#things you must see in peru

[wanderlustphotosblog]

15 Spectacular Things to do in Peru for Visitors

Between its rich culture, incredible cuisine, and breathtaking landscapes, the country of Peru has been captivating travelers for centuries. Before you plan your trip, review my list of the top 15 things to do in Peru.

What else can I say about Peru other than it is a country filled with both beauty and wonder? So much so that it can be difficult to narrow down the top things to do in Peru when visiting. No matter what, any list has to start with Machu Picchu. It is one of the world’s most breathtaking landmarks and one of just seven “Wonders of the World”. If you’d like to see this spectacular sight, you can…

[randomshyperson]

New Romantics - Chapter One - Wanda Maximoff Series

Summary: Trapped in a loveless relationship that has cost her friendships, Wanda watches her senior year of school turn upside down after a party. She will make new friends and may end up learning that not every relationship is doomed to failure.

Warnings: (+16), straight and toxic relationships, making out, underage drinking, language, co-dependency, conversations about insecurity and self-worth, attempted romantic comedy, unrequited love at first, friends to lovers. | Words: 4.236k

Skamverse Collection | Series Masterlist | AO3 | Wattpad |

--//--

Chapter One - Parties and Makeups

“The global mentality is moving toward free world trade and increased market liberalism. A world full of opportunities. A world where dreams can come true. It sounds fantastic, and it is fantastic. For a very small percentage of us. But for the vast, poor majority, the capitalist system only means one thing: death and suffering. While we live out our days thoughtlessly and stuff ourselves with cheap food. The poor people of the earth struggle in factories. Wages are forced down to the minimum, while the work hours keep increasing. Unionization is illegal, and the working conditions are intolerable. Before applauding freedom, we must remember one thing: Our over-consuming society stands on the shoulders of the coffee beans from Peru. We gorge on cheap food produced by underpaid children hands from India[...]”

Novi Grad, Monday, 1:00 pm.

"So what do you think?"

Wanda licked her lips, trying to choose the right words to define the monologue her boyfriend has been reading the last few minutes. Vision stares at her in anticipation.

"It's smart." She says, and he gives a soft laugh.

"Is that all? Don't you think I should change something?"

She sighs, shrugging. "I don't know, it's just good." She murmurs, thinking for a moment before adding. "Maybe exclude cheap food? You used it twice..."

Vision leans over to look at the paper. "No, you see, because that's a technique to emphasize the idea I picked up..."

Wanda stopped listening - Yes, she hated doing it, especially at how often it happened. But her attention was diverted to the other side of the courtyard, where a group of girls was leaving the school building. Most of them didn't notice that Wanda was watching, but one of them did. Eve, once she realized it, assumed an icy expression that made Wanda's stomach churn. The girl next to her was Jean Grey, and as soon as she followed her friend's gaze, she raised her middle finger in Wanda's direction before continuing walking.

Wanda swallowed dryly and looked away. Vision cleared his throat, waving in front of his girlfriend's eyes to attract her attention.

"Hey, don't let that get to you." He tried, leaning in to peck her cheek. "Okay?"

"Forget about it." Wanda forced a smile, kissing him. Vision smiled, enjoying the closure of the subject much more than she did since the one who had to deal with the free hatred was not him. The boy pulled away a little to take a breath before deepening the kiss, but a sheet of paper was placed between their faces and caused them both to jump away.

"No more making out my sister." It was Pietro, shoving the test in their faces. He wasn't alone, Clint Barton was with him, and he was the first to greet Vision. Pietro leaned on the railing behind where they were standing, "How did you go in the Geography assignment?"

Clint greeted Wanda with a kiss on the cheek, and Vision answered the older twin with a proud smile, "I got an A+."

"Typical." Pietro retorted chuckling. "What about you, sestra?"

Wanda sighs, gripping the handle of her backpack tighter as if the crumpled test at the bottom was going to jump out and give away her lie. "Hmm, I got a C minus."

The trio made sounds of trouble, and Wanda rolled her eyes. Pietro gave a little chuckle. "Papa will be so disappointed..." He teased, receiving an impatient sigh in return.

"What about you? Did you get an A?" She inquired. Pietro chuckled.

"No, but I'm an athlete." He reasoned. "I don't need the brains when I have the muscles." The boys thought it was funny but Wanda rolled her eyes at the foolishness.

"Okay, Pietro, keep believing that one."

"Better than having neither..." He teased low, and Clint pulled him out of the range when Wanda threatened to push him into the railing. Vision laughed, holding his girlfriend by the waist.

"We're going to Barton, see you later?" Vision announces, and she takes her attention from her brother who walked a few feet with Clint to the boy in front of her.

"I thought you were going over to my place."

Vision shrugs. "I went to your house yesterday, Wanda. And the day before, and before, and before..."

"I get it." She cuts in with a clumsy laugh. She kisses him quickly. "Call me later?"

He smiles, nodding before kissing her intensely. Pietro gets in the way again, asking him to hurry up. Vision leaves with the boys, and Wanda stands at the school entrance, alone for a few minutes even after they have turned the corner.

Novi Grad, Monday, 8:00 pm.

"Don't forget to feed little Chaos, that stinky cat." 

Wanda smiled at her father's message, typing that she had already done so before turning her face to the other side of the bed, where an orange cat was sleeping heavily. She reached out, and scratched him behind the ears, receiving a purr in return.

"Papa is being mean, you smell good, Chaos." She says to the kitten, who doesn't wake up. Then sounds of door and keys ring out in the apartment, and Wanda leaves her cell phone on the mattress before getting up and leaving the bedroom.

Pietro is dropping off his shoes in the doorway. "Hey, good evening. Is Papa home yet?"

She denies it, hands in her sweatshirt pockets. "Double shift. Were you at Barton until now?"

The boy chuckled shortly, letting his jacket hang down and turning his back to go to the kitchen. "Ne (no), I left hours ago."

Wanda frowned, the image of Vision chatting messages and unanswered calls in her head. "Vis left too? I tried calling him..."

"I don't babysit your boyfriend, Wanda." Pietro cuts her off from the refrigerator door, and she swallows dryly ready to leave the kitchen. He regrets his aggressiveness and sighs. "I left early because Crystal wanted to talk. Or rather, fight. I'm sorry for taking it out on you."

Wanda shakes her head. "No problem. Are you guys okay?"

Pietro takes out the dinner saved for him to heat up in the microwave, shrugging. "She dumped me for the ninth time, but she didn't throw anything at me this time so I'd say that was progress."

Wanda sighs. "What was the problem now?"

He chuckles, rolling his eyes. "I don't know, she saw me talking to the new girl at school and thought I was being too nice. She's as hot as she is crazy."

"Don't be sexist Pietro, it doesn't make you any cooler." Wanda retorts turning her back on him, and the twin rolls his eyes again, focusing on dinner.

Wanda returns to her room, and Chaos is stretching out on her bed. He's lying on top of her cell phone now, and she has to push him slightly to get the device. She tries to call, but Vision doesn't answer like all the other times.

Before she can go back to watching the paused video classes on her laptop, there is someone on her porch.

Wanda rushes over to help her boyfriend get inside.

"Weird, it seems to have gotten harder to do that." He comments on the small tear in his jeans made by the railing and Wanda laughs lightly.

"Maybe you just need to exercise more." She teases, making him chuckle. He kisses her, pushing his way inside, but Wanda pulls away with the excuse that she is helping him take off his backpack and jacket. When he sits down on the bed to pet Chaos before kicking the cat out of the room, Wanda asks. "Where were you?"

Vision begins removing his shoes. "At Barton's."

"Until so late?"

The boy lets out a confused laugh, raising an eyebrow at her. "You know his mother is never home to care. Pretty much like your daddy..."

"I tried calling you." She insists. 

He sighs wearily. "My cell phone died."

"Clint didn't have a charger?"

Vision laughs. "No, Wanda, he couldn't find it or whatever. What's this, huh? Some kind of interrogation?"

She swallows dryly, looking away, "No, I just... I was worried."

"Well, don't be, I'm right here." He retorts with a smile. "And you, well, you're quite far away..."

She laughs shortly, moving closer to sit on his lap. He is the one who initiates the kiss, and she cuts him off when she is starting to get out of breath. "Let me get the door." She gasps as she gets up, and Vision just nods.

But when Wanda returns, he notices the study items next to the laptop on the bed, and there is a test with a red note in his hands, and a little smile on his face. "I thought you said you got a C minus, Miss."

Wanda snatched the paper from his hand with rosy cheeks to the red F who seemed to mock her as much as her boyfriend. "Shut up." She says, and he gives up tormenting her when she kisses him again.

Novi Grad, Wednesday, 9:30 am.

"Hey, Wanda." 

The greeting comes accompanied by a tap on the shoulder because the brunette is wearing headphones. Wanda pulls out both items at once, looking at her colleague, Darcy Lewis, with curiosity.

"Hi, Darcy, good morning."

The one with glasses smiles. "Are you going to the welcome party on Friday? You didn't confirm the invitation on Facebook, and Jane is being a bit uptight about the organization. She and Thor are taking care of the drinks." Wanda superficially recognized the names mentioned, they were popular people at school, but they were not her friends. She looked at the book - Dracula - in her lap for a second before turning back to Darcy.

"I don't know, I'll probably..."

"What, be reading on a Friday night?" The girl interrupts with teasing, but not mean smile. "You know, I have nothing against interesting habits, but the welcome party is the first opportunity to meet new friends at the very beginning of the year. This, and also to show the spirit of solidarity with the new freshmen who will fund our graduation. It’s important they know who you are, even if you have chosen to adopt the position of the emo geek of this school. Right?”

Wanda hesitates, half unsure of what to say about the whole thing. Before she can think how to respond, Jane - who was addressing other tables in the study area - approaches Darcy.

"Can you believe Thor told me that Loki just texted that he's taking some friends? What part of Students only did he not understand? The principal won't be happy to hear that they had strangers at the party." Jane blurts out angrily, offering a forced smile of greeting to Wanda before returning to typing on her cell phone. Darcy clears her throat.

"The end of the world really." Murmurs the one with the glasses. "See you Friday, Maximoff?"

"I think so." Wanda retorts, and Darcy smiles, offering her a wink before leaving with her friend.

Wanda doesn't have much time to get back to reading in peace. The class bell soon rings, and she has to collect her unfinished book to get to the next class.

Novi Grad, Wednesday, 5:41 pm.

Watching Vision play soccer with his friends is never fun, but Wanda doesn't complain anyway.

She busies herself with her book, finding it definitely more interesting than watching the boys, and it is only at the first break that Vision interrupts her.

She complains about the kiss because he is sweaty.

"You look pretty when you're focused, you know that?" he compliments, hands resting at her side. She twitches her nose.

"Am I not pretty at other times?"

He chuckles. "Don't be silly, being pretty is your greatest talent." He retorts, and she forces a smile, trying not to look bothered by the phrase. He doesn't notice, moving away to get a bottle of water. 

The soccer field is not empty, but Wanda doesn't know the kids there besides Clint, and her twin obviously. She has seen some of them, but they were Vis's friends and not hers. So she has a big empty space around her in the stands.

Stealing glances at the surrounding groups of friends and couples, Wanda sighs before turning her gaze back to her boyfriend.

"Vis, will you go with me to the school welcome party?"

He makes a confused face, finishing a large sip of water before retorting, "That cheesy thing? Why do you even want to go to that, we've never attended it before."

She frowns softly. "It's not cheesy. It's important that the freshmen get to know us now, they are responsible for over half of the fundraising for the graduation trip-"

"Didn't your father say he was going to pay for yours?" He interrupts her with a raised eyebrow. 

Wanda sighs. "Yes, but I'm not going to think only of myself-"

"I have money too." He cuts in again shrugging. "Clint works, Pietro is your brother so he's insured too. You don't have to care about a dumb party full of brats, Wanda." He mocks with a chuckle, leaning in to kiss her, but Wanda turns her face away. Vis doesn't notice, distracted by the boys rushing him to get back to playing, and Wanda sighs at the thought that he almost never notices anything that bothers her. 

"I just think it would be nice to meet new people." She murmurs, and he sighs, looking down at the field and nodding that he's going already.

"Well, I guess we could drop in for a few hours, free booze is a nice thing..." He suggests, and her face immediately lights up. Vis extends a hand to her strands of hair. "But you have to do something for me."

She frowns. "What?" 

"Can my brother spend Easter with us?"

Wanda's excited expression drops. "Seriously? Can I bring mine?" She retorts wryly and angrily, closing the book. Vision sighs helplessly.

"Baby, come on..." She rolls her eyes, starting to put things away. "Hey, I know I said I didn't want anyone bothering us, but Dad grounded Tony and I don't want to leave him alone for the whole holiday..."

"If Tony would stop screwing up he wouldn't be grounded." Wanda retorts now standing up, with her backpack in her hands. Vision chuckles, making puppy dog eyes at her. 

"Please, darling. A party for a party." He negotiates, and she rolls her eyes.

"Okay, fine." She agrees, and he grins, grabbing her by the waist to spin her in the air despite her protests. With the delay, Clint approaches them, just as sweaty as his friend.

"Come on man, you two can hook up after the game." Says the boy, busy with the water as Vision lets go of Wanda with little grace, who pulls down the hem of her skirt with her cheeks slightly flushed with embarrassment. 

"I'm celebrating, Wanda has agreed to let Tony spend Easter at her family Cabin." Vision tells. Wanda wryly chuckles:

"Maybe you'd like to come too, it seems the holiday for two has turned into a holiday for everyone." 

Clint chuckles, wiping his mouth before commenting, "How did he convince you, Maximoff?"

She sighs. "He's taking me to the welcoming party on Friday." She says, and Vision shrugs, but Clint frowns.

"Friday? Don't you have that fancy dinner with your dad and the uni people? You haven't shut up about it for months." Clint recalls and Vision puts his hand to his head. 

"Oh, shit, it's true. Baby, I completely forgot..."

"Whatever." She says wearily with her hands in the air lightly. "See you tomorrow, Clint." He said leaving, and Vision patted the back of his friend's head before following his girlfriend.

Novi Grad, Friday, 07:12 pm.

"I'm already at the restaurant, good thing I wore a suit. Try to go to the party, it will be good for you." 

Wanda reread the message for the ninth time, trying to understand what in the last sentence bothered her so much. She sighed, looking at the little Chaos adjusting himself on her bed.

"What do you think, buddy? Do you think I should go to a stupid party?" She asks the cat, who doesn't even meow back. 

Wanda risks checking Instagram, only to be bombarded with pictures in her feed about the school party, which grew in popularity apparently because Loki wasn't the only one who took other than students.

She glanced around her messy room, and at the paused sitcom on her laptop. The Addams Family was not being efficient in distracting her tonight. Vision was at a dinner party with her father's contacts from Europe's top universities, Pietro was sleeping over at Crystal's because they got back together the day before, and Clint was supposed to be working. And there were no other friends.

Wanda forced herself to her feet. She could do this. New friends at a party, right? It shouldn't be that hard.

She got ready in record time and changed from her comfortable sweatshirt into a wine-colored cotton dress. Maybe it didn't scream friendly energy, but it definitely made her look pretty. 

Chaos meowed at her when she stood in front of the mirror, and Wanda thought she was good to go. She texted to Vision that she was going to have fun knowing he wasn't going to answer tonight before she left.

Novi Grad, Friday, 08:40 pm.

Music from the loudspeakers echoed throughout the room. The welcoming committee did a good job, because they had booked the whole night at the Panther Club, two blocks away from the school, and the place was completely full.

Wanda managed to get in at the ticket booth with her school ID and was given a different wristband for being of legal age. She imagined that this would guarantee alcoholic drinks for her inside the bar, but she doubted very much that anyone was respecting these rules of the amount of drunk freshmen around.

She was trying to have a good time. She didn't rely too much on the colorful drink that the bartender said was alcohol-free and decided to enjoy the Club's trademark live music show.

It wasn't exactly her idea of fun, being around hundreds of drunken teenagers, but Wanda tried to ignore the discomfort of her own boots to dance a little. 

It was not a good idea.

She returned to the bar area after three songs way too long for the good health of her toes and was considering leaving when she recognized the red-haired figure only a few feet away.

Jean was waiting for her drink, and saw Wanda out of the corner of her eye, assuming a defensive posture.

"Hi." Wanda greeted, receiving only an icy stare in return before the redhead looked forward again. Wanda sighed, "Jean, please. You can't ignore me forever."

"Not forever, it's already senior year." She retorts coldly, turning her body toward Wanda, one arm resting on the counter. The brunette swallows dryly, but the redhead smiles wickedly, the other hand reaching out to push the strands of brown hair behind the smaller girl's shoulder. "What do you want from me, Maximoff? A chance to stab my back, too?"

Wanda tenses her jaw, her eyes burning. "Please don't be like this." She pleads and takes on courage. "I miss you, you know. And Eve... Please just say something."

Jean licks her lips and tucks a strand of hair behind Wanda's ear before lowering her hands. She looks her in the eyes.

"Next time, try to use less eyeliner. You're looking like a slut." She declares, turning away before Wanda can really process what was said to her.

She feels her throat tighten with the urge to start crying and takes a deep breath. And then she feels a presence behind her.

"Very nice friend you have." Ironizes an unknown voice. Wanda turns around and is surprised by a slightly familiar face. 

You smile and stare back at her. "Did you know that girls who call others girls sluts are statically more likely to get chlamydia?"

Wanda frowns slightly. "Really?"

You grin "No, but it would be fun karma." You say, and it is her turn to chuckle. You then extend your hand to her. "I'm Y/N, we're in the same Literature class."

"Oh, that's right. The new girl." Wanda murmurs finally realizing where she recognizes the face from. "I'm Wanda."

"I know." You retort biting back a smile and when she blinks curiously, you half-heartedly clarify, "Your brother, Pietro, right? He's been very considerate of the new students, even the ones who aren't freshmen. He pointed you out in the courtyard once."

Wanda nods, a little out of frame. She wasn't very good at socializing, especially with those she thought were kind of attractive.

You noticed her distance and cleared your throat. "Just for the record, Wanda, and well, I'm no makeup expert but..." You extended your hand again, this time to her face, wiping with the tip of your finger a bit of eyeliner smeared by the tear she let fall. "I wouldn't say you look slutly, I'd say you look quite beautiful."

You compliment, and Wanda feels a shiver spread through her body. So surprised by her own reaction, she can barely smile back when you do so in farewell, leaving the bar.

She decides to run to the bathroom and check her makeup even though her legs are still shaking a little.

The sound of the party is muffled inside, and Wanda sighs as she sees her own reflection. She wants to believe what you said, but since Jean treated her like that, it's been a little difficult. 

With a wet piece of paper, she carefully removes the eyeliner, and just as she is finishing, she hears a soft cry coming from one of the booths.

Worried, Wanda throws the paper in the trash and follows the sound. "Hello?" she needs to call out another two times for the girl to sniffle and answer.

"Hey."

"Sorry to bother you, but are you okay?" It's kind of a silly question to ask someone who is crying in the bathroom, but it's the best that Wanda handles. And the girl seems to enjoy the kindness.

"Yeah, just... it's stupid." She replies in a small voice.

"Can you open the door for me for a minute?" There is a pause, but the keyhole unlocks and the girl pushes the door slightly. Wanda offers her an understanding expression and pulls her by the hand. "Come, I can help with the smudged makeup." The girl agrees to be led out of the booth, to the sinks. "I'm Wanda, by the way."

"I know, your brother is pretty popular." Mumbles the other one sniffling softly. Wanda smiles, "I'm Yelena. Can you call someone for me? The team captain?"

"Oh, sure." Wanda assures, kind of getting the impression that the girl is kicking her out, kind of uncomfortable with the attention.

She leaves Yelena and heads back to the party, spending a good ten minutes asking about this team captain to the people around - most of them too drunk to know - until finally one of the third-year girls points to a tall boy at the back of the club. "The only captain I know is Steve Rogers, sweetie. That pretty boy over there."

Wanda approached him in a circle of people, it was as uncomfortable as she expected. Steve, at least, seemed like a nice guy and followed her with some concern about that girl crying in the bathroom.

But when Wanda returned, Yelena was not alone. Another blonde girl was finishing helping her with her make-up.

"[...] you and Kate need to stop this push and pull, that's what I think." Advised the stranger. Yelena sighed.

"She left me crying in a bathroom, I'll never speak to her again."

"Come on Yelena..."

"Sorry." Wanda interrupts the interaction with Steve trailing behind her. "I brought your friend, Yelena. The team captain."

The two look at her as if she is crazy. Yelena points to the other, "This is my friend. Carol Danvers, captain of the basketball team."

Steve nods. "What's up, Carol?" he greeted her with a smile half confused by the whole thing. 

"Oh, I didn't know we had more than one...team." Wanda mumbles clumsily, and Yelena sighs half impatiently.

"Look, thanks anyway, it's the thought that counts. But we were in the middle of a conversation here..."

"God, you're so rude when you're mad at Kate." Carol complains. "Come on, Natasha was looking for you. Thanks again, sweetie." The blonde pulls her friend out of the bathroom, and Wanda decides she has had enough for the night.

She makes her way out of the bar, but on the street, she realizes that Steve Rogers has followed her the whole way.

"Hey, sorry, are you Jarvis Stark's girlfriend?" He asks and she takes her time assimilating her boyfriend's real name instead of the nickname everyone has used since elementary school. 

"Yeah, why?"

Steve smiles awkwardly. "Any chance you have his brother's number?"

Wanda has a good few seconds of pure surprise before muttering that she really wasn't talking to Tony. The blond gets a little disappointed but forces a smile. 

"Sorry, see you at school." She babbles, honestly tired from this night.

[pixiecaps]

after many streams and qsmp members talkin about it… i set off on a mission. like a typical weekday i woke up early to do groceries and i hit up my local latin supermarket. i bought ingredients to make hallacas.. but thats another rough journey that lies ahead. i then focus all my attention on what i really came here for. my grand mission. finding the Guaraná. the brazilian soda i had heard so much about mainly from philza minecraft as this british man seemed enamored by it.

i head for the soda aisle and begin searching. i pass by the american sodas and in a cool movie voice say, “this isnt about you.” i walk forth and pass by Jarritos, Frescolitas, Inca Cola, and so many many more. Doom and gloom sets in as i reach the end of the aisle and i find everything EXCEPT THE GUARANÁ. i begin to think how could this have happened? theres clearly something afoot. i must have missed something. anything. an overstimulated and rather depressed pixiecaps is left to do the only damn thing that i know in this world. i walk towards the eggnog as this shall surely cure my woes.. and then i spot it. an empty shopping cart with but one item inside. the Guaraná. all my crushed dreams and hopes are revived. its here. it exists somewhere in this damn market. the lady who’s shopping cart it belongs walks past and a very socially inept pixiecaps proceeds to not ask her where she found it. i instead gawk at her soda like a predator spotting its prey and frankly she probably thought i was fucking weird. i politely nod and walk away with a reinvigorated spirit. i will find that fucking soda if its the last thing i do.

just then i recall moments prior when i was standing at the venezuelan section looking at the candies and sweets of my childhood. reminiscing of the time i told a bunch of tumblr bloggers about these same treats. and then it hits me. how could i have been such a fool? the brazil section.

now ive been to this market a million times now and never have i ever seen a brazil section but that didnt stop me from searching. i pass honduras, i pass peru, i pass haiti, and then i see it. like the light at the end of the tunnel. “BRAZIL 🇧🇷” now i wont lie it was in the complete opposite area of the venezuelan section so i believe thats why i have never seen it in my entire life. but finally the end of my journey had arrived as i zoom in on my target. the Guaraná. i cheer, i dance, i cry.. internally. i physically pick up the box, put it in my cart, and mosey my way to the checkout line.

my entire life has led up to this very moment… i crack it open… i take a sip…

8/10

[stitched-mouth]

Madame Web Production BS

Just to be clear, I love this movie. But I love talking about what a dumpster fire it was behind the scenes so let me point everything wrong with my favourite of the year so far. SPOILERS!

• Cass’s personality is not fleshed out… that’s a major problem. I feel like they just told Dakota Johnson to do what she wants the whole movie BUT then right at they end they decide to give Cass a personality completely ripped from the comics. And it doesn’t work with the way Dakota was playing her the whole movie and these no character development over the course of the movie, so it’s actually a little scary seeing her switch at the end.

• None of the characters have a personality actually. The villain was the worst to be fair because I still don’t really understand his motives. Like… you tricked and murdered a pregnant woman and a few others because your family was poor? And you think Spidey strength will fix that? Um, ok. So is mine but I don’t know.. wouldn’t kill anybody over it though.

• I hate Sydney Sweeney’s image. And it’s not her or her marketing teams fault. It’s her fans’ and her directors. She’s constantly purposely dressed sexy in movies (even when dressed down like a nerd, she’s still sexualised) but then is playing a child. Like wtf. They did it to her in Euphoria and they’ve done it to her again in Madame Web. And how Sydney dresses for press also is clearly influenced by directors and fans’, like the look isn’t just what they want for her characters but also how she’s expected to be irl too. It’s kind of sick and related to how paedophilic things are still normalised in our society today, I’ll have to say that rant for another day though.

• Why does it feel like nobody cared about this movie? The script feels like the first draft that was supposed to have rewrites but nobody was bothered. Same with the editing, everything but especially the dialogue and music feels so placeholder, why was it in the finished project? Like even the Google cast page is not finished, only the leads have their character names on there. Zosia Mament (the villain’s assistant) is credited as fucking ‘Actress’.

• Why was Cassie able to fly to Peru when she’s a wanted criminal? Why is she flying to Peru when talking about laying low because she’s a WANTED CRIMINAL??!

• The writers constantly forgetting what year it is was hilarious and the editors just throwing one Brittney Spears song in and a few Beyonce billboards in to cover up their mistake is also hilarious.

• ACTUALLY, apparently the whole reason the movie was set in 2003 was because the director really wanted to use Toxic in the movie. Because apparently you can’t play a song in a movie if the movie doesn’t take place in the same year the song was released 🤡

• BUT Toxic was released in 2004 🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡

• The writers taking the time setting as a opportunity to reference Garfield’s Spider-Man but then also forgetting that that SM was born in 1995 🤡🤡🤡🤡

• Yes I checked, they specifically wanted to reference Garfield’s Spidey, but through editing they realised their mistake and started trying to make it look like they were talking about Tom Holland’s SM instead, which risks breaking some rules with Marvel… AND THAT SPIDEY WAS BORN IN 2001 SO THEY STILL FUCKED UP. The fact that a simple Google and common sense (like they must of know Garfield’s fist SM movie took place in 2012 and if he was born in 2003, he would of been only 9 years old in 2012 😑) would of fixed this problem is again hilarious.

• Obviously the biggest goof was Dakota Johnson not realising she’s not in a Marvel movie and firing her agent the same day the trailer got dropped 🤡

• She also might be in trouble for posting the teaser on her Instagram and tagging Marvel before the trailer dropped (so before she found out), but I don’t think Dakota manages her own socials tbh. That post was removed then put back up without a Marvel tag.

• The press tour is amazingly bad, I love it.

• Not seeing the girls turn or become heroes was probably the worst part about this movie but I knew that going in so didn’t mind too much. But the real issue is with how Sony keeps straight up lying to their audience with their trailers. Obviously some studios add somethings into their trailer to create more interest for the audience but that’s not what Sony is doing, they are straight up LYING. And they do it so often now I want to fight whoever is in charge of that, they are the reason this movie flopped.

• Them and the writers… and whoever decided to hire the Morbius writers again, everyone there deserves to lose their jobs.

• The only reason I want this movie to do well is because I want Madame Web to have more movies with Dakota Johnson, Sydney Sweeney, Adam Scott, Isabella Mercer, Emma Roberts and Celeste O’Connor all returning. But I really don’t see that happening now, I can’t see Dakota signing another contract with Sony or doing everything to get out of this contract if it’s not over yet.

• The fact that they had to dub the villain’s lines makes me so confused to why he was hired? He didn’t even give a good performance, not saying he’s a bad actor (I’ve heard he’s great on other movies), but he really didn’t do anything in MW.

• And the part with the FBI agent and the villain had me so confused too. Like, did she seduce him to find out information about him? Because it makes sense that the FBI would be suspicious of this guy. But then did he see through her act and decide to at least get laid before killing her and stealing her passcode? But everyone is saying he seduce her for her passcodes and yeah I’m confused.

• The problem is the pacing and how everything that needs explaining isn’t, but everything that doesn’t need an explanation IS explained. And too much.

“He worked with my Mom in this place looking for this spider right before she died”

That’s not the exact quote but it’s pretty close to and that’s less than 5 minutes in. Ok thanks spoiling the whole movie to me. I really didn’t know a movie could spoil the movie to me.

• I’ll add more to this post when I remember more bs this movie endured or forced me to endure, feel free to add to this list in the comments or reposts.

[ninjaofnaps]

Through the Star Field for You

OK! Here is my first attempt at fanfiction. Hopefully, it's enjoyable. I'm using it to warm up and dust off my writing skills. I also posted this on A03

I've enjoyed reading all the great fanfictions out there from people like @aislingdmdt @eridanidreams @bearlytolerant @spookyspecterino

I'm definitely looking for prompts, so feel free to send any my way.

Through the Star Field for You

The blackness gradually faded as she heard indistinct voices, far-off sounding as if from the other end of a tunnel. Where was she? The world was fuzzy as she tried to open her eyes. Oh wow, that was a mistake; her head hurt. Actually, her whole friggin body hurt. Where was she? The voices became intelligible, and Ves closed her eyes again, trying to focus on their words through the pain.

"And this new Dusty was the miner you sent in there?" a lilting English woman's accent.

A stronger female voice clips back, "No, that is not the new Dusty I sent in there. That's what I'm trying to tell you. My Dusty went in, and when we lost communication with him, we went to see what happened and found… her."

There was a pause, like the woman with the accent was trying to understand what had just been said. In the background, Ves heard a faint clicking and beeping of what she thought to be medical equipment. "So let me understand this. You're saying you let a new miner go in there to dig up the priceless artifact Barrett hired you to look for. You left him alone, and when you saw fit to finally check on him, he wasn't there, but she was? Have you found the other miner? Is that Argos suit she's wearing the same one the miner wore? You have to understand how utterly bizarre this sounds, correct?"

A sigh of exasperation from the other woman before, "I know how crazy this sounds; I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it myself. The new Dusy went in after the thing, "artifact," whatever, that Barrett wanted. We lost coms, went to see what happened, and the Dusty was gone! She was lying there in the Dusty's suit with that odd metal thing in her hand, out cold. So we called Barrett."

"So you lost your miner and could have lost the artifact in the process? Why was a miner in training looking for an item of this value to begin with? Could you be more incompetent? Exactly what kind of outfit are you running here?"

A deep male voice jumps in. "Hey guys, calm down. We'll get answers soon enough. Her vitals are shifting, Sarah. It looks like she's waking up."

Ves blinked and opened her eyes one at a time; her sight was clearer now but still not normal. A man in a spacesuit without a helmet creeps into her vision, "Hey there, sleeping beauty. How ya feelin'?"

"Everything hurts, but I'm alive, I think. Where am I? Who are you?"

The man's face splits into an award-winning smile as he says, "I'm Barrett, and you're on Vectera. Let's start with something simple. What's your name, and how'd you end up on this rock?"

Vectera? Ves has no idea what country that is and blinks dumbly at him, replying, "I'm a U.S. citizen." The curiosity in his eyes deepened as he pushed for more specifics. "The U.S? I think you really must have bumped your head in there. I think you mean U.C. as in United Colonies?" With a touch of exasperation, Ves responded, "No, I mean U.S., I'm a United States Citizen. I've never heard of the United Colonies. I was in South America on an archeology field project, a new temple discovered underground in Sama, Peru. I assume you're with search and rescue? There must have been a cave-in or something. I remember reaching for an object in the temple when things just went…" Ves trailed off, trying to make sense of the things she remembered, the lights, the sounds, the feeling like she'd been pulled through the universe, but the pain in her head increased the more she tried.

His dark complexion paled a bit as shock registered on his features, and he glanced over in the direction of the female voices she'd heard. With tentative concern lighting his eyes, he turned back to her and asked, "What year is it?" She slowly, painfully sat up and responded, "It's 2025, obviously." Her response met silence. The air hung with a hint of mystery, as if her words had woven an unexpected thread into the room's atmosphere. Using a hand to shade her eyes from the glaring overhead light, she glanced around; Ves noticed 3 people besides Barrett staring at her like she'd grown an extra head. "What?" She asked.

The shorter blonde woman with the English accent spoke, her stern expression softening a bit, "Barrett, have you given her a Med Pack yet? She may actually have taken a blow to the head in there. Let's try that before we ask her any more questions. "

Before applying the Med Pack, he asked if she would be okay with it, explaining that the medicine within the pack would help ease and heal any pain or injuries her body might be experiencing. Hesitant, she weighed her confusion with the current situation against the throbbing ache in her head. Eventually, her body's discomfort won out, a sense of uneasy surrender creeping in. It surprised her that she was willing to trust these people at all; it must be the bizarre circumstances that demanded a level of acceptance from her she wasn't usually willing to give.

In a flash, the Med Pack chased away any lingering pain and fatigue, leaving Ves wondering what exactly was in that little injector and if it was addictive. Feeling better than she had in years, she was torn from her internal thoughts by the stiff blonde woman; she thought Barrett had called her Sarah, who repeated the question about the year. Annoyance flared in Ves to this stupid line of questioning. Just as she began to respond, a sudden commotion erupted outside. The distant sounds of people yelling, a popping that sounded like gunshots, and chaos filled the air. Before worry could take seed in Ves, someone burst into the room shouting in a panicked voice, "Lin, the Crimson Fleet is here!"

Things happened so fast; it was all a blur to Ves. Everyone was racing to put on their helmets and started arming themselves. Vest jolted as a helmet was shoved into her hands; looking up, she saw Barrett giving her a smile that could charm the skin off a snake. Grabbing a pistol and holding it up, he asked, "Know how to use one of these?" She nodded a yes, and his smile grew as he said, "Good. Feel up to a little firefight? Those are pirates out there, and they aren't exactly known for taking prisoners." Pursing her lips, Ves looked at the gun again, then responded, "I've never been one to shy away from danger." "Good," he said, handing her the pistol and an extra clip. She checked to make sure it was locked and loaded before grabbing his arm. She pointed at the helmet and said, "I'll need help with this, though." Laughing, he mumbled something about her definitely not being from this time because even a 5-year-old knows how to get a spacesuit helmet on.

As the airlock door swung open into the dark night of an industrial setting, she stepped out into the heart of chaos. Instinct took over as she ducked into cover, her fingers quickly assessing the grip's texture and the gun's weight. Adrenaline kicked in, and she was in motion in a heartbeat, responding to the threat with an innate fluidity that felt almost meditative. Without thought, she swiftly dispatched three pirates, moving with a practiced killer's precision and skill. Swiftly sliding from one cover and rolling to another, making critical shots as she did. By the time she'd made it halfway across the platform, she managed to pick up a combat knife by sneaking up behind an unwitting pirate, grabbing the knife from his thigh sheath, and using his own weapon against him in a swift, fluid motion that spoke of ruthless efficiency. He was dead before he knew she was there and before his body even hit the ground. The edges blurred for her as she seamlessly incapacitated one adversary after another, dropping spent weapons and picking up new ones as she went. The actions seemed strangely natural, like she'd done this before, been in this exact situation before. Movement and survival overtook her until there was nothing but an eerie silence. In the aftermath, a mix of shock and disgust at the skill she didn't know she possessed overtook her as she stood there, gun in hand. The red-clad bodies of the Crimson Fleet littered the tarmac before her.

The silence was palpable as people came out from their cover, all eyes on her. Ves felt strangely embarrassed as the last of the adrenaline left her body. Barrett and Sarah approached her. The skin near his eyes crinkled in a knowing smile as he glanced at the gun in her hand, then back at her, saying, "Boy, you weren't kidding when you said you could use that. I knew I sensed something special in you when I saw you. And I think we may just be seeing the tip of the iceberg." Sarah looked less thrilled and more cautious than before. "Where did you learn how to do that? Ex-military?" Ves shook her head no. "I… I'm not really sure. I learned self-defense and guns a bit over time. I mean, I travel for work, to remote places as a woman alone. It always seemed smart to know a bit of self-defense." Looking back at the bodies, she said, stumbling over her words, "But… this… I, I didn't know I could do this." A slight tremor started in her hands as she dropped the gun she was holding. "We need to get you somewhere safe before figuring out exactly who or what you are. I say we head back to Constellation and get you some rest and a medical workup before we figure all this out." Numb to the overwhelming situation at hand, you nodded your acquiescence. A brief conversation with Barrett and Sarah followed; the former decided to stay behind and assist Lin, who seemed to be in charge of the mining camp, with the remnants of the pirate attack.

Questioning her reality, Ves followed Sarah to the ship. A starship. Her mind stumbled across the thought as she tried to believe what she was seeing, a fucking starship? Directing her to a cot on board the small ship, Sarah advised her to get some sleep on their short trip. Clumisly removing her helmet and stumbling out of the space suit, she collapsed into the cot, squeezing her eyes shut against the tumbling thoughts. When Ves finally opened her eyes, her breath hitched. Directly above her was a window out into the star field. A swirling mass of galaxies on an endless black highlighted with greys, twinkling whites, strokes of soft blues, and pinks that twirled in an infinite pattern that could only have been crafted by a master artist's hand. She'd only ever seen photos from NASA like this, yet here it was before her, real as could be and more beautiful than she ever imagined. As the soothing darkness of sleep overtook her, the last thoughts drifting through her head were of the frightening and extraordinary reality she had found herself in.

[platadesangre]

we NEED to talk about jcs 1975 madrid cast!

i have come to make camilo sesto justice

(i finally finished this post yay!)

i may be a bit biased, since this was my first jcs.

short story on how i discovered it

my dad used to be an apostle for a bootleg staged playback jcs in peru during the 70s! they used this version.

he had the cd. he also had the mp3 files. i used his computer, so that was how 13 year old me found it.

those were tough times, bc later i started doing catechesis and i kind of got depressed and started questioning my faith lol. judas' character really resonated with me

since this is a recording, i didn't have any footage to reference, so i made up everything in my mind. (this is why it was a bit weird for me to see the english productions, bc they looked nothing like in my head lol)

now, a bit of historical context for spain in the 70's

camilo sesto was a popular spanish singer and actor who went to see the jcs 1971 broadway production in london. he loved it so much that he did everything he could do financially to bring the show to spain.

spain was in a fascist dictatorship at the time

they fought with censorship for years, that's why the lyrics are a bit different (i'll make a post about that too)

they had to remodel the alcalá-palace theater stage entirely

franco (our dictator) died two days after the premiere (about time lol)

the "ultras" (conservatists) didn't like the show so they did lots of crazy stuff (for example, praying for the cast outside the theater or sending BOMB THREATHS?)

anyways, this was the first official translation for jcs!

on the main cast we have

camilo sesto as jesus christ (he wanted the role from the beggining)

teddy bautista as judas iscariot

ángela carrasco as mary magdalene

here's an old pic of them (and some apostles)

(now that i look at it closely, it kind of looks like a bootleg jcs 1973 lol)

on the recording

it's a stereo recording, so use both headphones or you'll miss out on half of it

musically speaking, it's similar to the og concept album (songs ending on fade-outs and shorter trial before pilate) but it has some interesting choices (teddy, the producer and the voice of judas, took a lot of... artistic liberties)

some things this version has

it adds lots of synth. it's very psychodelic. i understand this can be a turn off for some people

they kinda change the key to many songs. maybe to fit vocal ranges idk

teddy just loves to make up new melodies (please give this man some water)

EPIC GUITAR SOLO in what's the buzz

what's the buzz and strange thing mystifying are separated tracks for some reason

camilo sings so good

cute synth in everything's alright ángela has such an angelic voice she makes such a good mary

the drums and guitars during this jesus must die are so danceable

the BEST simon zealotes i've heard. shit goes HARD. he goes CRAY

i really love this pilate, in my rating he would be the best one

camilo's "¡SALVAOS VOSOTROS!" during the temple is really pathetic lol

damned for all time interlude replaced by synths. the SAX SOLO is also replaced by synth (questionable choice)

cool thing happens during the end of this song that i'll talk about in another post

judas' occasional nervous laughter really adds to his character

also he cries a lot

"you sad pathetic man" part during last supper is... fairly different! (i'm looking at you teddy...)

camilo's gethsemane is epic. he's a baladist singer but MAN he can ROCK

cool harmonica during the arrest

i'll never shut up about our pilate (he nervous laughs too)

herod is so fruity

judas' death really hits different when you were depressed and questioning faith (this version is BRUTAL) also lyrics change (i'll talk about it i swear)

teddy's one of the few judas who sing the i don't know how to love him reprise in the higher scale!! it sounds so painful and anguished

the album continues acceptably

other cool things it has

jesus and judas have this interesting accent difference. since camilo is from valencia, he has this pristine and traditional spanish accent. and teddy is from canarias (also lived in the usa) so his accent is rougher and more, crusty? idk how to explain it but it's neat and stablishes their dynamic a bit. (ángela is from dominican republic! but her accent is barely noticeable)

on the footage aspect, we only have old vhs videos and live audios uploaded on youtube. also some old photos

there is a book about this version. it has some anecdotes (only available in spanish)

now we have a 4 episode mini-series about the odyssey that it was to produce this. it's called "camilo superstar" (i won't be watching it bc it's a bit fan-ficy from what i've seen)

the posts i'll make about this production will be tagged as #jcs 1975 madrid

you can listen to it on spotify!

or on youtube (playlist made by me)

[djarins-cyare]

Hi, Jem! Sending you a Secret Springs postcard from beneath the stars! It's beautiful, but my time with this caravan is almost up and I must pass it along to a friend to take on a new adventure... my gut tells me the next lucky recipient is you!

Something exciting to know about this camper: it can teleport! You can take it anywhere on Earth, no worries about fuel, landing permits, which side of the road you'll have to drive on, whether it will fit into a parking space in a city, etc. — we're talking about a magic vehicle here!

Assuming our lovely Mayor El is able to find a replacement childminder for all those summer campers (I'll ready up the brib—I mean, I'll speak to her very respectfully and offer to help out in his stead), where do you think you might like to take Din to see and why?

🌸 M @toomanytookas

Hi M! Thanks for the postcard , and sorry it’s taken me — holy crap — almost 3 weeks to respond 😭 But my tardy reply is because I’ve been spending a wonderful few weeks with Din in the magical teleporting caravan!

Since Din isn’t from Earth, and since our camper could actually teleport, he asked me to take him to places unique to Earth so he could experience the best of the planet. It was a tall order given we’re a planet of diverse cultures and climes, but after much discussion, we took the magical teleporting caravan to see the Seven Wonders of the World!

We started with Petra in Jordan, and after I told him it was in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, we ended up watching it that evening.

Then we visited the Great Wall of China, but Din didn’t get my jokes about Pero Tovar, so that night’s movie was The Great Wall (he liked the character!).

On to the Colosseum in Italy we went, and we watched Gladiator that evening (I showed him the trailer for the second movie and he’s keen to see it!).

Next was Chichén Itzá in Mexico, and we had a romantic night in watching Against All Odds (abandoned it halfway through following a *ahem* particular scene, as we had other things on our minds 😏).

We then followed that up with a trip to Machu Picchu in Peru, and later experienced some cinematic history by watching The Secret of the Incas. The llama did not join us.

After that, we went to the Taj Mahal in India, and Din was fascinated why someone would build such a lavish mausoleum, so we watched Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story, and held hands all the way through 🥹.

Our last stop was the most modern Wonder, Christ the Redeemer in Brazil, and by this point I was running out of films featuring the Wonders, so we ended our trip with some Disney watching Rio, which features the famous monument but is also a fitting tribute to the urge to discover the world 💖

All in all, we had a fantastic time! Thanks for sending the magical camper our way, and I hope you had an equally amazing vacation in it! ✨

[fictional-love-is-my-life]

While I understand some like Noah and saying he is better than sam, I meant Noah offering g himself to go to Peru but I think peoples forgetting when sam first time meet Autobots he is ordinary 16 , and of course he scare and really trying stay away from Autobots but unfortunately the condition forced sam to fight to. And Noah is like 20s and have military experience and well adult stuff, he understand things.

Again I understand why they said Noah is better than sam but my problem is that they compared sam angry with Autobots when they accidentally destroy his dad yard with how Noah buy parking tickets to all Autobots. Now I know what they want to say 'sam is cheap or stingy and Noah is generous' but are they forgetting that Autobots literally destroy his dad (basically his but not really) yard that you need pay like 100- 1000 dollars, of course sam is angry specially if his dad blame him. And yes Noah maybe not rich and he in conditions need money but how much Noah must pay for parking anyway in 1994? It's not many as yard fixing. So please if they want comparing playing they must really make sense.

I don't think one is better than the other. I know everyone has their favorite human companions and everyone can and does like one better. But I think they are both great.

They have their similarities and differences.

I mean, when both of them first encountered a Transformer they both wanted to leave and run away. Neither was interested in getting involved. But they got roped into it, and eventually they both fell into the role and both started to care about the bots. That's a similarity they have.

The differences are their skills. Yes Noah is a trained soldier and Sam is not. Noah was able to join and help in the fight and was a much better fighter because of his training. I really enjoyed seeing him actually fight. Sam didn't have a fighting background, but that didn't stop him. He adapted, he used his other strengths in the battles. He was a fast runner, he was dedicated and willing to help in whatever way he could. They had different skills, but they are both strong, capable, brave and wanting to help.

Sam was a teenager so he didn't have money no. But I feel like Nest probably paid for most of the damage the bots did. Noah worked and paid for the parking tickets but he didn't have to, he chose to because it was a nice thing to do. Plus I'm pretty sure if Sam did have money then he absolutely would have paid for things the bots broke. I don't think Sam is cheap, he just didn't have the funds at that time.

They are similar and different in good ways. And also, they gave us different stories. If every human companion was the same every time it would get really boring. I love seeing different humans with different stories interacting with the bots. There will still be people that say one is better than the other. But personally I think they are both great, they are different and brilliant in their own way.

[tropes-and-tales]

I Promise I’ve Got You

December 13:  Snuggle/Book - There was only one bed (Horacio Carrillo x F!reader)

(From the winter prompts found here)

CW:  Angst; past talk of sexual encounters; convoluted situations; no editing whatsoever, I’m posting straight from the first draft like a psycho.  

Word Count:  1493

AN:  This is a sequel to this!

AN2:  Requested by anon!  Posting early because tomorrow is a busy day and I’ll be offline for most of it!

After the bust, Carrillo is supposed to fly with you directly to Medellín.  On the plane, he undoes your handcuffs and drops some of the routine.  The pilot is U.S. Army, contracted by the CIA, and likely isn’t in the pay of Escobar.

It should be an easy trip home, but weather—a brewing storm, fast-moving—forces a landing in Peru.  Plenty of pilots chanced the Andes in bad weather.  The mountains were strewn with the wreckage of their planes.

The place Carrillo finds barely even qualifies as a hotel:  it’s more like a bed and breakfast, a family-run affair with the family taking up all of the bedrooms except the one you are able to book for the night.  The pilot opted to stay at the tiny airfield and sleep in the hangar, unwilling to part from his plane.  

The weather should clear over the next few hours, so Carrillo only has to pass the single night—

“Take the room,” he murmurs.  “I’ll see if they would mind me taking the couch....”

He trails off when he sees the hurt in your eyes.  Hurt, now, on top of the exhaustion you must feel after being undercover for so long.

Hurt and exhaustion and not a bit of fight left in you.  Before being UC, you would have challenged him, put your hands on your hips and stared him down and demanded that he talk to you, because him offering to sleep separately was not like him at all…

“Yeah, sure,” you say.  There an exhaustion in your voice too, a weary resignation he’s never heard before.  It frightens him:  you’re usually so indefatigable, so tireless.  A cheerleader for the team when spirits flag, and now you’re so far from that person you were, Carrillo barely recognizes you.

“Unless,” he adds softly.  “Unless you don’t mind me staying with you?”

The question between the two of you, always hovering but never given a voice.  What are you, exactly, to each other?  An easy lay, early on.  Both needing release, both discreet enough to keep the hook-up situation going.  But the line blurred in his head while you were UC—he worried about you constantly, and he knows he can’t go back to what the two of you were before.

He has no idea how you feel, but you finally nod at him, then hold your bedroom door open for him to come in.

-----

The bed is one of those backcountry specials—wider than a standard single, more narrow than a double.  In the aftermath of the raid and the UC mission, after months apart, Carrillo turns chivalrous.  

He tries to lie down without touching you.  He doesn’t want to be pushy, doesn’t want you to have to deal with himwhile you’re still processing your months in the seedy underground of the cocaine trade.

He’s seen you push through discomfort plenty of time.  Running with a sprained ankle.  Intel with a migraine.  He doesn’t want to be another thing that pushes your comfort to the side.

He must be more tired than he realizes.  He drifts off while he’s still arguing with himself:  to reach for you or to leave you be?  To talk to you or let you rest in silence?

-----

He’s not sure when he wakes:  the room is dark and the entire house is quiet.  The only sounds are the wind outside rattling a loose shutter, the lonely moaning through the eaves.  

He wakes because the bed is shaking, and it only takes him a beat to realize—it’s you, crying.  Crying as quietly as possible, to the point where he only catches your breathing as you try to work through your feelings without bothering him.  

At least, that’s what he guesses.  The two of you had that argument once, right before you left for the UC assignment. You had seemed nervous, keyed-up.  After a vigorous night of sex, he had lain beside you, guessed at your nerves.  Guessed maybe you were scared of the prospect of working directly with Escobar’s men.

You had snapped at him then.  Told him to save you the head-shrinking routine.  You’d climbed out of bed and gotten dressed so fast his head spun, and then you’d fixed him with a withering glare before leaving.

“It’s not like we’re a couple,” you had snapped at him then.  “So save me the fucking noble thoughts now that we’re at the end.”

In the months since you’ve been gone, Carrillo’s replayed that moment more times then he’d admit.  Parsed it out to see what had really been bothering you that night.  Months later, he’s come to the conclusion:  he’d hurt you by not wanting to be in a relationship with you, back then.  He’d hurt you by leaving it undefined for too long, and then you were off to face danger in a way you never had before.  He’d hurt you by never giving voice to the words he wanted to say, still too hurt from his divorce, still too unwilling to let himself open to be hurt.

Now you’re crying quietly beside him, trying not to wake him. ��Not to bother him.  You’re probably embarrassed that you cried in the car ride, ashamed to have even shown that little bit of weakness.  Though he’d never consider it a weakness, and he hates that you do.

But the two of you have been apart for months, and Carrillo came to some tough realizations too.  That he does love you.  That he does want to be with you, in whatever way you’ll take him.  Absence makes the heart grow fonder, the saying goes, and doubly so when your return had been so uncertain.  You could have just as easily returned to him in a box.  Or been disappeared altogether, you and Perez lost in the vast jungles or mountains of Escobar’s domain.

“Hey,” he says now, and he feels you go rigid beside him.  Hears the muttered curse when you realize you’ve woken him up.

“Sorry,” you whisper.

“No sorry.  None of that.”  He reaches for you, fumbles in the dark.  Finds you, finds your shoulder and turns you over to face him.  He reaches up to cup your face, and he feels your tears.  Feels the streaks they’ve cut over your cheeks and chin, so he wipes them away gently.  When the gesture makes you cry afresh, he wipes those away too.

“You’re safe,” he continues, and he pulls you to him.  Cradles your head against him, an echo to the moment in the car together, but now it’s not awkward.  He pulls your entire body to his, turns you underneath him a bit as if he can protect you with the breadth and width of himself.  He keeps one hand on the back of your head but snakes the other arm under your back to hold you firm.

“I’ve got you.  I promise I’ve got you.”  He kisses the space between your eyebrows, feels the tension there as you cry even harder at his words.  So he kisses you again, muttering that you’re safe, that he’s there with you.  Kisses you over and over until the tears taper off.

He waits until the tears are truly done.  Waits until your breathing evens out and loses it’s panicky edge.  He waits until he knows you can really hear him—not just hear his words, but really hear him.

“I love you.”  He says it quiet but firm, feels how you still underneath him.  It’s not the best place to say it—in a quiet Peruvian bed and breakfast during a snow storm.

It’s not the best time to say it either.  The best time would have been months ago when he first felt it.  Should have said it then instead of burying it deep.  But the second best time is now.

“Carrillo, you don’t need to—”

He silences you by pressing his lips against yours.  Closed-mouth, gentle.  As much as he wants you, he wants to wait.  Wait until you are back on solid ground.  Until you feel more like yourself.  It feels uneven at this moment, like he might be taking advantage of you.  You feel fragile in his arms.  It makes him protective, even from his own baser wants.

“I do,” he murmurs against your lips.  “I do need to, because it’s the truth.  I love you.  I should have said it sooner.”

You’re quiet for a long time, but he can feel you trying to study him in the darkness.  You’re quiet for so long that despair starts to creep in:  he’s waited too long, you don’t feel the same…

Then he feels it—your hand on his cheek.  Cupping his face, drawing him back down to you, kissing him this time, sweeter and softer than any kiss you’ve ever shared before, and his chest feels a lightness it hasn’t felt in ages…

“I love you too,” you whisper to him.  

[esotericas-sims]

Fleur,

I looked into that museum you asked me to. The only thing I could really find was a brief article from a year or so ago - I've enclosed it. Do you think it's the same person? V.S.? It mentions a wife and a daughter too. I hope that is at least enough to get you started in your investigation. How is Peru? Is that man you mentioned really in love with you? Men are horrible, you know, they're so quick to change their minds about a woman. I would be careful.

[ Transcript: ECCENTRIC FOREIGNER & SOCIALITE BRIDE FOUND HISTORY MUSEUM. Lord V.S. and his wife T. have orbited the New York social scene for many years, but it is not until now that the remarkable couple have chosen to put themselves in the spotlight. Our sources say that Lord S. has put upwards of $————— towards the creation of a history museum in Manhattan - one that claims to rival our beloved Met. Why he has chosen to abandon his reclusive lifestyle is anyone’s guess, but some suspect the coming-of-age of his daughter may have something to do with it. Either way, word has spread of a charity ball at their family home to help raise funds for the new museum��� ]

Affairs in New York are going wonderfully. I graduated a few months ago, and have gone straight into a job at the Symphony Orchestra, on the piano of course. It doesn't pay well, and my apartment is a one-room decrepit ruin, but I hope once I prove my worth they'll pay me a bit more.

Besides the minor fact of my terrible pay, I am reminded that the city suits me even more when I am not restricted by class hours. So many people to meet, so much to see...

You mentioned Mags - I hear Olive has been spreading lies about me again. She is a dear friend, but I assure you, marriage is far from my mind at the moment. The world is too wide for me to tie myself down!

Anyways, I hope that you are well, and that the heat hasn't entirely destroyed you. I can't imagine what it must be like down there - the summers here are already stifling compared to home.

Write me back soon, and let me know if that article proves useful.

Your loving brother, J. Spectre

Playing with  SeveralPerson’s Ultimate Decades Challenge Rules

Started: 1800s

Current decade: 1910s

Family tree

Spreadsheet

CC Finds

[mariana-oconnor]

The Sussex Vampire pt 2

It took me five times to write the title correctly, so this is clearly going to go brilliantly.

Back to the vampires

Now, my working theory is that the son is secretly trying to off his new half-sibling and frame his stepmother. Mainly I think this because Peru, because British authors in the first part of the twentieth century loved a good untraceable tropical poison from South America.

“She verra ill,” cried the girl, looking with indignant eyes at her master. “She no ask for food. She verra ill. She need doctor. I frightened stay alone with her without doctor.”

First... wow. That's some terrible accent work there. Yikes. Second, is she ill because she's been sucking poison out of her baby's neck?

“Would your mistress see Dr. Watson?” “I take him. I no ask leave. She needs doctor.”

First, all he's going to do is prescribe brandy. And second, it's lucky he's actually a medical doctor (Although I'm not convinced he's ever done much medicine. He wasn't at his practice much before he abandoned it to live with Holmes again.) You can't just go assuming that everyone called doctor such and such knows medicine. I have many friends and relatives who are doctors and literally 1 of them is a medical doctor.

Both were high, and yet my impression was that the condition was rather that of mental and nervous excitement than of any actual seizure.

Or... an untraceable tropical poison...

“A fiend! A fiend! Oh, what shall I do with this devil?”

A fiend? A devil? Or perhaps...

(No, she's referring to the son. Definitely because who else could it be. Way too obviously directed at her husband here for it to actually be him.)

So far no brandy though. Watson must have lost all his medical knowledge since he left his practice. Woe.

“He loves me. Yes. But do I not love him? Do I not love him even to sacrifice myself rather than break his dear heart? That is how I love him. And yet he could think of me—he could speak of me so.”

Lady, I get it, I get it. You don't want to tell him his son is a murderer. But given the evidence you've left the poor man with, what do you expect. You think he'll just be like 'well, she beat my son and she keeps chowing down on our baby's neck, but I trust that she knows what she's doing?'

...a youth entered the room. He was a remarkable lad, pale-faced and fair-haired, with excitable light blue eyes which blazed into a sudden flame of emotion and joy as they rested upon his father. He rushed forward and threw his arms round his neck with the abandon of a loving girl.

The child is evil.

Although I kind of dislike how they're using his 'excess' of emotional response to show this, especially with the comparison to a woman. There's a distinct undercurrent in this description that sparks of him 'showing too much emotion for a boy' and therefore being othered.

Or maybe I'm reading too much into things in order to support my own hypothesis. Am I altering data to suit my story? Am I the misogynistic one reading too much into this.

Although it literally says in the text that his father 'gently disengaged himself from the embrace with some little show of embarrassment.'

Like, tell me that isn't outright supporting my reading.

Presently he returned, and behind him came a tall, gaunt woman bearing in her arms a very beautiful child, dark-eyed, golden-haired, a wonderful mixture of the Saxon and the Latin. Ferguson was evidently devoted to it, for he took it into his arms and fondled it most tenderly.

Watson out there refusing to apply gendered pronouns. How very modern of him. Lol.

It is a bit weird to see a baby referred to as 'it' so consistently, though. Not even 'them'. Reminds me of the baby object in the Sims.

Then he smiled, and his eyes came back to the baby. On its chubby neck there was this small puckered mark. Without speaking, Holmes examined it with care. Finally he shook one of the dimpled fists which waved in front of him. “Good-bye, little man. You have made a strange start in life."

Holmes being very nice to a baby. Actually interacting with... it? when he really doesn't need to. Not like the baby knows what he's saying. Just taking the time to be nice to a baby. Super heartless and lacking in empathy, that man.

“Do you like her, Jack?” Holmes turned suddenly upon the boy. His expressive mobile face shadowed over, and he shook his head. “Jacky has very strong likes and dislikes,” said Ferguson, putting his arm round the boy. “Luckily I am one of his likes.”

On the one hand, perfectly reasonable to dislike the woman who beat you. On the other hand, maybe the father knows his son is capable of terrible things.

The boy cooed and nestled his head upon his father's breast. Ferguson gently disengaged him.

Oh my god, he's a kid. Let the boy have a hug. Even if he is a monster-child, this is probably why. Though I have a sneaking suspicion the story is going to try to tell me it's the exact opposite.

"Now, Mr. Ferguson, I am a busy man with many calls, and my methods have to be short and direct. The swiftest surgery is the least painful. Let me first say what will ease your mind. Your wife is a very good, a very loving, and a very ill-used woman.”

And your son is a murderer.

“I will do so, but in doing so I must wound you deeply in another direction.” “I care nothing so long as you clear my wife. Everything on earth is insignificant compared to that.”

People really need to think before they make statements like this. I understand that he is unlikely to consider that his son is trying to murder his other child in a fit of outraged jealousy over having to share his beloved father, but still... famous last words.

"The idea of a vampire was to me absurd. Such things do not happen in criminal practice in England."

The specficity of this is very bizarre. Do they happen in other kinds of practices in England?

"Was there not a queen in English history who sucked such a wound to draw poison from it?”

Was there?

OK, apparently this refers to Queen Eleanor, who sucked the poison from Edward I's poisoned knife wound in 1272. A story that has, sadly, fallen out of vogue in the English educational system. Probably because we don't really like to discuss the crusades except in a very general, distant sense. Or... y'know... any of the other times we invaded people. There are a lot of gaps in English history lessons.

“A South American household. My instinct felt the presence of those weapons upon the wall before my eyes ever saw them. It might have been other poison, but that was what occurred to me. When I saw that little empty quiver beside the small bird-bow, it was just what I expected to see. If the child were pricked with one of those arrows dipped in curare or some other devilish drug, it would mean death if the venom were not sucked out."

Curare, that was the name I've been trying to think of. Very popular for a while in literature.

“I watched him as you fondled the child just now. His face was clearly reflected in the glass of the window where the shutter formed a background. I saw such jealousy, such cruel hatred, as I have seldom seen in a human face.”

Sometimes it does suck to be right.

Suck... heh. Pun wasn't intended, but I'll take it.

“I think a year at sea would be my prescription for Master Jacky,” said Holmes.

Like... they're making him work on a ship? I know therapy isn't really anything at this point in time. But would-be murderer child gets sent to sea?

I doubt he'll be killed in a mysterious shipwreck off page, like so many others have been, but really... how is sending him to sea going to help literally anyone? Surely it'll just make him angrier and more resentful.

Victorian parenting was super weird.

Is this to 'make him a man', because we've seen him being compared to a woman? Is this some sort of misguided restoration of the gender binary to save him?

"There, now,” he added as he closed the door behind him, “I think we may leave them to settle the rest among themselves.”

Also Holmes reading the room well enough to know husband and wife need some alone time?

(One last vampire gif there that I don't know if anyone but me will even recognise. Josef, you almost made me understand the vampire thing...)

[15minlatewithbatbucks]

untitled janet/talia, Bruce's bio kid Tim AU pt. 2

Stepping out into the small lobby that served the two giant offices on this floor (Bruce Wayne’s and Lucius Fox’s, if she remembered correctly), Janet was glad to finally put a face to the woman she’d been speaking with for the past two weeks. The grandmotherly woman pecking at her computer keys like a particularly discerning chicken had to be Emma Johnson and most importantly, she did not have a child underfoot.

“Hello, Emma,” Janet greeted warmly as she walked up. She was still early by a good ten minutes, but she was a little past caring about being fashionably on time. The woman looked up in surprise though she must have heard the elevator. Janet’s smile was honest as she approached; in her efforts securing this meeting, she’d found Emma to be a lovely sort of woman and was charmed by her Coke bottle glasses.

“Oh, you must be Janet,” she said, voice just as sweet as Janet remembered. “Did you find your way up alright? I don’t think we’ve had you here before, have we?”

“The front desk was very helpful,” Janet assured her. “Yes, it’s my first time scoring a meeting with the Bruce Wayne.”

“Good, we’re happy to have you,” she nodded firmly and lifted her phone, presumably to dial her employer. “Hello, Mr. Wayne. Your next appointment is here, Janet Drake.” She gave Janet a little wink. “Okay. Okay, Mr. Wayne, thank you.”

She set the phone back in its cradle and smiled. “You can go on in. Between you and me, I think he wants the distraction until Mr. Fox comes back up from R and D and forces him to finish his paperwork.”

“Always put off until tomorrow what you could have done today,” Janet said. “Isn’t that how the saying goes?”

“Oh, certainly. Particularly if your name happens to be on the building.”

“Well, since mine sure isn’t, I shouldn’t waste any more time,” she said, but hesitated. “Emma, would you say that Mr. Wayne is a good man?”

“He’s good to us,” she said with an easy shrug. “I think that counts for something. Men like him don’t have to be good to people like me, but he is. Always look at how they treat their staff or the people serving them, that’s what I say.”

“You’re right,” she agreed. Jack was a fair weather friend to his employees. He was nice enough – until something went wrong. “Well then, wish me luck.”

“You won’t need it,” Emma promised as Janet let herself into Bruce Wayne’s impressive office. It was intimidating. It gave her the same feeling she had when she was seventeen and being called into the principal’s office though the stakes now were much, much higher.

Even as anxious as she was, Janet had to admit the office was a thing of beauty, all clean lines and the sweeping views. Bruce Wayne arguably had the only good view of Gotham: high up and expansive enough that you couldn’t see the filth and petty crime on the streets below.

It’s understated minimalism was marred by little personal touches everywhere. Pictures and children’s artwork hung on the walls and were framed on the large desk. Behind it, Bruce Wayne sat watching her with those too-blue eyes of his.

“Good morning, Mr. Wayne,” she said, opting for formality even though it felt wrong. Bruce Wayne had given her a screaming orgasm and a tiny human being – she felt a little entitled to use his first name.

“Just Bruce,” he thankfully corrected, standing to offer her a hand. “It’s a pleasure to see you again, Janet. Last I heard, you and Jack were exploring, uh, Bolivia?”

“Peru,” she corrected, taking his offered hand and shaking it firmly. He directed her into a chair and she eased down into it as Bruce retook his seat. Her head was full of little niceties she could do or say to ease this fraught situation, but she was tired and you really only had to make nice if you intended on continuing to play the game.

And Janet was tapping out.

“I know you’re probably a little confused about why I’m here,” she said, cutting off what was sure to be excruciating small talk about Jack or Peru. “And I’d like to be blunt with you.”

Bruce paused for half a moment and just looked at her. Unlike most of the world, she knew Bruce wasn’t half the fool he pretended to be for the media and she knew he had to remember their night together in Cypress.

“By all means,” he eventually settled on.

She nodded and pulled her phone out of her purse. His brow furrowed as she navigated back to that picture of Timothy at the ice cream parlor. She gave it the quickest look before setting it on the desk and sliding it towards Bruce.

A picture, after all, was worth a thousand words.

“This is Timothy,” she said as Bruce’s eyes traced the picture, no doubt taking note of the boy’s likeness to himself. His black hair, so different from Jack or Janet’s brown and crinkled blue eyes, much lighter than Janet’s own.

“He’s a cute kid,” he said flatly, his polite cheer giving way to wariness. Janet nodded, both at his word and at his unspoken suspicion.

“I didn’t lie about being on birth control,” she said. He was a mistake, she didn’t say. “I had an IUD. I got pregnant anyway.”

“And you think he’s mine.”

[lulutaylorsimaginarium]

The Chain

Summary: When the guys get stuck in a situation and hunted down by a drug lord. Frankie makes a call he really doesn’t want to make to the only person that can help them

Words:1,424

Warnings: “creator chooses not to use warnings.” If you click Keep Reading, that means you agree that you’re the right age to handle mature themes. We handle our own triggers with kindness and grace

AN: Mind any grammar mistakes even though the story has been checked. The author is dyslexic and it is the wonders of her brain.

PART ONE - PART TWO - PART THREE

PART FOUR

Will opened the door to Gabby and Frankie’s van to see them both sleeping in the drivers’ seat, stretched out on the passenger side, all arms, and legs. Her face buried in his neck and holding hands

“If I didn’t know any better” he said to Benny under his breath.

“Do we know any better?”

Santiago walked towards the van from the other direction, seeing everything through the windshield. He snuck his arm through the small gap of the open window and pressed the horn for maybe a little longer than he should have.

Frankie and Gabby jumped out of their skin before a stream of swear word run out of Frankie’s mouth in Spanish.

Gabby rested her head back on to Frankie’s shoulder looking up at Santiago through the window

“There are nicer ways to wake me up, Garcia”

Frankie tried not to laugh to the way she always had to be like a bull running towards a red flag.

She couldn’t help herself.

“We’re already late” Santiago yelled back at them before getting back in his van.

As much as she wanted to a huge cup of coffee, she refused to drink instant. It amused her that she couldn’t get a good cup of coffee when they were carting around so much of it right now.

Gabby moved off Frankie and hopped into the passenger seat

“Can I drive?”

“Nope. We’re driving through Peru. It might get a bit hairy”

“Fine”

“But I love you”

“Yea, love you too”

“You nervous to see Seb?”

“Never nervous to see him”

She was worried about the danger that could be bring with her. Not that she was going to mention that to Frankie.

#

Sitting by a fire somewhere in Peru she could be forgiven for forgetting their situation. They were all laughing and joking like there wasn’t some scary guy hot on their trail. Gabby liked it

She must like it.

It wasn’t like she hadn’t come up against people like Costa Rojas before.

The warlords in Africa that threatened her for even being in the area. The dirtbags in Kosovo.

She stood her ground then and goddamn it she was going to get her guys out of this now.

Maybe it was her ego speaking but Costa Rojas didn’t know who he was dealing with. She didn’t carry weapons and act like human life didn’t matter but Gabby also didn’t back down. She didn’t know how. Her pride got in the way.

She noticed how Will was looking at Frankie and Gabby curiously. She knew the question that was rolling around in his head. Gabby could answer it for him without being asked but where was the fun in that?

“Can I drive tomorrow?”

“Nope” Frankie answered quickly

“I need to do something. I’m going crazy”

“Yeah but you’re a terrible driver” Frankie laughed

“I am not”

“What happened to that jeep  in Sudan”

“Okay, that’s unfair”

“You hit the only tree in the desert”

“I was out running rebels with a weeks’ worth of rice and clean water in the back”

“What about Sarajevo?”

“A building blew up in front of me. Yes, I was a little distracted”

“You rolled the car”

“Your point?” she laughed

“You’re not driving”

“You must know everyone” Benny told her

“No. I’ve just been lots of places. The humanitarian world  is smaller than you  would think. Everybody knows everybody. I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s not easy by any means. You see the worst of humanity but you also see the best”

“What about this Sebastian guy?” Will teased

“You’re sounding protective”

“Little bit”

“Seb’s one of the good ones. He’s been doing this aid thing for a long time. I learnt a lot from him. He has a big heart. He’d help anybody, clearly” she chuckled bitterly “When you’re on the job. You see things, you get close quickly and you need comfort sometimes. He always protected me”

“Date anybody else on the job?”

Frankie and Gabby exchanged looks. Gabby  looked back at the brothers frowned playfully at him

“Yes, Benjamin?”

“I have to ask”

“Ok”

“You and Frankie?”

“Yeah?”

“Seriously, what’s going on there?”

She understood and it wasn’t the first time they had been asked . They weren’t two people that understood or believed in personal space when they were together. They weren’t people that realised when they were in each other’s space, it just kind of happened.

All she did was smile. Gabby looked back at Frankie and looked back at Benny

“Isn’t it more fun if you don’t know for sure?”

Both Gabby and Frankie laughed because they were the only ones that would ever know the truth.

They just smiled.

“So are you guys going to rock out once we get this money to where we are going?” she teased and changed the subject

“Are you going to Australia, Pope?” Benny teased

“Anything is possible”

“Friends with benefits” Will sung out

“I would have thought Aussie’s would have been too easy going for you, Garcia”

“She’s South American”

“He got her into Australia after our last time out” Benny told her, not know what he was about to unleash

Gabby frowned and looked over at Frankie, who did know what was about to happen.

“Baby” he soothed

“Wait, the last time? The shit show? That was to get your little girlfriend out of trouble?”

“She gave us the information we needed”

“You get all your information from pillow talk” she chuckled bitterly “That explains so much”

“Hang on, Toots”

“Toots?”

“Before we talk about favours in between the sheets. Maybe we should talk about Sebastian”

“Don’t”

“You think he’s doing this out of the kindness of his heart?”

“I don’t want him to have anything to do this. You forced my hand, just like you forced Frankie to call me. You’re the puppet master, Santiago”

“Poetic”

“And what if I say no to using Sebastian. What if I pull the pin? What if I take the guys and leave you here with the cargo. All tied up in a bow for Rojas?”

Santiago smiled at her. He was actually impressed. They had always fought but she had never threated him before. Not seriously at least

“You won’t” he chuckled “You’re a bleeding heart, Gabriela. You’re a nurturer. You wouldn’t leave someone behind. Even if they burn you from the inside out”

“Ugh” she uttered before walking past him and kept on walking

“Gab” Frankie called out

“I’m fine, Frank”

They all watched her walk away. Santiago just smirked before Benny stood up and followed her.

Will shook his head as Santiago sat back down

“You’re an arse, man”

“I know”

Frankie ignored the both of them watching Benny chase after her.

He found her sitting on a rock, in the peace and quiet. He hadn’t really thought about it, but it must have been nosy being around four men every hour of the day. The only quiet and still person was ironically Pope.

There was a fine line between annoyance and attraction and they were starting to see it. As much as they kidded around about Fish and Gabby.

Things were becoming a little clearer.

He walked up to her and she had no idea he was there. A twig snapped under his boot and before he could blink, she had a switchblade out of her pocket and pointed at him.

“How did you get that through customs?”

“Brought it once I got here”

He sat down beside her and she could feel a pep talking coming.

“You gotta stop letting him get to you”

“I swear I try, Benny. He gets under my skin. He’s like a damn tick”

“It’s just cos we’re all in close quarters. Give it some time”

“You guys could have died. You should have died. Do you have any idea how lucky you all were to make it home”

“Are you saying you like us. Just a little?” he teased “You want us to stick around. You love us”

She actually laughed out loud and shook her head

“Yeah, you’re alright. I guess”

“We love you too” he hopped up off the rock “Don’t stay over here long. We’ll send a search party”

He walked back to the campfire and walked past Pope

“She’s armed by the way. She may kill you in your sleep”

He sat back down next to his brother and they fell into comfortable silence. They didn’t even say anything when Gabby eventually made her way back to the camp.

[gealach-in-a-misty-world]

In 1859, ex–East India Company smuggler Merrick Tremayne is trapped at home in Cornwall with an injury that almost cost him his leg. When the India Office recruits him for an expedition to fetch quinine--essential for the treatment of malaria--from deep within Peru, he knows it's a terrible idea; nearly every able-bodied expeditionary who's made the attempt has died, and he can barely walk. But Merrick is eager to escape the strange events plaguing his family's crumbling estate, so he sets off, against his better judgment, for the edge of the Amazon. There he meets Raphael, a priest around whom the villagers spin unsettling stories of impossible disappearances, cursed woods, and living stone. Merrick must separate truth from fairy tale, and gradually he realizes that Raphael is the key to a legacy left by generations of Tremayne explorers before him, one which will prove more valuable than quinine, and far more dangerous.

"He wasn't crude work but the ruin of something fine."

Natasha Pulley's The Bedlam Stacks is an atmospheric story set in Chile and filled with magical realism, full of wonder. We follow Merrick, a disabled character, as he has to join an expedition he would have rather abandoned because of his new disability. In the liminal space of a town his grandfather used to visit once, he will find Raphael, a mysterious man who seems to be ailed by a strange condition.

The prose as always with Pulley, was spectacular, so very simple and yet complex and magical. It's a slow reveal of a novel, a quiet treasure that one should savor. The magical elements come together slowly, revealing the magic behind the ordinary and beyond the objective European mind, unveiling a wholly different way of thinking.

I appreciated how Merrick was written, exploring his disability and his struggles in a very believable way, and I loved what we got to see of Raphael. Their feelings are never made explicit, but this is undoubtedly a love story, one that has a bittersweet ending. Like other Pulley characters, they are flawed and sometimes nasty, but always so very human. And fans of the Watchmaker of Filigree Street will find an incredible cameo and appreciate even more a beloved character.

The magical realism aspects were very intriguing, especially once the veil is lifted and things are revealed to be much more than they seem at first glance. The other characters feel a bit empty, with only the physician having a little depth.

The Bedlam Stacks is a quiet marvel.

✨ 4 stars

[You can find more of my reviews about queer speculative fiction on my blog MISTY WORLD]

[doctorstrangereview]

Strange Tales #129

Cover Date: February 1965 On-Sale Date: November 10, 1965

Sadly, Doc has almost new cover real estate in this issue. He gets a text blurb while the main feature gets almost the entire cover. The Human Torch and The Thing are looking frightened on some train tracks surrounded by what are most likely The Terrible Trio. It's terribly banal. At least a panel of art would have been nice because we get a new villain with an interesting design. Tiboro has a cool helmet and wears some kind of green armor with what looks like a funky kilt. It makes me wonder if the look wasn't an inspiration for Galactus who was about a year away.

Doc is out on the street. One wonders what brought him out that couldn't be handled astral-ly or by flying there. We see that Doc has a bit of a reputation and is accosted on the street by passers-by. "Why won't you go on this tabloid show broadcast a midnight to prove your magic?" "Neener, neener, I know it exists and that's all that matters!" Doc, in his flashy new cape, saunters away from the rabble.

We change scene to the TV studio. A panel of "experts" snidely announce that because Doc can't be bothered with their nonsense, they dismiss him as an expert. Now look at this creepy little statue that was found in Peru. Of course this is the moment it all goes horribly wrong. The studio lights go out and when they come back on moments later, the panel has vanished. Someone has the bright idea to call Doc. Despite their terrible treatment of him, he agrees to help. "Touch nothing until my arrival!" he tells them as he simultaneously summons his new outerwear. This man can walk and chew bubble gum at the same time.

Flying to the studio, he tells them they must re-enact the situation. The studio lights go out and as Doc watches under the All-Purpose Amulet's light, a technician vanishes into the idol before his very eyes.

I'm actually a bit bothered by this. Why was some random technician allowed to wander into the set? We don't know yet what's happening to these people. For all they know, the victims could be getting ripped to shreds and ground into powder. It all strikes me as very careless and callous. Doc decides to take some precautions and enclose the creepy little idol in a mystic shield. Not really knowing what the heck is going on, he contacts his old buddy, The Ancient One.

The image of the Ancient One appears in some splotchy round field. Like Futurama's telephone calls, this type of communication is never the same twice. Despite breaking the spell of Dormammu and being much more spry, he is still staying at his pad.

"That's Tiboro, my dude. He ruled the pre-historic Earth from a volcano. The ugly idol is the last remnant after his 'civilization' vanished."

"Looks like it's my turn" says Doc to no one as he's alone in the room. "Hope I don't get shredded." He drops his shield and the freaky funnel appears again to gobble him up. Doc is sensible enough to shield the idol again after it grabs him. He is immediately greeted by Tiboro in all his green and purple majesty, who, despite being in a different dimension for millennia, recognizes Doc.

Tiboro gives a long-winded diatribe to Doc. "Blah, blah, blah, I am the spirit of decay and, frankly, humanity sucks right now so I'm coming back. Let's get ready to rumble!" Doc, without consent, telepathically goads Tiboro into putting down his wand. Doc is nice enough to take off his cloak, and, in a series about magic, we get a fist fight.

Doc manages to hold his own and Tiboro is like "the hell with this" and fires some mystic blasts at Doc throwing him off balance.

Doc orders his cloak to bind Tiboro and gets a moment's respite. Now we're finally in an all out battle with mystic bolts and shields. Sadly no Amulet vacuum this issue.

Doc shields himself using the substance of Tiboro's realm, which Tiboro handily shatters. But! It was a trick! Once again Doc has tricked his enemy into expending his energy against a false image.

Doc encloses Tiboro's wand in something. Tiboro, not being especially brave, takes the he who lives and runs away, lives to fight another day philosophy and surrenders. Tiboro was capable of mystic feats without the wand a few panels ago, so why he's surrendering now isn't clear. Like Agammon some time ago Doc forces Tiboro to release his prisoners. Tiboro gets in one last I'll get you yet outburst and they all pop back into existence at the TV studio.

The entire studio is like "Holy crap! Magic is real! Just wait until the next show" and Doc is like "Holy crap! That's a really bad idea. I must non-consensually wipe everyone's mind of this experience." The show goes on with the whole "Doc is fraud attitude" while Doc creeps in the shadows behind the cameras. We fade out on a really cool image of a horn on Doc's cloak casting a shadow on his face and him flying home.

It's got a couple of weak points that don't entirely make sense, but overall I like the story. Tiboro will return a few times here and there, until his most recent history where, through a strange (pun intended) set of circumstance, he becomes Doc's dad-in-law! I won't be getting to that one in quite some time, so check you local comic shop to find out about it sooner.

This story is a sort of end of an era for me. After discovering Doc in my orthodontist's office after reading Hulk #207, my next exposure was the 1978 Pocket Books edition that reprinted the first half of the Ditko run. They were reprinted in a really small format, but my eyes were still young and didn't yet need powerful magnifiers to read it. It was the lone copy of anything Doctor Strange in the bookstore as if it had been waiting for me. I reread it many times until my dog managed to chew it to pieces a year or two later. I was devastated, but, the same local bookstore had another lone copy waiting for me not long after. Perhaps there is such a thing as magic after all.

The next set of stories will give us a bunch of new characters, including some cool villains, but it's a long, long arc centered around two familiar foes. It's a huge change from the previous stand alone stories that have populated this series until now. And it will take us to the point where Ditko says "I've had enough, Stan. Ta ta!"

[knickynoo]

Back to the Future: The Animated Series, s01 ep08 "Batter Up"

Previous episodes linked HERE

Yes, I skipped episode 7. Trust me, you aren't missing anything. Just an episode centering around Marty having athlete's foot and his and Doc's quest in ancient Peru to find a frog that secretes an acid that cures it. Along the way, they run into one of Biff's relatives—who is a conquistador—get captured by Incans, and. Yeah. Then there's another "mini" episode centered all around Einstein going on an adventure to Australia when two bank robbers steal the DeLorean. It's boring and terrible. I didn't want to review it & gave myself a pass. But we're back at it with episode 8!

In this episode: Baseball! Irresponsible use of technology! And Marty inadvertently gives an ancestor a TBI!

As always, we begin with Real Doc doing his science show broadcast. Outside, we can hear Jules and Verne playing in the yard, and Doc soon takes a baseball to the head.

After announcing he's going to go take a nap, we enter the cartoon, where Marty, Jules, and Verne are all playing baseball. As I would have expected, Marty is revealed to be not so great at the sport.

"Must be a defective bat," Marty says, attempting to defend his poor batting skills.

"More like a defective batter," Jules quips. Get him, Jules.

I've always headcanoned Marty as being generally un-sporty. I mean, he's great at running, but I think that's about it. Put a bat in his hands or a soccer ball at his feet and watch him spectacularly display his lack of coordination. In my mind, he frequently ended up in the nurse's office during P.E. classes. I take this opening scene of the episode as confirmation of my headcanon. Thanks.

Anyway, Marty insists that Verne keeps pitching until he finally gets a hit. Doc pokes his head out from his broken kitchen window (courtesy of Marty missing the last pitch) and says he has an invention to help his friend out. And his offer tells me one thing: Doc does not think Marty is capable of hitting a baseball without the aid of science.

Doc comes running out of the house with a pair of high-tech glasses that he claims will help Marty be able to hit anything, after which Marty delivers one of his most un-Marty-like lines so far in the series.

There are a lot of commas in that sentence.

But isn't that just. Not a combination of words you'd expect to come out of Marty's mouth? The sheer level of confidence is absurd, even when taking into account the improved self-esteem Marty gains throughout the course of the trilogy. To claim he's PERFECT? The audacity! Who is this guy??

Let me re-write the scene to be more in line with canon, shall I?

Doc *running out of the house with the glasses*: "With these eyeglasses, you can hit anything!"

Marty: "Whoa, hey, Doc, that's awesome. Let me—" *trips over his bat and face plants in the grass, then somehow tumbles down a large hill even though there are none on the property*

Isn't that better?

Doc's invention consists of laser glasses that track the ball, along with a metal exoskeleton-looking contraption that straps around the wearer's chest and limbs.

He even has different settings, allowing for pitching, fielding, and my personal favorite, kicking dirt on the umpire.

Doc thinks of everything.

Marty is excited that the device might be his "ticket to the major leagues", which is another un-Marty thing to say. Now, based on his interest in hearing of the World Series results in part II, and the novelization (based on a draft of the first film) that contains a scene of him and Doc talking about baseball, I can see Marty having an interest in the sport, but I can't see him wanting to play it professionally.

Doc emphasizes that the device is only intended to help the wearer practice and gain the muscle memory required to play baseball better on their own. He hands it off to Marty and returns inside. There's mistake number one, Doc. Do you really expect Marty to behave responsibly with such powerful technology at his fingertips?

To Marty's credit, he actually does seem like he's intending to listen and just use it for practice, but then Jules goes and makes the second mistake of the episode. He brings out a stack of baseball cards and informs Marty that he had a relative who attempted to make it big in the world of baseball: Pee Wee McFly, Marty's 5th cousin, three times removed.

Why Jules has this collection of cards and the information regarding Marty's ancestor "at the ready" is beyond me.

We learn that Pee Wee retired from the game after striking out and causing his team (The Boston Beaneaters) to lose the 1897 National League Pennant Race.

This is irrelevant to the episode, but I have to share a screenshot of Verne in the scene where Marty is reading the card, simply because it distracted and amused me so much. His animation goes wonky, and he just looks...wrong.

Why—why is he so lopsided and "lumpy" looking?

By the way, we are only FOUR MINUTES into the episode so far. Hats off to anyone who sticks with me to the end of this one, because I suspect it'll be a long post. But at least we're having fun along the way! (I am, at least)

The boys decide they're going to travel back to the game and give Pee Wee the suit to help him win. Bad idea, fellas.

After arriving in 1897 the day before the game, Marty demonstrates what a bad idea it is when he calls to Pee Wee from the stands, distracting him and causing him to take a baseball to the head.

I happened to pause this at just the right time. Poor Pee Wee. Marty needs to stay in his own time and keep his mouth shut.

After that, Pee Wee is just stumbling all around the field, delirious from his recent head injury (THANKS, MARTY!). I must also point out that he sounds just like the Lucky Charms leprechaun. His accent is Seamus's times five.

It becomes clear pretty quickly that Pee Wee is in no shape to play in the game. He's literally just flopping around on the field and bumping into everybody. I'm no doctor, but I'd say that Pee Wee has a serious concussion and needs immediate medical attention. He does not appear to be as hardy as Marty is when it comes to bouncing back after blows to the head.

This is all Marty's fault.

Marty decides he'll have to fill in for Pee Wee. He dons the laser glasses and a fake mustache, puts on his best accent, and runs out to join the game. He ends up winning the game for the team and has to run away from his adoring fans. Unfortunately, this victory ends up angering Diamond Jim Tannen, who was in the audience and had money on the game.

We learn that Diamond Jim had made an "agreement" with Pee Wee in which Pee Wee was supposed to purposely throw the game in exchange for Diamond Jim not "rearranging" his face. When Pee Wee tells Marty he must lose the big game the next day, this exchange happens, and I find it much funnier than it probably is.

He just immediately gets on a streetcar that conveniently arrives and flees town. Maybe I have a simple sense of humor, but I find this hysterical. Pee Wee is gone.

The following day, Marty shows up at the game, pretending to be Pee Wee. Meanwhile, Pee Wee is about to board a boat to Ireland. Marty's shenanigans are really doing potential damage to his family history. It's only been a few hours, and Marty has given his cousin head trauma and is now causing him to return to his homeland.

Back at the game, Marty is still pitching well, which enrages Diamond Jim. After the two get into a brawl on the field, Marty's high-tech glasses are stepped on, and he begins to play horribly. At one point, the glasses cause him to bounce all around the field, complete with pinball machine sound effects.

When we return to the docks, Pee Wee is about to stow away on the ship to Ireland (his plan is to hide in a shipment of potatoes), where he overhears some kids playing baseball. They're all clear fans of Pee Wee McFly and are heartbroken when a dock worker tells them, "Everybody knows Diamond Jim Tannen paid Pee Wee McFly to lose that game." Pee Wee decides he can't let those kids and the rest of his fans down, and he takes off for the ball field.

Upon arriving, he yanks Marty down into the dugout, takes back his uniform, and soon hits a home run, winning the game for the Boston Beaneaters. We return immediately to present day, where Jules displays his Pee Wee McFly baseball card, which has changed to say that Pee Wee was the hero of the game. He also shared some tips with Marty, who finally is able to hit one of Verne's pitches.

Our closing Real Doc content involves us learning about curve balls and the magnus effect. He's joined by Brett Butler of the LA Dodgers. Here is a complimentary gifset, because it's nice to end these posts with our good buddy Doc Brown.

Join me next week as we journey to 2091, where Jules and Verne send their parents on a doomed anniversary space cruise to Mars.