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erodasfishtacos · 3 years

Text

#HendallReunited

prompt: request was to write broad but to write something angsty

Word count: 5.2k

Warnings: language, sexual content, angst

Harry always had issues with saying ‘no’ to people. He never quite grew out of his manners even when he should have.

He said ‘yes’ to way too many things- signing autographs for rude fans and paparazzi, and agreed to way too many things Jeff suggested.

Saying yes to everything didn’t make his life any easier is the thing. Especially when it came to his wife. She was usually left with the aftermath of him being too nice.

The media painted Y/N in a negative light occasionally and so did the fans because she would stand up for Harry and not let him say ‘yes’ to every single request.

She would tell disrespectful fans he’s not signing autographs because of the way they were screaming and interrupting his work.

Harry wished he could do it himself - admired that his wife didn’t give a fuck what people thought about her. He cared entirely too much what the world would think.

The couple didn’t fight about much - no, not really. Normal couple stuff for the most part. But this was the exception, this is where Y/N found most of their turmoil.

Every few months it would rear it’s ugly head and they’d find themselves in the same position over and over again.

This time - it was really fucking bad.

The couple had been staying in their Los Angeles home for the last few months whilst the singer finalized his album and began promotion.

It was boring meeting among boring lunch outings to get all their ducks in a row. Jeff - his manager the main orchestrator.

He was a great manager and a good friend, but it was also business too which Harry didn’t always comprehend.

At the end of the day, Harry was making Jeff millions upon millions of dollars. But Harry didn’t think that way.

Harry was in a stuffy conference room at the The Late Late Show to work on the script and ideas for the show. Promo had been nonstop.

He was a bit tired as it was nearly just hitting eight in the morning and he had been up late with you - having some late night loving in the hot tub.

“As for guest - Kendall Jenner,” James Corden’s producer states. All the men agree but Harry is taken aback.

“Why...why would we have my ex-girlfriend as one of my guests?” Harry interrupts, confusion knitting his brows.

Kendall and him didn’t end on a bad note - not at all. They hooked up a few times after their ‘break-up’ but once he’d met Y/N she was understanding when he cut it off.

Y/N wasn’t necessarily jealous of the model, but didn’t love when they’d run into each other at events. She was still overtly flirty with Harry without much shame.

Harry also didn’t have an desire to see her or host her as a guest on the show. She was nice but he wasn’t interested in being friends with her. They didn’t have much in common and he was head over heels for his wife.

“The media will eat it up, dude. Harry Styles and Kendall Jenner reunited on a show after four years?” Jeff smiles, the others nodding in amicable agreement.

This is one of this times where Harry needs to say “no,” that it’s disrespectful to his significant other to use an old flame for promo for his album.

He already knows ‘hendall’ will be trending within minutes and he can’t imagine how that would make his parter feel.

“I just...this doesn’t seem like a good idea?” Harry begins hesitantly, making it sound more like a question than a statement.

“Why not?” Eric, one of the writers asks.

“Y’know, I’m married. I don’t think m’missus would appreciate if I did somethin’ like that just for promotion,” he states, scratching at his jaw uncomfortably.

“Look Styles, we’re not asking you to fuck the girl. It just a interview, c’mon,” The executive producer gruffs - wanting those guaranteed views.

Harry swallows - looking at his manager and then at everyone else at the table looking at him for an affirmative answer.

“Uh-sure,” Harry fumbles, feeling anxiety rise into his throat. Fuck, he’s such a god damn pushover.

He’s trying to find his voice to go back on his agreement but the meeting wrapping up and people are leaving with final handshakes.

Harry doesn’t know how to tell Y/N what is going on. He’d been keeping in stored in the back of his mind, not ready to have a blowout.

He never found the perfect time to bring it up and now it was too late. It was the morning of the show and he was due to be at the rehearsals this afternoon.

Harry had finally decided he was going to tell her this morning over coffee but forgot that she had a girl’s day planned with a few friends.

She was already out to breakfast with them when he woke up. His phone had one text from you.

Hi baby. I’m out with the girls. See you at the show tonight. I’ll meet you there around six! Love you!

He was fucked royally and he had no one to blame but himself. Maybe it’d be okay, maybe she’d roll her eyes and tell him he’s an idiot.

Realistically he knew that was just a sweet dream at this point.

—

Harry was fidgety and kept mucking up his lines during rehearsal as it got closer to the showtime and his missus arriving.

Kendall had arrived for hair and makeup without seeing her ex-boyfriend yet. He dreaded seeing the model.

Kendall and Y/N had met a few times at different events. It was always cordial. Kendall was always casual - their relationship was never more than a couple fun dates and sex.

They were kind to each other when they met but he couldn’t deny how much harder his partner kissed him on the mouth afterwards.

Before he know it, his wife is hugging him from behind as he talks to a producer about which cameras to look at.

Y/N noticed the way he tensed up at first and thought about how unusual that was for him. Normally, he’d lean back into her with his full weight causing them both to stumble and laugh.

He slowly, cautiously turns around and his face relaxes a little bit but not completely. “Hi baby,” he hums, leaning in for a kiss.

“You look so handsome,” she replies, admiring his brown pinstriped suit and her pearl necklace that he’d snagged awhile back. She thought it looked better on him anyways.

“You look even better, s’fuckin’ pretty, love,” he gushes, coming back in for another kiss - a little too sensual for the setting.

She was donned in a cropped white shirt, showing of the smooth expanse of her tummy. An oversized blazer of Harry’s, ripped jeans, and heels.

Harry thought fleetingly he couldn’t wait to fuck her after the show. Then remembered that mostly wouldn’t happen.

Reggie, the musical lead, slides up to you two. He smiles wide at you, saying, “Can’t believe you agreed to the guest this evening.”

Her eyebrows furrow in confusion, Harry’s raise nearly to his forehead, but when she opens her mouth to ask him to explain they’re interrupted.

“Harry!” The leggy model trots over to the little group. Dressed in an interesting one-piece suit that has sewn in heels. She looked beautiful as ever, of course she was a model.

Both of them turn towards the oblivious girl, “Kendall,” Harry replies with a twinge of anxiety - eyes repeatedly looking at his significant other’s profile as multiple emotions flash.

“Hiya, you’re Y/N right?” Kendall smiles kindly, offering her manicured hand.

She accepts, “Yeah, uh-good to see you again.”

Harry knew she had connected the dots quickly in her head. The hurt, confusion, had hit her eyes before narrowing into full-blown rage at her partner.

“I promise I’ll go easy on him,” Kendall jokes before pinching at Harry’s cheek teasingly. The model was a natural flirt with everyone she got along with.

“Oh, sure,” she replies lamely, attempting to not let her feelings burst out in that moment with her husband . She knew it wasn’t Kendall’s fault.

“I’m going to go grab a bite to eat. I’m probably gonna puke when we do ‘spill or fill’. See you guys soon,” the model waves before trailing off with her assistant.

“Did you kn- of course you knew she was your guest,” Y/N seethes, turning to fully face the guilt-stricken-singer.

He rubs the back of his neck, avoiding eye contact, “I did.”

“How long have you known for?” She demands to know, keeping her voice at an angry whisper to not draw attention.

Harry wasn’t going to lie to his love, “About two weeks.”

Y/N replies with a laugh, “let me guess, you let Jeffrey talk you into this bullshit, again.”

His silence is all she needs to know it’s true.

“For Christ’s sake, of course,” She huffs bitterly, “what’s even worse is you didn’t fucking tell me. What the fuck?”

Harry bites his lip, not able to rasp out anything but a pathetic, “m’sorry, love.”

He wasn’t usually good at taking responsibility during a fight. He was stubborn at best but he couldn’t deny his way out of this.

“You will be, you-“

They were cut off by the staff, the audience was trailing in and Harry needed to get mic’d up now.

“This conversation isn’t over,” she points her finger at his chest before storming off to the side of the stage where she’d watch from.

Fucking shit.

Harry was a performer. It’s easy for him to push things to the back of his mind so he can entertain a enamored audience.

But tonight, he was struggling. Eyes flicking over to the teleprompter more than usual, his demeanor not as vivid and carefree.

Not when his wife was glaring daggers at him from stage right. Her hand constantly at her mouth, biting at her nails - a nervous tick of hers.

“Next up, the one, the only, the beautiful model and one of my good friends, Kendall Jenner!” Harry introduces when she walks out and waves at the crowd.

They hug and when they pull apart they step over to where they were playing the game. Either answer the question or eat a nasty food picked out by the other.

They weren’t allowed to see each other’s questions before the game started- both going on blind which put Harry more on edge.

“Okay, Kendall. Rank the members of One Direction on most to least attractive or you will be eating...” Harry spins the table, “Cow tongue.”

She flinched at the disgusting plate, smirking up at Harry before considering her course of action, “I think I can answer this one.”

He wasn’t looking forward to her answer. Neither was Y/N by the way she nearly shaking her foot off her leg.

“Okay, I got this. You - the most attractive, then uh- Zayn....Louis...Niall...Liam,” she laughs, “but all of you are hot!”

Harry fake laughs and acts like he’s impressed by her answer as the crowd roars and cheers.

When Kendall picks up her notecard - she laughs in surprise at the question before looking at him with bright eyes.

“Okay, um, bull penis!” She giggles before starting the question, “I’m dying to know this answer. So...your first album HS1 was released four years ago, correct?”

He nods, apprehensive.

“Which songs were about me? Especially was only angel?” She laughs at Harry’s pale expression before without another thought he shovels the rancid food into his mouth.

Harry looks off to the side to see that his missus is no longer sitting there. Just Jeff - who gives him a thumbs up.

The first thing he did when the show ended and the lights dimmed was bolt off to Jeff - ignoring Kendall who was about to say something to him.

“Where’d Y/N go?”

He thought she might have went out to get a breathe of fresh air but for the next hour and a half he hasn’t seen her once.

“She said she wasn’t feeling very good. She told me to tell you she’d meet you at home,” Jeff shrugs unbothered.

“Damnit!” Harry curses loudly, ripping out of the microphone and the little pack in his back waistband.

“Harry,” Jeff scolds at his unprofessionalism that was abnormal for him.

“No! Don’t fucking ever ask me to do shit like this again. You fucking knew what questions were on those notecards and you said it wasn’t anything about our previous relationship.”

“Harry-“

“Don’t fucking talk to me. You’re a real shit manager sometimes, you know that? Do not contact me tonight or tomorrow for that matter, you douchebag,” Harry barks before storming off towards the dressing rooms.

All the employees were standing around in shock, staring at the popstar as he ignored everyone around him.

Harry was famously known for being a kind, amicable guy. So it took everyone by surprise to hear him speak like that. Even Jeff was shaken up a little.

—

The house was pitch-black as Harry pulled up. The house’s first floor was lined with large, bay windows and not a single light was on.

He could find one room illuminated which was your bedroom. A dim side lamp must have been flicked on. He imagined her purposely turning off all the lights on the trek up the staircase.

Harry didn’t want to admit how much he was trembling with awful nerves and anticipation as he slowly turns the knob of the shared bedroom.

Y/N wasn’t laying in bed as he expected but found the bathroom door shut tightly. He noticed a little yellow bag with tissue paper off to the side by a dresser.

He knocks on the oak door, not daring to enter without permission.

“What do you want?” Y/N answers, tone flat and emotionless.

“Can I come in, baby? Please...” He wasn’t ashamed to beg for forgiveness at this point. Hearing the emptiness in her tone scared him shitless.

“I really could care less,” She replies coldly from her spot in the scalding water decorated with bubbles.

Harry had never felt more unsure in his life as he enters the bathroom. Y/N had gotten proper pissed at him or vice versa before - right before a concert, an award ceremony but she’d never left without him.

Her head was laying against the foam headrest and her body was covered by the soap water. She looked tired and her eyes were puffy from crying.

Harry kneels next to the tub, “look at me, please pet.”

Y/N takes a moment before turning her head and opening her eyes. They were distant, disappointed in the man in front of her.

“I should have told you about Kendall. I should have put up more of a fight to get someone else on instead,” Harry admits, his hands desperately wanting to reach out for her.

She shakes her head with a heart-wrenching sniffle, “it’s not just tonight, Harry. We’ve had this conversation continuously for three and a half fucking years. You try to please everyone, despite them giving no fucks about you.”

“Are you that much of a pushover? You let your ex-girlfriend flirt with you in front of millions. Do you know how embarrassing and unfair that it to me?” She wipes at her eyes to stop the tears spilling over.

Harry hadn’t thought of it like that - to be honest. But he agrees, it wasn’t fair and downright cruel to do that to her.

What? All because he couldn’t say ‘no’ because he didn’t want people to be mad at him? It was pathetic and ridiculous.

“I-I won’t let it happen again, lovie. I mean it, I truly do,” Harry whimpers reaching over to cup her cheek and wants to cry when she pushes him away.

“You’re a broken record. You’ve said that a million times before but don’t change,” Y/N points out, eyes boring furiously into his wife’s.

“I’m goi-“

She cuts him off with a sharp edge in her tone, “Just leave me alone, get out.”

The man’s face crumbles and for a second, she wants to just end the fight and makeup but then nothing would change.

“Baby-“

“Get out!” She finally bellows, tears streaming down her face steadily.

He obliges, head hung in defeat as he closes the door behind him. He stands there’s blankly for a second before going to the walk-in closet.

He’s pulling out a fresh pair of cotton underwear and a large sleepshirt for his partner, laying them neatly on the bed.

Harry doesn’t know what to do with himself while he waits so he pulls out his phone to mindlessly scroll.

He throws it against the wall when he sees #hendallreunited is trending number one on Twitter at the moment.

The singer strips down to his briefs and sits with his back against the tufted headboard, staring blankly at the wall.

His eyes catch a neon pink pair of his swimshorts tossed carelessly on the decorative vase in the corner of the room from the night before .

“Fuck, baby - no need to rush,” Harry groans into Y/N ‘s mouth as she pushes him until he’s sat on the edge of their California king.

She reaches impatiently for the tie on his neon pink swimshorts and yanks them off his slim, peach-fuzz thighs before throwing them onto the vase without a care that it was worth over twenty-thousand pounds.

After edging her in the hot tub with his fingers and mouth, she wasn’t waiting any longer before clambering onto his lap, pulling her swim bottoms to the side, and sinking onto him.

He felt guilty when his cock twitched at the thought of it. But when reality set back in, the arousal with the memory evaporated.

It isn’t much longer until the door is pulled open and Y/N’s padding into the room with a towel secured around her.

She looks at the clothes Harry set out for her and pointedly walks past them to pick out her own nightwear.

That really shouldn’t make his eyes tear up as he watches her slide on a similar pair of panties and an oversized shirt. Spotting a purpling bruise on her upper in thigh from his mouth.

Y/N silently walks past the bed and to the bedroom door, looking back before bleakly stating, “I’m going to sleep in the guest room.”

He frowns, wrinkles appearing on his forehead, “You can sleep in here, love. I’ll take the guest room.”

Harry doesn’t get a reply as she just shakes her head and closes the door loudly behind her.

It’s just - he’s never seen her this upset. She was usually fantastic at communicating her feelings and hashing things out.

She wasn’t one for the silent treatment or ignoring the topic. It had his chest rising faster than usual with anxiety. The serious of it overwhelming him.

He states at the wall for a very long time without wiping the fat tears brimming over his trembling lips.

He couldn’t sleep - it was half past three and he hadn’t even laid down or clicked off the lamp.

Harry accepted sleep wasn’t coming so he begins to tidy the already clean room. He picks up the shorts and tossing them in the hamper.

He refolds some joggers he’d carelessly shoved in a drawer and when he went to move the little yellow bag - curiosity got the best of him.

There was no card and he wasn’t sure who it was for or if it had been a gift already give to Y/N that she had returned home with.

Harry really shouldn’t - but he does. Gently tugging out the paper and reaching in to feel fabric.

Pulling it out, it takes him a minute to identify what it is - two baby onesie. Who was having a baby?

He lays them in front of him, eyes widening in surprise as he reads what is printed across the black cotton.

The first one was the colors and font of his upcoming tour merch with the photo he used on his tour announcement with the heeled boot and white pants.

Love on Tour - Due Date: September 2025

With Special Guest Appearance from Baby Styles

The second one was simple and read across the chest:

I’m having your baby (and it is your business) with embroidered kiwis all of over it.

He frantically reached back into the bag to pull out a bundle of pregnancy tests tied with a silk bow.

They weren’t necessarily trying for a baby but they’re weren’t not trying either. Harry wanted a baby as soon as his missus was willing to give him one.

“No, no, don’t one,” she’d whined into his mouth when he’d reached over to grab a condom off the nightstand.

“Oh sweet thing, you want me bare? Fill you up?” He croons happily, coming back to grip at his thick base and tease at her entrance.

“Ye-yeah, H. Please,” (Y/N) whimpers, bucking her hips in the hope he’d slip inside her.

Harry hums, “Might give you a baby though, y’want me to knock you up?”

“Want it, wan-“

He cuts her off with a hard, blissful kiss as he thrusts all the way inside before pulling out to do it again.

“Gonna give it to you, whatever you want, lovie,” he promises.

The two had never used protection afterwards. It had start about seven months ago and from his knowledge she’d still been getting her periods regularly.

Occasionally, he would palm at her flat tummy and pout, “Haven’t put a baby in you yet, ‘ave I?”

He was so ecstatic but disappointed in himself for ruining everything and pleasing everyone other than who he should be.

Harry needed to fix this. He didn’t want Y/N to lose the excitement of having their baby over a dumb choice of his.

The man’s out of the room and not knocking before entering their guest room. His now pregnant love is laying on-top of the covers.

One hand subconsciously on her belly - which she removes and places next to her when her wife walks in.

The television was on but the volume was low and Y/N wasn’t watching it in the first place anyways.

Harry sits on the edge of the bed, “I opened the yellow bag.”

She looks at him with wide eyes, a little taken aback. she was going to surprise him tonight and forgot to store it away for another time after the fight.

Harry has happy tears dribbling down his cheeks, “you’re having my baby?”

Y/N nods, running a slight hand through his curls. She still had a nasty knot of anger and uncertainty in the pit of her stomach.

It pains her, wanting to share this moment of excitement with Harry but she just couldn’t. The uncertainty of whether Harry would put everybody’s needs before his own baby.

“Come back to bed, want t’talk and celebrate. M’so bloody excited,” Harry murmurs, a large smile decorating his face as he smooths a palm over the expanse of her tummy.

His wife shakes her head and places a hand over his, feeling the cold metal of all of them. “I want to be left alone.”

The twinkle in Harry’s eye diminishes to devastation as he realizes that he’s fucked up so badly that she doesn’t even want to celebrate.

“Pet, can...we just forget about it tonight and be happy ‘bout the baby?” Harry asks selfishly, knowing it was unlikely she’d agree.

She didn’t, a firm expression on her face, “no, I have a lot to think about.”

“Like wha’?” He asks anxiously, unknowing of quite the reason she was so furious.

“Like how you say yes to everything and everyone. We talk and talk about how you need to say ‘no’ and do what’s best for you - for us. You agree to and never follow through”

She takes a shaky breath and continues, “it’s affected our relationship before when you’ve had to cancel our vacation away from all this for a charity concert you’d agree to perform at last minute, dinner reservations because you told your friend we’d be at their art showing they wanted you at.”

Harry knew she was right. He did those things. He wanted everyone to be happy with him - to a fault.

“Tonight was just icing on the cake, you allowed your manager to talk you into hosting your ex on that show. Out of all the people in the world - her. With flirty questions and jabs from her. You let that happen. You care about making everyone happy but in return you don’t care how it affects me. That’s pretty shitty.”

“I’m...I’m really fucking scared you’ll do that even when we have the baby. I need you to put them first and right now...I’m not sure if you’re going to. You can’t put the person you want to spend the rest of your life with first now, how do I know you’ll do it with the baby?”

Harry chokes out a sob as he presses his forehead against the bed, his broad shoulders shaking. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d cried this hard - years ago maybe. He felt like his wife didn’t have any faith in him and he was to blame.

He looks up at her with swollen eyes - at a loss for what to do or say. He loved her so much and was over the moon that they were going to have a baby.

“How do I fix this, darling? You’re right, I really fucked up. M’sorry,” Harry cries, grabbing at her hands and she allows it.

“Just saying you’re sorry won’t fix it,” Y/N replies flatly, letting Harry squeeze and kiss at the backs of her hands.

“Then what do I bloody do to fix this?” Harry raises his voice in frustration, staring in bewilderment at his wife.

Y/N narrows her eyes at him, “Do not raise your voice at me, Harry. Actions speak louder than words.”

Harry swallows harshly, pressing one finally kiss to her hand. “Okay.”

“Okay?” She repeats.

“I love you, I’ll fix this,” he promises with conviction. He knew what he needed to do and do it tomorrow. So he and his wife could enjoy her new pregnancy.

“I need space tonight, I just...please”Y/N says quietly, rubbing at his shoulder.

It wasn’t the first time they’ve slept in separate rooms because they weren’t getting along but they normally found their way back to each other before sunrise.

Harry nods, lip still tremble with the residual anxiety of the conversation. She allows him to press a soft kiss to her mouth before leaving the room.

—-

Cafe Habana was busy - but no one was paying much attention to Harry and Jeff. It was the morning after and Harry had demanded a meeting over breakfast with his manager.

“Y/N pregnant,” Harry states bluntly after their drinks arrive.

“Oh? Congratulations, dude. That’s exciting!” Jeff leans over to pat him on the shoulder, a big smile.

“The baby is due in September. My next tour starts in next July. The baby will be about nine months. I want to be at home with them for the first year.”

Jeff doesn’t look pleased, “what are you getting at Harry?”

“Reschedule the July and August tour dates. Tack them on to the end of the tour,” Harry lays out flat.

He hadn’t talk to his wife about this but he knew this was how he could prove that he could say ‘no’ and not be a pushover.

“No Harry. Look I get you’re excited about the baby - but that will be such a fucking hassle,” Jeff frowns, sipping his mimosa.

“I’m not asking, Jeff. I’m telling you that’s what needs to happen,” Harry replies firmly, tone strong and unwavering.

Jeff is definitely taken aback by his client’s conviction.

“While we’re on the topic, do not ever put me in a situation like you did yesterday. It affected my wife and I. And I will choose her over this career any day.”

The manager nods in surprise, “Harry, I’m sorry.”

“I’m not asking for an apology but if you ever pull something like then I’ll be looking for a new management team. Are we clear?”

Jeff once again nods, unsure of where this is coming from but at the thought of losing his biggest client would be disastrous so he’d do whatever to accommodate him.

“Consider it done,” he tells Harry before clearing his throat in a slight panic.

—

Y/N woke up to an empty house. She was restless, she asked Harry to prove to her that he could be what she needed. However, it was a bit unfair because she didn’t know how he could do it.

It’s just…she had a baby to think about. They both needed to be put first and if it took a gnarly fight for Harry to realize it...so be it.

“Baby? Love, where are you?” She hears Harry echo through the whole house. She was sat in the kitchen, on a stool by the island, idly sorting through mail.

“In here!”

Harry jogs in, panting like he sprinted from the garage up to the kitchen. He comes to stand in front of the love of his life.

“I might have not completely fixed everything but...I tried,” Harry tells her, cradling her face in his large palms. “ I just got back from lunch with Jeff. I told him about the baby.”

He takes a deep breath before continuing, “I rescheduled tour dates so I can be with you guys at home in London for the first year. Then...maybe you guys can join me after?”

“Harry…” she’s at a loss for words.

“And I told Jeff that if he ever puts me in a situation like that again, I’m firing him.”

Y/N stares at him, in awe and admiration of the man she chose to marry and keep forever. His face was so sincere and vulnerable.

Harry didn’t know whether it would be enough. If it wasn’t he’d keep trying but all he could do was hope. He waited with bated breath as she processed his words.

“Baby, you-for me?” She murmurs as she stands up and crowds into his space. He instantly wraps her up into a tight hug, missing her touch.

“Of course, pet. I’d do anything for you, I mean it. I’d quit this whole career if you wanted tha’,” he tells her truthfully - lips brushing her forehead.

“I love you, so so much,” Y/N murmurs, pressing a kiss to his lips.

“We’re havin’ a baby,'' Harry sighs dreamily into her mouth, tongue sliding against hers. A large hand came to palm at her belly.

“Yeah, m‘having your baby,” She giggles as he begins to trail the kisses down her jaw and neck - pressing her into the marble countertop.

“Should we name it Kiwi?” Harry rasps as he slides the tank top strap off her shoulder so his lips can meet the cap of her warm shoulder.

“We are not going to be that celebrity couple who names their baby something weird,” Y/N groans as he grounds his hips into hers with intent.

THE END

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nitrateglow · 4 years

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Favorite film discoveries of 2019

Every year, my new-to-me favorites list always shocks me in some way. This year, the sheer amount of movies made in the 2010s on display is INSANE by my standards. Of course, most of the modern movies here are throwbacks or tributes to older styles of cinema, so maybe it’s not that shocking in the long run.

Another running trend this year: movies that are old but not as dated as we would wish. Many of the older films here deal with xenophobia and political strife in ways that still feel shockingly prescient today-- the more things change...

ONCE UPON A TIME... IN HOLLYWOOD (DIR. QUENTIN TARANTINO, 2019)

I never thought the day would come where my favorite movie of the year would actually be made after the 1970s, let alone by Quentin Tarantino. Then again, this movie is all about the end of Old Hollywood as well as a big love letter to the 1960s, so maybe it’s not that shocking a state of affairs. I adored this movie, the level of detail, the laidback yet elegaic vibe, the comedy and the relationships between all the characters. It was one of those movies where I loved even the scenes where nothing seems to be happening at all-- I mean, who knew Brad Pitt feeding his dog and watching TV could be entertaining?? But it is and I can't wait to see this one again!

INTENTIONS OF MURDER (DIR. SHOHEI IMAMURA, 1964)

Intentions of Murder has an insane premise, one that runs the risk of being tasteless: a housewife in a miserable, exploitative marriage is raped by a sickly burglar during a home invasion. Even worse, she can’t shake him, as he’s suddenly infatuated and wants her to run away with him to the city. And weirder still: her current existence is so miserable that she’s TEMPTED. While abuse and rape are grim subjects for any story, Intentions is actually about a woman coming into her own and finally standing strong against all these men trying to use her. It’s a weird blend of drama and dark comedy, a truly savage satire on patriarchy and class-snobbery.

JOKER (DIR. TODD PHILLIPS, 2019)

I went into this movie expecting to think it was overhyped and when I first left the theater, I was all ready to say “it’s good but not THAT good.” But it ended up haunting me for weeks afterward, and I found myself thinking about how everything just tied up so well together, from the grotty urban hellscape which serves as the setting to Phoenix’s brilliant performance. It reminded me a lot of A Clockwork Orange in how intimate it lets you get to this violent man while never pretending he is someone to be glamorized or imitated.

SIMON (DIR. MARSHALL BRICKMAN, 1980)

How do I even describe Simon? Alan Arkin is brainwashed by a group of overpaid intellectuals into believing he is descended from an alien toaster. Then he gets a messiah complex and starts gathering disciples as he rails against television, condiment packets, and muzak. It’s a little uneven at times, sure, but the satire is really inspired. The whole thing is like a combination of Mel Brooks, Stanley Kubrick, and Woody Allen’s styles, and it is quite hilarious for those who thrive on cult oddities.

PEEPING TOM (DIR. MICHAEL POWELL, 1960)

Though it came out the same year as Hitchcock’s Psycho and has been nearly as influential for horror cinema, Peeping Tom remains underseen by everyone save for film theorists. And what a shame that is, because this movie is more frightening than Psycho. Sure, that may be because Psycho is so predominant in popular culture and just so influential that it no longer has the same shock value, but there’s something about Peeping Tom that gets under my skin, something sad, even disgusting. I felt dirty after watching it-- and this is 2019!

MIDNIGHT MARY (DIR. WILLIAM WELLMAN, 1933)

Loretta Young got one of her juiciest roles in this pre-code crime drama. Her Mary Martin is more than just a good girl forced into criminal circles-- she’s a complicated creature, compassionate and desperate and lonely and bitter and sensual all at once. This movie is a fast-paced, beautifully filmed ride, cloaked in that Depression-era cynicism that makes pre-code Hollywood of such interest to movie geeks the world over.

WILD BOYS OF THE ROAD (DIR. WILLIAM WELLMAN, 1933)

Wild Boys of the Road is a quintessential Depression-era movie, relentless in its bleakness and rage. That the main characters are all starving kids only looking for work makes their struggles all the harder to watch. William Wellman is quickly becoming one of my favorite directors: his gritty style and compact storytelling are just perfect for a ripped-from-the-headlines drama such as this. And the “happy” ending has one little moment that just knocks any smile you have right off your mug. Absolutely see this.

THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING, THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING (DIR. NORMAN JEWISON, 1966)

Sometimes, when you watch a movie only because a favorite actor is in it, you get subjected to pure trash like Free and Easy (oh, the things I do for Buster Keaton). Other times, you get cute gems like The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming, which, as you probably guessed, I mainly sought out for Alan Arkin. But the whole movie is hilarious, the best kind of farce comedy, populated by enjoyable characters and a sweet-tempered humanism that grounds the wackiness. While a little overlong, this movie is quite underrated-- and sadly, its satire of American xenophobia and Cold War panic is not as dated as we would like to believe.

ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN (DIR. ALAN J. PAKULA, 1976)

Who knew a political thriller where most people know the twist could be so intense and riveting? It’s about as nonsensical as feeling suspense when you watch a movie about the Titanic and hope the boat won’t sink-- but damn, it’s magical. All the President’s Men is real white-knuckle stuff, with Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman projecting both youthful excitement and deep panic as they proceed with their investigation. It scarcely seems to have aged at all.

WHISPER OF THE HEART (DIR. YOSHIFUMI KONDOU, 1995)

There’s a scene near the end of Whisper of the Heart where the protagonist Shizuku shows the finished first draft of her fantasy novel to her first reader, the grandpa of one of her schoolmates. She weeps because it isn’t the perfect image she had in her head, despite how hard she worked on it, but the old man tells her that it takes polishing and discipline to make the work come to its full potential. Few movies about artists are so honest about how hard it can be, how unsupportive others can be in their demand that everyone be “practical.” As a writer who struggles to create and constantly doubts herself, this movie spoke strongly to me. I recommend it to any creative person.

THE PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE (DIR. BRIAN DE PALMA, 1976)

I’d been wanting to see this movie since my high school phan days. Holy crap, is it WEIRDER than I could have ever imagined, a true camp masterpiece. I’m shocked it was never tuned into a stage show actually, but then again, we would miss those trippy camera angles and we wouldn’t have Paul Williams as one of the greatest villains of all time.

DUEL (DIR. STEVEN SPIELBERG, 1971)

When people talk about the best movies made in the “Hitchcock without Hitchcock directing” tradition, why is Duel so seldom mentioned? The scene in the cafe, packed with paranoid tension and tense camerawork, alone should qualify it. Duel is most known as the movie which put the young Steven Spielberg on the map. It’s quite different from his later work, grittier and less whimsical for sure. Even the ending seems almost nihilistic, depending on how you view it. But damn, if it isn’t fine filmmaking.

CAROL (DIR. TODD HAYNES, 2015)

This gorgeous throwback to Douglas Sirk melodramas is also one of the best romantic movies I’ve seen in a while. Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara have the sweetest, tenderest chemistry-- it was like seeing Lauren Bacall and Audrey Hepburn as love interests in a film. Unlike Sirk, there is little in the way of ripe melodrama here-- everything is underplayed, aching, mature. And I can say this is an adaptation that is better than the source book: it just feels so much warmer.

12 ANGRY MEN (DIR. SIDNEY LUMET, 1957

All I can say is that this was every bit equal to the hype. Common movie wisdom says people sitting and talking in a room is going to be boring on film, but movies like 12 Angry Men prove this is not so when you’ve got an excellently tense atmosphere, an inspired script, and a stable of fine actors to work with. Like The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming, this movie has not significantly aged-- much to society’s discredit.

A STAR IS BORN (DIR. GEORGE CUKOR, 1954)

Another movie I went into not expecting to love as much as I did. When movies from the 20s or 30s tended to get remakes in the 1950s, I always find them too garish and big, victims of glossy Cinemascope and overlong runtimes. Compared to the lean 1937 classic original, I expected sheer indulgence from this three-hour remake. Instead, I got my heart torn out all over again-- the longer runtime is used well, fleshing out the characters to a greater degree. Judy Garland and James Mason both give what might be the best efforts of their respective careers, and the satire of the celebrity machine remains as relevant and scathing as ever.

BLANCANIEVES (DIR. PABLO BERGER, 2012)

Oh, it feels like this movie was made for me specifically. It’s shot in gorgeous, expressionistic black-and-white. It’s set in the 1920s. It’s a clever adaptation of a classic fairy tale. It’s as funny and charming as it is bittersweet and macabre. Instead of more superhero movies, can we get more neo-silent movies like this? PLEASE?

THE FAVOURITE (DIR. YORGOS LANTHIMOS, 2018)

I’ve heard The Favourite described as a “bitchy lesbian Shakespeare play,” but this description, while a little true in terms of general tone, does not get to the heart of what makes this film brilliant. More than love or sex, this movie is about power-- particularly the corrupting influence of power. And it corrupts not only morals but love itself. Innocents become Machiavellian schemers. Lovers become sadomasochistic enemies. Good intentions turn to poison. This certainly isn’t a happy movie, but it is moving and, strangely enough, also hilarious. I was reminded of the chilly, satirical world of Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon more than once-- and for me, that is not a bad movie to be reminded of.

ON THE WATERFRONT (DIR. ELIA KAZAN, 1954)

Another classic that’s been on my list forever that I was delighted to find worthy of its reputation. It’s a classic tale of redemption and social justice, perfectly acted and shot. While I still prefer A Streetcar Named Desire as far as Kazan is concerned, this might be a better movie in the objective sense. Actually, more than even Brando, Karl Malden is the acting highlight for me-- he plays a priest torn between staying silent or truly speaking for the Gospel by demanding justice for the poor parish he serves. Just brilliant work.

KLUTE (DIR. ALAN J. PAKULA, 1971)

A perfect thriller, just about, and a great example of the “NYC is hell on earth” subgenre of the 1960s and 1970s. Jane Fonda is a revelation: she feels so real, not at all like a starlet trying to seem normal if you know what I mean.

KISS KISS BANG BANG (DIR. SHANE BLACK, 2005)

As far as subversive noir goes, this is the most entertaining. I would put it up there with The Big Lebowski as far as goofy takes on Raymond Chandler are concerned-- I don’t even really know what to make of it, but I laughed my ass off anytime I wasn’t going “WHAT???”

What were your favorite film discoveries in 2019?

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365days365movies · 3 years

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January 2, 2021: Mission: Impossible (Epilogue)

Now, after all of that, I have my opinions about the movie, but I think we need to talk about the franchise first. Not the franchise that came after, but the one that came before. You might have wondered why I was so absolutely pissed about the whole Jim Phelps thing. Well, I’ll explain. Because, while this might not be the worst action movie of all time or anything, MAN, is it a contender for the worst adaptation of all time.

So, without further adieu, let’s talk about:

Jim Phelps

Poor, poor Peter Graves. You may know him from the film Airplane!, as the pilot of the plane, Captain Oveur. But, one of his most iconic roles on TV was as Jim Phelps, the director of IMF from seasons 2 to 7 of the 1966 series, and in the 1988 revival. Phelps was not only the leader of the group, but one of its most prominent and versatile members. Because of this, he’s arguably the most notable person involved in the IMF, and a faithful member, always taking on impossible missions for the greater good.

So, you can imagine how absolutely pissed off the 1996 film made fans of the original, the cast of the original, and Peter Graves himself, when the writers decided to make Jim a straight-up villain, and brought in no other members of the original team. It should be noted that this movie is indeed intended to be a continuation of the original series and its revival. And yes, Peter Graves was asked to reprise his role as Jim Phelps, but turned it down when he found out that Jim Phelps was meant to betray and MURDER IMF. Because, yeah, not cool!

Maybe this was intended to surprise people, including and especially fans of the original series, which did have quite a fanbase at the time. But this had two problems. One, by turning one of the longest lasting heroes of the franchise into a straight-up villain with a Cold War-chip on his shoulder, he immediately is acting extremely out of character as compared to the version of the character that got all of those fans together in the first place. And second, WHAT SURPRISE? As emphatically noted by me, I figured out that Phelps was the villain within the first 5 minutes of runtime. Seriously. IT WASN’T THAT HARD.

Not to mention the fact that the original cast also hated this movie. Greg Morris, who played a character that I think Luther Stickell may be loosely based upon, literally walked out of the theater before the movie was finished, because he was reportedly “disgusted” by what they’d done to Jim. Martin Landau, another original cast member, said that the original plan was to have the entire cast come back, only to get immediately killed off so that Tom Cruise could be the only surviving IMF member, and he was very against that. He also cast shade on the script in the same interview, which is kind of funny.

So, yeah, with all of that said, this is a very bad adaptation. But is it a bad movie? Let’s go over it, shall we?

Cast and Acting

So, yeah, Cruise was Cruise again. But, he was definitely more likable as Ethan Hunt. Although, he also was a little less-defined as a character. I’d wager that that’ll be fixed in later films, but he was blander than Maverick, I’d say. Still, he wasn’t Maverick, so that’s an improvement. Voight as the main villain was...obvious. Sorry, but I’ve seen Voight not act somewhat sinister in any role. Hell, even in National Treasure, I didn’t trust him. Maybe that’s just me; Anaconda was a memorable movie from my childhood, what can I say? Emmanuelle Beart was fine, I suppose. But for me, the stars of the show were Rhames, Reno, and Redgrave. The 3 R’s dripped with charisma and energy in every scene they were in. Redgrave was regularly ravishing, Rhames was remarkably refined, and Reno was roguishly rakish. Right on.

Cast and Acting: 7/10

Plot and Writing

Well...OK, look, the writing in this film is mostly fine. And the plot is mostly (mostly) competent, but...it’s so obvious. IT IS SO OBVIOUS. Even without my Jon Voight-bias, his heel-turn is obvious within 20 minutes. Not hard to figure that out, seriously. And outside of that, this really is just a standard spy flick. It’s nothing really out of the ordinary and spectacular, at all. And that in and of itself definitely doesn’t make it a bad movie. However, it also detracts from the suspense. The significant other pointed out that this may be because I’ve seen movies that came out after this one, and that this film may have been a trope-maker. Which, yes, entirely valid point there. But even then, this film doesn’t go far enough out of the James Bond comfort zone that it’s nestled within. So, yeah, not bad, but also not spectacular. With a very predictable twist.

Plot and Writing: 5/10

Direction and Action

I just, that scene! That ending climax is amazing, seriously! I’ve put it up here in this review, chopped into GIFs, but seriously! Rewatch this scene if you haven’t seen it in a while. And if you haven’t seen this movie, I’m sorry that you’ve been spoiled, but still! Check this scene out! But outside of this scene, how was the movie? Well, first things first, the director was Brian DePalma, the director of Carrie, Scarface, The Untouchables, Carlito’s Way, and Phantom of the Paradise. When you look at his credits, he has a lot of great films under his belt, as well as some mediocre ones. But, he knows what he’s doing with this movie. While it might not bear the most stylish of directorial flourishes, it’s still a hell of a ride. And, in terms of action, this is definitely more of an action movie than Top Gun was. The movie literally cannot work without some of its most suspenseful and iconic physical sequences. Man oh MAN, it’s one hell of a ride throughout. So, yeah, this category is getting a high score. A perfect score? No. Like I said, not too many directorial flourishes that I really noticed. Excellent directing, but not 10/10.

Direction and Action: 9/10

Costume and Set Design

This was pretty good, honestly. Some character outfits stood out to me (Rhames in particular), and the set pieces that were present were great! The train-copter-Chunnel scene obviously stands out, as well as the fish tank scene in the beginning. Not much to say for this one, in truth.

Costume and Set Design: 8/10

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Music

OK, so, here’s the thing about the M:I theme song. I VASTLY prefer the original version. Honestly, Danny Elfman is a competent composer and all (if not a bit overused and overexposed), but Lalo Schifrin’s song is so timeless that the update in the movie, in my opinion, actually kind of ruins the original. And given that I genuinely don’t remember most of the music in the movie outside of the theme song...yeah, this one weirdly isn’t going to get a high grade from me. All points go to Lalo Schifrin. Sorry, Danny Elfman.

Music: 5/10

And there you have it, Mission: Impossible (1996). Tallying up the scores, that’s a 34/50, leaving us with a 68%. And yeah, that sounds about right to me. Seriously, this is a by-the-books spy film, and I got exactly what I expected from it. Well, mostly. I expected a better plot and twist, and a better mystery. I got a much worse one. But I DID NOT expect the action, especially the climax. And yeah, that ending scene alone is worth the price of admission. Might make me sound shallow, but MAN, it was cool. Do I recommend this movie? I recommend scenes from this movie, at the very least. But, if you watch it, you’ll get about what you expected: a spy movie starring Tom Cruise and an obvious twist.

OK, that’s enough of Tom Cruise for one month (maybe for one year, let’s be honest). What about another iconic action film star of the ‘80s and ‘90s? I’ve seen a lot of Schwarzenegger (and the movies of his I haven’t seen will feature later this year), so...what about Stallone? Not Rocky, though; that’ll be for sports month. And First Blood is...we’ll see about First Blood. OH! Got it!

January 3, 2021: Cliffhanger

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smokeybrand · 3 years

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He Chose Poorly

Apparently, over the weekend, James Mangold had a complete meltdown on Twatter after someone sh*tted all over his Indiana Jones flick. Dude went real low, attacking dude with juvenile name calling and, apparently, targeting this cat’s girlfriend; Someone who had nothing to do with anything. It’s a real bad look and i imagine the Mouse House got after Manny-boy because all of those Tweets disappeared. Now, before i unpack this, i just want to be clear: I’m not a fan of Indiana Jones. I’ve seen them all but i don’t have a horse in this race. Like, from a critical sense, The Last Crusade is easily the best flick in the franchise by a WIDE berth but my favorite is the one with the aliens. I just really like Cate Blanchett. I wanted to put that out there so you understand that i am coming from a place of indifference about this whole franchise so i have a level of impartiality that most people talking about this sh*tshow, don’t.

I don’t condone what Mangold did. It’s disgusting, petulant, immature, and incredibly problematic. In an age where people are going after Chrissy Teigen for the sh*t she said about Courtney Stodden several years after the fact, this sh*t Mangold did will be a whole f*cking issue going forward for this entire production. Again, not condoning any of this sh*t but i get Mangold’s frustration. People have been dogging his movie since day one for reasons that are literally beyond him. Kathleen Kennedy is the primary Producer on this thing. This women torpedoed Star Wars because of straight up delusion. she thought that her version of Star Wars, all of the Disney sh*t, was going to be received by the fans with open arms, neglecting the fact that they are all sh*t. Her leadership is sh*t. Kennedy is not a creative and she has had a chip on her shoulder for decades because Lucas, and Spielberg to a lesser extent, never paid any attention to her input on their flagship franchises. They were right.

Kennedy is why we never got to see the original three heroes of the Star Wars franchise on screen together in the sequels. Kennedy is the reason why Luke was diminished into a green milk drinking coward. Kennedy is the reason Lord and Miller were canned after completing literally all of Solo. Kennedy is the reason Gina Carano was fired from Mando. Kennedy is the reason why we have that High Republic bullsh*t. Kennedy is the reason the Skywalker saga is not the Palpatine saga. Kennedy is the reason why people hate Star Wars and this is the woman who is in charge of Mangold’s film. I imagine that is a creatively stifling, incredibly frustrating job to do, especially after Kennedy was effectively fired from all Star Wars production. This movie is her last gasp on Hollywood clout, so i imagine she’s going to either f*ck it all up on purpose as a f*ck you to fans or try to used Indy 5 as a vehicle to finally prove that her way is the right way in modern Hollywood. It’s not.

Now, i like a lot of the concept art I've seen from Indy 5. Those leaks point toward a bunch of Nazi Black projects like man-made UFOs and the Die Glocke. I’m a whole ass conspiracy theorist sometimes so i am in a tizzy at the prospect of seeing the Nazi Bell used in a major production. That sh*t is intriguing. I adore James Mangold as a director. He has a legit list of hits under his belt. Girl, Interrupted is a one of my favorite films of all-time and Identity is a whole ass mindf*ck but Mangold gave us Logan, arguably the best Marvel film to date. Dude is bulletproof to me for that. Also, it’s testament to what a creative can deliver when he’s allowed to just create. Mangold is great at his job when he’s allowed to do it. The fact that Phoebe Waller-Bridge is getting a writer’s credit is also something that caught my attention. I genuinely enjoyed her in Fleabag and she was, like, everything for that show. I am, apparently, in the minority about that because, apparently, Phoebe is a feminist and that is, apparently, offensive to people nowadays? I don’t know, man, i just don’t really give a sh*t about identity politics in film as ling as that sh*t is executed properly. From everything I've seen of this production, that looks to be the case. Decent concept, creativity director, excellent writer, and Harrison Ford coming back to don the fedora one last time. The only issue i have is Kennedy because that chick is franchise poison.

The guy who sparked all of this had a whole list of sh*t which made Indy 5 terrible in his eyes. Steven Spielberg is not directing, Kathleen Kennedy is producing, Harrison Ford is seventy-eight years old, and It's written by Jonathan Kasdan, who wrote SOLO. That last bit about Solo, I'm okay with. Upon revisiting that film after all the controversy fell off, it’s the most Star Wars of Disney Star Wars. If that same levity and respect is brought to India in the script, with adjustments made by Waller-Bridge to tighten everything up, i feel like that the page is in good hands. Everything else is a legitimate concern, especially Kennedy, which is how i know Mangold’s meltdown was her fault. Solo is an interesting objection as, aside from Lord and Miller getting canned and Phoebe Waller-Bridge starring as the horribly received robot or whatever, it shows how destructive Kennedy can be on set. As i understand it, Lord and Miller were fired specifically because the character Phoebe be portrayed, that ridiculous caricature of a feminist written to be as absurd as possible, was directly inspired by Kennedy, herself. She did not enjoy the comparison. And guess who has shown up in Indy 5?

Mangold should have never went after that dude the way he did over the weekend. That sh*t was a bad look and this post is, in no way, justifying his actions. It is, however, an attempt to give perspective. Mangold is an artist. He takes the production of his films seriously. He’s credited as both director and writer on a lot of his productions. The man wrote and directed Walk the Line and Logan; Both Oscar caliber films. Dude is proven talent behind the camera so having a meddling egomaniac like Kathleen Kennedy who is known for giving creatives unreasonable ultimatums about their work, f*cking up your vision strictly because she’s a selfish idealouge, might chafe someone who knows what the f*ck they’re doing. Someone who has proven he can deliver top tier quality product. Someone who has consistently delivered Oscar nominations and wins throughout his career. I can see why someone who is as unassailable in their career as Mangold, would become irate when his craft is attacked even before anyone has seen a production still. I also understand how someone could be completely and totally disconnected from the massive potential of this film, after seeing Kennedy’s name attached.

I don’t think Mangold is going to last in the big chair. I imagine he took this job as an opportunity to do something great with a franchise he loved. I think he felt that, after rehabilitating Fox’s Wolverine franchise after X-Men Origin with The Wolverine and Logan, that he could handle a fervent fan base and prove his mettle yet again. I know he grossly underestimated how “hands-on” Kennedy was going to be and how much the fandom hates that chick. Mangold was under the gun the second he inked that contract and, i imagine, it got worse after Kennedy was effectively fired from all Star Wars content and Favreu put in charge of Lucasfilm for the time being. I am certain, considering that Indy 5 is the only thing she is contractually obligated to oversee at this point, that Kennedy is going to do everything in her power to make “her own” to the detriment of Mangold’s talent. I know that. The fandom knows that. Everyone knows that and they’re irate about it. Again, not condoning what Mangold did over the weekend, i cannot stress that enough, i just wanted to add perspective as to why he might have lashed out in that way.

Dude signed up for a dream opportunity, a chance to create the Indy film he always wanted to see, only to get kneecapped by a wounded Kennedy who only has all the power over his specific project. Considering her history with Star Wars, she’s definitely f*cking with Mangold to the umpteenth degree. That, coupled with being written off based on sh*t he has no control over, in direct contrast to his record as a quality filmmaker, would be infuriating. I imagine it would probably make anyone enraged.

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knightbird · 3 years

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Frankenstein (1930) - John Balderston

Frankenstein (1930) is a curious play. I came across it at the end of Steven Forry's "Hideous Progenies" along with the other scripts. This play was an adaptation of another Frankenstein play by Peggy Webling, and the 1931 James Whale film was loosely based off of it- a bit more on that at the end of the post.

The play swaps the roles of Henry and Victor, with Henry Frankenstein as the mad scientist and Victor Moritz as the literary-inclined childhood friend. Dr Waldman also gets a much larger role and is there throughout the play.

[id: Victor: (Forgets in his enthusiasm that he was going, comes down stage toward Waldman). I know nothing of science. The best I can hope is to write his biography when he’s famous, if he doesn’t kill himself with overwork. Waldman: (amused). And what will you say? Victor: I’ll tell how we played together beside the lake at Belrive, how he was always looking for the philosopher’s stone, read books on alchemy when he was thirteen and talked about turning base metal into gold. Waldman: He has deserted his alchemy for the new facts, new experimental truths. They fascinate me as a man of science, though sometimes they terrify me as a priest. end id]

[id: Victor: No, it was Amelia. We had been engaged since we were children - last year she - well she said she loved Henry. Waldman: (Gently). Are you giving up everything to your friend? Victor: (Vehemently). No. Why shouldn’t she want him? He has brilliance, he has strength, he will be a great man. I am a weakling- Waldman: He has some uncanny power- (Noise of bolt shooting in door R, door opens. Enter Henry. Young, thin, nervous, good looking but now at the point of hysteria. He crosses rapidly to them.) end id]

The play's creature is much less eloquent than his novel's counterpart, though he's not a mindless animal. He learns and is capable of basic speech, and understands far more language than he is capable of formulating himself. He is also shown to have learned how to read. The creature is drawn to and appreciates beauty, and is shown to like the sight of nature, the sun, women, domestic white doves, and shimmering water. He has difficulty understanding some concepts such as death, and the different ways to cause death, and has trouble controlling his own strength. The creature is actually referred to by the main characters as "Frankenstein," and there is an explanation given for this in the text.

[id: (Frankenstein gets up, goes to window, holds out arms again, draws deep breaths). Henry: That is my garden. Say it! Garden! Frankenstein: Gar-den. (Frankenstein points, eager questioning in his motions and his grunts). Henry: Trees. Frankenstein: Trees! Henry: Flowers. Frankenstein: Flow-ers! (Looks up, pointing above, with similar gesture). Henry: Great soft fire, the sun. Sun. Frankenstein: Sun. Henry: The blue Heaven, the sky. Frankenstein: Sky. (He continues to gaze, panting, excited, enraptured.) end id]

[id: Frankenstein: No man touch Frankenstein - fear. Hit Frankenstein. Master beat - not now. I kill! You woman, you not hate? Katrina: You mean people hate you? Frankenstein: Hate Frankenstein. All people. Hurt Frankenstein. Katrina: I don’t hate you, my poor friend. Frankenstein: Friend? Katrina: Don’t you know what friend is either? Somebody one’s fond of. I should like to help you. Frankenstein: You woman, you beauty like... like garden. Like sky. No pain like... like other woman. Katrina: I don’t understand you. end id]

Upon creating the creature, instead of abandoning him, Henry locks him up in his lab and treats him cruelly. The creature eventually escapes and, like in the novel, is rejected by society, goes on to commit multiple murders, and eventually arrives at the house of Frankenstein where he asks his creator for a female companion. While he is at the house, he accidentally kills Henry's sister, Katrina. Out of fear for the safety of his fiance, Henry agrees to make a second creature and sequesters himself in a hut in the mountains, where he sets up a lab. The ending somewhat differs to the novel - Henry's friends find him in his hut, and there is a final violent conflict in which both the creator and the creature die. However, both Victor (the childhood friend) and Amelia (the fiance) survive the story, unlike in the novel.

I found the change in ending interesting. Henry's character by the end does not have the loneliness and haunted aspects that novel Victor's did, and his hatred of the creature did not seem to initially be born from fear, though he did feel disgust towards his creation. Though the creature has killed people, the only person he's harmed by the end of the play who Henry knows personally is his sister. Henry does not go on the final chase for the creature in the end, but dies at his creations hands. The creature has some sort of religious revelation and is killed by an act of god, being struck by lightning after calling upon him.

[id: Waldman: Pain - that kind of pain is not felt by animals, it comes from the soul. Even when you killed him, you felt pain - (points to corpse on the floor). Yet you - I do not understand. Frankenstein: Soul - what is soul? Waldman: It is the part of God he gives to every man who lives. It is the part of man God calls back to himself after man dies. (Frankenstein murmurs: not man.) That’s why I’m not afraid to die. You can kill the body, but not the soul. Katrina is with God; I think that after all he suffered, Henry’s spirit is with God too. Frankenstein: Where is God? I thought he - (points to Henry) God - my God. Waldman: (Holds crucifix up). No - God is here. Here - everywhere. Frankenstein: Your God hate - Waldman: God loves the birds, the beasts, as well as men. Frankenstein: Love Frankenstein? Waldman: Yes. Whatever you are, you have taught me, a priest, something about God. He loves you. Frankenstein: He - friend? Waldman: Yes. end id]

Like the novel's Victor, this Henry is self-interested, arrogant, and snubs his friends and family without thought, but is also more prone to fight over flight, unlike the other Victor. I found him more flat and less relatable, but I think part of it is the format - characters in a play tend to be more one dimensional compared to a novel, because a play lacks the ability and run-time needed to deeply immerse the reader in the character's rich inner thoughts and details. Because the play starts soon before the creature is brought to life, we did not get to experience Henry's early life or truly understand his reasons for creating the creature.

[id: Henry: (Wildly). You see how impossible it is. I know I oughtn’t to hate him, Dr Waldman, but he’s part of me and I hate myself. He oughtn’t to exist. It would be no sin, no sin I tell you, and it’s the only way... (Grasps Frankenstein’s throat from behind, chokes him). (Screams). He’s worse than a corpse, a corpse mustn’t walk and talk, a corpse mustn’t think - (Victor from window, Waldman from fireplace, rush on Henry, shouting, but before they reach him, Frankenstein grasps his wrists, throws him off and almost to the floor and rises - fully erect for first time. Henry staggers to feet). His hands are like steel, he could kill us all. Frankenstein: (Fiercely, questioning but questioning triumphantly). Kill? Kill? Kill!! Henry: (Recovering himself, picks up whip, strikes Frankenstein violently with butt). Slave; dog! How dare you throw me down? (Frankenstein steps back, shrinks a little but does not cringe as before). end id]

The play contains much more heavy-handed religious references than the novel, usually relating to Henry's transgressions and the creature's existence. Because Victor and Waldman learn about the creature early on, they are able to have multiple onstage discussions about it, often entailing arguments on the nature of life and souls and their relationship to god. I believe part of the heavy-handedness can also be attributed to the format as well - the play doesn't have very long to deliver its key themes and cannot use long-winded and nested narratives like the novel, and it must deliver almost everything through dialogue. Therefore, like the characters, the play's themes are also shallower in comparison to the novel. It could be that the writer shifted the focus of the play more strongly onto religious themes to make up for this, though it could also be because of the time in which it was written. I admit, thematic analysis is not my strong suit and most people could probably pull more to analyze out of this play than I could.

[id: Waldman: Impious! A century ago the Church would have burned you - Henry: Is he who saves a dying man impious? This young man was dead. If I could give him life, would men regard me as a criminal, or as a saviour? Waldman: The doctor does not interfere with the will of Heaven, Henry Frankenstein. He restores the sick before their souls have gone to God, not afterwards. Victor: Your studies have been too much for you, Henry. I will help you rebury the corpse. Henry: You need not bother - I reburied it. (The men are terrified). Why are you so horrified, Dr. Waldman? I merely let his life run out. I was simply not interfering with the will of Heaven! (They remain speechless, Dr Waldman crosses himself). end id]

[id: Waldman: Enough of this. Henry: (Hysterically). You can’t have it both ways, priest! If this thing that I made has no soul, is not human, it’s a beast, and a beast can be killed without sin! Waldman: Who am I to know what relation God has decreed between you and this thing that you and the Devil, your rays and your Elixir brought into the world? But it is linked to you more strongly than son to father. And this I know, that it is part of yourself and that you cannot destroy the unholy life that you have dared to breathe into that body. Henry: then it will destroy me. Waldman: (Turns away, Henry’s remark strikes him deeply and he seems to agree, as he turns back to Henry). This is in God’s providence. end id]

Authorship & history

The play is written by John Balderston, published 1930. According to Hideous Progenies, this is an adaptation of Peggy Webling's 1927 "Frankenstein: An Adventure in the Macabre," and was meant for Broadway. The rights to it and to Webling's script were purchased by Universal Studios and after much revision, it resulted in the script for Frankenstein (1931).

I have not been able to find Webling's script and therefore cannot specifically identify what in Balderston's script is from Webling's work and what is his own. According to Hideous Progenies, the names Victor Moritz and Henry Frankenstein are from Webling's play, as well as Dr Waldman's extended involvement, and the creature being called "Frankenstein."

I was not able to find anything else online about this play except for brief mentions on some Wikipedia pages, so if anyone knows of other sources on either of them or knows of where I could read An Adventure in the Macabre, I'd be glad to hear it.

Sources:

Hideous Progenies: Dramatizations of Frankenstein from Mary Shelley to the Present - by Steven Earl Forry (1990)

Wikipedia pages for John Balderston, Peggy Webling, and Frankenstein (1931)

#frankenstein #frankenstein 1930 #posts about media #victor frankenstein #henry clerval #henry frankenstein #victor moritz #doctor waldman #plays #my posts #not art #media review #writeup #this thing has been in my drafts for 2 weeks its time to set it free #my writing

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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The Best Comics of 2019

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Comics gave us everything we needed in 2019. The best ones surprised even us.

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e stand at the end of a decade of massive change, and the comics industry is not immune to those shifts. There are more ways to read more comics about more things than ever before. That’s why the best comics of 2019 contains not one, but three Superman books.

I’m joking. There are only two textual Superman books, but they’re both wildly different, and they and the rest of the best comics of 2019 are a vastly different set than we would have seen even five years ago. There were some really great comics published this year, so even going to 20 won’t catch all of them. And, of course, I’m not independently wealthy or able to manipulate time, so I absolutely missed some great ones that you should feel comfortable yelling at me in the comments about. With that in mind, here are our best comics of 2019!

20. The Lone Ranger

Mark Russell and Bob Q

I could have made this list all Mark Russell comics if I wanted to. Wonder Twins is one of the most pleasant comics surprises I’ve ever had, and I gushed over Year of the Villain: The Riddler for how it broke out of Russell’s comfort zone and gave us a fantastic, relatively straight cape story. But I went with The Lone Ranger over Riddler because Russell sustained his straightforward superhero story for longer here. And also I couldn’t care less for any hero than I do for the Lone Ranger.

It’s a pretty straightforward western story: big landowners are stealing more land, and the Lone Ranger and Tonto have to stop them. But Russell plays it like a heist movie, having the duo outsmarting their opponents, and infusing it with some sharp populist satire that plays really well right now (for me, at least). Bob Q is a revelation here, too - his art is clean and sharp, with brisk action pacing and the kind of facial expressions and body language you need to sell the hell out of Russell’s humor. It’s just a really well-made comic from start to finish, and even if you’ve never cared for the Lone Ranger before, you should give this book a shot.

read The Lone Ranger on Amazon.

19. The Life and Death of Toyo Harada

Joshua Dysart, CAFU, Andrew Dalhousie & others

I think my favorite villain in all of comics is Toyo Harada? I know that’s a weird statement to make in a universe with a Jonathan Hickman-written Magneto in stores and a Jonathan Hickman-written Doom on my shelf, but there’s a big difference between good big-2 bads and Harada: Harada’s right.

read more: The Best Movies of 2019

What keeps the story moving through that middle, and what lands it so beautifully, is Bergara’s stunning art. It’s more mad and inventive than what the story implies, but bright and clear all the same. It’s almost like early period Chris Bachalo but with modern production values. When I first thought this, my inner monologue said it in a hushed whisper, like it was blasphemy. But the further into the book I went, the more confident I was in the assessment. Coda is a moving story that’s also one of the best looking comics of the year.

read Coda on Amazon

17. BTTM FDRS

Ezra Claytan Daniels (W), Ben Passmore (A) Fantagraphics

True story: I was about a third of the way through BTTM FDRS and I sat down with a goal of reading 15 or so more pages. I stood up 40 minutes later having ripped through the last 200 pages of the comic, and regretted it from about five different angles. You'll hit a point where you won't be able to put it down. It’s a terrific horror story.

BTTM FDRS is transparently a story about how awful gentrification is. Two hipsters move into an old industrial building in a not-quite-yet up and coming neighborhood, and they’re pretty shitty. They meet a neighbor, a theme rapper who dresses in colonial gear and calls himself Plymouth Rock. And then they all get trapped in their new haunted house, one that’s full of environmental and body horror.

On its surface, BTTM FDRS is extremely not subtle. One of the gentrifiers is wearing one of those hideous 80s cyclist hats that says “RAP” on the bottom of the upturned brim. But at the same time, the horror components of the book are much more subtle about the overall theme. I don’t want to spoil it too much, but the monster ties into the gentrification idea very nicely. Passmore does a great oozing monster and outstanding terrified cartoon faces, and the end result is a smart, thoughtful, great looking comic.

read BTTM FDRS on Amazon

16. The Immortal Hulk

Al Ewing (W), Joe Bennett (P), Ruy Jose (I), Paul Mounts (C) Marvel Comics

The Immortal Hulk is easily the best horror book to come out this year. At least the best deliberate horror book, that’s not about gross medical malpractice or the hellscape our world has become. It’s incredibly fun to watch comic creators jump from good but underappreciated to superstars, and to see two creators do it on the same book is even better. That’s what’s happening here: Ewing and Bennett are going from “oh man, how great was Ultimates 2/52” to “holy shit I need to buy everything they do."

There’s a lot to love about Immortal Hulk - the way Ewing juggles so many characters, or how deliberately paced the story and the additions of new gamma characters is. But the best part is how utterly perfect the body horror is. The Rick Jones Abomination monster is the most disgusting thing I’ve seen in comics all year. A grasping hand for a face is somehow grosser than those fish with the human teeth that make a mass extinction an okay tradeoff. The way Hulk’s powers are played as grotesque metamorphoses is the best I’ve ever seen it done, and the slow burn mystery of the gamma world is what makes me rush back to this book every new issue.

read The Immortal Hulk on Amazon

15. Excellence

Brandon Thomas (W), Khary Randolph (A), Emilio Lopez (C) Image Comics

Khary Randolph makes some of the most dynamic, visually entertaining comic art in the business, so you can probably guess how fast I jumped at him doing design work and interiors for a magic story. And it was the right call: Excellence is...well...excellent.

Spencer Dales is the son of a prominent ruling magical family who gets his magic late, and as a result watches his father bond with another kid as he teaches his new mentee how to wield mystical power. If you’re rushing past it, Excellence vaguely resembles Harry Potter, but it's full of resentment and totally different family drama, and the visuals are much flashier. It’s always near the top of my stack to read when it comes out.

read Excellence on Amazon

14. DCeased

Tom Taylor (W), Trevor Hairsine, James Harren & Stefano Gaudiano (A), Rain Beredo (C) DC Comics

I can’t believe this worked. I should have seen it coming - Tom Taylor, DCeased’s writer, was behind a lot of great comics in the last few years, including several (I’m looking at you, Injustice) that just shouldn’t have worked, but did. And yet, I saw “DC Zombies” and I rolled my eyes hard.

I shouldn’t have. DCeased is a gorgeous comic that made me cry at least twice. It does a better job of capturing the essences of pretty much the whole Justice League one by one than most of their solo books do: Batman, Superman, Flash, Black Canary, and Green Arrow all get amazing moments. To do this inside a zombie story is extremely difficult, but Taylor’s script is emotional and incisive, while Hairsine and Gaudiano work magic with the character acting and the horror of the book. It was so good that there’s still a part of me that can’t believe how much I want a sequel.

read DCeased on Amazon

13. They Called Us Enemy

George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott (W); Harmony Becker (A) Top Shelf Productions

I’ll be honest, I came into this book not wanting to like it. It’s a non-comics celebrity airdropping into our medium - it felt a little bit like a stunt. But almost as soon as I cracked it open, I was struck by how much emotion Harmony Becker put into her art. George and his siblings are immediately charming and innocent, so when that innocence is stripped away from them by the way my country’s horrific internment of Japanese-Americans hits her, it hit me too, like a wave of shame.

Internment during World War II is one of the most shameful episodes in American history, and even an autobiography that tells that story must walk an incredibly delicate path - too far in one direction, and you’re sugarcoating terror; too far in the other and you drown the reader in sorrow and miss some of the human moments that make the story real. They Called Us Enemy walks that tightrope beautifully: throughout the book, you feel what George and his siblings felt. It’s a good story well told that is shamefully relevant to our world today.

read They Called Us Enemy on Amazon

12. Second Coming

Mark Russell (W), Richard Pace & Leonard Kirk (A), Andy Troy (C) Ahoy Comics

Second Coming is the other Russell book to make the list because this feels like where his comics career has been going the whole time. It’s got the brutal ridicule of modern society that made The Flintstones so amazing, and the incredibly thoughtful take on Christianity that was just beneath the thin veneer of comedy in God Is Disappointed In You. And shockingly, it might also be the nicest comic on the stands.

The hook of the story is exactly what it says on the tin: Jesus is back. Only this time God sent him to live with his brother, obvious-Superman-analogue Sunstar, because he got bullied so hard last time. So Russell, Pace and Kirk are putting a very biblically traditional Christ into a superhero crimefighter story and using both angles to mock (or gently rib, mostly) the other. It is a book that’s obsessed with pointing out how much better it is to treat people with kindness, and it’s really funny about it. Pace handles the God pages, and does everything with a scratchy, inky sketchiness that I love; he does layouts for the Sunstar pages, and Kirk and Troy finish them, and it’s pretty amazing how effortlessly the art goes back and forth between that scratchy 80s indie look and traditional, very good superhero art. Second Coming is a lot of fun to read.

read Second Coming on Amazon

11. Swimming in Darkness

Lucas Harari (W/A) Arsenal Pulp Press

Swimming in Darkness mixes a psychological thriller with a haunted house story, and the result is a haunting, creepy, gorgeous comic that sticks around in your brain far longer than you’ll be comfortable with.

Harari’s story takes main character Pierre, a French student who left school after a nervous breakdown, to the Vals Thermal Baths in the Swiss Alps. The Baths have a legendary architecture, and a myth around them that every hundred years they eat a foreigner. The book is the story of what he discovers while there.

The book is a lot of sitting quietly in weird architecture - it’s all mood and tension, and Harari does a great job with both. The Baths look wonderful, angular and bizarre, and the deliberate pacing goes a long way to making this book so effective.

read Swimming in Darkness on Amazon

10. American Carnage

Bryan Edward Hill (W), Leandro Fernandez (A) Vertigo

American Carnage will go down as the last great Vertigo book. It’s just brutal from start to finish.

Hill and Fernandez send Richard Wright, a mixed race ex-FBI agent who can pass as white who was booted from the Bureau for killing a teenager who pulled a cell phone on him, deep undercover to infiltrate the white nationalist army being formed by a California billionaire and his daughter.

This is pure mid-period Vertigo out of the Scalped/100 Bullets mold. Everyone in this comic is an awful person, but they’re all terrible for their own reasons. And of course, there’s nothing even close to a happy ending. Fernandez’s art is a terrific match to the story. He’s loose and sketchy but always tells a clear story. American Carnage was an excellent comic. I hope we get Hill and Fernandez working together again soon.

read American Carnage on Amazon

9. Runaways

Rainbow Rowell (W), Kris Anka (A), Matthew Wilson (C) Marvel Comics

I liked Runaways a lot when it was originally created, but I wouldn’t call myself a dedicated fan. But I binged Rowell, Anka and Wilson’s newest volume, and I was shocked: at how easy they made it to step right into basically an in-progress retcon; at how masterfully Rowell juggles a HUGE cast of characters; and at how much damn fun the book is.

This book is pure teen soap opera. The point of the book is unambiguously the emotions of the characters and not high action and adventure, and Rowell makes each character’s distinct voice so entertaining to track through the melodrama that it’s now one of the first things I read when a new issue hits. Anka does faces and acting deceptively well for such a fashionable artist, and Wilson is, as usual, amazing. Runaways is a great book; you should definitely think about giving the first volume to comic reading friends as a holiday gift.

read Runaways on Amazon

8. The Banks

Roxanne Gay, Ming Doyle, Jordie Bellaire TKO Studios

The best heist stories are a little bit angry, and Roxanne Gay, Ming Doyle and Jordie Bellaire's The Banks gets a family crew together for some purposeful theft that's amazing fun to read. The book sets three generations of women on a path to a big score that takes down some garbage people, including the man who killed the youngest Banks' grandfather.

The heist is fun and tense, but it's Doyle and Bellaire's artwork, and the relationships between the three generations of Banks women that make this comic so good. Doyle tells a hell of a story: the art is crisp and clean and clear, with wonderful subtelty to the body language and really sharp character designs. Bellaire's colors make the book drip with atmosphere. And Gay and the rest of the team do an outstanding job of building conflict into the leads. You ache with them at the murder of Clara's husband, and you feel the anger when Clara and Celia butt heads. That makes the payoff to the story even better: the deeper into the family dynamic you are, the higher the tension is, and Gay, Doyle and Bellaire do a great job of pulling you in.

read The Banks on Amazon

7. Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen

Matt Fraction (W), Steve Lieber (A), Nathan Fairbairn (C) DC Comics

I’ve already talked at length about what makes Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen so incredible, but I want to bring up one thing I’ve missed: its fundamental compassion. This book is every bit as hilarious and even a little daring for a mainstream superhero book (not often you get a joke at the expense of the internet’s collective foot fetish in a Superman comic), but underneath that, Jimmy Olsen is an incredibly empathetic, compassionate book. Packed in between panels of invisible Jimmy running from monsters and growing tusks at a pie-eating contest, there’s one quick panel of an exhausted, broken Jimmy in full fatigues and bullet proof vest, and Clark looking over his shoulder, worried.

Photography in a war zone is an incredibly dangerous job that kills a lot of real world journalists. To slip that in with Clark as the audience stand in completely changes the nature of the book - Jimmy’s every bit as tough as Lois and Clark are, dedicated to showing people the horrors of war to the point where he puts his own life in grave danger, and the fact that one time he took a shower in pink Kryptonite doesnt’ change that at all. Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen is an amazing, hilarious comic, but it also deeply cares for the Superman universe’s mythos and is adding some great stuff to it.

read Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen on Amazon

6. These Savage Shores

Ram V (W), Sumit Kumar (A), Vittorio Astone (C) Vault Comics

I’m constantly looking for something I’ve never seen before. Ram V, Sumit Kumar and Vittorio Astone gave me that with These Savage Shores, and they did it with some really impressive technical skill.

These Savage Shores is a period piece about a vampire/demon battle that plays out between London and Calcutta via the East India Company. It manages to be a monster story, a period drama, a monster book and a history lesson all at the same time. Ram V balances each piece of the story delicately and makes it really tough to put down.

Kumar’s art is a huge draw. This is the first work I’ve seen from him, but holy socks it’s terrific. The figures and backgrounds have a very Bilquis Evely/The Dreaming feel to them, but the layouts are spectacular. The way he uses the nine panel grid is simultaneously deliberate and dynamic. Astone’s colors are a perfect pair - London is gray and drab and rainy, while the jungle outside Calcutta is close and sticky and warm. It’s phenomenal work.

read These Savage Shores on Amazon

5. Assassin Nation

Kyle Starks (W), Erica Henderson (A) Image Comics

Kyle Starks is great. He’s absolutely hilarious, and fills his writing with a surprising amount of heart and an overwhelming amount of imagination. But if we’re being completely honest, the guy who wrote Sexcastle is maaaaybe not the most subtle comic talent out there. But to be honest, I didn’t realize that subtlety would improve his work until I saw Erica Henderson do it for him, and the resulting comic, Assassin Nation, is brilliant and one of my favorites from either creator.

The book is about the world’s greatest assassins - all ranked according to skill and kill counts - and a set up that’s causing them to be picked off in large numbers. It’s jammed with jokes of every kind - sight gags, satire, inane absurdism (Fuck Tarkington is the breakout character of 2019). Henderson is an absolute wizard. She’s such a good storyteller that I’ll read anything she does, with any writer and any characters. I knew Assasin Nation would be good when I heard about it, but I had no idea how great it would turn out.

read Assassin Nation on Amazon

4. Superman Smashes the Klan

Gene Luen Yang (W), Gurihiru (A) DC Comics

Gene Yang is one of the best writers working in comics. He’s thoughtful and diligent about his characters, which lets him get deep inside their heads and flesh them out fully, both through their actions and how he poses them in the story. And he took an old Superman tale - Superman Smashes the Klan is based on a story from the old radio show - and made a couple of tweaks to it to turn it into one of my favorite character studies of Superman and Clark Kent that I’ve ever read.

By putting Roberta and Mrs. Lee in the story, we get an entirely different point of entry to the tale, and two new point of view characters to look at Superman through the immigrant experience. I still don’t want to spoil anything, more because I won’t be able to relay the elegant simplicity of the statement the same way the text does, but it recast, for me, Clark Kent’s existence specifically in a way that makes my whole relationship with Superman as a character richer.

Gurihiru is the perfect art team to pair with Yang on this. They make Superman accessible and welcoming, but intimidating and obviously super at the same time. This is a great Superman story told well, and exactly what I want out of the character.

read Superman Smashes the Klan on Amazon

3. House of X/Powers of X

Jonathan Hickman (W), Pepe Larraz/R.B. Silva (A), Marte Gracia (C) Marvel Comics

There’s probably not much more that I can say about HoXPoX that I haven’t already said. The “two series that are one!” were everything I hoped they would be going in: intricately plotted, skillfully told and wholly different from what came before. I wasn’t expecting career-making work out of Larraz, Silva and Gracia, but their art was so good that people will be holding this run up to everything they do in the future as an incredibly high bar for them to hit again. These 12 issues were the best X-Men comics I’ve ever read as they came out.

I do think the entire experience of HoXPoX changed my expectations from comics. Hickman talked a lot in interviews about giving readers the most bang for their buck, and the care put into every detail on every page made that concern evident. I spent as much time pouring over every page of these comics as I do reading all the rest of my books combined every Wednesday. The data pages were an immersive, interesting way of dropping information on the reader - because they were presented as data collected by the characters, instead of pace-breaking infodumps, they brought you deeper into them. And the internet was legitimately a blast while these comics were coming out. I’ve never actually had fun on Twitter before, but the X-community made this reading experience even better, and a book that wasn’t up to these standards, even if it was still excellent, wouldn’t have inspired that.

read House of X/Powers of X on Amazon

2. Kid Gloves: Nine Months of Careful Chaos

Lucy Knisley (W/A) First Second

Kid Gloves, Lucy Knisley’s half women’s health explainer, half memoir about her pregnancy, was making the list about halfway through the book, when I realized I had ripped through that much of the story in only 20 minutes, and I was retaining just about everything. I knew it was going near the top of the list when I ended the book in tears, muttering “you sue that doctor until he’s dead” at it.

Knisley has a gift for conveying information, and the parts of the book that aren’t memoir are thoroughly researched, deeply informative and entertainingly presented. Parts of it read as a history of women’s health, and parts as an infographic about the current state of it, but all of it will make you mad and want to change things. But the memoir segments are brutally honest about how joyful and shitty and terrifying and mundane pregnancy can be, about how normal the scary parts are and how extraordinary the whole process can be. Kid Gloves was extra real to me because I’m still close enough to my family’s experience where it was like a read along, but her honesty and her cartooning skill make it easy to disappear into her story regardless of what you’re bringing to it as a reader. Kid Gloves was a delight to read.

read Kid Gloves: Nine Months of Careful Chaos on Amazon

1. The Hard Tomorrow

Eleanor Davis (W/A) Drawn & Quarterly

Eleanor Davis is something else. What she does with pacing and perspective made me feel unlike any other comic I read this year. It’s truly exceptional comic art, and even if you don’t like the politics of the book, you should pick it up. I promise you won’t be able to put The Hard Tomorrow down.

The comic is about Hannah and John, two young lefties living out of a car trying to get pregnant and build their own house. Hannah is a home health aide and a member of a protest group, and John’s a stoner who grows weed and trades it to their handyman for his work. The book follows the two of them through their lives as the cops clamp down on the group, and John gets roped into their handyman Tyler’s Infowars-ish compound.

About two thirds of the way through the book, it starts barreling towards its climax - a bunch of leaders of Hannah’s protest group get arrested, the resulting protest turns into a riot, and the leaders eventually sell the group out to get their families and lives back. Meanwhile, John visits Tyler’s compound and gets subjected to Tyler’s increasingly deranged worries. Hannah gets a call from one of the freed group leaders and told that they’re being hung out to dry, and when that call ends, the panel pulls way back to show Hannah and the woman she’s caring for sitting alone, shocked, from a distance. Two pages later, Tyler tries to convince John to learn to shoot and hands him a gun, and we get a full page splash closeup of the handgun in John’s hand. This is incredible storytelling - Davis starts really building to the climax with this sequence, and it hit me like a violin crescendoing into a string snapping on a minor chord. She does the same thing with the end, slowing time down and using five splash pages almost like a flipbook animatic to hammer home her semi-resolution. The Hard Tomorrow is an incredible piece of comics storytelling, easily the best comic I read this year.

read The Hard Tomorrow on Amazon

Read and download the Den of Geek Lost in Space Special Edition Magazine right here!

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The Lists Jim Dandy

Dec 23, 2019

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mymessytidylife · 7 years

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A tribute to the books I read in 2016

I’ve read 65 books last year and that’s probably the biggest thing I did so far. I’ve finished a few I didn’t think I would ever finish. Invisible Jest is one example another is A Dream of Red Mansions. I didn’t read any graphic novels last year, which was stupid because I’ve read three already this year and how delightful are they?

I started the year 2016 with reading Post-Democracy by Colin Crouch which is ironic if I think about how 2016 ended and how 2017 started (in this spirit I’ve been reading a lot about defiance since the first of January).

I continued with Crush by Richard Siken - a book that I owned since at least 2010, that I took with me to Prague when I drunkenly kissed my roommate and didn’t tell my boyfriend. I remember sitting in the bus taking me to Prague and skimming through the pages and everything felt too raw and real and I did not know what to think about myself now that I knew that somewhere inside me a cheating beast only waited to take power. It took me six years to read Siken again and while his words a still powerful they did not rip something apart inside of me any longer. After crush there came my first try with an English translation of 紅樓夢. I finished that book and didn’t understand a thing and kept wondering if I had suddenly lost the ability to read in English. I found out not soon after that I had bought one of the worst and incomplete versions out there and ordered another one and said goodbye to despairing about language.

After this first try with Dream of a Red Chamber, I read Anti-Politics Machine by James Ferguson. That book was an eye-opener and set the tone for the rest of the year during which I put a lot of emphasis in my academic life on studying development. It was also the last book my ex-boyfriend recommended to me.

At this point I was missing my Russian writers and read the Vagabond by Gorky. I’ve always loved Gorky and the Vagabond was no exception, but it did not strike a tone as deep inside of me as some others. There were some stories I loved and others that did not stir much interest.

After Gorky, I read We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families by Philip Gourevitch. That book is probably my book of 2016; the horrors of it stayed with me for weeks. There isn’t another one I’ve recommended this much since reading it and I had to stalk Gourevitch on all available platforms. Go read that book! If we talk about a human history of suffering and how we all need to understand our own histories of failure in protecting innocent lives this is one of the must-reads.

After Gourevitch my new edition of Dream of a Red Chamber finally arrived. I plunged into it and even though it has some 2500 odd pages I finished it under two months. Its story was captivating and I loved the style of the first books, even though the style of the last was somewhat disappointing (it is believed that the original writer did not finish the whole book and that parts of it were rewritten by others that remain anonymous).

Following this long book I needed something shorter and read some poems by Bukowski. I have a conflicted relationship with Bukowski (admiring his talent, loving his books but hating him as a person) and I did not enjoy those poems (Continental Edition, I think) as much as others, but there where still sentences that went straight into my heart.

When I finished Bukowski I was missing some Chinese authors again and read Grass Soup by Zhang Xianliang and then something more academic by Xin Liu (In One’s Own Shadow). Both were disturbing in their own ways (hunger for Zhang, marriage rituals for Xin) and I did not much like either. Next I wanted to read a novel again and kind of stumbled upon Confessions of Zeno by Italo Svevo. Zeno was beautifully written and explored a lot of the light and dark sides that make us human but I started to tolerate books writing discriminately against women a lot less in the last years and though Zeno is a product of its time, I could not enjoy it despite its brilliance. Following Svevo I realized I hadn’t read anything in German for some time and I read another book of one of my favorite authors, Heinrich Böll. Und sagte kein einziges Wort explored some of his usual themes, but for me it didn’t quite do what some of his other books did, even though it was fascinating as always to know what Germany looked liked straight after the war. Missing James Ferguson’s brilliance I read another one of this books next. Global Shadows: Africa in the Neoliberal World Order was another book that gave me a lot to think about and I jotted down some thesis ideas. The neoliberal script has been another big private and academic topic for me in 2016. After Ferguson I spent a Sunday browsing some flea markets and came home with a lot of books whose authors I had never heard of before. I started off with Dispatches by Michael Herr, which was a brutal portrait of men and war and which I kind of had to read in a one go night session. After Herr, university started again and gave me a lot of reading ideas. I read Lu Xun’s Diary of a Madman next, in the bilingual version and loved it, and then thanks to the feminist perspectives I followed throughout 2016, I continued with a German book about a series of talks between Judith Butler and Gayatri Spivak on language and power. The questions of power and language and discourses that shape my Western understanding of the world made me remember Orientalism by Edward Said, which was on my to read list for the longest time and I went and picked up a copy and finally read it. While some of it wasn’t exactly new I started to be a lot more critical and saw Orientalism everywhere and understood where some of the prejudices against Muslim immigrants were coming from. Said is brilliant. After Said, I read a book of a lot of African authors that was edited by a NGO (Africavenir) on Defiance, Revolution and Renaissance. I liked that one a lot (always an advocate for reading more texts by authors of color), but its focus was a bit too heavy on the Arab Spring for my liking. African Renaissance shouldn’t be broken down on North Africa, I think, and I wish the book would have been more specific about its own focus.

Next I had to read Chronicle of a Blood Merchant by Yu Hua for university, which hasn’t a hardship at all, because I always loved Yu Hua. The Chronicle was just as wonderful as most of his other books, though being a squirmish person, I did have some trouble with all the blood talking. I went book-shopping once more and bought some books by Cynthia Enloe, who was recommended during one of my feminist peace studies classes. I read Bananas, Beaches and Bases first with the promise, that it would change the way I viewed the world, and in a way it might just have done that, but I wish I would have known about the updated version that came out only a while back, because the examples kind of lacked actuality for me.

I read the Deer Park by Mailer next and was impressed by the language and the feeling of the book but similar to Svevo what impressed me a lot less and bothered me quite a lot was the portrayal of women. Again, a book of its time, but one that is still considered a masterpiece today and I am unsure where to draw the line between being impressed by talent and being disgusted by patriarchy.

I had to do some more reading for class after that one and read Northern Girls by Sheng Keyi next. I hated the coarse language at first, but surprisingly started loving the story (but the ending is weird). I am usually a stronger advocate for language than for plot but this book finished much stronger than I expected.

I returned to feminist literature next and first read Butler’s Krieg und Affekt, followed by another Enloe: the curious feminist. I liked both of them and started to incorporate a feminist perspective in my academic life after finishing them. Afterwards I finally finished a book I started reading at the beginning of 2014: Europe: The Struggle for Supremacy from 1453 to the Present by Brendam Simms. It was quite the fascinating read though in the spirit of anti-power discourses I was a bit bored with another great power view on the way our world works, but I learned a lot of new stuff (and was quite happy to put it aside after two years...). I went home next and re-read a book that I had not quite finished when I gave it to my Dad as a present back when we visited me in China: China 3.0 by Mark Leonard. It’s quite short and might not be up to date any longer, but the perspectives on China remain interesting. Next I stumbled upon a book that appears to be a classic in feminist literature: The yellow wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. I read that book using a new app for my iphone that really changed my reading because you can read chapters of classical books in 5 to 15 minutes depending on length. The app is called Serial Reader and whoever invented it: a huge thank you, I doubt I would have read quite that much in 2016 otherwise. I read another Bukowski next, Ham on Rye which I liked better than the poems I read earlier this year. Still immensely impressed by this man’s talent, still immensely impressed by the personal ruin he followed through all his life.

I read Art of War by Sun Tzu next which was very anti-climatic given how much this book has been talked about in the last decades. Warfare strategy appears to bore me. After Sun Tzu I started reading Anton Chekhov and started off with the Bet and Other Stories. I love Russian authors and while I usually am not much of a fun of mind game stories I liked this one a lot. I immediately read The Darling right after and liked that one as well. Putting Chekhov aside I finished another of the books I started ages ago. China's Silent Army: The Pioneers, Traders, Fixers and Workers Who Are Remaking the World in Beijing's Image by Cardenal and Araujo. I had a hard time with this one, because while I was impressed by the scope of research, I despise the use of words like “Chinese tentacles” or “Chinese genes” and the book seriously lacked a comparative perspective. It would do us good if no fear-mongering would be used to sell books in times of post-factualism.

I returned to my theme of the year and read Civil Disobedience by Thoreau next. I have to be honest and admit that I kind of rushed through it and did not follow all arguments and should probably re-read that one.

Following Thoreau I finally read Time Machine by H.G. Wells which is one of those books everyone knows somehow but never read. I did too but I was glad I finally got around to it - just like with 1984 or Animal Farm I was much more impressed with the language and the story than I thought (though the mechanics of time travel are really quite funny).

I visited Chekhov once more before turning away from him for the rest of the year and read the Seagull which has to be my favorite book I read by him in 2016.

After Chekhov I had to make a stop in all my other reading because Here I am by Safran Foer came out and I read it within a few days. I will forever love Extremely loud and incredibly close and Here I am did not change that in a bit, but after being disappointed midway through the book did pick up some more steam towards the end.

I read Blue Hotel by Steven Crane next, though I am not much of a horror story person, but it was short and fit me schedule quite well. Next I discovered Oscar Wilde and loved the first book I ever read by him: the importance of being earnest. I have always loved word games and can’t wait to see that play on a stage somewhere, sometime.

Because I loved Wilde after that I read the Canterville Ghost straight after and liked that one as well, but not quite as much as Being Earnest.

I turned away from Wilde for a time after that and read the Crazed by Ha Jin. The book has a somewhat dreamlike atmosphere with a passive protagonist and nothing happening for page after page until a crescendo hits and I enjoyed reading it.

I had to read Factory Girls by Leslie Chang after the Crazed to finish a paper and really liked that one as well. It is something of a mix between literature and research and still holds value of migrant life in China today. I read A Room of One’s Own next and loved it. Woolf will always, forever be a bright-shining star on my very personal literature firmament and someone I will forever want to re-read.

Next, I discovered a new favorite and I wish she wouldn’t be gone already: Fatemna Mernissi. I read Scheherazade Goes West: Different Cultures, Different Harems and didn’t really like it until the very last chapters which were so bright and interesting that I couldn’t stop googling here for a week. Definitely someone I want to read more of in 2017.

Mernissi was followed by my own personal highlight: I finished Invisible Jest. What a long and dry ride it was; every year since 2010 I started this book to put it away some time later in the firm believe that no one anywhere would want to read those sentences and words and plots. I have grown over the years; understood the jokes and references better and when I picked it up again at the beginning of 2016 I realized quite early on that this was the first year I was ready for the book, that I would conquer it finally. I did and I miss picking it up every year in January, miss the frustration and the joy when I understood a reference. I will re-read it one day, when the story has settled and I stop thinking about it so much.

I finished Twelve Years a Slave by Northup afterwards. What a striking, terrible book. Remember modern slavery; there are still so many Solomons out there waiting to tell their stories. We need to listen to them.

I read my personal least favorite next: The Call of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft. I know many people believe that book to be the start of the horror genre but in a year filled with as much populism and hatred as 2016 demonizing the other, the unknown (and, of course, linking them to darker skin and weird religions) did nothing but fill me with dread. Of course, this book was written in another time. But maybe we all need to think harder about how we want to portray the other. Time should not be an excuse.

I returned to Wilde after Lovecraft to be comforted, but the Picture of Dorian Grey turned out to be my least favorite book of Wilde. Once again, gender relations turned out to be the factor that took me away from the book, but it was also a bit boring and drawn-out. Can anyone be only evil? Are we not all creatures shaped by circumstances and life around us?

Close runner-up to my most disliked book is the Catastrophist by Ronan Bennett. The “exotic” Congo Conflict is used a backdrop for a (stupid) love story of with foreigners; Congolese are always only at the parameter of the story; the women gets moral bonus points because she is so invested in Congolese people themselves but at the same time she is a child for thinking she can change them. White savior syndrome and white exceptionalism at its best.

I read the very short “Modern Proposal” by Jonathan Swift next and loved it. Rationalizing poverty; blaming poor people for their poverty; pretending that poverty is a natural state achieved by laziness has been angering me endlessly this last year and Swift’s take on the matter was refreshing to read.

Afterwards I read another horror story - again, not my thing, and the Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs did not change that much. Just going to be even more suspicious of wishes coming true.

The next book as again a disappointment: Listen Up: Voices from the Next Feminist Generation, edited by Barbara Findlen. I loved the idea and the introduction, but the essays themselves were mostly rubbish and poorly written. There were some exceptional ones, but they remained far and few between.

And again, I returned to horror - while I love the Serial Reader, the amount of horror stories I read because of it could be less. The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allen Poe was well written and I liked it better than some others.

Next I read another personal favorite: The Vagrants by Yiyun Li. The book is well written, I loved the characters, I loved the complexity of the story and it is very far from a happy ending. A book that continued to haunt me for quite some time. Afterwards I read Youth by Isaac Asimov, of whom I had heard a lot in the last years. I liked Youth quite a lot, especially because I did not really foresee all twists and turns of the plot.

I decided to read another book that I only knew the movie version of next and read the Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Irving. Quite different than the movie, if I remember it correctly and quite boring as well.

I read a German book next, Rückspiel by Ulrich Woelk. Still unsure that to think of that one; there were parts that I disliked and a lot that I liked and it was another interesting take at German history. I am ambivalent.

Eduardo Galeano’s Upside Down: A Primer for the Looking-Glass World was another favorite of mine. The book is a tour de force with lots of arguments I had not heard before. It fit very well in wanting to challenge the status quo in which we live.

I started the Circle by Dave Eggers next and no book freaked me out more than this one in the last year. Big data and social media remain parts of our world that I am not knowledgable about and my blind trust or better, not-caring about my personal data seems foolish after reading this book. Surveillance is definitely a topic I will read more on in 2017.

To calm myself I read some poetry by Emily Dickinson (Three Series Complete). I did like some of them but mostly they did not light that spark inside of me that poetry usually does.

Next, I started the Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri. Lahiri has been a favorite of mine for some years now and I loved the Lowland. The story stayed with me. The experience of the loneliness of leaving your home is something Lahiri can describe and take to further places like almost no one else; the only author I can think of is V.S. Naipaul who does it equally well (and maybe, Rushdie).

I started missing David Foster Wallace too much and read the very short This is Water. It’s impossible to compare this with Infinite Jest of course, and I am still unsure what to really make of it.

The last book of a Chinese writer I read in 2016 was Liao Yiwu’s The Corpse Walker. It’s a collection of heart-wrenching stories and Liao’s life journey is incredible. The people he talks to are not always people one can sympathize with but he presents them in a way that hurts and haunts.

After studying Chinese Studies in my B.A. I finally came around to reading the Communist Manifesto by Marx years after getting my degree. Would have definitely been more useful to read that book before talking about socialism with Chinese characteristics...

I finally fulfilled a dream and read Heimsuchungen by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. It was a Christmas present and the first book I read that is written by her and I was not disappointed! Can’t wait to read more by her in 2017.

I thought I could give myself a boost by finishing 2016 with What I talk about when I talk about running by Murakami. I loved the insights into his mind but I also found out that I am no runner any longer. So much for finally rediscovering my running motivation in 2017...

What a wild year it’s been!

#books #books are important #booklr #haruki murakami #jhumpa lahiri #david foster wallace #dave eggers #reading goals #reading 2016 #cynthia enloe #defiance #feminism #read more

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bluetriangels · 4 years

Text

You're now chatting with a random stranger. Say STAND WITH HONG KONG AGAINST THE CCP!

You both like mckirk, stucky, cherik, sparrington, and sterek.

Stranger: [Sparrington!]

Stranger: [There's more of you out there and I'm so happy. Do you want to write something?]

You: [there is someone alive! Wow. Thought this place was dead. Sure!]

Stranger: [I'm alive! Yes. Do you prefer canon or AU?]

You: [No preference. Though setting it in canon might need great timing.]

Stranger: [We could always branch out more with AU. The only thing is I may only be able to see Jack in certain situations because of how great he fits in his time era, whilst James is a bit more versatile.]

Stranger: [But I do love canon too, like so much.]

You: [That's true. we could make in an AU within their time period?]

Stranger: [Yes! Did you have any ideas? It's okay if you don't, we could outline stuff and reach a conclusion, I have a few ideas.]

You: [James doesn't have to be the Commodore/Admiral?]

Stranger: [He definitely doesn't! Did you have something else in mind for him? Would he maybe just be an aristocrat? Artist? Writer?]

You: [I didn't consider a writer before but now I love it.]

Stranger: [Maybe he's writing poetry, or novels. Oh, that makes me wonder! Who would you prefer to write for?]

You: [I love them both so no preference there. Maybe he could write plays?]

Stranger: [Oh my gosh, yes! Like a budding Shakespeare. Oh my god I have the perfect idea.]

Stranger: [What if he hires actors, like poor men that fit the bill for what he had in mind and he gets them to perform. Maybe he pays them a small fee - like the host of the show was like, okay I can't pay you much for this so you can't hire well-known actors.]

You: [yes! Starting actors as he's the starting screen writer!]

Stranger: [Well not the host of the show, whoever has ownership of the stage or land.. I'd have to do more research on the proper terminology.]

Stranger: [Yes! Technically Jack's father is a pirate aristocrat. So we could either have him as a delinquent and rebel who's going to see the show or a beggar.]

Stranger: [There was a HUGE divide in London in the 1800s, because of the plague and everything.]

Stranger: [The rich got richer, the poor got poorer.]

You: [Oh that sounds like an amazing idea!]

Stranger: [I don't think it was the plague, actually. It was some other disease that broke out. Sorry, I have SO many events in my mind, they're a bit scrambled atm.]

Stranger: [Would you prefer Jack to be a rebellious aristocrat or a beggar?]

Stranger: [It all comes down to in the long run which would be better for us to expand on.]

You: [Both have their charm really. He could be both]

You: [Too rebelious and ended up like that]

Stranger: [Oh my gosh that's a marvellous idea. Cause then we could have his father looking for him maybe because of the current divide and everythingggg.]

Stranger: [Okay! Who do you want to take? I know you said you had no preference but I like to give a choice anyway.]

You: [I really really really love them both too much to choose :D ]

Stranger: [Can you tell I hate making choices? LOL]

You: [We could throw a dice ]

Stranger: [Ooh, yes!]

You: [if you can't pick either lol

Stranger: [Okay let's do heads or tails. Best out of three. Heads is, I get Jack. Tails is you get Jack.]

Stranger: [You get Jack!]

Stranger: [I've never done Norrington before, this is gonna be exciting.]

You: [I only did Jack once, but I do hope to work on my writing so I'm fine with that hah.]

Stranger: [Same here. I'm always trying to improve.]

Stranger: [What if we start from when Norrington approaches him?]

You: [oh that sounds good!]

Stranger: [Lemmie get us started then!]

Stranger: Writing had always been a passion of his, becoming a playwright was in his cards it seemed. Mother had died during childbirth, whilst his father had formed these ideas about nurturing your son being toxic. Already, as a boy, Norrington had seemed soft, when he'd turned to books, his father had grown disappointed as he'd not loved the cutlass nearly enough as his father would have wished him to. His heart grew fond of the feathered fountain pain, where he'd detailed all his thoughts in ink. The format made itself known, tackling world issues. While he was hoping it would make it onto stage, perhaps the Globe Theatre where the gracious Shakespeare had performed, he mostly wanted to deliver a message in the form of action. While his work wasn't amateur, he was new to the scene and therefore had no reputation to back him up. The owner of the area had said he wouldn't pay him much, therefore to be wise on who he picked. Besides, a name meant everything and his didn't ring with the finer actors, but this would only make his message all that more prominent. Many had joked and said that if he went to the diseased parts of town he would only find illiterates and billigerents. James did not find humour in that. On his horse, he rode through the richer parts of town down to the poor neighbourhoods, their homes falling apart, some of them at the hooves of his steed with their palms outstretched, hoping coin would fall out of his pouch with the heavy trot. When he reached the gate that sectioned them off, he found a few people under the bridge, huddled up in front of a manmade fire. A face stuck out to him, he was told to fear them but what was there to fear? "Excuse me, Sir? May I speak to you?"

You: It was a day like any other. No food unless one managed to steal it, or make enough begging to actually have someone to take pity of them and sell it to them cheaper. Both would still require Jack to move to the outskirts of the richer parts of the town, sooner or later, getting the looks of the rich people. The one that made it obvious just how disgusted they were, how afraid, downright scared they were of getting any and all illnesses. The greed they had was worse than anything people here could have though. Jack was about to get up and start going through the plan, when someone stopped by and Jack opened his mouth slightly, staring up with one eye closed. Huh? "Speak to me?" Jack asked, pointing to himself and looking around for the good measure. People whispered and hissed behind his back - people dressed like this guy, but they didn't usually stop to TALK to him. Huh. "Whatever you're missing, mate, I didn't steal it." Not yet at least.

Stranger: It wasn't an every day thing, hooves on cobblestone, but when they rode through they didn't stop. They had the gatekeeper at the ready to open the heavy metal doors, in hopes that any pestilence will be kicked off by the wind brushing through their coats. They had to ride to the port at times, or other neighbouring lands where they would trade silk or food. It's what kept the town running, at least a part of it. That's why when the man was confused, James wasn't surprised. His father had influenced him far more than he would have liked, regarding the way the poor were viewed. The only thing he feared was disease, it was prominent because of their lack of medical care, anything they touched would have to somehow be sterilised. That's something he paid close attention to. A matter of fact, when one woman began her coughing fit, he stepped aside, praying to God above to help him make it out alive. Illness was a very serious thing, even something minor could kill someone and he had to think about his friends and family, he didn't want to spread it onto them. "I'm aware. I have a proposal for you." Minimum wage was two shillings an hour, and he decided he would up the pay to twice that or more. "I am willing to pay you five shillings an hour for a favour."

You: Jack opened his mouth, then blinked when he woman started coughing. Oh great. Another one. It wasn't good if people here were sick. And if he remembered correctly, this woman had those two small sons running around - whom he didn't see running around for a while now, actually. He sighed, before pulling off his coat, offering it to the woman as she passed, before lightly making the shooing motions at her. He didn't plan to get sick, thank you very much. He sighed and turned back to the guy, looking him up and down slowly. He wasn't bad looking. And it wouldn't be the first time people from the inner city came to the corners to see if there was someone mostly clean for a quick satisfaction for them... but Five shillings wasn't that much for a 'favor' like that. Someone else might just be tempted though. Wait. "Five an hour?" He asked, his eyes narrowing. Either this man trusted himself too much or it was something else entirely. "What favor are we talking about here?"

Stranger: If he could count the times a Navy soldier came bragging about the lass he... did things to, he wouldn't have any room left, not even on his toes. It was a despicable thing, really. Among their superiors, they never said a word as it was viewed as a rather dastardly thing to do but every one of them knew the other did it, even if it was an unspoken crime. What bothered him more was the way they spoke about the women, how they dehumanized them, it was always some fellow bragging in a piggish way about how he'd done her and she did this and that, never mentioning their silent cries for help. That was their only way of making money. "I've written a play, I would like for you to perform it along with a few other people I'm going to pick. I'll be providing you with some training, the script and help if you require it. And er, it's policy that you're checked with a fine bill of health," he's saying, "I'll be referring you to my personal doctor." The kindness this man had, offering her his coat like that.. they watched out for one another down here, you'd not see that among richer men. They'd laugh at someone's misery, they would let them wallow in it. What had they become? It was never a wonderful time, with what went on with pirates, wars, but now.. it was getting increasingly worse, he could see the desperation on their faces, their hollowed out cheeks, the dirt on their face... No wonder they never stopped, they'd.. they'd feel exactly like he was feeling now and it was better to ignore that.

You: Jack rolled his eyes at the man. Of course. Too scared to bring sickness to wherever he was from. It made sense, because no one would want to get sick - no one would want to bring the threat to their own lives to their own home, obviously, but it was still irritating. THough still... five shillings for something as playing pretend and to have him checked to make sure he was healthy? Jack would be stupid if he didn't take it. "I'm not paying for the doctor." He said and his eyes narrowed. "Also no knives on the guy." He did not trust doctors that were too happy with seeing blood of their patients. "How long would it last then? How long would you need us there per day?" He asked, his mind already counting the money. It wouldn't make more than stealing a heavy money bag, but Jack won't have to rush to hide at least.

Stranger: Per day. Of course, he was counting his money. "I would not expect a poor man to pay for a doctor. That's absurd." That's why he was limiting the crew, they would each play two characters they fit the criteria of, it would lessen the medical bills that were going to rack up. Besides, the owner wanted a large percentage of the final pay. About twenty-five, he said, which was a lot considering the turn out might not be good and he'd be losing money. It was playing the devil's hand, really, with his actors coming from poor neighbourhoods but he'd already sent his assistant to distribute the hand drawn flyers all across town. Another man by the name of Swann had promised to put in a great word for him, he was more of a father to him than his own but he'd never say so. "Eight hours every day. We are to work hard as the play is only in a couple of weeks. Two, actually. I am hoping it won't be a complete disaster. If any of you fail to meet the requirements, I'll have to terminate our contract and you'll leave empty-handed. I'm not, by any means, tolerating impertinence towards my hard work or others that are doing their best to make their wage. Agreed?" There was no hesitance in his voice, it was stern, boisterous, with his brows knitted together tightly. There was a contract he had written up that had been wrung into a scroll and put in the saddlebag.

You: That would make forty a day. Forty. That would make sure that there was enough food, for him and Gibbs. That would make sure he could get some of the warm blankets he wanted to, and maybe even get rid of some of the holes in the house. He grinned, wide and happy, before leaning closer to the man, nodding. "Of course, sir." He said, snatching the scroll from the man's hands, opening it and not even reading it through. "Got anything for me to sign it with? Not my blood I'm guessing, since you're not sure if it's not icky yet." He beamed, nodding. "How many people are you even looking for?"

Stranger: Forty shillings was no joke to a beggar. That would be around two hundred and four pounds, whereas the working man made about sixteen pounds every week. That would definitely cover the costs of many things, it would feed a town, really. It would repair holes, provide shelter, who knows what these people bought? They certainly had to prioritise one thing over the other. They couldn't go around buying paintings or fabulous ink. When he was about to open his mouth again, he heard protesting begin at the back of the crowd, "Fancy that? One of us gets plucked off when they need us. They don't seem to care otherwise," he's snapping. That seemed to create an uproar, with a woman rising, making James cower but not because he was a coward, but because he saw the boils on her face. "We've got little ones out here! Dyin' in 'ar arms, they are!" Clearing his throat, James is attempting to ignore the protesting, blinking his eyes but it only got louder. To which he responded, then, "I'm terribly sorry... I.. wish things were different but I'm working on it," he's saying, handing Jack the pen and waiting. "A few more, my play isn't very long."

You: Jack huffed, quickly signing down his name without thinking, before pushing the parchment at the guy and turning around to face the crowd. "Now, now, let's calm down, shall we?" He asked, before motioning to the guy. "We're talking to the rising star here, a future maestro." He said, grinning. Sometimes these people needed things explained. Not that Jack minded. They were still much more truthful than the rich lot, much more feeling and caring and knew how to share. "Which means if his plays are good, he'll need more people to work for him. Which means he'll be looking for more people." He pointed out shrugging. "He could've picked anyone really, could've gotten to the tavern and picked whomever there, but mates, he came /here/." He grinned. "You know what that means? It means that if we won't try to hunt him down with this yelling and stop being annoying, he'll come here again, for other people. That's a good situation. Now stop gawking around being annoying and at least pretend you're doing something so he won't think we're not hard working. Shoo, Shooo." He said, shaking his head, before turning to the man again. "Sorry, mate. People here get touchy about the likes of you."

Stranger: [Think we can continue elsewhere? My bunny is being a nutter at the moment and my mum's over.]

Stranger: [It's fine if you don't do it outside omegle but just thought I'd ask since this ship is so rare and I'm enjoying it.]

You: [Bunny.]

You: [beanXD]

Stranger: [OH MY GOD]

Stranger: [Gem?]

You: [aye XDXD]

Stranger: [OH MY GODDDD HAHAHAH]

Stranger: [This is amazing. I'll talk to you on Discord. I'm saving this log. <3]

Stranger: [See you in a bit.]

Stranger has disconnected.

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