#phenomenal scene selection

[cotton-candy-haze]

fiona harrington when robin and steve are high off their asses in the bathroom? -bibaybe

Fiona was visiting her brother at work when he got roped into translating a secret Russian code, which somehow led to her getting trapped under the mall and almost kidnapped by Russians. It’s times like these that really make her wish she was an only child... or maybe not.

Fiona stared at the bathroom door as it slammed shut behind Robin and Steve’s retreating forms. For a moment, she contemplated just leaving them there to fend for themselves—she hadn’t signed up to babysit two idiots while they were high on some sort of damn Russian truth serum and she really, really didn’t want to deal with this—but then she realized that she would probably have to explain how her older brother ended up dead in a public bathroom drugged out of his mind if she left them alone in there. Staring up at the ceiling, she weighed out her options and ultimately decided against making an escape. Heaving a long-suffering sigh, she walked up to the bathroom and nudged the door open.

“Hey Stevie, you guys alive in here?” Fiona called out as she finally stepped into the bathroom. Her eyes darted between the two stalls where Robin and Steve were currently barfing their guts up. She scrunched her nose up in disgust and shuffled slightly closer to the stall her brother was curled up in when it seemed like the wave of nausea had passed. “Steve?”

“Fionaaa, my favorite sister,” Steve slurred and whipped his head around to look at her. Glassy eyes struggled to track her, but eventually landed somewhere to the right of her head. “What’re you doing here?”

“I’m your only sister, numbnuts. And I’m here because I don’t feel like leaving you two to die on this grody bathroom floor.” Fiona stopped in the opening of the stall and crossed her arms against her chest. Her eyes darted around the stall before eventually landing on her brother’s beaten face. Her expression softened a fraction and she sighed. “You’re lucky I love you, Stevie.”

“Aww, I love you too Fee.” Steve grinned and reached out for her with one hand, although he overshot it and ended up swiping at the open air. He pouted, squinted his eyes, and tried reaching for her again. “Sit with meee. Please?”

Fiona rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help the tiny smile that tugged at her lips. She grabbed Steve’s extended arm by the wrist and nudged him gently. “Alright, fine. Scoot over then.”

Steve’s smile somehow grew even wider as he scooted across the tiled floor to make room for Fiona. She gave a huff of laughter and sat down next to him, only letting herself think about how disgusting this was for a second before she pushed the thought away. As soon as she was settled with her back pressed against the wall, Steve threw an arm around her shoulders in an awkward sideways hug. She shook her head, let out another tiny laugh, and gave his hand a gentle pat.

“You’re a good little sister,” Steve mumbled before he dropped his head heavily against her shoulder. His bruised eye protested the movement and he let out a hiss of pain, but he didn’t lift his head. “Doesn’t even matter that you’re adopted. Never mattered. Always been my little sister. Doesn’t matter...”

“Thanks Steve,” Fiona replied quietly. She was still smiling at him, but her eyes had gone a little bit misty. She sniffed and rubbed at her face with the corner of her sleeve.

“Shit, I’m not s’posed to say that.” Steve suddenly looked very concerned as he jerked his head up. He stared at Fiona, his brows furrowed as he struggled to string words together in an order that made sense. “Not s’posed to tell anyone how they got you. They’ll be mad. Not allowed to talk about it. Don’t tell ‘em Fee, don’t tell ‘em what I said.”

“It’s alright, I won’t tell anyone,” she reassured in a gentle tone. She scrubbed at her face again, wiping away the growing dampness under her eyes.

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Fiona gave him a watery smile and held out her extended pinky, just like she always did when they were kids. Steve immediately lifted his own hand and wrapped his pinky around hers. They sat like that for a moment longer before Steve grinned and dropped his head against Fiona’s shoulder again.

“You’re my favorite sister.”

[fuckyeahisawthat]

Furiosa thoughts

About 48 hours after watching, I think my take on Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is coalescing into: I enjoyed it as a Mad Max movie but found it disappointing as a Fury Road prequel.

Any Mad Max movie made after Fury Road was always going to suffer the fate of being compared to Fury Road, which is the best action movie ever made. So like, compared to any other action movie you can think of, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (we'll call it FMMS going forward) is very very good! It just isn't Fury Road.

The rest is under the cut for spoilers:

The action sequences were compelling. (I was aware I was hunched forward in my seat in tension/anticipation almost the entire time.) Some of them were even brilliant. That long sequence where the Octoboss and the Mortiflyers (yes those are their names) are attacking the War Rig with all kinds of airborne contraptions? Phenomenal. I was like yes okay now we are in a Mad Max movie! Other than that one sequence, though, in which we see Furiosa and Praetorian Jack begin to trust each other, I thought they rarely achieved the kind of wordless advancement of character relationships through action beats that is the lifeblood of Fury Road. So the action was good, but it was just normal-good, not Fury Road transcendent.

I did miss John Seale's cinematography. While I thought the action choreography was great, the shot selection was just not as dynamic and interesting as in Fury Road. I also really did not vibe with so much of the musical themes being recycled from Fury Road. The Fury Road score is SO memorable and the music is such an integral part of the momentum and feeling of every scene in the movie; I can play that score and see every beat of the action unfolding in my brain now. I wanted new score that felt like it was a part of this new action that we were seeing.

I loved all the new worldbuilding details and finally getting to see inside Gastown and the Bullet Farm. Those locations and their unique features were utilized really well for the action that took place in them. Loved the new details we got about the Citadel. The grappling hooks just dipping down to yoink people's vehicles during battle? Fantastic. The hidden Citadel ledge with the little pool of water?? That was such a fanfic-ready location. Pretty sure I already wrote at least one fic set there back in like 2016.

The Green Place! Very different from what I imagined but so much worldbuilding in just a few shots.

In general I thought the new cast rose to the challenge. Alyla Browne who played little kid Furiosa I thought was phenomenal actually. That's a tough role, both emotionally and physically, for a child actor and she slayed it. Casting Indigenous model and actress Charlee Fraser to play Furiosa's mother certainly made the Stolen Generation parallels more obvious. I'll have a lot more to say about Dementus down below, but Chris Hemsworth brought a great combo of bonkers and menacing.

I never doubted that Anya Taylor-Joy could bring the emotional intensity needed to the role--she can do crazy eyes like nobody's business, and with the growl she put in her voice she really did sound like Charlize Theron a bit. I found her physicality convincing for a young Furiosa. But she is not Charlize, through no fault of her own. Charlize is tall and she has broad shoulders and she just takes up so much space when moving and fighting as Furiosa and I think it was always going to be hard to replicate that. As long as they didn't try too hard to bridge the gap between the characters I was fine with it. But that one scene at the end where she's bringing the Wives to the Rig I was very viscerally like that is NOT our Furiosa. (I almost wish they would've used Charlize's stunt double for that scene the way they popped Jacob Tomuri into Max's place.) They could have simply left a time gap--based on the "15 years" she says to Dementus and the 7,000+ days we hear about in Fury Road there should be at least a 4-year gap between the film timelines, although in terms of bridging the look of the two actors it feels like it should be more like 10 years.

If FMMS had been a self-contained movie about a character named Furiosa in the Mad Max universe, I think I would have found it very satisfying. But as a prequel to Fury Road there were a bunch of ways I thought it was lacking on a story level.

I think it's pretty clear that this is not the backstory, or at least not the complete backstory, that Charlize Theron was imagining while playing Furiosa. Which...there's nothing objectively wrong with that; word of God and what actors think about their characters doesn't supersede what's on film for determining what is canon. However, Fury Road positions Joe as Furiosa's main antagonist, and while we don't get the full story behind the incandescent rage she directs at him, we know that rage is there and is a big part of her motivation. In interviews at the time, Charlize talked about the idea that Furiosa had been stolen to be a Wife but then was discovered to be infertile and discarded, how she survived by hiding in the Citadel and eventually rose to a position of power, how she saw her actions not as saving the Wives but as stealing them, and that her motivation at least starts out as more about hurting Joe than helping these women.

We get only the tiniest suggestion of Furiosa's backstory in Fury Road ("I was taken as a child, stolen") and the rest we piece together by implication. She is a healthy full-life woman working for a man who keeps healthy full-life women as sex slaves, hoping one of them will produce a viable male heir for him. She is effectively a general in his army, projecting his power on the wasteland, a position no other woman seems to occupy. She tells Max she is seeking "redemption." Redemption for what? She doesn't say. But "whatever she has done to win a position of power within this misogynist death cult" seems like a pretty obvious answer.

And that's interesting! That's an interesting backstory that engages with some of the core themes and moral questions of the Mad Max universe. These movies deal a lot with the tension between self-preservation and human connection. Do you screw someone else over to protect yourself? Even if it means putting them in the terrible position that you yourself have clawed your way out of? Even if it means enforcing your own oppressor's power over them? Or do you take the risk of helping people and caring enough to connect with them, even though this carries an emotional and physical risk?

FMMS doesn't really engage with Furiosa's relationship to Joe like, at all. It's not like Joe comes off looking like a good guy. He's just hardly in the movie. I don't know if this would have been different if Hugh Keays-Byrne were still alive. I don't know if there was pressure from the studio to cast an A-list male lead actor alongside Anya Taylor-Joy (who's a hot commodity now but wasn't what I would call an A-lister when she was originally cast). I don't know if, once Chris Hemsworth was cast, that affected how central his character's role became, since he is certainly the biggest name attached to the film. I would have actually been fine with Chris Hemsworth or another actor of his ilk playing a younger Joe, and us getting to see some of the charisma that attracted followers to him.

But the end result is that we have Dementus, who is a perfectly fine Mad Max villain, and quite entertaining at times! But not the most compelling antagonist you could give Furiosa.

The four Mad Max movies that feature Max go through an interesting evolution. In the first two movies, the villains are people "outside" society--criminals and roving gangs--and the people Max is defending are "civilization." So we have Mad Max where Max is a very fucked-up cop, and Road Warrior where Max is the prototypical western gunslinger, riding in to town to protect the settlement from an outside threat, but ultimately unable to accept any of the comforts of civilization for himself.

Then in Thunderdome and Fury Road, the dynamic switches. Now the antagonists are warlords and dictators. They are civilization. And the people Max ends up helping are trying to escape them.

To me, Dementus feels much more like the earlier kind of Mad Max villain. If there's another Mad Max movie I can most compare FMMS to, it's the first one. Dementus is Furiosa's Toecutter. (Kills her family, gives her her signature disabling injury, movie ends with her seeking revenge on him but it doesn't feel heroic or triumphant.) The whole end of FMMS when Furiosa is implacably hunting down Dementus? Extremely Mad Max 1.

But violent revenge holds a different symbolic place in Furiosa's story than it does in Max's. The end of Mad Max is a tragedy because Max tells us it is. He explicitly states, early in the movie, that he needs to stop being a cop or he'll become no different than the violent criminals he's pursuing. So he leaves his job and goes on an extended weird vacation with his wife and child, trying to get away from the violence of a collapsing society. But that violence finds him anyway, and by the end of the movie, Max has become the exact thing he said he didn't want to be. It's a tragedy not because the people Max kills in revenge for killing his family don't deserve it, but because seeking violent sadistic revenge is damaging to Max. That is not what he needs in order to heal from the loss of his wife and child. What he needs is to take the risk of human connection again. This is what he starts groping toward in the following two movies and fully realizes in Fury Road.

But Furiosa doesn't have the same arc. Her story in Fury Road is about how a few people struggling against their oppressor can be the catalyst that brings down a whole regime. Furiosa getting to rip Joe's face off is fucking satisfying, and it's supposed to be! So it's a bit weird, then, to spend an entire movie giving her a backstory that not only is not about Joe at all, but implies that seeking and getting revenge against Dementus for killing her mother and Jack is what made her into the person we see in Fury Road.

Aside from questions of revenge, what I thought Furiosa's goal was going to be is set up in the beginning of the movie. "No matter what happens, find your way home." Very clear objective there. And then we see her try to get home like, 1.5 times. I thought we were well set up to follow the tried and true film story format of "simple goal, big obstacles, high stakes." I wanted to see her trying over and over again to get home, and being thwarted in different ways every time. I wanted to see grief and guilt over her mother's death turn her mother's last command into a mission for which she would sacrifice anything (and anyone) else. I wanted to see her justify working for Joe and accumulating power in the violent world of the Citadel as what she has to do in order to get home. I wanted to see "Have you done this before?" "Many times." But we didn't really get that either.

Ultimately, I think the least frustrating way to think about the film--which the film itself encourages--is as one of many possible Wasteland legends about a character called Furiosa. Maybe it happened this way. Maybe it didn't. Maybe this is the Furiosa we see in Fury Road. Maybe it isn't. It all depends on how much you believe of the History Man's tales.

[orange-artist]

Kamaboko Squad time travel AU - The Start

Read right to left! Like manga!

Edit: Just realized I wrote "behead", whoops, he can't die from that, I meant "kill".

next >>>

The letter that arrives detailing the final selection this year has arrived on his table. Ubuyashiki Kagaya pick it up gingerly, equal parts eager and dreading what it entails. The handwriting of his son is familiar under his fingertips. Slowly, he reads the letter. He reads it again.

This year was the oddest final selection yet. Five passed, yet no one died.

How? One by one people came down the mountain asking to drop out of the selection, saying that they would've failed if not for being saved by someone else. Many of them were uninjured and even if they were it was minimal. They asked if it would be possible retake the test in later years or instead asked to join the kakushis. Apparently those who saved them had told them they weren’t ready yet. And not unkindly, many of the slayer hopefuls came out of that mountain more determined than ever.

This has never happened before. It's phenomenal. Kagaya never thought he would witness another miracle selection, nonetheless something this bizzare. Kaguya’s hand tightened around the letter, he looked to his wife.

“Something has changed,” He tells her, a smile on his lips. He approved retaking the selection for those willing instantly. Retaking the exam…what an interesting and wonderful notion.

No children died in the final selection that year. Kaguya gets five new children. He could not be happier.

He writes down their names.

Tsuyuri Kanao

Shinazugawa Genya

Hashibira Inosuke

Agatsuma Zenitsu

Kamado Tanjiro

——

Some more about this AU -> Here

Also a special mention of @imsosleepyofyourbull who wrote a scene very similar and really well that caused me to rewrite what I had because I liked it so much ^-^ Please go read thier snippet!

[n3kk1tty]

The Lost Boys Fandom Sound Off

There are a lot of amazing and talented people in this community on tumblr and I'm happy to point people to and learn about more people who exist in this wonderful place along with me. To make it easier for others to consume copious amounts of fan content I hope to make and add to this list to make it easier to track people.

If I miss anyone or you want to be added please leave a message on the post.

Writer's:

@tac-the-unseen : Absolutely phenomenal imagines. If you're looking for short and sweet imagines they are the place I usually go to.

@ria-coolgirl : Really friendly always supportive. Posts written questions or ideas.

@bubblegumbarbie33 : Funny quote posts that make me sit there day dreaming of new stuff.

@sad-ghost-of-garbage : Makes that good sweet sweet angst.

@lostbetweenvampiresandmusic : Lots of poly content.

@misslavenderlady : There fanfics are so well crafted and who can't appreciate amazing page set up.

@themarginalthinker : The best drabbles

@britany1997 : Makes awesome poly content and it's so easy to get lost in there fics.

@sunkendreams :

@charlizekkelly :

@luv4fandoms :

@darlingverse :

@berd-alert : amazing oneshots. 10/10 would reread repeatedly

@theyreonlynoodlesmike : Such amazing amount of lost boy variety content and a huge selection of top quality content.

@n30nwrites : Has x male reader content and good spicy writing posts.

@i-heart-slashers : Story scene set up is top notch

@redamancy-writes : Delicious angst and variety

@writinginatree : Platonic Fic and Romantic

@chubbyreaderchan : Fixed focused on chubby reader

@ebony-blood : Detailed yet more bitesized requests for the casual fast paced reader.

( recommended list by: @dustofbrokenheart , I took the direct dialogue and recommendations from their reply post to the list )

@thoushallnotfall especially for the "Blood and Water" and "Prey" series but all of Rachel's stuff is great!

@brideofcthulhu10 who was one of the first writers I found for tlb here on tumblr.

@datsrightbby shak has a bunch of fics and headcanon/preference posts.

@garlicdontwork has a few series that include thompson!reader and frog!reader.

@peacepey did a lot of good request work back in the day.

@monsterfuneral wrote some memorable poly imagines. (I believe violet's main account is now @grudgecollector.)

@tinywritinghana has a few series, as well as lots of one shots. A favorite of mine is the "Student's Guide to Raising the Dead" series!

@kurt-nightcrawler cara has fics for both the lost boys and a lost girls project she started at one point.

@dustofbrokenheart : who is another talented writer in the fandom who helped me tremendously with adding valuable members in the community to the sound off page. I couldn't have done it without them.

(end of recommendation list this portion)

@chevvsgotanumbrellatattoo : Have 2 wonderful fics of and trying their hand at lost boys drabbles. Undoubtedly they will be making even more amazing writing content in the future.

@marnievanhelsing: AO3 writer. Has some pretty funny chaotic Tlb head cannons posts that include the frog brothers. Up and coming in the fandom

Artists:

@n3kk1tty : I qualify for artist/ writer but my art has more variety as I focus most of my writing on my lost boy Au / requests.

@popironrye : There art is so colorful and eye popping I always love seeing it on my feed.

@walmart-icarus : Also a writer. Such a cute style of art.

@hypocriticaltypwriter : Truly amazing person in community with such a bouncy art style. Their fan kids are amazing and give everyone baby fever. Also writes and roleplays.

@midnight-in-santa-carla : Wonderful realistic artstyle with vibrant colors.

@gryphonsthing : sweet cute artstyle that's always refreshing to see on my feed.

@starlahuskyz : OMG ID EAT THERE ART IF I COULD

@persephone-s-moon : Amazing muscle shading / lighting.

@fleouriarts : Incredible moody / stylistic art that uses color in a eye catching manner my ADHD brain can't describe.

( recommended list by: @dustofbrokenheart , I took the direct dialogue and recommendations from their reply post to the list )

@witch-lass her drawing style is super cute and recognizable!

@garnetgh0st candy made my favorite moodboards back in the day. There's a seasons, mamma mia, and disney prince series among others. (I count moodboards in art category!)

@thornthehellhound he makes both funny and really pretty art pieces. Very talented!

(end of recommendation list this portion)

Roleplayers:

( I personally don't roleplay at all in the fandom but I know there's people who do and love to do so. I mostly compiled this list using @hypocriticaltypwriter 's recommendation list they have on their blog and thought putting it on the main fandom track sheet to help push the rp blogs center stage. I'm sorry I can't give much of a review. )

@blog4horror : gives great requests

@marko-boy

@paulie-lostboy

I've reached tumblers max tag list. Which who even knew was a thing. I'll continue on my quest in the post reblogged from this one.

[twinkboimler]

June Fic Recs

It's been a while since I put one of these together! Under the cut are a selection of great spirk, mckirk, spones, and mcspirk fics I've read in the past few months with a brief description of what I liked about them. Enjoy!

SPIRK

Tomorrow’s Circus by Borealisblue. TOS. Explicit, 56,084 words (as of 6/20/24). Work in progress. Circus au, 1930s, everyone’s human. The friends-to-lovers and pining in this is SO GOOD and I really think that everyone needs to be reading this fic. I haven’t been this invested in a fic in a long time; getting that subscription email letting me know this fic has updated can literally fix me when I’m having a bad day. Cannot rec this fic enough if you’re in the mood for a slowburn, plus the art in it is phenomenal.

A Perfect Fit by ThereBeWhalesHere. TOS. Teen and Up Audiences, 7,097 words. Role swap: Captain Spock and First Officer Kirk. Spock’s POV, admittance of feelings, first kiss. This fic is so lovely, I love a fic where I get to just watch these two get to know each other and fall in love.

Time After Time by spaceisgay (ChancellorGriffin). SNW and Disco. Explicit, 138,921 words. I loved this fic. The pining and sexual tension is so good, and this fic has a good balance of humorous fluffy scenes and angst and incredibly hot smut. It’s a spirk fic, yes, but it really dives into sibling dynamics as it explores the Kirk brothers’ relationship as Spock continues to process the Michael-shaped hole in his life. I love this take on this era’s Spock, there’s so much he doesn’t know about himself yet. I also really adore how this fic writes all the characters—you really get a sense of everyone’s personalities in this fic, the entire crew feels so ALIVE. Just fantastic characterizations of everyone!

Big Me (But It's You I Fell Into) by waketosleep. AOS. Mature, 38,728 words. This is the fic that got me to care about golf. I wish I was kidding—now I join my in-laws when they’re watching it on the TV. This fic has a scene between McCoy and Kirk during Kirk’s first tournament with him that had me laughing my ass off. Never not thinking about this fic; the dangerous part about reading a sports au is suddenly you care about that sport. Don’t think it can happen to you? Give this fic a try. 

Consume by the_moonmoth. AOS. Explicit, 1,139 words. Must be logged in to read. Very hot smut. Dirty talk, mind melds, Bottom!Kirk and Top!Spock. This fic just hits.

You Could Call It Love by lurikko. TOS. Mature, 45,791 words. Fake marriage, slowburn, getting together. This fic is SO good, just a whole bunch of tropes that I adore.

SPONES

That Which Lingers by stanzas. TOS Movies. Teen and Up Audiences, 1,008 words. Takes place after The Search for Spock. Established relationship with some very sweet moments as they deal with the lingering side effects of the fal-tor-pan. This fic is just everything to me, it absolutely melted my heart.

So Hold Me Close and Say Three Words by Rusoe. TOS. Mature, 1,103 words. Omegaverse. Nesting, Omega!McCoy and Alpha!Spock. I absolutely wasn’t expecting this fic to dive into insecurities about aging when I clicked on it. Loved this!

Stop Making Sense by therev. TOS. General Audiences, 13,775 words. Spock is severely injured as a result of a decision McCoy had to make in order to save the lives of others. McCoy carries a lot of guilt over his actions, even as Spock recovers from his injuries. Very good.

it’s all downhill from here by strangenewwords. AOS. Teen and Up Audiences, 2,082 words. McCoy takes Joanna sledding. Joanna gets overtired, and McCoy gets overwhelmed and panicky. Love this fic’s take on Dad!McCoy, and the spones in this is so damn sweet.

MCKIRK

and i can lend you broken parts that might fit (like this) by jeyhawk. AOS. Explicit, 17,461 words. Academy era, first they hookup, then get to know each other, and then their relationship grows from there. I’m a sucker for fics with this setup. 

Resistless is your charm by fangirlandiknowit. AOS. Explicit, 6,031 words. After hearing about Uhura’s awful first date with Kirk, McCoy decides to text him. Includes some mini-golfing and a very good car hookup scene. Loved this.

MCSPIRK

Tex-Mex Eggrolls and Spinach Dip by Ncc1701ohno. TOS. Explicit, 3,746 words. Smut, light bondage. The setup for this fic is that Spock, McCoy, and Kirk find themselves stuck in the 21st century and work at the Cheesecake Factory in order to make ends meet. I desperately want this fic to become a multi-part series, because the concept is endlessly amusing to me (which is pretty obvious since I partially inspired the idea). A very funny and very hot fic.

Everything That Disappears by sagesiren. AOS. Mature, 19,748 words. Academy era, kid fic, Trans!McCoy, fluff and emotional hurt/comfort. Absolutely loved this, McCoy being a single dad is everything to me. A very entertaining get-together fic for the three of them while exploring parenthood and being trans.

Approximation by liadan14. AOS. Explicit, 15,167 words. Mutual pining, hot smut, and a really interesting plot told non-chronologically. I especially enjoyed Spock’s characterization in this fic, but I love how all three of them are written!

[blizardopoly]

i need everyone reviewing strange darling to take a breath. this movie isn’t the second coming of christ lol. the cinematography was gorgeous, the nonlinear storytelling was phenomenal, and the acting was briefly beautiful in select scenes, but the dialogue was clunky. it occasionally took me out of the movie. that’s all i have to say lol

[jokeroutsubs]

Joker Out ‘Live From Arena Stožice’ - A triumph of unquestionable talent, youthful enthusiasm and dedicated work

ORIGINAL INTERVIEW BY ILKO ČULIĆ FOR RAVNO DO DNA, PUBLISHED ON 08.01.2024 ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY @moonlvster, PROOFREAD BY IG @GBOLEYN123

“Aha, that Slovenian band from Eurovision. Cute guys, but their music is for kids.” Nearly every attempt at explaining the quickly growing phenomenon Joker Out to those older and less informed gets stuck on this kind of reaction.

After the concert album “Live from Arena Stožice”, published by Virgin Records, and a rockumentary of the same name, directed by Mark Pirc, everything will be much clearer and hopefully there won’t be anyone who needs convincing that this Slovenian five-piece have emerged as the most exciting young pop rock band in the wider region, for now maybe even the only ones of their generation capacitated for the biggest venues in the post-Yugoslav area. This is a complete 90-minute recording of their triumphant concert in Ljubljana with 12,000 backing vocals and the right material for a major label deal, which nobody from these parts has been able to do in such a short period.

Yes, of course, Joker Out makes music for kids, or more precisely music for girls, as they always make up a majority of their audience. Photo and video documentation obtained from Stožice doesn’t differ from what was recorded a few weeks later at the Zagreb concerts in Tvornica Kulture, where the only older faces in the crowd were the security guards, accredited reporters and some caring mothers who didn’t want to leave their darling alone in the crowd under any circumstance.

Everything that happens with this band looks like an endless highschool party fueled by high-spirited youthful rock. However, the fact that Joker Out’s music is magnetically attractive to only girls isn’t a handicap, but a huge initial advantage, both in Ljubljana, Zagreb and Belgrade, as well as London and Manchester. The mass teenage hysteria once similarly helped Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly, the early Beatles and T.Rex, and more recently Franz Ferdinand and Arctic Monkeys, with whom rock was briefly youthful again.

On home turf, the famous new wave became quite an important factor of pop culture when it won over a highschool aged audience, and became an exceptionally profitable discographic investment when in big cities it reached even the upper classes in elementary school. In later stages, due to the unlucky combination of unfortunate demographic and discographic processes, we ran out of young bands as well as the youngest audience. Since there were no adequate regional responses to Franz Ferdinand and Arctic Monkeys, a defeatist way of thinking prevailed in the rock world, saying that new generations are generally uninterested in bands with guitars.

Joker Out sprinted into that empty space and simply smashed it. Eurovision was the launching pad for their international career, but the foundation for a sold out Stožice Arena was built two years prior when the band filled Cvetličarna, a venue with a capacity of up to 2000 people, with their debut album ‘Umazane misli’. In terms of the Slovenian rock scene those were already big numbers and irrefutable proof that the winners of Špil Liga in 2016 became serious players in the meantime.

After a phenomenally successful regional and European tour it was Arena Stožice’s turn, so by October Bojan Cvjetićanin, Jure Maček, Kris Guštin, Jan Peteh and Nace Jordan had the required number of played matches and enough confidence in them to transfer all of their current published songs to a concert album, meaning 23 songs in total. So, that includes the complete material from the ‘Umazane misli’ and ‘Demoni’ studio albums, two last years hits,’Carpe Diem’ and ‘Sunny Side of London’, as well as their first song back from their highschool days, ‘Kot srce, ki kri poganja’. When planning some kind of festival gig, they could make a selection and pick out their hits, but at an ambitiously planned 90-minute solo performance they had to play all they have and be very careful not to make a mistake in the song setlist.

For a furious opening, effectively complimented by the guest brass players, the chosen song was their recent single ‘Sunny Side of London’, the only song performed in English. Live it sounds like a final confirmation that Joker Out is an international band and like an excellent announcement for their upcoming spring European tour. The next song is ‘Gola’, the first out of many old favourites and the ultimate Slovenian teenager hit, which started a rarely seen euphoria in the audience.

After that the whole arena thunderously sings along with Bojan to ‘Bele sanje’, ‘Plastika’ and ‘Dopamin’ and ‘Demoni’, and the accumulated energy is just transferred from one song to the next without any oscillation. In the middle part of the concert, however, you can feel that Joker Out’s repertoire lacks a few more punchy songs. At least the fans won’t mind that at all, because with a flashback to their debut song ‘Kot srce, ki kri poganja’ they got an exclusive opportunity to watch and listen to the ex rhythm section with the drummer Matic Kovačič and bassist Martin Jurkovič. Less impressive are the extended versions of ‘Metulji’ and ‘Vem da greš’, where the compact three-minute forms from the first album are extended with guitar solos and stretched out into the too long six-minute versions. The ending of the concert, in which ‘Tokio’, ‘Umazane misli’, their new concert single ‘Ne bi smel’, generational anthem ‘Novi val’ and their biggest hit ‘Carpe Diem’ were incorporated, was performed flawlessly. Joker Out is at the level of the assignment, and ‘Live from Arena Stožice’ is the most complete edition. This concert album represents a triumph of unquestionable talent, youthful enthusiasm and dedicated work, but there’s something else at play.

Fifteen years ago the run-down Kino Šiška, a former iconic meeting place for punks of Ljubljana, was thoroughly remodelled and turned into the city's alternative culture institute. Ten years ago Kino Šiška announced a competition for highschool bands and started Špil Liga, regularly funded by the city. In the third season, Joker Out won Špil Liga. Today, Ljubljana has a band that it can proudly send to every European metropole. Their concert in Helsinki sold out three months in advance. That’s not crazy luck, but a smart cultural strategy.

Rating: 8/10

[featherbow]

Get a behind-the-scenes look at the character creation session for Candela Obscura: The Circle of The Crimson Mirror!

Guided by game master Liam O’Brien, players Aimee Carrero, Imari Williams, Alexander Ward, Taliesin Jaffe, and Katy O’Brian select their roles, choose their specialties, and forge their chapter relationships using the Illuminated Worlds System.

(Due to a scheduling conflict, the phenomenal Katy O’Brian was not able to join us for the actual investigation.) Witness the Fairelands come to life May 25th for an immersive Candela Obscura LIVE SHOW at The United Theater on Broadway in Los Angeles! Tickets are on sale now: https://www.axs.com/events/548570/can...

[thebroccolination]

SERIES VS. COUPLE

Do your favorite BL couples match your favorite BL series?

I feel like this must be a phenomenon, so I want to see what other people's lists look like. \:D/

These are mine. I'm very proud.

Voila:

TOP 3 SERIES: Be My Favorite, SOTUS, Until We Meet Again TOP 3 COUPLES: WinTeam, KongArt, KawiPi

Because, like, we judge series and character based on different criteria, right?

Be My Favorite shot to the top of my list by episode eight last year because the writing was immaculate (Waa took extra time to really hone the script, and it shows!), the directing is phenomenal (the behind-the-scenes footage and interviews show how much influence Waa had in bringing out the best in everyone), the premise is right up my alley (subjective, but y'know, favorites lists are subjective by nature), etc. etc. etc. It's just all-around an incredibly well-crafted show, so it's sitting pretty cozy up there at the top.

But!

When I think about couples, WinTeam and KongArt are firmly first and second.

WinTeam have been my favorite BL couple from Day ONE, and no one's even remotely challenged them since even though Between Us is somewhere around #5 or #6 on my list (depending on how much of the series I choose to selectively forget).

And KongArt? We saw them grow from age 19/20 to, like, 26/27? (I haven't math'd the years in a while, but the Our Skyy episode is definitely set during their late twenties.) Experiencing that much development for a BL couple is rare, and their relationship is portayed so beautifully.

So, y'know, both lists are completely subjective and don't always have anything to do with quality or whatever. WinTeam are my favorite couple because Win's my favorite character archetype and Team is a sassy traumatized gremlin, and Be My Favorite is my favorite series because holy shit I love gay time travel and it's the only series I've seen that's treated leitmotifs seriously.

SO TELL ME YOURS. \:D/

[prof-ramses]

So the OST of The Amazing Digital Circus pilot dropped and I wanna talk about it.

Of course we already had the main theme but it's always welcome.

Welcome to the Show is the first of Evan Alderete's work I've encountered but I already like the guy's style

The fact that the next song is literally called Get Iseaki'd means so much to me, a perfect distillation of what I love about Gooseworx unique brand of weirdness.

All of It fittingly feels like a menu or level select theme and has such an eager energy that fits perfectly.

XDDCC reminds me of the works of Louie Zong and something else that I can't quite place.

I really hope Today's Adventure plays for every episode's adventure introduction, which fortunately for me, seems likely as Goose wrote it herself.

Useless Blivots is quirky and some parts of it feel like a dopey game over/fail theme, fitting since it's around this point that the situation really sets in for Pomni.

Conversation Piece also feels made to be a reoccurring piece and has a feel similar to the Spooky Month OST, which is never a bad thing.

Kaufmo the Clown is actually way more intense than I remember from watching the episode, not much to say but a really strong and tense theme.

I can see why Gone Mad went unused, it's good but it feels like it would've worked better in a later episode when something assumed stable by the characters AND the audience goes wrong.

Love the suspense in Wrong Doors, very different type of intimidating from Kaufmo's theme.

Worm Mom is a perfect theme for an NPC/adventure villain like the Gloink Queen, certainly some Grant Kirkhope inspiration here.

The tense but sort of adventurous tone of Enter Exit is great for setting a scene.

And Going Nowhere is even better at building off of that scene and filling it with fear and mystery.

Dinner For Two immediately made me think of Little King's Story, which is a very good thing.

Sorry About That neatly fills the narrative role while also having the vibe of both and epilogue theme and a pause theme. Potentially another regular theme.

Your New Home is the song everyone knows thanks to memes and is nothing short of a perfect remix of the main theme to end of the pilot.

Digital Days, we finally have a name for the hella underrated credits song!

And that's all I've got to say about the soundtrack, I didn't quite realize how rich and varied it was until now, guess that's what individual soundtracks are for. Can't wait to see how it grows along with the show in the future, really, an all-around phenomenal production.

[louisupdates]

EXCLUSIVE: Inside Louis Tomlinson's Faith in the Future tour as support act praises 'mentor'

Louis Tomlinson has been entertaining his stateside fans with his Faith In The Future tour and up-and-coming singer and support act Andrew Cushin has heaped the praise on the star

By Jamie Roberts | 3 AUG 2023

Louis Tomlinson has once again been wowing the crowds as he continues his hugely successful solo career.

The former One Direction man, 31, has recently finished his immensely popular stateside leg of his Faith in the Future tour, playing at some of the most iconic venues the country has to offer - and having his shirt ripped off his back along the way. One man who has been up close and personal with the singer over the past few months is fellow musician Andrew Cushin.

The confident English rising talent was selected to be a support act on a number of the shows, playing in the likes of Chicago, Las Vegas and New York. It's been a dream come true for the talented Newcastle native who has opened up to Mirror US about the epic experience.

Labelling Louis a "mentor," Andrew - who is signed to Pete Doherty's record label, Strap Originals - explained he has been able to lean on the star for advice at times on the tour, and admitted it had been "such a good learning experience".

📸 Stephen Lovekin

He's a busy lad as you can imagine," Andrew said. "We've spoke and we've had a couple of drinks and all that and there's been bits of advice when I've needed it. So it's good that I know that he's there if I ever need anything. He's been there and done it all, so he's been a very good tour mentor."

Andrew continued to say he had been extremely impressed with how everything runs on a tour of this magnitude. "Everybody's such a seasoned pro on this tour," he admitted, revealing how it seems nobody is fazed by anything.

He said the entire behind-the-scenes staff show such a high level of professionalism which in turn has given him a huge aspiration and something to work for.

"There's things that I can look at on this tour and take to my own gigs which will make a massive difference," he added. While Andrew has got a big following of his own building nicely at home in the UK, he admits Louis' fans have been nothing short of phenomenal as he tried to turn them into fans of his own - something he seems to have had big success in doing, with homemade signs, bracelets and even tattoos being shared in support.

"These fans really are so, so dedicated to everything that Louis is doing and it's an absolute pleasure to play for them. I was a bit nervous for the first few shows to see how it was going to go down because I'm here without the band and all that and I didn't know if it would have the same effect just me and an acoustic and piano but it's getting the same reception, so it's just a credit to the audience. It's been amazing.

"It's been one massive learning curve and it's so much fun and I'm enjoying it."

Andrew, whose previous tune Where's My Family Gone featured former Oasis man Noel Gallagher, has also released two records during his time with Louis. It's Coming Round Again has been winning rave reviews online by those at the gigs and was filmed at one of the concerts, so too has newest hit Wor Flags.

[real-life-senshi]

10 (Mostly) Spoiler-Free Reasons to Watch Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon 2003 Live Action

A countdown to the 20th anniversary of Act 1 air date!

Reason 4: The Costumes!

Yes, I'm serious. No, I'm not necessarily talking about the Senshi costume, though they aren't bad especially once you can appreciate the bulkiness is due to the necessity to protect the cast wearing them - let's be honest, wearing a skimpy sailor fuku isn't that realistic for battles (yes, I said it). And they get points for being more faithful to the manga material than ‘90s anime was.

Thematic, colour-coded, stylistic choices for the Senshi

Many fans know that Takeuchi Naoko is a fan of high fashion, just look at many of her official art that uses runway fashion! While the live-action isn't about that, the costumes team was certainly phenomenal in providing the Senshi with a stylish and thematic selection of everyday clothes that speak to their respective personalities. And frankly, the girls' daily wear feels pretty timeless for a series that's 20 years old.

Their costume choices were even explored in the "PGSM Complete Edition Memorial Book". As a treat, I translated the comments here:

In addition to this, generally speaking, Usagi, Ami and Minako's outfits are pretty feminine, next is Rei's which is a bit more of a mix of feminine and unisex, and Makoto's is mostly unisex, though I wouldn't go as far as say it feels masculine.

Symbolism in colour!

While the girls supposedly are matched with their own signature colour and stylistic choices for casual wear, they do switch up the colours often. The girls' costume per episode is occasionally symbolic of their dynamic and relationship when there's significant character interaction in the episode's plot. Some examples:

I’d also say that Minako's general style of black and white is quite symbolic as well given her character story in PGSM. But I'll leave that for another time when I introduce PGSM's spin to Minako's character later.

Seriously, this show is one where you can rewatch time after time, and you'd still find MORE symbolistic things slipped into the product, either subtly shown right in front of your face or hidden in the background. It brings me much joy when I feel like I caught another glimpse of symbolism in costume choices.

Past life Earth Kingdom style(?)

The Shitennou, Queen Beryl and Prince Endymion's costumes all got a huge upgrade in their design. The overall designs are a lot more ornate with golden or silver trims, and the intricacies seem to be of the same design, suggesting that royalties and guards of the Earth's Kingdom from the past life get their uniforms designed by the same designer?

I truly love that they colour-coded the Shitennou! The original manga/anime design was so plain it almost makes me think they feel more like foot soldier's uniform, only Kunzite had a cape to be fancy. In the live-action, all of them have capes and they are well-used! There are many mighty and flashy cape-flicking in the series!

I especially appreciate Beryl's costume, the ornate design just seems a lot more befitting of the queen. They managed to make the costume sensual but not sexual and also found ways to make the random horn on her shoulders stylish without making it seem like she's grown horns. Honestly, it was an amazing casting choice too!

Fun random costumes:

Similar to Usagi's gadgets allow her to transform into different costumes and personnel for sneaking into situations in the manga/anime, all Senshi have the means to copy any costume/clothing for situations as needed.

This leads to some hilarious and generally awesome scenes with the ladies dressing up in all sorts of random clothes. Some examples:

Like I said, the show doesn't take itself too seriously, despite some twists and turns they added to the storyline!

You can watch the subbed versions of the series at:

Miss Dream Fansubs

Sea of Serenity Fansubs

The series is also on other online streaming sites, but be cautious to only visit them with good adware and firewall installed.

7 days till the 20th anniversary of Act 1 air date!

Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

[corimoss]

I recently purchased and read a collection of The Doll's House comics and thought I'd discuss some of my thoughts on the characterization differences of the Corinthian in the comics versus the television adaptation.

To begin, I believe the most striking way in which they differ is the addition of a certain agency and notoriety the Corinthian is given in the show. The meeting with Roderick Burgess, manipulation of Ethel Cripps and her son, tracking of Jed and Rose Walker, and the general interest in destroying the Dreaming and Morpheus is virtually nonexistent in the comics. I would say that in the novel of this specific arc, he acts primarily on his base desires and lacks further consideration of his actions or goals post-present.

A quote that I think about fairly often and I feel summarizes it best is as follows: "If the guy’s been around for a millenia, he’s taken all of the low hanging fruit," Holbrook says. "Now he’s become a connoisseur of things. He likes the nice delicacies of life. He’s a sommelier, if you want to go that far. He’s a real tastemaker, and a really refined, elegant, sophisticated guy."

This is, I feel, a phenomenal summarization of the characterization of the Corinthian in the show. He's taken the hundred years that Dream has been imprisoned and done something with it. He creates a name for himself—something recognizable and impressive to other collectors. In the comics, he has to seek out his own invitation to the Cereal Convention and isn't even named the guest of honor until The Family Man cancels at the last minute.

In reference to the plot, the comic version falters heavily in comparison to the show. He is mentioned few and far between with most of his scenes only showing various murders he's committed on the way to the convention. He seems to kill with little direction or discrepancy—simply taking whatever is offered to him. I feel as though the selection is really what sets the two apart. The purpose in why rather than what. Both characterizations kill, of course, but the live action Corinthian uses it to propel his own story forward while the other does it because it's what he wants in the moment—all he knows.

I think this is most pointedly noted in the Corinthian's relationship with Jed. While in the show he spends ample time tracking, finding, and coercing Jed into helping him, in the comics he has no knowledge or interest to Jed's purpose in the larger plot. He simply finds him on the side of the road and plans to kill him as a treat to himself later. Once again, same actions with different purposes.

Overall, this is not a criticism on either version of the character. I realize that in this point of time there was likely not much heavy consideration into the personality of a someone that was planned to be killed off in the same arc that he was to be introduced in. Given that The Doll's House #2 was released in 1989, that's nearly 23 years of character consideration and development. Perhaps the show's version could be considered a more accurate depiction of what the character was meant to be or had grown into over further issues. A slight, more considerate reset.

I personally enjoy the comparison that can be drawn from the show's version of the Corinthian and his collection of murderers to the way Morpheus rules over the Dreaming. Even though he seeks so heavily to become his own man, the Corinthian can't help but mirror his creator's attitude and faults. He puts himself up on a pedestal above his "creations" and seeks to be admired and feared. He is as much a dark mirror to Morpheus as he is to humanity.

For me, this confrontation and commentary highlights the change Morpheus' personality from beginning of the season to the end. The Corinthian is one of Morpheus' closest and most cherished creations, someone that has known him for thousands of years. To see the nightmare imitate him, and to do so as a self-righteous benevolent ruler, I believe is really a wake-up call to Morpheus about how his personality and conduct is being received to those around him. Looking at it in this light, perhaps his comment about the Corinthian's poor creation can be additionally implied to Morpheus' own image as one of the Endless.

I think they did a wonderful job bringing more life and purpose to the personality of the Corinthian in the live adaptation. They took the base character and really delved into why he is the way he is and then took those answers and asked "Okay, now what can we do with that?". Each of his actions, relationships, and conversations all do a wonderful job reflecting what we already know and revealing new insight and relatability that makes it that much easier to sympathize with and care for him.

[esta-elavaris]

I mean, so far this month I:

discovered I'm likely mildly neurospicy (I think I was the last one to work this out, out of all who know me)

went nocturnal (still haven't fixed that)

had a bastard of a depressive episode (haters will say this was linked to being nocturnal) which promptly ended when I decided I was bored of/generally done with pretending I'm not fckn phenomenal -- because low self esteem just gets tedious eventually and I'm bored of wasting both time and energy on it.

properly came out in select circles as being on the ace spectrum -- which I've suspected for a fckn loooong while (the fact that I promptly lose any attraction I have to celebrity crushes upon meeting them IRL, regardless of how lovely and exceptional they are to me, and how much platonic admiration remains should've been the big hint), and I have been worried about responses to my fully acknowledging it because it's one of Those Things that people are like? Almost "allowed" to acceptably be cunts about compared to other ways folk identify. but like, see previous point. fuck 'em. did not help that my attempts to date all ended so disastrously in my early 20s that I chalked any loss of attraction up to "well I mean he's an actual psychopath so I was bound to lose enthusiasm when that made itself clear" than anything else, so I had to gauge it by the whole celebrity thing instead.

(but also double kudos to the reader who recently commented on the CTW smut scenes like 'huh y'know what this reads really well to me as an ace person' because that had me fckn screaming like YEAH HUH WELL THAT MATCHES UP WITH SOMETHING I'VE BEEN PONDERING FOR A DECADE)

so I've had less eventful months.

[skepticbeliever-bookclub]

Happy First Read of Spooky Month Darlings!

This month, the book club got our vote on and picked three spooky fics to read together for three weeks in a row. Our first selection is an eerie timeloop that left us scratching out heads and wondering what fate might have befallen out intrepid heroes in an empty train station on a cold night in Chicago.

the train is expected in five minutes by miraclesofpaul is spooky, ambiguous, stylistically gorgeous, and left us with many questions and not very many answers.

Rating: Teen

Summary:

Ryan finds himself in an abandoned train station with no memory of how he got there.

Book Club Thoughts:

i just love the mid sentence start. the ellipses, being thrown right into the confusion with no rope to hang onto

[the author] really set the scene so well that you travel with ryan through his entire confusion

Love the choice to have us know things that Ryan doesn't

dramatic irony is tricky to use, but in this fic it really pays off emotionally

the thing that really gets me about shane in this is that, instead of doubting for a moment, instead of coming up with a plan, he just throws himself into whatever nightmare ryan is in with the hope that he can get him out

it felt like reading something new even though i'd read it before and i love that feeling

Let me kick this off by saying that there is an untapped market of fic where Ryan vanishes for some reason and Shane drops every inhibition to dive in and go after him

The mood of this is fantastic, being dropped right in the middle of the scene immediately gives you this sense of eerieness, and because the timeloop is just five minutes long, it makes you feel trapped and claustrophobic.

also more people should write experimental shit. this was SO GOOD and the pacing was phenomenal and i love a fic that makes you work to put pieces together slowly instead of just heavy exposition doing the work for you.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN US FOR OUR NEXT DISCUSSION? CHECK OUT THE FAQ, AND SEND US AN ASK! IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR FIC RECS, PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR READS, NOMINEES AND BOOK CLUB REC LISTS!

[theresawritesstuff]

Maisel : Character B always comes in with the most obscure book inquiries and Character A is starting to get annoyed.

(a bit of a stretch on this prompt I'll admit but it's what I came up with ❤️)

"Anything I can help you find today, sir?"

Abe gave a slight start as the shop girl of the little used bookstore snuck up beside him.

"Um, I have a list," he smiled apologetically, holding up his slip of paper. "My son-in-law…We like to discuss the books we've been reading after supper whenever we get together as a family. It started as a sort of get to know you topic of conversation that didn't have to do with careers or unfortunate childhood experiences. I've come to rather enjoy it. Lately I've been trying to read a bit of what he's been reading, to help keep on top of what's new on the literary scene."

"Oh what a lovely thing to share together. Are these some he's recommended then?" she asked cheerily.

"Yes. This is the latest."

He offered the list to her shyly.

"It's funny. I have never fancied myself a slow reader but lately I must admit I have been having a difficult time keeping up. He read all of these last week."

"That is an impressive pace," she replied, looking over the selection.

Abe kept going, "And I swear every time we talk the books have become harder and harder to find. First time novelists, smaller publishers, pulp fiction that only got a limited printing run. If I didn't think the material would be worth the effort, it would be rather infuriating trying to find all of these."

The shop girl nodded. "Well, we're always happy to help our customers find what they are looking for if you need to put in a special order." 

A little more quietly, she suggested, "Or you know you could always ask to borrow your son-in-law's copy when he's finished with it…"

Abe shook his head. "No, no I couldn't possibly tip my hand like that."

She blinked at his response momentarily before shrugging it off. "Okay. Let me see if I can find some of these for you."

Left to his own devices, he opted wander the shop a bit, looking around until his eyes found a familiar figure browsing the shelves.

"Hey Abe," Lenny greeted brightly, looking up from the book in his hand.

"Lenny! Hello. I didn't know you shopped here," Abe chuckled a bit unconvincingly.

Lenny shrugged. "Just picking up something for the train ride this weekend. Got a gig in Boston."

"Oh wonderful. I was just browsing," Abe replied.

"Here we are!" The shop girl announced, returning with a hefty stack of books in hand. "Now we do not have this third one in stock currently but I called a shop I know of in Brooklyn that says they're pretty sure they've got one. I can get you the address."

"Just these will do, thank you," Abe replied quietly, clearing his throat as he did his best not to acknowledge his son-in-law's knowing smirk.

"Browsing?" Lenny wondered, eyeing the stack as the books were being tallied.

"A few titles jumped out at me," Abe dismissed casually.

Lenny nodded, adding his book to the stack. "Put those on my tab along with this, would you?" he requested.

She looked up, briefly star struck as she hummed an affirmative.

"You don't have to do that," Abe murmured.

"No I don't but I'm going to anyway seeing as most of these are some I've been talking your ear off about. You know I would have lent you my copies."

The shop girl fought back a satisfied grin as she pretended not to listen in, clearly putting together the connection between the two men.

"Um, there you are, sir. And here's that shop address just in case. And information about our author's nights we host every month."

"Thank you," Lenny told her, paying for the haul.

"I hope you don't mind me saying…" she confided shyly, "I'm a huge fan of your wife. I caught her show at Upstairs at the Downstairs last week. Phenomenal!"

Lenny smiled fondly. "I'll be sure to tell her."

As they exited the shop, he handed the bag to Abe with a sly grin. "Here. Happy Father's Day."

Abe smiled softly to himself. He'd never expected he'd ever care for a son-in-law like a son, and yet here they were.

"I don't suppose you're free for lunch?"

"Sure, I've got time," Lenny agreed, barely checking his watch.

As they fell into step together he commented slyly, "You'll never guess what I just finished reading."