#i. I hope you understand the reference in Yvonne's

[aakaneeee]

What animals would your OCs be? (Jackalope Flor, muntjac deer sebastian, etc etc)

akane is a cat! calm, fluffy, common, or so she appears. she knows her place, she knows what she deserves, and will take it. "oh, that vase you really like? what if I push it off?" kind of behaviour is like her. tick her off and you'll also have scratches.

aoto is an European badger! Looks cute and fluffy from a distance, if you don't know better, almost approachable, but once you come close, you realize that's not the case, and the actual dangerous personality beneath the chill facade shows.

yvonne is a dragonfly! beautiful, with big wings that shine rainbow in the sunlight, elegant, but actually extremely territorial, not only towards her own species, but also towards the smaller, insignificant bugs.

eliana (little sneak peak for a new oc....) is a mauve stinger jellyfish. she is beautiful, with long 'arms', similar to her long hair, but unapproachable. or so she seems, because the sting is extremely painful, but not even slightly life threatening.

[shamrock313]

It always amazes me how many tarot readings get very similar signs from the cards about Cillian’s love life. I’ve seen plenty of readings which lead to similar conclusions. What do you think about a plausible polyamorous relationship? Or maybe infidelity?

For them? Here's my personal opinion. I obviously don't know them, but I know that for some couples that after a few years of being together, the spark is gone or it struggles to stay aflame. If one or both of them were stepping out of their marriage, I'm sure there's a reason especially if professional help isn't helping their marriage.

If they are stepping out, I would hope boundaries were set. I know some people have done it to were they don't want to know about 3rd party, they don't want the 3rd party at certain events, and no social media post from 3rd party. No one wants to look like Boo Boo the Fool (for those who don't understand that reference it's just a way to say don't make me look stupid / idiot).

I'm more concerned about the kids. I don't like kids being caught in drama and I know the boys are older, but I've been a witness to partners and kids struggling with separation or infidelity. Whether that be physically or emotionally cheating on their partner.

What I will say is that we'll never know what goes on behind closed doors. I can't look at a happy photo of a couple and not think of why the photo is posted all because of what I've seen, so I can't be happy when I see wedding photos or a random drop of a couple especially those I know when I know the real issue. I just had a college friend (male) marry their abuser (female) this week and it was very upsetting for me. I was in even more shock to know that only her side of the family was in attendance.

If Cillian and Yvonne divorce, I hope it isn't too much for them and I hope they are able to explore new partners and be happy, but if they stay I hope they work things out.

[senadimell]

Fanfiction

Arguments against the concept of fanfiction are just hilarious to me. You know why? Music doesn't really have this problem, at least not at first glance. In fact, look up musical quotation and variation, two accepted musical techniques that have existed in European music for hundreds of years. Take that, highbrow critics. Or else consider the modern cover song or remix.

When you look deeper, though, even music has its problems: consider the reception of Andrew Lloyd Webber (one of the most popular musical composers in musical theatre), who’s been repeatedly accused of musical plagiarism. That he borrows extensively and somewhat indiscriminately is true; however, that he borrows ‘meaninglessly’ implies that the average theatre-goer has or should have an extensive knowledge of classical music to understand the history and meaning of any musical quotation, and that music only has meaning when it’s accompanied by its original context and meaning. 

Up until the past decade and a half, most musical theatre was dismissed as popular and not considered worthy of literary or musical analysis, with the exception of the works of Stephen Sondheim (who is brilliant, though I don’t really enjoy his works). Lloyd Webber has often been pointedly ignored, despite being a household name even with people who don’t really listen to musicals. Phantom of the Opera? It’s been playing non-stop, no revivals, at the Majestic theatre in New York for 33 years. (Of course, the irony is that Phantom of the Opera itself is fanfiction). 

The second edition of Steven Suskin’s Show Tunes (1991) included a section called “Notable Imported Shows.” About half of the shows listed were shows with music by Lloyd Webber. In the Preface to the third edition, Suskin justifies the omission of this section and the expunging of Lloyd Webber that resulted: “All of the British imports since the Second Edition have failed; thus, I have seen fit to excise the import section and concentrate on matters of more interest.” As a consequence of this executive decision, the most popular Broadway composer of the last thirty years hand probably history is now banished from a major reference book that purports to cover “The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway’s Major Composers.” 

(emphasis added) Block, Geoffrey. Enchanted Evenings: the Broadway Musical from Show Boat to Sondheim and Lloyd Webber. 2nd ed. Cary: Oxford University Press, 2009.

So there it is, the same problem as fanfiction. The problem is not that a work is being reinterpreted, but that ordinary people like it. It’s not deemed sufficiently literary enough. Critics think the ‘original meaning’ is being disrespected and despitefully used. You can argue that Lloyd Webber’s quotes are meaningless or plagiarized, but you’d have to ignore the fact that people like the show. They find it meaningful. They go and see it again and again, and listen to it in their homes and cars. They propose to their significant others using its music. They sing their children to sleep with it. Regardless of whether or not you think his use of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E Minor, op. 64 in “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” is particularly meaningful, you can’t deny this:

The song has been much recorded, with "I Don't Know How to Love Him" being one of the rare songs to have had two concurrent recordings reach the Top 40 of the Hot 100 chart in Billboard magazine, specifically those by Helen Reddy and Yvonne Elliman,[1] since the 1950s when multi-version chartings were common.

Wikipedia, accessed June 13, 2020.

People like it. And people generally find the songs they like meaningful. 

Guess what? The original still exists! If you like it more, then you can read/watch/listen to it to your heart’s content! You don’t have to read fanfiction. You don’t have to consume the parts you don’t like. You can enjoy Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E Minor, op. 64 all you want and never ever listen to “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” and that’s perfectly fine. You do not, however, get to criticize the people who enjoy the other, or condemn those who write fanfiction as useless. (And consider that Mendelssohn himself wrote variations on other composers’ themes, to great acclaim.)

I'll be the first one to admit that I used to hate fanfiction, but it was more of a disillusioned sort of hatred because I had both high hopes and high standards, and the two couldn't coexist. It was frustrating to realize that most of what I found had poor grammar and character development, or else was based on a movie or play when I explicitly searched for the book (looking at you, most Phantom of the Opera works). I would sort through pages and pages of stuff that I couldn’t get through, and my tolerance grew short. Nowdays, I’ve had a renewed appreciation for fanfiction, now that I’m using ao3 and not FF.net, since I find sorting through works much easier on ao3. 

The short of it is this: There’s nothing wrong with the concept of fanfiction. There’s nothing wrong with what is popular. People writing fanfiction aren’t stealing profits(that’s piracy) like there’s a limited number of views. In fact, I’d hazard to guess that fanfiction drums up profit since it keeps the old flame burning. The fact that fanfiction is free, and people labor at it without the expectation of monetary reward, and write the kind of stories that aren’t deemed worthy of being published, and that critics think that labor is worthless and completely lacking in quality says more about capitalism and who owns ‘the means of production’ than anything else. (Sincerely, your resident non-socialist)

[thecoleopterawithana]

I Can’t Tell You How I Feel

AKA Paul expressing emotions and feelings

.

That Means A Lot (1965): Love can be deep inside, love can be suicide / Can't you see, you can't hide what you feel when it's real

.

Michelle (1965): I love you, I love you, I love you / That's all I want to say / Until I find a way / I will say the only words I know that you'll understand | I need to, I need to, I need to / I need to make you see / Oh, what you mean to me / Until I do I'm hoping you will know what I mean | I love you

.

The Fool On The Hill (1967): And nobody seems to like him / They can tell what he wants to do / And he never shows his feelings

.

Hey Jude (1968): Hey Jude, don't make it bad / Take a sad song and make it better / Remember to let her into your heart / Then you can start to make it better | [...] And anytime you feel the pain, hey Jude, refrain / Don't carry the world upon your shoulders / For well you know that it's a fool who plays it cool / By making his world a little colder

.

Her Majesty (1969): I wanna tell her that I love her a lot but first I've got to get a belly full of wine

.

Lazy Dynamite (1972): Don't you know that inside / There's a love you can't hide / So why do you fight that feeling in your heart?

.

Power Cut (1972): I may never tell you / But baby you should know / There may be a miracle / And baby I love you so

.

Let Me Roll It (1973): I can't tell you how I feel / My heart is like a wheel / Let me roll it / Let me roll it to you

.

Six O’ Clock (1973): It could be the comfort going to my head / That makes me wanna dream of you / But while you're sleeping softly in your bed / I wanna tell you, I'd like to tell you / I'd love to tell you too

.

Silly Love Songs (1976): How can I tell you about my loved one? (x4) | I love you, I love you / I love you, I love you / Ah, I can't explain / The feelings plain to me / Say, can't you see?

.

However Absurd (1985): Something special between us / When we made love the game was over / I couldn't say the words / Words wouldn't get my feelings through / And so I keep talking to you / However absurd, however absurd it may seem

.

Yvonne’s The One (1985): She never knew how much I loved her / I never got to tell her / We never found a way to say farewell

.

This One (1986): Did I ever take you in my arms, / Look you in the eye, tell you that I do? / Did I ever open up my heart, let you look inside? | If I never did it, I was only waiting / For a better moment that didn't come / There never could be a better moment / Than this one, this one. | What opportunities did we allow to flow by / Feeling like the time it wasn't quite right? / What kind of magic might have worked if we had stayed calm, / Couldn't I have given you a better life?

.

You Want Her Too (1987): I’ve loved her oh so long / (So why don’t you come right out and say it, stupid?)

.

Too Much Rain (2004): Laugh when your eyes are burning / Smile when your heart is filled with pain / Sigh as you brush away your sorrow / Make a vow / That it's not going to happen again / It's not right, in one life / Too much rain | You know the wheels keep turning / Why do the tears run down your face / We used to hide away our feelings / But for now / Tell yourself it won't happen again / It's not right, in one life / Too much rain

.

Scared (2013): I'm scared to say I love you / Afraid to let you know / That the simplest of words won't come out of my mouth / Though I'm dying to let them go / Trying to let you know | [...] I'm still too scared to tell you / Afraid to let you see / That the simplest of words won't come out of my mouth / Though I'm dying to set them free / Trying to let you see, how much it means to me / How much you mean to me / How much you mean to me now

.

Bonus

Here Today (1981): But as for me / I still remember how it was before / And I am holding back the tears no more / I love you 

-

[This compilation was spurred by a recent ask about “This One”. As always, I appreciate the mention of references that I missed. Thanks so much to @i-am-the-oyster for catching the theme in 'Power Cut’!]

[serenagaywaterford]

No I was saying that some actors act the same even as different characters. My only pt of reference for Yvonne is THT. I expected to see some Serena type of acting but did not. She even cries different. I did not see Asher Keddie but the others are good too

Bad actors do, yeah, lol. I dunno if I totally agree that she was 100% different, cos afterall, humans all have some things/habits/tics/expressions/etc they do the same for a particular emotion regardless. Like, Yvonne still can’t dance, lol. She can play a character that is meant to be a good dancer (?? Is she tho? I can’t tell if we’re meant to believe she’s a good dancer, or she’s not and just being preyed upon by the cult) and the actress still can’t... LMAO. Also, spoiler alert, followers: that moment when they bring out the baby at that gala bit? That was totally a Serena moment, lolololol. She used the exact same expression as she’s done on THT. I was like, “HERE WE GO AGAIN!!!” ;)Well, if you’ve never seen her in anything else, I guess you wouldn’t really know her range, so understandable. And I can’t claim to have seen her entire filmography either, but the character she played in Dexter vs THT vs that shitty horror movie vs Manhattan Night vs Chuck, all different requirements. So I’d hope a half-decent actor wouldn’t carry the same tricks over to every role. 

It was a solid performance. (Not yet as nuanced as Serena Joy but I can be patient.) I’m yet to be sold on it completely cos... omg the preview for next week is making me howl. What even is that accent? Why not just make her American? At least that she can do exceptionally well. I hope she doesn’t keep that accent the rest of the series. (I KNOW. It’s based on a true story but if they could change her name, they could change her ancestry, surely. Like irl, Rau spoke German, and when she spoke English it was with an Aussie accent, not a German one. Like, either teach Yvonne passable German (since Rau also wasn’t amazing in it anyway), or change the character to Polish so it’s easier, cos I mean the show subtitles for all the other languages, why not have Sofie speak Polish in detention, and then English with an Aussie accent to keep it consistent to the real story?--and also not make Yvonne do a German accent. Or maybe I was just too jarred to appreciate how decent her accent is lmao. Could be lol.) 

But accents aside, I like how they used an entire episode of set-up/exposition about HOW all these characters got there... but... I dunno. I’m feeling a bit wary about a few things already (mostly relating to Sofie’s story, although I will say other aspects of it were done exceptionally well). Hopefully it’s just because it’s the ~pilot and they’ll develop them better in future.

[me-myself-and-my-fos]

Relax

Pairing: Harold Timmons x Nicole Timmons

Summary: A relaxing morning in the winter...

A/N: oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck my first Timmons fic

The soft morning sunlight that shone through the window into the bedroom did little to warm the body in the light. Nic didn’t need anymore warmth though, as she was warmed by the covers she sat under and the little bundle in her arms. She smiled softly at the newborn as she held Yvonne, admiring the features the baby shared with her father. The small red tufts of hair on the top of her head was just another reminder of how much she already took after her father. Carefully with her fingers, Nic pulled the blanket Yvonne was swaddled in down to the baby’s chin, causing her to stir a little. A small pink hand poked from the blanket, and Nic couldn’t help the small “aw” she let out.

Yvonne was just barely awake, but enough for her mother to be able to tell. Nic placed a soft kiss to Yvonne’s forehead. “Good Morning,” she whispered quietly. “Good Morning my little peach.” The newborn let out a small whine, the cold air of the apartment tickling her face despite the blanket she was thoroughly bundled in. “I know it’s cold, but you decided to be born in the middle of winter.” Nic let out a small laugh, lightly tickling her daughter’s nose.

Footsteps came down the hall until they paused outside of the bedroom door. It was carefully nudged open, and Harold paused when he saw Nic sitting in bed, holding their daughter. The tray in his hands wobbled a bit, lopsided as he struggled to carry it without spilling the cups of coffee on top. Nic looked up and smiled at her husband.

“You’re up,” he said, almost as though he wasn’t expecting her to be. He had gotten up a while prior, hoping to surprise her.

“I got cold because you weren’t next to me.” She replied softly, referring to the empty spot beside her in bed.

Harold approached the foot of the bed, carefully placing the tray on it. He picked up a cup of coffee and a plate. “I wanted to bring you breakfast.” He told her, walking over to her side of the bed. He leaned over the bedside bassinet that Yvonne sleeps in and placed the cup on the bedside table, followed by the plate of breakfast. On it was a lightly buttered croissant, a plate of scrambled eggs, and a small assortment of fruits that Nic liked.

She raised a brow as he leaned over and gave her a short kiss. “Breakfast for what?” She asked, watching her husband’s movements as he took the second plate for himself and a cup of his own coffee.

He gently sat down in bed next to her, and Nic cuddled into him. “Sweetheart, you gave birth to a baby, our baby, less than a week ago. I’m going to spoil the hell out of you.” Nic rolled her eyes, resting her head on his shoulder. She wasn’t sure what was more soft, the blanket that Yvonne was wrapped in or the dark brown sweater Harold was wearing at the moment. His t-shirt just barely poked through the collar of the oversized sweater—despite being born and raised in New York, the harsh winters never get easier for him.

She pulled her knees up closer to her body, and readjusted Yvonne’s position in her arms. “You’re just using our daughter as an excuse to spoil me more.”

“Perhaps I am.” He said mischievously, giving her a cheeky smile before looking at his daughter. “And how is our little peach doing on this cold morning?”

“A little fussy cause she just woke up,” Nic told him as he pressed a kiss to her head. “But that’s another thing she gets from you.”

He hummed, staring at Yvonne. She had opened her eyes, as fully awake as a newborn could be, and was staring up at her parents. “I still can’t believe we made her.” He carefully reached towards her, gently taking Yvonne’s hand. Her fingers clamped down on his thumb, and Harold knew he was trapped for the moment.

Nic chuckled. “I can. She looks just like you.”

“But she has your spirit.”

It was another moment before he finally pulled his hand away, and carefully took Yvonne from Nic’s arms. He held her to his chest, Yvonne’s head resting on his shoulder. She was so small in his hands that when she was first handed to him, Harold was almost too scared to hold her in fear of hurting her. He’s been getting more comfortable with holding her over the past few days she’s been home.

Nic picked up the plate and happily ate the scrambled eggs. Somehow, he had managed to guess exactly how she liked her scrambled eggs the first time she slept over at his apartment, and he’s made them for her ever since. Nic often bragged to anyone would listen that her husband makes the best scrambled eggs. He never understood why that made her so proud, then again he didn’t need to understand.

“Since when do you know how to make croissants?” She asked, recalling that she was the baker and that last time she offered to teach him how to make something Harold got flour all over the kitchen.

“Actually they’re Pillsbury.” He responded, picking up his coffee and taking a sip. “There’s more in the kitchen if you want.”

Nic chuckled. “No, I’m fine right here.” She kissed the side of Yvonne’s head and then leaned up to kiss her husband’s cheek. “I have everything I need right here.”

[chlodebamf]

Just some notes on Claire and a Very Happy one shot I’ll need to write when all three fics are over

Jay 🐼Yesterday at 7:52 PM

you know she gets on with that family like a house on fire

she's happy and very affectionate and just Loves with her everything

She doesn't see Steph often at all but when she does even he gets smiles and fussed over(edited)

LeFox 🦊Yesterday at 7:54 PM

Baurendouin adores her, so does Yvonne

Jay 🐼Yesterday at 7:56 PM

She adores them too. She's always liked Baurendouin as an idea bc her dad likes him, being a lesser noble family aligned with Haillenarte and all, but actually getting to know him she likes him more. It helps that she's clearly doting on Francel from day one

LeFox 🦊Yesterday at 7:58 PM

And Baurendouin loves the idea of Francel with someone like Claire. She's exactly the sort of person Francel needs.

Jay 🐼Today at 8:00 PM

Like she's bubbly and can be loud and a little pushy, but she only pushes him when he needs it and never in ways that will hurt him. She pushes him to do more with music, to rest when he needs it, to take a break and come cuddle or talk to someone in his family. She's very gentle

LeFox 🦊Today at 8:02 PM

And the thing is, Baurendouin was hoping Francel would wind up with someone tough enough to push him past his own self-imposed limitations; he sold himself short his whole life (and more so after Chlode's death).

Jay 🐼Today at 8:03 PM

And Claire takes one look at him holed up in the music room when she first sees him and sees everything and decides she's going to push him into all of his potential is he lets her.

LeFox 🦊Today at 8:03 PM

She fits right in with House Haillenarte, really.

Jay 🐼Today at 8:04 PM

Just this quiet but clearly deeply emotional (she can tell from the music) boy playing music in a slightly dusty room all alone and is immediate self conscious when he realizes he has an audience and she just. "Oh we're helping this one"

LeFox 🦊Today at 8:05 PM

Yvonne is delighted to know Francel is playing again. She hopes he'll play with her again someday, too, like he did when he was a tiny.

Jay 🐼Today at 8:07 PM

Like Francel had always played at least a little when he's at home. But she catches one glimpse of it and is always asking for an encore. Always offering to bring her violin or play a harp with him. He's a different man when he lets the music speak and she loves seeing it

You know Claire convinces him to have a little concert for the Firmament sometime. For morale. Just a day of song and dance and good food

LeFox 🦊Today at 8:08 PM

Oh absolutely

Jay 🐼Today at 8:09 PM

there's a lot of lowborn helping on this project, she reasons, and they can always use an excuse to celebrate. and what better way to try to convey they're all in this together than Francel's debut performance for anyone other than family?

Haurchefant will pull Steph from the manufactory to see the baby bro play music for the Firmament

LeFox 🦊Today at 8:10 PM

The whole family turns out for it

Jay 🐼Today at 8:11 PM

absolutely and it's emotional for all of them bc 1) they all know this moment is a Big Point in Francel's healing and 2) he looks so happy. Chlode'll even offer the uncle to smuggle him in. it'll be a crowd, there's no reason to suspect he's here to break a promise. but a bard belongs at the music and dance

LeFox 🦊Today at 8:14 PM

Ciceroix will probably gently decline because all that's needed is for Baurendouin to get a glimpse of him to sour the whole thing, and it's not worth ruining Francel's night.

Jay 🐼Today at 8:15 PM

Chlode'll understand. Offer to linkpearl him during it so he can hear a little of it that way, instead

He's proud of the baby bro

LeFox 🦊Today at 8:15 PM

That he'll accept

Jay 🐼Today at 8:16 PM

even if his relationship with Francel may never completely recover, he knows a love of music is the one thing he, ,Francel, and Ciceroix all have in common and maybe Ciceroix can't meet the babiest rose but this is a lot more personal than a conversation anyway

LeFox 🦊Today at 8:17 PM

Ciceroix will tell him the kid's got talent

Jay 🐼Today at 8:17 PM

Chlode'll just "I know. I'm glad he's using it now. He seems happier for it."

you also know Roelle pulls Chlode on the dance floor for better or worse

LeFox 🦊Today at 8:19 PM

Steph will also dance. Steph, as I have established on multiple occasions, cannot dance.

Jay 🐼Today at 8:20 PM

oh yes and Haurchefant will dance with him. It's a very happy environment and not everyone dancing can dance anyway. Steph'll fit in.

Francel will love seeing his family have a good time.

LeFox 🦊Today at 8:20 PM

Honestly Steph making a fool of himself is good for morale anyway

Jay 🐼Today at 8:21 PM

absolutely, bc you know there's manufactory employees that are helping out in the Firmament as well as some who took the day for festivities and it's always fun to see the boss enjoy making a fool out of himself

LeFox 🦊Today at 8:22 PM

No yeah, that's absolutely canon that manufactory employees are helping out with the Firmament

The guy who gives you the Skysteel tools quest is a manufactory employee at the entrance to the Firmament, and if you talk to Hilda's boys one of them references it

Jay 🐼Today at 8:25 PM

So they get to watch their boss and his boyfriend make fools of themselves laughing and smiling all the while and they're both fairly well known to the lowerborn there. To say nothing of any other nobles that have shown up to have a good time. Emm’s probably trying to chat up Lani somewhere. She might allow him one dance if she's feeling generous. Artoirel is preset but definitely isn't a dancer. Durendaire's likely to be there bc they're the stonemasons and such so they've got a hand in the project too

LeFox 🦊Today at 8:27 PM

Dzemael is stonemasons, too, so they've probably got representatives there too. Maybe even Tedalgrinche and Archombadin show up.

Jay 🐼Today at 8:29 PM

I can definitely see Archie showing up at least

It's a huge Thing and Francel's deeply moved to be at the center of it

LeFox 🦊Today at 8:31 PM

It's probably when the Firmament is close to finished

Jay 🐼Today at 8:32 PM

Yeah, that way there's space for everyone. He's probably played a few times before hand but specifically for the workers at Claire's urgings to get him to play for others. But this one's a full celebration for the end of the Firmament

LeFox 🦊Today at 8:33 PM

Yeah. It's a big thing. Most of Ishgard turns out for it.

Jay 🐼Today at 8:34 PM

And it's a whole day affair. Even those helping keep food tables stocked work shifts so they can enjoy the festivities too and are paid very well for their work

LeFox 🦊Today at 8:34 PM

Absolutely; it's a Haillenarte affair. They take care of their people.

Jay 🐼Today at 8:35 PM

Francel organizes the whole thing bc he wants too. Claire helps in spots but let's it be His Thing. It comes together very well. She's so proud of her boy

LeFox 🦊Today at 8:36 PM

So is everyone helping out in the Firmament

Jay 🐼Today at 8:37 PM

Francel spends the day blushing from happiness and praise and just almost overwhelmed in a good way

LeFox 🦊Today at 8:37 PM

It's a Big day

Jay 🐼Today at 8:38 PM

It is and when it's all over he's just quiet and overwhelmed and Claire holds him and let's him just Process it. It's a lot. But it's a good lot

LeFox 🦊Today at 8:38 PM

Everyone's so Proud of him. ; u;

[lokilickedme]

Part One of Read By Loki Laufeyson - The Night Manager Chapter 9

By request

Posted originally in 2016 at the Archive of Our Own  (no longer available there)

Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply (rated mature for crude language and lewd sex talk and brief reference to necrophilia.  Damn Loki.)

Category: F/M and some indigenous aquatic predators/Pine’s bunghole

Fandom: Loki - Fandom, The Night Manager - Fandom

Relationship: Jonathan Pine/Yvonne

Character: Loki (narrator), Jonathan Pine, Yvonne

Additional Tags: Explicit Language, Non-Explicit Sex, Loki Does What He Wants, stick to the damn book Loki

Series: Part 1 of Read by Loki Laufeyson

Stats: Originally Published 2016-01-29  Words: 1017 (original version)

Updated with additional text 2019-01-02

 Chapter 9 of The Night Manager, Read By Loki Laufeyson

by lokilickedme 

Summary:  If Loki narrated audiobooks. 

Notes:  

The Night Manager, chapter nine, randomly abridged and read by Loki Laufeyson.  Sorry about the additional narrative, I couldn't stop him. 

See the end of the work for more notes.

 "You're a lie," she said, distractedly kissing him. "You're some kind of lie. You're all truth, but you're a lie. I don't understand you." 

Oh yes, this is a good start, lies lies and more lies - I can get behind this fellow and the compulsive fibbing, but the damn woman talks too much.  You're not meant to understand him sweetheart, he's a fucking secret agent spy assassin and he'd just as soon shank your ass as bang it.  But the lies part I like.

"I'm on the run," he said. "I had a problem in England." 

Doesn't everyone?  I had problems recently in Jotunheim and Midgard, trust me I know how being on the run can jack your mojo but good god man, get busy - the female's already implied she's ready to climb you like a cherry tree just to suck your dangly fruit, stop talking and get after it.  I was on the run when I knocked up the queen of the giants and begat my triplets so I know it’s possible to mix business with pleasure when you’re hotfooting it on the lam from an angry pantheon of Norse gods or whoever it was you doublecrossed this time.  I may be projecting a bit, but you get my drift.  We've got six hours of this nonsense to plow through so let’s get to the good stuff, shall we?

She clambered up his body and put her head beside his. 

Now we're talking! 

"Want to talk about it?" 

Oh god I didn't mean literally.  Stop talking. 

Blah blah blah, boring yammer about a passport, blah blah blah, poking about in graveyards, "What's your real name, who are you who are you"... 

Who writes this tripe?  It isn’t fanfiction, that shit’s good.

All day they lived naked, and when the rain cleared they took the boat out to an island in the center of the lake and swam naked from the shingle beach. 

There are no pictures in this book and at this point I’m thinking the narrative would benefit greatly from pictures.  Why are there no pictures?  And while swimming naked in natural bodies of water is a nice idea in theory, let me tell you that in many areas of this shithole planet there are things living under the water’s surface that you don't want having unrestricted access to your assorted entrances and exits.  This book is not a safe or accurate portrayal of how a romantic escapade should be conducted because I'm here to say there is nothing romantic about having your paramour remove a spiky candiru from your bunghole. 

Every day or night they made love. In the small hours of morning when he came up from the disco... 

Wait, what?  He's hanging out in a disco all night?  I hope he's showering before he comes to bed because this is what, 1974?  I’ve got six words for you:  nylon polyester and leisure suits, people.  Fabrics that hold every smell that wafts within a dozen yards of the wearer.  Sweat and pot and unwashed crevices and who knows what else - he's going to be coming in smelling like New Jersey.  Do women find the odor of stale beer, industrial waste and farts arousing? 

Yvonne would lie awake waiting for his brushing signal against the door. He would tiptoe to her and she would draw him down on her, her last long drink before the desert. 

Well I'll be buggered, apparently they do. 

I've just been informed by a studio tech in an In-N-Out tee shirt that this story is taking place in the 1990's, not the 1970's.  I was confusing it with that other one with the same guy in it, the one about the apartment building full of idiots who don’t realize doors open both ways.  So fortunately there are no polyester leisure suits smelling like sulfur and B.O. to hamper the romantic encounters, which is good because I was starting to wonder about this woman Yvonne's sanity and olfactory kinks.  But I still don't understand what the fellow is doing hanging out in a disco all night while his woman is laying in bed waiting to be scrogged.  This author has obviously never had sex. 

Their lovemaking was almost motionless. 

What??  Why in the name of fucking Yggdrasil - ?  People it requires movement, there's rubbing and friction and thrusting and stuff that happens to the thing inside the thing and...motionless?  Like I said, this author's obviously never had sex, what the hell is he doing writing about it?  This is disturbing.  Only the dead have motionless sex and that’s exclusively during the rigor stage when your dick can literally snap off if you move.  Is this foreshadowing?  Are they going to die the next time they go skinnydipping with the spiky candirus? 

The attic was a drum, and every movement clattered through the house. When she started to call out in pleasure, he laid his hand over her mouth and she bit it, leaving teeth marks in the flesh around his thumb. 

Yes, biting is nice, but I'm still worried about the foreshadowing and the whole motionless sex thing.  It's the spiky candirus, isn't it? 

And now there’s more boring tripe about the passport, which this fellow really seems obsessed with.  His life at this point consists of sex with a woman who apparently likes to pretend she’s dead, doing Travolta impersonations in the disco downstairs when he’s not practicing flexing his penis muscles for the motionless copulation with the freaky Miss Yvonne, and swimming in dangerous waters with a Visitors Welcome sign stapled to his asshole.  And there’s some spouting about in French, and finally more sex. Oh joy.  Did I mention this book could really benefit from pictures?  Because it could really benefit from pictures.

They made love in an empty guest room while her mother was at the supermarket, and in the walk-in airing cupboard. 

Well that doesn't sound at all uncomfortable.  The guest room is a good option so long as mummy’s got a long shopping list and you’re quick about changing the sheets, but I Googled that shit while I was looking up areas that are indigenous to the spiky candiru - aside from being small and cramped as fuck, there's elements from the heating system in these airing cupboard things.  Which I would take to mean that if you go to splashing bodily fluids around in them someone's going to end up with an electrified dick lit up like a christmas tree.  Maybe this is what the foreshadowing was about. 

She had acquired the recklessness of sexual obsession. The risk was a drug for her. Her whole day was spent contriving moments for them to be alone together. "When will you go to the priest?" he asked. 

Yes darling, by all means make an appointment with a holy man to get forgiveness for what we did in the cupboard.  I hear heaven frowns upon the whole legs-over-the-head thing.  Be sure to get absolution for my electrocuted wiener while you're there.  Oh, and isn't there that little issue of you being engaged to someone else? 

Skipping a bit...skipping...oh god, really?  More whining about the passport?  This man is more obsessed with getting a passport than he is with getting pussy.  I'm starting to wonder if he even likes sex and now the whole candiru up the bunghole thing is making sense.

The only crime she had omitted to mention was the theft of her own heart. 

Seriously?  It gets romantic now, in the final sentence?  They've been fucking in dangerous predator-infested lakes and electrical closets with exposed wiring and dusty cramped attics and doing the whole motionless sex thing which, admittedly, might come in handy around that electrical equipment - and now, at the very end of the chapter, there's a line that indicates some depth of emotion that could possibly have redeemed that cringey bit about the disco?  He could have come in smelling like the subway and she'd say "You've stolen my heart" and he'd say "Oh good because someone stole my wallet in that crowded disco so your heart is pretty much all I have now."  A lost opportunity, author.  You're still a virgin, aren't you? 

 End Notes 

Excerpts from The Night Manager by John LeCarre, copyright 1993.  None of the passages in italics belong to me, and if they did I probably wouldn’t admit it.

[deztinywarriors]

The Linked Charms - Episode 1 (Multi Liverpool players)

[mezzopurrloin]

Mezzo Plays Final Fantasy X: Part 3

Surprisingly, Tidus isn't dead.

He's just washed up on the coast of some island. He's hit in the back of the head with a blitzball, and spies some people on the beach waving to him.

He decides to do a midair flip kick to send it back, impressing their leader.

Then he swims to shore and introduces himself, first saying he's from Zanarkand, then after that confuses everyone, telling people he was infected by Sin's toxin.

His name is (probably) not a Pac-Man reference. Tidus asks if it's true Zanarkand was destroyed a thousand years ago, and Wakka dispenses some exposition.

"It was just as Rikku had said. Wakka and Rikku couldn't both be lying. Why would they? I appreciated the fact that Wakka was trying to cheer me up. But at that time, all I could think about was... everything that happened to me -- all of this -- started with Sin. Maybe if I could find Sin one more time, I could go home! For now, I'd just live life until that time came. No more worrying about where, or when, I was. Sure it was hard not to think of home. But I started to feel better already. A little better...maybe."

Wakka decides to escort Tidus back to his village.

Of course, they end up meeting some fiends along the way. Wakka fights using his blitzball as a weapon, which seems a bit odd, but it makes for a good throwing weapon apparently.

He also tells Tidus about a big blitzball tournament coming up. Wakka says that maybe someone there will recognize Tidus if he plays, and Tidus agrees to help out.

Here we get a nice view of Besaid Village. Wakka joined the Aurochs 10 years ago, but the team hasn't won a single game since then. He's about to give up on the blitz, but wants this last tournament to be his best yet. Tidus agrees and hopes to steer the Aurochs toward victory.

Just before entering the village proper, Wakka asks Tidus about the prayer, which of course just makes Tidus more confused.

You just put your hands in this position while saying "Praise be to Yevon."

"Any blitzball player would know that prayer. It was the blitzball sign for victory."

Time to loot some stuff! This house was wrecked by Sin and the owner never bothered rebuilding it, so it's not like they have any use for these things anyway.

There's also a little lodge here belonging to a group called the Crusaders. They're sworn to battle Sin, but no one's ever been able to truly defeat it, so their duties mainly involve keeping it away from populated areas.

One thing I forgot to mention about save points is that they also provide a full HP/MP recharge. This makes them a convenient replacement for the inns of other RPGs, though you're free to rest at the Crusaders' lodge if you want.

Once that's done, Tidus heads into the temple. It's the biggest building in the village, and faces away from the ocean, as that's where Sin comes from.

Inside the temple plays the Hymn of the Fayth, another plot-important song. No, 'fayth' is not a typo.

"It was then, standing in that place. I began to realize how different this world was from my own."

Tidus talks to one of the temple attendants, and after using the toxin excuse again, gets some more exposition.

"It was funny hearing myself make the same excuse over and over. Funny, and a little sad."

"So what he meant...was that we should respect some kinda great men or something like that...I figured."

Tidus goes back to Wakka's place for a quick nap.

Which leads us to another flashback sequence. Young Tidus is happy to see Jecht gone from his life.

His mom isn't quite that sympathetic to him.

After he wakes up, Wakka is gone. Tidus heads back to the temple to find out what's going on.

It seems that the summoner is in trouble, and Tidus immediately runs into the temple depths to help.

Monk: "The precepts must be obeyed!"

Tidus: "Like I care!"

This takes him to the Cloister of Trials, a puzzle that must be overcome before reaching the chamber of the fayth. This one's pretty simple and teaches you the basics of these rooms.

The puzzles are based around spheres. Glyph Spheres open the way to the chamber, Destruction Spheres destroy things to uncover hidden treasures, and each temple also has its own type of sphere. Only one sphere can be held at a time and you can stick them into sphere-shaped slots to activate things.

In this case, there's a Besaid Sphere powering this lovely Tron lines complex.

If we replace it with a Destruction Sphere...

It blows up a wall to reveal a hidden chest. Inside is a Rod of Wisdom, which we can't use yet. It's important to get every Destruction Sphere treasure we can, as there's a late-game reward for obtaining them all. And generally, it's important to grab everything we can the first time, since backtracking isn't really a thing for 90% of the game.

Anyway, after completing the Cloister of Trials, Wakka meets up with Tidus again, and he explains that only summoners, apprentice summoners, and their guardians can enter. Wakka is free to enter because he's a guardian. Summoners go on a pilgrimage to every temple in Spira, and the guardians protect them.

We meet some more guardians outside the chamber. And then the door opens, revealing...

"Man, was I surprised. And here I was, thinking summoners were all old geezers."

The group heads out to the town square, and the summoner decides to show her prowess.

"I had never seen anything like it in my life. Sure, it was a little scary, but still... I could feel a strange kind of gentleness from it."

You get to pick a name for the aeon too. Her canon name is Valefor, but I went with Yvonne on a suggestion from Umbra.

The celebration continues into the night, and Tidus and the summoner finally get to meet face-to-face.

Yuna forgives Tidus for barging in, as she feels it was her fault for taking so long.

"I remember... That night, we talked for the first time. I didn't know it then, but after that night, everything changed. For everyone... For me..."

If you haven't already figured it out, yes, Yuna is the main love interest. After talking to her, Tidus heads to the Crusaders' lodge to sleep.

It's only been one day and you're already having dreams about her?

Yeah, yeah, Rikku's cute too.

Jecht, stop being such an asshole. This is why your son hates you.

Tidus awakens and sees Wakka and the girl in black, Lulu, talking.

You know how they say Final Fantasy characters are obsessed with belts? Yeah, here's a prime example. Apparently they made Lulu's dress entirely out of belts as a challenge to the animators.

The camera moves up so we can get a nice head shot of her too.

Wakka gives some context on the conversation after coming inside. His brother Chappu joined the Crusaders, and was killed by Sin. Wakka learned the news on the day of the last blitzball tournament, which understandably threw his game off.

In the morning, Wakka presents a gift to Tidus.

This sword is called Brotherhood, and is quite fancy. It was originally meant to be a gift for Chappu, but he never used it. Tidus leaves the village with Yuna's group, as they're going on the same ship.

Well, not quite yet. There's one more thing to grab first. See my comment above about how it's really important to pick stuff up the first time around.

No, I don't get it either.

Once that's done, the group stops to pray at the monument above town. Chappu didn't pray at it the day he left. While making their way back to the coast, we get some more random encounters.

Flying fiends are Wakka's speciaility. They have a big evasion bonus vs. melee, but Wakka's ball can hit them with no problems.

This slime monster looks dangerous, though. Its amorphous body gives it strong resistance to physical attacks.

Time to call in our black mage. Lulu uses these adorable little plushies as weapons and as focuses for her magic. Many are references to other Final Fantasy creatures, like the moogle up there. She also takes the time to explain this game's element system. Fire and ice oppose each other, as do lightning and water. This blob is water based, so...

Zap! Problem solved.

Tidus runs a bit ahead of everyone else when we reach the next area...

And runs into this furry guy, who we saw at the temple earlier. He doesn't take kindly to Tidus and attacks. The two trade blows for a bit, until everyone else comes in and puts a stop to it.

He's another one of Yuna's guardians. He doesn't talk much, and can't be used as a party member yet, but he will be later.

I know this post is already overloaded with screenshots but really, check out the view here.

Anyway, upon encountering a large flying fiend, Wakka decides that rather than handling it himself, he lets Yuna try out her summoning. You can swap party members in and out at any time during a battle.

Time to see what our aeon can do. By using the Summon command, Yuna calls Yvonne to the field. All other party members disappear while the aeon is summoned.

Yvonne can use standard attacks, cast black magic much like Lulu, and has the Sonic Wings special which deals damage and delays the opponent's turn.

Much like players, aeons have their own Overdrive bar too. That's what picking up the thing from the dog was all about. In this case though, I decided that her first Overdrive, Energy Ray, was enough for this fight.

She charges up a laser in her mouth, then fires it at the ground.

Then, explosions. Perfect for taking out any irritating fiends.

One last encounter to show here. In this case each character is up against the type of fiend they're specialized against. You want to have Tidus hit the wolf thing, Wakka go for the flyer, and Lulu cast Thunder on the blob, and they're finished off easily.

All of our other party members have their own places on the Sphere Grid, and they gain S.Lvls and spheres the same way Tidus does. Tidus learned a new ability too: Flee, which guarantees escape from any non-boss fight. Some say that fleeing from battles is cowardly, but it's still handy to use in a pinch.

Oh, by the way, that Rod of Wisdom we found? It's a weapon for Yuna. It gives a good magic boost and the Sensor ability, allowing her to show enemy HP and traits. When not using aeons, Yuna acts as our white mage, giving out heals and buffs when needed.

One last thing to grab as we hit the beach. This is a component for a postgame weapon for Yuna. I don't know if I'll get into the postgame for this LP, but it's good to have anyway.

Yuna and her crew board the ship. Yuna waves goodbye to the villagers as they set off.

[trans-rite]

The Transgender Rite of Ancestor Elevation: 2018 List of Names

Below the cut, a list of names, organized by country, date of passing, and how they died (people have mixed feelings about the latter, we understand). Some include age and other notes as well, but that’s not consistent across the names. This year we made an effort to seek out information about the lives of our beloved dead, where reported, and quotes from loved ones. 

Link to a shareable google document with photos

Christa Leigh Steele-Knudslien, United States

As of mid-October 2018, 22 homicides of trans Americans have been reported. The first known victim was Christa Leigh Steele-Knudslien, 42, of North Adams, Mass. The founder of the Miss Trans America and Miss Trans New England pageants, she was stabbed to death at her home January 5. Her husband, Mark S. Steele-Knudslien, 47, has been charged with her murder. He turned himself in to police the same night, saying he had done "something very bad," and describing details of the crime, but he pleaded not guilty the following week in Northern Berkshire District Court. He is awaiting trial.

Christa, 42, was a flamboyant and beloved transgender activist, founder of the Miss Trans New England beauty pageant and cofounder of the New England Trans United Pride March and Rally. She believed that being trans was something to celebrate. She was forever cajoling friends to try the higher heels, the shorter dress — “Show your legs, hon!” Her joy seemed boundless.

When Halloween came, Christa struck up a friendly decorating contest with Jennifer Serre, who lives across the street. They one-upped each other, Serre said, adding lights and signs and ghouls until Christa’s yard sported a guillotine, a fortune teller, a ghost, a clown, a girl hanging from a tree, a man dressed in black carrying a shovel, and a graveyard.

Viccky Gutierrez, United States

Viccky Gutierrez, 33, was stabbed to death at her home in Los Angeles January 10. Firefighters were called to a fire at the building early that day and discovered her body. Gutierrez, an immigrant from Honduras, was described as "a beautiful soul who was really nice to everyone and would offer any type of support when someone would need it" by friends who set up a crowdfunding page to raise money for funeral expenses. She was active in the L.A. trans community, working with the Los Angeles LGBT Center on Transgender Day of Remembrance events. A few days after her death, Los Angeles police arrested Kevyn Ramirez, 29.  Police said he admitted to stabbing Gutierrez and setting the fire. He is charged with murder during the commission of an attempted robbery, plus two counts of arson, while police continue to try to determine his motive and whether the murder was a hate crime.

Viccky was a young trans Latina woman from Honduras, and a member of TransLatin@ Coalition’s Los Angeles organization. She often joined the team for their daily lunches, provided for free to anyone in need. Friends refer to her as “the nicest girl in the world,” whose “smile would give anyone comfort,” and “an inspiration for many of us.”

Zakaria Fry, United States

Zakaria Fry, 28, went missing from her home in Albuquerque, N.M., January 18, along with her housemate, Eugene Carroll Ray, 70. Their bodies were found February 19 in trash bins in a rural part of New Mexico; both had died of blunt force trauma to the head and face, police said. It is not clear exactly when they were killed. Albuquerque police arrested Charles Anthony Spiess, 27, who is also known by the name James Knight, February 27, and the next day he was charged with the murder of both Fry and Ray, along with a charge of tampering with evidence. Police said he may have lived with the victims for a time. “It's a massive case and there's a lot of connections there. But the main thing is we’re asking the public if they ever saw these three together,” Albuquerque Police Department public information officer Simon Drobik told the Albuquerque Journal. Friends of Fry's described her lovingly. “You were such a fun and positive person despite all the challenges you faced in life,” Tara Yvonne wrote on Facebook. “You were a brave, strong and inspirational woman. Your spirit lives on and you are missed by many. May you rest in peace.”

Celine Walker, United States

Celine Walker, 36, was found shot to death in a hotel room in Jacksonville, Fla., February 4. A friend, Naomi Michaels, wrote on Facebook that Walker “lived a low key life where she did whatever needed to be done in order for her to survive” and “was not a pageant girl” or a clubgoer. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office misgendered and deadnamed her when reporting her death, with officials saying they do not identify people as transgender. Activists have called for a change in the policy, which may have delayed the investigation of the crime. No one has been arrested for her murder yet, and police have revealed no details of their investigation. Some friends suspect her murder was an anti-trans hate crime.

“Celine was not a pageant girl. She didn’t even enjoy going to gay clubs or events. She lived a low key life where she did whatever needed to be done in order for her to survive.”

Tonya Harvey, United States

Tonya Harvey, 35, was fatally shot on a dead-end street in Buffalo, N.Y., February 6. Social media posts by friends described Harvey, who sometimes went by the nickname “Kita,” as “sweet and loving” and “the black Cameron Diaz.” Police and the Erie County District Attorney's office are continuing to investigate her murder, including the possibility that it was a hate crime. Activists pointed out the widespread violence against trans people. “There is a very real epidemic of violence targeting the transgender community, particularly those who live at the intersection of transphobia, racism, and misogyny,” Damian Mordecai, executive director of the Pride Center of Western New York, told The Buffalo News.

Phylicia Mitchell, United States

Phylicia Mitchell, 45, died February 23 after being shot in the chest outside her home in Cleveland. She and partner Shane Mitchell had been together for about 30 years, ever since Phylicia fled her less-than-accepting family in Pittsburgh. They were not legally married, but they had an unofficial ceremony last May in which she took his last name. Phylicia earned a high school equivalency diploma and worked as a hairstylist, and Shane did odd jobs. Shane said their relationship endured and even became stronger through hard times, including periods of homelessness. “I miss her tremendously,” he told Cleveland's Plain Dealer. “That’s my soul mate. We went together everywhere. We did everything together. We always held hands on the bus. Years ago people didn’t respect that, but they do now.” In April, Cleveland police issued a warrant for the arrest of Gary Lamar Sanders, 36, in connection with Mitchell's death. He was placed on Ohio's Most Wanted List and was finally apprehendedby the U.S. Marshals Service in July in West Virginia, where he had been living for more than a month. He is charged with aggravated murder.

She  will be remembered for her devotion to hair styling and being a loving and caring partner and friend, despite battling drug addiction for most of her life, her longtime partner said.  "Everyone loved her," Mitchell said. "My nieces and nephews opened up to her so much. She was just so funny and kind."

Amia Tyrae Berryman, United States

Amia Tyrae Berryman, 28, was found shot to death at the Shades Motel in Baton Rouge, La., early in the morning of March 26. Police so far have no suspects and are continuing to investigate. Berryman's family declined to speak to local media.

Amia worked in home health care in Baton Rouge. A friend was quoted as saying “She didn’t have much support [from] family...so she made family with her peers in the LGBT community of Baton Rouge.” Another friend said, “Amia Tyrae R.I.P. you were such a sweet person with a big heart...rest well my friend.”

Sasha Wall, United States

Sasha Wall, 29, was found shot to death in her car along a rural road in Chesterfield County, S.C., the morning of April 1. She had been shot several times in the neck and shoulder. Police believe she knew her killer and that her death was likely the result of a domestic dispute. Wall, who lived in a mobile home near Pageland, S.C., was remembered fondly by friends on social media. On Facebook, Donovan Dunlap recalled taking photos of her, saying, “You stayed ready for the camera. I will miss you my beautiful sister. I cannot sleep. I hope they find who did this.”

Carla Patricia Flores-Pavon, United States

Carla Patricia Flores-Pavon was strangled to death in her Dallas apartment May 9. Police found her unconscious about 4 p.m. at her apartment, Dallas TV station KTVT reports. She was pronounced dead at a local hospital. A witness reportedly saw a man fleeing the scene. Dallas police said they do not believe her death was a hate crime. The are some discrepancies in the details about Flores-Pavon. KTVT listed her age as 26, but the Dallas Voice gave it as 18. Also, while police spelled her first name as Carla, her Facebook page spelled it Karla.“You were a good person,” her friend Gia York Herrera wrote on Facebook, also noting that the loss “hurts so much.”  (This is a translation; the original post was in Spanish.) York Herrera added, “God give comfort to your family and friends” and “I send you a hug and a kiss as always.” Police arrested a suspect in Flores-Pavon’s murder, Jimmy Eugene Johnson II, 24, near Huntsville, Texas, May 17. Johnson, who was arrested during a traffic stop, had items from Flores-Pavon’s apartment in his car, so police believe his motive was robbery and not anti-transgender bias. He is charged with murder.

Unknown transgender woman, United States

Officers pulled what they said was the body of a black, transgender woman, approximately 5’3” and 130 pounds, from a river in Dallas on May 15th, 2018. The unidentified victim was wearing a black shirt and black scrub pants.

Nino Fortson, United States

Nino Fortson, a 36-year-old transgender man, was shot to death in Atlanta May 13. Fortson was involved in an argument with two men and two women on the street, The Atlanta Jounral-Constitution reports. A witness said he fired a small gun into the air but then walked away. But a few minutes later, the witness heard more gunshots and then saw him lying on the ground, as one of the other people involved in the dispute limped away. Fortson died shortly afterward at Grady Memorial Hospital. Initial media reports misgendered Fortson.

Many in Atlanta’s queer community learned of the death through a Facebook post on the profile of Kamaro Blahnik, father of the House of Blahnik, who referred to Fortson as “my son” and used both she/her and he/him pronouns to refer to Fortson. Blahnik said that Fortson was known for walking the “Butch Realness” category at balls.

Gigi Pierce, United States

Gigi Pierce, 28, was shot to death in Portland, Ore., the night of May 21. She was from Boise, Idaho, and it wasn't clear how long she had been in Portland. Sophia Grace Adler, 33, has been arrested and charged with Pierce's murder; she has pleaded not guilty. Witnesses and police said there had been an altercation between the two prior to the shooting. A friend remembered Pierce as someone “full of life, always trying to help somebody.”

Her friends recall her as vivacious and enthusiastic. But they also say she struggled with drug abuse and homelessness, living a difficult life that came to a sudden end last week.

"I don't know what demons she was trying to run away from, but she spent her entire life running," says her close friend and former boyfriend Jason Johnson, who knew Eugene-Pierce for more than a decade. "And it was a beautiful run filled with glitter and cocktails." "Gigi was a performer through and through," her friend Dallas Jackson Falls said in a statement last week. "Life was her stage, and those fortunate enough to know her were her audience. Granted, you never knew whether you were getting a drama, comedy or even, in some moments, an action-filled tragedy. That was the thing about her, you just never knew what you were going to get." Eugene-Pierce grew up in Boise, Idaho. Her sister, Nicole Emery, says Eugene-Pierce "treated my sister [Meghann] and I like princesses" and "never stood still."

Antash’a-English, United States

Antash’a English, 38, was shot to death  in Jacksonville, Fla., June 1. On a city street, she was shot in the abdomen by someone firing from a vehicle. She died at a local hospital. “She was an unapologetic, bold, and loyal person,” friend Taliyah Smith told Firs Coast News, a program of stations WTLV and WJXX. English had won several pageants and performed regularly at local nightclub InCahoots. Police are continuing to investigate her murder.

On her Facebook page, English described herself as “a very independent transgendered woman ... who thrive[s] on being the best person I can be.” In May, just weeks before her death, English had shared a photo of herself with the caption, “I will no longer be a victim of discrimination. # Trans rights.”

Diamond Stephens, United States

Diamond Stephens, 39, was shot to death June 18 while driving home. She was shot in the back of the head, causing her van to crash into a house. She was not identified as transgender until a month later because police and local news outlets misgendered and deadnamed her. Police, who have yet to identify a suspect, say there may have been others in the car with her. Her family is devastated. “We are hurting really bad,” Stephens’s cousin Georgia Brown told Mississippi TV station WTOK. “I don’t really know what words to say other than we need God to help us and give us strength to make it through this situation and pray to God that whoever did this is found.”

Catalina Christina James, United States

Catalina Christina James was the third transgender woman murdered in Jacksonville this year, leading some to suspect a serial killer is at work. James, from Bishopville, S.C.,  was shot to death outside a Quality Inn and Suites motel June 24. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office continued its practice of not using trans victims' preferred names. James's mother described her to First Coast News as the life of the party, with a love of travel and dancing.

Keisha Wells, United States

Keisha Wells, 58, was found dead in the parking lot of an apartment complex June 24 in Cleveland, the second trans woman murdered in the city this year. She had suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Her best friend, Sheila Jones, described her to the Plain Dealer as "a tough cookie" but "the nicest person ever." Wells loved dressing up and frequenting nightclubs, Jones added. "(She) always loved the most expensive high heels and stilettos, the hats and (her) expensive sunglasses.”

Wells' aunt, Regina Spicer, said Wells loved to make everyone around her laugh. She said Wells, who family members referred to as "Pokey" and who was referred to by family as both Keisha and her birth name Maurice, also spoiled the dozen or so nieces and nephews. "Pokey was funny," Spicer said. "Pokey liked laughing and telling funny stories about people. But when (she) loved you and cared about you, (she) loved you."

Sasha Garden, United States

Sasha Garden, 27, was found dead at an Orlando apartment complex July 19.

Garden, an advocate for transgender women and outreach coordinator for the HIV and AIDS organization Miracle of Love, was a sex worker saving money to transition and become a hairstylist. Garden was known for an outgoing spirit. "She was a firecracker – very outspoken," said Montrese Williams, who houses transgender women involved in sex work, providing free condoms, water bottles, and HIV testing. "She didn’t hold her tongue for anyone or anybody. Her womanhood was one of those things she stood up for. She didn’t tolerate any disrespect at all."

“There’s a little bit of Sasha in all of us here today,” mourner Richard Sizemore said, according to the Sentinel. “Her adventure in this realm may be over ... but I have faith that on the next plane, she is somewhere where she’s perfect — and everybody knows it.”

Dejanay Stanton, United States

Dejanay Stanton, 24, was shot to death early in the morning of August 30 on the south side of Chicago. She was found in an alley, with a gunshot wound to her head, and pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. Police initially did not know her name and identified her as "Jane Doe," but friends who saw her photo on social media confirmed her identity as Dejanay Stanton.

“She was so sweet. Every time you saw her she had a smile on her face," said LaSaia Wade, executive director of Brave Space Alliance. “She was just trying to live her best life as a young girl.” Police have yet to make an arrest but are continuing to investigate.

The first thing you noticed about Dejanay Stanton is her hair. In one video, it was styled pin-straight and dark brown, though the sunlight teased it out to a golden sheen. As she twirled around on the grass, it cascaded past her hips and swished freely in the wind, almost like it had a life of its own. Other times, it would be crimped or in soft curls, in a bob with blonde tips or, toward the end of her life, dyed scarlet. “Everyone, no matter what their gender or sexuality, knew her,” Jones, 25, said. “She was loved and never did nothing to nobody. So it was a shock.”

Jones said Stanton never had a bad word to say about anyone and was a family-first person. She lived with her mother, step-dad and four siblings, and every day she told her mom she loved her. Whenever someone was short on money, she always paid for that person’s meal or drinks. “There was a sweet spirit about her,” Jones said. “Always inspirational or encouraging. She was always living life.” Stanton also loved to travel, Jones said. One of her favorite destinations was New York City, where she’d go shopping and restock her much-coveted wardrobe. “She was a girl who loved style,” Wade said. “She was trying to live her best life. It was like a breath of fresh air.”

Vontashia Bell, United States

Vontashia Bell, 18, suffered a fatal gunshot wound August 30 in Shreveport, La. She was found on the street early that morning and pronounced dead at a local hospital. Police and media misgendered her, but a Louisiana activist organization identified her correctly. Bell’s death “is a reminder of the current climate and national discourse on trans issues,” said the release from Louisiana Trans Advocates. “Dehumanizing language and actions lower the barriers to this kind of senseless violence.” The group called on city and state officials to condemn anti-trans discrimination and violence and to work against institutional racism. Police have yet to make an arrest but have asked the public for help in identifying a suspect.

Shantee Tucker, United States

Shantee Tucker, 30, was shot to death September 5 on a Philadelphia street by someone firing from inside a pickup truck. Witnesses had seen her arguing with the person in the truck just before she was shot, and police believe she knew her killer. The police also said they don't think the attack was motivated by her gender identity, but her friends and trans activists don't agree. Friends recalled Tucker, who worked in a beauty supply store, as a sincere and down-to-earth person.

Tucker had just celebrated a birthday.

London Moore, United States

London Moore, 20, was found shot to death September 8 in North Port, Fla. Her car was found the next day at a different location. Police said the crime was an isolated incident and that they believe she knew her killer, who remains at large.

On September 1, Moore posted on her Facebook that she was “going to give this whole love thing one more chance.”

“Wish me luck,” she added.

Ms Columbia, United States

Residents of Queens are reacting with shock and grief at the news that Miss Colombia, a colorfully attired Jackson Heights personality who was a fixture at LGBTQ Pride celebrations and other gatherings, was found dead in the waters off Jacob Riis Park in the early morning hours of October 4. Miss Colombia, aka Osvaldo Gomez, preferred male pronouns and was an attorney in his native Medellín, Colombia, arriving in the US in the 1970s fleeing persecution in his homeland, he stated in 2015 in the video documentary series “No Your City.” He was 64. At an evening vigil on October 5 in Jackson Heights, out gay City Councilmember Daniel Dromm of Jackson Height said Miss Colombia “was an iconic figure in the LGBT community and beyond. She was beloved by all who saw her in the streets, at parades, and in the neighborhood wearing her colorful outfits and a bird on her shoulder. Her cheerfulness and ability to bring a smile to the faces of all who met her will be missed by all New Yorkers. I remember marching with Miss Colombia at the first Queens Pride Parade and at other parades across the city, including the India Day Parade and the Chinese New Year Parade, among others. While life did not always treat Miss Colombia with all the respect she was due, New Yorkers will remember Miss Colombia as a hero to everyone. May Miss Colombia rest in peace.”

Nikki Janelle Enriquez, United States

Nikki Janelle Enriquez, 28, of Laredo, Texas, was found dead near Interstate 35 in south Texas September 15. She has been shot in the head. Juan David Ortiz, 35, an intelligence supervisor for the U.S. Border Patrol, is charged with murdering Enriquez and three other women. Police and prosecutors are calling the murders a serial killing spree in which Ortiz singled out sex workers. They have not ruled out the possibility that there are other victims. Enriquez, so far the only known transgender victim, was described by family members as “very outgoing,” “always smiling,” and “loved by the gay community.”

Ciara Minaj Carter Frazier, United States

Ciara Minaj Carter Frazier, 31, was stabbed to death in Chicago the night of October 3. She was found in the backyard of an abandoned house and pronounced dead at the scenc. Police believe her killer was a man she had been arguing with at the house, but they have yet to apprehend him. Her death came just over a month after the fatal shooting of transgender Chicagoan Deejay Stanton. “It feels like we are being targeted,” LaSaia Wade, executive director of Chicago trans organization Brave Space Alliance, told the Chicago Sun-Times. She knew Frazier through the local ball scene. “I’m frustrated and upset with the lack of cases turning around,” she continued. “There is a lack of [concern for] our safety from police.”

Jessie Sumlar, United States

On July 19, 30-year-old Jessie Sumlar was found stabbed to death in Jacksonville, Florida. According to loved ones, Sumlar regularly performed in drag and identified as queer. A friend writes: “I will miss you so much! I looked forward to seeing your beautiful smile! You were such a kind and thoughtful person. Rest with Jesus my beautiful Jessie! Youve impacted more lives with smiles and good purpose than you know. Ill never forget your warm touches on my shoulder and soft voice and how you ALWAYS spoke to everybody when you entered the room.”

Roxsana Hernandez, United States

Roxsana Hernandez died while in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after fleeing violence and discrimination in Honduras.

Hernandez recently petitioned for asylum after traveling as part of a caravan of migrants fleeing violence in Central America.

Roxana Hernández reportedly died from HIV-related complications following an alleged five-day detention in what’s known by immigrant rights groups as the “ice box” – Ice detention facilities notorious for their freezing temperatures.

Four months before joining the caravan, Hernandez said, she was walking home when MS-13 gang members started screaming "We don't want you in this neighborhood, you fucking faggot" at her before gang-raping her. "Four of them raped me and as a result I got HIV," Hernandez told BuzzFeed News. "Trans people in my neighborhood are killed and chopped into pieces, then dumped inside potato bags." Standing in front of a church in Puebla, Mexico, playing with a silver cross around her neck, Hernandez said that gangs had continued to threaten her and told her she had to leave the area where she lived in Honduras. "I didn't want to come to Mexico — I wanted to stay in Honduras but I couldn't," Hernandez said. "They kill trans people in Honduras. I'm scared of that." Hernandez said she was able to put some money together to head to Guatemala. Her plan was to return to the US, from which she had previously been deported three times. She had some family in the US but said they did not accept her because she was trans. From Guatemala she went to Mexico, where she eventually linked up with the caravan of 1,200 to 1,500 migrants heading north.

Mondragón said Hernandez had been sick when she turned herself in to US border authorities but was in good spirits. "She told me she loved me. She had courage, but was nervous at the thought of entering the US again," Mondragón said. "I'll remember her as a timid, respectful person, always giving the other girls advice and sharing her food."

Vanessa Campos, 36, a trans woman working as a prostitute, was shot dead on August 17 in Paris' bois de Boulogne. She was originally from Peru and had been living in Paris for two years. The police initially referred to her as a "male transvestite".

Local media reports said Ms Campos had been attempting to prevent one of her clients from being mugged before she was fatally shot in the chest.

“Vanesa was a very soft person,” says Rincon. “She was good at listening. After the death of her father back in Peru, Vanesa took on the role of breadwinner and she was still sending money home to her family.”

“When I went back to the forest a few weeks ago for the memorial, I saw how Vanesa and her friends had tried to make it safer to work,” Rincon says. She explains that the area is dark and isolated but the women had set up battery-operated lights, brought water bottles and made a makeshift shelter so they’d have privacy with clients and avoid being arrested under French exhibitionism laws frequently used to target sex workers. “Vanesa’s friends have to keep working there, in the place where she was murdered,” Rincon says. “It's now a communal cemetery, with candles and people going there to pray.”

Four unknown women, India

Following a false rumor that transgender women were kidnapping children for sex trafficking in Hyderabad, four transgender women were attacked by a mob on May 26, 2018. One of the women died. Local police issued an "Appeal to Public" saying that the rumors of criminal involvement by transgender women were "fake" and that the public should not "take law into your hands...so that innocents won't become a victim of those rumors anymore.

Naomi Hersi, United Kingdom

Naomi Hersi, 36, was found stabbed to death at Heathrow Palace in London at 10:30 on Sunday 18 March 2018. Jesse McDonald, 24, from Hounslow, has been charged with murder. A 17-year-old girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was released on bail after being charged with assisting an offender.

Naomi who lived in Mill Hill, north London, was described on social media as a “tennis lover, music junkie, film and tv addict”. She was of Somali origin who had lived in the United States before returning to the UK. One neighbour said: “She was fun to be around and a real character. She was into music and tennis. She was a nice person.” Another neighbour said: “Naomi was a flamboyant, lovely fun person. I think she had problems in her life but was well liked. We are devastated to lose a friend and neighbour.”

In April, a transgender woman was shot dead in Pakistan, making her the 56th trans person to be killed in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region in the last three years. Sheena, who lived in the Shewa area, was allegedly attacked by a group of armed men who beat her up and then shot her dead on Sunday night.

Sheena, Pakistan

In April, a transgender woman was shot dead in Pakistan, making her the 56th trans person to be killed in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region in the last three years. Sheena, who lived in the Shewa area, was allegedly attacked by a group of armed men who beat her up and then shot her dead on Sunday night.

Unknown woman, Pakistan

August: Police in Peshawar, Pakistan, have arrested two suspects in the killing and dismemberment of a transgender woman, with one found carrying a shopping bag containing the victim’s body parts. The victim, identified only as Nazo, was shot to death late Thursday, and her body was then “hacked to pieces,” Radio Free Europe reports, citing an interview that Police Superintendent Cantt Waseem Riaz gave to Pakistani media.

Unknown woman, Pakistan

September: A transgender woman in Pakistan has died after being set afire by four men when she resisted sexual assault. The men had taken the woman to an isolated area in the city of Sahiwal, in the eastern part of the nation last Thursday, The Times of India reports. She fought back when they tried to assault her, and then they set her on fire. She suffered burns on 80 percent of her body and died while being transported to a hospital.

Sheila, a transgender woman and sex worker, was shot in the streets of Tepic on March 14, 2018.

Yoselyn, Mexico

Yoselyn, a transgender woman and sex worker, was found beheaded inside the room of a short stay motel in Álamo, Veracruz on April 5, 2018. She was seen with a client who left before the corpse was found.

Gretchen Alina, Mexico

Gretchen Alina, a transgender woman and drag queen show performer was strangled to death in Monterrey on April 10, 2018. She performed as Lorena Hererra.

Yamileth Quintero, Mexico

Yamileth Quintero, a transgender woman and beauty queen was shot in Culiacan after an encounter with a man she had met online, May 24, 2018.

Nataly Briyth Sánchez, Mexico

Nataly Briyth Sánchez, an undocumented sex worker originally from Honduras, was murdered during a sexual encounter on June 19, 2018 in Tapachula. The client stabbed her to death after discovering that she was transgender.[285]

Katty, Mexico

Katty, a transgender woman and sex worker was shot by an unknown man at a nightclub in Yautepec de Zaragoza on June 27, 2018.[286]\

Chanel, Mexico

Chanel, a 45 year-old transexual sex worker, was shot in the streets of Toluca, July 18, 2018.

Alaska Contreras Ponce, Mexico

Alaska Contreras Ponce, 25, a transgender beauty queen and sex worker, was found dead with her neck sliced by barbed wire after gruesome torture in Martinez de la Torre, July 25, 2018.[288]

Juan C.M., Mexico

Juan C. M., a 24 year old transgender woman and local taxi driver, was found dead in Santa Maria Atzompa on August 12, 2018. Apparently, she had a gunshot wound.

Samuel Santolli, Mexico

Samuel Santolli, a transgender woman and sex worker, was stabbed to death by her lover, a Salvadorian gang member in Tapachula, May 26, 2018.[290]

Diego Armando Sanchez Medina, Mexico

Diego Armando Sanchez Medina, 32, a transgender woman and hairdresser, was shot 28 times by armed men in Guadalajara, August 27, 2018.[291]

Arturo, Mexico

April 27th, 2018: Arturo, a trans woman, was found in the entrance to a field Villa de los Belenes neighborhood of the municipality of Zapopan .

[thensuburbia]

Under The Volcano review

Under The Volcano is a stream of consciousness novel that traces the fatefully sewn lives of its four protagonists, consisting of Geoffrey Firmin (referred to as the consul), Yvonne (his wife/ex), Hugh (his half-brother) and Jaques (a childhood friend).

Though its subject matter may at first seem dark and disconcerting, Under The Volcano counterintuitively traces the all too human fallacy of finding joy in misery, a state of being most easily recognized by anyone living in modern society.

Lowry's novel magnifies the human condition. It doesn't try to explain things so much as provide context that the world can be an unkind place, regardless of positive intentions. He vividly illustrates throughout the novel how humans all too often daydream about the past, while failing to understand the present in order to focus what little energy they have on planning for the future. Plans that we human beings are all too often unable or incapable of communicating to those that matter.

Lowry provides each of his characters with their own hopes and dreams as the plot traces their interconnected histories on this doomed Day Of The Dead. At the novel's close, we, as readers, understand how each life has, in its own way, all too often achieved some modicum of success with bleak results. You see, each protagonist is an artist: a failed Director, a failed Author, a failed singer-song writer/adventurer and a failed actress (Yvonne's back story in particular feeling like a short Richard Yates novel).These people are neither successful nor rich. Though in no way outwardly evil or mean-spirited, their lives have in some way or other let them down and marked others in ways that cannot be healed.

This is a deeply felt, heart-wrenching tale of alcoholism and the perils of miscommunication. Thought the style is not 'easy' to read, I often needed to scan the paragraphs backwards having caught myself daydreaming about life reading his labyrinthine sentences. That being said the novel is never boring and the characters never anything other than captivating and realistic. Strong recommendation.

Quotes:

'I know...you may never return the book, but suppose I lend it you precisely for that reason, that someday you may be sorry you did not. Oh, I shall forgive you then, but will you be able to forgive yourself?Not merely for having returns it, but because the book will by then have become and emblem of what even now it is impossible to return' (29)

'He felt rather like someone lying in a bath after all the water has run out, witless, almost dead' (30)

'...by this time the poor consul had already lost almost all capacity for telling the truth and his life had become a quixotic oral fiction' (35)

'Time is a fak healer anyhow' (42)

'All mystery, all hope, all disappointment, yes, all disaster, is here, beyond those swinging doors' (53)

'She had a little chicken on a cord which she kept under her dress over her heart' (53)

'Ah, a woman could not know the perils, the complications, yes, the importance of a drunkard's life' (89)

'Nothing in the world was more terrible than an empty bottle' (90)

'Hugh put one foot on the parapet and regarded his cigarette that seemed bent, like humanity, on consuming itself as quickly s possible' (105)

'we have fallen inevitably into it, it is as if, upon this one day in the year the dead come to life, or so one was reliably informed on the bus, this day of visions and miracles, by some contrariety we have been allowed for one hour a glimpse of what never was at all, of what never can be since brotherhood was betrayed, the image of our happiness, of that it would be better to think could not have been' (111)

'What was life but a warfare and a stranger's sojourn'( 113)

'if only it were not so absolutely necessary to go out and hang oneself' (117)

'a little girl was playing with an armadillo' (117)

'Yet his thirst still remained unquenched. Perhaps because he was drinking, not water, but lightness, and promise of lightness-how could he be drinking promise of lightness? Perhaps because he was drinking, not water, but certainty of brightness-how could he be drinking certainty of brightness? Certainty of brightness, promise of lightness, of light, light, light and again...' (132)

'You do not wish merely to drink, but to drink in a particular place and in a particular town' (136)

'There was no one you could trust to drink with you to the bottom of the bowl' (150)

' yet how interested would the doctor have been in one who felt himself being shattered by the very forces of the universe' (152)

'the intolerable impact of this knowledge that might have come at twenty-two, but had not, that ought at least to have come at twenty-five, but still somehow had not, this knowledge, hitherto associated only with people tottering on the brink of the grave and A. E. Housman, that one could not be young forever-that indeed, in the twinkling of an eye, one was not young any longer.' (157)

'I have no responsibilities. And how can I be escaping from myself when I am without a place on earth? No home' (160)

'And yet there was something youthful and beautiful about her, like an illusion that will never die, but always remains hulldown on the horizon' (174)

'Yet in life ascending or descending you were perpetually involved with the mists, the cold and the overhands, the treacherous rope and the slippery belay, only, while the rope slipped there was sometimes time to laugh.' (190)

'How loathsome, how incredibly loathsome was reality' (216)

'Weary of liberty he suffered himself to be saddled and brides, and was ridden to death for his pains' (223)

'this feeling belonged to yesterday, to the months of lonely torment behind him' (224)

'an awakening from a dream in a dark place, in which, as you see, are present the means of escape from yet another nightmare' (236)

'If your mind is occupied with all things, then you never lose your mind. Your minds, your life-your everything in it' (237)

' I have no house only a shadow. But whenever you are in need of a shadow, my shadow is yours' (240)

'Never mind, old boy, it would have been worse than the windmills' (258)

'Nothing in the world is more powerful than one of these strange silences' (281)

'Nothing is altered and in spite of God's mercy I am still alone' (300)

'I love hell. I wan't wait to get back there. In fact I'm running, I'm almost back there already' (327)

'Why am I here, says the silence, what have I done, echoes the emptiness, Why have I ruined myself in this wilful manner, chuckles the money in the till, why have I been brought so low, wheedles the thoroughfare, to which the only answer was- The square gave him no answer' (355).

'What is there in life besides the person whom one adores and the life one can build with that person? For the first time I understand the meaning of suicide...(360)

'What is a lost soul? It is one that has turned from its true path and is groping in the darkness of remembered ways' (360)

'Do I sound mad_ I sometimes think I am. Seize the immense potential strength you fight, which is within your body and ever so much more strongly within your soul, restore me the sanity that left when you forgot me, when you sent me away, when you turned your footsteps towards a different path, a stranger route which you have trod apart...' (380)

[citizenscreen]

When the Harvard educated, classically trained stage actor Fred Gwynne heard that Yvonne De Carlo was to be his co-star in The Munsters he balked. Al Lewis, a showbiz veteran since the days of vaudeville, had the exact same reaction. The co-stars and friends went straight to the producers to complain, “She’ll never fit in. She’s a movie star!”

She was born Margaret (Peggy) Yvonne Middleton in Vancouver, British Columbia on September 1, 1922. “I was named Margaret Yvonne. Margaret because my mother was very fond of one of the derivatives of the name. She was fascinated at the time by the movie star Baby Peggy and I suppose she wanted a Baby Peggy of her own.” Peggy Middleton would later use her middle name, Yvonne coupled with her mother’s maiden name, De Carlo in her pursuit of a professional career in the movies. As Yvonne De Carlo the young woman would become one of filmdom’s great beauties, she would appear opposite some of Hollywood’s greatest stars, date some of the most famous men in the world and become a pop culture icon.

Yvonne De Carlo was raised by a single mother who dreamed of stardom and puritanical grandparents. Her father, a handsome, charismatic con man, ran from the law when Peggy was 3 and never returned. Hoping to shape a future star in the image of her own dreams, Peggy’s mother signed her up for dancing lessons early. Peggy, however, always wanted to be a singer and was blessed with a strong voice and a lively personality, both of which would serve her well throughout her life. After several years of ballet lessons Peggy’s mother announced that they were going to Hollywood for a chance at stardom. Her formal education was erratic at best, but Peggy continued to dance uninterrupted although she shifted from ballet to other forms of dance that fit her build much better. The first trip to Hollywood proved unsuccessful, but at the age of 17 Peggy became Yvonne De Carlo dancing in Vancouver nightclubs. Already a stand-out beauty, Yvonne returned to Hollywood with her mother and at the age of 18 and won the Miss Venice Beach beauty contest, which gave her the confidence for nightclub work in Hollywood and eventually opened the door to the movies.

Paramount Pictures signed De Carlo to a contract in August 1942. While there she appeared in bit parts in about 20 movies, which included uncredited roles in several notable productions like Frank Tuttle’s This Gun for Hire and David Butler’s Road to Morocco, in which she played Dorothy Lamour’s handmaiden. Both of those were released in 1942. As great as the movie parts were, however, they weren’t getting her any real attention. What got her attention were the USO shows she was a part of, which made her a favorite pin-up of the boys in uniform and she loved singing for them.

In 1944 Paramount let Yvonne De Carlo go, but producer Walter Wanger cast her in Charles Lamont’s Salome, Where She Danced (1945), which led to a $350 a week contract with Universal. The role of Salome catapulted De Carlo to stardom making her another one of those overnight successes after years of hard work and perseverance. Still, she’d made it…

“Yvonne De Carlo, a comparative newcomer, is starred in the title role. Miss De Carlo has an agreeable mezzo-soprano singing voice, all the “looks” one girl could ask for, and, moreover, she dances with a sensuousness which must have caused the Hays office some anguish.” – Bosley Crowther, NYT, May 3, 1945.

Publicity shot for Salome, Where She Danced

Moderately billed as “the most beautiful woman in the world” by Universal for Salome, questions about her looks were sure to surface. When asked in 1945, “Who else is beautiful like you in Hollywood,” she replied, “That’s a heck of a question to ask a lady! But if you insist – Merle Oberon and Hedy Lamarr.”

Before she knew it Yvonne De Carlo was Universal’s hottest property and the studio demanded she never be seen in public as anything less than a star. That was a demand De Carlo could meet easily. She was beautiful, confident, exotic, mysterious and excelled at getting the attention of the press. In fact, no studio could have asked for a more perfect personification of “movie star.” She relished the role and enjoyed every minute of it. It’s no surprise that billionaire producer Howard Hughes pursued her as he did many famous beauties of the golden age. The two dated for a time – until Yvonne mentioned marriage. She also had a serious relationship with Robert Stack who remained an admirer of hers his entire life. Although I’d like to I can’t name all of the men Yvonne De Carlo dated here because according to what she wrote in her autobiography, Yvonne: An Autobiography she went out with many men including Burt Lancaster, Robert Taylor and Billy Wilder. And, as she noted in a TV interview following the book’s release, “There were a few truck drivers in there too.”

In 1947 Yvonne made a splash with her seductive dancing in Walter Reisch’s Song of Scheherazade and appeared in Jules Dassin‘s highly regarded noir, Brute Force starring Burt Lancaster. De Carlo followed those with numerous pictures, mostly of the sword and sand variety that required little to no acting ability. That changed in 1949, however, when she made Criss Cross directed by Robert Siodmak starring opposite Lancaster and Dan Duryea. Yvonne considered this her first dramatic role and she delivered the goods in memorable fashion matching Lancaster’s considerable energy, which is no easy feat. Unfortunately, solid reviews as the dangerous dish in Siodmak’s picture didn’t yield better parts for her. De Carlo complained to Universal in 1950, but the studio refused to put her in more dramatic pictures so she didn’t renew her contract choosing independence instead. By the way, I’ll never understand why Universal never put De Carlo in a horror picture. She would have been fantastic as a villain.

With Dan Duryea in Criss Cross

Between 1950 and 1955 Yvonne De Carlo made nearly 20 pictures and dabbled in television. Formula Westerns were a specialty for her during that span, but none made a splash with the exception of Norman Foster‘s Sombrero (1953), which inadvertently led to the biggest movie of De Carlo’s career, “I had done a picture at Metro titled Sombrero, which wasn’t much of a hit. But I had portrayed a saintly type of woman similar to what DeMille had in mind for Sephora. He saw the picture, was very impressed, and promptly said, “You’re it.” The Cecil B. DeMille movie Yvonne referred to is, of course, The Ten Commandments wherein she plays Moses’ wife Sephora opposite Charlton Heston. The Ten Commandments was released amid a frenzy of publicity in 1956. De Carlo had been a movie star for years by this point, but DeMille’s picture took her to another plane. At the premiere Yvonne said, “Thanks to Mr. DeMille, I can get in some Class A pictures.”

Charlton Heston and Yvonne De Carlo in The Ten Commandments

The following year De Carlo starred opposite none other than Clark Gable in Raoul Walsh‘s Band of Angels. Unfortunately, that movie’s reception was warm at best leaving Yvonne no choice but to return to the B adventure pictures that had been her bread and butter. By the end of the 1950s, however, fantasies were on the way out making way for more serious fare. De Carlo found her niche on a nightclub stage once again and in television as a guest on many of the popular series of the time. She made a notable picture in 1963 thanks to John Wayne who hired her for Andrew V. McLaglen’s McLintock! opposite him and Maureen O’Hara. The movie was produced by Wayne’s Batjac Productions for United Artists. De Carlo is fun to watch as the attractive widow hired by Wayne’s character, McLintock as his cook and housekeeper. I particularly enjoy the scenes in which we see Maureen and Yvonne together – two classic, saucy beauties playing rivals. Anyway, despite the movie’s solid reviews and its impressive showing at the box office, Yvonne’s movie career saw no upswing. Her next big role would be on TV as an average wife and mother who resides at 1313 Mockingbird Lane.

Let me backtrack a bit to set the stage for Mockingbird Lane – In 1955 Yvonne married actor and stunt man, Bob Morgan. By all accounts it was instant attraction that brought the two together. The couple had two sons and the marriage lasted until their 1974 divorce, but the troubles had started much earlier. Bob had difficulties with Yvonne’s fame in comparison to his own. Regardless, the two tried to work things out and when Bob suffered a serious accident while working a stunt on How the West Was Won in 1961, Yvonne stopped working to help with his recovery. Morgan battled for his life and eventually lost a leg as a result of that accident, which happened when he was run over by a train. The accident and recovery left the Morgans in serious debt. It was under these difficult emotional and financial circumstances that John Wayne offered Yvonne De Carlo the role in McLintock! and the reason why she accepted the role of Lily Munster.

At a Hollywood premiere with Bob Morgan

1964 began dismally for Yvonne De Carlo. For the first time in three decades she had no movie prospects and was deeply in debt. When her old studio, Universal, called with an offer for her to star in a situation comedy about a family of monsters living in the suburbs she accepted. At first Yvonne was skeptical about taking the job, but her agents and her bank account forced her to accept.

The Munsters debuted on September 24, 1964 with Yvonne De Carlo as the matriarch of a an average family working toward the American dream – who just happen to be monsters. Alongside Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster, Al Lewis as Grandpa, Butch Patrick as Eddie and Pat Priest as Marilyn (she replaced Beverly Owen who played the character for the first 15 episodes of the series), Yvonne’s Lily charmed the pants off adults and children alike. The Munsters, which combined familiar, suburban sitcom comedy with memorable characters from Universal’s horror heyday, was a monster hit quelling De Carlo’s concerns about the show immediately. Not only did she enjoy working with the other cast members, she also loved the premise, the writing and the fun. It took Gwynn and Lewis no time at all to realize they’d been wrong about Yvonne De Carlo. She showed up to work with no movie star attitude whatsoever. A hard worker and a dedicated artist, Yvonne was marvelous as Lily and had comedic timing as good as anybody they’d ever worked with.

During a show retrospective, Pat Priest mentioned De Carlo’s style, how she’d use her hands to make Lily unique and her own. I didn’t realize how much that had to do with my enjoyment of the character until I heard Priest say the words. I rewatched a few episodes and sure enough Yvonne’s dance training is evident in every movement including the expressive hand gestures. Lily Munster is stylish and glamorous despite her 100-plus years and despite spending the day doing the cooking and cleaning. Or rather, uncleaning since she has to add cobwebs and dust instead of removing them. Every day when Herman gets home from work the house is in disorder and he’s welcomed with a warm embrace. Lily also manages to keep the romantic fires burning in her marriage as well as she and Herman are as much in love as the first day they met – right after he was created, I believe. When Lily strokes Herman’s cheeks and whispers, “you know, they just don’t make men like you anymore” you know she means it. But this woman is no pushover. When the occasion calls for it Lily is also the disciplinarian who keeps the peace between Herman and Grandpa who are prone to act like petulant children on occasion. As a mother she’s tops too. Donna Reed and June Cleaver have absolutely nothing on her.

All of that is believable thanks to De Carlo’s talent, which allowed for playing the instances of broad comedy and the warm moments with serious intent and gusto. From the original show opening, which features Lily at the entrance of the family home seeing every off for the day, Yvonne sets the tone and grounds the series.

The popularity of The Munsters hit the stratosphere almost immediately after its release. Universal took full advantage by producing everything from lunch boxes to puppets to models with the character’s images on them. There was The Official Munsters Magazine, an official Munsters Comic Book series and anything else you could think of. The Munsters were everywhere and the actors were sent on publicity tours all over the country. Yvonne De Carlo loved the renewed attention, “It meant security. It gave me a new, young audience I wouldn’t have had otherwise. It made me “hot” again, which I wasn’t for a while.” She also enjoyed walking around the Universal lot in full Lily make-up, which took a painstaking three hours a day and included a 20-plus pound wig.

It’s hard to believe The Munsters only lasted two seasons, its popularity waned as quickly as it had spiked. In order to try to revitalize interest Universal hired the same cast, with the exception of Pat Priest who was replaced by Debbie Watson, for a feature titled Munster, Go Home! in 1966. The movie, which represents the first time the Munsters appear in color, was not a box-office success and signaled the apparent end of the beloved family, but Gwynn, Lewis and De Carlo were summoned once again for a TV movie, The Munsters’ Revenge in 1981. While it was fun to revisit with the Munsters at that point, both movies failed to capture the charm of the original series.

I think The Munsters touched so many people, kids especially, because the actors played them seriously, as if they really were a regular family. In fact, the show’s comedy stemmed from the them thinking they were normal people and regular neighbors. The fact that they are monsters and the comedy that resulted from that are almost incidental. That is, as far as most of the storylines are concerned. I believe it was the ability of Gwynn and De Carlo (in particular) to find the right balance between heart and parody that makes The Munsters fresh and enjoyable today, decades and several generations after its initial broadcast.

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  Yvonne continued to work in movies and television through 1995. She never reached the same popularity as The Munsters in either medium, but she had a stage triumph in 1971 wowing audiences and critics as Carlotta Campion in Stephen Sondheim‘s Follies. Yvonne belted out Sondheim’s show-stopping number, “I’m Still Here,” which became not only her anthem, but that of numerous aging super stars through the years. The memorable number was written specifically for Yvonne De Carlo by Stephen Sondheim, which in itself speaks volumes about her singing talent.

In Follies

Yvonne De Carlo died on January 8, 2007 at the age of 84. As I looked back through her life and career for this tribute the one thing that kept coming to mind was guts. She was a gutsy lady, a fighter who, like a few other Hollywood greats who started their trek toward stardom early, had several lives worth of responsibility on her shoulders. Yet, she persevered. Yvonne De Carlo will always be remembered first and foremost as Lily Munster, which is ok in my book, but she was also a movie star and she fit both roles perfectly. As a result Yvonne left behind many memorable moments on film and on television – and millions of devoted fans.

“Particularly I loved Yvonne De Carlo – she was my favorite actress. I used to dream I was Yvonne De Carlo.” – Sophia Loren

Yvonne De Carlo, The Movie Star Munster When the Harvard educated, classically trained stage actor Fred Gwynne heard that Yvonne De Carlo was to be his co-star in 

[kathrynmjaneway]

Hi! First of all, I love your blog

Heyyy :)

Thank you very much!

I’ll try my best to give you some recommendations!

First of all - here is a complete list of all novels, audio books, radio plays and Big Finish audio dramas. I don’t know how familar you are with the whole concept and the differences of all the different audio plays and where/how to buy them, so here’s a link to another post, where I explain that, just in case :)

And by all means, I’ve only been in this fandom since December 2016, and am still catching up as well.

Audio books:

(I have listened to a majority, but not all, but here are my favourites)

In The Shadows - you’ll definitely want to listen to that. Joseph Lidster wrote it and it has a BRILLIANT storyline and the Janto in it is so pure and sweet. (it takes place in season 2, pre Meat, I think)

Ghost Train - Ianto and Rhys in action! (unlikely pair, but brilliant together), lots of casual Janto mentions and Rhys overhearing them when they go at it.

Sin Eaters - Ianto is really, really cute in this one and there are quite a few Janto moments in it as well (and read by Gareth David-Llloyd!!!)

[there is a collection with 10 audio books called “The Torchwood Tales” available on amazon and itunes, it contains all the audio books from above, I can totally recommend it, 26€ on itunes, around 40€ for the physical edition on amazon]

Radio Plays:

I can definitely recommend them all (there are only 7), but again, here’s my Janto selection:

The Lost Files: those are 3 seperate radio plays,post s2, pre CoE, the first one (The Devil and Miss Carew) isn’t really strong on the Janto front (don’t remember anything tbh), Part 2 (Submission) is a MUST HAVE. Ianto and Jack are very much a couple, and an old ex from Ianto notices and there are some confessions! Part 3 (House of the Dead) is also a must have, but it will tear you apart, make you hate everything, the world, Torchwood and me for recommending it to you. It’s the only one that takes place 6 months after CoE and Jack meets Ianto again - kinda. get lots of tissues ready and a fluffy Janto fix-it fanfic for afterwards.

The Dead Line - JUST BUY IT. YOU WILL THANK ME FOR IT. (ever wondered where the quote “You’re not just a blip in time, Ianto Jones, not for me.” came from? From this radio play.) (and it’s only 2-3€ on itunes)

Asylum - nice storyline, and Jack and Ianto on a motorbike, not really a must have like the lost files, but it’s still really good (it’s round 6€ on itunes I think, so depening on how much money you can spend, maybe dont get it now)

(The Lost Souls is also really good, Martha is in it, but if you’re out for Janto and don’t have much money, it’s also not a priority, but DEFINITELY get it at some point. The Golden Age is good as well, and has one strong hint to Janto, get it eventually, but not a priority)

Novels:

Now, I only own 5 of them, and I’ve only read Slow Decay and am in the middle of The Twilight Streets. The later is a BUY IT. NOW. you’ll thank me. Other than that, I’ve heard that ‘Consequences’ (and specifically ‘Virus’) is really good. I have a list of recommendations from other people somewhere, but for now, I’ll pass that question along to my followers.

Big Finish audio dramas:

(this is where shit gets real)(again, haven’t listened to them all [I own 7 from the main range and all special releases] but except for ‘The Office Of Never Was’ I have listened to all the ones with Ianto in them)

Broken - again by Joseph Lidster (he’s brilliant). It’s the back story how Jack and Ianto first got together and deals with the aftermath and the storylines of Cyberwoman, Small Worlds and Countrycide (and I think Greeks Bearing Gifts? I don’t remember if that was mentioned as well) Get some tissues ready for this one, too. IT’S REALLY GOOD. and if you only ever want to buy one single audio book, then this is the one you want.

Outbreak - it’s one of the special releases, it’s a three part story, so a bit more expensive (around 30€ I think?), but if you can spare the money - GET IT. it’s post s2 and a virus is spreading through Cardiff that makes you want to kill the person you love the most. Yeah. Part 2 will kill you, it’s soooo good! (love confessions!!!!!!!)

The Torchwood Archive - 2 hour special release, written by James Goss (along with Joseph Lidster, he’s my favourite TW author, you can safely buy anything he wrote and not regret it). There are one or two very sweet Janto scenes in it, Ianto isn’t in at a lot though. Jack and Ianto have a dog named Untitled. If you’re ONLY out for Janto scenes, then this probably shouldn’t take the highest priority for you. BUT - The storyline is awesome! It gives a lot of background to many things that were left unexplained (for example why and how Alex killed his Torchwood team Silvester 1999) and most of the cast is in it - including Andy, Suzie and Yvonne Hartman (I think only Owen isn’t in it)

if you buy it, just so you know: it will reference a few of the other storylines from the TW Big Finish audio dramas, because of the overall storyline of ‘The Committee’. If you want that background, definitely listen to “The Conspiracy” (with Jack), “Fall to Earth” (Ianto solo, I can only recommend that either way!, even has one tiny Janto mention) and “Uncanny Valley” (also Jack solo). Those are the ones you should know to fully understand the plot of The Torchwood Archive (and they are all soooo good! especially Fall To Earth, just not strong on the Janto side, and Uncanny Valley is not Janto-positive, I guess, depending on how you put it in the over all timeline (s1 or s2, it isn’t clear, as far as I know)

Not Janto related at all - Torchwood One: Before The Fall. It takes place pre Battle of Canary Wharff and has Ianto and Yvonne Hartman as main characters. It’s definitely good, when you want to know more about Ianto, but as I said, obviously no Janto. It’s another 3 part special release.

And: Aliens Among Us deserves a special mention. It’s season 5 of Torchwood and takes place a few years after Miracle Day. Part 1 is already out, part 2 will follow in October, part 3 in February 2018. Obv no Ianto, but he and what happened in CoE is mentioned multiple times and there is on scene with Jack and another character in ep3 that’s kinda about Ianto and will make you cry. But if you’re really new to it all, maybe wait a bit to buy it, since it’s also a bit pricey. (if you wanna know more about it, all you do is have to ask - I really, really LOVE IT)

Those are the recommendations that I can give you from the top of my head. Again, I’m passing the question about the novels along to my followers.

Hope I could help you and have fun listening and reading them all!! :)