#if alex is going to be forced into going to the ethels house and forced to engage in a stupid little tea party

[albatris]

I'm actually so glad nat is a vegetarian so I don't have to describe the tastes of, textures of, experience of consuming, etc the ethel house Mystery Meats

:-)

[milkovichrules]

its tag game wednesday thursday!! thank you for tagging me lovely people ☺️ @iansw0rld @transmickey 🖤

if you could switch bodies with anybody for only one hour who would it be and what would you do? im a shortarse so someone big and tall would be fun... maybe a wrestler... probably baron corbin hes hot

what's your most trivial / dumbest hot take? mmm... maybe that every person should watch at least one animated thing (smth not made for kids like where the wind blows or arcane) and one thing from a non-english speaking country/with subtitles

if you had to teach a college course what would it be in? probably makeup artistry? its my one and only practical skill and I would've been a licensed artist if our teacher hadn't quit her job halfway through lmao

season 12 of shameless is suddenly happening and you've been out in charge! what plot point(s) are you gonna make happen? its the mickey and debbie show now and there will be various wholesome shenanigans but fr get carl outta the police force, maybe into college and that can be a nice bonding thing for him and liam studying together. oh and they definitely keep the house, maybe lip and deb get on good terms by fixing up the place together. debbie maybe runs into alex again and they give it another go? ian and mickey have wacky comic relief with their neighbours (the possibilities are endless) and probably think more seriously about starting a family and definitely get a cat or dog I just want to bake a cake filled with rainbows and smiles and everyone would eat and be happy

who would be your godly parent (can be any mythology)? I took a percy jackson quiz for this one and got Hephaestus, Greek god of artisans, blacksmiths, carpenters, craftsmen, fire, metallurgy, metalworking, sculpture and volcanoes, which sounds cool as shit (roman equivalent is Vulcan too?? hell yeah)

what's something you love about yourself? my eyes are really cool I think, they're mostly green but also have some blue and brown

describe your day in 5 emojis: 🥱👩‍💻☕️🎧📑

what shameless character do you think you could beat in a fight? mmmm either no one or the tiny social worker lady from season 3 lmao

tell us two truths and a lie, we'll try to guess the lie! I'm farsighted, I can speak a bit of norwegian, I love roller coasters

do you have a pet/pets? if so, how did they get their name(s)? I have two cats, artemis and athena, they're sisters from the same litter. my fiancé named them because she loves mythology (I'll put some kitten pics under the cut💕) alternate names were william the bloody and willow (if we got a boy and a girl, from buffy), april and miriam (from coraline), and teacup and lucifer (from the cat lady/downfall)

show us a meme (or picture) that captures your essence: middle one is irl only I love to be Perceived Online

what's your typical coffee / tea / beverage order? oat milk latte, iced if it's warm out

use a song to describe the last five years of your life: I really don't associate the stuff I listen to with my own life so these are just things I was really into that year:

2019: butterfly - loona 2020: lady wood - tove lo 2021: too late - the weeknd 2022: stayaway - muna 2023: hard times - ethel cain / death of me - pvris

Tagging: @softmick @golden28s @m4ndysk4nkovich @abetterdaaye @heymrspatel @stocious @callivich @jrooc @sgtmickeyslaughter @gallavichlover19 @depressedstressedlemonzest 🖤

kitten pics as promised (artemis/arti is the black and white one, athena/aggie is the tortie)

[firstprince-ao3feed]

Where the World Was Empty Save You And I

by hrhprinceclaremontdiaz At the end of 2020, Queen Mary announced the death of Henry, Prince of Wales. An event that would catalyze the destruction of countless relationships in and around Alex Claremont-Diaz. He's forced to reconcile with the fact that he'll never see Henry again, and try to rebuild a life without him. Midway through 2030, he comes to know that Henry is alive, hidden away to live a life under a new identity. And now Bea and everyone else are asking him to go with them to find Henry, to bring him home. Is it possible for them to reconcile a decade apart? Is it possible for them to rebuild what was lost, and find new happiness in the ashes of what once was? Or will they just fall apart in the end? Words: 15699, Chapters: 6/6, Language: English Fandoms: Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: Multi Characters: Alex Claremont-Diaz, June Claremont-Diaz, Nora Holleran, Percy "Pez" Okonjo, Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Beatrice Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, David the Beagle (Red White & Royal Blue), Catherine Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Queen Mary (Red White & Royal Blue) Relationships: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, June Claremont-Diaz/Nora Holleran Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Grief/Mourning, Queen Mary Being an Asshole (Red White & Royal Blue), Queen Mary Faked Henry's Death, Now He Lives In, Canada, Banff National Park, Alex Claremont-Diaz Loves Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Implied/Referenced Suicidal Thoughts, Rebuilding, fluff at the end i promise, Song: A House in Nebraska (Ethel Cain), I Wrote This While Listening to Ethel Cain's Music, POV Alternating via https://ift.tt/A6oX3Vg

[innytoes]

Since you asked: JATP Gilmore Girls AU! Or or or JATP oceans eleven AU.

More of the JATP GG AU, which I nearly forgot I made.

-Okay but you know the debutante ball? Luke got out before he was forced to do his, thank god, and he tells Rory she does not have to go through with his sham of gender performative nonsense just to appease her grandmother. But Rory is all 'eh what's the worst that could happen'.

-Emily has a minor meltdown when she realises Luke never gave Rory a middle name because HOW ARE THEY GOING TO ANNOUNCE HER FULL NAME WITHOUT A MIDDLE NAME LUKE?

-They go to Reggie's to brainstorm names. Reggie keeps swinging between Star Wars names and old people names, since 'Reginald is a classic, what's wrong with Ethel?'

-Alex is like: Luke stop trying to convince Rory to take Danger as her middle name.

-Eventually Rory goes over to the Molina house and asks Julie and Ray if it would be okay for her to use Rose as her middle name, because she's the best mother figure she's had.

-Yes there are many ugly tears.

-Luke also did not give himself a middle name and his mother pesters him for weeks and shoots down 'Danger' and 'Skywalker' as his middle name. He also can't ask Ray for his because like, then it would start to get creepy.

-So in a fit of frustration after the sixteenth phone call he steals Reggie's middle name, since Alex' is literally 'Christian' and nope. Emily is like: are you SURE? Yes, mom, he's sure.

-"Lorelai Rose Gilmore, daughter of Luke Eugene Gilmore and Robert Trevor Shaw" walks down the stairs with her dad to become a proper lady of society.

-Yes Luke wears a tux with tails and does not rip the sleeves off but only because Rory hid his seam ripper. Rude.

-Yes they go to Reggie's diner after and eat burgers while still wearing their gloves.

-Yes there are slightly less ugly tears when Reggie hears Luke borrowed his middle name.

-Yes Miss Patty and Babette quietly made jokes about how soon, they'd all be sharing last names instead.

-Alex has taken every dance class ever given by Miss Patty.

-For the longest time Emily and Mitch think Reggie and Alex are one single person. "The diner owner with the coffee and the plaid and the baseball cap."

-You just know the first time they meet Reggie and Alex they go home like: okay but which one does Luke have a crush on???

-Sometimes, Alex goes on one of his rants, and Reggie just leans on the counter with his chin on his hands and watches him with heart-eyes.

-Luke sometimes specifically eggs Alex on because he likes to see love-struck Reggie.

send me an au and i’ll give you 5+ headcanons about it

[salmonthestoryteller]

Three Divided by One Equals…

Randomly assigned names.  No historical research done (except a quick look at what year Roswell was settled).  I meant to post this yesterday, but didn’t get it quite done until this morning.  Sorry all.

Previous Parts:

Two Plus Two Equals…

Four Minus One...

Three Divided by One Equals… A Roswell New Mexico Fanfic

Alex remembered hearing footsteps coming down the hall.  He remembered getting up and using the furniture and walls to balance so he could reach his crutch.  Instead of placing it under his arm, he balanced himself against the wall and held it up - ready to strike.  Then he waited for the intruder to come to him.  The door had creaked slowly open - but no one was there.  Then he’d felt it - an energy, some sort of force or entity - rush around him and then…

Nothing.  He recalled nothing else.  Until now.

Now was his mindscape.  He’d grown accustomed to what a mindscape looked like - the hazy edges of the room they actually stood in - the slight glow around the other person present.  However, he had no explanation for why they were in the kitchen when he last remembered being in the bedroom.  He was also not used to their being more than one person present.  He recognized Michael, glowing slightly as he was accustomed to seeing.  There was another man, though - one he didn’t recognize the face of - and who wasn’t glowing like he should.  Instead he was misty - his edges blurred.

The mist was all around him as well, and at first he couldn’t hear what was being said.  Forcing his way forward, to where the mindscape was clearer, he began to be able to make out their words.

“I don’t know what you are - and I don’t care.  I’m kicking you out.”  Michael was saying, shoulders bunched up - clearly ready for a fight.

“I’ve watched you, you know.”  The man replied.  “I’ve seen what you can do.  I don’t think you’re strong enough.”

“Try me.”  Michael held out his hand, and Alex could feel his power.  The man was pushed back, and the mist began to fade as well.  He almost felt like his own mind was clearer for it.  Then, suddenly, the man’s form disappeared from sight.  He could feel him, though all around him, and the mist seemed to slink forward again.  He opened his mouth to shout for Michael - a moment too late.  The man appeared right behind him, slamming his hands into the back of his neck - and Michael toppled forward with a cry.

“I’m not scared of you.”  The man taunted, and the misty edges of his form seemed to expand, and begin to close around Michael.   “I can kill you anytime.”

Alex tackled him to the ground as Michael began to choke.  The man stared up at him, startled.  “Get out.”  He snarled at him.

The man opened his mouth, and screamed.

-----

Alex gasped, feeling like he’d awoken from some sort of dream.  His mind still felt hazy.  In front of him, Michael was leaning against the kitchen wall - still coughing and choking, and the scream that had been in the mindscape filled the air around them.  He was also dressed, and had his prosthetic on - none of which he recalled having done.  Where those actions should be was only a blank.  The house itself seemed to shake with the force of the scream - the air around them almost frigid.

He reached MIchael’s side to take his arm, and was surprised when he pulled away, backing up until he saw could see his face and meet his eyes.  Then he seemed to slump in relief, even as he continued to cough.  This time he reached for him, and Alex grabbed onto his hand as they bolted to the front of the house.  The door wouldn’t budge under his hand, and Michael blew it outward in a show of power he usually wouldn’t have done.  Then they were outside, and the scream faded into silence.

“What was that?”  Alex finally managed to ask.

Michael only shook his head, giving one last cough.  “I don’t know.”

-----

“Ghosts don’t exist.”  Michael said firmly, from where they sat in his truck parked on a street in town.  Neither had dared to reenter the house, and since Alex’s keys were inside, they’d taken Michael’s truck.  Alex only raised his eyebrows at him and took a sip from the paper coffee cup in his hands.  They hadn’t been ready to face anyone who knew them well.  Not until they understood what was happening.   “There is no current data that proves beyond reasonable doubt that-”

“We just faced off with a misty figure in a shared mindscape and heard a disembodied scream when we came out of it.”  Alex cut him off.  “I’d say that’s beyond a reasonable doubt.  Unless you think it’s some sort of alien.”

“It didn’t feel… alien.”  Michael replied.

“So, how did it feel?”

“I don’t know.  Weird.”

“I don’t remember anything past our bedroom door opening by itself.  And then being in the kitchen with you.”  Alex told him.  He probably sounded far calmer than he felt.  “That’s some sort of possession, right?”

“I mean, basing it on horror movies, yeah.”  Michael admitted.  “But movies also have aliens being green bulb heads and black slimy tentacle monsters.”

“Point.  So we research it.”

“We research ghosts?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s not like we can go back there, though.”

Alex stared at him.  “Of course we can go back there.  It’s our house.”

“It’s haunted by a ghost that’s obsessed with you.”  Michael reminded him.

“I’m not letting some ghost kick me out of our house.”

“I’m pretty sure that line was said in every paranormal movie that ended badly.”

“Aw, is my macho cowboy scared?”  Alex teased him, but was surprised when Michael turned a torn gaze on him.

“A stranger looked at me from your eyes, Alex, and spoke to me with your mouth.  When that happened with Isobel it took over ten years to…”  He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

Alex set his coffee down, and slid closer to him on the seat.  “This won’t be the same.  We can beat this.”

“You don’t know that.”

“What I know is that together, we’re unstoppable.”

Michael opened his eyes to look at him, whatever he saw seemed to be what he needed.  He reached out to take his hand, and nodded.

-----

“The house was built by the Rhodes family that settled here in 1897.”  The woman at the Roswell Historical Society had pulled out several documents and books for them.  “There were three brothers, the wives of the eldest two, and their children.”

“Did they die there?”  Alex asked her.

“All three of the brothers died in the house, as did their wives, and several of their children later in life.  The house actually stayed in the family for almost a hundred years.  The last one to own it was a descendant of the middle son.  She was a bit of an eccentric.  Never married herself.  Used to tell all sorts of stories about the place.”

“What sort of stories?”  Michael asked her.

“That it was haunted by the ghost of Michael Rhodes.”  She started to leaf through a book.  “There should be a picture in here.”

“Why would she say he haunted the place?”  Alex started flipping through a different book.

“He committed suicide on the property.  That’s fact - it’s recorded in his death record.  Old Miss Rhodes, though, she used to say family legend said he died of heartbreak.  Had some lover his brothers didn’t approve of.  And, one night, the brothers killed the lover.  Michael Rhodes never got over the betrayal and finally shot himself in his upstairs bedroom.  The one at the end of the hall.”

Michael felt a shiver run through him, as he recalled the dream he’d had that morning.  “Is that where he shot himself?”

“Who knows?  They didn’t really write which room at the house down on the record.  Just that he shot himself on the property.  Really, I think she made the whole thing up to entertain herself.  Ah, there is the picture.”  She set the book down.  It showed seven people in all.  Three men, two women, and three children.  “Those are the eldest brother, Joshua and Marcus, their wives Ethel and Martha, their children - Thomas, Cordelia, and John, and that is Michael Rhodes.”

Alex felt his blood run cold and glanced over at Michael, to see him equally as shaken.  The misty figure they’d faced off with in mindscape was the man in the picture.

To Be Continued...

[lady-divine-writes]

Klaine one-shot - “Death, Love, Life, and Everything in Between” (Rated PG13)

Kurt, a Grim Reaper, has been doing his job for decades, with plenty of heartbreak but no complaints, until one day, Death tells him to reap the soul of someone he doesn’t want to take. Will Death move time and space for the only angel he’s ever loved? (2569 words)

A/N: I went with a lot of creative license with regard to Death and the Grim Reaper, playing on the idea that there is more than one angel that acts as Grim Reaper, and that Death controls them all. Also, Death is an angel that other angels seem to fear (even to the point that he appears skeletal - like the ghost of Christmas future) but he fell in love with Kurt. This is a re-write, but only because I've always wanted @sunshineoptimismandangels to read this, and I don't want her reading a pairing that makes her uncomfy :)

My Grim Reaper Kurt was fashioned after this picture.

Warning for angst, talk of the afterlife, feelings of abandonment, mention of kidnapping and assault.

Read on AO3.

Kurt stands in the shadows of the tiny bedroom – one of his favorite bedrooms. It’s in the house that was once his house when he was a child. When he was human. When he was still alive. Of course, the house was different then. It’s been renovated numerous times over the decades – plumbing added, then electricity, porchlights installed, the simple glass panes refitted with storm windows to make them energy efficient. So much has changed, time marching on, life moving forward, despite the fact that he’s no longer a part of it – as it does. As it will.

Even after tonight.

The walls in this room have been painted a bright, sunshine yellow - something he would never have done, but then, it wouldn’t have suited him. But it suits her, the little girl sitting at her honey wood desk - a desk that once belonged to her mother. She sniffles as she writes, carefully penning her good-bye letter on a sheet of Power Puff Girl stationary using her favorite pink pen, one with a fluffy yellow puff on the end, fastened with a spring so it bobs back and forth as she writes, googly eyes glued to the front shaking with every word.

Kurt can’t see over her shoulder from where he stands, but he can hear the words in his head while she writes them.

Dear Daddy and Joan and new baby Alex –

By the time you read this, I will be gone. I know that you don’t want me. And with the new baby coming, there won’t be any room for me here. I’m not angry or upset. I understand, so don’t be sad. I don’t want to tell you where I’m going, but know that I’ll be safe and happy when I get there.

Kurt shakes his head miserably, wiping at tears on his cheeks that shouldn’t be there. He’s been doing his job for longer than he was alive, and it always makes him melancholy, but he hasn’t cried in … well he can’t remember.

Kurt knows she’s planning to go to her Grandma Ethel’s house in California – the only family she has on her mother’s side since her mother passed away a few years ago. She’s only ten-years-old. She shouldn’t be making plans like this. She shouldn’t be running away. She might not realize it, but her father will miss her more than he’d miss anyone in his life, even his new wife and baby. This little girl, aside from being his first daughter and princess, is the only living link he has to her mother – a woman he loved from the first moment he set eyes on her, back when they, too, were only children.

This little girl is running away because a new baby is coming, and things around the house have been strained. Her father – working extra hours to prepare for the new arrival - hasn’t had the chance to sit for longer than five minutes and talk to her about it, about all the changes taking place, explain the stress it’s putting him under, and she thinks the problem in the house is her. She loves her father, and she thinks leaving will make things better for him.

Kurt’s there because she never makes it.

She’ll walk out her front door and get as far as the 7-11 eight blocks away, stopping for a Slushie when her backpack stuffed with clothes and toys gets too heavy to carry. That’s when a handsome young man named Peter will approach her. He’ll listen to her sad story and promise to take her to the Greyhound station. He’ll even offer to pay for her ticket so she can keep her allowance money for snacks along the way.

What happens after that is the kind of thing that people only read about in horror novels.

Kurt’s part in all of this is to do what he’s doing now – wait in the shadows until she’s gone, and then take her spirit home – but he won’t. Not this time.

But he can’t change her fate. He doesn’t have the power. If he leaves, if he refuses to stay, she might not die tonight. But eventually, she will. She won’t be able to escape it. He needs someone higher to help him.

There’s only one who can do it, and he’s not accustomed to bending the rules.

Kurt has been waiting for him long enough. He can’t wait much longer, but he won’t take his eyes off this little girl. He won’t leave her alone.

Kurt feels him when he enters the room, slinking up behind him like a serpent in the grass, icy threads trailing wherever he goes. Most angels avoid him. He’s a necessary evil. Even where they exist in the glory of the afterlife, no one speaks to him. No one goes out of their way to befriend him.

No one but Kurt.

The creature puts his hands on Kurt’s shoulders and squeezes, and Kurt silently prays for a yes.

“No,” he says simply.

“But Blaine …” Kurt starts, his voice trembling.

“I can’t impose my will on humans,” Blaine says, his chill breath touching Kurt’s skin, seeping through his clothes. “There are strict rules. I don’t make them. You know that.”

“Bullshit, Blaine!” Kurt snaps, his grief making way for anger, filling his unbeating heart and his broken soul. “You know you can if the situation requires it!”

“This situation,” Blaine hisses, “does not require it.”

“Blaine …”

“Kurt …” Blaine volleys, but he’s not toying with him. Not the way he might with others in his service. He doesn’t like seeing Kurt upset, but for as powerful as he is, this is a trap he can’t get locked in.

“Blaine, I can’t!” Kurt pleads. “I don’t want to do this! I’ve already taken her mother! I can’t take her, too!”

“What do you expect me to do, Kurt!?” Blaine growls, not angry at Kurt, but frustrated at the situation. He would do anything for Kurt, give him anything, but there are limits to what even he can do. Being Death is not a job for the sentimental. It must be done without compassion getting in the way.

Which is why Blaine gave up his own a long time ago.

This little girl is Kurt’s job. If Kurt doesn’t do what he was sent here to do, no other angel can, and that will be a problem.

Because Blaine will be forced to, and by doing so, he may lose Kurt forever.

Before Blaine’s angels brought him Kurt, being Death was a simple matter of absolutes. When someone’s time came, their soul was collected. End of story, quite literally. There was nothing in between. And, for his part, Kurt does his job, he does as he’s told, but he’s a convolution of grey areas – spectrums that bleed together and somehow, impossibly, become colors again. Colors that Blaine didn’t remember existed before Kurt. They remind him of a great many things. They remind him of what it felt like to be human, too. “Speed up time? Bend space for one little girl. I can’t!” Kurt draws his arms around his chest and pulls away from Blaine’s grasp. “You know how this plays out,” Blaine says in softer tones, hoping Kurt will let him touch him again. “It’s a big misunderstanding.”

“I know.” Kurt sniffles. “They didn’t forget about her. They didn’t leave her. Her father had to rush Joan to the hospital when she ruptured. The baby had to be delivered early. And this little girl got back from the sitter’s too late.”

“Dad won’t realize it until the deed is done,” Blaine picks up when Kurt can’t continue, hoping Kurt will see reason in the retelling. “She runs away and gets picked up by …” Kurt whimpers, looking back at Blaine – straight into his ghostly pale face and hollow gaze - with watery eyes. “I can’t fix it, Kurt,” he says. “It’s horrible and disgusting and an example of the true evil that exists on this stupid ball of dust and air, but there’s nothing I can do.”

Blaine puts his skeletal hands on Kurt’s shoulders again, trying to give him comfort, and Kurt lets his hands stay. He takes a breath in – a shuddery gulp of air to keep his voice steady.

“Her name is Elizabeth, Blaine,” Kurt says. “Just like my mother.”

“I know,” Blaine whispers. It’s dark, sinister, but Kurt can hear the affection in it.

“She’ll be scared and alone, and in agony for hours before she dies.” Kurt shakes his head. “Please. I don’t ask you for any favors. I take the lot that’s given to me. But this …” He looks back at the little girl drawing hearts on her note, a tear dropping from her chin and leaving a watermark on the paper. “I can’t, Blaine. There won’t be anything of me left if you make me do this. If I reap this little girl … I’ll truly be dead.”

Blaine feels Kurt’s fire beneath his fingertips canceling out his cold, the strength of his conviction, his need to save this girl. Blaine has met a great many quote/unquote good people in his time, people who have done admirable deeds on Earth, but never someone so genuinely good as Kurt. Blaine knows that Kurt doesn’t have the power, but he’ll find a way to move heaven and Earth to save her, even if it means losing himself in the process.

And Blaine can’t lose Kurt.

“Alright.” Blaine puts an arm around Kurt’s waist, pulling him against his bare rib cage and kissing him on the back of the head. “Just this once, and only because I love you.”

Kurt nods. He knows. He knows that of every angel he commands, all those who do his bidding and fear him, Blaine loves him.

When Kurt arrived in Blaine’s service and saw how the angels avoided him, he felt sorry for Blaine - sorry for this inhuman-looking creature, for all intents and purposes an angel, dressed in his black hood and seated on his morbid throne. And Kurt stayed. He stayed when Blaine refused to speak to him, stayed when Blaine tried to push him away. He felt compelled to stay, as if his true purpose in becoming a reaper wasn’t to bring human souls to heaven, but to bring Blaine’s soul back from wherever he’d banished it to. Slowly, after decades of time spent together, Blaine began to open up to him. He began to confide in him. He began to love him.

And, eventually, Kurt started to love him back.

Blaine raises a hand, his sleeve falling away from an arm that has begun to regrow skin, and snaps his fingers, calling up the book of Elizabeth’s life. It’s not a corporal book, but Kurt can still see it, the pages pulling back, the ink bleeding from them and the words rewritten, restarting life and time over from a few minutes ago, and a man rushes frantically in through the front door.

“Elizabeth!” he calls from the living room. “Lizzie! Baby! Where are you?”

The girl’s head pops up in amazement, and she wipes the tears off her cheeks.

“H-here!” she yells, getting up from her desk and running to her bedroom door. “Here I am! Upstairs in my room!”

“Oh, Lizzie!” her father cries, racing up the staircase to meet her, taking the steps two at a time. He grabs her in his arms and spins her around. “I’m sorry! I’m so so sorry that no one was here when you got home! You must have been so scared, being home alone.”

“No, I …” Elizabeth glances over her shoulder at the half-finished letter on her desk. “I thought that maybe you forgot me. That you took Joan and the baby and left me.”

Her father’s jaw drops, his eyes go wide, and he holds her tight in his arms.

“No, sweetheart,” he says, tears of joy and fear and sadness in his eyes. “That would never happen. Never ever. We love you, Lizzie. So much.”

Elizabeth buries her face into the crook of her father’s neck. Quietly watching, Kurt puts a hand over his still heart.

“It’s just that the baby came early,” her father explains, “and I had to get Joan to the hospital quick because …” He stops, not wanting to frighten his daughter with the details of everything that happened – the tremendous amount of blood Joan lost, the searing agony of contractions that weren’t moving the baby along, how they almost didn’t make it.

In truth, Joan was never in any danger. Kurt’s job is to this family, and he had no intention of leaving Elizabeth’s side.

“Oh, Lizzie,” her father says softly. “I guess we all just missed each other.”

She nods in agreement, then looks up, confused. “But then, how did you know I was here?”

Her father pulls away to look at her with a crinkled brow. “You texted me, darling.” He removes one hand from around his daughter and reaches in his pocket to pull out his phone. He unlocks his screen and shows Elizabeth the message – the one she had started to send, telling him that she was home and no one was there, but then canceled since she figured it didn’t matter anyway.

“But I …” Elizabeth cuts herself off. She doesn’t want to tell her father that she hadn’t sent it, that she erased it since she believed that he didn’t care. Because she thought he had chosen a new family over her and was leaving her behind. “Can we go see the baby?” she asks instead. “And Joan?”

“Of course,” her father says. “But first, I need you to promise me that no matter what happens, no matter how hard things gets around here, if we get short and tired and act unfair when we shouldn’t, that you never forget that I love you, Lizzie.” He looks into his daughter’s eyes, resting his forehead against hers. “I couldn’t go on without you.”

Lizzie smiles. “I’ll remember,” she says, clinging on tight as her father leaves the room with her in his arms. “I promise.”

Kurt watches them go, then turns in Blaine’s arms to give him a proper hug. “Thank you,” he whispers. “Thank you for doing that for them.”

“I didn’t do it for them,” Blaine says plainly, without conceit or shame. “I did it for you, because I love you.”

“You love me?” Kurt teases, but only lightly. Blaine doesn’t show feeling. For the longest time, Kurt didn’t think he had any, but he learned, when it comes to him, somehow they’re there.

“There are millions of humans,” Blaine says. “New ones come every day. They always will, like a plague upon this planet. But there’s only one of you.”

Kurt smiles. “And I love you.”

Blaine raises a questioning brow, as best he can with a face that’s only partially flesh, mostly bone. “And would I have lost you if I decided that I couldn’t save her life?”

Kurt tilts his head. He gives Blaine a gentle kiss on the lips, and Blaine, normally stoic in the face of every kind of joy and tragedy, takes an unnecessary breath.

“No,” Kurt says, placing a second kiss to Blaine’s flesh-less cheek. “I would have found a way to forgive you.”

[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1149

Monday, January 30, 2017

 It's the Chinese Year of the Rooster folks and there's a cock in the White House. We are living in interesting times indeed. I am trying my best not to get riled up by the d-bag but it's difficult. The empathy I feel for others means I cannot ignore the affect the changes have on everybody. I just hope we all get through these difficult times relatively unscathed.

 I'm going to have a fun Sunday on February 5. I'll be at the Walkley Arena for the Capital Trade Show where my partner Chris and I will be flogging old comic books. Then it's Super Bowl 51 with two gun slinging quarterbacks. I am cheering for a high scoring affair.

 Civil War II: The Oath #1 - Nick Spencer (writer) Rod Reis, Raffaele Ienco, Szymon Kudranski & Dono Sanchez-Almara (art) VC's Chris Eliopoulos (letters). Didn't see that coming. While it makes sense to appoint Captain America as the new Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. (again) the surprise is that I don't think it's Steve Rogers under the mask. I don't particularly like the new political landscape that the Marvel U is headed towards but it does make for some easy enemies for the good guys to fight with. Nick put in a lot of rah, rah patriotism in this book so it was a tough slog trying to get through it but the payoff at the end is worth it.

 Kamandi Challenge #1 - Part One: Dan Didio (writer) Keith Giffen (pencils) Scott Koblish (inks) Hi-Fi (colours) Clem Robins (letters) Part Two: Dan Abnett (writer) Dale Eaglesham (art) Hi-Fi (colours) Clem Robins (letters). He's the last boy on Earth and he's going on a wild adventure to find his parents. One of Jack Kirby's creations is getting a round robin of comic book creators to excite fans like never before. Each part of the story will be done by a different team that will end with a cliffhanger that the next team must find a way to resolve. I have a nagging feeling that this stunt has been done before but I can't remember when so I'm going to tag along to see who does what. I'm not a fan of Kamandi but I want to see who all are going to be involved on the creative side.

 Loose Ends #1 - Jason Latour (writer) Chris Brunner (art) Rico Renzi (colours). The cover says that this 4-issue mini is a southern crime romance. They got that right. We're looking at a trailer dwelling war vet whose friend gets him mixed up in running drugs. You can expect that the vet and the friend get into a heap of trouble and they do. I like how Sonny and Rej each wind up where they do at the end of this first issue so you bet I'm going to keep reading. Not much romance so far but I'm sure Jason will get to that.

 Star Wars #27 - Jason Aaron (writer) Salvador Larroca (art) Edgar Delgado (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). Yay Yoda. Root for him I will.

 Batgirl #7 - Hope Larson (writer) Chris Wildgoose (art) Mat Lopes (colours) Deron Bennett (letters). Part 1 of "Son of Penguin" introduces Ethan Cobblepot and I don't care if there is no reference to him anywhere else in the DCU because he's going to be a great adversary for Barbara Gordon. I like how Chris draws her older than Rafael Albuquerque did. This is going to be fun.

 Briggs Land #6 - Brian Wood (writer) Mack Chater (art) Lee Loughridge & Jeremy Colwell (colours) Nate Piekos (letters). I really like Grace Briggs. The risks that she is taking will hopefully keep her people safe. Brian has crafted a story fit for cable TV.

 Totally Awesome Hulk #15 - Greg Pak (writer) Mahmud Asrar (art) Nolan Woodward (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Greg continues to feature heroes of the Asian persuasion in this story about Amadeus hanging out with Jake Oh, Kamala Khan, Cindy Moon, Shang-Chi, and Jimmy Woo. It does play on some stereotypes but I think it's okay because they're true for these guys.

 Odyssey of the Amazons #1 - Kevin Grevioux (writer) Ryan Benjamin (pencils) Richard Friend (inks) Tony Washington & Tony Avina (colours) Saida Temofonte (letters). This 6-issue mini has a lot of women but not a wonder one in sight. Kevin features Diana's sister Amazons in a tale worthy of Homer. If you like classic sword and sorcery, you'll like this.

 Dead Inside #2 - John Arcudi (writer) Tony Fejzula (art) Andre May (colours) Joe Sabino (letters). The plot thickens like congealed blood and murder suspects start to emerge. Linda has plenty to deal with inside the prison but she's surprised when she gets home after work by a sight I did not expect to see. This mystery is crazy good.

 Inhumans vs. X-Men #3 - Charles Soule & Jeff Lemire (writer) Javier Garron (art) Andres Mossa & Jay David Ramos (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). There are three more issue to this mini but it seems to me that Charles and Jeff have already come up with a solution to the Terrigen cloud that would end the war. The mutant Forge has built a machine that can collect the Terrigen gas and compress it into a solid in this issue. Wouldn't that solve the problem of the gas killing the mutants? Works for me.

 Justice League vs. Suicide Squad #6 - Joshua Williamson (writer) Howard Porter (art) Alex Sinclair (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). All is well that ends well. Both teams join forces to defeat Eclipso and Max Lord is at the mercy of Amanda Waller. Batman sees the light and gathers another team together to fight evil forces. Get ready for a new Justice League of America #1 hitting the racks on February 22. DC is sure spreading Bats pretty thin these days.

 Skybourne #3 - Frank Cho (writer & artist) Marcio Menyz (colours) Ed Dukeshire (letters). The identity of the bad guy was a nice surprise. I like Frank's comic books because they're simple stories about good versus evil that are beautifully drawn.

 Hulk #2 - Mariko Tamaki (writer) Nico Leon & Dalibor Talajic (art) Matt Milla (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Waiting for Jennifer to Hulk out is one of the things I like about the new book. She has a lot more self control than I have. The scary thing about the eventuality of her losing control is that this new Hulk will be an uncontrollable creature of rage but we'll have to wait and see what happens. Until then I'm enjoying Jen's life so far.

 Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #13 - Robert Venditti (writer) V Ken Marion (pencils) Paul Neary & Dexter Vines (inks) Alex Sollazzo (colours) Dave Sharpe (letters). Now that the planet Xudar has been saved, what now? It's time for a bedtime story that's what. This is a nice interlude issue before we launch into the next story. I've been enjoying this team book now that my loyalty to the Avengers has waned. We'll see if Robert can keep me hooked with his next adventure.

 Saga #42 - Brian K. Vaughn (writer) Fiona Staples (art) Fonografiks (letters). And fade to black. No, really. It's hiatus time again but this issue didn't leaving me screaming profanities about the long wait until the next issue hits the racks. There is a new character introduced who I will be very interested to find out more about.

 Doctor Strange #16 - Jason Aaron (writer) Chris Bachalo with Cory Smith (art) Al Vey, John Livesay, Victor Olazaba, &  Tim Townsend (inks) Antonio Fabela & Java Tartaglia with Chris Bachalo (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Dormammu is finally going to get his chance to kill Doctor Strange after he has been weakened by his fight with the Empirikul. Jason does find a neat way to save Stephen however. The next bit of nastiness involves someone close to the Doc. Oboy.

 Wonder Woman #15 - Greg Rucka (writer) Liam Sharp (art) Laura Martin (colours) Jodi Wynne (letters). Part 1 of "The Truth" finds Diana in a mental hospital. How she got there has yet to be explained but I'm sure I can handle it.

 Punisher #8 - Becky Cloonan (writer) Laura Braga with Iolanda Zanfardino (art) Frank Martin (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). That little old lady toting the double barrelled shotgun from last issue is named Ethel. She looks scary but she's not what you think. The change in art took some getting used to but it isn't bad enough to make me bench this book. I do have a couple of complaints though. If you're going to call a motorcycle a Harley, don't show what looks like a BMW logo on the gas tank. Also, draw the bad guy from the chest up when Frank says that he opened up his guts, not a full body shot that clearly shows an abdomen without any wounds at all. I don't know if the art had to be rushed after Steve Dillon passed away unexpectedly but that's just shoddy editing.

 Action Comics #972 - Dan Jurgens (writer) Stephen Segovia (pencils) Art Thibert (inks) Ulises Arreola (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). Trust Dan to come up with a non-violent way to stop Lex from being executed by the bad guys. It also served to show what possible futures are in store for this new Superman. DC has managed to revive my interest in this iconic character.

 Daredevil #16 - Charles Soule (writer) Goran Sudzuka (art) Matt Milla (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). We find out why Daredevil put out a hit on himself to lure out Bullseye. There's some soul searching this issue which leads into the next storyline. I liked how Charles sets it up.

 Detective Comics #949 - James Tynion IV & Marguerite Bennett (writers) Ben Oliver & Szymon Kudranski (art) Ben Oliver, Gabe Eltaeb & Hi-Fi (colours) Marilyn Patrizio (letters). The finale of "Batwoman Begins" is a very good prelude to Batwoman's solo book which hits the racks on February 15. It looks like James and Marguerite are going to have a Raymond Reddington and Agent Keen thing going on between Kate and her dad. That's got me interested.

 Infamous Iron Man #4 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Alex Maleev (art) Matt Hollingsworth (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). Brian must have a thing for mother and son stories. He did it in International Iron Man where he introduced Tony's biological mother. Now he's showing us Victor's mom. I really do believe that Doom has reformed and I hope he stays a good guy.

 Spider-Man/Deadpool: Monsters Unleashed - Joshua Corin (writer) Tigh Walker (art) Rachelle Rosenberg (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). The boys save Toronto eh.

 Thanos #3 - Jeff Lemire (writer) Mike Deodato (art) Frank Martin (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). It's the Imperial Guard of the Shi'ar versus Thanos. A perfect opportunity to give a history lesson on the life of the Mad Titan.

 Spider-Woman #15 - Dennis Hopeless (writer) Veronica Fish (art) Rachelle Rosenberg (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). Jessica subdues the new Porcupine and finds out who put the hit out on her friend Roger. Now she's gunning for the Hobgoblin but he's protected by an army of super villains. I hope little Gerry doesn't become an orphan.

[larryland]

by Barbara Waldinger

What is the purpose of producing a classic play that has already been revived many times onstage and on film?  Some people say that it’s to give a new generation of theatregoers the opportunity to see an important work.  Others insist that it’s to give a director and his/her team of artists a chance to reinterpret the play.  But when a production feels as though it’s tinkering with a masterpiece in a failed attempt to update it, we fear a lack of trust in the original text.  Such is the case with Robert O’Hara’s staging of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, now running at the Williamstown Theatre Festival.

A Raisin in the Sun debuted at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre sixty years ago—the first play by an African-American woman to be produced on Broadway.  In a recent interview with The Berkshire Eagle, O’Hara reflected:  “I think all classic plays should be treated as new plays.  We’re not in 1959. . . If you want a museum piece, you can go to the museum. . . I’m looking at how we see this family in 2019.”  He added, however, that he thinks the play is brilliant and “If you dislike every choice we make in this play. . . it’s still powerful,” because neither the language nor the story has been changed.  He turns out to be right about that because despite O’Hara’s attempts to leave his personal stamp on this play, the humanity of Hansberry’s work endures.

The playwright’s theme is best expressed in Langston Hughes in his poem Dream Deferred, the first stanza of which provided her with the title of her play:

“What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up

Like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore—

And then run?”

Each member of the Younger family, denizens of a cramped, cockroach-ridden apartment on Chicago’s Southside in the early 1950s, embraces a dream:  the matriarch, Lena Younger (S. Epatha Merkerson), a domestic worker who cleans houses, wants her children to get along and lead contented lives, preferably in a house with a yard that would accommodate them all comfortably.  Her son, the chauffeur Walter Lee (Francois Battiste), dreams of buying a liquor store that will lift him and his family out of poverty; Walter’s wife Ruth (Mandi Masden), a maid, desperately wants to move out of the “rat trap” they live in.  Lena’s daughter, Beneatha (Nikiya Mathis), a college student, is determined to attend medical school.  The arrival of Lena’s late husband’s $10,000 life insurance check serves as the inciting incident; whose dream, if any, will be fulfilled?

Hansberry’s beautifully written, well-made play introduced cultural and racial issues that African-Americans still face today.  Quoted in Steven Carter’s book, Hansberry’s Drama:  Commitment amid Complexity, the playwright said:  “from the moment the first curtain goes up until the Youngers make their decision at the end, the fact of racial oppression. . . is through the play.  It’s inescapable.  The reason these people are in a ghetto in America is because they are Negroes.  They are discriminated against brutally and horribly. . . The three generations of the Younger family depicted in the play differ in dreams, speech patterns, and religious, musical, and stylistic preferences. . . Yet they are unified in their heroic defiance of white hostility and threats. . . the test that [they] face is of their willingness to take potentially fatal risks to get out of an intolerable situation and to force change upon an oppressive system.”  Hansberry even provides Lena with a physical representation of that struggle:  a plant that has to fight for its life to attract a bit of light from the tiniest of windows.

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The choices O’Hara mentioned in his interview include the following:  combining three acts into two, eliminating the need for two intermissions, which is helpful in a play of this length; he also ramps up family arguments by directing his actors to talk over each other, resulting in our inability to distinguish what they are saying.  This is a disservice to the playwright’s words.  The director inserts an unnecessary character, Lena’s deceased husband, who goes uncredited in the program because he doesn’t appear in Hansberry’s script.  Underscoring the strong influence his memory has on the family, the ghost haunts several of the scenes in which Lena recalls the difficult life he led as he struggled to provide for his family.  Accompanying his mute appearance is a sound that might best be described as a whistling wind—could this be a visual and aural reference to the ancestors of the family, many of them slaves?  The use of a voice enhancement technique that serves as an echo chamber is also unsettling, as is the shock-inducing final tableau.  Although Hansberry’s text certainly did not ignore the problems that the Youngers would face if they moved into a house in a white neighborhood, O’Hara’s dark ending eliminates any sliver of hope.  Would the playwright approve?

The cast is spotty.  The very talented S. Epatha Merkerson, playing Lena (Mama) the powerful, religious head of the family, is miscast here.  In an interview with The Berkshire Eagle, she explains:  “I don’t have the girth that some of the women who have played this part have, but I don’t think that makes a difference in explaining who this woman is.”  It is not girth in the literal sense that is missing in her performance but the depth of Lena’s passion and hard-earned wisdom, born from a lifetime of suffering, that give her words the poetry and dignity of the mighty woman that Hansberry has created.  In this production, it is Mandi Masden’s Ruth who expresses that passion when she finally says goodbye to the miserable conditions in which the family lives, giving the act break the heft that it needs.  Nikiya Mathis is fine as Beneatha, whose journey to establish her identity leads her from a selfish dabbler to a woman who sees beyond her own needs.

Francois Battiste as Walter Lee, whose aspirations are frustrated at every turn, focuses on the negative aspects of the character—his drunkenness, his constant rage, his resentment, the inability to see the hurt he inflicts on the people who love him, which makes it hard for us to believe in him as Mama does.  Joseph Asagai (Joshua Echebiri) and George Murchison (Kyle Beltran) are Beneatha’s diametrically opposed boyfriends. Echebiri lights up the stage as a proud African whose mission is to help his people, hopefully with Beneatha at his side, while Beltran portrays an assimilationist who seeks to erase every trace of blackness in his and his girlfriend’s heritage. Warner Miller’s characterization of Bobo, Walter Lee’s partner in the liquor store investment, raises questions when he affects a lack of concern about the theft of their money.  Eboni Flowers is entertaining but distracting in her over-the-top caricature of a nosy, nonstop-talking neighbor.  Joe Goldammer, as the white community association representative who warns the family that segregation is the only way for the races to get along, offers a fast-talking interpretation that might have benefitted by a slower attempt to justify his argument.  Finally, young Owen Tabaka rounds out the cast as Travis, the son of Walter Lee and Ruth.

Scenic designer Clint Ramos had to figure out, not altogether successfully, how to construct a crowded, basically one-room apartment, while finding space for the actors to move, as well as fulfilling the difficult demands of the production’s ending.  Costume designer Alice Tavener’s costumes are colorful and beautiful to look at but seem too expensive for this poor family to afford.  Elisheba Ittoop’s sound design expresses the differing tastes of the characters, their backgrounds, and the various types of music popular in the time period, while Alex Jainchill’s lighting design, along with the music, helps to maintain the fluidity of the scenes.

Audience members who are not familiar with the play should not miss the opportunity to see Hansberry’s astute and timeless work, that neither age nor tinkering can diminish.  Imagine how prolific this playwright could have been if she had not lost her battle with cancer at the age of thirty-four, six years after A Raisin in the Sun opened.

  A Raisin in the Sun runs from June 25—July 13.  Tickets may be purchased online at wtfestival.org or call 413-458-3253.

Williamstown Theatre Festival presents A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry.  Directed by Robert O’Hara.  Cast:  Mandi Masden (Ruth Younger), Owen Tabaka (Travis Younger), Francois Battiste (Walter Lee Younger), Nikiya Mathis (Beneatha Younger), S. Epatha Merkerson (Lena Younger [Mama]), Joshua Echebiri (Joseph Asagai), Kyle Beltran (George Murchison), Eboni Flowers (Mrs. Johnson), Joe Goldammer (Karl Lindner), Warner Miller (Bobo).

Scenic Design:  Clint Ramos; Costume Design:  Alice Tavener; Lighting Design:  Alex Jainchill; Sound Design:  Elisheba Ittoop; Hair and Wig Design:  Elizabeth Printz; Co-Fight and Intimacy Directors:  Claire Warden and Judi Lewis Ockler; Dialect Coach:  Barbara Rubin; Production Stage Manager:  Stephen Ravet.

Running Time:  Two hours 50 minutes, including intermission.  Williamstown Theatre Festival, Mainstage, 1000 Main Street, Williamstown, MA., from June 25; closing July 13. https://wtfestival.org/

  REVIEW: “A Raisin in the Sun” at the Williamstown Theatre Festival by Barbara Waldinger What is the purpose of producing a classic play that has already been revived many times onstage and on film?