#lauren recommends things

[thelaurenshippen]

The amazing Gabriel Urbina is teaching an audio drama writing workshop at the end of this month and I have no doubt it's going to be spectacular!! If you want to learn more about how to make your own fiction podcast, you can't go wrong learning it from Gabriel.

[bangpop91]

rules: shuffle your 'on repeat' playlist and post the 10 first tracks, then tag 10 friends to do the same. Tagged by @rdng1230

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Tagging @racerchix21 @girlwonder-writes @weewookinard @nine-one-wanton @herrmannhalsteadproduction

And @cliophilyra @popcornatmidnight @judymarch15 @aplaceinme @may-i-have-loops

[thelaurenshippen]

YOU GUYS SHOULD LISTEN TO THIS PODCAST. Ella Watts is brilliant and wonderful and Amber's music is literally so fucking good and anyway, go listen go listen

Camlann is coming soon! It's Launch Day baby!!

Camlann is a post-apocalyptic fiction podcast written and directed by Ella Watts (@re-dracula) and produced by Amber Devereux (@tincanaudio)

It's releasing in January 2024, and you can subscribe to the feed now. We really hope you like it.

Full video description and transcript available here

[j-crow]

[murasaki-cha]

RECKLESS SPOILERS!!!

Kai fuck them up! Fuck them up Kai! Release those ropes on Paedyn's hand just so she can kick that fucker's face to the ground! Kill him!

[itbemoonchild]

My mom tells me to watch caddo lake because she want to talk about it.

I watch an hour and half of a devastating, doomed from the beginning, story of a family trying to find and fix itself.

She wants to talk about the time travel

[bookloversstudioco]

What are your reading goals for the new year? For me, I'm hoping to hit 50

[unproduciblesmackdown]

christmas rehearsal today

[reyalvr]

SHE’S MINE | 00

CATCH ME, I’VE FALLEN IN LOVE FOR THE FIRST TIME.

synopsis ┊ thrust into the spotlight, ken sato had easily become the next big thing tokyo had seen in decades. alongside his fame came the inevitable string of rumors, of which sprung forth scandals and discrediting information against his image. of course the obvious and most rational solution would be to address them like every other celebrity, but this was ken sato; nothing would ever be rational with him, which is how you wound up with a ring on your finger and the sato name in your papers.

genre ┊ fake dating, fake marriage, idiots-to-lovers, friends-to-lovers, mild angst, chaotic fluff, smut

pairing ┊ ken sato x fem-PA!reader, ken sato x fake-wife!reader

warnings ┊ mild cursing, eventual smut, mentions of alcohol, all events in ultraman: rising take place a year after kenji moves back to japan, RUMORS isn’t related to anything that happens in this series

word count ┊ 798

author’s note ┊ YAY i finally wrote it! i really love the fake dating/marriage convenience trope and i’ve been itching to write it with kenji. this is highly inspired by one my favorite books of all time, terms & conditions by lauren asher! if you enjoy fake dating i highly recommend reading it. as mentioned at the top, this is only the prologue! i'll be putting out part one and the series masterlist asap hehe... as always, happy reading!

prev. | next

SOMETIMES YOU WONDERED IF ANYTHING YOU SAID EVER STUCK WITH KEN. For the past year and a half, you had the supposed “dream life” that every assistant yearned for. It confused you, really, as you tried to ponder on what part of your job was envious. Were the late nights drafting NDA breaches so desirable? What about the press statements after altercations, were those résumé worthy? You let out a deep sigh as you watched Ken from the TV in his dressing room, crossing your arms as you sunk deeper into the couch.

He was on a press tour for his latest collaboration, his overconfident persona charming everyone left and right. You had to physically stop yourself from rolling your eyes when he used his signature flair to charm the show’s host. At least he was sticking to the script… for the most part. He wore the product, threw in a few adlibs, and of course, flirted. Be it a talk show host or a random photographer on the street, Ken always found a way to leave people smitten with him- save except you. 

It’s not like you were actively trying to hate him, he just made it so easy. At first you thought it was just some awkward phase, like he was just trying to adjust to working with a new team. But then he just kept doing the same things over and over again. A brawl with an opposing team member? Just another Sunday night. A rumor about having a fling with yet another supermodel? Sounds just about right. 

“I mean of course I have to thank my team,” Ken’s voice cut through your train of thought. “It was a dream of mine to play for the Giants as a kid, now I actually get to do it.”

Tone it down, asshole. You thought to yourself, noting the sarcasm laced in his words. Of course the general public wouldn’t have caught on, but you had no doubt his coach and the other players would. Then again, he’d been relatively untouchable because of his rank in the sports world. You poked your tongue into your cheek, shaking your head as you sat through the rest of his interview. The clock on the wall counted down the remaining time, the bright red numbers casting a reflection on the screen. Two minutes left, and all he had to do was to keep the act up…

…Until he didn’t. Nothing could’ve prepared you for what was about to happen next. 

“Now I don’t want to hold here any longer, but you know I have to ask it,” The host teased, almost like an overexcited child ready to tattle. “Any special someone back home?” 

Ken chuckled, just like he usually did when asked the question. “Cheeky question,” He paused and grinned, his eyebrow raised slightly as he shrugged his shoulders. “What if there was?” 

“Well, is there?” The host pushed, his tone eager to have the Ken Sato answer such a juicy question. He gestured toward the crowd before he continued. “I mean there are a lot of fans here today who would love to know more…” 

“Yeah? And if I said yes, then what?” He replied, his smile growing brighter and his eyes shining. 

The crowd cheered even harder, itching to find out the truth. You shared the same sentiments, trying to figure out what the hell Ken was up to now. Did he have a girlfriend? If he did, why didn’t anyone know about it? You stood up straight now, your right hand deathly gripping the remote. What the hell do you have up your sleeve, Kenji Sato? Your inner voice seemed to yell as you waited for him to speak up. 

“I mean only time will tell, yeah?” The host replied, leaning back in his seat. “C’mon Ken, it’s not nice to keep secrets.”

Ken mimicked the host’s moves, leaning back into his sofa chair as well. He shrugged his shoulders, licking his lips as he fiddled with his fingers. He bit the inside of his cheek, and though it was brief you caught it. You knew that look; his look of contemplation. Your grip on the remote was still taut as your breathing seemed to quicken the longer he waited. Granted it was only a few seconds, but those seconds felt like hours. 

He tilted his head slightly then, his eyes staring directly at the camera. It slowly zoomed closer to focus entirely on him, and he let out a small laugh before he finally replied. His gaze was strong, and it almost felt like he was actually looking at you.

“Yeah, yeah I do.” He finally said, throwing in a lovesick smile for good measure. “And she’s the best damn thing in my life right now.”

reyalvr © 2024 … do not repost, alter, or steal my work.

[salingers]

here’s an organized list of my personal recommendations and my immediate tbr. i’m hoping that this’ll enable and/or encourage others to prioritize diversifying their engaging and reading. remember to actively practice inclusivity. <3

p.s. if i missed you, please ask/dm/comment me your work, as i’ll be regularly updating this list, anyway!

@clubsoft, aka dulsè.

↓ rec.

javier peña. love notes.

reed richards. over the moon.

↓ tbr.

javier peña. blush.

joel miller. 2d.

@cosmicaura7, aka tubbie.

↓ tbr.

frankie morales. whole package, babe, i like the way you fit.

@cxrsed-angel, aka angel.

↓ tbr.

javier peña. never have i ever.

joel miller. overtime.

@damneddamsy, aka dams.

↓ tbr.

joel miller. falling.

@fakeplasticlovers, aka mia.

↓ rec.

joel miller. hotel california.

@flordeamatista, aka ali.

↓ tbr.

joel miller. a sweeter place.

@gothcsz, aka kat.

↓ rec.

frankie morales. first sight.

javier peña. dark room. el cumpleañero. visitation.

marcus acacius. flex. iii. one of the girls.

↓ tbr.

javier peña. hands to myself. wandering hands.

joel miller. dusk.

@inklore, aka lauren.

↓ rec.

frankie morales. eyes on me.

javier peña. little black dress.

joel miller. roadside delight.

↓ tbr.

din djarin. safe haven.

javier peña. party favor.

joel miller. fool me twice. impetuous.

@joelsdagger, aka noelle.

↓ rec.

joel miller. a love so fine. that’s the way road dogs do it.

↓ tbr.

joel miller. all the things i would do. ‘tis the season. walk the line.

@joeloverture, aka vetty.

↓ rec.

joel miller. beneath the window. deadfall. flesh currency. hook ‘em. snowbound.

↓ tbr.

joel miller. comeuppance. fair’s fair.

@juletheghoul, aka jules.

↓ rec.

frankie morales. chores.

↓ tbr.

joel miller. grown. tease.

@kedsandtubesocks, aka erika.

↓ tbr.

joel miller. game changer.

lucien de leon. this high of you and me.

@liltangerineart, aka raquel.

↓ tbr.

din djarin. keep up with me.

javier peña. old habits die hard.

joel miller. consequences.

@ovaryacted, aka nic.

↓ rec.

joel miller. jagged edge.

↓ tbr.

joel miller. headrush. time crunch.

marcus acacius. reprieve.

@pedroscurls, aka jamie.

↓ rec.

joel miller. stranded.

↓ tbr.

javier peña. all we are. innocent eyes.

joel miller. let me show you.

@pedrospatch, aka vee.

↓ tbr.

joel miller. captive. jealous.

@penvisions, aka dev.

↓ rec.

frankie morales. once more, with feeling.

↓ tbr.

frankie morales. coffee and candor. step by step.

joel miller. black hole sun.

@stargirlfics, aka amalia.

↓ rec.

joel miller. misbehavior. standing in the eye of the storm.

@superhoeva, aka simone.

↓ tbr.

frankie morales. the study.

@thundermartini, aka dana.

↓ tbr.

dave york. keep driving.

javier peña. touch tank.

@yxtkiwiyxt, aka kiwi.

↓ tbr.

javier peña. blurred lines. lap dance.

[thelaurenshippen]

wOW I've totally slacked on posting my last few weeks of listening logs (and tbh, I'm still figuring out how best to post them on tumblr specifically - I think I just might start to share the videos?) anYWAY, here's the last three weeks of shows I've dipped my ears into (I regret that phrase)

WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE - I don't need to explain WTNV to you, this was my 'classics' week for the month

LIMETOWN - spooooooky

MODES OF THOUGHT IN ANTERRAN LITERATURE - lecture series about an ancient society, but fictional, y'all will love it

CONSUMED - another great spooky show from Aaron Mahnke! more New England haunts!!!!

JOSIE'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB - improvised call-in radio show! very fun!

ROCKING CHAIR; OR, SETTLEMENT - eerie folk musical horror podcast, it's incredibly cool and unique

OKAY now I'm caught up, all these posts are very chaotic but we're figuring it out

[venusinmyrrh]

You said you love a good fashion doc- do you have any more to recommend?

Designers and tastemakers

Very Ralph (2019). The preeminent American designer of our time, one of the very few who can stand toe to toe with the titans of Paris and Milan. To call Ralph Lauren's work "sportswear" is to call the Sistine Chapel "kind of a big painting".

Halston (2019). Speaking of going head to head with Paris, Halston did it first. Skip Ultrasuede-- this is a much better doc about the king of American 70s disco glam.

McQueen (2018). When people talk about fashion as an art form, chances are they're thinking of Alexander McQueen. Worth watching for the pulse-pounding runway shows alone.

Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist (2018). Obviously you already know about this one, but it's gotta go on any comprehensive list. Without Vivienne Westwood, punk would have been nothing but a handful of noisy assholes.

Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel (2011). My icon, my north star, my personal hero. The empress of taste and high priestess of personal style. Watch this doc whenever you need encouragement to do and wear whatever the hell you want.

The Gospel According to André (2017). Diana Vreeland's protegé and a godfather of style in his own right. If it happened in fashion in the last fifty years, André Leon Talley was there for it.

Lagerfeld Confidential (2007). I have a high tolerance for difficult and unpleasant people as long as I like their work. Your mileage may vary, but Karl Lagerfeld's immaculate, relentless taste cannot be denied.

Institutions and events

The First Monday in May (2016). Witness all the hustle, bustle, savvy, and stress that goes into planning the Met gala!

The September Issue (2009). Same as the above, but for the famous September issue of Vogue. Watch this to learn who Grace Coddington is.

Dior and I (2014). How do haute couture collections get made? In 8 weeks from start to finish, I guess, if you're Raf Simons during his first season at the House of Dior. A documentary and a thriller.

Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's (2013). No matter what other retailers might want you to think, Bergdorf Goodman is the last great department store. A portrait, already halfway to a time capsule, of what luxury shopping used to be.

Peripheral, but may be of interest

Nose (2021). The passionate, delicate art of perfume creation for the House of Dior. The French landscapes where they source their materials will make you swoon.

Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story (2017). As the makeup artist to pretty much every single icon of the 80s and 90s, Kevyn Aucoin invented the image of that era as much as any designer.

Fabergé: A Life of Its Own (2014). Come for the dazzling jewels and sumptuous objets d'art; stay to find out how this illustrious name ended up on hair care products in the 70s.

Crazy About Tiffany's (2016). Another luxury jeweler whose name alone is the stuff dreams are made on.

Bill Cunningham New York (2010). The original street style photographer, since before "street style" was even a thing. A love letter to curiosity, and a testament to the power of taking an interest in the world around us.

Still on my watchlist

Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams (2020). Directed by Luca Guadagnino, which is enough to put this Ferragamo doc at the top of my list.

Advanced Style (2014). Portraits of seven women aged 62-95 with truly fab personal style. Top Letterboxd review is seething about how out of touch they are with the real world, which means I am probably gonna love it.

Suited (2016). A study of gender through clothing in modern culture.

Dries (2017). A year-- and four collections-- in the life of Dries Van Noten, who, interestingly, doesn't see the point of clothes that people can't buy to wear, and so does not do couture.

Yellow is Forbidden (2018). This doc about Guo Pei appears to use her career as a framework to understand the gatekeeping of global culture by the West. Dope as hell, if it can pull it off.

American Style (2019). The political, social, and economic history of America through its fashion. Another one that could be really awesome if done with insight and panache.

Quant (2021). She may share the credit for inventing the miniskirt with two other people, but it cannot be argued that Mary Quant invented 1960s Swinging London. And for that we say thank you Dame Mary.

[maxwell-grant]

The Penguin: Episode 1 Breakdown

(Episode 2) (Episode 3) (Episode 4) (Episode 5) (Episode 6) (Episode 7) (Episode 8)

Thank you Lauren LeFranc, Mike Marino, Colin Farrell and Matt Reeves, we owe you the world for this, good God. It's finally here everyone and I've decided I'm gonna give each episode it's own post/breakdown of thoughts, because hahaha holy shit you guys this is beyond what I even dreamed of, and we're gonna be covering this for a while I think. I've worked out enough madness about this out of my system by talking with friends and I can't seem to be able to work on anything else till I get this done, so let's do it.

Bottom line: This isn't even just a must-watch if you like the Penguin or if you like The Batman, this is something I'd recommend to just about anyone in a heartbeat, something I can point to when people ask "why do you like The Penguin so much" and, instead of the elaborate nerd ramble that usually turns them off, I can just tell them to watch this. A friend of mine (who already loves Batman and digs the Penguin quite a bit) even told me as much, that he's starting to get why I love the character so much, and truly, is there a better feeling than this? Well, there is, and it's watching the show. Let's dig into this first episode:

Right upfront I'm gonna say that this doesn't really seem to be the Sopranos rip-off that people have been calling it before release, although there are definitely Sopranos comparisons to make here. I've spent the past months finally watching The Sopranos in order to get the comparison and definitely want to talk about those comparisons after I finish it (and this show ends). This thing aims to stand on it's own legs as a crime show and it's smashing out of the gate with an extremely promising first episode.

So this just casually opens with the reveal that all along, there was a second rich Gotham the whole time that was completely unaffected by everything we saw in the movie, already throwing a great twist on the events of that movie, and further reinforcing how fucking full of shit The Riddler was. All we saw Batman and the others deal with in the movie was just affecting the poorer parts of the city. All Eddie did was drown rats, and make life worse for the people already in the bottom, while never even getting close to targeting the systemic rot that ruined his life. He retains ideological worshippers in subways obsessed with the corruption of the city without doing anything to actually improve it, and because of him, the streets of Gotham are waterlogged shitholes while the rich Falcone suburbs are doing just fine, peachy even.

I said a while back that, in spite of having about 6 scenes/10 minutes of Penguin runtime, The Batman managed to squeeze impeccably controlled Penguin Trademark Scenes, and this show opens with the last one they didn't get to then: Penguin killing someone for making fun of him. In the movie, he tries doing that with Falcone and is beaten to the punch, so here he gets to actually do it to disastrous consequences.

Fucking adore that the inciting incident of the show is based on the fallout of Oswald killing someone for making fun of him. He pours his heart about the dream he lives his life for, his new boss makes fun of him for being an embarassment to their profession and then he does the most typical Penguin thing by killing him for it and laughing afterwards. And then he realizes how badly he fucked up, and then we get a fucking perfect titledrop with his musical theme, the exact moment we finish The Batman and enter The Penguin.

God it is so fucking cool how the make-up/lighting, the scar across his face, makes it look like he's got a genuine beak from certain angles, how they're able to achieve that effect without giving him a more literal beak for a nose. Everytime they talk about the character, Reeves and Farrell always emphasize how integral the make-up was to them figuring out what to do with Oz, how little they knew what to make of his six scenes until Marino created their monster and suddenly everything fell into place. Mike Marino fully deserves co-credit for the creation of Oz.

Pretty amusing that Victor, as designed to be Penguin's Robin, has exactly the same origin as Jason Todd, a poor street kid trying to steal the hubcaps off the Penguinmobile (I'm sure this bodes very well for his odds at survival), as is the way in which Oz goes on about his recruitment. He press-gangs this kid at gunpoint to help him bury a body arguing with himself and eventually the kid why shouldn't he just kill him to be safe, while trying to impress the kid with his car and air freshener and later that bullshit about "What, you think I hire any schmuck off the street?". From the tile drop onwards, he's doing everything on the fly while also spinning long-term plans set in motion as soon as he's on screen, he's taking this kid in out of sympathy and because he enjoys a power dynamic over someone weaker than him and because he very much needs someone to help him get stuff done. I'm extremely interested in exploring Penguin having a mentorship dynamic and I'm beyond curious as to what happens with Victor from this point onwards, but that poor kid is in for a terrible fucking time.

Found it very funny how much he half-asses the murder threat to Victor. Like it's his first time actually doing it and he's trying to be serious, but not too scary because he's already seeing himself in the poor kid with a stutter and wants the kid to think he's also a cool guy like he wants everyone to think he's a cool guy. I also think having Victor as the POV helps to sell moments like these, because it's still terrifying to him. Even as we follow their stories, these power players of Gotham are still big scary monsters to people caught in the dregs and Victor helps to reinforce that.

I enjoy Oz being friends with sex workers and drag queens off the street as much as I enjoy Oz being depicted as the kind of guy who deludes himself into thinking the prostitute he's with actually likes him, Lauren and Farrell launched into a bit about in on the podcast and I'm curious to see what's going on with him and Eve here.

Lots of perfect funny little character moments across the whole thing. Oz insulted by the idea of taking extra pickles off a poor kid's dirty mouth, but with zero hesitation whatsoever for picking jewelry off his boss' corpse. Dude is governed by principles even as he actively has to break them to survive.

"Technically it's plum." "He is the - or was the - new kingpin", "He's got nurse-like qualities." The show is not overtly trying to get you to find Penguin likeable as much as it wants you to find him engaging - making you think he's likeable is Colin Farrell's job and he's masterful at it, definitely a lot more matured within the character compared to the movie.

If there's anything in particular I'm thankful for regarding Gotham (well okay Gotham led directly to Telltale Penguin which was the basis for this one, so really I do have a lot more to be thankful with Gotham), it's the decision to give him a legit waddle via the broken foot, but the way they incorporate it here with the club foot does so much for him, so much as a modern day reinvention of The Penguin. Adds so much to why he's never been a serious candidate for mob leadership, why he kinda had to spend all his time in the Lounge, why he actually needs someone to help him run affairs, why he has such a gaping ego wound and is so murderously angry at people making fun of him / calling him a goddamn penguin, adds so much validation and so much darkness and nuance to Oswald's overwhelming anger and bitterness over how the world treats him (and so much power should he opt to reclaim it, in turn). It's the kind of thing that frankly feels like it should have always been part of the character, like what all the previous versions were itching closer to or trying to get at. Of course this is a guy gets called a penguin and he hates it badly enough to murder people over it, of course.

This gets to really highlight how differently Oz acts depending on who he's with. Traditionally, one of my favorite things about The Penguin, and one of the things that puts him above the other villains, is that, due to his position, he has to interact with a lot more people than the other Bat-villains. He has to manage a lot more relationships and dynamics, he has to play peacekeeper and puppetmaster. he's the only one in the United Underworld who's regularly interacting with and recruiting other villains to do business with. He's the guy who you pin stuff on like the Gangland Guardians, Team Penguin, doing betting pools with the Rogues taking cover in his Lounge while Joker War is happening, having to rig games to keep good standing with Maxie Zeus and Frenchy Blake in Batman Audio Adventures, and so on. So I greatly enjoy this beat here of him talking about how makes himself smaller before the Falcones, and that moment of him adjusting his outfit and practicing expressions in the mirror before meeting with them. How he contorts himself is present in all of his relationships, and retroactively adds to the way he carries himself in The Batman.

It seems that Oz is functionally regarded as the Paulie Walnuts of the Falcones: useful muscle, loyal for the most part and amusing to keep around, but largely an unstable self-serving dumb asskisser kept where he belongs, a liability if not kept on a short leash. I think the show does a good job of highlighting all the reasons why Oz has never been seriously regarded as a viable option for a boss, even putting aside his disability. He is a fundamentally embarassing person for these serious respectable criminals to be around and of course, the joke is ultimately on them..

Of course, there is only two people in the show who actually know what he's capable of, Francis Cobb and Sofia Falcone, said to be the central relationships defining the show moving forward. Both of them also a defining commonality with Oswald, being people who are looked down on and dehumanized, and characters who are underestimated until it's time to bear their fangs.

Extremely invested in where they're going with Sofia Falcone, Cristine Milioti's been killing it, and will in fact not stop killing it. What a perfect villain for Penguin they've set up with her, someone who has his Kryptonite: she does not underestimate him. Although we know in advance that Oz is going to live and be in the next movie, the question here isn't even so much who's going to win the gang war, and rather how much damage these two freaks will do to the city until Batman gets back. In many ways, Sofia represents the shape of things to come just as much as he does.

She is this embodiment of both the pristine unfathomable wealth and privilege and power that he both detests and strives for, as well as this brutal new breed of madness and violence attacking the streets that he has to survive against and make deals with (and is himself very much a part of, however he denies it). She is Falcone's legacy in every way that matters, both a Kingpin of Gotham whose existence creates the oppressive conditions under which a Batman or a Riddler are created, as well as the Arkham Rogue, the larger-than-life sadist with a tragic origin and a signature torture-murder method and an embarassing name for the papers.

Even the fact that she is The Hangman, and Carmine was defined around his penchant for brutally strangling women - regardless of whether or not she did the crimes that got her in Arkham, she's become this larger-than-life themed expression of a violent obsession in a way that sets her up as every bit the Batman villain that The Penguin is. The two champions of the two Gothams, duking it out in this new world The Batman and The Riddler made, The Penguin vs The Hangman.

I am so glad Lauren LeFranc made the call for binning Alberto in the first five minutes so the rest of the show can focus on Sofia and make a real character out of her in a way nobody's ever really done before, every step of the way so far LeFranc has been perfectly on the ball about where to take these characters and their conflict. And speaking of those,

I feel very confident in saying that this is the first time anyone's ever really had something worth doing with Oswald's mother as a character in her own right and not just a source of anguish for Penguin (Gotham was almost onto something with Gertrude, but not nearly enough). When it comes to Penguin origin stories, my favorite's always been the Pre-Crisis one, where he's poor and bullied but happy with his mom and birds until she dies and the government seizes everything he has, which doesn't necessarily involve her much. But here? Francine Cobb is a real character in what little time we get to know her, and what a character she is. We quickly understand the role she's playing in Oz's life, not just as his mom and person he loves and strives to protect, but the person who's sculpting him into the man he's going to become.

She is vulnerable and she does need meds and she's not quite all there, and Penguin's need to care for her is visible in other actions of his. But then they turn it around by showing how strong and demanding she is, how she is fiercely ambitious and pushing him to be something he would otherwise not be, how much she loves him and sees greatness in him. She knows he's a people pleaser, she knows how to push his buttons, and she wants him to be more, so of course he's going to be more, because he lives to please his mom.

Related to this is this absolute bullseye of a summation of The Penguin, that Lauren LeFranc delivered in the podcast: "Perhaps his greatest fear is that love is transactional. And that yet, everything he does, every decision he makes, is as if that's true. As if "love is transactional" is a truth he abides by". Oswald's conception of power is being loved and revered like Rex Calabrese, and the love he wants most in all the world is the one from his mother. So in turn this, and all extensions of it, drive him to greater and darker lengths.

He doesn't have that ambition quite down yet, it's his mom that does. She who's pushing him to take over the city and not just be a guy scraping by for survival. He's smart and ambitious and extremely good at slipping out of trouble, but she's pushing him to be the guy who will be taking the city by the horns because that's what he has to be for their sake. Her legacy to her son is nurturing him having that dog in him that will make him the supervillain who picks fights with Vengeance. She is the force that's turning Oswald into The Goddamn Penguin and I can't wait to see how she's developed.

Of course he reprimands Victor in that scene for lacking ambition, who do you think he gets it from?

Really love what they've done with Sal Maroni in here so far. I like adaptations that take these throwaway Batman backstory gangsters and make something out of them, in this case, with Clancy Brown lending his power and voice and reputation as The Grand Boss of Villainy to play the last Respectable Gangster of Gotham, this intimidating principled old tiger who's inversely proportional to how much of a petty and scummy piece of shit Carmine Falcone was. Extremely a guy I'd want to see playing a hand in the creation of Two-Face. Just as crucial is the fact that he is the one who gets the most effortlessly outplayed by Oz here, because this is The Penguin Show: no room for traditional or respectable gangsters anymore, their purpose is to be crapped all over by our wacko birdman.

There's a lot about this that re-contextualizes his behavior in The Batman and the one I'm gonna point out is: even though he can't be sure his plan didn't completely go to shit, he is still keeping his wits and not being terribly scared about being beaten up and tortured and staring down the scariest Falcone with a gun shoved in his throat. But he craps his pants at the sight of the Batmobile. He gets pain, he gets indignity, but he doesn't get Vengeance, what kind of sick freak would come up with the stuff that guy does. A gun in his mouth and Falcone torture is just Tuesday, but a car that wants to eat his soul is some psycho shit he's just not ready to deal with.

It is the delicious tasty fucking irony that Oswald thinks Vengeance is this weird freak who doesn't play or bend to any rules and is here to fuck up everything, just like the madman who flooded the city, and thinks of himself in turn as a justifiable guy standing for the respectable old-fashioned empathetic way of doing things, instead of the exact same thing that Riddler and Batman are. Only Sofia gets what he really is, the same thing as her, and that's why she is the arch-enemy / the biggest thing he's gotta defeat in life for now.

God, how fucking PERFECT it is that he gets caught and tortured because he, after stabbing out a man's eye and causing him to get run over by a schoolbus, stops to wave at the kids in that schoolbus while covered in blood. Just the Rex Calabrese of it all, the self-image, this guy who's both a mean nasty son of a bitch and also a real bleeding heart softie and in ways that ruin his life and allow him to slip and wriggle his way out of shit he has no right to, as demonstrated by the finale.

Thinking about Sofia chastizing Oz saying he thinks she is a toy to play with, while rattling off the ways in which she owns him and everything he has, all the ridiculous little accessories her daddy let him play him, and he in turn is a ridiculous little accessory for the family she is twisting until it breaks. Perfect fucking villain for him. Can't wait to see how badly these two are gonna burn Gotham.

I knew deep in my heart that all I wanted out of a Penguin show, the thing that I simply needed to have in it, was Penguin pulling a heist set-up in advance, and it fucking delivered. He doesn't even complain at Victor for being late, because if anything, getting captured and tortured while the car crashed was even better for him. No, he complains at Victor for not being sufficiently gruesome with the body. See, unlike other cowardly anti-hero reinventions of Bat-villains, the show never wants you to forget that Oz is a weird freak and a disgusting piece of shit, even if he is a very likeable and even aspirational one. Only by the most random stroke of fate it wasn't Victor that he fed to the wolves at that moment, that he sees himself in the kid isn't exactly ensuring that he's gonna make out of this in one piece.

Mr. Vengeance gets Nirvana, and Mr. Boniface gets Dolly Parton, perfect credits.

In conclusion: Out of everything they could have done following the thunderous success of The Batman and it's ensuing influence over the DCU, out of all the offers Reeves must have gotten to helm their new universe after delivering a megahit reinvention of their breadwinner blockbuster character, Matt Reeves went "Nah, I listened to my crew, and what we really want to do is 8 hours of television about the waddling freak who's in my movie for 10 minutes", and he and his crew deserve the world for that. I dreamed as a kid of getting to make a big Penguin story or show, a wild impossible idea that would never actually happen, and now it's here and it's better than anything I'd ever imagined.

I'm fit to burst with joy and riding a high of no longer having to hunt for scraps and washing away decades of put-downs for the character and enjoying a Penguin renaissance like one I never imagined happening. I am extremely not an unbiased reviewer here, this show rules and I've waited for it since I was a kid and it's here, drink it the fuck in cause it's only the beginning.

[tryingtofindava]

Can we have some more Kate the chaser pls 🧎‍♀️‍➡️🧎‍♀️‍➡️

── 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬

a/n: I didn’t know what u meant by more Kate lmao so I did this LOLZ

: ̗̀➛Back to Source

I feel like Kate wouldn’t date just anyone (especially men… ), she’d probably prefer to date she’s close with and have known for a rlly long time (Like I headcanon her and Lauren used to have a thing going on before the incident, and they were close to the point where she caught feelings).

So you guys would’ve have to be close before she considered you as a romantic interest hehe.

I headcanon Kate is nonverbal, she’s not mute, but she only talks sometimes, and when she does her voice is raspy and low, the amount of coal she breathes in from the mines doesn’t help either.

So if you two date you’d have to be the talker of the relationship lolz she’d rather you talk and she tunes in, yapper x listener fr fr.

She’s funny with affection, especially physical touch.. She’s sorta like a cat, she’ll let you touch her for a little while before she gets pissy and shrugs you off.

Lowkey kinda feral, will bite you but lovingly (probably) <3

She has some shitty wire earbuds that are in all the time, she might pop one out and give it to you so you can listen to music together, because she feels that’s romantic.

She’d take song recommendations from you, and secretly build a playlist filled with your favourite songs, and put it on when you share earbuds even if she had a different taste of music.

She’s always alert, always looking around at her surroundings. She knows he’s out there, she knows he’s always watching, the operator keeps tabs on all his proxies at all times.

So if you guys have a strong bond she might relax a little, she’s not as on guard.

Stares at you lovingly, it’s honestly a little creepy how much she just watches you, seemingly unblinking.

You get up to do something? Eyes immediately on you like a hawk.

Sleeping? You can never shake off that feeling that someone’s watching you. But dw!! It’s just Kate!! She’s watching over you…

You’d be surprised how many times you’ve woken up to her just… looming over you.

Takes a lot of time before she takes the mask off around you, sure you’ve seen parts of her features through the cracks in the mask, you’ve seen her lips, her eyes and the dark bags underneath them.

But that was only with the anonymous shadow the mask would cast on her face.

When she took it off for the first time around you, she didn’t even mean for you to see her face.

It was just irritating her skin, so she took it off and dozed off in your bed. It would be fine, she would wake up before you returned. But she didn’t and you walked in your bedroom to see her laying there sleeping peacefully, her face in full display.

She panics honestly when she senses you, and throws it on immediately, but after that you notice she takes it off more regularly afterwards.

She probably has taken you to her mine, it was in no condition for her to be sleeping in, no person should have to spend their days and nights down here until their next mission. Even if she had inhuman abilities like all proxies gain.

So you’ll pack up her stuff and take her home. Takes awhile for her to settle, sure she’s been in your house plenty times before, but that’s only for small visits and for more peaceful naps.

If she notices a change in your demeanour, perhaps the slender sickness spreading to you, she’d be on edge and blame herself.

She knew the consequences of dating a normal human, but she ignored them. And now she’s let it infect you too.

Suddenly she’s more touchy than she was before, she’ll just cuddle up to you when you’re watching TV on the couch.

If you’re in bed she’ll lay between you legs, arms around your waist as she lays her head on your chest.

More affectionate overall with the guilt of knowing she’s led the operator right to you.

She’ll start stealing Tim’s medicine for you, crushing it up and slipping it into your meals to prolong what’s coming. She’s doing it for you, she’s not ready to give you the whole truth yet.

[laurentidal]

Lauren 3.0

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be... This is an erotic hypnosis themed blog that will occasionally rant about rocks and radiation. As such it is strictly MINORS AND FAR-RIGHT WEIRDOS DNI.

I'm absolutely 100% open to new friends and roleplay so DM me whenever you please, so long as you respect the yuck and yum list:

I know a lot of my old posts are still floating around here untethered from my old blog. I may start reposting the here to bring some traffic back in so if you start seeing double, it's not from staring too long at the pretty spirals, it's just me.

And, if you are a fan of my work, consider buying me a coffee. Any contribution is insanely appreciated. 💖

Navigating my page:

My Stories =========================

All Stories | Reposts of my old stories

Dynamics: Female Dom, Female Sub, Male Dom, Male Sub

Fetishes: Accidental, Breast Enlargement, Cheating, Clowns, Exhibitionist, Feet, Free Use, Incest, Intox, Lactation, Office, Paranormal, Serial Recruitment, Teacher

My Series =========================

Greenhampton House (6 Parts) Hotel Dupin (3 Parts COMPLETE) Lights (2 Parts) Oh (1 Part) Red Mesa (9 Parts) Ride Share (3 Parts) Roommates (2 Parts) Slumbering Cow (3 Parts COMPLETE) The Bully (4 Parts) The Conference (1 Part) The Thompsons (2 Parts COMPLETE) Wild Gods (3 Parts)

SUNDA SYSTEMS STORY LINK (on indefinite hiatus)

Other Stuff =========================

Me Being Me: Ramblings, Answering Questions, Roleplay Scenes, Game Inspiration, Story Inspiration

Things I Like: All Time Favorites

Art, Clips, Spirals, Favorite Stories, Mantras, Recommendations

Crushes: Women (Curvy Women), Men, Trans

Kinks: Lactation, Clowns

[formulaonedirection]

I am hopelessly endeared by Lando saying he frets while picking out his own paddock outfits https://www.rollingstone.com/product-recommendations/lifestyle/lando-norris-ralph-lauren-polo-red-campaign-1235132711/

That is SO cute he's just a Boy like I DID have doubts that he had a stylist just because he wasn't working with brands but knowing that he's like brainstorming his little outfits probably bookmarking inspo fits on tiktok and sending the group chat (Max) pics being like "? Do I look lik a tossr" is just The cutest thing ever. I think it's Very Lamdo to stress about it and then be like WHATEVER IT'S NOT LIKE I KNOW FASHION THIS DOESN'T MATTER and then still wear it and is soooo secretly pleased when people hype up his fit. He's GONNA be a lil self conscious about it but he's always Gonna Do It.