#THE CITY MAY THINK HES A HERO BUT I DONT THINK HE IS REDEEMED

[literaphobe]

no but no matter what gabriel is not a fucking hero and its actually so manipulative of him to tell marinette not to let adrien or anyone else for that matter i guess that HE was monarch that HE was a terrible father and that HE literally put paris and the whole world at risk because he was selfish and couldn’t just repent and face proper consequences……

[viltrumitesuperboy]

Luck (Peter Parker x Male Villain Reader)

my line breaks wont FUCKING WORK TUMBLR IS TRASH

Luck is a superpower, you can disagree (respectfully) in my asks. I don’t know how to write “villain” villains, especially for the reader, so you’ll notice that I tend to give the villains a motivation for their actions. They’re typically redeemable.

Requested by: anon since requests are open and i like your writing, id thought id request something. perhaps you can do a spidey x villian reader where the reader and peter are dating but dont know about the others alter ego? 

Word count: 2265

"Peter, where's the black pepper?"

"Top shelf!"

You opened the cabinet looking up at the black pepper just barely out of your reach. Even on your toes, your fingers barely brushed the wooden shelf. Turning quickly to check if Peter was still in his room, you extended your arm just a bit and managed to pluck the little container off of the shelf.

"Are you almost done with lunch? You know we have to go to the city today," Peter said, walking into the kitchen.

He was just pulling his sweater down when you turned to look at him, a smile on both your faces.

"Yeah, just salt and pepper for taste. You know how spices work, right?" you joked.

He laughed and hugged your middle from behind, pulling away to grab the plates from under you and bringing them to the table. He started eating right away, his plate always just a little more filled than yours.

"Even now I'm always surprised because I already eat a lot. I don't know where all of that goes," you commented, gesturing to his body.

"My ass," he mumbled through a bite.

You laughed around your own food as he shrugged. Once you both finished, you did your normal elevator vs. staircase race. You had the staircase this time, and you were alone. So if he didn't see you somehow hop down entire flights of stairs without any injury, all was well. You tried to lean against the wall like you had been waiting for him forever, and laughed when he blew a raspberry in your direction.

"Come on, we gotta catch the train," he urged.

He pulled you along until you got outside, both of you walking side by side to the station. The train ride always felt shorter with him, and he got off a stop or two earlier than you did every time. Even with your own extracurricular activities, you wondered if you would ever get to know what he did. You brushed it from your mind. If he knew what you got up to, he'd be upset. He was a huge supporter of the Avengers and similar "hero" figures, and even worked with and for them. You had to engage in crime just to get by. As you entered the building, you looked at the Avengers Tower a few blocks down. You turned away.

---

The sooner you got into your suit, the sooner you could join your companions in robbing the next bank. You knew whoever made the plans would get the most money, so you always planned things before anyone else could think of them. Without it, you wouldn't even be able to pay for groceries. Everyone else had a job, but you were younger and still in school, which made it much more difficult for you and they all understood. Despite the luck you knew you had, life was the one thing that could bring it down.

Just as you all left with bags, you stopped instantly at the sight of Spider-Man leaning against the wall awkwardly, much like you had done earlier that day. You almost laughed, but you had to leave with the money so you kept a straight face.

"So, uh... you guys ever think about the law? It's pretty cool sometimes," he said with an obviously faked confidence.

You pushed the bags towards your team and ushered them to move, swiftly moving towards Spider-Man. He darted to the side as you kicked toward him.

"Missed m- Oof!"

As he tried jumping for the ceiling, you grabbed the back of his suit and yanked him down, thanks to your luck. It left him winded for a few seconds.

"Sorry, dude. Just let me off this once," you said unapologetically.

He groaned as you ran back towards your team, two of them grabbing you into the moving van. The doors shut and you watched Spider-Man through the darkened window, just barely catching a glimpse of your vehicle as it sped away.

"Well, that was fast. Maybe you're right about your luck being a power," one of them snickered.

You hit her with a grumble, turning down to check your phone. A text from Peter said he needed snuggles, and you smiled a bit as you pulled your mask off.

"Is it that kid you're dating again?" she asked, pulling her own off.

"Yeah, drop me off in the area. Leave the money in the usual place and I'll come grab it," you said, beginning to pack your things.

"You got it."

"Thanks."

As you left the van, you waved at them, giving some of them a fist bump as you passed and hopped out of the van.

"I'll figure out our next location."

They waved back and you turned as the van doors shut. You went into the dark alley nearby to change, then walked the few blocks to Peter's apartment. Aunt May greeted you with a hug and a smile, then gestured you Peter who was curled up in a blanket in front of the TV, looking like he stayed up all night despite it only being nine at night.

"What's up?" you asked, sitting next to him and putting your arms around him.

"I feel like garbage and my body hurts," he mumbled into your shoulder.

"Exercising? Did you... fall down the stairs? Stand up after too many hours of playing video games?"

He snorted and pulled away for a bit, wrapping you in the blanket as well. You both laid down, and you took extra care to wrap your arms around his shoulders when he seemed to wince at the movement of his back.

"What exercise did you do?"

"No, I just... I decided to go to the playground with Ned cause there were no more kids there and my internship was done, so I was fooling around and climbing things but I fell on my back."

"Be a bit more careful next time?"

"Okay."

Aunt May was always nice enough to leave you food knowing when you didn't eat. You smiled at her as Peter moved closer to you when you pulled away to eat, and you both laughed fondly at his clingy behaviour. You left a few hours after that to get your money and go home.

---

After another afternoon of your antics, you had decided to run around on the rooftops for a bit. On one of the higher ones, you climbed the ladder quietly to find someone pacing on the edge. You almost reached out to tell them to step away when you realised who it was: Spider-Man himself.

"How does he always get away? And he beats me so quickly? It's like he has really good luck. That's so weird. That's not even a superpower, I think. Oh no, what if it is?!"

He paused as there was a response from his phone, and he sighed as if stressed as he yanked off his mask. You quickly covered your mouth in shock. How careless could any identity-hiding person be to pull their mask off when anyone in a building could look up and see him? At least your face was kind of covered. It was just your hood on and that lame mask that just covered the area around your eyes, but it was enough. His face was covered by his phone, but the messy brown hair made you a little sick when it reminded you of your boyfriend. You were only here because of your luck and your criminal actions. He was probably at his internship being a good, upstanding citizen.

"No, that can't be right. I'll check with Mr. Stark. He'll know."

"Hey."

He screeched and yelled a quick bye into his phone, making the horrible mistake of just shoving it in his pocket as he turned to look at you. Without his mask on.

"Put your mask on," you said, knowing it sounded a bit strangled, but you passed it off as just climbing over the small concrete wall that bordered the top of the building. "You should be more careful, you know?"

"You-you're that guy! I keep running into you! Who are you?"

"Well, that's the question everyone wants to know, huh?"

You walked over to him and plopped down next to him as he sat, his hands playing with his phone that was now back out. Peter did that when he was nervous, playing with anything in his hands. Once it was a book and he somehow managed to throw it and leave a small crack in the ceiling when someone scared him from behind.

"Tell me your secrets. What's got you so stressed about me?"

"What are your powers?" he blurted out.

How Peter of him to just ask right away.

"I'm lucky. Just not lucky in the rest of my life. I don't have enough money to pay rent and sometimes it's not even enough to buy groceries. I have to depend on other people and I don't want to do that. So I'm doing the best with what I can."

"Well, M- uh, Tony Stark has all kinds of internships and charities and stuff. I mean, I work with him so I would know. He could help! And he's always willing to help a superpowered person!"

"Spidey, things aren't that easy. I'm a criminal for a living and things like that don't just slide with most of the population. You tell them why you did it and you'll get consequences. My luck is the only thing keeping my team and myself safe."

"You could try! He doesn't judge and he's still friends with Captain America, who's currently a war criminal. Someone who's a thief isn't a huge problem to him."

"I don't take charity," you stated clearly.

"I mean it! He could really help," he replied.

"Peter!"

He paused entirely. Without the sounds of the cars below and the people speaking, it would have been completely silent.

"How... how..."

You pulled off your mask and your hood, giving him a sympathetic smile.

"I don't... take charity. Especially not from my boyfriend. I'll let you feed me once in a while, but that's the most I'll take. I can't do that to you, and I can't do that to your mentor who has definitely figured out my powers and knows who I am."

He was silent as you put the mask in his hand and stood up.

"You can text me whenever you want."

You left him behind on the roof.

Peter texted you the next morning, telling you to meet him at Stark Tower. You instantly knew that he had talked to Tony Stark about it, and both of them would search the entire world for you if you didn't go. Of course, that left you with the only choice of doing what he said. Peter was waiting for you in the lobby right in front of the building's security.

"Hey! Um, just follow me," Peter said quietly, his voice dying out as he turned to walk.

After an awkwardly silent trip in one of the elevators, he brought you to a large laboratory where sparks flew from the corner of the room.

"Mr. Stark! I brought my boyfriend for you to meet," Peter shouted over the noise.

Tony Stark himself sat up from his work to look at the both of you, his goggles now on his head.

"Tell me about yourself," he said, starting to walk towards you.

"You already know enough about me, don't you?" you replied.

He gave you a calculating look as he turned to a desk and pulled up a hologram. It contained information about you and your powers, but mostly your financial assets.

"I don't normally keep tabs on petty thieves, but when I found out how much you were annoying Peter, I had to find out," he said. "Kind of weird to be fighting your boyfriend every other night, huh?"

Peter looked away, his eyes instantly going to your arm. You knew he was fighting a blush, but you were busy hiding your own embarrassment. Tony started to push Peter out of the room, and he grumbled but left regardless.

"I saw his recording from his suit. I know you don't take charity, but I would do anything for Peter. All he wants is to know that you're safe from anyone who could be a threat to him or the people he cares about. How can you be safe if you can't even pay your bills?" Tony lectured. "The least you can do is stay here for a bit until you have enough money to stay at your own place. He already worries about being Spider-Man. He doesn't need to worry about you having nowhere to stay."

You stood for a moment, looking between him and the hologram.

"Fine. But for Peter. And the second I get a well-paying job I'm out of here."

"Well, you could always work here. We have great benefits."

"And work for Tony Stark? No way."

He barked out a laugh and opened the door again, Peter rushing in to grab your hand.

"What did you say?!"

"I said yes. Quit worrying," you laughed, kissing him quickly.

Tony tapped on a few things on the screen before turning to look at you both.

"Your stuff is being moved here within the next one or two days, and I let your landlord know. He's actually kind of cool. Oh, and after we move your stuff here, can we test your powers?" Tony rambled.

"No."

"Great, we'll start tomorrow."

[moondrop04]

RWBY VOLUME 8 EPISODE 10 SPECULATION AFTERMATH!!!

SPOILERS!!!

SPOILERS!!!

SPOILERS!!!

Ugh!!! 😩 Do you know how much of a pain it is to work around trying to watch a RWBY episode when it comes out and manage a job with a 12 hour shift?? It SUCKS!!! I wasn’t able to watch the episode until late late Saturday night because I was too exhausted to stay awake to watch it and then had to go back to work the next few days!!! Sigh.....it doesn’t matter......BECAUSE THIS EPISODE WAS SO AMAZING AND STUNNING THAT NOW I DONT GIVE A S*** ABOUT THE LONG HOURS!!! 😆 Welp....enough about my lack of sleep, let’s get right into the Aftermath!!!

-(When The TinMan Loses “Heart”) Well I’m glad I got this portion of the episode somewhat right from my speculation 😏. I’m glad we are finally getting a continuation of Qrow and Robyn’s story arc for this volume and it looks like it’s heading towards its climax when they finally meet the general.

Speaking of which......Sweet Cream On A Ice Cream Sandwich 😆 Whoever directed those portion of Ironwoods scenes deserves an award because those were GOOD!!! The tension in the air when he speaks, the dread of wondering what he is about to do, the conveniently placed light shining down upon him as he delivers his ultimatum, all of it had me at the edge of my seat when I was watching it and I loved it! Now unfortunately I know that there are fans of Ironwood that are disappointed with how things are going for him so I just want to say my piece and my stance on his character so there won’t be any confusion in the future. When Ironwood was introduced in the series back in volume 2 I have always assumed that he would eventually become an “antagonist” to Team RWBY. CRWBY has conveyed that well enough for me through out the series that seeing what’s transpiring right now is of no surprise to me. Now it’s important to note that I am not going to call Ironwood a “villain”, but instead an “antagonist”, because the writing back in volume 7 has made me believe that there is chance of him being redeemed in the future. His character for me has always been of someone that fully believes that to get through a situation that they must do it “their way” and that there in no other alternatives. After coming face to face with the reality of Salem and her immortality he is now walking the same path as headmaster Leonardo did and that Fear is gripping him from listening to others. But after watching volume 7 I believe that there may be chance to get through to him and make him see reason because he is a good man under all that metal. Words alone were enough to make him understand before Salem’s arrival but now knocking some since into him is the only way to make him see reason.....and I believe Qrow may be the one to do it. Question now is.....will he knock some sense into the tin-man before vengeance grips his mind and ends up killing him instead? We will have to see......

-(“A few more Tricks Up Its Sleeve”) Ok....In my speculation post I made a prediction of how the story would continue after Oscar releasing the Long-Memory’s power because I thought it would be just destroying Salem and Hazel only. BUT Apparently it was enough power to create a huge blast to destroy not only Salem and Hazel, but the Whale and surrounding Grimm!?!? 😳 HOLY S***!!!! That whole sequence was honestly amazing and yet another part of the episode that I found aesthetically pleasing!!! Not only that but the aftermath with the fog and debris after the explosion surrounding the city as the sun rises was great as well. Oz wasn’t kidding when he said that the cane had a few tricks up it’s sleeve and to finally know that it can store up “kinetic energy” is an interesting way for CRWBY to put about it. I am disappointed that my prediction was wrong but it’s given me new things to think about for the story to go forward with so I admit defeat yet again with my tin foil hat on and a smile on my face 😁.

-(A Remedy For A Bloody Migraine) This Scene was Amazing and much needed after dealing with Cinder’s shortcomings after Beacon for so long. Christopher Sabat will always be a win for me to when a voice actor conveys anger and sarcasm at the same time in a character they are playing. I was honestly expecting Cinder to drop Watts to his death after his rant but seeing her drag him back and tearfully accept the truth of his words has boldend my view of her characters growth as a villain going forward. The “Power trip” and presence of her believing she’s better then everyone has become a crutch in her character for some time and now there is finally someone telling her straight up of her failures to her face and I’m honestly quite glad it’s Watts. These two has always had disdain between each other since volume 4, so to see how this scene plays out has me wondering if we may see a change in not only Cinder going forward as a villain but in also how Watts works with her in future volumes. 😊Also I gotta love the short scene involving Neo texting Cinder about the lamp. Neo is a loveable little s*** but it’s funny to know that Cinder is the same when taking pictures of someone, just to make a contact profile for them lmao 😆.

-(Reunion) After being separated from each other since episode 1 of the volume, it is really nice to see them back together again. I also loved the music in the background when the scene was playing out, especially when the chorus hit during the bumblebee scene. I am bit disappointed that no one commented on Oscar’s terrible condition yet but seeing Emerald all of a sudden pop up is understandably a good reason to pause rational thinking lol. I will say though that I have a pretty good feeling that the next episode will address about Oscar and many other things between certain characters that I have been waiting for, so I am excited about that.

-(Ultiamtum) With Salem momentarily gone it is now time to deal with Ironwood and to what eventually I believe will lead to the staff of creation. Things are now heading towards the climax of the volume and Ironwoods “ultimatum” may resurface some issues that were addressed back in episode 1. There is no doubt the heroes will have to make a tough choice between saving thousands of lives or saving one friend and whatever they choose to do I believe will form more division between the heroes. To whom ever will be conflicting about the ultimatum will undoubtably make us the audience have issues going forward in the story on whose in the “right”........so yeah be prepared for that upcoming storm of emotions lol 😓

Episode 10 of Volume 8 is by far the most aesthetically pleasing in the story and it has built up some interesting plot points for us to wonder about going forward. So Until The Next Episode......BUH-BYE!!! 😆😆😆😆

[tatticstudio55]

Weird thought but anyway, Ever thought that dany is literally set to redeem the 'crimes' of her family and literally Valyria? (not that i would think that they need to, she needs to or is 'destined') I mean she is already abolishing slavery, and (i hope) is about to 'redeem' all the mistakes, crimes and reputation. Not that i think that the valyrians & Targs are bad, quite the opposite, well at least the Targs. But you know, her father and Rhaegar mistakes/crimes.

2/3 Because while the Targ-haters tend to exaggerate with the crimes and holds the Targs to completely different standards, and tend to plaint every of their victims as innocent angels. I would like something like a closure with Lyannas & Rickons & Brandons death as well with Elias & her children, or lets say dorne in general. Because i think FAegon & the golden company will actually live up to the war-lords Illyrio & Varys thought drogo & Viserys would haven been. Because thats subversive! 😋

3/3 Not the mad! Queen twist... If you can call it that if literally 50% of the fandom believes in & roots for it and 100% are aware of that 'it'. As you see i dont believe in the Dany-will-aCciDeNtalLy-burn-KL-down nor do i not hold her responsible for Quentlyn death. (i mean he literally went on a suicide mission!? When she wasn't even in the city! But Dorne will probably hold her responsible for it😔but i think they will have bigger problems then) Anyway sry if i bothered you, have a nice time

Hello anon,

@oadara​ wrote a very good post (probably more than one, in fact) about Dany’s arc being precisely that - that is, undoing her valyrian ancestor’s legacy. I don’t view Dany’s actions in Slavers’ Bay as somewhat of a redemption of the valyrian heritage, because Dany isn’t representative of the valyrian culture, nor does she view herself as such (as acting on behalf of the old Valyria), and she doesn’t claim rulership in Meereen based on her valyrian heritage. Contextually, the fact that she is of valyrian descent is accidental. That Dany is set to “redeem” Valyria may work on a doyalist level: as readers, we see the foils between Dany’s anti-slavery crusade and the slavery-based society her ancestors had built before. On a watsonian level, I’m less convinced.  

The Aerys/Rhaegar redemption aspect also sits ill with me, because what legacies are we talking about here? What is Aerys’s legacy? Or Rhaegar? Have either of them established something that Dany should “undo”, apart from their personal reputation? Should the Stark kids also be held accountable for the crimes committed by, say, the 13th Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch? Because there’s a difference between crimes committed by an individual or two, and a cultural legacy. The redemption you’re talking about in Dany’s case, specifically for what her father and brother did, sounds more like a debt being paid to the victim’s family.

As for the rest: indeed, I don’t think the main KL’ conflict will be between Dany and Faegon, and I don’t really expect Faegon to play a villain part either. Or Dany, for that matter. They might both, albeit indirectly, contribute to the blow up of King’s Landing, BUT:

-The destruction of King’s Landing is first and foremost a likely outcome of the infamous second “Dance of Dragons”, which everyone expect will play out between Dany and Faegon. Well, I don’t. Arianne’s queenmaker plot rests on the same foundations as those who caused the first Dance (right of primogeniture vs older male heir), Tommen and Myrcella are both still very much alive in the books, and just like Rhaenyra had “Mushroom” by her side, you’ve got Tyrion who’s already thinking of supporting Myrcella over Tommen. Doran will probably die soon and Arianne will have carte blanche. House Martell is a grenade: they tried to get justice for Elia and her children when Oberyn fought the Mountain. It failed. They tried again by sending Quentyn to Dany. It failed. They tried again with the queenmaker plot. It failed. At some point it’s not going to fail, but it’s going to blow out of proportions and get out of hands – see the seven snakes stew served at Doran’s table in ADWD. Do I think it’s significant that the “dish” was served by Dorne? Yup. Could Dany have a part to play in this mess? Probably. As you said, it doesn’t bode too well between Arianne and Daenerys. And if Tyrion pledges himself to Dany before sailing to Westeros, he might find himself in a pickle upon realization that his beloved Myrcella is still in Dorne’s custody. But at its core, this isn’t a “Targaryen” conflict. This is between House Lannister and House Martell, and I don’t expect Dany to steal the spotlight on this one, either as a hero or as a “mad queen”. Faegon will probably get sucked into this mess via his involvement with Dorne (I do think he’ll marry Arianne) and while, in another story, he might’ve been a capable warlord, I don’t think that’s the role Martin has in store for him in this one. One major foil between Faegon and Dany is that Faegon, albeit unknowingly, let people use him for their own means. Varys and Illyrio wanted to groom him into the perfect king, and he let them. Arianne will view him as a mean of revenge against the Lannisters, and I’m sure he’ll oblige. In other words, he’ll remain a pawn even if he never realizes it.

This is my opinion anyway. Hopefully we’ll get TWOW soon!

[writingguide003-blog]

Top writers choose their perfect crime

New Post has been published on https://writingguideto.com/must-see/top-writers-choose-their-perfect-crime/

Top writers choose their perfect crime

Crime fiction is now the UKs bestselling genre. So which crime novels should everyone read? We asked the writers who know …

On Beulah Height by Reginald Hill Val McDermid

This is the perfect crime novel. Its beautifully written elegiac, emotionally intelligent, evocative of the landscape and history that holds its characters in thrall and its clever plotting delivers a genuine shock. Theres intellectual satisfaction in working out a plot involving disappearing children, whose counterpoint is Mahlers Kindertotenlieder. Theres darkness and light, fear and relief. And then theres the cross-grained pairing of Dalziel and Pascoe. Everything about this book is spot on.

Although Hills roots were firmly in the traditional English detective novel, he brought to it an ambivalence and ambiguity that allowed him to display the complexities of contemporary life. He created characters who changed and developed in response to their experiences. I urge you to read this with a glass of Andy Dalziels favourite Highland Park whisky.

Insidious Intent by Val McDermid is published by Sphere.

The Damned and the Destroyed by Kenneth Orvis Lee Child

My formative reading was before the internet, before fanzines, before also-boughts, so for me the best ever is inevitably influenced by the gloriously chanced-upon lucky finds, the greatest of which was a 60 cent Belmont US paperback, bought in an import record shop on a back street in Birmingham in 1969. It had a lurid purple cover, and an irresistible strapline: She was beautiful, young, blonde, and a junkie I had to help her! It turned out to be Canadian, set in Montreal. The hero was a solid stiff named Maxwell Dent. The villain was a dealer named The Back Man. The blonde had an older sister. Dents sidekicks were jazz pianists. The story was patient, suspenseful, educational and utterly superb. In many ways its the target I still aim at.

The Midnight Line by Lee Child is published by Bantam.

Bleak House by Charles Dickens Ian Rankin

Does this count as a crime novel? I think so. Dickens presents us with a mazey mystery, a shocking murder, a charismatic police detective, a slippery lawyer and a plethora of other memorable characters many of whom are suspects. The story has pace and humour, is bitingly satirical about the English legal process, and also touches on large moral and political themes. As in all great crime novels, the central mystery is a driver for a broad and deep investigation of society and culture. And theres a vibrant sense of place, too in this case, London, a city built on secret connections, a location Dickens knows right down to its dark, beating heart.

Rather Be the Devil by Ian Rankin is published by Orion. Siege Mentality by Chris Brookmyre is published by Little, Brown.

The Hollow by Agatha Christie Sophie Hannah

This is my current favourite, in its own way just as good as Murder on the Orient Express. As well as being a perfectly constructed mystery, its a gripping, acutely observed story about a group of people, their ambitions, loves and regrets. The characters are vividly alive, even the more minor ones, and the pace is expertly handled. The outdoor swimming pool scene in which Poirot discovers the murder is, I think, the most memorable discovery-of-the-body scene in all of crime fiction. Interestingly, Christie is said to have believed that the novel would have been better without Poirot. His presence here is handled differently he feels at one remove from the action for much of the time but it works brilliantly, since he is the stranger who must decipher the baffling goings on in the Angkatell family. The murderers reaction to being confronted by Poirot is pure genius. It would have been so easy to give that character, once exposed, the most obvious motivation, but the contents of this killers mind turn out to be much more interesting

Did You See Melody by Sophie Hannah is published by Hodder.

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier SJ Watson

SJ Watsno

I first came to Rebecca, published in 1938, with one of the most recognisable first lines in literature, not knowing exactly what to expect. That it was a classic I was in no doubt, but a classic what? I suspected a drama, possibly a romance, a book heavy on character but light on plot and one Id read and then forget. How wrong I was.

It is a dark, brooding psychological thriller, hauntingly beautiful, literature yes, but with a killer plot. I loved everything about it. The way Du Maurier slowly twists the screw until we have no idea who to trust, the fact that the title character never appears and exists only as an absence at the heart of the book, the fact that the narrator herself is unnamed throughout. But, more importantly, this thriller is an exploration of power, of the men who have it and the women who dont, and the secrets told to preserve it.

Second Life by SJ Watson is published by Black Swan.

Mystic River by Dennis Lehane James Lee Burke

To my mind this is the best crime novel written in the English language. Lehane describes horrible events with poetic lines that somehow heal the injury that his subject matter involves, not unlike Shakespeare or the creators of the King James Old Testament. Thats not a hyper-bolic statement. His use of metaphysical imagery is obviously influenced by Gerard Manley Hopkins. Mystic River is one for the ages.

Robicheaux by James Lee Burke is published by Orion.

The Expendable Man by Dorothy B Hughes Sara Paretsky

Author Sara Paretsky for Arts. Photo by Linda Nylind. 15/7/2015.

Today, Hughes is remembered for In a Lonely Place (1947) Bogart starred in the 1950 film version. My personal favourite is The Expendable Man (1963). Hughes lived in New Mexico and her love of its bleak landscape comes through in carefully painted details. She knows how to use the land sparingly, so it creates mood. The narrative shifts from the sandscape to the doctor, who reluctantly picks up a teen hitchhiker. When shes found dead a day later, hes the chief suspect, and the secrets we know hes harbouring from the first page are slowly revealed.

Hughess novels crackle with menace. Like a Bauhaus devotee, she understood that in creating suspense, less is more. Insinuation, not graphic detail, gives her books an edge of true terror. Shes the master we all could learn from.

Fallout by Sara Paretsky is published by Hodder.

Killing Floor by Lee Child Dreda Say Mitchell

What is it about any particular novel that means youre so engrossed that you miss your bus stop or stay up way past your bedtime? A spare, concise style that doesnt waste a word. A striking lead character who manages to be both traditional and original. A plot thats put together like a Swiss watch. Childs debut has all these things, but like all great crime novels it has the x-factor.

In the case of Killing Floor that factor is a righteous anger, rooted in personal experience, that makes the book shake in your hands. Its the story of a military policeman who loses his job and gets kicked to the kerb. Jack Reacher becomes a Clint Eastwood-style loner who rides into town and makes it his business to dish out justice and protect the underdog, but without the usual props of cynicism or alcohol. We can all identify with that anger and with that thirst for justice. We dont see much of the latter in real life. At least in Killing Floor we do.

Blood Daughter by Dreda Say Mitchell is published by Hodder.

The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler Benjamin Black (John Banville)

The Long Goodbye is not the most polished, and certainly not the most convincingly plotted, of Chandlers novels, but it is the most heartfelt. This may seem an odd epithet to apply to one of the great practitioners of hard-boiled crime fiction. The fact is, Chandler was not hard-boiled at all, but a late romantic artist exquisitely attuned to the bittersweet melancholy of post-Depression America. His closest literary cousin is F Scott Fitzgerald.

Philip Marlowes love and surely it is nothing less than love for the disreputable Terry Lennox is the core of the book, the rhapsodic theme that transcends and redeems the creaky storyline and the somewhat cliched characterisation. And if Lennox is a variant of Jay Gatsby, and Marlowe a stand in for Nick Carraway, Fitzgeralds self-effacing but ever-present narrator, then Roger Wade, the drink-soaked churner-out of potboilers that he despises, is an all too recognisable portrait of Chandler himself, and a vengefully caricatured one at that. However, be assured that any pot The Long Goodbye might boil is fashioned from hammered bronze.

Prague Nights by Benjamin Black is published by Viking.

Love in Amsterdam by Nicolas Freeling Ann Cleeves

Although Nicolas Freeling wrote in English he was a European by choice an itinerant chef who roamed between postwar France, Belgium and Holland, and who instilled in me a passion for crime set in foreign places. He detested the rules of the traditional British detective novel: stories in which plot seemed to be paramount. Love in Amsterdam (1962) is Freelings first novel and it breaks those rules both in terms of structure and of theme.

It is a tale of sexual obsession and much of the book is a conversation between the suspect, Martin, whos been accused of killing his former lover, and the cop. Van der Valk, Freelings detective, is a rule-breaker too, curious and compassionate, and although we see his investigative skills in later books, here his interrogation is almost that of a psychologist, teasing the truth from Martin, forcing him to confront his destructive relationship with the victim.

The Seagullby Ann Cleeves is published by Pan.

Laidlaw by William McIlvanney Chris Brookmyre

I first read Laidlaw in 1990, shortly after moving to London, when I was aching for something with the flavour of home, and what a gamey, pungent flavour McIlvanneys novel served up. A sense of place is crucial to crime fiction, and Laidlaw brought Glasgow to life more viscerally than any book I had read before: the good and the bad, the language and the humour, the violence and the drinking.

Laidlaws turf is a male hierarchy ruled by unwritten codes of honour, a milieu of pubs and hard men rendered so convincingly by McIlvanneys taut prose. His face looked like an argument you couldnt win, he writes of one character, encapsulating not only the mans appearance but his entire biography in a mere nine words.

This book made me realise that pacey, streetwise thrillers didnt have to be American: we had mean streets enough of our own. It emboldened me to write about the places I knew and in my own accent.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov Laura Lippman

Im going to claim Lolita for crime fiction, something I never used to do. But it has kidnapping, murder and its important to use this term rape. It also has multiple allusions to Edgar Allan Poe and even hides an important clue well, not exactly in plain sight, but in the text of, yes, a purloined letter. And now we know, thanks to the dogged scholarship of Sarah Weinman, that it was based on a real case in the United States. (Weinmans book, The Real Lolita, will be published later this year.)

Dorothy Parker meant well when she said Lolita was a book about love, but, no its about the rape of a child by a solipsistic paedophile who rationalises his actions, another crime that is too often hidden in plain sight. Some think that calling Lolita a crime novel cheapens it, but I think it elevates the book, reminds us of the pedestrian ugliness that is always there, thrumming beneath the beautiful language.

Sunburn by Laura Lippman is published by Faber.

The Moving Target by Ross Macdonald Donna Leon

Ross Macdonald, an American who wrote in the 60s and 70s, has enchanted me since then with the beauty of his writing and the decency of his protagonist, Lew Archer. I envy him his prose: easy, elegant, at times poetically beautiful. I also admire the absence of violence in the novels, for he usually follows Aristotles admonition that gore be kept out of the view of the audience. When Archer discovers the various wicked things one person has done to another, he does not linger in describing it but makes it clear how his protagonist mourns not only the loss of human life but also the loss of humanity that leads to it.

Macdonalds plotting is elegant: often, as Archer searches for the motive for todays crime, he unearths a past injustice that has returned to haunt the present and provoke its violence. His sympathy for the victims is endless, as is his empathy for some of the killers.

The Temptation of Forgiveness by Donna Leon is published by William Heinemann.

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins Nicci French

http://www.theguardian.com/us

[thebeginningofhope]

“Abandon Ship!”

PREPARE FOR TROUBLE, YOU'RE SO NAIIIVE AND MAKE IT DOUBLE, AS WE DECIEEEVEE SURRENDER NOW OR PREPARE FOR A FIGHT! Meowth pops up from fish sub Thaaaaat's right!

commentary from me: they're gonna sink the ship. More follows: 

max- I thought you were just a nice old couple! Jessie- no one's ever accused us of being old James- and certainly not a couple.

na na na DA DA DA (trumpet) di da {Fight music cover of game wild battle soundtrack, possibly] TR goes blast! all our savings are gone! spent on those twerps! our savings aren't the only blasted thing here WE'RE blasting off again a trashbag trap?!

oh its the abandoned ship from the game. attention mystery fans!

aww his marshtomp got seperated from him. Tom and MarshTOMP

i want to drink soda on a ship, too.

obviously thats marshtomp. or maybe it evolved! torchick! no! you have a type disadvantage! wow it did evolve!

of course meowth knows something's up poor them!

AH, THE INDIGNITY I'm gonna cry.

well who asked you anyway max... such a great trainer fury swipes to the rescue!

i know meowth has good reason to be cranky but why the threads? just hold your horsea newton's motion machine desk toy reference

[tada!] it's a golduck box! is that the same duck from orange islands?

noooooooo not like that why is hoenn so... so... cruel. The episodes are good but i cant forget that one threat that came out of nowhere

made by grass types! why... [edit made after watching the episode: grass types... oh tragicomedy...]

i paused it in the beginning of the animation. now it's worse. even more worse! why...

meowth- well, hello there! max is in on the snarky humor too... at least they both can see the funny side

this is cruel... unpause now

infighting?! really, you two. poor torchic.

Who’s that Pokemon?

NO NOT SILCOON yes, it was silcoon. guess “silk” gave it away why... WHY NOT MUDKIP

not May, too!

Brock's mudkip to the rescue! ah, those three have the right sense of tone

update: i would cry, but i'm too dehydrated i'm like alice, i dont take my own advice

"And we're getting picked off, one at a time!" [James]'s in on it too... he's mad from stress max still has a level head

this is a game of chess, isn't it let me guess: third one is Jessie... but she's going to stomp on a seadra and get dragged down there... 

oh no I've succumbed to it too!

They have such faith in her ... James has lost it. I like the poetry of what he said, but it's crazy NO, MANIACAL LAUGH, THEY HAVE LOST IT

I really have tears in my eyes, now

Jessie, you gotta do something Jessie: it's not polite to leave a helpless woman all alone

AAAAH! WHAT IS IT? aa wooper... the wooper is in on it I heard the tada sound effect I'm hysterical now capital Hysterical

"so, you think you're pretty funny, hah!"

(claps hands to head)AAAA LOOK BEHIND YOU!

I'm crying, too.

may made the same joke... I can't believe it...

WOBBUFFET?! SAVE THEM WOBBUFFET! YOU'RE CLOSEST TO A LASSIE THIS SERIES HAS GOT

my temple's twitching... tragic illogic STOP BEING MEAN JESSIE NO! STOP IT [He’s not useless] i have to hit play

it's ground type... so it isn't totally immune? bet it's like grass types, as explained earlier in the season does that make Pikachu a ground... no.

WHY THE CHEERY MUSIC, POKEDEX?!

[Swampert]’s running like a dog

mudkip to the true rescue!

wait, the spider is scared

I don't think that's gonna work, Brock

we get the irony... OH ILL TIMED PUN

this is the determined sound track! tom'll sort this out!

NOOOOOO! NO NO NO NO NO NO HEAR HIM OUT

"you must've thought that I abandoned you, huh" ... pun :')

mudkip... [Edit: the small mudkip reminds Swampert of its youth]

this is so sweet

"I think they're ok now" "yeah"

"I'm really sorry for the trouble we caused you" "Nah, no trouble at all"

cut to team rocket "Ah, we're free at last" "and out of those confining threads" [Meowth confidently crosses his arms]

"dok dok"

A) they really went all out with the sound effects in this episode B) just leave and think about your lives, Rocketeers

"Go team!" NO, TEAM-

at least swampert has a chance to redeem itself now...

same animation from before...

"I think this is starting to get old" "and we're getting too old for dis" "speak for yoursellllves I'm not old"

Hoenn is an amazing season. Team rocket will be good in the end, I'm sure.

[ending song from first season plays] (But this one's more high-quality)

"This ship has become a home for water pokemon" "And it seems to be a kind of refuge for pokemon that are crossing the ocean" "Kind of like a Pokemon Oasis, if you know what I mean" "So I think I'm going to stick around and fix this place up a bit, see?" "Me and Swampert, of course!"

"Hey, that's a great thing to do!" "Good luck to you guys!" nods from May and Max

[”An abandoned ship became an unlikely site for a reunion between two old friends. And now our heroes are off to Slateport city as they get that promised ride from a new friend.”}

oh, swell animation! Great way to end the season...

three ships in one episode. one's a rental out of gas that drifted to the second, and the second's a ship that ran aground. Third's a speedboat. is that the proper term for it?

(I liked the plot in these episodes a lot. The pacing is nice, and I like how real the drifting away plot convenience felt.)

Ah, I initially found the wrong ending song, but my heart is warmed.

The Journey Continues!