#sarah manners

[forensicated]

Information for use in fan fiction and anything else related to The Bill. This will be added to and edited every so often and please feel free to comment if you want to add or edit anything.

Part 1

The Bill is set in the fictional Sun Hill which makes up part of the also fictional Borough Of Canley. It's roughly set around the areas of Whitechapel, Stepney, Shadwell, Spitalfields, Portoken, Limehouse and parts of Aldgate, Bishopsgate, Shoreditch and Mile End. It's also known as the Tower Hamlets area. Mike Dashwood once describes its location as 'Tower Bridge and turn right'. Maps of Sun Hill show the Isle Of Dogs area.

The station address is: Sun Hill Police Station, 2 Sun Hill Road, Canley, London, E1 4KM. The telephone number is 020 7511 1642.

In 1988 Sun Hill (not Canley as a whole, just Sun Hill) was described as being 6 miles long and 2 miles wide.

The caution: I am arresting you on suspicion of (OFFENCE: eg murder or sexual assault). You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say will be given in evidence.

This MUST be said, IN FULL, each time someone is arrested and officers MUST make sure that the person understands it ALL.

Vehicle Call Signs:

Area Car (Sierra 1, Sierra 1-2, Sierra 1-7, Sierra Oscar 21 and Sierra Oscar 22)

Van (Sierra 2)

CID Cars (Sierra Oscar 5 to 9) (Sierra-1-1 has lights/siren hidden like below but they have a magnetic light to stick on top like below)

TSG (Sierra Oscar 1-3)

IRV (Sierra Oscar 2-3)

Panda (Sierra Oscar 8-4, 8-5, 8-6, 8-7)

Officer call signs:

Sierra-Oscar 5-2 - Superintendents used this so it was the call sign for Brownlow (and Derek when he was acting Super), Chandler, Okaro, Prosser, Heaton and finally Jack Meadows.

Sierra-Oscar 5-4 was for Chief Inspectors so Derek, Cato and Stritch but the call sign and role was retired at Sun Hill after Derek was killed.

Sierra-Oscar 5-5 was the call sign for DCI's so this is Kim Reid, Frank Burnside and Jack Meadows.

Sierra-Oscar 7-5 was used for Frank Burnside when DI

Sierra-Oscar 3-3 was used for Roy Galloway when DI

Sierra-Oscar 7-0 was used for Neil Manson when DI.

Sierra-Oscar 7-1 was used for Sam Nixon when DI

Need to check on those for Johnson, Wray, Haines and Deakin if required but they can just use rank/surname as described below.

Sierra-Oscar 3-2 was used for DS Geoff Daly

Sierra-Oscar 6-7 was used for DS Don Beech

Sierra-Oscar 2-8 was used for DS John Boulton

Sierra-Oscar 3-6 was used for DC Will Fletcher

Sierra-Oscar 9-8 was used for DC Gary Best

Sierra-Oscar 4-2 was used for DC Grace Dasari.

Sierra-Oscar 3-0 was used for DC Mike Dashwood

Sierra-Oscar 5 was used for DS Ted Roach.

Sierra-Oscar 223 was used for DC Rod Skase (in All Change)

Sierra-Oscar 613 was used for DC Duncan Lennox (In All Change)

CID would most often use their rank and surname.

Sierra Oscar 1 was used for all inspectors at the station from Deeping, Kite, Frazer, Monroe, Matt when he was acting Inspector, Gina, Smithy when he was acting inspector, Rachel and then finally Smithy when full inspector. (Smithy was 833 as PC and 54 as Sgt)

SO25 - Rachel Weston

SO30 - Callum Stone

SO33 - Craig Gilmore

SO46 - Jo Masters (after moving from CID to uniform)

SO48 - June Ackland (SO643 when a PC)

SO48 - Diane Noble for one night (she was supposed to return but the ITV cutbacks and the show moving to one episode a week meant her two-parter return was edited down to one episode and new scenes filmed to explain she was transferring to Barton St.)

SO54 - Smithy (833 as a PC and Sierra 1 as an Inspector)

SO54 - Jane Kendall and Tom Penny

SO55 - Ray Steele

SO61 - John Maitland

SO66 - Sheelagh Murphy (SO661 when demoted to PC)

SO79 - Matt Boyden

SO82 - Joseph Corrie

SO87 - Nikki Wright

SO92 - Bob Cryer

SO95 - Stuart Lamont

SO96 - Alec Peters

SO99 - Phil Hunter (during a short punishment stint in uniform)

SO101 - Taffy (Francis Edwards)

SO128 - Lewis Hardy

SO134 - Phil Young

SO139 - Timothy Able

SO140 - Nick Klein

SO148 - Mel Ryder and Yorkie (Tony Smith)

SO149 - Gary Best (Changes so SO 9-8 in CID)

SO158 - Honey Harman

SO171 - Reginald Percival Hollis

SO201 - Dave Litten

SO202 - Kerry Young

SO201 - Pete Muswell

SO212 - Millie Brown

SO217 - Laura Bryant (was SO7667 when a PCSO)

SO218 - George Garfield

SO227 - Viv Martella

SO235 - Roz Clarke

SO249 - Gemma Osbourne

SO251 - Jamila Blake

SO258 - Beth Green

SO275 - Roger Valentine

SO294 - Danesh Patel

SO298 - Yvonne Hemmingway

SO315 - Dan Casper

SO330 - Robin Frank and Ron Smollett

SO335 - Donna Harris

SO340 - Dave Quinnan

SO342 - Abe Lyttleton

SO351 - Malcolm Haynes

SO354 - Arun Ghir

SO355 - Cameron Tait

SO358 - Gary McCann

SO361 - Emma Keane and Vicky Hagen

SO362 - Luke Ashton (for his return post-2002)

SO363 - Steve Loxton, Lance Powell and Kirsty Knight

SO408 - Nick Slater

SO416 - Sam Harker, Ken Melvin and Gabriel Kent

SO432 - Luke Ashton (for his first 97-99 stint) and Des Taviner

SO437 - Leela Kapoor and Leon Taylor

SO452 - Adam Bostock

SO469 - Polly Page

SO483 - Diane Noble (was SO48 for her one-night stint as Sgt)

SO487 - Cathy Marshall and Rosie Fox

SO510 - Billy Rowan (though poor love lasted half a shift)

SO517 - Mike Jarvis

SO518 - Cass Rickman

SO543 - Will Fletcher

SO561 - Debbie Keane

SO570 - Cathy Bradford

SO577 - Barry Stringer

SO595 - Tony Stamp

SO600 - Jim Carver

SO643 - June Ackland (SO48 as Sgt)

SO659 - Suzanne Ford

SO661 - Sheelagh Murphy (SO66 as Sgt)

SO682 - Di Worrell

SO686 - Sally Armstrong

SO740 - Ben Hayward

SO743 - Pete Ramsey

SO759 - Steve Hunter

SO795 - Ben Gayle

SO800 - Richard Turnham

SO832 - Delia French and Claire Brind

SO833 - Smithy (SO54 as Sgt and Sierra 1 when Inspector)

SO876 - Nate Roberts

SO876 - Nick Shaw

SO888 - Amber Johannsen

SO943 - Andrea Dunbar

SO988 - Eddie Santini and Ruby Buxton

FED REPS: Federation Representatives support and advise officers if they've been accused of something or matters like pay, rights, allowances, conduct, equality and development etc. It's often mocked, mostly when Reg is in the position as everyone's favourite busy body, however it is a responsible position and Reg was very good at it if only due to his nitpicking and love of the rule book.

Fed reps: Reg Hollis, Barry Stringer, George Garfield, Nick Klein, Leela Kapoor

The Area Car can only be driven by the officers who are qualified to drive them for example: Roger Valentine, Tony Stamp, Kirsty Knight, Callum Stone, Ben Gayle, Gemma Osbourne, Yvonne Hemmingway, Matt Boyden, Vicky Hagen, Gina Gold, Steve Loxton, Mike Jarvis, Will Fletcher and Des Taviner.

Civillian Staff:

Jonathan Fox - Senior Crown Prosecutor and one time boyfriend of Gina Gold. He left Gina because she wouldn't commit right as she was about to commit to him. She tries to tell him this when he returns during her cancer fight but he's moved on with someone else... she can't handle just being friends so asks him to leave.

Matt Hinkley - Senior Crown Prosecutor

Eddie Olosunje - CSE

Lorna Hart - CSE

Audrey ?? - A CSE who checked Gabriel's clothes and is very friendly with Gina - they play poker together.

Dean McVerry - CAD

Marilyn Chambers - SRO - Reg was about to propose to her and was waiting for her where they had their first date when Colin Fairfax drove his van into the front of the station.

Julian 'JT' Tavell - SRO

Robbie Cryer - SRO (SRO's used to be Front Desk Officers)

DOPA Mia Perry (Press Officer) - Mickey's girlfriend who cheated on him with John Heaton

Margret Barnes - Cleaner who was obsessed with Ramani

Special Constable Terry Knowles (Killed on his first day trying to be like Des)

PCSO Colin Fairfax - Racist who drove a van into the front of the station, killing Ken, Marilyn and Andrea.

PCSO Laura Bryant - Became a full PC.

Marion Layland - Charles Brownlow's long suffering PA.

Rochelle Barrett - Drugs Referral Officer

Tom Kent - FME in the early 90's

Important Reoccurring Characters (Police):

Guy Mannion - Chief Super to Brownlow and then Borough Commander. Pain in the arse.

Trevor Hicks - DAC/Assistant Commissioner

Georgia Hobs - DAC

Roy Pearson - DAC. Neil Manson's father-in-law and user of rent boys. Murdered by one after attempting to retrieve a video that was being used to blackmail him.

Lisa Kennedy - Commander (Her son is involved in an altercation that leads to disaster at a football match)

Jane Fitzwilliam - Borough Commander

Louise Campbell - Borough Commander

Ian Barrett - Borough Commander - tried to blackmail PC Dan Casper into ending his affair with his wife, Rochelle. Ended up getting Dan held at gunpoint and left Sun Hill alongside his wife.

Amanda Prosser - acting Superintendent whilst Adam took time off following the death of his family in an RTA. Upset a bereaved father who then took her hostage at gunpoint and caused a siege at Sun Hill (second live episode)

Rowanne Morell - DI/DCI who came in to investigate a case and then came in as cover for Neil whilst he took some time off after his father-in-law's death/end of his marriage.

Andrew Ross - DCI if I remember rightly he was part of MIT and kept coming over for murders - the Serial Killer/Des's Firebombing/Cathy's murders etc.

Frank Keane - DCI from MIT. Rubbed everyone up the wrong way and thought the sun shone out of his daughter - Emma's - arse.

Karen Lacy - stuck up DI from SO15 who immediately alienated most of Sun Hill after Emma's death by refusing to let her friends in uniform help and would only let them man a cordon and then told Jack that CID could only help if EVERYTHING was run by her and came back to her and her alone.

Tom Baker - TREV which was a fan-coined term that stands for Totally Reliable Extra Veteran'. Tom was an outstanding backup CID member for over a thousand episodes. He's even in the Guinness Book Of World Records for it.

Terry Knowles - Terry was a Special Constable who idolized Des and wanted to be like him. He tried to copy how he'd seen him pick up a woman and flirt at a blonde in a convertible. Unfortunately, it all went wrong when she stabbed him in the neck and severed his jugular and he died, leaving a 2-year-old son fatherless.

Doug Wright - husband of Sgt Nikki Wright. Nikki transferred to Sun Hill when she got fed up with the confusion over two Sgt Wright's and then having to work opposing shifts. He's based at Sun Hill but they cross over to police a football match. Sadly Doug ends up getting stabbed and they realise there's a Cop Killer on the loose after he taunts them and goes on to murder new recruit Billy Rowan on his very first day.

Mark Rollin - Lance Powell's Boyfriend/Fiance/Civil Partner/Husband. Mark is a Sgt in CO19 and keeps his sexuality hidden to avoid the banter and bullying. He goes to pieces after shooting dead Jeff Clarke and he and Lance separate - only for Lance to go out drinking to try to cheer himself up. It ended with Lance being murdered by a gay serial killer pair.

Steve Hodges - an irritating little man who was the Detective Superintendent at CIB at the time that Claire Stanton was undercover trying to get information to prove that Don Beech was corrupt. He expected Claire to pull evidence out of her arse and moaned constantly.

Rachel Kitson - Crime Scene Photographer who murdered old school friend turned Super Model Cindy Statham. She got away with it and someone else was accused and locked up...but then Jo went back and looked at the footage again as she had a niggling feeling. Rachel realised she was on to her and took her hostage at gunpoint. It was Stuart getting suspicious when he received a text calling him 'hun' and realising that something was very wrong that saved her life with seconds to go.

Important Reoccurring Characters (Civilians):

Rod Jessop - June's second husband after Jim. He is a headteacher and a good man who has 2 children of his own. At first, June isn't too sure as she thinks he's a little too keen but she warms to him and they fall in love and take early retirement together.

Irene Radford - Mother of Karl, Wayne and David Radford, a large crime family with a history going back decades with Gina. She takes Gina hostage at one point and she and David are literally seconds from killing Smithy and Kerry at another point!

Louise Larson - Wife of Pete Larson. Unhappily married but settled until she met Smithy. Feisty, sarcastic and full of one-liners, she kept him on his toes and they wanted to leave after she agreed to give evidence (Pete was arrested after almost murdering Smithy. I'm sensing a theme here).

Abi Nixon - The cause of Sam shrieking "MY DAUGHTER!!!!!" Had a fling with Matt Boyden - as you do. Then ended up pregnant and engaged to Hugh Wallis - a profiler - who manipulated Abi into it as revenge. He forced Sam to think her daughter was a victim of the Serial Killer. She keeps the baby and her relationship with her mother improves.

Cindy Hunter - Phil Hunter's wife who sees all he does on the side and - usually forgives him, even when a major criminal demands he be allowed to sleep with Cindy. Gregory doesn't force her to sleep with him but does take degrading pictures of her to wind Phil up. She still forgives him... but she can't get past finding out he has a daughter with another major criminal's wife when they are trying for a baby of their own and they finally split.

Jenny Delaney - The girlfriend of George Garfield at first, Jenny is the nurse who looks after Dave Quinnan when he is attacked and left for dead in a youth club. She and Dave fall in love and have an affair which ends up in George leaving Sun Hill. They marry but do not get their happily ever after as Dave and Polly grow closer... and closer...

Kristen Shaw - Drug dealer who Zain goes undercover to catch and he ends up falling for her. She accidentally murders Honey by shooting her when the gun goes off in a struggle (Honey was trying to get Zain to do the right thing and arrest her with him). Zain reluctantly puts Honey's body in the water and they try to escape but in the end, he can't go through with it and refuses to get on the boat with her to escape. He removed the bullets from her gun and so both ended up arrested.

James Tennant - The father of Amy Tennant. This storyline goes on forever for over a year and Neil and James get close and become good friends through it before Amy is found.

Scott Burnett - Scott is the husband of a woman who is found murdered. At first his best friend is charged with it and as his FLO, Honey helps support him through it. They fall in love and in a whirlwind romance they get married.... only for Honey to realise that Scott actually murdered his first wife!

Laura Meadows - Jack's long-suffering wife of almost 30 years who put up with a lot, including affairs. It comes to a head when Jack - in full midlife crisis mode - thinks he's in love with Debbie McAllister and wants to support her and her new baby. Debbie thinks of him mostly as a father figure and is horrified when he finally puts the moves on.

Lilian Rickman - Cass' mum is devastated when her daughter is killed by the Sun Hill Serial Killer. She travels down and bonds with the team and later invites them to the funeral in Liverpool which some travel up to and then have to go straight on shift once they get back to London. She later returns to tie up the sale of Cass' flat and she and Tony grow closer and end up sleeping together.

Marie Graham/Carver - The bereaved mother whose daughter killed herself after being accused of sleeping with underage students. She's an alcoholic who seemed to understand Jim and all his problems... and then started to abuse him 2 days after their marriage. (he should have known it was a bad omen when he and June almost kissed the day of the wedding when trapped with Polly and Tony!)He is accused of abusing her before he ends up in the hospital (Gabriel hit him over the back of the head with a vodka bottle - long story) and he cracks under accusations and shows his many wounds. He leaves Marie and goes on to recover and get back together with June... only for Marie to turn up on THEIR wedding day and cause a scene at the reception and then fall down the stairs and knock herself out. Jim, with a sprained ankle, ends up going into hospital too!

Pauline Smith - Smithy's mum seen in Killer On The Run. His father was an abusive drunk who used to knock her and Smithy around until Smithy was old enough to go out with his friends. Smithy has little to do with his unnamed father and next to no contact. Pauline adores her son and is very proud of him. They are close and Smithy has a key to her house. He also had an unnamed little brother as a PC (mentioned in Soft Talking) but this seemed forgotten when he returned as a Sgt.

More family/love connections can be found here.

[zackprincebooks]

Father Ardelian: Wow, Lord Vane is so pleasant and gorgeo--I mean generous! I'm sure nothing untoward will happen to me while I'm at Whithern Hall.

Lord Vane, holding a ceremonial knife over a pagan sacrificial altar underground: what

Sarah, with her corkboard full of red string: Lord Rufus has been alive since the Wars of the Roses and the entire Rufus lineage has been swapping places over the past four hundred years to commit vampire fraud and I've been trapped into marriage with him for some sinister reason so if you find this letter I'm already dead

Lord Rufus, spending hours painstakingly painting a portrait of Sarah as a Renaissance saint: what

[kidneys-and-custard]

Do you ever just watch a show with David Tennant and see how he acts and think how David Tennant that is of him because he just acts like that

[bucky-boychik-barnes]

Guess who started 'Bucky has a Pocket'? It's barely more 100 words so far but it is SOMETHING. ❤️❤️❤️

---

Bucky wakes up to an even more obnoxious amount of giggling from his sisters than usual.

Well, Miriam can be excused. She's barely more than a baby, and laughter is far better than her howls when she cries. Esther should know better than to be making so much noise so early.

…Maybe not so early, when Bucky peels an eye open to peek around the morning sunlit bedroom. But still, don't they know a guy has to sleep? And why are they in the bedroom anyway? There's a whole other room for them to be noisy in, with a table and everything. Two or three if you count the kitchen and their parents room.

"You sound like a bunch of hens," he grumbles, pushing himself up with one hand and rubbing at his eyes with the other.

[wam4321x]

[kindahoping4forever]

my ultimate wish for this next era is they finally let Ryan go like they did Andy. I'm so sick of not getting the content we deserve. All the gatekeeping of tour diaries and now the crumbs of concert footage in that "documentary" yesterday. he was working for months on that? that's why we didn't get tour diaries? all that footage just goes in his vault now? Please.

Hello! I'm sorry to hear you felt disappointed by yesterday's special. However, I feel compelled to comment on a few objective points in your ask.

- "Live & Backstage in Amsterdam" was directed by James Tonkin, the same director (and production team, Hangman) they worked with on "The Feeling of Falling Upwards" (and the unreleased "Live in Brixton" special). Ryan was credited as director of the documentary footage and as a contributing editor (1 of 3) but the live footage and overall final program was not his work.

- Regardless of the particular creatives involved here (or in any given project for that matter), the fact remains that any directors, producers, photographers, etc are all hired hands operating with full input and specific direction from the band. The band chose to make this a hybrid concert film/documentary. The band chose to condense the setlist the way they did. The band chose this format over the traditional tour diaries. What happens to the unused footage will be determined by the band. Ryan is a friend but he is first and foremost an employee and the band owns that footage. (Likewise, the MYT diaries are not sitting on Andy Deluca's hard drive because he's "gatekeeping" or too lazy to edit it. If the band wanted them released, they'd be released.) All this to say, of course you don't have to agree with the decisions but it's important to clarify who your complaint is with.

- This concept of the band or their collaborators "gatekeeping" and fans not getting what we "deserve" is, to be blunt, entitled and immature. Being a fan does not make an artist indebted to you. They make music, if you feel so inclined, you listen. That's it. That's the extent of the contract. Anything beyond that is optional for both parties. Any content an artist chooses to release is not out of obligation or generosity, it's part business strategy, part artistic vision. Artists do not owe you anything. This band does not owe you anything.

[the-vampire-queer]

The Vampires Digital Media Poll: Round 2, Bracket 4

Please reblog for a bigger sample size.

Results get posted on December 20th. at 5PM CST.

<- Previous poll |

If you wish to learn more about your options, either as a refresher or an introduction, press the "Keep reading" button.

What is Dracula (1931) about?

Summary: "The dashing, mysterious Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi), after hypnotizing a British soldier, Renfield (Dwight Frye), into his mindless slave, travels to London and takes up residence in an old castle. Soon Dracula begins to wreak havoc, sucking the blood of young women and turning them into vampires. When he sets his sights on Mina (Helen Chandler), the daughter of a prominent doctor, vampire-hunter Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan) is enlisted to put a stop to the count's never-ending bloodlust." Source: Rotten Tomatoes

Source: Dracula (1931)

Cast:

Bela Lugosi - Count Dracula

David Manners - Jonathan Harker

Helen Chandler - Mina Harker

Dwight Frye - Renfield

Edward Van Sloan - Van Helsing

Note: Cast lists provided here are not complete lists of people and characters featured in the media being listed. These are partial lists that include some of the main characters and their actors.

Additional information: Bela Lugosi's performance as Dracula is one of the most, if not most, famous adaptations.

What is Buffy the Vampire Slayer about?

Summary: "Sarah Michelle Gellar takes on the role of Buffy Summers in this TV version of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," based on the film of the same title, which starred Kristy Swanson. Buffy is a Slayer, one in a long line of young women chosen for a specific mission: to seek out and destroy vampires, demons and other forces of darkness. Unlike her predecessors, Buffy establishes a group of supportive friends who aids her in her battles with evil, including Willow, Xander and Cordelia. Her battles with evil are frequent, since Sunnydale, where Buffy and friends live, sits atop a gateway to the realm of the demons." Source: Rotten Tomatoes

Source: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Cast:

Sarah Michelle Gellar - Buffy Summers

Nicholas Brendon - Xander Harris

Alyson Hannigan - Willow Rosenberg

Anthony Head - Rupert Giles

Note: Cast lists provided here are not complete lists of people and characters featured in the media being listed. These are partial lists that include some of the main characters and their actors.

Additional information: Before the show, there was a movie of the same name that takes place before it. There is a spin-off series titled Angel based on a character from the show by the same name.

[noahsbookhoard]

📚January 2025 Book Review (Part 2/2)📚

January is the month I've read the most comics and graphic novels since... middle school and my manga phase maybe? And I like it, I might read more of them this year

Part 1 here

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

What did I just read?

This was recommended to me by a book club friend, I had heard of it but never read it and she told me how much she loved thi book, how it inspired Disney's Encanto, that it wasn't as depressing as the title made it seems etc... Well she and I haven't read the same book because that wasn't what I was expecting from her description.

Nonetheless it was interesting: we follow 5 generations of the same family in their small village far in the jungle, with their struggle, their conflits, their violence sometimes. They live through natural disasters, revolutions, war, technological progress and political changes. And that's not mentioning how cruel the family members can setimes be with one another, they ruin each other's life, they rest their legacy apart, and yet somehow it always remains enough to be mended, rebuilt. They might leave but somehow they always come back home to Macondo.

I don't share my friends enthusiasm but It's a classic and I'm glad I read it.

Les serres sous le velours noir by Charlène Ferlay

Okay, I know, I thought the same thing when I saw that cover but hear me out!

Man that book is a banger. I would never have picked it up on coverart and backcover summary alone:

In a Renaissance Italy-like setting in which The Goddess and her Angels and Archangel intervene in every aspects of life, Francesca Sebastiani is coming to the merchant City of Alba. There, she must obey her father's orders, to marry a merchant from lower social class as hers and to find her brother Taddeo, whom she hates, to convince him to take his place as the family's heir, but all she wants is to find the murderer of Iacopo, her other brother.

... and I would have missed what will very probably be on my top 10 for this year. This is something of a historical fiction, something of a fantasy novel, something of a thriller and just a truly amazing story.

Francesca, our main character would be absolutely unsufferable as a real human being but as a character she felt even more relatable because she's so bitchy: she is a noble woman, recently widowed, who just lost her beloved older brother, and whose father wants to marry below her. And she is SO MAD about it. She looks down on anyone who isn't a patrician, she falls in love with all the wrong people, she accuses every one that upset her even a little of the horrible murder... It was a tight balance because a character like this could have been very annoying but her aspirations, her anger, her doubts but mostly her love and passion were driving and made me empathise with her a lot.

I loved the setting: it looks like a quite well researched Renaissance Italy: architecture, art and clothings are vivid and anchor us in the period but the fantasy setting allows the author to twist it out and add 1) badass angels and 2) so much homoerotic tension it's bursting out of the pages.

The plot itself is full of tension and I had to force myself to pause it because I wanted to make it last, but wow that was hard! The investigation is very well handled and the climax of it felt so satisfying! The romance subplot was compelling but never took too much place in the story but it adds so much stakes, it works great!

It came out on December last year and isn't available in English but if you read French go read this one, you won't regret it I swear.

What Manner of Man by St John Starling

These Deathless Bones by Cassandra Khaw

This is technically my second reading but this time was the revised edition and I can't believe it could get better, yet it did!

Father Victor Ardelian has been sent to St Silvan's Head Island for an exorcism, however as he spent more time with his host and the object of his investigation, Lost Alistair Vane, his duty as a priest and his own feeling start to tear at him.

This is an epistolary novel and I loved having Victor's voice with his restrain and propriety slowly sliping as his feeling changes. Also it was funny to see the dates disappear of the dairy and the letters to his sister become rarer the more he got entangled with Lord Vane, every little elements surrounding the text itself worked to create this atmosphere and this feeling of a man slowly losing his purpose.

The eroticism was even better for all the loops Father A was jumping through to not have to say it (both 1950's sensibility and priestly ones). Victor's struggle with his identity and his eventual acceptance were very satisfying.

That answer one question for me: I like queer romance and ask a new one: why is Catholicism so dramatic?

Anyway, the next project of @stjohnstarling is Frankenstein inspired and I can't wait to see how it goes!

Short but impactful: The relationship between a woman with bone magic and her bratty stepson, and how it only spiralled downward from the start.

I don't want to say too much because it would get into spoilers really quickly but it was thrilling and a little satisfying too to see the stepmother realise what is going on with the boy and put an end to it.

Escape Incel Island by Margaret Killjoy

Years ago, the government manage to trick incels into getting trapped on a deserted island and since the inmates are under heavy watch and had no outside contact except crates of weapons and supplies. Mankiller Jones and Dr Helena Morrison are sent to the island to retrieve sensitive information that the military left behind: they will have to face the inmates, uncover government secrets and one way or another, escape incel island.

This was fun, there's no big revolutionary insight on humanity to be found here, only Lord of the Flies if the boys had already hit puberty and spent all their free time on 4chan. The inmates have sort of organise and there's some good idea on what their society would look like. I loved Mankiller's point of view with her attitude and her no nonsense talk. The message about toxic masculinity isn't reallyvsubtle but if you want a nonbinary person shooting Nice GuysTM with a shotgun this is.

This story reminds me a lot of The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi: this isn't the greatest book I've ever read but damn was it cathartic!

The Lotus Empire (The Burning Kingdoms #3) by Tasha Suri

This is the third and final book in the Burning Kingdom Trilogy, and it is a great finally to of ofvmy new favorite series.

We start right after the end of book 2 (as in I had to reread the last 5 or so chapter to catch up with the story). There is everything I loved from book 1 and 2: ruthless politics, badass women, queer ships, the original fantasy empire of Parijatdvipa with its gods.

The story takes its sweet time building up but the climax was worth it. And I got to catch up with by faves! They were not doing great! We get to see more action from Rao and Bhumika in a good 2/3 of the book, which I am not complaining about.

As well as the political threat, the danger of gods and fanatic priest is ever more presents and to me felt even more frightening than in the two first books. It was to me the most interesting part of the conflict as it was a built up from the very beginning of the series and at some point the purely secular political intrigue was being repetitive. I was expecting something more dramatic for the end of the yaksa plot though.

I have one reservation and it is on some dialogues between Priya and Malini: there is a very thin line between toxic yuri and Exes With A Messy Divorce Who Have To Sit Together For Their Kid's School Gala. I'll forget it because the conclusion of their relationship was worth it.

It is a big hit for me, I need more fantasy like this.

Shubeik Lubeik by Deena Mohamed

Shubeik Lubeik means Your wish is my command: In this universe wishes are real and are a whole industry. There're laws, international decrees and classification of wishes, from class 1 to class 3. The more powerful it is, the more reliable but also the most expensive and thr more regulated.

Shorky owns a little store in Cairo, for decades he had had three class 1 wishes he had never manage to sell: this is the story of those who will finally buy those wishes. And oh those stories are sad! Nour's especially hit me, a coleguw student put of their depth, plagued by anxiety. And that's the comic's strength: the characters are so real it hurts.

The worldbuilding is so clever: some of the informations are given by the characters but everything you need to know about wishes is explained between each part in infographics, as if the readers were handed out information pamphlets. It's simple, easy to follow and I never felt like the author was explaining this stuff to me out of the story. It reinforces what the characters already pointed out and adds informations to anchor it in the universe like dates and laws and advices for wish users.

This is the kind of books that makes me want to read more comics, I loved it.

Persephone's choice by Yihan Sim

Sophie has a simple life divided between her flower shop and the care for her mother who suffers from dementia. And then one day a stranger appears out of nowhere, saying he doesn't remember anything but his name: Hades. Sophie offers her help and somehow along the way she might not want him to repay his debt to her.

(Tw for dementia, emotional abuse and child death)

I will start with my one big and only complain: this is a Swiss gruyere of a book. Like, I liked it but there's plot holes everywhere!

Why is Hades amnesiac? Is he actually even amnesiac because I can't see what he has forgotten since he knew who he was all along? Why does The Rapture of Persephone exist as a children book if he has never met and loved Persephone before? Why is Hades immortal but not Demeter? What does the underworld look like to Hades, he never answered that question? Why is Sophie so chill about discovering Greek gods are real and part of her life? Seriously she has the best adaptation skills ever: The man who just fell from the sky is the Lord of the Underworld? Yeah, but does he want tea?

Nonetheless, this was a very low stake, switch-off-your-brain-and-enjoy-the-fluff kind of read. And I usually can't switch said brain off, ever, so this is saying something.

Sophie has the most AU fanfic shop ever (affectionate): it's both a flower shop and a tea shop in which she always have enough time to offer her regulars floral tea she creates herself and make unique compositions for each bouquet. And I love that for her. The relationship with Hades is so soft, too.

Conflict is minimal, it's mostly Demeter throwing wrenches in the work, which means the romance part is entirely this fluffy thing that slowly blooms and they just do heart eyes at each other for the 200 pages of the novel.

Honestly, the mythology retelling part is the least interesting. The love story would have worked just as well with all human characters. The supernatural explanation for the pandemic was interesting but that and the epilogue is all the god and goddess did for the plot. Still it made for some comedy, including Hermes' summoning ritual and teasing on fashion sense.

The book gets a bonus point for reassuring me that Cerberus is a good boy (of course he is) and the ending wraps it all in a woolen blanket with a nice cup of tea. Ovreall very cute, so I'm willing to forget the plot holes.

If you want a cute no brainer romance, Greek mythology retelling which does not fall into dark romance you might want to try this one.

Ruined by S. Vaughn, S. W. Searle & N. Smith

Catherine's reputation has been ruined and now she must marry Andrew Davener who she barely knows to save face. He needs her money, she needs to escape: neither of them require anything else out of this marriage but they both wanted more out of life. What if they get it anyway?

Or : What If I Freaked Out About Being In Love With My Own Spouse?

That's basically it, Catherine settles in her new home and slowly warms up to her husband, they grow closer but when she feels she herself fall she panics and runs away. While she is at her parents he realise he also fell for her (no actually that moment was cute, the bewilderment on his face was priceless) and scraps his brain for a way to win her back. Ok, I am not entirely fair here, there's a little bit more to the story overall but the backbone of the romance between Catherine and Andrew is this.

The plot mostly rest on the characters having No Communication Skills Whatsoever and a dynamic of Oblivious Man in love with Contrary Woman. There would be no story if they just talked about it like adults and some of the things they did but hid form the other makes for nice revelations, but at some other occasion Catherine just seem to keep Andrew away for no reason at all! But still the ending wad satisfying, Andrew's letter was adorable and the final pages are really nice. For me and my pickiness with romance this is more than good.

However, I was disappointed with the subplots in general: there's many of them, Andrew's sister Gemma being afraid to go out in society, Catherine's maid miss Lee who wants to be seen as the talented seamstress she is, Catherine's sister and her woman lover, not to mention Andrew and Catherine's respective past... and most of them fall short. Gemma especially was frustrating: she gets no character growth! She was so sad, I wanted her to feel better and it cuts just as she was making an attempt! I understand the main focus being Andrew and Catherine but at least Gemma's story deserved closure.

I am not giving my opinion again on the Bridgerton series, no sir, but if I had to compare this comic to Julia Quinn's novel it ranks higher than even the books I really liked in the series. It shares the same tropes and structure but with more diversity in the characters and minus the heterosexual romance tropes that are absolute red flag on any real human.

I wasn't too fond of the drawing style though but it's a matter of taste and the story is good. A nice moment.

[tunemyart]

just binged my way through tiny beautiful things via the kathryn hahn imdb experience

wept

naturally checked to see if there is or ever was a season 2 in development, and very surprised to read that it was always a limited series?

[reedsolis]

So I just watched Knuckles the series and Wanda Whipple is literally Sarah Christ??

[thetimelordbatgirl]

Ngl felt so much offense on behalf of Sarah Jane and her kids when a Doctor Who video on spin offs called them 'galactic cops'.

[the-bisexual-and-damned]

sarah snook as shiv does this thing, i’ve sometimes noticed, where when she she’ll lower the pitch of her voice and/or the volume in which she speaks

sometimes it’s for emphasis and then other times it’s her being snarky

maybe i’ve lost my mind from watching this show (and not sleeping at all shhh) but it seems like her version of trying to intimidate or patronize someone

it feels like maybe she was trying to replicate this? from logan? from the other men she’s constantly been surrounded by in this fucking environment and has probably been threatened and diminished by them and is does this to feign an air of calm and collected and like she has it together???

[coloursofaparadox]

mm

[quinnsethics]

tag drop.

[wam4321x]

[forensicated]

Starting to wonder if I've been watching TB too long now I'm starting to pick up on all the little weird things Leon does in the background of scenes 😂