#sarah jane may or may not be in this story

[televinita]

Companions...as companions

(or, “things that have been in my drafts since early 2020″)

Back in December, I got overwhelmed by feelings and wrote a random little concept sketch re-imagining The (Tenth) Doctor as a regular human and the companions as various pets, summarizing each one's place in his life ("Donna is a dog he reluctantly fostered for a friend, still reeling from the loss of Rose. She's bigger, older, a bit more stubborn and independent, but he finds himself fond of her anyway. Until she gets adopted, and he has to let her go (enter Martha). A year later she's back in need of a home, and this time he doesn't hesitate.”) I also got sassy about the ending, because it wasn’t THAT serious. "And then Rose comes back, dirty and footsore but HOME, and he lives his best life with his 3 best girls forever and ever, the end.”

Last night I reread it and suddenly went, "What if I cleaned up the writing and made this a real fic," and now I'm a thousand words deep and it's getting elaborate. Nine is standing in for this doctor’s father (wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey), because he had Rose first. I'm also trying to decide if I should stick with the idea of Martha being a cat because Independence (her dynamic is just so different from how R&D pledged their lifelong devotion to traveling with him, and he treated her differently too), or if making her the only non-dog Others her too much and I should just make her a super-smart and elegant breed. But on the bright side, since Ten is a goddamn neverending tragedy and the original version saw me tack on a "SAD ALTERNATE END" section just to stab myself in the face (“At the end of a series of short-lived fosters there's Wilf, sweet old elderly Wilf who looks like Donna, and is there by his side when the cancer finishes wearing him down, too young by half, at 40"), now he gets a full life and the Companion Farewell Tour becomes a shameless Titanic-style/Rainbow Bridge escort of dogs from days past. ...which ALSO makes me cry, but for better reasons.

(And there at the end of time is Rose, younger than he’s ever seen her, crossing over with him when everything goes dark and light at once.)

[penny-anna]

AS ALLUDED TO IN THIS POST: dr who canon LGBT companions tier list lol

Disclaimer: i cannot vouch for the accuracy of any of the below information as i've not read/watched/listened all the expanded universe works in question!!

Tier 1: self-explanatory these are characters in the show who are canonically LGBT (not an exhaustive list

Tier 2: characters who are LGBT according to dubiously canon bits of the TV show; Harry is mentioned to have a boyfriend in a deleted scene (unclear if being deleted makes this non-canonical) and Nyssa and Tegan are endgame according to Farewell, Sarah Jane (unclear relationship to TV canon)

Tier 3: these characters have both been made canonically bisexual by Big Finish stories which are official DW productions which may or may not be canon to the TV show

Tier 4: Mike Yates has been implied a couple of times in Doctor Who Expanded Universe books to be bisexual w a long-term male partner but this has never technically been confirmed

Tier 5: Steven Taylor had a brief flirtation with Christopher Marlowe in an expanded universe novel; i gather whether or not he reciprocates is ambiguous

Tier 6: whatever the fuck was going on with Ian in Campaign, a novel that was written for the Doctor Who EU and then rejected on the grounds of being too weird; unclear if Ian is bisexual in it OR if its being rejected makes it no longer canon

Tier 7: Liz has an ex-girlfriend in PROBE which is not technically a piece of Doctor Who media but also is not NOT a piece of Doctor Who media if that makes sense

Tier 8: to the best of my knowledge no piece of DW media has depicted Susan as LGBT but like she is tho

[dandelionjack]

watched the mad woman in the attic. maybe i’m babybrained cocomelon brainrotted or something but why is this legitimately better than torchwood like?? or at least equal to it in complexity and subtext.*

but jesus christ… what a message about possessive friendship and the inability to let go — the parallels between eve mind-controlling the homeless people to do her bidding because she “just wants friends”, sam doing the same to rani (thinking she abandoned him after he stopped being her only friend, and trying to guilt-trip her into coming back) and rani doing the same to the bannerman road gang (becoming overly paranoid and gaslighting herself into believing she’s not good enough for them because they dare mention maria). THREE LAYERS of mirroring… “maria’s the new sarah jane” being salt on the wound of rani’s aspirational “sarahjaneification” … parallels with martha’s early-s3 complex of being unable to live up to rose, too …

^the ship interface is saying this about eve, but it can just as well be interpreted in a metaphorical sense: rani is a child trying to be an adult, rani is trying to become sarah jane, and it will hurt her. funny how the ghost of doctorification haunts the narrative even in his absence, it’s that powerful. The Doctor is a sort of memetic virus that is passed down from mentor to student, and although its intensity diminishes over time, it can still be fatal. gwen wants to imitate jack harkness. jack harkness wants to imitate The Doctor. rani wants to imitate sarah jane. and sarah jane wants to imitate The Doctor

^eve’s Not-Regeneration — proof of convergent evolution among time-active species? river song’s existence says “yes”. potentially, exposure to the vortex itself gives you the “golden energy emanating from your outstretched limbs” perk

also, from a lore perspective… eve’s species are fascinating aliens. a time-sensitive AND time-active people that’s not connected to the timelords in any way, we don’t see that nearly often enough! as for their backstory (being subject to a genocide as collateral damage because a race that can see the outcome of a conflict is dangerous to both warring parties), that’s definitely a main-show rather than kids-spinoff type concept. wonder what they were doing during the War, not the war on their planet, but the universe-spanning one. judging by the capabilities of their spaceships, the time technology they used is pretty advanced. eve may have been lying by omission: maybe the species that genocided them were none other than the residents of a certain planet that tries by all means to maintain a monopoly on time travel. they don’t like other species messing about with the web that they so carefully wove… ah, now THAT’S a plot seed for a short story in a faction paradox anthology if i ever saw one

Old Rani’s plot was also all incredibly 73 yards. the more i watch, the more i realise just how intertwined ruby sunday’s story so far has been with various callbacks and parallels to sja… it’s gotta mean something? something something trickster pantheon something somehow one who waits

*i almost hesitated to post this because the internet Hates people that analyse kids’ media with any degree of sincerity (im usually toeing the line anyway; the main show isn’t really Aimed At Adults either. which we sometimes forget)

[aidenlydia]

heyo! I saw you read a lot of books so far this year! what type of books have you read? I recently started my reading journey and I am having a grand time!

I mostly read queer romances, stories about grief, poetry and weird/emotional/horror books. Here's some of my favorites:

Long way down - Jason Reynolds (verse)

Clap when you land - Elizabeth Acevedo (verse)

Things you may find hidden in my ear - Mosab Abu Toha

TransVerse - Jamie Winters (trans)

Field Guide to the Haunted Forest - Jarod K. Anderson

Love notes from the Hollow Tree - Jarod K. Anderson

Queen of Cowards - Erelah Emerson

Cemetery Boys - Aiden Thomas (trans)

A Bone in his Teeth - Kellen Graves (trans)

Peter Darling - Austin Chant (trans)

The Darkness Outside us - by Eliot Schrefer

The Long Run - James Acker

The Wicker King - K. Ancrum

The Remaking of Corbin Wale - Roan Parrish

Shatterproof - Xen

Something kindred - Ciera Burch

The Girl that can't get a Girlfriend - Mieri Hiranishi

A Dowry of Blood - S.T. Gibson

Proper English - KJ Charles

This is how you lose the Time War - Max Gladstone

On a Sunbeam - Tillie Walden

The Perks of loving a Wallflower - Erica Ridley (trans nb)

The stars and the Blackness between them - Junauda Petrus

A Lady for a Duke - Alexis Hall (trans)

Persuasion - Jane Austen

Dark Matter - Blake Crouch

Fangs - Sarah Andersen

Trans Wizard Harriet Porber Series - Chuck Tingle (trans)

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

The Shock of the Fall - Nathan Filer

A Monster Calls (illustrated) - Patrick Ness

The Yellow Wallpaper - Charlotte Perkins Gilman

House of Leaves - Mark Z. Danielewski

Leech - Hiron Ennes

We spread - Iain Reid

It’s Lonely at the Centre of the Earth - Zoe Thorogood

Nothing but the Rain - Naomi Salman

[b4si1wh0]

From what I can tell, I can classify the mysteries so far into 5 main mysteries:

The Mrs Flood Mystery

The Susan Twist Mystery

The Mystery of The One Who Waits

The Mystery of Ruby Sunday’s Mother(??) Parent

The Mystery of Ruby Sunday

And here are my thoughts and theories on each of them (as well as fourth-wall breaks, and theories I do not like):

Mrs Flood:

She is Susan. I believe that ‘Susan’ Twist is a red herring, and Susan deserves her return. The fact that Ruby mentioned that she would be living in her time makes me even more sure, especially considering Ruby’s tendency to make things ‘happen’ - Strictly, Star Trek - more on that later.

She is River Song. A huge jump in likelihood, because I do believe her story is over, but you never know, and I don’t think I would be complaining about her return particularly. We don’t know Mrs Flood’s first name, which might be for a reason. Melody Pond, River Song and then xxxx Flood.

She is the One Who Waits. I’m going to probably say this about everyone but… idk what else to say. sHe’S tHe RaNi!!!11!!

Susan Twist:

She is the One Who Waits/part of the Pantheon of Gods. It just seems likely.

She is Ruby/Ruby’s mother. Seems the least likely, but in that case it would be a situation of ‘watching over’ Ruby in a way, but Susan Twist looks nothing like Ruby, so very unlikely.

She is no one/a spy. This works well for my first point regarding Ruby’s parent, but I think she might be a spy for The Trickster to keep an eye on the Doctor/Ruby. They could also be the same thing as the ‘Bad Wolf’, ‘Torchwood’ and ‘Vote Saxon’ - they don’t make sense until the finale, she might not make sense until the finale.

The One Who Waits:

Obviously one of the pantheon of Gods - I do believe the most powerful.

Probably Ruby’s mother, or someone related to Ruby.

We don’t know who they are yet. Some new guy. Hoping any one of these.

Ruby’s Parent:

THE TRICKSTER FROM THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES! The hood and cloak are the same, the desolate London is so similar and the theme when Maria has The Trickster’s box in her bed and when Ruby was hoisted into the air is the same - please just search on youtube, it will probably be there. Plus, The Trickster would work well with the Pantheon of Gods - the Gods of CHAOS - what The Trickster thrives on.

A powerful being from the Gods of Chaos - an evil thing, the One Who Waits.

Someone the Doctor may recognise - though I doubt it somehow.

Ruby:

The daughter of one of the Gods of Chaos - you cannot deny her powers, in terms of the snow, mentioning things and then they exist - she mentions the Butterfly Effect- it happens. She mentions Star Trek in Space Babies, and the crew are dressed in uniforms eerily similar to the Star Trek ones. She mentions Strictly - who come but Johannes and Shirley from Strictly.

A supernatural entity - like a changeling, or something like that. The DNA scan said she was human, but it was only 70% done - that might be foreshadowing something - in terms that she is not human. In The Wild Blue Yonder, The Doctor let superstition come in - maybe he also let Ruby in.

A bad guy. One of the Gods of Chaos, the One Who Waits. Getting close to The Doctor all this time… maybe this won’t even be revealed until series 15. That would be great in my opinion honestly!

The last episode - ‘The Legend of Ruby Sunday’ makes me believe that she is older than she is. It is not the story, it is the legend - the Google definition being ‘a traditional story sometimes popularly regarded as historical but not authenticated. Not a word being used for a 19-year-old girl from Manchester, methinks.

Fourth-wall breaks: The Legend of Ruby Sunday seems to be based on a TV show - now we get to the ‘Doctor Who’ is a TV show in ‘Doctor Who’ - e.g. The Doctor can hear the non-diegetic music. I think this is a great idea. (I have written a fan-fiction about this 2 years ago hehe).

I DO NOT think these theories are true: 

The Doctor is Ruby’s parent. Nope. Too obvious, lazy and just plain weird.

Ruby is Ruby’s parent?? Weird and impossible. Very very timey-wimey.

The Master is returning - I don’t think they are this series - keep in mind that we only last saw them 6 episodes as of now (after Boom - not counting The Tooth).

THANK YOU READING IF YOU’VE READ ALL OF THIS!!!

[lingthusiasm]

Lingthusiasm Episode 89: Connecting with oral culture

For tens of thousands of years, humans have transmitted long and intricate stories to each other, which we learned directly from witnessing other people telling them. Many of these collaboratively composed stories were among the earliest things written down when a culture encountered writing, such as the Iliad and the Odyssey, the Mwindo Epic, and Beowulf.

In this episode, your hosts Gretchen McCulloch and Lauren Gawne get enthusiastic about how writing things down changes how we feel about them. We talk about a Ted Chiang short story comparing the spread of literacy to the spread of video recording, how oral cultures around the world have preserved astronomical information about the Seven Sisters constellation for over 10,000 years, and how the field of nuclear semiotics looks to the past to try and communicate with the far future. We also talk about how "oral" vs " written" culture should perhaps be referred to as "embodied" vs "recorded" culture because signed languages are very much part of this conversation, where areas of residual orality have remained in our own lives, from proverbs to gossip to guided tours, and why memes are an extreme example of literate culture rather than extreme oral culture.

Click here for a link to this episode in your podcast player of choice or read the transcript here.

Announcements:

We've created a new and Highly Scientific™ 'Which Lingthusiasm episode are you?' quiz! Answer some very fun and fanciful questions and find out which Lingthusiasm episode most closely corresponds with your personality. If you're not sure where to start with our back catalogue, or you want to get a friend started on Lingthusiasm, this is the perfect place to start. Take the quiz here!

Here are the links mentioned in the episode:

The 'Which Lingthusiasm episode are you?' quiz

'The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling' by Ted Chiang

'The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling by Ted Chiang — Subterranean Press' blog post by Devon Zeugel

'Orality and Literacy' by Walter J. Ong

Wikipedia entry for Grimms' Fairytales

Wikipedia entry for Milman Parry

Wikipedia entry for Homeric Question

Wikipedia entry for Mwindo Epic

Encyclopedia.com entry for Mwindo

Crash Course episode 'The Mwindo Epic'

'The world’s oldest story? Astronomers say global myths about ‘seven sisters’ stars may reach back 100,000 years' by Ray Norris on The Conversation

'The Pleiades – or 7 Sisters – known around the world' by Bruce McClure on EarthSky

Wikipedia entry for Nuclear Semiotics

99% Invisible episode 'Ten Thousand Years'

Wikipedia entry for Aesops Fables

'How Inuit Parents Teach Their Kinds to Control Their Anger' by Michaeleen Doucleff and Jane Greenhalgh for NPR

Deafness and Orality: An Electronic Conversation

Wikipedia entry for The Tale of Genji

Bea Wolf, a middle-grade graphic novel retelling of Beowulf, by Zach Weinersmith

Lingthusiasm episodes mentioned:

'Writing is a technology'

'Arrival of the linguists'

How translators approach a text'

You can listen to this episode via Lingthusiasm.com, Soundcloud, RSS, Apple Podcasts/iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also download an mp3 via the Soundcloud page for offline listening.

To receive an email whenever a new episode drops, sign up for the Lingthusiasm mailing list.

You can help keep Lingthusiasm ad-free, get access to bonus content, and more perks by supporting us on Patreon.

Lingthusiasm is on Bluesky, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Mastodon, and Tumblr. Email us at contact [at] lingthusiasm [dot] com

Gretchen is on Bluesky as @GretchenMcC and blogs at All Things Linguistic.

Lauren is on Bluesky as @superlinguo and blogs at Superlinguo.

Lingthusiasm is created by Gretchen McCulloch and Lauren Gawne. Our senior producer is Claire Gawne, our production editor is Sarah Dopierala, our production assistant is Martha Tsutsui Billins, and our editorial assistant is Jon Kruk. Our music is ‘Ancient City’ by The Triangles.

[misscammiedawn]

50 Days of HypnoKink - Day 49: Hypno in Media

My heavens... we made it to the finish line. Tomorrow is the final day.

I wanted to save an obvious one for the end because I do so enjoy MC in fiction so very much. So much, in fact, that I made a Twitter thread with 110 recommendations and never even came close to emptying my resources.

I know so many of these scenes, both that Twitter thread and this page are skimming the surface.

I'll be using some of those recommendations here but let's divide by category:

Film

So let's get the obvious out of the way. You have

Trance

A Danny Boyle thriller with a terrible plot and Rosario Dawson as a hypnotherapist trying to get hidden information from James McAvoy's mind. Silly movie but one that doesn't get brought up a lot. Dawson learned hypnosis to get into the role.

Candyman

Horror movie in which the director literally hypnotized the actress so any time she was being stalked by the titular killer she looked completely entranced. Link above is an interview discussing this.

Hypnotic

HORRIBLE movie on Netflix but Sleepyhead and I have hosted a number of watch parties and let me tell you, this is the PERFECT movie to watch with a bunch of rowdy hypnokinksters. The therapist is unethical to a laughable degree and his office looks like it's inside of the Death Star. He's a living breathing red flag. The movie does have a really hot freeze scene, a good ragdoll and the dollification sequence. It's just enjoyable because it's terrible. Check CWs first though, this movie has a bunch of things that can make it an uncomfortable viewing experience.

The Great Hypnotist

This is a Not For Daja movie. A Chinese movie that doesn't get brought up a lot. Like Trance above it is a thriller with some twists and turns that I don't really want to spoil.

Stir of Echoes

A visualization of a dissociation induction designed to make a person view events on a screen so they are separate from the memory. It's a remarkably well done scene.

Now You See Me 1/2

The hypnosis in these movies is STUPID and I love it. The first movie has a punchline that every time Mark Rufallo's character makes a frustrated comment people who Woody Harrelson has hypnotized will start acting as if they're in an orchestra. Second movie has a twin Woody Harrelson as an evil hypnotist and he uses a pizza box as an evil induction. It's amazing.

Sherlock Holmes Woman in Green

This induction is one of the coolest I've seen in a film and I try my hardest to channel the energy of this when I am doing a relaxation focused scene.

TV

Charlies Angels

This is bar none my favorite hypnosis scene in any fiction. The typewriter induction is amazing, the hypnotist has such a smooth voice, the entranced gazes are lovely. It's just perfect. Heck, the link above is "hypnosis scenes" from the episode and is 26 minutes long. From a single episode of television.

Doctor Who

Sarah Jane gets hypnotized so often that I could make a list purely from her.

Legion

I just wanna link this one as it's one of those scenes that works so much better without context and the aesthetics are incredible. Plus who doesn't like Aubrey Plaza?

Quick Bonus Animation Round

Carmen Sandiego (Neflix) has a ton of mind control including the bad end to the interactive movie.

Totally Spies is a meme for a reason

And this one is a reason many of us are here <3

Comics

DC vs Vampires

I think the page speaks for itself. "Hypnosis isn't lying, Diana. It's speaking to your vulnerability."

Korra

This sequence of Asami, brainwashed to hate the avatar, being deprogrammed is so good that someone on AO3 did an incredible fan-fiction which may well be one of my favorite hypnokink stories of all time.

Super Mario Comic

I bring this one up as it was one of my earliest moments of "...oh... this is kind of making me feel some kind of way."

Video Games

A note that a full directory of video games featuring Mind Control can be found at mindcontrol.fun the MC Games Wiki, run by @soveryverytired

Nyx Gaming (Featured game: Enthralled)

Nyx do incredible games which are designed to hypnotize the viewer and their consent practices are wonderful. They recently teamed up with Secret Subject to release a vampire enthrallment game and let me tell you, there is not a single word in that synopsis that doesn't make me happy.

Mind Melting Massaging Machine

The best tool for VR hypnosis. Upload custom files and program spirals, subliminals and chose between static spiral or headtracking. I have had so much fun with this over the years. There's a desktop version too but VR is optimal for this experience.

Spiral Clicker

It's such a simple concept. Click on the character and watch their will go away. Spiral Clicker is backed with a fun little universe, fun characters both original and community sourced, amazing art and a clever little gameplay loop that is quite addictive. Careful, the game features a constant spiral, you may find yourself falling in to trance. Don't worry. The game will wake you up. You can even ask the game to include suggestions for you :)

The sequel is being worked upon now and I cannot wait <3

Music Videos

Anna Soares - Hypnodoll (NSFW)

Straight up just a song and music video about hypnokink. If you click anything in this thread, click this one.

Little Big - Hypnodancer:

Silly antics but a fun music video.

Pharrell Williams - Hypnotize U

It's just Pharrell hanging out in a mansion with his hypnotized harem.

Grimes - We Appreciate Power

It's dronekink baby.

Andamiro - Hypnotize

Maid hypnotizes their employer.

I could do so many more in all areas. But the point is, media is hypnohorny. I never went over advertisements (UK ones especially), books, musicals (Phantom and Next To Normal for instance), anime (Sailor Moon) or manga.

But I write about a bunch more in my Twitter thread.

---

Day 48: Stealth Inductions

FULL SCHEDULE MASTER POST

FINAL Day 50: Presentation

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

🌈 Queer Books Coming Out in July 2024 🌈

🌈 Good morning, my bookish bats, and happy July! Pride Month may be over, but remember: Read Queer ALL Year. Here are a FEW of the stunning, diverse queer books you can add to your TBR before the year is over. Happy reading!

[ Release dates may have changed. ]

❤️ Earth to Alis - Lex Carlow 🧡 Cursed Boys and Broken Hearts - Adam Sass 💛 The Sky on Fire - Jenn Lyons 💚 The Meaning of Liberty - Sage Donnell 💙 Making It - Laura Kay 💜 The Black Bird of Chernobyl - Ann McMan ❤️ A Map of My Want - Faylita Hicks 🧡 The Devil You Know - Ali Vali 💛 The White Guy Dies First: 13 Scary Stories of Fear and Power - Various 💙 The Second Son - Adrienne Tooley 💜 Cursed Under London - Gabby Hutchinson Crouch 🌈 Forbidden Girl - Kristen Zimmer

❤️ Rise - Freya Finch 🧡 Undercurrent - Patricia Evans 💛 Online Rebellion - Blue Matt Jeff 💚 Wolf Gift - T.J. Nichols 💙 Cash Delgado Is Living the Dream - Tehlor Kay Mejia 💜 Miller: Origin - Starr Z. Davies ❤️ The Shadows Beyond - T.J. Rose 🧡 The Ones Who Come Back Hungry - Amelinda Bérubé 💛 Their Viscountess - Jess Michaels 💙 Fast Holiday - Kerry Lockhart 💜 The Great Cool Ranch Dorito in the Sky - Josh Galarza 🌈 The West Passage - Jared Pechaček

❤️ The Hades Calculus - Maria Ying 🧡 Misrecognition - Madison Newbound 💛 One Last Summer - Kristin Keppler 💚 Waypoint Seven - Xan van Rooyen 💙 Hiding Him - Adam Hattan 💜 Thousand Autumns - Meng Xi Shi, Me.Mimo ❤️ The Adventure Zone, Vol. 6: The Suffering Game - Various 🧡 Rowan & Aldred - Lucie Fleury 💛 Yoke of Stars - R.B. Lemberg 💙 Casting Vows - Ariella Talix 💜 Count Felford's Vessel - S. Rodman

❤️ The Actor and His Secret - Ben Alderson, Laura R. Samotin 🧡 How To Die Famous - Benjamin Dean 💛 So Witches We Became - Jill Baguchinsky 💚 The Amazing Alpha Tau Romeo and Juliet Project - Lisa Henry, Sarah Honey 💙 The Noble’s Merman - S.S. Genesee 💜 The Loudest Silence - Sydney Langford ❤️ Life is Strange - Brittney Morris 🧡 Bury Your Gays - Chuck Tingle 💛 I Will Never Leave You - Kara A. Kennedy 💙 The Blonde Dies First - Joelle Wellington 💜 Under the Lupine Moon - A. Knightley

❤️ Benji Zeb is a Ravenous Werewolf - Deke Moulton 🧡 Charlotte Illes Is Not a Teacher - Katie Siegel 💛 The Ghostkeeper - Johanna Taylor 💚 Trespass Against Us - Leon Kemp 💙 Exes & Foes - Amanda Woody 💜 The Very Long, Very Strange Life of Isaac Dahl - Bart Yates ❤️ Unbound - J.A. Vodvarka 🧡 StreamLine - Lauren Melissa Ellzey 💛 Time and Time Again - Chatham Greenfield 💙 No Road Home - John Fram 💜 Queen B - Juno Dawson 🌈 A Darker Mischief - Derek Milman

❤️ Beautiful & Terrible Things - S.M. Stevens 🧡 Benvolio & Mercutio Turn Back Time - Elle Beaumont, Lou Wilham 💛 About Last Night - Laura Henry 💚 You Had Me at Happy Hour - Timothy Janovsky 💙 Moonbane - Jamie Jennings 💜 Between Fate & Failure - Amber D. Lewis ❤️ Blessed by the Cupid Distribution System - Robin Jo Margaret 🧡 Between Dragons and Their Wrath - Devin Madson 💛 Twisted Magic - Barbara J. Webb 💙 Rare Birds - L.B. Hazelthorn 💜 At the End of the River Styx - Michelle Kulwicki 🌈 Origin Story - Jendi Reiter

❤️ Eras of Us - Shannon O'Connor 🧡 Corpses, Fools and Monsters: The History and Future of Transness in Cinema - Willow Maclay, Caden Gardner 💛 A Wolf in Stone - Jane Fletcher 💚 Toward Eternity - Anton Hur 💙 Portrait of a Shadow - Meriam Metoui 💜 Anyone's Ghost - August Thompson ❤️ Home Ice Advantage - Ari Baran 🧡 Unbelievable You - Chelsea M. Cameron 💛 Incorrect Eyes - Andromeda Ruins

[adventure-showdown]

What is your favourite Doctor Who story?

ROUND 4 MASTERPOST

synopses and propaganda under the cut

Father’s Day

Synopsis

Pete Alan Tyler, the father of Rose and husband of Jackie, died on 7 November 1987, the day of Stuart Hoskins and Sarah Clark's wedding. Rose was just a baby at the time, Jackie told the young Rose that nobody was there for Pete when he died and that the hit-and-run driver was never found...

Propaganda no propaganda submitted

Whatever Happened to Sarah-Jane?

Synopsis

One day, Sarah Jane Smith exists. The next, only Maria Jackson knows of her. Andrea Yates takes her place, but Maria knows that Andrea has done something to remove Sarah Jane from the space/time continuum. It is up to Maria to uncover the identity of the "Trickster" if the human race is to survive. But with Sarah Jane and Luke wiped from existence and Clyde having lost all knowledge of his former adventures, Maria must save the world single-handedly. But she finds it may be time to tell her father about her secret life with Sarah if the whole world is to survive.

Propaganda

rewired my child brain and I’ve yet to recover (anonymous)

when people say sja is great, this is the episode they are talking about, and for good reason, it is hands down the best episode, and all the other ones people call good only really feel possible because of this, and in some cases are just following in this episodes footsteps. If you only watch one episode, make it this one, if you’ve tried sja and decided its not for you but not seen this one, come back just for this. I mean maybe it’s the 8 year old in me talking, but I highly doubt it, its just that good (anonymous)

[gffa]

In honor of the 40th anniversary of the film’s debut on May 25, 1983, 40 storytellers explore the story of Return of the Jedi through the eyes of supporting characters, including heroes, villains, droids, aliens, and creatures.

From a Certain Point of View features contributions by bestselling authors:

Olivie Blake gives us a chilling glimpse into the mind of Emperor Palpatine.

Saladin Ahmed recounts the tragic history of the rancor keeper.

Charlie Jane Anders explores the life and times of the Sarlacc.

Fran Wilde reveals Mon Mothma’s secret mission to save the Rebel Alliance.

Mary Kenney chronicles Wicket the Ewok’s quest for one quiet day on the forest moon of Endor.

And Anakin Skywalker becomes one with the Force in a gripping tale by Mike Chen.

Plus, more hilarious, heartbreaking, and astonishing tales from Tom Angleberger, Kristin Baver, Akemi Dawn Bowman, Emma Mieko Candon, Olivia Chadha, Gloria Chao, Adam Christopher, Paul Crilley, Amal El-Mohtar, M. K. England, Jason Fry, Adam Lance Garcia, Lamar Giles, Max Gladstone, Thea Guanzon, Ali Hazelwood, Patricia A. Jackson, Alex Jennings, Jarrett Krosoczka, Sarah Kuhn, Danny Lore, Sarah Glenn Marsh, Kwame Mbalia, Marieke Nijkamp, Danielle Paige, Laura Pohl, K. Arsenault Rivera, Dana Schwartz, Tara Sim, Phil Szostak, Suzanne Walker, Hannah Whitten, Sean Williams, and Alyssa Wong.

[forasecondtherewedwon]

second's (eclectic) masterlist

Hello! Under the cut, you’ll find all the fics I’ve written for these fandoms:

television:

The Artful Dodger ⁎ Bodyguard ⁎ Bridgerton ⁎ Daisy Jones & The Six

Daybreak ⁎ Deadly Class ⁎ Dickinson ⁎ A Discovery of Witches ⁎ Dollface

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier ⁎ For All Mankind ⁎ Gilmore Girls ⁎ Hawkeye

Heartstopper ⁎ The Irregulars ⁎ Loki ⁎ The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Masters of the Air ⁎ My Lady Jane ⁎ Nancy Drew ⁎ Never Have I Ever

Peaky Blinders ⁎ Percy Jackson and the Olympians ⁎ Preacher

The Queen's Gambit ⁎ Riverdale ⁎ Sanditon ⁎ Schmigadoon! ⁎ Sex Education

The Sex Lives of College Girls ⁎ Stranger Things ⁎ Ted Lasso

The Umbrella Academy ⁎ WandaVision ⁎ Why Didn't They Ask Evans?

The Wilds

film:

Avengers: Endgame ⁎ Black Widow ⁎ The Hunger Games ⁎ Inception

King Kong ⁎ Marriage Story ⁎ No Time to Die ⁎ Spider-Man ⁎ Star Trek

Thor: Ragnorak ⁎ Top Gun: Maverick ⁎ Twisters ⁎ Wonder Woman

daisy jones & the six

E / 3k / Eddie x Camila - “Just Like Andy Warhol Said”

T / 1k - “Life and Death in Laurel Canyon”

E / 4k / Karen x Graham - “Typical Wonderful View”

deadly class

E / 5k / Petra x Billy - “Rats’ Waltz”

E / 9k / Petra x Billy x Lex - “We Test on Rats”

dickinson

M / 2k / Emily x Sue - “Another Dickinson”

T / 1k - “How Luscious Lies”

G / 376 / Emily x Sue - “Lands Away”

a discovery of witches (phoebe x marcus)

E / 2k - “Gladly Be a Fool”

E / 3k - “The Night Today”

the falcon and the winter soldier

T / 7k / Sam x Bucky - 3 Simple Rules for Dating a Centenarian

T / 1k - “À la Carter”

E / 5k / Bucky x Sarah - “Chasing Water Pumps”

E / 8k / Sam x Bucky - The Great Madripoorian Snake Off

T / 3k / Bucky x Sarah - “Guest Side Story”

T / 3k / Sam x Bucky - “Never a Gull Moment”

T / 4k / Sam x Bucky - “Stare Enough”

T / 2k / Sam x Bucky - “They're Sayin' (You're Gonna Be My Man)”

for all mankind

T / 1k / Margo x Sergei - “The Bridges of Madison”

G / 286 / Pam x Ellen - “Ode to the Front Porch”

T / 1k - “This Mortal Doyle”

gilmore girls (rory x jess)

E / 11k - Dreams I’ve Yet to Find

E / 24k - You Need Me to Be With You

the hunger games

E / 2k / Peeta x Johanna - “Elevator Pitch”

E / 2k / Katniss x Peeta - “Finally, Finally”

E / 4k / Katniss x Cato - “Lonely at the Top”

loki

G / 1k - “If You're a Robot and You Know It, Clap Your Hands”

G / 1k - “Mr. Second Chance”

T / 2k - “Riding in Cars With Lokis”

my lady jane

T / 1k / Guildford x Jane - “After the Horse Has Bolted”

E / 3k / Jane x Guildford - “Bad Latin”

E / 3k / Jane x Guildford - “Emotionally Stabled”

E / 15k / Jane x Guildford - It's Enough, It's Enough

E / 4k / Guildford x Jane - “Pure Grey”

T / 4k / Stan x Frances - “So, Hey, Check Me Out”

E / 1k / Jane x Guildford - “These Days Forth”

never have i ever (devi x paxton)

E / 4k - “Boy Meets Girlfriend”

M / 2k - “No Harm, No Towel”

T / 4k - “Runaway Ride”

M / 5k - “Swimming the Sonoran”

peaky blinders

E / 15k / Tommy x Grace - The Grand Dream of Things

E / 3k / Tommy x May - “Preferred Pastimes”

percy jackson and the olympians (2023- )

G / 830 / Sally x Poseidon - “but for the grace of gods”

G / 1k - “lullaby for a rottweiler”

T / 1k / Percy x Annabeth - “salt-and-vinegar dreams”

G / 967 / Percy x Annabeth - “soundtrack to a tooth alignment”

M / 875 / Sally x Poseidon - “a tall, tall tale no one believes”

sex education

E / 3k / Ola x Lily - “and the stars (they all aligned)”

E / 2k / Maeve x Isaac - “Please May I…?”

star trek

E / 3k / Bones x Carol - “The Deserted Planet, the Gorgeous Woman, and the Goddamn Torpedo”

E / 7k / Scotty x Jaylah - Something to Fix

stranger things

T / 2k / Steve x Nancy - “Always Mr. Right”

T / 458 / Eddie x Chrissy - “And Here’s to You, Chrissy Cunningham”

T / 1k / Lucas x Max - “The Kate Escape”

T / 1k / Lucas x Max - “The Lovers’ Lake Effect”

ted lasso

E / 8k / Keeley x Rebecca - “Cat Ladies”

T / 1k - “Crimminology”

E / 2k / Roy x Keeley - “The Halftime of It”

E / 3k / Ted x Sassy - “Sass Backwards”

wandavision

E / 34k / Darcy x Jimmy - Hex Life

G / 1k / Wanda x Vision - “Mailbox Blues”

T / 1k / Wanda x Vision - “The Neighbour Never Rings Twice”

G / 1k / Wanda x Vision - “One Papaya, Two Papaya”

T / 26k / Darcy x Jimmy - Only in a Sitcom

G / 1k / Wanda x Vision - “Our Names in a Heart”

why didn’t they ask evans? (frankie x bobby)

E / 2k - “One-Man Chauffeur”

E / 5k - “Sailors’ Hands”

the wilds

T / 2k - “Fourth Coming”

T / 738 - “Interviews by the Pool”

T / 1k / Shelby x Toni - “a verse about expecting the worst”

one-offs

Avengers: Endgame : Dolls' Eyes

Black Widow : “Same Day, Different Jumpsuit”

Bodyguard : “Don’t Ever Let Me Start”

Daybreak : “Garden-Variety Monsters”

Dollface : “Fender Is the Night”

Hawkeye : “An All-American January Christmas”

Heartstopper : “we sum up perfection like a handbook”

Inception (2010) : “Je Ne Regrette Rien”

The Irregulars : “The Sun Is Coming Up (I Think It’s Time)”

King Kong (2005) : “I’m Actually Quite Familiar With Your Work”

Marriage Story (2019) : “the whole night and the next day together”

No Time to Die : “The Blood You Owe”

Preacher : “Lonely, Handsome”

Sanditon : “Finding Georgiana”

Schmigadoon! : “I Fleetly Flee, I Fly”

The Sex Lives of College Girls : “An Abundance of Caution Tape”

Thor: Ragnorak : “In the Arms of the Anus”

Twisters (2024) : “get ya thinkin' (that you need me)”

The Umbrella Academy : “The Park Across the Way”

Wonder Woman (2017) : “Unconquered”

my fic masterlists

10 fics - the artful dodger

10 fics - bridgerton

13 fics - the marvelous mrs. maisel (midge x lenny)

12 fics - masters of the air

13 fics - nancy drew

13 fics - the queen's gambit (beth x benny)

38 fics - riverdale

71 fics - spideychelle

21 fics - top gun: maverick

[deathmetalangel]

ENVY’S MASTERLIST

this includes every character i write for and a link to their current personal master lists if i have works out for them (warnings may vary and minors dni)

this is in no particular order of character btw but my favorites will have a neat little asterisk

refer to what i don’t and do write in my separate post. also this is constantly being updated so don’t mind it much. you can always request a character if it’s not listed there’s no harm in asking :)

ADVENTURE TIME

- marceline*

- princess bubblegum

- marshal lee*

- finn

- fiona

AKAME GA KILL!

- esdeath*

- tatsumi

- akame

- kurome

AMERICAN HORROR STORY

- tate langdon*

- violet harmon

- kyle spencer

- nora montgomery

- moira o’hara

APEX LEGENDS

- bloodhound (no smut)

- wraith

- wattson

- octane

- loba

- revenant

- lifeline

- valkyrie

- crypto

AVATAR

- jake sulley*

- neytiri

- kiri

- neteyam*

- lo’ak

- aonung

- tsireya

AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER

- prince zuko*

- princess azula*

- sokka*

- katara

- aang

- suki

- yue

-jett

- ty lee

- mai

BIG MOUTH

- judd birch*

- val bilzerian*

- connie

- mona

BOKU NO HERO ACADEMIA

- izuku midoriya

- keigo takami

- touya todoroki

- shoto todoroki

- katsuki bakugo

- himeko toga

- tomura shigaraki

- tamaki amajiki

CALL OF DUTY

- simon ‘ghost’ riley

- john ‘soap’ mctavish

- könig

- valeria garza*

- alejandro vargas*

COBRA KAI/ KARATE KID

- robby keene

- miguel diaz*

- johnny lawrence

- daniel larusso

- tory nichols

- eli ‘hawk’ moskowitz*

- demetri alexopoulos

DARLING IN THE FRANXX

- zero two

- hiro

- mitsuru*

- ichigo

DEATH NOTE

- misa amane

- light yagami

- l

DEMON SLAYER

- tanjiro kamado*

- nezuko kamado

- kyojuro rengoku*

- giyu tomioka*

- shinobu kocho

- sanemi shinazugawa*

- genya shinazugawa*

- zenitsu agatsuma

- inosuke hasibira*

- muichiro tokito

- mitsuri kanroji

- iguro obanai*

- tengen uzui

HAZBIN HOTEL/ HELLUVA BOSS

- alastor* (i fully respect his asexuality so no smut :3 since he’s not canon aro i still write for him)

- angel dust

- charlie morningstar

- vaggie

- loona

- millie

- moxxie

- verosika mayday

- stolas goetia

- barbie wire

- striker

- octavia goetia

- adam*

- lute

- lucifer morningstar*

- rosie

- the vees

HOCUS POCUS

- max dennison

- thackery binx

- sarah sanderson

MARVEL

- peter parker

- wanda maximoff

- pietro maximoff*

- tony stark

- natasha romanoff

- k'uk'ulkan*

- killmonger*

- miguel o’hara*

MID90S

- ray*

- fuckshit

- fourth grade*

- ruben (no smut)

- stevie (no smut)

MY BABYSITTERS A VAMPIRE

- jesse white

- sarah fox

- ethan morgan

- benny weir*

- rory keener

- erica jones

NARUTO

- naruto uzumaki

- sasuke uchiha*

- sakura haruno

- minato namikaze

- hinata hyuga

- neji hyuga

- itachi uchiha*

- shisui uchiha*

- kakashi hatake*

- haku yuki

- pain*

- konan

- sasori

- deidara

RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2

- arthur morgan*

- sadie adler

- dutch van der lide

- mary linton*

- john marston

- lenny summers

- javier escuella

- mary-beth gaskill

SCREAM

- ethan landry*

- billy loomis

- stu macher

- sydney prescott

- tatum riley

STARDEW VALLEY

- alex*

- harvey

- haley*

- sam

- abigail

- emily

- shane

- sebastian

- elliott

- maru

- penny

- leah

STAR WARS

- din djarin*

- anakin skywalker*

- padme amidala*

- poe dameron

- luke skywalker

- leia skywalker

- ahsoka tano*

- han solo

- bo katan kreze

THE MIGHTY DUCKS

- charlie conway*

- adam banks*

- guy germaine

- dean portman

- julie gaffney

- connie moreau

- luis mendoza

THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY

- conrad fisher*

- steven conklin*

- jeremiah fisher

- belly conklin*

- taylor jewel

TWILIGHT

- alice cullen

- jasper hale*

- rosalie hale

- edward cullen

- jacob black*

- paul lahote

- leah clearwater

- seth clearwater*

- bella swan

- alec volturi*

- jane volturi

- victoria

[witchofthemidlands]

oh this one 😭 this one is so sad 😭 if it were not for william russell's incredible appearance as ian chesterton in “the power of the doctor” i never would have watched the first doctor's era. i saw him in those brief moments of the companion support group & i'd never seen his character, i had heard his name in “death of the doctor” but had never seen him before so i looked him up & was just in awe of how he had been there from the very first moments of doctor who & the whoniverse when it all began in 1963 & was there again in 2022. my godmother saw “an unearthly child” when those episodes first aired & when i asked her about ian, she told me all about him, barbara, susan & vicki, the wonderful stories, how ian & barbara were so brilliant & i decided i had to see for myself. william russell's appearance as ian did that, convinced me to see the first doctor era & i am so glad that it did. i loved him & barbara, they are now two of my favourite doctor who companions & always will be, i have planned stories for them in my fanfictions & created an oc to be part of the chesterton family because of my love for these characters & now, when thinking of ian chesterton & barbara i will always think of what sarah jane says in “death of the doctor” when i first heard their names.

“and this couple in cambridge, both professors. ian & barbara chesterton. rumour has it, they've never aged. not since the sixties. i wonder.”

of course william russell did so much more than just doctor who, i only talk about ian primarily here because that is what i knew him from, he had a fascinating career & is beloved by many, what an incredible legacy to leave behind thank you, william russell & condolences to all his family & those that knew him & may he rest in peace.

[acotars]

books read in 2024

⋆ ⭒˚.⋆ january ⋆.˚⭒ ⋆

one dark window (the shepherd king #1) by rachel gillig

the murder on the links (hercule poirot #2) by agatha christie

pageboy by elliot page

house of sky and breath (crescent city #2) by sarah j. maas

rogue protocol (the murderbot diaries #3) by martha wells

cult classic by sloane crosley

malibu rising by taylor jenkins reid

the beauty of your face by sahar mustafah

exit strategy (the murderbot diaries #4) by martha wells

animal farm by george orwell

everyone in this room will someday be dead by emily austin

carrie soto is back by taylor jenkins reid

a court this cruel & lovely (kingdom of lies #1) by stacia stark

the rules do not apply by ariel levy

poirot investigates (hercule poirot #3) by agatha christie

yellowface by rebecca f kuang

every heart a doorway (wayward children #1) by seanan mcguire

house of flame and shadow (crescent city #3) by sarah j. maas

read: 18

* · ✦ · * february * · ✦ · *

beautyland by marie-helene bertino

bride by ali hazelwood

network effect (the murderbot diaries #5) by martha wells

fugitive telemetry (the murderbot diaries #6) by martha wells

faebound (faebound #1) by saara el-arifi

the raven boys (the raven cycle #1) by maggie stiefvater **

read: 6

.✦.· *. march .*· .✦.

interesting facts about space by emily austin

penance by eliza clark

the book that no one wanted to read by richard ayoade

pride and prejudice by jane austen

unlikeable female characters: the women pop culture wants you to hate by anna bogutskaya

the shame by makenna goodman

greta & valdin by rebecca k. reilly

read: 7

✷ · ✶ · ✧ april ✧ · ✶ · ✷

this spells love by kate robb

out on a limb by hannah bonam-young

gwen & art are not in love by lex croucher

a lady's guide to scandal by sophie irwin

the friendship study by ruby barrett

the boyfriend candidate by ashley winstead

the pumpkin spice cafe by laurie gilmore

business or pleasure by rachel lynn solomon

how to end a love story by yulin kuang

this could be us (skyland #2) by kennedy ryan

the honeymoon crashers (the unhoneymooners #1.5) by christina lauren

we could have been friends, my father and i by raja shehadeh

how to stop time by matt haig

how to fake it in hollywood by ava wilder

with love from cold world by alicia thompson

funny story by emily henry

love radio by ebony ladelle

old flames and new fortunes by sarah hogle

just for the summer by abby jimenez

don't want you like a best friend by emma r. alban

love interest by clare gilmore

the exception to the rule (the improbable meet-cute #1) by christina lauren

worst wingman ever (the improbable meet-cute #2) by abby jimenez

with any luck (the improbable meet-cute #5) by ashley poston

last call at the local by sara grunder ruiz

happily never after by lynn painter

the ex talk by rachel lynn solomon

i kissed shara wheeler by casey mcquiston

the love wager by lynn painter

morning glory milking farm by c.m. nacosta

will they or won't they by ava wilder

read: 31

.　° * ☆ may ☆ * °　.

when the sky fell on splendor by emily henry

on earth we're briefly gorgeous by ocean vuong

blizzard by marie vingtras

bright young women by jessica knoll

the age of magical overthinking: notes on modern irrationality by amanda montell

the flatshare by beth o'leary **

read: 6

⋆ ˚.⋆ june ⋆.˚ ⋆

not in love by ali hazelwood

the way of kings (the stormlight archive #1) by brandon sanderson

words of radiance (the stormlight archive #2) by brandon sanderson

read: 3

. · ☆ . july . ☆ · .

edgedancer (the stormlight archive #2.5) by brandon sanderson

blue iris: poems and essays by mary oliver

woman, eating by claire kohda

oathbringer (the stormlight archive #3) by brandon sanderson

a novel love story by ashley poston

chlorine by jade song

how to read now by elain castillo

please stop trying to leave me by alana saab

beautifully broken life by catherine cowles

the god of the woods by liz moore

edgedancer (the stormlight archive #3.5) by brandon sanderson

the dead and the dark by courtney gould

a most agreeable murder by julia seales

the murder of roger ackroyd (hercule poirot #4) by agatha christie

read: 14

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁august ݁. ⊹ ₊ ݁.

the bluest eye by toni morrison

more, please: on food, fat, bingeing, longing, and the lust for "enough" by emma specter

the ministry of time by kaliane bradley

system collapse (the murderbot diaries #7) by martha wells

emily wilde's encycolpedia of fairies (emily wilde #1) by heather fawcett

emily wilde's map of the other lands (emily wilde #2) by heather fawcett

catalina by karla cornejo villavicencio

roadside picnic by arkady strugatsky and boris strugatsky

read: 8

reading goal: 93/100

add me on goodreads !

[nigesakis]

So MCU Spiderman..

1. Doesnt have Uncle Ben. A pivotal part of Peters origin story; and Aunt May dying/replacing him is not the same because Ben was at the beginning for a reason. Aunt May being there after was just as important as Ben dying. (That's like Batmans parents not dying but Bruce's story still going the same and then they just kill someone else after years of being Batman and pretend its the same. Or TLOU Sarah never existing but Joel still being the same and then they kill Ellie in the end instead. It doest make sense.)

2. Doesnt even do photography? Another big part of Peters character that they just... got rid of?

3. Depends on Tony Stark. Peter was basically self made, he was alone in his identity as Spiderman in the beginning, but he knew he was smart and kept going. Now they just got Tony and made him give him a suit with some AI assistant, Tony being some kind of mentor and maybe even more after May's death. Peter would never depend on Tony Stark and the Avengers like that, the MCU took so much of his pride and just Peter away.

4. Is basically just Miles? His storylines, his personality (with some extra one-liners that are supposed to be like Peter), his relationships (Ganke, Tony, the Avengers/Ultimates). Based on Homecoming and Miles' Ultimate comics, I'd say even Michelle and Katie seem similar.

I made a post like this before but geez it pisses me off so bad because there's so many kids now seeing MCU Spiderman as *the* Peter Parker, when that guy's anyone BUT Peter Parker.

And I believe Tom Holland could've done a great job of playing Peter and Zendaya could've been an amazing Mary Jane, but the writers and producers ducked it up big time. They made Zendaya play an OC because they were too racist to make her Mary Jane but still gave her the "MJ" title as if that's the same thing.

I may be overdramatic but like... whatevs!

[dweemeister]

Children of a Lesser God (1986)

In narrative art that features individuals with deafness or hearing loss, these films tend not to portray such characters on their own terms, failing to centralize the story around them. Neither Jane Wyman’s character in Johnny Belinda (1948) nor Patty Duke’s portrayal of Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker (1962) frame their respective films; both movies rely on a hearing character to do so. Looking beyond the United States, the same is true of The Shop on Main Street (1965, Czechoslovakia) and the anime film A Silent Voice (2016, Japan) – once more, it is the hearing character who becomes the audience’s proxy. No deaf or hard of hearing actors played the roles referenced in this paragraph.

Such is also the case in Randa Haines’ Children of a Lesser God, with one significant exception – a deaf actress, Marlee Matlin, plays the deaf main character. In the late 1980s, such representation was a revelation, and simply unheard of. Matlin, deaf since she was eighteen months old, came to the producers’ attention after starring in a Chicago-area stage play. While auditioning for the role, she and actor William Hurt struck up a relationship – questionable timing, as both actors got the part (more on their troubled relationship much later).

Haines’ film, distributed by Paramount and from a screenplay by Hesper Anderson and Mark Medoff (adapting his own stage play of the same name), is a capable romantic drama with two great performances. Its portrayal of a deaf character by a deaf actress was indeed significant for its time; the decision to position the film through the hearing character’s experiences fails to distinguish it from its fellow films and numerous films since.

Somewhere in New England, James Leeds (William Hurt) arrives for his new job: as a teacher at a school for the deaf and hard of hearing. His enthusiastic teaching style rubs off on most of his students, as he emphasizes that, as important as it is to sign and read lips, they must also learn to speak. Also working at the school is Sarah Norman (Matlin), a former standout student who works as the school’s custodian. While the school’s hearing staff, for reasons initially unclear, dislike Sarah, the students appreciate her. James falls quickly for Sarah and they eventually begin dating, after a few rebuffs on her part. What follows is a romance where our two protagonists navigate through his desire to help her adjust to the world beyond the school walls and her lack of trust in others. Drifting in and out of the film are the school’s hearing principal, Dr. Curtis Franklin (Philip Bosco), and Sarah’s mother (Piper Laurie) to give both main characters advice, encouragement, and dramatic obstacles.

Children of a Lesser God suffers from its emphasis on James’ perspectives. Between James and Sarah, it is James who demands the most in any compromises between the two. When he first asks Sarah whether she would want to move in with him, James’ approach is, at times, more demanding than it is a genuine query. His insistence on Sarah speaking phonetically to hearing people, from the onset, seems to disregard whatever personal reasons Sarah might have for refusing to do so. Late in the film, the most heated discussion between the couple on this topic comes in perhaps the most inappropriate way – he wants to hear her say his name during sex. Both James and Sarah carry into this relationship sizable foibles and broken pasts, but the former’s communication style can be abrasive and domineering. At times, it makes Children of a Lesser God seem like yet another savior narrative.

Certainly, Sarah’s reluctance to speak phonetically is a defensive mechanism – one to shield her from the pain of past interactions with hearing people and a refusal to have anybody to speak on her behalf. The film also implies that she may be a survivor of sexual abuse. Matlin is magnificent in this role (my goodness, does she sign quickly or what?) and there are a few key scenes where, as Sarah, her character truly shines without James’ input. Interestingly, both scenes involve music. The first instance comes on their first date at a restaurant, when Sarah insists on dancing to “I’ll Take You There” by the Staple Singers. Feeling the vibrations of the music “through [her] nose”, Sarah grooves, eyes closed, to the music. Rather than shaking her hips and moving her head with the beat, she sways, and gracefully moves her arms to the song – released from the bounds of the musical and lyrical phrasing.

Later in the film, Sarah does not betray any irritation when James claims he cannot enjoy his favorite piece of classical music (in this case, the second movement to J.S. Bach’s Double Violin Concerto) because she is unable to enjoy it. Instead of showing her discomfort or lashing out, she asks James to “show [her] the music”, similar to how she “felt” the music on the first date. James fails to do so, but not for lack of trying. Here, Matlin, as Sarah, is fully observational – one can see, through her eyes and face, a sincere attempt to understand what the Bach “feels” like. Where others might point out Matlin’s emotionally fraught scenes in this movie as the best exemplars of her work (any of the fights with Hurt’s James, her jealousy while watching the school show, her reconciliation with her mother), Matlin’s command in these less dramatically important moments also deserve praise.

Matlin’s performance, however, cannot stop Children of a Lesser God from depicting Sarah as the otherized character that must change the most. The film, released in a decade of popular cinema with a more cavalier attitude towards relationship violence than previously seen, puts so little on Hurt’s James. It is fine to portray an imbalanced romantic relationship in a movie. But the film seems tepidly interested in Sarah in stretches, and fails to truly allow the audience to connect with her in moments where that might be possible. Additionally, whenever Sarah or anyone else who is deaf or hard of hearing signs in the film, there are no subtitles. Instead, it is up to James or another hearing character to verbalize the sign language – disallowing the opportunity for any viewer to find, in Sarah, a chance to see the events of the film through her. This, like CODA (2021; which incidentally also stars Marlee Matlin and concentrates on a hearing character, albeit a child of deaf adults), makes Children of a Lesser God a film not for the deaf or hard of hearing community, but for hearing audiences. Sarah’s deafness becomes an obstacle in this film – indeed, some of this is on the original stage play, but there surely were ways to address this.

The chilly New England atmosphere of this movie lends it a coziness that no stage play could possibly replicate. John Seale’s (1996’s The English Patient, 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road) cinematography and Michael Convertino’s (1988’s Bull Durham, 1994’s The Santa Clause) electronic-heavy score (electronic-heavy scores tend to date quickly, and this is no exception), however, are merely functional. Children of a Lesser God, lacking in any technical accoutrements, relies solely on the strength of its actors and its adapted screenplay and the odd autumnal landscape of red-orange tree leaves and mist wafting over water in the early mornings. Director Randa Haines had never made a theatrical film prior to this, with her directorial career only covering network television and television movies until Children of a Lesser God. Her direction is here is unremarkable, but at least is sufficient for the purposes of this adaptation.

Hurt and Matlin began a romantic relationship shortly after auditioning for Children of a Lesser God – establishing a tricky situation of power dynamics on set during the making of the film. Matlin, seen as the ingénue, knew she had much to learn from Hurt (one year removed from his Academy Award-winning role in Kiss of the Spider Woman and one year away from Broadcast News) and everyone else on set. Matlin has always praised her fellow cast and crew members for that education in filmmaking. She moved in with Hurt shortly after shooting ended on Children of a Lesser God, but that was the beginning of the end of their relationship. The relationship, marked by drug and verbal abuse and rape, continued through the 59th Academy Awards in March 1987 (that evening, on the way home, Hurt questioned the legitimacy of Matlin’s Best Actress win, callously comparing Matlin to the other four nominees) but ended several months thereafter. In later years, following the publication of Matlin’s memoir detailing the worst aspects of their relationship, Hurt apologized for any harm he inflicted on Matlin and her family, wishing them all well. After Hurt’s death in 2022, Matlin reflected on her time making Children of a Lesser God and noted that Hollywood had “lost a really great actor”.

When Children of a Lesser God received five Academy Award nominations and won Marlee Matlin her Best Actress Oscar, speculation abounded regarding changes in the portrayals of deaf characters and opportunities for deaf and hard of hearing actors. Matlin was the incarnation of a potential groundswell of such representation in Hollywood. That groundswell has been less dramatic than anticipated (as are all such movements to address underrepresentation in American films), but Matlin’s win has, slowly, in its own way, opened a wealth of new opportunities for deaf and hearing-impaired actors in the United States in film and television. Children of a Lesser God might not be the revolutionary film that many non-viewers may have heard of. Nevertheless, its positive impacts continue to create small ripples through American filmmaking, belatedly, more frequently than ever before.

My rating: 7/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found in the “Ratings system” page on my blog. Half-points are always rounded down.

For more of my reviews tagged “My Movie Odyssey”, check out the tag of the same name on my blog.