumed you would be washed away in the rain. You don’t know how any of it happened. All you could do was watch as an invisible ghost. You had literally been thrown out of your body. 

When the men left you alone, you stood over what you assumed was your corpse. You looked so pale, so dead. This is what you assumed death was, anyway. No heaven, no hell, just watching. You let yourself cry now. You don’t know if it was actually crying, but it felt the same as when you were alive. You made no sound, no actual tears. Just the familiar agonizing feeling. 

You still aren't sure what drove you to reach out, but in your moment of weakness, you crouched down in front of yourself. You reached out your wispy gold fingertips to trace the curve of your cheekbone when you sucked back into yourself. The world somersaulted and you jolted out of the mud with a screaming gasp for air. 

-*-

That had been over a year ago. You ran after that, and you still haven't stopped. You’ve been all over Europe by now, taking all the odd jobs you could, but not staying anywhere too long. You had no idea if they knew you were alive, but you didn’t want to risk anything. Your powers have revealed themselves more over time, and you have formed some kind of mutual understanding with them in a way. 

You control your inner being, or your soul, as some would rather call it. You can leave your body in a ghost-like form, which is how you unintentionally made your grand escape. You have also learned how to remove a part of your inner being temporarily to form an illusion. Bigger illusions require more of your being and energy, which means you get hungrier and you sleep longer for a little while, depending on how much and how long you were keeping the illusion. You’ve since learned how to use your power with less exertion, but you still have room to improve. 

You now walk through the rain in an attempt to find somewhere safe again. You only showed up in this village tonight, so you had to be careful. You have to seem like a normal traveler so Hydra can’t find you. (If they were even looking.) That’s what you always told yourself. Keep moving so they don’t find you. That’s how you stay alive and safe. You don’t know what they would do if they found you. 

Maybe you’d be tested on, or dissected. They could also use you as their weapon. You don’t want that. You have the potential to be dangerous. You still haven't fully discovered your powers and a part of you doesn’t want to know more. You just want a normal, simplistic life. You laugh now at the thought. With powers and a backstory like yours, there's no such thing as “normal.” 

The world isn’t ready for people like you. Sure, the Avengers exist and are celebrated for their abnormalities, but you’re not an Avenger. The Avengers have abilities that can be explained. You don’t even know what made you like this, let alone how it happened. You don’t seem to know anything, you think as you make your way to the outskirts of the closed-up village. 

You stop when you reach an old abandoned building just inside a line of trees, semi-hidden by bushes. It wasn’t ideal, but it would do. The door sticks in the mud, but you eventually get it open, trailing mud into the building. It's old and falling apart. Holes in the ceiling let the rain fall inside as stained glass windows distort the moonlight that comes in. The walls are covered in angels and martyrs, religious figures. 

The word comes to you with a little thinking. It’s a church. You don’t remember ever going to church before everything that happened. You decide to stay. You don’t know how long, but at the very least till it stops raining. You settle into a dry corner, huddling up with the gear you've collected over your year of travel. After reliving your memory once tonight, the rain no longer bothers you. Instead, it lulls you into a state of dreamless sleep.

[vicontheinternet]

How to fix the maximoff twins in three ways aka retcon them again

Have the bombing in sokivia do more damage to the mental health of the mcu Wanda and peitro. Maybe have her powers be because of the radiation from the bombs. do to the flashback in wandavision to the bombing the ethnicity not matching up the present day wanda and peitro, have this retcon be somewhat of the backstory of jean grey (where jean shared are psychic lick with her dying friend build off that) featuring identity theft and thanks to the trauma of the experiment at hydra it left her with some brain damage and her and her brother thinking they were the twins fooling even Agatha in her mind. At first I thought of mimicking as mcu wanda power but no what if the real maximoff twins were kidnapped by hydra and were done test on in as strucker like fashion and mcu Wanda had a massive psychological break assuming the actual Wanda’s identity

Or

If the introduce the X-men via the multiverse say have to slightly different version of them the comic book twins and mcu jean!wanda

Or

Introduce magneto’s kinds under a different name anyone of the twins comic family members name would be suitable for it

[marximoff]

Hi ! First of all, thank you very much for blessing us with your fic, I absolutely love the way you portrayed someone who suffer from the Blip and I wish it was something we see more often in Marvel. The angst is amazing and my heart hurts everytime. :'D

I have a few questions if you don't mind to answer : Is Wanda physically just the same as Wanda from 838 (by that I mean their look in case I'm not clear) ? Are you going to add some interactions with the others Avengers (like maybe Clint or Sam) ? I know it's a Wanda/Read centric story of their healing, both as a couple and individually, but I was curious if they both would ever come back, hypothetically, as superheroes (maybe it's a spoil so if you don't want to answer it's totally fine by me) ? Are you going to show more of their background as young girlfriends (if not I would love to request in the future maybe a one shot of their first date, first confession, first time... 👀) ? Who was the closest Avengers to the Reader, excluding Wanda ?

Thank you very much again for your fic and I hope I didn't bother you with my questions.

ok, first of all, i'm really glad you're enjoying the fic so far! it's really important for me to get feedback from readers (and i particularly like it a lot 😳👉👈)

but ok, let's go by parts (i really enjoy answering questions about my work, so get ready because it's going to be a lot don't mind me i'm excited)

Yes, our current Wanda has the same physical appearance as Wanda 838 - honestly i don't know why the heck they decided to keep her a redhead after Endgame or even Wandavision, but because we follow the same idea here as the variant, that is a retired Wanda who focused her life on being a mother and enjoy her family life (and not be a fugitive anymore, of course), there's no reason for Wanda to remain a redhead like, at all give me back my brunette Wanda you cowards!

Yes, there are plans for more Avengers to appear as the story unfolds (and the prediction is that there will be about ten chapters in all btw, not to mention the one shots that i'm still dying to write to add more content to this universe bc well, i'm gay).

Honestly, i don't think there's more room in both R's and Wanda's lives for them to be superheroes again. Although they do care about helping people as a whole, those days are behind them and now their focus is just living an ordinary life (even if for different reasons) - superpowers are just mere consequences, details. Wanda might still focus on her magical studies with Agatha, but not in a way where she uses those powers to defend the world in the vigilante kind of way (she just knows her importance as a Scarlet Witch to the wizarding community, but is more like a mystical figure than as a hero per se). None of them really had a sense of heroism like Steve or Sam, for example, and they just did it because that's kind of what they felt they had to do at the time, being teenagers with superpowers. But probably their focus right now is just raising the twins and living a peaceful life.

Yes, there will still be some flashbacks about R and Wanda's past as teenagers and the most defining moments of their relationship before the Blip (I just love emo Wanda and want to write more about her ok let me be fjksdjfks), but i do intend to write some specific one-shots about some moments that will end up not getting in the main series - spoiler alert, i'm working on a one shot rn about how teenagers R and Wanda came to the conclusion that they were in love with each other 👀

And finally, Natasha was the closest to R besides Wanda - she kind of saw R as a little sister (since she reminded her a lot of Yelena), and vice versa. That's why a big part of R's post-Blip trauma, in addition to losing her entire family, of course, was witnessing Nat's death and not being able to do anything to stop it. But i think it's also worth mentioning that she had a closer relationship with Sam and Steve, especially after their days as fugitives, yeah... and she kind of had a soft side for Vision, tbh.

well, that's a lot, but I hope I've answered all your questions! and feel free to ask more (anything that isn't a spoiler and i can answer lol)

[tittatattoo]

Bungo stray dogs dead apple

BUNGO STRAY DOGS DEAD APPLE FULL

BUNGO STRAY DOGS DEAD APPLE SERIES

Additionally, there were a few noticeable typos. However, in-house, it is odd that elements, such as Chuuya’s trigger phrase for his ability, differ from the novel and manga.

BUNGO STRAY DOGS DEAD APPLE SERIES

Translation is hard, especially with a series that references literary works that have been localized in numerous ways previously. A different company, of course, localizes the anime, but both the manga and novels are published by Yen Press. Bungo Stray Dogs is a multimedia franchise. The other frustration with this novel is consistency. The lines are bold, dark, and scratchy, in contrast to Harukawa’s usually thin, slick linework. Ganjii’s illustrations are good, although not as detailed as Harukawa’s. Presentation-wise, the Bungo Stray Dogs: Dead Apple novel includes a double-sided pullout featuring the key artwork used for the film. More so, since the timeline placement of the novel is after the conflict with The Guild, where Atsushi and Kyoka already had major character arcs about self-acceptance. Ultimately, the plot’s overall messages of trauma and self-acceptance aren’t given enough time to grow with the characters and feel rather forced. This helps ease some of the frustration with his character. The Bungo Stray Dogs: Dead Apple light novel also expands more on Atsushi’s past trauma with Shibusawa. It spends a little more time with the antagonists, giving a bit more context to their motivations and goals. The novelization certainly improves on the film’s convoluted plot. Wires get crossed in the details, causing the big picture to collapse under its own weight. These are fun, and ultimately Bungo Stray Dogs: Dead Apple is more enjoyable looking at its individual parts, rather than their sum. Even Dame Agatha Christie, elusive in the manga, makes a brief appearance. It is nice to see Oda again, with a brief flashback to the Dragon’s Head Conflict during Dazai’s mafia days. There are multiple character cameos, and some work better than others. It crams a lot into just under 200 pages. The novel follows the film pretty closely, with only a few minor deviations and expansions to improve clarity. Behind the scenes, Dazai is once again pulling the strings, this time alongside Fyodor Dostoevsky, and he may have finally betrayed the detective agency. Separated from their teammates in a thick fog that covers the city, Atsushi and Kyoka must team up with former enemy Akutagawa of the Port Mafia. Matt Rutsohn translates it into English.Ī series of unexplained suicides by skill users prompt the Armed Detective Agency to track down a mysterious man by the name of Tatsuhiko Shibusawa. This novel is written by Hiro Iwahata, with illustrations by Ganjii, based on the original story from Bungo Stray Dogs DA Partners. Bungo Stray Dogs: Dead Apple is the first light novel to not be written directly by Asagiri, who instead supervised. The light novel series features standalone stories by Asagiri.

BUNGO STRAY DOGS DEAD APPLE FULL

The series started as a manga by Kafka Asagiri with art by Sango Harukawa, but soon expanded into a full multimedia franchise, widening the canon. The majority of the characters in the series are inspired (and named after) real life literary figures, and references abound. Bungo Stray Dogs centers around the Armed Detective Agency, a fictional group of “skill users” in Yokohama who take on cases. It has been a couple of years since the Bungo Stray Dogs: Dead Apple anime-original film premiered, but the novelization of the story has just received an English release from Yen Press.

[arcgeminga]

What is the mun's opinion of all the gold saints from TLC?

♚— Oh boi. This is gonna be a mouthful. I know you said "all" , but I can't do saints like Avenir and Sage since I haven't read Shion and the Old Twins' gaiden in English. And I'm not about to act like I know Spanish enough to write a review on those saints.

♚ Aries Shion - Should've been the Hades Arc Shion. Like damn, I really like Shion when he's an angry sheep!! I mean, he yeets the five bronzies in Hades Arc like "Fuck dem kids!". 

I really like Specter/Pope Shion. But TLC Shion I do not hate. In fact, I can understand how and why he becomes Pope. I really like TLC Aries Shion! I just wished he was more angry sheep, but TLC Shion is not bad. I especially loved his Gaiden, at least the part where Avenir was shown. I feel like they should have explained more on his thoughts on becoming pope or exploring him having some sort of survivor's guilt but hey. I don't dislike him!     

♚ Taurus Aldebaran/Hasgard/Rasgado - Honestly, the only thing I can say about Hasgard is that... I don't hate him. I love his English Voice actor (because I'm a really big fan of Jamieson Price since Tales of Vesperia), but for Hasgard himself... I don't really have an opinion or thought on. His teenage years with Sisyphus and Aspros seemed fun, and I'm kinda... hm... sad that their relationship mellowed out? Or at least, we didn't get his and Sisyphus' opinions or reactions to Aspros' death.     

♚ Gemini Defteros & Aspros - OH BOY WHERE DO I START!? ----- Gemini Aspros - I understand why Aspros was the way he was towards everyone and his brother. It's honestly not his fault. I am happy that he doesn't have a "split personality" at all throughout TLC, even though that is something I would never diss Saga for (even if it wasn't really a split personality). He was simply manipulated into behaving cruelly because someone showed him something that he was scared of, and that was akin to his brother not needing him. His Gaiden harks back to that too, during that 'flashback' when he told Defteros that he was going to become pope, Defteros donned the gold cloth and said 'yeah so we can be equals and I won't need you' (paraphrasing). If Aspros is just going to be used and tossed away, might as well harden his own heart before then. And it doesn't help that he saw himself as a Specter and his brother as a Gold Saint when he went to the oracles.

 I feel for Aspros because, in the end, he had no idea that he had been manipulated hard enough that his goodest boy personality changed. And honestly, I can relate to that. I've had my personality take a deep dive some years ago after I had a panic attack. So I don't fault him for his actions. He was just trying to make the best with what he knew, understood, and could do, even if that meant doing terrible things. After all, it is his mindset that the weakest people are the ones that don't do anything.     ----- Gemini Defteros - I also can't fault him for anything. He was dependent on his brother, and there was no way he could understand what was going on in Aspros' tortured mind since Aspros never spoke about his feelings. But I believe that, contrary to what Aspros thinks, Defteros would have been very dependent on him even after Aspros became pope. After all, he didn't have friends, lacked social skills, and couldn't find it in himself to trust anyone aside from his older brother because of how Sanctuary treated him as they were growing up, so he would have been stuck in like a childish headspace of needing a protector and provider, which was Aspros. You can tell that much because he was asking Asmita what should he do when he was possessed by the DEF. 

When Aspros died (or rather, when Defteros killed him [which seriously broke his heart]), it forced Defteros to grow up and look after himself. This isn't a terrible thing--but it was a terrible and such a trauma-inducing way to go about it. But how he died--or rather, the fact that he wanted to sacrifice himself to save his brother... honestly it still makes me cry a lot. You can see in his eyes that he loved his brother even after the very end, and wanted him back. And just IMAGINE how many times Defteros' eyes have shown nothing but the purest love for Aspros, and how Aspros had been manipulated to see those eyes as nothing more than hate. ----- Gemini twins in general - If it wasn't obvious already, I love these two so much. I hate--I ABSOLUTELY HATE--that their brotherhood was RUINED, because these two are so... important to me. I see myself and my sister in the Gemini Twins so much. To the point where it's so personal to me. Even after being manipulated and losing his brother, Aspros still held his little brother very close to his heart and lamented and regretted the fact that he will never get the chance to be the brother he should be. And Defteros... I can't explain why his loyalty and patience for Aspros affect me so much, but it does. It does in a way where it hits me more than just an emotional way. I guess that's because I see my sister in Defteros much more than I should.

I love the twins in such a profound way where I cannot find the right words for it. They obviously still love each other so much, even after all is said and done, and I think that is so important. Having that kind of unconditional love for your sibling is the most important thing in my opinion.

God, look at me, I'm crying over the Gemini twins again for like the 100th time oiwhfowef

     ♚ Cancer Manigoldo - So, Manigoldo... Honestly, I love him, too. But in a different way. When I see Manigoldo, I remember the private threads that a friend and I used to do on Skype, and I am frankly very enamored with him. But also because of that, I do not see him the same way as everyone else too. Besides, he makes up the second half of my OTP, so ofc I'm going to see him differently. Especially since I single ship!

    ♚ Leo Regulus - He's another one that I like a lot! Not only because he's adorable, but I also see him in a different way because I'm a single shipper, and I will never say aloud who I ship Regulus with. I won't say that he's a part of a different OTP (since I only have one OTP in all of Saint Seiya) but I do like Regulus a lot because of a friend's interpretation of him in Private threads a very long time ago. 

Yeah, he might be kinda OP/Gary Sue, but he's not too hateful in my opinion. I wouldn't say he's the best TLC Saint, since my heart is stolen by the twins, but he's a very amiable character when interacting with the characters of the TLC verse, and I wish I can squish his cheeks one day!! He's so adorable! I will say though that he is impressive to replicate a Big Bang(?) by himself... I don't remember if it's the thing that really killed him, but... huh. To be that unafraid of death, I wouldn't be surprised if he has some sort of mental/personality disorder that made him... like that? Something undiagnosed? Hm... thoughts, thoughts.

     ♚ Virgo Asmita - Asmita is one of the gold saints that, I honestly, don't know about. It's different from how I feel about Hasgard. For Hasgard, I don't have an opinion for, but for Asmita, I just don't know. I love how Teshirogi drew his hands. Like damn, bruh, can we switch hands? We're both Virgo, and I think we can make it work out... /kicked

     ♚ Libra Dohko - LOL DOHKOOOO!! My sister's favorite. I feel like he's super impulsive in TLC. I haven't read his gaiden at all, so I can't say much about that, but I do like him! Like with Shion though, I feel like he should have had some sort of heavy Survivor's guilt in the end. I'm also insanely curious about what ability Defteros zonked on him to erase the memory of Athena's blood and cloth. I don't know if it's shown in Dohko's gaiden, but I would love to see how TLC Dohko came across and raised Shiryu.

     ♚ Scorpio Kardia - As a character, I adore him. He's charming, spontaneous, and, like Aspros, wants to live his life to the fullest. And his fullest means just having fun before his short life is ended. Krest might have made him practically immortal, but he's still suffering. However, Kardia also holds a lot of bad memories for me from days before, and his entire character serves as a painful, but a graceful reminder of who I was back then.

      ♚ Sagittarius Sisyphus - Honestly, I don't ever think he was qualified to be a candidate for the papal throne. He's so melodramatic. Yeah, he might treat everyone with kindness and all, but I feel like he doesn't have the knowledge part down. Let alone, he's a brawn brain! Bruh!! Shooting an arrow at "hades" is always a bad idea!! What made you-?! 

Lmfao, if possible, I feel like he and Aspros should have dual-pope'd Sanctuary. One has the brains, but lacks compassion while the other has the compassion but is "shoot first, ask questions and think about that later".

      ♚ Capricorn El Cid - I... should love El Cid, but my mind goes blank a lot around him. He's impressive, I give you that, but I don't think I have an opinion on him. And I've read his gaiden in Spanish a LONG time ago, so I'm not going to pretend that I know him enough to talk about him.

      ♚ Aquarius Degel - hm... I think he's cute. Especially in his gaiden, he's really cute.

     ♚ Pieces Agatha -

[captain-aralias]

Thirsty Thursday - Fic Recs

i haven’t done a thursday rec list for a while and a LOT of incredible fic dropped during december, so this is a small selection of the MANY things i read and enjoyed recently.

firstly - going to re-rec the two fics that were written for me. not out loyalty, just because they’re SO great. 

the kids are alright by @xivz - mature, complete

wayward son accidental marriage ... aftermath. it has flashbacks to some lovely sex and biting, it has awkwardness, it has reconciliation and hopefulness. 

Bonfire Night by @amphipodgirl - teen, complete

simon fake dates baz to get back at penny and agatha who are fake dating to make him stop being rubbish to agatha - but then it’s real! FOR ALL OF THEM. come for the fake dating, stay for the plausible evolution of penny and agatha’s feelings for each other <3 and also simon’s feelings for baz. 

other things not written for me that i particularly loved include...

When the Bells Ring by @phoxphyre​ - complete

surely i already told you repeatedly why you should go and read this fic?? it’s a wonderful life AU. catches simon at the perfect point ON CHRISTMAS, just as he’s about to plunge into trauma mode, and shows him what he’s done and how important he is. the backstory and the depth of the other world is phenomenal. i can’t speak highly enough of it.

Wherefore Art Thou by @mountchristen​ - teen, one chapter from complete

really smart and well done no-magic sixth form AU where baz is the King of Drama and helps engineer a gay Romeo and Juliet. simon gets accidentally cast as the understudy for Romeo to baz’s dismay. the characters are all wonderfully drawn - simon is so snarky and smart, the simon and baz relationship is gorgeous - they’re enemies with benefits, except they’re not. it works amazingly well.

Miniature Fights and Lego Plights by @scone-lover - teen, complete

i love all excuses to return to the HFH universe and i love this fic about our heroes playing with lego of themselves and also standing on it without shoes. 

In Defence of Mistletoe by @gampyre - teen, one chapter from complete

friends to lovers! so rare in this fandom and it works so well!! i love simon eating baz’s leftover takeaway, and also fake relationship, and also just how nice they are to each other while it still being plausible.

To The Watchtower by @im-gettingby - teen, complete

such an amazing AU! private school/dark academia - they’re solving a mystery together about dark deeds at watford, the mystery is really interesting and (to me) unexpected, and again - smart simon for the win.

The Taste of Red by @unseelieseelie - mature, complete

they didn’t get together at Watford, baz is having uncontrollable vampire urges, simon just wants to help him for reasons he doesn’t understand. really good vampire fic - love their relationship evolving at this point, also sexy.

Bound by @sourcherrymagiks​ - explicit, complete

this is ‘your ex lover is dead’ verse, but if you haven’t read all the others a) you should and b) you dont have to, REALLY, to enjoy the mega hotness of simon subbing for baz.  He slouches elegantly into an armchair like a slutty Sherlock Holmes to watch. yes please.

Something Else by @f-ing-ruthless-baz - explicit, incomplete

one of my favourites, soon to be removed from the archive. simon is confused but competitive, the sex is very hot, and there’s silly vampire porn. read it while you can <3

tagging anyone who sees this and wants to rec something - and all of the above, if you’d like :D

[joe-maristopher]

«WandaVision»: 8. Release your trauma

If you ask me what I think about the episode but briefly and without the details... It may seem strange but I will just quote the dialogue from Sponge Bob:

— SpongeBob, what are you doing? — I'm crying my eyes out.

I guess that's the number of tears I've shed all season (God, what's going to happen on the last episode?) you can moisten some part of the Sahara, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. In the modern russian language, you can find the expression "eat glass", as well as its variety. I don't know, if there is such a thing in english with the same emotional coloring, but in any case, now you know what russians can say, discussing something absolutely heartbreaking and at the same time so beautiful, so it is difficult to stop —  you can only just watch, if it's a movie or the tv-series, and cry. A somewhat complex explanation, in practice, it is difficult to convey the language shades when you use them intuitively.

Ah, Agatha. Let's talk about her first. 

Think about it! She lived for herself, studied, tried, drank power from others (I understood her flashback this way), poked her nose where she was not asked to, and then she sensed a huge power. The nugget. A young woman, who has never learned magic, but uses it! What a slap in the face! No wonder she has a  crush on Wanda, or whoever's running her has a crush on Wanda. And Agatha makes Wanda not just a Scarlet Witch, she forges a real villain. Re traumatization is not psychotherapy, you know, it is a way to bring a person to a certain point. The very journey of Wanda in her memory reminds me of Dickens, and also gave a lot of interesting things. Plus, added reasons to cry (for me and other empathic human beings).

Sooo..

 I can say "I was right!", if we talk about Wanda and sitcoms. Mostly, I was. This is not just a sitcom, it means more!

 The fans' dream came true, even two: The Stone strengthened/activated Wanda's original powers. But! Wanda wasn't called a mutant. Wanda was called the Scarlet Witch (a friendly reminder: it is a mantle, technically, it can be passed to someone else, if, for example, Wanda dies).

The Mind Stone showed the beautiful vision. There's no need to even analyse it. You can just watch and admire. Wanda, without realizing, also made a reference to it, changing into a Scarlet Witch costume for Halloween.

 Thank you, now we know why Vision doesn't remember anything. *sobs*

I really, really miss our Vision, alive and healthy. The main part of the MCU ended for me with his passing, no character in MCU/or Marvel can activate the range of feelings and interest that I have for Vision.

His conversation with Wanda in the flashback... It was so touching! How much do we know. what lies between AoU and CW or between CW and IW? We fill the blanks with fanfiction, but we are left with a feeling of emptiness, because the canon does not give us any information, focusing on other things. We love a small gift, this little piece of the event mosaic between AoU and CW. Vision is very "young" here, Avengers  just finished with Ultron, and it seems that they have not yet moved to the Base, or have just moved here. Vision learns to live with his "family" and his experience is mostly theoretical, but he already has philosophical conclusions. His combination of "youth" and wisdom delighted me at AoU and delighted me here. I even stopped crying for a moment, thinking about what he said. That was gold! God, what a journey from AoU to IW...

The lab scenes are exhausting. In terms of emotions they are heavy. I was morally destroyed, first, when Wanda walked into the lab and saw all this, and then, when Wanda said that line, the reference to IW.

And then I was completely crushed when I saw Vision's markings on the map/property form. And coming there was a point of no return for Wanda. Absolutely heartbreaking. Elizabeth won that, she have be proud of herself.

However.

I still want to know how Hayward pushed the idea and got the rights to the Vision's body, I have a feeling, it could be left unanswered. The question is important. Vision died in Wakanda, his team was bearby, alive. Where did they send the body? Why didn't they make sure that no one touched it, if, for some reason, they didn't try to restore it? Or Tony tried, failed, abandoned the idea, and left the body in a storage room somewhere? Seriously, what the hell?

I give Hayward credit, of course. I don't think he's from HYDRA or anything, he's just a paranoid asshole with his own plans, and he lied about having his body stolen to make Wanda a villain for everyone.  He hates super powered individuals. Besides, he clearly wanted Wanda to do the hard work for him. He knew she could? The question is, does someone control Hayward?

I can see how we can get Vision back again as soon as the two Visions are sorted out — we take the blueprints and stuff from Hayward, we take Shuri and her Vision research, we take Helen Cho, we lock them all up in Wakanda, and we wait for the result, the acceptable result. Yes, this is the idea for fix-it.

I am looking at the comics:  Vision has died more than once and he could be restored, although once he was dead for a very, very long time. Will Vision return to MCU? It's hard for me to accept — we'll see him for the last time next week. On the other hand, if Vision remains dead, then this violence against him from Marvel will stop. I am fed up with comics and drama, I want a happy ending or something, yes, I wanna see more of Wanda/Vision as a couple. Just fuck Marvel if they are planning to ship Wanda with Voodoo in DS2!

Also, White Vision is a strange and frightening, despite the fact I saw a shot with White Vision before episode's release. Maybe, I remember who he is, I'm familiar with comics here quite well, but  his difference from Vision is already striking. And I'm not even talking about the colour. Hayward has got someone, who will kill easily, and nothing will change in his face. No wonder Heyward wants to send White Vision against Wanda. Actually, White Vision should have his own story arc, but honestly, I don't want to. I've had enough of comics. The only thing, whose voice will White Vision use to speak? Did Hayward wake Ultron up there by any chance?

Well, series makes ends meet, gradually pulls what is happening to the final, but it is too early to relax.

p. s. Paul Bettany is a notable troll, if speaking about a certain actor, he meant himself all this time. p. s. s. Paul Bettany may say again he doesn't believe in chemistry between actors, but I will disagree with him again. He and Olsen are igniting and beautiful.

[ayankun]

WandaVision episode 6

FIRST OFF

Whenever I go back to pause things for clues, and find exactly what I’m looking for, I don’t feel justified, I feel that much more insane:

It’s really hard to make out, but I had an alright look at it on my folks’ QLED, and it’s definitely a flying saucer doing an alien abduction on what looks to be a person inside an old CRT TV (with some kind of robot head/boombox on top???)  There are secret aliens in this show, you guys, the facts don’t lie.

HmmmMMMM I wonder if Agnes is as innocent as she looks:

Also, I didn’t see that she was wearing the brooch in this ep, and I was majorly disappointed in that.

Two things here:

No, that’s not a twins joke.

Another Moonmen Confirmed

I know green is his color or whatever, but that hat is literally 10 years ahead of its time

Also, I took the playing-DDR-at-home scenario at face value, and only on the first rewatch did I realize it was a very pointed turn-of-the-century reference.  I am an Old.

There’s a good, subtle Rule of Threes in this ep.  The Setup:

The Sokovian Halloween flashback works on so many levels.  It’s so funny:

The fact that they went trick-or-treating at all

The “speaking Sokovian”

The treat being a fish

They have to share the fish

The concept that this event gave them an infectious disease

“You probably suppressed a lot of the trauma” -- it’s a good sitcom joke but.  the trauma is the joke.  The joke IS THE TRAUMA!!!

Elizabeth Olson is a dream with all her wonderful faces she has this ep.

Vision’s unsettling passive-aggression-sitcom-cooperation whiplash is WOW, consider me unsettled!!!!!!  “Be. Good.”  UGH.

(Just noticed one here, but there are a number of continuity errors in this episode, enough to be distracting later on, and is this a deliberate choice?  Please let it be deliberate.  I didn’t watch a whole lot of Malcolm in the Middle, is it known for its continuity errors?

)

“It’s their first Halloween.” LOLOLOL they are TEN YEARS OLD and this is their FIRST halloween I LOVE IT

DOUBLE RED HERRING CONFIRRRRRRRRMED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Agent Jimmy Woo accidentally identifying himself as the sassy best friend added 20 years to my life.

Found.  FOUND.  Not “created,” “manifested,” “willed into being using my insane witch powers.”  Third Party Confirmed.

I like that it’s the 90s and we can swear on TV now.  “Hell” “kick-ass” “damn it” “fu---dge”

I think the most biting part of Vision finding the whacked out folks is that the soundtrack just kind of ... ignores that anything’s wrong.  Yeah, it’s kinda-spooky Halloween music, but it’s still 100% in-world kinda-spooky-sitcom-Halloween-episode music. 

OKAY LET’S TALK ABOUT THE AD:

As a 90s child, let me tell you, this is a blisteringly accurate representation of children’s marketing from the period.  The shark is wearing sunglasses AND he has a surfboard!!!  And he’s selling you yogurt of all things!!!!!  This is the supreme distillation of what being a child in the 90s was like.

How disappointed I am that they went with crab instead of lobster.

Heard it through the grapevine that this is a representative of Wanda’s imprisonment on the Raft.  That happened in Civil War, right?  So the next ad is The Snap?  We’re running out of iconic decades, too. so, hold on, new thought.

90s: Civil War

00s: Infinity War

10s?????: Endgame???? or?????????

??: Whatever happened between Endgame and WandaVision, given that the ads are stepping forward through Wanda’s IRL life events!!

I don’t want to know how many episodes are planned/announced, but I don’t know what to expect from the format after they run out of decades from which to draw.  Maybe there are only one or possibly two “sitcom” episodes left.  Maybe after that it just breaks down and they can pick and choose from the worlds/styles we’ve already established.  That’d be p neat.  A very unique kind of chaos.

god she’s so cute

Okay, somebody explain to me Pietro.  I honestly walked away from last week thinking he was just some townsperson chump, but then I was reminded that this is the Quicksilver actor from all those X-Mans movies I never watched, soooo people are saying Multiverse Confirmed?  But, if this is X-Mans’ Pietro, then why did he die the same as MCU Pietro?  Or is he literally MCU!Pietro’s corpse, given that he looked all dead same as when she saw Vision’s corpse?  If MCU!Pietro, then why different face???

????????????????

Also I found him highly suspicious, what with all the questions he was asking.  But the only sort of person who would truly want to know the answers to those questions would be someone who already had them ... so I think he was just asking on behalf of the audience, and the delivery was all wonked out.

Rule of Threes - The Reference:

Ok, real talk, whenever computers/networks/data/encryption/servers/mainframes et al come up in mainstream media, I just look away.  I don’t need the kind of psychic damage that comes with such egregious mishandling of the topic.

That being said, does Hayward having eyes through the barrier mean that he could possibly be involved in getting it set up?  Because look.  If Hayward-after-Hayward’s-Villianous-Ends is one antagonizing force, then is there really room for the Third Party (Confirmed) antagonizing force that’s lurking in the negative space silhouette of the Inciting Incident?  With Wanda as the Red Herring antagonizing force, that’s just.  There’s just too many villains, alright?  We gotta start merging these plotlines.

(then again, when I just said “eyes” I realize probably understanding the true nature of his new secret “CATARACT” project will clear a lot of things up.  I’ll wait for enlightenment)

Agnes’ license plate in this episode is 0A1-B2C, which I think is a reference to the way reality is getting pared down to bare bones at the edge of town.  Note that this is not the same license plate number as seen last ep.

ALSO, I drove home behind a NJ plate just an hour ago, and was staring at it for a long time, trying to fit it into the puzzle before A) realizing that this was Real Life and not part of the show and B) WTF is a NJ plate doing in front of me in California.  In any case, I can confirm that NJ plates do not appear to have this number-letter repeating format.

So let’s talk Agnes.

Demonstrated knowledge of the situation in ways others haven’t (”There’s the star of the show” “kids, you can’t control ‘em”)

Shows up when needed most (explained as being Wanda’s doing, but is it)

When Wanda was having her babies, though, who was trustworthy enough to be summoned?  Was it Agnes?

Wanted to babysit REAL BAD

Was in the opening credits framed possessively with the twins

Doesn’t appear to have an IRL identity according to Jimmy’s crime board

Keeps talking about her husband but we’ve never seen him.  Highly unlikely that he’s real

Was the one to find Sparky “dead” - internet thinks she was lying to Wanda about how or possibly if he was dead (I’m trying not to read the theories, so idk exactly what the angle is there)

In an episode where everyone is wearing their original comic outfits, Agnes is dressed as (and laughs like!) a witch

She name-drops Wanda as the one controlling everyone; Norm (or the guy playing Norm) only said “she” and “her” -- meaning Agnes?

Naughty

So we’re 99% sure Agnes is Agatha Harkness, right?  I never read no comics, so I’m taking the internet’s word for it, but from what I can tell, I think we must be right.  If that’s the case, then I’m thinking it’s not impossible for her to be pulling some strings around here (giving Wanda a justification for her “that wasn’t me” doorbell ring, for example, and pulling a double red herring on the fact that she shows up whenever the narrative Wanda her nefarious scheme calls for it).

To devil’s advocate myself, though, we also have Monica’s word that it was Wanda in her mind, lessening the impact of Agnes falsely confirming what Norm only implied.  Also she’d have to be acting for Vision’s sake (and ours) and, if so, then what did Vision’s brain-touch really do, and how did she know he’d find her there, and what did she intend as the result of that interaction etc etc.

If Wanda’s (or Wanda + Third Party Confirmed (Agnes??)’s) powers aren’t enough to sustain the simulation of life on the edges of town, how much worse is it going to be now that there is even more area to try to control???

I don’t know if this is strictly an intended read, but the idea of Halloween as a fun, scares-for-entertainment’s sake type holiday, the rounding off the edges of concepts like “skeletons and ghosts are what people are after they die, let’s decorate the town with them and have a good time” kind of is a haunting parallel to the nature of Wanda (et al) covering up the horrible truth of the situation with this happy-go-lucky sitcom glamour.

How much does one hate seeing Vision giving his life for the greater good (the greater good) for the second time?  In other news, I think I’m seeing some specifically Mind Stone type energy-colors coming off of him, and very little Wanda type energy-colors.  Third Party Confirmed.

Also, I was thinking from last week that perhaps Hayward’s Villainous Ends included capturing the reanimated Vision to be one of those Sentient Weapons his organization is all about, but I Do Not Think his reaction to seeing that sought-after prize disintegrate in front of his eyes really matches up with that theory.  Again, will be patiently waiting for Jimmy to check his email to see what CATARACT is all about!

Rule of Threes - The Payoff:

Also, anyone ID the movie playing in the background?

Ok, final thought.  I watched this about four times today, and on the big-ass TV at my parents’ house finally paused and got up close to see what that white shape is in the reflection.  Thought it might be a skull, but, it’s worse.

These caps do not contain enough data to verify my claim, but I PROMISE YOU it’s a TV

A square old thing with a round screen and antenna on top. 

I SWEAR to you, when I looked into the TV, into Wanda’s eyes, only to see the reflection of a TV, of her looking at me looking at her I had a visceral fear reaction.  Like.  LEGIT nauseous skin crawl.

(All the other episodes have ended with our POV as the fourth wall, from the general (or exact!!!) position their household TV is known to be.)

This is my favorite show Of All Time.

[fearsmagazine]

THE GIRL WHO GOT AWAY -Review

DISTRIBUTOR: Quiver Distribution

SYNOPSIS: It’s 1998, Massena, New York. A decade of terror comes to a close with the capture of Elizabeth Caulfield, a serial killer who abducted and murdered the young girls she pretended were her own. That is all but one. Christina Bowden lives a lonely and unassuming existence until Caulfield escapes from prison. Under new investigation, the stories of Christina’s past begin to unravel. As lies are unearthed, Christina needs to choose a side before the darkness of her secrets swallows her whole.

REVIEW: Michael Morrissey’s film is a complex character study of a woman trying to deal with the ramifications of her past that have come back to haunt her in the flesh. It is a film that embraces a variety of styles that include true crime, thriller, suspense and horror.

Morrissey’s screenplay uses flashbacks to set up the emotional state of his central character, Christina. She is a complex character that has a strength, while still suffering the trauma in her past. As a result the viewer is never quite sure where she is mentally. As people around her begin to die, even the police are not sure if it is Caulfield or possibly another killer. Morrissey does a skilled job of peeling back the layers without allowing the viewer to see the end coming. Just when you think you might have an inkling, he adds another element to the mix that keeps us on edge. The dialogue is solid and he creates an interesting group of characters that feel a bit like they stepped out of an Agatha Christie novel, everyone has something to hide.

The film is nicely shot. There are some picturesque locations and nice sets. The costumes feel genuine New York/New England. The film features a solid pacing that is supported by a good score by composer Irv Johnson. I couldn’t help but notice that the cinematography was reminiscent of “The Silence of the Lambs.” It’s a nice touch.

The casting is okay. Actress Lexi Johnson plays Christina Bowden. She does a fine job of portraying this character caught up in an emotional hurricane and never lets the viewer be on a firm footing as to her mental state. The rest of the actors do an admirable job of creating characters that feel like they are broken and hiding something. There was an aspect to the cast that at times felt like I was watching a Hallmark Channel movie and that diminished the tension and suspense for me.

I was disappointed that through the flashbacks we don’t get more of the relationship between  Elizabeth and Christina. What we are presented with left me wanting a bit more background as to the character's motivations. We are given a small glimpse but the filmmaker allows the viewer to fill in some of the gaps.

THE GIRL WHO GOT AWAY is a fine thriller that feels like it was based on a novel. Michael Morrissey does a fine job of crafting a mystery thriller that takes the audience along for an impressive ride. He adeptly crafts a complex character that keeps the viewer engaged till the end. I enjoyed what he did here and am interested to see what his next project is.

CAST: Lexi Johnson, Chukwudi Iwuji, Geoffrey Cantor, Kaye Tuckerman, Willow McCarthy, Ned Van Zandt, and Audrey Grace Marshall. CREW: Director/Screenplay/Producer - Michael Morrissey; Producers - John Scaccia and Heidi Scheuermann; Cinematographer - Peter Mariuzza; Score - Irv Johnson; Editor - Doug Fitch; Costume Designer - Bree Perry; Production Designer - Kit Sheridan; Special Makeup Effects Artist - Jared Balog. OFFICIAL: https://tgwga.com/ FACEBOOK: N.A. TWITTER: twitter.com/tgwgafilm TRAILER: https://youtu.be/P4vRzURGOfA RELEASE DATE: August 20th, 2021

**Until we can all head back into the theaters our “COVID Reel Value” will be similar to how you rate a film on digital platforms - 👍 (Like), 👌 (It’s just okay),  or 👎 (Dislike)

Reviewed by Joseph B Mauceri