#this is also the reason why i make her so antagonistic towards charlie. for fun.

[the-valiant-valkyrie]

Another wigfrid headcanon from the Wigfrid guy? [rattles cup of spare change]

Anon, for asking w/o me even reblogging my headcanon post i am going to gift to you... one of my most favoritest of all my horribly self indulgent hcs. regarding the wacky relationship between Wig and Throned Max

Of course, back then Wigfrid could certainly claimed she hated him… But to claim that he didn't… 'help' her- even post his little 'gift' of her entry ticket to that domain- would be a bold faced lie.

Being one of the first survivors to ever enter the Constant- maybe even the first (I sure as hell like to think she was, lol)- Maxwell was a little bit more loose in his own self imposed rules regarding royalty mingling about with pawns.

He didn't really intend to make a habit of chatting much with her. But every time he made a grand entrance- every time he chided her with a little remark or two- she always had something to say… Always had some little spiel to go off on. At first it was confusing, even a little bit annoying, really. What gave her the permission to have the last laugh? He was the one who held all the strings. He was the one who was King!

But as time passed, and as his life sentence being throned continued to stretch on, and especially as he eventually brought in more survivors, he almost came to… value it, oddly enough. Interacting with someone who saw him as less of their torturer and more of their adversary. Someone who's threats at least carried poise and wit, with a thespian air that always shook things up a bit when compared to the others' (there's only so many "i'll tear you apart"s and "you're a big stupid jerk"s you can stand before they start to get… dry. At least she got creative with it).

While it's incredibly easy to genuinely rile Wigfrid up if you know what buttons to push (and of course he knows what buttons to push. He knows everything- her name, her past, her biggest insecurities. He's King), he only really stooped to those measures whenever he was feeling exceedingly bored (or just exceedingly cruel). More often than not, all of his sardonic remarks would be angled at the persona rather than the person. It was always just much more interesting that way.

Once, after a rather bullheadish death (that she perhaps could have avoided by fleeing, had her pride not gotten in the way), he made sure to comment on it as he leered overtop of her reanimated body… That perhaps she should have learned when it was best to turn tail and live to speak of it… But, of course, that would have been asking too much of such a valiant Valkyrie, wouldn't it?

… It was meant to be a jab. Another one of his little zingers. A classic Maxwell Moment, if you will. But before dusk had set, she'd adopted the title as her own- a little spit in his face. To this day, 'Valiant Valkyrie' is tacked onto the end of every introduction she gives.

As for Wigfrid herself, though the man had been much a source of strife for the entirety of her solo journey… To see another human in a place devoid of company- to speak, and to be spoken to… She'd assuredly be far worse off had she not had him to keep her mind sharp, and her goal clear.

It was a little bit of mutual theater kid enrichment, if you will. Eventually, with the more strength he lost, Maxwell grew tired of his silly little antagonist visits. But by that point it didn't really matter when he had Wilson and his progress to concern himself with.

Of course, she would never outwardly confess to it… To the fact that without his 'aid'- as unorthodox as it was- she may have wound up differently than the person the Constant molded her into. But that doesn't mean she doesn't know that it's true.

#LONG POST WHOOPS #headcanons #<- starting a hc tag so everyone can look at my flop posts boy #anyways i wanna write about THIS too. so badly you couldn't even COMPREHEND it. #theater kids NEED to monologue. for their health!! #what you think she's gonna sate that violent urge to monologue exclusively through soliloquies?! what are you INSANE?! #this is also the reason why i make her so antagonistic towards charlie. for fun. #“:( shes SUCH a bad ruler. source: she wont roleplay w me :((”

[inu-jiru]

Damn Jazz Back At It Again With The Helluva Boss Rambles

Back on my bullshit again with another post now that I’ve mellowed out from the shock of how shit that episode was lol

I wish mobile made it easier to add the “Keep Reading” tab but it’s fine 

I’ve seen so many people go around being like “o it’s ok if Stella’s generic and not given more personality like everyone else because women can be bad didn’t you know that something something Amber Herd” and apparently anyone who thinks otherwise is just a Vivziepop hater who thinks she’s a misogynist (love the strawman shit mmm so juicy). And while evil for evil’s sake can be fun and cool in something like Sleeping Beauty (aka an adaptation of a fairy tale that’s already a story of “good vs evil”), why would you expect me to be chill with that in a show where the demons are, for the most part, more than just evil demons? If Stella was some minor, one-off character like that asshole imp guy at Loo Loo Land, that’d be one thing, but she’s not. She’s one of the main antagonists. This isn’t a “good vs. evil” story where you don’t need to worry about that kind of thing, Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel are supposed to be more than that. I’d be just as confused if Valentino or Vox, for every second of screentime they had, were doing nothing but going “haha rape haha prostitution haha tv is so cool” for 25 minutes and that’s it. But I digress.

I’m writing this because I was suddenly reminded of a character that’s basically what Stella could’ve been: Flowey. Flowey is just as volatile and agressive as Stella is, attacking you, killing you, and possibly having done countless genocide runs in the past with his own ability to RESET. Then, we get his backstory and find out who he used to be and why he’s the way he is. He’s an unfeeling sociopathic child. He was created with absolutely no way of feeling empathy because he has no SOUL. The child that he used to be is angry, longing for his past and his old friend, and was put into this situation for reasons that weren’t even his fault. Flowey is also a victim, but that doesn’t mean he can’t also be evil or do hurtful things. Whether or not you choose to show him pity or mercy is up to the player, but the fact that he’s that complex enough to warrant that choice is just part of Undertale’s writing. Hell, even Toriel is a better Stella than what Stella is in “canon”. I personally don’t like Toriel, but she does have depth to her (until the end where she just waltzes in and takes over the situation and no one does a thing to stop her because it’s Toriel and I guess everyone’s just chill with the traitorous queen coming in and acting like she’s in charge). Toriel comes in acting all sweet and nice, but is very clingy and definitely has issues with guilt and a black-and-white morality to justify her own actions. She’s not simply “ah, my child have some pie and we’ll be a family my child” 24/7. She’s a spiteful bitch, a hypocrite, and runs away from her problems. Again, this is because Undertale’s writing is (for the most part) consistent with giving it’s characters more depth underneath the memes and quotable dialogue.

Now, why am I writing all this about Undertale? Because it and HB/HH are on similar levels of writing. They both try to show more than just what’s at face value. Charlie is nice and sweet but will throw hands and has self-doubts, Alastor is everyone’s nightmare, but according to the comics, he does crave genuine interaction and is much nicer towards women (aside from Vaggie but my theory is that it’s because she’s not as feminine as Charlie or the Sheep Woman and far less easy to charm). So if Alastor, a mass murderer and cannibal who is more than likely going to do everything he can to mess with the Hotel’s success for his own entertainment, can have elements of good in him, then why the fuck can’t Stella? Oh, I know why, because Alastor isn’t interfering with the “romance”. I already didn’t like Stolitz before but Season 2 has nuked any chance of making me change my mind. This whole “romance” is being pushed so hard that it’s tainting the writing with retcons and things that just make no sense. Why would Octavia say “you ruined it” to Stolas in episode 2 if Stella was apparently just mean and nasty the whole time and Stolas was just soooo innocent? Why does the Ozzie’s song frame it like Stella and Octavia are victims of Stolas fucking up if Stella was always secretly the evil one and not Stolas? Why is Stolas ashamed if he was so proudly yelling about his divorce in front of her friends? Why is Goetia divorce a thing if the Goetia family looks down on it and sets up arranged marriages? Why the fuck is Stella just around and eating at the dinner table like they’re married if she can’t stand Stolas? Why is she ranting about Stolas being a cheater on the phone, if they’re separated and if she just doesn’t care about anything but money? And why the dickshit would Stella, someone who everyone is so fucking sure is only in it for her image, just blabbing about how shit her marriage is if that would just make her look like a loser who’s settling for trash? It makes no fucking sense unless it’s all just some poorly done retcon of earlier events. Hell, the pilot is supposedly non-canon, and yet a scene of it pops up in the new episode, so I can’t even be sure what’s true or not.

Sigh, but I guess at the end of the day, I saw this coming. They’re trying so hard to push Stolitz that the writing has to suffer for it. I’m not even sure I want to continue the series, if it’s just gonna become some genetic telenovela where everyone is so evil unless they wanna help Stolas in some way because he’s “such a victim”. I never wanted to have to write something like this and I sure as shit never foresaw myself reblogging critical content, but it is the way it is, I guess. But, that’s what rewrites and AUs are for, and I’ll be working on mine.

Anyway, that’s it for now unless I find something else to ramble about. Later.

#helluva critical #helluva boss #helluva spoilers #undertale mention #just thought i’d tag just in case #jazz rambles #slight rant #wanting consistent writing = being a misogynist is not a take I thought I’d hear this week #Same energy as turning red is bad because there’s no 9/11 reference

[geekgemsspooksandtoons]

The Mask 1994

*I finally wrote the whole thing. I finally watched the movie that involved something I’ve been talking about A LOT. I think this took about an hour since I finished the movie. Forgot to mention Charlie.*

I wanna make this clear, even before I watched movie or ever writing this. I am legitimately a stupid and lazy person. Because my mom told me about this, and last week, my dad rented A Quiet Place Part 2. When I was trying to go to sleep but was looking up movies...I literally forgot my tv can do that too...and that I can rent or buy a movie...I rented the movie this morning, and deleted it afterwards...after all that talk...I could’ve done that...wow. I should do that more considering some movies I wanna see or like. Not too much though. My tv has DirecTV. Just a heads up.

But a few or couple of minutes ago, I finally watched The Mask film from 1994. This post is gonna be filled with spoilers and it’s gonna get long. Gonna be kind of a review. My overall thoughts on it. This was my first reaction to the whole movie.

I’d just wanna talk about this too. I like comic books, I like comic book movies. Mainly my favorites are ones like all of Zack Snyder’s DCEU movies, Spider-Man 1 & 2, The Suicide Squad 2021, Wonder Woman 2017, The Dark Knight(Despite whatever issues I have with it), and Joker 2019. Yeah, those are mainly DC films and two Marvel related ones. I don’t even mind Spider-Man 3 as well. I also forgot Dredd 2012 is another one of my favorites. Along with Batman 1989.

I was hoping The Mask could make that list of favorites. Because I read the comics first. I don’t think I ever watch the movie fully as a kid MAYBE. I’m a fan of the comics, I know this movie was gonna be a lighter take on the series. 

In a nutshell...I liked it. It’s possible it will be on that list of favorite CBM’s...but I want to talk about it. I’ll also admit I think what got me interested in seeing this film and this series was me liking Jim Carrey as Ace Ventura...now, let’s get to the point.

Yeah, I liked it. I thought the movie was genuinely entertaining. Despite seeing some clips before. But also Ryan Hollinger’s video about it. Revealing the ending, the twist, and other stuff. But I didn’t wanna watch more more that I haven’t seen yet.

I will be honest, it still made me laugh. Even some scenes I already have seen. I will admit, the Cuban Pete scene is actually one of my favorites. XD But what also surprised me is that at times, despite being a funny film. It can genuinely be touching in a way. And I am mainly talking about the developing relationship between Stanley and Tina.

I just wanna talk about the characters right now. I’ll just admit unless I haven’t already. I’m a Jim Carrey fan. Mainly because of his more goofier roles. Particularly his roles from the Ace Ventura movies, Liar Liar, and especially Sonic The Hedgehog. I also will admit this, Jim Carry nails playing Big Head or who they call...The Mask in this movie...I’ll nitpick about that later.

But yeah, Jim’s entertaining as Big Head in this film. He does make me laugh. But I think another role he does well despite there are some sillier moments, which is fine. I feel like in a way, Stanley Ipkiss in this version, is maybe one of his more normal roles. But I know I’m wrong considering whatever other roles he’s in. He portrays a likable good guy who’s sadly mainly pushed around. Which is quite the difference from the comics, except being pushed around. But that’s another topic. Yet for this story, even if maybe Stanley’s name could be changed. But him being a genuinely kind guy works for this story.

Even before I saw the movie, learning more about this version about the character. I can relate to Stanley in some ways honestly. Which is something that I like. He basically shines as a protagonist. 

He portrays both sides well. Despite at times...honestly, this Stanley is wacky. I shouldn’t be judging. Jim does a good stuff with what he played, and he’s the highlight of this movie. He also delivers possibly my favorite Jim Carrey line of all time now. Sorry if I get this wrong. I was looking for a clip of it to help me.

“Daddy’s gonna go kick some ass”. A literal line from Jim Carrey in this movie and I love it. He even brings a pistol with him.

I also wanna admit Peter Greene as Dorian is pretty good as a villain. The dude can be threatening and he works with what he is given. And he’s effective as an antagonist. I just wanna admit that I swear, one of these guys. One of them could’ve Walter in a way and I just think that could’ve been possible. But I’m not sure. Just one of Dorian’s henchmen looked like a huge guy. It just got me thinking about Walter from the comics.

Will admit, I think Kellaway is fine. And I just found out Christopher Reeve was one of the actors considered for the role...damn. But again, Kellaway was fine. He’s more like a supporting character and again, this is like an origin story. I do feel bothered Lionel Ray wasn’t added but replaced with this Doyle character. I will admit that Doyle is silly, which is the point of his character. I guess the writers and director didn’t want two sensible cops or something. I like Kellaway alright, but I’ll always dig Lionel too.

I really wanted to get this point. I thought Cameron Diaz was good as Tina Carlyle and Amy Yasbeck as Peggy Brandt. I will admit, I do strangely like the subversion with Peggy in a way with it’s twist. I get the idea if that it was going for that theme of, “We all wear mask” and Peggy turning Stanley into the mob said a lot about her character. While Tina was genuinely the one that truly supported Stanley.

I think was surprised me more was the fact despite Peggy turned in Stanley for selfish purposes such as paying for her condo. Yet what surprised me more was she was actually concerned for Stanley being killed, and didn’t want him hurt...which explains even more why she stuck around in the cartoon. And honestly, it makes me glad the director took out that deleted scene of her getting killed. So she wasn’t that heartless.

Also...it made me think that...my ideas and changes towards her character...maybe hold some weight.

I’ll just put this out there too. Milo is great, one of my favorite fictional dogs maybe. Good dog.

Trying to think what else, the score was fine. But the licensed music was good or something. Overall, I think my negatives could be just...nitpicks. Such as the Big Head part I wanted to talk about. Listen, I understand this is a different version. I just feel it’s weird to call him, “The Mask” instead of Big Head. I know other characters mask in their name or something. But...some reasons, the name Big Head is there. I guess it’s because of the title or something.

Honestly, I think my negatives are more that it feels short. And maybe Stanley becoming Big Head a bit too early. I sound kind of stupid, I know. But this was the 90′s and whatever else. This was a different take on the comics. But I did genuinely like it. Maybe I’m just a bit attached to those comics. Despite knowing the changes they did.

But I will admit, considering the development for this film. And learning that it was meant to be a horror film. But the director Charles Russell found the violence in the source material to be off putting. So he made it less grim, and more fun. I’ve also read somewhere that trying to make comedy with that violence was difficult.

Back to the point, to be honest. I feel like for that time and age. A more light Mask film was maybe the best choice to go. And we wouldn’t have Jim Carrey in it. I do also wanna say, I feel like The Mask series, you can do a lot of it. You can have something dark with it, or maybe more lighter.

There are still some of those darker elements. Mainly considering the moments with the gangsters and all that. But I will admit, learning that Charles mostly directed horror films. I think it’s impressive he made a more family friendly film and it worked. 

I liked it, despite my love for the comics. I thought when writing this, maybe some folks reading this may think I sound like fans who read the comics who first experienced this movie. But the film isn’t bad, it’s just a different take and a pretty nice one at that.

And to be honest, as much as I would of loved to see an actual sequel. And not that bad film known as Son Of The Mask. I understand why Jim Carrey dropped out, and I would’ve loved to see Peggy back because the director planned to bring her back reformed. But I feel like this film works as a one off in a way. And there’s also the cartoon, which works fine as a sequel despite some differences. Yet...I’ll admit, I would’ve loved The Mask 2 if we got Jim Carrey as Stanley again fighting against maybe someone like Walter.

The Mask 1994 is a good film. Despite changes from the source material, but the changes for this vision work. It’s cool this film has a cult following, and the fact I have used elements and story beats from it for The Mask Rebirth stuff I’ve been talking about. Even before watched this whole movie.

It’s a genuine fun flick. But I’m hoping down the line, if Warner Bros stops being fucking stupid with how they run things. Maybe we’ll get a reboot or how about an animated film that seems more true to the source material. 

I know The Mask/Big Head doesn’t have a big legacy such as the likes of Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man. But I do think this series could be reimagined and expanded upon. Using elements not only from the original comics, but even the movie and cartoon. 

And...despite it was because of Ace Ventura...I would like to thank @kaijuguy19 for being such a supportive dude, and talking about this franchise with me. Including wanting to talk about this movie long ago when I haven’t seen it. But I want to say...no...he’s one of the big reasons why I’m a fan. Because he’s one of the only guys I know who’s a fan. It started with Ace Ventura, but it was because of talking with Kaijuguy that I guess things started to escalate. So thanks man for talking about this stuff with me.

Also, Charlie was silly and he was fine as a character. I forgot about that dude despite wanting to talk about him. Gonna tag him too in case. Charlie schumaker

#GeekGem Rambles #the mask #the mask 1994 #jim carrey #stanley ipkiss #dorian tyrell #mitch kellaway #tina carlyle #peggy brandt #cameron diaz #amy yasbeck #peter greene #big head #charles russell #charlie schumaker

[goldenraeofsun]

Hi, Rae! I, always being late to the party, have just stumbled out of studying fir my degree into your amazing stuff. I know NOTHING about spn and I understand that it is a very long series. Is there some way I can get a rudimentary grasp of the storyline without having to binge like a pate de fois gras goose? I am in love with your writing but I know I’m missing a lot. Thanks!

Hoo boy, buckle in! Supernatural is a truly bonkers (affectionate) show with plenty of skippable episodes, so sitting down and watching all 327 episodes is NOT recommended for your health.

Honestly, what kept me going in Supernatural (I started watching 2013-ish) was the fandom. There are such great fanworks out there, so I'll give a rundown of my top eps for understanding the bulk of fanfic and Destiel.

I picked 20ish, squeezing 15 seasons into the span of 1 season. I've watched all of these at least three or four times for fun or fic references.

Before starting a new season, I recommend skimming through the supernatural wiki season-specific pages, (here's s4) for a general overview of the plot. Hopefully this helps!

4.01 Lazarus Rising Why it's Important (WIP): Castiel's first episode! As for background, last season, Dean made a deal with a demon to bring Sam back to life after he was stabbed. Before the episode starts, Castiel rescues Dean from Hell and this ep culminates in their first meeting.

4.16 On the Head of Pin WIP: Cas takes his first steps towards free will in this ep by doubting Heaven. The angel Anna, who fell from Heaven by choice (and slept with Dean in 4.10 Heaven and Hell before regaining her powers [grace]) is in this one as well. We also get a look at how deep Dean's guilt and self-loathing runs for what he did in Hell. There's a reason Dean Winchester's Self-Worth Issues is one of my favorite tags.

4.17 It's a Terrible Life WIP: The ep that spawned a dozen Office!AUs, plus gave us gifs of Dean in red suspenders. If you ever find a fic where Dean's on a cleanse or is overly concerned about market share, it comes from this ep.

5.4 The End WIP: Another AU-influencer, maybe the biggest of the series. For the background, the angels want Sam and Dean to let themselves be vessels for the archangels Lucifer and Michael, respectively, to carry out the apocalypse. So far, Sam and Dean have both said no. One of the angels' tactics is to hurl Dean 5 years into the future, smack in the middle of the apocalypse that happened anyway. If you see fics tagged Endverse!Cas, this is what it is referring to. Ditto with most fics featuring drug user!Cas or hedonist!Cas

5.8 Changing Channels WIP: Most influential ep featuring the Trickster. Also hilarious.

5.17 99 Problems WIP: So many great Cas quotes in this ep because he's drunk off his ass after losing faith in God. "You breed with the mouth of a goat" "Don't ask stupid questions" "It is not of import"

6.20 The Man Who Would be King WIP: After the apocalypse failed last season, there was a civil war in Heaven for control - Raphael (pro-apocalypse) on one side against Castiel (anti-apocalypse). Castiel teams up with Crowley, the King of Hell, for enough power to take on Raphael, which he keeps a secret since he knows the Winchesters don't trust demons. Obviously, when they find out, they take it as a betrayal. Perhaps thee best Cas-centric ep of the show.

7.20 The Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo WIP: The first episode with Charlie Bradbury! Geek, lesbian, and hacker, she works for the main antagonists of the season, the Leviathans, until she finds out what they are. She frequently pops up as Sam and Dean's best friend in a crap ton of fic. FYI, the Leviathans were unleashed into the world from Purgatory as an unintended result of Cas's work with Crowley.

7.21 Reading is Fundamental WIP: The first episode with Kevin! For background, after Cas made that deal with Crowley, he "died", he came back with amnesia, he remembered, and then he went insane (to make a long story short, back at the end of s6, Sam's soul got majorly fucked up, and in 7.17 Cas couldn't heal him, so he transferred the soul-injuries to himself). In this ep, we get "follow the bees" Crazy Cas and, of course, Kevin's introduction as a Prophet of the Lord.

8.5 Blood Brother WIP: At the end of s7, Dean got chucked into Purgatory along with Cas when they got rid of the Leviathans. Benny, a vampire from Purgatory, showed them the way out and made a deal that he would hitch a ride, as only humans can leave. To a lesser degree than Charlie, Benny also is fandom favorite best friend for Dean. This ep, where they track down Benny's old vamp crew, is probably the best dive into their canon relationship. Plus vampirates!

8.12 As Time Goes By WIP: At the end of this ep, we get the introduction to the Bunker, which is Sam and Dean's home base for the rest of the series. The plot touches on a bunch of Winchester Family Issues (TM) that have been a theme throughout the series. You can read the John Winchester's A+ Parenting tag between the lines of this one.

9.6 Heaven Can't Wait WIP: The second (and better) human!Cas episode. Cas got his grace stolen for a spell to close Heaven at the end of last season, so he's mostly human now. Dean kicked him out of the bunker because the angel possessing Sam told him to (the angel is healing Sam at a sub-atomic level, so for the time being, his word is law). Oh, and all the angels that fell to Earth hate Cas because they think he closed Heaven on purpose. Many fans read this ep with their "mutual pining" glasses on.

9.11 First Born WIP: This is one of two eps in the whole series to focus on besties, Sam and Cas. It's delightful and pure chaos. (See 14.15 Peace of Mind for more Sastiel [kidding] shenanigans). If you ever see Cas obsessing over PB&Js or guinea pigs (not kidding), it comes from this ep.

10.1 Black WIP: For plot reasons, Dean's a demon now. His favorite activities are karaoke and caving people's skulls in. A bunch of fics actually featured Dean as a demon way earlier, really ever since we found out that if a soul spends too much time in Hell, it will become a demon (3.9 Malleus Maleficarum), so there's a split between author-envisioned Demon!Dean and the canonical Deanmon that came 7 years later.

10.9 The Things We Left Behind WIP: The first Claire-centric ep! She's the daughter of Cas's vessel, Jimmy Novak. She's sassy, from a broken home, and likes to hit things. Basically Dean if he was blonde and a teenager. I love her. By this point, Dean's human again, but he still has demonic impulses that he has to control.

11.4 Baby WIP: A great monster of the week ep from the POV of Sam and Dean's car. It really demonstrates what Dean and Sam are like day-to-day on a standard hunt.

11.11 Into the Mystic WIP: First episode with Eileen, who's the most popular love interest for Sam post-4.01 Lazarus (previous [dead] ladies include Ruby [s3], Madison [2.17 Heart], Sarah Blake [1.19 Provenance] and Jess [1.1 Pilot]). Eileen dies in the next season, but she gets better (15.5 Golden Time)! Note, non-canonically, a lot of people ship Sam/Gabriel, but that's not really my thing, so I don't have any ep references.

12.11 Regarding Dean WIP: I know Rowena's been around for a few seasons by now (she has a B-plot in 10.9 on this list) but this ep represents best how she's portrayed in fic. FYI, she's the most powerful witch in the world, mother of the King of Hell (really), and sometimes a villain. Most fics don't show her at worst - she's normally a reluctant ally, like in this ep, with her own agenda that may or may not fuck up the Winchesters later down the line.

13.1 Lost and Found WIP: The beginning of Dean's widower arc! In the season finale last season, Cas gets stabbed and dies. In this ep, Dean punches a door. It's very emotional. This is also Jack's first episode, aka the Winchesters' Accidental Baby Acquisition. He's not actually a baby, though. He is the son of Lucifer and a human woman, making him a nephilim and super powerful.

13.6 Tombstone WIP: Dean's obsession with the wild west is well documented (see all the way back to 6.18 Frontier Land), but this time he gets to do a cowboy-themed hunt with Cas! With hats!

15.3 The Rupture WIP: I honestly wasn't sure if I should include 15.1, 15.2, or 15.3 or all three. These eps are all tied together; basically God was tired of the Winchesters getting angry at him for controlling them. God told them to kill Jack because Jack was a danger to him; they refused; and he killed Jack anyway and also opened a fissure to Hell just because. In this ep, the Winchesters plus Rowena, and a demon possessing Jack's corpse, are all trying to close the fissure. This ep sets up Dean and Cas's last relationship arc.

15.9 The Trap WIP: The last important shift in Dean and Cas's relationship before - well, you'll find out.

15.18 Despair WIP: For background, Jack died last season too (14.8 Byzantium) and Cas went up to Heaven to make a deal - Jack's life for his. But the deal wound up being, Cas would die once he experienced a true moment of happiness. Can you guess what happens in this ep? Can you??? This ep aired on Nov 5th and single-handedly caused the biggest surge in Destiel activity in decades. Are we still in the fallout of this ep a year later? You betcha. Like Chernobyl.

#rae replies #this took three freaking days to write out #i could recommend sooo many more claire and rowena eps #this didn't even get into jody and donna #or bobby #skipped s14 entirely lol #anyway this is a start #hopefully no bucklemming eps snuck in #this was actually super fun to research #supernatural #supernatural reference #feel free to reblog for other newbies

[partnersatfazbear]

Analysis of The Real Jake (SPOILERS)

I can't decide whether to make this post a stream-of-consciousness style or group it into evidence for x... but since it's easier, I'll just write my thoughts as I go. Although a lot of this is factual ties to, say, FNAF 4, things like relating Margie to Henry are just my own headcanon and you can do with that what you will AKA don't take this all too seriously, but have fun with it. There’s also specific notes about Michael Afton, for those that just want to know what was said regarding him (presumably).

Before I start, please note I've had three hours of sleep in the last... 28 hours? IDK I can't math, especially not on this little sleep. So, there may be errors. I tried to make a note on things I was unsure about, too. 

Note: I wrote this before the Evan=CC theory was all but confirmed. Although I believe this theory from the logbook, I think a lot of these notes are still valid.

Read my notes under the cut:

Margie shares similar physical appearance to Henry: Pg 84 “The window fan blew a lock of her shoulder-length brown hair across her upper lip so it looked like she had a mustache.”

“Mrs. Afton” stand in is mentioned: Pg 86 “...it had been four years since his Mom had died...” (Jake is 9 in the story)

I notice when Scott mentions plaid. Pg 87 “...a green-and-blue plaid plush chair...” I mostly wanted to note this since canonically, Henry had a green plaid shirt.

“William” stand in is mentioned. Pg 89 “And you know he thinks about you [Jake] all the time?” “So, he has to concentrate on what he's doing... ...I don't want him thinking about me and end up shooting himself in the foot or something.” Pg 102 “Yeah, I did. [I spilled some chocolate ice cream] Right on my shirt!” Pg 122 “I did that today! [While playing a DDR like game, breaking a shoelace.]” (Admittedly, I only counted these because I headcanon William is much more of a bumbling fool than he appears. It comes up very often as you can see... although you could write it off as Evan just trying to relate to his kid.)

“William” stand in is mentioned. Pg 92 “...Margie was pretty sure Evan couldn't afford to replace a washer and dryer” and “...Evan, at his rank, could barely afford her” Pg 110 “Gillian's house shared stlying with Evan's, but hers was probably four times bigger.” (Again, I headcanon William and his family is on the low end of middle class, if not lower, in terms of income. Particularly, the house is cramped.)

“Mrs. Afton” stand in is mentioned. Pg 93 “First, Jake's Mom was killed.” Pg 139 “The mom's dead.” (You could infer that she died via something akin to a car crash in the context of the story, however if you reflect it to the games given the commonalities, I like to think of this as confirmation that William murdered her, given the word 'killed' is used.)

Margie records herself on her cell phone. Pg 93 (and on other pages) (Again referencing my headcanon for Henry, in which he records ideas/diaries often. At minimum, Henry is referred to as “Cassette Man” in PizzaSim so... I just thought it could make for an interesting comparison.)

Jake mentions his “friends”. Pg 99 “Patty and Davey... Vic... and the twins... Ellie and Evie... Kyle, Clay, and Garrett” (Also, he isn't mentioned until later, but there's his best friend Brandon, too. I noted these in reference to CC talking about his 'friends', either IRL or the plushies. I assume his IRL friends are the MCI victims. The number doesn't add up though. I really, really wanted to make a connection about the twins, considering Charlie and Sammy are twins, but there wasn't enough evidence to write it off as anything other than a coincidence. Also... Clay, really? We need another double name in this series? Ugh.)

What's your favorite flavor? Chocolate Pg. 102 “What flavor did you get?” “Chocolate. Duh.” (This is a stretch, but it did remind me of Help Wanted's final level in the main game, where you're asked to choose your favorite cake flavor. Although, they're discussing ice cream here.)

Maybe some insight into William's personality? Pg. 103 “You ever do that, Evan?” “What?” “Let off steam.” “Me? No. Steam is pretty much what keeps me going.” (Just more evidence that William is obsessed with his work. You could imply “steam” implies he runs like a machine, but that's stretching a bit.)

Pg. 113 -118 (Jake climbs out of his window to run off to play at the arcade with his friend. Obvious parallel to the child in Midnight Motorist, although it's daytime and no animatronics/fursuits luring him.) There is this, on Pg 121 also. Jake says, “We played all the racing games. I love racing games.”

PURPLE Pg 121 “...did you get a slushie at the arcade? I got one. I got grape. It turned my tongue purple.” “My tongue's purple, too!” “Purple power!” (Uh, do I really need to explain this? I should note that Evan is the one mentioning “grape”. I guess William likes grape flavor and purple.)

'Michael' is mentioned. Sort of a stand in for Michael Afton, but it should be noted that Michael and Evan are brothers in this universe. Pg 126, 127 “Michael...lived in Europe for a few years...” “Michael's a serious dude. He's, well, a little different. He's intense about making money...the way he is about it... can make him seem like he's not human.” “So, he's like a cyborg with bad programming?” Michael has some dialogue: “You must excersize caution. You could get chocolate on my suit, and that would be bad. Very, very bad.” (The very very bad thing is a running joke in the family, which is why this comes up. I don't have a lot to say about it, though. I think Michael [Afton] being obsessed with money seems a bit counter intuitive to how we know him, but who knows? I also want to note that Evan doesn't seem antagonistic towards Michael; in fact, he “hate[s] to ask him for favors”.)

Also, Pg 141 “His [Michael's] flat, gruff voice was unmistakable.” Michael is also the first one to hear his father is dead and informs Margie about it. “I have been notified that Evan's dead.” Pg 142 “She had only met Michael the one time, and she knew the way he processed the world was very different from what was “normal”” Michael also states to Margie: “I've got Evan's will... you're Jake's guardian and he left you the house and some savings. I'm the executor.” Margie also says: “He[Michael]'s a numbers genius, manages money for the wealthy people and has made a killing doing it.” “He's not a bad guy. He just doesn't know how to connect. He doesn't feel the way we do.” (Just more Michael characterization.)

Direct FNAF 4 easter egg references: Pg 128 “...the IV stand lurking in the corner of the room” Pg 129 “...and the line of perscription medication bottles marching across the top of the chest of drawers”

Margie is more than a nanny and possibly in love with Evan: Pg. 139 “She'd come to love Evan, too... like a brother.” Pg 140 “...she was included in the outings, movie nights, game nights, and storytelling time...” Pg 149 “...she wanted Evan to be more than just a boss, and being in his room when he was gone made her feel like a lovelorn stalker.” “Love him like a brother... She snorted. Boy, had she been lying to herself.” Pg 158 “What she was feeling called for a screaming fit or a total mental breakdown.” (Yeah, this is just me reading too much into this for Willry content, haha... But still. I am determined that Margie is a Henry stand-in.)

'I will put you back together' Pg 140 “I'm trying to bring you home whole.” (Evan is discussing “no man left behind” with his son, Jake. I think this is obvious.)

William's home office? Pg. 149 “When he was home, she'd go in and vacuum or put away laundry... ...when he was gone...coming in here felt like an invasion of privacy.” “Evan's room would be her room.” “...I'd feel like I was sleeping in your bed, she thought.” “...the room felt discretely masculine.” “The walls were covered in family photos.” “The shelves were stuffed with fiction... mysteries to classics, nonfiction... how-to books...from rebuilding a car engine to planting a garden.”

FNAF 4 reference. Pg 152 “Outside, a dog barked.” (You can hear a dog barking as ambient noise during nights when playing FNAF 4.)

Other notes:

It happens a lot, but one of the main things in the book is the doll Simon and how Jake talks to it. This is very blatantly a reference to the Golden Freddy Plush (“Psychic Friend Fredbear”). The story confirms it's Jake's father, Evan, talking through it. Although it makes the one scene in FNAF 4 a little wonky (the only scene where we see Purple Guy), I think it's pretty much confirmed that it's William talking to CC now. Obviously, we already suspected this due to Sister Location's “Secret Room”. In this story, Evan says he did it because he wanted to give Jake some hope he would live. Combined with both the IV/medicine bottle easter eggs (in the story and FNAF 4) I think it's plausible to assume that CC was taken home after the Bite of '83 for a period of time before he passed away. I will admit, also, that Evan definetly comes off as a very caring father (in comparison to how we presume William is based on what we've seen of him as a person; although I argued this before on this blog, I don't think William hates his kids. I think he's neglectful, moreso as the story goes on. I think he resents Michael for many reasons but I won't go into that here. I just don't think he's the abusive monster the fanbase interprets him to be—at least not early on.)

The cabinet reminds me a lot of the closets in the novel series. A built in shelf with a doll in it. A doll that represents a child. Considering Margie tends to this doll (see Pg. 130-135), I have to draw more parallels between her and Henry.

The fan is mentioned A LOT. I don't really know why, but I guess we can't help but think of every single FNAF office when it's brought up. Specifically, on Pg. 106, Margie mentions the fan in her room is as loud as a jet engine and the sound made her nervous. Once again, I'm reminded of PizzaSim. Seriously, screw you fan.

The heat is mentioned a lot, too. I know the story takes place in summer, but this did remind me of Pizza Sim.

Pg. 93 “Margie sat down in the faded blue webbed lawn chair that was set up, for reasons she never understood, in front of the shelves by the stairs.” (I noted this because it's specifically called out and I don't know why.)

Margie talks about why she's working for Evan: Pg. 95 “I didn't get the internship I applied for.” I like to think her and Mia (from 1280) were after the same internship. (I may be misremembering, but I'm pretty sure Mia mentioned an internship at the hospital.)

Jake is mentioned to have brown hair, green eyes. His favorite color is green. He also wears green often. I couldn't find anything really interesting about it. It would make more sense as a Puppet reference, tbh (because of the green bracelet (and eyes? I may be remembering wrong) I guess it's also worth noting that Elizabeth has green eyes.

Pg 135 “Are you afraid people will think you're murdering me?” “...I could end you so quickly you'd never make a sound.” (Just an odd conversation between Jake and Margie. Margie is joking here, obviously.) Also, Pg. 136 “I just figured your [Jake's] wires got crossed or your circuits were frying.” (Admittedly, I don't know what to make of this. Could be a reference to Robot-CC, if you believe that or MikeBot [I don't], but more likely just ironic dialogue. It could also reference Jake's future in the Stichwraith?)

Pg 139 “Sometimes, Margie wished she was like one of the robots Jake liked so much.” (Although I can't really compare this to Henry, I did write William with this mindset and thought it was worth mentioning.)

Pg 141+ So, Evan dies overseas (he's a soldier). (I think this could be hinting that William has been springlocked around the time CC passes away. Jake has been home for some time after his diagnosis so we can infer based on that and the easter eggs that CC was brought home to die in peace. At the very least, William's probably very absent during this time. Possibly brought in for questioning but not arrested. I don't know. I feel like there's something to this.)

Pg 154 “Dave's at work.” (Why? Can we not use established names? Aghhh)

Pg 155 “The ambulance arrived at 11:32.” (I don't know why this is stated so outright. I couldn't find a reason, except that a few paragraphs earlier they say it will arrive by noon. I don't know why it's so specific, but I felt like noting it anyway.)

Pg 159 “Five people. Five sets of eyes. And none of them noticed...” (Yeah. We all know how important 5 is in FNAF.)

Three medical personel are mentioned. One at the end is named Nancy [No Last Name Given], but I like to think its a reference to Man in 1280 and we're dealing with Heracles Hospital once more, although it's never said in this story. Speaking of, the only thing that really stood out to me in 1280's story was that a billionare funded the restoration of the hospital. I like to headcanon that was Henry's doing—I imagine him obscessing over overcompensating for his mistakes by giving back in every way possible, even if it isn't directly related to him.

So, this post only took two hours of my life. I hope someone gets some use out of it, be it for my intended Willry purposes or maybe those Michael fans that are curious about it. If you enjoyed this post, let me know. I'd love to write up more of these if I have the time.

I have other write-ups on this blog, too. Just search fnaf theories on my blog page!

#fazbear frights #spoilers #blackbird #the real jake #michael afton #william afton #henry emily #crying child #willry #helliam #fnaf 4 #five nights at freddy's #fnaf #fan theory #fnaf theories #fnaf theory

[ogmosis]

CRIME FICTION INTERVIEW: ROD REYNOLDS

Rod Reynolds is one of the best crime fiction authors to emerge in the last five years, his Charlie Yates trilogy set in the USA up there with other British writers such as Ray Celestin as well as Americans like Attica Locke and James Lee Burke. I had heard of Rod's work in the industry, but it wasn't until lockdown that I had the time to indulge in his writing. His ear for American dialogue from the 1940s is excellent, while his plotting and characters draw you in - the protagonists and antagonists constantly criss-crossing the line between good and evil. After moving on from Charlie and Faber for the time being, his latest book Blood Red City for Orenda Books is set in London - the city where he grew up as a council estate boy. Rod kindly took time out from working on his new book to talk about his career journey, inspirations and fitting writing in around bringing up young children.

How did a lad from Camden end up mining 1940s America for his first published novels?

I took a sabbatical from advertising in 2010 for a year to try and write a novel. I took a distance learning course with The London School of Journalism. I had never written anything, even though I have always been a big reader of crime. I grew up on a council estate in Camden and I didn't know anyone who had ever done anything like that. It was only as I got older, one of my old bosses was writing a book and he said, "You know what, why can't it be someone like us". I wrote a novel, sent it off to a million agents and got rejected, but got some really nice feedback saying, “This story doesn't work, but keep writing”. I went back to work with a new job, real life took over for a couple of years and it got to a point where I needed to decide whether I needed to do anything with this or put it away as a flight of fancy. I had the idea for the book that would become The Dark Inside after I stumbled across a real-life case that inspired it and I did some research into it. I had the voice at least that would become the character of Charlie Yates and it was quite vivid in my mind, so to give myself a shove I signed up to do the Masters course at City, University of London in novel writing. I was really lucky as it was the first year they ran a crime specific course with novelist Claire McGowan, amongst others. I had some amazing teaching that helped me develop the book and I ended up getting picked up by my first agent before I graduated then, not too long after, I landed with Faber. Lucky coming together of different circumstances.

How hard was it to change your mindset from advertising to novel writing?

I was a buyer in advertising, so that was a very social job. Great in some ways as you could get to take clients to drinks, dinner and parties, but I was working silly hours. I had reached my natural conclusion with advertising as I had done my 10-year stint. I wasn't passionate about it anymore. I was specifically dealing with newspapers, which was a declining sector of the industry. I was already looking at having to change my skill set if I wanted to carry on, so it wasn't too hard for me to walk away in that sense. I miss being around the office with the team I worked with. If I could have done the job from Thursday lunchtime to Friday evening, I would have happily done that forever. The rest of the week I could leave out. One of the reasons that I wanted to do the City of London course, because I was working full-time, I needed something to structure me and find that time in my week to write. I was also working on a deadline that we were due our first child halfway through the course, so I had to get that done. After I left my job, I swapped with my wife once she finished her maternity leave so I was looking after our little one at the time. It was helpful in a way because the only time I could write was at nap time or in the evenings. No time to worry about whether it was perfect, so I just got the words out and got the book done. Towards the end of the second novel, we were expecting our second child so the book had to be done again. My kids are school age now. I kind of look back and think, "How the hell did I work to those restrictions?" It is like anything - you get used to it and find a way.

I think Charlie Yates is one of the most flawed and interesting crime fiction protagonists we have seen in recent years, so how did he evolve?

James Ellroy was the big starting point for me, even after I got into Chandler, Hammett et al. Charlie started out as a voice that I could hear in my head, even if that sounds ephemeral or arty. I had this world weary, beaten down, over the hill journalist who kind of hated himself. I could hear how he would approach this situation whereby he is taken from being cynical in New York City and plunged into this seemingly nothing story in the Deep South which suddenly becomes very important to him, because he can see the effect on people in the town, the victims and their families. It is a matter of life and death. It is based on the real-life Texarkana Moonlight Murders in 1946. I wanted to fictionalise that scenario. The reason he comes from New York is that I read that a journalist from The Times in London was sent over to cover it, but it felt a little bit contrived so the next best alien place for me was New York as it was closer to understanding someone's life from London than somewhere else.

Did the clever FBI through line arrive at the start of your outlining?

Initially it was only going to be a standalone book, then I was going to write a second novel set in the same universe with different characters - something that Ellroy has done and I love. When Faber bought The Dark Inside, they asked for Charlie to come back and that wasn't too tricky. Colt Tanner came about essentially as someone I wanted to write to challenge myself and have fun with. He is unashamedly on both sides of the law. He is willing to do bad things, but he is on the side of the angels in his own mind. He is utterly convinced that the ends justify the means because of what he is trying to achieve. Charlie has got his own flaws and is riddled with self-doubt, while Colt is absolutely certain of his own moral rectitude.

How difficult was the Bugsy Siegel arc to write about?

I have been lucky enough to travel to Las Vegas a number of times over the years and I wanted to write something set there in the early days because it was such a sleazy, strange, literal desert outpost that became almost overnight this gambling mecca. I hadn't planned to involve it in the series and, when I travelled to Texarkana on a research trip and I was finishing up a draft of The Dark Inside, we were driving to Memphis to catch a flight to somewhere else and we passed this town called Hot Springs. I started reading up on the history of this town and how it had been run by this English gangster, who was sent down from New York and all this incredible history that it had. Bugsy Siegel was a regular visitor there and it looks like he took some of its influence as the blueprint for Vegas. Suddenly it just came together. That was book two sorted and I had a story I wanted to tell, and I can then link that straight to Bugsy finishing off the Flamingo in Vegas throughout book three. I was very lucky that Hot Springs, this town in the middle of nowhere in Arkansas that was really isolated in a valley fifty miles down the road from Texarkana, was Siegel's favourite location.

Are you a pantser or a plotter?

I love dialogue. I enjoy it the most and find it the most natural. I am a reluctant plotter. I started out as a pantser with a plan only really in my head but, with each book, the more I plan at the start the more it helps me at the back end. I was worried that it would stifle creativity and actually it is not really the case. I can now start with the synopsis and a route map I know I am going to try and follow. If I veer off from that and find better ways that is not a problem, but it is when you don't have that and don't know how to get from A to B or E to F in the middle of the story - that is when you can end up struggling.

Did you struggle getting back into a British groove for the new book?

All the stuff that I had written had been set in the States, even my first novel that was unpublished. You think it would be easy to write British as it is all around us and I am also writing in the present day without having to worry about anachronisms and regional dialects which was a tricky thing with the previous books, but it took a while to get those beats to make it sound authentic and the way I heard it in my head. I am not one for sharing my stuff until I am absolutely happy with it and satisfied it is as good as I can make it, then I am quite lucky in that I have a couple of trusted readers that I send it to. One will tell me if the story is good and then one will find any tiny mistake that I have made and picks up stuff even copy editors can miss. Karen Sullivan from Orenda Books is great. She does the first edit for Orenda, then we work with West Camel who is her editor and he goes through it a second time and incorporates his feedback. It is nice to have that two-stage process. Blood Red City is out in paperback and has done really well. Financial Times picked it as one of their summer reads. The reviews have been great and people have been getting in touch to say that they have enjoyed it. Orenda have a big network of bloggers and readers on board and that is helpful as it touches on themes that some people might find off-putting. It starts with financial crime and I didn't want to put it solely in that direction as it is about murder and London. Orenda have a small team, but they have built an incredible presence.

What are your hopes going forward?

The story I am working on at the moment has elements of a psychological thriller about it, even though it didn't start out that way. This new one was supposed to be a big departure. I was looking at something like a Sliding Doors thing with parallel lives, but at the start of lockdown I cut half the story, which was quite painful, but I am enjoying writing it. I also have a second book with Orenda, which is going through edits and is set in the present day in the States based on another real-life case. Hopefully that is out in 2021. As a community, you will do well to find a warmer or more welcoming bunch of people than we have in crime fiction. You think there would be some competitiveness, but I haven't seen any.

Find out more about Rod HERE.  Buy Rod’s Charlie Yates trilogy HERE. Check out his new book Blood Red City HERE.

#true crime #crime #crime fiction #rod reynolds #orenda books #faber #books #books and literature #texarkana #bugsy siegel #fbi #blood red city #the dark inside #black night falling #cold desert sky #charlie yates #publishing

[dragonshoard]

@markala5 

(Because the thread was getting too long i made a new one // I’m sorry for any typos ;( I’m super tired lol)

I agree with the fact that she is super stubborn. She’s set on not only creating an alternative for the extermination Hell goes through each year but also proving herself to her father and the people of Hell in general. It would definitely be something inherent to angel!Charlie because she aches for people to care about her and people to care about. 

She’s definitely developed her own sense of self after all these years, but the problem is that it’s based off of validity from people around her which IS NOT HEALTHYYY. It’s actually really sad. She’ll be her perky self and be immediately shut down by the people around her. She may be willing to brawl, but she’s just as likely to shut down. 

Long post is long so I’m putting it under read more

On the thing about apathy. I find it an interesting concept with this world. There is a certain level of Apathy to Hell but its the type where everything is super active and violent, just everyone is super blase about it. There’s the half of hell actively always looking for a fight/power and the other half that just sort of... exists in misery.

As an angel who not only needs people around them but also NEEDS a purpose, it’s an extremely toxic environment. With the system you’re describing... just ow. I can only imagine how many times Charlie has nearly faded and just what needed to be done to get her back. 

Like, Vaggie is a recent development (not even 10 years) and there hasn’t been anyone else around Charlie that would function as a support other than her parents, possibly. 

(I’m still shocked that Vaggie only died in 2014. She’s super young but comes off as acting like one of the oldest - I genuinely thought she had been childhood friends with Charlie lol)

I’d imagine that instead of fading away, it would be more like she falls into a coma (I need Disney references, she’s literally a Disney princess). And I’d like to think that its more like a self generative state because, again, been established that you can’t exactly die naturally in Hell (or Heaven, presumably). Longest she’s slept would probably me... probably a year? It’s been established that Lilith and Charlie have a close relationship, so I’m thinking that most of the time it’s Lilith bringing her back after the fact and supporting her. There was one time where her father showed he cared enough (the time she slept for a year - he was even nice enough to preen her feathers) but he went back to being mostly apathetic after that (jealousy is no good :/). 

Because even people with the strongest sense of self and will power will crash in that environment. Lilith would definitely be her number one supporter until Vaggie (and especially how now Lilith is very busy in canon time), but it wouldn’t be enough (especially when flocks typically have around 10-15 people). 

She’d fight for as long as she could. Towards the end of the “cycle” (about to go to sleep) it would be the hardest for her not to sing and her passive song would be the strongest and most violent/desperate (enough that even her Dad can vaguely hear it and typically starts preparing her room). At this point it would be the hardest to keep her angelic features in so she starts isolating herself, speeding up the process. Her song would come out stuttery (imagine the first song in the pilot - constantly singing that one but in between sobs) and she’d try to stay awake but would fall asleep each time. 

And when she wakes up her song would be bright, loud and optimistic, determined to break the circle (it never works).  

Alastor would have no clue that this happens so the first time she goes through it after meeting him, he is beyond curious. He knows little about angel biology, only bits and pieces he’s picked up over the years. He spends the two weeks she spends sleeping taking care of her and feeling out her (for once) peaceful song. 

(I do the same. Making myself sad should be a professional job lol)

Charlie displays steel and passion on her shoulders just as clearly as her insecurities. Alastor was drawn to her from first song, tbh. There was something about it that he found fascinating and when he actually met her she was far more interesting. To be frank though, I’d imagine that initially she reminds him of the type of people he would hunt when he was alive. Meeting her, it would kind of reinforce that because he doesn’t really see her thinking for herself. The more he would get to know her, the more he’d see that she is truly someone born of Hell and the more interesting she becomes to him. She’ll say some things that are so blatantly inhuman that it’ll just make him double take. 

She would be an itinerary of knowledge for horrible things (like how to kill, how to torture people, etc) but she doesn’t use or like any of it. It’s just a result of living with her family and in Hell as a general concept. I’m kind of imagining a young Charlie being forced to sit through executions and torture sessions either performed or ordered by her father (maybe even forced to do it herself). 

....ok i went on a tangent whoops. 

And YES SHE ASSOCIATES HELL AS HERS ALL HERS. This is canon. Actual canon. She doesn’t care about silly turf wars, doesn’t care about who is on whose side. They’re all hers. I remember reading in the wiki that she takes the approach of treating rehabilitating sinners like children. I think this would come in here. 

It would kill her to lose so many souls so constantly but, holy hell, she’s also getting just as many people daily so she’s constantly hearing new songs join the already mixed and jumbled song. It would be really distracting and sometimes interferes with her higher process thinking.

But you gotta admit the angel part of her would be super confused at all the killing because, technically, it’s her own kind that’s killing off her people. One half of her would be screaming “WHY WHY WHY DO THIS KIN WHY ARE YOU HURTING ME” while the other half is screaming for blood and respite. 

And yeah, being unable to do anything about it and no matter how much her Mom tries to calm her down and how thick the walls of her bunker are, it doesn’t stop her from hearing the screaming and sheer devastation. Coming out after the fact is draining and she spends at least a day or so crying and singing her heart out (her voice practically broken at this point from her own screaming). Her skin would be especially ill-fit but there’s no part of her angel half willing enough to show itself. It’s akin to feeling like you’re swimming in a sweater that’s three sizes too big. 

....she is totally a lion. She has the mane for it despite identifying as female xD

Tbh honest, when I first thought of angels in this universe and what not, I likened them to being a species in which you’re one or you’re not. So a hybridization like Charlie is not only rare, but unstable. Her demon and angel halves fight for dominance and, eventually, one half will win and there’s no going back from there. Omg CHARLIE BEING THE FIRST SURVIVING CHILD IS SO SAD. NOOOOO ;((((((

Charlie goes underground during the extermination for a good reason lol. As she gets older, her instincts would severely change. The older she gets (and the more powerful), the more prone she is to fighting back. By the time canon comes around, she has to be chained during the extermination and Lucifer or Lilith have to be there to make sure she doesn’t break out of the chains.

Charlie is aware of this and so she would be terrified af when her friends suggested they get together during the extermination for support. By this point, Charlie is starting to feel more stable and feels that she might actually be able to control herself better with her flock surrounding her. 

Alastor probably wouldn’t know about it until he shows up out of nowhere and sees them barricading the hotel and is like wtf are you all doing. He side eyes the chains that Charlie sneaks past her flock. He immediately decides that it would be a splendid and fun idea to join them. Vaggie tries to deny him, but Charlie is quick to agree, hoping beyond hope that she wouldn’t have to be chained. 

She sticks close to him when the clock hits midnight and the angels descend. The chains were a precautionary measure and in between Alastor and her flock, she thought that she wouldn’t have needed them but she was WRONG. 

Somehow, Charlie manages to hold herself back until an angel shows up at her door. A part of her is whimpering cousin-friend-family-brother-sister while another part of her knew what exactly this meant.and was screaming in the only way she knew how to tell the angel to GO AWAY. 

But yeah, they don’t and they get messed up and Charlie ends up revealing her eldritch form to her friends (other than Alastor who has already seen her in this form by this point).  Alastor would definitely draw her into a duet to bring her back to herself. 

During this Alastor would be so excited to see his angel kill an actual angel. Sadly (to him) they end up getting away. The feathers clenched in her hands were trophies of another kind. He wanted to pin and frame the wing in one of her clawed hands. 

But it’s still kind of a horrible moment too because the extermination is still happening and Charlie can still hear and feel her people dying. She’d be crying to tell him to make it stop and all he could really do is sing quietly to her, emphasizing his own song to try and mute some of the carnage. 

But if there’s anything Alastor can do, it’s talk and talk about everything but nothing. 

FUTURE LA MUERTE/XIBALBA AND ADAMS COUPLE VIBES AHHHHH. I support this so much. I see them in the future as a fairly antagonistic and competitive couple I don’t know why (so kind of like La Muerte and Xibabla xD). They love each other more than anything but, at the same time, they can only handle each other in contained doses. There would of course be the honeymoon period, but eventually when they settle, their personalities and morals combat each other quite a bit. Both of them are unyielding in their beliefs and unwillingness to change so it would cause some clashing. 

Can’t live with em, can’t live without em’.

They would be that couple that’s always singing and dancing though, from tango to intense and dramatic songs to slow ballroom. It would annoy everyone around them and Charlie would feel some embarrassment at first but, in the end, absolutely love it. 

Lol this was all very very great :DDDDD  I feel you. I feel like I’ve written a fic but its great xD

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel charlie #charlastor #hazbin hotel alastor #hazbinh #origin #markala5 #long post #angel!Charlie

[nerdylittleshit]

Thoughts about Spn 13x18

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

This week on “how much plot can we cram into 40 minutes of television?” – the answer might surprise you. And look, there was a lot that I liked about this episode, but there was enough going on for at least two episodes. I especially felt that the Lucifer storyline was completely unnecessary and weirdly unconnected to the rest of the episode. And in general mytharc-episodes are always more plot-driven than motw-episodes, but ever since BuckLemming write the majority of the mytharc-episodes it is hard to keep track of everything. But as usual, let’s take a closer look.

A woman’s place is in the resistance

Ok, here we go:

CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARLIE!!!!!!!!!

I mean really, ever since the moment they introduced multiple universe we were all waiting for this particular character to come back (and Eileen, just saying). And in season fan fiction, where they bring back ALL the characters, nothing is impossible. Which is kind of the problem. I mean I am thrilled to see Charlie again, even though I feel conflicted that the writers who killed her in the first place brought her back. But starting with 12x23 we have now a pretty long list of characters they brought back: Bobby, Cas, Ketch, Rowena, Kevin, Gabriel and now Charlie. And even though Supernatural is known for bringing dead characters back they usually do it in form of flashbacks or as ghosts. And just as character deaths should have a purpose other than being a motivator for the brothers to get revenge/go to a dark place, the “resurrection” of a dead character should be more than just fan service. Death in fiction should be meaningful, and by bringing a dead character back you risk to take this meaning away. I feel that especially true for Gabriel’s return, because his death was meaningful, he did sacrifice himself for humanity, it was a perfect ending for his arc, and 9x18 left it entirely open if he was still alive or not. By now though it seems however like we get a repetition of season 5 where Gabriel refuses to help, only to (hopefully) return in the last moment.

In general I think instead of killing off characters especially as a plot device and then bringing them back later as fan service they should let their characters live, to give them time to grow and to develop, giving them a life and purpose of their own, the way they did with Jody, because in the end it makes a better story.

But going back to Charlie. I had hope for a minute it might be our Charlie who thanks to Oz magic transported herself in another universe. However the fact that this is a different Charlie makes me think she will stay in her universe, trying to rebuild it, but at the same time it gives Dean some closure that he could save another version of his friend. In general the idea of meeting AU-characters is interesting, as we know that they never met the Winchesters, and we only know those characters through the Winchesters. They are different but also in some ways the same, because they had lives of their own. Bobby is still a hunter, because he was one long before he met his boys. Charlie still fights the good fight, because she had already been doing this in our world (as a hacker, but still once exposed to the world of the Supernatural she becomes a hunter in every universe). The biggest difference is then Kevin, who of course is still a prophet, but without the Winchesters to take care of him, falls into the arms of angels, and helps them, having no real choice left.

Ketch was right in assuming that Charlie broke Dean’s heart, though in a different way. It is also interesting that refers to her death as being butchered (at least BuckLemming are self-aware) just as she is about to get butchered again. It is a really messed up situation between Dean and Charlie, because he is projecting his feelings for the Charlie he knew on this basically stranger. He is afraid to lose her again, but AU-Charlie is right in telling him that this is not his call.

Also speaking of her name, I was surprised she still went by “Charlie Bradbury” in the other universe, as this was only one of her many aliases. Sam & Dean stuck with it, because she happened to use that name when they first met, and I think at some point Charlie adopted that name because she saw Sam & Dean as her family. But why AU-Charlie? Why no other alias? Why not Celeste? And why did ask Sam “Charlie Bradbury”? How many Charlies do you know, Sam?

You had me at “impossible & stupid”

I admit I was the biggest fan of bringing back Ketch, but I did enjoy his story in the last two episodes (and I like seeing David Haydn Jones). The only way to bring him back and to make sense is to give him a redemption arc, which is exactly what they are doing, and I expect him to sacrifice himself for either Charlie or Mary. Now that the BMoL no longer exists (I think) he has no more purpose and no more duty to hide behind. He has to face his choices and the consequences and he feels regret. Because as he told Asmodeus he still has a soul. And unlike Dean he likes to be prepared when he goes in an unknown area, which honestly is the better plan. Because every plan is better than no plan. Having Ketch on the other side is a tactical advantage (unless Mary kills him again, which I wouldn’t blame her for).

We also learned a bit more about the other universe. Because as the angels talked about crimes against the archangel Michael I wondered how the humans outside of the resistance live. I imagine a lot of them were forced to become vessels and the rest are slaves. Fun times.

Speaking of fun times…

Hookers Porn stars & Monte Carlo

I’m not sure how to feel about Lucifer. I always found the characters to be interesting, but I could never get behind Sabriel, because to me Gabriel’s behaviour towards was always abusive. The way they ended his story though was perfect. They gave him a redemption arc in the way Supernatural knows it best, by sacrificing himself for the greater good. This is the reason I wasn’t as thrilled as others when they brought him back, because learning that he faked his death all along takes away the meaning. Yes he helped, but unlike Sam, Dean and Cas he was not willing to risk anything for it and returned to his old life of being not involved. That doesn’t mean he deserved what happened to him, but it takes away his character development. As seen by the end of the episode where he again chooses not to help, knowing that the next apocalypse is waiting to happen. This time however his abuse plays a bigger part in refusing to help. If he does change his mind in the last minute however it will be just a repetition of season 5, as a mentioned, so I hope they do anything but that. Still, right know only Gabriel and Ketch know about the archangel blade, and with both Lucifer and Michael as a threat it would a shame not to use it again.

People have already discussed about Sam’s “I need you” towards Gabriel, a big parallel to 8x17. Both times the angels are under someone else’s control: Cas was under Naomi’s control, Gabriel is still haunted by Asmodeus. Both times the “I need you” breaks them free. Both angels however leave in the end, though Gabriel only to protect himself, whereas Cas wanted to protect the angel tablet.

I think Sam’s “I need you” comes from a different place, and that is simply because Sam has no problem to distinguish between “we” and “I”. Dean hides his own emotions behind a “we”; admitting to Cas that he personally needed him was a huge step. Sam however is not afraid to express his own emotions.

In the end they took a risk with using Gabriel’s grace to heal him instead of holding it back to open the rift again. From a moral point it did belong to him anyway and they shouldn’t have used it without his permission. I do get Dean’s anger however. As I don’t think that Gabe will give some of his grace willingly I wonder if they make him to an antagonist towards the Winchesters now.

Also, goodbye Asmodeus. You won’t be missed.

The storyline I honestly couldn’t care less about

The only good thing about the Lucifer storyline was seeing Anael aka Danneel giving him shit and calling him a failure. I don’t think we learned anything new about Lucifer here. He is not his father and he never will be. He neither was the powers (to create) nor does he care about ruling heaven and humanity (what was it with the exorcism scene???). He only wants to be worshiped, not loved, the way people did when he used Vince as a vessel.

He is still powerful enough to threat other angels (and to kill them I suppose) but once they learn he made empty promises they will turn on him. I would love to see Anael as a new ruler over heaven, however I don’t think Danneel has the time to take a bigger role.

Next week however we will see what Rowena is up to and Billie returns. The same Billie who warned Dean not to cross over to other universes, which he didn’t tell Sam. Should be interesting.

#supernatural #spn 13x18 #bring em back alive #spn meta #spoilers #my meta

[vickyvioletdraws]

REVIEW: Five Nights at Freddy’s: The Silver Eyes

(The FNAF Novel)

Spoiler FREE Review:

If you’re a fan of the Five Nights at Freddy’s series, are interested in the lore of Freddy Fazbear’s, or would like to see what will probably pave the way for the FNAF movie, then give this a read.

It has a few flaws of course, some more glaring than others in my opinion, but for most of them, I’m able to look past it. The story does enough dancing towards what we really want to see to keep my attention until the climax of the book where it gets really awesome. The backstories are interesting enough, and the background information stirs more lore around enough to make it simple yet complicated, as it always has been. You can glean anything from this novel.

Pick this up from your local library if you don’t wanna shell out the bucks. (That’s where I got mine.)

SPOILER Review:

If you’re reading this far, you’ve probably read the novel yourself, or don’t care to read it and just wanna know more.

Writing Style: An easy read, simple and straight forward, great for the inevitable kids that have been reading it. (Sometimes it’s a little too simple at times tho. This is just my nitpick, but I have very strong feelings against descriptive text using the word “sudden” or “suddenly”. I find it glaringly obvious whenever a literary piece uses those.)

Story: The story takes place ten years after the missing children incident at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. It focuses on the survivors from that time who are all now teenagers, and they work together to accidentally put an end to the mysterious case. It’s a good setup for what we need, making sure that our protagonists are not just random teens who go “Lol let’s mess around in a haunted pizza restaurant!” They actually have history and reason being involved, even if they were technically screwing around while doing it. (Teens, amirite??)

Main Character: Charlie (or more formally Charlotte) was not only friends with one of the victims at Freddy’s, but also the daughter of the man who created Freddy’s to begin with. Her father was an artist whose life was dedicated to his work, and was never all there. The reason for his absence is pretty disturbing, but despite all this, Charlie is a completely normal girl. Yeah, someone with that messed up of a backstory and she’s just kind of normal. The idea is she’s supposed to be, she is a main character after all. She’s interesting because of her family and her past and her childhood, but as a teen, she’s not really allowed to be too interesting.

Supporting Protagonists: For the most part, all of these characters are vastly… uninteresting. They’re normal teenagers, all of them. They don’t have too many varying traits and they all for the most part have flat personalities. And there are a lot of them. Including Charlie, there are seven of these main characters. It makes for good buddy system scenes, but otherwise, why are there so many to try and keep track of? After acknowledging how many there were, I said to myself, “My my, what an abundance of underdeveloped characters in a horror setting! I wonder how many will be killed off by the end!” None. None of these characters get axed off during the course of the book. Some get injured a little bit, but none of the teens die. I guess I’m happy for them, but is it wrong I’m a little disappointed?

Antagonist: Awesome. Spoiler warning again, it’s Dave the guard. Spoilers again, Dave is an alias for the infamous William Afton, who was the business head of Freddy’s Entertainment. His backstory is one I find perplexing, as the book describes him as being a hefty man, ten years prior to the current story, while now he’s rather skinny and sickly. Not saying a guy can’t workout over the course of ten years, but that’s a pretty huge detail. Some of the story clues from Five Nights at Freddy’s Sister Location sort of has an explanation for this, as well as why he may be a serial killer, but The Silver Eyes is the alternate universe. It’s up in the air right now what information from the games we can depend on and what we can’t. (I’m getting off track, I love talking about the lore too much.)

Dave is an absolutely delightful villain. His dialogue is always so worth it to read, and his presence is dripping with the sadism we love to imagine him having. He’s deliciously evil and often times giggle worthy, with how he uses a kid’s restaurant as his battle ground and animal costumes as his weapons. Predictably, the amount of silly that his demeanor invokes makes for a pretty fake sounding story to any law enforcement. Serial Killer Pro-Tip: The sillier, the better. (#dontbeaserialkillertho)

The Good: The climax was easily the most interesting and fun part to read, where the screen time (read time?) for Dave really increased and then crap got real. The highlights are easily where the animatronics FINALLY come to life and start going after the main cast, and the part where Charlie straight up knocks Dave out cold, and the crew later tie him up, pour water on his face, and interrogate the guy. MMMM mm, fantastic.

OH ALSO my favorite character, besides William Afton/Dave, is Carlton. He sasses death in the face of death. Good job, Carlton.

The Bad: I wouldn’t say the book took its sweet time getting interesting or anything, I’ve read worse. The chapters begin with a bit of a hook, (HYUK HYUK GET IT??) and then drop into the story of Charlie herself, spending time explaining why she’s meeting up with her old friends first and foremost. The chapters seem to alternate between two things. First, the protagonists and how they have an uncomfortable past with Freddy’s because their friend was a victim, and how no one wants to talk about it. Second, the protagonists talking about the tragic past anyway AND sneaking into the abandoned restaurant and screwing around like teenagers do. It’s a pretty clever way to get the reader into the restaurant really early on, and frequently, for that matter, so props to that. But overall, the scenes outside of the pizza place or outside of Charlie’s childhood home aren’t that gripping. It feels like what it is; teasing the reader with just enough of the restaurant to keep their attention during the long ride to the climax when things get crazy and awesome.

The Ugly: The point of this book is to either expand on the lore or reach farther from it, generating new lore. (Since I assume that the novel is paving a way for the film.) I wouldn’t say this book had a lot of filler, but it still had a lot of vastly unimportant details.

I think the biggest crime this book committed was the scene where Jessica is telling Charlie about some past boyfriend she had. Sure, the story is kind of humorous, but it doesn’t add anything to the universe. Sure, we should know more backstory about our main characters, but honestly? I learned more about Jessica’s ex than I did Jessica in that scene. Unless future books reveal him to be Afton’s son, that was a pretty huge waste of a couple of pages in my opinion. (Disclaimer: I was just joking with last part, omg. But now Sister Location actually has something about Afton's son and I'm really salty about it.)

That’s it. I’m glad I read it. I was starting to lose interest in the FNAF universe, as FNAF4 and Sister Location didn’t light that spark in me as I was hoping. Although The Silver Eyes isn’t the most captivating piece of FNAF lore, it made me redo all my research from all the previous games to try to once again piece everything together. The theories and lore are of course my favorite thing about the franchise. The FNAF novel was the boost I needed to remember my passion for the series.

#FNAF #The Silver Eyes #William Afton #purple guy #review #novel

[jenmedsbookreviews]

I make no bones about it – I am a fan of the Charlie Parker series by John Connolly. I came to the series exceptionally late, I believe after seeing a tweet about what was, by then, the 13th book in the series A Song of Shadows. Yes – I know – I was that far behind. Clearly being the conscientious and balanced individual that I am (?) I didn’t buy book 13, but I was suitably intrigued by the sound of the series that I went straight to Amazon and purchased book 1 – Every Dead Thing.

Now in another of those ‘what were you doing when you first read this book’ moments, the opening to said book left such a mark on me that I can tell you – 100% no question –  that at the time of reading I was sat on an exercise bike in my front room, trying hard to focus on keeping my legs moving while simultaneously becoming more engrossed in what I was reading, to a point where I could probably have fallen off the bike and not noticed.I will admit it – I didn’t immediately like Charlie Parker. There is much in his character in those early moments that takes time to warm up to, but by the end of the book I was hooked. I read Every Dead Thing in April 2015. By the following April I had read every single book in the Charlie Parker series – all 13 and they are not short books – and was waiting patiently for book 14. I was all blithering idiot (nothing unusual) when my local library won the chance to host an evening with John Connolly as part of his promotional book tour, and duly went along for what was a highly entertaining event, where, after a huge amount of personal motivation to find the balls to actually talk to another human being, the extent of my conversation with him was to say that I loved the book. (I’d managed to read it in a day – it was so good!). In fact A Time Of Torment was the first book I ever ordered as a signed 1st edition (love Gutter Bookshops in Dublin!) quickly followed by pretty much every Charlie Parker book I could lay my hands on. My collection now looks a bit like this …

What does this waffle have to do with The Woman In The Woods? Well – the fact is that I just love this series and each new book (which always feels too long a wait for) is highly prized. So I was delighted when this finally landed in my mailbox and I could sit and read one of my most anticipated and awaited books of 2018. Did it live up to expectation? (you’ll be hoping so after all this build up …) We’ll see in a moment after I’ve shown you what it’s all about.

About the Book

The new thrilling instalment of John Connolly’s popular Charlie Parker series.

It is spring, and the semi-preserved body of a young Jewish woman is discovered buried in the Maine woods. It is clear that she gave birth shortly before her death.

But there is no sign of a baby.

Private detective Charlie Parker is engaged by the lawyer Moxie Castin to shadow the police investigation and find the infant, but Parker is not the only searcher. Someone else is following the trail left by the woman, someone with an interest in more than a missing child, someone prepared to leave bodies in his wake.

And in a house by the woods, a toy telephone begins to ring.

For a young boy is about to receive a call from a dead woman . . .

Ah. Ah-hahahahaha. Oh yes. I loved this book. I’m going to have to say that this is most definitely one of the best yet and completely ticked all the boxes for me. Well – all but one but more on that later. Maybe.

The Woman In The Woods really is the perfect combination of everything I have come to love about this series. The wonderfully complex investigation which provides the basis for each story, one which our dear hero, Charlie Parker, feels often honour bound to partake in, and the presence of the supernatural or otherworldly – not in a Ghostbusters kind of way –  more spiritual in a fighting for your soul and to prevent the damnation of the world and the ending of our entire existence kind of way. In that respect this series is unapologetically biased towards that which cannot be easily explained, and will entertain and disturb, bringing forth both the macabre and mysterious in the most delectable melding of genres – the kind of thing that would happen if Horror and Crime started dating, breeding and having book babies. It is not gratuitous, although possibly still capable of turning your stomach if you are of a delicate disposition. It is, however, quite marvellous.

On a very basic level – as there is always a very basic level in every book – this is the story of a young woman whose body has been discovered buried in the woods in a remote part of northern Maine – hence the title. There is every likelihood there is some connection between the woman and the Jewish faith and so in a fit of conscience, and it doesn’t happen often, Parker’s friend and sometime employer, Moxie Castin, asks Parker to try and identify the woman and what happened to the child she appears to have been carrying just prior to her burial. On a wider level … oh it is so much more than that but I am not going to tell you how much more as the fun in this book is in the reading and gradual reveal of a most complicated and disturbing story. It links in beautifully with the ongoing narrative behind the series and sets Parker against a new and wholly disturbing foe – Quayle.

What I love about these books is the way in which John Connolly weaves such diverse and colourful set of individual threads into what in the end becomes a very rich and beautiful tapestry. There is no doubt about it, these are long books, rich in narrative and deep in terms of language and, on occasion, explanation of history. And yet it never feels as though this is a long journey. If anything it never feels quite long enough. There are so many elements of the story to articulate, so many characters whose lives, at one time or another, seem to intersect with that of Parker and his friends, who inform and redirect the ongoing back story which filters through each preceding and subsequent tale, enriching your understanding of what has gone before and what is yet to come, that you cannot help but find yourself lost within the pages, often for hours at a time. This is a story, much like most of the others, that can be read on its own, but I would question why you would want to as to read them all is to fully understand the beauty of what you are reading.

Parker himself is a very complex character. As I said earlier, I didn’t immediately like him and yet he is someone I have grown increasingly attached too, in literary terms of course, and I am fully invested in his story and his quest to discover his true purpose, as this most surely is a quest. He is flawed, but those flaws make the man, and he will always fight for what is right, no matter the personal risk or cost. His partners in crime, Louis and Angel, are just the perfect antidote to Parker’s occasional melancholy and between them the three possess such a keen sense of humour, sarcastic but astute, that you cannot help but love them. It is largely Louis and Parker in this book, Angel notably absent, which is my only regret (and unticked box) for the book as I do love Angel and I missed his hideous shirts and banter with Louis. His presence is mostly certainly felt in the few scenes in which he appears, his and the Fulci brothers who I am developing a soft spot for too, but with his larger than life persona his absence is also felt and he was greatly missed. Hopefully only a short term departure as I refuse to consider the alternative.

Parker is always given a very dark antagonist to battle and it is no different in this book. I don’t want to say too much about Quayle, but he is English (not British) and despite his vile nature, there are moments of mirth in his interactions with others. They are few but they are there. There is something inherently creepy about this man from the off, and the author excels at making this live upon the page without the character ever having to do anything in particular to make you wince or make your skin crawl. He is not the only person in this book to try to make Parker’s life a living hell, and it is certainly a case of equal opportunities for the sexes in this book, with John Connolly demonstrating that when it comes to exacting pain, the female of the species – whatever species this may be exactly – is most definitely more deadly than the male.

And then – oh that ending. Such promise. Such threat. Such a fantastic way to make me desperate for the next book and no mistake.

Gah. I’m making such a horlicks of this review aren’t I? Well this is for a good reason. I want to tell you how beautiful and lyrical, almost mythical, elements of this book are. There is just something so  – I don’t know – poetic maybe about the way Connolly forms his prose that it is so hard to review a book, refrain from spoilers and say all you want to say to do it justice. I know. I have tried so many times before.

So I will just say this – if you love this series – buy this book. You will not be disappointed. If you haven’t read this series – you could still buy this book – it’s very good and can easily be read in isolation – but you will benefit so much more if you read the whole series in order. In each one you will find a puzzle piece and slowly they will fit together and a gradual picture will emerge. I still don’t know yet what that final image will be, I’m not so sure that it matters, because right now the work in progress is pretty flipping fabulous and I’m loving every moment of it.

If you would like to own your own copy of this wonderful book then you will find it at the following retailers.

Amazon UK ~ Amazon US ~ Kobo ~ Waterstones ~ Goldsboro Books

About the author

John Connolly is author of the Charlie Parker mysteries, The Book of Lost Things, the Samuel Johnson novels for young adults and, with his partner, Jennifer Ridyard, the co-author of the Chronicles of the Invaders. His debut – EVERY DEAD THING – swiftly launched him right into the front rank of thriller writers, and all his subsequent novels have been Sunday Times bestsellers. He was the first non-American writer to win the US Shamus award, and the first Irish writer to be awarded the Edgar by the Mystery Writers of America.

Follow John Connolly on Social media: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook

Now if, like me, you are lucky enough to be in the area on Monday 9th April, John Connolly will be appearing at First Monday Crime at London’s City University. First Monday Crime is a monthly gathering for authors, publicists, agents, editors, students, and avid readers of crime fiction. Each month a new panel of authors is lined up to discuss writing, the world of crime, and their latest novels. This month the panel’s line up consists of John Connolly, Stuart Turton (The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle), Rachel Abbott (Come a Little Closer) and Leigh Russell (Class Murder), all overseen by the expert moderation of Barry Forshaw. You can find out more about First Monday Crime and book your place at the panel here.

Review: The Woman In The Woods by John Connolly @jconnollybooks @HodderBooks @1stMondayCrime I make no bones about it - I am a fan of the Charlie Parker series by John Connolly.

#Charlie Parker #Crime #Hodder &amp; Stoughton #John Connolly #Private Investigator