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arg-machine · 1 year

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Books read recently: crime & horror

Going through his highly-organized and scientifically-structured blogging schedule [read: browsing old posts once in a while when he feels like it] arg realized that it was time for a new Books read recently post. That suited him just fine: he has read some books, and he has read them recently, so a list of these titles could be put together without much difficulty.

And here it is y’all – the first Books post of the year! Like its predecessors, this one, too, lists some of the titles arg has read – or will be reading very soon! – since the last such post was published…

Books at machine HQ All featured books are listed below in alphabetical order, with a few additional titles appearing in the Also recommended sections. Ready? Let the reading commence!

“Everyone in my family has killed someone. Some of us, the high achievers, have killed more than once. I’m not trying to be dramatic, but it is the truth.

Some of us are good, others are bad, and some just unfortunate.

I’m Ernest Cunningham. Call me Ern or Ernie. I wish I’d killed whoever decided our family reunion should be at a ski resort, but it’s a little more complicated than that.

Have I killed someone? Yes. I have.”

Also recommended: Death of A Dancing Queen by Kimberly G. Giarratano and The Widowmaker by Hannah Morrissey.

That first book [in this list] – or rather its funky title, to be exact – ended up helping arg give better shape to an idea that has been with him for several years.

arg’s concept, presented here under this Creative Commons license, focuses on that particular block or section of a maximum-security prison where violent and vicious murderers are housed.

One morning, the most violent and vicious of them – who is also the second-in-command of a notorious gang – is found dead in his high-security cell: the victim of a seemingly-impossible murder! The mystery is eventually solved by a fellow inmate of the prison block [who, by the way, has been wrongfully incarcerated and has to prove his innocence… but that’s a different story!]

So what’s the connection between the title Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone and arg’s impossible-murder-inside-a-prison idea, you ask? Well, it's like this: arg thought how his prison inmate character, the one who ends up solving the murder, could say that every one of his neighbours – in the prison block, that is – has killed someone. Given the character’s situation, this seems pretty obvious, but there you have it – the link between the title and arg’s idea.

Incidentally, this isn’t the only prison-related idea arg has had over the years: he has another [actually two more, if he decides to, like, really milk it]…

“John Rebus stands accused: on trial for a crime that could put him behind bars for the rest of his life. Although it’s not the first time the legendary detective has taken the law into his own hands, it might be the last.

What drove a good man to cross the line? Or have times changed, and the rules with them?

Detective Inspector Siobhan Clarke faces Edinburgh’s most explosive case in years, as a corrupt cop goes missing after claiming to harbour secrets that could sink the city’s police force.

But in this investigation, it seems all roads lead to Rebus – and Clarke’s twin loyalties to the public and the police will be tested to their limit.”

Also recommended: The Twist of a Knife by Anthony Horowitz, Device Free Weekend by Sean Doolittle and The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz.

“On the surface, Emerson, Massachusetts, is just like any other affluent New England suburb. But when a young woman is found dead in the nicest part of town, the powerful neighbours close ranks to keep their families safe.

In this searing novel, Eden Perry’s death kicks off an investigation into the three teenagers who were partying with her that night, each a suspect. Hannah, a sweet girl with an unstable history. Jack, the popular kid with a mean streak. Christopher, an outsider desperate to fit in. Their parents, each with motivations of their own, only complicate the picture: they will do anything to protect their children, even at the others’ expense.

With a brilliantly woven, intricately crafted plot that gathers momentum on every page, this is superb storytelling told in terse prose – a dynamic read that is both intensely gripping and deeply affecting.”

Also recommended: Panther Gap by James A. McLaughlin and Yesterday’s Spy by Tom Bradby.

Of all the books arg has read this year, this one has left the strongest impression so far. On The Savage Side is classified as a “murder mystery” – it is certainly that, make no mistake: there are not one, not two, but six murders in it.

However, these murders cannot keep the novel from transcending genre limitations and become a really beautiful – if very tragic – book. It follows six flawed, fragile and sensitive young women, each a slave to her circumstances [or her weakness which, for several of them, happens to be substance abuse].

By the end of the book, they are all dead and though several suspects are presented to the reader, the killer’s identity ultimately remains unknown. This is because the novel is inspired by real-life disappearances/murders of six young women – cases that remain unsolved to this day.

The most exceptional element of this novel is perhaps how elegantly and poetically these young women express themselves… and then there’s that psychological twist near the end that arg did not see coming. Finally, one of our tragedy-laden heroines is named Daffodil Poet… and how can you not like a book that has a character named Daffodil Poet?

“Carmen Sanchez is back in Mexico, supervising the renovation of an ancient abbey. Her daughters Izel and Luna, too young to be left alone in New York, join her in what Carmen hopes is a chance for them to connect with their roots.

Then, an accident at the worksite unearths a stash of rare, centuries-old artifacts. The disaster costs Carmen her job, cutting the family trip short.

But something malevolent and unexplainable follows them home to New York, stalking the Sanchez family and heralding a coming catastrophe. And it may already be too late to escape what’s been awakened…”

Also recommended: The House In The Pines by Ana Reyes, The Spite House by Johnny Compton and The Thing In The Snow by Sean Adams.

machine HQ’s Retro Pick! And now, arg introduces a brand-new section – machine HQ’s Retro Pick!

The late R.K. Narayan. Not only was he one of the earliest of 20th Century Indian authors to write in English, but was also – as far as arg can tell – one of the first to create his own functional Universe. To arg, it’s the Narayanverse, though Indian and international admirers of his writing know it as the fictional town of Malgudi.

That’s because almost all of Narayan’s fiction chronicles the times and events of this small town in southern India – a product of his imagination, entirely – and gives us endearing glimpses of the lives of many of its residents.

A Malgudi character, peripheral and dealt with in a few lines in one book becomes the protagonist of another, with her/his very interesting story to tell… and after reading a few, you can’t help but feel that you have not only become familiar with the town, but have also grown fond of its quirky inhabitants…

...and what better way to begin your acquaintance with this little imaginary town – and all those who live in it – than Malgudi Days, Narayan’s delightful collection of short stories?

And that’s all for this Books read recently post, folks! Visit The Apocalypse Project [on twitter and on tumblr], and stay tuned to machine HQ blog. Also, don’t forget to check out machine HQ on Instagram!

#books #reviews

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the-west-meadow · 3 years

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If I Could Start Again

Tom Wambsgans x Reader (warning: very NSFW. 18+ only)

Tom was not well. It was impossible to name the source of his misery, but it was there when he woke each day, and followed him until he went to bed. With the onset of winter, a heavy weight had settled in his chest. He walked from place to place with his face burrowed in his scarf, hands stuffed into the pockets of his peacoat, and staring at his polished black shoes, wondering where he had gone wrong.

Some mornings, Greg insisted on going out for bagels, and forced you and Tom to come with him to one of the many bagel shops across the city. Tom stood staring at the menu above the counter, reading it slowly as it if were Tolstoy. He ordered half a dozen everything bagels and ate them periodically throughout the day. Every time you looked in his office, he was eating another one, usually smothered in cream cheese. When he wasn’t eating, he was staring out the window with his door shut. Sometimes his mouth moved, though you knew he hadn’t taken any calls.

Both you and Greg began to sense that something wasn’t right. His usually bright smile was subdued, and he would head straight to his office in the mornings and shut the door behind him.

Every night when he went home, Siobhan wasn’t there. He stepped into their empty townhouse, unwrapping the scarf from his neck, and listening to the uncomfortable sound of his lone footsteps echoing in the silence. Once he got home, it was almost impossible for him to leave again, though Greg constantly texted him to come out. Instead he watched the news and stared into the fridge. He went to bed before it was even fully dark. He imagined Shiv sliding into the sheets next to him, but she never did. When he found her in the kitchen in the mornings, she claimed she had slept in the guest room so as not to disturb him. But he knew fully well that she had only arrived that morning; he had seen the black car pull up outside their door and let her out.

He would go shopping with Greg, to get fitted for a new suit, and took momentary pleasure in the acquisition of an expensive object. But the day after he wore the clothes for the first time, he tired of them. He let tailors talk him into the most expensive outfits, and dropped his credit card without blinking. But when he went home, he changed into the same t-shirt and flannel pants, sat alone on the sofa in his opulent townhouse, and felt numb.

“We’ve got to do something to cheer up Tom,” Greg said one day, kicking back from his desk.

You put down your phone and nodded. “Yeah, he doesn’t seem great.”

“I think it might be better coming from you, actually. My presence seems to make him spiral even more. Possibly my upbeat attitude irritates him.”

“Possibly.”

“I think he just needs a change of scenery. Like, what if you were to invite him on a walk through the park?”

“He would hate that.”

“I’m sure you can think of something, though,” he said, looking at you hopefully.

“I’ll try.”

It was nearing the end of the day, and most everyone had gone home. Tom, however, was still there, mindlessly eating M&Ms out of a glass bowl in his office. Greg gave you an encouraging nod. You gathered yourself and approached his door, knocking lightly.

“What?” came Tom’s loud voice.

You cracked the door and looked inside. His face softened.

“Oh. Hi.”

“Hi. What are you doing?”

“Eating M&Ms. You look like you’re about to ask me something awful.”

“I was just going to ask you out to dinner.”

He paused. “Where?”

“Maybe that new noodle bar.”

Tom put a finger on his chin, looking thoughtful. “I have been wanting to try it.”

You watched as he stood heavily, shrugging on his coat and scarf.

“Okay,” he said. “You have me for the night.”

As you walked out together, you glanced at Greg, still sitting at his cubicle.

“Greg, coming?” Tom said hesitantly.

“Oh, no. No, you guys go. I’m stressed with work, you know.”

Tom let out a coarse laugh. “What work?” He turned and waved as you walked off. “Goodnight, Gregory.”

Greg smiled and gave a thumbs up before you disappeared around the corner, following Tom’s tall, slow figure down the hall.

The cold night air hit you as you stepped outside. A sharp wind snaked through the tall buildings. Tom burrowed into his scarf, peering up the road as he sought the car he had called for.

“Fuckers,” came his muffled voice. “I don’t pay them to be late.”

“We could walk,” you said, immediately regretting it. Tom just gave you a questioning glance and looked back up the street.

“Here they are,” he said, and stepped up to the curb.

Inside the restaurant, it was warm and dimly lit. You sat together at a private table towards the back, in view of the open kitchen. Tom kept his scarf on as he pondered the menu.

“I know Greg put you up to this,” he said eventually.

You didn’t know what to say. You just shuffled in your seat and took a sip of sake.

“It’s okay. I’ve been meaning to take you out anyway. You’ve done a good job of putting up with my bullshit lately.”

“It’s the least I can do.”

For the first time, a small smile appeared on Tom’s lips, but he was quickly distracted as the waiter appeared.

He ordered a feast. Steamed buns, kimchi, and rice cakes for appetizers. He requested the pork ramen and told you to get whatever you wanted. He was paying.

As the waiter left, he folded one arm across the table, cupping his chin in his other hand.

“Shall we have some wine? No, I don’t want any,” he said, quickly reversing. “I’m not drinking these days. Fucks with my head. Order some for yourself if you want.”

“I’m okay.”

He sat back, peering at you across the table with a sudden intensity. His blue eyes were unnerving.

“Are you happy?” he asked suddenly.

You thought for a moment. “Not really.”

“Why not?”

“I’m exhausted all the time. Work seems meaningless. I don’t have anyone to talk to.”

His brow furrowed. “Not me?”

“You seem like you have your own stuff going on.”

He glanced up as the waited passed. “Excuse me. We’ll have the sauvignon blanc. The Guy Baudin. Thank you.”

You looked at him questioningly. He tapped his fingers nervously on the table. “So much for not drinking.”

“I talk to Greg sometimes,” you continued.

“You should talk to me,” Tom said. “We might be going through similar things.”

“Like what?”

He started to slowly unwind the scarf from around his neck.

“Do you ever imagine a different life?”

“Sure. Most days. Do you?”

Tom just nodded. The wine came, and he immediately downed half his glass.

“Lately I’ve been thinking that all of this wealth isn’t fucking worth it. If I could start again, I would live in a ghost town. Somewhere no one can find me, and no one can remind me who or what I am.”

“Are you thinking of leaving the company?”

He shook his head. “No, it’s too fucking late for that. I’m just telling you- if that other life means anything to you, do it instead. The road ahead is bullshit. I can tell you from experience.”

“But you’re successful,” you said. “You have all the money you could ever need.”

He fell silent, as if weighing what he was about to say. As you looked at him in the dim light, you could see the glimmer of his wet eyes.

“I haven’t been this lonely in a long time.”

His voice was soft, and it broke your heart.

“Is it Shiv?” you asked in barely a whisper.

Tom seemed to visibly wince from the mention of her. You gazed at him helplessly. Just then, the appetizers came. Tom’s attention was immediately diverted. His entire demeanor changed in an instant as he grabbed a napkin and spread it across his lap.

“Good,” he said. “Let’s eat.”

You stood in the cold, waiting for the car, the wind ripping at your coats. Tom looked so distant, so frail, that you could no longer bear it.

“I want to help you,” you blurted.

He looked at you with sadness in his eyes. “You don’t have to do anything for me. Think about yourself.”

“All I can think of is you.”

Tom turned to you, his eyes painfully blue. He withdrew a gloved hand from his pocket and ran his thumb along your cheek.

“You’re incredibly sweet,” he said. “More than I deserve.”

“I know,” you said. “You can be a real bastard.”

This brought the first full smile to his face that you had seen in a long time. His shoulders shook as he chuckled.

The car pulled up, rumbling softly in the frigid air, but Tom did not step towards it. He peered down at his shoes in thought.

“What if you came with me?”

“Where are we going?”

“A cabin in the Catskills. Somewhere with no cell service.”

He glanced at you as if testing your reaction.

“No, but really,” he went on. “I’ll probably go home and watch a Merchant-Ivory film.”

“The Remains of the Day?”

Tom shrugged.

“If you like. Are you prepared for two hours of Anthony Hopkins being painfully awkward around Emma Thompson?”

“I can’t think of anything better.”

Tom gave a slight nod, then opened the door for you. He slid in alongside. The car eased into traffic, and you sat shoulder to shoulder with Tom, not daring to look over at him, wondering if he knew how fast your heart was beating.

It was clear when you arrived that no one else was home. The townhouse was dark, with lights from the city filtering through the tall windows. As you stepped inside, Tom turned to you in silence. He took the lapels of your peacoat. You froze. The coat slid gently from your shoulders. It fell to the floor. You stared up at him, heart pounding.

When he brushed your face with the backs of his fingers, you felt how his hand trembled. You took his hand, the flesh of his palm soft and warm. You lifted the hand to your face and kissed it. He let out a soft, rasping breath as he watched you. When you looked up at him, he took your face in both hands and kissed you.

It was a slow, gentle, warm kiss. As if he wanted to savor every moment of touching you for the first time. He was so tall that he had to bend down to reach you, while you stretched towards him as though he were the sun. You slid your hands into the folds of his coat, feeling the warm body beneath. He let out a shaking breath as your hands moved over him. You began to unbutton the top of his shirt, and he pulled back gently, gazing down at you.

“Should I stop?” you whispered.

“God, no,” he said. “By all means. Keep going. Whatever you’re going to do, don’t stop.”

And you were wrapped in him again, feeling the rough edge to his kisses, now desperate. He threw off his heavy coat and lifted you up without warning. With honed strength, he carried you through the dark hallway to his bedroom, planting kisses on your neck as he went.

He deposited you gently onto the big king-sized bed in the semi-darkness. You took his hand again, brushing his knuckles with your lips. He stared, captivated, eyes glittering.

“What about—“ you started.

“Don’t say it. There’s nothing to worry about.”

In response, you took his thumb into your mouth, running your tongue over it.

“Fuck,” he whispered. “I’ve wanted you for a long time.”

“It’s time to get what you want,” you said.

You started to unbuckle his pants, and he bent to kiss you again, pulling at your shirt. In no time at all you were lying naked across his bed. He crawled onto the bed, hovering above you. You felt the tip of his cock graze your stomach, and shivered in pleasure. You reached for it, but he took your hands and gently placed them above your head. He kissed you lightly on the lips, neck, collarbone, all the way to your hips, your thighs. You began to squirm with absolute desire.

“You really want it, don’t you?” he said, his voice soft.

“I fucking want you,” you breathed. “Just you.”

This ignited a fire in Tom. He glanced at you once more as if for approval, then edged your legs open with his knee.

“What is it that you want, exactly?”

“I want you inside me.”

His cock grazed the inside of your thighs. He pressed it firmly against you, teasing you.

“Fuck,” you groaned.

“Don’t worry,” he murmured. His hand slid up to grip your wrists. “I’ll take good care of you."

All at once you felt him inside of you, on top of you, and you gasped and moaned in one breath. You wrenched free of his grip and ran your hands along his broad, firm back, digging your fingers into his skin.

“God, Tom—“

He gasped into your ear as his fingers sought your mouth. You bit down, sucked them, holding on for dear life. He was fast, steady, powerful. You pulsed against him with everything you had, letting out every pent-up urge that he ignited in you.

Suddenly he had you on your hands and knees with his hands between your legs as he fucked you. You moaned loudly, caught between the thrust of his hips and the motion of his fingers.

“Oh god, Tom,” you whimpered, nearly incapable of speech.

Your entire body flooded with warmth. Your thighs quivered, and Tom’s other hand gripped yours as you clenched the sheets. Finally, you tensed, then released all at once in ecstatic waves. You heard Tom give a loud moan behind you. You collapsed on your back, panting. Tom was gazing at you, catching his breath. He leaned over you and kissed you, incredibly tender, stroking the inside of your thigh lightly.

“Stay here tonight,” he whispered. Before you could say anything, he shook his head. “It’s fine.”

“Can we still watch the movie?”

He grinned. “Of course.”

In the morning, you sat on the sofa in one of Tom’s t-shirts and your pants from work, sipping black coffee. Tom was in the kitchen in a t-shirt and boxers, whistling as he made pancakes.

The sound of the door being unlocked turned both your heads. Tom stepped towards you instinctively.

“It’s fine,” he said reassuringly. “Stay where you are. You have every right to be here.”

The door opened, and Siobhan stepped through. She saw Tom first, but the expression on his face made her look swiftly around. Her eyes landed on you, and she blinked, stunned.

“Oh,” she said, a strange, unbelieving smile curling her lips, while her brows furrowed with confusion. “Uh…”

“Hey, Shiv,” Tom said in a flat voice.

“What’s up?” she said, crossing her arms with that same smile.

Tom just shrugged. “This is how we do things, right?”

She looked at you, her blue eyes fighting conflicting emotions. She kept it all carefully in check.

“Right. I guess it is.”

Tom’s expression was sober, betraying no emotion. He walked over to the sofa and stood behind you.

Finally, as though resolving something, Shiv gave a nod.

“Okay. You do you, Tom.”

Tom just inclined his head, still lingering behind you. Shiv headed for the door. Before she left, she cast one look back at Tom, and grinned almost appreciatively. She left without another word.

You let out a long breath, relieved. Tom looked down at you and smiled.

“See?”

“That was weird.”

“I know, it’s fucked. Better not to think about it at all.”

He headed back into the kitchen to finish the pancakes.

“We better get to the office,” he said. “Tell Greg his plan worked.”

#I wrote this while working #what are they gonna do about it?#nothing because I work from home #just Tom in a scarf #tom wambsgans #tom wambsgans x reader #tom wambsgans/reader #succession #succession fic #succession fanfic

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ramblings-of-a-mad-cat · 3 years

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(sees another fandom that I can ask you about and cheers) Orphan Black! Thoughts? I don't know Dr Who but Tatiana is one of my favorite actors period.

Anon you are so sweet! I'm always happy to chat about fandoms and characters and whatnot, and I will never not appreciate the majesty of Tatiana's acting. That is one of the greatest parts of the show hands down.

Orphan Black, to me, is a show that had incredible potential, but didn't really live up to the excitement it created. (Loooong post ahead.)

The thing is, Orphan Black builds a chilling mystery and background, the world it gradually creates as it goes for about the first two seasons, got be very invested and made me wonder a lot about where it was going to go and what the answers were. The setup is brilliant, right from the start with that iconic cold open of Beth's suicide. The unknown is what really helped this show get as thrilling as it was, because the actual answers behind the unknown were kind of hit and miss, and it seemed like far too often, the show just wasn't interested in telling it's story. Hijinks where the clones impersonate each other in slice of life events? That's fun at first and it really works well as they're still getting to know each other. But after a while, it gets tedious, and it seems like the show would rather fuck around and have dance parties (seriously, that scene was such a #BigLippedAlligatorMoment) than focus on the story and the threat that the sisters are facing. Virtually all of Allison's plotlines are like this, they feel like they belong in a different show, and for some reason the writers insisted on giving her one of these storylines like, every season. After Allison passively murders her own friend out of suspecting that she's spying on her, I just don't feel like an arc about her running for some PTA office position even matters. It doesn't feel right.

Speaking of that, here's another example: Donnie. Why did the end of the first season suggest that he was this secret mastermind working for Leekie? The whole idea just deflates in Season 2 and doesn't really go anywhere. He just goes back to being the bumbling sweetheart he was before. Why even have him be the spy? Maybe it should have been Ainsley. Do you want to know the exact moment that I think Orphan Black went wrong? Like, the specific scene? When Leekie was killed off. The character who had thus far been the Big Bad, gets taken out in the stupidest possible way, a literal accident on Donnie's part, and it's even played for laughs. After that point, the show really struggled to regain it's footing, though I don't think it completely went off the rails until about Season 4, and it was still generally hit or miss. Like, some stuff was really good. The introduction of the Castor clones, the development of Rachel's character (I'll get to her, trust me.) and the reveal of Kendall Malone. But it seemed like so much else was just forgotten or otherwise not resolved. Whatever happened to Cal? Sure, the show wanted to focus on the sisters...but Kira deserves to know her father if she wants to. That's just one example. It's a crying shame because this show is sometimes incredible. The metaphor that I always use for situations like this, is a card game. The show has all the right cards in its hand, they're just not being played.

The two strongest characters, at least to me, were Rachel and Helena. One of these characters was superbly written and went through a devastating arc. The other was Helena. We need to talk about her. In Season 1, she really cemented herself as a memorable presence with her trademark accent, her scars, her whole damn personality (again, hats off to Tatiana) and of course, that iconic screechy theme music that accompanied her. Which at first made us jump, but eventually made us cheer. I adored Helena, and I loved the development of her relationship with Sarah. Who went from shooting her in Season 1, to being deadset on rescuring her in Season 3, being furious with Siobhan for betraying her. (This is unrelated but Siobhan has the same " twist villain fakeout" at the end of Season 1 that Donnie does, and it's quite frustrating.) And yet, I swear, the writers just didn't know what to do with Helena half the time. They put her on a bus for long stretches, including one point where she just up and leaves Allison's house in Season 4, for no given reason. And the characters just kind of...don't care. The same thing happens when she gets arrested. No one cares to try and find Helena, even though she's unstable and often a danger to those around her. Even though she's by herself with no real ability to function in society. Even though she's pregnant. There is no excuse for this, and no Sarah, that "I'm sorry, I avoided you" scene in Season 5 is not going to cut it. It's such an afterthought.

I'm being rather critical, but I hope you can tell that this is from a point of passion. I genuinely enjoyed this show and getting to watch it. Just that sometimes it didn't feel like the show cared that I was watching. However, this was not true whenever Rachel was onscreen. Look, I'm a Merula Snyde stan, so you can probably already guess how I feel about Rachel. Despite her crimes, despite her constant slipping back the dark side, I felt so bad for Rachel at the end of it all. That scene with Kira really sums it up. "Who hurt you?" "All of them." And no scene is more intense than when she stabs out the eye cam. Like, I'm sorry, I pitied Rachel pretty much from Season 2 on. Her parents were horrible to her, and I'm supposed to think Ethan is the good guy here? He kills himself in front of his own daughter, telling her that she doesn't deserve him. And then Sarah shoots a pencil through her eye, causing brain damage and requiring a long recovery. I'm not saying that Sarah was wrong to do what she did, just that if I were in her shoes, I'd still feel a degree of guilt for Rachel's condition. In the end, I'm devastated that she was barred from Clone Club, when she made the right decision at the point it mattered. But there's just too much history there, and Sarah won't ever forgive her. (Though again, I do feel as though there's blame to share.) Rachel is my favorite character and I never expected her to be. But she's just so complex. Side note: "Enjoy your oophorectomy" is so damn quotable. I don't know why but I love that line.

So, Rachel's my favorite. Who's my least favorite? It might surprise you. It's Delphine. I'm sorry, but I just...I couldn't get on board with C*phine. Not after Season 3. I was waiting for the point that the show would push to finally redeem Delphine for her turncoat role, for all of the hell that she put Cosima through. By Season 5 though? I realized that as far as the writers were concerned? She already was redeemed. Even though she did nothing to earn it, except be presumed dead by Cosima. The way she treats Cosima in Season 3 is actually disgusting. Her reasoning for breaking up with Cosima is circular. She has to love "all the clones" in order to be with Cosima, and the way to do that is to take over Rachel's job, which means they can't date anymore? I'm not the only one who thought that didn't make sense, right? Oh and let's talk about how she stalks Cosima's date, breaks into her house, and threatens her life. Red. Flags. Cosima even says the line, "If you're not going to be with me, just let me go." I'm sorry, that should not be something she has to beg for. Delphine's behavior made me want her to stay far, far away from Cosima. Who is, incidentally, a sweetie and I absolutely adore her. I legit have trouble remembering that Tatiana's playing her because she just looks and acts so different. That said, even though I immensely disliked Delphine, I am so very glad that they made one of the clones gay. Just like I'm glad that they made one of them trans. (Though...Tony wasn't handled especially well.)

In general, I do think the earlier seasons were stronger. The Brightborn arc, while interesting, didn't really contribute much to the overarching narrative. We got the backstory on Beth's suicide and finally learned the truth about her, I suppose. Still, even though Beth is one of my favorite of the clones, and I never expected her to be either...I feel like the actual reason given for why she took her own life was rather illogical. She apparently did it because the investigation was putting the clones in danger of another Helsinki. Okay, but just because Evie Cho says you should off yourself, doesn't mean you have to. You could just, like...stop investigating. And if you die under mysterious circumstances without explaining anything to the sisters, they're not going to be put off from the investigation. They're going to look into this even more, because they don't know why they're not supposed to. The reveal that she and Art fell in love toward the end adds an extra gut punch, but it also doesn't make sense because wouldn't Art have referenced it during the period that he thought Sarah was Beth? On the other hand, Season 4 also introduced MK. And I have such a soft spot for her. I adore that sheep-masked sweetie. Everyone always asks "Which clone would you date" (because fandoms can think of nothing else I guess) and I never see anyone give any love to MK. Her death absolutely tore me apart. I am glad Siobhan avenged her even if she went down at the same time. Side note, her last word being the affectionate "Chickens..." Broke me.

Season 5 was a strange beast. In general, it seemed like we were finally getting some answers to the questions that were hanging over us. Exploring the deep mythos. But then they kind of turned it around and made it just be a Wizard of Oz style fraud twist. Westmoreland isn't really inhumanly old, he's a charlatan. I don't know why that was necessary in a science fictional show. I've seen the interviews and I get what they were going for, it just feels like it would have been cooler and far creepier if he was actually that old. The puppet master pulling the strings the whole time. We also finally get some answers for Kira's superhuman healing abilities (though we never learn how she's telepathically connected to the clones) and I'm loving it, but the trouble is, it's inconsistent. Ethan "Why is this guy so popular, he's an asshole" Duncan told Rachel specifically that Sarah being able to have children was a fluke, that the clones were "barren by design." I don't know, the whole concept of Revival and of the "magical island" was really foreboding and tied in with the earlier references to The Island of Doctor Moreau. Especially that song about "Revival's Children" just...the shudders, man. But just having it be a regular old scam is...a letdown. I know it may be more realistic, but I don't always need realism in my scifi. The finale is interesting, in that it's mostly an epilogue. I'm glad the clones (sans Rachel) got to live happily ever after, but there are two gut punches right at the end that are total nitpicks but they bother me. Helena naming her kids after Art and Donnie? And writing a memoir that she names "Orphan Black?" Those two tropes can go die in a hole. They can enjoy an oophorectomy, because I'm so sick of them.

The potential of Orphan Black was practically infinite. The results of Orphan Black fell frustratingly short.

#Orphan Black #Alison Hendrix #Rachel Duncan #Helena Orphan Black #Sarah Manning #Cosima Niehaus #Long Post #Beth Childs #Ramblings #Veera Suominen #Donnie Hendrix #Aldous Leekie #Ethan Duncan #Delphine Cormier #Siobhan Sadler #Clone Club #Arthur Bell #Tatiana Maslany

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joezworld · 3 years

Text

Flesh is Temporary, Steel is Eternal. (5/5)

Immortality

September, 2049

“Do either of ye ever thin’ aboot immor-immort- feck it - livin’ forever?” Siobhan slurred.

Donald and Douglas looked at each other. When their daughter started getting existential, it was probably time to cut her off.

Unfortunately, the case of lager she’d dragged into the sheds didn’t seem to be anywhere near empty, and they didn’t have hands to take it away from her.

“I canno’ say ah have.” Douglas said after a moment. “What brings this on?”

“Ye mean aside from the booze? It’s cause I realized that Ah’m eighty years old and no’ getting any younger.” She said with remarkable clarity considering the number of cans she’d already drank.

“’Vona, that happens to everyone.” Douglas said, trying to steer the conversation towards a topic that wouldn’t make him wish that he could drink.

“Ah!” She said as she crushed an empty can in her hand. “Ye say that, but Ah relaized somethin’ - ye lot are gonna live forever! Cause I just saw Del’ down at the junction and she was telling me all about how they put this new motor in ‘er and she feels better than she has in years!”

Donald and Douglas considered this as their daughter rummaged for another can. “An’ before ye say that yer only gonna live as long as yer worth somethin to someone, this is fecking Sodor. Ye lot are worth more than yer weight in gold jus’ because of those damn toys! If somethin’ goes wrong wit ye, Rich Hatt is gonna chuck more money at the problem until yer better than new!”

She continued, plucking at the pull-tab of the can. “An when he kicks it, Kieran’ll take over, an then someone else after him, an so on an so on until Boom!”

She cracked the can open for emphasis. “One day ye wake up an’ it’s the year three-thousand, and ye are livin’ forever.”

Donald and Douglas stared at each other. They hadn’t thought about it like that. “What’s this really about, lass?” Donald said slowly. He knew that this wasn’t actually about immortality.

“That ye lot are gonna live forever.”

The engine quietly raised an eyebrow.

“What?”

“There’s more ta this, or did ye get so blackout drunk ye forget what today is?” It was exactly two years to the day that Declan had died of cancer. “Talk ta me ‘Vona. What’s really wrong here?”

Siobhan tried to put on a brave face, but it fell apart in the face of her father’s genuine caring. “Ah’m scared Da! Ye two are the only ones Ah got left! Deccie’s dead, so is mum and Lachlan an’ even Chuck! The kids are in Canada, so what if one day I just keel over? After a while, is anything gonna be left o’ me?”

She sniffled, and Donald not for the first time wished he could hug his daughter. “I knoo that ye two are gonna be there forever, but, Ah don’t remember everyone from school and shite! Are you gon’ remember me in a thousand years?”

“YES.” Both engine said at once, causing her to smile through her tears.

“Thanks Da.”

Douglas smiled at her warmly. “Ah think I speak fer both of us when I say that we will never forget ye, ‘Von.”

She giggled and took another sip of lager, bringing the sheds into a comfortable silence for a few more minutes.

Siobhan broke the silence again as a thought occurred to her. “Ye kno’, for all that ah’m afraid o’ dyin’ - Ah actually have no idea what is supposed ta happen ta me once it does, cause Mum was Catholic, Lachlan an’ Chuck were Protestants, and Dec thought he’d get reincarnated or whatever the term fer it is in Hindi.”

“Did ‘e?” Douglas had never really discussed spirituality with his son-in-law. Maybe he should have.

“Oh yeah!” Siobhan paused for a second. “If that bastard comes back and I just die and go to heaven ah am gonna be very upset.”

Her drunken and upset look was so funny that Donald and Douglas burst out laughing.

Many hours later - in fact it was the next morning

Siobhan had eventually passed out in between the tracks next to Douglas, and he woke that morning with no small amount of concern to see that an engine was now sitting on that road.

His concern quickly turned to bewilderment as he looked closer at the engine itself. It looked familiar, but in a very distant way - he definitely hadn’t seen one in many a year. It looked like an old, old, old Caledonian Railway design, but where would that have come from? And how would it have gotten all the way to the Arlesburgh end of the Little Western without him or Donnie knowing?

Whatever confusion he had quickly faded as he realized that he cared far more about whether this engine was parked on top of his daughter then he did about its pedigree.

“Aye - Aye you!” He whispered to the engine, trying to wake it without waking Donald.

“Fuck off Da’ I’m sleeping.” The engine muttered in his daughter’s voice.

“Wha- ‘Vona?”

“Da’! I’m fuckin-” The engine opened its eyes, which were the same shade of brown as his daughter’s. “Much higher offa tha ground than ah was before?”

It was at this point that Donald woke up, looked around his brother, saw the engine that had his daughter’s face, put two and two together, discovered that it made five, and started making a lot of noise.

Richard Hatt arrived several hours later. The (actually rather trim) Fat Controller had been up bright and early to accept a new engine at Barrow, and was eager to see how well he would get on with Donald and Douglas. Despite the engine being a diesel, Oliver and Duck had already treated him kindly, which gave him high hopes for the Scottish twins.

He was therefore unprepared to see both steam engines yelling at a third locomotive while all three built up steam.

The third locomotive was one that his railway definitely did not own, and he had no idea why it was painted into his railway’s colours, but it seemed to be having a bad day, as it squirmed back and forth uncomfortably while the firelighters tried to build up a good fire.

Donald and Douglas seemed to be offering their own brand of encouragement to the engine, as if it had never been fired before. He broke up the argument by clearing his throat until everyone noticed him, and waiting for them to shut up so he could speak.

Honestly, these engines were older than him and they were like children sometimes.

“Thank you.” He motioned to the engine behind him. “This is Declan. He is both new to the railway as well as being newly built. I hope that you will treat him kindly.”

He turned to the mystery steam engine, in the process missing Donald and Douglas’ eyes widening hugely. “And who might you be?”

“At this moment, ah have no idea - hey! That is no’ how that poker bar works and ye know it!”

“I see.” Richard really didn’t. “I will let you four get acquainted.”

In a move that was cheap but effective, he ambled out sight behind the shed like he was going to the yard office, but actually stopped just behind the building and listened:

Douglas was the first to speak. “Lad, do ye jus’ look familiar, or are we going to deal with more of this horseshite today?”

“I want to point out that I have no idea why this happened, but yes, yes we are.” The new diesel said in what Richard could only imagine was a wry tone.

“You Bastard!” The mystery engine bellowed. “Were ye really gonna let me think ye were dead for all this time?!”

“I thought that I was. This was not even remotely a possibility I had ever even considered.”

“Okay. So we are dealing with more of this horseshite today...” Douglas sighed as the new engine continued her tirade.

“-that coffin was expensive you cunt! An’ how’re we gonna explain this to the kids? ‘Hiya! just wanted ta let ye know that Da’s alive again and we both turned into trains like yer grandads?’”

“I think they’d be very understanding if you said that...” The argument trailed off as Richard dazedly walked away. Those voices were very familiar now that he thought about it, and he had an inkling of an idea of what was going on, and it was honestly an inkling too much. He eventually made it over to the Arlesdale Railway station platform, where he was supposed to have a meeting with the Small Railway’s board.

As he arrived, one of the railway’s engines set off with a train of empty hoppers. He couldn’t see which one it was exactly, but the mustard-yellow paint meant it was easy to identify the engine as Amanda Farrier, one of the new-builds from the 20′s.

Wait.

Amanda Farrier?

No...

Could it?

Richard hurried towards the Small Railway’s offices. If he was quick enough, he could maybe make it without seeing anything else that would bring on an existential crisis!

#ttte #ttte donald #ttte douglas #Oc: Siobhan #Oc: Declan #sodor #sodor shenangians #headcanon #fic #multi-part #Richard Hatt is forced to know things #flesh is temporary steel is eternal #excuse me but this is a reverse-humanization blog

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thebluenebula · 4 years

Text

So todays my birthday so I figured I'd write a birthday fic for Ashleigh. I really enjoyed writing this. This take place about three to six months after she arrived, so she is much more comfortable around the Batfam.

Masterlist

The Day After (Coming Soon)

Birthday

I sat at the breakfast table, reading todays paper. I never really read them. I just skimmed through them until some picture or crazy headline caught my eye. Bruce sat across from me.

"So." He loudly said.

I looked up from the paper. "So?"

"Sunday."

"What about Sunday?"

"It's your birthday."

"Oh." I was genuinely shocked. It didn't feel like a year had passed. I guess when a lot happens, you don't notice the time go by.

"I was just wondering what you wanted to do for it?"

"I don't really want to do anything." I explained.

"Really?"

"Yup."

"No party?"

"Yep."

"You're only eighteen once Ashleigh."

"And I'm quite content not to celebrate it."

"Alright." Bruce looked a little disappointed. "How about a gift, what kinda gift do you want?"

"Gift." I looked at Bruce with genuine shock. "Bruce you've literally given me everything I could have ever needed in the last six months."

He grinned. "Thats my job."

"I dont need anything else."

"I know you don't need anything, but so you WANT anything?"

"How about my own house?" I joked.

"If you want one." Bruce replied, deadly serious.

"No." I quickly responded. "I'm not going to get kicked out am I?"

"Of course not."

I sighed with relief. I may be about to be eighteen but I'm in no way prepared to be on my own.

"If I was going to kick out any of my kids, don't you think Dick and Jason would already be gone."

"What's this about me getting kicked out?" Jay asked as he walked in.

"Don't worry Jay, I'm not kicking you out. Yet." Bruce assured him. "Just making a point."

"Wait," Jay leaned against the table. "I understand why your using me as an example, but why would you want to kick out Dick?"

Bruce shivered. "I have heard him say things I never wanted to hear any of my kids say."

"God." Jay yelled and slammed his head into his hands. "I'd repressed that memory."

"What happened?" I cautiously asked.

"Well there was this one time Dick and Wally were fu-" Jay began to explain.

Bruce elbowed him. "She does not need to know. No one needs to know."

I looked at the two curiously. I wonder what Dick and Wally got up to.

That night before I lay into bed, I looked at the photograph on my locker. Siobhan, Sean, and I. We all looked so happy. It felt odd, this would be the first year I'd have a birthday without Sean, and the first in years without Siobhan. I grabbed the photo and lay into bed.

That Friday I was lying on my floor, texting Cassie. "Artemis seems crazy."

"She can be, thats why her and Jay get on so well. So it's your birthday Sunday. 🎉🎉🎉" She text me.

For a moment I wondered how she knew, then I remembered that it was on my Pixtagram account. "Yup."

"You doing anything for it?"

"Not a thing."

"No party?"

I wish. "Not much of a party person."

"Dick or Steph will through you one regardless."

"Bruce made Dick promise not to and I don't think Steph even knows."

"Wait you didnt tell them its your birthday?"

"Nope. Only Bruce, Alfred, and Kate knows and I'd rather keep it that way."

"Okay, mind if I come around tommorow? We can just hang out or something to not celebrate you're birthday."

I giggled. "That'd be awesome."

"How's 12 sound?"

I yawned. "That'd be awesome. If it's alright, I'm going to go to bed."

"Goodnight Ashleigh. I'll text you in the morning."

"Night."

I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. Cassie text me the next morning and we confirmed are meet up. A little after one Cassie arrived. We got to togetehr with a couple of the other kids and played video games and chatted for hours. Cassie had to leave in a bit so the two of us headed up to my room.

I sat down on my swivel chair and Cassie plopped onto the bed. "So any idea what Bruce is getting you for your birthday?"

"Nothing, I think."

"Nothing?"

"Well he asked me what I wanted but I couldn't think of anything else I could want"

"Maybe you could ask for a car and give it to me." She joked.

"You can fly though."

"It would be a tad questionable if I FLEW to school."

"Point taken."

"Speaking of gifts," Cassie pulled a wrapped box out of her bag. "Since I won't see you tomorrow."

"Cassie you didn't have to."

"I wanted to."

I took the box from her. "Thank you. Do I open it now?"

"I'd prefer if you did." Cassie said. "You can't imagine the amount of thought you have to put into getting a gift for the child of a billionaire."

"I'm not picky." I explained, then pulled off the wrapping paper. A photo frame. A blue frame surrounded by little clouds and bats. "Cassie, its adorable."

She smiled. "The clouds were already there but i stuck the bats on cause... you know."

"Yeah, I know." I smiled. "I love it."

"Well I seen that you had that photo by your bedside and thought you might use this frame for another. Maybe you could put like a picture of everyone in in it or something.

"I don't have a picture of everyone in the house together. That'd be nice."

"That's it!" She exclaimed.

I jumped. "That's what?"

"Your birthday gift. Ask Bruce for a picture of you all together."

"I'd love that but I'd have to blow on a hell of a lot of candles for that wish to come through."

Cassie laugh was interupted by a ding from her phone. She checked the phone. "Diana's outside, I've got to go."

"I'll walk you out."

We headed down to the entrance. Cassie opened the door and prepared to leave. "I guess I'll see you again Ashleigh." She said as she stepped out the door.

"Cassie."

She stopped and turned. "Yes?"

"If you aren't busy tommorow... maybe you like to come around."

She smiled. "I'd love to."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'll remember to bring those extra candles for the wish."

I laughed. "I'll need them."

"I won't forget." She promised. "I'll see you tommorow then."

"One other thing, when is your birthday?"

"Why?"

"So I can remember to get you that car."

She giggled and walked down the steps. I wonder if Bruce would actually let me buy her a car.

I got up early the next day and to my delight. No big deal seemed to be made of my birthday. Dick, Bruce, and Alfred wished me a Happy Birthday but that was it. Everyone else seemed clueless to it.

Around eleven Cassie arrived and her, Carrie, Harper, and I ended up in the den playing video games again.

About one Bruce dragged me out of the den. "What's up?" I asked him.

"Someones here to see you."

"Who?" I asked as we stepped out into the hall.

"Hey Ashleigh." Kate stood just inside the door. Arms open.

"Kate!" I hugged her. "I didn't know you were coming today."

"Thought I'd surprise you, considering it's your birthday." She ruffled my hair. "Happy Birthday, by the way."

"Thank you." I smiled. "How'd you know?"

"I always know."

"Bruce told you?"

She nodded. "Bruce told me."

"I felt it was necessary." Bruce added.

Kate held a box. "A little something."

"Thanks but you didn't have to."

"I know, Bruce said that. Which is why I distinctively ignored it."

Bruce scoffed. "I shouldn't be surprised."

Kate looked to Bruce then back to me. "I'll hold on to it for a little while."

"Sure." I looked to Bruce skeptically.

"Follow me." He said.

I followed Kate and Bruce towards the Dining room. "Where are we going?"

"I just want to say, that this was primarily Dicks idea." Bruce said.

Oh no. I already knew what this is. I put on a smile as we walked through the doors into the dining room. It was decorated to the nines with birthday banners and other colorful decorations. Sometimes I hate Dicks insistent to go over the top with everything.

"Happy Birthday!" Everyone yelled as I entered. I smiled at the large gathering of people. To say I was uncomfortable was an understatement. But just for a second. Before, when I had parties, it fwlt like a lot of the smiling faces were just that, smiling face, no genuine emotion behind them but not this time. This time the smiles held happiness, love. I could feel it

All the nervousness I should feel, melted away. I don't know of it was Kate's hand on my shoulder or the smiles of my family and Cassie.

I was quickly tugged to the table by Steph. In front of me sat a large chocolate cake. On it, there had to be about fifty candles. "I told you I wouldn't forget." Cassie smiled.

"Come on!" Dick shouted excitedly.

"Can't we just skip that part?" Jay moaned.

Dick ignored Jay's remark and burst into song. "Happy birthday to you!"

Dick was quickly joined by the others, even Jay mumblwd along. After the song was over, I blew out my candles. Downside of so many candles, took quite a few blows.

"So what'd you wish for?" Steph asked.

"She can't tell you, that ruins the wish." Dick said.

"I didn't wish for anything." I said. "I have everything I could ever need."

Damien scoffed. "Corny. You sound like Grayson."

Cassie nudged me. "Do it."

"Fine." I sighed. "I did wish for something."

"Anything." Bruce said.

"I wish for... a photo. Of all of us. Together."

"That's all?"

"That's all."

"That's doable." Bruce turned to the kids. Jay and Damien in particular. "Isn't it."

Jay sighed. "Just this once."

Damien scoffed. ""Yes, as Todd said."

"I shall get the camera." Alfred stated.

"No need I have one here." Steph said, handing a camera to Alfred. "I have been capturing every moment of this."

"At this point, I'm surprised you don't take pictures of us sleeping." Tim remarked.

"Maybe I do."

"I'm double checking the locks in my door tonight." Duke commented.

"I'll always find another way in."

"You are the creepiest blonde I've ever met." Jay said. "And thats not a low bar."

"But you love me for it."

Jay sighed. I turned to Alfred. "You're not going to be in the photo?" I asked.

"Someone must take the photo."

"I can take it Alfie." Cassie said.

"I will allow you to take this photo, Miss Sandsmark, on one condition."

"What's that?"

"Never refer to me as Alfie ever again."

"Fiiine." Cassie snagged the camera. "Now go join them."

"Okay," Bruce said. "Tallest to the back."

Dick, Kate, Bruce, Alfred, and Jay stood at the back in that order. Damien, Babs, me, Harper, Carrie, Duke, Steph, and Cass stood in front.

Dick picked up Damien. "Let me go Grayson!"

"Chill out." Dick said as he placed Damien on his shoulders. "Don't want you cut out of the photo.

"This will suffice." Damien huffed, pretending to be upset.

Steph turned to Cass. "Pleaaase."

"Sure." Cass lifted Steph onto her shoulder.

Bruce smiled at his children and place an arm around Alfred. I felt Kate place her hand on my shoulder.

"Say cheese." Cassie said.

"Cheeese!" We all shouted as Cassie snapped the picture.

We all walked over to her. "How's it look?"

She through an arm around my neck. "Smile."

I looked at the camera in surprise as Cassie snapped a picture. "What was that about?" I asked as Cassie let go of me.

She shrugged. "You needed a photo of us."

She handed me the camera. I looked at the photo of us. Cassie looked perfect but I had a look of absolutely confusion plastered on my face. I smiled and looked at the family picture. Everyone looked perfect in it. Even Damien and Jay were smiling. The camera was quickly passed around everyone as they looked at the photo.

Afterwards we cut the cake. I could tell by the way that Cass and Steph watched me as I took the first slice, that they had baked it. "Best cake ever." I said after I took a bite. The two girls had huge grins plastered across their faces. The cake was quickly devoured by everyone.

A pile of gifts sat on the table from each of the Batfamily. I figured I'd open them later and we went to play party games. For a moment I thought they be boring but the look on Tim's face when the donkey tail ended up pinned to his back, courtesy of Steph, proved me wrong.

Eventually we all lay up and watched some movies. By eleven everyone was clearly knackered. I could barely even keep my eyes open. Carrie was sound asleep against Bruce and most of the others weren't far behind. I was almost asleep when I felt a small weight on my shoulder.

Cassie looked half asleep as she leaned against me. Maybe she was asleep, just with her eyes open. I couldn't tell.

"Is she asleep?" I heard a voice ask from behind me.

I looked over my shoudler. Diana stood in the open doorway. "Diana." Bruce slid out gently from under Carrie and stood up. "I didn't hear you come in."

"I knocked. I assure you." She said. "No one answered, so I let myself in."

"Sorry, Miss Prince, I was preoccupied." Alfred stated.

I hadn't even noticed Alfred in the armchair in the corner. Jay was curled up beside him and appeared to be sound asleep.

"No worries Alfred."

"You've come to pick up Carrie. I assume." Bruce said.

"Yes. I'd leave her here but I promised her mother I'd bring her home tonight."

"Of course."

I shook Cassie. "Wake up."

She looked up at me groggily. "Huh?"

"Diana."

She sat up straight and looked to Diana. "Oh hey."

"Time to go."

Cassie stood up and stretched. "Sure, I'll juat grab my bag, i think it's in the kitchen." She turned back to me. "See yah Ash, and Happy Birthday."

I smiled. "See yah."

Cassie and Diana left and I looked back at the TV. I didn't recognise the movie that was on. I didn't even know who picked it. Slowly I drifted off to sleep on the couch.

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five-wow · 4 years

Text

here are some thoughts from my (first, somewhat late) watch of 10.15!

we start off with adam intimidating a minion and threatening his life while they’re reburying three bodies. cool. this is totally something he can come back from.

joanna! danny’s mystery woman has a name! i very vaguely caught some annoyance/confusion about her name here on tumblr because apparently somewhere else (outside of the episodes, i assume?) she’d been called something else, if i understood correctly? but seeing as i missed most of that, i’m honestly just glad she has a name now.

also! joanna texting her sister/friend (i don’t really know who she is for sure?) that she met a guy at a bar - thank god, tbh, because last episode it looked like she just randomly had sex with a stranger (which is fine) and then got into his car to let him drive her home (which is not fine, because we may know danny is an okay guy, but she had no earthly way of knowing that).

“it wasn’t your fault. you did everything you could. it means a lot to me that you’re here.” kudos to sister/friend for not falling into the trap of blaming danny and piling onto his guilt subplot!

STEVE is WAITING OUTSIDE when danny leaves the morgue, oh god. that makes total sense and i’m glad for it, but i somehow didn’t expect them to show that.

steve: “you wanna talk about it?” nothing super clever to say here, but it just make me really, really happy every single time steve asks danny if he wants to talk about something (or just pushes him into it, ocassionally) because!! that’s good!! that’s healthy!! that’s a really good friendship, and i’m proud of steve. (on a slightly related note, i’ve been watching a lot of 9-1-1 and reading some fic and while a lot of that fic is really fun, i kind of feel like many of the writers in that fandom give eddie at least double the capability to deal with emotional turmoil in himself or others that he is shown to have in canon. eddie diaz is basically what danny sometimes accuses steve of being, only eddie is actually closed off and struggling with repressing everything he ever feels that much, and steve has by this point had years to learn healthier ways of coping and he is not that person anymore, at all. he knows how to talk about emotions and he does it, too, and the funny thing is that i’m pretty sure he learned a lot of that by making danny talk to him about danny’s emotions, which steve did all the time right from the very start because he cares about danny and wants him to be mentally happy and healthy, and tl;dr, steve and danny’s friendship makes them both happier, more emotionally stable people and that makes me emotional.)

tani teaching a class at the police academy and bonnie (grover’s niece) absolutely acing all her classes and tani and bonnie hanging out and getting lunch together and tani subtly mentoring bonnie IS ALL VERY GOOD.

fdjfkdjkfd oh god. i was so happy with this scene and then suddenly bonnie has a boyfriend and it’s the dude who buried bodies with adam a moment ago. so... is he a bad guy (i hope not, because i’m already a little tired at the idea of another cool female character getting in trouble all the time because she’s dating yakuza and that’s for some reason the most interesting thing the writers could think to do with her), or is he undercover? is adam undercover? are they BOTH undercover but they don’t know it about the other guy so they just keep committing crimes to look like badass criminals when really they’re just both trying to catch the other in a seriously bad crime?

oh god, there’s this whole scene with the academy recruits on the shooting range and tani keeps drilling them on shooting faster (which i have... thoughts about, too, but let’s not get into that) and they make it really explicit that bonnie is the fastest and definitely faster than her boyfriend and this, uh, really looks like foreshadowing for bonnie ending up having to draw her weapon on the boyfriend at some point.

adam to lou: “thanks for the coffee date.” i must say, very unexpected ship they’re pushing now. :p

adam: [starts saying things, possibly making up excuses] lou: “no, no, come on, you don’t have to explain anything to me.” let the man talk, lou!!! if you don’t want to hear it, i do.

ahhhh, lou is keeping adam occupied while steve searches adam’s apartment. things are making more sense now. (though lou does call steve to tell him to wrap things up like a minute after his coffee date with adam started, and also at most a dozen feet away from adam where chances are definitely above zero of adam being able to hear him, fjdkdf.)

steve had “a feeling” about adam. no need to be so jealous, danny.

wait, wait, adam is back on five-0? i... they probably showed or mentioned that in a recent episode, i think, but apparently i’ve really just been turning my brain off during this subplot because i do not remember that at all. (this is why i like bingewatching things, because at least then i have a clearer picture of what happened in the episodes right before, gosh.)

danny: “... but the point is that if i was a human being...” love it. love the subtle implication that danny is not a human being, but in fact an alien from new jersey, which as we all know is in outer space.

bonnie’s boyfriend is not officially bonnie’s boyfriend yet and she thinks he might be seeing someone on the side, and this is sad because as viewers we all know that that someone IS ADAM (and three dead guys). just not like that, though. probably.

bonnie: [tells tani her potential bf has two phones] tani: “hm, okay. this one’s easy: run.” YES. PLEASE DO.

quinn!!! i was starting to wonder if this was one of those mysteriously quinn-less episodes.

oh nooo, bonnie sneaks around potential bf’s house and then STEPS ON A TWIG. c’mon, girl.

fdjkfd the guys catch her and now i remember that this episode description said she was going to get kidnapped and adam would help get her back. this will be... interesting.

quinn’s awkward face while lou is yelling in surprise about bonnie having a boyfriend is absolute gold.

lou yells at tani for not telling him anything about the boyfriend yesterday but honestly, she does not deserve that.

also: all those dramatic shots on adam’s face, oh dear. is the rest of the team seeing that expression he has? are they seeing all these close-ups?

adam threatens his yakuza rival in an effort to help get bonnie back. is this supposed to be redemption for adam? i’m confused.

lou says it’s not tani’s fault and he apologizes! this is an episode of people realizing they shouldn’t put the blame on innocent bystanders (instead of one that attempts to heighten the drama by milking misplaced anger for all that it’s worth) and i like it.

siobhan has been tied up in some shed in the woods and endo (the potential boyfriend) is feeling bad about it but is unwilling to untie her, god. (quick detour, though: i’ve been wondering this since the beginning of the episode, but how is siobhan even at the hpd academy now? i was under the impression during her first appearance this season that she was in her last year of high school, so when did she even graduate?)

i do feel for endo (which i like! it’s cool to see a Bad Guy be not pure evil but believably conflicted), but leaving your almost-girlfriend in a cabin in the woods for your godfather to “take care of it” with a sad look and “i’m really sorry” is not the best of moves, my dude.

tani and quinn: we have good news! hpd intercepted endo and steve and lou are about to question him! adam: [sweats]

endo lies his ass off in interrogation which makes him interesting but also costs him a lot of sympathy points from my end.

lou pretty much assaults endo while he’s cuffed to a chair in the interrogation room. i get why these emotions make for good tv, but uh, hm, maybe five-0 should at some point consider a policy of not letting people who are personally involved in cases near suspects, because this does kind of seem to keep happening.

jfdkfd, adam confronts endo in lock-up, endo taunts him and says adam can’t tell anyone in five-0 what he knows because he’d have to tell them how he knows endo, the team finds out that endo has yakuza ties and go to confront endo about it and he’s gone. omfg, adam, how are you managing to fuck your own life up this effectively in such a short amount of time, after you fought all those years to get away from everything you’re doing now?

siobhan gets herself free!!! and then runs right into guys with guns outside the cabin, of course, because this is tv timing, but still, WELL DONE.

fdjkfdkjfd, adam’s brilliant plan to solve the situation is to call up the rival yakuza boss and threaten to kill his godson out of revenge. this is. this is maybe not a great idea.

adam: “in case you haven’t been paying attention, kenji, i’m not afraid of much these days.” oh adam, buddy, don’t brag about misplacing the entirety of your common sense.

the team is watching adam load endo into the back of a car on tape and it’s honestly kind of hilarious. steve asks danny how he would explain this and that’s hilarious, too, because they’re seeing their (ex-?)friend load a stolen suspect into a car to run off with him, thereby betraying all of them and everything they stand for, and steve is taking this opportunity to turn to danny and go “see, i was right”. fjdkfd.

steve’s gut says adam will come through for them in delivering siobhan, and we all know steve’s gut is secretly psychic, so that’s a spoiler. :p

and it does happen!!! i’m glad to see bonnie back in a safe place.

oh god. adam randomly appears from between the foilage to look serious and share a meaningful nod with steve. is he... is he officially on the other side now? they’re not still going to let him be part of five-0, are they?

domestic steve and danny in the(ir) kitchen!!! steve is giving eddie danny’s breakfast!!! and then there’s something about endo having hacked into hpd’s database, because of course they need to attach some ongoing threat to this, but honestly, who cares about plot when there’s “don’t shame my dog. i’m cooking you eggs, alright?” and danny saying steve doesn’t have to cook him eggs but steve already doing it anyway while danny is once again randomly sitting on the kitchen counter and steve cuts danny off before danny can request his eggs a little burned because steve already knows how danny likes his eggs, obviously, because steve is a stalker when it comes to danny. yes!! this is stuff i like a lot.

danny is saying he could probably get out of steve’s space soon and steve has the excuse of very intently (and yet somehow also very badly, it looks like) scrambling those eggs, but he’s also definitely, 100% avoiding looking at danny in that moment, and then he starts saying how there’s no paint yet and that’s bad and danny should stay. just. just move in together officially, you guys. just do it. nobody would be surprised. you know it would make both of you very happy. this is not even a ship thing, but just, oh my god, these two humans so clearly want to be in each other’s space and they keep coming up with excuses and getting this close to admitting that maybe neither of them wants danny to leave and then yelling at each other about eggs and how it’s not bacon day. it can be bacon day, steve. it could even be pancake day. it could be pancake day every day for the rest of your natural lives if you just told danny you wanted that.

overall, this was a very fun episode! i’m honestly just really happy with this season in general - quinn being added to the team does maybe not look like much progress on the subject of female characters, because she’s just one person, but there have been SO MANY scenes of her and tani together by now and genuinely, their friendship is healing my soul and watering my crops. i’m still not sure what to make of the adam subplot, but if they’re doing what it kind of looks like they’re doing - permanently putting him on the other side of the fence, back with the yakuza - that could actually be somewhat interesting. i’m just really, really scared that even after all of this they’re going to try to give him some kind of redemption arc that just has no chance of making sense anymore after everything that’s happened.

#h50 #10.15 #*#i've been even more absent from tumblr than usual and if you've been waiting for a reply i'm really sorry #and will try to get around to it asap!

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guylty · 4 years

Text

My annual social media Lent is coming up. From Ash Wednesday I will abstain from Twitter for the next 6 and a half weeks (until Easter Sunday), allowing me to recalibrate a little and concentrate on other things. Such as my blog – or RAnet. That means I need blog fodder. Almost four weeks have passed since The Stranger launched on Netflix. Enough time to assume that most fans and readers have watched the show and will not be spoiled by the discussion of the show. Moreover, some more in-depth discussions have already started in the comments. Last weekend, for instance, we got into the intracacies of the “bar scene” in episode 4 of TS, talking about the casting, costuming and directing of that particular scene and how we, as women of a particular age reacted to that scene.

However, it would probably make more sense to start at the beginning. So anyone who’d like to discuss TS with me, you are welcome to write your observations, reactions and opinions in the comments. I know I am kind of launching into this without announcement. But by doing this episode by episode, I hope you can follow along and catch up with individual episode if need be. I’ll also try and summarise every episode at the beginning of each review post so we know what we are talking about. Hm, I may need to rewatch the show for that. The hardship!!! However, the discussion will probably focus on the plot… eh… Adam. Anyhow, I hope you’ll join me and share your thoughts either here – or your own blog, if you are blogging, too.

The Stranger – Episode 1 Recap

Prior to the trailer, TS starts with teenagers at a bonfire party, culminating in a naked boy escaping through the dark forest. The plot then begins with the Price boys driving in the car to the football club where younger son Ryan is trying out for the A team. While at the club, daddy Adam briefly speaks with his wife Corinne on the phone. She is away at a teachers’ conference while Adam looks after their sons. In the clubhouse, Adam is approached by “a stranger” who reveals a devastating secret to him: His wife faked her pregnancy a couple of years ago. He is shocked and disturbed.

Once back home after football training, Adam can’t resist checking the details the stranger passed on to him, and sure enough, his suspicions are confirmed – there is a credit card payment for a fishy website called Novelty Funsy, and the ultrasound scan of the miscarried baby does not quite match the ones of his two sons. Meanwhile, Adam’s elder son Thomas heads out to the bonfire party with his friends.

The next morning, police woman Johanna investigates a bizarre crime scene of a decapitated alpaca in the city centre. With her DS, she drives to a nearby alpaca farm to confirm where the animal came from. On their return trip their attention is attracted by some pieces of clothing in the forest. They follow the trail of clothes and find a naked body. The young man is still alive.

Adam meanwhile looks after his day job – he is the legal advisor to an obstinate tenant who refuses to move out of a house that has been earmarked for demolition. Upon his return, Corinne arrives back from her conference and Adam receives confirmation that the mysterious credit card payments are for a website that provides fake pregnancy products. He immediately confronts Corinne. She does neither deny nor explain why or what she did, only hinting that there is more to it than he thinks. The Prices spend the night in separate bedrooms.

The next morning Adam observes Corinne taking a phone call outside the house. She later suggests to Adam that they talk later that day after a school awards ceremony where she will explain all. However, Corinne never shows to the event. Adam receives a text message asking for some time apart.

The episode ends with Thomas revealing the decapitated alpaca head in his cupboard.

Episode 1 – Discuss

So, first of all – I have watched the first episode about three and a half times. Twice on my own, once with hubster, and finally today a quick run-through for the sake of the recap where I fast forwarded through a lot of scenes, focussing on Adam mostly. I couldn’t help it… My first response to the show at the very first viewing was – WOW! I remember that I was fully engaged during every minute of it – even the scenes and story lines that Richard did not feature in. Granted, I was most interested with the “grown-up” arcs, not least because anything involving drugs and other goings-on with teenagers makes *this* mama really worried. But having said that, I think the first episode was very effective in establishing the storylines and the characters. Hence the show spends most time following Adam (Richard Armitage) – as a father, as a lawyer and as a husband. Then there are the two police officers who also are presented as round characters – the middle-aged senior officer Johanna (Siobhan Finneran) approaching retirement who has just decided to split from her husband, and her much younger partner, a gay black man. Adam’s son Thomas also gets a good bit of screen time with his friends, making him more than just secondary. Other secondary characters include first and foremost Dervla Kirwan as Corinne, Stephen Rea as obstinate tenant Martin, and Jennifer Saunders as Johanna’s BFF Heidi.

So, the first watch was highly exciting and addictive, so much so that I basically binged the whole show. On second and subsequent views, I found the episode not quite as fast and exciting anymore – only natural, as a lot of time was actually spent setting up the characters and the various story lines: Johanna waking up in bed to her snoring husband; Johanna meeting Heidi in her café; observing the teenagers at their bonfire party; visiting Dante in hospital…

RA is the natural focal point from the get-go. Not only for fangirls, I might add. The show is really good at setting him up as the perfect family man who obviously has great rapport with his sons, both the “difficult” almost grown-up older son, but also the younger lad who needs a different kind of care than a young adult. I found the casting really great, with Thomas definitely matching the tall, dark, handsome vibes of TV-dad Richard, and younger boy Ryan more a mirror of his blond, curly-haired TV-mum. They all have great chemistry together, and found Misha Handley (Ryan) very natural and convincing. Jacob Dudman as Thomas was also great.

… really aged well… hehe

RA really shines in the confrontation scenes, both with the stranger and with his wife, when he has to convey both suppressed anger and outright fury at having been deceived. Both his major scenes with Corinne are very convincing, and I appreciated the decision to make Adam extremely angry, on the verge of volatile, when Corinne refuses to explain her actions. Adam’s anger is immediate, raw and confused and Armitage really draws the viewer on his side with his emotional outburst. So much so that I basically missed Dervla Kirwan’s nuanced acting in that scene. On second and subsequent viewings, once you know how the show ends and why she doesn’t want to talk immediately, you start to notice the little things: her refusal to talk has more to do with fear than with anger or denial. She is afraid of actually addressing the fact that the reason for her faked pregnancy will also bring another secret out in the open, and the subsequent discussion (which she had successfully avoided by faking the pregnancy in the first place) will now have to take place. What might have looked as callous or dismissive at first viewing, conveys much more detail the second time round: there is a sadness to Corinne that Kirwan expresses very subtly – in a slight pause, or the tiniest glance into the mid-distance. The same applies to their second and much calmer confrontation the next morning. What might have looked almost callous on first viewing, gains much more weight when you watch it with prior knowledge of the plot. When Adam says he has lost trust in her, Corinne replies “it hurts, doesn’t it?“. The question tag really stood out to me on first viewing. It confused me. Why is she phrasing it like that? It of course became clear in episode 4, but again, Kirwan really gave it a spin by loading it with subtle sadness that doesn’t only confuse the viewer but also Adam. Armitage here kept his response at just the right level of confusion without giving away how much Adam really recognises or understands what she was hinting at. RA reacts with great detail expressions. No words are needed. And in hindsight you can see how he begins to wonder whether she knows about his affair. Loved it.

Let’s talk a bit about Armitage’s look in this show. Such a spectacle!

Yes, I like details like that. The jury is still out on whether this is a prescription that Armitage wrote into the script himself 😂, or whether we just had a costume department that is on the ball. Yes, it’s time for the presbyopic lenses. Happens to most of us at around middle age. 🤓 I found it a lovely detail that makes Adam more relatable. Because – a dad bod he has not.

Even if he claims he does. I find this a rather attractive package for a middle aged family man. Also:

Bonus WRP. Needs no further elaboration

But to get back to the look and style – I enjoyed the casual style of Adam. Once again, it felt right – nothing too fancy, with windbreaker, jeans and shirts, and even a tracksuit at home, the perfect attire for a father of two (pre-) teen sons. I was surprised how good RA looked in other colours than just black and blue. The red polo shirt was very nice on him.

I can’t say I am as convinced of the costumes provided for Corinne. In fact, I think there were some rather sledge-hammer style decisions going on there, putting the wife and mother into rather dowdy, pale pink mom trousers and giving her a hole-pattern, fluffy knit jumper. Then there was that turquoise dress that went slightly longer than her knees – apparently the work wear for female teachers in English private schools, judging by an equally frumpy outfit for Corinne’s colleague and friend Vicky? (This observation I will come back to in a later post once we get to episode 4.) It just kind of made me think that Corinne was made to look older and less casual than her husband who even attends to his client in jeans and shirt…

Police officer Johanna Griffin OTOH looked *real* and great. (I kept double-taking because O’Brien’s severe look kept coming back to me.) And I loved Heidi’s funky style – very much the slightly crazy café-owner with a café as stylish as herself… And can we also mention the Price’s residence here? There were only quick first glimpses of their house – but oh, that stylist made it a gorgeous family home. The garden was beautiful but I can take it or leave it. Too much work – I don’t like to get my fingers dirty. But the dining area with the floor-to-ceiling windows and the sleek white kitchen? Big win, especially because it doesn’t look like a showroom but has photos on the fridge and a mess on the counters.

So episode 1 gets a big thumbs up from me – for introducing us to almost all the characters (some held back for more surprise later on) and establishing the plot. Yes, there is a lot going on here, which I haven’t even all mentioned in the recap: the stranger dropping her first bomb, the Price family life, the secret in Corinne’s past, the tenant who refuses to move out of his home, the colleague who has trouble with her pre-teen daughter, the teenagers who are partying under the influence of drugs, the mystery of the boy who was hunted through the forest, the curious story of the decapitated alpaca, an almost-comic police duo, a police officer who is splitting up with her hubby, her friend, the funky café owner, the gregarious neighbour, the busybody football trainer… Too much? I’d say a lot of it is deliberate overload to distract us, yet give us some extra info about the characters, their work, their life and their environment.

The strategy definitely works when you watch the show for the first time. You are busy dealing with Richard Armitage’s overwhelming handsomeness taking it all in. The questions only really pop up when you watch again. Such as: When stoned Mike takes the alpaca for a walk into the city centre, why is there no CCTV footage? I mean, nowadays there is hardly *any* urban area that does *not* have CCTV on shops and banks or traffic spots. How come no one saw him decapitating the alpaca, in a city centre? And how did he manage to decapitate it anyway`- it’s hardly a one-chop job?Likewise and with hindsight we know now that Corinne’s text message was not sent by her at all: But how did the sender actually know the password to Corinne’s phone to send that message? I mean, don’t all people lock their phone with a password these days? Possibly nit-picking questions, but that’s the fun of it, isn’t it? You can enjoy a show immensely – and still want to pick a few holes into the plot just to see whether you are cleverer than the writer 😉.

There is probably so much more to discuss, but for the sake of getting the discussion started, here is the post. What is your take on the first episode of TS? Any agreements with me, or disagree? Other points of interest? Let me know in the comments!

Let’s Talk About… #TheStranger – Episode 1 My annual social media Lent is coming up. From Ash Wednesday I will abstain from Twitter for the next 6 and a half weeks (until Easter Sunday), allowing me to recalibrate a little and concentrate on other things.

#Adam Price #Richard Armitage #The Stranger

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jq37 · 5 years

Note

so...... thoughts on the first ep?

**spoilers for start spreading the news**

What is UP you guys? The new season of Dimension 20 is out and your girl is back (implies I left, which is false) with only the hottest of takes.

Usually I vomit up my opinions with little rhyme or reason and, don't worry, I'm not changing that format any time soon. But, because of the structure of the episode, I think it'll be easier to use headings and go through each character/element of this. So let's do this y'all!

The Setting

I think the best thing you can do as a writer or a creative person in general is the make something that only you could make, you know? Like, make the thing that only someone with your specific life experiences and weird brain could have come up with. And I really think that this is that for Brennan. I already talked about this in other posts, but the version of NYC that Brennan created for this game is that to me. Like, magical NY has been done, but the specific details? Who else could have written, "The annual SantaCon is actually Santa dumping all of his defective clones into NYC where the magic barrier that keeps normals from seeing magic will disguise them and the protectors of the city will be able to deal with them"? That's so specific and so wild and so New York and so Brennan.

And I haven't lived in NY for so long but I've had one winter here and the way he describes what it's like to walk down the street during winter in the city is so real. Like smelling garbage then laundry detergent then sugared nuts from those corner stands and you're freezing and then baking in the subway in your coat. That was so so real. (I will be saying this phrase a lot so get used to it now)

And I like that he didn't make the obvious choices, you know? Like we've had three, like, magical figureheads across D20 and those are usually classic old, white, possibly British roles, you know? Like a Gandalf or a Dumbledore. But he had Aguefort in FH and now Esther and Alejandro in TUS. I just think it's cool that we're getting some different archetypes to fill these roles instead of the same dude c.p'd in again, you know?

Also, the fantasy NYC map is so dope. I wanna go back and try to read everything on it when I have the chance.

Pete

Ally is a DRUG DEALER. I thought Pete was gonna be a stripper but he's a DRUG DEALER. Honestly, I could have figured this out sooner if I'd just checked Urban Dictionary like I did just now and found out that "plug" means "someone who is a resource for obtaining something valuable that would otherwise be difficult to obtain" or, more simply, "drug dealer". But I'm glad I didn't because it was much more fun to find out in real time.

Ally makes some character choices sometimes that are too specific to not be rooted in life experience and that whole microwave cheese monologue was one of them.

Pete's official diagnosis is that he has "a lot going on."

Ally almost won MVP line of the episode with, "Shot my tits off." Murph losing it in the background killed me almost more than the actual line.

I really, really want Pete's doctor to be a recurring character because he is wild in how wild he isn't. He has so much wild stuff happening around him and he is in a wild line of work but he seems like a relatively stable guy. I love him. Also, the completely wrong cadence he used to say, "lgbt ally" was gold.

Is Ally ever gonna have a character with a good relationship with their parents? One time? Ever?

I literally don't even know how to begin to address the wild magic trip Pete went on. Like, I don't think Ally knew what they were doing when they decided to be a wild magic sorcerer. I don't think they knew what kind of challenge they were issuing to Brennan. And after seeing the wild nonsense Brennan consistently came up with for Jer'ih'meh in Bloodkeep, I can't want to see the insanity he spits out for Pete.

"You're the one who they they wanted to play a wild magic sorcerer."

Also, Brennan just using lyrics from "New York, New York" for whatever dream demon or whatever was going on in that trip was, like, equal parts clever and hilarious. Sidenote, do you think all the ep titles are gonna be from songs about NY? I mean, there are enough songs I bet.

Pete has this thing where he constantly lands on the exact wrong part of the situation to focus on. Like later when he gets stuffed in the magic closet at the hospital and he's like, "Hospitals are so advanced, also go much is this gonna cost?" Ally's comic timing on that is always perfect.

WILD that that was the first intro. Like, way to kick off the new season with a bang. I really wonder what this episode would have felt like if this was the last intro or if the intro for the two normal people hadn’t been right at the top. Actually now that I’m editing, I feel like we almost got the intros from least experienced w/ this stuff to most experienced. Because Pete is a total noob. Sophia is also a noob but she has met Kugrash at least once. Then you have Ricky who’s only been in this for about a year. Then Kingston who probably has more experience than Kug by years but Kug has been a rat man his whole life (presumably). Finally Misty who is probably like a BS amount of years old and steeped in this stuff. Honestly, if I was DM’ing, I might have fudged the die rolls to look exactly like how it turned out.

Sophia

Emily describing her character and slipping into her character voice gradually as she went on was so pro.

"Like if Fran Dresher went on an Amy Winehouse bender." I love her.

"Did you not want baby bangs?"

"She's a WHOO-OAR."

I'm gonna die if Brennan make than woman an actual succubus because of an offhanded comment.

My favorite thing is when Emily is saying some nonsense and she can barely even get through it without breaking. Also, Murph is so visibly amused by Emily's entire intro. It's great.

I love that both of the "normal" characters spent most of this episode intoxicated in one way or another.

So Emily absolutely won the episode in my eyes for coming up with one of the sickest burns I've heard and in real time. A dude tells her to read his dick and she, after only a momentary pause, says, "No I'm not gonna read your dick (beat) because I don't read short stories!" Brennan doesn't even make her roll. He just narrates her success. The table goes wild. The bar she's at goes wild. Zac specifically is cracking up. Like, I feel like this is gonna be a little bit of a deep cut reference but did any of you ever play the Monkey Island games and do the insult swordfighting? That's what that scene was. Amazing.

Murph's, like, entire posture and expression (@ 1:24ish) when Emily is saying Sophia thinks she saw a giant rat man who gave her an egg sandwich and Gatorade is total gold.

"Gotta kill some brain cells to kill the ones with the memory of Dale in them."

OK so funny story (funny to me at least) at the Fantasy High live show, I was talking to some other girls who were there and we ended up talking about how the small of a woman's back is basically the worst place you can casually touch them outside of the really bad places and how viscerally terrible it is so when Brennan said one of the trolls touched one of the girls there and Sophie/Emily was like BIG NOPE, I had a That's So Raven flashback to that conversation immediately.

Emily leaps into action...and rolls a nat 1 to fight a bunch of trolls. She actually does really well in the rest of the fight though so that's good.

Oh, also Siobhan made everyone dope themed dice boxes!

Ricky

I hope Dimension 20 runs for the next 10 years and I hope Zac plays a good, big, doofus in every single season.

"He's basically like Superman if Superman were Japanese." Love.

Also, I love the distinction that he's 5' 8" but buff.

Ricky surrounded by a raging fire: First of all, that's a cool bear.

I like the way that Brennan skinned the cleric and paladin powers for this game so they're more about values than deities. I was wondering how it was gonna work in this setting and I think this was such a cool way to handle it.

I really think Brennan has a great handle of presenting certain things in such a way that it's interesting for the players as well as the audience. Like, when Ricky is trying to escape the burning apartment, he puts an obstacle in his way that forces him to use his Paladin powers (to create water specifically). It's not really a hard "puzzle" or something he has to roll for, but it introduces to the audiences that he's not just a firefighter. I just think it's really cool that he's able to pull off narrative things like that without actually controlling the characters. (And, props to the players too, of course, for being so consistently entertaining).

"Mr. March."

Ricky in the middle of the winter: I'm not as tan as I used to be.

Ricky rooftop runs like a freaking superhero.

OK, this is barely related to what I'm talking about right now but it's important to me that you all know this. I commented in an earlier post that Ricky clearly had circus music playing in his head at all times and then I was like, "Hmm, I wonder what that one circus song is called." You know, the song that you think about immediately when you hear the phrase "circus music" so I looked it up and APPARENTLY it is a CZECH MILITARY MARCH known alternately as (brace yourselves) ENTRY OF THE GLADIATORS and THUNDER AND BLAZES. I kid you not. That's actually what that song is called. I called my brother and told him immediately. OK, back on topic.

Is a questing blade a thing? I feel like it's a Thing from legend or fairy tales or something but, when I Google it, I come up with basically nothing.

Does Ricky have a thing for Esther or is he just a super awkward texter and nice guy who does not want to be set up by his sister for a different reason?

I need Brennan to explain how the Santa Question works in this world. The question being, "Why don't parents freak about the gifts they're not buying?" and, side question, "Why don't poor kids get presents?" My go-to answers are always, "He Jedi Mind Tricks into thinking they bought them," and, "He has to work within each family's socio-economic means in order to not be obvious." So there are def plausible answers. But, like, this is something I like to see addressed when we're doing the "Santa is real," thing.

"I grew up with twins and one of them was worse than the others so that makes sense."

"Is Santa good?"/"The ethics of it are alarming, I won't lie."

So, my paranoid thought for this episode is I'm a little Concerned that someone down the line (maybe Esther, but hopefully not) is going to take advantage of Ricky's Big Dumb energy and his "It's the right thing to do," mentality and manipulate him into doing something Not Great. Like, it's not based on anything besides mainlining a ton of media over the past 24 years but I'm just gonna keep an eye out.

Re the Santa/Peppermint Zombification: Hey Brennan, turn your location on. I just wanna talk.

I have to say, from the bottom of my heart, what the hell?

That creeped me out in the same way that episode of Adventure time where Princess Bubblegum (infused with the primal elemental candy energy or whatever) turned everyone into Candy people and everyone started singing Let Me Call You Sweetheart. What a weirdly specific body horror thing for me to encounter more than once. That one peppermint tooth thing is gonna haunt me.

Kingston

I gotta say, props to Lou for pulling a complete 180 on the kind of character he picked this time around. He went from playing this super extra rich pretty boy to this salt of the Earth quasi patriarch and he's just as comfortable with it. Kingston is so real. I went to church with like 50 guys like him back home.

Why are you fighting so hard about free food Kingston? Take the free homecooked food Kingston!

The intensity of his, "I will be here until I die," was hysterical.

Mentioned this before but I love the flavoring of the cleric class where instead of being attuned to a deity Kingston is basically attuned to the entire city. Also, the perks are excellent. Bus service anywhere for free. Sign me up.

I like that Ricky's sister works at the hospital. It's a really cool potential connection for later.

"We're gonna take the thing outchyo butt. We're not gonna deny you medical services."

"Aint nothing wrong with being a freak." --Kingston Brown

Fantasy creatures having to deal with updated tech (like the Toll bridge trolls talking about EZ-passes) is one of my fave urban fantasy tropes.

"I've got a really sweet smelling man here!"

"Yeah, my tooth fell out and now it's a candy. Hey, how much is this gonna cost?" This is what I’m talking about. Priorities my dude.

I love that Kingston knows Pete's weird mob doctor. It seems like part of his deal is that he just knows everything about everyone in the city (within whatever parameters).

Pete says, in quick succession about Ricky, "I feel like he would bully me," and, "He seems like a golden retriever," which I feel are almost mutually exclusive statements.

Kugrash

Well, I asked what kind of druid nonsense was happening in Central Park and the answer is Murph apparently.

I really wish I could have been there when Murph announced he wanted to play a literal rat.

"I am the shit that feeds the flies. A dumpster druid."

"Wherever you are rat Jesus, I love you." You're killing me Brennan.

Aww Kugrash goes around feeding the homeless and stuff. He's like this grumpy ass rat man who really cares about the community.

"Santa you fucking bum." --Kugrash

"I'm sorry are you a rat?"

The idea of a roach with a hobo sack pisses me off because it's adorable but roaches are the worst.

"Is Santa dead?"/"I don't know. I'm not religious."

"Santa Claus is real and he's DEAD."

Brennan loves to use the modifiers "full" and "fully" and I have picked it up irl and in my writing.

"Let's get a little fucked up and go see if Santa's dead!"

Just that whole squirrel interaction.

The sixth borough huh? Interesting. I see you Brennan.

Also, the detail that Kug's clothes are made from old MTA vests is great.

Misty

Siobahn is playing basically exactly the character I thought she'd be playing but she's doing it so much better and more extra than I could have imagined.

"A lady would never say her age, so I won't."

Is her pianist magic or something too? I have my suspicions.

So Misty gets some kind of bard and/or fairy high from praise and adoration which is interesting.

What kind of weird, morally dubious and/or unpleasant fae thing is Misty gonna have to do soonish? It's not gonna be good. Fae stuff never is.

DON CONFETTI

"I don't study magic. I just *am* magic."

So many of these intro vignettes end with, "You don't know that...but you do know who does." Like I said before, I really love the weaving together of all the story threads to get everyone in the same place at the same time in an organic feeling way.

Also he makes all these transitions sound cinematic, like he's writing the description parts of a movie script and not narrating in person.

Public Library! I knew we'd end up here eventually but I didn't know it'd be pretty much immediately. Like, if you're going w/ the "NY is magic" premise, the library has to figure in, you know?

Emily immediately having Sophia recognize Ricky as Mr. March was such a funny and on point character decision. I love how one-off, spur of the moment lines end up being running jokes because other players pick on them and drop them an hour later.

"Are you a rat?"/"Yeah, I'm a rat man!"/"I'm sorry if that was rude."

Brennan: The lions are alive and they're boyfriends.

Misty and Siobhan both are genre savvy enough to want to nip a knights/knave door puzzle situation in the bud.

Ricky on escape rooms: I'm not very good at them but I can definitely try my hardest. (Guys, I love him so much.)

Love me some MC Escher steps.

Underrated Misty line: It's all infernal to me.

Misty's little, "Ugh" at learning they have to go to Times Square is the real NY experience.

Is this Alejandro dude gonna die? What's the over under on this dude eating it very soon?

Misty encouraging Pete to shoot Alejandro is so needlessly chaotic which is a common fae trait and I really hope this escalates.

I dunno what Murph rolled for initiative but he looks like he just shamed his entire family line.

And we’re fighting an army of crazed Santa clones next week! We have literally just started and we are already fully off the rails. I cannot *wait* to see where we go from here if this is the *starting point*.

#dimension 20 #the unsleeping city #asks #anon #Anonymous

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do-not-call-me-meathead · 4 years

Text

aposiopesis (part two)

My Orphan Black fic on A03

part 1 part 3 part 4 part 5 part 6 part 7

@agoddamnsupernova

Scott wasn’t saying anything. Not that it was incredibly odd that he wasn’t talking, but Cosima could tell that there was something that he wanted to say, but was holding it back. She didn’t know if it was something about her and Sarah or about his few hours with Felix, but she could tell that he was keeping it quiet for a reason unbeknownst to her.

“Where did Felix take you?” She asked him to try to get him to start talking. She even poked him a few times, but he didn’t seem to notice. He was lost in his own thoughts.

Scott blushed and answered sheepishly, “A few bars.”

It was vague, but Cosima didn’t want to press for more. Scott had always shown her privacy and respect when it came to her personal life, and she didn’t want to push him away with any of her own meddling.

“Well, thank you. Seriously, dude. Sarah and I… we needed that talk, you know?”

Scott nodded and swiveled in his chair to finally look at her. “You looked really happy when we walked in. Felix told me he was worried about it, but I guess it all went alright? Not that I know what’s really going on. But my point is, I haven’t seen you that happy in a long time.”

Cosima could read between the lines. She knew that he was really saying that he hadn’t seen her this happy since she was with Delphine. She didn’t know if that was exactly true. Delphine made her feel electric and passionate and vibrant. Sarah… Sarah made her laugh and feel warm. It was different.

“Everyone’s having a rough time right now. I think… it was just what we needed at the moment. Did Felix tell you about Alison and Donnie?”

A text early in the morning the next day made Cosima wonder if Sarah ever slept. Not that Cosima hadn’t been awake when she received the text. Kendall’s death had been plaguing her dreams. Sometimes Kendall was replaced by Delphine and she imagined seeing them getting killed over and over and over again. She wondered if Sarah had similar nightmares.

The texts turned into a phone call.

"Oi, Cos,” Sarah murmured softly with an almost husky-just-woke-up voice that made her accent sound that much more pronounced. "Hope I didn’t wake you."

“You’re fine, Sarah. Any news? On MK or Donnie or…”

"I think Alison’s able to visit Donnie today. With Fee and Adele. I’m hopin’ this turns out to be a My Cousin Vinny scenario with Adele and she’s secretly a genius or somethin’. Or it could be total shite. I’ve been warned to keep out of it."

Cosima chuckled at the idea of Sarah actually staying out of something (she didn’t think that was possible). She could imagine Mrs. S begging Sarah to bite her tongue about Adele being the family lawyer.

“And Felix is going to tell Adele that Alison is your…”

"Twin. I dunno how we’ll keep all this from her but whatever. Art’s still pissed, though, even if this all because of Neolution. But I can’t really judge Alison with the drugs, though, can I?"

“We all do stupid, impulsive things, right? Isn’t that what you said? None of us are perfect.”

"Oi!" Sarah shouted in a tone that would have scared any person who didn’t know her well, causing Cosima to snort. "Are you sayin’ I’m not perfect, Niehaus?"

“Yo, my hands are in the air in surrender, Manning. I’m not saying anything.”

Sarah laughed, her voice ringing slightly, causing an echo on the phone. Cosima wished that she could hear the laugh in person. Her laugh always sounded raw, like her voice wasn’t completely used to it.

"I guess there’s a reason why they call you smart, Cos. Speakin’ of, MK did call. She’s gonna hook us up to Susan somehow. I told her that you need to be involved too. I’d come over to you but… S is under the impression that Neos might be after me."

That didn’t surprise Cosima in the slightest, but it did make her wonder about Sarah’s foster mother. “How’s Siobhan doing?”

"She’s not angry with me anymore, but she’s angry, Cosima. Not at you or us or anythin’. But at Neos and Evie Cho and Duko. Kira’s ‘specially worried ‘bout her. I dunno, Cos. I feel… like something's happenin’. Or about to happen. I dunno who to trust."

Cosima understood that feeling better than anyone. Trust was something that was easy for the scientist to gain, but once she loses it… She immediately thought of Delphine and Shay and how she hadn’t felt like she could completely trust someone she was sleeping with for years.

“I know, Sarah. But there’s a bunch of people that are on our side. It’s my turn to be optimistic. We’re going to get the cure and we’re going to destroy Neolution.”

Sarah sighed with what sounded like tiredness. "Yeah, but at what cost?"

.......

Her screen was blank for a few minutes until she could see everyone. Sarah, Susan, Rachel, and MK. This was what she was waiting for. Scott was by her side, which was reassuring. The two of them had finally come up with an idea for a cure that might actually work.

“Yo, Rachel.”

"Yo."

The rest of the conversation wasn’t as exciting as those first words. She was surprised that Rachel and Sarah hadn’t begun fighting on the video call, but there was something strange happening on Sarah’s end that made Cosima question what was happening over there at the safe house. She was even more caught off guard when Sarah had shut her computer off while they were in the middle of a conversation with Susan and Rachel, not that it seemed to faze them at all.

It was time for her to finally voice her idea. She didn’t want to work with them. She barely wanted to converse with them. But the only way she could actually pull off this cure was with their help.

“So,” Cosima finally began, knowing that she couldn’t hold back any theories if she ever wanted a cure (even if that meant working with their enemies). “I have a couple of ideas.”

........

She had texted Sarah. More than once. She didn’t want to bother her, but she was concerned with how abruptly she ended the video call. She tried to not read too much into it (Sarah was infamous for her unread text messages) but it was almost impossible to not be worried with everything else going on.

And besides that, she needed to talk to her. After hours of debating possibilities for the cure, they could only come up with one possible solution. One possible solution that Cosima actually thought might work. She hated to admit it, but Susan and Rachel were fairly brilliant. They kept up with all her insane thinking.

She was excited to tell Sarah about this new possibility, but she was also terrified. Not only did she need some of Sarah’s eggs, but she would also have to go to the island to actually do the science in a lab that was much more qualified than their own.

The door blasted open, interrupting her thoughts and conversation with Scott about what she would have to bring to the island. She was surprised to find Siobhan standing at the door with a huge ass gun in her hand. On instinct, Cosima almost raised her hands up in the air, but S didn’t look angry at her.

“Duko’s comin’ here. Art and Sarah too. You two are going to stay down here and not say a word. No matter what. Got it, loves? Don’t come back up until someone gets you.”

Cosima and Scott shared a look but they didn’t have the time to ask her about what the hell she was talking about. It frightened them, but they followed her directions. They knew not to go against her orders (that would be a death wish).

Both of them listened intently to the room above them, but they could only hear murmurs of familiar voices. Cosima had expected screaming or yelling or something horrifying as that, but she barely heard a thing until… the indistinguishable bang. Cosima immediately grasped Scott’s arm. After Kendall’s murder, she had hoped that she would never have to hear gunfire again. After a few minutes, the door opened for a brief second, but only for a short enough period for Hell Wizard to enter the basement.

“Duko’s dead,” Hell Wizard announced, looking as pale as a ghost. “Detective Bell and Sarah left.”

Cosima felt like fainting. She thought the idea of anyone else getting murdered would be horrifying, but part of her actually felt a wave of relief to find out that Duko was dead and wouldn’t hurt anyone else in the family. She knew Kendall’s death was only partially avenged. They still had to find a cure and put a stop to Evie Cho.

She felt her pocket buzz.

Sarah Manning: i gotta see kira, i’ll come clean tomorrow, S’ crew will be there in a few to get the body

Cosima Niehaus: Are you OK, Sarah?

Sarah Manning: i’ll update u tomorrow,,, pls dont go upstairs

Cosima thought about texting her back, begging her to tell her everything, but she knew that she couldn’t push her. That it would only push Sarah away from her. Instead, she put her phone down and announced to the others what Sarah had told her.

Scott just shook his head and returned to the computer while Hell Wizard offered a pot brownie. Cosima didn’t refuse.

.........

Someone was shaking her awake. She didn’t know when she fell asleep (or how exactly she fell asleep after last night) but when she woke up, her head ached. Somehow, Hell Wizard must have convinced her to drink too. Not a good mix.

“You okay, geek monkey?” Sarah asked her with pure concern and crossed arms. “Party hard or somethin’?”

Cosima sat up, rubbed her eyes, and realized that it was just the two of them in the basement. “Where’s--”

“When I got here, Scotty boy and Wizard boy were both scrubbin’. They don’t seem too thrilled with my presence.”

Cosima rolled her eyes. “Well, most people don’t like it when you kill someone a few feet away from them. But hey, that’s just a guess.”

Sarah glared at her. “Piss off, Cos. I thought you’d be the last person who’d be angry at Duko’s death.” When the scientist looked away from her, she sighed. "Cosima, S had to. For Kendall.”

“I get it, Sarah,” Cosima snapped. “I just would have liked to know before it happened, you know? A little heads up or something? Because dammit, Sar. I would have liked to not be here when it happened.”

Sarah sat down onto the bed next to Cosima and stared at her own muddy boots. “Loads happened yesterday, Cosima. I know that sounds like an excuse, but it’s true. Alison was threatened by Duko to give up my location in return for not knockin’ Donnie off. The only way to make sure no one died was to kidnap Duko and kill ‘im.”

Cosima raised her eyebrows. Sarah wasn’t wrong. A lot had happened. “But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have called me at the very least. Jesus, Sarah! Why can’t you just let someone into your life so you don’t have to go through all this alone?”

Sarah jumped up and headed for the stairs, ready to run away. Back turned to the scientist, Sarah said, “I should’ve told you. You’re right, Cos. I didn’t mean to keep you in the dark. But I can’t… I fucked that up. Shite. It’s what I do.”

Cosima’s anger dissipated from her body, though she didn’t quite know why. “You’re so dramatic, Manning. And I thought Alison was bad.”

The lighter tone in the scientist’s voice made Sarah turn around. “That’s the worst thing you coulda said to me. She’s a bloody theater actress for fuck’s sake. Though, I did grow up with Fee. Maybe he rubbed off a lil on me, yeah?”

“Just a little. But seriously, Sarah. Why are your communication skills so damn awful?”

Sarah only shrugged and felt her body condense into itself. She didn’t want to talk about herself or her fucked up nature or why she was so shit at life. In fact, she avoided those conversations at all costs. Which was why she normally avoided Cosima most of the time too. Cosima was the only one who wanted to know that kind of stuff about Sarah.

She turned around again and said, “Yeah, well, I dunno, do I? I gotta go see Kira--”

Cosima ran over and grabbed Sarah’s hand as she tried to walk off. She didn’t know what to say when Sarah looked at her, her eyes watering and lips quivering slightly (Cosima wouldn’t have noticed if she hadn’t been staring so intensely). She hadn’t wanted to piss her off, but she needed answers. Sarah had almost always been an enigma to her. She wasn’t one at first, not with her bitchy attitude and con artist tendencies. But now that Sarah was their leader, their person, she felt like she knew her less and less.

“Sarah… I’m a blunt person. So truthful to a degree that I like end up offending half the people that I’ve met.”

The other woman didn’t know where she was going with this. “Yeah, good for ya, Cos.”

Cosima grumbled. “What I’m trying to say is, I am going to be honest with you. It’s who I am, Sarah. And honestly, I don’t understand you. You act like nothing affects you until it does. You struggle with loving people and yet you’re the most loyal person I know. And you’re always alright, even when you’re not. I just want to know who you are, but you won’t let me.”

Sarah wanted to let go of Cosima’s hand and run. Run far and fast. But her grip was strong and something in Cosima’s eyes told her that this is what the scientist needed, though Sarah didn’t understand why.

“It’s not just you, Cos.” Sarah confided when she couldn’t think of a way out. “Why do you think I pushed Cal to leave? Why do you think I keep S at arm’s length and left Kira? Felix is the only one who’s ever opened me up. And that’s because he forced me. After years of bloody naggin’. It’s got nothing to do with you, yeah?”

That didn’t make Cosima feel any better. She could have guessed all of that. “But why, Sarah? Why can’t you let me in? Let me help you?”

Sarah sighed and wiped her nose that was running with her sleeve. “Because I’m an orphan, Cos. I grew up unwanted. Jumped from foster home to foster home that was either too crowded, too handsy, or too damn lonely. I didn’t have someone like you growin’ up. Or Alison or Cal or anyone. Not until Fee. But even then… Jesus, Cos. Why you askin’ all this?”

Cosima grasped her other hand and tried to smile. “Because I want you to trust me, Sarah. Like I trust you.”

“But I do trust you, Cos. I do. I just wanna protect you from all this shit. That’s why I didn’t tell you about the night I almost ended it with snortin' and drinkin' and shaggin' couples. Or about yesterday. Or all the other shit I’ve kept to myself. You already have so much to deal with. I can take care of everythin’ else.”

Cosima groaned and facepalmed, letting go of the other woman's hands. “But you don’t have to! You’re not the only clone, Sarah! Let someone help you for god sakes!”

Sarah shook her head. “I can’t.”

"Why?"

“Because I deserve this,” She shouted and pounded her chest like she wanted to hit something (and decided to hit herself). “I’ve wasted my shit life doing shit things. Maybe this is the way I can make it better, yeah? You’ve got science, Alison’s got school boards and her plays, Beth was a cop, hell Krystal’s even got cosmetics. I’ve got nothin’. I’m just nothin’ but a shit mother and hustler and lover of abusers.” She fell to her knees before Cosima had a chance to even try to catch her. “Everyone’s better off w’out me.”

“I’m not,” Cosima told her immediately. She crouched down and wrapped her arms around the shaking body. “Listen to me, Sarah. You’re a survivor. Restless, remember? You’re wicked smart. Strong. Brave. You’re my hero. My friend. My… god, Sarah. Do I have to say more for you to understand? We wouldn’t have gotten this far without you. You’re our rock, Sar. Our hope. We need you. I need you.”

Sarah rested her head on Cosima’s lap and held onto the scientist's shirt like she was trying to hold on.

“I feel her, Cos,” Sarah confessed as quietly as she could. “I feel her with me. I see her everywhere. All my dreams are about her. I’m worried that I’m… turnin' into Beth.”

Cosima blinked. She knew that there was a connection between the clones. A connection that couldn't be explained by any science that she was aware of. It was why Kira was unexplainably different. She didn’t understand why Sarah felt connected to Beth (or if anyone else had this feeling), but she wanted to.

“I won’t let that happen. I’ll protect you, just like you protect all of us.”

Instead of telling her about the island and exchange with Rachel like she knew she should have, she dragged Sarah to the bed and commanded her to sleep.

Their fingers intertwined and Sarah, with one last exhale, finally closed her eyes.

...........

Cosima would have never expected Sarah to be cuddly. The lion-hearted girl with the lion’s mane had her body practically wrapped around the scientist’s, her head rested gently into the curve of Cosima’s neck, breathing into her hair. It was surprising and endearing and made Cosima’s heart beat faster than normal. She couldn’t remember being this physically close to someone without sex being involved.

She would have never thought that Sarah would look this delicate as she slept. And she was sure that the punk would be the first to deny it too. She felt Sarah’s warm hands around her body and she didn’t want her to ever peel away. Cosima decided that she could live like this forever. It would be easy, she thought. Simple. The idea of staying this way with Sarah Manning made her grin and smile and it subsequently scared her.

She only felt this way with Delphine.

Sarah had her face. It was obvious and made her shake her head at the idiocy of the immediate thought, but she couldn’t stop staring at it. They had the same face. But it wasn’t the exact same. Or maybe their faces were the exact same and Cosima just imagined little differences because they were incredibly different people with different scars and different stories. Maybe Sarah seemed older because she had done more things and lived a harder life. Maybe Cosima felt younger because she admired Sarah so intensely. But for some reason, Cosima didn’t see Sarah like the rest. She saw her face in Alison, Beth, even Helena. But Sarah?

“Cos, why’re you bloody staring at me?”

Cosima raised her eyebrows. Sarah hadn’t even opened her eyes and yet she somehow knew. She didn’t know if she was freaked out by that or completely intrigued.

“I’d say it was because you’re hot, but I wouldn’t want it to go to your head, weirdo.”

“Narcissist,” Sarah snorted and finally opened her eyes. She moved her body immediately away from the other clone. “Fuck. Didn’t mean to hold you that tight, Niehaus. What time is it anyway?”

Cosima checked the time and sighed. In only a few hours, she was supposed to be in the air on the way to the island and she still hadn’t told Sarah about it.

“Listen, Sarah...” Cosima had already begun to trail off, just looking at the way the punk’s smile faltered and filled with worry and concern. “No, no. It’s nothing bad. Actually, something good. I think… I think we might have figured out the cure.”

Sarah gaped at her and then jumped up out of the bed and shouted, “Holy shite! That’s… that’s… and you’re not playin’? Don’t mess with me, Cos. This is--”

“Real, Sarah. I have good feelings about it. It’s the breakthrough we were all waiting for.”

“That’s bloody amazin’, Cos,” she muttered and ran her fingers through her mane of hair, still gaping in awe with disbelief. “You’re brilliant. I always knew you’d figure it out.”

Cosima felt her stomach knot. She had left out the worst part of the news. On purpose. Knowing Sarah’s moment of pure joy would soon vanish and be replaced with… well… she hoped that it wouldn’t be anger.

She opened her mouth, but Sarah had already started talking again. Shouting, really. In a strangely unlike-Sarah kind of way that would have normally made Cosima extremely thrilled.

“Kira’s gonna jump up and down when she finds out. Honestly, everyone will. Bloody hell. I could just kiss you right now, I’m so fuckin’ happy.”

Sarah was still grinning as if she hadn’t heard the words that came out of her own mouth. But Cosima heard them. Her mouth felt dry and she felt like her heart skipped a beat. She couldn’t stop visualizing it.

Her mouth on Sarah’s.

She tried to shake it out of her head because she was sure that Sarah hadn’t actually meant that she wanted to kiss her. Besides, Cosima knew that her thoughts would have disturbed the punk. She tried to think about anything else, anything else, but it wasn’t working.

Instead, she blurted, “I need your eggs.”

Sarah froze, no longer jittery, and muttered, “What?”

“For the cure, I mean. We need both Castor sperm and Leda eggs. To make--”

“The original,” Sarah whispered and slouched over slightly. “Yeah, I get it. W-when?”

Cosima scratched her head. “Now would be a good time, actually. I mean, the procedure needs to be done soon. Like really soon.”

Sarah tilted her head with a questioning stare. “What’re you not tellin’ me, Cos?”

Cosima sighed and felt herself wishing that she wasn’t the one who had to tell her this part. “We can’t do this alone, Sarah. We just don’t have the resources.”

Sarah blinked, not connecting the dots yet. “So?”

“So, I’m going to a place with ample resources and… and guidance. I’m going to the island.”

Sarah’s posture immediately changed. She crossed her arms and started pacing around the room, unable to be stopped by any force.

“No. Not with bloody Rachel and Susan.”

Cosima frowned and confessed, “Actually, Rachel’s coming here. With Ira. They’re here to… help. Supposedly. I’m not quite--”

“And you think this is a good idea, ey?” Sarah asked and waved her hands up in her air, getting more pissed off by the second. “Makin’ deals with the devil—“

“Evie Cho and Neolution are the villains here, Sarah!” Cosima interrupted and got up from the bed so that she could walk up to her. “Us not having the cure, that’s our enemy. That’s our killer.”

Sarah shook her head and tried to avoid being near her. “You’ve forgotten all the shit Rachel and Susan have put us through! Cos, I want this cure as much as you do--”

“Really, because I don’t think you’re the one that’s dying, Sarah, even though you sometimes want to.”

Cosima regretted it the second the words flew out of her mouth thoughtlessly. She watched as all the color vanished from the other clone’s face. She and Sarah might not have always seen eye to eye on everything, but she had never made Sarah go silent and pale before. She didn’t know anyone could do that.

Sarah sniffled, backing away from the other woman who tried to reach out, and said, “Yeah, okay, Cos. You got the eggs, yeah? And I’ll play nice with bloody Rachel. I’ll do all this for you, Cosima. Because… Jesus, do I really have to say it out loud? I thought you knew better than anyone that I would do anythin’ to have the sickness instead of you. Jus’ seein’ you… it’s my curse. I’ll give you my bloody eggs.”

She walked away with tears in her eyes. Tears that Cosima knew that she had caused. She slammed her fist into the air and bit her tongue instead of screaming. She didn’t want to scare Scott.

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cthylla-rlyeh · 4 years

Note

Hello and happy Friday! What are all the LA 5's clans? If Faith is the fledging we see in Bloodlines, how were the rest of them Embraced? Thanks!

Happy Friday to you too ❤

I just want preface all this by saying that any of this information could change between now & when I eventually post the story. But for the most part these are all basically my canon although details might change. Now that my inspiration has come back recently I’ve been roughly outlining where the story is going & all my characters’ arcs. And its becoming a huge undertaking with all the many moving pieces. It also made me realize how many corners the writers for vtmb cut because they had a budget they had to keep. Like the game didn’t have The Scourge?!

^^ me realizing I'm going to have to create 15 new characters just fill up Lacroix's court

Anyways mini rant over, you don't want to hear that. Onwards to OC lore!

Siobhan Victoria

She is from clan Ventrue; she’s the oldest among their little coterie. She was a software developer who was working in Silicone Valley before she was Embraced. She was in London on a business trip for the Software company she was working for at the time, when she caught the attention of a very old Kindred named Maxime Janssens. They met at the hotel bar & struck up a conversation, something about her impressed him. She’s probably the only one who doesn’t entirely resent her Sire for Embracing her or hates being a vampire. She didn’t really have many friends (she was a workaholic) & hadn’t been in contact with her family since she left for college. Her only major issue with being dead was that she had to loose her job. In her mind she finally had all the time in the world to focus on her ambitions.Her Sire let her go to LA, seeing as it had been recently taken back by the Camarilla. She also has an interesting relationship with Prince Lacroix.

Willas Fontaine

Willas is a Toreador; he’s a part of this indie alternative rock band called Aero Diversion. He has a very complicated relationship with his Sire, he’s honestly the only one in the coterie who can actually directly communicate with them. His Sire Gigi is Lacroix’s court Harpy. Gigi Maxwell has a fuck ton of childer & ghouls, she’s widely known for Embracing people for little to no reason. She had been watching Willas for a while from a distance, enthralled by his musical talent & beauty. After wrapping up one of their gigs Gigi approached Willas, inviting him & his band to come over to her house for a couple of drinks & some high end drugs. (all while heavily implying that she knew people in the music industry) After getting Willas supremely high, drunk, & separated from his band she Embraced him. But just like her many other childer, after a little while Gigi got bored with him & more or less moved on. My poor baby deserved a better Vampire Mommy 😔

Ruby Marino

Ruby is of course our coterie’s resident baby Brujah. Her father was the head of a Los Angeles chapter of a prominent Motorcycle gang. And while her father was a criminal & definitely did horrible things, (though he did shield her & her sisters from most of it) Ruby learned that you didn’t need to be a cop or a politician to help/protect people, she learned alot about vigilante justice. So when she grew up, she wanted to help like her dad did. Of course she wasn’t technically allowed to join the gang, due to her being a girl, but she did alot work for them. Which caught the attention of a Kindred called Black Bella. She saw alot of potential in Ruby, & what she could do for the Anarch Movement. Bella just kinda jumped her in the restroom of a punk club. Ruby of course had alot of mixed feelings about her Sire. Later Bella was killed by Lacroix’s Sheriff when the Camarilla took back LA.

Niko Jónás (I changed her name from Morgan)

Niko is a Tremere; she was originally from Budapest, Hungary & had come to America to study abroad at UCLA. Walking back to her dorm late at night she bumped into Imogen Nichols, who was moonlighting as a Professor at the University at the time. Now, technically Imogen was only planning on making Niko her ghoul, so she could train her before eventually Embracing her. But during Niko’s magic training, she attempted to summon something & it literally blew up in her face, killing her. Which forced Imogen to Embrace her, not wanting to see her potential to go to waste. After this, Strauss punished Imogen for Embracing Niko without permission.

#vampire the masquerade #toreador #brujah #ventrue #tremere #ocs #oc lore #writing #badass-at-cuddling #ch: Siobhan Victoria #ch: Willas Fontaine #ch: Ruby Marino #ch: Niko Jónás #ch: Gigi Maxwell #ch: Black Bella #ch: Maxime Janssens

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nancywheelxr · 5 years

Note

Brainy not thinking he's attractive enough for either Kara or Winn, and one of them proving him wrong

look, you know I can’t resist writing Winndox if given the chance

“So, what’s someone like you doing in a place like this?” Winn asks, dropping on the seat beside him and nearly causing the drinks he’d been carrying to spill. He sets the tray on the table carefully, slow and steady, humming the Mission Impossible theme song under his breath.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Brainy shoots back, his frown deepening, and something on his tone gives Winn pause.

“Tis but a dumb pick up line,” he shrugs, turning properly on the booth to face him, “meaning you’re too good for this bar and hopefully that would lead to me asking if you wanna get out of here.”

“You’re drunk.”

“A little,” Winn concedes, leaning his elbow on the table and resting his face on his hand. His grin is a bit lopsided, and probably a lot dopey, but he’s tipsy enough not to care. “So? What do you say?”

“What?”

“Do you wanna get out of here?”

It brings a quiet laugh out of him and Winn thinks this might be the best sound in the whole universe. Clearly, further research must be conducted, so he guesses he’ll just have to keep making Brainy laugh. “I’m sure Alex and Kara would miss our presence once their game ends.”

Winn cranes his neck to get a look on the pool table, but it’s just too crowded for him to see anything beyond the bar. “And Alex is our designated driver,” he agrees sadly, picking up one of the shots he brought. Shuddering at the burn, Winn takes the opportunity to watch his boyfriend. His heart happily skips a beat simply at the thought and he reaches out a hand to smooth the frown on his brow. His motor skills are slightly impaired so he ends up poking his cheek, but hey, at least it makes Brainy smile fondly. “What’s with the frown, though? Do you really wanna go home? Because I can call us a cab, they won’t mind.”

“No, no, that won’t be necessary, I’m fine,” Brainy waves him off as if Winn wouldn’t pick up on his discomfort. He must see the unimpressed look on his face, because he amends quickly, “it’s stupid, really.”

“Except it’s obviously not. It’s clearly bothering you. Come on, if you don’t want to tell me, I won’t press. But I do wanna help, if you want.”

Brainy glances down at his own glass, biting his lip, before making up his mind. “It’s not,” a pause. He begins again, “it’s just that I’ve been reviewing old cases and I couldn’t help but notice that all your past significant others were very attractive according to the beauty standards in this time.”

His mind hazily supplies names of who Brainy might be referring to. Lyra, Siobhan, even Mon-El that first time they got really drunk, maybe– they did agree only not to tell Kara. “Okay?” He says slowly, trying to figure out where this conversation is going.

“Well, and I couldn’t help but notice, I wouldn’t exactly meet those standards.”

“What?” Winn stares, processing his words.

“I’m blue, Winn,” Brainy tells him flatly.

“So?”

“And even with the image inducer, I’m not exactly conventionally attractive.”

Okay, Winn doesn’t spit out his drink, but it’s a near thing. “Dude, what. That’s,” he pushes his glass away, shaking his head, “I’m sorry, I love you, but that’s just the dumbest thing you’ve ever said.”

“Did you just–”

“Like, seriously, you’re the hottest person in this whole bar– no, in the whole city– no, in the whole universe,” he spreads his arms, almost knocking over a girl passing by, “I mean, every time I wake up and you’re there sleeping, it’s like wow, I can’t breathe. I’m talking stealing-the-breath-out-of my-lungs bullshit.”

Brainy is staring at him wide-eyed and suddenly convincing him of this is the world’s most important thing for Winn. “Also, that girl over there,” he points at the general direction he’s last seen her going, “was definitely on her way to talk to you while I was getting drinks. I thought I was going to have to race her here, she was determined.”

“Did you say you loved me?”

Oh. Right, it might have slipped. Not exactly how he planned on saying it for the first time but. No take backsies. “I did. I do,” Winn leans closer, gently tapping his forehead, “with or without that. Come on, man. How could I not?”

He pulls Brainy into a kiss, hands buried on his hair, and the angle makes his neck hurt and the booth was not made with this in mind, but it doesn’t matter. All that matters is the feel of skin on skin and his heart drumming wildly at the beat of the music– and Brainy.

“Aren’t you going to ask if I love you back?” Brainy pulls back a fraction of an inch, just enough so he can say it, a ghost of a smile on his lips.

“Do you?”

“Of course I do.”

“Well, I think that settles it then,” Winn huffs a laugh, too out of breath to be anything more than an exhale of air, and kisses him again. And maybe their earlier conversation got a little derailed, and maybe that’s not something that goes away so easily, but Winn is more than happy to keep working on convincing him.

#look an ask #winn schott #querl dox #brainy #winndox #brainiac 5 #supergirl fic #winndox tag #here's some fluff #because angst is a-coming

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icedanceupstarts · 5 years

Text

2019 Junior Canadian Nationals Preview

Half of these teams met yesterday. Most of the others met last week. And then there are the few who actually kind of know each other! This is a volatile field, one that for the most part we truly can't predict. With five of the teams listed below moving up to seniors next season, this is going to be the last chance for a lot of them to make an impact in juniors.

Nadiia Bashynska/ Peter Beaumont

Age: 15/17

Started Skating Together: 2017

Coach: Carol Lane, Juris Razgulajevs, Jon Lane, Marc-Andre Servant

Season's Best: 124.57

Skate Challenge Result: 13th

Rhythm Dance: Carmen

Free Dance: Cinderella

The reigning Novice National Champions are making their junior Nationals debut in their second season together and will be looking to just put out their best possible performances. They have the lowest season's best score and Skate Canada Challenge placement of any of the teams in this write-up, but don't let that make you think they're not worth watching. Their rhythm dance doesn't play to their strengths as much as it could, but even so you'll find a lot to like about it such as nice attention to accents in the music, particularly through changes of position in their straightline lift. However, it's their Cinderella free dance that is the real vehicle for their talents. It’s sweet and light and charming, and who doesn't love a good costume change? It features a really fantastic use of storytelling throughout the choreography and even in the elements, right through to their charming ending pose where he holds her foot like he's just fitted the glass slipper on. They have the capability for so much more than their scores and results this season might indicate. If they focus on delivering their best, both in performance and technical, they could end up surprisingly high, and set themselves up very well for next season, when there will be a lot of space in the Canadian junior field to fill.

Emmy Bronsard/ Aissa Bouaraguia

Age: 14/17

Started Skating Together: 2014-2017, took a year off and re-teamed in 2018

Coach: Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon, Romain Haguenauer, Pascal Denis

Season's Best: 140.67

Skate Challenge Result: 4th

Rhythm Dance: El Choclo/ Let's Face the Music and Dance

Free Dance: The Greatest Showman

Adorable fan favorites with a light, splashy charm, Bronsard/Bouaraguia are going to be making a real push for the podium here. They're technically a new team, but competed together in the past, and the fact that they're only re-familiarizing themselves instead of being brand new to each other is evident in their skating.

By now we’re sure you know our opinion on mixing other rhythms with this season’s tango, but their quickstep/tango is a refreshing program, and the quickstep does play to their strengths of lightness and agility in a way the prescribed tango rhythm does not. Their free dance has no such shackles, and so they're able to show off all their best qualities, from their bubbly, effervescent skating style, to great lifts, to charming choreographic touches like her bounce splits. If they medal, it'll be on the strength of that free dance, which is just a charm onslaught from start to finish. They have a real shot too, as long as they stay solid and some of the more mature teams slip up.

Natalie D'Alessandro/ Bruce Waddell

Age: 14/17

Started Skating Together: 2014

Coach: Andrew Hallam and Siobhan Karam

Season's Best: 138.13

Skate Challenge Result: 7th

Rhythm Dance: Querer and Toreada by Rene Dupere

Free Dance: Malaguena/Carmen

They're one of the few teams in the field who have been together for more than two years, and it really shows. They have an awareness of each other on the ice that the other teams in the field are still having to focus on. D'Alessandro/Waddell were the 2017 Novice National Champions and one of just three teams in this field returning from last season's junior nationals. Natalie and Bruce are overachievers who will also be competing in junior ladies and men respectively, and we wish them luck there as well! It’s definitely a difficult challenge to do both, and we hope they manage to overcome the exhaustion from that intense schedule and do their best.

Doing a Carmen/Malaguena mashup in a year where the rhythm dance is a tango might seem like an odd choice, but it works for them. Their programs have very different feels, with the rhythm dance having more of a flamenco vibe to it. There's something almost retro about their free dance, more focused on elegant drama than your typical Carmen program, which is probably the right way to go for a couple of teenagers. It builds to a great, exciting finish and utilizes the choreographic elements well. They're capable of placing much higher than their 7th place finish at Challenge would suggest, and could very well push for the podium if they skate their absolute best.

Alicia Fabbri/ Paul Ayer

Age: 15/20

Started Skating Together: 2018

Coach: Julien Lalonde

Season's Best: 135.66

Skate Challenge Result: 1st

Rhythm Dance: A Evaristo Carriego

Free Dance: Quand on na que l'amour(3:38:00 on the video)

Alicia Fabbri has been a favourite of ours for the past couple years ever since she made her JGP debut at 13 with her former partner Claudio Pietrantonio. When that partnership split up last season, we were delighted to see her land so quickly, and with a great new partner. It's unfortunate that the age difference means they'll have to move up to seniors next season, but as skaters they've come together very quickly, with incredible depth of edge and a well matched performance style. It's clear why they've teamed up despite the disadvantageous age difference, because they fit together so well.

These two have had some serious first year growing pains-- while clearly full of potential from the beginning, most of their season was marred by major mistakes that cost them dearly and interrupted the flow of the program. They really came together in time for Skate Canada Challenge however, defeating several heavy favorites and taking the top spot, and suddenly positioning themselves for that second junior world spot. Fabbri/Ayer have every opportunity to make the team if they can avoid the mistakes that plagued them earlier in the season, get their levels, and continue to show off their amazing glide and maturity that the judges have been keen to reward even when they stumbled through their programs.

Ellie Fisher/ Simon-Pierre Malette-Paquette

Age: 17/20

Started Skating Together: 2017

Coach: Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon, Romain Haguenauer, Pascal Denis

Season's Best: 152.46

Skate Challenge Result: 6th

Rhythm Dance: D'Amor/Verano Porteno

Free Dance: Les Miserables

One of the three teams returning from Junior Nationals last season, and the only team other than Lajoie/Lagha to have earned a JGP medal as well as having the second highest score of the season, they're a major contender for the second junior world spot. Unfortunately they had to pull out of their earlier JGP assignments but managed to get back in time for the two final JGPs. They're a really solid, well matched team,

Their rhythm dance is a good program, highlighting their skating abilities and with an impressive stationary lift to end. Does their free dance kind of verge into being more Les Heureux than Les Miserables? Perhaps a bit, but it's grown on us. They had some struggles at Skate Canada Challenge when he fell in the rhythm dance, leading to their uncharacteristically low placement, but it's better to get those mistakes out of their system before Nationals. If they can shake off their mistakes from Challenge and skate the way we know they can, they're the tentative favorites for silver and a trip to Junior Worlds.

Irina Galiyanova/Grayson Lochhead

Age: 17/19

Started Skating Together: 2018

Coach: Carol Lane, Juris Razgulajevs, Jon Lane, Marc-Andre Servant

Season's Best: 132.58

Skate Challenge Result: 3rd

Rhythm Dance: Los Parajos Perdidos

Free Dance: “Hurt” by Christina Aguilera

These two have been around awhile with different partners, and have found a good match in each other. Their rhythm dance is more elegant than dramatic, and relies on the tension between partners, a big challenge for a new junior team, and they rise to the occasion. They were a little focused in the summer, but have developed steadily to take third place at Challenge, and are capable of challenging for the podium at Nationals.

Surprisingly their free dance is not the only use of Christina Aguilera in this event, and this one really piles on the angst. They make good use of her flexibility in the elements as well as some top notch Distraught faces from both of them to really sell their program. Newer teams often improve quickly, and their progress from the summer to their JGP to Challenge shows that they're no exception. With the time they've had to tighten everything up further, they've got a real chance at a medal and even a berth to Junior Worlds.

Marjorie Lajoie/ Zachary Lagha

Age: 18/19

Started Skating Together: 2011

Coach: Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon, Romain Haguenauer, Pascal Denis

Season's Best: 166.52

Skate Challenge Result: N/A

Rhythm Dance: Otros Aires

Free Dance: Warsaw Concerto

Honestly it seems almost a little pointless to cover Lajoie/Lagha here, because there's very little to debate. They're the best team in this field right now, almost certainly going to win their third junior national title in what's to be their final junior season, barring something very unexpected happening, and if the sky does fall in the middle of their skate they should get sent to junior worlds anyway. What matters much more than the placement or their score is their performances. They're coming off a disappointment at JGPF where they just missed out on a medal, and this will be their last competition before Junior Worlds and their final shot at a major piece of junior hardware. They'll want to nail their levels and timing on their lifts and just generally set the tone for the end of their junior career. Lajoie/Lagha will also be looking to continue to develop the nuances in their performance and interpretation, as they have all season, just tightening up everything in their last test run before junior worlds.

Miku Makita/Tyler Gunara

Age: 15/16

Started Skating Together: 2016

Coach: Megan Wing and Aaron Lowe

Season's Best: 127.80

Skate Challenge Result: 8th

Rhythm Dance: “El Huaracan” and “Tus Ojos de Cielo”

Free Dance: “First Date” by Edvin Marton and “Rain” by Simply Three

There's something really refreshing about these two. The tango isn't their greatest strength artistically, but they still show signs of real promise in that area once they've matured more. He in particular has several moments of really strong tango expression, even though they're not quite developed enough where they can carry that the whole way through. They have some really good choreography to make up for it, ending in a very strong split rotational lift.

Their free dance is so sweet and lovely it feels like these two stepped out of a Disney movie. She just radiates joy, especially in the second half, and they have a really warm connection throughout. If the rhythm dance shows glimmers of their future potential, their free dance shines with it. Their best performances here might not get them a medal if everyone skates well, but it will announce them as ones to watch, especially as at least five teams in this field will be moving up to seniors next season. We wish them the best!

Olivia McIsaac/Corey Circelli

Age: 17/16

Started Skating Together: 2018

Coach: Andrew Hallam, Tracey Wilson

Season's Best: 134.19

Skate Challenge Result: 9th

Rhythm Dance: Chicago

Free Dance: “There Will Be Time” by Mumford and Sons and Baaba Maal

One of our brand new teams, Olivia took silver at this event last season with her former partner Elliot Graham. Corey is also competing in junior men, so good luck to our other overachiever! We hope he can give it his all in both competitions.

We're still kind of eh on Chicago for the rhythm dance-- both because of our much harped upon rhythm mixing issue, and because Cell Block Tango always strikes us as a little awkward for the pattern, though it has a strong beat that works well. But they have a great sense of style and flair, along with some solid ponytail action from her that makes it work. Their modern free dance manages to feel fresh with the way they use the strong rhythmic beat of their music, and not just the soft, flowy melody. There is great build through their choreo steps and their split rotational lift towards the end is an amazing highlight, and their ending pose is almost joyful in its drama. They're not the strongest medal contenders in the field, but they could get in there if they nail their levels and some of the heavier hitters falter. More important will be delivering strong performances and laying the foundations for them to step it up a notch next season.

Yuka Orihara/ Lee Royer

Age: 18/20

Started Skating Together: 2018

Coach: Megan Wing and Aaron Lowe

Season's Best: N/A

Skate Challenge Result: 2nd

Rhythm Dance: Electrotutango

Free Dance: “I Was Made for Loving You” and “Give Me Love”

They got off to a great start with third in the free dance at Lake Placid and then handily winning Minto Summer Skate, even though unfortunately her release issues prevent them from competing internationally until February, as she represented Japan last season. They age out of juniors after this as well, so it's not the most convenient partnership all around. It's clear why they teamed up, however, because out of all the new Canadian teams this season, of which we may have mentioned there are several, these two probably came together the fastest. They're well matched in skating and style, with good chemistry and expression. His strong partnering helps with their unison and their lifts are very solid and stable. Orihara/Royer have also put a number of nice, solid performances for a new team with limited competitive opportunities. They're going with a more modern tango(in fact are using one of the same pieces that Soucisse/Firus in seniors are), and it works pretty well for them, showcasing a sharpness that's a nice contrast with their softer, more romantic free dance. It'll be hard for them to make the junior world team, if they even have time to get the minimums, but they can still push for the podium regardless and treat this season as the prologue to their senior career. They have a lot of promise, and regardless of whether they can get any international assignments before they age out, if they skate their best they can announce themselves as a future threat.

#ice dance #2019 canadian nationals #preview #season: 2018 2019 #team canada

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thesinglesjukebox · 5 years

Video

youtube

UNPERFECT - GOTS TO GIVE THE GIRL [6.64] Presumably they'll have a webpage at some point that isn't that of this Italian band...

Katherine St Asaph: Unperfect is a new Xenomania girl group, or as the Fader puts it, "the British pop equivalent of a new royal baby." At least it would have been in 2009. What 2019 will make of it, I don't know, though it's a bad omen that a whole damn Mutya Keisha Siobhan album went up online last month to silence, as did other singles by their girl-band peers. It's also a bad omen, but shouldn't be, that "Gots to Give the Girl" isn't a banger but a languid outing like "Overload" or "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)", full of sprawling solos, little vocalises, and an actual bridge. The singers' verses don't vary melodically but do build on one another -- note how Siobhan's "when she says jump" morphs into Chloe's "you ask how high" -- and the resulting lyric is slyly, more uncompromisingly independent than the blaring likes of "Bo$$." [9]

Josh Love: Listening to tons of wannabe chart-toppers with hooks and choruses that are precisely spring-loaded for maximum attention-grabbing impact gives me great appreciation for any pop tune that takes such a distinctly indirect approach. "Gots to Give the Girl" is refreshingly moody and unhurried, organically flowing from a coffeehouse '90s Martina Topley-Bird vibe into something a little more conventionally R&B (nodding to how conversant Unperfect antecedents like Girls Aloud and Sugababes were with that genre) and then tossing a sinuous guitar solo into the mix for good measure. [7]

Pedro João Santos: Sugababes' debut One Touch never fails to amaze me at how sobering and antithetical it is compared to their (some brilliant, some passable) remaining discs. I wouldn't be shocked to see its cover sleeve hanging on the walls of the studio where Unperfect recorded this--or attic, judging from the deliberately lo-fi feel, which carries on to the sweetly awkward, unintentionally hilarious video. It's earnest, sobered-up and self-conscious, but unfortunately for these new girls, their vocals really don't gel, like they were joined together in Audacity. Not every girl group can arrive as neat and tight as the Sugas, but they have time. (Also, another reminiscence of MKS is very "thanks, but painful.") [6]

Thomas Inskeep: "All Saints on a handful of Xanax" isn't what I expected from Xenomania's latest discoveries. Or what I wanted. [2]

Alfred Soto: The pseudo-musty mix given the rhythm section is a mid-'00s affectation, and the Bee Gees falsetto calls needless attention to itself. A lot of care went into creating a song this annoying. [4]

Iris Xie: The falsetto that comes in is infectious and provides some acidic sweetness and contrast to the woozy guitar and casual vocals. The best part about this song is how it constantly rolls forward, from an "ooh ooh" that makes you do a little shoulder dance and head sway, to a guitar solo that adds some bright texture. I also appreciate the lower, smooth tones of the singers -- they sound at ease and comfortable in their own bodies and attitudes. This is music for a post-brunch stroll amongst the Mission District murals, then hopping over to Dolores Park to chill out on the lawn and watch the sways and rhythms of folks relaxing, all the while eating strawberry balsamic vinegar ice cream sandwiches. [8]

Iain Mew: A slow-mo skeleton of a banger, with sonic elaboration mercilessly removed to 1) imagine anything you like in its place 2) notice all the structural elaboration more easily. I prefer not having to do so much of the work, but at least what is there is interestingly unpredictable. When this train comes I don't know the destination. [5]

Will Adams: I've got to give it up for the confidence in having a girl group's opening statement be this reserved, at least on the surface. "Gots to Give the Girl" is challenging in the best way, setting off pop fans' alarm bells and subverting expectations -- where's the chorus? The arrangement stays the same throughout! It just trails off into nothing at the end! -- in a way that beguiles the listener, proving there's power in subtlety. [7]

Ian Mathers: I hate to be a sucker for Xenomania, but the only mark against this for me is that the closed loop(s) of the production feel so perfectly, hypnotically stripped back and yet complete (and all four singers sound so great over it) that when they start changing it up at about 2:30 I was the slightest bit disappointed. This is also why the instrumental outro, which could easily not have worked, is just fine with me. Even with a mark this high, I suspect I might be underrating this song. [9]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: A song that makes you hate the world because a debut girl group single that's as understated as this could never find major success. I love how the vocals are mixed, how carefree they sound. "Gots to Give the Girl" is so unconcerned with making a major statement that it makes me care all the more for its existence. [7]

Danilo Bortoli: Glenn McDonald ran his The War Against Silence column for several years. It started out as a sort of consumer guide, but slowly became a collection of essays intertwining music and life, in which the former was contextualized by the latter, then a place where life was a mere excuse for music, as it should be. In my favorite piece, he likens pop music to some sort of Cartesian plane: there are different axes for different qualities, but perfection resides over at a corner "where songs sparkle conspiratorially like diamonds tossed on the bubbles of champagne at the first perfect picnic after the thaw, where voices are silk and silver and magnesium flares, where guitars are the sound of angels' wings strumming the bars of the mortal cage." That is not my definition of "perfect pop™" though, which shows how pernicious and individualistic the concept can be. Mine is synonymous with Xenomania: exuberant and almost ridiculously nonsensical bubblegum pop. But it is also classicist (Girls Aloud were closer to the Supremes than the Sugababes were to All Saints), which is to say that the usual Xenomania style of production and craft looked forward to the future as much as it looked behind at the past. ("No Good Advice" and "The Loving Kind" act as proof.) So it's weird to listen to unperfect's "Gots to Give the Girl" and perceive the nostalgia in a sound that was already nostalgic. The single is glossy and calculated as can be, but still contradicts what you'd expect from a girl group in 2019. Just as indie was trying to create its own variation of popstars back in the beginning of the decade, pop was busy adapting and branching out. And branching out now, for Xenomania, means saluting an era that then seemed innovative and now strikes as minimalistic. Perfect pop might not always be that fixed point on that Cartesian plane. It's cyclical. And this time around, perfection might reside in recontextualizing the epitome of yesteryears in more palatable ways, making you long for something you had never heard before. [9]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox ]

#unperfect #xenomania #girl groups #music #pop #pop music #music video #new music #music writing #music reviews

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